-TERRARIA, THE UNDERWORLD-
The eyes of both Starlight and Twilight were currently shot wide open in horror as they gaze upon the fear inducing form of Yharim. The Jungle Tyrant was currently positioned outside of the cell that contained the ponies; along with an object that resembled Tanner The Guide in the form of a doll.
“Yharim, w-why are you here? And… w-what do you mean by that?” Twilight questions with both hesitation and fear in her voice.
“It’s been some time ever since we last spoke in Home Town, hasn’t it?” Yharim responds as the tyrant conjures forth a duo of water bottles from his inventory and floats them into the cell as he questions: “Thirsty? You two must be famished being here in The Underworld,” Yharim then looks towards the doll and continues: “I’d offer you some too, but, obviously that wouldn’t be necessary. Given your current form and all.”
“Wait… that’s Yharim?!” Tanner The Doll inquires in disbelief. This catches Starlight’s attention, all while Twilight continues to stare at Yharim, as the unicorn mare leans into the doll and replies:
“You know him?”
“Of course I do! He’s the bringer of destruction and the greatest form of calamity!”
“Well, yes. But actually, no,” Yharim replies as he then lowers the two water bottles he offered the ponies onto the cell floor. “I’ll just leave those there for when you two inevitably get thirsty.”
“Gee, how thoughtful of you,” Starlight says with dripping sarcasm. “It totally wouldn’t surprise me at all if these were poisoned. No, not. At. All.”
Yharim simply chuckles in response before saying:
“Well that certainly sounds like something I’d do. But, no, they’re not poisoned and I’m not tricking you.”
Starlight rolls her eyes in response before saying:
“Yeah, and I’m the Alicorn Princess Of The Underworld.”
“Keep running that muzzle of yours and I’ll happily arrange that, but not in the way that you’d like.”
[CRUM-CLOP]
“Enough!” Twilight exclaims as she rears up and stomps her forehooves onto the blackened floors of the cell. “Why are you here, Yharim? And what do you mean by you wanting to confirm a suspicion? What suspicion? I doubt you came all the way down here just to offer us some water and to argue with Starlight, so start talking.”
Yharim simply stares at the lavender mare for a few more moments before he then sighs deeply and comments:
“So much for the friendly approach, I guess. That’s very unbecoming of you, Princess Of Friendship.”
“Don’t you dare go there!” Twilight exclaims with anger. “You never intended to be ‘friends’ with us from the start. You stole Pinkie Pie’s life force and used it to blackmail her own sister for Celestia’s sake. And that’s not even mentioning all the horrible things you’ve done even before we came to Terraria,” Twilight then spreads her wings to their full extent before she continues: “Yes, I often offer friendship even to my enemies. But sometimes that simply isn’t an option when it comes to people like you… people who want nothing to do with loving bonds!”
What happens next absolutely shocks everyone currently within the cell as Yharim simply phases through the bars of the containment. The confidence that was once vibrant within Twilight instantly turns into absolute fear as her wings lower themselves and folds against her body. The alicorn even begins to shake in terror as the large frame of Yharim now stands before her, towering over her like a Timberwolf to a filly.
In an act of commendable bravery, Starlight actually throws herself in Yharim’s path and defends her teacher, saying:
“Leave her alone… she’s done nothing wrong to you. None of us has ever wronged you. I don’t care if you could destroy me with a finger, you’ll have to kill me before you get to her.”
“My, aren’t we brave,” Yharim sarcastically compliments. “Where was this when those demons were tossing you around earlier?”
“This is different. When it comes to someone I care about, my friend, I toss aside my fears and defend them. But you wouldn’t understand that, would you? It’s just like Twilight said… you know nothing about loving bonds! You just enjoy tearing them apart!”
As this is going on, Tanner The Doll could only watch on helplessly and observe the scenario that played out before ‘him’. Despite the fear-inducing presence of Yharim, the doll could only admire the ponies for standing up to an entity who could kill them in mere seconds.
One would simply expect Yharim to strike both of the ponies in response; to retaliate for standing up to him in such a fashion. However, everyone in the cell was once again shocked by Yharim’s actions as he simply turned and walked towards the direction of a nearby wall. His golden armor and powerful footsteps echoes throughout the containment as he finally reaches the wall, turns around, and leans against it before sliding to the floor and taking a seat. He rests both of his arms on his knees and states:
“Is that what you truly think? That I don’t know the warmth of such bonds?” These words of course shocks the ponies, even more than they already were, as Twilight responds:
“If you did, you certainly don’t show it nor do you even respect it. However, there is something that I’ve been wanting to get from you, Yharim,” Twilight then walks around Starlight and stands beside the unicorn mare before she continues: “I’ll ask you the same thing I did back in Home Town; during Skeletron’s attack. Why are you doing all of this? You seem to imply that you know the bonds of friendship, of family, of love, and yet you treat others like mere playthings. You’ve torn apart Celestia and Lunaris, Pinkie Pie and her other self who’s apparently her sister, although I admit that I still don’t understand that. You’ve committed so many horrible acts and I just want to know, why?”
Yharim seemed to thoroughly ponder on the lavender alicorn’s words as he tilts his head upwards in thought. After a few moments, he answers:
“I can give you many answers to that question which range from good, to bad. I do it for the pain of those I’ve lossed, I do it because it simply makes me feel better. I do it to correct the wrongs in this world and I do it to simply tyrannize this cruel life of ours. I want to become the world’s greatest hero, and its greatest villain. Those are just a few answers but do you want to know something interesting?”
