They were on a yacht. Sailing across the sea with time-acceleration.
Twilence still needed a moment. She took in a breath. She let it out.
"We need to stop Siron. At all costs," Orchid said, suddenly.
Twilence bit her lip. "Not sure all costs is really something we should be going for, Orchid."
"Look. Even a despotic tyranny of dragons over ponies, like before the chaos storm, would be preferable to that."
"...Would it really though?" Infinity asked. "Some ponies got away through the Overseer. Under tyranny, things may be more suffocating... More pain..."
"There'd be more death!" Twilence blurted.
Aradia shrugged. "Death is not something to fear. Death is something to appreciate for what it is - an end. Often beautiful, often ugly, always fascinating." She stood tall, face serious. "Death is that, by nature, all must experience, even immortals. Nothing can last forever."
Infinity raised an eyebrow. "Can't you make a stable time loop?"
Aradia smirked. "Yes. I can. But just because I see certain things that seem to last forever, that doesn't mean I believe they really will. Infinity doesn't really exist."
Fluttershy looked at the infinite-sided die in her hoof. "I..." She gulped. "This..."
Twilence went to hug her. "Fluttershy, shhhh... It's... It's fine now. We're on a yacht." She glanced at Aradia, having flashbacks of the troll dying before her eyes. "Nothing bad's happening right now."
"But it will," Fluttershy said. "There's this 'pivotal point' and after that everything's going to the dogs!"
Pinkie blinked. "Huh. You've been paying attention. Cool!"
"Why wouldn't I? This defines our life! And those who know what it is, like Aradia and you, can't tell us and it's really really hard not to get angry about that!"
"I apologize ahead of time for what I'll have to do," Aradia said.
Fluttershy twitched. "See? See!? I..." She sighed. "I'm sorry Aradia, I... It's hard."
Aradia smiled. "I know it is. I don't hold it against you. You can think whatever you want about me - I probably deserve it."
"...Was that Starlight right about you? Did you... Did you do those things?"
Aradia nodded. "I do it all the time. Whenever I change a timeline, everyone in that future ceases to exist unless they have some time exploit, like Starlight."
"...Can we give her back her timeline?"
Aradia sighed. "I lack the powers to create an entire universe, which means if I did I'd have to overwrite your home. Your future would never exist."
"I..."
"I also don't know what future she comes from. She just showed up one day and blamed me for everything."
"Maybe we can find some sort of... compromise?"
Aradia shook her head. "If I don't set time back to your time, you won't be able to go back, because all similar timelines that aren't the save will have a Fluttershy and a Twilight that were never taken to the past. And something tells me that Starlight's timeline isn't close to yours."
Fluttershy nodded sadly. "I... I... Yeah."
"Hey, don't feel sad! You really tried. You're a good pony."
"...Thank you, Aradia."
Aradia pulled Fluttershy up into a hug. Fluttershy was surprised but hugged back.
Aradia eventually set her down. "Personally, I trust Vriska nowadays, I'd give her that die. But I'll leave the actual decision to you. You deserve to make your own judgment."
Fluttershy nodded. "I think I'll hold onto it for a while."
"Fair enough."
Pinkie grinned. "Look at these two! Becoming such great friends!" She squeed. "It's so awesome and nice! Let's throw a getting to know each other party!"
Twilence smiled softly. "I... I think we need a break, Pinkie. We've had a lot happen. We need to take a moment and process everything."
"Oh, okie. I understand. I'll go practice blood rituals on this frying pan then, don't come running if you hear screams." She bounced into the lower deck.
Twilence raised her eyebrows. "I'm going to talk to the Influence now. Do... any of you want to listen?"
Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm going to go see if I can talk to some fish."
"You can talk to fish?" Infinity asked.
"Uh... Yeah?"
"I want to see this."
"You're welcome to come along."
Twilence looked at Orchid and Aradia. "Just you two?"
Aradia shrugged. "Sure."
Orchid rolled her eyes. "I need to hear everything I can. My sight will not be complete until I get the sixth spirit. Give me all you can in these conversations."
"All right then. Starting with... Ponygood, it looks like. Hey, guess you got my rather hasty thought. It still means GM said something about Akumakami, even if I wasn't particularly clear on it because I was in the middle of some chaos. It still implies that GM is active and cares about this, or Akumakami at least. Which... I guess is comforting."
Aradia sat back. "Think about it. Most authors and artists care deeply about their work."
