Harmonius: Song of the Imprisoned Maiden

by Basic13

Chapter 1:4 - Pandora's Box Flung Wide

The Alpha Changeling paced about the multitude of thrones in the great crystal tree, surveying the crystal--Song Stone, actually, but none in this world would have cause to know that--with the enhanced sensors that this form offered. Even now, he could hear the wondrous hear Mother's wondrous song being conducted from every inch of this majestic tree.

"'The Only Divine Tree,' indeed," he mused, recalling the literal translation of Ar Tonelico. "A most fitting incarnation," he applauded, speaking aloud, and the very tree itself seemed to resonate with his pride. "Indeed, you have done a most admirable job, and I thank you for the aid you have been able to offer my daughter and her children,"

Before he could continue his one-sided conversation, said daughter appeared in the room, the emerald flames of her own magic licking at the dark chitin of her exoskeleton. "I have done as you have asked, father," she informed him, seeming none too pleased at the moment.

"Thank you, my daughter," he said softly, before turning to regard her, and had his current form been capable of expression, he would be doing so with open fondness upon his face. "It saddens me deeply that I have missed seeing you become such a strong ruler."

Queen Chrysalis shuffled nervously, her hoofs filling the silence with their nervous beat upon the floor--she keenly felt the near overwhelming amount of love and pride that her father held for her, and having never been on the receiving end of such voluntarily, she was unsure of how to handle it. "Yes, well . . ." she said, staring at her reflection in one of the reflective surfaces of the wall, "I had to care for all my children," she explained away the compliment.

Her father's soothing laughter filled the room, and if she could have, Chrysalis would have flushed in embarrassment.

"I better go--they probably aren't too happy with the spell you taught me," Chrysalis said, amazed at having focused enough energy to disable not only the princesses, but Discord himself. "I never knew that my children could focus their magic to me in such a manner."

"Before this tree existed, they would not have been able--at least, not without perishing in the process," he informed his daughter, and she grimaced at the thought, of all of her children committing suicide for her own sake. Giving her father an awkward smile, the insectoid queen vanished from the tree, teleporting to as close to the nearest hive as she could.

The Alpha watched his daughter go and felt pride at how his daughter had turned out despite his absence--so much like Mother. . . .

---

"Twilight!" the alicorn was brought out of her shock as something whipped harshly against her face, sending to the side. Blinking, she looked at Pinkie and then to the offending object the party pony held in her hoof.

"D-Did you slap me with a rubber chicken?" she asked, too baffled to be upset at the action, staring at the flaccid faux foal that Pinkie had just assaulted her with.

"Yep!" Pinkie said, smiling brightly and making the 'P' in the word pop audibly, to which she then proceeded to giggle.

"Why?" Twilight could only ask.

"Bug-butt's spell wore off a few minutes ago, but haven't moved or said anything!" Rainbow said, hovering in the air. "What gives, egghead?" the prismatic pegasus demanded.

"She's right," Applejack added her two bits and concern. "Ya'll looked more spooked than Fluttershy on Nightmare Night--" she turned to the said pegasus--"no offense," she apologized.

"It's fine . . ." Fluttershy said softly, glancing from Twilight to Discord, who seemed to have also had a more averse reaction than anyone else present, like Twilight.

"What was that, darling?" Rarity asked, taking a step forward, Spike trailing after her, looking to his mother figure in concern. "It sounded like something out of a classical opera, but I wasn't aware there was a branch of magic that could be sung."

"There isn't," Twilight answered immediately, shaking her head, before adding softly to herself, "at least, there shouldn't be . . ." How could that same brand of magic as witnessed in her nightmares be real? Did that mean those dreams actually happened? That there existed a magical song that could destroy the very world itself! "W-we have to go to Ponyville now! Before it's too late!"

"Twilight," Cadence said, stepping towards the mare she once upon a time babysat, "I'm concerned too, but I don't think--"

"You don't understand! We have to leave now before it's too late!" Twilight screamed, staring at everyone with wide panic filled eyes, her breaths escaping her muzzle in shallow gasps. She felt like she was on the verge of having a panic attack; her vision swam, she faint.

Everyone stared at Twilight in varying degrees of shock and alarm, never having the former unicorn raise their voice at them in such a manner. Spike went to lay his claw upon her, in the hopes to offer what comfort he could, but before anyone could respond, the a sharp snapping noise filled the air and they all found themselves in the council room of Equestria's newest castle.

