//------------------------------//
// Hearing Voices 
// Story: Land of Friendship and Magic 
// by Archmage Ansrit 
//------------------------------//

“Ooh hoo! This is going to be so much fun~!” Discord said happily as he spiraled around the throne room. “Another world and I finally get to join in the fun! What should I bring? What should I wear?” He poofed on a skin tight, cyan dress. “What do you think? Too much? Does it make my butt look big? Come on, be honest, I can take it.”

“It makes your butt look big,” Rainbow said with a deadpan, noting that Discord’s rear end was now comically large, almost looking like two watermelons had been shoved into the bottom of the dress.

Discord burst into tears. “You’re so mean, Rainbow!” He disappeared in a flash. “I’ll be back~!”

“Nutcase,” Ben muttered to himself. He sighed, rubbing his neck as he popped it a few times. “It’s gonna be interesting seeing what place Ally has settled on. I know she said it wasn’t her true Equestria, but should still be fun. You doin’ alright, Twi?”

Twilight gulped, trying to keep her nerves under control. “Y-yeah. Hey… you don’t think she’s still mad over…” she couldn’t even force herself to say it.

“Nearly killing her?” Twilight silently nodded. “I’m sure she’s fine,” he waved off. “Ally seemed just as chipper as ever when she left. She’s probably already forgiven you.”

“I certainly hope so,” she muttered under her breath. “Otherwise, this might be a short trip.”

Discord reappeared with a flash, wearing a bright orange Hawaiian shirt, a straw hat, and sunglasses with a little palm trees on the edges. “I couldn’t decide, so tropical it is! Is everypony--”

“Ahem!”

“ And human, ready?” Twilight and Ben both nodded, making Discord smile even wider. “Off we go! Ta ta, Celly~, I’ll miss you!”

“The feeling is not mutual, Discord,” Celestia smirked back.

“Ooh, you’re getting good at this. TTFN!” He stretched out his paw and talon, literally pulling reality apart to create a swirling vortex. “Ladies first.” He held out his talon as Twilight moved forward. “I said ladies, first.”

“Oh screw you, Disc!” Ben shouted. He simply shook his head as Discord let out a hearty laugh. “Alright, let’s get this show on the road. Come on, Twilight! Geronimo!” Ben took off for the portal, diving through.

Twilight took a deep breath, letting out slowly. Not only was she traveling to another world, something she swore off after the last one, but she was also going to deal with whatever repercussions of her anger and fear had caused. “Oh goddess, I hope this ends well!” Twilight booked it for the portal, rushing right through.

Discord looks at you with a wild grin. “Don’t blink, this is gonna be a wild ride!” He cackled madly, slithering into the portal as well. Just as his tail went through, the gap closed itself, as if it was never there in the first place.


*****
(Meanwhile miles and miles away in another universe)


“And at that point you just couldn’t hold it, I guess.” Typhon sighed. “That’s…Ugh…possessions, mental tricks... not the best way to find out about your brother, but at least he’s OK. I just wish I could have done something, you know?”

Kat brushed against her stallion playfully with a smile. “Oh stop worrying. You know very well I can handle myself in the field… Beerus was just a small set back. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds, anyway.”

“I can’t help it.” He sighed again. “It’s... it’s like I’m on this road, and there’s all sorts of obstacles... that I can’t just push my way through. The challenges picked for me are like…like trying to keep sailboats safe in the middle of fighting a sea monster - I can do that! I have done so for a long time... but then you come across a situation without nearly as many oh-so-delicate variables - just beat the hell out of this guy, or a battle in the center of the mind? I’m good at that, and I feel- I feel like all that training and all of those troubles aren’t helping the ones I have close to me.”

Kat nuzzled his cheek with a soft smile. “Hey, you have a duty to protect this world, so you can’t go gallivanting off like I can. This is my mission that I need to do, and I feel it would be much better for me to handle them on my own. These are my mistakes that need rectifying, it’s my job to do this. Your job, however,” she said running her tail underneath his chin, “is to make sure I have something special to come back to.”

“But of course.” He allowed tension to melt away from him. “You are always welcome here, and don’t forget, okay?”

“As if I could.” Kat noticed something not too far away at a nearby restaurant. “Oh hey! It’s Twilight! Hey Twilight!”

“Oh, hello!” She waved at them from her table. “I haven’t seen you since you... well, since that time at the falls yesterday; are you alright?”

“Oh, sorry about that. I had gotten some news and it was just overwhelming,” Kat said with a sheepish smile and rubbing the back of her head.

“Oop. Message.” Typhon tapped his glasses, which turned dark after that. “Apparently, someone, we don’t know who, is trying to find our world. They are using your token, though, so I’m just going to let them in.”

A vortex of swirling colors opened in the alley besides the restaurant, and a pegasus with an emerald-green coat and disheveled brown mane stepped out of it, followed by an alicorn version of Twilight Sparkle, and a grey tinted unicorn with a light blue horn, deep black mane, and wild red and yellow eyes floated in after them.

“Ooh, my unicorn form, how delicious!”

“Oh quiet Disc,” the pegasus groaned. He looked up at Twilight with a deadpan. “Get off me.”

“Oops, sorry,” she apologized, flying off her friend. “Hey, it looks like we’re in Ponyville. That’s convenient.”

“And our favorite lavender unicorn is not too far~,” Discord said with an eerie grin.

The pegasus leaned out of the alley just enough to see this world’s Twilight talking with two other ponies, one of which looked very familiar. And with that image, Ben got an idea. He looked over at the unicorn with a smile. “Ready to have some fun.”

“Always dear boy… always.”


*****
Back with our heroes!


Kat looked around expectantly. “I don’t see anyone, Typhon. You sure those glasses are working?”

“But of course! I gave the approbation message, and they let them in near our position.” He pondered something for a minute. “The companionship is certainly interesting, and they are of the ‘unusually-familiar’ kind.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Twilight asked with a furrowed brow.

“They’ll let you know in a second or two.” He replied.

Before Twilight could ask what that meant, her order arrived. “Your food, miss,” the unicorn said as he set down the covered silver platter. “Be careful… it’s a very odd dish.” He chuckled to himself as he returned to the main building.

“But I just ordered a…” She trailed off as she eyed Typhon with suspicion. “You know something, don’t you?”

“The fact that you recognize that nothings escapes me means that nothing escapes you, Twilight.” He replied with a ‘way-too-innocent-and-trying-to-show-it’ smile. “Why don’t you try it? Variety is the spice of life, after all.”

Slowly, Twilight lifted off the dome and,

“We’re tiny!”

“We’re toony!”

“We’re more than a little loony!”

The unicorn screamed and slammed the dome back down on the tiny black and white creatures that were singing and dancing on her plate.

“Oh mon dieu,” Kat groaned as she slammed her face on the table. “...ow.”

“Ah!” Typhon happily exclaimed. “That was the other energy!”

He pumped a hoof into the air, and muttered. “The addition of a cartoon from my childhood was a nice touch.”

He turned to Kat.

“So... you said your brother had an Omnitrix?”

“Indeed,” she muttered through the wood.

The dome lifted up on one end, one of the little aliens leaning out towards Twilight. “You know, hon, if you were gonna eat me, then at least take a guy out to dinner first.”

Another leaned out, blowing you a kiss. “Goodnight everybody!” They both slid under the dome.

“But you are the dinner.” Typhon said. “Now come out and present yourself properly.”

The dome lifted off, revealing a large and delicately wrapped present. “Hey, you said to present ourselves properly.”

“And it was masterfully done.” Typhon nodded. “But do remember that there is a water tower here in Ponyville, conveniently located in such a way I can lock you in there until you agree to behave… or your timer runs out.”

“Alright fine, ya spoilsport! We’ll unwrap the present… even though it clearly says to wait until Christmas. But you obviously don’t have any sense for tradition, so!” The present spun in the air and exploded open, a familiar lavender mare falling to the table.

“There’s no Christmas here,” Kat said through the wood again.

She picked her head up and looked around. “How did you even do that? Curse you, Ditto! I will discover your secrets one day!”

“But that’s obviously not today, snooty!” A Ditto appeared out of her mane and booped her nose. “Boop!” And then bounced away like Daffy Duck.

“I really hate him sometimes,” the Twilight muttered.

“Oh.” Twilight - the one still waiting her food - blinked. “Oh! Wow! one of my alternate selves! This is amazing! This requires further study…”

As the native Twilight muttered to herself about the variables she would have to ask about, Typhon patted the visitor’s shoulders.

“There, there; the ways of Comedy are not for everypony.” He said in a soothing tone.

“Dying’s easy, Comedy isn’t!” The voice of Pinkie shouted from somewhere off into the distance.

“I like that mare’s attitude!” Ditto shouted from the other direction.

“I like Tabasco!” She shouted back.

“And here I thought that she wouldn’t appear today.” Typhon shrugged. “But what can I do? I’m but a humble Primordial being - she is outside my purview and Authority.”

