Ponyville was about as bustling as one would expect, and I was reminded a bit of a small town on the verge of erupting. I could tell that Twilight's castle, which was an impressively large structure from the outside, had been made using some ancient and powerful magic, but was clearly a new addition from the freshly installed interior and the lack of heavy development nearby. Perhaps someday soon this place would grow into a bustling city, but for now, it was far flung from the overcrowded metropolis of say, New York City, a place I'd somehow remembered from my homeworld.
Twilight and I walked side by side down the cobblestone road, and I found a certain fondness for the clip clop! clip clop! noise our hooves made as they fell on the hard stones. There just seemed to be something comforting about this world of colorful ponies that I couldn’t place: all I knew was that my own world had been far more grey and dead.
Not far into the town proper, I tapped Twilight on the shoulder and pointed to a particularly poofy plump pink pony literally bouncing towards us. She stopped a few feet away, wearing a huge grin as she looked us over excitedly. “Hey Twilight! Who’s your new friend?”
“This is Meta, she’s another scientist from out of town who’s staying with me for a while.” Twilight said, gesturing to me. She looked at me, “Meta, this is my friend-”
“Pinkie Pie.” I stated aloud.
There was a brief pause as they both just looked at me with confusion.
Pinkie broke it, “Wow!” she grinned, “You sure must be really smart to already know that!”
“Yeah... Meta, how did you know that?”
“I don't know...” I looked over at Twilight, “All of this seems very familiar, despite the fact that I've never even been to your planet before...”
Pinkie gasped, “Are you an alien from another world trapped here without form or memories by some spell, remembering stories told about us from the future of some other timeline!?”
“...yes. Well... I'm not sure about the last one, but yeah, the first part is true. How did you know?”
“Lucky guess!” she grinned at me, as if it was the most normal thing to assume.
I made a note to ask how much of a “guess” that was later...
“So, Meta,” she started again, “Since you're new in town, I should throw you a 'Welcome to Equus’ party! I’ve never thrown a party for an alien before...” she rubbed her chin with a forehoof, “Actually, I don't think anypony has...” Her eyes lit up, “That means it'll be the first 'Welcome to Equus’ Party ever!!”
“Uhh... Pinkie Pie?” Twilight slipped in, “I'm not sure that's such a good idea...”
Pinkie’s face fell, “Aww... But I’ve always wanted to throw a ‘Welcome to Equus’ party, and I’m sure she’ll just love my cupcakes!”
I chimed in, “Pinkie, I'd love for you to throw me a party, but I don't think right now would be a good time. I'm still getting used to having a pony body, and I haven't even figured out a way to eat yet. You should wait until I've had some time to adjust, then I can try your cupcakes! With hot sauce even!”
Pinkie’s face lit back up at that, “Ohh boy! I bet it's gonna be super awesome-riffic!” She jumped forward, giving me a big hug, to which I just smiled and hugged her back. Something about her felt so... Comforting...
Beside me, I heard Twilight mutter, “...how did she know about the hot sauce?”
“Welp! I'd better let you go!” Pinkie Pie said, literally letting go of me, “Try not to bore the readers too much with the sciencey talk!” She giggled a little.
“Don’t worry, things’ll pick up in the next chapter!” I giggled back, giving a wave as she turned to leave, “See you later Pinkie!”
“Byyeeee!” Pinkie called as she bounced off.
I smiled as she left, turning to Twilight, only to notice her staring at me in confusion. “Uhh... Meta? What was that about... ‘The Next Chapter’?”
“The next... What? I have no idea... What... What was that?” My mind tried to analyze what had just happened, but my memory kept throwing me the answer that it was “just Pinkie being Pinkie”, whatever that meant.
Twilight sighed, rolling her eyes, “Great, there’s one more mystery. Though, I guess we can just write this off as Pinkie being Pinkie for now...”
“Pinkie being Pinkie...” I repeated, “Um... yeah, let’s leave it at that for now...”
“Right... So... Is there anything you were thinking of doing before... that happened?”
“Uh... Well... I suppose it might be nice to see... some art? You know, see a bit of your planet’s creative culture...”