Everyone seemed to be disoriented from the sudden relocation, including Twilight, who looked about widely until her gaze met Discord, who still had his hand raised and in the position he often invoked his mastery of chaos in via snapping. They stared at each other, and Twilight thought she read an expression of understanding and possibly even sympathy on his face. Before she could wonder at the draconequus's strange behavior and sudden aid, a refined, cultured voice drew the attention of all gathered.

"I had feared you were going to decline my invitation," it said, as a formation of green light formed in the air and the strangest pony any of them had ever seen appeared. What could only be the Alpha of the changeling race regarded them silently, and they did the same, each taking in its angular form and almost reflective thick hide Twilight would have believed this being to be an animate statue if not the green glow that that pulsed from the thick plates that constructed its body, suggesting that it was indeed alive in some way or form.

"What are you?" Princess Celestia demanded, stepping forward and staring at dark unicorn-like being.

The Alpha turned its head to regard the white alicorn and answered somehow without opening its mouth--for it did not have one, they all noticed. "Why do you ask questions to which you already know the answers to?" he asked in kind.

Celestia said nothing for several moments, simply closing her eyes and seeming as if her age was finally taking its toll on her. "You're one of the machines from the Tower, aren't you?" she asked, though her tone of voice implied that the question was rhetorical.

"Sister?" Luna took a step forward, never forgetting that the strange creature before them was a murderer possessing enough power to breach the defenses of Tartarus. "What doth this creature mean?"

The Alpha tilted its head to the side quizzically, and a faint whirring noise could be heard in the silence. "You never told her?" he asked, earning a suspicious glare from Luna, who quickly looked to her elder sister for clarification. "But to answer your questions: I was born in the Tower, but I am not exactly just a machine.

"My name is Ayatane Michitaka," he introduced, his body becoming obscured in a shaft of green energy that revealed what Twilight knew to be a human, clad in red armor. "And it is a pleasure to finally your acquaintance, Princess Celestia," he said, bowing low at the waist in a gesture of gallantry. "Lady Shurelia holds your friendship dear to her heart--brief though your acquaintance was," he said.

Celestia blinked, and then could not help the smile that came across her face. That her friend still remembered her after all these years warmed the ruler's heart. She heard the Element bearers asking Twilight if this guy was a human she had described to them, no doubt recognizing the similarities from the tale that the princess had shared about her trip the alternate Equestria, and if Twilight answered she did so non-verbally.

"Why are we even talking to this bozo! Who cares if he's a human or the king of the bug-ponies!" she cried. "He's still a murderer!" she declared, glaring hatefully at Ayatane, who regarded her back calmly, not seeming to react to her damning accusations except for his serene smile to become a shade more amused.

Shining Armor straightened his posture and stepped forward, the Royal Consort to the Crystal Empire donning the full responsibilities of his station as Captain of the Crystal Guards. "What Rainbow Dash says is correct," he intoned. "Ayatane Michitaka," he said, not stumbling in his pronunciation of the foreign name even the slightest, "you stand suspected of the crimes of trespassing unto the forbidden realm of Tartarus, the assault of its guardian, and the murder of its inmate Lord Tirek. How do you plead to these charges?"

Ayatane blinked. "Oh? So I am on trial?" he asked, seeming amused by the notion. "Very well," he said with a slight shrug. "I confess to all counts and freely admit my guilt," he responded easily, causing all the ponies, the baby dragon, and even Discord to stare in shock at the man, not expecting him to so easily admit such a thing or without a seeming care.

Shining Armor himself was slightly unnerved by the casual admittance to the crimes, and his caution of this strange creature grew several fold. If this strange creature who purportedly was the father of the changeling race admitted so grave a crime as murder he was either supremely confident that he was more powerful than all of them in the room combined or a sociopath--or, more frightening to consider, both.

"Then I must demand that you surrender yourself and your weapons to await to stand trial."

Ayatane's serene expression did not waver--if anything he seemed intently amused by the proceedings. It was as if he regarded them in the same fond manner a father would upon finding out that their children had gotten into their clothes and were playing at being adults. Without a word, he unfastened the two sheathed blades at his waist, and held them out patiently. Shining Armor hesitated a moment, expecting some form of trick or attack, but nothing happened as he seized the blades in the pink grasp of his magic and brought them closer to him.

He eyed the weapons, knowing that they had been responsible to for ending the life of Tirek, and could only just suppress a shudder when he wondered if he would find flakes of dried blood coating the surface of the weapons.

