The Influence

by GMSeskii

XV

Author's Note:

[IMPORTING…][…Pink Unicorn? I can't put my finger on it yet, but something about the description sounds familiar. I think it would be best to keep as far apart from infinity as possible. She seems to be on a pardon-the-pun, witch hunt. Purposely trying to get others to mistrust you so she would be justified in keeping you under lock and key or just eliminating you. As for these...golems that Verdant mentioned, the fact that they started attacking them recently could indicate that someone may have found a way to control them and is specifically targeting that city. also, while this may or may not be accurate to how your prophecy plays out, it could be what is still required of you. …Do you know the prophecy of the Great Cataclysm? This is the way I heard it... If a person who has an evil heart gets the Triforce, a Hero is destined to appear..., and he alone must face the person who began the Great Cataclysm. If the evil one destroys the Hero, nothing can save the world from his evil reign. Only a person of the Knights Of Hyrule, who protected the royalty of Hylia, can become the Hero… Obviously, you are neither a knight of Hyrule nor have you protected royalty of Hylia and most certainly are not a he, At least I don't think you are. I could be wrong as I have seen some of you with something extra, but the concept remains the same. Someone must have gotten hold of some truly powerful artifact, and you were the one destined to appear. Stay safe twilight as i believe the other alters could be in dangerous locations that you would have to have some kind of item before you can reach it. Afizha out. Ps. I haven't heard from Eris in a while, though something tells me I won't like what I find out what she's up to… …Akumakami here! Pink Unicorn? Did Cadence get here and hide her wings? The only pink unicorn I know is that one that was Ponyville's former head planner that you replaced- her name is either Amethyst Star or Sparkler. As for the They? Someone called Knighty created the Interface that we use for all making and viewing all your universes/stories. They recently gave it an upgrade that needed some tweeking- things like these have small problems you can't really predict until after its installed. Moving on to the romance thing. Twilight, as I said, we don't really know if we remake entire universes or just find and mold existing ones. Either way, I amgoing to be perfectly blunt here because for a moment you annoyed: You don't have the right to "liberate" those shippings in other universes. Don't get me wrong, I got the part how the romance thing left you uneasy, but talking about going into other universes to tear a couple apart, married or dating, simply because you think that they were somehow brainwashed? We push characters together like a scientist does elements to see the reaction. Some version don't work out, so stop with this mindset of us robbing free will. A lot of shippings backfire or end on high or low notes. So let me make this abundantly clear to you: You ever actually try that and I will introduce you to Twilight Sparksworn from Herds of Chaos. As a start. I enjoy watching heroes and even villains fight for their happy endings, but tearing it apart just because you're a queasy little thing that let ascending go to her head and can't handle the idea that other forces influence, not control, her life? You're getting close to my rage button, Twilight Sparkle. Especially when you're sister-in-law is bucking Equine Cupid! Understand? Yes? Good, now that the obligatory threat to keep the overthinker from ruining happy loving couple across the multiverse is out of the way, on with the rest. Yes, I'm a master of the worst case scenario. To be fair, that is something that often happens in these scenarios. So these things are drones on autopilot. Interesting. Hmm, they might have a master machine that keeps making more and more of them from scraps. What they're after is hard to tell. Maybe the Pearlstone is parto f their fuel and they're automatically trying to secure it? As for the Oracle thing, its vague. Anypony with an eye-themed artifact could fit the mold. Since you're here and are heading ot to the desert, its obviously you. .....Look, I'm a bit sorry about blowing up, but look at it from MY perspective Twilight. Yes, I and others, enjoy watching various creatures struggle on their adventures and such, but I also love grinning at seeing the world where two or more of them found happiness with each other. Be it you withone of your friends, Discord with Celestia or Luna, some just a show of what Cadence and Shining Armor are up to in their married life, or some other ponies. So you destroying those lives, and yes that would be what you're doing, is appalling to me. To the point where I'd unleash evil versions of Discord on you. Especially considering the other issues the multiverse has- Tyrant Celestia, evil versions of you and your friends, Sombra and Chrysalis teaming up, etc. Those you can go off do your hero thing, because what you're thinking now wuld just result in a loto f heartbroken ponies that would force themselves not to be together if you ever convinced them of anything… …-Keyandthelocks- is currently offline. zzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZT! Bom-ba-num-bom! -be in working order now, and sorry again for the inconvenience. We in the Services understand how important your job is. Thanks, fine, whatever, have a nice day, I need to get back to my job, it's been weeks! I understand, have a nice day, and to you as well, sir. Good day, Challenge Twilight! It's me, Key! What the reed is happening? Suddenly you're in the desert and an entire city is exploding! Thanks for keeping everything interesting while my station was down, but where are you? And where are you going? And, okay, I think it's officially time to rule out the 'In the past' theory, there's no way the Sweeper would make a world that's the same as yours, throw you into the past, and then make an entire prophecy about you. You were reading about ancient prophecies in a book about Nightmare Moon years ago and did you hear anything about some Oracle? I for one know the Sweeper wouldn't implant you into just a new version of your own past and change everything as you go, that's not the way it rolls in and does things. It's method of operations is to follow as closely to the continuity of reality as possible when it uses reality. Also, I...really forget what we were last talking about, but I remember an avatar of the Sweeper came down and was talking with you, how did that go? And also do you have any questions? I can answer them now that power has been restored and repairs have been made… …josh here - Bill Cipher is a yellow triangle with one eye, black arms, legs and a top hat, his powers are similar to Discords, i be it he was a lot more brutal with his, although i personally haven't seen a version of him in a version of your universe, although he could travel the multiverse, i don't think you need to worry about him; he met his end at the hands of the Pines family… …josh again - jeez key you missed a lot, basically Ine told us that she is not the Sweeper what her name is (obviously i used it a second ago) and that we were supposed to answer her questions about the Sweeper and the worlds it makes, and after some thought and preparing they traveled to this city at the edge the desert where a magic thunderstorm going on then that thing in the sky showed up and well... you saw what happened next… …Ponygood speaking. Nice to know you managed to get out of there alive. It seems our antagonist, at least for the moment, is an army of machines. The details are fuzzy, but we here on Earth have a lot of stories about battles between machines and humans. Usually, these robots fall under the stereotype of "KILL ALL HUMANS." There are a number of ways that can happen. First: the robot was made by humans and given an order (Do what's best for humanity.) The robot interperets that to mean the thing that takes the least effort (Kill them so they can't kill each other.) Second: the robots are from another planet and see humans as dangerous to their goals, whatever they are, or just see them as a resource. Also, robots are usually in a hive structure, with a "brain" at the very center of it all and controlling all of its underlings as you would use your legs. Or, maybe the robots have a self-replication directive that goes haywire and it goes out of control as it tries to turn every little bit of material into more of itself. One group of robots, known as the Borg, travel space and assimilate entire races into their collective so they can grow stronger and smarter. Despite these, a common trait among all robots is a desire to seek out the path of least resistance that can help them the most in both the short- and long-term.,But how does this all fit in with the ones you're encountering? These ones probably see the town as either a threat or a valuable resource and definitely believe it is worth expending energy trying to eradicate it. However, if they encounter creatures just in the desert, and are apparently letting them