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.

103. Chapter 102: Aftermath Pt 2

Chapter 102: Aftermath Pt. 2

He slept fretfully that night. The thoughts and worries refused to leave him the entire night, ensuring that any sleep he did manage to get was fitful and short.

He still couldn't believe it. Couldn't fathom the thought that the Elements of Harmony would do such a thing.

But it made too much sense.

Was this life his?

Or was it built to trick him?

Despite going to bed reasonably, he'd only managed a measly hour of sleep when the sun finally rose.

Storm growled and, in a fit of exhausted anger, grabbed his pillow and threw it, as hard as he could manage, at the door when someone finally came by and knocked.

The pillow hit the door surprisingly hard *THUMP*, causing whoever was on the other side to yelp and scampered off.

He almost felt bad. Almost.

Letting out a sigh that resembled a growl more than anything, he slid out of bed, not even bothering to remake it. Still, before he could do anything else, another knock resounded off his door, and now that he wasn't primed with a weapon, he was forced to answer it this time.

The grumpy teen wrenched open the door but could not form any greeting, half-assed or not, due to the purple streak that barreled into his chest.

-closerclosersharppiercingpainagony-

"Agh!"

He stumbled back slightly as Twilight collided with his chest and felt her arms wrap around him almost frantically. He could hear her ragged breathing, slowly calming down, as she desperately clung to him, her ear directly against his chest, like she was searching for his heartbeat.

His anger died for a moment at the thought. Not that he was too surprised. Given what happened, he supposed it wouldn't be surprising for her to be so... concerned.

Yet... the hollowness remained. Like yesterday, the hug should've caused his heart to beat faster, to warm his face, and to dry his throat. But there was nothing but a cold empty hole where the warmth would've been.

And the longer she held onto him, the more pronounced that hollowness became. And with it, his anger started spiking once more. It burned and bubbled within, rising into his throat with every passing second, chasing away the cold. Eventually, he couldn't contain it.

"Get. Off. No hugging!"

She didn't seem to hear him for a moment, but his words reached her after a few seconds, and she nearly jumped away from him, looking embarrassed. His neck twitched slightly.

Was she really?

"S-sorry!" she stammered, "I-I was just-just worried!" she admitted, fidgeting slightly, "I-I was looking for you yesterday, and I-!"

"Just... shut up, Sparky," he growled, though it ended as a sigh towards the end. Her mouth slammed shut with an audible click, cowed.

"S-sorry," she murmured, "I... I just came to tell you that the celebration is starting in an hour, and we need to meet near the barracks before it starts," she said. Storm nodded.

"... Fine. I'll be there in a minute... go on without me," he requested, though it was phrased closer to demand. The princess nodded timidly and walked off, looking oddly worried.

Or was that fake as well?

He shook his head and banished the thought before going into the connected bathroom for his morning routine. He needed some semblance of normalcy before everything went to shit.

---

He stared at the doors that led outside for longer than he'd meant. The girls were on the other side of this door and through a small section of the Gardens. The other Bearers. The ones whose lives could have very well not have been their own, instead made by the Elements to bring them all together.

He could feel the dread welling up inside him once again. Cold, freezing, yet burningly acidic in its texture.

How was he going to tell them?

...

Did he even need to?

He let the thought linger for longer than he should have but ultimately dismissed it. He couldn't tell them. Even if it miraculously turned out to be false, he couldn't keep it to himself.

It would fester and grow, and eventually, he'd go mad if he did.

He hoped, prayed even, that the girls would somehow convince him that everything that had happened had been well and truly their own decisions. If everything just turned out to be one huge coincidence, then...

He was afraid to find out.

At some point, he managed to find the courage to press through those doors, but the journey through the Gardens to the barracks still lay ahead of him, and, for once in his life, he cursed the distance.

Every step he took felt like another step toward the executioner's axe. Every inch closer only further sealed his fate. He felt his throat begin to dry. Soon, his courage left him, and just as he was about to give in and rush back, they came into sight.

The girls were all there, sitting together in the middle of the field, not a guard in sight. They were happily chatting, completely unaware of the invisible strings held by a hopefully nonexistent puppeteer.

He stood on the field's very outskirts for a moment, alone on the only path connecting the area. They didn't see him for a moment, and he contemplated leaving.

But Pinkie soon spotted him, her eyes picking him out amongst the green surrounding them.

"Storm!" she cheered, waving her hand in the air erratically, "Come on! We saved you a spot!" she called, happily patting the ground between her and Twilight with the other hand. Her shout got the others to look up at him, each sporting a smile at the sight of him.

Normally such a sight would've prompted him to smile in return, but now all he felt was an uncomfortable twist in his stomach.

Were those smiles their own?

He shook his head with a grimace and went over to them but stopped a few feet away and sat down, ignoring Pinkie's pleading eyes.

"Well, looks like somebody got up on the wrong side'o the bed this mornin'!" Applejack noted with a grin.

"Whatever is the matter, Storm?" Rarity asked, frowning slightly, "Did you perhaps have a nightmare? I certainly did the night after that dreadful ordeal!" she admitted, before shivering, "Ugh... all those awful boulders..."

-agasppainsilence-

His neck twitched.

"I... suppose you could say that..." he admitted, "I came to an... interesting realization yesterday..." he began slowly,

"What the hell does that mean?" Rainbow deadpanned, "Is it one of those things that Twilight freaks out over?"

"Hey!"

"... No..." he said hesitantly,

"Well, don't leave us in suspense!" Pinkie said, almost eagerly. Storm stared at them for a moment before sighing.

"I think the Elements of Harmony have been influencing us," he said, getting right to the heart of the matter.

His words brought an immediate silence to the area, but it was broken fairly quickly when the girls all started laughing.

"Bahaha-What?! That's crazy!" Rainbow shouted in between bouts of laughter,

"I gotta say, ya had me goin' fer a second!" Applejack added, snickering,

"I really thought somethin' was wrong!"

"Don't be silly, Storm!" Pinkie cheered, "That's my job!"

Storm growled lowly at them but stopped fairly quickly. Honestly, this was about the reaction he expected. It was a farfetched idea at first thought. Still, that didn't mean he enjoyed being laughed at.

"I am not kidding," he snarled, causing the laughter to die quickly.

Rarity sighed, "Storm, darling, the Elements would never do that. Whatever would make you think they would do something so dreadful?" she asked gently, smiling at him as though he was a scared foal.

"Rarity's right," Twilight spoke up confidently, "The Elements of Harmony are powerful magical artifacts used to protect Equis! They wouldn't-couldn't do that!" she defended. Storm scowled.

"Really?" he asked, "Then could you tell me... why exactly did you befriend these five girls, Twilight?"

The girl blinked at the question, obviously not expecting it.

"W-well... when I first met them, I didn't think much of them," she admitted, a tad sheepishly when the others looked at her, "But-" she continued, "-I saw how wonderful each of them were when we went into the Everfree. They were willing to go into such a dangerous place with me, knowing how bad the Forest was and with Nightmare Moon on the loose. I saw how nice Fluttershy was, how cheerful Pinkie was, how trustworthy Applejack was, and how generous Rarity was. Just how loyal Rainbow was, despite us not knowing each other that much," she revealed.

The girls were all smiling at her now, and before they could go in for the hug Storm knew they were about to have, he cut in.

"Alright, but what made them so different from everyone else?" he demanded. Twilight blinked and stammered slightly, looking surprised.

"Wh-what do you mean?" she asked, looking confused.

"You were completely and utterly disconnected from anybody else, especially when you were training to be Celestia's apprentice." he began heatedly, "You were so absorbed in your studies that you disregarded anybody's existence that tried to come up to you and be your friend! If it wasn't for Celestia having you and me be partners, I doubt you would know I existed. And even if you did, I doubt you would remember me being your partner, let alone my name." he snarled, "So what. Is. Different? What was it about the girls you knew for less than a quarter of your life that had you completely toss aside the life you had before, the life that dismissed friendship entirely?!"

The girl's eyes were wide by the end of his little rant, and she was also completely speechless.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Rarity's mouth open, but it closed as a strangely thoughtful expression took over her face, and she turned to look at Twilight.

"W-well," Twilight finally found her voice, "I-I... I don't really know," she admitted, swallowing heavily, "I just felt... I just felt... connected with them, with you... I-I just..."

"Yes!" he hissed, "A connection!" he pointed out, "The same connection that made you a Force-wielder when no one else in your entire family was a Jedi before you. The same connection that one can argue led me to be your partner? Me? Out of anybody else, it so happened to be me? Isn't it strange?! How us seven individuals not only get to meet each other at the same time, but we all ended up in the same place almost seventeen years later, without any communication between us whatsoever?! A place where you all just so happened to need and find the Elements of Harmony just before you used them! A place where I ended up only a few months and a Seventh Element was found just as we needed?!"

-nothingdarknessblacknessavoicewhispering-

"Hey!" Rainbow snapped, "Nothing made me! And the Elements sure as fuck had nothing to do with it!" she added, almost smugly.

"Right," he said sarcastically, "Tell me, Fluttershy-" she started slightly as he addressed her, "-why did you choose to be a representative for the Republic, specifically? 'Cause I know for shit that someone as meek as you can't be comfortable in front of all those people."

Everyone's eyes turned to Fluttershy at once, and the timid girl found herself in the spotlight.

"W-well... u-umm... I love animals, and Senator Organa helped me to realize that I can be their voice when no one else can..." she began quietly, "I guess... it's like what I'm meant to do."

"How lucky that you'd happened upon a job that allows you to do what you love and travel. And come tothe one place you'd find not one, not two, but six distinct friends who all just so happened to be Elements Bearers, just like you," he turned back to Rainbow Dash, "a place you just so happened to visit one day, randomly, yes?" he asked.

Rainbow's earlier smug grin had faded, but she nodded.

"Now, Captain? What about you?" asked Storm.

"I... have a love for flying. Being in the sky or in space, it feels like I'm free. And seeing as how I could make money using my skills as a pilot, I took all sorts of jobs. Eventually, I ran into Spitfire, who ran a guild and allowed me to find all sorts of work. In fact, it was she who pointed me to go to Courscant to see if anybody needed help. It's where I... ran... into you."

"Coincidence, hmm? A job and lifestyle that you love and wouldn't dare think of questioning about, even guiding you to meet us, hmm?" said Storm.

Rainbow nodded, looking like she'd just sucked on a particularly sour lemon.

Storm turned to the others, who were all looking nervous.

"How about you, Pinkie?" he asked quietly, "Why are you assigned as the intergalactic party planner for the Republic, hmm?

Pinkie swallowed, her hair deflating slightly.

"Well, the people here just looked so... grumpy! An-and when I cheered everybody up, they were super happy!" she began, "A-and... and the Cakes saw that I was new in town, so they offered me a chance to learn how to bake some stuff from them. I was curious," she added, smiling slightly. Still, it faded after a moment, "they said I could keep helping them if I wanted, and... well... I guess it felt like I found a place that I belong." she finished.

"So you found a place that needed you and a job you loved. Two things that would guarantee that you'd stay and eventually would run into us and come here." he noted, before turning to Applejack, "And you have a family-run farm that you and your siblings will inherit one day," he said. He nearly turned to Rarity, but Applejack spoke up.

"I left," she said firmly, though he could see how shaken she was, "I... I left when I was little to live in the city with my aunt and uncle," she repeated, distracted.

"And yet you're right here where you first started. You couldn't make it in the city, so you ran back to the farm, ensuring you'd be in the one place that when the time came, you'd be exactly where you needed to be," he countered, "exactly where the Elements were," he added, and finally turned to Rarity.

"... I was born on Coruscant," she said before he could speak, "I lived here with my family for my entire life until I was old enough to take care of myself. I turned an abandoned grocery store into a place of business, and I've never needed to leave, since..." she swallowed, "since everything I've ever needed could either be ordered or found nearby," she took a shuddering breath, "... and I just so happened to have developed a love for fashion, and I wanted to expand my business. Go to other places to build my network," she added.

"Which led you to find a job that would ensure that you have a place to stay and allow you to expand your business, which would lead you to Twilight's homeworld. Where the Elements are located." said Storm as the girl looked down. He nodded and turned back to the whole group.

