The sun shone brightly upon Equestria just as it always had. While beyond the cities, where nature’s beauty could still be seen for miles around, the cities where the ponies lived were significantly different compared to how they were a thousand years ago.
Back then, Equestria’s cities were smaller and the structures ranged from medieval, like Ponyville, to modern, like Manehattan. Ponies of each tribe were seen walking the streets every day and depending on how large the town was, everypony either knew each other or they were simply another face in the crowd.
Now, Equestria faces a new era of technology, introduced by space faring races from across the stars. Humans came and sparked the largest technology boom that the world had ever seen. Technology ranged from advanced guns to sophisticated stealth technology to hovering vehicles that needed no pony to power them but still needed ponies to maintain them.
This boost in technology was further boosted when a race of enigmatic faceless aliens known as the Protoss, were introduced to the Ponies and were allowed to establish a colony on their world. Protoss technology allowed the denizens of Equus to utilize advancements that would have otherwise never have been dreamed of for another thousand years or more. Because of the Humans and the Protoss, Equestrians could look to the stars and expand their civilization beyond their world.
While the Humans left Equus to their own devices once they no longer had anything to teach them, coupled with the fact that sticking around a Protoss colony world would have made them nervous given the shaky history between the two races, another race was introduced to Equus who became a turning point in Changeling history.
The Equus Brood of Zerg, a race of genetically malleable predatory creatures that could evolve and mutate rapidly in accordance to the will that controls them, such as a Queen, Broodmother or the Overqueen, came to Equus and established a Primary Zerg Hive Cluster in the Badlands where the majority of the brood lived alongside the majority of the Changeling race.
The Equus Brood differed significantly from the other broods in the Koprulu Sector in that this brood was infused with Equestrian magic and could utilize the essences of Equus’ numerous species in their evolutions.
Two heroic Ponies were the main cause of the great changes that happened to the world. One of the two heroic ponies who brought the Humans, Protoss and Zerg to Equus had ascended to become a Xel’naga or, as they are known on Equus, Alicorn. The Xel’naga were beings who had ascended beyond the short mortality of other races through the union of beings who were Pure of Form, possessing incredible psionic powers, or Pure of Essence, possessing the ability to cause great change to themselves and the world around them. Their purpose in the cosmic order was to create new universes and seek a race in each of them to uplift to become Pure of Form or Pure of Essence. The two races would be brought together, often through conflict, and those who rose above both races were given the opportunity to take into themselves the essence of the Xel’naga and become one of them.
While Xel’naga lifespans were usually indefinite, but not infinte, in length, the ascension can affect different races in different ways. Ascension turned Ponies into Alicorns and turned a Zerg-infested Human into a form resembling a burning angel. There would be no telling how long an Alicorn or an ascended human would live since there were no prior records of such since the renegade Xel’naga Amon destroyed the records.
The two previously mentioned heroic Ponies went by the names of Lyra Heartstrings, friend and ally to the Daelaam Protoss and Highlord of the Tal’darim Protoss, and Sweetie Drops, former agent of the former S.M.I.L.E. Agency that protected Equestria from unseen threats until dismantled by the same power hungry politician who created the agency. She went by the alias Bon Bon.
Lyra represented the Protoss colony on the world's political stage and was a master of the three known styles of Templar combat. While most Protoss practiced one style their whole lives, Lyra practiced the psionically explosive style of the Khalai, the stealth and assassination techniques of the Nerazim and the destructive and wrathful techniques of the Tal’darim.
Lyra was originally a former student of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns but washed out because her scatterbrained self couldn’t keep up with the rigorous courses that she had to take. After being sent to the Koprulu Sector of the galaxy by Discord, she quickly overcame that part of herself when she was exposed to a strange gas called Terrazine and began her training as a Templar under the tutelage of Executor Tassadar, Prelate Zeratul and eventually First Ascendant Alarak.
