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          The giant mass of Scornbeasts approached the castle. All of us, Celestia, Discord, the six, and I ran outside to view the on-coming threat.

          “What do you say now, Discord,” I asked. He did not answer.

          The grayish haze leading the squadron of hate began to become more concentrated, slowly forming another creature. It was a Pegasus, dark gray, with its wings being darker than its body. He wasn’t bigger than a Scornbeast, but he was still sizeable. His soulless eyes glowed a bright red, which seemed to intensify every time he made a motion.

          “Finally,” the Pegasus boomed from the clouds, “I have found my way out of purgatory and back to my rightful throne. King Wassoon will destroy you!”

          “Quick girls,” Twilight ordered, “the Elements of Harmony.”

          “They won’t work,” Discord said in an almost dismissive manner.

          “What do you mean,” Applejack questioned.

          “Those things feed on love and harmony. They are not like Changelings who can be overloaded by the Elements. They will absorb your power, your strength, and your love.”

          “Anypony got any ideas,” Pinkie spoke up.

          “Oh yeah,” Rainbow said, determined, “time for an air battle.”

          She flew up in the air to confront Wassoon and his soldiers. Twilight and Celestia paused for a second before following.

          “Discord,” I said, “I hate to say this, but you might have to save our tails this time. You reversed them before, you can do it again.”

          “Sorry Colter no can do. That only worked because there was hatred for them to feed off of. There’s no way we could build up enough hate in a short-enough time for the chaos to work again.”

          “Why aren’t you ever useful when you need to be!?”

          We looked up to see Rainbow putting her plan into action. She was flying around the entire group of Scornbeasts as fast as she could. After a while, this caused a trademark rainbow tornado to vacuum up the enemy. However, this didn’t last forever and when the tornado died down, Wassoon and the others didn’t seem too fazed.

          “You think little aerial tricks are going to stop us,” the former king bellowed, “Scornbeasts attack!”

          The black creatures flew in swift formation toward the castle. Twilight and Celestia were able to knock a few out of the sky between them, and Rainbow caused some more to fly into each other, but it didn’t really dent the overall horde.

          “Everypony get ready,” AJ shouted, “We’re about to have a good old-fashioned hoof-fight.”

          The first Scornbeast who flew close to us felt the brunt of an AJ back kick, sending him hurtling back at his comrades. A few more flew straight into the sights of Pinkie’s party cannon, which made a surprisingly effective weapon. Rarity and I were taking swipes as they passed by, but we weren’t doing as well. I looked back to see Discord seemingly protecting Fluttershy, toying with each Scornbeast individually, turning one into a mouse, magically de-winging another like it was nothing.

          “There’s too many of them,” Rainbow reported, landing on the ground.

          “Our magic isn’t as strong against them as it should be,” Celestia said, “We have to take out Wassoon.”

          The nine of us were slowly forced more closely together. We were going to be between a rock and a hard place if we didn’t do something soon. Then I got an idea.

          “What if we force-fed them chaos?”

          “What do you mean by that,” Twilight shouted.

          “Discord, do you think you can reverse the Elements of Harmony, so that they fire chaos instead of harmony?”

          “I’m sure I could,” he answered lackadaisically, “But there is one small problem.”

          “And what is that?”

          “Reversing the Elements so that they are powered by chaos instead of harmony might work, but the chaotic power flowing through whomever is the focal point of the energy might grow to such a level that it could destroy them.”

          “We can’t risk that,” Celestia said.

          “I’ll do it,” I said without hesitation, “channel the power through me.”

          “Art don’t,” Rarity pleaded, “it’s not worth it. You don’t need to sacrifice yourself, we’ll find another way.”

          “Its fine, Rarity, it’s worth everything if it works. When have I led you wrong? What do you say, Discord?”

          “A chance to cause some chaos again? I’m in!

          Discord closed his eyes and held his arms out in front of him. One by one, the gems of the Elements of Harmony turned a darker shade of their usual color.

          “Art will need some kind of charm to emit the energy from,” he said, “Any ideas, Celestia?”

          The princess turned to face me as I gave an AJ-esque back kick to a Scornbeast. A blink of magic later and I had a necklace of my own, adorned with a black gem in the shape of a quill pen, just like my cutie mark.

          “I dub thee, Art Colter, the representation of the 7th Element of Harmony: Knowledge.”

          “OK,” Discord said, “here goes everything!”

          The six original Elements began to glow and emit energy as the normally would while using them, though devoid of any color. As the energy entered my necklace and my body, I began to rise into the air. Eventually, I was at the same level as Wassoon.

          “Impressive display of magic,” he said, “but you cannot beat me with simple tricks. Attack him!”

          Every Scornbeast remaining flew at me with great speed. As they moved closer, I closed my eyes and emptied my thoughts, allowing my body to be totally consumed by the chaos Discord has created, which had the same power as the total love and harmony of all the ponies in Equestria put together.

