Freedom Through Harmony

by Electricut

Chapter Seventy-nine

Chapter Seventy-nine
Dreamscape
Twilight

“Right, so basically it boils down to this.” Starswirl explained, pacing up to the twins. “What I invented was a vastly superior form of magic, one that forgoes the traditional use of natural elements of nature to channel power, and instead utilizes one’s own spiritual energy into a raw, unfiltered attack. Much more efficient and powerful, though difficult to master. I’m positive that if Celestia hadn’t gone and killed me, effectively sealing away knowledge of this technique for five hundred years, it would have caught on and made elemental magic totally obsolete.”

“Oh man, that sounds cool.” Trixie commented. “A whole ‘nother breed of magic... I’m ready. You, Twilight?” Twilight nodded wordlessly. That must be what he was doing when we fought. she thought. His magic was unlike anything I’d ever seen, and it seems to match this description. She was eager to learn this obviously powerful skill, as was her sister.

Starswirl nodded, and took a step back, focusing his mind. For some time, impossible to fully identify in the Dreamscape, he bombarded the two girls with mental images brought about by the nature of the dream world, showing them in the simplest terms possible how to utilize this skill. It was almost as though he were sharing his own thoughts with them, making it as second-nature to them as it was for him. Afterwards, he challenged them to a friendly duel for practice, and the three launched themselves at each other. Each had a different color of energy- Trixie’s was a deep violet, while Twilight’s was a translucent magenta, and Starswirl’s was still the same plain blue it had been for his statue.

At last, he stepped back slowly, and nodded in satisfaction. “Seems you’ve both got the hang of it. I’m afraid that’s about all I can do for you, aside from wish you good luck. I suppose I’ll just let you regain consciousness now...”

Trixie nodded gratefully and closed her eyes, and Twilight watched curiously as she faded out of sight. Twilight, however, remained in the empty expanse, still having some private questions to ask. She took a step forward to address Starswirl, but he closed his eyes in sudden annoyance and cocked his head slightly. He then put a hand to his temple, and seemed to be trying to formulate a rather complex thought. Under his breath, just loud enough for Twilight to hear, he began to speak.

“What do you want, kid? This isn’t exactly a great time to try and contact me... What?... Kid, that is stupid. Crazy. Why would I even consider something like that, and why would you for that matter?... I do not care if she’s a fan, she’s not your descendant. I cannot allow you to do something so pointless and illegal... Oh, you just had to point that out. Ugh... You know what, I don’t feel like arguing with you. Just try to make it quick, she’s got a Hydra to kill.”

Twilight tilted her head curiously at her ancestor, and he shrugged with an air of annoyed defeat. “The ancestor of your farm-girl friend wants to speak to you. Can’t imagine why, but then, I never know what’s going on in his head... At any rate, I’m going to have to take off for the afterlife now and leave you to your business. Wake up ready to run.” With that, Starswirl closed his eyes and cast his head back, fading out from existence much the same as Trixie had.

Applejack’s ancestor? What could this possibly be about? Hm... For a few moments, Twilight began to feel lonely, all alone in the dusty expanse of the Dreamscape, until she noticed the silhouetted form of another figure walking towards her. She could see a long cloak whipping about at his feet, and he kept his arm still, shoved into his pockets. When he drew closer, she could see that he was barely taller than herself, though he appeared to be several years older, had blond hair that ended scraggly at shoulder-level, and wore a small pair of wire-rim glasses.

He bore a small smile at her, and gave her a short bow. “It’s a real pleasure to finally meet you, miss Twilight.” he stated. “I understand you’ve become a rather devout follower of my accomplishments during the civil war. I thought you might fancy the chance to speak to me in person, and I know I’d like the chance to speak with you as well. My name is Jonathan... though most of my friends insisted on calling me Jack for some reason.”

Twilight’s heart skipped a beat. She had managed to speak with him after all, even if he wasn’t her ancestor. This was the same boy that had been there for her through the written word in the hardest time of her life, seemingly the only one who could understand what she was going through, and probably kept her from doing anything drastic in her depression. Now she finally had a chance to talk to him, to thank him for everything he unintentionally did for her, and possibly just to chat with someone who was so alike to herself.

