//------------------------------// // Soliloquy and Letters // Story: Chaos On: The (Lightly-edited For FIMfiction) Original Edition // by PactOfSkyranger //------------------------------// After that, I decided to rehearse what I would say to Twilight. "Hmmm... maybe, ‘Fear me not, young pupil, for I mean no ill will to those who imprison my parents the Draconequui. I am the knower of fate, and I am the one to scorn it. I am the one who wields fate, for I am the one who has shorn it. Anon, I ask my own power, scour the land for the viles and virtuous. Find the stars that hold my mother, and anon see them scattered where none can find. As for yours, Twilight Sparkle, bear no ill to me, and no ill to my father. I imagine his devastation that he was to send away his son and leave my sister alone...' Yeah, that's good." I took to chaos stuff pretty well, I think. I always wanted powers, and I only went crazy once. Twice. "Gaze upon the work of Heemeyer!," I shouted as I drove an armored bulldozer down the road as if it was no oddity. And then there was the time I put my spin on Daughter of Evil. "Heheha!" No, I don't expect kneeling! Once upon a time in a land so far away Was a lord of chaos that few ponies dared to face And aside his father, chaos with friends as his stage Was his noble child only seventeen of age There was nothing anywhere the child could have missed "Mother locked in the stars, it's just dad and me and sis" Land aloud with chaos and his name was as a rafe 'Till their father locked his power just to keep him safe Then atop his seventeenth his mother went to take Away Falak's life and his man-parents in a lake When they all survived she planned to kill him with a stone Right when he reclaimed his power and throne! "Mmm... Bubblegum and cinna-roll!" Blooming ever sweet, the poison joke will reap Planning its punchline 'till it's out there to see Giving away gifts and making interest for his selves Now comes Falak Disc to find his place Equestria he dwells! Okay, now it was time to go. Don’t want the crazy star lady to try her luck again! I snapped my fingers, and like I was never there, I was gone in a poof. Sunset was plotting, as is common for pre-zero Sunset, when a boy suddenly appeared in front of her in a poof of smoke. "Helloooo-oh, wrong world. Hi, Sunny!" He then snapped his fingers and vanished as she noticed the other features on him. “Were those... Draconequus horns?" A demure beat began to play around me as I began to sing a very fitting tune. Back in this place filled with so many wonders Casting the spell that I was always under Squirrels in the trees and the cute little bunnies, Birds flying free and the bees with their honey Honey... Here in this magical place Sole free member of the draconequus race Had I all my power flowing out of the sleeve I'd have come here sooner and never leave I love Equestriaaaaaa! I then realized I was in the statue garden, and a pink-lavender filly was clapping while a white alicorn watched on in confusion and recognition. "Before you ask, Princess," I said, "I am not my father. Or my mother you don't remember because he took the fall after you put her away. That said, how's my little sister Screwy been?" Screwball chirped, "Mainly sulking about Dad, but otherwise just fine and unpredictable, Fally!" Celestia no doubt realized I had some modicum of Discord's powers if I could just appear, but I was much more open to friendship as I waved to a passing guard while my sister just hid away. I snapped my fingers, and while Celly visibly flinched, I only summoned a list. "Okay, check on sister, check, introduce to Celestia without getting clinked for the first season, check, give dad a letter detailing what happened as I reclaimed my powers..." I floated a parchment and quill up and wrote the events, then rolled it up and placed it in a chest. "...okay, got that one. Now then, go to Ponyville, have party, give Pinkie cool powers..." I watched a wisp of smoke travel out of the throne room. "...that's just about to be checked off, but first..." I snapped my fingers and teleported to the chariot. Just in time; Twilight was just getting on. "Before I apply for a travelling business, I wanted to say some things. First, I am the one who knows your fate, but not how much I can scorn it. Second, a cryptic fact; There is another, and we'll be in touch. Third, a clue; You and five others got your marks at the same time, and it may just be fate you converge for this night in particular. Fourth, my dad is a statue right now, and you'll face him when the clouds are cotton candy. Lastly, your destiny is much greater than you could ever imagine. Hail Twilight, student of sun. Hail Twilight, bearer of the greatest power. Hail Twilight, your mark upon the Tree." I then turned to Celestia and said, "Okay, let's discuss the permit to travel and peddle my wares, your radiance." We sat down at a table in one of the castle’s conference rooms to talk business. "I'm interested in peddling a market no other could dream of wherever the plot takes me. Same business as my uncle Bizcord, and yes, I have a lot of uncles." I turned away sorrowfully and gazed at the emerald heart necklace as I gave it to Screwball. "Poor uncle Scoddri, shafted by a decision with no clear consequence..." Celestia then dropped a single small stack of papers and a typewriter in front of me. "No chaos powers on this, and you have a deal on the wagon," she said, at which I dropped a copy of Discord's New Business in front of her. "Pleasure doing business," I said as I doffed a hat summoned