The Harmony Initiative

by Madame Hellspawn

Chapter 3: Communion

Ethan shuffled nervously in his seat. The glares of the ponies across the table bore into him like daggers to his conscience. He stared at the clock, down at the cushions of his seat and towards the varnished walnut tabletop, but always felt their cold and accusing eyes trained on him. He settled for the door, tapping a single talon as fast and as comfortably as his body would allow while trying to consume himself in his thoughts.

A practice that made him feel equally uncomfortable.

Commander Sparkle was something of an oddball. Upon first meeting, she was a gentle pony, not exactly someone Ethan would have thought of when it came to the leader of The Harmony Initiative. He remembered her silky smooth hoof as she reached out for a quick shake and her gentle smile. Her eyes glowed with the kind of hope only a pony could have. She was, without a doubt at the time, the single worst pony they could have chosen to lead Harmony.

But then in the hangar, any preconceptions of her being nothing more than the epitome of what a pony should be was shattered. The way her anger fueled her. If the old tales about Celestia and Luna were true, Ethan hoped he wouldn’t be banished to some God-forsaken spot in the stars for the rest of eternity.

Ethan’s blood ran cold as the door slid open, a strong and smooth hiss accompanying its movement. The block of light emitting from the doorway vanished, the shadowy form of Commander Sparkle walking in amplifying Ethan’s fears. As she entered, it took everything for the young griffon to keep himself down in his seat.

“Fighting amongst each other is something I will not tolerate in Harmony’s ranks.” She said sternly taking a seat at the head of the table. Ethan felt a great weight lift from his shoulders as the ponies across from him drew their sights to the commander. “Especially when one of the individuals involved was appointed leader of Fireteam Ruby.”

The room fell silent.

“Those ponies attacked a member of my Cast first,” Gilda growled, pointing a sharpened talon across the table. She turned, scowling, releasing a low rumble from deep within her throat which ceased before she spoke up again. “Everything afterwards was self defense on our part. Besides, Ethan couldn’t hurt a breezie, even if he wanted to.”

The griffons chuckled and squawked silently. Ethan rolled his eyes, but remained quiet. There was no truth to that statement, but being among the smaller griffons compared to the other powerhouses of Fireteam Ruby led to ‘playful’ teases and jests such as that. It wasn’t the first time he had heard that.

“Aw, horseapples!” The hazel pegasus in charge of his own group barked. He pointed his hoof directly towards Ethan. “I saw what you did!”

“You mean the part where I saved an earth pony from becoming paste on the hangar’s floor?” Ethan frowned, leaning on the edge of the table.

“A pegasus would have caught him,” The pegasus growled. His little group of friends nodded and agreed amongst each other, save for one pegasus; black with a silvery white mane. He sat with his hooves crossed and shook his head. He was the only one who seemed to disagree with his partners in crime. He hardly participated in the brawl. In fact, he stepped between Ethan and his hazel leader before Gilda shoved him out of the way and practically instigated the fight. “Besides, with all that blood, I’d say you were trying to take off his hoof.”

Gilda snorted. “We’re in the middle of a war. Shouldn’t take a genius to realize that every griffon in this place has their talons sharpened to a razors edge, ready for a fight.”

Purple magic enveloped Ethan, sparkling and flowing like a small hurricane around him. His eyes darted around the table, looking at Gilda and the rest of his squad and over to the pegasi, each with raised brows and expressions of worry. The aura washed over him, in a thin shimmering veil.

“You seem to be the center of this.” Twilight’s horn ceased glowing and the aura which surrounded Ethan slowly faded into the air. “So, I’ll ask you to explain to me what happened. Brisk Bolt seems to think you tried to kill somepony. Did you?”

“What?!” Ethan shot up, heart skipping a beat. Twilight did nothing more than stare with an inquisitive gaze. He felt himself relax and sit back down. “No, I didn’t. He was walking down the stairs from one of the hangar bays and he must have missed a step. I didn’t see how he fell, I just know that he did! He went over the railing and I barely caught him in time, I didn’t mean to draw blood! I-I just tried to save him! Then feather-brain over there started shouting at us!”

