The Mental Shuffle
“I am DONE with her!”
Rarity winced at Rainbow Dash’s outburst, recoiling from the anger. “Dash...please.”
Rainbow Dash’s body was a coiled spring as she paced the width of the library, tail swishing with furious energy. It was after the events of the day- Rarity had refused to let the incident disrupt Dash’s race event- and after dropping Skitch off at her home, the group had returned to the library for a discussion. Though for Rainbow Dash it was more of a rant.
“No!” She snapped, spinning on Rarity. “She almost got you killed! How much longer are we going to humor her?”
“Rainbow Dash, you’re talking like you’re the one who fell," she sniffed. “Besides, Princess Celestia said that I was never in any real danger.”
“That’s not the point!” Dash shouted, throwing her hooves up. “Why are you defending her so much? What about the actual Skitch-Sketch? You know, the pony that’s supposed to be your friend, and not this mad mare?”
“You wouldn’t understand.” Rarity softly hissed, eyes narrowing, “You’ve never had somepony telling you how you should think.”
“Can we not fight, please?” Fluttershy spoke up. “We have a solution. Twilight will create the memory detection spell. And then we’ll know what to do.”
Snorting, Dash dropped onto her haunches. “I just want my friend back. I want the unicorn who said that she’d be willing to follow us into Tartarus even though she doesn’t have an element of her own.”
“And we’ll get her back," Twilight said, pointing to a pile of books. “I’ll do it tonight.”
“Fine.” Dash sighed.
- - - -
A few hours later, after the sun had gone down, Rarity closed the door to the Carousel Boutique behind her. Jaw set, she strode across town, heading straight for Skitch-Sketch’s. Brow furrowed and tail swishing, she would have crashed right through the Royal Guard if they had gotten in the way.
Upon reaching the home she was surprised to find that Fluttershy had beaten her there. The pegasus sat outside the front door, gently tapping a hoof against its surface.
“Not answering, is she?”
Fluttershy glanced up at her friend with a sad smile. “No, she’s not.”
“Allow me to try.”
She hammered a hoof against the door. “Skitch-Sketch! It’s Rarity. Open up please.” When there was no response. She knocked harder, a hard edge creeping into her voice, “Skitch-Sketch! Open this door right now! I need to speak with you!”
Again, no response came.
“Fine.” Rarity huffed, “If you want to do this the hard way, then we shall do this the hard way!”
Trotting around to the side of the building, Rarity tested one of the windows with a hoof. A smirk crossed her muzzle when it slid open. Pulling herself up and through, she landed neatly in the main gallery, flicking her mane back with a toss of her head.
Trotting over to the door, she opened it for Fluttershy. The pegasus raised an eyebrow at her friend as she stepped into the main room. “Breaking in isn’t really nice.”
Rarity shrugged. “Considering how ashen she looked when we dropped her off, I am willing to call this ‘exigent circumstances’.”
“...You’ve been talking with Bastion, haven’t you?”
“His patrols take him right past my shop.” She explained, trotting for the stairs, “It’s only polite.”
The pair headed upstairs, peeking into the bedroom. A sigh escaped Rarity’s lips at the lumpy form hidden under the covers.
“Skitch.” She frowned, walking over to the bed, Fluttershy right by her side, “Please look at us.” The covers shifted for a moment, but Skitch didn’t turn to face them. Rolling her eyes, she poked a little harder, “Skitch. Talk with us or I’ll pull your flank out of bed.”
The form moved again, this time rolling over. The covers were pulled back slightly, revealing amber eyes full of shame and sadness.
“Leave me alone Rarity.” She croaked, “I almost killed you.”
With a snort, Rarity yanked the covers away.
“Get up.”
“Why?”
“We’re going to have some tea.”
- - - -
Skitch stared at the cup before her as it was filled with warm and fragrant tea. The cups were pink, white and elegant looking, like most things in Rarity’s kitchen. Fluttershy was already sipping her own, radiating a warm and friendly smile. After pouring herself a cup, Rarity sank into the seat across from Skitch.
“So,” She asked, lifting the cup in her magic, “You do know that I don’t blame you for what happened, right?”
“Rarity...the only reason I pushed that wing spell thing was because I was trying to make the events of the day fit what I watched back home.” She sighed, resting her muzzle on the table, “And I did this, even though I kept seeing things that were telling me that this wasn’t the same.” She sighed again, her whole body slumping, “Twilight was right. I played with your life and I shouldn’t have.”
Fluttershy placed a comforting hoof on Skitch’s fetlock. The green unicorn looked away, her eyes focusing on a flower in the china pattern. “I think that I’ll let Twilight cast her alter memory spell on me.” She eventually said.
