The Harmony Initiative

by Madame Hellspawn

Chapter 14: Breakthroughs and Reports

“If this isn’t the coolest thing you’ve ever seen...” Zeldamar took a moment to marvel at the technological killing machine before her. Sure, it was missing a few pieces of external framing, but the purple glow to the rifle’s crystal priming chamber was stellar, leading to a long, vented rectangle tube where the charged bolt of magic would come speeding through. Thanks to her mystery zebra friend’s advice and the help of the other brilliant minds in the lab, the vented barrel managed to hold griffon, rune imbued glass lenses for better accuracy.

That, and Zeldamar did implement a closed loop liquid cooling system to just for good measure. It was a pain to install, but after days of trial and error, the team managed to make the tubes short enough to stay out of the way for the most part. As proud as she was of the design, it was worth nothing if it did not function properly.

It was fairly early in the morning and quiet down in the Combat Technology facility. Most desks were empty and those that were not held a pony sleeping or writing their own reports on their experiments. The dim lighting reflected the early morning lighting one would find on the surface, although there was no viable way to replicate a sun climbing onto and hovering above the horizon.

“Wow,” Felix cocked his head, rubbing his eyes groggily. “You have a pretty nice piece here. But does it work?”

“That, my grizzled, brute of a friend, is exactly what we’re about to find out.” Zeldamar wiggled her way into the basic R.A.A.G.S. with a smile. She grabbed her coffee, downing half of the mug and setting it down as gently as a sugar and caffeine induced zebra mare possibly could under such a momentous occasion. “Think about it, if I get this to work; that’s like...more pay for my whole team!”

Felix shook his head. “W-wha..do we even have anything to spend that money on besides stuff at the lounge? The fact that we get paid is a little...redundant, don’t you think?”

Kirin frowned. “Well, if this bad colt right here works, it’ll be a pretty nice morale boost. Either way, this thing is definitely a step up from where we were weeks ago.”

“Yeah! C’mon Felix, lighten up! This is gonna be the coolest thing you see all day.”

The burly griffon grunted and walked over to the windows overlooking the shooting range, Kirin following him and giving Zeldamar a reassuring smile. The zebra grabbed the rifle and trotted excitedly down the steps and into the shooting range, the dark walls of the narrow lane brightening up along with her mood. The two lanes stretched down a few meters, each with a target lazily stood at varying distances. Assuming the rifle works without a problem, range should not be an issue.

“Talons crossed?” Zeldamar looked up at the windows where Felix and Kirin stood, overlooking the eager zebra.

“Sure.” Felix nodded simply.

Zeldamar huffed, returning her gaze down the sights of the newly crafted rifle. “You’re no fun Felix.”

“I have a meeting with the team in ten, just show me what you wanna show me.”

“Party pooper,” Kirin muttered, shaking her head with a slight smirk. Felix paid no mind to her comment.

Zeldamar took aim, anxiously, praying to whatever gods or goddesses that could be watching over her at that exact moment. The cardboard dummy awaiting destruction sat at the end of the lane, taunting the zebra with the childish alien decal, smiling and waving a webbed hand. Zeldamar grit her teeth, hearing her own heartbeat and tightened her grip on the rifle.

As she pulled the trigger, a harsh glow grew in intensity deep in the crystal’s chamber, the amethyst gem flowing with magical energy, the gun itself humming with an ever increasing pitch. Zeldamar kept herself under control, her own energy building, anticipating the lavender bolt of hot death that would leave the rifle and scorch the cutout staring stupidly at her down the lane.

Bbvvvvnnnnn…

Chooown!

“It works!” Zeldamar beamed. “Holy hell, it works!”

Even after it met its mark, Zeldamar could still see the trail of violet every time she blinked her eyes, trying to contain her joy and not drop the weapon. The smoke trail led to the burning remains of her cardboard enemy, the rifle venting the excess heat through the openings down the barrel, sending steam around her.

She looked up at Felix, brow raised and smile just barely present on his beak. A smile all the same.

“Well?” Zeldamar awaited his reaction, suppressing her own.

“I think we just gave the aliens a run for their money.” Felix remarked. “Damn fine job. Got another shot ready?”