for a split second, then started on my papers and sent out some special messages; one magical construct to deliver a message, and a letter with packaged spectrocapacitor-slash-arcanometer-slash-decryptor-slash-whatever it was for Sci-Twi. And a fragmented message in the form of magic translated into an MLP clip, scattered around the Human World like a geocache... actually, more like a dead-drop. "Now then..." Wallflower Blush had spent another day in the background. As usual. After all, she wasn't the most memorable person was she. She honestly felt like singing a song about it, but she barely had the first words when a faint voice seemed to come from nowhere. "Wallflower... Wallflower! Wallflower Blush!" She turned to find a small mote of light at the edge of the forest, which seemed to radiate the sound. "Follow me... I can show you something that may interest you." Wallflower was skeptical about following something supernatural into a forest, but she followed the sprite into the wood, where it turned off the path towards a rock formation and settled above a golden flower. "This is the Garden of Forgotten Things, the resting place of a powerful artifact from my home. Dig under this flower, and its power will be yours." Well, it is a beautiful flower, Wallflower thought to herself. Wallflower dug up the flower, placing it in a convenient nearby pot, and was surprised when she came across a vellum satchel, which she opened to reveal an intricately carved stone and what looked like instructions to use it to manipulate memory fragments. "This is the Memory Stone. Once wielded by a corrupt sorceress that plagued the land of Equestria, she was stopped by Clover the Clever, the apprentice to Starswirl the Bearded, as one of his trials. Though she erased the pursuit from his mind many times, he kept a record of the journey to remind himself, and eventually, the pursuit led to its burial here. She only used it to erase memories, but it can also be used to restore what it has taken, as long as the third sun has not set on its removal. Also, I demand your oath that you will not use it to do any true evil upon your compatriots. Do you so swear, Wallflower Blush?" Wallflower contemplated for a moment before sighing and saying clearly, "I solemnly swear to do no evil upon my fellow man with the power that is afforded me. Let me honor this oath for my days here, or let me forfeit these powers to they who have given this artifact its power." This satisfied the sprite, who simply said, "So mote it be. Maybe my creator can take you to a Fall Formal Dance in the future? Keep the Magnus Tegmen, I have confidence it'll interest you. I am Amnes, Messenger of Chaos and Guardian of Memory." The sprite then flew into her arm, where it branded a pattern similar to those on the stone, which hummed with an energy foreign to Wallflower. Wallflower just smiled and walked back. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity all received a single message from those they perceived had slighted them; Rainbow Dash and Applejack to each other, Pinkie to Rarity and Fluttershy, and Rarity and Fluttershy to Pinkie. What you believe I did, I was not truly the one who was at fault, and neither were you. Did you ever think to confirm that? It then detailed what had really happened; Rainbow Dash had believed Applejack's bake sale had moved, Pinkie believed Fluttershy wanted a loud party instead of a silent auction, and Rarity believed Pinkie had all the volunteers she needed. They met at the soccer field, where they shared a passing look of guilt and walked away, another message appearing on their phones from a completely different person. I know you can't forgive the following times, but you can at least say it's done. When me and my friend come, you can start to heal. It would be sooner, but I and mine are slaves to fate. I'll treat you to a free... day service, shall we say, when I come there. When they tried to reply, their phones said it was a number not in use. Twilight had received a strange device as soon as classes got out. It literally just appeared in front of her on her desk in the lab. It looked like a lens with a circle in the middle, frosted triangles surrounding it. Beneath that was a screen with three buttons beside it. It looked like it attached to her spectrometer, so she did, the screen going over the gauge, and the triangles started to light up and act like a compass, changing which ones were lit up by. She followed it to a clearing and noticed something odd. In the middle was a ball of light, just floating there, and she could only see it through the lens. Even odder was that, when she aligned the lens with it, it got sucked up and letters appeared on the screen in two distinct lines. clap your hooves will appear from time to time. Twilight realized these phenomena were storing fragments of data from someone, or something. She could also assume that from the words, there were more; at least four. "Well, I might as well see what it says," she reasoned as she followed the next signature. It took some time, but Twilight had collected all the pieces of the message. clap your hooves/ladybugs awake,/and do a little shake!/Sunshine, sunshine, will appear from time to time./Magic orbs with messages like these/The next one comes later./Greetings. I am Falak. "Of course... The message is jumbled with the words! Now if I just..." Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake! Greetings. I am Falak. Magic orbs with messages like these will appear from time to time. The next one comes later. The moment she had fit them into place, a jaunty Do-do-do-do do-do-do-do! played, followed by the screen displaying a single line of text. MESSAGE ARCHIVED Twilight was confused. Magic? The orbs and attachment were connected to this Falak person, and they had just appeared. "So he wants me to use this to decode the messages he sends, and they're connected to an order. That first one reminded me a bit of my babysitter Cadence, but... Hooves? What, is he living in a land of ponies?" Ding! Just then, the screen flared back to life with a list of messages. Twilight clicked the one reading "My World," which had more fragments near Crystal Prep, and the triangles flared back on. "So, I choose which messages to track? It's like a dead drop hunt!" Twilight then returned to her study, a new event in her head not stopping her from being the best student. Now if she could get Everton approval... Ding! The device just flashed again with a fully-compiled message labelled as "What They Don't Get, part 1" added to the list. Curious, Twilight opened it up. My Little Pony, My Little Pony, what is friendship all about? I know what you're thinking, and there are things that "I guess these fully-compiled messages have to be further separated," Twilight said as she switched her active record to "What They Don't Get, Part 2." Oooooh my gosh. I really underestimated the paperwork. I just finished getting my permit and loading my wagon, though. Now to ride for Ponyville. I don't think you need the details, so more interluding! Twilight had just finished collecting all the pieces of "What They Don't Get, Part 2," and she was about to assemble the other part of the message. After she did, the two messages compiled into a whole. My Little Pony, My Little Pony, what is friendship all about? My Little Pony, My Little Pony, friendship is magic! I know what you're thinking, and there are things that one person can't do alone. In Everton, you'll be alone. MESSAGE COMBINED AND ARCHIVED ADDITIONAL AUDIO ATTACHMENT COMPILED Additional audio attachment? Twilight was curious, and so she tapped Listen, at which two earbuds popped out, which she put on as the music began. My Little Pony, My Little Pony, what is friendship all about? My Little Pony, My Little Pony, friendship is magic! (My Little Pony) I used to wonder what friendship could be (My Little Pony) Until you all shared its magic with me! When the song was done, Twilight realized that this was the full form of the song lines the message was based on. She also realized it seemed to be sung in HER voice, from her perspective. "I should really get on the explanation for that world," she said as she shook her head, re-selected "My World," and began to collect the pieces. The pieces are falling together, Twilight thought as she assembled the message's bars. It used to be so simple, it was a world I understood; I didn't know what I didn't know, and life seemed pretty good But now the darkness rises from somewhere deep inside of me Her power overtakes me; can I keep this Midnight from getting free? My world is known as Equestria. We have had some secret interactions with yours, be it the student to our princess, three seaponies feeding on negativity, or just an artifact that manipulates memory. You will find yourself entangled in the same way after Zero occurs. The song seemed familiar, yet distant to Twilight. As if to answer the question she was about to have, a new marker set labelled "Zero" made itself available. Sunburst, theoretical genius of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and Starlight Glimmer, practical genius that didn't get in with Sunburst, had corresponded much better than they would have. Starlight and Sunburst had created a good amount of knowledge together, Starlight's tenacity allowing her to write a thesis on the interactions of the powerful harmonic magic of constructs based on the Tree of Harmony with Starswirl's time spell. Of course, she currently lacked the most important material in the spell to prove the thesis: The Cutie Map itself. However, she did explore the effects of Cogerio, Fiducia Compelus, and Persuadere together, and even improved the resultant spellweave with other spells like Tribus Modem! Sunburst helped rein her in, pursuing his own projects on the magic of friendship and spellweaving, and the two of them enjoyed notes from their mysterious benefactor from long ago. Of course, Starlight realized in those memories that she would have to play the villain eventually, and you know what? Both of them were okay with that. Sort of. Starlight was still unnerved by the similarities of the future fate had dealt her to the short story Falak had sent with his latest letter. She read the title and shuddered at the lengths that government went to make its every citizen entirely equal. Harrison Bergeron Capper, a charming abyssinian aristocrat turned Klugetown con with his friend Chummer, felt life was going well for him. A letter addressed to him about "the six stars of your old king" certainly helped when he found another friend in letters, though definitely not when the first one read, A long time ago, a draconequus named Cosmos crashed in my dad's garden. They had fun for a bit, dad consented to a child, but when the two of them took Equestria, Dad KNEW mom was crazy, especially when she turned a school for the underprivileged into a towering inferno with thrones on top! (The cupholders are irrelevant.) I got sent away for protection, lived what, seventeen years as a non-magical Realitan human before mom tried to kill me twice, and