Thanks go to my PMs, really helped improve my thoughts. My thanks go to a buddy o' mine, seniorcopycat.
Hearth Fire's POV
I was without question, freaked out. I had been personally transported to Canterlot by none other than the princess of magic herself! But by observing her, I couldn't tell if it was an honor, or death sentence. She was trotting straight backed, brisk, and eloquent. But I could sense a tenseness in her presence.
Clearing my throat, I asked, "Umm, hate to be a bother, Princess Twilight. But where are we going? We've been trotting for two minutes here in this garden! Whe-"
"Alright! I get it Hearth! You're tired! Now stop whining and I'll tell you." With me shutting up, and her giving me an amused side glance, continued, "I want to discuss you're deeds in the EverFree forest. I have good senses and something tells me that, how should I put it? Have you heard of the Elements of Harmony?" She asked as we opened a pair of double doors leading into a long hallway.
It had violet walls and ceiling, like Princess Twilights fur. There was no light in the hallway, just moonlight illuminating the hallways and casting away the darkness. Slowly trotting through the hallway with echoing hoofsteps, I confirmed there was opal white floor tiles.
"Yes, but only once from a... Friend of mine." I said sadly, remembering the distance between me and my friends.
"Hm, well anyway that allows me to cut to the chase. I have seen you and your friends interact, and think you may hold the potential to fill in the original Elements reign 250 years ago... Such a long time ago since the safety of this land has been assured by the Elements. But, you may be able to change that." Princess Twilight said, with a ray of happiness finally shining in her voice.
Rolling my eyes, I huffed out a breath before shaking my head and responding, "You're kidding, right Princess? Sure I did a good thing, but I really don't consider it Element worthy!"
Looking at me with a confused expression, Princess Twilight just shook her head with a knowing smile, "... Cutting yourself so short of all the potential you have in your soul. How Noble. But that is not all I am basing this off of. I can sense what is in big noggin of yours, so you don't have to try to convince me your a bad kind of pony. For I know your not. You care about your friends above yourself, and this is how the energy of friendship is kindled and fueled."
Arriving at a double door that was, you guessed it, purple. She pushed it open and motioned for me to follow with her angelic wings spread wide. Following her inside, I was surprised by the arrangement of the room. Entire shelves were filled to the brim with books of varying size. Some were small and skinny while others were thick and bulky with amassed pages being pressed down by the pure weight. There was a brown wooden desk in the back of the room with a chair in front, facing the desk and once behind it that was where he assumed she sat. There were bundled scrolls piled onto the desk, somehow ordered though. The wooden floor was spotless and had no visible item anywhere that was sloppily thrown.
That's the sense I instantly got from her. Always the clean and orderly one.
There were also torches on opposite walls that shined down on the room. There was a balcony up a stairway to the loft above. That must be where she slept. There was two skylights high up in the stone wall, shedding beams of the moonlight into the already lighted room.
Wait, what was that shadow up in the window? Pausing as I stared at the spot, I decided it had simply been a Pegasus flying over Canterlot and casting a shadow on the window... Doubted it but decided to move on. This room was different than the hall, but was more old fashioned with stone and wood instead of the Chrystal towers being built all around Canterlot.
Now that Princess Twilight finally had the light from the torches shining onto her, I inspected the young Princess further.
She was definenently shorter than the eons older rulers. But she had a warm smile on her muzzle, that could rival Celestia's widest brightest smile. Her wings were also smaller than the princesses, but seemed to be lengthier. He would bet that she could touch both sides of his hotel room by simple unfurling her wings. But the weirdest, coolest thing about her was her horn. It constantly had a magneta color twirled around the horn that was as long as Celestia's. The constant aura around her horn was a sign of the strongest magic imaginable. It had happened only a few times in pony history when a Unicorn/Alicorn had been so fluent and strong with magic, they could barely contain it, with a Cutie Mark of a star appearing to radiate magic. Go Figure.
Overall, very eloquent and beautiful.
"... Done sizing me up? Don't worry my little pony, I don't bite." She teased with a slight laugh.
"..." For once I was speechless. No one reads me that easily, I'm like a rock!
