//------------------------------// // 3000 Years Too Late // Story: AtDD II: Cross Dimension Road Trip // by StrawberryGamer //------------------------------// I sat in the bedroom, mulling over what just happened. Sugar and Starburst told me to get some rest while they came up with a plan to “get their Sunny back.” While I had no doubt that they were indeed missing their Sunny, I knew for a fact I wasn’t the Sunny they were missing. If anything, whatever attacked me and sent me here switched us, which meant their Sunny was with my friends. That gave me a little bit of hope, at least. Things weren’t completely unsalvageable. For the time being, I needed to make sure I didn’t lose myself to yet another member of the Sparkle family. This is just my luck, isn’t it? I get stuck with some possible distant ancestor of Twilight, who once again threatens to take away my memories and replace them with someone else’s. Ah well, I can put this time to good use. I got off of the bed again and tried to see if I could find anything else worth investigating. I started with the desk. The headset and glasses definitely piqued my interest, so I tried them on. Immediately, what could be described as a HUD filled my vision. It showed labels for everything in my view. I could see what was in the satchel without even looking inside it. The indents for the door and lights were clearly highlighted, and I even saw a couple others that I didn’t notice before. I noticed the socks on the desk were labeled as “ArcanoTech Interfacer Socks. For use with augmented reality systems and neural implants.” Well, that sure got my attention. I picked up the socks and spent the next minute or so putting them on. Getting socks on, especially thin ones like these, with hooves was not the easiest thing to do. Once I did get them on, I looked at my hooves. They were so thin and transparent, didn’t even look like I had them on. That was actually pretty cool. I walked over to one of the wall buttons. Or was it a knob, like the lights? I’m sure these had some sort of technical term, but for now my primitive pony brain would have to come up with a primitive pony word. I’ll stick with button. The button was labeled as a window. I proceeded to press the button, and a section of wall lowered to reveal a sight that took my breath away. Beyond the window was a massive cityscape of blues, purples, and whites. Glistening skyscrapers pierced the night sky while ponies rode on what looked like hoverbikes and other hovering vehicles down the streets below. The HUD from the glasses started labeling everything so quickly I couldn’t keep up and was forced to take them off. I didn’t even get to read most of them. There was something about an office building. I saw a restaurant logo, I think. I definitely saw something resembling a nightclub, and based on the clock, which now read 11:27pm, I’m sure the place is open and packing. I wanted to check that place out, but last time I was forced to get drunk and was almost carried away by Stud Muffin. The only thing that saved me was the fact that I was with Vinyl. If I go to this club, I doubt I’ll have the same protection. My ear twitched and I looked behind me to see the door had opened. Sugar and Starburst walked in. I braced myself for whatever they were going to do. “Alright,” Starburst began, “since you seem to be rejecting the idea that you’re who we know you are, we’re going to ask you a few questions so we can know who you think you are.” She explained in a somewhat condescending tone. Bitch was talking down to me, like she was in the right for this. “What is your name?” “Sunshine.” I answered without hesitation. “I had another name before all this, but thanks to everything that’s happened, I refer to myself as Sunshine more than I probably should.” My answer seemed to surprise Starburst, but she kept up her questioning. “Where are you from?” “A lovely little place called America. It’s in another dimension. I’m trying to get back.” “What is this place like?” I waved a hoof dismissively. “Oh, ya know… Land of the free, home of the brave and all that jazz. It’s not perfect, not even close to some of the places I’ve been. But it’s home, and that’s what matters.” “Does the name Princess Spectra mean anything to you?” I tilted my head at this one. “Nope. The only princesses I know are Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Twilight. Why? Is Spectra a princess in this dimension?” The two looked at each other for a moment before nodding at me. “Yes, Spectra is our only princess. The princesses you named have been dead for a few millennia now.” I swear on me mum my jaw hit the floor at this. “Um. Okay… History lesson now please.” Starburst sighed and began explaining. “Alright. So about 3000 years ago, a technological boom started in Equestria, headed by Princess Luna and Princess Twilight. However, with the boom came a change that the nobles were not happy with, as Luna depowered them. So in retaliation, the nobles assassinated her, hoping that would reinstate them. Instead, Princess Celestia struck them down in a grief-filled rage, destroying a good chunk of Canterlot in the process. Afterwards, she abdicated the throne and her power to Princess Twilight. She was never seen again. “Twilight, in all her knowledge, knew that unlike Princess Celestia, she would not live for thousands of years, and as she was not the dating type, she doubted that she would ever produce an heir to Equestria’s throne. She did eventually have a foal, but the fact that I’m here should make that obvious. “Princess Twilight sought a way to make sure Equestria would have a stable leadership for years to come. That way would come in the form of an AI, created from a mix of technology and the Elements of Harmony. She was named Spectra, and once Twilight passed away, she took over. Though, it’s hard for a computer to run a country, so she had a physical body built. That way, she has an easier time controlling the sun and moon, can