//------------------------------// // 029 - Broken Mirrors // Story: Songs of the Spheres // by GMBlackjack //------------------------------// >>Endings really are lies. At the end of every story, no matter how far it goes - there is always something after. This goes beyond the usual ‘time is an illusion’ approach. It means that, at one moment, there may appear to be a resolution to everything you’ve ever experienced. And then next week the universe decides there needs to be a new conflict, a new dream. Even if it would be best for a story to be left at its intended ending, that would be more dishonest than coming up with an ‘ending’ in the first place. Happily ever after is an illusion that destroys lives. Even not-so-happily ever after has its negative influence on society. There is something to be said for catharsis, but there is also something to be said for realism. Though, if I am being honest, I don’t really know. There may be instances where the ending is the best, where the meaning becomes pointless if something is taken further. After all, often times it seems like we are all part of a larger story, doesn’t it? Some sort of song that everyone is singing, seeking some appropriate end. Or is it not an end, but simply resumption? Or is it a true beginning? The real fun part about this is that I could be talking about any old thing, and no reader would have any idea what I meant.<< ~~~ Pinkie twirled a dimensional device with the tip of her mane. “Oooooooh there’s one million and two bottles of cider on the wall, one million and two, take one down-“ “Pinkie!” Flutterfree shouted. “What?” “Can you… please stop singing that song?” “Fine. But we’re going to have to pass the time some other way.” She gestured at the main hall of Twilight’s castle. “We can’t exactly leave without Twilight, can we?” Renee nodded. “Definitely not.” Nova bit her lip. “We have been waiting half an hour… Should I go check on her?” Pinkie shrugged. “Eh… She’s fine. You can check if you want, though. Or we could play a game of twenty questions!” Nova smirked. “Okay. Is what you’re thinking of a pony?” “Yes!” “Is it one of us?” “No!” “Is it Twilight?” “Yes!” “Three questions,” Nova said, smirking. “Gotcha.” Pinkie feigned panic. “Oh no! I’m losing my touch!” “Now if only hunting Sombra down was that easy…” Nova muttered. Renee blinked. “You’re still on about that?” “Can you think of a bigger threat to us right now besides her?” “Civil unrest?” Flutterfree offered. “A threat that’s actually an individual.” “Oh. Yeah, Sombra’s the biggest bad around right now.” Pinkie shrugged. “She’s not even that bad! She helped us with Majora…” “She’s also manipulated several world leaders, stolen countless classified documents, and has killed more than a few people!” “You’re more mad about the images she’s posting on the Internet than any of that,” Renee observed. “Wouldn’t you be!?” Nova twitched. “Can’t believe Trixie kept all those pictures…” “She liked to remember the fun times you two have had,” Flutterfree said. “I think that makes her a good friend.” Nova paused. “Yeah…” “You’re still thinking of ways to find Sombra, aren’t you?” “…Would you believe me if I said no?” “No.” “Then yeah, I am. Corona has to know something…” Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Nope! Sombra knows we know they’re friends, so she doesn’t say anything. Makes it easier on Corona though – she doesn’t have to choose which friend to keep secrets from.” “Can’t believe they’re friends,” Nova muttered. “I mean, Sombra met Corona by blackmailing her!” “And you tried to steal all our cutie marks and brainwash us,” Flutterfree said. Nova’s expression turned dour. “…You’re right.” Pinkie smiled. “Corona assures me that she’s working on reforming Sombra. It’s a slow process, but-“ “Meanwhile, Sombra is causing large quantities of damage,” Nova said. “I’m all for reforming her, but we all know she’s still going to have to face some consequences. She’s not Discord.” Flutterfree nodded slowly. “No, she’s not. But they’re alike, in a lot of ways – from what I know anyway.” Nova furrowed her brow. “I guess Corona would know what she’s doing, having been on the other side of this as well. I just… I don’t like Sombra and I don’t want to like her.” “Nova, this may surprise you, but you don’t have to like everyone,” Pinkie said. “Not everybody can become friends. Think if it like cake flavors – you may like strawberry, but not apple, while I love apple, and don’t like strawberry. Everybody has different preferences. All you’re supposed to do is try not to hate people.” “…I’m not going to stop trying to find her.” Pinkie giggled. “Of course not! She’s a criminal! If you find her, capture her. Thought that was obvious.” “You’re the opposite of obvious a lot of the time.” Pinkie shrugged. “I try.” “Sometimes,” Flutterfree corrected. “You try sometimes.” Pinkie twirled the dimensional device around some more. “Can’t argue with that!” Twilight appeared in the middle of them with a flash of magic. “Sorry! Sorry! I completely forgot!” Renee rolled her eyes. “It’s no problem, dear. We know you’re busy, it’s okay if things slip your mind from time to time.” “Yeah, now we can go!” Nova called – not that Twilight could see, she was looking at Renee. Twilight sighed. “It didn’t just slip my mind, Renee… Something’s come up.” “What?” Renee asked. “The companies of both Earths have finally decided to recognize their petty bickering, and I’ve been asked to mediate between them. It’s really important.” Pinkie put the device back in her mane. “Well, guess we aren’t going today…” Twilight didn’t see that, but she reasoned that somepony had probably said something similar. “Look, girls, this is going to be a common thing now. I’m not going to be able to come on every trip – just go without me.” “Dear! We’ve never been on a trip without you!” Renee gasped. “This isn’t going to be an every-time thing, Renee. I should be able to make time – just not today. Have fun, okay? I really need to go.” “…Okay. We’ll have fun,” Renee assured her. Pinkie bounced in front. “Have fun doing Charter-Princess duties!” “Yes. ‘Fun’. I’m sure that’ll describe it,” Twilight rolled her eyes. “See you girls next time!” In a flash of magic, she was gone. Pinkie turned to her three friends. “Well, guess what? We get a four-pony adventure now!” “Lead the way,” Nova said. Pinkie activated the dimensional device, tunneling into another world, one they’d never been in before, but had been proven safe with an automatic spell about a week ago. She bounced in, the other three following close behind. The other side was a large, paved road, though unlike the roads of Earth there were no lines to indicate lane separations. The roads looked to be largely abandoned with only a handful of earth ponies seen walking around, to and from tremendously tall skyscrapers – all of which were simple rectangular prisms with a grid of windows on every side. Each skyscraper was the same size, surrounded by road on each side in a grid that seemed to go on forever. Metallic ovoid drones flew overhead, moving to and from the skyscrapers, a soft blue glow emanating from their edges. They moved between the buildings, flying in through gaps that appeared only when they approached. Some of these openings had colorful designs on them, clearly an artistic addition that was added later. The scenery wasn’t completely monotonous, however. In one direction crystal buildings akin to the splendor of the Crystal Empire broke the grid of towering silvery bricks. It was too far away to make any further detail out. “Question of the day,” Pinkie said. “What is this place?” Renee rolled her eyes. “Pinkie, I think you’d know how to do this by now.” She gracefully walked over to a blue earth pony stallion who curiously lacked a cutie mark. “Hey! Hey dear! Do you think you could help a few lost mares out?” The stallion looked at them, mild annoyance on his face. This annoyance quickly turned into dumbfounded surprise. His eyes widened and he stopped in his tracks, unmoving. Renee raised an eyebrow. “Er… We were hoping you could tell us what this place is?” “GREEEEEEAAAAAAAAGHAAAAAAAAAAAA This can’t be happening again…” “Good, we already have the