Chapters ECHOES: Harmony Conspiracy
Prologue: What Could Have Been
The marble halls echoed as golden hooves approached the balcony of the castle towering above the city of Canterlot. The orange star approached the western horizon, with the deep-blue of the night on the other. An inferno of red blood painted the sky upon the canvas of polluted smoke, which rose from below the mountains where the city rested. The source was a massive metropolis of slums, populated by thousands of souls.
It couldn't have been more lifeless if it were pillars of sand.
Ponies were returning back to their rundown apartments after a long day of worthless labor with worshiped payment that was equivalent. They walked with no destination, no thoughts, no track of time. None of them looked upon the beauty of the sky their smoke rotted each and every day, and none of them looked upon one another, no regard to whom they travel beside. They only stared ahead, upon a world with no dimension or light only the condemned could see. These were the beings that lived in these slums--bodies with no soul, no spectrum of color or contrast.
Everything was all grey. Dead.
The ruler saw all of this, and took it all in. Oh how she wished to change all of it. She had taken no part in creating this morbid world, yet could not help but feel responsible for what had ensued to that made it all happen...
It was a dangerous place ages ago, and Equestria hadn't existed yet.
The ponies were nomads who traveled across the vast world in search for a place of salvation to live and settle. They were lead by two great sisters, but it was primarily the older one that guided and commanded them. They trusted and entitled their lives to them, in hope that they would guide them towards a better life.
After countless years of roaming through the harsh endless landscape, they had finally found a place to call home. Lush plains and rich forests were surrounded by mountains that separated them from the outside hell. They proceeded to build such homes here, but not without peace. Monsters attacked at night, tribes of different races raided them--it was almost as if it were no different than their travels. Their numbers diminished, but the ponies would most certainly not be wiped out. Yet they found the casualties to be unacceptable.
They began to question the commands of the older sister, and thought of perhaps following the younger one instead, or even elect a new leader entirely. The younger sister was jealous of her older sibling, for all the ponies basked in her glorious light, while the younger one was neglected and treated as a stranger. Despite her attempts to learn and do as her older sister did, the ponies still did not treat her well.
Seeing as the populace were now unsatisfied with the way the older sister lead, the younger one took advantage and rebelled, proposing that her leadership would bring them salvation. Many of them followed suit.
Tensions rose between the two parties, arguing against each other, often resorting to violence. Mobs and uprisings took place. Soon, it was as if all the escalation came crashing down, turning into a full blown civil war in one night.
In the midst of all of it, the two sisters looked from above, upon the bloodshed taking place. The screams of hatred, death, and tortured souls filled the air, their agonizing voices coming straight from the depths of tartarus. The younger one, broken from such tragedies, turned towards her sister and placed all the fault on her; the reason why their precious little ponies were turning into monsters.
Determined, she allowed her deepest and darkest entities to possess her, their infinite powers taking control over her mind and body, mending together into a monster herself. An epic battle took place between them, above the chaos and catastrophe below. The older sibling realized she would not win without inflicting any harm, and resorted to the Elements of Harmony. She was able to obtain them before the nightmare was able to stop her, and used them to banish what used to be her sister to the silver purgatory among the stars forever.
Yet that wasn't the end of it.
The ponies were furious for what the older sister had done, and created their own system of government, losing all faith in her, neglecting her. If that was what they wanted, it was what she was going to give them. The system rapidly became corrupt, fighting for scraps of power and capital while treating the people like dirt.
As time went on, the ponies began to lose their voice, their independence. The lost what defined them, what gave them reason. Now they were all controlled by the rich, the corrupt, those who deceived them. They became puppets, the ones behind the strings insisting it was their own voice. No matter what she tried to do, the ponies wouldn't listen. No happiness existed. No laughter, kindness, generosity, honesty, or vitality of peace and magic.
She had tried bringing such things back to light, but to no avail--the masses were too ignorant and blind to listen, and corrupted parties wanted nothing of her but to die. Thus, she decided that the broken world of greed and suffering they have created for themselves was to be their punishment. And it broke her heart.
There was nothing left in this world for her to live for, were it not for the chance of her true sister returning by her side--but she would have to wait and endure.
She remembered every single constellation in the sky that night. She remembered every drop of blood that was spilled from their bodies. She remembered the embers on their homes, resembling the ponies' hate that consumed everything they loved and cared for...
...And the fiery sunset looked exactly like those embers centuries ago.
She remembered it all.
She closed her eyes, and lifted her head towards the ball of light above, and brought it down below the horizon, burying it among the mountains in the distance. Then she looked towards the other half of the sky. She still had one final task to perform.
It was the task that brought her pain and angst each and every day.
With dread, she focused within her, searching for her lost sister's magical entity. She felt it, and touched it. A surge of memories erupted before her...
