Guardians of Harmony: Rise of the Knights

by Postwarmonkey50

Chapter 3: Moria

Author's Note:

Here it is, the latest chapter. Sorry it took so long. Writing and rechecking for spelling and grammer mistakes is hard work.

The journey to Moria was quite longer than expected. Avoiding the patrols was not that easy. However, thanks to their disguises, they immediately backed off.

‘Are the Elite Guard really that intimidating?’ asked Emily when she looked at Balin.

‘They are indeed,’ said Balin. ‘Lord Dainn personally mutated his Elite Guard into monsters beyond recognition. They may be your shape and size, but they are still powerful and have a much more intimidating presence.’

‘So how did you get the masks and weapons to operate like theirs?’ asked Emily.

‘Long ago, a Dragon Captain of the Guard named Conan with his brothers Sir Ulric, Captain of the Dragonic Knights and Jarvis, a powerful Dragon Wizard, were defending their borders near their House of Dragon from an invasion,’ Balin explained to her. ‘With their cunning and smarts, they were able to defeat Lord Dainn’s forces. They even discovered a way to destroy at least a legion of Lord Dainn’s Elite Guard. They stripped them of their masks and weapons and found a way for them to mask their presence. Now we use them as spies. But we dare not let them personally spy on Lord Dainn. When he created the guards, he had the ability to sense them. So if any of them would try to spy on him, he would detect it and would kill them in an instant. Which is why we only focus on his High Council. They have the most pull of his forces, but they answer directly to him.’

‘Wow,’ said Emily while she was amazed by the story. ‘No wonder all of you are more cautious.’

‘Those were desperate times,’ said Balin, remembering the days of his youth when he too had to fight for their people’s freedom.

Emily then looked at the back of the wagon and saw both Bucky and Daisy holding onto one another. She couldn’t help but smile at this. She looked at Balin and asked, ‘Did Daisy ever talk about her brother?’

‘Bits and pieces,’ said Balin. ‘She must really love him.’

‘Bucky told us about her too,’ said Emily as she looked back at the siblings. ‘To think, she was here all this time. I thought we were the only humans who arrived.’

‘We thought so too,’ said Balin. ‘We thought it was impossible at first for humans to come back ever since the great tragedy.’

Emily was confused by this, but chose to be quiet so that she wouldn’t lean on it too much.

‘Still,’ said Emily as she looked back to the others. ‘I wonder what it would’ve been like if there were more humans in Equestria. I mean don’t get me wrong, this world is great. But we can’t help but feel misplaced from time to time.’

‘But from the looks of them, they’re really happy,’ said Balin.

‘Oh we are,’ said Emily. ‘I was actually surprised to see romance blossom between them. I never imagined that Frosty could marry a fourth wall breaking pony and I would fall for a dragon.’

‘A dragon?’ said Balin as he looked at Emily. ‘As in the dragon who’s always by Princess Twilight’s side?’

‘That’s the one,’ said Emily. She couldn’t help but smile. ‘He really is a romantic dragon and a goofball. And I couldn’t help but fall in love with someone like that.’ Emily chuckled for a bit before she sighed. ‘I miss him already.’

‘When things have settled,’ said Balin. ‘You will be reunited with him soon.’

*****************************************************************************************************

One hour later, the sun had begun to set while at the same time, Balin noticed their surroundings looked different. He recognized it and said to the humans, ‘You can remove the disguise, we’re close to Moria.’

They began to remove their disguises and were back to their regular clothing. Once they were done, they took a peek as Balin said, ‘Moria straight ahead.’

They saw a large mountain, which took them by surprise when they saw the size of the place.

‘That’s Moria?’ asked Bolt.

‘It used to be one of the largest mines in all of Caribouria,’ said Daisy while she filled them in. ‘The mines used to dig and ship every bit of treasure all over Caribouria and made sure that they had riches. But then it went bust a hundred years ago when the mine ran out. It had been abandoned for some time. But about twenty years ago, the Rebellion decided to converge it into a base. All the entrances are shut tight and sealed so that no one would suspect a thing, all but one that the Rebels only know about.’

‘Huh, clever,’ said Silver as he crossed his arms and looked at it.

‘If all the entrances are all sealed,’ said Beau. ‘How are we getting in?’

