Star Wars: The Great War

by Iroa19

The Clone War was a time that many remember. Many battles were fought, and many lives and people we knew were lost. All across the galaxy, the battle between the force's light and the dark side is at constant ends. War has engulfed everybody as the bitter conflict between the Galactic Republic and Separatist rages on.

101. Chapter 100: Disharmony Pt 3

Chapter 100: Disharmony Pt. 3

Storm left the castle after that, making sure to corner Spike and 'gently persuade' him to keep an eye on Twilight before he left, though he honestly doubted he had needed to.

After careful deliberation, he'd decided to hunt down Applejack first. Getting her back to normal would likely make it easier to find the others and even help keep them in place should they prove... resistant to his efforts to return them to normal.

Besides, he didn't know how different they were. Twilight had a personality change, so it was likely the others had as well, but the nature of these changes was still unknown to him. Applejack's straightforward personality would make it easier to determine what sort of changes Discord had likely brought upon the group.

Sweet Apple Acres was just as much a mess as it had been earlier in the day, though it now sported quite a few holes in the ground, curiously enough.

Finding Applejack wasn't difficult once he arrived, as she was sitting outside the barn, eating... er, reverse-eating some apples. Discord's magic was just... freaky.

He arrived just in time to overhear a very curious conversation.

"-and so I tried to fight Discord, but none'o mah so-called friends lifted a hand ta help me!" she complained to Granny Smith, tossing aside the apple she was eating. Storm decided to step forward.

"That's quite the interesting tale you've got there, Applejack. Mind telling it to me?" he asked, making his presence known, only for Mac's head to suddenly pop up from the ground, revealing the cause of the many holes, panting like a dog. Mac yipped and went to lick the boy's face, only for a hand to slam into his jaw, sending him flying into the cornfield while knocking him unconscious.

"Well, well, if it ain't Storm!" the disdain in her voice was quite evident.

"Where were ya while I was off tryin' ta defeat Discord, eh?"

"Nowhere special," he said, taking note of her now gray eyes, thinking about how strange it was that no one else seemed to notice the difference, but, given the number of changes Discord was making, he supposed it would be a bit much to ask them to notice such a small detail, "but you were in the middle of telling a story, right? Mind if I hear it?" he asked.

"Story?" she asked, "I wasn't tellin' no story!" she said, her eyes darting to the sides rapidly. Storm narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, you weren't? My bad," he apologized, "but you mentioned fighting Discord alone, right? Where were the others?"

"Hay if I know!" she said, her eyes darting around once more, "They were jus' standin' around, watchin' me do mah thing!" her eyes kept darting around.

The Jedi Knight sighed.

So, it would seem that Applejack, the Element of Honesty, was now a pathological liar, with the world's most obvious tell to boot. It was only one clue, but if he had to guess, the other four would be similarly juxtaposed with their Elements.

A greedy Rarity.

A cruel Fluttershy.

An angry Pinkie Pie.

A disloyal Rainbow Dash.

Shame. He'd expected something a bit more... original from Discord. Oh well, it made this a bit easier.

"Now, I doubt that that's true, Applejack. You know the girls wouldn't just stand around like that. They're your friends, after all. So, why are you lying to me?"

Might as well test the waters to see how deep this went.

"Friends?! They ain't mah friends! An' I ain't lyin'!" she said, firmly stamping her foot into the ground.

Hmm... she seems rather firm in her little lies... But that's just Discord's magic talking, isn't it? That would mean that the real Applejack is still in there, somewhere. I just need to figure out how to bring her out... Hmm... I wonder...

"Not your friends?" he asked and smirked, "Ah, of course. They did always hate you," he said. Applejack smirked.

"Yeah, they hated-wait, what?" she asked, her smirk falling immediately, the gray of her eyes flashing suddenly.

"Oh yes, don't you know?" he asked innocently, hiding his growing grin. "They absolutely detested you. You said it yourself, they aren't your friends. What have they ever done for you?" he asked, "Did they ever decide to go out of their way to save your farm? Of course not!"

"W-but, y-yeah?"

"I mean... think about it," he said, beginning to circle her, "Think about everything you've ever done with them. Did it ever feel like you were friends?" Applejack's mouth opened and closed like a fish, seemingly having difficulty speaking.

"W-well... uh... n-no! O-of course not!"

"Right," Storm gently agreed, "forget about your first meeting. Forget about the trust you all shared when you fearlessly faced down Nightmare Moon! Forget about how much you cared for each other. Forget about the worry you felt when your ex-friends were in danger and desperately needed your help. Forget it all."

"Y-yeah!" she shakily agreed, "I jus'... I jus' need ta forget 'bout it... 'bout how... how much I cared fer 'em... how much I... how much I..." she fell to her behind, staring aimlessly at the ground.

Storm frowned and went to say something when a sudden surge of warmth rushed through him.

It poured through his veins, sending a surge of energy rushing inwards. It was as though his blood had been lit on fire, burning wildly as it fought aside his growing fatigue.

He didn't have time to focus on the feeling as Applejack's body began to glow brilliantly, traveling from her base to the top of her head, leaving her dull gray eyes sparkling green.

That... that actually worked?

"Ugh..." she groaned, placing a hand against her head, "What in the hay happened?" she asked, looking around.

"You were... indisposed for a while," Storm said, causing Applejack's head to whip around to him,

"Storm?!" she asked, "What happened?!"

"Long story short, Discord messed with your head. He turned you into a pathological liar." Applejack stared at him for a moment before she growled,

"Why that schemin' little-Where is he?!"

"Now's not the time. You can have your revenge later after we fix the others."

"What?" she asked, "What did he do ta everyone?!"

"I told you, he messed with your head and turned you into a pathological liar. He's probably gone and done the same to the others."

"Ya mean everyone's a big liar now?" she asked, calming down. Storm shook his head.

"No, I mean he's gone and turned everyone into the opposite of what they were. You became a liar, and Twilight's now a miserable little princess with self-esteem issues," he paused for a moment, "... more self-esteem issues."

"Well then, let's get goin'!" Applejack said, jumping to her feet, "We've got some friends ta save!"

"I know. That's why I helped you first," he said, beginning to walk off with her right behind him, "I figured you might be more effective at talking or tying the others up if they prove to be less than cooperative."

"Sounds good ta me," she said, nodding, before she paused, "Wait, I'm the first one ya helped? What 'bout Twilight? I'd thought ya'll would'a fixed her right up before anyone else." Storm fidgeted slightly.

"... I tried," he admitted, "but with what Discord did to her, I doubt I can help her alone. So I need the rest of you to help me save her."

Applejack chuckled, "Yeah, that sounds 'bout right."

The country gal then pulled the boy in for a hug; she embraced him tightly.

"Thanks, sugar," spoke the girl as she had tears falling down her eyes.

Storm didn't push back or resist the hug as he let the farm girl do her thing. Applejack pulled back and planted a kiss on the Jedi's cheek as they began to discuss their plan.

---

After several minutes of careful deliberation-arguing-Storm and Applejack came to a simple agreement.

She would head back to the library to see if she could snap Twilight out of her depressed state, while Storm would hunt down the others and send them her way. This was mostly because she, and the other girls, had more of a connection with Twilight than he had and so were more likely to possess something that would, eventually, break her free from Discord's grasp.

The only condition Applejack had managed to force onto him was that he needed to save Fluttershy first.

He had no issue with that and agreed easily.

And so, the boy quickly made his way over to the cottage that the girl often visited that housed many animals, wondering exactly what he'd encounter.

What he found... surprised and unsettled him a tad.

Fluttershy's cottage, usually surrounded by small, large, but generally harmless animals, was completely isolated from all life forms, save the lone girl hiding inside.

The fact that the animals were avoiding Fluttershy proved his initial theory that everyone was acting the opposite of how they usually were.

That Fluttershy was now acting in a way to drive off a bunch of animals stirred his curiosity, and he hastily knocked.

"Fuck off!"

...

Not the response he was expecting.

"Fluttershy! Its Storm. Open the fucking door!"

There was silence on the other end before a window above him opened, and he slid to the side to avoid the potted plant colliding with his skull.

"I missed," a voice remarkably similar to Fluttershy's said, but its sheer amount of abuse made it quite difficult to place it with the normally soft and meek girl. He glanced up to confirm that her eyes were gray, just like the others, and that a scowl was marring her delicate features.

The sight of Fluttershy with a scowl stunned him for half a second before he pushed it aside.

"Get out here, Fluttershy," he demanded.

"Hmm, no," was the easy response.

"Your friends need you."

"My friends? What, you mean you and those losers?" she asked, before frowning, "Aww, is big bad Storm having trouble? You gonna cry?"

He stared at Fluttershy for a moment and sighed. He could already tell where this was going.

"That's awfully mean for you of all people to say, Fluttershy."

