Crossworld Between Harmony: Nightmare's Ascension

It turned out to be an awkward day for him.

Geos was flat out puzzled by the situation that he was in and did not suspect of tagging along a talking beast into another dangerous mission. He thought that once he had finished his task from Ironcloud then he would return to his safe, regular routine of life.

But all that changed when councilor Deshu, head of commerce, and his accomplice, Twilight Sparkle, from another world, tested him that he was a genuine Harten. He couldn’t believe it out of all people that he was one of them. What could possibly get any worse?

"So...you think Nightmare Moon is beautiful, huh?"

Geos silently sighed and cursed himself. He should have shut his trap back at the mansion.

From the opposite seat of the coach, the violet mare, Twilight Sparkle, stared straight at him with her large, cute and googly eyes, waiting for Geos response. She was indeed a curious creature, with no way to shut her up.

Geos tried the silent treatment on Twilight, hoping that she would get the message. He wasn’t interested on answering her ridiculous question, but her google eyes were strong enough to make him persuaded otherwise. How was it that he always falls prey to cute animals?

In the end, he had no choice but to answer.

“Yes. There is no denying to what I said from earlier,” He stated, acting on with a brave face. “I said what I said and I mean it. She was definitely an extraordinary creature that I have ever laid my eyes upon, if not for her genocidal spree upon Ironcloud and my group.”

Twilight had a pain look on her face. Her ears slightly drooped. “I am sorry about your friends and the things that have happened,” She sighed. “I know that is taking a lot of used to since you are talking to something different, like me for example, but I wanted you to know that you can count of me as a friend if you need anything.”

“I appreciate the offer, ma’am,” Geos slightly smiled. “Thank you.”

“It’s no problem and please don’t act so formal. Just call by my first name.”

“And which name would that be: Twilight or Lumena?”

“You can call me Twilight if you want to, but others prefer to call me Lumena instead,” Twilight made a face. “Everyone thinks Twilight is but childish.”

“There is no denying about it. Twilight is a ridiculous name.”

“Hey!” Twilight raised her voice.

Geos slightly chuckled at her reaction. “But in this case I will try my best…Twilight.”

After their little conversation, it was smooth riding from here then on. The silent was almost unbearable at that matter. The sound that they only heard was the spinning of the wheel on the hard, gravel stone road and the trotting clop of horses.

Both gazed at the opposite of the window, hoping that time would pass by until their arriving destination. But time was a cruel and unjust mistress and they were bored in their wit. Geos acted first as he couldn’t take the silent anymore. He had to say something, anything to be ‘unbored’.

“How do you fair the city, Twilight?” Geos asked, breaking the silence. “From where you come from I suspect the buildings and structure is quite same as yours, correct?”

Twilight turned towards to Geos and remained silent for a moment. There was something that Geos notice upon her google eyes. A sudden click of spark. Guess Twilight was more bored than he was.

“To be fair, the place is quite different from my home-realm,” Twilight answered, smiling brightly. “The most difference part is the colors. The buildings here are painted grim and dark with grey and black. I see some light colors, but only slightly. Wish I could explore this town.”

Geos raised his left eyebrow. “I suspect that the councilor wanted you to stay inside his mansion?”

“You have no idea,” Twilight sighed, shaking her head. “Councilor Deshu is overprotective, like a father figure in a good way. I understand why he was doing it. When I was at the Great Dune Sea of the east I had the freedom that I could possibly want and--“

“W-wait, hold up there,” Geos raised his hand, interrupting Twilight conversation for a bit. “The Great Dune Sea of Machire? You’ve been there?”

-The Great Dune Sea lied at the eastern side of the border of Soulus. The nation, Machire, is a mixed field of green and yellow of forest and sand. It is also a nation where two different tribes from opposite faction were united in a single banner in the aftermath of the Brighten Times.--

“You should have seen that place, Geos. It is truly a wonderful,” Twilight started to raise her voice, excited to share her story with him. “It isn’t what you heard of from the Partishans and the newspapers and even books for one thing that they are giving you,” She abruptly stopped in the middle and laughed nervously. “I’m sorry. A lot from here told me that I talk too much.”

“No, I don’t mind,” Geos shook his head. “I’m open for stories. It would be quite interesting to hear of what did after you come to meet me.”

