//------------------------------// // Mind Games // Story: Bloom Filter // by ferret //------------------------------// “Go, Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle cheered. “Take... that!” the little orange pony declared, and as she did, she released the rubber band on her impromptu catapult, sending a wobbling red balloon flying right for the high school’s brick walls. When it hit the school, it exploded into a giant red splatter of paint, covering the windows, and dribbling down the ruined eaves. “I’m gonna wreck this place,” Noi said indulgently, the smoothly tan earth filly loading blue balloon after blue balloon into her launcher, and aiming them right for the school statue. Soon, the statue was covered with globby, blue paint, completely ruining its stone surface and making the passing cars screech to avoid being splattered. “Watch me! Watch me!” Apple Bloom squealed excitedly, kicking a balloon full of yellow paint into the ballista assembly, and cranking it back with her mouth. She let loose, just as a teacher opened the window with a completely flabbergasted look on her face to shout at them. The poor guy ended up with a face full of paint, spluttering as he fell back from the window, coated from the waist up in yellow paint. “You got a teacher!” Scootaloo said in surprise. “You really are magic, Apple Bloom!” “It’s a gift,” she smirked, kicking out a paint splattered hoof. Sweetie was in the middle of barraging the cafeteria in puce, when Apple Bloom didn’t notice someone watching them sadly from the forest nearby. “Code 3, girls!” she shouted, “Go!” And as one, they all started hurling whatever they could find on hoof into the forest, which in this case was paint filled balloons. There was a surprised squawk, as the forest sort of ballooned like a distorted lens, then shrank into nothing with a pop. “Into the paint!” Apple Bloom shouted, and threw down a blue balloon on the ground, jumping bodily into the blue splatter like it was a doorway into a world of uniform blue. The other two soon followed, and soon they were falling endlessly, with nothing but blue around them as they fell through nothingness, peering around intently. Then Scootaloo shouted, “I see her! Grab on!” and she tossed two tow bars on ropes, that the two friends hooked their hooves around while Scootaloo shot forward like a bullet, her wings buzzing as the blue turned into a warped star field, each star streaking around them like they were going at light speed. As they came out of warp, they found themselves in low orbit around a bright blue-green planet rich with life. Scootaloo’s voice came over the com unit shouting, “I lost her!” The four fillies were dressed in sealed space suits from head to toe, with domed helmets, and rocket boosters on each of them. Noi pulled out her ray gun and set it on scanner sweep, knowing they only had seconds to work here. “She’s on the planet’s surface!” Noi shouted urgently, firing her boosters to power her head-first at the planet right into a freefall. Jets burning to either side of her indicated her friends were there as well, and they all hit the surface with a thundering crash. Stalking through the dense jungle below, Scootaloo whispered to Sweetie Belle, “She just came this way. You go left and we can head her off.” Sweetie nodded, and melted silently into the foliage. At a single hoof wave, Noi went the other direction. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo spread out too, stalking their target like lions in the jungle. Their paws were silent on the ground as they crept around with a feline grace, their quarry unable to tell where the sound of a growl, or a swift guttural roar was coming from. As they closed in for the kill, they had her surrounded on all four sides. Nowhere left to run. As one they all prepared to leap. Sweetie Belle spun around then and leaped behind herself. Her white lion’s paw was abruptly a smooth white hoof again, connecting right with the nose of a surprised looking winged unicorn. The lilac dream princess stumbled back as Apple Bloom, Noi and Scootaloo had doubled around, surrounding her for real this time. Scootaloo tackled her, holding tight on her back, while Noi hooked her hooves around the princess’s neck, and Apple Bloom outright bit down on the princess’s starlit tail and hung on for dear life. Meanwhile, Princess Twilight started bucking like a pony at a rodeo. “We just want to talk!” Sweetie Belle shouted, standing before her as the princess bucked mightily, reduced to the actions of a startled horse as she tried to dislodge the other three fillies. But Apple Bloom had a jaw like a steel trap, and Noi had successfully ridden Winona before as practice, so there was no chance of escape there. And Scootaloo had her hooves hooked right under the princess’s wings, because as the old adage goes, it doesn’t matter how much bigger they are than you. They’re not flying anywhere without their wings. Or uh, something like that. “Please go away! I don’t want to hurt you anymore!” exclaimed the horrified Twilight Sparkle, who was not the Twilight Sparkle they knew in the waking world. “You won’t hurt us!” Sweetie Belle insisted. “But what if I do?” Princess Twilight retorted fearfully. “Then Noi will hit your horn!” Sweetie Belle countered. “Twi—the other Twilight told us you can’t use magic if we can hit your horn!” “I ...can’t?” the princess said in confusion, lighting up her—Noi whacked her horn from where she perched atop the princess’s head, and it flickered like mad. “Gah!!” the princess shouting, and what remained of the jungle dropped into a simple star field. “So you have to talk with us now,” Apple Bloom stated from where she now stood atop Princess Twilight’s ethereal tail. “An’ we won’t take no for an answer!” “What was Scootaloo dreaming about in that castle town?” Noi said suspiciously. “What did you remember?” “And why did you try to give me amnesia!” Scootaloo shouted from her place perched on the princess’s posterior. “I...” the princess couldn’t back away from them. “I don’t remember!” she shouted desperately, turning in circles to escape Apple Bloom. “I don’t remember enough! I only