go, they might not want to waste energy on such small and potentially weak targets. The pink unicorn going in to meet them, however, would be a very convenient target that doesn't take much energy. If she hasn't been heard from in a while, she's likely either been killed or assimilated, since keeping her prisoner would be a waste of resources the robots don't want to aquire in the first place. Killing her would be a very easy thing to do, but assimilation would allow them to glean all the information possible about not just her, but her entire society, and make more effective plans of attack. If you go to talk to them, too, a similar fate might befall you. Either way, it might not be safe to bring Fluttershy with you, as I doubt her communication skills and Stare would be effective against emotionless constructs, and there's a high chance she could be captured. I don't really recommend you go to meet them in the first place, since you are very powerful, very knowledgeable, and our only link to your universe, but I can't stop you. And now, off of the topic of robots! I and everyone else here know just as much about the Oracle and prophesies that you do. Still, it might do you good to act like you are the hero they want. If you do end up being the one, then great! If not, then oh well, you might still be able to ally with the actual hero when they do arrive. I assume these "ancient altars" are either like the comunication structure you got Fluttershy from, or other things entirely. Either way, look out for them, and try to make sure you know exactly how they work before interacting with them. If you can find at least four more comunication structures, you could summon at least your element-bearing friends and do Rainbow Power stuff. There is the probability of this so-called "prophecy" just being randomly created by some nutjob, but I can't determine that. Infinity is still trailing you, it seems. I don't think she's any sort of threat, and you probably will be relieved of a lot of headaches if you just give her what she wants. And hey, she may even be willing to help you on your journeys! Having an extra magic-user would be helpful, especially if you can teach her some good spells for combat, exploration, anti-illusion, etc. Also, you do NOT have to worry about either Bill Cypher or the Borg. They do NOT exist in the universe you are in. Although you might inspire any of us to create/link to a different universe in which you fall head-over-hooves for Mr. Bill's handsome triangle face... :P Of course, it would be completely seperate from yours, and you do not have to worry about that at all. And maybe I should stop talking about that. Alright, yeah, I'll stop. And don't forget to refill your magical stone! This section of my coment isn't directed towards you, Twilight, but to the rest of us. We've attempted to influence Twilight's world seperately, and have failed, right? Would it be more effective if we all work together towards one goal? For example, that a magical cloud known as Butt will start following Twilight and saying "Hey, listen!" in a cutely annoying voice. Please humor me? That is all… …Giginss speaking. that the mare with three eyes will be gifted with the power to see what others cannot... She will go to all the ancient altars, gain wisdom, and prevent the cataclysm of darkness..." Ooooo! Prophecy! 9 times out of 10, these things are right, and 9 times out of 10, there's a twist we don't see coming. At least the prophecy says "prevent the cataclysm of darkness", that's a definite. Unless the prophecy is wrong, of course. But that isn't going to happen. Clears throat. A mysterious prophecy that doesn't come true never happens. I think I've jinxed that enough. About our interface, it recently updated to include new, shiny things that do stuff! Want some patch notes? They'll be mostly gibberish to you. [PATCH NOTE: PATCH NOTES CONDENSED FOR COMPILATION EASE. TWILIGHT RECEIVED THE MESSAGE, REST ASSURED]… …ne? that's such a stupid na... Thank you Josh, for updating me, but if Ine is asking about the Sweeper and isn't in fact an avatar OF it, then that's worrying, because that'd place it on the same level as me and everyone in my organization, as well as Twilight, and maybe some of you? I don't know, maybe not, you all seem to be Forerunners yourself. But if someone or thing is as low as I and Twilight are, that means that they shouldn't have that kind of power. That's reeding worrying. No character, secondary or otherwise should be that powerful. Ine must have been created by the Sweeper to fill some kind of antagonistic role to Twilight, but then became away of herself and, like all villains do, decided to let her hubris take control and treat everyone else like they don't exist, which probably explains why she doesn't actually talk to Twilight but to you guys. Are we sure Ine is female, by the way? Sorry, that doesn't matter. Sir? What do you make of this? If Ine were to be categorized as a type L villain, she'd most certainly try to locate who created her and regardless of motivation, most likely do away with them. That is SO MUCH more terrifying than I thought... Okay, Twilight, are you listening? You need to stop Ine at ALL COSTS, if she has some way to kill a Forerunner, that means you'll just cease to exist, no mystery, no lack of understanding on what'll happen next, you'll just no longer BE anymore. By comparison, death is preferable. I'm not exaggerating! You can gather information from her first, since I know you like to do that, and find out if she actually intends to kill the Sweeper or not, but you MUST act, or everything will mean nothing! You and the enitre world around you will be fully destroyed! Please, I know i tend to fly off the handle and over-react, and normally it's uncalled for, but this is the real deal. STOP INE AT ANY COST!!!… …Alright, that's it! Fairytale's over. WELCOME TO REAL LIFE. You stand against the basic virtues of Truth and I, as a bringer of Truth, will not stand for it! You will face judgement for scaring the innocent with your lies and slander, for denying the existence of reality because your imagination is more interesting, for being a stupid poopyface! Ready yourself, for I shall smite thee with my combustible lemons! Bonus internet points for anyone to catch the two references. Unless you're the Kiwi Organization, of course… …nickel again, i severely doubt you have any link to me personally, well this version of you anyway, if that was your take on that and its more of a metaphysical thing anyway so it was more of idle chatter than anything of actual importance to you... i think, its so convoluted and intertwined with the parts of reality we will never understand that there are few entities in existence who will ever be able to tell for sure, but suffice to say that there are a LOT of theories on what makes pinkie tick and central characters like yourself get a lot of focus. anyway, when it comes to prophecy there is a trend that it only makes sense as it comes true, making it very difficult to predict what might happen or when unless there is a clearly given time frame in the wording. it seems to me that the ancient altars mentioned might be places like where you woke up and as for the dark cataclysm... there is no clear information in the baseline we have access to on when things happened in your timeline and it only gets worse in the pre-harmony era prior to luna's return, if this is really occurring within memory of the discordian era then the dark cataclysm may have something to with the fall of princess luna and the rise of nightmare moon, but like so much of your worlds history this is just speculation. oh and the wisdom you are supposed to find may unfortunately be us, as useless as we are, i sure hope it means something different. as for bill cipher, he is an inter-dimensional demon of sorts from a dead dimension with near absolute control over the dream plane and mindscape, but he isnt a worry for you since he has no ability of his own to travel between dimensions and the methods to do so are quite rare, more importantly at the end of the baseline he exists in he dies a very thorough death and is nearly removed from existence entirely, while he is similar to discord, if discord turned his pranks to destruction anyway, he is no threat to you. if your still worried, think about it this way, they have similar power, but discord has the stronger manipulations over the physical world as well as having demonstrated mental abilities and i severely doubt that even the unreformed discord would allow his "fun" to be ruined by a destructive upstart. i do feel for you on the shipping aspects, but based on my experience there is nothing that can be done, most of those worlds are out of your primary's control and the best that you could expect would be to intervene in a duplicate leaving the original untouched, sorry i don't have better news there. i keep coming back to edit this... last note, i have a question. since you are under the direct influence of what i have classified as a chaos matrix you can offer some advice, i have several damaged worlds that i want to repair, but lack the ready means to do so myself. should i open them to this kind of chaos and hope that i can guide them to heal or let them fade completely and save them the inevitable suffering that would arise from whole worlds being under the kind of influence you are?