The Elements of Harmony

by MarcellusMiro66

Chapter 10: "There Comes A Time..."

Back in Klugetown, Tempest continued to stare off into the direction of the departing skyship Twilight's group escaped in just as her own group recuperated. As they did, a smoking, worse-for-wear hedgehog ran up to join his Commander at the near end of the docks, briefly mimicking his boss's actions before turning to face her.

"So...what do we do now?"

"We continue the chase, of course," Tempest stated the obvious, "Nothing changes."

"That's the plan, then?" Pharynx scoffed, "We're risking the entirety of the mission for a little pony and her galloping gang. Not exactly the best plan..."

"I think she's average, Pharynx," Ocellus smiled bashfully, earning a charmed chuckle from Thorax and an exasperated eyeroll from Pharynx.

"At the very least, it's a start," Lightning Dust stepped forward, "Until we figure out and decide what to do afterwards, our primary objective is intercept Twilight and her group at their intended destination before they earn more potential allies. From what I can tell, the initial group of supposedly six members has since expanded to eleven."

"Exactly," Tempest nodded, "which is why nothing can be left to chance...considering that your spy is already among those now eleven members..."

Lightning Dust scoffed at that last part.

As if that should come as a huge shock to you, Commander...

"Well, well... What have we here?"

Acting on instinct, the three Changelings changed into ponies the second they heard voices emerge from the starting-to-dissipate mist. Verko and a small remainder of his army approached the debris-ridden docks, armed to the teeth with makeshift melee weapons as they prepared to claim their impromptu prizes.

"It unfortunately seems that a fortune would have been made had it not been for the timely intervention of a meddlesome pony and her posse. I guess instead of six million bits, we just have to settle for five million...with an added thousand of their porcupine sidekick."

Lightning Dust immediately hurled her bladed wings into the bodies of the largest Klugetowners before embedding back into her back, snarling fiercely as she placed herself in front of a terrified Ocellus and a surprised Thorax and Pharynx.

"Over...my...dead...body..."

"And the fact you called me a porcupine on purpose just earned you a death warrant, ratman!" Grubber growled as he placed his fists up, anticipating a fight as the rest of Verko's group took a battle stance.

"Now, now, let's play nicely, children..." Tempest chuckled in a condescending manner as she slowly strolled over to a now intrigued Verko. The terror Ocellus initally harbored was now replaced with confusion, while the surprise initially held by Thorax and Pharynx was now replaced with disgust, the middle Changeling shielding the eyes and ears of the younger Changeling. It was a sentiment shared by Grubber, but not Lightning Dust, who chuckled under her breath in realization.

"Hoo-hoo! My goodness!" An aroused Verko made the mistake of intruding Tempest's personal space by cupping her face and tugging at it, "Well, look at you! With your scary broken horn and scowly eyes. What tricks do you know, my little pony-wony?"

Tempest paid no mind, though, and smiled deviously as her horn charged up, "Why...wouldn't you like to know?"

ZAP!

And just like that, the most powerful crime boss in the (rather short) history of Klugetown was taken down in one of the most anticlimatic showdowns in Equestrian history...not that he himself minded, though.

"Not bad..." Verko wheezed out his last words as he collapsed in unconsciousness as his group and Tempest's group looked on (in terror for the former and in relief for the latter). The horn of the Storm King's Commander charged up again as she faced her opponents.

"Anyone else?"

---

As nighttime approached and Twilight's group recuperated after the wild windmill chase throughout Klugetown, the leader herself scanned the map she made from Capper's globe in his not-quite humble abode. She was weary from the past few hours but she still needed to plot a course to the home of the Hippogriffs...wherever said home was. Only then would she rest fully.

Meanwhile, Sunset was still reeling from the revelation that the pony counterpart of her ex-boyfriend from the human realm was actually a freelance spy working for the villains and a Pegasus to boot. Actually, come to think to it, the human Flash Sentry did not have much of a personality to begin with other than the fact that he was a really nice guy who was a guitarist in a band(?) and pretty suffered through every and any kind of physical slapstick to ensure her happiness. In fact, he placed her entire happiness above his own. As much as she appreciated his altruism, it also completely concerned her for his own well-being. Even after they announced their breakup, many of their peers saw they still cared for each other, enough for a fair few to suspect the breakup was nothing more than a publicity stunt.

And this was before the drama that was the "Anon-A-Miss" scandal...

"Hey. You okay there?"

Sunset's eyes blinked at the realization that she had been staring at the ponified Flash for far too long, the Pegasus nursing his sprained wings by himself.

"Y-Yeah. I'm sorry, you just...look familiar to me."

Flash frowned in confusion before shrugging and nodding in understanding, "Yeah, I get it. I'm that one pony who has that generic appearance — too bland, too similar to be distinguishable."

"Oh. Sorry about that."

"You don't need to apologize, miss. It's the reason why...Princess Celestia hired me as one of her Royal Guards."

"You were a Royal Guard?" Twilight briefly looked up from the map, "I...never saw you at the castle."

