Life endures.
Once, the entire town of Termina was the scene of a grand battle between Elemental and Ba’al forces. Otherworldly allies fought against powerful aliens, and in the end the aliens were driven away. There were celebrations that day all across the worlds.
But the town of Termina lost in a more fundamental way than Ba’al had. Their town was beyond repair. Their ancient Clock Tower was destroyed, their farms were razed, and their leadership had been brutally murdered. While the rest of the world rejoiced, the people of Termina needed to find a new home. Termina was left in ruins.
However, a few stubborn individuals were determined to stay. They tilled the land, they cleared the debris, and they fought the beasts of the wilderness. It was a hard life, but the humans put their unwavering willpower to good use, and the other races provided what they could. They got by.
Eventually, Link returned from his adventures across the multiverse. He made himself the protector of Termina, organizing whatever he could to rebuild the town. Those who had struggled received relief through him.
In the end, Termina was no more. But New Termina rose in its place. It was a bright light in the darkness that had attacked them, a reminder that even when crushed, people would rise up.
That life would endure.
Today, roughly three years since Termina’s destruction in the invasion, there were almost no signs of the destruction and death the town had experienced. There may not have been a Clock Tower, but in the end, nobody needed a defining landmark. They just needed homes, shops, and a city hall. The people were happy.
Near the edge of town there was a small restaurant that was all about exotic Ardent salads. Since it was between the breakfast and lunch rush, there were only two patrons dining – Renee and Daniel. They were currently sharing the house special Giant Platter filled with every piece of edible greenery Daniel could think of – and some he couldn’t.
He picked up something that looked like it might have been a flower. He took a bite, surprised by its honey-esque taste. “Absolutely amazing. One of the best things about the multiverse, all the new unusual foods.”
“Until you get stomach poisoning from something you can’t eat,” Renee shivered. “Never order anything a dragon eats.”
“That seems like it would be obvious.”
Renee flushed. “Well – I wasn’t speaking from experience-“
“Never implied that you were.”
Renee rolled her eyes and grumpily munched on a giant piece of lettuce.
Daniel shrugged and leaned back. “So, today’s the day. Excited?”
Renee’s left eye twitched. “Darling, I feel like there’s a million things we’ve forgotten and that I should really be back helping all the others deal with the chaos that is about to ensue. But no, you insisted I needed to take a moment to breathe. So, excited? Yes. Stressed out through the proverbial roof? Also yes!”
Daniel nodded. “Same. I… I can just see this going wrong in so many ways.”
“Well, yes, you can’t really judge the collective reaction of billions of people,” Renee said. “But we also can’t really keep lying to them.”
“You were never lying.”
Renee raised an eyebrow. “Well I have to be turned into a human whenever I go to your world, don’t I? I also have to avoid talking about where I’m from around here. Maybe I never lie directly, but Daniel, I’ve definitely had to engage in deception.”
“You and I both know you enjoy a little bit of deception in your life.”
Renee bit her lip. “…You have me pegged. It is a bit exhilarating at times… But the people need to know. Which is why we’re doing this.”
“Two years in the making…”
“Longer, you were plotting before you brought me in.”
Daniel chuckled. “Plotting?”
“Yes. Plotting.”
“Isn’t plotting a little, you know, evil?”
“I know the plotting face, my sister has it all the time. It was definitely plotting you were doing. You can be plotting a good thing and still go about it in a nefarious manner.”
“…Right.”
“And you know it.”
The front doors to the shop opened, letting two new patrons into the restaurant: Link and the redheaded Romani. Renee knew Midna was in Link’s shadow, but the Twili wasn’t making herself known.
Renee smiled. “Ah, Romani, dear! How’s it been? I haven’t seen you since… Well, since the wedding. That was four months for me, you?”
“Five,” Romani said, shrugging, taking a seat with Link on the table closest to Renee’s. “Of course, I time my life around how many milking days have passed, so it might be a little off.”
“Been a little less than five for me,” Daniel said. “You have to just love time dilation.”
“Not our problem anymore,” Link said, putting his boots up on the table. “Our problems are all about the farm now. The most excitement we get is making sure the cows don’t get abducted by aliens.”
“It still baffles me that your universe not only has aliens, but they only care about abducting cows,” Daniel commented. “Also, I thought you got Equis Cosmic to take care of them?”
Link shrugged. “They showed up a month ago, so they’re still around. I’ve still got my bow though, so it’s easy enough to take care of them.”
“A true mystery…” Renee said, putting a hoof to her chin. “That I really don’t have time to get into right now.”
“Is today the… day?” Romani asked.
“Disclosure,” Daniel confirmed. “The secret’s almost out. It’s not too late for your people to join us. Renee and I have plans drafted up for your political climate that could be initiated if you change your mind.”
Link shrugged. “As I said, not my problem. Zelda and her father decided to keep you all a secret, and I defer to them.”
“Your choice,” Renee said. “Still would prefer if you joined us.”
“The farm’s always open to you,” Link said. He took a moment to tell the waiter what salad he and Romani wanted.
“We know,” Renee responded. “It’s just… I don’t know. This world is so beautiful and we don’t really get to see it. Link, you told many stories of vast, distant lands. So many of us want to go explore those, but it’s just a hassle to do so. We have to take precautions coming here. Can’t see the rest of your world’s beauty from this town...”
Romani smirked. “There’ll be some new beauty at the farm rather soon.”
Renee raised an eyebrow, glancing at Romani’s stomach. There was the slightest of bulges. She blinked. “Well then… Congratulations! How far along are you?”
“Little over four months.” She beamed. “Probably going to be the first child born in the completely New Termina.”
Daniel smirked. “Lucky timing. Almost like you planned it this way.”
Romani rolled her eyes. “Romance was in the air. Isn’t that right, Link?”
Link smiled warmly. “It was in the air on that day more than any other day.”
Renee squished her cheeks together. “You two are just so cute!”
Midna’s voice piped from the shadow. “Aw, you and Daniel are too!”
Renee flushed. “M-midna! We are just-“
“On a date!”
Renee twitched. “Link, do you by chance have a way to strangle your little imp while she’s in your shadow?”
Link shrugged. “Yes.”
“Care to elaborate?”
“No.”
Renee fumed; ready to unleash a spell on the shadow Midna was hiding in. Daniel put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re just giving her what she wants, Renee.”
Renee twitched, sitting back down. She elegantly tossed her mane back and adjusted her hat. “Right, of course. I think we need to be going anyway, they’re probably wondering why we aren’t ready. I can already imagine Twilight having a freak out, looking under every cabinet like we’re loose change.”
Daniel nodded. “It was nice seeing you two.”
Romani waved. “I hope it all goes well!”
Renee twitched. “Yes. Hope. Eheheheh…”
“Renee, calm,” Daniel said. “It’s mostly out of our hands anyway.”
