//------------------------------//
// Five 
// Story: Freedom Through Harmony: Book II 
// by Electricut 
//------------------------------//

Five
Scratch's Journal
Year 490; Equestrian Calendar

I stumbled through the streets in a daze, empty tears drying on my face. I don't know what I through I could do, but I just couldn't leave things like Doc wanted me to. To go with him and help stop some malevolent force- sure, why not. But if he thought I was going to leave Octavia in the dust for it, he was seriously mistaken.

But... The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her. If we were going to be gone that long, I didn't want her to worry herself sick waiting for me... Especially since Doc said we might not ever be back. I didn't want to leave her at all, and my idea of just staying with her and letting Doc risk his life by himself was still sounding pretty good... But deep down, I knew Doc was right. I couldn't. I had to go with him and watch his back. As much as I wanted to remain with Octavia, I knew that the need to keep both her and Doc safe was greater.

And that meant I had to do what Doc said, and break up with her. It positively destroyed me inside to even consider it, but the more I thought about it, the more Doc's infuriating logic made sense. I felt like screaming and running, to find some place where no-one could find me and just ignore the problem, or find a better solution. That would have been cowardly, though, and I already knew what needed to be done for what was unfortunately the best outcome.

Unbidden, unconsciously, my tired legs were bringing me to Octavia's residence. It was a pretty big place: like I said earlier, Octavia's parents had some money. I climbed the short staircase to the front door numbly, a trip I must have made thousands of times that now felt foreign and hostile. I lingered on the front step, almost paralyzed and unable to think, but I forced my hand to rise and clasp the bronze knocker hung over the threshold. It rose into the air slowly, then sounded heavily on the wood of the door. Twice more it knocked against the door, then my hand dropped limply. 

Several agonizing seconds passed after the final knock, but then I heard someone opening the locks to the door from the other side. My mind was running in a million directions at once, trying to figure out where I would even start only seconds from now. However, when the door opened, I breathed a tight sigh of relief, granted a few extra moments to think. On the other side of the door was not Octavia, but Lyra. 

She was as bedraggled looking as ever, with her minty green hair as messy as if she had only just climbed out of bed (though to be fair, she very well might have) and her bronze eyes scanning me with tired curiosity. With Octavia as a best friend she got treated pretty well, but Lyra didn't have a penny to her name for herself. She was unaccustomed to acting with the grace that came with the influence of money, and either ignored or just plain didn't notice the odd looks she got while in the presence of others meeting with Octavia.

"Huh? Oh, hey Scratch." She greeted at last. "What's up? Didn't you and Tavi just get done with your date anyway? Uh, are... Are you alright?"

"Yeah." I lied, running a hand over the back of my head. "I'll be alright. Something came up, and I, ah, need to talk to Tavi about it."

"Vinny?" I heard her voice echo from further in the house, then she came running a moment later. In spite of the horrible circumstances that brought me here, I couldn't help but crack a smile and open my arms wide as Octavia blew past Lyra and threw herself at me. I caught her and rebalanced myself so her tackle-hug wouldn't send me tumbling back down the stairs.

"Vinny!" She greeted, holding me at arm’s length. The fond smile soon faded from her face as she took me in fully. "Wha- have you been crying? Vinny, did something happen? What's wrong?"

"Tavi..." I started sadly. "I've got some bad news. But, let's head inside, alright? I need to sit down... Oh, Lyra, can you come too?" I included the somewhat bewildered girl standing beside the two of us as an afterthought. "This sorta involves you too."

Octavia nodded, and the three of us walked through the short entrance hall and into the den. An empty fireplace sat at the edge of the room, unneeded in the late summer weather, and several sofas sat around the space around the central fixture. We all sat on one, with Octavia wedged between Lyra and I. Awkwardly,  dreading every second as it came, I began: "Doc got ahold of me right after our date... He says he and I've got a job to do, some people to stop."

Both nodded in understanding. It wasn't as though this was a new occurrence; Doc and I had heeded the call of time-bending duty several times before, mostly to put something or someone into place for events to play out in a more favorable way; or, to put it simply, completing the paradox. People tend to over-hype paradoxes, since they almost never happen from a normal person's point of view, but to me they had become just another feature of life, and were easier to pull off and much more common than one would think.

This was no minor paradox mission, however, and both girls saw it in my eyes. I swallowed hard and continued. "He hasn't told me much about the people we'll be fighting, but he made one thing abundantly clear: they are tough, know what they're doing, and will take a lot of effort to stop. He said... He said it may be years before we can rest easy again."

I could feel Tavi's eyes widen in surprise, but I dared not look her in the eye for fear of choking up again. Lyra remained impassive, calculating. I wet my lips nervously, my heart racing with fear and guilt. "He also said... He told me that I should... I should break up with you."