"I freely surrender my weapons to you, if it makes you all more comfortable," Ayatane said affably to the gathering, "but I fear that I must decline your request to be detained to stand trial. I fear I have a great many matters that require my attention," he said, sounding very apologetic about the entire affair and that he was forced to inconvenience them in some manner.

"Criminals do not get the right to dictate such terms," Luna informed him icily, glaring at the impudence of the vile man that stood so calmly before them. Her gaze shifted to her sister, who had been silent since her strange conversation with this father of the changeling race. Indeed, it seems that her dear eldest sister knew much more of the situation than she was sharing, yet was seemingly unwilling to speak of it.

She would have to have words with her later on this matter.

"Indeed, they traditionally do not," Ayatane agreed, nodding. "But, still, I must insist on the point."

"And if we refuse?" Shining Armor asked evenly, his voice laced with steel.

"Then I fear I shall have to force the issue," and though it was stated without any malice in it whatsoever, all there knew that the human meant it as a statement of fact.

Applejack found her heart gripped by a feeling of dread; this creature was not lying or bluffing in the very least. He either knew that he would be capable of such a claim or he had good reason to believe his statement to be true. The farm worker doubted that this was a man who had an overstated sense of himself, however.

Nothing was said; Discord preferred to simply watch the proceedings, a strange expression as he regarded the armored creature, and the other ponies and baby dragon felt it best to leave the situation in the hoofs of royalty and those better qualified to handle it.

"Why did you do such a terrible thing?" Cadence asked, stepping forward and addressing the man for the first time. He turned to stare at her, a look of what seemed to be honest confusion at the question, and he turned to stare into the wondering faces of all else gathered there.

"Is it not obvious?" he asked them, as if it in fact was. "He was a threat and now he is no longer," he stated simply. The ponies could only gaze at shock at the cold admittance of why he had committed such a taboo act as murder.

"Thy tongue flows with lies!" Luna cried, stamping her hoof harshly upon the stone floor, her wings arched threateningly and her mane waving wildly about her. "Lord Tirek was defeated and no longer a threat!"

"Until the next time he broke out," Ayatane countered, cutting the lunar ruler's tirade short. "How many former foes have you imprisoned, only for them to return to threaten you years later?" he asked, his gaze lingering on the royalty. "You yourself were such a threat and were imprisoned in the moon for a thousand years--but still you broke free and would have damned this peaceful land with your hubris," he said, not cruelly or with any intent to harm the younger ruler, just reciting the facts. "The spirit of chaos and disharmony himself was imprisoned, and yet here he stands before me," he gestured to the said chimera. "And need I even remind you of the foul specter of King Sombra?" he asked, looking towards the Crystal monarchs. "Was it not for the bravery and courage of Princess Twilight and the noble young dragon, your people might still suffer under the foul yoke of his dark magic even now."

Luna looked stricken, unable to deny the words of this being--as were all in the throne room.

"You do not cage a rabid dog and risk it biting someone in the future," he scolded them. "If there is a cancer, it must be cut out for cut out so malignant taint cannot spread. Had you the Princess and her companions not unlocked the chest that the Tree had gifted them, Tirek would have killed my daughter and her children," he informed them.

"K-killed?" Fluttershy asked, letting out a small squeak and ducking behind Discord when the armored man turned his gaze towards her.

"Yes, kind pegasus," he said, nodding. "My daughter and her children would have simply vanished existence without their magic sustaining the

"Regardless," Shining Armor said, his tone now less accusing, "you committed a crime and must face justice. Knowing that you acted in the defense of your family and Equestria will be taken into account," he promised.

"Oh, I didn't kill Lord Tirek because of the threat he posed to my children," he told them. "Though I will admit, I am gladdened that he can longer do so. My method, I fear, is far less altruistic and more pragmatic."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, addressing the human for the first time.

"I simply could not allow him to remain alive; had he escaped and managed to take advantage of the current situation, with his ability, I fear that no power would be able to stand against him."

"What situation?" Celestia stepped forward, thoughts of the many dangers that existed in the riven world on the other side of the mirror flashing through her memory. "What is happening?" she demanded.

"Currently, nothing--but it will not stay so for long," he told the ruler. "Every action has consequences, even if they are not first readily apparent.

"When you crossed that mirror in search of a power to defeat him so many centuries past, did you not think that there would not be consequences from introducing a foreign power into your land?" he asked the ruler, sounding disappointed at her naiveté.

Luna stared at Celestia with shock. "Sister . . . thou didn't!" Discord too stared at Celestia with something akin to horror! Celestia did not meet her sisters gaze.