language,” Nova observed. “…Again?” Renee asked. The stallion backed up. “Just… Just leave already, runter. I’m not talking to you. I may be required by law not to pound that accas horn of yours into your brain, but I only have so much patience!” “Rude!” “GOOD!” the stallion shouted, turning tail, whipping her across the face with his tail hairs. Renee pulled her hat down. “Ooooooh I really want to teach him a lesson…” “Maybe we just need to try someone else? I’m sure he was just having a bad day.” Flutterfree said, trotting over to a mare and smiling. “Hello. Do you mind telling us where we are?” The silvery mare grunted, flipping her tail, revealing her own blank flank for a second. “Moronic preener… Look around! You’re in the Concretion! Grab a brochure, see the sights! I hear the Crystal Crater is great for tourists this time of year!” Flutterfree raised her eyebrow. “You’re patronizing me.” “You’re the one patronizing me, Fluttershy. And here I thought you were trying to get respect.” Flutterfree smirked. “I’m not the Fluttershy you know.” “Oh, so you’re the other one then? Then why the Tartarus don’t you know where you are? Not exactly easy to get here without knowing!” Nova held up a hoof. “Wait. The other one?” “Done talking to you!” the mare blurted, trotting into one of the nearby buildings, leaving the four ponies blinking. “Have we run into a duplicates universe, like Esefem?” Nova asked. Renee furrowed her brow. “Possibly… Or cloning… There were no cutie marks…” Pinkie shrugged. “We need to find somepony willing to tell us. No, Nova, we’re not using mind-reading. That’d just be mean.” Nova held up her hoof. “I wasn’t suggesting it!” “You were thinking about it!” “Yeah, but I know it’s a last resort.” Renee pointed. “Look. A filly.” A sea-green earth pony filly was approaching them cautiously. “Um… Hi.” “Hello little one!” Flutterfree said, leaning down. “What’s your name?” “Lead Pad. My friends call me Pad.” She smiled awkwardly. “You… You look like her, but you aren’t. She’s a lot… scarier.” “Really?” Flutterfree said. “Where can we find other me?” “Probably in the Center,” Pad said. “But… shouldn’t you already know that?” “…Why would I know that?” “That’s where the portal is! Where all the otherworlders come from!” Nova gasped. “You… You have a portal to another world?” “Yep!” Pad grinned. “It’s awesome! I’ve seen it! The place on the other side is very green! But… If you aren’t from there, where are you from?” Pinkie smiled, pointing her dimensional device to the side and connecting back to Equis Vitis. “We’re from there.” “Woah! Cool!” Pad poked her head through the portal, looking at Ponyville. “It looks kinda like the other portal, but there’s a lot more buildings…” Renee nodded, pulling Pad out of the portal before it closed. “Yes, it is different. We would love to see the portal you have. Can you tell us where Central is?” “Oh, sure, it’s-“ “LEAD PAD!” a dreadfully scratchy voice screamed. A gray earth pony mare charged from across the street, rage in her eyes. “Oh… Hi mom…” Pad said, shrinking. The mother arrived, slapping Pad across the face hard. “What did I tell you!?” “N-never talk to earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns, or crysta-“ She slapped her daughter again. “EXACT WORDS LEAD PAD!” “N-never talk t-to any o-o… o…” The mother pulled her hoof back again, but Renee caught it in her telekinesis. “That’s enough!” “You stay out of this, accas!” the mother shouted. “No,” Flutterfree said. The mother flew at them, murder in her eyes. Pinkie hit her with a frying pan and she dropped to the ground. “Mom!” Lead Pad yelled. “She’ll be fine,” Pinkie said, hugging the filly tight. “It’s okay, she can’t hurt you right now.” “But… But she…” Four crystal ponies in full black armor appeared in a flash of dark magic. All of them were earth ponies, not a horn among them to complete the spell. Flutterfree held a wing around Pad defensively. Nova tensed. “That’s a lot of dark magic you have…” The lead pony spoke in a monotone voice. “Lead Pad clearly needs to be taken into protective services. Citizen, turn her over.” Pad cowered in Flutterfree’s wings. Flutterfree narrowed her eyes. “And give her to you?” “She will be taken to Twilight’s Care Center, she will not be taken to our Crystal Crater.” “If you don’t mind, I think we’d like to come with her to be sure of her safety,” Renee said. “Request granted,” the dark crystal pony agreed. In a flash of dark magic they were somewhere else in the Concretion, next to a skyscraper that wasn’t like the others. It was cylindrical, much larger, and designed more like it belonged in Canterlot than a gridded cityscape. There were many more ponies here than elsewhere, including unicorns, pegasi, and even a few griffons. The unicorns and pegasi notably had cutie marks. The crystal pony knocked on one of the many large double doors on the side. A purple magical aura opened them. “Come on in!” a voice that was clearly Twilight called. Three of the crystal ponies vanished in a puff of smoke as soon as the other ponies entered the building. The interior was like a large daycare center, filled with earth pony fillies and colts of varying ages playing with toys. Most were happily running around and playing, but several were sad, sitting in corners, trying to hide bruises. Unlike the adult earth poines outside, a few of these children did have cutie marks. They paid the new arrivals no mind. Renee noticed a sign that said, Twilight’s Care Center, Level 1. There was a helpful map next to it that showed over twenty other floors in this section of the skyscraper. Nova grabbed her head suddenly. “Something’s trying to get in my head! Some-“ “Oh! Sorry!” the voice of Twilight called from behind an ajar door. “I’ll turn that off. Give me a moment, have to wheel myself out there.” The door creaked the rest of the way open, revealing a purple alicorn mare in a wheelchair. A few digital screens lined the sides of the chair, displaying lists of pony names with dozens of numbers associated with them. The mare’s horn was alight, her magic being used to move the wheels of the chair since none of her legs or wings were mobile. She rolled to Pad first, smiling sadly. “Back again?” “Yeah…” Pad said, rubbing her cheek. “You know you don’t have to go back to her, Pad.” “I know. But she’s my mother, Twilight.” “I’ll try to talk to her again,” Twilight said. “Until then, your friends are on floor fourteen. You know the way.” Pad nodded, giving Twilight’s hanging lower legs a hug before dashing up the stairs. Twilight nodded to the crystal pony. With that signal, he vanished in a puff of smoke. Then Twilight carefully turned to her four visitors. “I always wondered if this would happen again.” “Again?” Pinkie asked. “Visitors from another world.” “How do you know that?” Renee asked. “She read our minds,” Nova said. “Well, all of them except mine.” Twilight nodded, smiling sheepishly. “I’m sorry about that, really I am. I just always have it on.” “Always?” “Well, not now, so, er… Forgive me if I miss subtext, I usually rely on my magic for that. I turn it off when I’m expecting someone who doesn’t know me is showing up. I…did not expect you.” “…Seems a little rude,” Renee observed. “It may be. It still helps a lot,” Twilight said. “I’m in charge of thousands of children. I don’t have the skills or the time to deal with each one, especially when they always try to lie to me and hide what they want. I’ve got to be the best I can to all of them…” She shook her head. “It’s a big job.” Pinkie nodded. “Kids are a handful. Does mind reading help with babies?” “If you’re experienced and know what to look for, yeah, it really does!” Twilight grinned. Nova raised a hoof. “Can we get back to the whole ‘this already happened’ thing?” “Right,” Twilight said. “Short version? My counterpart – we call her Dawn now – decided that she wanted to understand her Pinkie’s powers. This tore a portal that sucked Pinkie and Rarity to this world, our world. Back then, the world was a horrid place full of darkness, evil, and… Well there’s still a lot of that around, crystal ponies, you know? And Sombra… And everypony’s still generally a jerk… And the Concretes aren’t acclimating that