• Published 21st Dec 2013
  • 10,856 Views, 580 Comments

Dawn of the Vanguard - Mystic Song



For thousands of years ponies have prospered in Equestria living in peace. For thousands of years humans have prospered in secret living in fear. To ponies the humans are less than a myth. To humans, ponys are death. Once again they shall meet.

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Future Plans

Fluttershy sighed.

The view outside was beautiful.

The ocean between Equestria and the Griffin Lands was as beautiful as ever, not that she had ever made the trip before. However, seeing the endless crystal blue water roll effortlessly around them made one think that such as sight had to eternal. Just watching how the sun's rays made the ocean spray erupt in swirling reds, oranges and yellows calmed her. Somethings could not be enhanced and should be left alone, to shine for something or nothing in their own personal way.

So why couldn't anypony else recognized this?

Everypony was just, just so...

She liked it better when they only wanted to talk to the humans.

Now Twilight was talking about setting up governments to keep the humans in line.

Since when they were out of line?

Did they even have a line to begin with?

Fluttershy grimaced.

She loved Twilight like a sister but sometimes she acted like such a, well like a big meany to put it lightly, and Fluttershy was worried that Twilight would end up burning bridges to ash before seeing what the other side had to offer.

She needed to stop Twilight before something irreparable happened.

She needed a plan.

"Fluttershy dear, are you okay?"

Fluttershy jumped in her seat and looked up at Rarity.

And for the first time since she joined the search, Fluttershy stopped herself before she said 'yes I'm fine'.

She knew that she wasn't fine, and that nothing would change unless she spoke out.

The constant nightmares were a testament to that.

"No Rarity I'm not fine what we're doing here is not right." Fluttershy glared up at Rarity daring her to oppose her, "I don't care about what they did in the past. Well I do, but that that was so long ago, and from what Twilight said ponies weren't very nice back then either. Now we are going to go there and do what? Chain them down with those horrible things that Twilight made for what? 'The safety of Equestria'?" Fluttershy venomously mocked the line that Twilight kept repeating.

"Fluttershy I..." Rarity tried to intervene.

"No. Rarity we were just fine for the thousands, not hundreds, thousands of years that the humans were living on the Forsaken Islands. Now that we know they're there we have to stop them? From what? Living the next thousand years in seclusion? Well they shouldn't have to live in seclusion but if they want to it's that's their choice. And another thing...!"

"Fluttershy I completely agree." Rarity interrupted.

"I don't care that you..." Fluttershy blinked the fire within her dying down, "um, come again?"

"What Twilight is doing is unbecoming of a princess," Rarity said flipping her mane back, "the humans are dangerous, Fluttershy don't try to stop me, they are dangerous don't pretend that they are not. The humans are dangerous, they also have never left the Forsaken Islands in I don't know how many years. If they were going to attack they would have done so by now, I am of course assuming that they have an organized fighting force." Rarity bit her lip, "By doing this, attacking them I mean, are we not giving them a reason to attack, or am I wrong?"

Fluttershy winced, "You're not wrong. Most creatures even the most dangerous ones don't attack unless they're provoked."

"And we're going to throw cupcakes at a hornets nest!" Pinkie Pie shouted causing Fluttershy and Rarity to jump.

"Pinkie Pie! When did you get here?" Rarity said putting a hoof to her chest.

"Well I was trying to think of a way to keep everypony happy, so I thought that the best way to make everypony happy was to make cupcakes. Then I thought that maybe humans like cupcakes, so I started to wonder what kind of cupcakes would they like, but then I thought what if they won't try my cupcakes? So I was then like 'how do I get them to eat the cupcakes I make? What if they're too buzzy and angry to eat them, like hornets!' But then I remembered what happened the last time I tried to get hornets to eat cupcakes," Pinkie Pie had the grace to winch, "That didn't end well. You can't make somecreature like something no matter how hard you try. I tried to tell Twilight that, but she wouldn't listen." Pinkie Pie slightly deflated. "Hornets really don't like it when you throw cupcakes at them."

Rarity stomped the ground gaining both Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy's attention, "Well girls it looks like we have found ourselves in a predicament. We need to leave this little mission of peace, but we cannot leave Twilight to her own devices. So. What do we do?"