‘Through that pathway,’ said Balin as he pointed at it. ‘It leads to a large lake.’

‘And let me guess, it’s guarded by a giant octopus?’ Bolt quipped. Both Balin and Daisy looked at Bolt, then to each other, then back to Bolt. Within an instant, Bolt widened his eyes in shock. ‘Whoa, I was just kidding. All of you have a giant octopus?!’

‘Let’s just get a move on,’ said Daisy as she was already annoyed by Bolt's antics. Once they stopped, they abandoned their wagon and took the Grogu beast with them. As they walked up a path to the large lake, Daisy whispered to Bucky, ‘Is Bolt always like this?’

‘That’s nothing,’ said Bucky as he whispered to Daisy. ‘You should hear his wife bragging. She may be the Element of Loyalty, but she’s one of the most hotheaded, egotistic, stubborn and not extremely bright Pegasus in Equestria.’

‘I heard that!’ shouted Bolt.

‘Well it’s true, genius!’ said Bucky. ‘Would it kill her to try and wise up a bit and not be a constant whiner!’

‘Oh, her I know,’ said Daisy as she rolled her eyes. ‘Honestly, I know she’s supposed to be loyal to her friends but she always has a hard time trusting someone and always judges them the wrong way and gives them a hard time without the benefit of the doubt. Even giving her friend a hard time despite knowing how she thinks and acts. And they call her the Element of Loyalty.’

Soon enough, they began to reach the top of the ridge, showing a large lake up ahead. But from above, they saw what appeared to be a bridge of sorts, but it was worn down and torn asunder.

‘I assume that was the main entrance?’ said Genus as he pointed at the bridge.

‘You’re right on that one,’ said Daisy. ‘The bridge had to be destroyed so that they would think this place is abandoned and that no one would look twice at finding our base.’

They walked around the lake while they watched the center of the lake bubbling and gurgling, which they realized the giant octopus was there. Soon enough, they stood near the stone mountain. And within moments, a blue light began to shine through the lines, revealing a large door.

‘Wow,’ said Frosty. ‘I can see why this is a secret entrance.’

‘Wait,’ said Emily as she looked at the top of the door. ‘There’s something written on top.’

Sure enough, words in a different language appeared, which surprised the guests when they saw it.

Balin read for them, ‘The Mines of Dorian, King of Caribouria. Speak ‘Friend’ and enter.’

‘What the heck is that supposed to mean?’ Bolt asked.

‘Oh, it’s simple. If you’re a friend, then you speak the password,’ said Balin.

But just as Balin was about to speak, he suddenly stopped, as if he had forgotten something. Daisy noticed it and slapped her forehead. ‘You forgot the password, again?!’ she groaned.

‘Can I help it when they keep changing the password?’ said Balin. ‘Not my fault they keep changing the password because they forgot the original one.’

As both Balin and Daisy continued to bicker, Beau noticed something from the door that caught his attention. The word ‘Friend’ made him realize something as he squinted his eyes after carefully watching it.

‘It’s a riddle,’ Beau muttered. But strangely, he could read the text. It resembles ancient Ponish and modern Ponish, but it also resembles the human language from long ago.

Beau slowly walked toward the door and placed his hand against it. He closed his eyes and said, ‘Mellon.’

Within a split second, the door made a cracking sound as it began to open, taking the humans by surprise. Even Balin and Emily were surprised that the door suddenly began to open, while Beau removed his hand and moved a few steps backwards.

Balin was stunned as he looked at Beau. ‘How…?’

Beau looked at them and explained, ‘Some of the texts I recognized. It resembles Equestria's language, even a few others from different kingdoms. Strangely, they resemble a dead language from our world.’

He looked at the door and said, ‘The door said ‘speak friend’, which meant that you had to speak that word in a different language. So obviously, the original people who first discovered the mine weren't just caribou, but also other creatures who once interacted with one another before all of them were divided.’

Balin was surprised by this, for he never thought it would be possible.

‘Wow,’ said Daisy as she crossed her arms with an approved nod. ‘I’m actually impressed. Glad there’s a human who likes to study.’

‘Which is why he’s married to Princess Twilight,’ said Emily, gaining Daisy and Balin’s attention as they looked at her. ‘She tends to over study too when it comes to knowledge.’