Twilight made another smile. She was glad that there was someone who didn’t disregard of good stories. “Make comfortable of yourself, Geos. This tale would be a long one,” She then tapped on her chin, “Now where do I start? Hmm, I guess I could tell you how I got here in your home realm in the first place.

“Alright, let me tell you how I met thirteen men upon the doorstep of my home in Ponyville.”

There was another thing to say the familiarity between the two and that Geos never shun away of a good story. A good listener when he was a little, he was always fascinated with books. In fact it was his dream to become a writer and publish his very own book about great heroes, villains and damsel in distress.

Twilight told him about her adventure and the dangers that came along the way. She traveled with the thirteen men across Machirin where she faced great adversity that she herself would dare not dream of.

There was much great joy, she said, and there was great sorrow that she hoped to save. Geos learned that at the closing end of Twilight’s adventure, three important men were killed in a great battle. He could see tears coming out from her eyes.

Twilight explained that the three men were like brothers to her and that they taught her how this world works. She said that if it wasn’t for them then she wouldn’t be here in the first place. Geos wanted to apologize, but Twilight managed to brave on with a sadden smile, saying it was okay.

In the end, Twilight had learnt the importance of losing a friend and that there was nothing that she could do to save them. She had to be courageous, for them, and persevere through the hardship that was in front of her. It was the least she could do to honor their memory.

“I’m sorry,” Twilight sniffed, wiping her tears away. “I know it’s kinda sappy, but I have to get this thing out of my chest. You’re the first humes (human) to listen to my story and I thank you for it.”

“You mean you didn’t tell this to anyone, at all?” Geos softly asked.

“I have, and tried, but the Machirins never mourn the dead. If they do then they would sing songs and drink the heavy kind of ale until they passed out. They cheer on as if nothing has happened. In truth, I envy them sometimes.

“Plus when I came to this nation, I was in Deshu’s mansion the entire time and even Deshu was too busy to listen because of his work.”

There was a brief moment of silence in the air. Geos had to say something good, something great to comfort her, but there were no words to express of the magnitude that she was going through.

It was a bit of a sudden that, after a few short hours, Geos understands this mare, this pony from another realm a lot clearer now. Here he saw a small, fragile, innocent creature being sent into a world of danger and horror. How brave she was that she managed to keep it strong through all that pressure.

There was no need to tell that if she was making it up or not, Geos knew that when he looked at her eyes it was serious, real and genuine. He had no further to say after this.

Words meant nothing, but action will.

Geos was about to stand from his seat and give her the biggest hug that he has ever given. He was about to do it…until the carriage coach came to a stop.

The driver called out to them that they reached their destination spot. Twilight looked at the window and first opened the side door. “Guess we have some business to do,” She said, returning to her usual self. “Come on, Geos. Let’s go.”

Geos watched as the mare exited the coach. How was it that as he was about to do something important, something came along the way and interrupt the scene? He just shook his head and heavily sighed.

Twilight’s adventure story had left Geos an impression on him. She was a sweet girl…for a pony.

The driver lead them deep into the forest on the outskirts of town. He told the two the instruction of the meeting place and pointed the direction where the smoke was rising from the horizon. He tipped his top hat to them and drove away.

Nighttime approached as the sun almost drawn to a close. The two followed the path of the driver’s instruction and while they strolled through the quiet nature, a heavy thought laid on Geos mind.

The thought of being a Harten troubled him greatly as society had a growing hate of them. No matter what position, whether noble or commoner alike, those that aligned themselves with the power of nature had always ended in blood.

Ever since the end of the civil war that determined the fate of the nation of Soulus, the Royalist succeeded as triumphant victors over the rebellious Scarletians. In the aftermath that followed, the order was underway as the remnant Scarlets were hunted almost to extinction.

The Hartens, those that have the ability to wield the nature through the Shard of Heart, received the same fate like the Scarlets were as society judged them too dangerous and unpredictable to control. They were spot-on accurate.

At this very moment, Geos had become an enemy of a nation. There had to be some kind of mistake he thought and that he tried to convince himself that Twilight and the councilor were making this up. But who was he kidding. After that spectacle display when he touched the accursed jewel, it seemed fate had conspire him otherwise that his life was now completely in ruin.

What could be vainer than that?

