"Perhaps I've decided to sit out of the conflict for too long." The young man said as he looked over the newspaper article entailing the Elements of Harmony and Elements of Heroism's battle in Manehattan. "They've never faced so enemies before, and each evil they face seems to escalate." He then looked to the glowing mark on his arm. It was now glowing more bright than it ever had before. "But even if I had answered the call, I couldn't have done anything."
The young man took a deep breath, and closed his eyes reflecting upon his resignation from the Night Guard and his full-time devotion to the project he'd been working on ever since he'd received the mark on his arm. Every time that either of the current teams of elements went into battle, it glowed. The young man looked into a nearby mirror. His skin was midnight blue, and he had silver hair like the pale light of the moon while his eyes were a light yellow. The bat wings on his back made it clear he was a Shadewing, the nocturnal cousin of the Skyborn. His frame was skinny, and his choice of clothing consisted of jeans, a grey dress shirt, a pair of light purple sneakers, and a lab coat covered with grease and oil stains.
"But not anymore." The young man said as he set the paper down on the table in front of him as he got up to go into his lab. "What I fail to add with my body, I'll more than make up for with what I've made thanks to the field I specialize in." He stared at the suit of silver hi-tech armor that stood in his lab. The helmet of the suit vaguely resembling an eastern-style dragon. "A hero needs the right tools for the job. All I had to do was make my own." And with that, the young man immediately set to equipping the hi-tech suit of armor. He then looked to a case he'd set on one of his work benches and opened it up to reveal what looked like numerous watches. Each of them in the color scheme of each team of elements' members. "I'm arriving pretty late to the party. Better bring some nice gifts to make up for my tardiness." The young man slipped on his suit's helmet, and looked up as the roof of his lab opened up! "Time to see if jet boots are easier than a pair of wings." He grabbed the case, and the jet boots of his suit fired up! "Next stop: Manehattan!"
Meanwhile, both teams of elements were dealing with Big Saturn of the Chaos Kin! The robotic villain wasting no time in powering himself up by throwing the scrap of his minions into his core! Boosting his power and letting him send even Tyrannus Rex flying with a robotic fist rocketing right into his chest!
"I suppose I should thank you for rendering most of my minions scrap-metal!" Big Saturn boasted as he shoved more Machina remains into his core! Boosting his power even more! "You've given me quite the substantial power supply!"
"This creep's got a twisted sense of recycling." Magnet North muttered as he fired a blue shot from his shot-blaster to draw Big Saturn into the shot's detonation range! It worked, but the blast left little more than scorch marks on Big Saturn's body! "Blast! I should've guessed that floating junk pile was made of sterner stuff!" He then noticed Big Saturn turn his attention to Applejack who was pelting Big Saturn while Pinkie Pie had fired off a blast from her party cannon!
Just as Big Saturn launched his fist, Magnet North jumped in its path to intercept it! Grasping onto it the second it made impact and hitting it with one of his hands channeling magic! "GAH!" North screamed as he hit the ground and let go of Big Saturn's rocket fist! The fist then shot back towards Big Saturn! Socking him right in the face!
"North!" Applejack cried out as she rushed to the Element of Nobility's side. "Aw heck! You tanked a pretty hard hit to the gut sugarcube." Applejack helped Magnet North up and had him lean on her. "That was a mighty crazy move back there." She then blushed a little. "But, thanks for the save."
Magnet North smiled weakly. "Well, better for gut to be busted instead of your pretty face. You know, you're a lot more gentle than you look Applejack."
"Anymore compliments out of you, and I might think you were hit in the head." Applejack said with a smirk as she brought Magnet North over to Fluttershy so he could be healed.
"Dammit!" Burst Stream muttered as he narrowly avoided a devastating hit from Big Saturn's fists! "Looks like I need to kick things up a notch!" Burst took a deep breath, and transformed into his nightmare form! "Rust in pieces you floating ball of junk!"
Nightmare Burst charged at Big Saturn! Unleashing a furious barrage of slashes with his sword! Sparks showered forth with each strike that hit, but it barely made a dent! "WHY. DON'T. YOU. BREAK?!" Nightmare Burst screamed as he fired off a point-blank charge shot from one of his blasters right before being knocked away by one of Big Saturn's arms! "AGH!"