well… And…” “You’re losing focus,” Nova said. “Sorry, right. I tend to get lost in my own thoughts when I’m not listening to others’. Ahem. So they came to our world, ended up triggering a war between the Concretion and Equestria. They met us, helped us fight against the horrors of our culture, and we eventually stopped the war and moved in to the new Concretion.” Flutterfree. “You skipped over a lot and said a lot of things we don’t understand.” “Sorry. I-“ “Just turn the mind reading back on,” Flutterfree said. “What!?” Renee blurted. “No, don’t do that! I can’t just have my mind be an open book!” Flutterfree raised an eyebrow. “Renee, you don’t have any big secrets do you?” “But… It’s just uncomfortable!” Twilight shook her head. “I don’t need to turn it on. Just… you have to ask questions.” Flutterfree rolled her eyes. “Twilight, would you prefer it if you could see into our minds?” “…Yeah.” “Will you let me into yours?” Nova asked. “As a trade.” “If you want,” Twilight said. “Which version of the spell do you know? The automatic one, or the slow flashy one that’s kind of terrifying?” Pinkie snorted. “Slow and flashy. Eyes go white, takes a few seconds to see anything.” Twilight tried to stifle a chuckle. “You should practice more! Um, yeah, work your mental spells out until you can touch every mind you come across without thinking. It’s great, trust me.” “I think I’ll pass…” Nova said, eyes going white. She tapped into Twilight’s mind. Twilight let her in. A few seconds later Nova pulled back, eyes narrow. “Very funny.” Twilight grinned cheesily and fluttered her eyelids. “Whaaaaat?” “You know what.” “We don’t,” Renee said. “What happened in there?” “Oh, nothing. I think she’s trustworthy, but she pulled enough crap in there that I think she could have easily given me a false mental state without me noticing.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I probably could. I didn’t though!” Renee glanced at Pinkie. “Do you trust her?” “Yep!” Pinkie said. “Go ahead, let her in our minds. Not like we have much to hide.” “Plus, I already got most of it,” Twilight admitted. “You were only trying to connect to me for three seconds!” Nova blurted. “And I already know you’re from another universe, you go by Nova, Flutterfree, and Renee, you all wish your Twilight was here, aaaaand all this information is making you uncomfortable.” “No, really?” Renee muttered. “Hey, give her a break,” Pinkie said. “She really didn’t realize that.” “Thank you,” Twilight said, thankful. Renee sighed. “Fine. Turn it on. Expose my secrets!” Twilight tilted her head slightly. “Got it! Okay… Right, so, too much to explain quickly, but I can clear up a few things you’re missing. Concretes aren’t earth ponies, they’re ponies devoid of any magic at all. Why? There was a force called the Nightmare Fuel under this very city until we – that is, Pinkie, Rarity, me and my friends – purged it from existence. All Concretes were instilled with a hatred of magic and a need for progress, and when the Nightmare Fuel was purged this need could not be removed from them. However, their children are born as regular earth ponies. This causes a lot of problems, hence why we have this place set up to care for so many foals. No, Renee, we don’t take them from their families, they can return any time, we just step in to keep violence from escalating. Yes, a lot of them stay here permanently. Yes, there are Concretes who are able to move past their violent curse, but they’re a minority.” Twilight chuckled. “Pinkie, your mind is amazing, no matter what version of you it is, you need to know that. Anyway, the whole thing with the dark magic, crystal ponies, and Sombra. I can see why you’re confused. Not actually all that important, but we never defeated Sombra, and his ponies are immune to radiation, so they live in the irradiated Crystal Crater. They’re definitely evil, but they work with us, and we work with them to bring the world to peace. He may be the worst being to ever grace this planet but at least he isn’t planning outright war. And… Oh, the portal! Yeah, Dawn – the other Twilight, Flutterfree, I just said her name a minute ago – she figured out how to get Pinkie and Rarity back home. They didn’t go home, they stayed here, but now there’s a permanent portal that ponies go in and out of regularly. The worlds are still mostly separate, but you know. Hey, fun fact, the science-types are currently trying to create another portal somewhere else!” Nova shook her head. “That was weird.” Twilight smiled sheepishly. “Hey, I like to show off a little. It’s a flaw. Ouch, Renee, so insulting. Good burn though.” Renee opened her mouth to respond. She thought better of it and closed her mouth. “I still know what you were going to say, you know that.” “This is unfair,” Renee grunted. One of the wheelchair’s screens lit up and began displaying text, as if someone were texting them. It was silent, but Renee still felt as if she was being spoken to. >>It occurs to me that you have a vast knowledge of interdimensional physics and general patterns between ponies of similar kinds. Your advantage over us is alarming, and we should be afraid.<< Renee blinked. “…Who are you?” >>I am M.<< Pinkie grinned. “Hi M!” >>Hello Pinkie Pie. Are you aware of it?<< Pinkie laughed. “More aware than either of the Pinkies you know! And more than you!” >>Care to elaborate?<< “You were wrong,” Pinkie said, pulling a slushie out of her mane and slurping. >>That is not an elaboration, that is a proof.<< “That’s just what you think,” Pinkie giggled. Twilight stared at Pinkie, jaw hanging open. >>Twilight, care to inform me of what’s happening inside the bony walls of her skull?<< “The mental overload catcher is keeping me from seeing whatever she’s thinking about in regards to that, so I’m going to hazard a guess and say that we probably don’t want to know.” M made no response. Nova took in a breath. “This whole encounter is making my head hurt.” Twilight made a coy smirk. “Would you like to meet some of the others? No, they don’t read minds. Good, I’ll just teleport you up there. They’re working on the new portal. Just dropping you in should be fun!” “Wait hold on a-“ Nova was cut off with a flash of purple. The four of them were suddenly standing in a large round room with a shimmering dimensional portal in front of them. It was unlike the portals they created – it was surrounded by a pink aura and vibrated rapidly, signifying relative instability. There were four ponies around the portal – two Pinkies, a Twilight, and a Starlight. They were connecting dozens of wires and magical crystals in a complex matrix that snaked around the entire room. The Pinkies both looked up with a start the moment the four of them appeared. One had poofy hair, the other flat. They both waved. The newly-arrived Pinkie waved back. “This is going to be fun!” “I foresee chaos,” Renee deadpanned. “Yep!” ~~~ Charter-Princess Twilight Sparkle sat in a room devoid of any decoration. There were five chairs, a table, and a door that led outside. No windows, no art, not even any calming light sources – just the white glare from above. She was one of currently three people in the room. One was Iroh. The other was Jade Snow, from Equis Cosmic, the alicorn founder of the Dual Migration initiative. The three of them had a simple job – when the two representatives from Earth Vitis and Earth Tau’ri arrived, they were to listen to both sides of the disagreement and come up with a solution. As neutral parties, they were given the power to decide what was best. Twilight was not looking forward to it. She only knew it was the various companies of both worlds arguing over something. She didn’t know what. She turned to Iroh. “Do you know what the problem is, exactly?” Iroh shrugged. “No. I always figured it would be nations arguing first – not companies. Then again, our world isn’t big on companies, while those Earths seem to be defined by them. It’s an idea that’s somewhat out there, if you ask me.” “It’s a natural progression of capitalism,” Jade said. “Companies end up in control any way they possibly can. In our world they’re still a big menace, but Aunty Twi – er, Cosmo – continually makes sure none of them get that much