The Final Element: The Guardian of Equestria

The First Chapter

Now was the ending of Springtime; and as the radiant sunlight shown on the town of Ponyville, several sweat drops raced downward from a glass of iced berry juice that sat mostly full on a table at the out-door cafe.

Seated at the table, wearing an intently focused expression of concentration, was a lavender colored unicorn pony, engrossed in a thick book, and pausing only ever-so-often to lean over and sip from the high straw buried in the icy mix.

There was nothing wholly remarkable about this particular pony, unless one were to count the usage of her magic, which she used to turn the pages of the book. Or the fact that she, like all pony-folk, was capable of tasks that would seem otherwise absurd to those not from these parts. And regardless of the magic, or the preposterous notion of a pony sitting upright at a table, and reading a book; to Twilight Sparkle, it was little more than an exercise in the mundane, and the everyday. Completely normal to anyone from this world, utterly absurd to anyone not.

Seated with her, and absorbed in his own thoughts, was a small purple scaled adolescent dragon named Spike, who several years before had been entrusted to Twilight by her teacher, to serve as both an assistant to the magical pony in her day to day studies, and as a learning tool, to gain a better understanding of the lives of dragons, seeing as they were a rare thing.

Despite his youth, and his diminutive size, Spike was quite capable for a dragon, calm, polite and courteous; and though at the present he was seated with his friend and guardian, he passed his time with her at the cafe focusing on his reflection in a hand-held mirror; his occasional sighs and chuckles falling on Twilight's distracted ears, as she meticulously read through her book.

"Do you think I've gotten taller lately?" he eventually asked, still looking longingly at himself in the mirror.

"I don't know Spike. Maybe," she said.

"It feels like I've gotten taller,” he mumbled under his breath. “Even if I know I haven't.”

Knowing that his desire for added height was simply to impress their mutual friend Rarity, Twilight silently rolled her eyes behind the book, and casually leaned her head to the left to find the straw, and slurp from the juice drink.

The book she had been given was about advanced teleportation, a skill that had eluded her greatly in the past year since learning the basics of the technique. And though she was highly adept at magic from an early age, her one biggest shortcoming was control of her magic.

Furring her brow, at the distraction, Twilight turned yet another page, as she neared the part of the technique that she hoped would make everything she failed to grasp about the spell understandable and practical; but not before a huge sudden gust of wind erupted from the sky and a multi-colored streak came crashing into the nearby table and chairs of the cafe.

Twilight looked over at the devastation and noticed Rainbow Dash, a light blue Pegasus laying upside-down in the wreckage, as her eyes seemingly spun in circles, and her jaw hung slack with a quiver to her bottom lip.

"Are you alright Rainbow?" Twilight said as she dropped her book, and hurried over to her fallen friend, and picking up a chair and shoving it to the side.

"Who me? I've never felt better,” the discombobulated winged pony stammered. “But I don't think any pony is supposed to fly upside down for that long."

Twilight's muzzle formed a slightly sighed smile of comprehension as she knew instantly it had something to do with yet another attempt at mastering some new trick, or aerial acrobatic. "I swear Rainbow Dash, one of these days you're going to give yourself brain damage."

Getting up on wobbly legs, the aptly named—rainbow maned—pony clopped her hooves at the sides of her face to slap herself back into thinking clearly, swishing her equally multi-colored tail in frustration. "I'll settle for temporary memory loss at this point, 'cause that crash was totally forget worthy."

"Do I even want to know?" said Twilight Sparkle, using her unicorn powers of levitation to help straighten some of the mess, while the staff at the cafe—a couple of frowning earth ponies—glared and shook their heads.

As the three of them worked on cleaning up the mess, a loud "Yeehaa" came from behind them. Turning to look back, an orange hued earth pony wearing a brown wide brimmed hat, came running up to them out of breath.

Named Applejack, in part after her family's traditional business, and in part for her love of apples, the galloping filly came to an abrupt stop in front of the two ponies, and dragon, sending her blond ponytail swaggering from one shoulder to the other.

"Twenty-six minutes,” she huffed, “that's a new record Rainbow Dash!"

