Aspects of Harmony

by kwr2k13

Questions and Answers: Brian/Babs Seed

Ashley Smith had just been kidnapped, as with her family by some military organization and taken to an undisclosed location somewhere in New York City. Seperated from her family and friends, she woke up in the strange holding cell, wrists cuffed in front of her on the table. The bruise from the gun butt incident was somewhat faded, but she could go for an Asprin about now. “Ugh, mah achin’ face and head!” The farm girl rubbed the bruise on her face and looked around for signs of anyone else who would be there. “Hello? Granny? Daring Do? Big McIntosh? Apple Bloom? Alex? Brian? Anypony?” They most likely took her candy apple red cell phone as with any other communication devices to check contacts. Most of the names in the contacts would be pony-related, such as the names of the anthro ponies Ashley called her close friends; Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.

“Ouch.” Alex's voice squeaked as she groggily awoke.

Ashley smiled, “Oh, thank heavens yer okay, sugarcube!” She went to give her mouse friend a rub on the head with her finger, “Ah’d be much obliged if these here cuffs weren’t ‘round mah wrists.” She showed Alex the cuffs on her wrists. “Can ya magically pick the lock ‘fore those goons who kidnapped us show up?”

Alex moved her hand as if twisting a key and made a clicking sound and the cuffs snapped open and fell off.

Ashley rubbed her wrists and smiled, “Rarity was right ‘bout ya, Alex. You are always full o’ surprises. Have ya seen mah Stetson? Ah feel so not me without it. It was a gift from mah pa.”

“It's on your head.” Alex said with a smirk as it had appeared when s he flicked her tail.

Ashley adjusted her brown Stetson on her head, “Oh, yeah, thanks again!” She sighed, “Where do ya think they’re holdin’ mah family?”

“Apple Bloom is next door on your left and Mac is in the room to the left of yours. It was lucky/unlucky that they took my satchel. They had no way of knowing I'd shrink without it close to me.”

Ashley listened at the door for any signs of the guards, “I have a bad feelin’ ‘bout this, Alex. Ah’m so worried ‘bout Brian and the rest o’ mah family. If those goons lay a finger on any o’ mah family, they’re gonna deal with a very angry Earth pony.”

Alex used magic to open the door as she said, “They had better not have hurt Daring or the foal or they're going to have a Nightmare 0Night.” Ashley could hear the anger in the mouse voice.

Ashley attempted to calm the slightly angry mouse down, “Watch yer temper, sugarcube. Let’s focus on getting mah family and Darin’ Do out o’ here.”

Alex grew to human size and left the room with Ashley. As the pair left the room, a guard rounded the corner. He froze in surprise and before he could recover, he was briefly surrounded by an emerald glow and he fell asleep. Alex then magically opened the door to Mac's and Apple Bloom’s rooms. And once the Smith siblings were done with their reunion, they turned to collect Granny Smith.

“Hey, Granny. Do ya know where they took Brian?” Ashley asked her grandmother as she escorted the elderly mare to the other Apple family members.

Granny Smith was not sure where they took Brian, and suggested they keep searching each room for Daring Do and Brian.

”So far, so good. Just keep them guards from alertin’ the person in charge, and we’ll get t’ Brian.” Ashley nodded, “Just where would they be keepin’ a young filly like Brian anyway?”

Alex shrank down and jumped to Ashley's shoulder.

Ashley allowed Alex to ride on her shoulder to conserve energy, “Let’s keep movin’ and keep an eye out f’r the guards. Maybe we c’n get some answers from them.”

Meanwhile, while those trapped in the labyrinth of the detainment center were planning their escape and not leaving anypony behind, Ayumi had reached the outskirts of the base and was getting ready to storm in. She realized that the US Military didn’t know about dragons yet. With an evil smirk, Ayumi stored everything away and let her body Shift into her Dragon Form.

The guards posted on the outside fence had no idea what hit them as Ayumi in elder dragon form enhanced further by greed growth rammed through the fence and outer wall. “GIVE ME BACK MY FAMILY!!!!” She roared out as the troops opened fire the bullets harmlessly bouncing off her now 100 foot tall form. “I WILL HAVE THEM BACK BEFORE I LEVEL THIS WHOLE BASE!!!!!”

Ashley was searching rooms for signs of Brian’s whereabouts when the alarms sounded. She made sure they were hidden as the guards ran off to deal with the growing threat. “What in tarnation’s goin’ on out there?”

