New guy at CHS: The next generation

The Main 7 traveled through the forest for quite some time now. It may not have been long in real time, but to them, it has felt like an eternity, "How long have we been going through these woods? It feels like we've been at it for weeks...," Rarity moaned as she stopped to massage her feet.

The bird began tweeting, and Fluttershy sighed, "He says we not even halfway there yet," Everyone groaned as they sat down to rest, "Thank you for your help Mr. Bird, but we'll be taking a rest for the time being," The bird tweeted in response and flew onto a nearby branch. Fluttershy looked on towards the path they were heading, and sighed, "I hope the kids are alright..."

As she said this, the thought of Quartz being with them sent shivers down most of their spines, "Uh, Quartz is with them, right?" They all nodded, "Do you think he hasn't run off without his sisters?" Everyone sat in worry, but Twilight spoke up.

"All of you sell Quartz short a few times when in actuality...," Twilight trailed off before speaking again, "he's a great young man that is misunderstood."

"Misunderstood?" Everyone replied, and Twilight nodded. This caused Fluttershy to speak up.

"I actually agree. I believe the reason he's so hostile to all of you is because of the simple fact that none of you interact with him or show him any love. Namely you Rarity."

"Huh? What are you on about Fluttershy deary?"

"Well, from time to time after he gets into an argument with you or Cobalt, I take time to bring him to my garden. He says my garden really calms his mind, and he loves how we would interact from time to time. Lavender usually joins in too. None of you has ever seen this, but have you ever seen Quartz treat Lavender with any disdain?" They all looked at each, and slowly agreed, "He thinks of Lavender as the perfect big sister. Though he likes that Silver is his full blood sister, he just finds Lavender to fit the picture better than her."

Then Twilight spoke, "And with me, I usually ask him for any help with any weapons, experiments, or technology for the army and such. You may not know it, but Quartz is just as smart as Cobalt was when he was all of your ages, or what I expected him to be. You think Quartz as this incompetent, bratty kid, but in reality, he's just like his father underneath that sour skin."

"I...," Everyone fell silent during their rest, which got Rarity thinking, "Maybe I haven't been treating Quartz well. It's just that his attitude irritates me so much. I just can't handle it! But I guess I'm at fault too..."

Meanwhile, Platinum sat with Silver and her sisters in front of a map of the overall area for the capitol, "We have scouts patrol the area 24/7, so if there's anytime there's a change, it gets updated. For the last few months, nothing has changed. We feel as though with your brother there, their defenses may falter due to all their faith going into your brother alone. However, we can't make our move just yet. We want to get signal that the queen has successfully gained full trust from Quartz. Once he does, that's when launch the attack. We're already prepared to truly bring my sister down, along with that castle of hers."

"Wait, what about the village below the castle?"

"..."

Platinum fell silent, which caught the attention of Blaze, "Will you not care about the villagers? What happens if they end up in cross fire?"

Platinum then spoke, "That doesn't matter. Our main goal to free the entire nation of Uskain. A few villagers can be spared to save millions."

"That's insane though. I say we avoid until the villagers are evacuated quickly."

"If we do that, the enemy will have time to counterattack. We must attack with ferocity of a tiger, and the swiftness of a cheetah."

"If we allow that, then wouldn't we be recognized as the enemy?"

"Look, in war, sacrifices are to be made. This small village is a small price to pay to save a larger group of people."

Blaze clenched her fist, but Silver grabbed her hand, loosening it lightly, "Blaze, we're going to have do this. Just don't try to get them into the crossfire. Don't worry...," Even as Silver said, she didn't like this plan at all.

Back with Quartz, he was looking over a rack of armor and weapons. Not any of the weapons was he familiar with, "I've never used a gun before. What the hell am I suppose to do?" He then remember the knife in his wrist, "Twilight put one in each wrist, and they can be as long as I want them. Hm, I've never attempted to block these types of projectiles with them, but there's a first time for everything. He passed by the weapons after coming to this conclusion. However, one did catch his eye, "Huh? This looks like those wrist cannons Pinkie uses."

