The Harmony Initiative

by Madame Hellspawn

Prologue

Manehattan glowed wondrously from the streets.

The towers erected decades ago were concrete and brick fingers reaching into the heavens. Even during the dead of night, the city was lit up as if the sun had never set at all. Street lamps buzzed in low harmony with brightly lit billboards and snow was falling gently through the streets, onto the meager crowds that trotted in the city.

Lily wandered the city among the crowds, taking in the sights around her. Neon signs advertising various shows and acts, wagons being pulled in the streets and ponies yelling at each other for no real reason other than the simple fact that someone was crossing the street when they shouldn’t have. A haze of fog filled the sidewalks as ponies released their breaths. Everything from the thick coats ponies adorned to the fresh pollution tainting the air made a smile creep on Lily’s face.

She loved the city.

She bore saddlebags full of all sorts of souvenirs which bounced rhythmically at her sides and jangled softly against each other. Lily saved as many bits as she possibly could to make this trip happen and it took a lot of convincing her sisters who feared disaster, but she made the trip worth it. It was boring to be stuck in the same flower shop in the same town all the time, living the same boring life. Lily figured she could use the excitement of the city.

Lily’s ear flicked at the sound of a news broadcast coming from a radio near a small restaurant that was beginning to close up. A group of three ponies surrounded it, but Lily had heard it all the same.

“...according to reports from Canterlot, multiple missing ponies cases have been raised in the surrounding area. Princess Celestia and Luna have both addressed these matters briefly saying that Royal Guards were investigating the matter. The Regal Sisters have been quite elusive and no more about the matter was said. In other news…”

The mare shuddered. She was glad her sisters had been safe from all that. It shook the town when Applebloom had gone missing. Lily tried to offer her condolences to Applejack, but the orange earth pony snapped at her. She apologized a few days later, an apology Lily accepted. She couldn’t relate, but she could imagine how devastated the Apple Family must have been since then. There were no clues and the Royal Guard had done next to nothing, especially with the lack of any evidence. Even more unfortunate was Granny Smith's new position as the town's crazy old lady after claiming watching Applebloom flying without wings.

Sometimes, the skeptical attitude of ponies knew no boundaries. It made Lily sick how quickly ponies turned on each other during strenuous times.

Lily stopped at the edge of the sidewalk as the traffic light turned green, allowing the flow of wagons and carriages to continue at a sluggish pace. A motorized carriage putted and coughed its way down the street. As fast as they had managed to move, Lily always preferred pony power rather than the power of a noisy engine.

Across the street was a green painted entrance to the subway. Unfortunately, Manehattan hotels called for very expensive hotels and as much as Lily wanted to stay in one of the high standing towers, she was but a poor earth pony from Ponyville. She had spent a fair amount on a room in Bucklyn for a few days.

“Look!” A little grey filly cried. She tugged at her father’s mane, and pointed a stout hoof up.

“Ow! Okay!” The filly’s father glared at his little girl, fixing his mane. Lily couldn’t help but to smile.

Kids.

The stallion’s eyes widened. “Wow. Good eye kiddo!”

Other ponies in the crowd stared into the sky with a mix of wonder and amazement. Lily’s ears perked up and she found herself doing the same.

A shooting star!

A bright one too! Lily felt a surge of excitement rush through her. Oh, how much would Rose and Daisy envy her at being the first in the family to witness…

“Is it…” A pony off to the other side of the street said. Some of the ponies pulling chariots were slowing down to get a look at the blazing object streaking slowly in the sky. “Is it coming closer?”

It was. Progressively, the object got bigger and it was headed straight for the middle of the intersection. It broke apart, sending fiery chunks smashing into buildings and other blocks in the city. Lily dove back behind other ponies when a piece of the falling ball of fire broke off from the main asteroid.

Boom!

Lily covered her ears and hit the ground, her heart pounding and feeling bits of wood and concrete rain on her. The cold snow stung her belly, but Lily kept herself low, fearing more falling space debris would strike her when she least expected it. She looked up when most of the commotion had stopped.

The smoke trail from the asteroid was still visible and the small crater where it landed was steaming. Lily stood and watched as ponies crept close to the glowing green crater. She herself had wanted to run. She wanted to leave and run back to her hotel in Bucklyn.

