Twilence was still staring at the tremendous beast of ice that surrounded them.
Vriska smirked. "You know how I said I was having trouble absorbing luck without killing things?" She put a finger to her seven-pupiled eye. "I don't think that's going to be an issue here."
A stream of light shot from the ice creature towards Vriska's eye, absorbing all the luck. All of it. The beast moved forward and shattered in every imaginable place, falling over them as a bunch of sleet. Vriska laughed. "That's how you do it!"
Orchid frowned. "That didn't do it."
"Oh come one what do you see future miss?"
"That." Orchid pointed at a white light flowing through the icy shards and points. From the wreckage of the ice behemoth, a new one grew before their eyes, pulsing with white energy, sucking the moisture from the snow to increase itself. Spires of ice shot out of the ground near Vriska - missing her every time due to her currently high levels of luck. She laughed.
Ruby belched fire, but the growing ice seemed immune to it. The ice itself beginning to take the form of creatures - things with faces, claws, petals, or other symbols of life, despite them being nothing more than ice sculptures. It was like watching art be created. Dangerous art.
Orchid brought out the orb of Castorson and sent out a gravitational wave, shattering many of the creatures - but the shattering was always undone by the healing white light.
Infinity stated the obvious. "This isn't working!"
"Unhackable!" Mite lamented.
"Retreat!" Twilence shouted. "Orchid, can you help me perform a tactical teleport?"
Orchid took out the Sphere of Ine and nodded. The two lit their horns, combining their magic to teleport everyone to the far distance. They could see the nest of ice monsters writhing in the distance, glowing with white energy. The moment they noticed their prey was gone, the white energies stopped - but the ice monsters remained. A few of the flowers started flying in their direction, but a few quick magic bolts from Infinity of all ponies took care of them.
Twilence let out a breath. "Okay. We're-" she caught herself. She looked around. "...Probably not safe."
Fluttershy pointed. "Hey, what's that in the distance?"
The party turned to look at a particularly large mound of snow towering above them - and buildings at the foot of it closest to the sea. There was notably no snow at all in the town. No signs of life from this far away, but it looked... warm.
This was probably the lost settlement of Lei Camp.
Twilence decided to confer with the Influence as they approached. "Josh, that's an interesting idea about the 'choice' there. Makes me wonder if there's a branching path we could have taken on this adventure that would have turned it into something completely different. What if I had stayed in Pebbleton? Would the story have become reacting to Orchid's antics and their effects on the rest of the world? Or what if I went right to Peran and the Observer helped me get back to Equestria, would I have changed history? Or been instrumental in the events of Nightmare Moon? It seems... It feels like this story had many branching paths."
"You don't know the half of it," Aradia said, walking alongside her.
Vriska blinked. "Man, you sure know when to show up."
"Wandering existence for thousands of years will sharpen your skills, as you know."
Vriska laughed. "Indeed."
Twilence looked at Aradia. "...What do you mean by me not knowing?"
"I'm able to see many timelines branching from this point, and many others. Your Influence ensures nothing is written in stone, that there is an influx, so I have to keep adjusting. At this point, there are several ways the timeline could be expected to go, though there are some certainties. Of which I will not tell you."
"You already told me I have to survive," Vriska said.
"That's more a consequence of you being you than anything else."
"...Do I have to survive?" Twilence asked.
Aradia grinned eerily. "That depends on your definition of survival!"
"That's not creepy at all."
Aradia giggled. "Well, you haven't got to the pivotal point yet, so I don't think I can say much. Though I can say the pivotal point is after you summon me. You're going to find me annoying. I think. You can easily mess with my own past and then I'll have to reconcile it somehow..." She shrugged, then vanished.
Orchid blinked. "...Who does she think she is, acting like she's the guardian and protector of all time?"
Twilence shrugged. "I don't know."
"She's the Maid of Time," Vriska said. "Her job is to literally heal time itself wherever she can."
