What’s beyond the multiverse
Hall of Justice:
It had taken almost six months of toil, sweat, and tears, but like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the old mansion was finally reborn. Trying to restore it to its former glory would have been an exercise in futility, just as Blue Blood had asserted. However, most of the bones and fixtures were still sound, so they were set aside while the rest of the house was removed. The old foundations had been dug out to make way for the new basement and sub-basement, and the new structure now stood on pilings much stronger than any others on the planet.
The surviving pieces of the old mansion had been reused to serve as the basis for a large outbuilding that served as a historical museum and hostel. The main attraction, however, was what had replaced the old building, the Hall of Justice. It was thoroughly modern throughout. It was everything that Diamond Tiara had promised. The observation deck looked down on the basement gym, giving visitors a chance to watch the League members train. Refreshments were available for purchase from vending machines, with profits going to benefit the victims of crimes and disasters.
The heart of the Hall of Justice was a large circular table with a three-dimensional map of Equestria. Holographic projections displayed the same information as was shown on the enhanced Cutie Map. Distributed evenly around the table, with plenty of space between, were ten high-backed chairs. The back of each chair was decorated with a symbol representing its owner. Behind each chair, larger than life, was a bronze statue of the hero. Arrow's seat was at the northernmost point, where it was flanked by Dash's and Canary's. Batmare's seat was at the southernmost point, where it was flanked by Green Lantern's and Sweetie Borg's. Alicorn Marevel's and Beast Filly's seats joined Sweetie Borg's on the east, while Silverwing's and the Great and Powerful Trixie's were on the west.
Diamond Tiara had insisted on a rush job for Beast Filly's and the Great and Powerful Trixie's statues. She had explained that it was important to have all members represented at the grand opening.
Magic Storm, however, was conspicuously absent. Both Garble and Star Swirl had insisted that their arrangement was a temporary one. Both counted on retiring from the superhero business once they were restored to their proper bodies.
Magic Storm didn't even want to be at the grand opening, but they dared not upset Princess Celestia, who had insisted that they be present with the rest of the League so that they all could discuss what had transpired. Thus, they sat on a folding chair between Trixie and Silverwing as Celestia, Luna, and Twilight glared down at them from their perches on a platform projected above the table.
Coldly, Celestia said, "My sister and my protégé have already spoken to you about our disappointment in your performance in Manehattan. Even with our wishes known, you destroyed a tenth of Canterlot and left a smell that even now is sickening every pony downwind. Explain."
While the other heroes looked left and right, hoping somepony would answer, Arrow looked Celestia straight in the eye and said, "Princesses, with all due respect, our first priority was saving lives. In Manehattan, we had to contend with a rampaging dragon with the power of one of the Pillars of Equestria. Our power was divided as we tried to hold him at bay while we evacuated the area. Even you would have been hard-pressed to have contained him without collateral damage. Had Trixie not intervened when she did, the buildings that were destroyed would have been full of ponies.
Nervously, Silverwing said, "And . . . and Joker boobytrapped the water reclamation facility. It was doomed the second we set hoof inside." She shuddered. "We managed to localize the damage to the plant and its vicinity. Nothing else was damaged or destroyed."
Arrow added, "Except for all the homes abandoned as a result of my past sins."
Celestia glared at her nephew. He shrugged. "I am a changed pony, remember?"
The white alicorn rolled her eyes in response before turning to the metadragon.
“As for you, my old master, I’m glad you’re still with us. Still, I need to know how you got trapped inside this dragon."
Garble ground his teeth. “It all started when this stupid alicorn dragonnapped me. I tried to fight, but everything went black. The next thing I remembered was that there was this damned pony trying to take over my body."
Luna put a forehoof on Celestia’s withers. “Remember that our brother needed the last descendant of the first Dragon Lord to free our parents. He sucked out all of this dragon’s essence and then . . .”