"We should keep an eye on Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash too, just to make sure they don't do something regretful." Fluttershy said determination lining her voice.

"And if they don't?" Rarity said.

"Then we make them see reason, even if we have to beat it into their heads," Fluttershy blushed at their stares and shrunk into herself, "Um, if that's alright with you."

"Fluttershy dear, I believe that's just fine." Rarity smirked.

Kim took a drink of water from her canteen and instantly wished it was something stronger.

Thousands of years of active duty, billions of soldiers that had grown old and died without seeing more action than a taco Tuesday...

And she was lucky enough to be an active soldier when all hell broke loose.

Her morning should have stared out like any other.

Wake up at ass crack of Dawn, shovel down something semi-solid, do ridiculous task so higher ups could peacock their importance to anyone that would listen.

Another monotonous day as an active soldier.

But today started wrong.

She was woken up by a siren way before dawn, and instead of the normal groans of barely awake soldiers there were screams of hardly controlled panic.

There was no breakfast.

There were no higher ups.

...well there were no higher ups that had been promoted to the higher ranks because of their, oh so important nobel status.

Kim clenched her canteen tighter.

She was not supposed to be promote to the special forces, not like this.

But Aria needed to keep up appearances, and you were only as strong as your weakness link.

Sixty percent of Aria's special forces were of Nobel blood. There were two hundred fifty special forces members, one hundred fifty disappeared before the first rays of dawn touched Aria's mountain range.

Right after news of a pony invasion came in from Dissimulare.

Kim started to hiss under her breath.

Idiots.

Cowards.

Assholes all of them.

So much time and resources were wasted on them, time and resources that should have went into training more loyal soldiers, completely wasted.

Now her, Alec, and Zachary with some other recently promote soldiers, who weren't promoted beforehand because they were thought to be unworthy by a now mostly absent higher console, were on their way to Dissimulare.

She felt as angry tears threatened to fall.

Why do things like this always happen to her?

"Kim."

Startled she looked into Alec's drawn face.

"You destroyed your canteen." He said, pointing to the lump of metal in her hand.

Kim looked at her hand and swore. There was nothing but ruined metal where a canteen used to be.

"Don't be too hard on yourself." Alec said keeping up his disinterested airs even though he knew, he knew, that the next time that they stopped they would be in the Dividing Woods. Ground zero to the possibility attack, "At least you haven't directly challenge the good Sergeant yet."

Kim growled low eyes flashing hate, "Timmins isn't a Sergeant anymore."

Cold silence rolled in on a supposedly warm day.

"Right," Alec crouched down next to Kim, "The good Captain, what a joyful promotion." He ran his hand through his hair, "We shouldn't be out here."

"Oi," Kim's voice came out frozen solid, "You better not be thinking of running."

"Kimberly, I would never leave you and Zachary you know that, no matter how stupid he is acting. I merely believe that sending a group of new ranks into an area that none of them know about is not a very smart or safe idea. The branch in Dissimulare doesn't use the same spells that we do, or formations, hell I don't think they even use the latrines like we do!"

Kim watched in shock as Alec tried to control himself, she had never seen him swear, raise his voice, or, hell, show emotion.

Alec breathed out roughly, "We shouldn't be here, we are just slowing the teams down. Our emotional attachment is too strong, which Specialist Zachary so kindly demonstrated by demanding that Captain Timmins let him go ahead as a scout. A scout! Kim, none of us have trained to be scouts, we're infiltration and assassination, a team base on the three pillars of strength, stealth, and intelligence. And Zachary..."

"Zachary needs time." Kim interjected while getting up trying to conceal her own raging emotions, "He's worried about his family and twitchy because he knows, everyone knows, how he can easily he could make the flight home." Kim ran a stiff hand through her bright red hair, "We've already stopped twice, here and now, every second counts. If that Griffin was right we have a lot more to worry about then soldiers having tantrums and a fucked up chain of command. So let's just make it to Dissimulare and work from there."

Alec looked at her emotions appearing and disappearing as fast as they came. Annoyance, disbelief, anger, and then indifferent mischief. "You know Kim that is a very smart thing for a Strength Class soldier to say, then again you know what they say about improbable events."

