Morning time at the castle. Another day, another lesson. Twilight sat and awaited Celestia so the two could begin the day's academics. She was an hour early, as she was every day. In a semi-passive manner, she wondered about what type of profound knowledge Celestia would pass onto her that day. She genuinely hoped it was something useful. Or at least partially practical. Abstract philosophy and higher order mathematics caused her to groan with tedium. Quite frankly, the subjects seemed useless. Sure she knew the equation of a parabola, but what could a princess really do with that?
“Ah, Twilight. Punctual as always, I see,” said Princess Celestia upon arrival. She beamed and took a seat next to Twilight.
“What area of study are we covering today, Princess?" Twilight asked.
“Today is going to be a bit different. Instead of teaching you the lesson, I'm going to let you experience it yourself.”
“Hm? I don't quite follow,” Twilight said.
Celestia responded calmly with, “Not to worry. Today's lesson lies under the broad theme of metaphysical awareness and spiritual expansion. In a nutshell, you're going to combine your mind, body, and animus. When you begin to metamorphose, you'll come to realize just how truly connected to the world and everypony else we are. You'll see not just as an individual, but as a collective. Think of it as... prying open your third eye.”
Twilight was completely lost. The look of befuddlement was obvious on her face. Celestia may as well have been speaking in tongues.
“I don't understand at all...”
Celestia chuckled and handed Twilight a small square object. “All will be clarified soon enough. The only thing I want you to do is listen to this. That's it. This is called a compact disc, or 'CD' for short.”
Twilight looked at the thing in her hoof. The calligraphy present on the front was unlike anything she'd ever seen. “Tool?”
Celestia nodded.
“What kind of tool is this?" pressed Twilight. "And what's a 'la-te-ra-lus?' Is this from another country? It doesn't make any sense.”
Celestia couldn't help but giggle. “It has music stored on it. Here, I'll show you how to open it.” She slid off the black cover layer, revealing another picture underneath. Twilight made a face of disgust.
“What in Equestria is that? It doesn't have any skin!”
“That's a human,” explained Celestia. “We won't get to them until much, much later. To make a long story short, they created this. Their music is contained within this CD. They do have skin, by the way. Just not on this album cover.”
Twilight observed the foreign object once more. Humans were grotesque and largely misshapen. She couldn't quite appreciate the art style, either. There were rings of hallucinogenic eyes everywhere and a great many of them were on fire. Multiple fractal designs encircled the human, and a sort of ethereal spiral pillar branched up from its midsection.
“Can I be honest here, Princess?” asked Twilight.
“Of course, my little pony.”
“I'm pretty skeptical that this 'CD' is going to do anything. Let alone teach me about metaphysical spirituality.”
Celestia only smiled wider. “That is exactly why I want you to listen to it.”
Twilight sighed. If Celestia said so... “But, how do I use it anyway?”
“Oh, here. You just open up this little side hinge,” Celestia explained. She illustrated by popping open the case. “The flat disc here is the CD itself. You put it into a special player that can recognize this type of storage device.”
“I don't have one of those,” Twilight pointed out.
“I know. I'm going to let you borrow one. Now, all you have to do to start the music is plug the player in, put the disc in the player, shut the lid, and hit the button with a triangle pointing right. That's 'play.' Make sure your volume is adequate as well. A proper listening environment is critical for receiving the full impact of the music. In fact, I'm also going to let you borrow a pair of headphones. They'll ensure you don't miss anything.”
“Alright. I suppose I understand,” said Twilight, vigilant in her skepticism.
Celestia told her to wait while she retrieved the headphones and CD player. When she returned, the Twilight couldn't help but gawk at the enormity of the object Celestia levitated beside her. It was a clunky black box with two dark circles on the front and a vast assortment of buttons and knobs.
“This is the CD player. Commonly referred to as a 'boombox,'” Celestia told her. “Remember how to operate it?”
“Yes. Button with the triangle to the right.”
“Good. Here's a pair of decent headphones as well.” She produced a plastic semicircle with cupped padded cushions at the ends. “Please be careful with them. They're worth more bits than they should be.”
Twilight nodded. “Okay Princess. Is that everything?”
“Almost. It isn't necessary, but I recommend listening to the music in solitude. That will maximize the experience.”
“Alright. If that's everything then I suppose I'll be leaving now.”
Celestia grinned and waved goodbye. “Trust me, it'll be unforgettable!”
Twilight fit the headphones around her neck took control of levitating the boombox. She rolled her eyes as she made for the exit. Surely it must have been a prank. Celestia was sometimes known to pull complex gags, and Twilight suspected this irksome “lesson” was no different.
