Everything Ends...

by Harold_Genhi

Chapter 4: Overthrow

My dreams were incoherent flashes of red and screams. The distant sounds of scraping claws and breaking stone clashed against my ears as I tossed and turned like a scared, young filly. I hoped the dreams would grow into something coherent, but my beating heart and panicked brain couldn’t connect any of the images together. I sit up in the middle of the night, taking in a breath as if I had never breathed in my life. It takes me a few seconds to catch my bearings and find that I am safely in my room with a cold sweat on my face, a cold shiver roosting in my spine. A clammy sticking sensation adheres to the outside of my eyes as I blink sleepily. It is still dark outside. Off to my side, Vinyl softly lays; her hair is lying on her face, her interesting electric blue hair.

Introspection sets in as I stare at her. How did I let myself fall in love with such a mare? Even the concept of falling for a mare over a stallion had never crossed my mind. I held a high degree of pride back in the days. I told myself that I would have to pass my legacy on through a filly or colt of my own, a happy family of mushy sappiness that I loathe. My lungs inflate with another breath full of air. If only life were that simple. Love has taken me places beyond anywhere I had in my dreams. I had planned accordingly and I watched it crumble under my hooves each time. Now the largest crumble occurred, Vinyl.

I have no future of children with her. I have no way of passing my legacy or having children. Most of the time our relationship is based around our appreciation of music and our clashing interests. We argue and we kiss. The sappiness is almost non-existent as much as I pushed to create it. None of my plans were successfully executed. One plan even consisted of not letting any lover into my life, holding my standards so high that no male could ever measure up to it. I became, what Vinyl called, a snobby bitch. I hated her words, not because they were untrue, but the fact that they were true. I knew what I was creating in myself, how I pushed everypony out of my life. Even my sister hit the chopping block.

The more I hated, the more my music became famous across Equestria. Riveting, critics would declare. Emotionally driven depression in music form, they would clamor. I sat back and enjoyed the praise, the flashes of cameras, giving a fake grin to them when inside I stabbed my heart with everything I could find. Depression became the fuel for my music, and slowly, living with Vinyl, the depression faded. I was introduced to a different way of living, one that wasn’t based around connections and social standing. It was equal. It was fair. It was barbaric, and I loved it.

Instead of stabbing my own heart, I head butted ponies in the mosh pit. I kicked at them and they attempted to hit back, but with the pulsing beat and flickering lights, my identity remained unknown. My wonderful DJ orchestrated my heart slowly to her side. Vinyl took me away from my heart and stood guard next to it. Little did I know, she was repairing it, and now, I sit in my bed staring down at her with eyes glittering with tears of happiness. I never wanted kids. I never wanted a stallion to listen to and to be obligated to hug and call dear and honey. I didn’t want typical mare duties. Cleaning the house, cleaning the dishes, being a pack mule for my husband, being the earth pony I was born as? Never.

I wanted to soar through the clouds like an unrestricted pegasus. I didn’t want to be held down by gravity or society. I wanted wings so that I could take any path I chose and accomplish it with grace and beauty. Being the best cellist in the world became more than just a dream it became an addiction. Everything I heard evolved into some new rhythm, every tug on my heartstrings was another note cried along the bow of my cello. My atmosphere became my music. My dreams became my chords. My memories became my time signatures. I pause to reflect on everything and grin slightly. Who needs a plan when you’ve been to bed with Vinyl Scratch? I muffle a chuckle inside of my mouth. Vinyl shifts slightly, but her eyes never open.

“Thanks, Vi.” The words were never truer.

The covers slip from my body as I slide onto the floor, softly leaving the room with barely a noise, heading to the kitchen. Escaping earshot of my room, a tune fills my head. I recognize it well; it is my new song that I am to play at the concert for the Princesses. I listened to the two variations in it. My cello spoke the soft cries of loss and heartbreak as Vinyl’s beat represented resilience. The piece would evolve, my side dying down, as Vinyl’s would rise, giving way to the rise of an unstoppable power, the power of love. The cello would return, softly and uneasily at first, questioning the resilience, striving to find harmony between the two. They clash in harmony in the center, the beat dying, and the cello fading into a mournful outro. It will be a song of love lost and forgetting loyalty, a song about betrayal of the gentleness residing in even the most grotesque of monsters. It would be the ultimate battle of good versus evil, well, in music form anyway.

