The Kingdom of Heaven and Earth

by Bucephalus

Interlude: Tyrant

Interlude
Tyrant

What surrounded Twilight Sparkle was the light of the distant stars and the silence of the void rushing by her. She understood even without analyzing the situation that she was dreaming. The surreal vastness of the universe around her could only belong to the realm of slumber. That was why Twilight did not panic, even though it felt like she was falling down into an abyss. It was merely a dream, nothing there could hurt her.

Perhaps that was the reason why the unnerving feeling of danger felt so absurd.

Somewhere from deep within the invisible winds, Twilight could feel something staring at her. Her dreams, which should have been her own property, untainted by the presence of others, were being invaded by something. It had pushed aside the traumatic events of that rainy day that repeated themselves whenever she closed her eyes; they had been replaced by a foreboding sense of dread, an ancient presence that crept upon her mind to study it like a predator studies its prey.

If Twilight would react to the presence, it would know she was aware of it. If she did not, the presence would continue intruding into her mind: her most sacred domain. Twilight gritted her teeth together as she tried to find a way out of the predicament. She could not allow her mind to be trampled upon, but the invading presence emitted an aura of danger; if it was given any reason, it would probably destroy her.

‘Enigmatic in its actions to the point of being completely alien.’ That was how Twilight would have described the presence. The closer it got, the more she began to realize just how vastly different it was from the presence of any other creature she had met. The myriad of conflicting emotions packed into the presence confused her greatly. However, she was even more confused as she finally heard a voice.

The presence had spoken to her.

“Such an ugly little mare, lost in the nightmares of your own making. Unable to wake up and unable to dream of better days, you continue seeing this insolent play until the curtain draws it to a close,” the voice spoke. “’Tis a pitiful sight, one I’d have expected from a mule following the haughty princess of Equestria.”

“W-who are you!?” Twilight shouted before she could stop herself. The demeaning words had sparked anger in her heart, and she turned her eyes towards the presence.

“You would gaze upon the form of a prince? Such insolence. Know your place and quiver before my presence, mule. It would seem that you need to be educated in proper etiquette after having spent so much time with that would-be royal,” the invading presence spoke haughtily.

Twilight felt as the whole weight of the presence’s attention was shifted upon her back, and without meaning to, she found herself bowing down. Sweat of fear ran across her forehead as the killing intent trashed about in the vastness of the dreamscape. There was nothing holding back the terrifying, arrogant rage behind the voice, and thus she took the full brunt of it. It was not that she wanted to bow down to the presence: Twilight simply felt that if she didn’t, she would meet her demise in an instant.

“Much better. To see the lapdog of Celestia squirm at my hooves is much more entertaining that I initially imagined. Very well, you may keep your worthless life for now,” the presence spoke.

“Just… just who are you?” Twilight whispered, barely able to make a sound under the heavy strain.

She could feel a slight shift in the presence as the killing intent was replaced by a proud anger. The tone of the murderous intent changed as well, as it gained a shade of dignified haughtiness, arrogance that was so vast that Twilight could barely comprehend it.

“I grace you with my presence, mule, and you dare to question my name? To think that a quivering little creature like you cannot even discern my identity from simply being allowed near me; such ignorance is a sin against the history of this world,” the presence spoke with an underlying tone of hate. “I have executed fools for lesser mistakes, so why would I let you live, mule? You should simply scatter away and die.”

As the foreboding rumble shook her dream, Twilight quickly tried to back away from the presence. However, it was all too late: the tyrannical existence was now so vast that it filled the space around her, consuming the star-filled void she fell through in its entirety. Desperation reared its ugly head, and without thinking, the unicorn blurted out the first reason that came to her mind. She had met a few powerful, arrogant beings in her time; she could guess why one would toy with its prey like this.

“B-because… you find me amusing?” Twilight croaked, barely able to speak because of the presence pressing down on her throat.

