> Machinations of the Worlds
>  by SoraPiroB
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> Clockwork
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The stars shall fade away, the sun himself Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years, But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, Unhurt amidst the wars of elements, The wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds.-Joseph Addison



Where does a world come from when it is born? What god decides when to create a new reality? Why would they do it? Is it merely on a whim? To exercise their powers lest they become forgotten? Or maybe they wish to tell stories? To bring to life some desire or dream? Then who are we, subjects of these gods, but an audience, or the actors?


Deep in the Royal Vaults, a dusty glass case sat among centuries worth of junk. Here, many artifacts of ages gone by lay here, preserved and forgotten, collecting dust and slowly deteriorating as the spells that preserved them weakened and faded. Many were gifts to the Princesses, others were items discovered as explorers ventured out past the borders of Equestria. Some ended up in museums, others were displayed in the palace itself. Those that were mostly uninteresting, unsightly, or dangerous ended up moldering away in the Vaults.
Here, in the case, sat a clockwork facsimile of a pony, the brass and copper composing its body faintly reflecting the dim lights within the vault. It was modeled after a unicorn, the bronze horn atop its maneless head coming to a sharp point instead of the dull tip found on actual unicorns. It was almost completely covered in copper plating, leaving the joints uncovered and gaps between a few of the plates to allow ease of movement. The inner workings of this clockwork pony could be seen between the plates, numerous gears, armaments, and springs of varying sizes that would work together to make the pony move. Attached to its chest were two small mechanical arms, each two feet long when fully extended and ending in three long fingers that could manipulate objects as small as a grain of rice. When not in use, the arms folded up and laid flush against its chest. It had two large glass orbs for eyes, both filled with a translucent blue liquid with a tiny light bulb suspended in each to serve as pupils. On its flanks was the image of two interlocked gears, etched in the copper and traced in silver filigree, and for a tail dangled dozens of thin chains.
The clockwork pony had been designed and built about eight centuries prior by two ponies who sought eternal life, deciding that a reasonable solution was to create bodies that never aged or caught disease. The only issue with their plan was being able to successfully transfer and contain a pony soul within the new body, as well as finding a viable way to power it indefinitely. Their project was abandoned after the passing of one of its creators, and the disappearance of the other. So the automaton was displayed for some time in the school where one of the creators taught, but was then moved into the vault after the building was remodeled during the expansion of Canterlot. The years went by, and eventually the clockwork pony and its creators were forgotten.
In the dimly-lit room, several things happened in quick succession. First, an oak table dating back three centuries before the banishment of Nightmare Moon gave way, two of its legs snapping from the weight of all the objects stacked on top of it. These contents were then strewn about the floor, a large urn rolling into an old set of armor. This then fell over into the case containing the clockwork pony, shattering the glass. The automaton was knocked into an ancient statue of Commander Hurricane, the leader of the Pegasus tribe prior to the creation of Equestria. The ancient helm placed atop the statue's head was knocked off, unintentionally setting off a spell wrought into the metal that released lightning into the room. This magical bolt struck the mechanical pony on its horn, simultaneously creating a fissure in the fabric of reality.
Beyond the hole was emptiness, a chasm filled with neither light nor darkness. The pony fell through, tumbling into the void between worlds. As the tear in the Veil of Equestria slowly healed itself shut, the head of the automaton swiveled towards it, slowly coming to the realization that it was now, in fact, alive. Soon after, it would come to know that it was alone, trapped drifting endlessly through the Chasm. Rotating its body towards the direction it was drifting, it came to terms with its existence. Here it was, a pony made of gears and springs, alive for exactly 6 minutes and 17 seconds, drifting in the space between worlds, where nopony has ever been before. It shook its head and sighed, a feat only made possible by the miniature gramophone that served as its voice box.
As it drifted through space, the clockwork pony worked on creating its own identity. Despite having only been alive since it had been hurled  into the Chasm, it retained memories of its existence since the completion of its construction. From those memories, it was able to glean some insight to the nature of ponydom and life. It created a name for itself, Clockwork, unimaginative yet fitting. It realized that it could feel emotions, albeit subdued compared to those felt by normal ponies. For the most part of its journey aimlessly wandering through the Void, all it could manage to feel was boredom, melancholy, and loneliness.
It began to take notice of the Void, and of the differing realities the drifted through it. To its mechanical eyes, each world seemed to be a giant bubble, of neither gas nor liquid nor solid, but existing all the same. The surface of each bubble seemed to vibrate, each at different frequencies, no two worlds having the same. Sometimes the skin of a world would bulge and twist, and in some cases sections would split off, creating brand new realities, birthed by the whim of some god. Occasionally, the bubbles would drift towards each other and collide, their surfaces pressed so close together that they become so thin and fragile that they sometimes rip and form fissures, linking one world to another. Other times, some event within each world would tear a hole into the Chasm itself, much like the one that sent the clockwork pony on its current path.
While it pondered its lot in life, Clockwork noticed that he was hurtling toward the Veil of some alien world, its surface undulating like kittens playing under a blanket. As it watched, a fissure ripped itself into existence, a tear barely large enough for him to slip through. Tumbling through the tear, he immediately found himself submerged at the bottom of a river, at the foot of an enormous waterfall. As Clockwork dragged itself out of the river and looked towards the source at the top of the waterfall, it froze, and would have gasped in shock had it any lungs to perform the action.
As it stared up at the tall mountain, it could see the tall white spires of Canterlot. Clockwork shook its head roughly, scarcely believing its glass eyes. Here it was, not that far from the very city of its creation, and yet it knew that it couldn't be, since its path through the Void carried it straight away from its home world. It soon confirmed that this world was indeed different, noting subtle differences in the placement of several spires and buildings. It shook its head, unable to believe that he had been able to appear in a world nearly identical to his own.
Turning away from the waterfall, Clockwork spotted a bright glimmering in the water, near the spot where it had emerged. Wading into the river and grabbing the object with its mouth, Clockwork took it ashore and wiped away the mud and silt with a hoof. It was an amethyst brooch, set into platinum. It was slightly cracked, and glowed faintly from within like the morning sun. Rinsing it off with water from the falls, Clockwork attached the brooch to the front of its chest, holding it in place with its mechanical hands.
The automaton turned back towards Canterlot, deciding to find the owner of the brooch and return it to them. But as it watched, it spotted a black spot in the sky close to the top of the mountain. The spot grew rapidly, growing into a large inky boulder, glowing slightly from friction with the air as it hurtled to the ground. The ground shook as the boulder clipped the summit of the mountain, sending rubble into the city below, and a huge explosion threw Clockwork into the air as it landed at the foot of the mountain range. As it tumbled through the sky, the mechanical pony was able to see a large black pool appear around the boulder, right before becoming blinded by a bright light and appearing in the Chasm.
> From the Night Sky
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	There are a few things that people think about after they wake up. Better get ready for work. I wonder what I should have for breakfast. Maybe having all those beers wasn't the best idea. Oh god I hope I'm not pregnant. For a particular pony drifting through space, its first thoughts after regaining consciousness were I'm glad I can't feel pain and I hope I stop spinning soon.
Indeed, Clockwork found itself to be flipping end over end as it sped through the void, traveling at an impressive rate after having been propelled by the force of the explosion. Using its magic, the mechanical unicorn grabbed its back legs and pulled against the direction of its rotation, mostly counteracting its movement. Taking a moment to wait for its glassy eyes to stop rattling around in its sockets, it took a moment to reassess its situation.