“And then Stygian and I found him,” said Star Swirl, taking control. “We tried to save his life with an experimental spell. It backfired; now, we’re here.”
Twilight nodded. “I already told Stygian your story; he's focusing all his research on restoring both of you. As soon as we’re done here, I’ll join him. Don’t worry, I promise you that you’ll return to your normal lives.”
“Thank you, Twilight Sparkle,” said Star Swirl. Garble added, “Yeah, thanks, I guess. Hurry up.”
“Okay, on to the next subject,” said Celestia. “Arrow, what do you know about the metapony who attacked you?”
The Arrow shrugged. “Not much. Daring Do or Miss Yearling had a grudge against me after I killed Caballeron. Somehow, she merged with a dark entity that promised to help her kill me in exchange for control of Daring Do's body."
“No, no, no. You must be mistaken!” said Dash. “Daring Do would never let something like that happen! Maybe you were fighting an impersonator like a changeling or something.”
“Darling, there is no use denying it,” said Canary. “You said it yourself. She had been acting weird since Caballeron was killed.”
“Their relationship was a bit more complicated than we thought,” said the Arrow. “They were rivals. They were enemies. They must have been soulmates, giving each other a purpose in life.”
“That's not possible! Daring Do is stronger that that!” insisted Rainbow Dash.
Twilight sighed.
“Rainbow Dash, I’m sorry, but it seems like the Daring Do you remember is gone. You have to let her go, just like Pinkie Pie has done with Cheese Sandwich. Now there’s only . . .”
“The Sorceress,” said Star Swirl. “Or Clove as I met her.”
“Clove?” asked Twilight. “Do you mean Clover the Clever?”
“No. I mean her older sister Golden Clove. She and I were lovers when we were younger but then my studies forced me to distance myself from the ones I loved.”
“So, she got salty about it and swore that she’ll destroy you,” sighed Alicorn Marevel. “Just another cliche villainess origin story.”
“Not exactly,” explained Star Swirl. “She gave me my freedom, and I gave her hers. She swore she'd find a teacher who would make her my equal." He signed. "I've dedicated my life to bettering ponykind. Her new teacher, unfortunately, did the opposite."
“What do you mean?” asked Luna.
“She called him the Master Mind. I've never had the displeasure of meeting him. When I reunited with Clove, she was every bit at powerful as she had promised. Unfortunately, her mind had been molded in his twisted form. I had no choice but to subdue her and seal her away, lest she end ponykind."
"I still don't understand how she managed to free herself," said Lantern. Looking up, he said, "Mr. the Bearded, by any chance, did you trap her inside a temple?"
"Of course. I used every spell and every trap I could think of to keep her from escaping. How did you know?"
Lantern face-palmed while the ponies face-hooved.
“What?” asked Star Swirl.
Grumbling, Dash said, "That's one mystery solved. Now what?"
Celestia replied, "Now, I'll find out everything I can about Master Mind. In the meantime, you need to see to your adoring public." With that, she ended the meeting.
The princesses returned Magic Storm to the Watchtower before dropping the cloak around the room. With her telekinesis, Twilight opened the doors to the main hall, and then opened the main doors. The crowd roared at the sight of their heroes.
In the Royal Canterlot Voice, Twilight announced, "The Hall of Justice is officially open to the public!"
The ponies rushed into the Hall of Justice and mobbed the League members. Finding an opening, Batmare fired her ascender into the ceiling and pulled herself above the crowd. In an amplified voice, she said, "Attention, everypony! Autographed photos with you and your favorite hero in front of their statue will be available for ten bits a piece in ten minutes. Please line up at the marks on the floor, starting at the door to the War Room.
In an instant, the mob transformed into a giant queue.
“I think this was overdoing it,” complained Sweetie Borg.
“I knew these statues couldn’t be just for decoration. She paid too much for them. I should have known she was looking to make a quick bit.” Beast Filly sighed.
“As long as she doesn’t harm anypony, I don’t see the problem. After all, she invested a lot of money in this place. Let her earn some of it back.” The Arrow shrugged.
