MLP Loops 148
148.1 (Masterweaver)
Vinyl cleared her throat. "Hey there Dash."
"Hey Scratch." Rainbow leaned on a post. "Wassup?"
"I was kinda wondering why there's caution tape around the library." Vinyl waved a hoof at the yellow border. "I mean the Summer Sun Celebration hasn't even started yet."
The pegasus blinked for a few moments, before dragging her hoof down her face. "Riiiiiight. I forgot you're a younger looper. Okay, so... you know how Equestria is all sunshine and rainbows compared to other loops?"
Vinyl shrugged. "Sure, I can dig it."
"So what do you think would happen if, say, a nonlooping version of Pinkie Pie was dropped into ultra-grimdark-gorefest three thousand?"
"She'd snap like a twig and become a megadeath mistress of balloon strangulation," Vinyl replied without hesitation.
"Yeah. Us loopers, we're a lot harder to shake, but..." Rainbow shrugged. "Sometimes we just get stuck in loops that are plain wrong. Not harmful, mind you, just so opposite us that it... What I'm saying is Twilight's in a really delicate mindset right now, saw some twisted things, and we're working her back to sanity." She gestured at the tape. "So no books for now."
"Huh, okay." Vinyl rolled her eyes. "I mean, her daughter's dating the anchor of that ultradark loop, I'd of thought she'd gotten thicker skin, but... whatever. What loop was it, anyway?"
"Addams Family. Like, original comics Addams Family." Rainbow Dash shivered. "It would be so much easier if they were just evil..."
148.2 (Masterweaver)
"Nnnnnnnnnrnrnrnrngh." Rainbow glowered at the pegasi milling about the cloud confusedly. "ALRIGHT! HER NAME is Clear Skies, HIS NAME is Open Skies, and if I hear any more of this Who's On First routine I am going to just straight up dock your pay!"
"But--"
"No buts!" Every loop, every loop she had to deal with this. Why were pony names so prophetic?
148.3 (Masterweaver)
"Oh, my beloved subjects," chuckled the dark alicorn, "It's been so long since I've seen your precious, little sun-loving faces."
Rainbow Dash snarled. "What did you do with our Princess?!" She tried to dart up to the stage, but was held back by Applejack gripping her tail with a roll of her eyes.
"Why, am I not royal enough for you?" the armored pony asked. "Don't you know who I am?"
"I know who you are!" Twilight shouted.
The alicorn smiled at her.
Twilight smiled back.
The alicorn frowned. "...yes?"
"Yes what?
"You said you know who I am."
"I do!"
"So....?"
Twilight tilted her head. "....You asked if anypony here knew who you were. I said I did."
The alicorn blinked at that. "And... you feel no need to introduce me?"
"OH! Right! Sorry, that was rude of me. Everypony, this is Luna, Celestia's little sister." She held up a paper. "The princess said she's been on a forced vacation for a while so she wanted her to have a chance to do the whole sunraising thing. Welcome back party, as it were."
"Ooo! Ooo! I like parties!"
Luna frowned. "First of all, we are known as Nightmare Moon. Secondly, I seriously doubt mine sister would truly acquiesce to such a shift--"
"It says right here: 'Gone surfing, let Luna run things for a week.' There's a little footnote about keeping the moon moving so she can get killer waves--"
"--and thirdly We have never risen the sun before and we certainly don't intend to now!"
"Aw, don't be like that," Pinkie chirped, having somehow appeared next to the alicorn. "Here, have some welcome back cake!"
Luna blinked, staring at the plate in front of her. "Did... didst thou just make this right now?!"
"Of course not, silly filly! I keep cake everywhere, in case of cake emergencies!"
The mayor cleared her throat. "Miss Twilight, I was not informed about this change in ceremony."
"Yeah, I was going to tell you, but I got caught up in Pinkie's Welcome To Ponyville party, one thing led to another..." The unicorn smiled awkwardly. "Wow, this has been a comedy of errors, hasn't it?"
"Doth nopony remember the threat of eternal night?" Luna demanded, trying to regain her position.
"Wasn't that Tirek's gig?" Applejack asked, letting Rainbow go. "Ah mean, that's what all the stories say--wait, are ya dating him or something?"
"What is this... dating?"
"Lingual drift," Twilight supplied, "it's like courting but more general."
"What?! Us and--?! No! Never!" Luna gagged. "The very idea!"
"So... what yer saying is you're here to protect us from Tirek getting eternal night."
"I--! No! We are the princess of the night, we are Nightmare Moon!"
"Oh come on," Pinkie said with a grin, "Nightmare Moon is just a pony-based evolution and collation of various prime figures in autumnal holiday tradition! She isn't real or anything. You're obviously real, so you can't be Nightmare Moon. Quod Erat Demonstrandum!"
"But--"
"Look," Twilight interjected, "we're kind of holding the record here for, well, longest sunrise, and if we keep doing this the other nations might very well go to war with us. I can understand if you're a little thrown off from your forced vacation, Luna, but--"
Nightmare Moon let out a scream of frustration.
148.4 (Masterweaver)
"Whoa."
Fluttershy flicked an ear, turning to see a green mare with red braids dripping down her head. "Um. Hello. My name's Fluttershy." She held out a hoof with a smile, idly wondering what was going on in Ponyville--Twilight had told her that Discord planned a visit during this most recent expansion, deliberately coinciding with her Breezie Trip, but she seemed to have it in hoof.
"Tree Hugger." The mare stared wide-eyed at Fluttershy. "You're... really bright."
"Um... thank you?"
"Your aura, I mean. I've seen blissed out ponies of all colors, but you...." The mare waved a hoof. "It's like your vibe has been beating for longer than the universe. Radical."
"I... I don't understand--"
"Your chakras! Your energy, it's almost..." Tree Hugger stumbled forward. "It's righteous. You are... so enrapturing. Are..." She bit her lip. "Are you, um... the soul of reality incarnate?"
Fluttershy blinked. "I... don't think so...? I'm just an ordinary pegasus who, um, may be the chosen bearer of the Element of Kindness, but I'm mostly just an animal caretaker."
Tree Hugger winced. "Ooh, don't bend your waves like that. You're more. You're so much more... I don't know. You.... you're so bright. I can't stop looking."
"...I, uh..." Fluttershy blushed a bit. "Are you... saying you're attracted to me?"
"What? Oh, no no, sorry. I don't think our auras mesh." The earth pony tapped her chin. "Or, well, they could maybe, but yours is so bright mine would be vanished... You need to find another universe soul, if that's what you're looking for. I know better than to try to harmonize with somepony so... ancient."
The pegasus blinked. "Ancient...? Oh! Oh, you must mean--" She glanced around, then leaned toward the earth pony. "Talk to me later, during the closeup. I'll explain everything."
"I got you. Can't let the unenlightened know, it could wreak havoc." Tree Hugger hit her hoof against her chest and stretched it out with a lazy smile. "Blessings be upon you... not that you need them."
"So you're saying that this whole time, your stoner friend has been loop aware?!"
Fluttershy waved a hoof. "Well, it's more like looper aware, and only in the loops where she actually has the aura vision... thing going on. I just explain things to her when she does."
"And you never thought to tell anyone?" Discord clutched his chest. "I'm shocked, I really am!"
"Well, she's..." Fluttershy paused for a moment. "Like you said, she, ah... likes recreational drugs, and... would you have believed me?"
Discord flipped a coin. "Heads yes, tails no." Unfortunately the coin hatched into a smarginofigus which swam out the window. "Huh. I guess I don't actually know."
"Yeah..." Fluttershy shrugged. "Well, in this most recent expansion my nonlooping self asks her to the gala and, apparently, she spotted Twilight right away. Scared the heck out of her for a few loops before I Awoke and explained things..."
