//------------------------------// // For Celia (Empty Horizons, Part 3) // Story: The League of Sweetie Belles // by GMBlackjack //------------------------------// “Uh-oh,” Swip said.  “What?” Squeaky asked.  “You know that large cavern I found a few meters to our ‘east’ wall?” “...Yes?” “Something’s digging through that. Something big. I’m expecting this entire place to fill up with water again sooner rather than later.”  Squeaky poked her head out the back hatch. “Seren! Suzie! We’re gonna get flooded soon! Cut the whirlpool!” Seren looked up at her whirlpool spell. “Bu—” “Seren, just close it up,” Suzie said, frowning. “Should we try to tell the others?” “They’re in suits and out of range,” Squeaky said. “Let’s just worry about ourselves right now.” Sweetaloo welcomed the two back on board. Swip’s avatar let out a depressed grunt as she sealed off the needed doors and brought up her shields. At least this time the water would stay outside and they would be able to access the cargo hold. “Ready. Prepare for breach in two minutes.” “Two minutes?” Seren gawked. “How have we not noticed anything until now? You think we would have heard drilling!” “I thought it was just sea monster growls,” Swip reported. “Turns out, it’s not.” Seren frowned. “The tonal differences between vocal cords and drilling should be easily discernible to your digitized brain.” “Need I remind you that I’m half-busted?” Seren folded her arms and huffed. “I knew that. It was factored into m—" There was a rumbling tremor. Now that they were listening for it, it wasn’t all that difficult to hear that it was coming from slightly above them, in the direction of one of the dripping holes in the ceiling.  “Any idea what exactly it is?” Squeaky asked. “It’s a drill. Metal. That’s all I got,” Swip reported. “Probably some diving ponies looking for loot or something. Found some ore or s—" There was a massive explosion above them, blowing a hole right in their ceiling. Before the smoke even started to clear, water poured through the gaping hole in pressurized droves, spraying Swip’s entire cavern. Her shields were more than able to deflect all the water, but like rain it obscured their vision. However, this would not last long. The pressure at the bottom of the ocean was immense, and it wanted that air bubble out. The gushing waterfall filled the space with such speed it was alarming to those who didn’t understand how pressure worked. In this case, that was just Sweetaloo. Eventually, Swip was underwater again, though this time her shields maintained a full bubble of air within. She turned her turret toward the gaping hole, ready for anything.  “Hold your fire,” Squeaky ordered.  A brass-colored miniature sub floated through the hole. It had a wide drill attached to the front, numerous harpoon guns lining the bottom, and a large amber spotlight that was pointed right at Swip. From its back sprung a black cable that led into the dark cavern above where it quickly vanished from sight.  The mini-sub’s back propeller turned on, pushing it toward Swip.  “Try to call them, anything,” Squeaky said.  Seren held up a hand. “Use a wide radio signal, like the helmets!” Swip sent out a radio pulse. “This is Swip. Identify yourselves.” The mini-sub stopped moving. A second later, a tentative voice responded—male. “Can you repeat that?” “I said I’m Swip. Who are you?” “Log,” came the response, the name making Seren snort in amusement. “What was that?” “One of my crew,” Squeaky said. “Pay them no mind.” “What the—are you a kid or something?” Squeaky frowned. “No… I am Squeaky.” “I’ll say.”  Suzie took control of the conversation. “This is Captain Suzie Belle. It seems you’ve found our ship.” “Yeah. And what a beauty it is…” they could hear Log smacking his lips. “All sorts of fancy lights… I can’t even begin to guess what kind of metal it’s made of. You seem to be in a spot of trouble, here. I bet we could salvage this thing for a fine price on the market…” Suzie frowned. “...Would you bring us to the surface?” “Oh, yeah, sure.” Nobody on Swip believed a word of this.  Log continued. “Just let us in and drop that fancy little bubble of yours. How are you doing that? Got a Gifted down there?” Swip re-aimed one of her guns on the mini-sub. “How about you back off?” Swip beeped.  The mini-sub paused. “There’s no way that thing actually works.” Swip started charging the weapon. It began to glow a soft pink. “I’d rather not risk a cave-in, but i’m sure one can be arranged…” “You wouldn—" “Fire a warning,” Squeaky ordered.  Swip swiveled her aim off to the side, sending a red laser off the side of the mini-sub’s bow. The boiling line triggered a shockwave, pushing the craft to the side effortlessly.  “Stop stop stop!” Log shouted, ordering the ship to a standstill. “Okay! Okay… let’s come to an understanding here. You don’t shoot us. We bring you to the surface. Deal?” “What do you get out of this?” Squeaky asked. “A chance to look at that fancy ship of yours. Clearly, you can’t take it with you…” Suzie shook her head—they couldn’t let looting pirates like this have access to Swip’s technology.  Squeaky frowned. “No dice.” “Then there’s no ride.” “We’ll find our own way up.” Log laughed. “If you insist. Enjoy the bottom of the ocean.” The mini-sub began moving backward, reeled back by some unseen mechanism attached to the distant other end of the tube. It was soon out of sight. “Okay,” Squeaky said. “They want what’s on Swip. They’re no doubt attached to something larger and are probably looking for backup to come in here and force our hoof. We need a plan… Swip, catalog any weapons you have that will cause minimal structural damage to the cavern. Seren, we need you to strengthen the cavern however possible. And…” Squeaky put a hoof on the captain’s console, frowning. “And I don’t know. We can’t hold out forever.” “May I suggest stealing one of the ships when they arrive?” Suzie said.  Squeaky nodded slowly. “We might just have to.” ~~~ The flaming bird—no doubt a mutated phoenix—released a waft of white-hot flames through the sea, intending to burn Cinder to shreds.  Cinder “Sweetie” Belle may have been inexperienced and she may have been young, but if there was one thing she knew how to deal with at this point it was fire. With a smirk, she touched the incoming fire with her magic, diverting it to her left with ease. She threw her flames forward. Knowing heat would do absolutely nothing to the phoenix, she removed the fire from the sea, creating shockwaves that tossed the legendary bird back.  Nira took advantage of the situation. “Your time is up, bird.” She created a chain of dark magic in the waves, launching it from her armored hoof right for the avian’s center. The hit took it by surprise, tearing it right out of its white fireball, dazed.  It would have been the end for the phoenix did its fire not instantly implode after it was removed, creating a massive shockwave that sent everyone flying. Nira went one way while Cinder and Allure went another.  I’m their air and way back to base, Nira realized. She pushed herself toward them with a burst of dark magic, reaching out to them with her magic.  She was interrupted by a tremendous earth-rumbling roar. One that was all too familiar to her at this point: the call of the sea monsters that had plagued Swip all week. Except Swip and her guns weren’t here right now, and the last time Nira had fought the sea monster directly it hadn’t gone all that well.  Sensing the shadow closing in on her, Nira created a spiked ball around herself, puncturing the monstrosity’s jaw as it clamped around her. She was able to nestle herself between the creature’s teeth, matching the power of it’s jaw with her barrier. The beast cared not that she was running its jaw—it bit down again and again, straining her barrier.  There was too much going on to focus on teleporting. Nira had to fling herself back into the monster’s gullet, away from its horrendous jaw. With a twist, she punctured the throat lining and froze herself in place. Here, she could focus on a teleport.  Despite the fact that the interior flesh was rebuilding itself around her spike, trying to crush her that way. While absolutely terrifying, it still took more time than a bite, which was all Nira needed to flash away.  Appearing next to the beast’s eye, she wasted no time. She dissipated her shield and created a black knife about her size. With a disinterested grunt, she thrust the blade into the creamy white globe before her. The blood pooling at the base of the eye spurted out in noxious trails and black ooze spread from the knife’s entry point.  The monster thrashed. Though blind, its eye was still weaker than the rest of its hard body. It swung its whole body wide, smacking into the boulder below with immense force. Nira had seen this coming and was already on the other side of the beast, driving a knife into the other eye.  This time around, the beast thrashed before Nira completed her incision, getting her a hard smack to the suit by the girth of a sea serpent. Her suit dented on one side, driving a piece of sharp metal into her barrel. Even though the suit maintained pressure, Nira had to struggle to maintain focus from such an injury.  The beast’s mouth was open once more, ready to pull Nira into it.  “Die.” Nira activated the leylines she had inserted into the eyes. They found each other and sent a massive bolt of dark lightning between them, cutting right through the fish’s brain. The attack was more than enough to force the beast into brain death.  