//------------------------------// // Instruction // Story: MLPs: Agents of Harmony // by Amante //------------------------------// Deep beneath the giant APPLEWOOD sign in Los Pegasus is the main Magitek facility of MLP. It is here that the greatest achievements in magical and scientific research happen. The facility was tall, eight levels in all. The safest things to work with like enchanted cloth or magically powered tools were closest to the surface. The bottom level was where they kept nightmares that could only be dreamed of by the most deranged of minds. Within the fifth sublevel, South Officer Gerard was currently observing a young girl through a, considerably thick, sheet of reinforced glass. She had orange skin and long, fiery hair. Her hands were clasped as she sat in a soft, large arm chair. An agent wearing a red blazer with a cream stripe on the upper left arm was shining a purple light into her teal eye. After he asked her a few more questions, he gathered his things and left Sunset Shimmer alone in her cell once more. She looked around at the blank white walls that surrounded her. She sighed before she stood up and approached a large bookcase filled with an assortment of books. Though she was kept caged, they treated her well. She was given three square meals—she could even request what to have—and was even provided with a television, some exercise equipment, and the aforementioned bookcase. Whenever she finished a book, they even had the courtesy to change it with a new one she had never read before. About the only thing she could not do was leave. A gilded cage was still a cage. The words still echoed in her mind: Miss Shimmer, you are not a prisoner. But that does not mean you are not dangerous. For your own good as well as those around you, you will have to stay here for the time being until we are certain everything is safe.  That was the three months ago, and the last time she saw Principal Celestia. Gerard waved his hand and the image of Sunset Shimmer faded back into the sterile, white color of the walls of his office. He returned to his large, leatherette office chair and clasped his hands in thought. A moment later, he heard a knock at his door. The agent from the cell now stood at the door with a tablet in his hands. His skin was a cold, grey color made even colder by his dark blue hair. His eyes were a piercing aquamarine which only served to intensify the freezing aura he seemed to emit. He saluted at the door and approached the large mahogany desk. “Sunset Shimmer’s internals have calmed. She is stable now and should pose no threat to anyone,” he said with a voice that could send chills down lesser beings. Gerard regarded Los Pegasus Magitek Officer Tundra Strider. “What can you tell me stood out about the incident at CHS. What exactly was so strange with what happened there?” “The Elements of Harmony are quite efficient, if vicious, at what they do, sir.” Gerard’s eyebrow raised. “Elaborate.” “The Elements are capable of cleansing malice and chaos magic from one’s body. We are capable of something similar but not to the degree of the Elements. When we combat anomalies or other chaotic entities, we basically scrub them clean of chaotic influence. The Elements go much further, if frighteningly so. “Imagine having your hair waxed off, but rather than stopping at your hair, it strips the flesh right off your bone. When hit by a full blast of the rainbow from the Elements, the chaos is forcefully pulled out of you. It is safe to assume that this is what Sunset Shimmer experienced that night. It also explains why her dominant personality was suddenly made so submissive. Since the chaos inside her ruled for many years, her internal harmony magic was left beaten and starved.The Elements do not restore that power, so when the chaos was removed, all she was left with was her withered harmonic self.” Tundra handed the tablet over. Gerard began to scan the pages of his subordinate's report. “She seems to have recovered now from the looks of it.” “Indeed. Our equipment has sped up her recovery, but there is only so much we can do here, sir.” “Agreed. I suppose we might as well hand her off to the Medicals. Cadence has been itching to get her hands on that little brat.” Gerard thought for a moment. “Do not take away her escort though. By my order, they are still to follow her to Cloudsdale and wherever else she is to be sent.” “Yes, sir.” Twilight was doing her level best to concentrate. She was trying to read a manual on how to manage a six person squad that Pinkie had found in the Reactionary library. The keyword, of course, being trying. Behind her, on the one of the top bunks, was the snoring form of Rainbow Dash. The past hour had consisted of her alternating between giving the athlete dirty looks and reading the book. She lost it after a particularly piggy snort (that she swore had some saliva in it) had come from the athlete. She slammed her fists on her desk and stormed towards the bed. She reached up and shook the her shoulder. “Rainbow. Wake up.” Rainbow let out one more snort before her eyes shot open. She turned around and met scowls from Twilight. “What do you want?” “I’m trying to study. Could you please sleep a little quieter?” “Hey!” Rainbow was offended. “I do not snore.” Twilight gave her  a look. She put on a glove and held her hand up. It glowed and the sounds she had been enduring for the past hour began to play from her palm. Rainbow was admittedly impressed as she stared at Twilight’s speaker palm. Still, she had an argument to win. “Well, sorry. Do you have any idea what they make us do at Reactionary training? At least all you reds do is read books.” Twilight’s mouth was agape. “Excuse me? We do not just ‘read books.’ And when we do it’s always something worthwhile.” Rainbow just stared back with a condescending look. Twilight’s blood was starting to heat up. “The book I’m reading now, for example, will at least help make sure we don’t embarass ourselves on the field again.” She floated the book over and opened it to a page before shoving it in Rainbow’s direction. “Look at this. This is a divide and conquer strategy for six people against an equal or greater force devised by Colonel Easy Glider centuries ago.” She took the book back and looked at it one more time before realizing something. “Actually, this is pretty much a more advanced version of what you suggested then.” This got Rainbow’s attention. “What I suggested?” “About you and Pinkie sneaking around while Applejack and I provide distracting fire.” Rainbow was now sitting up as she looked at Twilight. “Can I see it.” Twilight handed her the book. As she read through, she realized that it was indeed similar to what she wanted to do to get their opponent’s flag. She moved to the edge and jumped off the top bunk, book still in hand. She began leafing through the other strategies. When she saw a particularly devious one, she began to read through it as she took a seat at one of the desks. Twilight took a peek over Rainbow’s shoulder and recognized what she was reading. “That one’s really underhanded, frankly. It manages to be a false-flag and blitz at the same time.” “Uh huh.” “I don’t think we’d be able to do it though. We don’t exactly have the capability to.” Rainbow put the book down and looked at Twilight. “Yes we can. I’ve got my speed to compensate while Rarity can use her telekinesis and AJ’s got her strength to pull off the second half.” “Yeah, but what about the night-time factor?” Rainbow smiled. “That’s where you and Rarity can come in. You can use your fancy magic to drum up an illusion for us to work with.” Twilight began to play the scenario in her head once more. She was absolutely right. It really could work that way. The two began to discuss more on strategies and magical abilities. Twilight learned more about pragmatism whilst Rainbow learned more about her own heart magic. They were so engrossed that they did not notice a pink head with an even pinker puff of hair peep through the door. She smiled as she watched the two discuss and interact with one another before leaving. The specimen in front wriggled and jiggled as another probe was plunged into its skin. Its skin was coated with a particularly slimy—and disgustingly green—substance. It did not have a mouth, so to speak, yet it still managed to give a low hissing sound. It was also about as big as a human torso. “Remember, the liquid that a U worm secretes is poisonous and acidic. Do not, under any circumstance, remove your conduit gloves unless you are certain that there is not a trace on you. Even a tiny speck would cause a chain reaction that would melt everything organic within you which basically amounts to all of you,” said the apple-green, purple-haired, white-coat instructor from the front of the room. Fluttershy had yet to attach any probes to her worm. She just stood there with her arms at her side as she stared at the bulbous creature. The instructor noticed this and approached her. “Is there anything wrong, Junior-Agent?” Fluttershy’s eyes alternated between her instructor and her U worm a few times before finally settling on the former. “Well, sir. I just don’t feel too comfortable about...this.” She lifted the probe up, it was long and thin, just about the size of a candle. She emphasized the particularly pointed section that was supposed to plunge into the poor worm. “I can understand your reluctance and though these devices seem...barbaric, I assure you they are actually quite humane. Though the initial application is painful, patients, even human ones, actually find these diagnosis wands quite comfortable.” “I’m sorry, sir, but I’m having a hard time believing that.” The instructor thought it over for a moment. “I may not be the best to describe or explain, but the gist of it is that within this little device is a very physically flexible material that, when influenced by certain magical signals, can easily be manipulated to whatever we need. If you need a particular medicine, it synthesizes it. If you need to scan yourself for foreign particles, it transforms and tells you if anything is wrong. If we need to