//------------------------------//
// MLP Loops 213 
// Story: MLP Time Loops 
// by Saphroneth 
//------------------------------//





213.1 {continuation of 208.14} (katfairy) [MLP/D&DC]

“From the sound of it, you all need some time to rest,” Celestia said. Hank couldn't argue; even with the long rest, he was exhausted and he could see that most of the others were too. Okay, they looked better than they had last night, but still tired.

“Yeah, we do,” Twilight agreed. “Dungeon Master said time is flexible between worlds, so I think Luna and I should spend a few days here before heading home. This was worse than that first fight against Tirek.”

“And I think I should stay longer than that.” Luna said, giving her sister a Look. Celestia raised an eyebrow, and Hank carefully didn't look anywhere in particular. If he was guessing right, Luna wanted to stick around to help Eric with his issues but wasn't going to say anything until she'd talked to him. It was tactful, if not really necessary.

“Do you?” Celestia was thinking of pressing, and he knew Luna wouldn't answer, and that would lead to bickering. He flicked a glance at Twilight, who nodded at him after a second.

“Well, if she goes home now, it won't be the full thousand years,” he pointed out. He felt a little guilty, since it wasn't the real reason she wasn't going back, but reminded himself that he was still telling the truth. “She's gotta do the big return if you've got a legend about her disappearance.”

“...Of course she does.” Celestia's deadpan told him she wasn't fooled, but she just shook her head and changed the subject. “Alright, then, should we keep this secret until then, and just tell everyone Twilight was just stuck here for the time that passed back home?”

“I think that's our best bet, unless we want ponies trying to find their way here for adventures.” Twilight grimaced. “”If Trixie and Lyra aren't Awake, them finding out about a place like The Realm is just asking for trouble. And if the Crusaders aren't, once they're a bit older...”

“Good point.” Celestia nodded. “All right, then, we'll wait. And if you don't mind, I'd like to stay here with you for those few days. I have an idea for the rest of the Loop, but I'd like to discuss it further. I didn't tell anypony back home that I'd found Luna, just in case she'd had plans for a dramatic reappearance; now I'm wondering if that dramatic reappearance could be used for something else.”

“Like what?” Luna asked, eyes narrowed.

“Well, Twilight's right about not telling Equestria about The Realm immediately, but if you returned at the big do in Ponyville with some ambassadors in tow...”

Hank sat up straight at that, as did everyone else. Venger's jaw dropped, and even Dungeon Master looked startled. But it was an interesting idea, even if it didn't pan out; fixing some of The Realm's problems would be easier with more help, and the idea of Equestrian tourists was kinda funny.

If I see any ponies in Hawaiian shirts, I cannot promise not to eat them in defense of good taste.

Hank snickered, then flat out laughed as everyone rolled their eyes at Tiamat. Dungeon Master cleared his throat, turning his attention back to Celestia.

“Are you saying that you would like to open up a permanent connection between our respective worlds, Princess?”

“Absolutely. We've never really had a chance to do this with you, but we've done it with other worlds in previous Loops, and when it's been our choice to do it, it's usually turned out well. Working together, we can probably create a stable portal, although by stabilizing it, it means our timelines will then by synchronized so that we can no longer do any fiddling like we're doing now. I was also thinking that this castle might be used as an embassy, with Princess Luna as our first ambassador. And perhaps it could also serve as a base for these children, somewhere they can rest safely between adventures.”

“Once we get rid of all the boobytraps,” Luna muttered.

“I like the idea,” Hank said. “I know it's not my call, but if you do want my opinion, Dungeon Master, I'm saying they can be a lot of help in restoring The Realm. I know we need to do most of the work ourselves over the next couple of years, but even when we have cleaned up most of the serious problems, the land itself will need help. Equestrians are very, very good at working with the land to draw out its potential, and they're not likely to do anything that would cause more damage. Not deliberately, anyway, and we know the ones who are likely to be trouble already and if I know Twilight, she's got lists of plans for dealing with anything they come up with.”