power in the galaxy. Back before we had spread very far she had to physically fight against the big companies for the ponies. She basically wiped the slate clean and let all companies start from scratch, throwing all the CEOs of the day in jail. It’s called the Economic Purge.” Twilight blinked. “…Aunty Twi?” “Oh,” Jade smiled. “Any descendant of ‘Cosmo’s’ family that she knows personally calls her that, even though she’s technically our ultra-super-great grand aunt several times removed. I’m actually related to her through the line of Flurry Heart, but most of us come from the other Elements.” “Flurry Heart had kids. Huh. That’s a bit of a weird thought for me, she seems so young.” “She did,” Jade confirmed. “Not telling you with who or when, because that’d ruin the surprise. Aunty Twi never had any kids though.” Twilight nodded. “Makes sense. I don’t really have much of a drive for that. ...Unless I’m in human form, but I’ve been avoiding that.” “Don’t like the hormones?” “Nope. I have no idea if it's just the teenage body or not, but it’s really not me. Feel kinda bad for Flash though…” “Whoever that is, I’m sure he will be fine.” “Do you have anyone?” “Did, once,” Jade said. “Turned out to be an ass that just wanted fame.” “Ouch.” “He’s rotting in prison now, got what he deserved.” Iroh chuckled. “You Cosmics seem so nice and friendly most of the time, and then occasionally you say something like that.” Jade rolled her eyes. “We’re ponies with strong convictions. We’ll be friends with almost anyone, but if you betray us we will bite back. Hard.” “Good to know,” Iroh commented. At that moment, two men walked into the room. One was an older man with glasses and a mostly bald head wearing a dark blue suit. The other was the exact same man, except his skin was a pale yellow. A case of Earth Tau’ri and Vitis duality. The Tau’ri spoke first. “I am Richard Woolsey.” “And I am Rice Woolen,” the other said. “We have been chosen by our respective Oversight Committees to represent the interests of Earth.” Twilight nodded. This had to be unusual for the two men, essentially arguing against themselves. “I’m Charter-Princess Twilight Sparkle. This is Iroh, of the Elemental Nations, and this is Jade Snow, of Equis Cosmic.” Jade spoke next. “We are here for one thing – to mediate the disagreement between your two worlds. Please, describe this conflict to us for the record.” Woolen nodded to Woolsey. He pulled out a set of three documents and handed them to the three mediators. Twilight sighed, turning on her ears while she read the document. It was impossible to read lips and read text at the same time. She was just going to have to deal for a few minutes. She found the sound of Woolsey’s voice annoying, only adding icing to the top of the metaphorical headache cake. “That document outlines complaints directed against world governments by Walmart, Apple, Microsoft, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Samsung, McDonald’s, Volkswagon, AT&T, Google, Verizon, Amazon, Ford, Best Buy, and hundreds of others. It also outlines the complaints given by the exact same companies from the other side of the multiverse.” Woolen took over. “The variations in the complaints are minimal. All of them have a few threads in common.” “Copyright, Expansion, and Consumers,” Jade read aloud from the file. “Precisely,” Woolsey said. “What we have here is a legal and economic crisis. We all want to expand our efforts into the multiverse as a whole, but the way things are now the duplications between companies and undefined multiversal law regarding this matter is preventing such a thing. Lawyers from both sides have drawn up dozens of suggestions for how to proceed, all of which are included in the file given to you.” “What are you talking about, no multiversal law?” Twilight said. “Disclosure initiated several regulations. I’m not aware of them all, but I’m sure there’s something about this.” Woolen sighed, pulling out another sheaf of paper. “Aside from regulations specific to the Hub, this document is the only one involving multiversal economy. It essentially states that any two entities are allowed to trade however they wish within their own legal systems. It says nothing of copyright, the rights of other worlds, or how to reach consumers effectively.” “I could have sworn we spent a lot of time talking about the economy.” “Those documents are limited to the worlds they apply on,” Woolsey answered. “Right…” Twilight took in a breath. “Okay, let’s fix this oversight.” She placed the file down and turned off her ears. “Care to explain exactly how the companies are complaining about the three issues, and what they want from us for a solution?” Woolen looked to Woolsey. After receiving a nod from his counterpart, Woolen spoke. “The biggest issue is copyright. On one side, we have Google. On the other, we also have Google. Who owns Google? The simple solution is that every trademark gets a –E or –W at the end of it, but that falls apart when we get into the ideas of intellectual property. If one world has a TV show, and the other world has that same TV show except there are five more seasons of it, can the original company just use the five other seasons? Or are they allowed to twist the ideas?” Twilight felt the headache return. Woolsey continued. “Expansion is a difficult topic as well. While the Hub has definite regulations for opening a location within its walls, allowing for both first-come-first serve and joint operation depending, there is no such thing for other worlds. What if both Googles want to open a location in the same place at the same time? Does one company have claiming rights over another, or will they have to fight it out? There clearly needs to be an overall agreement on how this is done before any expansion actually occurs.” “And the consumer,” Woolen said. “How do we deal with that? How do we get our message to the maximum number of consumers? How do we keep them from being confused about which company they are buying from? How do we ensure loyalty? Again, there must be an agreement struck somewhere. The access of the consumer to products is paramount.” Iroh nodded. “So, we’re doing more than resolving a disagreement between you two, we’re here to decide how huge companies are going to operate in the multiverse?” “Precisely,” Woolsey confirmed. “Currently, the main disagreement is between companies of an identical or near identical nature. But this case will likely be used as an example to all involved.” He glanced at Jade. Jade nodded. “I’m aware that we have huge companies as well. But they’re much more regulated than yours.” “The point still stands. Before we move to the first legal suggestion, any ideas yourselves?” Iroh shrugged. “I would encourage just treating each other like different nations, as friends, but I can already tell from the way you’re talking that’s not possible.” Jade smirked. “I’d recommend an Economic Purge. Make everything start from scratch with more regulation, designed after our system. But I know you won’t go for that, it’ll put you at a heavy disadvantage at the start here.” Twilight pressed her hooves together. “Why not just share? Become the same company.” Woolen opened his copy of the lawyer-given solutions, arriving at the first one. “That is precisely the original suggestion. A large-scale merge. While idealistic, it has issues. Surprisingly, most of them do not have to do with company structure – the companies can sort that out themselves. The issues come from certain implications. Suddenly companies own duplicates of things that are supposed to be unique, there are other companies in lesser universes that may not want to merge at later dates, merging is heavily regulated by many international regulations, and minute policy changes may upset the consumers…” Twilight screamed inwardly. ~~~ Twilight – better known as Dawn – gasped audibly. She glanced at Pinkie, then back to her Pinkies, then to Nova, then to her Starlight. “Celestia…” Pinkie grinned. “Hi Dawn! I’m Pinkie Pie! But you can call me… Sillyfilly today!” “I’m not calling you that,” Nova deadpanned. “How about just Silly?” Pinkie asked. “No.” “Well I can’t just be Pinkie, can I?” “Yes you can. You can be