investigate or find out more about an anomaly, we stick this in them to learn of things such as their origin and their weaknesses.” “How does that not hurt?” “Don’t you see? It’s also capable of synthesizing certain anaesthetic drugs to make sure that the process relatively painless,” he assured her. Fluttershy was still reluctant, but with her teacher now breathing down her neck, she knew she had no choice but to do it. She just hoped he was right about the painlessness. The worm gave a shrill cry as the wand dug itself into its skin. A moment later, though, the creature began to relax like it was in a state of euphoria—which it most likely was. “Good work,” said the instructor. “Now pair it with your device and see what it’s telling you.” Fluttershy did as instructed and found that the U worm desired water. After she secured a small bowl of water, she approached the worm and slowly lifted it up to place the bowl under it. The instructor looked to her curiously. “Why did you put it underneath the worm?” “Hmm?” Fluttershy wondered. “Oh. It asked me to place it nears its mouth.” “It...asked you?” She nodded. “Did it project its thoughts into you?” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, sir, but I don’t think you see them the same way I do. I still don’t understand it completely, myself, but I can actually do a rough interpretation of what all this little guy’s movements are.” She briefly glanced at the worm. “I believe you now, though. It really seems to be enjoying the whatever the wand is doing to it.” The instructor nodded and returned to the front of the room. For the next hour, he directed the class in a variety of tests and procedures using the various tools and devices that allowed the students to learn everything from the creature’s basic anatomy to its brain’s chemical composition. Once they had wrapped up, returned and removed all the probes and placed the U worms back into their pen, the instructor dismissed the class. When they were gone, he picked up a tablet from a drawer at the teacher’s desk. “Please input vocal identification,” it said in a hollow, robotic voice. “Manehattan Medical Officer Pulse Rhythm,” he said. The screen came to life and he was met by the golden eyes of Manehattan Magitek Officer Raven Zarana. “Well, Pulse?” she asked. He nodded. “You were absolutely right.” “Of course.” “She has the uncanny ability to read even the tiniest of movements. She would be the perfect agent to send in. There is just one problem.” Raven focused her stare. “What?” “She is cripplingly shy.” “Assistance from other Agents of Harmony will help overcome fear.” “Another problem is that I don’t think she’ll be willing to go along.” He looked at the U worms as they slithered around their pen. “She wouldn’t even use the diagnosis wands on a U worm, of all things, until I assured her it would not hurt the creature.” “Too much empathy. Solvable.” “Not solvable, Raven. We are not doing that again.” Pulse scrunched his face in disgust. “Not after what happened to the last agent.” She directed a glare towards him. “Agents of Harmony significantly more resilient than standard agents. Probability of survival above ninety percent.” “Raven.” He looked right in the eyes. “Gerard and Cadence both gave the order to shut that project down. I don’t think they’ll change their minds any time soon.” The Magitek officer let out a low growl. “Then we’ll find a way.” The moon was at the apex of its journey when its silver light wandered into the fabrication center of the Dragon’s Nest. It helpfully illuminated a table containing a variety of schematics, blueprints, notes and tiny metallic parts. Emerald-green eyes scanned through each of them before returning to a mammoth of a machine attached to a wall. The door to the private workshop opened and a lime-green face peeped inside. “Applejack?” The cowgirl turned away from the machine to smile at the newcomer. “Hey, Auto.” “That what I think it is?” he said as he walked into the room. His voice was thick with the accent of a Manehattanite. His eyes glanced to the table, then to the cowgirl. The serious determination he saw in her eyes was enough to make him take a step back. Applejack chuckled slightly. “Yup. Ah think Ah actually got it this time round.” Auto’s brow was raised as he joined her in front of the machine. “You sure? I doubt the Magiteks’ll like the news of another lab bein’ blown up by the same junior.” She led him towards the table and brought attention to the schematics and diagrams on it. They originally contained the schematics generated by Applejack’s mind through the realization box. Now, they contained layer upon layer of scribble, erasure, calculation and correction. The paper it was on was worn and thin and would have disintegrated had Twilight not placed a special preservation spell on it at the request of the cowgirl. “Ah’ve accounted for everythin’ Ah could think of. Ah’ve corrected everythin’ and brought it all up to specification. Ah won’t fail this time.” “You really won’t give up on this, will you?” Applejack gave him a bittersweet smile. “Y’all know what this means to me, Auto.” He returned a much more understanding smile. “I know.” “It’s the least I can do to make ‘em proud.