Harmonic Fellowship

by Sun Sage

16: Unexpected Allies

She watched the group before her stoically. The ‘human’ would collapse shortly; his left arm was pulverized and oozing blood, his ribs were cracked, and those were only the most obvious injuries. It was surprising that his life wasn’t at risk, but his presence in the Field remained strong. In fact, in this odd little contained world where they sat while moving rapidly away from Canterlot, he seemed almost untouchable even while struggling to remain on his feet.

It was the same for the Oni ‘traitor’, despite the hole gouged in his torso. If anything he seemed oblivious to it as he tended with unexpected gentleness to the fallen Twilight Sparkle. She grimaced. Her grudge against the young alicorn had never been much, and as she looked down at the shaking, writhing form of the young princess she realized it had faded entirely. They came here to save… well, not me exactly, but they risked themselves just the same. Idiots… and yet…

“Chrysalis. ...I have a number of questions.”

She looked down at the white (off-white? ...pony colors) unicorn, attempting to be haughty. It didn’t work. The eyes that looked back at her were nothing like those of the seamstress she’d humored back during The Wedding. She had the distinct feeling that she needed to answer, or else Rarity would attack… and quite possibly win.

“Very well then, little pony. Ask away. Queen Chrysalis will answer you.”

“Where is Raven Inkwell?”

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow. “Of course that would be your first question. Haven’t played hero enough today? Well, you can set your mind at ease. ‘Raven Inkwell’ is an earth pony living in Ponyville, an assistant to the mayor. The ‘Raven Inkwell’ of Canterlot is a changeling infiltrator, and always has been.”

“Impossible… she was at the wedding where you-”

“I didn’t say it was always me, little pony. In fact said infiltrator betrayed me before the invasion took place. Like many changelings who didn’t side with me, she wasn’t ejected from Canterlot at the conclusion of that little debacle. Your precious ‘princess of love,” Chrysalis rolled her eyes, “didn’t banish ‘changelings’ so much as ‘enemies’.”

“...Really? Then why didn’t she warn Princess Celestia about you?”

“Because she didn’t know. She’d already abandoned me before I put that plan together. And before you ask, she’s fine. She’s with that splinter cell that your friends helped while you were...” she looked meaningfully at the human, grinning lasciviously as she returned her gaze to Rarity, “elsewhere.”

It was Rarity’s turn to roll her eyes. “I’m not some lovestruck filly you can embarrass with leading tones and looks, Chrysalis.”

“Queen-”

“Of what?” Rarity asked derisively.

Chrysalis’ eyes narrowed as her wings twitched in irritation. But this wasn’t bravado. Rarity was completely unintimidated. She sighed. How times had changed. “I suppose, thanks to that unicorn… and… ugh… Thorax,” she spat the name with disgust, “I’ll have to accept your disrespect, for the moment. In any event, I changed places with the previous ‘Raven’ about six months ago.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Shortly after you lost your own hive, then?”

“...Correct.”

*Six Months Prior*

Raven Inkwell was having a difficult day. As much as she hated to admit it, there was such a thing as too much love. Or anyway, there was love that was simply too saccharine to subsist on. She’d had plenty to eat before this issue had come about: Celestia’s love for her little ponies was genuine, and if that weren’t enough she got the odd snack here and there from various officers and lesser dignitaries. Nothing too untoward of course, just adults enjoying little diversions. ...Until recently.

Fortunately, she wasn’t someling to underestimate. An infiltrator that had long gone rogue, she had no intention of letting an overly infatuated royal guard put her position at risk. And avoiding him was a simple matter for the present, his coltish infatuation was palpable from far enough away that she had managed to go without even seeing him while alone in days.

So imagine her surprise when he pulled her into an empty room on her way to her own. She reversed the capture hold, pivoted on one hind hoof while sweeping his legs with her other. It was a level of flexibility and physical skill that he likely didn’t expect from the unicorn who was, as far as he knew, a glorified secretary.

Or so she thought, until she saw ‘him’ grinning up at her, and not in a ‘that was hot’ kind of way. ...Maybe a little like that.

“Good to see your skills haven’t atrophied, Spymaster Diaphonie.”

Raven blinked. “...Your Majesty? That would explain why I didn’t feel any emotion from you.”