Orchid didn't like this answer, huffing. Twilence returned to the Influence. "Afixzah, I already deduced that about Pinkie, a long time ago. The way she acts - her knowing makes sense. Also hi Pinkie, not sure if you're real or not, but I suppose what the heck, might as well say hi. Ponygood, we have Murphy's Law here. Pretty sure it actually goes 'anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.' Pretty sure that's not exactly what's happening here, but I get the idea. Creek, what's the problem with only being 1000 years in the past? In the present day Equestria doesn't even know the location of every major landmass in the world! We... Don't do a lot of exploring. For all we know Peran still exists in the present time. Ponygood, yeah Four and Seven Hundred are still in space. Don't think we really have a way to get them right now... But we'll try. The Starshell sounds like an okay idea - and it would be a way to get to them I suppose, assuming the red ship doesn't try to kill us again. It'd also keep us from having to carry everyone everywhere... Great, now I have four options. Starshell, Sunset, Pinkie, and Aradia. Wolfe... Just... Right... Okay..."
And then she saw the pointless conversation.
She gave out a loud sigh and closed the influence. "That's enough of that." They were approaching Lei Camp now, nearing the edge of the snow. She stuck her foot out past the snow - and felt warm. Not quite hot, but definitely enough to keep snow melted. She scanned around - the pavement was enchanted with warming magics, possibly draconic in nature. Dragons liked it warm most of the time so this made sense, they'd remove the snow.
The buildings were made of brown bricks enchanted the same way, arranged in a setup much like Pebbleton, except without the farms. There was notably not a soul in sight - no dragons, no ponies, not even any bones.
"Huh," she said. "Odd."
"Not the altar," Orchid said.
"We don't know exactly where the altar is," Fluttershy reminded everyone. "Maybe we can find clues here?"
Infinity walked in one house without a door, finding a bookshelf lined in books. She began to leaf through them. "...Atlases."
Twilence looked over Infinity's shoulder - the maps here were more detailed than the ones she had but didn't show that much more area. Those that showed the entire globe notably had the parts of the globe that weren't around Peran whited out.
Infinity took out a large atlas with a red eye symbol on it. She blinked. "Authored by the Overseer!? Well. This is probably beyond valuable."
Orchid raised an eyebrow. "Anything peculiar?"
"It has the magic lands on it, and Estur. And hey look, Frau!" Infinity pointed at a strange ring-shaped island. "Time Tunnels... We could probably get there in a few hours from where we are..."
"Pressed for time, remember?" Orchid said. "Tomorrow night is the moonless night."
"Right..." Infinity looked the atlas over for anything more helpful. "Yeah, it says the Death Sea is aptly named since the waters seem to be poisoned, making bodies decay in unnatural ways..." She shivered. "Yeesh. no wonder nobody goes to Frau."
"Anything besides atlases in here?" Vriska asked.
"Not that I can see. You should probably go check another house-"
Vriska accidentally pressed a particular brick in a wall, making it shift. She looked at it - and grinned when she realized she'd found a secret. She pulled the brick out, revealing the inside. A small leather bound journal. She picked it up and flipped to a random page:
June 5: I don't know what to say anymore. The path to the ancient cavern is no longer welcoming to us. The journey seems more and more difficult each time we attempt it. And yet, we cannot stop going - the rewards are far too great. Seeing the glory within is just too much. We cannot stop going - it is our one light in this gods-forsaken place. At this point it no longer matters if we understand the relic, only that we can see it.
June 7: We encountered a small demonic creature made of ice that was easily dispatched. G told us not to worry.
June 10: We received a shipment from Peran - the Overseer sent a personal note, saying something was clouding his sight in this particular part of the world, which concerned him. We quickly wrote a letter back and told him not to worry. It occurred to me about an hour ago that we didn't mention the relic. Oh well, we'll tell him next time. Maybe he can send over more to study the glorious device.