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. Some grease from a stain transferred onto his hand. “They already are, Applejack. You really have to understand that. You know something? I actually overheard instructor Gear Shift talkin’ ‘bout you. He said you’re one of the best mechanical Magiteks they’d seen in years.” Applejack sighed and looked at Auto. “If your sister or brother awaken, maybe they can join Medical. That way your family’ll have a foot in all four divisions.” Applejack’s smile became much more sincere as the thought of her brother, Big Macintosh, as a field medic entered her mind. With her smile much more honest, Auto turned to leave. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t hurt yourself, ‘kay?” He raised his fist in her direction. She brought her own up for a quick bump. “Course Ah won’t,” she said as she closed the door for her friend. The machine hissed as steam poured out from one of its upper orifices into a ventilation chimney. A metal case in the center of it all slowly began to open. Within, held aloft by astonishingly strong microscopic fibers, were a bunch of metal parts and plates. Her orange hands were wearing white conduit gloves when she reached out and gingerly took each part out. After laying all the pieces out on a nearby table, Applejack took a step back and smiled. She took out a bunch of precision tools and sat down to get to work. By the time the sun broke the horizon, the cowgirl was fast asleep at the table with her head on her arms. The sound of other junior-agents making their morning rounds managed to wake her up. She raised her head and shook off her drowsiness. When her eyes began to focus, she took another look at the beautiful piece of machinery that lay on the table. It had taken her the a significant amount of the month they had spent at the camp, as well as countless hours of research and experimentation, but she had finally accomplished what she wanted. She stroked the shining, obsidian-black barrel of her creation. Her eyes locked onto the carefully engraved symbol of her heritage, an apple, sitting just after the ammunition chambers. She unclipped the chamber and took out one of her personally modified energy rounds. The mechanical and electrical section took quite a mental tax from  her but, with Twilight’s help for the magical leylines, she managed to optimize the design while still maintaining the device’s size. It could now be used longer and with less magical strain. With her hand neatly grasping the smooth, brown, ebony wood handle, she squeezed it slightly and willed it to change form. The metal began to liquidize and compress. Once it changed into a ball of clay-like substance, it began to change once again taking on a flat, oval shape. After a while, patterns began to emerge on the surface as its color started to shift. It ended as a shiny golden belt buckle with an embossed apple right in the center bordered by branches and leaves. It sparkled as she held it in the light. Now that she knew what it felt like, she willed it to transform once again. The process was instantaneous now as she once again beheld the sleek form of the revolver, Quickdraw. She transformed it once again and clipped it onto her belt as she made her way out of the center. She greeted her fellow junior-magiteks along the way. She had to block the morning rays of the sun from her face when she emerged from the large cabin. There was barely anyone as she made her way to the square, concrete building. She entered and took an elevator to the lower levels. The shooting range was three stories tall and likewise empty as she stepped onto its platform. The console nearby came to life as she approached it. After placing a few commands, she stepped up to the range and waited, weapon drawn and ready. The first shade revealed itself and summarily received a pellet of energy right through its head. It faded into nothingness as another appeared across the range. Applejack looked down the sights and pulled the trigger. It disappeared just before three jumped out rather close to the cowgirl. She didn’t even flinch as she glared at their menacing faces. A moment later, holes were present on each. Suddenly, a particularly large one that looked to made of pure shadow emerged right at the center. She smirked as she held the gun with two hands. She took a breath and poured a considerable amount of magic into her weapon. The ball of light that emerged shined with the might of a miniature sun as it soared towards the black monstrosity. On contact, the shade exploded, showering the room in tiny particles of light. Like an old western, she blew the tip of the barrel and twirled the gun before willing it back into a buckle and putting it on. As she took one last look at the now empty range, she began to hear the distinct sound of...spurs? She wondered who the heck wore spurs in the camp as she turned to face the source of the