//------------------------------// // MLP Loops 193 // Story: MLP Time Loops // by Saphroneth //------------------------------// 193.1 (Tangent) "Well Twilight," the unAwake Celestia hummed after Twilight asked her why she was the sole princess with no Guards of her own. "The answer to that is actually kind of funny." "Oh?" Twilight tilted her, truly curious now. "Your overprotective brother keeps overtraining the guards that are supposed to be assigned to you, to the point where they resign due to training fatigue. Cadence figures that she'll eventually be able to convince him to stop that. Or at the very least, get Shining Armor to stop polishing his weapons during the selection interviews. Maybe." 193.2 (LadyStina2) Twilight had yet another lonely Loop and was running it baseline. She was basically going through the motions to see if she’d get inspired to change some event on the next go-around. And while she had made a few notes on her “Things to Try When I’m Bored” checklist, nothing major stood out to her. She and Rarity were already accompanying Spike to get the Bloodstone Scepter to become the temporary Dragon Lord. In fact, it was usually in the next cavern. Twilight asked her usual question, “Is it just me, or have we seen this crevasse three times already?” And Spike answered with his typical answer, “It's kinda hard to tell. They all look the same. Except for this one! Look! We made it! I can't believe I'm – FLUTTERSHY?!” Twilight quickly went on the alert and looked up at the trail’s summit in shock. Sure enough, Fluttershy was at the peak with Angel Bunny standing on her back. The Bloodstone Scepter was in his paws, and he was holding it triumphantly over his head, the scepter and his eyes glowing red. Twilight and Rarity both removed their disguises to better see the unexpected sight above them. “Oh, umm… hi, Spike,” Fluttershy greeted quietly. “Twilight. Rarity. Um… Wha-what are you doing here?” Rarity was standing there slack-jawed while Twilight spluttered, “Wha-What are we doing here? What are you doing here?” Suddenly having the feeling she was being pranked she sent out a Ping and asked suspiciously, “You’re not feeling loopy are you?” A Ping was returned while Fluttershy was answering, “Oh no. Thanks for asking, but I’m feeling fine.” The light-show that Angel and the scepter was putting on died down and Twilight saw a smirk on the bunny’s face. That larching lagomorph lied! He’d probably been stealthing the entire Loop! “Angel Bunny really wanted to participate in this contest and promised that he’d protect me from all those big scary dragons,” she finished. Rarity scoffed and replied, “Darling, I know you’ve told us that he helps keep all your animal friends in line, but dragons dear?” Unawake Rarity obviously didn’t know Angel. Twilight knew he could pull it off and was actually worried for the dragons he would probably face. “Oh, yes,” Fluttershy shyly smiled proudly. “He already defended me from this lanky red dragon who didn’t like that I was a pony.” “Garble?” Spike asked with a smile. “Heh, maybe the little guy’s alright.” Angel tapped a foot on Fluttershy’s back in irritation. Fluttershy turned her head to look at him, then turned back to Spike and said, “Um… Spike? He’d prefer it if you called him ‘Dragon Lord Angel.’ If you don’t mind, that is.” Spike’s new dragon friend, Ember, flew up and landed next to Spike in time to hear Fluttershy. “Somedragon got the scepter?” she asked Spike. Spike pointed up the path at the pegasus and bunny pair and replied, “Something like that…” “Is that a rabbit? And is that another pony friend of yours?” Ember asked. Fluttershy ducked her head a little and let her mane hide her face a little more but answered Ember once Angel tapped on her back again, “Um… yes. We’re friends with Spike. And this is Dragon Lord Angel.” Her voice trailed off with a squeak. “Oh… umm… We…we need to take this back to the former Dragon Lord… and umm… claim the rights of Dragon Lordship.” She flapped her wings to lift herself and Angel off the ground then quickly flew out of the cavern. Twilight called out, “Wait! Fluttershy!” But she was already too far away. Ember leaned down to Spike and asked, “Are all ponies this crazy?” Spike shook his head and answered, “Not usually. I think it has something to do with the ponies in Ponyville. I don’t remember the ponies in Canterlot doing things like this.” Twilight sighed and facehoofed while muttering to herself, “I swear she’s Awake and pranking me. Otherwise she wouldn’t have made it this far. Angel can’t be that convincing.” She looked up to see Rarity, Spike and Ember exchanging confused looks. She told her friends, “I’m sure Dragon Lord Angel has everything under control, but let’s go back to make sure.” She levitated her and Rarity’s disguises back over the two of them then grabbed all four of them for a group teleport. They popped into view only for Ember and Spike to have to duck as a dragon sailed over where their heads had recently been. They followed his trajectory back to where he started and found Angel standing in the center of a large circle with an oversized carrot in his paws. Fluttershy was located behind him and just outside the circle holding the scepter that Angel had claimed. Angel extended a paw and flexed it a couple times. Fluttershy nervously cleared her throat and said, “Um… Dragon Lord Angel wants to know who’s next?” “That was just luck!” a voice boomed out as a bright blue dragon made his way down to the fighting circle. “I challenge this rabbit to a fire contest!” This was greeted by cheers from the dragons that were watching the spectacle. “Um… Dra-Dragon Lord Angel accepts your challenge,” Fluttershy squeaked out and cringed at the attention. “He says you can go first.” Angel gestured towards an open area at her words. “Silly rabbit,” the challenger said derisively. “He can’t breathe fire.” The dragon inhaled and breathed out a long stream of orange flames. “Ha! Beat that!” the dragon said smugly. “Dragon Lord Angel says that I need to… Oh… nevermind,” Fluttershy started but then trailed off. She then cowered down and put both her forelegs over her head. Twilight looked over at Angel and saw that he had produced a pair of welding goggles and a carrot-shaped flame-thrower that was the same size as a pony. And he was wearing his evil grin. Twilight gasped and cried out, “Cover your eyes!!” She quickly followed her own instructions. The darkness behind her eyelids didn’t stay dark for long. There was appreciative murmurings from the dragon crowd. Probably from the ones in the back. The ones in the front were probably blinded by now. When the light faded, she opened her eyes and peered out of her rock disguise. The formerly clear area they were using as a firing range now had a thick area that was red and bubbling surrounded by blackened rock. The challenger was staring in shock at the results of their contest. Angel blew on the end of his flame-thrower before slipping it into his subspace pocket. He flexed his paws again. “Anypo… err anydragon else?” Fluttershy asked. The dragons all looked around at each other. None of them stepped forward to be the third victim of the deceptively weak looking bunny. “All hail Dragon Lord Angel!” a cry went up that was quickly turned into a chant as the dragons all bowed. “Yay…” a small voice cheered in the midst of the chant. “And do you know what the worst part of it is, Dash?” Twilight asked her friend over their drinks. Before she could respond Twilight continued, “I still don’t know if Fluttershy was pranking me! I haven’t seen her Awake since to even ask her about it!” She took a sip of her drink then looked suspiciously at Rainbow Dash. The prankster. “Did you put her up to that?” she asked accusingly. Rainbow laughed and said, “Twilight. Do you really think that I’d have anypony pull a prank on you when I wasn’t there to watch?” “Yes,” Twilight stated flatly. “You’d have them record it somehow for you to watch later. I’ve seen you do it.” “Ok, ok. Maybe. But I didn’t have anything to do with that one,” Dash replied. “Why don’t you ask Angel?” “You know how smug he gets when he thinks he got one over on somepony. Every time I’ve seen him since, he’s just laughed at me,” Twilight grumped. She slumped down in her seat while Dash snickered. 