//------------------------------//
// Ch. 1: From Across the Multiverse 
// Story: History Reimagined 
// by Pun System 
//------------------------------//


Act I: Harmony


     Immediately after ascending through the portal in Twilight’s throne room, Starlight opened her eyes. She was definitely on the other side, but it was nothing like she expected. Nebulous, glowing clouds swirled through the black and empty void, emanating pink, teal, and turquoise light. Stars which were equally luminous and similarly colored drifted by her at a leisurely speed. In reality, they were probably standing still; she was likely the one moving.

    The beauty of the scene before her would have taken her breath away if she had any breath left—if she had needed to breathe. “Where am I?” she asked aloud. “What is this place?” A star drifted past rather closer than she was expecting. Upon closer examination, the “stars” were no stars at all, but something else entirely. Either they were not stars, or she was unfathomably massive. Whatever the object was, she could have caught it in her hoof, but instead let it pass. Starlight’s horn tingled as the object reached its nearest point. Whatever these objects were, they were packed with an incredible amount of magic. Perhaps comparable to that of an entire universe.

    “Wait a minute… This must be,” Starlight gasped, “everything!” The entire substance of the multiverse was floating all around her. Starlight was overwhelmed by the beauty and power of it all, raw and untarnished. Yet “everything” had never seemed so fragile before in her life; not even when she had time travelled to the past with intent to change it. It was nearly enough to move her to tears.

    Another luminous object floated past, and this time Starlight tried to reach out to it with her magic. It was gently warm, and she got the feeling that whatever she was holding was tremendously delicate. Emotions flooded over her. Feelings of hope and peace coursed through her, soothing her as she drifted along. She released her grip and reached out for another. This too felt fragile, but rather than soothing her, it made her feel like singing. She felt an abundance of joy unmatched by anything she had felt back home. When she let go, the emotions quickly faded from her.

    A third object drew near, this one directly in front of her. Starlight magically reached out for it as she had before, but immediately felt conflict, suffering, and above all else, hopelessness. It was a horrible, sickening feeling that made her tuck her legs in and pull her head in towards her chest. She closed her eyes and grit her teeth as she released the object, waiting for the feeling to subside. But unlike the other times, these feelings only seemed to grow stronger. Starlight opened her eyes and saw that the object was now nearly as large as she was and growing larger with each passing moment. The light grew brighter until it nearly blinded her.

    A single dark spot appeared, and Starlight found herself being pulled towards it with an irresistible force. She backpedaled in space, but the dark spot drew closer still. The wind whipped through her hair and played with the straps of her saddlebags. She grabbed the edge of the hole with her front hooves as her hind legs slipped through to the other side. The pull was incredibly strong, and Starlight’s grip began to slip. “Help!” she cried. She raised herself slightly and managed to get one front knee up above the plane of the hole, but when she tried to move her other hoof, her grip failed completely and she fell screaming into the hole.

    A moment later, Starlight landed on a cold, crystalline table with a thud and a grunt. The emotions from a few moments ago were not quite completely gone and her breathing was—normal, actually. What had happened? Was it just a dream? Or was it real? 

    She shook her head before rolling over and observing her surroundings. She was now just outside of Ponyville, lying upon a round, unassuming table with a half dozen crumbling high-backed seats around it. Nearby, burned-out houses and heaps of rubble lined the streets of what used to be a town. There was hardly a building left untouched. The roads were dotted with changeling-sized craters which one could stand knee-deep in. There wasn’t a pony to be seen in this once-thriving town.

    Starlight hopped off of the table and carefully examined the map. Many areas of the map were light blue, the default color for the crystal table. Canterlot was the epicenter of a dark green gradient which claimed much of central Equestria. The Crystal Empire was bathed in a dark red hue which trickled down into parts of northern and central Equestria. Two red crystalline pincers were attempting to place a stranglehold on either side of Canterlot, and the red and green formed a zigzag border over western Equestria. A single holdout of royal blue emanated from Manehattan and covered a bit of the surrounding area. Cloudsdale had wandered far from its normal resting position to a location nearby the metropolis. To the north, the royal blue territory bordered the Crystal Empire, and farther to the south lay a light blue—unoccupied territory. Starlight traced a path along the rail lines through the light blue lands all the way to Ponyville. The ruined town was near enough to Canterlot to be slightly affected by the green gradient, but was otherwise free of foreign influence.