sound. At the entrance to the range stood a tall, well-built, middle-aged blue coat. His skin was aqua blue and he had a head of scruffy brown hair underneath a black, flat brimmed cowboy hat. His blazer was slightly longer than convention and, rather than black slacks, he wore a pair of black work jeans. Overall, he projected an aura of the good ‘ol ways which resonated well with Applejack’s nostalgia for that lifestyle. It didn’t help that his piercing green eyes seemed to be looking at her with familiar fondness. After realizing that they had been staring each other for an uncomfortably long period, Applejack broke the silence. “Can Ah help y’all, mister?” The man cleared his throat and approached the range. “Sorry. It’s just been a while since I’ve seen shootin’ like that, Miss AJ.” His voice had a faint accent similar to Applejack. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was something about him that was unmistakably familiar. After she realized that he had just addressed her by name, she said, “Well seeing as you know who Ah am, would you mind givin’ me a name?” “Blue Bellini, at you service.” He took of his hat and bowed like a gentleman of old. “Your name’s been floatin’ around the Magiteks. Big shots’ve been keepin’ an eye on your progress.” Applejack raised a fascinated brow. “Really?” “Really. Fits well if you ask me. You’ve got a good grasp on the tech half, your teammate, Miss Sparkle, has the magic half, together you represent Magitek pretty good.” Applejack didn’t take her eyes off him as he approached and activated the range. “Well you’re obviously a full agent. What are you doin’ here at boot camp?” “Came to see an old friend. Gets pretty lonely out there. I’m not really in any of the branches, you see. I’m a drifter agent.” She raised both brows in curiosity. “Basically, I go about helping branches with certain problems.” “Like whut, exactly?” He brought out a silver pocket watch as the first shades formed in the range. In a moment, the watch had transformed into something else. Applejack could see that it was heavily modified and had a number of newer attachments, but underneath it all was still the recognizable frame of an old M1 Carbine rifle. Four shades appeared in the back of the range, intermingled with a number of agent shades. With absolute precision, he gunned down the hostile shades and even one that had grappled a friendly. When he finished, he transformed his rifle back and looked to the cowgirl. “If they have a problem they want eliminated, they usually send me in. Who better for infiltration than an obfuscation, after all.” The rifle itself and even the performance was unsurprising for the cowgirl. What wasn’t was the small silver apple hanging by a chain and attached near the end of the rifle’s butt. She squinted in disbelief at the shining fruit-shaped trinket. “Uhm, you an Apple by any chance?” she asked warily. Blue raised an eyebrow before he noticed what had caught her eye. He smiled. “No, missy, I ain’t. I did know some though. I was also really close to two of them.” His smile changed to a more melancholic version. “You knew them pretty well, I reckon.” Applejack tilted her head. “Really? Who were they?” “Stayman Winesap and Ginger Sangria.” His smooth tone nearly broke at their mention. Her smile reflected his. “I see.” “Make no mistake, Miss Applejack.” He looked to the young agent. “Your parents truly were some of the best.” She nodded. “I know.” Inside the sixth cabin along the first row of junior-agent cabins, Pinkie Pie was at her desk with her nose buried deep within a particularly thick book. On the next seat from her sat Rarity, her nose buried in a similarly thick book. “Wow. This book is creepily specific,” said Pinkie Pie as she grabbed a potato chip from a nearby bowl. “I think I can understand the feeling,” Rarity replied. Pinkie’s eyes scanned the series of images neatly laid out on the book’s pages. It was a diagram on how to use her chosen fisticuffs style with concussive body magic. The process was surprisingly simple. All you had to do was imagine the part of your opponent’s body that your fist would make contact with exploding. The book itself admitted that proper execution required practice as the specific way to channel body magic usually differed between users. Body magic, much like physical capability, depended on the user’s own fitness level. Those who were of the lethargic inclination more or less received mediocre results. Those, however, with peak physique could leap tall buildings in single bounds and lift entire train cars with their fingers. This is why agents who used this magic tended to be the most physically impressive. Even then, agents who were of relatively equal physicality would likely get different results in test environments due to a, as of yet unknown, factor of randomness. Mind magic required mental precision and concentration. In order to achieve results, they would have to build simulations in their heads on how they would want whatever they were manipulating to act. The advantage this method had was the