"Isn't it? I guess you'd rather have the weak and pathetic Fluttershy back, huh?" she asked, scowling at him, "Well, too bad! I'm done being a fucking doormat!" snarled before dipping back inside, slamming the window shut behind her.

Storm blinked and turned back to the front door. He stared at it for a moment, pondering, before shrugging and kicking it hard enough to knock it off its hinges, ignoring how his body protested.

He stepped inside just in time to find Fluttershy walking down the stairs.

"Aw, did I hurt your feelings?" she asked, pouting at him, "I guess you're not so tough after all."

He stared at her for a moment before grinning wickedly.

"Well, at least I'm not a pathetic bitch who has to resort to mocking someone to make herself feel better." Fluttershy stared at him for a moment before scowling.

"What did you say to me, freak?"

"I called you a pathetic bitch. Are you deaf too, #$$?" Storm snarled, growing amused by how she began to vibrate in anger, especially with what he just called her, "What's wrong, do my words hurt you? A little too cruel for your delicate little ears?"

"You-!"

"What?" he asked innocently, beginning to stalk forward, taking a rather shameful amount of sadistic pleasure at the way she backed away from him, not that he'd admit it to anyone, "Does it hurt when I say such mean things to you? Does it make you want to cry?" he quietly demanded, smirking at the way Fluttershy nearly yelped when her back hit the wall, even as she slowly began to curl into a ball, "Well... who cares? Who needs a kind word? Who needs a gentle smile? Who needs a sweet, soft, gentle heart when it's so much easier to hurt?"

"I-I-I don't-"

"Tell me, Fluttershy... is this who you want to be?"

"I-I-I-I don't-I-I can't-... No!"

The warmth surged through him once more, filling him with strength as Fluttershy began to glow, her teal eyes shining like stars once they finally died.

"O-oh... my..." Fluttershy murmured, gently rubbing her head, before she looked up and spotted him, "Storm!" she yelped, "I-I had the most awful dream!"

He nodded, giving the naturally shy girl a soft smile.

"It's alright, Fluttershy," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Everything's going to be fine now."

"I-it was terrible!" she continued, but more calmly, "I-I was being so mean to everyone!" she admitted, her eyes beginning to fill with tears at the mere thought, "It was horrible!" Storm shook his head.

"It's okay, Fluttershy. You're not like that anymore."

"A-anymore?" she asked, before gasping, "Y-you mean, th-that wasn't a dream?!" Storm shook his head.

"No, Fluttershy, it was real, but-" he cut in quickly when he saw the look on her face, "it wasn't you that was doing all that. It was Discord's magic that was making you act that way."

"D-Discord?" she asked, sounding confused before her eyes widened.

"O-oh! I remember! I saw a bunch of little butterflies and thought... oh! B-but that was Discord and he-he..." she frowned and looked away, "He made me all mean..."

Storm shook his head. As nice as it was to talk to the real Fluttershy again, they only had so much time.

"Fluttershy," he began seriously, his tone grabbing her attention immediately, "the others were affected by Discord as well. I've already managed to help Applejack, but I need you to head to the library to help her with Twilight."

"T-Twilight?" she asked, "B-but wouldn't you have already... y-you know, helped her?" she asked. Storm squashed the urge to twitch and shook his head.

"I tried, but Discord's magic is affecting her a lot worse than you and Applejack. She needs you and the others," he implored. Fluttershy stared at him for a moment longer before her expression hardened.

"O-okay!" she said, nodding firmly, "I-I'll go help Twilight and Applejack!" she added, before blinking, "Oh, but what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to hunt down the others," he said, narrowing his eyes, "There's not much else I'll be good for, not in my condition," he admitted.

The shy girl soon hugged the boy as she planted a peck on his cheek and thanked the Jedi Knight. Storm held that smile as he felt warmth.

---

After convincing Fluttershy to head out to the library rather than stay behind to treat some of his injuries, he rushed back into town.

Who to help next? Rarity's magic might be able to help the others if Twilight started getting antsy. Rainbow might be a good idea if she decides to pull a runner, but, considering her current condition, he doubted she'd be doing anything like that. On the other hand, Pinkie just might be able to pull Twilight out of her funk by herself or at least be a good contributor. Plus, Pinkie was closer than the other two.

Storm nodded. Pinkie it is.

Unlike the area around it, Sugarcube Corner was surprisingly untouched. This, of course, set Storm on edge.

He snuck inside, making sure to hop up and prevent the bell from sounding, and began searching around. The bakery was completely empty, and the lights were off, but there were signs of people having recently been there. Desserts and other food had been left on the counters, and there were even some puddles on the ground from where someone's fallen ice cream had melted. Despite this, he could make out the forms of three figures upstairs. Likely the Cakes and Pinkie.

Carefully, he snuck upstairs and, after determining what rooms the figures were all in, peeked his head into the room where the two were.

What he found surprised him, though, to be fair, it probably shouldn't have.

Mrs. Cake was flopping around on her stomach, clapping her front two hands like a seal, while Mr. Cake crawled along the walls and ceiling like some demented spider.

He carefully closed the door and prayed for his sanity.

Leaving that mess behind, he snuck over to Pinkie's room, where the Discorded teen was presumably.

Dispensing with stealth, he opened the door, prepared to meet the sight of an angry pink girl, only to find her sitting on the bed, staring at the wall.

"Pinkie?" he asked, catching the teen's attention. She blinked and looked over at him before gasping.

"Storm!" she cheered, rushing over to envelop him in a crushing hug, causing him to stumble slightly.

"Wha-Pinkie?!" he snapped, stunned as the girl began nuzzling his cheek.

"I knew you were okay!" she suddenly said, breaking away from him and giving him a brief glimpse of her still baby-blue eyes. He blinked in confusion.

"You're... okay?" he asked, "But... didn't Discord...?"

"Hmm?" Pinkie tilted her head before smiling, "Oh! You mean when Discord made me act all super angry and stuff?" she asked, receiving a bewildered nod, "Yeah, I stopped!"

"You... stopped? B-but... how?" Pinkie shrugged.

"I dunno! I just started thinking, 'Well, if I don't like laughing or my friends, then what do I like?' I started thinking of balloons, cupcakes, puppies, the Cakes, balloons, parties, birthday parties, candy-"

"I get it."

"-streamers, music, movies, surprise parties, chocolate, and a whole bunch of other stuff! But then I started thinking, 'Huh. Those things are all super fun but are kinda boring if no one is laughing.' Then I started thinking that if laughing isn't so bad, then maybe my friends weren't so bad either!" she smiled at him, "Then I started remembering a bunch of super amazing stuff! Like my first party with my family, the first smile I put on others, when I came to Equis, and when I met the girls and you! So I started thinking, 'Wow! All this stuff is really great! How come I don't like it anymore?' So I started liking it again! Then you walked in!"

Storm blinked.

... Okay? So Pinkie snapped herself out of it by mistake? That's... good. Very good, actually.

"That's great, Pinkie," he said, shaking away the rest of his surprise before returning to his original purpose, "I need your help."

Pinkie blinked and nodded,

"Sure! Whatcha need?"

"Discord's magic has made Twilight pretty sad, and I need you to head to the library to help the others cheer her back up. Think you can do that?" he asked. Pinkie nodded, a rather serious look on her usually smiling face.

"You got it! I'll have Twilight smiling faster than you can say 'cupcakes'!" she said before turning right around and jumping out the window.

At this point, Storm wasn't even surprised by that.

---

After that, he decided to hunt down Rarity.

The Carousel Boutique was as prim and proper as it had ever been, though the large gouge in the ground leading to the door had been a little odd. Considering that the gouge led from her front door back to the library, it was stranger.

Knocking on the door, only to have Rarity's familiar voice screech at him to leave her and Tom alone, was probably the fourth strangest thing he encountered that day alone.

After checking to see if it was locked, he frowned and pushed through the door, noting that there was no ringing from a bell.

The inside of the boutique was vastly different than usual. For starters, every single mannequin had been tossed aside, some even missing entire limbs, and were strewn about the room. Fabrics also laid haphazardly throughout the room, over furniture, in the rafters, and even knotted into and through several shelves. He also spotted the bell lying on the floor near the door.

Of course, all of that paled compared to a massive boulder sitting proudly on the stage, surrounded by several mirrors, with Rarity almost reverently polishing the stone with a rag.

"What. The. Fuck?" he couldn't help but vocalize his thoughts, the sight before him too surreal for anything else. Expectedly, his silent arrival and sudden announcement startled the snowy girl, who let out a rather impressive shriek as she whirled around, holding a hand to her chest.

"Who is it?!" she hissed, her normally prim and proper speech marred by a strange, raspy quality, as her dead, gray eyes frantically darted over his form, "Storm?! What are you doing here?!" she asked before sneering, backing up until she was laying against the boulder, "You're here for Tom, aren't you?! Twilight put you up to this, didn't she?! I told her! Tom is mine! Nobody can have him but me!"