"Good point. Anyway, he also talks about a demonic warrior race, buglike, tribal, and that another version of Twilight was manipulated by them. Their leader was Siron and it was in GM's other story, Songs of the Spheres. So there's a possible connection."
"Could just be the same as 'other Twilight' connection," Orchid noted.
"True. But that suggests they'll be similar. And we already know he's crafty..." Twilence frowned, glancing at her Eye. "Something tells me the Songs of the Spheres are more important than we give them credit for, but... We aren't thinking about them the right way. I don't know. ...Wolfe, I see you got my thought though. Sorry, it was probably a little degrading to you, wasn't it? I think you should seek help about that. Perhaps find a way to burn things that won't put people in danger? I don't know, I'm not really an expert or a therapist. Though sometimes it feels like it..." She frowned. "Sonic... I just..." She facehooved.
Orchid raised an eyebrow. "Again?"
"Again. Goodbye Sunbro, hope you'll drop by again later. And Zen, that kinda makes sense. Stories were arranged in rhyme to be remembered... If my eye does exist only to reach in and out of stories, what will it do when it works properly? See into other stories, other worlds?"
Orchid shrugged. "Probably. I believe mine will allow me to see the entire future, though the existence of you is a bit troublesome."
"Maybe even complete Eyes have holes in their vision."
"Maybe... And Creek..." Twilence smiled. "Of course. I can say, for certain, that I would consider most of you in the Influence friends. Even Afizah, crazy as he is. Even if you are all crazy some of the time... You've all tried to help in one way or another. And just like with any friends, I've gotten frustrated. But that should mean nothing. Oh, I wish I could come over there and give you a hug. Everything will be fine, you don't need to be so worried all the time."
Aradia gave Twilence a thumbs up.
"Thanks. Though... Creek, theres a lot of deleted messages here. Were you trying to tell me something else? ...Hey, Aradia. How long till we arrive?"
"Well, twenty minutes for us, no time at all for anyone watching."
~~~
It was definitely night in the city of Chalak now. 24 hours remained until the moonless night. The orange city was still well-lit by the many artificial lights ranging from magic crystals to dragonfire lamps. The place was nowhere near as advanced as Acket, but it was still plenty impressive.
Twilence teleported them all into the city so they wouldn't have to deal with 'customs' (as Orchid put it). "So, how on earth are we going to find the palace?"
"It's this way," Orchid said.
"Do you see us finding it in the future?" Infinity asked.
"No. I just know where it is. I've lived here, and everyone who lives here knows where the palace is. It's impossible to explain the route to an outsider, though. Come on."
They all followed Orchid. Aradia smiled. "Well, I don't see a future version of myself coming back to reset the day, so either everything works out, they're trying to remain hidden from me, or everything goes wrong."
"That's... Not very reassuring," Fluttershy said.
"...Oh yeah. Good point."
Orchid groaned. "Just keep walking and don't get lost. I- where's Pinkie?"
"I don't know," Infinity said. "All I know is that street stand is selling fried stuff on a stick and I want some."
"No, don't go over there, the bridge is enchanted with magic to loop you back around and you'll never get back here."
Infinity blinked. "...What kind of cruel joke is that?"
"One set up by a fried stuff on a stick vendor," Orchid said. "Chalak may be the capital of Peran, and it may be hailed as the pinnacle of society, and it may be beautiful, but it is filled with deception and betrayal at every corner." She looked at Aradia. "You mentioned the altar is probably in the catacombs. Do you by chance know how to navigate them?"
"Oh, Jegus no," Aradia chuckled. "I said 'probably' for a reason. That place is a mess. Pretty sure Vester designed it to specifically hide the altar."
"Hey..." a black-scaled dragon asked. "Do y'all want a guide?"
"Already have one, thanks," Twilence said.
"Really? Cause I could've sworn there was a white unicorn with you a moment ago, and now she's not here..."
Orchid blinked. "She'll be back momentarily."
"Really? How can you be sure?"
"Does this third eye look like a decoration to you? It sees the future you prick! So hurry up and draw your gun to threaten us so we can get through this self-fulfilling clusterfudge!"
The dragon drew his gun without thinking, only for Infinity to blast it away with a laser. She had a fried thing on a stick in her mouth. The dragon flew away.
Infinity continued munching. "I cheated the cheating system."
"You've been cursed with a poor navigation sense and now we'll have to watch you like a hawk."