Trotting into the kitchen, the dull scent of muffins still lingers in the air, pecking at my nose, reminding my grumbling belly to search for a snack. The pantry has a few packs of clover, which I quickly devour. It is in that instant where the humming tune of my song is still playing; yet, I am no longer humming it. Instead, it is coming from the study. My hooves softly clop quietly against the ground as I inch my way across the house up to the door. My ear, pressed against the door, can hear it humming loudly on the other side. I walk in slowly, keeping my eyes peeled for anything sinister.

The humming ceases. The house grows eerily silent. Even my heart stops to try to hear for anything from the unknown source. Nothing changes. Seconds begin to feel like minutes. I take another step forward and peer into the room to see the clear flowing mane and tail moving against a bookcase. All of the books are missing where his tail flows, but as it moves from it, the books are revealed once more. He turns not toward me, but toward the window that let in a sea of twilight. He stared at the bright moon outside.

“My eyes are as white as her success.” Eyn speaks aimlessly in the room. “I cannot see anymore.” He chuckles. “I can barely feel anything anymore.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, knowing he was aware of my presence.

“I apologize for lying to you, Octavia.” His voice is the same softness as the one in his memories.

“What did you lie about?” My words come off as both caring and callous as paradoxical as that sounds.

“I am not as great a wizard as Starswirl. I couldn’t stop it from happening. I couldn’t go back in time and correct where I went wrong. I can’t forget the friendship I ruined.” Tears began to stream from his face, his head falling down. “I’m the cause for it all, but…” His head rose stiffly. “I learned a great deal about the Elements of Harmony.” His voice returned to his rigidness. Logic spoke, his emotions silenced.

“What about the Elements?” I ask, take a few steps closer to him.

“They are everywhere… They are in everypony, and every pony could use them. All it takes is a strong connection of friendship, the psychological catalyst for the whole system.” The damaged alicorn mutters. “Equal elements tend to allow for easier melding of thoughts. Elements also tend to follow a pattern of love and protection. If you do not love, then you will protect the other element. I am kindness and Luna was loyalty. You are kindness and Vinyl is loyalty. Fluttershy is kindness as Rainbow Dash is loyalty. They are each rooted in a love relationship. Mine ended in sadness, Fluttershy’s friendship, and yours unconditional love. The other Elements created their own trans-elemental relationships.” His explanation continued.

“I don’t understand.”

“Friendship isn’t just a happy feeling sensation based around companionship. It is a magic power. Starswirl knew arcane. I knew illusory, Celestia light, Luna dark, and Discord chaos. Nothing matches with the unity of a bond between two. Two is always greater than one. All six creates something magical. By the fifth year that I had lived in the presence of Celestia and Luna, Starswirl and I had drawn over a thousand diagrams of this new idea. He eventually crafted six catalyst stones, placing them in different set ups to no avail. Many combinations existed. Starswirl gave up calling the theory ridiculous, though knowing him he would return. I knew of a relationship between Luna and I. I placed Loyalty and Kindness opposite from each other.”

“What are you getting at?”

“They were the only ones I knew were correct. I looked for psychological comparisons, and eventually I had a circle, each element opposite of their relaters. I drew lines out of a desire to visual see the comparison. The star it created sat before me, an intricate web. I called the others into the room.” Eyn chuckles once more. “They thought I was crazy, but as fate would have it, they stepped next to their appropriate places. I stood at kindness, Celestia at generosity, Luna at loyalty, Discord at laughter, Ahuizotl at honesty, and Starswirl at magic. Something happened that day. A new magic was born from it.” Eyn stares thoughtfully at the moon.

“You created the Elements of Harmony?” Bafflement coursed through my head as I stared at him, unbelieving. “The magic of friendship? You have got to be kidding me.” I speak skeptically.

“You saw the shockwave that rippled through the Everfree with Twilight and her friends re-activated them, sealing Discord in a statue of stone. No other power like that exists here in Equestria. It is a power that no pony, no matter how powerful could hold. It was a power that six friends had to share. It was an ultimate power that only good could possess, a truly incorruptible, pure magic.” Eyn’s voice grew into fascination.

