Freedom Through Harmony: Book II

by Electricut

Six

Six
Year 504 Equestrian
Scootaloo

I gaped in horror as the four Order members marched forward, the blaze of their previous attacks casting vicious shadows across the coliseum grounds. For five years I hadn't seen any sign of the telltale cloak of The Order, though Rainbow Dash had said plenty of time before that we hadn't seen the last of them. I had met exactly three members, back in the war: Tug, the unparalleled ranger and tactician; Max, the stoic guitarist heron; and of course, the legendary leader of the original Wonderbolts, axe-wielding Spitfire. None of those three struck me as dangerous or destructive...

But then, I saw none of them in the four now approaching us. Instead, the figure with the combat-claws stepped forward tauntingly, the reached up and carefully pushed back her hood. A mess of spiky white hair billowed forth over her shoulders, and I noticed a pale grey flame-shaped marking around her left yellow eye. She smirked as she took in the nine performers still gathered in the stadium.

Rainbow Dash practically growled at her as she took another step forward. "Gilda..." he spat, gripping his sword tighter. "So, you finally decided to show your face here again. And you brought backup. I'd say it's a pleasure seeing you again, but... That would be a lie. So, care to introduce me to your friends?"

Gilda laughed harshly. "Missed you too, Dash. We've got some catching up to do once I get a chance. Though can I say, it's still quite a shame that you didn't take my offer to join The Order way back when. You could be standing on this side of the field now... Ah, but it's way too late now. All you are is an obstacle to us now. You're too late to have any part in this, and everyone's too late to try and stop it. Stand aside, Wonderbolts, and you might live to see a new world."

Rainbow Dash's response was to thrust his blade forward and charge, swinging wildly at Gilda, who watched with detached bemusement even as the sword approached her face. She dodged away at the last possible second, throwing Dash off balance as his powerful swing met only air. Gilda brought up her knee to his chest, knocking the wind out of his lungs and sending him reeling.

I nearly jumped into the fray myself, until I realized I was still unarmed. The other Wonderbolts all charged to his aid instead, but so did the remaining three members of The Order. Both teams fought with discipline and teamwork, but I soon saw with despair that the Wonderbolts were outmatched. Three Order fighters fought hand-to-hand, each easily matching two Wonderbolts apiece. The fourth, the smaller man with only a knife for a weapon, stood at a distance, arming what looked like a miniature crossbow. He loaded several bolts into the barrel... Then brought his sights to bear on the Crusaders on stage.

"Run for it!" Sweetie Belle shouted, a moment before I had a chance to. I dropped the guitar and pulled up my jacket over my neck for additional cover, and joined her and Applebloom in their mad dash out of the coliseum. With all the adrenaline coursing through my veins, I was able to pick out every individual sound as we ran: the crunch of our feet on the slightly dry grass, the clangs of each of the many weapons clashing behind us, the click and hiss of the crossbow firing. I grabbed Applebloom's shoulders and dove to the side just in time to avoid the first shot, which flew past and collided with the ground several feet ahead. My heart skipped a beat as it impacted, a large explosion ripping apart the ground.

"Keep moving!" I shouted over the din of battle. "We'll lose him in the city! Go!" Applebloom nodded, scared beyond the point of speech, and scrambled to her feet. I was right behind her as she ran, but Sweetie Belle was already at the doors. She spun around quickly, her green eyes almost seeming to glow in the chaos of battle, and she launched a blinding core of light back at the Order marksman. Applebloom and I ducked our heads, averting our eyes, but we kept running. The coarse shout of surprise from the sniper confirmed he had been temporarily blinded by the attack, and the knowledge gave us the extra burst of speed we needed to catch up with Sweetie Belle and leave the stadium behind.

From there, it was easy to weave in between the tiny alleyways and buildings, keeping our path random but never slowing. I nearly tripped several times, as did Applebloom, but Sweetie Belle didn't show any signs of fatigue. If anything, it seemed like she actually might have been enjoying this, or at least the challenge and rush of it. As we moved through a new side-street, she called back simply: "Castle. We need backup, and our weapons."

She was cut off by another click and whistle, and we barely had enough time to dodge to the side as the opposite wall exploded violently, sending chunks of brick and twisted metal tumbling onto the neat cobble streets and inside the building. The marksman had caught up, and he was likely taking aim again already. Without a word, I grabbed Applebloom's hand and practically dragged her along behind me as we took of once more for the castle.

A few more darkened alleys brought us back onto the main road, where we would be able to get more speed, but would unfortunately be out in the open for the deadly crossbow fire. A few blocks ahead loomed the mighty gates to the castle grounds, behind which stood the castle of Eclipse. The spires and turrets reached skyward alongside their mountainous base almost menacingly, but the numerous sources of torchlight were a welcome sight...