dad took all the blame for mom's actions after he, Aspen, Novo with her Pearl, your king (I believe the king at that time was a black cat,) and both Equestrian diarchs wielding the Elements of Harmony sealed her into a heart-shaped constellation. Which I'm pretty sure is broken and scattered across the land in the form of six magenta gems in the shape of eight-pointed stars. At that, Capper looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, an eight-pointed magenta star-shaped gem was, as usual, topping the trophy for the Klugetown Muck Marathon. He shuddered at the possibility of those gems, especially when he read, I know there's a star there, and let me tell you, there's something even worse. If a strong enough being adorns one, say... an alicorn princess, Cosmos can gain control of them and maybe even more ordinary ponies like a Zebrican shamaness! I say being because I'm not sure if mom can possess Abyssinians like you and Chummer. But I'm getting off topic. Discord enjoyed a nice bit of chaotic peace, bore my sister Screwball, got petrified, and now here we are at the precipice of Luna returning! I just want you to know that Chummer, loath as I am to say it, usually betrayed you and Verko when the Misfortune Malachite rolls about, leaving you in debt. Take it from the guy who knows that if you fight Cosmos when the quest to reunite the Stars reaches you (remember, the one who organized the quest was possessed by my mom,) you get turned into a house cat. And know that if you get into debt, I will bail you out. Just write and I'll come running, we'll say it's agreed. I have a feeling I'm the friend YOU need. Manipulating fate, Falak Disc. Well, Capper thought, that last bit sounds like it'll make a nice tune in itself. Either way, he turned to Chummer, I thought I could depend on him. Then again, who CAN you depend on here? After all, he cleared his throat as he began to improvise a song that just came to him from the lines at the end of the letter, This town is not a nice place for little fillies all alone There are lots of twists and corners that could lead to the unknown Chummer was my friend, but he would sell me for a gem... There are better friends who trust in me, and I can trust in them... "...well, it's true, but it just doesn't croon 'Capper the trustworthy guide,' does it? Now, those last two lines... What about," Let me guide your way and I'll be sure to help you through You could really use a friend out here, and luckily for you... "...Now THAT sounds like me. Ahem..." I'm the friend that you need when you're lost and don't know what to do I'm your pal, your amigo Useful and resourceful too And my help, you'll concede, is a plus, guaranteed You can call and I'll come running, just follow my lead! Capper chuckled as he thought of the cons he could pull, of the actual friends he could make with this new image! 'Cause I'm the friend you need! (Cue Ponies Got The Beat) "Finally! Just in time for the fireworks to begin!," I exclaimed as Ponyville came into sight. I folded in the wheels and used the levitators to set it down in the middle of the square. Finally here, I pulled down the sign. Chaos-seed Temporary Species-swap Service is Open! Of course, the good thing about narrative is that you can intermit all you want and still be there in time to be relevant to the plot. Twilight had just touched down and talked to Pinkie, who had almost sprinted straight into my shop. "Who parked their shop right here?!," Pinkie exclaimed as she darted around it to Sugar Cube Corner and I stepped out. "That's one. Don't mind Pinkie. She's always a bit of a Pinkie, especially when she meets somepony new to Ponyville," I said to Twilight, who was surprised at how I was here. "What the-?! How are you-?! WHO EVEN ARE YOU?!" I just chuckled and said, "Twi, you'd be hard pressed to understand Pinkie, and even harder pressed to understand the family of..." At this, trumpets popped up behind me as I shouted for all in the square to hear, "The great and powerful Draconequus, Falak Disc!" The fanfare of the trumpets just sold the flamboyant air I was trying to- -Whoa, what-?! "The Great and Powerful Trrrrixie objects to this use of HER fanfare for YOUR introduction!" Yeah, yeah, get out and wait for your episode, Trix. Well, Twilight was still overseer. I just hung around her unless someone rubbed the call lamp in the store. I had just taken some apple products for the road when the first call came in and I was drawn over. “Welcome to my parlor. We specialize in all manner of applied transfigurative chaos. Please sign the waiver before you select something from the list," I said. The mare, a pale yellow unicorn... with a red mane with a purple and lavender stripe... "Moondancer, I presume?" Moondancer was surprised I knew her, but she showed me the signed waiver, which read, This legally notarized document, issued by the Diarchy, states I, the undersigned, agree that Chaos-seed Temporary Species-swap Service is not responsible for any physical, mental, or emotional damages done to myself or any others. The above service is only responsible for facilitating the transformation, while the undersigned are responsible for whatever they do with the knowledge and form provided by the draconequus/chaos mage on duty. "So, what'll it be, girl?" Moondancer turned to me and said, "I'd like to be a hippogriff, please." She handed me the bits, and I snapped my fingers, causing her forehooves to turn to the talons of an eagle, two wings sprouting from her back as her horn was exchanged for a crest and her