Twilight rubbed her chin, thinking for a moment, “Hmm... I know! My friend Rarity is a fashion designer, she knows all sorts of things about art! Maybe you’d like to meet her?”
“That sounds good...” I nodded slowly, “Some clothing might be nice too. I feel... oddly exposed. Not just because my body isn’t made of real matter either: I feel like I have some sort of... ‘instinct’ left over from my old species, where I’m supposed to be wearing clothes for some reason... Besides, I could weave a few defensive runes or something into a cloak, in case I need to defend myself from something... Oh, I’d like to look around that forest at some point.” I pointed way off to the edge of town.
“The Everfree?”
“Yeah, it’s teeming with raw energy... I’m downright drawn to it...”
She nodded thoughtfully, “That makes... some sense... I mean, the Everfree is filled with strange, wild magic... You’re probably sensing that. You might want to be careful though: the Everfree has been known to have some very unstable conditions for spell work.”
I nodded back, “Hence the warding on the cloak.”
“Smart thinking!” Twilight grinned, “Rarity’s is this way...” She turned and started leading me to another part of town.
I fell in beside her, “So, you think your friend could make me a decent outfit?”
Twilight nodded enthusiastically, “Oh yes, Rarity is one of the best fashion designers in Equestria! I’m sure you’re going to love whatever she makes for you.”
“Sounds great!” I grinned. A few more moments of thought caused me to pause though, “Actually... I don’t have any money to pay her with... I mean, I’m assuming your society has currency, right?”
“Oh, don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll be more than willing to make it as a gift, and if she’s not, I have plenty of money to pay for whatever you need.”
I nodded, putting a smile back on as I continued walking. “Thanks again, Twilight.” I added, “I mean... You really don’t need to be doing all this just for me...”
“Oh! It’s nothing... All in the name of science, right?” She gave me another smile.
“Well... it’s more than just science... I mean, you didn’t have to take me around town, or let me see your library, or defend me from spike, or even let me out in the first place.” I smiled, leaning in to give her a brief nuzzle on the side of her neck, “You’ve been a very nice pony, and that means something to me.”
Twilight blushed a little, “Oh, well... Thank you, I guess... And you’re welcome!”
A bell hung over the door rang as we entered the tall, elaborately decorated building that was Carousel Boutique. I heard a gentle yet peppy voice waft in from a room in the back, “Welcome to Carousel boutique! I’ll be with you in just a moment...”
“It’s me Rarity! I brought somepony for you to meet!” Twilight called out, heading for the next room.
Quietly, I followed her, glancing around at the various arrangements of clothing around me. I wasn’t really sure what the point of clothing was in a society where I hadn’t seen any being worn, but I had a distinct emotional response from a few of them, the most common one being a desire to wear them: they were all clearly of expert design.
“That Twilight I hear out there?” A drawing voice wafted out from the doorway, moments before an orange mare wearing a large brown stetson and blonde mane poked her head out, wearing a friendly smile. “Well fancy seein’ you here. I see you’ve brought company...”
“Applejack!” Twilight strolled over with a smile, “I wasn’t expecting to see you here!”
“Hello!” I chimed in loud enough for the ponies in the back room to hear me, putting on a new smile for Applejack, as we walked to that back door.
“Howdy, my name’s Applejack if you didn’t already pick that up.” the orange pony said as she beckoned us into the room, Pleased ta’ meet ya’!” she took my hoof with hers, and I shook it with a grin.
“And I am Rarity, it’s a pleasure to meet you as well!” the pony from earlier beamed at me, holding out a hoof for a much more gentle shake. She was a pure white unicorn with a whimsically styled purple mane, and if I’d remembered the Wolfmother song at the time, the iconic guitar riff would’ve started playing in my head.
I took her hoof and followed her shake as well, “You can call me Meta, and the pleasure is all mine!”
“Meta here is a fellow magical researcher, who I recently met after she went through an unfortunate ordeal.” Twilight chimed in, “Her memories are a bit fuzzy right now, so she’s going by that name until she remembers her old one...”
“Oh dear, how awful!” Rarity said, putting a hoof to her chest. I wasn’t sure how much of her reactions were theatrics, but I seemed to sense a genuine concern from her.