“Arrow, Arrow, this way!” called a group of mares.
The vigilante smiled. “Now if you excuse me, unbelievably enough, I have some fans waiting.”
The Canary watched him joining the mares, and she frowned visibly annoyed.
“Canary?” asked Sweetie Borg.
“He and I are going to have a long talk after all of this is over.”
Ponyville at the next day:
Roseluck hummed a happy tune as she tended to her babies. The delicate flowers needed special care to thrive, and she doted on them as any proud mother would. She said, "Drink, little ones, drink and make the most of the beautiful morning that Celestia has gifted us." She scented the air. "Don't you just love the breeze the pegasi have brought."
Daisy waved as she entered the shop fifteen minutes later. She knew better than to expect any sort of response when Roseluck was in the zone.
Despite the care Roseluck put into her plants, they were not the shop's primary source of income. Most of their profit came from selling fertilizer and gardening supplies. Ponies knew that Roseluck was very picky about whom she judged worthy to adopt her babies. Only those truly dedicated to their care stood any chance of being allowed to buy them.
Although Roseluck was loath to give up her babies, she was generous with her advice, freely teaching those who were willing to learn. It was not the best way to run a flower shop, but Daisy and Lily had learned to make allowances. It was the least they could do for their friend.
When they were much younger, Roseluck had been constantly complaining about minor aches and pains. When they could stand the whining no longer, Daisy and Lily had marched her to the hospital and forced her to see a doctor. They were lucky they had decided to take action. Roseluck had Stage 3 ovarian cancer. Both her ovaries were removed that day, before the disease could spread. Had they waited much longer, the disease would have metastasized, spreading throughout her body and going to Stage 4. She would have died in agony a few months after that.
Like most earth pony mares, Roseluck had dreamed of having a big family, but her dreams had been dashed just as her body was able to start fulfilling them. She had nearly taken her own life when she realized her future would be foalless. It had taken months of therapy in Ponyville General before she had recovered to the point where she could function normally. It had been the classes in horticulture that had brought her back. She discovered a love for gardening and plants. If she could not have foals of the pony variety, the plants would have to do in their stead.
Thus, as she had for every day since her recovery, Roseluck tended to her plants. With the grand opening of the Hall of Justice, Ponyville had been a virtual ghost town. That changed as a train whistle announced the arrival of the afternoon local from Canterlot. Families with foals streamed out. The foals chattered excitedly as they played with their new toys, fresh from the gift shop. Many were clad in costume as they played with action figures and juggled wooden batarangs or drew toy bows.
It seemed as though everypony else was too caught up in the moment to notice the gang of delinquents making their way through the crowd. Foals screamed at their toy weapons were stolen. The sounds of ceramic bassinets filled with baby's breath shattering marked where the toys had gone. The ruffians laughed tauntingly before vanishing.
Roseluck looked in horror at the damage. There was no recovering from this; her babies were dead. "No!" she cried. "Say something! Anything!" She started sobbing uncontrollably.
“Hey! What’s going on?” asked Daisy, coming out of the flower shop. Looking down, she saw the corpses of Rose's pride. She gasped. "No. Roseluck, what happened?"
A stallion walked up and said, "It was a bunch of punks. They trotted right up and smashed things with toys they stole from the foals."
A unicorn in the crowd levitated the toys, shook them clean, and returned them to the foals.
With concern, several ponies approached Roseluck.
"Is she all right?" asked one.
"Is there anything we can do?" asked another.
The stallion said, "I know I can't replace those flowers, but at least let me pay for them. I am not going to let those punks win."
"Thanks," said Daisy. "That will be fifteen bits." Looking back inside the shop, she yelled, "Lily, help this gentlestallion while I take care of Rose."
Lily trotted out while Daisy led Rose to a back room. As she laid Rose onto a cot, the mare mumbled, "The horror . . . the horror."