Octavia's reaction was immediate. “What? Why?! Why would he even say that?"

"It's all part of the damn horrible logic of it." I said, putting my head in my palms. "If I don't, and we end up being gone for years- maybe forever... He says you'd worry yourself to death worrying about me..."

"Well you're not going to do it, are you?" Octavia pleaded. A painful moment passed in which no-one spoke, and I could sense Octavia grow more and more panicked and desperate. "Vinny? You're not... Not going to do it, right? Vinny, please talk to me. Please tell me you're not going to listen to him!"

"Tavi..." I began to respond, not daring to move my eyes from where they were locked on the floor. "I hate Doc right now for even suggesting that. I love you more than anything, and I want to stay with you. I want you to be happy. And I don't care if there's some threat looming, I don't want that to come between us.

"But..." I hated to do it, but the truth had finally hit me, and I had to break the illusion I had built up. I could feel fresh tears rising to the surface, but I pressed on regardless. "That's just it. I want to do whatever I can to ensure your happiness in the end. And to do that... I don't want you wasting any of your time waiting for someone who you might never see again. So..." Octavia was shaking her head vigorously in denial, tears beginning to form in her own eyes, only adding to my own despair. "I think it might actually be for the better if you just... Just forgot about me."

"No!" She exclaimed, her voice broken. She threw herself at me across the sofa, burying her face in my shirt and bringing her fist down on my leg a few times futilely. I closed my eyes and swallowed, felt myself losing my own grip, and wrapped my arms around her. Soon we were both crying, wishing there were another way, but I knew that none would be forthcoming. But feeling Octavia's sobbing form against me, remembering all the time we had spent together already, I realized that I just couldn't do it.

To hell with Doc's idea of what was going to happen. To hell with being gone for years, or never making it home. That was quitter's talk. I decided right then that I wouldn't let that philosophy get to me. I would make it out of this alive, and I would get done faster than 'years from now'. I would not abandon Doc, but I would never let this or any mission tear Tavi and I apart.

"No..." I voiced, stronger than I thought I would. I was angry and upset, but I knew where my emotions were going. I spoke while rocking Octavia lightly, calming her. "No. I won't let this happen. Not like this. Tavi, I promise... I will make it back. It might be a while, but I'll make it happen. I promise I'll come back to you. Just... Don't worry about me. Don't wait up. See someone else for a while if you have to, I promise I don't mind. I don't want you to waste time waiting, but I will return someday. Just don't stop living your life in the meantime. Okay?"

She sniffed slightly and looked up, her large violet eyes shimmering beautifully with emotion and tears. "A-alright. I'll try. But... I can't see anyone else. I won't go that far. But I promise I'll just try to move on for a while. Vinny..." She reached up slowly, and we shared a long, drawn out kiss. "Hurry back."

I nodded and we stood up off the sofa. Was what I did the right thing to do? Did I find a better way out, or was I just too weak to go all the way through with it? No, I had to believe I was right, or I'd never live any of it down. I found a way to satisfy Doc, and Tavi. I would help whoever he wanted to help, and would return to the girl I loved afterward. Was that so wrong?

Lyra stood as well, scratching the back of her head awkwardly. I moved over to her next, shaking my head apologetically. "Sorry about that." I said. "That must have been weird for you to sit through. But at least you know what's going on now too."

She nodded confidently. "Yeah, that does kinda make it worth it. Scratch... I'll be there for her. She's my friend too, and I want her to be happy as much as you do. So I'll just... Do my part to help her stay cool without you for a while. Alright?"

"Sounds good." I said, then gave her a quick hug as well. "You're my friend too, Lyra. Don't forget that too quickly."

"Yeah..." She said, wriggling out of my embrace uncomfortably. Lyra was never much of a hugger. "But hey. I don't know what it is you're getting into here, but we'll be rooting for you back here. If you need any kind of support back from this time, you know you'll have it in a heartbeat."

I nodded gratefully, then clasped her on the shoulder in farewell. The two followed me to the front step of Octavia's home. With a final big group hug goodbye, I began my trip back home. As an afterthought, I turned around and called back to Tavi: "Hey, uh, if Doc happens to ask, go ahead and tell him I actually went through with it?" She nodded. Better safe than sorry, I figured. Not wanting to leave with that as my last words for a while, I added "I love you." with a wave, then turned a corner out of sight.

~

After making amends with Doc after my outburst earlier, and lying and saying I had broken up with Octavia, he decided to let us spend the night at the base, then begin the mission in the morning. As such, I lay awake in bed that night, sleep eluding me. Now that I was able to get Octavia off my mind, thoughts of the actual mission began swirling. I went over the few details I had over and over again, hoping to make some new sense out of it. 