Rarity jerked back slightly. “How did you know about that?”
“I didn’t, really.” Skitch smiled sadly, looking back to Rarity, “I was just playing a hunch.”
Rarity took a long sip of her tea, watching Skitch carefully. “From one of those episodes you’ve talked about?”
“Maybe. And before you ask, no, I’m not telling you the context. Playing god worked so well for me today.”
“Skitch.” Fluttershy interrupted, her soft voice carrying a surprising amount of power behind it, “We aren’t letting you do that.”
“Yes, I agree.”
“Why not?” Skitch squirmed, “It’s becoming very hard to believe that I was a human. And the problem would be solved.”
“Hmm.” Rarity frowned, before taking another sip of her tea, “So sure that your memories of being human are false then?”
“Well...I’m not sure I can really say one way or another.” Skitch admitted with her own frown. Her frown grew deeper at the deadpan expression Rarity fixed her with, “Look. There is absolutely no evidence that what I’ve said is true. The only evidence is what’s in my head. And my head can’t be trusted, for obvious reasons.”
“Still, what you are proposing is nothing less than a magically fueled game of griffin roulette, and we shan't allow it.”
There was a finality to the fashionista’s words that Skitch found she couldn’t argue with. She glanced to Fluttershy, searching for some manner of support in the pegasus’ eyes, but Fluttershy’s return stare spoke to how stupid she thought Skitch was being. With a sigh, she lifted her head from the table and took a drink of the offered tea. It was a smooth, with a hint of vanilla flavor rounding off the overall taste.
“I guess it doesn’t matter.” She grumbled, intently staring into the tea as if some secret would be revealed to her, “I’m probably going to be all Skitch soon enough.”
“Now why do you say that?”
Skitch bit her lip, staring into Rarity’s piercing blue eyes. “Because, Rarity, I’m losing more of myself every day. I was male before this happened! But being female?” She shuddered, “It’s feeling so completely natural now. The pitch of my voice, the girly eye lashes, the uhh...really obvious part. Seems a clear indication at the other side is taking over...” She trailed off.
An embarrassed flush crept into her cheeks, that was matched by Fluttershy, but Rarity did not comment on that. Instead, she idly swirled her teacup, her expression distant as she was lost in thought. “There is…another possible explanation for that part, at least.”
“Oh yeah? What?”
“Tell me...when you were growing up, did you ever play pretend?”
A genuine smile lit up Skitch’s face. “Rarity, I’m thirty, and I still play pretend. Been playing roleplaying games, for over a decade. I got stacks of notes on characters back home.”
“Hmm. And of all these characters, how many of them are female?”
Skitch froze, every muscle in her body locking up from Rarity’s question. It seemed such a simple question, really. Something that should be simple to answer. It wasn’t like it meant anything.
But then why was her stomach squirming so much?
“A fair number.” Was the answer she eventually gave.
“More than half?”
“Maybe...I think so.”
“And have you ever looked at a well dressed lady and been well...envious?”
Skitch reared up, slamming her hooves down on the table. Her cup of tea toppled, splashing the liquid across the table, but the unicorn didn’t care. She was just suddenly, very, very angry. “What are you implying?” She growled.
“Wait here.” Rarity answered, getting up from the table. She trotted for the door, seemingly unconcerned with Skitch’s outburst, “And do be a dear and clean that up please.”
And then she was gone, leaving Skitch alone in the kitchen with the soft sounds of the spilt tea dripping off the edge of the table. With a snort, Skitch pushed herself away from the table, trotting over to the the drawers and digging out a cloth. She set about cleaning the tea with angry strokes, Rarity’s question still echoing in her head.
“You do know that she’s just concerned about you, right?” Fluttershy asked, “And another explanation is good.”
Gruning in response, Skitch turned and tossed the tea soaked towel into the sink. Rarity reappeared in the doorway, a book firmly held in her aura.
“Take a seat darling.” Rarity said softly, nodding towards the tome, “There’s something important I want to show you.” She glanced at Fluttershy, “Both of you.”
Skitch sunk back into her seat, examining the book as it was dropped before her. It was non descript; a simple black photo album that didn’t even have Rarity’s name on it. She glanced at Rarity, raising an eyebrow. The fashionista just waved a hoof in response.
“Open it.”
Heeding Rarity’s request, Skitch flipped the book open with a frustrated flick of magic. The first picture that greeted her depicted a young white coated colt, with a short cropped purple mane. The family resemblance was unmistakable.
“You have a younger brother?”
“Not exactly, no.” Rarity sighed, “Two more pages in.”
