The Natural Elements

Luna slowly made her way to her room. Finished with night court this evening, she allowed her thoughts to go back to events that happened earlier this week. Despite all her many distractions, she couldn't keep the strange being out of her thoughts. How is it that someone with that much power can simply hide in Equestria without being discovered? She mused to herself.

As she turned a corner, she got an idea. Whoever thou are, thou must rest when that weak. She thought to herself with a gentle smile on her face. In a state of rest, we shall find thee. Why didn't We remember this earlier. Arriving at her destination, she stepped inside and began preparations for the encounter with the one she was looking for. With most everything now in place, Luna removed her crown and placed it on the night stand for the mornings rest. She then lay in bed with her head on a pillow. Contempt that every thing's in order, she reached out with her mind.

It took some time for her to look for the aura, but when she found it she smiled. Luna's joy at finding this individual was short lived however when she noticed all the mental safeguards in place around it. With a little probing, she found that the safeguards, like the aura, aren't of magical properties. With a few safeguards of her own, Luna jumped in. When she 'landed' she noticed that she had no metaphysical body. In fact, there was nothing around her accept empty darkness. Suddenly, the area around her thoughts started to take form.

Moments passed and she found herself in a cave in the Ever Free Forest. She noticed her mane was no longer an ethereal mass of stars as it hung in front of one of her eyes. With a hoof, she moved the strands out of her eyes as she looked across the fire to see a cloaked form of a foal. Luna made to move to the foal's side but was stopped with a razed hoof. "Stay where you sit, intruder." A distorted voice said with heavy breaths and in tones of pain and warning. "My mental disciplines may not have been enough to keep you out, but they can force you back out if I deem it necessary."

Surprised at the hostel tone and that the foal could see her move when their sight was covered by the hood, she complied. "We believe thee, thou has harmed Us before." Luna said as she sat back down. "Who are thou and where are thou currently located?" "My apologies for harming your mind unknowingly," The distorted voice said, sorrow mixing with the pain of their tone. "As for my name, I go by many. You may call me The Arcane Terror. As for where I'm at, I don't know..." The foal winced in pain. Before Luna could move to comfort them, the foal razed a hoof to stop her before slowly regaining a stance of authority.

"Is thou going to be alright, Arcane Terror?" Luna asked. She was truly concerned for the well being of this foal and wanted to help. "I'll be fine. Now, you were about to introduce your self." The foal said as they moved their right hoof over their left side. "We are Princess Luna of Equestria and we have many questions to ask of thee." Luna said as she continued to look over the foal. Judging by the foal's build, she determined that he's a colt about eight to ten years in age. The horn poking out of the hood was a dead giveaway that he was also a unicorn. "How has thee not heard of Us before, Terror? How grave are thous injuries..." Terror razed a his left hoof, as his right still clutched his left side, to stop her before he spoke.

"As far as I know, the only dragon representative of Equestria is, Malgole. Also to my knowing, he has no offspring yet because he just rose to power seven months ago." "We are no dragon!" Luna retorted, though it lacked effect without the royal Canterlot voice. Gesturing to herself with a hoof she continued. "We are the younger of the royal pony sisters and ruler of the night." Seeing the colt tilt his head in confusion, she softened her tone, though she thought it couldn't get any softer than it was without her magic to amplify her voice. "You can not see Us? Yet you can tell when We move. How is that possible?"

"It's true, I can't see you." He began. "That's because my eyes are closed outside my mind. Normally this wouldn't be a problem because sight still works in one's dreams; but I'm also unconscious and as father has told many other dragons, my mind and body work differently than others..." Terror winced again and this time he stayed on his belly. Luna moved to his side and went to remove the cloak. Before touching the garment, Luna was stopped by the fire that stretch between them. "Why will you not let Us help you young colt?" Luna pleaded as she watched him tense in agony. "I know you want to help me, but tending to my injuries in my mind wont heal my body out there!" Was the harsh reply. The distortion in his voice vanished as he heard he was identified.

Rolling onto his right side, Terror continued in a calmer tone. "To answer your second question first, I don't know the extent of my injuries. All I know is that my right side is sore. My left side and my right eye feel to be on fire." When Luna made no more moves to aid Terror, the fire moved back to the center of the cave. Reluctantly, Luna put some space between her and the foal. Noticing a saddlebag nearby, the colt telekineticly moved it under his head. Without looking at the alicorn before him, Terror continued. "Getting back to the previous answer, my minds eyes can't see you but I can 'feel' your metaphysical body moving around inside my thoughts. I know it sounds weird, but this just tells me where you are and what vague movements you're making." Terror paused as his head looked in the direction of Luna. "If you don't mind, may I get a better 'look' at you?"