A ghastly green aura flowed from the crater in the concrete. Lily stepped back while others investigated. The stallion and his daughter were gone, halfway down the street in a full gallop. Lily felt her hooves wanting to do the same. She began to creep away slowly at first, heading for the entrance to the train station across the street.

The crowd of ponies was out of her line of sight now. It was just a few more steps and she would be in the safety of Manehattan’s underground. Her ears flicked at the sound of a loud metal bang.

Then the screaming started. Lily looked back only for a moment, freezing in her steps. Ponies were running, scrambled in all kinds of directions. The green from the crater came lashing out, spindly green tentacles grabbing and dragging ponies towards the crater, the ponies clawing at the ground with their hooves. Pegasi flew away, saving themselves and not looking back.

Lily watched in horror as one of the tendrils darted towards her.

“No!” She screamed. As best as she could, Lily broke into a full gallop towards the station. She could feel the energy spreading, panic pushing her to go faster.

Lily leaped down the stairs, not caring what would happen when she landed and hit the ground.

She never did.

From the bottom of the stairwell, two unicorns came charging out, stopping at the base of the stairs. Their ears fell flat and their lungs emptied themselves.

“Please!” Lily pleaded hanging on tightly to the steps with her two forehooves. The unicorns’ magic enveloped her, tugging, but to no avail. Lily struggled to inch herself forward, her muscles burning intensely. “Please! Help me!”

Her hooves slipped. The unicorns’ started shouting, sparks flaring from their horns.

They let go. Lily cried out to them before disappearing from the subway entrance.

***

The Royal Guards stepped out of the chariot, six in total.

The whole city block was deserted. It sent chills down Dagger’s spine. He’d never seen a city as busy as Manehattan have an empty street like this. He was born and raised here and not once he seen anything like this. Down the street a few blocks down, a crowd of ponies were blocked by several other Royal Guards.

“Goddess!” Swift Step looked all around, taking note of the blinking lights. Her voice echoed down the city’s wide corridor. She rushed forward and knelt beside...something. Dagger didn’t know what he was looking at.

It was shaped like a pony, but it was frozen, cast in a green oozing webbing. And they were everywhere. Frozen in motions of terror, crawling away from something. Dagger’s eyes scanned the streets for anything that might have given him a clue as to what happened. Ponies were even frozen mid run. The snow had gathered on all of them, and Dagger swore he could see them twitch or shiver slightly underneath the webbing that enveloped them.

Wagons and carriages were abandoned and fires burned on the street. Trash was littered all over the place, chunks of concrete were buried deep beneath a thin sheet of snow.

“You think it was Changelings?” Dagger asked.

“I doubt it,” Aegis said, taking off his helmet. He brushed his blue mane out of his eyes and furrowed his brow. “I’ve never seen anything like this when they attacked Canterlot.”

Dagger shuddered. “Then what was it?”

The group moved on, avoiding the question. Dagger fell behind with Swift Step, looking at all the frozen chaos surrounding them. Dagger felt the eyes of the green statues watching him as he moved, pleading to be let out of their encapsulation. He wanted to draw his blade and start ripping and tearing into the webbing, hoping it would set them free. That was his job as a Royal Guard wasn’t it? Help ponies who needed it most?

“This has gotta be some kind of necromancy,” Swift whinnied stretching her wings out. Dagger agreed wholeheartedly. As his eyes darted, looking from the slow and cautious advancements of his squad to the sickly green webbing spread throughout the blocks.

Aegis turned to Swift. “Doubtful. Nopony has been able to use necromancy in centuries. It’s a lost art. Why don’t you take off and scout up ahead. See how bad the damage really is.”

Swift reluctantly flapped her wings, sending gusts of snow into Dagger’s mane and helmet. She hovered slowly above the rest of the group wincing and grimacing down at the street. She occasionally shot glances into the surrounding buildings. Occasionally, she'd fly beside a window and signal, waving her hoof downward to unknown elements, though they were most likely ponies who had survived the initial assault.

Dagger brought his gaze back towards the street.

His ear flicked. Something moved somewhere. He looked to the sidewalks, watching papers fly mindlessly through the air. It couldn’t have been that. The sound came again, like soft, wet trotting. There wasn’t a lot of places for anything to hide.

Aegis stopped and looked around, ears twitching. He frowned and continued forward.

“Aegis!” Swift shouted. “I got something up here!”