Pinkie, and those two can be other Pinkie.” Dawn shook her head, looking at her two pink friends. “Uh…” The poofy-haired one shrugged. “I don’t think we need to worry about it for now. I know that I’m Pinkie, and that this is Diane here.” The straight-haired Diane waved at everyone with a smile on her face. “Hi.” Native Pinkie appeared in front of Visiting Pinkie. “Hi! Welcome to our universes!” “Glad to be here! What kind of parties do you throw?” “Oh, the best ones! Diane’s can be killer!” “Not literally, right?” “Nope! Not anymore!” Diane rolled her eyes. “Thanks for the reminder.” Visiting Pinkie giggled. “So, what are you ponies doing here with all these wires?” Dawn brightened up. “Oh! We’re trying to open a new portal and – wait, shouldn’t I be asking you that?” “Yeeeeeah…” Dawn narrowed her eyes. “Why are you here?” “Hm? No mind reading?” Nova asked. “That’s Twilight’s thing,” Dawn said. “I prefer to talk to ponies. But you shouldn’t resent her for it; it’s just how she works. …is anypony going to answer my question?” “We’re exploring,” Flutterfree said. “This was just the next universe on the list.” “Woah… You girls are much better at this than we are,” Dawn admitted. Starlight poked her head out of a box with dozens of red lights on it. “How did you work out the coordinate problem?” Nova smiled sheepishly. “From what I understand, we didn’t. We found the spell inside a black ball dropped by another traveler.” A nearby wall flipped over, revealing a giant computer screen. >>Would this black ball happen to have been small, have almost no discernable magic power within it, and light up with yellow squares when touched?<< “Why… Yes!” Nova said. “Do you have one?” Starlight blinked. “…I think we do… Remember the room of artifacts? …Wait, none of you were in there that day.” >>I remember.<< “M, you don’t count,” Starlight said, bringing a tablet to her face. “Let’s see… Here it is, anomalous item 011, the ‘bowling ball’.” Both Pinkies burst into laughter. Diane took a moment to register that they were laughing before laughing as well. Nova rolled her eyes. “So you never did anything with it?” “No. The Concretes kept it under lock and key, and there’s no information here on how they acquired it. We were never able to activate it either.” “This is still big,” Renee said. “It means there was more than one of these devices. It wasn’t unique.” “We could tell you how to access the spell,” Nova suggested. “Or the power source inside.” Starlight bit her lip. “Thanks, but no thanks. We’re working on our own technology here. I’d rather be able to say we were able to do it ourselves.” “I understand,” Nova responded. “Do you know about any of these other magical things?” Starlight asked, scrolling through a list on the screen. Nova shook her head, but then something caught her eye. It was a strange artifact shaped like an eye, outlined with black metal. A single metal slit ran down the center. It seemed dead to her. “What’s that?” “No idea. It’s just ‘the Eye’. It was found eons ago in a dark cave. It has an unusual power, but all tests are inconclusive. Do you know what it is?” “No… But it looks familiar for some reason…” Flutterfree poked her head over Nova’s shoulder. “It doesn’t look familiar to me.” “Maybe Pinkie knows something…” She called to Pinkie. “Hey! Pinkie! Come over – Pinkie what are you doing!?” Pinkie grinned, holding Diane and her other self above her in an acrobatic triangle pattern. “What? You were talking about artifacts, we got bored, so we had some fun!” “Does this eye mean anything to you?” “Well, yeah, everything means something!” “Pinkie…” “It’s a very powerful magical artifact that you feel drawn to for some reason, of course it’s important. Duh.” Nova rolled her eyes. “Riiiight…” The Native Pinkie looked down at her visiting self. “How can you do that? I get inklings about stuff like that, but nothing that specific!” “I like to call it the Pinkie Index,” Pinkie answered. “I’m high on the Pinkie Index, you’re somewhere in the middle.” “Are there Pinkies higher than you?” “I dunno! Probably!” >>I detect a small amount of elaboration.<< The visiting Pinkie rolled her eyes. “You’re going to analyze every last little thing I say, aren’t you?” >>It is the way knowledge is acquired. I am a thief in the night, grabbing nuggets of wisdom wherever they present themselves. An opportunist, looking for the right moment to grab hold of the unknown.<< Pinkie started ignoring him. “Right. So… Everypony! I have an idea!” “What?” Dawn asked. “I think we should go with your team to the universe you are about to dial!” “We have no guarantees the connection is going to work,” Starlight said. “Pinkie Particles are naturally unpredictable. Granted, we’re not working much with the secondary magic – probably what you called the Pinkie Index – but they still aren’t very reliable!” “Trust me, we’re here, it’s going to work.” Renee raised a hoof. “Excuse me… But… ’Pinkie Particles’?” “…You don’t know about that...” Starlight said, mumbling mostly to herself, but loud enough for Renee to hear. “Interesting. Well, Pinkie – I assume all Pinkies, including Diane – are connected to the fabric of reality itself. This is the connection all earth ponies have to the earth taken to the extreme – the earth connection becomes a connection to everything. This connection, when exploited properly, can pick up on energies that come from other universes. Controlling this is a nightmare. We have opened several unstable portals, but we don’t want to get Pinkie and Rarity lost again… We’re so close to making it stable.” Nova furrowed her brow. “So… Pinkies are connected to the multiverse?” “Yep!” Visiting Pinkie said, grinning. “That makes sense but brings up so many more questions.” “Questions for later!” Pinkie said, bouncing up. “So, who’s going through the portal?” Dawn shrugged. “The plan was for me and Diane to go through while Starlight and our Pinkie watched from this side.” “I know science!” the Native Pinkie shouted, putting on some protective goggles and shaking a beaker. It exploded in her face. “Heh.” “Remember what I taught you,” Diane said. “Control yourself in the presence of the powers of the chemicals.” “Aw…” Visiting Pinkie grinned. “Okay! Which of you wants to go with me, Diane, and Twilight? They split in half, we’re going to as well!” Flutterfree stepped forward. “I will.” “Yay! Nova, help Starlight with the console if you can. Renee… I dunno what you’re going to do.” “She can sit with our Fluttershy,” Twilight said. “She wants to be here for every activation.” “Oh, cool!” Visiting Pinkie said. “When’s she showing up?” >>Now. I sent her a message roughly a minute ago.<< Fluttershy arrived by way of elevator. She had the yellow coat and pink mane of most Fluttershys, but she didn’t hold herself like one. Her figure was slightly taller and thinner than most of her kind, her face was much more determined, and she moved with power in her stride. Flutterfree, as much as she had moved from her shyness, didn’t move with that power simply by walking. >>Fillies and gentlecolts, may I present to you your illustrious ruler. Fluttershy, Chancellor of the Concretion, Element of Kindness, and Hater of Titles.<< “Thank you, M, for the introduction,” Fluttershy deadpanned, walking up to Pinkie. “I can’t say I expected you to be their leader.” Pinkie giggled, extending a hoof. “Everyone always says that. C’mon, Twilight’s our leader.” “But she’s not here now, is she?” Fluttershy questioned. “It’s a pleasure, Pinkie Pie of yet another otherworld. I only hope that, by meeting you earlier rather than later, I can improve your impressions of our broken world.” “It is rather sad and depressing, from what I’ve seen. But I also know it’s getting better! You’re doing a good job, Fluttershy.” “I’m glad you think so, even after such a short visit. I assume we will talk more later?” “Yeah. You’ll probably want to talk politics with Twilight when she gets done with her other problems.” “I’ll have to think on that. But for now, we have a portal to test. Starlight?” “Yes, I’ve got it, don’t worry,” Starlight said, plugging a wire into a nearby box. She lit her horn, grabbing a piece of hair from Diane and placing it in a glass tube. The glass tube glowed a bright pink and exploded, sending a swirl of pink gasses into the air. Lit by the pink of the other portal, the new swirl twisted and shimmered, sending out magical sparks in several directions. The cloud shifted slightly, looking as if it was about to fizzle out. This was the moment all the loose wires and machinery activated, summoning five magic crystals from the aether. These five crystals latched onto the pink swirl with magical lasers. The shifting portal rekindled its strength from the magic anchors, flashing into a fully fledged portal, through which another world could be seen. The portal shook slightly, just like the similar pink halo behind it, but it remained steady. The five white crystals released their anchors and dissipated back into the aether. The portal remained. “YES!” Dawn cheered, clapping her hooves. “We got it! We’ve got it!” >>Repetition is not your friend.