Silence fell over the room, save for the grating buzz of the light overhead. It was the truth and yet the ponies across the table shook their heads and whispered amongst themselves. The hazel pegasus which Ethan assumed to be Brisk Bolt had sat and scowled at not only Ethan, but all the griffons. Were Twilight not in the room, Ethan feared another fight, this time with Gilda ready to put her talons to use.

During the brawl in the hangar, she had shown restraint against the pegasi, curling her talons into a fist and playing defensively more than anything else. The other griffons of Fireteam Ruby had followed her example. Ponies aren’t exactly the best of fighters Ethan had learned. No matter how bold and how dirty they would try to fight, a griffon’s maneuverability and predatory flexibility was an obvious advantage over flailing hooves and erratic movements.

“He’s lyin’!” Brisk shouted maliciously. His head spun towards Ethan. “Griffons aren’t exactly the truthful type. I’m willin’ to bet he’s just trying to save his own hide! The griffon friend of yours shoved him off that catwalk and you know it!”

Twilight turned and faced Brisk, whose scowl broke apart. He looked away and towards the ground.

“Well, if Ethan is lying,” Twilight spoke, shifting her gaze to the griffons’ side of the table. “Then I’m either very bad at casting a lie elimination spell or Ethan is wearing something that counteracts one, and judging from his distinct lack of any clothing, I’d say he’s telling the truth.”

Brisk frowned.

“I can’t believe you’ll just take his word for it.” He said crossly, stubbornly stomping a hoof on the floor. It was like he had forgotten already that a spell was cast on Ethan. “He ain’t even a pony!”

“That doesn’t matter!” Twilight roared back. Brisk recoiled, pulling his hoof over his mouth. “Pony, griffon, zebra, it doesn’t matter who anyone here is. You’re all soldiers, you were chosen to protect and defend everyone. Race shouldn’t matter. You should learn to trust these griffons with your life.”

“Permission to speak freely Commander?” Brisk asked raising his hoof like a child in school. Twilight nodded. He fixed his gaze on Ethan with accusing eyes. “I ain’t exactly comfortable putting my life in the hooves of a griffon.”

“Permission to speak freely Commander?” Ethan didn’t break eye contact with the feather-brained pegasus glaring at him.

“Granted.”

“This may be a surprise to you—” Ethan raised his talons, each individual digit flexing in and out. “—but Griffons don’t have hooves.”

Brisk slammed a hoof on the table and stood. Ethan remained unwavering, lowering his talons. “Listen to me, you fu—”

“Enough.” Twilight interjected. “You already know what The Initiative’s goals are. When it comes down to it, I need you all to trust each other. From this moment forward I’m grouping you four together.”

Ethan bolted up and returned his gaze towards Twilight. From the blurred movement in the corner of his eye, Brisk and his clique had done the same.

“Ma’am, Fireteam Ruby was designated to be a griffon only unit,” Gilda said with a glare.

“I know,” The Commander remained steadfast, unwavering. “I suppose that may have been a mistake, one which may have promoted Brisk’s discrimination. We are to work together for the future of all of Equestria and beyond, no matter the race of those you are fighting beside. This can be a valuable lesson for both of you. From here on out, you four will be Fireteam Topaz. Gilda, I’m giving you command of this team.”

Gilda shook her head. She took a glance over at Ethan. He felt himself go stiff. She hadn't exactly given him a hateful glance, but Ethan felt that She and him would have a bit of a chat later that night. Not that Gilda would give him flak for it, but it was hard to tell what she was thinking.

“Alright,” She said with moderate disdain, turning back towards Twilight. “We’ll get it sorted out. Not like we really got a choice.”

Twilight looked over to Brisk with a raised eyebrow.

The pegasus cursed under his breath, huffing and puffing like a child getting his toy taken away. Ethan would have done the same admittedly. Well maybe not, but he found himself scowling at Brisk all the same. He would prove himself, even if the feather-brained pegasus wanted to play the stubborn trooper unwilling to put differences aside. After all, Commander Sparkle had just given the order.

“I don’t agree with it,” Brisk said, shaking his head. “But I guess the decision is already made.”

Twilight nodded and let out a sigh. “It’s for your own good. Believe me. You’re all dismissed.”

The pegasi were the first to start moving, swearing and cursing under their breaths before falling silent as they passed Twilight. There was no denying that she had believed her judgement to be the best. Not that she sat with a smile, but she ignored some of the louder comments about her decision, as if they had never been spoken.