148.5 (Evilhumour)
Gleaming Shield blinked at the latest person invading her wedding and sighed, placing a hoof against her face. How did her unAwake self miss this one?!
"I'm just as surprised as you are Gleaming," the drake said, shrugging his shoulders, after pinging in time. "I went over my loop memories and I'm still not sure how I fooled everyone. I mean, I wasn't even a mare!"
Gleaming Shield rolled her eyes at this silliness as the dragons began to invade, with Twilight bringing in a furious alicorn mare. Gleaming Shield knew she was in for a long talk tonight.
148.6 (Gamerex27)
Twilight rubbed at her snout. "Right...explain...explain what's up with your part of the Loop, again?"
"Nyarlathotep casts a curse on Sumaru City that makes rumors become reality," the mare in front of her, here named Hopeful Heart, said. "No matter how crazy it is, or how impossible, if enough people believe it, it becomes true."
"That...that sounds incredible!" Twilight whispered to herself, her tea having long since grown cold. "Imagine all the possibilities you could do! Experiments with dimensional technology without crashing the Loop! So many new fields of magic you can create with just a few words! So-"
"It also caused the Nazis to resurrect themselves in the city, and for Maya to get killed, fulfilling a rumored prophesy that the world would be destroyed," her companion, a brown-coated pegasus, here called Hot Ride (to his chagrin) told the Anchor.
Twilight abruptly stopped mid-sentence, as she went over the implications of this curse again. "Oh. It's...it that dangerous?"
"It can't do anything to Yggdrasil, since no one in town knows about it," the stallion said. "You'd need to spread a rumor about the Tree for anything to happen at all. Still, Masakado slapped a Read-Only label on it, just to be safe."
"Tatsuya..." Maya said, sighing. "You're over-reacting again. I don't think the curse could do anything to Yggdrasil at all: it's not powerful enough."
"You can never be too sure," Tatsuya replied. "Still, that thing usually follows us around wherever we end up in the Loops."
"Which is why you tried to spread a rumor saying that the Pies sold weapons in this bakery along with food and drinks," Twilight said. She waved her forehoof, gesturing around the ordinary-looking cafe. "Yeah, I don't think that's ever gonna hap-"
"Here you go."
Before Twilight could finish her sentence, Maud Pie wheeled up a silver platter on a dessert cart to them. Grabbing the top of the tray in her mouth, she lifted off the cover to reveal, not food, but a stash of weapons.
"What," the Princess of Friendship simply said.
"One katana modified for wing use," Maud continued, hoofing it over to Katsuya, "one pair of hoof-mounted pistols," giving these to Maya, "and one military-grade horn enhancer," she finished, dropping the sharpened metal casing next to Twilight's slice of pie.
"What."
"Thank you!" Maya said, sliding the guns onto her hooves.
"By the way," Maud said, as she reached for the other tray, distributing the groups' lunches, "I heard that the gates to Tartarus broke open and demons are running loose everywhere. It'd explain why so many places were on fire lately."
Twilight's face turned a little pale, and she facehoofed.
"Don't worry," Maud said, as emotionless as ever. "It's just a rumor."
With that, she cantered back to the kitchen.
"See what I mean?" sighed Tatsuya. "Guess we better get on it. After lunch, I guess."
"By the way," Maya asked as they dug into their food, "I did hear some more Pings other than you before. Do you think your friends know about the curse?"
"I can only hope not," Twilight said, in between bites of her hay burger. "Ginkophyta knows what they'd do with it."
"Ah really hate ta' do this," Applebloom muttered, "but...ya said rumors are becomin' reality?"
"Yes," Twilight told the Cutie Mark Crusaders, "even the really dangerous ones. And what's the best way to get information out?"
"...Internet?" Scootaloo asked.
"Doesn't exist in our Loop."
"Newspapers?" she tried again.
"Exactly," Twilight said, nodding. "I need you girls to start up the Gabby Gums column again, so that we can get the good rumors out and discredit the bad ones."
"Basically, you need to be our rumormongers, too," Tatsuya added. "Tell us what you hear off the streets, so we can know which ones to spread. Maya's a journalist in Baseline, she'll help you find a big publisher."
"Got it!" Sweetie Belle's eyes glinted, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders huddled up.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS RUMORMONGERS, YAAAAAAAY!"
(Evilhumour)
A few seconds later, there was a mighty THUD as one of Twilight's window exploded, as a rainbow mess known as Rainbow Dash crashed into her home again.
Frowning, Twilight reached to get her squirt bottle and newspaper when the pile groaned.
"Uuugh, sorry Twily," her friend whimpered, clutching something in her hooves. "But I really need your help."
"What's wrong Dash?" Twilight started to run towards her when Dash started to twitch and held up a hoof so quickly that there was a sonic boom inside her home. Thankfully, Twilight's magic was quicker.
"Rumor around I'm the fastest there is," Dash groaned, rolling over onto her side, clutching a bucket to her chest. "And anytime someone moves, I move faster." That was as far as Dash got before filling the bucket with her lunch. "I cannot believe I am saying this, but I am going way too fast," Dash whimpered, her mouth still deep inside. "Please tell me you have something your lab that can help me."
Twilight nodded her head, and responded in the affirmative as she used her magic to slowly carry Rainbow Dash down the stairs and into a special sensor depriving bubble with the promise of soup, blankets and clean buckets for the mare suffering motion sickness.
(Bliss Authority)
Pinkie scratched her chin. "So that rumor about Discord bringing the Smooze to the Grand Galloping Gala-"
"-is a FANTASTIC idea!" Discord grabbed her fetlock and shook it vigorously before swimming off through the air. "Thanks, Pinkie!"
Tatsuya just glared at Pinkie.
(Harosata)
"Hold on! I need to check a rumor!" Pinkie dashed out of the house.
Tatsuya looked around the room.
"I'm back!"
"Gah!" Tatsuya picked himself up from the floor. "Pinkie, where did you go?"
"Oh, I heard a rumor that I show up when someone makes a Pinkie Promise, so I just had to show up and see if that's true." Pinkie explained.
"A Pinkie...Promise?" Tatsuya tried to decipher what Pinkie said. "Wait, if you show up at a place you're rumored to show up, isn't that a self-fulfilling prophecy?"
"Hm, you could be right. I'll check that rumor again!" And Pinkie ran out of the house again. Tatsuya blinked and turned his attention to Twilight.
"Earlier, I did hear rumors that your friend is a bit...funny."
"It's actually a fact."
(BIOS-Pherecydes)
Twilight was really starting to hate this Loop. It had seemed like a simple trip to the market until she had noticed the empty streets, only then recalling the issues that the residents of Ponyville had with Zecora before getting to know her. Combined with Nyarlathotep's curse it had resulted in the sight in front of her.
Directing a swarm of Parasprites and surrounded by ominously moving shadows the Zebra mare stalked forward, her cloak moving in a non-existent wind. However before Twilight could move to cut off the apparent threat she was distracted by a hit from the Element of Generosity from directly in front of her. Relaxing, she gave a rueful grin and went to greet her friend.
"Hey Zecora, how are you? Uh... other than the whole witch thing I mean."
"Hello Twilight, I am doing quite well
Although this Loop is rather odd, as I'm sure you can tell."
Twilight nodded agreement. "So do you want me to try and counter the rumors going around about you?"
Zecora smiled, but shook her head.
"Thank you but no, as there is no need
I am quite enjoying being the Witch of Everfree.
The Parasprites are of an unexpected aid
And there are many new potions I wish to have made."
As if to illustrate her point the swarm of replicating creatures returned at that moment, each loaded with various items from the surrounding shops.
"... I hope you remembered to pay for those."