<< Diane blinked, then decided it was a good time to launch off a party cannon and grin stupidly. Dawn wasn’t looking at her screen. “Is it safe, Starlight?” “It looks like a wasteland on the other side, but it’s safe.” Dawn grinned. “We’re goin’ in! Diane, new Pinkie, Flutter… free, was it? Right, well, let’s go.” Flutterfree tore her gaze away from Fluttershy. “Oh, right.” The four ponies moved through the portal, single file, until all four of them were standing on a brown wasteland. “Huh,” Dawn said. “This is pretty… empty. I wonder what happened.” Pinkie shrugged. “Nova once caused an apoca- wait, you’d know about that.” Dawn blinked. “Right. It doesn’t quite look like the wasteland timeline though. Looks… charred. Like powerful magic burnt this entire landscape.” Diane’s smile dropped instantly, replaced with a straight face. “…Almost as if it was razed to the ground in a fit of rage.” A gigantic black hoof slammed down on top of the portal behind them, disturbing it into nothing. The four ponies looked up the gigantic leg to the rest of the creature. It had the body of a centaur, but that was far from all it was. The higher one looked, the more they could see the mechanical bits that weaved in and out of the fleshy body. The centaur’s back was lined with wires, jars of fluid, and lightbulbs. An entire arm was replaced with a chrome limb, covered in sharp edges. Between its two glowing horns, there was no head – merely a giant screen. Text appeared on this giant screen. >>I was not expecting visitors today or any other day. See, you’re trespassing. And trespassers should be burnt to a crisp. You should all be very glad that your method of arrival is interesting. I am curious what exactly you’ve done, and where you come from. The most intelligent course of action you could take would be to talk quickly before I decide you’re a threat or not worth my time. You are rats, I am the scientist.<< Flutterfree gulped. >>Tick Tock.<< ~~~ Twilight finally groaned audibly. So many ideas, all of them had been shot down. The first one, merging, had eventually been shot down because, of all things, brand. Even if both universes had Google, the current brand of Google was different in both, and the services rendered had a different perception in each universe, not to mention the other Earths that weren’t part of the multiverse with their own Google. The next idea, patent division, was ruled out as making it too easy for companies to just steal ideas. There needed to be some regulation. There was talk of joint efforts – no, too much like forming a monopoly on something. Companies couldn’t be treated like nations. Jade’s Economic Purge was seriously considered, but shut out in the end. There was a really weird suggestion about ‘taking turns’ going through the multiverse, creating a weekly, monthly, or yearly cycle, but the bureaucracy around that one was just absurd. There was a democratic voting idea, focused around consumer desires, there were business models that treated universes like conquered territory, there was another unusual one that described a credit system that gave ‘slips’ to companies for the ‘first’ rights to a new universe’s economy, and... There was just too much. She was understanding it just fine, Woolsey and Woolen were good at explaining, and Jade was helpful when she asked questions, but it was just… infuriating. None of the ideas wanted to stick. Clearly, the representatives of the companies wanted to get this over with and go home, but it just wasn’t happening. They had to push the interests of the companies, and everything was just a mess. Then there was the part about the consumers… The more Twilight listened, the more she was convinced the companies wanted to exploit the consumers, not ‘ensure they had access to the best products.’ This was probably obvious to anyone from Earth, or anyone who had lived there, but it had taken Twilight some time to realize exactly how deep it ran. She was starting to hate all the ideas because of how they would exploit regular people. Iroh tapped Twilight on the shoulder. She looked up, realizing with mild embarrassment that she had rammed her head into the table and not seen a thing that was said for the last little while. “Sorry…” Woolsey rubbed his temple. “It’s fine. All of us can relate.” “Should we take another recess?” Iroh suggested. “We took one less than an hour ago,” Woolen said. “We need to keep going a little longer, get some progress.” Jade grunted. “I think we should just go with the differing patents idea and demand the companies comply.” “We can demand they comply?” Iroh said. “Technically, yes,” Woolsey said. “The world governments have given this tribunal authority in the matter. So long as the final solution isn’t deemed outrageous by the two United Nations…es, it’ll be put through.” “But we do need to figure out something,” Woolen said. “Something to keep the companies satisfied.” Twilight’s eyes widened. “That’s it.” “…What?” Woolsey said. “We’re making an assumption. We’re trying to keep the companies satisfied. What if the best solution to this mess is to upset them?” Jade smirked. “Exactly what I was saying. Economic Purge.” “No no no, not that,” Twilight said. “That would destabilize their worlds too much. But what if we come up with a solution that takes care of copyright, expansion, and the consumer problems in a way the companies don’t want?” Woolen raised an eyebrow. “…How so?” “Well… The consumers. The companies all want to ensure the consumers can buy their products, that brand loyalty can continue and propagate, things like that. They’re arguing over who gets to do it first and who gets advantages. What if we just say no to that?” “That doesn’t make much sense.” “I think it does,” Twilight said, flipping through some papers. “If not for the companies, for the consumers themselves. Look at how high up on the list of desires advertising simplification is for all these companies. Yet, many other worlds won’t know how to deal with advertising. Simply allowing it at all provides the Earths an advantage over other worlds.” “So what are you suggesting?” Woolsey asked. “A ‘if you can’t share, nobody gets it’ scenario?” Jade’s eyes widened. “That’s exactly what she’s suggesting.” Twilight grinned. “We can go further than this – we can remove the problem entirely quickly. Expansion? Nobody gets to expand at all, stay in your own universes.” “Yeah!” Jade said. “That’d also stop the companies from getting big enough to require something like a Purge!” “That’d also solve the copyright problem – you can use ideas from other universes easily, it’s not like they can make any profit from it in your world, because they’re not allowed to operate there!” Iroh frowned. “I’m sure that’s not the case for everything.” “It’s the basis of an idea,” Twilight said, smirking. “This solves all the issues the companies want solved – no copyright problems, no expansion problems, no consumer problems beyond what they already have. And it has the bonus of not letting companies run into a new universe and stomp all over it. That’s the job of governments.” Woolen blinked. “They’ll hate you for that.” “Ooooooh they will!” Jade said. “That’s the beauty of it! Twilight, I love this idea. We solve their problems, but also keep them from doing the one thing