The dream was constant. It was never ending, never changing. And in our dreaming, another day was dawning. The glow on the eastern horizon chased away the last of the stars as the sun rose over the dark world below. The light pooled, brightening slowly from dark purple to a golden yellow, before it finally rushed out, spilling across the land.
In the dream, we soared with the light as it tinted the leaves of the massive and ancient trees in the many forests that covered the continent. We were with the light as it hit the mountains, painting their snow-frosted peaks with reds and golds. When the light hit the broad grasslands, we ran with it as it sped and played and glittered in the occasional lake or river that dotted the countryside.
At certain points on the terrain, some of our dreaming minds would linger. Memories tried to surface, tugging at us from the dim past. But the land below was unbroken, the scars long since healed and the damage forgotten, and those temporarily caught would move on.
We dreamed of the rivers, ever flowing towards the sea. The rivers would dance along the land, sometimes alone, sometimes joining together, other times breaking apart again until they finally spilled themselves into the vast and dark sea.
We dreamed of the ocean, and of the myriad life contained therein. Fish, crustaceans, invertebrates, all manner of life striving, competing and thriving. Our minds would sink to the deepest depths, where in the dark the largest of the leviathans soared like floating submarine islands, enormous mouths gaping wide as they drew in food of all types. As they drifted on the currents, they were accompanied by schools of smaller animals which scavenged from their leavings. The leviathans roamed the sea and countless lives roamed with them.
We dreamed of the land, teeming with life of its own. Flowers abounded amongst the grasslands, growing with wild enthusiasm in reds and greens, blues and yellows. They were attended to and fed upon by insects of all descriptions. The reptiles that made up nearly all of the animal life fed on plants and insects alike, and sometimes upon each other, as well. These reptiles on the land came in almost as many varieties as the fish in the sea. Large and small, some slow and plodding, others quick and fast.
Of these reptiles, the most active and beautiful were the flyers. They streaked through the sky in all colors of the rainbow, flying on shining wings while surveying the land below them with eyes that gleamed like precious gemstones. They soared above it all, taking in the occasional insect for sustenance and resting in the branches of the trees, safe from the larger predators below. And, every day as the daylight began to wane, the flyers would settle into the forests as the last light faded, draw the air into their lungs, and sing the sun to sleep.
The song came from millions of throats all at once, starting as a low hum that swept from east to west as the light faded, drowning out all other sound. As the sun set, some of the flyers would get carried away, trilling or crooning with joy that introduced motion into the song, a melody that would soar and leap, dance and spin. But always, always, they would return to that same simple harmony that echoed across the entire world.
And then, as the darkness took hold, the singing would fade, leaving behind it a peaceful calm to welcome back the stars as they reappeared in the night sky. Along with the stars came the moons, three of them, the smallest two a matched set of light blue and the largest a ghostly pale white that would sometimes eclipse one or both its smaller sisters. Sometimes, when the relative position of the sun was correct, no moons at all would be seen in the night sky, leaving the stars to light the land below on their own.
And as we dreamed, life went on like this, years upon years uncounted. If anything ever changed, it was in a small, inconsequential way that made no difference in the larger scheme of things. Life simply went on as it always had; a perfect rhythm, an unchanging dance. Nothing happened that wasn’t how it should be, how it had always been, and therefore the days passed by unnoticed as we slumbered.
And then, on a day that had started like any other, on a small hill that was in no way different than any other hill found on the land, the air shimmered. A sound, like a tuning fork being struck, echoed through the nearby stand of trees, stilling the song of the flyers and bathing the area in silence.
In the shimmering air, a window resolved itself. The sights and sounds from the other side of that window were completely alien to the world, all hard angles and gleaming metal. A short while later, various black and whirring things came flying into the world, the harsh sounds of their passing startling the local reptiles into flight, the harmony of their song broken and scattered.
Following the flying devices came one that trundled along on treads that smashed the flowers and tore at the grasses below. The flying devices immediately began spreading out, while the land-based one simply stopped, lights blinking and servos whirring as it angled the panels on top of it to catch the last dying rays of the sun.
This was something different. This was something unexpected. This was not as it always had been. And it most definitely did not go unnoticed. The Dreamers began to grow restless.
I stirred in my slumber and slowly began to wake.
I am way too excited that this came out. Nice work setting the scene in Ch. 1.
It's here!!!!
I can already tell this is going to be good.
Well, that was fcking ominous.
On to Ch. 2
Well, a timeless hivemind, that's not going to be trouble at all.
At. All.
The Overmind is not pleased.
I, however, am squeeing.
Well, of course the other planet was gonna be inhabited. But Erin mission is to learn about magic in Equestria, I don't see how she will be of much use unless she has been living ten years like a fakelicorn or something.
Oh yes yes yes! Tears in my eyes man, tears!
Ugh a dream sequence, well that was a waste of a chapter.
4161807 Unhappy Shira is not appreciated.
The fact this hit the featured box in less than two hours says something about how much people have anticipated this.
4161656 I don't know. Maybe because of the elements of harmony
Well, this is an interesting start. Hivemind? Discorporated former populace of the planet? The mention of forgotten scars and healed damage makes me think this is a planet that went MAD on itself a fairly long time ago.
It's finally here!
I've been looking forward to this so much.
4162123 And then the Navi awoke and the story became "Avatar".
4161807
Shut up and be glad we finally have a chapter.
4161807
You don't like it, but some people do. I don't like most dream sequence prologues much myself, but at least they're usually short.