Zeldamar took aim, a smile spread on her lips and readied the rifle for another successive shot at the closer cutout.

Bbvvvvnnnnn…

Chooown!

“Whooo!” Zeldamar hooted. “Yes! Yesyesyesyes! Take that you piece of xeno filth!”

The zebra hopped in place, whooping and howling in her own excitement. Another cutout lay destroyed, embers still burning and fire crackling down the lanes.

Zeldamar stepped out of the firing range, prototype rifle in hand and a beaming smile on her face. Kirin had shared the pride as well, looking to Felix to see if he had shared their excitement and felt their accomplishment. Zeldamar at least wanted to hear him say—

“Nice work in there Zel.” Felix said with a grin.

Although it may have been the initial excitement, Zeldamar could not help the mixed feeling of pride and appreciation. It was often rare when Felix smiled, let alone gave Zeldamar a compliment. At least, that was how she interpreted his comment. He was always so stern and isolated, but Zeldamar always figured he could use a friend to counteract that seemingly lonely bird.

She gently placed the rifle on the mount on the table, overtop all the experimental design papers and almost knocking over her mug of coffee. She rearranged her pens, pencils and papers out of the way, shooting the occasional glance to the rifle to make sure it would not tip over. The weight distribution posed no problems, but one could never be too sure.

“I gotta head on over to R and AT.” Felix pointed a claw behind him, towards the exit. “Armor fittings and all. Good job Zeldamar.”

“Yeah,” Zeldamar gestured her head towards the work desks. “Got to file a report to the commander. I think she could use some good news after all that’s happened this week.”

As Felix walked away, Zeldamar cast a wide grin to Kirin who frowned and stomped on the ground with a hoof.

“Somepony owes me thirty bits,” Zeldamar said, giving the charcoal unicorn a soft bump on the shoulder. “Told you we’d get him to crack a smile.”

The two stood in silence for a moment, watching as Felix walked out and down the hall, then fixing their gaze towards the rifle sitting on the simple gun holder. The metal seemed to glisten in the low radiating lights above. Steam no longer vented from the ported barrel and the glow of violet had begun to die down.

“Wanna put off the report for a little bit?” Zeldamar asked.

“Hell yeah.”

***

Releasing a breath, Felix stared down at the metal alloy chestplate before him, the voices and machinery becoming nothing more than distant echoes to his ears as he reached out towards the new armored vest. The griffon model in particular was of his design.

The way he figured it, the metal plating was best worn above an under armor layer, constructed of a lightweight ballistic fiber which anyone could easily slip on, covering most of the upper body area, the sleeves stopping just short of the talons. After all, a griffon who does not like the idea of scratching an enemy’s innards out of their body is no true griffon. The black material sat too tight for Felix’s liking, but for the sake of the protection, he preferred the idea of living through a battle.

The plates of metal themselves were visually akin to brushed metal, glistening and shining as the light’s rays cast themselves on it. The carapace-like plating on the lower chest led up to a solid arched chestplate, a single central crease for more of a design flair than anything else. Identifying violet lights glowed faintly underneath the metal plates of the vest, and the creased chest stop below where the neck would lie, a sturdy block signifying the insignia of The Harmony Initiative; Commander Sparkle’s cutie mark.

It was something that led to much debate among the Robotics and Alien Tech subdivision. Felix was initially against the idea, but the way he saw it, the world already learned about the aliens. They’d find out about The Harmony Initiative sooner or later. In the end, it was up to the commander herself, and she approved of it.

“This thing’s pretty tight,” Ethan spoke, garnering Felix’s attention. The sharpshooter flexed his wings and stretched, the black under armor fitting snugly around his body. “Is it supposed to be like that?”

“Does it affect maneuverability?” Felix grabbed a pen and readied his notepad for more notes on adjustments.

“I think it’ll take some getting used to, but nothing too bad.” Ethan approached Felix, eyeing up the armor set awaiting a test fitting. “That it? I was kinda expecting something bigger.”

“It’s lightweight and can take a hell of a shot. Had to evenly split the alloy from what we recovered. Besides, it’s meant to protect vital organs primarily. Keeps you from being too clunky or from standing out too much. Ready to try it on?”

