MLP Loops 214 - Crisis On Infinite Loops
The Infinite Loops Project presents…
CRISIS ACROSS INFINITE LOOPS
214.1 {continuation of 213.20} (Saphroneth, Evilhumour, Anon e Mouse Jr., Wildrook) [MLP - Crisis]
So… Now What?
Twilight hummed to herself, wondering how to handle Luna’s return this time.
There wasn’t any indication that Luna was Awake, unfortunately – or anyone else, for that matter.
Maybe she should try ‘spontaneously’ ascending to alicornhood in the middle of the Summer Sun celebration to protect her friends? That might be a fun way to do things…
“Spike, take a letter,” she asked.
Spike picked up a scroll and a quill, then burped. A lick of green flame coalesced into a scroll, and he caught it with a frown.
“Huh,” he said. “I didn’t know I could take a letter that literally.”
“What does it say?” Twilight asked, trying to remember if this was a minor variant she’d run into before.
Maybe it was one of those ones where the prophecy about Nightmare Moon’s return was ludicrously specific, and some cults had worked out who she was?
“It’s not very long,” Spike reported, untying the ribbon and unrolling the scroll. “Just a few words in big writing. Dear Princess, Now What. Yours, Glimmer.”
Twilight’s brain went into soft reboot.
“Do you think whoever it was thought I was Princess Celestia’s dragon assistant?” Spike asked heedlessly. “Maybe she should have one of those. I bet she could afford to pay pretty well.”
“It’s still a bit surreal,” Twilight said to herself as well as Starlight, but mostly to herself. “After all this time, and as an Anchor, I can attest that is quite a statement for me to make.”
“As you said before,” Starlight replied as she lifted the cup of tea to her lips. She’d come to Ponyville a while ago, after rearranging Our Town so it wouldn’t be so constrictive to the ponies living there. Since her arrival, Starlight had slowly been introduced to a number of the other local Loopers, who’d slowly been Awakening in the week or so between when she’d sent that letter to Twilight and when she’d arrived. And hadn’t that been an experience, finding out she could Awaken in the middle of an event and have to react to things on the fly?
Still, it had been an experience, seeing and hearing what they could do; Pinkie Pie in particular was still scheduled for later as the mare was described as an experience even for Loopers. “Any idea why I’m so late? From what you told me, I should have been Looping long ago.”
Twilight sighed. “To be honest, I have no idea what took you so long. The last time our Branch got any new Loopers was during a Crash that was eons ago, after the first time we met Cheese Sandwich but before the expansion with Tirek. Sleipnir mentioned some weirdness with our Branch but that’s also been fixed for a fair time.”
“Our God.” Starlight said with a slight hitch in her voice as she recalled that tidbit of information.
“Um…” Twilight thought about it for a moment. “To be fair, he didn’t actually create our branch of Yggdrasil, he’s just in charge of running it. And doing a very good job of it, in my experience.” She glanced upward. “And no, that’s not meant to be flattery, just the truth.”
“You mean - he’s watching us right now?” Starlight looked very nervous.
“He might be, he might not,” Twilight said with a shrug. “He does pop in from time to time, but only if there’s a problem or he needs a break. Mostly, he keeps an eye out for things that might be causing major trouble at Yggdrasil-level, and he trusts us to handle things here.”
“Oh.” Starlight still looked nervous, but when Twilight reached out a hoof and grasped hers, she smiled again. “Thanks.” She then frowned. “He comes here for a break?”
“We’re kinda famous for being a sanctuary Loop,” Twilight replied with a chuckle. “We keep things peaceful, so new and visiting Loopers can relax and enjoy themselves. It’s great for helping them with mental stability, and is generally the right thing to do.”
“Wow.” Starlight looked somewhat… well, Twilight wasn’t quite sure how to describe the expression on her face. “So, being able to talk me down like you did…”
“I’ve had a lot of practice at it, even before we met,” Twilight said. “We don’t give up on anyone, even if… well, even we’ve made mistakes with handling some of the people we’ve met, and there are some who take a lot of talking with to get through to them. But I saw that you needed help, more than anything, and I knew I could get through to you somehow. So I kept at it until I succeeded. And I’ve never regretted gaining you as a friend.”
“Thank you Twilight, I-” she paused as Twilight’s ears twitched and reached into what the girls called their Subspace Pockets before pulling out a note. “Something wrong?”
“Ash tree,” Twilight said it as if it were a swear word before Twilight started to send out Pings in a rapid fashion. “Why now of all Loops?” she grumbled, looking upwards angrily before giving Starlight an apologetic look. “You remember how I said Sleipnir wouldn’t really contact us unless it was really important?”
“Yes…”
“Hold on, we’re going to Mac’s bar; thank spruce he’s Awake because things just became very important,” Twilight said before the two of them teleported away.
Starlight blinked her eyes and found herself in a bar; she wasn’t sure what she had expected besides that, but it did not include ponies, a griffon and Discord appearing only moments later.
A few of them gave her a look before Twilight cleared her throat. “First of all, everyone, I’d like you to meet our newest Looper.” She gestured to Starlight, who smiled and waved nervously. “Secondly, much more importantly, I, and no doubt you, all received the same notice from Sleipnir.”
“Sure did Twi,” the griffon, Gilda if she wasn’t mistaken, said with her eyes narrowed. “And is this for real? I mean, maybe one of the hackers-”
“No, it’s for real; Sleipnir hasn’t stopped telling me it’s real over and over again in my head.” Twilight looked around. “And considering it’s him, he wouldn’t be doing this if it weren’t serious and absolutely truthful. I know our Admin - he doesn’t mess with us for fun. Or at all.” She let out a sigh, her head lowered. “So let us prepare for whom we need to deal with and who will be taking care of them.”
“Um, can somepony explain to me what is going on here?” Starlight asked with a bit of an anxious shuffle.
Twilight turned to her. “There’s a situation going on with Yggdrasil. Some program is spreading across most, if not all, of the different branches that forces those infected to Awaken if they survive the Loop. Including several people who could be very, very dangerous if allowed to start Looping, which means we have to deal with them in ways we… don’t usually.”
“Such as?” Starlight asked
“Tirek, for one - he should still be in Tartarus for now, but he’s still a threat. Or the Storm King.” Twilight looked grim. “I’m normally one for helping our foes get better, but this is too dangerous to leave to chance, especially as we do not know who is and isn’t infected.”
“Wh- what do you want me to do?” Starlight began to ask, only for Celestia to place a wing on her back.
“Nothing, my little pony,” she said in a motherly tone. “While you are a Looper now, this goes far beyond your level of experience and anything we would think to put you through. For the time being, it’s best if you stay here and stay safe.”
“Right.” Starlight nodded her head as the others began to talk about dangerous ponies before sitting down at a bar stool. A few seconds later she felt a glass pushed towards her. Turning around she could see Mac had slid a drink her way, and nodded in thanks.
“Even if a pony’s first Loop is just a Baseline run, no variant, it can be more than a little surprisin’,” he said. “An’ havin’ something big and unexpected like this happen during it can make it even more difficult. Ah know, Ah’ve been through it. But you’ve got friends here, Starlight. We’ll help you adjust.”
“Thank you,” Starlight said, raising the glass to her lips, thinking about what Twilight said about the fact anyone could start Looping now; she might even have Sunburst joining her. Then she paused. “Mac… if this outbreak thing had started before I became a Looper… would I have been one of the ones to-”
“Be dealt with? Absolutely not.” He looked rather firmly at her. “Twilight’s been wanting you to join us for a very, very long time, Starlight. If’n it’d happened before yer time-travel incident, there might have been some doubts. But even then, she had hopes for you to turn out a lot better than you were when she first met you.”
“That’s… thank you,” Starlight said with a blush. “I really, really appreciate that.”
“No problem.” He smiled. “Long as you learn from yer mistakes, we’re a pretty forgiving bunch.” He gestured in one direction. “Hay, we’ve got Chrysalis as one of us, an’ you know what she got up to in Baseline, right?”
“Chrysalis is Looping?” Starlight asked with a bit of shock in her voice. “How-”
“Before the expansions started,” Mac explained. “Still in Equestria, but a very, very different background for her. She had a rough start, an’ it took a lot of doin’, but Twilight accepted her pretty much right away, doesn’t blame her for what her Baseline self did. Just like Ah don’t blame you for what yer Baseline self does.”
