A New Life, or an Old Strife?

by Chrome Masquerade

Chapter 11: The Difference Between Visitors and Guests

Chapter 11: The Difference Between Visitors and Guests

It was right around 6:00 pm when i heard a knock at the door. I heard a voice say “HEY! Open up!”
Another voice, this one with a British accent said “Dante! How often have i told you that you have to be POLITE when you do that?”
“Enough that i stopped really caring?”
A sigh came from the second.

I looked out the nearest window and sure enough, i saw one stallion with a coat the colour of a perfectly cooked marshmallow. He had a white mane and tail accentuated with a silver stripe. He was also wearing a red jacket.. There was another one with an hourglass on his flank. Any Brony worth his moon pies would know that to be Time Turner... However, i was not a Whovian and at the time had no clue about the origins of some of the background ponies, so i never got the joke. So, anyway, i said the most sensible thing i could think of at the moment.

“Ain't nopony gettin' in to see the Wizard, no way, no how!” this caused one to burst into laughter and one to facehoof.

“Sorry, couldn't resist.” i apologized.

“Quite alright. Allow me to introduce myself. I am often called Time Turner or “The Doctor”” he said, proudly.

“Doctor.... who?” i queried, tilting my head slightly in confusion.

He looked smug and said, “Precisely. But 'The Doctor' will do. And anyway, this is Dante. My associate.”

Dante stepped forward and added proudly, “Son of Sparda, slayer of demons, cracker of wise....”

“Yes, yes. My impromptu apprentice. He followed me to this realm after entering the Tardis.”

“I was TRYING to find a phone.” Dante said defensively. “I was about to leave when you teleported the whole thing!”

“Well, if you hadn't entered and thrown off my calculations, it wouldn't have BROUGHT US HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!” Time Turner shouted. He was clearly quite sore about it; there was actual steam coming from his ears and nose. He must have been bottling that up for quite some time.

Sensing that things were escalating, i came over to him and said, “Whoa! Relaaaaax. Take a deep breath.” he obliged. “Now, how about i bring you guys inside and show you around?”

The two of them looked at each other, said a quick “Sorry” and entered.

We could hear the others in a conversation.
“-so then she said “No! I won't let it happen again!” and threw herself in front of me!” That was Dapple Fields, relating her story.

“Huh.” the rest said as one.

“I know, right? It was like she-”

“Remembered something from a past life?” I inserted.

“Winter!” Dapple said, leaping over and tackle-hugging me. “I can't thank you ENOUGH for saving my life!”

“You could... start by.... letting... me... breathe!” i gasped out.

“Oh! Sorry!” she said.

“Anyway,” i said, indicating our new guests. “Dante, and Time Turner.”

For their part, the two bowed respectfully.

“Oh.” Kendo said. “Well, if Winter's okay with you guys, then i am as well.” So saying, he turned and went further into the house before there could be any argument.

“Hey! Where are you goin'?” Crystal asked from a distance.

Kendo replied “To get our guests a berth. Help me out, here!”

i turned to the aforementioned pair. “Any bags?”

“We.... travelled light.” Time Turner said flatly.

“To say the least.” Dante finished.

“Suffice it to say that it's rather difficult carrying luggage with hooves..”

Thunder chuckled and said “Yeah. I can see how it might be.”

As the two of them went upstairs, Dante looked over to his mentor, noticing a worries expression on his face. “Doc, i can tell when something's wrong. You're worried about something.”

“It's true. I just can't shake the feeling that i'm forgetting something.”

Suddenly a boom occurred outside.

“Oh, right. I was supposed to tell them that the people who they sent packing went right back to their leader, who is ever so slightly peeved.”

“You could have told us before, Doc.” Thunder Roller said, facehoofing.

“Well,” i said, “You know what to do, everypony! For the honour of Celestia!” I donned my armour and swiftly ran outside.

---------------------------

Just then, the leader of the attackers (along with his personal guard, 30 strong) was using heavy ordinance (namely a tank, specifically an M1A2 Abrams) to blow the grounds apart, . “Alright, smoke 'em out, men! Kill the white one, but try to capture the rest! They'll make fine merchandise. But if it so happens that you forgot to load tranq rounds... oops.”

“Yes sir!” his men said in unison.

“HEY!” i yelled, causing the men to turn.

“This probably won't stop you, but I'm obligated to do so anyway.” I flashed my badge at them. "*Ahem* I am Winter Fields, Royal Law Enforcer, First Class. You're trespassing on private property and if you don't cease your careless destruction, you WILL be dealt with. With excessive force if necessary.”