“Let’s get to it.”

Truth be told, Felix was just dying to see his design on someone other than himself. Sure, the armor looked pretty nice on him, but Felix was no soldier. If he was good at one thing besides engineering, it was hiding excitement.

Ethan slipped the armor above his head and slid it on his body, the metal plating loosely hanging off as he slipped his arms through their respective holes and let out a breath of surprise. The spaulders hugged his shoulder, arched and creased straight down the middle. “Damn! Weren’t kidding, this thing is lighter than my current kit!”

“Press the central insignia to lock the armor in.” Felix ordered, trying to keep an even-toned voice. Ethan looked up at him with wide eyes and a smile that screamed ‘no way!’

Upon doing so, the armor whirred and hummed, tightening up and hugging the curves of Ethan’s body, ceasing at the most precise moment. The once loose plates now clung tightly to Ethan’s abdomen and the chestplate adjusted itself, sliding down and granting unrestricted head movement in most directions. The identifying glows dimmed, their violet color becoming unnoticeable under the brightly lit conditions.

Ethan gave his wings a weak flap, lifting himself up slightly and landing as he would without the armor.

“How many griffon models were made so far?” Ethan asked. Felix handed him his hind-leg armor cuffs; solid silver plating wrapping around the upper flank and lower leg.

“About six. We made one deer variant and the rest pony and changeling, should we get any more of those down here. Wings move good?”

“Wings spread great.” Ethan responded, standing tall and proud in the middle of the lab, disregarding the ponies and griffons walking around him and casting him sideways glares. Felix took notes, being sure to mark down comfortability of the wings and Ethan’s ease of movement. He glanced up at the young griffon, admiring his own handiwork. “How’s the armor fare against alien weapons though? I mean, kick-ass looking armor is one thing, but can I take at least a shot or two from alien fire?”

Felix nodded confidently, gesturing his talon towards a group of unicorns running through the specifications of the armor to a charcoal unicorn who was much too fascinated with his own suit. Unlike the griffon variant of the armor, ponies were less about balancing good looks and protection and seemed to focus primarily on the protection aspect. For the most part, the vest chest was blocky, creating a broad and imposing figure. Much like Felix’s design, the armor donned a central block along the sternum which held the single star insignia. The pauldrons rested in a mostly square shape and the hooves were encased in armor, save for the joints which separated the plates of silver and grey.

“You can thank those guys for spending hours trying to mimic alien energy weapons. Might not be the same thing, but the armor still put up with hot temperatures and has a good melting point. As long as you don’t get shot in the same place twice, you should be fine. Small arms aren’t much of a problem either. If, by chance, griffons decide to start fighting us too, then a Sturmtrommel should just bounce right off you.”

“Nice,” Ethan beamed, flexing his wings once again. Even the pouches resting at his sides and waist were layered with small pieces of alloys. “You guys really outdid yourselves down here. When will it be ready for the field?”

“It technically already is,” Felix said, finishing up his notes and putting down the pad on the table. “Depending on how the other suits feel for the other races, Bronze Sprocket thinks we can get started on mass production once we get our claws on more alloys. For now, five might make its way into one of the existing fireteams, yours included. This, mixed with the crystal energy weapons we’ve got cooking up, will undoubtedly give us a slight edge, if any.”

“Yeah, totally,” Ethan breathed, adjusting the pauldron. “This is straight out of Ringworld.”

Felix looked up to Ethan. “What?”

“It’s...It’s an old comic. Main character has a...suit..like...I’ll just…”

“Didn’t think anybody else knew about that down here.”

Ethan snorted. “Well, I figured you would, you know, being an egghead and all.”

Felix did nothing more than scoff. He tried to think of what other tests needed to be run on the armor. There was already a durability test, done, technically, three times—the first being The Banshees’ missiles on the alien ship, the second run by hydraulic presses all around engineering, and the third being unicorn magic concentrated on the finished sets—and Ethan was already doing the fitting test. Tons of hours and only a small clawful of sleepless nights yielded better results than Felix could have ever imagined. The alien alloys were nothing short of miracle metals.