During the course of her adventure, Lyra's cutie mark was transformed as a result of a change in her destiny. The golden lyre mark became three colored blades crossing in unity to symbolize her talent in bringing the three main Protoss tribes together. She still kept her skills with the lyre though.
These days, Lyra ran a school for training new generations of Ponies and Protoss in the arts of the Templar. Thanks to a special mixture of powdered Jorium crystal and liquified Terrazine, called Terrarium, Ponies of all tribes were able to be trained in the psionic arts as Templar or as Ghosts or Spectres; covert ops soldiers who used psionic power with stealth technology. Lyra primarily taught her students the ways of the Khalai style or the Nerazim style.
She made a rule to herself to never teach the Tal’darim style unless under dire circumstances as that style was brutal and easily catastrophic if handled wrong.
Sweetie Drops was originally in hiding because of the politician who ruined her life as an agent until Discord sent her and Lyra away where they would discover powers beyond their imagination. Sweetie gained psychic powers due to exposure to Jorium radiation and later was trained as a Ghost. These powers were further enhanced by Terrazine. Sweetie worked with a group of rebels that sought to bring down a despot who ruled the humans in the Koprulu Sector with an iron fist. She also gained a reputation as a mercenary and assassin.
She later assisted a Human named Sarah Kerrigan with her revenge against said megalomaniacal dictator and ended up infested by the Primal Zerg in the process. The transformation also changed her cutie mark from three striped candies to three DNA strands to symbolize her talent at working with essence.
During the final battle against Amon, Discord, who was also a Xel’naga, transferred some of his essence to Sweetie where she ascended to become an Alicorn.
Sweetie gained the ability to manipulate the essence of others which she used to change the destiny of the Changeling race by altering their dietary needs from the love of others to feasting on the near limitless supply of magical Zerg flesh for sustenance. This earned her the loyalty of the Changelings.
Future generations of Changelings volunteered themselves to join Equestria’s newest agency slash army covert ops division as Ghosts, Spectres and Templars.
Thanks to Protoss technology, a building was constructed on a platform floating high above the Everfree Forest. This building was placed there with the intention of collecting some of the entropic wild magic of the forest for research. This building became a research institution founded by Princess Twilight Sparkle for the purpose of seeking more efficient means of creating a universe.
Using an advanced simulator and combining it with wild magic, a simulated universe was created with uncontrollable variables; as chaotic as a universe should be. This universe was a subject of study for centuries.
Twilight named the simulated universe “The Eternal Sphere” because when the universe manifested in the simulator, it took on a spherical shape. Some researchers groaned at Twilight’s lack of creativity in naming things, especially since she named the institution Sphere 211 because the building was two-hundred and eleven stories tall.
The costs of maintaining the universe wasn’t free though. Upkeep costs were high so in order to continue the project, Twilight and the main research staff decided to create new worlds in that universe and open them to the public as virtual role playing games with a subscription format where the fees went into maintaining the project or developing new content.
It was five hundred years after the End War against Amon that a new scientific field was discovered. While magic and technology gave all of the Pony tribes the ability to perform tasks that were meant for Pegasi and Earth Ponies, such as farming on clouds and localized weather machines. This new science, referred to as Symbology, would give Earth Ponies and Pegasi, as well as the Protoss, the ability to cast spells like Unicorns could.
Symbology, also known as heraldry or runology by some, as it was discovered through centuries of research, could allow anyone who was trained to use them to cast spells by utilizing various symbols that were etched onto one’s body through various methods.
However, just because a symbol was etched onto someone’s body didn’t make them proficient at every type of symbol there was. Some would be more proficient at attack symbols; utilization of elemental attacks like fire, wind, earth or water. Some would be more proficient at support; strengthening allies or weakening enemies. Others could heal wounds or cure minor afflictions or wake up unconscious allies.
Current understanding of Symbology had been limited to battlefield use or for everyday purposes that Protoss technology could not help.
After receiving an urgent request from the owner of the Sphere company, Lyra Heartstrings began heading to the floating tower built over the Everfree Forest.