Renee nodded wordlessly. The two left the restaurant just as Link and Romani were served.
~~~
In the royal courtyard of Lai, there was a tense confrontation underway.
“I am Flame Majesty – and you can do nothing to stop me, pathetic whelps!” The bombastic voice came from a tall, muscular pony with features of every race on Lai except the oculus eyes. His horn was sharp, his antlers reminiscent of a moose, his fins and wings spread to make him look threatening, his tail ending with a dragon-like mouth, his mane and tail made of literal fire. Quite an overload of features to take in, visually speaking.
Lady Rarity hefted her hammer and raised an eyebrow. “Care to explain exactly what you’re trying to do?”
“Why, shouldn’t it be obvious!?” He laughed madly. “I am a full feature! Queen Luna has become soft, so clearly I must take the throne! You stand in my way of challenging her, so prepare to be-“
“You’re missing the eyes,” Lieshy pointed out. “Shortsighted, with a pencil.”
“…What?”
Vivian pointed at Flame. “She’s just saying you don’t have the oculus eyes. So, technically, not a full alicorn.”
“Which means you have no right to challenge the Queen,” Lady Rarity asserted. “The ponies will never view you as legitimate, even if you bested her.”
“Who needs those stupid eyes? They don’t really do anything! They-“
Suddenly, Toph was standing in front of her three friends. She was well into her teens now with a taller stature and a curved body; calling her a child would hardly be appropriate anymore.The Master Sword hung from her hand and blood dripped off the blade onto the ground. Flame Majesty’s left wing fell off.
He stared at it and blinked. “…How…?”
Toph cocked her head. “How are you not screaming in agony?”
“I don’t know…”
“Shock,” Lady Rarity said. “Let me knock it out of him,”
“Wait wha-“
Her warhammer made direct contact with Flame Majesty’s face, twisting his entire body to the side. Blood squirted out of his wing-stump, kicking his nervous system into overdrive. He did start screaming, flailing randomly on the ground. He fired off a few bolts of fire in random directions.
Toph raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
Lieshy shrugged her wings. “He does seem rather… pathetic to actually be a threat. Bit of a wild boar.”
Toph rammed her foot into the ground and lifted the Master Sword high. Rocks rose around Flame Majesty’s body, sealing him into the ground.
“…That was too easy.” Lieshy said.
Vivian put her hands to her face. “Uh oh…”
“There’s no such thing as jinxing, Vivi-“
Flame Majesty used his antlers to connect to the earth around him, throwing it off his body. “I am not to be made a fool by the likes of you!” He lifted his antlers and horn, lighting the entire garden on fire.
Vivian pressed her hands together and chanted a brief spell. Then she pointed her finger at Flame Majesty, summoning all the fire he just unleashed back into his face. He didn’t burn, but the impact did send him back. Lady Rarity hit the other side of his face, while Toph threw a boulder at his side.
He got up again. “You… mysterious ponies have some fight in you, but I won’t let it-“
Toph was suddenly on the other side of the room, holding his other wing. She raised an eyebrow. “I could have killed you, you know.”
Flame Majesty stared at his other stump. “…You bitch!”
“And the childish waterfall erupts,” Lieshy deadpanned.
“What?”
Lady Rarity hit him across the face again. “Just give up, Flame.”
“You’re not even landing any hits!” Vivian said, snapping her fingers. A spark of fire lit in front of Flame’s eyes, blinding him temporarily.
“I WILL NOT BE MADE A FOOL OF!”
“Far too late for that,” Lieshy muttered.
Toph encased him in a pile of rocks and Lady Rarity encased that in a magical bubble. Vivian lit the whole thing on fire just for added effect.
With a roar of rage, Flame Majesty destroyed the entire magical prison. “You cannot keep me! I will get to the Queen! I… I…”
“Are about to pass out from blood loss and head trauma,” Lieshy said.
That’s exactly what happened. The alicorn wannabe slumped to the ground, tongue out.
Toph threw his wing back on top of him. “Wonder if the surgeons can reattach that.”
“Maybe?” Lady Rarity said. “It really doesn’t matter. He’ll spend his life behind bars for threatening the Queen directly without cause.”
Queen Luna teleported into their midst. “Good show, you four. I knew I could count on you to take care of it quickly.”
“You could have done it,” Lieshy pointed out.
“It would have validated him,” the Queen said, teleporting his unconscious form to the dungeons. “He would have fallen easily, but if anypony ever caught wind, well, there’d be more of a political fallout than there’s already about to be.”
Lady Rarity nodded. “The ponies aren’t going to be happy soon.”
Lieshy shrugged. “It’ll explain a lot of the weird things they’ve been experiencing. Some peace of mind.”
“And hatred of change,” Lady Rarity said. “Even Sunset, a good pony, never got past the Arcei stigma. We hate change, or anything that challenges our worldview.”
Toph sheathed the Master Sword. “Tough luck, they’ll just have to deal with it.”
Queen Luna smirked. “To be honest, I’m actually looking forward to their reactions. Good or bad, it’ll be interesting.”
Lieshy looked up at her. “You sure you know what to tell them?”
“Nope! I’ll just talk, like I always do. They always think it sounds profound, even that one time I was outlining what to do about an upcoming festival. I completely botched that and they lauded me for it.”
“Your confidence is too high.”
“Maybe,” Queen Luna said. “But you’ll be there, as examples as well as backup.”
Toph stood alert. “You’re not going to ask us to say anything, are you?”
“…Probably not?”
“Sometimes I wonder why you’re in charge here.”
Queen Luna smirked. “Sometimes, I wonder that as well, Toph Beifong. Believe it or not, I am aware that I’m rather clueless at times. Maybe it would be better if someone with a stronger hoof took the crown from me. But, for now, we have no real enemies and the world is happy. We’ll see how that changes, or if I can count on the ponies to keep things as status quo as possible.”
“Won’t take long to figure that out,” Lady Rarity said. “I admit that I am curious as well.”
“Are we going to reveal why Sunset has a memorial in town square?” Vivian asked.
“No,” Queen Luna said, sighing. “I may be clueless, but I’m not stupid. If we tell them about Majora… Panic.”
“The less they know about how much death is out there, the better,” Lieshy asserted. “Ponies don’t handle the possibility of imminent death very well.”
Toph twirled the Master Sword. “I’m sure we can prove ourselves to be good allies.”
“Proof often means nothing,” Lieshy retorted.
~~~
Corona levitated the blowtorch closer to her face and pulled down her welding mask. She positioned two pieces of metal by the blowtorch’s flame and moved them across, slowly, fusing them together with a filler rod. It was so much easier when she didn’t have to bother using hands. She could rotate the pieces to be welded easily enough to come in at any angle she desired.