Dagger cantered behind the squad of Royal Guards, dodging and weaving between the bodies of ponies. He struggled to breath at the sight of them. A cloud of green started to permeate through the air. Dagger questioned whether or not the air was safe to breath with it around, especially after what he was seeing around him. He covered his muzzle with a hoof, slowing his pace. Aegis did the same and soon everypony else in the group did as well.

Before the group was a sinking crater. A metal shelled orb lay in the center. Several holes released the green glow slowly, lined with silver rings. Four arching arms reached out and rotated around the spherical center, completely separate from the main orb component. It would seem that the gas cloud had come from the pod, but none of the ponies could say for sure. If the gas originated here, the pod had long since stopped pumping it out.

“By Celestia,” Dagger whispered.

He felt a sharp pain in his head and grunted, coughing into his hoof. He took a quick breath and shook his head. He raised his hoof to his muzzle again, but the pain erupted, harder this time. He felt like his head might shatter. His hoof moved on its own, away from his mouth, allowing him to breathe the contaminated air. Whispers entered his mind, speaking in a tongue incomprehensible to the guard.

“Dagger?” Aegis raised an eyebrow. And a sword. The other guards soon followed.

Dagger didn’t remember drawing his. He clutched it tightly in his mouth and let out a growl. His teeth cracked under the sheer intensity of his grip.

Rearing up, Dagger jerked his head and sliced his blade into the unsuspecting guard to the left of Aegis. He went down with a yelp, crashing onto the ground before Dagger’s hind hoof stomped down releasing a sickening crack underneath the poor guard’s helmet.

Aegis shuffled back, earning a cut against his muzzle as Dagger lunged forward. Aegis’s horn glowed and his blade floated in front of Dagger’s, locking tightly. Dagger’s breathing intensified, burning his lungs and his muscles aching.

He wasn’t in control anymore. His eyes darted wildly as sweat began to bead on his forehead. Aegis moved his lips, but no sound came out. All Dagger could hear was the blood flowing in his veins and his heart pounding against his chest.

Another guard came and swung his blade, missing Dagger’s eyes narrowly. Another jerk with his head and the Dagger’s sword met the guard’s golden chestplate. Aegis bucked the wild earth pony, sending him off towards the sidewalk. His blade fell beside him, clattering against the concrete.

Dagger looked up, dazed. The guards were yelling at him. No not at him. But something inside. Something that filled him with rage and fear. Their words were muffled and their forms were blurry. Their image faded, replaced with black demons laughing hysterically. Their horns burned in a orange blaze and their eyes were lifeless orbs boring into his soul.

“Get away from me!” Dagger tried to yell. Violently he grasped the sword back in his mouth and kicked, thrashing and jerking his head wildly. He tried again to find his voice, mustering all his will. “Get away!”

***

“Following a series of unidentified objects landing in the Manehattan area, several contingents of Royal Guards have been dispatched into the affected districts. According to several witnesses of the event, the objects in question emit some kind of spell capable of immobilizing ponies. Following several Royal Guards that were dispatched to investigate seemingly going rabid, The Royal Guards have done their best to quarantine the area in an attempt to contain whatever is going on in the city.

“Reports claim another unprovoked Changeling invasion on Equestrian soil or Luna herself as being the cause of this tragedy, but nopony has verified if that is the cause of the attacks. The Royal Guards and The Equestrian Crisis Administration has warned civilians to steer clear of the affected districts of Manehattan.

“Princess Luna is currently outside of Canterlot Royal Palace ready to make a statement on the attacks.”

...

“Ponies of Equestria!” Luna’s voice boomed, magically amplified. The commotion of ponies in a crowd stop at once. “It is my duty to regrettably inform you that an attack has been made on Equestrian soil. The attacker as of now remains unknown, but rest assured; Princess Celestia and myself shall work around the clock to discover the source of this unprovoked aggression that endangers our way of life.

“It pains me that so many blame me for the attack on Manehattan tonight. My duty as Princess of Equestria is to ensure the safety of my subjects! The years of Nightmare Moon are long over! This tragedy and crime against our nation will not go unpunished!”

…

“And there you have it everypony. Be safe tonight. This is Lucy Song of the Equestrian News Broadcasting Network signing off.”

***

“Thank you for coming Twilight,” Princess Luna said. Her voice was thick, full of worry. She had tried her best to prepare herself for the young princess’s arrival, but the thoughts of her subjects being outright attacked during the night; when Equestria was under her protection clouded her mind. Even if that attack had come the night before. Ponies were startled and they had every reason to be.

