Aether Quintessence

By Pat.Rio.T.

• November 28, 2015




Age: a little less than a hundred years

Gender: Male

Species: Alicorn

Appearance: He has a tall muscular build being about equal to Cadence in height.<br /><br />He is a tan-ish white with a dark brown mane and tail. <br /><br />He keeps his mane and tail short, because he was a military pony, and it also helps later on in life to maintain his low-profile.<br /><br />When he tries to hide the fact that he is an alicorn, he generally keeps on a cloak or some apparel to conceal his alicorn wings, and makes his horn appear shorter with an illusion spell.

Cutie Mark: It is a symbol that represents the "Void", which he is the guardian of in his original universe.

Personality: He is generally pessimistic, keeps to himself, and is aggressive and prone to anger, though he tries to keep his cool. He does however, know better than to get into a fight, knowing what the end result will ultimately be.<br /><br />He is stubborn, and drives in his hooves when he is convinced he is right. And while most of the time, he is, it can be devastating when it turns out that he is not.<br /><br />Despite his general demeanor, it is most certainly not bellow him to defend the defenseless. His anger is reserved more for those that would seek to do harm anyway(Or that just flat-out annoy him).<br />In fact, he is extremely protective of anyone on his good side.<br /><br />Still, he tries to avoid relationships with anyone.