Both Twilight and Starlight’s ears flicker in response all while they continue to take in his words.
“What is it?” Twilight asks with hints of both curiosity and caution. Yharim then raises his body up and stands to his full stature before responding:
“Sometimes… I just don’t know why I even bother going on anymore, but I also feel that I can not stop,” He then starts to make his way towards Twilight. “Anyway, I came here to confirm something but I’d also like to ask you a question, Twilight.”
“Y-yes?” Twilight responds hesitantly all while Starlight motions for the alicorn to stand behind her.
“What do you truly know about: Pinkie Pie and Pinkamena?” Yharim questions.
“Wh-what kind of question is that?” Twilight responds. “Pinkie Pie is my best friend and she’s always been there to raise our spirits. She knows how to make us laugh even in times of trouble. As for Pinkamena, I don’t know much about her but if Pinkie Pie trusts her, then so do I.”
Yharim places a hand to his chin in thought and goes on to say:
“Yes, I suppose that’s true from what you’ve experienced so far with that party loving pony. However, I’m mostly referring to if you truly know what they are.”
“Well, they’re earth ponies, of course. Why are you asking me this?”
“Tell me, Twilight, are you familiar with an entity called: Oblivion?”
“O-Oblivion? N-no, I have no idea who that is. But, what does that have to do with Pinkie Pie and Pinkamena?”
“Oblivion…” Tanner The Doll comments and injects ‘himself’ into the conversation. “Oblivion is one of the ancients, a type of god if you will. There were many of them throughout Terraria’s history, but the most well known were: Greed, Anubis, Athena, Harmony, Daybringer, Nightcrawler, Abaddon, The Slime Gods technically count as well seeing as they’ve been here from the dawn of life itself. The list goes on but among them were two ancients in particular: Oblivion and Valencia. I bring up Valencia since one can not speak of Oblivion without bringing up their counterpart. In a sense, where Oblivion is meant to destroy, Valencia is meant to create.”
Yharim then starts to clap in response as he comments:
“Well done, my good guide. Unlike that imposter who’s taken your role, you my good sir are truly well deserving of the title. That'll be enough for Pinkie Pie and Pinkamena, but I couldn’t help but notice that you refrained from mentioning one ancient in particular.”
“No… not in front of her, Yharim.”
“Wait, are you two referring to… Twilight?” Starlight questions as she catches onto their implications.
“M-me?” Twilight inquires while pointing a forehoof to herself. “What did you mean by that, Tanner?”
“Please, Yharim… I beg you to spare her from this information.” The doll pleads.
“Ah. But you see, my dear guide, that is part of the suspicion that I came here to confirm for myself,” Yharim then turns towards Twilight. “My good pony, there is so much more to this than even you could ever imagine. The ancient that Tanner refrained from mentioning was the third sibling to Daybringer and Nightcrawler. She was the bringer of the dawn and absolutely excelled in powerful forms of magic. And thanks to yours truly, she is now my personal god-killer: Twilight Sparkle.”
The alicorn’s world came crashing down upon her as she fell onto her flank and stutters:
“W-what? B-but, I was born on Equus… how could I ever have been here before? I… I never even knew of Terraria beforehand. M-my sibling h-has, and only will ever be: Shining Armor.”
“That’s what I came here for, Twilight. To learn the truth and confirm my suspicions of what Harmony has done.” Yharim comments as he took a few steps closer. Starlight tries to intercept him, however, he simply snaps his fingers and causes her to disappear momentarily before reappearing against the nearby wall being shackled in restraints.
“No!” Starlight roars out as she struggles against her restraints. “Please! Leave her alone!”
“I’m not going to hurt her,” Yharim responds as he then places his right hand onto Twilight’s head. “Now then, show me what you’ve done, Harmony.”
A red aura suddenly surrounds Twilight’s form all while the alicorn’s eyes were consumed by a vibrant white light. Yharim simply stood firm as he continued to perform this mysterious action. During this time, both Tanner and Starlight were begging Yharim to stop in exclamation but were sadly unheeded as he continued the action.
A few more minutes goes by and Yharim finally removes his appendage from Twilight’s head. The red aura that surrounded her was now gone and her eyes returned to normal as she fell limp to the black floor of the cell.
“Harmony… you clever Empress Of Light. This changes things.” Yharim comments as he turns around and begins to take his leave.”
“W… wait… Y-Yharim,” Twilight calls out weakly. “Wh… what did you… see? P-please… tell… me.”
The Jungle Tyrant was now outside of the cell with his back turned as he then looked over his shoulder. Having heard the alicorn mare’s words, he responds:
“I used what’s called: Soul reading. At first, I thought it was just an alternate universe thing. Just because you meet your alternate self in another universe, it doesn’t mean that you are one in the same. You are simply identical but you are also two separate beings entirely. You do not actually have a connection to one another,” Yharim then looks forward and conjures a portal before he continues: “But I was wrong to assume that about you, Twilight. What Harmony has done is something I never even considered.”
The Jungle Tyrant was now starting to enter the anomaly as he says one final thing before it dissipates and takes him away along with it:
“Go and ask her about it when you eventually meet her for yourself... my dear reincarnation of this world’s Twilight Sparkle.”
The portal finally closes, and Yharim is now finally gone… but he leaves behind an alicorn whose very existence was being questioned by herself.