Octaviaverse: Friendship is Magic!

Chapters

Once upon a time...
Bottoms up.
It's loving time!
Oh ponyfeathers...
He who howls and rages.
Adventure Time.
Crash. Snap.
I trust you.
This is it!
Friends.
Choice.

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two siblings who ruled together, using their unicorn powers to maintain harmony throughout the land.

The younger sibling used her logic, and empathy to educate the land, while the older sibling used his strength, and magic to make sure the lands were safe from any, and all enemies.

But with time, the brother grew resentful, and envious of his sister, and the adoration the governed had for their princess, as Equestria had no foes of real importance, and while ponies enjoyed the knowledge, and care that his sister brought them, they shunned, and reviled his preference for battling, and so, one day, he brought his powers down upon the land, bringing forth fear, destruction and death.

The sister begged, and pleaded with her brother, but it was too late, for his hatred and bitterness had turned him into a monster of violence, Warlock Stallion! He refused to listen, and swore to plunge Equestria into an era of total bloodshed!

Reluctantly, the sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to Ponydom, the Elements of Harmony! Battling with her brother, the sister sealed him away in the stars, and took over his responsibilities.

Since then, the sister reigned over the land, and harmony has flourished ever since.

Such was the legend of the royal siblings that gave birth to the nation of Equestria, a land famed for harmony, friendship, and goodwill. At least, if you cared for foalish stories such as that. Octavia closed the history book with a bored sight and threw it behind her, not caring that the book how the fall could damage the rather ancient book. She had better things to do than listen to myths, and bedtime stories.

Such as practicing her beautiful music. Now that was something worth her time! The mere thought made her mood rise like a bird.
She stood up from her bed, walking towards the wall closest to her ebd and retrieving the casket that contained her cello. The familiar weight made her smile. After setting up a music sheet stand, her grin grew as she pulled out a stack of sheets from her night table, neatly organizing them on the stand. She propped up her cello, carefully placing the bow on the strings with almost tender care.

As a musician, practice was everything to her.

Practice made a beginner turn into a master.

Practice turned a piece of wood into a delicate instrument.

Practice transformed dissonance into art.

Just as she played the first note, the door to her chambers blasted open, making her snap one of the strings on her cello. She rubbed the now tender spot on her skin where the string hit as she turned to see the intruder that disturbed her in such a critical moment. Her face frowned once she saw a crow standing between the doors. He seemed just as displeased as her, puffing out his chest and looking directly at her.

"Hugin." Octavia said coldly, her angry expression not changing one bit.

"Octavia," the crow answered. The two of them stared at each other with angry, frowny eyes in silence, waiting for the other to break the palpable tension lingering in the air. Octavia’s ears were tense and pointy, while Hugin kept his chest puffed out in defiance.

"You just cost me an afternoon of practice. What is it you want?" Octavia gently laid the cello down on the casket, making sure to not bump anything on the way, as short as it may be, wincing when her eyes focused on the broken string. It would take hours to fix.

"The princess has summoned you to the throne room." Hugin answered.

"Well you can tell the princess I'm busy right now." Octavia grumbled, as she opened a drawer. She pulled out a couple of pegs, a cleaning handkerchief, a small bottle of cleaner. A small black crystal ball came up too. Octavia inspected it for a few seconds before throwing behind her. Where did she put those strings?

"There's no escaping it this time—" Hugin flew to the table. "She insist that you show up immediately."

Octavia sighed. The princess had called for what was probably another assignment. An assignment that was going to have nothing to do with her talent. Studying demographics, researching politics, theology. Those were only some of them. Of course, they were all fascinating subjects for the pony who was interested in them.

But Octavia wasn’t one of them. She wasn’t a social scientist, or a nun or a politician. She was a musician, and she worried and studied about things that musicians cared about.

She could list and describe all the types of clefs, notes and dynamics that existed, among other symbols of musical relevance. Hours would fly when she talked about musical notation and how much she enjoyed it. Her words would just fall out of her mouth when describing what she thought and felt when she played her music, both before and after.

Most of this knowledge came from her own research. The princess had hardly sent her a musical assignment after she graduated from the musical academy.

When she was ten.

“Instead, I’m probably going to have to sit through an entire night learning how a hamster’s biology works…” she thought, already expecting the worst. She wanted to play her cello, not walk all the way to the throne room to receive a task she was going to hate. And now that her cello had a broken string, she had no choice. If she didn’t gp now, the the princess would just wait until dinner, if not outright come to get her herself.

"Well. What are you waiting for?" Hugin asked.

"Shut up."

The castle was immense, as Octavia knew by memory. That meant she knew exactly by how much she would get tired, in getting to the throne room. Why it was nearly at the top of the castle, was beyond her. Maybe the princess wasn't thinking about earth ponies when she had the thing built. Actually, now that she thought about it, most things in Canterlot were made by unicorns, for unicorns. So much for equality.

"Please tell me it is not another endless researching task." Octavia pleaded Hugin, who was perched on her back. Octavia flicked her tail in displeasure, but was ignored by the crow. much to her displeasure.

"She wouldn't say. All she said, is that it was important." He answered.

"Joy." Octavia muttered.

The royal guards at the throne door were coldly staring at the distance, not even blinking once Octavia came into their field of vision. Their wings remained at their sides, ready to block the entrance. They wouldn't let anypony in, unless they had a prior engagement with the ruler. And that was a golden rule, even if some small time noble was offering them to own a nice plot of land in the south, like Baron Silver Tongue was currently trying to do, while a line of commoners waited in line behind him.

“My matter is of small importance gentlecolts, please, let me through!” he insisted, but the guards remained stoic as ever, not even directing their eyes towards him. Within a few minutes, Octavia walked into the massive hallway that led to the throne room, walking a firm step, stopping right besides the Baron.

“I’m here to see the princess.” was all Octavia had to say. The guards forced the Baron to move aside while they opened the doors. Octavia shot him a smug smirk and a sideways glance, inwardly enjoying the glare of anger that he shot her.

The throne room was a lavishly decorated room. With marble white walls along golden columns. The floor itself was a circle-like arranged set of blue and green tiles, with the throne itself made almost entirely of purple sapphire. A light, magical light was glowing from within.

Hugin flew off her back, and perched himself atop the throne, where the princess sat reading a scroll. A very large scroll. So large that it was wrapped around the throne seven times!

"Is this all there is to it?" Princess Twilight asked.

"That is correct your highness. Spike checked the checklist thirteen times, as you requested." Another crow replied, from besides Hugin.

"Thanks Mugin. Please tell Spike, that he can start gathering the materials." She instructed. The crow nodded, before flying out the window. A flash from her horn, made the checklist disappear with a puff of smoke. A cough caught her attention. Standing right in front of the throne was Octavia. Her frown was all that the princess needed to know the mood of her student.

"Octavia! I'm so happy to see you!" Twilight exclaimed, as she teleported in front of her student. Octavia couldn’t help but to feel a bit irked by the act. The princess was the princess of magic and empathy. She understood that. It didn’t mean that she had to teleport the, apparently, massive distance of ten meters, which was the total distance between the throne and the doors.

"Hello Princess." She mumbled, emotionless.

"Is something bothering you?" Twilight asked, with a warm smile.

"Hugin made me snap a string." Octavia complained. The casual observer would see the princess smiling, but those who were a little more close to her would be able to notice the slight strain on her lips and eyebrows, indicating the worried frown that was hiding beneath. Octavia, and Hugin had never managed to get along. Octavia's cold disposition usually caused problems with the rest of the castle, such as frequent arguments, endless complaints from the staff, all denouncing her haughty attitude, but with Hugin, she was particularly severe.

Hugin would make a sarcastic comment about Octavia’s behaviour. Octavia would respond with increased aggressiveness, to which Hugin would just respond with heavier sarcasm.

That they had managed to enter the room together had caught her by surprise. A good sign for the couple that once managed to shatter a five meter tall stained glass depiction of her.

"You asked for me?" Octavia inquired.

"Yes. I have a task for you. A very important task actually." Twilight said, as she made a map of Equestria appear in front of her. Circled on it, was a small group of houses with a name scribbled on them.

"Ponyville?" Octavia asked.

"Yes. I need you to do something for me. Something of great importance." Twilight instructed, as she folded the map. Octavia gulped. This was it. For perhaps the first time in years, the princess would send her on something important! She prepared herself for the task. She would not fail at it, whatever it was.

"I need you to go there, and learn about the magic of friendship!" Twilight said with cheer. Octavia felt her stomach sank. She could hear Hugin snickering from the throne.

"And Hugin will go with you!" Twilight added, just as cheerfully. Hugin coughed, and spluttered, as he was surprised at his princess’ new command, his laughter abruptly cut off. He stammered for a few seconds, before flying out of the window. Octavia, on the other hand, simply stared at her mentor, as if she had said a joke at a funeral.

"Excuse me?" Octavia replied. This was not happening. This could not be happening. She was not doing this to her.

"The train tickets are in your chambers by now. Be careful, and remember to write to me!" Twilight replied, ignoring the tone of voice that her student was taking.

Octavia frowned. "So thats it? You're sending me to a backwater town to learn friendship!?" She growled. Twilight slightly winced, at her haughty tone, completely filled with pride.

"I thought you would enjoy it, since I see you everyday, playing that cello of yours. It's pretty much the only thing you do."

"But study friendship!? How could I possibly want to study friendship!?" Octavia growled. The princess had given her pointless assignments before, but this took the cake. This wasn't a simple misdirection from the princess. This was just plain insulting her!

"You've sent me to read tomes of history, study entire nights of science, and write pages upon pages of reports, even when they have almost nothing to do with my talent, but now you’re sending me to study some useless elementary philosophy like friendship!?" Octavia shouted.

"Well, I need you to oversee the preparations for the Mind-over-Matter festival, too. It's going to be held there this year." The princess said nonchalantly, ignoring the anger of her student.

"So, apart from once again giving me a task that has nothing to do with my cutie mark, you sent me to oversee a stupid party. A party that's not even real, because the story that is supposed to be held in honor of is not real!"

"It's not a stupid party Octavia, it's an important celebration that I hold very seriously. Do not be disrespectful!" Twilight scolded, adding a bit of sternness in her voice.

"But what do I know about organizing and setting up an event! I'm a musician! Why can't you understand that?!"

"Your talent doesn't define you, Octavia! You will do just fine, I know it!"

"How can I do fine if I don’t do what I was born to do!?" Octavia shouted. "If my cutie mark says that I'm a musician, shouldn't I be doing that!? Practicing, playing in theaters, and such like!? Instead, my teacher, my supposed teacher, sends me to study science, and history, and do stuff that I have no idea how to do!"

"Octavia. Your cutie mark doesn't define who you are, or what you have to do. It only displays what type of talent you have. How you evolve, or how you live your life is something that can be changed!"

"Then why don't you change it in a direction that makes sense!? Why can't you see that I don't like doing this!? Why can't you just find another pony to be your lab rat, and let live my life as I please?! " Octavia yelled.

The entire room was quiet. The princess recoiled a little from the harsh words, visibly leaning her head back a bit, as if trying to put some distance between them.. A tranquil Octavia would have immediately started apologizing, and begging for forgiveness. But now, Octavia wasn't tranquil at all.

Her ears were straight and her eye was twitching a bit. She was furious.

Nopony said anything for a while. Both student, and teacher stared at each other intensely, as though engaged in a silent battle of wills, the silence reigning absolute, aside from their breathing. After a few seconds of tension, Octavia turned to leave.

"I shall prepare my bags—" She muttered, as she passed through the doors. "Maybe the magic of friendship will help me play music." She said full of resentment.

"Octavia wait—!"

But she was gone. Twilight sighed. Once again, she, and Octavia had argued. And once again, Octavia's words stung. Hard. Mostly because, even if the phrasing was overdone in a unnecesary brutal way, Octavia had made a point.

Was she taking things too far? Was she really pushing Octavia around, instead of actually helping her with her talent? Twilight had tried to build a relationship with Octavia. When the earth pony was younger, it was easy. Anything the princess did, big or small, was amazing in the eyes of the filly, and so it was easy to grab her attention. But now, with Octavia older, and more mature, her taste for music had gone from simple enjoyment, to pretty much defining her. And not in a good way.

How can I keep her as a student, when even herself is not interested— She thought, before teleporting to her chambers. Unlike most of her castle, it was particularly decorated. Just covered from wall to wall with books. On her vanity, besides her large bed, was a picture of her, and Octavia. She was was standing proudly with one of her wings around the earth pony, who was just a filly back then and was holding her violin and bow, a huge smile plastered on her face, with the Canterlot Royal Academy standing proudly behind them.

