Chapter 6: Vex
Earlier, just after Queen Twilight had begun her test
Verse stared only for a moment as the young changeling queen called out to him as she slowly realized her test had begun.
Verse returned to the Worldscape. He had no need to watch right now, he could check up on her in a few years, and she would be none the wiser, only an hour or so passing for her. He was the master of Time and Space, after all. It was an impossibility for him to be late for anything.
He peered over towards the direction of the Prime Universe, a look of contempt crossed his face before he let it go. He took a deep breath before he let it go. He looked once more across his domain. The Worldscape was his and his alone to traverse, observe, and maintain.
A normal pony would complain about the loneliness of it all, but Verse stopped crying about that eons ago. Verse briefly reminensced about when he was a young colt, first discovering that his destiny was beyond anything anypony could imagine...
That was billions of years ago, but it was still crisp in his mind, just as clear as yesterday.
The ancient stallion stared at his hooves. He had seen countless worlds, from the darkest nightmares to the most comical of scenarios. Each examined thoroughly for any flaws, and corrected them when necessary. He stared again at the center of the Worldscape.
He frowned. It was the place he despised the most. A world built from lies. Yet even with all the power he possessed, he could not breach it's walls. He had studied it for eons and eons, and had discovered it needed to be unlocked by certain Keys... But he could only really guess as to what the keys were, or where they hid. Over time, he had learned that each Key required specific traits in order to work, and it took him another hundred million years to figure out what those traits exactly were. His thoughts turned back to the young changeling queen. She was from a world where Twilight was the daughter of Queen Chrysalis, rather than Twilight Velvet.
He remembered his excitement upon finding her. She fit everything that he needed, matching perfectly to one the six keys needed to unlock the barrier that kept him from his goal. Her personality, motivation, and point of view matched everything he needed. However, it was not the first time he had thought he had found one of the Keys. He had been wrong before. That is what the Test was for. Hopefully this one would be the one...
--
Twilight Sparkle awoke, for a moment, she had forgotten where she was. "W-What?" She asked groggily. This did not look like her bedroom in the Hive...then it finally dawned on her as the memories flowed back of yesterday's events. She groaned, wishing that this would all be over soon.
Her mind drifted to thought of Verse. The strange pony was an enigma to her. For one, he vexed her. He was clearly a stallion of many secrets, and she did not feel like she could fully trust him. He claimed to be extremely powerful, yet for some reason needed her help. His explanations that he gave never fully satisfied her. However, what frustrated her the most about him was his dislike of being questioned. But still...she did not think he was a bad pony. He had given her food and a place to sleep, (even if he had nymphnapped her), and when she did question him, he was a lot more honest than she thought he would be.
He confused her greatly.
Twilight got it out of the bed, stretching her legs and her back, relaxing only when she felt the satisfying pop of her bones shifting back to their proper places.
She took another, more detailed look at the room she was in. The room was large, but not quite as large as her room back at her hive. It was clearly built for luxury. The queen-sized bed sat in the center of the room, a medium sized bedstand on either side of it, with an ornate lamp atop each one. To the right was a door way that led to a small bathroom with a shower in it.
Against the wall next to the door that lead out to the hallway that led towards the mainhall sat a full sized vanity, complete with a large mirror, and a counter with many drawers for make-up and the like. And, lining the wall opposite of the door that lead to the bathroom and shower area, was a series of elegant drawers, paintings, and a closet for storing clothes.
She opened the closet. It was empty. Figures. Verse didn't seem the type to care about clothing or of the like, though she could be wrong.
She closed the closet doors and decided it was time to explore more of this mansion. However, her plans were cut short as she walked out into the hallway to find Verse standing there, waiting for her.
He had startled her, but she managed to conceal it just enough that she did not show it. "How long have you been waiting there?" She asked with a cool expression.
He gave her only a slightly puzzled look. "I wasn't. Since Time is my domain, I always make sure I am never too early, and never too late."
She frowned, but before she could question him, he began walking away, gesturing for her to follow.
"I have found the next potential key that we will need. At the very least, this pony demonstrated several of the traits needed for the next Key, but we cannot be certain that she is the pony that we seek." Verse said as the mansion faded around them, the complete empty whiteness of Nowhere enveloping them once more.
"Who is she, and what are the traits?" She asked. Verse didn't give an answer until, with another pop, they were in the Worldscape once more. The sight of the place was still breathtaking. The mere thought that the whole of the Multiverse now laid before them was still an impossible concept, yet here it was.
"The candidate we seek is a darker version of Pinkie Pie. You will understand what makes her stand out once we get there..." Verse finally replied, pulling Twilight's attention back to the vexing stallion that walked just a few hooves in front of her. "Darker? What? What do you mean?" Twilight did not like the sound of that.
"You will see." He said calmly and emotionlessly. They walked for what seemed like hours. She still couldn't figure out how Verse could tell where anything was in this place. The scenery around them was just so bizarre: a world that seemed to be made of stars and galaxies that were in fact other worlds and timelines. Very little of it made much sense.
She had been so engrossed with her surroundings, that she once again did not see Verse pause, and accidentally bumped right into his flank.
"Ow! Watch where you are going, that horn of yours is sharp you know..." Verse scolded, as she gave him a sheepish smile.
"S-Sorry..." She apologized, having not meant to bump into the poor stallion.
Verse simply sighed, "It's fine, just please refrain from doing that again." He then pointed to a rather large star that radiate a beautiful bluish light. "Here we are. Make sure to stick close by from now on. It would be quite the hassle if you got lost or killed."
Twilight nodded to the pony, showing that she understood. Before he offered his hoof for her to take, he turned and looked at her with a smirk, "One last thing....how do you feel about...Cupcakes?"