Crescendo Oratorio (Confessions of a Wasteland Pony)

Crescendo Oratorio is an antagonist in the audio drama Confessions of a Wasteland Pony.

His story is told by Rose Petal in the third episode, The Duchess Horror.

Biography

Crescendo was the patriarch of the Oratorio family when The Great War ended.

The Oratorios were one of the largest family groups that left Manechester and The Foggy Isles after suffering years of discrimination by the unicorn majority. While the families tried to forget about each other in the centuries that followed, the development of arcane technology would dig up old wounds. The runic magic developed by the ponies of Manechester, became very important and widespread as the magical sciences developed. Runic magic became deeply entwined with the code of Stable-Tec, to the distaste of many Oratorios.

This was especially true of Crescendo, whose fiery temper was already infamous among the family. When Stable-Tec terminals became more commonplace in the homes of everyday Equestrians, Crescendo firmly forbid it "under his roof." His roof was the ancient family home, Maricello Manor, built not long after the family's exodus from Manechester.

His four children complained about this, especially when most of the other Oratorios were not so bitter about the tertiary connection. After some pleading (especially from his youngest daughter, Harpsichord), Crescendo made a special purchase for EAST Corp terminals which were not normally used for personal computing. The unique glyph magic ticking at the heart of their technology had no connection to the Manechester runes.

Consideration of the glyph magic spiked a curiosity in Crescendo to research other kinds of inscription magics from other races of creatures including those of the buffalo, giraffe, and even zebras. He hid is research in a secret room behind the family library, as he dug deeper into the darkest magics he could find.

After conjuring together a number of "protection" spells, Crescendo began painting glyphs on the walls of the house, hidden behind portraits or other objects as not to worry his family. This was especially true considering many of the magics he worked with involved fresh bodies, which Crescendo had to exhume from the local cemetery on more than one occasion.

Still uncertain if any of these magics would do anything at all, Crescendo also commissioned the construction of "Stable" beneath Maricello Manor. Similar to the order for the personal terminals, he contracted EAST Corp owned companies to build this bunker for them.

At his core he sought to protect the family, but his bitter hatred for Manechester only made it easier for the dark magic to consume him.

When the extended Oratorio family arrived for their annual Fall Festival, Crescendo would show off the progress of the "Stable" for the first time. This is when the incident with the Ministry of Arcane Science train would kill the whole family present.

Crescendo's glyphs came to life, sealing the souls of them all into an ethereal amalgamation within the walls of the mansion.

Their spirits would sleep during the day, manifesting at night to live out that last evening in an endless cycle. This would last for nearly two centuries until a group of wastelanders discovered the mansion.

Quotes

• "He was an aged stallion, possibly in his 60’s, with a grey coat.  His mane and tail had turned white with age, matching a well groomed mustache.  His eyes were a sharp reddish-brown. This was Crescendo, standing proudly with his wife and children." - Duchess Rose Petal
• "...I should have known.  Those stupid money grubbing Stable-Tec fucks!  You need a ‘justifiable interest’ for me to want to have a stable to keep my family safe?!?!  I could give a damn what stable is ‘designated for my region,’ I don’t buy your horseshit for one second!  I’m not even surprised… knowing how many of their people come from Manechester and their debased runic magics sparking away in their technology…  I never trusted them before, and was a fool to think they’d be anything different. It doesn’t matter… You think you hold power over us, that your bigotry can deny my family safety, from a war YOU HAD A HOOF IN.  Well you don’t. I will protect my family from the twilight of our civilization. I will see that they live through the balefire, no matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice… We will survive.” - Crescendo (on his personal terminal)
• "There was a moment of pause, then a column of cloud started pouring down from the ceiling.  The two phantoms before me began breaking down and collapsing into amorphous blobs. They floated away and joined with the column of cloud to form a new body, one that stood a head taller than any of the others…  A few arcs of red lightning surged down the column of smoke, which stayed anchored to the ceiling. The arcs of energy eventually settled in the creatures eyes…" - Duchess Rose Petal (describing him as The Horror)

Behind the Scenes

• In keeping with the Lovecraftian themes in The Duchess Horror, Crescendo is driven deeper into insanity the more he researches the dark magics that eventually give rise to The Horror.
• In keeping with the family's musical heritage, he was one who played the pipe organ at the center of the house. He was not the first however, the mansion was planned and built around the organ. The instrument has been fixed and upgraded incrementally over the centuries, but the "heart" of its mechanisms and most of the pipes are original.
• Not all Oratorios are necessarily only musicians. In many cases they have other skills, such as Crescendo's business acumen. In his case, his cutie mark was a depiction of the pipe organ. It would ultimately not represent his ability to play the instrument however, but represent how the majority of his existence would be living within it as "The Horror".
• In universe, the pipe organ piece release to accompany the episode was an original composition by Crescendo.