It was the day she took Octavia as her apprentice. Twilight tenderly lifted the picture with her hooves.

I can't give up now. This trip will do her good— She thought, as she looked at the sky from the terrace. The faint image of the moon could be seen the sky, almost invisible.

"It has too," she whispered.

Meanwhile, back in her room, Octavia glumly prepared her bags. She hadn't really meant to say those things to the princess. She wasn't happy with the news of the trip though, she had been honest about that. Just as she had been honest regarding her opinions regarding her talent. Why would the princess send her to do something she had no knowledge, experience or practice on how to make it function? If only the princess could actually listen to her for once, maybe they wouldn't argue so much.

Wouldn't be the first time either— She thought, grimly.

Another problem was that the princess honestly expected her to have a good time. She really did things, thinking of her, making her feel even guiltier. If only she thought about what she liked, instead of what she thought she needed, they wouldn't argue so much. If only she told Octavia to do what she was destined to do—

"That was harsh Octavia, even for you."

"Go away Hugin. I'm not in the mood," Octavia groused.

"You think I am? I have to spend this entire assignment accompanying you, however long it may be. I think I have more of a right to be mad, than you." Hugin retorted. Octavia placed her cello, still with the broken string, back in its case. She would have no choice, but to fix it there. Besides the case was the train ticket, innocently lying there. The argument came back to her mind, making her frown a little.

"I guess a few days away from the castle don't sound so bad." Octavia mused, as she placed the ticket and a few writing items in a bag. At least the princess remembered she hated flying.

Author's Note

Yes. Octavia is my favorite pony. So yes, she is the protagonist. But relax, I'll try not make her overbearing. And yes, just like Twilight, she will be flawed in her own way.
By the way: Hugin is voiced by Crispin Freeman. Cuz he's one awesome son of a bitch.
Princess Twilight has the alicorn physique, so she's as big as Celestia.

Now revised by AuthorGenesis!

Bottoms up.

The morning sun shone down as the train rocked softly, the wheels rolling across the rails with little effort. The morning sun shone across the land with its beautiful light, allowing a clear view of the blue sky. Octavia had always liked seeing the country from her balcony. The green lands, the light wind. The dark green mass that was the Everfree forest. Patches of flower fields that were scattered across the land, along with a couple of yellowish spots that once could guess that were farms. The tall, grey mountains that stood on the far horizon serving as the border with the griffin kingdom.

It was a beautiful sight.

So beautiful that it usually inspired her mind and invigorated her spirit. But right now, her mind was not inspired. Right now, her mind was focused in the task at hand. The very boring and annoying task at hand. Her cello and the rest of her luggage would be arriving later that week. Which meant no music at all. The very visible frown that was plastered on her face showed just how much did it irritate her. Yesterday's argument with the princess only served to put her in a even worse mood.

The princess remembering how much she hated flying helped a little.

Hugin ranting all the way from the castle didn't.

"Hugin. If you do not shut up, I will pluck every single feather in your body with my hooves, one by one." Her voice, sounding as soft as silk, was barely above the a growl, hiding the iron weight of the punishment she would, without a doubt, apply to the bird if he didn’t heed the warning. She clapped her hooves in threat, just in case her words were not clear enough. Hugin responded by flying to the other seat and continued his rant. Seeing that she was being completely ignored and not feeling like initiated a destructive chase through the all train, Octavia tuned him out, choosing to focus on the scenery as it passed by her window. She could see Ponyville all the way from the train. It wasn't hard to spot, being nearby Canterlot.

"A town founded by earth ponies. You'll fit right in!" Hugin laughed.

"Hugin … ."

"As long as you keep that temper of yours in check. Don't want to have a repeat of that scene, right?"

"Hugin."

"Hey, maybe you can—" Octavia placed her hoof over the crow, trapping him against the seat before closing in on the bird.

"Listen you poor excuse of a feather duster . I do not like you, and you do not like me, and thats fine, but we are going to be sharing a home for a while, so here is the deal: You shut your beak and I will stop myself from tying you up like a trussed turkey and tossing you into the depths of the dirtiest sewer I can find, got it?" Octavia growled, before lifting her hoof. Hugin stood and fixed his ruffled feathers. Grumbles and groans of how she could have asked nicely were muttered for a few minutes before his preening was interrupted by a loud whistle.

"We are here." Octavia said.

The train began to slow down, as it finished running down the last slope between Canterlot and Ponyville. It wouldn't be long before it stopped.

"The Princess gave me a list of the ponies who are in charge of the celebration. It should not be too hard to find them." Hugin said, as he produced a paper from his wings. The checklist wasn't big. It was actually quite small.

"Do not tell me it is a lot of ponies."

"Only five."

Octavia sighed in relief. She was not in the mood to talk to half the town. She didn't even want to leave the train. Unluckily for her, the train seemed to her hear thoughts and finally arrived at the local station. The platform was empty, not a soul on sight. At least the couple minutes before the passengers left the train, pulling their luggage behind them. Octavia frowned. She had to leave her cello in the castle so it could get repaired. While it meant that she had to carry virtually no luggage, it also meant she was without the one thing that would help her relax.

"What is first?" She asked.

"Drinks and beverages, most non-alcoholic."

"Who is in charge?"

"The checklist says it’s a mare in a tavern. Good thing I memorized the places on the map right?" Hugin smirked. "Lead the way." Octavia groaned.

Ponyville was surprisingly large for a town. That or the big distance between the houses gave the impression of distance. Either way, Octavia felt like she had traversed far more distance than she had expected to, considering Ponyville being designated as a town and even including the taxi ride she took from the station. Why did the stupid tavern have to be on the other side of town? Tired travelers would like a drink right away, not have walk half the planet for it.

"Quaint isn't it?" Hugin commented, as he looked around. Octavia stopped right in front of the tavern. Two floors made up the place.

The Sweeping Pony? What kind of name is that? Octavia wondered.

Hugin took flight, as she entered, leaving her alone for the task. The inside of the bar was comfy, if a bit small, clearly built to accommodate a smaller population in a small town. A few tables were strewn across the room, while the bar was attended by a purple mare, who was cleaning a glass. A slight scent of alcohol and smoke invaded Octavia's nostrils.

"Hi! welcome to the Sweeping Pony. What can I serve you?" The mare asked, putting the glass back behind the bar. Octavia repressed a sigh, not wanting to inhale any more of the smell than she had to.

"No, thank you. My name is Octavia, And I come here in name of the princess to—"

"To check on my drinks, right? Sure, right this way!" The mare said, as she walked out of the tavern through a door besides the bar. Octavia followed, gladly walking out of the smelly bar.

"Octavia, eh? My name is Berry Punch. I own this place. Not as fancy as anything you have back in Canterlot, but I can assure you it’s just as good."

"I am sure it is." Octavia replied dryly, if only to not seem rude. Octavia's earlier relief was cut short, as they walked a set of stairs, entering a cellar filled with barrels and bottles, the entire room as big as the bar. The musky smell of the tavern was replaced with the itching sensation of dust.

"Here you have it. The best drinks you'll find in miles, all of it waiting for the party. Would you like a taste?" Berry said, as she opened a bottle. Octavia cringed a little at the powerful scent of scotch.

"No thank you, your word is enough." Octavia shooed away the mug that
Berry offered.

"Nonsense. Here, bottoms up!" Berry said, as she shoved the mug up Octavia's muzzle, forcing her to swallow the burning drink or drown, as she tried to pry the mug from her face. Berry smiled for a few seconds, before pulling the mug. Octavia gasped for air. Her throat burned. A lot.

"Too strong?" Berry asked, as Octavia began a coughing fit. "How about some wine to wash it down, eh?"
Octavia didn't even manage to squeak, before another mug was shoved in her face, more alcoholic drink pouring down her throat.

"Drink up! A friend of mine is always welcome to a free mug!" Berry crowed, as she served another mug. "In fact, I'm gonna drink some myself!"

Octavia popped the mug from her face with a loud pop. She could feel the world spinning, but not enough to not see her way out. The stairs proved to be a challenge, with a bruise as a reminder for the rest of the day.

"You're leaving already?" Berry said, her face full of cider foam." Well, nice meeting you! Hope to see you come for a drink later! Or two!" Berry called, as Octavia tripped out the door. Once outside, Octavia plopped against the wall of the tavern, trying get her bearings back. Wings fluttered, as Hugin landed besides her.

"So? How was it?"

A green looking Octavia tried to respond, but had to stop herself, before she puked all over him. It would take her a full ten minutes, before she was able to stand properly again. Hugin quickly jumped onto her back.

"Who is, bleugh, next?" She croaked. Hugin produced the list from his wings.

"Let's see … ." Hugin pulled out the list. "I believe decorations in the town hall. There should be a unicorn waiting for us."
Octavia sighed, feeling the last bits of nausea slowly fade from her body.

This was going to be a long day.

Author's Note

Why would Ponyville need a tavern? Nothing weird ever happens. Right?
I wanted to give other background ponies the chance of being elements. I noticed people always choose the same ponies. specially unicorns, yes, I'm talking about you Lyra, Trixie and Twilight. But that makes me a hypocrite I guess.
If the chapter seems different, it's because I added a few small things. Not much though.

It's loving time!

By now, the sun was hitting the town hard. Really hard. While that wouldn't matter much in a town of brightly colored ponies, it did matter to Octavia. Her dark gray coat and almost black mane absorbed all of the light instead of reflecting it, which meant that she was hotter than Tartarus. Her earlier drink hadn't help at all. Being an earth pony meant that she was resistant to the intoxicating effect of the alcohol, but it did nothing against the increased blood flow.

In other words, she was burning.

A lot.

"Maybe you should go back for a glass of water." Hugin said from her back.

"There is no way I am returning to that hole." Octavia snarked. "I'd rather walk back to Canterlot."
To Octavia's relief, the Town Hall was right at the center of Ponyville. Almost a contrast to the Sweeping Pony. Large, wooden and solid. It gave her a sense of class, as it reminded her of her home in Canterlot. Something told her that whichever unicorn was in charge here would be a nice unicorn. She could feel it.

"Well, this is where I leave for the moment. Don't want to spoil your meeting." Hugin said before flying away. Octavia ignored him. It really wouldn't have mattered if he stayed or not. Right now, she wanted to get this done. If she was lucky her gut feeling would be correct and this part would be over in a jiffy.

The inside hall was pretty classy for such a small town. A large, single room, with thick wooden pillars all crafted with exquisite detail. and finesse. Octavia would have marveled at the sight of the excellent woodcraft, if not for the fact that it was covered in sparkling pink hearts. Multicolored streamers and long bands of bright red and pink silk decorated the hall, all in a rather dramatic fashion. Octavia couldn't help but to feel rather smothered by the amount of color.

"Excuse me?" She called.

"Yes? Who's there?" A elegant voice asked. An beautiful mare walked out from between the bands. Her horn was of the purest white, just as her coat, while her pink mane was a work of art.

"Greetings. My name is Octavia, and I am here to inspect the decorations for the Mind-over-Matter celebration." Octavia explained, taking a look around her. "It seems to be going well."

"Oh yes. I have made my very best effort to show everypony my love for the celebration. A love that I hope everypony shares!" The mare said with a dramatic wave of her hoof.

"I'm afraid I don't understand miss -- ?"

"Fleur Dis Lee. Just call me Fleur. You see, I believe in love. Love between a husband and wife. Between two siblings. Between two friends."

"Um, okay? And what kind of … love are you trying to show here?" Octavia asked. Fleur smiled warmly.

"Why the love of knowledge, of course!" Fleur said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Just as we can express affection towards one another, we express feelings for what our minds are capable of. It's just natural."

Octavia smiled nervously. She was starting to get a little creeped out by this mare.

" -- Right. I think I shall be going now … ." She backed away a little. Fleur grabbed one of her hoofs.

"But Octavia! I'm afraid that you are not letting the emotion flourish inside of you! Even in the shortest of meetings, a connection is born as soon as they look at each other. Just like you and me now!" Fleur ranted as she gave a graceful twirl, her greater height allowing her to pull Octavia along before giving her a crushing hug.

