//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Crossed Universes // by Dinky Doo //------------------------------// Wyverns- creatures much like dragons, but instead of four legs, it only has two. Its wings work much like forelegs, with small claws at the ends. Instead of being related to dragons or ponies, there are many theories that Wyverns are descended from bats. A purple unicorn sat on the floor of her library, her forelegs resting on a pillow. The book she was reading was floating in front of her, surrounded by violet magic. It was a red volume entitled, ‘Guide to the Creatures of the Everfree’. She was just starting the chapter on Wyverns. Her stomach growled, interrupting her reading. She used her magic to float the book over to the nearest table and dropped it there. The table was made out of wood, like her entire house. It was understandable; the library she lived in was built into a tree. She trotted across the room to a door in between two big bookcases. She gently kicked it open with a front hoof and walked in. It was a kitchen. There wasn’t much- her and her assistant, Spike, didn’t cook much. They usually bought fresh fruit in the market and ate there- their kitchen was mostly for leftovers. However, they didn’t seem to have any food left in the kitchen- this was proven by a quick search through the cabinets. She looked all over the kitchen, even though she knew she would find nothing. Giving up, she decided to return to her reading. She had barely made it into the previous room and pick up her book before she was interrupted by a knocking on her door. Knock… Knock… Knock She trotted over to the door and opened it with her magic, revealing an orange earth pony with a blonde mane that was tied near the end. “Heya, Twi!” the guest said cheerfully. “We were gonna have a picnic, do ya wanna come?” “Of course, Applejack!” Twilight responded at once, then glanced back at her kitchen. “Oh… I’m sorry, but I don’t have any food to bring with me.” “There’s no need, we got all the food we need.” Applejack insisted. Twilight sighed with relief. She didn’t want to seem rude, but she really didn’t have any food. “Maybe I’ll go down to the market later today and fill the kitchen.” “I’ll make sure to give ya a free apple.” Applejack winked. She turned and trotted away, calling over her shoulder, “We’re havin’ the picnic right now, down by the park!” Twilight just rolled her eyes in a happy manner before following, making a mental note to go shopping after the picnic. Suddenly, just before she slipped out the door, something caught her eyes. She turned to look at it, and saw a sparkling, golden book with silvery letters on its spine. The letters wrote out the title, ‘Scientific Pony Theories’. It was on the bookshelf closest to the door, which was where she put the books that she had recently gotten from a bookshop that had gone out of business. And she hadn’t gotten a chance to read them yet. She quickly walked over to the book and used her magic to pull it off the shelf. She cracked it open and scanned the contents. Introduction….4 The Alicorn Theory….7 The Griffon Theory….20 Evolution Theory….33 Alternate Universes Theory….48 It went on, but Twilight stopped reading after ‘Alternate Universes Theory’. She quickly levitated her saddlebags over onto her back and trotted out the door, levitating the book in front of her. She would read it on the way to the park and when she got there, she would put it back in her saddlebags. She chose a subject at random and flipped to that page. It was the Alternate Universes Theory chapter. She started reading while she walked- something she was great at, she almost never ran into another pony anymore. She did it all the time- who says you can’t learn while moving? There are many theories that there are other universes other than the one we all live in- there could be more than anypony can count. There could be an infinite number of other universes out there, each with different realities, creatures and much more. The law of great numbers states that it is possible for there to be many universes that don’t even have magic, ponies, dragons nor anything else that we find utterly normal in our world. Unfortunately, there is no way of proving this theory, as there is no way to reach another universe. As a great scientist and teacher, Dewey Decimal, once said, “Not even the strongest can reach these alternate worlds; no amount of magic can teleport a pony to a place he or she is not meant to be.” As Twilight read, she walked carefully along the roads of Ponyville, glancing up every once in awhile to make sure she didn’t run into anypony. Finally, she reached the park to find her five friends sitting on a red-checkered blanket, enjoying their picnic. “I was wondering when you would show up.” The blue Pegasus, Rainbow Dash, said. She held a sandwich in her hoof, ready to eat it. “You were taking forever.” “Sorry, but I found this really good book.” Twilight explained, waving the book she was reading in the air. She then levitated her saddlebags onto the ground and stowed her