"... And me... no family. Training to be a Jedi and working my ass off to become a Jedi Master. Partnered with a girl who's an actual princess and came here long before I awakened the completely unknown up to that point, Seventh Element. In that time, I met several girls I normally wouldn't have interacted with beyond the minimum necessary. At least I wouldn't have, if I hadn't, for some reason, found myself enjoying the presence of one of them-" he glanced at Pinkie, "-consider one of them to be like a sibling-" he glanced at Fluttershy, "-found one less annoying than anticipated-" Rainbow this time, "-found myself interacting with two of them beyond what I would've normally-" Applejack and Rarity, "-or found myself falling for the sixth one, seemingly out of nowhere," he finished, gazing directly into the eyes of one Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight gasped, and a few other girls even smiled, but it all died when he continued.

"Another thing is all those events. Both the ones that happened before and after we met. The mission on Bassa, freeing you from the underground mine on Courscant, the Zillo Beast, the battle on Christophsis, and having to return Jabba's son, Nightmare Moon -" the girls blushed at this one, "-the dress scandal-" more embarrassed flushing, "-all of that and everything that came after and maybe even leading up to this moment right now-" he took a heavy breath in through his nose, before letting it out, "... all of that... all of it seemed to slowly bring us all closer together. You can argue that the little things are natural, but some don't make sense. Little moments that seemed oddly out of character suddenly turned into somewhat big issues that we all had to move past and ended up growing closer as a result?" he shook his head, "No matter how I look at it... it all points back to the Elements."

He went silent after that and refused to meet the others' collective gaze. Even so, he could tell they were behaving almost the same way, choosing to look anywhere but here.

Eventually, the silence broke.

"I-I... I can't believe it," Applejack said, "That's... that ain't..."

"I know," Twilight said, looking lost, "... it's... hard to imagine, but... if everything was because of the Elements... then...?"

"Are we really even friends?" Fluttershy asked, her usually quiet voice coming out like thunder in the awkward silence. Rainbow Dash snarled.

"That's such bullshit!" she snapped, "After everything that's happened, you're all just telling me it was fake?!" she growled, standing up and beginning to stomp around, "You're all saying that everything I've-that we've ever done was fucking fake?!"

"Calm down, Rain-" Rarity tried to say.

"Don't tell me to fucking calm down!" Rainbow snarled, cutting Rarity off, "There's no fucking way my life isn't mine! I've worked my ass off for what I've got! You can't just fucking tell me that my life isn't mine! We're friends, Godddammnit! After everything we've been through, even if the Elements had something to with it, that was all real! We're real friends! C'mon, guys!"

Despite Rainbow's heated words, none of the others agreed. Instead-

"But what if we're not?" Pinkie asked, her hair lying completely flat by this point. Rainbow sputtered.

"Wha-Pinkie! What are-what are you saying?!" Rainbow demanded, "Of course we're friends!" she said, looking around at the others, "R-right?!"

Before anyone could reply, the familiar voice of Fine Print suddenly spoke up.

"Ah, there you all are!" she called, startling the group into looking at the smiling woman, "The King and Queen say it's almost time to start. Are you all ready?"

The seven looked at each other, clearly having forgotten what was happening today.

Storm's throat felt swollen. He... he couldn't speak. Couldn't bring himself to.

How... how were they supposed to go out now?

Despite his thoughts and clearly against her better judgment, Twilight nodded.

"Y-yes... we're ready."

"Great!" Fine Print said cheerfully, "Follow me, then!"

The seven spared each other a glance as Fine Print spun around and trotted off. For a moment, they did nothing. Eventually, Twilight rose and followed after the woman.

A minute passed before Applejack followed suit, followed by Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy.

Storm and Rainbow were soon the only two left in the area. He could feel the girl's gaze burning a hole through his skull, but he didn't dare meet her gaze. After a few minutes, Rainbow huffed and trotted off but not before giving the Jedi Knight a middle finger.

Storm waited for a moment and did the same.

---

Velvet couldn't help but smile, very discreetly poking her head through the stage's curtains. It was such a wonderful sight to see. All these people were patiently waiting, the absolute sea of bodies eagerly anticipating the celebration to come.

"I've brought the Bearers as you requested, Your Highness!" Fine Print's voice snapped her from her stray thoughts and brought her back to where her head needed to be.

She blinked and looked over at the prim and proper woman, smiling at her with her clipboard clutched to her chest.

"Oh, thank you for bringing them here, Miss Print," she thanked, though a glance behind the woman did not reveal the ones she was looking for.

"Hmm... are they waiting on the other side, perhaps?" she asked. Fine Print blinked at her and turned around, finding the empty area behind her.

This did not seem to be what she was expecting, as she immediately turned red, sputtered what might've been an apology-she couldn't tell-and darted out the back door. The walls muffled the sound, but she was sure she could make out some slight yelling before the door opened once more and the seven females and lone Jedi Knight strolled in.

She went to greet them but froze when she took in their appearance.

None of them were looking at each other. They were all stiff and looked like they wanted to be anywhere but right there. A few of them, notably Pinkie and Fluttershy, even had the beginnings of tears in their eyes. However, what stood out to her the most, was Storm.

He looked... haunted. And a tad guilty.

What in the world had happened to them?

Try as she might, Velvet had been unable to get so much as a word out of the lot of them. Not even Twilight, her own daughter, had said so much as a word to her!

That, of course, only made him feel worse. Clearly, informing the others of these thoughts-which unfortunately turned out to be more true than he feared-had been the correct course of action, but the fallout had been much worse than he predicted.

He'd made Pinkie question their friendship. Out of all the ponies here, he'd thought she'd be the only one to push past that, but, much to his surprise, that had been Rainbow Dash.

He could see her now from the corner of his eye. She, like the others, wasn't paying any attention whatsoever to Night Light's speech. Even as he spoke of their achievements against Discord-namely breaking free of his control before bravely standing up to him-Rainbow didn't stop scowling.

He was flattered that she'd been the only one to deny his theories regardless. She was the only one of the seven, and he meant the only one, who flat-out refused to believe their lives were fake.

But they were.

Their choices had not been theirs.

Their desires were not their own.

Their feelings were planted.

They were mere puppets, bred and groomed to defeat Discord or die trying.

He Knew That Best, After All.

He supposed that was to be expected of the one who bore the Element of Loyalty. After all, loyalty to oneself was just as important as loyalty to others, if not more so.

Despite his thoughts, Storm had been paying attention to Night Light's speech, if only because he knew, as the most recent Element, that he would be called upon to make a speech of his own or simply for introductory purposes. For the most part, it was simply filler. Minor propaganda about friendship being stronger than evil, how they needed to unite in the wake of Discord's defeat, they were the saviors of Equis, blah blah blah.

And there it was. His name, status as a Jedi, tenure as such, and relation to the Elements of Harmony as the Seventh Element.

Oh, there was the statue too. Simple marble. He was standing tall, holding his lightsaber. He supposed it was flattering, in a way. At least it was kept simple.

Eventually, the speech ended, and there was surely more than one person out there who sighed in relief.

Of course, once the curtains closed and the stage people began packing the thing up, Night Light addressed them, thanked them personally for all their help, and told them to enjoy the celebrations before the seven of them immediately split apart.

Velvet knew something was wrong-how could she not?-and Storm honestly contemplated telling her. He dismissed the thought immediately after, however.

He'd done enough damage telling the ones it affected, after all. Who knows what would happen if Night Light found out? Especially if he saw his daughter was sad because of him.

No, it was best that they tackled this by themselves.

But... was there even a point?

The realization meant the end, after all.

The cold, bloody end.

-pain-

-agony-

-silence-

"Dear, I think something is wrong," said Velvet to her husband.

"What do you mean, honey?" asked Night Light.

---

Applejack huffed to herself and very calmly pretended she wasn't upset. The crushed cup in her hand, however, made that impossible.

She sighed and tossed the useless thing away before leaving the buffet table behind her. She was going to flip the thing if she didn't. It was just about the only thing she could do. Her mind was too occupied to think of doing anything at this... stupid party.

She cursed this very day. It was such a nice one too! She crawled outta bed all happy, met up with her friends, who were all just as happy, and then, outta left field, Storm came along and ruined it! Typical Jedi!

She felt the anger in her chest rise and boil, but it fell flat after a few lingering moments.

She couldn't be mad at him. Not with how badly the news seemed to affect him when he told them. And she couldn't blame him either. The thought that her entire life was worthless was not something that anybody could brush right off, like it was nothing. For what he'd gone through, to learn that something made it happen to him was... harrowing, no doubt.

A sad sigh escaped the farmgirl as she leaned against the wall of a building she didn't recognize, letting herself fall flat onto her behind. It wasn't fair. Was everything fake?

Granny Smith. Big Mac. Applebloom.

Ma. Pa.

Her entire family.

Were they even supposed to be her family in the first place? Or was that just something the Elements did to ensure she'd stay in Equis?

What if her parents weren't meant to have a kid between Big Mac and Applebloom? What if they were meant to have one, but it was supposed to be somebody else? Did that mean that she took the poor thing's place? Did that mean that she'd-she'd killed some defenseless little baby just so she could use the Elements in the future?

Applejack swallowed bitterly. The thought alone was enough to make her sick.

And what about her friends?

Heh, her' friends.'

What would her life be like if the Elements hadn't existed? Would she be somewhere else right now? Would she have actual friends who actually cared for her? Hay, maybe her life would be worse!

She scoffed. Like that was possible. What could be worse than learning that your entire life was nothing more than a lie made by a bunch of stupid rocks?!

Her foot lashed out in anger, punting a nearby pebble through the air, completely disregarding wherever the thing would end up.

"Ow!"

Her ears perked up at the outburst, and for a moment, she couldn't help but feel guilty. She hadn't meant to hurt anybody.

The thought, however, sparked another surge of anger within her.

Yeah, she felt guilty. Or was that the Element's fault? Were her emotions even hers, or were they just made by the Elements to make her think she was like this?

Thinking about that only made it worse.

She used to be an unrepentant liar when she was a kid. She learned the value of honesty after that one incident with the Zap Apple Jam. But that had been fake, too, hadn't it? The value of Honesty? As if! That was nothing more than the Elements just-just-just grooming her to think like that so she could use the Element of Honesty!

"Well, now, you sure look pissed off," a familiar booming voice interrupted her thoughts. Applejack blinked and looked up as a shadow suddenly covered her, finding the source of the shade to be the guard that had helped her the previous day.

"You?" she asked, only receiving a loud laugh. "I'm sorry, but I never got your name."

"It's Hopeful," said the guard. "Don't you wear it out!" he boomed, flexing his arms impressively. Applejack scoffed,

"Howdy, it's... good ta see ya again, I guess," she muttered dully.

"You guess?" Hopeful asked, smirking down at her, "What's wrong?" he asked, plopping down on the ground next to her.

"Ain't nothing wrong, Hopeful," she lied, ignoring how her stomach twisted. It was just her Element's doing.

"Mhm," he frowned at her, "an' that pebble you kicked at me was just for fun?" he asked. She winced at that.

"Sorry..." she muttered. The guard chuckled.

"Tell ya what. If you tell me what's botherin' you, I'll forgive ya. Deal?"

She frowned and eyed him for a minute before eventually giving in.

Who knows, talking about it would help.

Doubtful, but she'd try.

"Ya know 'bout the Elements'o Harmony, right?" she asked for clarification and continued when he nodded, "Well... turns out they've been controllin' mah life. Mah friends' lives too. They made everythin' happen, and I..." she swallowed, feeling her eyes grow hot, "I-it's fake, nothin's-nothin's real! It's j-just some-s-some lie they were tellin' us ta get us to work together!" she snapped, ignoring the way the tears ran down her face, leaving hot, wet streaks as they fell. Hopeful was silent, but he was nodding along.

"... Yeah," he began suddenly, "that, uh... that's definitely pretty rough to think about," he said. Applejack scoffed.

"Ya think?" she muttered petulantly. The guard sighed.

"Yeah, I do. But... how'd ya come up with all that?" he asked. Applejack shrugged.

"The Jedi went an' figured all that out, all by 'himself," she revealed, causing Hopeful to frown.

"Huh... that doesn't sound like him," he muttered, before shaking his head, "Anyhow, does that really matter?" he asked. Applejack sputtered and whipped her head around to look at him.