"The love between two friends is something of incredible value and affection! Can you feel my love Octavia? Can you?"
The hearts sparkled with a small spell from Fleur. Octavia gagged a little from the mushy display of emotions. With a small struggle, she managed to free herself from the lovesick mare, emphasis on quick, and quickly left the Town hall, leaving Fleur to her romantic rants. Outside, the sun was still hitting hard, though slightly less than earlier.

"I take it everything went alright this time?" Hugin landed on her back.

"If by right you mean being smothered by a love-obsessed unicorn -- then yes. Everything went alright this time." Octavia answered.

"Great. Because we still have three more ponies to deal with." Hugin said." The next one is supposed to be at the bell tower."

"Which is right across town." Octavia sighed. She was starting to see a pattern here, designed specifically to annoy her. By now local ponies had noticed the strange mare that came from Canterlot, and were giving her odd looks every now and then. While it didn't really bothered her, being a musician and all, she'd rather have them ignore her for the moment.

"You are staying with me for this one." Octavia warned. Hugin rolled his eyes.
The bell tower was, well, a bell tower. There wasn't anything really particular about it, except for perhaps the bell itself, which seemed to be rather old in comparison to the rest of the tower. No windows nor any special design. Just a door at the base of the tower.

"The checklist said time marker. What kind of job is that?" Hugin asked.

"Probably keep track of the time and ring the bell when appropriate." Octavia knocked on the door of the tower. "The princess has always been keen on punctuality."

Light clicking noises could be heard from inside the tower, along with a light hammering. A couple of minutes passed with nopony answering the door. Octavia knocked again. The clicking stop, soon followed by hoofs descending stairs. The door opened, revealing a blue unicorn. Her two toned mane was dusty, as was her coat. A bag of screwdrivers and other tools hanged on her side. She didn't seem very pleased to have been interrupted.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Hello. My name is Octavia and I'm here to inspect the work on the time marker job." Octavia answered.

"Ah yes. I was told somepony was coming. Go on and take a look, but please do it quickly. I still need to work on it and time is of the essence." the mare said as she stepped inside, followed by Octavia. The inside was pretty simple, since the the tower was mostly hollow, except for a set of stairs that went all the way up to the the bell. Something was out of place though. A complicated mechanism was placed right under the bell. It was filled with cogs and chains, all placed in a rather complicated design, connected to the top of the bell by a sturdy looking rope.

"Thats quite a mechanism you have there." Hugin commented. As on cue, the whole thing gave a quick click, all the cogs and chains moving just an inch.

"Thats right. My own design. It'll ring the bell right on time, every time." Minuette explained. "Time that you two are cutting short, so if thats all, then I would like it if I could go back to work." And with that, she returned to working on the machine, using magic to manipulate her tools.

"Why the hurry? The celebration isn't supposed to start until three or four more hours." Hugin asked. Minuette sighed as if she had been asked the dumbest question the world.

"Fixing this will take me an hour, meanwhile the town getting ready will take two hours and forty minutes. Double checking everything will about another hour. There goes your four hours." Minuette went back to work. "I love making time for friends and chit chat, but right now, I need to focus on this. I'll be done on time, I promise. Then we can get to know each other more." she explained with a smile.

Octavia wanted to respond to her about her casual dismissal, but chose to swallow her words. She had a job to do, and wasting time on a rather pointless discussion would win her nothing.

"Well, that wasn't so bad. You're a pushover Octavia." Hugin chuckled as they walked away from the tower. Octavia rolled her eyes.

"You didn't see the other two. This mare was slightly weird. The ones I talked to were psychos." She shuddered at the memories. "I think I will never be able to look at a drink in the same way. Or hearts for that matter … ."

"Hearts?"

"You don't want to know."

Unbeknown to them, a short, brief pulse of magic passed through the sky. It was very faint. Only the most sensible of ponies would be able to sense it. But it was definitely there. Waiting. Planning.

The time was near.

Author's Note

I personally think I improved my writing as a whole with this chapter. Thoughts? Opinions?
Fleur de Liz and Minuette. Like them? Yes? No?

AuthorGenesis, I love you for helping here.

Oh ponyfeathers...

The afternoon was well received by Octavia. The heat of of the morning was slowly decreasing, the effects of the alcohol were vanishing, and she was down to two ponies left to inspect. All in all, the rough morning was starting to be forgotten. Maybe this day would end well after all.

"Just two more and then its all over." Octavia trotted through the street.

"Then what? You're just gonna lock yourself home and practice your cello?" Hugin said.

"Then I shall have a talk with the princess. A calm, peaceful and collected talk with the princess." She answered. "If I'm careful with my words, she will see that I am right, pull me out of here and give me an assignment that actually has something to do with my talent."

Hugin rolled his eyes. This was not going to end well. It was so predictable it was not even funny.

"Anyways, who is next?" She asked.

"Some pegasus in charge of cloud management." Hugin answered. "She is supposed to be somewhere around here."

Octavia looked towards the sky. A few clouds were there. Unmoving. Unchanged. Something was wrong here. Clouds during the day could mean a potential rain if left unchecked. The entire celebration would be ruined.

"How are we supposed to find a pegasus?" Hugin checked around. "She could be anywhere!"

"You can fly can you not? So fly!" Octavia tried flicking him from her back. Hugin simply landed back.

"I'm a crow, not a phoenix. There's no way I could look for a pegasus, let alone catch her."

Then they were in a tight spot. They needed to to speak to her, but she was nowhere in sight. Then they heard the giggle. It wasn't very loud, but it was there. Nopony was around them. Then it the giggle came again. From a tree. As Octavia approached it, she noticed something odd about it. There were a couple of loose light blue feathers between the branches.

Could it be?

"--excuse me?" Octavia called

A head popped out between the leaves. Big light-purple eyes stared at Octavia with a smile. A spiky mane topped her head.

"Hello there!"

"Hello." Octavia replied. "Are you the one in charge of the clouds for the celebration?"

"Yes I am. Cloudchaser at your service!"

The jovial tone of the pegasus was not matched by Octavia, but the stern look on her face was ignored by the pegasus.

"The sky needs to be cleared." Flitter looked at the sky.

"You're right, it does." Cloudchaser smiled. Octavia felt the earlier signs of a migraine start to surface. Did she have to spell it out to her? What was wrong with this mare?

"It’s your job."

"That it is." Cloudchaser blinked a couple of times. "Oh. Oh! Right! I'll get right on it!"

With a mighty flap of her wings, she set out to fulfill her duty. She wasn't exactly fast, but she knew her stuff. One by one, she started gathering the clouds together, mashing them together in a dark mess. The sky was clear from any cloud. Cloudchaser stood proudly over her hoofwork.

"There! All done." she cheered. "The sky is clear and the clouds are gone."

"That doesn't look very safe ... ." Hugin noted as a brief flash of lightning surged flashed through the cloud. A scared cricket jumped across the grass.

"What was that?!" Cloudchaser jumped of the cloud. The pressure took its toll on the small piece of storm, and lightning shot forth, zapping Hugin and, by extension, Octavia, all but frying them. Cloudchaser poked the cricket with a goofy smile before noticing the crispy smell around.

"Who's a pretty cricket, yes you are!, Yes you are!"

"Could you please stop cooing that cricket … ."

The growl was enough to snap Cloudchaser back into attention. The sight of a scorched pony, with her even more scorched companion on her back, greeted her.

"Wow." Cloudchaser said. "What happened to you two?" Octavia's headache had exploded into a full size migraine. She bit her lip, swallowing the rising urge to scream in rage.

"Where … ." She growled. "Can I find the pony in charge of-of the animals … ?"

"Thats my sister you're talking about. Flitter should be near the market." Cloudchaser pointed a hoof on the direction. "Though you might want to clean yourself up first a little. A clean friend is a good friend. Here!" Octavia didn't even manage to hold her breath before the pegasus dumped the water of the cloud over her.

"There. All better."

Octavia had to lift her drenched mane with her hoof to see where she was going. Once she was far enough from Cloudchaser, she shook off the water, taking some afterwards to fix her mane. Her bow tie was, however, still wet, making it rather uncomfortable to wear, given that it was both wet and slightly scorched. Hugin had flown around her, flapping his wing as hard as he could in order to shake off the water from his feathers.

"Okay. I think I see what you meant earlier." He commented as he landed on her back. Octavia strutted through the market, already filled with merchants and stores. Prices were being set, offers were being made. No time was being wasted in preparation for the celebration. Right at the other end of the market zone, she could see a light purple pony fluttering around, chasing after some papers.
Her cutie mark were three butterflies. Her head was topped with a red bow.

Lets get this over with. Octavia thought, walking towards the pegasus, who was still trying grab the last paper.

"Oh dear, oh dear … ." she kept muttering.

"Excuse me … ." Octavia started. "Are you Flitter?"

"Just a minute please!" Flitter grabbed the final page, adding to the others. "Gotcha! Now, what can I do for you?" she cheerfully asked.

"Are you the one in charge of the animals?"

"Why yes I am! They're right this way." Fitter lead Octavia away. So far, so good.

"Better not build my hopes up … ."

The walk was thankfully short. Flitter had all the animals placed together in small corral right outside the town. Pigs, chickens and a couple of sheep were there, peacefully munching on what they could find.

"They're all accounted for." Flitter said proudly as landed right besides the fence. "Took a while to round them up, but I managed."

"Well. Good to know it is going well." Octavia decide, wanting to leave before disaster struck. "I believe I shall go now."

"Of course! No problemo. You just-" Munch, munch. "Hey, no, let go you stupid sheep!"

One of the sheep had started chewing on one of the loose pages that Flitter held in her legs. Flitter jumped over, trying to pry the paper from the mouth of the animal.

"Let. Go!" Flitter pulled harder and harder, but the sheep would not be denied of her improvised lunch, even if it did taste a bit funny. It didn't take long before the inevitable happened. Flitter was sent flying back as the paper ripped, crashing into the gate of the fence. The commotion sent all the animals in a wild fright out of the corral. And Octavia was right in the middle of their path.

"Of course … ." She snarked before being trampled by a stampede of pigs, sheep, goats and chickens. Hugin could only watch as the dust slowly settled, revealing a completely frazzled Octavia. Her mane was a mess. Her bow tie was a mess. She was a mess. A mess that groggily stood on her legs.

"Oh my Luna!" Flitter ran to check on her. "Are you alright?! Are you hurt?! I'm sorry! I'll find them! I won’t let a friend down!" And with that, she set off in pursue of the escapees. Meanwhile, Octavia stood still, trying to get her bearings together.

"What-what just happened?"

"I believe you got trampled Octavia." Hugin said as he landed besides her.

“It was rhetorical." Octavia fixed her bow tie before finally taking a deep breath. Hugin jumped on her back, careful not to dig his claws into her.

"Well, at least we finished the checklist. I say we rest a bit." Hugin produced the checklist one more time."The princess added the address of the place where we are staying. Go that way."

Octavia's hooves echoed as she slowly walked through the town. She was tired. She had been forced fed, smothered, ignored, burnt, drenched and flattened on the ground. Her body was sore and her mind was exhausted. All she wanted right now was to lock herself away from the world and place a big stop sign on the door.

"Here we are."

"A giant tree." Octavia approached the door of what was, indeed, a large, thick and healthy tree. "Why am I not surprised." She pushed the door. The inside was filled with unorganized piles of books. All of them messy. All of them dusty. Even the second floor was covered in piles!

"A library -- only the princess would send me to live in a library." She kicked the door shut. The impact made a book fall square on her head.

"Arg! In the name of Celestia, can anything else go wrong today?!" She shouted. The book had fallen open right in front of her, as if it wanted to be read by her.

"What is this … ." She gazed on the old pages. "Elements of harmony -- I read this book yesterday!"

Frustration reached a breaking point inside of her. Octavia picked the book with her mouth, threw it in the air and bucked it was hard as she could, sending it flying out the window.

"The princess would have a fit if she had seen you doing that." Hugin explored the library.

"Well, she's not here right now." Octavia climbed the stairs. "She's in Canterlot while I'm stuck in a library."

Maybe she would have more than a calm words with princess once she arrived in Ponyville.

Author's Note

No farmer in my story. GASP

He who howls and rages.

Octavia sipped some tea that she found some after rummaging for an hour in the mostly empty library. Not Earl Gray, mind you. The sun goddess forbid that she actually found anything tasty. Just the generic, mass produced swill that the common ponies passed off as tea. But tea was tea, and after the day she had, any tea was better than no tea at all.

"You know, we've been here for two hours. Don't you think its time we go out and find the princess?" Hugin landed on table right in front of her. Octavia took another sip. The teas wasn't that bad, if you you ignored the raw acid feeling it gave you.

