Chapters Welcome to Defiance, citizen.
Welcome to Defiance . This pamphlet will inform you of the current state of affairs within our little town.
Currently, at the time of printing, the town of Defiance is currently the center of a massive (And dangerous) case of transdimentional decoherence. Or in layponies terms: This particular part of our world is unstable. Only the unicorns, with their abilities to manipulate the magical fields of our world, can keep the 'rifts' (As we've come to call them) at bay.
'Rifts', as we've come to call them, open randomly on the badlands and tend to spit out either junk or useful technical artifacts. Several ponies, along with the 'aligned or unaligned' races go after these 'riftfalls' for profit. Even though the badlands contain many alien creatures, the danger is considered worth the potential risk of death.
Most of the time, they tend to be useless pieces of metal or probes of unknown origins, but sometimes they deliver other creatures. It is not unheard of that ponies, who were previously slaves to some unknown faction, have appeared after a rift. If you are one of these slave-ponies, please feel free to find your nearest Habitat Unification Bureau officer for information on Steel Will's free program called: 'Slave-A-Away: Becoming a free pony!' which is sponsored by the 'Defiance Civic program for new arrivals'.
When you first arrive at our fair town, you may notice that there are many races here, but do not be alarmed or afraid. H.U.B. Officers regularly police local new species and the lawkeeper, one alien species known as a 'human' called Nolan North will ensure your safety and security.
While all the local townsfolk are friendly and will easily answer any questions regarding places to eat or get a nights rest. Be aware of 'Rifthunters' can potentially be a rather angry and rough sort of pony and may not be entirely trustworthy.
That said, we, the civic program for new arrivals welcomes you to our town.
Welcome to Defiance.
Lawkeeper North, keeping to his name sake, stared over the northern wall at the magical field that the unicorns generated daily. His hand glanced, briefly, on his pistol before he gripped the railing infront of him. It had been nearly two years since he'd arrived in this technicolour wonderland and every single day reminded him that he was no more welcome here than the creatures that had followed after him.
A quiet cough caused him to recoil, pulling his sidearm and pointing it at the offending noise. Mayor Mare, the grey haired lady, recoiled before he reholstered his weapon. Reluctantly she drew up beside him as he turned to look out over the badlands and the glowing shield of magical power before them.
"Night shift?" She eventually muttered.
"Can I help you, Mayor?" He replied coldly.
"Mooarlin and Sharp Horn are making another issue at the council, they want me to lower taxes and give the Celestial guards more access to our copper mines."
"You want me to intervene?" His hand instinctively went to his belt before a hoof blocked it from his weapon.
"No, Nolan." It wasn't the first time he'd done wet work for her, but she'd started not requesting it as often. "I mean I don't know what the guards want with our mines. I know Sharp Horn is pushing Mooarlin in this case, but what I need to know is why that cow is behind his agenda." She stared out at the shield as he sighed.
"Riftfall tomorrow." He stated calmly. "Gunna be pretty big, I figure."
"So you'll do it?" She looked at him as he looked away, her hoof leaving his hand as it fell away from his firearm.
"I'll go digging, I may need to pull in some of your contacts at the F&F brothers place."
The mare scuffed the floor before sighing.
"Just don't rough them up, you know how they're just dying to turn a quick profit and run away." Nolan grimaced.
"They've been here a year with their.... 'business', I don't think they're going anywhere."
"Nolan, just because we're not the same species doesn't change the fact that some ponies need alittle private time with others." Nolan glanced at her before looking at the barrier.
"I wouldn't mind that, but those stallions just radiate an aura of filth."
"Nolan..." the mayor started, only to see him raise his hand for quiet.
"Sharp Horn practically works for the Celestial guard. Mooarlin just wants to keep the peace. It's only you, Steel Will and Vémundr that actually have this towns interests in heart. F&F just do Horn's dirty work." He spat over the wall. "Filthy zagrǝ zwǝgyanagne scum."