Just survived an explosion. Back in the void. Drifting who knows where. And I'm still alone. Hanging its head, Clockwork sighed at his plight. As it did so, its chin tapped against the amethyst brooch, which it still held against its chest. Well at least I accessorize well. Grinning at the small upside to its situation, it curled up slightly and resigned itself to another boring trip through the Chasm.


Huffing in frustration, Nyx kicked off her covers and got out of bed. Try as she might, she found it impossible to fall asleep. It didn't help that she was feeling anxious about her trip tomorrow morning to Canterlot. It wasn't every day that one was formally crowned as a Princess of Equestria. Although there had been a lot of royalty popping up recently, with the return of the Crystal Empire and Princess Cadence's placement as its monarch, as well as her own mother's ascension and coronation as a new alicorn princess.
Quietly she went downstairs and stepped outside, breathing deeply as a light breeze carried the smells of the warm summer night. Locking the door behind her, she stepped away from the Golden Oak Library before taking a stroll through the town to clear her head. There wasn't much activity going on, it being the middle of the night, but it suited her just fine. Nyx was now a teenager, complete with the angst that came with one her age. She was nearly the same height as Cadence now, despite being (technically) the same age as the Crusaders, who were now only a couple inches shorter than an adult pony.
She stared up into the sky, hoping that the moon and the stars would somehow alleviate her anxieties. She had so many questions and worries, fears that so much would be expected of her after she was proclaimed as a Princess of Equestria. She had no desire for power, and memories of her short reign as Nightmare Moon made her believe that she was ill-suited for it. By now most ponies had forgiven her for what she had done while being the dark Queen of the Night, but even now she still sees ponies that unintentionally avert their gazes from her or give her more room on the street than was necessary. Her only consolation to this was her friends, the ponies that have continued to stand by her ever since the beginning.
Making one last silent prayer to the night, Nyx turned around to begin the walk home, only to spot a shooting star streak through the sky. As she watched, it shone brighter, its fiery tail gaining luminance until it rivaled the moon. Suddenly realizing that it was drawing closer, she shot into the air and followed its path. As it sailed over the town it lit up the sky like a second sun, startling the few ponies that were out during the night. Using her formidable magic, the young alicorn pushed the comet further away and caused it to splash down in the middle of a pond in the outskirts of Ponyville.
As she watched, the water in the pond boiled as the flaming object became submerged, sending waves of steam over the surface. Once the bubbling stopped she landed by the edge of the pond and searched the bottom with her magic, sifting through the mud and the sand until she felt the hard lump of the object from space. Lifting it out and dropping it beside her, she slowly walked around it and inspected her find, thrilled to be able to look at a comet up close.
Having noticed that it was completely covered by the muck of the pond, she plashed water onto it with a wing to rinse off the filth, suddenly revealing a glassy blue orb that moved around as it was cleaned. Stepping back warily, she watched as the dirty form rose up shakily, an odd noise of metal grinding against metal coming from it. It turned toward her and leaned forward, water spilling out of its open mouth. After a brief moment, it spoke in a voice that reminded her of the music on her mother's records, although slightly muffled.
“That's the second time today that I've fallen in water. Soon I'll be so rusty that I won't be able to move.” The figure shook itself heavily, flinging off the gunk that still stuck to it, revealing a coppery armor. It limped over to the pond, dunking its head in and rinsing off its face. Nyx stood dumbfounded for a moment as she realized that the comet was in fact a pony, one that somehow survived the intense heat and fire that would normally vaporize space debris before it even reached the surface of the planet. Collecting her senses, she stepped up to the pony and gently cleared her throat. As he turned toward her, her eyes widened as she looked into the face of the pony, not one of flesh and fur but of bronze and brass.
“What are you?” Nyx managed to ask, watching as two thin mechanical arms extended from its chest and scraped some mud from a brooch clasped in its wiry fingers. “Where did you come from? How did you survive all that heat?” Her inquisitive mind kept buzzing with questions, unable to fully accept that a metal pony had just fallen from space. She half believed that she was asleep, and that everything she was witnessing was just a fanciful dream.
While the tiny arms continued to scrape mud from every surface of its body that they could reach, the pony began to speak in that odd scratchy voice. “My name is Clockwork. I am an automaton designed with the intention of creating a body that would never age or catch illness. I come from the Arcanum in Canterlot, in an Equestria from a reality parallel to this one. I was able to survive the heat generated from the friction with the air by using my magic to transfer the excess heat from my body into the air behind me.”
It watched her with unblinking eyes as it spoke, most of the mud gone from the front half of its body. It then opened its mouth to allow the arms to clean inside, and Nyx was surprised when it continued to speak clearly despite the metal fingers scraping around inside its mouth. “How is it that I am still in Equestria, despite having left my world? The differences between these realities are subtle, almost as if they are all based on some rough blueprint, left to different builders to fill in the finer details of their own designs. And if that is the case, what is the original vision? What were we all supposed to have been destined to be?”
Nyx could barely believe her ears. Immortal ponies? Other worlds? The former was more believable, since she was a living example of a pony that would never die of old age, but to do so by constructing an artificial body was unheard of. And the idea of other worlds besides their own, ones very similar to theirs no less, made her head hurt slightly when she thought to hard about it.
Looking up to the sky from where the pony fell, she noticed that there only a few hours left in the night. Suddenly remembering that she had a train to catch in the morning, she turned to the mechanical pony, which by now had both arms jammed down its throat. Grimacing at the sight before her, she turned away and calmed the storm or questions in her mind. “Why don't you come with me to my home? Maybe my mother could help you out, and when we go to Canterlot tomorrow you could ask the princesses about...why you're here. Why are you here, by the way?” After a moment of silence, she turned to face the pony, only to watch as it slowly worked to extricate a large wad of mud and long grass from its throat. Turning away quickly and fighting to keep herself from emptying her stomach into the grass, she waited patiently until it finished, thinking of more pleasant things to occupy her mind.
“I am here by accident.” Clockwork spoke suddenly, its voice clearer and louder than before, thanks to the clearing of its voice box. “The event that gave me life also tore open a hole in reality, which I fell through. I had arrived in a space between worlds, and was left to drift there for 153 hours, 15 minutes, and 8 seconds until I arrived in another reality much like the one I had come from. Then a meteorite crashed down to the ground and somehow sent me back into the void. After that I arrived here.” Nyx turned back to face the automaton, grateful that it had finished its immodest self-cleaning procedure.
“Well, I'm not sure if we can send you back home, at least not right away, but we'll figure something out. In the mean time, why don't you come with me?” She looked to Clockwork, who gave a quick nod and followed her to the library. By now the moon had passed its zenith and was slowly descending back towards the horizon. Unlocking the door and slipping inside, she ushered in her new guest and closed the door behind him. She went over to the lounge section of the library and took the cushions from around the reading table, arranging them on the floor to create a makeshift bed. “Sorry about this, we don't have a guest room anymore since I got to big to sleep in mom's room. I hope you don't mind.”
Clockwork shook his head and moved over to the window, looking up towards the moon. “That is fine, thank you.” It moved over to the bed and carefully laid down in the cushions, thin pieces of rounded copper sliding down over its eyes. Soon there was a faint clicking sound coming from the mechanical pony, much like the winding of a clock. Certain that the mysterious automaton had fallen into what must have been sleep, she crept upstairs, making sure to not make too much noise as to wake her mother and Spike. Slipping under the covers of her own bed, she quickly drifted into a deep sleep, the mysteries of the clockwork pony distracting her from the anxieties that plagued her earlier.