Infinity glared at Orchid. "How on Equis does anyone live here?"
"Ridiculous amounts of apathy or cunning," Orchid muttered.
Twilence shivered. "Yeah, I've decided it, this place isn't good. How did Vriska manage to walk around without a problem?"
"Luck," Aradia said. "I bet she annoyed a lot of people."
"Got arrested," Twilence said.
"Ah. Yeah, that'll hapen in a place where the odds are stacked against you and you suddenly start winning."
Orchid frowned. "...That's an interesting thought... Watch your step, trapdoor floor."
"Huh- AUGH!" Twilence fumbled, barely avoiding falling into 'Barnum's Pay To Leave Funhouse.' "Okay, can we just get to the palace already?"
Pinkie suddenly appeared. "OKAY!"
~~~
They were at the palace.
"...Pinkie, that took several hours. It's morning already."
"They got to the palace faster," Pinkie said, tapping the Eye.
Twilence groaned. "Pinkie..."
Pinkie giggled. "So! Here's masterful orange onion dome palace! Let's knock on the front door!"
"They won't let us in," Orchid said. "Not through that door anyway. We have to go talk to one of the receptionists. There's a kiosk over there." She pointed at a small kiosk that... Pinkie was sitting at. Pinkie was no longer sitting next to them.
Twilence and Fluttershy facehooved and groaned at the same time.
Orchid raised an eyebrow. "What-"
"You'll find out. Just... Just go do the thing you need to do."
Aradia, Orchid, and Infinity exchanged glances. Then they walked up to the kiosk and Pinkie. Orchid cleared her throat. "Pinkie, can you get us in?"
"I mean, yeah I can, but you have to fill out the official forms!"
Orchid blinked. "...Don't you know, it's us? Can you just-"
"Sorry, them's the rules, gotta fill out forms!" She produced a giant stack of paper. "Here!"
Orchid shook her head. "Those aren't the forms, those are three hundred times as large!"
"Times have changed since you've been here last! The power of paperwork has been truly realized! Seriously, I'm not even joking here, this is acutally the form. They don't want people to be able to fill it out quickly."
"How does anyone get into the palace at all anymore?"
Pinkie shrugged. "Urgent business or prevelance to the council's current business."
Infinity raised a hoof. "Uh... Pinkie? What are you doing?"
"My job as a receptionist, duh!"
"But you're not a receptionist, you're our companion..."
"Of course not, silly! I'm just a lowly paperwork manager who's never met you before. C'mon Infinity, get it right."
Infinity turned to Twilence and Fluttershy, mouthing 'please help.' Twilence and Fluttershy shook their heads rapidly.
Orchid sighed. "Look, I'm the niece of Evanescence, and we have matters to discuss of national security."
"Evanescence has posted a note that any query posted by one Orchid, unicorn are to be ignored outright."
"...Is that you saying that, or did she really do that?"
"Huh? Come again?"
Orchid rammed her face into the table. "Why can't I see what you're going to do right now, of all times."
Aradia cleared her throat. "Excuse me, but I do believe I have important matters of time to discuss. You see, I can travel into the future."
"Prove it."
Aradia moved them all an entire hour into the future. "See?"
"Cool, but that doesn't really qualify as a meeting. At best you'd be sent to the scientists where they'd consider your interesting power and then go through with it as best they could, giving you ideas. The council doesn't need to hear from you."
Aradia blinked. "But I can bring warnings..."
"Sorry, no dice."
Aradia laughed. "Well in that case... Check your records. I should already be in the meeting room."
Pinkie blinked, sifting through some papers. "Oh. So you are. Is your current party pertinent to your temporally displaced discussion?"
"Yes."
"Then, by all means, come on in!"
The big double doors opened. Twilence let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Celestia..."
"Huh? Why? What'd I miss?" Pinkie said, suddenly not at the kiosk and standing next to Twilence like a regular party member. The kiosk had a very confused looking dragon sitting at it.
Twilence rolled her eyes. "Nothing Pinkie, nothing at all."
Infinity pointed a hoof at Pinkie. "Wh... Bu.. What?"
"What's so confusing?"
"I... I... I have no idea..."
"Good!" Pinkie giggled. "You're finally getting it!"
"I think I need to reexamine my life..."
Orchid nodded. "I... Am feeling something similar."
Aradia shrugged. "Just move on. Sometimes weird things happen." They went into the palace and easily found the big double golden doors that led to the main meeting hall.