Ethan couldn’t help but to grimace and feel bad for her. She was trying, not only to lead those under her command but to maintain and direct them towards a single goal.

Even as he stood, all Twilight had done was sigh and ease herself. She closed her eyes and just sat in her seat in a state of peace, or so it seemed. When her eyes opened, she let a frown creep on her face. Ethan didn’t know what being an alicorn entailed in the job description, but he figured that it called for a pretty hefty workload.

The door closed behind Ethan with a soft and gentle hiss.

***

The soft breeze of winter surprisingly didn’t send a chill down Twilight’s spine. The moonlight hills and surrounding ferns swayed with the wind. Hills rolled in the distance and a single tree sprouted from the dirt just ahead of Twilight. She realized that she had seen this surrounding landscape before.

The memorial facility had been among the largest Harmony had to offer. The doors leading to it had been slightly off putting, creating a facade of the memorial being nothing more than another cold metal room full of coffins and altars where ponies could pray for their fallen companions. It was a room Twilight had dreaded to see, not only because of its morose nature, but because she knew her soldiers deserved better than to be stuck in a case of metal inside a room made of metal.

Instead, it had the illusion of an open field, as if the doors lead to the afterlife itself. At the time, it took the form of a moonlit field, the silvery blades of grass swaying in a summer breeze and the clouds above rolling gently. Twilight and the staff had been so enraptured by the facility’s divine facade that they forgot that it was exactly that. A Facility.

The walls and ceiling was nothing more than a display screen almost the size of the medical bay. Nopony could explain how the wind had rolled through however. The flat layer of grass had been real, that Twilight knew for sure. There was enough room for everypony in The Initiative to be buried, a thought that Twilight had quickly dispelled.

The ponies who had attended the funeral had been a bit too few for Twilight’s taste. She hadn’t known the stallion personally and neither did a majority of the ponies who had hung their heads low and come to grant their last wishes before he was lowered into the ground, but she wanted everypony to be present, even if it was too much to ask.

Twilight stood off to the side while ponies approached, one by one and offered their blessings before falling back in their formation. Spitfire had been the first, lips twitching and hooves wiping her eyes as she whispered and placed a feather beside Dazzle’s head. It was a gesture that all the pegasi who had come repeated. Fleetfoot was the last and taken it harder than anypony else. She shrugged off Twilight's hoof for comfort, allowing herself to completely soak in the loss of her comrade. She returned to the crowd of ponies solemnly, resting herself beside Spitfire.

“Dazzle’s death will not be the last.” Twilight had said. Ponies shuffled nervously and hung their heads lower, with only a few maintaining a strong and stone-faced demeanor. “He will be remembered and missed greatly by all. We all must bear in mind, this is a war and not everypony will make it out of it. But despite it all, we have to endure. I don't want to lie to any of you and say what you want to hear. You ponies deserve the truth."

She was no good at speeches. She had practiced what she would say during the funeral time and time again, hoping one version of the speech wasn't too verbose and another wasn't to morbid. Instead she settled for something short and down to earth. Or at least it was to her. The ponies who listened didn't seem too reassured, but they agreed and understood what Twilight was going for. At least she hoped that's what the nods meant.

Dazzle was buried in the center of the grassy field, just before a lone curved obsidian wall, spotless as though recently polished. When the dirt was poured over the silver, stainless metal coffin, Dazzle’s name etched itself on the upper left corner of the slab. Twilight had tried not to let it disturb her, but it was written in small cursive lettering. There was a lot of room for other names.

A small speck of light materialized, forming and increasing in radiance before taking the shape of three ponies. Alicorns, two with flowing manes, seemingly unaffected by the wind. Luna and Celestia fluttered their wings before their hooves met the ground, barely making a noise. Cadence gingerly set herself down beside Twilight.

“Twilight,” Cadence said bowing her head. Twilight felt a surge inside herself. She leaped forward and embraced the unsuspecting Cadence, almost toppling her over. “Oh! Well, hello to you too!”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Twilight released her embrace and composed herself. “It’s been awful here! In Harmony I mean. I mean, first it was just the fact that I was secluded from everypony else, then it was trying to make sure everypony was pleased and happy with all the facilities, t-then one of my soldierswaskilledandnowthere’sproblemsamong—”

“Twilight,” Cadence spoke with a calming hoof resting on Twilight’s back. “I’m sorry to hear all that. I wish I could do something to help, I really do. But we brought you here to discuss more pressing matters.”