“Um…”
“Baseline Starlight tended to resort to magic for a first solution, hit me one time with a spell that made me unable to stop talkin’.” Mac frowned. “Brought back some bad memories, even though Loopin’ me’s a lot more talkative when Ah need to be. Ah swore Ah wouldn’t hold it against whatever version of you started Loopin’ though.”
“Erk.” Starlight smiled nervously. “For what it’s worth, even if that was a different me, I am sorry for what she did.” She looked around, and saw that several of the others had left. “So…”
“A needle pulling thread?” a voice said from behind her, and Starlight almost jumped out of her fur. Then she looked back to see a smirking Discord. “Oh, we have a lot to talk about, both for Baseline and Loops, my dear Glim Glam. But for now, I’m off, said the madman!” He snapped his taloned hand and was gone, leaving Starlight with a startled expression on her face.
“You get used to that,” Mac said with a shrug.
Starlight smiled. “Even with just my memories of the last time around… I know.” She sipped her drink. “Twilight’s told me about things, but now that I’m actually living them… something tells me that these Loops are going to be a very interesting experience.”
“Almost always is,” Mac said as he poured himself a glass and raised it to her. “Welcome to the Loops, Starlight.”
Lifting her own glass to his, Starlight felt herself feel more at ease and wondering if there would be somepony else joining them.
Next Loop
Thorax blinked his eyes. Somehow, he found himself back in Canterlot in his under-fed form with Chrysalis about to invade Canterlot again.
“Something,” he said to himself, “is not right here...”
There was a groan as a teenage blue-haired male looked around. Indeed, there was a bit of a difference, but he didn't think the photos would be taken down this early.
"Okay," he muttered, "this isn't exactly what I remembered… Isn't Sunset supposed to be the Prom Queen?"
He looked around as he found his usual guitar case nearby and walked around the school, confused. First, he ended up brainwashed by… well… a human-turned-pony… then he ended up angry when those three eighties fashion rejects, even to someone he considered… well… a friend, at this point.
"Twilight's probably angry at me snapping at her." he mumbled to himself. "But would she even remember me at this point? Heck, would I have to stop Sunset's reign of terror and get her to open up?" He then shook his head. "Yeah, no-one would believe me if I said that I'm a few months from the future, so why bring it up?"
Through his musing, he didn't realize that he was going to trip over someone, but someone managed to catch him before he fell to the floor.
"Huh, don't you usually do the catching?" the yellow and red-haired woman asked him. "Or is this a bad day?"
"Huh?" he asked her. "Sorry... I'm just a little out of it. Heck, I’m starting to wonder whether or not I've… gone… crazy..."
When they both locked eyes, the man couldn't believe it. At this point, wouldn't she just snap at him? Instead, Sunset Shimmer, the Queen Bee, caught him when he was about to fall.
"Define crazy," she asked carefully, "because I have the feeling that you've got quite the rude Awakening."
He was surprised by the tone, but straightened himself up as he got a good look at her.
She was not like he remembered her being at this point.
"...You know of a place in private where we can talk?”
214.2 (Evilhumour, Anon e Mouse Jr.) [MLP - Crisis]
A Whole New World
"So this is the real you?" Flash asked as he took tentative steps on all four of his new legs, looking at the girl-turned-pony - or was it pony-turned-girl-turned-back-to-pony - who was giving him a patient look and a nod of her head.
"Mhm," she said as she dismissed her strange key-like item. "Though sometimes I have wings when I come back here."
"Because of how your magic can change while you’re at school and turn you from a unicorn to an alicorn?" he asked as he flapped his wings, recalling what she had told him with her nodding her head again in affirmation. He then turned to look at said wings and started to try to flap them when Sunset cleared her throat.
"I know what you're about to do and don't; if you think about how to work your wings, it will become difficult for you," his ex-girlfriend and now Looper mentor told him. "Kinda like when you think too hard to breathe sometimes and kinda forget how?"
"Oh, that sucks," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his head with his right wing before he was aware of what he was doing. "So, we're going to go meet Twilight?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said with a smile on her face. "I have to admit, you're taking this very well. Especially the whole no clothes thing."
Flash shrugged his shoulder as he walked up towards her. "I guess my only other option is to panic about the changes that you told me that were going to happen. And I can't really see anything and I'm not into horses so I guess I'm not that bothered with the fact we're both naked under our fur?"
"Really?" Sunset asked with a smirk.
"...I'm doing my best not to think about it." he muttered with a blush on his face, Sunset laughing into her hoof.
"Come on, Romeo, let's go tell the nerd horse that you're our new Looper," Sunset said, bumping shoulders with him.
Flash had been briefed about Equestria and where they would be after Sunset had taken him aside to explain what exactly was going on, but it still hadn’t been enough to properly prepare him for a whole other magical world. For the moment, though, they were just in corridors of some fancy hallway.
“So right now we’re in the Canterlot Castle, and from what you said, Twilight, Principal,” Flash tilted his head to one side, “Er, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, a person named Gilda and a few others are Awake right now?”
“Mhm,” Sunset said as they passed a few other ponies. Some were unicorns like Sunset and some were pegasi like him; though they were wearing clothes for some- no, they were clearly maids and guard outfits, though there seemed to be more of the latter. “That’s mainly why it’s okay for me to be here because…” she trailed off, expecting him to recall what she had told him previously.
“Because you got angry at your mentor and split,” Flash said distractedly. “Is there something going on right now, Sunset?”
“Huh?” the girl/mare blinked her eyes with an ear twitching before she facepalmed, or was it facehooved? “I forgot, this is around the time that Shining and Cadance get married and the whole changeling invasion happens.” She let out a sigh and began to mimic Twilight’s voice. “‘Great job in bringing in our new Looper Sunset but didn’t you think it would have been better to wait until after a bug pony invasion to bring him over so we can explain why time is repeating?’”
“Time is repeating for you too?!” a pale blue pony with an urn on his butt suddenly asked. Sunset’s jaw dropped.
“Oh sweet birch, you’re Looping too?” she sighed. Flash was becoming quickly certain that trees were swear words for ponies.
“What’s Looping?” the pony asked before Sunset grabbed his arm and then Flash’s. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“Come along Thorax; we’ve got to go see Twilight and don’t worry about the invasion, I think Celestia is going to do something with rice pudding to stop Chrysalis this time around.” Before either of them could even begin to question any part of that sentence, all three of them vanished.
With a flash, the trio appeared in front of the Golden Oak Library, and the two males looked around wide-eyed.
"So, this is… where Twilight normally lives?" Flash asked.
Sunset nodded. "Her first and still preferred home in Ponyville."
"Wow." Thorax looked at the tree with interest. "This doesn't look much like her castle. It's a lot more… life-like." He suddenly looked at Sunset as if he was about to say something else, but she held up a hoof.
"I promise you I'll explain everything once we're inside," she said. "And you're absolutely right about its looks." She turned to knock on the door, only to see it already opening. "Hello?"
"Hey, Sunset!" Spike looked up at her in surprise. "Didn't expect to see you this early. How's it going? And-" He suddenly saw the two stallions next to her. "Flash? Thorax?"
"Spike!" Thorax exclaimed. "It's so good to see you again! Are you caught up in this time thing too?"
Spike's eyes widened, and he broke out into a grin. "Yeah. Have been for a really long time," he said as he beckoned to the trio. "Come on in."
Once they'd done so, Spike left to find Twilight, and Flash watched him go. "I know you said he was a dragon on this side, but still… wow." He rubbed the back of his head with one hoof. "I still have a hard time seeing him as anything other than a talking dog. Not that he's not cool no matter what form he's in, but..."
Thorax looked at him in surprise. "Since when can Spike turn into a dog?"
"Long story," Sunset said. "And Flash, if you think his being a dragon is impressive now, wait until he starts size-shifting."
Flash looked startled, but then Twilight came in, and he found something entirely different to be startled about.
"Spike told me what was going on," she said with a brilliant grin on her face. "It's good to see you all."
"I… uh…" Flash looked sheepish. "Nice to see you too, Twilight."
"Same for me," Thorax added. "Um… mind if I turn back into myself?"
Twilight nodded, and there was a brief flash as Thorax resumed his original form, black chitin and all. He looked a little disappointed at first, but seeing the calm look on Twilight's face, he smiled.
"So, how much do you know?" Twilight asked as she took a seat, and signalled to them to do the same.
"Sunset explained pretty much everything, I think," Flash said from his spot. "I'm still a little confused…"
"So am I," Thorax added. "All I know is, one minute I was over in the hive, taking care of some work, and then I was back in Canterlot and in my old form, getting ready for the invasion." He looked down. "Never thought I'd look like this again."