Aradia sighed deeply. "This is it." She looked at Twilence. The Eye started glowing.
Twilence frowned. "This is it...?"
"I'm sorry."
~~~
[IMPORTING...]
As Vriska approached the door, Aradia appeared. "Hi!"
Vriska blinked. "Have you-"
"Probably not, pretty new here. I just got some clues that said I should probably head here to close a time loop! So... Yeah!"
The Overseer looked her up and down. "Who are you?"
"Aradia Megido, Maid of Time. New to this corner of the woods."
"Mustard," the Mite said.
"What was that?" Aradia asked.
"Nothing to concern yourself with. Yet," Vriska said.
"Mite," the Mite said. Vriska facepalmed.
"Oh cool a microscopic creature! Is this one of those altar recruits?"
"Yeah," Vriska said. "You know what, I don't want to explain twice, just come into the meeting with us and listen, okay?"
"Sure!"
The Overseer flashed slightly. "I'll allow it."
Vriska walked through the giant ornate double doors into the council's meeting room, the Overseer at her side. She, for once, remained quiet, taking in the other seats of the council. There was a golden hydra with brilliant red eyes, a teal unicorn with flowing hair, a lung dragon with a truly stupendous blue mane, and a stallion who could only be described as a farm pony with a fancy hat.
The Overseer took his position between the two dragons, the two ponies on either end. "I call this meeting of the Council of Peran to order. The beings before us - Mite, Aradia Megido, and most importantly, Vriska Serket - have become aware of something which has passed under our radar. There is more to concern us than just the actions of Heildor and Moissan. Vriska, tell us of the other Eyes and the Dark Lord."
"So, short version, there are two ponies I know by the name of Twilence and Orchid-" at the name Orchid the unicorn visibly narrowed her eyes. "-and they've come across two Eyes with power that make them think they are the Oracle destined to save the world from the Dark Lord. Turns out, we're not sure who the Oracle is for sure, but we do know the Dark Lord is real, and probably a combination of the demon 'king' Siron and some dark star known as Corot. Want the long version?"
The lung shook her head. "No need. We can work with that for now."
"That's hardly enough information..." the earth pony said.
The hydra grunted, speaking with his central head only. "Some of us are fully aware of the legends of the Oracle and the Dark Lord. It is a part of our heritage. A great prophecy that we have chosen to ignore in recent years because it has been so long."
The Overseer nodded. "So much so that I haven't been looking for any. But as I look, I can see Orchid and Twilence in our fair city, approaching the palace, among a group of many others. Including Aradia Megido."
Aradia blinked. "Huh. I guess I'll have to close that loop eventually."
The unicorn looked at the Overseer. "What can you tell us of Orchid?"
"She has the essence of five spirits, presumably looking for the sixth."
Vriska blinked. "Hey, you can see everywhere, you know where it is right?"
"Yes. In the catacombs. Getting there, however, is easier said than done. The protection enchantments are both ancient and beyond complicated. Vester knew the prophecy would involve his capture, and he did not want it."
"Can you blame him?" The hydra said.
"No."
"Hey, can you see Vester?" Vriska asked.
The Overseer somehow bristled. "Unfortunatley that is one of my blind spots. As is this Corot. I can, however, see Siron, sitting in Tartarus. He's noticed me. He seems to find it amusing."
The farm pony coughed. "Okay, so, I've gotten the idea that there's some dark threat to our land and that these newcomers have something to do with it. What are we going to do to stop it?"
"Stopping the summoning of Corot will be easy," the unicorn said. "Finally stomp out that star-cult in Troisha."
"Troisha will not be pleased with that," the lung said.
"Who cares if they're pleased or not?" the hydra countered. "The last thing we need is a dark star appearing on our back door!"
"Precisely," the Overseer said. "We will take action. I assume you and your companions will assist us in this regard?"
Vriska nodded. "Yeah, it's kind of our quest."
"What of Siron?" the hydra said. "Surely there must be a way to defeat him that doesn't rely on some Oracle fufilling a prophecy."
"That is largely an unknown," the Overseer said. "We do not even know the method by which he escapes Tartarus. The meer fact that it seems like he will is concerning. Tartarus is guarded by Cerberus in addition to many sealing enchantments. Even we lack the energy to breach Tartarus or seal anyone within it."
Vriska smirked. "Betcha I could do it."
"Then perhaps you are all the cause of his release. Prophecies have a way of making sure their agents carry out every part of it."