"I was your age when I was brought in as a rookie," Flash explained, "and Shining Armor was my commanding officer. My best guess is that he always kept me under his sight out of fear that I would develop a crush on you. And even if I did see you...there's a long time span between my enrollment and now, so I probably wouldn't remember you."

"Yes, that's our son for you," Twilight Velvet exchanged knowing looks of amusement with Night Light as their daughter blushed, "Always the overprotective kind. I'm Twilight Velvet, and this is my husband Night Light. We're the parents of Shining Armor and our little Twilight. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister..."

"Sentry. Flash Sentry, " Flash stretched a hoof for the both of them to shake as he returned the introductory gesture, "The feeling's mutual...although I preferred the meeting to occur under more...fortunate circumstances."

"Join the club," Starlight snarked, "You can do so literally or figuratively. I met Trixie two years after running a cult and dissolving it."

"And the Great and Powerful Trixie never judged you for it," Trixie boasted, causing her friend to scoff.

"You said, and I quote, "It's straight-up scary. I mean, that's like...a false utopia, a cult, and the Red Scare all rolled into one.""

"And I also said, and I quote," Trixie retorted, "I might forgive you, but others might not."

"In any case," Apple Cobbler interjected, "We're all here together and we're bonding on an epic adventure. Is this nice?"

"Nice for you to say," Photo Finish grumbled as she curled up into a ball, "I hate epic adventures."

"Then why did you come?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Photo Finish could only smile proudly at herself, ignoring the facial expressions of confusion and agitation shared amongst the group.

"No," Apple Cobbler frowned and narrowed her eyes at her, "Not really."

"Regardless," Capper spoke up as a smile crossed his face, "We're one big, happy family here together."

"This despite the fact you tried to sell us," Trixie scoffed.

"I debated selling you, dear. There's a difference. But whether small or big, the point still stands. I would never turn my back on potential friends and allies."

"Funny you should say that..."

The group's breaths got caught in their throats at the same time their hearts stopped beating. Apparently, all of them forgot that sneaking onto a ship (enemy or not) would have severe repercussions for the stowaways (in this case, themselves). Slowly turning their gaze behind themselves, the group found the crew, consisting of anthropomorphic parrots, standing and peering above the boxes they hid behind. A basic bunch of burly, brutal-looking birds clad in the Storm King's uniform, the most intimidating of them so far was the one with a built-in gold hook on his right hand, but he was surprisingly enough not the captain.

The Captain herself was another parrot, but she was easily the tallest out of her entire crew in addition to one of the few in a male-dominated group. She had moderate raspberry eyes, pale light greyish harlequin feathers with light tips, a sap green tail, a light gambogeish grey coat, and a black bandana. Given her prior comment and present death glare (both of which were directed at a certain feline con artist), she had a personal grudge and/or a score to settle with Capper.

"Hello, Capper..."

"Celaeno!" Capper nervously giggled and scratched the back of his head, "I... I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"How do you think I feel?" Celaeno huffed before turning her attention to the rest of the group, "And I see you've brought friends despite your modus operandi."

"I don't think we're there yet, Captain," Starlight smiled as such while Sunset did a double take.

"Hold up, that's Captain Celaeno?! Why is everyone so ridiculously hot here?!"

Temporarily caught off guard by the possible compliment, Celaeno exchanged confused looks with her crew, "Uh...I don't know what to make of that, but I will take it as a compliment."

"My friend is somewhere distracted by sexy people sometimes," Capper attracted Celaeno's attention and ire once again, "The point is, we wouldn't be here if it was so important...or so convenient. I would much appreciate it if you and your crew don't throw me and my crew off the ship."

"Yes, it would go against my code..." Celaeno noted with a look of deep contemplation before reverting back with a scornful frown, "...but after what happened the last time you and I met, I'm sorely tempted to make an exception."

"What happened last time?" Smolder exchanged looks of intrigue with Starlight and Trixie.

"This feline flimflammer and his fairly fraud of a former friend stole my boat!" Celaeno growled at a nervously smiling Capper.

"Actually—"

The moment Celaeno drew her sword on Capper was the moment the rest of her crew drew their weapons, regardless of their efficiency or lack thereof. The smile of the "feline flimflammer" himself grew tenfold, eliciting an uncharacteristic frightened giggle.

"I borrowed your boat, Celaeno," Capper elaborated while stretching the truth, "I borrowed your boat...without permission. I will admit that was very wrong of me, and I was planning on giving it back on the opportunity that I would reunite with you."

"But you didn't!" Celaeno shouted as she continued holding him at swordpoint.

"Well, on the bright spot, you got another boat," Starlight chuckled in amusement, hoping to lighten the mood.

"It's actually a ship," One of the female parrots with a green apron beneath her jacket politely corrected her, "but thank you for that, dear."

"Oh, you're quite welcome."

"Captain Celaeno," Twilight approached with the map, "We apologize for stowing away on your secondary ship, but Capper is half-right. We wouldn't be here unless it was an emergency or a convenience. We're just trying to find the home of the Hippogriffs."