The alicorn sighed, but then froze as she saw Kat there. “H-Hi Kat.”

Kat finally pried her face from the table, giving Twilight a tired smile. “Hello Twilight.”

“H-How are you?” she asked with some hesitance.

“Just fine… save for what’s happening right now.”

“Oh… that’s good… So, you’re not still mad at me are you?” Twilight finally forced herself to say.

“Mad at you? Why would I be?”

“You know for the whole: ‘I’m gonna choke the life out you, you dirty little bitch’ thing?” The alicorn shied away shamefully, getting looks from both her alternate and Typhon.

Kat on the other hoof just waved it off. “Nah, we’re cool. You weren’t in full control of yourself anyway. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”

She let out a relieved sigh. “Hoo, that anvil’s off my chest now…” She felt something strange on her back, seeing Ditto sitting on an anvil that was on top of her. “...really?”

Ditto shrugged. “Expect the unexpected because all the scripts were rejected. Just making it up as I go along.”

“Weirdo.”

“Coming from the pastel colored winged unicorn, I’ll take that as a compliment. Now, if you'll excuse me, I’m on the hunt for some prints! A crime has been committed!”

“Crime? In Ponyville?” The native Twilight asked, shocked for a moment…before remembering what the little white and black creature had said. “I think I don’t really want to know…”

“It is a crime of the most horrible caliber!” Ditto said dramatically, donning a classic Sherlock Holmes disguise. He pointed over to the counter, an empty plate with crumbs sitting there. “Someone stole the last slice of key lime pie!”

“The horror!” Pinkie shouted from somewhere in town, sobbing being heard.

“Hey!” Ditto looked to see another of himself. “I found prince!” He was holding Prince Blueblood.

“Unhoof me!” he shouted.

“No, no, no! Finger prints!” he said wiggling his little digits.

The ditto looked back and forth between his double and the Prince before giving a weird look. “I don’t think so.” Then he tossed Blueblood into the air, landing in a passing wagon.

“I wonder if he found something interesting up north…” Typhon mumbled.

“Are you quite done yet?” Twilight - the unicorn - asked with a deadpan expression. “I’m not finding this very funny.”

“You need to lighten up, Twilight.” Typhon said, allowing one of his wings to materialize for a moment to give her a wing-hug. “Things will be better once you get to Earth magic training with Applejack and Pinkie, I assure you.”

For some reason, she wasn’t reassured by his near-silent, devilish chuckling.

“We could help!” Three Ditto’s appeared, a can of helium and a hose in their hands. “We’re good at lightening things.”

“I wouldn’t trust them,” Kat uttered with a deadpan. “I don’t think the hose goes where it’s supposed to.”

“No need to do anything.” Typhon silently agreed with her. “I can levitate things very well on my own, and I have these.”

Typhon waved a hoof into the air, making a green card appear. Sticking his hoof into it, he pulled out Cooperation.

“I just remembered how bad it is to try to use this thing with hooves.” Typhon said as the rosy white/deep blue scissors began to levitate, apparently on their own. “That’s the neat part of having something with wings, though.”

“Ooh,” Alicorn Twil..let’s just go with Twi for short, said in awe of the weapons. “They look like they belong to the other princesses. Very pretty.”

“Girls and pretty things,” Ditto said with a shrug.

“Hey!” all three girls shouted at him, but Twi took it a step further by dropping a very large wrench on his head out of nowhere. With nuts and bolts spinning around him, Ditto dropped to the ground with the wrench in his hands.

“Where’s the leak, ma’ams?” he said deliriously.

“Nice reflexes.” Typhon said, resting the weapon on his shoulder. “Keep that up, and you’ll be fine - just remember to hit the bad guy in the middle of his monologue if it seems too long-winded.”

“But you even chat with them!” Twilight replied.

“Well, not…exactly - I lured a Nightmare to a position advantageous to me, then squeezed the information I wanted, then turned it into a pooka while it was busy trying to get me to sell my autonomy.” He gave her a predatorial smile. “I make my enemies come to me, Twilight; I can dictate the terrain, and work my magic as I wish that way.”

“You really are something special,” Twi said as she finally got down from the table. She looked towards the restaurant with a deadpan. “Hey! How long are you gonna hide in there? The bit’s already over!”

“As long as I want to!” came a whiny reply.

“Don’t you make me come in there, buster!” Twi warned.

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Try me, Discord!”

“Oh alright, fine!” With a white flash, the unicorn Discord was standing in front of them. “Momma Twilight, always ruining my fun.”

Twilight’s hair stood on end for a moment, but a quick glance towards the others - particularly the combat-capable, people-reader Typhon - made her infer that this discord was an alternate self that wasn’t looking for trouble.

Not that she knew what they could have done in this situation, but she was sure he wouldn’t have allowed it to get too out of hoof.

“Erm… hi?” She squeaked.

“Hello, Discord.” Typhon said with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. “Please be on the better part of your behavior; Twilight isn’t the only one that disapproves of the…rowdier half of your fun.”

“Oh, but my Twilight loves my rambunctious side!” Discord grabbed Twi’s hoof and did a short tango with her, a rose in his mouth as he dipped her. “Don’t you my darling?”

Twi just deadpanned again. “It was one date, Discord… and it was awful.”

“Details, details,” he said, dropping the princess to the ground. “Well, if you need me, just call! I’m gonna go bug this world’s Tia and Lulu! Ciao!” In a flash, he was gone.

“Why do I surround myself with weirdos?” Twi asked aloud. “I mean, is it so much to ask just to have some normal friends for once? Or at least someone who makes good impressions on my kids?”

“Ki-” Twilight began before a fuse blew out in her mind.

“Discord should learn to pick his fights better.” Typhon mumbled. “He of all people should know that to assume consistency in alternates is an exercise in futility.”

He shook his head.

“Besides, what would you consider a good impression?” Typhon asked the non-catatonic Twi. “Your alternate selves... do display a little bit of a tendency to be judgemental when it comes to small children, making it difficult to gauge your response to - say, asking them if they want to see something ‘cool’. No consistency, I tell you.”

Twilight shook herself out of her stupor, deciding to inhale deeply as she had under the waterfall.

“What kids? Are they eating healthy? Is-?” She got her mouth invaded by the sandwich she had ordered, and glared at Typhon as she munched at it angrily.

“Oh… that’s right, other Twilight’s don’t see them as I do. Well, there’s my son, Spike who you hopefully have here. And the other is my daughter, Nyx, who is Nightmare Moon reborn… it’s a long story.”

Twilight stopped trying to set Typhon on fire with her mind (because his ring was absorbing it all, anyways) and slowly turned to her counterpart.

“I think she’s about to have another attack.” Typhon sighed. “Spike is more of a little brother - the age difference is a little…sheesh…”

Twilight nodded with a small grimace.

“Still, I hope you learned your lesson: Princess or not, she’s still a pony, and she has the capacity for stupidity as much as any of us.” Typhon nodded sagely, while Twilight slumped tiredly, but nodded weakly. “Say, you look like a princess - if Celestia ever tries to hide her magic from a creature with sensing capabilities by stuffing it inside of you and telling you to go home, tell her to get bent--”

“To be fair!” Twi interjected. “Celestia and I had a long talk after that.”

“You are a smart mare, Twilight; you, too, are a princess, meaning that - experience or not - your opinion should matter, and thus you have to use your brain more often.” Typhon said in a genteel tone. “Far, far too many of you allow your brains to turn into mush in the presence of Celestia.”

Twilight - having noisily gulped down the enormous bite she had been forced to take - coughed roughly.

“Excuse me, but I-... It wasn’t that... I- Fine!” She threw her forelegs up into the air, exasperated. “Still, now I feel like…”

“Like it’s the closest you two have ever been since you were little?” He asked, and lifted a hoof to forestall the reply. “Celestia told me the same once. She also told me that, should you have something to say, to just do so; she wouldn’t feel like a good teacher if her student had the solution to one of her problems and kept quiet like that.”

“She told you about the scheduling disaster, didn’t she?” Twilight hid herself behind her hooves and shrunk down. “I was still in ‘she must have a reason for everything’ mode.”

“Well, not that she didn’t, but there were better ways -  trust me, I’m the resident Displaced; I know her very well.” He buffed a hoof on his chest as the scissors twirled in the air. “I was one of the very, very few who had the heart to tell her off - or the head to do so. She can still surprise me, though.”

“She surprised me well enough,” Twi grumbled.

Kat tsked at her. “Now, Twilight, you said you’d try to get over your racism.”

“I’m working on it!” Twi snapped.

“Ah, right.” Typhon’s tone became flat, and his face expressionless. “Do remember, however, that two of my very best friends are queens, and one of them helped me save Kat’s life, and that in the event changelings do disappear completely... well, let’s just say that there have been numerous events that can make you wish to have them back.”