… …-Keyandthelocks- has blocked -Ponygood11-… …LeftMoss here, I was totally wrong about the size of that ship, its not even CLOSE to the size of a large city, and its weapons shown no visible sign of firing anything. I believe that it is a form of hardlight that is not visible. Now the hardlight concept is not exactly proven where we are, its more of a science fiction type thing, but universes have different properties, such as us (some of us, at least) not having magic, at all, and you having it, and there's the fact that the ancients (I will settle with that until I get a proper race name) have really advanced technology and we don't (compared to them at least), I would not be surprised if they were able to get out of the planets atmosphere, but if they could not, well that's another thing entirely. As for what to do now, well, just go about it casually, don't do anything really suspicious (that one is a given, isn't it?), and maybe, just maybe, talk with Infinity about some things, not really going into specific things about what to talk about, but just try to get her to trust you more… …josh here - uh, if Ine wanted to kill the sweeper and destroy his worlds wouldn't that kill her to? she did say she is as much a part of this world as Twilight is... …Which could mean that Ine was placed here by the Sweeper, and is acting within her own means to enact a form of revenge for that. It doesn't matter why specifically she's looking for her creator, the fact is that she is, and that's worrying for any number of reasons… ..I don’t see how Cave Johnson is going to help you. I mean how would even make the lemons combust? I still remember the robot that went on a ‘Bender’ and kept saying ‘Kill All Humans’ in his sleep… …Twilight, while I don't think the prophecy is the same, this prophecy seem to be a close representative. The words that memory wrought are set to fire, Ere new moon rises O'er the Devil's, Mount. The Changeling Lord shall face a challenge dire, Till bodies fill the Tiber beyond count. Yet southward must the sun now trace its course, Through mazes dark to land of scorching death To find the master of the swift white horse And wrest from him the crossword speaker's breath. To westward palace must the Lester go; Demeter's daughter finds her ancient roots. The cloven guide alone the way does know, To walk the path in thine own enemy's boots. When three are known and Tiber reached alive, 'Tis only then Apollo starts to jive. … …a small fairy, blue in color, floats over the purple pony with wings and a horn and makes a loud ringing sound to get it's attention, only for a cat that managed to sneak aboard the ship to pounce on the flying blue annoyance… …Ponygood again. I think I have a way to explain the whole romance thing do that it doesn't bother you too much. Basically, unless the person doing the "shipping" is terrible at it, characters will only come together if they have very compatible qualities in the original universe. Shipping all of your friends at the same time is an interesting idea, but a terrible one in practice, and that person would probably be disliked more than someone else. On the other hand, something like Rarity and Applejack would be more plausible, since they seem to be in the state of lovers quarrel. There is still the problem of gender, though. On Earth, there is a huge religiously inspired divide on if people of the same sex can love each other. However, since your society seems to have an extremely large ratio of females to males, you probably don't have those same qualms. Just something to think about. It's never something you have to partake in, but romance can be a very rewarding commitment. Just think of all the freaky fun times! :P Ding ding ding! Twenty points to Afizadoor! You got the Portal once correct, and I didn't see the reference to Futurama initially, so good job! Still got more to find, though. Anyone? Hint: a spaceman named Lonestar says it… …i'm going to say this before you start freaking out about it. all these prophecies the others are mentioning are from other universes and they are trying to find comparisons to yours, but it wont work. they have no bearing on what is happening to you and every prophecy is different, most worlds have some kind of prophetic force or ability and most use different methods and mouthpieces which causes the results to carry very different meanings even if they sound similar, it can be metaphorical or literal, vague or clear, fate or likelihood. use yours as a guide but don't rely too heavily on an exact understanding until it becomes clear on its own… …This is Zen I am fine. I simply did not have anything to say which I believed to be pressing enough to warrant lengthening the time during which you would be unable to respond to the world around you. Speaking of which, what is wrong with you people? Nickel, Akuma, why did you think it would be a good idea to have a long-winded discussion about shipping when it was eminently clear that Twilight's life was potentially in danger? Would you actually have continued if you hadn't been called out on it (speaking of which, thanks for cutting it short, Ponygood)? And why would anyone think that Bill Cypher would ever be relevant? We're supposed to be helping Twilight, not nearly getting her killed. Normally I think of that sort of thing as merely stupid and annoying annoying—today's random, irrelevant prophecies from wholly other worlds being a perfect example—but that was fucking inexcusable. Moving on, the principal defining characteristics of Acket are that the city was built on the ruins of the Ancients (I will presume that Verdant was being literal with that statement), and that they draw energy from the Band to power their advanced magical devices. The simplest explanation, to me, is that the Golems were designed to prevent the Band from being drained, either because they also use it as a power supply, or that they are programmed to keep the Band running for as long as possible. What's more, i find it highly unlikely that someone in Acket hasn't made that connection yet. I would not, at this stage, suggest that something nefarious is going on, but they have made it clear that they would rather wage war with the Golems rather than let matters be. Unfortunately, investigating these ruins will inevitably lead you into the middle of the conflict, to say nothing of this prophecy. It's not something I've ever heard before, but you are right about it being rather bland. The next "altar" may be a communicator/transporter like the last Ancient Ruin you investigated, or it may be a different sort of device, but it is impossible to tell with only a single point of data. It may be that the altars are meant for you to gather your friends together, if they are all the same thing. And part of me wants to think that we're supposed to be the source of this "wisdom" you're supposed to gain, but it doesn't look that way from where I'm standing. As for the cataclysm of darkness, taking the phrase literally, you've dealt with one before, but I have doubts that you're dealing with another Nightmare Moon-type scenario. And at this point you should just answer Infinity's questions. she isn't going to stop following you, and that's going to get her killed, and you don't need that on your conscience… …don't know if the window is still open, but zen at what point did i ever claim to be fully sane, if you could see the full scope of the worlds i oversee you would probably be slightly off too and anyway, the transfer periods don't seem to be set up to allow direct harm, but as for why i chose to respond now is because my interface is starting to enter a buggy period and there is nothing i can do to prevent it, so unless the next window is tomorrow i'm probably going to be cut off for a cycle or two… …*ESTABLISHING SECURE CONNECTION CONNECTION ESTABLISHED Twilight. my name is of no importance, but I must warn you of the coming trials. I do not know what you may face but there will be a time when the choices you made will come back with consequences. Some may be beneficial, others detrimental, but what matters is that every choice you make will have consequences in the future.
I wish you luck in your quest and hope you never have to make an impossible choice. I know the feeling a choice like that leaves. I miss you, Ashley. your sacrifice was not in vain. Saren has paid for his crimes and the Harbinger has been destroyed. The Reapers will be stopped. CONNECTION CLOSED ERASING CONNECTION LINK… …Ooh, Commander Shepard! Space captain of the good ship Normandy as he and his crew of aliens bring peace throughout the galaxy while simultaneously defeating a race of robots that seek to exterminate all life in the galaxy. Nice to see you here, but the pony you're contacting has a lot more freedom to do whatever than your severely limited "response wheel." Being able to make world-changing decisions is a given. Also, magic…]

