Purity.

“The most professional curse ever snarled or croaked or thundered can have no effect on a pure heart.”

~Peter S. Beagle

Optimism.

“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”

~Victor Hugo

Perseverance.

“If you are going through hell, keep going.”

~Winston Churchill

Trust.

“Without trust, words become the hollow sound of a wooden gong. With trust, words become life itself."

~John Harold

Bravery.

"Bravery is not the absence of fear, but the will to overcome it."

~John Berridge

Sacrifice.

“A hero sacrifices for the greater good. A hero is true to his or her conscience. In short, heroism means doing the right thing regardless of the consequences.”

~Brandon Mull

Survival.

The Elements of Survival

~A fanfiction written by Pinkiepie35

Introduction

My name is Nightflight.

I'm a descendant of Element of Survival Five, but hell, that's a title a lot of pegasi claim these days. To be honest, it's a bit disheartening to see some ponies take the heroic deeds of the six and try to rain some kind of temporary glory down upon themselves in claiming to have relations to them. Still, my grandfather told me once Element Five is actually, somewhere down the road, my great, great, great grandmother, though I'm not so sure it's true.

If that's a false claim, though, it's odd how much the old stallion knew about Element Five for a pony not related to her.

Ever since I was a foal, he'd tell me the stories of their adventures, tell me how they restored harmony and peace to Equestria, and tell me all about their personalities and actions, specifically, those of Element Five. Said his grandfather told him the tales of the six, who had the legend passed down to him by his grandfather, and so on, climbing all the way back up the family tree to Five.

He told me when Elements of Harmony failed and the calamity struck, Five was but a teenage filly at the time. Even though she was young, he said, the horrors around her matured her soul into that of a young mare, and when she found the others she was destined to partner with, together they began their journey towards rebuilding what seemed like a broken world.

That always amused me as a young foal, to think that a hero could be as young as I was at the time. Perhaps that's what fueled the beginning of my own journey towards fulfilling my one ambition in life: becoming a Wonderbolt Reborn.

For those of you unaware of what exactly a Wonderbolt Reborn is, it's a member of the somewhat new and growing group of elite and skilled pegasi that serve as the princess's aerial flight team.

Though Princess Cadence doesn't like to speak much about the times before the calamity, she mentioned once that the deceased monarch before her, her aunt, had her own flight team of pegasi known as the Wonderbolts. It didn't take long for somepony to suggest to her that they restart the group, and with the princess's approval, the founding of the Wonderbolts Reborn Aerial Flight Team took place. It's a work in progress, and a few of the current members are a bit clumsy with their wings, but mark my words, I won't rest my until I've honed my skills enough to be a member of the group myself and bring raise it to glory.

I think my grandfather even told me once that one of the Elements of Harmony, the elements preceding the Elements of Survival, was actually a Wonderbolt back during the reign of Cadence's Aunt.

What did he say her name was again...?

I can't remember what that Element of Harmony's name was, but I think it might have had something to do with Rainbows. I'm not sure. Honestly, I doubt my grandfather even knew what her name was, considering how long ago the Elements of Harmony lived. He probably just made it up or something.

Little is known about the Elements of Harmony, except that they failed, along with the Princesses of the Sun and the Moon, in stopping the rampage of the destructor.

Little known fact (according to my grandfather, anyway): Element Five knew the Element of Harmony who was a Wonderbolt, as well as the other Elements of Harmony. The idea of the Elements of Survival having some kind of a connection with the Elements of Harmony isn't exactly a new proposal, and it's a myth that's been floating around for quite a while now. While I have no idea as to whether or not it's fact or fiction, I like to think it true.

Like I said, my grandfather told me that Five knew the Elements of Harmony, specifically the Wonderbolt. Still can't remember her damn name. Anyway, Five supposedly looked up to the Wonderbolt as some sort of idol or "big sister" figure, if you will. I can kind of understand that, considering the Wonderbolt was, well, a Wonderbolt. What's not to admire?

Now that I think about it, that must have been pretty damn devastating to Five, after the Elements failed. Not only did she have to lose someone close to her, but she also had to feel the terror of witnessing an evil so great that not even her prized idol could defeat.

It gives me the shivers just thinking about it. After all, she was still just a young teenager at the time. Must've been like having your whole world shattered.