“How goes the fitting?” Sprocket asked, cocking his head. He changed his glance over to Ethan, watching as the griffon continued to flex and stretch in awkward and precarious positions. “It seems to be rather...flexible.”

“It is, so far,” Felix said. “Although it’s just one griffon set, I could see about getting Gilda or the new old man to fit into the armor, for the sake of seeing if there are any patterns with the fit.”

“We could always run fits on non-soldier griffons.” Sprocket suggested, raising a forehoof. “Either way, it looks like quite the success to me.”

“Maybe it is.” Felix looked at the smiling stallion. “Of course, the only real way to tell is if the armor is field tested. Would the commander even approve of something like that?”

“Maybe,” Sprocket shrugged. “If you put enough detail in your report, maybe she’ll see the value in it.”

***

Twilight shifted her eyes over to the isolated chamber where the lone unicorn stood, chained to the ground and standing completely still and staring into the empty void between the glass of the interrogation chamber and the lab in which Twilight stared back. He was stripped of his armor and clothing, revealing scars and burns, most of which Twilight wanted to believe were caused prior to the battle in griffon territory. She knew better than to believe such a lie. Fleetfoot, Blaze and Spitfire had all voiced their displeasure of having him crammed in the carriage with them and would have undoubtedly acted towards the stallion in accordance with their negative emotions.

Monitors scanned and kept track of the stallion’s vital signs, steadily beating and beeping with his heart rate. Two doctors watched over the machines in the room, casting the occasional glance to the stallion standing completely still in the next room. His holding cell was cylindrical in shape flanked by tubes pumping oxygen, leading into an isolated ventilation system.

Aegis stepped into the side lab, his stern expression maintained, even in the face of an enemy. It was a trait that Twilight was grateful for. Most other ponies would have sooner tried teleporting inside and taking their angers out on the stallion. To their credit, the stallion deserved as much in Twilight’s mind, but there was still information to be extracted and she would have preferred to keep him alive for a little while longer, out of pity more than anything.

“He ready to talk?” Aegis asked. Since Solemn’s detainment, it had seemed that the captain held no ill will on towards Twilight. “I’ve been brushing up on my technique.”

Twilight grimaced. “I understand Royal Guard methods are a little more ‘hooves on’ than what the chamber was originally intended. Are you really comfortable with just walking in there with him?”

“He has an arcane blocker wrapped around his horn.I doubt he could do anything to me, even if he wanted to.”

Twilight pursed her lips.

“Okay. I’ll teleport you in with him. Just...be careful.”

A violet glow encapsulated the captain and a moment later, he was inside the interrogation chamber, standing before the silver coated and golden maned unicorn staring blankly ahead.

“I think,” Aegis spoke, immediately levitating his scroll behind the prisoner; a diagram of pony anatomy “The best way to end the chapter of a story, is with a little bit of excitement. Thankfully, we’ll be spending quite a lot of time together, in other words, That’s an awful lot of chapters to this little story of ours.”

“Wouldn’t think they’d have you doing this,” the stallion spat.

“Why, because I was a Royal Guard?” Aegis faced the shackled prisoner sitting on his haunches. Aegis did not see the point in granting him bandages for his wounds, but if Twilight wanted to at least fake the idea that he was going to be okay, then who was he to object?

“Well, that’s not what I was thinking exactly. But yeah, I guess. I was expecting a griffon or zebra. At least those primitive filth would have killed me sooner than I know you would. We’re not so—”

“Different, I know the routine. Let’s be honest here, the only thing we’ve got in common is the fact that we both are magic users. Aside from that? We are nothing alike. I dedicated my life to honor and country.”

“And yet you would so readily resort to torture. Do what you want, I won’t speak.”

“That’s the first mistake you made,” Aegis cocked his head. “I can make you talk. How about we start off with a high note. Can I get a medic in here for this? Someone with decent healing ability and able to stomach what I’m gonna do to our new friend.”

A moment later, a mare was rushed into the control room, subsequently teleported alongside Aegis; glancing nervously at the prisoner, Aegis and the observation windows.

