Fighting in a world of Harmony

Everypony who has taken the oath,

The meeting will commence this Saturday at the usual time. If you fail to make it, we will assume you have worked with the traitors. An executioner will immediately be sent to you and all records of you burned.

N.L.R.

The note was dated back a thousand years ago, with no return address. Any chance of finding a pony in this shack was useless. A search of it proved to be fruitless, and nothing worth my time was in here. Whoever had written then note obviously had been part of some cult, but I couldn’t seem to figure out what the N.L.R was. The first word was obviously “New,” but other than that, I couldn’t distinguish who had written this.

Walking away from that shack, I began to hear a cry. Then, another helpful cry came from the darkness, until all around me, crying was audible. I couldn’t tell where it was coming from, nor did I want to, but among the voices I heard one familiar one: Silver Bear!

Rushing over to the nearest bush, I peeked behind it.

Nothing

I ran to every bush in the vicinity, hoping to find Bear and relieve him of his worries. No matter where I checked, the cries stayed at the same pitch, and no bush concealed the missing friend. I had hoped he would have taken shelter, but now I wasn’t so sure. What if he was just a conceived image in my mind, never becoming real! That was a terrible thought to imagine, but was it the truth? Was I bound to go crazy out here in this...wasteland?

I slumped to the ground, nuzzle in hooves. If this was all just a dream, all I had to do was close my eyes and wake up, right? For a few minutes I sat there, listening to the sounds of the crying, and of the sonic booms overhead.

Wait...SONIC BOOMS!?!?!

I looked up and beheld a spectacle. A rainbow zoomed across the sky, a sphere of color trailing closely behind. Probably the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life, I beheld what I called the “Pathway of Rainbows.” It seemed to point in one specific direction, seemingly towards my goal. Whoever had created this majestic wonder, I secretly thanked them, wondering if my own wings would work.

Trying to even stretch my own wings out was a task in itself, so I myself wondered how that pegasus managed to lift off the ground. Although a mystery, I decided it best to follow the path of beauty that lay before me. As I turned to walk towards the mountainous terrain that the rainbow led to, I knocked right into another pony. My head hurt and I felt a bump slowly grow, and I looked up to see none other than Silver Bear.

“Oh my Celestia Silver Bear, are you alright!? What happened to you? Did the minotaur win?! Tell me everything!!!’

He stood there, speechless, just staring at me, before his hoof lashed out and struck my across the cheek, leaving a red mark. Tears were brought to my eyes, but I forced them back and struck a hoof back out to him, intent on hitting him straight in the kiwis. He had other plans, and quickly reacted by jumping back and digging his teeth into my hoof, biting down hard, until I saw blood rise from the spot.

“Bear, why are you doing this!?”

No response.

“Dammit Bear YOU ANSWER ME!!!”

I used my other hoof to hit him square in the forehead, knocking him back a few feet. I smirked at myself, and walked over to him, fury contained now being released on my friend. In fact, my only friend….

He began to shake and quiver, a static image being replaced with another image. Every static burst would reveal another portion of the once Silver Bear. In the end, everything faded away until a black blob of a pony was left.

Holes seem to have been cut from the pony itself, and the horn protruding from his head was cracked, as if broken. His whole body was black, save for the eyes. The eyes were a deep emerald green color, which matched perfectly with the body. No cutie mark was visible on the pony, but in my eyes, this pony was enchanted.

“Hello, little fella. Are you lost?”

He just glared at me, apparently too cool to answer my questions. What if...he couldn’t talk! I couldn’t even begin to think of the life of a mute pony! Especially one in this condition….I needed to help him in case he was injured.

“Hey, there’s no need to be afraid. I forgive you for what you did. I think you were just protecting yourself and I was being really mean. Do you want to come with me? We would make great friends!”

At the word friends, his eyes opened solemnly, looking up to meet mine. The look I saw in those eyes told me yes, and I wrapped my arm around his head, beginning to walk.

All of a sudden, a loud static sound was heard from the shack I had previously left. A hundred yards off, it was barely audible, but I still heard it and, being my curious and adventurous self, decided it would be a better idea to check it out.

“Mane…...help…….Soda…….radio…”

A bunch of random words were being broadcasted over the small device. I couldn’t tell straight what it was, but it sure looked cool, and Bear was on the other side of this talk!!! My heart jumped in joy at the sound of him, and I listened for more, but the same words kept repeating over and over. I tried my best to memorize them and, for the last time, left the shack.

