//------------------------------// // 063 - Clockwork Angels // Story: Songs of the Spheres // by GMBlackjack //------------------------------// A portal opened in the main hall of what was now Renee’s crystal castle, depositing the primary all-purpose team in the glamorous halls. Pinkie took the lead, bouncing along with Nova and Flutterfree flanking. Vriska strode behind the group while Jotaro’s hulking form walked to the left, unbalancing the visual of the group. “Vriska, you need to move a bit to the right,” Pinkie commented. “I am not moving because you want us to have proper ‘team aesthetics’, Pinkie.” “Awww…” “Jotaro could just move closer to the center,” Nova suggested. Vriska rolled her eyes. “I do not want to become a Joestar family pancake, mmkay?” Pinkie shrugged. “Operation ‘pose’ is a failure! …Let’s just go find Renee.” They set out across the hall of Renee’s castle, watching the various teams of the Expeditions Division come and go. Jotaro tipped his hat at Josuke as he went with Sunny to a desert world. They saw Corona’s team return, every last one of them with parts of their body on blue fire. They quickly put out the flames and laughed about whatever horror they had just run from. These were but two of the teams that they could see – dozens of others came and went constantly, though more left than returned, since many would return at different locations on Equis Vitis or even the Hub. Gems, ponies, humans, dragons, griffons, and more exotic beings walked these halls continually, a testament to Merodi Universalis’ diversity. Pinkie’s team soon found what they were looking for – Renee. They lucked out and found not only her, but Daniel as well, sitting on her back. The pair were talking to a squad of Rubies who were notorious for being the dumbest of any team under Renee’s purview. The Rubies saluted, indicating that they thought they understood what Renee was asking, but everyone else expected another talk between them to happen in the next few days. Daniel pointed at Pinkie’s team the moment their conversation with the Rubies was done. The two of them walked over, Renee’s expression being one of surprise. “You’re back early.” “The pod people were very cooperative,” Vriska commented. “Vriska! Don’t call them that!” Flutterfree ribbed. “What else am I going to call them? They don’t have a name!” “Just… The people we visited! Universe Q-Po6 omega if you need to be specific!” Nova shrugged. “It’s not like they mind being called pod people.” “They don’t know what it means!” Jotaro looked down at her. “Wasn’t that the case with the bug demons?” “I… Yes. But they decided they liked that name!” “Then maybe the pod people will like pod people!” Pinkie suggested. Flutterfree looked like she wanted to explode. Her emotions quickly switched from annoyance to amusement and she let out a laugh instead of one of her signature ‘quiet screams of aggravation’. Vriska gave her the finger guns. “That’s the spirit! Become one with the pod people!” “I really shouldn’t be laughing…” “So?” Jotaro commented. “If it’s funny, laugh.” “You never laugh though, mister poker-face!” Pinkie pointed out. Jotaro leaned back. “Nothing’s been funny enough yet.” “I’m nothing but a barrel of laughs!” Pinkie pleaded. “Of a particular kind of humor,” Nova commented. “Pff. Taking the fun out of this,” she chuckled. “ANYWAY! Renee, do you have anything else for a group of best friends to tackle?” Renee raised an eyebrow. “You already did a mission today!” “It took, like, an hour,” Nova observed. “We can easily do another one.” “I don’t know… What if it runs long?” Pinkie rolled her eyes. “We can handle a long one Renee. There’s nothing that says it has to be wrapped up in one day in the first place! C’mon…” Daniel took a pad out of his coat and started scrolling through it. “Random or interesting?” “Interesting, of course,” Vriska said with folded arms. “Found a new one in the Strands,” Daniel said, handing them the pad. “We don’t know anything about it other than the probe sent in wasn’t able to accurately determine much aside from the universe’s safety. Something about the place scrambled most the advanced sensors.” “A mystery, huh?” Pinkie said, looking over the pad. “Whaddaya say team? Take on a weird puzzle world?” Vriska gave the thumbs up while the others gave simple nods to confirm. Daniel pointed at the pad. “You’ll have to make a few universe jumps to get there from here, there’s no direct connection.” “I know,” Pinkie said with a wave of her hoof. “I’m not a newbie, Daniel.” Daniel rubbed the back of his head. “Riiiight.” Renee rolled her eyes. “We just make it a point to tell everyone, dears. Avoids needless issues.” “And creates ones like this,” Vriska commented. Renee raised an eyebrow. “And you’re only dragging it out by continuing to comment on it.” “Eeeeexactly! You win a cookie! Later.” “She means never,” Jotaro translated. “Spoilsport.” Renee chuckled. “Sadly, as much as I love going back and forth with you, I do have a job to do right now. There’s a military expedition to a fascist state underway. There’s a chance of USM operation in that universe, but it’s our beacon in that universe.” “That sounds like a mess,” Flutterfree said, shaking her head. “I hope you can find a way to resolve it peacefully.” “It’s a military expedition, dear, they get sent in when ‘peace’ isn’t really an option. Their leader might be able to talk the USM down if they are there, but the fascist state is being taken down by force regardless.” “Ah… Yeah.” She forced a smile. “I still hope it goes well.” “You and me both,” Renee admitted. “Now shoo, you’re distracting.” Pinkie pulled out her dimensional device. “Attention everyone! Keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times! This is going to be a three-universe jump, so prepare for a rapid change of scenery and some stomach flip-flops! Thank you for riding Air Pinkie!” Jotaro shook his head. “Yare yare daze...” They left the universe, the portal closing behind them with a pop. ~~~ Caravan “In a world lit only by fire.” The sun of this world was red, defining the color scheme of the planet. While all the other colors certainly existed, everything had a reddish tint to it – the land, the seas, the clocks, everything. The sky ranged from a pale evening red to a grayish orange, the star only strong enough to light the world to twilight levels of light. The clouds swirled in the red light, appearing just as ominous as they were beautiful with their churning motions. One such churning storm launched a bolt of lightning to the ground below, providing a rare, intense blue light to the bizarre landscape composed of square pillars. The stony extrusion struck by the bolt shattered, its unnatural flat top replaced with a significantly more natural collection of rubble. Nearby, an airship narrowly avoided the debris by sheer luck. The ship was comprised mostly of an ovoid filled with hot air around which numerous sails were positioned to give it the appearance of a gigantic flying fish. Numerous lightning rods poked out the top of the ship, the spines there to keep the entire thing from exploding. The cabin took up most of the bottom and front of the airship, holding a few dozen people and all they needed to live while on the ‘road’. “That was too close!” a woman with a mechanical arm wearing a purple trench coat and a black top hat shouted. “If we get another close call like that I’m sending the pegasi out there to deal with it!” An earth pony in a clown outfit gaped at her. “Ringmaster! This storm wou-” “I’m aware this storm would probably kill them!” the Ringmaster blurted. “I’d just rather the rest of us didn’t die in the process.” The clown shook his head. “We just need to hold out. Just a little longer, Ringmaster. Let’s not risk anything – it’s only a little further until we get out of the squares.” The Ringmaster tapped her fingers on a console. “You’re right, of course. Though this wouldn’t be a problem if our pilot wasn’t insane.” The man at the wheel was standing on his hands, steering with his feet. “This is the best way to drive!” “…Does no one else know how to drive this thing?” “The pilots were in the rest of the caravan,” the clown pointed out. The Ringmaster facepalmed. “I really need to organize my ships better…” Another bolt of lightning fell from the crimson clouds, shattering another pillar of stone. The Ringmaster knew none of the chunks were large enough to destroy them, but the holes they were going to make would be an utter pain to repair… To her surprise, a glowing blue and pink barrier of energy erected itself between the rocky chunks and the airship. All the rocks bounced off the barrier with ease, falling to the ground below without damaging the ship in the slightest. “Find out who did that. Tell them to keep doing it,” the Ringmaster ordered. The clown scrambled out of the command center to begin the search. Two more lightning bolts hit nearby pillars of rock – and the shield went up every time without fail. After that, the airship left the towering rocks, and the lightning strikes could no longer bring damage to them. The Ringmaster narrowed her eyes. “Curious… Crazy Dan, do you know which of the performers could have done that?” Crazy Dan laughed, his feet still at the wheel. “Nope! Who cares? It was BLUE!” The Ringmaster sighed. “Whatever.” The clouds parted, allowing the light of the sun to further redden the airship, taking it out of the dark of the storm. The Ringmaster could see the other six airships of the caravan up ahead, waiting for them. Good. If they hadn’t waited I would have had a serious ‘talk’ about mutiny… The clown came back. “Uh… Yeah, Ringmaster? The guys who saved us want to talk to you.” “I’d like to talk to them as well…” She adjusted herself within her captain’s chair and swiveled around, looking closely at the five individuals led into her room. Three ponies, one of each kind, a decidedly impressive hunk of a man, and some creature with gray skin and orange horns. “I don’t remember adding you to my caravan.” The pink earth pony cleared her throat. “You didn’t! We’re from another universe and we just showed up on your ship! I’m Pinkie, that’s Nova, Flutterfree, Jotaro, and Vriska. You could call us… explorers!” “Oh,” the Ringmaster said shrugging. “Is that all?” Flutterfree cocked her head. “Is this sort of thing common around here?” “We are in the Strands,” Vriska commented. “We’ve also got a pony-human mixture.” “Oh no, I’ve never heard the ‘other universe’ one before,” the Ringmaster said dismissively. Nova raised an eyebrow. “You think we’re joking.” “Nope,” the Ringmaster said, leaning back in her chair. “It makes sense and definitely isn’t the weirdest one I’ve heard. You should have seen the guy who was teleported here as he was devoured by void piranhas. That, to this day, is the most unique way I’ve seen anyone get anywhere.” “That sounds horrible!” Flutterfree blurted. “It was. But he’s still alive!” the Ringmaster pointed at Crazy Dan. “No physical damage!” “An absolute TON of MENTAL DAMAGE though!” Crazy Dan laughed. “Look at me goooo!” He tried to force the airship into a barrel roll but there was no way in the realm of physical possibility it was able to do that. The craft just lurched suddenly to the side, soon forced to use its fins to recover. “AHHAHAHAHAH!” “…Right,” Nova said. Pinkie giggled. “So, Miss Ringmaster, you’re a traveling circus?” “Yeah! I call us the Greatest Show on Zhui!” All five of them made a mental note – this world was named Zhui. “Where you headed?” Pinkie asked. “Why, to the greatest place on Zhui! The grandiose city of Chron, center of everything under the light of our ruby sun! Fate has certainly led you here to our ship – it must be your goal as well.” “That does sound like a place we’d want to go,” Nova commented. “How long until we arrive?” “Just over a day,” the Ringmaster said. “I hope that isn’t an issue?” Pinkie looked to the rest of the team – they shook their head. “No problem! So long as you have beds!” “I have plenty of beds. All the beds. You’re also welcome to join the act, should you wish…” “Nah,” Vriska said. “We did not run away to join the flying steampunk circus.” The Ringmaster smirked. “Sure enough. Consider the beds payment for saving me a lot of trouble. Feel free to mingle with all my people. See if you can learn a few things about our world before you get back on your quest.” Flutterfree bowed. “Thank you – you are too kind.” “Eh, I’ve just had my fair share of adventurers pass through my caravan. Better to be nice than to make them vengeful.” She waved a hand dismissively. “Go. Enjoy.” The five of them exchanged incredulous glances and a few shrugs before doing as suggested. ~~~ The caravan thundered onward over the land of swirling snakes. Far below, the scenery was unending marble sculptures of snakes of all sizes. They were all smooth white, each with gems in their eyes; no two had the same colour. There appeared to be no ‘bottom’ to the snakes – the places that were open or broken through revealed more snake sculptures underneath. Many of the snakes were poised aggressively, but others were coiled up as if asleep. A couple of the larger snake sculptures had marble arrows driven through their heads, capturing a moment of agony before death. “I have questions,” Nova said, looking out a window of the Ringmaster’s leading airship. “Who made all these?” A boy of maybe thirteen heard the question and walked up to them. “Nobody knows for sure! The power to carve these snakes is beyond anything in Zhui today! Many think it’s absolutely impossible to construct traditionally, so it must have been an ancient magic artifact of some sort!” Pinkie turned to the boy. “Wow! You know a lot!” The boy beamed. “I like to learn everything I can about everywhere. It’s why I’m part of this circus! I get to see so many of the world’s varied landscapes! Each one has a story of its own to tell, even if most of them are mysterious!” Flutterfree smiled. “That’s wonderful! Do you mind telling us your name?” “Bartholomew,” he said with a hint of embarrassment. “I carry things for the actual performers during the show. I’m really good at running.” “That’s a very important job, I bet everyone is really proud of you.” Bartholomew chuckled. “Yeah. Everyone here is super nice – well, mostly.” “I think this place is full of super crazy,” Vriska commented, gesturing at the rest of the ‘observation deck’. It was filled with humans and ponies of every shape and size – strong men, show magicians, clowns, freaks, contortionists, and the like. One of the women was on fire and didn’t seem to care. “Wackos.” “Thanks!” Bartholomew said. “I think that’s the whole point. A bunch of ‘wackos’ having fun, traveling the world, a perfect place for adventurers like yourself.” “You simply have to tell us about your show,” Pinkie insisted. “Come on! What are the best acts? What are the worst ones? Which ones should we check out? Do you serve cotton candy?” Bartholomew rolled his eyes. “Of course we serve cotton candy. As for that… Crazy Dan’s show is actually the best, by far. He’s driving right now – can’t believe the Ringmaster doesn’t get someone else to do it – but when he’s in the ring he is a master of controlled explosives. He may be absolutely nutty but he’s never blown anyone up to this day! It’s really exciting and thrilling. He’ll be the opening act come tomorrow night.” “We might just have to catch that!” Pinkie said. “And as for the worst… it’s not part of the main act, but see Toady over there?” He pointed at a giant toad talking to a tall, slender earth pony. “When he does his thing at his stand, the smell is so terrifying people often pass out. It is an experience no one is willing to deal with twice.” “I can imagine,” Vriska commented. “Who’s that he’s talking to?” Nova asked. Bartholomew examined the mare – her coat was a light amethyst, mane a pale amber, and her eyes an intelligent blue. “That’s Icon, the master acrobat. She’s the closing act. Really flexible and coordinated, able to outperform all the unicorns even with their magic.” “She has a ton of makeup on… Why would she have that much when not performing?” “No, she doesn’t,” Bartholomew corrected. “Everyone’s jealous of her ‘naturally stunning looks’. Not that she seems to care that much about it.” “Oh,” Nova said, looking at the ground. “Well now I feel I was a little judgmental.” “It’s okay, happens to the best of us,” Vriska said. “Especially you,” Jotaro commented. “I’d be lying to myself if I disagreed with that,” Vriska chuckled. “Hey look!” Pinkie grinned. “She’s coming over here!” Nova put her hoof over her face. “Lovely…” “What? It’s not like she knows or anything.” “For all we know she has psychic powers or something!” Flutterfree raised an incredulous eyebrow. “Some what now?” “Uh…” Nova rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah, that does sound kind of stupid…” “What does?” Icon asked as she approached, her melodious voice filling everyone’s ears. “N-nothing!” Nova blurted, looking to Flutterfree with a ‘please save me’ expression. Flutterfree smiled at Icon. “Oh, just Nova here commenting on something she said earlier, it’s really nothing.” Icon looked down at Nova, her eyes boring into her soul. Nova gulped. “Eeyep!” “I have to admit, I’m curious,” Icon said, lowering her head to Nova’s hoof. “What is this thing on your leg?” “Oh, this old thing?” Nova smirked. “It’s a screen that shows me what the ring on my horn detects. Right now it’s not working properly – something about this place scrambles most scanners – but I can make it do a few things even like this.” She set it to video display mode, playing a live feed of Icon’s face. “There you go!” Icon lifted up Nova’s hoof to examine the device, making the unicorn tense. “Wow… The big cities have screens in them, but nothing like this. You must really get around!” “Adventurers!” Bartholomew explained. “They’re going to come to the show – and you know what that means!” “More income?” “What? N- well, yes… But that’s not what I mean! I mean adventure is sure to find them! We’ll get an interesting show!” Icon chuckled. “I know you always want adventure, Mew, but I’d like to get to my closing act today.” “It doesn’t always end the show!” “Nine times out of ten,” Icon said, finally lowering Nova’s hoof to the ground. Vriska raised an eyebrow. “Oh, so you’re expecting us to crash your circus?” Icon laughed nervously. “It does seem to happen a lot with people like you… Please don’t take any offense. It doesn’t reflect badly on you, you understand.” “Maybe?” Vriska said, shrugging. Flutterfree’s eyes lit up. “Oh, speaking of reflections, we should probably tell Renee what’s going on.” Pinkie pulled her phone out of her mane and called Renee. The interdimensional phone was able to locate a universe with a Merodi Universalis Priority Connection, connecting to Renee’s phone. “This is Renee Jackson,” Renee said from the phone – clearly on speakerphone. “Hi Renee!” Pinkie said. “We’re probably going to stay here for a few local days, there’s a big city we want to get to and a circus we want to see!” “Oh, that sounds delightful! Do you need any supplies?” “Nope! We can live off hospitality and cupcakes.” “Should I count this as vacation time…?” “Nope! There’ll probably be leaders in the city for us to talk to, or at least get a better idea how this world works.” “In that case, I’ll take a preliminary report now.” “Okie dokie!” Pinkie took the phone off speaker, bouncing away to do the somewhat boring job of relaying an oral report to Renee. “Huh. You’re pretty organized,” Icon observed. Vriska smirked. “The art of exploring is more potent when organized. You can do more stuff. We could call in an orbital bombardment if we wanted!” Flutterfree facehooved. “Please not in front of our new friends, Vriska…” Bartholomew gaped. “An orbital bombardment? What even IS that!?” Icon furrowed her brow. “If I had to guess, it would be an attack from above the atmosphere. You adventurers do have some pretty impressive capabilities.” “Please don’t feel threatened,” Flutterfree said nervously. “Oh, I won’t. But it’s only fair that, now that I know something you can do, I show you something I can do.” Icon smirked playfully and proceeded to twist her legs around her body at seemingly-impossible angles and twist herself into a box shape. She twisted out, returning to her four hooves – except her belly was up and her head was twisted like that of an owl. To end, she stood on one of her front hooves and tangled her body around in a donut shape, placing her head on her purple-spiral cutie mark. Nova jaw was hanging open. “W-wow. That’s impressive.” Flutterfree had a grimace on her face. “I just think it looks painful.” “Eh, nothing special,” Vriska muttered. “Pinkie does that sort of thing every day.” “Pinkie isn’t normal,” Jotaro pointed out. “True. Research needs to be done into how much of the cat-liquid is in her system…” Pinkie bounced back to the group. “All caught up with Renee! So, what are we going to do now? Huh?” “Investigate cat-liquid, apparently,” Icon offered. “Oh, I can get us a cat, easy peasy!” Pinkie grinned. “Do we have a set of stairs in this ship?” Bartholomew nodded. “Yep! Right this way!” “I’ll leave you to that,” Icon said. “Practice makes perfect, after all.” “Oh,” Nova said. “See you at the show, then?” “Sure!” Icon grinned. “Prepare to be amaaaazed!” She did three backflips away from them and leaped through a hatch in the walls. “Sprightly,” Vriska commented. “Let’s go!” Pinkie blurted. “Cat-liquid ain’t gonna test itself! Mooove!” ~~~ It didn’t take long for Jotaro to figure out that he was dreaming. For one, he remembered going to sleep but didn’t remember waking up. For two, his senses weren’t augmented by Star Platinum. For three, he was standing in the middle of a flat plane of sand with seven large domes of gold rising around him. Seven Cities of Gold. He had no idea where that phrase had come from, but it was now embedded in his thoughts. The Seven Cities of Gold surrounded him, filling him with a sense of wonder – something he rarely felt these days. The Gold glinted in his eyes. He had no idea what the Cities meant, or what they held, but he knew they were important. Unimaginably so. He heard a ticking sound above him. Looking up, he saw a clock plastered against the sky, the red sun of Zhui centered in front of it. The light of the star strained his eyes, but he didn’t blink – he just stared at the clock. It had too many hands on it to be a normal clock, especially considering that some of them were moving extremely quickly, while at least one of them was running backward. Jotaro found himself standing in front of a set of four white doorways placed in a square formation. They were devoid of any actual doors, but the area enclosed by them glowed with a soft white light. A surge of energy turned the soft light into an intense one, firing a beam into the sky that engulfed the sun and touched the clock of the sky. Gears and chains began to appear behind the clock, soon filling the entire sky with a clockwork mechanism. He felt a hand on his shoulder. “Seek and you shall find.” And then Jotaro woke up, ramming his head into the ceiling. This disturbed Pinkie, who had been sleeping on him like a cat. She let out a panicked ‘MEOW!’ and fell onto the floor, waking everyone else up. Vriska put a hand over her face. “Pinkie… I was having the greatest dream…” “I know. I could hear,” Nova muttered from the bed next to her. “It’s why I was already awake.” “Did you li-“ “NO I DID NOT LIKE HEARING IT.” “Can everyone please keep their voices to a whisper…?” Flutterfree muttered. “Pleeeease?” “Sorry!” Pinkie whispered. “Jotaro woke me up!” “You were sitting on me,” Jotaro muttered. “The cat experiment needed to continue,” Pinkie pointed out. “Meow.” Jotaro sighed. “…I had a dream,” he said. “I think it’s important.” Vriska sat up. “Ooooh? Well what are you waiting for, spill the beans big guy!” Jotaro relayed his dream in a matter-of-fact fashion, not leaving any detail he thought important out. “Seek and you shall find?” Nova said, hoof to her chin. “Interesting. I’m pretty sure something was trying to talk to you, Jotaro.” “The Seven Cities of Gold,” Jotaro said. “We need to find them.” “Could be a trap,” Vriska pointed out. “Since when do we let that stop us?” Pinkie chuckled. “I say we accept this as our mission! …Y’know, after we attend the show tomorrow night.” “The Seven Cities of Gold…” Nova said, pondering the phrase. “An Earth legend, right? Turned out not to be true.” “Legends are some of the most powerful stories,” Pinkie pointed out. “I can guarantee the Seven Cities of Gold exist in multiple places. Maybe here, maybe not, who knows?” “It may not be the cities we need to find,” Jotaro said. “Those doorframes… they may be