Dungeon Master sat quietly for a while, thinking. Possibly even pondering. Hank swept his gaze across the group, silently telling them to give the mage the time he needed. This was a major decision coming hard on the heels of a major paradigm shift, and it would be a bad idea to rush into anything. Granted, Hank knew the Equestrians were just what he'd said, but he had personal knowledge that Dungeon Master couldn't have yet, although the fact that two of them had just helped restore his estranged son and defeat Chernobog would help. But there were other considerations, as Dungeon Master said when he next spoke.

“For my own part, I am inclined to agree. However, I am not the ruler of this world, and such a decision is not mine alone to make. Princess Luna is known to us as a reclusive yet helpful power; this will be a point in your favor, as will her and Princess Twilight's role in the events of yesterday. I can open portals to your world at any time period for now, and should we form this alliance, then we can make one permanent.”

Celestia nodded, and Hank had to admit that he really shouldn't have expected anything more. While Dungeon Master was the biggest power directly involved in The Realm, he didn't usually rule it, as he'd just said, and even though the rulers of the little pocket kingdoms that comprised The Realm mostly deferred to him, he only interfered when necessary. Well, except in the Evil DM Loops, but that wasn't an issue this time. But because of that, Dungeon Master would want to talk to those rulers who weren't evil and see what they had to say about the new setup before committing to anything. It meant a delay; on the other hand, not doing it would needlessly alienate some allies, so...

“That makes sense,” Celestia said. “I look forward to our future discussions on the matter. And now that we have that settled, shall we take advantage of the time differential between our two worlds and just hang out and chat about things a bit less armageddony?”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Hank said, standing up. “Other than this, we've settled all of the major in-Loop issues, but there's a lot of smaller or at least more personal stuff some of us need to deal with. I know I'd like to ask Twilight a bit about long-term effects of the Elements, and Eric... I think you'd better have a long talk with Luna. And eventually with Dungeon Master, but right now, he's got somebody else he needs to have a long, private conversation with, I'm betting. So if you guys want to get started on that, I'd like to ask Celestia if she has any suggestions for fixing a big stained glass window.”





213.2 (Vinylshadow)

Apple Bloom felt Applejack's eyes boring into her as she bucked the trees Big Mac had assigned to her.

Making sure the apples fell into the bucket, Apple Bloom looked at her sister.

"What is it?" she asked. "You've been like this for several Loops now."

Applejack pursed her lips thoughtfully before responding. "I've been thinking about that Great Seedling expansion a bit, and the timeline feels really weird. Remember when I was telling you about how I got my Cutie Mark, when I was about your size?"

"Vaguely," Apple Bloom replied. "Been a very long time since I've been Awake in that time period."

Applejack shot her a sympathetic glance before continuing. "Well, before that, was the time I accidentally put everyone in the hospital. However..." Her voice trailed off and she adjusted her hat. "Yet… I remember Pear Butter holding you as I was off making traps for the Seedling. Yet since our parents weren't around to be put in the hospital, where were you when I KO'd the rest of the family? Where were you when I went off to live with the Oranges for a while?"

Apple Bloom shrugged. "I'd have been way too young to remember that, unfortunately." She glanced at one of the apple trees for a moment, then back at Applejack. "Maybe because Yggdrasil's broken some things in Baseline don't match up?"

"That's… possible." Applejack said with a grimace. "Just doesn't seem fair that we don't have a lot of memories of time with our parents and have to hear it all secondhand from other sources."

"Aside from the times we Wake up in our parents' time period." Apple Bloom pointed out.

"As nice as those are," Applejack said gently, "those are only variations of Mom and Dad."

Apple Bloom nodded glumly and gave her sister a hug. "Still, it's nice to have something about them, however minor it may be."

"Quite so," Applejack said. "Now we just need some more information on Scootaloo's parents, and maybe have Sweetie Belle's show up again and I imagine you three would have even more in common."

Apple Bloom shot her sister a half-hearted glare and the two resumed work.





213.3 (Evilhumour)

Twilight was well used to the odd loops; as a relatively old Anchor, she had seen weird and unusual things in her long life.