Backstory: Theoretically, there are a near infinite number of parallel universes, with the only difference between them being one small decision or change. But one decision could change the whole of history as we know it. And somewhere out there, The Equestrian Empire is in a state of constant war with the neighboring countries, as Emperor Quartremane fights to conquer them all. His brother, the king of the Crystal Kingdom, leads his armies to glory as Grand Marshal of the entire Equestrian military. He was a valiant warrior, who has seen many battles and conquered many foes, but none more challenging than his own son.<br />Prince Erebus Quartremane did not want to become like his father, at any cost. Oh sure, he was a great strategist, and almost as good a fighter as his father, but nothing his father said or did, or anything else, could convince him that what the empire did, what his father did, could be right. The Emperor hungered for power, believing alicorns to be superior and made to rule all others. He sought to conquer all nations, and not only had he already enslaved ponies and other races from the neighboring countries, the oppression continued throughout the empire itself. And all of it was made possible for the emperor, through his father. It all just sickened him. <br />Erebus worked as a mapper, surveying certain areas of land and drawing maps, or providing information on strategic geological formations. He used teleportation to traverse areas quickly, and undetected. His special talent was not only his skill in teleportation, but his connection to the "void" which he guarded. You see, when a pony activates a teleportation spell, they open a portal and step through to a realm laced between the fabric of reality, entitled "the void" by those who knew of it, where they become ethereal in form and traverse a distance in the blink of an eye, and finally, step back into the world, all in a very insignificant amount of time. However, because all beings of the world are thus "anchored" to it, it takes a great deal of energy to remain in "the void" for any length of time. Erebus was linked to this "void" in a way nopony else was. He could feel others traversing it, and could remain in it longer than anypony else. He could also force others out of the void, thus he was able to keep anypony from invading the empire in this way.<br /><br />When he was younger, he used to like to sharpen his teleportation skills. He learned how to teleport objects and ponies a short distance from him. He read about the longest teleport made by a unicorn, who managed to jump halfway across Equestria in one teleport. Being an alicorn, he figured such a task would be easier for him, which it was. In fact, after accomplishing that, he decided to try going from one end of Equestria to the other. It took a lot of effort, and energy, but he got real close to his target. He was so excited because of his accomplishment. He became so over-confident, that he tried to teleport to the other side of the world.<br />After being disoriented for a few minutes, he looked around to see where he had ended up. He realized how foolish he was to try that, and he could be anywhere. But taking a better look around him, it looked like he was in the same place as before, yet something was different about it. Suddenly, he heard a whooshing noise, but after a few seconds it stopped. He was about to go investigate, when a brown stallion ran out of the woods. Before Erebus could say anything, the stranger asked if he had seen anything weird, and began to ramble nonsense about something causing a tear in the fabric of something. Erebus was about to walk away when the stranger realized that Erebus was not from there, since he knew all of the royalty in the land. Erebus figured that his teleport must have worked, at least sort of, and he told the stranger that he was from Equestria. He was surprised however, when the stranger said that this was Equestria. Erebus was in shock, but the stranger had pieced things together, and tried to explain to him in the most simple way he could, that there were other Equestrias, or rather, universes, and he had somehow torn through the fabric of reality, traveling through a void in between said worlds, and ended up in the same place as before, but in a different Equestria.<br />Erebus still didn't quite understand all of what this pony was saying. He began to ask the stranger who he was, was the empire still at war(if it really was a different Equestria), and if they had won or lost. The stranger sounded like he was in a hurry, but he quickly answered that there was no empire and there was no war, and that he needed to go back to where he came from. But Erebus didn't pay attention to the last part, he was phased out when the stallion said that there was no war. He was about to ask more, but the stranger pushed him again to get going. He knew he had to get back, but he wanted to learn more about this place. He returned the way he had come, only it was easier this time, as the stranger explained that since he had already broken through, it was just a matter of going back through the same hole. After getting back, he didn't tell anypony about his experience.<br /><br />Years later, he used his power to help the ponies oppressed by Equestria, hiding his identity from everypony while doing so. However, he could not escape from his duties, and his father was determined to prepare him to, one day, take his place, sooner than Erebus might think. One day, he found out about Erebus' doings. He punished him severely, and forbade him, telling him that what mattered was the empire as a whole and not the individuals who make sacrifices, they must concentrate on winning the war at any cost. He decided to put Erebus on the front lines of battle alongside himself. They fought against the zebras, whose inferior weapons and warrior skills caused them to fall quickly by the empire's merciless hooves. What he was witnessing just solidified Erebus' anger towards the emperor, and even his father. He couldn't stand it, but he couldn't just leave the battle, he would be killed by one side, or the other. When he returned to the empire, he continued to help, despite being forbidden, he just had to be more careful. He also tried to help the zebras, as he felt bad for them, but that was much harder for him to accomplish without being caught and probably killed.<br />The zebra nation was faltering quickly. Erebus' father led a force against one of their major cities, while another battalion waited for the first wave to break through the outer limits. But when the gryphons unexpectedly attacked in the northeast, the emperor pulled the battalion away to help fight them off, leaving his brother without reinforcements, causing them to retreat. At this point, Erebus' father was fed up with his brother the coward. All he did was sit in his throne all day and rely on ponies like the king to defend him, and to win him glory and honor. The empire needed somepony who truly was honorable, and strong, fit to actually lead the empire to glory themselves. And of course, who better than himself to fill that role. He confronted his brother and reviled him for these reasons, before promptly killing him, and proclaiming himself Emperor of Equestria. When Prince Erebus heard of this, he was filled with fury. He went to his father, but before he could say anything, he was offered rulership over the Crystal Kingdom, his father's previous position. To his father's surprise Erebus was disgusted, and now that he had a chance to speak his mind, he exploded in a great ball of anger. By the time he was done, he had basically denied being his son, and he stormed out of the castle. Then he ran. He just ran.