Harmony at Mind

Chapter 5

A New Life/Brothers/M31

In the throne room

        “Sister, I’ve been wondering what we should do with Ahriman. We could help him return home, but that seems like a horrible idea, you know, a universe of torment. But he looks like he could do some good here in Equestria. Do you think he and his friends could live here with us ?” asked Luna.

        “Huh, that’s a tough decision, but since he is such a pony, he could stay here and his friends could too, they could use their powers for good, just like what happened with Discord. You remember that don’t you, Luna ? Also my student could learn a lot from him. H-he’s older than both of us combined, I mean he raised the moon tonight, never seen a pony do that. But yeah I say he can live here.” said Celestia.

        “That’s good, but what would he do for us, he needs a job, he’s been running around a galaxy for ten thousand years, we could always make him head of the army, he told us he was high rank in his legion, and he was well-known in others.” said Luna, hesitantly.

        “I’m sure he’s tired of ten thousand years of warfare, he told us about some cruel things he’s done, let’s give him some redemption, maybe make him and his friends our advisors, magi, or maybe we could just ask him in the morning. said Celestia.

        “Well, good night, sis.”said Celestia.

        “Good night, Celly.”

        Celestia proceeded out of the room into her chambers. She thought about their new visitor, since there was one, would more be coming? In another room, Ahriman slept soundly. He dreamt.

M31    Prospero

                Magnus the Red, Primarch of the fifteenth legion stared out into the lush wilderness of forests and plains from the Great Library on Prospero. Thirty years ago the Emperor of Mankind, his blood father had descended on Prospero with the Thousand Sons, quite literally, for when they arrived, only a thousand went planetside, Magnus had asked in the Tizca’s central plaza, “Is the rest of the Legion in orbit ?”. And the Emperor replied, “My son, Magnus, that your entire Legion, they are dying from the Flesh-Change.” At that moment Magnus realized his Legion would be gone within a generation if he did not intervene.

        That night he rose into the Enumerations, going into the Great Ocean farther than he ever did. There were countless predators in the Great Ocean, but they all made way for Magnus . He found no answers that night. Nor did the next night nor the one after that. Days turned into weeks, then into months, and months into years.

        Throughout his journeys into the Great Ocean he compiled the Book of Magnus, a tome filled with his thoughts and deeds and discoveries. One particular entry within it described a third dimension parallel to this one, where light was the ruler and darkness was a distant memory. Where the people lived in peace. One such ruler he had only caught a glimpse of. It was a being of white light, and a motherly aura. He had entered its world in astral form. A place where the inhabitants were ruled by her and her midnight twin ? This was an ideal Imperium. As he explored through the land he realized it was one world. There were psykers but they were, only skimming the surface of the Great Ocean. So it acted as an immaterial highway between his dimension and theirs.

        The moment his memory ended, Uthizaar came up behind Magnus.

“My Lord, Captain Ohrmuzd has succmubed to the Flesh-Change!” said Uthizaar, as a an Astartes sized stretcher came up beside him, on it was the deformed Captain, Ohrmuzd. Captain Ahriman came up next to the Primarch, he knelt and removed an amulet from the body of his twin brother, a golden oak leaf, and walked walked away. Magnus felt an uneasy feeling in Ahriman’s aura.

        “Secure the body aboard the Photep, captain.” said Magnus. And with a nod Uthizaar sent the body way.

        A few days later the cure was found. In the process, Magnus had lost his right eye from an overload of psychic energy, but the skin around it was restored. But that was a small price to pay, compared to an entire Astartes Legion. Magnus called for the remaining Legionaries, about nine hundred in the central plaza, where he cast a rubric that ended the nightmare that was the Flesh Change, now they could rejoin the Emperor in the Great Crusade.

        The night before departure for the galaxy, he stood in his quarters, and entered the Great Ocean, back to the third dimension. This time he took with him a artifact if ever stumbled on by any Legionary, in the case of Legion corruption, and Prospero’s fall, instructions on what actions to take. And this time also, the alien of white light appeared again, it saw him first. It frightened and went away. He sought after it, and found it in an cave. Magnus yielded. He stood on even ground, obviously she had no understanding of the Great Ocean.

        “I mean you no harm, I am here to secure a place for my sons in case they fall from grace.” he said.

        Suddenly, the white being came forth. It was a foal, it spoke!

        “Mister, why would you do such a thing ?”said it.

        “Well, little one, there are bad things that can happen, and if they do, I can try to fix them.” Magnus said with a smile.

        He produced the instructions, a tome similar to the Book of Magnus to the foal. He sensed great things for this one. He saw a moon, a sun, and a star. Exile, victory, and love.

        “Take this book, read it, keep it safe, never lose it. Its really important, but I have to go now, my sons need me.” he said. And he left the third, back onto Prospero.

        Princess Celestia awoke, a smile on her lips. The giant that had spoke to her when she was a foal. The Book of Harmony. The leather bound book given to Twilight. Could Ahriman be?

        The next morning, Ahriman awoke from , hooves still sore, but good enough, last night a succubus had attacked him, by the name Molestia, oh well. He, brushed his teeth, now a new experience, no hands, hooves, and took a shower. And headed out to meet Celestia. She was already waiting at the door.

        “Waaaggh!” he exclaimed.

        “Good morning Ahriman, good sleep?” she said.

        “Haven’t slept like that in years, how are you this morning?” he replied.