"The princess should be on her way … ."

Maybe if she added some sugar? Or some lemon? Or maybe both? Would it work with some cinnamon?

"Octavia … ."

"No." Octavia set down her cup. "I will not leave until the princess has arrived in the town." She glared at the crow. "I've had enough misfortune for one day."

"Don't you think you're being a bit harsh? They were only doing their jobs."

"I don't consider electrocuting ponies a job … ."

Hugin winced at that. He could still feel his wing a bit numb from the zapping. Octavia lit a couple of candles. It had gotten surprisingly dark for a summer. The sun went down early this time.

"Look. I don't want to be here either. I really don't." Hugin said. "But don't you think it will impress the princess a little bit, if you actually mingle for a bit? You might help yourself doing it."

Octavia pondered his words. He did have a point, whether she liked to admit it or not. The princess would really like if she mingled for a bit. But if she took too long, it would seem as if she was enjoying it. And that would give the princess the wrong idea. She made a decision.

"Alright. Lets go out for a while." Octavia walked to the door. "But only until the princess gets here. After that, we go to her immediately."

Even with the early sunset, the town was in full activity. Ponies walked, trotted and ran everywhere. Friends, family, lovers. All of them enjoying the celebration. A particularly affectionate couple walked in front of her, blushing and whispering sweet nothings to each other. It seems that somepony would get lucky tonight.

"All these ponies are so enthusiastic about the celebration." Hugin commented from her back. "No wonder the princess chose Ponyville to hold it this year."

"If that would be the case, why not Manehattan, or Fillydelphia? Those two are also quite lively around this date." Octavia replied. The last rays of the sun disappeared, making the lamp posts the only source of illumination, though it was long before candles were lit all over the place, allowing Octavia to check upon the different activities that were prepared for the night, all of them somehow related to the intellectual side of life, such as Guess the Spell, Equestrian Trivia and the ever popular contest of hoof made art. The last one was perhaps the least related to the whole festivity, but it was Octavia's favorite.

After all, she made art with her hooves.

"I would like to see the show." she asked the owner, who led her in front of a small stage where three tables had been set. To her surprise, the participants was none other than Minuette and Berry Punch.

"Hey Octavia! Here to watch?" Berry asked as she placed a large jug of punch on her table. The sight of it brought a small sense of nausea to Octavia. Minuette brought out a rather fancy sand clock, complete with a self-turning mechanism.

"I thought it was supposed to be hoof made." A voice called from the crowd. Octavia could recognized the elegant voice of Fleur. In fact, the tall unicorn rather stood out from the rest of the ponies.

"It is hoof made." Minuette answered. "Just because I'm a unicorn doesn't mean I don't know how to use my hooves."

Granted, that was new for Octavia. In her experience, unicorns tended to sacrifice hoof work in exchange for skills with magic. It was rare to see a unicorn use their limbs for work.

"Check it out sis! A competition!"

Two very recognizable pegasus dropped in front of the crow. Octavia didn't have to make much effort in remembering them. Cloudchaser and Flitter stared intently, awaiting for something interesting to happen.

"What are the odds of the five ponies we met, meeting in a single spot?" Hugin asked Octavia. Meanwhile, the judge started inspecting the sand clock. It wasn't long before he moved on the jug of punch.

"Thirsty? Have a sip." Berry offered.

"May I have some?"

The faces of the entire population of Ponyville looked to the sky in shock, as their ruler, Princess Twilight, descended from the heavens, landing right in front of the crowd. All of the ponies bowed down, from Minuette, to Berry, from the twins to Fleur. All of them except one. Octavia trotted to her teacher. Hugin was on her back.

"Good evening Octavia! Are we too late?" She asked cheerfully. Octavia, for all her frustration with her, couldn't help but to smile back. The princess always managed to put anypony in a good mood.

"No princess. You are just in time. Hugin and I have finished with preparations."

"Excellent! Don't want be tardy now? So where are your friends?" the princess fluttered her wings. The smile disappeared from Octavia's face.

"My friends. Well, we need to talk about that." Octavia took a step forward. "It is rather important. I believe my task has been completed and I would like to return to Canterlot."

The princess didn't say anything for a few seconds. Octavia could swear that the eyes of the princess went misty for an instant, suddenly appearing very tired, but it soon vanished. Her mentor gave a long tired sigh.

"Tell you what … ." The princess smiled. "Let me do the ceremonial speech. Then we'll talk about this — situation."

"Eh … ." Octavia was unsure how to answer, given the earlier image that she had had. "Sure. Thank you princess." And with that, her mentor flew off towards the Town Hall, where a podium was already set for her. Octavia hesitated before a small prick on her back brought her back to reality. Hugin was getting impatient. Blasted bird.

"We need to get going Octavia."

Silently, the mare walked with crowd, soon arriving in front of the hall. Murmurs and whispers were heard before the princess shushed them with a flap of her wings, at which point, all of the town paid close attention to her.

"Ponyville — My little ponies." Princess Twilight started. "Nearly a thousand years ago, destruction and hatred threatened this land. The monster known as Warlock Stallion, my own brother, swore to bring upon us an age of war and despair … ."

A minuscule red light flickered above the crowd, too high for anypony to notice. The princess carried on with her speech.

"His power was great. His anger, unmatched. No matter what we did, he would simply plow through. No force could rival his power. Not the dragons, not the soldiers, not even I myself." The last part elicited a quiet gasp from the crowd.

"All seemed lost. Until, through careful research and dedication, the Elements of Harmony were discovered. Powered by the love, trust, and friendship of this land, the elements overpowered this monster, and vanished him to the stars … ." The princess pointed a wing towards the beautiful night sky. Octavia barely noticed when Cloudchaser landed besides her.

"She's something isn't she?" She asked. Octavia didn't answer.

"Since then, harmony and peace have reigned upon the land, all thanks to the ponies who, many centuries ago, dedicated themselves to gather this power, and allow me to best my foe, and punish my brother for his actions."

Octavia stared intently. She was completely focused on the princess, on her words. On her graceful form. On the red light that was slowly floating right above her, as high as the town hall. What was that?

"Today, we honor the lives of the ponies who, through their investigation, their dedication and their loyalty, allowed me to harness this power, for it was thank to them that this golden era, arrived. An era of harmony, friendship and peace!"

"No!"

The entire town went silent as the voice echoed through the town square. Not two seconds later, a mighty beam of pure magical energy impacted the princess, sending her crashing through the wooden floor. Octavia could feel the heat all the way from where she stood.

"Princess!"

Ponies cowered, ran, or fell flat on their haunches as the smoke dissipated. From the smoke, a loud beating of wings echoed, blowing the dust away. Octavia was frozen in horror and concern as a mighty figure stood before them. Blood red in color, his purple mane flowed like blood gushing from a wound. His horn was as sharp as blade, while his muscles were visibly strong enough to shatter steel. His hammer and sword cutie mark represented the nature of the monster who had arrived.

"I," the stallion landed right in front of the crowd, "am the Warlock Stallion!"

Octavia couldn't move a muscle. She was petrified!

"And I have come to wage eternal war!"

Author's Note

Oh boy...

Adventure Time.

The next ten minutes of Octavia's life were a blur. One minute, she was hearing the emotional speech of her beloved mentor. The next, she was running for her life from Warlock Stallion, a monster that was supposed to be a legend. How crazy could life get in just ten minutes?

"Octavia! Where are you going?!" Hugin shrieked beside her. If she wasn't running at the moment, she would have said the library. But now it was not the time for giving answers. Right now, she needed answers. And given the circumstances, there was only one source of information that could be trusted.

"Hugin, find that book! Now!"

"The harmony tome?" Hugin flew above her.

"Yes! That one!"

Unfortunately for her, it was dark. The only light was the moon, which, as beautiful as it might be, provided little help when most of its light was blocked by the leaves and branches of the library. Why did the book have to have a dark leather cover!? Who even uses leather these days!? No matter how hard Octavia tried, the tome was nowhere to be found. It was as if it had vanished. Where the hay was it!?

"Looking for this?"

Octavia whirled to face the voice. Minuette was holding the book with her magic. With her were Fleur, Berry, Flitter and Cloudchaser. What were they doing here? Octavia quickly regained her composure. She couldn't appear weak now. Not in front of them.

"Yes. I am." Octavia moved to grab the book. "I will just grab it and-"

Minuette moved the book away from her hoof. Octavia frowned.

"I really need that book."

"We need answers," Minuette said. "I'll give you the book if you give them."

Octavia's frown deepened for a while before she sighed in defeat. If the earlier experiences today were any indication, she was not going have her way, especially with these ponies.

"Let us go inside."

The library was still mess. In fact, if the circumstances were different, Octavia could swear that the books were even more messy now than before. Pushing a book and some scrolls off from the table, she placed the tome on it, quickly flipping through the pages.

"Well?" Berry asked. Octavia flipped a couple more pages before stopping.

"Before I came to Ponyville, the princess sent me this book to read." She stepped aside, letting everypony see. "It has all the information about the Warlock Stallion and the method used to stop him." Octavia explained.

"The princess gave you a present? Cool!" Cloudchaser exclaimed. Octavia ignored her for the moment.

"According to this book, the elements are located in the ruins of the old castle where the princess lived. They and they alone can defeat him." Octavia continued.

"And you are going to look for them? All by yourself?" Fleur asked worriedly. Octavia closed the book.

"The princess and I — argued. I said some things I should not have." She walked to the door. "I have to save her and apologize no matter what."

"We're coming with you." Flitter hovered in front of her, blocking her path.

"I can not have you dragged into this. It is gonna be dangerous." Octavia tried moving beside her. " I will not risk your lives for this."

"Dangerous?" Berry laughed as she walked besides Flitter. "I'm a bartender. I know dangerous. Besides, this Warlock guy is threatening my tavern!"

"We all have something at risk here Octavia." Fleur joined Berry and Flitter. "I love this town. And I will not let somepony as cruel as that monster burn it to ashes."

"Right! What she said!" Cloudchaser said above them. Octavia was about to move past them when Minuette stood directly in front of her.

"Look. We're coming with you, whether you like it or not." she said sternly. "You can either stay and waste time arguing with us, or we can get moving and stop this guy."

Octavia tried to appear intimidating enough to scare them off. The lack of movement proved that it wasn't working. This was not going to be easy. Not at all.

"Fine." She groaned. "Hugin, I want you to look for the princess. She needs to know what I am up to." Hugin nodded before flying out the window and into the night. Octavia silently wished him good luck before turning to the ponies in front of her. Time to get this started.

"Let us go." She opened the door. "Where is the Everfree forest?"

Meanwhile, in the town hall, Princess Twilight did her best to ignore the pain that ran through her entire body. She was suspended in the air, magical chains bounding her legs. The Warlock Stallion paced around her like a watchdog.

"It has been a very long time sister." He growled. "Have you thought about me? About the treason you committed against me?"

"I — I had to … ." Twilight croaked.

"Had to? Did it include sealing me for a thousand years In the stars?" Twilight shivered as he circled around her, like a beast stalking its prey. She couldn't break. Not now. Not in front of him.

"You were going to ravish the world!"

"I was doing what I was supposed to do!" He shouted. "Defend Equestria!"

"By initiating a world war?!" Twilight spat. "Sounds more like an excuse to kill ponies to me." The Warlock Stallion slapped her. The slap echoed through the entire hall, now devoid of all decorations. He had burned them to the ground the second he entered.

"The only way to survive is to take the fight to the enemy. Kill them before they kill you. Thats how the world works!"

"Times have changed brother … ." Twilight groaned. "That world ended centuries ago."

The Warlock Stallion grinned, thought it could better be described as flashing teeth. Razor sharp teeth.

"Then I will just bring it back into existence." He walked to the door. "And your little pet will be the spark."

"My pet?" Realization hit her like a freight train. "No! Don't you dare touch her! Leave her out of this! Or I will-"

"Or you will what? Banish me for another thousand years?" He laughed cruelly. "Just hang tight sister. I'll be back soon." And with that he flashed out of her sight, leaving the princess alone. Twilight felt bitter tears run down her face.

"Octavia … ." She silently cried. "Please be safe … ."

Said earth pony stood at the entrance to the forest. The dark woods were menacing and visibly dangerous. But she was undaunted. Mostly because she, like most of the population, was completely unfamiliar with the reputation of the place. To her knowledge, it was just large forest, one that you could easily get lost inside. To the ponies accompanying her, it was a place of danger, death and creatures that ate ponies for breakfast.