All he said was that some people need help, and some need to be stopped. He wanted me to bring the battle discs, so there will likely be some fighting involved, or at least the potential for it. This means the group we have to stop will likely have trained fighters as well. And if this mission may take years- or lives- then it's even more likely that this group has armed and dangerous recourses at their disposal. And... Let's see, he said it was year four-ninety eight that they were most active, but not exclusively then. In addition, they are centered in Tellius at that time. What bad groups could there be in Tellius right now, the occasional bandit pack notwithstanding? I thought there was supposed to be a general peace time there for a while longer.

Eventually I did manage to catch a bit of sleep, and awoke somewhat groggily. One quick breakfast later, Doc and I shouldered our packs and walked wordlessly out of town. I understood that we had to get some distance between us and other people, as two people fiddling around with a couple of floating discs, then vanishing into thin air would be bound to look strange. Oddly though, we kept walking well past the point at which we could have left. Minutes more passed in silence, then curiosity got the best of me and I brought it up to him.

"Ah, yes. Forgot to mention, we've got a bit of business to attend to in this time as well, before we travel. First of all, we must make a trip to the city of Manehattan. There's a very important bit of reconnaissance we need to do. We'll make a few other stops around Equestria as well, before going to Tellius." From beneath his light overcoat Doc retrieved the Time Tables, which soon grew to their full size and floated near him. He quickly adjusted the settings on one of the disks, leaving the other as it was, then held out his other hand to me. "Ready?"

I nodded and took his outstretched hand. His other moved over to the glowing green symbol between the Tables, and with a blinding flash of light as he touched it, we were teleported directly to the fields outside Manehattan. The outer wall of the mighty city was ever-visible on the horizon, the buildings towering over each other and seeming to compete for height, their steel skeletons reinforced with magic for durability. Various light-infused stones hung from street poles and wires, providing a pale illumination for the city in the dark hours. The sun was at a decent height- enough to see by, but it wasn't likely that many people would be out yet if they could help it- so the two of us set off immediately into town.

Doc made his way, seemingly at random and without true direction, through the streets, and I trailed behind curiously. I knew better than to think this was truly random; I knew instead that this must have been some kind of hot-spot, that something was already happening here that we had to be aware of, that we had to track someone without being detected ourselves. Finally, he came to a stop at the back of a building, where a winding fire escape route hung at the edge. "We need a higher vantage point, you see." He explained. "The roof of this building should be enough. After you." 

I shrugged and leapt up at the first rung in the ladder, then began to scramble up the rickety iron passage. A sound a few moments later confirmed that Doc was following a short distance behind. I ascended six more floors before reaching the roof, then moved to the center of the building to wait for Doc. He arrived only a second later, and walked past me to the opposite edge of the roof, then started scanning the city below for something.

"There." He said at length. He pointed into the distance of the cityscape, adjusted his aim slightly, and motioned for me to join him at the edge. I stalked over interestedly. "Do you see him? The man on the rooftop a few buildings down, perhaps two stories below us." For the longest time I saw nothing in the pale morning light, even following Doc's gaze... then something shifted some distance below atop the dark roof of a nearby building. 

It wasn't a dramatic move, but just enough to alert me to the presence of someone lying stomach-down on the rooftop. I figured just from that small move that this person was doing some reconnaissance of his own, spying on someone from his perch, and had been all night. I hadn't seen him because he seemed to be wearing a heavy black cloak that masked all his features. 

"Take a good look at him." Doc instructed. "That man is a member of a group called The Order. The ebon cloak he wears is iconic of this group, and you should exercise caution whenever you see it. The people we have set out to stop are all members of The Order, but let me make one thing clear: All our enemies are of The Order, but not all who are of The Order are our enemies. There are... at least four members that are not sympathetic to our enemy's mission, possibly more. However, there are four that are most certainly against us."

"That's eight that have taken equal sides, right?" I concluded. "How large are their numbers total? And what about this guy, what's his story?"

"Not counting the man below us, there are ten. Two members, both essentially youths... I lack enough knowledge about them to decide definitively where their allegiances lie. That is why we must be careful when dealing with The Order. Do not judge by the cloak alone, nor by their word. Exercise caution, but not overt aggression. Do you understand?" 

I nodded in agreement, then pointed down again. "But again, what about him? Is he our enemy? And if so, should we try to disable him now?"

"That man- Lucius is his name- is with our enemy, yes. However, I would not consider him an enemy, nor a threat to us. He is unable to do anything to oppose us, because destiny has it that he dies today. We need not interfere with him. However, he has something we need, so we shall be here when he perishes to collect it."