June 15: The ice demons are getting bigger - nothing R can't handle, but at this rate, it'll take a small squad to make the trek. The trek that now seems larger than it has any right to be. G assures us the path hasn't changed shape, that it would be impossible. But I swear we're walking circles around the mound before we get to the cavern and that it takes longer every time. N claims it's just because we're entering winter. I doubt it.
June 19: R was killed on the way back from the altar. An ice creature pierced his eyes and went right to his brain. It then just... left. Like it's work was done. G lamented the horrid ice demons - they existed only to kill in the most brutal ways they could manage. They were nature's sadists. I don't know what to believe anymore. But I know we must keep going to the great relic. Every time we go, we receive new clarity about the universe.
June 24: There was no shipment today. It was supposed to come. It was probably just caught up in a storm or something, it'll be here in a few days.
June 26: Driftwood started drifting through the sea, the make of a Peran ship. Ice shards were found buried in it.
June 29: Some of the ponies left in the night with our only boat. Pieces of driftwood drifted back this afternoon, covered in blood. The ice demons don't want us leaving. The Council will send an iron ship for us eventually, I know it.
June 30: N has declared no more expeditions to the altar after the last few deaths. I know this makes sense but... I can't help but be angry with him. G assures me N is making the right call - the ice demons are apparently worse than they've ever been - but I still don't care.
July 2: G informed me that N's son was planning more expeditions and that we'd be able to go to the altar again. He informed me that he was feeling the need to go back as well, it was just too good to pass up.
July 4: N was killed today by his own son. Good.
July 7: Ponies die every day. Small price to pay for enlightenment.
July 10: The wreckage of an iron ship drifts onto the shore. I don't care.
July 14: I must be one of the great ones, because the icy demons never face me. Maybe they think me worthy. G seems to think so.
July: N's son threw himself into the sea today. Weak.
Why do I even write in this journal anymore? What's the point? Why bother with records? Everything I need is here and soon there will be no need for records at all. What even is the date? Who cares. All I know is I am leading the next expedition. I'm taking some of the warmth bricks. I don't think this weak town can offer me anything else.
Vriska blinked. "Well, we seem to have stumbled onto a horror story."
"Wonderful," Twilence said. She turned to everyone. "Well, the altar's nearby, inside some cavern in that giant snow mound."
"And it drove everyone insane!" Infinity blurted.
"Your point?" Orchid said. "We still need to go to it."
"Definitely," Mite added.
"I don't see a path though..." Infinity said, glancing outside. "All snow."
And then a white mist appeared outside, in the streets. "Oh my! I... I did not expect anyone back! The ice demons have never let this place be - the madness affects them as well."
Twilence blinked. "...Gamnemnon, by chance?"
"Oh! You know who I am? Wondrous! I... I wish I could be more inviting but you should probably leave, this place is horrendous and drives madness..."
"We need to get to your altar," Orchid said.
"Oh! Are you the Oracle?"
"Yes," Orchid and Twilence said. Twilence smirked.
"...Interesting. I take it you already have some of my siblings?"
Orchid hesitated, then produced Ine.
"Wonderful! Then all is going as planned. I guess I shall take you to the altar to offer myself - such things are important."
Orchid cocked her head. "None of the others have been willing."
"None of the others have the slightest smidgen of intelligence. I see you're wearing my invention, winged-unicorn."
"Twilence," Twilence said. "You... Invented this?"
"Everyone claims it was a team effort but I was the genius behind everything. The Hole. The Time Tunnels. The Apocrypha."
"The Apocrypha?"
"You've heard of the Time Tunnels but not the Apocrypha? Man, history does weird things. The Apocrypha is a device that erases things from existence so it was as if they never existed. Naturally, we don't know if there's ever been a successful test, but we're relatively certain it works. Logistically, anyway."
"...That sounds terrible," Fluttershy said.