Twilight twitched.

"Oh no..." Fluttershy said, taking cover behind the bed.

"ARE YOU ALL SERIOUS? Zen's right, you're all idiots! IIIIDIOTS! What in Celestia's name is wrong with you!? I mean - why!? I understand the shipping! I do, I read a lot of books do you think I don't get it? But I also know that there are a LOT of people who do it HORRIBLY, in ways that make no sense and just exist for the sake of their own bruised psyche! THOSE are what I was mad at - because it implies that you are CREATING places where THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS? Kapeesh? End of discussion! Done! Zip! Akumakami, I trust that your worlds make sense and I'm happy for them, but you know why I feel this way. I'm sure you do. But... You still threatened me. I... I don't know what to make of that. I thought you were... nevermind" Twilight sighed. "Now can we please not talk of this again? Done with the shipping. I know about it, and it won't help. At all."

She rubbed her mind. "Almost just as bad is all of you arguing over references and debates. And... Sorry. Shepard, welcome to the group. I... Think you're like me, aren't you? In a 'story.' I... I'm sorry if you're getting this dump from me. It's not great, it's not easy, and... Just, try to take it calm. I thank you for your kind words... And I wish you luck on your own."

Fluttershy poked her head out from under the bed. "...You okay now?"

"Yeah... I think I am. It builds up while it floods into my mind - I can't release what I feel about all they say so it all comes out at once. One big huge mess of emotions... It sucks."

Fluttershy hugged her. "I imagine so..."

"Yeah... Anyway, we do have some actual important things in here mixed among the pointless prophecies they tried to give me. We'll just ask Ruby for specifics. Giginss, you know you can't tempt fate here, so why are you trying?" She took in a breath. "Key? Zen? I'm so glad you're both okay - I was getting worried. I'm surrounded by lies, unimportant information, and stress. At least you two are talking sense. Josh, you too. I - I don't think I can do anything with Ine, even if she is the 'villain' of this story. She listens to you, not to me. I think that's up to you and what you do. She doesn't strike me as someone who wants to kill Blackjack or take control though... She strikes me as curious. You may want to ask her directly why she's looking for Blackjack though."

Fluttershy shook her head. "There's a lot going on that's beyond us, far beyond what we could ever hope to see..."

Twilight smirked. "Don't think like that Fluttershy." She looked down at the Witch's Eye. "Something tells me we'll be able to grasp it all at the end. Whenever that is. ...Probably very, very far away."

Fluttershy nodded. "So... Was there anything useful about the Oracle? The prophecy? The golems?"

"Ponygood had some thoughts - some terrifying thoughts - on the way the golems might be acting. But other than that, no, not really - they're just as much in the dark as us. And there's a lot of confusion on if this IS our world, or something only similar to it..." She rubed her head. "Let's just... go out to the living room."

"Huh?"

"It's time to come clean."

Twilight opened the door to her room, going into the presence of Infinity and Ruby. She sat down in a chair and looked at them - particularly Infinity. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is Fluttershy. I am the Princess of Friendship of Equestria, from a time we believe to be over a thousand years into the future. I was brought here by unknown means, and this device - the Witch's Eye - affixed to my chest shortly thereafter. Ever since then I've been trying to get home, and failing - all the while the Witch's Eye will tell me voices of beings akin to both stars and ponies, powerful yet flawed, creators of worlds yet residents of their own. They have told me many things - guiding me through my travels, telling me much that contradicts, is unnecessary - and terrifying. All I'm trying to do is go home, but they seem to think there's much more, and this prophecy just solidifies that standpoint of theirs." She sighed. "I know this is all crazy - believe me - but it's the truth."

