“Friends all over know I'm trying to forget about how much I care for you.”

When I blinked, it was like the world reset. The ringing in my ears disappeared, and I was standing, staring down at the chest. A wave of confusion washed over me to complement the extreme disorientation of everything. I wasn’t quite sure what had happened.

“You have done well.” A voice I knew well came from in front of me, sending a pulse of white across everything in the room. I looked up to find that each of the six elements had appeared around me. I looked around at each, spinning until I was looking back toward the door. Predious, Shadow, and Gallant were all standing frozen over somepony laying on the floor. It was... me.

“What is going on?” I shook my head in confusion. The feeling of a pit forming in my stomach made me worry that I’d somehow found a way to screw this up.

“Look.” The voice of my mother emanated calmly from her element, and another pulse of light washed over the room.

As it did, I followed it. As it ran over my friends, a prismatic shimmer outlined them. The colors reflected the elements themselves, although each of them were a tinge more one than the rest. A feeling from deep inside my mind pushed me to understand that it was their relationship to each element itself. The wave however, did not turn prismatic over me. Instead, and inky darkness pulsed back, as if recoiling from the wave the elements released.

“You have been tainted by the dying wish of a greater being.” The element that sounded like Aunty Twilight spoke up. “A curse that will ultimately destroy your very soul.” Another pulse washed over everything, and the darkness in my body again recoiled. “We cannot grant you the help you desire without it’s dark stain absolved.”

“You all are the elements of harmony!” I looked back at the element of magic. “Can’t you just… I don’t know, magic it away?”

“It is not our place to tip fate one way or the other.” The element of honesty flashed as it spoke up. “The fate of ponies are their own to decide.”

“That’s bullshit!” I snapped. “You’re helping me, aren’t you? Why invite me here if you know you can’t give it to me?”

“A question for a question,” The element of laughter spoke up now, “Why did you bring with you three others?”

“Really?” I snorted. How could they sit here and play games when they were the ones who set all this shit up? Looking around at them, I let out a sigh of annoyance and figured I’d play along for now. “Because, they’re my friends.”

“Friendship is a powerful force, but not one on it’s own.” The element of magic spoke up. “We each represent the best that can come from ponykind, but alone we are useless. Laughter is hollow without the honesty of others. Generosity can destroy lives if they are without kindness.”

“I understand that, but none of it at all will matter if I don’t stop Filius.” Whining, I pointed to my friends. “I can’t lose them, not when we’ve come this far.”

“You do not listen.” The element of Loyalty flashed brightly. “You are weak without them. It is their virtues that carry you farther than you can go on your own.”

“But…” I don’t know what they want from me!

“Look.” Momma’s voice spoke up softly.

I did as asked, and watched my friends. With a snap, they unfroze from where they were. Each of them leaned down over me, and Shadow took me in his hooves.

“Storm? Wake up, Storm!” Shadow whined as he held me. As he spoke, a line of blue shot out from the element of Loyalty. “Come on!” He grunted, shaking me softly. “I swear, if you’re just napping…” He trailed off into a whimper as a line of pink shot to him from the element of Laughter.

“It’s the curse she carries. I fear that it is what has caused the tree to act in this way.” Gallant spoke up, causing a line of orange to hit him from the element of Honesty. “The curse must be delt with.”

“What do we do? Do you know how to cure it?” Predious spoke up, the elements oddly still when he did.

“Yes.” Gallant said, another bolt of honesty striking him. “The curse only resolves itself if the host succumbs completely, but…” He paused, looking between them, “It can be transferred.”

“I’ll take it.” Shadow grunted, looking up sternly as another bolt of blue hit him.

“No.” Predious snapped. “Storm needs you, and I won’t watch you sacrifice yourself for her.” Bolts of both yellow and white struck Pred as he turned to Gallant. “My… unique physiology might slow the curse down.”

“Even so, it will still one day affect you.” Gallant spoke with another bolt of honesty. “Are you sure of this?”

“Pred…” I whispered. He… he was just so easily willing to take this burden? How could he do that? How can he knowingly stand there and take it when he knows that it will drive him mad, that it will kill him?

“Yes.” Pred replied simply and without an ounce of hesitation. Another pair of bolts struck him from Kindness and Generosity. “Storm is the first friend I’ve had in decades, and she’s worth every ounce of pain this curse will bring.”