"Wh-whaddya mean 'does that really matter?'?!" she snapped, "Of course it does!"

"How so?" he asked, almost like he was challenging her. Applejack huffed, staring at him in outrage.

"Mah life was fake! I wasn't in control of what I wanted ta do!" she hissed, jumping to her feet.

"And neither was I," he suddenly countered, bringing her up short. She made a confused sound and shook her head.

"Ya don't-"

"I do get it," he cut her off sharply, his voice taking on a dark tone that promised pain if she continued that train of thought.

Hopeful then stood up and took off his helmet. What Applejack saw made her gasp as the guard had three scars over his left eye. Though faded, there were still marks of the stitches shown and the mark left behind by the creature that nearly clawed his eye out.

"Do you think I wanted to be kidnapped by some mercs and used as entertainment?" he asked severely. Applejack swallowed and looked away.

"... No," she whispered, falling back onto her behind, "I'm... I'm sorry..."

"I was not in control of my life," Hopeful continued, as if he'd never heard her, looking off into thin air, his eyes stormy, "I was captured and stuck in a cage for the first half of my life. I hated living back then. I wanted nothing more than to be done with life," he revealed, though he didn't see the way Applejack's eyes widened at him, "but... then things got better," he added, his tone going soft, "I found a new family, we got away from all... that, and now I serve his Highness, helping and protecting people from ever having to go through what I went. I owe my life to King Night Light for what he did to save those folks from the facility."

"That... sounds nice," she complimented.

"Thing is-" Hopeful suddenly continued, breaking her from her darkening thoughts, "I never would be here giving my life to serve his Majesty and wanting to protect the people of Equis if that chapter of my life hadn't happened," he said, then looked her right in the eye, "That's why I don't see how it matters whether you had 'control' or not. Even if you didn't, it doesn't change the fact that this 'control' helped you find things you love doing, creatures you love being with, and places you love being in. Your life might've been manufactured to use the Elements, but the life you needed was filled with great friends, great family members, and a great deal of happiness. Maybe you would have loved a different life, maybe you would've hated a different life-" he added, almost as an afterthought, "-but that's a case of what-ifs and, well... if wishes were bits and all that."

Applejack was struck silent.

He... but...

She bit her lip and turned away.

That... that made... too much sense.

She did love her family. She did love her friends.

But... but what if that was just the Elements?!

But what if it wasn't?

Maybe... this was her? After all, she was pretty happy with her life. Great family, steady lifestyle, wonderful friends...

Were they putting too much stock in Storm's fears?

No, everything fit together too well for it to be wrong. The Elements definitely influenced their lives. But... was that... was that bad? After all... she loved her life. If she hadn't been in Equis, she wouldn't have had her family or friends. She even had proof that life outside Equis wasn't so great, not for her, at least. She was downright miserable over at her Aunt and Uncle's place. She loved them, but they didn't exactly live a life she liked. If she had decided to stay back there instead of coming home...

Except... that wasn't possible, after all...

The Elements brought her home.

They brought her back to her family.

They brought her back to where she'd meet all her wonderful friends.

She loved her life. Without a doubt. So... if living the life she loved meant living a life the Elements had made for her... a life that made her happy...

Then, what was the problem?

If she was happy, then didn't that mean the Elements had done her a favor?

Applejack scoffed, startling Hopeful, who had jumped at the unexpected sound.

"Yer right," she said, staring off into the space in front of her, "yer... yer darn right!" she repeated. Hopeful chuckled,

"'Course I am!" he boasted, "Helpin' people is my job, after all!" Applejack laughed and jumped to her feet, a bright smile on her face,

"An' yer doin' a real bang up job, too!" she praised, looking around wildly, "I... I gotta talk ta the others! Thanks fer all the help, but the rest is up ta me!" chirped Aj before bolting off.

The guard watched the farm girl run off, smirking after her.

"Hehe... still got it."

---

Pinkie slumped over her chair, not even caring about the thirty-two empty plates beneath her, all of which were painstakingly licked clean only moments prior.

Pinkie was sad. There was no denying that. And there was also no denying how much she didn't like being sad.

But what else was she supposed to feel? She'd just learned the friendship equivalent of nobody liking her parties anymore!

She'd learned that her friends weren't really her friends and that all of her parties-even the super special ones!-hadn't been done because she wanted to, but because some silly rocks made her do them!

Did that mean she wasn't really happy? Were all her silly jokes and funny faces fake too?

Did she even like parties? Or cakes? Or pies? Or cupcakes? Or brownies? Or-or anything?!

She sighed, idly reaching for yet another delicious but not very happy looking-cupcakes when a familiar hand caught hers in a surprisingly gentle grip.

"Miss Pinkie," the familiar voice of Gustave le Grande said, even as he eyed each of the plates stacked neatly beneath her, "You've been sitting, or leaning, rather, there for the past hour, doing nothing but eating. While I'd like to take that as a compliment on my cooking, I somehow doubt that is the reason. Would you care to explain?"

Pinkie pouted slightly but sighed a moment later.

"Nothing," she mumbled, sinking back into her chair. Gustave sighed.

"As admittedly cute as this is, I'm afraid I won't be taking that as an answer. Now, you can tell me the truth, or I will drag you back to the kitchen and stuff you into the freezer until you talk. I'm going to find out either way. Your choice." Pinkie frowned at him but didn't want to go in the freezer.

So she told him.

She'd only gotten a few dozen sentences out when he suddenly grabbed her mouth, forcibly holding it shut while pinching the top of his nose with his other hand.

"So... let me get this straight. You think the Elements of Harmony are manipulating your lives, and you're worried that everything you've ever done was a lie they created to ensure you'd use the Elements. Is that right?" he asked. Pinkie nodded enthusiastically, which caused him to let go of her.

"Yep!"

He sighed.

"And... you say Storm came up with this theory?" another nod, "Hmm... to be frank, I don't see how he could have possibly come up with something like that. It's too... out there, but... yes... I can certainly see how something like that can be... terrifying. To understand that you lived a life you disliked not through your own fault, but because you were forc-"

"I like my life!" Pinkie supplied cheerfully, cutting him off. Gustave blinked and regarded her with a weary eye.

"Ah... of course you do," he muttered, only for his face to twist in confusion, "Then... what is the issue? If you enjoy the life you have, then what does it matter if it was built through manipulation or forces out of your control?" he asked. Pinkie blinked and tilted her head, which caused the chef to sigh.

"What I mean is..." he trailed off and sighed again, "Fine, why don't I give you an example? My life, for instance, was controlled largely by things outside of myself. I was taken from my home when I was but a lad, and kept in, what amounted to a perverted hospital where I, and all those close to me, were subjected to numerous horrific experiments that killed most of us, traumatized the rest, and utterly broke one of us-Misty Rose, the poor dear," he interrupted himself, holding a hand to his chest, before continuing, "but even so, it eventually got me where I am today, doing what I enjoy. Cooking for royalty!" he chirped, smirking, "With my present in mind, why should my past matter?" he asked, leveling a stare at her, "If you have a good life, then why does how you got to it matter? Why does it matter if something else brought you here, as long as you enjoy where you've ended up and where you're going?"

Pinkie blinked at him, utterly stunned.

All for a few seconds before she smiled and began clapping.

"Wow! That was a really good speech!" she gushed, causing Gustave to chuckle.

"Thank you, Miss Pinkie," he said, his smirk turning smug, "I've been told I'm rather captivating more than once," he boasted, holding a hand to his chest again.

"You're right!"

"Well, of course, I-"

"I really like my life!" Pinkie continued, unaware of Gustave's continued boasting, "So what if the Elements helped me? That just means they wanted to make me happy!" she chirped, and, with both that thought in mind, as well as the bright smile on her face, Pinkie happily bounced right out of her chair, standing tall, "I gotta go talk to my friends! Thanks Mr. Chef!" she cheered, before rushing to the side and jumping out the nearest window.

Gustave stood there, staring at the space Pinkie had just occupied, before turning to the now open window.

"... Something tells me that's normal for that girl."

---

A choked sob slipped from her lips, but Fluttershy wasn't in the mindset to care.

The second she'd been able to, she'd slipped away from her fr-from them. She hadn't paid attention to where she was going-hadn't cared-and only stopped when she'd finally tripped and fell, too exhausted to even try getting back up.

So there she lay, breathing rapidly and shallowly as tears fell freely, soaking the ground beneath her.

What was she supposed to do?! H-her friends were the only people she really had! Aside from Senator Organa and Padme, Storm and the girls ha-had accepted her and her shyness without an-any issues! Sh-she'd always had a hard time mak-making friends, barely ever able to get even a w-word out!

But now? Now she found out that not even they had accepted her! It had been the Elements!

Part of her wondered why she was being like this. After all, everything Discord said hadn't bothered her, so why would this?

But it was different. Her mind told her every time she tried telling it otherwise; after all, you didn't know his words would ever be true. Back then, you thought they were really your friends. Now you know differently.

The thought kept spiraling back in and out of her head, sending her right back into the depression she'd fallen into.

She thought they were her friends!

She thought wrong.

"Hey, what's wrong?" the familiar voice of Spitfire said. Even though she'd come from nowhere, Fluttershy hadn't been startled by Spitfire's sudden appearance. She sniffed.

"N-nothing..." she murmured, turning her head away. She heard Spitfire sigh and felt the girl lay right next to her.

"Nothin's wrong, huh?" she asked, "Ya know... if I hadn't just been out on a nice, relaxing walk away from the party, a walk on which I happened to spot the most recent addition to my list of friends crying in the middle of the Canterlot Gardens, completely hidden away from everyone involved... I might have considered believing you," Spitfire deadpanned, "But I was, so spill it."

Fluttershy fidgeted before giving her a timid nod.

"O-okay... I-it's... we f-found out that the E-Elements of Harmony were... m-manipulating our feelings and-"

"Woah, that's a hefty thought," Spitfire said, cutting her off, before turning pensive, "... Say, which one of you came up with that idea?"

"S-Storm?" Fluttershy admitted hesitantly. Why did she want to know?

"Ah," she breathed, frowning, "that does sound like something he could make up, but... if he actually thinks that..." she trailed off before shrugging, "If the Jedi came up with it, then he probably went the extra mile and figured that if they were manipulating your feelings, then they probably manipulated your thoughts and lives, yeah?" she asked.

Fluttershy blinked and nodded, "Y-yes...?"

Spitfire scoffed, "Figures he'd come up with something like that. I mean, Jedi have that Force-thingy that allows them to do crazy shit," she sighed and hung her head slightly, "Alright, so what about that is making you... well, like this?" she asked lamely, pointing to the soaked ground beneath her. Fluttershy sniffed and followed her finger.

She stared down at the damp grass under her and flushed slightly. She scrambled into a sitting position and began wiping away the tears, inwardly scolding herself. This was so embarrassing!

As Fluttershy managed her tears, though not quite succeeding in ridding herself of the sadness that brought it on, she explained.

"W-well, it's just... if that was all f-fake, then... that means that the girls and Storm aren't... really my friends. P-plus... I-I don't know if you know this, but... I've always been kinda shy," she said. Spitfire stared at her, eyes half-lidded.

"You don't say?"

Fluttershy nodded, not catching the sarcasm.

"Y-yes! I've always had problems t-talking to other p-people. I-I've done everything I could to get b-better, but... it n-never really works," she admitted. Spitfire hummed.

"Well, you seem to be doing pretty okay right now," she noted, brow-raising, "Sure, you talk a bit slowly, and you stutter every now and again, but I've met people our age who could barely get a word out, let alone a full conversation like we're having. You sure you're talking about yourself?" Fluttershy nodded.

"I-I'm sure!" she insisted and fidgeted, "I-I don't mind talking to you-"

"But wouldn't the Elements have had a part in that?" Spitfire asked suddenly, raising her brow once again, "After all, if they've been manipulating your entire life like that, wouldn't it mean that they would've made sure you'd be related to Storm. Seeing as how you have no problem talking with him?" she asked. Fluttershy froze, her blood turning to ice.

Sh-she hadn't thought of it like that. B-but that made sense.

"Honestly, it sounds like nonsense," she said, breaking Fluttershy's train of thought.