Aegis’s horn glowed, although the affected area of his arcane influence was nowhere to be seen. The prisoner stared up at the former Royal Guard, just as confused as the mare standing behind the self appointed interrogator and the ponies watching from the control room, ready for whatever information would be spilled in the following hours or possibly even days.

“What is this?” The prisoner sighed, resting on his haunches. “You think just standing there is going to make me talk?”

Aegis remained quiet. Twilight stepped towards the observation window, trying to gauge for herself what it was he was trying to accomplish.

Crack!

The stallion tensed, placing a hoof against his side and coughing, sputtering blood. His widened eyes stared questioningly at Aegis, trying to formulate words in vain as more blood came rushing from his throat. The assistant nurse gasped, backing away and placing a hoof against her mouth, eyes shrinking to the size of pinpricks.

“What have…” The white unicorn shut his eyes and grit his teeth, clutching his abdomen and releasing shaky breaths.

“My father was...a studious man. His philosophy on magic was very...undesirable and unorthodox. In fact, he was told by the princesses and their court wizard, personally, that he was not allowed to study magic used for the sole purpose of violence. Now, self defense and killing somepony in cold blood are two different things obviously, which is exactly what he taught me before I trotted along to the local recruitment station.”

Aegis stepped forward, releasing his grip of magic.

“Now you’re probably wondering how I was able to just rip—” Another sickening crack forced the prisoner to cry out in pain again. Aegis gave his face a harsh slap, the stallion grunting and shutting his eyes. “—two, now, of your ribs straight out of their natural position. I’d ask you to turn around, but...well, broken ribs and all. Telekinesis often requires a visual of the object you want to manipulate. Unfortunately, I can’t look inside your body and pull bones simultaneously, that’s too much work for just one pony.

“Sometimes, a little abstract thought tends to help. It just so happens, I’ve got this trusty diagram of pony anatomy. It may not be exactly like what you’ve got stirring about in there, but it’s close enough to give me a vague idea. Now, before I get to cracking again, I’ve got a few questions for you.”

Aegis held a hoof up against his ear, listening for any objections. Satisfied with the prisoner’s silence, he planted his hoof back against the ground and walked around the pony in chains, face to face.

“Let’s start simple, shall we? How about a name? Yours.”

“Zealous Spear,” the stallion answered, wheezing in between breaths.

“Great. Who do you work for?”

Spear stared Aegis down, swallowing hard. Sweat beaded along the top of his forehead, his eyes darting for something else to lock on to.

“It’s not within my liberty to say.” Spear said, swallowing hard and breaking eye contact. “I’d sooner die than tell you.”

“Not exactly the answer I was hoping for,” Aegis sighed, horn glowing once again. “You are keeping count right?”

SNAP!

“ARGH!” Zealous Spear howled in pain, shutting his eyes and gritting his teeth, about to crack under the sheer pressure. He doubled over and sucked in air as best as his shattered bones would allow. Twilight winced, trying not to imagine the pain he must have been suffering at the hooves of the former guard, sharing the same expression as the panicked nurse teleported inside the holding cell alongside Aegis, minus the hoof covering the mouth.

Shaking his head, Aegis looked down in what Twilight assumed to be pity. The alicorn glanced over to the monitors of Spear’s vitals. His three right ribs were broken, flashing a dangerous red at the doctors watching. They each were paralyzed, watching with pained expressions as Aegis continued to taunt and strafe around the prisoner. Nurse Sprinkle trotted over, her horn glowing and her face wrinkled as she stepped closer and knelt beside Zealous Spear. Watching the monitors on screen, Twilight took note of the rapid repairs her magic managed to accomplish; the diagram of the ribs flashing from red to orange.

Truth be told, Twilight was genuinely amazed with how much the average unicorns’ magic managed to progress over the years alongside pegasi and earth pony engineering and ingenuity. It was like Equestria knew the world was progressing and was trying its best to catch up, through the ease of use of magic. Whether or not that theory had any weight to it remained to be seen, but now was not the time for thinking of such things. Twilight redirected her focus to the main interrogation chamber.

“Feeling better?” Aegis asked, feigning sympathy. “Great. You know, I really don’t want to have to keep doing this to you. Especially because I don’t want to keep having dear old Nurse Sprinkles keeping you alive. Look at her. The mare can barely stand!”