“I do not know if I have the strength,” Gallant nodded, his horn glowing brightly. “But I will try.” With that, a beam lanced out from the element of magic, hitting his horn as he started his spell. The beam pulsed as he shot another beam between Predious and I, the darkness inside me beginning to pulse in time.

“We may be weak alone, but we are strong united.” The element of magic spoke up, pulling my gaze back to her. Tears rolled down my cheek that I didn’t even realize that I had. “When you were birthed, a part of each of us was divided into you. We help to give you some of our power, but your true strength lies in those around you.”

“Hope, is what you bring.” The soft voice of my mother’s element spoke up. “You can help this world rise like a phoenix from the ashes of a painful despair. Those around you do not yet understand the power that hope provides, a power that only you can show them how to wield.”

“I don’t understand… how do I defeat Filius?” Looking around at each of the elements, they remained silent. “What’s in the box?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” The element of Honesty spoke up.

“Almost…!” Gallant groaned, straining under the spell. I looked back at him just in time to watch the darkness pulse again, shrinking down. As it did, the beam between Predious and I turned darker than black, and he let out a whine as it drained into him. It was only a moment’s time before the beam turned whiter and whiter. When it did, the world around me fuzzed.

“What… wait!” I yelled, turning around to get the elements to answer my numerous questions. As I turned, I rolled myself right up into Shadow’s chest with a gasp.

“Storm!” He gasped happily, pulling me close. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine…” I grunted, pushing him away to get a look at Predious. He stood there, panting heavily as his illusion spell flickered. Under it, I could see the frost on his skin, the pain in his eyes that he felt.

“Pred, are you…” I reached out to him with my forehoof.

“I’m fine,” He groaned, focusing himself. “just... feel like a bull ran me over is all.” His illusion flickered again before it became constant. The ghoul he was, once again was hidden under as much of a lie as that statement was.

“Did you commune with the elements?” Gallant asked, stepping forward and looking me over. “Will they assist us?”

“I… I’m not sure.” I didn’t know what to tell them. They told me that my friends and hope are the key, but I don’t even know what that means. How can I return to the others and tell them ‘don’t worry, friendship and determination will win the day’? Looking back over to the box, the grey magical field that was once over it had dissipated. “Let’s find out.”

Slowly, I walked back over to the box. The ringing in my head from before, the pull towards it, none of it was there anymore. Hesitantly, I raised my hoof towards it again. Carefully, I touched the box. I waited a moment, wincing as I lifted the lid. There was no blast, no force to push me away.

The lid opened smoother than any door I’d ever used in my life. It was almost effortless as I lifted it up. The interior of the box was lined with a plush white lining that looked softer than the white, puffy clouds I’d once seen wandering the skies. I leaned forward, looking down into the interior. Resting in the center of the box, was what looked to be a piece of glass.

A small, square cut gem that was clearer than anything I’d ever seen in my life. As the light hit it, a prism of colors shined out from it. I had no idea what to do with it, but when I reached in towards it, I could feel the flames inside of me rise. Taking the small gem into my hoof, I felt them build up, more and more.

“Storm…” Shadow gasped from behind me. “You’re on… fire.”

Turning around, I found that the flames only grew hotter inside me. They pressed against my very essence, clawing for a way out. I looked down at myself, watching as blue flames lit under my hooves. As if that was the exit they were looking for, the fire inside rushed out, climbing up over me in a painful burst. I screamed out and slammed down onto the floor.

The flames inside me twisted and felt like they were burning me to ash as I twitched and writhed. While it did, I noticed something odd. I wasn’t afraid of it, not even in the slightest. Asside from the pain, this felt right, a purging of everything negative that I’d built up. The flames were renewing me, allowing me to be the mare I’ve always been meant to be.

The pain I felt subsided in an instant, and my vision shifted. Even through the fire, I could see. Shadow, Pred, and Gallant, each one existed as the prismatic outline I’d seen before. Inside each of them, a blue flame brightly burned. It was my flame, something that I could feel growing hotter and brighter from even here. As soon as I felt it, the flames inside me dimmed, and the fire around me evaporated into the air.

“She’s…” Gallant stared at me, slowly dropping his hind legs down in awe. “like a phoenix.”

“You’re damn right she is.” Predious nodded and stepped towards me. Even through the pain in his eyes, I knew that he had hope in them. “Let’s go kill that undead son of a bitch.”

With a grin, I reached up and took his hoof. He pulled me up onto my hooves. As he did, a black cloud of ash slid off of me and dropped to the floor. Confused, I turned and stepped back from where I laid. An ashen outline of me lay on the floor, but along with my body, an ashen horn and wings lay with me.