Not like she really cared. She had a job to do, and she was going to do it right.

"Are — are you sure its here?" Flitter asked.

"The book said Everfree forest, so it has to be here." Octavia looked back at them. "This your last chance to turn around."

"No way. You have no idea what kind of monsters live there. You need a guide, and what better guide than a fellow earth pony?" Berry placed a hoof over her.

"There's no way I'll let somepony like you waltz inside." Minuette said. "You might snap your bow tie." Fleur, Flitter and Cloudchaser followed their examples, ready to begin the adventure. Octavia smiled to herself a little. While she really didn't want them around and get themselves killed, the company did make her a little more confident in herself.

"Alright then." She walked inside the woods. "Let us go."

Author's Note

I think this one was the worst written one before my editor came in.

I love english. I wished it was my first language.

Crash. Snap.

Even if it had been day time, even with the sun shining with all its strength, Octavia doubted that the forest would have more light. The branches intertwined as if they had a life of their own, and their leaves were as large as a full musical sheet of paper. The light of the moon was barely enough to see the path before them. Flitter and Cloudchaser even had to stop flying since they would keep hitting the branches above them.

"They should call this the Everdark forest." Cloudchaser tripped on a rock."I can't see anything."

Octavia leaded the group, or at least she tried. The ponies behind her weren't exactly going at her pace, forcing her to slow down to wait for them.

"I would suggest we move faster. The elements cannot be that far." Octavia said. "Has any of you been in this forest before?" Nopony said yes, much to her surprise. "You live right besides it and you have never been inside?" Octavia asked incredulous. The group gave awkward glances between themselves for a minute.

"Octavia, what do you know of the forest?" Minuette asked back.

"That it is one of the biggest green areas of Equestria, and that it is a rather dangerous place." The earth pony answered. "Other than that, not much. Why?"

"No wonder you were so eager." Berry laughed. "You don't know about the monsters, or the giant pony eating plants, or the large fenrir wolf that roams the place."

"But the fenrir wolf is not real. That’s just a rumor that somepony made up to scare newcomers. Why would you believe that anyway?" Minuette said.

"Minuette, I'm a bartender. I have seen and heard some things that you wouldn't even believe in your wildest dreams."

The path eventually took a downhill way between two large walls of rock. The path had thinned so much that the group was forced to walk in a line, with Octavia at the lead and Flitter at the end.

"Wow — I knew the forest was uneven, but this is amazing." Fleur said.

"These two rocks are known as the Forest's Gate. It gets dangerous past this point." Minuette explained. "We should be careful."

Unbeknownst to them, a reddish mist floated at the very top of the cliffs, watching as the six ponies walked along the path. With almost wicked glee, the mist entered through the cracks on the walls, vibrating inside the rock, slowly loosening the rocks and boulders in the walls.

Meanwhile, down below, the six ponies walked along, oblivious to the impending danger, at least until a loud rumble caught their attention.

"What is that?" Octavia asked. The rumbling increased.

"I don't know. Its sounds like a … ." Berry looked up "ROCKSLIDE!"

The six of them ran for their lives as boulders and rocks began falling around them. The thin road gave them little space to dodge to the side. Octavia ran as fast as she could, but the path and the rocks were unforgiving, and soon, a large boulder crashed on top of her, or would have, had Flitter not zoomed above her, pulling her of danger. With surprising skill, Flitter dodged all of the falling rocks, careful to not hit them with the pony in her hooves.

"Flitter, look out!" Octavia shouted. Flitter barely managed to react to the long boulder that was about to fall on top of them. She flapped her wings harder, pulling up between the rocks. After a few close calls, she managed to fly out of the gorge and danger.

"Sis! Over here!"

Flitter gently flew down, landing both herself and Octavia besides the rest of the group, who had managed to run past the rocks once Octavia and Flitter had cleared out of the way.

"Flitter, that was amazing!" Berry greeted. Octavia gathered her bearings for a few minutes, trying to understand what had just happened.

"You … ." She stood up, staring at Flitter. "You saved my life. Just like that."

"Well, you were in danger." Flitter panted. "And for a friend in need, I'm willing to give my all."

Octavia tried to come up with something else to say, but the group was already starting to move on, as if what Flitter had done was something natural. She sighed once more before joining them, once more taking the lead. None of them noticed the mist that oozed out of the rocks.

The path took them out of the gorge and back into trees. Once again, any light from the moon was heavily covered and diminished by the branches of the trees.

"I can see why nopony has any love for this forest. It is dreadful to just be here." Fleur noted. "Even the trees look menacing."

"You said it sister — I wouldn't be caught dead in here unless it was an emergency like this one." Berry said. The trees began growing larger and larger, soon growing to be nearly the size of a house. The increased room was a welcomed change from the narrow path between the cliffs.

"I bet the elements will be hidden or under some sort of secret test. It’s always like that." Cloudchaser complained.

"What makes you say that?" Minuette asked.

"Well, it’s just thats how it always happens in the novels you know? The treasure is always hidden away. Its one of the most common cliches in history."

"Cloudchaser, how dare you say that?" Fleur replied. "As a professional writer, I cannot let such a statement go by. A novel is just that, a novel, not reality, and even then, it’s not always like that. You shouldn't read cheap paperback stories."

"You are a writer?" Octavia asked.

"Indeed I am. I write a lot of things, and not just books!"

Meanwhile, above their heads, the mist placed itself between the large trees that surrounded them. Two large tendrils extended from it, both sharp as blades. In a swift motion, the tendrils slashed the top of the trees that surrounded them. The tree tops began falling one by one, all of them above the heads of our little ponies.

"I write reviews, letters, do proofreading … ."

The two mares didn't even see the falling wood until it was too late. The tops fell around them, smashing together in one big mess, missing the rest by a hairs breath. Octavia and Fleur huddled together as much as possible, doing their best to stay clear from the wood. The disaster soon ended, but the damage was done.

Octavia was trapped, while Fleur had her tail completely tangled with a branch

"How did this even happened!?" Barry asked as she tried in vain to pull a few logs away.

"There's no way to get her out from above." Cloudchaser landed on top of the mess. It was covered in branches.

"But, that means she is trapped!" Fleur said, trying to pull the branch from her tail. "What do we do?!"

Octavia moved around the small cage. There was no way she would be able to push the logs, and the branches above her were just out of reach. No matter which way she looked at it, she was indeed trapped. A sense of defeat started crawling inside of her. A small thought popped in her head as she heard the other ponies outside. She didn't want to do this. She really didn't want to do this. But she had no choice.

The Warlock Stallion had to be stopped.

"Girls!" She shouted from inside the wooden cage. "You have to go on without me!"

"What!?" The twins asked.

"What are you talking about!?" Berry shouted. Fleur and Minuette were no different.

"Listen. The Warlock Stallion has to be stopped no matter what. Go and find the elements! It is the only way!"

"But, what about you?" Fleur asked.

"I'll be fine. Doing this is more important. You can get me out on the way back. Now hurry."

"But-" Flitter started. But Octavia interrupted her.

"Go!"

Reluctantly and one by one, four ponies started walking away, their walk slow and unsure. But one of them didn't move. One of them refused to accept this. And she was going to change it no matter what.

"No." Minuette said firmly. The other four stopped on their tracks.

"What do you mean no!?" Octavia shouted. "You have to go now! Time is wasting!"

"We are not leaving you behind Octavia. Either we all do this or we don't do this at all." Minuette answered. "Cloudchaser, get me on top of the trap."

Cloudchaser did as told, grabbing Minuette and hovering above the wooden mess. Minuette stared intently at the branches. She was a clockmaker, which meant one thing: A nearly flawless ability to spot weak spots in constructs. With her magic, Minuette focused on four key spots, breaking them with a powerful spell.

"Now, Flitter, Fleur, lift the branches up."

The two mares did as asked, throwing the wood away. Berry climbed to the edge and helped Octavia out of the trap. Cloudchaser dropped Minuette with the rest before landing herself.

"Thank — Thank you Minuette." Octavia said. Minuette smiled.

"It was nothing. How could I ever leave a friend behind?" Minuette then turned to the road. "We should get moving. Something tells me staying still is a bad idea."

And she couldn't have been more right, for as they resumed their quest, the dark red mist cursed its luck before moving on to follow the ponies.

It had to stop them no matter what.

Author's Note

Mist with wood cutting tentacles.

Rule of cool anyone?

I trust you.

After the tree incident, the walk had been without any major issue for a while. A welcome respite after two close encounters.

"Why do I get the feeling that something doesn't want us to get there?" Cloudchaser asked.

"Oh really? What gave you that idea, the thing that dropped a mountain on us, or tried to make an impromptu bird cage with giant trees?" Berry replied.

"No need to be sarcastic Berry. This is like a story, and any good story needs some manner of conflict. If we are are to be proper protagonists, then we have to be ready for whatever we may encounter." Fleur said. The trees had returned to their normal size, which in turn brought a bit more of light into the area, something that Octavia was thankful for. Between rocks and falling trees, a nice calm walk was rather enjoyable, given their circumstances.

"I wonder what it was..." Minuette said.

"Who knows? Maybe the Warlock Stallion, since we're trying to stop him and all that." Berry said. "That guy should relax a bit, you know? Maybe a little drink will help."

"Alcohol acts as a emotional stimulant. If the legends are true and he's filled with rage, then giving him a drink will not help." the blue unicorn retorted. Berry frowned in response.

"Fun killer."

"Why is he so mad anyways?" Flitter asked.

"According to the legend, he grew embittered with his sister, to the point where he couldn't think of anything else but bloodshed. His original duty of protecting the land became an excuse for war mongering." Octavia explained. "The princess had no choice but to banish him and take over his duties, lest he brought an era of violence."

"You know your mythology." Fleur commented.

"The princess used to tell me the story before putting me to bed when I was little."

"You two must be close then. Quite an envy I have to say."

"Not really ..." Octavia mumbled quietly.

The forest slowly grew quieter. The crickets calmed down and the branches above stop hitting each other as the wind stopped. The six ponies walked, undaunted and unafraid. But not for long, if a certain mist had anything to say about it. With its evil powers, it grew in size and density, morphing and changing shapes, slowly descended upon the unsuspecting ponies.

"They should close this forest." Berry said. "Or at least put some signs around, I mean, just look at this place! Its like they want somepony to get injured. I bet that its because they want their insurance money, or something like that."

"Why would they want their insurance money? Who are you even talking about?" Minuette replied.

"The government of course! You know, all those public hospitals cost money and stuff. An extra bit never comes too soon."

"Are you saying that the princess is corrupt?" Flitter asked. Octavia perked her ears at that one.

"No! The princess is the purest being on the land! I'm talking about the health department. Those guys couldn't get their hooves away from their money even if they tried." Berry grumbled. Octavia couldn't help but to smile a little at the conversation. But her attention was quickly diverted as she felt the air around her grow dense and sluggish. It was if they were walking on mud!

"What … what’s going on?" Fleur said as she barely managed to give a step forwards. The air around them went from the dark green of the forest to a dark red mist. The six mares slowly backed against each other as the mist began to get filled with monsters and visions, all too real to ignore.

"Look out!" Flitter pulled Cloudchaser from the claw that was about to cleave her head off. A large, bear-like figure stood before them, snarling and growling like the wild animal it was. Its claws were sharper than a knife and were as pointy as needles. And he wasn't the only one. Monster of all kinds, each worse than the last, surrounded the group. Snarls, growls and wrath-filled barks surrounded them.

"What are we gonna do?! We can't fight them!" Berry exclaimed. The monsters slow encroachment made the group huddle together.

Octavia's eye darted from monster to monster, widening in fear at the monstrosities in front of them. The red mist around them only served to make them even more scarier. Her mind was paralyzed with fear and disgust as one of the creatures, a large slimy slug with spikes all over its, puked some acid on the floor.

"We can't do this, I can't do this ... I can't, I can't, I can't ..." She mumbled, nearly stumbling backwards. The rest weren't any different, being just as scared as her. Minuette and Berry were holding each other in fright, while Flitter tried hiding behind Fleur, and Cloudchaser was ...

"C-Cloudchaser what are you doing!? Get away from them!"

Cloudchaser sat in front of the bear monster. The creature was snarling in her face, saliva and blood dripping from its fangs. Cloudchaser cocked her head sideways, confusion edged on her face. He carefully poked the nose of the monster with her hoof, making him sneeze a bit.