Chrysalis chuckled, assuming her own form in a burst of blue-green fire. Raven didn’t follow suit, but her horn lit, and the room was suffused in a gentle light. “I’m hurt, Diaphonie; I’ve always felt a fondness for you. Why else would I have allowed you to leave the hive?” She gestured vaguely to the now glowing walls. “I assume that means we can speak freely.”

“It means I’m respecting your insanity enough to hear you out, because I believe it will be amusing.”

“Hmph. And see? From anyling else I wouldn’t accept such disrespect. ...You broke my heart, Diaphonie. Had you been there…”

“You would have had me take Celestia’s or Luna’s place when you captured them, and the hive would be just as blown up as it is now. Overconfidence was ever your biggest weakness, Your Majesty.”

“Your independent nature was yours. What have you accomplished here?”

Raven shrugged dismissively. “A comfortable, rich life where I’m free to do as I please, serving a ruler who respects my abilities and cares about my wants and needs.”

“...I let you leave, didn’t I?”

“You did, and now you’re trying to say it was the wrong choice.”

“It’s not as though you agree with that overgrown dragonfly!”

“...Thorax?” Raven asked, raising an eyebrow. “No, I don’t. He’s a weak minded child who should have been born a pony. He got the right support at the right times and if that continues he might make a passable ruler. But a changeling giving away love? Ridiculous. I keep what I earn. Giving it away lessens its meaning.”

Chrysalis snorted. “Exactly. They’ll all go soft living that way. They might as well be ponies!”

Raven chuckled, looking down at her own fur covered forelegs. “They are rather soft, aren’t they?”

“Yes, you agree! So-”

“It’s not so bad, really.”

Chrysalis blinked, and clacked her mouth shut.

Raven smiled gently. “Your Majesty… they’ve beaten you, twice. Shown the hive a way to live that doesn’t involve hurting others. They have a society dedicated to pursuing dreams, making life better for everyone, pony or not. They even managed to accept us, and not just Thorax’s shiny, happy little group.”

Chrysalis’ head tilted to the side in confusion. “What are you saying?”

Raven grinned. “I’m saying Celestia knows what I am. I went to her, after Cadance defeated you and the hive with food-”

Chrysalis snorted in disgust.

“...A blast of love magic that flung every ill-meaning changeling all the way to the Badlands. You were beaten by love. ...Was the irony really completely lost on you? Or the fact that I wasn’t expelled?”

“...Shut up.”

“I’ll take that as a yes. Anyway I went to her and confessed my situation. I assured her, truthfully, that I had taken the place of nopony and merely wanted to live out my life as ‘Raven’, twin sister of the Ponyville Raven.

“With the same name even,” Chrysalis muttered derisively.

“What can I say? My mother wasn’t very creative.”

“Oh bite me.”

Raven chuckled. “I demonstrated my trustworthiness with logic and reason, and after a long talk she accepted me as I am. Though of course few in the castle know. They aren’t ready to know something like that. But what I’ve learned from her…”

Chrysalis sighed and sat down dramatically, under the pretense of settling in for a long story. But Raven stopped and stared at her instead.

“...I have an idea, Your Majesty. Tell me what you think of it.”

“I wait with bated breath,” Chrysalis replied dryly.

“You’ll take my place.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “...So... I can get close to Celestia… and eventually replace her?”

“No, don’t be silly. You’d never pull it off; Luna would catch you within a day, at most. I want you to learn from her, as I have.”

“...So… I can… eventually replace her?”

“Ugh… no, dammit!”

Chrysalis sighed and rolled her eyes. “Diaphonie, if you’re trying to ‘reform’ me to their standards of morality through some misguided-”

“Your Majesty, I don’t care if you ‘reform’ or not; that’s your choice. But you should. There’s nothing left for you on the path you’re on. Your children have grown up, one way or another. I’ve even been contacted by the ones who didn’t join Thorax, for advice about living quietly among ponies. I’d like to spend some time with them, helping them out so they don’t go back to the old ways. There’s no need for that.”

“The old ways were fine!” Chrysalis countered, stomping a hoof. “We are the superior species!”

“So prove it by adapting! That’s what superior species do, Your Majesty! If you can, that is. Because consider... the ponies are a so-called ‘prey species’ that have a greater control over their world than griffons, dragons, minotaurs, or us. Especially us. What’s there to feel superior about, again?”

“They got help! The Seraphim-”

“That’s what they do! They extend a hoof in friendship to any who would take it. And they give as much as they get. Your problem is you’re only happy if you’re taking.”

“Because that’s what we do!”