“Now I’m not here to tell you exactly what to do.” he continued. “That ought to be Starswirl’s job, but then, I kind of doubt he’s going to do that either. But somewhere deep down, I think you do know what you have to do, and I’m sure events will soon unfold that will make it apparent to you as well.”

“Oh... Alright.” Twilight nodded after a moment’s hesitation. “And... Thank you. I know you didn’t really try to do anything, but reading about you really helped me out a while ago. I was in a very dark place, and just felt so alone... but reading about you in some of the books in the library made it feel like you were there with me. And even though I still don’t know what I’m going to do... I feel much more confident thanks to you.”

“Well, you’re very welcome!” said Jonathan, giving Twilight a small but sincere smile. “Though I never expected to be fulfilling that particular role when I was alive. I was always the one just buried in books, almost never giving a single care to the outside world... Until the war, of course. Even then, I didn’t really want to fight. I found the whole thing rather stupid, actually, but I enlisted for my own reasons. See... I sort of had unexpressed romantic feelings towards one of the top-ranking warriors of Dawn, General Madeline, and thought that if I became a soldier and climbed the ranks, it would get me noticed. Eventually it did, and we got to talking, but... things just didn’t work out between us. I headed back home for a while, not sure what to do next, and soon she came and found me, and presented me with a request.

“She had recently joined with the two young heirs to House Apollo, none other than Celestia and Luna, as well as the assassin Surprise and my most bitter enemy Starswirl from Eclipse. They had discovered that there was one singular driving force behind the entire war, a demon called Discord, who was nigh invincible without some seriously heavy weaponry. Madeline knew of one of Dawn’s most treasured possessions, the Elements of Harmony, and thought that we could potentially use them against him. I had no idea if we even stood a chance against something so powerful, but I decided to go with her anyway and find out.

“We were soon joined by three more from Dusk: Firefly, a guard captain of the capital city; Ace, a gambler with some strange delusions but a powerful drive; and a strange loner apparently from another world by the name of Xekora. Together, we managed to find and utilize the Elements, plus, unfortunately, find that artifact Xekora referred to as the Quest Bed, that made the sisters immortal, and after an incredibly desperate struggle, we managed to seal Discord away. Shortly after, though, things turned sour again. Celestia ascended to the throne of Eclipse through some highly questionable, though sadly unquestioned, means, and for some time made every effort to repair the relations between the three countries.

“Then the invasion orders were issued. It was fast, brutal, and utterly brilliant. In the span of only a month and a half, Celestia had crushed the standing armies of Dusk and Dawn, encompassing the entire continent into one empire. She had lost her mind, and her poor sister Luna went and contacted all of the Elements once again to help free the people of Equestria from this new threat. Of course, we all had families by this point- the families that would eventually give way to you and your friends- but we all knew we had to act, and suited up once again. But this time... we were all slain in battle, with Luna sealed away much the same as Discord.”

Jonathan sighed, then chuckled slightly with a definite blush on his face. “Oh... Sorry. I sort of dragged on there, didn’t I?”

Twilight shook her head. “No, no, that’s quite alright. Xekora had told us much the same story a few months ago... but it was nice hearing it from another perspective. But...” She sighed, a lump in her throat. “I guess it’s true then... even you think Celestia is evil, and... I can’t really even deny what she did in the past...”

Jonathan nodded sympathetically. “I’m afraid so, Twilight. One cannot deny all the damage she has done to Equestria. I know she’s given you the whole world, and never done anything to harm you, but you must understand that she is evil. The question you must ask is whether you will stand against her or stand aside, because I think you know it’s too late to stand with her.”

Twilight nodded sadly, knowing in her heart that Jonathan spoke the truth. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder, then took a step back. “I guess I should let you get back to reality.” he told her. “Good luck.”

“Wait, wait. I forgot to ask Starswirl, but what was this stronghold I’m in even for? Who made it?”

“It was used as a rebel base for a while. Celestia doesn’t know where it is, thankfully. I don’t know what it was for before that, but it’s been around pretty much forever. Anyway, good fortune to you.”
______________

Twilight’s eyes fluttered open, and she rose sharply to a sitting position, ignoring the rush of blood from her head. “We need to move. Now.” She stated simply to her concerned and confused party. “My ancestor has informed me that there’s a Hydra running around here, and we need to get out of the swamp before we run into it, or it runs into us.”