“I still think that’s cheating,” Sugarcoat said from her chair near the stairwell.
Corona smirked, turning the blowtorch off. “Say what? Didn’t catch that.”
“I said I still think that’s cheating.”
“Maybe. But the less time I spend on basic college assignments like this, the more time I get to work on important things.”
“Doing basic college assignments is all you have a societal obligation to do at the moment.”
“Pshaw, I can work on this!” She tossed the carefully welded metal chunks away, bringing up a much more intricate device from under the worktable that resembled a coconut covered in hundreds of wires and lights. She turned on a nearby monitor so it could show her the source material for the finished product, composed mostly of images of Rick working in a Hub lab.
“You know, Twilight wasn’t working on that for a reason.”
“Like you tell me every day,” Corona said, examining the image closely, checking for more wires and comparing it with her drawn blueprint. “I just feel the need to work on what she’s not, you know? I don’t think she’ll be mad.”
“It’s not like you stole it from her or something with help from a high profile criminal.”
“Hey, Twilight knows about Sombra. She’s cool with it.” Corona plugged in a few wires.
“Sparky isn’t.”
Corona bit her lip. “Well, yeah, that’s why Sparky doesn’t know where all of this came from…”
“You just keep digging yourself deeper and deeper into a hole and you know it.”
Corona sighed. “Look, if it makes you feel better, I’ll tell her where these blueprints came from and suffer the wrath of a ‘good citizen’. Okay?”
Sugarcoat raised an eyebrow. “You’re the one bothered by this. Did I say I had any problems? No. I was just doing what I normally do.”
“Which is…?”
“Speak without any trace of tact whatsoever.”
“At least you’re aware of that…”
“Something you are already painfully aware of. It’s amazing how many of our conversations are truly pointless.”
Corona rolled her eyes. “Sugarcoat… Never change.”
“The likelihood of me never changing at all is nil.”
“You know what I mean.”
Sugarcoat let a smile crawl onto her face. “Since when did that matter?”
Corona facehooved. “You’d think I’d know you by now.”
“You secretly enjoy being baffled and thrown around like a ragdoll. You think it gets you into a better mindset.”
“And there goes the psychoanalysis,” Corona said, shaving some of the coating off a nearby wire. “What else do you creepily ‘know’ about me?”
“You’re once again wondering what you’re going to do with your life. You’re starting your last semester of college, about to get your degree. You’re just not thinking about it.”
“WRONG!” Corona laughed. “I’ve been accepted to an Equis Cosmic program for furthering my education.”
“And after that you’ll know everything conceivably possibly about physics. Then what?”
“Can’t even revel in the small victories,” Corona shook her head. “I don’t know. Adventure again?”
“AID won’t take you on again.”
“Twilight will.”
“With the security risk you pose?”
Corona stopped working. “…Twilight doesn’t care as much about secrets.”
“There are definitely some things she’ll want to keep secret, and those are the things Sombra will want to know.”
“I’ll figure that out when I get to that point.”
“Sure you will.”
A portal opened up next to Corona. Alushy walked out of it, depositing a bag of rare mechanical pieces on Corona’s worktable. “You don’t want to know what I had to do to get these.”
“Did you kill someone again!?” Corona exclaimed. “Alushy!”
“No, believe it or not, but you still don’t want to know.”
Sugarcoat blinked. “What could she possibly be upset at if you didn’t kill anyone?”
Alushy snorted. “Imagine, for a moment, if you will, me using my powers of seduction on an entire troop of-“
Sugarcoat and Corona held up a hand at the same time.
“Told you,” Alushy said, smirking. “You got this thing working yet?”
Corona shook her head. “Not even close. I can’t simulate the portal fluid, and I know if it’s even slightly off things go horribly wrong.”
“Remind me why I’m helping a hopeless science project.”
“Because you felt the need to work on something beyond slaughtering hordes of evil because lately that’s been feeling inadequate,” Sugarcoat said. “Also you just like the idea of working on something the authority rejected.”
“Have I ever told you how much I like you?”
“Yes. However, unlike that troop of unidentified individuals, your powers of seduction are powerless against my assault of deadpan remarks.”
“Yeesh. You must have all the guys fighting over you.”
“She’s actually dating Micro Chips,” Corona said, turning the unfinished project over and over in her telekinesis. “He comes down here to help, sometimes.”
“How many people know about this ‘secret’ project?” Alushy asked.
“Let’s see… you, me, Sugarcoat, Micro, Sombra, probably Storm since I know he’s watching me, and… Sparky. Though she doesn’t know where I got the designs.”
“Something, something, you’re becoming a regular criminal, cutting remark, laugh.”
Corona grunted. “Please, it’s not like I’m doing anything illegal.”
“You survive on technicalities,” Sugarcoat added.
“Oh wow, looks like today is ‘assault Corona’s confidence’ day!”
“You? Confidence?” Alushy laughed.
“Very funny,” Corona muttered. She put the device back under the workbench. “Now, I’m going to sta-“
The doorbell rang. Corona reacted quickly, grabbing a robe off a nearby wall hook. She clicked a small, silver bracelet on her front leg. The bracelet, crafted by Twilight over a year ago, flooded her body with magic and transformed her into her human form. She slid the robe on and jogged up the stairs.
“Nice bod’!” Alushy yelled after her.
“Why would you care, you’re a pony,” Sugarcoat commented.
“Why do you not?”
“I’m a decent human being.”
Corona rolled her eyes at the absurd conversation occurring in her basement. She marched up to the ground floor of her house, a lovely place purchased with the fat paycheck she’d received after she’d left the AID. Apparently she just hadn’t been allowed to use the funds publicly while she was employed. Silver lining to being fired, she supposed.
She opened the front door; glad to see a familiar face. “Hey, Sparky!”
Sparky – the human once known as Twilight - looked at the robe Corona was wearing. “Am I coming at a bad time?”
“Sparky, you know I spend my time in my house as a unicorn. This is just the easiest thing to throw on.”
“Oh. Right.”
“Come on in,” Corona invited, gesturing into her home. “Sugarcoat’s in the basement arguing with Alushy.”
“Oh. Her. Do you have any… other unsavory company?”
Corona narrowed her eyes. “Sparky, they’re friends.”
Sparky shrugged, clearly not in the mood to have this conversation again. “Just… I needed to talk to you about your plans. Everyone’s ready for tomorrow. I just want to be sure that you’re really going through with it.”
Corona walked into another room and shut the door so she could change out of sight of Sparky. It wasn’t that Corona minded, but Sparky did. She came back out, a unicorn, lips pursed. “Yeah, pretty sure I’m not making any last-minute changes. Unless the entire world lights on fire after Disclosure. There’s always that chance.”
“Y-yeah…” Sparky wrung her hands. “I hope they know what they’re doing…”
“There’s only so much they can predict and know,” Corona said. “People are random. The people of five different worlds are even more random.”
