Sins of Harmony
Volume 1: Balance of Power
Chapter 36: Ties of Bonds
March 27th, 1005 ANM
Ponyville, castle of friendship.
Dusk/Sunset.
Luna could barely contain her relief as Celestia flew onto the balcony, looking dusty, dishevelled but unharmed. She gasped lightly as she saw her four guards behind her, the 2 Unicorns among them magically lifting an unconscious Discord. Rainbow Dash backed them up, as she'd volunteered to help one of the 2 pegasi guards in carrying Twilight back. The Princess of Friendship had a burnt left flank and wing, but seemed fine.
Discord was carefully lowered onto the balcony by the 2 Unicorns and Pegasi guard, and from inside Twilight's other friends, sans Applejack, rushed forwards in shock.
"Is he-!?" Fluttershy fretted.
"He'll be fine. He was cured, but the drugs weren't enough to put him asleep. The others knocked him out so as to sleep off his recovery." Celestia cast her gaze over the unconscious dragoneraqus, still remembering what he'd done in his rage, what he'd said.
What he'd tried to do.
Pinkie hovered over Discord's face, prising open an eye and waving her hoof in front of it:
"Wow, he's really out. What got him out?" She asked.
"A blow to the head." Rainbow Dash said. Twilight hissed as she stood on her own hooves.
"AH! Maybe we should get a doctor up here?" Twilight suggested.
"Yes your majesty." A guard Pegasus, clad in golden armour, flew off the balcony to the town plaza.
Luna asked: "What happened out there?"
Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at Celestia, then at Discord's form. Twilight's 3 other friends looked eager to know.
Rarity asked: "What happened to Spike? And the others?"
"We saw some of them being carted off to prison with some bodies." Pinkie said.
"Did Discord really-" Fluttershy asked delicately.
With a sad sigh, Twilight said: "Yeah, he killed them, and 6 guards. He got me with some new, eye beam attack, and really gave the others a beating."
"He was going berserk!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, backing from Discord slightly.
Luna asked her sister: "What did happen to the others, and Spike?"
"They waited for their own transport. They'll be coming back here, but they had to wait for Spike to shrink back to his smaller size." Celestia said.
The Sun Princess remembered: "Luna, a lot has happened, but we must end the day and begin the night."
Before Luna could reply, Celestia said to all present: "But, after what happened today, there will be negotiations about control methods of our power. I've seen first hand what one of us could do if corrupted. Discord was not playing around in his enraged state, and ponies, no, innocents died. And what if any of us became corrupted? Varkan is right, we have too much power with not enough safety to stop us abusing it."
Luna thought over Celestia's words, and said: "Since the Elements of Harmony are bonded to the tree now, and our powerful magic depends on at least one of us not being corrupted now, I agree. But, what about the ones we arrested, before you took off with the cure they gave up?"
"Release them, as soon as possible. With saving Ponyville from the migration's overall wrath alone, they've earned their freedom, even if their actions in antagonizing Discord, who they knew was infected, cost them some reward." Celestia said.
A Unicorn guard heard it, and said: "I'll send off right away for the release of the prisoners. I'll have them returned here from the transport to Canterlot."
He began writing a magical letter, while Celestia stood up to begin lowering the reddening sun beneath the horizon.
As soon as Luna began to raise the moon after her, Celestia began telling the details of what happened, right as Doctor Blue Cross returned with the guard to go over Twilight and Discord.
3 miles south of Ponyville
Main road into town
The jeep occupants paid little heed as the sun set and the moon rose above the horizon.
Sat in the Oceanic Alliance jeep truck, one of the light vehicles they'd brought, the four sat in the open back, though they took up seats meant for 8 people.
At the machine gun turret, as there were still unchecked migration dragons on the loose being mopped up both north and south of Ponyville, a Dingo half relaxed with his helmet goggles around his neck.
In the driver's seat, another Dingo drove them back to the town.