"We should take care of them then," the hydra said.
"Gilead," the Overseer cautioned. "Fighting against a prophecy is pointless."
"Nope," the Mite said.
"...care to elaborate?" the lung said.
Vriska shrugged. "Twilence, bearer of the Eye of Rhyme, has shown time and time again she can fly in the face of prophecy and predetermined future."
"I can confirm," Aradia said.
"Yeah. So basically your prophecy could easily be fucked or unfucked at any moment."
The unicorn frowned. "What exactly does the Eye of Rhyme allow Twilence to do?"
"Unimportant-" the Overseer said.
"I don't think so. Vriska, tell me."
"It allows her to hear voices from beyond, called the Influence."
The unicorn nodded. "This is dangerous."
"Well, yeah, duh."
"Indubidebly."
The unicorn shrugged. "I will wish to ask Twilence directly about her Influence and what they say. They are the source of her power, they must be analyzed as well."
"You will get your chance," the Overseer said. "They are coming in now. I believe I just witnessed a reverse time walk to the door."
The doors flew open - and there were screams.
Vriska turned around. She saw everyone...
Everyone except Twilence.
She looked at Pinkie and future Aradia - there was guilt in their eyes.
"What did you do?" both Vriska and past Aradia shouted.
"What needed to be done," Pinkie said. "We cannot let this change. This needs to happen to Twilence."
"What?" Vriska blurted.
"The ordeals," future Aradia said. "The pivotal point."
The Overseer frowned. "Aradia. She is not where you said she would be."
Future Aradia glared. "I told you not to - wait." She glanced at past Aradia. "I... I don't remember this. Something's changed."
"No shit," a new voice said. Vriska recognized it - her own. Everyone turned to see another Vriska in red robes smirking and mocking. "Hey, Aradia, how's it feel to be outfoxed by someone who can't even time travel?"
Vriska blinked. She had no idea what was going on. And she didn't like it.
Where was Twilence!?
As soon as you come to, I want you to shield yourself and try to take stock of the situation as ast as possible. Who knows what you'll come out to, but considering both Pinkie and Aradia were involved, you could be anywhere and anywhen in the multiverse. I have no idea what the ordeals might be, but they may be designed to test your character, resolve, strength, etc. I don't think getting back will be too much of an issue, though; either you will find the way back on your own, or they will bring you back once they think you've been sufficiently ordealed.
Pinkie, you better have a good explanation for this. I recognize you probably had a good reason for doing so, and I trust you aren't a filthy traitor scum, but I and Twilence will still want an explanation as soon as you are able.
Anyway, this actually isn't so bad. Yes, you've been dumped into a random point somewhere in all of existence, but assuming Pinkie is willing to cooperate, we can still carry our and your messages through her to whomever we want to speak to. So go ahead and prepare some questions, and we'll try to get them to Pinkie. Here are the mesages I want to deliver.
First, some questions for the Overseer. First, what do you know about the red ship orbiting the planet, and are Four and Nine-hundred alright? Second, why are you known as the Eye of Sign?
Now, Songs of the Spheres. Yes, I'm pretty sure it's going to be very important in the future, and I'm willing to share what information I have about it. I would have prefered you were all together before I shared, but this is close enough and you asked really nicely. Be warned, it is a massive info dump. Background information: Near the center of the multiverse, one of the most ancient of structures resides, namely the Dark Tower. This tower controls the Narrative of the multiverse, and gives chosen Prophets story ideas, and when they write those stories, they are brought into being in the multiverse. The Dark Tower also has its own Narrative, which is GM's SotS. Also, the whole multiverse is surrounded by a formless nothing known as the Sea of Infinite Possibility, which is the origin of every universe ever. Also, there are 4 general "areas" within the multiverse in which related universes gather. The E sphere, which contains largely human universes, the Q sphere, which contains non-human dominated universes, the D sphere, which contains spiritual and magical universes, and the Unrealities, which contain universes that have very different laws of physics.