    Starlight shook her head and sighed. What a mess, she thought to herself. Her analysis of the map complete, she familiarized herself with what was left of Ponyville. In a word, Ponyville in this timeline looked exactly as she had remembered it. Golden Oaks Library was still a pile of ashes from Chrysalis’s collateral damage; Sugarcube Corner still stood vacant, looted, and abandoned; and the orphanage where Carousel Boutique was supposed to be was in utter ruin. In the distance, Starlight could make out neat rows of dead or dying apple trees. The decimated version of the town she had called home for the past few months reminded her why she had been sent back—and what the consequences of failure would be.

    Starlight’s horn lit and a compass floated out of her saddlebags. From here until Manehattan, I’m on my own. Once I’m there, I’ll be able to start fixing this world. She slowly spun around next to the table, watching the compass as she did. Once the needle pointed towards the N, Starlight raised her head and stared off into the distance. She sighed and cast one last glance at the map before walking in the direction indicated by the compass.

    Before leaving the city limits, Starlight came to a river. She turned and walked along the river until she came to the rail line leading out of town. Too bad I can’t just take the train, she thought as she began walking down the middle of the tracks. She followed the tracks northeast without incident for as long as the sun was in the sky.

    As night began to fall, Starlight looked up and saw a cave. As good a place as any to turn in for the night, I suppose. She explored the outcropping with light from her horn to ensure that the cave was empty, then lay down on her belly.

    Starlight pulled out a quill, an inkwell, and a journal with her cutie mark on the cover out of her saddlebags. She magically held the items aloft in front of her, noting the book’s craftponyship. This journal was no ordinary book. With the journal held in her magic, she sensed a closeness to Twilight she had not felt since she was back home, as if the book were a direct link to the Princess. Starlight removed the stopper on the inkwell, dipped in her quill, and opened the journal.

    Dear Princess Twilight, she wrote, I am well on my way towards Manehattan. I have no idea how I’m actually going to get in, though. And with the threat of changelings, it’s not like they’ll be quick to believe me. If I recall correctly, they’re using a magical body paint of some sort to reveal changelings. If I could just get my hooves on some of that paint they’re using, I could convince them. I guess I’m just a bit nervous. I’ve never done this before, Twilight. How do I show them they can trust me? You're a princess; you've got more experience with matters of diplomacy than I do. What do you think I should do? Starlight paused before signing her name at the bottom of the entry. Your friend and faithful student, Starlight Glimmer.

    Starlight sighed before replacing the items into her saddlebags. She rolled over and tried to get some sleep, but found she was too haunted with the memory of Rainbow Dash being attacked by alternate Twilight’s bear. Every little sound was a reason for concern, prompting her to light the cavern with her horn. Though her first night in this world wasn’t particularly restful, she did hatch a plan to gain a hearing with the resistance leaders.





    At length, Starlight felt the morning sun warming her coat and opened her eyes to behold a blinding yellow sun already climbing into the sky. “Well, at least I finally got to sleep,” she mumbled as she rubbed her eyes and pulled her journal out of her bag. She also removed from her bag a knife, some flint, a small pot, and a bit of oatmeal. She transfigured a few nearby rocks into logs and lit a fire with the sparks from the knife and flint. She poured some of the water from her canteen into the pot, and opened her journal as the oatmeal cooked. Sure enough, Twilight’s reply was waiting there for her.

