EoH Evolution: Season 2

by Bahamut0


Episode 1: No Greater Honor Part 1

Steel Edge stretched as he rose from bed. "Looks like another quiet day." Before grabbing his clothes, Steel paused to look at the picture of him and Rainbow Dash he'd saved on his phone. "Alright Steel. You've faced off against the Nightmare Forces. You dueled a psychotic sword wielder. And you've faced possible death multiple times. Either you work up the guts to ask her now, or you never ask her at all." Steel got dressed and headed out the door, but stopped in his tracks.

". . .What the-" Steel was speechless as he witnesses a bunch of pink clouds raining all over Unityville. "Okay. I've fought nightmares given physical form, and even I think this is weird." Steel then noticed Rainbow Dash trying to move one of the clouds! "Yo! Dash!" Steel called out as he flew up to meet here. "You have any ideas where this craziness came from?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Not a clue! And get this! These aren't even natural clouds! Here!" Rainbow Dash tore off a chunk of the pink cloud she was trying to move. "Taste it. And tell me I'm not going crazy!"

Steel bit into the cloud chunk, and was shocked at its taste. "Is this. . .cotton candy?"

"Yup!" Pinkie called out from below. "And get this!" Pinkie then squeezed the cloud and it began to drip chocolate milk! "Now all it needs is some whipped cream!"

Steel was equal parts impressed and shocked that Pinkie was able to enjoy such randomness. Then he remembered who he was bearing witness to. "Moving on, where's Twilight? She's probably rigged up some spell to fix all this, right?"

"I tried, but no luck." Twilight answered as she arrived on the scene with the rest of the Main 6 and the other Elements of Heroism. "But fortuantely, Princess Celestia requested that both sets of elements head to Castalot. It's about what's going on here in Unityville. We've got no time to waste, so let's move!" One train ride later, both sets of elements arrived in Castalot. Making a rush for Princess Celestia. "Princess Celestia! We came as soon as we got your letter! We-!"

Celestia raised her hand for silence. "Follow me." She then led both sets of elements down a hall of stained glass windows. Each one telling key events of Unity's past. "I've called all of you here for a matter of great importance. It seems an old foe of mine, one I thought defeated forever, has returned."

"And this enemy, is he responsible for all the chaos going on right now?" Burst Stream asked.

Celestia nodded. "He is indeed. It's fitting that you described the recent events troubling Unityville." Celestia came to a stop before a stained glass window depicting an odd creature. "In fact, chaos is the very thing this enemy represents. His name is Discord. He is the mischievous spirit of disharmony. Before my sister and I stood up to him, he made life miserable for Earthbounds, Magi, and Skyborn alike. He ruled Unity in an eternal state of unrest and unhappiness. But upon discovering the Elements of Harmony, Luna and I combined our powers and imprisoned him! Turning him to stone! I thought the spell we cast would contain him forever. But since Luna and I are no longer connected to the elements, the spell has been broken."

"No longer connected?" Twilight asked.

Burst put a hand on Twilight's shoulder. "Celestia's connection to the elements severed after Nightmare Moon because she and Luna were the original bearers of the elements. With Luna gone, Celestia didn't have access to the elements anymore."

"Burst. Why do you keep finding out things before me?" Twilight asked. The only response from Burst was a shrug.

Celestia smiled briefly before getting back to the matter at hand. "This is Castalot Tower. Where the Elements of Harmony are stored upon your rediscovery of them. I need you to wield the elements once more to defeat Discord! Furthermore..." Celestia then turned her gaze to the Elements of Heroism. "I will also need all of you to assist them. The Nightmare Forces already tried to strike at the Elements of Harmony before. And I am sure Discord will be no exception."

Burst Stream nodded. "Hey. We'd have fought him anyway. This is our home. And he's got no right to mess with it!"

"But. . .why us?" Twilight asked. "And why them too?"

Celestia motioned to a window depicting the Main 6 defeating Nightmare Moon. "You six showed the full potential of the elements. By using your friendship to defeat a mighty foe." She then motioned to another window depicting the Elements of Heroism's final battle against the Nightmare Forces. "And so have they. Though Luna and I once wielded the elements, you now control their power. And it is you who must defeat Discord!"

"Powerful enemies and the odds against us." Steel noted. "Now why does this feel so familiar?"

