Chapter 1: Amidst the sea
Euphoria
“I am Sovereign Mane, and I’m here to ask you a question. Is a Stallion not entitled to the sweat of his brow? ‘No!’ Say the Princesses. ‘It belongs to the poor.’ ’No!’ say the royal Guards ‘It Belongs to Princess Celestia.’ ‘No!’ say the Colts in Stalliongrad. ‘It belongs to everypony.’ I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose… Euphoria, a city where the artist would not fear the censor, where the genius would not be bound by petty morality, where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, Euphoria can become your city as well.”
Darkness enveloped the area as the sounds of sadistic laughter echoed and dissipated in the distance of the market district. The horrid scent of rotten food mixed with the smell of the decaying corpses, wafting in the air. Condensation dripped off the cold pipes that jutted out of the moldy brick walls of the shops. The silence was broken by a mechanical voice that escaped from the speakers surrounding each shop. Dim lights penetrated the darkness, illuminating the shards of broken glass that were scattered on the ground.
A pile of rubble laid wasted on the floor of one of the shops, and atop awoke an injured unicorn hazed and confused. He stood up staring upon the broken blocks that had been his bed the night before. As his hooves placed themselves firmly on the ground a nauseating odor bombarded his snout, forcing him to the floor once again. His stomach churned as the urge to vomit compelled him to find shelter from the horrid smell. Across the way was a door marked ‘Restroom’ and without a moment of hesitation he rushed to the sanctuary, ignoring the grim scenery around him.
He locked the door behind him and proceeded to release the contents of his stomach into the toilet bowl. With his nausea alleviated for the moment he went to the nearby sink to wash away the taste from his mouth. He paused for a moment and inspected himself in the overhead mirror, the face seemed familiar but… he couldn’t remember who the stallion in the reflection was. The turquoise coat tainted by stains of dried blood, the burgundy colored mane, and the amethyst tinted irises were all alien to him. ‘Who am I?’ his mind wondered, only to be answered by a sharp pain that afflicted him. It was caused by the broken horn on his head, he raised his forehoof to press against it and noticed a silver bracelet; on it were the words, Spirit Enchanter. The name reverberated in his head as the pain slowly disappeared and was replaced by a voice.
The sound was broken and distant yet, worried. “..CH.NTE. GE. OU. OF ..ERE!” Before the disoriented stallion could comprehend what the voice had said the sound of metal scrapping across the ground was heard outside.
The sound grew closer with each passing second; Enchanter could only press himself against the wall holding in his breath as it finally reached the door. ‘Tap, tap, tap’ the sound of a hoof knocking on the door was followed by a clanging sound of metal hitting the floor. “SweETy… i KnoW You’Re In ThERe…” The distorted mare’s voice said, directed to the stallion inside. “OpEN uP tHe GuEsT aRe CoMiNg… Don’T iGnORe ME!!” The mare’s knocking grew furious nearly knocking the old door off its rusted hinges. He quickly pressed himself on the door to keep it from breaking.
The psychotic mare noticed that the door wouldn’t budge and paused for a moment before picking up the metal pipe next to her and began smashing it against the door. “LeT…. mE…iN!!” her anger could be felt in each swing that she made, slowly denting the wood.
The dent soon turned into a hole that forced Enchanter away from the door. “ComE cLoSEr lOvE…” The mare’s twisted voice matched her deformed face that was poorly hidden behind a broken gala mask. Her body was covered in scars and bloody stains on her fur; the sight of the twisted mare struck fear into Enchanter as he looked at her. She was about to grab for the handle inside and unlock the door, until the ground below their hooves started to shake. She quickly turned away in panic as the ground trembled under them. “oH nO iT’S tOo lAtE ThE gUeSt aRe hERe!”