“I don’t like not knowing if my world will be intact next week. I’d like to have some certainty about the fate of me and my family, Corona. Some!”
“Sorry, it just can’t always be quantified,” Corona said. “I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to complete college, at least.”
“A lot can change in two years!”
Corona nodded slowly. “Yeah. You just have to be prepared.”
“How am I supposed to prepare for variables I can’t quantify!?”
Alushy laughed from the basement. “Do I hear the nerdy bitch panicking about the completely normal uncertainty in life?”
“Yes you do!” Corona called down. “And that’s a perfectly normal response to the completely normal uncertainty!”
“…Am I the ‘nerdy bitch’ now?” Sparky said, taking a step back.
Corona sighed. “No, Sparky, no… When you’re talking with Alushy you just have to take some things in stride, okay? If I spend time correcting her language, it’d miss the entire point of what I was trying to say.”
Sparky took in a deep breath. “I… I can’t deal with her, Corona. And I can’t see how you can. How you can deal with all those… people you call friends.”
Corona smiled sadly. “I know. But we’re friends. We don’t have to approve of each other’s friends.”
“I know. It’s just… hard to stomach, sometimes.”
“Hey, I’m not asking you to interact with her,” Corona said. “Not asking you to like her either. Nor Sombra. Nor did I ask you to like Tempest, Mike, Ike, or Storm. Or even Iroh, but I know you like Iroh.”
“Everybody and their mother likes Iroh!” Sugarcoat called.
“Not helping, Sugarcoat!”
“We just had the discussion about that not being a criteria of my function.”
Corona’s eye twitched. “I’m surrounded by…”
“Friends,” Sparky said, folding her arms.
Corona rubbed the back of her head. “Er… Yeah!”
Sparky nodded, forcing a smile. “I should probably go.”
“…If that’s what you want.”
She waved. “See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.”
Alushy called up from the basement as she walked out the door. “Yeah! You better run, bitch! Flee from personality confrontation! I’m just insufferable!”
Corona teleported down to the basement and shot Alushy a death glare. “Do you have to be such a jerk all the time?”
“Please, Corona, call me what I am. Fudgemothering asshole shitty vampire.”
“Look at the creative use of swears alongside boring, regular syntax,” Sugarcoat deadpanned. “You do realize it’d be more interesting if you could get the point across without the swears. It’d speak more to your creativity.”
“Fudge you.”
“Score. Sugarcoat, one. Alushy, zero.”
Corona grabbed the bridge of her nose. “Alushy, I’m talking about your antagonism. How do you expect to make friends like that? How do you expect to stay on anyone’s good side.”
“I don’t!” Alushy laughed. “I’m a free spirit. If you don’t take me as I am, your loss.”
“To those who thought Trixie had a big ego, take a five-second look at Alushy to discover what true ego is,” Sugarcoat said.
Corona shook her head. “You know, I wonder if Sparky has a point about you, Alushy…”
“She probably does!” Alushy grinned. “But I’m just too damn attractive to you. You can’t-“
Corona levitated a boot and threw it into Alushy’s head. “You’re so unpleasant sometimes…”
“And I’ll always be that way, baby! How’s about a date? I can bring everything worthy of attention to the party and you can bring the fiery ‘I don’t really like you or anything, you insufferable horse’s ass!’ to the table!”
Corona twitched. “You are not helping your case.”
“Corona,” Sugarcoat said. “Consider investing in the ability to learn from recent conversations.”
“You can stuff a sock in it.”
“Can, yes. Will, no.”
Corona rammed her head into the workbench and let out an agonized groan.
“Ha! Broke her.” Alushy raised a hoof in Sugarcoat’s direction. She made no move to meet it. “Oh come on, don’t leave me hanging!”
“You are an insufferable dolt who was needlessly cruel and antagonistic. Why wouldn’t I leave you hanging?”
“Ouch. Burn.”
“Just a statement of fact.”
Alushy shrugged. “Fine, I can tell when I’m not wanted. Off to the races I go!” She ripped a portal to another universe and stepped through.
Sugarcoat stood up from her chair when she was done and walked over to Corona. “Hey, Corona. It’s going to be okay.”
Corona moaned like a depressed puppy.
Sugarcoat put a hand on her back. “Corona. It’s a testament to you that you can put up with her at all. Maybe you can change her, like you’re changing Sombra.”
“Sometimes I feel like I’m making deals with the devil here…”
“Oh, you are.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Sugarcoat patted Corona gently. “It is a vote of confidence. I think you can get through this. You’re the strongest, most determined person I know. Don’t sell yourself too short.”
“…Thanks, Sugarcoat.”
“Don’t mention it.”
~~~
The endurance of life is not always a pretty picture.
Take the remaining Binary world as an example. During the release of Majora, she specifically sent a corrupting influence of magic directly to the other world, just because it was nearby. The world was not destroyed, but it was irrecoverably corrupted. The other half of Binary society collapsed, a mockery of their supposed preparedness.
The cities of the world were ruins, the land was covered in dark monstrous magics, and unfathomable beasts prowled the world. It was the blemish in the multiverse that Majora had left behind to ensure she would not be forgotten. The world was a hellscape where only the most stubborn tried to live.
Which was to say it was a perfect place for Siron to take an interest in.
Currently, he was standing on a floating disc-shaped building, far from the purple ground below. He had gone down to the surface before, dealt with the horrendous beasts, but even he had to admit he couldn’t forge a permanent settlement in such horrid conditions. He couldn’t imagine how the remaining Binaries kept it up.
He didn’t care all that much, though. They were weak, they had been exploited, and they had fallen to a stronger foe. They deserved the loss of their entire civilization. And then Majora… For the being of chaos, he could only feel respect. She tricked the Binaries, the multiverse, even him. He didn’t even know he was being played…
But she was only one being. She proved herself to be formidable, but not worthy of her rampage. He was thankful for her existence, and even her manipulations, because the aftermath…
Well, the aftermath he was standing over he could use. She used him, now he used her. It was perfect – poetic.
“Siron?” Mistress Luna said, walking up to his side. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking of this world,” Siron said, pointing his staff at a triple-headed elephant covered in fangs on every square inch of its body. “I’m thinking of how its magic is inexplicably suited to mine.” The green-red energy of his staff enveloped the elephant-creature. It turned to other members of its herd and started trampling them. “I’m seeing power.”
“For what, though?” Luna asked.
“My – our – race. We deserve much more than we have been given on this platter that is existence itself. But time and time again we are foiled by things beyond our control. The Moon Spirit was destroyed, our allies don’t recognize strength, Majora…” He clutched his fist harder around the staff. “We aren’t at the bottom anymore – those Binaries below us have that honor – but what say do we have?”