"Wh-what?" she managed to squeak, not at all understanding. Spitfire scoffed,

"Listen, Fluttershy, so what if the Elements are actually doin' all that shit?" she asked, "I mean, it sounds pretty damn similar to all that 'fate' stuff you'd read about in trashy romance novels, and, believe me, I hear enough about it from alot of customers that I don't need to hear it from you. No offense, but I've never actually believed in it. Could it be real? I don't know," she said, shrugging her shoulders, "but, hell, if it does, cool. I don't care. I'm exactly where I want to be in my life, so if I have to thank fate, or the Elements-or whatever the fuck-fine! Thanks!" she shouted, almost sarcastically, "I like my life, and I can't imagine it any other way!" she added, throwing her arms out before fixing Fluttershy with a stare, "What about you? Can you imagine having a different life? Cause I can't."

Fluttershy went silent.

... Did she want a different life?

A life where she'd never been shy. A life where she'd had a lot of friends. One where she also had a large, unbroken family.

...

...

Was it selfish of her to say no?

Was it selfish of her to say that she preferred the life she had right now? Was it strange that she preferred the life that resulted in her being bullied in her childhood, thanks to her shyness? The same bullying ended up introducing her to Senator Organa, who viewed the girl like a niece, who not only helped her to become a representative for the Republic but led to her one day discovering how much she loved animals and wanted to show they too had a voice like anybody else?

She loved this life. This life had given and taken so much from her. The life that, right now, she was putting on hold because she was scared that someone-thing-else had tricked her into having?

She couldn't imagine living in a vastly different world from the one she did right now.

She nodded to herself, resolute.

"I can't," she said firmly, breaking the stretched silence she'd lapsed into, "This is how I want to live my life, and there's no other way I can imagine living it!" Spitfire laughed.

"Haha! I knew it! So what are you gonna do?" she asked eagerly.

Fluttershy huffed, "I'm going to go talk to my friends and tell them how silly all of this is!" she snapped, trotting off, her steps perfectly confident.

"You go, girl!" Spitfire cheered, watching the buttercup teen stomp off into the night.

A few moments passed before she groaned.

"'You go, girl!'? Dammit, I never should've tried reading Misty Fly's books. Now I've got their lines and shit stuck in my head."

---

Rainbow Dash growled and downed another glass of water before slamming it onto the bar counter. Initially, she'd wanted something alcoholic but figured that would be a bad idea partway through ordering it.

Her friends were being idiots.

The Elements; controlling them? Bullshit!

But... she did have to admit. It was pretty sketchy when she thought about it. They all ended up in the right place at the right time. How they all got along so well when, by all rights, they really shouldn't. Not as well, at least.

But hey, that was life! It was full of crazy coincidences that you couldn't explain!

She thought.

She was pretty sure.

...

Okay, it had been a really long time since she was in school, and she was never a grades kinda girl. That was Twilight's shtick, not hers.

Still, there was a bunch of shit that people couldn't explain daily! Like, why were they called apples? Why not grapes or strawberries-Applejack would kill her for that one-or-er... gazzlfrackles, or something stupid like that?

At that moment, the chromatic-haired girl recalled a conversation with the Jedi Knight.

(Memory)

"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side," Rainbow replied smugly.

"You don't believe in the Force at all?" Storm assumed.

"Look, Jedi, I've flown across the galaxy multiple times. I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. There's no mystical energy field that controls my destiny."

"Maybe the problem is not that you don't believe in what you can't see; it's that you don't understand it."

"And I'll understand it… when I see it. It's all simple tricks and nonsense," replied Dash.

(End of Memory)

Seriously. Life was this crazy thing that people tended to ride along with. Roll with the punches, you know? Why should she freak out over something she couldn't explain?

Again, that was Twilight's shtick, not hers.

Her friends were all just paranoid idiots. But, even so, she couldn't really blame them. It was a pretty scary thought, and that was coming from Rainbow' Fearless' Dash!

But to actually think that shit? It was like putting a handicap on her entire life. Everything she'd ever worked for, poof! Her effort was invalid. Talent was given to her. Problems not even worth mentioning.

Still, just because they were being stupid didn't mean they were idiots. Er, like, idiot idiots, not... not like this. Uhh...

The point is, they'd snap out of it, eventually!

Her friends were smart like that. Even when they were being idiots. Er, the good kind. Wait, no...

---

Rarity gave a gentle smile to the noble she was speaking with, making sure to nod at appropriate times, laughed slightly at any joke he made, and tried to appear interested in whatever it was he was saying even though she'd stopped listening after the initial 'Hey, you look nice, wanna come back to my place?' one-liner he'd tried to discretely begin with before she gracefully dismissed herself.

In truth, she was oh-so-desperately trying to keep her mind off of... that, but that was easier said than done in more ways than one.

Perhaps it was her lowered mood, but the people around her, all truly high class with only a small mix of the slightly less fortunate hiding within, seemed... too much.

Were their noses always turned so high? Were their attitudes always so grating?

She was no fool. Rarity had always known how the upper class acted. It was an unfortunate part of gaining wealth. One's outlook on life often went from 'barely surviving' to 'living the high life,' and with it came the idea of how awful the life 'beneath' them was.

But it wasn't the majority of the high class she admired. It was always the minority.

Those like Padme or even Sapphire Shores!

The famous, wealthy people who, rather than squander away in their falsely gold-encrusted lives, took what they had and tried to improve everyone else's lives.

They were the ones she admired and hoped to be one day.

But, unfortunately, all those thoughts were far from where she was now.

It was dreadful to think about. That her entire life was just one big cover-up. An ugly lie to cover an uglier truth.

She'd thought the Elements of Harmony a force for good. A truly marvelous work of art was fashioned into exquisite gemstones. Now they only felt like make-up. Something pretty to cover an obscene underside.

Not at all how it should be used, but how it turned out.

Rarity worked through the crowd with all the experience she'd mustered, worming her way through the controlled chaos of her workroom until she found herself in the auditorium, where the loud, booming sounds of Sapphire's singing echoed outside.

Despite relaxing a tad when the familiar, peppy music washed over her, it did little to quiet her thoughts.

To think. All her joys, all her sorrows. All those small luxuries and all those grand nightmares were nothing more than an elaborate play set up behind the scenes while they all played the star roles without their knowledge.

The play ended, and the finale did not leave her wanting more.

What were they supposed to do now? Their lives up to this point were worthless!

It was a conundrum that Rarity faced for all of fifteen minutes before a familiar voice broke her thoughts.

"My-my-my! What in the world has got that pretty face of yours all screwed up, Rarity?" Sapphire chirped, appearing in her vision suddenly. Rarity let out a decidedly unladylike yelp and jumped back, holding a hand to her chest.

"Sapphire!" she snapped, patting her chest to calm her heart, "What in the world are you doing, scaring ponies like that?!"

Sapphire smiled and shrugged.

"Sorry! Guess people don't really expect little old me to be qui-et!" she sang, before nodding, "Not that I can blame them, of course!" Rarity glared at the woman but eventually relented when a confused thought crossed her mind.

"Not that I mean to be rude, but shouldn't you be up on stage right now?" she asked. Sapphire regarded her strangely, brow-raising.

"... Oh my, what in the world has got you so confused?" she asked, smirking, "I've been on break for the past ten mi-nu-tes!"

Rarity blinked and glanced up to the stage, only to find it completely empty and all the lights turned off. No one in the crowd was paying the stage any mind, implying that it had been quite a while since the show went on hiatus.

"Oh... goodness," she murmured. Was she truly so lost in thought?

This whole Element business must be muddling with her thoughts more than she'd anticipated.

"Well?" Sapphire asked, a tad impatiently, "Aren't you gonna tell me?"

Rarity blinked before clearing her throat, "Well, yes, I am having a few... personal difficulties, Sapphire. However, and I don't mean any offense-" she assured quickly, "-but, why would I tell them to you? I understand that you're not someone who will simply go about spouting others' secrets, but we hardly know each other," she pointed out. Sapphire hummed and nodded.

"You got a point, sugar," she conceded, seemingly letting the issue drop.

Rarity was quickly disavowed of that notion when a cruel smirk graced Sapphire's lips.

"Let's make a deal, then. If you don't tell me the problem, I'll look for a new designer. How-does-that-sound?" she sang, the smirk growing wider.

Rarity stiffened, horror overcoming her.

A new designer? That couldn't happen!

If word got out that Sapphire Shores dropped her, her entire business would surely go down the drain! People would rescind any placed order, and she'd have clients knocking down her door for refunds she couldn't give!

After all, if The Superstar of Pop saw fit to drop her as a designer, then surely that meant something horribly wrong with all of her outfits?!

She couldn't let that happen.

It would be the worst. Possible. Thing!

It took her a few moments, but suddenly her horror died off, replaced by a surge of anger, quickly replaced by amusement, embarrassment, and gratitude.

She truly wished to help her, didn't she?

Armed with that thought in mind, Rarity cleared her throat.

"Well... I suppose you've forced my hand," she sighed dramatically, "very well, I'll tell you."

She cleared her throat and began. She huffed a tad after that, but it fell away as she deflated.

"Why... why me? Why not someone less fortunate than myself?" she asked, though she wasn't sure whom it was directed at, "What was it that determined that I was more important than the lives of everyone the Elements affected?"

Sapphire was silent for a moment before speaking, "What's got you thinkin' like that?"

"... Storm figured all that out and was kind enough to tell us," she said. Sapphire's lips curled down.

"Did he now? Strange, he usually wouldn't... Well, I don't know what to tell ya, Rarity," she admitted, "That's definitely a problem," she sighed, and trailed off for a moment, then continued, "I guess... the only real piece of advice I can give ya is... is that it's still your life. Make it into whatever you want," Sapphire said with a shrug, "Use it to help out the other people in the world, or live your life and wash your hands of whatever problems come along because of the Elements. It's not like it's your fault."

Rarity shook her head, "While I appreciate the words, I am not so sure I could do something like that, Sapphire."

"And why not?" she asked, a tad aggravated, "You've only got the one life, you know? There are no take-backs! You've only got one shot, and you'd better not miss whatever chances come up in life!" she gushed, "It's what I did, and I couldn't be happier! Even after everything that happened to me and the others, I still had a life ahead of me, and I intend to live it to my fullest! So why shouldn't you do the same?" she asked. Rarity shook her head.

"I couldn't!" she insisted, "Not with the knowledge that someone else could have truly benefited-"

"Rarity," Sapphire cut her off harshly, "Be. Selfish. I know you're the Element of Generosity, but you can't go tossing aside your life just because you got dealt a better hand than most," she deadpanned, "besides," she added, almost as an afterthought, "coming from someone who started from nothing, it's insulting. The fact is that you're insinuating that they need that good fortune to live a nice life," she pointed out, "You shouldn't go around complaining about having too good of a life, you know? That's just not done. Not in good taste, at least."

Rarity blinked before the words registered in her stunned mind, "Wha-no! I never intended for my words to come out like that-!"

"Well, they did," Sapphire snapped, scowling at her, "The Elements of Harmony decided that you're important enough that you get to have a nice life. That you get to work a job you love, with friends and family that you love not far away," she said, gesturing with a hand, "Yeah, you're pretty lucky, fortunate, whatever. Good for you. But instead of complaining over what other people could have, why don't you try being grateful for what you already have," she suggested. However, it came out as more of an order before sighing, "And if that didn't help, then think about it like this. If you're worried about the Elements making your life better, then make your life even better through your own ability. That way, you've worked for a good life like everyone else. How about that?"

Rarity pursed her lips together, thinking hard about what Sapphire had said.

She... wasn't wrong. She was complaining about all the things the Elements might have helped her with. But, at the same time, that was as much the Elements helping as it was her own ability. An ability she worked hard for, even if she'd been given a little boost.

She shouldn't be so focused on what other ponies didn't have that the Elements could've given them because, at the end of the day, the Elements had chosen her. She needed to look at her own life and make it hers. Make it hers, so she'd never have to worry about the Elements giving her more than what she earned.

It took a few minutes for her thoughts to settle, but she eventually nodded.

"Of course... you're quite right, Sapphire," she began, gently slipping free of the woman's grip, "I... I have to talk to my friends," she determined and spared the famous diva a bright smile, "Thank you for your help, but I must be going!"