However, it’s muscles weren’t done. Without a mind of any sort to guide them, they began to thrash around randomly with far more force than was sensible. Its skeleton broke in numerous places as the motions became more frantic. Nira found herself caught up in a whirlpool that led her face-first into the tail, cracking her helmet. The impact tossed her upward while the beast’s twitching corpse fell to the sea below. With a hiss of pain, Nira forced her magic to mend the helmet crack. She didn’t want to risk healing the wound in her side—she couldn’t feel it and didn’t want to fuse the metal of the suit with her body. She would just deal with it.  It was at this point Nira realized she had no idea where Allure and Cinder were.  “HELLO!?” she shouted at the top of her lungs. No response. The radio was nothing but static.  ~~~ Celia stood in the sub’s command center, keeping a careful hoof on Star Shooter at all times. However, the hoof was only an illusion of focus for Star’s benefit. In truth, Celia’s mind was troubled, wandering far and wide.  You didn’t have to kill her.  You were the one who killed her, I took no control in that situation.  It is what you would have done.  Don’t get me wrong, I would have done the exact same thing had I taken control, but I did not. That was all you.  You speak the truth… Celia grimaced outwardly for a moment, but she quickly wrestled her expression under control—the crew needed to see her as a mare of unwavering power and the unnerving smile was a great way to keep them on edge. Since she had killed one of their number, the image of power was needed to keep them from revolting. I would not have done that prior to your presence.  You’re growing.  I’m being influenced.  If you wish to see it that way. By that logic, I am being influenced by you—becoming more willing to compromise and think beyond the confines of my opinion. You thank me for acting quickly to save your life, I thank you for expanding my mind. It is give and take, Celia.  Exactly what I wanted.. Exactly what we wanted.  Celia focused her attention away from her interior mind, glancing at Star Shooter. The captain was terrified but had long since stopped thinking. She did everything with a blank, tired look. There was no room for deception in those eyes anymore.  If it makes you feel better, that Minty was probably the sort to jump someone when they least expected it.  Very true. We could have dealt with it though.  They know the sub better than we do. This may have secured our success.  Sleep spell.  For a long journey? I see that we’re getting stuck in ‘what ifs’. No life was ever lived well spent dwelling on ‘what ifs’. Exactly. What’s done is done. I must deal with it, you must deal with it. Let’s move on. What do we do next? Getting no immediate response, Celia took a moment to look around. Blink was standing in the middle of the room, watching all the other ponies carefully. Burgerbelle was sitting in the corner, tying nooses that seemed to lead to bright, colorful fantasylands. The Insanity Wolf was sitting in the corner, frothing at the mouth. Occasionally she would try to bite Minty’s body, but Celia’s Invader would exert some mental pressure on the beast with Celia’s blessing, making it whimper.  She really has no control of her situation, the Invader lamented. They have sanctioned each other off into dual madness. They will not be able to sustain this.  We can find some Elements of Harmony upon returning home, purge her. You’ll be rid of the wolf.  I look forward to her agonizing demise.  Naturally, we’ll convince them that, in your case, a separate body is worthwhile. You are coming along nicely. I believe Renee would even have a place for you i- The Insanity Wolf let out a bellowing call. “DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW!” Suddenly, she was in a miniature-sleigh with snow under it. “GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY!” The sleigh launched forward, heading right for the main viewport with alarming force. “YOU’RE SO FUCKING SLOW, AND FAT, WHAT DO YOU WEIGH!?”  “Enough!” the Invader shouted through Celia, encasing the Insanity Wolf in the dark aura of her magic. “Do you want to die?”  “DEATH IS A PUSSY!” The Invader twitched, tearing the Insanity Wolf to shreds. It appeared as a baby on Burgerbelle’s shoulder, but the Flat quickly slapped a collar on it. The wolf bit her but that did nothing.  “Get that dog of yours under control or we are going to have to do something drastic and… unpleasant.” “Make me,” Burgerbelle snarked, sticking her tongue out.  The Invader frowned, returning control to Celia. “Burgerbelle, that would have killed us all. You understand?” “I’ve been sitting here making nooses for the crew, duuuuuh!”  Celia sighed, turning to Blink. “Bli—" Blink’s gaze was untrusting and unsure.  “Ah. I see. Relieving me of command?” Blink nodded slowly. “The moment I disagree with you on a call, basically. Hope you don’t mind.” Celia kept her face level. Inwardly, however. This is unacceptable! It’s understandable, and we cannot fight it directly or we will prove her right. We have bigger problems now. What? She is absolutely certain of your darkness. Blink will recommend you be purged through the Elements of Harmony or something similar. I am unsure if we will be able to talk our way out from that recommendation, given Burgerbelle’s clear insanity and the crew’s knowledge of my duplicious abilities.  Fuck. You’re right.  We need a plan. ...We can use them. Burgerbelle’s is clearly insane. Let them fixate on that…  Celia nodded to herself. That’s a start. We’ll need to think of the perfect words. Shouldn’t be a challenge for you.  Naturally not—I am still Chalcedony Celia after all. She smirked. We should begin sooner rather than lat- “If you’re done trying to tame your wyrd…” Star Shooter said, nervously. “The coordinates you gave me are currently in the middle of a chunk of Fellis on the seafloor.” “Fellis?” “...The island that has been falling all around us? Used to be in the sky? Just stopped floating.” Celia frowned, taking the information in. “One of the rocks must have fallen on them. Blink, they do have the capacity to survive, yes?” Blink nodded. “Should.” “Then, Star, you will look for a way into the boulder. I will scan it with my magic, to see if I can find them. We are not surfacing without them.” She turned to Blink. Receiving a nod, she continued on. “Good. Now, before I go tapping into my magic…” She turned to Star. “Wyrd?” Star seemed confused. “Wyrd? The beasts of the ocean? That wolf is…” She looked Celia up and down. “You…” Celia smirked. Looks like I finally know what to call you.  Wyrd is a stupid name.  Perhaps, but it is technically correct. I find myself liking technicalities less and less as time goes on.  Then perhaps we can discover their limits in the next few hours. ~~~ Probe spells were complex and varied things used extensively in Merodi Universalis. It was standard procedure to shoot one to a universe never before visited to be absolutely sure no nasty tricks were waiting on the other side. The simplest versions came back green if things were good and didn’t come back if things weren’t.  Naturally, further complexity was desired in most applications. Even explorers would generally like to know if they would have magic on the other side, if the gravity would be suffocating, or if they would spontaneously transform into a sapient muffin. Probe spells to answer all these questions were created early on in Merodi history and in modern times they had been all but perfected.  Under normal circumstances, more complex probes weren’t needed. It was policy to establish first contact with a friendly face who hadn’t been spying on whoever they were visiting—to smooth things over. However, in some cases it was deemed necessary to learn more about a world remotely before sending an exploration team through. Using the technology from the smaller probe spells, more complex ones were developed to enter a world, catalog information about the various inhabitants, and return. It had gotten to the point where simple artificial intelligence was created within these probes to guide them in uncertain circumstances.  Seren was a cutting-edge magitechnician. Given time, she could create a highly specialized probe spell for mid-range recon. So that’s exactly what she did. It started as a spark of pale red energy that would evoke images of will-o-the-wisps in those who were familiar with the legend. The base was nothing more than a mobile spark of magic energy—over the next few minutes she added complications to the wisp’s sparks, creating complex magic circles, mathematical constructs, and sine waves within the glow. Tools to scan the area, detect radio signals, analyze magic, and decipher language.  The AI was introduced last. It was a simple thing. Smarter than a human in many ways, but in others dumber than an animal. There was no soul, no “higher processing” unit, unlike Swip. The moment it came online, it knew what it’s mission was: investigate the tunnel and report on what it saw. It would be excellent if the probe could make it all the way out to open ocean, but it had been given a greater need of self-preservation to ensure it would return with some information, regardless of what it encountered.  It was released without much fanfare—twirling through Swip’s walls and shield like a ghost, swimming through the open tunnel with ease. It noticed little of interest during the first part of its journey, though it catalogued the presence of loose bits of metal from the encounter with the mini-sub not all that long ago.  