"How can you eat with those teeth?" Cloudchaser asked, pointing at the jagged fangs of the bear monster. The monsters stopped their advance, focusing their sights on the bear, who now seemed very self conscious. Cloudchaser poked his claws.

"And what’s with the claws? They're so hooked you can't scratch anything. What are you? A sloth?"

"Cloudchaser, get away from him!" Flitter shouted. "He's going to eat you!"

"Not with at those teeth. Where did the blood even come from?" Cloudchaser chuckled. "Wait, wait, look at the snail one. How does it enter the shell!?" she laughed harder.

"How can you be laughing at a moment like this!?" Minuette asked.

"How can you be scared? They're ridiculous! Look at them!" Cloudchaser was outright laughing now. The giant bear rubbed his claws together in a shy position while a needle fanged wolf tried to hide its teeth from the ponies.

"You know … they are kinda funny ..." Berry snickered before bursting out laughing as the snail monster tried in vain to hide inside its shell. Soon enough, all six mares were laughing their faces off, the now obvious absurdity of the creatures having dissipated their fears, infected by Cloudchaser's simple humor. Octavia tried resisting the urge for a little while, but soon surrendered to the infectious laughs of the ponies around her. The monsters backed away, blushing and humiliated.

"Wow ..." Fleur said. "I guess we all needed a good laugh."

"You said it sister ..." Berry added as she got up. "Hey. We can move again!"

Octavia stood up and indeed they were free. In fact, she almost felt like she was flying after being moving at the speed of molasses. Flitter and Cloudchaser extended their wings, stretching the muscles and getting rid of any lying stiffness.

"It feels wonderful to be out of that mist thing, wouldn't you agree?" Fleur asked as they continued on their journey.

"I'm just glad those monsters backed off. Who knew they were so self conscious?" Berry answered.

"Why weren't you scared Cloudy?" Flitter asked. "Didn't you see how scary they were?"

"Who was scary?"

"The monsters!"

"What monsters?" Cloudchaser asked innocently. It was then that it dawn on Octavia. It wasn't that Cloudchaser had been brave or that she hadn't seen the monsters. What they had seen as monsters, Cloudchaser had seen as laughable creatures. She hadn't focused on what scared her, but what entertained her.

Score one for attention deficit.

"So anyways, how close are we to the ruins? We've got to be almost there." Berry said.

"I wouldn't mind getting out of this forest as well." Minuette added. "We've lost enough time as it is."

"Well ..." Octavia glanced around, as if searching for some kind of sign. "The book said that the ruins were close to Ponyville and that the forest would start to act weird as we approached the place."

"You mean weirder than it already is?" Minuette snarked. "With all thats happened, I doubt we would recognize weird if it bit us."

"Have a little hope Minuette. I'm sure we are almost there." Berry said. "Right Octavia?"

"Eh, sure ..." Octavia answered. The group closed in on her as she finished her response.

"You don't sound very confident." Minuette said. "Do you really know were we are going?"

"I … of course I do." Octavia said. Minuette didn't seem very convinced.

"I hope so. I don't want t be stuck in this forest any longer." Flitter added. Octavia gulped.

"Oh dear, that would be dreadful. Where are we now Octavia?" Fleur asked.

"Yes Octavia, where are we?" Minuette repeated the question. Octavia stammered, trying to get an answer. The five ponies in front of her stared at her, patiently waiting for an answer and making the poor earth pony more and more nervous. Octavia started to breath quickly, her mind completely blank.

"Hey, easy girls, cut her some slack." Berry said, placing a hoof around Octavia. "We're all kinda tense right now, what with the whole eternal bloodshed thing, but Octavia had the idea in the first place, and if she says that she knows what she's doing, then I trust her."

"You … you really do?" Octavia asked.

"Of course I do!" Berry smiled. "Would I lie to you? We've gotten here so far, and part of it is thanks to you, so you at least know what you're doing. I trust you Octavia. I think we all do. After all, why wouldn't I trust you?"

Octavia was stunned at the answer. Truth was that she didn't know where they were. She was following the instructions of an old book that was probably very outdated and misinformed. And yet, here they were, following her in some wild goose chase. A warm feeling filled her heart.

"Well I ... I mean ..." she stammered. "Thanks for trusting me."

"Sure, no problem. Now girls, what do you say we go and kick some warlock flank?"

Author's Note

Just a little bit more chapters and episode 1 is done.

This is it!

Octavia smiled briefly as they walked by the last tree. The forest had been thinning for a while now, letting more and more moonlight fall upon them. A breeze flowed between them. It was cool and it smelled nice, calming their minds after all the hardship. The road had just ended, leaving them in front of a deep chasm. Fog pooled below, making the bottom all but invisible. To make things even better, the only way to cross it was an old bridge

A very old and visibly rotten bridge.

Octavia stopped smiling.

"Well ..." Berry tapped on the first plank of the bridge, making it creak loudly. "I guess we're just gonna have to cross it."

"Why don't Flitter and Cloudchaser fly us to the other side?" Fleur asked.

"We're not that strong. I barely managed to lift Octavia up back when the rocks were falling."

"So you two get to fly while the rest of us have to walk the bridge." Berry chuckled. "Terrific."

Minuette lifted a rock with magic, throwing it into the chasm. Everything was silent for nearly thirty seconds until a very soft splashing sound reached them.

"At least there's water at the bottom. Even if we do fall, we'll survive." five stares were directed at her. "Although in a lot pain."

Octavia started walking on the bridge, strutting carefully. Her confident walk was soon interrupted as she stumbled with a plank that was out of place. The rotten piece of wood broke, falling into the abyss below them. The entire group held their breath as Octavia slowly got up, carefully pulling her leg from the hole it had fallen through. Berry walked through the bridge, followed by Fleur and Minuette, slowly walking over the planks.

"Okay … if there's anytime for something bad to happen, this would definitely be the worst." Berry said.

"You shouldn't tempt fate." Fleur said from the behind her.

"Oh really? What’s it gonna do?" Berry scoffed. A loud snap echoed through the chasm. The entire bridge vibrated as one of the ropes started thinning and breaking. A couple planks fell from the sudden shake. The four ponies on top of the bridge steeled themselves, praying to the heavens that the bridge would break. It took a whole two minutes for the bridge to stabilize completely.

"You just had to say it." Minuette said.

Octavia hesitated a bit before giving one step forward. The entire bridge creaked, but nothing happened. She gave another step, obtaining the same result.

"Okay, I think its safe to cross." she said as she slowly walked over the bridge, soon followed by the rest of the group. The bridge creaked as the ponies neared the end of it. Octavia was about to step off the bridge when the rope finally snapped, making the bridge tremble in a increasingly erratic way as the ropes started snapping all over the place.

"Its falling apart! Run!" Octavia shouted. Planks fell from under hooves as the bridge began to come down with a horrible noise. The four mare ran for the lives. Minuette barely managed to jump to safety before the entire thing came off the cliff, falling down with a horrible noise. The four mares panted, more from shock than actual exhaustion, while the fallen bridge fell into the river below.

"Great ..." Berry said as she peered over the edge of the cliff. "Now there's no way back."

Octavia didn't pay attention to her. No, her attention was focused on something else, something much more important.

"Here we are." She said while the rest of the ponies stood at her side. "Let us go."

To call it ruins was actually quite an understatement. Walls were crumbled and covered in dust, entire sections of the roof had all but collapsed and there was an air of abandonment flowing in the entire castle. Only the entrance remained intact, almost beckoning the ponies to go inside. Room after room, it was the same depressing sight.

"This place is huge. How are we supposed to find the elements?" Flitter asked as they explored the castle. "Assuming that they are still here. What are they exactly?"

"I'm not sure. The book mentioned something about them being rocks of some sort. Their powers can only be activated by the ponies who hold their principles in high regard. Generosity, loyalty, kindness, laughter and honesty."

"So thats it? So we find this rocks and then we use them to beat the bad guy? Sounds easy enough. What do they look like?" Berry asked.

"Well, thats just it. I don't know. The book never actually described them beyond that. No images, no pictures, no description, no nothing." Octavia answered.

"But then how are we supposed to find them?" Fleur inquired. "Flitter is right. We can't just search room after room. We would be here for days."

Octavia sat down, pondering their situation. As much as she hated to admit it, Fleur and Flitter were right. There was no way they could hope to find the elements when they didn't even know what they looked like. The only reference she had was the knowledge that the princess had used them once. That meant that however they looked, they were small enough to be used by a pony. And if the princess had used it, then it meant they were probably in a very important place, somewhere fitting for royal property.

"We have to check the throne room." Octavia said.

"What makes think they are there?" Cloudchaser asked. Octavia didn't answer.

"Because they are there."

The six ponies were startled as the voice echoed through the entire castle. Red mist poured from the windows, covering them completely before pooling in front of them, slowly taking shape. A shape they didn't want to face at all.

"This is as far as you go." The Warlock Stallion growled. His mighty wings were on full display, ready to swat anypony who tried anything funny. The six ponies gave a step backwards as the imposing alicorn grinned cruelly before laughing.

"Y-you! What did you do with the princess!?" Octavia asked, stomping her hoof. The Warlock Stallion only laughed harder.

"Answer me!"

"My sister has been deal with accordingly to her crime." The alicorn answered. "If you six bow down and beg, I will consider being merciful."

"Crime?! What kind of crime did the princess do?!" Berry shouted.

"Betrayal. And for that, I will execute her as the sun rises, ushering a new era of true power for Equestria."

"That is a lie! All you want is to begin a war, so that you can get off on it!" Flitter said. The alicorn snarled before flicking her horn, shooting a spell at the pegasus, who barely managed to dodged before the spell exploded the rock where she had been standing on. Charred rocks and half molten pebbles were all that remained.

"Watch your tongue! How dare you speak to me like that you pathetic quim!" The Warlock Stallion roared. "I am fulfilling my duty! Equestria is surrounded by enemies, and it is my destiny to destroy them! But if enemies won’t appear, then I shall make them myself! That’s how the world works!"

"No it doesn't."

All heads turned to Fleur, who was standing firmly besides Octavia. The Warlock Stallion gave a snort.

"And what do you mean by that young mare? Are you saying that we should all just live together with our enemies and frolic with our killers?"

"No. I'm saying that we don't have live in conflict. You say you are doing your duty of defending Equestria by making enemies to defend it against. But aren't you starting the very thing you are supposed to avoid? By creating these enemies, you are failing your duty already. Why not try something more peaceful? If you just stand down and let us help you, who knows what could happen?"

"Oh really? And what will you do if somepony tries to attack you? Are you going to try living with them in peace as well?"

"Why yes I am." Fleur answered confidently. The Warlock Stallion grinned, chuckled and then laughed hysterically, as if Fleur had said the greatest joke of all times.

"I can't believe it. I really can't. The student of my sister surrounds herself with such pathetic creatures. Once I return things to how they should be, I will make sure to educate ponies properly, so they never become as weak minded as this."

Octavia perked up at the mention of her teacher, she gave a couple of bold steps, face frowned in a snarl. Warlock Stallion or not, she was going to get answers.

"Where is the princess now?!" she asked, doing her best to appear threatening. Judging by the reaction of the alicorn, it wasn't really working.

"As I said, she is taken care of." He answered. "I grow tired of this banter. Bow down now, or I will kill you where you stand." The Warlock Stallion took a battle stance, but Octavia was undaunted.

"Not until you tell me where the princess is." She demanded. "If you hurt her in any way, I will-"

"You will what?" he mocked. "You don't have magic nor wings. How do you even expect be a challenge for me, let alone beat me. I am a warrior. You are merely a an earth pony, a farmer, a lowly being forced to get her hooves dirty to accomplish anything. What was my sister thinking when she took you in?"

"Oh is that so? Well, you just are some blood lusting freak, who is too arrogant to accept the fact that he's useless to the kingdom and that he had throw a tantrum to get some attention!"

The Warlock Stallion flared his wings in anger, blowing all the ponies away with a massive gust of wings. Dust and red mist swirled around the place in a small tornado of fury. Minuette had close her eyes to stop anything from reaching them. All she could hear was the wind blowing around. And a gasp.

"Wow. That’s cheating you big … jerk?" Berry said as the wind died down. Minuette opened her eyes. Fleur, Flitter, Cloudchaser and Berry were alright, if a little messy from all the dust that was settling down. But her attention was grabbed by Octavia. Or the place where Octavia used to be.