Times they enjoyed playing together, the sweet sound of her beautiful, melodic laughter warming her soul...
The deep majestic blue eyes filled with the innocence, love, and passion they shared for each other...
...How she longed for her again.
She focused on this entity and felt the face of her sister rise into the night sky--what she experienced next was anything but the sibling she once knew.
The monster above screamed down upon it's sister below--for the unbearable loneliness of passing centuries; the pain and torment of watching its little ponies die and decay each passing day with no life to live for. It screamed in agonizing torture, screaming at her why she did this to her--screaming why she stood idly watching. It screamed and screamed, its echoes failing to reach its sister's ears worlds apart.
Yet, the older sister heard every single second of it each and every night.
The task was finally complete. She went to her bed and collapsed. Tears streamed from her eyes. She cried and cried, her choking sobs filling the cold, desolate room. The loss, the loneliness, the pain--it was all too great for her to bear, yet she had no choice. After countless hours, she had finally cried herself into a restless slumber, nightmares plaguing her mind.
And it would happen again, and again, and again, without end...
The cold night passed by, the silver moon looming above...
...watching
...and waiting.
ECHOES: Harmony Conspiracy
"...It is a beautiful night."
The unicorn stallion gazed at the stellar display which was perfection, the very symbol of what he would soon give everything for. He was tall with a lean body that was a deep blue-silver coat, and wore a long, dark-purple coat, the same of the night.
The pony that was represented by it stood beside him, sharing his demeanor and sentiment. She was currently in her Nightmare form, her towering stance intimidating and powerful, yet gentle and graceful. Her mane flowed from the solar wind, radiating a shade of azure. Clouds of stars were illustrated in it, mystically portrayed.
The sky was painted with the stars and moon. They were walking through the lush forest, away from the white castle towering above the lights of hundreds of homes behind them. They reached a body of crystal water, the lake stretching all the way down to the horizon. Trees surrounded each side of the water, and the moon was centered in the middle of it. The water was still, the mirror creating a majestic curtain of light cascaded down from the silver orb.
They both watched its display of beauty. She replied to him whilst gazing at it.
"You say that every time."
"Is there a reason to lie?"
"I dare you." She said, the curl of a joking smile around her mouth betraying her threat. He chuckled, and she could not help but lose control briefly and laugh with him--how beautiful her laugh was to him. But the implications of what was about to happen returned, and their stoic attitude returned.
"What is before me, I behold as my truth and essence. Nothing else."
She took a moment to brace before asking. "Then I take you wish for this more than anything else?"
"Yes." He answered, without any hesitation. He knew the price he had to pay, and they discussed it many times. But he truly desired its reward, and required it to achieve their destiny.
She sighed, closing her eyes, conflicted against herself. She could not have asked for a more perfect, loyal, and capable being to stand beside her for the rest of eternity. He was a prodigy, a being that was truly special, carrying a great power within him. This was something she felt the very moment she encountered him, and had the privilege of taking him under her wing.
He excelled in absolutely every subject, blowing past all her expectations until her understanding and ideas of what he was capable of could catch up. His cognition, instinct, and reflexes were phenomenal--calculated, controlled, precise, lighting quick. His feats were of equal excess, fueled by ambition and greatness, but he certainly was not power-thirsty: he knew his limits, as well as the universe's with a balanced mind; he knew what was truly needed.
And that was what brought them here this night.
She would lead all the ponies to salvation, with him right by her side for the rest of eternity. They would share the glory of night, and bring life and prosperity to all before them. But for him to be able to do this, he would have to give up all his emotion, vitality, and essence. He would give up his heart, his soul, leaving only a shell. But he insisted that she was all he lived for, and it would be all worth it; that he could ask for nothing more than being able to stand by her side forever.
But for one to lose his soul, his essence of being and simply LIVING, was something to be taken very heavily. This phenomenon would purge and wipe it all, and replace it , so to speak, with what he determined to be his sole purpose, his only reason of existing. This would be the only thing left behind.
This was the ambition he showed since the beginning, what he emphasized each and every passing moment. He showed it in everything he's done. There was no doubt about it. There would be no reason to ask again, to assure him, or herself.
She gave herself a moment to set her mind fully, and embrace it.
"Alright then. Let us begin."
She gather her power, the threads of magic weaving through her. She manipulated them with a complexion and precision no mind less capable could achieve. The amount of raw power coursing through her horn channeled directly from the Hyperverse was immense, but she held it all under control, the mastery of centuries of experience at work.
She finally found the perfect balance; the right texture and form for the spell to be safely relayed to him.