"It'll take more than that to-AUGH!!" Burst staggered as he reverted to his normal for! Pain shot across his entire body! "W-What was that?!" Burst transformed into his nightmare form once again, but soon changed back when he felt discomfort during his transformation. What's happening?! I never had any trouble going into my nightmare form before! And I haven't felt pain when transforming! But he didn't have any time to further contemplate on the issue when Big Saturn launched a fist at him!
"Not good!" Inferno muttered. "Steel! Ty! Ace! Twilight! Any luck hitting it with magic?"
"No luck!" Twilight called out! "That ring around Big Saturn is absorbing any magic we hit it with! So wiping him out with spells isn't a viable option!"
"Uh. . . guys?" Spike asked nervously. "I think he's about to let out all that he's taken!" Everyone looked in the direction Spike was pointing to see the floating ring of energy around Big Saturn glow brightly before releasing a wave of energy that knocked them all to the ground!
"You like that? I call it my vengeance ring." Big Saturn gloated as he hovered over the recovering teams of elements. "Every hit you've dished out at me, the ring absorbs the damage I take and I can release it all back in a single destructive wave! In other words, none of you can hit me! Smash away all you like, it only ensures my counterattack will devastate you!"
As Big Saturn trumpeted his victory early, the armored young man hovered in the sky above and flicked his wrist. A small laser module popped up on his right arm, and he aimed at Big Saturn's back.
So as long as that ring's up, you can be a damage sponge. He thought to himself. Let's see how well you operate with that function removed! The young man fired the laser, and hit his mark dead-on! Big Saturn panicked when he saw the ring of energy around him began to fade! "Bigger isn't always better Saturn!" The young man landed on the battleground! Both teams of elements watching in awe!
"Who is this guy?!" Twilight asked herself as she watched the new combatant stare down Big Saturn! "And how was he able to take out Saturn's vengeance ring?"
"You little piece of scrap!" Big Saturn bellowed! "How did you manage to take out my vengeance ring?!"
"Like I said. Bigger isn't always better!" The young man shot back! "Sure. You're built a lot sturdier than the grunts you've sent out and you can hit harder. But that just means you've got a bigger weakpoint to exploit! For example, that generator on your back!" Both teams of elements were surprised to see smoke coming out of the generator on Big Saturn's back as he struggled to hover! "All I needed was one good shot with my laser, and you're grounded!"
"You may have grounded me. . . "Big Saturn said coldly. "BUT I'LL BE THE ONE WHO CRUSHES YOU!" Big Saturn rushed over to the new combatant and landed a brutal punch right to the young man's chest! Armor flying off as the young man was sent flying! "I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!" Big Saturn hovered up to the young man, grabbed him by the faceplate of his helmet, and smashed him to the ground! Fortunately, the other heroes on the scene decided to intervene before any more damage could be done! "YOU INSECTS WANT TO BE CRUSHED NEXT?! FINE! BRING IT ON, ALL OF YOU!"
While her friends engaged Big Saturn, Twilight flew over to the young man to try and help him. She heard his groan in pain as she tired to pry him out of the crater he'd formed as gently as she could! "Easy there. Easy. I've got you." Twilight noticed the pair of bat wings now exposed since the young man's suit of armor had been smashed apart. She also noticed the panicked look in his pale yellow eyes. "You took a pretty bad hit, but you're still alive. That's very good. My friends are fighting, but they're going to need serious help if we want to end this fight. You with me?"
