//------------------------------// // War Never Changes // Story: Defenders of Harmony // by chillbook2 //------------------------------// After Fluttershy bandaged up my wounds, she got the team together. According to Aj and Rainbow, Robert was being held underground about a mile north of town. They had a bunker where they kept prisoners. We would have to fight through a large number of changelings just to get in, and countless more to get Robert out. We’d also have to convince him to come with us. A tall order, but he needed our help. “Alright. I was contemplating on splitting us up into groups, but it’s not worth the time or the risk, so we’re running in together. No real plan, no real strategy, just rush in, grab Robert, and rush out. Any questions?” said Fluttershy, at the war table. “Yeah, I have a question.” said Pinkie. “How are we going to get in? We can’t just waltz in, we’ll be shot on sight.” “We blow it up. We walk in, blow a hole in the bunker and leave. I know I will probably regret it, but I give you full access to the explosive armory.” “Permission to leave?” asked Pinkie seriously. Fluttershy nodded and Pinkie Pie ran to the bomb range excitedly. “We go in as soon as Pinkie is ready. Twilight, can you teleport us all in?” asked Fluttershy. “Not all of us, no. I can take… six ponies, including myself.” replied Twilight. “So five passengers. And I can’t exclude any of you, I need the manpower. Conjure, can you teleport the Bitch and yourself?” “I can teleport me and Christian, if that’s what you’re asking. I might be a little off at first, my magic is still returning. We’ll get there, it’ll be fine.” said Isaiah, stretching out his side. Twilight was able to repair his ribs a bit, but they’re apparently still sore. “Is this really a good idea?” I asked. “You can’t really expect us to run in there without a plan, can you?” “I’m sorry, I forgot that I asked you to give your two-cents. Please, continue to grace us with your three years of battle experience. Oh wait, wait, that’s not you. That’s me with all that experience. How silly of me. Now, what did I really want to say to you? Oh yeah: Shut that goddamn hole on your face!” said Commandoshy. “Like I said: We’re rushing in, today.” “Don’t take it personally, sugarcube. Whenever she gets like this, it’s best to stay out of her way.” said Applejack. “Don’t tell him that. He’s supposed to take it personally. Rarity, do you have any extra armor?” “I have a suit for Conjure, Silver and War, in the event that he needs one.” said Rarity. “And I have about three extras besides that.” “Excellent. Now if Pinkie would only get down here with her explosives.” “You called?” said Pinkie, walking downstairs. She was in the same Chameleon body-armor as Fluttershy, with two duffle bags on her shoulders. She placed them down, opened them and pulled out two bazookas. She held one in each hand and pointed them at the air. “Let’s go.” We approached a grassy hill, just outside of town. Walking briskly and with purpose, Pinkie went to the side of the hill. She reached into her duffle bags and pulled out five bricks of C4. She put them in a square formation on the side of the hill, one in each corner and one in the middle. When everything was the way she wanted, Pinkie ran backwards, reached into her pocket and pulled out the detonator. “Ready for this?!” asked Pinkie rhetorically. Raising the detonator high in the air, she flicked the button. BOOM! The ground exploded, sending grass and dirt everywhere. I walked up to the crater and jumped in the steaming metal hole. It wasn’t deep, I hit the ground and stumbled forward a little. I gazed, shocked at what I saw. There was a long, empty hallway that led up to a large door, wide enough for the eight of us to walk in, side-by-side. The door was steel, and probably more than a few feet thick. I heard the others fall down behind me. “What now, Fluttershy?” I asked. “Still think this ‘no plan’ business was smart?” “Pinkie. Go.” growled Fluttershy. Pinkie ran up a few feet away from the door with her double rocket launchers in her hands. I stared at them, amazed at how she was able to lift such large weapons, let alone shoot them. “Like my Party Cannons? I didn’t have time to paint them. They were gonna be pink.” said Pinkie. She aimed at the door, gave us each a look of focus, and shouted. “PARTY TIME!!!” BOOM!! The doors blew apart with a bang. We rushed in, unable to see through the smoke in the room. Uh-oh. That wasn’t us. We couldn’t see two feet in front of our faces. “Twilight!” coughed Fluttershy. “Get us some visual!” I heard a soft humming and the smoke began to thin. After a few minutes, it dissipated. What I saw shocked me more than you could believe. Robert was kneeling over a changeling, beating his face in. Seemed normal enough, until you took in the fact that he was completely naked. “So you came for me, huh?” said Robert not taking his eyes off of the changeling. “Don’t know why you’re wasting your time. I’m not going with you.” “Not even for me?” I asked sarcastically. He dropped the changeling in shock. He got up and walked over to me. I expected this much. He stared me up and down