The Little Pony legend: The Guardians of Harmony

by MaggiesHeartLove

Escape from Klugetown

*(~)*

Colossians 1:10 ~

Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

*(~)*

Escape from Klugetown

Tempest Shadow confidently trotted through the streets of Klugetown, unfazed by the the storm creatures tearing across the various vendor booths, smashing everything in their wake. They interrogated various creatures, who frightfully denied any knowledge.

A sharp-like creature with a long neck cowered in fear, "Please! Please! I don't know anything!" He screamed as the storm creature ferociously tossed his merchandise from the stand. He wasn't satisfied with the poor vendor's responce.

Grubber walked right behind Tempest, muting on a caramel apple. "You really think those princesses got this far?" He asked after swallowing the bit of food in his mouth.

Tempest stopped and sniffed the air, seeing a green strand of hair stuck in a jagged piece of wooden fence. It still carried the scent of pony, with a hint of a very expensive shampoo.

"Oh, they're here." Tempest smiled. She stood in the center of the plaza. The storm creatures stopped their savage raging on the citizens and she addressed the crowd.

"Attention! A little pink pony and a human girl with wings passed this way. Tell me where they are..."

"Or something real bad's gonna happen." Grubber added, waving his half bitten caramel apple at the people. The same fish creature from before stomped towards the two. Grubber squeaked in terror and reeled away while Tempest stared stoically.

"You think we're gonna fall for this again? I don't know what kinda scam you're working with Capper and the rest of your friends, but--"

"Friends?" Tempest added, cutting him off. So, it would appear the Princesses hadn't traveled alone after all. And, they somehow managed to rope someone into their little game. And here Tempest thought this was going to be boring.

"Poison or no poison, you're gonna pay!" The fish creature came at Tempest, ready to yank what was left of her already broken horn right off of her head. She ducked his punch and kicked him in the stomach with her back leg, pushing him back. Tempest then tripped him and grabbed hold of his large tail fin with her mouth. She leaped into the air, carrying the creature who was twice her size along with her and while in mid air she threw him to the ground.

Tempest landed gracefully on her hooves, while the fish creature laid disoriented, his tongue sticking out and he groaned in pain.

"Ohhhh, fish-man just got dropped!" Grubber cheered, clapping his stubby paws enthusiastically. He loved nothing more than to praise Tempest for her awesomeness.

The pony stepped on the creature's back, her horn charging up with blue colored electrical energy, her eyes staring sinisterly into his own. The fish-creature whimpered in fear

"Now… about this "Capper"…"

(~)

Akari withheld the urge to groan. While she and Iris--and to a lesser extent, Hozu--were looking for clues on the Hippogriffs, the rest of the guardians had somehow ended up chatting and laughing with Capper. Mai sat on a pillow covered crate, happily observing Capper playing with the games on her geo-slate while laying on his bed.

"Stop playin' me! You invented this with a bunch of magical rocks?"

"Magical rocks, intricately designed wire placement, mathematically accurate geometric design, and a paper clip. The paper clip was more of a happy accident."

"Dang! I ain't never seen anything like this." Capper handed it back to her, then turned to Chi. "And you can actually turn into a wolf? Please, that's not a real thing." he said as he got up from his bed. "Is that a real thing?"

"I'll show ya!" Chi got up, ready to transform, but Capper quickly stopped her, looking rather terrified.

"Naw-naw-naw, I don't need you "wolfin' it up" up in my place, thank you very much."

Capper was startled by a few little levitating pearls that had suddenly appeared in front of him. "Whoa, hey, hold up now." The pearls suddenly grabbed the end of his sleeve, which was already coming off, while a few other pearls floated on by, carrying a spool with red thread and a needle. The needle stitched his sleeve back together.

Nori trotted on over, mentally manipulating the pearls she had created to levitate the objects. The pearls held the spool and needle like mini force fields. Once she was done, she merged a few more pearls together and placed them onto Capper's jacket, willing them to change from white to sterling gold.

Nori could not only make force fields with pearls, but use them for various other properties as well, and even get them to change colors. Of course, that only worked with the pearls she herself created, not with actual pearls.

"Here you go. I do apologize. If we were back home, I bet my mom could've done something really fabulous."

Capper stared at the newly transformed buttons on his old jacket. It was old and worn, with lazily made stitches and patched on the side. And yet, the small touche Nori just did made it look more new than it ever had in years.