Skitch flipped the pages, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at Rarity’s vagueness. There was only one photo on this one. The colt from before was beaming, flanked by Rarity’s parents as he stood on a simple wooden stage. He was obviously overjoyed, his flank angled slightly towards the camera to show off...his three diamond cutie-mark.
She just stared at the photo, the world almost spinning around her. “This is…” She finally choked out.
“Me. Yes.” Rarity smiled sadly.
“You...” Skitch gaped, kneading the sides of her head, “You. Rarity. Ponyville’s eminent fashionista, the Sultana of Style, the Element of Generosity, was a stallion?!”
“Skitch!” Fluttershy chided, “This had to be difficult for Rarity to admit. How do you think you’re making her feel?”
Skitch snapped her eyes back to Rarity for an answer. If looks could kill, her icy glare would have probably blasted Skitch into shards right then and there.
“No, I was always a mare.” She answered eventually, “I was just unfortunate enough to be born with a body that didn’t match my spirit.” She laughed slightly, giving her mane a playful flick, “Thankfully, transmutation spells exist for a reason and I became the dashing mare you see before you now!”
“...Do the other girls know?” She asked looking at Fluttershy.
Fluttershy shook her head. “Well...I don’t think so. I didn’t at least. But I didn’t grow up in Ponyville. Maybe Applejack would have, growing up alongside Rarity.”
“I’m not from Ponyville, actually.” Rarity corrected, sliding the album back to herself, “My family moved here after my procedure. They wanted to give me a fresh start.”
“And you never told them because?” Skitch prodded, leaning forward slightly.
Rarity shrugged, her expression unconcerned. “Because it didn’t seem relevant? That colt I was...he wasn’t me. Not really. I’m a mare. I’m happy *being* a mare. And they’ve never known me as anything but.”
“You...ever been afraid of them finding out?”
The expression on Rarity’s face became contemplative, her eyes falling on Fluttershy. Fluttershy rubbed her friend’s back, urging her to continue with a warm smile and nod. “Maybe a little.” She answered eventually, “Honestly, I was afraid that Pinkie had made the connection when we met again, after my rebirth.”
“You knew Pinkie growing up?”
“Well...not *well*. The town I grew up in is to the north west of here.” Rarity elaborated, “Right in the heart of the Platinum Hills and Equestria’s mining and rock farming country. As such it served the surrounding farms. A pony like Pinkie...well...she’s very hard to forget.”
Skitch couldn’t help but chuckle at the truth behind that statement. “That she is.” But the moment of levity was brief, the smile fading away as quickly as it appeared. “But, if you didn’t tell any of them, why are you telling me this now?”
This time, Rarity placed both her forehooves on Skitch’s pastern, a mixture of sadness and hope settling on her features. Her sad smile almost felt like a punch in the stomach to Skitch.
“Because. I don’t know what is going to happen from here. I...might be seeing things that aren’t there. But whatever happens I want you to know, you’re not alone.”
“But…” Skitch began, but was cut off when Rarity pressed a hoof to her lips.
“Skitch, please let me finish.” She said firmly, “I know that it seems like the universe is against you, and you’re confused, lost...and most importantly, scared. But we’re all here for you.”
“Yes.” Fluttershy nodded in agreement, “We won’t give up on you. We’ll be by your side until this is fixed.”
The human turned unicorn felt something...uncork, deep in her chest. A wellspring of repressed emotions, frustrations and fears smashed their way to the surface. She tried to choke it back, taking deep breaths, and blinking back the tears that were trying to leak out of her eyes. But the tears kept coming, and before she could stop it, Skitch was sobbing.
Her whole body trembled as she wept. She wept for what she had lost and could remember. She wept for what she had lost and couldn’t remember. She wept for what she had inflicted upon some of her idols. She wept for what they might be right about. And when Rarity and Fluttershy pulled her into a deep hug, she buried her face into the fashionista’s neck and wept some more.
For her part, Rarity didn’t move, just holding the hug and gently rubbing the unicorn’s back. “Shhh. Shhh. Just let it all out.” She softly murmured, letting her friend’s sadness break upon her. She held the hug for what felt like quite a while, letting the tears soak her mane.
Eventually, Skitch’s crying slowed and then came to a shuddering stop.
Pulling away slightly, Skitch rubbed her eyes with the back of a hoof. “Girls...I’m just...I’m scared. I am so, so scared. I don’t know where one pony ends and another begins anymore. I don’t know what to do.”
“Well, tonight, you’ll stay here.” Rarity commanded with a hoof stomp, “You shouldn’t be alone right now.”
“I…”
“Tut tut! No arguing. I’ll hear none of it.”