book inside them. “It’s called ‘Scientific Pony Theories’, and It’s really interesting.” She continued, sitting on the blanket and using her magic to grab the nearest sandwich. “I was reading about this theory that there could be other universes out there, ones completely opposite of ours.” By the stares Rainbow Dash and Applejack were giving her, Twilight knew they hadn’t understood. “I mean,” she said, trying to think of a better way of explaining it, “What if there was another world, just like ours, with one key difference? Like, if everything we did, our personalities, our thoughts, our government, everything was the same, but we were all dragons?” Applejack thought on it for a moment before saying, “I’m havin’ trouble picturin’ that.” However, it seemed Pinkie Pie understood perfectly. “Oh, oh, oh!” She said, clapping her hooves, “Does that mean there could be one universe where were cupcakes?” “Actually, yes.” Twilight nodded, “There are so many, it’s possible that in some, the laws of physics could be entirely different.” “If everything was reversed,” Fluttershy spoke quietly, glancing at a passing bunny who hopped across the grassy patch where they were having their picnic. “does that mean, if I was a bunny, I would care for ponies instead?” Rarity giggled, “I’ve just had the strangest thought.” she said, “If we were in an alternate universe where we were all dresses, would I make ponies?” They all shared a small laugh at that then left the subject behind as they cheerfully discussed Pinkie Pie’s latest party. That night, Twilight sat awake, thinking. She would normally be studying by candlelight at this time, as the moon was rising in the sky, but today she just felt like lying in her bed and reflecting on how her day had gone. She couldn’t stop thinking about the alternate universes. Could there really be an infinite number of universes out there? If only she could see, if only she could look into those other universes and observe. She could prove one of the oldest theories in the world. Then she remembered what Dewey Decimal said; “Not even the strongest can reach these alternate worlds.” If the greatest scientists of all time couldn’t reach the other universes, why did she think she could? “Nonsense!” she muttered to herself. “I’m the Element of Magic! If anypony could see these other universes, I would be me!” She quickly quieted when she heard Spike mumble in his sleep, remembering not to wake her sleeping assistant. She smiled and blew out the candle beside her bed. “It can wait until morning.” She said, then rolled over and pulled the blankets over her head. Millions of realities away, a young woman with purple and pink hair was laying in her bed as well, thinking over her day. It had been terrible. First of all, her assistant, Spike, had woken her early. This was the first of many annoyances that day. Second, the mail-woman had delivered the wrong mail to her house. She would have complained about it, but the mail-woman was a bit sensitive. Many made fun of her because her eyes were always crossed, but at the end of the day, she was just another human being trying to get through life like the rest of them. Thirdly, there were vandals that kept spray-painting the side of the library with inappropriate designs. Each day she had to clean it off, a tedious task that she only did to spare the eyes of the children that came to her library daily. She had even called the cops, but no one was ever caught. She made a mental note to hook up a camera outside if it happened again. Fourth, when she had had a picnic with her friends earlier, ants had gotten into the picnic basket and had gotten all the food. The only upside to today was that she had gotten a lot of reading done. Each day, life seemed even more pointless, and all she had was a few friends and books. The world was a dark place full of depression and fear. There may be happiness and smiles for awhile, but they always faded into the sadness again. Rolling over, the woman looked at a picture on her bedstand. It was a framed picture of her and her six friends. She was in front, a tall woman with box-cut purple hair that had pink streaks in it. In front of her, sitting, was Spike, a young boy with green, spiky hair. Then, standing around them, were five more. The pudgy woman with straight pink hair was Pinkie Pie, the beautiful woman with curled purple hair was Rarity, the woman with rainbow-colored hair that was holding up her hand in the peace-sign was Rainbow, the woman with blonde hair that had a rubber band to hold it together at the end was Applejack, and lastly, the woman with long pink hair that curled at the ends was Fluttershy. She smiled lightly at the picture before rolling over and pulling the covers over her head. Life on Earth was hard, but she had long come to terms with that. Everyone had to live through it, and they might as well have fun while they were doing it. They all just had to admit that there wasn’t a magical place filled with happiness where their worries could evaporate, that their lives weren’t and could never be fairy tale.