//------------------------------// // 8: Eye of the Storm // Story: The Elements of Disharmony: Necessary Corruption // by Night_Shine //------------------------------// A pungent odor stung Fluttershy's nose as she tentatively walked through the archway of twisted vines, into the fiery stronghold. This place smelled of burnt plants, noxious smoke…it reeked of death. Still she pressed on, her hooves kicking up dust from the lifeless ground beneath her. All of the hedges surrounding the clearing, which had looked almost alive from the outside, now revealed their true form as large piles of ash. The soft breeze which had awakened Fluttershy had also stirred up the ash; the resulting gray cloud blocked out the beautiful sunlight which lit up the rest of the meadow. Yet none of these things caught Fluttershy's attention, not compared to the pony who sat alone in the center of the dead clearing, whose coat matched the smoky haze and long mane seemed all too familiar. Her mane and tail protruded further than most ponies’, the same style as Fluttershy's own, yet instead of flowing down with a natural smoothness they lashed out in every direction. Random hairs poked out all over them, charred black. Fluttershy's eyes widened as she looked into her mirror image. She approached it cautiously, her timid voice breaking the deafening silence: “Hello?” Suddenly the pony’s tail extended with a life of its own and sailed towards Fluttershy, smacking her across the face. Flaming bits of hair sparked off of the tail, scratching her face, only worsening the stinging pain. Anger whirled around to face Fluttershy, blazing spheres of fire the only light within her empty eye sockets. “YOU WEAKLING!!! What are you doing here?! What could you possibly want from me?!” Fluttershy swallowed the desire to turn tail and run, and took a deep breath. She then stared Anger right in its glowing eyes and said: “I came here to beat you.” Anger reared up, punching her hooves in the air with such malice that Fluttershy winced in spite of herself. “BEAT ME?! You could never even CONTROL me! Don’t think that just because you don’t get angry often means that I’m not still powerful, Miss Stare Master.” Her furious voice died down to a venomous whisper: “So, you’re not going to defeat me.” It rose again to a deafening shout: “YOU’RE GOING TO LOVE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Within the unfamiliar clearing inside the core of her mind, Applejack found herself staring at one…unusual tree. It stood in the direct center of the open clearing, king of its domain. No other plants dared grow anywhere near it; not even the deathly vines, which spread like a pestilence on all of the other trees, could choke out this beast. The branches reaching out of its massive trunk waved in a nonexistent breeze, constantly shimmering in the stale, humid air. Applejack nearly jumped out of her skin as she suddenly realized that teal-blue color in its branches did not come from leaves. Where leaves would be on any normal tree…this one had something else: snakes. Thousands of the reptiles crawled in and out, through and around each other in a mesmerizing pattern within the long-dead limbs at the top of this tree. Yanking her gaze away from the horrific sight, Applejack looked down underneath the tree and a shiver ran down her spine. Another pony leaned against the trunk, crunching on a rotten apple that had fallen down out of the snake-infested tree's upper limbs. A snake slithered under this grey pony’s equally gray Stetson hat, but it did not even notice. Applejack walked up to the mare, curious in spite of herself. “Are you…me?” Deceit opened one eye and looked Applejack over, recoiling as she saw who had awoken her. “Oh, uh…howdy, partner. ‘Course I’m not you.” “Really.” replied Applejack. Sweat trickled down the other mare's face, past a very familiar smile...the very same one that Pinkie Pie had stared down on her birthday many months ago. Suddenly Deceit leapt out of her resting position and flew directly at Applejack, sending the orange farmpony flying until she slammed against the side of a sickly, vine-infested apple tree. A cascade of rotten apples fell to the ground dangerously close to her head. Deceit gave Applejack a smile. “See how easy that lie back there was? ‘I’m not you’? Flows right off the tongue. Face it, AJ, you’re no better than any other pony when it comes to lyin’. It’s as natural as breathin’!” Applejack wheezed twice, steadying her breath. Focus, she told herself, you will not let this pony get the best of you. She took a deep breath, and then continued the useless conversation while subtly scanning for an opening: “What in the hey are you tryin’ to do?” Deceit