The sun was finally set and gone as night descends onto the forest. While Twilight and Geos had lost the trail of smoke, they could see a distant light that was ahead of them. As they grew closer, they arrived at an encampment where two figures stood in wait for their arrival.

Geos could tell right away that the two were Soulus guards, but who was the rest that was behind them? He had never seen the likes of them before. Then it came to realize in the instant that the group were just a bunch of mercenaries.

They were about a dozen of them with their thoughts distracted from their drinks and their merry song. Their rude display of childish and carefree manners was indecent with not even an ounce of military discipline. However, Geos spotted some high-quality equipment that these mercenaries wield. Who were they?

Unsure to how Geos was able to interact with these bunch of men, his eyes was startled to see Twilight approaching to the mercenaries. There were a lot of things that come into mind and one part that the mercenaries would attack a talking, violet pony in sight. If that were too came to reality then he and the two Soulus guards would have the time of their life against a dozen of these battle-hardened brigands.

And yet in a twist and bizarre kind of way, the only reaction from the mercenaries when they spotted Twilight was a loud and hearty cheer. “Ah, Lumena (Twilight),” One of the mercenaries spoke energetically as he rose up his mug to her. “You’re sight for sore eyes. Did the councilor decided to give you the space of privacy and what-not?”

Twilight chuckled at the comment and slightly shook her head. “Hardly. Councilor Deshu is still overprotective as always. Anyway, time to pack your gears gentlemen, we have the mission to go ahead,” the mercenaries cheered even louder as they quickly prepared themselves that was coming ahead. Twilight then stop a nearby mercenary and asked. “Have you seen Holver? I would like to speak to him while we headed off.”

The mercenary snorted, finishing the last drop of ale. “Hah! That old coot! Always the stubborn one till his dying breath. He’s cooped up over the hill, thinking about nonsense and stuff. Blighted heart-wraith he is and he didn’t come along for a drink with us. I don’t suspect of you to his shiny bald head.”

“Or his scribbly beard!”

The mercenaries who caught the last remark laughed heartily before they faded through their tents.

Geos glared silently at the mercenaries and was disgusted of their indecent display. All of them were a bunch of hooligans and misfits similar to the men that he accompanied when they climbed to Ironcloud. He couldn’t understand why Twilight would be in league with a bunch of rag tag miscreants instead of the calm and efficient work of the Soulus guards?

Twilight then thanked the man and proceeded forth to the hill with Geos and the two guards closely followed. Geos glanced back to see no reaction from the guards. He couldn’t tell if they were feeling the same way as he was, working side by side with the mercs.

Soulus guards are regarded for their efficient and swift methods when combatting rioters and traitors alike. They have worked entirely by the law and never shun away the guidance that they followed. Hired blades or otherwise foreign armies who worked alongside with the guards would find themselves difficult to handle for they have the tendency to be untrustworthy and other times squabble amongst each other.

Then Geos thought about something. If the guards had less regards to other forces, do they feel the same way with Twilight? A talking beast from another world? The chance of cooperation between the two races would seem unlikely at the long run.

At the top of the hill laid an old man whose beard was grey and eyes that long for the eternal sleep.

Holver had always love nature and the music that surrounded him. It was quite peaceful when he had not needed to worry about today’s problem. The song of the birds, chirping their song and the inviting aroma of pine-scented trees was different to where he came from, but it seemed very little when everything in this land was almost perfect.

Yet if there was one thing that Holver missed the most was that he always look above the nightly skies and watch the stars dancing from the distant. Here, for some reason, Soulus had no stars, just smog.

When Holver arrived to Soulus from an early youth, he was a bit startled by the abundance of trees and yellow fields and the garden of flowers that his family had immigrated close to the open lake. Like an ocean of green he would always wander beneath the olden forest and listen to the very nature that surrounded him.

As time passed by and his heart was filled with joyous satisfaction, Holver knew that the peace would not last. The civil war erupted between the royalist and the scarletian and it has affected everything and everyone, including his family.

Holver luckily survived from a Scarletian raid that took away his family and his village. He watched through it all as his love was murdered in cold blood before his very eyes. Rage had filled his broken heart and those that were lucky to make it out in one piece demanded vengeance.