the real goal. Or the clock…” “Maybe we should take a ship and fly to the sun itself?” Vriska suggested. Nova held up her hoof-screen, currently sitting to the side of her bed. “Do you see the scrambled readings on this thing? I’m not sure our ships would work properly in this universe. We rely a lot on external sensors for navigation.” Jotaro nodded. “We’ll walk. Or get one of these airships.” Pinkie nodded. “Yep! We’ll totally figure this out, Jotaro!” “Yeah, we’re all going to hunt for the Seven Cities of Gold,” Flutterfree muttered, a pillow over her head. “Can we go to sleep now?” “Oh! Sorry!” Pinkie blurted. “Everyone sleep!” She fell onto the floor, taking a decidedly cat-like position and snoring softly. “The envy of insomniacs everywhere,” Nova said, laying on her bed and staring at the ceiling. Soon, everyone but her was asleep again. When she realized this, she let out a sigh. She cast a sleep spell on herself. ~~~ Brought Up To Believe “The universe has a plan.” The city of Chron was every bit as impressive and unique as the landscapes the caravan had traveled over the last couple of days. It rose out of a sea made of quicksand, standing on a scaffolding of eighteen metallic roads resting on the churning red particles, the long paths stretching into the distance farther than anyone in the caravan could see. The city itself consisted of a towering set of walls circling thousands of metallic buildings. Placed equidistant along the edges of the walls were four tremendous clock faces that showed the current time – currently 9:19 on every single one’s pearly surface. Within the walls, the constructions were generally taller than the walls, with the central tower rising so high that the top was obscured by a cloud at the moment. Tremendous clockwork gears moved in and out of the lattice of skyscrapers, churning with the ongoing flow of time. Steam rose from so many locations within the city that a constant mist of water vapor churned into the sky, shrouding the finer details of the city. The caravan’s airships moved towards one of the skyscrapers near the edge of the city, away from the towering center. The top of the rickety structure was dominated by a single, slowly rotating gear with dozens of teeth – each one large enough to hold an entire airship. When the caravan arrived, the docking gear had been mostly empty – but the Ringmaster’s performers soon filled the entire platform, quickly overwhelming the harbor masters. “Right!” the Ringmaster declared, walking out of her ship and onto the gear proper. “We’ll set up in the usual place – Zinc Square. Everyone get ready, the transporting skiff should be here any minute.” “Aw, Zinc Square again?” Bartholomew called. “Why not somewhere new?” “I don’t need to explain myself to you,” the Ringmaster said dismissively. “Ah, it’s good to be the king.” “You’re not the king!” a clown blurted. “I might as well be!” the Ringmaster chuckled. “Now stop whining and get moving.” She turned around to address her five interdimensional passengers. “Well, I would ask you to help us set up, but something tells me that wouldn’t go over well. We won’t be ready until about four tonight, so you’ve got plenty of time to wander around the city yourselves. I’d offer you a guide…” “Won’t be necessary,” Pinkie said with a smile. “We know our way around strange cities at this point. Though, we might get sidetracked – I’m sorry if we get caught up and don’t make it back for the show.” The Ringmaster shrugged. “I’ll be surprised if you show up without bringing it down. You’re bound to get caught up in something here, this is Chron. Home of the Angels, hub of everyone. The lift to the surface is right over there, go enjoy yourselves.” Pinkie saluted. “Yes, Ringmaster!” She bounced away, leading the other four to the lift. It was a rickety thing composed of wire-mesh metal plating, but it held all five of them well enough. The doors closed, and they descended into the belly of the beast. The smell of Chron hit them heavily – a musky sort of rusty scent combined with the scent of chemicals and oil. Due to the high humidity in the air, the smells of the city were only heightened, and yet it wasn’t exactly a repugnant odor, simply distinctive. They descended further, able to make out finer details now that they were close. Clocks dominated almost every surface in this city. Big and small, but all round. Amazingly, every single one was set to the exact same time; none of the clocks were off by even a minute. Occasionally they would see a decorative statue made of immobile scrapped gears, the most common shape depicted being that of a humanoid angel. The sound of clanking machinery echoed from inside the walls of some of the buildings, shaking the cable their lift was attached to, making the five tense. The inhabitants of Chron didn’t bat an eye as their scaffoldings shook or rumbled with the clanks, trotting or walking through their normal days. A few ponies and humans could be seen reinforcing a few scaffoldings with electric tools or magic. The life of the mechanical city increased as the bottom approached – less cold metal structures and more colorful decorations and lights that screamed defiantly against the natural redness of the world. Banners, streamers, and lights of all colors lined the streets. The redness was completely gone at the surface, replaced with predominantly blue lights coming from the streets below where clanking steam cars moved along with horse drawn carriages. Ponies and people looked happy down here, despite the overwhelming presence of the skyscrapers all around them. “I like this place,” Flutterfree decided. “Would have sworn you’d say it was too technical,” Nova said. “Not everything has to be green and natural – if the people are happy, it works.” “All right!” Pinkie said stretching herself. “You all know the drill!” She leaped out onto the edge of the street, extending her hoof to a stallion. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie!” The charcoal stallion smiled warmly. “I am Soot Brush. I take it you’re newcomers to Chron?” “Would you believe me if I said we were from another world entirely?” Pinkie said, grinning. Soot raised an eyebrow. “Really? Can’t say I’m all that surprised – lots of unusual stories – but I’ve never heard that one before. And I’ve heard a lot of stories.” “Really?” Nova asked. “Yes! It’s no surprise you wouldn’t know this – being from another world and all – but adventuring groups such as yourself are exceedingly common in Chron! For example… See those three pegasi over there flying in formation? They just arrived two days ago, hunting some sort of smuggler who’s got an ancient relic of evil. One of the more common stories around here.” “Common ancient relics of evil?” Vriska shook her head. “In one city?” “Yeah. Is that not normal?” “No. I mean, we run into evil relics a lot, but that’s because we’re out exploring a lot as well as…” She glanced at Pinkie. “Other reasons.” “Huh. So I take it you’re just here to explore? No mission?” Jotaro took a step forward. “Actually, have you heard of the Seven Cities of Gold?” “Can’t say that I have. There’s other legends I know – the Ruby City, the City of the Depths, the Skyworld… Even if that’s not what you’re looking for I can still tell you about those. I love telling stories. Most people do.” “Pass,” Jotaro said. For the first time, Soot looked at them like they were crazy. “You… don’t want to hear a legend?” Nova shrugged. “We hear all sorts of them all the time. If it’s not the Seven Cities thing, we have other stuff we could be doing.” “Such as…?” “Well, initiating first contact with whoever the leader of this world or nation is. Can you tell us that?” This seemed to confuse Soot for a moment, but he recovered. “Chron has no leader, and it isn’t even a nation. The only nations are the many distant kingdoms, and none of them agree on anything or last very long… only Chron remains.” Flutterfree blinked. “Huh. A bit odd… Surely you have some sort of council? Government?” Soot shrugged. “The districts have leaders sometimes, but for the most part we just do what we want, and any direction is provided by the Angels.” “The Angels?” Flutterfree asked. Soot processed this. “Are there no Angels in your world?” “We’ve encountered angels before – of many different kinds – but none of our home worlds actually have them.” “Correction,” Vriska said. “Mine had some. They were basically overgrown monster-snakes though.” “You’ll have to describe your Angels,” Flutterfree finished. Soot opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, then shook his head. “I… Give me a minute. They… They tell us what we can do.” “So they rule you?” “No… That’s not it. They tell us what we can do. It’s not mandatory to actually do any of it, but they’ve always proven to give good suggestions to every person they contact. They generally tell whoever they can the best step they can take on their life – be it adventuring, exploring, starting a family, or even a business. You’d be hard-pressed to find a person who has gotten where they are without assistance from an Angel at least once. They just know where the best life lies.” “So they rule you,” Vriska pointed out. “If it’s not mandatory, but everyone does it, it’s the same thing.” “I… suppose?” he cocked his head. “It’s just hard to think of it like that, sorry. All of us just always had the Angels existing. They’re the executors of the universe’s plan, and why would anyone go against the plan of existence itself? It’d be a disservice to the Watchmaker.” “Watchmaker?” Nova asked. This one really hit Soot sideways. “I… You have no Watchmaker?” “Is he your creator?” Flutterfree asked. “No… He’s just the creator of the Angels. The Watchmaker… He is the one with the plan. I… I can’t even imagine a world without a Watchmaker. How would the lives of anyone get wound up? How could cities exist? How would civilization of any kind form!?” “By our own means,” Vriska said. “None of us have a Watchmaker.” Flutterfree narrowed her eyes. “At least not in the way you are describing.” Soot couldn’t comprehend this. “I… I’m sorry, I don’t think I can be of any help to you here.” He nervously backed away. Flutterfree cocked her head. “Why are you suddenly afraid?” “I… I don’t know,” he admitted. “I just… I don’t know!” Pinkie nodded. “It’s fine – can you at least tell us where to find one of these Angels?” “Mercury Square,” he said before running off. “Well that was odd,” Nova declared. “He sensed himself questioning his deepest long-held beliefs,” Flutterfree observed. “The default reaction to that is to stop thinking about it. He’ll try his best not to think about existence without a Watchmaker from here on out.” Nova let out a sigh. “That… never fixes anything.” “You and I talk to Rev a lot. That tends to open minds. Most people are stubborn. That’s fine, but it does make talking about things difficult.” Pinkie frowned. “Hrm… We need a way to get information out of these people about the Watchmaker and his Angels without making them freak out… No, Vriska, no mind-reading unless we have to.” Vriska smirked and snapped her fingers. “Let’s just ask questions differently, like we’re from here.” “Oh, that?” Flutterfree pondered this. “That might do it…” Pinkie pulled out a notebook and a pen. “Righty! If we’re going to pull this off, we’re going to need to word the questions like a survey. What do we want to know?” Nova nodded. “The Watchmaker and the Angels. And the ‘plan’.” “Seven Cities of Gold,” Jotaro added. “Too much out of left field,” Vriska countered. “Actually, I don’t think so,” Pinkie said. “If adventurers and legends are common, asking about them isn’t a problem at all. So… How’s this sound?” She cleared her throat. “Hey, we’re asking people around Chron about their beliefs! Would you mind being part of the questionnaire? …And then we ask them the following questions. Ahem. ‘What do you think the universe’s plan for you is and how did you discover it?’ ‘What is your most memorable encounter with an Angel?’ ‘What were you taught about the Watchmaker when you were a child?’ and ‘Have you heard of the Seven Cities of Gold’?’” She looked up. “Think that works?” Everyone nodded. Nova duplicated the questionnaire for everyone. Pinkie grinned. “Right! Everyone, break and ask around for a few minutes, meet back here in fifteen. The clocks are everywhere, should be easy to time that. Break!” The five of them nodded and went to different areas of the street. They talked to several people, with only Vriska getting an aggressive reaction. The interviews were short, so each of them got to talk to multiple people. They met back up, not a single one of them late. Nova spoke first. “These are the most cooperative people I’ve ever encountered. I had to make mine stop talking. Holy crap…” “How many did you get?” Vriska asked. “Three,” Nova said. “Two,” Vriska muttered, folding her arms. “Four,” Flutterfree said with a smile. “Three,” Jotaro countered, fixing her with his signature poker face. “Seven,” Pinkie said, giggling. “It’s funny how you all thought you had a chance. And boy did I find out stuff! So, judging from what I got, everyone you talked to was very sure of the universe’s plan for them?” Nova raised a hoof. “One of mine was uncertain if the plan wanted him to redecorate his restaurant or not, and this uncertainty was making him a little existential.” “Anyone else?” Pinkie asked. “No? Okay. And as for the next question, everyone had discovered their purpose in life by listening to one of the Angels?” Everyone nodded, except Jotaro. “I had one whose event was when his wife was called by an Angel to be a mercenary. It’s been difficult on him, but the event was extremely recent.” “So they do call you to less-than-altruistic callings…” Flutterfree observed. Pinkie nodded. “Good to know.” She scribbled a few things down in her notebook. “And the third question… All eleven of mine gave identical answers. Same for all of you?” Vriska shrugged. “The second one punched me before I got her to finish, so… I don’t know.” Pinkie held up her notes. “The wording changes, but it’s always the same. ‘The Watchmaker watches over us all with his Angels, ensuring that we can all know what the universe’s plan is. Whenever we feel lost, we should seek out an Angel, and we will no longer be lost. The Watchmaker knows which life is best for us.” Flutterfree narrowed her eyes. “I don’t like this.” “You aren’t the only one,” Pinkie said, putting the notebook in her mane. “I think it’s time we talked to one of these Angels. Let’s see if I can completely baffle one…” She rummaged around in her mane. “Time to bring out the big weird guns.” Jotaro coughed. “Did anyone learn of the Seven Cities of Gold?” Everyone shook their heads. “Nothing, sorry,” Flutterfree said. Jotaro lowered his head in clear disappointment. Pinkie pulled out a pack of rubber ducks. “…Perfect. Let’s go to Mercury Square! ONWARD!” She bounced off. “Hey, genius, let’s ask where Mercury Square is first,” Vriska blurted. Pinkie stopped in mid air. “Ooooooh, right.” The first person they asked told them exactly where it was. ~~~ Clockwork Angels “You promise every treasure to the foolish and the wise.” Mercury Square was an intersection of six interior roads. The intersection was paved with smooth glass rather than pavement, and lined with barriers indicating that cars could only drive around the edges of the square, creating a somewhat unusual roundabout construction. Under the glass, rivers of liquid mercury moved, shimmering under the red light above and the blue lights to the side, creating a work of art. The square was always crowded, for it was known as a place the Angels congregated. And what beings they were, these Angels… These Clockwork Angels. Their bodies were decidedly physical, composed of any number of metals ranging from iron and brass to gold and titanium. Every one of their limbs was without covering, revealing intricate mechanisms composed of hundreds of miniscule gears precise enough for accurate finger coordination. Their chests were just as open as their limbs, though the interior was more than just a conglomeration of miniscule gears – a single, large gear turned in the center of every Angel’s chest, the face inscribed with a mysterious symbol unique to each individual. The chest’s shape provided a way to identify the ‘gender’ of these beings – more rounded for feminine, straight for masculine. Their faces were all identical – plates of metal sewn onto a skull framework, making the head the only part of themselves that couldn’t be seen into. Something within the head glowed a seemingly random color, the light pouring out the mouth, eyes, and ears of the Angel. The eyes were clearly mechanical, like cameras, and the mouth moved in awkward, jerking motions – but this did nothing to make them seem any less alive. They moved with the intricacies of a human. A female with an orange glow tapped her foot impatiently while she searched for the perfect pony or human to talk to. Another scratched the back of his head while leaning back, a motion no pure machine could have done. As Pinkie’s team arrived, they got to see one of them spread their wings. A male with a green glow spread his arms wide, prompting grandiose white wings of pure magic to sprout from his back. He bid the people of Mercury Square farewell, returning to the sky. Soon, another Angel took his place, dropping from a nearby rafter and securing their own wings. “They certainly look impressive,” Nova observed. She smacked her screen with her free hoof a few times. “Wish I could get readings on them.” “Let’s just see if we can talk to one,” Flutterfree said. “They seem open to everyone.” “And busy,” Vriska commented. “There’s a lot of people here.” “We’re not in any rush.” Pinkie nodded. “Until then, we can listen to see what they’re talking about!” The five entered the crowd, at first searching for a line, but quickly realized there just wasn’t one. The Angels chose whom they would talk to. “My mother just threw me out of the house,” a teenage girl spat with immense distaste. “So I guess I’ve got to find something.” The Angel smiled at her and spoke with a synthetic voice that managed to change in pitch to convey emotion, unlike the Flats. “My daughter, look closely in yourself. You’ve heard that Caked needs a new assistant – why not discover your skill in the art of baking and uncover the power to make taste buds explode with beautiful flavor?” “I… I can cook?” “Your journey to master and understand that skill will be an inspiring one.” “Eh, guess I’ll try it.” The girl walked off. Another Angel pointed at a man. “Yarrow, you were just here last week!” A yellow unicorn stallion nodded sheepishly. “I was really into the treasure-hiding business, but then I just thought of something, what i-” “Yarrow, trust me, your calling is to create the hoards of treasure held in the lands far from Chron. This idea of flower arrangement? It will bring you nothing but complex drama, and not the kind that you would wish on yourself.” “…Of course, Angel. I humbly apologize for my arrogance.” “See? You’re already on the right track.” The third Angel had finished a long discussion with a nine-year-old girl. “Now, go accept that magic power offered to you. It will take you on a journey to the sun itself. There will be pain, sacrifice, and danger – but there will also be friends, laughter, and a better tomorrow. It is a hard part of the plan you have been born into, but remember. The Watchmaker knows you’ll be strong enough.” “Right!” The girl said, running off with confidence in her stride. A pegasus mare whose wings were too frail to fly trudged through the crowd, her child at her hooves. The first Angel stooped down to look at her. “It feels like life is impossible, doesn’t it?” The pegasus nodded wordlessly. “But, see, you’re going to save the entire city of Chron from a great disaster. Listen to me closely, my daughter – you and your child need to move to the nearest luxury district. They will accept you as servants, and you will be treated well. But your calling is not to be a servant. Your calling is to be a hero.” The mare stared at her in disbelief. The Angel smiled. “Lean not on your own understanding, young one. Trust in perfect love and perfect planning. You know in your heart what we tell you is true, and what we offer you is genuine. Don’t let your inner self deny you what is yours.” The mare nodded slowly, a determined look coming into her eyes. She left. “That upsets you,” a male Angel said, appearing behind Pinkie’s group. The five of them turned around, not surprised at all they were snuck up on. “Yes,” Flutterfree said. “What guarantee do we have that the Watchmaker’s plan is perfect?” “It isn’t his plan, travelers,” the Angel said, his inner gray light giving his face the appearance of being dusted with ash. “It is the perfect plan of the universe. The best path through existence of which he is aware and graced you with the answers.” “How do we know he’s right?” The Angel smiled, gesturing around. “You’ve seen the city of Chron. Happiness and fulfillment everywhere.” “Some of those here looked pretty fucked up,” Vriska observed. “They are not perfect beings.” “Is the Watchmaker?” Flutterfree asks. “If he knows of perfection and tells others of it, it doesn’t matter if he himself is perfect or not,” the Angel stated matter-of-factly. “He is simply the guardian of this world. In the end, that is all that matters.” “I beg to differ,” Vriska retorted. “Intent matters a lot.” Pinkie nodded. “Yeah. So, if you don’t mind mister Angel, please direct us to the Watchmaker so we can have a chat with him, pretty please?” The Angel shook his head – as if they were little children saying something foolish. “Your time in this world would not be best spent talking to the Watchmaker.” “Let me guess, the Seven Cities of Gold?” Nova asked. “Not that either, young ones. Your time in this world is best suited to root out the corruption deep within the city of Chron. There is a small group of individuals who wish to tear down this establishment from within, an-” “Pass,” Vriska said. The Angel did not react with surprise as Soot did – he merely bowed in understanding. “As you wish. Do what you will, otherworlders. We Angels will work around your defiance of the plan. Know that the level of perfection was lowered today thanks to you.” “We can live with that,” Vriska muttered. “I am aware of that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, there are others who are willing to listen to wise counsel. Please make room for them, if you will.” The five of them left the center of Mercury Square, opting to stand on the edge and ponder what had just happened. “Well, that went nowhere,” Nova commented. “Understatement,” Jotaro added. “Not much here for us now, is there?” Vriska said. “It’s not like anyone actually knows how to get us to the Watchmaker, and there’s not really any other ruler we could even talk to. I say fuck it, let’s pack our bags and go right after the show.” “No,” Jotaro affirmed. “Those Cities of Gold… They’re important.” “I’m with Jotaro,” Nova said. “There’s more here for us.” Flutterfree shook her head. “I… I don’t think I like this place anymore. If we stay too long, what if we get roped into their ‘plan’ or ‘fate’? What then?” “Oh look at me, I get to break the tie,” Pinkie said, musing. “Well, guess what, I believe we’re in a ‘super chapter’ right now, so there’s definitely something big here. So big that, as far as I can see, there’s not even a B plot! So I say we stay and let this play itself out.” Flutterfree nodded. “Okay. If you think that’s what we need.” Vriska shrugged. “Eh, I was half-joking about packing up the bags to begin with.” “Sooooo…. Seven Cities of Gold,” Nova said, turning to Jotaro. “We need to find something out about it.” Vriska smirked. “Lucky you I’ve been accumulating luck ever since we got here. So so many people that are just ripe with luck around here. Just give me a bit longer and I can assure you we get something. Can’t guarantee it’ll be about the Seven Cities of Gold, but eh, what can you do?” “Try again?” Jotaro suggested. “Rhetorical question, nimrod.” “Yare yare daze…” “Anyway, I’ll just remove some luck from those Angels and then I-” “Excuse me,” a man in a dark cloak said, walking up to them. “Are you the otherworlders?” Vriska deflated. “Just when I was about to pull off something awesome…” “Yep! That’s us!” Pinkie declared, grinning. “Who wants to know?” “You defied the suggestion of an Angel?” “You bet we did!” Vriska laughed. The man looked left and right nervously, looking especially close at the Angels’ lines of sight. “You should follow me if you wish to know others who defy the plan.” “I like this idea,” Nova said. “I say we follow him.” “Lead the way, mysterio!” Pinkie