Princess Twilight Sparkle?" Ayatane asked suddenly, causing the unicorn-turned-princess to blink at being addressed by the armored man. "I understand that you have been another side of the mirror correct?" he inquired politely.

"Y-yes," Twilight answered. "It was alternate version of Equestria where everyone was human and while magic existed, it could only accessed by powerful artifacts," she answered.

''i see," the swordsman mused, running his palm along the crystalline surface of the wall as he circumnavigated the room, everyone present ready to act should he attempt any hostile actions; he had committed murder--regardless of his professed reasons for doing it or whom had been killed. "Indulge me: during your brief sojourn, did you perchance have the opportunity to learn of the tale of 'Pandora's Box?'" he asked.

Twilight's face scrunched up in concentration as she thought back to the few days she had been a human; on her first day she had read through a number of books in the school's library, but if she had read the tale, she couldn't recall it. She shook her head.

Ayatane made a thoughtful noise, coming to a stop and bowing his head, eyes closed in thought. "Perhaps the humanity of your world did not have the same creation myths that my world once had . . ." he mused thoughtfully. "No matter," he dismissed the notions with a shake of his head. "The magic of Songs did not always exist in my world," he lectured to the natives, "it was taught to humans by the nomadic dragons that departed this world through the Crystal Mirror and assimilated their cultures, eventually even interbreeding to form a new race entirely."

Ayatane saw that the lavender princess seemed fascinated to learn the history of an entire new world and species of humans that seemed to be so different from the ones she had become during her pursuit of Sunset Shimmer--especially a race of humanity whose world was so connected to that Equestria's! "But that does not matter," he quickly dismissed, causing Twilight to ever so briefly look less like the princess she was and instead appear as if a young filly denied access to gifts on her birthiversary . "The fact is, thousands of years ago for my world, primitive humans lived scattered far from each other and ignorant of what caused the everyday phenomena of the world, so a myriad of deities and creation myths were created to explain things such as their own creation or why the sun and moon rose and fell," he explained, causing Twilight to perk up and listen intently once more. "One such civilization, close to near two millennia before the construction of the towers of Ar Tonelico, had myth that the gods created the first man and woman, and to the first woman, named 'Pandora,' the chief deity entrusted a vessel that they said contained all the evils of world and bade her to never open it, lest the ills within should be unleashed upon all humanity," he recited.

"She opened the box, correct?" Celestia surmised, well familiar with such cautionary tales--for Equestria had its own myths and legends that served to impart wisdom unto the listeners.

"She did," Ayatane said, offering the ruler a smile.

"Aw c'mon!" Rainbow Dash companied. "They were asking for it!" she protested. "You don't just give someone something and then tell them not to do something with and expect them to listen!" she espoused, feeling that the mare in the story was unfairly getting the blame for something the gods (who sounded like jerks!) set her up to do.

"Yeah!" Pinky cried, bouncing up and down. "It's like if I try to not think of chimichangas!" she cried. "Now all I can thing about are chimichangas!" She admitted, before turning to gaze at all her friends. "Anyone want to go get lunch after this?" she wondered, thoughts of the said food quickly occupying her thoughts.

"Focus, Pinkie," Twilight sighed, closing her eyes. Opening them, she looked towards the pale skinned father of the changeling race; "What happened next?" he asked, wanting to hear the conclusion of the tale.

"The box was opened, and countless illnesses, old age, and even fear and death itself were let loose and forever burdened upon humanity," he informed them all. "However, when all the evils had left, a single thing remained in the bottom of the box--greater than any and all of what had been contained within."

He looked to them all, before declaring: "Hope."

No one gathered said anything, reflecting upon the tale they had been told. Finally, it was Luna who broke the veil of silence that had settled over the room. "Fascinating as thy tale was," she admitted, "We fail to see why thou felt the need to share it."

Ayatane shook his head, smiling softly to himself. "To offer perspective to you all," he said, spreading his arms wide. "As as I said before, every action can have many consequences--even if they are not first readily apparent." He paced about, and all eyes followed his movements, wary even with his swords surrounded and under Shining Armor's guard. "When you opened that chest, it contained the Song of Hope, which you used to defeat your foe, but it is even now still being sung throughout the very land--even if you cannot hear it That is why I find myself in this land again after so many ages.

And I am not the only one who has been summoned by the siren song," he told them ominously

Author's Note:

Horray for exposition! Appologicies for the delay, I have been playing through the Ar Tonelico again as I write to better immerse myself with the story. This marks the end of the foundation for the conflict that will construct the plot proper! Enjoy