remember that everypony was screaming and running and scared and I—I didn’t care! Because I only wanted to hurt Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom looked around nervously, as things started to fade into that castle town again. “Please princess, try to remember,” she pleaded. “Why were you trying to hurt Scootaloo?” “I don’t know!” the princess wailed. “Yes you do!” Apple Bloom shouted back. “You said you remembered! What did you remember?” “That I had to—to do something horrible to her!” Princess Twilight exclaimed. “She was my friend and I had to hurt her, because... because I...” “Princess, come on,” Scootaloo said wearily from her position back there. “You don’t want to hurt us. You’re just remembering something bad. You don’t have to hurt me anymore. I’m fine. Everything is fine, and you’re just having a bad dream!” “I... I’m... dreaming?” the princess asked in confusion. She looked at Scootaloo curiously, who was still hanging on her back for dear life mind you, and Noi readied her hoof just in case the princess decided to try something. “Of course I’m dreaming,” the princess said in realization. “I’m always dreaming! I can’t not dream, because there’s nothing besides dreams, except... except you.” “And you!” she said turning to face Sweetie Belle. “And you!” she said looking back at Apple Bloom. “And... you too,” she said, crossing her eyes and looking up at Noi, “And so many ponies,” she said as... things started to swirl around them. “Why are there so many ponies now?” the princess asked, feeling like she was surrounded by swirling faces. “Why are they all real?” “Just calm down, princess,” Noi said patiently. “We just need you to calm down, so that you can remember.” “I... remember, I...” Twilight said unhappily, while the shadows of ponies gone past thundered around them, as they all tried to outrun... something. “I had to hurt Scootaloo! I don’t want to hurt her!” “But why?” Sweetie Belle pressed the beleagured princess. “Why do you need to hurt her? Can’t you just leave her alone?” “No!!” the princess said, staring at Sweetie Belle in terror. “I can’t let her die! I can’t let her just disappear! She saved you! You were all going to be fine! I—I didn’t have any choice!” “There’s always a choice, princess,” Noi said calmly. “You chose to hurt Scootaloo, because you didn’t know what else to do. But what should you have done instead?” “I should have... I... I don’t know,” Twilight said mournfully, sinking right down to her belly on the cobblestones. They were all the way back in that castle town again, but rather than being crowded by ponies, everything just seemed... empty, dilapidated... sad. “I felt like she would... die if I didn’t do that,” Twilight said softly. “No, worse than die. She would disappear, like... like waking up but the opposite. Her timeline would... she needed to be erased, before she was... erased.” “What do you mean, princess?” Sweetie Belle asked. “What do you remember about a... timeline?” “It’s a... time... thing that goes back behind you,” Twilight tried to explain, scrunching in confusion. “It’s everything that happened before, but just your own dreams but... I’m probably remembering wrong. I just remember that something... bad happened to her, and it was all my fault for letting you leave, and I had to fix her or... or something really bad would happen.” “Well, you fixed me!” Scootaloo said nervously. “I’m already fixed! Nothing bad’s happening. Everything’s perfectly fine. So you don’t have to do it again. Okay?” “Again...?” the princess asked, peering at the pony on her butt in more horror as she shouted, “Oh Celestia I almost did it to you again oh no oh no I made a mistake I should have oh no oh Celestia oh no oh no...” The princess walked in panicked circles, until Scootaloo jumped down. The princess then descended into sobbing on her belly, with her hooves wrapped over her face at this point, the exact opposite of threatening. Noi remained poised on the princess’s head, just in case. As Scootaloo joined Sweetie Belle, the little white unicorn asked, “Princess, who is ‘Celestia?’” The princess grew quiet at that. “I don’t remember,” she mumbled, then lifted her tear stained face, to look at them with a silly, awestruck expression, saying distantly, “But she was as beautiful as the sun.” The spring was in full swing as May went on. Grass was growing, flowers were blooming, and ponies were finally finding out what a joy it was to taste such delights. “Oh my god. I am growing zinnias forever!” “You think those are good? Try these crocuses!” “Oh those are amazing, but they aren’t blooming anymore! Besides, now we have alliums coming in. You can eat them like cotton candy!” “Aster~ aster~” “Stop rolling in the asters!” Spring was definitely a hit among ponies. And of course Apple Bloom had to spend it sitting inside, trying to do homework. She hated, hated, hated this. She should have been happy with her success. Lots of ponies even brought her tasty flowers! She just didn’t have any free time to pick them herself, or smell them, or roll around in them. Apple Bloom didn’t want to wish it, but she did. She wished she would get suspended. She had one more month to go until summer vacation, and the closer it got, the more tortuous it was. She didn’t want to keep getting in trouble like she was, but... but... the sun was shining outside! Maybe she could just take a little break. Apple Bloom found Scootaloo downstairs with a bunch of ponies, young and old, all vying for the video game system that someone had dragged in. It was that go-kart tournament game that was pretty popular or something. Of course, watching ponies squeeing in excitement and twisting around trying to get their controllers to respond faster to the crazy car crashes onscreen was ten times as interesting as math homework, but Apple Bloom kind of wanted to go out and play in the sun. “Hey, Scootaloo!” she said over her friend’s shoulder. “Hold on Apple Bloom, my turn is next!” Scootaloo said distractedly, eyes on the race. Apple Bloom shrugged, and settled down to wait. She could do Scootaloo’s thing for a bit, and Scootaloo’d be more than happy to help with