"Y...yeah, wait till next time," said Rainbow with her left eye still looking in an odd direction. "This technique is gonna stop the show!"

Twilight and Spike exchanged a glance, and Twilight just shook her head.

~   ~   ~

Near a stream on the outskirts of Ponyville, Futtershy—a bright yellow Pegasus pony—trotted back and forth outside her small cottage, amongst her flowerbeds and small herb gardens. She was humming a cheerful tune as she busied herself with the task of seed planting, while her pet Angel, a white fluffy bunny of incorrigible attitude, occupied himself in and around the colorful foliage.

Fluttershy was a Pegasus pony that didn't prefer flying. In fact, she was one of the only Pegasus ponies in all of Equestria that actually owned a house—on the ground no less—and didn't have a home in the clouds, made of clouds, and tossed about like the other homes made of clouds with all the other clouds.

It would be honest to say that her fear of most everything in life had left her grounded, but that would be an unfair assessment of the pink haired pony and her oft acts of heroism, when her friends were faced with harm or other ill intent. So it would be best to simply say, that Fluttershy could fly, though not strongly, and preferred instead to simply trot about on the ground, like the unicorn and earth ponies.

Tossing some shrubs away, Fluttershy looked over occasionally to see that Angel was digging madly in a nearby flower-bed thoroughly wrecking it. "Oh... no no Angel Bunny, we mustn't make such a huge hole, we are only going to be planting a few seeds. Little seeds."

Angel, stopping his digging long enough to raise his head from the ground, frowned once, stared straight ahead resentfully at the the lack of personal respect, and then resumed digging—sending a huge chunk of clotted soil onto Fluttershy's head, causing her to let out a frightened gasp.

"Oh now Angel, you need to be more careful, or you're going to get really messy."

When another dirt clod landed on her head, sending dirt and sod all over, Fluttershy realized  that the tiny white rabbit was in another obstinate mood, and that she was not going to get very far with him at the moment, so she left him to his digging.

Of course, this also meant that she would need to bathe him again later, and she frowned slightly at the nuisance.

Without warning, as most things are without, a small vibration traveled through the country-side. A few birds that had been attracted by Fluttershy's singing earlier, suddenly fled in panic; and Fluttershy looked back and forth frantically for the source of the almost subtle vibration, though unable to detect where it had come from.

At the sight of her forest creatures scattering, Fluttershy felt a surge of fear try to overtake her, and she had to resist the urge to run screaming for the nearest shrub. Instead, she steeled her resolve, and forced her panic to calm, as best she could.

“Everyone!” she shouted, though barely at any volume. “We have to remain calm! This is an earthquake... and... we have to get to safety. Follow me!”

It should be noted here, that Fluttershy was one of the most soft spoken beings in the whole of the Ethereal Earth, save for the Cottontuffed Whisper Willows of the Southern regions; and naturally, none of the forest creatures paid Fluttershy any attention as they fled and ran; all the while she stood on wobbling legs pleading for them to form an orderly line and make for her cottage, at volumes of speech that would have anyone in a front row asking for a repeat, and bringing a hoof to their long equine ear.

“Everyone... please,” she whispered, as her eyes darted back and forth at the trees swaying, and the leaves gently raining down. “Please,” she said again softer, and squeezed her eyes shut.

At last she crumpled to the soft ground and brought her hooves over her face, and began to tremble for the duration of the shaking.

Then as suddenly as the vibration began, it seemed to stop, and with it the panic Fluttershy was feeling. Cautiously, Fluttershy slid a hoof down from her face, and opened one eye to see if the world were still there, and she saw to her great relief that it was. A small puff of white came bounding up from a nearby hole, and Fluttershy squeaked in fright at the sight of Angel Bunny coming up from his hole he had been digging, and then scurrying off toward Ponyville as he carried something reflective in his paws.

"Angel?" Fluttershy called after him in a weak voice, but the little white rabbit was already gone.

~   ~   ~

Elsewhere in Ponyville, away from all that was seemingly going on with Fluttershy on the edge of town, an overly hyperactive pink earth pony with a gluttonous appetite for sweets named Pinkie Pie hunkered inside the local bakery and confections shop, Sugarcube Corner. For the past several moments she had been scuttling about, in the hopes that she might nab a wayward goody Mister and Missus Cake had baked earlier that morning. Mr and Mrs Cake being the owners, and middle aged earth ponies to boot.

