> Transdimensional Zoology: Worlds Collide > by FictionaryThought > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Opal's Dreams > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following is a fan made sequel to the fanfic Transdimensional Zoology, bronies who haven't read it won't understand this fanfic as much as they should. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro and Lauren Faust. This is a fan made story and nothing more. Also ponies are awesome, enjoy. Transdimensional Zoology: Worlds Collide Opalescence was a peculiar pony indeed. She lived in the Carousel Boutique, were she made dresses for the ponies that would commission her. She was a refined, well mannered pony, and a true artist of fashion. But that wasn't what made her so peculiar. What made her peculiar was her dreams. She tried to focus on her career as a dress maker, but couldn't help but feel there was something missing in her life. And she blamed it on her dreams. She dreamed of herself as a white cat under the care of a beautiful white mare, with luxurious lox of purple, which curled into a shape that nopony could ever hope to imitate. In her dreams, she was lazy, and hadn't a care in the world. When she wasn't napping on a soft pillow, scratching her claws to get them good and sharp, or enjoying a dish of creamy milk, she was playing around with balls of yarn, or with her owner's younger sister. You'd think that with how luxurious her dreams were, Opal would be content with the life she had; but Opal was a little bit selfish. Mind you, she was generous in several ways, but she grew jealous of her dream counterpart. She didn't dare tell any of her friends that much, but deep down she desperately wanted to live that sort of life. Living the life she did now made her feel...alone. She'd told her story to all her five friends now, telling them each what animals they were in her dreams, each with a different response. Winona had the same unfazed happiness she always had. “A dog huh? Ah like that!” Tank was loving and tolerating as always. “I guess that makes sense, I always have been as slow as a tortoise.” Angel was infuriated by the idea of what he was in the dreams. “A bunny!? You dreamed me up as a bucking bunny rabbit!? I may be gentle with animals, but I'm no softy!! You better make me into a better animal than a stupid bunny!!” Gummy was unfazed, and possibly intrigued by his animal self. “A toothless alligator? Did I like chewing on things? Wait, would it still count as chewing if I didn't have teeth to chew with?” Owloysius was fascinated by his even more so than Gummy. “A wise owl, how fascinating. And fitting all things considered. I'm the smartest pony I know personally, and I pull all-nighters all the time. Even my name fits well. Owloysius Owl.” He couldn't help but chuckle at the idea, and it made Opal happy to see he enjoyed hearing about her dreams. She'd started putting her dreams into detail for Owloysius, but he only wanted to hear about them so he could document them like a research project. Still, that didn't faze Opal. She liked talking about her dreams, almost as much as she liked dreaming them. After a particularly long day, she laid down on her king-sized mattress, and let out a slow yawn as she stared at the candle on her bedside desk. “I am the most delusional pony there is, no question about it.” She sighed, as she tried to rid herself of her thoughts of animal life, failing miserably, and deciding to accept another lovable dream of luxury. “Back to the place I belong.” She blew out the candle on her desk, and closed her eyes for another nights sleep full of enjoyment. … “Flying Philomena above, I can be such an idiot.” Owloysius stood in his library half-awake. He had pulled another all-nighter studying the theories of the multiverse, and after creating a math equation for opening a magic portal to who-knows-where, he, in his lack of sleep, decided to try it out. Big mistake, now he had to keep the portal stable, and keep himself awake so it didn't become unstable. He could only imagine the result of a feral portal to another dimension being made, but his multiple theories were cut short by his constant urge to sleep, and the concentration he had to put into maintaining this portal. “I swear, if I die, this portal's going down with me.” *thud* Out like a light, and suddenly the portal became an array of parks, one of which hit Owloysius directly in the forehead, which seemed to guide the other five. Before any of his friends could wake up for the morning, they all fell victim to his failed experiment. > Dream Come True > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Opal was greeted by the morning sun, which was not normal. The room she slept in had curtains to block out the sun during her morning wake ups. It made her grouchy to be greeted by so much sun light. She covered her head with her pillow to make things not so bad, but that made her realize something. This wasn't the soft feather filled pillow she was used to, it felt much more like her couch cushion. Which made her notice something else, she was on her living room couch. Normally she liked waking up on the couch, it meant she was in her dreams as a cat, but if it was her dream, she would be looking at her feline self right then, and she distinctly remembered going to sleep in her king-sized mattress. She slowly opened her eyes to take a good look around. Nothing seemed different. Everything was in perfect order as always, though she did smell tea being made, and of course this drew her attention to the kitchen. She was left wide eyed and slack jawed as she looked at the mare in her kitchen. There she stood, the white mare who owned Opal in her dreams. Pacing around as she awaited the tea to finish heating on the stove. She was surprised to see Opal up and about. “Oh, you're awake! How marvelous! I was worried you were in a comatose. How are you feeling dear, are you alright?” She didn't answer, she kept staring at the ebony white mare that stood before her. She's here... Opal thought to herself. She's really here! I'm here... “Oh, I do beg your pardon, where are my manners? My name is-” “Rarity.” Rarity gave a confused look before she spoke again. “Yes, how did you know?” Opal wasn't sure how to answer. How could she explain anything that was happening? The mare that cared for her in her vivid dreams was standing wright in front of her. How do I know? “I-uh, am a...fan of your work! You're the owner of this boutique, am I correct.” Rarity brightened her expression after hearing this. “Why yes I am! Oh how marvelous it is to see I have a fan. Oh, but, you didn't answer me. Are you alright dear?” Opal raised an eyebrow. “What would make you think otherwise?” Rarity frowned. “Well, I found you unconscious in my boutique, I was worried something might have been wrong with you. How did you get in here anyway?” Opal froze at this. Of course she thought to herself This isn't my home, it's hers. “I'm...not sure myself. I honestly don't know how I got here. I suppose that must make no sense, you have every right to think I'm lying, but....that's just how it is.” Rarity dismissively waved her hoof and gave a faint chuckle. “I never said I didn't believe you darling. If anything, with how long you were asleep, I was worried you might never wake up. Being up and about is, in it's self, a miracle in your condition.” Before she could say anything more, the whining noise of the tea kettle interrupted them, and rarity removed it from the stove with her magic. Opal thought this was the time to act. “Miss Rarity. Perhaps, I could tell you a little more about myself. I should think it to be common courtesy for barging into your home uninvited.” Rarity smiled. “But of course darling. Please, do have a seat at the table.” Rarity was just as Opal had dreamed of, well mannered and beautiful. Opal certainly didn't feel attracted to her, her door didn't swing that way, but she had to give credit where credit was due. Rarity's appearance would leave models jealous. Even without accessories, Rarity had a way of looking refined as if she were ready to stroll through the streets of higher society. While Opal took pride in her appearance, she just thought she didn't try as hard as Rarity must have. They both sat down on the cushions set at the opposite sides of the small circular table, sipping politely on their cups of hot tea. It was certainly a great way to make up for her rude awakening. Opal breathed a sigh of relief at how comfortable she felt in her...Rarity's lovely cushions. The thought of this brought discomfort to Opal, as she now had to explain herself to Rarity. “I guess I should start by introducing myself. My name is Opal. I'm a dress maker, much like yourself, and a lot of my work is inspired by yours. None of them are knock-offs mind you, but your dresses did influence their appearance some.” “Well how wonderful! I knew by your appearance you were a higher class pony, but I would have never guest you were a dress maker. And a fan of my work no less.” “Thank you.” She took another sip of her tea before continuing. “I've heard a lot about...life in Ponyville, and decided to come and find a place to stay. Though, judging by the fact that I'm in your home for no apparent reason, I can only assume I hit my head somewhere along the way, and collapsed here.” She was lying, but what else could she do? This was her dream come true. She could finally speak face-to-face with her owner Rarity, and maybe get some answers regarding her dreams. And aside from her personal desires, what would a pony think if another pony said that in this world they were a cat? Opal could only think of one response, and she didn't want it. Rarity decided to interrupt. “Speaking of which, are you feeling alright?” Opal politely smiled. “I'm perfectly fine, no need to worry about me. If anything I feel great, and I'm certain I can take care of myself.” “Very well, I'll take your word for it. Do you have a place to stay?” Opal stopped in mid sip. She wasn't sure weather to answer. On the one hoof, why not simply say the truth? Knowing Rarity, she'd probably do the generous thing and give her a guest bedroom, or perhaps help her pay for a hotel room. On the other hoof, this would be a big blow to her pride, as she didn't want to ask anything of a mare as generous as her. To Opal, that was just too unladylike. After thinking for a few seconds, she decided to swallow her pride, and chose the former decision of being truthful. “I...don't have a place to stay. I never booked any hotel rooms, and I don't think any of my friends are near by.” Rarity had a sincere smile as she spoke. “Well, you needn't worry about that darling. I already prepared for such an occasion, and have a guest bedroom for you to stay in.” “But, Miss Rarity, I could never burden you with such an intrusion.” She waved her hoof dismissively again. “Think nothing of it. I'll be more than willing to let you stay for a few days. Perhaps a few weeks if you help me with dress making.” Opal wasn't sure what to say. She expected Rarity to offer her a few nights stay, but the opportunity to make dresses along side Rarity was a better offer than she could ever have received. After a several seconds, she finally put together something to speak. “I don't know what to say, but...thank you!” > A Fallen Angel > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The sounds of chirping birds, scurrying mice, and many other animal noises filled the room. That wasn't a surprise to a certain white pegasus. To him, it was a welcoming, and calm sound to hear. He was an animal caretaker after all. Something about this sound was different though. Angel was used to waking up to the sound of either drowsy half-asleep animals, or exited early-bird-catches-the-worm animals. This time, he heard the sound of animal gossip, and animals trying to be quiet. They were talking about something; something...distracting. Then Angel noticed he was laying down on his couch. Sleeping on his couch he was used to, after all, sometimes he was just too tired after caring for his animals to go to his own bed. But he was still worried about the sounds he heard. What if he was hurt? He slowly opened his eyes to see a pony writing something down in a note book with a reflector on her head that thing doctors wear. She turned around with a thermometer in her hooves, and noticed he was awake. … The only sound that could be heard besides the sound of scurrying creatures, and animal noises, was the sound of a butter yellow pegasus with a long flowing pink mane, as she cried and galloped away from her own home at the fastest pace she could. “Yeah! Yeah you better run! That's what you get for being in my house!” There was an incredibly noticeable silence in the room, as Angel took a moment to catch his breath. “Okay, she's gone now. She's gone, and there's nothing to worry about any more.” Angel turned around to see several angry faces. “What? She was trespassing. Since when are you okay with strangers strolling through your house? Come on someone back me up on this. Guys?” He kept looking around for a face that wasn't filled with hatred, but that fruitless effort wasn't what got him worried. What worried him was his inability