hers. Settling down on her haunches, she watched the ponies go at it. Ponies played on the controllers with their forehooves, by and large. Even the few unicorns who’d gotten the hang of levitation, well Scootaloo said it was hard for them to just levitate the button and not the whole controller. So Apple Bloom actually wouldn’t be at a huge disadvantage, if she liked playing these things, that is. It was a strange coincidence that a game controller when set upright on the floor had two circles on it, one for the plus thingy, one for the buttons. Humans used just their thumbs on those, at a kind of awkward angle, but a pony could use a forehoof for each thumb, rotating it like a thumb to change directions on the plus thingy, or to press different buttons. The side buttons were a problem, but a swift hoof could snake out and hit one without a lot of trouble. “The best player so far actually plays the controller pointed away from the screen,” Scootaloo explained at one point, “Button hits the top buttons with his hind hooves, and just switches up for down on the D-pad.” “The what-pad?” Apple Bloom had replied. Scootaloo groaned and clarified, “The plus thingy.” Well, Scootaloo got her turn to play, and she was no slouch either. She held the controller tight against her chest with her wings, and used the individual feathers to push the side buttons... somehow. Seemed like each “tribe” as it was supposed to be called, had their own way of managing those side buttons. If push came to shove, Apple Bloom just figured she’d use her tongue or something, and gross everyone out of competing with her. “Yes!” Scootaloo cheered as her little guy crossed the finish line first. “Aww...” said the curly haired blueberry colored full grown mare Scootaloo was playing against. “I’ll never ge’ it!” “Sure you will,” Scootaloo chirped up to the larger mare. “I’m Scootaloo! I’ve had way longer to get used to this. See how you do against the next pony. I bet you’ll kick her tail!” The blue mare glanced at the next pony, who rolled her eyes as Scootaloo passed the controller over to her: a curly chocolate haired filly with a flour colored coat of fur. The brown filly half smiled at the blue mare and said sympathetically, “I ha’ to play six people before I bea’ someone last thime.” “See, Rainy?” Scootaloo said to the mare with confidence. “Why don’t you show her what you’ve got!” The blueberry mare smiled at that, and they went to playing. Scootaloo watched a little longer, until Apple Bloom said, “Hey Scoots, ah’m taking a break! Wanna go out an mess around?” “Would I?” Scootaloo said excitedly, turning to face Apple Bloom. “Did you see the weather out there? It’s awesome!” They were making their way out of the room when a cheer went up behind them, and a blushing victor, the blueberry colored mare got to hand off her controller to the next contestant, just like Scootaloo said she would. Something about that made Apple Bloom smile. Scootaloo was a credit to any team she was on. A few ponies were always outside, at least trying the prospect of grazing. The novelty wore off quickly, since a push mower was so much faster, and now you had a bunch of fresh green hay to eat. And it really did taste better in a salad, or candied, or fried. Nobody’d figured out how to bake grass yet, but it was only a matter of time. But thanks to judicious use of that chainsaw last winter, there was plenty of land to grow grass on. They expanded the meadow, and consciously or unconsciously stayed far away from the northeast edge of the farm where lurked the Edge. There were still a lot of stumps around, but apparantly stump removal was something your average earth pony could do with practice, and a good, strong chain. Scootaloo went on to challenge Apple Bloom to a hoof race, which was a foot race with hooves. Apple Bloom beat her to the finish, but Scootaloo wasn’t using her wings to assist, and the two both laughed it off at the end there, having a great time and just enjoying each other’s company. Meanwhile, in a shaded room, Sweetie Belle squinted, and bit down on the eraserless pencil, marking another column in her derivation, mumbling, “Maybe if I shubstitute the shecant... yessh...” The door slammed open, and Cherry Berry joyously shouted, “Ish hishory time!” She walked—well she didn’t walk, more like fell into the classroom. Her students were staring at her, but she didn’t care. They couldn’t tell her what to do! She could climb back to her feet—woah—okay maybe to her hands and knees, but all on her own! “I know wasshur thinging,” she groaned, lurching up to stare them down disapprovingly, though it was hard, because the world kept swaying from side to side. “Bu’ I’m the teassher here. No’ you. Me! You couln’ teash me ‘cause I’m the teasher hehehe... sho! I get to,” she had to pause to hiccup. “Sho! I ge’ to teash... th’... wha’mm I teashing again?” Scared to her core Cherry demanded to the class, “Wha’m I teashing? I’m a teasher sho you have to tell me wha’m I teashing!” “We’re studying the reign of King Charlemagne,“ said a cute little pony, just sitting in her classroom for some reason. Laughing indulgently, Cherry had to pet the little pony on the head. She had such adorable curls! On the way there though, Cherry fell over again. Having fallen down for some reason, she picked herself heavily off the ground, lurching over to the chalkboard, shouting, “Hokay! Sho Sharlemagney... hehe hish namesh funny. Ish Frensh you know! He’sh from Fransh. I know aaaaall abou’ him. Righ’ over zhere in Fransh das a plashe I was going to, essept noreally. I wash going to ev(hic)rywhere.” She couldn’t get her fingers to hold the chalk for some reason, and it just clattered to the floor, as she stared after it dumbly, saying, “Wash.... wash going to a plashe, a wa’erfall wish my friendsh, jus’ lash weeken’ I jush...” She kind of accidentally lay down beside the chalk, and it was like she was chalk. She was just a bunch of colored chalk, all ready to be written with. “Wash weirld,” she sang, “I’ was like Franshe and... Shaaaarlemayne.” “He wash born in sheven foury two, an’ I know zheshe thingsh,” she instructed from the floor, because it was