Until what felt like an earthquake rocked the foundation of the road below us. We were all tired from the frantic retreat, and this new development knocked everyone off their feet. My shoulder hit the ground hard, but I barely felt anything from all the adrenaline racing through me. A split second later, the gates to the castle swung open, and several royal soldiers ran forth, although they seemed to be running away from the castle instead of towards the stadium.

"Friends!" A terrified voice shouted, and a fourth figure stumbled to our side. I pushed my battered body to its feet, and was grabbed by a hysterical Luna. "What has happened?! Are you hurt as well? Have they launched another attack elsewhere in the city?"

"Oh no..." Applebloom breathed dismally. "Don't tell me another one of 'em went right for the castle?"

"We're afraid so." She answered, close to tears of panic. "Friends... His power is unfathomable. He alone destroyed every soldier that was stationed inside, save for those who just ran away. He is still in there, pounding away at the doors to the inner tower. He will surely be inside in a matter of minutes..."

I gaped in true terror. The Order was laying waste to the very capital of Equestria, and they were far too strong to stop like this. I spoke shakily, putting hands on shoulders. "Luna, we have to find a way to evacuate. I'm sorry, but it looks like this battle was over before it began. The Wonderbolts are tied up with only three of them, the royal guard is in shambles, and two more of their men are on the loose. We don't stand a chance by ourselves. We have to run, now."

But Luna was shaking her head frantically. "No, no! We cannot do that, not yet! Scootaloo, don't you realize what is happening?! That monster is trying to get in to the inner tower! That is the ultimate stronghold of Eclipse, and indeed all of Equestria! We do not store money or trinkets in that vault, we store weapons, dangers to the safety of our people! The Elements of Harmony are in there, and he obviously wants to take them! They may be our only chance, and we're about to lose them!"

I swore, then looked around frantically, suddenly remembering we were under fire. Strangely, the marksman seemed to have disappeared, perhaps scared off or occupied by the remaining royal soldiers. At any rate, the Crusaders were free, if only for the moment, and I knew we had to take another chance. We had to escape, but we had to save the Elements of Harmony first.

"Let's go." I breathed, readying myself for another run. "We get our weapons, get in there, grab the Elements and anything else worth getting, and get out of the city."

"That guy trying to get into the tower sounds way too strong to fight." Sweetie Belle argued. "We can't just take him head-on. Luna, is there any other way in?"

Luna shook her head, but then thought for a second. "There isn't supposed to be, but... We might be able to use the emergency lockdown tunnels beneath the castle to sneak in. Come, we'll take the nearest entrance, the room where your weapons are stored is practically in between the two."

We nodded tersely and set off to run again, beside me, Applebloom seemed to be panicking more than the rest of us, probably feeling exposed and helpless without her twin katanas, but she was able to hold it together. We blasted past the giant iron gates and through the courtyard, then through the once impenetrable doors leading into the grand castle. The doors now showed signs of taking severe damage, and whoever was now attacking the doors to the inner tower must have blasted his way in.

"To the kitchens!" Luna called back. "That is where the nearest descent point lies!" We made a turn into the halls to the right of the entrance, then another into the vast dining hall. This place, at least, seemed no worse-for-wear. We ran past the long tables and straight for the doors at the other side, through which the food prepared within would normally pass. The doors swung open obediently, and Luna dove to the ground, wrenching aside a loose tile of the floor. "Through this passage!" She said, pointing down to the darkened tunnel now showing in the middle of the otherwise pristine-looking kitchen.

Another mighty tremor rocked the ground beneath our feet, much closer than before. The Order member working at the tower doors must have been making progress. Gritting my teeth, I lowered myself down first and scrambled down the ladder three rungs at a time. I touched down and stepped away from the halo of light shining down from above, giving the others room to descend. The pitch black of the tunnels beyond loomed and jeered at my senses, but I was too far gone to be afraid of the dark now.

Applebloom was the next down, followed by Luna, then Sweetie Belle. The dragon-blooded girl sealed the passage behind her, momentarily plunging us into total darkness. The walls seemed to close in on me for a moment, until she lit a powerful light spell before her, illuminating the tunnel better than a torch could have. "Lead the way, Luna. I never even knew this tunnel existed, let alone memorized where it goes."

Luna nodded and pushed ahead, staying at the fringe of Sweetie Belle's light. "These were dug during the first civil war, in case of the need to hide from barrages to the city, magical or otherwise." Luna explained. "It is regrettable that this attack could not be foreseen or stopped, else they would likely now be in use. Back then, these passages could have housed the whole of Eclipse, city and all, but the population is much greater today."