“No! And Thorax and his bunch proved it even more than I have. There was a time when we had to… and that time has passed. This isn’t about changelings anymore, Your Majesty; it’s about you. You refuse to accept what’s clear as day in front of you, in front of us all. ...Learn from her, Your Majesty. ...And if you still insist on making enemies of them, of pursuing a war of subjugation-”

“You’ll join me?” Chrysalis asked, a touch of hope coloring her words.

Raven snorted softly. “No. But I won’t stand in your way.”

“...I suppose that will have to do, then. ...Because I won’t change my mind so easily.”

Raven smiled. “We’ll see, Your Majesty. Changing is what we do, after all.”

*Present*

Shadows were everywhere. The only light in the darkness was from her own horn. She was alone, with only the shadows looming all around. The pressed in, stifling, strangling. She couldn’t breath. She couldn’t fight it. She was nothing alone… she always had been.

“But you’re wrong,” the tallest shadow replied with barely restrained glee. “Look what you’ve done on your own. You could be so much more. You need only let go. You need-”

No.

“Let go of your fears. You only fear loss, but you’ve already lost them. Loyalty turned on you, struck you. Laughter cried because of you, giving you up for dead in an instant. Generosity has turned her eyes to the hero of another world. You’ve already-”

No! That doesn’t mean-

“It will. But you can take them back. You know how. You know the spells you need. You know how to take it all for yourself. Their trust is so weak, but you can force them to stay by your side. Forever.”

...No.

“And you can kill the invaders, all of them. You already know how. You simply need more power. And it’s right here. Reach out, and-”

No...

“No.”

Twilight gasped as another light shone out, scattering the shadows; another voice echoed her denial. You?! You can’t be here! How?!

The shadows clawed at the new light, to no effect. They hissed and snapped but couldn’t approach. “Heh, beats me. I’ll give you one guess, but I won’t even pretend it’ll explain anything.”

...Pinkie.

The other light laughed. “Knew you’d get it. Same as you got this. Even without me showing up, you knew the answer.”

I… don’t know. I was weakening, I couldn’t see…

“Eh, come on, Twilight. Who hasn’t screwed up a little and given in to her inner demon at least once?”

Twilight laughed, tears streaming down her face as she hugged the other light almost desperately. It’s good to see you.

Light suffused her vision, resolving at first into the light of the morning sky, and then her own raspberry aura surrounding a clear crystal that oozed shadowy aura like old oil. Twilight ground her teeth as her aura shattered the blood soaked crystal she’d pulled from her own skull, and then proceeded to crush the fragments into powder. She sobbed in pain and anger as she continued rendering the crystal down into its constituent molecules. She let out a shuddering breath as a familiar scent and feel surrounded her.

“I’m sorry,” Pinkie said, hugging her tightly.

It wasn’t possible. They were in Aiden’s pocket verse. She’d been nowhere near them. She couldn’t have known. ...She was Pinkie Pie. Twilight returned the hug. “Why are you sorry?! And how are you even here?!”

Pinkie nuzzled into her mane. “I shouldn’t have freaked out like that; it made Rainbow feel even worse before she left. She was really shaken up. It felt like you died! ...I knew you didn’t, but I couldn’t make myself-”

“Shh… it’s alright, Pinkie. Everything’s okay now. ...Well, not everything, but… oh, heh… oops.” Her horn lit, and the statue of Rainbow Dash became flesh, fur, and feather once more. “Sorry, Rainbow.”

The pegasus coughed. “It’s fine… pretty sure I had that coming.” She looked over at the two of them. “...Can I get in on that?”

Twilight snorted lightly and gestured her over with a wing. “Like you need to ask.”

Rainbow joined the hug. “I’m really sorry I hit you. It was dumb.”

“It’s okay. It… actually healed a lot faster than I anticipated, because I’ve been channeling so much magic. Alicorn thing, I think, and I’m still getting used to that. Besides… you looked hot.”

Rainbow jumped away, fluttering for a moment before her wings failed her and she dropped stiffly to the ground. “What?!”

Twilight grinned at her as Rainbow’s face went red. “Mhmmm,” she purred. “All righteous anger and ‘how dare you hurt yourself for us!’ and that perfect pose against the night sky? ...Daring Do and the Lost Chakram, one hundred percent.”

Rainbow’s eyes went wide. “Ohmygosh, page 317?! I looked like that?!”