Skitch smiled sadly. She knew that she was trapped.
- - - -
Across town Twilight was sitting amongst her stacks of spellbooks, a few choice items from her collection spread out before her, a fresh roll of parchment and pot of ink at her hooves. Spike came in from the kitchen, pot of coffee in one claw, plate of sandwiches in the other.
“Thanks Spike.” She nodded, “I’ll need the extra energy tonight. This is going to take me hours.”
“One memory detection spell?” Spike smirked.
“You know it.” Twilight grinned, dipping a fresh quill into the ink, “I’ve never created a spell before, but splicing these three existing ones together should work.”
“Okay Twilight, but if you need anything else, just let me know.”
“Will do.” Twilight nodded, cracking her neck before diving into work, quill quickly dancing across the parchment.
- - - -
Rarity’s soft breathing was the only sound that floated through the lower floor of Carousel Boutique. The white unicorn was curled up on one of her couches, a blanket and pillow having turned it into an impromptu bed. True to her element, she had insisted that Skitch take the bed in what was usually her room.
But as she slept a figure crept down the stairs. Stepping from the last stair to the floor, Skitch-Sketch carefully looked around, Rarity’s saddlebags draped across her back. Crossing the room, she only spared a quick glance Rarity’s way, before grabbing the photo of her first successful dress sale and dumping it in the saddlebags.
With the item properly secured, her horn glowed for a moment and she vanished with a soft pop.
- - - -
Twilight looked up from her arcane scribblings, her ears twitching towards the door. She could have sworn she heard the sound of a teleportation spell ending nearby. But she had a full view of the bottom floor and there was nopony in sight. Frowning, she tapped into her arcane wellspring and called forth a Detect Magic spell.
The room still looked empty. There wasn’t even the trademark coil of magic that tended to linger in an area after a spell ended. Sighing, she turned back to her work, pouring herself a cup of coffee.
“I must be getting tired already.” She muttered to herself.
- - - -
The rhythm and pattern of life in Ponyville was well known to its inhabitants. Buying things at the market, chatting with each other over as they trotted down the streets; all the sorts of things that a pony would consider normal. But rarely was thought spared for the Everfree, aside from “Don’t go in there.”
But the forest had it’s own society in a way, that played out in many different ways.
Tonight, the hulking form of a manticore ran through the underbrush, its heavy paws snapping branches and twigs as it rushed along. It’s scorpion tail was raised, its wings twitching as it closed in on it’s target.
Soft flickering yellow light spilled from the windows built into the hollow tree. The manticore picked up the pace, leaping into the air and landing before the door with a heavy thud. He pulled back a clawed paw, taking aim at the wooden structure.
And then he knocked, gently placing a basket full of herbs and other plants he had been carrying in his mouth down. The door swung open, the zebra known to Ponyville as Zecora peered up at him.
“Is that my friend Manny I see?” She glanced down at the basket at her hooves, “With the basket of herbs for my special tea!”
Manny the manticore nodded, flashing the zebra a toothy grin. The manticore couldn’t talk, at least not to anypony besides Fluttershy, but he and the rhyming shaman had found a way to make each other understood all the same. With a smile, Zecora ducked back into her house and emerged a moment later with her own basket. A large silver scaled fish rested within, fitting snugly in the woven reeds. It was freshly caught, and to Manny, mouth watering.
“As you wished.” Zecora nodded, “A nice fresh fish.”
Manny showed his appreciation for the catch by scooping Zecora up into a mighty hug. An appreciative chuckle escaped her lips; a friendly nuzzle exchanged for the hug. Fluttershy had been quite correct about the Manticore.
The hug was broken up, Manny carefully placing the zebra down before scooping up the fish and bounding back into the night. His meal vanished with a mighty snap of the jaws, bones and all, before he launched into the air with a powerful flap of his mighty wings.
Sailing over the treetops, he banked towards the abandoned castle that so dominated this part of the Everfree forest. While he didn’t live in the structure (something about the place felt vaguely unsettling to him), it was a convenient landmark to use as he had built his den in the buildings of the nearby abandoned town.
As he approached the gorge and its rope bridge, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. It was small, and quadruped. Obviously a pony, in Manny’s opinion, and trotting straight for the bridge.
Manny changed course slightly, dropping closer to take in the pony better. The only one he knew that usually came into the Everfree was his friend Fluttershy, but she never did it late at night. Landing softly on the path behind the pony, he raised an eyebrow at what he saw.
The green colored unicorn was unfamiliar to him, a pony that he had never seen, nor heard Fluttershy speak of before. But she wore saddlebags marked with the diamond of Fluttershy’s white colored friend, Rarity.