“Yeah, ah’m sorry to hear that Meta. I hope ‘yall feel better soon.” Applejack threw in with a frown. She wasn’t prone to any sort of exaggeration of her mannerisms, so the genuine nature of her response felt all the more genuine to me.
“Oh, I’m making good progress: a few days ago, I literally didn’t have a body, and I didn’t even understand the concept of social interaction. I’d consider just talking with you like a normal pony to be a major improvement!” I tried my best at a reassuring smile.
“Didn’t have a body?” Applejack’s eyes widened slightly as her started to stumble, “That’s a... mighty unfortunate ordeal for y’all to go though... How’re you even standing here?”
“Oh, well... It wasn’t easy. After Twilight here rescued me,” I put a foreleg over her shoulder as she blushed, “she put me in an isolation chamber where I could just... put myself back together... I eventually figured out how to build a new body from scratch.”
Applejack’s eyes widened a bit more, “Wait... Y’all can do that?” she looked at Twilight, “Twi, can y’all actually do stuff like that now?”
Rarity interjected before Twilight could respond, “Hang on a second... Twilight, didn’t you say you had some sort of ‘alien spellform’ in your lab, and that it was starting to mimic pony behavior?” She glanced back at me, eyes widening, “Oh my... That was you, wasn’t it...”
I kept a gentle, even smile: this next part was going to be important. I spoke calmly and clearly, “Yes. I am a magical scholar from what we believe was an alternate universe. I was reduced to a sort of formless state and sent here by some sort of spell that was used against me. As I only have vague memories of my old life, and I don’t have a way back yet, I’ve decided to learn about your world and perhaps live here indefinitely. I hope that you’d still like to be friends with me.” I looked back and forth between the two of them, keeping my smile on stiff.
Applejack just stared at me, drawing a blank from that new information, her mind whirring to provide a response...
...Rarity didn’t really miss a beat with hers, “Oh darling, that sounds absolutely horrible! I simply can not imagine what you must be going through right now!” she reached over and took my hoof in both of hers, “If there’s anything I can do to make you more comfortable here, please, don’t hesitate to ask!”
Applejack turned her head towards Twilight, giving her this wide-eyed, questioning look.
Twilight just smiled uncomfortably, nodding a little, “Yeah... It turns out what I thought was an alien spell was an actual alien... So... I figured I’d make friends?”
Applejack shrugged, looking me over for a moment, “Well... Y’all seem pretty friendly to me... I s’pose we might be friends, uh... someday.” She gave me a weak smile, as if hiding some discomfort.
I decided not to call it out. “I’m glad to hear that!” I looked back and forth between them, “Thank you both for being so understanding.”
Interestingly enough, this is about the point where I realized I’d been sensing some sort of unseen connection between the ponies, like a channel of some sort of energy being directed at each other. I wasn’t sure what I was sensing, but held off on the speculation for the time being.
Twilight’s smile grew into a grin as she saw her friends’ response to me. “Oh good! I was worried you might be a little frightened when you found out what she was...”
Rarity shrugged it off, moving closer to me, putting her foreleg over my shoulder, “Whatever would we be afraid of Darling? Meta here is the one who should be terrified! I’m sure this is all very unnerving to you... is there anything I can do to help?”
“Well...” Twilight said, “We actually came here for that”
“Oh?” Rarity’s eyes lit up at the opportunity, “Please, feel free to ask for whatever you need!”
“You’re a very experienced tailor, I see. Where I’m from, everyone wears clothing in public, and it feels a bit odd to be, well... naked. Also, I’d really like some pockets, and some sort of physical protection, as I feel like my body might be a bit less durable than I’d like...”
“Say no more!” Rarity beamed, “At Carousel Boutique, I take pride in making sure everypony walks out looking and feeling fabulous...” she trailed off a little, searching for some words, “...no matter how unusual their circumstances!”
“Right!” I smiled with an affirming nod.
