Harmony Undone: Consequence of Choice

by Zodiacspear

Chapter Seventeen

‘The weather is so beautiful,’ Faithful Watcher thought as she walked along the sunlit path towards the pony’s encampment. The summer’s heat was giving way to the crispness of autumn, and Faith felt a smile grow as a breeze blew through, sending the fur along her spine to standing. Soon the Great Mother and her children would begin to turn their leaves, setting her home to a myriad of colors. While it was true the oaks rarely lost their leaves, the turning from the verdant green of summer to the reds, yellows, browns, and oranges of fall was her favorite time of year.

Her smile faltered—as did her step—as memories of walks she had shared with Risen Hart filtered through her mind. Memories of them walking next to each other, enjoying the scenery, and each other’s company, all came to mind before reality settled in. It took effort, but she eventually took in a breath and let it out, continuing on her way. Having already grieved for her friend, she reminded herself of her purpose of seeing the ponies today.

‘Take care of all of those you lead,’ she recited. ‘Living and dead.’

As she made her way towards the odd square-shaped tents the ponies used, she caught sight of Tourmaline and Wanderer heading towards the practice fields. The former appearing to watch—and attempt to pull—the latter into a conversation. Even a few days after curing Scarlet Scroll of her affliction, Faith knew Wanderer had remained behind the shell he had built around himself. She had hoped that seeing the cure work would have lifted his spirits, but it wasn’t to be.

Holding her head up, she hustled for the tents to the one pony she believed could make things better.

Thankfully, she found Trixie sitting by the campfire, watching as a pair of glowing orbs hovered around the camp. Faith couldn’t help but pause in her stride and marvel at the ease Trixie manipulated the lights. She, herself, could form a single ball, but couldn’t dream of making them dance or change color.

‘I do not understand why she has had trouble with her performances in Equestria. Her magics are amazing.’

Remembering the last time she came upon the unicorn while she was practicing, Faith cleared her throat. “Good daylight, Trixie.”

Trixie blinked and turned to regard her. “Good morning, Faithful. Trixie hopes everything is all right?”

A smile played across her muzzle. “It is! I had hoped to talk with you.” She walked over and settled next to her. “There has been so little chance to speak in the last few days.”

Trixie nodded, letting her magic fade—the two orbs vanishing with a pair of ‘poof’s. “Trixie agrees. Between your grandfather teaching Trixie and Tormod new spells, and you working so hard with the cure, Trixie has had little time for herself, let alone to talk with anyone.”

Faith’s smile wasn’t as genuine as she glanced at the tents. “Is the sky-rider, Scarlet Scroll, still resting?”

Placing her cap back on her head, Trixie’s gaze also shifted to the tent. “Yes, she is. While she still finds it hard to believe what we’ve told her, she is doing better.”

Faith hummed before looking back at Trixie. “I saw Wanderer and Tourmaline going to practice fields.” She glanced around again before speaking lower. “Has he done any better?”

Trixie shook her head, a soft frown marring her features. “Trixie doesn’t believe so. He stays in his tent except for meals and to train with the deer, but never for long.” Her frown deepened. “Ever since that night, he said he wanted to learn to fight so he could better protect everypony, but Trixie feels he is only doing it to take his mind off of what happened that day.” A sigh escaped through her nose. “Trixie worries for him.”

Faith shared in her frown. “As do I. It is one of the reasons I came to visit you.”

Trixie tilted her head. “Oh? What for?”

“My grand—Elder, has taught me that a good leader looks after those who have followed them. You all have trusted me before in a dire circumstance, it is now my turn to help.” Faith glanced in the direction the two had gone and sighed.

“What’s wrong, Faith?”

She lowered her gaze and sighed, her ears pinning back. “I.. do not know how. I’ve thought of so many different ways I think will help, but they all seem so...” another sigh escaped her. “Inadequate.”

A warm smile tugged at Trixie’s lips. “And you sought the Great and Powerful Trixie’s help?”

Faith nodded, an eager gleam in her eyes. “Do you have any ideas for what we can do to help Wanderer and Tourmaline? They are such good friends from everything Tormod has told me. It is sad to see them like this.”

Trixie frowned, glancing away. “Trixie’s not sure. Their type of fighting, we shouldn’t really interfere with, Faithful. It is something that they should work out on their own. Lover’s quarrels are between each other, and others interfering could cause more trouble than good.”