"The long and short of it is that yes, time's repeating," Twilight started. "And here's why."
Some ten or fifteen minutes of explanation later, the two males were nodding. "So I just have to start sharing love with other changelings again, and I'll be in my other form again?" Thorax looked pleased. "That's good to know."
"First we just need to find a changeling for you to share love with," Twilight said. "I think Kevin might be somewhere in town."
"Who?" Sunset asked.
"Apparently, there's some changeling who randomly shows up in Ponyville, apparently in disguise most of the time." Twilight shrugged. "I've never actually spoken to him, but he's usually out there somewhere. He doesn't ever cause any trouble, so I haven't done anything about him."
"Right." Thorax nodded. "I'll see if I can find him once we're done here."
"And Celestia already has things in hoof over in Canterlot, getting ready for the wedding… Chrysalis doesn't seem to be Awake, unfortunately."
Thorax looked startled. "Chrysalis is Looping?"
"That's just how Starlight reacted when she found out," Spike said with a sigh from where he'd been. "Yeah, she activated way back before we started getting expansions. She's one of the good guys now, when she's Awake. We don't actually have any Villainous Loopers, which I'm really grateful for - all of our former baddies who started were either already reformed before they came online, or in Chrysalis's case, reformed in their first Loop Awake."
"Chrysalis as a good guy." Thorax shook his head. "I can hardly imagine it."
"Believe me, I was just as surprised when she started," Twilight said. "But I'm glad to have her as a friend. I still have hopes for some of the others..."
Spike raised an eye ridge. "I'm still wondering what Tirek as a good guy would even be like."
"Less destructive and greedy, I'd hope," Sunset said. "So. Either of you have any more questions?"
Flash raised a hoof. "Um… could Twilight and I have a few minutes?"
Sunset gave him a contemplative look, then nodded. "Sure thing. Spike, Thorax, want to come with me? We can try to find this other changeling, and spread the word."
"Okay!" Thorax shifted back into his Crystal Hoof disguise, and then followed Sunset and Spike out the door.
Once they had gone, Twilight regarded Flash, and smiled. "It's good to have you with us, Flash."
Flash blushed. "I'm glad to be part of this thing," he said. "Say, Twilight…"
"Yes?"
"With everything you, Spike and Sunset have told me, I know it's probably been a really, really long time for you, but…" He closed his eyes briefly. "I am so, so sorry for the way I treated you, back when those… Sirens, I think Sunset called them, were around."
"It's not your fault." Twilight laid a hoof on his shoulder. "You were under mind-control, and I know that wasn't how the real you would have behaved. I forgave you for that a long time ago."
"Thanks, Twilight." Flash looked down. "And… another thing. When we were at Camp Everfree, I kind of… well, I may have had a bit of a thing for the other you, but Sunset - even when she wasn't Awake, from what she's told me - did her best to talk to me. Kind of bluntly, but she told me I needed to get over you."
"So I've heard." Twilight sighed. "Look, Flash… I'm an Anchor. I've been around for a very long time. And yes, there are times when I think I might have had a bit of a crush on you too. But most of the time, I'm just not interested in romance."
Flash nodded. "I understand… but we can still be friends, right?"
"Of course." Twilight smiled at him. "I'm the Princess of Friendship, after all… and I always have seen you as a friend, even without you Looping. Or when one of the other you was… well, kind of overbearing and obnoxious. That's usually this world's Flash though, so I never held it against you you."
Flash smiled back at her before chuckling with a blush on his face. "To be fair, I kinda guessed this when Sunset told me about all of this. Besides you not being interested, there's kind of a big age gap between us as well as the fact that you're a pony and I'm a human."
"Species difference isn't that big a deal in the Loops, actually," Twilight said. "I mean, Discord's dating Berry Punch, and my daughter's married to a human-"
"You have a daughter?!" Flash stared at her wide-eyed. "But… aren't you my age? Physically, at least."
"I'm technically older here than I am on the other side of the mirror - I'm still not sure why I wind up in a teenager's body over there. And she's adopted, but yes, I have a daughter," Twilight said. "Nyx isn't around this Loop, unfortunately, but I'll make sure to introduce you to her and her husband, Leman, when we can."
"Right." Flash shook his head. "One surprise after another… I suppose I'll just have to get used to things like this."
"Don't worry," Twilight told him. "We'll be here for you. My sister especially, since she tends to Awaken on that side."
Flash looked wide-eyed, and Twilight smiled. "Sunset and I adopted one another as sisters a long time ago," she explained.
"Oh."
"You'll get used to it, I promise," Twilight said. "There'll be an adjustment period, but it'll all work out in the end. And you won't be alone."
"I know." Flash looked around. "So… Sunset said something about these two ponies getting married, up in Canterlot?"
"Right. Shining Armor and Cadance," Twilight said. "Do those names mean anything to you?"
"Well, the only Cadance I know in my world is the Dean of Students at Crystal Prep, and she seemed to be really close to the other Twilight." Flash thought for a moment. "But that's about all I know."
Twilight smiled. "No matter how many times I hear it, I'm always happy to hear about the other Twilight and Cadance being close," she mused. "Anyway, on this side, Shining Armor is the Captain of the Royal Guard, and Cadance is Princess Celestia's adoptive niece and the Princess of Love. And she's also my old foalsitter." She reached into what looked like thin air, and drew out a book of some kind.
"Your… Pocket?" Flash asked.
"Yep." Twilight opened the album, and turned the pages. "Here," she said. "This was us when we were younger."
Flash looked at it and smiled. "Wow…" Then he looked at Twilight. "I… hope you won't take offense," he said. "But you are absolutely freaking adorable there."
Twilight blushed. "Thank you," she said. "And here's me and Shiny." She pointed to a picture of a blue and white colt, who was happily playing with a still little Twilight.
"Nice." Flash smiled. "You two were close, huh?"
"He's my big brother," Twilight said with a smile of her own.
"Oh." Flash tapped a hoof as something suddenly occurred to him. "For some reason he looks vaguely familiar now…"
"You might have seen his human counterpart," Twilight said. "From what Sunset's told me, and my own experiences across the mirror, he was Captain of the Shadowbolts during the Friendship Games one year. That's a big part of why Cinch wanted my counterpart to be on the team. That, and to try and keep control of her." She frowned. "I still wish there was a way to see her brought to justice properly. I know she stopped being principal after that, but none of the expansions have ever said just how or why that happened."
"Wouldn't know," Flash said. "So, anything else you'd like to show me?"
Twilight smiled, and turned another page.
Elsewhere in Ponyville, Sunset, Spike and Thorax were walking down the street. Thorax was still in his Crystal Hoof disguise, but under it, he'd resumed his true form.
"I'm glad Kevin was able to help us," he said happily. "And that I was able to help him too."
Spike chuckled. "Yeah, he seemed like a pretty nice guy," he said. "Too bad he couldn't come and hang out with us."
"Yeah…" Thorax still looked happy. "I can't wait until I can share this with the rest of my people!" Then he looked a little down. "I just hope it won't be as hard to get Pharynx to do this as it is in… Baseline, you said?"
Spike nodded. "He's pretty stubborn, so it might take some work… but then again, so was Starlight, and we talked her around."
"Where is she, anyway?" Sunset asked. "Awake this Loop, or not?"
"She's Awake, and already rearranged her village so things would be better before she came here," Spike said. "Trixie's not in town right now, so she's probably spending some time with Rarity, or over at Mac's bar." He perked up. "That reminds me, you and Flash can join Mac and Discord and I and Shiny, and maybe Angel when he feels like showing up, for our guys nights now!"
Thorax looked excited. "Really?"
"Of course!" Spike smiled up at him. "We invited you even before you were Looping, when you could get away from your work. Why would we leave you out now?"
Thorax beamed. "So what do you guys do on these nights?"
"We play rounds of Ogres and Oubliettes, or Discord's Chaos game, mostly," Spike said. "And we spend a lot of time talking about the things we've seen and experienced in different Loops. It varies."
"Of course, the talking about different Loops happens a lot when we're all hanging out and drinking in Mac's bar too," Sunset added. "Some of those got pretty weird, but we had a lot of fun, no matter the topic."
"Wow." Thorax considered. "You know, I don't think I've ever been in a bar… or had alcohol, for that matter. Can changelings even process that stuff?"
"Chrysalis can, so you should be able to," Sunset said. "You'll probably want to start with the lighter stuff, though, and build up a tolerance before you move on to the stronger kinds." She glanced at Spike. "Spike here's got a lot of tolerance for the heavy stuff - something to do with dragon biology. He can even stomach the potato cider Applejack made that one time, without getting hurt."
