Chapter 11: The Storm - Part 1

John didn't even feel his heart beat anymore. Holding his hoof to his chest, there was nothing. He still had a pulse, but no heart. His already dark grey coat turned a darker shade of grey; it was almost black now.

Feeling his emotions drain away into an abyss inside him, he giggled. It was funny! He didn't care! Looking over the side of the cotton candy cloud he was laying on, he spied Canterlot in the distance. It was surrounded by the cotton candy creations, the fluffy sugar obscuring most of the view.

He felt a very small tingle in the cavity where his heart once was. Guilt. He had caused Discord's release. He was responsible. Gulping, he shook the thought away. He couldn't allow himself to lose the power he had gained. It had been a couple of hours since he had accepted Discord's offer, and it was early morning.

He hadn't seen anypony since then, and thus began to think about what he could do to the first pony he saw. His breathing shallow, he dived off the delectable mass of sugar, gliding down to the hill that Discord was sat on.

He was wearing sunglasses, and was calmly lying on a cloud hammock that he had conjured. The draconequus beamed at John as he approached. "How's the power feeling?" He asked, trying to act casual. John shrugged. He had experimented a couple of times, and could teleport and control the weather temporarily.

Discord immediately became serious. "This time, I won't be defeated by the Elements again! Retrieve them, and bring them to me!" He laughed madly, confusing John. "Items or representees?"

Discord smirked. "Representees. Then items." John nodded.

Stomping his hooves on the grass, he teleported near to Ponyville. There was a large amount of ponies shopping. They were ever so peaceful. Until the clouds opened up and the heavens themselves bled chocolate rain.

It seemed harmless at first, the race to the ground cooling the hot chocolate. John simply grinned, and the clouds dropped a considerable distance towards the ground. Releasing the spell, he let the ponies bathe in chocolate fire, listening to their screams of pain.

The scalding beverage burned many ponies, and made others slip, causing more accidents that added to the big picture. The result made him feel nothing, no remorse, no sadistic happiness. It was weird.

He warped into the middle of the rural town, making the rain pause. Everypony whimpered and knelt down in front of him, afraid to be hurt by the rain's master. He just slowly walked past as if nothing had happened, ignoring the injured.

He could feel the magical presence of ponies he recognised in the town. Hidden away. Searching for the sources of energy, he walked through the town, letting the rain come thundering down again after raising the moon, expelling the sun away. Except this time it was normal rain, freezing cold and very, very chaotic to anypony still on the streets.

John paused, hearing voices speaking.

"We need to get to the Library! Come on!"

In the distance, several guards were patrolling. Celestia must really not want chaos to reign forever.. They must be searching for me. They were looking up at the sky, their golden armour glistening in John's moonlight. He counted three pegusai, five unicorns and two earth ponies, all looking pretty pissed at the sudden rain.

He smiled, and cracked his neck as they drew closer. Standing in the middle of the road, he attempted to let them see him. Failing this, he stompted his hooves against the ground again. The wind picked up speed, and the lights in the street were extinguished, casting the town into darkness. He saw the unicorns using their magic to light the path ahead.

He laughed purposefully, gaining their attention. They advanced on him. The pegasai flew behind him, blocking any hopes of escape. Not that John had any. A unicorn he dimly recognised in the faded light stepped forward.

"By the orders of Princess Celestia, you are under arrest."

Another pegasus landed besides the unicorn. John raised the frequency of the lightning strikes. He scanned each of the ponies in the flashing brightness. The pegasus was light brown, his mane a few shades darker. His green eyes held nothing but disbelief and pity.

The unicorn was wearing purple armour. He was a snowy white, and had a blue mane. He had a vague resemblance to Twilight. It was Shining Armour, he realised.

"On what charges?" John laughed, staring into the brown pegasus' eyes. He was familiar, but not to him. The pegasus shifted uncomfortably, looking down at the ground.

"Will you come quietly?" Shining Armour continued. John stared at him for a few seconds, as he had ignored his question. "Were assault and refusing arrest on the charges?" He grinned at the guards. The pegasus looked up from the ground, giving a slight shake of his head.

"Good." With a flash, John teleported next to the pegasus, and before he could defend himself, picked him up with his magic, and began suffocating him. Starting to choke, the pegasus tried to escape his magical stranglehold, but John just pulled him to the ground, dropping him in the dusty road.

Continuing the hold, he saw the guards form a tight circle around him, swords raised and horns aglow. Smirking, he tightened the grip even more. Breathing in deeply, he escalated the amount of rainfall. It fell around him, rather than hitting him.

The pegasus he was holding had gone blue, and was now struggling even more. The guards couldn't do anything but watch, as John could just simply kill his captive. He wasn't going to, however. He just wanted to make an impression.