With a frown and quick wing flick, he took to the air again, dropping back down in front of the unicorn. He raised both forepaws in a gesture that he hoped would be calming. It was hard for ponies to get around his appearance at times, after all.
But the unicorn didn’t even react to his presence, instead striding past him like he was a stump in the middle of the road. Manny blinked. That had not been expected. Turning, he watched the pony plow onwards, seemingly unheeding everything around her. She was going to get herself in some kind of trouble at this rate.
Growling, he chased after the mystery pony, his massive stride closing the gap between the two of them in moments. Snatching her up with his strong paws, he tucked her under one arm and prepared to take to the air.
With a soft pop sound, she was gone, and across the bridge. Manny blinked again, looking at his now empty arm, and then back to the pony, sighed in frustration. He didn’t have a way to deal with a pony that could teleport. Watching the pony disappear into the ruined castle made up his mind. With a pump of his wings, he took to the air again, flying for the edge of the Everfree.
- - - -
Discord would have probably felt right at home in the landscape Skitch found herself standing in. She was at the top of a mountain, or at least that’s what she thought it was supposed to be. Buildings jutted out from the slopes in a confused jumble of different angles and arrangements, some even sticking out perpendicularly from the mountain itself.
Odder still was the water that seemed to surround the peak. Perfectly clear and calm, allowing Skitch to see almost all the way down to the mountain’s base. It rose to about the three-fourths point, marking a clear line between the two styles of construction apparent.
Below the waterline, it was almost all Ponyville and Canterlot architecture, a submerged forest of thatched roofs and elegant marble construction. Above the waterline, it was the shimmering steel and glass of Chicago, culminating with a replica of the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History at the peak.
Frowning, she scanned the landscape, searching for anything else that stood out in this sea of nonsense. After a few minutes, her eyes locked onto a bipedal figure that seemed to be working at the edge of the water.
“Well,” She said to herself, galloping that direction, “It’s something at least.”
- - - -
“Umm...are you sure you saw what you saw Manny?”
The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters loomed in the darkness, its towers silhouetted against the silvery moon. The shadows it cast seemed all the more sinister; their grasping, claw like forms making Fluttershy tremble.
The heavy paw of her friend rested across her back, as he addressed her with the growls and snarls that she could still understand. <”I’m sure Fluttershy.”> He rumbled, <”Are you're sure that you know this pony?”>
“Of course I do!” Fluttershy gasped, looking up at her friend, “Don’t you remember her? She was with us when we first met.”
The confused stare from Manny made her ears droop. “But...she was there. I remember it…”
Manny didn’t respond to that, instead motioning to the castle. <”Let us see what she’s doing.”>
Nodding, Fluttershy trotted after him, letting the manticore lead the way with his natural darkvision. As they moved through the dark corridors of the ancient castle, she made small talk with Manny.
“So...umm...found any other manticores yet?”
<”Some, far to the south. All feral.”> He responded, a hint of disappointment in his voice, <”But it’s alright.”> He paused, glancing back at Fluttershy with a warm smile, <”I’ll keep looking.”>
Fluttershy smiled back.
A soft chiming sound floated into the corridor catching their attention. Fluttershy recognized the tone from her time with Twilight Sparkle. The sound of a unicorn channeling magic.
“Upstairs, I think.”
Following the tones the pair walked up the twisting staircase that lead to the second floor, and the pedestal where Fluttershy and her friends had discovered the Elements of Harmony last year.
Skitch-Sketch was sitting before said pedestal, lumps of straw suspended in her aura, while she arranged what looked like ornately carved sticks and one large cane into a vaguely pony shaped pattern.
Two small piles of other items rested to each side of her. To the right, it was a collection of other strange looking bits of ephemera; small crystals, loops of metal and other things that Fluttershy could only guess the purpose of. The other collection of items, however…
Applejack’s stetson, Rarity’s photo of her first dress sale, the medal that Rainbow Dash had won for being the fastest in flight school, a book that probably belonged to Twilight, a polished chunk of marble with the names of Pinkie’s family on it, and her own veterinary license. A collection of personal effects.
Oblivious to their presence, Skitch continued to work, rapidly weaving the straw around the framework. As a pony form was constructed from the raw materials, she began to slide the the crystals and other things into the construct.
<”Fluttershy...what is she doing?”>
“I...don’t know.” She squeaked, rushing across the floor, “Skitch? What are you doing? Please stop!”
Skitch paused, slowly turned her head to face her. Fluttershy smiled. “That’s better now just please-” Her sentence died in her throat. The expression on her friend’s face was cold, detached, staring right through her like she wasn’t really there.