All up and down Canterlot and all throughout Ponyville, citizens stood on the sideline puzzled and amused at Twilight's mystery object. She ignored their burning stares and trudged towards Golden Oaks Library. Once inside, she set the behemoth boombox down and threw the CD on top of it. She needed a power source. It was rare that she used electricity as a power source, as her magic more than sufficed for all her needs. Thus, the library was furnished with a sparse amount of outlets. She peered under furniture and scoured the bottoms of walls.
Finally! She jammed the power cord into the outlet and slid the CD into the dock. With reluctance, she plugged the headphones in and fit them over her ears. This better not have been some stupid joke...
The button clicked as she pressed it in. There was some sort of mechanical whirring. After a few seconds of the quiet machine, an intense blast of deep sound spilled into her ears. She was taken aback by the purity of the aggressive tune. Alright, this might not be so bad... she told herself. The bass heavy song flowed into her head as if she was an empty vessel filling with life. She lay on the floor. Might as well be comfortable.
After ten minutes or so she rested with her eyes closed, genuinely enjoying herself. The beautiful blend of the instruments and the singer's voice possessed a mesmerizing harmonic effect. Patience. Be patient. She had to keep reminding herself of this. A peculiar feeling crept through her body - as if she could almost perceive the past tugging gently at the present. Like a child trying to grab the attention of a parent. The hazy future held its hand outstretched, straining to connect to the turbulent current.
The next couple tracks demanded her focus. The music picked at her ear. Yet, it felt somehow necessary. The lyrics were choppy and disjointed, but they danced whimsically in a frittering loop. Twilight picked up the CD case and glanced at the back for the track listings. Schism. she thought to herself. Indeed. It had quite a different vibe. It left her feeling slightly empty, but she felt a yearning to reconnect. To strengthen her friendships and temper her communication. To bring the pieces back together. What else was this fragmented song was trying to convey? She honestly had no idea.
She gave up on trying to interpret the meanings and just lay still, letting the melodies flow into her. The tendrils of notes and nuances washed over her, allowing her to feel the emotion behind the music. Nothing could describe the sheer beauty of the singer's voice as he intricately sung the holy gift of having a soul. Twilight could barely remember anything before her body accepted her, nestling her soul safely within its coils of muscles and tendons. The band's words were a haunting warble that touched Twilight deeper than she could explain. Normally she wasn't one to contemplate the concept of a soul, but the song refused to relinquish its cryptic grasp on her. She realized that she was not a body with a spirit inside, but a wandering spirit lucky enough to have found a body to call her own.
She had to keep listening. The essence of inspiration lit her mind's path to ideas she never thought possible. Everything was possible. Limitations were an illusion of consciousness. She felt the need to create, to build and inspire and bring beauty to the world. The power to offer so much more was lingering right at her hooftips. What a glorious new lens to view the world through! She wondered why everypony didn't listen to this divine music!
Twilight listened to the last several tracks, completely at peace with her inner being. In time she came to the realization that she was not simply a storehouse of the information she retained, but a conduit through which all living things could draw from. Her body was a portal to which knowledge could be attained. She was connected to the universe through her memories and thoughts. Striving for individuality was foolish, and only brought a pitiful sense of peace. The world was not a seething mass of singular entities, but a collective pool that all pulled together as one.
When Twilight opened her eyes, everything had changed. Gone was the familiar old library with it's normal old colors. She looked down at herself. She could feel the spiraling pools of chakras snaking up and throughout her core – on a central route out through her mind. Multitudes of energy ran inside her. Not only did she see with her eyes, but with her whole body. Every muscle, every blood cell within her was alive and held significance. Knowledge and power coursed through her body, racing along her nervous system and emptying into her widened third eye. When she spoke, the words rippled and wavered as their effects branched out to other beings, creating new paths to experience in life. She looked up. Above her head was a brilliant umbrella-like web of chakra. It spewed up and out like a fountain, connecting every living creature in the new perception of reality. Every soul was interconnected. Every creature mattered to the life of others. A net of being made from pure life force bridged the gab between narrow mindedness and transcendence. There was no point in negativity. War and sorrow were rendered useless. Only unity existed at the true core of existence.
Twilight blinked and felt her place in the world. She gazed past the boundaries of her imagination, dipping into the unfathomable. Her sleeping kundalini uncoiled and spiraled up and into the umbrella of consciousness. Though her physical body held limitations, everything was capable outside the lines of reason. There existed no past or future, only one existence with infinite singularities. She was here. She was alive. She was eternal.
Watch the weather change...