“Surely there is something? What could—”

They both turned at the sound of a tent flap unzipping. From the tent, emerged a worn-looking Scarlet Scroll. Dark bags hung under her eyes, and her lilac fur was ruffled from turning in her sleep. The pegasus ran a hoof through her dark green mane which settled over her left eye. She yawned before caught sight of the two—gasping when her eyes settled on Faithful.

Said doe held up her forelegs. “Easy, sky-rider, I do not mean to startle you.”

“Faithful Watcher is a friend,” Trixie added.

Scarlet took in a deep breath and brought her flared wings back to her sides. “I-I know, I’m just…” she sighed again. “Still getting used to the deer.” Turning a look at Faith, she said, “I really can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for me.”

Another happy smile burst across her face. “I am glad to help. I am so overjoyed my Elder knew how to cure you.” She turned an affectionate smile at the massive oak tree. “The Great Mother had shown us the way to save everyone, and we are more than glad to help.”

Scarlet followed her gaze before averting her own, a mask of sorrow crossing her expression. “My husband is still out there, as is our friend and so many others.” She looked back at the two. “You have to save them too.”

“We shall,” Trixie said, standing straighter and giving her mane a dramatic toss. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will save the day once again!”

While Faith smiled at her, Scarlet turned a look at the unicorn. “Like you did in all of your stories?”

Faith saw Trixie wince at the question, but the mare held her head up high. “This story shall be a true tale of Trixie’s gallantry. She won’t be called a liar again!”

A faint, if not sly, smile tugged at Scarlet’s mouth. “I hope so.” She glanced at one of the logs that ringed the campfire. “May I sit?”

The two nodded and the lilac pegasus gave a tired sigh, running a hoof over her eyes again.

“Do you still feel ill, sky-rider?” Faith asked, her brow furrowing.

Scarlet nodded, easing herself on the log. “Not sick, just tired.” Another yawn escaped her. “I’m still having nightmares.”

Trixie winced again before asking, “Of when you were a Bringer of Plague?”

Again, Scarlet nodded, a distant look in her visible eye.

“Can you tell us about what you experienced?” Faith asked as she shifted her weight. “Maybe we can learn something about the Gorgon or her Harbinger that can help save your mate.”

There was no hiding the fear that came to Scarlet’s eyes. “It was horrible. I felt like I was always walking through a thick fog. I couldn’t see anything, other than vague blurs, and I couldn’t focus on anything.” She lowered her head, partly hiding her features behind her mane. “I remember the voices. I remember his voice the most.” Her shoulders shook with a shudder. “Every time he spoke, I had to obey. I couldn’t argue, I couldn’t fight, I couldn’t…”

When the pegasus stopped, Faithful stood up and sat beside her. “If it is too painful, do not speak further.”

Scarlet shook her head. “No, I need to say this.” She took in a breath and blew it out through her nose. “He, Harbinger, when I looked at him, all I saw was a monster. He might look like a pony, but he’s not. He’s… evil.”

Faith turned as Trixie spoke. “Trixie agrees. She saw him up close.” She shuddered as well. “He might have been a pony before, but whatever the Gorgon did to him, he’s not anymore.”

Scarlet nodded, sitting straighter again. “She… is worse. I never saw her, but I could feel her. She was…” A pensive frown crossed her face. “She was the fog itself. While Harbinger was the voice, she was the fog that wouldn’t let me focus. She was always around me, and I…” She paused again. “I could feel her eating away at me.”

Faith rested a hesitant hoof on Scarlet’s withers but pulled away as she flinched. “That is because she is the embodiment of sickness. She eats away at the healthy part of a deer, or pony, until there is nothing left.”

Scarlet looked at her with pleading eyes. “That’s why you must help my husband and the others! What will happen if she eats them until they’re gone? Can he be saved then?”

Faith’s ears flicked as both ponies looked at her for answers. She bit at her lip before saying, “I...I wish I knew. I will speak with the Elder and I promise to tell you what he tells me.” A smiled painted its way back on her face. “Please, do not worry.”

Scarlet’s gaze half-lidded and looked away. “Easier said than done,” she whispered.

Trixie watched the pegasus a moment before looking at Faith. “Didn’t a group of deer go out to capture some of the Bringers today?”

Faith smiled, privately glad her friend had come to her rescue. “Indeed so! My Elder and some warriors left to capture a group of them tearing through the woods. They will bring them back and we will cure them all!”

“Maybe your husband will be among them,” Trixie said, turning back to Scarlet.