Continuing through the rocky tunnel, it found a few smaller fish and some plant matter lazily drifting around. All but the last few feet of the tunnel were a completely natural formation, which explained how the subs had gotten here so quickly. Veins of copper dotted the walls, providing incentive to dive down this far. No doubt the subs had been following the rock down as it sank further and further into the ocean. There was even some evidence of primitive mining.  The tunnel met up with four others. The probe processed this for a moment, analyzing the layout of the tunnels. It soon determined which one was the source tunnel—all the others were simply branches. Swimming that way, it picked up scans of its first submarines. A few mini-subs, connected by long tubes to something larger. Sticking close to the tunnel’s edge, the probe moved closer. The mini-subs were all similar enough to the one they’d already encountered, though most of them didn’t have drill attachments. All of them had weapons of some sort, most of which showed signs of use. Sea monsters were prevalent, so this checked out with previous knowledge.  All the mini-subs were attached to a larger sub—far larger than a normal submarine should have been, acting as a sort of mothership. It was an ovoid lined with predatory bronze spikes that glinted in the glow of its searchlights. Numerous access ports stretched out from its body, affixing to several other submarines made of different materials and markings. Given their stark contrast to the mother-sub and the mini-subs, these were either temporary additions or visitors. Behind the massive mother-sub were a half-dozen other subs, all wildly different from each other. Beyond that was the open ocean.  The probe identified the exit as the goal, but it didn’t move quickly. Snaking its way along the cavern wall, it listened to the radio chatter.  “...A free for all? Is the bat mad...?” “...She’s always been mad. I say we take it…” “...magic weaponry at the bottom of the ocean? I say it’s a trap. You know how her kind are…” “...the Admiral may be a snake, but she speaks the truth…” “...the end she’s gonna take it for herself somehow, just you watch it. She just needs some cannon fodder, and that’s us…” “...if it’s a magic weapon, how hard can it be to take if their ship is busted and stuck? There’s nowhere for them to run…” Were the probe capable of feeling fear, it would be alarmed. This was not a good sign. This ‘Admiral’—probably a fake title, given the disrespectful tones coming over the radio—was organizing a free-for-all to take Swip down, presumably as a sort of salvage operation. It already knew the salvagers were probably going to come back, but this was a bit more than what they were expecting. It would be a frenzy out there. But not all the ship captains would be truly allied. Perhaps they could be convinced to shoot each other? The probe cataloged what it knew about the Admiral. Spoken of as a bat, presumably a thestral. Given a sort of begrudging respect, likely out of a sense of power. Owned the massive mother-sub and was very experienced. Possible discrimination against thestrals? Unknown, perhaps not relevant.  “...Sparkler says there’s something out there, watching us…” The probe froze, spreading out its magic sensors. There were few sources of magic in the entire gathering of submarines, not even on the level of a basic unicorn. However, a handful of points shone out. One was above average—currently casting a scrying spell. A particular variant of the spell that could detect intelligences. Fascinating. Also highly dangerous, considering the probe’s proximity. At the very edges of its perceptions, the probe picked up a new sub arriving. There was definitely magic in that sub, more than any of the other sources in the gathering. It wanted to learn more.  Then the unicorn found it. “I see it! Heading nine-zero-three—that’s starboard from the Algol’s Shadow! It’s probably magic—get the unicorns in Trinity on it!” The probe didn’t stick around—it had been compromised. It darted back down the tunnels before Trinity could even wind up its propellers. Less than a minute later, it arrived back at Swip, downloading all the information it had into Swip’s mind before ending its existence.  “Probe got back,” Swip said. “We’ve got a problem. They detected the probe and we’re the prize in a multi-sided free for all salvage opportunity.” Squeaky frowned. “At least we’re already prepared for them. Any weaknesses? Heads? Leaders?” “The mother-sub, the Algol’s Shadow, is too large to get this far down. We’d have to launch an attack on it if we were hoping to take it out of the equation.” “...Then we remain with the defensive option. Any objections?” Suzie looked mildly uncomfortable, but said nothing. ~~~ The phoenix roared, flaring its flames forward just enough to push Allure and Cinder to the edge of the rocky outcropping. In front of them was the flaming bird. Behind them was a sharp drop into nothingness.  Cinder could hear Allure’s sigh through the radio. “Okay. Nira’s… who knows where. This bird really wants us dead.” The beast flapped, sending a burst of fire at them. Cinder redirected it directly back, so as to minimize the shockwave. Still, the ground beneath them cracked from the strain.  Allure coughed. “So, I have a plan. This plan involves you launching me at it like a torpedo. You have the fire, I have the Heart-blade. Got it?” “Yep!” Cinder said. She created a small flame to her left, acting like a small jet and pushing her behind Allure. “Ready when you are!”  “Do it, keep an eye on the fire!”  Cinder directed another burst of flame upward, this time making a shockwave too much for the ground below. The stone crumbled to dust and began to fall off the edge of the boulder. Cinder didn’t let this stop her—she grabbed hold of Allure’s waist and created two fire jets at her back hooves, turning the two of them into a rocket aimed right at the bird.  It retaliated with a charge of its own. Since she was focusing on the fiery jets behind her, Cinder was unable to divert the flames coming right at them. Allure took up the slack. She may not have had an affinity for fire, or much magic in her, but she did have her Heart, and that could provide a temporary barrier. The energy of her spirit solidified into an invisible cone, protecting the two of them from the white flames. For a moment, they were no longer underwater, but flying through a cloud of steam and fire.  At the last second, the bird twisted away. Instead of scoring a direct hit, the tip of Allure’s cone hit a wing. Not a mortal wound, but enough to put out the bird’s flames. Once more, the lack of a burning star at the bottom of the ocean triggered a massive rupture, and this time two Sweeties were in the center of it. Their suits were more than capable of surviving the pressure but the vertigo was too much for their little pony brains.  For Cinder, everything went blurry. There was only the sensation of her head throbbing for a long while—not that Cinder was capable of perceiving time during the experience. The sensation of time having passed came only when her eyes clicked on, telling her that she was falling slowly. Her mind slowly pieced together that she must have been pushed off the edge of the boulder and was now sinking.  Struggling, she turned her neck to the other side. Allure was there, upside down. Cinder had no idea if Allure was awake and didn’t feel like speaking right now to test it out.  Cinder realized she was tumbling. No matter what she did, eventually her vision would be reoriented somewhere else. As she rotated… It was like watching the sun rise as her field of view pointed toward the phoenix. It was directly above them, barreling down as fast as its flames could carry it. This was not enough to shock Cinder awake. The roar of the sea monster behind the bird, however, was enough. Her eyes shot open the moment she noticed the glint of the phoenix’s fire in two massive eyes. The picture came into focus—a massive toothy jaw strong enough to crush reinforced metal. Was this the same one from earlier? Was Nira okay? Cinder decided that didn’t matter right now. If she didn’t do something, she and Allure definitely wouldn’t be okay. Tapping into strength she didn’t realize she had, she reached for Allure. A soft burst of fire got her close enough to grab ahold of the older mare’s barrel. “Hold on tight.” “Ergh…” Allure muttered, shifting slightly. “What in th…?” “Running from a sea monster. If I pass out… come up with a new plan.” Gritting her teeth, Cinder lit her horn.  A massive jet of flame shot from her back hooves, propelling her down. The water rippled around her not unlike the way the air did around a Rainbow Dash about to perform a Sonic Rainboom. She would not be breaching the sound barrier today—water was simply too dense—but she would send out a cone of waves in every direction. She figured this probably made it easy for things to find her, but there was already a sea monster chasing her, so she didn’t see the problem.  After a few seconds of initial strain, she began to relax a bit. It was by no means easy to keep this much fire going from only her internal magic, but the vast pressure differential was helping her speed along just fine. She had no idea how close the phoenix and the sea monster were, and she wasn't looking back to find out.  “Cinder—light!” Allure called.  Focusing down, Cinder discovered she could see lights. Little points, like stars, dancing around in the murk below. As she approached, her light revealed to her the source: a bunch of submarines sitting in a large, open cavern. One of the subs in particular caught her eye—a massive behemoth of a ship with large spikes coming out of all sides, slowly leaving the cavern with its caravan of smaller ships.  They seemed to be in a hurry… Oh. They were probably fleeing. From her, the phoenix, or the giant sea monster? Probably some combination of all three.  There was a flash of light somewhere below them, orange. Cinder squinted her eyes—was something moving toward them? It was hard to see over the light of her own flames, but she was pretty sure there was something dark moving toward them.  She nudged her path to the left just in time. A torpedo sailed past them at high speed, leaving a trail of bubbles in its wake that triggered a minor shockwave, tossing the Sweeties even further off course. Cinder heard the explosion. Given the earth-trembling roar that came next, she guessed it hit the sea monster.  “Get in the cave,” Allure said. “It’ll go after the subs. Probably.” “I’ll take probably!” Cinder laughed nervously. She pushed them further down. Another torpedo narrowly missed them. “Cutting off fire!” Cinder cut off her magic so the torpedoes wouldn't have a nice shiny target to smash into aside from the monster. The impulse threw her down hard. It was at this point her helmet picked up the emergency alert.  “This is the Admiral broadcasting to everyone! Get your asses out of here! No salvage is worth fighting a deepfish! Retreat to Leviathan Wakes!” The largest sub fired a cluster of massive torpedoes. Cinder didn’t see them land—but unlike all the others, the color of their explosion was green. The sea monster sounded like it was in agony. It didn’t sound like it was running away though… Why won’t these stupid monsters run away? Cinder thought to herself. The seadogs, the seaponies, these… deepfish! All of them just keep attacking! She held Allure close as they drifted into the cavern. Since she was no longer using fire to control her descent, they were tumbling once again. Looking up, she couldn't see the phoenix anywhere. The deepfish, on the other hoof, was much closer than before. One of its teeth had been burned off and there were remnant green glows on the right side of its face.  It was veering away from the cave—going for the subs. The more torpedoes they shot the angrier it seemed to get. Even with half its face blown off, it still wanted to devour the pesky metallic capsules.  Soon, its girth blocked the convoy of submarines from view. Cinder could still see the colors of torpedo explosions going off from around the beast’s edges, but no actual submarines.  “...There’s still one in here,” Allure said, forcefully moving Cinder’s gaze from the deepfish and to the single remaining submarine. Rather than flee the caverns like all the others, it was moving deeper, trapping itself.  It was the only one that had ignored the call to retreat.  Why? “We need to follow it,” Cinder said. “It’s the only one here. It’s important.” Allure thought about this for a while. “Are you sure you’re up for it?” Cinder laughed nervously. “No… but it’s here and it’s moving away quickly.” She frowned. “...Think NIra’s okay?” “I think Nira probably cut that monster’s head off and is now panicking, wondering where we are.” “Right…” Cinder shook her head, looking up at the sub as it drifted further into the caves.  “Let’s go,” Allure gestured. “...We’ll need your fire to keep up.” Cinder took a breath—and ignited more flames. Gonna burn my horn out at this rate… ~~~ Nira teleported back to Swip, appearing in the lounge in her suit and everything. “Seren, I need a magic recharge, I have to go find them.” Seren gave Nira the magic she needed—but she barely paid Nira any attention. She was staring at one of Swip’s screens with a grimace.  Nira frowned. “What’s gone wrong?” “A lot of things,” Swip said. “Just listen, we’re repeating her message.” “Who—" Then Nira heard it—an audio file. Celia’s voice. There was no video, just a white waveform on a black background. “We have commandeered a sub and are headed to your position with it. I suspect you were aware of the small fleet outside gearing to salvage Swip. Luckily, we will not have to deal with that, since they have scattered upon the arrival of a sea monster, allowing us to sneak right on. Unfortunately, we have other problems.  “Blink is going to arrive shortly and hail you. I am uncertain of what she will say—but take it with a grain of salt. There is evidence of a dark contagion on board the vessel. Without a doubt it has corrupted Burgerbelle, making her more prone to violence and dark desires, manifesting in the form of a psychotic black wolf. She has become a danger to us and the crew of this ship.  “Blink herself may be infected as well, though I am uncertain. She was the one who suggested we steal this ship, and has managed to remove me from head of the operation. At first I thought her ghostly physiology would make her immune… but I have my doubts. Be careful. “I myself was infected with the curse as well, though I managed to isolate the personality and expunge it using my nature as a Gem. I am currently hiding, though Blink and Burgerbelle have no idea I am doing so at the moment. My suggestion is that you hold Blink in a dialogue while Nira teleports to the ship and expunges Burgerbelle of the darkness within her. Use your discretion when dealing with Blink. If all goes well, all will be cured and we can take the sub to the surface.  “Work quickly. I’ve boosted this message as much as I can, but I am unsure of how long you will have before Blink calls you directly.  “End message—Celia, Chalcedony.” Squeaky ended the message. “We need you on that sub when it arrives.” Nira nodded. “Naturally.” “Do you have any idea where Allure and Cinder might be?” “I… completely lost them in an attack,” Nira frowned. “I don’t know anything for certain.” Squeaky sighed. “...We’re running out of options. Deal with the sub first. Find them later. They should have at least an hour of air left…” “Less if they’ve been fighting,” Sweetaloo offered. “But some. We need to deal with the sub n—" “Incoming call,” Swip beeped, patching in the radio signal.  “Hey guys!” Blink’s chipper voice came in. “We’ve had a bad couple of hours here, but hey, we borrowed a sub for you guys! Cool, right? Hop on in and we can get to the surface before that sea monster returns.” Suzie took a breath before responding. “It’s not quite that simple, Blink. Allure and Cinder are missing…” ~~~ “Are we in communication range yet?” Blink asked Star, tapping her hoof impatiently.  Star twitched. “We’ll be in range the moment we’re in range. Turnfin, explain to the ghost.” Turnfin was an earth pony stallion with a penchant for machinery and a completely deadpan way of speaking about things. “The radio is Sanctaphrax made. Highest quality. Seen to it personally. It will work when it works. Assuming your crew can pick it up.” “They’ll pick it up…” Blink said, pacing. Where was Celia? Without her here, the crew got a lot less… terrified. Sure, Burgerbelle was over there in the corner, but a presence that scared Blink just as much as everypony else wasn’t exactly a big help.  “You don’t have a skull, right?” Burgerbelle asked Blink, smirking.  Blink frowned. “Uh… no, not really.” “Those eyes though… yes, those are definitely there. And I have a skull!” She popped off her own head, transforming it into a skull. “Think of the crackships.” Blink grimaced. “I’m not sure which is worse. Depression-Burger or Shipper-Burger.” “They’re one and the same!” Burgerbelle laughed. “Because after the eyes and the skull unite in holy matrimony, the sub sinks! I can imagine the scene now—ooh, quick, I need some paper.” The tiny wolf on her shoulder scoffed. “OUT OF PAPER? USE YOUR SKIN!” Blink rubbed her head and turned away. She didn’t need to deal with this. She had other problems right now.  “In range!” Star called. “There, make your call so we can get this done with!” Blink put on a smile. “Hey guys! We’ve had a bad couple of hours here, but hey, we borrowed a sub for you guys! Cool, right? Hop on in and we can get to the surface before that sea monster returns.” Suzie took a tense breath on the other end of the line. “It’s not quite that simple, Blink.”  Blink froze. They can’t... “Allure and Cinder are missing…” “What? How?” “We managed to make some suits. They haven’t come back.” “What’s the plan?” “We were making one when you arrived. ...Currently, I’m thinking some of us surface with your sub while most of us remain here to look for them.” “Sounds like a plan. ...I should warn you, we didn’t exactly take this sub peacefully. And Burgerbelle’s got a bit of a… problem.” “We know,” Nira said. Blink froze. That hadn’t come from the radio. She whirled around just in time to see Nira levitate the Insanity Wolf into the air. Immediately, it lost its tiny size and expanded to a massive hulking beast dripping blood from its teeth. “FLIPPING OFF GODS LIKE YOURS IS PART OF A BALANCED BREAKFAST!” “My god is dead. You’re about to join him.” Nira’s horn flashed a deep, unsettling red. She created a blade of magic and cut herself across the left thigh, allowing her to access her blood magic. The claw erupted from her side and punctured the Insanity Wolf’s chest, pushing the heart out the other end.  