Next Stop: Crazy... Ponyville
“Ready?” Harmony asked as he hooked up his wagon. A sense of relief poured over him. To be walking on solid ground was wonderful thing after fours days. Being out of a swaying boxcar was a plus.
“Must we go through a pony town?” Nova whined.
“Afraid so… to begin with Ponyville surrounds the train station… It didn't used to, but it has grown a bit so I can’t do what I would in any other town: skirt around. Two, I would be remiss if I didn't check up on some things as we passed through. Finally, it will look suspicious if we didn’t go through town because this place a magnet for weirdness. It makes them more leery of two strangers deliberately avoiding town.”
Nova grumbled as he grudgingly followed Harmony. The ponies at least where giving them a wide berth. Two cloaked strangers even in a town like Ponyville put them on edge. Harmony could care less about it while it put Nova on edge.
Okay lets see..I need to get Nova an instrument so he can fully utilize his talents… A bass guitar might be good. A progress report on the Bearer of Generosity would be nice. Although something tells me that she still in the dramatic crying stage. I should also check up on the Bearer of Magic to see if she was getting anywhere on learning the ins and out of the castle.
They were approaching the town square when two ponies stepped out of a side street to block their path. Well one stepped out; the other hovered. Harmony calmly stopped, smiling. He knew the two ponies so he wasn’t a bit concerned. They were the Bearers of Honesty and Loyalty. Nova slowly back away not wanting to be caught in an unfamiliar surroundings. He may be dragon but he wasn’t sure that he could take on the town guard, especially for a town of this size. These two ponies, even though they wore no armor, seemed to carry the air of knowing how to fight.
“Now partner, we are quite alright with strangahs buh y’all spookin’ everypony…”
Yeah, what brings you Ponyville and why hide behind hooded cloaks? Because if you know what’s good for you…” Rainbow accentuated her verbal threat with a couple of hoof jabs.
“Come now I’m not that strange.” Harmony smirked even though he knew full well they couldn't see it.
“Harmony!” Rainbow was shocked to hear that voice. “What brings you to Ponyville? I thought you were going to be in Hourglass for a while.”
“Just passing through with a load of oscillarium ore.”
“Osca-wha?”
At that moment the worst possible thing happened, a stray wind suddenly blew through. Harmony was fast enough to hold his hood down but Nova was not. Nova froze in fear as his hood fell back revealing to everypony that he was a dragon.
“Dragon!” Rainbow yelled, zooming to confront Nova who ducked down to avoid her initial attack before fleeing down a side street.
“Bearer of Loyalty!” Harmony reached out a hoof forgetting how fast Rainbow Dash is.
Harmony and Applejack galloped after her. They had a tough time keeping up with her even though she was slowed down by the maze of streets, alleys, and other objects. Harmony hoped to catch up before they ran out of buildings as he knew that was all that was keeping Rainbow from fully unleashing herself against the dragon.
Nova resisted the urge to scream as he made a mad rush for cover but the rainbow pegasus pony was always right on his tail. It was like the day his parents died all over again. He didn’t get a chance to mourn the loss of his parents when a posse of ponies attacked. To this day he still have no idea how he escaped. He only found out later that the same dragon that killed his parents had apparently raged through a town nearby just a few hours before.
The chase lasted for several streets and alleyways as Nova would barely slip out of the reach of the pursuing rainbow with wings. Nova ran around a corner just barely being missed when realized he was now in trouble. He had ran out of building to use as shields. He turned to ready his flame but he didn’t get a chance as a rainbow of color slammed into him knocking him through several haystacks behind him.
Rainbow hoof pumped thinking that she got the dragon. She saw that Applejack and Harmony finally caught up and was about to brag out loud about it when Harmony pulled Rainbow back towards himself with his magic.
“I was hoping that R.E.P.G. training would stop you from this kind of stunt!” He sighed heavily as he put down Rainbow. “But, I can’t fault you given Ponyville’s track record with dragons. Plus, I should have sent word ahead…”
“Yeah, yah should have. ‘Speically aftah wha’ happened at tha Salt Flats…”
Harmony winced as the Bearer of Honesty brought up that fiasco. “Please forgive me, I’m still not used to having to work with others after working solo for so long… and I don’t have the excuse this time of being under immense pressure and stress.”