A small smile tugged at the pegasus’s mouth. “I hope to the Sisters he is.”

-0-

Later that evening, as the ponies sat around their campfire eating, Trixie was glad to see that Wanderer seemed a bit more animated than he had been. Speaking with Scarlet Scroll, he asked many of the questions she and Faithful had asked earlier. She answered as she had but he pressed her for more details of being under the control of the Gorgon.

“You said you couldn’t do anything?”

She shook her head. “No. I tried to fight it, but my body wouldn’t listen. Like I said, it was like being in a dizzying haze. I couldn’t focus on anything other than what I was told to do.”

He gave a soft sigh and nodded, taking another bite of his food.

“So how do you know they have Rogue and Stone Hoof?” Tourmaline asked after a quick glance at him.

Scarlet turned her gaze to her, the faintest of frowns on her face. “I could still recognize who and what I was looking at, I just couldn’t do more than that unless told to.”

“Like when you fought with me?” Tourmaline asked, her gaze narrowing.

Scarlet cringed and nodded. “Yes. I knew it was you, Tourmaline, and…” She stood straighter, matching her glare. “And I won’t lie and say that hadn’t wanted to do that for a long time.”

Tourmaline looked at her for a moment before she smirked. “You and me both.”

“But that’s all poin—”

“Pointless now,” Scarlet interrupted Wanderer. “Yes, it is. All I want now is to get my husband back and get back to Greensborough.” She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “I just want to go home.”

“Once we cure him, you will,” Tormod said as he set his plate aside. “Maybe we can convince the deer to escort you and the others back so Greensborough can be ready if something happens.”

“You mean, if we fail?” Wanderer asked, his tone dropping.

Tormod winced and nodded.

“It won’t come to that.”

The four of them turned to Trixie as she spoke.

“Not with the Great and Powerful Trixie here to save the day.” She gave her mane a toss. “Along with her friends, Trixie shall save everypony and we will be known far and wide as heroes!”

“Well, at least one of us is confident,” Tormod quipped, giving her a sly wink.

“Confidence is one thing, but bravado is another.” Tourmaline lifted a brow at her. “How do you know we will win?”

Trixie turned her nose up. “Because Trixie believes we will.”

‘We will?’

Tourmaline rolled her eyes. “Riiight.”

Wanderer looked away, his ear flicking. “Gonna try, at least.”

Trixie looked at the two for a moment and felt a frown tug at her mouth. Why can’t they be in better spirits?

‘What have they to be happy about?’

Nothing, she concluded. The only way for them to get out of their slump was for them to experience something positive for a change.

‘But what?’

Before she could speak again, there came the low sound of a horn being blown from the forest. As one, the ponies turned towards the sound and they saw a number of deer galloping for the village’s entrance.

“What’s that?” Scarlet asked, her eyes wide.

“I think that’s the hunting party returning.” Tormod looked back at them. “Maybe they have wounded?”

“Rogue!” Scarlet spread her wings and flew for the entrance.

“Tourma—” Wanderer stopped as she flew after the other pegasus. With a sigh, he donned his hat again and stood. “Better go see what it’s about. They might need our help.”

The remaining three hurried as fast as Tormod’s leg would allow, and Trixie soon found herself beside them as the deer warriors lead five blindfolded ponies to the village. All five bucked and whinnied as the deer struggled to reign them in. Trixie gasped and brought a hoof to cover her mouth as she recognized the dark brown mane and tan coat of one of the Bringers.

“That’s the old pony Trixie helped on the road!”

The two turned and their eyes widened. “Ol’ Nut?” Tormod asked, his jaw hanging ajar. “Why would they foalnap him?”

Wanderer shrugged, shaking his head. “Guess they weren’t too picky on who they took.”

Tormod turned an incredulous look his way. “But Ol’ Nut though?”

A faint grin graced Wanderer’s muzzle for a second. “Maybe it was because of his acorn cakes?”

Tormod rolled his eyes. “Always thinking with your stomach.” He grinned then. “Good to see you in good cheer again.”

“Mm.” Wanderer shrugged.

Trixie turned as she saw Tourmaline and Scarlet Scroll hover overhead.

Scarlet sighed after looking over the captured Bringers. “He’s not here…”

“Do not despair, sky-rider,” the Elder said as his warriors struggled to restrain the captured Bringers. “These are but a few of the many we will capture and free from the Gorgon’s influence.” He turned his gaze to her. “Your mate will be found and freed in due time.”