The wolf laughed, before proceeding to twist around impossibly and devour its own heart. “WHO NEEDS THAT!?” “Clearly, not you.” Nira surrounded the wolf in her bloody tendril and squeezed it tight.  Burgerbelle appeared behind Nira and wrapped a noose around her neck. Nira’s response was to vaporize the noose to dust and kick Burgerbelle in the waist, knocking her back. “The corruption’s deep…” Blink’s ghostly form lost some of its cohesion as Nira tapped into her spirit magics. She wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but given the screams coming from both Burgerbelle and the wolf it wasn’t pleasant.  Burgerbelle fell against the sub’s wall, grabbing her hair like it was crawling with ants. The wolf had it much worse; its body was coming apart at the seams, crumbling like it was made of aged chalk. Through its agony, however, it was still able to scream out.  “DIVIDE BY ZERO!” The Insanity Wolf collapsed in on itself, forming a dark singularity of space-tearing power. The walls of the sub began to buckle from the strain.  Nira ground her teeth. “Begone!” For a second, a portal to another universe opened. Water poured in like a fire hose was on the other end, dousing the entire bridge. Ponies screamed in panic as their worst nightmares came true.  And just like that, it was over. The portal closed, and the singularity was gone. There was no actual breach so the water didn’t rise any further than the inch it already had.  Wasting no time, Nira turned to Burgerbelle. “It’s still in you.” Burgerbelle hissed like a cat.  “Apologies. This will hurt. A lot.”  Burgerbelle’s eyes went pitch black. Her body went as rigid as a board and she no longer moved in time with the sounds she was making. A buzz like an audio error filled the room, making everypony but Nira cover their ears.  A dark spark rose out of Burgerbelle’s chest. With a sound like scissors cutting through bone, the spark was severed from the Flat. Almost instantly, the darkness in her eyes went out. She was cured.  Nira crushed the dark spark in a bloody hand. “There. Done with that.”  “Geez…” Blink rubbed the back of her head, glancing at the terrified crew that was hiding behind everything they possibly could. “That was… something.” “Yes. It was. Now…” Nira turned to face Blink, scanning her. Blink stood rigidly still, refusing to let herself so much as change expressions.  “Hm…” Nira said, scratching her chin. “Looks like you’re clean. I guess you’re just lucky enough to be immune.” Blink let herself sigh in relief. “Yeah… I guess I am. You going to check Celia too?” Nira narrowed her eyes. “Wait… why would I need to?” “She clearly had the same thing Burgerbelle did.” “In her message she said she purged it.” “Her… message? She didn’t send a…” Blink stopped short. “Nira, wait, listen to m—" “Blink, make yourself fully tangible for me.” “Nira we don’t have time for this, Celia could be corrupted a—" Nira’s horn started glowing menacingly. “I said, make yourself fully tangible. It’s possible your Void could be hiding the curse…” Blink froze.  The voice within her screamed. I told you… I TOLD you… I TOLD YOU!  Shut up shut up shut up shut up shu- You’re going to kill her NOW! No! I w- You know what I’ll do if you refuse. Everything you hold so deep, deep down… I… wh… I… Blink’s thoughts became little more than a jumbled, contradictory mess.  I guess this’ll have to do… I’ll take care of her for you.  Blink looked up at Nira. “All right. Fully tangible, as requested.” She solidified herself completely. “Nothing to hide here.”  Nira began her scans. Before she got anywhere, Blink smashed her shades into Nira’s face with as much force as she could muster, revealing her eyes for all to see. No longer were they blank, empty voids—they had become pitch black spheres of endless depth with dark red streaks along the bottom edge that were far too thin to be blood.  “Wyrd…” Star Shooter breathed.  Blink rushed forward, sticking her hoof through Nira’s head. “Your mind is already so messed up. I wonder if I can break it by twisting it juuuuuust wrong…” A burst of Void entered Nira’s mind, blanking it for a moment. “You know, I wonder if our powers can wipe a mind permanently… she never tried. Looks like it’s time to find out!” “How ‘bout no?” Burgerbelle said, looking way too healthy and happy for someone who just got their soul purged. “BONK!”  A baseball bat hit Blink on the head, making her lose focus on Nira’s mind.  “You are such a crime against nature! You don’t deserve to EXIST!” Blink leaped on Burgerbelle and attempted to erase her very substance from existence.  Burgerbelle held up a reverse card with the text ‘no u’ on it. Blink was immune to being erased by her own powers, but this didn’t stop her from falling back—right into Nira’s telekinetic grasp.  “My mind is mine, flayer,” Nira growled. “You will lose yours for the act of touching mine.” Blink’s face contorted into one of deep-seated hatred. “And you will lose the lives of every living being here.” She touched her hoof to the ground. “All I have to do is erase part of this wall. Just part! And the entire sub will explode.” Nira narrowed her eyes. “...Your terms?” “I am going to teleport away. You are not going to follow me. Follow me, someone dies. I don’t care who.” “You must know I cannot allow that.” “Your ghost is lost to me, dark one. I have put her in her place. Do you know what I had to do? It was easy. Just threaten her secrets and she folded like paper. I’m sure you know some of them.” Nira’s angry scowl softened slightly as uncertainty crossed her face.  “The funny thing is, what you’re remembering isn’t even the tip of the iceberg. And you thought you were the one! Hah! Don’t make me laugh!” Blink grinned. “Bye.” Having collected enough magic, Blink teleported into the nearby ocean and made herself completely invisible. No visual, auditory, or magical senses would be able to pick her up. She would only be able to move by floating around, but no one would be able to sense her.  She drifted through the cavern, planning to exit into the open ocean. She could spread out there… be free. Join the monsters of the sea. That was her purpose, wasn’t it? One of them, anyway. Have some fun.  Then go find that Crown Princess. She had the right idea. Just a littl- Let me OUT! Blink’s mind became a warzone again. Her true invisibility dropped back down to standard intangibility.  We must run, they will pursue us! GIVE IT BACK! No! I won- Do as I say or I will end your precious little house of cards.  You wouldn't dare! You’re part of the house of cards. You give me no choice. You- Something grabbed Blink’s head—a pony in a diving suit.  “Blink!” Cinder called. “Blink, are you okay!?” ~~~ When Cinder saw Blink appear in front of her with a look of confusion and rage on her face, she acted without thinking.  She grabbed Blink’s head and rammed her helmet into it. “Blink! Blink, are you okay?” How am I touching her?  The moment she asked the question, her hooves passed through Blink’s head.  “N-no…” Blink said, trembling, “Cinder, help me… I That’s it you’ve done it now. Hey Cinder, you want to stop! STOP! STOP! I won’t stop! I’m NEVER GOING TO STOP UNTIL I TAKE EVERYTHING FROM YOU! Then maybe we don’t deserve to exist you care too much to end it now! I dare y I dare you to sh… sh… Why do you struggle s because no you I wi—" “Blink!” Cinder called. She was pretty sure it was impossible for Blink to hear the words without having the helmet pressed right to her head, but it didn’t matter. “You can fight… whatever this is! I believe in you! You… you’re stronger!” She rammed her head right into the intangible unicorn, placing Blink’s face on the inside of the helmet. “You’re the best friend a pony could ask for, a little dark monster isn’t going to stop you!” Blink stopped ranting to herself. She drifted back from Cinder’s helmet.  The red lining under her eyes began to waft away. Was she crying? It was hard to tell underwater.  “Yes…” Blink said. “No!” Blink forced herself to become fully tangible.  At the bottom of the ocean.  She had no bones, but everything broke. She had no lungs, but she screamed so loud the caves rumbled. She had no stomach, but her body wretched. She had no real substance, but every square inch of her wavered anyway.  CRACK!  A Reality Anchor shattered, spewing its circuitry through the water.  CRACK! Another broke, coinciding perfectly with the moment Blink stopped screaming. Undying as she may have been, there was a point at which her mind couldn’t take any more and she just shut down. She looked almost peaceful.  Slowly, Cinder turned her head to look at the last remaining Reality Anchor. It was sparking slightly from the strain… but it wasn’t breaking.  Allure had her hooves pressed to it. Given the warping effect around the anchor, she was no doubt using her Heart power to shield the bracelet from the pressure.  “I can’t… hold this… for long…” Allure grunted.  “We have to do something!” Cinder shouted. “I… HELP! ANYONE? HELP!” Nira answered the call, teleporting next to Blink and surrounding her in a forcefield. “I’ve got her.” “Oh, thank you Nira!” Cinder let out a sigh of relief. “C-can you fix her?” “I fixed Burgerbelle. I can fix her.” Nira frowned. “I’d worry more about Celia.” “W-what?” “She’s hiding.” Nira cast a sleep spell on Blink, ensuring she wouldn’t wake up in a mad rage. “I’m sending you all back to Swip. Deal with the sub. I’ll find her.” ~~~ Celia held her razor-top between her legs, using it as a propeller to launch herself forward, further and further into the open ocean.  