Reflections

by RQK


26 - Zeroed

The world folded back out and Twilight Sparkle landed on her hooves. She took a moment to examine her surroundings. Canterlot’s usual gleaming whites had scores of scorch marks on their surfaces. Windows were shattered and so too were some buildings. Smoke rose from several points within the city, polluting the air. A biting chill and a low, dulcet howl complemented the thin layer of snow that blanketed the ground but, at the moment, no more snow fell.

They stood on a raised area that overlooked most of the city; Canterlot Castle stood behind them. It was, as a matter of fact, the very same plaza they had been in not too long ago. The main building which hosted the great hall and the throne room just above it stood at the other end of the plaza.

A few ponies, clad in armor, already stood idle in the plaza. What caught their attention, however, were the numerous ponies laying unmoving in the snow, with much of the snow around them stained a red color.

Sunset Shimmer clenched her teeth together. “Damn him…”

“Look alive!” Crystal Faire bellowed as she lit her horn. She fired off a few shots which hit their marks, all of whom fell unconscious.

By the time the other guards could react to their presence, the five unleashed a variety of laser blasts that, while some missed, hit all the targets. Their foes toppled into the snow.

And, at once, a roaring chorus of screams and cries echoed through the plaza. It seemed to come from every direction at once. There were pony screams, dragon roars, griffon squawks, as well as a few assorted yells that seemed to belong to more exotic creatures.

Starlight Glimmer shuddered. “Holy hay…”

They all glanced upward where they spotted hundreds of shadowy figures detach from the top of the mountain. Said figures, dragons by their silhouettes, let out deep, guttural roars as they went. The five turned their attention toward the other end of the sky where the clouds parted to reveal scores of airships. They all bore different color combinations, but their massive balloons nonetheless filled the sky. Turning their eyes toward the city, they spotted several figures dash through the streets, kicking up snow as they went. A few figures, pegasi, shot up from between the buildings and arced in their direction.

Crystal frowned. “Looks like Miasmus has gained complete control over everything here.” She turned toward the others and straightened up. “Alright, listen up. Miasmus himself is in the castle. He’s this world’s Princess Celestia, and he’s in the area of her chambers. Blast him out of her and bring him here.”

Sunset tilted her head. “Okay. But what are you going to do?”

“I will stay out here and take care of all our incoming foes. Work somewhat quickly but not too much so. I would suggest the stairs,” Crystal replied as she trotted toward the edge of the plaza.

Twilight ran after her. “Wait! That’s… that’s a lot of enemies! There must be more of them than anypony could ever count!”

Crystal looked over her withers and smirked. Little bits of energy appeared and started to swirl around her. “I’ll be fine, Twilight. One does not defend reality for as long as I have without learning how to really fight.”

Crystal shot into the air. She streaked upward like a speeding bullet, and within seconds, she pierced through the canopy of the first airship which promptly exploded.

Twilight watched as a light whizzed through the sky at velocities that would have made Rainbow Dash smile; she watched that light zip from airship to airship with each exploding in its wake. She could feel her heart freeze at the sight.

“Come on! Let’s go!” Sunset yelled.

Twilight shook herself from her reverie and ran back to the others. Together, the four of them charged across the plaza.

They tuned out the booms and bangs from overhead and focused on an opening in the side of the main structure. Sunset lit her horn and threw the door off its hinges, allowing the four of them to dash inside.

Canterlot Castle’s tall architecture greeted them, with the pillars bearing swirling patterns overlooking intricately woven rugs. Some of the curtains were torn and hanging limply from their rails and some rails were dangling as well.

Twilight knew the castle best between the four of them. She immediately bolted left and the others followed close behind.

A pillar of green flame enveloped Chrysalis. What emerged looked like a large reptile with short arms and claws but large everything else. She stomped her way behind them, snapping her razor-sharp teeth together all the while.

Sunset couldn’t help but cock an eye at Chrysalis’ form.

They hung a right and then a left and then spotted a guard patrol. Both guards were armed with very pointy spears and, as the group approached, one turned and threw his at them. Said spear flipped through the air and skid pathetically across the floor.

Starlight threw a laser beam into his face as punishment and then did the same for his still-armed comrade, gaining blob-like particles for her efforts.

They heard some loud booms from somewhere far above them and then the whole castle shook. Dust streamed off the ceiling and even a few chunks fell here and there.

Two castle maids, still in their dresses, suddenly appeared from behind a corner and tried to leap on them. Sunset caught them with a levitation spell and slammed them both into the ground before both Twilight and herself blasted them with magic.

Twilight examined the downed mares with a frown and ground her teeth together. She recognized their faces; she had bumped into them a few times as a filly.