and, without warning, punched me in the jaw. I stumbled backwards, not quite down and very surprised. “You have got to stop dying.” said Robert with a smile. “Yeah, well you have to stop being a psycho.” I said, rubbing my face. He opened his arms to hug me, but I had to say no… for obvious reasons. “Just a hug, bro. I thought you were dead for three years!” he said. “I’ll hug you, as soon as you put some clothes on.” I replied. “Come on, don’t be like that! It’s a party down here!” “Ooooooh! I knew it was a party, but I didn’t know it was that kind of party!” said Pinkie, unzipping her suit. “NO!” I shouted. “It’s not that type of party! Zip your suit back up!” “Party pooper!!” said Robert and Pinkie together. I rolled my eyes and tossed him a suit. He pulled it on and suddenly got serious. “Listen, we have two options: Run now or fight. If we run, we’re more likely to survive, but if we fight, we might learn something. What do you think, Chris?” “What he thinks doesn’t matter. It’s what I think, and I think we should fight.” said Commandoshy. “Yeah, but I didn’t ask you. I don’t take orders from you anymore, Fluttershy. I’ll follow Chris’, but not yours. What do you think we should do, Chris?” repeated Robert. Erm… That’s not good. “Uh… Robert? I think we should probably stay and fight. We need all the info we could possibly get.” I said quietly. “Cool. I get to show you my special magic.” He punched her in the ribs and kicked her in the leg. Grabbing her mane, he lifted her up and threw her over next to me. She hit the ground right next to my face. Her nose was leaking blood and her lip was bruised. “Help… me.” she whispered. Robert grabbed her back up, his eyes and skin faintly glowing red. He threw her to the ground twice more before I found my voice. “Robert, stop!” I screamed hoarsely. I got up slowly. “Stop. You’ve done enough. Why don’t you go work out or something, huh? Blow off some steam.” “Sorry. Unfortunate side effect to Battlecry. Makes me angry.” he said, sauntering off. I limped over to Fluttershy and grabbed her up. I carried her upstairs and laid her on her bed. Sitting down, I let out a deep sigh. “Thanks.” she said weakly. “I don’t think he would have stopped if it wasn’t for you.” “Don’t worry about it. What happened back there? I was pretty sure you could’ve taken down Robert.” “I… panicked, sorry.” she replied, closing her eyes. “Chris, can I tell you something?” “What is it?” I said, grimacing in pain. She really screwed up my wing. “I don’t think I’m up for this. I can’t do this anymore.” “What? Can’t do what anymore?” I asked. “Lead. I’m not very good at it. Look at what I’ve done while you were gone. I’ve ended countless lives, I’ve yelled and shouted and even hurt my friends. You were much b“Magic? What can you do?” I asked confusedly. He transformed into War without answering my question. He spread his arms out and inhaled deeply through his nose. A faint red aura engulfed his body. Suddenly, he swung his arms upwards, bathing the room in a red glow. I felt myself get lifted off of my feet. Just as abruptly as it started, it finished. “I call it Battlecry.” said Robert. “I just tripled your physical strength. Thank me later. We have hostiles incoming.” No sooner had he said it, had the room filled with changelings. We were surrounded by a ring of 80 plus changelings, when Pinkie threw down a smoke bomb. A thick fog filled the room, obstructing the vision of friend and foe alike. I rushed forward, pulled out my sword, and slashed at a changeling leg, cutting it off like a hot knife through butter. Whoops. Talk about triple strength. “Forget the sword.” I said. “We can take out these guys bare-knuckle.” I abandoned my sword and ran towards an enemy. I reared my fist back and swung it at his face, launching him across the room. A bladed arm breezed past my ear. I kicked it’s owner in the shoulder, hearing the CRACK! I dropped backwards and kicked upwards, smacking another changeling in the jaw. I stood up straight, observing my surroundings. Fluttershy slashed two changelings in the chest as Pinkie shot another in the knee. Twilight sliced off a changelings arm, kicked a nearby one in the chest, spun around and punched the first one in the throat. Aj and Rainbow were taking turns beating up a group of four changelings with a combination of hands, hooves, and blade. Only me and Isaiah were holding back, as Robert was throwing changelings around with all of his might. I looked around one last time and noted that there was only one left. I grabbed him by the wing and swung him to the ground as gently as I could. I picked him back up and threw him against the wall. I whipped out my blade and pressed it against his neck. “Hi, friend.” I said. “Lovely weather we’re having, isn’t it?” I felt the hairs on my neck prickle and something told me to duck. I got down just in time to avoid Fluttershy’s sword. The blade hit the changeling in the horn, cleaving it clean off. I got back up and thanked her for the save. “Hurry up, Silver. We don’t have all day. Get what we need.” she growled. “What have you been doing lately? Plan any invasions worth talking about?” I asked. “What if we