“Ah, so YOU'RE the one who ponified my men. Good to know. They didn't have any fight left in 'em anymore, for some reason, so i just sold 'em. Have to recoup my losses somehow. I must say, you ponies do go for a pre-tty penny.”

As he said that, i could see a silhouette behind him. If i wasn't concentrating on him, i might have noticed sooner.

“They were plotholes, but that... that's a breach of their rights.”

“Can't help that!” the man laughed. “I just find a need and supply it. As for who i sold 'em to? Confidential. Professional ethics and all, i'm sure you understand. Oh, and allow me to introduce myself. I am Antonio Santiago.” he turned to his employees. “MEN! Whoever downs this bitch will get paid triple this next month!” as he said this, the shadow behind him grew a little.

Needing no further invitation, the men started firing at me. Time slowed down as adrenaline rushed into my system. I rolled, avoiding a volley of fire. Then, getting to my hooves quickly, i leaped toward the first man, biting him on the shoulder and clocking him in the face. He flew back, taking out four other men in his path.

“For home and country!” i shouted, as my friends dashed out. “About time you guys showed up.” i said in a deadpan tone.

“Sorry GL,” Caramel said. “We had to get our “guests” squared away. Also, Crystal Charmer just finished a new invention of hers. Show 'em, Crystal!”

Crystal Charmer turned back and yelled “All Houses to Defcon 1!!!” With that, spell arrays appeared over all of the houses and metal plates began sliding over them, effectively protecting them from anything that our adversaries could throw at them.

“That's 8” thick steel plating, mind you. Also has a gas filtration system and acts as a semi-one-way screen. Pure air goes in, bad air comes out. The inhabitants could stay there for weeks and you still wouldn't get in.”

“Nice work, Crystal! How did you manage that?” i asked, quite impressed.

"I, uh... charmed some crystals? It just seemed to come naturally." she replied, looking briefly at her Cutie Mark, shaking her rear end slightly for emphasis.

“Oh. Well, the important thing is that now we can focus on the task at hoof. See if you can give them a bite (just enough to draw blood) and take them down without killing them. We don't want casualties. I'll tell you why later.”

We all split up, taking on a few of the men each. My friends were more than adequately equipped to deal with whatever came their way.
I knew that that meant that i didn't have to look out for them.

Which also meant that i didn't have to hold back. Too much.

Looking toward my targets, who had fallen into a Continuous Fire formation (one fires, one ejects, one reloads) using shotguns. I knew that i had to time this correctly.

Time seemed to slow down for me again, signifying that this was my chance to strike. I leapt from my hiding spot, doing a flip in midair. I fired off a few rounds, which struck home inside my targets' weapons, quickly and effectively jamming them. Hitting the ground as time resumed its proper course, i rolled to the side.

I watched as the three pulled out machetes, charging toward me. Recovering, i sprang forward, shouting "Thousand Cuts!" i struck the first one eight times in sequence before dodging the sword of another. Sliding forward, i tripped the second and bit him on the leg as he went down.

I was slightly careless and left myself open for the third one's attack, just barely having time to have my armour take the brunt of the blow, still causing a small gash on my side. I stamped on the ground, causing a vine to trip the man, allowing me to get a nip in. The first was still out cold, so i got it over with and nipped him as well.

Looking back and seeing my friends mopping up, i nodded, galloping back toward them.

At length, Santiago said, “That's it! I've had enough!” he then fired an explosive that knocked us all back, shattering our defences and then some.

Battered, but not badly wounded, we were all struggling to our hooves, only to be hit with another blast. This one really stung, and had us all oozing blood from several places, myself being nearly knocked unconscious.

Focusing hard, Crystal threw up a protective shield. “Guys,” she said, struggling to speak, “I... have an... idea. Follow.... my lead.” slowly she began to crawl toward me, the rest of them following suit. When they reached me, Crystal put a hoof on me and said, “From one... to another...” She started to glow with a light blue sheen.

Caramel seemed to know what was going on and said, “Another to... one...” as she started to glow as well, an orange colour.

I was rather confused. "What are you guys doing?" I queried.

Thunder nodded and joined in, “The mark.... of one's destiny,” glowing pink.

Kendo said, “Ah. Singled out alone, unfulfilled...” himself a red colour.

Whisper, now glowing dark blue, wheezed, “From all of us.... together...”

they began to speak in unison, their colours flowing into me, (and through me, each other) causing me to glow a bright violet “Together... we're friends. With the marks of our... destinies made one, there... is magic without end!!!”