Working with Rarity, I described the kind of outfit I was looking for: a long, dark jacket made of tough material, as well as a cloak I could line with protective enchantments. Rarity introduced me to some interesting material they had on her world which was made specifically for runes and enchantments exactly like I was describing, and offered to put a grid of this on the inside of a traveler’s cloak, to which I agreed wholeheartedly. It was also suggested that I take a pointed hat with a wide brim as well, as this was, in Rarity’s words, “not only stylish for a spellcaster of your prestige, but could be very useful in shielding your head from any sort of magical interference!” I really didn’t get that one, but something about it really clicked with me, so I went with it.
Pretty soon, Rarity had made some sketches of me wearing this outfit on paper, and it was clear to me at this point that she had quite a bit of skill at making creative ideas into practical realities. Pretty soon she was taking extensive measurements, commenting on how close my proportions were to Twilight, who I’d noticed was significantly taller than the others, while Applejack wrote the numbers down with a practiced hoof. I could tell that Applejack was pretty experienced with tracking numbers, and probably did a large amount of the accounting for her apple farm, which alone would explain her close friendship with an entrepreneur like Rarity...
...Wait... How did I know about that...?
“All done!” Rarity trilled, breaking me out of my thoughts, rapidly rolling her measuring tape back up with a snap! “I should have this ready for you by tomorrow. Do try not to get into any more dangerous situations before then, hmm?” she gave me a wink.
I chuckled a little, “I’ll try not to Rarity. Thanks a bunch!”
With that, we all said our goodbyes and I left with Twilight. I’d noticed that Applejack was very guarded around me, as if she had things she wanted to say that weren’t nice, so she didn’t want to say anything at all. She didn’t trust me, and I wondered how she might’ve behaved had we been alone...
“So Meta,” Twilight asked as we strolled down the path away from Carousel Boutique, “Where to next?”
“Well...” I said in a moment of thought, “I'd still like to get a closer look at the Everfree, even if we shouldn't go in...”
Twilight nodded, “I suppose we could do that... It’s this way.” she pointed briefly with a hoof and began leading me in that direction. “Maybe I should should introduce you to my friend Fluttershy. She lives just outside the Everfree, and she can introduce you to Discord. He might know something about your situation.”
“Discord you say?” there was something ringing a bell about that name, as if I should be excited to hear it, “Sounds like a good plan...”
Twilight opened her mouth to say something else, when a high, scratchy voice called to us from above, “Hey Twilight!”
We both looked up to see a blue pegasus with awesome rainbow hair zooming down to join us, hovering backwards just in front of us, eyeing me over briefly before setting down, smirking at Twilight, “Looks like somepony found somepony to talk Magic with. Wanna introduce me?”
“I know who you are.” I headed Twilight off, “You're Rainbow Dash, the fastest pony in Equestria. Aren't you a member of the Wonderbolts?”
Twilight’s eyes widened in a moment of bewilderment, Rainbow just grinning, “Ha ha, what? I mean, I know I'm awesome, but I guess my reputation proceeds me... You a fan of stunt flying?”
“I don’t think so...” I said, though it was entirely possible I had been, “I just saw you and remembered that you are... It's as if I know who all of you are from some story, but I don't remember reading it...”
Twilight finally spoke up, “But... How is that possible? Meta, you're not even from this world...”
“I don't know... Perhaps we need to reexamine our model of multiversal theory...”
“Wait... What’s that about another world?” Rainbow said, confused, “Are you like, an alien?”
I rolled my eyes a little, “Yes, I am an Alien, Rainbow Dash. I come in peace. Live long and prosper. Yadda yadda yadda.”
Rainbow laughed, “hah! Good one. Anyway, I gotta get back to my training, I’ll catch up with you girls later...” and before Twilight could say anything else to stop her, she leaped back into the air, zooming out of sight.
I watched her leave with this strange lingering feeling of joy from seeing her fly like that, “Huh... I was wondering if she’d react like that...”
“Mmhmm...” Twilight nodded, “Well, at least it seems your personality is developing more.”
I nodded back, “Yeah, I'm feeling pretty well fleshed out at this point...”
And at that, we continued on, the trees of the Everfree looming over the dark underbrush as it came into full view...