... Dear Faust, she's fucked in the head...

He tossed the unnecessary thought aside, even as true as it was.

Now, how to go about fixing this one? He didn't think talking would be as effective as it had somehow ended up being with Applejack and Fluttershy.

... Destroy the rock? She obviously saw it as something valuable, so getting rid of its value could snap her out of it.

Or cause her to snap, period.

He doubted she could get crazier than she was right now, but he wasn't sure it was a risk he was willing to take.

... Talking it is.

"Relax, I'm not here for... Tom?" he said before shaking his head, "I just came to see how everyone was doing. I've heard that Discord has been... interacting with you lot."

"Discord?" Rarity asked before perking up, "Oh? You mean the thing that led me to my precious Tom?" she added, gently petting the boulder.

"He brought you to the rock?"

"Tom is not some filthy rock!" Rarity hissed, glaring at him, "He's a big, glorious diamond!"

... Okay, so she sees the big fucker as a diamond... so he puts a selective glamour over the thing... huh, maybe breaking it is a good idea... It'll hurt like a bitch right now, but that should dispel the glamour... hopefully.

"Of course!" he said, bowing slightly in apology, "How could I have mistaken such a... gem for likes of a mere rock?" he said diplomatically.

"It's fine!" Rarity said, not quite paying attention to him, "As long as you know how beautiful he is!" she snapped her head over to him again, "But he's still mine!"

"Of course, he is," Storm said as she turned away from him, slowly stalking forward, "only someone like you can truly appreciate its... beauty."

"Yes! Yes!" Rarity gushed, beginning to hug the boulder, "I'm so glad you see things my way! Twilight tried to take him from me!" she growled, "Can you believe it?! A girl like her, trying to take away my Tom?! Ha! A little bookworm like her should stay where she belongs, with all her books, and leave me to all my gems!"

Storm twitched slightly, feeling a pulse of irrational anger before he brushed it aside.

It was only Discord's magic talking. Hopefully.

He lunged forward, latched on to Rarity's hair before dragging her away from the boulder, and tossed her off to the side, ignoring how she screeched in pain and surprise.

"What are you doing?! GET AWAY FROM TOM!"

He obviously ignored her, lifting up a single hand in preparation to shatter the boulder. He faltered for an instant, feeling his body protest at the movement. A blue glow surrounded him, but it fizzled out almost immediately, giving him the time needed to overcome the momentary pain, and he slammed his hand down on the rock as the Force added more to his power.

His hand crashed into the stone once, causing a series of cracks to spiderweb across Tom's surface. Twice, causing them to expand and grow deeper before a third strike caused the stone to split into a hundred large shards.

"NOOOOOOO!"

He jumped back as Rarity charged at him, or Tom as it turned out, when she fell next to the broken stone.

"No, no, no no no, no! It's okay, Tom! I-I can fix you!" she said, beginning to hyperventilate, "I-it's okay! M-momma's here! Y-you're g-going t-t-t-to be alright!" she picked up a few of the shards; and began weakly clicking them together, as if it would cause them to magically stick together, "C-come on! Just-just stick together!"

Storm frowned as he watched the girl break down in front of him. As he'd thought, she was beginning to snap from the sudden removal of her forced fixation. What interested him most was that she seemed to still see the remains as bits of the diamond rather than stone.

Regardless of the circumstance, he did feel a tad guilty. More so for her reaction than what he actually did to cause it.

With that in mind, he approached her again, placing his hand on her shoulder once he was close enough. Strangely, she didn't seem to react to his touch, despite her state being his fault, scarcely even glancing at his hoof before she returned to her futile task.

"Rarity," he began, "that's not a diamond."

"O-of course it is!" she insisted, her hands shaking as she clacked a pair of the shards together, though it was beginning to slow down.

"O-of... of course..." she trailed off for a moment, pausing in her frantic attempts to repair the rock.

She went silent and stared at the rocks in her hands and on the ground in front of her and suddenly began to blink rapidly.

The warmth surged within him once again. It roared and sang, stronger than ever before, as it scorched away his pain and fatigue all in one encompassing burst.

Rarity lit up beside him, glowing with a brilliant white light before it faded away. She blinked a few times before turning her once-again-brilliant sapphire eyes onto him.

"You will never speak of this."

Storm chuckled.

"Speak of what?" he asked, smirking at the girl beside him.

"Exactly. Now..." the fashionista trailed off momentarily and glanced back at the stony debris sitting on her pristine little stage. Her eye twitched after a moment, and her hands lit up, coating every last shard of stone in her magic, before tossing it all hastily out the nearest open window, not even bothering to check where she'd thrown it.

"There!" she said perkily, gently clopping her hands together, "Now that... that is out of my shop, would you mind telling me what happened, Storm?"

He quickly filled Rarity in on his discovery of the Element's location, his 'fight' with Discord, his arrival in town, and the discovery of Twilight's, and by extension their, condition, as well as how the others had been affected.

"Why that-that-brute!" Rarity snarled, staring angrily out the window, "How dare he do any of that to us! To force anybody to act so against themselves, why it's despicable!" she growled before turning her gaze back unto him, the fury giving way to worry, "Oh, are you alright, Storm?" she asked, eyeing his visible injuries, "Those wounds of yours look rather ghastly. I'm not sure you should even be walking like this!"

Storm rolled his eyes.

"My injuries aren't anything noteworthy, Rarity," he said, "Honestly, I've had worse in the past."

"That doesn't make me feel any better, Storm!"

"It wasn't meant to," he snapped before shaking his head, "Anyways, I still need to find Rainbow. You should head o-"

"Oh no!" Rarity snapped, silencing him with a finger against his lips, "I know exactly what you are trying to do, Storm! You have done enough," she said firmly, "you don't need to prove that you're still useful; you silly boy," she added gently, "You're injured enough. Just find someplace safe and get some rest."

"And stand by while six civilians put themselves in unnecessary danger?" he asked. Rarity sighed.

"I understand that this might be a blow to your pride, darling, but-"

"Pride? My pride?" he asked, before laughing, "Ha! This isn't about pride, Rarity!" he snapped, causing her to recoil, "The six of you are the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony! The six of you! Together, I'm sure you'd all be fine facing Discord, but alone or divided? Not a fucking chance!" he snarled, "If even one of you isn't around, then we're all fucked! I am not going to let you tell me to stand aside when there's nothing you can do by yourself! You will head to the library, and you will wait for Rainbow Dash to arrive. The five of you will snap Twilight out of it. Then, and only then, will I let you lot fight Discord! Do. You. Understand?!"

Rarity stared at him for a moment before speaking.

"Y-yes...?"

"What was that?"

"Yes! I understand!" she yelped.

"Good. Now go."

Rarity was starting to make her way to the castle when she turned to look at the boy. Storm was about to say something to get her going but was soon silenced as Rarity quickly rushed back to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. She then hugged him as she had her arms around his neck.

"I know you've chosen someone else. But at least I can keep that moment for the rest of my life," whispered the fashionista before she took off and left the Jedi Knight by himself.

---

Finding Rainbow Dash proved easier than anticipated.

Given that the other five had been lounging around places he had expected to find them, he had assumed Discord would spice things up by getting Rainbow Dash to leave Equis in its entirety, leaving Storm with few to no clues as to where she'd gone.

As it turns out, he found her lying near her ship outside the town.

In hindsight, he was grateful that she hadn't decided to leave the planet.

Maybe he should have brought the others along...

No, too risky for his tastes.

"Rainbow Dash!" he called.

"Huh?" the blue girl spun around on her cloud, leaning over the edge to spot him, "Oh, hey, Storm!" she returned rather happily. Her response was a tad confusing. She seemed... normal. Aside from the gray eyes, he would've thought she was the same girl she'd always been. Especially since she was lounging about instead of getting to work.

Then again, he could use his own relaxation after this whole fiasco.

"You realize that Discord is still roaming about, right? The girls need your help to stop him and fix everything!"

"Why?" Rainbow asked, before scoffing, "Please, have you seen this place? It's a total mess! Nah, I'm staying here where everything's awesome! Not to mention, I'm not letting anybody steal my ship!" she said, flopping onto her back without so much as a word.

Ah... that's how she changed.

Like Rarity's change, Discord's magic tied Rainbow to her ship, forcefully tricking her into thinking someone would attempt to steal it, making her distrustful of others. Which was enough to stabilize the forced personality change.

Whether he did that because he needed to overcome the Element's protections or if he just thought it was funny was lost on the boy.

Regardless, that meant that there were several ways he could go about saving Rainbow.

First: He could destroy her ship. Though that probably was best saved for the last resort.

Second: Try and turn the Element's magic back on, as he did with Fluttershy and Applejack.

Third: Hope she fixes herself as Pinkie did.