cheered. “Take us to the Anarchist!” “H-how did you know…?” “I’ll never tell.” ~~~ The Anarchist “For all those years I had to get along, they told me I was wrong. I never wanted to belong.” The five interdimensional explorers were led through alley after alley, building after building, maze-like corridor after maze-like corridor, passing numerous mechanisms made of tremendous gears with an overall indeterminate function. It was clear that their little guide was trying to make sure nobody was following them. The team didn’t complain about the added caution – they had a feeling they were going somewhere they really weren’t supposed to be. That somewhere turned out to be a basement in an abandoned section of Chron. It went so far beneath the normal surface that sands from the sea had started to seep in through the cracks, giving the musty room an arid feel. The room matched the atmosphere with its minimal decoration – there were several chairs, a desk, and a bookshelf half-filled with tattered books. The only light came from a single light bulb that wasn’t strong enough to illuminate anything other than the desk clearly. Behind the desk sat an aging man with a permanent scowl on his face. His hair was long with an even mixture of gray and black that hung over the front of his shoulders. His clothing was tattered and brown, his arms were covered in scratches and dust, and his face was a visage of pain. He looked up from a book he was reading – his eyes lit up, but his scowl remained. “Ah. The visitors. Midian, leave us.” “But, maste-” “This conversation is going to be private, Midian.” The man waved him away. He folded his arms and examined the five visitors closely. “I am known as the Anarchist. Care to introduce yourselves? I want to hear whatever titles you have as well.” “Captain Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter,” Pinkie said with a salute. “I’m the leader of this Primary Unit.” “Protege Nova Glimmer,” Nova said. “I suppose technically I’m an Officer. All of us are, save Pinkie.” “Flutterfree Asquall, Element of Kindness.” “Vriska Serket, Thief of Light. And other things that aren’t important right now.” “Jotaro Kujo, PhD, of the Joestar bloodline.” Pinkie grinned. “And together we explore new universes, make first contact, and if we think it’s a good idea introduce them to the larger multiverse!” The five of them moved into dramatic poses for effect. The Anarchist nodded. “And what have you thought of Zhui so far?” Everyone looked to Pinkie. She pursed her lips. “The people seem really happy. But we don’t like what we’ve seen about how their lives are controlled by these ticking Angels. No one here questions anything or even really thinks. It’s bothersome! But the people seem happy, so we don’t really have any reason to mess with anything since the Angels won’t really talk and we can’t get to the Watchmaker.” The Anarchist sat back in his chair. “It’s a lot worse than it seems.” “How so?” Nova asked. “The Angels gave you the impression there was a choice, didn’t they? You refused the call given to you, and they just shrugged and let you go on your way.” The five of them nodded. “For you, it may be possible to return to the worlds from which you come, but for us refusing the call results in this.” He gestured around at the lackluster room. “You think that, even if the Watchmaker’s plan was the ‘best’ option, you could still eke out a life for yourself on your own terms. But that isn’t it at all. When you refuse the call you are rejected from society. You become an outcast. It doesn’t matter where in the world you reject it – here, in the wilderness, in the outer kingdoms – the moment you do things become different. Because those who aren’t following the word of the Angels aren’t within the plan, they are actively pushed away from anything important or impressive. Because if one defiant person got up there… the Angels could be questioned.” He sat back. Vriska shook her head. “That sounds really lame.” “What’s your story?” Flutterfree asked. The Anarchist pondered this for a moment. “As a boy, I was ‘blessed’ with an unbelievably defiant and inquisitive spirit. Pure defiance would have been pretty useless – I would have either been broken in or fallen to nothing early in my life. But my desire to know and ask questions… that gave me something else. Ever since I was little, I had heard of the Angels, that if I was ever lost I should go ask them what to do. I naturally refused to do so, and I later asked why we had to. The only reason anyone ever gave was ‘because that’s what everyone does’ or ‘because the Angels know what’s right.’ I demanded to know how the Angels knew this, and they’d cite the ever-elusive Watchmaker. This did not satisfy me, so I turned to intellectual pursuits to find my answers, making a point to avoid all the Angels. As I read more and more about this ordered universe, about this plan of the Watchmaker’s… I found what my calling in life was. To defy this ‘perfect plan’ set in motion by a being who never shows his face. I began to speak out, to gather followers who were willing to question.” He shook his head. “And then an Angel came to me directly. He told me it was time for me to change. I told him to go fuck himself. He ignored this and informed me it was my destiny to become a criminal mastermind – did you know that they set all the criminals on their paths as well? Usually not so blatantly, but every one of them is part of the ‘plan’ as well. I was told to gather my followers and attempt to tear the city of Chron down. I, of course, refused outright. I declared that we would continue to do what we’d always done, and that was defy the Angels and the Watchmaker. Chron was not our enemy – they were.” “And then everything went wrong,” Nova said. “Precisely. Most of my followers left me, and my access to scholarly sources were cut off. The curious bit was this: the events that led to these misfortunes seemed to be completely unrelated to the Angels in any way, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on. If the Angels can control anyone’s life with merely suggestions, they could find a way to manipulate one or two people to completely ruin me. I was reduced to poverty, with only a scant few followers, most of which had actually accepted the call of an Angel in life and were still in that life. It’s a horrible paradox.” “I take it your underground movement isn’t going well?” Vriska asked. “Not at all. We grow exceptionally slowly, and many of us die pointless, gruesome deaths. Most of us have no place in the plan and are forced to a life of suffering and poverty.” He groaned. “And now I’m getting old. No matter if I find magic to extend my life, I know I’m not long for this world, and this little movement to save us from the order will fizzle out to nothing.” He turned to them, a fire in his aging eyes. “And then you show up. You five, from outside the plan. Who defy the Angels on principle and don’t have to think that hard to realize that something’s wrong here. And, to top it off, are asking about the Seven Cities of Gold.” Jotaro lit up. “You know of them?” “I do.” He looked to the sky. “Records say they are they were the first cities established by the Watchmaker. They are lost to time, their location now dominated by the desert of frost and flame. But where they once were should be the original place the Watchmaker came to us.” “The doorframes…” “I don’t pretend to know that – merely knowing about the Cities of Gold is a rare thing. The Watchmaker prefers that his own legends get lost to time. The fact that one slipped through the cracks is proof that he is not perfect, nor is he all-knowing.” Flutterfree nodded. “Right.” The Anarchist stood up, curling his old fingers into a fist. “Travelers from another world, I, instead of an Angel, will ask you to go on a quest, instead of order you. As the Anarchist, the leader of the few who know the plan is not right, will you please travel to the ruins of the Seven Cities of Gold and find the Watchmaker – and using your otherworldly powers, remove his hold on this world. I have nothing to offer you in return, besides my gratitude.” Pinkie furrowed her brow. “Well… I’ll promise to go to the Seven Cities of Gold and try to find the Watchmaker. But we will give him a chance to explain himself. To learn the truth of what is going on.” The Anarchist sat back down in his chair, scowl deepening. “I will accept that. It is an appropriately defiant response. I will have a map to the desert of frost and fire procured for you. I recommend finding a way to procure a skiff-class airship, for it is a long journey. Even at those speeds, it will take multiple days.” “It’s times like this I wish we could use our spaceships,” Nova muttered. “We’re doing it though,” Jotaro said. “We’re not going to just turn our backs on this place.” “Nope!” Pinkie declared. “We’re going to find out what’s going on. We’re going to go to the show tonight and we will leave for the Cities come morning! I’m going to call Renee, give me a second.” “Renee?” the Anarchist asked. “Our boss,” Vriska explained. “We’ve already spent an entire day here, that’s quite a bit longer than usual.” Pinkie was already talking to Renee on the phone filling her in on the situation. “You certainly have power,” the Anarchist observed. “Should you not call for more support?” “We’ll decide if we need that and when,” Nova declared. “Plus once we get there we can just use long-range teleports to return if we need extra firepower.” The Anarchist nodded. “Do it as you wish. I am not here to plan the details of your quest. Do what you will.” They nodded. “We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Flutterfree promised. ~~~ Carnies “Sometimes the Angels punish us by answering our prayers.” Procuring the skiff had been easy – Vriska had used her luck to find a small fortune inside an abandoned barrel. The gold had been more than enough to purchase a small speedy ship for the five of them. It had no balloon, unlike the caravan’s ships, but rather a small magical generator that ensured it hovered above the ground at all times. The skiff looked more like a boat than an airship with its pointed prow and fin-like protrusions on the edges. There was no interior – aside from a small trunk for belongings, the skiff was open to the elements. None of them minded, because the skiff was fast. After they had purchased a hotel room for the night, they got to see exactly how fast it was. “This is a bad idea,” Flutterfree declared. “We’re supposed to drive on the roads on the surface – not on these scaffolds!” “Reeelax!” Vriska said, smirking. “It’s just a ten story fall to the surface!” “Just!?” “You have wings, Flutterfree,” Nova pointed out. “The rest of you don’t!” Vriska rolled her eyes. “We’re all invulnerable badasses who can’t feel pain, unicorns who can make ourselves levitate, or The Pink One.” Pinkie giggled. “Yep! FIRE HER UP! DESTINATION: ZINC SQUARE!” Jotaro was at the helm, since he had the most experience piloting ships. With both hands on the wheel, he had Star Platinum pull the throttle back. The skiff shot forward along the scaffolding of Chron like a bullet. Flutterfree had no idea what was going on as they whizzed past three separate skyscrapers, forcing the scaffolding to shudder with their movement. Jotaro, however, was on top of things. He was able to keep the skiff on the narrow passageway without much difficulty, thanks mostly to Star Platinum’s precise senses. He didn’t run into the railing at any point. “THERE’S A CORNER UP AHEAD!” Nova shouted. “WE CAN’T TURN AT THIS SPEED!” Jotaro didn’t slow down. “JOTARO WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” Jotaro let a small smirk come to his face. “Jotaro…” “JOTARO SLOW DOWN!” Flutterfree screeched. Jotaro did not slow down. Everyone braced for impact. At the last possible second, Star Platinum froze time. The Stand rotated the skiff a full ninety degrees and allowed time to resume. The skiff continued on without a hitch. “Yare yare daze, so panicked,” Jotaro commented. Vriska burst out laughing. “Nice move, big guy!” She slapped him on the back. “That was just pure sweetness.” He turned back to look at the expressions of his team, finding a very satisfying mixture of deathly afraid and amused. “Uh, hey Jotaro?” Pinkie piped up. “Yes?” “You might want to look at the ‘road’.” Jotaro looked back at the road – and saw a dead end coming up. He had already used his time stop recently, so he couldn’t use it again… Star Platinum pulled on the breaks, but it wasn’t enough. The skiff went flying over the dead end, losing the ground it needed beneath it to hover. It reached a peak height – and started to fall. “Hey, the good news is that we’re going to crash into Zinc Square!” Pinkie cheered. Nova grunted, lighting her horn. “That doesn’t seem to be that good of news to me!” She surrounded the skiff in her levitation magic. The dangerous speed of the skiff slowed to manageable levels, and had they been heading for a street everything would have been completely fine. As it was they completely flattened a cotton candy stand. The skiff was fine, as were the occupants of the vehicle and the stand, but all the cotton candy was decidedly ruined. A pink stallion gasped. “MY COTTON CANDY!!!” “Sorry! Sorry!” Pinkie blurted, pulling a fresh cotton candy machine out of her mane and handing it over to him. “Here-” “YOU WANT TO REPLACE THE FAMILY HEIRLOOM!?” “Well, it’s broke-” “There will be no replacement. There will be only… no more cotton candy!” He wailed and ran off. Vriska blinked. “…Touchy.” “Vriska we just destroyed his family heirloom,” Flutterfree chided. “No you didn’t,” Bartholomew said, walking up to them. “His cotton candy stand has a habit of getting destroyed so he tries to guilt-trip people into giving him things over it.” Nova blinked. “But he just refused Pinkie’s!” “He’s a long-con pony,” Bartholomew said with a shrug. “Anyway, I’m glad you made it! Welcome to the Greatest Show on Zhui!” He threw his arms wide, gesturing at the scenery surrounding them. It was definitely a circus in a part of town normally reserved for community gatherings. The Square itself was a flat place exposed to the sky, containing only tall metal pillars with white lights at the top encased in metallic sculptures shaped to the alchemical symbol for zinc. Aside from that, everything else had been placed here by the caravan. A gigantic red and white striped tent dominated the scene, a single smokestack poking up through one of its sides adding more steam to the city of Chron. Surrounding the large tent were dozens of stands, exhibits, and games clearly designed to get people to spend lots and lots of money. A few clowns and acrobats played in the streets – juggling, performing comedy routines, or showcasing bizarre ‘freaks’ or people with peculiar magical powers. “So. Much. PARTY!” Pinkie squeed, jumping into the air. “This is gonna be great!” “It’ll go as it always does,” Bartholomew said. “We perform, everyone likes it, perhaps a few adventuring types join us, perhaps a few leave, and then we move to the next town. It gets the same-y after a while. The best shows are the ones that implode in on themselves. Do not tell the Ringmaster I said that.” Vriska smirked. “Want us to crash the skiff into the main tent?” “Please don’t,” Bartholomew said with a chuckle. “Anyway, the main show doesn’t start for a while. Anything in particular you want to do?” “Well, I th-” Vriska stopped her thought. “Holy potatoes, is that an Angel?” Bartholomew looked out. “Oh yeah, that’s Clanker. His real name is ‘Angel of Determination’ or something like that, but we don’t like saying that. He travels with us. Good thing too, he helps everyone find out where they fit.” “Huh,” Vriska said. “…Does he perform?” “He actually does from time to time,” Bartholomew said. “He’s got a fortune-telling act that’s a bit more specific than what most Angels do. Doesn’t really tell anyone what to do with their lives though. I don’t think he’s doing it today, though – see how he’s walking? He’s looking for people who need to know their part of the plan.” “Right,” Nova said. “Maybe he’s looking for you?” “We already talked to an Angel today,” Jotaro said. “Doubt it.” He noticed the Angel glance at the five of them, but he didn’t move any closer. “Oh, what was your purpose then?” “The Seven Cities of Gold,” Jotaro said. “Never heard of it. Weird.” “It is a legend not many are meant to know.” “…Can you tell me?” Vriska smirked. “Sure. The Seven Cities of Gold are the ancient cities where the Watchmaker first came to the world. The Cities are now gone, but the essence of the Watchmaker may remain. That’s what we’re going to seek out.” “Woah… That’s amazing! I hope you guys find what you’re looking for!” “We do too,” Flutterfree said. “Anyway, Bartholomew, take us to the party!” Pinkie demanded. “Gotcha! There’s a magic gun game over here. Only four players though.” “You guys can go,” Nova said, looking back at the cotton candy stand’s wreckage. “I think I can revert this in the time it takes you to play a game.” “You do that!” Pinkie grinned. “Don’t get lost now, you hear?” “I’ll be able to find you, don’t worry,” Nova said, turning her focus to the broken stand. She reversed the flow of time on the objects, spending the next few minutes re-assembling the wreckage from the ground up. It was good as new. “Amazing,” Icon said, her sudden presence freaking Nova right out. She yelped and whirled around. “W-wha?” “It was a compliment, Nova,” Icon said with her soothing voice. “I’m more alarmed at how you managed to sneak up on me.” “I’m a master acrobat and contortionist. I move very lightly.” She strode up to the stand, laying a hoof on it. “Impeccable work.” Nova flushed. “Well, it was just a simple matter of, y’know, reversing the time flow of each individual piece until it returned to a properly fixed state. Since it wasn’t that long ago it took hardly any energy at all an-” “Wow, smart as well. Even better.” Icon flipped around, her tail narrowly missing Nova’s muzzle. “Uh… Yeah! Smart! That’s… me!” Icon put her mouth near Nova’s ear. “I’d love to stay and have fun, but I have to prepare for my act. If you’d like some fun, swing by the back of the tent after the show.” Nova blinked. “S-sure!” “I’m glad,” Icon said, chuckling to herself. She twisted into the air and backflipped away, blowing a kiss and winking at her. “Until then.” Nova took a few seconds to process this. “Yeah!” She said, but Icon was long gone. “Yeesh, making a fool of myself here…” “Over what?” Pinkie said, appearing from nowhere. “NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!” Nova blurred, falling over backward. “I just got the cart back!” “Ooh, cotton candy!” Pinkie said, activating the cotton candy machine and pulling out a fully formed piece of fluffy blue sugar. “Mmmmm…” The others showed up shortly thereafter. “That was so much fun!” Flutterfree said. “That’s because you won,” Vriska observed. “…Maybe,” Flutterfree admitted. “Anything else, Bartholomew?” “We can watch Eddie do his impossible juggling until we need to go to the big tent,” Bartholomew suggested. “That’ll be fun, right?” “I bet it will!” Pinkie blurted, putting a hoof around Nova. “Maybe it’ll calm Nova down!” “Uh – I am calm!” Pinkie winked at Nova, the universal sign of I know everything, but just keep doing what you’re doing. “Oh, you got all tense, Nova! Come on, TIME TO ENJOY A SHOW!” They made their way to Eddie’s juggling stage where a tall human was already juggling seventeen different small, fuzzy animals. “Oh, my…” Flutterfree said, hoof over her mouth. “Eddie’s a professional, don’t worry,” Bartholomew said. “Also, be warned, he might pull the ‘oh no, the animal’s dead’ trick. It’s all an act though.” “That sounds horrible!” Flutterfree turned around. “I’ll just… not watch.” “Your loss,” Vriska said, slurping obnoxiously on a drink she’d swiped off some random member of the audience. Flutterfree took her time to look around, examining her surroundings that didn’t include the juggling of small animals. Given the gasps of fear she heard behind her, that was probably a good choice on her part. She looked at the much less concerning sights of normal clowns, a couple acrobats, that one pony with two heads, the Clanker Angel talking to Crazy Dan… …That last one caught her eye. Crazy Dan was very animated by whatever Clanker was saying. Hanging on every word like it meant literally everything… She was curious. She activated Lolo, winding the long green tendrils toward the two of them, producing a listening point for herself. Clanker took out a smooth, gray box and handed it to Crazy Dan. “This is your destiny, Dan. I trust you know what to do with this box.” “KABOOM!” “Yes, kaboom. Remember the trigger carefully.” “Right! Ahahaha! Everything’s going up today!” “Yes, yes it is.” Then the Angel looked right at Lolo’s ‘camera’. Flutterfree froze. Nothing but other Stand users and users of spiritual powers could see Lolo’s extensions. Flutterfree retracted Lolo instantly. She turned back to her friends. “Everyone, I sa- AUGH!” The juggler was holding a limp ferret, holding it out for all to see. Flutterfree covered her face with her hooves. “Why’d you turn around?” Pinkie asked. “Crazy Dan was talking to an Angel about a box and something explosive and…” She pointed, but discovered that neither the Angel nor Crazy Dan were there. “Aaand they’re gone.” “Crazy Dan’s act is all about explosions,” Bartholomew said. “Maybe it was a new trick?” “It had something to do with a gray box…” “I’ll go ask him about it before the show starts,” Bartholomew promised. “Speaking of, I think I need to head over. You should grab some seats if you want the best possible show.” “I thought it was the Greatest Show on Zhui?” Vriska asked. Bartholomew rolled his eyes. “Closer seats still make it better. Come on!” Flutterfree nodded. “Right.” They set off toward the main tent. “Uh… Nova?” Pinkie called back. “You coming?” “YES!” Nova blurted, shaking herself out of her stupor, trotting after them. ~~~ The interior of the Greatest Show on Zhui’s tent was filled mostly with chairs around a central ring, pretty standard for most carnival shows. The primary difference was a gigantic mechanical forge in the center of the ring that pumped out smoke and steam through a rickety zig-zagging chimney. Gears and magical runes decorated the unusual forge. Pinkie’s team found themselves on the third row of seats from the front, close enough to see action but not too close, in case something went flying. The five of them knew Crazy Dan’s act was the opener, so they were on guard for any gray boxes or other such things. They did not see Clanker anywhere in the tent – though other Angels could be seen as part of the audience. Apparently even they needed entertainment. A spotlight clicked on, showing the Ringmaster standing right in front of the central forge. “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS, I have for you tonight a show that will delight and amaze every last one of you, even those who have shown their faces at our performances before! We’ve got many new acts tonight, as well as many twists on the old. And for those of you who have never been – WELCOME TO THE GREATEST SHOW ON ZHUI! May I present to yo-” The forge the Ringmaster was standing in front of opened, engulfing her in fire. When the fire cleared, in her place was Crazy Dan. Jotaro was ready to move, but Vriska shook her head. “Part of the act. The Ringmaster’s mind is behind the seats now.” “Guess what time it is!?” Crazy Dan blurted, laughing madly. “That’s right! It’s KABOOM time!” He leaped onto his hands, using his feet to reach into his pockets and throw comically large bombs around. They exploded in showers of vibrant colors, showering the arena with sparks of all colors. Trails of fire appeared all over the ground of the inner ring, fire that Crazy Dan proceeded to inflame with special powders, sending pillars of rainbow flame into the sky. The audience cheered, but Crazy Dan was far from done. He had dozens of complex explosive routines ready for them, delivering them all in quick succession. He ate a bomb and it seemed to explode inside of him, but he was fine. He blew up a bomb larger than him right in front of an audience member’s face, and they were completely fine. He eventually started juggling bombs and handing them off to the jugglers, transitioning from Crazy Dan’s explosive opening to the next act – dozens of jugglers, hundreds of objects. “Wonder if Bartholomew got to him?” Flutterfree asked. “Or you got worked up over nothing,” Vriska suggested. “Yeah… That is possible.” “Well, I liked explosions-R-us,” Pinkie chuckled. “Can you juggle that many balls, Pinkie?” Flutterfree asked, gesturing to the performance. “Give