So when she saw fairies flying around as ponies did stuff, she merely raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, that's not normal," a voice next to her ear muttered with Twilight turning to face the fairy next to her face. "This says... you are in a time loop of sorts and you can see me?"

"That's right," Twilight said in her most calming voice as not to spook the fairy, the little girl holding a hand to her chest. "And I just became aware of the loop in this iteration and I have not seen you or your kind before."

"Oh, I'm Sue," the fairy held out a hoof for Twilight to shake. "We're narrative fairies. We cause the actions you beings choose to do to others and the world. Think of us as an extra force of the universe, like gravity."

"That's interesting," Twilight said with a smile growing on her face. "So you don't actually control anything, just ensure it happens?"

"That's correct, and I have a party with your friend scheduled in ten minutes," Sue said with a smile, tapping a clipboard in her hands before a frown appeared on her face. "Though this is odd..."

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked with concern.

"This says that something is due to happen to your house but I can't make it out."

"Oh. That." Twilight let out a huff. "My treehouse tends to be destroyed in every loop with the universe throwing whatever it wants to 'surprise' me." Twilight grumbled, looking away and such missed the widening eyes on Sue.

"Are- are you saying that you've got an undefined narrative point?!" Sue exclaimed loudly causing Twilight to start back in surprise.

"Er yes? It's rarely the same means that destroys it; is that a prob-"

"WE’VE GOT AN UNDEFINED NARRATIVE POINT, PEOPLE!" Sue shouted with every fairy jolting up and flying over to them, each one checking their clipboards and muttering eagerly to each other while looking at her tree.

"What's going on Su-"

"I say meteor strike!" a shrill male voice called out as a meteor broke through the air and slammed into her tree.

"What the br-"

"Feh, I say five meteor strikes!" another voice hollered from the crowd, with her tree restored only to be struck by five meteors with the fairies starting to argue loudly.

"Sue, what the tree is going on here!?" Twilight snapped at the fairy who was looking sheepishly now.

"Well, while we normally don't do this but whenever we find an undefined narrative point, we have to pause time and fill it in," Sue began to rub the back of her head. "And… we tend to do things democratically; we each pitch our own ideas and then we vote on the one we like the best."

"Tentacle monster!" a voice called out as tentacles reached out from the small stream and crushed her tree into splinters before it was restored once more.

Twilight could already feel her eye beginning to twitch.





213.4 (Vinylshadow)

Celestia watched her sister out of the corner of her eye as she read over a proposal from Fancy Pants.

"I've known you long enough to recognize when you've been through a rough Loop," Celestia said, making Luna twitch. "And given the recent expansion about us, I suspect I can guess as to the cause."

Celestia turned her full attention to Luna. "How bad was I behaving?" she asked gently.

"Your usual desire to be followed and adored cranked up to eleven," Luna replied. "Gave off some extremely unpleasant vibes when I tried to put my hoof down and rein you in."

Celestia grimaced. "Yeah, I can see how that'd be an issue." Her gaze turned thoughtful. "Although, I suppose that gives your descent into Nightmare Moon a lot more validity on top of being jealous that ponies ignored your hard work with the night sky."

"Feels more like an angsty teenage rebellion at this point," Luna said with a flick of her wings. "Not helped with the Tantabus fiasco."

"How do you deal with those nowadays?" Celestia asked.

Luna smiled slightly. "I feed them to Nyx's Tantabus if she's around. Otherwise, I purge them."

"I'm glad," Celestia murmured, wrapping a wing around her sibling. "Not particularly pleased with how our Baseline selves have been behaving lately, but when everyone's Awake, it's really not much of an issue."

"No, it isn't." Luna agreed, before pulling out a roll of parchment. "Well, since our last Bucket List got waylaid by Twilight being Twilight, I've come up with a volume two, if you'd care to join me?"

"How many art museums are on that list?" Celestia asked warily.

"...No more than three dozen, I promise."

"...You're lucky you're my sister."

The siblings shared a smirk before gathering up their things and teleporting away.





213.5 (DrTempo) [MLP/Super Mario]


"Twilight?"

"Yes, Rarity?"

"Why are we Koopalings?"