"The guard protect us, Nolan, they keep us safe...."
"Tell that to the broken fillies that those twins keep shunting me when they're done with them." She sighed.
"I'm sorry you think that way."
"Favi Mayor furije rutsayo " He muttered as she turned away.
"What was that?" She answered.
"Nothing" He replied.
The Flim and Flam brother's bar had started as a minor place in Defiance, until Sharp Horn had forced the two former con-stallions into reforming it from a drinking den into a store for every depravity known to ponykind. Cider, drugs and even easy love flowed freely. And thus, Defiance gained its first real side of criminality. With Sharp Horn naturally scraping nearly all the profit, F&F turned to more exotic means to actually make some bits. With alien love becoming somewhat more accepted, they turned more of a healthy profit from their selection of willing non-ponies.
And, of course, when the market of actual non-ponies ran dry, they could always rely on Sharp Horn to provide more flesh. That and their deal with some of the darker elements of the town, who were more than happy to cater to the more obscene desires of their more exotic crowd. Even after the arrival of Nolan, the 'Double FF bar' flourished. With a watchful eye, Sharp Horn ensured that they were never bothered by the law nor ever paid the fines they so rightfully deserved.
It was only after a rather long night of sweaty business that Flim found himself sucking down 3 inches of Votan alloy pistol as he stared blank faced at the human who said:
"Shigejilu me? "
He muffled something as Nolan extracted his pistol.
"How clean is that gun?" Flim finally said.
"Cleaner than you are. Copper mines. Celestial guards. Go."
"What?" Flim uttered before recieving a smack to the snout.
"Fyetulu enyasho. " Nolan gave him another slap.
"WHAT DO YOU EVEN WANT TO KNOW?! I DON'T SPEAK YOUR MONKEY TALK!" He got another backhanded one before adding: "THEY WANT THE KAZARI, THAT'S ALL I KNOW, I SWEAR!"
"Kazari?"
"Sharp Hoof knows! All I do know is that it's keyed to someone and he hasn't found them yet!"
The bullet passed cleanly through the front of the stallion's head and out of the back in a sanguine mess. Considering his next move, Nolan took a seat and quietly rubbed the blood off his weapon without thinking. After a minute, he stood, took a bottle of spirits from nearby and lobbed it into Flim's disgusting smelling sex den. Another bullet ignited the fuel and turned the bedroom into an inferno as he disappeared into the night.
"I know precisely who the Kazari is keyed to." He muttered. "And it just happens to be my daughter."
Two days later, Flam found himself in the hooves of Sharp Horn and with half a minotaur horn lodged firmly into his soft belly parts. Gasping, he finally mangled out a 'why' when that horn went half an inch further into his body. Sharp Horn washed off his limbs in the bubbling waters of the ice cold bird bath that Flam frequented outside his so-called establishment.
"Flim disappeared!" He screamed as the minotaur ground himself further into his guts, "I paid you what was owed!" Sharp ran a gold chain over his hoof.
"Kazari, Flam, I want the Kazari. Nolan knows, but he's not weak unlike you." The minotaur pushed harder into Flam's guts. "Nolan could kill you from half a mile away and not even blink. There is a reason why he's the lawkeeper and not some weakwilled porno-holding stallion like you."
"The bar burned down and I don't know what this 'Kazari' is! All I ended up with is a mountain of debt and my bath!"
"Your brother may have kept records."
"I don't know anything, I swear!" Sharp horn gently patted the stallion.
"The words you are looking for are 'I am looking for the Kazari, Nolan and their location'. Don't disappoint me."
He waved a discrete signal before the minotaur finally slammed the stallion into the bottom of the bath. Two more brutal shoves caused him to surface and cough up the lavender scented waters while the enforcer and his master stood quietly. Throwing up his dinner, he stared at the two with bathwater infused eyes.
