Knights of Harmony, Episode I: Rise of the Elements

by bahatumay

Chapter 12

Twilight nodded. “Good. Rainbow, I’ve really been impressed with your efforts lately.”

Rainbow tossed her lightsaber handle in the air nonchalantly and caught it. “Hey. Gotta be the best I can be, right?”

“Yes,” Twilight said hesitantly, memories of stories about Harmonists pushing themselves too far and falling right into the Dark Side coming to mind. She shook her head. “Alright, sparring time.”

Rainbow and Rarity squared up in the circle, by now used to the process. Rainbow bounced in place. Rarity saluted, her stance relaxed but ready. Twilight stood between them. “Go!”

Rarity started with a jab and a slash combination. Rainbow deflected the jab and rolled out of the way of the slash, then jumped, swung overhead, and brought her lightsaber down. Rarity managed to deflect it and move it off to the side.

Twilight pursed her lips and nodded. It was a little too far—a good block only needs to get the blade just out of range to hit you, no need to waste energy or risk leaving yourself unguarded by pushing it further—but it was still pretty good.

Rainbow spun around and swung, but Rarity blocked it again. They clenched blades for a moment, and then Rainbow rolled backwards along the ground, lightsaber held safely out to the side. Rarity’s return slash went right over her head; she hadn’t expected that method of dodging.

Twilight nodded. Risky, but definitely part of Ataru’s style. She was learning.

Rainbow popped up and slashed. She had overestimated her range, and all Rarity had to do was lean back a bit to avoid it. Also good; her natural elegance meant the Makashi style of dodging was almost instinctual.

But Rainbow had learned to not put all her faith in one swing. She jumped up and slashed down, giving herself a tiny boost, and Rarity was not able to slide back fast enough; the shoto blade sliced right through the front of Rarity’s shirt.

Twilight suddenly found herself being grateful that Spike was currently out on an errand with Applejack’s older brother.

Rainbow smirked and relaxed slightly, clearly expecting Rarity to react with some distress at being thus disrobed.

Rarity, however, had no apparent qualms about her sudden bodily exposure. As Rainbow let her blade fall, Rarity struck with precision. She tapped Rainbow on the upper wrist with her lightsaber, drawing a gasp of pain and making her drop it as she recoiled. Before Rainbow could do anything else, Rarity’s lightsaber was at her throat.

“And this round goes to Rarity,” Twilight said.

Rarity deactivated her lightsaber and bowed to Rainbow, who returned the gesture grudgingly and with a scowl.

“Thank you, Rarity, for that… demonstration on maintaining your focus and not being distracted by anything until the fight is over,” Twilight said, determined to put a positive spin on this. “Your movements were very precise.”

Rarity nodded her head respectfully, but made no motion to cover herself.

There was a pause.

Rarity cocked her head, as if expecting more instruction.

“Rarity?” Twilight said, making a gesture towards her ruined shirt. “Could you…?”

Rarity sighed dramatically. “Oh, fine,” she said, taking hold of the bottom corners and tying them together. This technically preserved her modesty, though she had tied it a bit tighter than strictly needful.

Fluttershy looked away, her face flushing slightly.

Twilight coughed. “Let’s… refrain from any more undressing attacks,” she said, “and continue. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, you're up next.”

---

Apple Bloom stomped inside and slammed a fist on the door button harder than necessary.

Applejack looked up. “Apple Bloom? You doing alright?”

“Yeah, ’m’fine,” she said darkly.

Applejack pursed her lips. “Now, why don’t I believe that?” she asked.

Apple Bloom grunted in answer. She just gathered a few of her things and strode out.

Applejack pursed her lips harder, but she suppressed the urge to chase her down. She knew that sometimes Apple Bloom just needed her space.

But she also knew that Apple Bloom could take things a bit too far when she was upset. She nodded towards Winona. “Go make sure she's ok, would you?”

Winona beeped cheerfully and followed her out.

Apple Bloom was out of sight by the time the astromech droid made it outside. She trundled along, heading towards the little shed Apple Bloom enjoyed tinkering in. She was most likely to be headed there. As she did, she sensed another person approaching.