Max brought a hand up to his face. “Ugh, a Hydra! That is what that was... Agreed. We need to find an exit to this place immediately. I recall there being a portal in the hub room back upstairs and down the hall. We should be able to make it easily.”

Twilight could see Spike’s and Pinkie’s faces pale, but they both nodded and the group took off back up the stairway. Pinkie scrambled up on all fours, managing to pick up more speed than the others and stay just a few feet ahead. Spike kept a hand forward to steady himself, the other holding his torch, which flickered wildly with the air whipping past it. Max’s dusty-colored wings were out behind him to stabilize him as he shuffled rapidly upward, and Twilight was left to simply move as fast as she could and hope to retain her balance. With a sprained arm, there was little else she could do.

As they neared the top of the stairwell, a deep rumble echoed throughout the cavern, and the ground shook ever so slightly. Pinkie stopped mid stride to turn around and yell simply “Be careful! It felt stronger up here!”, then turned around and kept going. Max took a running leap to the top, using his wings to glide in the slightly expanded space, and came to a rest just behind Pinkie. Twilight was directly behind Spike as he ran for the main floor, but as they reached the top, a much larger-scale tremor rocked the whole stronghold, and something not far behind them caused the bottom of the stairway to seemingly explode, sending newly-loosened mortar and rocky dust scattering around the passage.

The quake caused Twilight to momentarily lose her balance, and she cursed herself in anticipation of this newest fall, but Pinkie managed to grab her good wrist before she tumbled down the wrecked stairway. “I told you about the stairs.” She said with a slight forced grin, then pulled Twilight up the last step and put her back on her feet. With a single silent nod between the four, they took off running down the winding passage.

Twilight’s heart was racing and her breath came in short bursts, as every few seconds another tremor, whether light or tunnel-breaking, rocked the stronghold. The tunnel felt like it was collapsing behind them, pushing them to move yet faster. At last, they burst into the crossroads from earlier, and looked up at the cleverly disguised glass allowing faint afternoon light to filter into the ancient room. Twilight wasted no time in launching a short blast of energy at it, shattering the glass and brightening the room immediately.

Pinkie raised an eyebrow, curious about Twilight’s new ability, but no-one had time to question it. Another deep rumble, one of the biggest yet, nearly threw the group off their feet, and they moved quickly over to the portal. Max slid over to the center and grabbed Pinkie around the waist, then flew up and helped her out of the stronghold and back into the chilly late-winter air outside. He then hovered back down and did the same for Twilight, then Spike. Even when she wasn’t connected to the ground, the sounds of the foundations of the stronghold rumbling told her that this Hydra was close.

Twilight shivered once she touched ground outside, both from the shift in air temperature, and a sudden apprehension that could only come from knowing they were about to be attacked. Not five seconds after Spike had touched ground and they started running, the ground behind them exploded into a cascade of dirt, flecks of mud and moss, and rather large chunks of stone that luckily managed to miss all members of the party. The four skidded to a halt at the edge of the nearest hill and turned, all hands shaking in anticipation of the battle ahead, weapons and energy at the ready.

In the crater where the main entrance to the stronghold once lay, the Hydra loomed. It stood at least three stories tall with it’s necks craned straight up to the sky, and was covered in brown scales the same color as the dirt and stone around it. The heads all gazed at them with hungry, wild green eyes, just below which glistened razor-sharp fangs. It currently only had three heads, though Twilight knew that removing one of them would bring back two in its place. However, since the only weapons in their party were a spear, two knives, and magic, she didn’t think they would be able to behead it anyway. The key would have to be getting in close enough to strike it in the heart.

Twilight gulped, not at all prepared for this newest threat.

Comments

[Electricut]

598031

... they prepared a little.

Besides, I never said they did it particularly well.

[LonelyChild]

Alright, I read eighty one chapters to write this review, an I will have my say.

First things first, I want to assure you that I really enjoy this story, I just tend to be negative in any reviews I give.