Twilight yawned widely, sitting up in bed and stretching her limbs. Rubbing the sand from her eyes, she slipped into the bathroom and began her morning rituals. She only partially paid attention to what she was doing, as there were so many things running through her mind.
Today, her daughter will become a Princess of Equestria. This was a day that she had expected to come one day or another, but it came to surprise her how quickly that day had come. It didn't feel like eleven years had passed since she found the little filly in a bush in the middle of the forest, but now that she began to think about it she realized how far that filly had come.
Nyx had grown a lot in the passing years, both physically and emotionally. She had since been able to easily control the temper that she had inherited from Nightmare Moon, and never once had she fallen prey to those evil emotions. She remained as curious as ever, always asking her mother questions whenever she couldn't find an answer in a book, and even going as far as conducting experiments when even she had no answers.
Her magical aptitude had improved greatly as well, nearly regaining all of the power she had taken from her when Luna drained away her excess magic. She was nearly as powerful as Twilight, and was just as innovative. With a few more years of practice she would probably become as powerful as Luna herself.
Smiling to herself as she finished brushing her mane, she went down the hall and knocked on Nyx's door. “Wake up sleepyhead, today's the big day! You don't want to be late to your own coronation do you?” Walking downstairs while yawning loudly, she suddenly squinted as she was momentarily blinded by a flash of light, the rising sun reflecting off of a metallic pony sitting at the reading table in front of a short stack of books. Walking over to it, she looked it over and marveled at the intricate metalwork and the elaborate clockwork whirling silently beneath its coppery hide.
“Nyx, where did you get this? Is this another one of your projects?” She gasped in shock as the metal pony turned toward her and stood up, and stumbled backwards until she tripped over a stray cushion. “By the stars, it moves!” She straightened up and watched as the automaton walked around the table, her eyes inspecting its body in an attempt to determine how it was attaining locomotion.
Nyx came down and approached the scene, feeling fresh and rested. When she saw the copper and lavender unicorns together, she immediately remembered her midnight stroll and the pony that fell from the stars. “Sorry mom, I forgot to tell you, we have a guest.” She smiled sheepishly and went to stand next to her mother.
“Oh? Is he the one that made this? I'd love to meet him, I'd like to ask him all about this machine, it's fascinating,” Twilight smiled and gestured at the automaton. Suddenly a metal hand emerged and shook her hoof, and the pony spoke in a slightly echoed voice.
“Good morning, misses. I am Clockwork. Pleased to meet you.” It withdrew the hand and bowed its head. “Thank you for allowing me to stay the night at your home. I was hoping to accompany you to Canterlot and discuss my business in this world with the Princesses.”
“Wow, it even talks! How does that work? Is it a recorded message? Or maybe ventriloquism?” The lavender unicorn put her hoof to the pony's mouth to try to peek inside, but had it swatted aside by her daughter.”
“Mom, that's rude. This is the guest I was talking about. He said he came from another world, one just like ours. I thought maybe the Princesses could figure out how to send him home.” Nyx frowned at her mother and turned to Clockwork. “So, what do you want for breakfast? Do you even eat? Maybe you'd like some oil or something?”
Clockwork shook its head and returned to the reading table, resuming the statue-still position it was found in. “I do not require food nor oil, but your hospitality is appreciated. I will remain here until you decide whether or not I may go with you to Canterlot.” He turned the page with a mechanical arm and remained silent thereafter.
> The Coronation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight sat at the kitchen table, glancing at the door that led into the rest of the library as they ate their breakfast. Spike had made waffles, but not until he had spotted Clockwork and had a reaction similar to Twilight's. “So what do you think? Should we take him with us? I couldn't find any books here about inter-dimensional travel, but maybe the Canterlot library might have something.”
Spike thoughtfully tapped his chin while nibbling at a waffle. “Maybe he's an alien spy,” he said, and glanced at the door himself before leaning forward and lowering his voice to a whisper. “Do you think maybe he's scouting out our planet, and is preparing for an invasion?” Twilight merely rolled her eyes while Nyx gave a giggle.
“I think you need to ease it with the comic books, Spike,” Nyx grinned, and gently shoved his shoulder with a hoof. “Read too much of those and you'll start talking in speech bubbles.” She laughed while her mother smirked and cleared the table. “Anyway, I think we should take him with us. It's not like we can do anything to help. And the Princesses have seen so much, so they should know something about this.”
Twilight nodded and glanced at the clock. “Well we'd better get ready, the train leaves in two hours.” Quickly trotting back upstairs, she set to work packing a few things into a small suitcase. They were supposed to stay in Canterlot for about three days, so that Nyx would be properly informed of her duties as a princess after the coronation.
After carefully folding the dress she wore for her own coronation, she closed it in her suitcase and brought everything to the front door, Nyx coming down soon after. “You remembered to pack the dress that Rarity made for you, right?” Twilight asked, eyeing her daughter's suitcase.
“Yes, mother,” Nyx sighed, rolling her eyes. “So what about Clockwork?” she asked, looking over at the metal pony as it watched them getting ready to leave.
“Right. Clockwork, we decided that you could come with us. I'm pretty sure that the princesses can help with your predicament,” Twilight said. Clockwork quickly reshelved all of the books he had been reading and stood behind the group. Twilight nodded and ushered everyone outside, carrying the suitcases in her magic and shutting the door behind her. Soon they were on the train, sitting in a private car reserved for V.I.P.'s.
As the train began to move, Twilight couldn't help getting a closer look at their coppery companion, who had taken the seat next to her. It had been staring out the window since it sat down, and hadn't moved an inch since. It was like a metallic sculpture, and she wouldn't have believed it could move if she hadn't already seen it herself. Unable to contain her curiosity, she cleared her throat and addressed the automaton.
“Clockwork, may I ask as to how you work? I can't figure out any way that you can be moving, besides with magic, but that would require constant application of magic and there isn't anyone around to do that.” Twilight frowned slightly as she asked her question, the impossibility of the pony before her constantly nagging at her mind. Nyx and Spike had turned away from their own distractions, interested on learning more about the automaton.
Turning its head toward them, it extended a mechanical arm and lightly tapped its chin as it pondered the question. “My creators never did discover a way to power this body, or how to properly contain a soul within it. I came to life after being struck by magical lightning, and since then have been only instinctually aware of how everything in this body works.” Sitting up straight and lifting its forehooves off the seat, it exposed the underside of its body. The chestplate swung forward suddenly, revealing a myriad of gears and springs moving underneath. These then retracted, pulled back by tiny armaments until they revealed a small bronze sphere about the size of a grapefruit, its entire surface engraved with tiny runes. Spaced evenly around the middle of the sphere were five gears, spinning constantly and turning the one adjacent to them. Occasionally a small spark of electricity would arc across the surface of the sphere, causing the runes it touched to glow. “That is everything that I am. It contains what some would call a 'soul'. That is also what powers this body. I use my very essence to be able to move about. If anything were to happen to it, I would cease to live.” The gears moved back into place, and the chestplate folded back over them. “The lightning that struck me also transformed the original spells that were supposed to bind souls, making them more efficient and successfully preventing my essence from dissipating. But the strange thing is, I was supposed to house a soul that already existed. But I have no recollection of a life prior to this existence. Either I lost my memories during the transfer, or somehow I had come into being from nothing. But either way, I cannot figure out a reason. A spontaneous existence is very illogical.”