"Ha. Anyway, have a seat and we will discuss this further." She then marched out of the doorway and sat in the chair behind the desk and placed her hooves on top, giving me a warm look. "Well sit down then! I don't have all of Luna's night you know."
Such a bucking tease... But I liked that. Those girly mares with absolutely no personalities and only followed the trends and what other ponies said. Those kind of mares bugged me, big. I'd met too many to have respect for them. I had seen more personality in sheep following a pastor in the fields of Pansas.
"Fine, Mom. You gonna spoon feed me baby formula over there?" Sitting in my chair, I chuckled to myself. Sure the princess was sarcastic, but I was the king of sarcasm. My land was Sarcastica, and the ponies there were named Castics. And little sarcassodils growing in the ground. Yes, I was actually going through these details in my head.
"Well then... I gather you're hungry?" She replied deviously, laughing at the way my eyes shot open wide at the burn she had inflicted.
Damn. Never mind. She has conquered Hearth's empire. I ain't gonna go that low with sarcasm.
"Hah, the expression on your muzzle is too priceless my little pony! Anyhow, down to the real business at hand... Tea for you?" She asked while literally making two cups full of tea appear levitating above her desk with a magneta glow. I was pretty parched, that drowsy spell she cast on me was making me feel like a reanimated corpse. Numb, cold, and weak. Any kind of nourishment would feel great.
"Yes please Princess! Celestia bless your kind heart!" I said while striking a praying pose.
"Stop kissing my flank. I have reasons to believe that you are an Element of Harmony. And with Equestria's amassing enemies, we need all the fire power we could possibly use. In this chamber they lay. But I want to see if you can find them yourself." She smiled at my blank expression and took a polite sip of her tea. "And before you think otherwise, this is not a test."
My flank it wasn't a test. She expected something from me that I was positive wasn't there. So, shakily standing up from the desk with my cup of tea in grasp of my magic, I looked around the room.
Nothing obvious was in the room, just the speculations I had made from earlier. Books and scrolls. Staircase leading upstairs. Shelves crammed with books. Stone walls and wooden plank floor. Nothing special.
But I knew Princess Twilight wasn't lying. Being on the road for so long had its benefits. I had learned a lot of magic, physical shape had massively improved from already impressive stature, and being able to corner out the liars. I needed to sort out the liars so I could get good bargains, sales, and sort out possibly dangerous mystery ponies. There were ALOT of those crazies in the world.
"Advice tip #1 for you Hearth, don't use your eyes on everything. Sometimes you have to FEEL it instead." Princess Twilight told me, while stirring her tea cup.
Alright, fine. Use the marish feels for this one. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and concentrated on, well anything. I'm not exactly the most Buddhist pony ever, but it was nice to clear my head finally, all those sore muscles relaxing.
*...thump...*
What?
*..thump..*
It sounded like a heart beat, and it was getting closer.
*.thump.*
What was going on?! I couldn't open my eyes! It was as if they were gorilla glued together.
*THUMP*
Finally able to open my eyes, I inhaled a ragged breath as I realized I had been holding my breath the entire time. That last beat was gargantuan, and now I knew why. I was standing over a chest with infused gems of a variety of colors, with a purple coat of paint filling in the spaces between gems.
"... Oh my... You actually did it... You did it! There's been so many others Hearth. But none could summon the box. The box only comes to one that can command the Elements! They were infused in the tree of Harmony, because of the deaths of the previous Elements..." Twilight took a short gasp after saying this, as if it caused her pain. "But the fact you called them to you, it not only means the tree is charged, but that they can perform their proper duties again! This, this is astounding! Open the box already! I'm like a little mare on Hearth's Warming Eve here!"
I was still shocked and exhausted at the indications of what was happening at the moment, but seeing an alicorn princess spring around like a filly brought a smile to my lips.
"... Alright, but seriously... What happened right there?" I asked because I really wanted to know why I went all zombie for a few moments. Not breathing, and not being able to feel my own body. It was a weird sensation, and I wanted to check to see if she would mention any freaky side effects.
"You entered the recesses of your mind and discovered your instincts to be an Element! I designed the test myself, to see if they react to who you are. It's apparent now that they see something in you!" Wholly Celestia her pupils were incredibly un-dilated.
