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.