“Life is illogical. Life doesn't need a reason to be,” Nyx spoke up, frowning at Clockwork. “I wasn't born like regular ponies. I was created through a spell that tried to resurrect a monster. I had memories of that past life, but they brought on so many horrible emotions. But even though I had those memories, I tried to fight those feelings and make my own way. I wanted to live a better life than her, to not have my every choice made in anger and jealousy. I don't have those memories in me anymore, but I still remember how she acted. And I will make sure that my life will be better despite that.” Nyx tapped her chin with a hoof, deep in thought. “What I'm trying to say is, so what if you don't know why you're alive? The fact is that you're alive, and you can make your own choices. You don't need a reason to exist, just as long as you take advantage of the fact that you do.”
Twilight smiled at her daughter, proud of how mature she was becoming. She nodded and looked out the window as she went over the conversation in her head, the automaton next to her turning back to the window as it did the same. Soon the train pulled into the Canterlot train station, and then they were all on their way to the palace.


Twilight frowned at her daughter, as Nyx scowled at the ponies that were helping her dress, who were pulling a sash tight around her middle while another was doing up her hair. “I can dress myself, you know!” Nyx whined, grunting as the sash was tied over her back into a neat bow.
“Well I think it looks very nice on you,” Fluttershy said, giving a small smile. The rest of Twilight's friends had gone to Canterlot the day before, to help prepare for the event. Usually the palace decorators and caterers would have done the preparations themselves, but Celestia felt that a more homely touch would be a nice change of pace to the more elegant designs favored by the palace workers.
Nyx snorted and looked at herself in the full-length mirror, doing a slow turn to look at every angle. “I really do like the dress though. I probably would have put it on wrong anyway.” She smiled at Rarity, who straightened the frills at the sleeves.
“Why thank you dear, it's always nice to be appreciated for my work,” the fashionista said, giving the dress another once-over. “At least you don't have the same fashion sense as your mother.” She gave a devilish grin and laughed as Twilight began to pout. “You know I'm kidding, but I can't shake the memory of your design for your Gala dress.”
Twilight blushed at this and turned away, glancing at the clock on the wall. “Well girls, it's almost time. Let's get out there.” She waited until only she and Nyx were left in the room and gave her daughter a hug. “Don't be nervous. Everything will be fine. I'll be right behind you.” She sniffed and raised her head up, heading to the door. “Make us all proud.” Nyx smiled as her mother stepped through the door and waited for her cue to exit.
All of the princesses were standing on a dais, smiling at Twilight as she approached. Twilight's friends were lined up on either side of the dais, and Clockwork stood behind them. The clockwork pony had an illusion charm cast on it by Twilight that instead of changing its appearance, diverted any attention away from it and rendering it unnoticable.
Princess Celestia smiled and gave a small nod to Twilight she approached, waiting until she stood on the other side of Princess Luna before motioning for silence. The crowd quickly replied, the courtyard falling into quiet as the Equestrian subjects waited for their Princess to speak.
“We are gathered here today in celebration of a momentous occasion. One of my most faithful subjects, Nyx, has done many things since she's lived in Ponyville. She had overcome the darkness within her, turning her back from Nightmare Moon. She had protected her home countless times, fighting alongside the Elements of Harmony as they defended Equestria from many enemies. And as she has grown into a fine young mare, she has proven that without a doubt that she is ready to be crowned Equestria's new princess, like her mother before her. Fillies and gentlecolts, may I present for the very first time, Princess Nyx!”
At this, the doors at the end of the aisle swung open, and Nyx strode out with wings outstretched, head held high. As she slowly walked toward the dais, a retinue of choir singers and Royal Guards  began singing.

The Princess Nyx cometh
Behold, behold
A Princess here before us
Behold, behold, behold

Behold, behold (behold, behold)
The Princess Nyx cometh
Behold, behold (behold, behold)
The Princess is
The Princess is here!

As she reached the dais, Spike trotted up carrying a pillow on which a crown sat. It was a golden circlet wrapped in fine gold wire, like vines wrapped around a branch. On the front of the crown a small sapphire in the shape of a kite shield was surrounded by more gold wire, mimicking her cutie mark. Celestia gingerly picked up the crown in her magic and suspended it over Nyx's head, looking into her eyes. Nyx was nervous, but determined. Come what may, she will be ready to do whatever it takes to serve her fellow ponies. As the crown was rested upon her brow, Nyx beamed, and everyone in the room cheered.
The room suddenly fell silent again, and Nyx looked up to see surprise in the faces of those in front of her, their eyes trained on something somewhere behind her. As she turned to look, she spied what appeared to be a hole in the air in the middle of the aisle. A chaotic noise emanated from the hole, and dust billowed out of it. Everyone stared as a familiar-looking lavender unicorn fell through the hole, followed by another familiar-looking white alicorn.
The crowd of ponies quickly looked back and forth between the princesses and their doppelgangers, until the new Twilight suddenly spoke. “Princess, what are we doing here? This is still Canterlot. We've barely moved a couple yards.” She looked around until she spotted the other her, and the other Celestia. “P-Princess? Who are they? They look like us! That's not possible, is it?”
The Celestia that came through the hole looked at her other self and gave a peculiar look, nodding at her slightly. “Yes my faithful student, it is possible. We're in another world, one that parallels our own. And unfortunately, one that also does not contain an answer to our problem.” As if on cue, the cacophony from the other side of the hole increased, and a voice much like Luna's came through.
“Celestia, hurry! They've made it through the barricade! We can't hold out much longer!” The Other-Celestia frowned and draped a wing over her student. “I'm very sorry Twilight, but there's nothing we can do for our world any longer. So I have decided to bring you here, in the hopes that you may survive and prevent this from happening to other worlds.”
The Other-Twilight shook her head, her eyes begging to swim with tears. “What about you, Princess? What about Luna? Everyone else is-” she choked back a sob and wrapped her forehooves tightly around her mentor, only to be pulled away with magic. Except the glow came not from the Other-Celestia, but the real one, the one native to that world. The Other-Celestia looked up at her other self and gave a final nod, stepping back through the hole, only to have it close behind her. As soon as it was gone, Other-Twilight was released, and she began to cry in earnest, wailing and sobbing as she vainly waved her hooves at the space where the hole to her world had been.
> A Novel Tale
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“W-What's happening?” Twilight whispered, as she watched her other self continue to sob in the middle of the aisle. As the shock of her sudden appearance began to wear off, she noted the condition of her doppelganger, who was covered head to hoof in dozens of small cuts and bruises and was favoring her left hind leg. Interestingly, this other Twilight was still a unicorn, thus lacking the wings indicating her ascension.
Quickly shaking her head, Celestia waved a hoof at the guards and they began ushering the crowd out of the room. Soon the only ones left were the princesses, Nyx, Clockwork, Twilight and her friends. Once the doors to the room were shut, Celestia went and knelt beside Other-Twilight. She draped a wing over her like her other self had done, simply holding her until her crying died down to nothing more than a whimper.
“Why would she do this? I could have done something. I could have figured out a solution. We could have defeated the Tide somehow.” The lavender unicorn looked up at the princess, her face stained with her tears. Celestia hugged her gently as the rest of the remaining ponies quietly approached them.
“What happened?” Princess Twilight asked, sitting in front of her counterpart. Part of her still felt disbelief at the idea of parallel worlds, and yet the evidence was sitting right in front of her. She would have liked to think that it was a trick, a Changeling scheme or one of Discord's pranks, but she could feel in her very being that the pony wrapped by Celestia's wing was herself from a different reality.