My mind worked this over, examining and comparing every detail the Princess had rambled to what I already knew. Twilight had been an Element, before forfeiting her crown into the Tree of Harmony to stop the evil plants from the very same forest of the Everfree Forest from taking over Equeatria. The Elements had been locked into the tree, unable to be removed since the passing of the holders, leaving Twilight alive and alone, friendless. Sad story, I thought. I don't know how she's so normal like she is right now, knowing she would probably never see them again in the afterlife.
"Hmm. Well how about that. On with the show then!" I finally said, snapping out of my deep thinking and raising my hooves above the box.
Pushing open the chest, a blinding flash emanated from inside, and then disappeared leaving my eyes stinging from the powerful beam of light. Peering inside, I saw a jumble of jewelry necklaces inside.
"Uhhh... Oookaaay... I think you mistook the Elements box for your personal jewelry box, princess." I said, confused about what had happened.
She looked at me funnily for a moment, then laughed and trotted over to join me next to the box.
"No! The Elements were stored in these 5 necklaces, and my crown, to contain their power as a handy accessory that could be used to bring out the inner power of a ponies self and store it the necklaces to create a beam to destroy the evil in other beings."
Oh ya, totally made sense. Princesses created the Elements of Harmony, what a coincidence.
"Hmm..."
"I can see why your skeptical of the power of the Elements, but I can tell you from experience their real, and very very powerful if used correctly. Now then, touch one."
Deciding asking any more questions would probably deter him from the goal at hoof, he slowly placed his hoof inside the box and... And... AND!
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I should've known this was a bunch of hokum.
"Bu-But..! This makes no sense! They should react to you of you were able to summon them! What is going on... Spell broken?.. No, summoning didn't work for anypony else!.. This is puzzling..." Twilight mumbled, more to herself than anypony else.
Well, it was official. Equestria had one plum crazy Alicorn mare as ruler of magic.
"... Well it's getting pretty late Princess Twilight. I think I'll head on home if you don't mind..." I said nervously as I inched my way towards the door.
"Ugh, I'm not crazy Hearth. Please don't think I am! I'm sorry for wasting your time, I'll return you home then." She told me with a frown and a tired expression. She looked discontented as she slowly turned to face the backing away stallion. Powering her horn, she closed her eyes and pointed her horn at his chest, until he thought of something and yelled over the humming of her magic being powered up.
"Wait!" She stopped and cracked her eyes curiously open at the anxious Hearth. "I have a meeting here tomorrow anyway, may as well stay. A lot of bits for the train ride over here anyway. I can just write to my friends and let them know I'm alright so they won't worry over where I am."
Stopping, she waved her hoof towards the doorway and levitated a bag of bits towards me.
"Very well, I'll write to your friend Cotton. You go find a hotel and splurge yourself. Have fun! But no Hoarses, got it?" She glared at him with the last part.
This embarrassed me heavily, I wasn't thinking of that! Despite the marefriends, he hadn't ever... Ya know! He had to know a mare to, well you know... Never Mind! Your hopeless at explaining, even to yourself.
So just nodding my head slowly, I took the money she had generously given me and left the double doors back into the hallway.
Laying on my king sized comfy bed, I wanted to kiss the Princess for her hospitality towards me. I had checked into a 40-story tall hotel that was named, "The Maneton" and it was bucking AWESOME! I was currently on the 23rd floor, heights didn't appeal to me, the rich Pegasuses always checked out the highest perches, the lobby manager had told me. It had a mini water slide park, (Currently Hearth was drenched and his throat was coarse from spending two straight hours screaming like a little filly down the TERRIFIER! and boy did it live up to its name.) delectable food, and a "MINI" fridge the size of a regular hotel.
All in all, I was happy to be alive. Normally I was always sad about, something. I never could put my hoof on it, but I knew it was there somewhere. A sadness about this estranged life barren of any TRUE love. I had the love of my friends though, and that was the only thing keeping me running strong. If it wasn't for them, well...
Enough of this depressing subject! On to a root beer the size of a water silo back in PonyVille!