Hunched up, Cal'vel let Smoulder's purposeful heated breaths coat his body. She breathed slightly fired air from her lungs to warm his frost burned scales and flesh, but he really needed something more for a real recovery.
Her own body was wrapped in some bandages, but on pain meds she was less afllicted then Cal'vel.
"A rhyming Zebra?" Smoulder sceptically asked. She breathed a warm blast onto Cal'vel's arms. He had his hands wrapped up, the eye beam burns damaging his palms beneath the scales.
"Its not exactly something easily made up." Cal'vel jabbed back.
Sat on the other side of the seats, Varkan wondered as he talked with Caarim:
"Nothing still?"
"No. They're still inside the interference zone. No way we'll hear from them until they come out or we go in after them."
"Alright, keep an ear out." Varkan said.
"I don't have ears."
"You know what I mean, you damn smartass cobra. However snakes hear exactly, just call if you hear from them."
Varkan shut off the comms, as he felt Kurze kick him softly.
Looking over, Varkan saw Kurze was the same size and rough shape as Razak now, but an overall slightly lighter colour. His eyes were the only obvious difference, and the monumental headache and pain in his neck, mouth and chest from where Discord had hit him when he was much larger.
What had been his larger form, much larger than the collars alone could get him or any dragon like him, Razak, Cal'vel or Smoulder, had been left behind.
A large series of decaying mounds of scales, and pools of water. His larger form literally melted off around him when it couldn't sustain itself any longer. A present from Changeling genomes during Spike's creation, along with his magic absorption.
"Ughhhh, too loud.."
Kurze moaned weakly, his hands clamped over his head.
Varkan looked at Smoulder, as she heard Kurze's complaint. Cal'vel saw Kurze's condition also, and said smugly:
"You're surrogate son will be ready if he ever gets heavily drunk. No hangover will be close to this."
"Remember he's your son, in a way, just as he is mine." Smoulder replied. Cal'vel fell quiet, and replied:
"Look, I'm not really his father, and frankly, I'm not really father material. My parents didn't help when my tribe kicked me out from fear. I don't know what good parenting is."
"But you know what bad parenting is. Cal, you have a second son now, who knows about you! I let it slide when I was helping raise Razak, because you were still quite distant then. But since then you've grown more accustomed, and now you have no reason to flee when someone new is made aware that you are their father, by normal means or not!"
"Are you really doing this now?" Varkan asked.
"You're one to talk Varkan. I should have helped with Kynok also, but you wanted to raise him yourself. Not well if I might add. At least among the clones, Razak had me and others, and Lucius had Ohmen instead of me!"
"I raised him as he needed to be." Varkan said.
"As a weapon, a tool, a source for any future Wyverns. But not as your son. He's more your son than Razak or Kurze is to me or Cal, and you raised him in a warped manner."
"Why is this matter of child raising methods so important all of a sudden!?" Varkan stood up.
"Too loud!" Kurze moaned.
"Now that I have Kurze back, I can't help but think of others I know that have disjointed family relations." Smoulder said, daggers in each word.
"Your kind can afford family. Mine can't." Varkan shot back.
"Then your kind may as well be extinct, if you sacrifice what makes life worth living to simply survive in hopes of replenishing a species. I wonder what a Wyvern race bred from upbringings like Kynok's might look like?" She shot her final words.
Varkan was quiet, but his look he shared with Smoulder made Cal'vel nervous in his seat.
"Your 'son' will be lucky if the narrow minded ponies in this country accept him. He'll never be how he was before we came again."
He gestured to Kurze/Spike, who's obviously larger form was double the size of a pony at least, perhaps 3 times a normal pony's height if he stood up tall.
He simply sat down, silent for the rest of the trip. The air rushed by as they continued to drive to Ponyville.
Ponyville, town square.
Driving up through the town, bystanders who had begun leaving the medical tents with cleared loved ones or were simply trying to regain normality watched as the open back jeep drove past.
