//------------------------------// // What Are Friends For? // Story: A Crossover // by Dudofall //------------------------------// Chapter Fifteen: What Are Friends For? Spike glanced up from the tray of Prench pastries he was holding at Twilight and Séparés Cheveux. Twilight smiled somewhat nervously at him, while the Princess of Prance kept a neutral expression on par with Celestia herself. The dragon carefully set the tray down and took a seat next to Twilight. The Princess of Friendship was the first to break the silence. "Soooooo," she said, picking up a pastry with her magic, "I've been told you're here for a classified reason. As an Equestrian Princess, I'll do everything in my power to help! What do you need?" "Nous cherchons aujourd’hui, une pénale très mauvaise. Elle a volé secrets d’importance par la famille royale de Prance. Nôtres conseillers ont recommandé une recherche internationale, donc nous voudrais votre assistance d’attrape ce pénale. Si vous connaissez un moyen de compléter la recherche plus rapidement, nous sommes tous des oreilles." Cheveux said speedily. Twilight smiled harder and ate her pastry. "It is offensive to us that you do not use silverware for your food. It is the Prench way," the princess noted. She pointedly stabbed her food with a fork before slicing dainty bites off with a knife. Spike looked down a bit. He'd forgotten to remind Twilight about item 5 on the checklist: Read up on Prench food etiquette. "My humblest apologies, I've been really busy with another criminal case lately. If you'd like to meet again tomorrow, I can have a full list of criminal tracking spells ready to cast. Perhaps the underlying concepts of the Mage Meadowbrook's Greed Seed could be useful? Are there spells from Prance that do similar things? Maybe I should do some light reading on the subject. Spike, can you find the History of Prench Magic for me in the library please?" Spike dashed off to grab the book. The Prench Princess finished her second nibblet of pastry, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. "Our top unicorns have been on this case for some time. We do not trust your dated understanding of Prench magic for finding the criminal. We only wish to know if you can cast the spell included in these documents." She slid an envelope across the table. Twilight opened the envelope quickly and immediately set the pages floating around her. "Wow, these are huge power requirements! I'm not sure where all the energy is going, though," Twilight commented, before reading another page. "It was not a spell achieved without struggle, but our Prench spellcraft has always been more intricate than that of Equestria," Cheveux beamed. "The team we assembled was extremely knowledgeable." Twilight flipped another page. "I'm not sure why they needed this many additional safeguards, though. Wouldn't just one be more efficient? And there's a bit of potential magic here that doesn't seem to have any kind of matching effectual output, what were they thinking?" she laughed to herself. "Our team worked very hard! They said this spell would work beyond a shadow of a doubt!" Cheveux exclaimed. Only half listening, Twilight reached the end of the spell. "Well, I can see what they're trying to do. It just seems kind of messy for something as simple as finding a criminal. I guess those issues wouldn't matter too much if there was a group casting dynamic to output the needed mana. Did you already try that, then?" From head to foot, Séparés Cheveux was turning a dangerous red color. "Zut alors! That they failed to cast the spell is irrelevant! Tell me, can you cast it?!" Twilight stared into space for a few seconds before answering, "Well, I'd have to rewrite it to work out the efficiency problems, that's for sure. I'm really sorry I can't give you a solid answer! I'm just super unfamiliar with how this spell was built, it's not like anything I've seen here in Equestria." "Maybe we should just have the whole team come here and explain it to you! Stupide!" With that, she stomped away. "Wait, come back!" Twilight stood up and rushed after the Prench Princess. Her frantic apology echoed. The spell papers fell to the floor, forgotten in her hurry, and a dangerous red rune on the back of one page seemed to flash in the light of the crystal chandelier above. *** Aria awoke with a start, some primal instinct telling her to run from the fearsome snores issuing from a nearby spot on the beach. She propped herself up and spotted Ritornello, still asleep as the first rays of dawn flashed across the sea. She glanced at the gem on her chest. It was still glowing powerfully from her feast at Baltimare, but there was a speck of color that seemed out of place. The siren sighed edgily and tried to catch a glimpse of Griffonstone through the dew drenched pine trees. It was