There was a bright flash as Crystal's shield shattered from another barrage of explosive force.

“What the hell?!?” Santiago shouted as he covered his eyes, a blinding flash emanating from us..

---------------
Briefly i could feel myself taken to a rather empty realm, looking like the skies were clouded and the floor made of stars. As i walked forward i saw pictures fly by, of all the good times, both as humans and ponies, in both lives. I could see us using our heads to get free of a quarry-like area. Me helping some reindeer raise crops, us building houses together; a more recent memory, and many more! As i looked around, i could feel something building within my heart. I could see a spark of energy come out from my chest and re-enter, causing me to rise into the air, magic surrounding me. And then--
----------------

Revitalized, i stood (or rather, flapped my wings subconsciously, some distance in the air), feeling more alive than i ever had. I could feel magic coursing through me, an unfinished spell begging to be released. I looked down at my battered friends, still glowing.

Understanding, i said, “From one to another, another to one, A mark of one's destiny, singled out alone, unfulfilled. From all of us together, we're family, we're friends. With the marks of our destinies made one and shared by each other, let there be magic without end!” a spell flowed from me back to them, uniting us, somehow.

It was said that at that moment, stallions around the world bowed as one. When later asked why, they would answer "It was the proper thing to do."

We all instinctively shouted out, respectively,

“Sincerity!”

“Respect!”

“Charity!”

“Diligence!”

“Ingenuity!”

“Kinship!”

We all rose into the air, magic linking us together.

Suddenly, coloured streaks appeared in our manes and tails, images of our cutie marks appearing on- aw, buck it. You know what Rainbow Power looks like, don't you?

“What the hell is going on?!?” Santiago shouted, incredulous.

Now that we were so linked, there was obviously a dark shadow over the man, controlling his actions to some extent while still giving the illusion of free will.

“It's quite simple.” i said, “We each represent an Element of Harmony.”

“Bullshit! I watched some of that show for reference! There are only six!”

“That's where you're wrong.” Thunder said. “This only confirms my headcanon that there aren't just six elements. There are HUNDREDS!”

“WHAT?!?”

Whisper continued, “You see, mister Santiago, -or rather, whatever you are that's controlling him- every one of us has something that makes harmony work. We all have virtues. When united, they're more powerful than a small-spirited being like you could ever imagine.”

I nodded. "Something that purges the darkness within us all and unites us as.... family, of a sort.”

“Something especially strong in us ponies. Which you will understand sooner, rather than later.” Kendo put in.

“Meaning?” Santiago queried.

“Look around!” Caramel said. “Your men that we took down. They're beginning to understand what it means.”

He did indeed look around. His men were quickly absorbing the magical energy in the air that we were exuding, getting to their hooves and bowing to us in respect. They were beginning to understand that some things re more valuable than money. And since most o them had their Cutie Marks, it could be inferred that they all were starting to realize/understand their place in the world.

“Also, look at yourself!” Crystal said.

Santiago looked at himself, his hair was beginning to grow into a mane. “No! This can't be!”

"Furthermore, we have five final words for you." we said in unison.

“Which are?”

“TASTE THE RAINBOW MOTHER BUCKER!!!”

The magic between us became a beam of prismatic light and fired forth, consuming the man that was Antonio Santiago. It purged all evil from him, leaving behind a small colt.

“I... understand now.” he said quietly. “Thank you.” and he fell asleep.

The dark presence rose into the air and was ripped to shreds by an invisible force.

"I wonder if Sunny Flutter has room for one more?" i half joked, as the harmonic energy dissipated. and we reverted to previous forms. Or so we thought.

“But, your majesties," One of the new stallions spoke up. “What about us?”

“”Your majesties”?!“ we shouted in unison. Then we looked at each other. We were ALL Alicorns now AND accessed Rainbow Power, and we hardly thought about it until now! At this we all laughed.

“Come on, let's get these folks squared away.”

“Speaking of.” Crystal said, “All houses, Defcon 5!” she shouted.

As we walked back and the defences deactivated, I said “You know, everypony? I'm glad to have you as my.... family. I love you all.” I said, embracing them all.

“Ow! My ribs still hurt from that last blast.” Kendo said, wincing.

“Sorry!”

Author's Note:

Thanks to my facebook partner, Dante Ayagawe for his OC.

Before anyone asks, yeah, i planned to ascend my characters eventually from the get-go.

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[Chrome Masquerade]