me a Mirror Pool and I can juggle a functionally infinite number of balls.” “Let’s not do that.” “Aw, ptooey,” Pinkie chuckled. They sat back and enjoyed the show. Jugglers. Trapeze artists. Clowns – lots of clowns in a tiny car. Nova believed they had to be using a ‘bigger on the inside’ spell or something similar. It was after the scantily clad dancers had finished their routine that they noticed something was wrong. Bartholomew was moving exceedingly slowly along the edge of the inner ring, carrying the gray box in his hands like his life depended on it. His expression was one of pure terror – and it definitely wasn’t because the contortionists had just started their act, twisting themselves into a clockwork mesh of horrifying flesh. Vriska stood up. “I’ll get him.” She put a hand to her head, tapping into Bartholomew’s mind. Hey, kid, Vriska here. What’s wrong down there? “Find Crazy Dan!” Pinkie blurted. The other four members of the team scattered, leaving Vriska alone tapping into Bartholomew’s mind. It was proving more difficult than expected – Bartholomew was in so much of a panic his mind couldn’t even process what she was saying to him. Kid, calm down. She tried to force the command into his mind, but even that was too complicated for him to understand. All he was able to do was walk forward, along the edge of the ring. Vriska couldn’t even probe him to figure out why. Right, won’t calm down. Try STOP. Bartholomew stopped moving, though this sudden change in his mental state just increased his level of panic. Stay there, I’m coming, Vriska said, making her slow trek to that side of the ring. Meanwhile, Flutterfree clapped her hooves together. “Found him, behind the seats of that section. Nova, think you can teleport us down?” Nova nodded, lighting her horn. “It better be empty down there…” “It is,” Flutterfree confirmed. Nova executed the teleport, entering part of the ‘backstage’, where the Ringmaster was talking to Crazy Dan. The Ringmaster. “I’m sorry, no special treatments, you can’t b-” “Crazy Dan’s done something to Bartholomew,” Flutterfree said. The Ringmaster sighed. “Dan, what is it this time?” “Nothing at all!” “Stop it,” Flutterfree demanded. “I saw you accept that gray box from the Angel. Now Bartholomew is walking around the edge of the ring terrified for his life for some reason. You’re going to tell us why.” “Is that why he’s out there…” the Ringmaster muttered. Crazy Dan laughed. “I didn’t do anything to him, he did it to himself! Decided to poke his nose in my business! Not my fault if I bound it to him!” “Yes it is,” Jotaro said, using Star Platinum to grab Crazy Dan by the neck. “Now tell us what it is before I decide you’ve pissed me off too much to be allowed to speak.” “IT GOES KABOOM!” Crazy Dan shouted with a laugh. “When?” Jotaro demanded. “When he finishes walking around!” Nova sent a message to Vriska via telepathy. Stop him from walking around the ring, when he’s done the box will explode. Already done, came the reply. See if you can get it from him. Working on that. “Right, Vriska’s moving to get it off of him,” Nova said. “We should be able to resolve this without any further problems.” Crazy Dan laughed. “You think taking it away from him will stop it!? I said it was bound to him! When that bond is gone… Worse things happen!” The four of them stared at Crazy Dan with fearful eyes. Elsewhere, Vriska had made it to the area of the ring next to Bartholomew. “Right, kid, now just hand me the box and we’ll be out of here…” Bartholomew didn’t move, he just stared at her like she had asked him to jump into piranha-infested waters. Dammit kid! Give me the fucking box! She ordered. His arms twitched, but he held fast. There was no way this kid was this psychically resistant… There was no way! Vriska! Nova’s voice came into Vriska’s mind. Don’t take the box from him! I’ve got this, Nova. That’s not what I mean! New information has come to light! It won’t end well! I said I’ve got this! Vriska blurted, shutting Nova up with a psychic barrier. There was no way that box was going to explode with Vriska’s luck. Kid, box! Now! Bartholomew didn’t move. “Fuck it,” Vriska muttered, reaching for the box herself. Not the most comfortable action, but she could pull it off without falling into the ring, probably. She swatted at the box, grabbing hold of it and pulling. Bartholomew wouldn’t let go. “DAMMIT KID!” Vriska muttered. “LET G-” “VRISKA!” Pinkie shouted through her megaphone on the other side of the ring. “DON’T TAKE THE BOX!” “I’VE GOT IT!” Vriska shouted. “VRISKA, THAT WASN’T A REQUEST!” Vriska pulled, tearing the box from Bartholomew. He screamed in fear. “See?” Vriska shouted, holding it up. “I’ve got it, and it’s not exploding! Ye of little faith. You interrupted the show for nothing! Man.” It was in this moment that Bartholomew froze solid. “What the-” Thousands of icy spike tendrils shot out from Bartholomew’s frozen body, skewering every last contortionist and a large chunk of the audience. Vriska, with her immense luck, was spared despite her proximity to Bartholomew. Vriska blinked. She’d been fine. She’d had it. But no matter how much luck she had, she was still a Thief of Light. The power was always beneficial to her. She could not give fortune to others. She could not have saved Bartholomew… She should have listened to them. She didn’t have time to let out an expletive, because the icy form of Bartholomew drew all the bodies it had skewered into a tremendous pile of death. Every part of it froze, becoming a ball of fleshy ice. And then the ball moved as if it were alive. It screamed with the voices of a hundred dying breaths, tearing at the tent’s supports. It collapsed in on itself, letting the blood red light of evening flood in from above. The various unicorns in the audience kept the tent from falling and crushing anyone, but it did not matter – the beast of bodies moved to absorb the audience into itself. Bartholomew had wanted excitement. “STAR PLATINUM: THE WORLD!” Jotaro shouted. He grabbed the time-frozen Crazy Dan and threw him with all the might Star Platinum could muster. The human projectile sailed deep into the frozen mound of bodies, shattering dozens and instantly killing Crazy Dan before he was even aware of what was happening. When time resumed, the mesh of contorted bodies still moved, though it was unable to heal the damage already dealt to it. Flutterfree riddled the creature with holes from her bow of light while Nova met it with her pink-blue lasers. Vriska eyed the conglomeration of ice. “Goodbye,” she muttered, bringing its luck down as quickly as she could manage. Pinkie took advantage of this, appearing on top of the frozen behemoth with an ice pick. It only took one swing – she hit the fault line perfectly, shattering everybody within the unholy mesh into a million pieces. It was over as soon as it had began. Vriska clenched her fist. “That… That…” “THAT WAS STUPID!” Nova shouted at Vriska. “THAT WAS STUPID!” “I did what I-” Nova slapped her. “PEOPLE ARE DEAD BECAUSE YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO LISTEN!” “I though-” “No you didn’t! Don’t make m-” Flutterfree put a hoof over Nova’s mouth. “Now is not the time,” she said, gesturing around. “They see us.” The five of them looked around – the crowd that hadn’t run in fear was looking at them in anger. All of them… except the Angels, who just looked on with expressions of contentment. The Ringmaster ran up to them. “You need to leave. Now. Thanks for the help – I mean it – but the crowd is going to turn on you in about ten seconds. Move.” Nova lit her horn and teleported them all away. The Ringmaster sighed, leaning on a cane. “Well… Does anyone know what that box was?” And just like that, a group of adventurers walked up and told her a story about the boxes of ice and fire, and that they had been tasked by their Angel to find and destroy the inventor of the devices… The interdimensional visitors were forgotten. Like shadows in the night. ~~~ That night, the five of them sat in their hotel room. Silence reigned. Vriska opened her mouth. “I’m sorry.” “Oh you think that helps anything!?” Nova blurted. “You th-” Flutterfree shook her head disapprovingly at Nova. “Vriska has difficulty apologizing, Nova. It means a lot when coming from her.” “Fat lot of good it does!” Vriska looked at the ground, for once without a sharp retort. “See? Nothing. As I thought,” Nova huffed. “Nova…” Pinkie said, putting a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder. “Yeah, Vriska messed up. She messed up big time. But the mistake needs to be in the past.” “She disobeyed your order,” Jotaro said. “You’re not just supposed to let that slide. There’s a reason a command position exists.” Pinkie blinked. “Well, yeah, that wasn’t good, but I think she’s already suffered enough.” Vriska sighed. “I’ve seen so many people die, Pinkie… I’m numbed to it. You know this.” “I… You’re right. But we’re also friends, Vriska. I’m not going to yell at you for a mistake you clearly regret.” “For selfish reasons,” Nova muttered. Vriska gave the slightest hint that she wanted to punch Nova’s face, but it died out a lot quicker than it should have. A lot quicker. Flutterfree put a wing around Vriska. “Hey. You don’t have to beat yourself up.” “Yes she does,” Nova muttered. “Nova!” “She’s gotta have some kind of consequence!” “Isn’t you shouting at her enough?!” Nova bristled, turning her back on them. “I… I don’t know. I really have no idea.” She shook her head. “He was just a kid…” “The Angel did this,” Pinkie said, suddenly. “Doesn’t give the Watchmaker much of a case,” Jotaro commented. Flutterfree nodded. “The more we learn… The more I don’t like this place.” Pinkie nodded slowly. There was silence in the hotel room. Nova stood up suddenly. “I’m going for a walk,” she declared. “Be back by tomorrow, we’ve got a mission,” Jotaro told her. “I will,” Nova said, walking out of the room. Flutterfree took in a breath. “Vriska, how about we get to sleep? That sound good?” “Maybe,” Vriska muttered. “Let’s take that as a yes. Everyone else?” “Yeah,” Pinkie said with a yawn. “We need to sleep…” ~~~ Nova stood outside a small shed that had been erected behind the wreckage of the main tent. There was nobody else there. She sighed – who was she kidding. There was no way she’d be here. It was just a horrid memory of the horrific thing… “I didn’t think you were going to show up,” Icon said, trotting over from Nova’s left. “Especially considering what just happened. Are you sure you’re in the mood for fun?” “A certain kind, maybe,” Nova said. “Or maybe someone to talk to that isn’t embedded in the mess? Or just… maybe I’m just on a walk.” Icon sat down next to her. “I’m in the same boat, I guess. I don’t know what to do. Everyone just accepts it as part of the plan. I do too… But I swear it bothers me more than all the others.” “Screw the ‘plan’. It’s complete BS.” “Nova-!” Nova snorted. “Don’t expect you to understand, you’re part of this world. I’m not. The worlds always have no plan, regardless of what Flutterfree and Rev say. It’s not stupid out there like it is here. It’s not right here.” Icon looked into the starry sky. “Maybe you’re right… I don’t know.” “Neither of us know.” The two of them fell silent. Nova took in a sharp breath. “Fun.” “What?” Nova sharply turned her head, planting her lips on Icon’s. Icon shook back in surprise. Nova put on a mischievous grin. “Bet you were thinking you would be the one to make the first move in this little game.” Icon smiled right back. “I like being surprised.” “Good. I’m full of surprises.” She tackled Icon to the ground. ~~~ Jotaro dreamed. The Seven Cities of Gold. He saw them again, but this time there was no doorway. There was no sun – the sky was alight with stars instead. The clock of the sky seemed faded and distant somehow. Like it was losing hold on the world he was in. “You seek well.” “Show yourself,” Jotaro demanded. There was no response aside from a sharp cold wind blowing through the sands of the desert. The Seven Cities of Gold began to approach Jotaro from the distance, closing him in on all sides. He felt their presence. Their glory. Their inspiration. “I will find you,” Jotaro said. “I will not stop until I have.” “That is merely the first step…” Jotaro woke up in a cold sweat. Had it not still been the middle of the night, he would have demanded they set out in the skiff immediately. He managed to calm himself down, and lay back onto his bed. He was still awake when Nova came back. Her hair was a mess and she looked like she had been roughed up – but she had a contented smile on her face. She flopped onto her bed and let out a contented sigh. Soon after, Jotaro returned to the realm of the sleeping. ~~~ Halo Effect “All my illusions projected on her, the ideal that I wanted to see.” The Anarchist came personally to see them off. “I hear you got a taste of the plan last night.” They were loading up the skiff outside Chron’s walls, the craft hovering above the red sandy ocean. Vriska didn’t look the Anarchist in the eyes. Pinkie, noting that Vriska wasn’t going to make a comment, spoke instead. “Yeah. At the moment we don’t like the plan.” “No kidding,” Nova muttered – her mood had improved considerably from last night, though she was clearly still upset about the ordeal, which was to be expected. None of them were doing particularly well. “The Angels will have it out for you,” the Anarchist said. “You need to be as quick as you can be.” “At an absolute maximum speed, it will only take a little over a day to get there,” Jotaro said. “Speed is not an issue.” Flutterfree nodded. “We’ll get there Mr. Anarchist, don’t you worry.” “I’ll worry as much as I want. The Watchmaker’s plan is against you. That’s a powerful force to contend with.” “We’re going to show him a greater plan,” Pinkie said. “Ours. I may deliver the message via pie to the face, haven’t decided yet.” “A pie for the Watchmaker… I would love to see that,” the Anarchist admitted. “But I am old and not fit for such a journey. Good luck.” “We’ll need it,” Nova said, glancing at the silent form of Vriska. Nova shook her head and sighed. “We’re ready,” Jotaro said. “Let’s move. We need to make good time. Goodbye, Anarchist.” Pinkie hopped into the skiff. “Yeah, goodbye!” The Anarchist’s scowl softened slightly. “Goodbye, otherworlders. May you put this world in its rightful place.” Jotaro put the throttle to maximum and the skiff darted across the sea of sand, spraying particulates behind it as it rushed. The wind whipped the hair of all in the skiff – though Jotaro’s hat remained on his head somehow. Flutterfree allowed her smile to widen – they had been at the scene of yet another tragedy, yes, and had been a significant part of it. But now they were on their quest again, looking to the future… They would fix this world’s problems, like they always did. It was the part of her job Flutterfree loved the best. They rode off into the sunrise, leaving Chron behind… ~~~ “Why the fuck are we in a Salvador Dali painting?” Vriska asked half-heartedly. The skiff was currently racing across the world of Zhui at super high speeds accomplished through the use of Nova’s time acceleration spell. Things near to them were impossible to see with normal eyes because everything went by too fast – but the distant landscapes held their positions for the most part. Surrounding the adventurers was a scenery made of melting clocks draped over mountains and valleys. Even trees were caked in clocks on every surface. The timepieces all ticked in sync, providing a deafening TICK TOCK TICK TOCK every second precisely. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say the Watchmaker likes surreal landscapes,” Nova said. “Square pillars, land of snakes, red sand sea, and now melting clocks.” “The Watchmaker isn’t the Creator though,” Flutterfree pointed out. “He’s just… a guide.” “He could have been guiding this world for millennia for all we know,” Pinkie said. “Maybe he made the people who made those snakes! I’m going to ask him about that when we get to him.” “We’re really racking up the questions, aren’t we?” Flutterfree asked. “Yep!” Pinkie giggled. “Of course when we actually get there the chances of us asking them all are about none.” “Such is the way of things…” Nova said, shaking her head. “How many places do we go through before we get to the desert?” “Just this place and the Boneyard,” Pinkie said, looking at the map. “We won’t even get to see the majority of this bizarre world!” “Unless we come back,” Flutterfree said. “The world might need our help after we’re done.” “Probably,” Pinkie admitted. “They’ll need to learn how to throw their own parties!” The three of them giggled. Jotaro remained fixated on the horizon while Vriska remained lost in her own thoughts. “…I’m worried about Vriska,” Flutterfree told Pinkie. “That’s good – but you don’t need to be,” Pinkie said. “She’ll be fine. I know it.” “You do?” “Yep!” Pinkie said with a grin. “I definite-” “INCOMING!” Jotaro yelled suddenly, turning the skiff sharply to the left, barely avoiding a magic bolt coming from above them. Vriska shook herself out of her daze, looking upward. “Airship!? Where’d an airship come from!?” “Teleport? I don’t know!” Nova blurted, raising a shield to block another bombardment from the skull-and-crossbones airship. “Pirates!” Pinkie blurted. “Flutterfree, can you drive the skiff?” “Not well enough to dodge!” “I’ll defend,” Nova said. “Who am I teleporting up there?” “Me, Jotaro, and Vriska,” Pinkie said. Nova teleported the three of them above the airship. Pinkie pulled a trampoline out of her mane and threw it into the top of the flying craft, giving the three of them a cushion to soften their landing. One after another, all three sprung off the bouncy toy and landed in a battle stance. A pegasus pirate flew at them from the left, but Pinkie threw a squeaky hammer in his face, knocking him away with ease. “Let’s take her down, guys!” Pinkie said, pulling out her icepick. She swung it down, puncturing a hole in the skin of the balloon, the resulting leak blowing her cheeks and lips back. She giggled at the silliness. Star Platinum began to punch holes all around Jotaro while Vriska opted just to stab her sword into the skin and run across the ship, creating a huge gash. The pirate airship began to descend. “HEY!” An alicorn with crystals instead of eyes blurted, having teleported herself and a small number of her crew with her. “STOP THAT!” “Make us,” Vriska grunted. “Yare yare daze…” Jotaro said. An Angel appeared next to the alicorn before she could move. “Consider your actions, Lens. They far outclass you, in order to get what is theirs, invest in a new strategy. Perha-” “ORA!” The next thing anyone knew the Angel didn’t have a head anymore – it had been punched clean off by Star Platinum. The rest of the body had been punched in the middle of a time stop, the clockwork mechanisms crumbling under the strain. The crew of pirates stared at the remains of the Angel, mouths agape. “What?” Jotaro asked. “He might have told you how to win. Couldn’t take that chance.” The alicorn named Lens shook her head. “Truly despicable.” “Hey, you’re pirates,” Pinkie pointed out. “And not the fun kind either. You don’t even deserve to be considered swashbuckling!” “At least we know our place in the world and aren’t… demonic like you.” “Funny,” Vriska muttered, a sword to the alicorn’s throat. “I happen to think I’m pretty demonic right now. So I wonder if I’ll just cut your head off without thinking about it…” “Vriska, calm down!” Pinkie blurted. “Don’t kill them!” Vriska drew back. “Fine.” She produced her dice instead. “You all should probably run.” “We’ll do no such thing! You have assaulted our sh-” “ORA!” The invisible fist sent Lens off the body of the airship. “Yare yare daze… Hypocrisy,” Jotaro muttered. Vriska rolled her dice. A large bomb, its surface plastered with emoji stickers, appeared out of the aether and fell through the large gash she had made but a few moments prior. “Jotaro, evacuation.” Jotaro nodded, stopping time. He grabbed Vriska and Pinkie and jumped off the airship. When time resumed, Vriska’s bomb went off and tore the balloon section of the airship in two. It fell to the ground slowly, smoking the entire time. Pinkie pulled out a giant cake for them to land in. It was sticky and messy, but at least it wasn’t as hard as a clock face. Pinkie poked her head out of the frosting and licked it off her face. She pulled out a round red button and pressed it. “That was easy.” Jotaro nodded. “They chose the wrong ship to pirate.” Lens appeared in front of them with a teleport, screaming bloody murder. Star Platinum decked her in the face, knocking her to the ground. “Stay down or the next one will break your jaw and cause some brain damage.” “I… Swear on my ship…” “That no longer exists.” Lens ground her teeth. “I will get my revenge on you…” “Good luck with that,” Jotaro said. At that moment, Nova grabbed them with a teleport, taking them back to the skiff. “Mission success!” Pinkie cheered. “We blew up a ship! One fatality.” Flutterfree sighed. “Did they deserve it?” “‘They’ were a Clockwork Angel,” Jotaro said. “I expected him to be more durable than he was.” “Oh. He was fighting?” “He was telling them how to win. Had to shut him up.” Jotaro peeled her off the controls, placing himself back at the helm. “All right. The others?” “If they’re smart they won’t go down with the ship,” Pinkie said. “Only damaged the balloon.” “Good,” Flutterfree said. “They did swear revenge on us though,” Pinkie added. “They’ll be back, so we’ll need guards tonight.” “They will be back?” Nova asked. “Yep. Whenever is sufficient for drama.” Pinkie shrugged. “Could be tonight, could be when we arrive at the Seven Cities of Gold, or it could be several years from now as a surprising villain we completely forgot about. Just gotta be on guard.” “Fun,” Flutterfree commented. “Yeah… fun,” Vriska deadpanned, returning to her inactive, silent state. “Hey, Vrisk-” Flutterfree began. “Let’s wait for the mission to be over,” Vriska said. “I want to be able to see this as a whole before we go into the ‘feelings jam’. And frankly I’d rather talk to Starbeat.” “I understand.” “Thanks.” They continued along the land of eternal ticking. ~~~ Nothing else happened of note until that night. They had crossed the entire land of clocks by the time the sun set, so they didn’t have to worry about sleeping with eternal ticking throbbing at their minds; all they had to worry about was all the bones everywhere. For the Boneyard was made of nothing but bones. They managed, somehow, to find a pelvis the size of a house that was flat enough to lie on. Nova had spent some time conjuring simple bedrolls and Pinkie had made dinner. They had eaten – and had agreed to take turns on watch. Nova went second, after Flutterfree. She always hated it when they needed to have a watch. In order to ensure everyone got a good amount of sleep, the person on watch was always alone for the majority of the time. It, put simply, sucked and was really boring ninety percent of the time. The other ten percent was when a disaster hit, and that was never good. Just more exciting. Nova was beginning to feel the ‘nod off’ effect pulling down on her head. She cast a spell to force herself awake – normally a bad idea, but since she could use the sleep spell on herself later and she wasn’t going to be awake very long, it worked. Of course, now that she was wide awake, she could think clearly. After a small amount of thought devoted to wondering what she should do about Vriska – probably apologize at some point – and a similar amount of time spent pondering the Watchmaker – she really wasn’t sure what to make of him – her thoughts turned to Icon. Icon… That had been a great night. They’d only known each other for… Less than a day, really. That seemed crazy, and yet oddly perfect to Nova. Here she was, the mare of time, struck with something happening too fast. Poetic, in a way. She tried to tell herself to be reasonable, that there was no way the feelings she had were as mature as they wanted her to believe, but the heart has an annoying habit of not listening to a thing the brain tells it. Nova, with a dumb smile on her face, began to fantasize about the future. After they’d taken care of the Watchmaker, she would return to Chron and sweep Icon off her hooves and take her home. Icon would become the voice of Zhui to Merodi Universalis, and her world would eventually be incorporated into everything. They’d spend so much time together… Nova chuckled to herself. “Nova, you’re going crazy.” She couldn’t convince herself this was a bad thing no matter what angle she came at it from. There was a flash of light behind a large rib bone. Nova, ever resilient even in her emotional swirl, stood up, ready for a fight. She teleported herself behind the rib bone, legs poised in a battle stance. She saw the form of Icon standing graceful on top of a skull that belonged to a whale. “Icon…? How did you…?” Icon giggled playfully. “Come and get me and I’ll tell you.” Nova smirked. “It. Is. On.