certainly easier yesterday, when the sun was higher in the sky. "It's pretty silly to look so far this early," Ritornello said, jolting Aria out of her attempts. "Why don't you wait for more sun?" The siren waited for Adagio's plan. Then she remembered. "Right, right. Um, we have to get going early. The less time I have to spend under that hot ball of death the better. I'm not sure how long I can go without water in this form." "Right, because you totally forgot from spending tons of time as a human," the manticore snarked. With a remarkably careful grip, she grabbed Aria's tail and started dragging her towards the depths of the forest. "Stop! Watch the bumps! What are you doing?" "I'm taking you to the city, obviously. You didn't think this would be that easy, did you?" "Can't I ride on your back or something?" "That's a Manticore Taboo. Maybe you could lean on my shoulder and walk with one foot?" "Just carry me there! You said you would! We had a deal!" "How about we walk next to each other for a while?" "Are you stupid? It's a PINE NEEDLE forest! The needles will get all over my scales!" Ritornello licked her paw. "You said you used to live here. How did you get around then?" She brushed some sand off herself. Aria glared at her. "I wasn't so big back then. Ever since I've gotten back, I've had two options. Swim around like the garbage society my sisters and I left to make it big, or slither on the ground like a snake." "I haven't flown in years, because I had to leave my family behind. But I've gotten much better at running. I adapted. All you have to do is figure out how to do the same. You can do magic, right?" "Technically," the Siren said, crossing her legs. "But we never use magic for anything creative. The music is what changes, not the spell." "What do you mean we?" "Adagio, me, and Sonata. Duh!" "They're the sisters from your story last night, right?" "They're not just a story, they're real!" "Whatever, just use your magic to float or something. I'm going to scout ahead." With that, Ritornello started off on the path. Aria dragged herself forward for a bit before giving up. Unbidden, a simple tune that Sonata liked to sing came to mind. "She does have her head in the clouds..." Aria muttered, looking around for witnesses and finding none. She cleared her throat and began to sing. *** “How long do you think Twilight’s meeting will be?” Dawn asks. “I am unsure,” I reply. It is possible that the princess of stares will be occupied with friendly activities for several days. The teams at my company often took whole weekends off to go to baseball games together, and I imagine Celestia’s subjects don’t even know what a weekday is. “Is today a weekday?” I ask. Rarity speaks up, “Yes, today is a day of the week. In fact, it’s a Thursday. Did you know that Thursdays are the best day for boutiques? It just so happens that lots of ponies buy hats and other accessories for their dates on Friday! Why, I daresay a lesser boutique owner than me might manage to be quite peeved at anypony-” “Anyone,” I interrupt. “-who keeps her away from her store any longer than is strictly necessary!” Nearby mothers cover their foals ears, and I wonder if it’s due to the shrillness of the unicorn’s voice. Perhaps a more diplomatic approach to this conversation is in order. Dawn looks over her shoulder at the crystal castle. “Ah, oui! I’m so sorry you had to leave your boutique! We shall go there right away!” It’s a good compromise, save one small detail. “What about the Monitor?” I protest. It really isn’t a good idea to leave such a dangerous machine out in the open. He might leak important trade secrets to the public. With a dramatic sigh, Rarity flares her horn and wrenches him out of the wineglass-shaped dirt, straining only slightly to pull the prototype through the air. How odd, it seems this section of town is now deserted. Did the concerned pony parents predict peril? His power shouldn’t return without external aid, which I am eager to not provide. I am not evil. With the matter settled, I confidently catch up with Dawn and Rarity. “Thank goodness electricity is in short supply here,” I comment, “this device seems to run on such energy and to be from my world.” “Indeed,” Rarity replies. “The only ponies who care about electricity are those who commit the worst kinds of crimes!” Dawn frowns slightly, “What crimes?” “Crimes against fashion! They spend so much time playing their video games that they adopt the garish colors of their favorite characters!” “Most ponies are garishly colored anyway,” I state truthfully. Rarity sputters a bit. After a moment, she regains her faculties enough to reply, “What a rude thing to say!” “Rude, perhaps, but definitely not evil,” I clarify. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Shadow Spade, it's that small details are often very important! Your rudeness could be evidence that you're a criminal!" Dawn looks off to the side, "Could we not talk about criminals in public s'il vous plait? Pretty please?" Rarity looks around for witnesses, but none of the ponies nearby will return her gaze. "I suppose it is beneath a distinguished business owner such as myself to discuss such matters." We spend the rest of our return trip in silence. When the boutique is finally visible, Rarity rushes to the door and flings it open. She's inside in a blink. In another, she's at the sewing machine with some black cloth. "She sure moves quickly," I remark. Dawn nods. I head inside after her and close the door. Rarity has placed the Monitor prototype by the window, so naturally I walk over to him to investigate his design. The ridge that differentiates him from the original prototype is made of a strange material. It slowly changes color from transparent to purple to green, and I haven't the faintest idea how this is possible. "Dawn, do you have any idea what material this is?" I ask. She examines it for a moment. Then she takes a few steps backward. "I've never seen so much Batunionium before in my life! C'est incroyable!" I've never heard of this substance. Could it have any connection to the unknown material that miners have been uncovering beneath my home? I cannot remember what all the reports said, but one of them definitely mentioned that it seemingly disappeared if charged with electricity. It had been assumed that these disappearances didn't lead to reappearances in other dimensions. I suppose the assumptions were incorrect. Dawn's voice breaks through my thoughts. "We should get rid of this avec beaucoup vitesse! It could go off!" What on earth does she mean? "Go off?" I question. "It blows up when magic touches it!" Rarity looks up from her work. "Well, I've already lifted that thing with magic, and it didn't do anything!" I ponder this. "It's possible that the Batunionium in your world has different properties than that from mine." Dawn peeks at the monitor prototype from behind a mannequin. "I guess so...c'est étrange," she murmurs, stepping further from her makeshift shelter, "because this stuff looks exactly the same." "The same as what?" The monitor prototype asks. I answer thoughtlessly. "The same as the unknown material that miners found below my house." My mind jolts. "How are you still able to converse?" "I've sort of got a bit of a backup power source. It's on a timer though. Not sure why, I guess it could be like what squirrels do. You know, how they play dead? Sassy little buggers, and quite clever, all things considered. Even with all your smarts, they still steal food from your bird feeder." Dawn looks from the prototype to me, confused. "Enough about squirrels! I demand that you tell me how you got here!" If he has a way back home early... "I don't really know. It's kind of like tying your shoes. Do ponies have shoes? Umm...It's like brushing your teeth!" "Traversing space bears no resemblance to dental hygiene." "No, it totally does! See, when you brush your teeth, you don't really think about how you're doing it. You just sort of do, and after a while, poof, your teeth are clean!" By this point, both my front hooves are on my face. Miraculously, I remain sitting without tipping over. "How do you even know what it's like to brush one's teeth?" He hasn't moved this whole time, but now his saw blade briefly glows dimly. "I've got a few memory files from Mary. The original me got them when he tried to hack the SECRETARY. And he thought they were useless. Ha! Who's useless now?" Dawn straightens. "Nopony said anypony else was useless." "Well, yeah, but I mean, you were totally thinking it, right?" I glance around the room. Rarity is taking a break from her sewing, and shakes her head. "I was actually ruminating on how useful you could be for my future goals." "What kind of evil plan are you plotting now?" Rarity hounds me like a news reporter. I'm never one to discourage the press, but they still vex me on occasion. "I never mentioned any plan. I was in fact referring to my acclimatization to your world of lollipops and rainbows." Even good people lie sometimes, and lies with a good intent behind them are frequently distinguished from those that are evil. This is certainly the former. The prototype can't rightly shrug, so instead he says it. "Shrug. I've almost got enough power now to make a jump. Anything you want me to tell the hundreds of other mes?" I suppose now is as good a time as any. "Most certainly not. I see no reason to give you any sort of message." "Oh well. See ya later then!" He begins to spin. Rarity and Dawn squint as his sawblade charges more. I creep closer. "I'll tell them myself!" With a quick jump, I'm next to the monitor prototype. I tap on his side. And I'm gone.