“It’s okay, sugarcube, just try an’ do bettah next time.”
It was at that moment that Harmony remembered something important about Rainbow. “Wait a second! R.E.P.G. training takes six months! Why are you here in Ponyville?”
“Celestia’s orders. After we left for Hourglass Ponyville got attacked by mobs of monsters from the Everfree. She felt that with the increase in danger and the threat of attack from ‘whatever the bad guy is called again’ that Ponyville should have a military presence…”
“She always was a sly one… makes her a good ruler. I always struggled being sly enough to get ponies to do what needed to be done without giving away my objectives…”
“Buh yah were King of Equestria! Ah can’t see how yah could have lasted with those fancy-shmancy nobles withou’ bein’ sneakier than ah fox. Not tha’ Celestia…”
Harmony waved his hoof dismissively. “My name is Harmonious Knight, emphasis on Knight... Knights are usually not good at the subtly needed in ruling. Or appeasing nobles,” He shuddered at the memories of dealing with the nobility.
A muffled groan startled Harmony as in all their talking they forgot about Nova. He went right to work digging through a pile of hay trying to find his ‘charge.’ He hoped Nova was not hurt or his wonderful ocarina. He was not looking forward to a furious whelp dragon if it was damaged. As he shifted some more hay he saw a glinting object. He quickly picked it up to find that it was the ocarina and none the worse for wear. Now he just needed to find the owner. With the ocarina safe he felt that he could just send the hay flying. With a single magic blast every hay pile around them exploded. He could finally see Nova’s crumbled form nearby.
“You okay Nova Blaze?” Harmony ran forward to help Nova up who was busy trying to get the invisible tweeting birds circling his head to go away. He sighed in relief as he saw no wounds except maybe pride.
“What about me?” Rainbow Dash pouted as she shook the hay out of her fur and feathers leaving a few strands in her usual messy mane.
Harmony and Applejack both facehoofed. Typical. Rainbow jumps head first into battle without thinking and then wanting symphony for screwing up.
“You know this dragon?” Applejack eyed the dragon suspiciously. She wasn’t too sure of the dragon but wasn’t going to attack then ask questions like Rainbow.
“Yes. He has been traveling with me for the past few days. But your instincts about him are not far off. Do keep an eye on him so that he stays out of trouble…” He leaned in whispered to Applejack. “And especially keep him away from the Bearers of Loyalty and Joy.”
“Sure thing.”
“Nova Blaze, I must apologize for the Bearer of Loyalty's actions. I should have sent word ahead to expect a dragon whelp to be traveling with me.”
“Nah, it’s okay…” Nova stopped when he felt around his pockets and couldn’t find his ocarina. “Where’s my ocarina! If you damaged it…” Rainbow and Applejack shrunk back as Nova went into a rage roaring at them with such power to knock Applejack’s stetson hat off. His maw glowed bright blue as he readied to release his flame.
“Relax, I have it and it’s perfectly fine.” Harmony waved the instrument in front of the dragon as proof.
The still angry dragon grabbed it affectionately to examined it personally. He growled threateningly at Rainbow before he tested out the ocarina by playing a few notes. “You got lucky, pony.” To prove his point he shot a large neon blue fireball near Rainbow who yelped as she leaped out of the way.
Harmony felt that it was best to calm everyone down by asking a question to divert attention away from the whelp. “I see that you two seem to being doing well. How about the other Bearers?”
“That’s it?” Rainbow nearly yelled. “The dragon nearly flambes me and you calmly ask how everypony is doing?”
“That instrument is all he has left of his parents who were killed by a raging dragon when he was but a hatchling. And if I recall correctly, you attacked him without provocation.”
“Oh, right…” Rainbow rubbed the back of her head.
“Well?” Harmony tapped his hoof impatiently. “My question still stands.”
“Fluttershy has been training along with me with the local REPG squadron.”
Harmony was surprised to hear that. Fluttershy was just too kind to be able to do what was required for a soldier. “And is she holding up? I only had her train as a field medic not as a guard.”
“Relax, she is the field medic for the squad. She still get nervous and apologetic at times, but she is improving.”