The Everfree forest was teeming with a strange, turbulent energy: whereas the rest of this world it seemed to be covered in a strong ambient energy which flowed steadily with uniform saturation, in the Everfree, it broke up to flow around trees and other features, churning in strange magical eddies, creating both hot-spots and dead-zones. It was as if the whole area was operating on a different set of principles than the rest of Equestria, and the readings I was sensing from it were both enticing and ominous.
At some point though, as we moved within 20 meters of the treeline, I felt something else... It was as if an unfamiliar presence had rolled in upon me like a weighted fog. I didn’t have any real frame of reference for exactly what it was, like many of the things I could now sense, and I suspected few beings of the waking did.
Not far from the last house, we approached a cottage which seemed built out of a hill, surrounded with a small garden filled with burrows, a quaint bridge running over a small stream for housing fish.
It was then that I noticed the silence.
Perhaps it was the bird houses which made me realize that we hadn’t heard any birds on the way here, even though we’d spent the past few minutes in the woods during the day. I looked around at the burrows, getting the distinct feeling there should be plenty of active animal life around here... There was none.
As we crossed the bridge, I focused in on my senses, noticing the chickens hiding in their coop, the birds hiding in their houses, the ground animals hiding in the burrows...
I could feel their fear.
“...This is odd. Normally, Fluttershy’s garden is filled with animals... Is it just me, or is it oddly quiet?”
“I noticed that too. The animals are all hiding from... something.”
Twilight cringed, a look of worry on her face as she quietly tapped the door, “Fluttershy?” she called out carefully, “It’s me, Twilight. Is everything ok?”
On the other side, I heard someone move quietly to the door and slowly turn the handle. It creaked as it slowly cracked, a slender yellow mare poking her face out, “Twilight?” she looked over at me, “Oh... you brought a friend...?”
“She wanted to meet you... Is everything ok?”
The door opened wider as Fluttershy conversed with us, looking about anxiously, “Um... No... I mean... Oh dear... I think you should come inside...” Fluttershy moved behind the door, keeping it open as Twilight slipped inside and I followed her in.
The living room seemed dark and bare of life, the blinds drawn and the animals, once again, hiding from... something. I could see a pile of blankets under the couch where Fluttershy had been hiding, the only sign of life in the room. Clearly, whatever had spooked the animals had been going on for at least a few minutes...
Fluttershy closed the door quietly, locking it before turning to look at us with worried eyes, “The animals... They’re all scared... They told me there’s something... unnatural moving through the woods... Like some sort of monster...”
I looked at Twilight, “I’ve been sensing some sort of presence in the woods the entire time we walked here... Maybe it’s that?”
“It’s possible... I hope it’s not something we need to worry about...” Twilight looked over at Fluttershy, “This is Meta. She’s another spellcaster. She’s had some... odd magic done to her. I was hoping Discord might be able to help...”
“Oh, well... I was expecting him for Tea in the next half hour... When all the animals started acting scared, I told them to wait for Discord to show up, because he could protect us from... Whatever it was...” She looked around at all of the various holes in her living room, where the animals didn’t even seem to want to show their faces.
“Well,” Twilight offered, “now that we’re here, maybe we can protect you from whatever it is?” She glanced over at me.
I nodded, “Yeah, both of us are experienced with defensive magic. I’m sure we’re a match for whatever it is, assuming it’s even hostile.”
Twilight nodded, “Right. Fluttershy, ask your animals what they’re afraid of.”
Fluttershy timidly returned her nod, looking around, “Um, alright everyone. It’s safe now: Twilight and her friend are here.”
I saw a few animals peek their heads out, but almost immediately, all of them shot back into their holes with a resounding series of squeaks and hisses, the walls briefly coming alive with the scurrying of tiny feet.
“Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, looking around with “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know... I’ve never seen them act like this... I thought they would come out, but now they’re even more scared than before...” she looked over at me, “It’s almost as if...” her eyes started to widen, breathing becoming heavy, “Meta... I think they’re scared of...” her body trembled, her eyes not breaking contact with me “...You...” She began to back away.
“Me? But why? I’m... Oh...” I looked at Twilight, “Uncanny Valley.”
“Uncanny Valley? But you look perfectly normal! Why didn’t anypony else see it?”