Other-Twilight took a shaky breath as she looked at the purple alicorn. She wore an expression of disbelief that settled into acceptance as she came to the same conclusion. Wiping her face with a hoof, she took a few more breaths before she began speaking.
“I was in the Whitetail Woods doing more research on the local Changeling hive when suddenly we felt a tremor. Thinking it was an earthquake they evacuated the hive just in case the cave collapsed. When we got outside we found out that a meteorite had landed by the edge of the woods. Some of us went in for a closer look and we saw it. It was big, about four times the size of Celestia, and it was covered in this black ooze. 
“Then all of a sudden the ooze started spreading out. One of the Changelings poked it with a stick and it just dissolved. We got out of there as fast as we could and alerted Queen Polistae. She went to look at it herself and it was already spread out over a mile, and it looked like a big flat lake of oil. She tried to contain it with magic but there was too much of it. We tried to wall it in but it ate right through it. I sent a letter to the Princess to tell her about this problem and by that time it almost reached Ponyville.
“That was when it got worse. There were these...creatures that started coming out of the ooze. A lot of them looked like ponies, earth ponies and unicorns and pegasi and even a couple alicorns, and there were some that walked on two legs. They walked out of the ooze and headed toward the town, and they didn't respond when we tried to talk to them. They started grabbing ponies and dragging them back to the lake of ooze, and then they'd pull them under. It was horrible. We tried to get everypony out of the town toward the farm, but the creatures would just start chasing us.
“We tried to use the Elements of Harmony, but it only pushed back the lake a dozen yards before the magic dissipated. It didn't even affect the creatures. The lake stopped growing for a while after we used the Elements and for a moment we thought we had stopped it completely. There weren't even any more creatures coming out of it.
“But in a couple hours it started growing back, faster than ever. We didn't know what to do, so we just ran. We got as many ponies as we could on the train to Canterlot. We looked to our old home, which was now just a big black puddle. We started calling the ooze the Black Tide.
“The Princesses had no idea what to do. They suggested using the Elements again, but this time nothing happened at all. It was like the Tide became immune to them. Then the princesses went out themselves to try to stop it. They gave it everything they had, using the power of the sun, freezing it, pushing it back with shields, everything. They were able to push it back to the original landing site, but they couldn't destroy the core. It was almost as if it was using magic of its own to protect itself.
“The Tide would come back mere days after each attempt to destroy it. And it would be harder to push back every time. After a month, it would reach Canterlot only a single day after pushing it back to the core. The creatures started invading Canterlot in giant waves, and it took everything we had to push them back. We even used the Elements, but they'd be back in a matter of minutes. They started breaking into the palace, and then...and then Celestia brought me here...” Other-Twilight shook her head, her eyes swimming in tears. “Now I have no idea how to get back or how to save Equestria.” She buried her face in her hooves as she fought off more tears.
Princess Twilight bit her lip as she contemplated this story. Something that could dissolve everything it touched as well as have the power to resist the power of the princesses was too frightening to think about. But at least in her own world, they had at least one extra alicorn. If the Tide ever came there, they might stand a better chance. She just hoped that they wouldn't have to find out.
Celestia stood up and gently nuzzled the distraught unicorn until she slowly got to her own hooves, then personally escorted her to the guest rooms of the palace. Princess Luna ran a hoof over her face, suddenly looking very tired. She peeked out of the windows as the setting sun cast long shadows into the room. “I think it would be best if everypony gets some food and some rest. I will visit you in your room later,” she said to Nyx, who was wearing a concerned frown as she looked toward the door where her mother's look-alike had left. Not waiting for a response, Luna strode outside and leapt into the air as she flew towards her tower in preparation for raising the moon.
“Well, I think that's enough excitement for one day,” Rarity sighed, shaking her head. “Nyx dear, would you like any help getting out of your dress?” She looked at the dark alicorn expectantly, who merely nodded and followed her into the dressing room.
“Ah guess we'd better get out of these dresses too, don't wanna be gettin' food all over `em,” Applejack stated and followed the two mares out. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash agreed and filed out after her. Now Twilight was left alone in the room, staring out of the window, struggling to deal with what just happened and what she was told. She was jolted out of her thoughts by a metal hoof gently nudging her shoulder, and she turned to Clockwork as it watched her.
“That thing she described...that's what I saw in that world I landed in. The one where I found this.” It held up the cracked amethyst brooch it carried with it.
Twilight shook her head and sighed. “You probably ended up in her world when it landed.” She frowned at the copper unicorn when it shook its head and gave her an odd look.
“She said that the meteorite in her world landed near the edge of the woods. The one that I saw landed near the foot of Canterlot Mountain. They are nowhere near each other. They are different worlds, and the logical conclusion is that that Tide, as she calls it, has been appearing in multiple worlds, and may very well end up in this one as well. You must prepare for it, whether you want to admit it or not.”
Twilight snorted and stomped a hoof. “You're right. But where do we even start? It seems to be impossible to beat, according to her. I can only hope that with an extra alicorn on hoof we might be better at pushing it back.”
Clockwork nodded as the gears in its head began spinning faster. “What if we had more than just one extra?” It turned to look at her, its eyes beginning to glow brighter. “If there are more worlds with other versions of you, there is the possibility that at least one of them is also an alicorn. We could protect this world with their help.”
The lavender alicorn's eyes twinkled as she considered the idea. “And maybe, we could work together to stop the Tide from invading other worlds altogether. It seems that other Twilight seems to be as smart as me, so if we combine our minds we could make the problem so much easier.” She smiled and put a hoof on the clockwork pony's shoulder. “We can do this. We can defeat this Black Tide.”
“But how do we get the other Twilight Sparkles to help?” Twilight jumped as Nyx spoke suddenly, approaching them from the dressing room. “Does the Princess even know how to open doorways into other worlds like that other Celestia? And how do we convince the other Twilights to help us solve this problem?”
“It is likely that Celestia had the ability to open these doorways. Many things are similar between the worlds, apparently. As to convincing the other Twilights, we will just have trust that they will listen to themselves.” Clockwork flicked his tail as he thought, the chains rustling against each other. “But we have time to work on this dilemma tomorrow, I would think. It's late, and the moon has risen. And your bodies need food.” The two alicorns blushed as their stomachs rumbled at the mention of food. “I will talk to you later. Good night.” At that, Clockwork turned and left to the guest rooms, leaving mother and daughter to go seek out a late meal.
> Small Talk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Lady Everstar, dinner is served.” The maid removed the covers from the platters of food before bowing low and retreating to just behind her mistress' seat.
“My, this looks lovely,” Twilight said, eyeing the meal before her, the table covered in strange new delicacies. The Evening Kingdom had a recent upswing in trade with other foreign nations after the conclusion of the Evening Rebellion, the truce between Twilight and Celestia relieving tension across Equestria. Due to this, what once used to be a rare commodity was now a fairly easy to come by luxury. Now anypony in the Evening Kingdom could sample goods from faraway lands without having to give up their life's savings.
As she took the first bite, she failed to notice the maid silently moving closer. Closing her eyes to contemplate the flavor of her meal, she didn't see the knife as it moved around from behind her and pressed itself to her throat. She opened her eyes in shock and made to turn her head when the knife was dragged sideways and gut a deep gash across her throat, spilling blood down her front. The guards yelled as they moved to detain the assassin, while Twilight stumbled out of her chair and held a hoof up to her neck.