Kim glared at him, "Oi, are you calling me stupid?"

"No," Alec said before getting up, "just improbable. Anyway we should get back I believe Zachary has calmed down and Seg-Captain Timmons is ready to move on."

"Improbable my ass," Kim grumbled before following after him, "Well at least it can't get any worse."



"Alec, remind me to never tempt the spirits or whatever again." Kim muttered adjusting the medallion that adorned her neck. The same softly pulsating medallion that everyone from Aria got the minute they had grouped up with Dissimulare's forces.

"Noted." Alec said looking around at their surroundings, their very large surroundings, "Well I can't say that I'm really surprised, Dissimulare is known for its reconnaissance, however this is incredible."

Zachary leaned against a leaf on the branch they were on and silently marveled at how it could support his weight, "That's the best thing about Dissimulare, nothing is ever good enough, quiet enough, or hidden enough. I don't think they ever stopped improving since the first settlement was made here." Zachary lifted the silver ruin covered medallion around his neck, "It makes sense that they would find a way to let anyone copy the spells that Dissimulare's faction had created. As long as our magic output is undisturbed we have their spells."

"At least that problem sorted itself out," Alec said before slightly frowning, "and here comes another, and Zachary I believe this ones for you."

Zachary looked up to see the barely held back glare of Mitch as he stalked toward them. The blond Strength class soldier had been angry ever since he and his squad had been hastily promoted along with Zachary's and a few choice others.

"I know that we needed militants for this, but whoever thought it was a good idea to a bring a worthless breed on this mission should be shot." Mitch said getting up to Zachary's face.

Zachary roughly pushed Mitch's face away from his, "I'm not a breed, well not a pure breed. Anyways don't you have something better to do other then starting a fight?"

"What's better then making sure further treason doesn't appear in our ranks. We all know how precious pure breeds were to pony kind and how hard pure breeds tried to please their masters," Mitch glared down at Zachary's taking in his blue flecked eyes and almost impossibly pale almost dove white skin, "Who's to say, maybe a couple of strangers will disappear I mean you have to appease them in some way, say how old is your sister anyways?"

Zachary's glare turned dangerous. What Mitch had just suggested that would to his sister...

Around him his world hazed red.

He would never do that to his sister.

He couldn't even check on his family and the right side of his face still stung from were Captain Timmins punched him.

And now this idiot had the audacity suggested that he would give his sister up as some sick fuck's toy.

The behemoth in front of him stepped back.

And Zachary was so ready to attack something.

...A hand pinched Zachary's nose shut choking him.

Dragging air back to his lungs he glared at Kim, who shrugged at him.

"You were growling again, you know that's a bad habit, right?" Kim said waving a hand in a dismissing fashion. "Look your habit's so bad it's causing a distraction."

Zachary was suddenly aware of the many stares currently on him, especially Captain's Timmins hard glare and threateningly closing fist.

He had stop this now.

"Special Forces Mitch of the Aria Faction of the Human Military Divisions. This is neither the time or the place for such a conversation." Zachary said stiffly nodding to Captain Timmins, "if you want to lodged a complaint take it up with the captain or any of the higher commanders current stationed here."

Mitch glared at him before snorting loudly, "I think I will Zachary."

Zachary stood stiffly until Mitch was out of sight, then he collapsed on the branch under him.

"Well that went well," Alec said still staring at the direction that Mitch stalked off to.

"I can't believe that idiot is still after you even with war so close," Kim huffed angrily, "couldn’t he just wait until after to pick a fight?"

"He's probably doesn't think he will live long enough to pick another fight." Zachary snorted.

"Doesn't give him an excuse to act like a soaked, puss drinking, jackass." Kim interjected.

"Kimberly how do you ever expect to settle down if you keep swearing like that," Alec deadpanned picking his already pristine nails clean.

Kim tossed a chunk of bark at Alec's head and snorted when he dodged, she then turned back to Zachary, "Well think about it like this, at least shit can't get any worse."

"If you find anything please tell me." Twilight called out to a disgruntled looking Griffin.

Twilight sighed deeply.

They had finally made it to the far side of the Griffin Lands when they had hit their first wall.

They had had no idea how to actually get to the Forsaken Islands.