The purple alicorn nodded and brought her sight towards the Regal Sisters. Both held grim expressions, eyes drained of hope and brows low. Celestia had at least tried to break the monotony of seriousness with a weak smile. Twilight felt one form around her lips, moreso out of reflex and years of returning the gesture the same way.

“Where are we exactly?” She asked.

“Nowhere,” Luna replied. “Not any place specifically. I crafted this dream for all of us, in the event that we must convene. I apologize as there was no warning prior to you arriving here. In the future, I shall notify you if we have important matters to discuss that parchment and quill cannot do justice.”

“Will it be just us?” Twilight asked, looking around.

“No.” Celestia answered. “The Council of Nations funding The Harmony Initiative shall be joining us as well. We decided it would be fair to allow them to convene with us. After all, they are a part of The World’s defense just as much as you are.”

Four shadowy figures manifested into the world, bodies clear and yet their faces obscured by a shadowy blur. A massive figure appeared beside a two smaller, more frail pony-shaped forms. Another stood to Luna’s right, wings outstretched and pecking at its shadowy feathers; a griffon. Beside it was the last of the figures, a grand and tall being, a winding and almost branch-like formation on its head; antlers. A Stag.

A thick shroud manifested behind the council, winding and coiling around them like a viper. The light from the moon was obscured. Twilight looked up and stifled a shriek. A massive set of wings stretched out, leathery and bat-like in appearance. The massive figure curled its wings in and opened its maw, letting out a short guttural growl before setting itself down, lower so its head lay right beside Twilight. She could not make out the shadowy dragon’s features, but a golden eye managed to peer through the thick veil surrounding it. The eye looked with mild disinterest.

“So this is her,” The Dragon spoke, releasing a puff of smoke from one of its nostrils. It clouded the clearing for a moment before vanishing unnaturally around Twilight. It’s voice was deep, and slow, smooth, but with the right amount of coarse. Despite the inquisitive tone (At least she hoped it was), Twilight bit her lip and couldn’t stop herself from trembling. Perhaps this was just his equivalent to a whisper, the thought of which terrified her even more. “Fear not Commander. We are all allies here.”

“I see, Twilight had wanted to say. Instead, she let out a whinny more akin to a shriek.

“Oh dear,” The Stag giggled. His voice cut through the silence like a knife through butter, maintaining a strong, yet elegant accent reminiscent to Canterlot’s elite. “Perhaps you shouldn’t have said anything. I think you’ve frightened the poor thing!”

“Fear not the dragon, princess,” The Zebra spoke. She sat on her rear, back straight and head held high. “We have much to discuss, specifically the weapons our enemies possess.”

Twilight looked quizzically between everyone present.

Celestia stepped forward, her brilliant rainbow mane flowing wondrously. “There have been reports of ships in the sky over several regions of Equestria, Zebra Savannas and Griffon Kingdoms. It’s certain that these are The Invaders’ crafts, however their purpose remains a mystery.”

“Given the hostile nature of our adversaries,” The Stag continued. “We suspect nothing but wicked intentions. Should any of these crafts be located by The Initiative’s scanners and scouting pegasi, swift action must be taken.”

Twilight pondered the thought. Ships capable of travelling between the stars? A fascinating, if not terrifying, idea. It made sense, being that they were from the stars as Luna put it about three weeks ago, but Twilight never really thought about the possible dangers the squadrons of pegasi would have to face, should they need to be used in an aerial assault.

“If we were to destroy the crafts,” Twilight began. “What will be done with them?”

“It may be in your best interests to salvage what you can.” Celestia said, sitting on the grass. “If you can.”

“The site shall be quarantined,” Luna elaborated. “It shall allow you a small team of engineers to salvage anything of importance. We’ll give them the space and time needed to dismantle everything they can.”

Twilight nodded in understanding. She found herself gingerly turning her head towards The Dragon. The idea that his race would completely dominate the skies against any alien ship was hopeful at best. "Could the dragons be capable of aiding us against The Invaders' crafts?"