They scurried into another hall. This one had tall windows that stretched from floor to ceiling. One of the windows suddenly shattered as a dragon flew into the side of the building; his head collided with the opposite wall and he slumped over unconscious. The impact showered them with glass and only a quick shield from Twilight spared them. They glanced in shock at the creature’s gargantuan size; the head alone took up the entire hallway and the rest of the body rested outside. The four quickly climbed over him and then pressed on.

Another hall later and they encountered a corridor containing at least a score of foes. Their foes turned in their direction, let out battle cries, and then charged.

While Sunset, Starlight, and Twilight all skidded to a halt, Chrysalis the rex charged past while roaring at her foes. A few of the unicorn foes took shots at her but, while those shots exploded against her scales, they did little to perturb her. Chrysalis crashed into them, sending them flying and falling like bowling pins. The three took the rear, taking a shot here and there from the more unscathed foes.

Chrysalis turned and said, with a deep, guttural voice, “These guards can hit hard. Watch yourselves.”

A staircase opened on their right and they bolted up it; Chrysalis turned back into her normal form amidst a column of green fire and followed behind. They climbed the flight of stairs and then sprinted down the next available hallway. They rounded a corner, blasting a couple of guards as they went.

A large and tall room greeted them. On one side, stained glass windows looked down on a grand staircase. A red carpet, which ran down both sides of it, then formed a cross on the bottom floor. Twilight started toward those stairs with the others close behind.

And then Crystal came crashing through the stained glass windows. A cloud of yellow magic hung about her as she sailed toward the tiled floor and (evidently) used said magic to reorient herself and stick the landing. She glanced up as a strange, noodle-like creature with an assortment of appendages appeared in the broken window’s frame.

Crystal didn’t even afford the four a glance as she sprung back into the air, tackling Discord the draconequus at speeds faster than they could discern. They were gone the next moment.

Twilight opted to fly over the broken glass, a move which Chrysalis mimicked. Starlight levitated herself along the way whereas Sunset simply teleported (and, in doing so, beat them there). No sooner did they reach the top did the double doors at the entrance of the room burst open. Several unicorn guards took shots at them; they ducked under several of them and gave some token shots in response but couldn’t hit their targets either.

While the other three rushed past her, Twilight took a moment to examine the guard’s faces. They, as she suspected, were ones who, despite her being unable to name names, bore familiar traces and characteristics. Memories of running through the castle surfaced. Memories of bumping into them on patrol flashed through her mind.

And those familiar faces continued shooting at her and otherwise advanced.

Twilight let out a distressed cry and pressed onward, shortly joining the others.

As they dashed up another set of stairs, this one much smaller than the last, Starlight looked back. “You okay, Twilight?”

Twilight grimaced and shook her head.

Another tremor shook the tower which made them momentarily lose their balance. They scrambled back to their hooves and continued upward.

A few more tremors rattled them along the way but they powered through them each time. The four caught a few loose guards in the stairwell whom they bulldozed through or outright blasted.

They came upon a landing and sprinted into the hall. After a few more corners, they emerged into a hallway with several tall windows, all of which were broken. A small, cyan-colored dragoness who couldn’t have been taller than Chrysalis lay slumped against the wall amidst a pool of glass shards.

Twilight skidded to a halt and took a moment to examine the downed dragoness. Ember groaned but otherwise did not stir.

Twilight pursed her lips but then whirled around when several loud explosions shook the castle. She, along with the others, glanced out the window.

Smoke now filled the sky. Flames streamed from several airships as they fell from the sky. At least a few thousand tiny specks littered the sky, all flying about in pockets and small swarms. A few dragons, both those the size of ponies and those several hundred times that, circled above. All of them orbited around what looked like a glowing white light in the air above Canterlot.

Said light zipped across the sky and hit a large creature in the chest. The creature, a large red dragon it turned out, went sailing across the sky with a roar and eventually slammed into the mountain.

The light rammed into more dragons, sending them flying across the city as well. There was a flash and then the light let out a laser beam of such intensity that the four all had to shield their eyes. The attack cut a swath through the sky, with those unfortunate enough to get caught in its wake falling and not rising again.

Chrysalis swallowed. “What p-power…” she wheezed.

A drop of sweat appeared on Twilight’s brow. “Y-you would think that after a few thousand years…”

Sunset broke into a run again. “Come on! We’re almost there!”

They continued down the hall, now tuning out the occasional thundering boom. A few more corners and a brief run-in with a few more guards later, they ascended another flight of stairs.

And then they arrived in the hall they wanted to be in. However, as soon as they rounded the corner, they all skidded to a halt. The entire hallway between them and the large, ornate door at the other end was entirely collapsed. The cold air nipped at them and a low wind blew through their manes. They carefully stepped over the debris and finally gathered in front of the door.