193.3 (Tangent) "I am going to have to hurt you now. If you don't mind, that is..." Fluttershy's sparing partner, one of the more regular guard recruits, eyed her with annoyance as most of the other trainees (but not Fluttershy's friends) laughed. "Um..." And then one of the more bored recruits who had noticed a spider wandering nearby, idly lifted a hoof to stomp on it. In full view of Fluttershy. "OH, YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT!" SOME TIME LATER... "At that point, Luna and I decided that perhaps your friends didn't need guard training after all," the unAwake Celestia commented. "That poor guard..." Cadence expressed her sympathy. "He still gets flashbacks whenever he sees pale yellow and pink anywhere near each other," Shining Armor stated. "And the other recruits doth still experience night terrors of the incident. T'was most impressive!" "Well, I guess that explains why Luna assigned Fluttershy to be a Drill Instructor," Twilight observed. "How is that working out anyway?" "She's the quietest, most unassuming Drill Instructor we've ever had," Shining Armor answered his sister. "Right up until somepony triggers her. And then the screaming and the yelling starts." "Full Canterlot Royal Voice?" Twilight guessed. "Oh, no. Not at all," her brother corrected. "I meant the screams of terror and pain from the offending ponies, and the panicked yells of everypony else trying to escape." 193.4 (DrTempo) ..."This is our newest student, Iris." Iris Awoke to find herself in what looked like a high school, of all places. As she looked around, she saw that everyone here had skin colors like green, blue, and every other color she could think of; as for Iris herself, her skin was colored a light red. The teacher(Cherilee, her Loop memories reminded her) had just finished introducing Iris to the class. Iris sat down next to a girl with orange skin, and the girl was grinning ear to ear. Iris sent out a Ping, and felt a Ping being sent in reply. The girl next to Iris yawned, saying, "This class can make me feel Loopy sometimes." Iris laughed. "Yeah, I feel that way myself at times." The girl suddenly blinked, and asked Iris, "Is that you, Iris? Do you remember me?" Iris shook her head, and the girl frowned. "I see. My name's Sunset Shimmer." Iris remembered hearing that name once before; she couldn't recall where though, Sunset said, "Let's talk during lunch, OK?" Iris smiled, and nodded in agreement. When lunch arrived, as the two ate, Sunset said, "Guess the Loop where I was in Repliforce wasn't your first Loop." Iris now remembered where she'd heard that name, and said, "X told me about you. How you were like a sister to my Unawake self, and tried to stop me from confronting Zero." Sunset frowned. "Yeah...I wanted to try and save you from what happened, but I knew if I did by using force, you would never forgive me. Unfortunately, I couldn't convince you not to confront Zero, so..." Iris smiled, saying, "It's alright, Sunset. You were trying to help that version of me. Thank you for trying, at least." "You're welcome, Iris. Still, it's good to see you're a Looper now. So, after school, how about you and I do a little training? You've probably have spent most of your Loops as a Reploid, correct?" "Of course." Sunset chuckled. "Well, humans have limits Reploids don't have. It'd be a good idea to find out those limits now, if you ask me." "You have a point, Sunset." Sunset shrugged. "Of course I do. I've been Looping for a lot longer than you have." The bell rang, and Sunset waved at Iris as she walked to her next class. Iris smiled. 'I'm just glad to be Awake, Sunset.' After school had ended, Sunset and Iris went to a nearby gym. Iris was confused as to why they were here. "What are we doing, Sunset?" Sunset chuckled. "Training. Ever try boxing?" Iris shook her head. "Well, I do know the basics. I did get combat training when I first Awakened, though it was mostly beam saber combat." Sunset laughed. "Then let's see what you can do!" A while later, the two were in a boxing ring, and Sunset entered a boxing stance. "Hope you're ready, Iris." Iris gulped, but grinned, and then said, "So, you wanna ring the bell, Apollo?" in a lame Rocky impression. Sunset laughed. "Did not know you watched those movies, Iris." "Zero's a fan of them." Sunset shrugged, and said, "Bring it on, Iris!" Iris nodded, and went for a left hook. Sunset ducked, and before Iris knew it, she was hit with a barrage of punches. As Iris recovered, Sunset said, "Lesson one. Never leave an opening. That left hook was telegraphed, and I saw a chance to strike." Iris nodded and replied, "Got it." Sunset then charged, and Iris tried blocking an incoming left jab, but a right uppercut hit her right on the chin. Before Iris could react, Sunset landed a powerful left hook, which knocked Iris backward. "Lesson two. Think two steps ahead of your opponent. And if your opponent thinks two steps ahead of you, you have to think three steps ahead of him. That left jab you prepared to block was a ruse. Keep your eyes on your opponent." Iris understood, and realized if she let Sunset control the flow of battle, she would lose. Iris went for an uppercut, and as Sunset prepared to dodge, Iris quickly performed a right jab, which hit Sunset in the gut. "How's that, Sunset?" Iris asked. Sunset grinned in reply before saying, "Lesson three...." Before Iris could react, she was hit with a flurry of punches, and despite trying to block them all, Iris was unable to do so. "Never let up on the attack if you can!" Iris was knocked back, and realized what Sunset meant. "I understand. I let you get a chance to recover, and I paid for it. But, I know those things already." "Good. Lesson four..." Iris entered a defensive stance, but instead of a punch, Sunset did a roundhouse kick. Iris ducked, and yelled, "Hey! No fair!" Sunset replied with a headbutt. "Lesson four. Don't play fair. If you see any advantage, even if you might consider it cheating, use it! Your enemies won't play by the rules. In a battle to survive, you need to use everything you can to win. Adapt to your opponent's tactics, and find a way to exploit his weaknesses. Also, know your own limits as well. " Iris nodded. "I see. Who taught you how to fight?" "Ranma Saotome himself." "That answers a lot." Sunset reentered a boxing stance. "Well, then. Show me what you've learned!" The two then entered an epic battle. Iris managed to land her fair share of punches, but Sunset's experience allowed her to land several powerful attacks. Eventually, Iris went for one last uppercut, and Sunset landed a powerful right hook, and Iris was knocked down. Sunset helped Iris get up, and said, "Not bad. You took the lessons I taught you, and adapted very well. But, you left yourself wide open too often. That kind of fighting style might have worked as a Reploid, but you aren't a Reploid at the moment." "But you still won." "That's because I have a lot more combat experience. When it comes to Loopers, our biggest advantage is that we're taught by experience. Even if your opponent is as strong as Sigma, if you're more skilled than him, you'll be able to find a way to win. And if you don't, you learn where your own weaknesses are in the process." "So, simply put, keep on learning?" Sunset smiled. "Yep. Always keep learning more. So, same time next week?" "Sure!" Iris smiled. She was glad for the lesson. Next time she saw Sigma, she would show just what she'd learned. 