Shellstrings

by shortskirtsandexplosions

Doors

Blue Crescent – Upper Facility – Late That Afternoon

"And this portal..." Garnet sat awkwardly at the commissary table, his reflective skin glinting in the electric light. "...it leads to an alternate universe comprised entirely of beastly versions of Equestrian ponies?"

Bon Bon finished sipping from a can of grape soda. Stifling a burp, she looked across the table at him and said, "I don't think 'beastly' is the right word to use for this." She cleared her throat again. "Supposedly, the beings on the other side of the doorway are altogether benevolent. However, their world is one that doesn't function on magic, but instead revels in pure technological prowess... even to the point of dwarfing modern Equestrian achievements."

"You don't say..."

Bon Bon nodded. "Mobile electronic communications. Liquid fuel propelled aircraft. Vehicles that can escape the pull of a planet's gravity." She squinted. "And there's this nebulous thing called the 'Internet' that supposedly connects all beings on a global level, but even our top scientists don't even know how that works."

"Remarkable." Garnet's jaw hung agape. "And yet they know nothing of magic?"

"Precisely. Which is why all enchanted objects and energies that have entered their realm through the portal have caused crazy and unpredictable side effects." Bon Bon gulped. "Ages ago, Starswirl the Bearded banished a group of sirens who inexplicably landed in the world on the other side of the door, and just the three of them nearly mind-controlled an entire province."

"I guess I never thought that a world devoid of magic would echo the effects of sorcery tenfold," Garnet said. "But the more I ponder it, the more it makes sense." He cocked his head to the side. "Tell me... are these accounts accumulated from personal reports?"

Bon Bon smirked as she waved a hoof. "Naaah. As... tantalizing as it would feel to pass through the portal and make first contact with these beings, I'm afraid the whole process just isn't safe for normal ponies."

"How do you mean?"

"Well..." Bon Bon stared across the cafeteria. "The only beings to have made repeated visits and still remain relatively sane have been Princess Twilight Sparkle and her magical assistant Spike."

"An alicorn and a dragon."

"Precisely." Bon Bon nodded. "But Princess Celestia's former pupil? The unicorn known as Sunset Shimmer? Passing through the portal evidently... worsened an already sociopathic mindset." She took another sip of her soda and pointed at her head. "Princess Twilight Sparkle has since hypothesized that a non-alicorn or non-dragon would be more susceptible to temporal narcosis. It's one of the biggest reasons Sunset Shimmer hasn't returned through the portal, despite the fact that she's... uh... evidently reformed from her malevolent intentions." Bon Bon took a final sip. "At least... that's what the Princess' Friendship Reports state."

"Curious..." Garnet leaned forward. "Rumor has it that there are even more doorways situated in the basement of the Palace of the Royal Sisters."

"Yes," Bon Bon said.

"Have you seen them?"

"No," she said. "But my father did. According to him, the single portal leading to the technological world is the only magical gateway still functioning. The rest are all dormant."

"I suppose that explains it," Garnet said.

Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. "Explains what?"

"Why they shipped it to the Crystal Palace to begin with," the stallion continued. "Crystal ponies are gifted in magic—but not to the intense degree as unicorns. Perhaps this was the Canterlot Council's initial plan to conduct studies on the artifact without potentially harming the leylines of this world or the ones beyond."

"That's something that you will have to discuss with your Royal Steward," Bon Bon said with a smirk. "For the time being, however, the doorway's entrusted in the capable hooves of Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"I almost envy the task," Garnet said. "I had always wanted to use my skills for exploration and discovery. Alas... I am far better suited towards defense and enforcement."

Bon Bon crumpled the can and tossed it expertly into a bin behind them. "Nothing to be ashamed of."

"Mmmmm... indeed. And it makes me think of something..." Garnet gestured with his hooves. "Imagine... what if... we could open one of the dormant portals still lying beneath the Royal Sisters' Castle?"

"Yeah...?"

The crystal pony blinked. "Would this not be a more apt way of imprisoning some of Equestria's most notorious monstrosities?" His shiny brow furrowed. "They do seem to make an awful habit of escaping from Tartarus every other season. It would seem that employing one of these portals would be most advantageous to the League."

