Knights of Harmony, Episode I: Rise of the Elements

by bahatumay

Chapter 13

Everything seemed to be going well, in Twilight’s opinion. Her students had all agreed to practice some presentations for Master Celestia. They were learning quickly and sparring well, and she'd even had to step into the ring a few times herself to give them a sufficient challenge.

Soon, the day had arrived. Master Celestia was coming! Twilight was so nervous and excited, she’d tied her sash on backwards that morning and had made it halfway down her gangplank before Spike could tell her she’d forgotten to eat breakfast. Really, though, this was the most exciting thing!

For some people, anyway.

“I still don’t get why you’re so worked up about the big boss of the Harmonists coming,” Rainbow said blithely, scratching at her ear. She glanced around the cantina.

“It's-! Rainbow!” Twilight scolded.

“What?”

“She’s more than just the ‘big boss’! She’s my mentor, a great friend, an even better duelist! She's an amazing Harmonist!”

“Got that from you calling her ‘grand master’,” Rainbow said blithely.

Twilight clenched her fists in frustration, and the metal of her hand whined slightly under the strain. “Do not mess this up.”

“I'll be good,” Rainbow said quickly, brushing at her hair to try and look more presentable.

Twilight shook her head. Rainbow took nothing seriously. There was a reason she was not going to have Rainbow spar for Master Celestia. Applejack and Rarity, sure; but Rainbow and Fluttershy would be doing kata. And Pinkie Pie… well, Twilight hadn’t been sure what to think of her. She had finally put her in charge of preparing some refreshments. And then she'd had to put her in charge of finding a place to put them, as Pinkie had interpreted that as a request for a party.

So thus it was that she was going to meet up with the greatest and wisest Harmonist there ever had been… in the small town’s cantina. At least Berry Punch kept it relatively clean.

Rainbow glanced over the scrawled menu. “Think she'd like to try our famous blaster-bolt-in-a-jug?”

Berry Punch snorted.

“No,” Twilight answered. “She tends to drink Gatalentan tea. And I've explained how she likes it.”

“Yeah. Only about a billion times,” Berry Punch grumbled, irritably setting a glass down harder than necessary on the counter.

Applejack slid onto a stool. “Well, here's an easier one for you, then. Five juice blender, please! Heavy on the apple.”

Berry Punch brightened and quickly started mixing.

“Ugh. That is healthy and has no alcohol,” Rainbow groused.

“I like it and no one asked you,” Applejack said snippily, accepting her drink.

Rainbow rolled her eyes.

Towards the rear of the cantina, Pinkie Pie was rapidfire pressing a button on the long-range communicator. “Weird…” she murmured, squinting.

“What?” Rainbow asked, eager to find a new source of entertainment.

“I can't reach my parents,” she mumbled.

Rainbow squinted. “The asteroid miners?”

“Yeah.” Pinkie frowned. “Usually at least Marble is around. But I can’t get anybody. I wanted to tell them about this party.”

Applejack paused, her glass lifted halfway to her lips. “You know they can't come, right?” she asked slowly.

“They’d still want to know,” Pinkie insisted.

Applejack tossed her head back and finished her drink, and neared. She poked a few buttons herself and pulled up the error console. “No, see, here's your problem. The signal isn't… wait.”

“What?”

Applejack squinted. “It's going out—I thought it wasn't, but it is—but it's getting redirected, and the communicator thinks it's working. It's… it's being jammed, but something special.”

“Who's jamming the signal?”

“I don’t know, it’s not like they’re showing their scandocs for everyone to see. But it's good stuff. I can't see how to break it.”

“Hm,” Twilight murmured. She pulled her personal comlink out of a pouch and held it up. “Twilight Sparkle to Master Celestia.”

There was no response, not even static.

“Twilight Sparkle to Master Celestia, do you copy?” Twilight tried again, a note of worry coloring her voice.

“Maybe she’s out of range,” Pinkie suggested.

“But didn’t you say she was coming today?” Applejack asked. “Like, right about now?”

“Yeah,” Twilight murmured. “She… she should be in range.” Concerned, she exited the cantina and looked up at the sky, scanning for a ship.

There! Up in the sky! She recognized it as a small transport, like the one she'd been assigned to get here. Her heart jumped in excitement.

But something was wrong. Her skin crawled. Why did everything feel heavier? Something was wrong.