As they drew up to the town square, before they turned into the road for the Friendship palace, the jeep stopped as a crowd was blocking the square.
A Night guard suddenly rapped on the side of the jeep, saying loudly over the bustling crowd around them.
"The Princesses wish to meet you in the town hall, not the castle. Leave the vehicle and follow me!"
Wary, Varkan nodded and got out the jeep first, wincing as his ankles were aching from the fighting about an hour earlier.
Kurze blearily shuffled up, holding his pounding head as the crowd murmurs grew at all their presences.
Cal'vel shuffled out, as Smoulder walked beside him. The guard led them to the town hall, as the crowd of ponies around the medical tents and beneath the lit street lamps of the square turned more and more eyes on them.
Ponyville, town hall.
As soon as they entered the door, Kurze sighed as the noise subsided:
"Finally, quiet."
"So you made it? I thought you would."
A familiar voice sounded, and Varkan felt some relief that Faral was back. Al'kur, the female changeling and the youngest of the 3 brothers stood beside them.
"What happened to you three?" Cal'vel asked.
"When word arrived you'd brought Discord down, our transport to prison was turned back mid flight." Faral explained.
"Its the least I could do, you helped with the migration problem."
Another voice sounded, and from the doors of the mayor's office, Celestia emerged, followed by a whole menagerie of ponies they recognized, and a few guards.
Varkan eyed her cautiously, and asked:
"I'm sensing a 'however' next, am I right?"
"You proved Discord and others are dangerous, but you purposefully antagonized him into attacking." Celestia shot.
"Yet in having him take out all his anger on me, and others, I saved him later blowing up and taking it out on Ponyville or civilians." Varkan countered.
"Besides, Discord's distrust me of and my forces for his own reasons meant he'd never let me cure him without a fight." Varkan finished.
Shaking her head, Celestia couldn't find herself disagreeing with him. Luna stepped in now:
"In any event, we have thanks to extend. Many lives were saved because of your help."
Varkan simply nodded, while Kurze shook his head and asked:
"What exactly will happen now?"
All the ponies looked at him, but it was Twilight who first asked:
"Spike?"
Kurze blinked, still getting over the severe headache and pain in parts of his body, and snorted in self doubt:
"Not anymore, Twilight."
Twilight looked at the others, a pleading look in her eyes:
"Change him back."
"He can't be changed back. This will be his smallest form, just as his twin brother is." Smoulder said apologetically.
"I'm no longer the little dragon you all know. I doubt I'll be welcome, as I'm no longer a non-intimidating size." Kurze looked at his larger form briefly, and remembering his capabilities he'd demonstrated today.
Twilight thought for a moment, and said determinedly: "No. You're first role in being here was to be a envoy, proving you can cooperate and be peaceful among ponies. If you leave, what hope for peace between East and West is there?"
Kurze was silent. He didn't know the answer himself.
1 hour later
Much had been discussed, but it had been settled in an unofficial manner that talks between the Oceanic Alliance and Equestria, and its allies in turn, would take place. Treaties limiting certain magical or technological weapons so as to balance each side.
Varkan stood on the balcony of the town hall, beneath the overhanging roof, and back from the edge so anyone from below couldn't see him.
It was Celestia and Luna together that approached him, and Luna asked the pressing issue:
"What now?"
"...Proving the need for control is done. I have other things I need to pursue. I can now fully focus my efforts on the cloning projects for the Wyvern repopulation effort." Varkan said.
"But, wouldn't a technology like that be put up for limiting by a treaty?" Luna asked.
"It won't." Varkan said.
"Its potential is too dangerous, for all we know some negotiations might call for-" Celestia added.
"It, won't." Varkan said, as he turned to them slowly.
Varkan walked past them, saying: "Negotiations will be done, but I won't be involved. I'll be busy."
Kurze stood before Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Rarity, unsure what to do.
"You look, different." Rarity let out.
Kurze blinked, completely baffled as to what to say or do.