Wow... the humans really hit spot on when they named this place Harmony.
Two thoughts on this:
How do these creatures know the word 'servo'?And 'flyers' as a name sounds a little uninspired. But don't get me wrong, I like what you have so flar!
Wow. This is fantastic. I am truly impressed. The only criticism I have is that it's too good to not be published. (Yes, I know you can't publish it in relation to MLP... but as a separate world you could.) If you haven't written and published sci-fi / fantasy novels yet, you should. I really wouldn't be surprised if you said you had... The description and your voice is, as Rarity might put it, "simply smashing."
What a story, Mark!
4162123
Those were my exact thoughts. Glad to see that I'm not alone in them.
Hmm, I am defiantly liking the setup so far. Gives a sense of the familiar but with an alien feel to the whole thing. Love the multiple moons idea, gives a nice "this isn't your planet" feeling.
Not sure if reference.
4172576
Of all the word mixups everyone on the Internet seems to suffer regularly, the definitely/defiantly one confuses me the most.
How do people sound out definite in their head and go, "yeah, f-i-a-n-t is definitely how that gets spelled"? Unless you meant defiantly, in which case I don't think enjoying a chapter is really all that defiant at all.
Sorry, I'm not really singling you out, you just reminded me it was a thing.
As for the chapter, I'm gonna have to c/p it into a word document and unitalicize the whole thing before I read it.
I'm not sure "dreaming " is the proper term, since presence is still had in the waking world.
Keep going! ;)
4193569
I was definitely getting that vibe too while reading this chapter. It kind of reminded me of the prologue for Consider Phlebas.
I get a really strong Pern feel from Harmony - colorful singing mini-dragons and all that.
Reminds me of the creation of Narnia. (See The Magician's Nephew, by C.S. Lewis)
Fire coming out of the monkey's head
By gorillaz
I finally remembered what this chapter reminded me of
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JcFZWa8zH2w
Dreamers you say? I hope they aren't antagonistic. I'm sure Luna would disapprove of any sleepy shenanigans they might pull.
Interesting that they seem to be omnipresent in their world while sleeping. Astral Projection?
4198564
It reminds me of the sea-creature sequences from Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders books.
Goddamnit, Cthulu! Behave!
4199713 it kinda does have that vibe to it.
Well, that's not foreboding at all, is it.
The ride is starting again img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140725201504/godzilla/images/1/1a/THE_RIDE_NEVER_ENDS.jpg
Good story! I love stories about mlp ocs and crossovers and I am glad that I'm not the only person here who writes those types of stories
Well now. Seems this one has some kind of intelligent life, after all
I have this picture of the magical field itself being a planet-spanning sentient life form - Lyra did comment on its odd structure.
Better hope it doesn't greet the first colonists with mindworms.
Hear we go.
this is going to be a good story right from word one.
Ohhh and hooked from the start. Yeah no real commentary for this (You'll see what I mean later) to short, and also far far to beautiful to want to break up like that. Nice slow introduction of just what was going on. With "Old World" I wasn't sure. At very first I was wondering if this was Sunflower dreaming, about Earth restored, the scars of the Black Tide healed, but was just "Huh could it be?" But then I realized a constant "Us" so, thought maybe this was Celestia and/or Luna dreaming about Equis before higher intelligent life evolved. When the world was new, pristine. Right up till the three moons rose. (Though given Days of Wasp and Spider has an Equis with two moons, and a reason for that, not wholly impossible.) Yeah figured this was Harmony. The doorway opening just sealed the deal there.
So, Harmony is not wholly devoid of intelligent life. Just 'Civilized" life as we know it. No domination by higher order societies, but, something else. Some consciousness that is a part of the world. Likely having to do with, or being part of it's magical field. And "The Dreamers"? (*Tries to repress the urge to shake head in shame and hold that name agsint this story, given how bad that series was.) So... Good, bad, Neutral? Relationship between this being and "The Dreamers"? Is it one of them, some warden or servant? Is the 'Us' it referred itself and these Dreamers? More then two? So many questions already set up, meaning exploring this world is going to get exciting. Very little to go on just, tons of possibilities to speculate over.
And also, damn that was.. that whole things was just.... beautifully written and so evocative, so great. Yeah this story is already off to one hell of a strong start.
Are we coming to planet of the changelings?
What exactly is it that was dreaming? Another earth shattering atrocity?
Super hostile aliens? Curious intelligent life forms?
Details man details!
Awaken my child, and embrace the glory that is your birthright. Know that I am the Overmind, and that you have been created to serve me.
Serve the hive~
Feel the groove~
I control~
The way you move~
You... you literary savant, you... have woven a sonnet of such beauty, such elegance and expression. You have entrapped the most aptly, most epitomized form of humanity's force on nature that I have yet seen in your words. That introduction, in and of itself, gets a like from me.
I lower my pen in salute to your presence my friend.
6596242 Word one, which just happens to be the most common English word.
A better opening than the original, certainly. I dunno how I feel about it. Still gotta wrap up my original thoughts on Sunflower~
I think it started off a bit slow, but I got palpably interested when we got to the fliers.
This looks super interesting. Can't wait to see what kind of intelligent life this world has.
You know, I saw the cover art, and the first thing I thought of was Pern, specifically Dragon's Dawn. Then the first chapter blew that idea right out of the water. I'm kinda curious about how Equestrians would deal with the Thread now, though.
8286021
THAT WAS MY THOUGHT TO OF THE MIGHTY ANCESTORS OF THE pernese dragons
Ahhh, frick... LYRAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!