He didn't think the third one was any good.

Well, might as well try talking first. Avoid straining himself as much as he could for now.

"So that's it? You're just going to leave us hanging high and dry?" he asked.

"Yep!" Rainbow replied, popping the 'p.'

"But what about when you first met your friends, huh? Or what about when you first discovered the Elements? The six of you stood by each other and fought off Nightmare Moon. Where's that loyalty now?"

"Dunno."

Storm scowled.

"I see. But what about your Daring Do books? Remember when you thought your friends would abandon you for learning to enjoy reading? How about when you helped me free those prisoners from that underground facility? Are you just tossing all of that aside? Is all that worth so little to you?"

"Guess so!"

His eye twitched.

Alright... Plan B it is.

Storm lifted his hand as he began to lift the girl's ship. It was now hovering above as he dropped it from not too far of a height but enough to make a sound as it crashed into the ground. Rainbow perked up at the strange sound and turned just in time to see the vehicle hit the ground.

"NO!" yelled Rainbow as she quickly got up and rushed to her ship. She began to inspect it as if her life depended on it.

"So, are you ready to come back to us?" Storm asked. Predictably, Rainbow turned to him, growling as she ground her teeth.

"You son of a bitch! You destroyed my ship!" she shrieked.

"Did I?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, you are so smug, you know that! You think the galaxy revolves around you! That we couldn't possibly survive without the powerful and mighty Jedi Storm to guide us through our problems! Well, I got a news flash for you. We got along just fine without you!"

"Oh, and this qualifies as just fine! Turning your back on your friends when they need you the most!" yelled Storm as he and Rainbow were trading verbal bars with each other as their hands were shown reaching for their weapons.

"Don't push it, Storm! You can't expect me and the others to fall in line and listen to you like you're our leader! Like we're one of your expandable clone troopers." yelled Rainbow.

"Hey, I'm doing my best!" yelled the Jedi Knight.

"And whoever said I wanted to be led! I'm better off calling my own shots! Like I did before I ever met you!" yelled Rainbow. "Every single time, it always has to be about you. This story can't go on without its main character, right. But why does it gotta be about you! Why can't it be about me?! Every single time, you show up. People say: 'There goes the big dog! There go, Storm. He's on top! He's #1!' Well, I'm done playing second fiddle to an orphan whose parents are six feet in the ground and rotting in hell! Maybe they took their life because they didn't want to deal with your crying bitch ass anymore!"

"You don't have what it takes to be a leader! You're impatient, hot-tempered, stubborn, and, more importantly, Rainbow. I'm just straight up better than you will ever be in your pathetic life!" growled Storm.

"Ha ha! Oh, you know something, Jedi. I'm afraid I'll disagree with you on that one!" stated Rainbow as she pointed her blaster at the boy.

"Don't do this, Rainbow," spoke Storm as only his eyes were shown.

"I'm through taking orders from you," responded Rainbow as her eyes were shown. She turned the dial on her blaster as it was ready to fire.

Storm merely stood there as he sighed. The boy took a deep breath as he was shown reaching for his lightsaber. Rainbow took her shot and fired. In the blink of an eye, Storm blocked a barrage of blaster bolts as he deflected them as fast as Rainbow was shooting them. The girl took off as she used her newfound speed power and ran around the Jedi in a circle.

It appeared like Rainbow was zipping in and out of space and time, indicating how fast she was using her power. Even then, Storm was keeping up the defense as he stood strong. He turned to block a blindside, but one of Rainbow's blasts knocked his weapon out of his hand. Before he could have a chance to recall it using the Force or his powers, Rainbow was coming at him, still firing a barrage.

Storm stuck his hand out with no choice as he put up a barrier to deflect the shots in all directions. The Jedi Knight then disbursed and waved his arm about as he flung Rainbow's weapon from her hand, leaving her weaponless. The chromatic-haired teen was still coming at him as she tackled him to the floor. She was straddled on top of his chest as she delivered some punches.

Storm couldn't defend due to one of his arms being damaged, but he could move out of the way of Rainbow's punches and use his good arm to throw her off him with the Force. The girl tumbled but quickly recovered as she skidded to a halt.

Rainbow uttered a wordless scream as she ran at him. She shot toward the Jedi Knight, hands outstretched, and aimed for his unprotected face. She closed in on him rapidly, returning her arm to beat the ever-loving shit out of the bastard.

Despite his injured state, Storm nimbly stepped aside, causing Rainbow to crash directly into the ground, having had absolutely zero time to react and correct herself before the impact.

The sky-blue girl groaned for a moment before a hand roughly grabbed her by the hair and yanked her up.

"Agh!" she growled, hands flying up to her hair in an attempt to soothe the pain. It was for naught, however, as Storm easily swung her around until he stopped her.

"Look," he said tiredly, but when Rainbow refused to listen, he growled and forced his exhaustion aside, "I said... look."

Rainbow stilled, her body suddenly tensing, instincts beginning to scream at her, and she resumed her struggles, only more frantically than before.

However, the part of her that wasn't her instincts immediately followed the order, her eyes locking onto the Jedi.

"Discord tricked you, lied to you. He made you abandon your friends, Rainbow Dash. Tell me... is that something you want to do?"

"That's... that's... that's impossible!" she suddenly snarled, her body beginning to glow like the others.

All at once, the warmth returned. It roared to life within his chest, his exhaustion burning away under its violent return.

He let go of Rainbow's hair, ignoring how the girl began violently cursing Discord's name.

"Alright, before you go hunting Discord down," Storm said, interrupting Rainbow's furious tirade, "we still need to help Twilight."

"Twilight?" Rainbow asked before her eyes narrowed, "The girls. What did that jerk do to them?!" she demanded, earning a scoff from the Jedi Knight.

"The same thing he did to you," he snapped, "But now, Twilight's the only one left we need to fix. She's at the library with the others, so-"

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Rainbow asked, "Let's go!" she said before shooting off in a blur of rainbow colors.

Storm sighed. How impatient. Then again, he mused, he'd be a little impatient too.

Soon a rainbow blur came back as the girl quickly appeared before the boy. He didn't get a chance to speak before being kissed on the cheek by the athletic teen, which surprised him the most.

"Don't speak this to anyone!" threatened the girl as she took.

He sighed and pressed a hand against his chest. He'd done it... he'd saved the other five, and they, in turn, would be able to do what he couldn't and help bring Twilight back to normal.

---

A small, almost ditzy, smile wormed its way onto his face.

She was going to be okay.

Twilight was going to be alright.

The thought left him giddy and eager to return.

He was more than a little nervous when he got back to the castle. Sure, nothing dangerous, or even suspicious, had occurred on the trip back. The lack of anything happening was suspicious, but he was willing to let it slide in his excitement to see Twilight back to normal.

Obviously, this was the worst possible idea.

Dodge.

He vaulted away, not caring what direction he was going in, just in time for the ground to erupt beneath his previous position.

"Hmm... that's twice now that you've done that. I didn't think much of it when you dodged that sword but... now this? Just how are you able to dodge something that hasn't happened yet?"

Discord's voice echoed around him again, unaware of Storm's growing anger and his brandished, damaged lightsaber.

"What the fuck are you-?!"

Jump Back.

He pushed himself off the ground violently, ignoring the stinging pains his body rewarded him with, just as a large spike of earth shot up in front of him.

"This really is quite interesting. I wonder if-"

"Discord!" a wonderfully familiar voice called, cutting off the draconequus mid-sentence, "Come out! It's over!"

Storm spun around just in time to watch Twilight confidently strut out of the large hole in the castle, the Element of Magic sitting prettily atop her head, with the other five, each wearing their own Elements, right behind her.

"Oh. You're back already? Shame, I thought my spells would have lasted longer. Oh well, I suppose that's what I get for leaving this one alive."

Duck.

He felt it this time. A small, niggling feeling in the back of his skull, an instant before he moved. It felt... Familiar somehow.

This time, a large war hammer passed through the space above him, growling as he aggravated his wounds with the sudden maneuver.

Strangely enough, he could still feel that... feeling resting in the back of his mind. It was almost like it was... waiting for something.

"That's enough, Discord!" Twilight shouted.

"Yeah, show yourself, you creep!" Rainbow snarled, looking around wildly.

"Now, now, Rainbow Dash. Don't you think that's a tad harsh? If you really want me to come out-"

There was a bright flash of light in front of them before Discord appeared, lounging on a golden throne, a cup of chocolate milk in claw.

"-all you have to do is ask nicely."

"Discord-!" Twilight snarled; she and the girls behind her glared quite nastily at the draconequus before he cut her off.

"Yes, yes, that is my name. I'm glad we established that. Now, instead of making some grand speech, why don't you simply get on with it," Discord said, leveling a piercing glare at the six girls, "Your little Elements can't stop me. Have you learned nothing?"