“ Icon did a triple backflip onto the top of a nearby bone. Nova opted not to just teleport to her and end it there, instead rushing toward her with self-levitation. Icon performed an exaggerated bow and leaped off the bone, into a sea of smaller ribs. As she ran with increasingly complex movements and actions, her body increasingly mesmerized Nova. Despite this, Nova was definitely faster. It took some time, but she did eventually tackle Icon into the interior of a giant’s skull. “Gotcha,” she said with a peck on Icon’s cheek. “I yield! I yield!” Icon chuckled, holding Nova’s head in her hooves. “Now, tell me how you got here, hmm?” “Yeah. I… I got lonely,” Icon admitted. “It just so happens that one of our performers is the ‘unicorn who can teleport anyone anywhere’, and he was able to find your magic signature without too much difficulty. That Pink friend of yours has quite the unique signature, apparently. So he sent me here.” “You don’t have a way back do you?” “Nope~!” “Well then you’ll just have to travel with us. Fair warning, we’re basically declaring war on the Watchmaker. Or at least seeing if we’re declaring war on the Watchmaker.” “I don’t care!” Icon declared. “I’m just here with you now… we can do whatever we want.” “What a great idea,” Nova said mischievously. ~~~ Jotaro was in between the Seven Cities of Gold. He had no idea what time of day it was this time. It was as if the sky was in a state of nonexistence… Whatever that meant. His mind apparently decided that meant solid deep blue. “Funny,” he muttered. “Is it?” Pinkie asked. “Are you actually in this dream or just a figment of my imagination?” Jotaro asked. “Eh, that’s the thing. Depictions of us Aware individuals tend to break outside what we’re supposed to be. I’m not the Pinkie you know, that’s for sure. I’m probably not even a Pinkie at all. But I’m also more than just your thoughts.” “Huh,” Jotaro said, hands in his pockets. “Got anything to tell me about this dream?” “I’d tell you to ignore it, but that’s impossible,” Pinkie said. “Why?” “Seven Cities of Gold, that’s why.” “What do y-” then he saw Vriska, Flutterfree, and Nova in front of him. “We need to turn back,” Nova said. “Can’t do this anymore,” Vriska added. “It’s not worth it,” Flutterfree finished. Jotaro clenched his fist. “No. We must finish what we started!” “Must we?” Flutterfree asked. “It could just be a sunken cost fallacy…” Vriska considered. “Or cost too much,” Nova appended. Jotaro shook his head. “We continue on.” Why am I arguing with dreams? “Because of the connection to you,” Pinkie said. “Even if they are just dreams… They’re attacking something you hold dear. A quest you’ve given to yourself.” Jotaro nodded, pulling down on his hat. “…Even then, I should just ignore them.” “Ignore us?” Vriska said, cocking her head. “That’s a mistake.” She lifted a hand, destroying one of the Seven Cities of Gold with the motion. “NO!” Jotaro shouted. “DON’T!” “I’ll keep doing it over and over, Jotaro. Over and oooo-oo-oo-” “TWITCHA TWITCH!” Pinkie shouted. “TWITCHA TWITCH!” Jotaro turned to her. “Nani!?” “That’s not me,” Dream-Pinkie said. “Looks like you’re about to have a bad night.” “…Yare yare daze…” Jotaro shook his head. He woke up with a sword coming down on his face. Star Platinum caught it easily, snapping it in half. In an instant and an “ORA!” the pirate pegasus had a broken jaw and a concussion. “TWITCHA-” Pinkie yelled, bringing her hammer down on Lens. “TWITCH!” “WHERE’S NOVA!?” Jotaro blurted, punching three human pirates in the gut, forcing them to lose their lunch – or dinners, as the case probably was. Pinkie bit her lip. “Nooot important right now! She’s fine though!” “Did she skimp out on guard duty!?” Vriska blurted, slicing a man’s arm to the bone. “Seriously?” “I’m sure there’s a very reasona-” Lens fired a disintegration beam at Flutterfree, boring a hole through her stomach, the force also dislocating her wing. She tried to scream but nothing came out. “FLUTTERFREE!” Pinkie shouted. She dropped the toys – she took out a pair of pistols and shot the pirates who were still standing in the legs. She was not a perfect shot – a few bullets went into significantly more vital areas they would not recover from. Good, Pinkie thought. This makes the next step a lot less questionable. Jotaro used a time stop to take care of the stragglers while Pinkie chose a dead target – a stray bullet had gone right through his heart – and dragged the corpse to Flutterfree. Flutterfree wasn’t dead, but she would be soon without treatment. “And today, Doctor Pinkie prescribes a gallon of blood.” She placed the body under Flutterfree’s muzzle. Instinctually, the quasi-vampire bit down and drained the body of the blood it had, rejuvenating herself. Her stomach rebuilt itself with the sudden excess of energy, but the dislocated wing remained the way it was. Flutterfree opened her eyes. “P-Pinkie?” “Shhhhh… he was already dead. You don’t have to worry about that.” Flutterfree stood up, shakily, and wiped her face. “Okay… Okay… My wing’s still – AUGH!” Pinkie had popped the wing back into its socket. “Better?” “Holy Celestia Pinkie that was… Oooooh…” She flexed the wing, wincing. “I don’t think it’s quite right…” “We’ll bandage it up and let you rest it, okay?” “Right. I’ll try not to move it until then.” Jotaro chose that moment to drop Lens next to them. “How’s that revenge plan going?” Lens coughed up blood. “YOU MONSTERS!” “This was literally just self defense,” Flutterfree said. “I’m sorry… But you kept attacking us.” “I… Gh… But that’s what I’m supposed to do!” “Just because it’s part of the plan doesn’t mean it’s good,” Pinkie pointed out. “Now please take what’s left of your people and don’t bother us again, mmk?” Lens brought her head low. “…My crew will never bother you again.” “Thank you,” Pinkie said, patting Lens on the back. “I… I know this means nothing, but I’m sorry for your losses,” Flutterfree said. Lens shook her head, clearly unsure of what to think anymore. “Come on everyone… Let’s… Let’s just go.” The ‘revenge’ of the pirates came to an end. Pinkie tore off some of Vriska’s orange god-tier garb and made it into a loose ‘bandage’ to keep Flutterfree’s sore wing from moving. “Is it broken?” Pinkie asked. “I don’t think so… Just badly sprained,” Flutterfree said. “I mean, it was dislocated. That doesn’t always just pop back in without incident.” “Yeah…” “Pinkie?” “Hm?” Flutterfree looked her Captain right in the eye. “Take us to Nova.” Pinkie sighed. “Yeah… This way.” ~~~ “That horn of yours really is something,” Icon said, stroking the protrusion in question “Master magician, at your service.” Icon chuckled. “You really are talented, aren’t you? Had you been from here, you would have made a great addition to my act.” “Who’s to say your act can’t continue? Think of it. Interdimensional performer Icon, revered on multiple worlds for her amazing abilities and physique.” “And you won’t be jealous about the whole physique thing?” “Hrm… Let’s see… Probably, but it’d be kinda unfair if I made you change how you performed, so… Well isn’t that a fun quandary.” She chuckled. “Ah well, something to talk about later.” She kissed Icon. “Probably should head back – it’s supposed to be my watch after all.” “Bit late for that,” Flutterfree said. Nova blinked. Flutterfree never spoke with that much spite in her voice… Not to her anyway. Star Platinum grabbed Nova by the neck and tore her off of Icon. Nova was soon snout to nose with Jotaro. “This is what you left watch for?” “Uh…” Nova gulped. “Hey big guy, uh… This is Icon, and she’s absolutely th-” “Shut the hell up, your pre-planned speech means shit.” “Why th-” Then Nova saw Flutterfree. The blood on her face, around her stomach, and the orange wraps around her wing. Above all, she saw the pain in Flutterfree’s eyes. “Oh no.” “Yeah. Oh no,” Flutterfree spat. “We were attacked, Nova. Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense is the only thing that gave us any chance to do anything. I had to eat somebody! I NEVER WANTED TO DO THAT AGAIN!” “I… I’m sorry.” “I know. And I forgive you. I’m still pissed.” Nova gasped. “That’s not going to change anytime soon.” Nova sagged. “I… Yeah. Just… Just don’t take this out on Icon. She had no idea – she just wanted to be with me.” Jotaro pulled back a fist to punch Nova, but Pinkie stopped him. “Mmmno, not doing that.” Jotaro lowered his fist in shame. “T-thanks, Pinkie,” Nova said. “You’re not going to be thanking me in a moment,” Pinkie muttered. She whipped around and slapped Nova across the face. “WHAT THE HAY, NOVA!?” “I… I…” “I saw everything that happened, and you know it,” Pinkie growled. “I was even in your thoughts for a little while there. Cute, a bit extreme, but definitely cute. Then she shows up and you chase her. That’s fine. But then you don’t go back to us and you… And you…” Pinkie’s face flushed red from a mixture of many strong emotions. “I don’t even want to think about it.” Nova was crying. “P-Pinkie, I’m sorry, I was caught up in the moment, I… She’s just… Don’t be angry at her.” “That’s going to be pretty difficult,” Flutterfree said. “No! Be mad at me, I did all of this! I should have known, I should have rushed back, I should have… I…” “Would you stop it!?” Pinkie blurted. “You’re acting like you’re under some kind of Beat curse!” “You take that back,” Nova said, glaring. “What I feel for Icon is very real and there’s no denying it! We love each other!” Icon stood next to her, nodding vigorously. Pinkie’s pupils dilated. “No… Nonono… Oh Nova… I’m… I’m so sorry.” Nova blinked. “…What?” Pinkie’s anger was gone, replaced with tears. “Flutterfree? Use… Use Lolo at full power on Nova’s screen and affix it to Icon. And…” Pinkie sat down. “I’m so sorry, Nova.” “W-what?” Nova blurted. She suddenly felt the need to avoid Lolo – at full power she could see the tendrils. “No! Flutterfree, back away! I… I-” She lit her horn, prepared to teleport away. Star Platinum slapped her, interrupting the spell. This gave Flutterfree enough time to tie Icon to Nova’s screen. Suddenly, readings related to Icon became significantly clearer despite the shroud in the entire universe. Abnormally high levels of ka comparable with the Beat curse. “N-no… No. NO!” Nova shrieked, pushing Icon away from her. “NO! THAT CAN’T BE IT! IT FEELS SO REAL! IT…” Pinkie pulled her into a hug. “Look at me, Nova… Ask yourself this. Have you been yourself? You’ve been nervous. You’ve lost your sense of loyalty and importance. You’ve been taken in so quickly.” “This… This has to be real…” “It’s not,” Pinkie said. “I… I’m sorry I yelled at you for it. There’s nothing you could have done.” “What’s wrong with the multiverse!?” Nova screamed. “What… I…” She shook her head. “Nova…?” Icon asked, walking toward her. “What are you talking about?” “GET AWAY FROM ME!” Nova shouted, taking several steps back, lighting her horn in defense. “Stay… STAY AWAY!” “Nova…” Flutterfree sighed, shaking her head. “Icon… We’ve detected a form of curse placed on you two. It’s a power that forces two ponies to come together romantically through contrived means and emotions that go against who they really are and what they really want.” “W-what?” “Something that wasn’t in you forced you to love Nova. And the same way around. I bet you’ve had many lovers in your career – did you ever teleport miles and miles just to be with them?” “I… …no.” “Exactly. This?” she gestured at the two of them. “It isn’t real. Normally we’d know this ahead of time, but… our scanners were off. And Pinkie…” “I wanted Nova to be happy,” Pinkie said. “I should have seen it sooner. I knew you two were going to be a problem for us, but I fully expected to eventually adapt you into the fold after a bunch of interpersonal drama. Not… this.” “Wh… what now?” Icon asked. “You go back,” Nova said. “And we forget about each other.” “That’s not going to happen.” “I know. But us is also not going to happen,” Nova took in a deep breath. “I’m sending you away, Icon.” “Nova, wait! Maybe we can sti-” “No, Icon. Go back to your life.” Nova shook her head. “Find someone who actually matters.” “Nova… I lo-” “No you don’t,” Nova said. “And I don’t either. We just need to realize that.” “Nova!” Nova performed the long-range teleport, placing Icon back in Zinc Square. Then she broke down crying. Jotaro gently lifted her up with Star Platinum and carried her back to the skiff. There would be no more sleeping tonight, so he started the engine and continued the journey. ~~~ Seven Cities of Gold “A man could lose his way in a country like this.” When the sun rose, they were still in the Boneyard. Flutterfree turned to Pinkie. “I… I’m worried about Nova. I apologized for everything I said but…” She looked at the unicorn. “Her heart’s more than broken. She’s existential.” “She’ll be fine, eventually,” Pinkie told her. “I’m sure of it.” “Yeah, I know,” Flutterfree said. “All of us will be. You keep saying that.” “Yep!” Pinkie said with a smile. “It’s what let’s me keep going. I know everyone’s going to get over this. So I can keep smiling and keep the team together.” “…Right,” Flutterfree said, shaking her head. “…Vriska’s still not doing great.” “I’m doing fine, fuck you,” Vriska muttered. Flutterfree ignored the side comment. “And Jotaro…” Flutterfree looked at him. “I’m not sure what’s going on with him.” “He’s being haunted by dreams,” Pinkie said. “We’ll know what the deal is the moment we find the Seven Cities of Gold or the Watchmaker or whatever.” Pinkie put a hoof on Flutterfree’s shoulder – the one without the broken wing. “Flutterfree, this is a longer journey than usual. There’s going to be more hardship. But we always have to keep in mind that the power of friendship will prevail. Giggle at the ghostie, laugh in the face of hardship. We will get through this. I know that. And you can rest easy knowing that I know that.” “…Sure,” Flutterfree said. “I’ll try.” “Good,” Pinkie said, turning to look at the sun and the light it spread over the landscape of bones. “This world, weird as it is, is beautiful.” “The red color is ominous, yet fitting,” Flutterfree admitted. “I wonder how impossible the desert of ice and fire is going to be?” “Well, let’s see… There’ll be ice, there’ll be fire, and there’ll be what we’re looking for. That’s a lot of strange stuff in one place!” Pinkie chuckled. “I hope we find what we’re looking for,” Flutterfree said. “This world… I can see it has great potential, but it also needs help.” “That’s why we’re here, Flutterfree. That’s why we’re here.” ~~~ The desert of ice and fire was literally named, but not precisely in the way one might expect. It was a perfectly flat plane of sand, somehow not forming dunes despite the constant wind. It, as demanded by the sun, was always a reddish color. Had this been the end of it, it would have been a place of biting heat filled with bones of the dehydrated fallen, but it was significantly worse than that. Every square inch of the desert was either on fire or covered in extremely sharp shards of ice. And which parts were which changed every second, just adding to the danger. Jotaro had the skiff moving at full throttle through the frost and the fire, their primary source of protection coming from a magical shield from Nova. Their secondary protection was Pinkie’s hammer, bashing through pieces of ice forming in front of them. “J-jotaro,” Nova managed. “I- I’m not doing well here…” “Keep it up,” Jotaro said. “This is the last leg of our journey. We can’t turn back now!” “R-right,” Nova said, wiping her face. “Focus Nova…” Pinkie looked back at Nova with concern. “Are you okay?” “No, definitely not, but that’s no excuse for not doing my job,” Nova muttered. She stopped talking, closing her eyes and focusing all her power into the shield. Beads of sweat began to mix with her tears. “I think we need to turn back,” Flutterfree said. “We’re not that far in – let’s get that rest we didn’t get last night.” “No. We’re close,” Jotaro said. “I can feel it.” “Pinkie?” Flutterfree asked. “Can’t tell you, cause I dunno,” Pinkie admitted. “Jotaro’s the one with the weird dreams.” They hit a pillar of ice that appeared beneath them, tossing the skiff upward. Nova yelled in pain as she struggled to maintain the shield. “We’re taxing her too much!” Flutterfree said. “Jotaro!” “JUST A LITTLE FURTHER!” Jotaro demanded. “We are so close! I can feel it! I… I can see the Seven Cities of Gold!” “What?” Flutterfree said, putting her functional wing over her eyes. “Where?” Jotaro pointed straight ahead. “There! On the horizon! The golden domes!” “I don’t see anything!” Pinkie’s face paled. “Aaaaagh Jotaro’s under an influence of some kind too!” “I AM NOT!” Jotaro shouted, punching Pinkie in the face with Star Platinum, pushing her into the back of the skiff. Flutterfree shrieked. “Jotaro! What are you do-“ Without Pinkie helping anymore, another shard of ice hit the shield. This time the force was enough to make Nova lose consciousness. Jotaro didn’t turn back. He would have started going faster if he could. The skiff caught fire in multiple locations while entire chunks were ripped asunder by the sudden appearance of ice – no amount of expert steering from Star Platinum could stop this. “What the hell!?” Vriska shouted, taking out her dice. “Jotaro, don’t make me do this!” Flutterfree drew the bow of light, aiming right for Jotaro’s stomach. “Jotaro…” “STAR PLATINUM: THE WORLD!” Vriska and Flutterfree had already fired their weapons, but they didn’t reach him. Jotaro picked them up and used Star Platinum to hold their two heads down. He turned back to the wheel – Star Platinum could keep them busy. He just had to steer on his own. He was certain he could do it, even though the skiff was coming apart at the seams. The Seven Cities of Gold were so close now… Just a little longer, and he would be through this horrible world of ice and fire. He would complete his quest. He would find his goal. He would have never given up! He wouldn’t let them take this from him! He… He felt his hand slip off the wheel. “NANI!?” “All I have to do is look at you, big guy,” Vriska said. “And you don’t have to be very unlucky to fail miserably here.” He ordered Star Platinum to flatten her face into the ground, but the order had barely left his thoughts when a spire of ice pierced the skiff’s engine. It exploded, sending everyone flying. Jotaro saw the Seven Cities of Gold in his eyes, sparkling. So close he could touch them… As he sailed through the air, he reached out with Star Platinum… …And found nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing… He looked down at the ice and fire below him. He was going to die when he hit the ground. And he had injured his teammates, the ones who could have saved them. His single-mindedness had been the death of them all. He refused to close his eyes. He would face his death like a Joestar – struggling to the last minute. He prepared to use Star Platinum in a last-ditch effort to dig a hole in the sand for everyone. A big enough series of punches… A time stop would have been helpful, but he already used that… “Dammit,” he muttered. And then Nova woke up. In an instant, she was able to teleport them several hundred yards higher into the air. “WHAT GOOD IS THIS GOING TO DO?!” Vriska shouted. “I… I need power to perform a long-range teleport!” Nova shouted. “Any ideas!?” Vriska took out a single one of her dice. “You better re-enchant this later.” “Got it!” Nova said, draining the magical eight-sided polyhedron of all its power, giving her enough magic to perform the spell she needed. She lit her horn, performed a quick calculation, and teleported them out of the desert. Something went wrong with the spell – all five of them teleported, yes, but by the time they arrived at the edge of the desert of ice and fire, it was night. All five of them faceplanted in the decidedly not on fire or frozen sands at the edge of the desert. “Ow…” Flutterfree muttered, wincing at the pain running through her wing. “Everyone okay…?” Nova called, her voice sounding hollow. “…Yeah…” Pinkie muttered. “Here,” Vriska called, holding her head. Jotaro rammed his fist into the ground. “DAMMIT!” Tears from stress dropped from his face. “DAMMIT!” He pulled back his fist and put as much power into it as he could, punching the ground with Star Platinum’s help. “ORA!!!!” Pinkie walked up to him. “Hey, hey, Jotar-” “Don’t you dare say it wasn’t my fault,” Jotaro said. “Don’t. You. Dare.” Pinkie shut right up. Jotaro sat down, back to them. None of the other four knew what to say – if anything could be said to the giant of a man. The giant of a man who had just failed in more ways than one. ~~~ The Wreckers “All I know is that memory can be too much to carry.” The only sound was the crackling of a campfire. The five of them sat equidistant around the light, using it as their only source of warmth. There wasn’t a smile on any of their faces. They hardly even blinked or moved at all. Flutterfree had her head down in prayer. Eventually, Pinkie sighed. “All right… this sucks.” Vriska snorted. “No, really?” Pinkie allowed herself to smile softly. “Yeah, it really really sucks. Superduperamazinglameopoosuck! The worst of sucks. Or at least pretty close to it.” “It is pretty bad,” Flutterfree said. “But you know what?” Pinkie asked. “What?” Vriska asked, looking bored with this whole thing. “We’re still together,” Pinkie asserted. “Despite all the mistakes, all the pain, and all the suffering we’ve endured for the past few days – we’re still together. And we will work through this. We are a team.” “Yeah, of course we are,” Vriska muttered. “And we all know that you’re the one who knows everything little miss Supreme Leader. How we must revere you.” Pinkie was visibly hurt by this. “…Vriska, you know what I mean. Despite what you three have done, we’re still going t-” “Hold up,” Nova said. “You’re lumping the three of us together? Pinkie! Vriska wasn’t under some outside influence!” “We don’t know that,” Vriska retorted. “For all I know I was being manipulated as well. And you can’t let Jotaro off the hook either, we can’t be sure about what happened to him!” “The two of us were acting completely out of character!” Nova blurted. “You? What you did was totally you!” “Was it really that much of an exaggeration!?” Vriska blurted. “You, getting fixated on a mare and forgetting everything else. You too, big guy. Taking yourself too seriously and getting far too fucking into what you’re doing. You two aren’t fucking innocent!” “At least you can just move on!” Nova shouted. “I still think about her just the way I did before! Exactly the same way!” “Girls…” Flutterfree said, holding up her good wing. “That’s just your weakness, bitch,” Vriska pointed at Nova. “Just overwrite your mind or something. You can do that, right?” “I’m not going to!” “Why not? You make yourself go to sleep all the time!” “That’s different!” “How exactly is it!?” “GIRLS!” Flutterfree shouted. They purposefully ignored her. Nova lit her horn. “Listen to me, Vriska. I have problems. I’m a bit controlling, a bit too angry, but at least I know that I’m not the best pony in existence. At least I listen!” “And are a traitor!” “Better than mutiny!” “The Supreme Leader is not going to be right all the fucking time!” “Who the hell cares!?” Pinkie hit a gong. “STOP IT! This is not us! We are not friends who are at each other’s throats! We stand together, strong, and we hold each other up! We do no-” “Fuck. You,” Vriska said, poking Pinkie’s nose. “You don’t get to tell me what I am.” “I-” Vriska had already turned to Flutterfree. “Fuck you too, meddler. Oh! Hey, big guy! FUCK YOU. Maybe use that PhD brain of yours for once, hrm?” Vriska turned to Nova. “And fuck you in particular. Hope you fucking enjoyed yourself, traitor.” Nova growled. “Fuck you.” Vriska laughed. “OH BOY! THERE IT IS! It finally came out of her mouth!” She dropped the faux grin and glared. “With that victory I take my leave of you fucking losers.” “Vrisk-” Pinkie began. Vriska roundhouse kicked Pinkie in the face, sending her back. “I said I’m done here.” She changed into her god-tier outfit, flapped her wings, and flew away at top speed. “Celestia…” Flutterfree shook her head, checking on Pinkie. “You okay?” “…Physically.” “Okay… I’m going after her.” “Flutterfree, you’re injur-” “It’s sprained, not broken,” Flutterfree said, removing the wrap. “I can push through it. This is important.” She spread her wings, winced, but managed to take off after Vriska. Pinkie