          My eyes shot opened. They were dark and soulless. I was completely at the mercy of the power of chaos. My life, as well as the harmony of everypony I had ever known, depended on this working. My horn was also crackling with energy, shooting black sparks in every direction.

          “What the,” Wassoon muttered.

          All the energy released from my body at once. It shot forward like a laser beam, blowing right through the Scornbeasts as if they were not even there. The energy reached Wassoon, who, as a stronger being, resisted for quite awhile. Eventually, however, he was consumed by the chaos, rendering him into nothing. As soon as that happened, the charm in the middle of my necklace exploded. I fell out of the sky, completely unconscious.

          …

          “I honestly didn’t think that would work,” AJ said to Twilight later inside the castle, “but at what cost.”

          Celestia, Discord, and the six stood by the bed I had been placed in. Rainbow had caught me in the free fall which followed the explosion, but I had not regained consciousness. Fluttershy was doing everything she could to keep me comfortable while the royal doctors checked my condition.

          “He just can’t,” Rarity stuttered, sobbing, “He can’t go now.”

          “It’ll be OK,” Pinkie said as she hugged the unicorn.

          “But what if it isn’t?”

          “Mhnmmm…”

          I had finally woken up, but was unable to form a coherent sentence, or even a word. Rarity immediately dashed by Fluttershy and put her hooves around my neck.

          “Be careful Rarity,” the shy Pegasus scolded, “we need to let him breathe.”

          “Did it work,” I whispered so softly that Rarity was the only one who could hear me, “Are they gone?”

          “Oh yes,” she responded, not letting go, “And it’s all thanks to you.”

          It took a week for me to get back to the point where I could walk around without somepony’s help, and the first thing I wanted to see was the new stained glass window they were putting up in the palace. Whenever some important event happened, the palace glassmakers crafted a new window to commemorate the event.

          “We’re almost there,” Rarity led me blindfolded toward the main hall, “OK, you can open your eyes now.”

          I was speechless. The stained glass showed Wassoon at the top flanked by two Scornbeasts. I was in the middle, my body encased in a circular energy, wearing my now-destroyed Element of Harmony. At the bottom stood the six, along with Discord, sending their energy up to me.

          “This is the second-most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” I said without even thinking about it.

          “Oh really,” Rarity asked, “and what would be the first?”

          I couldn’t do anything but smile.

Description

          The giant mass of Scornbeasts approached the castle. All of us, Celestia, Discord, the six, and I ran outside to view the on-coming threat.

          “What do you say now, Discord,” I asked. He did not answer.

          The grayish haze leading the squadron of hate began to become more concentrated, slowly forming another creature. It was a Pegasus, dark gray, with its wings being darker than its body. He wasn’t bigger than a Scornbeast, but he was still sizeable. His soulless eyes glowed a bright red, which seemed to intensify every time he made a motion.

          “Finally,” the Pegasus boomed from the clouds, “I have found my way out of purgatory and back to my rightful throne. King Wassoon will destroy you!”

          “Quick girls,” Twilight ordered, “the Elements of Harmony.”

          “They won’t work,” Discord said in an almost dismissive manner.

          “What do you mean,” Applejack questioned.

          “Those things feed on love and harmony. They are not like Changelings who can be overloaded by the Elements. They will absorb your power, your strength, and your love.”

          “Anypony got any ideas,” Pinkie spoke up.

          “Oh yeah,” Rainbow said, determined, “time for an air battle.”

          She flew up in the air to confront Wassoon and his soldiers. Twilight and Celestia paused for a second before following.

          “Discord,” I said, “I hate to say this, but you might have to save our tails this time. You reversed them before, you can do it again.”

          “Sorry Colter no can do. That only worked because there was hatred for them to feed off of. There’s no way we could build up enough hate in a short-enough time for the chaos to work again.”

          “Why aren’t you ever useful when you need to be!?”

          We looked up to see Rainbow putting her plan into action. She was flying around the entire group of Scornbeasts as fast as she could. After a while, this caused a trademark rainbow tornado to vacuum up the enemy. However, this didn’t last forever and when the tornado died down, Wassoon and the others didn’t seem too fazed.

          “You think little aerial tricks are going to stop us,” the former king bellowed, “Scornbeasts attack!”

          The black creatures flew in swift formation toward the castle. Twilight and Celestia were able to knock a few out of the sky between them, and Rainbow caused some more to fly into each other, but it didn’t really dent the overall horde.

          “Everypony get ready,” AJ shouted, “We’re about to have a good old-fashioned hoof-fight.”

