//------------------------------// // Chapter 14 // Story: A New Harmony // by The-rogue-shadow //------------------------------// Fluttershy and Big Mac walked into the main tent, now decorated with black to signify mourning. Princess Luna looked at the map on the table, and Fluttershy noticed that her eyes were red from crying. "You wanted to see us Princess.' Said Big Mac, Luna jumped a bit, startled out of her trance. She cleared her throat, and Fluttershy feared that they were going to receive the traditional Canterlot voice. But was surprised to hear a soft, melodic voice. "Oh, yes, I have mission of the utmost importance for you both" Luna said, making her way around the table to them. "I am sending you both to the Griffin capitol to investigate the disappearance of Twilight Sparkle." Fluttershy was surprised to be sent on such a dangerous mission, but even more surprised that Twilight still hadn't come back from her mission. "Why would you pick us your highness?" she asked, not scared, just uncertain. Her confidence was now at the point where nothing scared her, except losing her friends. "I need ponies I can trust, not to mention the fact that you are both brave and wonderful warriors." Luna explained smiling. She was still learning how to command her troops in the modern way, after being out of practice for so long. "Rarity has some equipment for you both, and then return here, I will teleport you most of the way." "What are we to do once we locate Twilight?" asked big Mac, stoic, determination written all over his face. "You are to locate her and convince her to come back, and then leave on one of the merchant ships on the harbour. We will pick you all up on the next friendly port that you arrive at." Luna told them. She bowed her head; her horn touched them both on either shoulder, signifying special trust. Fluttershy and Big Mac left, heading for Rarity's tent. "Do you have any idea what Twilight's mission was?" Asked Fluttershy. "Eeeenope." Said Big Mac, shaking his head. Fluttershy heard crying and looked around to see Derpy, with her new foal and a bottle in her hoof. She smiled; looking at the joy on Derpy's face and couldn't help but feel a pang of envy. They arrived at Rarity's tent to find an ant's nest worth of activity. Ponies moving about fast, loud noises and the odd explosion could be heard. They spotted Rarity and made their way over to her. "Rarity, what's all this commotion?" Fluttershy asked as Rarity picked up a hammer with her magic and started to hit a piece of metal on the table. "Oh just the usual, the Princess needs new armour and we haven't made any yet, so there is a huge rush to gather materials and make it, not to mention make it look good. And then of course we have to deal with the normal stuff like broken weapons, broken armour and the like." Rarity said, obvious frustration on her voice. "Oh well then I'm sorry to ask but… Princess Luna said that you had some stuff for our mission?" Fluttershy said. Rarity just pointed to a box next to her desk. Big Mac opened it and handed Fluttershy her new bow, made out of a special wood that can only be grown with magic. The wood was dark red, almost black in colour and Fluttershy noticed that the bow strings had a slight purple colouring. "Rarity are these your mane hairs?" she asked, and was surprised to see Rarity nod. Big Mac pulled out his new sword, long and slightly curved; it featured a red gem running through the centre and a green gem, carved as a replica of his cutie mark on the hilt. "It's beautiful Rarity, thank you." He said, once again, Rarity only nodded in response. Fluttershy suddenly had an idea. "Rarity, what was Twilight's mission?" She asked. Rarity missed the metal, and the hammer became lodged in the wooden table. Rarity sighed, turning to face the two ponies. "Yes I do, but I'm not supposed to tell you. Although, I suppose if it could help you with your mission. Twilight was sent to assassinate Prince Alistair, Gregor's son and Gilda's brother." Both Fluttershy and Big Mac gasped, unable to believe that Twilight would assassinate anypony, or any griffin. "Are you serious?" said Big Mac. Rarity nodded and turned back to her work. Fluttershy and Big Mac left, stunned at the news. Neither could believe that Celestia would ask Twilight to assassinate a Prince. Luna was waiting at the main tent, once again absorbed in her trance. Once the two ponies were ready, Luna bowed her head, her horn began to glow with magic and she wished them luck before they were teleported to a small forest on the outskirts of the city. They made their way down to the streets and were surprised to not see many people on the streets. Fluttershy asked a griffin that was selling peaches on a corner. "Oh everygriffin is down at