Sure they had a map and they knew the general direction to the islands, but the sea was dangerous and many creatures Pony, Griffin, and so many others had died before they had even saw land. It would be incredibly stupid for them to try to boat there without a navigator.

Which lead them to their newest problem.

A town full of ship merchants and fishergriffins and none of them wanted to even attempt to get them halfway there.

She saw from the corner of her eye as a griffin quickly ducked behind a stall knocking some merchandise off.

...And now they were avoiding her, great. They needed to find transportation soon or they would be forced to go back.

"Twilight!"

Twilight looked up to see Rainbow Dash rocketing toward her.

"I know where we can find a guy to take us to the Forsaken Islands." Rainbow Dash shouted waving her fore-hooves madly as she hovered in the air.

"What where?!" Twilight shouted joining Rainbow Dash in the sky.

"Near the coast. Apparently there's a merchant there whose family, especially his grandfather, is infamous for their stories about, get this; large, bipedal, mostly naked creatures that walked through here thousands of years ago. Come on! Everypony else is already on their way there." Rainbow Dash said before flying toward the cost.

They landed by a large house near the coast where the rest of their group waited for them. Twilight noted that the shed that she saw from the air was missing a door.

Filing the information away for later Twilight raised her hoof and knocked hard on the house's door.

The door opened to reveal a black and grey Griffin his golden eyes narrowed at them through his disheveled appearance.

"What do you want?" He grunted.

"Um, we would like to talk to the merchant that lives here, is he in?" Twilight said taken aback by the griffin's appearance. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"You're talking to him. I'm Ashen and what is a princess of Equestria doing at my door?" Ashen said sizing her up.

Twilight stood tall her form expressing determination, "We came to ask you about the humans..."

"They don't exist. Next question or is that all." Ashen glared.

"B-b-but,' Twilight stuttered as she deflated from Ashen's sincerity, 'your family is the only ones who knows about the human story, surely somepony, somefeather must have told you about them. If you could just point us to somefeather, like your grandfather I heard..."

"My late-grandfather was a senile oldfeather that preferred to trust myth as fact!" Ashen snapped loudly, his wings rising in agitation, "Listen I don't want to talk about him, I already burned that stupid map that he said was some family treasure," His next words came out as a low hiss, "It was probably some bootleg, back alley crap that he wasted money on."

"Ashen, you may not believe that humans exist but we know that they do. We have to make contact with them. It's a matter of the continued safety of Equestria. Please help us." Twilight pleaded.

Ashen started flatly at her then took in the faces of determined ponys around her, "What do you want exactly?"

"Can you bring us to the Forsaken Islands." Twilight asked and instantly winced when Ashen's eyes widened.

"Why would you want to go there?" Ashen asked eyes wide with confusion.

"Duh that's where the humans are." Rainbow Dash interjected.

"There's no humans on the Forsaken Islands." Ashen said pointedly.

"Ya and how do you know that?" Applejack snorted.

"I've been to the Forsaken Islands. There's nothing there but dangerous animals and poisonous plants." Ashen held up a claw cutting off Twilight's budding string of questions, "Before you ask, no, I cannot bring you to the Forsaken Islands."

"Why not? Are you in league with the humans?" Rainbow Dash accused.

"How can I be in league with fictional creatures? What next, are you going to say that I'm also in league with a robot army? Maybe I serve little hatchlings up to the robot queen so that she could make them into a suit, and now she walks among us! Oh, how evil of me! The horror, the horror!" Ashen exclaimed loudly draping a fore-leg over his eyes.

Rainbow Dash flinched back, "You don't have to be so rude about it..."

"I think I do,' Ashen said dropping his leg, 'Do you even understand how hard it is to get those islands?"

"Ashen you're the one that doesn't understand," Twilight said gaining some of her confidence back, "We are the Elements of Harmony also I am a princess of Equestria. I believe that with the magic of friendship we can get through anything."

Ashen stared.

Then smack a claw over his face.

Taking a deep breath he said with the utmost sincerity, "You're all going to die."

Seeing their shocked looks he elaborated, "Simply put your going either drown, get eaten, or be crushed to death by a tidal wave. Those of you that actually make it to the islands will be eaten by either the animals or plants or, if your really unfortunate, by insects. And I'm not even counting how messed up the weather is. You could be ripped to shreds by hail, in the middle of a sunny day." Ashen winched, "You don't even want to know what bad weather could do to you."

