• Published 13th Jan 2022
  • 4,362 Views, 231 Comments

Harmonic Reverberations of the Heart - UnamusedWaffle



A companion is meant to be there for somepony. To be the driving force in their life, to be the reason to keep going. I always thought I'd never find that pony for myself, until now.

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Chapter 6: Around the World and Back Again

“Here we are,” Cadence says behind me as I shuffle in through the cramped doorway. Before I can even adjust myself to the incessant banging and whirring of the room, my eyes are assaulted.

Rows of wooden desks cover most of the expanse of the room, each accompanied by a large monitor and jet-black computer case. Bright red warning labels around the larger machines in the back right of the room reflect the heavy amounts of blue light being given off like a rowdy nightclub at 3 A.M.

Under each desk, I can make out neatly organized wraps of wires that seem to extend onto infinity. Behind some of the desks, however, I see a legion of creatures in white lab coats, not unlike the church robes some of the priests wear. Creatures ranging from ponies to changelings to griffins franticly rush around the room, weaving in and out of marked-off areas, different machines, and out of the way of each other.

I can only stand there with my mouth open, surely looking like an idiot.

That’s a laser cutter! And a 3D printer! I’ve always wanted to use one! Wait, is that one of those yellow robotic dogs that can stabilize themselves I keep seeing in the news? Ay yo!

“I take it you find this interesting?” Cadence asks from my right, grinning.

I glance at her for a split second before turning my attention back to the room in front of me.

“Understatement of the day, I’m thoroughly enthralled,” I respond, reciprocating her grin.

After scanning my gaze across the room for the third time, I can sum it all up in a single phrase.

Organized chaos.

Kinda like me, heh.

That's most creatures, dumb fuck.

Shaking my head a little, I turn to look at Cadence. “A-are you sure it’s okay if I’m in here?”

“Of course! Besides, you’re with me. I’m like an all-access pass to the castle.”

“More like to the entirety of Equestria,” I say, grinning even more like an idiot.

“You’re probably right.”

“You haven’t checked?” I ask and her brow furrows slightly.

Whoops.

“Believe it or not, I don’t go around testing to see what I can get away with,” she retorts.

“Fair point, sorry. Should’ve left that thought in the oven for a bit longer.”

Cadence just stares at me bewildered like I just grew a horn.

Oh, wait.

“Alright, then,” she says awkwardly. “Let’s go see if we can’t find Twilight in this…” She trails off, whipping her head around.

“Shitstorm?” I offer. She shrugs her wings.

“Sure,” she says, walking off into the stormy sea without a lighthouse. Following her, we’re forced to dodge around what I assume to be researchers and specialists flying across the room with small contraptions in their grasp.

A small wooden wheel in somepony’s wing here, a monstrosity of USB cables and circuit boards in some griffin’s beak there.

I let my body go on autopilot as I continue trying to follow Cadence while occasionally glancing around.

That was the wrong thing to say, wasn’t it? She responded so damn awkwardly, ugh. I know I already apologized but, what else could I do? Nothing in the short term…no, I can. Just don’t say something that stupid again and show her that I don’t want to abuse my power, I’m sure that’s what she’s worried about, kinda gave off the wrong impression there.

How? Maybe I should ask her about how I might use it more resp-

-Ohp.

Glancing just in time, I see something pink in my peripherals stop moving, causing me to do the same. Looking up, I’m greeted by a smiling Twilight gazing down at me from behind her desk.

Oh, we’re in her office now? I didn’t even notice the doorway.

Glancing around for a split second, what I see has me enraptured. Not only does she have her own personal 3D printer off in the corner which is currently in operation, but her desk has huge monitors on it, along with probably hundreds of little components; nuts, screws, and other small items, scattered across her desk as they seem to expertly dodge the monitor stands for whatever reason. A large carpet makes my hooves a little warm and the small fireplace at the far end of the office to my right ties it all up.

Overall, it’s quite spacious and cozy for an office with a bunch of mechanical parts to it.

