//------------------------------// // Chapter XXXIV: Fate // Story: Nocturnal Mayhem // by Silvak //------------------------------// "Odd... even since I came to this world, I've met more mares than stallions so far." "That's because the gender ratio is in favor of mares, at a rate of five mares to every two stallions," Sunset stated, causing me to turn my attention towards her, only for her to continue, "No, you can't have your own private harem." "Darn it all," I muttered as I eyed the unicorn guard that was assigned to me shortly after family breakfast, a turquoise unicorn mare with a pale yellow mane in golden armor. "Aren't you on the day shift?" "Yes, but I was chosen due to the fact that you might use your more direct connection to Princess Luna as some form of leverage, hence my presence here, madam," the mare explained in a monotone voice. Raising an eyebrow, I looked at Sunset as I asked, "Hey, does robots exist in this world?" Sighing, Sunset answered, "No, we don't have the technological level for such a thing to exist yet, and before you ask, we don't have a magical equivalent of such a thing either." "Shame," I replied to Sunset before turning my attention back to the guard. "So, what's your name, or should I call you the solemn one." "My name is Marine Shield," the guard simply stated, not even looking at me. "Trying to be the strong silent type?" I asked, only to receive silence in return. "Yup, so typical of a guard." "Must you antagonize the pony?" Gala asked as she came into the suite that we were currently in, a pair of saddlebags on her back with Rainbow hovering right behind her. "With your other retainer here, I can take my leave," Marine said before she vacated the room. "Oh, she's going to be a bundle of joy when she comes back," I observed before taking a look at Gala, who was placing her bags on a nearby table. "I'm pretty certain my mother and Celestia told you some things before you came in for work, but there is are more pressing concerns for the time being. Which is, how is your mental state?" Giving me a stare for a moment, Gala replied, "Well... they're there... sort of..." Frowning, I asked, "What do you mean by that exactly? And be specific, I don't want you leaving anything out that could turn out to be crucial in this... 'matter' of ours," while noting that Sunset was taking notes on all this. Sighing, Gala replied, "To be honest with you, Rarity and Pinkie are starting to lose their sense of... well... themselves. It's getting harder for them to tell who's who at times, to the point that Rarity is calling Pinkie Rarity and vice versa." "Wait a minute," I stated while holding a hoof out. "I thought those two were unable to stop thinking as one?" "Ah, that, they finally were able to break out of, though they can now slip into the line of thinking and come out of it with ease now. Now, as I was saying, they're losing themselves in me, thinking more like me now more than ever, to the point that sometimes, I think they simply went mute inside my mind, or that they're just thinking the same exact thoughts as I am," Gala said with an expression that was a mixture of concern and worry, one that was shared by Rainbow. "I see, so tell me this, are you concern over their well-being or is it something else that you're all torn up about?" I asked in a nonchalant tone, which prompted Sunset to speak up. "Why are you so calm about this? Two ponies could lose themselves and you're just being so uncaring about the situation!" Sunset declared, promptly to look at her in surprise. "And when did you care about the well-being of those two? From what I heard, you were a power-hungry pony, and normally those kinds of ponies don't care about others that aren't of use to them?" I asked. "I may want power for myself, but I'm not one to simply let innocent ponies come to an end without a care in the world!" Sunset yelled, only for Gala to hold a hoof out in front of her, quieting her while confusing her at the same time. "Sunset dear, I don't think Nebula is being uncaring about this all, maybe more... hmm..." Gala started to say before she started to tap her chin, causing me to roll my eyes at both of them. "Sunset, I have a different perspective on this entire matter. There are more variables at play than you think, variables that most ponies, or perhaps all, never thought about," I stated. "And what would that be, hmm? Let me guess, the multiverse theory is actually correct?" Sunset asked with a sneer, to which I just respond with a silent stare, causing her sneer to slowly fade as she continued, "No, that can't be..." "What is this egghead multiverse mumbo jumbo you're talking about?" Rainbow asked as Sunset dropped to her rear, pupils widening as she continued to stare at me. "The multiverse theory states that whenever a pony makes a decision, the universe is split into multiple ones, each one based on one of the choices the pony could have made. This would lead to an exponential growth of universes until it is at the point that our universe is nothing more than an insignifact dot in the multiverse," Sunset stated, as she took one the thousand yard stare until I walked over to her to give her face a slap. "Ow! What the buck did you do that for?" Sunset asked as she came out of her stupor. "For assuming the most ridiculous thing I ever heard," I calmly answered, causing Sunset to blinked at me before a wave of relief overtook her face. "I mean, just imagine the amount of work it would mean for us Dimensional Lords, we would be constantly working if that's true." "So they're aren't multiple versions of me, though they're not as awesome as the original, that aren't flying around being awesome?" Rainbow asked, causing me to roll my eyes as Gala shook her head at Rainbow's question. "There is," I simply said, causing Sunset to shake her