ECHOES: Harmony Conspiracy

Prophet sat upon the balcony once more, an unsettling feeling plaguing his thoughts...

...for something within the field of the magical hyperverse felt wrong to Prophet--very wrong.

The hyperverse is the metaphysical plane of magic that coexists parallel with the conventional universe they lived in. This conventional universe was based on the principle that everything was composed of elemental matter and energy, able to be directly interacted with and could be measured and calculated. The entire realm of science and logic was created for the perpetual endeavor of deciphering the workings and dynamics of this universe.

Yet attempting to do the same to the hyperverse is altogether impossible.

The study of the hyperverse began just as long ago as the study of the known universe, yet almost no progress had successfully been made, all knowledge only theoretical. Despite the fact that it directly confluences and interacts with their universe, the parameters of its power and dynamics are alien in nature. It is a field that is all around them and its essence exists in everything--and everything manipulates and controls it some degree, yet is something no one can precisely explain.

Like an ocean, magical tides and currents flow throughout the field, a titanic force that shapes the universe and potentially controls reality…

...almost as if it were alive.

But if it were a sentient entity, then it would have a mind and thought--and with thought comes actions. These waves of magic would then be the result, as its omnipotent hands proceed to mend the plane of existence. Such anomalies are often associated with extreme events of great change, and could be felt by only the most experienced users in magic who knew what to feel when such events occur. But the amount of time between the hyperverse’s fluctuations and the actual event may span several years--even centuries, as its mysterious forces slowly move all the pieces into place before executing. Each event has its own unique signature, a sort of texture and pattern that is felt throughout one’s body when identified.

For Prophet’s case, this anomaly was similar to what had transpired after his ascension:

Prophet stood upon the castle balcony that towered above Canterlot, watching the chaos and fire below that lit the black night. Screams of primal rage and torment from the clashing ponies filled the cold air.

He had disguised himself and rallied those ponies, unbottling all the pain and suffering they had kept throughout their migrations and struggles, turning them into heartless animals who knew nothing but only those things--it was quite easy, due to the fact that he himself was heartless already. He carried no morals, no compassion for those unworthy proles. Only those who truly shared the beauty and passion of the night would rise into salvation, and join together to forge a future world under the Moon and stars.

Tonight would be the beginning of its birth.

He had done this with the consent of Nightmare Moon, but the Luna inside her was conflicted, not wanting of such a tragic outlash from the ponies to occur. Nevertheless, it would be necessary in order to eradicate her sister from the throne, and truly become the leader that will save them all. It would prove to the sister that her actions as leader were a failure, only creating a broken nation of torn souls and lament, too weak to strengthen them and protect them from the evil that perish their families and love. The Nightmare would feed on Luna’s sadness, anger, and jealousy, and bring forth a mighty being that would empower the ponies and scourge those that dare threaten the perfect night.

The castle’s body violently shook, and he felt a surge of mana that exploded within. A malevolent laughter echoed through the air. Suddenly, the roof of the Hall exploded outwards, a pulse of pure energy breaking through, glowing a blinding shade of dark purple. Prophet looked to the side, and saw two bodies taking off through the hole, one in hot pursuit of the other. They disappeared under the bridge connecting the castle’s buildings, and he teleported down below to follow.

He reappeared in the middle of the bridge, and without delay, proceeded to run, chasing the two alicorns in a fierce battle. The one in front spiraled, turning around briefly to projectile a ball of white plasma at her pursuer, narrowly being dodged and continued to travel through the air, crashing behind him into the middle of the bridge. The bridge began to wobble beneath his hooves as chunks of the bridge began to separate, the ones closest to the middle falling first, creating a massive gaping staircase, each step a few meters long.

Already the plates ahead of him began to descend, but being a unicorn genius did not mean he was lame and weak, but rather quite the opposite. He had interest in studying advanced combat to be incorporated with arcane combat, and had built himself to meet such requirements of strength, endurance, and agility. With a form that resembled a cheetah’s sprint, he lunged across each gap between the falling plates and crossed them with lightning speed, his cloak whipping through the wind. He quickly kept pace with them until he reached the last plate, which had almost fallen too far for him to reach the entrance above.

Just almost.

He kicked off with all the power his buck could afford, and barely reached the ledge with his hooves, his body dangling over the hundreds of pounds of stone being crushed. He pulled himself into the building, and began to chase down the fight, muscles now fueled by adrenaline. They were now flying alongside the halls, Prophet keeping track through the windows as he ran. Further shots were fired between them, destroying everything within their proximity.

