//------------------------------// // Branching // Story: MLPs: Agents of Harmony // by Amante //------------------------------// “Ouch.” “Settle down, the more you struggle the harder this gets. You know that.” A pair of pink-hued hands wrapped a short bandage around a bruised orange arm before also wrapping themselves. Light escaped through the cracks between her fingers. “There, that should be all better. How do you feel?” She took a handkerchief from the inside of her cream blazer and wiped a bit of dirt off her patient’s face. “Much better now, thank you, Cadance.” Sunset Shimmer rubbed the healed section. It had the feel of fresh and revitalized skin, still sensitive to touch. She almost jumped as she realized her words. “I mean, Medical Off-” A pink finger cut off her sentence. “Cadance is fine.” Sunset nodded without taking her eyes off her. A pair of white coats, one male and one female, emerged from the inner part of the cave. The pair nodded. The boy went towards the entrance whilst the girl approached Cadence. She had short silvery hair and a snowy complexion. A streak of cream ran across the shoulders of her blazer. Her eyes were grey and intense like a blizzard. “The cave doesn’t go on for too far, but there are signs of past habitation. It was probably used as a holdout; since how long ago is hard to say. There were a few long undisturbed holes beside some relatively fresh ones, all filled-in,” she said. Cadance smiled at her ever dependable second. “Thank you, Winter Ward.” “Excuse me, but what are you talking about?” asked Sunset. “We didn’t just crash,” said Winter. “We were shot down by something.” “Shot down? But I thought nothing but magic could touch your planes?” Sunset looked at her hands and flexed them as if trying to get them to work properly. “I didn’t even feel anything.” She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and met with understanding amethyst eyes. “Don’t worry, it’s still there. And there wasn’t anything to feel because they were using enchanted conventional weaponry.” “Indeed.” Winter reached into her pocket and brought out two cylindrical pieces of metal the size of a film roll. “A couple of slugs were left behind. They’re fairly high-caliber, hard to get unless you know the right people. Even harder to enchant if you don’t have the magic for it.” Cadance scrunched her face and picked one of the rounds up in disgust. “It’s possible they found a way to harvest the magic from the earth itself.” Winter glanced back into the dark inner caves. “That adds up with the holes we found.” “Diamond diggers,” the two said simultaneously. “What?” asked a completely bewildered Sunset. “Try as we might, we can’t get to everyone that awakens and some of them end up,” Cadance paused to think a moment, ”enamored by gems. Our own ley line system is actually based on the lattice structures of gems and crystals. They are natural magical conduits and amplifiers and this, of course, attracts those that can sense it. If you know how to handle it, which is what we train, then it acts as an excellent source of energy. “But if you don’t, the raw power it gives you is unfiltered and ultimately chaotic. This tends to cause instability in its users. They become obsessed and greedy and seek to obtain more magic for themselves no matter what. They must have sensed our plane and shot it down in the hopes of taking its power.” Sunset swallowed a lump in her throat. “Are they dangerous?” “On their own? Hardly,” said Winter. “They’re a bit too crazy to be a threat. But they also travel in packs which is what gives them a real edge.” Cadance was already on her way out and tapped the shoulder of the male white coat as she stepped into the light. “Which is why it is also our duty to help them.” “North Officer, I really cannot recommend you actively trying to find their lair,” said Winter as she chased after her. Every rocky ledge or jutting formation sent a shiver down her spine as the tips of her fingers frosted at the ready. Her fellow Praetorian had taken point. Vigor Aegis had a golden crossbow in his right hand that glinted gloriously when the light hit it and on his right hip was a similarly auric gladius. His blonde hair was cropped and cut short, which only served to emphasize his magenta eyes. He knelt down by a large slab and raised his left hand for the others to follow. They lined up behind him and waited. Three diggers emerged from a corner carrying on their backs three bulging burlap sacks. They were dusty and their eyes were wild. Their hair was all over the place and clearly in need of a wash. But most noticeable of all were their large, ape like arms. Months spent toiling away in dark and toxic mines, coupled by their obsession with the gems and their unpredictable effects, had twisted their humanity into a dark perversion of itself. Their minds were utterly one-track as they carried their latest haul to the hoard. Together with their obscene strength came obscenely sharp senses. Unfortunately it was taxed by severely lowered awareness and thought which is what prevented them from doing anything about the foreign