Celestia smiled at both sets of elements readiness to fight, and fired a beam of magic at a door. "Have no fear my subjects. I have total confidence that you'll be able to defeat Discord with these." Celestia levitated a box over to the Main 6 and opened it. Only to discover that the Elements of Harmony were missing!

"The elements. . .they're gone!" Twilight exclaimed!

Celestia paced around. "That chamber is protected by a powerful spell that only I can break! This doesn't make sense. . ."

Soon, laughter rang out all around the group. "Make sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense?" A voice called out.

Celestia narrowed her eyes. "Discord! Show yourself!"

Discord just laughed as his voice echoed through the room. "Did you miss me Celestia? Because I missed you." Suddenly, the image of Discord on one of the windows sprang to life and slithered between the windows! "It's lovely being in stone. Except for the pigeons of course. But then again, you wouldn't know that would you? Because I don't turn people into stone."

"Enough!" Celestia snapped! "What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?!"

Discord rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'd forgotten how dull you can be Celestia." He then moved to another window. "It's really quite boring."

"HEY! Nobody insults the princess!" Rainbow Dash snapped as she flew at the window Discord was dwelling in! Only for Discord to snap his fingers and move windows!

"Oh, you must be Rainbow Dash." Discord remarked. "Famed for her loyalty. The Element of Harmony you represent."

Rainbow Dash snorted in response! "That's right! I'll always stay loyal to the princess!"

"We'll see about that. . ." Discord said with a smirk as he moved windows. He then listed off some of the other bearers of harmony. "The beautiful representing the Element of Generosity if I'm not mistaken. . ."

Applejack frowned. "So you know who we are. Big deal."

"Oh, I know much more than that honest Applejack." Discord said with a chuckle.

"You seem to know our strengths too." Twilight noted.

"Yes, Twilight Sparkle. And yours is the most powerful of the elements. Magic. Fluttershy's is Kindness and Pinkie Pie's is a personal favorite of mine. Laughter." Discord let out a chuckle.

"Looks like you've read up on them. But do you know about me and my friends?" Burst Stream asked as he stepped up to the window.

Discord was about to answer, but stopped when he saw Burst and the other Elements of Heroism. "Well now. This is a bit unexpected. Hmm." Discord then felt out the power of the Elements of Heroism, and his eyes went wide. "Ah! Now I see it! You're the lot responsible for the destruction of the Nightmare Forces! I take it Celestia's already given you all my info. But before you decide to stand against me, how about I make you an offer? Why not join me? Surely you can all think of better ways to use yourselves than babysitting the Elements of Harmony?"

"You're kidding, right?" Burst asked with a frown. "You don't know a thing about us. There's no group of friends we'd rather look out for. Plus, why would I ever work for someone who doesn't even take things seriously enough to show his face? What's the matter? Afraid Celestia's gonna leave you stone cold again? Because I'm not gonna waste my time giving you an answer if you're not even going to show up in-person. "

Discord frowned. "Is that so?" He snapped his fingers, and appeared before the group! Discord had grey skin, and was wearing a mismatched outfit. The whites of his eyes were yellow, and his irises were red. "So? Care to give me your answer n-?!" Discord was cut short when Burst slugged him right in the face! "You. . .hit me. Celestia never hit me!"

"Obviously I'm not her." Burst replied as he cracked his knuckles. "Consider that my formal refusal of your offer on behalf of the Elements of Heroism."

Discord huffed. "So be it. 'Hero'." Discord then fired a blast of chaos magic that sent Burst flying! Knocking him out cold! The other Elements of Heroism rushed to Burst's side. "Oh, relax! I didn't kill him! It's one of the things that I never do. But I did teach him some manners on how to respect the Spirit of Chaos." He then turned his attention to the Main 6. "Now then. I believe all of you wish to find out happened to the Elements of Harmony. I'll tell you, but I'm going to do it my way. Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the missing elements back where you began." And in a flash of light, Discord vanished!

I've got a bad feeling about this. . . Steel thought to himself as he heard Discord's riddle. "Princess Celestia? Could you see to it Burst gets healed up? We're trusting him to your care." He then looked to Inferno. "While Burst's out, you're the boss. Just make the call, and we'll do what you need us to."

