not

"Enough!" shouted Luna, her voice echoing around the garden. "You just need to trust us! If we just got them and retrieved them for you they wouldn't even work. The journey will enable you to work together in perfect harmony and use the elements. Basically if you don't retrieve them yourselves you can't use them," she continued, answering Peachy Keen's question. The mare nodded, still not fully understanding, but not wanting another outburst like that. "Well we should probably get going now shouldn't we?" said Anarchy, attempting to change the topic. "I agree. If we're going to do this, we might as well get prepared now. There's no point in waiting," agreed Peachy Keen. She would have to grab her saddlebag from the room she had rented, a room which she now realized would never be used. Otherwise, however, the mare was, at least physically, ready to go. "Yeah, time's wasting," added Scribe Shield. The stallion turned towards their leader, Ginger Snap, and said, "Snap, wasn't it? Want to take a look at that map, see where the first stop is?" Peachy Keen was anxious to see the map as well. Hopefully they wouldn't be headed anywhere too dangerous. "Let me take a wild guess, a warm beach to the south, as far from danger as we can get?" asked Scribe Shield. Peachy Keen giggled a bit, finally adjusting to the situation around her. "Yes, let's see that map. We need to know where we should head first. Does it tell us which Element is which, or does it just mark the locations of them without any labels?"

Peachy Keen expected this, though she still didn't like it. She had traveled before, yes, but nothing on a scale such as this. And how could they hope to find something as small as one of the Elements when they didn't even know where to search? "Where do we start? Do we have a... a map or a magical compass or... or... something?" asked Scribe Shield. Peachy Keen nodded, wanting answer to that question as well. "It would be quite... tedious to wander around the whole world without a single clue of where the elements could be! We might pass over them!" added Firebolt, a bit more aggressively than Scribe Shield. In response, Celestia levitated a saddle bag towards the six ponies assembled before her. "Take it, it contains a non enchanted compass for navigation, and a map to show the locations of the Elements," said the Princess to Ginger Snap, her chosen leader. The pegasus looked taken aback, though he quickly grabbed it from the air. "I accept this honor hereby decreed upon me this fine day," said the stallion, giggling a bit. Peachy Keen was surprised that somepony was able to laugh at a time like this, though she supposed that was why he was the Element of Laughter. "Thank you for the information Celestia," he said, regaining his composure. "You are indeed welcome my little ponies, the fate of Equestria, and maybe the world rests in your hooves," replied the Princess. Peachy Keen desperately wanted to see the map, to know where she would be headed. She knew she had to wait, however, and instead resigned herself to wondering about its contents. "Wait I have a question," said Anarchy, seemingly unable to contain himself. "And this isn't meant to be rude in anyway but... if you know where they are, why can't you get them? Uh... your Highness?" he asked. Peachy Keen nodded. "I understand the desire to create a friendship between us, Princess, but isn't this a very urgent matter? Do we have time to seek them out ourselves?" said the mare, joining Anarchy in his questioning.