to find a familiar face. Every animal in that room was an animal that he didn't recognize. He was in a house full of strangers, and he just kicked out their caretaker. “Oh...So, none of you recognize me. Huh...Well that's new.” Some of the animals in the room began to hiss and growl. “N-n-now I know this is looking pretty bad, but I'm sure if we take the time to talk this out maybe, we can come to a nice agreement. Anyone want that?” The lack of change in the of the animals' expressions was very unsettling. "Um, have mercy?” > Not His Dream > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gummy slowly opened his eyes, one at a time, then proceeded to wonder what he was doing on the floor. His eyes had seen some strange things when he stared off into space most of which had to do with some sort of blue box, but this was stranger than he was used to. He knew that just after watching a gray pegasus take on several pegasus statues during one of his gazes, he went to sleep in his bed. Seeing random adventures involving space-time made sense to him, he accepted the idea of being connected to some sort of "power of the universe" years ago, and that he'd never be normal. But this made absolutely no sense at all. He went to sleep in his bed, and woke up on the floor in front of his bed, which was scientifically impossible unless there was magic involved. Also he was laying down on some sort of small cushion with green scales on it. He knew that cushion wasn't there before, and he doubted his employers would find any use in giving it to him. One weird thing after another, something was definitely going on, so he decided to stare into space again to see if it was "blue box related". … “Tuesday the 18th of July- My latest apparatus is the only thing that's keeping her alive. I had to stop her heart. The mechanical replacement will ensure the other organs can survive. Her body is destroyed; But what nature has neglected, the fruit of modern science shall provide. And I've broken every code of practice, but for my love, I'd shift the planet's axis. She'll return to me, when she's been repaired. She'll live again.~” … Clearly The Doctor was in the middle of a musical number. Random musicals were nothing out of the ordinary in Equestria, and Gummy had nothing against it. But as much as he wanted to keep listening to this dramatic opera that was going on, he knew what he needed to know. It wasn't "blue box related". He looked at the clock. “Oh, I'm gonna be late soon.” He decided that whatever was going on could wait 'till later, he had a job to go to. He was the waiter of Sugar Cube Corner, an honor which he enjoyed having. It wasn't much of a job in his eyes "neither were things most ponies would consider impossible that he did on a regular basis" but it was convenient. Nopony was too judgmental of his strange condition, and stuck to enjoying their sweets. In fact, some ponies liked being waited by Gummy, and considered him fun to be around. He didn't understand this of course. What about him could've been enjoyable if he never even smiled. If anything his constant stares should have been enough to drive ponies away. But who could blame him? Watching this "Doctor" and his misadventures was too entertaining to avoid, and watching those misadventures brought him some enjoyment. Regardless, they liked having him work there, and that was all that mattered he mused. He went down stairs to put on his apron, and get ready for his job. It wasn't there. He looked at the rack to see were his apron was, only to find that somepony had taken it already. He had already washed it, so he doubted that anypony had decided it needed to be cleaned. He was the only pony working there, so nopony else could've taken it. And though he did hold the apron during one of his dazes, he knew he woke up from that daze with it in his hooves, and put it back in its place. This was getting too weird for him to handle. “If one more weird thing happens, I swear on Philomena's sun I'm going to make The Doctor eat a pear!” To anypony else, that statement wouldn't have made any kind of sense; But Gummy knew how much this "Doctor" hated pears, and he knew how to make slight reality alterations during his misadventures. Tricking him into taking a bite out of the wrong fruit was easy compared to making sure certain things fall in certain places. Which brought up another reason why he observed The Doctor so much. Altering reality, even if in really small ways, helped keep him safe. He was the lucky coincidence that kept The Doctor alive. Just as he began to rant in his mind about what was going on, he noticed somepony in the room with him. He spoke under his breath. “That's it, Doctor. You're so eating a pear.” “Hi there! I'm Pinkie Pie! Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner! Can I take you're order?” “What? No, I'm just looking for my apron.” “Really? Are you a baker?” “No, I just need to wear one while I serve food. My shift begins in five minutes.” She made a long gasp. “You're working here!?” “Yes?” “Me too!” “Make that five pears.” “What?” “Ugh, nothing. I was just thinking something Doctor related.” “Doctor? What doctor? Doctor Who?” “Just The Doctor. Nothing else.” “That's a weird name!” “Says the pony named Pinkie Pie.” “Oh, that's not my name. That's my nick-name! Say, why do they call it a nick-name? I don't get it. You don't change your name to Nick.” “Because...Actually why do they call it that? It makes no sense. Like hack-saws.” “Oh tell me about it. Or the word mellow-dramatic. Those are too completely opposite words, so why put them together? And then there's bittersweet.” “Actually bittersweet makes sense if you think about it. It means sad but happy at the same time.” “How can you be sad and happy at the same time? That's silly! You're a silly pony!” And then she started speaking in a sing-a-long voice. “Who's a silly pony? You're a silly pony. Who is? You is-” She stopped in mid bounce for what would be considered longer than possible. “Actually I don't know your name. I'm Pinkamena Diane Pie, but my friends call me Pinkie Pie!” “Edge Q. Gummsworth, but my friends call me Gummy.” “Really? I have a pet gator named Gummy!” “How nice, I-Wait, what did you say?” “I have a pet gator named Gummy!” Now things were starting to click in his mind. “Why do you call him Gummy?” “'Cause he ain’t got no teeth!” “Oh! Now it makes sense! Huh, I guess Opal is like me after all.” “Who's Opal?” “She's my friend. And thinking about it, five pears is uncalled for, but maybe just one for the fun of it.” “Pears again? You're a silly pony, you know that?” “I get that all the time. So, where's my work apron?” “Oh, it's right over he-hay wait a minute! I never saw you sign up to work here! And Mr. and Mrs. Cake never told me about you.” “I'm working here for volunteer hours; A little community service with some fun thrown in. I'm not working for pay.” “Oh, well in that case, it's wright over here.” Gummy was lying of course, but he finally understood what was going on, and was willing to just go with the flow until things come to an end. That's how dreams work after all, even it they're not his dreams. > Of Apples and Books > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Winona was never fazed by anything, or anypony. That just about sums up how she felt when she woke up in the middle of her living room filled with ponies she never met. Each one had an apple related cutie-mark, save for the young red-headed blank-flank. “Howdy!” Winona said with a big grin on her face. The orange pony with a blonde mane decided to speak first. “Um, howdy. Are Y'all feelin' okay?” “Ah'm feelin' great Ah tell ya what! How 'r y'all doin'?” The orange pony shared glances with the others in the room, and spoke again. “Uh, ah recon I'm fine. Just a mite confused is all.” “Ah'm a might confused too! Ah just don't let it bother me.” The big red pony decided to speak this time. “Uh, you sure you're feelin' alright partner? Ah recon none of us seen y'all before.” “Well Ah recon you're right, but I like meetin' new ponies!” The yellow blank-flank spoke this time. “Well then, what brings y'all to Sweat Apple Acres?” Winona laughed. “That's an easy one, I'm here to help herd the cattle! That's mah job!” The orange one spoke again. “Wait a minute. Y'all work here?” “Ah do! Do y'all work here?” “Whut? Yeah Ah work here! I'm the owner of these here Acres!” Winona seemed more excited now. “Wow! Ah recon that makes you the boss 'round these parts!” The orange pony felt some pride after hearing what Winona said. “Boy howdy Ah am!” Then realized she was still talking to a stranger. “But Ah don't remember hiring you.” Winona tapped her hoof against her chin in thought, but then brightened back up again. “Well then, Ah recon Ah gotta show Ah'm gonna be worth havin' 'round! How's about Ah work a few hours fer free, and y'all decide if ya wanna hire me!” The ponies in the room all exchanged glances, not a single one of them was sure what to do. Then the orange one spoke again. “Uh, how's about we have a little meeting first.” Winona was still unfazed. “Alrighty then, y'all go on ahead!” The ponies in the room left, leaving Winona to get off the floor, and get sat down at the couch. Winona found some reasons to feel fine that were perfectly reasonable in her mind. This orange pony must have bought the farm from Winona's employers, and was now the boss. She'd never worked for this pony before, so maybe she had to be hired a second time. Winona wasn't entirely sure how business ownership worked, but this reason seamed sensible enough to her. … “What in the hay are we supposed to do now?” Applejack had no idea what to think, let alone what to do about it. A complete stranger woke up in there living room, was completely unfazed by all of it, and was now asking for a job. What was she supposed to do? “She seems alright ta me.” Applebloom interjected. “Maybe we should hire her” “Applebloom, get serious! We don't even know who she is! She might be some kinda spy sent to sabotage our crops!” Big Macintosh decided to speak. “Don't spies gotta be kunnin' an' such? She didn't strike me as the sharpest tool in the shed. 'Sides, if she did wanna sabotage us, wouldn't she walk up the the front door an' ask for a job like any normal pony?” Applejack sighed. “Well then, mister mathamagician, why don't y'all explain what's goin' on?” “It's mathematician. And it don't take no math genius to figure out what's goin on. Now here's what Ah recon. Judgin' by her non-stop happy attitude, Ah recon she ain't too bright. Pah always told me the only pony he ever knew that was happy no matter what was the village idiot.” Applejack felt depression tugging at her heart strings, and put her hat to her chest in respect. “That sounds like Pah alright.” “Right, then of course there's what she said about workin' here. She said her job was herdin' cattle, that much Ah believe, but she might just be a cattle herder at some other ranch. Ah certainly never saw her on mah visits to Ponyville, so Ah doubt she's from around these parts.” “Then why in the hay is she here?” Big Mac shrugged. “Ah recon Ah could put up a bunch a theories as to how she got here, but mah general guess is something bad happened to her, she collapsed in our home, and is too dim to understand she's in the wrong farm.” Applejack tapped her hoof on her chin in thought. “Ah suppose that makes a lick of sense. But what should we do now?” Big Mac hummed in thought. “Well, she said she'd work a few free hours to see if we wanna hire her. Maybe we should agree? Ah recon we can't get her back to her farm 'till we can learn a might more about her. 