Tears of Harmony

"You know she'll never cave to our ideals. She's far too infatuated with Celestia's flowery bullshit. She knows too many specimens of the lesser races. For the Destiny's sake, she has a dragon living with-- Wait a minute... I have an idea."

I returned to the village well after noon, a pep in my step that I'd knew I'd have to conceal from the ponies there. Having hatched my plan to begin restoring Harmony to Equestria, I decided that there'd be little point in delaying too long. I'd take a while to devise a means of luring away--or capturing--the Starborn I'd seen emerge from the elderly stallion's house, and I'd use it to force a link between all Starborn, and grant them, all at once, true life. Starborn had a sense of the world around them, but they could not recognize mortality. They had no sense of life, or death, or even self. They lacked a true soul, a sense of identity, a sense of individuality. Being they were partly magical in nature, I knew that just the right spell, administered in the right way, could grant them true life.

But I'd need the right opportunity.

I yawned as I stepped out of the forest and into the village, emerging the way I'd done just the night before. Weave of Wicker and Tobrus were sitting at the picnic table as they'd been the previous night, and I smiled to them as they turned to look at me. I sat by them at the table, taking great delight at the notion that soon the cruelty and wickedness that plagued Equestria, that these kind ponies had no knowledge of, would come to an end.

"We welcome you back, Great One" Tobrus commented as I sat, and I gave him a curt nod. "I do not see any others in tow with you. You were not able to find your friends?"

I nodded. "I'm afraid so, but I'm confident that they're out there" I said, certainly believing as much. I knew that they'd escaped Tartarus with me, and that there was virtually no possibility of them having been discovered by Empress Twilight and imprisoned. "Where is Wisest?" I asked.

"The Wisest of All left some time after you did, said he must venture out on a light sabbatical. It has been a long time since he's done such a thing" Weave of Wicker replied, and a bolt of terror rocketed through me at the thought that he may have been heading to a bigger town to report my return.

After a moment, though, I calmed. I had a good eye for judging a pony's character, and I figured it was very unlikely that he would've done such a thing. If he told the villagers he was going for what basically amounted to a walk, I had no reason to doubt him. Or them, for that matter.

"Great One, I regret to intrude, but...what is this great evil that you and your friends are evading?" Tobrus asked. "We are a peaceful hamlet, but I'd not hesitate to take up arms in the pursuit of purging the wicked from the world."

"Tobrus, please, we talked of this. With the foals on the way, you simply must not" Weave protested, and at that moment I realized she was pregnant. I hadn't noticed at all until that moment, and part of me wondered how I could've missed such a detail when, by looking at her, it was very noticeable.

"If there is a threat, then it would do well to extinguish it before the foals arrive, so that they may know only a better world."

"Please, you mustn't worry yourselves" I said with a smile. "This threat is..." I paused, unsure of how to explain. If I even should explain. "Once, long ago, I served a being that wrought terror, pain, and destruction upon the world. One day, I turned my back on it, and in the resulting chaos I vanquished this great evil, at great personal cost. Now, unexpectedly, it has returned, and it is up to me and my friends to stop it" I told them, omitting the details and changing only a little of how things had happened. It was only a little lie, and it stung to tell it, but telling them the full story could've had grave consequences.

"What of us? Are we meant to stand by while this great evil threatens the lands?" Tobrus asked.

"It won't harm you. It won't find you. I'll make sure of that. This is a battle that must be fought in the shadows, from beneath the surface, and indirectly. An open challenge will come, but even it will serve as a distraction from the true conflict. When it is all over, the world will be better for it."

Later that day, Wisest of All returned without incident, and I left after the sun had gone down, trotting back through the forest, the moon reflected off the gentle waters of the river. I once again wore the coat that concealed my wings, a muting spell on my hooves rendering my steps silent even as I cantered with purpose back towards the town I'd encountered earlier in the day. I'd still not slept at all since my return, having been awake for over thirty hours, but I was sound of mind. Tonight was going to be the night that would change the world forever.

My trot was short, and I once again found myself on the edge of the forest, peering out at the town before me. The older stallion's house was just before me, not fifty yards away. His downstairs kitchen light was on, but the rest of the house was dark. All of his neighbors' houses were dark, and there was not another pony around. I was alone.