“I’m not even going to ask.” Twilight sighed, then grumbled herself. “Bad enough that my alternate selves forget what it means to be Magic”

“Magic?” Twi asked. “Oh, you mean my Element? Wow, it’s been so long I’d practically forgotten about those things. We haven’t had those in over a year, not since we had to get rid of them.”

Twilight’s face met the table, not unlike Kat’s had done.

“So you mean to say that you equated being an Element of Harmony with having the jewel?” Twilight threw herself backwards and barely managed to suppress her desire to shout. “You forgot!”

She failed to suppress that one.

“You forgot... Wow, you forgot literally the first friendship lesson I ever learned.” She was starting to sound pretty agitated, but one glance at Typhon - holding a glass of water - made her try harder to calm down. “Being an Element of Harmony is more than having the jewel to- to parade around like it’s some sort of trophy - I know the workings of some worlds, I know about the Tree. Still, being chosen is something more... more... I can’t even begin to explain!”

She let out an explosive sigh, and turned to Typhon.

“Now I know what you meant when you said princessdom made me disappointing.” She sounded defeated, but Typhon promptly held her in a side hug. “How could a me forget something that important? That special and wonderful?”

“Now, now. Not all ponies can remember that there’s more to the Elements than the crystals - do you remember when I said that ponies can forget that everypony has an element, whenever or not they were chosen to Bear it?” Typhon rubbed her shoulders soothingly. “You are the Bearer of Magic because you are special, not the other way around - as long as you remember that, you’ll always come out on top no matter how many other Twilights you meet.”

"Hey!" Twi shouted with indignation. "I am NOT disappointing! I'm just a little hard headed. I do whatever it takes to keep my friends and family safe. It's even nearly cost me my life a few times. I don't wear this necklace for decoration ya know."

Ditto was standing to the side, munching away on popcorn. "I love dinner and a show."

“I can see it in the flows of life about and within, Twilight.” Typhon said. “But you still have much to learn - or relearn in this case - if you think that, just because the focal gem rests within the Tree again, you are no longer the Element of Magic. If the Elements cannot be destroyed by breaking the jewels because the holders of their spirits yet live, what makes you think the Elements are beyond your reach now?”

“I could have answered that one... well, now, at least.” Twilight said, still remembering what happened with-

“Discord is a different case - he’s just that strong, and you that inexperienced.” Typhon once more overtook her train of thought and went straight for the issue that bothered her. “But don’t worry, soon enough you’ll be like Carrot Top - casting spells without her staff.”

"Earth ponies can cast spells here? Wow, I'd love to study that sometime. Ooh, maybe Nyx and I can make it into a mother-daughter project! So many possibilities."

Typhon rolled his eyes - typical of Twilight, really. Few were the alternates that didn’t take interest in the academic.

"Besides, we don't need the Elements anymore. We have something better."

“Twilight, take a second to turn on your brain, please; you are embarrassing yourself.” Typhon planted a hoof to his face even as he took a basic book on magic out of his inventory. “That power is still based on Harmony and the Elements thereof, only in a different form of use. You got it from the Tree of Harmony after obtaining all of the keys that appeared after a great expression of each of the Elements.”

He nonetheless passed over the book on ‘Pony’ magic, and a small book on wand-making. The proper, high-end foci were expensive and difficult to make, and so were books on them, but Twilight was Twilight - she’d find the way after getting all the facts.

Twi took the books, but not without sticking her tongue out at him. "My brain is on, but I prefer to have some fun when I'm not studying. It doesn't do any good to be a stick in the mud all day. Ask Ben if you must."

"She's a troll," Ditto confirmed with a nod.

“Typhon, have I ever been a stick-in-the-mud?” Twilight turned to him with watery eyes, making him almost flinch.

"Don't do it, it's a trap," Kat whispered. 

“I can’t lie to that face!” He whispered back. “Not really - maybe overly-adhering to established procedure, but you can improvise well enough - marvelously so, actually. Just... I think Celestia herself has told you that protocol isn’t perfect and not all answers come in books.”

Twilight’s eye twitched once, but she relaxed.

"Now," Twi continued, "When I need to, I'll definitely be who I need to be and do what needs to be done. And I know my friends will always be there for me and I'll be there for them. The magic of friendship is still alive in us all, and soon we will be spreading it to the rest of Equestria."

Ditto stood up clapping and cheering as a crowd, some weeping openly. "So beautiful!"

Kat and Twi rolled their eyes.

“Well, at least the core is good.” Typhon said more to himself than in reply. “Just don’t forget yourself again, alright?”

Twilight, hunger sated and wanting to know more about her counterpart and the new Displaced, suggested they head to the library.

She just hoped that Discord wouldn’t be causing much trouble.


*****
(Meanwhile)


“You are delaying the Royal Court!” An aged unicorn with an enormous mustache blasted some more of the mass of cheese and chocolate fondue that threatened to spill past the valiant line of defense formed by the maids and janitors.

Discord himself, though, was learning that the local variants of the princesses had been... occupied by the local Discord’s tricks for far longer than his reign alone, and thus found himself having to resort to take off his ears in order to avoid hearing more from the lacteus magical constructs that were reciting the local tax code, the labor laws, and the nuances of post-stamp collection.

"And you're no fun. Go play with fondue piranhas." He so wished he could say that aloud. "Why me?"


*****
(At the library)


Typhon allowed his wings to stretch to the point they popped. The girls knew, but he still didn’t feel like explaining it to all - after all, who wanted an Awakening powered by their own deaths? Really depressing, in normal conversation, and they would still need something more; Tellurians didn’t have dream-selves, after all, and merely trying to explain the concept of having two bodies was weird enough. Having to explain that one of them was made of dreams?

“So! Since there hasn’t been any screaming... correction, panicked screaming, I assume that this is a more social visit?” Typhon asked as he adjusted his hoodie - not that it needed much, as it simply floated in the air like Celestia’s hair.

"Oh yeah," Ben nodded, back in his pegasus form. "See today, at least in our world, is my birthday!"

Kat blinked. "It's December there now?" Ben nodded. "Oh, sorry I didn't send a card."

"Nah, this is my present! To see my little sister!"

"I am not your little sister! I'm your big sister!"

"But I'm older."

"Putain you!"

“Time spent as an unconscious statue doesn’t count, so you know.” Typhon pipped in, holding back Kat from mauling her little brother. “And, much to my dismay, neither does ‘time’ that was ‘spent’ in the Void, so please subtract the adequate amount of years and state it out-loud, to settle this once and for all.”

"Around three hundred," Kat said, scratching her head in thought. 

"Around twelve hundredish," Ben said, wiggling his hoof a little. 

“Now I feel icky.” Typhon said. “Nearly the fifteen hundred... I feel like the old guy dating the girl half his age.”

He shuddered.

"Wait.... What do you mean dating?" Ben asked with a cold glare. 

Kat whispered to Typhon, "Um, I might not have told him about us before I left, hon."

“Well, there are worse ways to find out, that’s for sure.” He shrugged off his glare. “I mean, really, really worse.”

Twi grumbled her agreement.

“Still, you should be happy for your sister!” Typhon nudged Ben’s shoulder. “She’s got a boyfriend that cooks, sews, brews tea, can fight, and even shapeshift and duplicate!”

Ben's glare didn't lessen. "I'd feel better if she was dating an actual pony."

Again, Kat whispered. "Also, Ben's a misanthrope."

“No kidding; he can’t hide it as well as he pretends to.” Typhon whispered back. “Meh! What can you do? I doubt showing him anything, even those Conversion Bureau videos with ‘mighty Solar Empress Sunbutt’ and everything, could make him change his stand, so I simply don’t care much about his opinion - concerning humans, anyways.”

He sighed deeply, noting Kat's smile as the two talked. "As long as you keep her happy, though, that's all that matters. I don't want to lose my sister again, so you'd better keep her safe."

“But of course! Anything that wants to hurt her needs to go over me first. “He floated lazily as if on an invisible hammock.

Twilight, for her part, gulped down the vile at the words ‘Conversion Bureau’. Shaking her head, he cleared her throat before addressing the otherworlders.

“Please, Equestria was founded on the principles of equality among the tribes, which then expanded to everyone, pony or not.” She recited. “Please refrain from attacking others, if at all possible.”

“Hoo... I remember the time your alternate became part of the PHL.” Typhon grimaced. “It was the final straw, though.”

“Excuse me for a minute.” Twilight simply became green and wobbled over to the kitchen.

"My other seems to have a weak stomach for strangeness. I've gotten used to it over the years, especially with all those living in my castle."

“It’s not so much ‘strangeness’ as it is... well, if... less ‘strangeness’ and more ‘Oh-my-God-how-could-they’; the words ‘Conversion Bureau’ have become near-synonymous with misanthropy and hypocrisy - around ninety-something percent of the time, the ponies decide that humanity is ‘unclean’, or ‘unworthy’, or some other ‘un-’ words and decide to literally scour them off the face of existence with a potion that clamps down souls in chains and turns them into obedient, ‘perfect’ little ponies ready to join the ‘perfect’ ponies that converted them in the first place... the other percentage consists mostly of an inevitability, as the dimensional barrier kills-slash-destroys everything not Equestria-formed, and the tiniest percentage of them all is where both worlds actually live in harmony and you have the choice to convert - but those are called things like ‘Project: Harmony’ or the like.” Typhon said. “Needless to say, This Twilight is- she’s too nice for that kind of worlds; she gave a touching eulogy for a bird she found as a filly, just because everyone deserves to be thought of fondly.”

