Part VIII

It was another beautiful, cloudless day in Ponyville. People were out and about performing their daily tasks. The six friends had met up for breakfast at a small cafe near the center of town. They all sat around and were enjoying the weather, the meal, and each other's company. Talking about thing that they normally would like Twilight’s studies, Rainbow’s newest slew of tricks, Rarity’s newest designs, and the strange man that they all had the displeasure of meeting yesterday.

“Ah tell ya’ that guy gives me the willies like no other,” said Applejack as she took a sip of her apple juice. “He threw a bandit a mile an a half away.”

“Yeah that’s cool and all Aj, but he beat me in a race! ME!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. Her feelings of him had turned bitter since yesterday. “No one has ever beat me in a race. He had to have cheated.”

“You don’t understand though Dashie,” interjected Pinkie Pie. “He said that he didn’t like sweets.” She reached across the table and grabbed her friend by the collar of her blue hoodie and pulled her in close to her face. “He. Doesn’t. Like. Sweets. Who in the world doesn’t like sweets?”

“Not to mention his uncanny ability to identify a ghost just from a description and be able to flip to the exact page of a book that held that information,” mused Twilight. “It could be nothing, but I would really bet against it.” She fell into silence, absorbed in her thoughts.

“And his eyes,” shuddered Rarity, still shaken from her encounter with D yesterday. “They were just hideous.”

“I think you all are being a little harsh on him,” said Fluttershy, but no one could hear her due to the fact that they were all arguing amongst themselves, coupled with her soft demeanor.

“Ah just don’t trust him,” said Applejack simply. “And Ah don’t think any good will come of him hangin’ around here. In fact, just this mornin’, I caught him loungin’ on a pile a’ hay in mah barn. Ah thought he left last night and it gave me a bit of a shock."

"He gave me a case of the shudders after he visited me too, AJ," said Twilight, apparently coming out of her deep thought. "There was just something off about him. I just can't figure out what."

"I'll tell you what's wrong with him. He's a monster!" said Pinkie Pie dramatically. "Gummy said so," she said matter-of-factly and crossed her arms.

"Well Gummy's wrong then," came a defiant voice near them. The girls all turned to the voice and saw an angry Scootaloo backed by Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. “Little D is not a monster. In fact last night he-”

“Scootaloo!” yelped Sweetie Belle. “You can’t tell. We promised.”

“But he-” Scootaloo started, but Applebloom put her hand over Scootaloo’s mouth.

“Hush now,” she said, drawing the attention of her older sister.

"What's this about D now?" she asked seriously.

"Oh, uh, she was just about to talk about how D, uh..” Applebloom looked at Sweetie Belle for help.

“How he pulled the cart out of the water, it was amazing, he just walked right through the water and stayed under for, like, five minutes,” she said with an uneasy smile.

“Oh yeah? How’d he get the wheel back on?” asked Applejack curiously. "Ah saw the cart in the barn lookin’ good-as-new."

“Oh that’s easy,” Sweetie replied happily. “He just used his magi-” Scootaloo, with Applebloom’s hand still over her own mouth, slammed her hand over Sweetie Belle’s mouth this time.

“What was that?” asked Twilight? “Did you say something about magic?”

“Uh, nope, she said, um...’tragic’,” Applebloom said dumbly. “He said it was tragic that no one knew he was a pri-” and now, completing the triangle, Sweetie Belle shoved her hand in front of Applebloom’s mouth.

“What the hay is wrong with you three?” inquired Rainbow Dash seriously.

“They’re trying to defend me,” replied a familiar voice behind them. The element bearers all turned around in their to see Little D standing tall, a frown on his face. “Glad to see you all wait to get to know someone before you judge them.” They dropped their gazes ashamed. “However that’s not why I’m here. I need help from all of you,” he said strongly. “Meet me at Firefly Fields tonight at eleven, all of you, and bring Spike,” he said in a tone that seemed like he would not accept no for an answer. He turned and simple walked away through the cafe. “Make sure you wear something warm,” he shot over his shoulder. The girls watched him go, unsure of what to make of their encounter.

“So what do we do Twi?” asked Rainbow Dash as she leaned back in her chair. Twilight let out a sigh.

“Well what can we do girls?” she asked rhetorically. “Finish brunch then plan for tonight.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Several tedious hours of planning and replanning later, this happened:

“Spike! You ready?” Twilight called up the stairs of the library. “We only have an hour to get ready if we’re going to meet D on time.”

“Why do we have to meet him so late?” he asked groggily as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Sure he was 16, but his body was still young and needed a lot of sleep because of it.

“I don’t know,” Twilight admitted. “But I highly doubt that he’d appreciate us being late,” she said with half a smile. “Now let’s go over the checklist.” She passed her purple backpack over to Spike with her magic while she grabbed a scroll off of a table. “Sweater?” she read out loud.

“Check,” said Spike, just barely half awake.

“Notebook?”

“The new one you just got?” asked the dragon as he dug through the bag. “Yeah, right here.”

“Pencil?”