muzzle formed something of a beak. "Stay away from the Storm King if you’re going south, you hear? If you get caught, I set the time-out to warp you back here to the stand." Moondancer nodded, but before she set out, I added, "Twilight discovered Luna's return, kid. I'm sorry she couldn't come, but..." I summoned Spike's gift, repaired like new. "You should at least have the present Spike was going to bring. If you see her 'round town, let her have it for not coming.” Moondancer put it in her saddlebag, nodded, spread her wings, and with an eagle screech, flew up to enjoy her 24 hours... before stopping and swooping to where, I noted, Rainbow Dash and Twilight were. Twilight was stunned. Rainbow Dash had just cleared the clouds in, as she boasted, ten seconds flat. Yes, she counted. She also noticed the boast about having caused a big event of linked destiny as a filly with a Sonic Rainboom, but there wasn't any proof of that yet. Her stupor was interrupted, however, as a creature tackled her from the side. This creature was like nopony she had ever seen. It wasn't a griffon, but it wasn't a pegasus either, having a beak-like muzzle and a feather crest. And those talons. By FAUST, those TALONS! Eventually, she noticed the creature looked familiar. "MOONDANCER?!," she exclaimed, to which the creature nodded and said, "The creature at the stand said you discovered the return of somepony named 'Luna' was imminent when you declined to come to my party. He even gave me Spike's present." Spike then cut in and said, "Next, decorations at the town hall. Moondancer, you wanna come?" Moondancer said, "I might as well test out these wings. I do have them for the next 24 hours." With that, she soared off, Falak rejoining Twilight soon after. "You know," I said, "it never gets old." "What does?," Twilight said, confused. "Well, for one, I ship Sparity hard. For another..." "...why, Rarity, you are a talent. Now, how can I help yo-Wahaha! Oh my stars, DARLING," Rarity yelled as she got one look at Twilight, "whatever happened to your coiffure?!" I just smirked and said, "That." Twilight shot me a look as Rarity dragged her to the Boutique. "Canterlot?! Oh, I am so envious, the glamor, the sophistication, I have always dreamed of living there!," Rarity droned. I rolled my eyes. "Don't forget the snobs," I put in, "the racists, the underrepresented racial minorities, my dad in the statue garden, and lastly, the biggest snob that ever snobbed, Celestia's nephew Blueblood." Rarity was shocked. "What? Ever think of the gunk underneath the shiny glitz? Also, I like the emerald. Same shade as my uncle Scoddri's necklace." Rarity quickly snapped out of it when she noticed the emeralds I had mentioned. "What was I thinking? Let me get you some rubies!" It was at that point that Twilight made her daring retreat with Spike and I tagged along. Fluttershy was pleasant. She was obviously interested in Spike, but after a bit, she switched over to me and asked me what I was. I explained my life story briefly, and when we reached the library, I snapped in with Fluttershy and we waited for the inevitable surprise. “SURPRISE!" "All the pieces are in this room, Twilight," I said cryptically. "Can you see them too?" Twilight thought on that, surveying the ponies in the crowd, which included the ponies from earlier today, before shaking her head and returning to her book. "Oh, open your eyes, bookworm,” I quipped. She turned to glare at me, before noticing five ponies in the crowd illuminated in different colors. "The Elements of Harmony are Honesty," Applejack lit up at that, "Laughter," Pinkie glowed even pinker, if that was possible, "Loyalty," Rainbow Dash glowed prismatically, "Generosity," Rarity shone like a diamond, "and Kindness." Fluttershy glowed softly and warmly. "After that, it takes a spark of the most powerful magic of all to get the Magic gem." Twilight then noticed she was dimmer, but still glowing. "Oof, grow your heart, miss Grinch, or the night may just never end." Twilight took offense to that, at which point I poofed away and waited for the fireworks to die down. Time for more letters. Twilight didn't have time to assemble the whole "Zero" script, but what she did have was simple enough to decipher where the holes were. Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? * * * * Well, well, well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why i'm here. * Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this mo * FOREVER! Muhahahahaha! If you've begun collecting and assembling this, you have no doubt become curious of Zero. I had known this would * * * * Magic of Friendship. Sunset's failure isn't the end, though; the use of the Element and the Magic of * I packaged an AI in this message, just a little gift from me to help * Enjoy the packaged assistant! Twilight had researched into how Sunset Shimmer had vanished, how there was no idea on how she vanished into thin air, and then an entirely different but similar girl appears in Canterlot High. Her inclusion in Zero was no coincidence, she thought. Zero involved Equestria. Twilight quickly noticed another piece through the lens, and sucked it up. Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs? happen, so allow me to allay your concerns. Zero is simply Another three pieces in the same space of the message. This time it was her voice addressing the main speaker in this clip. I did. And I know who you are: You're the mare in the moon - Nightmare Moon! my way of categorizing the events that will unfold when Sunset Shimmer steals the Element of Magic from our world and our Twilight stops her on the night of the Fall Formal with the "Okay," Twilight said, "so that makes..." Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs? I did. And I know who you are: You're the mare in the moon - Nightmare Moon! Well, well, well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why i'm here. * Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this mo * FOREVER! Muhahahahaha! If you've begun collecting and assembling this, you have no doubt become curious of Zero. I had known this would happen, so allow me to allay your concerns. Zero is simply my way of categorizing the events that will unfold when Sunset Shimmer steals the Element of Magic from our world and our Twilight stops her on the night of the Fall Formal with the Magic of Friendship. Sunset's failure isn't the end, though; the use of the Element and the Magic of * I packaged an AI in this message, just a little gift from me to help * Enjoy the packaged assistant! After assembling those, Twilight noticed the last two pieces floating behind her. Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs? I did. And I know who you are: You're the mare in the moon - Nightmare Moon! Well, well, well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here. You're here to... to... *gulp* Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night... will last... FOREVER! Muhahahahaha! If you've begun collecting and assembling this, you have no doubt become curious of Zero. I had known this would happen, so allow me to allay your concerns. Zero is simply my way of categorizing the events that will unfold when Sunset Shimmer steals the Element of Magic from our world and our Twilight stops her on the night of the Fall Formal with the Magic of Friendship. Sunset's failure isn't the end, though; the use of the Element and the Magic of Friendship will cause magic to leak into your world. I packaged an AI in this message, just a little gift from me to help you about in the changing world. Enjoy the packaged assistant! The tone that said the message was complete seemed higher resolution this time, followed by an array of messages. MESSAGE ARCHIVED LOADING SPECTRO... A wireframe body started to form over the lens. LOADING CHRONOLOGY ALERTS... An array of digital clocks began to count down, formatting into a file as the next change took hold. REFORMATTING DEVICE TECHNOLOGY...The spectrometer's display started to shift, becoming a touch screen. ”Helloooo, Sci-Twi!," the device suddenly burst out, projecting a more realistic form over the the wireframe. Twilight was shocked at how chipper the small construct was, and examining it closer, were those pony ears on...? Oh, right. Equestria. "Spectro,” Twilight ordered, “sort messages by immediate relevance and enter sleep mode." Immediately, Spectro shut off, leaving Twilight to study and ruminate that night. She was VERY good at multitasking. It was, after all, how she kept her "prized student" status while she sought the answers. After all, now she REALLY knew there was more that's out there, and she just hadn't found it yet. Especially her counterpart. She was surprised when a flash sounded outside her window. She looked outside to see a young boy in mismatched clothes. What really startled her was the two distinct horns on his head. "Ugh, still far too soon to be on this side by chronology’s standards," he muttered, "but... maybe not. I could offer something special to these people in my shop..." When he said that, a market stall appeared next to him, reading- They get the idea, every time that sign is mentioned, it's going to say the same thing: Chaos-seed Temporary Species-swap Service. Twilight was intrigued, especially when he removed a tile reading Human: 10 bits from the list and added a tile reading Temporary magic powers: 100 bits in its place. Wait... magic? So, Twilight thought, he's the one who created the Spectrodecrypter! She snapped out of it to see another sign out of the corner of her eye: Prices are subject to a 1.5x multiplication if undersigned is suspected of being brainwashed, mean, or evil. Suspicions are usually right, as the merchant on duty knows many things about the future. Fortune telling is not offered here. Half off to people under blackmail, undue suspicion, or just being a wallflower. Family does not receive discounts. Prices 0.75x if you get a service as a gift for a friend. Waivers are requisite to be viable for any purchased services from this merchant. It was at that point the figure noticed Twilight, and waved at her, prompting her to come down. When she reached the stall, he greeted her with a smile and asked what she wanted. "After all," he said, "Twilight's still making her way to the Old Castle Ruins.” She just paid for a day of magic powers after signing, eliciting a chuckle from the merchant as he snapped his fingers. Twilight noticed the warm sensation flowing through her, and when he lifted a stone, she instinctually, or rather complementarily due to the terms of the service, channeled the sensation around the stone, which she then realized to be a chunk of magic-infused silver, and channeled it through to shape the silver into a crown. She did the same for the aquamarine he held up next, though she noticed he was unnerved when it was shaped into a six-pointed star shape. "What's wrong?," she asked, to which he said, "That reminds me of a world where Twilight got corrupted by plundervines corrupting the Tree of Harmony. She then went on to go on a magic-stealing rampage with them. It's nothing