"Y-you don't know that." Twilight stammered.

"I know about the ocean because I sail on it, the animals and weather are a given as the roars of both can be heard from the ocean. I know about the plants and insects because I have seen what remains of the boats of those that go to islands and try to bring something back. A fair bit of warning, don't bring anything back from the islands." Ashen snorted brushing feathers out of his face.

Silence descended on the Barers of Harmony as Ashen's words sank in.

"Twilight..." Rarity started.

"I know," Twilight straighten her shoulders and stared Ashen in the eyes, "Ashen I know that you probably don't want anything to do with us, but please. We need to go there and we don't have a guide. Please Ashen, can you lead us through the Forsaken Islands?"

"No." Ashen deadpanned.

"So your just going to stand back and watch us get killed?" Twilight said exasperated.

"Yes. Nofeather is forcing you to go there, if you die that's on you not me." Ashen said brushing Twilight's pleads off.

"How can you be so, so..." Twilight tried and failed to get the words.

"Uncaring? Look I've been to the islands. I know there is nothing there. Everyfeather here knows there's nothing there. The only beings that believes that there is something there is you." Ashen said raising a claw to point at them.

"Humans are real! We saw the bones and the pictures that prove that they are real!" Twilight shouted not caring how loud she was.

Ashen blinked before muttering, "Great. The newest princess of Equestria believes in conspiracy theories."

"Humans are not a conspiracy theory!" Twilight shouted.

Before Ashen could make another retort and escalate the situation, soft voice spoke up.

"Um Ashen, you don't have to lead us through the islands." Fluttershy spoke up.

"Fluttershy!" Twilight whirled on the canary yellow pegasus.

"If Ashen doesn't want to go, he doesn't want to go, but um, Ashen do you think you and sail us to the closest island?" Fluttershy asked.

Ashen stared at Fluttershy then slowly nodded, "I could take you halfway there, you will have to fly or something the rest of way. If I get too close my boat would be destroyed by the whirlpools around the islands."

"That seems fair, doesn't it girls?" Fluttershy asked them, and once she got their confirmations she said, "Can we organized a pick up time?"

"Two months!" Twilight shouted over the conversation, accidentally tapping into the Royal Canterlot voice, "Sorry" she whispered putting a hoof over her mouth. She then flinched under Ashen's glare.

"Does two months after you drop us sound good?" Fluttershy said over the ringing in her ears, trying to stop a new fight from starting.

"Sure, when do you want to leave?" Ashen asked his voice raised to an almost shout.

"Does two hours from now sound good?" Fluttershy said.

"Yes it does. No if you will excuse me I think my ears are bleeding." With that Ashen went back into the house.

"Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash started staring at the closed door in confusion, like if it held a secret that she couldn't quite yet grasp, "how did you get him on our side?"

"Oh it wasn't much," Fluttershy said deliberately raising her voice higher, even though the ringing in her ears had stopped, "A little kindness and understanding can go a long way."

"Well that is true, but I think Twilight wore him down with all that fate of Equestria stuff." Rainbow Dash smirked, "now we can go to the Forsaken Islands and kick some evil human butt."

"Rainbow Dash we are only going there to negotiate and set up a form of government if possible, but that's in the far future." Twilight said making her way back to the hotel they had set up base at.

"Twilight, if the humans are nomadic like you said I don't think they would want to be controlled by a form of government." Rarity said put extra stress on the word controlled.

"Don't worry Rarity the government would of course be run by ponies. After that if we find any capable humans they would be appointed, after extensive testing of course. Think of the possibilities! With a good driving hand the humans could one day be as modernized as us," Twilight then smiled brightly at Fluttershy, "and to think if you didn't find us a way there, none of this could be possible."

Twilight continued her way to the hotel her mind filled with ideas of reform and peace, completely oblivious to Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie's raging emotions.

Author's Note:

For those of you who don't read my blog please read the one for June 22. Or just go straight to chapter two and start reading where the chapter had previously ended.

Everything is explained in the blog : http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Mystic+Song/blog : copy and paste url if you're feeling lazy.