//------------------------------// // Irvest Saga part three // Story: Ruining Harmony // by Artaelian //------------------------------// “Well, prime minister,” governor Fountain Pen said with finality, “I think you need to tell the armed forces to prepare. I’ll tell my teams to hold on to their hooves for now, their problems clearly just became a lesser priority.” “I will,” he said, and stood up. “Welcome to Irvest, ladies.” He looked at Spike and fumbled for a second. “And dragon,” he amended, then took his leave. “Excuse me.” “Is it true that this ‘prime minister’ is like your princess?” Twilight Sparkle asked as she and her friends slowly took their seats after he left. Fountain Pen smirked at the way Twilight worded her question and looked at Sunshine Blaze. “Don’t worry about him, he’s only a politician,” Sunshine Blaze said waving a hoof. “This time next year, it’s probably going to be somepony else instead.” “If any of us makes it there,” Applejack added somberly. Rarity was noticing in one of the walls the coat of arms. It was a white painted shield with a golden wing, and laurel leaves crowned the top and base. “We’re refugees, then,” she thought out loud. “And we don’t even know when or if we’re getting back to Equestria.” “We’re staying? We’re really staying?” Applejack asked, clearly not liking the idea. She looked around to everypony present, friends and locals. Everypony was shuffling in one way or the other. “I think so, girls,” Twilight said, then turned to the governor. “Maybe you can clarify what’s going to happen next with us?” The governor sighed and started, “Let me give you a bit more context first. I am, as you might have guessed, governor of Port Equis. If you wonder what a governor is, think of it like the mayors you have back in Equestria. That is to say, we look after a single town, but there is an authority higher than us. Prime Ministers are the same as governors too, and we all answer to the four Sages of Irvest.” The governor at this point chose to stop and examine the friends once again. For the most part, they didn’t seem interested in what he had to say, except for the purple unicorn. “What do these sages do exactly?” she asked, as soon as his eyes fell on her. “Ah, well, in Equestria, you had Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Two sisters that raise and lower the sun and moon,” he glanced outside towards the crimson sky caused by the sun and the moon being in the sky at the same time, “a fact that is vital not just to Equestria, but to the whole planet. In Irvest, the sages are to us what the princesses were for Equestria. They maintain the balance of nature, weather, birth and death. Since they are not immortal, they train successors to take their place, but each one can overturn choices made by governors and prime ministers in their quadrant of Irvest. The white coat of arms, and white with gold Council buildings mean Port Equis falls under the rule of the White Mare, Goldwing.” Twilight nodded after a few seconds, and then asked, “where does Sunshine Blaze fall in all of this?” “Nowhere,” Sunshine Blaze blurted out before the governor could say anything. After a couple seconds of silence, the governor concluded there were no further questions. He was glad about this. He didn’t like question and answer sessions before the press, let alone six confused and upset mares from a faraway land. “Now, let’s get down to business,” the governor pointed at Rainbow Dash, “please step forward, Ms. Dash.” With uncharacteristic caution, Rainbow Dash slowly stood up and walked to stand beside Sunshine Blaze. She looked at him, expecting some help as to what was going on from him, but to her annoyance, Sunshine Blaze simply stared straight ahead, and didn’t seem to regard her presence. “Now, you said what you were wearing was the Element of Loyalty, correct?” Fountain Pen questioned “Uh, yeah.” Rainbow Dash replied. “And without all six Elements together, they won’t work?” he asked in general. “That’s right. While the Element of Magic is needed to activate them, if even one bearer and element is missing, the rest are useless.” Twilight answered. “I see, so we are in no immediate threat of Ulysses using the others to get into Irvest. But at the same time, keeping the Element of Loyalty and Ms. Dash in the same place would be unwise. For the security risk it poses to both Ms. Dash at the hooves of,” he paused for a moment in what Rarity later pointed out was for dramatic effect, “unsavoury ponies, and for Irvest as a whole, this shall remain here with me.” he finished, walking to a wall and pressing a button, causing a part of the wall to slide aside and reveal a safe. “Wait,” Twilight spoke up, “why do we have to leave it with you? We can take it anywhere. It isn’t yours! It shouldn’t even be in Irvest!” she protested. “Ah yes. But if it remained at its land of origin, it would be in Ulysses’ possession, so it was