“I got your message,” Twilight said, wiping her eyes. Her mane was frazzled and she still had a few clumps of lint from her blanket. She pawed at the ground with a hoof, trying to smooth the lumps on the red carpet beneath her. “This is about those attacks, right? I still can’t believe it. I tried to come as quickly as I could. ”

“Neither can I,” Luna admitted. “I apologize. I believed my sister would have been ready before you arrived.”

The Royal Court fell silent. Emptiness was the norm during the night, save for a few of Luna’s Night Guard, who stood sentry beside the grand double doors and beside the throne. The pale moonlight shone in from the sides, bathing the room in a beautiful silver light and casting colorful glows from the stained glass windows.

Luna had seldom spent nights in here. The chances of a pony wishing to convene during the night was a rarity. But there was too much happening for Luna to stay within the confines of her room; her balcony, cataloging the stars of the sky. She needed company now. Loyal company. And her guards did more than enough to fill that role, even if they said nothing.

She couldn’t believe that ponies actually believed she was the cause of the attacks last night. Princess Luna thought she had done enough for the ponies of Equestria to persuade them of her good intentions. Now, Equestria was at the precipice of disaster and an overall state of discomfort and the first few hooves that wished to place blame pointed towards Luna.

The princess sat and furrowed her brow. Her breathing intensified. How dare they.

Twilight pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows. “P-Princess Luna?”

“I am sorry Twilight,” Princess Luna rubbed her head. “There is much plaguing my mind.”

Twilight paused and tried her best to fix her mane and look presentable. Truth be told, Luna nearly blasted Twilight to oblivion when she first teleported into the throne room no more than ten minutes ago. Luna had expected her to have taken a chariot or the train or some kind of transport like a normal, sensible pony. Still, she was glad the Twilight had treated the matter with urgency.

“I know you didn’t do it.” Twilight looked up cautiously at the Princess of The Night. "The attacks, I mean."

Luna managed a smile. “Thank you.”

“Do…You know where the attacks came from?”

Luna frowned solemnly. “Yes.”

The doors gently opened. Celestia walked slowly, her hooves muffled by the velvet carpet rolled from the throne room to the grand hall beyond. Her face was grim, eyelids heavy and mane almost motionless. The guards lowered their heads, Celestia responding with a wave of her hoof. “Leave us.”

The guards cleared out as Celestia approached her golden throne. Luna looked at her sister, who sat and stared at the ground in front of Twilight. She let out a deep sigh and shut her eyes for a moment. When they opened, she gazed upon Twilight.

“The attack on Manehattan,” Celestia’s voice was soft, yet still profoundly powerful. She still held her formal, even tone. “It was a day that shall live in infamy for the rest of Equestria’s days. For now, we must remain vigilant and bring those who would wish us harm to justice.”

Twilight nodded, glancing at Luna nervously.

“Are we…” Twilight spoke low, her ears falling down slightly. “At war?”

A silence consumed the room. Luna swallowed. “Yes.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “W-with who? How will we fight them?”

Celestia cast a worried glance at Luna, her lips sealed tightly. She opened them, but no words came out. She closed her eyes and sighed.

Luna dreaded every moment of this. She and Celestia had spoken about in the hours after the attack and those thoughts weighed heavily in her mind. “The stars have sent us adversaries. Powerful ones. Whatever chances at peace with them have been squandered the moment they sent their machines down upon our subjects.”

The Regal Sisters let those words sink in. Twilight stared, mouth agape and eyes unwavering. Luna was not shocked at the young alicorn's reaction. After all, how often did ponies in Equestria hear the words 'we're at war' ? In all of Equestria's history, only two real wars had been fought. Neither of which were in the lifetime of any of the ponies wandering Equestria now.

“H-how do we fight them?”

“Tell me,” Luna spoke. "I know you bury yourself in books. Have you ever come across The Harmony Initiative in any of your readings?"

Twilight hesitantly shook her head. “The only thing about The Elements I know about come from a lot of old pony tales.”

Luna grimaced at Twilight's ignorance. She couldn't help it. Then again, she supposed an organization shrouded with secrecy and meant to remain away from the public's eye should have no traces of it in any book. Records leading up to their formation would be fabricated to make it seem as though the ponies involved so many generations ago had died.