Outside the Maneton
Unknown to Hearth, a presence had tailed him from the Princesses chamber, stalking him through the crowds. Dressed in guards armor, the pony seemed to blend in with other border patrols. But this pony was no guard.
"... The Maneton... I should expect no less from this Stallion that's the princesses pet... A jobs a job... Sorry buddy, but our army doesn't need the Elements of Harmony to go against us... The war would be tipped in the favor of this weak, soulless land and it's ponies. We would rule them better. Nopony would mess with us. We aren't like the sweet candy shop soldiers they have here. I heard from the skylight that you summoned them... It's only a matter of time until you control them, and that can't happen."
Pushing past the crowds, the pony pulled out a deadly sharpened ebony dagger and lit it's horn with an icy blue aura.
"Say your prayers pony, because you'll need a God beyond Celestia for this one."
Hearth Fire's POV
"Aww, no Roasted Sunflowers... Bummer. That was the only thing this hotel was missing! It was extravagant in all places, floors, and even had a gigantic garden with a lake! Pure awesomeness!" I told myself as I looked through the food cabinets. Until I got the chill.
You know how sometimes you crawl out of bed one day and your freezing your nips off, but you don't know why? Well this is basically that, but it came out of nowhere. Wasn't cold outside, air conditioner was off, and the sun was just rising outside. Would've been a beautiful sunrise to watch. If I hadn't felt like Frosty the Snow Ponie's sudden replacement.
I was just standing there in the middle of my hotel room, with my eyes wide open and trembling from the cold. I couldn't even move, like I was frozen in place. I actually might HAVE been frozen, all Hearth wanted to do was cuddle with a bonfire.
Fire... Of course... My brain must've been malfunctioning from the cold. Summoning up fire in my horn that came easily through years of repetition, I spread it throughout the room. Too weak, it started freezing over again but I was loosened from my icy grip on the carpet and made for the door. But paused just as I was about to open it with my magic.
The cold came back instantly, which means somepony was controlling this. I didn't know how I knew, but it made sense. That glimpse in the skylight, I KNEW that was somepony. Now something was trying to kill him after hearing about my performance, coincidence? I think not.
They were probably waiting in the hallway, waiting for me to escape. I wasn't ready for a fight, the cold had drained me pretty bad. It's a trap, so how do I get out without using the door? Looking up, I saw there was no air vents or ducts. Not getting out like that. I ran out of the hallway and into the living room. I saw windows first, they were being frozen over, with less and less visible sight through the window.
Not thinking straight, I blasted the giant window with a small flame ball, instantly breaking it and sending glass down below into the city and scattering on the carpet in the room. That's when I remembered that I wasn't a Pegasus. I would've facehoofed myself if he had the energy. My mind was being sedated from the cold.
That's when fate showed a little sympathy for the Stallion. The sun started to rise, and it was already casting away the freezing air of the room as light and warmth flooded the room.
I breathed a sigh of relief until I heard a loud slam come from the door in the hallway.
Outside Hearth Fire's Door
It was working, the pony could feel Hearth's life aura growing fainter and fainter. Concerned by a blast of warmth, she slipped over to the door and perched with knife in magical grip facing the door. But for some oddball reason, he did not escape through the door like the pony thought Hearth would. He was supposed to be bright, but this was far from it.
The lethal pony was still puzzled when it felt a warm blast shatter the window in the room.
Finally cracking a smile, "Lost his bucking mind, unexpected but he's still a dead pony... Time to lea-"
But stopping the victory talk to the pony's self as it felt a intense warmth enter the room. The sun had risen by the feel of it.
"DAMN. LUCKY BUCKER!" The pony said frustratingly before bucking open the door and angrily entering into the room.
Hearth Fire's POV
I knew instantly it was the assailant. I also knew I couldn't take on this murderous pony at the moment, due to the weakening cold. But if I could find a hiding spot and heal up, I might have a chance to get out of here, if I'm lucky. Even then though, I might not stand a chance. This pony probably was very experienced due to the way he was handling this.
In the living room, there was two ways to go. One was to the bedroom, and one to a bathroom. I decided since the bathroom was closest to the door he would hide in there. But with my mind finally working, I thought up a distraction.