Feeling a sudden surge of energy within her body, she quickly teleported herself into the bowels of the regia, into a specially-reinforced room that absorbed ambient magic. Coughing heavily as she choked on her own blood, she staggered into the middle of the room, collapsing as she reached the center of a magic circle drawn into the floor. Rolling onto her back, she gasped as the energy that was building up inside her suddenly burst forth, renewing her body as the excess was wicked away by the magic circle. Despite all the precautions, there was still enough force to cause the walls to groan and rumble, deep cracks climbing up the walls.
Instead of the usual warmth that signaled the regeneration of her body, she felt an odd coldness, and was suddenly swallowed by a black void. She opened her eyes wide in surprise, and twisted around to look at her surroundings. The darkness melted away and was replaced by the inside of the library, the place she once called home. Sitting in her seat in front of the fireplace was Mother, looking at her expectantly.
“You were assassinated,” she said simply, watching as Twilight took the seat opposite her. “You should be more careful about who you employ. But that is not why I've brought you here. There has been a disturbance in the worlds.”
“Is it the Shadow?” Twilight asked, frowning slightly. She had been the subject of dozens of assassination attempts in the past, this being the only one to have succeeded. Usually she would simply die of old age, which has happened three times already. But none of those times had she been called on by Mother, so something significant must have happened to warrant this meeting.
The Aether shook her head and looked toward the door to the basement, pressing her hooves together in thought. “It is not the Shadow that haunts the realm of Creation, but it is destruction nonetheless. No, what has happened is that every permutation of your world has been under the threat of an entity known as the Black Tide. It has been appearing in each world and spreading like a plague, breaking down each reality to its foundation and using it to expand itself.
“I lack the strength to eliminate the Tide myself, since it has been in far to many worlds for me to combat at once, and I also cannot find its source. It has found a scrap of the Shadow somehow and used it to shield itself from my sight.
“But your other selves, they have noticed this threat. Even now they are trying to fight back. But they still lack the strength. Only if they can work together, can they defeat this plague upon Creation.”
“So what am I supposed to do? If the other me's aren't having any luck with the Tide, what can I do about it? The only thing I have going for me is not being able to die. Should I try to get in touch with my other selves and work on the problem together?” Twilight frowned, already trying to work out how difficult it would be to create contact across different realities.
“That should be sufficient. But you must work quickly, because this entity has already devoured many worlds, and grows faster each time. Now go; I shall give you knowledge of how to open doorways into other worlds without damaging the Veils that separate them from each other.” She lightly touched Twilight's horn with a hoof, and with a jolt Twilight found herself waking up in her bed.
After getting up and checking herself in the mirror, she found that she was young again, her bangs receded a couple inches, and thankfully not ginger. She had an irrational fear that one of these days she'd die and come back as a redhead. Making a quick check that she had all her limbs and that her kidneys were the right color, she teleported into her study and began preparing for the journey ahead of her.


*~*~*


While the newly-crowned princess and her predecessors convened in Celestia's private study for Nyx's instruction on the duties of being a princess of Equestria, the rest of Twilight's friends waited around a large table and helped themselves to tea and biscuits. All of them were very proud of Nyx, having watched her grow up from a little filly to the mare she was today. They were certain that she would do well in serving her fellow ponies, no matter how tough things could get.
But despite this, the mood was brought down by the appearance of the other Twilight and the news of a world lost to a mysterious ooze known as the Black Tide. They were afraid that something like that could happen to their own world, and felt somewhat hopeless after discovering that not even the Elements of Harmony would be able to affect it. Even so, they were determined to find a solution in the hopes that they could be prepared if the worst should occur.
“What if we just scooped it all up and dumped it in the ocean?” Rainbow Dash proposed, hovering in the air above the table. She had been sitting at the table for a total of ten minutes before she got restless and started doing slow laps around the room.
“But what about all the little fishies? They might try to eat the ooze and get sick,” Fluttershy said, frowning behind her long mane.
“I say we should just give it lots and lots of cake, and then it won't be hungry anymore!” Pinkie Pie grinned, content that her suggestion was a perfectly reasonable solution. “What do you think, Clockwork?” She looked toward Rarity, and everypony else in the room looked towards her.
“Uh, Pinkie, there's nopony else here named Clockwork. It's just us girls.” Applejack frowned and looked around as she searched for the mystery pony, her eyes skipping over the mechanical pony standing off to the side of the table behind Rarity.
“Of course there is. He's right there! She continued to look at Rarity, but pointed her hoof off to her left, directly at Clockwork. At this point the pony in question began to stare at Pinkie, befuddled as to how she was able to see through Twilight's illusion.
Pinkie got up and stood behind Applejack, grasping her head between her hooves. “Pinkie, what in the hay are you doing?” Applejack demanded, trying to turn to look at her friend, but she was held firm.
“He's right there, in the corner of your eye, just look,” Pinkie said, slowly turning Applejack's head toward Rarity.
“What exactly am ah s'posed to be looking—woah!” The orange mare jerked in Pinkie's grip, alarmed at the sudden appearance of a copper pony standing beside Rarity. “What in tarnation is that? Was that here the whole time?” Disturbed by her friend's sudden reaction, Rarity turned to her right, trying to spot what could have spooked the farm mare.
“What is it dear? What are you looking at?” Rarity waved a hoof in the air beside her, trying vainly to try to spot the invisible pony.
“What are you going on about? I don't see anything,” Rainbow hovered above Rarity, peering at the seemingly-empty space beside her friend.
“Come here, RD,” Applejack said, and wrapped a foreleg around the cyan mare's shoulders, pointing to Rarity. “Look at Rarity, then try to peek to her right out of the corner of your eye.” Rainbow complied, squinting as she tried to concentrate. Her jaw dropped as she too spotted Clockwork, then zoomed over the table to where she had seen it. But as soon as she blinked, it disappeared, and she twisted her head to try to catch it again.
“That's just freaky. Why can't I look at it directly?” Rainbow inched closer and gently poked the mechanical pony with a hoof, jumping back quickly as if it would attack at the provocation.
“It's a perception filter,” came a voice from the doorway, and everypony turned to look at the princesses entering the room. Twilight was frowning slightly, concerned as to how somepony was able to see through one of the most powerful illusion spells she knew. “It tricks your mind into thinking that the enchanted object isn't there. It's a complicated spell but easier to maintain.”
With a faint glow, the spell was released and the clockwork pony faded into view beside Rarity. Rarity and Fluttershy gasped, but the other princesses were not as surprised, having already been able to see it due to their powerful magical perception.
“What is it?” Fluttershy asked, peeking over the top of the table, having been startled by its sudden appearance.
“I am Clockwork. I am a mechanical pony built with the intention of creating a body that does not get sick or die.” It turned to look at her, and she promptly ducked back under the table.
Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow at this. “Interesting. I once had a student that tried to replicate immortality in regular ponies, but I told him to halt his research. Unfortunately he lost his life during a failed experiment involving foul creatures known as Fae Sprites.”
“Well that's awful,” Rarity said, frowning slightly at the automaton. “But does that mean he kept researching immortality in secret and came up with this?” She gestured with a hoof.
“No, he and his friend built this well before I told him to stop, but it never did work. I wonder what happened.” Celestia peered closely at Clockwork, who simply looked back at her with a neutral expression.
“Magic lightning,” it said simply, and left it at that.
“Well anyway,” Nyx said, getting bored with the conversation that she herself had yesterday. “Now that my lesson is done, why don't we figure out what to do with the other Twilight Sparkle?” The mare in question was staying in the medical ward of the palace, being treated for the various injuries she sustained during her fight against the Black Tide.