Far away, Applejack's ear gave a familiar twitch, and she groaned. "Okay, who's talkin' about that stuff this time?"
Mac, who was standing nearby, just shrugged.
"And do you… all drink?" Thorax asked.
"Some of us more than others," Sunset said. "But we're smart about it. There are six physically underage fillies among us, and we don't let them have anything that's actually alcoholic, even if they're mentally old enough for it. If they're adults, that's fine, but their younger bodies can't handle it."
Thorax nodded. "I see."
"And if we've got any underage visitors, we make sure they get the non-alcoholic stuff too," Spike added.
"So… what kinds of visiting Loopers do you get?" Thorax asked.
"Humans, mostly, but they tend to get turned into ponies when they turn up here," Spike said. "It's like crossing through the mirror - you'll probably get a chance to do that at some point if you want. We tend to take whatever form happens to be the dominant lifeform in the Loop we're visiting. Not always though." He snorted. "Still don't know why I turn into a dog... actually, I might have to ask Ember or Smolder to cross over sometime, see if they change like that too."
"Let's put a peg in that one for now," Sunset said. "By the way, the bar's at Sweet Apple Acres - under the barn, usually - and if Mac's not there, Berry Punch should be. We'll show it to you in a little while, when we can get everyone together. Not everyone's Awake this Loop, but we can introduce you to as many of them as possible. And… fair warning, not everyone might be quite the same as you remember them."
Thorax nodded. "How many of us are there?"
"Well, there's Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash for starters," Spike said. "Except for Twilight and Applejack, we're still not exactly sure what order they first Awoke in. Then there's me, all three older princesses, Shining Armor, Discord…"
"The Crusaders, their classmates Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and Nyx," Sunset listed. "Trixie, Chrysalis, Mac, Angel Bunny…"
"Then Gilda - she's a griffon, and I don't think you've ever met her - and Mayor Mare," Spike said. "And Cheerilee and Zecora both activated around the same time."
"And the last group, before these last few Loops, was Lyra Heartstrings, Vinyl Scratch, Derpy Hooves and me," Sunset finished. "And now you, Flash and Starlight. That makes thirty-four of us. Oh, and three of the Founders of Equestria are sort of Looping - their spirits are bonded to the Crusaders, but they can't Awaken if their partner isn't Awake first."
Thorax gave her a surprised look, then shook his head. "I'm never going to stop being surprised by all this, am I?"
"Probably not," Spike said as he put his claws behind his head. "Hay, even Ranma Saotome - the first Anchor in all of Yggdrasil to ever come online, back when this whole thing started - still gets surprised from time to time."
Thorax smiled. "Good to know, I guess."
"The occasional surprise keeps us from getting complacent, and from getting bored," Sunset said. "And having to adapt like this, it keeps us on our toes - so to speak - and mentally stable."
"And so do our friends," Spike added. "That's a big part of why there are multiple Loopers in most every branch. So we're not alone." He smiled up at Thorax. "It's good to have you with us, Thorax. Welcome to the Loops, and to a never-ending adventure."
"Thanks, Spike. I'm glad to be here."
A few hours later, everyone who could had gathered in Mac's bar, and many of them were watching, rather amused, as Thorax (who'd shed his disguise as soon as Mac and Applejack had been made aware of who he was) goggled at some of the things he was hearing.
"So, not only is Chrysalis Looping - except she's not Awake this go-round - but she's dating one of her worst enemy's best friends when Trixie's also Awake?" He shook his head. "How…"
"Again, it happened when we'd only really met her once in Baseline," Twilight explained. "Before the expansions started and I met Sunset for the first time. And long before we met Starlight."
The unicorn in question sipped her own drink. "I had a hard time believing it when I first Awoke myself," she said. "And have I mentioned how glad I am to have you with us?"
"Yes, but it's good to hear again." Thorax looked around at the various Loopers who were present. Spike, Discord, Twilight and her fellow Bearers, and of course Starlight, he knew from Baseline. Sunset, he'd just met today, but she'd seemed nice enough. Ditto for Flash. Mac, he hadn't really met before, but it was nice to get to know him. The same went for Berry Punch, who was also tending bar with Mac. Gilda the griffon, he was a bit wary of - not because he was afraid of griffons or anything, she was just kind of cranky right now. Trixie was absent, as were Chrysalis, Shining Armor and the three oldest princesses (though he'd been informed that Celestia was Awake, just preoccupied up in Canterlot), plus Nyx, whom Twilight had admitted didn't manifest all the time and wasn't around this Loop. He'd been told about her true nature though, and was looking forward to meeting her.
Speaking of foals… He saw the original three Crusaders were all eying him again, with big smiles on their faces. He'd never gotten to really bond with them in Baseline, having spent more time with Spike and older ponies (plus little Flurry Heart), but it looked like they were really eager to get to know him. He smiled at the thought. Then, another little one popped into his head, and he looked a little down.
I miss Ocellus.
Feeling a hoof on his leg, he looked down to see one of the little fillies looking up at him. "Hey."
"Hey." He smiled down at her. "I'm sorry, I don't think I got your name…"
"I'm Sweetie Belle." She pointed a hoof. "You know my sister Rarity, and my brother-in-law Spike."
"Yeah, I - wait, brother-in-law?!" He stared. "Since when is Spike married?"
"Since a little after the Loops first started expanding," Spike said as he came over. "We have pictures…"
"Good." Thorax sighed. "Still unexpected…"
"Don't worry," Spike reassured him. "We do periodic vow-renewals. You've been on the guest list for those practically since you and I first met. And Cadance and Shining Armor include you for theirs too."
"Thanks." Thorax smiled. Then he felt Sweetie Belle's mane against his leg, and smiled down at her. "It's nice to meet you." he said.
"Nice to get to know you too."
Over by Twilight, Flash smiled as he saw Thorax and Sweetie Belle chatting. He still couldn't quite get over how adorable the little fillies he'd seen were, even knowing their human selves (if only in passing). Fortunately, he'd been able to restrain himself from squeeing at the sight of them, reminding himself of what they looked like as young teens in his world.
And also that they were actually millions, if not billions or trillions, of years older than him. That was a thing too.
"Hey!"
Looking up, he saw a cyan face right in his, and instantly recoiled in surprise. "Gah!"
"Sorry." Rainbow Dash backed off a bit. "Hey, want me to show you how to fly?"
Flash blinked. "Um, okay." He fluttered his wings. "Been kind of looking forward to that, actually. I mean, I don't know how much you've seen of my side of the mirror, but… you know how many kids dream of being able to fly?"
"A whole lot, I'm guessing," Rainbow Dash said with a smirk. "And now you really can. ‘Course, wait until you get to some of those loops where people really can fly, even without wings. But come on, let's get you in the air!"
Leading him outside, she began showing him the moves, and he followed her actions, only vaguely aware that Twilight had followed them.
Finally, at Rainbow Dash's command, he took flight.
And it was amazing. The wind on his face, the thrill of being able to freely move about in the air… he'd known being a pegasus would let him fly, but he'd never realized it would feel this good.
"Pfffhahahahahaha!" he laughed as he zipped through the air. "This is awesome!"
"Told ya you'd love it!" Rainbow Dash called as she flew by him.
Below, Twilight had a bemused look on her face. "Nice to see someone isn't having as hard a time as I first did," she said to nobody in particular.
Finally, Flash came in for a landing, a big smile on his face. "That was the most fun I've had in ages," he said to her. "I know Looping's going to come with its challenges, but this? This alone makes it all worth it."
Twilight smiled back at him. "Oh, you haven't seen anything yet," she said. "But yes, flying is fun." She gestured up to Rainbow Dash. "Come on, let's go back in."
Rainbow Dash joined the two as they headed back in, and they settled into their seats, noticing that Gilda was in the middle of one of her stories.
"So there I was, on fire, because a certain showmare decided to make thermite again and accidentally hit me with a spray of it instead of the baddies we were facing," Gilda was saying. "Luckily, I'd made myself fireproof ahead of time. Anyway, these things completely failed to notice, and kept running straight towards me!"
"So what'd you do?" Pinkie asked eagerly.
"What else could I do? I ran straight back at them!" Gilda sighed. "Admittedly, not my brightest idea… because despite them all catching on fire too, they didn't burn." She arched an eyebrow. "You'd think Turok-Han vampires wouldn't be immune to fire, but apparently this group was."