“Good. I hope Big Mac wasn’t too angry for me sending her off like that?”
“Ah bit, buh he got over it.” Applejack admitted as she put her hat snuggly back on her head.
“The Bearer of Generosity?”
Rainbow and Applejack both gave each other a look. “Uh…”
“No, don’t tell me, the Bearer of Generosity is still being a drama queen?”
“Yes…”
“No surprise there… How’s the Bearer of Magic holding up? I do see her, but not on a regular enough basis to know much.”
Again Rainbow and Applejack gave eachother a look before Applejack responded. “Ah think maybe we uh should show yah.”
Oh, this can’t be good...
Harmony could see guards posted at the doors of the castle ahead. “Wait here, Nova, by the cart, and stay out of trouble. We are teleporting in as I’m not in the mood to deal with guards.”
“Wait…” Rainbow yelled as she noticed the tell signs of teleportation. But it was too late as Harmony teleported her, Applejack, and himself inside.
“For corn’s sake! A warnin’ next time…” Applejack danced around dizzy before nearly hurking on the floor.
Harmony put down his hood so they could see him. “Sorry, about that.”
“That’s… erk...” Rainbow’s face went green and bulged out. She quickly ran behind a pillar to throw up. She called out from behind the pillar, “That didn’tㅡerkㅡ help Harmony!”
Harmony blushed in embarrassment. While he waited for their stomachs to settle he stole a look around. He could see that something was off. The magic aura of the tree castle seemed dimmer than it should be. The latent harmony magic was weakening. This was not good, especially not now. Hopefully it was temporary and not being caused by the ‘Dark One.’ They must be obvious to the dimming of the crystal. Of course, they aren’t magic users. Still they should have noticed because of the Elements that they are wearing...
Once Rainbow and Applejack were ready they led the way. As they moved from the public area to the private areas Harmony was shocked at what he saw. The castle was a literal mess. Dirty floors, cobwebs in the corners, and the windows could use a washing. He even had to sidestep what appeared to be a week old banana peel. Clearly Twilight was slipping, and it was having a perverse effect on the castle’s magic.
“How long has this been going on?”
“‘Bout a week aftah we returned.”
It’s being going on that long!? Harmony was shocked that she managed to go this long without his knowing. He had seen her several times since their return and he didn’t see or notice anything too far out of the ordinary. She must had used her experience as a princess to hide it. Obviously her friends could see that something was wrong, and he hoped they knew that they were allowed to contact at least Celestia if Twilight went off the deep end, again. Of course an assistant, a good one like Spike, should be able to snap her out of some of her bad habits. It was clear from this mess she clearly didn’t have one.
“What about getting her an assistant?”
“She keeps driving them away she claims that only…Spike,” Rainbow hoof quoted, ”could be her assistant.”
“I hope she didn't really use the name Spike around anypony beside you girls.”
“Not tha’ ah know of.” Applejack answered while Rainbow nodded in agreement.
“Good. What about the Bearer of Generosity as an assistant or at least have her help clean?”
“Seriously?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow and his suggestion.
“Oh yeah…” Harmony facehoofed. He knew better than to suggest that but he did it anyway. “Well, time then for tough love.”
“Uh… Wha’ is tha’ goin’ to entail?”
Harmony ignored her as he rummaged around looking for a clean piece of parchment. It was proving to be quite difficult as nearly every scrap was torn, crumpled, or covered with senseless scribbling. Why does this remind me of Starswirl? He was beginning to think he would have to go buy some parchment when he finally found a clean sheet under a stack of pizza boxes. He quickly wrote a letter.
Greetings River Guardian,
I hope this letter finds you well.
Can you convince Mangy Mutt to come to Ponyville? I have a job for him. There is a chance that he will not feel like coming to a pony town. So if that happens, tell him that he if he comes that he may find the pack that will accept him. He always wanted that after his pack abandoned him for being a runt. I shall see you soon.
He of Harmony
He sent the letter off with his magic. “Okay, I have someone coming that should fix this. However, I’m going to need—YEEEYAH!”
“ME!” Pinkie Pie yelled. Harmony fell back onto his haunches from the sudden appearance of the party pony’s head sticking out of his hood. “AndI’msoexictedarn’tyousoexictedbecauseIamIgettogiveawelcometoponyvillepartytoadiamonddogforthefirsttimeEVER!”