Twilight waved in greeting. “Hey, Winona! I'm looking for Applejack, is she around?”

Winona beeped her answer.

“Oh, great.” She paused, then laid a finger on her nose. “I don't actually know binary; was that a yes or a no?”

Winona slowed to a stop, retracted her third balancing leg, and rocked forward and backwards exaggeratedly.

“‘Yes’. Alright.” Twilight sighed. “I really should learn droidspeak one of these days.”

Winona beeped what Twilight could only assume was assent.

The sound of welding sparks drew her attention. Winona beeped and quickly headed that way, and Twilight followed, curious. She poked her head inside. “Hey, Apple Bloom!” She paused. “What are you doing?”

“Building a lightsaber,” Apple Bloom grunted as she shoved a connector on top of another part.

“Why?”

Apple Bloom adjusted her goggles. “Because.”

Twilight bit her lower lip. She was no master of social interaction, but it was clear there was a lot more going on here, and a good Harmonist would try to help. She glanced over at Winona as if hoping for a little guidance, but she just flicked her optical sensor from Twilight to Apple Bloom, and did it again. Taking this as the droid’s version of a nudge of encouragement, Twilight continued. “Apple Bloom, a lightsaber is a huge step, and a huge responsibility. Most Harmonists don't even start training with them for years, let alone build their own.”

“Guess I'm not most Harmonists, then,” Apple Bloom grumbled, not looking up from her work. “S’not like you're training me or anything, anyway.”

Twilight winced. She was right. She'd focused so much on the people closest to her age that she hadn't even considered working with the younger children. Unable to respond, she watched Apple Bloom work. She glanced over at Winona, but got no hints from the droid. She shook her head and traced over-

Her eyes widened. “Wait!” she cried. “Apple Bloom, no!”

“What?” Apple Bloom demanded. “You don't think I should have one?”

“Less that and more you're building a bomb,” Twilight said worriedly. She pointed. “Look. You've inverted the emitter matrix. That’ll create a power loop and make the lightsaber explode when you ignite it.”

Apple Bloom scowled and examined her work. Realizing that she was right, she attempted to tear the offending item out, only to realize she had screwed it on too tightly.

“And what were you planning on using for a focusing crystal?”

“I don't know,” Apple Bloom said, now doubly-frustrated. She scrambled for a driver. “I hadn't gotten that far yet. But if Diamond Tiara can figure it out, I can, too.”

Twilight froze. “Wait. Are… are you saying Diamond Tiara has a lightsaber?”

“Yeah. And she was paradin’ it around, showing it off, slicin’ through rocks and trees with it.”

Twilight felt a chill run down her spine. “Was it red?”

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom said, fiddling with her emitter matrix.

Twilight sank back against the wall of the shed, horrified. Diamond Tiara as an apprentice of Nightmare Moon? She was still fairly young, just a child.

Then was Nightmare Moon here? On Elfaus 2? The Harmonists had been searching for her across the galaxy, but what if she'd been here the whole time? Right under their noses?

Apple Bloom did not understand the depth of Twilight's concerns. She twisted another screw. “Eh, she'll be fine. But I won't cry if she does cut her own head off.”

“It's not really her I'm worried about,” Twilight murmured. Ignoring Winona’s questioning beeps, she hurried out of the shed.

---

Twilight wandered through town, waving at a few people she’d started to get to know, but her eyes kept flicking around and she was unable to focus. All she could think of is how Diamond Tiara and others may have been taken in by Nightmare Moon and she had had no idea. She was not a good Harmonist, she was out of her depth, what was she thinking…

She paused. She thought she’d felt the briefest spike of anger directed at her, but she wasn’t sure. A slight presence? She closed her eyes, took a steadying breath, and reached out.

There! She spun to see the source, and recognized the young girl hiding behind a tree.

It was Diamond Tiara. And at her belt hung a lightsaber handle.

“Diamond Tiara!” Twilight called.

But Diamond shook her head and took off deeper into the forest.

Twilight gave chase, but Diamond was faster. Sure, she may have been well-off, but she lived here, and Twilight was still a visitor. She found herself stumbling over rocks and tripping over roots, and falling further behind.