I stare at him, my legs shaking slightly at this wave of information.

“Who knows about this?” I ask.

“Only I know of it now. I had wiped Celestia and Luna’s memory, Ahuizotl disappeared into the jungle, Discord is a stone statue, and Starswirl… I don’t know what happened to him. He vanished without a trace shortly after my supposed death. Celestia still holds an inkling as to its power. This is why she desires friendship reports from her most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. The studies have helped her remember, but she needs the key to unlock her memories.”

I sit and listen to him talk, taking the time to look up at the moon and enjoy its brilliance.

“One key fits all of the locks, including my own. That is where I need your help, why I am using you. One cannot find the key when they are locked in their cell. The key is always outside of it. I am locked in the same cage as the others, though you are not.”

I stare at him thoughtfully. Is he trying to compliment me, or is he trying to make me feel more important. His eyes tell me nothing, which only irritates me. I stare at the moon once more.

“It is beautiful… the moon.” I comment.

“It is loyalty… we are destined to love it.”

As I stare, the red flashes and screaming cloud over my vision once more, this time gaining the coherence and clarity to visually witness Eyn’s memories. I am immediately tossed into the choking smoke of a burning city of strange architecture. Snowflakes breeze through the smoke, becoming dirty from its soot. The screams are echo around me; the clashing of weapons on weapons can be heard before a pained scream fills the night air. Eyn walked slowly toward the castle in front of him. His head held low, but high enough to still see ahead of him.

A griffin leaps from the top of one of the rooftops, slamming its weapon down, missing Eyn only slightly. A red spark shoots from Eyn’s horn and into the griffin’s head. It jerks violently before its eyes grew glassy and unfocused. Eyn stared at him menacingly.

“Which one of you killed my parents…?” Eyn asked slowly, his voice dripping with venom.

“King of the Griffins…” spoke the griffin as if he were a zombie.

“How many of my people have you killed?” Eyn stood over the helpless griffin. Tears fell from the creature’s eyes though his body never moved.

“Sixteen of your filthy race. Mares and the young ones just the same.” The griffin was forced to tell the truth.

Eyn paused. Staring at the wretched beast that lay before him, completely under his control. Another red spark cracked down his horn.

“I want you to take your weapon… and I want you to cut your own claw off…” Eyn growled.

“Please no…” The griffin cried, but his body rose without his control. It grabbed his weapon and raised it above his head. “Have mercy…” He pleaded.

“Did you show those ‘filthy’ mares and children mercy?” Eyn spat back at him.

The griffin caught his breath just as his body brought the large axe down onto his arm, cracking the bone and cutting only halfway through.

“Oh, please stop… please…” The griffin cried out, sobbing.

“I said completely off!” The body raised the axe without flinching, snapping the claw completely off. Only the griffin’s voice was free. He screamed at the pain, crying, but unable to move.

“Y-y-you m-monster!” The creature yelled.

“Coming from someone who prizes killing defenseless mares along with her fillies and colts? You make me sick.” Another red spark shot through him.

He didn’t even speak the command. The griffin’s body moved on its won, stabbing the hilt of the axe into the cobblestone. “What are y-“ He never finished his sentence before his body swung its head down and into the blade. The rigid body raised itself once more, just barely alive and slammed itself once more into the blade. This time the remaining arm went limp. A stream of blood poured from the open wounds on the griffin’s body, forming streams through the cracks of the path. Eyn barely blinked as he walked past the gory scene toward the castle.

Eyn’s mind was clouded with a numb rage. His view on griffins plummeted quickly, and each griffin warrior that got into his way was promptly shown no mercy. No blood was in the alicorn’s hooves, all of them suicides, all of them pleading for their lives before their own weapon brutally killed them. By the time Eyn arrived at the bridge to the castle, tears were streaming down his face. The confidence in his stride began to vanish quickly and the rage settled quickly. Instead, he could only see the expressions of the griffins left in his wake. He wanted to turn back and confirm that he had performed such monstrosities, but seeing a stream of blood run past him with the sickly gurgle of a limp body sliding further down a sword, Eyn’s stomach churned. His senses restored, he vomited at the smell. Screams grew around him and a wall of fear struck him.