have? What are you going to do about it?” he said in a slithering, insectoid voice. “If you tell us, you can run back to your queen. If you don’t, well,” I pushed my sword into his neck a little, just to scare him. A light trickle of green dripped on my blade. “How do you think my sword will look in green?” “You don’t scare me.” he said. I pushed a little more, watching him grimace in pain. “Ok, ok. We are planning an invasion on Canterlot. We plan on taking the Regal Sisters.” “Keep going.” I said. “When? How?” “We’re going to open a portal to Equestria next month. You’ll never stop it. You don’t even know where we are.” he said proudly. “How are you gonna pull that off, dipweed?” asked Fluttershy. “There’s no way Chrysalis is strong enough to open a portal to Equestria. How are you pulling that one off? Sombra?” “Shut up, you filth! How dare you taint the name of my queen! And you imply that we need the help of Sombra the would-be-King-of-Darkness? Never would my queen lower herself to ask for help from that useless wannabe ruler! Let me give you some advice: Don’t try to stop her. If you get in Queen Chrysalis’ way, she will make you regret it dearly. She will kill all of you, slowly and intimately, for the good of changeling-kind!! What do you have to say about that, filthy pegasus?” he said, chest puffing. Fluttershy walked up next to me, smiling. She tilted her head to the side, staring at my hostage. Finally, she spoke. “What do I have to say about that? Not very much, actually. I have but one retort.” she grabbed Lunar off of my hip and placed it’s barrel against the changelings head. “Go to hell.” She pulled the trigger, sending chunks of green goo flying across the room and splattering the wall. I dropped him in shock and stared at Fluttershy. She tossed Lunar back to me and walked out. The rest of the girls followed suit, leaving me alone with Isaiah and Robert. “Did… what the hell?!” I said confused, rushing out of the room. I ran up to Fluttershy and grabbed her wrist. “What do you want?” asked Fluttershy, yanking her hand away. “What did you do?!” I asked outraged. “I heard the information and eliminated the witness. Problem?” “You didn’t have to kill him!” I shouted angrily. “It didn’t matter. He told us what we needed to know. What’s the big deal?” “Wow, really? Where do I begin? He was a living being, he complied to our demands, he was no threat, and we didn’t have to kill him. You did it just because you could.” “To be fair, that was, like, Changeling Kill of the Week. That was so goddamn badass!” shouted Robert from behind. “Not helping!” I yelled. “You still don’t get it, do you?” said Commandoshy. “This is war!” “That might may true, but you’re not following the rules. Even war has rules.” “I’m following my rules. First rule of Commandoshy Warfare: Win. No matter what. Now, get the hell out of my face. We need to get out. Twilight, Conjure, get us home.” Twilight grabbed hands with Pinkie, Aj, RD, Fluttershy and Rarity. Conjure grabbed my shoulder and Robert’s suit. “Let’s go.” he said. He concentrated hard, bathing us in green glow. I noticed his other hand unclench and squeeze back. The light grew more intense and suddenly POP! I stumbled and fell to the ground, hitting gravel. I got to my feet and observed the area. I was on the roof of a building, one with a large sign on the top. I walked around it to read what it said. JACKSON’S “Isaiah.” I said quietly. “I’ll be back.” I transformed into Silver Rift and turned to fly downstairs. I got halfway to the other side of the roof before she got me. Fluttershy grabbed my left wing, wrestled me to the ground, place her hoof in the crook between my wing and back, twisted and yanked. CRACK! She clamped her hand against my mouth, blocking out my scream. She heaved me up, grabbed Isaiah by the horn and gave him a murderous stare. He looked down and concentrated again. POP! We appeared in the training room in front of the rest of the group. Fluttershy kicked me in the back of the leg, dropping me to my knees. She swung her hoof and smacked me in the back of the head. I fell forward on my face, crying out in pain. “You’re Grounded, asshole!” said Fluttershy, stomping my broken wing. She kicked me in the wing three more times, then turned away. I looked up and saw Robert grab Fluttershy by the hair. He flung her against the wall and punched the wall next to her face, cracking the wall. “Don’t you ever hurt my friends. I promise to everything that I love, no, everything you love, if I see you hurt Silver or Pinkie again, I’ll chop off your head, skin you with a rusty saw and make a necklace with your bowels.” said Robert with bass and anger in his voice. “Can’t wait. Let’s make an appointment. I’m free for next Tuesday, if you’re game. Maybe Pinkie can watch.” She said sarcastically. Robert pulled his arm back and swung into her face. He punched her in the ribs and kicked her in the leg. Grabbing her mane, he lifted her up and threw her over next to me. She hit the ground right next to my face. Her nose was leaking blood and her lip was bruised. “Help… me.” she whispered. Robert grabbed her back up, his eyes and skin faintly glowing