Project Peacemaker

Peacemakers

Your initial state of shock, followed by elation, had passed. However, this still did not cease the constant fear of the unknown. After all, you were conversing with a relatively small red colt, whose head rose no higher than your shoulder level.

Having accepted the reality that you were indeed not on your native planet, you continued a couple of steps behind the cheerful pony that was your first acquaintance in Equestria. Equestria, the place that any avid fandom member would have paid dearly to visit. Yet here you were, with almost no effort or by your own accord.

You figured it wasn't really time to celebrate. As excited as you were that you were here, you decided not to show it. This was not the part of Equestria that you wanted to see. As far as you knew, you had never heard of humans in a land of ponies. The idea alone seemed unfathomable to a point. Nevertheless, it may prove to be an interesting experience. You just saw magic no more than a few minutes ago. At this point, anything seemed possible, and this unicorn that lead you seemed nice enough.

The self-proclaimed Scholar of Magic guided you to the entrance of the two-storeyed hostel. All the while, he went on about how it wasn't often that a human would appear in Equestria independently. Apparently, it was his job to care for any newcomers until they were deemed fit or psychologically prepared to face what was outside this building. It did its job, you supposed. The hostel showed no sign of anything Equestrian; the pristine plain building housing the same kind of room over and over on both floors. No sign of anything magical or indication that this was not Earth. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that a pony was the one attending to it, its residents would have no doubt believing the facade it put up. Only there were no other occupants. In the eight-roomed resting place for newcomers, you were the only one.

"Yes, it is almost always this empty." The Scholar seemed to have read your thoughts, following your gaze as you passed each replica of the same setting, "Honestly, the highest number of newcomers we had at once was two at a time. But it'd never hurt anypon- sorry... anyone to be prepared."

The exit was a wide double door, similar to that of a hospital. Only hospitals didn't have stained glass panels, depicting a strange symbol. Strange, but familiar. Before you could recall where you had seen it before, the Professor was already at the door, beckoning you to follow.

With a glow of his horn, a crimson emanation lit up on the hostel's doors, sending them swinging open and allowing the angry sun to beat upon its late risers. You found yourself constantly fixated on the pony's magical organ every time he performed the simplest of tasks. Or was it a bone? Either way, it was a fascination you would not get tired of anytime soon.

The entrance gave way to a sort of verandah, a simple deck that stretch the length of the front of the building. It gave a perfect viewpoint of the supposed hybrid city below, with the view of cloudy skies that -could it be true?- were guided by Pegasi!

You could care less about the sun scorching your eyes as you surveyed a small number of pegasi, racing about freely in the open air. No amount of pinching could wake you from this reality of a dream, and the same sense of wonder you had felt earlier from a simple act of a unicorn filled you once more. It was all you could do to prevent yourself from running straight into the town in pure curiosity. You chose to keep it to yourself until you were absolutely sure that this place was... should you say... not dangerous.

"Huh..." The pony that had guided you all this while, snapped you back to the situation at hand, "I would've thought our friends would be here by now."

"They are here."

The voice that came uncomfortably close from behind caused you to jump, startled by the sudden presence of the third  being. You spin around to see, to your great relief, another human being. He seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, but the professor did not flinch at all.

"For Celestia's sake, Benjamin! Are you trying to scare of the new ones?" Trotter turned to the human with an exasperated sigh, he still hung by the shadows of the now unoccupied hostel.

"Of course not. That wasn't scary at all." You step back from the fellow two-legged creature, chuckling as he unveiled himself in the light. Sure enough, it was another human. A man with sharp features and unkept short brown hair, pushed up his frameless spectacles. He spoke with a light southern-english accent, and dressed peculiarly in a white collared shirt and brown vest, with a red tie loosely hanging by the unbuttoned top button. He looked like he was pushing in his late twenties.

The sound his leather boots produced echoed through the empty hostel as he approached you, extending a hand wrapped in a fingerless glove.

"Afternoon, sunshine. Name's Benjamin Saint John. How you doing?"

You keep your hands by your side. This man had just startled you, and now he extended a hand in friendship. You kept a blank expression, letting him know it wouldn't be that easy.

"Ah, quiet aren't you." He dropped his hand, but not his small smile. "Probably shouldn't have tried anything earlier then." He nodded an apology, followed by a gesture over your shoulder, "That's Rose. She helped bring you in last night."

You spin around a second time to find another human. This time it didn't surprise you as much.

A woman with lightly toned skin pulled down the long scarf that hid her less long black hair. Her black top looked nothing short of lustrous matt black armour, and was sleeveless if not for the sleek wraps around her forearms and wrists. She didn't extend a hand, unlike her friend. You also began to wonder whether the

"Rosalie Aryan. Nice to meet you." She smiled warmly at you, before turning to give Benjamin a glare at the next second. "And I apologize for Benny here, who also at this time, should not be carrying around his weapons!"