"Oh, it is. Threw it into the sun before the civilization fell. It was just a proof of concept." He looked at them. "I'm afraid I can't teleport you anywhere, I'm a spirit of mind. But I do know the path into the mound."
"Won't that be treacherous?" Fluttershy asked.
"It could be. But I believe we don't have to look for the right entrance - you can all just bore right in!" Gamnemnon chuckled heartily. "So, prepare yourselves for the Altar!"
"Vote time," Twilence said. "Who we grabbing? It's between Aradia, Pinkie, Sunset, and the Starshell. Some possible issues about Evermore Pinkie have been brought up, so I think I'll just bring regular Pinkie in. I suppose you can also vote for a Starlight."
"Starshell," Orchid said. "Speed is of the essence."
"I agree," Ruby said.
Fluttershy cocked her head. "Pinkie."
"Sunset," the Mite said.
Infinity shrugged. "I'll go with... Pinkie. I'm curious."
Vriska frowned. "Well, I was thinking Aradia, but now... Hrm... I think we need another fiery chick on board that isn't insufferable. Sunset."
Twilence rolled her eyes. "Welp, three-way tie. Very helpful. Guess we're not bringing Aradia in this time. We'll see what the Influence says as well. Gamnemnon? Lead the way."
"The mound's right there. Just dig straight in until you get to an icy cavernous hallway," Gamnemnon offered.
Orchid produced the Orb of Castorson and bored a hole into the snow, ice, and rock.
And then the Influence called.
I vote Starshell. However, since the Starshell is an experimental vote, I will vote for Pinkie as a backup.
I wrote a large message in the "useless conversation" which is more useful. In short, it describes another of GM's stories, and potential characters to summon from it. It's there if you ever want to read it, but I will also mention here that the Rarity from that world has very powerful healing powers for up to death, extreme suffering, and deletion from existence. She can also give you magical barriers, double your speed, and halve enemies' speed.
I know Murphy's law states that anything that can happen, will happen. But the "universe is out to get you muah hah hah" thing is also referenced as Murphy's law, and I'm not sure why people call it that.
I guess that's all I have to say.
I'm sorry, Twilence, for assuming you would know about Peran, I guess I don't know ponies very well, humans love to explore, and huthols as well, but less so. Would somebody from Peran know about Equestria though? Since you're the ones that control the sun and the moon? Or do ponies here also not explore?
Twilence, I don't think the fears about Evermore Pinkie or any Looper are grounded in any way. I'm sorry, but I think they're just speculation. There's no reason to believe that summoning any of them will make your world part of their story. Bringing in Vriska didn't make this world part of hers, it just made her part of your world. And I think that's what will happen if you get anyone else. So it's safe to get Evermore Pinkie if you wish to.
I'm sorry to say, but I don't trust Gamnemnon all that much, he thinks he's better then all the others, which isn't right. Being smart doesn't make you better, it just means you know more.
My vote is for Evermore Pinkie, because from what I've read of the Recursions, she can help you more than anypony right now.
i vote sunset. shes cool and she might be able to access her Daydream shimmer form while she’s a pony. like a powered up state. or a trance mode if you want to think it that way. plus if Aradia is meant to be called upon at the next alter then sunset might be the best way to move forward.
And tell Vriska that if the journal was hidden away like that then there may be more hidden in other places. see if she can use her new found luck to locate those that have clues about the Dark Lord.
I vote for pinkie pie though I'd vote for any pinkie to say the least since there are a lot of different pinkies. As Murphy's Law states any thing that can happen, happens.
Why are we voting for Sunset? The one we're talking about isn't a part of any of GM's stories, and that may cause extreme stress for the Eye.
And I still recommend against any Looper, Evermore, or non-GM related character because, while it isn't definite what the outcome is, we have to make decisions based on the worst that could happen, and the worst in this case is not very good.
Well I was going to vote for Aradia, but seeing how everyone else is voting that would just be a waste, so (against my better judgment) I'm going to vote the same way as ponygood; as in voting for Starshell, but having Pinkie as a backup in case that doesn't work.