The girls' only response was to get into a half-circle formation, with Twilight sitting at the center.

"Oh, we've learned something, Discord!" Twilight shouted as a brilliant white glow began to surround them, "We've learned that even though friendship can be hard, there's nothing about it that isn't worth fighting for!"

"Gag," Discord replied, inspecting his talons, "just use those silly Elements of yours already. Your little speeches are annoying."

Twilight's eye twitched, but it was ignored as the glow brightened exponentially.

Storm shielded his eyes but stopped when he realized the glow wasn't hurting him.

The feeling within him suddenly grew. He felt it surge and expand, forcing nearly every ounce of his attention on the spectacle before him.

The six girls suddenly began to float into the air, their hairs flowing in an intangible wind. The Elements began emitting their own light, starting with Fluttershy's and moving down the other four, before the Element of Magic began to shine.

Twilight's eyes flew open when her Element began to glow, her once purple eyes completely overtaken by a blinding white light. All at once, the light condensed before exploding outward in a familiar ring of rainbow light.

The light washed over Storm's unprepared form in an instant.

It was as though his entire body had been drenched in liquid ecstasy. He felt it wash through him, every ounce of pain and fatigue he'd felt suddenly vanishing as though they'd never existed. He could feel his skin begin to knit back together as the light poured through him. And as the feeling within his mind began to dance:

The World Sang.

And Then It Stopped.

Storm stumbled suddenly, the warmth leaving him in an instant, leaving behind a cold, empty hole in his heart.

Despite Storm's current state, the Elements continued to glow. A massive rainbow light erupted from the center of the six girls, piercing straight into the heavens before curving and shooting straight toward Discord like the wrath of the gods.

Discord yawned and extinguished the light with a wave of his claw.

The light surrounding the girls vanished, and they fell to the ground rather unceremoniously.

"Wh-what?!"

"What's happenin'?!"

"What the fuck did you do, Discord?!"

"This isn't good..."

"Yay, more chocolate rain!"

"Wh-what's going on!?" Twilight stammered, staring at the spirit, "Th-the Elements didn't work?! Wh-why didn't they-?!"

"I told you," Discord interrupted, "Your Elements can't stop me. Have you learned nothing?"

Storm stopped listening. After all, how could he?

I won't allow a Seventh one to appear.

No... no, he... he couldn't have been...

No! Storm refused to believe that he was supposed to be some... some Seventh Element! Herecalled what the Father said on Mortis as his test to save Twilight. He refused to let either of them be right.

Discord was lying! He must've again put one of the girls under his influence when they weren't watching. How else would he know where to find them?

He couldn't-justcouldn't-be an Element! He-he wasn't worth that!

Thanks to his now partly healed injuries, Storm growled and managed to leap forward and take a swing at the distracted draconequus.

Unfortunately, Discord had either great reflexes or wasn't as distracted as he seemed since he managed to catch Storm's swing before bodily tossing him back at the girls.

"Agh!" he grunted once he struck the ground, having landed on his still-mostly-broken arm.

"Storm!" Twilight called, rushing over to him, "Are you alright? What were you thinking?!" He shook his head and pushed her off of him.

"Discord... he must've done something to you or the Elements," he said, standing back up, "that's why... that is why they're not working," he locked eyes with the princess, "You have to figure out what he did and fix it."

Twilight blinked rapidly at him but was cut off before she could speak.

"What in the world are you talking about?" Rarity asked, advancing on him, "We just snapped poor Twilight out of her little funk. How could Discord have possibly had the time to redo whatever his magic was doing?" she asked.

"Rarity's right, Discord ain't had the time ta do anythin'," Applejack supplied, rubbing her shoulder.

"Then what do you think is wrong with the Elements?!" Storm snapped, "What, you think they ran out of magic or something?!"

"No arguing!" Twilight said hotly. "The last thing we need-"

Move.

"-is to-agh!"

Storm immediately tackled Twilight to the ground, barely avoiding the bolt of magic that zipped by her head, which collided with a nearby building, taking it down in one shot.

"There's that strange dodging of yours again. I wonder... how far does it go?"

Storm glared venomously at the lounging draconequus and turned to the girl beneath him, brown locking with amethyst.

"Figure out what's wrong with the Elements. I'll... try to stall for as long as I can."

And with that, he was off, ignoring the sounds of Twilight's protests behind him.

"Discord!" he snarled, launching himself at the spirit, lightsaber pulled back, ready to kill. Discord smirked and vanished from the throne he sat on, beginning to float backward to avoid Storm's strike.

"Ah, this again?" he asked, nimbly stepping away from a vertical slice, "You realize how badly this ended for you the last time, right?" Storm growled and swung once more, watching as Discord ducked. He smirked, his hand whipping out to strike against the spirit's cheek, sending the larger being flying away.

Emboldened by the lack of pain, Storm charged after him.

Discord huffed and righted himself just as Storm's lightsaber flew towards his neck. Surprised by the Jedi's increased speed, his tail flew out from behind him and struck the boy's chest again. Rather than get propelled away, Storm had latched his remaining hand onto the offending appendage.

Discord's eyes widened a fraction before he felt the teen pull on his tail, swinging him above his head and into the ground.

Storm grinned maniacally as he continued pounding Discord's body onto the ground beside him, enjoying the rather comical sounds he made every time he hit the ground.

After a few more slams, he spun around, taking Discord with him, and threw the draconequus to the side, watching as he crashed through one of the nearby windows. Just as Storm was about to charge and reengage, Discord shot out from the building, a massive golf club in claw.

"Fore!"

He scarcely had time to brace himself before smacked off, careening through the air. The world around him flipped and turned, and he was violently brought to a standstill when he felt himself collide with something. This was, unfortunately, short-lived, as whatever he'd hit collapsed seconds later, taking him with it.

Storm burst out of the debris, a furious scowl marring his face as he looked around for his opponent.

Get Away.

Moving rather frantically, Storm tore through the nearest wall just as a wrecking ball fell on top of the pile he'd just occupied. He didn't even have a second to breathe as his ear flicked, and he turned just in time to see Discord charge straight at him.

"HOW-"

He blocked a punch aimed at his head and returned with a vicious counter.

"-ARE-"

He was forced to duck a series of swords, rubber chickens, and a single pie before he managed to lash out with his lightsaber, catching the side of Discord's utterly livid face and coating both of them in a shower of blood.

"-YOU-"

He blocked a strike from Discord's suddenly flail-like tail, ignoring how one of the spikes gored straight through his leg.

"-DODGING-"

The wind was knocked out of him by a blow to his stomach he hadn't seen coming, but he managed to prevent a follow-up with a panicked swing of his sword.

"-MY-"

Discord caught the blade of Storm's lightsaber with his talon and shattered it without issue, his claw reaching out and doing much the same to Storm's uninjured leg.

"-ATTACKS?!"

A final blow struck Storm in the face, sending him tumbling head over heels before coming to a stop, hitting damn near everything between him and his new resting point, which was right in front of the girls.

""""""STORM!""""""

He groaned and tried to push himself to his feet but failed when both his broken one failed to hold his weight and the one with the hole in it failed to even respond.

"D-dammit...!"

A warm hand appeared on his back just as a second purple hand entered his vision. He didn't have the strength to look up right now, but he figured that Twilight was giving him one of those 'I can't believe how stupid you are!' mixed with 'How the are you still alive?!' looks.

He'd gotten a lot of those in the past. He knew what they looked like.

"Storm! Are you ok-oh? What am I saying? Of course, you're not!" Twilight nearly screeched. A second set of hands gently grabbed the leg with the hole, though he only noticed because it happened to be in his line of sight.

He could see Fluttershy gently trying to wrap a bandage around his injury-where'd she even get one?-but not feeling it left him feeling rather cold.

Though, to be fair, that could just be the blood loss. His wounds had only just been healed-partially at least-before he got a brand new set.

"Ughhh... that, uh... yeah, that looks bad," he heard Rainbow mutter, followed by the sound of someone getting slapped, "Ow!"

"Rainbow Dash! Now is not the time to joke around!" Rarity very nearly hissed.

"Did... you gals get those stupid Elements to work yet?" he managed to ask.

"No!" Twilight replied hysterically, "None of us are acting any different, and we all remember everything! I even tried running a few diagnostic spells and-!"

"Yeah, we don't know what's wrong with 'em," Applejack interrupted hastily.

"I'm not surprised," Discord's voice interjected, the girls all jumping and turning to face him. However, Storm was lucky enough that he was already facing Discord's new position, "mortals aren't really meant to understand the Elements," he continued airily.

"Discord, what did you do?!" he heard Twilight ask venomously, "The Elements worked against Nightmare Moon, so why-?!"

"Why is it...?" Discord cut her off, "that you think I had anything to do with your precious little Elements not working?" he asked, before throwing his arms out to the side, "I'm not responsible for everything, you know?"