Luna, by now, was beyond perplexed and was just plain lost. "And how dos thou plan on doing that when thee just said that thou cant see Us with they mind's eyes?" "My mind is capable of many things. The fire before you not only can banish you from my head, but it can it can also act as my eyes in the same way that ones hooves can feel the form of an object. I ask your permission to do this because it is no different from me asking to touch you in the physical world." At this, Luna felt uncomfortable but she weighed the two options in her thoughts. If she let him do this he may let her comfort his suffering with the presence of another. On the other hoof, she can refuse and do her best to get him to accept her privacy and hop he will still be open with information.

"You have Our permission." She said simply. Luna stood before the foal and the fire. "Please hold still, this wont take long." Terror stated as the fire turned black. Luna no longer felt its heat but she didn't feel cold either. The black flames snaked their way to her. They only hesitated once when they touched her left fore hoof. When she didn't draw back, the flames slowly enveloped her hoof and began to move up her leg. After a few moments, Luna found herself encased in black fire. To her surprise, there was no mischievous magics mixed in with the fire. Another moment passed before the fire left her body. It returned to the center of the cave and returned to its normal color.

"I thank you for letting me do that." Terror said with pained gratitude. "For someone to trust me without knowing me that well tells me a lot about you. Other than your coloration, I now know your physical form and size." He paused with another wince of pain. "Terror," Luna began, "If thou trusts Us enough, can We see they face?" Wile she spoke, she moved closer to his right side. When he didn't protest, she lay down and set his cloaked head on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Princess, but I feel that my face has changed in some way and has altered the form you see before you." The colts head suddenly shot up, "Someone is looking for you, Princess." Luna looked up and felt that some pony in the physical world was calling her name. "It seems that thou is correct. If Thou dos not mind, may We come and visit thee again? We still have questions that need to be answered."

"You may, Princess." Were the last words Luna heard before her eyes opened and her sister came into focus. "Luna! Come on Luna wake up!" Celestia called out as she nudged her sister awake. "Tia, what are th.." Luna never got to finish her question as Celestia pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank the stars you woke up." Celestia began, relief was heavy in her tone. "For a moment I thought you wouldn't wake up. Your hear rate dropped lower than normal and then your body burst into black flames." Luna could feel her older sister now crying. Returning the embrace, Luna began to calm her elder sister. "We are fine, Tia. We are alive and well." Looking to Dr. Will, Luna nodded for her and her staff to leave her room and the sisters.

When Celestia calmed down enough she pulled away and looked her sister over. "How many did you visit this time, Lulu? The last time you over extended that spell you nearly put yourself into coma." Luna gave her sister a sheepish expression before answering her. "One, sister. Just one this night." Celestia's expression was nothing short of surprise. "Who in all of Equestria could cause you to.." Luna stopped her short before Celestia could get anymore upset. "I found him,Tia." Was her simple reply.

Twilight awoke with a groan as the noon days sun shown in her eyes. Wondering why she has a kink in her neck, she began to raze her head. With a couple of pops, her neck felt better. To her surprise, a paper had attached itself to her face as she glanced down at her desk. "Not again!" She groaned. With her magic, she removed the paper and checked it for smudges. Satisfied that the writings were not smudged, she looked back to the pile of open books and assorted notes to add the paper that stuck to her face.

"I've got to stop this all night study thing." She said to no pony in particular. Before she turned to head for the kitchen, she lifted the reason for her lack of sleep and looked it over once again. The amulet Dr. Will gave her to study almost a week ago shined in the noon sunlight. On the face of the amulet was a hornless dragon wearing a crown wreathed in flames. In the foreground of the dragon was the planet and the dragon was positioned so they were appearing to hold the planet in their arms as their tail and wings stretched out. Around the picture was an engraving in a language Twilight has never seen before.

Twilight guessed that the dragon depicted in the background was or is of royal decent and that he or she rules or ruled over the planet. She couldn't tell for sure, but the engravings on the outside would tell her everything, once she figured out what language this is. "Twilight?" Spike called out from the kitchen. "Are you awake? It's nearly one in the after noon and you have an appointment with the hospital to see if the kid has woken up yet." "I'm up Spike." Twilight called back. "I'll be down in a moment." Turning to leave the room, she set the amulet in her saddlebag and brought it with her.

"So, Twi, did you find out anything about the amulet?" Spike asked as Twilight entered the kitchen. "No, not yet, Spike." Twilight stated disappointingly. "I just can't seem to find what language the engraving is written in. I've checked all the books on other languages spoken around the world and haven't found anything." "I'm sure you'll find what ever language it's written in, Twi, just give it time." Spike said as he set lunch on the table for the both of them. "You might as well eat something before you go see the kid."