“Animals sense the world differently than we do, so when I made myself to look friendly to ponies, I must have missed some characteristic which they pick up on...” I trailed off, letting her pick up...
“...creating the appearance not of a living thing, but something trying to mimic one!” her eyes widened, “Meta! They probably think you’re a flesh golem or something!”
“Right! So how do we get them to stop being afraid? I don’t have enough context to know what I need to change to look natural...”
Fluttershy’s wings were raised, and her fur was literally standing on end, “T-Twilight? What... what’s going on?! Why is Meta... Why isn’t Meta alive!?” she stumbled backwards, ending up pinned against the couch, shaking violently as she stared at me with gaping eyes.
Twilight grimaced at her, searching for words, “Meta is... um... The best way to describe it is that she was maimed by a magical spell... Her body is actually a construct she put on so she could talk to ponies without scaring them.”
I nodded, “Right... I’m not dead, it’s just that I had to put on a fake body... Like a prosthetic! Yeah, that’s what this is, they’re afraid of my prostheses!”
At the notion that I was really just a horribly maimed pony, Fluttershy immediately calmed down, breathing a sigh of relief, “Oh... That’s a relief...” her eyes widened again, “Oh my gosh, Meta, I’m so sorry! I had no idea what you were going through, and I must have made you feel absolutely terrible when I thought you were a monster, and you’re really just a normal pony trying to make friends!”
“Well... I wouldn’t call myself a normal pony... considering I wasn’t a pony before this...”
Twilight cringed.
“Oh... Oh my!” Fluttershy’s eyes widened, “I didn’t realize just how serious it was! Oh you poor thing, I’m so sorry! And here I’ve treated you so horribly...”
I sighed, “It’s fine, I understand why you were scared. It’s…”
“Oh no, but it’s not fine!” Fluttershy kept laying it on thick, “I mean, here you are, going through what you’re going through, and here I am acting like you’re some sort of... Oh! I’m such a silly pony! How can I ever make this right!”
I rolled my eyes, “I said it’s fine Fluttershy. Let’s just move on and talk about something else, like... Hey, Twilight, why don’t we tell her about our day so far!” I held up a hoof to Twilight, beckoning her on.
“Oh! Right! Um... We were at Rarity’s earlier, and we saw Applejack there!” Twilight offered.
“Yeah, Rarity is making me a new outfit” I continued.
“Oh... well that’s nice of her.” Fluttershy seemed a bit unsure.
“Yeah,” Twilight nodded, picking up the idea, "Fluttershy, Meta here likes to wear clothes!”
She perked up at that one, “Oh... she does?”
“Yes, um... Dresses too!” I grasped for the first thing that came to mind, “...Are you a fan of Prench haute couture?”
Fluttershy finally smiled, “Oh yes! I particularly love ribbons and frills!”
I smiled back, “Ah, I like more modernist designs, you know, the more form-fitting ones.”
“Oh, those! Rarity’s made a few of them, but of course, I’d never wear something so... provocative...” she blushed a little, trying to hide it behind her mane, but hey, better than apologies. “Oh where are my manners... Would you like some tea?”
“I love tea!” I said, not thinking. “Wait... Actually, I can’t ingest anything right now, so I suppose I’ll have to wait until another time...”
“Oh, I’m so sorry Meta! I had no idea!”
Twilight facehooved, groaning, “Not this again...”
I was about to open my mouth when I felt a presence phase in on top of us. Suddenly, I felt a burst of power rewrite reality in the middle of the room, creating circumstances from the multitude of possibilities where some sort of long-bodied chimera was floating just above the rug. Holy crap. I could feel the power dripping off this guy, as if he’d been wired into some facet of the world itself, and his form seemed built to perfection through chaos, if such a thing was even possible.
...Also... he looked familiar... in that comforting sort of way that made me want to be friends, which was bizarre, considering he basically had the body of a circus train catastrophe... You know, the kind that ends with a big bill for fishing wire and cackling screams of “It’s aliiive! By Promethius, it’s aliiive!!!”