easier to just stay down here. Someone ran past her out the door as she explained, “Know aaall about Sharley man, even zho doeshn’ matter. Why’sh anyshing I know mattersh?” Then she realized, flailing at the door saying, “Hey! You can’ run out on me! I’m a big impor’ant teasher, who knowsh abou’ thingsh! But zhen I wen’ there an’ zhey weren’ zhere! I jus’ wanned to go onna road shrip wish my friensh, an’ there’sh no even road!” Cherry was crying now as she said, “Theresh no Franshe ou’ zhere jush a bunsh of sh..sh... shtuff, an’ zhere washn’ any road or Franshe or my friensh! Shaid zhey meet me onna Shunday bu’ zhey weren’ zhere. Ish it poniesh? Do zhey hate poniesh? How coul zhey hate adorable lil’...” she blanked out for a second. “Sharleymane da Jus’!” Cherry roared authoritatively. Why was she lying on the floor? “Sharley... shomething,” she said, struggling to climb up onto her desk. Looking at her students with terror again. “Shomething’s wrong!” she had to warn them. “Sharley’sh... gone zhere’sh no road an’ I don’ even...” her voice quavered, as she shouted, “I don’ even know wha’ to teash!!” Cherry awoke slowly. She’d... she’d been doing something, hadn’t she? She blinked her eyes open, and blinks felt... weird. She was laying in a... oh no. She sat up from the hospital bed she awoke in. Pain flared in her head and she hissed, grabbing her head. Her hand just kind of... curled around her head though, like a hook. What was wrong with her hand? She looked at her hand and... there were no fingers. Blinking, she curled the one finger she could feel, and the tip of her arm... curled in front of her? She was staring at a furry cylinder instead of a hand. It was thick and strong, and made for walking on, tipped with a crescent of bony material, the same bright pink color as the rest of her, save for the golden yellow, volumnuous tail emerging from beneath her oversized hospital gown. “Uh oh...” she said scratchily, looking at her other arm, which had a pale spot that had been... shaved, into which was going a needle connected to a tube. She could feel the I.V. tugging at her own arm, a regrettably familiar feeling, but not a familiar arm. “Nurshe?” she called out in alarm. Her voice was raw though, like it got sometimes, and her ears were... strange. The loud noise out of her mouth made her ears jerk or something. Everything felt painfully sensitive. She remembered this place had a... call button. So instead of calling louder, she looked around and spotted it on a table near her. Reaching for it with her free hand, she grabbed... oh. It skittered away when her new hand thing smacked it, and she sat up faster, scrambling to hook it back to her somehow. She cradled the precious device to her chest, sinking back down into the bed with another flare of pain in her head. Her chest was smooth and round, entirely devoid of the cleavage she was so used to seeing. So, she really was a... Cherry pushed the call button. Though she ended up having to do so with her nose, it was certainly a big enough nose for the task. A pink and white dressed nurse came in soon, poking her head in and then walking in with a smile. “Oh, you’re up. That’s great!” she said cheerfully. “Coul’ I have shome wa’er?” Cherry asked, smacking her dry lips that felt so different from what she was used to. “Certainly, one moment,” the nurse said, retreating behind the door jam. She returned presently carrying a uh... dog bowl. Cherry’s ears sunk. She needed a drink. From a glass. “Alright, do you need assistance, or can I just put this on your belly?” the nurse asked pleasantly. Cherry looked at her own hand...things, that didn’t even have fingers anymore. “Go ahea’” she sighed, letting the nurse set it atop her, bracing her arms on either side of it, and staring into its surface. Her distorted reflection stared back at her from the water’s surface, so familiar and yet so strange. She glanced up at “Smiley” still standing there. It was bad enough Cherry had to drink like this, but did the nurse have to stand and watch? Cherry finally just swallowed her dignity and dove in, soon swallowing the sweet, sweet elixir. She felt... done after just a couple of gulps, so lifted her dripping muzzle, licking her lips and saying, “Tha’s good... thanksh.” The nurse took away the bowl, and when she returned to check Cherry’s vitals, Cherry looked at her hoof dangling in the nurse’s hands, and asked, “How long have I be’ a pony?” “Oh, since at least yesterday morning,” the nurse said speculatively. “You gave your students quite the scare there, you know?” “Oh...” Cherry was starting to make sense of that mush in her head about the past. “Wai’ sho I was a pony zthen?” The nurse nodded hesitantly, saying, “I didn’t hear the full story, but they say you showed up as a pony, extremely inebriated, trying to teach your class until one of the students went for help. Most faculty give some forward notice I’d imagine, before showing up as a pony.” Cherry’s eyes widened as she started to remember. “Oh no, I came to shool drung again,” she moaned. “You were a lot more than drunk,” the nurse said admonishingly. “You arrived here with a blood alcohol level of 0.36%. That’s enough to kill a—horse, forgive the pun. I’m honestly curious how you did it.” Cherry stared at the nurse blankly. “By dhrinkging?” she suggested. “Oh! You probably don’t know!” the nurse said with a gasp. “You’re a pony now, see, and—” “I know I’ a pony,” Cherry grumbled, holding her head in her uh... hooves. “And ponies appear to be extremely opportunistic herbivores,” the nurse went on undaunted. “So that means you can eat hay now!” “...an’?” Cherry asked flatly. Heck, she’d seen one of the ponies at her apartment eating hay just last week. That was old news. “And hay, or cellulose, is digested by microbial action,” the nurse unhelpfully clarified. “Microbes that break it down to ethanol, among other things!” she said, making no sense whatsoev—wait. “Hyou can ge’ drunk from eating hay?” Cherry asked, looking at her in astonishment. The nurse shook her head. “Oh no. Quite the opposite, really! To be able to digest hay, your body produces loads of alchohol dehydrogenase, a