Twilight held up a hoof, motioning for the others to stop. She had to catch her breath. From the way the others panted, she knew they had to as well. They could only afford a moment, she knew.

* * *

Crystal wrapped a foreleg around the tower’s top-most point; her hindhooves dug into the siding. She clung to the side and took a moment to ruffle her wings and crack her neck. She then sighed and then took stock of the skies.

There were still many pegasi and dragons and other winged creatures about but in nowhere near the same capacity as before. Many grounded foes still littered the streets and made mad dashes for the castle now, but chances were that they wouldn’t make it in time. Most came from Canterlot proper, but her mind’s eye could see a few making their way down from the cliff and even some traveling from areas further away from the city.

She could also see that their movements were wonky and hesitant. Some tripped over themselves and struggled to find their footing again, and a few of the airborne opponents collided with each other of their own volition.

She narrowed her eyes. Miasmus is starting to lose it.

Her mind’s eye examined the room a few meters below her. She could see the ponies all huddled together inside. She could see the energies that corrupted their bodies save one. She examined the one and found the negative energy bathing it.

And she could see her companions outside the door. Crystal smiled.

Her mind’s eye also saw the space immediately surrounding the timeline. She could see bits of debris hanging about. The debris, however, seemed to remain idle for the moment.

In the sky, a dragoness swooped in her direction; her angle, however, indicated a path into Celestia’s room.

Oh no you don’t, Crystal thought as she propelled herself off the tower. I’m not having you interfere!

She barreled headlong into the dragoness’ chest. Her target let out a loud roar and flailed in response. Crystal turned her attention to another dragon attempting to make a dive at the tower and shot through the air and rammed him too, sending him similarly tumbling through the air. She zipped between a few more targets of various sizes and species within a fraction of a second.

She whirled around to face the tower again and frowned. I’ll need to keep a close eye on the tower. I should be able to weaken him a little more before they get him under control. At that point…

She paused as several unicorns in the plaza below started hurling bolts in her direction. Most didn’t even come close to hitting their marks and those that did invariantly came from everyday unicorns lacking power; they tickled at best.

At that point, I’ll be able to bring in the spell, and we can hook him up.

Another dragon made a beeline for the tower and Crystal shot upward. She took her hoof and rammed it into the underside of his snout. The dragon did a backflip and subsequently tumbled into the plaza below.

Her mind’s eye checked the timeline again, gauging where all the foes were at. She examined their movements, trying to discern which would move next.

The pieces of debris, however, caught her eye as one of them suddenly shot forward. Said piece of debris flew straight into the timeline and out the other side, leaving a hole in its wake.

Crystal narrowed her eyes. What in the…? That was… not a natural movement.

She looked at an area not very far above Canterlot. Her mind’s eye could see the hole in the future. It wasn’t very far into the future but it was there nonetheless.

This timeline’s going to collapse, she concluded. And everything in it will fall into the interverse. But…

She turned her mind’s eye toward the tower again where Miasmus’ possessions inside stared out the window. In fact, they stared at the spot where the hole would eventually appear. They wore malevolent sneers, even.

Crystal gasped. They had started sneering the moment the debris had hit the timeline.

Did he… did he just shoot the timeline? That… that bastard! He’s trying to get out!

She turned to face her foes and straightened up. No, we should be done by then. Perhaps, by the time that hole reaches the present, we’ll even be in a position to deploy the spell.

She channeled more energy than ever before and nodded toward the tower. Girls! It’s on you!

* * *

Twilight tried the doorknob, but it only jiggled in place. She lit her horn and tried to probe the lock, but something magical within prevented her from reaching inside. She sighed. It was Celestia’s room after all. “Well, that’s not surprising…”

Chrysalis sneered and pushed her to the side and said, “Allow me.” Green fire enveloped her and the rex reappeared. With a mighty roar, she slammed her head into the door, smashing it into several pieces.

The other three followed close behind.

Several ponies, huddled together on the far wall, turned as the four entered. A few of them stood in the front: Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. Sunburst, who stood on their left, adjusted his glasses and glowered at them. On their right stood a pegasus mare who, other than the very short mane and the circular shield for a cutie mark, looked like Sunset’s twin.

Sunset paled. “S-Sunrunner…”

Twilight shivered and shot Sunset a brief glance.

Behind those seven, Princess Luna stood with her mouth curled into a sharp scowl. And, right beside her, stood Princess Celestia herself.

Twilight narrowed her eyes. She had seen this all before. She looked deep into their eyes but found no traces of the ponies that she knew so well. She saw no signs of her friends. They were puppets and Twilight had to remind herself of that.