sighed. “Well… Great. Don’t worry guys! Everything wi-” “Pinkie, stop,” Nova said, tears in her eyes. “Just stop.” “Bu-” “I DON’T WANT TO HEAR THAT EVERYTHING’S GOING TO BE OKAY RIGHT NOW!” she screamed. “IT MAKES THINGS WORSE, PINKIE! IT MAKES THINGS WORSE!” “I…” “All I hear is ‘it’s going to be better’ and ‘it’s going to be fine’ and all it does is make me feel horrible for not getting over this! For… For…” Tears dripped down her face. “I can’t get her out of my head, Pinkie! I can’t! I’m actually considering wiping my own head just so I can be better for you all sooner! But it’s… No! I can’t!” Pinkie reached a hoof out to her. “Nova…” “DON’T TOUCH ME!” Nova shrieked. “Why can’t you just let me wallow in my broken heart in peace!?” “N-” “AUGH!” Nova screamed, teleporting somewhere random. Pinkie sighed, sitting down, staring at the fire. “…Jotaro, am I really that wrong?” Jotaro said nothing. “I mean, I know things are going to be fine… But is it wrong to say that? Is hope not always what people need? I… I don’t know. Hope always seems good, right? But Nova… She doesn’t have hope. She just has despondence. Vriska just has anger. It’s all a horrible, horrible mess. I try to be forward now with everything I know, so people can have the same security I do about things. I always thought ‘if only they knew’ they’d be able to go through life more carefree… with more certainty.” She took a breath. “Should I start hiding things again? Should I just lie and remove this smile that comes from knowing the result? …Do I even really know the result? I know we, as friends, will be fine, but I don’t know how we get there. Maybe the journey is the most important part, and I’m just skipping over it. I don’t rea-” “SHUT THE HELL UP YOU DUMB BITCH!” Pinkie stared at Jotaro, unable to speak. And then she was just gone. She didn’t even bother to jump behind an object to vanish – she was just there one moment and gone the next. A minute later, Jotaro stood up, hand to his face. He shook his head, disappointed in his own response. He turned around, put his hands in his pockets, and walked in a random direction. Then fire burned alone in the night, warming nobody. It was a truly pointless fire, its reason for existence removed. Pathetic. Useless. But it was still bright. ~~~ Dammit, Vriska thought. I’m crying. The cobalt-tinged tears dropped to the sands below. She couldn’t ignore them. I need to get out of here. Find enough luck to slip away and never return. What about Aradia? Fuck Aradia and her connection to specific worlds. You’re never supposed to stay in one place too long. But what about home? Home… She found herself thinking of home. Of her friends… They hadn’t seen her for centuries. Some of them would have aged, regardless of any of the time shenanigans. The others… would they even be recognizable as who they had been? She’d certainly changed. And she was stubborn as all hell. They probably had huge families by now… Why did she care about that? Trolls didn’t get families. …But she’d seen them. Almost every other race had them. Why was she thinking about this now of all times? Where did these feelings come from? Just… She grabbed her head and stopped flying, opting just to hover. She hit herself in the head. “Get a hold of yourself, Vriska. Just… just keep flying. You’ll find people eventually. And then you can get out of here.” You don’t want to get out of here. “Shut up,” she told herself. You’re just running from your problems. “I don’t need to listen to you.” That’s your problem. Vriska shook her head. She’d gone hundreds of years relying on herself, she wasn’t about to change now. She saw Flutterfree pull up alongside her, wincing with the strain on her wing. The pegasus didn’t say anything. “Fuck off,” Vriska muttered. Flutterfree didn’t respond, she instead kept flying alongside Vriska, fixing her with a concerned gaze. “Would you stop it with that?” Flutterfree didn’t stop looking at her. Vriska tried to ignore the concerned, deep gaze of Flutterfree. She failed miserably. Vriska twitched. “What’s with you?” Flutterfree gave no response. “I asked a question!” Vriska said, coming to a halt. “Why are you so gogdammed perfect?” Flutterfree seemed slightly confused by this. “Every last one of us has messed up – except you. You, who’s so understanding, so empathetic, so kind, so intelligent, so steadfast, and so fucking perfect. What’s with you!?” Flutterfree finally spoke. “Vriska… I’m not perfect.” “Oh, right, I forgot about your flaw: caring too much and not willing to take the difficult steps. OH WAIT! You’ve mostly fixed that! I’ve seen the stuff you can do with that bow and those teeth of yours when you feel you need to!” “Vriska…” “Tell me your flaw, Flutterfree. Come on. I want to see where you struggle, cause I’m not seeing it.” Flutterfree shook her head. “I’m indecisive, I’m inwardly judgmental, I’m dogmatic, I’m controllin-” Vriska punched her. “What I hear are just nitpicks Flutterfree! Just nitpicks! I don’t see any flaw in there that’s going to result in your downfall. ALL OF THOSE I’VE SEEN YOU MITIGATE!” Flutterfree wiped her blood from her nose. “Vriska, I struggle all day every day with the things we’ve done. I question every action I’ve taken.” “And that’s where your fucking religion comes in,” Vriska growled. “Oh hey, I don’t have to let those things get me down, because I’m forgiven! Ah, isn’t grace great!? I don’t know if I’ve done good, but man isn’t it great that God will forgive everything for me? Isn’t it nice?” “Vriska…” “Why don’t you go pray right now that you are given the strength to get through to me? Oh wait, I bet you are! In the back of your head you’re sending off little thoughts!” She touched Flutterfree’s mind. “Oh look at that I’m fucking right. ‘Lord, please help me calm Vriska down. Lord, help me keep my anger under control. Lord, Lord. Lord. BLAH BLA-” Flutterfree punched Vriska. “There it is…” Vriska said, satisfied. “It’s what you wanted,” Flutterfree said, expression clouded. Vriska’s grin vanished. “Even that… Even that was part of your stupid perfect self!” “I AM NOT PERFECT!” “WELL YOU’RE DOING A HELL OF A LOT BETTER THAN THE REST OF US!” Vriska said, lashing out with her sword. Flutterfree dodged, drawing her Bow of Light. She wrapped Lolo around Vriska’s arms, the weak vines providing just enough strain to keep her still for a second. The arrow pierced Vriska’s side, forcing cobalt blood to pour from the wound. “AUGH! FUCK!” Flutterfree Stared at her, face that of intense rage. “You want to know what my flaw is, Vriska? Every single day, day in and day out, I have to keep this under control. My anger. It’s been with me my entire life. A deep, burning inner fire that wants to make everyone pay for what they’ve done to me. I know it’s wrong. It’s always wrong. But sometimes I just can’t keep it back anymore!” She twisted in the air, kicking Vriska right between the horns. Vriska tumbled to the ground, landing painfully in the sand. Flutterflee aimed her bow down at Vriska. “And right now I’m pretty tired of keeping it held back for your ungrateful, antagonistic sake.” Vriska roared, meeting Flutterfree’s Stare with her own gaze. She drained Flutterfree’s luck, forcing the arrow to fly wild. Vriska continued meeting Flutterfree’s gaze, draining her. Flutterfree’s body shook. She pushed her hooves over her heart, the rest of her body twitching unnaturally. She dropped out of the sky. Vriska’s rage vanished. Oh no. She caught Flutterfree in her arms. Her heart wasn’t beating. Vriska laid Flutterfree on the sand, spreading her wings and legs out to allow easy access to the chest – CPR worked on ponies, right? Right? Vriska placed her hands on Flutterfree’s ribcage and started pumping. “Come on come on…” She forced air down Flutterfree’s mouth and kept pumping. “Come on come on, let me spend that luck, come on…” Nothing seemed to be happening. “Wake the fuck up!” Vriska shouted. She kept pumping, twisting her body around so her leg was in front of Flutterfree’s mouth. She pressed the limb into Flutterfree’s jaw and forced her to bite down. The resulting sucking sensation was truly disturbing, not to mention more painful than taking a Star Platinum punch to the face. She ground her teeth and let out a muffled yell, returning to pumping Flutterfree’s chest. There it was. A heartbeat. Vriska let out a sigh of relief. Not two seconds later, Flutterfree spat Vriska’s leg out. “What th… Ow. Ooooooow…” Vriska found that she couldn’t stand on her leg at the moment. “H… Hey. I’m so sorry, Flutterfree, I should have listened to you... Should have let you talk…” “I shouldn’t have exploded,” Flutterfree muttered. “And… …do you taste like blueberries?!” “Maybe?” “Ugh… Blueberries…” Flutterfree couldn’t help but laugh. “Blueberries…” “Heh.” “We sure are lucky your blood was compatible.” “Yeah. Lucky.” Vriska shook her head. “Neither of us should try anything particularly death-defying for the next little while. Or even particularly dangerous.” “I have several broken ribs right now, not doing anything crazy…” “Yeah, properly done CPR will do that to you. …If it’s supposed to work on ponies. Really not sure.” “It does,” Flutterfree said. “I had to resuscitate Renee once. It can be done, but it definitely wasn’t the way you just did it. Even if we’re more flexible than Earth horses, it’s still better to resuscitate us laying on our sides rather than our backs.” “Good to know.” “Yeah…” She tried to stand up and winced. “Yep. Broken ribs. Gonna need a hospital or someone to feed off of… I’d prefer hospital.” “I gotcha,” Vriska said, helping her up. “At least your legs aren’t broken. You’ll be able to walk, just… wait, you know all this.” “Yeah,” Flutterfree said, carefully stretching out her legs. “It’s the breathing that’s going to be painful… And your leg.” Vriska drew her sword and stuck it to the side of her drained leg as a brace. “I can manage.” Flutterfree smiled. “You are quite the trooper.” “I’ve been killed more times than Daniel, you learn to just accept pain. …Never quite to the inhuman level Jotaro can, though… He’s a freak.” Flutterfree chuckled – then let out a small wince of pain from the motion of her ribs. “…I wonder if I’ll become the next Daniel. I do seem to be in the habit of getting injured and needing saving.” “You are the frailest.” “And I’m perfectly fine with that.” She grunted, stretching out her wings. “We should head back to the camp, make a plan with the others.” “Gotcha,” Vriska said. The two of them began to limp back they way they had flown. A few minutes later, Vriska sighed. “You do appear perfect, you know that? You make life look so easy.” Flutterfree held her head high. “I… I know. I was born naturally kind and empathetic, I worked through my natural fear of others, and this multiverse has cured me of my literal weakness. Those were always my biggest problems. But… Vriska, here’s a little fact about life.” “This should be good.” “The further you get along, the clearer you see.” “Uh…” “Imagine yourself like a dirty room. You see some things wrong with you – big things – and you focus on those, cleaning them up and making them presentable if they’re too strong to remove. But as time goes on, the light gets brighter, and you see the things you thought were clean really weren’t. Then you scrub those and think they’re taken care of, but the old spots flare up, and new spots begin to show themselves and th- ow.” She grabbed her chest. “…Got too animated there.” “I get the point,” Vriska said. “Course, still makes me seem immature. I’m over ten times older than you and it seems like you’ve got it figured out better than I do.” “You are more confident than I am,” Flutterfree pointed out. “And look where that confidence has gotten us.” “Look at all the pickles my kindness has stuck us in on the flipside,” Flutterfree pointed out. “We’re just people.” “And all people need to learn things.” Flutterfree smiled. “Yeah. Nobody’s got it right.” Vriska looked at the ground. “Uuuuuugh… But I don’t like orders…” “Nobody does. Just like I needed to learn assertiveness, you need to learn submissiveness.” Flutterfree looked at the night sky. “It’s like a paradox.” “I really want to be upset with you for saying that but then I remember that I’ve broken your ribs.” “Mmmm…” Flutterfree said, trying hard not to chuckle, for the motion was the most painful thing she could do right now aside from beating her chest. “Let’s just get back to camp.” Vriska sighed. “I’m going to be making a lot of apologies…” “I’ll be there with you,” Flutterfree promised her. “You won’t have to stand alone.” “Thanks.” ~~~ Nova had teleported to a new piece of scenery – a grid of metal. Each square was large enough to hold a dozen ponies, but aside from the simple grooves separating each individual square, the place was barren. As she ran across the squares, her hooves hit the ground with resounding CLANGs, indicating that the area beneath her was hollow. She didn’t register this fact, however – her mind was too much of a swirl of emotions. Intermingled with her very conflicting emotions about Icon, she was playing the things she had said to Pinkie over and over again in her mind, with the things she’d said to Vriska taking a backseat. She was rotten, wasn’t she? Those things she had said… She had definitely meant them and felt like she needed to say them at the time, but the moment she had teleported away – regret. Deep, pounding regret that screamed inside her skull. Screamed, demanding to be set right. It wasn’t the only screaming voice. There was the screaming voice of her fear, telling her to run away. And then there was the screaming voice of her heart itself that just screamed with no end goal in mind, only exacerbating her other emotions. She ran… ran… ran… Eventually her head began to clear, the emotions burning themselves out, becoming numb. The fear went first and the anger next, leaving only the guilt and the screaming heart itself, and she could sense those fading from overuse. She formed a coherent thought. I need to go back. She began to slow her gallop, giving herself a moment to breathe. I need to go back. I need to apologize. We don’t yell at each other to tell each other we’re wrong… we talk through it unless there’s an emergency. We failed at talking through it back there. All of us. I wasn’t even trying. She wiped her face, preparing to teleport back. She needed someone to talk to. One on one. Pinkie would be willing. Flutterfree, if she was back by now. Nova knew she couldn’t deal with this on her own, not right now. Icon… Why did your existence have to be so cruel? Why d- The square of metal she was walking over gave way, crumbling inward. With a scream, she was deposited into a featureless cubical box, each face the same size as the square on the surface. Nova wailed aloud. “Why does the multiverse have to be so cruel!?” She stamped the ground in rage. To her surprise, the metal peeled back, revealing a small cave. Without really thinking, she pounded more, widening the gap until she could fit her head through it. The ‘cave’ was really just a pocket of air beneath the ground, probably sealed whenever the metallic grid was built over top of it. The cavern contained a human skeleton and a purple crystal near the skeleton’s foot. The skeleton itself was heavily augmented with technology, suggesting that it had once been a cyborg – possibly even completely artificial. But Nova knew there was no hope of reactivation – there was too much damage to the skull and chest areas and it was extremely old. Nova stared blankly at the death – it had been a common sight in her journeys, but not exactly one she wanted to see right now. Except… Something about this skeleton struck her. She felt as if everything was different now, and she didn’t know why. “Hello,” the purple crystal said with a robotic voice. Nova stared at it. “Uh… Hi. Wait… Talking crystal?” “Yes. Do you know what I am?” Nova processed for a moment – talking robotic crystal, human skeleton, high level of magic... “Are you… one of the TSAB’s devices!?” “Yes. It is good to hear that we are still around.” “Yeah, you’re the number two Class 2 civilization these days,” Nova said. “I’m Nova.” “Blitz Caliber,” the magical device offered. “How long have you been down here?” “Unknown. I was deactivated in order to conserve power. Your presence reactivated me. Evidence suggests hundreds of years.” “I’m… Sorry.” “My tragedy happened long ago. Yours happened more recently.” Nova shook her head. “No reason for me to be inconsiderate.” “But you are here now, we should focus on you. Mitigate the damage Zhui does to those who visit.” Nova stared at the crystal. “…What happened to you?” “A TSAB exploration ship entered dimensional proximity with Zhui and sent a team to explore and make contact. My master and I were on that team. We soon learned of a being called the Watchmaker and were determined to speak with him. The resulting series of events was horrendous for all of us, but we were made stronger because of it. We found the Watchmaker. We fell in battle. My master was the one the Watchmaker chose to be an example. Our ship and the rest of our team was forced to evacuate.” “…That’s horrible,” Nova said. “…We’re planning on facing the Watchmaker as well.” “His capabilities are likely beyond you,” Blitz Caliber said. “He is not as all-powerful as the natives claim he is, but he has immeasurable control over the universe itself. Control we were unaware of until facing him.” “So, use dimensional effects…” Nova said, pondering. “Perhaps. But there is another force he has control over. Are you aware of ka?” Nova paled. “…I know what it is.” “The Watchmaker’s Clockwork Angels are tools designed to shape ka. We did not figure this out until he told us directly. We also figured out that, despite never accepting what an Angel said, we had been subject to it the entire time.” Nova began to tremble. “Angels Influence the flow of ka around every individual to the whims of the Watchmaker. This can be done with something as simple as a line of sight. After that, the target becomes a part of his plan.” “How extensive is his plan?” Nova asked. “Unknown. It certainly isn’t perfect, since it is known the Watchmaker can be surprised, but I believe that is because ka is naturally unpredictable. Ask it to make someone a hero and it will, but the journey to that point is a mixture. It is suspected every individual in this universe has been affected by this.” “I was cursed…” Nova said, anger taking over her expressions. “I was used…” “All members of our team suffered emotional trauma,” Blitz Caliber confirmed. “These traumas were definitely part of the plan until the moment of the final confrontation.” Nova was no longer in a depressed spiral – like a switch, all that energy had been pushed toward anger. “He made this happen… He made me feel this… He is going to pay.” Nova lifted Blitz Caliber up with her telekinesis. “I’ll return you to the TSAB, Blitz. But would you like to get some revenge on the Watchmaker first?” “I would love to.” “Thanks.” Nova teleported onto the surface, Blitz Caliber in her telekinesis. “How do you suggest we do this?” “Get the remains of an Angel. They will be in any settlement. I see lights from one over there.” “Then that’s where we’re going,” Nova said. “We’re going to stop the Watchmaker from controlling these people’s lives.” “Stand by ready.” “What?” “I’m preparing to affix myself to you temporarily.” “Oh. Swee-” In an instant, Nova’s back hooves were encased in mechanical roller-boots, and a metallic fist had been created around one of her front hooves. A jacket made of protective magical fields appeared around her, waving in the wind. Blitz Caliber took a position in one of the roller boots. “Ready.” Nova took off toward the light of the town, rolling at high speeds across the metal planes. ~~~ Jotaro found himself walking through a town. The town was made entirely of large lobster shells fashioned into small houses, presumably from creatures fished out of the orange ocean. As had come to be expected from Zhui settlements, there were clocks everywhere. The dirt roads were abandoned for the most part – which made sense, considering it was night. He was able to walk through the town unnoticed, right to a dock. Huge, shell-craft ships were docked, rocking softly in the waves. Jotaro didn’t stop moving to admire them. He walked until he couldn’t walk any further, stopping at the edge of the dock. The moon was on the water, reflecting itself in the orange ripples. Dark clouds were forming over it, taking its light away from the world. Jotaro sighed. They were probably looking for him by now. Flutterfree would have calmed Vriska down one way or another, Nova would have realized she needed to come back on her own, and Pinkie would just always be back. She had amazing bounce back most of the time. Should he go back? Probably. He didn’t though. He just stood at the edge of the dock, watching the clouds cover the moon over time. He had failed. It wasn’t even in a fight – he could accept failure in a fight. It just meant he needed to get stronger, or smarter. But that wasn’t what happened. He had failed to see something about himself. Was he going crazy or was he influenced by some outer force? He knew that the latter was true. The former might not have been completely baseless, though… The Seven Cities of Gold no longer called to him. He had realized what he was doing and purged them from his mind – it had been as simple as telling them no. That wasn’t anything like Nova’s lingering issue, or Vriska’s personality defect. In a way, he got off easy. But why was he standing here? “You look lost, stranger,” an old man said, walking up next to him. “Yare yare daze…” Jotaro said, adjusting his hat. “Not a talker, eh? That’s fine.” the old man said, hands in his pockets much like Jotaro himself. “Never was much for shootin’ the breeze myself.” There was silence as the two men watched the clouds form. “Mighty storm a comin’,” the old man eventually said. “One o’ those thunderhead creatures, I reckon.” “Thunderhead creatures?” “Storms over the orange sea gain a murderous mind of their own. It’ll probably come here and attack the town.” “What will you do?” “Our heroes will fight it back, as usual, but not before it does a lot of damage. We’ll enter a phase of rebuildin’ after that, and go back to our lives.” Jotaro curled his fist. “Why not go out there and face it?” “That’s the way the Angels set it up.” “Time for a change, then,” Jotaro said, flexing his arms. “I’ll take care of this storm for you, old man.” “Good luck,” the old man said. “You’ll need it.” Jotaro summoned Star Platinum and dove into the water, using the Stand’s strength to bolt through the water like a torpedo. He saw the currents of water churning beneath the clouds – forming a large creature of lightning and clouds with two slits of electric blue the size of ocean liners. Eyes. Nothing he couldn’t handle. Star Platinum threw Jotaro out of the water, sending him flying right for the center of the churning thunderhead. The creature sparked, preparing a bolt of electricity for Jotaro. “STAR PLATINUM: THE WORLD!” Time froze but Jotaro kept sailing through the air. Star Platinum’s fists flew by hundreds of times every second, tearing the clouds of the thunderhead asunder with unparalleled force and speed. “ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!” Jotaro and Star Platinum popped out the other side before time resumed. A hole had been bored through the cloudy body of the thunderhead. It screeched in pain. Gotcha. A lightning bolt shot out of the back of the thunderhead, hitting Jotaro head on. “NANI!?” It had been aiming that attack forward, it couldn’t possibly adjust that fast… Wait – it's an electric-based attack. It would seek the closest point of discharge. I’m closer than the ocean. Shit. Jotaro fell into the water – and yet, despite just having been hit by lightning, he wasn’t done. He leaped out, Star Platinum’s fists flying again. They were able to take another lightning bolt at full force, punching through the thunderhead again. It was the third strike when Jotaro’s left arm stopped working. Dammit. He wouldn’t stop though. He was Jotaro Kujo. He would take this creature out – it wouldn’t even be that difficult. He needed to take it out from the bottom, the point where it was rising – lightning would dissipate in the water. It would still hurt, definitely, but the power would not be as much as a direct hit. And he could work through that. After all, it was only his arm that wasn’t working. Star Platinum was immune to the bolts since they didn’t come from something spiritual or overly magical. Jotaro just had to make maximum use of his Stand… A shard of ice embedded itself in the shoulder of the arm that wasn’t disabled. Jotaro