Messing up the little straight carpet to my bedroom with my magic, I made it look like I was struggling to get inside the room. I then dashed to the bathroom and dived in, turning off the lights in the bathroom. Not closing the door however, for that would make it all too obvious where my hiding spot was.
Not a moment too soon either. I heard the scuffling of hoofsteps enter the living room. Peering out the gap in the doorway, I saw a pony with purple embroidered armor and a helmet with a flowing shadow plume. To his immense surprise, he realized this was no Stallion, but a Mare of Princess Luna's guard with a midnight black coat. Must've been one of the elites, for she had both bat-like wings and a horn. Along with a glinting black dagger that I suspected was ebony. Expensive, but I don't plan on coating it with my blood.
Silently, she looked at the carpet then glanced around the room and focused on the bathroom. I dared not to breathe as I watched the guard anxiously, who seemed to be looking though the door and into my soul. Finally after what felt like eons, she went to the doorway for the bedroom and paused as she slowly glanced into the room, and stepped inside.
Not wasting any of his precious time, I pushed open the door and started to stealthily trot across the floor towards the doorway leading to the exit. Unluckily for me, she took that exact moment to exit my bed chambers.
"THERE you are!" She seemed to smile baring two gigantic fangs, like a python's, and galloped straight at me.
Deciding there was no time for a clever retort, I galloped like Tartarus towards the door and opened it with my magic. Escaping into the hallway, I slammed the door right into the face of the shadow mare. Melting the doorknob so she wouldn't get out by simply turning the handle.
"Ow..." came an angry cry. Other things were said, but it wouldn't feel right repeating them in any context.
Wasting no time, I dashed down the hallway and pressed the button for the elevator. Just as the the bell chimed and the elevator doors opened, his door in the hallway burst open as shards of wood chips scattered in the hallway outside the door. Going into the elevator, Hearth pressed the close button increasingly rapid as the black mare did a sharp turn and came at a full sprint towards him, hissing like a snake. The doors closed just as she reached it, to my great relief.
At least I was relieved until I heard screeching sounds come from above his ride as it came to a stop. Curious, I dragged the emergency ladder from the corner of the elevator and opened the hatch in the roof. Meeting a sight that made all the blood drain from my face.
Ice had frozen the wire and equipment so that the electric box was short circuiting. I could tell from the flickering lights illuminating the fairly wide space in the shaft with gray iron beams frosted over. But oh no, there had to be more. I heard the metal doors about 10 stories up begin to pry open, and I suspected I was about 10 stories above the ground floor. Should've rented a room even closer to the ground floor.
Looking over the side of the elevator, I saw another ladder leading to the bottom of the elevator. Finally a stroke of luck. Gritting my teeth together, I built up the courage to place my hoof on the first rung and smiled when it held. Maybe not as scary as I thought it would be, despite the fact that if I slipped, I was a gonner. Yay, more scary thoughts to make me not want to climb down the scary ladder.
Quickly climbing down the ladder, I used my left hoof to bring a wire waving aimlessly under the elevator to me. Doing a bit of gymnastics, I used my bottom hooves to remain hooked onto the ladder as I dropped down and pinned the wire between my two front hooves. Using this momentum, I unhooked my rear hooves and pinned the wire between them as well.
Hearing a gut clenching sound coming from above, I knew that Miss scary-shadowface had just broken through. Looking below me, I saw a door opening on floor two. I had wanted floor one, but was I in a situation to waste time complaining?
Loosening my grip, I rocketed down the wire, careful to avoid the wire touching bare skin. That would burn like bucking Tartarus at these speeds. Hearing a piercing shriek from above, I looked up just in time for the shadow pony to tackle me into the doorway for floor two.
Floor 2
"Yup, I don't know what's going on you two, but the elevators out of commission as per the minute." The green coated janitor told to a couple with their hooves around each other, with the butter yellow coated mare's head resting on the Blue coated stallions chest.
"Well that's just awful! We need to get out of here to get on our train that will take us to our honeymoon!" The Stallion said exasperated.
"Well, I suppose if your desperate, you could just jump through that window!" Laughed the janitor as the couple looked at the window at the end of the hall.