scents that had entered their territory, especially with nothing visual to help stir action. They also came with an obscenely strong scent. Sunset felt her eyes watering from the sting. “Are those the diggers?” A sigh, complete with visible breath, escaped Winter’s lips. “Yes. Unfortunate souls.” “All the more reason for us to help them, my dear.” Cadance placed a finger to her mouth and murmured something incomprehensible to the others. A small, pink sphere of light left her fingertip and flew over the rocks before jetting over and attaching itself to the third digger. “That should help us find their home.” Winter watched them turn another corner and get out of their line of sight. “Those were gatherers so they couldn’t have possibly been the ones who shot us down.” Vigor’s head snapped to attention as he heard the faint sound of rock, shifting around unnaturally, several feet behind and above them. He leapt and pushed Cadance into a small outcropping just big enough for her before entering into a roll that ended with him firing a golden bolt into the face of the first armed digger. The digger staggered back and dropped his rifle before curling up and losing consciousness. Down below, Vigor had his sword in his other arm and jumped from ledge to ledge to get to the others emerging from their ambush. Three nozzles popped from a formation but quickly found themselves encased by a thick sheet of ice. Winter Ward kept one hand blowing a blizzard in the direction of their attackers, and another building a protective shell around Sunset Shimmer. When she was satisfied with her shell, she ran towards the rock wall that Vigor began scaling. Up above, a digger raised a pick to swing at Vigor, but quickly found herself holding a simple stick before flying back with a new, boot-shaped mark on her face. A particularly big one, with arm muscles positively bulging, shoved an equally large rock down the slope. “GET ‘EM! THEY GOTS MAGICKS!” From the base of the cliff, Winter pulled her hand back and threw a bolt of compressed cold air at the large target. He hit him right in the chin and caused his head to swing back violently. He reached up and felt the frozen section of his chin and snarled with such rage that the nearby diggers—who had been trying to take pot shots at the bouncing Vigor—scurried away so as not to get caught in his wrath. From somewhere behind him, he brought out a six-barreled mini gun and carried it as if it were nothing. “YOU GON’ PAY FOR DAT!” Winter’s eyes widened as she made a quick leap backwards to avoid the incoming spray. She was forced to create a curved, three inch-thick sheet of ice mid-flip as several of the bullets embedded themselves in it. Meanwhile, Vigor shot a bolt directly down at another digger before using his stunned and staggering form as a platform to leap closer to the larger threat before shooting several bolts at its various extremities. He had succeeded in getting his attention as the six barrels neatly lined up with his vision. A steady stream of glowing beads shot forth and straight for him. Flipping his sword into a backhanded grip, he used it to swat away the incoming projectiles with such a pace that his arm was but a blur. When he was almost there, he threw the sword and, with a little help of some magic, jammed it into the center of the big gun. The big digger’s face snarled as he tried to shake the offending knife out of his weapon. His attention was soon taken by a pair of boots landing on his shoulders. He shifted his vision and was met by the pointed end of a crossbow bolt. The explosion created a cloud of dust so thick that it felt like pushing through slurry. His weapon slammed to the ground with a thud as he waved his hands around to try and disperse the cloud. When it thinned enough for vision to be allowed, he found two white points at his eyes with a smirking, silver-haired girl behind them. Winter sent two small bolts of lightning-like ice into the digger’s head. She jumped back as he froze from head to toe and tilted just enough to send him plummeting to the ground. The air around its frozen form whistled as Winter bounced along the ledges and made her way back down. The digger shattered spectacularly into a shower of glistening snowflakes that covered the surrounding ground in a decent layer of snow. Some of the white powder took to the air once again as Winter landed, standing neatly in the center. Cadance stepped out of the rocks she was thrown into and brushed off the dust that had landed on her jacket in the scuffle. She touched her hair and the tiny particles of dirt that had made a new home in it were blown off by an invisible wind. She nodded at her two guards before smiling and offering a hand to Sunset Shimmer. The young, fiery-headed girl accepted it and got back on her feet. The North Officer thrust out an opened hand in the direction of teh battle that had taken place. Her fist closed and every unconscious digger’s body was wrapped in a sparkling, baby-blue glow. She waved her arm in an upward arc before bringing it back towards her chest. The bodies floated up slightly