“S-Skitch?”
- - - -
Slowing, Skitch trotted around the last corner between her and the figure she had spied before. The figure was a human woman, with graying blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. A sandbag rested on both of her shoulders as she trudged towards the large wall of sandbags that were piled between the dry streets of Chi-Town and the watery avenues of Canterlot.
Dropping them atop the stack with a tired grunt, she rubbed her back as she straightened up, twisting slightly to glance Skitch’s direction. She appeared in be in her early fifties, features weather beaten and tanned, but her blue eyes still sparkled with life.
“I’ve been waiting for this.” She grunted again, slowly climbing back down from her wall, “You had to have found this place sooner or later.”
Skitch blinked, cocking her head slightly. “Your voice...I heard you the first night I was here. You interrupted my dream about Suited for Success…”
“Yup. Sure did.”
“Why? Who are you?”
“Mmm...” She sighed, motioning for the unicorn to follow as she moved back up the mountainside, “Come on. I’ve been staying in the museum.
“Hey!” Skitch shouted, trotting after her, “I asked who you were!”
“I heard ya the first time, you little brat.” She grumbled, glaring down at her, “I’m you….kind of at least. More of a construct slash shadow personality cobbled together from your latent desires and willpower. An ideal self, as it were.”
“My idea self is a fifty year old woman?”
“Feh…” She scratched the back of her head, “well, you kind of have me there. The fifty thing is more from strain than anything else.”
“Strain?”
“Who do you think has been running interference for you? Fighting off these invading memories?”
“Umm. Me. It’s my head!”
“And I’m part of you. Try to keep up now if the changes haven’t completely addled your mind.”
“Boy, you’re a peach.” Skitch rolled her eyes, “You’re coming across kind of hostile here.”
“Maybe because I’m fighting a war to save the mind of the bastard who’s kept me buried since he was fifteen.” She growled, pulling a cigarette, and then a lighter from her pocket. Lighting up, she took a long drag, before looking at Skitch again, “Thanks for that, by the way.”
“Oh, so am I just supposed to take your word that you’re my ideal self? I certainly don’t remember being trans.” Skitch argued back, a defensive tone in her voice.
“Taken a good look at yourself recently, chuckles?” She laughed bitterly, “We’re in *your* head, where you should be how you truly view yourself in your mind’s eye, and you’re still a quadruped.”
“But…”
The woman’s arm shot out, grabbing Skitch by the base of her horn and angrily lifting her into the air. Swinging the unicorn about, she allowed Skitch to take in the mostly submerged cityscape again.
“Look at it. We’re mostly buried. It’s exactly like you told Rarity. You can’t trust your own thoughts anymore. You. Are. Compromised.” She swung her back around and glared right into her amber eyes, “So, don’t you dare try to tell me that I’m somehow wrong, Skitch-Sketch.”
With a snort, she dropped the Skitch back to the ground and continued along her way. “I just hope that I’ve managed to shore things up long enough for Twilight to fix things. And then I’ll go back in the closet!”
“If you’re angry about that,” Skitch yelled, running to catch up, “Then why are you helping me!”
“Closet is better than death.”
“How am I even talking to you?” Skitch shouted, stomping her hooves, “I’ve had plenty of dreams back on Earth and we’ve never-”
“Cause it was Earth, duh. Come on, you saw Sleepless in Ponyville. Part of Princess Luna’s job description in this meshuggeneh reality involves going to ponies dreams and calming their nightmares. Plus, your brain is getting addled with in the first place.”
“Wait...Luna! That’s it!” Skitch perked up, “She can help us!”
“Tried that already. I’ve been mentally screaming out since that first night. Luna doesn’t seem to be patrolling the dreamscapes, currently.”
“Great…” Skitch sighed, glancing back up at the woman, “So, what should I call you?”
“Jane.”
“...As in Jane Doe?”
“Well it’s not like I remember our old name either.” She shrugged, “Anyway, so long as Twilight finishes her spell tonight, things should be fine.”
The whole mountain suddenly shook, knocking Jane and Skitch to the ground. Pulling themselves back to their feet and hooves respectively, the pair gapped at the rapidly receding water.
“It’s falling back!” Skitch beamed, hopping forward, “Jane, what did you do?”
“I...I didn’t do anything.” She blinked.
Skitch frowned, a realization beginning to sink in.
“...Oh...its receding like water does before…”
“A tsunami.” Jane finished.
- - - -
Skitch’s horn blazed to life, a concentrated wave of magic wrapping around Fluttershy. A squeak of fear escaped the pegasus’s lips as she was shoved away, another flare of magic leaping from Skitch’s horn and flowing into the straw pony.