Ms. Dash here that brought it to Irvest in your flight for survival. Further, keeping it about you would attract... unsavoury attention. Equestria may be where ponies work together to see another day, but here in Irvest, ponies will gladly stab you in the back to ensure they see the next dawn.” the governor quickly shot a glance at the IN tray on his desk. Rainbow Dash turned to look at Sunshine Blaze again, desperate for him to provide a reason as to why she couldn’t keep the Element of Loyalty with her. Slowly, as if waking from a dream, Sunshine Blaze turned to look at Rainbow, his eyes going from her face, to the Element of Loyalty itself. “No pony dares attack the Council buildings, those who do usually come out worse for the effort, if not half dead. The Council buildings are a physical representation of the Sage’s power. Please, leave it here, you have my word it will be returned when we leave to return to Equestria.” Sunshine Blaze stated. Rainbow Dash groaned and carefully, she removed the Element of Loyalty from around her neck. She walked over to the governor and passed it to him, and watched as he placed it on a cushion in the safe, and then locked the safe again. Smiling, he returned to his seat and sat down. “Now, we’ll begin the task of setting you six a place to stay for now.” he said, opening a drawer and removing some forms. -- One year later -- Twilight walked through the streets of Port Equis, with Spike on her back carrying her newest book purchase, ‘A brief history of Irvest, revised edition number 300’. She had already loaned and returned the previous edition from a local library, making notes, but she had finally enough saved up for her own brand new copy, happy that she had yet another book to take back on her eventual return to Equestria. She turned the corner of another street and walked to the third house on the right. The home the governor had given them was one of the newer homes in a new part of Port Equis. It belonged to Twilight and her friends, as the governor put it, so that ‘they always have a home for any trips to Irvest in the future’. It was very big, roughly five floors tall, minus the attic and the room at the base with the metal door that opened horizontally. Twilight climbed the stairs, and paused. She looked up the white walls and towards the black slate roof. On one of the upper floors, Fluttershy currently leaned out, watering can held firmly in her mouth as she watered the flower pots she had hung outside the windows of her bedroom. This had cheered her up, as on warm and dry spring and summer days, despite the crimson sky and the sun and moon being ever present in the sky, these flower beds allowed Fluttershy to see and speak to birds and insects of all sorts. But Twilight wasn’t looking up at Fluttershy, her eyes landed on something floating about in the sky, buzzing as it passed overhead. “Spike, isn’t that...” she begun to ask. “Oh wow, that’s what they call a ‘plane’. You remember reading about them Twi?” Spike asked. “Yes, engine powered devices used by the Irvestian earth ponies and unicorns. I remarked on reading that they made sense, a machine to fly non-pegasi around without needing to tire out a pegasus pony, or build a wooden ship or basket and tie it to a helium balloon. Did I buy or loan that book?” she asked once more, looking at the baby dragon on her back. “Hm,” Spike went into deep thought for a moment, “oh! You bought that one, it’s called ‘Basic Principles in Machinery’.” he smiled, proud for remembering the fact. “Well, let’s go put my new purchase away and get something to eat.” she replied, opening the door. The main hall of the house wasn’t very impressive, it was simply a corridor with two flights of stairs, one leading down to a large empty room that they as of yet had no idea on its intended use, and a flight up a floor. The walls were painted white and hung on them were simple paintings of flowers or fruit. Near the door stood a wooden table, shining from the finish making it seem a brighter brown that it probably was, and upon this stood a mirror. Rarity often used this before daring to step outside the front door. Twilight’s hooves clopped loudly as she walked across the wood, Spike closing the door behind her. The first floor landing was far more generous than the main hall, and had enough room for three ponies to stand side by side within it. The floor was polished and shone in the light, and once again, the walls were a simple white in colour, however the paintings hung on them were more interesting than the ones found on the main floor. These paintings were of a sunset and a boat sailing in the distance, a mare dressed up with an umbrella in a field of red flowers, or of the night sky and the stars reflecting in a mountain lake. Twilight opened a door which led to the main sitting area. It was large and had a balcony, the black iron bars of the balcony were bent towards the