“Sodapop, the chosen one, do not be so hasty. Remember the wise words of Celestia.”

“AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” I jumped about ten feet into the air, my wings finally deciding to spread out in fear. What in Equestria was THAT!? It was a phantom voice, and it didn’t seem like my friend, I decided to call him Rapid Fire (Due to his swift fighting skills), had heard it. The voice itself was soft, and very loving, like that of a mother. A slightly old tone to it, you could distinguish that it truly meant no harm.

In my head, I tried to communicate back, hoping for a quick response.

“Excuse me, but what do you mean?”

Ok, so I wasn’t very great at asking questions, but I still got a clear question through. I got no response for a couple of minutes, and I started to become doubtful. My mind told me that my walking was just impairing my ability to think clearly, but there was obviously something else at work. Maybe it was just my imagination...playing tricks on my silly old mind.

“My dear Sodapop, though lost, you must find your way back. There is a town in need of your assistance, and there you will find a great resource to your journey. Do not venture onward until you find a place to rest.”

I could also just be wrong sometimes.

It looked like my little buddy was ready to collapse into a slumber, so I slumped him over my back, carrying him as I ventured back to where I came from, hoping that it wasn’t a mistake. At this moment, I just craved another kiss, another hug, and another loving word. I didn’t care who it came from and, although a sin, I just wanted a nice night.

~~~

Hitting the gates of Manehattan wasn’t really an easy task. It seemed that the closer I got to victory, the further I got from reality. I started to think my mind was playing tricks on me at around the same time that the flowers began turning into jungles.

I was stopped at the gates, just like the time so many days ago.

“Lady, as I’ve said before, I can’t let you in. It’s against every policy I hold sacred.”

I sounded drunk. Right now, it was more about getting in and finding Slere….err…..Bear….than this damn guard. What’d he think he was? Some royal guard!?

“Now listen here, Merster…..I need to git’n to fine my frend...and save the tooooonnnnn…..”

The whole time I talked to him I was laughing uncontrollably, and the changeling had disguised himself as my daughter. Of course, I looked too young to be her mother, but then again, who cared, right?

“Lady, you sound terrible. Are you hurt? Did something happen to you on your way back?”

To us, his voice was squeaky. Whatever the heck happened to us, we sure were looney and out of our minds.

“Plees, Miss….we need to get in…..we’re just toored…..please…..”

And with that I fell forward on my hooves, face first into the gates.

~~~

Being dragged away again, this time into a small hut, was no joy ride, but it sure beat walking. Being dragged around gave me time to think, and realize that I was acting like a complete idiot, and I should probably straighten up.

I was gently rested on the ground in front of a desk, littered with technical equipment, sort of like what I had seen in my nightmare. The person behind the counters was barely recognizable by their mask that they had on, but their voice was definitely definable.

“All you ponies out there, how you doing!? It’s been quite a day, but for our final act of a day before we play the musical melodies of old, we brought in a special guest!...”

“B….Bear? Is that you…”

I say the face wink at me through the mask with a smile as he continued with his little monologue.

“It’s none other than Sodapop! Just like that cat in the books, Littlepip, Sodapop here has dedicated her life to traversing our land in search of hope and peace. She just wants everything to be cool out there and be able to colonize again! So let’s give it up for, and excuse how drunk she may sound, Sodapop!”

He grabbed me by the hoof, jumping me up and setting me in front of the microphone. This must have been where he was projecting his voice from. It wasn’t on a loop anymore, and this was live. I had to think quickly, or fear being known as the savior who can’t even utter a full sentence.

“U...ummm…..thank you. I know you all have probably heard of me, and what I’ve done. In truth, I consider myself no hero. To anypony. We are all heroes, and in our own time we will discover that. It may seem bad, but you also must realize that everything that happens, has a counter reaction to it. If you ponies can find it in your hearts to help and innocent soul today, I beseech you to do just that.

“Don’t just watch as the world crumbles around you. You may look up to me, but I look up to faith. With faith, we shall be guided. I don’t know much about this broadcasting station, but I do know one thing. United we stand, and united we will fall. Never, in any day, forget that. Please. Thank you all for listening. My name is Sodapop, and I hope to speak to you again.”

I stepped away from the microphone and looked over to Bear, who looked astonished at every work he had just heard me spoken. He quickly regained his composure and took his place back in the big seat.