Without a single word spoken by her, Prophet knew it was time. His horn touched with hers, and impossible amounts of energy instantly surged into him. His being was ripped apart, his body unnaturally altered, yet perfectly, alienating into something that was beyond his understanding. The pain was almost unbearable, as every emotion seemed to be blasting into his mind at once, his body erupting with agony like a fire.
The closest comparison would be angst, betrayal, bliss, and confusion felt all at once--while electrocuted and incinerated. It seemed as if it were never going to stop, losing track of time.
After an eternity, it felt as if his emotions were drained, then suddenly depleted altogether, a shock of emptiness within his mind.
When the transformation was complete, they both collapsed onto the ground. His eyes flickered open, yet no light came in. He got up onto his hooves, but they did not feel anything. He heard the chirping of birds and the flowing water, except they sounded hollow. Looking up towards the portrait before himself, he could not feel its beauty, nor could he remember what it felt like. His memories didn't produce any color or emotion. They simply felt like dull words, blandly telling a history.
He did not feel joy or sadness, no pain or ecstasy, no passion or hate.
He felt dead.
"Prophet!" He heard a muffled call beside him, his senses still recovering from the experience. The voice came from his god, his one and only being he lived for. What she said, it must be his name...
...No, he remembered now. It was not just a name--It was what defined him, what his true purpose was. He was the prophet who would call upon the dusk, and preach the coming of the night. He would serve its ruler, and her kingdom of peace and prosperity. He would stand beside her, and create a world of...something... under the...
the...
He could not think of a way to describe or feel the emotions of his thoughts; they felt dull, empty. Beauty? Vastness? Perfection? These were plain words, descriptions assigned to what something was defined as--nothing more. There was no poetry, no depth, no true sensation as to what they were supposed to feel like.
"A-are you all right?" She asked again. He looked at what was now the form of Luna. Her face showed worry and concern, but they seemed like numbers coded to him, simply defining one's condition. They held no meaning otherwise.
When he answered, he did so not to reassure her, or to comfort her--those were things he did not know.
Everything he did would be to fulfill his goals, his principles, his reason of existence. Anything else would hinder him, deny him this dream. But reassuring Luna of her question would help them progress, and take them one step closer to their destiny. And so he did.
His mouth curled into a smile, an expression that portrayed an emotion that wasn't there.
"I HAVE NEVER FELT MORE ALIVE."
The memories faded away, fading back into the grey shadows of his consciousness. He let his eyes remain closed, meditating.
He sat on the balcony of a tower on top of the Canterlot Castle, standing atop the vast city which resided on the side of the mountain. His head faced towards the moon ahead. He wore the same cloak, stretching down his body. The hood falls over his eyes, unable to be seen by others. He never took it off, for it was a symbol of what he represented.
Prophet had the flashback every single night, always on the same hour of its occurrence centuries ago. He remembers all the feelings and emotions before they shred apart inside of him. He remembered the pain and misery it caused as he was crucified. He remembered feeling the emptiness of his dead heart; the feeling of dust pulsing through its veins.
And he felt it for every second of his existence since that night.
He never regretted the decision. He never looked back at his previous life. It was what he wanted, what he needed to achieve not only his dreams, but his goddess' as well. There was no sacrifice he knew that was too great to benefit them.
It was because of her why he made the decision. She was worth everything to him. She was his purpose for existing. No, he did not love her, but rather saw her as a ruler who would achieve their destiny. They shared the same visions, their dreams of a great kingdom full of joy and prosperity (both of which he understood in definition, but could not feel). He was her disciple, a pony that would help her shape its destiny. This dream he has every night fuels his aspiration.
Prophet opened his eyes, the grey world painted before him. He felt no different than when he lay down only an hour ago. He sleeps at the time the memory occurs, and awakes when the time of the memory ends. They were restless, but they constantly reminded him of her and each other's destinies. They were the hours he lived the most each day in his dead life.
He slowly got up, his body retaining a regal posture, as if of that a wise king with resolve and persistence. Bidding his goddess a good night, he returned inside, leaving her by herself in the starry sky...
...Their dreams would not be achieved sitting idly.
ECHOES: Harmony Conspiracy
Chapter 2: The Nightmare's Nightmare
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.
ECHOES: Harmony Conspiracy
~ECHOES~
E xecutive C ouncil of H ierarchy O verwatch for E questrian S ecurity.
"For violating Parliament and acts passed by the body of Equestrian government, ECHOES will initiate Parliamentary Protocol under its directive for 'restructuring' the Hierarchy in order to maintain justice and stability within the government and prevent the outbreak of uncontrolled authoritarian rule, under jurisdiction of and for the security of Equestria--thus instituting the rights and power for ECHOES to use whatever force necessary for the subject or subjects in question and among those associated to be replaced or removed entirely by any means.
"Effective IMMEDIATELY."