‘So, should we go in?’ asked Silver. ‘I don’t like the idea of feeling exposed out here.’

‘Don’t worry,’ said Balin. ‘Once we’re inside, we’ll be perfectly safe here.’

Balin was the first to go inside with Daisy following suit while Beau and the rest of the humans entered the mountain entrance with them. Once Emily and Frosty were the last ones to enter, the door closed behind them. Thankfully, instead of facing darkness as they entered, there were lit torches inside so they were safe.

Balin continued to walk until he signaled the group behind him to stop. And from out of nowhere, five Caribourian guards suddenly appeared. Four of them held their spears ready while the captain of the guard stopped them and said, ‘Halt! Who goes there?’

‘Stand down, Corin,’ said Daisy as she walked up to the Captain.

‘Oh, Commander,’ said the surprising captain, known as Corin, as he walked up to Daisy. ‘Thank goodness you’re safe. When we heard about Carrabin, we feared the worst.’

‘The Rebel Cell were able to evacuate in time,’ said Daisy, but lowered her head. ‘But I’m afraid Dale and his group didn’t make it.’

‘Dammit,’ said Corin as he cursed himself before he looked at Daisy. ‘Then you’d better speak to Thorin. He’ll want to hear this.’

‘Sure will,’ said Daisy. ‘We also need to introduce him to our guests.’

‘Guests?’ Corin asked. Daisy motioned to Beau and the others. Corin and the guards were shocked to see more humans. ‘Impossible.’

‘Which is why it’s important,’ said Daisy. ‘Where is Thorin now?’

‘He’s talking with Colonel Lizzie right now,’ said Corin.

‘Who?’ asked Beau.

‘He means Lizzie Silver,’ said Daisy.

Silver’s eyes widened in shock as his heart felt like it was going to stop. He felt a lump in his throat and he felt like he was going to pass out. ‘No. It…It can’t be…’ Silver muttered to himself.

‘Come,’ said Corin as he gained their attention. ‘Let us head to them now.’

The caribou captain was the first to walk ahead as the two guards followed him with the humans in tow while the last two guards followed behind. The stairs they took were going all the way up. But as they finally made it to the top of the stairs and through an opening, what they saw took the Husband 6 and Emily all by storm.

For what they saw from inside the mountain was truly much larger than what any of them had imagined. And instead of jagged rocks, every bit of it was carved. For inside the mountain was a city itself. Every bit of the city had stone stairs, houses, forges, anything that one could imagine.

‘Whoa,’ said Bucky as he looked around in awe. ‘This place is incredible.’

‘Glad you think so,’ said Balin while he decided to give them a history lesson of Moria. ‘As we continued to mine the mountain, we eventually began to build a city from within. Many chose to live here and continued to make any kind of riches one’s heart would desire. Soon enough, within five hundred years, we had created the first underground city from within the mountain, dubbing it Moria. Our lord and king Dorian oversaw the riches flowing here, making sure his people would get their fair share. Even the neighboring houses all over the kingdom. He truly made it a paradise.’

‘But after the mine ran out, everyone abandoned the city, for there was no point in staying here,’ said Daisy as she kept up the history lesson. ‘But about ten years after Lord Dainn took over, the Rebellion had been formed. They formed Cells all over the towns, villages and cities but they wouldn’t be safe, considering that Lord Dainn shows no mercy. But twenty years ago, Thorin Oakenshield discovered this place, remembering the place his father, King Dorian, told him. Soon he brought the leaders of the Rebel Cells here. They decided to use this as their own headquarters. The Cells soon abandoned the cities, towns and villages and came here. They sent their spies and small groups to help others as well as raids. But as for the civilians that lost their homes, they were lucky enough to evacuate and come here. Soon enough, they made this place their new home, doing whatever they can to grow food and provide shelter.’

‘And so far, it was working,’ said Corin. ‘But we don’t know how long it will last. We fear that one day if we’re discovered, there would be no escape and the civilians here would be in danger.’

As they continued to climb the stairs from one spot to another, the Husband 6 and Emily were amazed and marveled at the designs of the place. For they had never seen the inside of the mountain as it was the most beautiful thing they have ever seen. But Silver on the other hand, he had his head lowered, for his sister was also in this world and alive. He didn’t dare to look up, for he was still ashamed of what happened between him and his sister.