grinned. “Who, me? Shucks, I’m just tryin’ to protect you!” All of a sudden something quietly hissed right behind Applejack. She whirled around to find herself staring into the furious eyes of a very angry teal-blue snake. Suddenly the suspiciously friendly voice of Deceit turned sour as it snapped a command to its turquoise serpent: “KILL.” Scratchy, disharmonic music played from a broken record player in the corner of the dark room as Pinkie stepped inside, hesitating and cautious as she knew…she thought she knew exactly who she had to face. The blinding lights flicked on as she placed her hoof inside the door frame. Shielding her eyes, a freakish distorted voice screeched, Pinkie Pie blinked and looked around the room, and a queasy feeling filled her stomach. A sickening mix of pastel colors covered the floor, as if somepony haphazardly threw buckets of paint all over the ground. In the center of the room sat a table, its normal real white tablecloth turned pitch-black and emanating wisps of smoke. At each stool, again stained black by smoke and heat, sat… A torn sack of flour, a stack of three rocks, a pile of lint, and a bucket of turnips. Pinkie immediately froze. Her heart pounding in her chest, she ripped her gaze away from the deathly sight and up to the rest of the table. Atop its blackened surface sat a cake, the most horrific and terrifying sight that Pinkie had ever seen in her life. The demented dessert was burnt black, with red frosting that dripped and oozed out of the cake’s insides, dark crimson, spilling onto the table like a pool of blood. On top of the cake…laid the motionless body of a young baby alligator. After a moment of paralyzed silence Pinkie forced her eyes shut, repeating to herself It’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real- Swallowing her fear, Pinkie tried to push the image out of her mind. “My friends are not always trying to lie to me. They’re usually really nice…” her voice faltered, “and besides, the only time they tricked me was so they could throw me a party!” Forcing her eyes open, she stared up at the pony sitting behind the front of the table. Though it appeared nearly her double, its wrinkled gray skin and dead-flat mane proved it to be naught but a twisted reflection. Pinkie summoned all of the strength within her, then looked Paranoia in the eyes. “I am blind? Can you even hear yourself talking?! You take everything at its worst, and refuse to accept kindness in any form. I can’t believe I let such a freak as you exist within me for so long, one who doesn’t even know the meaning of friendship.” With that, Pinkie Pie jumped across the black table and punched Paranoia directly in its wide-eyed, smiling face. Rainbow Dash's enemy lay sleeping at her hooves. Its small chest inflated in and out, in and out, peacefully resting inside of the stormy cage of thunderclouds. Upon its head, the blue crown of thorns lay lopsided but retained its position by planting its sharp thorns directly into the mare's head. Rainbow could not blame her grey clone for falling to sleep here atop the storm cloud, above all others, sitting on the throne of her mind. Her focus began to drift as she spotted one spot right next to the proud gray mare that looked soft and fluffy, comfortable and warm. To stay here forever. Was that even an option? It seemed so absurd. And yet, that choice would be so easy. So simple. Rainbow Dash slapped herself in the face with her hoof. Forcing her front hoof forward, ready to punch the living daylight out of Pride, she thought, I will not stay here forever. My friends need me. At that thought the grey mare’s eyes finally snapped open. She shot out from beneath Rainbow and did a double flip, floating in midair, staring down at Rainbow. Pride grinned. “What’s the matter, Rainbow? Too slow to notice me slip out from under your hooves?” Rainbow took a step forward but immediately jerked back, shocked by a blue field of static electricity in front of her. “Nice try. Still, it takes a little bit more than that to defeat the incredible awesomeness that is the Pride of Rainbow Dash.” Struggling forward through the electricity, Rainbow forced back the stinging pain that pushed its way into her mind. It bit at her will, sapping away her energy and strength. Gritting her teeth, she also pushed back the thoughts of giving up that began to wander into her mind. It would be so easy to just lie down on the cloud and take a short nap…so simple… Rainbow concentrated on an image of her friends and pushed away all other thoughts from her vision. I will NOT let them down Calling upon her anger, Rainbow opened her eyes and looked up at the lazy mare floating above her, who wore an expression of amusement as it watched her