"Nolan won't...." He began to say as Sharp Horn made a gesture. "I MEAN I DON'T KNOW HOW TO MAKE NOLAN GIVE UP THE LOCATION OF THIS 'KAZARI'" The other stallion ran a cold hoof over his snout.
"I'm sure you'll find a way. "
Flam shivered as the two departed his burned-out bar with an arrogant swagger. Using his amulet, he called for his patch-up doc and quietly considered the stars. Moving to Defiance had seemed like a great idea, but after meeting Sharp things had gone adrift and now everything was slowly falling apart.
Doctor Coldheart eventually found him lying in that bubbling bloody bath outside of the burned-out Ruin of the F&F bar. After using some regenerative magic on his bloody stomach, she placed him onto her surgery bed and gave him a good smack to the snout with a pair of hoof-cleaners. As he arose, he gave her a pair of weak looking eyes and she replied in kind with a slap.
"So you pissed off SH, again." She spat as the stallion curled pitifully.
"Flim did. I didn't do anything."
"And that's why you had two horn wounds in your guts?"
"I said Flim did it! I was just having a bath!"
"So you expect me to believe you just ended up with two wounds in your gut and didn't do anything?"
"I was just relaxing since Flim left and Bam! Minotaur bait!" He replied.
"Sounds stupid. Means it's probably true. So why did you get skewered?"
"He wants the Kazari. But he failed to mention...."
"The Kazari?"
"You know what that is? Give me it and I'll give you all the bits I have!"
But Coldheart had clearly stopped listening as she stared off into the middle-distance with a dark look. Flam tried to wiggle out of the bed as she returned from her look with a scaple and a smile. As her horn glowed, he could only find the barest traction in his maw as it pressed and penetrated his neck. Blood spewing forth, the mare hummed and replaced the tool on her shelf.
"Silly stallion. You think Sharp is the only one looking for the Kazari? He's far too stupid to know the potential of that tool." She gently slid the corpse of the former owner of F&F into the disposal unit. "Things are going to change for the better around here when you and your ilk aren't here. And when I have the Kazari things are REALLY going to change."
Vémundr was busy grooming his feathers before his daughter gave a gentle tap with her talons on his bathroom door. As his work came to a gentle end, he shook off the last of the water and finally greeted her.
"Freya?" She mimicked the ponies as she failed to leave a mark in the floor.
"Father." He paused as she continued to stare at the floor. "The council called, they asked you to come in. They said the mines were at risk."
The temptation to screech rose, then finally died in his throat as he opened the door and saw his blonde maned daughter. Even looking ragged after a night in the mines hadn't made him reach that apex of feral rage level. Freya clawed the floor again before looking at him with her lovely green eyes.
"Silly Celestial guard." He chuckled. "Don't worry sweetheart, they're just rattling their shoes because a griffon owns the copper mines" She smiled sweetly. "Daddy will take care of everything."
Freya trotted off as Vémundr brought his claw to his beak. With a flick, his amulet started to dial the mayor and, after a moment, connected with her.
"Mayor Mare." She answered.
"We have a serious problem."
"Vémundr?"
"They're trying to make a move on the mines." He let that hang for a moment. "And even Freya is worried. I think they're going to push in whatever we..."
"Flim and Flam are dead." The mayor stated, silencing him.
"And you know they're dead, not just mucking around in Canterlot like last time." He paused. "Or you asked Nolan to..."
"Nolan wasn't involved. Atleast I don't think so."
"So it's far worse than I thought. Damn. I thought my daughter was just being overly dramatic."
"It's worse. I've started seeing her again." Vém felt his blood chill. "And three rifthunters were found with wounds typical of throwing weapons in the badlands."
"Is it...."
"Yeah it is. She's come back."
"We can't tell Nolan." He finally said. "He'll know we lied the last time and who knows what he'll do?"
"Vém." The Mayor whispered.
"Yeah?"
"She came for you first."
The amulet disconnected as he glanced at the door as it slowly opened. Reaching for his war hammer, he was relieved to see Freya poking her beak around the door. Replacing the weapon without her noticing, she gently nodded in respect before speaking.