The civilizations of the multiverse are divided into classes. Class 1's are entities that can manipulate the fabric of universes at will, and are generally super-powerful. Class 2's are large civilizations that span multiple universes and don't need their "home" universe to function. Class 3's are civilizations that are aware of the multiverse and taking the initial steps to be a part of it, but are stil very young. All 7 Class 1 civilizations, as well as the three most prominent Class 2's, have a council of sorts that can convene at any time at the top of the Dark Tower. The Class 1's are the Beyonders, which enjoy conquering and subjugating entire universes just to see what'll happen, the Celestialsapiens, which have great power but need both voices in their head to agree to take action, the Great Will, whose existence is strengthened by others' belief in its existence, Horrorterrors, which are a race of eldritch being that cause chaos and terror just by existing despite their peaceful desires, Them, which ascended so much that they constantly experiment with universes just to see if anything's fun despite them already having all the information they'll ever need, True Abstracts, which embody all the forces of reality, and the Xeelee, which became Class 1's through technological progress alone. The most prominent Class 2's are the Flowers that Be, which attempt to protect the Dark Tower's Narrative by eradicating the universes created by faulty or crazy Prophets, the Gallifreyan Time Lords, which have an instinctual understanding of all forms of time from any universe, and the Time Space Administrative Bureau, which tries to keep order in their part of the multiverse.
With that taken care of, let's delve into SotS. Currently, GM has planned out 10 story arcs, which take place over numerous decades of relative multiversal time. The general plot of all ten is that Twilight gets a sphere that can go travel anywhere in the universe from an escaped member of the Starcross Society, Equestria starts getting friendly with other universes as well as learning just how vast the multiverse is, they eventually form the Federation(placeholder name, GM hasn't decided yet), which Vriska would join at some point, they encounter a bunch of problems throughout the multiverse relating to numerous Class 1's and 2's that they manage to solve, and by the time the Federation manages to become a Class 2 society, they learn of the Starcross Society's attempt to collapse the Sea of Infinite Possibility and therefore collapse every single universe into one. The end of these 10 arcs is the conflict between all the major multiversal civilizations, and the protagonists of SotS have to decide whether they want to collapse the Sea or protect it.
I tell you this because of you, Twilence. I have suspicions that our universe is completely seperate from the multiverse affected by the Narrative, and that with our influence, you can completely fuck up GM's and the Dark Tower's plans if you so choose. It's a bit ironic, since you are one of GM's characters, meaning he would be fucking up his own plans. Heh. I also wanted to share that because Vriska deserves to know how someone plans to use her in the future.
TWILENCE! What happened? Where...
I...I guess Aradia and Pinkie wouldn't hurt you, but where did you go? This is the first time you haven't been on my screen, I...I don't know what this means. could the story be shifting away from you? But...but that doesn't make any sense...GMBlackjack doesn't do that, he doesn't change who the main character is, nobody does that.
So why aren't you in the footage, one moment you're there, and then suddenly you vanish, what...what? Even when it's be focused on someone else, you were always there, in a separate window frozen because you were waiting to hear from us. You've always...
Well, Thank you for being my friend, I was so sure you'd say no, we'll never meet each other. Thank you. And I deleted those messages because I was embarassing myself, I sounded needy I...well, I'm sorry. I'm not good at making requests, and I was afraid you'd just shut me out. So, thank you again, it means the world to me.
When you wake up, and you show up again, I hope you're alright, and that this pivotal point isn't something bad. that it ends up well, with you and Fluttershy going home, Aradia and Vriska being your friends, and Orchid and Infinity finding happiness. Whatever that means for them. I also hope that Mite and Four turn out okay, they really need friends. If things turn out badly, I'll be here the entire time, I...I want to be strong for you.
I don't know what Ponygood is talking about, I haven't heard of a new story from GMBlackjack, I think one of the other operators might be assigned to it. I'll find anything I can to help you if you need me too. I want to be helpful for you.
Please be okay.
well that happened too fast for me to have anything helpful to say, though given the number of crossover content already its probably within the probable options for the song of the spheres to be pivotal in some way, but thats just reiterating what you already know so instead i suggest you figure out which fundamental force you are most attuned to so that you can focus on that, most people who try travel between dimensions with any intent to do anything have some kind of specialty that usually gets them out of things like this as long as there isn't either narrative causality or hostage situations involved, the most common ones are time and space, but plenty of others are known to work too and while magic has been known to work it does not necessarily need to be the case with you since it is so common in equestria if not necessarily at the levels you have. wish i could actually be useful, but theres just not enough to work with this time, we didn't even get a hint of how they captured you.
8452687
The multiverse doesn't work that way. Every universe has a number of connections to others, which can be traversed with the appropriate technology, magic, etc. Evermore like Pinkie are presumably not restricted by these connections, and can travel to any universe they want, assuming they are not in the Recursions.