The pegasus went limp from lack of oxygen, and John released him. The world around John slowed down as the guards charged forwards, as if in slow motion. His reflexes kicked in, he ran and jumped over the first attacker, Shining Armour, and grabbed him with his hooves as he sailed past, teleporting into the air.

He threw the unicorn down towards the ground, and heard the air move behind him. Dodging the pegasus attacker, he kicked him with both hindlegs, hearing a crack and knocking him clean out as they connected with his helmet.

Another pegasus sailed by, and John punched out towards him. The hoof connected with the pegasus' throat, and he groggily sank through the air as if it were made of water. Hitting the ground, the guard slid a few metres before coming to a halt.

Four down, six to go.

He stared coldly down at the remaining guards. They had just lost their aerial attackers and Captain in the space of a few seconds. In other words, they were gobsmacked.

Not sparing any time, he teleported again, this time between two unicorns. Before they could react, he had punched both in the jaw, hard. He caught one, and used the unconscious guard as a shield, spinning him in front of an imcoming spell from the last unicorn. The spell rebounded off the guard's armour, and straight back at the unicorn, throwing him back down the road, into a lit building a few yards away and breaking the door.

John dropped the unicorn, and turned back towards the last two guards. Both were earth ponies, so it would be slightly harder this time around. He couldn't just simply knock them out with his hooves.

He rolled his eyes, thinking of a better strategy. He picked both up with magic, and began to suffocate them ruthlessly. Minutes later, they eventually passed out, and he dropped them aside. Stepping over the unconscious form of Shining Armour, he looked down at his face. It was contorted in pain, and his eyelids were fluttering.

John knelt down beside the unicorn, lowering his head to whisper in his ear. "Next time, I'll kill you all." He knocked out the captain with a solid punch to the top of his head. Standing up straight, he looked in the direction they were running.

Lightning crackled and flashed behind him as he saw the building a unicorn had been thrown into. It was the library. The lights were on, and he could see dark shadows moving inside. Using his newfound magic, he made the thunder boom louder than before, and the wind rushed at the now closed door.

It didn't budge, but the lights went off inside, as if somepony had literally just turned off the switch. The rain didn't even make his mane wet as he slowly stepped to the door, stealthily approaching. He could hear the voices inside now. The howling tornado outside whipped his tail and mane around.

He took another step closer, smelling ozone in the air. He put a hoof on the door. Before he could do anything, the voices hushed inside. Rolling his eyes, he slowly pushed the door over, hearing a crash, and entered...

Twilight was calmly waiting. It was the perfect plan that she and the Princess had devised. They were to wait inside, knowing that Shaded would come eventually. They were to then restrain him, and cast the memory spell on him. And then go after Discord.

Rarity gasped from the window. "He's here!"

The entire library shook with the thunder, the lightning flashes almost blinding them. Flinching, she looked round at the other Elements of Harmony. They all had the same facial expression: excitement and fear. Except Rainbow Dash, but she couldn't she her face; it was pressed against the wall along with the others, waiting.

Twilight could hear several dull thuds outside, and peered up over the window. She saw a single silhouette surrounded by guards, including her brother and Gage, who were slowly advancing on him. The shadow disappeared, and reappeared next to Lieutenant Gage, and began to choke him with magic. The guards came closer, and Gage was dropped to the floor, seemingly lifeless.

Not wanting to see anymore, she ducked back down from the windowsill. She could hear a few more thuds, this time louder, and then it stopped. The sound of breaking wood erupted from behind her as a body flew through the door, breaking it off the hinges and making it fall.

Twilight quickly placed the door against the shredded remains of the frame, and repaired it with magic. She didn't however, put the door back on the hinges; she had propped it against the frame, and it looked like it was still connected.

She then ran over to the downed guard, and put a hoof to his jaw. There was a very weak pulse, but it was becoming stronger. His eyelids were shut, and he shook as if he were having a nightmare.

A louder boom rattled the library, and an immense chill tore through the door. It extinguished all the candles, throwing the room into darkness. Fluttershy, unable to cope, began to cry softly. "The guard's fine Fluttershy. He'll be okay." Twilight tried to reassure her. Twilight went back to her original position, waiting. She was now worried.

Sitting still, she heard the light knock on the door as something was placed against it. Probably a hoof. All conversation ceased. The door was softly pushed down, letting the cold air inside as it collapsed to the floor with a splintering of wood. Shivering, Twilight struggled to not move.

She saw a foreleg enter. It was pitch black in the darkness. The occasional flash illuminated the owner partially for a split second, but otherwise the leg was as black as ink. Shaded stepped inside. His eyes, Twilight noticed, were yellow. Not just the irises. Thay were blood red.

He had a crazed grin on his face, almost on the verge of laughing. His wings were spread. She smiled uncomfortably at him. "Hello Shaded..."

John paused, letting the grin drop off his face. Scowling in anger, he increased the tempo of the storm outside. He saw nopony else inside. Taking another step forward, he smiled back, annoyed with her being the only one.