“Mhmm,” Twilight replied, still grinning. “I couldn’t have moved if I’d wanted to. Had to take it all in.”

“...Awesome,” Rainbow squeaked, her face still glowing.

Twilight giggled and pulled her in with magic, wrapping a wing around her and holding her and Pinkie close. No matter what some silly shadows said… she wouldn’t lose her friends.

“Oh, err… you don’t have to keep that promise,” Rainbow muttered bashfully.

“Which promise do you mean?”

“Uh… the one about not using Clover’s spell,” Rainbow looked away, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof. “Yeeaaah… I was… it wasn’t fair of me to say that then. It’d be like you telling me not to fly my hardest ‘cause I might get hurt or something. We can’t hold back with these guys. ...And besides, if you turn all evil from using dark magic…”

“We’ll bring you back!” Pinkie chimed in.

“Exactly!” Rainbow agreed.

Twilight smiled, sniffing as her eyes welled up. My friends. She blinked. “Wait. The voice I heard while I was out of it. Where-?”

“She’ll be along,” Pinkie said. “But I didn’t have time to stop and wait. I’m just glad she could reach you at all.”

Twilight smiled. “Yeah… it was really great to hear from her.”

Behind her, Garken chuckled as he stood up. “Looks like you lot will be fine. Good to know. I had wondered how a race such as yours could put up any sort of resistance against my distant ancestors. I have at least the beginnings of an answer.”

“Oh stop, you’re making me blush here,” Rainbow replied with sarcasm to the lukewarm praise.

He snorted. “Your princess there already handled that, little bird. Though, if you truly want to serve as her beloved knight, I suggest you see me later. With your speed and reaction time, we can refine your fighting skill into something genuinely useful.”

Rainbow’s eyes had gone wide. “‘B-beloved’? You’ve got it all wrong!”

“Of course I do,” Garken agreed placidly. “Windborne! I’m going to take a look around this verse of yours. I’ll link my aether to the area so I’ll keep moving with you.”

“Didn’t know… that was a thing…” Aiden muttered between short breaths.

Twilight craned her neck and winced at the human’s appearance. While his life wasn’t at risk, his magic had weakened considerably and his arm was only the worst of a slew of injuries that wouldn’t heal properly while he was pushing himself to get them away from Kirin. She could feel how far they’d already come, but… “Rarity! Can you take over for Aiden? He needs rest and a magic recharge. I can help him if you keep us moving; we’re still too close to Kirin to stop.

“I… can,” Rarity hedged, breaking away from her conversation with Chrysalis. “Though I won’t be nearly this fast,” she added.

“It’s alright; just keep us moving towards Ponyville.” Twilight disentangled herself from Rainbow and Pinkie and went over to Aiden, who seemed oblivious to the conversation. “Aiden, let Rarity take over. Sit down next to me.”

“Next to smart purple pony,” Aiden muttered, sitting down heavily as though we were a puppet with his strings cut. Twilight felt the slight shift in aether control as Rarity began shifting them, muttering to herself as she did so, something like ‘harder than it looks’. Their relative speed was less than half what it’d been, but that was still more than enough. They’d be in Ponyville in minutes.

Twilight lit her horn, gently channeling aether around the human, letting Aiden absorb the greater concentration as easily as breathing… though unfortunately he wasn’t doing that as easily as she’d have liked. But she was no doctor, and for now this was all she could do. She took heart that he seemed to be less strained at least.

“So,” a familiar, undesired voice asked leadingly, “Nothing to say to me, Princess Sparkle?”

Twilight sniffed. “A whole lot of things to say, Queen Chrysalis. But right now, only ‘thank you’. I could hear what was being said out here, even if I couldn’t react while that thing was in my head. I can’t speak for whatever is between you and Celestia, but I’m glad we could get you out of there. For that matter, without your help, we wouldn’t have escaped.”

“Hmph. Surprisingly magnanimous of you, though it’s a bit boring.”

“Heh, sorry. Bigger things to worry about than old grudges. I don’t know what you know from 1500 years ago, but fighting amongst ourselves is a sure way to repeat history.”

“We won, didn’t we?”

“...Chrysalis. Do you know why Celestia has to control the sun?”

The changeling blinked. “...What?”