street, presumably to prevent any sort of intruder. Rarity was currently standing out of the balcony, her front hooves resting against the railing. The rest of the room mostly consisted of pillows in purple, pink, yellow, white and orange, and a single cloud that floated in place. Opposite the pillows was a very large, and very nearly empty bookcase. There were only about ten books, including the new one Spike was placing. It wasn’t an impressive bookcase, Twilight would be the first to admit, it was simple, boards of wood nailed together to perform a function, no elaborate decoration or intricate carvings. Down the room was the kitchen, with breakfast bar, where currently Pinkie Pie was baking, washing the mixing bowls for whatever she currently had cooking in the oven. Down the room from there was a table with seven stools arranged around it, one of the stools being taller than the rest. It too was simple and only built to perform the intended function, rather than also being something to admire. Just down from this sat the kitchen, the cupboards had black paint and silver handles, and these hung on the wall above the polished quartz worktop, with more cupboards below them. An oven and sink stood beneath a window, and Twilight saw, this was where Pinkie Pie currently was, water running into messed up bowls in the sink, while the pink mare washed the mix of whatever she had been making that hadn’t gone into the oven off of her hooves. “Heya Twilight! What’d you get while out?” Pinkie asked, looking back down the room at Twilight. “Just a book about Irvest’s history. Since we’re here, we may as well know a little of this place, and like the rest, I can take it back to the library in Ponyville when we go back.” Twilight replied. “Oh darling,” Rarity sighed as she walked in from the balcony, “do you honestly still believe we’ll ever see Equestria again? We’ve been in Irvest for a year now.” Twilight thought for a moment, before she replied. “I don’t see why not. I mean, not even Sunshine Blaze can prevent it. Sooner or later, we’ll know what we have to do to stand a chance against Ulysses, and stop him destroying the world or whatever it is he has planned exactly.” Twilight answered, smiling hopefully. “I hope you are right Twilight. It pains both me and Applejack that we can’t be with our siblings and relatives right now. I can only imagine how upset Sweetie Belle must be.” Rarity said, sitting down on the white pillow. “Speaking of Applejack, where is she? And for that matter, where is Rainbow Dash? I saw Fluttershy tending to her flowers when I was coming in the front door.” Twilight asked. “We needed some fruit, so Applejack offered to go to the market and get some. As for Rainbow Dash, she said something about finding out what pegasi do in Irvest, she was going stir crazy not being able to fly so often.” Pinkie Pie replied. Silence fell on the three ponies. Pinkie Pie turned her attention to the oven, and watched as whatever she had made baked through the glass door. Twilight looked at Spike as he settled down beside the purple pillow and attempted to go to sleep. Rarity meanwhile was clearly not trying to cry at the thoughts she was having over how Sweetie Belle was. “I have to say, I do wonder how Equestria is right now. I mean, what must it be like for ponies there, living under Ulysses’ rule.” Twilight idly stated. -- Ulysses ruled Equestria from an obsidian castle that sat far from Canterlot and Ponyville. In the highest tower, he sat in a marble and obsidian room, on a black marble throne. Far away, he could hear the preparation of his army in their daily routines to defend his castle, safe in the knowledge that he was safe. Sighing, Ulysses stood up and walked to the window which gave him a view of both Canterlot and Ponyville. Above Ponyville, Dragons flew in a calculated pattern, while Canterlot was shielded by a magic barrier that was purple in colour. Ulysses glanced over his back as the door was knocked, and a general in his army entered. “Any specific order for today my lord?” He pondered this for a moment, turning to face the window again. “What would you recommend I do about those two cities?” “Sir?” the general questioned, not quite sure what was being asked of him. “You heard me. What should be done about them?” “Well, my lord, if Canterlot is taken, then Ponyville won’t be far behind.” “Very well, do what must be done.” Ulysses replied, not moving from the window. Behind him, the door clicked softly. As he stared into the window, Ulysses became aware of another presence walking up behind him. Unflinching, he could see the ghostly blue transparent figure of a pegasus mare. Are you really doing what is right? the mare asked. “Of course I am.” he answered her, his determination and commitment to his plan had got him to control Equestria, his true goal couldn’t be much further behind. But for what you desire, you have turned a country