"Pinkie Pie!" growled Mrs. Cake, as she observed the unabashed attempts at stealth from the pink colored, pink haired filly. "We can't keep you supplied of treats today. We have a special order to be delivered later this afternoon. So please," she said looking beseechingly as Pinkie had her tongue out to rake in a tray of freshly iced cupcakes.

"Oh, alright," she said giving in and forcing everything within her to walk away from the table of goodness. "But maybe I can help with the deliveries!" she said excited at the sudden thought, and jumping up and down as if on an invisible pogo stick.

"We'll see," said Mr. Cake, as he walked up taping his hooves on the front of his apron to remove the flour from them.

Coming to a stop, some of Pinkie's aptly-named mane fell into her face, and she huffed the strands away in mock frustration.

It would be cruel to say that Pinkie Pie was a few straws short of a bale of hay, or that her greatest love in life was throwing insane parties for the slenderest of occasions that hardly warranted them; but when all things were considered, she had a certain craziness about her that formed an irrepressible black hole of entertainment and fun that caused anyone, pony or otherwise, to smile and enjoy life on any level. Except when she was utilizing all the powers of her skills to stuff her pink face with snacks and goodies.

While Mr. and Mrs. Cake had their backs turned, Pinkie took one large side step and extended her tongue to the newest blackberry pie, and licked it clean from the pan in one swift motion, no doubt the result of years of practice at such a feat.

"Pinkie!" yelled Mrs. Cake who turned in time to witness the consumption, grabbed a rolling pin and shooed Pinkie away from any more of the goods. "Be gone you sweet fiend!"

Like a silly child, Pinkie stuck her tongue out at Mrs. Cake, and suddenly belched a terrible loud belch. In fact, it was so loud that it seemed to reverberate off every wall in Sugarcube Corner, causing the entire room to shake.

Mrs. Cake in a moment of docile absence, dropped the rolling pin from her teeth and stood slack jawed as the very ground beneath her feet seemed to tremble from the force of Pinkie's rudeness.

"Why I never!" said Mrs. Cake.

"Guess I don't know my own strength," said Pinkie patting her stomach and looking around the inside of the shop, as various doo-dads and objects were coming to a standstill after the shaking ceased.

Suddenly and without warning—as we've mentioned before that sudden things often failed to have a warning—Pinkie Pie's tail began to twitch, causing her to look about in stark alarm, followed closely once again by vibration and shaking, only slightly more intense, with the pink Pinkie vibrating on the ground with it.

It is a fact that, Pinkie Pie has a low level, short range precognitive ability that resides in her pony tail. Whenever an event of substantial bad is about to occur, from mild to slightly worse, to down right catastrophic, her tail begins to twitch, and it's time for all onlookers to look-on from elsewhere, or become one with the badness that is about to be unleashed within their vicinity.

Ignoring the tail for the moment, Mr. and Mrs. Cake both looked at Pinkie for an explanation, but saw Pinkie looking just as confused.

"Don't look at me," said Pinkie with a massive vibrato to her voice. "I'm not doing this! Wee!" And she vibrated right out the front door of the shop giggling as she did.

~   ~   ~

Not long after the incident at the cafe earlier involving the light blue Pegasus pony and the clean-up; Applejack, the blond pony with the ponytail and hat, made her way back to her home at Sweet Apple Acres, and set about inspecting a new spot for the next generation of apple tree saplings. Now that Rainbow Dash had lost interest in perfecting the less than brilliantly named, "Upside Down Flying Pony" technique, Applejack—AJ to her friends—had more time to finish her chores for the day.

Fact. Sweet Apple Acres is the largest provider of apples, apple products, apple trees, and anything remotely to do with, be made from, or be associated or affiliated with apples, from Canterlot to Manehattan. It's also the originating homestead of the entire Apple family, which is extended across the entire country of Equestria, and currently overseen by Applejack and her older brother Big Macintosh.