"Hehe, no thanks. Not until it gets that despe-"
But he was interrupted as a tangle of ponies shot onto the floor from the shaft and rammed head on into the couple knocking them out.
Hearth Fire's POV
I felt like all the air had been sucked out of me when the mare had hit me square in the ribcage. But I ignored it and thanked Celstia for the landing onto a pillow, (AKA lovey dovey couple). Dazed, I swung my hoof out at where I thought the assailant was, extraordinarily hitting the mare in the muzzle and tumbling her off of me.
Scrambling to get up, I gave a surprised grunt as my back hooves were knocked out from under me as I felt her hoof connect with the back of my kneecaps. Looking behind me, I saw the mare spreading her wings. Taking the opportunity of me lying on the floor, she flung her wings out on the ground, sending a gale into me, sending my body down the hallway to slam into a stone wall under a window and making a sickening crunching sound upon impact. That was going to leave a mark. An ugly completely painful mark.
"Buck..." I muttered. I was seeing little yellow dots dance in my vision from the pain. Feeling my ribcage with my hoof, I felt no lump. That's good, nothing broken, just bruised. Getting to my four hooves again, I got in a lowered position and charged up my horn with fire magic and sent a few fireballs in her direction at high speeds. One glanced her, leaving a singed mark, but she successfully twisted her body well enough to avoid the other one as it sailed past her and into the wall behind her. Sending shards of the wall falling to the floor.
"Ready to end this you annoying Stallion!" The mare said in a more, 'Your gong to get it!' rather than a, 'do you want it?' attitude. She pulled out the ebony dagger from her armor pocket, and held it in a threatening manner.
"Hey now Miss mare, you don't have to do this! Give me that and we can forget all about this, alright?" The janitor behind her asked, recovering from his daze. He trotted up to her shoulder and offered his hoof out, asking the mare to place it there and walk away.
She turned on him and brought the dagger up. The janitor flinched and withdrew his hoof to his face and looked away, expecting to be skewered. Hearth had to admit, he thought she would go through with it when he saw the mad look on her face.
But she didn't. It looked like she would, but she paused and stopped mid stab. She looked, scared? She shook her head and backed away, then angrily looked at me down the hallway. Opening her wings, she flew at me once again, charging an icy blue spell on her horn.
Why didn't she do it? Why didn't she kill that janitor? Why did it look like she didn't want to kill? Why the buck was she doing this in the first place?! Why am I worrying about this when she's flying at me like a Bald Eagle on steroids?
All these things rushed through my head as I cast a small fireball spell at the oncoming ice wave, sending pieces of the destroyed spell tumbling to the floor as the fireball sailed past and disappeared from view through the settling blue mist. Triumphant for a moment, I felt good.
Only for a moment.
Bursting through the ice wave remains, she slammed into me in a full on football tackle that would've made any professional player's jaw drop, sending us tumbling through the window directly behind me.
Ignoring the pain coursing through my throbbing head, I wrapped my hooves around her neck and pulled her towards the ground about 2 stories down, she was on top of me with a two fanged smile, with glittering glass falling around them.
Trying to regain control, the mare tried to carry both of them up away from the ground, but no dice. I was one weighted (Not fat) Stallion. She then punched my face, but I used the momentum and did a backflip ending with me on top of her now, only about 10 meters above the ground.
Trying to regain control, she spat in my eyes, even bit my muzzle, which I don't count as a kiss. But I refused to give way as we tumbled through the sky. He was rewarded when they hit the ground as she was crushed under my weight and the ground, creating a sandwich affect.
Slowly slumping off her and onto the ground, I dragged myself up into a sitting position and examined her closer. Her eyes were closed, must've been knocked out from the pain and shock. But I could sense a heart beat with his magic, so still alive. I didn't know why, but I was relieved. That janitor event, that meant something that I couldn't piece together through the throbbing in my skull.
Glass was laying all around the two ponies on the sidewalk outside the hotel. And it was creating a small spectacle. Ponies in gowns and tuxes crowded around them, staring in horrified awe at the Stallion bleeding from glass scrapes, and the knocked out severely injured Night Guard of Luna's.