Inferno nodded. "Got it. Twilight? You got any clue what that riddle meant?"

"Twists and turns. . .that's it!" Twilight ran over to a window overlooking the castle's labyrinth. "The labyrinth! Discord must've hidden the elements there!"

"Then I guess that's our best shot." Inferno said with a sigh. "Ace? Can you and Ice get back to Unityville? Steel, Ty, and me have things covered here. If this turns out to be a trap, we need someone guarding Unityville if Discord decides to stir up trouble."

Ace nodded. "Got it. We'll base ourselves at Twilight's library. Maybe we'll also be able to find some way to get the Elements of Harmony back by searching up any information on them." And with that, the Elements of Heroism split up. Inferno, Tyrannus, and Steel followed the Main 6 to the labyrinth. "Dash? Care to help me scout from the air?" Rainbow Dash nodded. But the two had barely gotten any altitude before their wings suddenly vanished! "What?!"

Twilight's eyes went wide with shock when she saw that the mark of her talent crest on her hand turned grey! "My magic's gone!"

Once again, Discord appeared before them. "I forgot to mention that we'll also be playing by MY rules." Discord said with a sneer. "No flying, and no magic. If any of you forfeit or leave, the labyrinth disappears! And I win. Good luck everybody!" With that, Discord disappeared and a series of barriers appeared that separated the Main 6! However, Inferno managed to pair up with Rarity, Tyrannus with Fluttershy, and Steel with Rainbow Dash.

"Listen up everyone!" Inferno called out. "If any of you managed to get partnered up with someone, stick together! We can't afford to get lost here! He then turned to Rarity. "That being said, let's get a move on." And with that, the divided group began to move out. However, it wasn't long before Applejack was sidetracked when she noticed what looked like a floating object similar to her talent crest. Discord had lured her to a grove where she was shown a false vision of the future. Making her a liar! Twilight failed to notice the obvious change, and went on her way.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Tyrannus were making their way through the labyrinth. Normally she'd be freaking out, but Ty was there. Making her feel safer. However, that didn't stop Discord from finding a way to get to her in the form of a cluster of butterflies. "Oh! Maybe I can talk to them!" Fluttershy suggested to Tyrannus.

"I don't know." Tyrannus objected. "Something doesn't feel right about this whole thing. I'm gonna call up Ace and see if he's found anything." But as Tyrannus dialed up Arctic Ace, Fluttershy was lured away by a single butterfly. Discord tried to plant doubts in her head, but to no avail. Prompting him to "discord" her himself. "Fluttershy?" Tyrannus called out. "Are you okay?" Fluttershy turned to face Tyrannus, and slapped him! "Ow! Fluttershy, what's gotten into you?!"

Fluttershy huffed. "Oh, nothing. Just teaching you a lesson about respecting my wishes the next time I want to do something." Twilight found the two of them soon enough, and they were on their way. Elsewhere, Rarity had just fallen in love with a gigantic rock courtesy of Discord tricking her. However, it didn't go as planned courtesy of Inferno firing right at the gigantic "diamond" Discord had shown to Rarity. Revealing that it was noting more than a boulder.

"This isn't the first time the divide and conquer strategy's been tried out." Inferno said to Discord's image. "I knew this was your game the second we set foot here."

Discord frowned. "No one likes spoilers. But I suppose I'll give you this one. Tata!" And with that, Discord vanished.

"What happened here?" Twilight asked as she looked at the remains of the boulder Discord had planned to trick Rarity with. "I guess that's one roadblock out of the way?"

Inferno nodded. However, he grew concerned when he noticed the states of the Main 6 that Twilight had found. "Uh, Twilight? Did it occur to you that you might be searching in the wrong place? Because the girls are looking a little, colorless."

"Indeed darling." Rarity noted. "Twilight, I don't ever recall Fluttershy EVER being mean to Ty. And doesn't Applejack seem the least bit shifty to you?"

Twilight waved them off. "Don't be ridiculous you two! Discord's riddle said there were twists and turns in his plan. Now come on! We need to find Pinkie!" Both Inferno and Rarity sighed as Twilight led them on. Only to find that Discord had turned Pinkie into a total grump! "What is happening to my friends?"