"No." The young man shook his head. "I can't. Not like this." He then looked at the remains of his hi-tech armor. "This armor was the only thing that allowed me to fight. It's the only way I could answer the call of a hero that I've been hearing for so long. Without it, I'm nothing. My only weapon got smashed. If anything, all I'm going to be is a liability to all of you." He then stared at the ground in defeat. "I failed. . . "
Twilight steeled her gaze. "No you haven't! Because this suit isn't what makes you a hero!" She clamped her hand on the young man's shoulder! "Take a look at my friends!" She pointed to both teams of elements engaging Big Saturn! Though they would be knocked away by Big Saturn's fists, they still got back up to continue the fight! Especially when innocent people were in the line of fire. "They'll all giving it their best! No matter how hurt they become, they can't just sit by and let people get hurt when evil's running amuck! None of us are heroes because of the tools or powers we have, or because some of us have ascended to godhood and immortality! We're heroes because we stand for what's right! For what's in here!" Twilight thumped her chest for emphasis. "So what do you feel in here?" She then flew off, and fired a massive blast of magic at Big Saturn!
As he watched the battle unfold, the young man looked to see the many civilians with looks of hope and anxiety as they watched both teams of elements take on Big Saturn. He even saw some hopeful stares directed at him. With the brutal assault on him from Big Saturn passed, the young man closed his eyes and put a hand over his chest. In specific, his heart. And as his heart beat, he found the answer to Twilight's question. He rocketed right towards Big Saturn with his rocket boots! Surprised by this sudden charge, Big Saturn was knocked to the ground!
I havent' fully tested these yet. Heck, this suit's a prototype! The young man thought to himself as the palm of his right hand glowed with light! But doing nothing while people need help? What kind of a hero would I be then?! "Eat Strident Blast!"
Big Saturn recoiled as the blast hit him right in the face blasting apart a good portion of his armor! "You. . . YOU. . . !" Suddenly, Big Saturn's core began to glow bright red! "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF ALL OF YOU! IF I GO DOWN, I'LL TAKE YOU ALL WITH ME!"
"Oh no you won't!" Twilight snapped as she cast a shield spell around Big Saturn! "All you're going to do is blow up on yourself!" Big Saturn's eyes went wide when he realized his intended self-destruction would only take himself out, but it was too late. His core was already on meltdown, and the resulting explosion nearly made the shield spell shatter! "Whew! That almost blew up in our faces!"
"Yeah. Talk about that guy blowing a fuse." The young man joked. "By the way, I'm sorry I've kept you all waiting." The young man removed what was left of his armor, and pulled up the sleeve of his lab coat to reveal his hero crest! "Ever since this mark appeared on my arm, I've been listening to my heart a lot. I figure that's gotta be the component of heroism I represent."
"So you're the Element of Heart, huh?" Twilight asked. "You've certainly got a good one since you flew in to save the day. Got a name?"
"Uh, Nightfall. Nightfall Silver." Nightfall said nervously. He was blushing at Twilight's smile. "O-Oh! I brought you all a little present to make up for my late arrival!" Nightfall hurriedly grabbed the case he'd been carrying, and presented both teams of elements with the communicators he'd made. "They'll help us keep in touch! I-I hope you like them!"
He's so cute when he look flustered. Twilight thought with a blush. "So did you make that suit of armor yourself? That's pretty impressive! Most technology involves some form of magic, but you've made it function so well without it."
"O-Oh. You like it?" Nightfall asked with a hopeful look in his eyes. The blush never leaving his face. "It's my first working concept. I had so many features I wanted to include, but I didn't have the time since I wanted to make my big entrance."
"Really?" Twilight asked. "Maybe I could help you make your next version. Imagine what you could do with magic enhancing your suit's tech?"
"Really?!" Nightfall squealed with delight! "That sounds so cool! I can't wait!" A realization then hit him. "Aw man! I'm gonna need to move all my equipment out of Castalot and get a new job! I'm even gonna need a new house!"
"Well, I've got some extra space at my library." Twilight offered. "I'm a princess myself. Maybe I can help you get settled in Unityville?"
"You'd do that for me? AWESOME!" Nightfall was practically beaming with happiness. "Oh, I can't wait to get started on my next suit! It's gonna be so sick! Oh all the upgrades I can add to it with your help! Hey, do you think . . .?"
As Nightfall trailed on, Twilight couldn't help but smile. He's a huge nerd. I love it! However, her thoughts were cut short when all the Elements of Heroism's crests began to glow! Each crest seemed to leave their bearer and float around in a circle before returning to their respective owners. "Looks like the gang's all here."