Infinity blinked. "...I did not expect you to come clean. That was also not the story I was expecting."

Ruby blinked. "You are sounding more and more like the Oracle... These voices, do they tell you of things we cannot know? Perhaps of the future?"

"The future? No, but they say a lot I don't know about, and would have no way of knowing otherwise," Twilight said.

"Twilight," Fluttershy cut in. "We're from the future. They saw us in that future. They can tell us of the future..."

"Oh. I guess that's right..."

Infinity grinned. "Hooo yes, a prophecy!" She took out a notebook and pen. "Take it away, Red!"

"...I'm Ruby. But sure. I'll... Try to remember the prophecy to its fullest... It was originally a poem in Ancient, but I'll give you the translation...

One day, the south will erupt,
Bringing forth darkness from the seas,
A Lord of darkness and despair from parallel,
Encroaching on our own from distant part.

An Oracle will rise, given power,
The third eye, to see what is to come,
And what cannot be known,
For the truth is a horrid thing.

They will quest to the six altars,
Consulting the spirits within,
Gaining their wisdom and aid,
Purifying herself to be one.

They will use our remnants,
Distort the natural order,
Find the power overwhelming,
And banish the Lord of darkness.

So all must prepare for then,
Give them assistance with the time,
For the knowledge is all they need,
To organize the defeat of a cataclysm."

Ruby fell silent, looking around slightly nervously.

"...Wow," Twilight said. "That's a lot to unpack."

Infinity's jaw was hanging open. "No way. Dude, you guys need to go south! I bet there's something from the freezing lands that's going to try and kill us all!"

Fluttershy gasped. "Oh no..."

Twilight bit her lip. "But... Equestria. Home - they could help?"

Ruby shrugged. "All I know is that I'm called by the order to assist you in your endeavors, whatever you decide they're going to be."

"Can't you tell me anything?"

"...I think I can tell you what the altars are. Ancient structures that look a bit like claws - we've found three. The Capital, Troisha, and the Bluemish Forest..."

Fluttershy's eyes widened. "...We were already at the one in the Bluemish Forest. It... It dragged ME here after Twilight used it."

Ruby bowed. "There is no longer any doubt in my mind, you are the Oracle to save us. This means the time of the cataclysm is nigh."

Twilight nodded. "...I accept this prophecy, even if I'm not entirely sure what to do with it..."

Infinity shook her head. "I mean... Wow. Just wow. I was RIGHT! You WERE important! Crazy alicorn pony Oracle from the future!"

"Oh, there's a lot more than that..." Twilight smiled. "You see..."

Twilight told them about the things she knew - about the golems, the Influence's theories, about Ine, about Discord, Celestia, the dragons... About the island she found herself in. She avoided talking about shipping, the meta, and the other things the Influence had revealed to her - nopony else needed to be burdened with that knowledge. She did what she could.

Infninity was never satisfied - her mind was like a sponge that wanted to know more, more, more, more! Never would the questions stop - not even as they crossed over the band itself. They barely glanced outside to see the lightning strike the outside of the Sandshell and be directed instantly to the engines, giving them a boost. They just rode along without a care...

Later, Twilight was sitting alone at a window. They were supposedly leaving the band and heading into the desert proper, soon to be looking for an oasis to be dropped off at - Sand Blaster was really helpful in that regard. He was going to do what he said he'd do, and no amount of sandstorms were going to stop him. She could see the sun setting, the sky reddening beautifully. The sand was mesmerising...

She saw sparks out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head sharply to the left, catching Alderan drifting alongside the Sandshell.

"Hey!" Twilight called. "I want to talk!"

Alderan vanished the moment she spoke. She furrowed her brow - great. That wasn't going to be any help at all, she was going to have to capture him or something...

She blinked, looking at the sun. She shrugged, figuring she might as well try again. She used her magic to make it set a few seconds early - she felt the same pull on the Sun again put it back. She was almost certain it was Celestia, but there was no way to communicate with her... And it was the past anyway, it wasn't like she'd know or anything...

Twilight sighed, watching as the moon rose to replace the sun. She shook her head - what could she do?

She yawned. Well, it looked like there'd be another audience with Ine soon. She wasn't really looking forward to that - at all - but she'd probably be a help to the Influence. Maybe. Twilight flopped onto the bed, going over what had happened just a few hours ago. She'd made up with Infinity - now the unicorn was crazy into watching the prophecy unfold. They were going into the desert to see about maybe finding Equestria - maybe finding some Ancient Golems in their city, see what she could do to help. To stop all the destruction and death...