“Well, you heard it here, folks! United we stand, and united we shall fall! It’s been fun hanging out with you all, and I’m CC! Stay safe, and now, here’s our little music of the night: Luna’s album.”

He pressed two buttons. One, I assumed, turned off his microphone. The other, from logical deduction, should have turned on music for everypony to hear on their “radios.” I walked with a smirk up to the masked friend.

“Hey there, Bear. What’s all this?” I took some time to study his equipment. Obviously, there was the microphone, which broadcasted all of our sound. A slot for CD’s had been placed behind the microphone, giving easy access to music. I saw a speaker which, minus the holes in the front, seemed to be in pretty good condition.

“Well, Soda, after you disappeared, I knew I had to store up some place. I knew that this town couldn’t resist letting me in, me being such a hero to them, and decided that, from here, I could contact you. Radios are everywhere, so you were bound to hear it some time or another. By the way, I really adored your speech. It was inspiring, even to myself.”

I smiled at him and gave him a peck on the cheek. A flash of light came in from behind me, which I saw in the reflection of Bear’s eyes.

“And who are you, missy?”

I looked behind me and noticed my shape shifting friend slowly coming into the room, a blush on his face.

“Bear, this is my new friend, Rapid Fire. He seems like he can’t talk, and his magic is pretty malfunctional, so I decided it was best to take him in with us. Is that ok?”

Bear himself looked worried. It was a look I had seen before, but this time, it was a totally new reason, one which I hadn’t taken into consideration before.

“Soda, I love you, I really do. Which is why you must understand that I have to stay here. If you’ve read the hip book, you’ll notice a character called Homage. She’s the DJ, and she informs the land of everything. I need to be a Homage, even if we can’t be so advanced. I know it might hurt, but if I don’t, nopony can be safe. This is the only way that I can think of where everything will work out alright.”

My heart didn’t break this time, surprisingly. I knew that he had to stay from the moment I saw him broadcasting. Now, this only confirmed my conclusion. I hugged him, motioning for Rapid Fire to join us. For a long time, we embraced as a family. We were all completely different ponies, from different worlds, and here we were embracing.

“Bear, I know. You’ve helped me so much, and now, you not only will be helping me, but every other pony in Equestria. I’m proud of you.”

We all were smiling, tears on our cheeks. It wasn’t a goodbye. I preferred it to be a…”See you later.” As I turned around, no goodbyes, I opened the door when suddenly a sharp pain hit through my neck. I stumbled over, quickly regaining my balance as the others rushed over to help me.

A couple hours later, it was confirmed that there was a rash on the back of my neck, the likes of which the doctor had never seen. It wouldn’t affect me too much. After all, an injury was no excuse to quit the quest. In games, ponies don’t just stop for one pony. You continue until one pony is left. Then, and only then, does the game end.

I woke up a couple minutes later, realizing I was hooked up to some tubes in my body. I was freaking out before I realized it was just water. Then, I looked over at the other tube and, unable to recognize it, began to freak out.

Quick as lightning, two nurses were at my side, both proclaiming that the tube simply held medicine to cure radiation. It didn’t help my anxiety very much, but I got so much calmer at hearing that it wasn’t deadly.

I sat up in bed, listening to the sounds that had, by now, become part of my daily life. Outside, ponies of all shapes and sizes moaned over hunger and thirst.No pony in Equestria seemed to have food, and I had just recently run out myself. In a couple days, I would be in hell just as much as the ponies of Manehattan were.

As soon as I had gotten my eyes to shut again, Bear had already burst in through the door, his heavy panting hinting that he had been running, and quite quickly, at that.

“Soda *Pant*... I need *pant*.....you….”

I took one look at him. He was serious about this. I knew better than to laugh at him after he had been running. He only ran when something important was happening, or when trying to catch up with another pony.

I couldn’t speak. The radiation medicine was kicking in and my mind was slightly buzzed at the effects.

“This whole town should be alive right now,” he said, his breath coming back to him.

“I just saw the sheriff and the mayor sharing a nice hay sandwich together, and not in the clean way. I have reason to believe that they’re keeping food from the citizens of Manehattan. This could be a whole government conspiracy! As soon as you’re off that plot of yours, we are headed out! I don’t think I could stand another moment of watching those two kiss, anyhow….”

My eyes shot wide open. They were storing food!? Now, it was my turn to be winter, and on those two, there is a 100% chance of blizzards. Better pack your heavy clothes, ‘cuz this is gonna be one hell of a ride.