8418581
Hi Ponygood11! Why don’t you want sunset? She’s like, the perfect pony for all the snow around them. And if what was in that journal was any indication, then it means that just reaching the altar could be inducing a wave of insanity on anypony that comes close to it.
And I really don’t think Twilight or the others want to be reminded of ‘My’ brand of insanity. Sunset on the other hoof has beaten that level of insanity and learned how to tap into the stronger power of hope. Not blue Ring level mind you (*Wink**Wink*) but strong enough to become the awesomely, most spectacular, Daydream Shimmer. Plus, why would sunset be suggested if the alters or the eye would be strained from bringing her to where Twilight is? My guess is because this ‘Author’ wants us to choose her.
8419362
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Sunset originally mentioned by one of us some amount of chapters ago, and Twilence found that information useful? It was never implied anywhere that GM wanted us to choose her.
The reason I am averse to summoning this Sunset is because she was not in any of GM's stories. Zen shared his belief a long time ago that the Eye Twilence uses would become too strained from summoning any character not of GM's stories. We don't have any evidence to prove this concern, but we might as well assume it is real. Think of it this way: In the wild, it is better to assume that a rattling bush is filled with a deadly snake and run away than to assume it is rustling from the wind and run in. Besides, giving ourselves limitations on what catagories of characters to summon is a kind of mental exercise, and that is always welcome.
Your behavior doesn't show insanity, Pinkie. You are an omnipotent, omnipresent being and can do LITERALLY ANYTHING, but you decide to limit yourself to being comic relief. In your situation, I would probably take just as many opportunities to cause people confusion as you do, even accidentally.
8419403
but you also must remember that even though sunset was mentioned a while back, none of the group that Twilight is with, even Twi herself, made no mention of Sunset being a possible choice then. As for me, I ‘WAS’ talking about my high improbability matrix being affected and thus causing me to morph into the very pony I never, ever, never wanted to be again. I even forcibly removed the memory of THAT event from my memory and had to reset the entire timeline just so none of it even happened. Of course doing so made the scars remain, so I have refrained from using my improbability matrix for anything other than comedy. And I ‘Have’ had moments, Albeit briefly, of channeling that insanity without warning. And if you are wondering what I'm talking about, then with only one word it shall all become clear. Cupcakes! *wimpers*
8419706
...clearly we're not talking about the same Pinkie. The Pinkie I know of operates on cartoon logic, not an "improbability matrix", and has a Big Big Big Book On How To Be Aware.
Eh, I'll not indulge your silly antics anymore, Afizah.
8419733
Who?
8419741
You.
8419748
But I’m Pinkie. Who’s Afizha?
8419753
You-
No, no, I said I wouldn't endulge you.
8419756
but I’m serious. Who’s Afizha and why did you mistake me for whoever that is.
8419403
I'm sorry Ponygood, but if the Eye is strained when a character from a different forerunner than GMBlackjack is summoned...then why didn't it have difficulty summoning Vriska? GMBlackjack hasn't written any story with her in it. I just wanted you to know that.
Sometimes being overly cautious can be a problem as well.
8419838
That is an interesting case. Perhaps it was successful because GM was using her as an avatar. We'd probably need a lot of tests to confirm just what we can do with the Eye and the altars, but we only have three more opportunities, which Twilence needs to survive.
Maybe we'll get Aradia from the next altar, and experiment with the last. I still want to not go beyond GM's influence, to make this story more entertaining and character-building.
8419763
does pinkie get a vote here?
8419838
No. GM commented that Vriska was already present in the world. He also said that we "weren't cheating" by getting her, suggesting that grabbing a foreign iteration would violate some sort of rule. He also said that the same thing would have happened if we'd voted for Mite. I concluded from this information that there were potential dangers in summoning potential allies from too far afield, and reasoned that an association with the GM Blackjack account was our best current measure of what was "safe." If a variation of Sunset is summoned, she should be from somewhere GM-affiliated, or else the baseline like Fluttershy.