“Are… are you alright?” Shadow whined, stepping up to me.

Firmly, I used my hooves to grab around his head, and pulled myself into a long kiss with him. He seemed alarmed at first, but I think he got the idea after a moment. I felt good, better than ever in fact. More than anything, my head was clear, and in this moment I knew that more than anything else in the world I loved Shadow. With a gasp, I pulled off of his muzzle and giggled.

“Oh, I’m damn good.” I said, turning toward Pred and Gallant. “Come on, we’ve got a wasteland to save.”

Trotting back up into the training room, I was met by the panicked look of Ficha. He panted heavily, turning around and waving me over back out to the hallway. The heavy report of a shotgun going off preempted a few colorful blasts down the hall past the doorway in front of me.

“Shut the damn door!” Tasteless screamed out as she walked backwards. The shotgun at her side fired again, it’s bolt locking back as it kicked out the last shell in the tube.

A heavy slam, followed by the flash of sparks met my ears as Gauge called out, “Got it!” Poking my head around the corner, I watched as she slid down against the door in exhaustion. She wiped the sweat off her brow and looked up to me with hope in her eyes. “I feel a burnout coming on if I keep this up much longer. I really hope this was worth it.”

“Storm?” Shadow called out from in the room behind me. I turned around and waited for him to appear around the boxes. “Okay, take it easy…” He grunted, as what I could assume was Predious giving out a small whine.

“Out here!” I called out to them. Turning back around, I found a very agitated Tasteless hovering right over me.

“Can you answer Gauge for once?” She snorted, “was this trip even worth our time?”

“Yes.” I sighed, grumbling as I reached into the pocket of my jacket. I slid the clear crystal into my hoof and held it out for her to see. “This is what I was meant to take, it’s been my destiny to have it since I was created.”

“A rock?” Tasteless sighed, facehoofing quite hard with her cyberleg. “That’s your destiny?”

Gauge’s Pipleg let out a beep. “Wow!” Pai gasped out of it. “Would you look at that!” Pai’s astonished words prompted Gauge to pull herself off the floor and come up to me, staring down at the gem. “It’s throwing off enough magical energy that it could probably power this whole facility on it’s own!”

“Magical radiation?” She asked, prompting Tasteless to float a few feet back. Gauge rolled her eyes and shot a glance at her. “Not the same that’s outside.” With a snort, she turn back and squinted at the small square gem. “Still, what is it, Storm?”

“An Element.” Gallant spoke up as he strode out. Shadow followed close behind him, with Predious needing his help to even walk. Gallant stood in front of me and stood tall, looking reverently down at the gem. “It is not the same as the previous elements, in size nor scope of power. However, it is still more than capable at finally destroying Filius once and for all.”

“So, it’s not an element of harmony?” I asked, pulling my hoof back against my chest. “How do you know?”

“My dear, there are gods, and there are celestial deities.” Gallant smiled softly down at me. “As much as many looked up to the princesses, they were far from godly.” His smile drifted away, being replaced by a look of sadness and disparity. “Many have made the mistake to worship a deity like a god.” He looked at me sternly. “Their devotion only drives them to madness.”

Filius had spoken so highly of Wendigos, enough to have called them gods. Still, even though I had never known them in their time, it feels wrong to place Celestia and Luna on the same pedestal as a monster like a Wendigo. Even though they did more than their fair part to make the wasteland the way it is, it wasn’t what they wanted to do. Everything I know, everything I’ve read about them pointed to the fact that they only wanted what was best for Equestria and it’s ponies. They weren’t monsters like Wendigo or Filius, they were far from that kind of evil.

A hiss and an eruption of sparks from the doorway Gauge had shut startled all of us. The red glow of the ranger’s thermal lance as it pressed through this side reinforced the fact that we should probably get out of here. Gauge had been one step ahead of us all, already darting toward the next doorway. As she got to it however, her horn flashed and the heavy door shut in front of her with a slam.

“Okay, not going out that way.” She turned and whined out.

“What! Why not?” Ficha hissed at her. “You said that was the only other way out!”

She bobbed her head, looking nervous. “Yeah, well…” She paused as what sounded to be a rocket slammed into the door behind her. The door held, but smoke puffed out from between the wall and it. “That was before I knew there was a full squad of armored Steel Rangers headed this way.”