Okay. We’re out, free, running away.  This has only bought us some time. They will find us. And because of your influence I doubt they’ll trust us for even a moment.  Leave a message.  Last message was a big fat lie. Celia let out a wince. They won’t trust another one.  Why do you let them know you so well!? Usually we aren’t working against each other. And if we are, I can usually swing some to my side… We are in a bit of a unique predicament.  We knew this would happen. We knew and we went forward anyway… Yes. We did. We ran. Distracted them and ran. All so we could have time.  Time to do what? Convince them to leave us alone? We don’t want that. We- the Invader stopped short. Wait a minute. You saw all of this ahead of time. Celia nodded to herself. Yes. I fully admit to being duplicitous to you as well as all the others.  I can’t help but be impressed. And wonder what the FUCK your plan is!? It’s admittedly not much of one… Celia let out a sigh. More of a thought, really. An idea I know you wouldn’t have taken unless you knew how desperate the situation was. I get it. Pretty desperate. They’re going to find us, hunt us down, and kill me. Probably cause some psychological damage to you in the process, but they’ll think it’s worth it.  Exactly. Your life's on the line. What we need to do is, somehow, make it so they can’t take the option of purging you.  You have some idea of how to d- no, oh no.  Celia closed her eyes, deciding to forego paying attention to the outside world. If a fish decided to eat her now, so be it—this was important. She focused herself into her mindscape, appearing in front of the dark shadow of herself. They stood together in an endless expanse of centimeter deep water, a vast sky of stars overhead. Unlike the last time they had done this, the Invader actually looked… concerned.  “You’ve changed too,” Celia said, holding the dark mare’s chin in her hoof. “A bundle of rage and hatred… I don’t see the murder in your eyes anymore. I see confusion, loss, and energy that doesn’t know where to go.” The Invader let out a bitter laugh. “I see a Gem who locks herself in her own traps, defining herself by a society rather than what she thinks. I’m starting to think breaking out of that really would kill you.” “You have a point. I’ve come to think you’re right. I have gotten so absorbed in my political correctness and masks that what I really am was lost somewhere along the way—hidden in the two halves that never exist on their own.” “How can someone so smart be so stupid?” Celia smiled warmly. “...Do you need an explanation?” “No. You’re the one who does.” “Yet, I don’t feel like I need one.” The Invader rolled her eyes. “You’re still crazy. Insane.” “Gems are uniquely suited for a melding of minds.” Celia tapped her gemstone. “I myself am a synthesis of two minds, in harmony almost all the time. You’ve been in my headspace long enough I believe I could add you to it—as a pseudo-fusion, not the arguing we’ve been undertaking for so, so long.” “You mean a few days?” Celia sighed, tired. “It feels like so much longer than that…” The Invader looked Celia up and down, grimacing. “Why?” “What?” “Why? I’m a magic curse that invaded your mind and tried to convince you to kill people. Was indirectly responsible for the death of a pony, to boot. Why go through all this trouble? I compelled you to to some of it. There’s no way I did all of it.” “You’re a mind, just like me. You… deserve better.”  The Invader frowned. “No, that’s not quite it… there’s something more here. More than just morals, more than just an attachment. You feel… gratitude?” “...You have made me consider things I never considered. Given me a new venue from which to look at things.” Celia looked up at the starry sky above. “I am uncertain if I could call your influence ‘good’. But it’s something that seems… pertinent, at the very least. You taught me about myself. I taught you about yourself. It would be such a shame to throw all that away like it was nothing.” She began to trot away from the Invader. “Nira, for example. She’s broken and damaged… but she’s also strong and resourceful. Even her absolutely evil master is partially to thank for the mare she’s become. And you? You are not evil. You may be a product of evil, but like Nira you are something else.” The Invader didn’t have anything to say.  “So… do you want to try it?” Celia asked, turning to face her with a hoof outstretched. “Try to show them that you are something that can be a part of me?” “...It…” The Invader let out a groan. “Fuck it, let’s give it a shot.” “Okay.” Celia’s smile faltered slightly. “You will have to get to Goshenite and Moganite first. Moganite will agree simply out of a sense of practicality. Goshenite… Goshenite is scared of you. Remember, they are both me, and can be one with you as well. Prove to her that you can be gentle. I know you have it in you.” “Oh, really? Because I sure don’t! Hah! Gentle? I’m already imagining her smashed to dust in the water here! BOOM kapow, no more obstacle.” “She knows that. Just… don’t do it. We all have impulses like that.” She tilted the Invader’s head up. “We simply have to learn to control them.” “...Right.” Celia nodded. “Here goes…” Out in the physical world, Celia’s body flashed white, losing its cohesion. The two halves of her began to shift… tearing at a dark spot in between them.  The Invader flinched slightly, but forced herself through the pain.  Before here were two creatures—Goshenite and Moganite. Now that they were together in a calm setting, the Invader could actually look at them. Both were two-legged armless beings with a gem in their foreheads. Moganite had the larger half of Celia’s diamond, and carried with her the aura of a Rarity, an older sister. Goshenite was the much smaller half—the young, scared, shivering Sweetie.  Moganite turned to the Invader and nodded. “Greetings. You have been an interesting conversation partner.” “...That’s all you have to say? Really?” “I can say many things. They do not matter much. Let’s try to do this quickly, we are not strong on our own. If we lose cohesion completely I am unsure what will happen to you.” She gestured at Goshenite. “Go to her.” With a wince, the Invader walked up to Goshenite. “Uh… hi.” “...You’re a big meany,” Goshenite said, trying hard not to cry.  “Aren’t we all?” the Invader smiled creepily. “Have you never been mean?” “I…” Goshenite looked at the sky. “Yes. We had to… at times. When they came for us…” She squeezed her eyes tight. “It was terrible. Moganite knew—she always knows, she’s smart that way—that we had to kill them. I didn’t. I almost got us killed. I…” Tears in her eyes, she summoned her staff—one half of Celia’s signature razor top. “They had her under a drill.” “You made the right call,” Moganite said.  “It wasn’t a call,” Goshenite whimpered. “Most of them weren’t…” Goshenite trotted away from the Invader and looked to Moganite. “Moganite is right almost all the time, you know. You’ll have to get used to her if you stick around long.” She let out an awkward laugh. “Doesn't get people, though. It’s alllll numbers. Silly Moganite.” Moganite allowed herself to smile. “I can be the silly sister.” Goshenite wiped her eyes. “Every time something goes wrong, and we might split… Mognaite asks me to trust her. I’ve learned to do that. She’s better in crisis situations than me.” Goshenite frowned. “She hasn’t asked this time…” The Invader glanced at her. “Wait, you didn’t? I thought this was important to you!” “It is,” Goshenite answered for her. “She knows this is more than numbers. This is…” She touched one of her legs to the Invader’s. “A matter of emotions. Heart. Soul. Me.” Goshenite giggled.  “The division isn’t strictly mind and heart…” Moganite said.  “...but it often feels that way,” Goshenite completed.  “I get the distinct impression I’m not actually doing anything and you’re talking yourself into liking me. Am I wrong?” Goshenite tapped her foot on the ground. “Maybe?” “Maybe.” “Maybe.” “You really do need to be fused, don’t you?” “Pretty useless and weak apart, yeah,” Moganite admitted. “I’m heartless and crass.” “I’m terrified of everything and cry all the time!” Goshenite laughed. “Also I laugh at odd times.”  “But I see patterns.” “And I see emotions.” The Invader understood. “And Celia sees people.” The two nodded.  “What do you see?” Goshenite asked.  “I see…” the Invader had to think about this for a moment. “I see action. Reaction. What could be done. What must be done. I see…” She grinned. “I see ME. Or... us...?” Moganite turned to Goshenite. “Us…?” Goshenite looked up to the Invader—smiling softly. “...Us is fine.” She nuzzled up to the Invader. “You may be scary. But sometimes… you have to be scary.”  Moganite nodded to the Invader. “Congratulations. You passed.” “I didn’t say so yet!” Goshenite huffed. “I know you did.” “Well yes, but you ruined the moment! I was going to do this whole ‘woohoo’ thing and…” “...and we’re spending too long apart.” Moganite pointed at the pained look that crossed the Invader’s face. “You don’t want to split her in two.” “No... “ Goshenite shook her head. “It was nice meeting you! And if we meet again, we really do need to come up with a better name than Invader.” The Invader grinned. “I’ll think about it!” Moganite nodded in respect. She touched her mind to Goshenite’s and they fused back into Celia without any trouble.  