very special molecule that breaks down alcohol into harmless byproducts. Humans have comparatively small amounts, which lets the alcohol reach their brain. That’s why you’ve been the talk of the recovery wing this past day. You are the first pony on record who has successfully become intoxicated!” Cherry stared at the smiling nurse in several shades of incredulity. Finally, she just sank back in her bed, staring at the ceiling and groaning, “I nee’ a drink.” “Hey Rainbow Dash!” After school got out, Scootaloo called out eagerly to her hero, now her pony hero, only to have Rainbow Dash jump up into the air with a yipe. “Oops, sorry,” Scootaloo winced. “I thought you heard me coming.” “Oh, hey Scoosh, ish...” Rainbow tucked her frizzy wings tighter against her sides. Rainbow Dash was looking kind of frazzled in general, actually. She had hairs that were askew, and her tail was drooping, and she just looked... exhausted. Probably from all that flying practice, but still it didn’t seem quite right in Scootaloo’s mind. Was something bothering Dash? “I was jus’ cashing up on reading a lil’” Rainbow Dash said with a jaunty smile that filled her pony snout elegantly and cooly. “Huh, whatcha reading?” Scootaloo asked curiously, craning down to look at the book Rainbow Dash had with her. “Ish an old seriesh I already read,” the rainbow pegasus said, waving a hoof dismissively, “Not much elshe here to do but read though.” “And practice flying, right?” Scootaloo said with a wink. Rainbow Dash must have misstepped then, because she stumbled on the spot which made her stutter a little when she said, “Y-yeah... that.” “Have you flown yet?” Scootaloo asked with an eager smile, “It’s really tricky but once you get the hang of it, it’s really easy! I bet you’re gonna be amazing at it!” Rainbow Dash smiled from the eyes down, and said, “You go’ that right, squirt. Shoon as I get the hang of it, I’ll be zhe best flier yet!” “Oh, you haven’t got it yet,” Scootaloo said, her ears going down. “Well... you’ll get it soon. It can take a while.” She looked up at the larger pegasus, asking, “Have you tried jumping from higher up, like on the roof? It’s actually easier that way, because you have more time to react before you hit the ground.” “Insheresting,” Dash mused calmly. “Maybe I’ll thry that shome time.” “I could give you some tips, maybe,” Scootaloo said, peering around Dash’s side. “Spread your wings and—” But Dash just rotated to face Scootaloo, so the little pegasus couldn’t really get a good look at Rainbow Dash’s wings. “No!” Dash squeaked. “No,” she said more calmly, “I’m fine. Pretty sure I can fighure it ou’ on my own.” “Yeah, that’s what I did,” Scootaloo said feeling a little disappointed, but also relieved. “I wouldn’t really know what to tell you. So, I guess I’ll let you get back to um... ‘The Tangle Box’?” Scootaloo took a double take, gaping at the book, “Wait, I read this! This is Landover!” “Yeah, so?” Rainbow Dash said in honest confusion. “Those shtories are awesome!” “I know!” Scootaloo replied, “But I mean, I thought you only read adventure novels like Treasure Island, and Moby Dick.” “Wow...” Dash said bemusedly, “Been forhever sinshe I read zhose. My tastes kinda changed sinsh then. This one is totally an aventure, bu’ I been reading differen’ stuff. When did I shay I was reading only that?” Scootaloo frowned, saying, “Well it was a few years ago, but... I don’t remember exactly when you talked about it. Have you read all of the Landover series?” “Wishes’ Brew was zhe lasht one, right?” Dash asked. Scootaloo nodded. “Then, yup,” Dash said agreeably. “Jus’ rereading. It’s hard to fin’ shtuff to read aroun’ this ransh.” “Who’s your favorite character?” Scootaloo asked, looking again at the book curiously. “I like Abernashy,” Rainbow Dash replied. “He’s a total egghead, ish adorable. An’ he keepsh saving zhe day just by being shensible.” “I like Strabo!” Scootaloo said, shining eyed. “He’s evil but mostly he’s just the last of his kind. He’s awesomely powerful and always sticks to his code of honor.” “Yeah, Shrabo’s pretty cool,” Dash said, kicking a hoof to the side with a smile. Scootaloo decided that she was going to check out more books and really surprise Dash with something cool that she hadn’t read before. Thinking about what titles to choose, she’d entirely forgotten anything Rainbow Dash said about flying. Dinky had a lot to think about. It started at that Fall Formal, where so many strange things happened. It seemed like meeting Diamond Tiara face to face had been the least life changing moment for him. Finding someone turned into a pony was kind of hard to top on the weirdness scale. Little did he know, but things would spiral out of control with that girl, in a way that was both amazing, and predictable. Had he known, he... might have gotten help for them both, before they had stopped wanting to be helped. When that fiery haired girl had burst in and ruined everything, he couldn’t help but be grateful. Sunset Shimmer was so worried for him, like she was his mother or something, even if she was just an upper classman. And... really it was the best way anyone could have dealt with this disastrous situation. Dinky then went and made the situation even worse, but the counselors told him not to think of it that way. His feelings of helplessness and failure only worsened when the mysterious alien pony girls came and told him what kind of pony he was going to be. Diamond Tiara seemed to take the news even worse than he did, practically, no, literally calling out for the blood of whoever did this to them. He managed to calm Diamond Tiara down though, and at least make her feel better. Make her feel a lot better, in fact. When they got close, it was frightening and fascinating how pregnant she was. Diamond Tiara’s abdomen was slowly becoming smooth and tense, swelling outward in a way that definitely did not have the ‘give’ to it that fat would. She was showing no signs of trying to abort, and in a way, learning of Dinky’s fate gave her even more resolve. “This might be your last chance,” Diamond Tiara had said, laying back and looking at her round belly. “I don’t want you to