Shattered Harmony Part 1 - The Call

by Phazon_Corrupted_Unicorn

Chapter 6 - Redemption?

Amant strolled down the lane. He didn’t really have anywhere to be today. He’d reported in to the council about his findings with Applejack and was told to space out his visits to the other five Elements, to ensure time for each one to think about his questions and meditate on their respective shard of Harmony. He had agreed, reluctantly, though he didn’t like the idea of sitting around and waiting for things to happen. He had been told that Equestria has waited for several thousand years, it could afford to wait a few days.

He had also checked on his house. Seeing the pace by which it went up was pleasing. He was glad that Apple Bloom had agreed to be the foremare for his crew. It made things happen a lot quicker. Apple Bloom, the very name called up the thought of the mare, her rose red hair tied back in a ponytail with her hat perched on top her head as she gazed around at the construction site. Apple Bloom who would smile at him whenever he visited the site. Apple Bloom, who would smile as she studied the blueprints, writing things down on her notepad. Apple Bloom who was the first one at the site and the last one to leave, as he’d been told by several of the Changelings there.

He was interrupted from his train of thought when he heard what sounded like sniffling. He raised an eyebrow and crept slowly toward the sound. As he rounded a hedge to peer into the park he caught sight of two mares sitting on a bench, one of them was hugging the other. He moved closer, hoping not to be seen, though he didn’t know why he was bothering with this. He didn’t like ponies poking their noses into his business, so why should he? He wanted to just turn around and head back into town, but something pulled his attention away from anything else and onto the two mares. There was something about the two that made him want to help them, in any way he could.

He finally stepped out from the bushes and walked down the path toward the mares, and he was able to get a good look at the two of them. The one hugging the other mare, who Amant could now tell was the one crying, was gray coated with a two tone mane of white and silver that had half of it tied into a braid and bore a pair of spectacles on her nose. The mark on her flank was of a silver spoon with a heart shaped gem in the handle. She looked up as he approached, causing the other mare to quickly sit up and wipe her nose with her foreleg. This mare was pink, but darker than Pinkie Pie was, and had a mane of purple and white with a silver tiara sitting on top. Her mark was that of a tiara, similar to the one that adorned her forehead. She sniffed once, then glared at him.

“What does a blank flank want with us?” she snapped, and Amant raised an eyebrow.

“Blank flank?” he asked.

“It means you don’t have a cutie mark,” the silver one stated, gesturing to her flank.

“Ah,” he replied, “I don’t think I can get one. It’s a little unheard of for my kind to get one, as I have never seen one on anypony I’ve been around.”

“So you’re an eternal blank flank?” the second one asked and Amant shrugged.

“Well, it’s not really important,” he said, “you see, I’m not here to get a butt tattoo, but to help save the world. And I can’t help but feel like you two mares are going to help me.”

“Please,” the first mare snapped, “it’s not like Equestria needs us to help it. We have the precious Elements of Harmony to protect us.”

“Yes, but there may be things that even they can’t fix,” the second one stated, “remember Tirek? It was only because Princess Twilight was an Alicorn that she was able to stop him. The Elements didn’t do anything, in fact they were caught just like anypony else.”

“Yeah, well, still. What can we do that they can’t?” asked the first one.

“You can learn, can’t you?” Amant asked.

“Of course we can,” snorted the first.

“Good,” he said, “first things first. My name is Amant Septim. What’s your’s?”

“I’m Silver Spoon, and this is Diamond Tiara,” the silver one stated, gesturing to herself then to her friend.

“Wonderful, Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara, it’s nice to meet you. Now, if you don’t mind me asking, why were you crying?” Amant asked.

“It’s because we tease those blank flanks all day, and they never give up. They never get frustrated at each other. They always seem to be happy around each other and we can’t stand it!” Diamond complained, stomping her hoof down on the ground.

“Well, that is quite interesting,” he replied, “do you know why that is?”

“We can guess it’s because they’re such good friends,” Silver stated.

“Well then, why not become their friends? They are open to making new ones, so why not try your luck?”

“It’s because they don’t want to be friends with us, we’ve teased them for years now,” Diamond stated.