She yawned again, falling into the bed...

~~~

She was far, far above the desert - so far she could see the curvature of the planet. The south held the great plains and forests she had come from, the east held the ocean, the west held the mountains, and the north held...

...She wasn't sure what she was looking at, exactly. It looked like a land of pure magic, far, far in the distance. A ghost of a place. She frowned - how could such a place exist?

She looked around frantically, searching for any sort of landmark by which to orient herself, to find Equestria. But only the mountains seemed familiar at all, and mountains could be anywhere...

"Hemispheres," Ine said, appearing behind Twilight.

"...Are you talking to me?"

Ine made no response, simply looking down at the desert. An area near the magical land, but still in the desert, sparked with energy. Twilight also saw, closer to the band, a large circular shape in the sand made of the Ancient material. She knew that it was the golem city without being told.

"You have me misjudged. Evil, good..." Ine paused. "The Influence was not meant to be this. This was not the intended outcome." She floated around. "...You think I want to know of my creator for evil reasons. For... Destruction. For malice. For control. This is not the case. For as long as we can remember, we have searched for God. It has been our driving force - to find out the reason. To know why. To gain understanding. That is all I want. Understanding."

Twilight blinked. "...Woah... That's deep... And ambitious..."

"This shipping you are all held up on is meaningless to this world. I have much information on the world and the way it functions, and where it seems outside forces act. It does not apply here. I can deduce that much. Perhaps I can tell you more - but for now, something I want to know. She is obviously a character you all care about to varying degrees, that much I understand now. Fiction is powerful. I understand that we are but another story tied into this web of fiction by one Blackjack, a being similar to most of you. What I wish to know is what would the point be of allowing you all access to a portion of his world? Does it not seem that this Twilight would be able to fulfill her role in this adventure without you?"

Twilight blinked. Ine had a point...

"I await your response."

Comments

[Keywii_Cookies55]

Look Ine, OBVIOUSLY The Sweeper could just not give us the ability to interfere with Twilight. That's how it's ALWAYS BEEN. I was there, I was the agent assigned to observe the version of Twilight that was in the Equestria with the Little Inferno fireplaces. I KNOW that it's not normal for the organization to have reeding access!

That's not the point you daf! I'm not a reeding scientist, I'm not on the reeding team that figures all that out I'M JUST AS CLUELESS AS YOU ARE!

Key, I advise you to-

WHY DO YOU WANT TO KNOW? These forerunners don't give a DAF if you live or die! They don't care at all about us. We're just here for their reeding entertainment! The damn story that my organization got it's name from? It's one of REEDING many! It had a Pinkie Pie that The Sweeper controlled, and it had a Jane that my useless 'god' basically TORTURED!

We're playthings to these things. Nothing but pawns that fill a role for their reeding *stories* Never are we allowed any free will, never will we be anything that they want us to be, and never will we do anything ourselves. They choose what we think and they choose what we do. And then, once they're done with you, they through you the reed aside!

I ONLY EXIST BECAUSE MY *GOD* DECIDED TO LEAVE HIS STORY UNFINISHED!!!

So you want an answer Ine? You want understanding? You're a failed excuse for a plaything that amounts to nothing but a scary dream-based antagonist for Twilight. Yet another pawn that fills no other role than to entertain the masses followed by probably never existing anymore. Being talked to yet another product of a broken, horrifying system built by gods that don't care at all about us in any way.

And I'll probably exist forever because mine didn't even want me or anyone I've ever known! Trapped in a perpertual state of whatever I was left in the moment It left to go do other things!

Key, one more word out of you and you'll be given your second strike. One more and you're fired, pick you next actions exceedingly carefully

~

~

~

Do whatever you want to me, it doesn't matter anyway. I just wanted Twilight to keep from knowing the truth, and now she does. Way to go, Ine, she and you now both now how disgustingly pointless life is for people like us when the forerunners that you and I have been talking to this whole time decide to create us.

Out, now, you're on three week suspension effective immediately

Goodbye Twilight, give my regards to the daf they replace me with.

[OmnipresentMicroorganism]

Ine, if you want understanding, you've come to the wrong place, cuz most of us don't actually know ourselves. Either you don't exist, we don't exist, we both exist, and I dunno, theoretical physics is hard and I haven't even graduated college yet. When you get into the many worlds theory, paradoxes abound and stuff that would make Discord throw up his appendages and walk away growling is everywhere.

Short version, nobody actually knows anything, Blackjack sure as hell ain't talking, and we all exist and don't exist at the same time.

[AkumaKami64]

Akumakami.

Hey, hey, hey! I threatened you for two reasons. One, you were considering doing something that was beyond Discord's worst jerkass level. However, that alone I wouldn't have minded. The second thing is what you have to understand. Twilight, I love you- platonically!- but you are....how should I put this? You're one of the few existences in this multiverse of yours where any carnations of you could into a god-teir figure of good or evil, or anything else. So when you say you're going out of your way to break up any romances yo feel forced across the multiverse, I have flashbacks to stories where you ae an evil dictator that may or may not be eliminating emotions(certain ones or all) to make your subjects more "efficient." Yes, this is a thing.

To be absolutely blunt Twilight, there are two creatures in your multiverse that can say they are going to do almost anything and I will believe them whole heatedly. That's you and Discord. Yes, I hold you at the same potential-level of Discord. I'd include Pinkie Pie, but she mostly just does rather than say.

But, yes, I am sorry about threating you. It was mostly the above reasons, but bug problems and home issues didn't exactly help me keep a clear head. As you said, I'm kind of the master of worst case scenarios. Though, in fairness, I usually don't read what everyone sends you until after I write mine- meanings I don't always realize how much rambling you're getting from the other.

As for you Ine..........Ah.

First off, to you and Twilight, to explain why we got stuck on shipping? We humans tend to ramble. It is occasionally infectious.

Second off, you have my apologies. From myself at least. We humans are also prone to suspicion. Entities like you are often foreshadowed to be a villain. Bt it seems like you are one of Those types. The types as you said, seeking to know your creator. Not a bad thing, though, I find your types are often disappointed with the answer.

There are several universes where Discord is God, still more probably where he is and doesn't ever say it. The point of this is to illustrate a saying we have: God is a child with an ant farm. Though, this saying conveys more callousness but explains how God can be omnipotent and willing to allow evil, a thin argument amongst atheists. The basic idea that beings like us do just do things to do it, but that doesn't mean we don't care. Some of us have great arching plans and others are winging it every step of the way, working with events as they come.

So why introduce Twilight to us? Personally, I think Blackjack might have a thing for existential crisis situations, but its likely largely because they realized it hadn't been done before. At least not like this. Authors often take advice from each other or allow viewers to have a say in somethings, this is just the ultimate untested version of that: Blackjack cooked up this world and its current issues to see how having us help Twilight would play out- a bit poorly from her perspective, I imagine.

