Listen... my bad.
"A waste of time, that's all it was, just a complete waste of time," Austin shouted.
I looked at him while we exited the school. "Not a fan?"
"Don't give me that Daniel, that was absolute garbage,"
"Hey, I thought it was pretty good, I liked it,"
"Yeah, that's because you're a nerd, a huge nerd,"
Shaking my head to dismiss the thoughts, Austin and I made our way towards the edge of the town. Austin and I liked to go out every once and a while to explore the forest on the east side of town. There were various caves and valleys to explore all over, and we had the whole day to do it.
We made sure to stop back at the orphanage to get some food first. After eating a quick meal of oatmeal and fruit, we gathered some food and packed it in Austin's backpack. Putting two small knives as well as a box of matches in the bag, we said goodbye to Harvest Candy for the day, and turned to leave.
About half an hour later, we had descended into a small valley, and were exploring the forest floor, trying to see if we could find anything of interest.
Now, you are probably wondering what the hell we are doing in the middle of a forest, after attending a history lecture, on a Tuesday afternoon. Truth be told, we don't even know. We just like to do things as life hands them to us. Living at the orphanage, we got a lot of freedom, so long as we are back by 10:00 PM, we could go wherever we wanted. The forest offered a place to go where we had no idea what to expect, and this is partially the reason why we came here so often. Other than that, we were kids, and kids are stupid, so what do you expect?
Walking around for about another few hours, we had found various caves and cliffs that we explored, and we got a few good views from these things.
After a little while longer, we descended into another cave that we had found, to see if we could find anything of interest.
"Daniel, we need to be getting back to Dismith pretty soon, it's getting kinda late," Austin told me, standing at the entrance of the cave, while I pressed on.
"Hold on, this is the last one, come on!" I yelled.
Running into the cave, I pulled out the matches that I had put in my pocket. Striking one, I moved forward, being careful not to bump onto anything. I could hear Austin faintly behind me, poor guy, I should have given him a few matches. Granted, he wouldn't know how to use rocks to strike the match, but it would have been something. Moving forward, I-
"Ah, shit,"
I gasped as the match I was holding burnt my hand, dropping it in the process. I fumbled around for another one, eventually lighting one, and pressed further into the cave. Winding around a corridor, up ahead, I thought I could see some kind of… light? I kept going, speeding up, anxious to see what lay ahead of me. Taking a wrong step…
"Woah, oh shit-"
My head collided with the ground, and I groaned in pain. Standing up, I lit another match, and moved forward, less than 10 yards from the light.
Approaching the light, I could see that the light source was actually coming from… some sort of stand? It seemed to have more than a few lights on it, almost illuminating the cavern we were in. I dropped the match I was holding, and stamped it out. Somehow, these lights looked… familiar. Almost like something I had seen out of… a textbook?
It hit me like a ton of bricks. I stood bewildered at the sight before me. Stupidly, I ran around what rested before me, completely ecstatic. I shot my gaze around the almost shattered pedestal.
"Laughter, generosity, honesty, kindness, loyalty… this… these…" I babbled incoherently.
Sat before me, on a beat up shattered granite and marble pedestal, were the elements of harmony.
The Elements. Of. Harmony.
"I… how…" I took a large breath in, and closed my eyes to focus. Opening my eyes once again, I found my excitement quickly returning.
"…how in the hell did these wind up here?"
I switched my gaze to the area that I was in, taking careful note of my surroundings. The cave I was in had a roof no taller than eight feet, and the pedestal that held the gems was about five feet tall. Moss hung all over the room, as it sat in an oval shape. Vines littered the floor, flowers popping up in random places. But strangest of all, was the glow.
The elements all gave off different glows, all pooling on the ceiling of the cave. I looked back at the pedestal, and noticed an empty spot. The elements all sat in a circle, but there were apparently six spots.
Five gems… six spots…
Hm… where is the last element… and WHAT is the last element…
I had never read about a sixth element, nor had Mr. Slate mentioned anything in the lecture…
Growing even more curious, I leaned in closer. I found that the gems were all giving off heat, which intrigued me even further. I reached in even closer putting my hand in the empty spot of the last element. Upon touching the pillar, I felt a tingling sensation. I drew my hand back, but quickly found myself becoming more interested. Slowly, painfully slowly, I put my hand back where it was. The tingling… wasn't coming from the spot, as I felt it on either side of my hand. It was coming from…
The elements…
Moving my hand about an inch to the right, I felt the sensation get warmer there and less on my left, confirming my thoughts. The gem on my right was a light blue. I picked up my hand, and slowly placed it on the gem. I felt… different.
My hand warming, I had visions of all my friends in my head, all my obligations to them...