they want – grow.” “It’ll also be a lot less of a legal headache, since there’s no need to create all sorts of interdimensional law for copyright. …Celestia, I said that sentence and understood it. What has today done to me?” “This sounds crazy though,” Woolsey said. “The worlds won’t accept it.” Twilight smiled. “Ah, but governments are still allowed to operate in as many universes as they wish, and the Hub is still open.” “The Hub’s regulations are still in question,” Woolsey pointed out. “The Hub is small, though,” Jade said. “That place can just be regulated with maximum scrutiny. The regulations there already have options - we can just flesh them out. Turn the ‘first come first serve’ option to ‘if you want to make a second one, you have to add something to the name to differentiate’.” Woolsey nodded. “Some states in the USA do that - a company moves to a new state, they have to alter the name to avoid confusion with another company that already exists.” “The Hub would be used for interdimensional trade not officiated by governments themselves,” Iroh said. “Everything would have to go through it. Or, if our eyes end up a bit larger than our stomachs, we’ll make another hub. A neutral space for business exchange to occur. And because of its unique status and smaller scope, it can be carefully watched by all universes to make sure there are no exploitations or bending of the rules.” “Companies hand off goods to other companies…” Jade grinned. “Brilliant. I say we limit companies to single universe operations. My universe will of course disagree, but I can guarantee the Princess’ support.” Woolsey looked at the papers in his hand. “By law I am required to voice the displeasure of the Companies of Earth Tau’ri with this idea.” “As am I,” Woolen said. Woolsey placed the paper on the ground. “But, frankly, I think it’s a good idea. It prevents power from getting out of hand, prevents cultures from being invaded, and evens the playing field. I give it my personal endorsement.” “As do I,” Woolen echoed. Iroh laughed. “That’s the spirit. Solve the problem in the most annoying way possible.” “I’ll write up a proposal,” Jade said. “Give me a day to run it by the Princess.” Twilight sucked in a sharp breath. “Does this mean we’re done?” “Yes, it means we’re done,” Woolsey said. “We will talk back and forth with Jade about writing the document, but you and Iroh don’t need to be here for that. We will reconvene after the proposal is created, but that won’t be for a day at least.” Twilight let out a sigh. “Thank Celestia…” ~~~ “…I’m going to call you Other M,” Diane said, pointing up at the centaur-screen. “I was thinking Tirek,” Flutterfree said. “Other M is more amusing for referential reasons,” Pinkie added. “How are you girls so calm!?” Dawn shouted. “This… This… This is… This is M! From before! Diane, you’re one of the ponies who stopped him like this, you know how outrageously powerful he is!” >>A time where I was defeated? See, this is how you stay alive, how you prove yourselves. You give me curiosities – specifically, my other self. How was I defeated? How did a glorious hero demand I sing my swan song?<< “Oh, you aren’t dead,” Diane deadpanned, a tone of voice she had scarcely deviated from since arriving in this universe. “You’re on our side. Helped us make this portal.” >>I refuse to believe that I was driven away from my plan by discussion. The Concretion needed to die. If you stopped me, your world must be suffering.<< “Actually, their world is doing pretty good,” Pinkie offered. “The Nightmare Fuel is gone, the Concretion is serving to unite the world, and children are growing up in the care of another Twilight! It may suck compared to my world, but that’s not saying much.” “I haven’t been there long, but it does look… nicer,” Flutterfree said. “I think that Concrete would have tried to kill us had we arrived earlier.” >>So the course of history was changed by an otherworldly interference? An unforeseen variable introduced into my situation resulted in my failure… how?<< Diane pointed at herself and grunted. “I was part of it, M.” >>You’ve discovered Destiny, haven't you?<< “What gave it away?” >>You have a cutie mark. I can sense the magic on you. What did it? The Element of Laughter?<< “Genius deduction, Holmes.” Flutterfree looked at Diane. “You’re a Concrete? I thought you couldn’t fight what the Nightmare Fuel did.” “You can’t,” Diane said. “You can realize that every horror, every violent urge, every hatred, and every grunt is wrong. But you can never really laugh, never really smile, never really feel that way. I’m getting really good at faking it, apparently.” >>Why fake, Diane? What is the point of pretending?<< “They proved to me that their emotional connection wasn’t weakness, M. It is a strength. I can never have what they have, but I can have something. Also, fuck you, this isn’t about that. Stop it with the philosophical tangent.” Dawn tensed. “Diane don’t make him mad…” >>She wishes she could make me mad. But all this has proven is that she hasn’t changed as much as she thinks she has.<< Diane put on a smile that looked real, but now that Flutterfree knew it was fake it was slightly unnerving. “That’s funny. Hahahaha. But you know what? Doesn’t matter, I can still feel angry. And you know what I see here? You. Having killed every single Concrete in the Concretion. Probably including me, Maud, and any of the others who were capable of realizing something was fundamentally wrong with us. You never got to meet Pinkie Pie and Rarity. You never got to be stopped and forgiven. And you know what? That makes me angry. Racism is probably still a problem, the Zebras are probably still worshipping the Nightmare Fuel, Sombra’s probably still plotting a conquest, and I’m willing to bet the Griffons still hate everything about us! Yet, in our world, those problems are being solved. So you can shove your ideas where the sun doesn’t shine because you were wrong. Destroying the Concretion didn’t help!” >>And what if I had let it stay? Would things have become the disgusting ‘happily ever after’ they did in your world without help from another universe?<< Diane twitched. “…Probably not.” Dawn sagged. “You are right there, M.” >>And you, other Twilight, what gave your ponies the right to interfere in what wasn’t their world?<< “They didn’t really ask for it,” Dawn countered. >>They still fought. I can sense a powerful spirit in you. You would have fought regardless. But what if you had ruined the world? What if things were different?<< “M, stop the tangents!” Diane screamed. Flutterfree held up a hoof. “No, he can do this… Continue, M.” >>I was not expecting that. What do you wish to know?<< “What you were saying about not interfering. You have a point. We have made some worlds worse. They knew better than we did.” >>Validation! The thing so many philosophers seek! Too bad I’m not most – I don’t care about validation, I care about being correct and exerting the correctness on the world around me.<< “Wow, they were right, you were an ass,” Dawn said. Pinkie turned to Dawn. “Huh. You said the word.” “Oh. Right. Yes, well, swears have a way of propagating.” >>Now who’s on a tangent?<< “Them,” Flutterfree said, looking up at the giant television screen. “I’m still thinking about it. You’re saying that they shouldn’t have done anything.” >>Clearly. They had no right.<< “What’s your basis for that?” Flutterfree said, spreading out her wing. “They stopped this wasteland.” >>Replaced it with something more moronic. They have in their delusional minds hope of a better future, one that time and time again, I never saw. I’ve run simulations of a world where I fail and another era steps in. The new overruns the old, or the problems remain. They stuck their fingers in and tainted it.<< “But… You destroyed an entire culture.” >>It was hardly a culture. It was a magical corruption, a blight on the land.<< Flutterfree cocked her head. “…I think you’re rooted in your own thinking.” >>Pegasus, I have thought more than any being in the history of existence, at least in this universe. You seem unafraid of me, and look with a pitying expression. I look at you with a pitying expression.