She wasn't the only one who felt it. “That's coming in too fast,” Applejack said warily.

“Master Celestia knows what she's doing,” Twilight said, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt. “I hope,” she added quietly.

But if anything, the ship gathered more speed. It tilted, as if the pilot had made a grave mistake, and it was coming to land on its side.

“I'm going to have to disagree with that,” Rainbow said. She ran ahead through the street and started hammering on doors urgently. “Hey! Incoming! Out of control ship! Get out!”

Applejack and Twilight quickly followed suit, clearing out any potential victims from the ship’s path.

Sure enough, the shuttle veered out of control and crashed, slamming into the ground, sending up a large cloud of dust that only grew as it skidded through the center of town, snapping off panels, breaking off a stabilizing wing, and sending scraps of both itself and the buildings it hit flying before finally ramming into city hall and coming to rest halfway through the wall.

There was a brief moment of heavy silence.

“Master Celestia!” Twilight called, coughing.

Suddenly, the door was bisected by a red blade, and then Nightmare Moon blew the door apart, hand extended and Harmony crackling in the air. She spread her arms wide, her lightsaber still burning. “What?” she asked, apparently unaffected by the dust and smoke. She spun to take in the people staring. “Surely you didn’t think I had left?”

Rainbow pulled out her blaster, but she hesitated; she remembered how easily Nightmare Moon had deflected blaster bolts last time, and there were too many civilians again.

Nightmare Moon continued, still pacing. “But what a welcome I receive on my return. Am I not sufficiently advanced in the ways of Harmony for you? Do I not merit, too, a grand master's welcome?”

“Where is Master Celestia?” Twilight shouted.

Nightmare Moon turned towards her. “She can't save you now…” Here her smile darkened, “my future apprentice.”

Twilight held up her lightsaber and ignited it. “Where is she?” she asked again, pointing it at her.

“I think you know.” She held up her hand, and Twilight stumbled. The force of her mental attack was incredible. She’d never felt anything like it. Memories of Master Celestia flew across her mind, unbidden, and she attempted to suppress it. Her lightsaber dipped to the ground and she brought her own hand up to her forehead as she tried to fight off the attack. Pain arced through her mind as the mind probe battered through her defenses, and she dropped her lightsaber completely and let out a cry.

Her last memory with Celestia surfaced, and Twilight was more than a little embarrassed to realize just how easily she had brushed off her comment on her friendships being her strength. But she didn't have time to think about that; Nightmare Moon was still trying to force her way in deeper, and it was starting to burn with physical pain, like she was actually being burned, as if the attack were with a hot metal rod penetrating her brain than with Harmony. Panting, she forced up another semblance of a shield, trying to deflect her attack, or at the very least weaken it so the black spots would disappear from her vision.

Then, just as suddenly, it stopped. Twilight collapsed, panting, but strong hands caught her before she hit the ground.

Nightmare Moon paused, hesitating for the first time. “Then where…?” she murmured.

Twilight looked around. Applejack had caught her, and Rainbow close on her other side, blaster still out and held over her shoulder protectively. Rarity stood nearby, Pinkie Pie had her hands on her pinksabers. Even Fluttershy was here.

And then, for the first time ever, a flicker of fear crossed Nightmare Moon’s face. “The Elements,” she breathed. Deactivating her lightsaber and jamming it onto her belt, she sprinted towards a house, leaped into the air, and launched herself off the roof, propelling herself with the power of Harmony.

Twilight wanted to give chase, but the strain she'd just been under meant she could only stumble weakly to her feet and fall forward, requiring catching by Applejack again. Rainbow leaped onto the roof, ready to give chase or at least let off a few blaster bolts after her, but she had already disappeared into the forest. Knowing the danger, Rainbow irritably jammed the blaster back into its holster and raised a hand in a rude gesture.

Twilight scowled. She was starting to really hate that forest.

“What did she do to you?” Fluttershy asked.

“She… she probed my mind,” Twilight answered weakly. “She was… looking for Master Celestia.”

Applejack bit her lower lip. “Was she not on the ship?”

“I thought she was,” Twilight said unsteadily. She pushed herself up again. “W- we need to find out.”

“On it!” Rainbow said, jumping down.

Comments

[badninja]

Well at least Applejack quickly caught on to the jamming of the coms. Now how will 5 barely trained apprentices help stop a near master?