    Dear Starlight Glimmer, the journal read, I can’t say how exactly you’re going to make friends with what’s left of my friends there in that world. Too much time has passed and I have no idea how much has changed since we left. It was early spring then; now, it’s the first month of summer. But I do know that whatever happens, your friends will be there for you. Don’t forget your friendship reports! Your friend and mentor, Twilight Sparkle.

     “Heh heh, right. Friendship reports,” Starlight said nervously. “Not only do I have to undo the damage I’ve done, I have to make friends with these ponies. I honestly don’t know which will be harder.”

    After breakfast, Starlight walked out to meet the railroad and continued her northward journey. Along the way, she came to a bridge which crossed over a river, and decided to stop and wash up. She dropped her saddlebags on the bank and waded into the river. She had just finished washing her mane and was about to start on her tail when the bridge above her suddenly rumbled loudly. Starlight quickly submerged all but her head into the river and looked up through the gaps in the wooden bridge. She was quite surprised to see a southbound train consisting of many cars. Who—or what—would be going south out of Manehattan by train? she wondered. Last I knew, Fillydelphia was under Sombra’s control.

    Once the train had passed, she finished washing and began walking again. At length, she crested a hill to behold a long, straight railroad track running through an otherwise empty plain. On the horizon, the end of the rail line met the skyline of the city of Manehattan. “You’re almost there, Starlight,” she told herself. “Not much farther.” Starlight sighed and started to descend the hill.

    As she got closer to Manehattan, more details became visible. Individual high-rises could be distinguished from one another. Closer buildings could be discerned from buildings that were farther away. There was a guard shack just ahead along the railroad.

     “Wait, what?” Starlight said. She pulled out a pair of binoculars from her saddlebags and stared at the building in question. Sure enough, there was a structure the size of a small shed flanked on either side by a barbed-wire fence. The railroad passed through a small opening in the fence.

     The guard shack itself had windows on all sides. Along the far wall, Starlight could see crossbows, a few lockers probably used for holding military gear, and a guard with a pair of binoculars—a pair of binoculars pointed at her. The guard lowered her binoculars, prompting Starlight to do the same. Starlight raised her binoculars again to see that the guard was now levitating something else in addition to the binoculars. It was small and rectangular, with a small rod protruding from the top. The guard raised the object to her mouth and began speaking. “It’s a walkie-talkie!” Starlight shouted as she put her binoculars away.

     Starlight dismounted the railroad tracks and began galloping parallel to the fence. Before long, a shadow crossed her path. She looked up to see a pegasus overhead. “Freeze!” he shouted. “This is a restricted area! Lethal force is authorized!”

     Starlight turned ninety degrees and ran directly at the fence, briefly throwing off the pegasus above her. She turned her head and watched him bank sharply into a turn. Just as he turned towards her, Starlight turned towards him to run underneath him. As she turned, an object whistled past her head. She raised a shield and immediately deflected a second similar object. This time she got a decent look at it as it bounced away—It was a crossbow bolt. As the first pegasus flew over her front-to-back, a second flew over her back-to-front. Starlight locked her knees and skidded to a stop.

     A glance to her side revealed that the fence was still about fifty meters away. Starlight charged her horn and teleported to the other side of the fence.

     “Hold it right there!” shouted another voice, this time on the ground.

     “Surrender and come quietly!” added a second grounded voice.

     Starlight looked around and spotted one unicorn and one earth pony. The earth pony charged at her with sword drawn, but Starlight levitated herself out of harm’s way. The unicorn shot at her, leaving a scorch mark at the tip of her tail. As the unicorn charged his horn again, Starlight dropped to the ground and cast an invisibility spell. The unicorn guard fired again, but missed. He charged his horn and levitated his walkie-talkie. “Subject is evasive and highly skilled in the use of magic. Requesting use of deadly force be authorized.”

     “Request granted,” came the reply. “Don’t let anything through!”

     Before the unicorn could replace his walkie-talkie, Starlight cast a spell that encased the unicorn in a large pink crystal. The earth pony rushed over, only to meet the same fate.