I gazed down, and placed my hand on another element, this one a dark purple. My thought again turned to my friends, and all the gifts that I had ever given to them. I took my hand off the element, and stepped back.
There had to be a connection to the missing gem, and I intended to find out what it was. I took slow, small turns, placing my hand on each gem. Thoughts of lies I had ever told, jokes I had ever made, and kind things I had ever done danced in my head, each to its own respective element.
Taking a step back again, I thought.
Hm, the elements were used to defeat Discord… by the princesses… do they have the last gem? Mmm, that wouldn't make sense… used by the princesses together… together… together?
Throwing caution to the wind, I moved forward, and picked up each gem carefully. I placed them all in the center, making sure all were touching. When the last gem was placed on top, which was laughter, the gems did something very concerning.
They started glowing even brighter.
And so did the spot where the last gem was supposed to be. The outline of a gem was glowing a bright white, and suddenly so were the other gems.
Now, any sensible person would turn tail and run right now, or at least unstack the gems. But a curious person would do something much… stupider…
"DANIEL! Where are you!" I could hear Austin getting closer, but I paid him no heed.
Deciding against my brain, I went with my gut, and placed one hand on the elements. Very carefully, very slowly, I placed my open palm where the outlined gem was. As soon as my palm was under the gem, my vision blurred, and soon everything went white. I could still feel, but I had lost my vision. I threw my hands away, and jumped backwards. Once again, I decided that the best option right now was to go with it. I placed my hands back where they were, and my vision once again blurred.
Remaining calm, I stood as still as I could. The elements were the most powerful forms of magic in Equestria, but they were also the most forgiving.
I stood for what seemed hours, but was more likely minutes.
Incoherent, almost alien thoughts flew throughout my brain, and I couldn't make out any of them. They felt almost… warm. Like, a physical sensation of warmness.
I waited.
…
"Daniel, finally, here you ar-"
Suddenly, I felt a great pain in my chest and lower abdomen. The next thing I know, I was flying backwards… then… all was black…
Relatively speaking, I was never one for early morning conversation, especially before I had my coffee.
"…reorganize the bills for today and that was quite the hassle, so there are those to deal with, and of course this is all under the presumption that everything goes smoothly in your…"
I could really use coffee right now…
"…because heavens knows that he is not a very lively fellow. On top of that, Captain Reigns has requested that…"
No cream, no sugar… just sweet caffeine…
"…because apparently a few of the… newer cadets haven't been getting along so well, and the damages are extensive, regarding the new…"
Please be quiet…
"…which should about wrap it up for today! Are there any concerns, your majesty?" Ivory Hooves asked.
"Yes, what time is it?"
"Seventeen past seven, princess,"
"…damn…" Celestia said silently.
General waking up activities concluded, the day had started at thirty three minutes after seven. First on the agenda?
Coffee.
Having made my way to the kitchen, I could already smell the grounds. Stepping in, I found my favorite chef, Piérre, moving towards me. Piérre. I know, cliché.
"Ah, princess, I had just finished preparing your morning coffee,"
"Perfect, thank you Piérre," I spoke gently, taking the coffee with my magic.
Sipping the pure, unadulterated heaven that was my coffee, I left the kitchen and made my way to the court room. Day Court started at 9:00 AM, so it was good to be there early. After making my way there, and setting up all of the cases and suits that needed to be dealt with today, I was finally ready to start. The room filled up about ten minutes before we were scheduled to start, so we began early.
Day Court is quite possibly the most boring, repetitive, obnoxious and absurd thing that ever came into existence. And I hate it and so should you. In fact, I will spare you the details of what progressed throughout the day. Just imagine having to sit in a courtroom all day long with people constantly arguing over the silliest of things, and the only thing you can do is wait for them to finish so that you can make a verdict, ALL. DAY. LONG. That, is Day Court.
Many hours and tears later…
The last pony was ushered out of the room, and the doors to the court were closed. I sat back in my chair, my eyes closed, ears ringing, head aching. Eleven. Hours. That's how long it had taken for all of the day's cases to be brought to a close. It was now shortly after eight, and I had gotten nothing else accomplished that I needed to.
…
"Eleven hours…" I quietly mumbled to myself.
Picking myself up, I slowly moved to the doors, and stepped into the castle hallway. The air seemed to be cooler here, which brought me nothing but delight. Having had enough of today, I decided to just go to bed. We had taken a small lunch break at noon, so food was not a concern right now. Approaching my bedroom, I flung the doors open, and stepped inside. Halfway through the door, I stopped.
…
I felt… something familiar. Something… strong.
It was…
I gasped, and turned to run and gather my sister. Something was very wrong, something with the elements. The elements, from so long ago…
Going to try to be more consistent now that things have calmed down for me. Stay tuned for another chapter probably!