It didn’t make looking at them any less difficult.

Celestia cleared her throat. “It would appear that I don’t have to bother with the act. You know who I am.”

They were puppets. “Give it up, Miasmus. You’re finished!” Twilight yelled.

“Foalish pony,” Luna growled. “I am not finished yet. I don’t know how you managed to track me down; the fact that you are here now is a crime.”

Chrysalis snapped her form’s large and pointed teeth together. “The only crime here is that you dared to mess with us!”

Celestia flinched.

“We warned you of what would happen, Miasmus,” Twilight seconded. “You’ve caused more than enough trouble for us and the rest of the multiverse as a result. I can’t believe what you’ve done.”

“And you intend to stop me!?” Rainbow Dash cried.

“Yes!”

The congregation’s expressions, all still in agreement with each other, darkened and contorted into venomous stares and bared teeth.

“I knew I should have killed you in Ponyville when I had the chance,” Fluttershy mumbled.

Twilight felt something hot shoot through her body and she shivered. She tried to light her horn but found, to her annoyance but not to any surprise, that it stayed unlit.

Starlight, meanwhile, glanced up at her own horn. She even prodded at it. “What…?”

“The room’s magicproofed,” Sunset said. “That safety measure was there even when I was a student.”

Applejack chuckled. “Yup. And as you can tell, it’s still in place now. You have no magic here.”

The rest of the congregation smirked in kind.

Starlight went red in the face and she pointed at all of them. “W-well, that means you don’t either!”

Rarity made a humph sound and said, “We don’t.”

“But these two do,” Luna said with a smirk, patting Celestia on the back.

Starlight groaned in response.

Sunrunner—the not Sunset Shimmer—stepped forward. “The rest of the castle is on their way up right now,” she said, her voice a tone similar to Starlight’s, “and I suspect that I’ll have them here in less than a minute.”

“Oh, what are you going to do?” Pinkie Pie sneered.

“No magic to defeat me with, and that’s what you need,” Sunburst said before laughing.

Rarity donned a most sinister grin and said, “Why don’t you call your friend down here? She’s the one doing all the work!”

“But I think…” Princess Luna thoughtfully began, “that once she sees me putting you in your rightful place… she’ll come on her own.”

Sunset stamped her hoof against the hard floor. “That’s not going to happen! We won’t let it!”

“Oh really?” Sunrunner asked. “And how do you plan to do that?”

Chrysalis, at that point, stepped forward. Her gargantuan form shook the room with every step that she took. Everypony turned their eyes toward her and held their breath.

Chrysalis smiled; her form showed its many teeth as a low and hungry growl rose from her depths. “I’ll give you this… you were smart to cover your weakness, but you made one critical mistake…”

Celestia’s muzzle twitched and she stared Chrysalis down.

Chrysalis’ smile grew even wider and she bellowed, “I am much craftier than you think I am!”

Before the congregation could react, Chrysalis the rex spun around. Her long tail sliced right into them, throwing all the ponies save Celestia and Luna across the room. They all cried out as they slammed into the wall and fell into a pile.

Luna and Celestia similarly cried out as tremors overtook them with only Luna able to keep standing. Luna recovered just in time to dodge Chrysalis’ next swipe and then lit her horn. Some bits of magic sputtered out and, eventually, a laser blast made it out which barreled right into Chrysalis’ abdomen.

Chrysalis let out a mighty roar as it struck her and she flailed about as Luna kept her attack going.

“No!” Twilight cried.

A deafening boom shook the tower to its foundations and, all at once, both Celestia and Luna (and, to an extent, the discarded pile of ponies on the far side of the room) screamed and collapsed. Luna’s attack fizzled out.

Chrysalis growled and climbed to her hindclaws. She then reached forward while Luna sat in a daze and chomped down on most of Luna’s mane. Chrysalis pulled, flinging Luna across the room where she too slammed into the wall and landed in the pile.

And Celestia stood up just in time for Chrysalis to storm up and headbutt her through the window which exploded in a cacophony of broken glass. Bit and pieces scattered across the balcony beyond and Celestia herself tumbled toward the edge, eventually rolling to a stop on her own.

Twilight gasped and rushed over with Sunset and Starlight close behind.

Celestia coughed and wheezed and struggled to her hooves. On the far side of the room, some of the ponies groaned and rolled over.

Twilight’s eyes caught movement in the pile and she looked up at Chrysalis. “Don’t let them get up!” she barked.

Chrysalis snorted and stomped over to the discarded congregation.

“Enough!” Celestia yelled as she struggled to her hooves. “I won’t take this. I absolutely will not.”