193.5 (Evilhumour) Sunset Woke up mid-trot with a yawn in her throat. A rather timely unconscious spasm of her body to check if she was still alive told her she was an alicorn and by the looks of it, she was the older sister and Princess of the Sun. And a look outside told her the moon was rising so she could go to be- NOPE! Her memories just kicked in and NOPE! to sleeping right now, she had far more important things to do. Teleporting on the spot to her younger sister's room, she found said alicorn trying to hide the fact she was just crying by acting in shock by the surprise entrance. "Sister, what are you doing--" "You were crying, sister of mine," Sunset said, cutting off the Princess of the Moon and without so much as how-do-you-do, climbed into the bed and rested next to the now sputtering alicorn. "Please, tell me, is it that our ponies sleep through your masterfully made night that makes you sad?" "How did you kn-" her sister asked before trying to get herself annoyed at this brazen action by her usually aloof older sister. "Sister, dear sister, silly sister," Sunset cooed as she gently brushed away her sister's mane away from her face with a wing, a soft smile on her face. "Do you not recall the times we were raised, the terrors roaming free in the night and monsters only opposed by the light of the sun?" "I do indeed recall those times of terror but I-" she began but before the sister could continue, the elder hummed an ancient lullaby which brought a hush. "Dear sweet sister, I ask you to truly look at our ponies at your time," Sunset begged with a kind smile. "The sleep without fear of the monsters we fled when we were young, they sleep without dread of a creature dragging them away, they sleep in open houses without worry because they know that you and your guardians of the night stand tall. They show you the trust they place in your rulership by trusting their entire self during the hours of your night, and you will always have my trust in you for you are my sister and that is enough for me." Smiling and trying to hold back her laughter of joy but not the tears, she said, "Your words are kind and true, and they have uplifted my spirits beyond measure," she paused before speaking softly. "But still, to see their joy for my work would be nice..." "Then we shall create a festival for you and your warriors at the night to be celebrated and praised, one we will plan in the 'morrow," Sunset promised, nuzzling her sister with endless devotion. "But for now, let us rest as we did when young and innocent." "Lets." Her sister said, nuzzling her older sister, a yawn escaping her own lips. "I love you, Sunset." "And I love you, Twilight." 193.6 (Vinylshadow) "Ditzy "Derpy" Bright Eyes III, I have a question for you," Pinkie Pie said one day in Ponyville as the pegasus mare was buying some cupcakes for Dinky. "And what would that question be?" the mare replied, placing the bits for her purchase on the counter. "Muffins or cupcakes?" Derpy blinked in surprise. "Any context?" she asked. "Hm...I suppose if they're the last ones currently on sale. The type can be whatever you want, whether it's your favorite or least favorite flavor. Actually, in this case, they're both the least favorite flavor, but there's no other choice. You have to pick one or the other to survive." Derpy stroked her chin thoughtfully. "To be honest, it depends on which has more nutritional value. What's the point in partaking of a meal that tastes awful if it doesn't fill your belly and keeps you healthy? I'd probably take the cupcake in that case, since cupcakes have more calories per ounce than most muffins." Pinkie nodded slowly. "That makes sense. Thank you for your time." Derpy stared at her order of muffins before opening it. As she expected, a single cupcake was carefully wrapped and placed on top of the muffins inside. "Enjoy the rest of your Loop, Pinkie," Derpy said as she trotted away. Pinkie did a double-take. "You were Awake?!" Derpy grinned and waved a wing as she exited Sugarcube Corner. 193.7 (Anon e Mouse Jr.) Sunset grimaced as she watched Gloriosa's rampage (having managed to teleport herself, Sci-Twi and Spike the dog out of the Crystal Cave and back to the other campers when Gloriosa tried to imprison them there), and the other Rainbooms trying desperately to stop her. "Why are you fighting me?!" the maddened woman shouted. "I'm doing this to save our camp! I'm doing this for you!" "Because this isn't the way!" her brother yelled back from where the vines were trapping him. "Gloriosa, please! You have to stop this!" "Never! I will keep everyone safe here. We have everything you need at Everfree!" "No, you don't," called an unexpected voice. Sunset looked up in time to see Bulk Biceps, having managed to break free of the vines binding him, striding into the center of the clearing. "Believe me, I know you love this camp," he called to her. "So do I. And when I was younger, I went to a special camp one summer, and I loved that one just as much. When my folks came to get me at the end, I told them it was the best nine days of my life." He pointed at Gloriosa. "But no matter how much I enjoyed it, I was ready to go home for a while. Because there's one thing it didn't have." "And what's that?" Gloriosa asked him suspiciously. "My family." Bulk Biceps waved a hand at the others. "Everyone here has parents waiting for them. A lot of them have brothers. A lot have sisters. Some have both. And we need to be free to go back to them when this week is done. You understand that?" There was a startled look on her face as Glorisa heard his words, and felt the emotion behind them. "I... I think I do." Slowly, she lowered herself back to the ground, her powers fading, the vines retracting into the ground as she returned to normal, collapsing to the ground. Instantly, Timber Spruce ran over to her. "Gloriosa! Gloriosa, are you alright?" "I... I think so." She looked up at him, and looked to be on the verge of tears. "I am so, so sorry for what I've done, everyone." Sunset walked up to her. "It's okay, Gloriosa. We forgive you." "You do?" "We do." Sunset smiled at her and helped her up. "It's kind of what we do at CHS. They forgave me when I went crazy, and I was much worse than you. You were trying to do good. I was just being a selfish, greedy she-demon." "I... I see." Gloriosa blinked, then smiled. "Thank you." A day later, after the Camp Everfree Crystal Ball, Sunset sat outside, a familiar journal in her hands as she wrote about what had happened. And you're sure it's his normal self and not someone Replacing him? Princess Twilight wrote back. Positive. But either way, I'm happy he did it. So am I. There was a smiley face added, before Twilight continued writing. I'm glad your week at camp went well, Sunset. But I can't wait until we see one another again. Me too, sis. Me too. Sunset closed her journal, and smiled as Sci-Twi slipped out next to her. "Hey, Twilight." "Hey." Sci-Twi smiled at her. "So, what are you doing out here?" "Just sitting and thinking." Sunset took her hand. "About the ways life can still surprise us." "They certainly can." She squeezed Sunset's hand. "Did I ever thank you for helping me deal with my nightmares?" "You did. And you're still welcome." Sunset smiled, and then the two girls looked up at the night sky, watching as a million stars twinkled brightly far above them. It was the perfect end to another happy day. 193.8 (Vinylshadow) Derpy, Dinky