Meanwhile, Steel and Rainbow Dash had found Discord lounging around. "There you are!" Rainbow Dash then ran at Discord! "Alright buddy! Cough up the elements!"

"Now, now Miss Dash. I could give you the elements and you'd be on your way. Or. . ." Discord snapped hsi fingers, and a chest appeared. "YOu could get your wings back just in time to get back home. It's really falling to pieces without you." Discord showed Rainbow Dash a vision of Cloudsdale crumbling.

At the same time, Steel received a text from Ace saying they'd found the Elements of Harmony! "DASH! STOP! DON'T DO-" But Steel was too late as Rainbow Dash took off with her regained wings, and sped away from the labyrinth! Not a few seconds later, the labyrinth disappeared! Everyone regained their wings or magic. Steel then rejoined the group.

Twilight was in utter disbelief. "I don't understand! Why would Rainbow Dash just abandon us?!"

This was the last straw for Steel as he marched over to Twilight, and grabbed onto her shoulders! "Twilight, how could you be this stupid?!"

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Twilight asked.

Steel sighed. "Don't you get it? Discord rigged this from the start! He never meant the labyrinth in the first place! He was baiting you Twilight! You're too logical! He KNEW you would come to the most logical answer! What made the most sense! And he used it to separate us so he could pick us off so we weren't a threat! We were played from the start! Look!" Steel pulled out his phone, and showed Twilight the picture of Ace and Ice displaying the Elements of Harmony back at Twilight's library! "Think about it. All of our adventures began in Unityville. That's where we met our friends. It's the origin point of everything we've done."

Twilight fell to her knees. "I should have known."

Steel put a hand on Twilight's shoulder. "I know I seem a bit hard on you for all this. But it's only because I care Twilight. We all do. But right now, Discord's at an advantage." Steel then motioned over to the discorded members of the Main 6. "Discord's made your friends the polar opposites of the elements they represent. But if anyone can remind them, it's you Twilight!"

"But-but what if I mess up again?" Twilight asked with tearful eyes.

Steel smiled at Twilight. "Messing up is better than doing nothing. But you won't mess up Twilight. Princess Celestia believes in you. Me and the guys believe in you. And deep down, even though they don't look like it, I know the girls believe in you too. You're the Element of Magic. That means there's nothing impossible for you to do. But first, we're going to need to head back to Unityville."

"Thanks Steel." Twilight said with a smile. "For a second I thought I was going to be trapped in a self-doubt cycle."

Rarity smiled at Twilight. "Now THAT'S the Twilight Sparkle we all know. Let's head home!" And with that, the group set off back to Unityville. However, their departure hadn't gone unnoticed by Discord.

"No...this wasn't supposed to go this way!" Discord said with a frown as he noticed Steel's moment with Twilight. "Not only was I unable to completely break the unity of the bearers, but it appears that this new set of elements has uncovered my plan early." Discord hovered in the air, and contemplated his next move. A smirk crept across his face when an idea came to him. "Maybe it's time I bring out my own warriors." Discord snapped his fingers, and seven creatures materialize. "Good to see you all again. Grand Jupiter. Blazing Mars. Big Saturn. Splendid Venus. Suppression Pluto. Tripper Mercury. Tyrant Neptune."

Grand Jupiter bowed. "We live to serve you Master Discord. What would you have of us?"

"The Elements of Harmony are close to being reassembled." Discord answered. "I want all of you to capture them before that can happen. This chaos party isn't stopping any time soon! Now have fun kids!" And with that th Chaos Kin teleported away.

Meanwhile, Twilight and the others had arrived back at her library. "I've got it!" Twilight exclaimed! "This memory spell ought to restore my friends to their former selves."

"That's great darling!" Rarity cheered. "And since the Elements of Harmony have been recovered, we should have no problem stopping Discord!"

Inferno nodded. "True. But there's still one problem. Finding Rainbow Dash."

"I should have tailed her." Steel said with a defeated tone. "Or I could've tackled her to the ground to stop her! I should've-!"

"Steel!" Ace shouted. "Beating yourself up over not pinning down Rainbow Dash isn't going to get us any closer to finding her. And it's like you said, Discord rigged his game so that he could win. But fortunately, me and Ice being sent back to the library was our own cheat for the game."

