Defenders of Harmony

by chillbook2

First Contact

The next day we had some renovations on base. I left for twenty minutes to get some groceries, and when I came back, I could say nothing but “Wow”. The two floored house was, on the outside, still the same, beat-down and raggedy. When I entered, I had to leave to make sure I was in the right place. The inside was massive! Giant dining room, a foyer, plenty more bedrooms, a giant koi pond, and a large fireplace.

“What the hell?” I muttered to myself.

“You like?” asked Isaiah, coming from one of the two new staircases. “It’s bigger on the inside!”

“What? How? Why?” I asked with a grin.

“Me and Twilight worked it out. Wait until you see the armory. And the icing on the cake: check this out.” he said, turning to his side. I looked him up and down, my eyes stopping on his flank. The white space was replaced with a golden scepter in front of a green circle with a large triangle and various symbols inside. His cutie mark.

“Holy crap! What is your talent?” I asked.

“Magic in general, but specifically alchemy. The circle is an alchemy circle. Alchemy is creating and altering matter to fit your needs. I can also warp space. The ‘bigger-on-the-inside’ spell was pretty easy.” he replied with pride.

“Excellent! We can celebrate later. Right now we should get some training in.”

“Where the hell do you think everybody is now? They’re in the new training rooms. If you would like to join us, Celestial and Lunar are down there already.” he said, leaving to get to work. I put away the groceries and ran down the stairs, eager to begin. I reached downstairs just to have my breath taken away. The basement was large enough to hold three armies of obese hippos. The targets were gone, replaced by a proper firing range. The targets, which used to be simple bullseyes, were now cutouts of random changelings and ponies. They were attached to the ceiling by a cable, which could move up and down the long range for practicing with multiple ranges. The dummies were more realistic and they even moved around. The weapon wall was more extensive. We had more explosives and firearms, not to mention swords and blunt weapons. It was amazing. On the nearest wall was my blade and gun. I picked them both up and ran to practice. I’d never shot a gun before, so I decided to start with that. I went to the firing range and set the target to be at point-blank range, just to get myself used to the feeling of shooting. I grabbed some ammo from the nearest cache and placed it on a nearby table. I slowly loaded the gun, cocked it back and gripped the butt with both hands. I aimed steadily, took a deep breath, and squeezed the trigger.
BOOM!

The gun flew up, nearly dislocating my shoulder. It hurt my hands, it hurt my arm, and the noise hurt my head. I loved it! It was exciting and power-filling. Not to say that I looked forward to killing. I knew I would regret it. I don’t know if it’s the Instinct spell or just my personality, but I understand. I would have to end these creatures for our benefit. So, when the time came, I would do it without hesitation. In order to protect my people.

“Holy cow.” I said, snapping back to reality. “That was intense!” I heard a soft sniffle coming from the corner. It was Fluttershy, face in her hands and crying. I trotted over and sat on the floor next to her.

“What’s wrong Flutters?” I asked. I knew exactly what was wrong. Just had to make sure.

“All of these g-guns and s-s-swords are scaring me.” she sobbed.

“It’s alright. I know they can be loud, but you’ll get used to them.”

“It’s not just how loud they are. These are weapons! We are fighting with these! Princess Celestia expects me to kill somepony and I don’t think I can do it.”

“I understand. But you also have to understand: we have to fight and that will involve some fatalities. They won’t stop until we are either dead or enslaved. It’s going to be hard, but it has to be done. We won’t think any less of you afterwards.”

“You guys won’t think I’m a monster?” she asked.

“No matter what you do, you’ll still be lovely, kind, beautiful Fluttershy.” I said “We all feel that way.” I amended quickly.

“Thank you.” said Fluttershy. “If you really mean that, I guess I can try.”

“Wanna come try out your gun?” I asked. She looked frightfully at the gun on my hip. Slowly she nodded her agreement. I helped her up and brought her over to the firing range. I set up the target to be a few feet from her and showed her how to load her gun. I walked behind her and grabbed her hands, which were holding onto that little SMG for dear life. I helped her aim and taught her how to steady her hands. She took aim and squeezed the trigger, letting out 4 quick rounds. All headshots.

“That’s good Flutters!” I shouted proudly. “Your aim is amazing! Let’s pull back the target a little.” We trained for about thirty minutes with our guns, then we learned how to use our swords. Of course, we took plastic versions so we wouldn’t hurt each other. We sparred for another 15 minutes alone, until RD jumped in and joined the fray. Soon enough, Pinkie joined in. All of my friends jumped into the fight with training versions of their weapons. We eventually left our little circle and turned the entire training room into the ring for a 9-way battle royale. We honed our skills for another hour before I called it quits.
“Alright everypony!” I shouted. “Gather round! We’re done here! I have new assignments!” The team circled around me, waiting for my instruction. We were tired, sweaty, bruised, and we could not be happier.
“What… now?” panted Twilight.
“Isaiah, Twilight and Rarity will place protection spells around the area and work on getting us some armor. Shouldn’t be too hard between an alchemist, a student of Celestia, and a fashionista.” They nodded and left off to get to work. “Rob, Pinkie, and Aj will work on weaponry and explosives. Try to make a fail-safe, in case the base gets overtaken.”