"B-but then why?!" Twilight implored, seemingly forgetting just who she was asking. Discord chuckled darkly.

"Oh, well, if you really want to know, why not try asking your injured friend? He knows why they're not working," Discord said slyly as he gestured to the downed Jedi, throwing Storm under the proverbial carriage.

"I don't!" yelled the boy.

"Really? Come on, Storm. Accept the power you've been given. Find the hearts joined to yours." Discord pointed at the boy's heart.

"And why should I listen to you?!" growled the boy.

"As if! You don't have a choice but to follow this sweet little trail of breadcrumbs. And at the end, you'll finally realize what destiny has in store for you." said Discord before snickering.

Destiny... Destiny... Destiny... DESTINY!

Storm heard the echo as even Discord was smiling.

"In fact. Your reward may even be right around the corner. You're so close!" spoke the draconequus.

"Storm?" Twilight asked, appearing in his vision, looking confused, "What is he talking about?" Storm grunted, tried, and failed, to stand before sighing.

"Bastard... told me some stupid story... 'bout how he gets stronger with time... and that the Elements need a new one to... bolster their strength to overcome his... but it's... bullshit."

Breathing was hard right now.

"You mean... we need a Seventh Element of Harmony?" Twilight asked, blinking in confusion, "B-but that's crazy! There's only six Elements of Harmony! How could there possibly be another one?!"

"''Pparently... they just... exist when someone... right comes along..."

"But-but-that doesn't make any sense!" Twilight argued, "The Elements of Harmony are powerful magical artifacts. They can't just... appear whenever it's convenient!"

Move.

His body didn't respond.

"That's completely and utterly illogical!" Twilight continued, unaware of the impending doom creeping on her.

It happened in slow motion.

She continued her little rant, but he saw everything as Discord's arm raised, and bits of neon blue light suddenly shot to his claw, taking the form of a large, three-pronged spear.

He couldn'tmove.

"After everything we've been through, there's just something else?!"

He watched that arm slowly pull back, crackling with magical energy, before throwing the weapon forward.

His bodyshrieked at him, every fiber of his beingscreamingat him toJust Move.

"How are we going to do anything if there are things we don't know about just hiding around the corner?!"

He watched as it carved through the air, creeping closer and closer to the back of Twilight's head with every passing instant.

She Was Going To Die.

That Was-

-Completely-

-Utterly-

-Unacceptable.

Twilight couldn't help but huff at just how irritating today was.

Everything had been going just fine! But then, out of nowhere, the entire world is suddenly engulfed in some weird magical phenomena that happened to be caused by some ancient evil that had, somehow, gotten free from its imprisonment. Now she and her friends had to deal with it because they were the only ones on the planet who could do so!

Then they get to Canterlot only to find that their sole method of dealing with the ancient evil was stolen by said ancient evil; they got chased by said evil after watching one of her parents forcibly turn evil, and attack the other, only to start getting chased by an absurdly powerful creature, watch her crush get pulverized by the aforementioned creature, and received some stupid riddle about how their weapons were hidden away 'back where they began.'

Then the whole issue with the maze thing, getting tricked into thinking her friends had all turned their backs on her-and in hindsight, that was absolutely stupid of her to think. Honestly, looking back, it was obvious that Discord was pulling the strings-got corrupted by Discord's magic, which caused her to forcibly recalled the many years of isolation after being taken on as Celestia's student, and sent her into a pretty big spiral of depression which was hazy now. Got rescued by her friends, with a lot of help from Storm; if her friends were to be believed-and, she was inclined to think so and finally got to use their Elements on Discord.

Then the Elements didn't work. Brief panic ensued before her crush once more stepped in and fought off Discord long enough for her and her friends to do some talking and minor soul searching, only to realize that they had no idea what had gone wrong, just in time for Storm to return to them, once again, heavily injured. Possibly even more so than before.

And then the object of their frustration, through their injured friend, revealed that, evidently, there was another Element. And wasn't that just peachy? All that effort they went through, all that trouble, all that pain, only for them to be told that it was meaningless because there just so happened to be another Element of Harmony that nobody had told them about!

Why hadn't her father mentioned it? Surely, he would have some knowledge regarding a secret Seventh Element?

Well, Twilight, the Elements of Harmony are powerful magical artifacts; admittedly, not much is known about what they do.

Right, of course. He probably didn't know, then. The way he described them painted the Elements as a mystery that can't be solved.

Though, from the sounds of it, Discord seemed strangely in on the little mystery. How could he possibly have this kind of information when not even the people who used the things had any idea?

"This just doesn't make any sense!"

And now, she finished her small rant on how stupid this whole thing was. Admittedly, it had made her feel a bit better now that all of that was off her chest.

Her friends were looking at her in horror, though. Which was strange since she didn't think she had been vulgar in her speech.

No, she hadn't actually muttered any curse, so why were they all looking at her like that?

... Wait. They weren't looking at her but behind her.

Odd. What could possibly be so-?

A hand grasped her shoulder, forcibly pulling her forward and onto the ground, when-

*SQUELCH*

A quiet gasp.

The air was silent.

Then Storm fell to the floor, the glowing blue spear going through his heart.

---

Across the galaxy, Luna was meditating as she concentrated her mind. She was struggling with her focus.

"Storm... Storm..."

At that moment, Luna's eyes shot open as she took a deep breath.

"AHHHHHH!"

She screamed to the heavens above, letting out the loudest, blood-curdling shriek as the room resonated with Force. The Jedi Master then fell face-first to the ground as she lay there.

"No... No... NO!" screamed Luna as she lifted her face to show her crying nonstop. "Storm! STORM!"

The door opened as in came Celestia, accompanied by Master Yoda.

"Lulu? What happened?"

"Tia..." cried Luna as she crawled over to her sister's arm and bawled her eyes.

Celestia held her sister as she could feel Luna crying her heart out. The younger sister was dripping tears into her sibling's chest as she wept.

"STORM! STORM!" shouted Luna as Celestia felt it and released a gasp. She looked at her younger sister and held her tightly as she felt her sister's pain.

Master Yoda closed his eyes, and he, too, felt the life force of the Jedi Knight was gone. He sighed as he approached Luna, who was still in Celestia's arms, as he gave a supportive pat to his student with a sad look.

"WHY?! WHY!" screamed Luna, letting it all out, knowing her apprentice was dead. "I warned you, Twilight! I warned you! You would kill my student! You killed him! You killed my son!"

The image that Luna saw came true. There was Storm lying in Twilight's arms as he was dead. And it was all because of her.

---

"STORM!"

Discord winced at the shrill cry but didn't move to cover his ears.

That was... unexpected. But, really, I suppose it shouldn't have been.

It was strange watching this scene play before him. Watching as the life faded from the eyes of the Jedi. Watching as the purple girl, Twilight Sparkle, immediately realized what had happened, she clutched his dead body close to her chest.

But, of course... that's not a dead body. Not yet. After all, it was my magic that pierced his heart.

Since the boy was obviously going to become the Seventh Element, that meant that his magic spear couldn't have possibly killed him. Oh, sure, his heart was useless, and under normal circumstances, this would've been a quick, practically painless death.

But Chaos had damaged Harmony. The Balance would be restored.

It had happened once, a long time ago, during his stint of freedom that would bring about the Third Element. He'd successfully killed the Bearer of Kindness, though it had been by mistake. He had never been a particularly bloodthirsty individual until he met Unity.

Ah, yes, he'd mistakenly lopped off the poor fool's head. There had been quite a lot of blood, but after some time had passed, the Elements had started glowing rather spectacularly, and suddenly, he was back to normal.

Such blatant manipulation of reality, obvious denial of the natural order, and total dismissal of the laws that govern mortal life were within the capabilities of artifacts created to counter him.

Then again... that had been the death of an already active Element, whereas Storm's Element was still dormant.

...

Th-that didn't mean he'd actually... killed him... right?

Of-of course not! Such a small, insignificant detail surely wouldn't bother the Elements! After all, the boy just needed to... awaken his Element.

And no one had any idea just what the Element would represent. So how could he possibly awaken it while dead?

Shit.

---

"Storm!" Twilight screamed, staring down at the the-stilldeadlifeless-sleeping face of her dearest crush, "C-come on, Storm! J-just wake-up! Please!"

She held him close to her chest, shaking uncontrollably. She was-was just warming him up! He was getting awfully cold after all, and k-keeping him w-warm was the l-l-least she could do!

He just-he just needed to wake up, is all.

"Storm!" she shouted into his ear. Goodness, he really was a heavy sleeper, wasn't he? "C-come on, we-we need your help. You can't just keep s-sleeping like this, you know?!"

"... Twilight?"

"Please, just-just wake up!" she pleaded, ignoring the way her tears fell onto his sleeping face hewasdeaddeaddeaddead-it would probably help wake him up, after all, "Please!"