Twilight Koopa sighed as Rarity Koopa - her sister this Loop - grumbled. "I have no idea, but did you have to ask me like that?"

Rarity shrugged. "It is a classic. But still, why did the Unawake version of me have
to be such a stereotypical spoiled brat?"

"Maybe Yggdrasil thought you'd be perfect for the role." Twilight laughed.

“Ha, ha.” Rarity sighed. "I'm not like that anymore. So, how shall we cause trouble for Mario today?" Twilight grinned, and Rarity made a hasty amendment. "Without it involving the Super Crown."

Twilight frowned. "Maybe just kidnap Princess Peach?"

At that moment, Bowser walked in carrying Princess Peach.

"Looks like Bowser beat you to it, sis."

Bowser then chuckled. "I have a perfect plan to fool Mario and his friends!"

Twilight shook her head. "No Super Crown shenanigans, 'dad'."

Bowser groaned. "Eh, worth a shot."





213.6 (Vinylshadow)

If there was any point in time where Rarity hated Waking, it was when she was in the middle of a complicated stitch, which ruined the entire dress and set her back weeks.

Putting aside the disaster, she pushed herself away from her workshop and hissed as her body reminded her that it hadn't moved in hours. Gritting her teeth, she relaxed and stretched, before taking stock of things.

She was in the Boutique, of course. It was silent, which meant Sweetie Belle was out, and Opal wasn't glaring at her, which meant it was still before lunch.

"Another all-nighter, it seems," Rarity said, rubbing her eyes. "You'd think I'd have learned by now." She glanced at who she was making a dress for and did a double-take. "Of course I'd pull such a stunt for the queen," she said ruefully, shaking her head. Pulling a completed dress from her Pocket, she threw it on a mannequin and enlarged it for a pony who dwarfed an alicorn, then taking into account the queen's mane color, changed the prominent colors to a pale yellow.

"Rarity?"

The mare twitched as Twilight's voice came through the doorway, and she turned to see the other pony enter. Rarity took note of the lack of wings adorning Twilight's barrel and dipped her head politely.

Twilight glanced at the dress thoughtfully. "I see you're wide Awake, because that wasn't the dress you were working on yesterday."

Rarity chuckled as she trimmed the hemline and smoothed the dress. "That obvious? It's good to see you. Although I take it the lack of wings is from Her Majesty running the country?"

"Correct. She's freed up a lot of ponies and given us a smooth vacation Loop," Twilight said. "Her daughters are quite relieved and things have been...interesting with her around."

"I detect gossip," Rarity said, ears perking up. She grabbed the comfiest pillows she could find - sorely lacking in plushness, she noted sourly, filing away a note to buy new ones at some point - and the two mares took a seat as Twilight brought forth tea from her Pocket.

"She's been in a nasty legal battle with a company over the direction of the show she's writing, for one," Twilight said, settling down. "She wants to tell a story and they want to sell toys."

"Shouldn't it be easy to do both?" Rarity asked, arching an eyebrow.

"You'd think." Twilight said. "Unfortunately, the stories the company wants to tell are filled with tired clichés and exceptionally poorly executed tropes, with characters who are shallower than Sombra, while she wants a rich vibrant world with a colorful, and memorable, cast of characters."

Rarity winced. "I can see why there'd be conflict. Company wants fast easy money peddling to the lowest common denominator that'll exist, then be immediately forgotten, compared to something that has had love and passion poured into it. How's it look?"

"Unfortunately, parents just want something that they can put on to distract their kids, so most of them are backing the company," Twilight said grimly. "And say that their kids are not old enough to decide things for themselves."

"I can think of a trio of young mares immediately who could prove that sentiment wrong," Rarity said. "Is that why Sweetie Belle isn't here?"

Twilight smiled. "They're out polling schools across Equestria over which kind of show the younger ponies - and other interested parties - would enjoy. Babs Seed is handling things in Manehatten, Gabby and Gallus are in Griffonstone, and the other students are also doing their part."

"Pardon me for asking, it's slipped my mind, which show was this for, again?" Rarity asked.

"My Little Human, of course." Twilight said with a straight face. "The queen is working with Megan on it."