do it for my sake,” Dinky said in a strained tone. “I didn’t even want to go this far.” “And you did,” she replied, with a little odd smile. Her smile was lost, as the pink girl said, “If I can’t have this, then you might never be able to give me one ever again.” “I suppose that’s literally true,” he replied morbidly. “I wonder if there are magical sex changes.” “Already thinking like a unicorn, huh?” Diamond said teasingly. “She said I was going to be very young,” he replied honestly. “It might be years before I even have magic.” “Well, you’re not young yet,” she said with a grumpy pout. “And I’m not a unicorn yet,” he answered smoothly. “I am still pretty young, anyway.” “Oh, I think you’re old enough,” she said coyly, taking his hand and placing it on her belly. It was so smooth and warm... “And you’re still a boy right now,” she added, “So let’s make the most of that while we can.” Dinky blushed, pulling his hand away. “Again?” he gulped. Diamond Tiara responded by rolling over on top of him and pressing her lips against his. Canterlot General Hospital was an interesting place these days, with 4% of the population as ponies. It was a surprisingly un-busy place though, because they were only admitting people whose health was at risk, and turning into a pony was not considered a health risk. There were a lot more injuries now from accidents, but natural pony resilience was also playing a part. “Are you sure about this, Sweetie Belle?” Twilight Sparkle asked cautiously, speaking in quiet tones. There in the hallway outside one of the hospital rooms, she waited together with two little ponies: Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, and Sunset Shimmer gazing at the door thoughtfully. “We are both sure,” the little yellow farm pony asserted to the purple girl, standing firm next to Sweetie Belle. “Perfessor Berry broke th’ veil thingy, alright. Didn’t make much sense, but she made enough!” “She said there was no road,” Sweetie Belle added quietly. “I think she saw the... Edge. She’s always travelling.” “No, what I mean is, should we tell her?” Twilight asked with a wince. “Cherry Berry is in and out of Canterlot all year,” Sunset Shimmer cut in. Sunset looked at the other three and said, “She only thinks she’s taking trips, but she still interacts heavily with the Edge. That’s one reason she’s... you know.” “Yeah, ah know,” Apple Bloom agreed glumly. “Worst history class ever,” Sweetie Belle groaned, rolling her eyes. “She should be pretty sober now,” Twilight pointed out. “She’s had enough time to clear the... whatever out of her system.” “It’s the best time to tell her,” Sunset agreed with a nod, “And she really needs to know. She could get hurt or worse, if she keeps trying to... leave the city.” “I don’t get why she was leaving in the first place,” Sweetie Belle grumbled. “Wasn’t the whole city under quarantine?” “People do stupid things under the influence of alcohol,” Sunset told the little filly, “And this city doesn’t really have the resources to enforce a quarantine. Not that they need to, but... to make a long story short, she was drunk.” “Ah thought ponies couldn’t get drunk,” Apple Bloom said skeptically. “Maybe she wasn’t all the way a pony when she got drunk,” Sweetie suggested. “I know she was all the way human last Friday.” “And she transformed inside a chaotic geometry?” Twilight winced. “We’re lucky that drunk was all she got.” “So, let’s be careful about this, but we do have to tell her,” Sunset said solemnly, “We should let her know gently, so she doesn’t get too upset.” The four were nodding at each other, when from the inside the room the patient bellowed, “Hey! Nurshe!!” Twilight and Sunset hurried in, faces a mask of alarm to find a very familiar (to Twilight Sparkle) yellow haired, bright pink earth pony, who did not appear to be in any serious distress. She was laying in her oversized hospital bed with an I.V. in her arm. Cherry Berry was a good deal departed from the life of a mare Twilight knew, who piloted a balloon for a living. Below line of sight of the bed, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle crept in after, Sweetie’s hoof hitting the box of a dropped call button on the way in. Looking only at the girls, Cherry asked sloppily, “Ca’ I ged zhish Iphee out?” presenting the arm with the I.V. in it. “I feerl fine.” Twilight brightened, raising her hands and stepping forward, until Sunset grabbed the collar of Twilight’s shirt, dragging her back to a halt. “We’re not nurses,” Sunset explained to Cherry. “We’re just some students, here to wish you well, and tell you something important.” “Oh, righ’” Cherry said, blushing pinker. “Shorry I still soun’ drunk. Ish jus’ zis weilrd mouf.” “Press your tongue harder to the roof of your mouth!” Apple Bloom spoke up. “Then you won’t miss your t’s as much!” “Tee, thee,” Cherry tried, blinking at her success. “Wow, thanksh!” she said, to the empty air. “Uh...” she leaned forward until she caught sight of Apple Bloom down there, remarking, “Hey, you’re tha’ pony in my firsh... firsht period!” “Yeah, about that...” Apple Bloom replied, looking aside and raising an uneasy hoof. “You need to stay inside the city,” Sunset said cautiously to Cherry. “Wha’? Why?!” Cherry said, staring at Sunset, and sitting up straighter. “There’s a kind of ...realm anywhere beyond the city limits, that is very dangerous,” Sunset explained seriously. “You thought it was the real world, but that’s actually just a hologram.” “It’s kind of... unpleasant to directly interact with,” Twilight added with a wince. “Space loops around weirdly, and eventually sends you back the way you came. You broke the glamour concealing it when you became a pony, so you can’t really... you see, you’ve been under a sort of beguilement. The road trips you thought you were making across the country actually are...” she trailed off uncomfortably. “Fake,” Sweetie Belle finished for her. “Wha’ d’you mean faeg?” Cherry asked, looking at the little white unicorn who’d softly trotted to alongside her bed. “It was a trick,” Apple Bloom said to Cherry, with sympathy and sorrow in the orange embers of her eyes. “There is no outside world