Weapons?!

You take another step away from the englishman, finally taking notice of what you failed to see earlier. Holstered about the back of his hip were two light yellow handles with black grips. You made out the triggers just before their owner slid them deeper into his back holsters.

"Hey, I'm not the only one!"

You turn again to see a polished silver bow, tucked over Rosalie's shoulder. She hastily threw the rest of her scarf over the quilt of arrows you managed to catch a glimpse of. "I-I just got back from Whitetail Woods! You don't have an excuse." Her faced turned red as she stammered.

"Oh yeah? What were you doing in Whitetail Woods?"

"Uh... hunting..."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure we've got a rule against that-"

"Ladies! Gentlemen! Please!" The only pony present ceased the argument. "Aren't both of you forgetting why you're here? You two are just making it worse for this fellow."

It was half true. The fact that these people were armed made this 'peaceful' civilization questionable. It made you uneasy, but at the same time it fueled your urge to know more. So you did not panic, but you didn't show much enthusiasm either.

"Right, sorry." Benjamin cleared his throat before putting an arm over your shoulders. You reluctantly allow it. "Come, my boy, we've got places for you to see!" He almost pulls you down the verandah, heading down the hill and back into town.

"Thanks for looking after him, Harry." Rosalie thanked the red colt, "It must've been troublesome looking after just one guy."

"Oh, not at all, my dear! It's part of my job and my studies."

"Speaking of which," You hear the lady continue as you continue down the path, "anything we should take note of about him?"

"Oh, nothing much really. Just keep in mind that he's a brony. Ought to make it easier to teach him."

"Really? That takes a load off, thanks!"

"I'll just lock up the hostel again before I head back to the lab. Toodles!" The colt trotted back into the dusty building, sending us on our way.

You shifted uncomfortably under Benjamin's arm, feeling much more secure under the watch of the pony that you had just left. Although it came to you as a relief that you weren't the only human in Equestria, something told you there was more to this place then they were letting on.

Rosalie jogged up to her fellow Peacemaker, or so they called themselves. She kept pace and continued chewing out her associate as we walked the distance into PC.

"Seriously, Ben?" Rosalie started, "Weapons? While introducing a new one? You know what kind of effect that might have!"

"What?" Ben shrugged, releasing you from his grasp, "I'm sorry, Rose, but this is my first time guiding bridge-walkers. So forgive me if I'm doing anything wrong, alright?"

"But guns, Ben? I thought you'd have more sense than that." She persisted sternly.

"What do you expect me to do, Rose? Lie to them when they get here?"

"We're expected to reveal to them slowly."

"You're one to talk, carrying your shiny bow to the hostel too..."

"Hey, mine can be seen as sport! Guns on the other hand..."

"They're not really guns, and you know that."

"It's not even dangerous in PC!"

"You know, that can change at any moment, darling."

It was then did they realize they had forgotten who was with them. But it was too late. The gravity of what they said sunk in. The fearful side of you began to rise once more. Whatever reason you were brought here for, you began to like it less and less. And it looked like your escorts could tell.

"Heh, we didn't really mean all that, buddy." Rose chuckled sheepishly, trying to break the tension they had built. "We're not a bunch of hooligans... well, at least most of us aren't."

"Hey!"

"But let's change the subject." She grabs you by the wrist, never dropping her warm smile. "You probably have more questions than that of any HiE fic you've ever read."

You nod at the person that finally began to understand you.

"Don't worry, we'll tell you everything." She swings your arm like an innocent playful child, "We have until sunset before we get you home, and until then, we're going to do our best to explain everything. Aren't we, Ben?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah yeah yeah, course." Ben was lagging behind, checking his iphone in Equestria of all places. They couldn't possibly have wifi here? "But before that, we've got to take him to Lucy." He extends an arm and points to an incomprehensible building among all the others. You assumed that they knew where they were going.

"Lucidia? Why?" Rose turned to her companion, confused.

"Just got a message from Conway." Ben jogged to catch up. You could hear the sound of metal clanking on his back, "We're going to look at your aural potential, my friend." He pats you on the back.

Aural... what?

"Ben... he doesn't know what that is yet."

"Oh yeah... this might take a while to explain."

"Don't worry, it's a bit of a walk to Lucidia's." He takes a step ahead of you, clearing his throat as if he were about to give a speech.

"Do you believe, in magic, mate? Ah, don't answer that. You obviously do at this point. But what about this: Do you believe... in human magic?"

You look into the colourful display of buildings in the valley below, seeing not only pegasi soaring through the sky, but also a human figure aboard one of them, flying further into the mysterious town. Also, somewhere among the buildings, a violet spark burst above the buildings.

"I'm not just talking about the magic of friendship either. I'm no expert on that because I'm not really a brony, see? But it doesn't take a fool to realize that what we, as humans, have discovered something that may have trumped any scientific discovery for the next decade, if not the next century!"