“Then just kill me already.”

“Not before you tell me the name of the ponies you work for.” Aegis knelt down, his whispers unable to be understood up by the chamber’s intercom link. Zealous Spear shook his head, scowling at Aegis when he pulled himself away.

Twilight looked away when Aegis raised his hoof, instead looking to the technicians who have also averted their attention, focusing on the monitors and screens on the dashboard below them.

“Tell Aegis to write a report after his—” SLAP! “—little interrogation.”

***

The halls of the Royal Palace were pleasingly quiet, save for the chorus of birdsongs and chirping of crickets in the royal gardens. Moondancer was often set at ease when she made the arduous trek to Luna’s observatory, despite the ancient steps kept in pristine condition that fought her with almost every step. Thankfully, Moondancer had finished the final climb and was on the final stretch of velvet, marble and the finest pastel walls Equestria has ever produced in her entire history. The moon’s light were broken by arched windows and columns reaching towards the excessively high ceiling, casting a cool bluish light which seemed to compliment the late night winds of mid winter. The solitary mare’s light scarf and coat swayed with each step and gust of wind which rolled in.

As Moondancer stepped closer to the double doors leading to the observatory, she tried to imagine how Luna’s guards could stand in the same hall for hours on end, in the chilling cold and nothing more than blue and violet sinister armor. It must be some kind of enchantment in the armor. The two standing vigil both stepped aside as Moondancer proceeded down the hall, both offering grunts and keeping their eyes trained down the extensive hallway.

With their magic, the two unicorns pulled open the doors, granting the cream coated unicorn entrance, pushing her glasses further up her muzzle as she took those several steps before the grand double doors slammed shut behind her.

It was, without a doubt, an upgrade well worth the investment, even to Moondancer. The observatory walls were home to what must have been thousands of scrolls and hardcover notebooks full of an ever-expanding catalogue of stars and planets. Moondancer often tried to understand whether or not it was a hobby of Luna’s or if she was preparing for something bigger than Equestria could ever possibly hope to imagine. Most of the scrolls and books dated back thousands of years, possibly even before Luna had become an alicorn and seized control of Equestria alongside her sister.

As the shelves rounded the room in true Canterlot fashion, books with names were often catalogues made by other astronomers gathered dust in the higher shelves while studies and notes on anomalies and the like rested dormant below. Aside from dreamwalking and ruling over the Night Court, the fact that Luna had managed to keep track of her solitary work in Canterlot, doing nothing more than observing was a testament to her work as a princess and a scientist.

Standing on a platform overlooking the library, the alicorn of the night herself stood, a clearing in the ceiling allowing strong breezes of mountain air and winter cool to sweep inside. Wearing nothing more than her royal attire, Luna gazed into the lenses of the rather ornate telescope, horn glowing with a quill and parchment floating beside her. The domed ceiling shifted, rotating unnaturally and silently, causing Moondancer to follow and trick her body into believing the room as a whole was spinning. She stumbled, catching herself on a table resting beside the steps leading up to Luna’s observation platform.

“Who goes there?,” Luna turned her gaze to the young unicorn entering abruptly, body tense. “Oh. Moondancer. I was not expecting to see you tonight.”

“I apologize,” Moondancer steadied herself, bringing herself upright and slowly ascending the even porcelain steps. “Not a busy night? I’d have thought you’d be in the courtroom at this time of night.”

“On the contrary. There is much which plagues my mind, my dear pupil.” Luna rested her quill and parchment on a podium beside her violet telescope. “I assume Twilight has sent her report of her last operation?”

“That’s...part of the reason I’m here.” Moondancer hopped up the last step, gazing outwards and up to the sky. “There’s no way we can keep this story under control.”

“Of course. Trust is already waning amongst ponies after we discovered what Twilight’s team calls the Blank Flank. Such an unfortunate title for something. An insult oft used by foals now seems so taboo. It should also be no surprise that Lord Angelcrest has approved development of such a weapon.”

“What?” Moondancer tilted her head.