Daisy draped a blanket over her. “Easy Rose, easy. Take deep breaths and relax. Everything will be all right, I promise.”
Rose continued to twitch and mumble after Daisy left. This was far from the only incident. It seemed as though ponies were dead set on harming her children. Why? Why could they not leave them in peace? The plants gave them fresh air. The plants gave them nutrition. The plants were the reason they could live.
A sinister thought crossed Roseluck’s mind. As much as plants were bringers of life, they could also be bringers of death. Some had wicked thorns. Some had caustic enzymes. Some had deadly poisons. If ponies would not respect plants, she would show them the error of their ways.
Her eyes shot wide open. "Those who would harm what gives them life shall suffer their retribution. So vows Mother Nature."
Equestria, Alternate Timeline:
Starlight Glimmer opened her eyes and looked around as tears blurred her vision. The nightmare was about to begin again. The end of Equestria was nigh.
It had started so well. She had prevented the Element Bearers from earning their cutie marks. With that act, the only obstacle to equalizing all of Equestria had been eliminated. She could have sworn that she had achieved true utopia once all of the ponies were rendered equal.
As it turned out, some were more equal than others. Sombra the dark monarch had returned, and he had brainwashed all of the crystal ponies to serve as his mindless army. Town by town, city by city, they had overrun their opposition and had added them to their ranks.
It had soon been clear to Starlight that her path was the road to ruin. She had returned every pony's cutie mark and returned control to the princess. Celestia had raised an army, and soon, the world was at war. Every mare, every stallion had been drafted into the ranks, and Starlight had been put on the front lines along with every other powerful unicorn.
Celestia had hated the idea of forcing ponies to fight against their will. She had hated losing ponies to mind control even more. Thus, she had pressed every pony she could into service.
The tides of war had flowed back and forth, with neither side able to gain an advantage. Things had come to a head in Trottingham. Celestia and Sombra had both come to the conclusion that they would need to enter the field of battle in order to break the stalemate.
Each side had charged into battle with their most elite leading the attack. Starlight had found herself fighting alongside Rainbow Dash, albeit one who had never earned her element.
The town center had exploded as Celestia's and Sombra's blasts collided. The armies had filled the breach, with the battle devolving into a series of one-on-one fights.
“When I turn you into a mindless puppet, Celestia, there would be nopony who can stand a chance against me. Admit it; coming here was a mistake,” Sombra had growled.
“And when I defeat you Sombra, your army will be free and nopony will mourn your passing. We are equally stupid,” Celestia had replied.
“And what makes you think you’ll win?” Sombra had snarled.
Suddenly, a double explosion had shaken the entire city as a rainbow-hued ring had spread across the sky.
“Sonic Rainboom?” Starlight had asked in disbelief.
A pegasus had materialized between the two leaders. She had sported a rainbow-colored mane cut in a mohauk style. She had worn a black bodysuit, magenta goggles and a wicked smile.
“Lieutenant Dash?” Celestia had asked.
The pegasus in black had glared at the princess. “Are you talking to me, alicorn?”
“My Princess!” that world's Rainbow Dash had called, but she had frozen at the sight of her doppelganger. “Oh . . . what’s going on in here? Who are you? Are you . . . me?”
The newcomer had laughed as she zipped to one side. “I’m you? No, I have nothing to do with you, you poor excuse for Rainbow Dash. Not anymore. Let’s say I’m your Reverse.”
“Hey, I’m still here remember?!” Sombra had said, shooting a magic blast at the newcomer.
The attack had gone through Reverse Dash with no discernable effect. Then, she had faded away.
“What?”
A gentle hoof had tapped the king’s shoulder. He had turned to see the pegasus in black grinning at him. “Speed illusion, stupid.”
Then she had bucked Sombra in the jaw, sending him tumbling end over end.
The Reverse Dash had laughed and had disappeared in a multi-colored streak and had re-appeared in front of her doppelganger, taking her sword. “Do you mind if I borrow this? Thank you!”