“You were one of the heroes who faced Majora, Siron. You’re a celebrated hero.”
“That only lasted so long, Mistress… They know who I am, but the popularity fades. They always want new, new, new.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?”
Siron used his magic to connect to the corruption below. “Use this place to elevate us. This… den of darkness. It will be our light.”
Luna smiled. “I suppose I can get behind that.”
“Good. It will be long, hard, and more than a little bloody. This place is brutal. But there is structure here we can use, where others abandon.” He looked to the sky. “I’m going to ask for Fef’s release.”
“What?”
“I need a strong, capable, adaptive warrior at my side, and Anix is gone. She may have betrayed the others to Ba’al and Majora, but she didn’t betray us. Her people come first.”
Luna raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
I know her loyalties lie with me. “Yes. I am certain.”
“Toph and her party will be livid, Siron.”
“They don’t need to know. She won’t need to leave this world. It’s not like you can just portal to here easily, you need a ship. And nobody has any reason to come here, except us. Everyone else just wants to leave.”
The third passenger of the disc grunted. The two turned to see their momentary ally, the Gerudo Ganondorf. “You have arrogance, Siron.”
“Arrogance is a consequence of strength.”
“True. That doesn’t mean it itself is a strength.”
Siron folded both sets of his arms. “You’re one to talk.”
“It would be wise not to underestimate the tendency those who call themselves ‘heroes’ have to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Lyna raised an eyebrow. “…What does that have to do with anything?”
“More than you know,” Ganondorf said, looking down at the world below. “This is an age of darkness we observe. They just ask for ‘heroes’ to tame them.”
“Wouldn’t that be us?”
Ganondorf smirked. “Your innocence is, in a way, beautiful. But in this world, I think you will soon open your eyes to the way of things.”
Siron chuckled. “Mistress Luna, he is right. In some ways, you are naïve. Reserved. I am not convinced this world will change you, considering your ancient mind.”
Luna pursed her lips. “Well then we’ll just have to see, won’t we?”
~~~
Equis Cosmic had no planet where all the other major worlds were. When one opened a direct portal to the universe, they found nothing but empty space and rapid decompression. Portable dimensional devices didn’t allow direct connections to the world under normal circumstances. So far, everyone had managed to avoid a tragedy.
Admittedly, the area wasn’t completely empty any longer. While there was no full sized planet there, a large space station had been built - a shipyard placed specifically for interdimensional ships. The station was composed of dozens of very long and narrow rods, between which were areas that held ships in various states of construction; ranging from a basic wireframe construction to nearly complete.
Most of the ships were clearly of the smooth, nature-inspired design indicative of Equis Cosmic, but there were two that did not follow this pattern. One appeared as a larger version of the Apollo, except with a double-layered body in the center that had a total of six docking bays; three on each side, arranged in a triangle pattern. Unlike the Apollo, it had a threatening glowing cylinder of many colors embedded in its very top.
O’Neill stood on the bridge of this ship, smirking as he looked out the front window. “This has been a long held dream of mine…” he said, gesturing at the bridge in front of him.
Cosmo raised an eyebrow. “…You wanted a really large ship built to your designs with help from magical ponies?”
“What? No! Really, we could have built this thing ourselves given enough time – well most of it anyway. I’m talking about naming a ship the Enterprise. They just wouldn’t let me do it. Well, now they don’t get a say in the matter.” He put his hands on his hips. “The Enterprise. It feels so good to say that.”
“What does that name mean to you?”
“It’s from a historic TV show.”
Cosmo raised an eyebrow. “Something tells me that you’re being a little silly.”
O’Neill chuckled. “Sometimes the best thing is a little silly.”
“I’m not saying it was a bad decision.”
“Rousing endorsement,” O’Neill deadpanned.
Cosmo chuckled. “It sounds impressive and powerful.”
O’Neill leaned back. “So, what do we owe you?”
“Use of the ship and political favors,” Cosmo said. “Nothing specific, though you knew this.”
“Have to make sure you’re not trying to pull a fast one.”
“Me? Pull a fast one? You wound me.”
The Starlight AI popped in. “You never pulling a fast one? That’s a laugh.”
“I don’t do that to my friends, Sta-“
“21/11/3092. The individual in question was your great grandniece, Acorna Sparkle, and-“
“That was centuries ago!”
“8/2/3432. Only a couple years ago. You fooled me into flooding myself with a cat meme virus.”
O’Neill stifled a chuckle. “Like two little sisters.”
Cosmo smirked. “Not the worst thing we’ve been called.”
“I’ve been called a ‘built-in lover.’ Which is just disgusting,” the AI said.
O’Neill shrugged. “I wouldn’t judge.”
“Why did you tell him that?” Cosmo asked.
“Momentary lapse in judgement,” the AI responded.
“You can process things thousands of times faster than us.”
“End of line.”
“Oh no you don’t.”
There was no response from the AI. Cosmo rolled her eyes. “Looks like she’s ducked out of the conversation.”
“Wish I could do that sometimes,” O’Neill commented.
“Doesn’t everyone?” She turned to look at one of the screens with a ship schematic on it. “Is the Harmony Core functioning?”
“They tell me that the miniature star works like a charm,” O’Neill answered. “Carter’s giddy. It’ll be able to take us back to the west, apparently. Not that we really need it over there.”
“I’m glad you like. Those things aren’t easy to make.”
“How are they made?”
“Me,” Cosmo said, tapping her chest. “It takes part of the Harmony Essence and infuses it into a complex crystal matrix. You’ve basically got a Tree of Harmony seed sitting in your engineering.”
“Wait, hold it, will that thing actually grow into a tree?”
“It’ll start sprouting in a few thousand years. By then, something tells me we’ll have better methods of power. Just don’t become evil or un-harmonious. The Harmony Core is able to sense that and will start acting up.”
“What if we’re in a war?”
“Don’t rely on the Harmony Core’s power, simple,” Cosmo said. “You should only need it to make tremendous jumps across the multiverse anyway. Even the magic weapons are designed to operate off regular electricity, as per your design requests.”
“Our engineers were that demanding?”
“They’re the ones who figured out how to get it to work. The main Spectral Tube is almost entirely their design, though I had to ensure the spells would work. I hope you have someone who knows how to code thaums. That tube really isn’t worth it if you don’t know how to build spells on the spot.”
“Mauve?”
“He’s… learning.”
“Will that be enough?”
Cosmo shrugged. “To shoot a laser or release an explosion? Yes. To specifically disable an enemy ship’s shield system using a teleport bypass? No.”
“So I have a big honkin’ space gun that none of my crew knows how to use. Great. Care to lend someone?”
“It’d have to be temporary, since combat specialists are rather hard to come by. We rarely have reason to shoot at anything.”