Steel was about to reply when he saw the Chaos Kin teleport into Unityville. "Looks like Discord's not too happy we wrekced his game. Ice? Did you manage to grab my armor for me?"

"Yeah. Why?" Dark Ice asked. His eyes then went wide. "Wait. Steel, wait! You're not seriously thinking-"

Steel nodded. "I am. Normally you'd do something this reckless. But somebody's gotta hang back here to guard the girls."

"Steel, what are you talking about?" Twilight asked fearfully.

Steel slowly equipped his armor. "Twilight. Discord's found us out. And chances are the monsters he's just sent here are going to keep you from trying to restore your friends back to their former selves. You worry about casting that spell." Steel put on his helmet, and equipped his Duelist Arms. "Don't wait up for me." Twilight's eyes went wide with horror as she realized what Steel's intent was.

In Unityville's square, the Chaos Kin were trashing the place! "You assholes sure know how to wreck a place." Steel remarked as he addressed them. "I'm guessing you're all here to stop Twilight from snapping her friends out of Discord's influence? Well, tough luck! Twilight's almost got the spell done! And if you want to get to her. . ." Steel got into a fighting stance. "You're gonna have to get past me first!"

Grand Jupiter chuckled as he stepped forward. "You are foolish to oppose me and my kin. ATTACK!" All the Chaos Kin charged at Steel! Steel raised his shield to block a swing from Grand Jupiter, but he was sent flying and was slashed at from behind by Tripper Mercury!

"That all you got?!" Steel spat as he flew right at Grand Jupiter! Only to get blasted by Blazing Mars! "AGH!" However, Steel was far from done! "COME ON! I'LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!" Steel slashed at any of the Chaos Kin that attacked him! Each of his strikes fueled by the desperation of not allowing any of them to get to Twilight! However, a devastating upper cut from Big Saturn launched Steel into the air where Splendid Venus struck Steel in the gut with her spear! "N-Not. . .done. . ." Steel groaned as he placed a hand over his stab wound.

Grand Jupiter slowly advanced towards Steel. "Why not do the smart thing and join us? Become our chaos soldier. It would be a waste of your life to simply lay down and die here.What we offer you is a great honor. One you would take care not to scoff at."

"Heh. . .heh heh!" Steel managed a chuckle as he slowly rose to his feet. "You really don't get me, do you? Honor isn't about who you serve. It's how you live. What you fight for!" Steel glared defiantly at Grand Jupiter! "For a guard, there's no greater honor than risking your life to protect your home and the people you care about!" Steel's mind then flashed back to Rainbow Dash. "And for me? There's no greater honor. . .than fighting to protect Unity's greatest heroes, and alongside them to protect this world. Dishonoring them by joining you, is a fate worse than death!" Steel got into a final fighting stance as he threw off his helmet. "Death before dishonor." As Grand Jupiter raised his arm to bring down upon Steel, Steel closed his eyes. Sorry Dash. . .

But when Grand Jupiter brought his fist down, Steel was gone. "No body." He then noticed Steel's helmet. "But I suppose we are not without a trophy." Grand Jupiter and the other Chaos Kin were soon met with Discord. "Master! We have vanquished the fool who opposed you! See?" But instead of pride, Discord's eyes held complete horror.

"WHAT. HAVE. YOU. DONE?!" Discord bellowed as he banished the Chaos Kin to the void. "This wasn't supposed to happen. . ." Discord whispered to himself. "No one was supposed to die. . ." Discord teleported to Twilight's library, and left Steel's helmet at the door step. But when Twilight answered, she sent Discord flying with a massive blast of magic! The Lord of Chaos sulked on his throne as he remade Unityville in his own image.

Not long after, Burst Stream had recovered and teleported over once he got an urgent text from Twilight. "I'm here! What's-" Burst froze when he saw Steel's helmet. "No. . ." Burst fell to his knees as he took the helmet in his hands. "Steel. . ."

"He, was a true hero." Twilight said as she put a hand on Burst's shoulder. "He fought off Discord's minions while I got the memory spell ready to fix my friends. But there's still no sign of Rainbow Dash. Steel-" Twilight choked up a little. "He never stopped fighting."

Burst Stream slowly stood up, and placed Steel's helmet on the center table before looking Twilight right in the eye. "Where. Is. Discord?"

TO BE CONTINUED!