          The first Scornbeast who flew close to us felt the brunt of an AJ back kick, sending him hurtling back at his comrades. A few more flew straight into the sights of Pinkie’s party cannon, which made a surprisingly effective weapon. Rarity and I were taking swipes as they passed by, but we weren’t doing as well. I looked back to see Discord seemingly protecting Fluttershy, toying with each Scornbeast individually, turning one into a mouse, magically de-winging another like it was nothing.

          “There’s too many of them,” Rainbow reported, landing on the ground.

          “Our magic isn’t as strong against them as it should be,” Celestia said, “We have to take out Wassoon.”

          The nine of us were slowly forced more closely together. We were going to be between a rock and a hard place if we didn’t do something soon. Then I got an idea.

          “What if we force-fed them chaos?”

          “What do you mean by that,” Twilight shouted.

          “Discord, do you think you can reverse the Elements of Harmony, so that they fire chaos instead of harmony?”

          “I’m sure I could,” he answered lackadaisically, “But there is one small problem.”

          “And what is that?”

          “Reversing the Elements so that they are powered by chaos instead of harmony might work, but the chaotic power flowing through whomever is the focal point of the energy might grow to such a level that it could destroy them.”

          “We can’t risk that,” Celestia said.

          “I’ll do it,” I said without hesitation, “channel the power through me.”

          “Art don’t,” Rarity pleaded, “it’s not worth it. You don’t need to sacrifice yourself, we’ll find another way.”

          “Its fine, Rarity, it’s worth everything if it works. When have I led you wrong? What do you say, Discord?”

          “A chance to cause some chaos again? I’m in!

          Discord closed his eyes and held his arms out in front of him. One by one, the gems of the Elements of Harmony turned a darker shade of their usual color.

          “Art will need some kind of charm to emit the energy from,” he said, “Any ideas, Celestia?”

          The princess turned to face me as I gave an AJ-esque back kick to a Scornbeast. A blink of magic later and I had a necklace of my own, adorned with a black gem in the shape of a quill pen, just like my cutie mark.

          “I dub thee, Art Colter, the representation of the 7th Element of Harmony: Knowledge.”

          “OK,” Discord said, “here goes everything!”

          The six original Elements began to glow and emit energy as the normally would while using them, though devoid of any color. As the energy entered my necklace and my body, I began to rise into the air. Eventually, I was at the same level as Wassoon.

          “Impressive display of magic,” he said, “but you cannot beat me with simple tricks. Attack him!”

          Every Scornbeast remaining flew at me with great speed. As they moved closer, I closed my eyes and emptied my thoughts, allowing my body to be totally consumed by the chaos Discord has created, which had the same power as the total love and harmony of all the ponies in Equestria put together.

          My eyes shot opened. They were dark and soulless. I was completely at the mercy of the power of chaos. My life, as well as the harmony of everypony I had ever known, depended on this working. My horn was also crackling with energy, shooting black sparks in every direction.

          “What the,” Wassoon muttered.

          All the energy released from my body at once. It shot forward like a laser beam, blowing right through the Scornbeasts as if they were not even there. The energy reached Wassoon, who, as a stronger being, resisted for quite awhile. Eventually, however, he was consumed by the chaos, rendering him into nothing. As soon as that happened, the charm in the middle of my necklace exploded. I fell out of the sky, completely unconscious.

          …

          “I honestly didn’t think that would work,” AJ said to Twilight later inside the castle, “but at what cost.”

          Celestia, Discord, and the six stood by the bed I had been placed in. Rainbow had caught me in the free fall which followed the explosion, but I had not regained consciousness. Fluttershy was doing everything she could to keep me comfortable while the royal doctors checked my condition.

          “He just can’t,” Rarity stuttered, sobbing, “He can’t go now.”

          “It’ll be OK,” Pinkie said as she hugged the unicorn.

          “But what if it isn’t?”

          “Mhnmmm…”

          I had finally woken up, but was unable to form a coherent sentence, or even a word. Rarity immediately dashed by Fluttershy and put her hooves around my neck.

          “Be careful Rarity,” the shy Pegasus scolded, “we need to let him breathe.”

          “Did it work,” I whispered so softly that Rarity was the only one who could hear me, “Are they gone?”

          “Oh yes,” she responded, not letting go, “And it’s all thanks to you.”

          It took a week for me to get back to the point where I could walk around without somepony’s help, and the first thing I wanted to see was the new stained glass window they were putting up in the palace. Whenever some important event happened, the palace glassmakers crafted a new window to commemorate the event.

          “We’re almost there,” Rarity led me blindfolded toward the main hall, “OK, you can open your eyes now.”

          I was speechless. The stained glass showed Wassoon at the top flanked by two Scornbeasts. I was in the middle, my body encased in a circular energy, wearing my now-destroyed Element of Harmony. At the bottom stood the six, along with Discord, sending their energy up to me.

          “This is the second-most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” I said without even thinking about it.

          “Oh really,” Rarity asked, “and what would be the first?”

          I couldn’t do anything but smile.