Capper rose a brow, "Okay… What's the catch?"

Nori tilted her head curiously. "Nothing. After all that you've done for us, consider it a "thank you"."

Capper's ears perked up, but not with interest, with confusion. Did this little pony really just do something for him, and for no reason other than to show how grateful she was? Nobody in Klugetown had ever done anything like that before.

The sound of broken glass falling onto the floor made Capper flinch. Chrysalis hovered over it, her tail close to her stomach. "Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry, I didn't see that there!"

"No, no, it's fine." Capper walked on over to collect the materials that had fallen out of an old sack. "Just some trash I've been meaning to throw out."

As he picked up the fallen trash, Chrysalis caught sight of a few shards of broken bottles. It was faint, but she also saw a glimpse of something within the glass.

"No, wait! Hold on a second." Chrysalis placed her hoof over Capper's chest, gently pushing him back for her to get a better look. Using her tail, Chrysalis collected all of the broken pieces of the multicolored glass bottles and flew over to one of his tables near the window.

"Hey, hey, don't be doin' that!" Capper cried out, failing to stop the changeling from doing whatever it was she was doing. His apartment might not be the richest looking place, but he did like keeping it nice and clean.

Chrysalis flew around, placing the broken pieces in a precise manner. Her eyes were intense and focused. She looked around and smiled gleefully when she spotted a small empty tiny vase and placed the broken bottle pieces into it. It wasn't deep, so they stuck out. Capper cocked his head in confusion. The pieces looked jagged and uneven. Why was she so interested in organizing them anyway?

With one eye closed, Chrysalis gently pushed the little vase a few inches to the north where the broken bottle shards captured the sunlight.

What happened next took Capper's breath away.

Integrated into the glass bottles were tiny yellow cat-paw prints and various foreign symbols he remembered seeing when he was only a small kitten. Memories of when he would dreamingly gaze at his home town's beautiful stain glass windows of the richest families flooded back into his mind. His ears went back, but more out of wonder than anything else. He could almost feel the tears starting to form. His ceiling was covered in those designs that danced alongside the moving rays of the near setting sun outside.

Nori was just as taken back by the dazzling display as he was, and Chrysalis smiled with satisfaction. She had a hunch something like this would happen. She noticed the look on her host's face.

"Capper, you okay?"

"It's… it's just like back home." Capper said, his voice barely a whisper, never once taking his eyes off of the ceiling.

"Wait. You're not from Klugetown?"

Capper blinked, slowly turning his eyes towards Chrysalis. The lighting was caught in her wings, making them sparkle like stars… her eyes were like two pure emerald gemstones.

"Well, no. The Storm King wrecked my home a few years back." Capper turned away sadly. Looking at the beauty of his past had somehow compelled him to admit this truth to her. He didn't need to continue, Chrysalis could connect the dots herself. Capper came to Kluegtown while he was fleeing from the Storm King's army.

"Capper, I'm so sorry."

The cat wiped his eyes with the sleeves of his jacket, cleaning the tears before they ever had a chance to come out. He sniffed, though he had a hunch she heard it. He forced himself to smile.

"It's fine. I never had a family to begin with anyways so… no attachments to weigh me down, you know." Capper tried to sound optimistic, but failed to mask his pain.

Chrysalis flew up to him, now face to face, placing her hoof on his shoulder and gently turned him to look at the broken pieces of bottles that sparkled like precious jewels in the sunlight.

"Just because something's broken… doesn't mean it should be thrown away."

Capper let her words sink in. She sounded so sure of that. She saw something beautiful in those broken bottles, and to think he was about to throw them out. If he had, he never would have been able to see his home one last time.

He looked at the changeling, who seemed to sparkle as brightly and as colorful as the lights themselves.

"Now I know you ain't never been evil." Capper said with a genuinely kind smile. She had mentioned that she was once an evil queen who ruled her citizens with an iron hoof, but he just found it so hard to believe. How can someone so kind, creative and beautiful ever be evil?

"Well, I had some pretty amazing friends to teach me." Chrysalis lowered down next to Nori, wrapping her hoof around her. "They helped me see that I could be more than my past. I guess, that's why I love art so much. It's about recreation and finding beauty in anything, even if others don't see it themselves."