“Ayumi's here and pissed.” Alex said as they moved. The base shook as a missile launcher was destroyed on the surface.

“Glad she’s on our side. C’mon, one o’ these guards knows where they’re keepin’ Brian and Darin’ Do.” Ashley suggested, searching one of the rooms for the pink maned filly and the famous adventuring Pegasus.

Their luck improved as a guard chose that moment to hustle out of the rest room, pulling his pants up. Alex jumped down, growing to human size and levitated him up for Ashley to ask questions.

“Ahem, Ah beg yer pardon, sir, but you wouldn’t know where they are holdin’ my cousin Brian and a Pegasus named Darin’ Do, would ya?” Ashley asked nicely.

The guard went for his gun only to find it floating behind the golden mare. “Now, now none of that.” The mouse chided.

Ayumi had just crushed a missile launch platform that the puny humans had tried to fire at her. She noticed that one man had stopped firing on her and was talking to someone on the other end of a phone call.

Ashley frowned at the guard’s actions, “Ah was bein’ civil the first time. Next time, Ah won’t be so nice. Now, c’n ya tell me where my cousin Brian and Darin’ Do? Y’see, Ah haven’t seen my cousin in a long time, and Ah brought mah family t’ see her.” She directed the guard’s attention to Apple Bloom, Big MacIntosh, and Granny Smith.

The guard looked at Ashley and opened his mouth, but Alex said, “None of that name, rank and serial number nonsense. Just give us the information we want and be done with it. I don't want to waste energy listening to it.”

Ayumi's advanced hearing picked up the whole conversation that the unnamed officer was having and what she heard pissed her off even more.

“Airstrike inbound what is the status of the target?” The voice on the other end asked.

“Target is currently in the center of the base and we are engaged in holding them off. Hurry, I'm not sure how long we have!.” The officer said as he started firing again.

Suddenly, a translucent emerald dome appeared over the base.

Meanwhile, General Harrison, with Brian in tow, headed down the corridor, armed with a taser and more armed guards. As he reached the group, he held Brian in front of him, as a hostage. The guards aimed their weapons at the group. “I believe she belongs to you?” The General asked. “I’ll let her go if you surrender yourself and tell us what you know about how you came to be the way you are.”

Ashley sighed, “Can Ah at least say howdy t’ mah cousin?”

The General nodded and released Brian to her family. The young girl had a pink mane with magenta highlights with a matching tail, light tan fur and light spring green eyes, and wore the same clothes she was brought in.

She went slowly over to Brian and knelt down facing Brian, “Hey there. You doin’ okay, sugarcube? Ah’m Ashley, and Ah’m yer cousin. This here’s Alex, and o’ course, yer family. Mah brother, Big MacIntosh, Granny Smith, and cousin Apple Bloom!”

“Howdy, cousin! Ah’m so glad t’ meet ya!” Apple Bloom hugged Brian, “You doin’ okay?”

Granny Smith chided her granddaughter, “Now, now, don’t be overcrowdin’ her. Give her a chance to get t’ know us better.” She turned to Brian, “Ah’m yer grandmother, youngin, but ya can call me Granny.”

Brian shoved Apple Bloom back. "Piss off!" she snarled. "The last thing I want is to be related to freaks like you!" The hatred in her voice was enough to send Ashley reeling.

"Babs, Ah thought-" Ashley’s ears wilted, picking up Apple Bloom, herding her towards Granny Smith and Big MacIntosh.

"Don't you fucking call me that!" Brian interrupted before she could continue. "You ruined my life! I was perfectly happy before you sent me that email and those Analysts turned me into a freak."

"The Analysts want to save the world and spread the Magic of Friendship." Ashley stated, reminded of what Twilight told her when they first discovered their current mission after their initial changes.

"And I imagine they also told you it was the Fausticorn's will to risk your ass instead of them doing it?" Brian was clearly furious. "What right do they have to use our world as their playground?"

Ashley couldn't answer. She hadn't even considered that.

Brian continued. "The Army, well, see, they have been keepin' an eye on me. They're already workin' on an antidote for my...condition. And then they can cure us all!"

Ashley looked over at Brian, “A cure? What kinda lies are they feedin’ ya, sugarcube? We aren’t some disease a little needle can fix..”

Just as Ashley reached her cousin, Alex vanished in an emerald flash startling the guards who started to look around.

Alice awoke, sending a flare straight up, creating a spiral cloud bank to appear.