The insane pony ran off into the distance leaving Enchanter alone in the room; his heart was racing almost escaping his chest. The ground continued to shake under him getting stronger with every… step? Yes, the shaking was coming from something walking; it was a large stallion at least twice the size of Enchanter. He could see the titanic behemoth from inside the broken door; the large horse looked more like a mechanical monster than an equine, not made by magic but by nightmares. Its entire body was covered in an underwater diving suit while it’s hooves were wrapped in rusty metal casing, its head was enclosed in a large steel diving helmet and atop, where the horn of a unicorn would usually stand, there was a sharp drill bathed in old blood.
Enchanter was once again frozen with fear as he stared upon the creature in front of him, he kept quiet hoping that it would ignore him and leave. As he planned on a way to escape, he heard the voice of a diabolic being mixed with the tone of the innocent filly that followed behind the immense sire. “C’mon Big S. let’s go find more seraph.” The Joyous smile on the small foal’s face seemed misplaced in the bleak market area and her glowing yellow eyes shone brightly in the distance. Before Enchanter could try and understand everything he saw, the voice from earlier returned into his head, clearer than before.
“Enchanter, can you here me! Listen closely, as long as you don’t hurt the Big Sire or the Little Filly you’ll be fine. Guardasi!” The voice of the mysterious mare says in a sincere accent that, for some reason, calmed the frightened stallion.
Enchanter could only stay in silence as he trusted in the voice and exited the restroom; he looked to the ground and found the metal pipe that the other ‘thing’ had left behind. He didn’t know what he would face but the idea of carrying the blunt object seemed safer than simply walking around the area empty hooved. Enchanter quietly avoided the ‘Big Sire’ as he walked in the opposite direction hiding himself behind the shop’s counter, the horrid scent was still wafting in the air but his mind was too set on avoiding the monster’s that had plagued him to notice it.
Enchanter was able to bypass the oddly paired beast as he quietly walked toward the large vault-like door. As he reached for the metal crank to open it, a sudden thump was heard behind him followed by a thundering roar. He quickly hid preparing his weapon but, found it unnecessary as the threatening noise wasn’t directed towards him, but to another. Enchanter stared for a moment to the battle that had uprooted only a few meters away. It was the Big Sire battling… no that’s wrong; it was slaughtering the group of insane attackers. There were three already dead, in only a few seconds into their preemptive attack, leaving only a familiar twisted mare alone to fight against the beast.
Enchanter stood up from behind his shelter about to aid the mare, only to be stopped by the voice in his head. “Aspettare! What are you doing, leave her she’s already lost any ways. She isn’t like us, she’s another cipher. She’ll only end up killing the little filly and YOU too.” He gritted his teeth as he backed away; he heard the screams of horror that came from the battle and the thump of her lifeless body hitting the floor.
Once again the ground shook as the beast began to walk away leaving the bodies where they lay. Enchanter left the horrid scene behind him as he turned the crank entering a long hallway and as he entered, the heavy metal door closed behind him; the sound didn’t shock him but the scenery of the hallway did. He was standing inside a thick glass tube paved with cement on the bottom and the tube was surrounded by… the ocean. “What in the name of Celestia is all of this…?” He asked aloud to himself as he slowly began to walk down the hallway and beheld the beautiful undersea surroundings.
“This… is Euphoria and you are becoming another thorn in my side.” A deep stallion’s voice said in his mind. “Who are you?” Enchanter asks the unknown voice. “You truly are a feeble creature are you not? To think that YOU fought my Big Sire and lived to tell the tale, but not unscathed I see.” The voice chuckled menacingly “You must have quite a headache Bwuahahaha-.” The laughter was cut short and soon, Enchanter heard another voice.
“Enchanter, ignore the sick doctor and continue on. I have blocked off his telepathy now hurry while it is safe.” Enchanter finally realized that he didn’t know the identity of the mare that had been helping him either. ”Who are you?”
“You’ll know soon enough just head down to the Lodging Lobby. It’s just down the hallway.” She sounded distressed.
“Why should I trust you?” Enchanter asked in concern.
“Because… I will take care of you, Amore.” Her tone of voice changed into a sincere one.
