The draconequus raised an arm, his fingers set against each other and ready to snap.
Eos’ horn flared as the air around her started to shimmer. “Girls, stay close to me.”
He let his arm drop back down a few inches as a smile stretched across his face. “Creative. Quick thinking. Able to form elegant solutions to complex problems in the face of danger. You may be of even more use than I thought.”
He reached forward until his hand met resistance. A sparkling spheroid barrier of some sort encircled the group of friends and repelled matter from the outside. His hand warped and twisted for a moment before regaining its ordinary appearance and proceeding forward, ignoring the shield completely. Five of the six ponies inside the dome shivered visibly with fear. They could not begin to imagine the things the monster in front of them could, and would, do. They also failed to grasp what the sixth pony was capable of.
Beneath the physical barrier were dozens of arcane membranes, each tuned to a different ‘frequency’. Eos may not have known exactly what part of the metaphorical spectrum the supposed shepherds made use of, but as soon as the intruding limb came to a stop again she would have her answer. Everything would turn completely around, as everything seemed to do with frightening regularity lately. Any and all Q in her way could be dealt with swiftly and easily, making the remainder of the journey an easy one. Even Discord could be kept under control. She smirked.
His hand advanced steadily past wave after wave of shielding before finally coming to a sudden stop just a few layers short of the end. His smile disappeared and his opponent’s smirk grew into a grin.
“Gotcha.”
A pale glow extended out from the barrier to slowly envelop him, and with a flash his flesh turned to stone.
---------------------------------------------------
Eos fiddled with her latest project, ignoring the wistful sighs of her friends and the strange feeling of emptiness tugging at the corner of her mind. Something was wrong. For some time now she had been unable to feel truly happy. She’d noticed her friends seemed less enthusiastic than usual as well. Except Pinkie, but with her it was difficult to tell.
The five ponies who weren’t predisposed to party all the time were lounging about doing nothing in particular. Pinkie Pie looked up from Spike’s writing to get a better view of her friends. Being unhappy. Again.
“I’ll help you some more later, okay Spikey?”
Spike nodded and Pinkie trotted around the room, nudging each of her friends and being waved off dismissively. None of her friends were happy. Pinkie sighed. “Okay, Disco. I think that’s enough.”
In a puff of smoke, the enigmatic shepherd appeared. “I agree.”
“I’ve got you now!” Eos shouted. A wave of energy surged forth from her horn, attempting to grip and contain him.
It parted around him and he gave an exaggerated yawn. “Quite finished? You’re still FAR too predictable, but we don’t have any more time. You’ve got the techniques you’ll need to do this.”
Eos’ face scrunched up. “How did-”
“Always with the questions, and never the novel ones. Look, we really DON’T have much time now. They’ll be here any minute. In the meantime, just sit still and be quiet. As hard as it might be for you to believe this, I am not your enemy. I’m here to help you.”
Pinkie Pie stepped forward, her hair alarmingly flat. Her eyes moistened and her lip quivered. “I know you told me. I shoulda been ready for it. But it didn’t make it any less sad to see them like that. I know it was super important, but... why?”
“I... I told you already. There wasn’t any other way.”
“What are you two TALKING about?” Eos demanded.
Discord’s face fell. “I used you all.” He couldn’t make eye contact. “And for that, I’m sorry.”
Rainbow Dash stood, her face swathed in fury. “What kind of friend USES ponies, huh? I thought you said you wanted to HELP us!”
“I didn’t have a choice! We needed to be here, and you all needed to be prepared. Please, just let me finish. There’s only one more thing you all NEED to know, but there’s plenty you DESERVE to.”
Dash grumbled and sat down. “Get talking. We’re in a hurry, right?”
Everypony fell silent and all eyes turned to Discord. He cleared his throat once.
“Everything you have ever known is part of a grand, multi-galactic experiment. Every viable planet was given three things. A powerful source of arcane energy, the seeds for a life form that could make use of that energy, and a shepherd to guide them. I never did find out why they called us ‘Q’, but the numbers are just counted off. Next planet, next number. Our job was to nudge the life on a planet in a prosperous direction and try to encourage use of the energy sources so generously donated to them. We were authorized to interfere directly if necessary, but advised to stay in the shadows as much as possible.”
“Ah reckon somethin’ a mite different happened on Equestria?” Applejack asked.
“Didn’t I say not to interrupt? If we get the chance, we’ll go into more detail, but it’s not necessary. Yes, Equestria was special. I came to conclusions the others did not, and I made some important decisions to get all of us where we are right now.”
Rarity stomped a hoof. “That’s all well and good, but I for one think it’s QUITE rude to steer a society to meet your own selfish needs.”