'Sides, notin' wrong with a little extra help 'round the farm.” Applejack still wasn't entirely sure what to do. “Granny Smith, what do you think?” The elderly mare was shaking slightly while holding her walker. “Ah recon she's a hard worker. She struck me as an honest farm pony, and that's good enough for me.” Applejack smiled, now feeling a unanimous decision was made. “Alrighty then. It's settled, we let her show us what she's got, and if we like it, for now, we hire her.” Everypony in the room spit on their hooves, and put them together in agreement. Then proceeded to go into the living room and give their new guest their decision. … Twilight paced around her library, reading through several medical books to see if there was anything else she should do. She found that a brown unicorn-pony was unconscious in her library. She wasn't to worried about how he got there, it was a public library after all. Still, she was concerned about his condition. She would have simply sent him to a medical specialist to be examined, but looking at him, he seemed to only be suffering from extreme lack of sleep. Still though, all of Twilight's arbitrary attempts to wake him up were worrying, and she had to make sure she wasn't missing some big detail about keeping him stable. Meanwhile, Spike went about his normal chores, and helped Twilight whenever asked as he always did. > A Tank Crash > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tank woke up to the crisp early morning air as always. He lived high in the mountains, and loved watching as the clouds flew by. This early breeze however was noticeably different. He felt incredibly heavy, and it seemed as if the wind was coming at him at full force. He was falling. He panicked; His screams could be heard for miles. He felt himself going faster and faster as he came closer to the incoming ground. He closed his eyes, and decided to say his final words before the inevitable came. "At least I know I lived a full life." Just as he was going to hit the ground, he felt something strong crash into his side, changing his momentum to a completely different direction. Rather than killing him, he was sent into a painful crash landing. He tried to get up slowly, but his aching body begged for another few minutes of laying on the now welcoming ground. His head ached, his back hurt, and he may have twisted an ankle, but he was alive. He slowly opened his eyes to see his savior. She was a cyan-blue pegasus with a mane that had just about every color of the rainbow in it. He couldn't help but admire the beauty of this particular mare. “Dude. Are you alright?” Tank woke from a daze he didn't realize he was in, and tried to think of an answer for this curious 'and beautiful' mare. “Alright about what?” The mare raised an eyebrow. “You just fell from, like, a jillion feat! Aren't you a little shook up about it?” Tank wasn't quite sure how to explain. “I woke up in the middle of falling to my death, and got saved by a beautiful mare. I wasn't awake long enough for the fall to traumatize me I don't think. And quite frankly, I'd rather remember the part where you saved me.” The mare blinked twice, trying to think of a response. “Uh, thanks, I think. Are you sure you're alright?” “If by alright you mean, able to walk, let's find out.” He got up very carefully, trying to avoid getting too much pain going through him. “Well, I can get up. That's a good sign. May have to lay down for a while though. Think you can get me to Ponyville from here?” The cyan pegasus tapped a hoof to her chin in thought. “Well, I'd need to get another pegasus, but I think I can get you there. Mind waiting here a bit while I go get somepony?” Tank chuckled at the idea. “I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. Go ahead.” She let out a small, slightly nervous chuckle. “Yeah, right. I'll go get them.” She flew off into the distance, the still rising sun complementing her already beautiful body. “I had a lot to be thankful for, and now I'm in love. Life really is kind to me.” > Keep Calm and Argue On > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rarity watched as her new guest played simple games with her younger sister Sweetie Belle. It was nice to have some time to herself Rarity had to admit, but she did find her guest to be a bit more child like than she expected. She played a lot of different games with Sweetie Belle, such as tic-tack-toe, hop scotch, and even a game of back-and-forth with a ball of yarn. Rarity did find it admirable how well she looked after fillies, she could make foal sitters jealous, but their was something a little odd about it. For one thing, as she played back-and-forth, Rarity noticed she was rather fixated on the ball of yarn the entire time. For another, she didn't strike Rarity as the playful type, but even with how lackadaisical she was while playing these games, she did surprise Rarity some. Lastly was how familiar her guest seemed. Rarity couldn't quite put her hoof on it, but something about this guest of hers was very recognizable. She simply decided to push it to the back of her mind for now. Keeping her focus on how much fun Sweetie Belle was having was far more preferable than focusing on a vague resemblance. Just as she continued sipping her tea, she heard somepony bashing their hoof against the front door. With how hard they knocked, you'd think the police came with a warrant for her arrest. Rarity proceeded to open the front door at a quick pace, with Opal and Sweetie Belle close behind. She opened the door only to find an incredibly worn out Fluttershy waiting at the door. The first thing she noticed was Fluttershy's mane. Being the stylist she was, noticing a frazzled, dirt filled mane was easy to do. The second thing she noticed was just how worn out she seemed. She was breathing heavily, her hooves were beginning to give way underneath her, and her coat had several stains of dirt. The third thing she noticed made her forget entirely about her appearance. Fluttershy was crying. Not only that, but her red puffy eyes, and her face stained by tears showed she had been crying all the way here. Fluttershy proceeded to tackle Rarity with a desperate hug, and begun crying into Rarity's shoulder. Rarity wasn't sure how to respond, so she didn't. She simply let her friend cry her eyes out some more, and decided to brush her hoof through Fluttershy's mane in an attempt to calm her down. Opal walked over to the door and closed it, so as not to draw too much attention. Fluttershy needed as much time to calm down as she could get, and having ponies stand at the door to watch wouldn't help matters in any way. Sweetie Belle wasn't sure what to do either; She just stood there, and watched as Fluttershy cried into the shoulder of her older sister. Fluttershy tried to talk. “R-Rarity. It was awful. I-I-I was just, m-minding my own b-business, and-and-and-” Rarity continued stroking Fluttershy's mane, and shushed her in a quiet and calming manner. “No need, try to calm down dear. Just relax, take a slow steady breath, and tell me what's going on when you're good and ready.” She did just as Rarity instructed, and took several minutes to calm down, only to realize she was still lying on top of her best friend. She started blushing deep red, and got off of Rarity in a hasty manner. “Oh, um. S-s-sorry Rarity. I was just so upset, and...I needed a hug and...” Rarity got up and brushed herself off. “No need to explain dear. After something like that I can only assume you've been through simply too much to handle. If anything, I'm glad I could help calm you down some.” “Yeah.” She said, still blushing slightly. “It was...nice.” Opal let out a short, polite cough to catch the two mares attention, only to make Fluttershy blush even more and hide under the couch. “Should I make some tea?” Opal asked. Rarity took a few seconds to process that request. “Oh, yes. Please do.” She turned to look in Fluttershy's direction. “That would be most helpful.” Opal proceeded to preparing the tea, while Rarity walked over to the couch to tell Fluttershy about her new house guest. … The three mares sat together at the small circular dining table. Sweetie Belle was sent up to her room to play with her dolls while the three discussed what was going on. Fluttershy explained how she found a white pegasus out cold in what was now a broken mess where her pet bunny Angel used to sleep. Somehow Fluttershy wasn't concerned about Angel however. She, with the help of her strong animal friends, carried the strange pegasus to her living room couch. She put on her trusty reflector "again, that thing doctors wear" and gave him a thorough check up. After treating several bruises, removing several splinters, and putting some ice bags on the parts that seemed to be in the most pain, she turned around to grab her thermometer, and check his temperature. After he woke up, he started spitting out nonsense about her being in his house, and that he doesn’t let strangers treat his injuries. After Fluttershy tried to talk to him "and failed miserably" she received a powerful left hook to the face, and was told in an incredibly loud voice to get out. “Oh no.” Fluttershy and Rarity turned around to see that Opal was the one speaking. “What do you mean, 'Oh no'?” Rarity said. Opal let out an agitated sigh. “I think I know the pony who did this. He's always been an unreasonable ruffian.” Both ponies stared at Opal, jaws agape and eyes wide. “You...know who did this?” Opal sighed again. “Unfortunately, yes. Perhaps we should go to Fluttershy's home and let me speak with him.” Rarity raised an eyebrow. “You...think you can negotiate with him?” Opal blinked twice. “I have no idea, but he may be willing to speak with a friend more so than a stranger.” The room stayed quiet for a few seconds, then Fluttershy decided to speak. “Maybe we should.” Rarity turned to Fluttershy in shock. “Fluttershy, you can't be serious!” Fluttershy moved her pink mane out of her face some. “Remember when we were fighting that manticore, and it turned out he was just upset because he was hurt? Well, given how many injuries that pegasus had, and how confused he was to have a stranger tend to his wounds, it makes sense if he got confused and scared, and kicked me out to calm down.” Rarity was still confused. “He said that house was his. Are you saying that makes sense?” Fluttershy looked down at her tea, and pawed at it slowly. “Well...He could have been delirious. He didn't seem too well when I was observing him, so mistaking my house for his can make a little sense.” Opal decided to interject. “And he's an animal caretaker.” Both ponies turned to Opal in shock. “He's surrounded by animals all the time, so it makes sense if the amount of animals in Fluttershy's house didn't faze him. In fact, it would have easily re-enforced the idea that he was in his own house.” Rarity shook her head in confusion. “Hold on just one second.” She turned to Fluttershy. “This ruffian smacked you in the face, forced you out of your home, and you're just going to forgive him.” Fluttershy looked to Rarity with concern in her face. “Rarity, I think I know what I'm saying makes sense. Opal just said he cares for animals like me, so mistaking my house for his makes sense. Can't we at least try and talk to him first.” Rarity sat there with a feeling of absolute shock. “This is preposterous! How could you possibly forgive him!?” Opal interjected. “Look, either he's a ruffian who needs to be taught a lesson, or he's a poor helpless pony who didn't know what he was doing. Either way, we should go there, and figure out which he is before we make any course of action.” The ponies came to an agreement, and decided to bring Sweetie Belle to the local library to be watched over while they take care of business. > Up To Speed > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow Dash soared through the soft breeze of what was still a relatively early morning. Normally she would take the time to enjoy the cool breeze, but she had important matters to attend to. She had to get a pegasus to help her get an injured earth-pony to Ponyville as soon as possible. She looked around to look for somepony she thought would be the most helpful. When she couldn't find any, she chose to ask Ditzy for help. Ditzy was searching town for a certain address. She was given another assignment by Equestria Speedy Shipping Services, and was eager to get another job well done. Only to crash into Rainbow Dash. “Ugh, stupid depth perception. Oh, hey Rainbow Dash!” “Ditzy, listen, I need some help. There’s an earth-pony that fell really far, and I need to get him to Ponyville.” Ditzy's eyes shot open. “Oh my gosh! Where is he!?” She pointed a hoof in the direction of her house. “A few miles from here. Come on!” They both dashed to that specific direction. Ditzy's assignment will just have to wait. … Twilight, went over her notes a fourth time to make sure she wasn't missing anything. After being satisfied, she checked check all check's off of check list off of her check list. Then proceeded to put on her saddle bag, and head over to Fluttershy's house. Just as she was about to open the door however, she noticed somepony was already knocking at the door. She opened it, to see Fluttershy, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and a white unicorn-pony she never met. Rarity spoke first. “Twilight, we need your help.” Twilight blinked twice, unsure what to say. “I was, kinda on my way to Fluttershy, to ask for help. There's a pony knocked out in my library, and I wanted to make sure he was okay.” Fluttershy and Rarity spoke in sync “You too?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Wait, you guys have the same problem?” Rarity spoke. “Actually, yes. And I'm starting to think it's more than a coincidence. Opal, is there something you're hiding from us?” Opal began to show signs of nervousness. “Um, Twilight was it? Perhaps you could show me this pony of yours? I think I may be acquainted with him already.” Twilight blinked twice again. “Um, okay?” The three mares walked into the hollowed out tree to find a brown unicorn-pony on the couch. “I knew things couldn't be simple.” Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy turned to Opal in confusion. Opal looked around the room. “Seems like all my friends are involved in this mess. First Angel, now Owloysius.” “What?” The three mares said in confusion. Opal cleared her throat. “Maybe I should properly introduce my self. I told you my name is Opal, but that's just my nick-name. My real name is Opalescence” “What!?” They all said in confusion. Rarity spoke first. “What in the name of Celestia's sun are you talking about!?” Opal raised an eyebrow. “Who's Celestia? And don't you mean Philomena's sun?” Fluttershy spoke. “Philomena?” “Yes, Princess Philomena.” The room fell silent. Nopony knew how to respond. Opal decided to take advantage of the silence. “The pony on that couch is Owloysius, a close friend of mine. He's a librarian, he pulls all-nighters all the time, he's the student of Princess Philomena, and he's been studying the theory of the multiverse for a long time now.” Twilight decided to speak. “How long has he been studying it?” Opal shrugged. “Three months? That's how long he's been talking to me about it at least.” Twilight spoke again. “Girls, I think she's telling the truth.” “What!?” Both ponies said in sync. “She said he's been studying the multiverse theory.” She went through the giant pile of books, and pulled out a book on the subject. “It just so happens that I've been studying the same subject for about the same amount of time. And he was unconscious on top of Owloysius's broken night stand.” She pointed to the pile of broken wood in the corner. “Also, look at him! He's got the same color, and similar coloring around the eyes as owls do.” Opal spoke again. “And he's a librarian. Back home he's the owner of this library.” Rarity and Fluttershy stared at Opal, and Rarity spoke. “Back 'home'? Where is 'home' exactly.” Opal shrugged. “I would say Ponyville, but clearly it's not this Ponyville.” Twilight came face-to-face with Opal. “So that means you're from another Ponyville? As in, another Dimension!?” She had a goofy grin on her face. Opal fell to haunches trying to maintain her personal space. “Could you get out of my face?” Twilight blushed, and backed away nice and slow. “He he, yeah. Sorry about that.” Opal shook her head. “Look, Fluttershy got kicked out of her house by my friend Angel, and I need to talk some sense into that brute.” “Angel!?” Both Twilight and Fluttershy said. Fluttershy with a grim expression, Twilight with a big smile. “Yes!” Opal started. “And we need you, Twilight, to look after Sweetie Belle while we take care of things.” Opal then noticed Sweetie Belle was poking a hoof at her side. “So, wait. You're my sister's cat?” Everypony stared at Opal. “Well...” She started to blush and nervously smile. “I guess I am.” The room fell silent. Fluttershy stared in disbelief, Rarity in confusion, Twilight in amazement, and Sweetie Belle in childish enjoyment as she tried to hide a giggle. “Look!” Opal said, breaking the silence. “We have to go to Fluttershy's house. Twilight, you look after Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy and Rarity, you come with me.” She then ran out of the room and made a mad dash for Fluttershy's house. The room fell silent, and Fluttershy ran after her yelling “Angel! I need to see my Angel!”. Rarity ran after Fluttershy shouting “Fluttershy! Wait for me!”. Twilight looked at Sweetie Belle, and the filly responded “Hi Twilight! How's it going!”. Twilight wasn't sure how to respond. She just looked at Owloysius and said “I think I just got involved in Transdimensional Zoology.”. … Tank felt a cool breeze of a very high altitude. He was used to this, living in the mountains gave him a wonderful point to experience such cold embrace. This time was different. He had no ground to stand on this time, as he was carried by two pegasi, one of which he was much more interested in. Most earth-ponies would be scared out of their wits during a pegasus ride; But somehow, Tank found it invigorating. He couldn't explain why, but he found the experience to be an enjoyable one. He even closed his eyes, and pretended he was flying on his own. He loved every second of it, and spending it with the mare he'd been love struck with was an added bonus. Soon he was dropped off at the town square, where a lot of ponies began to gossip among themselves about the new tall stallion that was carried into town. “Thanks for your help Ditzy!” “No problem.” She said with a big grin on her face. But then she realized what she was doing before this. “Oh, almost forgot. I have an assignment to get back to. See you later Rainbow Dash! And I hope you get well soon mister-” She paused. “Mister...Uh...What's your name?” Tank didn't feel like saying his name, so he decided to say his nick-name instead. “Call me Tank.” Ditzy smiled. “Oki-doki-loki! Get well soon mister Tank!” And with that, she flew off to her next assignment. Tank decided to speak. “Thank you miss. I know I don't know you, but I'm glad you were there for me when I needed you most.” She let out a small chuckle. “It was nothing. Seriously though, how'd you even get up there?” Tank shrugged. “I woke up in the middle of falling. How should I know?” Rainbow Dash rubbed her hoof against the back of her head. “Yeah, I guess you're right. It just seems a little strange is all.” Tank shrugged. “Maybe it's magic related. I don't know. But anyway, thanks again for saving me. What's your name by the way?” “I'm Rainbow Dash!” She struck a pose. “Fastest Pegasus in Equestria!” Tank saluted. “Pleasure meeting you miss Dash. I think I can handle myself from here.” He took a step forward, so he could ask for directions to the nearest hospital center. *crash* He found himself piled over by three other mares. One of which he recognized as he poked his head out of the bottom of the pony pile they formed. “Oh, hey there Opal! Having a lovely day I assume. Are these new friends of yours?” Opal looked down at the head of her friend. “Tank?” She used magic to separate herself from and the other ponies in the pile gently to their hooves. “What are you doing here?” Tank chuckled. “Just talking to you at the moment. Man what a day it's been! I've got quite a story to tell you. But I suppose you're busy right now.” Rarity looked at Opal. “Another friend of yours I assume.” She said in an aggravated voice. Opal sighed. “Yes. Fluttershy, Rarity, this is my friend Tank.” Tank smiled “Pleasure to meet you. This is my new friend Rainbow Dash.” He put a hoof to the side of his mussel. “She saved my life.” Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously. “It was nothing really.” Rarity and Fluttershy were both put off guard. “Really?” Rarity said. “How so?” Opal sighed in aggravation. “We don't have time for this! We need to go to Fluttershy's house!” Tank raised an eyebrow. “Did I miss out again?” “Yes.” Opal said flatly. “Just head to the library. Owloysius might need somepony he knows to talk to when he wakes up. Also, if you see a mare named Twilight Sparkle, just try and tolerate her questions. She'll have a lot of them.” Tank shrugged. “Alright, I guess.” “Good!” Opal said in relief. “Now, we have to go back to finding Angel and-” “Angel!” Fluttershy screamed as she ran off again. “I'm coming Angel!” Opal sighed “Here we go again.” She ran after Fluttershy. “Second verse, same as the first.” Rarity said as she began following Opal. Rainbow Dash and Tank stared at the three as they ran towards Fluttershy's house. Rainbow Dash blinked twice. “Did I miss something?” “I think we both did.” Tank said matter-of-factly “Well, you heard what she said. Let's go to the library.” He started walking in the direction of the library, in a very slow manner. “Dude, is that how you walk?” Tank shrugged. “Yeah, so?” Rainbow face-hoofed “We'll be at this all day if you walk that slow.” “I've walked to the library from here, it only takes a couple of hours.” She let out a long aggravated sigh. “You've got to be kidding me.” Tank shook his head. “No, I'm pretty sure it's that long.” This time she just smacked her face rather than face-hoofing. “Okay, you just wait somewhere, and I'll get something to speed this up.” Tank shrugged. “Okay, I guess.” Rainbow dashed off to get something. “Aw, she does care.” > Love and Cattle > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- What must have been over 15 sets of cattle ran galloping towards their fence as Winona guided them. “Giddy up! That's it! Y'all know who's boss!” In a few minutes every last one of them was sitting behind their fencing. “Oh yeah! Who's the pony!” She boasted, as she trotted in a circle. She then found she enjoyed running in a circle and continued to do it at a faster pace. Applejack just stared, slack jawed as the pony with a poor attention span successfully herded far more cattle than what should have been possible for a pony. She had no idea a pony with what seemed like really low common sense could do a job so well. “Well slap me with a spoon and call me tea cup. That wright there was some mighty fine herdin'.” Winona realized she was still running in a circle, then stopped to respond to Applejack. “Thank ya kindly Applejack! So, you think Ah'm good enough?” “Darn tootin' yer good enough! I'll get a contract right now, an' have ya signed up soon as sunshine!” “Aw, yer makin' me blush.” She looked at the horizon to see that lunch was coming up, and she was going to miss out on eating with Opal. “Hey Applejack. Ah was gonna meet a friend of mine fer lunch, mind if Ah take a rain check on that contract signin'?” “Not at all.” She said waiving his hoof dismissively. “Just tell me yer name an' you can be on yer way.” She paused for a moment. “Wait...Do ya know how to get to Ponyville on yer own?” “Shoot, of course Ah do. I know mah way 'round Ponyville like I know the back of mah hoof!” She turned towards Ponyville to begin her gallop. “Mah name's Winona by the way.” She began galloping. “Nice meetin' ya Applejack!” “Nice meetin' ya too Winona!” She froze the moment she spoke the name. “Wait, what did she just-” She watched as Winona galloped off into town. “Ah need a family meetin'.” … The three mares finally made it to Fluttershy's house, just a short walk and they'd see the front door. The mares stopped in their tracks when Opal stopped them with her unicorn magic. Fluttershy continued struggling against Opal's magic, while Rarity took the opportunity to catch her breath. Opal put them both in front of herself to speak to them. “Alright....Fluttershy...Rarity....Hold on...Let me catch my breath.” She breathed heavily, trying to keep her legs from giving way beneath her. “We have to think this out.” Fluttershy kept struggling. “I have to talk to Angel!” Rarity didn't move much. “Fluttershy, stop. We don't even know if he's your Angel.” “Yes he is! Twilight said Opal was telling the truth! Can't you believe your own cat Rarity!” “An alternate dimension may exist, but she is not Opalescence!” Opal shook them some with her magic. “Both of you just shut up! You!” She pointed to Fluttershy. “He may be Angel, but he doesn't know who you are. Please don't be too affectionate. And you!” She pointed to Rarity. “Even if all of this is wrong, I'm not your Opal, and Angel isn't her Angel, fighting won't solve anything. So I suggest we negotiate with this ruffian before we continue. Are we in agreement?” The two mares nodded their heads in agreement. “Excellent.” She set them both down with her magic, and they slowly walked to Fluttershy's house. What they heard next made them freeze dead in their tracks. They listened as they heard a male angelic voice singing in a melodic tone. Hush now quiet now it's time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now quiet now it's time to go to bed... They moved closer, just past the trees to listen to more. Drifting off to sleep, exciting day behind you. Drifting off to sleep, let the joy of dream land find you... Tomorrow waits 'till morning breaks, but now it's time to sleep Tomorrow waits 'till morning breaks, so 'till then, count some sheep. Hush now quiet now it's time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now quiet now it's time to go to bed... “If that isn't an angel.” Rarity and Opal turned to see Fluttershy. “Then all the angels in Celestia's sky are looking for the one who stole that voice.” Fluttershy took a few slow steps towards her house, and watched as Angel tucked an injured blue jay to bed. Rarity reached a hoof her direction, and tried to say something, but her words were caught in her throat as Opal put a hoof on her arm, and lowered it slowly. Angel turned around to see Fluttershy, and he sighed. He didn't feel angry, he just felt...Ashamed. He slowly walked towards her, looking down at the ground as he did. He stopped a few feet away from her, and slowly raised his head to look her in the eyes. “You have a lot of nerve coming back.” He looked at the ground, looked back at her, and smiled. “I like that.” He turned to see the animals, each motioning him to keep going, then turned to look at Fluttershy again. “You really are good with animals. They all-” He looked back down at the ground. “They all hated me for what I did. I surround myself with animals every day. I never had animals hate me before. It...It hurts.” He turned to face the animals, and they motioned him to continue. He looked towards Fluttershy again. “I'm sorry.” The world fell silent. Fluttershy could see nothing but the meaning in his eyes. He meant everything he was saying. On a whim, Fluttershy hugged him, feeling as though she had just been reunited with a close friend. Angel wasn't sure how to react, so he just gave a hug in exchange. She opened her eyes to see all the animals eager to see her again, ended the hug, and ran to see her friends again. Angel looked over to Opal, and walked to her. Opal decided to speak first. “Are you feeling alright?” Angel let out a long sigh. “I just wanna