Enchanter could do nothing now except, trust the mare and continue down the underwater path watching the fish as they passed by in large schools. The sight of the ocean was tranquil and calming unlike the city that it held in its depths. Enchanter continued until he reached another large metal door. As he turned the crank, opening the door, he walked into a dimly lit lobby and the door seemed to lock behind him as he walked into the dirty room. It only took a few seconds before a pink maned unicorn mare ran up to Enchanter and embraced him in a tight hug. “Amore, you made it here safely. I’m so glad.” Said the familiar voiced, velvet colored mare.
Enchanter was caught by surprise at her and moved away, dropping the metal pipe that he was carrying. “D-do I know you?”
The mare looked down with a despondent expression. “Y-you really don’t remember me?”
Enchanter didn’t know how to answer the question and simply shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember anything before I woke up today.”
She looked up surprised and placed her hoof on his head inspecting the wound. “Oh dear, you must have hit your head quite badly.” She told him, gently caressing his cheek. “Don’t worry tesoro, I’ll take care of your injury right away.”
Before Enchanter could ask her his questions a light blue aura enveloped his horn and it slowly began to grow back. The pain that had been plaguing him had all but left, leaving him with only dry blood stains on his head.
“How did you do that, miss…?” He paused hoping to get her name.
“I’m sorry darling, since you don’t remember, let me introduce myself… again.” She giggled playfully at her own words. “I am Violetta Nightingale, from Itfilly, I am a nurse and soon to be… your wife.” She smiled and her cheeks turned into a deep blush.
Enchanter’s heart sank at her statement, not because he was sad but because he felt guilty that he had forgotten his own fiancé’s name. “Violetta, I-I’m sorry…”
Before he could continue his apology she placed her hoof on his lips and smiled sweetly at Enchanter. “I do not blame you amore mio, you got hurt trying to save me I’m just glad that you’re safe.” She proceeded to wrap her forelegs around him and kissed his cheek gently. “Nothing will take you away from me, ti amo.”
Enchanter returned the sentiment and tried his best to remember the mare that adored him so unconditionally, but with no avail. They spent a few moments in the embrace of one another until Enchanter finally broke the silence. “How do we get out of this place Violetta?”
Violetta moved away and pointed towards the Welded door. “Through there amato, but I closed it off before more Ciphers could get in.” Enchanter sighed as he looked at the door, “ Can we go around or maybe through some kind of passage?”
She nodded and pointed at an open vent behind the counter. “Yes through there we can go into the housing lodge and get the parts we need for the transporter.”
Enchanter shook his head in disagreement. “No, I’ll go… alone. You stay here, where it’s safe, and keep me informed like you have been doing. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Violetta was moved by his concern and agreed to his request. “Of course amato. I’ll be sure to lock myself in and safe, as long as you promise to return to me.”
Enchanter smiled warmly up at her as he grabbed the pipe again and began to crouch down to enter the vent. “I promise to return and together we’ll get out of here Violetta, I swear.”
He entered the vent and descended into the unknown area that would surely be more perilous than before. Enchanter tried his best to process everything that was occurring and was hoping for some answers to how and why he was there. Little does he know that the answers that he seeks will only convey more questions of his life in this dark city under the sea.
Chapter 2: Fated to Coincide
Enchanter descended through the old dusty vent into the unknown chaos that awaited him below in the Housing Lodge. As he crawled, Violetta’s voice rung in his head stopping him in his tracks.
“Darling, you’re inside. You can exit through the vent ahead of you but, be careful I sense ciphers in the distance.”
He stayed silent as he pressed the vent away from himself letting it fall to the floor a few feet below him. Enchanter glanced through the hole, popping his head into a dark room filled with old wooden décor. Each item was thrown about and broken; it seemed lonely as no voices could be heard nearby. He slid out of the cramp vent and dropped down to the ground holding the metal pipe in his hoof as he stood.
He searched around the room for any items he could use, picking up an old saddlebag that lay underneath the wreckage of an old cabinet. Inside the old leather satchel there were a few medical supplies and a personnel note, written in faded ink. Enchanter took the old paper in his hoof, illuminating it with his horn in order to read it in the dimly lit area.