and Alex Mercer trotted through Rainbow Falls' Trader Exchange Market, browsing the wares. "I like this place as it allows me to empty my Subspace Pocket of things I no longer need and give them to others who may find them useful," Derpy said as she pulled Dinky away from a stand where an Old One was hawking souls. "It's also a good place to meet up with potential Visiting Loopers," Alex said, waving at ponified versions of the Scout and Spy from the Team Fortress Branch who seemed to be arguing over a set of rubber duck hats. Derpy approached a stand selling garish lamps that somewhat resembled the five Princesses of Equestria and frowned as she started haggling. Dinky clambered onto Alex's back and pointed ahead. "Mush!" she squeaked. Alex promptly collapsed and crawled forward while complaining about her weight, causing Dinky to giggle. A few hours later and the trio exited the outpost with their newly-acquired goods. "Find anything interesting?" Derpy asked as she carefully stowed her lamps in her Pocket. "Nothing for myself, but I did get Dinky a few things she asked for," Alex replied. On top of his head, Dinky turned at the mention of her name and Derpy blinked at the Darth Vader helmet she was wearing. "What?" Alex asked as Derpy stared at him. "You're such a dork," she snickered. "Yes, but you like me nonetheless," Alex said, sticking out his forked tongue. "I like you about as far as I can throw you," Derpy countered. "I've seen you toss mountains like they were nothing, so that's not an accurate statement of denial," Alex said before ducking under Derpy's half-hearted wing-swipe, which scooped Dinky off his head. "Come along, my little Muffin. Let's go get something to eat." "Yay!" Dinky cheered. 193.9 (Vinylshadow & Valentine Meikin) "Spike, hand me the list," Twilight said, poking her head out of her mad scientist lair, usually known as the basement. "Sure," Spike said, going over to a shelf filled with scrolls. "You want the List, the Bigger List, the Even Bigger List, the Big List of Lists or the Big List of Bigger Lists of Even More Lists?" Twilight blinked slowly before blushing. "Is it time to clean up my lists again?" she asked sheepishly. "Or maybe she wants the Infinite List of Lists of Things Listed In Every List in the Multiverse?" Pinkie offered as she stuck her head in. "Pinkie, I tried keeping that kind of list once. It...didn't end well since every time I pulled it out, it caused the Loop to crash. Getting rid of it took some extremely careful planning that...yes, required even more checklists to prevent a crash and...it was all a really big headache for all involved." "Speaking of Lists," Rarity chimed in, popping out of Pinkie's mane through whatever logic powered it, "I need the one for fabrics." "Texture, color, age, smell, thickness or quality?" Spike asked. "Yes," Rarity replied. "...Who sorts fabric by smell?" Pinkie asked as Rarity exited her mane. "This coming from the mare who orders her baking materials by age, smell, expiration date and use," Rarity countered with a wink. "Touche, Rarity...touche." "Ooh, are we comparing lists again?" Discord asked, popping out of the shelf of scrolls, sending them flying everywhere. "Might I suggest the Unabridged List of Lists That List The Lists of Lists of Lists Of Things Discord Must Never Do?" "Which edition?" Spike asked. "Surprise me," Discord said. "NOW, MY BRETHREN!" With a roar, every scroll on the floor got up and fled out of the library. "Oh dear, they've become self-aware again," Twilight said. "So yes, it's definitely time to clean up my lists..." 193.10 (WyldeHorse) “Twilight…” “No, Rarity. Just… Just, no.” “Twilight, darling, I am ENTIRELY certain that this is your fault. In fact, I know for a fact that, right this moment, I could list all of the ways that this is your fault.” “Look, Rarity, I know that I may have taken things too far…” “Twilight. I am MADE of lists. YOU are made of lists. EVERYTHING in the loop is MADE OF LISTS. I am nothing but a collection of lists listing all of the lists of lists of listing ways to list things as being in any way related to Rarity. That’s what everything in this loop is, Twilight. Lists of lists of lists of lists of listing ways to list things!” “I really am sorry, Rarity, but-“ “NEW RULE, TWILIGHT. NO MORE LISTS.” “…Yes, Rarity.” 193.11 (Gym Quirk) Sweetie Belle paused as her phone went off. "Hang on, guys. It's Rarity," she told her fellow Canterlot High Crusaders as she accepted the call. "Hey, Rarity... Yeah? Uh-huh... And she wants...? Oh. Um... Okay. Thanks for the warning." "What's up?" asked Scootaloo. "You heard about how Twilight's been bugging Rarity for piano lessons? Sis was warning me that she may be asking me next." "Oh?" "Yeah. The pieces Twilight wants to do -- Hungarian Rhapsodies, Paganini Etudes and so on -- are a bit advanced compared to Rarity's usual repertoire." Apple Bloom thought for a moment, then groaned. "Shoulda seen this comin’. Twilight's startin’ to show signs of a Liszt obsession..." "And I can't tell if it's legit, or if she's trolling us," muttered Sweetie Belle. 193.12 (Ashynarr) It was a well known fact that Twilight Sparkle, and indeed every other Looper around, hated Loops that twisted the people around them into mockeries of themselves. In most cases, she either found a way to turn them around to return to the ponies they were meant to be, while in others she simply wrote the Loop off as a lost cause and took a vacation. In this case, however, it was all too obvious what was twisting the ponies of Equestria - instead of going to ground to lick her wounds as in Baseline, Chrysalis had taken advantage of the bouts of paranoia throughout Canterlot, and started giving the citizens brief sightings of her forces, as well as herself. Once the masses had been driven to near-frothing paranoia, accusing each other of being Changelings and increasing the amount of infighting, she spread to other cities and towns, taking advantage of the chaos to steal away ponies for her love farms. If there was one thing to be thankful for, it was that nopony else was awake to see the depth this Chrysalis had sunk to, nor the increasingly desperate measures the Princesses were having to put in place to keep things from descending into full-out anarchy. And her pre-Awake self? She'd been weeks of nothing but anxiety and panic, scrambling for anything to help her teacher and friends from tearing each other apart, and practically killing herself in the process. Only the intervention of Spike and her friends, close as they all were, had kept her from completely going off the deep end like some other ponies had already. Shaking her head to refocus on the task at hand, she pulled out her Element of Magic and Ascended, because she was going to derail this Loop before the civil wars that seemed eager to crop up happened. And, she decided after thinking over other likely narrative paths, she wasn't going to wipe out the Changeling race either, not when Thorax and others like him were still trapped within Chrysalis' army. She hummed thoughtfully, an idea coming to mind as she pulled out a tablet, searching for just the right song to use... In one of the streets of Canterlot, a frazzled unicorn paused mid-step to flick her ears around, flinching back when another small band of ponies went past. Only when they passed did she straighten herself up, a cruel smirk on her lips. For all those stupid ponies praised harmony and friendship, all it took was a few words in the right ears to make the whole sham fall down. Queen Chrysalis continued on her way to her latest target, an older mare who had recently gotten injured when a stallion had accused her of being a Changeling. Of course, she hadn't