"Where is Octavia?" Fleur asked.

Said earth pony was, well, not where she wanted to be. Her lungs ached and her eyes were itchy as the red mist enveloped her. Octavia felt the ground below her disappear, replaced with an overall sensation of weightlessness. Dizziness and nausea invaded her for a few seconds before she slammed on a hard, cold surface. She waited a few seconds for the world to settle back in place before opening her eyes.

"Even after this time, they are still here"

Octavia shot back on her feet. In front of her, in a small platform, stood the mighty Warlock Stallion. At his feet were five small spheres of rock, each with a jewel symbol carved on them.

"The elements of harmony have always been a last resort. They are filled with powers beyond our knowledge, and yet, we use them to end whatever conflict that may arise, without actually learning from it. What good is ultimate power if you don't know its real worth?" he explained. "If we simply erase every problem, how are we supposed to get stronger?"

"Easy to say that when you have the strength to tumble a mountain." Octavia retorted. "Aren't you being a bit of a hypocrite?"

"By creating a world of peace and tranquility, my sister has made the ponies soft and weak. The contrary will apply once I do the opposite."

"A place where everypony is at each other's throats?"

"A place where the value of life is actually learned."

Octavia glared at him, then at the Elements. They just laid there, right besides his hooves, undisturbed by the events going around them. Maybe if she was fast enough, she could get them before he could actually do something.

"You travelled all the way through the perils of the Everfree forest, avoided all of my traps, and sorted through all of my tricks. But I have been observing your journey. The only reason you manage to reach this place was because of the ponies that were with you. And now you are alone ..."

The Warlock Stallion took a battle stance, his wings extended to their full might and his horn flaring with dark purple magic.

"Too late to try anything now." Octavia thought dryly.

"If you want the elements of harmony, you are going to have to fight me for them." The evil alicorn grinned with anticipation. "Can you do it little pony? Can you best a god of war?”

Author's Note

Almost there.

Friends.

Many things were going through Octavia's mind at the moment.

Like the fact that the closest thing to a ‘god of war’ had just challenged her to a duel. It didn't take a genius to figure out what would happen if she declined.

"Well? Are you ready? If you won't make the first move ..." The Warlock Stallion lunged forward. "Then I will!"

Octavia barely managed to jump away before the alicorn crashed into the spot where she stood. Octavia ran for her life as magic blasts the size of a stallion shot through the dust which arose from the impact site where the Warlock Stallion had impacted the ground. She could almost feel the heat coming from one of them, as it nearly burned her mane.

"Where is all that bravery now!?" Warlock laughed as he kept firing. The walls trembled with each impact, but withstood the attack, a fact that did not escape Octavia. She stopped dead on her tracks as a blast crossed right in front of her. She could feel the acidic smell of the mist that emanated from the monster in front of her.

"Nowhere to run now ..."

Octavia froze in place. He had her. His horn was sparkling with magic, ready to go off at any moment.

"Look at you ..." The alicorn grinned. "All scared and frozen with fear. Is the realization that you are no match for me finally settling in? Are you finally understanding that this is completely pointless?" he flared his wings. "You can't even hope to reach me, let alone hurt me."

"For a self proclaimed warrior ..." Octavia said, doing her best to hide her shivering. A small idea had formed in head. It was risky and possibly suicidal, but at this point, it wouldn't make much of a difference. "You really do talk a lot."

"I'm merely trying to savor the moment. Can you blame me for it? Being sealed in the empty void of space tends to make you forget the small pleasures of life."

"I didn't know torturing ponies was a pleasure." Octavia snarled. "I can't believe you were ever the protector of Equestria. You are nothing but a bully, a coward who enjoys torturing others because he has the power to do so. Even now you are merely playing with me instead of actually finishing me off."

"I battle as I see fit. If I choose to prolong this, it is only because I am merciful enough to allow you to live for a bit longer. You still have a chance to surrender. Do it, I might even consider sparing you." His horn cackled with energy. "This is your final chance."

Octavia stood her ground, appearing as defiant as she could.

"Come on you big block..." she thought as she gritted her teeth. "I'd rather choke on lettuce."

"Have it your way." The Warlock finished with more glee than somepony should have for a mercy rejection.
Meanwhile, five set of hooves ran through the hallways of the ruined castle, desperate to find their missing companion. As the entire castle briefly echoed with the sound of a loud blast, the five mares stopped their run.

"What was that?" Berry asked.

"It came from that tower! I can see some smoke coming from there!" Flitter pointed a hoof to the aforementioned place. One of the walls had visibly collapsed.

"Octavia is probably there." Minuette said. "Lets go!"

The Warlock Stallion grinned as the dust slowly faded from his sight. The forest could be now seen from the gaping hole that he had blasted on the wall. All that remain on the scorched ground was the remains of a bow tie, nearly disintegrated from the magical beam. With a single flap of his wings, the dust dissipated completely.

"So young, yet so foolish ..." He murmured.

"You are not young, but you certainly are foolish ..."

The Warlock Stallion snapped his head in shock, for the voice that called him belonged to none other than Octavia, the mare he had just blasted to into oblivion. Panting and slightly scorched, the musician stood on the platform, right between the elements of harmony.

"You are alive … an impressive trick for an earth pony." He growled. His horn started charging again. "How did you do it little one?"

"You made a lot of noise, plus the fact that when a unicorn cast a spell, they automatically bow their heads. All I had to do was avoid the blast and then get to the elements." Octavia smirked. "Now I have the advantage. The elements banished you once and they can do it again. Surrender and will I spare you."

But the Warlock Stallion didn't surrender. In fact, he was snickering, before exploding into pure laughter. Why wasn't he afraid? Why wasn't he surrendering!? She had him cornered and he was laughing it up!

"You fool." He said between chuckles. "You really think you can use the Elements of Harmony just like that? You don't know what they are, what they represent. You don't even know how to power them up!"

Octavia froze. Power them up? But the tome said nothing about powering them up!

"You have five Elements at your disposal. Would you believe me if I told you that you are one Element short?" he explained. "The most important one in fact."

"You … you are lying. You're trying to confuse me." Octavia said. "You have to be lying!"

"Oh no, I am being very honest here. The Elements need powering up before any use. But you didn't know that, did you? Just like you didn't know that there were six Elements instead of five." he tapped his chin in mock confusion. "Now that I think about it, do you even know what each of them represent?"

Octavia didn't answer.

"So, you are telling me that you just had quick read of the Elements, waltzed into the Everfree forest, planted yourself in front of an enemy you couldn't possibly expect to defeat and hope and somehow everything would be fixed?" he laughed hard, each laugh making Octavia feel smaller and smaller. "Typical earth pony behavior. Always charging ahead, never thinking things through."

Octavia wanted to talk back. Reply to the mockery. But she couldn't. Her mind was had gone blank, slowly filling themselves with the words of the alicorn.

"What was my sister thinking when she sent somepony like you for a mission like this. An earth pony, who couldn't even bother check up the names of the Elements, was to use magic? Does kindness and generosity ring a bell? No? How about loyalty? Or honesty or laughter!?" he laughed harder. "Do you know anything about the elements at all!?"

Octavia fell on her haunches as the weight of her failure began to truly fall on her. She couldn't stop Warlock Stallion. She couldn't activate the Elements. The princess would die, if she wasn't dead already. All of Equestria would be consumed in war.

She failed.

"No knowledge to fight with. No magic to power up the elements. No weapons, no preparations, no nothing." He teleported in front of her. "You really should have thought this through before even daring to challenge me."

"I … I ..."

"Don't worry little one. You will not have to live the humiliation that you have brought yourself." He grinned evilly as his horn started to charge with magic. "I will kill you here and now."

"No you won't!"

Octavia was enveloped in a magical glow, with blue and pink alternating around her. Lifting her rather brusquely, Fleur and Minuette pulled the earth pony away from the platform, the alicorn and the elements. Flitter and Cloudchaser landed in front of her, protectively holding out their wings.

"Whats this? A last ditch effort to fight me?" The Warlock Stallion chuckled. "You five must be desperate."

"You're should give up now while you can!" Berry taunted. "’Cuz once we get the Elements, you're gonna wish you had stopped us back in the cliffs!"

"The Elements that don't work. You will have much success with them I bet. Just ask Octavia. She will surely know how to get them going."

"Of course she will, right Octavia?" Fleur asked. Octavia didn't answer. She couldn't answer.

"Octavia, how do we activate the Elements?" Flitter asked. "Octavia?"

"I … I don't know ..."

The silence that filled the room could be cut with a knife. The five mares stared at Octavia in shock. Nopony wanted to believe what they had just heard.

"Now, if you are ready, we can-"

"We don't care."

The Warlock Stallion stared at the group, now he himself was in shock. Berry helped Octavia up, while group stood defiant and firm. Octavia was visibly confused as him. She stared at each of the mares around her.

"So Octavia doesn't really know jack about what she's doing ..." Berry started. "She still walked all the way here to beat you and save the princess. That kicks a lot of flank."

"If she was so uninformed, then it was because she was in a hurry to stop a monster like you." Fleur continued.

"Her method was wrong, but her heart was in the right place." Minuette added.

"We'll find a way to make the Elements work and we'll beat you with them!" Flitter finished.

"Yeah! What they said!" Cloudchaser said.

Octavia stood there, unable to say anything as the five mares placed themselves at her sides, ready to physically assault the monster if they had too. She could feel herself tear up a little from the act itself, and would had answered their words had not the alicorn in front of them spoken first.

"You five are unbelievable. The pony who has doomed you all even admitted that she has no idea what to do, after dragging you through all that peril and danger, and you say that you are still with her? How foolish can you be!?" he flared his wings in anger.

"I'm pretty sure we asked her to lead us ..." Berry commented.

"It doesn't matter! She put you all in danger! Even now she has no clue as to what to do next! The only reason she is even here is because the five of you somehow managed to push through everything I threw a you!" he lifted the elements with magic. "Why are the five of you so optimistic!? These things are dead! They don't work! They will never work! They just a bunch of useless stones!"

One by one, the elements exploded like popcorn, overcharged with the corrosive magic of the Warlock Stallion. Five pairs of eyes widened as the broken shards of their final hope fell to the ground, lifeless.

"I have prolonged this game for long enough. The battle ends now!"

A gist of wind exploded from his hooves, sending everypony against the wall. Octavia grunted as she slammed against the bricks before falling on the ground. It took her a few seconds to get up, and to her horror, she was the only one. Everypony else was too sore to get up.

"The world shall become a world of battle! Blood and rage will scourge the land and I shall truly defend Equestria against its enemies!"

"No you wont ..."

The Warlock Stallion stared at Octavia, who was defiantly standing up. She was panting heavily and was limping slightly.

"You are starting to bore me." He growled. "Why can't you just stay down and admit defeat?"

"I can't ..." Octavia answered, giving a glance to the ponies around her. Their eyes were resting on her. "Not while they have faith in me."

"Faith in you? You are still going on about that? Look at them! Why in the world would they still have faith in you when it is clear that you are not worthy of it!"

"You are right. I'm not worthy of it." She answered. "I did came here completely unprepared, and the only reason I did manage to get so far was because they helped me, even when I rejected them. Even now, knowing that I don't know how to beat you, they are still here!"

The shards of the elements started vibrating.

"You said I didn't know the elements. That I hadn't the faintest clue as to how to use them, or even activate them. You were wrong. I do know the elements. They were right besides me all the time!"

The shards glowed with power as they floated, spinning around the five ponies around Octavia. The mares found themselves being levitated with power of harmony as the fragments started spinning faster and faster.

"What is happening!?" Fleur asked.

"No! It can't be!" The Warlock Stallion roared, backing of a bit as the light of the elements grew stronger.

"For example, when you caused the rock slide that nearly crushed me, Flitter immediately flew and pulled me out of the way, even risking being crushed too. She was willing to give everything for me, a pony she barely knew, and for that reason, she is the Element of Generosity!"

The shards around Flitter spinned faster and faster before vanishing in a flash light, now replaced by a beautifully crafted golden necklace, engraved with a blue gem in the shape of a thin butterfly.

"When the trees trapped me, everypony could have perfectly gone without me and finish the job, and yet Minuette refused. She managed to come up with a remarkable strategy to free me, even though time was something we were up against. She is the Element of Loyalty!"

The same process happened with Minuette, with the shards flashing and turning into the same kind of necklace, only this time the gem was a yellow sand clock.