“Why am I here?” Eyn asked aloud, retreating with slow steps from the castle.

A flash of purple snapped in front of him. A blue triangle of a hat greeted him though a gruff voice below it bellowed. “You idiot!” In a heartbeat, Eyn felt the arcane magic take him and he was standing in the center of a room, Luna and Celestia standing before him.

Luna’s eyes were still wet from tears, but her mane was still up in her beautiful bun. Eyn stared at himself in the mirror, shocked at the tangled dirty mess that he had become. Dark spots of soot had layered itself around his eyes and dulling his coat. He also saw that his mane was no longer white, but gray. His hooves were coated in a dried red substance. Eyn stared at it, still numb from his experience.

“What were you thinking, going off alone like that?” Starswirl demanded. “You could have been killed!”

“I-“ Eyn tried to speak.

“Eyn!” Luna couldn’t hold herself back. She ran to his side, hugging his dirty form, wetting his back with her tears.

“Yes, we will have to talk to you about your abandonment of this place… along with your secret courtship with my sister…” Celestia spoke, her words cold. She left without another word. Eyn noticed a crown on her head, just as Luna had one.

“Your parents? They-“

“They are fine. They are just preparing to leave this world. Celestia and I have shown our duties in controlling the Sun and the Moon of Equestria. Three years seems to be enough practice.” Luna explained, though a tension shortened some of her consonants.

“And Celestia knowing?”

“I had to tell her for her to convince Starswirl to risk his neck for you. I couldn’t imagine losing you.” She hugged him tightly.

“And I couldn’t imagine living without you.” Eyn hugged her in return, his mind replaying the terrible atrocities occurring in the Northern Fields. He could see Luna lying in a pool of blood by those merciless cretins.

A throb in his head caused him to groan slightly, grimacing at the pain. He placed a hoof against his head to try and hold back the pain, but the needles stabbed into him.

“Eyn, are you okay?” Luna questioned, approaching him.

Starswirl stepped between them, staring at Luna. “I think you two need to give each other some space. I risked my neck to grab him when he had already over stayed his welcome.” His voice dropped slightly. “As much as I don’t agree with that assessment, the law dictates such.”

“You aren’t much for the law, Starswirl.” Eyn spoke. “What if they found out about all those unorthodox experiments you’ve done in your tower?” Eyn asked through the pain.

“Is that blackmail, Mr. Spyyr?” Starswirl asked questioningly, a smile spreading across his face.

“Not at all, but I’m sure you can relate to a similar love.”

“I love magic, will and forever. I love no other mare. As long as I have my magic, I am a content pony.” The bearded pony nodded. “I consider myself a loner.” He drug out the term loner motioning toward Eyn and Luna. “I’ll let you two be, but know that there will be trouble for your… unannounced union. The fall of the North isn’t going to help moods either.” The large hat moved in a slow shake. “I can’t save you from death.” He spoke as he trotted out of the room.

Luna and Eyn stood alone in the center of the large circular room. Some of her mane had broken from the bun, but she still kept a striking form to her. Eyn turned from her, not wishing to confront his beloved, the one he had abandoned to sate his thirst for revenge. Another stab of his headache wracked his mind.

“They are being slaughtered… my people.” Eyn trailed. “They are being slaughtered, and I can’t do anything about it. I was too afraid.” He slammed his hoof on the ground.

“Not all of us are brave. You have to persevere and know that you will rise back up to the occasion and retake your people’s land. The griffins are brutal when it comes to war, but they aren’t barbaric, they wouldn’t commit genocide on our people.” Luna spoke with strength. “I’m sure my sister will understand our courtship, just as she will understand your unannounced departure.”

“With you saying that, I can already hear her saying it.” Eyn smiled happily, Luna doing the same. “Those things you said before I left.”

“I’m sorry… I just didn’t know how to handle it. I just didn’t want you to be hurt.” Luna lowered her head away from Eyn.

The gray alicorn lifted her head with his hoof so their eyes met. “It has been almost seven years since I’ve been here and I still haven’t had the honor…” His lips pressed against Luna’s. The warmth filled his heart and the headaches quickly dissipated.