before collectively approaching Cadance. They all straightened out and lined themselves up before landing in three neatly arranged rows at her feet. The two Praetorians got to work and knelt at the first diggers of two of the rows. They each placed a finger near the crown of the head and their thumb on the bridge of their noses. Cadance did the same with the row before her. When they were finished, Cadance looked at her two soldiers hopefully as they approached. Sunset looked bewildered as she noticed the silent grimness emanating from the two agents’ expressions. Her confusion only increased as Cadance’s smile briefly faltered. Winter shook her head. “None on my row, I’m afraid.” “I have one,” said Vigor. Sunset realized this was the first time she heard him speak. She was pleasantly pleased that his low baritone matched perfectly with his silent, serious attitude. “One what, exactly?” she asked Cadance. “I’m afraid I only found two in my row as well.” The North Officer sighed. “Three out of twenty-four.” She turned and faced Sunset Shimmer. “Remember when I said that they were deformed by exposure to too much magic?” Sunset nodded as her eyes briefly noticed Winter separating three diggers from the rest. “We try to rescue them from such a state by separating their natural harmonic magic from the chaotic, foreign magic. Cure them, if you will. Unfortunately and, sadly, more often than not, we find them too late.” Sunset tilted her head in attempt to wrap her mind around what she was saying. “So what do you then.” Cadance was frowning now. “We end their suffering. In the best possible way.” Sunset quickly looked past the North Officer and, with eyes wider than plates, saw Vigor fire a black crossbow bolt into the head of a digger. It was completely absorbed as the body shook and convulsed before collapsing into an unmoving heap. The final few notes settled onto the crowd like a silken blanket. Brief silence preceded the standing ovation as the grey-skinned cello-player stood up and took a gracious bow. Cheers and whistles of admiration filled the large auditorium. The applause went on for minutes. The star of the show relished each one as a wide smile refused to leave her lips. The butterflies in her gut were no longer from the thought of taking the stage but were now from the reaction she had garnered from the audience. At last the curtain drew back and separated her from them, yet still the cheers refused to die out. She turned and made her way back into the wings of the stage. The praise and cheers did not end on the stage as the opinion of the audience was very clearly shared by those in the back. A small crowd had even formed and treated her to another round of applause as she neared teh dressing rooms. The stagehand that brought her her cello had even asked for an autograph. She smiled and gladly gave him one of her first. She looked at herself in the mirror with pride as she took off her embellishments and wiped off her make-up. She just finished changing into a simpler—yet still elegantly formal—satin dress. A rough knock on her door made her drop an earring just as she was about to put it on. “Who is it?’ she asked with the accent of the upper-class. A gruff, but polite, voice responded, “Someone who would like to have a chat.” She sighed as she considered whether or not she should open the door. It wasn’t that she didn’t particularly enjoy these chats, its that they tended to take her away from her life at hand. Even when she avoided them as much as possible, it would seem like every time she turned a corner they were there. It was the trade-off, she supposed, for her unlocked abilities. With a sigh of resignation, she took out a golden watch from a special compartment of her cello case and put it on. A slight tingle shot up the arm that now wore the watch. She approached the door and opened it. At the door was a slightly elderly man. He had the expression of a kindly grandfather, but the posture and gait of a top executive. He smile and bowed slightly as he entered the room. “Good to see you again, Miss Octavia.” He straightened out his dark blue blazer as he entered and assessed the dressing room. “It’s good to see you moving up in this world.” Octavia Philharmonica smiled in response. “Thank you, Agent Guise.” Her smiled waned slightly as she noticed another person, wearing a similar but red blazer, enter the room. “Who’s this, may I ask?” “This is a young trainee I am mentoring for the moment,” said Obfuscation Agent Dis Guise. She was slightly younger than Octavia, that is to say, she was about a year or so behind her. She had wild, electric blue hair and skin that was a slight twinge of cream. Her blazer was unbuttoned and revealed a white jacket on which were a pair of eighth-notes bridged together. A smile greeted Octavia who found it rather hard to read since her eyes were completely obscured by deep purple shades. She bounced slightly to the beat that leaked out of her headphones. Octavia bent slightly in an attempt to look past the shades which only elicited an amused smile from the other girl. “Um, hello there. I’m