Freedom Through Harmony

by Electricut

Chapter Twenty-eight

Chapter Twenty Eight
Manehattan; Apartment Building Floor Four
Rainbow Dash

I skidded to a halt, facing the window of Fluttershy’s guest room once again. I did it. I found her. I saved her. Applejack was safe, and I would be able to bring her home soon.

But first, I had to finish off that idiot cloak guy who had threatened my old friend, my new friend, and my brother. He had a lot to answer for, and I was too pumped now to let him get away. Spinning the katana before me and setting it to rest over my shoulder, once again surprising myself with the speed it was putting out, I ran forward and dove headfirst out the window. I spread my wings quickly and began hovering, looking up to see where he was.

He and Creiddylad shot past me, grappling viciously as they plummeted to the ground. I followed at once, and landed next to Fluttershy’s sister as she caught herself and landed, facing off against the enemy, who had landed across the street. I swung my sword in what would have been fairly unimpressive arcs normally, but now were lightning fast and trailing rainbow light as it passed.

I had to be honest with myself- I had no idea what had just happened any more than anyone else. As soon as my sword connected with that first shadow, I was suddenly moving faster than I thought possible, and my strikes were instant-kill shots to the weak enemies. Then I saw the fight on the other rooftop, and Vi told me that he could handle what was left of them (their spawning had slowed down to a trickle, probably because their summoner was now preoccupied) and told me to go help them. I made it just in time to catch Applejack as she fell, and we flew through the window of Fluttershy’s place, which was luckily wide open.

Now there was nothing stopping me from tearing into him for what he had done, or tried to do. I charged him without a word, and all the speed he had at his disposal would do him no good. I batted away his weapon effortlessly, and delivered strike after strike to him, tearing his cloak to pieces. He began to dodge away, but Creiddylad was on him too, covering his rear and blocking his escape. I continued to haul the weapon forward, often clanging against his golden spear, but more often hitting him or missing entirely.
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Fluttershy

I raced across the hall just in time to see Rainbow Dash fly out the window, sword blazing with multicolored light. Creiddylad had told me to wait in my room, and I was fully aware of how dangerous things had become. The man who had led the thugs yesterday was back, and she was fighting him- that much was clear. The brothers were seemingly engaged as well. I had succumbed to my curiosity when I heard something crash in the other room, though.

Now only another girl was in the room, one with a small axe in hand and messy, sandy blonde hair tied in a ponytail behind her. She turned and faced me now, taking stock of what had happened. “Are... are you Dash’s friend?” I asked her.

“Yeah. Applejack.” She responded, walking over to me. “Why, you know him?”

“We met...” I answered, knowing she had been his friend for much longer. “He came looking for you, and... he ended up saving me. My sister and I let him and his brother stay here last night.”

“He... He came all the way here for me...?” She mumbled to herself. “He was worried about me, too...” She moved over to the window and looked around, eventually looking straight down. “I need to get down there, quick. I’m not about to leave him hanging now.” She separated from the window and ran out of the room, knowing the way already. I followed as quickly as I could.

“I’m going too. I... I don’t know what I’ll be able to do, but...”

“You’re his friend too. An’ any friend of Dash’s is a friend of mine. I don’t mind you coming, but if you can’t fight, try to stay out of the way. This guy ain’t playing around.”

I nodded gratefully, following her out the door and to the stairway.
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Rainbow Dash

The figure jumped clear over our heads and landed on the street behind us, panting, swearing. His cloak was ruined, and his simple clothing underneath was now visible. Curiously, his whole body appeared to be covered in feathers, confirmed when he dropped his hood. He had long, dark eyebrows and a small set of spectacles, resting on a beak where his nose would have been. This, coupled with his stance and accent, made it clear he was some kind of owl-human. His dark eyes were alight with anger.

“Enough of this!” He exclaimed, casting his spear to his side. “I refuse to be bested by a bunch of children! The Order will destroy ya-hoo all!” He threw out his other hand, and what could only be described as a vortex of darkness formed at his fingertips, quickly growing to be large enough for him to walk through. He grinned as he stepped towards it...

And stopped short just as he approached, the portal disappearing quickly. Behind him stood Ultraviolet, feathers and jacket settling, broadsword buried in the owl-man’s back. He coughed once, then fell to the ground as my brother’s sword was removed from him. It was a sickening sight, to be sure, but with all my willpower, I couldn’t help but feel a tiny sense of satisfaction to see this maniac brought down. Creiddylad walked over to him, and I followed slowly in her wake, my mystery attack having finally worn off.