There is also an elderly Granny Smith and younger sister Apple Bloom residing with them; though their skills at apple farming are less than adequate to do the work, and from time to time, additional outside pony-labor is required to bring in a harvest, tend to the inventory, or help out as best as possible.

It should also be mentioned, that Applejack has such a fondness for apples, that once while walking through the orchards with her head up and her eyes gazed intently on the fruit above, she wandered right into a fence, knocking it flat, and earning her a made up rhyme that went.

Silly pony needs a snack,

Whoops there goes a fence ker'splat.

It was of course a poorly made rhyme, and more words than most cared to remember. It was eventually refined to just, “Silly Applejack” which lasted about a Summer, and was soon forgotten.

"Well, that there makes a good spot if ever there was one to be had," she said out loud to no-pony in particular, swiping at her forehead with her front hoof, as she took a break from walking the perimeter of the new, soon-to-be extension of the current orchard.

As it was, the current orchard had several trees that were too old to produce much, and in a few more seasons they would most likely fail to produce anything substantial, so it was unanimously decided that a new area of Sweet Apple Acres was to be cultivated for a new section of trees. Once Applejack surveyed the uncultivated land, and her brother Big Mac tilled and fertilized it, it would set for a month, so the fertilizers and nutrients could work into the soil, and be ready to begin planing new trees. Barring of course, any natural disasters, such as fire, flood, or the random earthquake that would rip through the countryside and destroy all in its path.

Applejack deeply regretted the thought of possibly removing some of the weaker older trees, but such was the circle of the orchard. Her fondness for apples not withstanding, if she had her way, they would stay in the ground till they fell over, and only then be removed. Killing a non-producing tree was down-right heartbreaking.

Walking back toward her home through the orchards, Applejack was suddenly overwhelmed by a terrible shaking and looked up to see that every tree was swaying and dancing with the intensity of the  earthquake that seemed to be spreading out over the countryside.

Several apples fell from the trees, landing dangerously close to her, and several animals ran from their cover in the orchard to seek safety elsewhere, as fruity falling meteors rained from the overhead canopy.

Confused and perplexed, Applejack bolted for her house to see to it that her brother and sister and Granny Smith were alright. She wasn't sure if the pounding in her chest was from the apprehension at the situation, or for concern for her loved ones.

Halfway there, the trembling stopped, yet Applejack continued to her home anyway.

~   ~   ~

Before all the hub-bub and hullabaloo that had began with the shaking, Twilight Sparkle had left the cafe after several rounds of apology for her friends, and went on some errands with her companion, Spike the dragon. They made busy for most of the afternoon, before eventually returning to Twilight's place of residence inside the local library.

Now before you get the wrong idea, and begin thinking that Twilight was living in the library because she was homeless, and needed a roof over her head, it would be best to explain that when she first arrived in Ponyville some time back, it was to oversee the preparations for the local Summer Sun Festival, and the Tree Library was the place she boarded. Though when her stay became more of a permanent thing, and partly because she was a bookworm of unimaginable proportions, it seemed most fitting that the Tree Library become her home.

Fast forward a tad, and she and Spike were gathered on the bottom floor of the library, as the last of a mild to moderate tremors subsided.

"Did you feel that?" said Spike, as he cowered under several open books in the corner of the library, using a free hand to stack one more on top of his small body, in the event something came crashing in from the outside.

"Sure did," said Twilight. "That is the third one in less than ten minutes," she didn't bother to look over at Spike, instead she was focused on skimming through a thick book laid open on the book stand, "and they've been getting stronger and faster all afternoon."

At first when Twilight and Spike noticed the tremors, it seemed such an oddity, and the vibrations so subtle that they paid them little mind. But after the second tremor, Twilight knew that there was something amiss about the whole affair, and began investigating it the only way she knew how. By using her books.

"There has got to be an explanation for this!" said Twilight in frustration, as she combed through the Guide to the Unexplained and Never-Before, and worked her way through the random unnatural things listed in the book in alphabetical order. At present, she was at a chapter entitled, “Earth-shattering Supple Blight”, which went into vivid detail about huge chunks of Supple Blighted objects falling from the heavens and wreaking havoc on the surface of which-ever planet they fell upon.