“Ay, mate!” said Robert, sauntering off to a work table.

“Us three left will do some more recon. I picked up some walkie-talkies while I was out today. Let’s put them to good use.”

“Alright.” said RD. We left the house, my gun hidden under my shirt, and split up. We scattered through town, hoping to find some information. It was Fluttershy who found some first.

“Um, guys.” she called over the walkie talkie. “I think I found something. These guys are talking about Sunset Shimmer. They said that she just got back from a meeting at the Crassly Hi building,”

“That’s a good lead Flutters. If only I’ve ever heard of Crassly Hi. We at least know that they’re here. We can find a connection.” I replied from the alley I decided to wait in. “Let’s go.”

“Wait. They said something about the Ma Bros. Ma brothers? Is that some sort of gang?”

“Not that I’ve heard of. I think that there is a relationship, though. I’ll have to figure it out.”

“These don’t sound like real names.” said Rainbow. “What are we missing?”

“Now they are talking about a place called ‘Scrod Id’ What are they talking about?” asked Fluttershy.

“Let me think.” I replied. What do they mean?, I asked myself, Now would be a great time for one of those impulses. Crassly Hi. Ma brothers. Scrod Id. These sound like gibberish. Or maybe just really weird human speech!

“I got it!” I shouted into the walkie-talkie. “Crassly Hi, Ma Bros., Scrod Id! They’re anagrams, Crassly Hi is Chrysalis, Ma brothers is supposed to be abbreviated to Ma Bros., which is Sombra. And Scrod Id is Discord! They’re not together! They split up! We can use this to our advantage!”

“Only if you leave here with your life.” said a voice from behind. I turned around and saw two short black figures with hardened black skin, a sharp horn, pointed ears and torn wings. They walked forward, revealing the large holes in their arms and legs. Their turquoise eyes seemed to pierce through my soul.

“Guys.” I whispered into my walkie. “Run. Go home. Do not wait for me. Just get home!”

“That’s enough of that.” said the one on the right, blasting a shot of magic energy at my hand, knocking the walkie out of my grasp. They advanced slowly and menacingly. “You might have gotten away, if you didn’t scream at the top of your lungs.”

“You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?” I asked fearfully. “Before I die, you wanna tell me what your queen is planning?”

“Not really.” said the other, charging a spell in his hands. “We might have, if we found you worthy.”

“So now I’m unworthy? Gosh, you guys are mean. Just hurry up and kill me. Put me out of my misery. Cure me of my emotional trauma.” I said sarcastically. I probably should’ve kept my mouth shut, but I couldn’t help it. Whenever I panic, I start to spew out snide remarks.

“You are very unworthy. You go out to spy on us and don’t even have a method of defense? Pathetic.”

“Funny you should say that, actually!” I said, ripping Lunar from under my shirt. I cocked it lightning-fast and pointed the gun at the changeling on the left. I squeezed the trigger, hitting him in the neck. Ghostly green blood spewed from the wound. Grabbing himself around the neck, the changeling I shot sank to the ground. I turned my gun to his friend and fired. He twirled around and dodged my shot. He fired a blast at me, which I ducked. I shot again, this time hitting him in the leg. More green blood splattered on the ground as he screamed in pain. He fell to the ground on his back. I ran up to him and put my barrel on his forehead.

“Go ahead, human.” he said smugly. “Do it. You know you want to.” The thing that scared me is that I did. I really, really wanted to pull the trigger and blow his brains out. I gripped my pistol tighter, hesitating. I had to make a decision.

“Bye.” I said. “Tell your friend in hell that Silver Rift said ‘hi’.” Without warning, he shot a blast of light into my eyes, blinding me. I backed up, rubbing my eyes.

“Later, Silver Rift.” I heard him say. I rubbed my eyes furiously until vision returned. When I could see again, I looked for that changeling. I was in the alley alone.

“Damn! I should’ve shot him when I had the chance!” I muttered to myself. I went back over to my fallen walkie-talkie. I picked it up and tried to contact the others.

“Flutters? Dash? Are you ok?” I asked.

“What the hell, Silver?!” yelled RD. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“Sorry. It’s all good now, though. Only two of them.”