He laughed weakly, unable to get himself off the ground. It was clear he was finished. “Well done, children. The great Lucius, one of the most powerful members of The Order, has been slain by a group of four unknown street fighters. You must be... so proud of yourselves.”

“We don’t need your pity, scum.” Vi said venomously. “But now that you’re done for anyway, perhaps you’d be willing to answer my original questions?”

“Heh. Such a naive thought. I owe you nothing. However... I am, at heart, somewhat honorable. Perhaps my actions aren’t the best-guided to your eyes, but I’ve been bested. I’ve nothing left to lose, so perhaps I can do one last thing to make Number One’s life interesting... Fine. Ask away, mighty hero.”

My brother scowled slightly, fed up with this guy, but still in need of answers. “Who is this Order you speak of, and why did you want to capture Fluttershy?”

“Dash too.” Creiddylad added. “He was getting ready to change targets when I got to him. And you said Number One- how many are there, then?”

“The Order... are quite simply the followers of the Goddess, she who created Equestria and watches over it yet... We make up the core of the organization, the most highly trained of the group... There are others, but The Order refers only to the core group of experts who serve her most closely. I am Number Five, if your were curious. But don’t worry-” He said as Vi was about to interject. “I’m not... not the highest standing among them, personal opinion-wise. Someone’ll take my place before too long. No-one’s going to try and avenge my death. You lucked out and picked a fight with the unpopular guy of the group. Now if you’d gone for Two or Three, or pretty much any of the younger ones, you’d be right screwed.”

“And the kids? Why’d you want them?” Creiddylad said, slightly rushed. She could see Lucius’s time on this earth was running short.

“We’ve had a few gaps in membership lately... Number Four went AWOL some years ago, and we still haven’t managed to tracked him down. He took the young Thirteen with him as well... We only left his number open for simplicity’s sake, until we found another who would take it. I heard about the girl’s situation- of how the late Heron Princess imparted her power to her in death, turning her into quite the useful individual. I planned on bringing her back, to take the place of Thirteen, and the rainbow kid struck me as a gifted enough fighter to make a good Fourteen.”

“You say ‘I’... this mission was of your own volition, then, not an order from your superior?” Ultraviolet asked.

“For the most part, Two, Three, Six and I can do whatever we want, so long as it’s not harmful to The Order... Number One doesn’t do much, just remains at base. Sometimes he has a group mission to give, or sometime’s he’ll organize training exercises, but no, he didn’t know about this at all. I’m the only one who knew what was happening here... So no-one else will be after you or the children. All they see is a lack of me, and... I doubt that will be a problem for many.”

I stood at the edge of the small group, listening to the conversation but never saying anything myself. Ultraviolet asked all the questions I had already, and I trusted him to do so anyway. I wasn’t sure if Lucius was trying to garner sympathy with his sob story of having no friends, but he wasn’t getting any from us. After he had finished answering another question, I handed Vi back the katana, and he sheathed it swiftly. I stepped back, but as I turned, I saw two other people on the other side of the street, and one began running towards me.

My heart skipped a beat. In the heat of battle, I had actually only barely registered that I had located Applejack, too caught up in the rage of battle to focus on anything but Lucius. Now that things had calmed down, however, I realized the full implications of that. I had finally found her again. I thought for a moment I would never see her again, but now I had the chance I wanted. I could bring her home and hang out with her like always.

I turned, just enough, and just in time to have the breath chased out of my lungs as she half-tackled, half bear hugged me. I staggered back, regaining my balance, and after a moment put my arms around her as well. I was likely blushing profusely by this point, as I doubted whether I had ever really hugged anyone back before, but it just felt to me like it was what I should do in the situation. We both just stood like that for a while, both half laughing, half crying. Vi would later tell me that this moment was a very close second for cutest thing he’d ever seen.

A ragged cough from back over near the others brought us back to reality, and we turned (still in each other’s arms, mind you) to face the dying owl-man. Creiddylad still looked down upon him, but Vi had turned his back, finished dealing with him.

“One last thing.” Fluttershy’s sister prompted. “The Goddess... you say you serve her. Are you a group who believes in her and follows her guidelines, or-”

“No.” He said, barely audible. “We’re no religion, no cult. We follow her in a more literal sense. While only Discord may do so now, I can say that at one point, I gazed upon her face in person... Our Goddess walks this earth yet.” With that, his head dropped to the cobble below him, lifeless. We all watched with curiosity as his body seemed to evaporate into black smoke, leaving nothing but his spear behind. Frowning, Creiddylad lifted the weapon, and planted it in the grass nearby.

Applejack sniffed next to me, and in a small voice said: “Vi?” He turned to her, a sympathetic smile on his face. “... I wanna go home.”