past this city.” “The spell tricked you into thinking there was a place to go,” Twilight said urgently, “Into thinking you actually went there. It conjours supplies, souvenirs, road dirt. A lot of what appears around here is the product of your world’s interaction with the limitless chaos outside.” “Wh—wha’re you shaying, zhat my friensh are fake?” Cherry said incredulously. “Well, do you have any friends inside the city?” Twilight asked uneasily. “A—An’ magic?!” she replied equally astonished, and a little offended, “Is zhis a trick?” “You turned into a pony,” Sweetie Belle pointed out a little tiredly, like she had to do that a lot. “Magic is real.” “We figured you were going to try again, to find out what happened out there,” Sunset said. “You don’t have to believe us. My friend and I just wanted to warn you, so when you do go out there you won’t be totally confused about what’s happening.” Cherry was quietly thinking for a while, then said in a lost voice, “I don’ have any frien’s in the city.” Then it dawned on her. Something dawned on her at least. “You’re wrong!” she said in aggravation to Sunset. “I know my frien’s an’ they’re not jus’ made up. I meet wish zhem every weekend!” “No, you see it’s just an illusion that—” Sunset started to say, but Cherry interrupted, shouting back, “I’sh no’ an illusion! My friensh are hreal, an’ I go shee zem all zhe time!” Brow darkening, Sunset replied challengingly. “You’re not even remembering any specific friends, only the general concept of friends! Can’t you see how they could be fake?” “Shu’up!” Cherry shouted at her, “I know my fren’s anq they’re real, and they’re realy out there!” “Do you even remember their names?” Sunset shot back. “Yesh!” Cherry shot back. “I ‘member Flitter an’ Clou’ Chaser an’ Cohme’thail an’ Slipshream an’ they’re really oud zhere! Shop saying zhey’re not, because they are ou’ zhere, an’ I’m going to fin’ zhem!” This had gone past arguing, as Cherry continued to shout, “You’re lying! They’re shtill hout zhere! I have to find zhem I shwear zey’rehout there!” Sunset backed up from Cherry with a look of surprise on her face, as the pony continued to unload at her, standing from her hospital bed, moving towards Sunset shouting “You can’ stop me. I have to go fin’ zhem! Zhey were righ’ here! I don’ care if you shay zey’re gone zey’re not an’ you can’—” “What the blazes is all this shouting?” the nurse shouted, running in the room, seeing immediately, Sunset backed to the wall by the angry pink pony who’d forgotten about her I.V. entirely. “Are you accosting the patient?! What’s going on?” “She won’ let me go shave my friens!” Cherry shouted in outrage to the nurse. Cherry really didn’t look so good. Half crouched by the bed, her eyes were unfocused, and her pupils were pinpricks. Sweat was tricking down the left side of her head. “Okay, let’s just calm down here,” the nurse said nervously. “No one is holding anyone here. We’ll just get your I.V. out and—” “No!” Cherry shouted in wild eyed alarm, taking the I.V. assembly down with her as she lurched back and fell off the bed, scooting up against the wall, “You’re doing i’ too! Shay away! You jus’ wan me to forge’ about them! I’ll never forge’ zhem no as long ash I live!!” “We’re—” the bewildered nurse held her hands up, saying, “We’re leaving!” She glared dangerously at Sunset and said, “We’re all leaving.” Turning back to Cherry, she said, “We’ll leave you alone! You can do whatever you want. Just relax, and everything is going to be okay—” The I.V. rack slammed into the wall next to the nurse as Cherry screamed, “Noshing ever ‘nna be okay!!” Everyone booked it. Outside, even with the door closed, the sound of a pony loudly sobbing could be heard. “You all need to leave,” the nurse told the group beside herself with barely repressed fury. “I don’t know what you said to her, but you need to leave. Now. I’m going to call security if you don’t—” “We’re leaving, we’re leaving!” Sunset said frantically. “Come on, everybody, leave the doctors to their... thing, we have to go!” Outside the hospital, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were holding each other and crying together, and Sunset and Twilight were looking like they wished they could do the same thing. “Did you hear what she said?” Twilight asked fretfully. “What could that possibly mean?” “She must have gotten more messed up by the chaotic manifold than I thought,” Sunset said, looking pale. “She was absolutely desperate to preserve the illusion. Could it be controlling her somehow? Making up people that don’t exist, to keep her from realizing the truth?” “Sunset,” Twilight said seriously. “Cloudchaser is one of Ponyville’s top athletes. She has an award for long distance speed flying framed in town hall. Her sister’s name is Flitter. I knew of them through Rainbow Dash. I didn’t know the others, but—but there isn’t anypony even remotely like Cloudchaser on Rainbow Dash’s football team here. My point is that Cloudchaser is a real pony. There couldn’t be people stuck out at the Edge, could there?” “Okay, okay we’re going to talk to Rainbow Dash,” Sunset said, holding up her palms calmingly, “And find out if she knows Cloudchaser’s counterpart here. It could be severely mixed up though. Cloudchaser could be all the way across the city doing something totally different. She could be a guy here. We can’t assume. We’ll just have to look for... records of her, and see if Cherry is willing to tell us what she was talking about back there.” “It was more like a... a fit of some sort,” Twilight said frankly. “I don’t even know if she knew what she was saying.” Apple Bloom was standing before them then, wiping her eyes with a pastern. “Ah’m sorry,” she said tearfully, “Ah didn’t know why you didn’t tell nopony about this an’... an’ now ah do.” “We don’t want to hurt anyone. We just want this to stop...” Sweetie said in a quavering voice coming to stand firm or try to stand firm beside Apple Bloom.” “Oh, I’m so sorry, girls,” Twilight said shamefully, squatting down to their level. “I didn’t know this was going to happen. I’m sorry you had to see that. Whatever... that was.” “We’re going to get to the