"Twilight," a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder, causing her to stiffen in surprise. She turned her head mechanically, coming face to face with Applejack, who was staring at her sadly.

"What?" she asked her childhood friend a tad impatiently. But she was sure Applejack would forgive her for her rudeness since she really needed to wake Storm up.

"He's dead, sugarcube."

She froze.

"Wh-what are you talking about, Applejack?!" Twilight asked, laughing hysterically, "Th-that's not funny, you know! He's just-just sleeping, is all!"

"Twilight," Applejack began, "I know it hurts havin' somebody close to ya die an' all-"

"He's not dead!"

"-but lyin' ta yerself ain't gonna fix what happened," she continued, not even acknowledging her interruption, "Believe me... I know."

Twilight just laughed, running a hand through her increasingly frazzled hair.

"C-come on, Applejack! Q-quit playing around!"

"Twilight, darling," Rarity spoke up, approaching her from Applejack's right, her eyes filled with tears for some reason, "he's gone."

Twilight just stared at her two friends for a moment before turning to face the other three, hoping that they could talk some sense into their clearly out of their mind friends.

"P-Pinkie? F-Fluttershy? Ra-Rainbow Dash?"

But none of them acknowledged what she said. Fluttershy was holding one of her hands up to her mouth, quiet sobs leaving her as tears trailed down her face. Pinkie had plopped onto the ground, slack-jawed, with eyes that didn't seem to be staring at anything in particular. Rainbow Dash, however, was staring at Storm's sleeping form as if seeing him for the first time.

A set of orange arms wrapped around her suddenly, but Twilight didn't fight them off, not even as a second set, white this time, joined the orange around her.

Eventually, a third, yellow, set joined, followed by pink and blue.

It was only when completely surrounded by her friends, immersed in their collective support, that she realized something.

Storm was dead. And she was the reason. She killed him. Like Luna foretold.

A Spark was lit, weak, and frail.

"Storm..." Twilight muttered, staring down at his lifeless face. She hiccupped and gently wiped away some of the tears she had dripped onto his face.

He was dead. Gone. Never to return.

He'd... he'd saved her. It hadn't occurred to her at first, but now...

Her eyes drifted over to the hole left by the spear that had been aimed straight at her.

He sacrificed himself for me... he saved my life...

Twilight choked back another sob.

She clutched his body closer. Gone. Dead.

Why?! Why him?! Why couldn't it be her?! He didn't deserve to die!

He'd had such an awful life. He didn't deserve this kind of end! He deserved happiness, love, and friends. He deserved everything but this!

He... he deserved a good, long life. He deserved so much...

He was her friend. He'd been there for her when things had gotten tough. He'd stood by her side even when her friends hadn't. She'd felt so happy, so warm, so safe with him.

Twilight sobbed again and curled herself up with Storm's body, hoping things would turn out alright.

She had loved him, and now... well, now he'd never know, and she would never know what might have been.

Magic Ignited the Spark.

---

She remembered, back when she was a little girl, just a few months after Applebloom had been born, how her parents had died.

It had been a routine day at the farm, though a storm was heading their way later. Not that it mattered to the Apple Family. Come wind, rain, lightning, or snow, they'd be out in the field, working from sun up to sun down.

Well, her Ma and Pa had been out as usual, while Applejack helped Granny look after little Applebloom, while Big Mac was just Mac back then, working on learning all the farm's taxes.

Things had been fine. Just fine.

Then the storm ran outta control.

They didn't know it then, but the Everfree Forest's magic started interfering with the normal clouds, and everything spiraled out of control.

Some lightning here and there, and suddenly, their orchard was on fire. In the end, the bit of orchard that had caught fire hadn't been large, but in their rush to put it out before it hit the barn and house, her parents, Bright Macintosh and Buttercup, were killed in the fire.

The funeral had been a silent affair, free of Big Mac's usual chattering. Out of everyone there, only Applebloom hadn't really known what was going on.

But time passed, and the wounds healed, the ones on her, the family, and the one on the orchard.

But after that day, she vowed to care for the farm just like her parents and grow up just like them.

Shame she'd been a bit of a liar back then, but that eventually got fixed, thankfully.

It had been quite some time since somebody's death had hit her so much. He'd done so much, and now... he was gone, just like that.

No happy ending, no cheerful goodbye, no nothing.

He jumped right in front of the spear aimed for Twilight and died. To protect her. To protect them.

It just... wasn't fair. What did he do to deserve such... such a cruddy ending?

A boy like him shouldn't just.. die like that. He had so much more for him ta do in life! He was just that good of a friend.

Honesty Coaxed the Ember.

---

Rarity wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel.

Storm was dead, and that was nothing short of a tragedy, but...

Did she cry and mourn for him, or move on and stay strong for her friends?

She hadn't known him particularly well, merely some basic information that Twilight had gotten and shared with the group, but she knew more than enough to know that Storm was a one-of-a-kind individual. A truly magnificent boy who deserved a better fate than this.

He was strong beyond measure. The fact that he would fight Discord of all things to protect them, no matter how obviously futile it had turned out to be, was a testament to his strength. Not physical strength, but of character.

Someone who would stand on broken legs if only he could shield them a moment longer. That was the kind of person Storm... used to be. He often spoke his mind and had no qualms with insulting even his friends and family if he thought it would help them like he did when she'd buckled down to make their Gala dresses and suit.

He was a boy who viewed family as the most important thing if his actions were anything to go by. He'd stand before an army if only he could help and protect his family.

While his manners could sometimes be a tad lacking, Rarity was proud to have called him one of her dearest friends.

Generosity Fanned the Flame.

---

Rainbow Dash had not liked Storm at first. It was a combination of his just showing up outta nowhere and getting jealous when he started to be cooler than her.

But then he helped her realize that her friends weren't gonna judge her for something as stupid as liking books.

After that, she figured she'd give him a bit of a break, even if he still kinda got on her nerves.

Then he just had to go and keep being a good guy.

Honestly! No matter what happened, he was just there, helping out somehow. Rescuing the prisoners in the mines? The Gala dresses? Insulted the hay out of them until they came to their senses. He helped out when Twilight was locked in the library and used his smarts to get them to her.

Faustdammit! He sacrificed himself to save them! He didn't deserve to die like this!

Rainbow scolded herself. She should've been the one to push Twilight out of the way. She was Rainbow Freaking Dash! She would've been fast enough to get Twilight out of the way, and then no one would have died!

But no! No, she'd just stood there like an idiot! She hadn't even had time to so much as think about moving, and he was already there!

He died to save them. He... he...

Dammit!

He was a lot more loyal than she was, apparently...

Damn... he really earned her respect right there.

Loyalty Fueled the Fire.

---

Fluttershy sobbed quietly, even as she buried her head into the shoulder of one of the girls closest to her.

H-he was d-dead! Her big brother was d-dead!

She didn't like this. She hated this. He didn't deserve to die. He should be alive!

He was so strong... he shouldn't have died to something like this.

He should be standing right now, looking tough by biting back at Discord with one of his funny little insults meant to hide his nervousness.

That was just the kind of person he was. Always hiding something about himself beneath a mask. It wasn't a deep mask, as far as she could tell, but it was a mask nonetheless. But under that mask was a really nice boy who loved his family. And Fluttershy was lucky enough to be a part of that family! He supported her in everything she did and helped assuage her fears, even the silly ones!

She could see it in the way he interacted with everyone. That calm, distant exterior melted away slightly whenever he talked to one of them. The cold, apathetic way of looking at problems before solving them with relative ease, even if it meant causing others discomfort.

She could see it in how he treated his little bat, Sonar. Such a smart but free-spirited critter. Like his master, Sonar enjoyed doing his own thing, but when called for it, he'd come running back to help, no matter the task.

He had been a wonderful Jedi and someone she was glad to have called family.

If only he could still be around...

Kindness Stoked the Blaze.

---

Pinkie... was lost.

She... she had no idea how to even react to something like this. Laughing about it wouldn't help. Not even a cupcake or a dozen would make any of this feel even the slightest bit better!

Storm would probably know how to deal with this. He was smart like that. Always thinking outside of the box.

But now he was... gone. Just... just gone.

It didn't make sense to Pinkie. He was so strong. How could he... die?

He should be around to give that nice smile of his that said, 'I'm really angry but pretending not to be right now,' or one of those smiles that said, 'I'm actually pretty happy, but I'm toning it down because I'm not really sure how to show my emotions,' or even that frown that said 'Something stupid just happened, and I'm hoping it goes away, so I don't have to deal with it'!

He was like that. Always hiding something behind a mask of some kind. It had taken some time for her to figure even a few of those out, but she had a lot of experience with people and creatures and knew how to pick up feelings and emotions from someone that doesn't really emote the same way she did!

But once she did figure it out, she found a shy, well-meaning boy who just wanted everything to turn out alright. Sure he was kinda mean and acted tough, but she knew he was... well, was a big softy at heart.