Capper's eyes shimmered. "Yeah… I totally agree."

Nori had to suck in her lips to keep herself from giggling like mad. Chrysalis had slowly removed her hoof from Nori's shoulder, turning away shyly. Her cheeks flustered, which matched the red on Capper's furry cheeks. The merpony was already shipping these two so hard.

Hozu watched the scene unfold. All suspicion he had about Capper had completely disappeared. Maybe he was wrong about him, and maybe… he was wrong about these Guardians.

"Guys! We found it!" Akari was flapping her wings so hard she did a double air flip inside the house. Chrysalis and Capper were startled by the sudden change in mood but quickly brushed their thoughts away to pay attention to Akari and Iris who placed an old map on the kitchen table. Everyone swarmed around them.

"It's really old and the words are a bit hard to read, but this is it! A genuine map towards the Hippogriffs!" Iris traced her fingers over the image, which depicted a tall mountain top, designed to resemble two closing wings, and two creatures were drawn on top, facing one another. They looked like pegasus ponies in anatomy, but had claws on their front hooves and feathers that resembled manes and tails. Their faces were horse-like, but their mussels were beak-shaped.

Capper's irises shrunk and his paws started to fidget. "Oh! Well, that's… great! Now, I guess the trouble now would be figuring out where they live, right?"

"Says here they're on the top of Mount Aris." Akari said, eyeing Capper rather suspiciously all of a sudden.

"You mean the mountain I saw through the telescope a few minutes ago?" Hiro pointed his thumb towards said telescope.

Akari speed towards it and looked through, spotting a tall mountain just off the coast to where they were. From normal view, it merged with the rest of the mountains far up ahead, but with the telescope she could almost partly make out the wing-like shape.

"It's there! If we leave now, we just might make it by morning!"

The rest of the guardians cheered victoriously. Chi did a couple flips in mid air and Mai and Hiro high fived each other. "We're home free, baby!" Gallant Steed cheered, raising his hoof into the air. Nori hugged Chrysalis, giggling with glee, but the changeling only shot a regretful look at Capper.

They were just starting to get to know each other and now they had to say goodbye. But, while Chrysalis looked disappointed, Capper looked downright terrified.

The cat let out a surprised cat growl when Iris gave him a surprised hug. No one had ever hugged him before. "Thank you, Capper. You have no idea how much this means to us."

Hozu looked dumbfounded. "Yeah… totally." It would appear he really was wrong about him. Hozu wasn't sure if to feel relieved or ashamed.

Iris then proceeded to affectionately scratch Capper's head as it he were an actual cat. He didn't shake the gesture away.

No one had ever hugged him before. No one had ever offered to fix his cloths and ask for nothing at all. No one had ever shared his secret interest in art before, or managed to recreate something from his childhood. Something he would have eventually forgotten all together had it not been for Chrysalis.

Chrysalis… what would she think of him once she found out? No, he couldn't do this to them. He looked at the clock on his wall. Time was running out, he had to work fast.

"Wait!" Capper exclaimed, his hairs standing on end as he blocked their path by pressing his back against the door. "You can't—you can't make it by y'allselves! You need an airship! And lucky for you, I can get you a ride. Let's go there right now! Fast. Like, yesterday, fast!" he said, looking more anxious than he did before.

Iris gently pushed him aside. "Thanks, but I think we can manage." She opened the door and stepped back in alarm to see a hideous looking naked mole rat in a ragged suit and top hat standing in front of them. He wore a pair of goggles and smiled at them with his hideously yellow teeth.

"Here's Verko!" The mole rat laughed as he made his way inside. "These kids better shoot rainbow lasers out their eyes if they're gonna settle your debt, Capper!" he pointed a claw at the cat and then gestured to a cage on wheels, being pulled by strange four-legged creatures behind him. "Brought the big cage. Let's load 'em up!"

The guardians and Hozu gasped at the revelation. Chrysalis's ears were pressed hard against her head as she stared at Capper with rage fueled eyes. "You were... You were going to sell us?"

Capper was at a loss for words. He didn't think it were possible but, seeing the furry and hurt in Chrysalis's eyes made him feel worse than anything he had ever done. He had committed plenty of crimes in the past and gotten out of them with ease using only his charms and wit.