the town square, they finally caught Prince Alistair's assassin. There's going to be a hanging." Was his reply. Fluttershy and Big Mac rushed to the town square and discovered a large crowd had gathered around a very grim looking gallows. A skinny, hunched over looking griffin walked onto stage, and addressed the crowd. "Ladies and gentlefeathers, today is an historic day, today the pony that murdered our ruler will pay the price. And due to their heinous crime, we are forgoing the usual hundred days of torture. Instead, we are going to hang her, eat the flesh and send the bones back to Celestia! So without further ado, I present to you, the assassin." To Fluttershy's surprise, Twilight was cheered onto the stage, by griffin and pony alike. Her legs were chained together, preventing her from escaping. The griffin pulled her hood down and the crowd cheered louder. Twilight smiled, looking at the skinny griffin. Fluttershy looked at Twilight's mane, now cut in a similar style to her own. A larger griffin, his face covered in a black hood, placed a rope around her neck, tightening it. The chains around her legs were unlocked. Fluttershy panicked, pulling her bow out and cocking an arrow. "What do you plan to do? Shoot the rope?" asked Big Mac. Fluttershy took aim as the executioner made his way over to the lever, gripped it and pulled. As Twilight fell, Fluttershy released, and just as the rope was about to go tight, the arrow severed it and twilight fell through the trap door. The skinny griffin pointed at them, yelling orders to some guards, and Fluttershy and Big Mac fled, the guards hot on their heels. They ran down alleyways, zigzagging in an effort to throw their pursuers of their tails. Shooting down an alley, they were suddenly blocked by a group of guards; they turned as more griffins blocked their path. Now boxed in, Big Mac drew his sword, ready for a fight. Fluttershy narrowed her eyes, ready for the slightest aggressive movement. Out of the corner of her eye, Fluttershy noticed some white shapes descend from the sky and land next to them. Some of the guards backed off. Fluttershy looked around at their rescuers, six identically dressed individuals, a mixture of ponies and griffins. Twilight stood next to Fluttershy, hood back over her face. "You all know who I am, who we are. So I am being generous today, leave and you can go back to your families. These ponies are under our protection. Oh and another thing… You may need to find a new chancellor." Twilight extended a hidden blade, red with blood. The guards didn't move for a moment, then turned and left, knowing they stood no chance against the group. Fluttershy looked at Twilight as she retracted her hidden blade. "Oh thank you Twi-" "What the hay are you doing here?" Twilight asked, her voice was angry. Fluttershy was taken aback by the outburst. "Uh… Princess Luna sent us to retrieve you, and we just want you back." She said. "Well you can just go home, I'm not leaving, not yet." She told her. "Look Twilight, we have a mission to complete and I intend to complete it." Said Big Mac, poking Twilight in the chest. One of Twilight's team called back to her. "Dusk! We have to go before they come back with more guards." Twilight sighed, looking at her two friends; She bowed her head and teleported the whole group. Fluttershy found herself in a round room, supplies and bunks lined up against the walls. A large stained glass window illuminated the room, and painted it in a deep mix of red, green and blue. "Twilight, where are we?" asked Big Mac, looking around as the other members of Twilight's team lowered their hoods. "This is our base of operations, located within a church." She replied, not lowering her hood. "And I think that it's time for you both to leave. I don't want you here." Fluttershy began to get angry. "How dare you! We risk our lives coming here to search for you, on Luna's orders and you don't even say hello. What is your problem? Do you even care about us anymore; this isn't what Celestia would have wanted." She yelled, at the mention of Celestia, Twilight dropped her head. "I know, but I can't go back, not now. And besides, Celestia sent me here to do something, and I have to see it through." She said. The others in the room, left, understanding that Twilight wanted to be alone. Twilight sat down on a bed, looking at the two. "I know, you were sent here to assassinate Gregor's son." Big Mac said, his tone was slightly disapproving. "It was more than that. Celestia sent me here to save these people. They are being oppressed and I am just trying to help them. So I gathered like-minded individuals and we do what we have to. Wed assassinate every corrupt Politian, every businessgriffin that brutalises their workers or runs slave camps. We