He examined them and nodded, "They're exactly like those gauntlets. I can't exactly put them on my wrist, but I can put them on my ankles...," He then took them over to the armor rack, and examined the armor, "Hm, I don't want to be too heavy, yet I don't want to be armorless. Let's see...," He glanced over the armor until one unique looking body suit caught his eye.

It had ballistic armor on the torso, shoulders, and legs. It was like a one piece armor suits that was skin tight, "Lightweight, but it's not thick. Maybe if I equip a lightweight vest, and possibly some knee and elbow pads, I can get some decent protection without sacrificing any speed. Perfect," Quartz got to work putting everything on. The one thing that concerned him were the gauntlets. He kicked the ground to get a feel for them, "Not my best idea, but it's what I'll have to work with."

Meanwhile outside, Saber awaited the arrival of her new partner. Soldiers around her began to chat amongst themselves. Most of them saying that he wasn't going to show up, or if he does, he'll be utterly destroyed by Saber. This angered Alicia as she retaliated against their claims, "All this nonsense about Quartz being a coward, or being no match for Saber is just that: Nonsense. Quartz is a strong fighter who has trained with the best. I know for sure he can hold his own against Saber."

Even as she said this, she was still worried about him. She isn't oblivious to the rumors about his incompetence and bad attitude. However, she still had faith in him. This is the man she wants to be her king... her lover... her everlasting partner...

And finally, after much anticipation, Quartz stepped out looking quite well for someone who has never seen this type of equipment before. He stepped in front of Saber, who observed him quickly, "The only thing I see that's a weapon on are those cannon gauntlets on your ankles. Quite a weird place to put them, but is that the only weapon you have. Or do you have something up your sleeves?"

Quartz rubbed his wrists and chuckled, "You could say that. Shall we begin?" Saber nodded. The two then stepped away from each, offering a decent distance away from each other. He then glanced down at his ankles, and took a deep breath.

"First, let's see how your hand-to-hand combat is!" Quartz nodded as he got in a stance, "Right! Let's go!" The two charged at each other rather quickly. Both fighters attacked with lighting fast punches and kicks, but both of them were blocking them with ease.

Saber, who was rough with her attacks attempted to use brute force to block and attack Quartz.

Quartz, who was fluid with his attacks would dodge and attempt to counter Saber's fierce attacks with power to match hers, but the both of them were just too powerful for each other.

The flurry of attacks ended when both of their fists met each other. Both of them glared into each other's eyes with a burning sense of glory in each of them.

This energy... I've never felt this sort of energy with anyone before while sparring. Not even against Silver. This... invigorating!

"Quit the monologues, and get back into the fight!" Saber then pulled a knife with her free hand, and went straight for Quartz's abdomen more than likely going for an artery. However, as if he planned this, he manifested his blade from his wrist, perfectly blocking the knife in its tracks, "Huh? Where did you get that sword?"

"My aunt's own invention!" Quartz then stomped the ground, setting the cannon off, and launching him into the air. He landed on his feet as he manifested his other blade. He brought them together, and grinded them together, creating massive sparks. This shocked not only Saber, but the other soldiers and Alicia. The soldiers soon got riled up, all of them cheering for Quartz.

Alicia's surprised expression soon turned into a look of happiness. Saber only smirked as she brought out a sword of her own. It was wide in girth, and nearly doubled the size of Quartz's swords. He couldn't increase the width or girth of his swords, only their length, "You're not the only one with tricks up their sleeves. Let's go Quartz!" Saber charged full speed at Quartz, and he braced for it.

However, as he began to do this, a necklace on him began to faintly glow. This same necklace began to glow for both Rarity and Silver. This caught the attention of the latter and their companions, "What's going on?"

Rarity then started to explain, "When both Silver and Quartz were born, Cobalt created these necklaces. These necklaces are suppose to show who out of the two of them has found their purpose in life, and what their element is."

"How can you tell who it is?"

"They glow a distinct color based on their name. That's why Cobalt named them after a color or gem. The color that glows shows not only their color, but the element they chose and a symbol representing their purpose in life. Similar to a pony and their cutie mark."

"That's insane. How did Cobalt think of that?"

"Well, he didn't work on this alone. From the minute Silver was born, he anticipated Quartz to be born. So he worked with a small group of individual's. This group named the Order of the Shining Wolf. It consisted of head leaders from Equestria, Fallen Earth, and many more."