“Lucky.” O’Neill sat back in his big chair. Through the window, he noticed a unique chrome ship in the nearby bay. It was composed of two sections: an ovoid top devoid of features above a boat-like bottom, complete with a figurehead of an unidentifiable alicorn. It was as if a boat was using a metal balloon like a sail, except the masts were numerous beams of white magic. “How’s the ponies’ ship doing?”
“Well. They decided to rely almost entirely on magic for theirs,” Cosmo said. “I think the only purely technological thing in there is the hyperdrive, and it’s powered by magic. The top part holds all the complex spells, machinery, and most of the weapons, while the bottom there is mostly living quarters. It’d designed a lot more like a luxury liner than an exploration vessel.”
“Which is definitely something they’d do. Comfort, art, friendship, and all that.”
“Indeed. But it’s still a versatile ship, equipped with hyperdrive, Nova drive, and the shell drive. It’s so adaptable it’s able to handle overloads of power, increasing its effectiveness by several times when in a high magic realm. When powerful mages are on board, it will adapt. It’s an interesting piece of engineering that would never pass any sort of standardization here.”
“Must be nice, not having to listen to standards. Did they decide what to name it?”
“The Feldspar.”
“…Sounds cool.”
“It’s the mineral found in both sunstone and moonstone. I’d say that’s a better reason than some historic TV show.”
O’Neill shrugged.
~~~
A portal opened in the central area of the Hub, depositing three ponies into the crowded room. The Hub was a paradoxical mix of change and consistency. In the last two years, it could be argued that everything about the place had changed, or that nothing had really changed at all. It was still filled with people from dozens of dimensions, the Mirror Portal was still active in the center, and all the halls were filled with shops, embassies, and a couple of living centers. The bazaar of carts, tents, and stands filled as much space as they possibly could.
It was different in the way that new shops had come and old ones had left. If one had been here two years ago and had just come back, it would be unlikely that they would be able to navigate the Hub. There’d just be too much visual change.
Luckily for Pinkie, Nova, and Flutterfree, they came here almost every day and knew exactly not only how to get to everything, but also how to avoid the halls that were jammed with sleazy shop owners. Their portal closed behind them and they trotted off, Pinkie taking the lead.
“The Mushroom World is always so nice,” Flutterfree said.
“Don’t see me arguing,” Nova agreed. “Great place to get a breather before… Well, today.”
Pinkie turned her head around and grinned. “Today’s going to be great! I have this entire place rigged to explode in confetti the moment everything goes live!”
“Are you sure that won’t impede the plans everyone else has?” Flutterfree asked.
“Oh, it will, but not that much. There’ll just be a dusting of confetti everywhere, not an entire hallway full of the stuff like last time.”
“The last several times,” Nova countered.
Pinkie shrugged. “Eh, people can afford a small bit of unwanted confetti in their lives. What matters is that this is time for celebration.”
“Assuming one of the Earths doesn’t suddenly break out in war.”
“Not going to happen,” Pinkie said.
“Do you just know that or just think that?” Flutterfree asked.
Pinkie pondered this. “Think,” she finally answered.
Nova raised a hoof. “Then I retain my right to be paranoid.”
“If you want to!” Pinkie smirked, taking a hard left to avoid a nearby reporter. “Gotta watch ourselves girls, we can’t let the pizzarazzi take up hours of our time today!”
“Paparazzi,” Flutterfree corrected.
“Papapizza?”
Flutterfree facehooved. “Pinkie…”
“Whaaaaat?” Pinkie said, smiling innocently.
“Nevermind.”
Pinkie giggled, bouncing through a small trinket shop and out the back door, entering the area of the Hub that contained the Elemental Nation Embassy – which meant Iroh’s tea shop was nearby.
The three of them walked in, smiles on their faces. The shop hadn’t changed at all in two years – there were still high-profile patrons enjoying tea and talking with each other. The smell of dozens of different tea varieties flooded the nostrils of the three ponies, putting them at ease.
The three ponies had plans to head through the side door to the actual Embassy, but something caught their eye – or, rather, two people. Against the back wall, in an area reserved for the occasional performance scheduled by Iroh, a magic show was underway.
“Be amazed as Trixie pulls a rabbit out of her hat!” Trixie called, pulling her hat off her head with her magic, sticking her hoof in, and pulling out a small, fluffy white creature. “Tah-dah!”
Next to her stood Discord. He folded his arms. “That’s nothing.” He snapped his fingers, creating a hat out of nothing. He shook it and a dozen rabbits fell out.
Trixie huffed. “It’s easy to create rabbits with chaos magic, Discord.”
“Oh, you wound me. But I saw your horn, it was on. You used magic as well,Trixie the Cheap and Cheating.”
Trixie huffed. “Well, Trixie never!” She stood up on her hind legs, holding her hat in one hoof. “Behold, Trixie’s horn is off! No spells are being cast!” She reached into her hat with her other free hoof and pulled out her own head.
She blinked, staring at herself. “DISCORD!” Both Trixies yelled.
Discord put his hands into the air. “What? I’m not doing anything!”
“Likely story. You don’t have a shiny horn!”
Discord tapped his horns and made them glow with every color of the rainbow.
Trixie stuffed her other head back into the hat. “Humph. Now Trixie will do the trick without interference…” She reached her hoof in and pulled on her on tail, yanking herself through a hole in spacetime and into the air. She landed flat on her back.
Discord howled with laughter. “Okay, that, I can’t just let go attributed to you. That was all me.”
Trixie pulled a link of colorful fabrics out of her hat and tied Discord up in them with a swift motion. Her horn didn’t flash the entire time. “Gotcha.”
Discord snapped his fingers, making the fabrics tie themselves around Trixie. “No, I gotcha.”
“Why you little…” Trixie lit her horn, lifting her hat and shooting more colorful links at Discord. They blasted him in the face. He twisted an arm, turning the fabrics back to Trixie. After a quick tornado of color, both of them were completely tied up.
“This is your fault,” Discord grunted.
“My fault!?” Trixie gasped. “The audacity!”
They continued arguing over each other. A curtain slowly drew over the two of them. When it repealed, the two of them were free of all colored imprisonment. They bowed.
The patrons clapped and nodded in approval at them. Nova walked up. “Nice show, Trix!”
“Thanks, Nova,” Trixie said, embracing her friend. “But you’ve seen this act already, you know it’s good.”
“I still say we needed more chaos in it,” Discord muttered.
“Discord, random spontaneous chaos without any rhyme or reason gets boring real quickly in show business,” Trixie said. “There needs to be structure. A punchline. Something impressive. Never show your most impressive tricks, just in case.”
Discord folded his arms.
“Hey, who has the special talent in stage magic, you or Trixie? That’s right, Trixie.”
Flutterfree smiled. “She is right, Discord. As delightfully crazy as you are, for a stage show that doesn’t quite work.”