Link to SotS so that everyone can learn just how its multiverse works.
(LINK)
8452703
oh thats not what i'm saying, just that most who bother traveling around have some kind of fundamental gimmick and for magic users it tends to be part of their preferred style, for someone like twilight for example most of her strongest techniques seem to tend toward spacial and energy magics, but those are also commonly treated as stepping stones to even stronger spells, most people who go between worlds do have to use the methods you describe, its just that most seem to be stronger when they figure out what they excel at. though i probably will look at that link later when i have time.
8452722
Well, I agree that different people would have their own methods of traveling. But they don't have any sort of method that is stronger for them than it is for others. It's just like using a rocket to go into space; you literally can't do it without one, and different rockets won't resonate with the type of person you are and suddenly be more effective, it just depends on how well the rocket was made. And these "gimmicks" exist because it's more efficient to re-use tried-and-true methods. Rick and Morty continue using their little saucer because it works, and is reusable, and magic-users would use the same spells because hey, they worked before!
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ah i see where this triggered, you latched onto the part about dimensional travel, i wasn't actually talking about her using anything to travel interdimensionally yet, i plan on leaving that to her whenever she chooses to, i was simply talking about how travelers tend to have a gimmick often using a fundamental force, she plans on being one of those travelers so its something to think about, plus as a magic user it is fairly easy to weaponize and harder to disable in situations like this where it can be useful to have something that can serve as a better defense or offense, as for being stronger that was referring to how twilight is currently extremely broad skilled with the result that individual skills can suffer a little except for a few like teleportation that she uses often, this works fine normally, but having a pool of related well practiced skills refines their use. naturally i have no idea what she should work on, but thats up to her and i'm sure it will work out whatever she chooses.
Twilight. Twos things I need to say.
First, the small strange stuff I post. I have been trapped in complete isolation for over 500 years so I have gone a little crazy. Not discord level crazy, but crazy none the less. I built most of the beings that you have heard so some of my personality leaked into their construction. But I made a Job out of my madness to see if I can make people question my sanity. So if I can't make you question my sanity then I'm not doing my job right.
Second, I'm sorry. You have to find the truth of 'who' you are. Are you Twilight Sparkle, princess of friendship or are you Twilence, the Oracle; fated to save Equestria or destroy it. I have no clue if you can hear me now but find your true self. I trust in you Twilight and I know you can make the right choice.
Criterian here. I know this isn't helpful in the slightest, but good luck to all of you. Steampunk!Starlight is a huge problem, she has at least one time exploit. You don't know what it will do. Be careful. And Pinkie, yes we did get there faster.
Some new information's come up, and I wanted to share it.
In the alternate dimension in which GM's story Broken Mirror takes place, Pinkie Pie was an experiment by some insane doctor to produce a Concrete that could experience empathy. For your information, Concretes were a group of ponies corrupted by Nightmare Moon, who lost everything about themselves except their logic and extreme anger. Pinkie Pie, called Diane in that universe, felt a hole in which her Aware powers would have been, and saught to fill that hole using an artificial entity of her own creation known as Project Mind, or M. M did succeed in getting what Diane didn't have, but instead of developing Awareness, it simply became a true conscious being, as opposed to a mindless computer that could replicate it.
Later, when the protagonists of the story made it into the Concretion city in search of the Elements of Harmony, they came across M. M, having revealed it broke through Diane's safeguards made to control it, agreed to join our protagonists. Eventually, it was transported into the Starshell, and doing so downloaded M into the Starshell. I say this because, if we end up voting for the starshell, we now won't have to worry about the attempt to summon it failing. Also, since M is both in the Starshell and in a pair of glasses Pinkie(not Diane) is wearing, I hypothesize that M will be able to relay the events of the Influence to the protagonists of Broken Mirror.
Also, unrelated to M, the safe that contained the Elements of Harmony also contained a number of interesting objects, which I'm hoping that we could describe the purpose of to M if we summon it and he can relay that to the others. The objects are: The seven-sided chest from Realms of Existence that allowed its protagonists to travel to the Realms, a strange orange box I don't know anything about, a fireplace from My Little Inferno that burns literally everything except living beings, a broken version of the Eye of Rhyme, and a sphere like the one SotS Twilight gets.
EDIT: Apparently, the orange brick is the key which releases Corot from his solar prison. Thanks, GM!
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- PDP. Agreement Wizard.