fight for the people on the street, just hoping that our main target comes out of hiding soon." "And who is your main target?" asked Fluttershy, hoping for a certain name to be said. "Gilda." Said Twilight. Fluttershy looked at Big Mac, who nodded. They remembered the promise they made to each other, and realised that it was the perfect opportunity to fulfil it. "Twilight, we want to help. And we will not take no for an answer. I promised Big Mac and Rarity that I would kill Gilda, and I plan to be the one that does it." She told her, not giving Twilight the chance to argue. Twilight saw the look of determination on her face and nodded. "Good, then we make a change, instead of waiting for her, we be assertive and go and get her." Fluttershy said, Big Mac walked up and kissed her. "Ah love it when you get forceful." He whispered into her ear. Twilight sighed, and stood. "Fine, but if we are going to do this we do it my way, which means stealth. And not shedding blood if we can avoid it." She said, walking out of the room to inform her team. That night, they made their way to the palace, slowly, dodging guards and staying out of the light. Big Mac had the most difficulty, his enormous mass made stealth a real challenge for him. After making their way into the main palace, they carefully set about finding Gilda's room. Twilight eventually found it, as a star with a big letter 'G' was on the door. Quietly they entered, each creak of the floorboards seemed like a clap of thunder to Fluttershy. The covers on the large four poster bed were bundled over something. Big Mac readied himself near the bed, ready to pull back the covers on Fluttershy's signal. She pulled out a dagger she had been saving; the blade had the initials 'R.D and AJ' carved into it. She lifted herself off the ground, hovering next to the bed. She nodded her head, and Big Mac pulled the covers as Fluttershy dived, thrusting the dagger into the mass. She soon realized that there was no blood, but instead cotton. Twilight lit up her horn and the group sighed as they realised that Gilda was not in the bed, that Fluttershy had been stabbing a very creepy plush replica of Rainbow Dash. Twilight put the light out as she heard steps from outside. She put her hood back on and stood by the door. She reached out and pulled the startled servant inside. Covering his mouth with her hoof, Twilight let go once she realised it was a pony. Fluttershy's heart sank as Twilight lit up her horn and she saw the cuts, bruises and scars that crisscrossed over the servant's body. "Please don't kill me Dusk! Please." Begged the servant, Twilight let him up, and gave him some space. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you, just tell me where Gilda is.' She said, using a slightly deeper voice. The servant suddenly smiled. "Is it her turn, have you come to kill her?" he asked gleefully. Then his smile faded. "Oh I'm sorry but she left to visit her father on the front lines, and I have no idea when she will be back." He said, genuinely unhappy. Twilight turned to Fluttershy and Big Mac; "Well it looks like you have your wish, I'm going where Gilda is." She said. The servant showed them a secret passageway out of the palace, which ended very close to the church. Fluttershy suddenly wondered; Twilight, why does everypony keep calling you Dusk?" She asked. Twilight smiled. "When I started, I didn't want anypony to link me back to the elements of harmony and you girls, so I changed my name to Dusk." She explained. Another question popped into Fluttershy's head. "And how come you weren't at Celestia's funeral?" she asked. Twilight stopped walking. "I was there. But I wanted to stay invisible, so I did. And I vowed to fulfil Celestia's last mission to the best of my ability. And I even think I've done that." She said, beginning the walk again. Twilight told her team that she was leaving, telling them to continue her work and to always follow the rules she set down. The three ponies left on a merchant vessel named the 'obsidian' the next morning. Luna was waiting for them at the next pony port, Twilight having had sent word by carrier pigeon. Twilight received a hero's welcome from the other elements, and delighted in being introduced to Sparkler. Fluttershy was shocked when upon seeing Pinkie; Twilight pulled her close and kissed her. Fluttershy smiled, realising that all of her friends had found love. And for Fluttershy, it meant that the griffins, and more importantly Gilda, didn't stand a chance. That night, she sat on archer's stage and looked over at the griffin camp, knowing that her enemy was so close gave Fluttershy a strange comfort. She pulled out her dagger again, and could almost feel it plunging into Gilda's heart. "For Rainbow, For Applejack."