"So how'd you two finally beat them?" Starlight asked.
"Well, after the thermite on me burned out, I broke out the Celestial Brush, called up one massive Cherry Bomb, and played a little round of what a friend of ours likes to call Bowling for Vampires." Gilda was grinning. "Trixie started laughing her head off when she heard me say it. And Xander thought it was funny too. ‘Course, he's been in Chicago and knows the guy who originated it, but he still laughed."
Starlight chuckled. "So what then? Did you get that rift closed?"
"Sure did, and it didn't even require the usual means to do it. Plus side, the town didn't fall in on itself this way."
"Always a good way to handle it," Twilight said from her seat.
Flash looked around. "Am I missing something?"
"We'll help you get caught up," Gilda reassured him. "Just wait ‘til Twilight shows you how many books and other stuff she can fit in one portable computer. You'll have enough material to keep you busy for decades, between whatever adventures you're having." She turned to Thorax. "That goes for you too," she said. "We've all got our own collections, and most other Loopers keep copies of their Hub material so they can share when they have to."
Thorax nodded understandingly. Then he looked at Twilight. "By the way, are we going to the wedding? I know it's in a few days, and I know you and Sunset said Celestia had it handled, but… shouldn't we be there anyway?"
"We will be," Twilight reassured him. "Baseline Chrysalis isn't really an issue for us anymore, even when she's all powered up, so we shouldn't have to do anything more than sit back and watch. But we'll definitely be there - I am still Best Mare, after all, and the rest of us are guests."
"Or flower fillies!" Sweetie Belle piped up.
"Right." Thorax smiled down at her. "It'll be different, going as a guest… but I'll trust your judgement."
"Just wait until you see me pull that one off," Gilda joked.
Thorax gave her a confused look, and she shrugged. "Special move I picked up in a fused loop. You'll see it eventually."
Thorax nodded, then as someone else started talking, slipped off toward the wall.
He heard hoofsteps behind him, and looked up to see Starlight. "Still a little confused?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah," he admitted. "I feel like I'm missing so much."
"I have maybe one Loop more of experience than you, so I know what you mean," Starlight said. "I still don't get all the jokes either. But we'll understand it all in time." She laid a hoof on his shoulder. "No matter how much they've changed from the people we used to know, they're still our friends, and they'll be there for us." She cocked her head. "Actually, from what Gilda told me last Loop, she was just as confused when she first started, and it took her a while to get used to things. But she adapted eventually. You will too. And Flash and I will be right here, learning with you."
Thorax nodded, and the two turned back to hear the end of the story.
"And then Pinkie told him that since he'd been Tamatoa for a Loop, she was going to have to throw this huge party to cheer him up... because he'd spent that time all crabby!" Spike grinned at the groans that ensued.
Even though he didn't get the reference, Thorax could make a wild guess, and cracked a smile.
It's good to be here, with my friends.
"So, the wedding," Starlight said. "How long do we have before you actually need to go up there?"
Twilight tilted her head. "Normally, we'd be up a day or so in advance, but Princess Celestia has all the preparations in hoof already. The actual ceremony is tomorrow, so we'll need to go up early in the morning."
"It shouldn't be that much of a problem for me to get there," Thorax said. "I could probably help get Cadance out if she's still in the caves."
Twilight smiled gratefully. "I'd appreciate that," she said. "But you should probably have Spike along to vouch for you - she's not Awake and might be a little nervous about meeting another changeling right now. Even if you are complete now."
"Well," Thorax said, gesturing to his body. "I don't really look like a regular changeling now, do I?"
"No, you certainly don't," Twilight said. "And that will definitely help. Still, I'd feel better if Spike went with you."
Spike nodded. "I can help with getting around the changelings with the Force."
"The what?"
"I'm sort of a… warrior monk, with psychic powers," Spike said. "Picked it up in one of my earliest, if not my very earliest, Fused Loops. One of my abilities lets me hide my presence, and other people's, when I want too - great for sneaking past the bad guys without being noticed."
"So while Starlight can deal with the magic part and Thorax can help save the princess, what can I do?" Flash asked.
"Um…" Twilight considered. "Blend in with the guards? The Equestrian you is still in training at this point, so he wouldn't be on active duty yet."
"But wouldn't that mean people could mistake me for him?" Flash asked.
"Only if they've met him already," Twilight said. "Honestly, it varies - the earliest we ever see him in the Hub material, he was relatively new to the guard then. That was well after the Crystal Empire was restored, which doesn't happen until after the wedding." She frowned. "But you have a point."
"So what? Are you going to use your magic to disguise me?" Flash asked with Twilight tilting her head.
"Not a bad idea, actually," Twilight admitted. "You're really turning out well considering that you just started Looping; you sure that this is your first time Awake?"
"Positive," Flash said. "But I've always been good at putting things together. Remember how I figured out Sunset was trying to frame you in our Baseline?" He glanced at Sunset. "No offense intended."
"None taken," Sunset said. "UnAwake me was a real witch back then, before I got hit with a 1.21 jiggahug rainbow blast and had some sense knocked into me." She smiled at him.
Twilight chuckled at Sunset's words, then nodded to Flash. "I remember," she said. "It's a good skill to have. And if you have any other ideas, I'd be glad to hear them."
"How about you and Sunset try to mess with Chrysalis while she's pretending to be Cadance?" Flash offered. "I mean you said you're sisters."
Twilight's eyes lit up. "That would work! It might confuse Shiny too, but considering he forgot to invite me until the last minute again..."
"And a simple message to Mom and Dad can get them to play along," Spike said. "This could be a lot of fun guys."
"Fun?" Thorax asked with a frown on his face.
"Thorax, my friend," Spike said. "One thing you'll learn fast is that when we're dealing with the bad guys, people we've already defeated in Baseline and have grown way more capable of handling since, we spend a lot of time figuring out new and creative ways to stop them without actually hurting them, if we can." He gestured to Starlight. "There was this one Loop where Twilight figured out how to stop you that first time just by having Discord glomp you from behind, so you'd be too confused to try and escape."
Starlight blinked at that. "Oh-kay…"
"And Twilight told me about an early one where Celestia's evil form was the bad guy we had to deal with instead of Nightmare Moon," Spike continued. "She got stopped when she realized she was on fire - and that was not because of something any Looper did - and turned back into her normal self all on her own after she jumped into a lake full of chocolate sauce to put out the flames."
"There are some villains from other Loops that are still too dangerous to mess around with, but ours aren't usually like that," Twilight added. "We do still have to be careful around that anti-magic throne of Chrysalis's when she isn't Awake though."
"In short, we won't do anything too dangerous and we'll keep an eye on you guys to make sure you are safe." Spike concluded.
"Okay then," Flash said. "What do you guys say?"
"I think I'm good," Thorax replied, Starlight nodding her head in agreement.
Twilight smiled at the trio. "That's good. And I've said this before, but I'm really, really glad to have you all here."
It wasn't that hard to arrange everything in Canterlot; Twilight Velvet and Night Light were both easy enough to convince to play along and Celestia was always ready to let others take charge, though she'd promised to keep her backup plan ready just in case.
Spike and Thorax had parted ways with them as soon as they got back to Canterlot with Sunset eager to play the sister card, already confusing Chrysalis with her act and the fact that everyone else was backing her up.
Flash, much to his annoyance, had been sidelined, though Twilight had promised him that this would be a learning experience. So had Applejack. "Ah remember one of mah earliest Fused Loops where one of the most important things ah learned was the value of waiting and listening before striking," she'd said. "The girl Ah replaced used that skill to make herself the most powerful fighter of her kind - even invented a whole new aspect of her fighting style. Follow her example, and you'll learn more than a few things here."
He'd been reluctant, but then Rainbow Dash had pointed out that if all else failed and things turned out like they did in Baseline and there wound up being a big brawl after the changelings were exposed, he could join in that, which he'd accepted.
Starlight had gone to ground as well, preparing for her own part of the plan. She had mentioned something about acquiring permits and documents but that was as far as Flash could understand her.
He kind of wished Shining Armor was Awake, if only so the older stallion could tell him more about his counterpart in the Royal Guard (he'd actually asked him when they'd all arrived, but "Cadance" had interrupted them before they could talk for more than a few minutes). Still, even if he was spending a lot of time off to the side, it was interesting to see the castle and city as a whole.
And it wasn't like he was entirely alone. One of the active Loopers had agreed to stick by him, and explain about some of the other more common variants he could expect.
"So, did Twilight tell you about the Loops where our family trees get mixed around a little?" Scootaloo asked.