bottom of this,” Sunset said, standing behind Twilight and putting a hand on her back. “We’re not remaining uninvolved anymore. We’ll take measurements, and—and get help from who we can. We’ll do our best to find whoever’s out there, and save them from ...whatever it is they need to be saved from.” “Yeah,” Apple Bloom sniffled, “Ah know.” Adopting a small smile she said, “You girls really are amazing. Ah cain see why you’re heroes back in your old pony world.” Sunset paled at that, saying, “Oh no, I–I’m not a—” “Anypony can be a hero,” Twilight interrupted, saying warmly to the two fillies, “Heroes are just... normal people who had a chance to change things for the better, and decided to take that chance. It’s fine to recognize someone for their accomplishments, but that doesn’t make them different from you. There’s no reason people couldn’t be calling you a hero someday. It’s all a matter of being at the right place at the right time.” Leaving Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle with a lot to think about, the two girls took the two pony girls home, where they joined with Scootaloo and Noi, talking in excited tones. Twilight and Sunset then headed to their portable, to plan a course of action for investigating the edge of the universe. The first thing they did was ask Rainbow Dash, and the rainbow maned pegasus was flustered to have her private training disturbed, but was happy enough to provide what help she could. “Gah!” Rainbow Dash shouted, rolling off her back and hastily stuffing her wings against her sides. “I’m in here uh... doing wing eshercises!” she called out the doorway. Sunset Shimmer and her lilac friend came into the shed then, and Rainbow Dash wished the sun hadn’t been shining so brightly through the window on the spot she had been laying in. It made her too visible now. She must look like a mess with all this training she was doing. ...yeah, training. “Yo,” Sunset managed to say, waving a hand in the air. “Nice to see you’re getting the hang of being a pony.” Dash blushed, and would have thought of a snappy response, but right then the Twilight girl got in her face and said, “Rainbow Dash! I’m so glad we could find you! We need your help with something important.” “Sssure, if I can help wif something, all ya need ta do ish ashk,” Rainbow said, trying to lean back from Twilight, while also leaning on a hoof jauntily. At least she remained standing, so she counted that as a win. “I just wanted to know if you knew anyp—” Twilight cleared her throat, “Anybody named Cloudchaser? Somebody on your team, perhaps? Or a coach maybe?” “Cloudchaser, huh?” Dash said, trying to remember, but only feeling a curious tugging on her heart. “Sounz familiar...” she said, “But nothing’sh coming to mind. I might’ve met someone by zhat name before? What are her colors?” “She would be a dark lavender, slightly lighter shade than my own, with white hair,” Twilight said, and it did sound very familiar. “Her hair was always really messy, I assume from her reckless attitude,” Twilight went on, “And in my world, at least, she had a sister named Flitter. Quieter, same coat but green haired, Dash always called her a mouse. My Dash, that is.” Twilight sighed with nostalgia and said, “They were friends of the other Rainbow Dash, so I hoped you might know the ones here, in some form.” “Hmm...” Dash murmured, tapping a hoof. “From anozher school maybe? Rival team? It’s jus’ on the tip of my tongue. I sink I...” she wracked her brain but no details were forthcoming. “Can’ say I heard of zhem before, sorry,” Rainbow Dash said sadly, “Bu’ good luck finding them, if itsh important. Anyshing else I can do to help?” The girls just stared down at her awkwardly making Rainbow Dash squirm with anxiety for a moment before Sunset asked, “Dash, are you... okay?” “Sure I am!” Dash said, trying to smile accomodatingly, but she was feeling funny. “Why woul’n’ I be?” “You’re crying,” the other girl blurted out. “No I’m not!” Dash said in confusion, touching the side of a hoof to her cheek. Her cheek was wet. “...huh,” she said numbly, staring at the teardrops staining the soft blue fur of her hoof. “I’onno,” she said guiltily, shrinking back from the two. In this shed there was nowhere to retreat though. “It’s jus’ kinda sad for some reason, I dunno...” “Please, if you know anything at all, this is very important,” Twilight pleaded. “Flitter and Cloud Chaser might be in trouble right now, and any information at all could be useful to help them.” Dash laughed bitterly. “Help them? Yeah, that—” wait, what was she even thinking? “That might be a good idea?” she said uncertainly, “Assuming there’s anything left to help.” “Anything left?” Sunset said in horror, “What happened to them? What do you know?” “I’onno I just—” Rainbow Dash held a hoof to her head, saying, “I jus’ feel like I should know them, like I—let them down shomehow.” She sniffled. “A-an’ now it’s too late. My old team maybe? I kinda walked out on them when I came to thish shcool—school, but there washn’t any bad blood I waz jusht moving on. I still have Gilda’s number. I could give it to you I guess?” “That’d be appreciated,” Twilight said tensely. Rainbow Dash gave it to her, but Dash really didn’t know if it would help. Whatever it was, Cloud Chaser’s... thing had been long after Rainbow left the Cloudsdale Flyers. Twilight left with Sunset to do whatever she did, and Rainbow Dash returned to laying prone in the sunbeam, reminiscing on her old days back in middle school. Some of Dash’s best memories were from that old team. Kicking the ball around, learning how to kick the ball around, learning how to work together with a team. She’d always been pretty independent, and it’d taken her coach time to beat it in her head that she couldn’t win every game alone, or even if she could, it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of them. Rainbow Dash looked in the direction of where her phone was stashed. Maybe she could try to get in touch with her old team again. Maybe she should think about calling her dad again. She whimpered as turning made her feathers catch on each other when her wings shifted uncomfortably. Maybe later.