"Wow, even I don't hate them that much. Then again, I don't kill, so I'm already against it. I'm what is known as a borderline pacifist," Ben explained. 

“Tell me about it.” Typhon groaned. “I like a good spar, and roughhousing is fun and all, but hurting people? Bleck! I just hate that. Doesn’t stop me from hunting dangerous monsters or mindless undead, though.”

Ben smirked. "Heh, maybe I might like you after a--" Ben's sentence was cut short as he gasped out in pain, clutching his head. 

"Oh no," Twi whispered, moving away from her friend. 

There was something more than the readily-apparent.

Something was pushing against Ben - Typhon could hear it.

Something capable of thought, of... of feeling. It cried out for its freedom.

Typhon didn’t know what to do - there was no malice in the air, but Ben was down on the floor, clutching his head in pain.

He floated about, various possibilities floating about in his mind in turn. Twilight came back from the kitchen during the commotion, just as a green light engulfed Ben.

“Humungousaur!” The creature bellowed. Twilight stood agape at the immense alien who...coughed politely? "Oh oh dear," he said in raspy voice. "Does anypony have a lozenge per chance?"

"Oh," Twi said, magicking up a pill and a glass of water. "Here Hum."

"Ah, thank you your highness," the creature said as he downed the pill and water. "Ah much better."

“Interesting.” Typhon muttered from his place in the air. “You are entirely different from Ben, are you not?”

"That I am," Hum nodded in his deep British voice. "Now where did I...?"

"Third pocket from the top,"

"Thank you again, your highness." Him pulled out a pair of very tiny glass and affixed them delicately on his massive nose. "Much better. Can't see a thing without my glasses."

“The only indication that I still need my glasses - or, indeed, that my eyes work at all - is that my non-pegasus duplicates get to see the world as blurs for the first few hours.” Typhon adjusted his own glasses. “I’ve gotten so used to using my other abilities to sense the world and its colors, that I’m surprised I’m not blind.”

"Could you repeat that last bit?" Hum asked, both he and Twi were writing in their respective books. "I didn't quite catch it."

“Sure.” He happily agreed. “I have a host of sensorial abilities - the majority being through wind, air, and ‘Ki’, but including water, heat, and vitality - that have supplied me with information of the outside world; the use of which has become more than instinctual, and only a few events remind me that my eyes were not damaged during… I don’t know, an ancient-magic spell or an accident that I forgot to heal from.”

"Very intriguing," he and Twi both muttered. 

"Oh mon dieu," Kat sighed. "They're in sync."

“You think that’s bad?” Typhon chuckled. “Try teaching a duplication technique to Clover - Clover was so interested, so absorbed into the idea, that Clover split off right in half and always left a colt-clone and a mare-clone… it doesn’t help that Clover was really androgynous, or that Clover’s psyche got a teeny tiny itsy-bit knocked off-kilter by the whole ‘Fire of Friendship’ thing, either.”

He coughed.

“Well, Clover wasn’t above pranks, and even before meeting me Celestia thought Clover was ‘that polite, mild-mannered colt that studies magic’ while Luna thought Clover was ‘that determined, diligent filly that put up with Starswirl’s oddities’.” Typhon scratched his head. “I don’t think they ever noticed whenever Clover switched, what with that ever-present cloak.”

"You have strange historical figures," Twi commented. 

“Look, historical or not, they were still ponies; you’d do good to remember that more often.” Typhon shrugged. “I just happened to stumble onto the bits that enabled the stranger bits to surface more often. Or all the time, with Clover. Still, give the poor pony a break! Clover was ready to sacrifice life and self to save two near-strangers, and in the process saved the continent; Clover’s sense of self-importance was always nigh-inexistent.”

"Huh, intriguing. Not much is known about Clover the Clever personally. Only her works."

“If it were not for the others and me, that could have very well been the case in this world - Clover would - and did - gladly put life and self on the line to save another.” Typhon sighed. “I still didn’t let certain things be known, though; the carols? See, many speak of finding the warmth and sharing it, or unity... The happy tone and cheery beats belie the intent; slow them down, some of them really slow, like… half-tempo…and you can see it more clearly - they are dirges. Laments as Clover was half-awake and falling into a sopor from such an extreme expulsion of energy, and Cookie and Pansy were trying to... in part ease Clover away, in part keeping Clover from sleeping that last sleep.”

Twilight went over some of the carols - easy with her memory - and slowing them down. They were less about being together in adversity and more about thanking those that were there. Taking away the bells and the fast paces made them memorials.

“You can tell which ones were written as Clover regained strength - they are the ones that speak of ‘breathing spring into the coldest winter’ and similar themes, or, as you might have guessed by now, Twilight, putting a soul back together using sheer gratitude.” Typhon said, precisely as Twilight had moved from the songs encouraging wakefulness to the ones celebrating it.

Twilight remembered when Typhon(‘s duplicate) had compared her to Clover. Was she really like that? Would she have done what Clover did?

“You would.” Typhon said, startling her out of her self-reflection. “You really would.”

"Quite interesting," Hum acknowledged. "You are very wise and knowledgeable."

“My powers are based on the abstract and the metaphorical.” Typhon said in way of reply. “I can listen to unspoken words and unvoiced concerns; I had illusions forcibly torn away from me when the Veil of Reality thinned in answer to a question I had. What else can I do, but to ensure that the people I care about know how special they are?”

"Very wise words indeed. You humble me, good sir. Even as a voice, I have yet to hear such words as those you speak."

“Oh, you flatter me.” Typhon chuckled. “When someone has an advantage, it is only natural to discover its uses and limitations. Granted, that question I asked had the possibility of turning horribly wrong, so I do not recommend asking anything of the Void - the only one I can picture getting away with that is a native Celestialsapien.”

“Is that what I think you are implying it is?” Twilight asked, writing something down herself.

“Pretty much.” He nodded. “Living, conscious dimensional distortions-slash-corrections. Like the Breeze, but even less limited.”

“I would love to pick your brain sometime,” Hum said thoughtfully. “It would be a jolly good time.”

“If you dream when you are not active, then it might very well be a possibility.” Typhon replied. “I would like to speak with you some more as well.”

“Oh Ben would never allow that. It’s more like… suspended animation. We are only truly active when Ben himself dreams and wishes to speak with us. Rarely happens but there have been times when he wishes to yell at us. A lot of times he and Anger get into shouting fights.”

“That is more than close enough.” Typhon shrugged. “So long as you can, you know, actually be. Just... wait, I remembered something; Ectonourite samples have their consciousness linked to their DNA - is yours going to be a problem? Because they can get into the dreams of people, and I’d rather not have to spend any effort on that.”

Hum growled slightly. “You’re too late. Fear was the ectonourite sample, and he now roams Equestria, searching for a new host. He has been an evil thorn in our side since the beginning. He was freed by the Elements of Harmony and has done much damage since then. He created King Sombra as well as Nightmare Moon and is responsible for more than half of the problems that happened while we were encased in stone.”

“Sheesh. It’s always the Omnitrix sample, isn’t it? It can’t just be an overdramatic mansion-haunter, or even a simple felon - no, they must go for maximum cruelty, don’t they?” He grumbled and shook his head. “Things like that are what gives ghosts a bad name.”

“Well, tis more the fault of the dear boy. We only exist because his psyche is fractured,” Hum clarified.

“And he keeps rejecting you and generally making things worse, because Heaven forbid someone figure it out that quickly.” Typhon groaned as he let his head fall back. “There’s a time and place for everything, and - unless he got possessed or something and you all forgot - acceptance can heal a lot of ills.”

“Didn’t the princess say that you faceted you own mind on purpose?” Twilight interjected.

“To be fair, those are things I recognize in myself, and I work with them or - in case I’m not happy with said aspect of myself - work to better it. Rejecting it outright would likely make me go the way of Freakazoid, while fracturing my psyche and likely playing hell with Reality.” Typhon conjured a fresh pot of tea, seemingly out of thin air. “Would someone like?”

Hum and Twi both chuckled a little. “You obviously haven’t talked with Benjamin much. The lad is too stubborn to ever accept the creatures that turned him into a lab experiment. We have little care for him as well, in all honesty.”

“And that is why he has so much trouble with you - and you with him in turn.” Typhon shrugged as he served the cups. “He sees you as guilty, he pushes you away, it all spirals down and people end up getting killed. Yeah, sometimes the only option is expulsion, as I’m guessing happened to ‘Fear’, but even in those cases, you have to deal with them in the proper fashion. Fear came from Ben, even if he was split off into his own being; only by beating Fear in a manner appropriate to dealing with fear will end the menace, so no ‘seal it in stone with magic’ cop-outs or ‘use Alien X and wave away all of my problems’ - you’ll just make it worse, believe me.”