Twilight left for the hospital shortly after finishing lunch. With the amulet and her incomplete notes in her saddlebag, she hoped to do a little more research on the amulet if the colt wasn't awake. If he was awake, she would ask him what language the engravings on the amulet are written in. As Twilight crested the hill overlooking the hospital, she noticed Fluttershy flying away from the entrance in her direction. Fluttershy, noticing Twilight, landed next to her. "Twilight, Rainbow's hurt!" Fluttershy said worriedly. Twilight, surprised, followed Fluttershy to the hospital as fast as her legs would carry her.

Upon entering the hospital, Twilight noticed her other friends waiting over by the far wall in the waiting room. "That was fast Fluttershy." Rarity said as the two drew near the others. "Well, um, she was nearly here when I saw her." Fluttershy said quietly. "What happened? How did Rainbow Dash hurt herself?" Twilight asked while she caught her breath. "Crazy mare's gone an' flown over the Ever Free." Applejack said in concern as she rubbed her forelegs together nervously. "I tolled her ta stay over the farm."

"Dashy was doing some super duper awesome moves," Pinkie chimed in "She was only over the the Ever Free for a moment or two when she went stiff like a board. When my tail started twitching, she was gliding to the ground." Pinkie looked to the ground as she said the next part. The mirth in her voice was gone. "She hit a tree on the way down." "Fluttershy came an' got me after Dash crashed." A J said as she put a hoof on Pinkies shoulder. "I carried her here after Shy put a splint on Dash's wing." "I think it's broken." Fluttershy said softly.

The door to the back rooms opened and Dr. Ace came out with a clipboard in his magical hold. "Party to see Rainbow Dash?" He called. The five mares in the room walked over to him. "Follow me." Dr. Ace said as he lead them down a familiar set of halls to room number twenty. Ace stopped just before the door and looked to the group of mares. "Please keep your voices down, Miss Dash is wide awake and fine but her roommate needs his rest." Twilight knew who Ace was talking about. Ace opened the door for the five mares and gave Twilight a nod as she entered. He then closed the door behind him after he entered.

"Hey guys," Dash gave a wave with her left leg as the other was in a sling. "Sorry to have scared you all. For some reason, everything was going to plan until I felt a prick on my neck. Then everything blacked out." She rubbed her neck where she felt the 'prick'. "Ya darn right you scared us all. And what do ya mean by 'ya felt a prick'?" A J asked in concerned bewilderment. "I believe I can answer that." Ace said as he levitated a barb in the air before them to see. "I pulled this out of your neck when you came in, Miss Dash. What ever shot this at you must like to eat sleeping pray. Lucky for you your wings stiffened to glide you to safety."

Fluttershy took the barb in her hooves to get a better look at it. "I've never seen any animal with this kind of barb, nor have I heard of them being able to launch them at other things." She said quietly. "Neither have I." Twilight added. "So, Doc., how long am I going to be stuck in bed?" Dash asked, already getting board. "Well, let's see." Ace began. "Your right wing is broken and you have a hairline fracture on your right foreleg. All in all, I think you'll need three weeks to recover at the latest."

"Three weeks!" Dash exclaimed. "What am I going to do for three weeks?" "Well," Ace started calmly. "You could rest and do quiet activities," He said bluntly. "Or you can drive yourself crazy listening to your roommate's hear rate monitor. Your choice." He finished cheekily. Looking to Twilight, ignoring Dash's dagger stair, he spoke calmly. "Speaking of witch, Miss Sparkle, my sister should be here momentarily." As if on cue, a pink flash of magic appeared on the other side of the door. The door opened to revel a white unicorn mare with a silver mane and tail. Her cutie mark looked to be a first aid kit.

"Well, I wasn't expecting such a large group for the colt." Will said as she took in all present. "They're not all here to see the kid, Sis." Ace said. "One of Twilight's friends had a run in with an Ever Free resident and well." He gestured to Dash behind him. Ace then turned to the others present. "Every pony, this is my elder sister Dr. Good Will." "Excuse me," Rarity spoke up. "What is this I hear about a colt?" In unison, both doctors face hoofed. Will was the first one to regain her composure. "Well, about one week ago, Twilight brought in a colt who was badly injured and due to some unknown details, we asked her to keep him a secret to all who didn't already know of him."

Suddenly pinky began to move spasmodically as a combo unraveled. When she stopped moving she smiled widely as she yelled "I found him!" "Found who Pinkie?" A J asked as Pinkie was hopping near the privacy curtain. "Pinkie," Rarity chided. "Dr. Ace told us to keep quiet so the little dear could get their rest." Dr. Will walked over to the curtain and moved it aside. Other than both doctors and Twilight, every pony in the room looked in shock at what they saw. Fluttershy immediately went to his side to get a better look at him. "Please leave the blanket on him Miss." Ace said in a hushed tone.