Octavia, you are?” She reached out a hand. It was accepted, but communication seemed to have ended when their hands separated. Guise interrupted them before the awkwardness had any chance to settle. “This is Vinyl Scratch. She’s a freshly recruit of the Magitek division, as seen by her red blazer. She’s not much for vocal communication, I’m afraid.” “Alright,” Octavia said slowly. “Now, as delightful it is to see you again, May I ask exactly what it is that brought you here.” She was tempted to add an exasperated ‘again’ but thought against it when she saw him look at her with more seriousness than she was used to. “A number of things, really. But the most pressing of which, perhaps, is your magic.” “I see.” As per usual. While it did grant her talents such amazing grace and power, she never realized that it would come with an astounding amount of bureaucracy. “Your concert was quite amazing, I must admit. Even young Vinyl here never once considered putting on her headphones during the entire performance.” The young Magitek agent paused her inspection of the room and gave Octavia an encouraging—as far as she could tell—grin and a thumbs up. Octavia smiled again. The concert felt wonderful. During the whole performance she could feel a light building up inside of her and shining all the brighter through her cello. The memory of a faint glow encapsulating everyone, even herself, suddenly made itself apparent as she reminisced her latest show. “Yes. I think I’m starting to understand how my body magic works; that’s what it’s called, correct?” “Yes, your type is indeed body magic and you do seem to be getting an astounding amount of control,” Guise said with a chuckle. His visage darkened somewhat as he said, “However, we did hear about your roommate’s… condition.” Octavia swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat. “I see. There’s a perfectly good explanation for it,” she said quickly. Guise waved his hand. “No need, one of our white coats managed an interview with her once she was stabilized. He was the very same doctor you talked and explained to that ‘she suffered an epileptic seizure’.” Octavia crumpled onto her chair and cupped her head in her hands. “It was an accident.” She raised her head and looked at the elder agent. “She just so happened to… hit a nerve at the very same time I was practicing with my cello.” “That does not change the fact that the poor dear practically had her organs rearranged,” said Guise sternly. “I know.” Octavia sighed. “I know.” “You have a wonderful gift, young lady. But it will take time to master.” He took a breath. This next part wouldn’t be easy for either of them. “For the moment, you’ve been re-transferred to Canterlot High.” Octavia bolted to her feet. “What? Then what happens to my scholarship in the Equestrian Symphonic Academy?” “It will still be waiting for you. We only want you back for a month or so.” His eyes narrowed slightly which was enough to completely flip his expression around. “Unless you would like to risk another roommate.” Octavia was about to retort but found herself at a loss for words. “Fine. But only a month.” “We wouldn’t have it any other way.” He gestured to Vinyl. “Agent Vinyl, herself, is still enrolled. I’m sure she can help you in anyway you need.” The young agent approached the budding musician and placed a hand on her shoulder. She gave Octavia a smile when her pink eyes finally looked to her. To her surprise, she smiled back. “Oh no.” Inator said as he ran to a panel below a monitor with the word, “OVERLOAD” emblazoned neatly across it and flashing in a series of red and yellow. His breathing was at a pace comparable to a professional sprinter going cross-country. His fingers danced across a number of keys and multi-colored buttons. Finally the alarms calmed down and the flashing lights steadied at a more comforting yellow. “Phew!” He approached the offending large turbine. He knocked on  its barrel before a cloud of thick smog exited straight onto his face, from a coolant pipe. After the obligatory cough, he stared at the hole and said, “Where’d that even come from?!” “Engine trouble?” The words echoed through the laboratory before a number of shadows coalesced in a corner and into a humanoid form. Once sufficiently solid, it took a step forward and peeled off to reveal Inkwell. Inator looked at her flatly, his face still blacker than her shadows. “You could say that.” “I am to assume that this is one of the engines of Harmony-1?” After thoroughly transferring the soot to a formerly white cloth, Inator gestured for Inkwell to follow. “Yes. I admit, the South Officer’s designs were a bit hard to decipher at first but they were just too amazing an opportunity to pass-up.” A small disc in the center of the table they approached projected a number of schematics for various parts such as the turbine, wings and even specially customized seats. “You should see the cockpit.” He flicked his fingers and a doorway materialized on the wall that led into another laboratory. Inside was the nose of an aircraft, sitting atop a few short scaffolds. It was slightly longer than