you have to worry about." Twilight just shook her head and shaped the crown's socket and the gem to an eight-pointed star before putting them together. "Remember, keep the magic a secret," he warned. "There's a certain trio of girls with heptagonal ruby necklaces that would also crave this power." He then handed her a crystal. "Feed it to Spectro, it'll give you the transpiring events from the other side." He then snapped his fingers and vanished, stall and all. Wallflower had seen a crystal appear in front of her at the very same moment Falak had poofed in front of Crystal Prep. Through it, she saw Twilight trust an orange pony that reminded her of Applejack and fall off a cliff, a yellow winged pony looking like Fluttershy pull a manifested thorn out of the paw of a real living MANTICORE, a white pony that could only be Rarity give her own tail hair to a river serpent, and even an illusion of fear dispelled, oddly, by LAUGHING AT IT. Wallflower could only marvel at the journey through the wild Everfree Forest, as well as her Magnus Tegmen as it released the latest bee to be drawn in, petals gleaming a pure white from the lack of their nectar coating. Her musings were interrupted by Amnes, the spirit that led her to the garden, saying, "My master, the one who made me, is near." Wallflower had been surprised that Amnes had been made by a being of chaos as a constant companion to her, but took it in stride. Her Brand, the marks that Amnes dwelt in, glew brighter, as he said they would in the presence of magic. They had been dim due to the lack of magic so far, but now they were glowing brighter. Almost like he was in front of the woods... Wallflower peeked out, and sure enough, there he was, manning a simple market stall with a green and turquoise banner. Species swapping sounds nice, make me stand out for the day, Wallflower resolved, and she bought a simple earth pony transfiguration. It was a bit odd, adjusting to hooves, but the knowledge transfer helped to smooth it over. And she did feel a bit more in tune with the earth. "Just don't pull a Withania Nightshade and go in the flower after growing it to fit a pony or person... Well, that's an idea I can't use. Equus Tegmen ARE known to, well, eat other ponies. Maybe somepony outside our world could make a story like that, though. I know somepony already has. Still," he said, "it's a concept." Wallflower was confused, but she shook it off as she cantered towards the school, not missing the smirk and mumble of "Maybe I could prank Sunny with this kind of thing..." Wallflower smiled. That's an idea..., she thought as she watched Rainbow Dash deny the Shadowbolt illusions to tie off the bridge. Falak then snapped his fingers and left. "Jeez," I said, "pop away a few hours and suddenly things are going down the tubes." I had holed up in a tower where neither Luna or the Bearers would be, a gold coupon fashioned in my hand that was good for any high-level transformation or any two moderate transformations. I bore witness to Twilight redeeming Luna with the true Magic Of Friendship, cut into the scene to give Luna the coupon, then gave Twilight a cryptic clue. "You know, the Elements may be gems, but the REAL Elements shine in everypony. I reckon that even if they're destroyed, the Magic of Friendship could STILL work up some mean blasts of harmony! After all, you don't need a fancy gem to show that you're the Elements of Harmony perfectly represented! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to write something to lay down some rules on Dad if he ever gets out." I pulled out a list. "Number one, any form of mind control, compulsion, or otherwise magical method of causing the contenders to act against themselves is prohibited, number two, any form of unicorn magic or flight is forbidden, well that's obvious, number three, any form of temptation to cheat is seen as a forfeit..." I turned to Twilight. "And my dad is known for his double entendres and false clues." I then couldn't contain my ecstatic pride anymore. "OOO SWEET FAUST I JUST WANT TO SING SOMETHING SO BAD BUT IT ISN'T TIME FOR THAT SONG YET!" My chaos powers then created a rift in time to when I could. "Ooo yes I have waited TWO. BUCKING. SEASONS for the time I would get to sing this! HIT IT!" Twilight had just passed her test, and I was so ecstatic I just couldn't contain myself anymore! Rarity joined in with me as we began to congratulate Twilight on saving the Crystal Empire. (Key is Just Me, All, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Twilight. I am always singing.) You were prepared to do your best Had what it takes to pass the test All those doubts you can dismiss Turns out you were Prepared for this! You clearly had just what it takes To pass a test with such high stakes We knew for sure you would prevail Since when does Twilight Sparkle ever fail? So long I wait to sing for slate That you were sure... (That I was sure...) To save the day, Spike was the way That choice was pure... (The choice was pure) All those doubts that you can dismiss Trust yourself and you cannot miss Turns out you were... (Turns out I was...) Turns out you were! (Turns out I was...) Turns out you were... Prepared for this! "Seriously, I was waiting THROUGH THE WHOLE TWO SEASONS TO THIS EPISODE!" I just collapsed. ----------------------------------- "Okay, just... What just happened?," Luna and Twilight chorused as I just laid there. "Powers shorted out and made a time rift because I was so excited about your first of many adventures and successes and the only song I could think to