Luna was quiet for a moment, levitating two cushions, one underneath her haunches before she sat and one for Moondancer, which she placed close beside her. The telescope was cleared off to the side, beside another arched window. “I’m surprised Twilight left that out. Perhaps it was for the best.”

“What kind of weapon are we talking about?”

“A bomb of unparalleled destruction. The griffon representative did not divulge much information, but he has made a point of its destructive capability. Can you imagine? Canterlot, our grand capital, here one moment and consumed in fires and spreading poison in the next?”

Moondancer felt her chest tighten and her stomach twist. “There’s no way.”

“I have had my doubts as well. But our ally would gain nothing from lying to us. But you did not come to speak of weapons capable of mass destruction. Why have you come?”

“I came to accept your offer.” Moondancer said simply, looking to the blue alicorn and her flowing starlit mane. Luna remained still. “As you know, I’ve read over Twilight’s most recent report on the griffon representative’s requested mission. Obviously, Twilight’s group won’t be able to divert forces to fight the aliens or the rebels we have on our hooves. I’d like to take command of a task force dedicated to fighting the rebels.”

Luna sat, grimacing, scanning over Moondancer. “Leading a military campaign against ponies rather than invaders is a vastly different task than what I would have given you. Is this truly what you wish to do?”

“Yes. I’ve agreed to partaking in The Harmony Initiative in order to protect ponies against evil. I may not be doing the amount I should for this group, but I want to. I know I’m not exactly cut out for leading a group of the world’s best soldiers fighting against ponies, but I intend to keep the peace while Twilight takes on the bigger threat.”

Luna nodded, continuing to look out into the distant stars. “If that is what you wish.”

“What?” Moondancer leaned forward. “You asked that I become a commander for a sect of the Initiative and I am accepting that offer. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“It is!” Luna defended. “I do, believe me. It is not your acceptance that troubles me. We all have a common enemy we should be fighting. The idea that there are those who wish to hinder our progress towards peace through our defense against these alien beings fills my heart and mind with despair. I never would have imagined that we would be fighting enemies from so close to home.”

“Neither would I.” Moondancer turned to the open skies once again, the lone moon hovering brightly over the fields and distant street lamps. “But somepony must take charge against these dissidents.”

Luna’s face wrinkled, worry and thought present on her features.

“If that is what you wish, my dearest pupil.”

“A commander with nopony to command serves no purpose.” Luna said quietly. “Have you started looking for new recruits?”

“Of course. Like Twilight’s soldiers, these ponies, griffons, zebras and deer are the best of the best. I have no doubt that they will not fail us.”

***

“Twilight?”

The alicorn batted her eyes, waking herself from her daydream.

“I’m sorry Fluttershy.”

The commander’s quarters seemed more crowded with only three inhabitants sitting around. Twilight had desperately wanted sleep. The past week had been hell; watching over interrogation sessions, reading the files sent to her by various ponies around the base voicing their disdain and displeasure of the Vigil’s detainment and reading files based on the progress made towards soldier equipment among the science divisions.

To further rub salt on the wound, each of her friends, save for Rainbow Dash and Rarity, seemed to have already made up their minds on the whole Vigil Dilemma, as Shining Armor had started to call it. Applejack had obviously disagreed with the handling of the situation. Overnight was arguably the best foremare who worked in the facility, beating out even Iron Gizmo, and Moondancer personally recommended her for an assistant position. Pinkie often referred to it jovially, but Twilight knew Pinkie Pie enough to know how her hints worked. Starlight even held a harsher tone since the incident. Was it truly hard to believe that Twilight was doing nothing more than trying to keep everypony in the base safe?

Shining Armor, although initially disgruntled with the idea, seemed to be the only pony who saw the importance of such a decision. His stance was impartial, agreeing with Twilight, but disagreeing at the same time, although he never made it apparent when she was around.

“This isn’t you.” Fluttershy said. “We were supposed to protect and keep ponies safe, weren’t we? Isn’t this the exact opposite, Twilight?”

“They’re still with us right?” Shining Armor reasoned. “We’re not going to hurt them Fluttershy, we just need to be sure they can’t hurt anyone.”