“Check.”

“Spare pencil?”

“Check.”

“Pocket pencil sharpener?”

“Got it.”

“Blanket?”

“Uh, check.”

“Warm hat?”

“Got it.”

“All right, what else? Coffee thermos?”

“Half full,” replied the dragon as he wiped a bit of the black liquid off of his face. He set the thermos back into the bag and looked at Twilight, who was not amused. “What?” he asked.

“Nevermind.” Twilight replied as she went back to her list. “Um, I think that covers it,” she rolled the scroll back up and placed it back on the desk. “Let’s go,” she said as she levitated both the bag and the dragon over to her. She shouldered the bag and picked Spike out of the air and carried him out the door with her, magically killing the fire in the lanterns scattered around the house as she did so.

Twilight made her way through Ponyville to the outskirts of town and took the dirt path to Firefly Fields. She stood by a tall tree and waited for her friends to join her. She set Spike down and watched the gates for anyone coming her way. Five minutes later she was joined by Applejack wearing jeans and a tattered gray work hoodie and a sleepy Applebloom wearing pajama bottoms and a red hoodie.

“Howdy Twi,” Applejack said with a tip of her hat. “Any idea why D had us come out so late?” she asked as he gave Applebloom a tap on her shoulder to wake her up.

“Not a one,” she replied. “But it sounded important.” Applejack nodded in agreement.

“So what do you think of him? Spooks aside of course,” Twilight thought about it for a minute.

“Well, seeing as I’ve known him for two days and saw him only 15 minutes total of those two days, I don’t know. There’s just something off with him, like he’s hiding something big.” Applejack nodded.

“Yeah, Ah think Ah get what yer sayin’. Every time Applebloom an her friends asked him about his cutie mark he said that he would tell them later.” She lowered her voice and leaned in close to Twilight. “Not to mention whatever he did last night near the swimmin’ hole. He made the girls Pinkie Promise not to tell and, as an’ older siblin’, Ah can’t help but think something weird happened, ya know what Ah mean?” Twilight grimaced.

“That might be a bit much Aj, but yeah, something definitely happened. Remember how Sweetie Belle slipped up and mentioned magic, and how Applebloom mention the word ‘prince’?”

“Twilight, you don’t think that D’s actually a prince er something.”

“‘Or something’ seems far more likely,” Twilight responded as she watched Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie walk through Ponyville’s gates. “But we’ll find out soon enough.” She un-slung her bag and rooted around for her coffee thermos. “And while we wait for Rarity and Sweetie Belle to show up, coffee.” She handed the thermos to Applejack who gave her a look. “I just got a weird feeling that we're going to be up for a while and need to be fully alert,” she said simply. “So, coffee,” she said and pointed to Applebloom, who was curled up at the base of the tree asleep. Applejack rolled her eye and uncapped the thermos and handed it to her little sister.

“Here ya’ go sugarcube, take a sip er two,” Applebloom nodded sleepily and put it to her lips, she drank a mouthful of the black liquid and fell into a coughing fit.

“Eww,” she moaned as she handed the thermos back to her older sister. “What in tarnation was that?”

“That’s coffee, lil’ sis,” responded Applejack with a laugh. “Ah know how eager you’ve been ta have some since yer all grown up now.”

“An’ you drink that stuff every morinin’?” asked Applebloom, repulsed. “How can you stand it?”

“Ah guess it’s an acquired taste,” Aj chuckled as she took a sip of coffee herself then handed the thermos back to Twilight with a smile. “Thanks Twi.” Twilight nodded in response and turned to face the friends that just arrived.

“Hi Twilight!” shouted Pinkie Pie happily as she skipped along happily. “Isn’t it amazing out tonight? It’s so nice and warm, the stars are out and the moon looks amazing!” Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo wore twin expressions of annoyance both Pinkie’s antics so late at night and the fact that they were being robbed of their precious sleep.

“Um, Pinkie Pie, could you, um, be a little bit quieter, please? If you don’t mind of course, it’s just that Rainbow and Scootaloo don’t seem to appreciate you being so loud right now,” murmured Fluttershy.

“Oh I’m sorry Dashie. I’m just so excited to be out so late with my bestest friends,” she said happily. She suddenly gasped loudly. “Oh I know! I should throw a ‘Almost Midnight’ party, oh and then a ‘Midnight Party’ party, then a ‘After Midnight’ party, then a...”

“PINKIE PIE!” Dash snapped. “Please, not now.” Pinkie smiled sheepishly and picked at her pink wool sweater.

“Sorry Dashie,” Pinkie said as she went over to the tree and leaned against it. “So what now?” she asked simply.

“We have to wait for Rarity,” Twilight said simply.

“Welp, get comfy kid,” muttered Rainbow Dash to Scootaloo as she flew up onto a cloud and lay down on top of it. Scootaloo flapped her wings as best she could and made it up to a cloud across from Rainbow where she sat down with a smile. "Not bad kid," complemented Rainbow. "Looks like you’ve been training like crazy.”