He tapped his chin in contemplation as he passed along tea and spoons made of honey.

“Unless confronting him turns him to stone, or he turns to stone at the end, I guess. It happens, seldomly, but it does; toss him into the sun in that case.”

“Well, the boy is dead set on actually destroying Fear.” Hum then growled slightly. “We all are, really. That monster has been a thorn in all our sides for far too long. He’s a wicked creature, he is. But now, if you will excuse me, my time is just about up for now.” Indeed, the Omnitrix on his belt was beginning to flash red. “It has been a very good to meet you, sir. I hope we may talk again sometime.”

“Same here; just remember what they say about those who hunt monsters.” Typhon managed to say just as the light engulfed Hum, leaving Ben behind. “In the immortal words of the beloved American actor and visionary, Bugs Bunny, ‘What’s up, doc?’”

“Ugh, I hate when that happens,” the pegasus moaned as he rubbed his head. Twi teleported in an ice pack, setting it down on his head. “Thanks, Twi. Can always count on you.”

“Anything for a friend, Ben. At least it was a lesser Voice this time around. Celestia knows what would have happened if one like Laughter, or Hades forbid, Anger got loose.”

“Who are those two?” Kat asked, still trying to comprehend her brother’s multiple personality disorder.

“Goop and Rath respectively. Oh gods, if Rath got loose…” A shudder ran down his spine. “There isn’t a force known that can stop that monster. And don’t try countering me on that, I’ve seen his work.”

“I’ve seen ‘The Hulk’ and it’s derivatives, thank you.” Typhon said, nodding. “The best one can do is just keep them in the air and-slash-or toss them into the ocean - it’s harder to break the water, although I personally took that as a challenge.”

He hummed.

“Goop... there are ways - I’ve seen Goop, and he has more weaknesses than Rath.”

“Goop’s crazier than the Joker and…” he looked dead serious at Typhon and Kat. “If I ever turn into Rath around you, do not fight him. No matter what, you have to get everyone as far away as possible. Every time he gets out, he only grows stronger and stronger, destroying everything in his path. His only purpose is destruction of everyone and everything.”

“What do you take me for?” Typhon asked, although there was no harshness to his words. “I know this sort of things; if something like that happens, there are measures, ways to get time. Besides, it’s not like he’s the strongest possible threat - no, Ben, I’m serious, there are worse things, and I know you know it and I also know you are worried because Rath appears where you once stood. Still, if there were more people of my… particular empowered disposition, it would be easier to keep him contained for the fifteen minutes.”

He mumbled something that could have been ‘another reason I shoulda picked Space’.

Ben actually chuckled. “If you have any sense, you would run from him. But, you should thank whatever deities that watch over this world that I probably will never visit again. I don’t like straying too far from my world.”

“Dude! I’m immune to physical damage!”

“That’s exactly what a few others have said in the past,” Ben laughed with no tone of humor in it. “I’ll take your word on it, but you should head mine as well. But enough with the contesting, I came here to be with my sister for the day, and that’s what I’m gonna do.”

“I didn’t live this long ignoring warnings.” Typhon muttered to himself as he simply passed some cookies he had stored. “Meh, to each their own, I guess.”

“Well, to be honest, Ben, there isn’t really much we could do around here,” Kat said while munching on a cookie she stole. “It’s just like any other Ponyville.”

“Ah, but there is one thing!” Ben shouted with his hoof high in the air. “I brought Discord along for a reason; and not to just to shut up his whining. When that goofy maniac is around, there is no such thing as a boring day.”

“I thought we were talking about Discord,” Twi snarked.

Ben deadpanned. “Oh ha ha, very funny.” The alicorn just giggled to herself.

“Just... One little, very little - almost insignificant, really - detail.” Typhon chuckled nervously. “Did the Plunder-seed thing happen in your universe? Because that’s a common one - anyways, this Discord left a lot of things like that, and the princesses are... not of the ‘sits on the throne all day doing nothing’ variety, even in times of relative peace. They are smart, sharp, and I might or might not have been playing pranks on them as well.”

“Oh!” Twilight pipped in, almost clapping happily. “Princess Celestia once showed me one of her own training session! She was great!”

Twi pointed at Ben. “He is Celestia and Luna’s old training sessions. I’ve been taking some pointers off mister diplomat here for the past year.”

“They certainly were an interesting pair, way back when,” Ben mused. “Anyways, it’s not like Disc is gonna cause any harm. He’s just out for a good time and doesn’t want to step on any hooves. He’s actually a nice guy to be around now that we’re not constantly fighting it out to get rid of one another.”

“I know; I just meant to say that…well, they might - just might - pay him back in spades.” Typhon tapped his hooves on one another. “And, for my part, I was, too, considered ‘training’. This ring on my horn? Isn’t decoration; it’s part of a set of four.”

“There are other three?!” Twilight shrieked, alarmed.

“Yup. Together, they are the Japanese equivalent of the Ee-oh-Aitch.” He nodded, and his ring blinked twice. “Well, not just Japanese, but really, I can’t list every individual country that has you.”

He cleared his throat.

“Anyways, since I am in alignment with them, I can use their magic to keep myself human… and pretty much ignore ninety percent of all non-mental spells the sisters know, and my own mind is something you do not want to attack, seriously - all warnings you gave me? Those apply to this.” He tapped the side of his head. “And I’m not the only one guarding it, either.”

Kat just shook her head, too used to her coltfriend’s overly talkative tendencies. Then she thought of something. “Hey Ben?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you have an alien that can manipulate time?”

“Time? Well, Clockwork can. Why?”

“Sweet! Come with me!” She grabbed her brother by the hoof and dragged him out of the treebrary. “We got some training to do!”

“Why do I fear for my life?” Ben asked dumbly as he was dragged away.

Twi sighed, shaking her head for a smile. “I’m sorry about him,” she said with a tired sigh. “Ben can be a little… pushy about the Voices.”

“I’m aware.” Typhon shook his head slightly. “I felt the anger, fear, and even some hate... maybe dulled with age, but it’s there.”

Twi nodded sadly. “He’s traumatized by them, from what we’ve gathered. I’ve read some of the ancient reports about Rath and the others. They’ve taken the lives of thousands, no doubt destroying a lot of Ben’s psyche in the process. Recently, Power got loose in another world and killed five thousand people in less than fifteen minutes… and Ben just shrugged it off.”

“The fractures are more like chasms, then.” Typhon said as Twilight trembled; he took her beneath his wing to help her calm down. “He’s distancing himself from them, but that…that could very well break him; they were made from him, and thus they need to be dealt with - if not by him, then by someone he would trust with his life.”

“I wish we knew how,” Twi said, wiping away a tear. “I can see it in his eyes every time he reverts; the fear, the anger, all of it. Ben just tries to keep moving forward, never worrying about the past or his future… if he believes he has one that is. We all want to help him, but he’s just so darn stubborn and thick headed!” She lets out an exasperated sigh. “He always wants to handle things on his own, no matter how hard we try to help. He’s just too used to being alone.”

“Determination and integrity are great, but being stubborn?” Typhon shook his head again. “I’ve seen what that does to good people - it has gotten them to lie to themselves, often with fatal results.”

Twilight gasped, and she was sure that the thought that just ran through her head had coursed through her alternate’s as well.

“If Hum is any indication, Ben’s smart - he has the potential to be scary smart... but as long as he remains that stubborn, his intelligence is meaningless.” He hummed, thoughts bouncing around on his head. “If- no. It’ll take work, but you could try nudging him along, instead of trying to outright-break-through. If you don’t have that much time, though, you might need actual manipulation. I am guilty of having to push a few buttons and step on some toes to advert self-destructive behavior, actually.”

“I wouldn’t say he’s self-destructive, just not self-constructive. Ben is more lazy than anything else. Just lounging around unless I make him do something. And he’s more stubborn than anything I’ve ever met. He wouldn’t even believe me about Nightmare Moon until actually meeting Luna again. Despite the storybook, Nightmare Night, Nyx, ugh! I tried many things, until I just gave up. Ben can be a pain sometimes, at least he’s kept in line most of the time.”

“Do you have a water bottle?” Typhon asked, making Twilight look at him quizzically - she was already expecting the weirdness. “Spray him. It works even better when he’s not human.”

“Tried that,” Twi nodded. “He broke the bottle over Rainbow’s head.”

“You didn’t use a projected bottle?” Twilight asked. “You should have seen that coming - if you had projected the bottle, instead of conjuring it or using a regular one, then he’d be splashed every time he tried to take it away from you.”

“We don’t want him angry, me,” Twi chided. “He gets angry very easily, and I would rather not have him mad at me. I’ve seen him mad… and I don’t want to again.”

