Re:Harmony

by starcross7

127 - The Dreams of a Goddess

Sky Castle: a long, long, time ago.

The reflected glow of the earth greeted me as I woke up from my regular cycles. It was hard to believe that long ago this was formerly the Planet of Death. Through Twilight Prime’s power, she seeded life onto it once more. For a goddess, this was a simple feat. I have often reminded myself that Prime had defeated an entire galaxy, and it would not be surprising that she conquered another one.

The celestial body you refer to as the Sky Castle was once a portion of a larger Colony Ship of the Before Times, now repurposed as an environmental monitoring station for the planet below. Here we ran countless environmental tests and revived many extinct species of animals derived from the multitudes of DNA data stored in the Sky Castle’s digital libraries. Discord, Herald of the Storms, oversaw the revitalizing the planet’s weather systems, so he was often absent, much to relief of my sister and me. When the animals have been approved for survivability, Herald of the Earth Chrysalis and her subordinates escorted them to the surface and assist them in their first 100 days.

Herald of the Stars Dazzleglow sometimes visited the Sky Castle as she commutes between the Crystal Research Facility, now known as the Crystal Empire. Though my domain is the moon, I spent most of the time in the Sky Castle co-administering the terraforming efforts with my sister, Herald of the Sun Celestia. Sometimes we would venture to the surface together, as our mother had designated all the Heralds realms to which they will look after. More often than not, our appearance caused both excitement and anxiety with the ponies we have watched over in the passing centuries. We were told to have minimal interaction with them, lest we become revered as deities in their eyes.

Expectedly, the exception to the rule was our mother, Twilight Prime.

Today was yet another day, and Prime had just returned from the surface. I arrived at the Sky Castle command center to see her sitting on her black throne staring pensively at the space before her. Celestia had just finished pouring her some tea, which Twilight Prime sipped rather noisily.

“How was your visit, O Holy Mother?” I greeted.

“Dreary,” sighed Prime. “The ponies immediately bow down when I walk by, making casual conversations quite difficult. Do not get me started on the countless mares who foolishly plead to bear my children.”

“You are but a divine goddess, after all. Nothing is impossible before your presence.”

“Spare me your flattery. It grates my ears.”

“My apologies.”

“Again, this treatment of me as a goddess is an annoyance. It’s these kinds of things that causes normal people to abandon their kindness, which then give way to oppression of the other.”

“But Holy Mother,” said Celestia, “is it not through your power that brought life back to this planet?”

Prime’s glare froze us in place after she nearly slammed her teacup and coaster on the arm of her throne. She looked almost ready to vaporize our being, or snap our necks with a swift strike of her hooves. I knew from the start she did not like us using the Sky Castle, and while we offered to dismantle it and rebuild it into a residence to her liking, she allowed us to use it anyway. She eventually calmed down, and stepped down from her black throne to trot over the viewing platform where she could see the earth. As such, Celestia and I felt compelled to follow and then wait on her.

“Let it be known that I did not initiate this terraforming project out of kindness,” she said. “Far from it. It was an act vengeance against my own past and those who have tormented me. I took interest in this celestial body because I wanted to eliminate all traces of the Planet of Death.”

Even I was amazed by the terraforming. The Arks that landed on the planet dispersed Atmos particles that neutralized the damaging effects of nuclear fallout, though the ponies and many other sentient creatures that emerged from them were “built” to be resilient against radiation. So much had to be done for the planet, and that was why winged creatures such as pegasi were created to manufacture weather patterns to counteract the results of a damaged ozone layer.

The planet could no longer rotate on its own, but luckily, the Planetary Axles had been installed a long time ago to keep it turning. The unicorns were assigned to constantly supply instructions to keep the ancient machination turning.

The land itself were tilled by the mighty and prolific earth ponies thanks to their Geosense abilities, and they moved mountains in their wake. Many other non-pony creatures also aided in the terraforming process in their own way, even if it was a little, and I felt confident that we could restore this planet to its original glory.

“Then I discovered something that infuriated my being,” continued Prime. “I investigated the source of my DNA and discovered that I was cloned from a quadruped species that once lived on this planet only to be slaughtered or become slaves to those who those who walked on hind legs. In the most terrible irony, the Planet of Death was my ancestral home, but the bipeds who claimed for themselves destroyed not just once, but dozens of times, and then left it to rot. Can you understand how much this angered me? To know that our ancestors slaved, toiled, and died for these biped vermin only to be preserved as DNA for their own pleasures?"

“We understand,” said Celestia.

“No! No one will understand! But I will prove fate wrong. This world will be remade into my own image, and I will preserve it longer than the two-legged vermin who dare considered themselves as ‘chosen’ by their non-existent god or gods. Or else, I will unmake this world with my own hooves.”

Prime sighed, and then calmed down. We have always known her to be wrathful, but tirade was no different than before. And yet, I could not help but glance up to witness the sadness in her divine eyes. In truth, Celestia and I truly did not understand her feelings. Perhaps nopony will.