(BIOS-Pherecydes)
"The reputation of Team Garash echoes far and wide, its leader a cake of spirit, a kick-crust paragon of glucose density! Dig the crumbs out of your wrappers because I've got something to say! He takes the blazing oven in his bare hands and endures the searing heat. A desserts dessert sustained by strength of will. When you hear of the great Kamina Muffin they're talking about me! You'd best remember that! Who the hell do you think you are? Isn't your whisk the one that will pierce the heavens, the earth, and through to tomorrow? Go beyond the impossible and kick reason to the curb! That's how Team Garash rolls! Don't forget. Believe in yourself. Not in the you who believes in me. Not the me who believes in you. Believe in the you who believes in yourself. Giga Pudding Breaker!
As the small army of desserts crashed a hole in the roof of Sugarcube Corner, Bright Eyes and Pinkie gave each other surprised looks. This was not what they expected when they started spreading those rumors about magical cakes being the source of Celestia's power.
(Evilhumour)
"Luna, stop laughing, and get me the BUCK out of here!" Celestia shouted, placing her hooves on the side of her throne and tried again to lift herself upright.
Luna shook her head, still laughing to herself. "Dear sister, if anything, this should serve as a wake up call to your cake addiction."
Celestia simply flailed her hooves in the air, trying to reach her sister's body, her wide flanks still wedge into her throne.
(BIOS-Pherecydes)
It was times like this that Twilight really wished she had fingers, so that she could try and ease the migraine she was certain she could feel forming. Standing in front of her were two familiar forms, one of whom most certainly hadn't been part of the Loop previously.
"Let me see if I've got this right. You-" she said pointing at the normal pony Lyra "somehow managed to start a rumor with the voices in your own head and thanks to the nature of your glitch it actually caused Yggdrasil to set up a Mikasa Glitch mid-Loop."
Lyra nodded sheepishly.
"Right. Which explains the fact we now have your human self running around the middle of Ponyville, and cedar knows how we're supposed to explain that."
The aforementioned human blushed and awkwardly rubbed the back of her head with a laugh, inadvertently causing a mild panic from the spectating ponies at the sight of her incisors.
Twilight's felt her mane begin to frazzle and her eye begin to twitch, before taking a calming breath and turning around.
"You know what, you figure it out."
Ignoring the protests from the duplicated Looper, she headed off to find something to calm her nerves.
'I need to find something to read. I wonder if I can start a rumor that Daring Do has a new book coming out tomorrow.'
(Evilhumour)
"Lyra!" Dash shouted, rolling over the purple unicorn. "Get your seapony self under control!"
"Hehe!" the mint green mare chuckled to herself, using the bubble as part of her large, weird bicycle made half with water and half of the magical bubble holding the rainbow mare. "Shoo bee doo, this is so much fun!"
(Harosata)
"I'm back. Twilight!"
"Ga- I should stop doing that." Tatsuya grumbled as he looked at Pinkie. "Did you find anything useful?"
"Well, I heard some rumors, but I don't think they have anything to do with whatever's spreading the rumors. Let's see..." Pinkie began to count the incidents on her hoof. "There's a rumor that Trixie defeated an Ursa Major, a rumor that the Flim-Flam brothers make the best cider, a rumor where Celestia is pulling all the strings in Ponyville, a rumor that Cheese throws the best party..."
Tatsuya snapped to attention. "Wait, what was that part?"
"I don't believe it either. I mean, I'm the reason he's a party thrower in the first pl-"
Tatsuya shook his head. "The part about Celestia pulling the string."
Pinkie blinked. "What's so interesting about that?"
"Look, if she's pulling the strings, either she's controlling the power behind these rumors or she's using the effects of these rumors for her own gain." Tatsuya started to head out. "Either way, it's worth checking."
"Not really." Applebloom said as she popped in, her bow occasionally tugging in the direction of Canterlot. "If you happen to see Rarity, you probably don't want her to see her boutique."
(Gamerex27 and Wildrook)
Maya cantered down the street, mentally reviewing the notes from her latest interview.
She stopped in place, then backpedaled, tripping over her clumsy four legs in the process.
Looking up, she could see a very annoyed Rarity, hanging by a gigantic spiderweb-esque structure covering her boutique. It twitched constantly, as if drawn by a magnet. Her makeup was running down her face, as if she had been crying, but it was dry when Maya galloped over to her.
"Aren't you usually the type to scream about this?" Maya asked.
"I did," Rarity said, hoarsely. "For several hours. But everypony was too worried about that zebra from the Everfree to leave their homes and help me." The Unawake mare dramatically sighed. "Oh, for a brave stallion to come to my rescue. Or anypony, really."
"I'm afraid I'll have to do," Maya said. "Give me a second. PERSONA!"
Again, she summoned Artemis in a burst of light. But a mere second after she did so, she began to consider exactly how a frightened and stressed mare would react to seeing somepony summon a ten-foot tall, white, hairless minotaur out of nowhere to tear everything near her to shreds.
Rarity tried to scream, but found that she just didn't have the voice for it anymore. "Where's my fainting couch when you need it?!"
Several minutes later, a disgruntled Rarity hobbled down from the window, gently eased down by the Goddess of the Moon. As Artemis vanished, she swayed in place, then clutched at her nose with a hoof. "My word!" she said. "What...what is that revolting smell?!"
Maya sniffed at the air, and instantly mirrored Rarity's action as she recognized the very distinctive smell. "But...that's impossible," she choked out, as her eyes started to water. "Only the Inaba girls should be able to make that!...Did someone spread a rumor to make their cooking worse?!"
Eventually, the mares had staggered their way over to the Golden Oaks Library, staring down the sheepish Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"I know Sweetie Belle's cooking was bad," Rarity growled, "but that odor is REVOLTING! What were you three trying to cook?!"
"Curry," Apple Bloom muttered.
Tatsuya and Maya cringed.
"You didn't," the red stallion muttered.
"That confirms it," Maya sighed. "Right...Tatsuya, could you find some other pegasi to make a storm to blow that smell away? It's bad enough dealing with our usual curse: no need to add Mystery Food X to it all."
(Evilhumour)
"On one hoof, I am really angry at you for getting that gossip out, Dash," Twilight muttered at the bubble where the sick mare was slowly recovering, drinking the soup that Pinkie Pie made for her. The rest of their friends were trying poorly not to laugh, with Dash too ill to do so. "To the point I am tempted to roll you around town, or start a rumor that you always dress in style."
Twilight 'sighed', 'looking' at the bubble. "On the other hoof, I cannot do it as it would be really mean and I cannot do it because I don't have an ELM body anymore!" the purple egg shouted, wobbling angrily, causing the mares around her to laugh out loud. Apparently, rumors that had been put through a round of Chinese Whispers/Broken Telephone worked as well in this loop.
(Wildrook)
"Well, I'm not exactly the one walking on eggshells here, Sheldon Sparkle," Rainbow Dash replied, too ill to make a wittier retort.
"'Sheldo-the chick stuck in his egg from that one farm Loop?" Spike asked. "That was eons ago: no one's going to remember that!"
Twilight rolled away and looked at Tatsuya on the sofa.
"You're in my spot," she said. "Best incubation area."
(Evilhumour)
"Where is Pinkie Pie?!" Luna thundered in the middle of Ponyville. "We have traced the source of the rumor that our moon is made of cheese to her, and We wish to have words with her!"
Said mare simply stayed in the background, nomming the stolen moon cheese with a grin on her face.
(Harosata)
Looking at the time, Maya remembered a rumor that she had heard. "Luna? Are you awake?"
The Moon Princess gazed up. "Hm? I am. What do you need to ask of me?"
Maya looked at her from many angles. "Just how are you awake?"
"Is this a trick question?" Luna had to ask.