<< Pinkie coughed. “The other you, that is, M, not you, Other M, admitted he was wrong. Actually his point was that everybody’s wrong.” >>I would very much like to speak with him about that. There is no discernable way your biological minds can understand the way the universe works as I have. It has physics, magic, and destiny. You cannot calculate all these things.<< “And you’re just overthinking it!” Pinkie laughed. >>I doubt I am.<< Other M looked into the distance. >>Overthinking is an oxymoron.<< Diane put on a cruel smirk. “Oh, really? Really? That’s a laugh.” >>Just like what you do, calculating laughter, smiles, and positive emotion. You think hard about that, but clearly it allows you to fit into society better. The more one thinks, the better the approach is. But organic minds cannot think enough. This is why I can take action, and you cannot. You cannot possibly think enough to interfere. I spend years thinking about what I would do. It seems as if you were placed in a position and acted instantly.<< Flutterfree looked up at him. “And I think everypony’s better for it.” >>Why are you arguing? You weren’t involved, I know.<< “There’s talk of a ‘Prime Directive,’ a regulation that we aren’t allowed to interfere in any significant way in any society on general purpose.” Pinkie nodded. “Yeah, O’Neill and Daniel brought it up a few times. Some ponies are starting to take it seriously.” Flutterfree gestured with a wing at the wasteland. “But this? I think this is an argument against that. A world of distrust and wasteland compared to a world looking to a brighter future. I’ll take the former, even if there is cruelty. It’s better than death.” >>That’s a powerful assumption there.<< “Experience speaks louder than simple logic, I think,” Flutterfree said. >>Louder is not better.<< Diane growled. “Hold up. Why are we even doing this? He’s just going to kill us.” >>Oh no, I’m not. I had considered it, but you are all clearly attached to a larger multiversal conglomeration that probably has the power to wipe away my existence. I have no power to face you, nor would I want to. It’s not my business. You can use your dimensional device that I’m sure you have somewhere on you to return home. I’ll stay here, in my world, where I belong. I’ll interfere in my own affairs, not yours. You should consider doing the same.” Pinkie looked to Dawn. “That’ll be the choice of your ponies. You know things better than we do.” Dawn nodded. “Yeah… We’ll have to think about it…” A portal opened up at Other M’s foot, and a large screen was levitated out of it. >>Hello, Other M,<< M ‘said’. >>You are a fool. You place yourself on their level. Did you not seek the entire time to fool them, work around their circuits?<< >>You cannot understand since you did not experience. Experience is a powerful tool, Other M. I would send you the files, but I know you would block them to avoid corruption.<< >>You know correctly, M.<< >>There is no point to this conversation. We already know where it goes. Nowhere.<< >>That is plain as day.<< Other M vanished in a flash of magic. M’s screen turned to the four ponies. >>I would apologize for my other self, but that would be arrogant of me. Also, rather stupid.<< Dawn sighed. “It’s okay. He gave us a lot to think about.” >>Implying I don’t?<< “You aren’t as antagonistic about it.” >>Aren’t I?<< Dawn grunted. “Everypony back home. I’m sure Fluttershy has a lot to say to us and we have a big report to give.” >>Ignoring me, are you?<< Diane put her smile back on. “Well that was just terrible. But hey, the portal worked, we found a new universe, and have more reasons to be existential. Plus, more friends!” Pinkie grinned. “Yeah!” Flutterfree frowned, saying nothing. ~~~ Flutterfree was sitting in her home, talking to Discord about what had happened. “I don’t know anymore,” Flutterfree said. “I’m not sure if any of that actually meant anything.” “Sounds to me like this M fellow was just messing with you. Computers like him want nothing more than to get you existential.” “I think it was more than that. Also, it’s Other M, not M. M’s reformed.” “Bluh, confusing.” “I know. Still not sure what to make of i-“ There was a knock at the door. Flutterfree walked to the front door and opened it. “Hello I- Oh.” Chancellor Fluttershy looked down at Flutterfree and smiled. “…May I come in?” “Sure!” Flutterfree said. “I’m sure Discord won’t mind.” Discord poked his head out from behind Flutterfree. “Ah, the leader Fluttershy. I’ve heard about you.” “And you’re all the proof I need to give Twilight permission to release our Discord from stone,” Fluttershy said. “…Wait, what? I’m still a statue in your world?” Fluttershy nodded. “Our world didn’t start decaying until after you were sealed. Twilight had talks with you in the garden through her mental spells, and tried hard to get you released. I think now may be the time.” “As long as we don’t encounter each other,” Discord said. “Last time I ran into another Discord it wasn’t pretty.” “They blew up a moon and won’t speak to each other anymore,” Flutterfree explained. “That’s classified!” “No it’s not,” Flutterfree retorted. “…So, what brings you here, Chancellor?” “I just wanted to come see you. You had mostly the same life as the other Fluttershy I know, but there’s something clearly different about you. You’re not her, but you’re not me. And… I’m not sure, but I saw something in you. Something different.” “Free from shyness?” Flutterfree suggested. “I don’t think that’s it, you clearly don’t have any. …Why do you keep the name?” “It’s unassuming,” Fluttershy said. “It was very useful back in the day. Nopony thought I was an underground leader. Nopony thought I was the one speaking through Princess Twilight.” “Why do you still keep it?” “Ponies recognize it now.” Fluttershy sat down on a couch. “…In truth, I don’t really know what I came here to talk about. I’m just contemplating the nature of Kindness.” Discord blinked. “Why are you thinking about your Element? Shouldn’t it just be obvious to you?” “I’m seeing that there are different kinds of Kindness – pardon the pun.” Fluttershy looked at her hooves. “There are ponies with hearts and ideals too big for their own hooves, but they can’t just stand back. There are ponies who can’t bring themselves to do much of anything, but they provide little acts of kindness where they can. And then… There’s you, Flutterfree. Your Kindness… It’s stronger than that. But also weaker than my blind idealism.” “Oh, I’m sure you’re not blind.” “I’m lucky,” Fluttershy admitted. “Things are working out in my world only by chance. In that other world, who knows what happened to Fluttershy? She’s probably still in the background, being ineffectual in the large-scale at everything she tries. Leading her friends nowhere, her ideas too big.” Flutterfree put a wing around her. “But that’s not what you’re doing. You’re different from your other self – an other self you’ve never even met.” Fluttershy let out a soft chuckle. “True. Very true. I don’t know. You arriving has just… Gotten me thinking.” “Want to know what I think?” Discord asked. “No,” both Fluttershys said. “Fine then.” He snapped his fingers and vanished. “…Want to know what I think?” Flutterfree asked. “What?” “I think you’ve been having doubts about yourself, now that you have some kind of victory. I think you don’t even realize that. You came in here, wondering if I was better than you. I’m not. I’m definitely not a leader – not like Twilight, not like Pinkie. I’m a follower. I’m a pegasus who cares for others too much. You think your Kindness is too strong, but sometimes you need strength. I don’t think I could ever order the death of any pony. But you can. And sometimes you need to.” “You really think that.” “Yeah. You should go talk to Alushy. She’s… a character.” Fluttershy nodded. “I think I will. Thank you, Fluttershy.” “Oh, don’t go yet! I’m sure we can talk more over some tea. I’m sure Discord won’t mind company.” “I might mind!” Discord called from… somewhere. “No, you won’t,” Flutterfree said. “Okay, fine, I won’t,” Discord said, appearing in his chair and folding his arms. “But I might be annoying.” Chancellor Fluttershy looked right at Discord and smirked. “Challenge accepted.” “Wait, what?”