And with that, she was off.

Sapphire sighed and gently stretched her back, "Wow... I am not good at those kinds of speeches..." she muttered before her eyes locked onto a nearby clock, "Oh! Break is almost over..."

---

How could the sky look so nice when she felt so awful?

Even while the sun set, painting the sky in various shades of red and orange, it always looked beautiful, no matter what troubles affected the world every day.

Twilight couldn't help but think it was a tad unfair. Why couldn't the sky ever look so awful when the world felt as such?

She sighed and hung her head over the railing, peering down the vast streets below. She couldn't handle being around so many celebrating people, not right now, and had escaped at the first opportunity. And now, she was alone at the top of the astronomy tower.

She had fond memories of this tower when she was still a toddler. The late nights spent watching the stars and the occasional planet, cataloging their positions with the time of year and comparing them to astrology books written hundreds of years ago. It had been a fun past-time, even if it had resulted in more than a few broken pairs of glasses from how dark it got, coupled with a few hundred scoldings about her staying up past curfew.

And yet, now those wonderful memories were tainted with the idea that they had been manufactured for her, designed to shape her life and personality into the kind of person who'd discover an ancient prophecy foretelling the return of a dark evil, rightfully bring it up to the highest power in the land, get sent to a small town, venture into the dangerous Everfree Forest to recover some ancient artifacts, somehow make friends with five girls she'd never met, and save the world from some megalomaniac of a witch who wanted to kill off every living thing on the planet by making sure the sun never rose again.

What if... I'm a Jedi... because of the Elements?

It hurt her head to think about it. To question the validity of her entire life. To wonder whether she was who she was because she had chosen to be this way or because she'd been groomed this way.

She sighed once more and glared down at the people enjoying the party.

"Well, I wasn't expecting this," a familiar voice snarked from behind her. Twilight started, flailing her arms to find purchase on the railing before she whirled around, finding Peppermint(?) standing in the doorway.

"Wh-what are you doing up here?" she asked, blinking at him.

He frowned, "I could ask you the same thing," he said immediately before blinking, "Uh... sorry, reflex. I was just scouting the place for the future."

She blinked.

Scouting?

She opened her mouth to question that, but he beat her to the punch.

"Your turn. What are you up here for?" he asked. She fidgeted and turned away from him, her previous thoughts lost.

"N-no reason. Just... came to enjoy the view," she lied, though she didn't think he'd buy it for even a second.

As expected, he only hummed to himself before approaching her. She did her best to not react to his approach but found herself lost for words when he started poking her side.

After about thirty seconds, she smacked his hand away, glaring at him.

Peppermint(?) smirked, "So, how ya feelin'?" he asked suddenly, his eyes focused on something on her chest. She frowned and followed his gaze but found nothing.

"Umm... okay?" she said, eyebrow-raising at the strange question.

Peppermint(?) nodded.

"I suppose it wore off on you," he said cryptically, turning away from her, "Storm probably has a few days until he's back to normal, then," he added, almost as an afterthought, "Then again, I've never seen someone get drained completely. It might take a few months, for all I know... damn, what were they thinking taking that much?" Twilight frowned.

"What are y-"

"Why are you sad?" Peppermint(?) asked, cutting her off entirely, "Yesterday you were pretty... not happy, but you sure as shit weren't all doom and gloom like you are now," he noted, "Which means something big happened... and that Storm didn't mention it," he said, adding that last part under his breath.

Twilight stuttered, having more difficulty than she'd like to admit following what he was saying. On any other day, she could follow whatever conversation he was trying to have with her. But having her head spun around so much over the past few days had left her feeling mentally exhausted, regardless of how much rest she got.

"I-I-well, I was-" she stammered, "I-it's just..." she sighed and shook her head, "I was just... Storm mentioned something about the Elements of Harmony that... messed with all of us," she said vaguely.

"I'm guessing it has something to do with him thinking the Elements are manipulating your lives, yeah?" he asked, bringing her thoughts to a screeching halt.

"Wh-what?" she asked, blinking at him, stunned, "How-who-who told you?!" she asked, jaw hanging open. Peppermint(?) shrugged.

"No one. I just figured it out now. You said he mentioned the Elements that affected the seven of you. And how he believes everything has been determined as a result of them. Those two things don't really belong in the same sentence under a positive light, so I took a guess. I'm not sure what he's playing at, but your reaction tells me I'm right, right?"

"W-well, y-yes, but-"

"Alright, so tell me what's wrong," he cut her off again, smirking at the glare she was sending him.

"Why do you care?" she demanded. He'd been nothing but rude and unhelpful ever since she met him.

Peppermint(?) shrugged, "Believe me or don't, but it's in my best interest to help you two."

Twilight frowned. Best interest? What in the world could that possibly mean?

"So, you gonna tell me, or do I have to guess? And, believe me, my guesses get pretty vulgar," he warned, causing her to wince. Twilight sighed.

"Alright," she muttered.

Twilight told him about her life. Born a princess, she was discovered by Celestia and revealed to have Force powers. As a result, she had to leave with her to study to become a Jedi. From there, she kept to herself and her studies, often ignoring any signs of friendships from the other Jedi. Soon she became Celestia's apprentice and, from there, rightfully earned the rank and title of Jedi Knight. She was then partnered up with Storm as the two fought in many battles and went on many missions. Along the way, Twilight came to know five other girls with whom she had a strong connection as they were soon revealed to be the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. But the recent theory by Storm made her question whether everything they had done was predetermined by the Elements themselves. That they were in control of the teens' lives and not them.

She wanted to be a good friend, princess, and individual, but... with the Elements pulling the strings, could she ever hope to be the kind of person she wanted to be? Out of everything, that was what scared her the most. At any time, she could turn her back on everything she thought she knew without any regard whatsoever for the life she'd had before.

"Then don't be," Peppermint(?) said, completely breaking her from her thoughts.

"What?" she asked, turning to look at him, her eyes wide. He shrugged again.

"If you don't want to be like that, then don't. Coming from something like me, if you don't want to be one way, then be another way," he said simply as if that was all there was to it. Twilight shook her head.

"I-it's not that simple-"

"Sure it is," he said, cutting her off again, "Who gives a fuck if the Elements did whatever. It's your fucking life. Make it yours and kick anyone who tries to make you do otherwise in the balls. I mean... look at me!" he said, gesturing to himself while giving her an almost arrogant smirk, "I'm Peppermint right now, but tomorrow I could be anybody I wanted to be, and no one could tell me otherwise. But even then, I might still be Thorax, but since when did the world get to tell me who I could and couldn't be?" he asked.

Twilight stared at him for a moment.

"... I have no idea what you're talking about."

Peppermint(?) deflated and stared at her, his expression deadpan. After about a minute, he sighed and straightened himself.

"Look, I'm trying to say that you can be who you want. Today, I might be nice, but tomorrow I could be a total fucking asshole. Today, I might be a knight in shining armor, but tomorrow I might be the one stabbing you in the back," he said, that smirk back in place, "No one has any say in who you are but you. Who cares if the Elements laid out a track for you to follow. A track is just a path to take, but we all know that trains can fly off the rails at any time. Why can't you?"

Twilight, again, only stared at him.

What-what-what kind of logic was that?!

You can be whoever you want to be, so be who you want to be.

That was-that was-that was insane!

But it made sense in a strange, twisted sort of way. The Elements made her one way, but nobody ever said she couldn't make herself into another.

Using his words, she could be nice today, but tomorrow she could be a total asshole. Today, she might be a knight in shining armor, but tomorrow she might be the one stabbing someone in the back.'

...

What a strange way of putting it, by the way. Of all the ways to try comforting her, why did he choose-

Twilight shook her head.

She shouldn't be focusing on that! She should be focusing on being who she wants to be! She should-she should-!

She should go talk to her friends!

Nodding to herself, Twilight turned to Peppermint(?).

"Thanks, Peppermint! I have to go talk to my friends!" she chirped before standing and rushing out the door and down the stairs.

Peppermint(?) watched after her before chuckling to himself.

"Hehe, all according to plan."

---

He wasn't angry.

He wasn't furious.

But holy fuck did he want to kill something right now.

He had always needed to improve in situations like this. Anger and fury were easier for him to deal with than sorrow or sadness. Perhaps it wasn't a good way to react, but it was one he knew how to direct.

Unfortunately, this was one of those rare times when he refused to direct his anger, letting it fester within him.

After all...

It proved that he was still somehow in control of himself.

As far as he was aware, the Elements had dictated every aspect of his life. His personality, his experiences, his likes, and dislikes, everything.

-paindarknessspearchestagony-

So, by going against something he would normally do...

Was that proof of him fighting against the strings that held him up?

Or...

Was it just a trail of bait leading him on a path he thought he had chosen?

Ultimately, it didn't matter what he said or did because everything returned to that one simple question.

Was this life real?

Or...

Was this life fake?

He Didn't Know The Answer.

He growled, feeling his neck twitch.

He hated this. Hated the feeling of not being sure. Hated the idea of being pulled along on some leash by forces so far beyond him that he couldn't see them until they let him.

Because there was no doubt in his mind. The Elements were letting this happen. Letting them question their lives, letting them fear the truth.

And somehow, he knew-he knew-that the girls would all come to terms with this, and the bond holding them all together would grow ever stronger.

And yet...

Why had his feelings for Twilight faded like that?

Of all the ways to provide evidence for the Elements' interference, why was that the way they'd done it?

He shook his head.

It didn't matter how it had come up. The fact was that it would've come up no matter what.

He was... too different from fitting in with the girls under natural circumstances. This was inevitable. The understanding that something had to have brought them together was as predetermined as death.

-nothingavoicewhisperingpainagonysilence-

It was... better to have figured it out now rather than later.

Still...

He glanced up into the darkened sky above him, the faint light of the sun providing only the slightest tint on the otherwise black sky.

He'd been sitting out here for most of the day, completely avoiding the ongoing celebration.

He was hiding near the Barracks in the same place he'd told the others earlier today. It was where everything had fallen apart, and maybe, it would be where he could put these thoughts back together.

-movementpullingagaspsilence-

"Storm?"

Or, perhaps, not. The Jedi Knight heard the familiar voice as he spun around and came face to face with a pair of light cyan eyes.

"Coco?" the boy asked.

The girl in question gave him a nervous laugh and an equally sheepish smile. Even the small wave she gave him did nothing to detract from the nervous energy the girl was giving off.

"What brings you to the Gardens instead of the festivities?" stated the Jedi Knight.

Coco narrowed her eyes at him before chuckling, "Funny," she snarked, her hand dropping back to her side, "I actually ran into the girls," she said, then tilted her head as if in thought, "well, actually, they ran into me. Apparently the six of them were looking for you, and are waiting at the castle," she said, then frowned, "They seemed... happy, but... sad? I think," she explained and shook her head, "I don't know how to describe it, but... evidently they thought I'd know where to find you. I ran, they chased me. Ran into me, and asked if I knew where you were. I didn't, obviously-" she added, "-but... well, I guess I found you," she finished lamely, "Thought you ought to know."

Storm hummed agreeably, "Thanks, Coco."

---

Twilight was happy.

No, not happy. Ecstatic.

No, not even ecstatic.

She was completely, utterly satisfied!

They were friends! They were all friends! Even if the Elements were responsible for bringing them together, they were not the things that tied them together!

She knew that now, and her friends would as well!

After her revelation, she'd immediately hunted for them, only to find five already together.

"Ha! I told you guys that whole 'Element' thing was a load of shit!" Rainbow boasted, puffing out her chest with a smug grin. Applejack groaned, but there was a bright smile on her face regardless.

"You sure did, Rainbow. You sure did."

"Girls!" Twilight called, running up to them and, without pausing for breath, immediately grabbed the five of them into a group hug, "I"m so sorry for ever thinking our friendship wasn't real!" she cried, eagerly nuzzling the cheeks of her dearest friends. Pinkie laughed, eagerly reciprocating.

"It's okay, Twilight!" she chirped, giving the princess a happy but no-less bone-crushing hug in return, "We were all having silly thoughts!"

"Not me!" Rainbow corrected, smirking at them.