"Hello...Twilight." He said it with so much venom that he could have melted her with the intensity of his anger at her being the only one. She smiled back at him, looking smug. She got up, and took a step toward him.

"What are you doi-ACK!" He was roughly thrown to the floor, the impact jarring his wings. He felt something snap. Blinking in confusion, he saw the other Elements standing over him, triumphant grins on their faces as they held him down.

Except Rainbow Dash. Her magneta eyes glowed with a fury that actually made John cringe mentally. Her face was streaked with tears, and there was a light splatter of blood on her hoof, as if she had punched somepony and broke something.

Her chest heaved, each breath bringing a new sense of fear to John. Her wings were tattered, her Gala dress in shreds. John felt a tear in his eye, a new emotion surfacing that he had never felt before, nor should be able to feel. Regret.

Rainbow leaned in close, her breath hot on his muzzle as he stared back up at he desperately tried to look impassive. "We're here to save our friendship." Twilight announced. Her words fell on deaf ears.

Rolling his eyes, he looked to the side. Spike was cowering in the corner. John hadn't wanted this to happen. The tear finally dripped down his cheek. His sadness was being torn from the depths of the abyss, dragged upwards by Rainbow Dash.

He closed his eyes, and sighed. The emotional grief he was experiencing crippled him, making him hyperventilate uncontrollably. He had only wanted to teleport them to him, not almost kill guards in the process. The rain was to be a distraction, not a weapon.

He opened his eyes. The conflict within him grew. Should he allow the Elements to heal him? Or should he teleport them here and now? As Twilight charged the spell, he realised that it couldn't work. He laughed heartily, trying to calm himself down, but instead delving deeper into the world of madness. Apon hearing this, Twilight stopped.

"What? Why are you laughing?" Rainbow challenged him. Letting tears of laughter roll down his cheeks, he giggled. "It won't work!" She looked stunned, but started charging her spell again. And stopped when Applejack put a hoof on her. "He ain't lyin'. It won't work."

She sighed, and dropped her head. The girls still held John down, so he had to raise his head, feigning weakness. Still chortling, he looked Twilight in the eyes. "I suggest you check on your brother."

Twilight immediately charged a spell, and John winced; he couldn't defend himself if he was being restrained. She bared her teeth, and pointed her horn at him.

"What did you do to him you...you...MONSTER!"

John flexed his wings from under him, and teleported above Twilight, escaping from the Elements' grasp. He smirked, and calmly replied.

"Nothing serious yet...Race you?"

John teleported outside and stood over the bodies outside. Twilight appeared at the hole in the side of library, and fired a spell at him. Stepping aside, he levitated Shining Armour's unconscious form, and lifed it into the air. The rain dripped off of him, and onto the ground below.

The other Elements quickly assembled outside behind Twilight. Glares of hatred, anger, confusion and sadness were all aimed at him. "Why is Discord making you do this!"

Rainbow shouted at him, the tears streaking her face, her eyes red. Shaded calmly looked round to her, focusing on her alone. He took a step forward. She took one forward as well. "WHY SHADED?! WHY DID YOU DO IT?!" They were less than a nose apart, face to face.

"Do what?" He lowered his voice.

"THIS! AND...And...the Gala..." She began to sob louder, closing her eyes, not caring about what she looked like or what the others thought of her. "Shaded...I...I...loved you..."

She felt something nuzzle her, and she opened her eyes in surprise. It was Shaded. His face was now glistening with tears as well. "Octavia forced herself on top of me...I don't love her...I love you Dashie..." He whispered quietly, and took a step back, the wind battering his mane and tail.

"This is my own decision. Not Discord's." Rainbow in stunned silence as he teleported away, leaving Shining Armour there. The other guards were beginning to stir, moaning in pain. Gage was the first up, rubbing his throat.

"Are you alright?" He spoke, his voice hoarse and raspy after the attack.

"Yeah..." was all Rainbow could respond with before she collapsed in shock.

John appeared with a flash at Discord's side at the hilltop. The spirit of disharmony looked annoyed as he didn't have the Elements. A wordless exchange between the two started and ended as John began to walk away, lost in thought. He came to a decision.

"I want out."

A/N-

'Sup? I'm getting used to these somewhat longer chapters, and enjoying writing about the action. Speaking of action, the fight scene in this Chapter was inspired by listening to the song "Skrillex - First of the Year (Equinox)" over and over again as I wrote out the chapter. This is also the first chapter I wrote and storyboarded, so sorry if it is kinda sketchy.

Anyway, OCs! Requests are open to any newcomers to the series who have actually bothered to read to this chapter, so please, PM me any details.

OC/s: Lieutenant Gage

Creator/s: The Wastelands' Judge

Please tell me what you thought of the chapter and of the story thus far, and have a nice day.

P.S - Imma steal this quickly :P

Fly on, Baby!

Jadazzle1994