suffer. Rainbow Dash’s glare shot daggers at the grey doppelganger floating up above her head: “YOU are the only reason that I struggle with my friends.” Pride snorted. “Friends? Who in the hey needs friends? You of all ponies should know we deserve WORSHIPPERS, not friends.” In one surge of strength, Rainbow broke through the electric barrier. The blue lightning turned bright red, and released all of the power it had sapped away. Rainbow floated in the center of the crimson cloud, absorbing its strength into her soul. Saying no more, she flew directly at Pride, her hooves outstretched—ready to beat the living hey out of the mare who had so many times nearly ruined her life. A harsh light spilled out from behind the cold stone door and nearly blinded Rarity. She clutched the blue diamond close to her chest, shielding it from the light that exploded outward like fire, enveloping her in an inferno of orange. Suddenly a voice as explosive as the light yelled in an all-too-familiar voice, “GIVE ME THAT!” Rarity felt the diamond, her sole light in the darkness of this forgotten cave, slip out of her grasp as the greedy figure inside the final cavern of her mind yanked it away.. She blinked twice, hard. When the fuzzy blobs began to settle into distinct shapes in her vision, Rarity gasped. All sorts of dazzling gems covered every surface of the room—emeralds, diamonds, sapphires, amethysts and the like. The only face in this glittering room completely uncovered was the mirror…a looking glass to shame all others. It covered the entire back wall of the room, so that no square inch of the cavern escaped reflection. The frame surrounding it somehow managed to glisten with even more colorful light than the walls—Rarity guessed that the inhabitant would only allow the best of the jewels to surround her mirror. All and any light in the room reflected flawlessly and crisply off of the chrome. However, what lay in the room's center easily outdid every other decoration of the room itself. The cave’s inhabitant had crafted a dress…no, a masterpiece, the sheer beauty of which was jaw-dropping. It reminded Rarity slightly of the dress she had created for Sapphire Shores…except with three times as many jewels covering its surface. However, Rarity noticed one problem with the dress. In completely enveloping its surface with beautiful gems, the creator had neglected to show any of the cloth on the inside. “Hey! What are you doing looking at my dress?!” a nasally voice whined from the corner of her vision. Rarity turned to see a perfect clone of herself, which matched her curious gaze with a look of absolute malice. “Forgive me, but I do believe that since this is both of our minds, technically this dress belongs equally to the both of us.” Rarity huffed in response. Vanity simply glowered at her. “I will not be told down by some incompetent mare who ruins all of her creations by throwing them away and giving them to ponies who cannot even comprehend their beauty!” “Really? Then who do you have to appreciate your work?” countered Rarity. “The only pony who can. ME.” Rarity stomped her hoof on the freezing stone floor, ready to beat the smug look off of her doppleganger's face. However, before defeating this embodiment of evil…she wanted to say one last thing: “By the way, Vanity...you’re missing one type of jewel from your collection.” “Impossible! What is it?!” demanded the greedy mare. “A fire ruby.” Absolute darkness greeted Twilight's vision. The realm beyond the door was completely empty, a void of absolute nothingness. No sound emitted from the emptiness, creating a deafening silence. She took a tentative step into the darkest part of her mind. No visible ground extended into the void, but her hoof came into contact with a floor of solid nothing that firmly supported her cautious stance. Twilight reached another hoof into the emptiness, and it suddenly sucked her inside. The nonexistent door slammed shut behind her, leaving the abyss devoid of all and any light. Suddenly, the imaginary floor started to vibrate, pulsing under her hooves in a monotonous heartbeat pattern. She looked down and saw faint gray waves emanating from nowhere, floating across the void and combining in what appeared to be the center of the room. Each wave curled and compacted into one formless chunk of gray matter, which orbited the center aimlessly in circles, forever in circles, looping around an imaginary sphere of pure nothingness. Morbidly fascinated, Twilight took another step forward. At this, the blobs of matter swerved off of their circular orbit and imploded, morphing into a figure whose form gradually transformed into that of a pony. Upon forming, this pony took up a meditating stance and rose