"Father, there is someone here to see you. She...." He suddenly noticed the silver blade at her throat. "She wants to speak."
A ginger haired girl forced the griffon into the room by her neck. Cloaked in a flag that Vémundr didn't know along with a large amount of knives, she threw his sweetheart to the ground and put the point of the knife at Freya's throat. Instinct made him reach for his war hammer before the alien girl gently shook her head.
"Hello you old bird." The girl muttered.
"Please don't hurt her." He said after a moment. "I know I hurt you, but please don't hurt her."
The girl smiled.
"Nolan."
"I can't..." The blade drew a thin line of blood from Freya's throat. "I CAN'T! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! IF HE FINDS YOU BEFORE THE PLAN IS COMPLETED, THE GUARDS WILL JUST DESTROY YOU BOTH AND LEAVE US..." Vémundr's voice died in this maw. "Defenseless."
"Explain." She said quietly with a cold look on her face as Vémundr ran a claw over his beak before saying:
"The rifts. The shield." The ginger haired girl made a continue gesture before the older griffon finally said:
"Do you know what the Kazari is?"
The girl's mouth fell open.
"The Kazari." The ginger hair girl said quietly.
"The Kazari." He replied.
"Explain."
"Release my daughter and I'll tell you what I know."
With unexpected kindness, the biped put her bladed weapon away and allowed Freya to, at first embrace, then hide behind him. He gestured over at the bookcase in his study and pointed a single talon at a book labeled: 'The myths of the badlands.' As the girl extracted the book, the entire case began to fade out and reveal a long scroll of picograms.
"Two years ago, I bought an old coppermine out here. Defiance was nothing more than acouple of tents and shacks then. But I'd been lied to because the mines had no copper, no material wealth at all, so we dug deeper. Drilling further and further until one day, I came across the Kazari. By then it was just me working the machines, hoping beyond hope of striking it rich even after I fell far behind on paying my miners. I alone stayed behind." He sighed.
"At first, I marveled at it. That strange intricate formation of metal. But I knew I couldn't keep this sort of find to myself, not without the Mayor knowing, so I called her down. At first, she just stared at it like I did and then she reached out and put her hoof on it. Then it spoke." The girl's eyes went wide. "Only not in words, only in broken pictures that the Mayor started drawing on the walls of the cave. I only got the barest glimpse of the magnificent power of that thing before the Mayor... She pushed me out of the cave as the thing started glowing brighter and brighter. Then there was this blast of light and, I somehow knew you were there, before the light faded. The Mayor came out shortly afterword, hauling Nolan behind her with her mouth, before collapsing. That was the day a mare named Twilight Sparkle became an alicorn and it was also the day the Mayor had her first vision. Of a little girl, with ginger hair, putting her claw over her lips and, on some unheard level, telling her to be silent."
"The next day, the Mayor came to see me and put her hoof on my head before I could react. I saw everything you see in that picogram. The father and the daughter, the opening of the barriers between worlds, even the shield that the unicorns generate. The rifts are because of the Kazari, because it simply isn't meant to be here. But then, you already know that."
"Nolan...." She raised her knife before Vémundr responded sadly.
"The Mayor warned me of this." Another knife appeared in her hand as Freya ducked under her father's wing. "When the two find each other and the elements combine, the Kazari will faulter and fall. The barrier between worlds will extend and break beyond and consume the world. No place will not feel it's ire and it will be you, Vémundr and Irisa, who unleash this darkness on us all. These are not my words, but visions of a future that will come to pass. "
"But," he added after reciting the dark fortelling, "We can do something to help you." She glared at him.
"With the Mayor's help, we can send you back."
"How?" He couldn't help but smirk.
"Do you believe in magic?"
Sharp Horn chose to bathe in the third bathtub in his house. His horn glowed gently as he pulled a tub of bathing salts and unicorn 'enhancement' solutions towards his eager snout. With a motion, he shifted a hoof and pushed a Zecora herbal potion into the water as his wife entered the room.