She stopped near a ladder attached to the wall, then motioned for us to stay as she scaled it quickly. I heard her push aside another false tile, but no light filtered down this time. The room above was just as dark as below. We waited several agonizing seconds, the heard Luna call down from above. A moment later, or sheathed weapons fell to the ground below, eased down by Luna's wind magic. Gratefully, the Crusaders all moved in and armed ourselves: Applebloom with her twin katanas, Sweetie Belle with her bow, quiver and combat knife, and me with my prized spear. I could feel a shift immediately: we were all armed and dangerous, and had much more control of the situation. I balanced the spear over my left shoulder as we waited for Luna to descend.

With the scrape of the tile being put back into place, the dark princess rejoined us, still unarmed herself. While she was a great fighter in her own regard, I knew she abhorred violence and would only arm herself as a last resort. She took a moment to catch her breath, then pointed further into the tunnel. "The tower passage is this way. We cannot have much time remaining, so let us make haste." Sweetie Belle nodded and took off down the hall, the rest of us trailing behind her singular source of light. Luna was right behind directing her, followed by Applebloom and I.

Soon we came to a dead end, and another tremor shook the ground, knocking us all back. It felt like the source was right on top of us, but I could see no way up. Despair began clenching at my heart, and the shadows behind us began to shift and rile menacingly, making me feel helpless in the rough rocky tunnel. Luna moved over to the seemingly blank wall and placed a hand on it, a dark spell emanating from her palm. At first, there was no response, then some ancient mechanism activated, and the rock moved aside into some other crevice, revealing another few yards of tunnel, at the end of which was another rusty iron ladder.

Luna turned to speak, but a fourth tremor interrupted her, sounding this time as though something had given way. A look of horror flashed on her face, then we rushed to the ladder. This time, Sweetie Belle led the way, scrambling up the ladder and slamming with her full weight and inhuman strength against the disused trap door. It didn't budge, and she tried again. Nodding to Luna, she and I added to the effort with our wind magic, and the thing finally began to move, scraping against the other tiles roughly as though it had never been moved before. Sweetie Belle squeezed through as soon as there was a large enough gap, followed closely by Applebloom, Luna and I.

When I reached the top and saw my friend's gazes locked at the far end of the grand chamber we had emerged in, I followed their awestruck looks, and my heart sank into the utmost despair. A figure draped in the very same black cloak of the Order stood at the exit to the chamber, arms folded cockily, barring our escape. The cloak was extremely ill-fitting, as though there were something inhuman beneath it, and while I could not see the figure's face, I could feel the triumphant sneer facing the four Crusaders. Before him floated the six round stones that had once again become the home for the Elements of Harmony. We were too late, he had them. They floated one at a time towards his outstretched hand, then he threw each lazily into the air... And started juggling the ancient, powerful artifacts idly.

He spoke to us, in a low, condescending voice that made him seem like he always knew more than he let on. "Valiant effort, young ones. Such a story it would have made too: a farm girl, street kid and two princesses saving the day... But alas, you are too late. And for your failure, I'm afraid there is a price to pay... I'm sure you remember the price for losing my game, do you not, dearest Luna?"

I turned to her frantically, hoping she could shed some light on this madman's riddle, but she only stared in the most wide-eyed horror I had ever seen. She was without speech, and I could tell she was close to shutting down out of fear. Finally, she began shaking her head, mumbling to herself that this was a dream, wishing she wasn't here, anything to make the truth she had just realized false.

"You're not happy to see me?" the cloaked man asked in mock hurt. "I would have thought you'd be overjoyed, considering we are the only two remaining alive from your time... I suppose true loyalty is dead." With that, he reached behind him, and pointed the end of a huge weapon at her, blood-red and multi-bladed.

Applebloom reacted immediately. "Mac's weapon!" She shouted. "So you're the bastard who stole it off his deathbed!"

He moved back a step, once again feigning hurt. " 'Mac's weapon'? My dear, this is no such thing. The Blade of Blood has been mine since the very beginning of this world. Your dear brother was merely holding it for me. And now... It is once again back where it belongs, at my side, and at the service of the Goddess... Hee hee..."

Alarms were going off in my head, but I wasn't sure what it was. Alive during Luna's time... Blade of Blood... " Who are you?!" I shouted, but I wasn't sure I wanted to hear the answer.

The Order member laughed wholly, a horrible, gut-turning sound. "I am the voice of the Goddess!" He shouted jovially. "I am the Order's Number One! But most of all..." He reached a hand up to his hood, a hand that I now noticed was not human in the slightest, but more like the claw of an eagle. His hood fell, and I stared in terror at the monster before me. "I am the king of all chaos in this world. You may address me as... Lord Discord."

Luna screamed, and Discord only laughed.

Comments

[flamehaze7461]

I was wondering when discord would show up. Glad to see this story updating so frequently. I'm really enjoying where this is going. Keep it up!

[Electricut]

2668029

Thanks! Glad to have some feedback!