realized with no small amount of fear that the thunderhead was now hailing on him. He dove under the water to protect himself, formulating another plan. The seeds of self-doubt had begun to crawl into his mind again. What if he couldn’t win this? What if he would have to resort to the Joestar secret technique…? Running away? He hadn’t run away from a fight in so long… He would try a little longer – he was a Joestar, after all – but he kept the idea of fleeing in the back of his mind. He poked his head out of the water and realized he would never have to make the decision – because he was about to get help. A blue road of magical energy had appeared in the sky, a unicorn in roller boots at the front of it. Nova. “How do I control this thing!?” Nova blurted. “I can do all of that. Focus on the encounter,” a synthetic voice responded. “Blitz Caliber, I am focusing on not dropping this Angel into the ocean!” Nova said, gesturing at the broken form of an Angel she had held in her telekinesis. “Let Jotaro grab it.” “I’VE GOT IT!” Jotaro shouted, kicking toward the area Nova was flying over. It was easy to grab the Angel out of the air with Star Platinum. “Can you time stop?” Nova shouted as she passed by. Jotaro gave her a thumbs up. “Good!” Nova said, catching a bolt of lightning with her magic shield. “Do it! I’m ready!” “STAR PLATINUM: THE WORLD!” Jotaro shouted. Time froze – but Nova had a bubble of time in place around herself, ensuring she would still be able to move. She jumped off the magic road Blitz Caliber was generating, twirling in the air. “Here goes nothing…” Nova said. She created a spell with her horn – a simple spell designed to force water to condense. She flooded the spell into Blitz Caliber for the magical machine to do what it did best – amplify and fine-tune the spells of its master. A series of complex magical circles appeared behind Nova in a mixture of blue and pink colors. Numerous magical rings appeared in front of her. “SPECIFIC ATTACK WITHOUT A NAME!” Nova shouted, unleashing a beam of striped magic large enough to surround the entire Thunderhead. The beam passed through, and the time stop ended. The thunderhead turned to water, splashing down onto the ocean rather unceremoniously. “WOO-HOO!” Nova shouted, floating down to Jotaro without need for a telekinetic aura. “WE DID IT! And I saved you from suffering more.” Jotaro held the Angel above the water and raised an eyebrow. “You were probably going to have to admit your own inadequacies and flee or something,” Nova said, her barrier jacket flapping in the wind. “All part of the Watchmaker’s plan… Until this moment.” She pointed at the broken Angel. “We need to get that back to the others.” Jotaro nodded, preparing to swim back to the town with the power of Star Platinum. “Let’s teleport instead, okay? The people of that town have already declared war on me for appearing out of nowhere and punching a hole in their Angel,” Nova said, rubbing the back of her head. Jotaro gestured towards her – she should teleport them back. “Oh. Right.” ~~~ Headlong Flight “I don’t regret it, I never forget it, I wouldn’t trade tomorrow for today.” Vriska and Flutterfree returned to camp to find it empty. “Uh…” Vriska shook her head. “Okay, wasn’t expecting this. Yeesh, guess I set them off…” “I think everyone set each other off,” Flutterfree said. She sighed. “Normally I’d say we find their magic signatures or something, but this place doesn’t like that…” “We should probably call Renee,” Vriska said. “Tell her what’s up.” “Do you want to?” “No.” “Then I can do it.” “You don’t want to either.” “True…” Flutterfree shook her head. “It finally happened. We got driven apart.” “Well, we are back. We’re the first ones who left, first ones who got back.” Flutterfree closed her eyes, not responding to Vriska. She knew this meant Flutterfree was having a moment of prayer, so she left the pegasus alone to her thoughts. She took out her phone, looking at the quick-dial for Renee. She hovered a finger over it, gulping. She wished something, anything would happen that would keep her from having to make this call. Nova and Jotaro appeared in a puff of magic. “And we’re back!” Nova said. “A- where’s Pinkie?” Vriska let out a sigh of relief and put her phone away. “I don’t know. We just got back. Also, I guess you’re a magical girl now.” “What? …Nevermind. You two look like you had a rough time.” “We fought each other. Seriously,” Flutterfree said. “…It seemed like it was what we needed, though.” “Amazing how almost killing each other does that,” Vriska said, looking down at her leg. It worked now, but it wasn’t doing her any favors with the pain it was shooting through her body. “I got to sidestep our challenge,” Nova said, throwing the Angel on the ground. “I’ve found something out.” She held up her back hoof, showing them the crystal. “This is Blitz Caliber, a device from the TSAB, back when a team of theirs came through this area. They tried to do what we were doing now. But when they faced the Watchmaker, they had no idea what he was capable of until he explained it to them, and by then it was too late. One of their team fell as an example, forcing the TSAB to withdraw.” Vriska blinked. “Fuck, if the TSAB had problems…” “But I know what they didn’t know,” Nova said. “I know that none of us were free of the Watchmaker’s plan the moment we entered this world.” “W-what!?” Flutterfree blurted. “My curse, the situation that led to Vriska’s disobedience, the drive within Jotaro… Possibly even the Anarchist himself! All of it was but part of the Watchmaker’s plan.” She gestured at the Angel’s body. “These are his tools, what he uses to manipulate ka itself to keep the universe under his control.” Vriska stared at Nova. “No way… Ka manipulation is an exceptionally rare technology…” “I know, Blitz Caliber told me,” Nova said. “I was also told about this.” She popped the skull of the Angel open, revealing a glowing seven-petal flower that shone with an eerie glow. “MOTHER OF JEGUS!” Vriska blurted, taking a few steps back. “How the fuck…? Nobody gets away with stealing Flower technology! Not even me!” “He didn’t steal it,” Nova said. “He found it, according to Blitz Caliber. Then he copied it a million times.” “Fuck…” Vriska said, sitting down. “I… This changes everything. We’re but pawns in this Watchmaker’s game… It all makes so much sense…” “All the adventurers… All the bizarre locations… All the dependency… Everything…” Flutterfree stared into the distance. “We’ve been toys,” Jotaro said. “I was only able to stop it by luck,” Nova said. “I know I wasn’t supposed to find Blitz Caliber.” Blitz Caliber piped up. “We did not tell the Watchmaker much about what we were. I do not think he realized I am an advanced AI, so he just left me.” “And some sort of higher ka took over,” Vriska finished. “So… What are we going to do with this flower that can change ka?” “Use it against the Watchmaker,” Nova declared. “We are going to paint him as the villain the moment we find him.” “You sure you know how to use that thing?” “No,” Nova admitted. “But it’s the only idea I’ve got, because the TSAB tried both brute force and diplomacy when they were here last.” “We also have Pinkie,” Jotaro said. “That provides another edge.” “If Pinkie would show up again…” Flutterfree said, looking into the distance. “She might not, you know.” “We need to give her time,” Nova said. “I have the coordinates of the ‘Doorway to Heaven’ courtesy of Blitz Caliber. I can teleport us there at any time if the Watchmaker decides to make a move on us. I say we wait until morning for her.” “Right,” Vriska said. “Until then… we talk,” Flutterfree said, looking at the three of them. “We all talk.” Jotaro and Vriska tensed. Nova sighed. “Yeah, I suppose we do need to do that… Even if it is part of the plan, it’s still… you know.” Flutterfree nodded, taking in a breath. A soft breeze blew through the air, and the sound of a reverberating guitar could be heard over ticking. “Let’s not focus just on what failures we’ve experienced, everyone – let’s remember everything and see the greater picture.” She put out a hoof and began to sing. “All the journeys Of this great adventure All the worlds seen along the way We won’t forget them For we are of them Learning from plight That’s what we gain this day Some times were bleak I wish that I could live it all again Some fights were proud I wish that I could live it all again.” Vriska took over, a silly grin on her face. “All the moments in this headlong flight Always convinced I was right Never wondering when I wish that I could live it all again I have placed all the irons into the fire Conquered, laughed, gambled, fought, and destroyed I learned to care, I learned to love, and learned to hear Oh, I wish that I could live it all again All the treasures The pirate’s booty It was all lost along the way I won’t miss it It was never the point I wouldn't trade yesterday for today.” Nova went next, tears in her eyes as she did so. “My heart was dark I wish that I could take it all back My mind was bright I wish that I could take it all back I have stood above troubled emotions Fought my self hatred at every turn I learned to think, I learned to watch, and learned to wait Oh, I wish that I could live it all again.” Jotaro, after a perceived eternity of never singing along with the rest of them, decided that now was the time to accept the allure of a heartsong. His voice was deep, brooding, and full of passion as he sang the words. “All the moments in this headlong flight Knowing nothing but the fight Battles of pain I wish that I could live it all again Wars of triumph I wish that I could live it all again I had left my family in the dark Never willing to return to them I learned to talk, I learned to raise, and learned to laugh Oh, I wish that I could live it all again.” Flutterfree smiled at all three of them, tears rolling down her cheeks. She didn’t even care about the pain when she continued. “I have fought the anger at every turn Faced much of my inner weakness.” The rest of them joined her for the end. “We learned to war, and learned to live, and became friends Oh, we wish that we could… Oh we wish that we could live it all again!” The music died down, but there was not a dry face in the house. “…Pinkie’s not here yet,” Nova said after a minute. “Then we can talk until dawn,” Flutterfree said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “As the great friends we know we are. Together.” They all hugged. “Ow ow ow…” Flutterfree winced. “Sorry,” Jotaro said. They all laughed. “Ow!” Flutterfree gagged. Nova shook her head. “Okay, this just isn’t going to do. Time for magic surgery.” “Nova!” “Temporary, to remove the pain. When we get you to a better doctor you can get better treatment.” “…All right.” “You could bite my arm if you wanted,” Jotaro suggested. “N-no I’ll take the freelance magic surgery.” ~~~ Brought Up To Believe To… “Belief has failed me now.” Pinkie sat alone, mane as straight as it had ever been, tears falling to the wooden floor she sat on. She sung with jagged voice while ominous strings played in the background. “I always tried to believe Belief has failed me now The bright glow of optimism Lost, leaving me to bow Belief has failed me now Thought goes from bad to worse No outer knowledge consoles me In Watchmaker’s universe Thought goes from bad to worse I cannot fight you Within your plan, I am but a ripple Unable to show what is true I cannot fight you Was I truly this naive? I thought everything was with me I always tried to believe.” The Watchmaker spoke. “They’re coming, Pinkamena Diane Pie. They have a plan.” “I know.” “Good.” ~~~ Wish Them Well “Even though you’re going through hell, just keep on going, let the demons dwell.” The sun rose on the four friends in the desert. They had not slept – and yet they didn’t feel tired. They felt rejuvenated and ready to take on the world – the Watchmaker’s world. “Pinkie’s not back yet,” Nova said. “Then we go now,” Flutterfree decided. “She’s probably waiting for us. Does anyone have any last minute things they want to say?” Vriska shrugged. “I think we got it all out.” “Eh…” Nova said, waving the hoof that Blitz Caliber had covered in the metallic fist. “I think we all need to keep in mind that none of us are over what’s happened. I’m still churning inside, for one.” Vriska sighed. “Fine, I admit it, I still want to punch everything.” “You always do,” Jotaro commented. “What about you, big guy?” “…I dread Pinkie’s response to me.” “She’s forgiving and you know it,” Flutterfree said. “She probably knows we worked it out anyway. And as for me… well, aside from the ribs I’m sure are stabbing into my lungs even though I can’t feel it…” “They are not!” Nova blurted. Flutterfree smirked. “Aside from that… I keep thinking of how I could have kept all this from happening. What I could have done. What I could have said to Pinkie, to any of you. Maybe I was under the influence as well – but we can’t know that for sure.” Nova nodded. “There was a part of us that really did all those things.” “We can’t ignore that,” Vriska added. “Yare yare daze…” Jotaro said. “Quoting each other now, are we?” Flutterfree smiled. “It means the talk stuck. That’s all I needed to see. Nova! Blitz Caliber! Take us away!” Nova lit her horn, tapping into the location Blitz Caliber had ready for her. They were soon in the center of the desert of ice and fire, in a section that was neither frozen nor on fire. In the center was a structure Jotaro recognized from his dreams – the four white doorframes placed in a square, nothing in them but a soft white glow. “The Doorway to Heaven,” Flutterfree said, the light reflecting in her eyes. “Through these doors wait the Watchmaker, the arbiter of this entire mess. Is everyone ready?” “Ready,” Nova said. “Ready,” Jotaro confirmed. “Ready,” Vriska added. “Ready,” Blitz Caliber piped in. “Then here we go.” Flutterfree spread her wings. When she flapped, they all leaped in. They were launched into the sky as bursts of energy – and yet they could still see. They saw the red planet consolidate into a sphere below them, the abstract scenery impossible to discern from this high up. They passed other sparks of light orbiting the planet from unknown sources, eventually reaching past the moon. When they passed the sun – orbiting the planet much like Equis suns – they noticed something odd. At the south pole of the red planet there seemed to be a black metallic pole, out of which sprouted curved rods that affixed to the sun and moon. Gears the size of countries moved at the joints of these rods, driving the machinations of the system. As they moved outward, they saw even more rods controlling the heavens. The ‘planets’ were affixed to smaller rods, twisting around at eccentric angles. Everything was ordered, ticking with the time of existence. Then they passed the fixed stars. Every last one of the stars was placed in a spherical pattern around the planet of Zhui. A sphere of stars that slowly rotated with the bottommost gear of the central rod. It was at this point they passed through the outer glass of the globe everything was contained in, coming to see the existence that contained the world they had been traveling in for the past few days. The globe of Zhui sat on a dark, wooden desk covered in clockwork gears and scribbled diagrams of complex machines. Gas lamps lit the room, revealing there to be no walls, but instead hallways made of bookshelves that seemed to go on forever. The four of them became full size for this world, the globe of Zhui no more than a trinket to them. They saw the broken, despondent form of Pinkie first. Flutterfree knew what she needed – she pulled the pink pony into a hug. “Shh… Pinkie, it’s okay. It’s okay. We’re here now. We’re all here now.” “But you’re all angry.” “So?” Vriska blurted. “That’s never stopped us before!” “Who cares if we’re angry?” Nova said. “Anger is part of life. We’re friends, Pinkie.” “I… I know… But I… I couldn’t do anything,” Pinkie shook her head. “I tried to fix everything. But even with all the power I have… I didn’t see what I needed to see! I couldn’t stop what I had the power to stop! There were no rules here keeping me from acting, I was just stupid!” Jotaro grabbed Pinkie by the shoulders. “You are one of the smartest people I know, Pinkie. Captain.” “Me? Smart? But I-” “No buts!” Nova blurted. “No more buts! Not the negative kind, and not the rear end kind either. Also not Vriska.” “Hey!” Vriska blurted. Pinkie couldn’t stop herself from giggling at this. Flutterfree pulled Pinkie closer. “Look back at what we’ve done, Pinkie. All the moments in this headlong flight we are a part of. This endless adventure across world after world. We’ve learned so much together, fought so much together, and just did so much. Remember what all that means.” “I… I…” Nova cleared her throat. “Pinkie, just look. Look back at the song. Look back at all our adventures. I know you can see what you’ve already done easy. You’ve led us into so many situations with what you know, and sometimes without knowing anything. That’s not worthless.” “Remember Jolyne’s birthday?” Jotaro asked. “She was still really young, and I had just started devoting time to my family. You got her to trust me again with a party. That, to this day, is the greatest thing you’ve done for me – and I’ve seen you do many great things for other people.” “You are an utter badass,” Vriska told Pinkie. “You’re able to beat the bad guys up without batting an eye. You laugh and grin the entire time you’re fighting, able to bewilder even the most creative of opponents. You’re the furthest thing from powerless.” “Pinkie, you’re amazing,” Flutterfree said. “You lived so long, alone, with the knowledge that we were in a story. I don’t think any of us could have done that. You are, by far, the strongest of all of us. I don’t know what’s happened – but I know you don’t deserve to be like this. You’ve done so much for all the worlds simply by smiling despite all the pain you know. Let us see that smile again.” Pinkie looked at Flutterfree – and smiled softly. “Okay.” Her mane poofed up slightly - but not back to full. Even she couldn’t rocket out of the depths she had been in. There was a mixture of hugs, hoofbumps, fistbumps, and laughs form the five friends – together once again, despite the pain. They were back, and stronger than ever. “And now your journey comes to an end,” the Watchmaker declared. “You have traveled across the world, faced great personal struggles, and have returned to each other right before the final confrontation with the man behind the curtain.” The five of them turned to face the Watchmaker. When they had been traveling around the world of Zhui, a question had been in the back of their mind. The people of Zhui held the Watchmaker in such immense reverence, even more so than his Clockwork Angels. And yet, while there had been numerous statues of the Angels, there had not been a single statue or depiction of the Watchmaker that they could see. What they had failed to realize was that depictions of the Watchmaker were everywhere. The Watchmaker was a clock affixed to a normal human body in place of a head. He wore simple, red robes that laced intricate designs. In contrast, the face of the Watchmaker had too many hands to make sense of, and instead of numbers there were alchemical symbols fashioned from black metal that matched the hands. The background was a pearly red color with swirls in it that resembled clouds while the edge of the face was rimmed with precious metals - silver, gold, and platinum alongside others they didn’t recognize right away – arranged into clockwork patterns. A few of the gears moved, even though there was no way they could serve any sure purpose… right? Pinkie gulped. “I’m… I’m sorry everyone, we can’t face him.” “Yes we can,” Nova said, pulling the flower out of her bags and activating it, showering the Watchmaker with a mysterious green cloud that dissipated quickly. “He’s now the villain of the story.” “Ka is on your side,” the Watchmaker admitted. “But your leader is not referring to a direct conflict, which you would most definitely win at this juncture. She is referring to fighting being a poor decision.” “Why?” Jotaro asked, ready to punch the Watchmaker’s smug face – even though there were no mouth or eyes, Jotaro could sense the smugness. “Right now, the people of Zhui are more or less happy with what I do for them, aside from a few stragglers. If you destroy me – which you have the means to do - Zhui will become chaos.” He gestured toward the globe containing Zhui. “The mechanisms will still turn, but all the Angels will drop dead. The guidance all the people have had in their lives will fall in an instant, and it will devolve into anarchy. None of them truly know how to lead others or live lives with free will. I know for certain what will happen if I remove my hand from the world – they will take hold of the powerful magics and machines designed to be part of their adventures, and they will destroy their universe with them.” Flutterfree spread out Lolo, forcing everything to reveal itself. She focused particularly on the Watchmaker. Not much changed. The Globe of Zhui began to glow with a holy light, and a bunch of leaves sprouted from the Watchmaker’s ‘neck’, indicating his connection to the Angels through the Flower device – but otherwise nothing happened. “I speak the truth,” the Watchmaker said. “He does,” Flutterfree confirmed. “Or at least he’s able to fool Lolo into thinking so.” She recalled Lolo. “So, what then?” Vriska asked. “We just let you keep doing what you’re doing?” “At the moment, that is what I wish,” the Watchmaker declared. “However, have it never be said I am not a reasonable man. The final confrontation of your story will not come in the form of a fight, it will be a debate.” He pointed a finger at them. “If you can convince me what I’m doing is wrong, I will make amends. I will adjust the world over the course of the next century to be able to live on its own, and then I will remove my presence from Zhui completely. However, if you cannot convince me, I keep things the way they are, and you may decide if you have the capability as Merodi Universalis to save them from themselves.” The Watchmaker folded his arms, leaning in towards the Primary Team of Merodi Universalis. “Prove me wrong.” The team clearly wasn’t expecting this. Nova was the one who recovered first, taking a step forward and slamming her hoof on the desk. “It’s cruel, is what it is. It’s cruel because what you give them is fake. All the adventures, all the great lives, all the high stakes? All of it is built by you. This… fakeness.” “They are all aware that I am the one who provides them direction. I do not keep that from them, Nova.” “I bet you indoctrinated them before telling them.” “Before I placed my hand on this world it was nothing but savages. The transformation of the savage world into a Clockwork Universe made it into a place of civilization and culture. I rose them up from brutal savagery into a world where lives are ordered by my plan.” “It is your plan, isn’t it?” Vriska asked. “You didn’t discover the plan of the universe.” “No. That is a distortion of what I actually told them. I told them that I had found a better way, and that I would always show them that better way. But their lives today are immeasurably better than where they were. I have done them a great service.” “Maybe it is better than savagery,” Flutterfree said. “But it’s still a lie – and a lie they have no choice about. You mentioned they don’t know how to operate with free will. That’s horrible.” “Is it? I ask you five to look back on your journey. There was a lot of pain, a lot of suffering, and a lot of interpersonal drama. Until the moment Nova found Blitz Caliber, everything was part of the plan. And yet, despite that interruption, the ‘lie’ that was my plan has moved you all closer together. You have finally experienced a big fight, one so large that it drove you apart – but one that also tied you even closer together. Regardless of the outcome of this conversation, I have strengthened the bond between you five with my plan. Tell me you are not better off for it.” Flutterfree narrowed her eyes. “All evil is a corruption of something good. I can lie and cheat and steal and get good things for myself. That does not make it right.” “But doing ‘evil’ things for the sake of something greater is glorious. Take, say, killing. You have killed two of my Angels since coming here. One was out of defense and partially an accident, but the other was assaulted on purpose in order to defeat me. Is that worth it? The Angels are fully sapient beings, their only limitation is that they are completely devoted to me.” “The loss of one life for the freedom of all