it was wide with a rounded tip similar to a transport plane’s. A single sheet of glass curved around it near the top and served as the windshield. The two approached the back. From this side was nothing but a flat metal wall with, oddly enough, a wooden door which had elegant carvings inlaid and gave it an ornate look. The sides were also strewn with wires, holes and pegs, obviously meant to connect with the fuselage. “That’s quite an interesting choice for a door,” said Inkwell as she eyed the wood amusingly. “Oh, that will fit right in once you see what the cabin’s gonna look like. For now, I gotta show you the new trick that the South Officer designed for the cockpit.” Inkwell followed Inator through the doors that led inside. The room was pitch black and followed the shape implied outside. Two chairs stood side by side near the tip, two sat side by side on the left, one on the right and one was positioned at the center of it all. The only light came from the door behind them and from the long window. “It’s voice activated, but since the actual Harmony Agents aren’t using it yet, I have it set to my voice.” Inator cleared his throat. “Awaken.” A feminine robotic voice responded and said, “Magitek Officer Inator Inator, confirmed. System activating.” The walls of the cockpit faded away until they had a perfect view of everything outside. Inkwell knelt and reached down before she felt something distinctly solid between her and the ground below. It was as if the walls, floor and ceiling weren’t even there. What was through the door to the cabin matched perfectly with what was being projected onto the walls around it. “Now this is impressive,” said Inkwell as she approached the Captain’s chair. “I know, right? Once we figure out how to better implement this we can get it on almost any of our standard transports. Complete vision, even when inside the cockpit.” “I just hope they can handle it.” Inator looked at his colleague with surprise. “I doubt that’ll be a problem. I mean, this system is fairly easy to learn, I suppose.” Inkwell shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. They passed their examination, which means they are now full Agents of Harmony.” “Which hilariously seems to coincide with Project Harmony’s silence,” said Inator in an exaggeratedly sarcastic tone. She looked at him with furrowed brows and said, “So ever since that incident on the day of their examination, Project Harmony has returned to its dormant state? Absolutely nothing?” “Absolutely nothing,” he parroted. “If anything, they’re even more dormant. It’s like they just stopped emitting magic.” A bout of silence took over and separated the two as their faces contorted into concentration at their own separate, yet related thoughts. “Although,” said Inator. “Hmmm?” “When Agent Applejack used the test range at our division the other day, the sensors picked up more than just her firearm.” He looked at his feet as he tried to figure out the best way to say this.”They picked her up. Her magical signature changed from what it was when she first awakened.” “What did it change into?” Inator managed to straighten his slouch and looked Inkwell in the eye. “The Orb of Honesy’s.” Inkwell’s expression was a mixture of confusion and comprehension as she wrapped her head around the idea. “So Project Harmony seems to be actively feeding them their power?” “That’s the way it looks like it. It would probably help if you could monitor Agent Rarity, since she’s one of yours and all.” She nodded quickly before walking towards the pilot seat. “I will be honest, this just seems more worrying.” “How so?” he asked as he tilted his head. “They’re so young. They are all, quite literally, fresh recruits. Excepting young Sparkle, of course. But, here we are expecting so much of them.” Inkwell released a long and heavy sigh. “Project Harmony has been quiet since either of us joined and for centuries even before that. Why now?” “You wanna hear my theory?” She shrugged. “Why not?” “Well, besides the pony magic being introduced, it probably has to do with Project Harmony on the other side. Whatever those orbs are, we can be sure of one thing: They think. Since they seem to be the ones to choose their bearers I guess the ones on our side defaulted to what the pony side’s since it was forced to be activated here.” “So what you’re saying is they’re linked and because the pony side’s crown had to be used here, it indirectly resulted in our Project Harmony matching up exactly with theirs?” “It’s only a theory.” “It’s as good as any, I suppose.” Inkwell finally decided to take a seat on the leftmost chair. She rested her arm on an invisible panel with completely visible buttons that now seemed to float in mid-air. “The question still remains, are they up for what will likely be in store for them.” “I trust them.” “It’s not that I don’t, it’s that I-,” Inkwell looked at the floor to think, “They may not be too emotionally prepared to seethings our way. We’ve scared more than a few awakened away from us in this way.” Inator found himself the one shrugging this time. “I guess only time will tell.”