go home.” Opal set a hoof to the side of Angel's face, and slowly stroked downward. *smack* She got hit in the side of her face. “Nothing you just saw happened. You here me!? Nopony will ever know about this. Got that?” Opal rubbed her now sore face. “Good to see you too. Oh, I'm fine thanks for asking.” … Sugar Cube corner was having a fine business day. Orders were being made to and fro for delectable desserts of all sorts. Pinkie Pie was doing just fine, and so was her new assistant Gummy. But in her strange mind, Pinkie thought he was doing too well. In her mind she thought No OC pony should be this good. She tapped a hoof to her chin in thought. He must be involved with the plot. She looked beyond the fourth wall to make a stern look towards the author. He motioned her to act on her thoughts, as he was the one to illustrate them in her mind to begin with. She grabbed three orders that had just been set on the counter by Mr. and Mrs. Cake; a glazed doughnut, a slice of chocolate cake, and a cinnamon bun. She put one on her head, and the other two in her hooves. “Hey Gummy!” Gummy turned around with his blank stare, wondering what Pinkie wanted. “Think fast!” Suddenly and swiftly, Pinkie threw all three orders directly at Gummy, somehow preventing gravity from bringing them to the floor, and keeping them flying his direction. Instantly, he put the tea pot he was carrying on his head, grabbed the cake and doughnut with his left and right hooves, and used his right hind hoof to catch the cinnamon bun, all while standing on his left hind hoof. He spun carefully and sent each plate to the table they were meant to go to, and poured the tea he had with him into the cup that had been waiting at the table he stood by, ending his tea pouring just as each plate landed in it's destination. The room was silent for only two seconds, and the silence was broken by the sound of everypony in the room cheering, and clapping their hooves together. Gummy didn't respond, he just looked around the room in curiosity, as he was adored by ponies he never met. Pinkie was the only one not cheering. Her expression was a combination of suspicion and anger. Pinkie dashed towards Gummy so fast, that there was a burst of smoke in the shape of her body where she was standing, and she was eye-to-eye with Gummy in under a second. “Oh, so you think you can just alter the story however you want!? If you were gonna break the fourth wall, you should've told me you could.” Gummy raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?” “Oh don't play dumb.” Pinkie said, rolling her eyes. “Nopony can do that unless they know what's really going on. Now stop lying and tell me how you know!” Gummy was just as confused as before. “Know what? I just did that 'cause it seemed easy.” Pinkie's anger was showing more and more each second. “You. Me. Dance off. Now. Triangles.” Gummy blinked one eye at a time. “What?” “Boy, don't you pretend you didn't hear me.” She said moving her head in a circular motion. “I know you have ears.” She moved her right hoof around in the shape of a Z, and somehow made a snapping sound with each point she reached, still moving her head in a circular motion. “Okay, but...What do triangles have to do with-” The room fell completely dark, and the only light that could be seen were the spotlights shining on Pinkie Pie and Gummy, which slightly illuminated the audience. Suddenly some strange music started to play. Pinkie Pie was now dressed as a gypsy, and twirled around to show off the sparkles in her dress. When she finished she somehow had a rose in her mouth. Gummy accepted her challenge, and pulled a tablecloth off of a table so fast that none of the plates or cups on it even budged. He twirled around with the cloth in his hooves, and as he wrapped the cloth around his neck, it showed he was now wearing a long sleeved white shirt, with frills on the chest, and on the ends of the sleeves. He also had his hair pulled back by what must have been hair gel, and a fake pointy mustache adorned his mussel. The two began to twirl around one another, and ended a few feet away from each other, striking poses as they did. They side stepped around each other still standing in their poses. After they stared at each other for a few seconds, they started ham boning "slapping their torsos and legs in an entertaining manner". As the pace of the song increased, so too did their slaps, until they stopped. The string section of the song's orchestra began plucking their strings, and they tap danced. Once the violins stopped being plucked, they sat on their haunches, and started to dramatically play patty cake, somehow shaking the ground as they did. Sweat was beading on the foreheads of the two dancers, as they kept slapping their hooves against each other. The music stopped for a fleeting moment, and they stared into each others eyes. Once the music began to pick up, they rose to their hind hooves, and proceeded to do the tango. Each loud step complementing the metaphorical fire in the dancers eyes. As they danced with each other rather than against, they started smiling warmly towards each other. Pinkie was thrown gracefully into the air, rose still in her mouth, and caught by Gummy. After staring into each others eyes, just as the song was ending, Pinkie spat out her rose, pulled a sombrero out of thin air and used it to sensor a kiss between her and gummy. The shop lit up again, and the audience cheered and clapped their hooves so loudly it could be heard by all the nearby businesses. Winona was among the crowd cheering, and nearly jumped out of her seat in excitement. The only pony that wasn't cheering was Opal, who'd been there long enough to see the kiss. “Things can never be easy for me can they.” > Of Kisses and Unoriginal Titles > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Owloysius slowly opened his eyes, barely sure what happened when he was awake. He also wasn't sure weather or not he was hallucinating, due to the fact he saw two mares he never met, both of which talking to Tank. Looking at the book shelves around him, he reminded himself he's in a public library, and these may have been mares looking to check out books. It didn't explain why they'd be talking to tank though. Maybe they were discussing why he was asleep? It still didn't make much sense. What would Tank be doing at the library? He was as much a reader as everypony else, but he was usually out helping friends. Maybe he felt like helping Owloysius today? That didn't explain why he was wearing roller skates. “Excuse me.” Owloysius said, making the attention of the ponies in the room go towards him. “I hate to interrupt this conversation of yours, but Is there anything I can help you with?” Not a second after the question was asked did the ponies in the room run towards the half-awake unicorn. The purple unicorn was smiling with glee and holding a pencil and note pad with her magic, the cyan pegasus had a curious expression on her face, and Tank was just happy to see his friend awake. “Greetings.” The purple unicorn started. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. You're Owloysius I presume.” Owloysius blinked twice. “Yes actually. How do you know me?” “Your friend Opal introduced me. Tank here has told me a lot about you. Oh this is so exciting!” She said, literally jumping with glee. “I get to study another one of you!” Owloysius raised an eyebrow. “Study?” He then brightened up. “Ooh! Is this part of an experiment of some sort? I love experiments. Is this some sort of interview?” Twilight giggled. “You could say that.” “Well then.” Owloysius said, now smiling at the idea of helping in an experiment. “What's the subject? Pony etiquette? Social preferences? Relations?” She giggled even more. “Transdimensional Zoology.” Owloysius's smile melted into curiosity. “Transdimensional Zoology? I'm afraid I don't follow Mrs. Sparkle.” Tank decided to speak. “We're in another dimension.” Owloysius's eyes went wide. “Really? My spell worked?” He laughed. “And here I thought being half-asleep would affect my spell casting.” “So you actually made a spell to transport yourself to another dimension?” Twilight asked. “Yes! I succeeded! Now all I need to do is document this world of yours and-” He looked around to see nothing but his own library with two mares he didn't recognize. “Wait, this doesn't seem any different than my dimension. This just looks like my library in Ponyville.” “Actually,” Twilight interrupted. “It's my library.” “Really?” Owloysius said in curiosity. “So you are the owner?” “Yes.” She said matter-of-factly “I theorized that this dimension is identical to yours, but is inhabited by different ponies, each pony nothing more than a replacement for a pony in your world, but with personalities different from your fellow inhabitant ponies.” “Is that so?” Owloysius said, tapping a hoof to his chin. “An interesting theory indeed. But how did you figure out I was from another dimension?” “Your friend Opal told me.” “Opal? What would she know about interdimensional travel? Surely she'd be one of the ponies left utterly clueless as to what's going on.” “She told me she was a cat in this world.” “Cat.” Owloysius repeated, putting together the current knowledge in his head. “Transdimensional Zoology.” He said to nopony in particular. “So then the dreams Opal has been having are real. That would imply that in this world I'm an owl, right?” She nodded her head in excitement. “Then Opal not only knows about this world, she's somehow connected to it. Or rather, we're all connected to it, but she can actually see this world through sleep. Fascinating. I wonder what makes her different.” “Can you tell me anything about this-” She tried not to giggle. “-Princess Philomena?” “Well, not much to say.” He said scratching the back of his head. “She raises the sun and moon every day and night. No relatives. Is a fiery red. She's actually my personal instructor in the ways of magic.” “What about the elements of harmony?” He raised an eyebrow. “Elements of harmony? If your asking me for philosophy I don't know if mine's similar to yours.” “No, they're magical artifacts. They were used to save Equestria four times.” “Never heard of them.” “Fascinating.” She wrote down everything she heard. “So you don't have something to replace everything in your world.” “You have a lot of questions for me don't you?” “Yes.” “Well so much for sleeping in more than usual.” His gaze drifted back over to Tank. “Can you at least tell me why Tank is wearing roller skates?” The Cyan pegasus in the room grunted. “He was way too slow, so I sped him up some.” Owloysius nodded his head. “Well at least one thing makes sense.” … They stood there, a kiss censored by a sombrero that appeared out of nowhere. Pinkie's mouth tasted of sugary sweets, as if coated with melted sugar, and of hot sauce. Gummy's tasted minty fresh, with a hint of bubble gum flavoring. Neither of them could hear the applause of the ponies around them. They could only hear the sounds of their own heartbeats. They slowly pulled away to look each other in the eyes, and maintained their loss of reality. For the first time, Gummy was not in touch with reality, but he wasn't watching another Doctor Whooves adventure. Opal clears her throat to get the attention of the two love struck ponies. Gummy's reaction was a deep red blush with an awkward laugh, Pinkie's reaction was a childish smile and another strange sentence. “Oh! Hi there OC pony I never met!” Opal looked confused. “OC pony?” Angel was doing a terrible job trying not to laugh. “What. In the name of Philomena. Are you wearing!?” He them burst into a fit of laughter. “What?” Gummy looked at himself to see he was still wearing that frilly shirt, and tablecloth cape. He blushed again and took off the cape, whirling it around and somehow making his clothes disappear the second he was hidden behind the cape. “I honestly don't know what that get-up was supposed to be. One moment I'm just serving food as usual, next thing I know I'm in a dance off against Pinkie Pie.” He looked towards Pinkie. “ You're a good dancer by the way.” Pinkie chuckled. “I'm not at my best right now. I can only dance as good as the author can write.” Gummy raised an eyebrow. “What?” Pinkie rolled her eyes and grunted. “Seriously, will you stop that. I know you know.” “You know I know what?” “I know you know what's going on!” “Well I know what you know about me knowing what's going on is wrong, because I have no idea what's going on.” “Oh yea? Well...” Pinkie stopped in mid sentence. “Wait, are we fighting? I thought you had to get married before the fighting started. Do you wanna fight?” “Uh...” Gummy blinked one eye at a time. “No?” Pinkie looked around the room awkwardly, then back to gummy. “You wanna make out again?” Gummy grinned ear to ear. “Yes!” Angel kept laughing. “Whoa whoa whoa! Get a room you two.” He slowly got up, wiping tears of laughter off his face. “There are kids watching.” Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “Really? I'm pretty sure there are readers reading.” The room filled with the sound of silence, and awkward stares. Pinkie was particularly agitated by Gummy's confused expression. “Oh don't tell me you don't see them too Gummy, I know you can see past the fourth wall.” Gummy blinked one eye at a time. “Fourth wall? You mean you know I can see The Doctor?” Pinkie blinked twice. “What Doctor? Doctor Who? Wait, didn't I use that joke already?” “What joke?” Gummy asked, confused as ever. “I have no idea.” Pinkie said matter-of-factly. “The author wants me to be clueless about that part 'till later.” Opal shook her head trying to clear her head. “Guys, I have no idea what either of you are talking about, but we should talk about it at the library.” Pinkie's eyes widened along with her smile at the thought of this. “Oh goodie! I've been waiting to find out where the plot is.” Gummy shook his head. “Is anypony else confused by what she saying as much as I am, or have I gone crazy.” Angel face-hoofed. “Dude, I think you went crazy a long time ago.” Gummy pouted. “I disagree.” “Wait a minute.” Pinkie said, drawing everypony's attention. “Is it me or is it too quiet in here?” Gummy looked to Pinkie, confused as before. “What do you mean?” “Oh!” Pinkie said, now understanding what's going on. “Everypony look around.” The others did as Pinkie asked looking around Sugar Cube Corner, only to see confused stairs, and pony gossip. Which led to several of them feeling awkward, but made Pinkie feel satisfied. “Huh...” Gummy said, breaking the silence. “I forgot we were even in Sugar Cube Corner.” Pinkie chuckled. “I know right? You really gotta pay attention to where the author puts you, or his lack of description might confuse you. Like this one time I was walking through a desert trying to find my way out, but the author forgot to describe the desert, so I forgot where I was! But then I had a lemon tart when I got home and I was oki-doki-loki.” The silence in Sugar Cube Corner would have been broken had anypony, besides Pinkie, heard the author face-palm, but it wasn't. Everypony in the room was staring at Pinkie Pie, each one confused and trying to understand what she just said. “Can we just head to the library?” Opal said, hoping not to continue this confusing conversation. “Oki-doki-loki!” Pinkie said. She than ran up to her room on the second floor, pulled her reflection out of the nearest mirror, and jumped out the window with her identical friend, opening the window first of course. She then motioned her reflection to stay outside while she got the others. After that she opened the front door, and announced “I'm back!”, confusing just about everypony who was expecting her to come back down stairs. Opal blinked twice. “Wait...Weren't you up there just a second ago?” She asked, pointing a hoof towards the stairs. “Yep-er-doodle-dandy!” Pinkie announced. “And now I'm down here! Ain't that just weird? Now come on everypony! We've got a library to get to.” There was a dead silence for a few seconds, but the ponies she was addressing began to exit the building. Pinkie cleared her throat. “Everypony else sit tight, my assistant will be here in a few seconds to serve you.” Pinkie scanned the crowd, looking for anypony that didn't look background-pony-ish, and found Winona still sitting near the entrance. “Except for you.” Pinkie said pointing a hoof towards Winona. “You need to come with us.” Winona still bore her unfazed happiness “Sounds good ta me!” She got out of her seat, and trotted towards the exit like nothing weird happened. Outside the restaurant, the 7 ponies trotted towards the library, and Pinkie Pie stopped to talk to somepony around the corner of Sugar Cube Corner. “Alright Refi, time to serve!” All the other 6 ponies gasped in shock as a pony who looked exactly like Pinkie Pie came into the open, smiling contently as she trotted to the entrance of the restaurant. Everypony except for Pinkie stared at Refi slack jawed as she trotted by. “Pinkie.” Rarity started. “What just happened?” Pinkie giggled. “Oh, that's just Refi. She's my reflection. Somepony has to watch Sugar Cube Corner while I'm on one of my wacky adventures, and Refi's perfect for the job.” Pinkie tapped a hoof to her chin in thought. “Well, almost perfect. Her sense of direction isn't the best, but put some mirrors in a few certain places and she can find her way just fine.” The silence that hung in the air was only broken by the wind breezing by and a tumble weed tumbling by to imply just how quiet it was. Pinkie Pie and Gummy were probably the only ponies to notice the tumble weed though. Everypony else was trying to understand what just happened, only serving to confuse themselves and get some head aches. Opal moaned and rubbed her hoof against her aching horn. “Today's been a long day.” Pinkie rolled her eyes. “I know right? We're already up to 19 pages on Microsoft Word.” Opal pointed a hoof towards Pinkie. “Please stop talking. Your giving me a horn ache.” Pinkie giggled. “I get that a lot. Let's get moving!” The ponies started walking towards the town library, most of them wondering what in Celestia's name was happening to make this day so strange, others wondering in Philomena's name, and some had their minds on other things. Angel walked towards Gummy, with Fluttershy close to his side. “Hey Gummy.” Gummy turned towards Angel. “Yeah?” “Congrats.” Angel started. “You managed to find a mare just as confusing as you are. You two were made for each other.” Gummy shook his head. “I don't know If I'm just as confusing.” He looked towards Pinkie, smiling as he did. “But I guess your half right.” … Meanwhile, Applejack was galloping towards Sugar Cube Corner as fast as she could. Her family members decided that keeping an eye on this so called Winona was very important. If she was dim enough to mistake herself for the family pet, who knew what trouble she could get into. Celestia forbid that she cause mass destruction just because Applejack couldn't keep an eye on her for two seconds. Applejack had already brought mass destruction herself because she was too stubborn to know when she needed to quit working, and when she desperately needed sleep. Even if Winona causing trouble would only be indirectly her fault, it would still be her fault, and she wasn't going to take another blow to her pride. She's still haunted by the mistakes she made last time. > Machines, and Pinkie Pie > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After everypony "Except for Applejack" had gathered in Twilight's library. Each and everypony was talking about their experiences with one another in two separate groups. Twilight went through her check list of everypony who was supposed to be here, but had to keep Applejack's check box blank. She promised she would only start discussing all this transdimensional shenanigans after everypony was present and accounted for. So, to distract herself from the impatience growing in her head, she decided to go over the notes she had written on the subject to see just how much she knew, and write down her theories. … Back at Sugar Cube Corner, Refi was handling the orders everypony had been making. The amount of ponies in the room had lowered, but some of them still sat their, discussing amongst themselves the resent events that transpired. If their was one thing Refi took notice of when she worked in Pinkie Pie's stead, it was that pony gossip was always happening in Ponyville. Ponies from table to table were discussing one topic to another. Refi, of course, saw no real benefit to gossip. Being a reflection, she had a pretty simple life to live, simply mimicking the movement of her counterpart. But it didn't matter too much she mused, she had a job to do. Just like Pinkie said, her sense of direction wasn't the best, and she found her complicated maze of mirrors made a lot more sense then the singular patterns of the outside world. Still, the mirrors put on the bottoms of each table with numbers carved into them made navigating through the sweet shop much easier. Finding her way to mirrors labeled with numbers was much easier than finding her way to the tables they were attached to. One by one, she brought orders to the tables she had to, being as patient as a reflection can be as she awaited for her counterpart to return. … Applejack burst through the doors of the library, covered in sweat, and breathing heavily. “Twilight!” She breathed heavily for a second. “Twilight! Somethin's happened! My new worker's gone missin' and-” Her desperate attempt to explain came to an abrupt stop as she noticed Winona was sitting there, smiling and waving at her. “Oh.” She said, now not so much worried, as she was confused. “Never mind then.” Twilight cleared her throat, to catch the attention of everypony in the room. “If I can have everypony's attention. Now that we're all here, I'd like to discuss the topic at hoof.” She removed a sheet she had covering the chalk board behind her, revealing the words "Transdimensional Zoology". Pinkie Pie couldn't help but giggle at the fact that the stories name was being referenced so many times. Twilight pointed a hoof to Applejack. “You might want to pay attention Applejack. I think of all of us, you know the least about what's happened today.” Applejack blinked, but decided that, of all ponies, Twilight had to know what was going on. She was the smartest pony in Ponyville after all. So Applejack sat down near the front of the group, and listened to what Twilight had to say. Twilight cleared her throat again, thinking of how to start. “Perhaps I should start by introducing our new guests. They're just about as confused as we are I'm sure.” The group of strangers nodded. “These ponies are Owloysius, Opalescence, Gummy, Angel, Tank, and Winona.” The group of ponies Twilight knew personally all stared at the group of strangers that had been introduced. Most had their jaws slightly agape, some had skeptical looks on their faces, and Pinkie Pie just grinned, and waved to them as if they were well acquainted friends. The other side had different reactions. Some had awkward smiles on their faces, some just closed their eyes, not wanting to see the reactions, and Winona just smiled and waved at Pinkie Pie. “As you may have figured out by now...” Twilight said, breaking the fragile silence. “They are ponified variations of our pets. After taking the time to learn from a few of them-” She lifted her book on the multiverse theory with her magic. “-I discovered that they are from another dimension, in which they have our positions in life. Owloysius for example has my position as a librarian in his dimension, and is also a student of a princess. A princess referred to as Princess Philomena. Each and every one of them woke up in our homes in the place of our pets. If not for Owloysius telling me that he was responsible for unintentionally sending them here, I would've never known about any of this as clearly as I do now.” She looked towards Owloysius. “Thanks by the way Owloysius.” He nodded. “Pleasure to be a help Miss Sparkle.” Gummy shook his head. “Wait a moment. You mean to say that this is really happening, and we're not in one of Opals dreams?” “Well, yes.” Twilight said. If anypony could here Gummy's heart break, nopony showed it. Gummy just stared at the floor, thinking about what he just learned. “Which brings me to another subject. Opal somehow has a link to this world, and has dreams in which she sees through the eyes of her feline self.” She looked at Opal. “I still don't have any theories to explain how that's possible, but it is.” She looked at Pinkie Pie, who was raising her hoof in an excited manner like a young school filly. “Yes Pinkie Pie?” “I can explain it!” Pinkie Pie proclaimed proudly. “But I have to graph it on the chalk board.” Twilight blinked. “You're kidding.” Pinkie shook her head. “Nope! I know how to explain everything.” Before Twilight could react, Pinkie had gotten up, flipped the chalk board around to the side that was blank, and drew out a graph with the chalk. It was a circle, with lines connecting to smaller circles. Then the group of circles was labeled. The center circle was labeled FiM, and the circles connected to it were labeled Romance, Adventure, and Comedy. The circles connected to Romance were labeled The Party Hasn't Ended, Twilight's List, and Shipping and Handling. The circles connected to Adventure were labeled CRISIS: Equestria, The Feather of Fire, and Pony Gear Solid. The circles connected to Comedy were labeled There's a Gamer in Us All, Two and Two and Two, and R.A.I.N.B.O.W. Dash. Pinkie donned a pair of reading glasses that she pulled out of thin air, putting them on upside down by mistake. “Now it's time I broke the rules of the forth wall. But first-” She pointed to Gummy. “-Gummy, tell me what you know about all this.” Gummy blinked one eye at a time. “Pinkie, I can't take you seriously with you wearing your glasses upside down. Also I think you need to be more specific.” Pinkie sighed, and adjusted her glasses to the right position. “Fine then. Tell me what you know about the story.” Gummy raised an eyebrow. “What story?” Pinkie face-hoofed. “Your story, this story, one of the stories written on the board, I don't care. Just tell me what you know about the fourth wall.” The silence in the room was the only thing audible at that moment. Everypony who ever met Pinkie Pie had been confused by her, but none more so than they were now. Owloysius raised