Hearth didn't know why the ponies wore so much fancy clothes around here. I wasn't one for get-ups myself, I had nothing to hide under my clothes. No perverseness meant there. In my opinion, they were too stuck up and self obsessed. They weren't doing anything HELPFUL for Equestria, just judging others contributions.
Pushing himself onto all fours, I waved at the crowd gathering and spoke in a loud tone, "Yo Ponies! Nothing to see here! Move along, before I," pausing for dramatic effect, "GET YA!" Snickering at the sight of a couple ponies get spooked from my sudden outburst, I picked up the unconscious mare with my magic and walked into the hotel.
As I was being greeted, the greeting Mare with dimples and a light purple coat and mane saw what was going on and took him to the hospital with an emergency transporter in the basement of the hotel designed specifically for these kind of situations. Well, not these EXACT situations, but injury situations I guess. I hope anyways that this wasn't a normal occurrence.
Teleporting to the hospitals, I fibbed and told the doctors that they had been mugged by a gang pony. They wouldn't help her if they knew she was an enemy of the Land of Equestria. Other doctors inspected him, gave Hearth medicine, and ran tests. Concluding it was a simple bruised rib, they suggested taking it easy as the best cure. Thanking them, I asked if I could write to someponies.
The doctors let him use a letter sender. Thanking them, he then wrote to Princess Twilight and his friends about the situation.
Finishing his second letter to his friends, I heard a zapping sound behind him. Turning around, Hearth wasn't surprised to see Princess Twilight standing behind him with an anticipating look in her eyes. Explaining what had happened to her, she shook her head angrily.
"I hate to state the obvious Hearth but... But this pony is part of the threat to Equestria Hearth! She must be imprisoned immediately!" She exclaimed as she examined my ribs and tittered like a mother would.
"No." I said with narrowed eyes and a defensive tone.
My sternness surprised even surprised myself, but I didn't pay heed. This pony still had hope. I didn't know why I felt this way, but I knew I was right on this one.
"What? Have you lost your mind!? She almost killed you, and you want her to be set free in the streets of the largest city in Equestria? May I remind you that she was raised to kill!?" Twilight argued with both surprise ad anger in her voice.
"She doesn't want to Princess, not really anyway. She wouldn't kill a simple janitor in the hallway at the hotel... She didn't want to, I could feel it! I think she's a good pony in heart, I know it in fact. Just let me hang out with her, talk to her, calm her down a bit. Let her see our side of things instead of their side... What is their side anyway?"
Twilight paused for a moment, deciding whether or not to inform him about the enemy. Obviously thinking I was worthy, she sighed.
"They call themselves the Shadow-Tornadoes. They started threatening us not four months ago, and have joined with other groups that are still being discerned by the council. Together, they call themselves the Algazarii Empire, and a silent war has broken out between us. We have lost many soldiers in the war already, but with the Elements of Harmony in action..."
"Princess, it didn't work before! Why would you think it'll work anyhow?" I asked. I'll admit, having awesome powers of legend would be semi awesome beyond belief.
"I was an Element along with my friends once..." She began with a depressing tone in her voice. I noticed this subject bothered her greatly as I saw tears in her eyes.. But she continued, "I know they will save us again, they have to! They always came right when the darkness was at hand! In their base, we have confirmed they have more troops than us, and a powerful leader, and they're being heavily trained for battle. Perfect soldiers. But no evil soldier can survive through the Elements of Harmony and live to still be evil."
I had to admit, it would be nice if so many lives could be spared from the horrors of war, death, and blood. But Hearth didn't know if that would ever be possible.
"...Sure Princess. We'll find out how to activate them! An we'll crush these evil sons of Tartarus!" I said confidently, although my emotions betrayed my voice. I did not have full faith in these mystical objects that stopped death and war altogether, it just seemed to much like a fantasy tale. Such as the Easter Bunny. Saint Hoovilas would look down on Twilight, as he gave me presents this Hearth's Warming Eve!
Smiling at me, the Princess suddenly perked up and said with a half smile, and half frown, (if that's even possible, she did it right then.) "The Shadow Mare has awoken."