The worst part of reading this fic was its messiness. The change of perspective always threw me off, especially the change between the first-person perspective of Rainbow Dash and the third-person perspectives of everyone else. I see that in recent chapters you have taken to just using third-person perspectives, even for Rainbow Dash. I'm not sure if this is just a temporary way because the conflicts are easier to show in this format, or if you had already noticed this problem and are responding to it, but this change is good! Good job!

I think the best thing this fic includes is a detailed past with intertwining characters and interesting conflicts. So that's good.

I think that a lot of people in this story act out of character, or lack the same personality that we all love them for. An example of this might be how Rarity shows few of her usual mannerisms that make her such an enjoyable pony to read about, like her lack of drama-queenyness or posh humor.

The gender changing simply must stop. I still have not adjusted to Rainbow Dash being a guy, and this sometimes causes me a great deal of confusion. I might read an entire paragraph and then have to re-read it after reminding myself that the 'he' they keep referring to is Rainbow Dash.

All the pets turning into humans as well is a bit odd. A little annoying, seeing as they mostly have no personality, but mostly just odd.

Spike is a completely different dragon as far as personality, age, and choice of mate goes. The hardest thing in this story for me to beleive is that Spike is not in love with Rarity.

You obviously show favoritism towards Dash, as well as a few others, but that's okay because everyone shows favoritisim towards Dash.

Twilight, bearer of the element of Magic, favored student and secret weapon of Princess Celestia, who has studied day and night for like fifteen years, has magic that is on par with Trixie, the street urchin who was rejected by the same princess because she was weaker, and who has had no access to books whatsoever? I would like to see a major increase in Twilights power soon.

Names. All of the OCs have very casual human names, which makes them stand out in a very obvious way. I would suggest avoiding that.

The Order.
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Xeccora. It would be much easier if you just spelled his name properly. Zeccora. It's pretty non-gender specific.

In review:
Weird perspectives, characters act weird, weird genders, weird pets, weird Spike, OP Dash, Twilight and Trixie both suck, weird names, weird Order, weird Zeccora.

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[Electricut]

600027

Don't think negative reviews are a bad thing for me. I've received almost none, and was beginning to get worried. So I thank you for this.

See, I think one of the main problems is that I started writing this almost a year ago, just when I had first become a brony. My perceptions have changed since then... that's one of the dangers of having something running for so long, I guess.

I was thinking about going back and cleaning it up a bit, honestly. Though I hadn't realized the point of view area had annoyed anyone. I was kind of going for a theme similar to The Bartimaeus Trilogy there.

I had noticed that problem too. Rarity is difficult for me to write for. I tried slipping in a few things here and there, and you might see a bit of that in the later chapters, but you've got a point.

Luckily, I wasn't planning on changing any more genders. I think I might even switch Daring Do back. But I'm afraid that for plot reasons, I cannot revoke Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo or Vinyl Scratch at this stage.

Not much I can really say about the pets.

I am aware of Spike being dramatically different. But again, there's not really much I can change at this stage. I decided it would fit better with the rest of the plot this way.

Guilty as charged. I try to fix that in later chapters, but yeah, there was a reason RD is the main character.

Well, to be fair, Trixie did receive training from Xekora for several years. Twilight will get a lot of extra power pretty soon, don't worry.

I had noticed that too. With the Laguz from Tellius I can say I have an excuse, but I don't have much to defend with Kyle and Blake. I'm having difficulty thinking up a fitting pony-like name for either of them, though.

I'm not sure what that image was for the Order, as it's not showing up for me. The Order is mostly in place just to give some background, so it doesn't seem like they just showed up out of nowhere in Book II. I don't really see what the problem is though.

There's actually a whole 'nother story to Xekora, as opposed to Zecora. But it kinda sounds dumb now that I think about it... Basically, Xekora was a character I had made for a different fanfiction years ago, but never finished. It was up for a little while, though. When I remembered about him and realized the names were almost the same, that's what prompted me to use him instead.

Like I said, I'm glad you decided to grill me a bit. No one else would. I'm willing to try and work out some changes.

[N Harmonia Greatfield]

Okay, seriously.

“I told you about the stairs.” She said with a slight forced grin

Is it just me, or did you put a SBaHJ reference there?