________________________________________________________________________________
To anypony this may help,
I sit here, feeling my mind fall to the insanity that has plagued all the others. Soon none of these items will help me and I will only want more power to continue on but, instead I have chosen to leave them here for anypony that may need them. Inside I have placed a concentrated seraph filled syringe that, when injected, will increase the user’s magical ability. Also, I have enclosed multiple regenerative tablets that can help heal wounds and cure minor diseases. Please continue on, all around this city I have placed packs and notes containing my findings based on my research. If by any chance you can change the mistake that I have created please…
Fix it.
________________________________________________________________________________
As Enchanter finished reading the note aloud to himself the sound of Violetta’s voice echoed in his mind. “Amore, did you say… Seraph?” she hesitated waiting for his response.
“I believe so, it says that it will increase my ‘magical ability’ what does that mean?”
“That Seraph was created as a marvel that was supposed to enhance the powers of earth pony breeds but… it was more powerful than expected. It started a race for power and normal ponies, like us, were just caught in the middle, darling.” She responded in a despondent tone.
“Isn’t this something I should use if it’ll help us survi-“
“NO!” Enchanter was surprised by her sudden outburst. “I don’t want you to use it if there’s a chance that you’ll turn into one of… them”
“Violetta I won’t change into one of those beasts… and if we want to survive we’ll need this.” He said in a solemn tone.
She couldn’t seem to change his mind with her opinion and sighed. “Fine, no matter what you choose to do I will support your decision amore mio. All I ask is that you remember your promise to me.”
Enchanter could only hesitate as he contemplated about taking the glowing yellow liquid. It only took a few seconds for him to understand that the ends justified the means and he knew what had to be done. He had to become stronger to protect himself but more importantly to protect Violetta.
He took the syringe in his hoof pushing the needle through skin into his veins and began to inject the concoction. An overwhelming heat surged through his veins, unlike any pain he’d ever felt before. He was unable to hold back his screams as his body convulsed from the shock causing him to thrash around the room.
Slowly the pain started to subside until he was finally able to take control of his movements once again. He rose from a damaged table that he had tipped over and began to tremble as he stood up feeling strangely invigorated.
“Th-this power… it feels… astounding.”
“Enchanter stay quiet I can sense multiple ciphers heading in your direction you need to hide.”
Enchanter crouched behind the table as the sound hoovesteps began to near the front door of the apartment. In a few moments a loud crash was heard as the door flew open and three shadowy figures entered the room.
“Where is it…? I know I heard somepony around here…” Said the bleak looking stallion that seemed to lead the small group. “Search the room for anything you can find…”
The two smaller colts did as he said, chuckling slightly as they forced themselves through the room knocking items to the floor as they searched. Enchanter hid preparing the metal pipe in his hoof, feeling their presence near him. As the two walked past the table they saw the crouching Enchanter, their chuckles stopped and their heads tilted upon his unexpected appearance.
“Now what do we ‘ave ‘ere?” Asked a short, twisted colt.
“Seems like a unicorn… not quite normal now is it.” Replied his scar faced compatriot.
“Boss come ‘ere it wreaks o’ seraph…”
The larger stallion approached the others and looked down at the unicorn with a distorted smirk on his face before opening his mouth.
“Well, well lookie here… another inferior creature. I thought we disposed of all your kind down here.” It grinned down at Enchanter before reaching into the saddlebag on its back, pulling out a metallic, gem-encrusted bracer. As it slipped onto his hoof it began to gleam, changing colors until it sustained into a solid white.
The stallion lifted his hoof, pointing it at Enchanter. “Looks like I’ll have to exterminate you myself… What a pleasure it will be.”
Enchanter held the pipe up rushing toward the group of ciphers; only to be pushed back by an invisible force that tossed him across the room until he hit the far wall behind him.
“Agh… Wha-what was that?” Enchanter asked Violetta as he gasped for air.
“He’s using an alchemic centralizer; it gives him the ability to use magic with the power of the magical gems on his wrist. Amato, you can’t beat the three of them just run… please.”