There was a moment of silence; then, cruel laughter.

“Indeed, you brazen fool. A trite reason, but it is as good as any. Watching a pitiful existence blindly run in circles is a way to pass the time; and time is one commodity I have plenty to spare,” the presence spoke as it eased its crushing hold of Twilight. “Unlike your finite, measly existence, like a flame of a candle, I am a being far-removed from the passing of eons. If your mind is not able to comprehend me, so be it. A fool shall always remain a fool.”

It had taken her a moment, but Twilight was finally able to make a little sense of the being that had so violently invaded her dreams. It was a presence terrifying enough to drive even her own nightmares to hiding, as if the memories of Cleitus the Black had been nothing compared to the true form of the invader. This, however, served as a clue. The magnitude of the arrogant existence was so grand that Twilight could point only two other ones she had ever met during her life: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

It was clear that whoever this presence was, he was a royal creature on par with the Princesses.

“Indeed,” the presence suddenly spoke, cutting off Twilight’s thoughts. “I am a primordial sovereign who predates your kind, mule; the absolute authority that always exist; the dividing line between ‘before’ and ‘after’ known as ‘now’. In other words, I am the Horizon, the boundary that separates this world. To not recognize my visage is to bare your fangs to the royalty. Tell me, mule, are you one to spit in the face of your Princess?”

“Wha… No!” Twilight shouted, twisting herself in the void, trying to face the presence. “Princess Celestia is kind and gentle! I’d never insult her like that! Everypony loves her!”

“Indeed? Then I, who am greater than her, should deserve same blind adoration, no?” the presence answered and cruelly chuckled. “You gather to and worship your false royalty with no concern of the truth, just like your kind always has. Truly, the diluted blood of sisu is a shame to the world. To not recognize power is the worst offense to the rules of our reality.”

The condescending words and the ease at which the presence threw them around was enough for the flicker of flame inside of Twilight to burst into roaring flames. She gritted her teeth together and spun around in the void, pointing her hoof at the existence.

“Now you listen here! I don’t know exactly what you are, but if you think you’re greater than the Princess, think again! She cares about all of her subjects, no matter how insignificant! That’s what makes her somepony we all look up to!” Twilight shouted, completely disregarding any threat she might have felt from the presence before. “She encompasses all the virtues of Harmony, more royal than a monster like you could ever be! Compared to her, you’re nothing more than a petty tyrant!”

“Silence!” the presence roared, its anger growing as Twilight simply stared back defiantly. “Brazen pony, unaware of whom you have angered… It seems that the subjects of Celestia are nothing but fools, even after all these years! Whatever I lay my eyes upon shall be mine, and I see all. You have no idea of your insignificance, mule. Thus, face your doom and acknowledge your folly!”

The void around Twilight Sparkle started rumbling as the presence exerted its power. The stars that had been zooming past her exploded into supernovas and the space itself became cracked all around. Like brittle glass, the faults extended until they reached Twilight, and shot past her. Before the eyes of the unicorn, the emptiness before her was suddenly marred, and she headed straight towards that point.

It was like the vast darkness was being pushed aside by cold light, shining from mistakes in the fabric of her dream. However, Twilight knew the real reason why the dream was rapidly failing. The tyrant that had invaded had somehow torn apart the boundary of her dream, crushing it with enough pressure to make her ears bleed and pain pulsate like a wildfire in her head.

It was a horrible feeling to have your dream, your own personal creation, completely destroyed by the will of another. While the flame of Twilight’s anger still burned bright, it was not strong enough to burn away the force around her. She could do nothing as the reality of slumber was mercilessly annihilated, and she herself was flung into the unknown nothingness.

“Let your consciousness wander forever in the emptiness beyond dreams, despairing as your mortal body rots away,” the presence growled like a beast. “This is the punishment of defying a Prince.”