“Yeah Rainbow. I’m tryin’ my hardest to get better at flying. It’s been really hard, but I’ve been getting a lot better at it, I think,” Scootaloo said with a smile.

The girls continued to talk with each other while they waited for Rarity and Sweetie Belle to arrive. Roughly fifteen minutes later, two well dressed girls walked out of Ponyville’s gates and headed towards the element bearers.

“Hello girls!” Rarity shouted. “I’m so sorry that we’re late, but I simply could not decide what outfit I should wear.” She looked at her friends curiously. “Is something the matter?”

“Oh it’s nothing really Rarity. We’ve just been waiting here for about twenty minutes waiting for you to show up,” replied Rainbow Dash crossly from her cloud. She sat up and shook her head vigorously, trying to shake the sleep out of her brain. “Why do you even care? It’s almost midnight. No one is gonna’ be able to see what you’re wearing, and Little D creeps you out! Why would you care what he thinks about your outfit?”

“Rainbow, darling, none of those are good even remotely valid reasons for me not to look my best,” Rarity replied as she fluffed the white fur of her jacket’ neckline. “Oh and don’t worry Fluttershy dear. This fur was shaved off. I’m sure whatever animal it came off of is just fine or, if anything, just a tad bit chilly.” Fluttershy relaxed a little at that. “Now then everyone, I suggest we go meet up with our new, *ehem*, friend.” Sweetie Belle nodded at her sister attempt at somewhat considering giving D a second chance. Then they departed for Firefly Fields
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“They’re late,” complained a frantic voice.

“By two minutes,” came the slow calculating voice of another who spoke with a slight whistle. “Calm down, dear nephew.”

“I apologize for my impatience, Uncle, but the fate of the world is kinda’ hangin’ in the balance here,” retorted the nephew. “Not to mention how damn long I’ve waited for this moment, pardon my language.” The nephew pushed off of the boulder his uncle was sitting atop of and began pacing around it. “Oh man, what if they don’t show up or something?” he shook his head. “No, no they wouldn’t do something like that,” he said with a confident smile, which quickly faltered. “would they?” The old man sat on the rock and sighed as he tapped his finger against his platinum cane.

“What a strange boy,” the old man thought to himself. “He has so much power and experience in his possession, but he worries about the smallest of details. How many times has he played this scenario in his head, I wonder. Praying to get it perfect and winning the trust of the element bearers,” he sighed again. “And that sporadic attitude? He can be jovial and laughing with his best friend one moment, and in the next he’s all business and frowns?” he watched his nephew fret about below him and smiled. “And yet, he still brings me so much joy. It’s about time some joy was brought to him. This road won’t be easy for him, but I know that he will enjoy himself.” He stood up straight and smoothed out the grey pinstripe suit he was wearing. He then took out a little comb made from the same material as his cane and began fixing his silky smooth gray hair. Unlike his nephew, who wore his hair long, the old man had relatively short hair that went just above his shoulders. His hair was slicked back naturally. “Stop your stressing nephew. It’s not good for you.” His nephew chuckled a bit.

“Sorry uncle, but stress is the least lethal thing that I’ve had to face. I’ve dealt with dragons, soldiers, murderers, fishing trips, and I always turn out just fine, both physically-” he stopped his sentence short when he sensed people getting close to the field he was standing in. He turned the direction the energy was coming from and visibly relaxed. “Oh praise the heavens, they’re here,” he sighed. “Ok, remember, be friendly, be kind, and don’t mess this up.” he hissed to himself.

His uncle rolled his eyes and ran his comb through his grey moustache.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The element bearers walked into Firefly Fields with mixed expressions of unease, sleepiness, and on one face, wide-eyed amazement.

“WOW! Look at all these firefly’s you guys!” Pinkie Pie hopped around. “There’s gotta be like,” she put a fist to her chin as she thought then snapped her fingers when she came up with the answer. “At least a magillion of them!”

“Actually, theres a magillion and ten, but you get bonus points for getting close,” came a familiar voice. “I’m really glad you all could make it here tonight and, uh, really sorry about it being so late, I didn’t have a choice, really,” said Little D with a sheepish smile. “Ah, but where are my manners? Everyone, I’d like you to meet my uncle, you can call him Uncle D, or just Uncle.” The muscular old man in the suit bowed deeply.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet the Elements of Harmony. My nephew has been searching for you all for quite some time now.”

“Yeah but don’t freak, it’s not for anything weird,” D added quickly. “Well, I guess by the standards of normal people, it would be a little bit.” He said quietly, which didn’t put the girls at ease. “Look I called you all here because I am in desperate need of your help.”

“An just why should we help you?” Applejack asked rudely. Little D sighed then took a deep breath. He looked at the girls and dragon in front of him and stood up as straight as he could and thought of the best way to say what needed to be said. Finally, he got it right in his head and nodded to himself.

“Because, if you don’t help me, we will all die.”

Author's Note

In my mind, Uncle sounds like the Wretched Abyss from Skyrim, only not quite as deep a voice.