head before giving me a befuddled look, while the rest wore similar expressions. "But I... you just said that the idea of multiple versions of us was ridiculous!" Sunset yelled as she stamped a foot. "I said the idea of new universes being made for every decision was ridiculous, but that doesn't mean there aren't more being formed," I replied, before holding up a hoof to keep Sunset silent, who was looking to be ready to scream my head off. Or maybe bite it off, who can tell sometimes. "The real difference is that new parallel, or whatever you want to call it, universes are being made based on major decisions that have a large impact on a world, like deciding on moving an entire nation to another land or declaring war on a massive scale. If universes were being for every single decision, I don't want to even think about how many universes that are generated per second." "So... does that mean we're not replaceable, or what?" Rainbow asked. "I'm curious too, are there multiple Galas running around too? Oh, and are there multiple yous running around as well?" Gala asked as she rubbed her chin as she looked to the side, which made me think that she was imagining what it would be like for dozens of Galas to meet up at one place, while Sunset suddenly grabbed me by her forehooves, lifting me into the air as a bit of an anxious expression on her face. "Oh please tell me that you're one of a kind!" Sunset begged, causing me to quirk an eyebrow at her. "You do know that one could take that as a compliment," I countered, only for her to start shaking me around. "I don't, I just don't want to end up in a meeting of you and your counterparts with all of you out for my blood!" Sunset replied, her shaking continuing until I shove a hoof against her muzzle to stop her. "Relax, something like that will never happen, so can you put me down now instead of shaking me around like a pair of maracas?" I responded, receiving the result of Sunset calming down as she put me down. "Wait, if there are multiple universes where there are multiple versions of us due to all the major events that can happen, then how come there is only one of you?" Rainbow asked as she scratched the side of her head in confusion. "Simple, there are only... a limited amount of Dimensional Lords whose numbers don't shrink nor grow over time, it just remains constant. And before you ask Sunset, we're not affected by the creation of universes from major events. In fact, our presence on worlds, and their respective universe, that we have set up some sort of major residence actually prevents more from being made as a result, since it would be confusing for a universe to suddenly have an individual of immense importance suddenly disappearing," I explained. "So wait, there aren't more of me?" Gala asked, only for me to nod a confirmation, causing her ears to droop. "Oh shoot..." Sunset, on the other hoof, was tapping her chin as she said, "So what you're saying is that we could be replaceable, but you have to take them from other worlds that don't know a thing about you, hence making them somewhat to far more different than the current us?" "Sort of, I rather not go into the business of replacing anypony, not my kind of thing," I replied. "But in essence, you all are replaceable, but that would involve taking somepony out of a world, leaving a vacant spot as a result, along with the fact that I would have a pony calling me a foalnapper and probably trying to kick me in the jaw. But rest assured, I won't be putting any of you in danger, nor replacing Pinkie and Rarity should they decide to become Gala permanently, unless it is absolutely required." Instead of receiving a set of relieved expressions, I was instead greeted with unsure looks as Sunset stated, "Yeah, don't blame me for being doubtful giving your track record of pranking me. I'll believe you on what you said about dimensional counterparts since you appeared to be serious about that, but you don't strike me as one that wouldn't replace a pony on a whim," causing me to fold my ears and frown at her until Gala decided to add her two bits in. "Sunset may be a bit right, considering Rarity's original purpose here was to help you become a more responsible princess. You haven't shown to be a responsible filly, so forgive us for being doubtful about that claim, especially since your statement about your perspective could hint at replacing my parts," Gala explained, causing me to rub my forehead with a hoof. "Fine fine, you both have a fair point, but regardless, if there is a need for both Pinkie and Rarity to be here, but they really wanted to be Gala, I could just set it up so that you can have both cases in the end. But what is more important is that Rarity and Pinkie are given the right to choose their own fate and pursue what would make them happy without the need of some important duty hanging over their head, that was the point that I was trying to get to," I replied, only for Sunset to snort at me. "You could have said that in the first place instead of this roundabout path you took," Sunset stated, causing me to narrow my eyes at her in annoyance. "Also, speaking of important duties, you're supposed to be responsible for handling any cross-dimensional matters, correct?" Narrowing my eyes further, I nodded as I answered, "Yes... what are you getting at?" "Well, let's just say that while you were out and about with the changeling infiltrators, I had some free time to look into some history books, and I discovered that I wasn't the only pony to gone through it," Sunset stated as her horn lit up, teleporting a book to her that she opened up to take a look at it as the other two looked at her in confusion. "...What." "Yeah, it turns out that Starswirl the Bearded may have sent a trio of sirens into it a thousand years ago. Maybe you ne—" "WHAT‽"