“Hello, Mezzo! Hey, Cadence!” Twilight says cheerfully, rising from her chair and flaring her wings out. After a quick WHOOSH, I crane my head back to see Cadence doing the same.

Should I be doing that? Fuck if I know.

“Hello, Twilight.”

“Hey, Twilight!” Cadence responds, walking around the desk to quickly nuzzle Twilight. She opens her mouth to say something back to Cadence but is cut off by a loud guttural groan from…somewhere near the fireplace.

Where the fuck did that come from?

“Oh, sorry Dissy! Completely forgot you were there,” Twilight calls out to nothing while rushing over to…wait was that distortion always there?

What the fuck?

I stand there like a dumb fucking idiot as I watch a long red velvet couch fade into view. I see Discord sprawled out over the length of the couch under a worn-out baby blue knitted blanket. He rests his head on a golden armrest at the end of it on top of a small purple pillow while leaning against the back of the couch, which looks like half a heart, and Twilight rushes over to him.

“What time is it?” He croaks out while Twilight nuzzles him.

“Go back to sleep, I’m sorry for waking you, love.”

Discord hums in response and proceeds to bury his head in his covers before the couch and its sole occupant slowly fades out of view again.

Wha-what the fuck?

But I can’t ponder on it for very long as Twilight rushes back over to us. She whispers: “Let’s take this outside,” as she passes us. I nod and follow Cadence back outside the doorway and into the wide hallway.

“Was that couch always there?” I ask once we’re gathered outside.

Twilight smirks, “No, that’s his couch that fades into and out of existence at random intervals. It used to belong to an old friend of mine, but she let him repurpose it a while ago.”

I nod along with what she’s saying.

“Anyway, Twilight, I just wanted to bring Mezzo by to see what you were up to,” Cadance says.

“Oh right, you’re giving him the tour,” Twilight says, bringing a hoof up to her chin. “Well, I’d be happy to show you around!” She starts to turn around when the sound of my voice stops her.

“What do you do while you’re here?”

She smiles.

“Well, this is my Applications Lab. Here is where the culmination of each of my laboratories combines their work to create the next innovation. Like that phone in your pocket,” she says.

With minimal effort, I look down towards the faux leather strap on my chest.

“The magical signature identification system it uses to uniquely identify you? That came out of this lab right here.”

My eyes go wide and my jaw drops a little. A wave of anxiety washes over my body like a tidal wave for half a second before I remember that no, I don’t have an assignment due tomorrow.

“That was here?! That was so painful to learn about in college.”

“What’d you major in to learn about it?”

Should I do my virginity joke? Nah, I think I’ve been annoying enough today as is.

“Computer science, my professor had us recreate a semi-functional version of it in lab one time.”

“Oh really? Well, I’d love to hear more about it sometime.”

“Only if you explain to me what you’re working on.”

Ha, nerd shit.


Low muffled shouts and grunts rush into my ears as Cadence and I walk down a nondescript hallway in the castle. The sunlight streaming in from the end of it seems to make part of the floor reflect the light in an almost ethereal way.

“Well, here we are, Mezzo,” Cadence says as we reach the light at the end of the tunnel. “Our last stop, the training grounds.”

I’m momentarily blinded as I tentatively step out into the sunlight, my eyes scrunched up like a newspaper.

Ah yes, cure my vitamin D deficiency!

My eyes widen when they finally dilate. Drawing my gaze across the setting, the shouts and grunts now assault my ears in full force combined with the clash of steel, thundering hooves, and actual thundering clouds.

Over to my left, there’s the pegasi legion engaging in spars against each other. They’re a blur of movement as each soldier darts through the air like a hot knife through butter in the most violent dance I’ve ever witnessed. Occasionally, one of them raises their sword or crossbow to the sky, allowing a thundercloud to form nearly instantly and strike their weapon.

The sizzling of electricity coursing through metal is probably the coolest thing I’ve ever heard!

Imagine being able to wield magic like that! That must take an unholy amount of concentration to form the cloud that fast and still maintain focus on your opponent.

I can almost feel the mental strain from doing such a thing.