Flash nodded. "She's mentioned that. Something about one where two of my classmates - their pony versions, at least - were actually aunt and niece?"
Scootaloo nodded. "And then there's the gender-swap Loops - being Scooteroll is kind of odd, but I've gotten used to it when it happens - and the pallette-swap Loops, and times when things are not where you remember them being. Like entire planets in the Star Wars Loop."
"Sounds pretty complex."
"Yeah, but these variants can be fun, too." Scootaloo grinned. "Of course, some of us have them happen more often than not. Just look at my classmate Silver Spoon - she Awoke with a few issues, so now she's a different species most of the time. Fortunately, she can usually turn back into her normal self when she's Awake, thanks to one of the abilities she picked up. I don't think you've met Discord, have you?"
"Talked to, no. Seen and heard, yes."
"Well, she can make herself into a Draconequus like him, and from there she can make herself into pretty much any species she wants."
"Sounds like a useful talent."
"It can be." Scootaloo looked up at him. "Personally, I'm just happy that the Loops let me fly. I have… well, there's some pretty compelling evidence that Baseline me has some serious problems with that."
Flash nodded. "Now that I've got my wings, I can't imagine not being able to fly…" He flapped his a bit. "Going to miss these on the other side."
"I know the feeling." Scootaloo sighed. "But, on the upside? I can still pilot pretty much anything I run across." She considered. "Even one of those backup DeLoreans that Sunset had built."
Flash looked at her oddly. "Isn't that a type of car?"
"Yeah, but she spent some time in another Loop where she learned how to make a flying one. She loves it."
"Sounds pretty cool."
Scootaloo nodded. "And not the only odd one we've run across. Apple Bloom's still trying to figure out where the Vinyl Scratch from your side of the mirror got her Wubmobile."
Flash chuckled. "I don't know myself, but it certainly comes in handy."
Scootaloo smiled up at him. "Speaking of, you know our side's Vinyl is Looping, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, she'll be here for the reception, and she's Awake, if you want to talk to her."
"I might just do that." Flash considered. "Has anyone ever figured out why there are doubles of a lot of us on both sides?"
"Nope. Not even Sleipnir is sure." Scootaloo thought for a moment. "There's some theories, something about parallel development, but it's never been settled in Baseline. Still, it's nice to be able to go there when we need to. Or just want to. Princess Celestia goes there on vacation sometimes, when she's not out surfing - she likes filling in for the other her."
"She sees teaching, in a high school full of hormonal teenagers, as a vacation?" Flash looked rather surprised.
"Compared to dealing with the upper-class nobles here?" Scootaloo nodded. "Yes. She finds teaching anywhere to be a lot more relaxing. Even if she has to rearrange the school's policies to make things better for everyone, like she does whenever she finds herself in charge of Crystal Prep."
"Huh." Flash thought about that. "Well, I'm glad she can make things better over there."
"You and everyone else," Scootaloo said. "We're a pretty forgiving bunch, but I can't think of any of us who sees Baseline Principal Cinch as anything more than… well, a huge pain. Especially the way she treats the other Twilight. All of us do what we can to help her when we're on that side…"
Flash nodded. "Yeah… I know she's different from the Twilight here, but I still can't help but want to get to know her, if only as a friend."
"That's understandable." Scootaloo was quiet for a moment, then spoke again. "Speaking of, Cinch may be bad, but there've actually been a few cases where she's had a worse person in her place, like that one odd Loop where Hydia, that witch from the G1 version of our world, was principal instead. Sunset stepped in the instant she saw her and made her go far, far away… fortunately, that kind of thing doesn't happen too often, but we keep an eye out for it."
"Good to know."
Just then, there was a chime, and Scootaloo tilted her head. "Oops. We'd better get back, it's almost time for the ceremony, and I still need to get into my outfit."
Flash looked at her. "Should I be wearing something special too?"
"You can probably get away with just a tie," Scootaloo said. "I know at least one of the guests wasn't wearing anything, and nobody complained."
"Gotcha."
Soon enough, they'd made it back to the hall where the wedding would be happening, and the two had gotten changed. Standing in the audience, Flash watched as things began.
Pharynx let out a sigh as he looked at the prisoner again before baring his fangs at other drones giving him pity looks. It was annoying but he had been off his game ever since Thorax had vanished. Sure, Thorax was kind of a wimp… but he was still Pharynx's brother, and Pharynx couldn't help but be concerned about him.
If Thorax was hurt or worse, he was going to kill that useless drone with his bare hooves.
"Where are you,Thorax," Pharynx muttered to himself, turning around in his patrol only to bump into a drone. "Thorax!"
"Hi Pharynx," Thorax said with a smile on his face. "It's important I talk with you-"
"Where in the hives have you been?!" Pharynx shouted, reaching out to grab his brother's ear only for Thorax to easily sidestep his hoof. "You better have a good excuse for yourself!" Pharynx frowned and tried to grab his brother's ear again only for Thorax to dance backwards and then dash forwards and boop his nose.
"Yup," Thorax said with a grin on his face before he flashed and appeared as an oddly coloured moose.
"...What." Pharynx just stared at his brother, wondering which of them had gone insane.
"Did I mention I found a way to permanently cure our hunger problems?" Thorax asked.
"...What."
"Just share love with other changelings, and you'll never be hungry again!"
"...What."
"It really works, Pharynx." Thorax eyed him. "Haven't you ever wished you weren't always starving? Well, I'm not now."
"...You're serious." Pharynx stared at him.
"Yep." Thorax said with a buzz of his wings and a smile on his face.
The older changeling facehooved. "Does our queen know this?"
"If she does, she doesn't care." Thorax looked serious. "She's been keeping us weak on purpose, hogging all the power for herself."
"WHAAAAAT!?" Pharynx, had he been capable of it, looked almost like he wanted to blow the roof off the cave. "That… that…"
Thorax nodded. "But if we share love energies with one another, not only will we no longer be constantly starving, we'll have enough strength to properly defend ourselves from whatever dangers are out there, instead of having to rely on a single ruler to do it. We can show ourselves to the world as equals, and be welcomed rather than feared and hated like Chrysalis would have us be." He looked down at Pharynx. "What do you say, big brother? Are you with me?"
Pharynx looked a little hesitant, but then nodded. "I love the hive, little brother. So if you're sure this will make us stronger, then I'll become a moose too."
Thorax whined a bit and shook his head. "I'm not a moose, Pharynx," before his ears perked up and saw his brother was snickering with changelings behind him also laughing. "Are you ready to save the princess and overthrow the queen?" he asked, lowering his horns towards his brother.
"Sure thing." Pharynx turned to the other changelings around. "Well, what are you waiting for?"
The others looked around, then lowered their own heads. And as each unleashed a wave of magic, they were transformed.
When the lights had faded, Pharynx looked down at himself, seeing his body was now dark blue and purple with dark orange accents. "Huh." Then he looked around at the others, who were mostly either blue or green or yellow.
"This feels… amazing!" one of the other changelings exclaimed.
Thorax smiled at his transformed people. "Let's get to work." Then he signaled. "Come on, I'd like you to meet my new friend."
Spike came in, and looked around with a grin. "Nice going, Thorax. Knew you could do it."
Pharynx immediately stood bolt upright, but Thorax held out a hoof. "It's okay, Pharynx. He's with me."
Pharynx looked a little doubtful, but nodded. "If you say so."
"Um, excuse me," a voice said from a ways away. "Spike? Is that you?"
"Cadance!" Spike darted over to the area where she was. "You okay?"
"I think so." Cadance sounded a little confused. "How did you get down here?"
"With a little help from me." Thorax walked over to the makeshift cell she'd been kept in. "Princess Cadance, on behalf of my race, I'd like to formally apologize, and promise that we mean you no harm." His horns lit up as he opened the door, letting a somewhat disheveled alicorn out.
As she looked around, she saw the changelings' new forms, and was clearly surprised. "How…"
"It's a long story, but they're good guys now," Spike said. "They've figured out what kind of person Chrysalis really was, so they're working with us instead of her."
Cadance looked at each of the changelings, from Thorax to Pharynx to the smaller yet still colorful ones. "Well, if you say so," she said. Then her eyes widened. "Shiny! I need to get back to him!"
"And you will," Thorax said. "We're going back up now." He spread his wings, letting Spike hop on, and began buzzing them. "Let's go, everyone!"
"Yeah!" the other changelings responded.
A few minutes later, up in the wedding hall, Twilight watched as Chrysalis, still in Cadance's form, was about to marry her brother.