Scarlet sighed and lowered herself to the ground, watching as Faithful Watcher began removing a collection of ceramic jars from her satchel.

Trixie watched as the Bringers were forced to swallow the cure. Wincing at the rough handling, she averted her gaze when Tormod spoke to the Elder. “Were any of the deer injured when you captured them?”

The Elder closed his eyes before opening them again as the Bringers gave agonized cries as the cure worked. “Two. One with a broken leg from the beetles the Bringers had with them. Fortunately, I was there to help them in their time of need.”

Trixie looked over as a deer warrior was being led away for the healer’s tent; not before he, and those around around him, shot vehement glares at her and her fellow ponies.

‘They’re mad.’

‘Shouldn’t they be? Why should they stick their necks out for us? Most of them hate us. The only reason they are helping is because their leader is telling them to.’

A frown pulled at her lips. What did the White Tails have to be happy about? Their home, their sanctuary, was being threatened by a spirit that wanted them, and all others, dead. They were forced to house and protect the very ponies that had wronged them in the past, and now their own people were getting injured or killed saving those same ponies. It really was no small matter that they were so angry. Who could really blame them?

‘It is a horrible way to live,’ she thought.

She glanced over toward her fellow ponies. Tormod was the only one who wasn’t so grim, despite being the one who was perhaps the worst off of the bunch. Wanderer still had that distant look in his eyes, something so out of place on his normally cheerful expression. Tourmaline watched him, biting at her lip as if she was unsure of what to do. Scarlet Scroll seemed so absorbed in her own issues that her expression was unreadable.

With the grimness of their situation, how could she expect the others to be happy or upbeat? When she considered it, she turned the question towards herself. She wasn’t any closer to revitalizing her career. She was still in the middle of a giant forest where danger lurked behind every rough-barked tree. What did she have to be happy about?

Her gaze lifted up to the evening sky, her violet irises taking in the reddish glow. ‘Because Trixie hasn’t given up. Trixie hasn’t given up hope that all will turn out right and she will save not only her show, but everypony and deer in Equestria.’

“Trixie?”

She blinked and shifted her gaze to Tormod as he stood staring at her, his brow furrowed. “Are you all right? You seemed pretty deep in thought.”

A sigh escaped her and she nodded. “Trixie is fine. She was just… thinking of her show.”

He hummed an acknowledgement and turned back to watch the crowd begin to disperse—the now-unconscious Bringers being carried away for the healer’s tent. “You know, I find myself missing your show. Even with how everything turned out, I remember all the ponies smiling as they watched you. It’s almost like we’ve all forgotten how smile.” A wistful smile played across his face. “If only we could have one right now, maybe things would be better, even for a little bit.”

The idea struck her as fast as lightning would have. Rubbing at her chin, the idea began to take shape. Her gaze drifted again to the sky, as well as the turning leaves of the forest. “A show…”

Tormod looked back at her. “What was that?”

She grinned wide and turned her elated expression to him. “Tormod, do you know if any of the deer are musicians?”

He blinked and tilted his head, frowning. “I… think so. I remember hearing some music back when I was stuck in the healer's tent.” Focusing back on her, he asked. “Why?”

Her smile spreading ear to ear, she asked, “Can you ask around? Or ask Faith? I—The Great and Powerful Trixie has an idea that will help everypony.”

Author's Note:

Trixie, this can either go right, or horribly wrong...

Comments

[Minds Eye]

Well... she did want a fresh audience for her show.

[Zodiacspear]

7640268 I really need to learn to respond to these things faster. >.<

I'm glad you like Trixie, as I'm sure is obvious by now, she's my favorite of the show. The season six finale only helped seal that deal. And while Equestria has been known to forgive even the kitchen sink, as you hilariously put it, they have been shown to not always be so quick to forgive. Take No Second Prances as example, featuring Trixie no less. The crowd as she was setting up, and Twilight's own unease is proof that sometimes forgiveness is slow to come. Even in Equestria.

As for my villain, not all is as it appears on the surface between these two. Harbinger and his mysterious benefactor(?) have their own dynamic as the story progresses. What is behind that door is something that is very angry as has had a lot of time to dwell on that anger. There is a lot more depth for these two in the chapters ahead.

7648860 And the deer are about as fresh as she could hope for. Even if their feelings towards ponies isn't the kindest out there. Let's see what the Great and Powerful Trixie has up her non-existent sleeve.

If I can get the update out in a timely manner.