Tatsuya studied the princess. "Now that you mention it, she is awake."
Twilight looked back and forth. "Okay, what are you guys talking about?"
"Princess Luna sleeps during the day, and yet she has gone to investigate the rumors around the princesses." Maya explained. "Princess Luna, how did you make yourself immune to that rumor?"
"Well, it is simple. When one thinks of the day, they think of the sun, which is controlled by my sister Celestia." Luna explained as she pointed at the bright ball in the sky. "And so, I merely place my moon into the sky even if Celestia does not move her sun..."
"And they think it's night even when the sun is out!" Twilight realized the logic. "Or at least nopony knows what to call that sort of time of the day. But still, I'm surprised you found that loophole, Luna. How did you think up the solution?"
Luna blushed. "To be truthful, Izzzzzzzzzzz..." THUD!
Maya poked the fallen princess. "Princess? She's asleep."
"Huh. Guess there's no need to see if that rumor is true." Twilight concluded. "But for the rumor to take effect, something must have happened to the moon..."
"But what?" Tatsuya asked.
"Urp!"
"Ergh...Okay, that's getting old." Tatsuya frowned as he turned to Pinkie, who had a lot of cheese crumbs on her mouth.
(Evilhumour)
Cadence blinked as she watched Blueblood hold the door for the next mare that passed by, humming an innocent tune as he gave a generous tip to the beggar on the street.
"Okay..." Shining said slowly, watching the scene with his wife. "I don't know what's worse; the rumor that Blueblood being an actual prince charming is working or the fact seeing him act so good is so disturbing."
"Me neither dear," Cadence muttered as he began to lead away Octavia away, charming the mare. "But I think Vinyl is going to be a bit mad to find out he stole her date."
Shining scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Well, it wouldn't be Blueblood if he didn't do something jerkish, even when he is behaving himself."
(Masterweaver)
"Oh mah leaves."
Scootaloo leaned in the door. "What is it, Apple Bloom?"
The earth pony just shook her head and hoofed over the newspaper. On the front page, Cadance was giving the camera an awkward smile as she wrapped one hoof around Filthy Rich, and Diamond Tiara stood in front of her practically beaming with glee. 'Local Stallion locates long-lost daughter!' the headline blared, with 'Local filly actually a princess!' right below it.
Scootaloo stared at the paper in shock. "...Diamond started this rumor, didn't she?"
"She's a decent social manipulator, when she puts her mind to it."
The pegasus bit her lip. "...you know, uh... if she were awake I wouldn't suggest this, but... what if we pitched an article about Filthy Rich loving Screwball?"
(BIOS-Pherecydes)
Angel Bunny wasn't sure whether to be please or irritated with the current Loop. On the one paw he now received the respect he deserved from the weak ponies his owner insisted on dealing with on a daily basis. On the other paw the current rumor around Ponyville was that he was secretly a Demon and Fluttershy had accidentally bound him to her service during a trip into the Everfree.
Eh, whatever, he decided as he roasted a carrot-kabob with a quick burst of Hellfire.
(Harosata)
Pinkie hopped over to Fluttershy's for a quick visit, though if she were anypony else, the Ursa Majors in the backyard should have been an indicator.
"So...you can't talk because everypony says you're that one quiet pony."
Nod
"And you didn't fly to Twilight's because they also say that you don't?"
Nod
Pinkie flipped through a notebook. "And they also say you're a vampire pony, you become a raging beast if someone even hurts a dragonfly, and you have a cockatrice's stare. Is that true?"
Nod
"Huh, that explains the blindfold. I thought that was part of your dragon wrestling costume."
(Gamerex27)
As Maya sat on Twilight's egg, she heard a knock at the door. Turning around, she summoned her Persona Artemis in a burst of blue light, opening the door to reveal a diamond dog with a fiery red coat, looking confused.
"Hi, Sunset," Twilight muttered. "You Awake?"
"If I wasn't, I'd still be at Canterlot High," she said, smiling. "But...what's up with the whole 'rumors magically coming true' thing? I figured out pretty quickly what was going on, and I..." she shifted in place. "I spread a rumor that the Dazzlings couldn't really sing, and had to lip synch all of their music. Next thing I know, all of their magic stops working and I've solved the problem before it even started."
"That...that's actually pretty clever," Twilight said, chuckling. "As for what's going on...some entity from these guys' Loop put a curse on Ponyville and Canterlot that makes rumors become reality. And since the portal is in Canterlot..."
"...it extends to Canterlot High, too." Sunset concluded. "So, uh...why am I a diamond dog and not a pony? I remember being a pony in my Loop memories before I first went through the mirror."
"I've...seen the show-the backup of your universe in the Hub-with Jun," Tatsuya admitted. "Up to the first half of season 4, at least. And they use human curses there, right?"
"Uh...they don't show it in the backup, since it's aimed at foals, but yes..." Sunset trailed off.
"So, if there were rumors about you being a bitch-"
"They came true," Sunset Shimmer said, facepawing. "Not sure why I was still human on the Other Side, then," she mused, not noticing how Tatsuya twitched at that phrase, "but it makes sense. Mostly."
"So, is the curse coming from this side, or your side?" Twilight asked, being unable to see how Tatsuya twitched again.
"This side, I think," Sunset replied. "I mean, it was strong enough on the other side, but I think the source is coming from this side-"
"Can we PLEASE STOP TALKING about this side and the other side?!" Tatsuya snapped.
The egg and the dog stopped talking, and looked at Tatsuya.
"It...bad memories," he said, sighing. "Should we ask the Crusaders to see if they can find the source of the curse?"
"They're not that magically inclined," Twilight told them. "It would be best if Sunset and I looked for it with you guys. At least, when I FINALLY BUCKING HATCH!" she screamed, shaking in place as Maya's body heat still failed to get her out of the egg. "Tatsuya, some fire would be NICE!”
(Gamerex27 and Evilhumour)
"Soooooo," Scootaloo started, as she pulled some notes out of her saddlebag with her wing. "Rumors. What have you girls got today?"
"There's the rumor that Celestia is coming to make a personal investigation into all this craziness," Sweetie Belle told them. "Personally, I think we should run it: it'd help get her out of that 'all Celestia's cakes go right to her flanks' rumor Luna made that's got her stuck in her throne."
"'Kay, that's one," Scootaloo said, jotting it down. "What else?"
"There's the rumor that AJ is a stallion in disguise..." Applebloom started.
Before she could say anything else, she was cut off by a loud, very masculine scream from the direction of the Apple farm.
"...annnnnd it looks like it kicked in," she finished. "That's something Ah'd like to counter, but we've got bigger problems now. Put it on the list, but low priority."
"Speaking of that," Scootaloo added, "there's also a rumor about your family switching from growing apples to oranges.
An even louder, angrier scream came from the farm.
"...sh-he-whatever-is less upset about a gender shift than her crops changing?" Tatsuya asked, confused.
"'S a matter of pride," Applebloom said, grinding her teeth.
"Big Mac, once Ah get my hooves on ya, Ah SWEAR Ah'll buck you into being a mare!" the stallion with three oranges cutie mark shouted, chasing after he-er, his grinning big brother, past Twilight's window.
"We need to fix that, pronto," Applebloom added. "Otherwise, the family reunion comin' up soon will turn into a riot."
"Got it," the pegasus said, writing that down too. "Speaking of problems, the demonic invasion from Tartarus. How should we deal with that?"
"Demons aren't that hard to deal with," Maya said from the corner of the room, still sitting on Twilight's (now sleeping) egg. "Maybe you could interview me or Tatsuya on how you can just Contact them."
"Contact?" the fillies asked in unison.