As if on cue, the front door of the library burst open, and a bedazzled and slightly frazzled white unicorn pony named Rarity rushed from the outside in a state of fright and somewhat elaborated panic. "Twilight Sparkle! Tell me that all this confounded ground shaking is your doing!"

Twilight regarded her with a look that suggested exasperation at the mere notion that disasters and ground-shakings could be her doing. "It's not me," Twilight said resuming her flipping through the compilation book. "I'm trying to figure out what it is."

"It's an earthquake of some kind," said Spike being helpful, as he lifted a talon clad hand from under the stack of books he hid underneath, and waved at Rarity at the sound of her voice.

"Well, of course it's an earthquake. The question is. Why are we having an earthquake in Ponyville!" Holding up her hoof which was bandaged all the way up to her shoulder. "I mean I can't work like this. I've already stuck myself with my sewing needle."

Looking over at her again Twilight commented, "Isn't that a bit much?"

It goes without saying, though it must be mentioned, that Rarity is by far the most self-described high-class in the whole of Ponyville. And despite the often middle-class ambiance of the town, goes out of her way to maintain her distinctive, snooty, and uppity air of superiority, whenever and where-ever possible.

She is also the premier drama queen and over-actor in three counties. Give or take a few miles.

Once more the earthquake rumbled, and this time it was accompanied by a high-pitched squelching that seemed to emanate from everywhere, and in all directions.

Both Rarity and Twilight instantly clutched each other in startled fright. Followed by Spike, who was all too willing to comfort Rarity in her greatest moment of distress.

~   ~   ~

Characteristic of her nature, Rainbow Dash now sleeping off her latest trick rehearsal, was drifting on a nice fluffy white cloud, as it teetered this way and that in the soft currents of the sky overlooking Ponyville.

While it is true that mostly the unicorn breed of ponies in this Ethereal Earth are born with the most predominant magic, pegasus ponies are not completely without their form of it, though it resides on a mostly subconscious level, and more akin to natural ability than something they can make happen or not happen.

So it is perfectly natural that Rainbow Dash being a pegasus pony, is capable of finding sure footing and landing on even the thinnest wisps of clouds, and more than capable of relaxing on them. They do after all make for far better bedding than any normal cotton stuffed mattress, from the most expensive of stores no less.

Since Rainbow Dash and her billowy pile of fluff were a good half-mile above the surface, it wasn't surprising that she failed to take note of the goings on below. Except for that last rumbling that was also accompanied by noise, which caused her eyes to suddenly fly open at the instantaneous squealing that erupted all around her.

"What the..." she started as she shoved both hooves over her ears, and looked around for the source of the hideous noise.

Looking over Ponyville she didn't see anything. Looking over the apple orchards, she didn't see anything. But when she turned to face the direction of Everfree Forest, there was a bright shaft of light erupting up from the center of the forest and piercing the sky.

The shaft of light was sending out a blast-wave of forceful air and energy in all directions, and Rainbow Dash leapt from the cloud with a yelp as the rolling horizontal vortex knocked her cloud away into thin air.

Deep inside the Tree Library in Ponyville, or perhaps the Celestial Imperial Library at Canterlot, or either of the two places—or both perhaps― is a book called, 10,001 Useless Things to Know Before Wandering Everfree Forest. It was written centuries before by the famous wizard, Star Swirl the Bearded. Not to be confused with the other famous Star Swirl that lived before that, who was a renowned fighter and warrior, not a mage, not an inventor of numerous spells, positively a she, and most certainly not bearded.

The book has this to say about Everfree Forest.

It is a wholly unnatural place, wrought with living things that date back to the dawn of the Etherial Earth; it is a living void of darkness and evil dwelling in contrast to the surrounding beauty and harmony of the natural world.

The ecology of the forest is such, that neither pegasus, unicorn, earthen equine or divine, can control the flow of the seasons there, as it is a spot of land mindful of its own, and doing as it pleases.

Any creature that sets upon a journey into the forest is warned to carry with them two lamps, a hoof-full of peanuts, sixteen raw eggs, a linen sheet...