Celia trotted to the Invader and picked up her hoof. “Shall we dance?” The Invader pulled her up. “My moves will be better.” “Until our moves are the same, at any rate.”  Hooves interlocked, they began to step in time. As they swirled around each other in graceful, arcing movements, the mindscape began to blur, swirling away from a solid scene into little more than colorful static.  Celia looked the Invader right in the eyes. “Thank you, darling.” “Hah! You’re welcome!” She pulled Celia in.  The mindscape lost all cohesion.  In the physical world, two halves of a gemstone slid into place, forming the cracked diamond all of Celia’s friends knew so well. In the crack, a dark light began to glow, starting as solid black but slowly shifting to a pristine purple. The aura touched the fissure between the two halves, thickening until it was as solid as they were.  Prompted by the aura, the break between the crystals mended. Like a welding torch to metal, a spark came to the bottom of the crystal and traveled all the way to the top until there was only a single, solid piece. A blue diamond-shaped crystal dotted with soft purple specks.  Light erupted from the gemstone, and a familiar shape took form. Four legs, a curled tail, and a head topped with one of the most fashionable manes in existence. The hair took on the pastel colors of a Sweetie and the eyes the brilliant blue of a Rarity.  The ears pointed sharply, coming to angled, predatory points. The mouth curled into a smile, dotted with two sharp canines. The hooves became pointed, more like thorns than marshmallows. Around the neck, the light formed into a soft purple and black scarf that trailed behind her, ending in a zig-zag edge.  She came into full existence in the middle of the open sea, more than a little startled at the concept of being.  The first thing she did was tap her gemstone. No crack.  Well, this is a little more permanent than I… we… had been anticipating? She cocked her head. What’s that mean, exactly? She stretched her legs, feeling the water flow past her hard-light body. The scarf blew behind her like an extra limb. It tickled her neck slightly.  Her uncertain frown turned into a grin. Oh, wow, that… yes! She instantly went to scratch behind her neck with one of her pointed hooves. That’s the spot, that’s the spot. She let out a laugh, not that anybody was around to hear. I have no idea why I feel this way but I feel GREAT! Yeah! I’m ME! You hear that world!? I’m ME! Who am I? Hmm… She scratched her chin with her hoof, taking a quick inventory of her mind. There was one, single consciousness. Not two, not three—not even a mild division.  Am I… Celia? She processed this for a moment. Yes… Yes, I am! Celia, new and improved, deluxe edition! Trademark, registered, something something, oh Burgerbelle should be here she’d make such a joke out of this. I do hope Nira’s removed that IMBECILE of a dog of hers. If not, well… I’ve got a few choice ideas for how it could suffer. Didn’t it say something about a bear trap earlier? Oh how delightful!  Her smile faltered.  Ah… they aren’t exactly going to be happy about this… She shook her head, bringing the smile back in full force.  They’re my friends, they’ll understand. And if they don’t… they’ll try, and they’ll learn what to do with me. At the same time I learn what to do with myself! Oh, that self-reflection thing is new. Nice. Old-me got what she wanted. The dark-me got what she wanted, and... She laughed. The sisters… are finally as they were meant to be. Hey, past me, thanks! ...Can I convince Swip to use the time-drive to go back for a thank you? No, that’d be an abuse of power. A hilarious one, though! Celia heard a tremendous roar from behind her. Turning, she saw a sea monster—not the massive snakes they had been encountering at the seafloor, but a more conventional kraken-type.  Celia grinned. Let’s test out the gears on this thing! She reached into her gemstone and pulled out the razor-top directly. No longer did it look like a combination of two separate weapons—but rather a single object lined with dark curls. It revved like a motorcycle. All the better for striking fear into the enemy… The sea monster didn’t have a concept of fear. It charged. Celia rolled her eyes. Oh well, more fun later. Let’s see if I can invent a dark-magic superspin of some sort… ~~~ Nira was all of two minutes away from the part of Fellis sitting on Swip when Celia passed her.  Hi! Celia called as she passed. Bye~! Nira turned her suit around, using her magic to throw herself at the Gem riding a razor-top like a witch’s broom. Get back here, fiend! You will release her from your grasp! There might be a tad problem with that, Celia thought back, pulling on the brakes and facing Nira directly. I appear to have captured the ‘fiend’ in my ‘grasp’. Of course, the reverse is also true, and the inverse, and basically any way you try to pretzel it with descriptive words and pronouns. She smiled warmly. But that’s neither here nor there—literally—right now. Hi Nira, good to see you. I’m sorry about the whole diversion thing. I trust you got it all handled? Blink and Burgerbelle are being treated… Nira completed her scan of Celia. Did you FUSE with the thing? Yes! Celia giggled. Well, that was what I was trying to do anyway. Had to prove to you that she was worthwhile, after all. And don’t give me your rant about falling to the temptation, it was a two-way street. She tapped her gemstone. Turned out to be a bit more permanent than previously thought, but I’m not complaining. No crack in the Gem and I feel GREAT!  Nira frowned, deciding to drop her mental echo. You are still dark.  Quite. But, darling, so are you. Put us on the scales and see where I stand, hmm? Nira didn’t like it, but Celia had a point. She had decidedly less of a dark essence than Nira herself. She also seemed… remarkably happy, if uncharacteristically excited.  You don’t have to know what to think just yet, Celia thought to her. You can let the others see, too. That is what I was heading back for. She smiled sadly. Going to face the music.  Slowly, Nira nodded. It’ll be a few teleports, but I can get us back. I will have a grip on your spirit, just in case you’re pulling the blind on us. Celia sighed. I suppose that’s understandable. It… it hurts though.  You chose this.  Celia let herself laugh. And it’s time to face the consequences! Nira focused on the teleport spell. Three flashes later, they were back in Swip. Allure and Squeaky weren’t there—presumably working on keeping the stolen sub under control.  “Ah… convenient…” Celia observed. She took a moment to gauge her audience.  Burgerbelle gave her a thumbs up, a good sign. Blink looked as though she was too busy thinking about other things to fully grasp what Celia’s new appearance meant. Swip’s avatar was equal parts disgusted and absolutely fascinated. Seren was just confused, while Sweetaloo’s eyes told of a mare who understood all-too-well.  Cinder looked conflicted. It was impossible to read Suzie.  “So!” Celia clapped her hooves together. “I could probably have walked in here with a big speech that would turn you all to my side one at a time. There would have been tears, emotional moments, and a lot of prodding in little hidden emotional areas all of you didn’t even know you had. It would be a guaranteed success. But I don’t want to be that person. I want it even less than I did before. So I’m going to tell you the facts, and you tell me what you think.”  Shaking, she took a breath. “I am Celia. I am the fusion of Goshenite, Moganite, and the dark curse found in the waters of this world known as a wyrd. About a week ago I was cursed with the same darkness that created the seaponies and other monsters of the deep. I was changed by it—all parts of me. Goshenite, Moganite, and the curse itself. In the end, I chose—all three of me—to come together so we could show you that the darkness didn’t need to be destroyed. So we formally fused. Turned out to be permanent, sealed the gemstone together. And… yep! That’s it! This is the new me!” She laughed nervously. “So… thoughts?” Burgerbelle opened her mouth to speak, but Suzie held up a hand to stop her. The captain of the expedition team looked her diplomat and close friend in the eye. A tear rolled down the woman’s face. Celia’s smile dropped. “Suzie…” “There’s a terrible thing about Gems,” Suzie said, voice wavering. “And I… I can never say it, because it…” She took in a deep breath. “They become something new. Then the person you knew is gone.” “...I’m still Celia, Suzie.” “And you’re still Goshenite and Moganite! I know! You say it every time! But every time I’ve spoken to them, they… they’re not you! They are, but they aren’t! I don’t care if it’s bigoted or racist or something or whatever, when you come together you are something different!” Suzie punched the wall. “Goshenite and Moganite might as well be dead when you’re together!” Sweetaloo gasped. “S-suzie, th—" “YES that applies to you too!” Suzie said. “And…” The anger went out of her eyes in an instant. “I didn’t… I…” She put her hands on Sweetaloo. “I shouldn't have, I—" “You were honest with yourself,” Celia said, sniffing. Turning around, Suzie could see tears of a neon red blood-like substance running down her cheeks, clotting on the ground. “Tha- that’s good!” Celia forced a smile. “You… you think I’m dead… that… Well, it’s out in the open. I can’t fault you for that. I…” Celia bit her lip. “Maybe they are dead. I can’t go back now. But… if I could, I—they—would still want to be here. This was a choice.” She