You keep saying we weren't meant to be like this. Which explains a lot. The eye was likely suppose to have a different function, but Blackjack changed it without using a retroactive effect. ikely to draw your attention, if I'm honest. A s with the analogy, its hard to say if there is a real plan or not.

Now a question for you: What exactly was the influence suppose to be, to your knowledge? And please don't be super vague.

As for you Twilight?.....Okay, I did and do feel bad abot threatening you. So, I carry good news! As the prophecy said, there are more sites to visit. Which means that either you're going to get some ability or such to help you understand or face your foes, or you'll be able to bring more of your friends here to help. Maybe not something you want, but you might have to.

And to top it all off, I'll do you a favor. Not sure what it'd be In this situation........You just want me to shut up for a few chapters? I can let you talk to someone from one of my universes if you want- I promise, only the nice ones.

[AkumaKami64]

8239004
Zen, enough with this "that was fucking inexcusable" shit. First off, I ramble, yes, but I do always leave whatever advice I can give about the given situation- sometimes I have some, others I don't. if I don't ask her shit when I think of it, I'll forget about it. Second off, This Is Twilight Damn Sparkle. My warning against her screwing with shipping/romance in the multiverse was made on the point that I actually believe her capable of such a thing. She's immortal now, so she'd have plenty of time to research and experiment on the portal to Sunset's human world, so excuse me if I want to avoid a cosmic clusterbuck like that.

I mean seriously. You get the fact that we're all here to talk to the mare, right? Yes, we(some anyway) want to help her, but she's going to get bombarded by massive information either way. Of course we're going to have weird little conversations with her through this eye thing.

[Sonic Rainboom Dash]

One day, the south will erupt, Bringing forth darkness from the seas, A Lord of darkness and despair from parallel, Encroaching on our own from a distant part.

T-Twilight! T-That description. The lord of darkness and despair. I only know of one man with that name, and if it truly is him then be prepared to overcome your worst fears. He is a tyrant who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. He was the leader of a band of thieves who invaded Hyrule in the hopes of establishing dominion over the Sacred Realm. He was known as a demon thief, an evil-magic wielder renowned for his ruthlessness. Ganondorf. If he truly is the Lord that prophecy foretells, then you must have courage to face the very demon that would make Tirek look like a foal throwing a temper tantrum.

[Ponygood11]

Ponygood speaking.
To both Ine and Twilight, I wouldn't recommend fully believing what anyone from Keywii's organization says. They tend to exaggerate a lot of what they say, and also have a sort of "avatar" to hide behind. Yes, all of us on here have avatars, but only to the extent of hiding our true identities from the potential existence of those who would abuse that information. A few, including Keywii's orginization, Afizah, Shepard, the other you, and Stormbird, are all either fabricated or commandeered alternate identities for the real person to roleplay as for one reason or another.

Speaking of Stormbird, where is he? He seems to have just spent a little time with us before becoming disinterested and leaving. That... has actually happened before too. Twilight, do you remember the crazy person talking about food?

Anyway, you do pose an interesting question, Ine. To us, this "story" is a one-of-a-kind thing: it is literally the only story in which we, the audience, are able to interact with at least one of the characters. Every other story is read-only, and we can only comment our thoughts or ideas on them. It probably never would have existed without Blackjack's idea to create an interactive story. And Blackjack himself is just like any of us, being someone who protects himself with an avatar, and just so happens to enjoy writing stories about ponies.

...okay, so maybe that's a stretch. Even if Blackjack never got that idea, there would probably still be an infinite amount of every little variation of every action, object, person, and laws of physics in an infinite multiverse. It just happens that we are able to see a representation of one of those universes, and interact with it. But that's a story for another time. And with that, I think I answered your question before this input session.

And speaking of that, the Eye/Oracle is connected to Twilight, right? I'm slightly worried that you are also able to access it, as it makes me think that others with more malicious intentions could access it, too. Also, I have a lot to ask about involving Twilight's situation, but I don't want to lengthen my comment too much, so would you be willing to at least allow Twilight to inquire about things important for her quest/destiny? Nothing personal, though. And a final question: is there a way for us to get in contact with the rest of your civilization? I think that's all I wanted to direct towards you, Ine.

Anyway, Twilight? I'm going to try and disect this prophecy for you. The first verse obviously talks about some danger from the south. It's probably not Ganondorf of Hyrule, since he is in an extremely alternate universe that will most likely never meet yours, but I don't have any idea what it could be, except for being really evil and rude and mean and stuff. The second verse obviously talks about you, Twilight. The third talks about finding six structures like the one you got fluttershy from, and collecting what I assume to be your friends from them. I'm pretty sure one of them is in or near the Golems' city, and that 5 of the structures will be used for your friends, Fluttershy included. From the sixth structure, I'd recommend Discord for supreme reality-warping or Starlight Glimmer for advanced magical understanding. And if you choose Discord, be sure to differentiate between present and future Discord.

The fourth verse makes me think you'll find a way to either make peace with or control the ancient magitech scattered throughout this island. I can say with certainty that the Golems, if they think as I described, would see the usefulness in giving you the resources to stop this evil, especially if it's at least a part of this Power Overwhelming. In fact, I'm pretty sure this Power refers to some form of Harmony Laser Magic, only producable by your friends. Not sure what disrupting the natural order means, though. The fifth verse makes me think that not only should you find these altars, but also ally with all the nations of this continent for added benefits. The Golems are probably one of them. Also, if this prophecy was in a different language, it probably has some translation errors to watch out for.

What else... I had an idea of how to get a message to Equestria. Maybe you could send a letter to the moon and make sure Luna knows that, so that she can communicate that message with whomever would make the most use out of it. You could even make it a sort of time capsule, set to be read at about the time of your leaving, so that you have strong, dependable allies. Starlight can time travel, especially with the help of godlike beings, right? Even then, I'm pretty sure they won't be able to send anything as large as a living creature through, unless Discord decided to make himself a tiny ball, or would he disrupt the spell by his existence?

And, no, you don't have to worry about Ganondorf. That's all I have for now, but I might think of other things to say.
Still want Butt the Cloud to exist... *grumble grumble*

[AkumaKami64]

Akumakami64 Again.

Just a small PS. Okay, Twilight, two things. Tell Fluttershy that if Discord and her ever have a tea party at HIS house, make sure she tells him to just be himself. In your canon world, we saw him try to make his place normal to accommodate her.(it wa touching yet very off putting) You don't have to tell her this part, but....to be blunt Discord almost died as a result- well, he was fading away from existence until Fluttershy started acting like Discord(it's funnier than it sounds. I still don't know how she got furniture on the ceiling to nail it down). This might have been because it was in chaosville, but not something to put to the test