"Less than ten years ago," Rose added, "something happened on Earth. Something, or someone, had caused a link between Equestria and Earth. You won't remember it. None of us do. Apparently, it was a time of utter chaos or something, and the realities of both worlds began to mesh. But somehow, we humans managed to fix it, with the help of one man."

"This man was in Equestria, long before any of us." Ben took his turn, "And in Equestria, that man had found something, an artifact, that answered many of Earth's unanswerable questions. On top of that he discovered something more. We call the artifact the 'Harmony Medallion'." Ben took hold of Rose's wrist, turning it up to reveal to you the same symbol you had seen earlier.

It was a symbol of three circular layers, intercepted by eight outward points. It was topped with an elaborate placement of six gems. And it was then that you remembered where you had seen it before. The five gems that circled the pendant represented the Elements that you tried to follow in your life. Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, all formed a circle around the center gem. Magic.

"This symbol is what defines us." Rose said softly, sharing your gaze at the embossed emblem in her clothing, "It's what guides us, and we followed it to find happiness. To find Harmony." At this point, Ben unbuttoned the top button of his vest, pulling it down to show the same emblem, pressed into his shirt.

"And it worked. It turned out the Medallion provided a sort of human revelation. A subconscious one, in fact. As both our worlds began to mesh uncontrollably, the Princesses combined with the Elements of Harmony- yes, the Mane Six- and wiped the Earth of the mark Equestria had left, along with the memory of it. But in doing so, it had reactivated what all of us had stowed away for centuries. What existed as our goodwill and conscience, our hope and belief, it was the fuel, and this... this spark made it more than we could every imagine."

"We call it our Aura." Rose continued. "It reactivated inside every human being on Earth. But not everyone knows it yet. And those who do, or have an outstanding aural potential, are brought here. To aid in the progress of science and magic as one."

By now, all three of you were almost at the town. All the while, you had listened intently, not saying a word. This news was mind-blowing, almost overwhelming. Magic? Inside humans? Inside... yourself? Then why haven't you seen it before after all this time?

"Now I know what you're thinking, mate." Ben chuckled, "You're thinking 'If we've got this magic inside all of us, why haven't you seen it yet'? Rose, how was that for an american accent?"

"Needs some work."

"Meh. Well to answer your question, you actually have seen it before. You've also read about it in history books. Men and women carrying out extraordinary feats. I'd give you a history lesson, but we'll be seeing a real teacher later today."

"Let's move on." Roselia tugged at the bowstring on her shoulder, producing a ligh twang at every pluck. "Since that incident many years ago, our team has grown. At first, there were only five of us, and I remember when this town wasn't even half this size yet! Now, there's still only about a hundred of us, but slowly, as we gained more and more members, we became aware of what we were doing; we were building a city out of the dust of Equestria, aided greatly by the ponies who shared the same curiosity and enthusiasm as our kind, and we have worked together since."

"There were culture clashes at first, but it was nothing we couldn't adapt to." Ben then rambled on about how some events were even similar, like Hearth's Warming and Christmas, Hearts and Hooves day and Valentine's day.

"But here's something else that really amazes me." Rose spoke with genuine fascination now, "Our little civilization here is in a complete state of anarchy. Any one of us could rebel at any moment. Anyone or anypony could raise hell and sabotage all work we've accomplished! But nobody has..."

"It's like the internet, I always say!" Ben laughed heartily, "It's a place of complete freedom, and only a small part of it has gone to hell!"

"I don't think you've been on the internet enough, Ben."

"Aw, really?"

"Anyway, I personally believe that nobody rebels, because... well... everyone here has already rebelled. We're deviants of an earthly system, and it is liberating. With no corruption, peer pressure or a want for world domination, we seem to be happy just progressing the way we are. And like I said before, everyone is happy."

The conversation ended on that cheerful note. It sounded crazy, but you actually believed what the two of them had said. They sounded so genuine and sincere, with full belief in their cause. It was spirit-lifting, and knowing that you had more than one kind of spirit inside you may have helped.

"Well, here we are." Ben heaved a sigh, looking up into the town.

It was an amazing sight, and you took it all in. Streets, lined with architecturally unique designs, housed the activities of both ponies and humans. You saw the wonder in the display of one human, strolling by with a number of scrolls tucked under his arm, teaching about human history to a class of eager ponies. You saw the joy in a group of foals, experimenting with a small group of humans, toys of technology and magic you had deemed impossible on Earth. You saw the harmony between the two species as a rushing teenage boy, calling down for his friend of a pegasus to carry him away to another part of the town. For a town of a hundred humans, it was certainly very lively.

"Hmm... looks like we're quite busy today..." Ben commented casually.

"That's alright. The more the merrier." Rose said optimistically. She patted you on the back, her smile from ear to ear was bigger than ever.

"Welcome to Peacemaker City, buddy. You're going to like it here."