Peachy Keen was dumbstruck when Celestia herself entered the garden. She had assumed it would be a representative of the ruling sisters, not Celestia herself. Her mouth dropped, and she barely registered it when the bringer of the sun mentioned the declassification of their letters. She noticed the others opening theirs, however, and so jumped to the conclusion that she should retrieve hers and look through it. "Project N.E.W.?" muttered the mare to herself, attempting to make sense of all this. She was simultaneously frightened and honored by the thought of being watched since childhood by those of such important standing, though was still at a loss when it came to how they were supposed to assist in the fight against two incredibly powerful creatures like Discord and Chrysalis. Celestia's sister appeared, seemingly from nowhere, which startled Peachy Keen, though not any more than some of the other events that had gone on since she arrived in the courtyard. "Now, any questions?" asked the younger alicorn, her eyes darting between the six ponies assembled before her. Scribe Shield piped up, asking the question that was on everyone's mind. "So you just pick out six ponies to... do what exactly? Go find them? Go beat Discord and Chrysalis with sticks? I mean I'm in, but what do you need? Isn't this something that the royal guard is more suited for?" questioned the stallion. Firebolt chimed in as well, voicing her agreement with Scribe Shield. "The choice of you six ponies was thought through very carefully. Each of you have something special about you, and you will show it on your journey. All of you have something special relating you to a certain element. The elements are scattered around the entire world, but there is one we kept in our care to give out now," answered Luna. Peachy Keen felt even more out of her element that before. She... an Element of Harmony? How could that be? Which could she be? Generosity, maybe? Unlikely. Certainly not honesty. Perhaps Kindness? Loyalty? Luckily, Peachy Keen didn't gave to answer that question herself as Ginger Snap piped in, asking which Element they had kept. Luna revealed it as the Element of Laughter, and, funnily enough, revealed its bearer as Ginger Snap himself. Luna explained the decision, explained how Ginger Snap would be the leader of the group, and gave the Element to its chosen bearer. Peachy Keen, however, was still left without a designated Element, and she couldn't help but feel that this was all too surreal to be true. Firebolt and Anarchy both soon asked for their respective Elements, a question which was surely in everyone's minds that day. "Element of Laughter would be Ginger Snap, the Element of Magic would happen to be Anarchy, the Element of Generosity is Firebolt," began Luna, starting with those who asked for the answers. "Peachy Keen is the Element of Kindess," she continued, surprising the mare. "Me... Kindness...?" whispered Peachy Keen, still in a state of shock over the knowledge that she was an Element in the first place. Luna continued, unaware of the bearer of Kindness' confusion, saying, "The Element of Honesty is Gardenia, and the Element of Loyalty belongs to the stallion Scribeshield." Peachy Keen heard conversation around her. It sounded like Firebolt and Scribe Shield were voicing their disbelief, and Ginger Snap was reassuring them. She was too busy reeling over what she had heard herself to care, however. How could she be an Element of Harmony? She, of all ponies? Certainly there were others better suited for the role; kinder, gentler souls who would be much better suited to the task. Peachy Keens' thoughts were interrupted as Celestia spoke in reply to something Scribe Shield had said, her oddly calming tone snapping the mare out of her stupor. "It seems as if you are questioning my judgement, but I digress. You have to realize that this had been a group effort from the entire N.E.W team, not just me. You just need to have faith in yourself because the journey ahead will prepare you more than anything else can. I guarantee it." Oh. Right. A journey. Forgot about that, thought Peachy Keen to herself. And the Elements of Harmony... missing, spread across the planet... "Oh dear," said the pony aloud as she put two and two together. "Uh... Princess? What, exactly, is this journey you and the note mentioned?"

(I go and eat Lunch, and somehow you make all these posts? That's faster than the roleplays I'm accustomed to! ) The stallion, who looked a bit surprised at Peachy Keen's sudden arrival, muttered something, before quickly stopping himself and saying, "Ahem, I mean, sorry, I'm as much in the dark as any of you, I just arrived." The armored stallion extended his arm for a hoofshake, then introduced himself, saying, "Scribe Shield, um, at your service?" He looked out of his element, not used to formal introductions at all. If she weren't so anxious to know what was going on, Peachy Keen may have giggled at him. Suddenly, a look of realization dawned on his face, and he lowered his hoof. "Oh! You must mean, no, no, no... I got one of those letters too," said Scribe Shield, a bit rushed. Peachy Keen looked crestfallen, though she knew that something like this was likely to happen. It was probably all some elaborate prank, with letters sent to- Suddenly, Peachy Keen's thoughts were cut short as a unicorn barged in and shouted something about readiness, startling the mare. She stifled a scream as she turned around and looked at the newcomer, who proceeded to shout out something about chaos magic, whatever that was, while introducing himself as Anarchy. He glanced at the others confusion and apologized. Peachy Keen was still too surprised to speak, however, so she just allowed the others to talk around her while she sorted herself out. The blue mare introduced herself as Gardenia, though this all went over Peachy Keen's head, as she was still dreadfully confused. Just as she organized her thoughts and prepared to speak once more, the trees around her ignited with green flame. Finally having had enough, Peachy Keen fainted. Peachy Keen suddenly regained conscious thought, reflecting on the odd dream she had just had. She laughed at the absurdity of it just as her eyes came back into focus, revealing a hyperactive unicorn stallion shouting about chaos magic. It was not a dream. The mare unsteadily rose to her feet, noticing that a white mare had joined them in the garden. She looked a bit confused, though continued to lecture the stallion who had mentioned chaos on some kind of fire spell. At that point, Peachy Keen realized what had happened, and she wondered what the newcomers motivation behind all this was. Scribe said something that Peachy Keen didn't quite catch, then turned towards her and asked the group if they were all okay. The mare nodded, though said nothing, instead listening as the stallion, Anarchy, elaborated on the chaos magic he had been talking about earlier. He mentioned Discord. Peachy Keen knew Discord all too well. She had been passing through Ponyville when he took over, and the draconequus had tormented her just as he did everyone else. Anarchy apologized to the other stallion, Scribe Shield, for his excitement. The white mare looked a bit taken aback, but quickly composed herself and, rather quietly, said, "I'm Firebolt..." Anarchy suddenly elaborated on his mention of Discord, claiming he was not associated with the spirit. Peachy Keen was still suspicious, but not overly so. "I just learned it from a book, is all," continued the stallion, hastily amending what he said earlier. He reiterated his introduction for the sake of the unicorn mare, mentioning something about her hiding in the bushes, and turned to Peachy Keen and the others. "So when do ya think somepony's gonna come and give us some more info?" he asked, somehow retaining his composure throughout all of this. Scribe Shield said something about the Elements of Harmony, and how he didn't know anything else. Peachy Keen shook her head, regaining that same composure that Anarchy had, and said, "I don't really know. I don't think any of us do. I'm Peachy Keen. Someone sent me a letter, telling me to come here. I assume you all got them, as well. Is... is it true, what the letter said? Are the Elements of Harmony really... missing? How are we supposed to pose a threat to Chrysalis and..." The mare shuddered, then continued, saying, "Discord, if we don't have them? I'm so confused..."