She burst out into a clearing, but was alone. She spun around, listening, feeling; but Diamond was gone. She couldn’t feel anything through the forest; and she couldn’t pinpoint anything. Twilight exhaled through gritted teeth. She was starting to hate this forest.

---

“This is bad,” Twilight said, pacing around her ship. “This is bad. This is really, really bad.”

Spike nodded.

“What if Nightmare Moon is here? What if she's hiding on Elfaus 2?” Her eyes widened. “What if she's got more apprentices? Doesn't Diamond have that friend, the one with the cybernetic eye? I haven’t seen her in a while!” She dug her fingers through her hair. “I didn't even think of checking the younger ones, let alone training them! Oh, what was I thinking?”

Spike hissed.

“I am calm!” Twilight paused, then did a quick breathing exercise to make that true. When it finally was, she continued. “It’s just… I know she said to contact her if I needed anything, but I’d hate to drag her all the way out here for nothing. What if it’s a false alarm? What if they’ve actually found her already and I try to call Grand Master Celestia over here for some random Dark Harmonist that I could actually handle myself?”

Spike hissed.

Twilight exhaled. “And if I’m wrong, it’s suicide.” She gave her younger brother a teasing side-eye glance. “You always have such a great perspective on things.” She stood. “Alright, I’ll contact her. Could you-?”

Spike, having expected this, had already punched in the proper coordinates. He leaned over and hit the transmit button. It pulsed for a moment, and then the shimmering figure of Grand Master Celestia appeared.

“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful padawan!” she greeted her pleasantly. She rested a hand on her hip. “It's been a while! How have things been going?”

“Fine! Fine, uh, things have been fine. Training, training is going well, I've got a few good students but I'm pretty sure I messed up by not including their little siblings and-”

“Breathe, Twilight,” Celestia said kindly. “I'm sure you're doing wonderful work.”

“Thanks,” Twilight said, mentally kicking herself for that. Celestia was a kind master, more understanding than anyone else she knew, and Twilight knew she was just being silly. She took a steadying breath. “I think Nightmare Moon is still here, on Elfaus 2. And I think she’s taken at least one apprentice.”

Celestia pursed her lips. “That, unfortunately, seems like a sound theory. We've had no leads on her location. It's reasonable to assume she wanted to take an apprentice before her full-scale attack phase. There must always be two, after all.”

“So what do we do?”

“I've given it some thought, and I would like to come see for myself.”

Twilight's heart skipped a beat. “As in, you're coming here, master? To Elfaus 2?”

Celestia nodded. “Indeed. Call it, ‘two friends catching up’. I'll leave tomorrow and…” She leaned down and performed a few calculations. “I should be there in about two days your time.”

Twilight saluted. “I won't let you down.”

Celestia chuckled. “I'm certain you won't. All you need to do is to be yourself, my faithful padawan.” With one of her tender gestures, she bid her student farewell, and the hologram fizzled out.

Twilight took a couple steps back and sank into a chair. “Heh,” she said, a little smile on her face. “Master Celestia is coming here!”

And then horror set in.

“Master Celestia is coming here!” Twilight shot to her feet. “Oh, brix! She's coming here! Spike! We gotta get ready!” She started darting around, nervously brushing off dust that didn't exist off panels and chairs. “We have to clean up! I have to wash my robes! I have to wash my students’ robes! Spike! Do your robes-? no, no, you don't like them, do you… oh, I have so much to do!” She looked around rapidly, mentally cataloging all that was wrong and all that could go wrong, and headed out to the door, but she was dragged to a stop.

Spike held her back with one claw wrapped around her belt and hissed a single word, with one finger held up.

“Right,” Twilight said, taking a steadying breath. She folded her hands and performed a calming breathing technique. Slowly, her heart rate returned to normal, and her back straightened as she relaxed, the tension leaving her body.

She clasped her hands together and smiled serenely. “But seriously. We have to get ready.”

Comments

[badninja]

Well I bet Silver Spoon is being held hostage or threatened by Nightmare Moon. Hopefully this will not scar Diamond Tiara too much as she will always carry the taint of the Dark Side.

[Marauder15]

No matter the universe, somethings never change.