"If anypony here has any reason why these two should not be joined in holy matrimony…" Celestia was saying, when the doors blew in.
"I object!" Cadance roared.
Up on the dais, Chrysalis (still in Cadance's form) scowled. "You!"
"Me." Cadance stepped forward.
"Cadance?" Shining Armor looked between the two. "How-"
Then another individual stepped into the room, Spike hopping off his back as he did so. "Chrysalis." Thorax gave his former queen a stern look.
"What in the…" Chrysalis stared. "What are you?!"
"I'm what we should have always been," Thorax said. "Chrysalis, your time is done!"
"Fool!" Shedding her disguise, Chrysalis bared her fangs at him. "You really think you can stop me? Ever since I took the princess's place, I've been feeding off Shining Armor's love for her. Every moment he grows weaker and so does his spell. Even now, my minions are chipping away at it. And you don't stand a-"
She was cut off when the floor under her suddenly turned to ice, and her hooves splayed out from under her as she fell.
"Hey Chrysalis," Sunset said as she stepped forward, Keyblade in hoof. "You talk too much."
Chrysalis hissed angrily from where she lay. "Now!"
There was a loud crack as the shield outside failed, and suddenly the air was filled with changelings.
Dashing up to Princess Celestia's side as fast as she could, Twilight looked around. Chrysalis had managed to get to her hooves and was now in the midst of an aerial duel with Thorax, Cadance was at Shining Armor's side and pouring magic into him, and everyone else had thrown themselves into the fight with Chrysalis's changelings.
"Princess," she said nervously. "If you've got your original plan to stop Chrysalis ready, I suggest you set it off, now!"
"I would, but I don't want to risk hitting Thorax at the same time," Celestia said, eyeing the two royal changelings as they clashed. "It's good to see him again, but…"
"Less talky, more fighty," Pharynx said from behind them, leading the multicoloured changelings against Chrysalis's changelings. "We got to give my brother every chance he can get."
Celestia raised an eyebrow at him, but nodded. "Agreed."
"And I think I know just what to do," Starlight piped up from where she'd just teleported in, startling both of them. "Twilight? Hope you don't mind me taking a page from your book for this."
"As long as it works and won't hurt anyone, go right ahead!" Twilight said.
"Right." Clearing her throat, Starlight held out a hoof. "Discord? Do your stuff!"
"Squeeeeee!" came an answering chirp, and then a massive blue pillbug fell from the ceiling and wrapped itself around Chrysalis, dragging her to the ground.
"What… is this?" Chrysalis squirmed, trying to get loose of the pillbug, only for it to curl up even tighter.
Discord's face appeared in the pillbug's eye. "Oh, hello, Chryssy. Just showing you the power of love!"
Nearby, Thorax arched an eyebrow of his own, before calling out. "My fellow changelings, listen to me! Chrysalis may claim to have our best interests at heart, but in fact she is a liar! She's been keeping us weak on purpose! But together with my new friends, I found the key to making us stronger, making us whole. Share your love energy with one another, and you'll be transformed, like I was!"
"My little bro's right!" Pharynx called from nearby. "I've seen it happen! I've had it happen!"
"So have I!" called another of the multicolored changelings with him.
"And me!" a third added.
"And me!" "And me!" "And me!" several more chimed in.
One by one, the various changelings still on Chrysalis's side looked at one another, then nodded, and began glowing. One by one, they transformed, each assuming a multicolored deer-like form.
Finally, the only changeling still in their original form was Chrysalis herself, and she hissed. "Traitors, all of you…"
"No," Thorax said, walking over and looming over her. "The only traitor here is you." He held out a hoof. "You can change too, you know. You just have to accept that there's a better way."
"Never!"
Thorax sighed. "So be it, then." He turned to Celestia. "Princess, do with her what you will."
"Very well." Celestia's horn lit up, and she looked at Chrysalis. "I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice."
There was a brilliant glow…
And then everyone in the room stared at what Chrysalis had become.
The former changeling queen blinked as she looked around. "Brbrbrbrbrbr?"
Pinkie helpfully held up a mirror in front of her.
"Brbrbrbrbrbr!!!" Chrysalis leapt back in surprise. Then she looked up at Celestia. "Brbrbrbrbrbr brbrbrbrbrbr brbrbrbrbrbr!"
"What did she say?" Starlight asked.
"She said, ‘What have you done to me!'," Fluttershy said helpfully.
"Ah."
Celestia looked down at the changeling-turned-platypus. "I don't like using transformations for punishment, but it was the only way. Hopefully, you'll learn your lesson."
"Brbrbrbrbrbr..." Chrysalis shook an appendage at her, before she suddenly vanished. Nearby, Discord was back in his normal form, and doing his best to look innocent.
Twilight sighed. "Did you send her to the island again?"
"Maaaybe…" Discord said, a smirk on his face. "Oh, I'll bring her back once the wedding's over and done with."
Twilight sighed again, then looked over at Cadance and Shining Armor, who were still both looking rather dumbfounded, Shining Armor more than his fiancee. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked them.
"I think so." Shining Armor shook his head as he got to his hooves. "Are you, Cady?"
Cadance nodded her head before leaning over to nuzzle him. "I am, Shiny," she said.
For a few minutes, there was mostly silence as everyone took stock of matters, until finally Princess Celestia spoke. "Cadance, Captain Armor… I realize this may not have been… exactly the wedding you had in mind. But are you willing to try again?"
Both ponies exchanged glances, then nodded to her. "We are," they said.
"Then, as soon as we get everything straightened out here…" Celestia started, when she saw Thorax walking up to the dais.
"With all due respect, princess," he said. "May I perform the ceremony? As a gesture of peace between our two nations?"
Celestia smiled at him. "If the bride and groom have no objection," she said.
"I'd be glad to have you marry us," Cadance said with a smile. "Shiny?"
Shining Armor looked around. "I still don't fully understand what's going on here," he said. "But yes. Yes, you can."
"Thank you, your highness. Captain." Thorax bowed to them.
It took them almost half an hour to get everything cleaned up and reorganized, but eventually, everything was ready.
This time, there were no unexpected surprises, other than Luna turning up at Celestia's side at the last minute, but fortunately, she'd merely taken the change in ministers in stride, and cheered just as much as her sister after Thorax's final pronouncement of Cadance and Shining Armor as husband and wife.
Then came the reception, and everyone took the time to get acquainted.
"So," Twilight was saying to Shining Armor. "You know where Sunset's been spending the last several years, right?"
"So Princess Celestia told me, when she found out Sunset had come back yesterday," Shining Armor said. "And this is… someone from the other side of the mirror?" he asked, gesturing to the pegasus at Twilight's side.
Twilight nodded. "Flash Sentry, one of her classmates. And from what I understand, that world's version of one of your guard trainees."
"Twilight had to disguise me a bit so I wouldn't be identical to the other me," Flash said. "So, you're her big brother? Nice to formally meet you."
"And you too, young man," Shining Armor told him. "Any friend of my sister's - either of them, and you'll have to explain how that happened," he added to Twilight. "Is a friend of mine."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the reception area, Starlight found herself dancing with Discord (when he wasn't dancing with Berry Punch, who'd been mostly attending to the drink table), and Thorax stood by Sweetie Belle, watching Spike and Rarity dancing together.
"It's hard to believe it's over already," he said. "Chrysalis is dealt with, I'm in charge of our people…"
"We do try to get certain things over as fast as we can, when we're not going for a Baseline run," Sweetie Belle said. "But now that she isn't a problem anymore, you can relax. Move your whole hive to Ponyville, if you want, now that they're friends with us."
"Yeah…" Thorax smiled at her. "I just might do that."
"I would certainly have no objections," Celestia said as she came up behind them, causing both of them to jump slightly. Sweetie recovered nicely while Thorax did his best to calm his buzzing wings as well as silently telling his brother not to attack. "Speaking of which, how does it feel to be one of us now?"
"Surprising, and… more than a little confusing," Thorax admitted. "But I'm glad, too."
Celestia smiled. "I'm glad to have you here too, Thorax. I'd honestly been hoping you would join us as a Looper at some point, and I know Spike was too."
"So he's said." Thorax looked out at Spike, still dancing. "I still can't believe he's married. I have a lot to catch up on, don't I?"
"We all do, from time to time," Celestia said. She gestured to Sweetie Belle. "We all reacted with surprise when we found out some of our number had actually ascended without any of the rest of us knowing…"
"Ascended?" Thorax blinked.