“Storm, tell me that there’s another exit through your secret tunnel.” Tasteless sighed as she facehoofed yet again. “Please...?”

“There wasn’t any other doors down there.” Predious groaned, looking up to me with worried eyes. “Sorry, but we’re trapped.”

“There has to be another way out.” Shadow spoke up with a note of hopefulness to his words.

“Didn’t you hear?” Gauge called in annoyance as she walked back over. “We’re trapped. Best we can do is get as many doors between us and them.”

“Then what?” Tasteless sat down hard, nearly screaming at Gauge. “I’m not going to sit and wait to die. If I’m going down, I’m taking as many as I can with me!”

“What about the element?” Ficha chimed in, pointing back at the door that the thermal lance was steadily cutting through. “Can’t you just point it at them and ‘zap’ them to death?”

“That isn’t how it works, you fucking moron!” Predious growled. “Go back to the primitive lands that you crawled out of you fucking dirty stripe.”

“Calm down!” Gallant yelled with a voice so loud, that I almost felt it shake the floor itself. “Get ahold of yourselves.” He swung his gaze around to everyone, stopping on Predious. “You, above all, have to fight the urge to argue. You must remember that the curse feeds on it.”

“Yes.” Pred forced his eyes shut hard and shook his head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.” Slowly, he opened his eyes, raising them to me. “I didn’t realize how hard this was for you. I understand that my anger from before may have been… less severe if I had known.” Shifting his gaze to Ficha, he hung his head. “Please, forgive my slurs.”

“It’s nothing that I haven’t heard before.” Ficha spoke softly. “But the fact remains, that we must find a way out of this place.” A second shower of sparks sprouted out, this time from the door ahead of us. “And might I suggest that we do it quickly.”

“I may be able to transport us away from this place.” Gallant spoke up, looking at me. “However, I have never attempted so many at once, or for a location I have yet to see.” The door that the enclave were behind groaned as the hole they were cutting wrapped almost halfway around it. “I can attempt it, but only with your permission.”

“Me? W...why?” I stammered.

“Because arcane transport is dangerous and unpredictable with bystanders.” Gallant glared at me, his unwavering eyes hammering the seriousness of his words into my mind. “I must ask, what is above us?” His horn started to glow, wrapping all of us in the aura of his magic.

It took me a moment to think. Shit, what was above us? I stumbled into this place from ponyville, and headed south…

The words slipped out of my muzzle. “The everfree forest…” As I said that, the light from his horn flared. “Wait!” I reached a hoof up and cried out to stop him, but didn’t get to before the warm light enveloped us all.

With an arcane snap that left my ears ringing, I felt the world around us pop away. The feeling of hard flooring under my hooves was replaced with the dry and cracked dirt of outside. Blinking rapidly, I tried to clear the blinding light from my vision. As I did, the normal browns and greys of the wastes met my eyes, along with a shimmering blue. The blue shifted with a jarring rustle, moving as I rubbed at my eyes. Looking around as I could finally see again, my heart almost stopped.

“Shit!” Predious snapped, obviously more on the ball than I was. “Get us out of this clearing, now!”

The blue all around us was about the worst thing we could have happened across. Twisted masses of vines, with a very distinct blue flower coursed and shifted around the small clearing. I’ve only met one pony who’d ever survived killing joke, and heard about countless others. I really didn’t want to die today...

“What?” Tasteless grumbled as she sat down and rubbed at her eyes.

“Killing joke!” I hissed and looked over to Gallant. “Get us out of here! Back to the farmhouse if you have too,” I watched as the vines slowly circled in closer, digging down into the ground as the whole lot of us scooted together in the center of the clearing. “just… anywhere but here!”

“Alright, here goes!” Gallant cried out as his magic enveloped us again. As he did, thorny ends of the vines reared up like hundreds of snakes. They shook slightly as the bright magic grew around us. As the air crackled with arcane energy again, they snapped out at us.

With another arcane shift, we all were pulled through the void again. Unceremoniously, we were all dumped back into the rocky field next to the old farmhouse. With a collective sigh, we all relaxed. We’d made it out.

“I’m… sorry.” Tasteless whined, pulling my attention over to her. “I love…”

Another arcane flash blinded all of us momentarily. Tasteless went ridged as all of the color bled from her coat. Sitting on the ground, she turned a dull silver color, staring sadly over at Gauge. The small vine of Killing joke that had been wrapped around her metal tail crumbled and turned to dust as it’s magic expended itself. Along with it, went Tasteless’s life.