amazing precision that could be achieved. A skilled Medical-Mind agent could perform open-heart surgery without making physical contact. This also provided it’s greatest handicap; since the situation had to be played out in the user’s mind, this limited what could be done with it by the user’s own imagination. Consequently, since the method of using this magic was highly methodical and rigid, new techniques and applications were rare between generations. Agents who leaned in this direction tended to be scholars and members of the Magitek division. Heart magic, on the other hand, required something much less quantifiable than the other two: passion. Physical contact and mental force usually contributed little in the use of this branch. What mattered most was the user’s ability to feel, emotionally, what they were doing. While it sounded simple, this was actually the most strenuous, frustrating and draining of the three. The flipside was that, once an agent had gotten a proper flow, their ability would be nigh-unstoppable. When they knew what kind of emotion they needed, it was usually trivial to call it back. The most powerful users have been known to bend their immediate surroundings to their whim granting them the freedom and capability of flight. Rarity considered this as she read through her textbook. It was a thick grimoire whose contents leaned more to application by the Obfuscation Division. It had three primary sections for the three types of Harmony magic. After giving up on a particularly difficult spell for her mind magic, she decided to browse through the body section. She found the types of spells and their methods mystifying to say the least. “Pinkie, how does that precognitive ability of yours work precisely?” Pinkie looked to her friend. “I’m really not sure. Twilight said that she could help me look more into it.” “None of you instructors could even identify it?” Pinkie released her book and did an exaggerated shrug. “I even went to some of the Magitek instructors and they didn’t have any clue either. They also said I shouldn’t worry since an entirely new class of ability does pop up every decade or so. I just so happened to be the one carrying the latest.” It was at that moment a knock was heard at the cabin’s door. Rarity volunteered to answer it. She welcomed Ignia into the cabin with a smile as Pinkie Pie went to meet the arabian. “You have such curly hair!” said Pinkie as she observed her co-division’s messy mop. “Your hair so poofy,” replied Ignia. “Like cotton candy.” Rarity approached them whilst Pinkie gave a squeaky giggle. “So what brings you to our fine abode on such a wonderful day, my dear?” Ignia smiled and faced her. She flicked her left wrist and a bracelet of several copper rings transformed into the curved form of her scimitar. “I’m free till late afternoon, you aswell.” The sword retracted back to its inert form. Rarity wore a grin. “I have been looking for a reason to put down that book.” She pointed to the offending tome. “Ooooh. Can I come?” Pinkie raised her hand and teetered on her toes. Ignia looked to her. “You use sword too?” Pinkie shook her head vigorously before bringing up her fists. “I use these.” Ignia considered her for a moment then looked to Rarity. “Well you won’t always fight other swordwielder. Good you get experience with other schools.” Rarity shrugged. “I suppose. As long as we get a change of scenery from this,” she said as she gestured to the wooden interior. The trio left the cabin and went to a large open area in the north-west corner of the camp. They drew their various weapons. Ignia approached Pinkie and whispered something into her ear before facing her student. “Quick review of what I’ve shown you.” In two great strides she closed the gap between her and Rarity and brought her sword down in a mighty swing. Rarity prepared herself. She met the scimitar with her rapier and bent her wrist just enough that the scimitar slid down the metal of her sword as she jumped to the right. “Good,” said Ignia just before she pirouetted and performed an upwards slash at Rarity. It was countered by a move that involved her rapier’s ornate guard. This resulted in the scimitar being partially locked to it allowing Rarity to safely pull the blade away just enough for her to throw her fist at her opponent’s face. Ignia crouched down and spun her body around. As she spun and stepped to the right, she reversed her grip on her scimitar. Holding it back-handed gave her just enough leverage to yank her sword free. She recovered and held her sword with the bladed edge facing rarity and the dull edge touching her arm. “I see you learned trick with sword’s design.” Rarity smirked. “You did say to be creative.” She closed her left hand. Her ten-beaded bracelet broke off and transformed into ten small knives that revolved around her fist. Ignia nodded ever so slightly as she took a leap to the side, revealing to Rarity a fast approaching ball of pink with a clenched fist wearing metal knuckles with spikes decorated to look like party hats. “Gotcha,” said Pinkie Pie.