Discord sat down at a nearby table. “Yes, yes, I know.” He summoned tea to himself. “Now, I wonder what else I’m going to do today…”
“You’re going to stay in the Hub, like we talked about,” Flutterfree said, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh, did we? I don’t rememb-“
“Don’t play dumb with me mister! You know you’re staying here, you know why, and you agreed to it.”
“I don’t recal-“
“Discord…”
Discord sighed, sagging in defeat. “Fine. Ahem.” He transformed his face into a mockery of Flutterfree. “Oh, Discord, you’ll need to keep yourself out of sight during Disclosure! People will freak out if you show up! I’m just so terrified that other people will have heart attacks from your delightful chaos that everyone will love! I-“
Flutterfree raised her other eyebrow. Nova and Trixie chuckled.
Discord returned to his normal appearance. “I admit, I may be getting the exact words wrong, but that’s the basic idea, right?”
“Yes,” Flutterfree said.
“Don’t you worry your wings, Flutterfree. I’ll stay in the Hub the entire time.”
“And don’t get into any trouble here whi- I’m talking to a brick wall, aren’t I?”
Trixie nodded. “We already have plans to change all the apples to oranges and all the oranges to apples.”
Nova chuckled. “That’s going to tick off a lot of Applejacks.”
“I personally want to see the reaction Orangejack has,” Trixie added.
Pinkie gasped. “That… Oh I want to see that… But I can’t, I’ll be elsewhere…”
“Human Pinkie?” Nova asked.
“With Corona right now, and needs to be for the next day or so,” Pinkie explained. “Too much to do, too much to see!”
“Speaking of…” Flutterfree said, looking at a clock. “I think we should check in on Twilight and the others now.”
“Right,” Nova said. “See you around, Trix.”
“Enjoy your endless flood of politics!”
Nova sighed. “Yeah… ‘Enjoy’…”
Pinkie led the three of them into the Embassy proper. It was less chaotic than they were expecting. There weren’t dozens of people running around with papers in their hands and hooves, there wasn’t a lot of screaming panic, there wasn’t someone rushing in with new information that changed everything, and there weren’t calls for last minute revisions to the plan.
There was just a room of people and ponies sitting down, staring intently at a countdown that currently read 1:34:13. Everyone was dead silent.
“…Uh, hi?” Flutterfree said. Some people looked at her, but Twilight remained fixated on the descending numbers. Flutterfree flew in front of it and waved her wing.
Twilight’s concentration on the timer broke. She shook her head, looking to Flutterfree. “Oh, hi! Sorry, I… Well…” She glanced around. “I think we’re all just waiting.”
Nova blinked. “No last minute plan chaos?”
“Nope. We’ve had this entire thing planned out for over a week,” Twilight said. “We’ve just have to… wait. Wait an hour and a half. Everything’s coordinated, people are moving to where they need to be, speeches have been written, and the various medias have been informed of imminent press conferences…” She gulped. “Everything is going exactly as planned so far. And that worries me. The other shoe is going to drop, I can feel it.”
Pinkie smirked. “Hey, Twilight, look at me. For once, your plan will go off without a hitch.”
Twilight beamed. “Really!?”
“Yeah! Everything you’ve got written down in those papers will run more or less smoothly.”
“Oh, Pinkie, you’re a lifesaver!”
“It’s after those plans are completed that things go sideways!”
Twilight blinked. “…Pinkie…”
“Just being honest!”
“But what if, because you’ve told me that, I mess something up by being nervous? What if I change the reactions?”
“You won’t.”
Twilight opened her mouth to object, then decided shut it. She looked away. “That’s more confusing the more I think about it.”
“Exactly! I’ve got you thinking about paradoxical certainty instead of Disclosure!”
Twilight looked back. “…Did you say something?”
“Yeah, wasn’t important though.”
Flutterfree picked up one of the many sheaves of paper labeled in giant, blue letters. DISCLOSURE. “Renee and Daniel pulled all the stops on this one…”
“Five worlds…” Twilight said. “Five worlds are participating. Six, if you count the Elemental Nations, but they already knew.” She stretched her wings. “Everything’s going to change, today, in a little over an hour.”
“I know!” Pinkie cheered. “Isn’t it exciting? In a few days I can actually go to the Leaning Tower of Pisa as a pony! Isn’t it amazing?”
Nova smirked. “Sure Pinkie, it’s amazing.”
~~~
Five worlds.
Equis Vitis, the center of the vine, the land of ponies and friendship where it all started. A world where there were not many secrets, but there was an entire world that had no contact with the other universes. Equis Vitis was not a world of just ponies, as much as it may seem.
Earth Vitis, a world closely linked to Equis Vitis, a world filled with humans, two hundred nations, and a presence of magic generally kept out of public view. Admittedly, the magic wasn’t hidden that well, but officially it didn’t exist, and the people were just fine with that.
Equis Cosmic, an empire of ponies that spread across an entire galaxy, an image of Equis Vitis’ once possible future. A galaxy of friendship and magic, but also a dark past and loneliness. Ponies that had to remember the time when there were griffons and dragons, people that had to be sacrificed for their own survival.
Earth Tau’ri, a distant world far removed from the magic of friendship, and yet oddly similar to Earth Vitis. A world that ran a secret program to the stars for around two decades, hiding from their people entire wars that took place in the stars, and hiding from their allies the other universes surrounding. They were not alone in the universe.
Lai, a world with less connection to the others. The ponies here detested change, wanting nothing more than to live their lives without having their views challenged. They loved their Queen, hated the Arcei, and lived their lives in general devotion to a Goddess who no longer existed. Was their existence a cruel joke? Or were they strong? Questions that would remain unanswered…
Each of these worlds prepared.
On Equis Vitis, it was simple. Representatives from every nation were invited to Canterlot to hear Princess Celestia and Charter-Princess Twilight speak. A handful of beings from other universes would be there to represent.
On Earth Vitis and Earth Tau’ri, every nation that was in on the secret – be it the wars in the stars, or the existence of magic – would give a speech at roughly the same time. Each of them would have a single otherworlder with them as proof. The nations that weren’t in on the secret would just have to react to the Disclosure, but there was nothing to be done about this.
On Equis Cosmic, Princess Twilight ‘Cosmo’ was to stand with O’Neill and reveal the Apollo in a broadcast sent to the entire galaxy. The largest population of all five worlds would hear the news all at once.
On Lai, a Queen would address her subjects with a team run by the recently knighted Toph at her side. The palace would open to all ponies that day, allowing the main hall to be flooded. The result was completely dependant on a Queen’s ability to talk to her people.
At the same time, all of these efforts began. It was a simple ping sent to everyone’s phones through a set of open portals in the Hub.