“No…” The words left Gauge’s muzzle with a gentle horror. “No no no…” She whimpered, taking a step forward. “You can’t leave me.” She whispered. Still, Tasteless sat frozen in the dirt, unmoving. “Fuck you.” Gauge sneered, rearing up and bringing her cyberhoof down against Tasteless. Her cyberhoof sparked off of Tasteless’s silver muzzle, knocking her unmoving body to the ground with a thump. “You promised you wouldn’t leave me!” She screamed, hammering again and again at her body.

“Gauge.” Predious spoke up softly. “She’s gone.” He stepped towards her, wrapping her in his magic and pulling her away.

“No!” Gauge wailed as she was torn away, breaking down into heavy sobs as the rest of us stared at the body. This was all just so sudden that I didn’t believe that it had just happened. Any moment, I’d hoped that she’d just sit up and insult us again like she always did, like she had since we’d met. But, Tasteless was gone. “It’s my fault…” Gauge whimpered, curling herself up on the dirt.

“What? No.” Predious spoke up, turning to her. “You couldn’t have seen this coming.”

“Don’t you get it?” She snapped at him, turning her angry gaze around between us. “The joke it played? It was because of what I’d said.” Raising her cyberhoof up shakily over her head, she stared at it. Without hesitation, she brought it down against her muzzle, hitting herself as she cried. “I did this to her!” She screamed before an audible snap in her muzzle made her whine in pain. Still, she rose her hoof yet again.

“Stop that.” Ficha said as he jumped forward, hooking his hoof around her leg.

“It’s all my fault…” Gauge curled herself up on the ground and cried. “If I hadn’t said she was more metal than mare, she’d still fucking be alive…”

In the distance, I could hear a light whining fill the air. I knew that the enclave must have known we’d escaped by now. They’d be looking for us, and the longer we stayed here, the better their chance of finding us. With a longing look over to where tasteless laid, I knew we had to leave.

“They’re coming.” Shadow spoke up, looking off in the direction the whining noise came from.

“I know.” I sighed. “We have to go.”

“Alright.” Predious nodded. His horn glowed softly as again, he picked up Gauge. She simply whimpered and curled herself tighter. Levitating her over, he placed her across Shadow’s back to carry.

“Please…” Gauge pleaded at a whisper. “let me stay with her…”

Walking over to her, I reached out and put a hoof on her shoulder. “We’ll come back for her,” I said, making a promise that I wasn’t even sure I could keep. “but first we have to go.” Brushing her mane away from her face, I could see that the beating she’d given herself, although quick, had left half of her face swollen and bloodied. “Just, try to get some rest.”

“Where is it that you plan on heading?” Gallant spoke up, breaking his own contemplative silence. I wanted to blame him for putting us in that patch of Killing Joke. I wanted so desperately to say that he’s the reason that Tasteless was dead. However, I knew that had we stayed inside, we all most likely would have died, and that he had no idea what we would find up top.

“To Baltimare.” I answered, turning myself until the compass in my pipvision pointed to the southeast.

“Without the skywagon…” Shadow spoke up, his words dying in his throat.

“It’ll be a long walk.” Predious nodded, turning towards the southeast with me, “But we have to make it. Everypony in Baltimare is relying on us to come back to the fight.” At nearly the same time, we both stepped forward. “Best get started.”

Stepping up into a trot, I kept my vision forward. I wanted to look back, to mourn Tasteless like she deserved. She was a friend, and she’s been there for me since we had met. It hurt to leave her here, but not as much as I knew it hurt Gauge. I’d lost too many friends against Filius, but Gauge had lost two ponies she’s loved more than anything.

I couldn’t replace them. As much as I’d want to, I could never do enough for Gauge to make up for what had been taken from her. Even though she knew the risks going in, I couldn’t help but think that this had all been worth the cost that she paid. The elements had helped to clear my heart of any doubt that there was still hope in the wasteland. Still, it didn’t make the new hole in my heart hurt any less, and all the hope in the world couldn’t fix what had been done.

So off we trotted. Unsure of what lay ahead for us, but knowing full well the burden that we carried as we went. Pallet, Fruit Cup, Skyline, and now Tasteless. Countless others had all given so much for this, we owed it to them to finish this fight. They deserved to be mourned, remembered in a way that we will never forget what they gave to the wasteland. And we could only do that once Filius was dead for good.

“I love you…” Gauge whispered softly, giving her final goodbye to a greater pony than I could ever hope to be.