But that's about all I know about the Elements of Harmony. Most of the information on, well, anything, really, was lost in the calamity's wake. Princess Cadence still knows a good deal about the Elements of Harmony, but like I said earlier, she doesn't care much to speak about it. Can't blame her, though. She lost just as much as any survivor of the calamity did. It probably pains her to be the only one still alive to bear the thoughts of its horrors, to have no one to talk to.

The Elements of Harmony aren't the only thing of the past shrouded in mystery, however. Even some aspects of the Elements of Survival remain unknown. Why didn't the princesses use the Elements themselves? How exactly do the Elements work? All enigmas that will likely be left unanswered.

One thing that has bothered me since the day my grandfather told me about the six, however, is how they managed to survive. The being that cast Equestria into oppression and apocalypse used forces of mind control; His army possessed some sort of black magic that granted them control of the minds and bodies of those whom they desired. How the six managed to resist this manipulation of soul is beyond me.

Even though many parts of my grandfather's stories about the six sometimes did not coincide with logic or sense, they were exhilarating and exciting nevertheless. He told me how they would fight great numbers of foes and triumph against unfavorable odds, all while discovering their true strength and weaknesses. Though the six were often outskilled or outnumbered, their will to survive allowed them to overcome those who tried to squash their efforts.

Yes, my grandfather was a great stallion who lived a long and prosperous life, told wonderful stories, treated all those around him with kindness.

Unfortunately, my grandfather is no longer alive.

The day my grandfather died was a very dark day in the timeline of my life. My mother died at birth, and my father never cared for me nor his father. He abandoned me at birth. My grandfather raised me out of infancy and into the stallion I am today. Eventually, I moved out and got my own place, but I spent my whole childhood with him. When I learned of his death, it was the equivalent of being struck dead by a train.

On the day of his funeral, I was the only one who attended. Hell, I was the one who laid his body into the ground of Levitating Acres Cemetery.

When I'd finished burying his body into the dirt, and placed the headstone, I made a solemn vow to my grandfather that day. I promised him that I would pass down to my children, when I had them, the stories he told to me that I so enjoyed as a young foal. After all, who was I to deprive my future children the magnificent tales he gave me, and break our family tradition of passing down the stories of the six?

Before I left his grave that day, I made one final promise.

On the day that I moved away from my grandfather, he gave me an article of old clothing to hold on to. He said it belonged to Element Five when she was young.

I still have that ancient little piece of cloth. On one side, the cloth is a faded crimson and has a blue patch of fabric in the center. On this blue area, there is a crude image of a yellow pony sewn onto the cape. The other side of the cape is lined in some sort of gold silk. If that really did belong to Five, I have no idea in hell how it survived that long. It's age definitely shows in the wear of the fabric. But whether or not it actually Five's cape isn't important. What's important is that my grandfather said it was, and he valued it greatly.

He made me promise that I would pass it onto my children, just like he did to me.

To this day, that is a promise that I intend to keep. When I do finally meet the mare of my dreams someday, I'll pass down that cape to our children when they're ready for it, and try my best to retell grandfather's stories to them with just as much enthusiasm as he did. Heh, to be honest, I don't think I'll ever come close to being as good as he was at it, but the least I can do is try, right?

And when I'm a father, whenever that should be, not only will I give my foals the gifts my grandfather gave to me, but also something I never had as a child: a father who loves them, cares for them, and would move the world for them. Since I never really had one, I don't know exactly how a father is supposed to act. I suppose I could follow the way my grandfather cared for me, since he was the fatherly figure of my life, but I don't know.

Even now, it still pains me to think about my grandfather. When he died, I feel like a piece of me went with him. I mean, I've moved on by now, but merely thinking about the memories the two of us shared puts me on the verge of bittersweet tears.

Still, I'm sure he'd want me to carry on his legacy and do what he did best.

Telling stories.

And to be completely honest, I might not be so bad at it. In fact, I think I can still remember the a bit of the first story he ever told me as a foal. I believe it went something similar to this:

"The blanketing morning sunshine glazed the great, giant castle of Canterlot in a shield of light and warmth..."

Author's note:

Hey there everypony! Long time, no see. If you haven't realized already, this fanfiction is going to be an enormous work with story updates that will come out not as frequently as the rate of which I posted new chapters of my previous fic. The reason? The chapters in this story are going to be much, much longer than those of my previous fic, and it's going to be a collaboration effort with several friends in real life and on the ponynet. That being said, to ensure the best of quality for this fic, story updates might be a little slow moving at first. Don't worry, though! I pinkie pie promise not to abandon this fanfiction, no matter the difficulty. That's all! See ya pony folk!