Peachy Keen tentatively walked towards the castle, still in shock over the contents of her letter. For what reason would the royals request the assistance of her? Peachy Keen knew nothing about defending a kingdom, or the Elements of Harmony, or anything mentioned in the summons she had received. The mare's head was filled with questions, and she wanted them answered, so she decided to follow the summons, hoping to in some way help other ponies and to answer her questions, to an extent. She pulled out her letter one last time, to make sure that it wasn't all just a dream. But, alas, it was all too real. Dear Peachy Keen, You have been selected for the [Classified] program by Celestia and Luna themselves. An uneasy and deadly alliance has been formed between the Changeling Queen Chrysalis, and the embodiment of chaos himself Discord. They plan to take Equestria by storm and take out the princesses. You have been hoof chosen by means of [Classified] because we know you will succeed in your journey. The six ponies who wield the 'Element's of Harmony' are all MIA. Meet us in the Canterlot royal garden by sun rise tomorrow. -Project [Classified] staff Pony hooves had obviously never touched the letter, at least not until Peachy Keen took it out of its envelope, and whoever had printed it obviously thought that the information contained inside was of the utmost importance. A team of royal guards had delivered it, for Celestia's sake! And what was this about a journey? "What do they expect a pony like me to do?!" she exclaimed, much to the surprise of those around her. Peachy Keen ignored their judgmental gazes, instead lowering her head and plowing forward, towards the castle, visibly frustrated. Soon enough, the royal garden entered Peachy Keen's line of sight. Good, she thought, now I'll finally get some answers! The mare hastened her pace, to the point where she was almost running when she arrived at the gate. She flung it open and charged into the garden, then looked around, expecting answers. All around here were a variety of flora and fauna, as well as a rather pleasant courtyard area. Unsurprisingly, however, there were no well-dressed ponies waiting to answer all her questions. Instead, she saw someone who appeared to be an oddly-dressed royal guard, a rather confused-looking blue mare, and a winged white stallion. Only one of them, the armored unicorn, looked as if he might be in the employ of Celestia and Luna, so Peachy Keen approached him and introduced herself, not even contemplating the fact that a conversation may already have been happening between some number of them. "Hello, I'm Peachy Keen. I was summoned here through a letter delivered by a group of your fellow guards. Would you mind telling me what the hay is going on here?" asked the woman, attempting to sound as calm and collected as possible, though she knew that, if she hadn't been talking, she would've been hyperventilating at the thought of going on some arduous journey at the behest of royalty. (Note- I'm aware that Scribeshield is not a guard. I just imagine that Peachy Keen would assume he is, due to the armor. Didn't want any misconceptions about this.)