     Starlight landed between the two ponies. I can't just leave them like that; I should help them. She took a step towards them, but then got second thoughts. But if I free them, I could get caught. Besides, I've already saved their lives by using non-lethal magic. It was hardly a sufficient resolution for the pony who was sent back to set the world right again, but the pegasi were making their final approach. With no time left for deliberation and with her invisibility spell still active, Starlight galloped away towards the city.





     Starlight wasn’t sure how long she ran, only that she didn’t look back. By the time she reached the houses on the edge of town, she was panting so loudly her invisibility spell would be useless if anypony was nearby now. Her entire body was begging her to stop, and she was sweating from head to hoof.

    Close by, some ponies were building a house on the outside of town. They were currently taking their lunch break at an improvised table on the far side of the house, and while the prospect of food was certainly a tempting one for Starlight, the hard hats and safety vests they had left behind were also quite tempting.

    Starlight walked over and picked up a hat. The yellow hard hat disappeared as she placed it on her head. She levitated an orange safety vest and laid it across her back, and it too disappeared. She left the scene and ducked behind another house where she could finally uncast her invisibility spell.

     With a low groan, Starlight sat down and began rubbing her horn with a hoof. The amount of energy required to keep up her invisibility spell that long left her horn throbbing. Once she had begun to recover, she levitated the orange safety vest and removed her saddlebags before putting the items on again in the reverse order—vest first. Starlight then looked at her reflection in one of the house’s windows. She smiled and tipped her hard hat at herself before proceeding to walk down the street towards the center of town.

     Not a bad start, Starlight, she thought to herself. Now to catch a ride into town. This part of town was lightly inhabited, and for the most part, the few civilians she did see didn’t pay much attention. But, every so often, she’d get an odd look. The looks came just frequently enough to make her uneasy.

    As she progressed deeper into town, the activity increased exponentially. Starlight kept her eyes out for an open cab, but the few she saw were already taken. Among the ever-present stares, Starlight felt isolated in a world strangely hostile to its would-be savior. What’s wrong with these ponies? she asked herself. It’s like they don’t trust me. Do they look at everypony this way? The answer came in the form of a billboard that caught Starlight’s eye a moment later. Two ponies stood opposite one another, each painting the other’s face with the changeling paint. Big, bold words above the ponies read, “ACCOUNTABILITY,” while smaller words below warned, “Green Changelings Could Be Anywhere.” Starlight wasn’t sure what the consequences were for being caught as a suspected changeling, but the implications on the success of her mission gave her a chill.

    Just as Starlight was about to cross the street, a cab cut her off, nearly running her over. Starlight watched as the cab came to a stop just beyond the intersection and the passenger disembarked. She got to the cab just as the driver was about to leave. “Hey!” she shouted. “Do you taxi drivers always try to run over potential passengers?”

    The taxi driver apparently only heard the word “passengers.” “Where would you like to go?” he asked.

    “There’s a—a restaurant near the city jail. I’m meeting a friend there. You know the place?”

    The cab driver furrowed his brow. “Yeah, yeah I know it. But how come you don’t have any paint on?”

    “Oh, uh, I—must have sweat it off! Because—I’m a construction worker,” she said as she magically pulled at her safety vest.

    “‘Sweat it off,’ huh?” asked the stallion. He leaned in close to Starlight, and caught a whiff of the body odor she had worked up running into town. “Whoo!” he exclaimed as he waved his hoof in front of his face. “That you did! Sorry, ma’am. Can’t be too careful with all them Greenies crawling about.”

    “I know what you mean,” Starlight said as she climbed into the cab. “Oh! Do you have any more of that changeling paint? I just ran out.”

    “’Fraid not. Just used my last bit this morning. I’d'a painted you on sight if I’d had any left. Woulda shortened our little conversation a bit, you know?”

    “Yeah,” Starlight said halfheartedly. The cab rolled to a start and she was off. With a more densely packed area of town came more unwelcome stares. With the war looming over everypony’s heads, Manehattan was practically in a state of martial law, complete with uniformed soldiers patrolling the streets in pairs. Almost every billboard reminded the populace of the ever-present war and the various ways they might do their part.