During her walk, Lyra took a brief period of time observing the scenery before her. The Protoss colony had thrived over the centuries since it was founded after the End War.
It was an age of flying vehicles powered by magic and psionic energy and as much as things had changed compared to one thousand years ago, some things remained the same. Even today, Protoss architecture was still tall, golden and gaudy. Lyra figured that some Protoss traditions could not be discarded so easily. Pegasi were still managing this world’s weather while some weather teams volunteered to be part of research expeditions to other worlds to find out if their magic could affect the weather there. Earth Ponies were still farming while some were sent as well to experiment on the soil of other worlds. The results have been mixed so far.
Studies into the science of Symbology have been promising so far but the results have not yielded anything that would be of benefit to the expedition teams yet, except that it could be used to dispatch hostile lifeforms. With the science being expanded to the point that it was today, Lyra got into the trend by having symbols etched into her body.
Lyra was proficient with support symbols but her talent with attack and healing symbols was lacking. It was still fine with her though since she was already one of the most skilled warriors on Equus, rivaling Celestia, Luna and Bon Bon, even without attack symbols. She could still use attack and healing symbols but they would be more difficult to cast.
Having her life connected to an Alicorn like Bon Bon had its perks when it allowed her to share in her partner’s indefinite lifespan especially as it meant that she was never too old to try new things since her body didn’t age.
Lyra was currently wearing a blue short sleeved T-shirt with a black vest along with a pair of black shorts. She was also wearing her golden Protoss armor which didn't cover much but the protection came from the built in shielding system. The lower part of her armor produced a transparent blue half skirt that extended down to the top of her hooves.
Lyra used the fastest mode of transportation to reach Sphere, the Psionic Transport System. This system involved using crystal pylons to temporarily convert matter into an energy form and transmit it between pylon conduits until the destination conduit was reached where the energy form would be transformed back into its material form. The system itself wasn’t without issues though as it required focus and a clear intent to avoid being sent to a random conduit many miles from the intended destination. Most preferred shuttle transports.
Lyra was able to easily navigate the system thanks to her focus and centuries of practice. Sometimes it paid to be conditionally immortal from having her life linked to her immortal wife.
She exited the PTS and soon entered the Sphere building into the lobby.
Unlike the gaudy golden exterior of the towering building that seemed to extend higher than Cloudsdale, the inside had a more comfortable variety of colors. The floors were off white metallic floating platforms that felt like a solid floor when walked on, as if the floors were built upon a solid foundation. The walls and pillars around the room were deep purple with an off white coloration on the upper and lower edges.
The nearby reception desk was occupied by two individuals, a light blue unicorn mare with a green mane and a female Protoss, both wearing the purple uniforms of the Sphere company. The two looked at Lyra and nodded to her, with the Protoss giving her the "En Taro Lyra" greeting because her fame among the Protoss had made her an honored hero. The mare alerted the owner of Lyra’s arrival with one hand on her headset while using her other to log in Lyra’s entry into the system while the Protoss informed Lyra that the owner will meet with her on the fifth floor.
Lyra walked down the the hallway and continued noting the seemingly solid floating floor panels while also admiring the holographic bridges that could actually be walked on.
Her destination on that floor was a series of teleportation modules that were used to move between the many floors of the building. Lyra entered one and a holographic display appeared with ten numbers on them. The system would only activate if three numbers were pressed that corresponded to the desired floor.
Lyra pushed zero twice followed by five. Just like with the PTS, Lyra felt the sensation of being converted into energy then back to solid matter again as she appeared in a transport module on the fifth floor.
The disorienting part of being transported between floors was that the floors were all the same with no distinguishing markings to show that she was on the fifth floor. Lyra considered talking to the owner about that issue at some point. For now, she headed to the research section that was on that floor. It was a short walk.
Inside the room where the research section was located, Lyra saw numerous ponies and Protoss working hard at maintaining the institution’s prized project, The Eternal Sphere.