At the time, the idea of foreign elements from the stars was such an abstract idea and so frowned upon for various reasons. Luna knew that there was endless possibilities when it came to the endless void above and she had cataloged a vast amount of stars over the years, some with the theorized capacity for life. She had formed The Initiative with that in mind, hoping it would never be needed. Instead, it had been needed, except the threat was a little more closer to home.

“They were meant to protect the ponies of Equestria from any threat from above,” Celestia said. She looked out of the window, down into the streets of Canterlot being bathed with the early morning sun. “Originally, I wanted to disband the organization. I had feared that the ponies involved were wasting their talents looking for a threat that never existed.”

“Instead,” Luna continued. “The Harmony Initiative has remained, hidden from public view as it always has been, run by a select few individuals maintaining her facilities. Nopony else officially works under it yet, but we have contact with ponies who are the best in all fields. Scientists, engineers, soldiers. Should Harmony ever be needed they will be notified and they shall flock under its banner.”

Twilight nodded in understanding although there was still something missing. It hadn’t quite clicked yet, Luna noticed. Her next words only confirmed Luna's suspicion. "Why are you telling me this?

“Twilight…” Celestia looked at the purple alicorn with pain in her eyes. Luna pursed her lips. Her sister had known Twilight for most of her life. To ask someone she had known like a daughter to go away for what might have been years was like actually losing a daughter.

But Twilight had hardly known Luna. For the near fifteen years since Luna’s return and after Twilight’s ascension, they had hardly gotten to know each other at all. Still, Luna felt horrible for what she would ask. If anything, she would want Twilight to have disdain more-so for her rather than Celestia. It was clear that her sister hadn’t completely agreed to what they were about to ask, but Luna knew what was necessary. It was her idea after all.

“Tonight, we are reinstating The Harmony Initiative.” Luna finished for her sister. Twilight’s eyes widened and ears perked up at that. She stared at the two Regal Sisters with disbelief. Her expression shifted, a look of horror at the two sisters who stared with relative calm.

“Wait,” She voiced weakly. “A-are you asking…?”

“We must maintain order among the populace,” Celestia said solemnly. “The Royal Guards will be unable to launch attacks against these fiends on their own. As of now, they lack the resources to completely defend Equestria from this threat. With the collective resources Equestria, Zebras and The Griffons pooled together to fund The Harmony Initiative, we will be able to bring them back.”

“You will act as their commander,” Luna said. “You and your friends will be under the safety of Harmony Headquarters. We cannot completely direct you, but I advise keeping your friends close. We cannot bear to lose any of The Bearers.”

“B-but…” Twilight stammered. Her eyes bounced between the two princesses. Luna felt a pang of guilt come in the form of a lump in her throat. She didn’t wish to burden Twilight with such a heavy responsibility, but as it stood, there was only one viable candidate. "I can't!"

“You can,” Luna spoke with worried eyes. “It will not be easy, I will not lie to you about that. But right now, you are our only option for leading this endeavor. You will have access to the most advanced technologies at our disposal and your soldiers will have the financial support of Equestria, The Griffons and The Zebras combined. This alien threat must be dealt with swiftly and with the utmost urgency. We have the utmost confidence that you will succeed as leader of The Harmony Initiative.”

"We know we have taught you a way to deal with problems without the use for violence," Celestia said sternly. "I wish there was another way, but as it stands, our foes have no capacity for peace. Violence is a must"

"Friendship and love can overcome any obstacle." Twilight said with a whimper. Celestia sighed.

"There are some issues even they cannot fix. The Harmony Initiative needs a leader. You may not be a military commander, but you will give the ponies under your command something to rally under, of this I'm sure. The image of an alicorn leading her ponies for the greater good is more uplifting than you realize."

Twilight took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. She opened them and cast a glance outside. The countryside and forests surrounding Canterlot soaked in the dawning sun. It dawned on Luna that Twilight would never see the sunlight again, at least for a while. How long that would be remained a mystery. Luna frowned at the sight of the young alicorn. Her eyes began to water, but she held them back and took in another deep breath.

“I accept.”

Comments

[LordyBuisness]

WOW....That was epic. (Even if there was no real fighting)

[Gizmo Gear]

I will be giving two(a third possibly pending) character sheets to you via pm. I wanna see this continue!!