Enchanter stood up, aching from the toss, staring at the large stallion that had thrown him with such ease. As he stared at his assailant, his anger quickly took control of all his thoughts until only a violent rage was left inside him.
The three ciphers stood tall watching as a bright light emanated through Enchanter’s horn, hastily enthralling the room in its glow. Before the group could react, a quick telekinetic force knocked the two smaller colts to the ground and ignited them in a fiery blaze. As the larger stallion readied his attack, the light engulfed his hoof, pulling the alchemic centralizer away and bringing it to Enchanter. The device slipped onto his hoof carefully and the light began to dissipate around them centering directly on the bracer as it pointed in the direction of the now frightened stallion.
“How does it feel? How does it feel knowing you’re going to die by the hoof of an ‘inferior’ creature!?” Enchanter asked rhetorically as a surge of electricity escaped his hoof, shooting toward the cipher.
~*~
He took the items he needed from what remained of the corpses and continues his journey, seemingly unscathed by the choices that he had made. With his natural magical abilities being amplified by the seraph and the included centralizer to help focus the power, Enchanter was truly a force to be reckoned with. At this rate escaping would be as simple as… “As simple as what, exactly …?” Said the familiar disdained voice of the doctor.
“What is it that you want? I have nothing that you could possibly nee-”
“You’re so very wrong when you say that.” The doctor chuckled, interrupting Enchanter. “You, my dear friend are the largest part of this crazy puzzle and if you want to escape safely with your… wife then I suggest you follow my instructions.
“Why should I listen to you?” Enchanter demandingly asked.
“Because… I know what it is you’re searching for. You could care less about the machine parts. You’re searching for something more valuable, you’re searching for your memories aren’t you?”
Enchanter gritted his teeth and ignored the statement. “I’m looking for a way out and that’s it.”
Again the doctor laughed maniacally at his words. “Escape? Why would you want to escape a world that you helped create?”
“What do you mean that I helped create?”
“I’ll answer all your questions in due time but for now we must say adieu.”
“No, answer me now! Who am I!? ” His voice echoed through the empty hallway he stood in, as he waited for a response. After a few moments of silence he began to walk again, not forgetting the promise he made to his beloved Violetta.
As if on queue with his thoughts Violetta’s worried voice chimed into his mind. “Amore mio, are you there? Is everything okay? I wasn’t able to talk to you; I think someone blocked my telepathy. Are you safe?”
“I’m fine Violetta, I just had a conversation with the doctor.” He heard Violetta gasp quietly. “What did he mean when he said that I helped create this place?”
Violetta didn’t respond.
“Please, sweetie I really need to know.”
“It’s been a while since you’ve called me that amato.” She said happily. “Fine, I’ll tell you.”
“Thank you Violetta.”
“We were Doctor Moonstruck’s assistants.”
“Moonstruck?”
“Yes, he was brilliant, almost as brilliant as you amato, but he made the mistake of trying out an experiment on himself and that made him… insane.”
“Is he the same doctor that has been trying to kill us?”
“He doesn’t want us dead amato if he did we’d already be dead. He needs us for something, I’m not sure what for but, I don’t think you should listen to anything he says.”
“For now let’s just worry about the parts.”
“As always, you’re right Amore mio. Head down the hallway and take the elevator downstairs. Don’t worry I don’t sense anything down there so it should be safe.”
Enchanter proceeded down the dark hallway, carefully checking inside each desolate room for items that he could use. He found a few cans of fruit and bottles of water that he placed in the saddlebag for later when he was back with Violetta.
He walked down the empty hallway until he reached the elevator. As he pushed the button, the sound of the mechanical winches raising the platform was heard reverberating through the tunnel until it finally reached his floor. The metal gates opened and he entered, pressing the only button there was that led directly to the basement of the building.
“Darling there should be a few decommissioned teleport units below with the parts that we need.”
“Ok I’ll try my best, sweetie.”
“Oh amato you’re making me blush.” Violetta said laughing a bit.