"Indeed," Rarity added, gently breaking away from the hug, "It pains me to think that I had truly believed our friendships false and our lives not our own for even a few moments. Even if they were wonderful, I could not stand the idea that I had not been the one to craft it," she admitted, holding a hand to her heart, "But I understand now that my life is mine from today onward," she said, firmly, "and I shall make the best of it! Make no mistake about that!"

"Yeah!" Pinkie cheered, "I was super sad when I thought that I could only make friends cuz those silly old Elements made me! But now I know that it doesn't matter!" she chirped, looking surprisingly serious despite her cheerful tone, "Even if the Elements made you all into my friends, that means that you're still my bestest friends! Plus, it means I get to make tons more!"

"Eeyup!" Applejack cut in, bringing Pinkie into a one-armed hug, "Even if the Elements got us here, it's up ta us ta decide where we're goin' from 'here on out! I know we might have some help along the way, but that's just fine!"

"Mhmm!" Fluttershy quietly interjected, "I love my life! I love all my friends, both animals and people!" she chirped, smiling softly, shaking her head, "I-I don't want to give all that up just because the Elements of Harmony helped me! I-I couldn't imagine living a different life!" she stammered.

There was a round of 'Awws' from them, and the shy girl was enveloped in yet another group hug.

"And I realized that I can be whoever I want to be, regardless of who I really am," Twilight said in place of the silence, hugging her friends closer, "I might've been an awful friend in the past, but that's no reason I can't be the best friend I can possibly be to all of you now and in the future!"

Four of her friends cheered in response, while the fifth one scoffed.

"Duh!" Rainbow Dash said, "That's what I was saying earlier!" she repeated, "We're friends, we always have been! Why the fuck would that change now?" she asked, earning a punch to the side, "Ow!"

"We get it, sugarcube," Applejack said before grabbing the girl and pulling her into the hug.

"Hey!"

The six hugged for a moment longer before Pinkie unexpectedly broke free.

"Wait! What about Storm?" she asked, "We gotta tell him!"

"Of course!" Rarity agreed, nodding firmly, "Out of all of us, he's had the longest to dwell on this horrible topic. I can not imagine how hard it must be for him."

"Well then, what're we waitin' fer?" Applejack asked, almost impatiently, "Any'o ya'll know where he might be? I was near the shops and didn't spot 'im." Fluttershy shook her head.

"I was hiding in the Gardens," she admitted sheepishly, "a-and I didn't see him."

"I was in the kitchen, and he wasn't there!"

"I spent some time in the castle before heading to the auditorium. I'm afraid I saw no sign of him anywhere."

"I was, uh... ah screw it, I was at a bar," Rainbow admitted, earning a disapproving look from Rarity, "What?!" she shouted, throwing up her hooves, "I didn't drink! I wanted to since you were all out being stupid, but I chose not to!" she defended, before scoffing, crossing her arms. "Whatever, I didn't see him."

Twilight sighed, "And I was up in the astronomy tower. I didn't see him going up or down, and there was no way I'd have been able to spot Pinkie, let alone someone from up there."

The six of them frowned and sighed before a voice startled them all.

"Looking for Storm?" a familiar voice asked, prompting Twilight to turn, face to face with none other than Moondancer.

"Moondancer?" she asked. The handmaiden smirked.

"Anyways, you looking for Storm?" she asked again.

"Yep!" Pinkie chirped, tilting her head, "Do you know where he is?"

"Sorry girls, but I have no idea where Storm is," she admitted before a familiar flash of light amberish gray caught her eye, "Oh! Why don't you try asking her?" she suggested, pointing at the girl, who froze in place the second she was indicated, "Coco was with him for most of the day, so she might be able to take a guess," she said, smirking.

Twilight saw Coco as the girl stood in place. The princess stepped forward as Coco immediately bolted in the opposite direction.

"Wha-hey!" Twilight called, taking off after her without a second thought, her friends behind her.

Nearly five minutes of constant running later, the girls were breathing heavily, and one complained about the sweat ruining her hair. It was when one of them had the idea to split up and try to corner her and catch her before she could get away that they managed to do just that.

Embarrassingly, it wasn't that the plan had gone well. In fact, the plan had almost failed entirely. Only Twilight's growing fatigue and Pinkie's overly energetic running caused them to stumble and slam into Coco, effectively pinning her to the ground long enough for them to question her.

"Alright, you, where's Storm?!" Rainbow immediately began the interrogation. Coco, who had been struggling to toss her and Pinkie off, froze and gave Rainbow a stunning look.

"Wha?"

"Where is he?!" shouted Rainbow as she grabbed the girl's shirt.

"What do you want with him?" she asked.

"Why in the world did you run?" Rarity asked instead.

Coco was now starting to sweat as she didn't like being interrogated.

"Coco!" said Twilight as the princess approached the girl.

"Please, princess! I mean no trouble! I've been loyal to you and your family for all my years of service. Please, don't fire me or execute me! Please, I beg of you!" pleaded Coco to the princess as she got on her knees and tugged at Twilight's shirt.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, Coco. Or tell my parents. We just want to know if you where Storm is." said the girl to her servant. "You were with him yesterday, so do you know where he might be? We need to talk to him," she implored, "We're... we're worried about how he's feeling," she added."

"I'm sorry, princess. But I'm afraid I don't know where he is. Please forgive me!" begged Coco.

"I forgive you, Coco. Alright! Don't be afraid!" said Twilight as she could see Coco was scared she might use her Jedi powers on her. "Look, mind telling him we're looking for him if you find Storm."

"Yes, your highness!" stated Coco with a nod.

"Okay, we'll be waiting back at the castle. Good luck," Twilight said.

Coco nodded, "Right, uh... you too?" she replied uncertainly, already beginning to walk off.

With that objective completed, Twilight turned to her friends.

"Okay... what now?" Rainbow asked before she could speak.

"Well, I guess we head back ta the castle, right Twilight?" Applejack said.

"Right!"

And with that, the six of them wormed their way back through the crowd and alleyways they'd run through. Soon enough, the castle doors came into sight, and with it, a whole host of nerves suddenly ran down Twilight's spine. She bit her lip and found her feet beginning to drag across the ground as a churning suddenly appeared in her stomach. Her heartbeat was also picking up, and she could feel her thoughts running wild.

How was Storm doing?

How would he react to them?

Was he okay?

"Twilight, dear, are you alright?" Rarity's voice caused the lavender girl to jump, her head snapping to her friend.

"What?!" she asked, a little too loudly, judging by how Rainbow started snickering. Twilight pouted slightly and looked around. They had stopped not far from the castle's doors, though the area was astonishingly empty despite that. Given the party, Twilight would've expected all of Canterlot to be full.

Then again, it was Canterlot, not Equis kingdom.

Rarity sighed, "Twilight, you haven't said anything for the past five minutes," she said, eyeing Twilight worriedly, "whatever is on your mind?"

"I-is it about Storm?" Fluttershy asked, tapping her fingers together.

Twilight nodded, "Yeah... sorry, girls. I'm... I'm curious how he's reacting to all this.

"We all are, Twilight," Applejack said, giving the princess a gentle pat on the back, "Honestly, I think we're all stumped on this. But we're just gonna hafta ask 'im when we see 'im."

"Or we could do that now," Rainbow suddenly interrupted, looking behind them. Twilight stared at her for a moment before realization dawned, and she spun around.

And there he was. The familiar Jedi Knight was there, walking slowly towards them, his eyes aimed toward the ground. Twilight licked her suddenly dry lips, her heartbeat picking up once again. It was one thing to imagine confronting the boy, but to actually do it, considering everything that had happened today?

-or I fell for the sixth one, seemingly out of nowhere.

Oh wow, oh-oh-she-she couldn't do this!

As she was about to turn tail and run away, Storm arrived before her, coming to a dead stop.

For some reason, Twilight's mind focused on where he'd stopped. He was still a bit away from them, nearly five feet away. It wasn't a close approach, but it was by no means a distant one either. Despite this, there was still a noticeable gap between him and them.

Distantly, she realized that there was something significant about that sentence.

Her brow furrowed.

Was he still having trouble?

"Storm?" she called, her last nerves forgotten, "Are you alright?" His eyes suddenly locked onto her own, quickly tearing away from the ground. She felt paralyzed under his gaze for a moment before she relaxed when he spoke.

"I'm... fine enough, I suppose."

"Then why the hay are you way over there?!" Rainbow asked.

"Yeah!" Pinkie agreed, smiling brightly, "C'mon! We can't have a group hug from all the way over here!" Storm's neck twitched.

"I'm sure the six of you can hug just fine without me," he said dully, brow raising. Twilight frowned. Something about the way he'd said that... unsettled her.

"Storm," she said, his attention immediately latching onto her. She took a deep breath before continuing, "The Elements don't matter," she managed to say.

"Twilight's right!" Rarity added eagerly, "Our lives are our own, Storm."

"I can't possibly imagine living a d-different one!" Fluttershy chirped, surprisingly loudly for her.

"That's right! Even if the Elements got us here, it's up ta us ta find where we're goin'!"

"We're still friends!" Pinkie said, pumping her fist into the air, "Elements or not, us not being friends is impossible!"

Rainbow shrugged, "I stand by what I said earlier," she said lamely, crossing her arms with a smug grin. Twilight shook her head but smiled at Storm, who looked... contemplative.

"We can be whoever we want to be, Storm," she said, walking towards the taller boy before sticking out her hand for him to take, "The seven of us will always be together! The Elements brought the six of us together and finally brought you to us! It doesn't matter what happened back then or what happens in the future because we'll always be friends!"

Storm's eyes widened at her proclamation, and his eyes fell, landing firmly onto her outstretched hand.

"... 'always be friends,' huh?" he muttered, his hand slowly reaching out towards hers.

Twilight's smile widened as their fingers grew closer, and even Storm's expression firmed up after a moment.

Then he slapped her hand away.

The girls gasped at that, while Twilight remained frozen, taken by surprise at the action, her eyes focused on Storm's.

"We are not friends, Twilight Sparkle," he snarled, his more dangerous features exaggerated by the scowl on his face, before turning away from them, "I refuse to allow my life to be dictated by a bunch of fucking rocks! I will not allow anything to control me, ever again!" he snarled, before relaxing, even as his neck twitched once more. He spared a glance back at her, "Neither should you," he added, walking off.

Twilight was left, staring slack-jawed at him, only broken from her thoughts by the vicious sounding *CRACK* that split the air as he took to the skies.

"Wha-hey! Get back here!" Rainbow shouted, nearly going off after him if Applejack hadn't caught her hair and yanked her to the ground, "Oof!"

"Hold it there, Rainbow!" Applejack snapped, though her gaze was locked onto Storm's disappearing form. Rainbow growled from the ground, ripping her hair out of Applejack's grip as she got back up.

"'Hold it!'?! What the fuck are you talking about?! Didn't you hear him?! Who the fuck does he think he is?!" she yelled, pointing her finger at the distant speck.

"While I disagree with her language, I do agree with Rainbow Dash's thoughts," Rarity said, frowning, "That was no way to act, even regarding the current circumstances. It was rude and uncalled for!"

"B-but... didn't you say...?"

Pinkie shook her head, "He's just... confused," she explained before nodding, "Yeah! He's just a little confused, is all!" she continued, "We're his friends, so it's up to us to make him not confused!"

"An' how are we s'pposed ta do that?" Applejack asked, waving a hand to where Storm used to be, "Who knows where he mighta have gone off ta!"

Twilight finally turned back to her friends, sighing, "Applejack's right," she muttered, silencing the group; she ran a hand over her face, "but I... I don't..." she sighed and let her sentence trail off.

"Wh-what if he's not in Canterlot anymore?" Fluttershy asked timidly, looking around worriedly. Pinkie shook her head, a serious look on her face.

"No way! Storm wouldn't just leave us like that! He might be a little loco in the coco right now, but we're still his best friends!" she said, her cheeks puffing up as she narrowed her eyes, "He's totally still in Canterlot! He's just gone off to his super secret hide-y hole!" Rainbow scoffed.

"Cool!" she said sarcastically, throwing her arms out to the side, "Now we just have to find this 'hide-y hole' in the middle of a huge city, at night, against someone whose a Jedi who knows how to conceal himself and can detect other presences! Great! Shouldn't be too hard!" she added, smiling a large, fake smile, which caused Pinkie to deflate.