Typhon slapped a hoof to his face.

“Another problem, then.” He sighed - he had been doing that a lot, lately. “What use is trying to help him if his anger is that scary? I can certainly be scary when I’m actually angry… but I never take it out on my friends. Hell, my brother is the same sort! I simply stopped doing stuff to anger him… then I realized that was the wrong way to go about it. He needs to learn to reign in that temper - non-negotiable - or else he… I dunno, he has to find room and board somewhere outside of your castle. YOUR castle, YOUR rules.”

”That would mean kicking out two other ponies, too,” Twi added. “Lyra and Scootaloo only live with us because of Ben.”

“A complication, then, but you still have to make your own Voice be heard. Not just the ones inside his head. He needs to remember that there are worlds outside of just him, and that there are things that are not tolerable.” Typhon huffed. “Did I get into more fights with my brother? Of course! Did he learn? You bet.”

“I’ll admit,” Twi sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time, “Ben can be irritating at time with his laziness, but when he works, he really works. Doesn’t stop the commentary, but he does very well at whatever we throw at him. He’s fairly decent and more often than not I’d take Ben over Discord any day. But, if you’re telling me to help him with how he deals with other Displaced, then you’re on your own with that. I’m not gonna tell him any differently.”

“When did we get to other Displaced?” Typhon’s confusion was genuine. “I was talking to you about not allowing yourself to fear Ben’s anger, and letting him know that his anger, justified or not, is no excuse - he needs to learn to tame that temper, or it will... well, I think you have studied Gryphon culture? They tend to be very human-like in behavior... and that includes the consequences. If he wants to treat other Displaced with the barely-disguised contempt he kept directing at me like I wasn’t going to notice, then that’s yet-another problem to be tackled at whatever time it’s appropriate - I just hope that it’s soon enough to avoid something nasty.”

He shrugged, and Twilight tried to hit him - but being pinned as she was, she couldn’t.

“How can you say that?”

“His words and anger are nothing to me - he tries so desperately to rid himself of what he dislikes that he’s damaging himself, and the opinion of me that comes from someone like that is meaningless.” He tapped her nose. “He is, eventually, going to run into someone that cannot rid themselves of such empty words with the same ease as I, and it will bring consequences... I just hope that they remain personal instead of dragging down innocent people with him - I’ve seen it happen, and I’ll see it again many more times.”

“To be fair, he’s not alone in his thinking on Displaced,” Twi added with a sour look. “They aren’t exactly looked upon kindly where we come from. Sure, I’m eager to learn about them, but I don’t want them around any more than Ben does. We have our defences as well, but I’ll leave that alone. As for Ben’s anger… I’d like to think he’d never use it against us, but… I just don’t know.” Twi hung her head. “There’s just something different about him when he gets so angry. Something… dark. I don’t know what it is, but somehow, he always calms down before he hurts any of us. The only time where it got out of control, the special Voice took control.”

“That’s what I’m talking about: Being friends is never being afraid of each other.” Typhon harumphed. “When Moonshadow wielded light enough to fuse sand into glass, or darkness enough to tear apart nearly any spell, I didn’t fear him. When Clover wove a storm of flying metal, I didn’t fear. When I tore down my own boundaries and made the sky weep black rain, my own daughter did not fear me.”

He released Twilight and floated to a nearby window.

“As for the Displaced themselves... you cannot lump them all under one single category and be done with that--

“Don’t even start,” Twi held up a hoof. “Heard it before, refusing it now. We’re sticking --”

“And that, princess of Friendship, is the point that I’m making. I’ll jump straight past the ‘not all of them are bad’ spiel and land to my point: Keep your mind open; preconceived notions are the locks on the door to wisdom. The purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows. You cannot judge them as a group - you, less than any other pony, or Gryphon, or human!” Typhon glared at Twi, unfazed by the glare he got back. “If you are going to keep the title, you are going to have to deal with the responsibilities you took… and the circumstances that awarded you the title.”

Twi actually snarled a bit. “Listen mister, I don’t know where you come off telling me how to live my life, but I think you should learn to be a bit more like us. A little isolationism goes a long way. Just because I am the princess of friendship, does NOT mean I need to be friends with everypony I meet. Would that be nice? Yes, yes it would. Is it going to happen? No way in Tartarus! We’ll keep to our world just as we always have. Will we be outright cruel to any who come our way? No, but that doesn’t mean we have to like having them. Don’t try to push your ideals on others just because you think it’s right. I don’t care what kind of powers you have, just back OFF!”

“Fine.” He replied, far too neutrally for Twilight’s comfort. “I’m not trying to push my beliefs - like that - but I just want to know you will be fair. Making friends with everyone is impossible, but it is very, very possible to make unnecessary enemies; that, dear Twilight, is the biggest problem among Displaced. On the pony side, even - it looks different, we are scared of what is different… we hate what is different. I’m a rather staunch advocate for freedom - in the words of a certain president: ‘Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace’. I do not think, however, that anyone has the right to make someone else’s life miserable. Stay isolated if you want; it is actually a good defense. Just try not to brand them as evil upon first sight, if you please.”

“Never said I would,” Twi huffed. “Doesn’t mean we have to like them. You may talk a lot, but sometimes that all it seems like: talk.” She stood up and made for the door. “I’m gonna go check on Ben, you’re welcome to come with, it’s your world after all.” She made her exit.

“That went better than I expected.” Typhon said as the alicorn Twilight made her way through the street - by now word had spread of a second Twilight, so she only got congratulated on her recent Awakening twice before she got out of view.

“She accused you of not knowing what you are talking about.” Twilight deadpanned.

“She could have done a lot of other things, Twilight.” He replied. “I have seen things. I speak from personal experiences. I have lived and traveled places where Time doesn’t have a meaning. I know, I’ve seen, and I’ve done. It can grate on people - that, too, I know… and yet? I still risk these talks.”

He laid down on the windowsill, looking tired and worn.

“But remember one of my powers - I have spoken, so my words will be remembered a little bit better, recalled a little bit easier, found again a little bit faster. Other than her thinking I was pushing a belief of Universal Friendship, did we differ that much in opinion?”

“In aggressivity, perhaps.”

“Then she will remind herself that she said that they won’t be hurtful, with a bit more ease than before. It might help, or might not even make a difference.” He closed his eyes, a small headache starting to set in. “I’m part of the winds and viceversa; we act, and people might like it, might not, or it might not make a difference in their lives.”

“You- it- people being rude and getting into a debate with an alternative version of one of your friends doesn’t faze you at all?” Twilight asked, slightly-incredulous.

“No, because you just called me your friend.” He managed a small, smug smile through his headache.

“Ugh!” Twilight tossed her forelegs into the air. “That’s not the point!”

“Of course it isn’t; still doesn’t make me feel any less glad.” He spoke softly. “We may have argued, and I might have angered her, but that doesn’t mean I wish her ill, nor will it stop me from wishing her the best of luck - she’s going to need it, with someone as complicated as Ben around.”

“Is that how you deal with stubborn ponies, then? Talk at them a lot and hope they remember your words?” Twilight asked, making him scrunch his face as he pulled himself back from his almost-sleep.

“When they are so unlikely to be seen again? Then yes.” He replied, as if groggy. “To be frank, I wouldn’t like Ben to be around that much, and your alternate is a little more like him than she realizes... they are difficult, and Ben- well, you heard me; intelligence so restrained by stubbornness is limited, and his Voices, and with the Omnitrix... no, I wouldn’t like him around, but Kat deserves to be happy, and to have her brother - even if she didn’t have him around back when she was simply ‘Allison’, even if he has changed so much. I’m not going to get between that, no matter how much I’d like it if Ben stayed in his own world.”

His ear twitched, and he just opened the window, letting a song come inside.

“She deserves to be happy, Twilight.” Typhon whispered, watery eyes staying closed just a tad longer each time. “I cannot gather the will to even tell her how... how dangerous it could be.”

“Dangerous?” She parroted, quietly, though, in respect.

“For her own recovery.” He breathed out. “They both are more vulnerable than they let on - you have seen Kat, and Ben’s Twilight admitted so for him. The make each other so happy… yet they can hurt each other so very, very much…”

Twilight simply looked at him in silence, watching as he slept uneasily on her windowsill. Whatever he had done inside his own head, it had cost him.

“I wonder how is it that he hasn’t caught his death from worry yet.” She whispered as she shook her head, simply leaving him behind to keep an eye on the other arrivals.

As Twilight walked outside, she found them leaning against her home, still in conversation. “...so they’re actually real?” Kat asked, oblivious to Twilight’s approach.

“Yep. Each of the gods are alive and well in Equestria. And, honestly, they just make my life more work than I need. Especially lately, what with Voice running amok,” Ben replied with a none-too-happy grunt.

“Oh, so that’s where you disappear to,” Twi said with dawning comprehension. “Kept wondering why I kept seeing golden flashes in my castle.”