At first, Luna flinched at the kiss, but slowly her mouth relaxed. She kissed him back slowly. They separated slowly, their eyes cracking only slightly to look at each other. Luna bit her lip before speaking.

“You never cease to find a way to be kind to me.” She spoke.

“There has never been a reason for me not to.”

“So there is a reason not to care?”

“I’d rather die than accept it.”

Luna hummed with satisfaction. “I’m glad to see you are safe. Come, we have to get to the palace court and see what is going on with the treaty.”

Eyn threw off a disarming grin. “You go. I’ll catch up with you.”

Luna smiled softly to him, giving him a small peck on the lips before trotting out of the room. Eyn held his smile until she left before his legs began to shake. He collapsed onto the ground. The pain coursing through his head as it hit its apex.

You should have killed them all, Eyn. You should have made them suffer.

“No. That isn’t the right way.”

You are a coward. That is why your parents died. You were too much of a coward to save them.

“Shut up…”

Coward…

“I said shut up!” The voices in Eyn’s head nagged him. I could only sit back and watch as his guilt ridden, revenge-laden mind began to collapse. I wanted to extend my hoof to comfort him, but just as quickly as the voice came, they vanished.

The sorrow-stricken alicorn lay on the ground, sobbing.

“They’re dead… Mother… Father…” The words hurt his heart as he thrust them out of his throat. Eyn slammed his hoof against the ground, breaking the tile. “It’s all my fault…”

Slowly the broken alicorn rose, walking toward the front gate. When he stood next to the glittering gold door, he saw the Element of Kindness necklace around his neck. Eyn’s vision shot down to his neck and saw that no such jewelry was on him. Instead, his mind traced back to when they had been created. He was the first to drop from the blinding light that had lifted the others in the room. Looking into the light of the Synthesis, he had seen shadows forming. With a crack of light they had vanished.

I sat in his head, wondering what it all meant. The things that Eyn had seen were almost too much to fathom. I imagined that he had seen maybe a few things in his life and then he was tossed into the Everfree to be forgotten. Instead, I find his life to be filled with mystery and adventure, which is only ruined by the breaking form in which the memories are being presented. I can only guess what had ruined his life or the other’s lives for that matter. I knew Discord was evil, along with Luna being Nightmare Moon, but I see them as friends.

I am barely aware that I had been tossed back into the darkness of Eyn’s mind, floating toward the next pinhole, which could be at any time in his life.

“Tempus.” Eyn bows to one of the most interesting looking pony I had ever seen in my life. His flowing mane was unlike anything that I had ever witnessed. The stars in the sky shimmered in it, mimicking the body of an Ursa Major, except that everything moved, speeding up, reversing, pausing, and playing. “Gaia.” Eyn bows to the other alicorn like pony in his presence.

Her green mane didn’t just look like leaves, but they were leaves. Her fur had the appearance of bark, her back legs seemingly grown into the ground. Her tail was a flowing blue, mimicking water. The majestic traits of these ponies were unknown. Who were these ponies?

“Mother. Father.” Luna entered next, taking her place beside the kneeling Eyn who watched her enter and join his side though not bowing.

“My Lovely Luna. We can now begin.” Tempus spoke, his voice burning with masculinity. As he moved I stared at the impressive muscles built around his frame. Given his apparent age, he seemed to be doing quite well for himself.

“Eyn Spyyr, ex-Prince of the Northern Fields.”

“Excuse me? Ex-Prince, sir?” Eyn asked.

“Seeing as the Northern Fields have been given to the griffins in our treaty, your kingdom and rank is no more. Seeing as you are now only a commoner, we must permit you from your courtship with our daughter, Luna. Seeing as how I hold a high amount of respect for you, I will not set any charges for your already illegal courtship. I now simply ask you to leave this court and join the populace, we have provided you with a house and will provide unlimited provisions. Our apologies for your loss.”

Eyn stared at them in shock. “I lost my family, my land, and now you are saying that I am to be stripped as Prince of the North?” An inner fire began to churn within Eyn’s mind.

“It was part of the treaty agreement. We are only upholding the order of the land.” Tempus spoke.

“We apologize for your loss, Eyn Spyyr, but this war had to find a peaceful resolution.” Gaia explained.