“Well, we can't exactly send her back home,” Applejack said, frowning. “Not while that Tide thing is still there. Gosh, how do you beat something like that?”
“I have a plan,” Twilight said. She turned to Clockwork. “Do you think you could take me to other worlds? Ones with other Equestrias so that I could meet my other selves?”
“What are you planning?” Luna asked, looking at the lavender alicorn with interest. Celestia had a knowing look in her eye and smiled.
“Twilight Sparkle is one of the smartest ponies of her time. She can find the answer to any problem she sets her mind to.” She smiled at her student, who blushed at the compliment.
“But what does that have to do with meeting herself?” Pinkie asked, her head tilted slightly as she thought about a room full of Twilight Sparkles.
Something in Rarity's mind clicked and she muffled a gasp. “They do say that two heads are better than one. More would be even better, wouldn't you think so? And with a mind like Twilight's, all of those heads could figure out how to get rid of that horrid Tide in no time.”
Twilight smiled and nodded in agreement. “Exactly.”
“But since they're all Twilight, wouldn't they all just come up with the same answer?” Applejack said, frowning slightly in doubt.
“They are all similar to me, but it is safe to assume that they all have different experiences, and would approach the problem in different ways.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Fluttershy nodded slightly as she considered her friend's logic.
“So, can you do it?” Twilight looked at Clockwork expectantly.
“I believe I should be able to, by using this,” the mechanical pony said, holding up the cracked amethyst brooch.
Rarity gasped as she spotted the trinket, eyes gleaming. “My, what a wonderful brooch! It looks so much like the one I made for my Princess Platinum costume for the Hearth's Warming Eve play. Where did you find this?” She glanced at Clockwork as she reached a hoof toward it, and plucked it gently from its grasp when it nodded.
“It was at the bottom of a river in the last world I arrived in,” Clockwork watched as the fashionista lifted the brooch in her magic and inspected it closely.
“It's a bit damaged,” she said, pointing out the crack along the middle. “I should be able to fix it for you.” Rarity focused on the stone and the glow around it brightened, the gem slowly mending. After a few moments it was finished, and a sudden spark of light from within caused her to jump. “Dear me, it seems to have been enchanted with some kind of spell.”
“Princess Platinum had a habit of enchanting her jewelry. She would embed passive magic in the stones that would perform various tasks for her so that she would not have to expend any of her own energy,” Princess Luna rolled her eyes slightly. “That must have been used to store some of her extra magic so that it could power the other spells.”
“Well it must hold a lot of magic inside of it to be able to create tears in reality,” Clockwork said, taking back the brooch. It turned to Twilight and gave a slight nod. “Whenever you're ready we can go.”
“Alright. I just need to talk to the other Twilight and see if she would like to come with us,” Princess Twilight said.
“And I need to say good-bye to my friends,” Nyx spoke up, smiling widely. “I can't wait to see other worlds.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow at her daughter. “No one said that you would be going.”
“Well, no one said that I wasn't,” the black alicorn stuck her tongue out cutely. “Please? It's not like it'll be dangerous, we're just going to talk with the other you's. And even if I'm a princess now I don't have any pressing responsibilities at the moment.”
Her mother gave an exacerbated sigh but smiled. “Alright, you can come. But this is a business trip. You're going on every meeting.”
“Fine,” Nyx smiled and hugged Twilight before going off to the guest chambers to begin packing what little they needed.
“Are you certain about this?” Princess Celestia looked at her student. “There are many worlds besides our own, and there's no telling if you'll be able to find your way back home.”
“Oh, I never thought about that,” Twilight frowned. “But I'm sure we'll figure it out.”
“That will not be a problem. I have memorized the signature of the Veil of this world. I can find it easily from within the Void.” Clockwork lightly tapped its head with a mechanical arm.
“That's that, then,” Applejack said, before going up to Twilight and giving her a firm hug. “Y'all be safe now, y'hear? Don't go running into trouble in every world you visit.”
The lavender alicorn laughed. “No promises.” She smiled as the rest of her friends gathered around for a group hug.
The other princesses looked on, smiling at the open display of love and friendship. They were positive that if anypony could figure out a way to save the world, it would be Twilight Sparkle.


> Arrival at Starfall
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“I really don't think all of this is necessary,” Nyx said as she set down a mountain of suitcases by the side of the main hall. Princess Twilight looked up from her conversation with her doppelganger and gave a frown.
“Of course we do, you never know what we might need. Who knows what those other worlds might be like? What if another version of Equestria was an arid desert? What then, missy?” She looked over at the pile of suitcases, which even towered over Celestia. “Well, maybe we don't need everything,” she said sheepishly.
The other Twilight smirked, then went over their checklist for the twelfth time. It ran over their plan for inter-reality travel, how to find their other selves, and how to convince them to help, all in excruciating detail. After every step and sub-step being considered, the list itself flowed to the floor and nearly reached the main doors when rolled out.
Clockwork stood off to the side, idly watching the mother and daughter sort through their luggage. It didn't think any of it was necessary, really. But then again, nothing was really necessary to it. It didn't eat, or breathe, or even sleep. Occasionally it would spend an hour or so a night winding all of its internal springs that were used for convenience, but it could do without that if it needed to. Not that it ever did.
“Bit for your thoughts?” Other-Twilight had finished going over the list and had joined the automaton in watching Twilight and Nyx go through their things.
“I'm waiting for them to finish so that we can get going. The Black Tide must be in many other worlds by now. The sooner we find the other Twilights the sooner we can find a way to stop it.” It turned a glassy eye toward her. “We can stop the same thing from happening to other worlds that happened to yours.”
Other-Twilight frowned and sighed. “I really hope so. I just hope my friends are still alright. Maybe if we work fast enough I can find my way back home and save my world too.”
“Maybe.” Clockwork turned back to the pair of alicorns, who seemed to have finished sorting and were walking over to them carrying two large suitcases in their magic.
“We just decided to bring some jackets, food and water. That should be enough, and anything else we might need we can just get in the other worlds,” Nyx said, setting down her suitcase down beside Clockwork.
The princesses and the rest of Twilight's friends approached from the main doors, and everypony gave the adventurers their farewells and well-wishes. There was even some whining from Spike, who had insisted on going and meeting his other selves as well.
“How come Nyx gets to go but I can't?” He pouted, crossing his arms across his chest.
“Because Nyx can look after herself. And she could add some of her own insight to these meetings.”
“I can look after myself! I even made my own breakfast!” Spike whined.
“You made a bowl of cereal,” Nyx giggled behind a hoof. Spike kept pouting, and went to stand beside Celestia.
After a few more hugs, the two Twilight Sparkles, Nyx, and Clockwork stood before the doors to the hall, their friends watching on. With a spark of magic from its horn, the amethyst brooch began to glow brightly, the light intensifying until everypony else had to look away. Suddenly, a loud sound began to fill the air, a sharp tone like when one strikes a tuning fork. As the volume increased, a hole began to appear in the space in front of the door, a grove of trees visible on the other side. Clockwork strode through as soon as the doorway opened, Nyx following soon after. The two Twilights looked at each other and nodded, the alicorn giving a last look at her friends before going through with her doppelganger. A few moments later, the doorway faded, and all was silent.



The other-worldly travelers took their first steps in the alien-yet-familiar world. They had appeared in the middle of a dense forest, its trees enormous and ancient. All the ponies suddenly became tense as they observed their surroundings, and by unspoken agreement they decided that they had arrived in the middle of the Everfree Forest. Having no point of reference, they chose a random direction and started walking, hoping that they would soon emerge from the forest. From there, they would be able to go around the forest and find their way to Ponyville.