“Yep,” Ben nodded. “I’m their crummy errand boy, that’s all. Only human in the world, automatically the only hero of the gods. It sucks.”

“Hmm…” Twilight began to think about the situation. “Do they repay you? I mean, if there is no such thing as a ‘free lunch’, then the opposite also applies - no free work. There is charity, but you sound like you’d rather not bother. What are the limits? What are the rules?”

A little thing she recalled. Ponies- err, people, yes, people sometimes lack imagination, and dig with spoons for centuries thinking that digging must be hard... so, she had to learn to step back, think, perhaps admit that she will never be able to out-spoon the dangerous individuals that decide to make digging easier by changing themselves, and just build herself a shovel.

“It is a bother,” Ben said with a sigh. “And my repayment is that they let me keep living. I’m still bound by the laws of the universe, so if Hades says I die, I die. I’m ageless, not deathless.”

“Yetch.” Twilight made a face. “That’s outside my area. Figuring loopholes and making everypony stand on the same level isn’t my thing.” Although deep inside, she added ‘yet’. “Still, I thought that even gods had rules... so they can just lord around their titles? Doesn’t sound very harmonious, or… Equestria-like.”

“Well, they don’t run Equestria,” Twi answered. “Equestria has no faith system. Such teachings were abolished thousands of years ago. They are more revered in the Griffin Kingdom and the Minotaur Tribes.”

“Their only rules apply to not being able to directly interfere with one another unless in a dire circumstance. Can’t steal from each other, either. The only thing they care about is making sure nothing exists to usurp their rule or that would cause untold damage to the planet. The last time that happened… well, you’ve already seen it, actually.”

“You mean ‘you’ as in your Twilight, or ‘you’ as in ‘this could have happened to you already’?” Twilight asked, then there was a flash of light, and Discord appeared in front of them.

“Nevermind, I think I got it.” She groaned.

“Bennyboyo!!” Discord cried as he clung to Ben tightly. “Save mehehehee~!! Tia and Lulu are so incredibly BORING here!!” He sobbed into the deadpan stallion’s shoulder. “It’s torturous!!”

“They turned your tricks back on you, I take it?” Twilight glared at Discord - it still wasn’t so long ago that she had tangled with the mad draconequus. She knew he could turn good - after all, life without friends or positive interactions was an incredibly dull prospect - but she still didn’t have much taste for his particular brand of ‘fun’.

“I thought they would like my fondue flood,” he replied, sounding completely honest. “I even brought surfboards for them to join me! And what did they do? Forced me to sit with some bore of a politician!! WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU PONIES?! It’s like you have no concept of fun!!”

“I think they would have appreciated it more if you waited for a spot in their schedule instead of just barging in.” Twilight kept her stare even. “I bet you tripped every last ward they had in case the native Discord escaped, too. Be glad boring you was their limit.”

Discord pouted at her with levels rivaling the CMC. “I just wanted to have fun with other princesses. Is that so wrong?”

“Considering how you used to be, Disc, the answer would be yes.”

“Quiet you,” Discord said back to a smirking Ben.

“You know, I think I remember Typhon saying that he’s got the attention of Karma and Justice since the beginning, more so now.” Twilight began, turning away but keeping a sideways glance on Discord. “It stands to reason that others, too, would be in their... interest. I heard that Karma is a lady of particularly-unpleasant disposition, and doesn’t care if you are a worm or a god, and always collects on a debt - I wonder, do you really want to accrue such a debt, Discord? I think your friends would have told you not to mess around in a world that isn’t yours...”

Discord looks at Twilight for a moment, then turns to look at Twi, just staring. He switches back and forth for about two minutes before looking fully at Twi. “Who put the stick up her plot?”

Twi shrugged in response.

“Hmph!” Twilight fumed. “And I even considered telling you! Well, I’m going to keep it to myself, then.”

The chaotic draconequus looked at Twilight with a face of intrigue. “Tell me what?”

“Oh no, mister; do you think I’d tell you after that?” Twilight pretended to scowl - it was very good, from all that practice around Typhon. “No way I’d help you to get away with... things.”

“Things? What things?” Discord slithered out of Ben’s hooves and wrapped slightly around Twilight. “Come on, you can tell old uncle Discord. I won’t tell anyone. I’ll be your best friend.”

Twilight could feel how the words flowed like treacle, although that could be just a side-effect of hearing Discord’s voice - that serpentine body of his was definitely a fitting appearance.

“Well, must everything you do be so... bombastic?” Twilight gave him her best conspiratory look. “Be more subtle; maybe not an outright prank, but change something that’s usually taken for granted. Leave ponies wondering.”

“Don’t sign every painting.” Typhon walked out of the library, squinting. “It works best on skeptics and stressed people. Also, I have to tell Celestia that the sunlight it too loud.”

“The princesses followed me here, btdubs,” Discord said nonchalantly. “I think they’re after me. But to your point… I don’t want subtle! That was my old job! I want everypony to know I’m there! Something to be looked upon in amazement!”

“Have you tried an amusement park?” Celestia spoke from behind Discord himself, causing him to turn his head back very, very slowly without actually moving the rest of his body. “I, and thus, likely her, are rather busy, but would gladly give you a plot of land if that meant not having to re-do two hours of paperwork.”

“Have you even spent two hours in your study this week, Celestia?” Typhon asked as pointedly as he could with the gongs ringing inside his head.

“That is besides the point.” She retorted, much more sharply than he had.

“Does everypony have a stick up their plot in this universe?” Discord commented. “Because if so, I never want to come back.”

“Reminds you too much of your original job?” Ben asked.

“...I don’t remember.” Discord took off his scalp and scratched his brain. “My past is still pretty blurry. Even when you tell me things, I can’t recall them from before I went cuckoo for cocoa puffs.”

“That’s right!” Twi spoke up with a hoof in the air. “You said Discord was a god once, didn’t you?” she asked Ben.

“Yep,” he nodded. “Ponies, meet Thanatos. God of the Dead.”

“Whelp, there goes my headache.” Typhon gritted his teeth as Twilight struggled with the concept and Celestia raised an eyebrow. “It’s a migraine now; I hope you are happy. Do- you know what? I’ll keep it to myself.”

“I can’t- you- how does a psychopomp turn into you.” Twilight’s voice broke a little. “I can’t-”

Celestia calmed her down brushing a wing over her.

“I admit to have some trouble connecting the two.” Celestia added. “Typhon has told me of the variations - you and your alternates very rarely let somepony die, even with the wildest of your antics.”

“That’s why he went crazy,” Ben replied. “He got tired of death and tried to undo it or something like that. He’s not exactly well liked by the others anymore.”

Kat shook her head. “The crazy merde you get yourself into Ben, I swear.”

“Language,” he chided.

“Va te faire foutre,” Kat responded.

“Meh, even Death can die, you know?” Typhon shrugged, his eyes closed pretty tightly. “God knows I’ve twisted my fair share of ‘laws’ and ‘rules’.”

“In the pursuit of Understanding?”

“Nope. I thought that you of all ponies would have figured it out by now, princess.” Typhon smiled, and his features softened. “I’m arrogant enough to be humble - I am more about perception than understanding. That’s Auric’s gig, anyways.”

“Ah, right. That is both the why and the how of your development of skills most would consider mutually-exclusive.” Celestia made a thoughtful hum. “Still, gods? I hope they won’t bother us all the way here…”

The pointed look and the way she trailed off were more than enough clues for Typhon, who just began to grin evilly despite himself and his headache.

“No worries from us, Tia,” Ben waved off, not even looking at them as he toyed with the token he gave to Kat. “Our universe tends to keep to itself and the gods want it to stay isolated as much as we do. Now just a few more tweaks and… there! Ha, I knew I could do it!”

“Oh Celestia, what did you do now?” Twi sighed, the solar princess smirking slightly at the alternate alicorn.

“Watch this,” Ben replied as he pinned the token on his sister. “Now, this may tingle.”

“As long as you don’t do anything too stupid, Ben.”

“Oh hush.” He tapped the badge, setting off a green flash. When it subsided… “Wrong button.”

“That just fills me with confidence.” Typhon chuckled.

Kat looked over the new her, frowning. “I am not amused brudder,” the now very young filly lisped.

“What’s the problem? You look adorable!” Typhon snickered and hugged the mini-pony. His wings were gone now, being in public, so he had to squeeze the stuffing out of Kat with his own forelegs.

“Dis is not helping, Ty,” she groaned. “I’d wadder be sexy den cute and adowable.”

“My bad, sis,” Ben apologized. “I hit the wrong button. See, I modified your token so you can change into your pony form whenever you need to. Apparently, it added an age feature as well. Guess stealth will be even easier now, eh?” Her glare was enough to shut him. “Right, sorry.”

“Aw, don’t be so angry!” Typhon smiled that mischievous smile that schemers and plotters put on their faces when they find a nice, straight road without any traps. “Adults forget how perceptive children can be, or how smart; they tend to think they are cleverer and more discerning on pure virtue of the number of candles on their birthday cake. Take Applejack, for example!”