"Rainbow's right, again," Applejack said, tiredly rubbing her face, "It's late, an' none'o us know that boy well 'nough ta guess where's 'e's hidin'. We could be lookin' all night fer all we know." Pinkie stammered.

"Th-then we just have to find somebody who does know him well enough!" she said, only to receive the shaking of several heads.

"An' where are they?" Applejack asked, glancing up into the sky, where the sun had just finished setting.

"If Master Luna was here..." muttered Twilight quietly to herself.

They were silent at that. It was true, after all. At the end of the day, there was only so much they knew about Storm. Even with how long Twilight spent with the boy, she knew she didn't know everything about him. They remained silent for five minutes before Fluttershy suddenly spoke up.

"Twilight... do you think you can ask your parents to send some guards out to find him?" asked the buttercup girl.

"What?!" Twilight gasped, "No! W-we can't go my parents to lend us some guards!" she argued, "They're busy!"

"Busy doing what?" Rainbow asked, eyes narrowed, "What the hell do they do during a party?"

"W-well-" Twilight stammered, "th-they have to organize guards patrols so that they don't interfere with the celebration; they have to talk to the people who come to introduce themselves to them; they have to keep the party from getting out of hand-!" she was interrupted by an orange finger pressing against her lips.

"We get it, sugarcube," Applejack deadpanned, "the King and Queen are mighty busy tonight."

"Oh, am I?"

Twilight and the others all gasped, turning to face the approaching Queen. Velvet calmly regarded the five kneeling teens before her, noting that Storm was nowhere to be seen, her only visible eye crinkling as she smiled down at them.

"Now girls, you should know that there's no need to bow to me," she reminded them, gently gesturing for them to stand, "As good enough friends of my daughter, that isn't necessary," she added thoughtfully, smiling at the way Applejack sputtered.

"O-of course, Your Highness, b-but-"

"No buts, Applejack," she held out a hand to silence the farm girl and lowered it not a moment later, "Now, what makes you think I'd be too busy for... whatever it was you thought of asking me?" she asked, peering at them curiously, but not unkindly. The girls all looked at each other before Applejack spoke, placing her hat back onto her head from where it had rested against her heart.

"Well, ya see, Yer Highness, Twilight told us how ya hafta keep an eye on all the festivities goin' on tonight," she explained. Velvet nodded, smiling.

"Well, that would normally be true," she began, "but I decided to let my husband take care of most of the things for tonight. Now, what was it you wanted to ask me?"

Again, the six of them glanced at each other before Twilight sighed and spoke.

"W-well, you see, Mom, we recently had a... realization about the Elements," she said, beginning to fidget at the intense look her mother suddenly gave her, "Er, well... a-actually, Storm figured out that... that the Elements..." she trailed off, biting her lip.

Rainbow sighed, "Storm came up with this stupid idea that the Elements have been controlling our lives. I tried to tell everybody they were being stupid, but nooooo!" she snapped, ignoring the way Rarity slapped her side.

"Rainbow, hush!"

Twilight took a shaky breath and nodded, "Y-yeah... Rainbow's... not wrong. H-he told us about how the Elements have been manipulating us so that we'd all be friends, and... it-it hit us all pretty hard, but..."

"We realized that was pretty dumb!" Pinkie interjected when Twilight fell silent, "It's stupid cuz, of course, we're friends! Even if the Elements did tell us what to do, us not being friends is crazy!"

"That's an... interesting idea," Velvet said, individually meeting the eyes of the girls before her, "And you say... Storm came up with this idea?" she asked, earning six nods, "Hmm... I see. Well, girls, rest assured that the Elements are not responsible," she added.

Six pairs of eyes blinked in confusion, each meeting the other, before directing themselves back to the Queen.

"Wh-what do you mean, your Highness?" Fluttershy asked.

"Y-yeah," Applejack added, "I thought..."

Velvet chuckled and smiled softly at them, "Oh girls, that's silly. While the Elements themselves, and what they do, are mostly shrouded in mystery, what is known is that they can't do anything without an active Bearer," she explained. The girls stared at her for a moment before Twilight's eyes widened,

"B-but.. then, that means..." she began, looking horrified.

Velvet nodded, "That's right, my daughter," she said fondly, "the Elements have not, nor have they ever, had that kind of influence on your lives. Perhaps-" she added suddenly, causing their attention to focus back onto her, "-they have had a slight influence on your feelings regarding each other once you all successfully used them the first time, but only to the extent that you strengthen your bonds naturally."

"But-but there were too many coincidences!" Twilight blurted without thought at her mother, "The-the Elements have to be responsible for bringing us together. Me getting my Force powers, being partners with Storm, us being friends!" she was running her hands through her hair at this point, causing strands to stick out in every direction, "The chances of all that actually happening are so astronomically low, that they might as well be impossible!" she shouted, her arms flying out, a manic look in her eyes.

Velvet only smiled and shook her head at how her daughter was acting. It reminded her a bit of how her husband was at times. It was clear she inherited this trait from Night Light himself.

"Twilight," she began calmly, "by that logic, then shouldn't everything be impossible?" she asked. Twilight blinked, turning her stunned gaze onto her mother.

"What?" she asked hopelessly, staring uncomprehendingly at her mother.

"Think about it like this, Twilight," she began slowly, "Let's go back in time for a moment. Let's say that something happened, and the powers you gained when you were young never happened. Thus, you never left to be a Jedi. What do you think would have happened to you?" she asked.

Twilight blinked, placing her hand against her chin, "W-well... I would never have left for the Temple. I would've stayed here, grown and taught to be a proper princess. Learn all the things I needed to take over for you and dad." she began, "so I probably would've been married, and be happy-"

"How do you know that?" Velvet asked, cutting her off.

"Wha-?"

"What makes you so sure that you would be happy being married right now?" she asked again, being a little clearer. Twilight's mouth was open, but no sound was coming out. Eventually, she spoke.

"W-well, it's just that you and dad-"

"Twilight..."

Velvet had her arms out as she gestured for her daughter to come close. Twilight approached her mother and hugged her as Velvet embraced her child. The pair stood there for a few moments as Velvet hugged Twilight while running a hand through her hair as she hummed a small tune. Twilight had her head resting against her mother's chest as she listened to her mother singing.

"Twilight, you are my baby. And you know that your father nor I would ever force anything upon you without thinking that you didn't have a say in it. Or that you would be miserable with what we decided. Yes, when you turn 18, you will find a suitable marriage partner. But who's to say that it would bring you happiness."

"I... I guess that's true..." she admitted, nodding, "That's possible."

Velvet nodded, "Indeed, it is possible; however, it would require a specific series of events to occur that, compared to everything else that could happen, would appear so unlikely that it might as well be impossible," she said, smiling.

"Uhh... mind saying that in plain English, Your Highness?" Rainbow asked, earning a glare from Twilight.

Velvet chuckled and nodded.

"Of course. What I'm saying is that with so many unknown things that happen every single day, it is, well and truly, impossible to guess what might happen in our lives and, looking back on our lives as they are, the things that did happen, when compared to the things that didn't, make our lives look oddly scripted, even though they aren't," she explained, and, when some of the girls still looked a bit confused, she placed a finger against her chin, looking up in thought, "Hmm... it's like pulling a card with the number 'ten' on it from a bag filled with one hundred cards. The chances of you getting the ten were one in one hundred, but so were the chances of pulling a five, a forty, and even an eighty. If you kept pulling numbers, putting them back in as you go, what are the chances you'd pull the numbers one to one hundred in the right order?

"Uhh... really low?" Pinkie supplied, earning an amused nod.

"That's right! But, no matter how low those chances are, it can still happen and eventually will happen. Looking back on it, it might seem impossible, but it happened regardless of those low odds," she said, then frowned, "I'm sorry, am I making any sense?" she asked, unsure.

"So... basically, we just got crazy lucky?" Rainbow asked, rubbing the back of her head, "Like... insanely lucky? Like, 'you have to be cheating' lucky?"

Velvet nodded, "Yes."

"Huh."

Velvet chuckled, "'Huh' indeed," she said, then turned to Twilight, looking a tad sheepish, "Oh my, I seem to have gotten a bit carried away there, girls. Twilight, you were saying?"

Twilight blinked, and her eyes widened.

"Oh! Um... well..." she shook her head, "I was saying that we all thought our lives were being manipulated but... I... guess not?" she supplied, glancing up at the amused expression on her mother's face, "A-anyways-" she stopped suddenly, and gasped, "th-then Storm... he-he doesn't know..."

"Storm ?" she asked, her brow raising. Twilight swallowed and nodded frantically.

"Y-yes!" she sputtered, "It's Storm! He-he thinks that our lives are fake, that-that they're being manipulated! He was really scared and well, we-we-we-"

"We came to terms with, what we thought, was the truth," Rarity interrupted when Twilight stopped being able to speak properly, "and when we finally ran into Storm, he, well... He was less than receptive to the idea."

"Yeah!" Rainbow snapped angrily, scowling, "He slapped Twilight's hand away, spouted something about not wanting to be controlled, then just up and fled away!"

Velvet frowned, her brow furrowing, "Did he now? Did he hurt you?"

"No," responded Twilight to her mother.

"Good," sighed Velvet as it calmed her worry about the Jedi harming her daughter. The Queen then glanced away from them in thought, "... Yes, that does sound like something he'd do, given the circumstances."

"It does?" Applejack asked; Velvet nodded.

"Oh yes. It appears that Storm might be suffering from a case of cleithrophobia, the fear of being trapped. Although... it is a bit of a stretch in this situation." said Velvet.

"We need to find him," Twilight said firmly, nodding along with the others, "That's... that's why we were thinking of asking you. Maybe you could send some guards out to help us find him and know all the hiding places in Canterlot?"

"Hmm..." Velvet hummed, seemingly turning the idea over in her head, "Well, there are quite a few different places he could be hiding... what way did he run off in?" she asked.

"Towards the front gate," Rainbow said.

Velvet nodded, "That narrows it down quite a bit."

"Couldn't he 'ave jus' turned right back 'round?" Applejack asked, brow furrowed. Velvet nodded again.

"Oh, absolutely, but I doubt it. No, he truly wants to avoid anyone and everyone if what you're all saying is true. For that, he only has one hiding place he can go to. The one spot in Canterlot that no one but me or my husband knows about."

"But... wouldn't he know that you're aware of such a place?" Rarity asked, earning a nod.

"Considering that I am the one who showed it to him, yes. However, I doubt he thinks the six of you would have willingly come to me to find such information," Velvet said, glancing at Twilight, who suddenly looked sheepish, "He was right, of course, wasn't he, Twilight?"

"Then what're we waitin' fer?!" Applejack announced, "Let's get goin'!"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, girls," Velvet shot her down, "I doubt he'll want to see the six of you any time soon." Applejack deflated while Rainbow scowled.

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?!" she demanded angrily, only for Twilight to forcibly zip her mouth shut, smiling sheepishly at her mother.

"Hehe-ignore her, Mom!" Twilight laughed nervously, "She's just a little stressed now!"

"She is right, though, Twilight," Rarity said, "We can't simply wait for him to show himself."

"And you won't," Velvet interjected, "I'll talk to him." Twilight sputtered.

"B-but Mom! You-well-there's no need to trouble yourself!" she insisted, her hand dropping as she focused elsewhere, waving her arms around, "W-we'll figure something out, so don't worry!"

Velvet only shook her head, smiling fondly.

"I won't be troubled at all, Twilight," she said, easing her daughter's worries before her eyes trailed off in the direction that Storm had disappeared in, "Besides... I was hoping to speak with him, regardless," she admitted, and turned her back to them, "You should all head to bed. It's getting late, and you all need rest after the day you've all had. Don't worry; he'll be in good hands with me," she promised sincerely, holding a hand to her heart.

Twilight shared a glance with the others before nodding at her mother.

"O-of course, mom," she said, licking her lips suddenly dry lips, "I... good luck."

The girls all began to leave as Twilight was the last one. She was about to pass her mother when Velvet placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder. The Queen looked at her child and placed her hand on her cheek.

"It's alright, Twilight. I promise your boyfriend will be fine."

"He's not my boyfriend, Mom! He's... my partner," stated the princess.

---

Storm clenched his teeth and nearly sighed.

Velvet had found him.