"When physical might failed, you resorted to trickery and illusions. Horrifying creatures that would have scared off the bravest warrior. Yet Cloudchaser here didn't fall for it. Instead of being afraid of them like me, she managed to see past the fear and realize the silliness of the situation. Her reaction and good mood pulled out of that fear and made us enjoy a nice, needed laugh! Thats why she's the Element of Laughter!"

Cloudchaser barely managed to react before the necklace attached itself to her neck, sporting a beautiful red shooting star.

"And lets not forget about Berry Punch! There was a moment when the entire group did start doubting me, with reasons to do so. Everypony was starting to have doubts about me and the success of the journey, but Berry never doubted me, even when it was clear that I didn't know what I was doing. She completely and honestly trusted me, and for that, she is the Element of Honesty!"

"Nifty!" Berry grinned as the necklace was attached to her neck, with a white grape and strawberry gem engraved in it.

"And finally, when we are all faced with the impossible task of defeating you, all of us wanted to banish you right away, but not Fleur. She was willing to look for another way, to take a third option and somehow manage to reason with you, even if it meant risking her life by bantering with a monster like you! Her desire for peace and avoidance of conflict makes her the last, but not the least Element of Harmony! Kindness!"

"Oh my ..." Fleur whispered as the final element appeared around her neck, with a gorgeous fleur de liz pink gem engraved.

"And together they form the Elements of Harmony! They are the Bearers of its power and the holders of their might!" Octavia declared. "But more importantly, they are my friends!"

And with that, a final flash of briefly covered Octavia before revealing her own new equipment. It wasn't a necklace, but a tiara. A beautiful, intricate golden tiara, with a purple, almost delicate crystal clef engraved into it.

"Thats not possible! How can the Elements be working!? They should be dead after so many years!" The Warlock Stallion shouted. "How can you have the element of magic!? You can't use magic! You're not even a unicorn!"

"You are right! I am not a unicorn. I can't use magic or anything of the like, but I don't need to. You know why!?" Octavia shouted before starting to levitate, placing herself right between her friends. The elements glowed brighter, small waves of magic flowing from each one of them.

"Because I have friends! And friendship is magic!"

A multicolored magic shot from the Elements of Harmony, combining into one powerful blast. The Warlock Stallion roared in anger and madness as he tried shooting his own beam of power, but it was useless. The blood red blast was completely obliterated by the rainbow hued beam that surged from the elements.

"NO!"

The beam shot forwards at blinding speed, completely engulfing the monstrous alicorn in it's power. The sky shook and the earth trembled as the powerful magic of harmony was used for the first time in a thousand years. The entire castle glowed with the power of the elements forcing the six mares to close her eyes. it would nearly twenty seconds before the blinding light began to fade. As the magic dissipated, the ponies were gently lowered on the ground.

Perfect silence replaced the roar of magic. Not even the crickets could be heard. Everything was still. Everything was unmoving.

Octavia slowly opened one eye, then the other one and the opened them completely. Fleur, Minuette, Berry, Flitter and Cloudchaser were around her, all of them unharmed, completely healed of any wound or soreness. They were just as still as her, slowly opening their eyes as well. Of the Warlock Stallion was no sign.

"We … we did it ..." Octavia whispered. "We actually did it."

Author's Note

Final chapter comes next!

Choice.

"Now this calls for a drink!"

The six elements laughed tiredly at the idea. The adrenaline was fading and the weight of their accomplishment was beginning to truly set in. Octavia chuckled before falling on her haunches. She was surprisingly tired, a fact which she had not realized with all excitement going on around her.

The first lights of dawn shone across the land, bringing with it a sense of peace after the near advent of total destruction. It was refreshing and warm, especially after the last few hours. Octavia smiled as the castle was slowly illuminated by the light.

"Well … that was intense, wouldn't you agree?" Fleur said.

"More like amazing! Look at us! We are the Elements of Harmony!" Flitter added excitedly "Look at them! They are beautiful!"

"Speaking of them ..."Berry said, checking her flank and the element. "I hope I'm not the only who noticed that they look just like our cutie marks."

Minuette tapped the necklace, but nothing happened. The magic had done its work and so it faded away until it was needed again.

"Does this mean that it was fate that brought us here?" she asked. "Or just a coincidence?"

"Choice brought you here ..."

Octavia snapped back to attention as the familiar voice reached her ears. She looked up, eyes wide in hope and disbelief. Wings flapped as the royal form of Princess Twilight landed in front of her. Her jewelry was gone and her mane was a mix between being messy and slightly burnt.

"Princess!" Octavia jumped at her, hugging her tightly.

"Octavia … you are alright ..."" The princess whispered as she returned the hug. As they broke the hug, Princess Twilight noticed the tiara that adorned the head of her student.

"The Elements … you managed to use them!"

"Let me tell you, it was insane!" Berry said. "The Warlock Stallion was there and shouting stuff about war and we were here, and then he suddenly took Octavia away, but we found them and then we-" Minuette placed a hoof on Berry's mouth.

"You were saying princess?"

"Thank you. Fate didn't bring you here, nor it was coincidence. It was your choices alone that did it. Octavia chose to go find the elements, you five chose to follow her here and lastly, the Elements chose you as their wielders."

"You mean they are alive?" Flitter asked.

"I don't think alive is the right term." she explained. "The Elements command forces that even after all this time have yet to be understood. They could be perhaps the solution to all problems or cause massive destruction if overused. Who knows?"
"So we were chosen by sparkling stones. That makes so little sense, but it’s awesome!" Berry exclaimed.

"Barely ..." Octavia said. "The only reason they worked was because I had them with me." She pointed a hoof at her friends, who smiled at the recognition.

"That … that sounds wonderful." The Princess replied, sitting down, visibly tired.

"Princess? Are you alright?" Octavia asked concerned.

"Just a bit tired. My brother had me … occupied for a while ..." she rubbed her wrists unconsciously. "Hugin told me where you six were headed to, so I immediately flew after you as soon as I had freed myself."

"Speaking of your … brother … where is he? Did we seal him again?" Octavia asked.

Almost in response to her question, a groan filled the air. It was low and simple, but effective enough to freeze everypony around. From behind the platform, a single white leg appeared, grabbing on the edge. Another one soon followed. A grunt followed before a blue mane appeared. With a final effort, an an alicorn climbed on the platform. He was white snow, while his mane was two tones of blue, very similar to the princess.

He panted a little before sitting up, folding his wings. Fading traces of red magic were clinging to him before disappearing completely. His cutie mark was a royal shield.

"Excuse me ..." Princess Twilight said before walking to the platform. Nopony said anything as she walked to the alicorn stallion. He slowly raised his head she approached him.
"Tw-twilight ..." he murmured. His voice was raspy from all the earlier shouting. "I … I am so sorry ..."

"Shining." Twilight started. "Its been a thousand years since I've seen you. You have hurt a lot of creatures, done a lot of damage, a lot of which can still be felt today."

Twilight kneeled before Shinning, revealing that she was actually smaller than him, even with his evil magic gone, a fact that Octavia was genuinely surprised by.

"Even after a thousand years, you were still so deeply immersed in your hatred and lust for battle that you almost finished what you started." She explained. "You blasted me into unconsciousness and nearly killed my beloved protege, all because you were so deluded under the corruption."

Shinning looked at the ground in shame. He had no words to justify himself.

"But not anymore. Octavia here and her friends travelled through all the perils that you placed on their way and used the Elements to free your mind from the clutches of the anger that filled you. Against all odds and hopes, they defeated you."

"More like shot a killer rainbow beam." Berry said to Minuette.

"They have given you one final chance Shinning. A chance to redeem yourself. A chance to truly defend Equestria." The princess placed a hoof on his shoulder. "A chance to be my brother once more."

Shinning looked at her.

"What do you say? Will you be my BBBFF again?"

"What?" Shinning asked.

"My big brother best friend forever." Twilight smiled. "Will you?"

Shinning looked at her. Then at Octavia and her friends. She was visibly wary of him, though she was trying her best to hide it. Her friends were no different, even with all the optimism and light heartedness they were displaying. His sister was still smiling, appearing as least threatening as possible.

"I ..." He hesitated, giving everypony one final glance "I … I will try."

He was immediately scooped by Twilight, who was crying with joy and and laughing gleefully. Every muscle in his body creaked from exhaustion.

"Oh this is wonderful! We need to put an official notice! Change the records! This going to be incredible!" The princess squealed as she spun her brother around. Octavia sighed in relief, having been tense all the time, ready for a possible counter attack by Shinning. The entire group was smiling at the heartwarming scene.

The alicorn siblings had been reunited at last.

It took a whole five minutes for the princess to finally calm down. By the end of the extended hug, Shinning was dizzy and with a mess for a mane. Nothing a quick spell from Twilight couldn't fix.

"All this has been very beautiful and stuff but ..." Berry coughed loudly. "How are we supposed to go back home? The bridge is out."

"And who do we have to thank for that?" Minuette replied.

"Everypony stand close to me." Twilight extended her wings. "I hope none of you has eaten anything lately. Teleportation has a knack for messing with ponies stomachs, if they are unused to it.”
Octavia climbed on the platform, standing right next to her mentor, soon joined by the rest of her friends. Purple magic flowed around for a few seconds before a flash of light covered their eyes, followed by a brief but extreme sensation of weightlessness, ending with the sudden feeling of the cold hard ground. Octavia was barely managing to stand, having to support herself on the princess. Berry wasn't so lucky, as she was completely sprawled on the ground.

"Okay … I'm never asking for the way out again ..."

They had appeared right in the middle of Ponyville, where the locals were already working in cleaning up the disaster. Tents were being folded and seats were being pulled away, while carts filled with games and food were being pulled. Everything stopped dead in its tracks as everypony noticed the eight newcomers that had appeared.

The princess cast a quick spell, fixing her mane and her overall appearance, along with that of her brother, disciple, and friends.

"Citizens of Ponyville!" she said loudly. "It is my pleasure to announce that the emergency has passed!"

Cheers erupted immediately. Octavia could barely follow as the town managed to pull out a small yet heartwarming celebration on such a short notice. Drinks were shared and conversations were made. Her friends were laughing. The Princess was making small talk with some ponies while her brother waited besides her.

"This is all beautiful, but there is somepony else I need to see right now ..."

Berry noticed Octavia trying to excuse herself and quickly climbed atop a table.

"Alright folks! Here's the story of our brave journey!" she exclaimed, immediately grabbing the attention of half the town. Octavia silently thanked the earth pony as she walked through the mass of bodies, soon leaving the crowded town plaza. The rest of the town was mostly empty, making her walk faster. She looked at the houses, at the trees and the sky, but no matter how hard she searched, there was no sign of.

"I'm right here."

Her head turned towards a small fence, where, standing right in the middle, was Hugin. Just as her eyes were visibly tired, his feathers were visibly rustled, probably from flying all around town looking for the princess.

"Heck of a night, right?" He asked. Octavia sat in front of him.

"Indeed." she answered. Neither said anything for a couple of minutes, choosing instead to listen to the laughs and cheers of the small celebration of the town.

"So … what now? We go back to Canterlot?" he asked. "We don't really have to stay here anymore."

"I know."

"And?"

Octavia glanced at him. She smiled.

"And I am staying." She answered. "I didn't want to come because there was nothing here to keep me or for me to do, but there is now. My friends are here, and I don't want to leave them. I get to have a break from the castle and have good company while I’m at it."

"Is that so?"

"It is." she explained. "I'm going to stay in the tree house. Some changes will be made to it though. You can stay or you can leave with the princess. What will it be?"

Hugin glanced at her, then at the town. He sighed.

"Somepony has to look out for your bow ties." He flew to her back. "Besides, how are you going to communicate with the princess without me?"

Octavia smiled once more before setting off to rejoin her friends.

"Hey, Octavia ..."

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you’re safe."

Octavia nearly halted, but managed to hide her surprise behind a warm smile.

"I'm glad you are safe too, Hugin."

Author's Note

And with that ends episode 1!
Thanks to all you readers for being here for the whole duration of it. Now this is the end of the first episode. But you better stay focused, because the adventure is just beginning!

A thousand of thousand of thanks to AuthorGenesis, for having the patience to check this and edit this. You should check him out!

On the next episode: Octavia has finally moved all her things to Ponyville and is eager to start playing her beloved cello, and she would, if she wasn't interrupted all the time! Her money is gone, stuff just keep arriving at her house and nopony can tell what is going on!

Coming up on the Octavia verse: Strings.