"Become alicorns," Sweetie Belle said. "Lower-class ascension. An actual Ascension-" and he could hear the capital A in that - "Would be a very bad thing."
"You can become an alicorn, like Twilight and Cadance did?" Thorax looked very surprised, tilting his head to the side before shifting it back upright as he nearly knocked a platter out of the hooves of a passing servant with his horns.
"Most of us can turn back and forth when we need to," Sweetie Belle said. "Even Mac figured it out, though he's kind of an inverted alicorn. He has all their powers, but none of the physical changes unless he wants them. Most of the time he just takes one of the forms; we've yet to get him to go full alicorn but Apple Bloom and the rest of us Cutie Mark Crusaders have plans in the works."
"How does that even work?" Thorax asked. "The ascension part, I mean, not the inverted part. That's a bit more… complex and something I would need to ask him."
"Well, Twilight figured it out from Baseline," Sweetie Belle said. "We basically have to have something really magically powerful, like one of the Elements or a piece of Cosmic Spectrum - like the Crystal Heart - and do something related to our special talents that would normally be impossible, like Twilight's creating a whole new type of magic. Cadance says that in Baseline, she managed to reverse a hate spell into love. I helped sing a whole world into creation, Scootaloo reshaped Cloudsdale to keep it from crashing, Apple Bloom reverse-engineered a Jain node - that's some kind of super-advanced technology she got from another Loop - and that's just a few of us. Even Gilda figured out a way to turn into a Higher Griffon, and we didn't even know that was possible."
"Sadly, Thorax," Celestia said with a smirk on her face. "You're in the same boat Luna and I are in; Baseline ascensions so we don't need to do any fancy tricks to be as impressive as we naturally are as they do." She cocked her head. "In fact, I think the closest my sister and I ever came to having the equivalent of an ascension event was long, long ago. We were already alicorns then… and then we got our Cutie Marks when we raised the sun and moon for the first time."
"Wow." Thorax looked at them in amazement. "That's really something. But… I probably won't be able to ascend?"
Sweetie Belle smiled up at him. "I think you might already have," she said. "Just doing what you did, becoming the first changeling King like this." Then she snickered and pulled something from her Pocket, skimming through it until she found the picture she wanted. "Oh, here."
Thorax looked at it, and stared. "What is that?"
"That," Celestia said with a smirk of her own, "Is when Twilight and the girls, and myself as well, all spent a Loop as our own pets, and they were in our place. So Twilight was an owl, Pinkie an alligator, Rainbow Dash a tortoise, and so on. Twilight tried to ascend while in that form, and you can see what she wound up turning into."
Thorax's eyes widened even more. "I repeat: what is that? I don't think I've ever seen anything like that…"
"An owlbear," Twilight said as she walked over, Luna by her side. "Not one of my finer moments, but still, it happened." She looked contemplative. "I've wondered if that would still happen if I gave Owlowiscious my Element, but I'm not in any hurry to try… friends don't run crazy experiments on friends. That way lies bad things."
"Huh." Thorax looked at her. "I might want to try turning into one of those the next time I get into trouble. It looks like a useful form."
"I'd still be able to take you, brother," Pharynx said as he slunk over. Then he looked at the picture. "Yikes."
"Pharynx." Celestia nodded to him. "How are you doing?"
"Eh." Pharynx waved a hoof. "No offense, but this isn't really my type of scene. The food's good though."
"Well as brother of the new changeling King, that makes you royalty as well and I would expect that you would be the logical choice to be the ambassador," Luna said with a smirk on her face. "Which, considering your personality, should be a breath of fresh air in light of the types you normally have to deal with."
"Ambassador? Me?" Pharynx laughed. "What kind of changeling do you take me for? I'm a fighter!"
"And so are the yaks and dragons, so they're likely to respect you for your strength," Luna told him. "Besides, the ponies here will be completely thrown off by your direct approach and it's always enjoyable to see them floundering. Within reason, of course."
"Huh." Pharynx looked contemplative. "That actually sounds like fun."
"And if you ever feel like going for a… shall we say, very enthusiastic walk, the Everfree is a good place to stretch your legs," Luna added.
Pharynx grinned. "Oh, I like your style, princess."
The two headed off, leaving Twilight, Thorax, Sweetie Belle and Celestia together, and then Twilight sighed. "It's a shame he isn't Looping like you," she said.
"But it does seem Luna will have a person to befriend in the Loops now that you can bring him around," Celestia said with a tone in her voice that Thorax didn't quite recognize but it seemed Twilight did, judging by the fact the purple pony pulled out a rolled up newspaper and held it threateningly at Celestia's nose.
"No acting like Cadance during her early years." she said bluntly.
Celestia pouted. "I am not acting like my niece," she said. "I am simply expressing a desire for my sister to have more friends."
Twilight eyed her suspiciously, but put the newspaper away. "So," she said. "That… what you did to Chrysalis back there. Was that the plan all along?"
"Well, I was originally going to do it as soon as Cadance came in, but then things went a little haywire," Celestia said with a shrug. "Still, things turned out much better than I expected in the end." Then her eyes gleamed. "I think next time I have the chance, I'll do something with pudding bombs."
"Just make sure Rarity's out of range when you set it off," Sweetie Belle told her. "She accidentally got hit with one of those in a fused Loop a couple thousand years ago, and she still hasn't quite forgiven the guy who did it. Even if he wasn't Awake."
"I'll remember." Celestia looked at the others. "Twilight, I believe you're wanted at the karaoke machine."
Twilight grinned, and trotted over to where Pinkie and Vinyl were set up. Accepting the microphone, she began a rousing chorus of Love Is In Bloom, and Thorax smiled at the sight.
"Some fun, huh?" Starlight asked as she trotted over, Flash right beside her. "Hey, Thorax."
"Starlight." Thorax nodded to her. "Flash."
"Hey," Flash said, waving his hoof.
"Well, that was certainly something." Starlight looked around. "Even with everything I remember from before, this was pretty crazy…"
"Yeah," Flash agreed. "Still fun though."
"And we can look forward to even more things like this?" Thorax asked, looking down at Sweetie Belle.
The little filly grinned. "This is just the beginning, you three."
"Well, in that case, I can't wait to see more." Flash smiled at the others.
"Neither can I," Starlight said.
"Me either," Thorax said. His horns lit up, and three glasses of cider drifted over, each of them taking one. "Here's to a long and happy Looping experience, guys."
"Here, here!" The others chorused, as they clinked their glasses and drank.
Meanwhile, on a desert island…
"Brbrbrbrbrbr…" Chrysalis muttered to herself. Internally, she was a mix of furious and confused.
This is not what I had in mind for today, she thought to herself.
END
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I see Twilight finally managed to edit her presentation to less than half an hour (when she explained it to the CMCs).
Poor Vinyl... can't believe that Flash started looping before Octavia...
10553085
While Octavia has garnered oceans of representation in fan fiction compared to Flash, and has appeared in background scenes more often, Flash had more canon dialogue and (canon) emotional links to at least two baselines who became Loopers, compared to Octavia's one (and even that was only confirmed very late in the series, and only as an "Odd Couple" friendship). Not to mention that one of those links was to the Anchor; Vinyl's only a moderately recent Looper herself in comparison.
It's entirely possible that Sunburst, for example, would start Looping before Octavia. He's got early links to Cadance, Shining Armor, and Starlight, and a lot more onscreen dialogue. He's also interacted with Thorax in a plot-related scene, which could make for a fourth link, and the Pillars, which could be considered links as they are sometimes Awake. Trixie's recommended him to a position at the School of Friendship, presumably meaning he's considered faculty alongside the Mane Six, so there are likely to be those connections, too.
Octavia showed up far earlier in the series, true, and the fandom loves her, but she's gotten barely more focus or onscreen dialogue than some of the royal guards. A little more in the comics, sure, but even there perhaps not as much as (for another example) Tiberius. I suspect that the Loops authors are weighing canon connections more than fanon appreciation when deciding who will Loop next... although obviously not as the singular criterion, given how long it took for Starlight to Loop.
Ah yes, the owlbear.
It sounds silly when you hear it described, then you see a picture of one and you go "yep, that is seriously scary."
I 'eeeeed' a bit at the beginning here, and then it just got better. This was a really fun chapter, and it'd been far too long since any new loopers. I admit I got cautiously excited seeing our dear 'author's' name appear on the last chapter... can't recall the last time I saw a segment by same. Kinda glad I waited this long to read this, made a damn good belated gift.
Crisis on infinite earth's easteregg ehhh??