"Think normal demon negotiation from Amala," Maya continued, "but you don't need to bribe them. Just use your special talent when you talk to them-singing, impressions, fortune telling, fashion tips, lessons on friendship, magic tricks, seduction, torture-"
"Wait, what?!"
"-Long story," Maya explained. "Kaoru can go over the top sometimes."
"...and what about Tirek?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I mean, if the rumors are strong enough to bend reality, and if all the demons are out of Tartarus now, we should spread one that could deal with him."
"Hm..." Applebloom tapped her hoof against her chin in thought. "...why don't we tell everypony that there's a monster from Tartarus that's givin' ponies magic rather than stealing it?"
"...really?" her other Crusaders asked.
"It's weird enough to be interesting and spread, and helpful enough that we don't need ta worry about Tirek getting too powerful from rumor magic or anything." Applebloom's grin widened further and further as she went on. "It's genius!"
"That's one for the front page!" Scootaloo exclaimed, writing it down in italics. "It's a great plan! It's foalproof!"
(Masterweaver)
"...and that's basically what's going on," Vinyl finished awkwardly.
Octavia nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I... I thank you for being honest with me, miss Scratch, but... if I am not completely incorrect, we weren't actually dating at the start of this, ahem, loop. And now we are, and I cannot figure out why--"
"Yeah, uh, you know how I mentioned variant loops?" Vinyl glanced around. "This is a variant loop. Well, technically it's a crossover loop, but--the point is, for whatever reason, if enough people believe in some rumor or other, the universe adjusts itself so that rumor is true."
The gray mare stared at her.
"Which isn't to say I'll be taking advantage of the situation," Vinyl assured her quickly. "In fact, putting this on the record: You are the leader in this relationship, you decide what happens when, I'm just going to follow you."
Unfortunately for the unicorn, she didn't notice the other pony passing by with an interested look. Within the week, the rumor mill had taken her sentence so far out of context that the tabloids were screaming. But, all things considered, she could live with the more interesting results.
(Evilhumour)
"But-" the white pony started to protest when the earth pony flicked Vinyl's nose with her black tail, eliciting a blush on the white mare.
"Vinyl, I have read my journal. Not once was I under you," Octavia grinned, leaning over to the unicorn's face. "So for your attempted lie I am going to have to punish you."
Vinyl was ready for anything physical that the mare could do to her. She was not ready for Octavia to steal her glasses and run off with a laugh.
(Gamerex27)
"Apollo!"
With a snap of his hoof (which he still was not sure how he did), Tatsuya summoned his Persona in a flash of light, rekindling the fire burning under Twilight's egg.
"Between that and Spike's mail thing," Sweetie Belle commented, as she glanced back to Spike sending out their papers to the local distributors in a blast of magic fire, "we're lucky Twilight doesn't have smoke detectors."
A loud crash outside Twilight's house brought their attention to a nearby window, where Iron Will and a demonic Minotaur with a skull nose wrestled and clashed outside.
"Hang on, let me help," Maya said, hopping off Twilight and heading outside. "Stay clear: it's weak to Ice magic!"
"...speaking of magic..."
The Cutie Mark Crusaders turned to Tatsuya, who pointed to the egg Apollo was incubating. "My Persona felt it start to-"
A crack formed in the egg. And another. And another.
"Ah," Scootaloo said, in a deadpan tone, "the miracle of childbirth."
"Oh, shush," Twilight said, as her egg continued to break open. "You haven't had to be a biological mother before. This is nothing."
With that, she bucked her egg open.
"Finally!" she cheered, stretching out her back and shaking her mane free of egg shell, "I'm out of the moss-damned thing!"
"...Uh..." Applebloom started, then trailed off. "Twi? The rumor...don't look like it's worn off yet."
"...what do you mean?" she asked. "I'm out of the egg! Isn't that enough?"
Tatsuya shared an uneasy glance with the fillies, then pulled a bicycle out of his Pocket. "Not really," he said, turning the mirror to face Twilight.
She looked in the mirror. She wasn't sure how she looked in the mirror, given that she had no eyes, but she did so anyways.
The egg-headed Twilight looked to Tatsuya. Looked to the Crusaders. Then back to the mirror.
"I. Hate. This. Curse," she moaned, cradling her eggshell in her hooves.
(Evilhumour)
Without any warning, Scootaloo suddenly let out a loud cluck of surprise, causing everypony to turn and stare at her.
The orange chicken blinked, looked at her reflection and then facewinged.
"Of course this would happen..." she muttered under her breath.
Berry Punch, the mare rumored to be the town drunk, took several steps into the Golden Oaks, stumbling with every step.
"Izzz hates thess stuupid looop!" the mare slurred, hiccuping before spinning around and passing out on the chicken, snoring loudly.
There was a sudden gush of air, causing the egghead pony, the flailing chicken and several ponies to look up at the gryphon trying to scowl at them but failed to really do so.
"Gilda?" Twilight asked, somehow using sight behind sight to see her friend. She looked odd, a bit stiff yet loose at the same time-
"Gilda, why are ya a giant plushie?" Applebloom asked, tilting her head.
Gilda grumbled, squeaking as she walked into the library. "Rumor had it I was a really softie and then it turned into I was an actual one!" Squeaking, Gilda sat down on the makeshift nest and began to shift around to get comfortable, squeaking as she did so. Looking at the snickering crowd, she frowned at the. "Laugh, and I swear I will SQUEAK you!" Gilda threatened, holding out a claw to the ponies around her. Blushing Gilda, simply fluffed her wings out and prepared to deal with this loop.
(Harosata)
Somepony knocked on the door. "May I come in?"
"Um, I guess?" Twilight looked as a stallion walked in. "Dr. Hooves?"
"Is that with a W or just the plural of these?" Dr. Hooves held up his hooves. "And before you ask, I am the Doctor according to my memory, but I haven't figured out if these rumors brought me to this Loop or if I am just a pony who suddenly have knowledge of Looping. Anyway, I figured that the Anchor would be trying to find the source of this rumormonger phenomenon, so I came to help."
Tatsuya might have heard of him. "The Doctor? Isn't that the Looper who always gets shot by a-"
A laser zapped Dr. Hooves and turned him into ash. One glance outside, and they saw what looked like a giant salt shaker disappear into the horizon. The pile of ashes seemed to huff. "Well, I can safely assume the rumors don't have to come from Equestria."
(Gamerex27 and Evilhumour)
KNOCK. KNOCK.
"Nh. G'way," Trixie moaned, swatting at the air with a forehoof.
Whoever was at the door of her wagon just keep knocking, however. They seemed very insistent.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie needs her beauty sleep!" she muttered, as she slowly climbed out of bed and carefully crept towards the door.
"Go away!" she said, as she slammed the door open. "The Great and Powerful Trixie does not...entertain...loiterers..."
She shrunk in on herself as the massive, alicorn sized beast towered over her. The mix between a pony and a minotaur-a centaur, if Trixie remembered her mythology correctly-stood at her doorstep, clad in a red and white hat and matching uniform which did not contrast well with his coat.
"Ho ho ho!" he said, slapping his plump belly in what she could only assume was a bizarre greeting custom.
"...Who are you?!" Trixe asked, her bravado suddenly leaving her in the presence of a giant bucking monster with horns that were way too sharp.
"I'm Santa Tirek!" he said jollily. "Miss Trixie Lulamoon, I'm pleased to inform you that you're on the nice list after you made amends for your Alicorn Amulet episode!"
"How do you know abou-"
"Here is your present!" With that, Santa Tirek grabbed Trixie, and magic formed in his palm. In the span of a few seconds, ridiculous amounts of magical power poured into the comparatively tiny unicorn's body, and Tirek shrunk just a little bit.
"There you go, miss!" he said, putting the twitching Trixie down, not noticing that her coat and Cutie Mark were a lot brighter than usual, and oversaturated with color. "Happy Hearth's Warming Day!" he said, as he galloped off into Ponyville.
