Knights of Harmony, Episode I: Rise of the Elements

by bahatumay

Chapter 3

Twilight rechecked her datapad. “So for confirmed Harmony-sensitive, we’ve got Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity. Two of them have younger sisters, so they’re possibles, and I think I got a vibe from that one woman with the blond hair.”

Spike nodded, silently prompting her to continue.

“And so I…” She deactivated her datapad. “-am going to go do some research at the library.”

Spike gave her a questioning hiss.

“Right now, I don't care if the entire settlement is Harmony-sensitive!” Twilight shrieked, tossing the datapad aside onto her bunk and gesticulating wildly. “Nobody really cares about Harmony, or anything, really! They're just happy doing their own thing, their heads buried in the sand!” She flopped over on her bunk and sighed. There was a slight pause. Then she irritably dug underneath herself to extricate her datapad and she tossed it onto the floor. “I’m gonna have to meditate for an hour to wrap my head around this,” she moaned. “This is a mess. I swear, it'd take a Nightmare showing up here to get them to change their minds.”

Spike hissed apprehensively. He'd read enough to know that if a Nightmare was around, he would prefer to be anywhere else.

“Yeah, same here,” Twilight agreed, sitting up and sobering slightly at the thought. “But seriously, what are the chances of a Nightmare coming here?”

* * *

Getting to the library the second time was much easier. Now that she knew where she was going, it was much quicker in getting there; even if she did find herself constantly checking over her shoulder for any wild rainbow-haired girls on speeders.

And the people here did seem nice. It was a fairly friendly little settlement. People waved to her and called her by name as she passed. Not bad, for only having seen her once.

She was smiling as she entered the library. It was small, yes; but maybe there were some hidden gems in here.

And as she passed the librarian’s desk, Twilight slowed to a stop. She took a step back and pointed to the object that had caught her eye. “Where did you find that?” she whispered.

The librarian shrugged. “Found it in the forest. It was pretty, so I kept it.”

“And you’re using it as a decoration?” Twilight squeaked.

The librarian cracked a small smile. “What else would you use it for?”

“Studying,” Twilight sputtered. “That's a holocron.”

She squinted. “A what, now?”

“A holocron. It's how Harmonists store information.”

She squinted. “Really? I thought it might have been scrap metal from a crashed satellite.”

Twilight nearly choked. “Th-” She held up her hands and pulled the holocron over to her. She felt the Harmony running through her hands as she twisted—she didn't even need to physically touch it—and it unfolded, revealing its hidden information.

“Data holocron,” Twilight murmured as her eyes flicked around. “Great. So much to run through…” She wandered over to a small booth and sat down, her eyes scanning the holocron’s data.

And did it have information. Her eyes caught that elusive phrase.

Elements of Harmony.

She quickly navigated to that portion and read the definition. “‘Ancient crystals made of Harmony itself’?” She scowled. “That's unhelpful. Harmony is and has always been a force; not something you can hold.” She frowned. “Unless they're just really finely attuned crystals. But then why would they say made of Harmony? Unless… unless ‘of Harmony’ means they used Harmony to make them. So they're essentially synthetic kyber crystals?” Twilight shook her head. She knew there was power in synthetic kyber crystals—rumor had it Celestia herself had Harmony-formed the crystal in the heart of her golden lightsaber by meditating on it for a month straight—but it seemed to her that the search for the Elements of Harmony was going to be a dead end. If they did exist, they were probably scattered across the galaxy. Or in lightsabers somewhere, also scattered across the galaxy. Or on the black market. Or maybe even thrown in a black hole somewhere, their molecules scattered across the universe.

Her stomach rumbled, interrupting her inner thoughts. She frowned. She wouldn't be able to focus like this. With a quick wave, she folded the holocron back up, intending to head back to the ship and study it there after getting food.

As she was leaving, though, the librarian coughed. “Where are you going?”

“Back home?”

“You still have my thing,” she said, gesturing where the holocron had stood on her desk.

Twilight’s eyes narrowed. This was a Harmonist holocron. Technically, she had the rights to it. Still, she exhaled, then returned the holocron. She could get it back later.

Actually…

It would have been irresponsible to leave her only clue behind. She closed her eyes and inhaled, then turned back around and subtly waved her hand. “It's a good thing you found that holocron,” she said.

The librarian looked up. “It's a good thing I found that holocron,” she repeated.

“It's a great source of knowledge.”

“It's a great source of knowledge.”

“Knowledge should be shared freely.”

“Knowledge should be shared freely.”

“You will let me take the holocron home.”

“I will let you take the holocron home.” She held out the holocron.

Twilight took it and gently slid it into her pocket. “Thank you,” she said pleasantly. “Have a nice day!”

* * *

Twilight sighed as she folded the data holocron back up. “It’s been a week,” she said wearily, slumping back on the seat. “I’ve been looking at this thing for nearly a week, and I still can’t find anything I need. It still makes it sound like they’re just artifacts, and for all I know, Celestia just left them there after the fight.”

Spike hissed.

Twilight leaned forward and rested her head on the table. “Yeah, maybe you’re right,” she mumbled. “I could probably use something to take my mind off of this.”

Spike hissed again, this time with a touch of sarcasm.