Sure, to be fair he was a child, but he was still ashamed of what he had said to her. Blaming himself for what happened to her as well. They eventually made their way to the final top of the stairs as the council room was up ahead. Beau, on the other hand, noticed Silver had been silent for some time, causing him to look at him.

‘You okay, Silver?’ Beau asked worriedly.

Silver instantly stopped, causing the others to stop as well.

‘Y-you guys can go on ahead,’ said Silver as he took a step away. ‘I’ll remain here.’

‘Dude, what’s wrong?’ asked Bolt.

Silver didn’t answer, causing him to move to a nearby spot and sat down. The others were concerned about him, but Emily on the other hand noticed. For she had a feeling he was feeling off. She had a hunch that this Lizzie person was somehow related to Silver, but she didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

‘What’s wrong with him?’ asked Balin.

‘You mentioned someone named Lizzie Silver, right?’ Emily asked.

‘Yes, why?’ Balin answered.

‘Did she happen to die when she fell down the stairs and somehow ended up here?’ Emily guessed.

Both Balin and Daisy were surprised by what she said, causing the latter to look at one another, then back to Emily, while the rest of the Husband 6 instantly figured out what she meant.

‘Wait, she’s Silver’s sister?’ Genus asked.

‘Sister?’ said Balin.

Daisy on the other hand realized something, for she could tell the resemblance between them. She looked at Silver, who still had his head lowered while he still felt ashamed of himself.

‘Uh, you guys go on ahead,’ said Daisy as she kept her gaze at Silver. ‘I’ll catch up soon.’

As she went over to Silver, the others entered the room where the council was. They were looking at what appeared to be a map of all of Caribouria, with the council and generals looking over the map. Standing by one of the caribou generals was a female human, which the husbands recognized as Silver’s sister.

‘Wait here,’ Balin told them as he entered the room. ‘Lord Thorin.’

Thorin Oakenshield, the Leader of the Rebellion, wearing his golden shin guards to protect his legs, brown leather pants, silver chest armour with the symbol of Caribouria on top, bearing metallic looking shoulder guards, whilst on his wrists guards were made of gold as it covered both his entire wrists and elbows, with metallic protection on the top of his hands, bearing a thick black beard and long black hair, something that most would recognize from a story book.

‘Balin,’ Thorin greeted with a smile as he walked over to his caribou comrade, embracing one another and then held one another’s shoulders. ‘Where have you been? We’ve been worried that something might have happened when we lost contact with you.’

‘I was able to sneak out using the rune spells I found,’ said Balin as he showed him the markings. ‘I had to go seek help.’

‘You know very well Equestria can’t help us,’ said Thorin, reminding Balin of the laws his great-uncle decreed. ‘Nor the Element Bearers, despite all the good they did in the past.’

‘But I didn’t come back alone,’ said Balin. ‘You would not believe who else I discovered in Equestria.’

He gestured at the others who entered the room. But as Thorin and Lizzie looked, they were both shocked, for standing before them were more humans: Beau, Bucky, Genus, Bolt, Frosty and Emily.

‘Impossible,’ said Thorin. ‘I thought Lizzie and Daisy were the only humans in this world.’

‘Not really,’ said Beau, gaining their attention. ‘We actually arrived in Equestria.’

‘Equestria?’ said Thorin as he was clearly surprised. ‘We had no idea that there were more humans in this world.’

‘Trust me, we were all surprised when we came here after our sudden deaths,’ said Emily.

‘So how did all of you…?’ said Lizzie.

‘Drowned after getting sucked into a whirlpool,’ said Beau.

‘Got run over by a car after saving a kid from getting hit,’ said Bucky.

‘Died from gas poisoning after my dog accidentally opened the gas valve in our home,’ said Genus.

‘Fell off a ladder and hit my head,’ said Bolt.

‘Died in a collapsing building during an earthquake with my sister,’ said Frosty.

‘And Silver died in a plane crash,’ said Emily.

‘Silver?’ asked Thorin.

‘Yeah, Jim Silver,’ said Emily.

Lizzie was shocked to hear that name. For it was something that she hadn’t heard in a long time. ‘He’s here?’ she said. ‘Where is he?’

‘He’s outside,’ Beau answered. ‘I think he got scared for some reason and Daisy’s talking to him right now.’