into the air, floating, completely still. This gray pony was Twilight, a monochrome reflection of her Self in a mirror of Nothing. And yet, as she looked closer at this surreal mirror image, she noticed another sinister difference. The pony had no face. A voice echoed into the silence, “I calculated that you would come here, Twilight Sparkle, Spirit of our Conscious Mind. For what reason have you traveled here, to the lair of your Embodiment of Knowledge?” Twilight undeniably recognized the flat voice as her own, and yet its distinct and absolute lack of any feelings sent a cold shiver down her back. She spoke back at the void, “I came to defeat you.” Black clouds swirled around Twilight, cold and murky, smelling of death. The voice answered back: “Also a predictable notion, one that perhaps I should easily observed. You seek to steal my power over your soul and mind in order to gain power over your whole Self; a completely rational concept. However, you fail to understand the most basic of ideas that composes the world of the mind…” A pair of bright golden eyes swirled in and out of existence on the mare’s featureless face. “Knowledge is Power.” Angry, Twilight responded, “I’m not doing this for power. I’m doing it for my friends!” “A highly illogical notion. What could possibly twist your mind into belief of such a radical thought?” The gray mare still floated completely motionless in midair as it spoke. “Something beyond even your comprehension,” the magic of friendship, Twilight added silently. “Your statement is intrinsically flawed for the following reason: I am the only part of you that can comprehend on any level, even the most basic of facts. I am the sole aspect of your Self that can reason, think logically, or rationalize any situation no matter how ‘morally’ wrong other parts of you may consider it.” In a flash the lifeless mare descended to the ground, advancing towards Twilight in a series of gradual yet confident steps. Its legs moved in cut-and-dry straight jerks, as a robot's would. “For you see I am the most apparent and most powerful part of your Self, as your obsession with the acquisition of knowledge for the majority of your life has only fed my power. Knowledge is Power. I am your own personal incarnation of Knowledge, of Reason, of Logic, and of Intelligence. Are these such bad things to embody?” “Without you, I would have had friends my entire life. Because of your control over me, I was almost totally alone until I met my friends in Ponyville.” Twilight glared at the faceless being, her horn glowing bright purple with magical energy, a shining light that drove back the black nothingness. “And yet you alone chose to pursue your interest in books, and by extension, learning. As I have stated, you alone fed my existence.” Logic rose into the air, its half-existent eyes now glowing a shade of bright gray. “You cannot defeat me. For it is you who has forced me into being…” Twilight’s Element glowed atop her head. Feeling its magic flow through her very soul, she charged the lifeless beast. Outside of the surreal realm of the minds of the Masters of Harmony, a thin blanket of tranquility had fallen over Canterlot, for a brief moment that would not last. The brutal storm had relented, its rain slowing down to a gentle pitter-patter on the silent rooftops of the city. All of the wielders of the Elements of Harmony lay completely still, seemingly vulnerable as their focus was not on this world, but of another, one that did not exist…and yet one that was of vital importance to the fate of the nation of Equestria, and all of the world. These six simple ponies controlled the destiny of their home and their world. If any one amongst them should fail to defeat that which hid in the darkest corner of her mind, the united power of harmony would be broken, and the storm could charge forward unopposed. Tyrants of the past and future would overshadow the peaceful land of Equestria with a shroud of darkness. Dawn would never again grace their horizon. A fight would break out, a war would start, a fire would rise between the forces of Harmony and Disharmony…one that might consume all of Canterlot in its fury. These beings bestowed with power beyond any mere mortal would be pitted against each other in the most deadly, most taxing fight that their nation had ever seen. And yet now, the night lay silent as the forces readied for battle. The Disharmonic Six waited in the garden of statues, readying their newfound power and finding strength through disunity. Several among them longed to seek out the wielders of Harmony, and strike at them while their backs were turned. But they could not. The Elements of Harmony lay safe asleep under the eye of the storm.