is worth it,” Jotaro decreed. “Of course it is,” the Watchmaker admitted. “But I suggest that the loss of freedom is worth security, happiness, and meaning. Freedom is not the highest good in existence. It might not even make the top ten.” “Love is the highest virtue,” Flutterfree said. “Look what you did to Nova. You corrupted love beyond measure. What you created wasn’t love, it was somebody’s dream of love, which is nowhere near as beautiful or good as the real thing. Love is slow, love is passionate, love cares deeply, love…” She turned to Jotaro. Jotaro looked the Watchmaker right in the face. “Love… is a complex process. It involves everything. You seem to have no control, and yet you do, in a way. It sweeps you off your feet by surprise, yet it isn’t driven by physical pleasure as much as everyone seems to think it must. It is driven by connection, togetherness, and emotion. I don’t know if love at first sight exists or not, but I do know that anything that’s only been around for two days isn’t real. It’s either forced, or driven by delusion.” “And there’s more to it,” Flutterfree said. “All kinds of love are the highest virtue – not just the romantic love. Familial love. Sibling love. Friendship. Do you know what I’m told to do after loving God? Love thy neighbor as thyself. The best and highest virtue is to treat everyone – even those who consider you enemies – with love and respect. I’m not perfect, I get angry at times. None of us have it down. But we’re doing better at it than you.” The Watchmaker leaned back. “But I do treat them with love, you see? I felt pity on them in their savage state, and so I created a world where they would experience everything the best way for their lives. Their lives are filled with security and certainty in their fate.” “You skipped over them experiencing love,” Pinkie retorted. “How many of them actually just ‘form’ friendships and partnerships without you getting your ka-soaked fingers involved? Almost none, right?” The Watchmaker nodded. “How can you do that!? Nothing they have is true!” “The truth of existence is sickening,” the Watchmaker said. “You’ve been out there in the multiverse, you know what ka does. There is no order to it – it just does everything. The truth is we are subject to a power that will take the ideas of random people and make them reality. If it were one person, that would be one thing – at least it would be consistent. But it isn’t. It’s random. And because of that, there can be no meaning.” “You’re wrong,” both Flutterfree and Nova said. “Let me guess here. Flutterfree has a theological argument prepared, and Nova has the ‘morality defined by every individual is the true morality’ argument. Let me say that if this multiverse has a true God, I hate Him with every fiber in my body for letting randomness determine everything. And for you, Nova, every being is wrong. Every single one of us is broken. It’s why I’m having this argument, because there is a chance I’m wrong.” Flutterfree sighed. “Watchmaker, He did not allow randomness to determine everything, we were the ones who wanted stories to be real. He just gave us what we wanted.” “That’s just a theory. It sounds good to those of your church, but to those outside it means nothing. And have you not considered that your God, if he exists, is doing exactly what I am?” “He’s not.” “Really? Supposedly, he is a being that created all of existence, defined good and evil, and has a plan for every last thing based on his definitions.” Flutterfree glared at the Watchmaker. “You have doubt, uncertainty, and a willingness to change. The only being that can do what you do and be in the right is not only a being who is perfectly good, but also one who has no doubt! There would be no point in having this conversation with God - He would already know He was right and know exactly how the conversation would go ahead of time. You said yourself that every being is wrong. God is the being who isn’t wrong. And that’s the only being who can have any right to fully control fate.” “And how would anyone be able to know if God’s goodness is truly good? How is he not self-defining?” Flutterfree bit her lip - not able to answer. Nova ground her teeth. “Fine then. If you’re so sure everyone’s wrong, why do you think you even have the authority to run this world like a clockwork machine?” “My plan is not always as rigid as you may think. I enchant the people of this world with ka and directions in life, and the ka takes over, weaving it into a story.” “Even the criminals,” Pinkie pointed out. “Even the bad guys, the lost ones, the evil – you give them purpose as well?” “Yes.” “And the Anarchist and his followers – they were never given the option of refusal.” “No. I merely let them think they could refuse for the optimum satisfaction they could possibly achieve in their lives.” “You ruined their lives!” “If I had given them a grand purpose, the Anarchist would have reasoned it out and killed himself,” the Watchmaker said. “The moment he discovers that he’s still part of my plan, he will commit suicide. This includes if you go back and offer him a way out. He is too old to recover from his entire life under the plan.” Vriska clenched her fist. “You bastard…” “There are always difficulties in plans. From the records on your device, Nova, I have learned that you have similar issues. The ponies of Lai and the Arcei – you let them believe lies, do you not? All for the sake of peace.” “I’m… not happy about that, but it’s true,” Flutterfree admitted. “You’re going to get away with it too. I can see it… even if the secrets came out now, everything is too closely knit. Your unity would stand. You lied to two sets of people about what you were doing for them and why, and all has turned out for the best. Some heroes might try to stop you.” “Some did,” Pinkie said. “It’s just that they were on the wrong side.” The Watchmaker nodded. “And here I am, on the wrong side in the end. The TSAB was fully under my control when they were here. But you… You broke free. And you have a chance to pass judgment.” He leaned in. “I don’t think you have it in you. The power to convince me.” “How would you like it if you were in the Clockwork Universe?” Pinkie asked. “I would be content and unaware of all the ‘evils’ I was subject to by being controlled. Or I would be dead and simply not care anymore.” “Death is meaningless to you?” Vriska asked. “Precisely. Once a person dies, they no longer have anything to be content with. All that needs to be taken care of are the people that life will affect. This is why the ‘bad guys’ are expendable – they are satisfied being evil, and when they are killed nobody really misses them.” “There’s a contradiction here!” Nova blurted. “How can you say you care about them if you’re willing to throw them away like trash?” “They are villains – a necessary evil. The people cannot have the contentment they desire without an enemy.” “Who says there have to be enemies!?” “A false heaven is a terrible world. Without large-scale struggle, there is not a feeling of grandeur, of accomplishment. The mundane life is not worth living.” “The mundane life is definitely worth living,” Pinkie said. “I know lots of people who avoid adventures for the sake of taking care of their families.” “Do you honestly think any of your friends live a mundane life?” the Watchmaker asked. “There is no mundane life where you tread. You cannot know what mundane life is like. The ka around you is too strong. I give others a chance to be like you.” “What if the mundane life is better?” Flutterfree asked. “The life of immense ka brings higher stakes, higher suffering, higher death… Why is that better again?” “A sense of meaning and purpose.” “But that’s not the highest virtue! That’s on the same level as freedom! Love, faith, hope, peace… Those are the high virtues. Your world’s love is corrupted, their faith in you is misplaced, they do not have much reason to hope for change, and there certainly isn’t peace in your adventures. You create conflict for the sake of ‘satisfaction’.” “It is what’s best for them.” “How does anybody know what’s best for anybody!?” Vriska blurted. “Nobody knows what’s best for me, but guess what your little trip taught me here? Not even I know what’s best for me! Nobody knows what’s best for anybody! How can we be sure ka knows?” The Watchmaker looked at her. “That is the first good point any of you have made. I legitimately had not considered that ka might not know what’s best for anyone. The answer to that question, unfortunately, relies on understanding what ka is. None of us truly know what it is or where it comes from, do we?” “Something something Dark Tower,” Pinkie offered. “Yes. But what is it? Why does it exist? What is its purpose? These are things we do not know. We just know that it is.” “Why trust something you don’t know anything about?” Nova asked. “Think of the alternative,” the Watchmaker said. “What else is there? Everyone’s wrong, so we must rely on some other source to determine right and wrong, to find meaning and purpose. Our fellow beings are just as corrupted as we are, God is distant, and if ka is just as wrong as we are at all times, even when guided, then what remains? Self-definition. And if that is all that remains, whatever I desire is correct enough. Not because I am right, but because no argument can stand when everything is a matter of self-definition. There can be no agreed-upon ethics.” He folded his hands. “I think you realize just how difficult convincing me will be.” “You aren’t really open-minded,” Pinkie declared. “You just have a personal philosophy that dictates you must listen to every side of every argument. But… you’ve already decided. You will come up with just-so stories and thoughts just to ensure that your belief remains.” “…This may be true.” “You know that about yourself!?” Vriska blurted. “Then why the hell go through all this!” “You may have had a really good point I couldn’t refute.” “But even then, you wouldn’t have backed down,” Jotaro asserted. “You’re stubborn. You’ve been at this for too long.” “You’ve defined yourself by this existence,” Flutterfree said. “You have used it to declare to yourself who you are. We aren’t just trying to convince you of what is right or wrong – we’re trying to convince you to give up your identity. Even if you listen… you won’t want to get rid of that.” “And we have no power to force an emotional, traumatic experience, like you do,” Nova said. “Here’s a suggestion!” Pinkie said, grinning. “Why don’t you have one of your Angels give you a purpose and a quest, see what happens? Who knows, ka might iron out those long held beliefs of yours.” “I have been branded the villain by you,” the Watchmaker said. “I am not willing to fully embrace that role.” Pinkie sighed. “Was worth a shot.” “That was the best idea you’d had yet.” Pinkie turned to her team. “This… This isn’t going to work. I think we all realize that at this point.” The four others nodded sadly. “…Do we think we have the right to take him away from Zhui?” Pinkie asked. “We’ll throw the world into anarchy, and we will be the only force keeping it from destroying itself. We will be trading out one master for another. And that other master might not be able to stop them. We don’t know all that much about Zhui.” One by one, all four of them shook their heads. Pinkie turned back to the Watchmaker, her mane dangerously close to falling completely flat. “You win,” she said, simply. The Watchmaker nodded. “You may return to Zhui or your worlds as you wish. If you return to Zhui you will find yourselves part of the plan once more. If you leave, it will not follow you.” “We won’t be returning to Zhui,” Pinkie said. “It’ll be too painful for us and the people who live there.” “You are correct,” the Watchmaker said, examining the globe of Zhui. “I thank you for the conversation. It was illuminating and invigorating on the highest of levels. You have my gratitude for your participation.” “We didn’t have much of a choice,” Vriska muttered. “Indeed. One last thing, though.” the Watchmaker took the Flower device and crushed it. “H-hey!” Vriska blurted. “I was going to give that to Starbeat!” “No, you are not,” the Watchmaker said, returning to his mechanical designs, ignoring them. “Did… Did we just lose?” Nova asked, almost in disbelief. “Yep,” Pinkie said. “We lost.” “But… but that never happens! Even when tragedy strikes, we’re able to pull something out of it! This… there’s nothing here for us! We just… lost!” “When you don’t get what you want, what you get instead is experience,” Flutterfree said. “We didn’t win. Nothing has changed in this world, and nothing will change. But we’ve changed. As much as I hate to admit it, the Watchmaker's plan has taught us things about ourselves and who we are. I do not agree with the methods by any stretch of the imagination, but there are results. Let’s take them and become better people.” Vriska kicked the ground. “Fuck. That’s really all we get to do.” Blitz Caliber spoke up. “You also get to return me to my home.” “At least that’s something,” Nova said, smiling at Blitz Caliber. “You’ll go home.” “Yeah… home,” Vriska said, putting a hand to her nose and sighing. “…Let’s get out of here before I lose it and break his smug clock face. Because I’m pretty sure I’m about to lose it.” Pinkie took out a dimensional device. “…All that we can do is wish them well.” She turned to look at the globe of Zhui, eyes sad. “I hope they find a way out on their own.” “We all do,” Jotaro said. Pinkie dialed another universe, and they left the Watchmaker to his schemes. The Watchmaker did not change. ~~~ The Garden “The measure of a life.” Renee set the report down on her desk and sighed. She looked up at Pinkie’s team, all sitting on the other end with expressions of defeat. “…I think you made the right call,” Renee said. “You did everything you could with what you had, considering everything. I could order the fleets in place around Zhui and a complex mission designed to get the people to rebel against the Watchmaker themselves. But… Well, we would have to micromanage, wouldn’t we? And then we wouldn’t be any better than this Watchmaker.” She sat back. “I’m sorry you all had to experience that.” “We wouldn’t undo it,” Flutterfree said. “Those experiences and memories are still ours.” “I know, dears. I know.” Renee shook her head. “It’s still disheartening just to hear about it, I can’t imagine what you must be feeling.” Pinkie nodded. “It’s… it’s not great. But we have each other.” Renee folded her hooves. “I’m giving you all a vacation until you decide you want to come back. You all need it to work things out with each other and talk to your other friends, I’m sure.” The five of them nodded. Renee smiled. “I’ll remove all my appointments tomorrow, we could go do something. Gather the girls and the others, go do something.” “Thanks,” Pinkie said, “but I think we just want to do things our own way. Don’t think there’s going to be a party right now. Maybe later.” “I understand. If you need anything, just call.” “Thanks, Renee.” ~~~ There was a knock at Starbeat’s laboratory door. She walked to the door and opened it. “Ah. Vriska said you might show up, eventually.” Nova smiled awkwardly. “Y-yeah…” “Come on in. Be warned, the moment you spill your heart to me, I’m going to try to tackle you to the ground.” “I know,” Nova said, walking into the room. “I assume Vriska told you?” “You were hit by a Beat Curse,” Starbeat said. “Forced into a sudden relationship with an acrobat without your knowledge.” “And then I figured it out,” Nova added. “And I got… angry. I yelled at her, even though she was just as torn up as I was. I regret that, and I can’t stop thinking about her. I just…” she shook her head. “How do you deal with it?” “I just do,” Starbeat said. “Which is to say I just live with an intense suffering within my heart. I look at you and I don’t just see myself, I see somepony that I wanted back when I first left Equis Lovestra. They’re dulled now after so many years, but those feelings still surge up. Virtually everyone I encounter triggers those rising feelings – with the exception of Vriska, but you know she’s basically cheating the system.” Nova nodded. “So just… wait?” “The only action you can really take is to distance yourself from the object of affection. Which you’re already doing.” Starbeat put a hoof on Nova. “I’m sorry, there’s no advice here. The Beat Curse is just horrible and there’s no cure, and the only preventative measure is sheer willpower.” “…I think I understand you now,” Nova said. “How much pain must you go through?” “It’s less, now,” Starbeat admitted. “A mixture of Vriska, friends, and getting used to it has mitigated the pain. But not the passion.” “I’m sorry for all the times I’ve dismissed you, Starbeat.” Starbeat’s bracelet started blinking. She held herself still. “S-sorry, you should lea-” Nova kissed her, shutting her up. “Wh…” Starbeat said a moment later after the kiss had run its full course. “I don’t feel anything,” Nova said with a sad smile. “But… I think you deserved that. If only once, somepony meeting you halfway.” “I… er… thanks?” “I’ll go now. Good luck, Starbeat. Sorry we couldn’t help you.” “It’s… okay.” Starbeat shook her head. “That was very risky you know.” “I know,” Nova admitted. “I wasn’t really thinking.” Starbeat nodded finding herself staring out a window. There was a genuine smile on her face. She didn’t feel like she was alone in her struggles anymore. ~~~ Vriska and Jotaro sat on a bench in one of the Hub’s gardens. Neither of them felt like talking, and that was exactly what they needed. A moment of silence and serenity in a garden. Jotaro because he always liked it this way, Vriska because she decided she needed a moment of doing nothing in silence to get herself to chill out a little. The two didn’t exchange a word for over an hour. And yet, they still understood each other and what they were doing. Jotaro eventually stood up, letting out a contented sigh. “Figure it out?” Vriska asked. “Perhaps. Fighting until you can’t fight anymore…” “…It isn’t worth it,” Vriska finished. “Too many people will miss you. You’ll hurt yourself and others. Etcetera.” Jotaro turned to Vriska expectantly. “Yeah. Yeah. I learned stuff too. I’m not always number one. Can we just agree to leave it at that and not talk about our feelings anymore?” Jotaro let out a short chortle. “Yare yare daze… Of course.” Vriska gave him the thumbs up. “Good grief… Let’s go to the arcade, big guy.” She pointed in the direction of the arcade. “Time to bond the old fashioned way – over beat ‘em up video games!” ~~~ Pinkie and Flutterfree sat in Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie, for the first time in a few years, had created a dessert at Sugarcube Corner. Her mountain overdose sundae, the size of a pony – covered in cherries, bananas, ice cream, berries, and a truly absurd amount of candy. Pinkie took a shovel out of her mane and scooped a large scoop into her mouth and grinned. Flutterfree just took a small spoonful, ate it, and smiled. Her bone fractures had been healed with magic, but there was a brace around her midsection because all the flesh was still sore. “This is nice,” Flutterfree said. “Yeah, a BLAST from the PAST!” Pinkie chuckled. “I take it you wanted to talk about something, though?” Pinkie nodded. “Yeah… I may be a super duper party pony with lots of friends, but I noticed something. You’re better at being a ‘heart’ than I am.” “We all have our strengths and weaknesses, Pinkie.” “It’s something I need to work on, though. Since I’m not keeping things secret, I can be… inconsiderate. Very inconsiderate. I assume that people will want to know what I know to help them get through things, like how I use it. But that’s not how things work. Knowing the things I know doesn’t always help. I just don’t know life without knowing them.” “Hey, Pinkie, it’s okay. What you know helps save a lot of people.” “But what about when we’re not in danger? The times when we’re just talking to each other. I hurt everyone.” “And you were forgiven.” “I still want to change though. Flutterfree… teach me. If you’re willing to go into my mind and listen to what I think all the time in this crazy sugar-filled skull of mine, I’m willing to learn what I should and should not tell.” “I’m willing, but there are some things you still don’t tell us,” Flutterfree said. “Yeah… Some because I have to.” Pinkie looked in the distance. “Others because I know they’ll make you sad.” Flutterfree put a hoof on Pinkie’s. “If you want me to help, it’d be best if you told me everything you could. It’ll be hard on me, but you’re my friend Pinkie. You’ve sacrificed so much for us. I’m willing to forego a little security.” Pinkie looked in Flutterfree’s eyes. “You’re sure?” “Very.” Pinkie sighed. “Flutterfree… At least one of us is going to die. Probably more.” Flutterfree sat back. “…I think we all knew that, deep down, eventually one of us wasn’t going to make it back.” “We aren’t going to be able to stand together at the end. And it haunts me. It always haunts me. There’s going to be so much pain… So much fighting…” “And because you know that… You’re ready,” Flutterfree said. “It’ll still hurt.” “Yes. And you’re right not to just tell everyone about it. But now that you’ve told someone… We can prepare together, Pinkie.” Flutterfree smiled sadly. “If it’s me, I want to help you as much as I can before the tragedy strikes.” “…Thanks, Flutterfree.” Flutterfree nodded. “Now, what else?” Pinkie took a breath. “Well…” ~~~ Eve set Blitz Caliber on the table between her and Nanoha. Nanoha lifted up Blitz Caliber, tears in her eyes. “…It’s been a long time.” “It is good to see you, Commander. Raising Heart. Both of you.” “I’ll get you to Subaru, don’t worry,” Nanoha promised. “She’ll want to see you for some closure.” “Thank you.” Nanoha pocketed Blitz Caliber, turning to Eve. “…So, you found Zhui.” “Yeah,” Eve said. “I wasn't there personally, but one of my teams had to go through it. We found Blitz Caliber there. And… we couldn’t do anything else. It still is what it is.” Nanoha looked into the distance. “I was the commander of the ship that found Zhui back then. Back when we were a Class 3. We were on a Grand Tour, exploring the multiverse based on a map we had found… That loss… it was one painful to many of us.” She shook her head. “And we still can’t do anything. We should have just done what you did and left it alone. But the team didn’t want to do that. I told them they should do what they thought was right. I shouldn’t have done that.” “We shouldn’t dwell on past regrets.” Nanoha smiled. “You’re right… Of course you are. Princess of Friendship indeed.” Eve rubbed the back of her head nervously. “Yeah…” “Please tell your team they did good. Because of this, a woman is going to get a piece of her sister back.” “I’ll be sure to tell them.” “And Evening?” “Hmm?” “Don’t let yourself be disheartened when you lose. It’s one thing to have a bunch of close friends fail. It’s quite another when you do. Make sure to stand by them.” “I will,” Eve said. “Thanks.” The two faces of their respective cultures shared a hug and went their separate ways. ~~~ Pinkie, Nova, Jotaro, Vriska, and Flutterfree stood on a hill, watching the sunrise. The wind blew through their hair. Everything was beautiful. “Our lives are not defined by our failures,” Pinkie decreed, still looking at the sun. “The measure of a life is in what we have accomplished and why we’ve accomplished those things. We fight for the sake of laughter, kindness, redemption, justice, and what is right. We’ve saved so many worlds, so many people, and made so many lives better.” She turned to her team. “But failures stick out clearly in our minds more than anything else. This probably shouldn’t be, but it is. I want us all to move past this failure and continue to fight – but I don’t want any of us to forget it. The Watchmaker was right about one thing – we were changed by the experience. We were changed for the better. That’s unfair – the people of Zhui didn’t get anything – but it is what it is. So here’s what we do.” She pointed her hoof to the sky. “We’re going to go out into that multiverse and do better than ever before! Sometimes we will fail just like we did today! But we won’t let that beat us down! We will get back up and fight again! We will stand strong against those who are evil, misguided, or just lost. We will help them if we can, and help those they are hurting.” “Right!” the four of them called. “As your Captain, I order you all to be strong! But also to be kind!” Pinkie shouted. “So let’s go back out there!” “YEAH!” Pinkie pulled out a dimensional device. “There will be pain. But there will also be joy. Let’s remember both.” They left the universe onto another adventure…