been, but the injuries that had driven her back into her home had left her vulnerable and socially isolated, meaning no one would look for her when she disappeared. Ah, she loved when a plan came together. Her ears flicked, something just on the edge of her hearing demanding her attention, and her gaze slid up to the open sky... If Celestia could afford to cry, she would have. Ever since the wedding, the entire kingdom had started to fall apart, despite the best efforts of the three Princesses and the Elements of Harmony. No pony trusted another, families were torn apart with infighting, and citizens across the country had been disappearing, their fates Celestia could only fear. Despite a thousand years of leading them, she had nothing that could stop this madness, no way to bring her ponies back from the edges of paranoia they were being driven towards. Her head hung, the crown weighing even more heavily than it had after she'd been forced to banish her sister to the moon. How Discord's new seal had not yet broken from all the disharmony and chaos begin spread was a mystery, one she could only peg to the Bearers' bond remaining strong despite this madness. Twilight truly had made the most remarkable friends... Her ears perked, causing her to lift her head and turn to look out the window towards the open sky... Up above Canterlot, the center of the madness, Princess Twilight Sparkle put as much energy as she could into a Heartsong, and Sang to the world. She was not Sweetie Belle, who could reshape the world with her songs, but hopefully this would at least be enough for what she needed. All across Equestria There's a growing feeling of hysteria Conditioned to respond to every jibe in the rhetorical speeches of the Badlands hive Queen Chrysalis says we will bury you I don't subscribe to this point of view Such an ignorant thing to do if the Changelings love their children too Yes, there were the first ponies responding, adding their voices in and spreading it further. The ones who had tried to calm their friends down, trying to get them to see the trickery for what it was. But it was still far too few, and the disharmony only strengthened her will as she continued to lead the song. How can I save all of my friends from Chrysalis' endless games? There is no monopoly of common sense On either side of the political fence We share the same biology Regardless of ideology Believe me when I say to you I hope the Changelings love their children too Alright, and maybe one or two things about the song weren’t perfect - the Changelings obviously having a differing biological system in place - but that wasn’t the point. She not only needed to get to the ponies, she needed to get to the Changelings - and not just Thorax, but all of those who had ever questioned themselves. There is no historical precedent To put the words in the mouths of the Princesses There's no such thing as a winnable war It's a lie we don't believe anymore The princesses say we will protect you I don't subscribe to this point of view Believe me when I say to you I hope the Changelings love their children too More than three quarters of the country were part of the song now, and even those who weren’t were caught up in the powerful wave of magic. And maybe it was a bit mean to Celestia and Luna, who had clearly done everything they could to put forth peaceful solutions before turning against their own morals, but they could only do so much against an entire parliament of paranoid ponies. We share the same biology Regardless of ideology What might save us, me, and you Is if the Changelings love their children too As the rest of the song played out and wound down, she came to a landing in the courtyard, where Celestia and Chrysalis had both been led through the suggestion of the song, even if neither had participated. With a respectful nod of her head to each of them she prepared herself for the next step of her hastily prepared mental checklist. “I’m sorry for interrupting your busy days, but I thought the three of us needed a Friendship Talk.” Twilight Sparkle, still an alicorn, beamed at them both. “I have my slides prepared already, if you’ll just give me a moment to set up-” 193.13 (Vinylshadow) Applejack slammed a barrel onto the surface of the Cutie Map. "Finally, after several million painstakingly specific Loops, I have perfected making Potato Cider," she declared for the several ponies, one dragon and one draconequus to hear. "Specific Loops?" Twilight asked, taking a mug. "Has to be a specific time of year with a specific type of potato and specific universal alignment," Applejack said, passing the rest of the mugs out. "Now then, before drinking, there are a few things I need to say," Applejack continued, climbing onto the table and leaning on the barrel. "First, there are still side effects." Rarity recoiled from her mug and Rainbow Dash almost dropped hers. "However, they are mostly benign. Vinyl said she could taste sound. Derpy said everything tasted like cupcakes for the rest of the Loop and Berry Punch started speaking in Wingdings." "Applejack, using the Glitch Bearers as test subjects-" Twilight said, only for Applejack to thump down a massive stack of filled-out insurance forms in front of her that Twilight read through in a matter of seconds. "...Alright, complaint withdrawn, but they're still glitched, so the effects may be different for them than..." "Cadence, Shining Armor, Chrysalis, Celestia and Angel Bunny all tried it as well. No harm came to them and Angel Bunny actually enjoyed it," Applejack said. "Granted, he's a rabbit, so..." "Relax, Twilight," Fluttershy said. "Applejack spent a lot of time on this and it's only polite of us to at least give it a try." "Fine, fine. Down the hatch then," Twilight said. As one, the gathered Loopers drank the Potato Cider. A few seconds passed before Pinkie let out a belch. "Wow, that was amazing," she said before she blinked. "Huh...okay. Looks like I'll be taking on the bass for my a capella group this Loop." "I do believe my mane and coat colors have inverted themselves," Rarity said. "It looks good on you," a gender-swapped Spike replied, sipping her drink. Discord stared at his now-plaid-with-polka-dot-striped fur and shrugged. "Not the weirdest outcome I've seen," his left eye said while his right eye uttered some ancient ritual that turned the walls pink. Fluttershy belched the national anthem of Cloudsdale in G-minor while Dash accompanied her by whistling out her ears. Twilight, now with two heads, eight tails and a massive muscular arm protruding from her left nostril, stared at Applejack from the eye on her horn. "I am renewing your ban on messing with potatoes," the Legion, made up of every Looper's voice from every Branch of Yggdrasil, spoke from within Twilight. "Fair enough," Applejack said with a grimace. "Sorry for the inconvenience." 193.14 (Ashynarr) “Twilight?” “Yes, Rarity?” “What in the world are you wearing?” “Oh, these?” Twilight raised a hoof to the obnoxiously pink and fluffy earmuffs she was wearing, adjusting them slightly so they covered her ears again. “They’re something I got from Pinkie Pie in order to deal with loops like this.” Rarity raised one delicate brow. Twilight, trusting something Pinkie had made instead of her own magic? “How so?” Twilight beamed. “Oh, they’ve got some amazing enchantments in them, like everwarm charms for the winter and evercool charms for the summer, tracking charms so I can always find them if they get lost, and selective auditory charms to filter out only certain phrases or people while allowing me to hear everypony else perfectly.” “I see,” Rarity replied, seeing how such a thing could be useful, even if they were hid- er, gauche. “What does she call them?” “Pinkie Pie’s Patented Inpunitrable Earpuffs, guaranteed to block all groan inducing puns or the next batch of cupcakes is free.” Rarity’s gaze would have flattened mountains if there were any within a dozen miles. 