After his altercation with the girls, Storm had migrated to a stretch of outcropping rock, jutting from the side of the mountain Canterlot rested on. The spot was low to the mountain's base and far beyond the sight of the train and any patrols.

Despite its low position, it still held a truly majestic view of the surrounding greenery, allowing one to peer over the sea of green that spanned in nearly all directions.

No one would take the time to climb around and down the mountain to arrive at the spot; few mages were capable of teleporting, let alone teleporting such a distance horizontally and vertically, and likely would never take a direct path like anyone else.

It was the perfect spot for the Queen to collect herself after an absurdly stressful day without worrying about being found. Velvet had thought Storm would appreciate the same isolated tranquility, given the nature of his work and unique personality.

"I had a feeling I'd find you hiding out here," she spoke, announcing her arrival before gently touching down a few feet behind him. He clicked his tongue.

"I'm... guessing the girls sent you after me, then?" he asked, not turning to face her. He felt the vibrations in her head as she nodded.

"Something like that, yes."

"Look, I didn't hurt Twilight. But if you want to execute me right here or tell your husband to do it, go ahead. I'm not gonna stop you." said Storm.

"I'm not here for that," said Velvet. "So... will you tell me what's wrong?"

"I'm sure the girls filled you in on everything."

"Maybe," she replied vaguely, "but even if they did, I'd still like to hear your perspective on all this."

He tried to hide how he tensed at the question, his body instinctively coiling up in preparation for the fight or the flight. Even so...

"'My perspective'? 'My perspective'?!" he snarled, before whirling around to face her, an almost manic gleam in his eye, "From my perspective, things seem pretty fucking clear! Those Goddamn, motherfucking Elements of Harmony have been forcefully manipulating our-my life! They're the cause of everything! Me being without my family, Luna discovering me, me getting my powers to be a Jedi, Twilight, everything!" he shouted, breathing heavily, "They've been controlling me, controlling so that I'd meet the girls. I would never have met them if it wasn't for the Elements because I am notone of them, and I never will be!" he growled, breathing heavily.

They stared at each other for a minute, Storm's chest heaving, and the only sound between them being his ragged breathing. Velvet glared at the Jedi in front of her as she saw how dangerously close Storm's right hand was to his lightsaber. The Queen had her right hand spark some magic as if Storm lunged at her; she was ready to defend herself and, if possible, fight against the boy himself.

Thankfully, he turned back around and spoke.

"I... I am Storm! I am a Jedi, like my master before me! And no one and nothing will ever tell me to be something else."

Velvet stared for a moment, licking her lips before she nodded.

"Yes... you are Storm," she said, gently approaching him until she stood by his side, "but... do you know what I see when I look at Storm right now?" she asked.

A nervous swallow,

"... What?" he asked.

"I see a young boy who's gone through too much in his short life. A boy who has finally been overwhelmed by everything that has happened and is trying to push it all away," she murmured, gently settling a hand on his head.

He growled and shook her off, "'Overwhelmed'? Me? As if," he scoffed, scowl still in place. Velvet shook her head.

"Things seem to keep piling up on everyone lately, making it difficult to focus on oneself. In those cases, one can count on friends to be there and help one deal with the problems that lie within. Of course, that becomes almost impossible if you never tell them," she said, staring at him with her lone eye, "It's quite surprising how far a simple 'How are you feeling?' can go in helping others through their issues. So, with that in mind... How are you feeling, Storm?" she asked, "You've been through more than most these past few days; after all... you're the one who died."

Fear.

-darknesswhisperingpaingagony-

"I can't imagine how that must feel," she continued idly, her eyes very carefully locked onto him as if she was measuring him.

"I-I-I'm fine," he stammered against his will, "S-something like th-th-that isn't going to st-s-stop me."

"Death isn't something anyone is meant to come back from, Storm," she said firmly, her frown only becoming more pronounced at the way he shivered.

"I-It was just a s-setback, is all!" he insisted, his previously angry demeanor fading into a frightened cheerful, "I-it's not like it... it affected me, or anything! I-I'm perfectly fine!"

"You believe tricking yourself into believing a lie about the Elements to be 'perfectly fine'?" she asked. He froze suddenly and stiffly turned to face her.

"T-trick myself? A l-l-lie?" he asked, before shaking his head as he tried, and failed, to twist his expression into something angry, "I-I wasn't lying about a-anything! The Elements-!"

"Are incapable of affecting your life as you described, and I feel you know that."

He shook his head, his breathing picking up once more.

"N-no. No! I-it's the Elements! It-it has to be!"

"You've grown attached to them, haven't you?"

Alright, Sparky... We can be friends.

He swallowed thickly.

"S-so what if I have?"

"You're afraid of that connection, aren't you?"

-agaspsilence-

He growled and curled up, holding his head in his hands, trying vainly to block out the words she was spewing.

"You're afraid of how strong that connection is, but you're more afraid of it ending. After all, Jedi don't form attachments. Am I right?"

He curled up further.

"In that moment, just as the spear pierced your heart-"-painagony-"-at that moment you felt your connection with the girls disappear, didn't you?"-darkcoldtherewasnothingnothingnothing-"And then, you came back, and the connection was restored. But, you knew what it was like to feel it break, and you never wanted to feel that again."

Silence.

"Am I right?"

"... Y-yes..." he breathed, the words rushing out despite his attempts to keep them in, "I-I, i-i-it just-it hurt so much, and I-I couldn't-I-I didn't want-!" he swallowed, slowly beginning to hyperventilate, "I was-I-I was scared, I didn't-I refused-!"

"Shh, shh," Velvet gently soothed, placing a comforting hand against his back, which, astonishingly, helped him calm his breathing, "it's alright... everything is fine now," she cooed as if he were a young kid.

At this point in time, he didn't care.

"I-I..." he swallowed and took a deep breath, "I... I don't want to lose them like that. I-I... I guess so-some part of me thought if we all gave up, then it... it wouldn't hurt as bad," he admitted, staring at the frogs of his now shaking hands.

Velvet slowly wrapped her arms around Storm as the woman pulled the boy in for a hug. She was now comforting the Jedi Knight as she sightly cooed to him. Storm felt Velvet's embrace as he let the Queen do her thing. Velvet pulled the boy into her chest as she rubbed his head while humming. For the woman, it felt like she was comforting one of her own children as she sang.

Moonbeams and starlight, magical twilight

The warmest ray, hear it whispering your names

Rainbows at midnight, sparkling night skies

Don't go away, stay another day.

"I-I've..." he gave a weak chuckle, "I-I've really gone and... messed things up, haven't I?"

Velvet shook her head, "No, but I'm sure you'll have to explain yourself to them. After apologizing, of course." He nodded.

"Yeah... definitely," he muttered, his hand trailing over his uninjured chest.

"... How are you feeling, Storm?" Velvet suddenly asked. He grunted but smiled and answered regardless.

"Like I just came back to life."

---

It was a brand new day, and he was sure he had made for an interesting sight already, all things considered.

The girls hadn't said anything for a grand total of five minutes, but, in retrospect, perhaps bowing low and giving them the apology wasn't what they had expected?

Considering the stupid stunt he'd tried to pull, he'd be demanding more than just that were he in their position.

Still, it took a rather shameful amount of his will to not sneak a glance up at the six girls' faces. Given the way Velvet chuckled in the background, they were rather humorous.

"S-Storm, wh-what are you doing?!" Twilight finally managed to say, a chorused of confused grunts echoing after her.

"I'm apologizing. What does it look like?" he asked rhetorically, glancing up to deadpan at her before looking back down, "I... I did a stupid thing, coming up with that lie, but... I just... I couldn't stand the idea of one day feeling that... that pain again. The pain of losing all of you at once..." he shook his head, "No, no excuses," he muttered to himself, before bowing, somehow, lower, "I-I'm... I'm sorry!

This is embarrassing...

A set of footsteps approached him, and a pair of purple arms wrapped around his neck.

"Storm," muttered the princess as she tightened her hold on the boy.

He had nearly returned the hug when a second and third pair of pink and yellow arms joined in. Orange and white soon followed after.

"Yeah... I'm good on group hugs for the next few days," Rainbow muttered, though she did reach in and gave him a pat on the back.

The six of them stayed in their embrace for five minutes until they all broke apart. Storm sniffed slightly and idly scratched a spot under his eye-coincidentally wiping away a tear in the process-chuckling slightly.

"I'm... surprised you're all so willing to forgive me and so easily as well," he admitted, eyeing them curiously and suspiciously.

"Why?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head, "We're friends, duh! Friends forgive each other for their silly mistakes!"

"Mhmm!"

"Don't you know this already, Storm?" Applejack asked, smirking, "Seemed like ya knew 'xactly what ta do when we first met ya, an' now ya don't seem quite sure!" she teased.

Storm chuckled, "I suppose I've never really got so... involved in this kind of thing before," he said, "I'm out of my... element, so to speak."

"Well, you've got plenty of time to figure it out!" Twilight chirped, "It's like I said earlier, we'll always be friends, Storm," she promised firmly, "no matter what stupid things we do, as long as we're together, then I think we'll be just fine!"

He chuckled again.

"If you say so, Sparky."

They all laughed at that, and Storm couldn't help the small smile on his face.

Yes... this was the connection he hoped to keep. Letting something like it... break would be too painful. He'd have to make sure it stayed nice and strong, and, as far as he could tell, the only way to do that was to be a better friend to these mares who had so foolishly accepted him.

He smiled and glanced up to the sunny sky.

Yes, things were looking much brighter than they had before...

But some things needed to change. If he was going to be living his life alongside these girls, he needed to be ready to live that kind of life instead of waiting to be sent back out like he mostly had been up until now.

---

"I'm glad you finally took me up on my offer, Storm," Velvet teased lightly, "I was wondering when you'd finally see sense," she added.

Storm rolled his eyes, "Very funny, Your Highness," he snapped lightly, "But you know as well as I do that I wasn't... in the right state of mind," he muttered distastefully. Velvet nodded.

"True," smiled the woman. "Well, go on in."

The Jedi Knight approached the small building in front of him. It'd been a few days since they arrived back from Canterlot; during that time, Velvet had the royal engineers build Storm, a small home located a decent distance between the Everfree Forest and the town. She felt the boy needed someplace to call home while he was here and to give him some privacy.

While Storm was hesitant about this idea, Velvet assured the Jedi that she would cover all the costs and he'd have nothing to worry about. The boy entered as he saw the accommodations of his new living space. Sonar flew in as the bat immediately hung upside near his roost as he had taken a liking to his new surroundings.

"Well, what do you think?" asked Velvet.

"It's fine. Thanks again, your Highness," said Storm.

"It was no trouble at all," said Velvet as she clapped her hands.

The royal engineers began to pack up and leave as their jobs were done. As they were filing out, Velvet talked with Storm for a bit.

"Just know that this is also your home. And you're always welcome here. Though, I doubt Twilight won't be happy that you won't be in the castle anymore." chuckled Velvet.

"Eh, I'll be fine," stated Storm as he shrugged his shoulder.

Velvet looked at the boy in front of her as she placed her hand on his shoulder. She then traced it upward and stroked his cheek as if she was his mother. The Queen raised her hand again, placed it on the teen's head, and gently rubbed his hair.

"You know... I wouldn't mind having a son-in-law like you," spoke Velvet.

"What did you say?" asked Storm as he didn't quite hear what the Queen whispered.

"Nothing," chuckled Velvet before removing her hand. "... promise me that you keep doing what you're doing. Keeping my daughter safe and guiding her when she needs it."

"Yeah, of course," replied Storm nonchalantly.

"Maybe I will get some grandkids. And maybe more than one," whispered Velvet, as she was already thinking of being a grandmother. The Queen turned to leave as it was starting to get late. With the door closing, Storm turned around to take in his new environment and let out a sigh of relief.

Author's Note: Well, this is now my longest chapter. And you can see why. So much happened in this chapter alone. The idea and theory that the Elements of Harmony as Storm put it have been controlling their lives and sort of preset what paths the group would be doing. When you look at things from Storm's perspective, how can you not agree with what he's saying? But also, keep in mind what Velvet said. In addition, Velvet has given Storm his own house to live in while he's here. As always, leave a review expressing your thoughts and comments on this chapter.