his hoof, and Pinkie answered. “Yes Owloysius?” “If I may, I believe your referring to the boundary of a story. The boundary preventing a story book character from knowing what he or she is.” “Correct.” Pinkie Pie said matter-of-factly. “An example of breaking the forth wall is by breaking the laws of physics with the knowledge that physics don't always have to apply in a story.” The pointed to Gummy with a longs stick she pulled out of nowhere, bearing a glove with an index finger pointing forward. “And Gummy gave a perfect example of that at Sugar Cube Corner. Care to explain just how you did that Gummy? Hmm?” She was wiggling her eye brows as she said this. Gummy just shrugged his shoulders. “I've done it in my day dreams, I found out I can do it in reality. I can't explain it. It just comes easy to me.” Pinkie sighed, looking relieved. “Well now it makes sense. What kind of day dreams?” Gummy tapped a hoof to his chin in thought. “Science fiction stories I guess. They're about some time traveling pony calling himself The Doctor. I don't try to understand it, I just enjoy the day dreams.” Pinkie Pie pointed her pointer to Twilight. “Twilight, can you hook Gummy up to those machine thingies in your basement?” Twilight blinked. “Uh, sure. But, where are you going with this?” Pinkie crossed her hooves, with a smug smirk on her face. “Are you really going to question the opportunity to study something more advanced than my Pinkie Sense?” If Twilight was carrying anything, she would have dropped it. Instead she was simply left slack jawed for a moment, which turned into a huge ear to ear grin, and a squeal of delight. “I'll get the machines started up!” She then ran like lightning to her laboratory. Applejack blinked. “What just happened?” Pinkie giggled. “I think Twilight had a nerdgasm. It was bound to happen sooner or later.” Pinkie walked over to the set of stairs that led to the basement, and pointed a hoof to it. “Everypony to the basement. We're about to make sense of something using Gummy's daydreams.” The ponies shared glances with each other, save for Winona, who did as she was told, no questions asked. Begrudgingly, everypony walked towards the stair well. Opal tapped a hoof on Applejack's shoulder. “Am I the only one who questions if this is a good idea?” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Sugar cube, this is Pinkie Pie we're talking 'bout. Either her logic 'll turn out silly, or she'll be right in some weird way. With her, ya never know which to expect.” The ponies continued to the stair well. … The foreign sound of machines ran throughout the room. Nopony in the room, save for Twilight, Owloysius, and Pinkie Pie knew what computers sounded like, but they were pretty loud and recognizable. Computers weren't a common thing in Equestria. They consisted of several huge machines connected together by thick wires, and took up an entire room. In that sense, along with how complicated they were to operate, they were relatively useless in Equestria. The only purpose they served was for scientific research, which normally only took place in Canterlot. Twilight, however, being a former resident of Canterlot, and a high scholar as she was, got permission from Celestia herself to have one installed in her library. Twilight was probably the only pony in Ponyville to have any experience operating it, but it definitely did it's job for her scientific research. Not all things can be discovered by reading, and on special occasions, Twilight preferred to learn things first hoof. If anything made her more giddy than scientific research, and reading, she certainly didn't show what it was. > The Doctor's Wife (by The Clockwork Quartet) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Twilight, I’m not very sure about this.” Gummy said. Well, not quite. Currently, Gummy had his mouth strapped shut, and a computer was reading his mind. Twilight’s plan was simple, have Gummy experience one of his “doctor related daydreams” and the computer would both narrate it, and give image data on what he saw. Twilight had tested this kind of technology on herself, forming fuzzy video footage of what she was looking at in the basement, which was only 60 percent accurate, much like pony memory. Even so, if these “daydreams” would give her a view of another dimension, she couldn’t resist. “Don’t worry Gummy.” Twilight said. “This experiment is totally safe. I’ve done it on myself loads of times!” She said with a mad scientist smile. Gummy looked even more concerned. “That doesn’t help at all.” He said in a computer voice. Twilight, ignoring him, started up the machines. “Gummy, I want you to start your day dreaming, now.” Looking for an excuse to escape the situation, he started looking into another dimension. … At the TARDIS, The Doctor was losing hope. There was barely anything left of his companion. Well, organically speaking. She was mostly machine now. Nothing like a Cyber Man, but definitely not natural. All he could do was try and keep her alive while trying to study the sickness that was destroying her body. Doing so required amputations, organ replacements, and a lot of anesthetics. Looking at her, she was just a head on top of a box, with a camera for a left eye. Inside the box were several devices sticking to what was left of her spine, and vocal cords. The vocal cords in question were useless by now, and without the help of The Doctor’s new “voice box” he built her, made from parts of his screwdriver, she wouldn’t be able to speak at all. The Doctor was both crying, and laughing. Madness keeping him from breaking down and crying until his throat and eyes were sore. But he was losing it. Not his sanity, but his madness. The only thing that keeps him the way he is. He felt compelled to speak a sadistic poem, and he did so. Mars is red The TARDIS is blue The Doctor once said Rose Tyler I… He cried even more more, remembering that one moment. He and Rose were in two separate dimensions, and The Doctor could only speak to her for a limited time. He never did get to finish that sentence. He didn’t even have the heart to say it when he had the chance, and let a clone say it for him. Every girl he ever knew had to leave him. He would out live all of them, but it was more sad when he out lived them this way. “Miss Hooves.” He pressed a button, and woke her up. “Miss hooves, please. Tell me something brilliant. Give me an idea. I can’t do this on my own.” “Doctor…please…stop….” “I can’t stop, you know that, now say something.” “But…it hurts….please……………kill m-“ He slapped her. “DON’T YOU DARE FINISH THAT SENTENCE!!!!” He said. “I’VE WATCHED TOO MANY DIE BECAUSE OF ME!! YOU HEAR ME!? I WILL NOT LET THIS END!! YOU WILL SUFFER AS LONG AS YOU HAVE TO UNTILL YOU’RE LIVING HAPPILY!!” He sighed. “I’m sorry.” He sat on his haunches. “Why? Why did you have to strap muffins to the side of the TARDIS? Why did you have to cook muffins by exposing them to the time vortex? The most un-curable sickness ever, designed specifically for time lords, locked away forever in the fabric of space and time, and you brought it back because you like crispy muffins.” He rested his head on Derpy’s box body. “Please. I’m tired of watching people die. Just give me something. A motivational saying, a name of a good friend of yours, what’s on top of your bucket list. I don’t care.” He cried some more. “Just say something to me, that doesn’t involve death.” “E-…Ele…” He looked her in the eyes. “Yes? Ele-what?” “Elements…..of-“ “Yes?” “Elements……….of Harmony” Something clicked in The Doctor’s mad mind. He knew that name. He saw it in book pages in the corner of his eye during his travels, heard of them in legends across space and time in this universe. He knew what they where, what they could do. It just might work. “Oh…….oh…oh. OH! Derpy! You mad genius you!” He said, hugging her box body as well as he could. “Just once.” He said. “Just once.” He reached his TARDIS control panel. “EVERYONE LIVES!!!!” He pulled the lever. The TARDIS tossed and turned, making the noise it does when traveling, showing the doctor had once again left the breaks on. The Doctor grinned a mad grin as he felt the familiar shake of his sexy blue box. He then decided that it was time he said one word. The word known all throughout space and time, as the best work the French had to offer. “ALLONS-Y!!!!!!!!!” … Back in reality, Gummy had finished. The ponies in the room who had seen the amazingly detailed video on the computer screen were at a loss for words. What they saw was by far the saddest thing they ever saw, and every one of them was crying, until The Doctor had found a way to save Derpy. They didn’t even realize they were watching a video until it’d finished. Gummy however was just starring at them, wondering what was stopping him from getting as emotional as the rest of them. Probably because he’d been witnessing this kind of stuff for several years now. “So…” Gummy started. “I’m hungry now. Can we order some pizza?” > The meaning of life > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back in the main library, everypony was waiting patiently for Pinkie Pie to continue explaining. For once, she clearly knew more than anypony else. Pinkie put her brainy specs back on, only to have Gummy whisper in her ear that she was wearing them upside down again. Needless to say, everypony was struggling to take her seriously. She grabbed her pointing stick and pointed to the chalk board. “Now, since the multiverse is way too complicated to explain normally, let me explain it through visual example.” “Imagine if you will, that the multiverse centering around Equestria is a library, in a town where every building is also a library. In our library, the centerpiece is a book called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It’s not really a book, but let’s simplify the explanation by saying it is.” “All the other books in the library are fan made stories created by creatures who loved the book, and decided to write their own stories to test their writing abilities.” “Our story however- By that I mean, our 2 dimensions, and the interaction between them.- Was based on a story based on the idea that in another dimension, our pets could be ponies. This was actually based on a drawing made for the sake of making it, but that’s irrelevant.” “We are the rare example of a fan-fiction, being based on another fan-fiction.” “Before you even consider the idea that us being characters in a set of stories makes our lives pointless, let me tell you the meaning of life. We are art, created because of one’s brilliant creativity, and even that was based on something else, like a brilliant fan-fiction that started a brony revolution. And with each and every “brony” that imagines something about us, there’s bound to be someone who will put pen to paper and make another story to share their imagination.” “It may sound strange, but we exist so that more existence can be created. We are the parody, of an art parody, of a brilliant piece of art, that was based on a not so brilliant, but still nostalgic piece of art. We are the paragon of the fact that anything is possible, and living proof of the many worlds interpretation and multiverse theory in quantum mechanics.” She took off her glasses. “Of course if you ask which dimension came first, you could also apply such theories to say that in one dimension we were written by someone, and thus came second. While at the same time in another dimension, we exist without the dictation of others, and someone wrote the stories because they felt the echo of our existence in their brains.” She sighed heavily. “Man, all this brainy talk makes my head hurt. Your thoughts Twilight?” Twilight said nothing, just staring at Pinkie. “Pinkie, you just told us the meaning of life. What could I possibly say in response?” Pinkie rubbed her hoof on her chin. “Um… Ponies are awesome? That’s what the readers will say regardless. Anyway, what we need to do is simple. We just use Owloysius’s dimensional travel formula to get the pet-ponies back where they belong. I would say we could make a new formula to make the portal right here in the library, but numbers make my brain hurt.” She sat on her haunches. “Speaking of which, I need to lie down for a while. That’s the most brainy talk I’ve done in, well, forever!” She lied down and instantly started to snore, her right hind leg twitching in the cute way it usually does . Gummy picked up the phone. “Can we order pizza now? I haven’t had my lunch break yet.” Rainbow Dash, not even bothering to pretend she understood what Pinkie said, spoke in approval. “I feel pretty hungry too. Who’s up for cheese pizza?” She said raising her hoof. Everypony except for Twilight raised their hooves. To which Twilight responded- “Are you kidding me? Pinkie just made the most profound speech ever to be spoken, and told us the meaning of life, and you’re more concerned about pizza!?” Owloysius put his hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Let’s look at this logically. Pinkie Pie’s the only one who could get us home, and she’s asleep. We’re all feeling hungry at the moment, and have nothing to do while we wait for Pinkie to wake up. I think the only logical thing to do is to get something to eat.” Twilight tried to come up with a witty come back, but gave up and decided it was a good idea. “You’re right. You know, you’re really smart.” Owloysius held his head up in pride. “What would you expect from the owl of Ponyville’s best and brightest?” … Meanwhile, the author couldn’t help but feel this chapter was too short, and that Pinkie falling asleep didn’t make as much sense as he originally thought. Even so, now burned out on the inspiration that got him writing this chapter, he decides to begin fixing spelling errors, and posts the chapter anyway. > Wanna make out again? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gummy chewed his pizza while being deep in thought. None of the “pet ponies” cared about this, since staring off into space was normal for him, but he still earned some strange glances from the so called “Elements of Harmony”. He didn’t care though, he had something much more important on his mind. If this isn’t a dream, then that means I’ve got much worse luck than I expected. Gummy was willing to accept the idea that he was just the figment of Opal’s imagination, and that his experience with Pinkie Pie was just one of Opal’s dreams. It made sense. Or at least, it made more sense than this. Pinkie said she had a toothless alligator named Gummy, who in Opal’s dreams, was just an animal representation of himself. He woke up on top of a small cushion covered in green scales. That meant that Gummy, the gator, had been shedding in his sleep. In Opal’s dreams, Pinkie Pie was the hard worker at Sugar Cube Corner, not Gummy. This made more sense, since Gummy was just a toothless alligator, and therefor, incapable of such a career. Wether Gummy was dreamed up as a gator or a pony didn’t matter, because if Pinkie Pie was there, it had to be a dream. Pinkie Pie was just a pony that didn’t exist. For Gummy, this was a good thing. If Gummy wasn’t real, and only emulated thoughts for the sake of a dream, then he didn’t have to worry about saying goodbye to this lovely pink mare. 1. They’d both disappear once the dream ended. 2. They wouldn’t be sad about it, because they didn’t really exist. To Gummy, this made his romance with Pinkie Pie acceptable. Now that he knew this wasn’t a dream though, it meant something big. He’d have to say goodbye. Either that, or he’d have to abandon his friends, his family, and his home just to stay close to a pony he fell head over hooves for. It depended on what was permitted really. Could he do it? Could he really just abandon his friends just because he was in love? He’d only known this pony for a few hours. She was just some crazy pink ball of energy with cotton candy smelling hair, a slim figure despite her constant consumption of sweets..a way of making ponies smile whenever she enters a room…eyes that shined like beautiful blue gemstones in the sunlight…. a tongue that tasted so sweet and yet so spicy…….. Ok, clearly he was in love, he couldn’t deny that. In fact, it took every fiber of his being not to just run over and make out with her while she was sleeping, but that wasn’t the point. He was facing a serious life decision now. Leave his friends, or leave this beautiful mare. He tried taking another bite of his pizza, only to bite into his hoof instead. “Ouch! What the-” He looked at his hooves, and saw he’d already finished off the pizza he was eating. “Oh, whoops.” Angel laughed. “Dude, I’ve seen you get distracted, but never that distracted!” Gummy sighed. “I’ve been thinking…” “About what?” Opal responded. Gummy looked at his friends. This wasn’t easy to explain, but he had to get it off his chest. “Suppose… not all of us wanted to go back home.” Everypony stopped eating, and looked at Gummy. “What?” they all said. “Bear with me.” He said. “If one of us wanted to stay here, in this dimension, could they?” Angel gave him annoyed glare. “Gummy, I know you have a crush on that pink nut job, but there’s a difference between being nice, and being stupid. We aren’t even supposed to be here.” “Who says we aren’t?” Gummy retorted. “I genuinely love Pinkie Pie, so why not just live here? I could just apply for work at Sugar Cube Corner again, find a new place to stay, and stay with Pinkie until I do.” Winona nodded her head in agreement. “That’s true, Applejack was plannin’ on hirin’ me for herdin’ at the farm!” “Whoa whoa whoa!” Applejack interrupted. “Ah didn’t know ya were from another dimension! I don’t know if Ah could still hire you.” Tank joined in also. “Yeah. And besides, what about friends and family?” Owloysius spoke. “Not to mention we don’t know what that could do to the time-space-continuum.” “I agree with Gummy.” Everypony looked at Opal. “I’m not sure if I want to leave either.” She said. Angel shook his head. “Opal, you can’t be serious.” “I am.” She said. “I never told you guys, but I envy my feline self. She lives a life of luxury while I live the stressful life of a business owner. At home, I feel like my life is missing something. I want things to be easier for me. And I’ve had the time of my life helping Rarity with her work, and taking care of her sister Sweetie Belle. So what’s stopping me from staying here with Gummy?” “No.” Everypony looked off to the side, where Pinkie Pie was sleeping, to see her up and upset. “That’s not gonna happen.” She walked over to the table and grabbed a few slices of pizza. “As tempting as it may be to let you guys stay, that’s just not the way things can go. It would make no sense.” Twilight grabbed her notebook and a pencil. “How so?” Pinkie put her brainy specs on again, this time without them being upside down. “It’s like writing a book. The ending has to make sense. If we let them stay here, that leaves too much room for plot holes.” She pointed to Gummy. “The description of this story states that our love is star crossed, and therefor having an ending that lets us easily be together wouldn’t make sense.” She gestured to everypony. “Not to mention all the pet ponies have important places in their world. They’re essentially the Elements of Harmony. Even if they haven’t shown importance in their history yet, chances are they will later on. And something tells me that, much like us, they will prove to be Equestria’s most important means of defense.” She scarfed down the two pizzas she was holding, then chugged the milk she pulled out of thin air. Rarity of course scoffed at this while pinkie continued explaining. “You can’t take someone away from their home unless it’s necessary, and that necessity isn’t always permanent.” She took off her glasses. “Besides, what kind of moral to the story is there when the main character can just leave their life, family, and friends behind to find herself? Sure life is better here for Opal, but she could jeopardize her own Equestria if she leaves forever. You have to draw the line somewhere!” She turned around. “Now if you’ll excuse me. I’m going to get that equation we need on the chalk board. The plot won’t move itself!” She said as she pranced over to the chalkboard in question. The rest of the ponies were left there in silence. Pinkie has never been this serious before. “I can’t believe it.” Gummy said, breaking the silence. “She doesn’t even look sad.” Opal moved over to Gummy’s side and put her hoof on his shoulder. “I’m afraid you have to face it, this just wasn’t meant to be.” “I know that.” He said. “But I thought she’d at least look more sad about it.” “To be fair.” Owloysius started. “Pinkie Pie’s established she has rules to follow. We’re lucky she chose to explain any of this to us. She probably didn’t know you’d feel this attached to her.” Opal joined in. “Very true. She might have seen this as nothing serious to begin with.” “Then why did she have to kiss me?” Nopony responded. Gummy looked Opal in the eye. “If she knew from the beginning I couldn’t have her forever, then why did she have to make me feel this way? She didn’t have to show me those feelings, but she did anyway. Why did she do this to me?” “Because.” Tank said, getting everypony’s attention. “She knew you couldn’t have her forever. The fact that you can’t stay together only makes your love more special.” He lowered his gaze. “I know that if I could only spend one day with the best mare in the world, I wouldn’t be complaining. Instead, I’d spend as much time with her as I could.” He looked at Gummy with a serious gaze. “Not many ponies get to experience this feeling, and sometimes it only happens once in their lives. If you think about it, this is your chance to see what you’ve really been missing in life, and what you should be looking for when you get back.” He pointed over to the pink mare scribbling numbers on the chalk board. “So go and spend as much time with her as possible. You might never get the chance again.” Gummy looked over to Pinkie Pie, then to his friends. They urged him to go over to her. He looked at Tank, who nodded. Gummy smiled. “Thanks Tank.” He walked over to Pinkie Pie to see what he could do to help. Angel looked at Tank. “Wow. Since when did you become Dr. Love?” Tank blushed, averting his gaze from Rainbow Dash. “Let’s just say, I know what it feels like to be in love.” … Pinkie continued to put a bunch of random numbers on the chalk board. She obviously had no idea how to get the mathematic aspect of this mission done, as previously established by herself, but she needed to let Gummy speak to his friends alone. Or at least that’s what the author wanted to happen, and what he she or it says goes. The author responded to Pinkie’s quote on him being a he she or it by pretending to punch her and have her head spin around in a cartoonish manner. All of this happened outside of the story, but the audience always enjoys interaction between Pinkie and the author, so he typed this down anyway. Gummy walked over to Pinkie, hoping to say something like “Need any help?”. It’s a shame he didn’t get to say this because Pinkie grabbed him, and threw him at the chalk board, flipping the side she was drawing random numbers on to the other side, and blocking Gummy from view. She proceeded to walk around the chalk board to speak with Gummy, after writing “No interruptions please.” on the side facing her friends. This of course left everypony, except Winona who was too ignorant to even think of such a thing, that Pinkie and Gummy were making out with each other again. Gummy got up, shaking his head. “Pinkie Pie, why did you-” Pinkie then proceeded to make out with Gummy. In hindsight, this outcome was obvious. Gummy heavily enjoyed her kiss, closing his eyes as their tongues danced in each others mouths. Gummy was once again treated with Pinkie Pie’s flavor of sugar and spice, as Pinkie was treated with his taste of bubble gum. Pinkie ended the kiss and said. “Let’s run away together.” Gummy was awe struck. Could she really be speaking truthfully? Were his recent fantasies coming to life? Was this his chance to start his new life of luxury? “Before you even ask, no that’s not what I mean.” She dropped him down to the ground with a thud. “I mean I know you are like, the cutest guy I’ve ever met in my life, but the facts still stand. We can’t be together forever.” She leaned over him and whispered into his ear. “But that doesn’t mean we have to make the story go forward just yet.” She said. Gummy’s eyes widened more. “Pinkie, you couldn’t possibly mean you want to-“ “Delay the story with pointless filler of us dating while the others try and fail to find a solution, only to have us come back from the date of the century to save the day with knowledge we could’ve given them from the beginning? That’s exactly what I want to do!” She looked past the authors colorful computer screen. “And the author too. He loves shipping, and would hate himself if he didn’t have us at least get one date together.” Gummy smiled. This was exactly what he wanted, a chance to enjoy the time he had with the mare or his dreams. He nodded his head in excitement. … Twilight prepared her notes once again. She and the others had just finished eating, and were ready to begin the journey between dimensions. This was Twilight’s chance to learn the ways of the multiverse even further straight from the source of its complexity. Suddenly Pinkie ran past her with Gummy in tow saying a quick. “Hi Twilight! By Twilight!” Leaving a piece of paper to slowly float down onto Twilight’s unsuspecting face. Picking up the note with her magic, she read it aloud. “B.R.B. Goin’ on a date with Gummy. Do some trial and error with Owloysius’ equation and see what happens while we’re gone.” “P.S. The numbers I wrote on the board are meaningless and meant to make me look smart, just ignore them.” Heavily freaking out that a very important matter is being ignored for the sake of a date, Twilight ran over to the entrance and shouted “Wait! Pinkie Pie, come back here!! PINKIE PIE!!” She turned over to Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash! Go after her!” Rainbow Dash got up into the air and saluted. “Got it!” She said, chasing after Pinkie and her new colt friend. “Oh no you don’t!” Angel said, getting ready to go after her. “I’m at least 20% faster than you!” He said, flying after her. “Oh boy.” Opal said. “This is going to turn into a race.” Winona clapped her hooves together. “Yay racing!”