"That cobra is no longer controlling me, so I'm still me. Just, looking different like you said." Kurze said, a slight nervous twitch in his claws.
Pinkie walked towards him, and leapt onto his face, asking with an aggressive eye: "What's my name? Favourite colour? Where do I live?"
"Uh, Pinkie Pie, I think Blue, and Sugarcube Corner." Kurze answered, taken aback by the pink mare's interrogation.
"Pinkie, I saw Spike the whole time. Its him." Twilight reasoned.
Pinkie's expression brightened, as she jumped off: "Ooh, maybe you can give free flights to fillies and colts at my parties!"
Kurze looked at them, and asked: "Look, I trust that you all would accept me. But, the others around town, I just don't know. I'm thinking that if it helps people feel easier, I should leave with the East guys when they go."
"No Spike! If you stay, you'll be distrusted for a bit, but they'll see you're still you! But if you leave, you'll hurt the ones that love you for a much longer time." Twilight pleaded.
"Spike, none of us care what you look like, we didn't before, and we won't now." Rarity insisted.
"Plus, from what we know, you can control your power better now that you've changed your body. No more greed growth risks." Twilight said.
It was true, with these bodies allowed to grow this forced way, they were less vulnerable to greed growth spurts. Instead, the equipment collars, or as a defence mechanism, triggered a larger size.
Kurze gave a toothy smile, and knelt down to get at eye level:
"Thank you, but, I'll want to take it slow, let Ponyville get used to me being, well, this. It might scare people if I'm seen like this without enough warning."
The 5 mares embraced the dragon, now double their height and triple their length in size, with fully formed wings to use. Beneath the changed voice and altered, less cute and more fierce looking form, he was still the Spike they knew.
Even if this experience had changed his own views of things, his friends and how he valued them hadn't changed in the slightest.
And he now had a different family to call his own, that even if things did go bad, would welcome him openly. He thought he was going to lose everything when he was changed, but instead he gained so much.
All he needed now was to adapt to his new life, and form. But his friends would see him through it.
And among his friends, Applejack and her siblings may need him in turn to help recover from their loss.
Smoulder talked to Cal'vel at the door:
"Come on, I've heard there's a spa in town. If you've got freeze burns, dipping you in a large hot water bath will do you good." Smoulder said.
"Won't we scare off anyone else?" Cal'vel said.
"Nobody will be there with the town recovering, and we have bits from the allowances to more than pay to convince them to help your frost burns." Smoulder argued.
She led the dark blue dragon by the hand, before a guard halted them at the door:
"If you're leaving, I insist I accompany you."
"Fine." Smoulder snorted, as the guard followed them through the plaza, and the prying eyes of the crowd, to the deserted spa.
All of a sudden, the crowds suddenly began muttering, pointing in the distance.
Turning around, in the distance to the North East, many many miles away, a narrow beam of whitish-blue light pierced the reddish black night sky, shooting skywards until it dispersed into a blue aurora of sorts.
Celestia and Luna looked out to the North East, while Varkan was urgently calling Caarim on his comms.
Celestia looked at Luna:
"The tree of Harmony, it has to be."
"But what's happening?" Luna asked.
On the comms, Varkan had urgent chatter:
"Its Caarim! The interference is dropping in and out, Razak's on the line, he's saying something massive is happening, buts its too disjointed a call to know what!"
"Get a rescue team, get them out of there NOW!"
Varkan cursed fate for having one more cruel trick this date, but this one he had not prepared for in the slightest. All that happened today had been somewhat predicted going into this, including some dragons getting through.
All Varkan knew was that there must be more to these differently tagged, more coordinated dragons, and the suspicious nature of the disease, and somehow the Tree of Harmony was involved now.
The final set piece, not so much an action one, but a big setup for the sequel.
The moral conflict of ideologies is largely done, but time will heal any wounds still left.
Please review and critique as one would.
Also, next chapter, a quick gift to help visualize/bring to life the story.