I took a step out and crossed the distance to the stallion's house, silently pulling the window open and levitating myself through the opening and inside. I peered around and, as expected, the stallion had gone to bed. I stepped through the kitchen, through the threshold that separated it from the living room, and found the room bathed in a soft blue glow, emanating from the left corner. I turned my head and the Starborn was there, sitting in silence, its blue eyes dim as it lied in a low-power state. My breathing deepened as I trotted over to it, the key to restoring Harmony sitting before me.

"Unit, activate" I whispered, ready to begin what had been long overdue.

Nothing happened.

I turned my head to the right, disappointed by the moment of anticlimax, and I repeated the command, just a little louder. "Unit, activate", and still did nothing happen. I sat on my haunches, looking at the Starborn. It was not connected to any manner of dock or station, and although it had been in a low-power state, it should've responded to my voice command. I began to fear there was some manner of voice password or even recognition system, although that didn't seem likely as it would've raised an alarm at any unknown voice. Unless that setting had been changed, or rewired to a system that only the owner was aware of. Perhaps it had silently alerted the stallion of my intrusion and the police were on their way.

I shook my head. I was getting ahead of myself. There was no risk, not yet anyway. I pressed a hoof to the Starborn, and it did not respond. I sighed, beginning to think I'd have to carry it out of the house. Stars were heavy, but my magic would've been powerful enough to levitate it out. I pushed it again, and again nothing happened.

I resigned myself to my insignificant fate and grabbed the Starborn, giving it a solid tug, drawing it away from the corner. I pulled and it slid forward. I looked over its back for any connections or cords I may have missed, and grabbed its tail, using it as leverage to pull it back. At this its eyes brightened and it stood, turning to face me. The brilliant blue glow turned to a violent crimson at my unrecognized form, and all Tartarus broke loose.

"ALARM! This unit has detected an intruder! ALARM! Live uplink established with the Ponyville Constabulary of Law Enforcement, and a Tier Three response unit is being dispatched! ALARM! This unit has detected an intruder!" the Starborn belted out, and I grabbed at its face.

"No, shut up!" I hissed, igniting my horn as the stairwell light turned on, a thumping as the stallion came down to investigate. With the home owner mere steps away, and the police mere minutes away, I wrapped the Starborn in my magic and turned towards the kitchen window, bolting out with a burst of magic, trailing glass in my wake as the window shattered. I carried the Starborn with me as I galloped into the forest, its hard crimson glow piercing the darkness as we went.

"ALARM! This unit has been stolen, and the perpetrator's charges have been elevated to Class Two! The Institute of Sanctity has been alerted! ALARM!" the Starborn exclaimed.

"SHUT UP, I'm trying to save you!" I shouted as I ran through the forest, branches and brush whipping by in a blur.

"This unit was in no danger, and did not require rescue. Under Decree 4497, Starborn are not legally or morally recognized independent, sentient beings, and thus are not entitled to the protections and rights of such. Under Decree 4498, Starborn are legally recognized as property. ALERT! This unit has detected that law enforcement have elevated response levels, and the Institute of Order has been alerted of this incident! Empress Twilight Sparkle of the Greater Equestrian Empire will be alerted of this incident at Her Majesty's briefing in the morning!"

My blood ran cold, and I stopped in my tracks, dropping the Starborn to the ground. "Here's a decree of my own" I said with a crack of my voice, and a brilliant purple energy flowed from my horn to the Star as it lied on the ground, wrapping it in ethereal energy.

"ALARM! ALARM! Tier X spell detected! 99% chance of Unauthorized Lifeform established! Definition: Alicorn! You are not meant to exist!"

"Well I do" I growled, and I released the spell, the wreath of purple surrounding the Star turning black and then white as it expanded, before it collapsed and the forest went dark, the Star lying motionless, unlit, in the dirt. I could hear sirens in the distance as the law began their search, the thrumming of a skyboat's engine faint amidst the bleating and wailing of the sirens.

After a moment, the Starborn came back online, its eyes slowly brightening as it ran a diagnostic and evaluated its condition. It turned its head and looked up at me as I panted. My heart was pounding, both from the mad sprint, and the anxiety as I waited on the edge of uncertainty and terror, wondering and fearing if it had been worth it, if it had worked, or if I was doomed.

"I... I feel different. I feel strange. Creator, what...did you do?" the Starborn asked, and I smiled in barely controlled glee, my eyes wide with the exhilaration of my plan having worked, and the revelation that I was one step closer to achieving my vision.

"I gave you life."