Twilight smiled wanly. “Exactly. Oh, that reminds me. That moment? When you beat her, and I watched her fall, her horn scorched and that look of pain and failure on her face? That might have been the worst moment of my life. I’m not sure what it says about me that that was somehow worse than what you’d done to my brother, but…” She turned to look up at Chrysalis, and the strength and depth of feeling in her eyes brought a chill to the changeling queen. “If you ever hurt her again, you’ll wish we’d left you to Kirin’s tender mercies.”

Chrysalis grinned down at her. “My my, look who’s growing up. Challenge accepted, young princess.”

------------------------------------------

Spike yelped as he hit the wall, wincing as the crystal gave a bit under the force of the impact.

They’d come out of nowhere. A dozen Oni-koru, and Spike was sure that two among their number were way stronger than the rest. When they’d blown open the door into the map room he’d managed to get a look while jumping up from his seat (where he totally hadn’t fallen asleep while organizing possible plans of response to the attacks the night before), but getting away had quickly become impossible. Before he’d moved three steps he’d been hit by one of the two strong ones, and knocked into the wall… where he now sat. He looked up at the demonic looking enemy… and breathed a massive gout of green flame.

The term ‘baby dragon’ is somewhat misleading. Spike was a teenager, and nearing the end of those years. The fact that he was still quite small was deceptive. His draconic magic, his strength, and his resilience were all not to be dismissed. And that wasn’t even touching on his breath. As the shadow creatures that served the Storm King had realized, it was quite dangerous, and that was when Spike wasn’t focusing.

Or channeling.

It might not have been the best plan, but he decided in that instant that one less strong enemy in the castle would be a good idea, given that most of their own strong fighters weren’t there to help. ...And Princess Celestia could probably handle one Oni, even a tough one.

He had the satisfaction of seeing the surprise and anger on the faces of the other ambushers before the second strong Oni was on him in a blur, throwing a sharp kick towards his head. He ducked to the side and said kick crushed the crystal wall where he’d been. The force of the impact sent him sprawling, and he used that to get distance while the other Oni maneuvered to corral him.

“Help!” He shouted, knowing full well he wasn’t taking them all on alone, before projecting another gout of fire at the strongest one. The flames guttered and died as they impacted a shield of force that dispersed their magic.

Damn, didn’t figure that’d work more than once. Now wha-

Spike’s train of thought derailed painfully as another of the Oni struck him from behind, knocking him towards the strong one, who brought down a fist towards his head. Everything went black.

------------------------------------------

Teluma was certainly stubborn, Starlight would give her that. If this were her old village, the Oni would be just as unbroken as Twilight and her friends had been even after days in the ‘reeducation room’. Of course, that was part of the problem. Despite being the best suited to handle something like this, at least of those available in Ponyville, Starlight wasn’t too comfortable with interrogating a prisoner. Granted, Twilight hadn’t wanted anything bad done to her, even if she refused to answer at all. And granted, Starlight didn’t feel pressured to get answers out of her quickly.

...Just have to wait to Hockholm Syndrome to set in, gee, wonder why I’m feeling ill at ease here…

An explosion upstairs drew her attention away from considering her next method of questioning. “What was-”

“Help!” Her eyes went wide as she barely heard Spike’s yell. She gathered magic to teleport to him and winced as her horn burned and vibrated under the strain. She looked at Teluma, who was grinning down at her.

“They’ve come for me. And you, the strongest here, are still healing from an old wound. You will all die.”

Starlight didn’t bother responding as she ran for the door. Before she could reach it it slammed open, and she looked up with wide eyes at a massive Oni-koru warrior. He looked like a gargoyle with grey, stone-like skin and a pair of leathery wings on his back. A shark-like mouth held rows of jagged, ivory teeth. But the worst, most prominent feature was his clawed hands, one holding an unconscious Spike with the other pointing claws at the young dragon’s throat.

He looked down at her, grinning evilly. “Your life, or his. Choose, little pony.”

Comments

[keroko]

Goodness me, the oni really tossed aside all their concepts of honour on the battlefield under the more direct command of their king, haven't they?

[Sun Sage]

9297033
Unfortunately, that concept of honor is like any concept a culture holds dear and will vary by the individual. I did hint at Maegren winning, and Laurus losing, by cowardly/underhanded means during the spire sieges in the flashback Aiden recounted back in the first story. We also know that, to varying extents, some of the Oni are being influenced by corrupted aetheryte. So yeah, there are many honorable opponents left among them... but this guy definitely isn't one of them.

[Alondro]

9299561 Everybody who could have helped got... Ebola.

Yeah.

Then they got better after they died, because reasons.