"But..." Trixie said, shivering as the magic coursed through her, "it's not-"
With a shriek of surprise, the excess magic fired from Trixie's horn, in a beam of sheer destructive power that would have made her Awake self proud.
"Um..." Trixie said, as she stared at the part of the Everfree Forest she had just annihilated, with a surprised zebra witch staring at her from the new hole in her house. "Trixie is...I'm sorry! I don't know what's going oooooooon!" she blurted out, as another jet of magic erupted from her mouth, this time, and propelled her into the sky with the sheer force of the blast.
"Something has gone horribly wrong," Tatsuya noted as he took note of the various fires, wrecked buildings, and bemused ponies all over Ponyville.
"'What could go wrong?' ya said?" Applebloom grumbled, as her friends sheepishly avoided her glare. "Honestly, ya haven't figured out by now to never say those words?"
"Everypony slips up sometimes," Sweetie Belle could only say.
"It could be worse," Maya noted, as she watched an annoyed team of weather pegasi chasing after a unicorn shooting herself into the stratosphere. "No one's been hurt or killed yet, and it's nothing that can't be fixed with some carpenters and hard work."
"-do you MEAN, 'I'm on the Naughty List!'" Twilight shrieked in the background, near the house/library they had arrived at on the way back from the press conference in Canterlot.
"I am most displeased with you, young Egg Sparkle. You have been very naughty and I had to give you a lump of coal." Tirek said, turning his head as he noticed the library was now on fire. "Ho ho uh oh."
As Tirek galloped off again, Twilight turned to stare as her home burned to the ground. Again.
If she still had eyes, they would be twitching like mad.
"I can't take it anymore," she announced, turning to face the group. "We're going to the Collective Unconciousness, we're finding Nyarlathotep, and we're bucking that bucker's face in until he lifts this bush-forsaken curse!"
"'Bush forsa-'" Tatsuya trailed off. "...Alright, then. Let's get the portal ritual ready."
(Gamerex27)
"...Where are we, exactly?"
"The collective unconsciousness of all manki-uh, marekind," Maya replied. "This is where everything we fight and face in our home Loop comes from."
"Including Shadows?" Twilight asked, staring off into the distance with her egg-head.
"Including Shadows," Tatsuya confirmed. "Why do you ask?"
Twilight just pointed ahead with a forehoof. From behind one of the pillars of the gazebo they found themselves in walked herself. The being was a dead ringer for Twilight, save for her normal, not-eggy head...and her piercing, yellow eyes.
She opened her mouth to speak, and-
"No!"
Shadow Twilight stopped, and stared at them.
"I get it!" Twilight hissed, walking up to her Shadow Self. "I KNOW what you are! All of my darkest secrets, right? I know. I know that I'm afraid that I'm not me anymore, after all these Loops! I KNOW that I’m afraid I've become a different mare after all this time, and I KNOW that I've gone crazy and done some terrible things!
"But I'm not alone! I've got dozens of my friends here with me in the Loops! No matter what happens, I won't lose myself like other Loopers! Not with my friends by my side, to keep me going! So, could you get out of our BUCKING WAY?!"
The Shadow uncomfortably shuffled in place. "Uh...I was just going to ask why I was here."
If Twilight had had eyes, she would have blinked in confusion. "Huh?"
"I mean, you already know all that," her dark self stated. "I had a whole speech like that planned out, and you just admitted all that before I could get going. Even in your mind, you're already going through everything else you're worried about, everything else you'd hide, and are agreeing with it. There's...nothing for me to say."
"...So...uh...why did you come out in the first place?" Twilight asked.
"I have no idea. I think Nyarlathotep, or whatever's doing all this, was expecting you to reject me and drew me out of our body," Shadow Twilight said. "Guess he didn't know you changed already, huh?"
"But you did," Twilight said, smiling with a nonexistent mouth. "Because you're me, and I'm you."
"...right again," Shadow Twilight said, chuckling. "Hope you don't mind this," she said, as she faded in a swirl of blue light.
"Mind wha-" Twilight stopped herself as she looked up.
The pure white coat. The crescent moon horn, with one on its forehead and one pointing backwards off its head. The strong defined jaw.
And the eight legs.
"One who soars above their herd to guide thy friends," he announced, "I shall fly with you. I am Sleipnir Lokison, of the Star Arcana. From the sea of thy soul I cometh, and to there I return. For I am thou, and thou art I."
With that, the Persona dissolved in another burst of blue light, and floated down to Twilight's eye level as a simple card, no bigger than her hoof. It held the image of a faced star on it, and was labeled "XVII."
"...Maya," Twilight said slowly. "Tatsuya. Why is the representation of my true inner self a stallion?!"
"A Persona's gender doesn't always match the wielder," Tatsuya explained. "Lisa had the god Eros, Ken had Nemesis, Naoto had Sukunu-Hikona..."
Twilight sighed. "Alright, then. Let's find wherever this curse is coming from and break it."
(Gamerex27)
"No luck?" Scootaloo asked as the three ponies (and current Diamond Dog) emerged from a portal. The lack of any kind of battle wounds made it obvious that they hadn't found their culprit.
"Nyarlathotep's not here," Twilight replied, shaking her literal egg head. "The collective unconsciousness of equinekind isn't too different from humans', but that's not a factor here, or he’s just not showing up. There isn't some god, eldritch abomination, or curse causing all this. Whatever it is, it's mare-made."
"I'd bet on Star Swirl," Sunset added. "He got up to some crazy stuff, even in Baseline. I remember reading that much before my, uh, 'evil jerk' phase started."
"You know," Rainbow Dash said, wheeling herself over (as slowly as possible) to the group in her magical bubble, "I thought of something. Curses like these-I think I saw something like this in a Daring Doo book once-in a Variant where she had different adventures. They can be broken by contradictions."
"Really?" Sweetie Belle asked. "What kind of rumor would cause such a stable and massive spell system to break down and implode on itself?"
"Hm..." Applebloom muttered, pacing in place and ignoring the way her bow was still being pulled towards Canterlot (she'd already been forced to close the window to stop it from flying all the way there before it got ripped off her head. "How 'bout, 'the spell causing rumors to literally become true has been broken?' Ya think that would work?"
"Worth a shot," Maya said, shrugging. "Back home in Sumaru City, most people didn't know that rumors were becoming true, since they worked retroactively. But here, a lot of ponies-Loopers, mostly-already figured it out. So it might work."
"Alright, I'll put it in our next-"
Suddenly, Sweetie Belle was flattened by a throne falling from the...ceiling?
Wedged into it was an annoyed Princess Celestia, her bulging, massive flanks wedged snugly into the sides of her chair.
She stared at the strange pony with an egg for a head. It only took her a few seconds to notice that she had her student's Cutie Mark and coat color, and quickly made the connection.
"Twilight," Celestia said, giving her a sad smile and sighing. "...Can you see me?"
"Yes. Not sure how, but I can."
"Do you know what's going on?' she asked. "One second I'm sitting in my throne in the middle of another boring meeting with nobles, then the next my flanks grew so big and rapidly that I was stuck in the seat." She tried in vain to pull herself free again, with even her mighty magic failing to get her away from the trapped throne. "On the other hoof, they stopped laughing after they were turned into donkeys a few seconds later. You should have seen how they lost their minds when they realized they had to pick things up with their mouths like 'peasants.'"
"Told you that saying all nobles were to be punished as asses wouldn't work," Maya said, grabbing some yen from Tatsuya's outstretched hoof. "What did you expect with that?"
"Still worth it," he said. "They tried to have you thrown in a dungeon when you asked if the budget cuts and his new mansion were connected in that interview. I...should have phrased that better."