“Wait, what?” Twilight began but was ignored.

“I’ve pulled my own share of heists and tricks with the guise of a child, you know.” He continued to ignore Twilight even as she poked him angrily. “Walk in, ask a few questions, then steal... I don’t know, the keys of a warehouse. And no-one wants to admit they got bested by a ‘runny-nosed brat’, either, so the humiliations are a nice bonus.”

“Maybe so, Typhon, but now age weawy is factow,” Kat pointed out with a smirk. “Now change me back.” Ben hit the button, turning Kat back to normal.

“Sorry Ally.”

“That reminds me of Professor Clockwinder.” Celestia closed her eyes thoughtfully. “I still have yet to find an appropriate way to congratulate him on his...third fiftieth birthday, although he’s glad that he doesn’t actually have to get one-hundred and fifty candles.”

“Professor Clockwinder is oddly prone to mistakes with basic math.” Twilight scratched her head. “I’m not sure how he can, though, since he’s fine when dealing with all those other calculations first; it’s only when he starts with a simple sum when he trips.”

“Still, if Discord here is not about to fill my room with dairy products again, I cannot see why he shouldn’t stay.” Celestia added, under her breath. “Or I should.”

“I’d have liked to be there.” Typhon said. “I have a surfboard, and wind at-will, so…”

“Unfortunately,” Twi broke in, “we really should be going back home. I have to make sure Nyx is in bed by ten for school tomorrow.” She then gives Ben a sly smile. “And Lyra’s gonna be missing her Benny-wenny.”

“Stop with that!!” he shrieks. “Stop egging on my stalker!” The alicorn just giggles as Ben fumes. “One of these days, Twilight, one of these days, BANG! POW! ZOOM!! STRAIGHT, TO THE MOON!”

“It’s not that far.” Twilight said. “And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t joke around with what’s likely the most traumatic event in the life of one of the most important ponies in my life.”

“I find it…oddly calming, Twilight.” Celestia let out a content hum. “It makes me feel like Luna’s return is…”

“Easier to accept?” Typhon added, getting a nod in return. “Besides, stalker or not, at least you have somepony that will always listen to what you say…of course, the downside is that they will always listen. Forever.”

The glare lands on Typhon. “Not. Helping.” Ben turned to Kat. “Seriously, what do you see in this guy?”

“It’s complicated,” she responds simply.

He shrugged. “Whatever. So long as you’re happy and he’s a good guy, I won’t say nothin’.”

Both Twilights had a slight twitch of the eye at the double-negative, particularly at what it ended up as.

“I’m aware I have that effect.” Typhon pursed his lips. “I think oddly, and often speak what’s on my mind; not the best of combinations, I admit.”

“That’s an understatement; I saw you have three conversations at once, the three of them with Pinkie.” Twilight pipped in. “I’d say that keeping up is like trying to catch The Breeze by running.”

“What you did there. I see it.” Typhon chuckled. “Anyhow; Ben, Twilight from another universe, Discord from the same, nice to meet you... say, is there anything you need? Before you go, I mean.”

“I’m alright,” Twi waved off. Discord just shrugged while peeling a grape that revealed a kiwi.

“I think we’ll be fine.” Ben put out his hoof to Typhon. “I’m trusting you, Typhon. I trust you understand what would happen if you break my sister’s heart?”

“I’d hand you the stick, Ben.” Typhon knocked his own hoof against Ben’s.

“Good man… stallion… whatever.” Ben turned to Discord. “Alright, take us home, chaos maker!”

Discord flashed on a turban and poofy pants. “As you wish!” He twisted and twirled his snake-like body round and round before creating a portal. “See you on the other side~!”

Twi just sighed and shook her head. “I really need to start hanging around the girls more. My brain can’t take too much more of this. Nice meeting me for a change!” she waved to Twilight before jumping through.

Kat and Ben hugged tightly, Ben placing a soft kiss on his sister’s forehead. “Stay safe, alright?”

“Always, Ben. And don’t do anything too stupid, okay?”

“No promises.” He just laughed as Kat slugged his shoulder. “It was very nice meeting you all,” he bowed to the others. “But learn to take it easy every now and then, eh? Y’all got too many sticks stuck up there.”

“I was in the middle of something delicate, so I take it you would understand if my disposition towards Discord was less-than-favorable.” Celestia frowned slightly, thinking of the fondue on her yarn.

“It’s an off-day.” Typhon shrugged.

“I’m trying to get something useful out of him.” Twilight pointed at Typhon.

“Maybe join him and Ally some night. You’ll get something useful alright!” Ben cheered as Kat blushed, Typhon politely coughed into his hoof. “Ben 10 is out! Peace suckers! See ya later, Ally!” Ben lunged for the portal. “Geronimo!” he shouted, disappearing along with the portal itself.

“He’s related to you, alright.” Typhon nodded. “I’ll send him an email sometime, even if I have to hack into a typewriter to do it.”

Kat deadpanned at her coltfriend. “One, they have computers there. Two, you’re sleeping on the couch tonight.”

“You know, the house is mine, and I don’t sleep.” Typhon was still nursing a headache, but it was mild enough. “I’ve done nothing to you that warrants that highly-offensive cliché; I get that you’re mad, but still... you didn’t have to use that line…”

“Typhon, you know I love you, very much so. But from the way you acted today, I don’t think anything less would have gotten through to you. I can’t exactly punish Ben or his Twilight, but I sure as enfer can for you. All three of you got into fights with each other, not physical but with words, and you didn’t do anything to stop them, only made them worse. You’re all at fault, so you’re either on the couch, or I’m sleeping on a cloud.”

“I... I know I can’t say this justifies it, but I had to make absolutely sure I knew where they stood. The timeframe was short, so I had to make do.” Typhon scratched the back of his head. “And I still find it offensive that you’d imply it’s just... physical. I understand your point and all, but... meanings, Kat. I’ll stay up if I have to, but…”

He simply kept quiet, letting his eyes wander to the ground.

Celestia just shook her head - She didn’t fully understand what that phrase meant for a human, but could puzzle it out the way it was spelled to her. She simply vanished in a puff of smoke.

“I’ll just be home if you need me.” Twilight quickly cantered out of there, for much the same reasons Celestia went away.

Kat stared at the colt for a moment before letting out a deep sigh. “Satané.” She wrapped her hooves around him, keeping him close as she nuzzled him. “It’s not about the physical parts of our relationship, Typhon. But I have nothing else to get through to you when you let your paranoia control your actions. I get it, you’re trying to keep everyone safe, but you need to be careful of how you use your words. I could feel Ben and Twi’s anger and I’m not even empath. I’m not all that mad, I just don’t want you to keep acting like this.”

“I... I can feel it.” He returned the embrace, and tightened it after a few seconds. “Their words - they told a lot more than the pure meaning of them, and that worried me - worries that Twilight’s alternate didn’t quite put to rest. The odds were already against me; I had to make sure. Ben is... is broken, but there is good in him, no matter how much he tries to hide it - but he’s trying to hide it, the other Voices are breaking him further. Twilight is wavering, too, and I had to see how honest she really was. Ben doesn’t want help, and Twilight is scared to help, I looked at a thousand things and everything felt wrong.”

Kat slowly ran her hoof up and down his back. “Typhon, can you do something for me? Right now, just stop thinking. Just for a moment, just shut down that overpowered brain.”

Typhon blinked rapidly, his beating heart was making him feel way too warm... and he exhaled. Clear everything. Breathing deeply, helped along by Kat’s voice. His ears felt like they were burning, and his face was much warmer than usual. He shut his eyes and groaned slowly - his headache was back. He just focused on the hoof upon him, and his breathing.

“My head hurts.” He moaned the obvious, but didn’t concern himself with being simplistic. “I’m sorry.”

Kat shushed him, clinging just as tight. “You’ve done a lot today, I’d be surprised if you didn’t have a headache. Ben’s attitude gave me one at first, too. But I need you to not focus on him or the other Twilight, or any other world at all. Just what is happening right here, right now. Focus on me, and your daughter, and all your friends. We are safe because of you, and right now, that’s all that matters.”

“Thanks.” He smiled as he breathed out. “It’s so easy, being around you.”

“I just like to help. And what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t help the man I love?” She kissed his cheek lovingly. “Feeling better?”

“Lots.” He let it out like a weigh. “Can’t believe I got myself so lost in probabilities so quick after coming back from one. I- Your brother is a good man, but he worries me.”

“It’ll be fine. I trust Ben fully, despite his outlook on things. I just want you two to get along. After all,” she softly ran her tail under Typhon’s chin. “I’m planning on a nice future here.”

“Believe me.” Typhon chuckled as the strands of hair tickled at him, and the scent met him right on. “I have laid some foundations already.”

“Hmm… well, how would you like to something else down?” Kat asked, looking at him with half-lidded eyes. “Or someone?”

“You won’t find me objecting.” He replied.