With that the hyperactive pony gasped and jumped right out from Harmony’s hood before turning, still in midair, and zooming out of the castle in a pink blur.
Harmony blinked. “I’m going to pretend that didn’t just happen.”
“Okay, correct me if I heard that wrong (and that’s possible considering it’s Pinkie) but did she just say Diamond Dog!?!”
“Yes, she did.”
Rainbow waved her hooves around. “Are you crazy!?”
“So based on the action of one, rogue, pack you don’t trust Diamond Dogs?”
Rainbow tried to come with an excuse but couldn’t think of anything good. “Uh… yes?”
Harmony rolled his eyes. Some things never change. “Okay, moving on. Where is the Bearer of Magic?”
“Uh…”
Harmony blinked then shook his head. What is with all the ‘uhs’ today? “Lead the way.”
After a minute they stopped next to a closed door.
“Was this…?” Harmony inquired.
“Yes, it was.”
“This might be a while. Bearer of Honesty can you stay with Nova. Bearer of Loyalty you’re free to do whatever.”
“Woo-hoo!” Rainbow whooped flying a bit higher.
“...Unless you have training.”
“Darn it!” Rainbow pouted.
Applejack and Rainbow reluctantly left. One to keep an eye on Nova; the other to REPG training. Harmony took a deep cleansing breath. He wasn’t sure what to expect on the other side of the door, but he figured it wasn’t going to be good. With a nod to reassure himself he slowly opened the door.
The lights were off and the curtains closed as he peered into the dark room. The room looked like a typical teenage male room. He could see comic books piled on the nightstand next to a bed. All around he could see posters of the Wonderbolts and of Power Ponies. There was a writing desk in a corner with covered haphazardly with half finished drawings. He couldn’t see much more than that as the only light was coming from the hall. He scanned the room again as they had implied that Twilight could be found inside.
“Twilight?” He called out. A slight movement in the darkness told him where she was. Purple on purple crystal in the dark had obscured her until then. She seemed to make no other indication that she heard him. Harmony slowly stepped into the room. The subtle hint of sulfur confirm it to him that this was a dragon’s room and more specifically his room. He slowly made his way next to Twilight who has sitting as still as a statue next to Spike’s bed. She was just sitting there staring off in the distance and away from the door.
Sure, he knew she would stumble when she returned but he wasn’t expecting this. He stole a glance at her eyes and what he saw didn’t bode well. Her eyes seem dead and grey. It looked as if she had lost all hope. This was not healthy this long after a death especially one that she knew was coming. If it had been unexpected he would have understood why she was this bad for this long.
“You were right… I tried remaining strong but… I couldn’t.” Her voice was flat and emotionless.
“Twilight…”
Twilight continued to stare at everything and nothing. Harmony waved a hoof in front on her but she gave no response. She had become again dead to the world. He waited for nearly an hour before his patience wore out.
“Enough is enough… You need closure. Have all the Bearers gather at the Castle of the Two Sisters one hour before sunrise, sharp, tomorrow morning. No guards of any kind this is for family only. In the mean time, you are not to step one hoof in this castle. I suggest spending some time with your friends.”
Twilight slowly turned her head and looked up to Harmony, her eyes still dead and lifeless. She stared at him for a while before she lowered her gaze back down and slowly dragged herself out of Spike’s room.
Harmony sadly watched as Twilight leave. He hung his head in shame as he knew what he needed to so. I’m sorry to do this but until you truly let go I can’t let you back in his room. He slowly released the spell his was conjuring and the walls shimmered brightly. After a moment the walls dimmed and the door to Spikes room disappeared. Harmony inspected it closely and was please when he could see that it looked as if the room was never there.
You erased his room just like you erase him!
You could have done something, anything! But instead you did nothing, murderer…
Yeah, killer…
Mwhahaaha! He knows he’s the villain! How else would he let him DIE!?
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this is very interesting, never fear, Nova's here
.....nova....why are you hear
to see myself in a story
....seriously
5691055
Nova playing hero? Just wait until next chapter...
5691514 i cant wait till the next chapter, things are getting really interesting