The false pony lurched to life, jerking and stumbling towards Fluttershy as Skitch began to channel again. Manny roared in response, springing forward and placing himself resolutely between his friend and golem.
Not intimidated by the manticore, the constructed pony reared up a glow appearing in the middle of its forehead. A second later, a jagged bolt of lightning blazed forth, aiming right for Manny. Twisting to avoid the strike, he roared in a mixture of pain and anger as the bolt grazed his side.
<”Get your friend!”> He bellowed, swiping at the golem, <”I shall deal with this….thing!”>
“O-okay!” Fluttershy squeaked, rushing towards Skitch. The unicorn’s face was strained, her horn glowing bright while she chanted something under her breath. Grabbing Skitch’s shoulders, Fluttershy shook her, “Please! Snap out it!”
She did not respond, instead continuing to mutter the same word over and over. “Canterlot, Canterlot, Canterlot, Canterlot.”
“Canterlot? Wha-”
Skitch vanished in brilliant flash of white light, eliciting a shocked yelp from Fluttershy, as a very powerful teleport spell finished weaving together.
Manny slammed his body into the golem, grappling and pinning it to the dusty floor with his forepaws. Bringing his tail around, he stabbed it again and again into the side of the construct. Bits and pieces of straw went flying, some of the rings and other bits of detritus falling loose.
The eyeless head of the golem twisted towards Fluttershy for a moment, before twisting back to the manticore. Another magical glow emanated from its forehead, a second spell completing itself.
Manny was knocked back, the construct surging in size while it jerkily stood. As it rose to its full height, they could see that its withers were now even with the top of Manny’s head. With another magic glow and crack-boom, he was forced to dive away, a lightning bolt leaving a black burn mark where he was standing a moment ago.
“Manny!” Fluttershy shrieked, running to her friend’s side as he righted himself.
<”Fluttershy! Get away! You’re in danger here!”>
“I’m not leaving you!”
Opening his mouth to object again, Manny paused. The straw pony wasn’t attacking anymore. Instead, it just watched the pair, seemingly unwilling to attack while Fluttershy stood next to the manticore.
Fluttershy noticed this as well, her eyes darting between her friend and her friend’s attacker. “Manny…I have an idea.” She softly intoned, “Stay close to me.”
With a nod from Manny, Fluttershy took a very deep breath, closed her eyes, and rushed right at the straw pony. She heard Manny roar again, and the sound of his paws slapping on the stone floor behind her. She felt her head brush against the underside of the construct’s stomach, and a resounding *crunch* a second later.
As Manny crashed into the golem again, he grabbed the thing’s head, pulling and tearing at it as his tail slammed into the other side of the construct. With a tearing sound, the head was torn away, the enchantments that wove it into being falling away as well.
As the pieces that were once the straw pony fell to the floor, Fluttershy quickly took to the air. “Oh! I need to go tell the others! Please take that stuff to Zecora. We’ll be back for them later, if that’s okay with you.”
Not waiting for a response, Fluttershy took off, flying for Twilight’s as fast as she could.
- - - -
Skitch and Jane watched the wave of water begin to rush back in, curling high into the “air” of the mindscape as it beared down on them with thunderous fury.
“I guess we’re out of time after all.” Jane bitterly sighed, “Damn.”
“So...this is it? I die in Equestria of all places, snuffed out by an alternate personality?”
Jane sighed, putting a hand on Skitch’s withers as she looked up at the wave. “As angry as I was...I’m sorry….You didn’t deserve this.”
The shadow of the wave fell upon them now, as the water crashed downwards.
“Think it’ll hurt? ...Not existing?” Skitch asked.
“Dunno.” Jane responded, “But I hope they choke on us.”
“Heh…” Skitch sadly smiled, her horn glowing as she summoned magical power. A defensive bubble sprung up around the pair. Not much, but it was something, at least, “Yeah.”
And then the wave hit, and all was darkness.
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Wow, I just finished catching up no more than 4 hours ago an there's another update nice!
will it actually come out next week
NEXT WEEK! That's too long. My Wi-Fi might break in a week! I might DIE in a week! Make it NOW!
Post ALL the chapters!
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4119638
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So, MOAR! is the general sentiment I'm getting here?
Alright, next chapter will defiantly go up next week, but I'll try to bust my but so that I can upload more, if possible.
And so it begins!
Curse you, Cliff Hanger, Curse you and your Dramatic high tension endings.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGG
I seriously have to wait a WHOLE weak for this.....I don't know if i can take it.
4120702 Yep! Moar!
Thank you for posting it next week. So Happy!