This came to the birth of the ‘Lucky Few’, a mercenary group where the lucky and the fortunate survive through randomness. Holver smirked and thought the summary of the company was kinda vague. Guess that was the reason why there were so many requests from Soulus and around the world to get the job done.

As Holver watched the sun drawing to a close, he made one last great puff of smoke from his brown-wooden pipe before he organized himself upon the arrival of his esteemed guests. He could hear the instant of the crunching grass that was around the corner.

"I see you made good use of the gift I bought." A feminine voice spoke to which Holver recognized it right away. It was sweet and innocent voice of a pragmatic learner of Twilight Sparkle. Holver emptied the ashes from his pipe, placed it at a small case and tucked away in his leather coat.

“And I deeply enjoy it much,” Holver spoke in a deep and fatherly tone as he turned gradually to her and smiled. “Thank you for the gift. I didn’t think you’d know my birthday?”

“Please,” Twilight rolled her eyes and hugged the elderly man. “Who do you think you’re talking to?”

Holver slightly chuckled and returned the hug. “You are probably right. Oh, Twilight, it is so good to see you again. I have never thought that we would be working together like the old days. Oh how fun this would be.”

“Indeed it is. Have you received the letter from Councilor Deshu?”

“I have and…” Holver sadly sighed and did not like what the letter said. “Never thought to see the day when we have to face the Haliv family, out of all people. Sad shame it was, they were one of the few people that give my family a second chance of life.”

“I know it is hard to swallow, Holver, but if there is any slightest chance that Nightmare Moon is in cahoots with the Halivs then it is our job to check it out.”

Holver snorted at her statement. “It never is. Guess it’s time to head out then,” As he stood up he then noticed a timid, young man behind the two guards. “I see that we have a rookie amongst us.”

“Hmm? Oh, I forgot, Holver, this is Geos. Geos this is Holver. He is coming with us to the investigation. Hope you don’t mind.”

Holver gave a suspicious gaze at the young rookie. “Care to explain why? I don’t mind at all with the numbers, the more the merrier, but rookies would just slow us down.”

“Believe me that I say he’s worth it,” Twilight glanced slightly back at the two guards before she leaned close to a whisper. “He has a…special talent that could help us in our situation.”

Holver raised an eyebrow and once more gazed at Geos. “By special talent do you mean he’s a…?”

“Yes.”

"And the councilor wouldn't mind bringing him alon-"

“Nope.”

“I see…” Holver strokes his grayish beard. “You sure are taking a lot of risk here. If they find out that he’s…”

“No one would find out. We made sure of it.”

Holver sighed in defeat. He couldn’t win against those google eyes. “Guess there’s no way of convincing you otherwise. Alright, I’ll go ahead with your plan, but would you mind if I ask some question with your friend…alone?”

Twilight turned to see Geos in a worried state. “Don’t worry about it, Geos,” she said, trying to calm him down. “Holver is a good friend of mine when I first came here to Soulus. He won’t bite.”

“If you so say so.” Geos gulped.

While Twilight and the two guards leave the two alone, Holver gave another suspicious gaze. “So, how much do you know you were a Harten?”

“An hour ago, but the idea of what is a Harten I know very much.” Geos couldn’t help but stand stiff-straight at the mercenary leader. Compared between the two, Holver was twice as large as a grizzly bear.

Holver then suddenly grinned and friendly tackled him. “You do not need to fear me. In truth I’m rather fond of Hartens. Had a friend who was Harten once though I cannot recall where he is right now. Anyway, the reason why you are here is because I want to tell you two important things, and a question, before we head out.”

Geos nodded nervously.

“Alright, number one: never call me goodsir. Stop with this formality and stuff cause it’s making me feel old for some reason. Just call me by my first name.

“Number two: relax. I know that look when you arrive that you hate us. Don’t be. I do not know what these high-officials been teaching you, but I trust my men like they were a family, including Twilight for one. You may see them as chaotic; I see them as an efficient and loyal group of people that I have the honor to know each and one of them.

“And last but not least a question and you’d better tell me an honest answer.”

Geos gulped loudly this time; sweat trickled down from his head.

“Alright, so I really need to know between the two of us,” Holver then looked around to see if there was anyone around eavesdropping on their conversation before he asked. “How do you fair with Twilight?”

Geos blinked at the question and quickly lost his balance.

“Guess that was too much, huh?