    Starlight’s thoughts drifted along with her eyes, abruptly returning to her present situation when the cab began to slow. The jail was nowhere in sight. “Why are we stopping?” she asked.

    “Checkpoint,” came the reply.

    “Checkpoint?”

    “Yeah, yeah, no biggie. The soldiers up there will rub some paint on our faces and then we’ll be off. Causes a nasty traffic jam, though.”

    “Oh. That’s all? Well, ok then.”

    Starlight and her driver slowly advanced through the line until a pair of soldiers approached from the sidewalk side of the cab. “Destination?” asked the first soldier as the second soldier levitated a blob of forest green paint out of a paint can.

    “Greasy Spoon’s diner,” the driver replied. The second soldier smeared a fresh streak of paint under each of the stallion’s eyes as the first soldier approached Starlight.

    “Why don’t you have any paint on, ma’am?”

    “I sweat it off at work,” she said as she tapped her hard hat with a hoof. “And, of course, today would be the day I ran out of paint.”

    “You got your ID on you?”

    “Huh?”

    “Identification, please,” the soldier repeated.

    “Why? What’s wrong?”

    “Don’t worry, ma’am. If this is your first offense, we’ll just give you a warning.”

    “Oh. Ok.” Starlight fumbled with her saddlebags for a few moments before producing an ID card from an inside pocket. She passed it off to the first soldier as the second came closer, a blob of green paint in his aura.

    “Hey, look at this,” said the first soldier to the second.

    “What?” he replied. As he turned his head, the paint he was levitating stopped moving towards Starlight. The pair examined the ID together before the second soldier spoke up. “How do you have a government-issued ID with the seal of Princess Celestia issued after the Princess’s death? Explain.”

    “Oh, that. I—” Starlight bit her lip. “Listen, it’s complicated, ok? Just—I was on my way to see a friend, Rainbow Dash. Well, she doesn’t exactly know I’m coming, but—”

    “Rainbow Dash?” asked the second soldier.

    “Paint her!” the first soldier ordered as he stepped backwards and drew his crossbow.

    The second soldier hurled the paint at Starlight’s chest, creating a dark green splatter mark. For a moment, nothing happened. “See?” Starlight began. “Nothing out of the ordinary. Now if you’ll kindly let us be on our—” Suddenly, Starlight began to glow brightly. She stared down at her hoof and grimaced. “Not good!”

    “Changeling!” shouted the first soldier as he fired his crossbow. Starlight hit the deck, avoiding the projectile.

    Starlight looked up and located a vacant street corner. She charged her horn and teleported to it before running down the street. A whistle blew behind her, but she didn’t look back.

    “Stop her!” a voice behind her called out. Starlight forced her way between a pair of pedestrians, nearly pushing one out into the street. She turned her head to see a pegasus soldier giving chase while reloading his crossbow.

    A few paces ahead, Starlight saw a pair of soldiers shoving their way through waves of pedestrians. Thinking quickly, she skidded to a stop and ducked into an alleyway. She veered between trash cans as the soldiers shouted indistinctly behind her. She turned the corner into an alleyway parallel to the street and continued galloping. Just as she passed an intersecting alley, she heard hoof beats very close behind her. With hardly a thought, she teleported herself to the next intersecting alley.

    With another turn, Starlight found herself in an alley with a pair of dumpsters. The scent alone made her gag, but she lifted the lid anyways. With a deep breath and some coaxing in the form of muffled shouts behind her, Starlight dove into the dumpster, shutting the lid behind her.

    Then, nothing. Just ambient city noise, her own breathing, darkness, and that horrible smell.

    Then there were beating hooves and flapping wings. “Fan out. She couldn’t have gone far,” a soldier said. The sound of his hooves drew extremely close. Starlight cast her invisibility spell moments before a unicorn lifted the lid and shined his hornlight into the dumpster. The soldier frowned and closed the lid.