But this?… Seeing the few people who had ever genuinely been nice to him just because they liked him now resent him for the lying con-artist he was… he couldn't be in anymore pain if he had clawed his own tail off.

"I knew it!" Hozu exclaimed, no longer feeling guilty for his earlier suspicion. "I knew there was something off about you! See, didn't I tell you guys?"

Mai rolled her eyes. "What do you want? A medal?"

"Hey, don't make this difficult or--" Verco was cut short when Mai, effortlessly stopped him from coming any closer by grabbing him by the snout.

"Alright, listen Stinko--"

"Verco!"

"Don't care. No one is going anywhere with you. So, if you want to keep this freakish excuse for a nose, you'll let us leave quietly."

The sound of faint sparking was heard outside, followed by the clopping of metallic hooves and a sinister chuckle. A familiar figure stepped into view, accompanied by the Storm King's troops and a short hedgehog. None of them could compare to the frighteningly wicked smile of the hon-horned unicorn.

"Silly little guardians."

"Tempest!" Akari exclaimed in terror. Normally she would be the first to be ready to attack an enemy, but this unicorn had managed to single handedly encase her family in stone and in anti-magical cages. Not to mention, even with her broken horn, Tempest was not a pony to be trifled with.

Tempest chuckled and shook her head in disapproval as she stepped into the place, sending a chilling glare at Capper's direction. "Trusting strangers? Big mistake. Big…"

"Huge!" Grubber added.

In seeing Tempest, Mai had released Verko's nose and stepped back, with Hiro protectively holding her arm. Verko dismissed the kids and focused his attention on the new pony. "Hoo-hoo! My goodness! Well, look at you!"

The mole rat grabbed Tempest by the face, squishing her cheeks around, all the while she glared at him, unamused and annoyed.

"With your scary broken horn and scowly eyes. What tricks do you know, my little pony-wony?"

So, it was tricks he wanted to see, was it? Well, since he asked so nicely.

Tempest stared menacingly as her horn charged up. The powerful electrical attack left Verko all black, his cloths burned and he coughed smoke from his lungs.

"Not bad…" he said weakly before passing out.

Seeing their chance, The Guardians, and even Hozu, all escaped through the window, climbing onto the windmill.

"Go! Go!" Iris shouted, tucking the map into her pocket and flew out. Tempest's horn sparkled once more in anger.

"Get them now!"

At her order, the storm creatures ran towards the window to try and capture the kids.

"You atta be scared now!" Grubber said, trying to sound intimidating.

(~)

Using their shapeshifting powers, Chi and Chrysalis turned into a pair of dragon birds, each with plumage that matched their respected colors. Chrysalis's were pale blue and yellow with green feathers and a yellow beak while Chi was all shades of blue and white. Akari, Iris and Gallant rode on Chi, while Mai, Hiro and Hozu rode on Chrysalis. Flapping their wings, the two flew as quickly as they could towards Mount Aris, towards the Queen of the Hippogriffs.

The storm creatures jumped out of the window and climbed towards the roof to see the kids flying off. Tempest ran out, her jaw clenching so hard her teeth almost shattered. The magical energy from her horn intensified. With precise timing, Tempest unleashed a powerful electrical blast at the guardians. The blast was faster than any of them had expected and Chrysalis took a hit.

The blast struck her feathered wing and she fell off course, hitting the side of a building. She was knocked unconscious, reverting back to her normal changeling form, while Mai, Hiro and Hozu screamed as they fell.

Just as Chi was about to swoop down and save them, something astonishing happened. Something that left even Tempest Shadow speechless.

Clouds began to form around the falling humans and changeling, almost completely out of thin air. They spiraled and grew, catching each of them before they hit the ground. Hiro held Mai, who in turn held an unconscious Chrysalis in her arms like an infant child. The only one who wasn't screaming was Hozu… who's irises were glowing an icy stormily blue color, along with the markings on his arms.

He stood up straight in mid air, the cloud rising them all up towards the blue dragon bird. Mai and Hiro were caught by Iris and Akari, while Hozu, panting from exhaustion, managed to grab onto Chi's tail. More lightning blasts came blasting out, but it wasn't from Tempest.

It was from the cloud that Hozu had created. It turned from a fluffy white to a stormy gray and expanded, covering only one area of the city, but the electrical strikes kept on coming. It had taken on a will of its own and went out of control.