Directly in front of me, two rows of earth ponies stand firm and unmoving against each other, the only discernable movement being the occasional puff of hot air. Then, all at once, they rise up onto their hind legs and slam their hooves down into the ground. While I can see there’re visible cracks in the ground now, the much more interesting thing to point out are the fucking earthen pillars now bleeding towards the sky in a show of glory.

Some of them are sent flying, while others are knocked on their backs, and others still, dodge out of the way.

Wha-wha-when the fuck did this happen?

I barely notice myself stop moving and Cadence smirking while looking back at me.

“You okay there?” She asks.

“Wha-when the fuck? How the fuck? Since when was this a thing?!” I nearly shout.

Cadence just laughs.

“That’s a bit of a story. Auntie Luna kept insisting for a century or two that we should shore up our defense capabilities as a nation just as a precautionary measure. For a while, the rest of us disagreed before Auntie Celestia and Twilight joined her in overruling me. Within just a few months, Twilight had taken Auntie Luna’s idea and turned it into a reality.”

“She fucking made this?!”

Cadence just laughs again, “Yep! It works by imbuing unicorn spells into each weapon and combining that with their respective race’s magic. Changelings can do both of what you can see here to a lesser extent, and griffins can’t really do either, but it doesn’t hold much consequence. We’ve had no reason to use them, and we plan to keep it that way.”

I just nod along with what she’s saying.

Just what have I gotten myself into?! No, wait, just what has the universe gotten me into?! It’s not my fucking fault I’m here!

I sigh and sit down on the warm grass, holding my head in my hooves.

“This day has been very overwhelming.”

I hear soft hoofsteps slowly get louder until I hear something plop itself down next to me. Opening my eyes, I look up, meeting Cadence’s gaze.

“I can imagine, but don’t worry Mezzo, this is the last stop for the day. You’ll have as much time as you need to process all of this.”

I nod and allow myself to simply stare ahead.

At least until Celestia and Twilight decide on an announcement date.

My eyes narrow slightly as a thought suddenly comes to me.

“Do you think I’ll ever get to do something like this?” I ask, turning my attention back toward the fields of dueling ponies.

Cadence shrugs, “Maybe, who knows? If you really want to, you should ask Auntie Luna, she’s the best teacher there is.”

“Personal experience?” I ask.

Cadence sighs, smiling, “Yeah, she had both Twilight and I under her iron hooves for a long time while she was training us to defend ourselves.”

I cock an eyebrow.

“How did that work? Wouldn’t all of you have already been ruling at that point?”

Cadence nods.

“Yep, but it was her vacation century, and she spent the first decade or so of it making time for both of us to learn. While I did want to just punch her in the face some days, I’m now extremely grateful for it.”

I nod and hum in acknowledgment.

I take a deep breath and let the sound of the breeze rushing past me wash over me.

The fields had long since cleared out of any living soul, save for us.


My heart thunders in my chest as I push my body past its limits, forcing my hooves ever so slightly faster.

Holy fuck, need to run, holy fuck need to RUN!

Wind rushes past my ears and my adrenaline picks up, allowing me to ignore the lacerations I keep suffering from stray branches.

I hear a loud and drawn-out ominous howl behind me, and I imagine it would’ve sent a shiver down my spine if it wasn’t for my adrenaline. Dead leaves and branches crack and groan under the thundering of my hooves as I continue running.

Must run, must run!

“Aaugh!” I cry out as a pang in my abdomen rockets through my body. I’m sent rolling to the ground, a weight pushing itself on me all the while. The pain only worsens as something sharp rakes itself down my chest when we finally stop by slamming into a tree.

My vision starts to blur as I feel a hot liquid running down my stomach and an equally hot breath on my muzzle.

This is it, this is the end.

“Cease this at once, and begone from this realm!”

What?!

With a low whirring in my ears, I blink and find myself standing in front of Pr-er Luna, still panting.

“What the fuck?!” I cry out, exacerbated, as I frantically sit down to check my chest.