“You aren’t in any position to demand anything from us,” Sunset seethed as she stepped forward.

Celestia backed into the railing that separated her from a long fall. Her hindhoof brushed some glass shards off the side where they fell past reckoning. She watched those pieces disappear as drops of sweat appeared on her brow, and she whirled to face them again.

“Maybe that’s not entirely true…” she spat. “After all… a little birdy came up to me and told me that you need me alive…”

At that, the three of them exchanged concerned frowns.

Celestia smirked. “T-that’s right. You need me alive. You want to do something with your spell that involves me.”

Sunset shuddered and looked Celestia square in the eye. “So… who told you that?”

Celestia snickered and raised her head into the air while tapping her chin in thought. “Let’s see… how did she refer to herself as again? She had a cute little nickname for herself… Oh, yes. ‘Queen of the Multiverse.’”

Even Chrysalis, who now towered over the many ponies on the wall, glanced over.

Twilight went pale. “C-Cadance?”

“Mi Amore Whatsherface,” Celestia replied. “It seems that you know her…”

Sunset, after taking a moment to swallow, stepped forward. “Well… yeah… But…”

“Why the hay would she tell you that?” Starlight interjected.

Celestia shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you can’t do anything to me! You try, and I’ll throw myself over. You will lose.”

Chrysalis growled in response.

“Face it,” Celestia said, pointing between them, “you’re finished.”

Darn it! Twilight thought. What do I do here!?

Twilight looked past Celestia and saw the battle raging onward behind her. She could see that little ball of light (Crystal, no doubt) zipping about the battlefield, still blasting away at opponents left and right. She saw no indication that Crystal was coming.

She knows that we can do this. She knows… But what do I do? How do I get Miasmus out of this tower?

The light in the sky paused. It hung there for a few moments, allowing enough time for the foes around it to regroup. Before her, Celestia licked her lips and quickly glanced toward someplace behind her.

It suddenly clicked what was about to happen, and the thoughts ran through Twilight’s head so quickly that she didn’t even see the intermediate steps. She, instead, lowered herself toward the ground and started scraping the floor with a hoof while snorting through her nose.

Celestia went wide-eyed. “What are you—”

In the background, the ball of light unleashed an attack that hit the countless enemies all at once, sending them flying in all directions. Celestia cried out and started to keel over.

Here goes nothing! Twilight put her legs to work and ran forward as fast as she could. By the time Celestia recovered, Twilight dove and wrapped her hooves around her mentor. Her momentum carried the both of them over the railing amidst several voices shouting “Twilight!” before both Celestia and herself fell over the other side.

And, just as quickly as she started falling, feeling returned to Twilight’s horn. She immediately put that into a teleportation spell. The world around Celestia and herself shrunk down for a few moments, and when it expanded back out, the both of them landed on the soft layer of snow that covered the plaza.

And Twilight stood herself up and positioned herself over Celestia. “I’m sorry, Princess,” Twilight wheezed. She lit her horn and unleashed a beam of energy that hit Celestia square in the chest. Celestia screamed as a dark blue blob slowly oozed its way out of her skin. Said blob eventually flew off and tumbled through the snow.

Twilight watched as Miasmus rolled to a stop. She stared at him for the longest time. She, too, had seen this before. Twilight breathed in and out and found herself unable to do anything else. She saw his limp form in the snow.

And her mind flew back to Ponyville. Her mind flew back to everypony that had once been there, who had once suffered its destruction at Miasmus’ bidding. She thought of everypony who had almost bought into him. She thought of her friends who had once been his slaves.

Twilight glanced upward and, for a second, thought that she could see them looking down at her.

Everypony… I did it. I finally did it.

* * *

Crystal’s world folded back out and she landed in the plaza. A low thump signaled her effect, the supercomputer, landing right by her.

Twilight came trotting over, levitating Miasmus’ limp form behind her. She threw him down into the snow and sighed.

“You handled that like a true professional, Twilight.” Crystal smirked and slapped Twilight on her withers. “I’m proud of you!”

Twilight blushed. “Thanks. I just kinda went for it. And… it feels great finally getting the better of him.”

“I will bet. And… truthfully… I knew you could do it. I had faith in you.”

Twilight smiled and ran forward and wrapped her hooves around Crystal. “Ohhhh, but you were the one who gave me that opportunity. I couldn’t have done it without you!”

Crystal blushed and audibly cooed before wrapping her hooves around Twilight as well.

Sunset, Starlight, and Chrysalis (who now looked like her normal changeling queen self) each appeared with a series of airy pops a few moments later. They each removed their hooves from their necks and the spells within faded back out.

Twilight broke from Crystal and turned to them; she immediately noticed their awestruck stares.