"Business, I can see, was entirely successful." Her hooves gently pressed into the waters, then she gently trotted over to him and pressed her limbs to his chest. "So what of the F&F?"
"Gone. But the strange thing was Flim was already missing and Flam disappeared soon after. I'd say it was strange but they were never really reliable." Her snout tickled his mane as he added more potion to the bath. "The F&F is ours now, my lovely starflower."
With a smile he pressed his eager lips to hers and she replied in kind. The dance of love began as their tongues met and caressed one another. Then, to Sharp's surprise, his bride pulled away from their embrace and looked at him with cold eyes. A cold feeling of dread passed through him as she took a bottle of 'Iron Will's stamina enhancement from the cup. The feeling passed as she poured alittle on her hooves and gently started to massage his head with a loving touch.
"And what of Nolan?" She whispered as he was enjoying the contact.
"He lives and no one but us and the Celestial guard know anything about the Kazari." Rubbing his ears made him practically purr. "I have heard rumors though."
Almost immediately she recoiled, leaving Sharp in a trance before he came to his senses. Slowly, he resumed control of his faculties and looked at her. Her snout was fixed in an expression of horror and concern. Lifting his hoof caused her horn to glow and the bottle of stamina enhancement shattered against the wall as it was flung from its resting place.
"Rumors?" She whispered.
"Of a creature from the rifts, something like but not like Nolan, she went to Vémundr's place." When she looked away he back-hoofed her out of the bath. "Silly mare, I'm not some weak stallion. Now tell me what you've heard, my starflower, or I'll use that broken bottle and tear our your neck."
"Irisa has returned! " she spluttered.
"So both of the keys are in place, now all it will take is one brave stallion to open the door and unleash the power in the mines. Even the Princess' won't be able to stop me when I finally claim my right as the first male alicorn and king." His mare looked at him. "And his beautiful queen: Starkiller." She smirked as she returned to the bathtub. "You think I'll forgive you holding back that information from me?" Her hoof descended below the bathwater.
"I think I can find a way." She said as she nuzzled him deeply.
"Ah, I married well." He muttered.
"You flatter a poor mare." She smiled like a viper. "Lets just be us tonight, King Sharp Horn, and let everything happen as you will."
"Yes," he said, deeply enjoying the ministrations of his wife, "the plan is coming together. Yes, everything is just as I..."
As Sharp Hoof failed to complete his sentence, a lone stallion who was doing his best to remain hidden behind the frosted glass of SH's house lept into the night before taking wing. Leathery wings flapped in the night air as his limbs grew colder in the dark night air. After several hours he could barely beat them before smashing down into the balcony he needed. A moment later, a dark form appeared from the room within and peered at him.
"My Lady," He coughed, "They found the second key."
"And you're the only one who knows this?"
"My Lady, I would only report to you." He said earnestly.
Her horn glowed, then her spell took hold of the batpony before he burst into magical flame. His screamed were muted by her magic as she dragged him inside and ditched the remaining, now scream-less, pieces into her fireplace. That done, she took to her writing table and wrote a short letter describing how 'Nightshade' had fallen bravely in a fight with some diamond dogs. Then her horn glowed again and, gently, gestured to the mural on her wall. As the picture faded, she looked at the stolen images of the pictogram that the little foal had provided her and spoke to the now empty room.
"Two keys. Two locks. If my sister thinks that Sharp Horn and that town are worth investing an entire battalion of guards to, whatever remains inside that locked box must be extremely important." Making the mural fade back to normal, she slammed the door with her hoof and made the two guards jump in surprise. "Hark at ye, guardsman." She disdained the voice, but it was needed. "Prepare the Royal Chariot! We are making a visit to Defiance when my sister raises the sun!" Shutting the door much more quietly she whispered.
"And then we'll find out why she's never told us about it."