Chi flew out of the way as quickly as she could, but one of the lightning strikes knocked her off course. Her body reverted back to her humanoid form and the kids landed on a jagged, elevated walkway, which started to collapse beneath their feet and hooves due to the lightning strike.

They should have been asking Hozu how in the world did he create a storm cloud or why his eyes were glowing and how the heck did the cloud suddenly go out of control, but their attention was focused more on getting away from the falling planks.

"Over there!" Chi called out, leading the others towards a window on the side of a building. The kids leaped right into it just as the last bit of the walkway fell apart. They ran inside and out the opening, where several other walkways jutted out to the side of a building and a massive airship was ported. It had the same shape as those of the Storm King, but this one had a bird-like figure at the front.

"There! To the docks!" Akari shouted, galloping ahead. The kids made a sharp turn at a corner and ran up the stairs that lead to the port. The airship was just about to leave. Using bits of her speed, Chi changed into her wolf form and grabbed the rope with her mouth. Mai quickly grabbed the end with her right hand, while still holding the unconscious Chrysalis in her left arm. Cementing her feet to the ground and using her super strength, Mai held the airship in place.

"Grab on!"

At Mai's instructions, Hiro, Hozu, Nori and Gallant each held onto the rope. With a nod, Mai loosened her grip and Chi flew up, while still in her wolf form, with each of the kids holding onto the rope, their feet dangling in mid air as Chi held the end securely and hoisted them onto the airship. Akari and Iris flew closely behind.

Hozu's eyes widened in fear when he saw sparks of electricity emitting from his fingertips. "No, no, no!"

The current traveled through the rope and struck Hiro's hand. He yelped in pain and unintentionally let go, screaming as he fell.

"Hiro!" Iris and Akari dove down after him, catching their friend before he was crushed by the sharp rocks bellow. Chi managed to drag the others safely on board while Akari and Iris each hoisted Hiro back onto the ship. They dropped him and the two landed, breathing heavily.

Hiro popped up excitedly and thrusted his fist into the air, exclaiming withe excitement, "Best... escape... plan... ever!"

"WHAT?!?!"

Before either Iris or Akari could protest, they were pulled by Chi, now back in her humanoid form, and hid behind a wall of cargo. Wooden crates that bore the Storm King's emblem were stacked on top of one another. The humans had hunched down and their pony companions stood low beside them. The crates hid them well enough, but they weren't alone.

Mai placed her fingers close to her mouth, shushing the two princesses as a couple more voices were heard.

"Did you hear something?" A masculine voice said, followed by another which sounded like a parrot squawking. "Eh, probably just the rats. If we find em… we'll eat em."

"Rats." Nori whispered, thought more as a form of saying 'drat!' rather than relating to the actual animal. Rats didn't bother her as much as they did Rarity, it was those mysterious creatures with the beaks that worried her most.

Once they were sure they were gone, The kids took this moment to breath deeply. Chrysalis stirred in Mai's arms, her eyes fluttering open. Mai told Chrysalis to keep her voice down. The changeling noticed her surroundings, her head already swarming with questions.

Hiro was rubbing his arms, still feeling the sting from that electrical shock. Iris inspected his hands, making sure no damage was done. They then turned their attention to Hozu, who sat curled up into a corner, hugging his legs tightly. Small sparks of energy still came from his fingers. Iris scooted closer and grabbed his wrists. He tried to fight her hold.

"Hozu, look at me. Look at me!" She demanded. Hozu's eyes were partly covered by his white bangs, his caramel eyes having turned an icy blue. They didn't look human, and that same fear she noticed back when those creatures were bidding on them had returned with fighting force.

Iris did the unexpected and gently removed his bangs from his eyes. "Breath. It's okay. We're okay. In and out. In and out." she said in a soothing voice.

Hozu, desperate to get the sparks to stop, did as she instructed. He breathed in and out, his heart rate catching up. The sparks slowly stopped and his eyes reverted back to normal. He the turned away, ashamed to even look at her.

Back at Klugetown, the storm clouds that stuck in only one location finally disappeared. It wasn't large enough to be considered a storm, it was just one angry cloud like what a pegasus pony could do. Only, the lightning was completely unstable.

(~)

Comments

[Zipp Storm]

Love it

[KnightGomora1994]

I like it! I'm sensing a strong connection with Capper and Chrysalis, well maybe.