"Oh my stars," Rarity gasped. "He looks to be no older than Sweeties age." Dr. Ace looked to his sister, "Will, I need to ask you something." "What is it brother?" "Is he conscious or not? His brain activity seams to be too high for a normal pony to be unconscious." With a nod, Will walked over to the other side of the bed and checked the colt. "Yes brother, he's still unconscious." Will said in a normal speaking tone. Looking to Twilight, Will continued. "Twilight, could you help me with this, seeing you are the only other pony here qualified to operate this." She asked as she held up a metal case and opened it.

"What's that thing, Dr. Will?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked on while Will and Twilight began to fiddle with nobs and a paper feed. "This, Rainbow , is an old invention of mine." Will began. "I use this device to gather brainwave samples and compare them to others found where some pony has touched the mind of another." Seeing as all but Twilight and Rarity were lost, she began to elaborate further. "Mind magic is an uncommon practice, but is still used under strict laws. Mind manipulation magic is still forbidden. Mind magic also leaves an imprint of the last connection between two ponies and I know most every pony has had a visit from Princess Luna at one time or another." With her explanation mollifying every pony, Will then attached some nodes to the colts head as twilight plugged in the device.

"So," Fluttershy began quietly, "Why are you using this on him?" "Well, Miss Fluttershy," Will began, "Unicorns by their very nature are the most magically gifted race of pony in existence, next to alicorns. A strong enough one can do a great many things with their mind and magic. Other than that, I'm not permitted to say why." Twilight connected the dots immediately, but kept her mouth shut as Will turned on the device. A moment went by as data began to record on the paper the device fed out the side. Suddenly it exploded inside of a magical bubble made by Dr. Ace. "Well, that was unexpected." Ace said as he opened a window to let the smoke out without causing the fire alarms to go off.

"I don't understand," Will began. "It worked just fine on Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. Why did it break? What went wrong?" Rarity noticed that most of the paper that came out of the machine was undamaged and picked it up in her magic. "Dr. Will," Rarity looked up. "Could this explain why it broke?" She asked as she gave the paper to Will. Will took the sheet in her magic and looked over the data on it. "That explains it." She whispered. In a louder voice so all could hear, "His mental activity is the highest I've ever seen let alone been able to record." "His mind broke it by overloading the sensors?" Twilight asked in bewilderment. "Yes, Twilight, his studies must be very far along for him to have this much mastery over his mind and magic."

Suddenly, every pony in the room fell to their knees as a wave of pain struck their minds. After a moment of silence  they all got back on their hooves. "Starless night! what the hay was that?" Dr. Ace said as his head still throbbed. "I don't know," Twilight began. "it didn't feel like magic." "Well what ever it was it still hurts." Rarity said as she held a hoof to her head. "I think the machine provoked some sort of mental retaliation from the little guy." Will said as she rubbed her temples. A thought ran across her mind to what Twilight said. "Excuse me every pony, but I have to get back to the castle to attend to my other duties." With a farewell from every pony in the room, Dr. Will vanished in a pink flash of magic.

After Dr. Will left, Dash looked over to the kid. "Hay, Doc., how hurt is the kid?" Ace looked to dash and smirked. "He'll be fine. He has healed quite a bit since he's been here. I'll make a bet that he'll be fit enough to be discharged from the hospital by the end of the month." Ace looked to the other ponies in the room with him. "Well, ladies, it's time for us to leave. Miss Dash and the kid need their rest." Ace then looked to Twilight. "Miss Sparkle, I'd like to speak with you in my office." With their goodbys said, every pony left the room. Rainbow Dash, now alone in the room with the colt, was trying to figure out how badly hurt the kid was to end up here and why he had to be kept a secret.

Arriving at Ace's office, Twilight was allowed in first followed by Ace himself. "Miss Sparkle," Ace began as he walked behind his desk "I know that my sister and I just made your job of keeping the kid a secret harder. But I hope you can keep what he is a secret from them." "You're right, Dr. Ace, it's going to be harder to keep what he is a secret. Not to mention keeping every ponies curiosities in check." Twilight said as she rubbed her head. "Are you going to be alright Twilight?" Ace asked seeing her pain. "Yes. I'll be fine." Was her reply.

Reaching into her saddlebag, Twilight pulled out the amulet and her notes on it. "Dr. Ace, this is all I could find on the amulet." She said as she slid the notes across the desk. "Most of it is merely speculation, but with a little more research at the Canterlot library, I hope to find the language that's written on it." "What about the symbol on the front?" Ace asked as he skimmed the notes. "Again mostly speculation, But it must symbolize a planet wide kingdom." Taking in everything, Ace looked out his window to peace it all out. Turning his gaze back to Twilight, gave a appreciative look. "Good work Twilight, you can take a break from your research for now until my sister contacts me again."

Seeing the depressed look on her face he changed his approach. "If you can't find anything in the Canterlot library, go ahead and ask one of the princesses if they know anything about the amulet." When her expression changed from disappointment to joy, Ace could only do his best to not break out in a wide grin himself. After all, he had to keep up his poker face in practice.