“Holy shit, Twilight!” Sunset exclaimed as she rushed over.

“I can’t believe what you just did!” Starlight cried as she too rushed over.

Twilight blushed and bashfully rubbed the back of her head.

“Yes, yes, that was quite impressive,” Chrysalis said. She stopped by Miasmus’ blobby form in the snow, considered him, and then kicked some snow onto his form. “So then, we should prepare this one straight away.”

Crystal glanced at the timeline with her mind’s eye, noted the oncoming hole, and nodded. She lit her horn and put up a barrier that enclosed the immediate area including the large, metallic structure next to them. “Yes, we should.”

Chrysalis looked at the rest of the plaza and could see many ponies running in their direction. She gave Miasmus’ form a swift kick and watched as the ponies tumbled over themselves. She let out a chuckle and then turned. “Not that we should need it, but this barrier should keep us safe from them. I hope.”

Crystal frowned. “Actually, the barrier isn’t for them.”

Before anypony could respond, the air above Canterlot suddenly tore open. What looked like a massive black sphere appeared and the surrounding air immediately rushed into it. The little bits of snow that covered the plaza streamed into it and then the winds carried other things; pieces of debris and unconscious ponies were carried up and into the horizon.

The four let out a sharp cry.

“I saw that happen a few minutes ago,” Crystal explained. “Apparently, some of his possessions out in the interverse poked some holes in the timeline so that he could escape. So you timed him perfectly.”

The five of them watched as bits of glass and rubble drifted off Canterlot Castle; Celestia’s tower practically disintegrated. The roar was deafening, compounded by occasional booms as large structures crumbled and collided together,

Crystal bent down next to Twilight and said, “We’re in a position to deploy the spell. I could do it from right here, just as soon as we get him into the machine.”

Twilight sucked in a breath and nodded. “Okay, let’s get working,” she said.

Starlight and Sunset trotted over and started examining the machine. Twilight and Crystal shifted their way as well.

“He knew about our plan to use him,” Twilight began. “He knew about it. And he said that Cadance told him.”

Crystal scratched her head. “I know. I saw your conversation. I… I don’t believe that for a second, though.”

“What, that she told him?” Starlight asked.

Crystal shook her head. “I’ve no reason to trust anything that he says. For all I know, he might have just come across those sections of crystallized timeline where we were discussing it and then made up the part about getting it from her.”

Starlight frowned. “Well, I guess… He was able to find us.”

Sunset shot a beam of energy into a small hole on the bottom of the machine. The machine lit up as the magic coursed through every vein in its body. “And he attacked this thing and the Crystal Heart.”

“But Cadance could have just as easily seen all of that too,” Chrysalis countered. “She’s been watching us too. Think back to Manehatten.”

Twilight shook her head. “I can’t believe for a second that Cadance would ever help someone like him.”

“I don’t either,” Crystal seconded.

Chrysalis turned her head toward the hole in reality above them. “But what if she did? What if Miasmus was actually telling the truth?”

Twilight and Starlight stared holes into Chrysalis then. “No,” Twilight said. “She wouldn’t help him.”

“I don’t know,” Sunset replied. “He made it sound like he was approached. I don’t know about all of you, but…” She paused to shoot another beam of magic into the machine, watched it disperse, and then turned to face them. “If that’s the case and she really did approach him…”

Some color disappeared from Crystal’s face. “I don’t…”

“Maybe you can ask her yourself…” Chrysalis trailed off. She stood pointing upward.

Everypony looked up and subsequently gasped.

A light blue tendril of pure magic extended out from the hole. It slowly snaked its way toward them, ignoring the bedlam around it.

Crystal’s heart just about stopped. “Mother…?”

The tendril pressed up against Crystal’s barrier, just like it had once before. Crystal could see the way in which it practically tried to gently push its way through. Her mind’s eye looked up and down it, trying to see what it would do, and saw nothing.

“You didn’t help Miasmus out, right? He’s… lying, right?” she croaked.

The tendril pressed against her barrier with the same tenderness as before. Her horn acted on its own and she did nothing to stop it; her barrier parted just enough for the tendril to come through. The tendril drifted forward again, briefly considered the machine, and then snaked its way down toward Crystal.

Bits of magic remained on Sunset’s horn as she stared the tendril down. Everypony else watched in silence.

The tendril hung about for a moment and caressed Crystal’s cheek. Crystal blushed and she reached up to hold the tendril in kind. She stroked it, even. It felt delightfully warm to the touch and she couldn’t help but crack a smile.

The tendril pulled back and hung in front of Crystal’s face.