    Starlight heard departing hoofsteps followed by the second dumpster being opened and closed, then more hoofsteps. Starlight waited until the hoofsteps had faded, then waited a bit more for good measure. When her lungs and stomach could finally take no more of the dumpster air, Starlight lifted the lid and jumped out. She panted furiously and gagged some more, nearly losing her breakfast. As she recovered, she realized she was no longer glowing. “Glad that wore off. Now, I’d better lose these,” she said, tossing the hat and vest into the dumpster before vainly attempting to remove the putrid sludge from her coat.

    Starlight cautiously ventured out into the street parallel to the one she began in before breaking into a trot along the sidewalk. The looks ponies gave her now were far worse than the looks she had gotten before. Not only was she unanimously looked upon, but she managed to clear away anypony near her with her smell. Hope I don’t have to blend into a crowd, she thought to herself.

    “There she is!” somepony shouted.

    Starlight’s trot became a gallop as she approached a street corner, banking hard to the left to stay between the street and the building. As she looked over her shoulder, she careened through a vendor’s cart, shattering its merchandise. Pain shot through her body as she heard a large quantity of glass shatter underneath and in front of her. Accompanying the sound was an overwhelming smell—thankfully not that of a dumpster this time. A second wave of pain met her as she hit the ground, trapping more merchandise between herself and the sidewalk. As Starlight fell and skidded to a stop, she watched several bottles of perfume smash into the ground. “My perfumes!” shouted a nearby mare.

    Starlight struggled to get back on her hooves, but found little success. Her entire front was riddled with glass shards and dripping with blood and perfume. The glass shards were mere paper cuts compared to the pain caused when the perfume met her open wounds. Starlight’s every movement was agony.

    “Freeze! You are under arrest!” a voice behind her shouted. Starlight’s head shot upright as a fresh wave of adrenaline flowed through her body. She clumsily got her hooves as she shot a blast of magic at the soldier behind her, encasing him in a large pink crystal. Then, with the pain dulled by her adrenaline, she ran across the street.

    Two pegasi flew low above and behind her, beating the air with their wings. But this time, Starlight heard something else, too. She gave the soldiers a quick glance and saw them drawing their crossbows. She returned her attention to the sidewalk ahead and counted to three before raising a shield around herself. A moment later, a pair of crossbow bolts ricocheted off her shield in opposite directions.

    As Starlight approached the next street, a large pegasus chariot sporting navy and gold paint flew overhead. As the chariot came to a halt, four pegasi dropped down onto the ground. Strapped to their left forelegs were navy shields which bore in gold paint the word “Police.” The four stood shoulder-to-shoulder, blocking her path.

    Starlight cast her glance across the street and lit her horn. Just as the pegasus behind her closed in for a tackle, Starlight teleported away. She then cast her invisibility spell, but her horn only sparked and fizzled. Her body flashed in and out of visibility a few times before remaining visible. Starlight glanced around and noticed a pony staring at her. “Please, you have to help me! It’s all a mistake. It’s just a big misunderstanding! I have to get to the jail, now!” The mare looked at Starlight quizzically and raised a hoof off the ground. “Please!” Starlight pleaded. “They—they took my sister!”

    “It’s just down this street,” the mare replied. “Not more than a block.”

    “Thank you!” Starlight blurted as she galloped in the direction indicated. It wouldn’t take the soldiers and police long to find her, but if she could get to the jail in time, she could turn herself in and hopefully plead her case as a non-changeling.

    Starlight came to a stop once she reached the door of the jail. She leaned against the door with both hooves and pushed, but nothing happened. She looked again and read the word “Pull.” She cast a glance to the side and saw a police pegasus barreling down on her. “No! Wait! I can explain!” she protested. Too late. The pegasus tackled her to the ground, giving Starlight a hard jolt to the back of the head in the process. The police mare stared down at Starlight as her vision began to darken and her consciousness slipped away. “I’m not—a change—ling…”