Timed Ramblings

by Midnight herald

On Harmony

“Welcome, friends. Welcome, enemies. Welcome, strangers. Welcome to yourselves. Welcome to Harmony.” Ponies shuffled and coughed in the stuffy chapel, the midsummer sun filtering through decades-worth of dust motes. the preacher cleared her throat and looked out to the crowd again, her green eyes open and trusting, filled with some transcendent inner light.

“You may ask what Harmony is, and why I speak of It as I do. And the simplest definition lies in music. Harmony is a combination of intervals to form chords. But that’s not easy to see, not easy to feel. Not everypony can give their hearts to music, after all. And that, in a way, is harmony. NOw I see some sceptics, and that’s fine. But I can say with all certainty that everyone in this room has felt true harmony, for we are creatures of Harmony.

“At the end of winter, we come together in our towns and cities, and we work with a common purpose and a song in our hearts. And that is Harmony. We have friends, families, lovers, husbands, wives, who love us for who we are, flaws and all. That is Harmony. We have fights and disagreements, and that is Harmony. Without that balance, without those many voices, we would have one single melody, on single thought to our world. And the everyday magics would be lost to us. The color of the world would be gone, faded. We would lose our identity as ponykind and fall into a decline.

“But our great, peaceful race is not the only to know of Harmony, our great race is not the only to seek a better life, to strive for peace and love on a daily basis. We have the luxury of our kind princesses, the Unfading. They give us the stability we need to create the miracles we take for granted in our medicine, in our parliament, in our education, in our infrastructure. And so we thrive. And so we take our Harmony for granted.

“Many on the streets ask me why I travel, why I risk myself, as they put it, needlessly. Our neighbors are not as peaceful as we are, they argue. Our neighbors are uncultured, brutish, dangerous, better left to themselves, they say. And I say that isn’t true. When leaders fall or betray their subjects without a just cause, when ancient feuds rage on and kill off the youth, when resources run low and somebody must go without, it is hard to find the truth of things. I travel to help spread what I know of Harmony and love and tolerance. I spread what I know to be a good way of life to those who need a guiding force. I do what I must to give the other great races on this planet the life they deserve to know. I travel to give them the love they do not yet understand. Because I believe I have a duty to do so.

“As a filly, I was in love with music, with singing and the joy it could bring me. But when the time came that I was brave enough to step forward and share that joy with others, I found something much greater. As I stood on the stage and sang for the crowd, the crowd sang with me. Not with their voices, but with their hearts. Every life has a song, every tree has a melody, every Griffin an aria... I know this, because I hear them all.

"Why do I speak of Harmony as a living being? Because it is. Each life on this world is unique and beautiful, and each life has a song. And when those songs gather together, when beings meet and talk, that is Harmony.We are all creatures of Harmony, servants in the loosest sense. And I know that better than any. On that day, on that stage, I was called upon by Harmony. It gave me the ears to hear the world’s tune, with all its heartbreaking dissonance and astounding depth. And so I answered the call.

“But I am not the only one who can hear it. I was simply shown the way, shown the truth, given the easy way through to understanding it all. Every one of you can hear it, if you try hard enough. If you approach each day with love and light in your hearts, and if you truly listen. Some of you don’t believe me. Some of you may never do so, or may never hear the wonders I do. But that’s fine. That’s the way life goes, and that’s the way of Harmony.”
[h/r]

The preacher turned and left the pulpit, walking through the crowd, their silence as tangible as the rough-woven robe draped about her withers. She flung wide the doors with a burst of magic, letting the russet sunset shine through.

“Just try to do one thing, my friends, my people. Try to listen.”

Author's Note:

The Prompt: "Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love"

Yes, in some dusty corner of my headcanon, Sweetie Belle is a travelling preacher. She spreads the message of love, tolerance, and Harmony to every nation she can enter. Don't ask me how this started; I have no idea.

Comments

[DarkwingSnark]

Okay, the sad part? I actually think you may have just created a religion everybody can agree with. May we all open our hearts and hear Harmony.

[Mermaid]

That was beautiful.