With those words echoing in her mind, Twilight Sparkle hit the cracked void ahead of her at breakneck-speed, shattering the fabric of her dreams instantly. The world around her was reduced into fragments, ones that disintegrated behind her as she barreled through the boundary. Light filled her eyes, and for a moment, Twilight could feel how her mind distanced itself from her body further than it had ever before. She left the star-filled void behind, completely destroyed, and dropped into this new realm with a scream…

… And promptly found herself in a world of pure white.

It was an ever expansive world, devoid of any colors. White spread as far as Twilight could see, as if mocking the previous dream that had been destroyed. If the place she had been previously was called ‘void’, then this truly was ‘nothing’. No objects, no living creatures, not even the slightest sound other than her own breathing. Twilight took an anxious step back, her brain trying to recover from the sudden switch between locations. The pain and the anguish was gone, and it had been replaced by a foreboding calmness.

“Eh?” Twilight uttered when she heard a faint clink caused by her hooves touching whatever she was standing on.

To her surprise, Twilight saw that whatever was below her, whatever she was using as ground, was as reflective as a mirror. The white expanse had not continued under her, but had been instead reflected from above. She saw her own face staring straight back at her, rattled beyond belief. The eyes that stared up to her were not one of the pony who had weeks ago left Ponyville to save her country. They were the eyes of a creature driven to corner, preparing either to flee or fight.

“Just what happened to me…?” Twilight whispered, barely recognizing the mare she saw in the reflection.

“You’ve learned how vast the world is,” a sudden voice answered her question. “You’ve learned how insignificant one can be, how insignificant one’s ideals can be, how insignificant one’s morals can be.”

Startled by the sudden voice, Twilight whirled to the direction it came from. To her surprise, she saw somepony standing there, almost blending to the whiteness of the background because her coat was of the same color. Ethereal, pink mane and tail flowed in the air despite there being no wind, and light magenta eyes stared at her with calmness of eternity within them. The pony standing there was not much taller than Twilight, and she seemed much younger… but the librarian would have recognized those features and Cutie Mark anywhere.

“P-Princess Celestia!” Twilight cried out, breaking into a gallop towards her teacher. “How… how can you be here!?”

Twilight felt warmth spread throughout her body at the sight of her teacher. It was like all of her anxiety and worries had been washed away by a comforting, gentle tide of light that seemed to emanate from the alicorn before her. Without noticing it, the unicorn had accelerated into a relieved sprint, about to throw herself into the comforting embrace of her teacher.

However… the mildly confused, and somewhat cold, expression on the alicorn’s face brought Twilight to a dead halt.

“How do you know my name?” the alicorn asked. “Who are you?”

Hearing those emotionless words spoken with a voice that so many times comforted her caused tears to form in Twilight’s eyes. She stared in horror at the alicorn, unable to comprehend what was going on anymore. Then, taking one shaky, uneasy step forward, Twilight approached the alicorn again, desperation clear on her pained face.

“I-it’s me… Twilight Sparkle!” the purple unicorn spoke with quivering words. “Your number one student… your loyal student…! It’s me! Don’t you r-recognize me, Princess…?”

The alicorn that bore the visage of Celestia turned her eyes away, clearly uninterested. For one horrible moment Twilight thought she was going to deny even knowing her, but instead, the words that the familiar voice spoke only served to confuse her further.

“Ah, I see. I do not know you yet,” the alicorn said. “That does explain many things.”

“Y-yet?” Twilight asked. “What are you talking about?”

“This is a world beyond dreams, the reality that exists beyond the axis of time: Unus Mundus. It always is, but never has been or will be. It is the only reality allowed to one such as I when I close my eyes,” the alicorn stated, and continued talking after seeing Twilight’s confused face. “I am the sun. Ergo, the dawn. Ergo, the future. Ergo, the hope. It is not in my realm or nature to dream, for I am unable to do so. That is the nature of my sister, the moon. Ergo, the moonrise. Ergo, the past. Ergo, the dream. I am a different archetype from her, and thus, the two of us cannot cross into the realms of the other. She is left to guard the dreams of the ponies, and I am left to guard their hope.”