“Have you tried asking?” Amant asked.

The two mares looked at each other, then shook their heads. “No,” Silver said, “we haven’t.”

“So try that then!”

“But-” Diamond started to say but Amant held up a hoof.

“No buts,” he said, turning around, “come on! You’re going to help save Equestria, and I feel like you’re going to need to make friends.” He walked out of the park and headed to his home site. Diamond and Silver watched him walk away, then they looked at each other and shrugged.

“The worst they can do is tell us they don’t want to be friends. It’s not like we haven’t heard that before,” Silver said, and Diamond nodded.

“So, let’s go give this a chance. Who knows, maybe they will forgive us?”

With that, they hopped off the bench and hurried to catch up to Amant, following him to the clearing that was bustling with activity. Apple Bloom was directing the crewlings to start building the floor, as well as helping build several frames for the walls. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were helping out by hauling wood and tools to anypony who needed it. Amant walked up to Apple Bloom, who was currently nailing a board to what looked like a finished frame. She looked up when she noticed Amant walking toward her and she smiled. Amant stopped a few hooves away and let her pull out a rag and wipe her face with it, stowing it in her saddlebags. Her smile faltered slightly when she looked behind him and saw the two mares that had followed him. She walked up to Diamond and Silver and stared at them. Diamond shrank under her fiery stare and even Silver swallowed hard.

“Can Ah help ya’ll?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Well, we’d like to ask you a question,” Silver said softly, her eyes darting to the side when she noticed Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle coming over. Scootaloo bore a look of hatred toward the two mares, but Sweetie Belle looked curious.

“Yeah?” snapped Scootaloo, “and what’s that? Want to make fun of us more for not having a cutie mark?” She twisted around to display her blank flank at the two mares and Diamond cringed from the sight.

“No,” Diamond squeaked, “look, we’re really sorry that we’ve teased you all these years, but to be honest, we’re…” The remainder of her sentence was lost to mumblings and Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow.

“You’re what?” she coaxed.

“We’re kind of, well, jealous,” Silver said, poking at the ground with her hoof.

“Jealous?” asked Apple Bloom, not sure she heard right.

“Yes, jealous you country bumpkin, that’s what we…” Diamond started to say, but froze when she realized what she was saying, then swallowed and tried again. “Yes,” she said, calmer now, “jealous. We were, are, jealous of your friendship.” The three other mares stood there with their mouths open and eyes wide.

“How can you be jealous? Of us?” Scootaloo said, her tone now devoid of much of her previous anger.

“It’s because no matter what happens, or how much we tease you,” Silver explained, “you’re always good friends at the end of the day. Diamond and I have only ever had each other, and we’ve been lonely as we’ve seen our classmates grow up and make new friends. But with our reputations as bullies, we figured nopony would want to be our friends.”

“That’s right,” Diamond stated, “we’ve watched you three have so much fun and we’ve wanted that too. You always seem to enjoy trying to get your cutie marks by doing different things and we’ve wanted to be a part of that as well.”

Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom shared a knowing look at Diamond’s comment, then they turned back to look at the two mares. “Alright,” Apple Bloom stated, “ya’ll can be our friends.” Diamond and Silver smiled at that, their eyes sparkling.

“Really?” whispered Diamond, “just like that, you’ll let us be your friends?”

“Sure, why not?” Apple Bloom asked, “Ah can tell yer sincere, and it seems like friends are important to ya. What kinda friend would Ah be if Ah didn’t let even bullies be our friend? Remember Babs? When she first came here, ya’ll turned her against us, but when she left we were great friends! She even came to the Apple family reunion. If that can happen to her, why can’t it happen ta anypony?”

Diamond started to tear up, a single drop running down her face at the thought of having friends, then she tackled Apple Bloom to the ground, sobbing. “Thank you,” she said, “thank you thank you thank you!” Silver Spoon looked at the two mares on the ground, then at the other two watching. She gave a shy smile and they returned it, Scootaloo a little more hesitant than Sweetie Belle.

“So,” Diamond looked up at the mess of materials, “what are you doing?”