“We get that,” Spike cut in. “But it doesn’t make it any better. Haven’t they proven themselves?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Twilight spoke. “Right now, they’re safe and so are we, assuming they are who we think they are. Besides, it’s not like I’m going to keep them in there until the war is over.”

“You mean who you think they are.”

Spikes words made Twilight’s blood boil. How had he not grown suspicious of Solemn in the slightest? Perhaps it was Twilight’s own mind that increased the magnitude of the situation and maybe not as many ponies knew about the event as she had thought, but for those who knew, was it so wrong to be cautious?

“I just don’t understand why we had to outright detain them,” Fluttershy said. “Maybe escorts around the base would have worked better?”

“It doesn’t matter, Fluttershy,” Shining Armor voiced, annoyed. “Either way, they are possible threats. Twilight was just ensuring the safety of everypony in here.”

“There had to be another way, something less drastic. We need unity and harmony not suspicion. We can do better, I know we can."

Twilight closed her eyes and sighed. Fluttershy was right, but she was also too trusting. Twilight understood the concerns, but was there really anything better than having them isolated for the time being? The voices of her friends faded momentarily. Had Twilight been in the wrong all along? Was there really another way? What would Fluttershy or anypony else have done? Detaining Solemn and her mother was the only way Twilight could think of that kept them safe, both the two unicorns and the rest of the base. Should they actually have been spies, then that put everyone in the base at risk.

Assuming they were fast enough to do so, at least Solemn would be capable of going through the security facilities and disable the base's defenses and allow for anyone to come in. Everypony in the base knew their current location, which meant Solemn would have known too, transmitting the location to somepony in the organization that Harmony had encountered earlier in the week. But Solemn had done nothing to even remotely connect herself to those ponies, except having the wrong cutie mark. But was that really her fault? A pony does not have the ability to choose their cutie marks.

"Twilight?"

“I’m scared, okay?!” Twilight shouted, Shining Armor, Fluttershy and Spike falling quiet. The alicorn rubbed her eyes with her forehooves and cursed under her breath.

“I’m scared.” Twilight admitted once again. “I thought other ponies would understand. We were fighting a war against aliens, not...ponies!”

The two of her friends were still quiet. Shining Armor cast a worried glance towards Twilight.

“I know it was a tough decision, and I knew most ponies would disagree with it, but can’t they see that I’m just trying to keep us safe? Isn’t that what ponies want? To be safe? I thought that until Luna had her say on the matter, I could decide what to do with them. The backlash wasn’t anything like I thought it would be. Some ponies are understanding, but can’t the rest of them see why this would cause a problem?”

“We do,” Spike said. “But Solemn and her mom haven’t done anything to even make us consider they’d be conspiring against us.”

“Her cutie mark—”

“It matches the ones those ponies branded themselves with,” Shining Armor cut off. “Which is why I feel we’ve made the right choice. We don’t understand what it means, nor does Solemn herself. Can we really trust a pony with a mark like that? One that dozens of our enemies have just branded themselves with?”

Thank you. Twilight silently let out a sigh.

“I get that we built this organization on trust and unity,” Shining continued. “But I agree with Twilight. We can’t just let them out without knowing anything more about them. It may be a breach of privacy on our part, but all these are precautions to make sure they really are on our side.”

“I swear, they will be let out if Luna can find anything to prove their innocence and if they have nothing connecting them to the ponies encountered before.”

We just need a little more time.

Comments

[Harmony Muse]

Ooh,, Hints of EXALT.. I likeit.

[Ze1a7in]

Huh, did not expect Moondancer to step up to the plate for THAT reason. Now it makes sense why you made 2 bases.

[Damien Martino]

What the Hecks ring world? Also maybe the operatives are using magic similar to how almost every guard looks the same.

[Solemn Vigil]

So Moondancer is heading up the Covert Operations Division. Anyone we know going to join her in Covert Ops?

[Madame Hellspawn]

8163256
The last bunch from the last interviews would be a part of it. There's a few others that were submitted that I thought would fit in pretty well too.

[Solemn Vigil]

“Nice,” Ethan beamed, flexing his wings once again. Even the pouches resting at his sides and waist were layered with small pieces of alloys. “You guys really outdid yourselves down here.When will it be ready for the field?”