All the same, I was plenty curious on what was beneath her divine facade.

Twilight Prime bestowed upon me the power to step into the realm of the subconscious, or dreams if you will. I used it liberally at first, but I have delegated almost all the dream monitoring operations to the Nyx residing on the moon. While their methods were potent, mine was powerful and requires no amount of alchemy.

The problem was that I knew not if Twilight Prime ever slept, and by chance she did. I waiting a moment before retreated to my dim quarters while I worked with magic. Stepping into mortal ponies’ dreams was an easy feat. As for goddesses…

I was in. I manifested in a large chamber of beige panel walls and integrated lighting. At one end was a large bed. At the other, there was a cornucopia of shelves and books.

Then to my delightful surprise, I witnessed a small and pinkish earth pony with a white mane and the mark of nine stars on each of her flank galloping happily around the room. She chased what appeared to be a clothed simian creature with purple hair and pointed ears.

That pony… It couldn’t be. Was that our Holy Mother, Twilight Prime? Was this a memory? She looked so happy, and that creature she played with could not have been the same type of demons Prime had described in vulgar detail. So far, this dream was anything but pleasant, and it took everything within me to restrain myself from participating in its joyous frivolities.

However, the pleasantries did not last long. As I feared, the dream-form of our Holy Mother spotted me. The play had ceased. The female bipedal creature froze completely still, and lights started dimming. I myself had created strict rules when observing dreams of others, and I of all ponies have violated it. Twilight Prime bore her teeth as she uttered angered screech. The entire dream world melted into darkness as the earth pony form of our Holy Mother painfully underwent her transformation into her imposing alicorn-seraph form.

The transformation did not stop. Twilight Prime’s dream-form grew larger and cancerous. Her head multiplied into two, and of its jaws extended out disproportionately with a multitude of fangs. Her wings, once none and then six, multiplied exponentially to dwarf my immediate view. Prime’s eyes started appearing all over her body, and soon she became writhing mass uttering a continuous painful cry the likes I have never heard of.

The cry was too much, and if I stayed longer, I would have died. I escaped just in time as the dream-form of our Holy Mother lashed out an indescribable flesh of tendrils at me.

Usually, I would be awake when I returned from my dream walking. Instead, I woke up in a sweat. I asked the Sky Castle for the current time, and it turned out that I have slept for hours.

Groggily, I trotted down towards the dining area, where Celestia greeted me with a prepared breakfast set. I sat down with my coffee and drank silently.

“Our Mother have left,” my sister said to me.

“Oh,” I said, feigning ignorance. “Did she say where or why?”

“No.”

I was the most likely reason.

“By the way,” said Celestia, “she issued us a decree that we are allowed to have more direct contact with the lands below.”

“I see.”

“She looked very angry when she left. Luna, I have a feeling that if we do not appease her desires, she will certainly undo all the hard work we did to this planet.”

“Did you not hear her yesterday? She did not terraform this world out of kindness.”

“As Heralds of Twilight Prime, we have an obligation to do our part, regardless of our Holy Mother’s personal feelings. You will assist me, will you?”

“Of course, I will.”

My sister smiled, but I could see the depths of her anxiety beneath her eyes. Still, we continued the mission of overseeing the restoration of the planet of our ancestors, but as ordered by our Mother we took a more direct approach in our administration.

Over time, pony civilizations rose and fell. Discord and Chrysalis had abandoned their missions, forcing us to turn them into stone or seal them into a volcano respectively. Dazzleglow, on the other hoof, essentially shut herself within the Crystal Empire, but at least she wasn’t causing any trouble.

In between those events I watched silently as my sister Celestia defeat dragons and other beasts and forcefully carve out lands between warring tribes, especially amongst ponies. She was universally loved, but she was, like Mother, universally feared. In pony, they showered her with smiles in cheers, but behind closed doors they whisper discord and suspicions.

Their dreams reflected the worst of their personalities. Many wanted to overthrow her, and many sowed strife against the other pony tribes. I knew it was inevitable, because as kind as my sister was to me and other ponies, she was ruthless in her execution, like imprisoning creatures and political dissenters in the depths of Tartarus. There were those who believed she could do no wrong, and those who saw her as a tyrant. Even with Discord out of the picture, ponies started fighting amongst themselves until they settled into three distinct races. With the wars between them growing, ponies started to lose faith, including the unicorns. When the unicorns lost faith, the planet stopped turning. The world became colder. Then the windigos arrived, and a massive emigration to the northwestern continent ensued.

I knew not how they came about, but it seemed to be directly related to the negative emotional energies of the ponies. Not even my magic was able to drive off the windigos, but I knew the pony who was responsible.