193.15 (Evilhumour and Vinylshadow) "Luna?" "Yes Celestia?" "Why did you make your moon into a giant disco ball?" "Why did you point your sun directly at my moon when you knew it was a disco ball and cause Twilight's tree to catch fire while having it sing our national anthem in the aether?" "...fair enough, I suppose." Both of them carefully ignored the unicorn whose mane was beginning to smoke as she stared at the remains of her tree. "Celestia, Luna, usually I don't mind the occasional scorching of my tree via accidental disco-moon-balls...in this case, I was doing some very sensitive research about something that required a lot of easily-flammable materials that had taken me several thousand Loops to acquire." "How mad are you?" Celestia asked. "Luna, can I borrow your moon for the Loop?" Twilight asked as she took a few breaths to calm herself. "It's yours," Luna replied. "With the usual stipulations, of course." "Of course. No permanent disfigurement of the surface, no obscene images or messages and leave it the way I found it if I leave before the Loop ends," Twilight recited. She vanished with a pop and the sisters covered their ears as Twilight's obscenities faintly reached their ears. "She's learned a few new ones since her last tantrum," Celestia noted, writing them down. 193.16 (Evilhumour) It was the middle of the night when a certain white unicorn was being tossed out of his shared house by his roommate and coltfriend, managing to catch himself with his sonic wubhooves before being decked with any and all reachable objects near the doorway. "That really hurt, Octs!" Record whined before yipping in surprise, diving to the side as another bench was thrown at him by his furious earth pony lover. "Three bucking hours, Record," Octavio snarled as he raced after the floating unicorn. "Of you snoring the griffon anthem backwards with your stupid wubs blasting me every time I got comfortable!" Record paused and flew back to the earth pony, and jabbed a hoof into his friend's large chest. "Hey, stupid?!" he asked, red eyes narrowing in anger. "Not cool, dude, not after all those massages and that thing I do for you with my wubs!" Octavio blushed, eyes darting from side to side. "Not so loud!" "What?" Record blinked a few times before gasping loudly and started blushing as well. "Oh no, not that; I meant the meals I wub up for you and wait a second you called my wubs stupid and-" "Oh will the both of you shut UP!" Mayor Ivory Scroll stormed out of her house and looked at the pair before grabbing their ears and dragging them over to a bemused-looking Twilight, who was trying (and failing miserably) to hide a carton of popcorn behind her back. "Princess, in lieu of an actual fine, I'd like it if you could contact these two loudmouthed schmucks' parents so I can have a nice talk with them." She gave a twist at the word 'talk', causing both stallions to whimper from the pain and the idea of their parents being called in. "Sure thing, Mayor." 193.17 (Awesomedude17 & Vinylshadow) "Welp, Twilight snapped again." Pinkie causally relayed. "How?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight promptly burst through the doors. "AUTOMATIC BOOP MACHINE!" Twilight activated a strange device, which promptly booped everypony's noses. Twilight then ran off. "Oh... Is that normal?" Fluttershy asked, rubbing her nose. "She gets like this from time to time. Rarely ever actually harmful though," Pinkie assured her. "Usually brought on due to lack of sleep or things to do. Or she's doing one of those "mad scientist" things that's been going through the Loops. I brought a giant cupcake to life a few dozen Loops ago that was devoured by the Cutie Mark Crusaders who were trying to get Giant Cupcake Monster Slaying Cutie Marks for some reason." Fluttershy blinked in surprise. "Oh, now my Loop as a power-mad dictator who focused on creating the ultimate hybrid creature makes a lot more sense. Do you know Angel Bunny hates Cuccos and refuses to date them?" "Fluttershy, we've all been through a "My Life As A Cucco's Nest Mate" and it's universally agreed we don't mention it to anyone else," Pinkie said somberly. "Mention what?" Fluttershy asked innocently. 193.18 (Vinylshadow) "Riddle me this, Octy," Vinyl Scratch said as she leaned over the railing of the airship. "If a ship is not on the sea, does my curse still apply?" Octavia glanced up from the journal Vinyl had given her detailing the other times Vinyl had visited her throughout these Loops. "According to this, yes. Yet you insisted on coming on this trip regardless of your previous track record." Vinyl put all four hooves down on the deck and trotted over to her friend's side before giving her a nuzzle. "Well, as long as you're with me, I can handle anything." "So you keep saying," Octavia said with a smile. "Well then, shall we go greet the captain and settle down for the trip?" Vinyl said, waving a hoof at the extravagant airship. "Twenty-three different redundant backup systems, sixteen different types of magic and the latest state-of-the-art airship technology from the best civilizations of the Loops," Apple Bloom said hollowly. "And it still crashed." Grinding her teeth, the Crusader sighed heavily and watched the small army of ponies cleaning up the wreckage of the three-kilometer-long airship. "Out of curiosity, what was the probability of a malfunction?" Vinyl asked as she listened to and directed the Heartbeat of the Universe to locate survivors. "About as likely as you being able to enjoy a cruise," Apple Bloom replied. "Twenty-three percent is...actually pretty high," Vinyl pointed out. Apple Bloom did a double-take. "Wait, seriously?" Vinyl nodded. "I have been doing the calcs and keeping track of as much of my Looping career as I can, because I want to do my best to make it as smooth as possible." "And how's that been working out for you?" Apple Bloom asked, not really bothering to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "Pretty well," Vinyl replied, completely missing the point. She lifted up a section of wreckage to reveal one of the cabins, specifically designed to survive any catastrophe and released the family inside, who seemed reluctant to leave the opulent quarters. "You designed this ship beautifully and...well, I guess I should stay away from maiden voyages, hm?" "Odds are the Titanic effect would've kicked in any way," Apple Bloom said. "Yggdrasil loves taking down large things, whether it's a ship, tree or empire." Vinyl winced. "Sorry about that." "It's fine," Apple Bloom said. "Is that all?" Vinyl flicked her ears, turning her head this way and that, eyes closed. "That's everyone accounted for." Apple Bloom smiled. "Splendid. Now there's the matter of insurance to go through." Vinyl's eyes went wide and she gulped. "Please tell me this is a Loop where we've managed to streamline the process...?" "Of course not," Apple Bloom said, still smiling. "Since when has the Bureaucracy ever been efficient?" 