I felt my own heart sinking at this injustice. Eyn’s sorrow began to spark into rage. “How could you even make such an agreement without any say from me?” Eyn’s voice had broken the respectable tone, but I knew he had lost any care and respect for the King and Queen of Equestria.

“We did not make this treaty. Our eldest daughter created the treaty. If you have any qualms, address her. We feel for your loss and will try our best to help you in anyway possible.” Gaia added, stopping Tempus who had grown irate at Eyn’s defiant voice.

“Celestia?” Eyn’s eyebrows rose as his rage shifted to her. “I apologize for my outburst. I hope that you can understand and forgive my reaction.” Eyn bowed hurriedly.

“Eyn…” Luna tried to comfort him.

“Luna, stay here. We have to talk about your new responsibilities and independence. Your mother and I will-“ Eyn shut the door to the main hall of the palace. His mind set on one alicorn, one he saw immediately on the balcony.

“Eyn, I wanted to talk to you about the-“ Celestia’s worried appearance spoke volumes of how she felt about the decision made.

“I thought we were friends. I gave your family everything, but apparently that wasn’t enough. Why? Was it because of Luna and me? Did that anger you? Are you jealous of your sister and to break us apart you had to sacrifice my royalty to end your war?” Eyn demanded to her, his fire boiling just below the surface of his skin.

“I tried my best, Eyn. My parents were supposed to take this diplomatic course of action, and then it was tossed into my saddle. The griffins told me of things that you did when you went there. Those are unforgiveable crimes, Eyn.”

“And killing women and children isn’t?” Eyn snapped back. A slight tinge of red took over his eyes.

“Two wrongs don’t make a right… I would expect the Element of Kindness to understand that. I was hard-pressed to stop them. They would only stop their war if they were given the Northern Fields and that you had your power stripped.” Her words are distant. She tries her best to comfort him, but he pushes her away.

“Our friendship is on thin ice, Celestia…” He grinded through his teeth as a tear fell from his face.

Celestia’s eyes had already broken with tears, but a lump in her throat wouldn’t allow any other words escape her mouth. Eyn pivoted and trotted angrily down the steps and out of the palace, the large doors, slamming shut behind him. Eyn moved without reason or goal through the streets of the royal city.

You deserve your revenge, Eyn.

“I don’t believe in revenge.”

You should show the kindness of mercy and kill them quick. Think how they must have slowly killed the women and children. They probably enjoyed it.

“Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.” Eyn was speaking to himself, the crowd turning to him.

You know I am right.

“No.”

You know I am.

“Leave me alone.”

“It’s hard to leave yourself alone.” Eyn spoke to himself.

The alicorn’s heart stopped as he stared blankly in front of him. He couldn’t believe the words that escaped his mouth.

“What? Parasprite caught your tongue?” The ex-Prince’s voice was hoarse.

“What’s going on?” Eyn asked.

“You are finally coming to terms with who you are, a murderer.”

Eyn flew into the air to escape the earshot of the staring bystanders.

“Who are you?”

“Everything has an opposite and you were the only one to see our creation.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Otherworldly entities… spawned from the light and power generated from the Elements of Harmony.”

“What do you want?” Eyn asked, his voice quivering.

“To see the world burn.”

From the height that Eyn had achieved, he looked toward the North to see rising smoke from camps being formed in a forest that held a striking appearance to the Everfree. The griffins were using the treaty as a shield so that they could attack the Capital.

I told you they needed to die.

Comments

[ThePhantomAssassin]

Shit just got real... Or... was real... Time travel is confusing. Love your story man. This back story for Eyn? Very cool.

[Harold_Genhi]

508494 This will make his intentions a bit clearer. You have to understand where he is coming from before he carries out his plan. The end result won't make any sense if I just took you to the concert and had the events and conclusion of the story, it would be terrible and make sense only to me. So I had to get a bit creative to give Eyn a powerful backstory. Slowly you will see something emerge out of his memories.

[ThePhantomAssassin]

509351 You speak the truth. The only other thing you could've done is a mass reveal kinda like in Psych. When all of a sudden everything comes together in one mind blowing scene. But with everything you got going on, I think this works better. Scratch that, I know this works best.