Lizzie looked down, for she was afraid that this would happen. She figured that he would panic if she were here.

XXX

Back outside, Silver continued to sit outside with both his hands on his head while he said, ‘I can’t do this.’

‘Do what?’ Daisy asked, not knowing why Silver’s acting this way.

‘Facing my sister,’ said Silver. ‘I hurt her a long time ago.’

‘But that wasn’t your fault,’ said Daisy. ‘She fell down the stairs…’

‘And I made her cry,’ said Silver as he looked at Daisy through tears. At the same time, Lizzie took a peek to see what was going on.

‘Why do you say that?’ asked Daisy.

‘On my sixth birthday, I was jealous because my sister was getting all the praise and my so-called friends didn’t want to spend time with me and they thought I was a waste of space,’ said Silver. ‘I went back to my room, only for her to come in and try to calm me down. But I shouted at her and said hateful things to her. I even ended up throwing a cake in her face and she ran away crying, only for her to not pay attention to where she was going.’

He looked down in shame as he said, ‘After she died and when she was buried, I found the gift she got me in my closet. I realized too late that she was trying to save my party and the kids didn’t want to be friends with me in the first place. I never felt so alone in all my life. So…defenseless. And I carried that guilt with me ever since.’

Lizzie couldn’t help but place her left hand over her mouth while she was shedding tears, not wanting to make any noise.

‘After both my parents died, I kept blaming myself more and more,’ Silver continued. ‘Though I had riches and everything, seeing that I was the sole heir, it couldn’t replace my family. I felt so broken. I felt so empty that I didn’t have the will to live. So I sold our home and everything, bought a property somewhere secluded where no one else would even think about looking for me. I Even stack enough supplies to last me ten years so that I could probably die of loneliness. After I died in the plane crash, I somehow ended up in Equestria. I met Rarity there and she accepted me without a second thought and offered me a job. We spent a lot of time together, fell in love, got married, and we even raised a child. I was happy for the first time.’

He looked away and said, ‘After when there were ponies who harassed her and her friends, the guys and I defended them from the crowd. After that, we helped them write a new journal, where everyone would write down their past adventures. But when they wrote the part about Sweetie Bell thinking that her sister ruined her birthday…it brought that memory back.’

He looked back at Daisy and said, ‘How can I even look at her in the face, knowing now that she’s alive? And I don’t blame her for hating me for what I did. I just wish…I could make things right. I really do. I…’

‘Jim?’

Silver immediately perked up and stood up, looking at the direction where the voice came from. And there she was, his sister, alive and well. Both of them were staring at one another, while Daisy backed away slowly in order to give them some space. Neither knew what to say or knew what to do. Silver looked down in shame once more.

‘Lizzie…’ said Silver. ‘I’m so…’

And without warning, he was suddenly receiving a big hug. He was surprised at first as he looked at her, not knowing what to say. She kept him in her grasp, with Silver doing the same thing, but slowly.

‘I…I don’t understand…’ said Silver as he nearly choked. ‘Why would you…?’

‘Because I don’t carry any hate towards you,’ said Lizzie as she released him from her hug. ‘I accepted what happened between us. And I have forgiven you. Now you must forgive yourself.’

She then looked down and said, ‘Plus, I already know.’

‘You…do?’ asked Silver.

‘Of course,’ said Lizzie. ‘The caribou used special magic to look at other worlds.’

*****************************************************************************************************

Many years ago, after Lizzie had been brought to Caribouria, she looked around with the guidance of Thorin. But as he showed her a special mirror to watch other worlds, she was curious about something. She looked through the mirror, and there she saw her little brother. But instead of being happy, she saw him seeing the gift she had for him, causing him to cry, which made her cry too, seeing that he now knows the truth.

Then she saw how her parents had perished because of the drunken cab driver. She saw how broken her brother was, which broke her heart even further when she saw how lonely he was. He literally had no family left, and even though he had riches, it didn’t give him any happiness. He sold the mansion and bought a place that was very secluded, no contact with the outside world, and with enough food that would be bought for years. But as he took the plane overseas, the plane entered into a violent storm, causing the plane to crash.