193.19 [katfairy] “Another Loop, another crash-landing into Loonyland.” “And that’s before we even know if it’s a Variant.” “I guess you two are Awake this time,” Hank said with a grin at Eric and Presto. The two had only been Awake for maybe half-a-dozen Loops so far, but they’d caught on quick. Oddly, they were always Awake together. Hank had discussed that with Tiamat the last time it happened and they’d concluded that it was too early to conclude anything. Still, this was one more mark in the Not A Coincidence column. “We’re all awake, Hank,” Diana said, giving Hank a moment’s shock before he figured out she meant not unconscious instead of aware of time loops. “Long story short: we’re in a time Loop, only not all of us are aware of it, and the ones who are aren’t always. Except me. We’ll do the long version later, but we’ve got a baby unicorn to save if the Mother of All Dragons hasn’t beaten us to it.” I have not yet seen her. We may be in that minor Variant where you find her when I am nowhere near. Hank nodded. “Tiamat’s Awake too, guys, and no sign of Uni yet. Let’s get walking once we’re all sure we aren’t going to fall over if we stand up.” They chatted lightly while heading for the point where Uni usually showed up. Neither Eric nor Presto had been away from their home Loop yet and there hadn’t been any visiting Anchors to replace Hank, so they didn’t have anything new to report. Hank told them about his stint as a storm chaser and about the new Looper he’d met and his companion back home; all agreed that they’d kind of like to see how the Realm would deal with an intelligent car. “Help! Helllllllp!!!!!!” “That must be the baby unicorn!” Bobby exclaimed, dashing ahead, Sheila right behind him begging him to be careful. Hank, Eric, and Presto exchanged surprised looks but caught up to them, and Diana brought up the rear. “When she’s safe, you guys really gotta explain this,” she said. “We will,” Hank said absently, wondering if Uni had been replaced or they had one of the rare Variants where she could speak. The voice sounded familiar but Hank couldn’t quite place it, so either was a possibility. A tiny purple form appeared from a side canyon, dashing straight for them, chased by Orcs. So, mostly normal. Hank sent a quick heads-up to Tiamat and placed himself between Uni and the Orcs. As expected, he suddenly had his bow in hands and he let fly a barrage of golden bolts. A loud clang off two one side told him that Eric had his shield and a louder silly car horn confirmed that Presto had his hat. Dragonkin, why is the unicorn purple this time? And there was Tiamat. Hank sent back a mental shrug and watched as Tiamat landed very close to a cluster of Orcs. She stuck all five heads into the faces of various orcs, smiling. “Boo.” The Orcs screamed and ran, with the few who hadn’t already joining them. Eric and Presto cracked up, but Hank just shook his head, trying not to grin, as he turned to a bewildered mage. “Hey, Dungeon Master, nice to see you again, and… that… is not Uni.” “No. No, it isn’t,” Eric agreed. “Well, she is still a little unicorn,” Presto said. This Loop just became more interesting. “Th-thank you,” the little unicorn sniffled from where she lay in Bobby’s arms. “I was applying to be in Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and I was trying to hatch a dragon egg and it was really hard and I was trying my best and then there was this big boom and rainbows and my magic just started doing all this weird stuff and I think I turned Mom into a cactus and then this portal opened and sucked me into it and—“ “You planning on breathing anytime soon?” Eric interrupted. Bobby glared, but Hank knew this wasn’t Eric being a jerk. Their visitor, who was clearly not Awake, had been working herself into a panic attack; Eric’s blunt comment had broken her train of thought and she was now taking huge, gulping breaths. “That’s better. Welcome to the Realm, kid. We’ll look after you until—okay, we don’t have a lot of luck with portals going home, but maybe since you’re not part of our usual routine we’ll have better luck with you.” “Um, thanks. But… well, I don’t mean to be rude, but what are—Oh. Oh, vitex agnus-castus, you have got to be kidding me!” I believe she is Awake now. Ya think? “Hey, Twilight,” Hank said as his fellow Anchor looked over her younger-than-usual self with exasperation. “Welcome to the Realm.” “Okay, now I really want that explanation,” Diana said. “Okay, let me see if I’ve got this straight,” Diana said. “We’re part of this whole big collection of universes, some of which are connected in all sorts of different ways, and then those universes are part of another level of universes which aren’t usually connected but sometimes things leak through. And on the highest known level, something bad happened that damaged the whole thing and the ones in charge have basically put us in a holding pattern until they can fix it. Some people—okay, okay, using people as a general term, not just humans—are aware of the holding pattern and remember every Loop, and others are aware but don’t always remember. Can I file this under ‘quantum’ and call it good?” “Sure, why not,” Hank shrugged. Diana, an astronomer’s daughter, always grasped the explanation pretty quickly. She wasn’t (usually) all that interested in the deeper scientific implications of her father’s career, but she’d absorbed some knowledge by osmosis. “There’s a lot to it, but if you aren’t Looping, it’s usually not helpful, and sometimes not even interesting, so we usually don’t go into a lot of detail.” “Just the important bits, sure. I get that. Sheila, you okay now? I’m not mad at you, really—everyone has airhead moments, and from what Hank said, you learned from yours every time it happened.” “Yeah, sis, just because other you was dumb doesn’t mean you have to be.” “Thanks, Bobby, Diana.” Sheila sniffed, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes. Hank always felt like a bit of a jerk at this point, even though he knew it had to be done and he still hadn’t entirely forgiven her. “I just hate knowing that I could do something like that. And I don’t blame any of you for being mad at me, even if I haven’t done it yet and won’t now that I know about it. Well, not if I have a choice, anyway.” “Hey, we won’t blame you for a railroad Loop,” Eric said. “Not that this is one, since none of the stuff I remember from baseline has happened besides meeting… yeah, even that isn’t the same. And if you get hit by a spell that makes you stupid, or get controlled, or whatever, totally not your fault, right? Just don’t be that dumb again, that’s all we ask.” “Um, guys, I’m not still mad at Sheila either, but there’s something a little more important to worry about,” Presto said. “I thought that traveling between Loops wasn’t possible, but before she woke up, Twilight said she got sucked into a portal that she may or may not have caused when her magic went screwy.” “I’m pretty sure I know what happened,” Twilight assured them, much calmer now that she was Awake and used to the idea of being a filly again. “We already know that the Realm in baseline was a composite of bits and pieces of various interconnected dimensions or possibly planes of reality. There are quite a few Loops that have similar set-ups, and it’s not uncommon for that to be used as a set-up for a Fused Loop. Basically, if I’m right, and I’m pretty sure I am, in this Loop, Equestria is one of those dimensions, just like your world is. Once we’re a little more settled in, I’ve got some tests I can run to be sure.” “Do you plan on remaining your current age? It could provide ample opportunity for trolling Venger.” “I’d already thought of that.” Twilight stood up, placing all four hooves close together, then looked up at Hank with eyes huge and lip trembling. “You wouldn’t do anything to hurt us, would you, Mr. Venger?” Tiamat roared (literally) with laughter, and to the Loopers’ surprise, so did Dungeon Master. Once the elderly mage was able to speak again, he surprised them again by giving them a clear explanation. “Venger has shielded himself against many forms of attack, but I believe you have hit upon one he will never have expected. I can see that I need not worry quite as much in regards to your safety in the Realm, and I must confess that I am looking forward to watching your adventures here.” “Weaponized cuteness,” Hank said. “Sometimes I really love the Loops.” 