“Ah, Fluttershy! I see our good friend Twilight has decided to join us for Tea! Let me guess Twilight, you just couldn’t resist the thought of my impeccable company. Oh, but you reeaally should have called ahead. If I’d known I’d ha- Oh.” Discord immediately stopped when he noticed me for the first time, having somehow not sensed me as a living creature in the room. He leaned in, giving me his full attention, ”Well you're different.” Discord dropped the subject mid-sentence and began eyeing me over with amused curiosity, picking up my hoof and looking at it, sticking his head under my body and looking over my underside...
“Um... Discord?” Fluttershy stammered, blushing, “That’s... a little.... Rude... don’t you think?”
“Nah, it’s fine. I’m a huge fan of Discord.” I said off the cuff, “I also don’t mind this kind of attention from an attractive male... Hey Twilight, you should make a note of that, in case you were wondering about those preferences.”
Fluttershy practically buried her face in her hooves at that one, trying to hide the immense blush at hearing another female talk that bluntly about a male she was clearly interested in.
Twilight blushed too, “I um... wasn’t really... um... ok... I’ll keep that, in mind...” she stammered.
I didn’t need to give into my shame though, and my sense of humor was finding the whole thing hilarious. So did Discord, because he started laughing out loud, something which I joined in on.
“Ah Twilight, I don’t know what this abomination is that you’ve called in from the void, but I completely approve of this application of the dark arts!” he laughed more, grabbing my hoof and shaking, “Welcome to Equestria, whatever you are... Do you go by something pronounceable on the lower planes?”
“Meta. And Twilight didn’t summon me, I was sent here from another world by someone else’s spell, which was trying to change my physical form when I sabotaged it. Twilight found me unconscious.”
“Yeah, Discord, you know a lot about trans-dimensional magic. Have you ever heard of anything like that?”
“Hmm... sounds like someone tried to Displace you...” Discord rubbed his beard, peering over me with a smirk, “That would explain the recent disturbances in the dimensional barriers...”
“‘Displaced’?” I asked, “You’re saying you know what happened?”
Discord gave a shrug, waving it off with his paw, “Oh, you know, one hears things when they get around the multiverse. Normally, lower level beings like Humans or Ponies don’t travel beyond their own universe without extensive training like the Moon Princess has, or the help of a being with that kind of power, such as yours truly. Sometimes, however, a higher level being, and I’m talking ‘That Which Dwells Within The Void’ here, will decide that a world-dwelling creature, such as yourself, should be something else on a different world, so they’ll grab some concept from the collective unconscious, slap it on them, and chuck them across the dimensional barriers. It's all the rage this century, though I prefer more absurd entertainment, personally. Anyway, Multiversal Displacement is a veeerry meticulous process, and one which it sounds like your ‘Displacer’ wasn’t expecting to be interrupted, you clever thing you...” his smirked turned into a grin as I sensed something like... admiration?
“But why would someone do something like that? I did not consent to this!” I lightly stomped a hoof for emphasis. “What sort of goal could possibly justify this sort of thing?”
Discord raised his hands defensively, “Oh, I wouldn’t know! I mean, they all have different motives. Some do it for entertainment, some do it to meddle in the affairs of other worlds, some even have these sorts of cosmic machinations which involve Displacements across countless worlds. I wouldn’t be surprised if your Displacer simply did this because it was some convenient shortcut in some other plan. You, however, probably put a spanner in those works...” he rubbed his hands together, “Oh, I’d love to see the look on that interdimensional meddler’s face when it realizes what you’ve done...” his grin faded to a frown as he had a sobering thought, “Well, of course, assuming it doesn’t just destroy you on the spot... That would be a shame: I quite like your attitude so far...”
I sighed, “Well, I’m glad my continued existence has your vote of confidence: I wouldn’t be happy about being destroyed myself... Though,” I conceded, “I suppose I wouldn’t be unhappy either, seeing as I would no longer exist.”
Discord chuckled, Twilight and Fluttershy were just looking back and forth between us with increasing amounts of worry on their faces.
“Discord,” Twilight asked, “Is there any way we can defend Meta from her Displacer if it comes after her? I mean, do you have any way to protect her?”