Then within mere moments, he ended up in Ponyville, Equestria, right near a boutique of all places. Lizzie saw how Rarity met him and instead of leaving him outside, she brought him inside and tended to him in order to help stabilize his temperature. After looking after him, Rarity offered him a job, which he accepted. Lizzie was quite impressed to see how well her brother designed clothes. To think when he was little he wasn’t interested in fashion, but thankfully, after all the times she made him read them since he was four, it actually began to pay off.

Soon enough, things went smoothly, until Lizzie noticed the way Rarity was looking at him, even the small blush, causing her to smirk, for she knew where this was going and to her surprise, she saw her brother defending Rarity from Suri Polomare, and was able to get some information out of her of why she tried to steal Rarity’s idea. Soon enough, Rarity admitted her feelings for him, and he did the same, allowing them to embrace, which made Lizzie smile.

Within the year, the two of them had gotten married and eventually they had a daughter named Crystal Gem. Lizzie could see just how happy Silver was, and how he was raising her. Then came a surprise to her, that he was defending Rarity from a crowd that criticized her, and how he shoved another pony into another’s ass. Then he told them the truth, and heard everything he said. She couldn’t help but smile and shed a tear, for she saw how her brother had opened up and admitted his mistake.

********************************************************************************************************

Silver was greatly surprised that Lizzie had watched him the whole time.

‘And truth be told…’ said Lizzie, before she snickered and whispered, ‘The part of you shoving that pony’s head into another’s ass was quite hilarious.’

‘Yeah,’ said Silver as he rubbed the back of his head. ‘Not one of my proudest moments.’

Lizzie held her brother’s hands and said, ‘And like I said Jim, you need to let go of your past and forgive yourself. It’s time to move forward. I’m just so sorry that I didn’t contact you or anything, but with the state Caribouria is in, we couldn’t take any risks.’

Silver looked down and said, ‘I would’ve really liked it that you did. You would’ve met your niece.’

‘Crystal Gem’s really lovely.’ said Lizzie as she couldn’t help but hug herself. ‘I wish I could give her a big hug.’

‘Anyway,’ said Silver as he looked at her, but he couldn’t help but hug her again, ‘I’m so happy to see you again.’

Lizzie couldn’t help but smile and hug her brother again as she said, ‘The feeling’s mutual.’

After they broke their hug, Lizzie noticed Daisy as she said, ‘Daisy.’ She then hugged her too. After the hug, she held onto her shoulders. ‘I was worried. What happened?’

‘We heard rumors that Lord Dainn had found one of our Resistance Cells at Carrabin and were in danger. I took a team with me and we were able to evacuate the Cell there,’ said Daisy, but she ended up lowering her head. ‘But my team didn’t make it.’

Lizzie held Daisy close in a hug, then broke the hug as Daisy said, ‘If my brother hadn’t freed me, I would’ve been dead too.’

‘Brother?’ asked Lizzie.

‘Yeah,’ said Silver as he gained her attention. ‘Her brother was also sent to Equestria after he died. He’s the second human to be here.’

Lizzie couldn’t help but chuckle as she said, ‘So it’s a true sibling reunion.’

‘Sure is,’ said Silver with a smile of his own. ‘I’m sure all of you have questions?’

‘We do,’ said Lizzie.

‘Good,’ said Silver. ‘Because we have some questions of our own.’

Comments

[Dragoknight92]

Say War Monkey, when they get to Moria what happened to the wagon they’re have along with the Grogu beast?

[Postwarmonkey50]

11048253
Oh, they ditched the wagon but they kept the beast. Can't just throw animals away like that.

[Dragoknight92]

11048278
Well we must have missed the part of what happened to the wagon and the Grogu Beast in the chapter.

[Postwarmonkey50]

11048285
Doh, knew I should have added that part.

[Postwarmonkey50]

11048285
And now I have.

[Dragoknight92]

11048309
That you did.

[Dragoknight92]

11048309
So should we add the part about what happened to the wagon and the Grogu Beast in the chapter 3?

[Postwarmonkey50]

11048329
Well I already mentioned that they ditched the wagon and took the beast with them.

[Dragoknight92]

11048365
Good point.

[Blaze-saber]

A good friend will always forgive another.

[Dragoknight92]

11269350
For starters, look at Yabuki's stories. Starting with Twilight: A Love Stronger Than Friendship - Fimfiction

You might want to read Yabuki's stories:

Your Anthro Waifu - Fimfiction