The alicorn, her emotionless eye staring straight into Twilight’s soul, stood up and began slowly walking in a great circle around the unicorn. The sound of her hooves hitting the mirror-like surface under them was almost silent, yet enough to fill the atmosphere with unnerving dread.

“Do you understand now?” the alicorn asked. It was a question just like Twilight had gotten used to receiving from her mentor, and she immediately opened her mouth to answer, on a reflex.

“Y-yes! I think so, at least. You cannot dream, because dreams are made out of the past, which is the realm of Princess Luna. Instead, you look into the future, which… which is this world, set aside from dreams… Unus Mundus: where time does not exist,” Twilight spoke, her words getting quieter as realization dawned upon her. “From where everything stems from… and has only one way to go: forward. You gaze into that future everything moves towards to, each night… and saw me. From the past, you saw me, in the future.”

“Indeed,” the alicorn, Celestia of the past, said as she continued circling Twilight. “Somehow having broken through the boundaries of your dreams, you fell into this unified reality beyond everything.”

“I didn’t do it myself!” Twilight cried out. “Something… something powerful and tyrannical… so full of arrogance and hatred… c-cast me into this place! It shattered my dream and threw me through the boundary, forcing me here!”

“Ah. I suppose that explains it,” Celestia said, nodding quietly. “He who is the horizon. Ergo, the thunder. Ergo, boundary. Ergo, separation. He has simply utilized his power to move you through that single boundary, for a purpose I do not understand. Punishment, perhaps? Nevertheless, that is your fate.”

“But, who was it!?” Twilight asked, shivering from the mere memory of what had happened. “Who would have such power!?”

“Royalty,” Celestia answered coldly. “Those who stand above you.”

Twilight found herself speechless. Though there were many things in this alicorn that reminded her of the teacher she knew, like her questions, her voice and her appearance, was her personality simply too different. This Celestia was dignified in a harsh way, almost like she had been looking down on Twilight simply because of what she was. Her eyes were those of a cold ruler who cared little about the well-being of her subjects.

It was simply too different for Twilight to accept. She steeled her mind, gritted her teeth, and made her decision: whoever this alicorn in front of her was, it did not matter. After all… it was not the Princess Celestia Twilight knew.

“Can I ask you one thing…?” Twilight finally said, locking her eyes with the gaze of the alicorn.

“Go ahead,” Celestia of the past answered, still circling around the unicorn.

“Is there a way out of this place? I need to get back to my body, where my friends are,” Twilight spoke, strength returning to her voice. “I can’t waste any more time here.”

The alicorn stopped, gave a hint of a cold smile, and slowly nodded to her question.

“Indeed there is. If that was what you required, you should have said so in the first place.”

There was a horrible cracking sound, like a glacier had started collapsing under its own weight. Twilight hastily looked under her, to the direction of the screeching noise, and to her horror saw how the reflective floor under her had been cracked all over. The cracks spread faster than she could react, thousands of small faults spread into a vague shape of a circle that ended just before the alicorn. The space which Celestia of the past had been circling was quickly devoured by the vein-like cracks, and Twilight found herself in the middle of that brittle hell.

“Farewell, my student from the future,” the alicorn whispered. “I hope you remain loyal to me, even after this chance meeting.”

Twilight opened her mouth to answer. She took a single step forward, trying to rush to safety and to call for help. However, the moment she did that, the mirror-like floor under her burst into millions of fragments, shattering completely. The whiteness of the reality around her was suddenly tainted by a circle of something else, something that was hidden beneath the beautiful reflective floor. As she felt herself fall, Twilight turned her eyes towards what lied beneath her, and nearly screamed.