appear in public, and enjoy life like the rest of us ponies.” She finished her lecture, leaving me to piece together what I just heard. I grabbed the picture frame and looked at the picture of the alicorn again. “So this alicorn is Spectra? She looks good for someone who’s a 3000 year old AI…” I said. Almost instantly, another question came to mind. “Hold on… A 3000 year old AI? How is that physically possible?” Starburst shrugged. “We assumed it was due to the Elements of Harmony. The Elements themselves are known to be at least 4000 years old, possibly longer. It’s the most powerful magic in Equestria. Twilight assumed imbuing Spectra with the power of the Elements would allow her to never become corrupt or age, and it seems like those assumptions were spot on.” “I see… So where are the Elements now?” I had to ask, though I was already sure what the answer was. “They’re downstairs,” came the immediate answer, “I brought them over just in case we needed them. And since we know that you don’t think you are who we know you are, I’ve decided to fish out an old spell from Princess Twilight to assist in fixing your head right up. Sugar, could you get our Elements, please?” Sugar nodded and left the room. I had just one more question to ask before they did whatever they were going to do. “So, why do you wield the Elements? Why not Spectra?” “Spectra can’t use them because she technically isn’t a real pony. She doesn’t have a soul, just an artificial mind and body. While she hasn’t really minded that for a couple thousand years, it did mean she needed to find ponies capable of using them. A couple groups have used them in the past, whenever Equestria has faced a crisis, but the last group to use them before us was about 700 years ago.” Starburst explained Well at least I got an answer as Sugar walked back in, two of the Elements in her magical grasp. “Alright, here they are.” She announced. I recognized one of them immediately as the tiara holding the Element of Magic. Of course Starburst would get that one. The other one, I didn’t know. The necklace held a red gem shaped like a sun, which matched my cutie mark. So if it was red, that meant… Loyalty? Starburst took them in her own telekinesis, setting the tiara on her head and putting the necklace around my neck. I’ve never worn anything like this before. The metal felt cold around my neck, but the gem held a bit of warmth. Or maybe it was just me, I dunno. I held my breath as Starburst stepped forward, horn lit. I could have made a break for the door at any time, but I knew that I would just tire myself out. I had to take this like a man. Or mare, whichever. Starburst’s horn touched my head and I felt a surge of magic envelop my head. My vision swirled into a blur of colors and it became a lot harder to think straight. The world just seemed to slip away as Starburst’s spell messed with my head. Did this qualify as mind rape? I don’t know. I needed to find a way to hold onto myself. I tried to mentally reach out to my own memories. If I wanted to keep my head in the right place, an anchor point would be needed. A mental image came up. My mother was there, in that old blue car she used to drive. I was there, watching her get angry at herself for making such a stupid mistake. She had just popped two tires running over some railroad tracks. Yes, this was a strong memory. An early one, for sure, but still strong. What else did I have? Ah yes, the Tiger Cruise. That was fun. A couple years in the Boy Scouts. That time I was… run over by a car… I’d rather forget that one, but I needed it at the moment. School, my friends, my home. It all came back to me. Yes, I know who I am. I am me. I am not an Element of Harmony. I am not a pony. And I most certainly am not going to be stopped now that I’ve been through so much. Not by a Sparkle. Not by you! Suddenly a force pushed me back and I landed against the wall. My vision cleared up and I saw that Starburst was at the other end of the room, also having been pushed back. Sugar stood between us, clearly stunned by what just happened. Starburst stood up, rubbing the base of her horn. “Ouch… I didn’t see that coming.” She started towards me again. “Did the spell work? Are you our Sunny again?” I stood up and shook my head. “I told you once already. I’m not your Sunny. I never was. Do you believe me now?” Starburst just seemed angered by my rejection. “Then where is she? What did you do to our Sunny? What even are you!?” She demanded. “Well!?” I felt an odd warmth in my neck, but I ignored it and glared at Starburst. “I dunno. I’m just as much of a victim as your Sunny. More than her, in fact, since this is the third world I’ve been to. And to top it all off, I’m about 3000 years out of my comfort zone tech-wise.” I took off the socks and showed them to her. Well, more like waved them in her face. “Like, what are these supposed to do?” I pointed at the headset and glasses. “And what in the seven whats is that supposed to be?” Before Starburst could answer my questions, or more likely yell at me more, Sugar stepped between us and pointed at me. “Hold it!” Look, the Element.” I looked down and saw that the Element of Loyalty was glowing. I had… absolutely no fucking clue what this meant. “It's chosen you as its wielder…” Oh… Wait, what the actual fuck? “Woah, hold on. What do you mean, it’s chosen me? What about your Sunny?” “The Elements can be used by more than one pony, if they embody that Element well enough.” Sugar explained. I gave a forced laugh. This was a joke, right? Me, as the Element of Loyalty? “I think it must be mistaken. I’ve got no loyalty in me. I’m abandoning a world to a crazy ruler just so I can get home. I can’t embody loyalty.” Sugar shrugged. “I guess the Element sees something in you that you yourself does not see. Besides, I wouldn’t worry about you using it. I’m sure we’ll get our Sunny back and send you on your way long before we have to use the Elements again.” Aaaaaand you just jinxed it. Great.