Levitating the map to Celaeno's line of sight, the parrot captain sheathed her sword before gently taking it and scanning it through. A male parrot with a black right-side eyepatch gave it a quick skim as well before turning to Twilight.

"Then you'll probably want to head further South of the Badlands straight to Mount Aris...but why would you want to go there?"

"Because Canterlot, and by extension all of Equestria, is in trouble," Sunset sat up. "Twilight said Princess Celestia was trying to send Princess Luna to the Badlands to seek the Queen of the Hippogriffs when...they were turned to stone by Commander Tempest."

Twilight closed her eyes and did her best to suppress the memory, fragments managing to pull through. To her surprise, however, Celaeno could only scoff in disappointment.

"I'm disappointed."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Twilight frowned as Celaeno returned it.

"Look, I don't want to be the one who says it, but...despite their best intentions for Equestria, Celestia and Luna have the unfortunate tendency to make decisions that keep them from going in the right direction. This is just one chapter in a tenure full of recklessness, ensuring that Canterlot is a lost cause."

"But they're the Princesses of Equestria!" Twilight protested, despite fully knowing that she herself was one of those examples where emotions clouded their judgment, "They never gave up on their subjects, no matter what!"

"Most of them," Celaeno shot back, "but she and Luna would gladly let the rest make the sacrifice that would ultimately do them no good in the long run. Twilight...I know what happens to people who say they want to help or they're going to help. They are taken advantage of, imprisoned for life, or even killed when evil gets the chance. Have you been placed in a position like that?"

"Yes, I have," Twilight gritted her teeth, "which is why I'm here."

"Of course. Why am I not surprised?"

Celaeno handed the map to Sunset before continuing her conversation with Twilight.

"Twilight... The world doesn't care if you are good or evil, let alone make good or bad decisions. It does care when you fail to provide ample justification for them and the side you choose. Whether or not you yourself actually care for this...that's up to you."

Twilight knew Captain Celaeno had a point. The world was full of good people, bad people, and people who had both light and dark within them. She was taught this not just by Princess Celestia during her time as a young student, but also her parents, who made it their duty to protect their offspring from the harsh realities of Equestria while also not completely shielding them from them. Being the studious optimist she was, though, she preferred to keep the hope up that things would always get worse before they got better.

After a brief moment, Celaeno spoke up again, "We'll take you and your group to Mount Aris...but that's it. We're not helping you. What you do afterwards...is entirely up to you."

With that, the Captain took her leave, most of her crew following behind. The one who remained behind was the male parrot with a false right hand, the golden hook in its place. Turning to face Twilight, his stoic expression soon gave way to one of sympathy as he carefully approached her.

"Miss Twilight?"

She and the rest of the group turned to face him as he took a deep breath and spoke.

"Don't let the words of my Captain get to you. She's...going through a tough time in her life and, frankly, so are the rest of us. But you have to understand that we had to...make difficult choices in order to survive. Celaeno's developed a mindset that just because the Princesses are all-powerful doesn't always mean they're all-helping. There come a time where you fight and stand up for what you believe in...and a time where you need to realize that you need to fold the cards for your sake."

Sighing, he continued on.

"But that doesn't mean you should give up. Maybe you're right. Maybe the Princesses don't give up on their subjects no matter what...but at what price?"

After a moment, Twilight finally responded, "A price worth paying...hopefully."

As the hooked parrot held back a bitter chuckle, Twilight asked him a question.

"Just out of curiosity...do you ever believe that things would get worse before they got better?"

"Yes. Always...and that's what I'm always afraid of," The hooked parrot nodded, "and if the crew were given the same question, they would probably give the same answer."

Twilight returned the nod out of understanding before Smolder stood up, "Well, with no disrespect meant for your Captain, Twilight and you...but there are good people in the world, even if they're difficult to notice. Those are the people who live the most."

This time, the hooked parrot released a chuckle, but one laced with admiration, "That's all I needed to hear."

As he took his leave, he stopped in the doorway and turned back around, a smile adorned on his face, "You folks hungry? Dinner time's rolling around, so—"

"YESSSSSS!!!" Photo Finish, who by this point remained unresponsive due to the serious atmosphere, immediately threw such an attitude out the window due to the mere mention of food. It had been a while since edibles of any sort collided with her taste buds and she was not willing to let the opportunity pass her by, no matter what the food was made of or how it was made. Faster than a speeding train did she gallop out of the room and towards the kitchen, any sense of direction jettisoned from her brain.

As the group watched on in surprise, Apple Cobbler shook her head and chuckled, "That mare really needs to sort her priorities; they're skewered as shish kabobs on a hot summer night."

Slowly following her, the rest of the group followed suit as the hooked parrot ushered them all out. Smolder was the one at the end, leaving her walking beside the hooked parrot.

"I have to admit, kid, you got spunk."

"Most dragons do," Smolder shrugged with a smile, "I'm Smolder."

"Boyle," The hooked parrot stuck out a hand and his hook for Smolder to shake, which she did so with delight. A common cliche amongst callous and coldhearted characters, Boyle indeed had a soft spot for children, especially the fierce but optimistic ones.

They reminded him of himself...