As Tatsuya and Maya continued to talk in the background, Twilight explained what was going on with the curse on Ponyville.
"I see," Celestia said. "That would explain why the moon vanished, why Luna fell into a coma until I decided to just make it a new moon night on my own initiative, and why Tirek suddenly became a 'good guy' and made several houses burn down by giving ponies more magic than their bodies could handle. Especially to earth ponies, who can't channel it in the more direct ways pegasi and unicorns can. And why I'm here all of a sudden. A rumor I was coming to visit...a bit more literal than I would have liked."
"Issue's out," Spike announced as he sent the last of the papers away in a burst of flame. "Since it's mostly local, enough ponies should get their hooves on it in time to get it going in the next hour or so."
"Help." From under the throne, Sweetie Belle's hoof extended, trying in vain to push the seat off her.
"You're still alive?" Scootaloo asked.
"The throne's hollow underneath," Celestia explained. "It's a good place to hide my cake stas-er, I mean, to put petitions and bills I don't read. No, that sounds awful too....Wait...you should be a lot more worried about your friend's safety than 'mild surprise,'" she realized, her eyes narrowing.
"Time Loop," Applebloom explained before Celestia could go on the warpath. "Hey, could y'all get Sweetie and Celestia out of the throne while Ah explain it to her?"
"Method 7 works best when she's under stress like this," Twilight recommended, even as her horn started to glow with purple magic. "Remember to use the slide projector."
After several painful and loooong minutes, Maya, Tatsuya, Twilight, their respective Personas, Sunset, and Scootaloo managed to both yank Celestia out of her throne (albeit with some painful-looking bruises dotting her coat) and get an annoyed Sweetie Belle out from under the chair.
"Wait a second," Twilight said as the group celebrated their victory. "I...I think I feel it!" she said, as her tail perked up. "I can feel the spell breaking!" She suddenly stopped, her egg turning stark white. "I can fe31*$&%^%&#&-
"I can feel the Loop crashing," Twilight finished, as she Awoke in the usual Gen 3 punishment Loop. Grumbling to herself, she plucked the post-it note off of her horn and read it.
Reality is not a toy for you to mess with as you wish. Consider more carefully how you dispel such magics in the future.
From the desk of Taira no Masakado, Admin of Amala (condolences for such not needed).
"...you know," Sunset said from behind her, "I heard a rumor that Rainbow Dash always dresses in-"
"Don't. Even. Start," said mare hissed, trying in vain to find some way to make the elegant and beautiful cocktail dress seem less frilly.
148.7 (Midnight Crescent)
Twilight walked into Mac's bar, and did a double take. She thought she was used to the eccentric visitors.
But a half-pegasus, half thestral? Even now, that at least stood out...
"Hello, Twilight Sparkle," the newcomer said, as they idly stirred the drink in front of them. "I wondered when you might show up..."
"Uhh..." the anchor replied, struggling not to stare. "You seem familiar, but I'm pretty sure I'd remember you..."
"Oh, I think you know my big brother much better than me, and it has been quite some time since we last met..."
"Still not ringing a bell, I'm afraid."
"Your brother's wedding?"
Twilight thought on that, before her face screwed up in confusion. "...Chrysalis, why didn't you answer the ping? And I didn't think you had brothers..."
The other mare's face swiftly met the bar. "Spike's Wedding..."
Twilight's eyes widened in realization, as the hints from the conversation finally clicked into place. "Wait, Hel?"
"Well, that took longer than expected..." the Admin said with a smile, as she raised head back from the bar.
"Wait," Twilight asked, a thought occurring to her. "Don't admins usually come in... unchanged?"
"Normally, we want to be recognised instantly."
"...So why not now?"
"Two reasons: Firstly, I just wanted to see what I'd look like. I must say it's not what I expected..."
"And the second?"
Hel's smile transformed to a smirk. "I needed a drink, and, thanks to my brothers, there's never any left for me. This seemed like as good a place as any..."
Twilight thought long and hard. She'd personally seen how fast Sleipnir could go through mead, and his brother's reputations suggested they'd not only go through more, but probably wouldn't hold themselves back either.
"Mac..." she said, taking a seat next to the Admin. "Give me a special reserve. And keep them coming," she added, before shrugging her shoulders at the look Hel and Mac gave her. "I've not got anything better to do this loop..."
148.8 (Midnight Crescent)
Lara Croft ejected the spent clips from her handguns as she started to feel the tremors from the incoming tyrannosaur.
No idea why these still work on something that big... she thought, as she slid in fresh clips. But I'm not complaining...
When the creature finally came into view, a look of confusion spread across her face. After all, the tyrannosaur didn't usually have giant frills on it's back. It also wasn't usually some strange combination of purple and green.
At least those were things she could accept.
The giant fake mustache, however...
"I'm not sure whether I should shoot you," she said to herself. "Or just let you eat me and start again...again."
"Ehh, I'm not really big on eating things that disagree with me..." Spike quipped back. "And Fluttershy'd probably go mental if she found out I'd even tried..."
Lara's eye twitched, and her arms fell to her sides. "You can talk!?"
Spike looked down at the irate treasure hunter. "Well, yeah..." he said, before slapping a claw into his face. "OK, I thought I knew the answer, but now I'm not so sure... does time repeating sound familiar to you, or are you just crazy?"
"I'm starting to think it might be both..." Lara replied, sitting down on a convenient rock. "I am talking to a dinosaur, after all..."
"Dragon."
"...Sure, let's go with dragon. Why not?"
"And how about Yggdrasil?"
"The World Tree," Lara said, an eyebrow raised in a combination of interest and confusion. "What does Norse Myth have to do with this?"
"Well, looks like I get to give this speech," Spike said, a grin spreading across his face. He reached behind him, pulling a scroll out of thin air. Seeing Lara's twitch return, he laughed sheepishly. "It's been awhile, kinda need the summary..." he explained, before scanning down the page.
Spike rolled the scroll up, replacing it into his Pocket, before turning back to his audience. "...Any questions?"
Lara sighed before responding. "...No, although I'm still reserving the right to think I'm crazy."
"You're not the first, probably won't be the last..." Spike said, shrinking down to an appropriate size give her comforting pat on the shoulder. "Look, I get this can all be a bit intimidating at first. If there's anything you want me to do, let me know. Otherwise, I'll just let you get on with whatever it is you do around here..."
Lara sat in thought for a few minutes. "Look, the way I see it, I'm either crazy, in which case why not do what I want..."
"Which is a dangerous mindset to have..." Spike said with his arms crossed. "As I just finished explaining."
"...Or you're telling the truth," Lara continued as though Spike hadn't even interrupted. "Which means this'll be a rare opportunity to make things a lot easier on myself."
"How so?"
"Tell me..." Lara said, before pausing. "Spike, was it?"
The dragon nodded.
"Tell me then, Spike..." Lara repeated, a smirk spreading across her face. "Can you fly?"
Lara Croft and Spike watched as Marco Bartoli transformed into a dragon.
"Let me guess..." Spike said, his voice thick with sarcasm. "My turn?"
"Well, if you insist..."
Spike rolled his eyes, before dropping into the arena like room. He very quickly grew to match his opponent's' size. However, while Marco's first blast of dragon fire merely washed over Spike's scales, the return volley had a very interesting effect...
"Is the knife meant to glow like that..." Spike yelled over the ominous rumbling. "I don't feel like it's meant to glow like that."
"No, it's not..." Lara replied. Then everything flashed white.
When Lara opened her eyes, she could tell things weren't quite right. Looking down she realised why.
Alright, those things are ridiculous... she thought to herself, before turning round at the sound of heavy footsteps behind her. A very short girl with a familiarly coloured mohican had stormed up to her, and looked ready to breathe fire. Or at least vent smoke from her ears...