Utter blackness. So thick and so overwhelming that it swallowed anything that fell into her. Twilight could see nothing beyond that blackness, not even the fragments that had fallen before her. It was simply unforgiving darkness, non-existence, which awaited her there, underneath Unus Mundus.

For a split-second, Twilight realized the reason: after all, beyond the place where everything in the world stems from… can exist nothing.

Falling into the abyss, Twilight opened her mouth to call for help, but to no avail. In the emptiness, not even sound was allowed. She could only stare at the receding hole above her, through which she could still see the whiteness she had left behind. It was the future, the hope, which slipped from her hooves, leaving her plummeting deeper into the underlying intent of the world: nothingness. No, perhaps nothingness was not even the right word for it. For in nothing, everything can exist, and thus, by nature, it becomes every single possibility, muddled together.

In other words: chaos.

When the formless void finally engulfed her from all sides, to the point she could no longer even see the white light from the above, Twilight felt herself grow lighter. She did not even know if she was falling anymore. Everything seemed to have stopped, and yet, she felt like she was picking up speed. Her body shivered ever so slightly, but she heard no wind her ears. She sensed nothing, no matter how hard she tried. In some part of her mind that was still functioning properly, Twilight realized that she was slowly losing her self from diving into such place where no individual should have existed. A stray thought feebly flowed through her mind, a realization of the fact that if she truly was ‘something’ thrust into ‘nothing’, then the ‘nothing’ should have rejected her. However, she also began to understand that even if the true nothingness, the “ “, rejected her, she might not last long enough to see where she ended up in.

It was then that Twilight heard the song; a song that she remembered from her childhood. It was sung by a voice that belonged to the emotionless princess somewhere above… as well as to her beloved mentor.

Before we broke, we were free
Whole and pure as can be
Proudly carried, our golden chains
Unknown to sickness and pains
Thus grew the greed in our hearts
To teach all the ways our arts
The sky did shook, the earth did cry
And world with a whimper did die

We tried to return, when clouds did burn
Yet stood, perfectly still
Lost magic evoked, old order revoked
We left the house on the hill

Honest words left in red keep
Kindness buried in tunnels deep
Laughter was gone to hill white as a swan
Generosity into depths was drawn
Loyalty dead in the sands
Buried in the forgotten lands
Abandoned was our proof of magic
Along with our broken friendship

We tried to return, when clouds did burn
Yet stood, perfectly still
Lost magic evoked, old order revoked
We left the house on the hill
House on the hill

Thus, when the final echo of that sorrowful song faded from her head, Twilight Sparkle jumped up from her bed, opened her eyes, and screamed like a newborn filly.

Comments

[Sketchy Markks]

This is featured. DON'T PANIC

[Sketchy Markks]

This story.... Was.... Amazing!!!!!! How has this NOT gotten over 200 likes at LEAST!?

I am more than excitedly awaiting the next chapter. Write on!

[Karna]

Well gee, I wonder who that guys personality is based on?

Not really surprised at a Gilgamesh, and boundaries does sort of fit...

[Bucephalus]

4105007
I'm glad that you've found the story to your liking.

4106528
The next chapter is actually 1/3 done, but due to time constraints, I haven't had much time to write, recently.

4109387
Arrogance is simplistic in its ways, and thus, two arrogant characters may, at quick glance, seem similar. I can promise, though, that 'Tyrant' is a different beast altogether from the guy you mentioned. However, I also admit that I studied a bit how he talks to get that certain "feel" to the dialogue. Why deviate from what works?

[Flexico]

I gotta say, I'm very intrigued by the character-building concept of Twlight losing her horn and Pinkie being the voice of reason that helps her through it, as well of other aspects of the story.

However, I just can't continue reading due to all the bloody violence going on. So here are my compliments upon my departure.

[Bucephalus]

4111814
I am sorry to hear that. While I haven't written the story violent just for the sake of it, it does tie to the themes of the story, and thus, is a part of it. However, I can perfectly understand how it could be off-putting for someone else.