"It's been a long time since I've seen MLH." Rarity said wistfully. "Used to marathon it with Sweetie Belle. And the other girls, of course," she added. "How is Megan? Seems like it's been forever since I've talked with her."

"Doing well," Twilight said. "She's staying with Celestia and Luna in Canterlot during the trial."

Rarity nodded. "I see. I think I'll be taking a trip later. Would you care to join me?"

"Of course," Twilight said.

"Twilight?"

"Yes, Rarity?"

"Why is your tea set shaped like characters from My Little Human?"

"...I became a fan during season three."

"Ooh, that's when it started getting real good, and was probably the best time to join."





213.7 (Vinylshadow)
Tricky Flowers

"So, that expansion was a little weird, don't you think?" Apple Bloom asked as she stepped off the train, followed by Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

"I was more put off by the fact we're still considered foals, even though it's been several years since we've gotten our Cutie Marks," Scootaloo grumbled, wings buzzing in irritation. "The nerve of some ponies!"

"And we had no problems going by train to the Crystal Empire or Scootaloo's aunts by ourselves either," Sweetie Belle pointed out. "Or the fact it doesn't take a day and night to get to Appleloosa by train anymore."

"I can forgive the time discrepancy, what with how the sun and moon work in Equestria," Apple Bloom said. "I'm slightly convinced that fair days have a slower day/night cycle so there's more time for everyone to enjoy them."

Sweetie Belle nodded. "That makes sense. It was also nice to see Dorothy again. It's been a while since we talked."

"Too bad Applejack didn't have her tin man costume ready for Nightmare Night this year, though," Apple Bloom said with a sigh. "But there's always next year. Or the year before, depending on when we Wake up again."

"Funny how that works," Scootaloo said. "Makes birthdays really awkward too."

"Rarity hates being reminded she's over thirty," Sweetie Belle said with a snicker.

"She ages remarkably well," Scootaloo pointed out. "Like wine rather than milk."

"I'd rather age like a pony, thank you very much," Apple Bloom said.

"And yet you copied the flower and Pocketed it for later use," Sweetie Belle noted.

"Of course," Apple Bloom said. "If we have it earlier, we can use it for other things, like fixing the barn, getting farm equipment, screwing over the Flim-Flam Brothers, conquering Equestria, and eventually the entire cosmos."

"I beg your pardon?" Scootaloo asked with a blink. "That last part?"

"Relax, I've given you your own quadrants to rule over," Apple Bloom said soothingly.

"Oh good, you had me worried for a second there," Sweetie Belle said.

"We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Whatever we do, we do it together," Apple Bloom said. "Within reason, of course."

"I don't mind sharing a bed with you two, but only if Scootaloo is on the outside, because otherwise her wings tickle," Sweetie Belle muttered.

"Sometimes I dream about flying, and you know what that does to a sleeping pegasus," Scootaloo said sheepishly.

"Granny Smith had a lot of questions about the straps and leashes you brought to that one sleepover," Apple Bloom said with some amusement.

"You should hear some of Gilda's stories about flight camp," Sweetie Belle said. "Rainbow Dash was very prone to flying through the walls."

"Applejack told me about one time where that caused Dash to do a Rainboom earlier, which caused her Cutie Mark to become a potato," Apple Bloom said. "That Sonic Rainboom seems like more trouble than it's worth at times, don't you think?"

"Did you really expect anything less of Equestrian magic at this point?" Scootaloo asked. "It could be so much worse."

"But it's good blackmail fuel," Sweetie Belle said.

"...What on earth do you use Alternate Cutie Mark Blackmail material for?" Scootaloo asked blankly.

"Mostly getting out of doing chores," Sweetie Belle said with a smirk.

"Fair enough."





213.8 (DrTempo)

Pinkie Pie was enjoying a soda, relaxing. "Man, that last expansion was interesting."

"Really? What happened?" A voice said.

The voice was Shining Armor’s, Pinkie smiling as he sat down next to her.

"Well, I saw Cheese Sandwich again."

Shining Armor smiled. "Good! It's been a while since he appeared in Baseline. So, what wackiness happened this time?"