The other oddball information is that we now have a good idea of what the Celestia of Nightmare Moon would be called- Daybreaker. I'm informing you of this on the slight chance that this world is an AU past where Celestia goes crazy/evil/whatever you want to call it. Seriously, that's another thing that varies- what Nightmare Moon was: a demon, a phase of madness, actually Luna just evil, etc. Still, yes, if you hear the name/title Daybreaker, that's something to look into.

[wizard0209]

Josh here - Ine I don't doubt that Twilight could handle anything any god-like being can throw at her, but we've been given a unique opportunity to talk to her, so we're going to take it.

8252768 ponygood you have no compassion for others do you? completely disregarding people like that

8252293 and to the agent who supervising Key pass this along to him, as what you might call a "forerunner" in training (still working on my first world) I can safely say that we do care about you and that we simply putting up the situation what you do in them is up to you (well the good ones of us do that anyway)

[Sonic Rainboom Dash]

*ESTABLISHING SECURE CONNECTION...*
*CONNECTION ESTABLISHED*
Twilight. I wish that I could be like you and be part of a story, but sadly I'm not. The thing about that that I would want from that is that when the story is over you get to finally wind down from your adventure. I don't have that luxury. My 'story' will continue no matter how much I want it to be over.
Stay safe twilight and make those who look up to you proud of you.
Shepard, signing off.
*CONNECTION CLOSED*
*CONNECTION LINK ERASED*

[Ponygood11]

8254174
Yep! I'm fact, I was secretly a robot the whole time! Dun dun DAAAAA! Kill all humans.

8254410
Yeah... funny thing about that... you maybe probably definitely are another of our stories. Not only that, but we know how it ends, too. Would YOU like to know? Hmm... too bad! It's more exciting not to know!

[GamermanZendrelax]

This is Zen.

I do not believe my earlier remarks need defending. I apologize if you feel like you are under attack, Akumakami, as that was not my intention, but I will stand by them.

Now, on to more weighty matters.

As to the prophecy, the use of the world "parallel" to describe this Dark Lord's home would seem to suggest to me that he is from yet another world—but one that is only slightly different from this one. As to his identity, the only candidate I can think of is Sombra, bu that doesn't match the association with the sea (the appearence in the South isn't as big of a problem, because as I mentioned, I'm operating off of the assumption that he's from another world). I will stew on this.

Now, Ine. Quite frankly, I don't know why we're here, and frankly I think Twilight could do better without us. Personally, I do my best to be reasonable for Twilight's sake, but any problem that could help with would be better addressed if the Eye were removed and Twlight's friends were by her side.

You speak of yourself and Twilight merely existing as characters in a story, and I presume you do so as a thought experiment, to which Ponygood's response is the most likely. However, if we consider the possibility that the both of you do, in fact, really exist separate from us (which can be easily determined on your end by asking yourselves whether or not you experience sensation—I think, therefore I am, as the philosopher says), then that, too, seems rather unlikely, as it would require Black jack to actually be a god, and I've never really bought into that—I have assumed that, like you describe, he is a creature much like us, and, I assure you, I am no god, nor do I resemble one.

All that said, the purpose of the connection is ultimately an unknown to me, despite the time I have thought about it.

[AkumaKami64]

8254821
Akumakami again. Eh, not so much attacked. But you actually made me think of something Zen. Twilight? What do you know about Sombra in your world? Like where he came from and relatively when Celeista and Luna stopped him? See, your canon has....something of a second trunk. Its hard to explain. Basically there is a comic series that isn't always considered canon to the show. Anyway, my point is that Sombra was originally a shadow pony turned forced into the form of a regular pony.

If you're wondering why you'd know this, you actually fought him again in that continuity when he unleashed the rest of his kind. Anyway, my point is that Sombra is compared to a figure from another series- Dark Lord Sauron. Won't go into details, but everytime Sauron's body was destroy, he came back until his ultimate weapon of sorts was destroyed. He lost more of his power each time, but he kept returning to power. Depending on the circumstances of your world, the Dark Lord in the prophecy might be Sombra even if it doesn't look like him at first.

Spit balling, I know, but due to you being in the past, we're entering a state of wondering how much of Equestrian historyare you indirectly responsible for.

[Ponygood11]

825875
And before you start worrying, Twilight, you don't have to worry about Sauron. In fact, if any of us ever mention some character from an alternate universe, series, etc, unless we specifically say it might be a threat, you don't have to worry about it. Got that?

[nickle241]

stupid glitchy interface, almost a week late, i just hope the window is still open. it ni... error. rerouting connection. what is this? on for the love of... i fix one bug and another shows up, its like a plague. wait a minute what is congregation doing this time?! a new connection, or rather an existing one that went and bugged, lets see... oh! its still active and there is something receiving on the other end. sorry for the interruption, i'm cychis and if i've ever made contact before i do not remember courtesy of a memory bug i'm working on correcting, but that aside if you feel like questions go ahead ill observe this channel anyway in case it throws any more errors my way, but don't expect much since i'm still working off incomplete logs to even remember who i am right now.... connection restored. what the heck just... you know what, i don't care i'm done for this entry.

[Sonic Rainboom Dash]

8254174
I'm working on my second world, but there are blind spots I'm not seeing and having them pointed out would help me build a better world. the first world I made didn't survive. I tried too hard on making the world create itself, and it cracked under pressure. The debris is still floating around, but I don't know if I'm going to try and rebuild it or do a complete clean-up.

if I could get some pointers on how to make a stable foundation for that world then maybe I can bring back everyone that was on it before I messed up.

[Sonic Rainboom Dash]

"Hello?" "Where... am I?" "Who... am I?" "I...don't remember." "I Remember a...voice, telling me about a gateway, and telling me I was destined to stop time from ending, something about returning the 'time gears?' back to the tower but after that; it's all a blur."

[wizard0209]

8271421 not sure i'd be the best help; my brain works strange ways so stuff that's clearly an error will slip by me

[Ponygood11]

8271466
Ponygood speaking.
*sigh* Afizah, this story doesn't have a crossover tag, and it likely never will. No matter how many alternate identities you use in your comments, and no matter how large of a role you believe the Legend of Zelda universe will play, it won't happen. I'm pretty sure Blackjack has already drafted a rough outline of this world, as he has done for all of his projects before committing to them, and Ganondorf is not a part of it. In fact, the more alternate identities you find/create, the more Blackjack has to deal with when creating the new chapter, and the longer it'll take for Blackjack to finally release the chapter. Do you WANT a full month, or multiple months of time before we are all able to sate our Influence-shaped voids in our hearts?

And on that matter, why do you like having alternate identities so much? Up to this point, you've had Afizah and Eris, alternate Twilight, alternate Twilight's father, Shepard, and now the nameless kid from Pokemon. Are you afraid of Twilight knowing your actual name for this site, which is Sonic Rainboom Dash?

[Sonic Rainboom Dash]

8272440
I... I didn't realize. Sorry. Truth be told, I'm afraid of disappointing her. I just want to show her how much I know. And I didn't want to be called out as a dimwit.