"Perhaps in the future," The Dragon spoke with a gravelly growl. "For now, The Invaders have left dragons....confused. The Dragon Lord has not made an official choice as to what my people will do. In any event, The Harmony Initiative will continue to have my support."

Twilight frowned. She didn't know much about dragon politics, but she hoped they would be able to spare something. She entertained the thought of spoiling Spike and allowing him to grow completely. She instantly shot the idea down and chewed harshly against the inside of her mouth almost to serve as punishment for even thinking of putting her Number One Assistant's life in danger like that.

“I would like to ask,” The Griffon spoke. “The griffons may be willing to pay a pretty nice sum for any spare material you can give us. We are, afterall, an industrial powerhouse for weapons and armor. We would be willing to share those weapons and armor. For a price.”

Another ring of smoke erupted from The Dragon’s nostril. A soft glow of orange flickered as the beast opened its massive jaws. “Dragons have no need for petty arms and armor. But you may do well to remember we are all allies. The price should be considerably low for those of us less fortunate.”

The Pony stomped a hoof on the ground. “Or no price at all!”

Saddle Arabian, Twilight thought. Truly everyone had pitched in what they could for The Harmony Initiative. It fascinated Twilight, but at the same time made her truly feel the weight of burden resting on her shoulders, like a pony doomed to carrying the world on her back.

“We have an established system of trade already set,” The Pony spoke with his exotic accent. “Surely, any new weapons and armor would be covered by the resources we give you.”

“With this I agree,” Said The Zebra. “For The Initiative, we already pay a fee.”

“Yes,” The Stag interjected. “We’ll already be spending enough trying to fund Harmony and Princess Sparkle. We have no time for your peoples exploits.”

Twilight thought about the offer. The Griffon Kingdoms were in a precarious position. They were capable of making profit off of the war against the invaders and the thought of them trying to exploit that sickened her. But The Griffon wouldn’t try to set up his fellow representatives and council members for economic downfall would he?

The Griffon looked questioningly behind the thick veil of shadow blanketing his face.

“The Griffons shall get their metals,” Twilight answered. She could feel the gaze of each shadow fall on her, as boring into her with accusing glares. “But, you will not charge them any price for the arms and armor. Tensions are high enough without somepony trying to make a profit off of the war.”

The Griffon nodded his head. “I see. Very well, so be it.”

Cadence craned her head close. “Good call.”

Realistically, Twilight felt that it shouldn’t have been her that made that call. It was more impulse that allowed her to even respond.

“If that is all, this meeting shall be adjourned.” Celestia and Luna said in unison. The two looked at each other with gentle smiles before Luna continued. “Unless anypony else has anything else they wish to address.”

Silence.

“Very well,” Luna turned towards Twilight “We shall meet again at the end of the month to review the progress you’ve made with The Initiative. Until then."

Everyone bowed their heads, save for The Dragon of course, and before Twilight could do the same, her eyes shot open. She found herself staring up at the metal ceiling of her quarters. She shot up from her bed and looked around. Spike was gone, most likely fetching breakfast for the two of them.

"Oh joy," Twilight sighed. She allowed herself to fall back into the comfort of her bed. Even then, the burden of responsibility was crushing her. "I wish we had a garden."

Comments

[Damien Martino]

And here I am, by the way what will the thin men be?

[Madame Hellspawn]

7909901
Tall and very thin

[Spiral_Donut]

7909940 as apposed to short and 4 legged

[Ze1a7in]

I'm very curious about how you are going to handle the mutons, floaters, and chryssalids. There were chryssalids in Enemy Unknown/Within, right? Ooh, ooh! Chryssalids versus Chrysalis! I'm sorry, I just really think the chryssalids had a cool design.

Keep up the good work!

[Seawolf]

Where are the Minotaurs?

[Madame Hellspawn]

8442470
I included races that were kinda established as their own 'kingdom' or society and just kinda worked with that and added my own take on some of them. (Yaks weren't in because I wrote this before I saw the episode with the yaks (I don't think the episode was out yet, but I could be wrong)). I kinda think of Minotaurs as a rare species and separated from each other for the most part. That's not to say that they won't be in the story later on .