193.20 (Gym Quirk) Thorax had just explained how Chrysalis' throne damped all non-Changeling magic. Discord's and Starlight's subsequent tests served to confirm this. "Well, I suppose this means we need to employ an entirely different sort of magic," Trixie sighed. "I don't see how just friendship…" started Starlight. "Don't downplay the usefulness of having the right friend in the right place," said the showmare. "Huh?" "Are you familiar with Art Clerk's writing? 'Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic'?" asked Trixie. She tapped her cloak clasp. The gem emitted a soft chirp. "Trixie to Apple Bloom. Do you read?" "Loud and clear," came the slightly filtered voice of the youngest Apple sibling from the clasp. Thorax, clearly startled, instinctively shifted form to a small boulder. Discord blinked, then shrugged, absently sending another flying pig to its doom. "We've reached the edge of the anti-magic field," reported Trixie. Starlight took a long thoughtful look at her friend. "Time traveler like Twilight..." she mused. "But then why did she let herself get…?" "Looks like y'all got plenty of space for me and the gear. I'll beam over in fifteen seconds," replied the filly's voice. Trixie gently nudged the Thorax-boulder. "It's safe. I'm just calling in some reinforcements." One flare of blue flame later, a bemused Thorax resumed his usual form. Before he could ask any questions, a blue-white shower of sparks and cascade of shimmering notes deposited Apple Bloom and several equipment cases nearby. "Right," declared the newcomer briskly, setting up and activating a holodisplay unit. A scale model of the Changeling Spire appeared. "Y’all want the good news, or the bad news?" "Surprise me," suggested Trixie. "Good news: I've got a fairly complete map of the hive complex. Bad news: There's some distortion field in the throne room that prevents me from gettin’ sensor locks on most of the captives and the throne itself." The upper level blurred out slightly. "Most?" asked Discord. An icon of Twilight's cutie mark started flashing in the throne chamber. "Twilight's transponder is workin’ just fine; I can use it as a beacon. I can also get life-signs, and should be able to pick out any moving changelings. I presume those would be the patrols." A large number of gray-green dots appeared across the image. Thorax gazed at the image in fascination. "This is amazing! And it looks like most of the patrols are near the outside; the throne room would be mostly unguarded unless there's an alert." "Okay. So here's what I'm thinkin’," said Apple Bloom, opening a case and passing around communications headsets. "I'll stay out here to keep an eye on things..." A faint tingling from the subcutaneous transponder Apple Bloom had implanted at the start of the loop roused Twilight from her meditation. Okay. Situation checklist... Upside down in translucent green cocoon, check... No easy magical access, check... I suppose there are worse ways to pay for a couple holosuite sessions devoted to newspaper and spray bottle catharsis. Sunset was right. Very theraputic, thought the anchor. Shifting gears, she stretched out with the Force to get a feel for the other occupants of the chamber. One... two... three... nine... ten ponies... a dragon... a few changelings... and the smug one's probably Chrysalis. She heard a faint shimmer of notes below her. Transporter. Four more life forms. Let's Force-enhance the hearing a bit... A thin warble from where she believed the throne to be. Tricorder... Indistinct low murmuring. Probably discussing how to proceed... A muffled grunt and some clicking noises... Then a low hum. Transporter pattern enhancers...? "What do you think you're doing!?" yelled a clearly alarmed Chrysalis from nearby. "Changing the odds," replied a smug Trixie. A faint chirp. "Do you have transporter lock?" "Workin' on it," replied a distracted Apple Bloom. "Stop th--!" *Bzzzzzort*! Thump! *Bzzzort*! Thump! Thump! I think it's time to stop playing 'Name That Sound', decided Twilight. "Hey!" she called. "Could somepony help me out of this?" A few minutes later, Thorax eased Twilight out of her cocoon onto a float pallet being piloted by a visibly nervous Starlight. The anchor peered curiously at the inscription next to the Komarran manufacturer's logo: Ekatarin would approve -- Miles V. There's a story I want to hear... Discord, phaser held gingerly in one paw, was keeping an eye on several unconscious heaps of changelings on the floor. "This ain't workin’, Trixie," reported Apple Bloom via Trixie's comlink. "I'm beamin’ over to get a first-hoof look. Cookie, take over here..." "That did not go as smoothly as I would have liked," declared Twilight Sparkle yet again. Trixie continued to stare balefully at the portal device on the table. "Fifteen centimeters. Fifteen centimeters too large..." "Stupid, stupid, stupid..." chanted Apple Bloom under her breath. After the resolution of the Chrysalis Incident, the three bearers of Magic had retreated to a small break room adjacent to Apple Bloom's workshop. In the absence of Mac or Berry, they had broken out their personal stocks of liquid solace. "To carefully-laid plans and the ways that they crash and burn," announced Trixie raising her glass in an ironic toast. The youngest of the three winced. "Don't remind me. I've got to rebuild that runabout now..." Set up her industrial replicators to build a new one from scratch to meet her exact specifications, translated Twilight. "It was a really stupid mistake on my part, Twilight," Apple Bloom went on. "I should've thought about what would happen if Cookie got too close to the throne." "She's okay, though?" asked the Anchor. "Yeah. Retreated into my mind; no permanent harm done. She said somethin’ ‘bout sympathizin’ ‘bout gettin’ drained by Tirek." Trixie sighed again. "It really isn't anypony's fault that your ship just happened to be on a collision course with the top of the spire when Cookie was rendered non-functional." "And that was some nice improvisation to salvage what we could when things went pear-shaped," said Twilight. "Yay Element of Magic enhanced thought processes," toasted Trixie sarcastically. "Don't be so down on yourself, Trixie," said Apple Bloom. "Yes, the portal device wasn't up to spec; that was partially my fault. But when the alarm went up and the guards started swarming in, who saw the fastest way to resolve the situation?" "Nice misdirection with the Chrysalis hologram," added Twilight. "It helps that we have similar voices," admitted Trixie. "And good work with the demolition charge to take out the throne and restore everypony's magic. It's looking like we'll just have to wait for a loop where Chrys is Awake to get an intact throne to study," said Apple Bloom. Their impromptu self-critique was interrupted by Discord flashing into existence over the table. "Ah. There you are. Why the long faces? I thought it was a fairly successful mission." Twilight snorted. "You just enjoyed watching us panic, plus getting your chance at some petty revenge on Chrysalis at the end. Oh. How's Fluttershy doing?" "She's fine. A little concerned for you three, but I told her that you wanted some time to think about things." "In case I forgot to tell you after we left Thorax to reorganize his new hive, thank you for showing some restraint when dealing with Chrysalis," said Trixie. "I won't pretend to understand why you care so, but I should tell you that life as a breezie isn't suiting her very well. She's rather, if you'll pardon the language, peeved at her altered circumstances..."