“What did you do with them?”

“I killed one. The other got away.”

“Smooth move, jackass. Now they know they’re being watched.” said Dash spitefully.

“It’ll be fine. Get back to base. We have to relay this information to the others.” I said. I wasn’t upset by how RD yelled at me. I knew she was just worried. I went over to the fallen changeling, neon-green blood pooling around him. I crouched and closed his unblinking eyes.

“Rest in peace.” I whispered. I should leave, before someone came. I put the safety of my pistol on and shoved in my pants, against the flat of my back. I left the alley, praying no one would see me.
I made it home undetected. I entered base, closing the door behind me. Standing in the foyer was Isaiah holding a sheathed katana in each hand. I pulled out my pistol to rest on the table. Quick as lightning, Isaiah kicked me hard in the chest with his right hoof. I flew backwards, hitting the door when an elbow connected with my skull. I staggered to the right, tripping to the floor. I felt two large hands grasp my shirt. Hoisting me up, Robert threw me against the table, where Lunar lay. I grabbed it up, and aimed it at Robert’s knee. He ripped his hammer from off his back and swung it with all his might. It hit Lunar on the side of the barrel, knocking it from my grasp. I scrambled to my feet, rushing at Robert. He dodged out of the way to the left. I kicked him in the right leg and swept my leg across his ankle, dropping him to the ground. I turned to Isaiah and reared up my fist. I swung clumsily at his face. He dodged it easily and smacked me in the ribs with his sword. I flinched, opening myself up for four more smacks. He kicked me again and flicked his wrist, sending the sheaths flying off his blades and hitting me in the gut. He crossed his swords, shoved me against the door and stabbed either side of my head. He brought the edge of each blade dangerously close to my neck. Robert got up slowly and grabbed his shotgun. He placed the barrel against my temple and chambered a round.

“What the hell, guys?!” I screamed.

“Move and I blow your brains out.” growled Robert. He looked murderous. He probably was.

“Prove to me you are Chris. If you can’t, You get a brain full of buckshot, I get my first head trophy, and Robert satisfies his desire to kill a changeling.” said Isaiah. “Tick-tock.”

“Who else could I be besides Chris?” I asked. “This is ridiculous!”

“Changeling scum.” said Robert angrily.

“Fine, fine. I’ll prove it!” I said quickly. How was I supposed to prove that? “Here. I’ll show you my wings.” I transformed into my pony form.

“Not good enough. You better be able to change into a different form. You’re a changeling.” said Isaiah, pressing the blades against my neck.

“Why does everyone think I’m a changeling?” I said. “Ask me a question. Something only Chris would know.”

“You could have interrogated him before hand. Keep trying.”

“I’m killing this sumbitch so we can find Chris.” said Robert, gripping his gun.

“Wait, wait, wait!” I said panickedly. “Here, here.” I lifted my hands slightly and opened a tiny Silver Rift. “See? Princess Celestia said only I can open those.”

Isaiah seemed to consider the my point. Finally, he lowered his swords. He picked up his sheaths and put away his blades. Robert lowered his shotgun and then punched me hard in the stomach.

“What?!” I groaned. “I just proved myself to be me!”

“You freakin’ idiot! Why would you fight changelings?!” yelled Robert.

“I didn’t mean to! I was yelling and they found me!” I shouted.

“Why were you screaming?!”

“I cracked the code?” I supplied.

“What code?” asked isaiah.

“I figured out that the enemy is split in four. Sombra, Discord, and Chrysalis are in separate places. They are communicating with each other via Sunset Shimmer.”

“The relevance?” asked Rob.

“They don’t trust each other. We can use that to our advantage. They’re communicating through Sunset. We take her…”

“They have no way to plan!” said Isaiah in excitement.

“And they trust each other even less.” I finished. I picked up Lunar from off the ground. The barrel was bent to make a right angle. This would be useless for the next 30 minutes.

“Sorry, Chris.” said Robert. “I got a little excited and… violent.”

“It’s good. I’ll just soak it in water for a while.” I said, trotting over to the koi pond. I threw the gun in the pond. “It’ll be good in thirty minutes.”

“What’s our next move?” asked Isaiah.

“Our next move is to tell me where you learned those amazing katana moves.”

“Remember when I left to Japan two years ago?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I met a guy and he gave me lessons.”

“You don’t say. You know, I can teach you guys how to change back into human form.”

“Why would we want that?” asked Robert. “I love being War Horse!”

“War Horse?”

“That’s what he calls his pony form.” said Isaiah. “You being Silver Rift, we thought we should come up with names for us. I’m Conjure.”

“War, Conjure, and Silver Rift.” I said grinning. “Cool. Let’s get some stuff done.”