red. He threw her to the ground twice more before I found my voice. “Robert, stop!” I screamed hoarsely. I got up slowly. “Stop. You’ve done enough. Why don’t you go work out or something, huh? Blow off some steam.” “Sorry. Unfortunate side effect to Battlecry. Makes me angry.” he said, sauntering off. I limped over to Fluttershy and grabbed her up. I carried her upstairs and laid her on her bed. Sitting down, I let out a deep sigh. “Thanks.” she said weakly. “I don’t think he would have stopped if it wasn’t for you.” “Don’t worry about it. What happened back there? I was pretty sure you could’ve taken down Robert.” “I… panicked, sorry.” she replied, closing her eyes. “Chris, can I tell you something?” “What is it?” I said, grimacing in pain. She really screwed up my wing. “I don’t think I’m up for this. I can’t do this anymore.” “What? Can’t do what anymore?” I asked. “Lead. I’m not very good at it. Look at what I’ve done while you were gone. I’ve ended countless lives, I’ve yelled and shouted and even hurt my friends. You were much better at this than me. It’s time I faced facts: I’m a failure. I was never meant to do this. You should take over.” “Nope. Not yet.” I said, rubbing my wing. “What do you mean ‘not yet’? What are you waiting for?” she said in outrage. “Not until you figure out when Chrysalis is attacking.” I replied. “When I find out? You mean you already know?! When is it?” she shouted in anticipation. “I know when, but I won’t tell you. You have to figure it out on your own.” “Why?! Is it because I called you a bitch? Or because I beat you up so much?” she asked pitifully. “No. It’s because you called yourself a failure. Prove yourself wrong.” I said, crossing my arms. “That’s not right! This isn’t about my self-esteem, ok? We need to know this. If you know, you have to tell us.” she said frustrated. “It’s obvious.” I said, rising to my feet. I walked over and sat on her bed next to her. “It’s staring you in the face.” “It’s obviously not obvious, because I can’t figure it out.” “You just need to open your eyes.” I leaned forward and kissed her tenderly on the lips. She pushed me off confusedly, then pulled me back in. We broke apart after a moment, both a bit confused at what just happened. “Why did we do that?” asked Fluttershy. “Love makes you do crazy things.” I said breathlessly. She seemed to consider it for a second. I sat there, hoping she would figure it out. Suddenly, her face lit up with excitement. “That’s it! Oh, Chris, I could just about kiss you!” she shouted happily. “Er… wouldn’t that be redundant?” I asked. “Oh, shut up, you.” she said, smiling. She sat up and stretched out her arms. “By the way. You remember when we just kissed?” “Uh… yeah?” I said uneasily. “No you don’t, cause that never happened. The others never find out about this. Understand?” she said threateningly. “Er… uh… um… No. I mean yes. Maybe?” I said shakily. “Good. I guess. What are we doing here still? If you’re waiting for more, you’re gonna be disappointed. Let’s go tell the others.” she said, jumping to her hooves. She walked downstairs briskly, leaving me in pain and disappointed. “Damn.” I said, leaving the room. “I kinda was waiting for more.” I rushed downstairs where things were not quite as we left it. Robert and Pinkie Pie were in the center of the room, kissing furiously, while the others kinda orbited them in discomfort. Even Fluttershy was standing there in shock. “Ahem. Uh… wow, guys. Really?” I said awkwardly. “Are you two, like, an item now?” “Oh, shut up Chris.” said Robert, breaking away from Pinkie for a second. “Don’t act like you’re surprised.” “Yeah. I can’t believe none of you figured it out.” said Pinkie. “None of you saw that I was crazy-wazy for him?” “Doesn’t matter. You two can… eat each other’s faces later.” said Fluttershy. “First off, I would like to apologize for everything I’ve done over the years. Especially to Pinkie, Robert, and Isaiah. I lost it a little. Please, forgive me.” “I forgave you before you did it.” said Pinkie. “I could never be mad at you, Fluttershy!” “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll get over it. After some time has passed.” said Robert. “I still hate your guts.” “He doesn’t mean that.” said Pinkie, pecking him on the lips. “He’s just trying to act tough in front of me.” “I appreciate it a lot, guys. What I really came down here for is to tell you that I figured it out. I know when the attack begins.” said Fluttershy. “How did you figure that out?!” shouted Rarity. “Erm… That doesn’t matter! What matters is that I know, alright? Listen, we need to be prepared by February 14th.” “Febooary 14th?” asked Applejack. “Why in tarnation is it gonna be on Febooary 14th?” “It’s Valentines Day. It’s the Earth version of Hearts and Hooves Day. She’s gonna feed off of all the love on Earth to open a portal to Equestria.” answered Fluttershy. “That’s in, like, two and a half weeks. Better get ready.” I said flexing my wings. “Twily, be a dear and fix my wings, please? An old friends of mine ruined them. I don’t think I’ll be seeing much of her any more.” “I think you might be right.” said Fluttershy, shooting me a happy smile.