Crystal’s eyes flickered across Miasmus’ still form and then back to the tendril. “Mother… I know you want me to come out there with you… I just... don’t know if I can.”

Twilight trotted up to Crystal’s side at that moment and lay a hoof on her withers. Crystal, in turn, reached up and took Twilight’s hoof with her own, even turning her head to consider Twilight as well.

The tendril paused for a moment and then, right as Crystal turned to center her gaze back on it, it lashed out. The tendril connected with Crystal’s horn, and the sharp, stinging sensation within prompted Crystal to yelp and roll backward.

“Crystal!” Twilight screamed.

Sunset cried out and instinctively shot a beam that unfortunately missed the tendril.

The barrier around them partially fizzled. By the time anypony could react, the tendril shot over to Miasmus and wrapped itself around his form. It then pulled hard, yanking Miasmus past the barrier and straight toward the horizon.

Starlight screamed and tried to wrap her magic around Miasmus, but her spell didn’t hit.

Chrysalis attempted the same, but the tendril was pulling too fast.

Sunset shot and missed another laser blast.

And then the tendril pulled Miasmus past the horizon and both were gone.

“Oh, by the stars!” Twilight cried. “By the stars!”

Crystal scrambled to her hooves and stared at the hole for several moments as the bits of pain faded from her horn. Her eyes wandered over the surroundings in search of Miasmus.

Sunset swore and stamped her hooves.

“That fiend!” Chrysalis seethed.

Starlight’s legs gave way as she stared at the hole with dropped-jaw shock. “She… took him. She took him!”

Crystal’s heart sank and her world ran cold.

Miasmus was gone.

Miasmus had been stolen.

“Of all the things!” Twilight exclaimed.

Crystal lost all feeling in her body and subsequently fell to her haunches.

Chrysalis growled and shook her head. “Well, isn’t that just great? That is just fantastic! That Cadance helped him out!”

Mother helped him out, Crystal thought. Mother helped him out.

“Bucking knew it,” Sunset said with a pointed tone. “We should not have trusted that thing.”

“W-what are we gunna do!?” Starlight stammered. “Without Miasmus, we can’t solve the multiverse...”

Chrysalis narrowed. “Preposterous. Even if he’s gone, we can still go through with our original plan. We just expel him from all of the timelines just as we originally planned.”

“It’s not that simple. This… she just showed what side she’s playing for.” Crystal’s throat was dry. Her words nearly failed to come out and those that came out were forced. “She stopped us now. I’m sure she’ll do it again.”

Twilight paled. “No. N-no…”

Chrysalis frowned and briefly glanced at the hole again. “So… what? That’s it?”

Her world spun around and Crystal held herself just long enough to mumble out, “Yes… we’ve… failed. There’s nothing we can do…”

Sunset gasped and simultaneously backpedaled. She looked like she needed a moment to find her air and she eventually, tremulously, said, “So… the multiverse is going to die.”

Crystal let her head hit the ground. A dark blue cloud streamed out of her horn, carrying various sparks and flashes across its body. The cloud floated upward, making a hissing sound as it formed and grew and grew.

She knew it was there. And she didn’t care.

“No bucking way…” Sunset seethed.

Even Chrysalis looked green in the face. She looked at the machine, looked at the hole, and then shook her head and laughed in disbelief. “I can’t believe it… After everything that we’ve done… Now we’re going to just sit down and… give up. It’s the most pathetic thing,” she spat.

Twilight’s jaw twitched as she watched the hole. Several pieces of debris still cascaded off the castle and into the sky. The plaza was, at this point, stripped of all its snow, just like the city beyond.

And then Twilight looked at her own neck. Her hoof hovered over it for a second. And then she gasped.

She stood up in a huff. “No,” she said, her voice firm, “there is still something that we can do.”

Chrysalis frowned. “That is…?”

“We can go after them. We can follow them through.”

Starlight gasped and shot to her hooves. “You can’t be serious. Twilight!”

Go into the interverse!?” Sunset asked.

“We’ll be lost if we go out there! We go out there, there’s no coming back!”

“That’s not true,” Twilight countered.

Crystal lifted her head.

“Remember Whammy the snail?” Twilight continued. “Whammy was exposed to the interverse for a while and has yet to even remotely fade.”

“Yes!” Starlight replied. “But that was because Whammy was in Crystal’s magic. It still had a connection to the real world!”

Sunset opened her mouth to say something but then paused. Her eyes went wide and she looked at her own neck.

Twilight nodded. “Sunset sees it. Right now, we’re connected to the Crystal Heart via that spell. Don’t you all remember?”

“So…” Crystal croaked, “you’re saying that as long as that spell holds…”

“Yes. We should be okay,” Twilight replied.