Remembering what she heard about it, Lyra recalled that The Eternal Sphere was an artificial universe that was placed inside of a simulator. Sphere had been using the universe as a research tool to further advance the science of Symbology. Knowledge had been exchanged many times over the centuries between the real world and the simulated universe, even though those in the simulation were never made aware that they were artificial creations nor were they aware that they were exchanging knowledge with beings beyond their universe. Any breakthroughs made by either party were exchanged between the simulation and the real world.
Among the staff was the pony that Lyra was looking for. She was the tallest pony in the room and about the average height of a Protoss who were normally around seven feet in height. Her sparkling navy blue mane with a purple and raspberry stripe billowed in a non-existent wind. Her coat was lavender and it matched the purple uniform that she wore with extra additions to it to symbolize her position as the owner of the Sphere Company. Her figure, wings and horn also rivaled Princess Celestia in dimensions.
Even Bon Bon had developed quite nicely even though she hides that figure under some transformation magic. It made Lyra a little jealous that she was the only pony who had lived for over a thousand years and had not physically changed at all. Of course her toned, muscular body was nothing to scoff at either.
Twilight took notice of the door into the room opening and saw Lyra enter. She quickly wrapped up the conversation she had with one of the researchers and quickly walked over to Lyra.
“Hey Lyra,” Twilight greeted. “So glad you could make it here on short notice.”
“Hey Twi, I got here as fast as I could,” Lyra responded. “What’s up?”
“First of all, thank you for coming. I actually have a major problem with the Eternal Sphere that I need your help with.”
Lyra deadpanned, “Twi, you know that I know next to nothing about how the simulation works. What could you possibly need my help with?”
“Well…” Twilight began. “First of all, I need you to promise me that what I am about to tell you does not reach the ears of the public. This is a very serious and delicate matter.”
“I promise,” Lyra answered.
Twilight hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath. “A few days ago, our systems were compromised by an unknown hacker. Somehow they knew enough about our systems to upload a virus into the Eternal Sphere. As we speak, the virus has been slowly taking over the security systems we installed into the simulation. Our teams have been working hard at eliminating the virus but it seems the hacker knows our security algorithms and we have only been able to slow the progress of the virus. I don’t want to suspect one of my workers of creating this virus but I can’t rule out the possibility either.
“It’s only a matter of time until the hacker takes full control over the security systems and gains control over the administration drones. With those, the hacker could delete the entire simulation.”
“Don’t you have a backup or something?” Lyra asked.
Twilight nodded, “We do, the problem is that there is something that has caught the interest of the other researchers and myself in the Eternal Sphere that would be lost if it were deleted. The backup would not have this data because the situation with the virus led to this anomaly occurring. We need to study it before the administration drones are unleashed into the simulation.
“This anomaly appears to be a new breakthrough in symbology and we need to work fast if we want to understand what happened.
“We have also detected a foreign entity in the Eternal Sphere that was not created within the simulation itself. Our sensors detected a dimensional rift that briefly opened before the entity was detected. We were unable to recreate the conditions that led to the rift’s opening so we could do little more than observe the entity from a distance.”
Despite Twilight’s use of scientific terms, Lyra was able to understand what Twilight was saying since she had been around for a thousand years and had picked up on some things.
“So what do you know about the entity?” Lyra asked.
“Not much, it took the form of a human infant with blue hair. Female. The manifestation overwrote the existence of another human who was of the same estimated age. The parents are unaware that the child they are raising is not their biological daughter. The incident occurred about seventeen years ago in Eternal Sphere time so she had been raised by that family since the time of the original's birth.”
"Huh?" Lyra asked. "Seventeen years ago? But you said the incident occurred a few days ago."
"We can manipulate the rate that time flows in the Eternal Sphere."
Somewhat satisfied with Twilight's answer, Lyra thought about the situation for a few moments before she decided that she had been told enough about what was happening for the time being. It was time to ask the important questions.
“Okay, so what does this have to do with me? I know that you want to observe the data anomalies and the foreign entity, but where do I fit into all this?”