sing was from the season 3 premiere. It happens. One time when I was frustrated Persona 5 Royal wasn't coming to Switch, an adapted, perfectly functional, all-the-trimmings copy of all the improved Persona games in a cartridge for the Nintendo Switch just popped up right in front of me. The author was feeling about the same when he wrote this in a school kitchen." Celestia just shook her head and commissioned Twilight to stay in Ponyville to learn more about friendship, but I tuned it out as I explained the coupon to Luna. She seemed interested in the high-level transformations, especially when it was revealed that one of them was dragon, and another was... "Changeling Royal? What is this 'Changeling' thou speakest of?" "Well, my cousin Elytra is one, but not the best example. Think an alicorn, but swap the feathered wings for bug wings, the fur for chitin, and well, in a few days, I heard a royal, Chrysalis, is starving hers and obscuring the benefits of willingly given love. They're all black and half-formed, and only one of them really is nice; the runt of the nymphs, Thorax. His brother Pharynx, though, hoo BOY, is he the ideal changeling warrior! And everyling wants to be a warrior but Thorax." Celestia said about Chrysalis, how she wasn't all that nice. "Well, maybe she just needs somepony to love her as she is, and trust me, I KNOW the whole Prob-Magic Swamp thing isn't their final form. After all, I have something known as... The Plot. Did you wonder how that unicorn Fizzlepop Berrytwist was relatively unharmed after the encounter with the Ursa Minor?" Celestia realized what I meant, and thanked me for relieving the injury she suffered. “It was that or she was going to petrify you two, Cadence and Twilight under the name Tempest Shadow to trade your magic for her horn from a manipulative fudgenut known as the Storm King. By the way, the Hippogriffs have had to hide as hippocampi using Novo's Pearl because of that guy." Celestia was surprised at the news, especially that I knew these things. "Please. I was having this broadcast to the world where Sunset and the Sirens found themselves. Hey, Sci-Twi, Wallflower." Sci-Twi and Wallflower were surprised about their acknowledgement, especially since the display was showing them both the story as Falak was making it and the actual canon series. Wallflower pranced at being noticeable and noticed, while Sci-Twi just rolled her eyes as she worked on her learning, both mundane and Falak-mandated. Both of them were excited at the prospects. Twilight in particular had used her magic to make a special device for three odd girls who walked into a bar she was collecting message pieces at. Apparently, by her experiments with magic, it would draw a piece of arcane magic from someone with latent ability and turn it into a sphere of flavored magic energy. Of course, the magic drain wasn't refined enough for a partial drain, and the magic wasn't supposed to be drained like that, so she got a 75-bit voucher for the 18 remaining hours she had on her time as "warranty payment on the service." Wallflower, on the other hand, infused a bit of her magic into the flowers around the garden, giving her a lush mystical look to the garden, and she even transferred some of that look to herself with a draping of ivy and flowers! She met a young girl who said she was a counselor at Camp Everfree, and when her brand glowed, Gloriosa showed her that she could make plants grow because of the crystals on her necklace, though the lack of proximity to a pair of crystals still at her camp limited her. The two of them left as kindred spirits, though Gloriosa was startled when a coupon for Falak's stand appeared in front of her. "Enjoy your night of being a hippogriff, Moondancer?," I said, as Moondancer had just finished up. “Yep! I still can't believe you were right about Twilight!" I chuckled and replied, "Well, she IS the third mark on the Tree of Harmony." Twilight, who was sitting across from us, couldn't believe it either. "Well," Moondancer said, "I'd best get back to Canterlot. Keep in touch, okay, Twilight?" Twilight nodded, and Moondancer left for the train. "Your business definitely seems odd. Who was your uncle that suggested it? On that note, who was your father?" I just chuckled and said, "If we go to the castle in the future, look for the statue of the singing creature in the statue garden. There may be a small pink filly with a white and purple mane resting next to it. That's my sister, Screwball. My dad and uncles are the same person across many dimensions, as are my aunt and... mother," I spat the last word with all the venom of a black mamba, "though my aunt is the ONLY Cosmos I grant the boon of being recognized as my aunt, on account of being trained in beat-em-up-styled hybrid ranged-melee combat, drained of disharmony, which created the Shadow Wastes dimension and the Blight when I put the reverse-world's Elements of Disharmony into it, and being let within one millimeter of my cousin Draco Robisen as a companion in arms." Twilight was surprised that my family was so oddly structured, and that my dad could be a statue, but she was more curious about where my mom was. I just said, "My mom was why Discord got upgraded to menace. She burned a school for the underprivileged, and then he had the Princesses, King Aspen of the Everfree, the king of the Abyssinians, who are cat people, and Queen Novo of the Hippogriffs of Mount Aris seal her into a certain astrological phenomenon." The three of us left it at that. I think I'll leave the chapter at that too.