As Star Swirl the Bearded grew in age, he saw fit to consolidate his tasks together, and at multiple points in the book, one is apt to find the insertion of grocery lists, things to remember, the occasional fan letter to the Princesses of Equestria, and even a recipe for making artificial butter that no one could believe was not butter.

Nevertheless, the fact that a strange beam of light and shrieking sound was now emanating from the very middle of the most frightening place in the whole realm, was ample cause for any-pony to be alarmed.

~   ~   ~

"Make it stop!" yelled Rarity in Twilight's ear.

"For the last time! I don't know what it is!" yelled Twilight back into her ear.

As the blast wave reached Ponyville, The library shook once more, as if the tree in which it resided were about to be overturned, and just as soon as the trembling, and the shaking, and the screeching began, it all suddenly quieted.

Big eyed and trembling, Spike was the first to see the shaft of light over Everfree Forest in the distance. "Uh... Twilight. I think you should see this."

Following the direction Spike was pointing out the window, Twilight saw an enormous shaft of light that ascended from the middle of the forest up into the sky.

"What is that?" said Rarity. "Some kind of monster?"

Just as the beam began to fade, the door to the library burst open again, and Rainbow Dash and Applejack both wedged themselves in the door-frame in their haste to make it inside, all the while talking excitedly in unison.

"Twilight!" yelled Applejack, shoving a panicky Rainbow Dash away. "What in tarnation is happening around here!?"

As the last bit of the shaft faded, Twilight shook her head. "I really wish I knew."

"Well if this is the end of the world, then we need to figure something out quick," said Rainbow Dash popping loose of Applejack and rolling towards some bookcases. "The town is a mess. There are ponies passed out and trash all over the place; and I barely survived that... whatever it was that tried to vaporize me from the forest!"

It was at times like this, that Twilight Sparkle wished her books could transmit their contents from their pages directly into her pony brain. As her friends gathered slowly around her for the answers that they assumed she had, she felt suddenly useless, and unable to either explain, understand, or predict what was about to happen.

At the moment Twilight was ready to throw her hooves up in frustration, a sudden greenish magical flame erupted from Spike's throat—explanation will have to come later—and a letter from Princess Celestia arrived, seemingly not a second too soon.

Twilight instantly felt overwhelming assurance at the sight of the letter, as she knew that the Princesses were no doubt on top of whatever the disturbance had been. "Oh thank the stars," she whispered under her breath.

Cracking the seal on the scroll, Spike cleared his throat.

To my most faithful and loyal student,

I regret to inform you that a terrible calamity has befallen Equestria, and your presence is required at the Royal Palace.

Your escort should be arriving momentarily. Please be assured that we are doing everything in our power to prevent this disaster from spreading over all of Equestria.

Yours Truly,

Princess Celestia.

"Calamity!" said Applejack in surprise.

"Disaster!" said Rainbow Dash, looking out at the streets of Ponyville. "Too late for that one."

"I'm sure the Princess will explain everything to me once I get there. For now we have to try and keep the ponies in the town calm, and do your best to assure them that something is being done." Twilight had a feeling deep down that it wasn't some simple task to be done, and being summoned back to Canterlot, on the heels of a set of earth-shaking tremors, only made it more ominous.

"You can count on us, Twilight!" said Applejack, grabbing Rainbow Dash by the tail, and dragging her away from the nearby window. "We got yer back while yer away."

Within the next five minutes, a chariot arrived in front of the library, drawn by two sturdy armor clad ponies, each with a helmet that featured a short cropped plume.

"Well Spike," she said swallowing hard, "let's get this over with."

"Do I really need to go?" he said wringing his claws.

"Spike!" said Rarity. "Please keep Twilight safe for us, will you?"

A sudden burst of power and courage poured through Spike. "Why yes, my lady. I shall indeed." He looked over at Twilight with an instantly chiseled chin and firm resolved brow, almost as if he had metamorphosed into a masculine persona of his normal self. "Come Twilight, let us depart to far yonder castle and learn the foul nature of this plight!"

Taking a heavy sigh, Twilight looked back and noticed her friend Rarity observing her with concern.  "Do be careful Twilight," said Rarity.

"I will."