Bon Bon sighed, gazing down at the table top. "Garnet... I'm not sure that's such a hot idea."

"Do tell."

"Well, you remember what Starswirl did? With the sirens?"

He nodded. "You would rather not repeat history—especially if it means the detriment of another civilization?"

"I mean—sure—back before the Age of Clover, that other world may have seemed truly vacant. Barren, even. But—from what Princess Twilight's reports have stated—the creatures on the other side of the world truly existed back then. They were simply... spread out and completely primitive on all levels. All things considered... we're remarkably lucky that Starswirl's actions—although fortuitous for Equestria at the time—didn't irrecoverably change the outcome of that other dimension for the worse." She gulped. "Hell, for all we know, maybe those sirens did set that civilization back by a few millennia."

Garnet rubbed his chin in thought. "I suppose there's something to be said for blind disposal."

"The way I see it—I just borrow my late father's philosophy," Bon Bon said. Her eyes narrowed. "What we do for Equestria stays in Equestria. It means—secret agents or not—we should all expect to take personal responsibility for the consequences of everything that we do."

"Regardless of what the League manifests state?"

"Regardless of what the League manifests state."

Garnet took a deep breath. "Well, something tells me we'll be exercising that philosophy sooner than later."

"Why do you say that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Garnet waved a hoof. "Despite the power invested in Chief Agent Horizons, the central authority of the League has risen up. It now rests in the hooves of Princess Plasma and the fellow financiers of her Blue Nova Industries."

Bon Bon sighed out the side of her muzzle. "Yeah..."

Garnet leaned his head to the side. "You do not feel comfortable with this...?"

Bon Bon gulped. "Comfort is not a luxury I should expect from this job." She glanced across the mostly empty commissary. "But—up until now—it has afforded a certain degree of familiarity."

Garnet just stared at her.

At last, she glanced back. "What exactly is the process here?" she mumured breathily. "We got out into the field... we bag the monsters... we bring them back to the prison beneath Blue Cresent. But then what? Are they sent to Tartarus? Or are they sent elsewhere?"

"You mean to a portal?"

Bon Bon silently shook her head. "I mean to a grave."

Garnet cleared his throat. "Agent Sweetie Drops—with all due respect—after all the trials I've read about you going through... if we do capture Queen Chrysalis and all of the other monsters responsible for terrorizing Equestria on multiple occasions... would complete and utter termination truly give you that much more guilt?"

Bon Bon's ears drooped at that. But before she could respond—

Creeeeak!

A door behind them opened to a bright white hallway. A familiar horn stuck through. "Yo. Snot-jobs," Betsy grunted.

Bon Bon spun around. "Betsy! I didn't know you had arrived—"

"Yeah. Me neither." She motioned with her head. "Move your diaper holes. The meeting's about to start."

"Wait... already...?" Bon Bon awkwardly stood up. "But I thought—"

"Turns out the financiers have been here all day," Betsy said. "They were waiting for us."

Bon Bon's eyebrow raised.

"Yeah." Betsy snorted. "I know, right?" She ducked her head out and she was gone.

Comments

[IceKitsune]

Ok, interesting look into the Equestria Girls universe there. And they do bring up some good points though they really need to find a way to do something with all the monsters. I like how they don't understand the Internet at all, and I hope at the end of this story (or at some point anyway) it's mentioned that someone has finally figured it out and invented it. It would be a good way to bring the whole TV thing full circle.

Also this was a good chance for a reference to past Generations with the other portals, I'm kind of disappointed he didn't.

[Scorch215]

Hmm o would t really say Sunsets mind was altered at all by the portal so o don't really agree with that assessment there and think anyone could pass through unharmed its jsir Twilight doesn't want ponies ea ring to go exploring the other world and causing even more problems for the humans then theu already havedue to EEquestria

[Lightning Bearer]

Liking the Equestria Girls theories. And I'm not sure, but I might have a new headcanon that the Sirens played a role in the collapse of the Roman Empire.

[Razzy]

Of, already considering murdering any captured detriments to the glorious pony cause.

[Scorch215]

7515491 originally I was against your ideas but...after that convo there is some merit to what you say.

[Spiritus Arcane]

7515387
Agreed, that whole explaination sounded like a cover story to me.