“That’s not what I’m apologizing for. Until recently, I’d never directly harmed a pony. I am the reason you have all been suffering. I took away your happiness, and for that I am sorry.”
Dash shot up into the air and zipped right next to Discord’s face. Her earlier scowl returned five times as fierce. “You TOOK AWAY our happiness? How do you even DO that? And WHY?”
“It was the only way to give us enough time. You should sit back down for this... it might come as a bit of a shock.”
Dash’s eyes narrowed as she hovered in place, not budging an inch.
“Fine. Twilight? And I DO recommend you try to be the friendly Twilight and not calculating Eos... the purpose of the experiment was to cultivate and harvest something. You’re livestock. Farm animals. The Q were never informed of this, only that the species we guarded needed to prosper. I found out the truth. I discovered what our masters were searching for. The reason your magic has been unable to affect me is because I altered myself. I no longer use my original power source, and as a result my output has changed. I don’t operate at the same ‘frequency’ as the others anymore. Unfortunately, if I started running around the universe shooting off vast quantities of precisely what they’re looking for they would find me VERY quickly. So I had to diminish it and try to lay low.”
“I’m still waiting for that shocking explanation,” Dash spat.
“Friendship... is magic.”
Everypony blinked.
“Scientific minded individuals don’t like to use the word magic, but it’s the best fit. MUCH more energy comes out than goes in. Dozens of orders of magnitude more. They were looking for a newer and more efficient energy source, and you lot are the JACKPOT. Just like you couldn’t detect or affect the Q because you were coming at them from the wrong angle, you were all blind to the phenomenal power coming out of all of you each and every day. I can’t explain it, but when a group of ponies come together as friends, something magical happens. I tuned myself into it, and since you left the planet I’ve never been far from you. You’re my power source now. But like I said, if they caught wind of us they’d be on us in no time. I trapped the unbelievable energy in a bubble of itself around your planet so they couldn’t sniff it from far away and I needed to make sure I myself didn’t smell so strongly. I needed less power, and for that I needed you all to be less happy. The part of the pony brain that controls emotions is really quite simple.”
“Why? I thought you were pretty staunchly against making order from chaos. Taking something as unpredictable as emotions and making a clean and pure energy out of them? Didn’t you say you couldn’t stand that?” Twilight asked.
“It’s true, I find it utterly repulsive. The Elements of Harmony disgust me. Here, take them back.” He snapped his fingers once and the jeweled artifacts suddenly WERE. No phasing, no warping, no light.
“They’re the simplest way for you all to harness that power. Not that any of you properly understand what to do with it. Even Celestia didn’t. If you or she’d had a more thorough understanding of how they worked, she could have been saved. Of course, my little dam couldn’t have held all of it back and THAT would have attracted unwanted attention. I know you’ll have difficulty believing this but it’s better that she died. You needed to keep moving forward, and they wouldn’t have allowed that.”
“You’re telling me we could have saved the Princesses?! HOW COULD THAT POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN A BAD THING? Why was it so important you not be discovered? Why is it suddenly okay that we’re about to be? Why did you manipulate us into coming out here? Why would Celestia not have known how to use the Elements to their full potential? Why are you LETTING ME INTERRUPT YOU?” Twilight was hyperventilating. “I just... everything’s gone crazy again. Or maybe you’re right... maybe it always has been.”
“You have every right to hate me. I hate me. I made those damnable Elements, but only because I had to. You needed to be fed knowledge, but slowly enough that you didn’t lose your sanity. Everything had to be kept secret so that we could come to this moment. So that everything could be made right. It’s almost time. You have the Elements. You know what you need to know. I’ve made all the necessary preparations. Soon it will all be worth it, but first you’re going to have to meet your makers. Then we can fix everything.”
An incredible rumbling shook its way through the vessel. Sensors didn’t indicate any movement relative to anything around them, and yet there was an undeniable quaking. The sector of space they were occupying was what actually moved. All of it, and everything in it. The collection of objects in space floating within a few light years of where they were all jittered in the same directions at the same times and with the same intensities. A jagged streak of bright light slashed into place in front of the Harmony and started to part, revealing a great and terrible blackness.
It appeared as though reality itself was ripped open, granting a view into the nothingness beyond, from which an enormous metal craft appeared. The gleaming colossus slid into being from the void and nopony aboard the Harmony could tear their eyes away from the spectacle. Before the entirety of the thing could form, an opening appeared. Crew and craft were no longer merely spellbound by the sight, but physically pulled by the thing. Being drawn into a gigantic alien spaceship was enough to snap them out of their stupor, and panic set in. Yelling loudly, running about, and flailing uselessly were the dominant choices as chaos descended upon the terrified ponies.
Discord smiled.