Chrysalis deadpanned. “If I remember correctly, that Crystal Heart was fading out. That spell isn’t going to hold forever.”

Twilight nodded and pushed out a long sigh with her hoof. “Look. We get out there, just like Cadance wants, and we do what we need to do. We find Miasmus, get him in, and then we can deploy the spell. And then we can use this spell”—she motioned to her neck—“to all meet back up at my castle afterward.”

Crystal grimaced and struggled to her hooves. “Twilight… even if we did… there’s no guarantee that that will happen. I can’t even begin to tell you what’s going to happen out there. I… I really can’t.”

Twilight shook her head. “Nopony does. But that’s what we have each other for. We will get through this.”

Sunset sucked in a breath and stepped forward. “If you’re going out there… then I’m going too.”

Starlight’s jaw fell.

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes and stared at the hole. “I’d be remiss if that bastard didn’t get his desserts. And I’ve nothing else to lose…”

Starlight looked at Chrysalis, Sunset, and then Twilight. She closed her mouth shut and, slowly but surely, nodded as well.

Crystal swallowed and looked at each of them. “You would… really go?”

Sunset nodded.

Twilight looked Crystal in the eye. “You know as well as I do that with Miasmus out there… and with what Cadance just did… it’s now or never.” She extended a hoof to Crystal. “So come with us. Let’s do this together.”

Crystal turned her head toward the heavens. She took a long look at the hole in the sky. She imagined what lay on the other side. She imagined what was going to happen. But she could not see it. She couldn’t see any of the possibilities.

But I’ll have them, she thought.

Crystal could feel the blood pumping through her veins. She took some deep breaths and then nodded at Twilight. “You’re right,” she said as she took Twilight’s hoof. “You’re right.”

Chrysalis smirked and then said, “Then let’s go already! I grow impatient!”

Crystal nodded and turned her attention back to the hole. “I hope this is what you wanted… I know this is what you wanted… Mother. So get ready, because I’m on my way.”

At once, the other four looked up as well.

Crystal took a deep breath and dropped the barrier that separated them from the gale-force winds.

And the winds sucked them upward. The ascent was slow at first but, as they neared the hole, they picked up speed and even tumbled in their ascent. The winds played no favors on them as a few stray pieces of debris closed in and subsequently bounced off.

It only took a few seconds and the event horizon drew closer and closer and eventually filled her vision.

And then they crossed it, and her world became a deep dark black.

And Crystal felt nothing.

And then she was aware that she was tumbling. Her body felt strange and alien and not at all there. She felt herself collide with something or somethings but she couldn’t tell what. She gasped for air but found that air did not exist. There were so many things that should have existed that did not.

She tumbled but, shortly enough, her eyesight came to. Her world flipped about and about but there was no mistaking it; she saw the infinitely tall, reddish towers that plagued her dreams and the endless expanse in which they lived in. There were more in the immediate vicinity than could be counted and there were certainly infinitely many more beyond that. She could see vast fields of debris floating in her mind’s eye that her physical (if it could be called that) body plowed through. She could see the large tower that she had supposedly flown out of and could see holes in it where several bits jettisoned out of.

She glanced all around, still gasping for breath in a void that felt so empty and alien; yet, however, the absence of air seemed like an afterthought amidst the strange, tingly sensations that coalesced throughout her body. She wasn’t suffocating, at any rate.

And now here she was—here they were, tumbling—in the impossibilist of impossible places. And they were alive.

Chrysalis was the first to right herself. Crystal followed herself and used her own willpower to arrest all her own motion. The other three did the same. Crystal thought of moving toward them and her body complied; the others evidently thought the same as they all drew close.

“This is it?” Twilight croaked. Her voice was as plain as day.

They all looked around, taking in the endless towers. They saw a few in the far distance spewing out debris and otherwise crumbling. They could see a few moving about the expanse and they even saw two come together and touch at a point. They could see the many pieces of debris scattered about; some pieces even faded in and out as they traveled through seemingly perpendicular dimensions.

Crystal nodded. “This… is existence. Or what we can comprehend of it.”

They looked around some more and found no sign of anything living in their immediate area.

“He’s not here,” Twilight said with a low tone.

After a moment, Crystal nodded. “No… he’s not. But… I think I might know where they’ll be.”

Twilight considered Crystal for a few moments and then floated herself close and lay a hoof on Crystal’s wither. When Crystal looked back at her, she nodded.

Crystal nodded in return and looked at the other three. “Stay here.”

Sunset, Starlight, and Chrysalis slowly nodded. Their expressions remained unchanged.

And then, as the three of them turned toward the timeline that they had just fallen out of, Crystal and Twilight took off into the unknown.