She had vanished into a streak again, and the streak had started to surround Sombra as he was falling.
When he had touched down, the Reverse Dash had appeared before him, resting a forehoof on the hilt of a sword whose blade was covered in think black blood. Sombra had taken a look at himself, noticing that he was covered with cuts all over his body.
“No wait! You can work for me! I can make you my queen! Just kill that alicorn for me, and victory will be ours!”
The Reverse Dash had laughed. “I hate alicorns more than anything in this world or any other. But I also promised not to hurt any more innocents as I clean up all of the timelines that Starlight Glimmer ruined.”
Starlight’s ears had twitched and she had approached to hear more.
“This is impossible! I am the strongest in the world! Nothing can stop me!”
Reverse Dash had smirked. "That's where you're wrong. You're already dead." She had lifted her other forehoof and had shown the still-beating heart it was holding. The chilling laugh of the Reverse Dash had filled the city as everypony around had watched in horror as the king collapsed.
Starlight had gulped and had tried to look away, only to see Reverse right behind her.
“Hello, Starlight.”
She had trembled in fear. “What do you want from me?”
“Oh, it’s actually pretty simple. I know that you’re responsible for this mess and every other mess I've cleaned up. I've killed every one of you in every timeline I've fixed, and every time, it's the same thing. You fight, you run, you hide, you die. Do you really think you stand a chance against somepony who's killed alicorns for fun?"
Starlight had charged her horn, but then nothing had happened. She had looked at the Reverse Dash who had kept the sword, and there had been something pink on her wing -- Starlight’s horn.
The Reverse Dash had grinned. “You didn’t see that one coming; am I right?”
“Please don’t kill me!” Starlight had begged.
“Surprisingly enough, I won’t. The Monitor instructed me to spare your life. I mean, to spare one of the many Starlights in the multiverse, and you happen to be the very last one. Aren’t you the lucky one? But still, I’ll hurt you as much as I please.”
With that the Reverse Dash had turned into a streak again and Starlight could only scream in pain as the wounds had appeared on her body so fast that she couldn’t react. And without her magic, there had been nothing she could do about it.
“THAT’S ENOUGH!!” a powerful voice had shouted.
Celestia had shot a magic blast at the one torturing her soldier, but Reverse had interposed the already-wounded Starlight Glimmer.
The Reverse Dash had laughed. “Thank you for finishing her for me. Just make sure she lives; you don’t want to piss off the Monitor.” Then, she had turned to her doppelganger. “And you, convince your alicorn to shoot a lightning bolt at you after she throws you into bunch of potions. I promise it’ll worth it.”
With that, the Reverse Dash had extended her wings and had disappeared in a streak of light, causing another Sonic Rainboom.
For Starlight, thing had worsened from there. Without her horn, she had to find an alternate way to perform magic. She had known her only chance to restore her horn was to jump to an alternate timeline. It had taken years of research to develop the spell and to create the runework that would let her cast it. With her first jump, the nightmare truly had begun.
As she had expected, Starlight had appeared in a new timeline. This version of Equestria was a dead world. The ruins left behind had told of a battle between two powerful sides that ended in the annihilation of everything. Then, she had noticed that the world was being eaten. Her view had distorted as the event horizon had rushed up to meet her. It had been the end of the world. She had screamed for succor.
Just before the event horizon had reached her, the scene had jumped to a different Equestria. This one was an industrialized dystopia monopolized by F & F Enterprises. Here, all but the ultra-rich had been enslaved by the almighty bit, toiling long hours for a pittance. As soon as Starlight had wrapped her brain around the situation, multiple even horizons had converged on her, bringing an end to that reality as she jumped to a new one.
Starlight had long ago lost count of the deaths that she had witnessed. She cried as it finally dawned on her that this was her punishment for ruining so many timelines, for ruining so many lives. She could no longer call herself a pony. She was now truly the Pariah.