Discord shook his head, “While I am the Avatar of Chaos in Equestria, making defense against the impositions of otherworldly beings my purview, I wouldn’t be able to tell you in advance. Meta’s displacer could be anything from a lowly Deep One to a full on Eldrich God, and anything between that could have a myriad of strengths and weaknesses. Now, you, being the one chosen to wield the powers of the Avatar of Harmony, should also have that kind of power at your disposal, but I simply can’t promise you anything about a situation I know nothing about...” he thought for a second, “You know, it’s quite exciting, really.”
“Well I don’t believe in gods.” I grumbled, “And as much as I find the idea of multiversal travel ‘exciting’, I believe in my right to, you know, not have my very being broken down by uncaring Outsiders...”
Fluttershy took a step forward, “Please Discord, Meta seems like a nice enough pony. Isn’t there anything you can do to help her?” she put a hoof on his arm.
Discord looked down at her hoof, and I sensed that connection again... strong... I’d have to ask them later what kind of bond they had. He rolled his eyes a little, making a good show of feigning a lack of caring, though I could sense the will to please her within him, “Oh fine, I was going to have some me time today...” he held up a coconut to show us a hole in the side, bouncing his eyebrows, “...Buuut if it means so much to you, I suppose I could go look around and see if I can turn anything up on who might’ve done this, but only because you’ve all been so forgiving about the whole Tirek thing...”
...Tirek...
“Thank you Discord! I'm so glad you're our friend!” She leaned in and gave him a warm nuzzle on his side.
Discord actually blushed a little at it, “Yes, yes, well, we can't all be beings of cosmic power now can we. It was delightful to meet you Meta, now if you'll excuse me, I have some holes to poke my head into...” He raised his hand, snapped his fingers, and rewrote his position in reality in a flash of chaotic power.
I glanced around, feeling his presence fade out of the quiet cottage...
“Well that’s good news Meta. With Discord’s help, I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of what’s happened to you in no time.” Twilight gave me a reassuring smile.
I didn’t respond, something was banging in my head, like a misunderstanding that had been left unresolved for years.
Fluttershy leaned over towards me, “Meta? Is something wrong?”
“...He betrayed you to Tirek, didn’t he.”
“What?”
“Like, I mean, you had this evil sorceror named Tirek who could steal magic, and Discord sold you out to him, only to regret it after his sudden but inevitable betrayal? Because Discord is emotionally stunted? Then he swung back around at the last possible second, right?”
“...That’s... Yes. How did... How did you know about that?”
“I have no idea. It’s just a piece of knowledge I have. I’m really starting to wonder if there’s some time dickery at play here, because I feel like ‘why did you forgive him so quickly?’ is a question I’ve been wanting to ask for a few years.”
Twilight and Fluttershy looked at each other, hesitant...
“Discord...” Twilight began, “Changed.”
Fluttershy nodded softly, “We were all very mad at him until we realized just how sorry he really was...”
“... betraying us like that... Well, it just about destroyed him...” Twilight glanced back at Fluttershy, “It's a bit of a personal matter that we'd like to put behind us...”
I nodded slowly as I thought that over. I decided it wasn't something I should pry about: I doubted I'd fully understand if I did... I dropped the matter. “Alright. I was just curious, I guess. I didn't mean to make anypony uncomfortable.” I looked out the window: the sun would be down soon. “Well, Fluttershy, it was nice meeting you, but I feel like we should be going now.” I gave her a little smile, “I hope to see you again sometime soon!”
“Oh... Yes! It was nice to meet you too, Meta.” Fluttershy returned the smile.
As we walked outside, I thought about something I’d observed between Twilight and Fluttershy: I was starting to realize that what I’d been sensing was the strength of social connections between ponies... Was this what “friendship” felt like to a being of mind? I noticed that there were small waves of energy being sent between them, but I did not make these waves, and none were ever directed at me. I’d also begun to notice that they were slightly different depending on who was interacting with who, like how earlier I’d had some odd sense of the relationship between Rarity and Applejack. I set a note of it aside to look into it further: this could be worth studying.
As we cleared Fluttershy’s yard, I was broken from my thoughts, having noticed that presence from earlier fading back in. I now wondered if this was the feeling of being watched...