"Wait, I thought Fallen Earth was just that: Fallen. Is there still a functional society?"

"Yes, Fallen Earth was once the home to the strongest of Demigods and Demihumans. Even some Demimystics lived, but was soon subjugated for fun. Look, we won't get too much into that, but there were a set number of symbols created for these exact moments. Silver of course chose Ice as her element, and her symbol was a dove to represent peace and benevolence. And for Quartz, his element is... Electricity..."

"That's Electric's element," Rainbow said, "Well, that can give those two a chance to bond, but what's his symbol?"

"His symbol... is one I've... never seen before. Or not one that Cobalt showed me."

"What is it?"

"It's a crescent moon just below a full moon. That's weird because Cobalt has never showed me this. I'm confused...," They all sat confused as they tried to decipher this symbol.

So my element is Electricity? Why? Shouldn't it be something else? I can't match Electric in this element. It's literally in her name. So why is it mine?

"Oh well, let's see if the lack of magic will affect my elemental attacks... it probably will," Quartz brought his blades together, and grinded them together again. As he did this, a lightning fierce aura surrounded his hands and his blades, "Let's do this Saber! Feel the power of Shining Cobalt's son!" Quartz stepped back, and lunged forward with his sword. Lightning shot out as he lunged forward, breaking the guard of Saber, giving him an opening for attack. So he brought his swords around to slash at Saber's abdomen.

But to his surprise, she recovered quickly and retaliated with ease. She blocked his incoming attack, and the two stared daggers into each other, "You just used lightning to break my block. Was that magic or?"

"Nope, just pure lightning aura coming from my body!" The two broke apart, and circled around.

Meanwhile, Quartz's sisters were reacting to Silver's necklace, and the element that was given to him, "So he wields lightning now like you Electric," Silver stated.

"Does this mean I can teach him all I know about electricity?" Silver nodded, causing Electric to pump her fist in the air, "Sweet, I've always wanted to spar and actually spend time with him," This caused both Silver and Lavender look on in jealousy, "Silver, you and Lavender are lucky. You two spend the most time with him, and you don't even give us a chance to at least hang out with him. That's probably why he likes the two of you the most."

"I actually don't think he needs to be taught anything. Quartz may not look it, but he out outmatches all of us in terms of combat, even in knowledge, he out classes us. In the end, Quartz is just like our father, minus the attitude problem."

"But that's because everyone looks down on him because of his attitude problem. If you and your mom had only tried to properly assess the problem with him, he wouldn't be this way. Don't you see how Auntie Fluttershy and Twilight interact with him? That's what our father and your mother should be doing Silver. But instead, they berate him on his behavior rather than actually fix it."

"I know. Inside Quartz, is a heart of gold, and the spirit of justice. However, with how he's treated at home, that light within him just doesn't get to shine. Wherever he is... I hope that light has a chance to shine..."

Quartz and Saber ran around each other before charging at one another. Both had their blades ready to strike. Once they ran past each other, all you heard was the slash of wind and metal. The two had their backs at one another, and then... Quartz collapsed onto his knees, which opened him up for an attack.

Saber was ready to attack, but Quartz anticipated the attack, and parried her, knocking her sword out of her hand and she fell back on to her back. When she tried to get up, Quartz held his blade to her throat. This caused Saber to chuckle, "I guess you win... Quartz," Quartz sighed as he put his blade down, but this one second of vulnerability have her a chance to trip him. She mounted him, and her forearm on his throat keeping him down. She then brought her knife to his face, "Just kidding. Forgot I had this didn't ya'?" Quartz nodded as she got up and offered her hand. Hre took it, and the both were breathing heavily from their spar.

Around them, the soldiers watching began applauding the duel. Alicia walked up to the two with a smile, "So, is he worthy enough to be your partner?"

"Alicia, I knew he would be the best partner I could ask for. I just wanted to have a little fun. Wasn't it fun Quartz?"

"I don't get this type of invigorating duel with my sisters. That was fun," The two strongly clashed their forearms together while the two smile widely at one another.

So now I'm officially fighting for the government. Oh well, my goal here is to find my sisters and protect Alicia all while trying to save my home. Let's get this parry started!