Everypony was on edge as they wandered through the dark forest, looking out for the various dangers that called the place home. It was disturbingly quiet, as if the entire forest was holding its breath. Sometimes they would see a set of eyes peering at them from the branches of the trees, but when they turned to get a better look they were gone. Unnerved by the eerie silence, they picked up the pace and starting moving at a quick trot.
Clockwork suddenly spoke up. “I can see a light between the trees. We must be getting close to the edge.” Encouraged by the news, they sped up a bit more until they emerged from the dark forest, finding themselves in front of a giant wall. The sun was beginning to set, and its light cast a deep shadow under the wall, and outlined a few ponies that were walking along the top of the wall. They walked along the wall until they came upon a massive gate with guards on either side.
Ducking behind some bushes, Princess Twilight whipped up an illusion spell that would create disguises for each of them. They even had created fake identities for each of them should they meet somepony. Looking over their disguises and quickly going over the stories that they practiced, they stepped out from behind the bushes and walked up to the gate. The guards were unicorns, both wearing long purple vests emblazoned with a red six-pointed star on the front. One of the guards held up a hoof at the approaching group, keeping them from coming any closer.
“Halt. State your names and business here,” the guard said with a stern voice, his eyes inspecting each pony with intense scrutiny.
Princess Twilight spoke up first. She had disguised herself as a green unicorn with a golden sphere cutie mark. She told her story quickly, having spent the entire time packing going over it. “My name is Aurum, and I'm traveling with my friends to try to find the Palace of the Royal Pony Sisters. We wanted to look for the lost scrolls that were said to be kept in its library. We got a bit lost in the forest you see, and we found our way here. We'd like to get back home to Ponyville, but we have no idea where we are. Can you help us?” She flashed a nervous smile, trying to stay calm.
The guard's serious expression suddenly became suspicious, and he looked over the group of ponies again. “This is Starfall, Capitol of the Evening Kingdom, ruled by Lady Everstar. You should know better than to try to enter the Forest without a professional forest ranger. Of course, you who are from the Celestial Kingdom wouldn't know any better.” He moved over to Nyx, who was disguised as a yellow pegasus. He lifted the saddlebags from her back and started sifting through the contents with his magic before she pulled it back towards her.
“Excuse me, but what are you doing?” Nyx said, startled by the guard's forwardness. “If you needed to inspect our things you could have asked first.” She then opened the bags and pulled things out one by one as the guard watched, and who would sometimes wave his horn across a few of the items. After putting everything back in the bags, the guard nodded and went over to the gate, flipping a switch inside the guardhouse that opened it just wide enough to let them through.
“Ponyville is a whole day's travel if you walk around the edge of the forest. You can stay in one of the guest houses tonight.” He pulled out a map of the city and drew a circle around one of the buildings. “This is one of the cheapest in the city, and it's closer to the gates. It's called the Yellow Feather Inn, shouldn't be too hard to find.” He waved the group through before going back into the guardhouse and shutting the gates.
Looking over the map, Twilight led the group toward the guest house. Despite the fact that the sun had now set, ponies were still out in large numbers, doing regular business. Some shops were even beginning to open, regular business hours for some reason beginning in the evening. As they passed a group of ponies in front of a dress shop, they noticed that each one of them didn't have a cutie mark. This was the same for the majority of ponies that they came across, with a few exceptions. Eventually the group arrived at the guest house, a surprisingly large home that could have been easily mistaken for a mansion. On a large sign above the door was a painting of a single yellow feather, along with the words “Yellow Feather Inn” written in large, ornate pink letters. Knocking on the door, they only had to wait a few moments before a blue earth pony came to the door.
“Hello, my name is Foster, and welcome to the Yellow Feather Inn! Come in, come in, make yourselves comfortable.” The blue mare stepped aside, revealing a large lobby big enough to fit an elephant comfortably. Despite the spaciousness, it still felt cozy, the walls covered in paintings, pictures, and tapestries. Foster approached Twilight, giving a warm smile that felt strangely familiar. “Well, it's not too often we get guests from the Celestial Kingdom,” she said, picking a log book off of a small desk by the door. “Four guests, staying for how long?”
“Uh, just for the night,” Princess Twilight said. “We're going to be leaving for Ponyville in the morning.”
“Ponyville? That's a bit of a ways from here,” Foster said, passing the log book around for everypony to sign. “What kind of business do you have there?”
“We're trying to find someone,” Nyx said. Princess Twilight shot a look at her daughter, who merely looked back at her. “Come on, it's not like it'll hurt to tell her. And we need to be sure she'll be there in the first place. If she's as well known here as back home, then most ponies would know about her.” Turning back to Foster, Nyx smiled. “We're just looking for somepony named Twilight Sparkle. We're pretty sure she lives in Ponyville.”
The blue mare smiled and shook her head. “No dear, she does not. She actually lives in this very city. Most ponies don't know her as Twilight Sparkle though, only those who are closer to her than most. To the common pony of Starfall, and of the Evening Kingdom, she is Lady Everstar.” The other ponies gave various looks of surprise, but quickly composed themselves.
“You mean to say that Twilight is the ruler of this 'Evening Kingdom'? Was this land given to her by Princess Celestia when she became a princess?” Nyx said, shaking her head in disbelief.
Foster frowned slightly at this, ringing a bell that summoned  a pony in a maroon uniform that carried their bags upstairs. “You don't pay attention well in history class, I take it? Well, let me help you. Over 250 years ago, Twilight Sparkle started a rebellion against Princess Celestia, and seceded from the Celestial Kingdom. After several years of conflict, Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence created a truce that ended the war and allowed Twilight Sparkle to live in peace. Over many decades the kingdom formed by Twilight grew into the prosperous demesne that it is today, thanks to the various treaties formed between this kingdom and the Gryphon and Lunar lands.”
Nyx shifted nervously. “Well, I never really liked history...” She looked around the room, searching for something that would change the subject. She came upon a faded photograph of an old pegasus surrounded by several other ponies. The color had mostly faded from the photo, but despite that she could tell the pegasus had been yellow with a pink mane. Many of the ponies looked similar to each other, suggesting that this was a family photo. When she peered closer, she could make out the pegasus' cutie mark, a trio of butterflies. She muffled a gasp, but was still noticed by the two Twilights, who had also showed shock upon recognition.
“250 years ago, you said?” Other-Twilight said, turning to Foster.
The innkeeper nodded. “We actually celebrated the 250th anniversary of the founding a couple months ago. Lady Everstar even gave a speech, it was wonderful.” She smiled and looked at the clock hanging on the wall behind the desk. “Well, it's getting late and you folks must be tired. Your rooms are on the third floor, last two rooms on the right. If you need anything I'll be right here.” She shooed the group upstairs, leaving them to find their rooms. They checked their rooms and met in Princess Twilight's room.
After locking and soundproofing the room, they dispelled their disguises. “This world is so different,” Nyx said, frowning. “Most of these ponies don't even have cutie marks. Did they never find their special talent? Or maybe they're just hiding them, like some new trend.”
“I agree, it is all very peculiar,” Clockwork said, turning toward the window. “Not only that, but this world seems far ahead in the amount of time that passed. This Twilight Sparkle is apparently over 250 years old, suggesting that time flows at different rates among each world.” It looked out over the street at the ponies walking past the inn. “Curious...” At that, it stood in corner and stayed still as a statue.