... What was she gonna tell the Cakes? Or... or anyone?

... Who was gonna put together the funeral? She could try, but... funerals weren't like parties. Well... they kinda were, so...

...

She'd like just to throw the best 'Goodbye!' party for Storm later, then.

It was the least she could do.

...

She already missed him.

Laughter Fed the Inferno.

A Sacrifice Made. An Element Awoken.

---

"Oh? So you're the one? I must say, it's nice to meet you!"

...

"Hmm... looks like ol' Dissy did a real number on you! Don't worry. It won't last long!"

...

"... You're probably wondering who I am. You probably won't remember our little meeting, but... well, you should be honored.

...

"Oh... right, you can't respond... Huh. Can you see me? Or even hear me? Hmm... maybe I'm just talking to myself here... Oh well, you're still the best conversation partner I've had in... well, a long time!"

...

"Well, whether you can hear me or not, I hope you don't mind letting this old gal talk for a bit, alright?"

...

"Great! Well, for starters, I've been keeping an eye on you, and I gotta say, I'm impressed! You've lived a pretty hard life and are still moving along with it. You don't see that often, at least in this day and age. Still, you've got a fair share of issues, but your cute friends seem to be prying them loose, bit by bit."

...

"Oh! Looks like time's almost up! Hmm, is there anything else before that? Ah, right... try to forgive Discord, dear. He's made many mistakes, but I think he just needs someone to care about him again. Besides, he's always cared about his family, so be a dear and give that to him, yes?"

...

"Oh, and before I forget, make sure to ask out that cute purple princess of yours before it's too late! You two would be a cute couple and undoubtedly a happy family.

"Who... are you?" spoke Storm.

---

Discord sighed as he stared at the group of six still clutching around Storm's body. It had been several minutes since he died, and, quite frankly, Discord was beginning to worry.

Was it possible? Had he been wrong about Storm's destiny as the Seventh Element?

It was possible. Unlikely, but possible. Based on his newly recovered memories, he had a small sample size to take from. It had happened six times, and while they'd all had similarities, there might have been some hidden quality about the Bearers that he could not find.

"Wha-?"

The startled exclamation from Twilight Sparkle broke him from his thoughts, and his attention refocused on the six girls. Twilight Sparkle, who had previously been the most troubled of the bunch, now bore a confused expression as she stared down at Storm's body.

She shuddered suddenly, something the other five experienced moments after her, quiet gasps leaving their lips as it happened.

Fear ignited within his belly. Primal, uncontrolled, it tore through him, the old, forgotten feeling beggingscreamingpleading him to run. To run and never look back.

Discord swallowed and forced the Fear down. The last time he'd felt something like this was moments before each of his previous defeats, which meant...

He watched with bated breath as the Elements began to glow, with each of the girls connected to them rising into the air, quickly being surrounded by the individual glow of their respective Elements.

Twilight Sparkle was the last to rise into the air, looking around wildly as she did so before her eyes were overtaken by a blinding white light. The air, so overwhelmingly saturated with magic, suddenly felt charged, and a fierce wind began to blow, forcing Discord to brace himself against his throne.

The still body of Storm suddenly began rising into the air, unimpeded by the wind and surrounded by a pure white glow. It hung in the air for an instant before six beams of solid light shot from each of the six Elements toward it. An instant before hitting, they bent and began to coil around the front of the body until they each began to pour into the gaping hole where his heartbeat was.

His entire body suddenly began to shine, a heavenly white light completely consuming him before forcing Discord's eyes closed.

"Agh!"

The light lasted several long moments before he dared open them once more.

Rainbow eyes glared into his skull but were outshone by the glistening golden crown resting above them.

Sitting perfectly atop the head of the now-living Jedi was a golden crown, fit with seven arches, each ending in a fine point. Fixed to the top of all but the center point were six different gems whose colors matched the Elements adorning the other six. However, a large green gem was set in the metal under the seventh empty point.

"S-Storm, is that you?"

The voice of one Twilight Sparkle filtered through the silence, sounding like a broken jumble of hopeful and doubtful.

Storm turned slightly, his eyes, a spiral of rainbow colors, locking with hers.

"Yeah, it's me, Sparky," he said, before turning back to Discord, a scowl on his face, "we can have our little reunion later, but we need to take down Discord first."

Discord smirked, and when he could not contain it, he began chuckling before it turned into a full-blown laugh.

"Ahahahahahaha!" his voice echoed through the air, a wicked grin overtaking his own features, "I knew it! I absolutely knew it!" he boasted, throwing his head back to laugh once more, "Of course, it would be now that it wakes up! Of course the Element of-" he stopped abruptly, his gaze falling back onto Storm, "... the Element of... what, exactly?" he asked, his voice having dropped to a whisper, "Tell me, what Element of Harmony do you represent, Jedi Knight Storm?"

A scowl was his only response.

"Figure it out on your own, asshole," he said before glancing back at the girls, "now how the fuck do I use this thing?"

---

This... Element thing was surprisingly annoying.

The fact that he'd gotten a crown of all things, rather than a necklace, was also annoying.

In fact, just about everything about this was annoying.

It didn't help that he had this... strange feeling that he'd... forgotten something. Something that had only just happened at that.

Ah, right... try to forgive Discord, dear.

The words came to him, but they were naught but a jumbled mess of whispers and sounds he couldn't put together. Where had he heard them? From whom had he heard them? What were they even saying?

They were questions that he doubted he'd ever answer.

Before I forget, make sure to ask out that cute purple princess of yours before it's too late! You two would be a cute couple and undoubtedly a happy family.

And considering how a bunch of messed up gibberish sent his heart pounding like mad, he figured he didn't actually want those questions answered too much.

Back to the Element thing. It wasn't very pleasant. He didn't know how to actually fucking use it. You'd think that a magical artifact that decided, 'Yeah, you're gonna use me,' would also come with an instruction manual on how to actually do that.

Couldn't it just pop the information into his head as it had done with its own name?

Honestly, the Element of Sacrifice? How on the nose.

'Oh, you gave your life to save them? Well, here's a fucking medal that tells everyone that you did exactly that!'

Peh.

How was that something he represented? He couldn't have at least got something interesting, like the Element of Strength, the Element of Power, or anything else? No! He, apparently, represented sacrifice! You know, the stuff you must do to power dark rituals and shit? It made him sound like some damned necromancer or something.

Meh, at least he'd never have the use the thing after this. The Elements were meant to face Discord and Discord alone. He just needed to use it this once, and then he'd never have to see it again.

Twilight just stared at him, her eyes filled with quite a few emotions he wasn't prepared to deal with, not after, seemingly, coming back from the dead. At least, he assumed it was death. Discord claimed he couldn't kill him, so... Ugh, this was going to give him a headache.

Thankfully, Twilight didn't say anything. Instead, she walked up to him and took place by his side.

"... Just... follow my lead?"

"Was that a question or an instruction?"

She ignored him and began to glow.

It happened once more. His body grew weightless as the girl beside him lit up, the Element of Magic radiating a soft glow as she slowly began to rise into the air.

A boiling inferno began bubbling within his chest, however. He felt it scorch his insides and press against his chest, threatening to burst free. He felt the air around him grow hot, and flames began pouring from his lips with every breath.

The girls around him, all suspended within the air, glowed once more, a violent burst of rainbow energy erupting forth, but rather than diverge onto the form of their enemy, it instead crashed down upon him.

His world glowed white as the rainbow began seeping into his skin, turning that boiling, bubbling feeling earlier into a living, roaring blaze that demanded to be set free!

Unwilling to fight his own body's desires, he breathed in...

And a sea of rainbow fire spewed forth. It barreled towards the sitting draconequus, a spiraling, churning swarm of fire growing closer every instant.

The flames crashed into him, the rainbow flames eating away at his skin and bones, leaving behind nothing but a cold stone in its wake.

The flames suddenly shot into the air, the massive flaming column spiraling into the sky like a tornado before exploding outwards. The fire washed over him like a warm breeze on a cool day, burning away every trace of Discord's magic, leaving behind the world as he'd always known it, untouched and uncorrupted.

And there, sitting at the center of a ring of rainbow fire, was a lone Discord statue looking oddly at peace with the world.

And then everything went black.

Author's Note: So some background, the previous chapter was going to be apart of this chapter, but I decided to split it into its own chapter as a way for me to gain more mileage. Also, I was planning on leaving this chapter on the cliffhanger where Storm got hit by the spear, but considering that I left the first chapter of this arc on a supposed 'death', I felt like I couldn't redo the same thing. Thus ends this arc and we're finally revealed to what Storm's Element is. So, did you guess correctly? The Element of Sacrifice.

As always leave a review expressing your thoughts and comments. Just know, that while this arc made be done, there's still the aftermath that needs to be dealt with.