8420547
As we lack anything even resembling a reason for this "Pinkie" to assume control of Afizah's account, I see no reason to believe its veracity. This is Afizah, and without having even attempted to give us a reason to think otherwise. One vote, as far as I'm concerned, whatever color it gets cast in.
Also, I would ask Gamnemnon if the Time Tunnels could be used to travel to the next altar. Their potential utility seems, to me, unclear, and that would be useful information to have.
Regardless, the ability to travel at high speeds would make Starshell an invaluable ally, so that's how I vote.
so if i'm counting this right we so far have five votes for Starshell and pinkie, and three for sunset... still a tie; anyone willing to change their vote?
8420547
But I already voted for Sunset.
Oh, Twilight I found a picture of what Sunset would look like in her Daydream Form as a pony.
t08.deviantart.net/C9jhZHNDOMLnWRHKirZqaNpqbDc=/300x200/filters:fixed_height(100,100):origin()/pre00/e246/th/pre/i/2015/278/3/a/daydream_shimmer_by_comic_graffiti-d9c290h.png
8419756
I think we got off on the wrong foot? Hoof? Apindige? I thought we were talking about why Sunset shouldn't be chosen over why she should? But I guess it's hard to understand others without talking face to face. Oh well, I have to head to school anyway. Sunset said she had something she wanted to show us.
Useless conversation? Yeah. Criterian here. The Journal sounds important. I would keep it with you. Also, my vote is on Broken Mirror Starlight, but at this point, that vote is useless, so my vote will now be Evermore Pinkie.
8421009
uh pinkie you do know you are heavily outnumbered on your vote right? if you don't change your vote is going to be wasted, so what are you going to do even if you do change it? are you going to further concrete yourself as the one who gets picked or are you going tie it up again with Starshell, and have twi be the tie breaker?
8422880
Who? I haven’t even read those stories so how would I know who to pick. And if I vote for myself than I wouldn't be able to talk to you like normal. Also, my vote may be wasted, but I like rooting for the underdog? Pony? Hey twilight, what would you call it when a pony that is least likely to win is the winner? Anyway, I still want to see sunset help out.
8423170
Sonic Rainboom Dash.
STOP IT.
None of us find your acting entertaining, and it is aggravating me enough to say this. We know you've been reading this story just as we have, and have just as much information as us. So, do us all a favor and just speak as yourself, with no characters in-between that may be ignorant of that knowledge. It's very easy, too: Just say "Hey, I'm SRD, and here's what I want to say! Blah blah blah."
8423186
well I am serious that I haven’t read any of the stories that have those characters mentioned, so I don’t want to vote for somepony I don’t even know the personality of. and if I vote for myself then ‘I’ won’t be the one writing my lines.
8423416
Josh and Zen haven't read Broken Mirror either, and Orchid and Ruby don't even know of the existence of Broken Mirror, yet they feel confident enough in the Starshell's capabilities that they would vote for it.
If it's information you want, then let me describe the Starshell, which I have done before, and will do again. It is an experimental craft that stores its passengers as magical information, which protects them from all outside harm and allows them complete control over the Starshell's systems, and the Starshell itself can fly, turn invisible, teleport short distances, and I think it has some sort of weaponry.
Unless you can provide to me clear, plentiful, and indisputable evidence that you are, in fact, Pinkie Pie, then I will apologize for calling you out on it. But I am confident you are merely some kid calling yourself Sonic Rainboom Dash, playing a game that got old a long time ago, and I won't be convinced otherwise by anything short of you popping out of my monitor in a blast of confetti.
8423451
*pops out of ponygood11’s monitor and fires party cannon point blank*
Believe me now?!
8423512
No.
[COMPILING]
[...]
[...REALLY GUYS?]