<br /><br />Erebus eventually made his way to the zebra nation. If he knew his father, he would soon launch a massive invasion force on the capitol, leading them himself, and the zebras would surely fall to the empire. He tried to help prepare them as much as possible, but it wouldn't be enough. They needed help. He sent out messages to other countries hoping that they would be answered. A week went by, and time was running short, as the new emperor was already leading troops through the occupied territory. At last someone answered their cry, the minotaurs sent an army to aid the zebras. But Erebus wasn't sure it would be enough. At last the armies of the Equestrian Empire were at their doorstep. The minotaurs stepped up as the first line of defense. They outmatched the ponies, however they were becoming overrun by the ponies' sheer numbers. Things weren't looking too good, until the gryphons came swooping down from the skies. Now they almost matched the ponies in number, Erebus was sure they could do it now. The diamond dogs came last of all, from the mountains in the south, turning the odds even more in their favor. <br />The Equestrian Empire was suddenly getting overpowered, pushed back further and further, and Erebus' father was dumbfounded by this coalition that seemed to have just come up out of nowhere, and was now dominating his army. It made no sense, until he saw Erebus... for the first time in a month, fighting alongside the zebras... against his own kind... against his country! The emperor had seen it all. He made his way over to Erebus and engaged in combat with him, berating him for being a traitor. Most everyone from either side avoided the two titans as they continued to exchange sword slashes, magic blasts, and intimidating words. But after a long fight, Erebus was eventually bested and left vulnerable by his father. But instead of killing him, he delivered a stunning blow, knocking him unconscious, and took him prisoner. The emperor retreated his forces, and the remaining alliance eventually drove the empire's occupation out of the zebra country.<br /><br />Erebus woke up in a teleport-proof dungeon cell. He didn't exactly know what was going on, but he had a feeling about what would happen, being a traitor. He figured his father must have spared his life only to deny him an "honorable" death. He waited around for a while, until the emperor himself came down to see him taken away. They slipped a ring with a magic-suppressing crystal over his horn and shackled his legs. He was then escorted out by two guards up to a courtyard where they usually performed executions. After some words from his father about being an honor-less traitor, meant to arouse the crowd, Erebus was forced down to where his head would be cut off. A pony whose face was shrouded in a hooded cloak, stepped up and held an axe with magic. The pony raised the axe high above it's head, but then hit the guard standing next to them with the broad side. Lowering her hood the pony blasted the second guard with a magic bolt, and then pulled the ring off of Erebus' horn. She encased the emperor in a temporary magic cage, while Erebus got up and tried to figure out what was going on. He saw the emperor being held, and then all the guards rushing at them, and new he had to get out of there fast. He teleported himself and the strange mare out of the courtyard and into the city streets. <br />After scorning her for risking her life like that, he asked why she did. She told him that she had recognized him when he gave supplies to the oppressed ponies, her being one of them. And not only that, she had a zebra friend. Erebus knew she could't live here anymore, as she would be called a traitor as well now. He asked if she had any family, to which she said she did not any more. Just then, the emperor abruptly landed in front of him, and as they fought, Erebus yelled to the purple mare, to head for the zebra country as fast as she could. He teleported her away as far as he could while fighting his father again. Erebus knew that there wasn't anyplace in this world that he could go where his father wouldn't eventually find him. There was only one thing that he could do, but he had to break away. He teleported behind his father and ran down the streets, but guards were closing from multiple directions now. He ran down an alley, and started to initiate a teleport. He was tired however, and had to concentrate even with the guards approaching. It was taking too long to work for his liking. Then his father caught up, and Erebus started to back up, until he couldn't anymore. As his father was closing in, he tried to concentrate and pull as much energy as he could, and with a cry of anguish and a flash of light, he was gone. His father couldn't trace him, he had no idea where he'd gone.<br /><br />Erebus woke up feeling groggy, worse than the last time. He had no idea where he was, and even less about the time or day. He was exhausted from that last teleport, having broken through to a parallel universe. The stranger did say that he would seal the breach once he was back through the last time. This time however, he had no intention of ever going back. He tried to stand up, but he suddenly felt weird, and fell back down. Everything felt all wrong when he tried to move, it was like he wasn't used to his body anymore. He didn't understand it, until he looked at himself. It seemed his whole body had been transformed. He was a little scared, this didn't happen the first time he came here. What if other ponies saw him this way, and could he be changed back? Erebus never noticed magic before when it was everywhere, but now, there was suddenly an extreme lack of it, and he could feel it. He figured it must have been due to lack of his horn, after he noticed he no longer had one. He decided his best bet would be to find ciilization, and he started off on all four limbs as best as he could. However, after a few minutes, he was starting to realize that the way he was traveling was terribly inefficient. He couldn't move very fast without working too hard, and he kept getting hurt on rocks and sticks. He didn't have the protective hooves he was used to. He figured that whatever he was now must be bipedal, judging by the difference between his front and back legs. His structure was similar to a minotaur's. It took multiple attempts, but eventually he managed to stand up on his back legs, and resume his course at a somewhat steady pace. <br />It was nighttime, and Erebus hadn't seen any civilization. But he eventually stumbled across a long, flat strip of black rock, with yellow and white lines marking it, that stretched as far as the eye could see. He knelt down on it to examine it closer, trying to get even a clue as to what it was. Then suddenly a pair of extremely bright lights came over the hill, and by the time he realized he ought to get up and run, it was too late. He heard a loud screeching, and was struck while still struggling to stand up. <br /><br />Erebus, yet again, woke up disoriented and unaware of his situation. He had a massive headache, and the last thing he remembered was being attacked by something with brightly glowing eyes... or something. At least he recognized that he was in a hospital. Finally, civilization, even if he was practically bandaged up from top to bottom. He was shocked to see that everyone looked like him. But he eventually learned that everyone in the world was like he was, so he was not where he was the first time he traversed universes, which disapointed him. He got weird looks when he talked about ponies, unicorns, pegasi, and almost all the other creatures from his world. He told everyone who asked, that his name was "Aether"; he no longer wanted to be known by his old name. <br />When he was well enough to leave the hospital, but still recovering, he was moved to a rehabilitation center, since he had no home to go to. There he was put in a room with someone else named Archibald Bennet, or just Archie, who was always talking, and kept on forgetting things. He was so annoying to Aether that he tried to ignore him. However, Archie always kept trying, and Aether learned some things about the world around him. Even after Archie was released he came back and offered to take Aether to his home since he didn't have one. Even though he really didn't want to, Aether knew it would be best since he would not survive very well in the world on his own.<br /><br />(More to the story will be coming soon, in tandem with another OC's story, Archie)<br />((Special thanks to member Lucky Star, who helped come up with ideas that made this character))