On Equis Vitis, Princess Celestia strode out onto the balcony, Twilight and Luna at her sides. The three of them overlooked the crowd composed of many, many races. There were ponies, there were dragons, there were zebras, there were griffons, there were yaks, there were buffalo, there were diamond dogs, there were hippogriffs, there were minotaurs... There were even the buglike changelings, standing in the open among the other races with hardly any fear from anyone. There were no centaurs or gargoyles, sadly. Did they even get the message? Nopony knew.
Celestia took a breath, speaking with the Royal Canterlot Voice. “People of Equis! There are some of you who know why I have called all of you here today, and many others who don’t. Those of you who live outside our borders may have been noticing strange things happening in Equestria. Rumors of strange creatures, unusual devices coming from nowhere, and new magics that do things nobody could have imagined. While we have not kept any secrets, we believe now is the time to tell you all directly what has been happening, and what it means for all of you. I will say that what we have to show you will likely be hard to stomach for many and will have some unfortunate implications. But I assure you that everything we say is true, and in the end is a good thing for all of us.”
Murmurs spread through the crowd. Exactly as expected, so far. Celestia looked down at them all. “The Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle, is better versed in this than I am, for she has had much personal experience. Listen closely to her words, my friends.”
Twilight turned off her ears, thankful she could end the headache. She didn’t need to hear what anypony was saying anymore, for she was the one talking now. She switched places with Celestia, placing her front hooves on the balcony. She spoke loudly, but without the boom of the Royal Canterlot Voice. She used a simple voice amplification spell, to make the crowd feel like she was talking to each of them personally, not shouting at them.
“Hello everyone! It warms my heart to see so many of you standing together, as one! It’s hard for me to imagine, standing here today, that before I got these wings none of us would have dared meet like this. The dragons were angry, the changelings were deceptive, and we ponies were afraid. But, today, we’ve all moved past that, we’ve become something greater than we once were. What I implore all of you to do today is to hold onto this beautiful unity we have achieved, in the face of something new.
“I won’t keep you in the dark any longer. I can tell you’re all really nervous, thinking I’m going to reveal something bad. I’m not. You see, me and my friends have, for the past four years, been exploring other worlds. Not other nations, other worlds. Worlds with ponies, griffons, dragons, changelings, and minotaurs of their own. Some worlds are almost exactly like this one, except I never became a princess, or where Celestia was banished to the sun, or where the genders of everyone are switched! There are also other worlds with creatures beyond our wildest imaginations, people that exist in our legends but not in our reality, or worlds that are nothing but expanses of magic. And in these worlds, we’ve made new friends.”
Twilight lit her horn, teleporting Daniel next to her. She saw gasps from the crowd.
“This man is named Daniel Jackson. He’s a human, exactly like the creature of legend. He’s from a world called Earth – we call it Earth Tau’ri, to separate it from other Earths. We’re Equis Vitis, that is, the Equis vine, branching out to embrace all the other worlds. Daniel is one of many friends. Daniel, tell us a bit about yourself. Don’t worry, they’ll all be able to hear you.”
Daniel smiled. “Thank you, Twilight. Hello everyone. As you already heard from her, I’m Daniel Jackson. I’m an archeologist; that is, I study the deep past by analyzing artifacts, attempting to decode their languages, and investigating cultures. On Earth Tau’ri, humans are the only race on our planet, and I help my people study the cultures of the races we find among the stars. But everything I’ve seen among the stars is nothing compared to what I see here – never in my life have I seen so many races occupy the same world and live in peace. You should all be proud of yourselves for what you’ve accomplished here, a rare culture that deserves a reward.”
Twilight nodded. “He is just one of many friends we have made in the other worlds, my ponies. There are others, and…”
~~~
“…among these allies include a race that may look simplistic at first, but are actually very formidable and strong in the face of adversity.” President Henry Hayes of the Earth Tau’ri United States gave the signal. Renee stepped out from behind the President, to an empty podium next to his. Camera flashes went wild. The gasps were loud, and a couple people screamed out expletives.
“Hello,” Renee said, taking off her hat to reveal her horn. “My name is Renee. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you all out in the open like this. I am sorry we couldn’t do this sooner, but it took two full years of planning.”
President Hayes smiled. “People of America – and the world! We now have the chance to, as a whole, united body, show the people of other worlds who we are. People like Renee here are offering us an amazing opportunity to stand by them in a multiverse that is bigger than any of us can imagine. I call for us to forget the disagreements we have with each other, the petty wars, the struggles, and ask that we make our new allies proud of us and who we are. I ask that we forget, for a moment, the justified anger that alien technology and other universes were kept hidden for so long. Instead, we need to focus our efforts to the new frontier that has opened to us. A frontier of…”
~~~
“…opportunity, magic, and a large amount of new things we know almost nothing about!”
Corona rolled her eyes as she watched the television screen. Their president still sounded like an idiot even when his speech was pre-written and had been practiced several times. She’d even been there during some of the practice sessions. It was painful to watch at times… But at least he was getting the point across. Nova’s presence at his side was clearly helping.
Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.
“Now, this presents us with a solution to a lot of our problems. We now have plenty of places to move refugees…”
Corona facepalmed. She was certain that wasn’t in the speech draft. She saw Nova nudge the president with her magic, probably sending a message directly into his mind. The president shook his head. “But before we talk about our problems, there are some other things…”
~~~
“…to observe. The worlds outside our own have suffered much difficulty,” Cosmo said, addressing the entire galaxy with her voice. “We, by far, have the largest infrastructure of any of them. I call my ponies to serve the other worlds, to give them space, to be welcoming when those who need a place to live can find comfort instead of cramped living conditions.”
Cosmo smiled, glancing to O’Neill for a second. “I don’t think you’ll have any trouble accepting the others. All of us feel, deep down, that we aren’t supposed to be the only people in this galaxy. That which we lost in the past… It is about to be returned to us. The griffons, dragons, and others of the past – they will come. Humans will come. Others will come. And I know that we will come to them as well. We’ve already stood together in secret, let us continue to stand together…”
~~~
“…in the future!” Queen Luna announced. “I know many of you were unaware, but Toph here has been serving the crown for two years as one of our knights! Saving ponies from evil, stopping wars, and helping all she could. Her entire team, save for Lady Rarity, is not of this world. Let us continue to treat them – and everypony else who comes here – with the respect they deserve. As knights, companions, leaders, and ponies just like you and me, even if they aren’t ponies, as it were.” She chuckled slightly.
Toph twirled the Master Sword and bowed.
“My ponies, some of you may not wish to involve yourself in the other worlds, and this is fine. But those of you who do, remember…”
~~~
“…they are our friends,” Twilight finished, a big smile on her face.
She looked down at the crowd and saw complete silence. Eyes were wide and jaws hung loose.
She waited nervously for the response.