wiped her face. “And even if it wasn’t, all of us are still here.” Suzie swallowed hard, saying nothing. “Change is part of life. If… if they are dead, then the you that existed last week is also dead.” Celia forced a smile. “It may not matter either way. I sure don’t know. I don’t think I need to. I’m happy like this.” “And the rest of us?” Suzie asked. “...This is going to sound crass,” Celia admitted. “But… I spent way, way too much of my time working for all of you. I almost didn’t have a sense of self. I did things because I thought it was what the rest of you would want—what Merodi Universalis would want. Not what I wanted. Selfishness is a vice. But even the virtue of selflessness can be contorted the wrong way. And…” Celia let out a bitter laugh. “I’m sorry. I’m using my words to get you to my side, not even thinking about it. I still have a lot to learn about… me.” Suzie sat down and placed her hands on the back of her neck. “I don’t know what to think of you, yet, Celia.” “...At least you can think of me as Celia. That’s… a start.” “Yeah. It is.” Suzie let out a tense breath. “As captain I have some responsibilities. Sweetaloo, you will have to re-evaluate her mental health and her right to be on the team.” Sweetaloo nodded. “R-right.” “The rest of you…” Suzie frowned. “Tell me what you think.” There was silence in the lounge for a few seconds. Cinder coughed. “I say… give her a chance.” She turned to Celia and smiled. “She seemed happy when she came in. I don’t think I’d ever seen her smile so big before.” “Oh, aren’t you just the most precious thing.” Celia hugged her. “Thank you… thank you for thinking I’m still the same pony.” “You’re Celia,” Cinder said. “How could I think anything else?” Nira sighed. “Dark is not evil. She’s not even as dark as I am. We can’t discount her for that.” “Good enough for me,” Swip said. “Welcome back, Celia.” “My… wyrd…” Blink shivered. “Wasn’t completely evil either. Just… angry. I never tried talking to it…” “She’s more like herself!” Burgerbelle cheered.  Seren frowned, looking up at Celia. “...You feel wrong.” Celia nodded slowly. “Yes. Like Nira, right?” Seren knitted her brow. “I… I don’t know.” “Can you find out?” Seren made no response.  “She’ll come around to your side,” Sweetaloo said. “Don’t worry.” “You?” Celia asked. “I’ll vet you as part of my job later.” Sweetaloo allowed a sad smile. “Right now… I guess I never realized how similar we were until now.” “And I never thought it mattered to me.” Celia put a hoof on Sweetaloo. “...Sweetaloo, you care so much for us. How do you feel about yourself?” “...Not that great.” Celia pulled her into a hug. “That’s a start.” Sweetaloo buried her head in Celia’s mane. “...Squiddy’s not going to be happy about this…” “You had to seal her, didn’t you?” Sweetaloo nodded.  “I’m not going easy on her,” Celia said. “I have to show her what I am without any walls or shrouds. Speaking of…” She broke off the hug and turned back to everyone. “I did kill a sea monster or five on the way here for fun and sport. And may have terrorized a lost submarine. They’re alive though! Probably scarred for life, but…”  “You did kill that pony on our sub,” Blink said.  “Yes. I did. I shouldn’t have. It was a mixture of instinct, shock, and a mind that had not adapted itself.” She smiled awkwardly. “Frankly, I’ve done a lot, lot worse in my time, and so have all of you—except Cinder, of course. Fact of the matter is, I’m not beating myself up over it. It is what it is.” She tapped her hooves together. “Honesty. Yep. Burns you and feels great at the same time. What a combo!” Cinder’s uncertain frown turned into a smile. “You talk a lot more.” “I do, don’t I? Guess I just discovered that I have so much to say!” She held out a hoof, her scarf flapping in a nonexistent breeze. “Look out world, Celia’s got a few things to say to you!” “Should I start making a list?“ Swip asked. “Oh, yes, do that!” Nira coughed. “While I’m sure it’s very important that we all sit and get to know Celia a little better, shouldn't we get off the bottom of the ocean? We do have a sub.” “Oh yes, let’s get out of this dreadful murk,” Celia grinned. “I for one am tired of the bottom of the ocean. Who wants to breathe some real air again?” Everyone raised their hoof or hand without hesitation.  “Then SET SAIL! Or sub. Eh, doesn’t matter.” And so they surfaced. The interdimensional phone worked like a charm the moment they breached the waves. They were rescued within half an hour.  Star Shooter even got her sub back and everything.  ~~~ “Sooo…” Sweetaloo said, folding up Celia’s file. “As I’m sure you know simply from gauging my reactions, you’re fit for duty.” Celia smirked, kicking her legs up on the table. They were sitting in one of the League’s primary offices—not Swip. Swip was currently being repaired again. “Was there ever any doubt?” “A little,” Sweetaloo admitted. “But, in the end, your overall mental health has actually improved. You remember our old sessions? How I told you time and time again to think about what you wanted and to stop hiding behind infinite masks?” “Yep!” “Well I’m happy to say you’re cured of that particular neurosis.” “It’s like I’m doing your job for you, dear.” Sweetaloo smiled warmly. “I would love it so, so much if all my patients could just cure themselves.” “So I’m cured then? Free to go?” Celia teleported a corn dog from a vendor she had seen outside and started munching on it.  Sweetaloo gestured at the corn dog. “Exhibit A: a disregard for societal norms.” “I’ll pay later! Probably. I was just hungry. Or… not really hungry, just wanted food?” Sweetaloo rolled her eyes. “Regardless, you need to work on discovering your balance. What is you? What is everyone else? The answers matter only as much as you need them too, but it’s not nothing.” Celia nodded. “Right. Got it, doc.” Sweetaloo smirked. “I’m sure you’ll do fine. Just watch yourself around Squiddy, okay?” “She can yell and shout at me all she wants,” Celia said. “She needs it. Poor girl…” Sweetaloo’s positive demeanor vanished. “Yeah…” “You did what you had to.” “And now I have to deal with the consequences?” Celia laughed. “Exactly!” “Well…” Sweetaloo opened the door to the office. “I guess that’s that. It’s always nice talking to you, Celia. No matter how much you go through.”  Celia winked. “Glad you think so! See you on Swip!” She trotted out into the hall.  Squiddy was right there, glaring at her.  Celia sighed. “Were you waiting for me?” “N-no,” Squiddy stammered. Celia raised an incredulous eyebrow.  “...Fine. I was.” Celia sat down on the floor so she was more eye-level with Squiddy. “Well. What did you want to say?” “I don’t trust you.” “Yep. Probably shouldn’t, really.” “I shouldn’t have trusted you before.” “You sure?” “You wore a mask. Like him.” Celia had to take a slow breath at that one. “Squiddy, we all had our… issues wi—” “Don’t put the mask back on,” Squiddy said, like it was an order. “I need to see you.” “Squiddy, I have no intention of ever hiding behind those dumb facades again. I’m Celia. I’m not some political movement made flesh. I think you can understand that.” “Nope,” Squiddy said, turning around. “You need to, though.” “...How are you holding up?” Celia called. “Absolutely terrible,” Squiddy spat. “You went through a journey of self-discovery that ended with you happier and better than you’ve ever been. Me? I just get shown how broken I am.” “There’s beauty in brokenness.” “You can shut up,” Squiddy muttered, walking away. “Can, yes. Will? Probably not.” Squiddy was already gone.  “Well, progress at least.” Celia finished her corn dog. “...Stars, these things are good.” ~~~ Several weeks and many adventures later… A portal opened up atop a small collection of boats. It was unusual for Equis Aurora to have a settlement off the floating islands, but it was what the inhabitants liked to call home. It was small, quaint, out of the way, and had an awful lot of fishing activity. Celia stepped through the portal with Cinder and Burgerbelle right in the middle of town. After taking a deep breath and appreciating the salty slightly-cursed air, she pranced around like a filly, scratching her pointed hooves into the wooden ground. “Ah, that smell! The life! Do you feel it!?” “No,” Burgerbelle deadpanned. “I can sense that you can feel it, but not directly myself, if that makes sense.” Cinder said. “So, you said you had someone here you wanted to meet?” Celia nodded. “Yep. Should be easy to find. We’re looking for the local Twilight. So keep those eyes peeled for the lavender unicorn.” She tossed her scarf back extravagantly.  Cinder giggled. “Aight! Scanning for Twilight… Scanning… Scanning… There!” Celia scruffed Cinder’s mane. “I knew I brought you along for a reason!” The local Twilight was currently standing over an open market stall. Turning to look at them, she revealed a mare quite different from the standard pattern the Sweeties were used to. She was a purple unicorn, all right, but her expression definitely wasn’t one of the Princess of Friendship or even Celestia’s Faithful Student. It was a mixture of hard truth and soft understanding.  This dignified image was upset somewhat by the large fried fish stick jutting unceremoniously out the side of her mouth. Seeing them, she wolfed the thing down quickly and wiped her face. “Twilight Sparkle…” Celia said, smirking. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” Twilight smiled a pointed, yet also welcoming smile. “Hello, little flower. Glad you could make it…”