Nope, not bleeding anymore, thank fuck. Fuck off phantom pains.

“Calm down, Mezzo, it was only a dream,” she says soothingly, her voice low and reminiscent of a mother putting their foal to bed. I look around, now able to actually take in my surroundings.

“Right, dream,” I start. “That would explain why we’re currently sitting in the vast expanse of space.”

“I think the vast expanse of space would be a lot darker in real life.”

Well, you got me there.

“Fair point, Luna. Thanks for getting me out of that.”

She smiles and sits down in front of me, “No thanks necessary, I’m just doing my job.”

Ha, you can’t out-modest me!

I shrug.

“Still deserve a ‘thank you’ at least.”

She nods in response, “So, how have you been settling in since I left?” She asks.

Oh thank fuck, I had no idea what to say after that.

Let’s see…I collapsed into bed, then Cadence toured me around the castle, that’s it, mostly.

Also rampant thoughts about the ramifications of everything that’s happened to me and how I’ll never be able to live a normal life again and one day I’ll need to bury not only my parents but also my sister and brother and-

Stop.

“Pretty alright, Cadence toured me around, showed me the library and Twilight’s lab to name a few. Although I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the layout of the castle, it’s like a maze in the worst way possible,” I respond quickly.

That’s not true, I’m just being dramatic. Those kinds of things obviously just come from experience.

I catch Luna eyeing me warily for a split second before she drops it.

Of course, she would notice something, this is my dream after all.

“I’m glad to hear it, though I’m sure you’ll learn the layout of the castle in time,” she says, smiling.

And before I can stop myself:

“Do you ever get tired of this? Your job, I mean. Guarding dreams, raising the moon, ruling?”

Knowing that there’ll never be a true end to the tedium?

Luna’s eyes seem to shimmer for a split second before her lips part.

“I once thought the same way as you do, but I know I love this job, I wouldn’t trade it for any other in the world.”

“Why?” I ask in a low voice.

“I find there is nothing more rewarding in life than helping other ponies,” she replies. “You remember reading about my corruption in the history books, no? How I fell to the darkness within my heart and let it consume me?”

Oh fuck, I didn’t mean…

“Uhm, yeah…I remember…” I say, trying my best to not sound like a six-year-old and trail off.

And failing miserably.

“It’s okay, Mezzo, it is not a sore subject,” she starts. “I have long since moved past the Nightmare Moon incident and accepted the Nightmare’s actions. Besides, I was the one who brought it up.”

I sigh, “Yeah, you’re right, sorry. Just, I wasn’t sure how you’d react. My dad told me a story once of how you nearly blew the roof off the last time somepony brought it up around you.”

Luna just sighs and holds her head in her hooves.

“Sorry, I assume that’s not true?” I say, chuckling.

“No, it is not, nor is it the first time I’ve heard about that. Where was that rumor even started?”

I shrug.

If I had to guess…I mean, it’s in their best interest to keep everypony fearful of the Princesses, otherwise, they’d have no reason to revere them as much.

“Probably one of the churches, if I had to guess. The entire basis of that institution hinges on some level of fear of you four.”

Luna nods, then cocks an eyebrow, “While you might be right, I have to ask, how are you so easily able to recognize that?” She asks.

I smirk.

I'm so fucking smart.

I mentally roll my eyes.

Shut the fuck up.

“I’m a bit of an outsider looking in.”

Not to mention my unhealthy amounts of self-awareness.

“My mom never let me 'fall' for any of the church’s teachings, one of the things I can actually say had some positive elements to it. Allows me to make such informed commentary as ‘we live in a society’.”

I can’t help but smile when Luna fails to stifle a bit of mirth.

“Ah, so you’ve seen it?”

Because I know I haven't!

She just shakes her head and smiles.

“No, I haven’t seen the movie, but I see enough dumb images on Tweetbook to know what you’re talking about.”

My eyes go wide and I gasp.

“You use the funny bird app too?”

Author's Note:

Constructive feedback is encouraged and appreciated!

EDIT: Made minor grammar changes and added italicization