Twilight smiled, “You and I are going to enter the Eternal Sphere to observe the individuals who possess the anomalous data, one of whom is the entity. With the threat of the virus, as well as some unrest within the company itself where my chief of security, Azure Lazer, is against allowing the data anomalies to continue existing, the subjects will be in danger soon.
“And since Azure uses an avatar to control the Vendeeni Empire within the Eternal Sphere, we need to get to them soon. Thankfully, one of the subjects is safe from the Vendeeni for the time being.”
“Why don’t you just fire them if they being a problem?” Lyra asked.
Twilight shook her head, “Being a threat to the subjects of interest to the research branch is not grounds for termination of employment. She would be able to file a lawsuit against the company for wrongful termination of employment.” Twilight and Azure have never seen eye to eye about anything but she was good at her job so she couldn’t find a good reason to fire her.
Lyra nodded in understanding. It appeared that the situation did not have an easy remedy. She decided to change the subject, “Who are the Vendeeni anyway?”
“One of the intergalactic factions who have held neutrality during the war with the Aldian Empire that is controlled by the Pony Resources director, Swift Burial, and the Pangalactic Federation that I control through avatars.” Lyra slowly started to lose interest in the conversation as Twilight soon began rambling about the factions.
It was about ten minutes later that Twilight finally got back on track. “Anyway, the reason I need your help is because I need you to act as my bodyguard as we enter the Eternal Sphere. I may be highly knowledgeable about symbols and magic but hand to hand combat is still one of my weaker areas. I haven’t had a lot of time to practice, I'm afraid.” Twilight’s cheeks had a faint rosy color as she scratched the back of her neck. She mentally cursed herself for not working on her physical combat skills much over the thousand years she had been alive. “I would have asked for Sweetie Drops to come as well but she’s currently off world with the expedition team so only the two of us will be going.”
Lyra was fine with going on this little adventure since she hadn’t had much to do lately as the Protoss liaison to the crown. She was also in between groups of students at her school and wasn’t expecting the next group for a month. However, she still had one last question to ask before they got started. “So where in the Eternal Sphere are we going?”
Twilight brought up a holographic map of the Eternal Sphere and began zooming in on the intended destination. She zoomed in on an area of the Milky Way galaxy in the Kappa Sector and zoomed further into a certain planetary system. Once the image was large enough, she pointed at the planet in question. “A resort planet named Hyda IV. Two of the targets will be spending their holiday break away from school there.” Twilight then waved a hand to dismiss the display. “We have no time to waste. There’s no telling when the Vendeeni will attack the planet. Come on!”
Twilight headed for the exit to the research section at a brisk pace and Lyra followed closely, easily keeping up despite the difference in sizes. As they walked, Twilight brought up another display and began typing on the image as they walked.
“Unfortunately, I can’t set my character parameters to appear as I currently am in the Eternal Sphere without causing distortions in the data so I will have to set them to be more like yours,” Twilight explained.
“What do you mean?” Lyra asked.
“It means that I will appear as I did a thousand years ago to avoid complications with the system. My full Alicorn powers will be sealed while we are in the simulation as well. It’s another reason that I asked for your assistance as my bodyguard.”
“Understandable,” Lyra responded.
“I will still be able to fight and support with my full knowledge of Symbology as well as my magic so I won’t be helpless,” Twilight continued.
The two continued down the hallway and entered a room that appeared empty but had what appeared to be a faded symbological glyph in the center. Twilight motioned for Lyra to walk into the glyph before following her. She created another display and pressed a few more buttons before the two felt a surge of magic well up beneath their hooves. The floor around the glyph darkened until it was pitch black before lines of red and yellow lights started appearing on the black floor in the form of the glyph from earlier. The magical surge increased in intensity and the energies began to make Lyra feel uncomfortable.
A few seconds later, the magic peaked and Lyra once more felt the sensation of being converted into energy as she and Twilight were transported from the room and onward to the beginning of a new adventure.