I don’t care if she does have blonde hair.
According to my new headcanon, Jane’s PB (that’s “Played By,” for those who do not know) is Sigourney Weaver. Who’s with me?
The purpose of the strawpony is still confusing, maybe it was meant to be a distraction for the Mane 6 while Canterlot was the true objective? But since it's been wrecked I guess it doesn't matter any more and with Fluttershy hearing "Canterlot" the girls will be hot on Skitch-Sketch's trail. Still, Skitch is no longer in control of her body and if the cliffhanger is any indication, her mind as well. What other mischief can a single unicorn get into? At what point does the villain pulling Skitch's strings tip his hand? ...and shouldn't a teleport all the way to Canterlot be such high level magic, only Twilight (on a good day) or an alicorn be able to do that?
[Eagerly awaiting the next chapter!]
Love this story! Can't wait for the next chapter!
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These things shall be answered before the end of the fic, but I can give you some partial answers at least.
1.) The person behind this didn't think that Manny was capable of dropping a dime on him.
2.) More than you'd think, but less than you'd expect.
3.) Your statement about teleporting is true, assuming that you're using Equestrian magic as your baseline.
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Thanks Blue!
Also, I gotta say that your own Without Twilight has been an interesting read so far. Looking forward to more of that one!
4140050 Please don't take FOREVER
(Pinkie Pie reference) writing the next chapter. Its too good to wait too long for!
Man, this is some good stuff. And I like how I have an idea on what's happening next. The change here is pretty freaking awesome GreyGuardPony! It's a shame I will have to do some waiting after I finished reading chapter 6.
im so fucking confused here. hes supposed to be human but now hes not? what kind of shit is this!!!??
So much imminent friendship here
Learning all of your troubling affairs
buried in deep
into forgetfulness seep.
This shall be your only salvation
lest you fall away into a painful sleep.
We shall read on.
Parchment is animal-skin. Ponies are ovo/lacto-vegetarians (they eat no flesh but only plants, eggs, milk, and dairy-products). It is unlikely that ponies would use parchment.
god help us all
i.4cdn.org/mlp/1430375992591.gif
I'm so confused... but this is good nonetheless
Why does accepting your new gender easily mean you have to be trans in Rarity's eyes? Is she just projecting herself in another? If I turned female due to a magical mishap and couldn't change back I would shrug and accept it, because I identify as whatever I physically am.
Right, enough slacking it's far past time to dive back into this... triple feature style!
I smell a backstory.
Huh...I'd have expected that if Rarity were to go about breaking into somepony's home she'd take the subtler approach of picking the lock, either directly with magic or with the classic bobbypin trope, though perhaps with a sewing needle instead.
Beacues tea solves everything!
Oh...
Oh my...
Oh my, oh my...
So I guess this is just all around the chapter where any pretense of subtly dies. Sorry if I sound upset or anything, I'm really not... just, well... I really don't know what to think right now.
If the big "reveal" had been everything there was to this chapter I might need to take a break to mull things over, and I'm tempted all the same regardless, but there's also enough additional intrigue concurrent to all of that which has me equally curios to see what comes next.
Besides, I promised a chapter a day. Not that I've been doing a very good job of keeping to that. Regardless, it's as good an excuse as any to press forward.
I'm going to take a wild guess here. Jake isn't in the mood to listen to the song "I Enjoy Being a Girl"
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=lyrics+i+enjoy+being+a+girl+flower+drum+song&&view=detail&mid=2D87FAC3DE7C88AE3AC32D87FAC3DE7C88AE3AC3&&FORM=VRDGAR
If you come up with an idea before you find out it's a thing, it's still technically an original idea. Like my Alternaverse AU. I came up with the idea before I knew anything about the Lunaverse. So I still take credit for it being an original idea. Though I will give credit to RainbowDoubleDash for giving me the idea to make it a collaborative universe.
Manny doesn't recognize Skitch? Does that mean that prior to Jake's conversion into Skitch, Skitch-Sketch never existed? I knew it was hinted at with Rarity's eye for detail. But I'm curious what will happen next.
If Skitch's memories are fake memories, should Jake feel ashamed if he/she eliminated those memories? Or would those memories, artificial as they are, still count as a life? If her memories are fake, would it still be the equivalent of killing someone like Rarity suggested it'd be if she eliminated Jake's memories?
ugh, i was hoping this story wasn't going to go down the 2D dimensional route of tumblr shenanigans.
god, that part felt so awkward and shoehorned.
i'm going to keep reading though, because the rest of this story is cool as hell. one pothole ain't gonna stop me!
uuuugggghhhh...