Pinkie smiled. "Well, not much wackiness happened. At first. Ya see, Baseline me was wondering that, compared to everything my friends have done, my actions didn't compare. Cheese Sandwich then asked for my help. Apparently, people are asking for his help with doing parties. Some dull pony who doesn't really get how party planning works asked Cheese Sandwich to help him make a factory so everypony could appreciate Cheese Sandwich's work."

Shining Armor sighed. "So, what went wrong?"

Pinkie chuckled, a little melancholy in her tone. "Apparently, since Cheese Sandwich wasn't personally cheering people up, he slowly lost interest in what he loved doing. Took a while, but he managed to remember that. He then left to do what he does best, leaving that other pony I mentioned to run the factory, with Cheese Sandwich agreeing to send the place new ideas."

Shining Armor smiled. "Glad it worked out. And as for your Baseline self?"

Pinkie just smiled, and said, "It just reminded me that making other ponies smile is what I lived for! Not like I hadn't realized that eons ago!"

“Of course.” Shining Armor nodded. “But, I guess even you need a reminder once in a while!"

“Yep!” Pinkie giggled. She returned to her soda, wondering what else awaited everypony in the final expansions...





213.9 (Vinylshadow)

Discord stared at his Chaos hand curiously.

By its very nature, the game was unpredictable, where anything could happen. Usually within reason.

Usually.

"Tell me, Fluttershy," he said, placing a card down. "Has your Chaos deck ever shown you events that have yet to occur?"

Fluttershy frowned, staring at the image of Twilight getting her wings all those years ago. Or rather, had yet to get, on account of the timeline not yet having reached that point this Loop.

"I'll admit I don't look at it every Loop," she admitted, placing down a Cozy Glow card, which promptly turned into a Discord card, costing her the hand. "Why? Does it do this often?"

"Only when we get a bunch of expansions without warning," Discord said, shuffling and dealing. "Remember about...two years back? Maybe three? Around the time the Changelings became Changedlings."

Fluttershy's ears twitched as she blew on a card that had burst into flame, before putting it down, where it then sang a lovely duet with Discord's card (an odd thing she didn't recognize, but noticed Discord's nostrils flare in disgust at the sight of).

“The only thing I really remember offhand about that was Twilight's first encounter with Chrysalis' team of fake ponies being much more… well, it ended graphically," she said. "Twilight doesn't talk about it much and it's been... I hesitate to say "fixed" but since it's never popped up again... Why, did that happen again?"

"Nothing too major," Discord said. "Just events happening a few weeks earlier than intended. I think it's all fixed now." He glared at a card in his hand, crushing it to dust.

"Discord."

The rebuke was firm, but gentle, and Discord sighed, remaking the card. He placed it down and Fluttershy blinked in surprise as she saw what was on it.

"I see," was all she said, before placing down a Pure Chaos hand, winning the game. "I can see why you're nervous."

She patted his paw gently. "You have friends, and even with everything you've done, we care about you."

Discord leaned back in his chair, stroking his beard. "It's an interesting look though, intentional or not. One would think that the Admins would have fixed that kind of thing by now."

Fluttershy chuckled, putting the cards away and producing cups of tea. "Even if they have, Yggdrasil would probably include these...leaks as it tries to heal itself. It's all about stability, right? And the best way to stabilize something is to experience it and adapt, for better or worse."

"Mhh..." Discord grunted thoughtfully. "We've certainly adapted a lot over the past several eons, haven't we?"

"For better or for worse," Fluttershy replied. "Better in that we've been able to experience things we otherwise would never have considered, but..."

"Worse in that we're unrecognizable to our Baseline selves?" Discord said bitterly.

"Think of it as a test," Fluttershy said with a small smile. "If you can put up with Baseline, you can put up with anything."

"And since Baseline is ever-expanding, and Variants exist, it's never truly going to end, is it?"

The two friends' gazes met and they both sipped from their cups in unison.

"Would you want it to?" Fluttershy asked.

"Not without a heck of a sendoff," Discord said. "Until then, I'll just enjoy the ride."