“Ah’m helping to build Amant’s home!” Apple Bloom grinned from beneath her.

“And what are you two doing?” Silver asked Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

“We’re helping,” Sweetie Belle stated, smiling, “mostly by fetching nails and hammers, but also by moving materials and helping support frames and the like.”

“Is there any need for two more Earth Ponies?” Diamond said, looking down at Apple Bloom with hope in her eyes.

“Sure! We could all really use the help!” Apple Bloom replied, squirming out from under Diamond and stood up.

They spent the remainder of the day laughing and smiling as they helped each other. Occasionally Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon would complain at the amount of dirt that was on them, but after glancing over at the other three and seeing smirks on their faces, they just shrugged it off and got back to work. Amant watched each of the five mares help out, but he found his gaze sliding back to Apple Bloom. He didn’t understand why it was such a big deal to have a butt tattoo, but he just figured that it was something that Equestrians cared about.

He was so lost in thought by the end of the day that he didn’t even notice a certain yellow Earth Pony poke her face right into his until they were almost touching noses. He gave a cry of surprise and toppled backward, Apple Bloom rushing forward to grab him, but her hind legs slipped and she found herself on top of him. Both of them froze for a second. Due to the awkward position, Amant couldn’t help but notice the smaller details of the mare, from the small drops of sweat that clung to her forehead, the way the setting sun shone in her eyes, deepening their color, and even the heavy breathing that attested to a long day’s work. He raised his hooves to help her off him and they brushed her sides. He could feel the muscle through the soft coat and he found himself unable to breath as he watched her move, each muscle tensing in a way that seemed to make her entire body dance. She pushed herself up by bracing on either side of his head and he caught the whiff of sweat mixed with something sweet.

Apple Bloom pulled off her hat and fanned her face as she rested against a tree, her face warm from the sunlight and heat. Amant stood up and tried not to look at her, but he found his gaze always coming back to the farmpony. She almost reminded him of Applejack, the way she leaned up against the tree. She slid her hat back on. “Sorry about tha’,” she said, “Ya’ll were in a daze and Ah though ya might want ta know it’s time ta head home.” Amant heard her but the words didn’t register as she walked away after smiling at him, his eyes dropping to her flank and the absence of a butt tattoo.

He was knocked out of his staring by a shove, throwing him to the ground. He grunted and looked at what had pushed him, finding Scootaloo standing over him, looking extremely possessive.

“You hurt her,” she growled, glancing at Apple Bloom, “and I’ll snap your horn off, grind it up, and feed it to you. Got that?”

Amant shoved her off him. “I’m not going to do anything,” he growled back, “I’m here for one purpose and one purpose alone. She doesn’t calculate into that, alright?”

Scootaloo just huffed in disbelief, then ran out of the clearing. He stood up and dusted his coat off, then glanced around and caught sight of Sweetie Belle. He flinched. “You’re not going to tackle me to the ground, are you?” he asked.

Sweetie Belle laughed, like the sound of rain falling on crystal. “No, of course not,” she said, “first Rarity would kill me if I came home any dirtier than I am now. And second, I think it’s cute. She needs a good stallion.”

“What are you talking about?” Amant demanded, “I don’t care about her! She’s just a foremare that I hired to finish my house!”

“Yeah, a foremare that you can’t keep your eyes off for a single second,” Sweetie Belle giggled as she turned and left the clearing.

Amant stared after her, then slammed his hooves into the ground, grunting in frustration and anger. He tilted his head back and shouted his frustrations to the heavens, making the clearing echo with his cries, as the sun set and the moon took its place in the sky. He grumbled as he stormed out of the clearing, finally making his way into his hotel room. He threw himself on the bed, not even bothering to contact the council. He grumbled for a long time, hoping sleep would release him from the moment. It came, but only after a long and hard battle. The last thing he said before sleep overtook him was, “stupid mares.”

Author's Note:

Second chapter for the day!

Here we see a certain pair of fillies showing why they treated our favorite CMC so rotten. Perhaps the five fillies can be friends?

And we have a hint of romance. Amant, are you getting distracted?

Comments

[Dimensional Librarian]

Wait is this a time line where the CMC are adults?