“Maybe I will. There is nothing wrong with meditating,” Twilight defended herself.

Spike hissed, an offhand comment.

“I do not forget to eat!”

Spike shrugged and hissed again.

“‘Sometimes’? When was the last time I forgot?” she challenged.

Spike looked away and hissed.

“This mor-! Ok, fine. Give me two times.”

“You’ll excuse me for saying, Miss Sparkle, but Trespic is right,” Si interrupted from the doorway. “I’ve barely seen you leave the ship after that first day.”

“It's not…” Twilight sighed. She knew when she was outnumbered. She folded her arms. “Alright, then; what do you suggest?”

“Funny you should ask,” Si said, reaching into one of the pouches on his belt. He pulled out a little holographic chip and held it up. “Found this pinned to the door of the ship.” He tossed it over, and Twilight caught it. She placed it into the player and pushed the button.

A holographic image of Pinkie Pie appeared, vibrating slightly. Twilight moved to adjust the tracking until she realized that it was actually Pinkie Pie doing the vibrating, and not her projector.

“Hi! If you're getting this, that means I've invited you to my party!” She leaned towards the camera and stage-whispered, “But really, I've invited everybody, so you should come and bring everyone, even if they didn't get a special invitation!” She straightened back up. “It'll be great! We'll be celebrating the thousand year anniversary of the founding of our settlement with games and food and fun!” She gave the physical address and time—in town, in less than an hour—and finished with “and there's going to be all kinds of fun! Wait. I said that twice.” She gigglesnorted. “And that just tells you how much fun there'll be!”

Twilight hesitated, her reluctance a stark contrast to Pinkie’s exuberant dancing. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” she murmured.

“Ah, come on, Miss Sparkle,” Si insisted. “We’ll come along. Nothing’s gonna happen on our watch.” Without needing to look, he held up a fist and bumped it with another clone behind him.

Twilight exhaled. “First off, call me Twilight.”

“Yes, Miss Sparkle,” Si smirked.

“Secondly... You’re right, Si,” she said, scratching at her hairline. “I’m probably just letting my concern over my inability to find out more about the Elements of Harmony and my frustrations with the Harmony-sensitives here spill over into other aspects of my life.” She forced a small smile. “Alright, we'll go. Maybe it’ll be fun.”

“That’s the spirit!” Si said cheerfully, giving her a playful nudge on the shoulder. “I've already had some of the boys organize a transport. It’ll be here momentarily.”

Twilight cracked a smile. It would all be fine.

* * *

It seemed to be fine. Twilight exhaled and tried to relax. There were many people here. That was fine. Many people she didn’t know. That was fine, too. As harbingers of peace and unity, meeting new people and making new connections was just part of the lifestyle of a Harmonist.

So why did she feel so unsettled?

Si neared. His keen eye quickly saw through her act (or maybe he just saw her playing with her Padawan braid again). “Something wrong, Miss Sparkle?”

“No, not really,” Twilight answered, quickly dropping her hand. “It’s just… something feels wrong and I don’t know what.”

“Is it that you’re not dancing?” Si suggested cheekily.

Twilight snorted air out of her nose. “I’m sure it’s not that,” she said. “I mean, I don’t mind dancing—I’m pretty good at it—”

Si managed to turn his derisive snort into a weak cough.

“But I just…” She exhaled. “I don’t know.” She straightened up. “I’m going back to the ship.”

Si set his cup down. “We’ll go with you.”

Twilight rested a hand on his shoulder armor. “No. Stay. Enjoy yourselves. It’s just me. I’ll… I’ll probably be back. I just… need to clear my head.”

Si nodded slowly. “As you say, Miss Sparkle.”

Twilight cracked a smile. “And call me Twilight.”

Si grinned right back. “Yes, Miss Sparkle.”

With that, Twilight headed out into the night.

* * *

Twilight walked slowly, still unable to piece together what had been bothering her. What could it be? It was a little bit frustrating, really, knowing something was wrong but not able to figure it out.

She had made it halfway through town when she stopped and gasped for breath, feeling as if she’d just been suddenly dunked in cold water. A cold shudder ran up her spine that would not dissipate, and her breath grew ragged. She had never felt such a disturbance in Harmony. And she had never felt one so cold. The only thing that could make such a disturbance was...

She turned back and sprinted back towards the party, hoping against hope she wouldn't be too late.

Comments

[badninja]

The mind trick to get what I want, Twilight that is not a very Harmonious thing to do. I get the feeling that this is also Harmony kicking her in the butt for how bad she was tempting fate throughout the chapter. Yes Twilight this is where you will be finding almost everything you have been looking for. So how do Harmonists view love and relationships in this universe?

[bahatumay]

7203728
It's subtle, but mind tricks on the Light Side have to be statements the subject would agree with, otherwise it fails. The trick, then, is wording your statements so you both get what you want. This is in direct opposition to the Dark Side style, which has no such restriction.

Harmonists have to make connections. Strength comes from Harmony, and you can't have much Harmony by yourself; you need to work with others. This is one of the main reasons I changed all the vocabulary.

Love, then, is the ideal (but thought by many to be unobtainable) end game, because you've joined two people together in perfect harmony. Marriage is uncommon, but not unheard of, and would be considered a time of celebration.