One of the stray beams hit the base of a tower, causing it to immediately tilt in his direction. It’s sheer size made it seem to take forever to reach him, but within the blink of an eye, the part of the hall in front of him exploded as the tower crashed, several tons of the castle’s walls coming down around him. He charged his horn whilst running, watching the barrier come down before teleporting at the last second, flashing ahead to continue following the fight, leaving behind all the destruction.

Through one of the windows, he saw the image of a purple beam striking body of the lead alicorn, fire erupting in the sky around her before the beam turned back into an infinite line that stretched across the sky as it deviated from her. The body plummeted back into the hole of the Main Hall where the fight began, and the alicorn that was his goddess followed.

He stopped running, and blasted the window in front of him, stepping onto the ledge to look down upon the two. The ground began to shake once more, and he saw the cause of it: A massive stone construction began to erect from the ground in front of the white alicorn, several peculiar gems floating above each pedestal that rotated around the center as it rose. He felt a strange magical sensation that radiated from those gems…

No...

The gems began to glow as the white one took hold of them. A bright light began to emit from the center orb atop the monolith...a six-sided star began to rise from it…

No! It can't be...!

The two bodies rose from the ceiling once more, hovering in the air above the hall, several dozen meters in front of him. The one that was Nightmare Moon began to fuse a chaotic spell, a semi-sphere of white energy forming opposite of her horn around behind body, while the space around her horn began to glow blackshifted--that meant no light radiated from it, for it was producing so much energy, it was creating a physical rupture--a temporal microsingularity sustained by pure magic.

But that was not going to be enough. No matter what she did, she would never be able to conjure up enough power to prevent what was about to happen next.

The white one lowered her head, and began to charge her own spell. A stunning golden orb began to envelop her, the gems quickly spiraling around her to create a rainbow ring. Not waiting for whatever she was doing, Nightmare Moon screamed and discharged her built up spell, a colossal pulse of plasma channeled directly towards the sister.

What came from the sister was just as spectacular in effect, the world for one moment having two suns within its orbit--but the feeling was quite the opposite. What came from her felt calm--felt clean and perfect…

...Harmonic.

The two forces collided, but the gold beam from the Elements began to overtake the chaotic dark beam seemingly without effort. The stream was uninterrupted, and was not fazed in the slightest bit as it pushed back its opposer. Before long, the beam reached Nightmare Moon, her eyes widening in shock.

Prophet screamed incoherently as the harmonic forces overtook her, enveloping her in a massive spiral that emitted the full spectrum of color before launching into the sky towards the moon like lightning. A flash of light erupted from it, a rainbow splitting the night sky. Like flowing tears, darkness spread across the surface, painting the image of the silhouette of Nightmare Moon gazing down upon the world.

The wind of noise died down, the night returning back to its quiet slumber. Prophet breathed heavily, having witnessed the banishment of his goddess and his destiny being crushed. He stared upon the moon, and she looked back. Deep inside of him, he felt a pain he seemed to have forgotten long ago. A feeling of brokenness? Anger? Despair? The feeling only existed for a brief moment before fading away.

No, not all hope was lost, Prophet realized. Someday, Nightmare Moon will return. Someday, she will descend upon the world to take back what her sister had stolen, then he and his goddess will rise together to reclaim their destiny. But until then, he would have to set the world into place. He would ensure her coming back, and ensure that the kingdom would accept her as their new leader by any means...

...and he will NOT lose her again.

But the implications of this anomaly are catastrophic. If he failed to stop whatever would happen, his last chance would be destroyed, the future for a perfect world ruined, and she will never return to him, broken and abandoned for the rest of eternity.

If he wanted to stop it, he would either have to somehow control it, or find a way to think one step ahead to avoid and essentially outplay fate.

If this hyperverse were truly were a sentient being, it would be something that would have the dominance of a god over him. It could not and certainly would not want to be controlled by anyone, and could simply flick them out of existence if it so wished. Despite being among the most skilled and powerful unicorns, he was but a single being controlling a mere iota of its infinite, omnipotent quasar of pure power.

But like a being, it would have a mind and thought… Prophet logically deduced, thinking back on what he had thought before. Somehow, he would have to tap into the hyperverse and translate its so-called ‘thoughts’.

By being able to transcribe its thoughts...Yes, this just might work.

Prophet walked into the castle, formulating his plans. There was much to be done…

...and he had all the time in the world.