Celestia had a new castle built in the center of the northwestern in the middle of the forest, possible as a staging ground for her new kingdom. Nopony was staffed yet, but it was already well-furnished. It had two thrones for me and her to sit in, but the idea of this castle filled me with guilt and utter contempt. I waited in the throne room as I watched my sister approach me.

"Don't do this, Luna," said Celestia.

"Don't?" I asked. "You're one to talk. Your so-called mingling with the surface below is nothing but tyranny. Justify as much as you want, but you removed freedom from Trot, Timbucktu, and other lands all for the sake of making ponies worshiping you."

"They need guidance."

"They need to fend for themselves! Have you forgotten mother’s lectures? The moment you place yourself above ponies as their god is the moment you’ve doomed them.”

“Then would it be okay they elected a tyrant to lead them? Luna, they were going to destroy themselves, and if I didn’t interfere, none of them would be alive.”

“None of them would be in this endless winter in the first place! The hate in their hearts is what caused the windigos, and who caused all this hate? You! I have no choice but to remove you from your position as Herald of the Sun!”

“Luna, stop!”

I touched the jewel on the center of my black necklace. I felt a power surging coursing through my veins. My crown and necklace were Mother’s gift to me, as it enabled me to go into a destructive battle mode that would ensure victory over my enemies. I was prepared to remove my sister by force.

Suddenly, the evil in my heart became overwhelmed by the oncoming evil far from our star system. I pressed my jewel again, and cancelled out my Nightmare Battle Mode, and gathered my thoughts. I nearly fought my sister. I could have killed her. Would Mother be pleased? Angry? Have I always been jealous that ponies adored my sister while I stayed in the shadows?

“You’re right,” said Celestia. “It is my fault. I wanted ponies to look up to me for guidance. Instead, they fought over me.”

“It’s all right,” I said. “Turns out, I was jealous of your brilliance and your leadership.”

“I suppose jealousy runs in the family,” said a voice.

From the side emerged an alicorn we have not seen in the longest time and who, in all frightening aspects, resembled our Holy Mother save for the umbrella trinity marks on her flanks, the blue and pink mane, the angelic white wings, and the shimmering pink crystal coat. She was smaller than us, if not weaker. Mother often doted on her as if she was truly her daughter, but Dazzleglow often felt awkward in her position as the Herald of the Stars. As such, she made herself reclusive, and devoted most of her talents in research in the Crystal Empire.

“If things turned out different,” said Dazzleglow, “then I would have activated my Nightmare Battle Mode, if Mother gave me one.”

“How did you know we were here?” asked Luna.

“You two being here created a heat source that I simply could not ignore. More importantly we also cannot ignore the fact that Mother’s coming back. When she comes back, she’s not going to be happy.”

“She was never happy.”

“She has warned us time and time again that if the ponies started fighting amongst themselves, she will destroy the world,” said Celestia. “And we have failed.”

“There is no way we can stop her,” I added. “Her power is immeasurable.”

“There is a way,” said Dazzleglow. “For a long time, I have been researching for a way to nullify her power, but…”

“But what?”

“We need something to weaken her mentally. Prime has always talked about this Trista creature whenever she and I were alone together, but she never had the desire to share with me what she looked like. If we can cast a strong illusion spell to momentarily distract her, then we’ll have a chance to defeat her.”

“Unfortunately, neither Luna and I know what Trista looks like as well,” said Celestia.

“Sisters,” said Luna. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

Comments

[Revan]

And thus was Twilight Prime betrayed.

She had it coming. Despite how I prefer redemption to punishment, it is unlikely that Twilight Prime will ever turn back now.

[Jirodyne]

Calling bullshit. Right here. You made Twilight Prime a GOD. Just 1 thought and everything in existance is wiped out. NOTHING can hurt her. NOTHING can effect it. So HOW can she be defeated? HOW will she be killed/sealed/whatever?

She can make other entire dimensions, and remake people and souls into whatever she wants. WHAT is going to stop her at all, when she NOTHING can harm, touch, or effect her now?

You just keep digging yourself more and more into the bad writing cornor, and making me really want to stop reading. You had such a good story, why have you been fucking it up for the last like 30+ chapters?

[FiredragonX]

Man Prime scare me a lot in before this one and in this chapter I just see how broken she truly is.

[Silentwoodfire]

So OP creature betrayed everything of her original owner/friend and such, all because she suffered at some other creatures behest afterwards, and more or less extinguished all life in the galaxy.

Shes got issues

[Sanjaya]

Is this dead?

Also, at first I expected a good industrial era action comedy drama series, not this all whole crazy almighty god stuffs and things. And the characters are badly overpowered here, seriously.

[3rror404]

What is the schedule for the next chapter?(if there is one)

[starcross7]

8091816
Been busy as of late.

128 is actually completed, but I'd like to write a few chapters ahead so I can make sure they flow together.

[grammar404]

Exterminate! Exterminate!

[Flydie7]

2 months... pleeeeease come out with more chapters, I'm bored