        With a head gesture, Celestia lead him to the dining hall where they enjoyed a decent breakfast. Ahriman ate little, for his Astartes physiology, didn’t need much. Afterwards, they went for a walk in the botanical gardens.

        “Now, I have a proposition for you, Ahriman, eh, what was it, oh yeah, since you’re living here would you like to serve as a royal advisor, you said last night that your brothers came as well, my sister and I have openings for government jobs available, you’ll get good pay and good insurance. Hay, you might just make some friends. So what do think ? You want the job?” asked Celestia.

        “Well, after c-cenuries of that shitstorm you call the Imperium, sure. And my brothers, Acheron, Maat, T’kar, and the rest will they be taken care of?” he said.

        “They will, we could learn much from each other, I mean, you do understand technology better than us, so we could learn from you, and I have a student, she was recently coronated as a princess, turned an alicorn. Will you be her mentor, I believe you possess skill in magic beyond my understanding.” said Celestia as they went back into the castle.

        “Pardon me, Celestia, but its not magic it is the energy of the Great Ocean you draw upon, a parallel dimension of pure thought driven energy that you and me, psykers, draw upon,and from what I’ve seen, you’ve only skimmed the surface. But I’m willing to teach your student, it is good to teach, maybe next next thing you know, the ponies will start performing genocide of all the unicorns. But seriously, the stuff I teach is dark stuff, vile enough to make a pony insane at glance.” said Ahriman.

        “Well then, under my order you are now officially a royal advisor.” said Celestia. She touched her horn against his, not a wanton gesture, but one that was performed with the horse-mounted warriors of ancient Europa as they rose into their ranks as an initiate.

        Upon arrival, Ahriman had foregone his armor and weapons, but now he was a government official, he summoned his Black Staff, and Book of Magnus, it clipped onto a chain attached to his side, a necklace with a gold oak leaf appeared on him. And his blue helmet slid on his head, the eye slits casting a red glow, and the rest of his armor came together to make a shape similar to his original suit. He looked fearsome in the suit, and intellectual as well.

“Since, we’re here, let’s find my brothers. I'm sure they're still in Manehattan." he said.

"Before we do that, let's meet Princess Twilight, she will be your new student.” says Celestia.

        Something struck him: Lemuel Gaumon. That pudgy remembrancer that he had trained on Prospero under orders of the Primarch. Hopefully Twilight, whoever this was would fare better.

“I’ll teleport us there, its much faster than taking a carriage.” said Ahriman.

“You can do that?” she exclaimed.

“Yes, but steel your mind, there are many predators in the Great Ocean that will feast on your soul, I’m assuming you’ve only skimmed the Great Ocean, at that level, there are no predators, go deeper, you’ll die if you don’t have mental discipline.” he replied.

“Then do it, lets see.” Celestia said, with mocking tone.

Suddenly, a storm of winds of unknowable colors surrounded them. In an instant, she was in a void, a swirling current of colors, images flashed in her mind, images of war, slaughter, possession, lust, and death, and despair. She saw creatures similar to Ahriman, fighting on thousands, no, millions of battlefields across a red galaxy.

Dead children, daemonic incursion, and oceans of corpses, and a myriad of unthinkable atrocities. At the center a golden light.

“Celestia, over here.” said Ahriman.

She turned and saw a dark blue haze, that was Ahriman? No this was his soul. It was bleak, for a person so friendly, this an anomaly. Maybe he had been bright at some point, but he certainly wasn’t now.

A bright light cast over her. She was in Ponyville. The teleportation was a success. She was translated back into reality. Beside her was Ahriman. They were in Twilight’s library, a crown sitting on a table in a corner. And a book, on the cover was emblazoned a horse head.

A purple mare scurried down the stairs, she had heard the incursion. On her head was a horn, and on her sides were wings. She looked just like Celestia. And beside her was a dragon, purple, and green.

“Princess! I didn’t know you were coming, so what brings you here?” she said. So, this was Twilight. Fearful, yes. But telling by the alicorn physique, she was a capable psyker. She was capable, but completely ignorant.

“Twilight,” Celestia said as she hugged her student, “this stallion right here is Ahzek Ahriman, he’s over ten thousand years old, he has a lot more knowledge about magic, or the Great Ocean as he calls it than any of us. Luna, and I found him couple days ago, thought I could hand you over to him.”

A worried look appeared on Twilight’s face, sadness, or fear, Ahriman could not tell, but one thing he did know was that her spirit was as bright as the most potent of Imperial psykers. It was a purple and blue aura of hope in the Aether.

“Princess, does that mean I won’t be your student anymore?” she asked.

“Twilight, you’ll still be, but not in the same way as before.” replied Celestia.

She turned and said, “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and you must be Ahzek Ahriman.”

She continued, eyeing the power armor, and the Book of Magnus

“So you’re my new teacher, huh.” she said.

The trio sat down for lunch at the town cafe. The Mane 6 all came. Perhaps Twilight summoned them. It was a large metal table, good for torture. A waiter brought them all food. And they talked. And by the way, it was Saturday. They’d introduced each other. There was Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy the introvert, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie the sanghoma.

“So there I was at the Black Library with brothers, we were ambushed and teleported here. I told them to scatter in Manehattan and........” he began.

“That’s how I’m here, eating lunch with you guys.” he finished.

They were silent. That was a vile tale. No pony could have ever thought such an elaborate scheme. Silent then and the train journey to Manehattan, he could not teleport that many bodies at once, if he did, he would have been exhausted. And so began the search.

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