into a war zone, hidden its former rulers, and unbalanced the balance of nature itself. the mare pressed. “And what does that matter to you?.” And that is before you take into account the many who have died by your actions, not to mention those that still will die before your goal is reached. “All necessary, their lives are no more important than my own.” Each flame of life, extinguished in your wind of insanity, the mare said coldly, as Ulysses turned around, he could only watch as hundreds, maybe a thousand, of other ghosts appearing, their cold ghostly eyes staring at him, mare, stallion and foal, it mattered not to you, each one as insignificant as an insect. And for what? “For my goal, the world will be better once I have what I desire!” he yelled, all too happy now that his army had left. Will it? Will it really? she said, striking terror into Ulysses. He said nothing, unsure anymore what to say in response. As he waited for her to continue, a little pegasus foal ghost walked in front of him. His wings looked as though they had been pulled apart by two timberwolves fighting over which would eat him. I was Sunny Rays. On my eighth birthday, you tore my wings to pieces by magic and left me to bleed to death. “...I... I...” Ulysses tried to form a sentence, but he couldn’t. As Sunny Rays became lost among the crowd of ghosts, his scar covered spectral form seemed to come apart and meld with the other ghosts nearby, an earth pony stepped forward, she looked much older. I was Petunia Drops. As I tried to protect my foals from you, you threw me against the corner of a building, snapping my neck. The ghosts no longer waited, slowly, they begun to all call out their names and how he had killed them and what they were doing just before. I was Cloud Chaser. I tried to take a rain cloud over the fires you started in my town, but you petrified my hooves while I was over a lake. I was Primrose. I tried to take newborn foals to safety from the hospital ruins, but you impaled me on a wooden beam sticking out of a nearby wall. I was Lexicon, the arch chancellor of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. As you stormed the castle, you turned my own defensive spell back into my horn, overloading and shutting down my brain. “Please... no more...” Ulysses begged, having got to the floor. He had closed his eyes and tried to cover his ears with his hooves, to no avail. Around him, the ghosts didn’t relent. He could no longer hear individuals, each voice lost in a sea as they continued to call out their names and deaths to him. After two minutes, it died down, and slowly, Ulysses sat up. All the ghosts were still there, with the mare that started it all in front of them. You could have accepted your fate all those years ago, instead you chose that fate was wrong. You destroyed your home, your family, your friends, and got eternally banished from Irvest. You could have stopped there, but you continued on, certain that you were right and the world was wrong. And now look where it has gotten you. Where will this end? Can you even be sure that you are doing the right thing anymore? Your hooves are stained forever with the blood of countless innocent victims, all whom had settled for what fate gave them, their lives ended because you just couldn’t accept your lot in life. The mare stated with an apparent joyful glee. Ulysses looked down, to try and prepare his thoughts to give an appropriate response. However, he recoiled in shock at the sight of thick and dark red blood, which surrounded his hooves and ran freely. Desperately, he tried to wipe the blood away so he could check if he was bleeding, but it continued to flow from an unknown source. “What do you expect me to do? I have committed to this course of action, regardless of if I think it is right or wrong anymore, I must see it through. Failure is not an option this time.” he shouted, as all the ghosts began to chant ‘murderer’ at him. When he’d finished speaking, Ulysses found himself alone with the mare again. She looked sadly at him, as she begun to fade away. You had everything you could have ever wanted once, a teacher who loved you, parents who adored you, a brother who idolised you, and friends who cared for you. You fell so far, Ulysses, so far that you can no longer tell right from wrong, and you no longer have anyone willing to show you the way to save yourself. Deep down, you know this will only end badly for yourself. And with that, the mare was gone, leaving Ulysses all alone with his thoughts. He turned to the window, facing what he had done so far to achieve the goal he sought so much. “Are the ghosts right,” he questioned aloud to himself, “would this be worth it? Is this really what I should be doing? No... no I can’t second guess myself. They are wrong, all of them. They and the world will eventually know that they were wrong, that I was right! Nothing shall stop me from achieving my goal.”