"Just so you know, if I ever visit your world again, I am not listening to your ideas..."
Neith stared at her screen in disbelief, before her head collided with her keyboard. Repeatedly.
"Less than ten iterations, and she's already gotten herself in Eiken... What did I get myself in for?"
148.9 (Evilhumour)
"Say again?" Gilda blinked, looking at the letter in her claws again before looking up.
"It is clear as day," the griffon god-emperor, not Empy but simply a blowhard that inherited that title, snarked out. "The pony princess is gone, and the prophecy has come true."
Gilda sighed, looking at her pure white coat and feathers with red outlines. "Yes, I know that once the ponies fall, the griffon will rise. But what does that have to do with me?" She did her best not to whine, but she still did and her mother nipped her ear, regardless of her supposed holiness.
"Show respect Gilda!" Her mother snarled out, her claw ready to cuff her if she talked back.
"Sorry mom," Gilda grumbled, rubbing her ear. "Oh great God-Emperor of Griffonkind, what does have to do with me? And why do I have a letter requesting my presence at nations summit?"
"Well, young Gilda," the massive griffon puffed his chest out, "The prophecy was a bit mistaken, as it turns out. Celestia's former student Twilight examined the ancient text with Nig-I mean, Princess Luna, and it seems that once you were spotted, she was going to give up the duty of raising the sun to the chosen griffon of white and red, you." Pointing a talon at her, he grabbed the letter and fluffed it out to read it. "We need to go the other species so we can work together how everyone gets enough time in the sun."
Gilda faceclawed, sighing at the massive work Sunbutt just unloaded on her. She was also pissed that she was alone, as no one else Pinged back once she Woke up. Dang stealth anchors...
"I'm so going to need a strong drink for this." she muttered, but not soft enough as her mother nipped her ear again.
"Gilda Freewing, did you just say you want to drink?!" Her mother screeched, reminding Gilda that she was currently a minor this loop.
The god-emperor of griffons merely blinked and slowly slinked away from the chosen one being given the riot act.
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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Rumors turn true in Persona? I might need to look into this game...
6053097 That only happens in the second game duology. It's a gameplay mechanic. It rocks.
But get a flowchart, some sketch paper, and a timeline ready if you play Persona 2 (either of them). It's got one hell of a Kudzu Plot.
The other games are really worth playing, too. And those characters have gotten into some crazy stuff too, in the Loops.
Wait, does this mean we can have Daring Doo, Lara Croft, and Indiana Jones all compete to see who is the best at breaking into ancient temples?????
6053568 Not yet, and not soon. Daring isn't Looping, and Indy's been Looping a lot longer than Lara as of the snip with Spike.
For those of you interested, a character sheet/spells for Twilight's Persona, Sleipnir Lokison (I would use one of the many MLP fanarts of Sleipnir, but I already described him with the crescent-horn, which seems to be exclusive to the MegaTen character model.)
img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120419003033/megamitensei/images/thumb/a/a7/Sleipnir2.jpg/300px-Sleipnir2.jpg
Dekunda: Nullifies all stat debuffs on allies (power of friendship, ho!)
Me Patra: Removes Sleep, Panic, and Fear from all allies (again, friendship!)
War Cry: Decreases all enemies' attack, both physical and magical, by two stages, equivalent to 2 castings of a regular anti-attack debuff (...friendship?)
Cold Voice: Ice element, small damage to one enemy with a chance of silencing them, stopping them from casting magic until the curse wears off. Naturally, she's using the Royal Canterlot Voice, but with a bit of extra magic pumped in. VERY useful in a world where magic is everywhere.
Bufudyne: Heavy ice damage to a single enemy. Can also be cast as Mabufudyne to damage all enemies.
Luster Candy: Buffs ALL of your party's combat stats-strength, defense, and agility/accuracy. And the second Twilight tries to use it, Pinkie pops up out of nowhere to try and figure out how to get some of this candy for herself.
The Persona in question mainly focuses on Magic in regards to stats, with a secondary specialty in Agility. Luck and Endurance are average, but Strength is its worst score. When using Sleipnir, Twilight nullifies physical attacks and gunfire/piercing attacks, but is weak to electricity.
Couldn't put this in the story proper (I think), so put this up here. If this isn't okay for some reason, I'll just delete the comment.
Probably.
I see.
Yikes.
Because it's funny.
Yep.
G1 Tirek yes, FIM Tirek, no.
Ah Tree Hugger, been waiting for her.
I see.
I love Discord's absurd antics.
Reminds me of Pony POV.
Oh. Dark.
Oh dear.
SO MUCH YES!
Nice.
The yes is strong in this one.
True.
We SO need more Sunset Loops
Of course..
This made me laugh for 5 minutes straight.
Of course.
Santa Tirek. Well then.
GUess not.
I see.
Probably.
Oh go buck yourselves admins. How the hay were they supposed to dispel the stupid magical curse EXCEPT for the most blatantly obvious method that was right in front of their faces? And if you didn't want them toying with reality, why did you let this loop pass in the first place without some oversight or a red flag popping up?
148.1: Ooooh, that'd be rough...
148.2: Ehehehe, the skits
148.3: Pfft, logic is best mindscrew
148.4: oh treehugger, I like how the writer gve her braids instead of dreadlocks n_n
148.5: I'm lost, but sounds like it could be an interesting story.
148.6: This is awesomely done, though the admin's a real witch and seems a bit dim...
148.7: Dunno what her problems are but last she looks cool.
148.8: Huh?
148.9: Pfft, Celly you git.
148.1: And that's a bad thing? I admit, what I know is mostly rumor, and probably based on a combination of the various TV and movie forms, but I wouldn't think it'd frustrate Twilight that much.
148.2: Awwww.
148.3: Ohhhhh, I haven't laughed that hard at a Nightmare Moon Welcome in a long time. Well done, Masterweaver. (I take it Dash is probably not looping?)
148.5: Ittle bit lost here. Is Gleaming Shield a variant of Shining Armor? The drake in question... is it Spike? And... just... ...?
148.6: For all I know it might have been addressed in the writeup - I got bored enough to stop reading around the time Twilight became an egg - but what happens if someone starts spreading a rumor that rumors are just rumors, nothing more?
6753794
.5
Gleaming Shield is Shining Armor's name when he is a female pony. The joke here is that instead of the Chrysallis replacing Cadence, it was Spike in a very bad disguise to lampshade how off the fake!Cadence was.
6057582 Start a rumor that someone in their circle can break any curse? Since the curse wouldn't be attacking itself directly, the chances of a Loop Crash would be significantly less. Plus, it would be able to negate the changes ALREADY in place, AND likely carry over between Loops!
A BICYCLE???
pls no, pistols, unless they're Mausers, don't use clips, they use magazines.
9350525
They're two magazines clipped together with the bases touching, just so she can ACTUALLY people who get pedantic about that sort of thing.
That or they're Mausers. I don't know.
Meh, I know a place where only one particular person needs to believe the thing for it to become real. Granted, the idea needs to have originated from someone who doesn't know the full nature of her ability, but still. (Princess Ida of Xanth: Sorceress of the Idea)
7741368
Easy to provide a solution after a fact. You would be stumped, if you encountered a problem in "real life", when you don't know the solution, or don't know how a given solution would work.
this line fills me with an inordinate amount of rage. I don’t think I can name a more creative way to break a curse than to turn it in on itself, and the fact that doing so was not only not the first response of the loopers but the usual culprit was missing, I just want to strangle the admin for not seeing this possibility.
an obscure reference, but i get it.
an old comic strip called "US Acres".
Admins got the stupid ball these rounds I guess. Both those punishment loops fill me with some kind of rage.