As that was happening inside, Ayumi decided to let Nova take over. Her size instantly tripled and a white light started emanating from cracks in her scales. Letting out a roar of primal Fury Nova started killing the troops standing between her and her child.

“YOU WANT TO KILL YOUR OWN MEN, GENERAL? HERE LET ME HELP YOU!”

The General saw a fire-maned mouse woman glaring at him. “You are not worthy of the rank you hold, hiding behind a noncombatant. You're not worthy of being human, more are those who blindly follow you.”

Harrison laughed. "Says the Servant of an Alicorn too scared to show her own face. Have you really questioned what is happening here?"

He began to step toward her, calmly, his NCB gear clanking as he strode forward. Alex tried to conjure up a spell, but it spluttered and died in her hands as the General got closer.

"What the?" she exclaimed, visibly terrified.

"Not so powerful now, are you?" the General laughed. "It always makes me smile to see my foes shit in their boots, upon realizing what a Hornet's Nest they've kicked up."

With that, he struck her in the face, knocking her out.

Ashley was standing in shock at what Brian had said when suddenly bullets rang out from behind her. Another of those heavily armoured soldiers was approaching from the rear. She ducked behind a desk and grabbed a revolver-only to find she could barely pick it up.

"Wha' in tarnation?" she said. "It's like mah magic's gone!"

"Quite correct," said a voice behind her. Ashley turned to see Brian brandishing a taser.

"No," Ashley whispered. "Don't do this, Brian. Yer family!"

"I have no choice." The other anthro pulled the trigger, and Ashley's world collapsed into electrical sparks and blackness.

The NCB trooper had effortlessly taken down Big Mac and the others, the once powerful stallion capable of lifting cars and trucks now barely able to lift a twig. Apple Bloom was a joke.

He spoke to Brian. "Target's down."

Brian laughed. "Stupid fool. She's so honest she can't even detect when she's being stalled."

Ayumi was also running into problems. She was by far the most powerful of the group psychically, and had thus far effortlessly demolished the defenses of the base. She fired up, preparing the breathe a jet of fire...

...only for nothing to come out. As this realization hit her, her carapace was suddenly hit by Armour-piercing bullets which smashed through effortlessly.

She looked down to see a group of four heavily-armoured soldiers walking forward, apparently not scared of anything. How were they interfering with her magic?

Her form began to shrink, withering until it was reduced to nothing but a human. She could barely move as she heard one of them say, "Target down, prepare for transit."

General Harrison sighed, slinging Alex over his back as he did so. Walking back over to where the rest of the unit had formed up, he saw Brian standing their, with the taser still in her hands.

"Well done," he told her. "You've picked the right side, and stopped a group of extremely dangerous terrorists. Come on, let's go! Get them into storage!"

Comments

[Cipher800]

Wait, what the heck?

[The Blue EM2]

9268976
They are actively ignoring me now. I'd intended for it to go a bit darker around here, not turn into Power Rangers!

[The Blue EM2]

[The Blue EM2]

There's a typo in here.

"What right do they have to use our world as our playground?"

Should read:

"What right do they have to use our world as their playground?"

[The REAL Mister Pkmn]

9269558
Honestly, I think it's dark enough. I'm glad it "turned into Power Rangers". Now I don't have to retcon anything.

[The Blue EM2]

9269758
Retcon? Sorry?

[The REAL Mister Pkmn]

9269775
Ah, I suppose you don't know that I'm part of this colab. My story is the furthest along timeline-wise, and it would be a pain to go back and change the last few chapters of DMOGP to reference something like Ashley being gone for an extended period of time.

[The Blue EM2]

9269848
Yes indeed. I've only just got rolling really.

[kwr2k13]

9269848
The Blue EM2 is writing for Ashley's younger cousin, Brian Smith, who has become the anthro version of Babs Seed.

[kwr2k13]

9269848
ashley and her family, daring do, alex, and ayumi were kidnapped at Sweet apple acres. It turns out news of Brian Smith's anthrofication into anthro Babs seed reached all the way to Australia. There are other cases, mostly Alex the mouse girl, Lyra Heartstrings, and Zecora, as well as the mane 6, Trixie, Sunset Shimmer, the CMC, and Shining Armor.

[The REAL Mister Pkmn]

9273124
I know this. I am the one writing Trixie's story, after all. It's annoying that you keep commenting like this to my comments, when I already know what's going on. Please, stop.