The Element of Hope

Music for this chapter.

The day seemed to be just like any other in Equestria. Rainbow Dash was flying and practicing her stunts. Fluttershy was taking care of sick and injured animals. Applejack was bucking trees for the harvest. Twilight Sparkle was reading books and studying. Rarity was working on a new dress. Pinkie Pie was somewhere doing something.

Twilight Sparkle had just arrived in Ponyvill from Canterlot a few days ago. Each of her newly made friends represented an Element of Harmony. Applejack was the Element of Honesty. Rarity was Generosity. Fluttershy was the embodiment of Kindness. Rainbow Dash was the Element of Loyalty. Pinkie was Laughter. Twilight's was the most powerful one, the Element of Magic. Together they had defeated the corrupted goddess Nightmare Moon, who returned to herself as Princess Luna. She was the sister of Princess Celestia, who raised the Sun and the Moon.

Since then the lives of everypony returned to relative normality.

So nopony probably saw the small flash in the Everfree Forest.

Nopony saw the three equine figures pop into existence just above the treeline.

And nopony saw the figures fall.

Badassgrunt presents:

The Element of Hope.

'Ow'

That was the first thing that ran through my mind. That and the sudden urge for an apple.

The second thought was that I should have close the window in the tent, since the sun was in my eyes.

The third thought was 'Tents don't have windows.'

I opened my eyes and immediately shut them. I rolled over and opened my eyes. This time the sun didn't try to set fire to my eyes. Instead I saw trees that looked nothing like the tent I slept in. I don't think there were any trees near the village that the Fearmongers all but obliterated.

Fearmongers. That one thought made me scowl. They were the ones that mercilessly killed and tortured so many of my fellow warriors and citizens. They were the ones who killed off 3/4 of the Galiens on the planet. They were the ones who took sadistic pleasure in killing whole families.

As I scowled, another thought entered my head.

Why did my face feel different?

As the thought bounced around my skull, I came to realize that my whole body felt different.

I soon noticed the subtle differences of my body. My hair changed from dark brown to a dark violet. My nose was more pronounced and black. My mouth was on the same protrusion. I reached up to touch it, and instead of the thin but strong arm and hand, it was black too. Where my hand should be now lays a hoof.

What the hell happened to my hands?

I twisted my head around to look at the rest of my body (Which I shouldn't have been able to do as a Galien) to see if my fears were true.

They were. I am now a horse. But not just any horse. A pegasus. The rest of my body is black, along with my wings. I also had a tail, it too was violet. I always wanted to have a tail. I'd rather have my hands back.

I got up from the ground, surprised at how natural feeling it was, considering that I had four legs instead of two. I took this time to get a good look at my surroundings. I was in a forest, no doubt about it. The forest was a normal forest except there were more underbushes than I would expect. I was in a clearing, so the sun had shone through the canopy. The sun was...odd. It felt artificial, yet not. I shook my head, trying to get rid of the uneasiness. There was also a trail leading away from the clearing.

I was starting to decide what to do when the bushes behind me shook. I froze, praying to Snowwood that I still had my ability. I slowly turned around and saw another horse. This one was a normal horse, save for the bright colors on his body. This one had a red colored coat. He had a green mane. His blue-grey eyes felt familiar. He was slightly bigger than me.

The following silence was deafening. Eventually I spoke up.

"Who are you?"

The horse's eyes flashed surprise that I had spoken. I probably did too. The stallion recovered and smirked.

"I am George, Second General of the Snowwood Army, Field General of the 87th Infantry Division. I hail from a proud country called Snowwood. I am friends with Lord John of Snowwood and brother to Justin, Third General of the Snowwood Army. I am known as Kaka Kraby Patty." He spoke, smiling.

I was stunned. The stallion before me answered in basic Snowwood military custom. When one Snowwoodian ask another his or her identification, they respond stating their military rank, country, well-known friends and family, and titles they have earned. This was originally used to identify spies before the days of the Pact. After the Pact we used tattoos.

I returned his smile. "I am Lord John of Snowwood, First General of the Snowwood Army and Field General of the 88th Infantry Division. I am Ruler of the kingdom of Snowwood. I am friends with George, Second General of the Snowwood Army and Justin, Third General of the Snowwood Army. I am known as The Warrior and as The Fearmonger Bane."

The stallion nodded his head, the smile never leaving his face. "Good to see you, John."

I nodded in return. "You too, George."

His smile faded. "Do you know where Justin is?"

I sighed and shook my head. "No idea. I don't think he is anywhere near here."

"Or I could be behind you."

I whirred to face another stallion, the same size than me. He had orange... fur, I guess that would be the right word. He had a blue mane, some of it covering one eye. The one that was visible was blue-grey.

"Justin! WAAZZZAAAAP?"

I turned see George striding to Justin and giving him a hug. After they broke the brotherly embrace, Justin turned to me.

"So, what now?"

"No idea." said George, a goofy grin on his face.

I noticed the sun was starting to set. "I think we should set up camp for the night, then look for settlements in the morning."

The others nodded in agreement and we set out to work.