With the elevator reaching its destination, he exited and found himself in a room filled with old wooden crates. Enchanter read the labels of each one; many were opened and seemed to have been ransacked before. Only one box was left unopened and was labeled ‘Unit-3-sg (decom)’ atop the box were a few hole, probably for ventilation to the machinery inside.
“I take it this is what we’re looking for.” He spoke aloud to Violetta as he began to open the lid.
“Yes, darling inside there should be the parts we need. It shouldn’t be anything heavy, most likely a few cables, gems, maybe-“
“Maybe a little filly.” He interrupted quietly as he stared down at a scared filly that pressed itself against the corner of the box. The frightened young pony was in a tattered old dress and no taller than Enchanter’s leg. As the scared unicorn filly finally looked up at him, Enchanter noticed that her eyes seemed to be a normal shade of green, unlike the creature that he had seen with the Big Sire only hours earlier.
A moment of silence was had by the two until the sound of her stomach rumbling interrupted the moment of confusion. Enchanter remembered the items that he had found in the rooms and quickly pulled them out before opening them with his magic and hoofing them to the hungry filly.
She carefully took the food and started to eat the preserved fruit, hastily finishing it in a matter of seconds. The small pink filly dropped the empty can on the ground then started to drink the bottle of water before looking up at Enchanter again. She seemed less wary than before as she walked up to him, raising her forelegs up against the side of the box closest to him. Enchanter levitated the filly, with ease, until she was standing beside him.
“Darling I sense a large source of power there. It’s extremely close to you; it seems to have just appeared out of nowhere. You should hide before it finds you!”
Enchanter looked at the little filly with worry as he took her hoof in his, forcing her to follow him as he hid behind the box.
“Amore, it’s following you, run! Get out of there!” Violetta said frighteningly.
“Following me? There’s nopony in here except me and…” Enchanter stared back at the pony following him and came to a realization.
“And who Enchanter?”
“Th-the little filly I found inside the crate.”
“Little Filly? What’s her name?” She asked quizzically.
Enchanter looked down at the confused filly. “Do you have a name sweetheart?”
She nodded. “Um… yes… they called me… Sonnet Jennisus. I mean, I think that’s my name.”
“Did you hear that Violetta.”
“Yes darling, you should just bring her up with you when you return. It can’t be safe to leave her alone down there in this state of chaos.”
“You’re right, anyways I can’t find anything else in here we could use so I’ll head up soon sweetie.”
Enchanter still held Sonnet’s hoof as he led her to the elevator and pressed the button letting it start to rise up.
“Sonnet, do you know where your parents are?”
The small filly frowned and lowered her eyes to the floor. “I-I don’t know where they are… I don’t think I ever knew.”
Enchanter smiled at the filly comfortingly and patted her head. “Don’t worry, I don’t know where my family is either but we can find them together Sonnet.”
Sonnet smiled back gently at Enchanter. “Okay than, mister…” She felt safe speaking to him and stayed by his side as they reached the living quarters’ hallway.
“I’m sorry I was in such a rush I forgot to introduce myself.” He said politely as he started to lead her down the corridor. “I’m… um Spirit Enchanter, but you can just call me Spirit if you want.”
Sonnet blushed and nodded slightly as she followed Enchanter into the dark room where he first emerged. Sonnet looked around at the scorched bodies that lay scattered on the ground and froze in her tracks.
“Th-those were the stallions that h-had me in the box… A-are they dead?”
“Yeah.” He blatantly answered.
“Good.” Sonnet replied back in an emotionless tone.
In silence Enchanter raised himself and Sonnet into the vent so they could return up to the lobby for some much needed rest and hopefully some peace from the chaos.
For now it seems that Enchanter has found a new companion in the depths of the Housing Lodge but, what part will she play in all of this. Soon her story will be heard and some questions come to light and others will only become more confusing in the city of Euphoria.
AN: Sorry for the extremely late chapter I've been working on some art and other prospects but I will try to keep the chapter updates fluent, Thank you for reading, I appreciate it and remember all criticism is appreciated as well.