They clinked their cups together and settled into a more casual conversation.





213.10 (katfairy)

Twilight Sparkle Awoke in the usual way, sending out a Ping while she waited patiently for the Loop memories to kick in. She didn't get any responses, and she didn't get any red flags in the memories; maybe a little tendency towards more melodrama than Baseline, but not by much.

So, a solo Loop, which meant she had to see what she could avert this time. A few were easy, since they'd been caused by her over-reacting to a situation, but some took more thought and a bit of work. She supposed she could just take the lazy way out and...

The lazy way. Oh, that gave her an idea. When was the last time she'd tried to avert the various crises by taking the easiest, most mundane actions possible? She often blasted her way through just because she could, but this would mean she'd have to really think of how to not do that. Taking the lazy way was a lot more work, ironically enough. It would take a delicate touch to forestall some events, and some that were unavoidable could be mitigated at the very least by the right word at the right time or simply by being around when she hadn't originally been.

Moondancer's party was one of the simple ones, but a more difficult matter could be dealt with at the same time. Starlight Glimmer's friend was still around somewhere, and if she just happened to run into him and just happened to steer a casual conversation towards keeping in touch with old friends, Starlight Glimmer's village would never get built.

Twilight was not of the opinion that suffering was necessary to build character, and that Starlight Glimmer could easily develop into the mare she had become in Baseline without almost destroying Equestria first.

Cozy Glow was probably going to be an issue no matter what happened, but knowing what she was up to could let Twilight cut her off at the knees. After that, it was the later part of Baseline covered in the recent spate of expansions, which she hadn't completely memorized yet. It gave her something to look forward to, assuming any of it ended up happening after all the changes she’d be making.

So, she had a plan of sorts in place for the Loop. All she had to do was as much planning as she could to do as little as possible. With some effort, she kept herself from rubbing her forehooves together and cackling in glee as she began to scheme.





Twilight wandered over to the west castle courtyard where Moondancer's get-together was being held, figuring it was as good a place to start as any. She made sure to look a bit awkward, because anything else would be suspicious; she knew what her Baseline reputation had been at this point and stepping too far out of it wouldn't help her plans. Spike wasn't there yet, but was probably on his way. She'd send her letter to Celestia at the party, in front of witnesses, and read the response in front of them too, so nopony's feelings would be too badly hurt when she took off early to go to Ponyville. In the meantime, there were a few ponies she needed to chat with.

Spike showed up less than a minute after she'd guilt-tripped a certain pony into writing to a certain distant friend and asking why she hadn't responded to his first letter (and that would come back to haunt her later, she suspected). It was the perfect segue, and she grabbed it.

"Speaking of letters, I need to send a quick one to the Princess about a legend I found in my studies today. Have you ever heard of Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony?"

"Oh, I read a book about her when I was just a filly!" The young mare who spoke perked up; she was a random background pony, maybe hadn't even existed before this Loop, but Twilight still felt vaguely guilty for not knowing her name. But the mare wasn't done. "You probably don't know me; I just got here a month ago and I've been buried in books trying to make sure I didn't miss anything growing up in the hinterlands. My name's Laurel Wreath, which I know is kinda pretentious but I'm stuck with it. Anyway, the book was about how two ancient princesses ruled Equestria, but one got mad because nobody appreciated her night sky and tried to take over, and there was a fight and she got banished to the moon. Is that the one you meant?"

"That's it! And the other princess, who had to be Celestia, used the Elements to banish her! But I found this old prophecy about Nightmare Moon's return while I was reading, and it's due to happen pretty soon. Well, if you believe prophecies, anyway; there's not a lot of scientific evidence for them. Spike, can you take a quick letter?"

"Now? At a party?' Spike looked crestfallen, but relaxed when Twilight smiled.

"I really do mean quick, but the Princess does need to know about this just in case this is the one prophecy that actually comes true." Twilight enjoyed the giggles that surrounded her, ignoring another tiny pang that she was deliberately misleading them. On the other hand, the odds that any of them could help with Nightmare Moon were pretty slim. "'Dear Princess Celestia: In my studies today, I came across a prophecy that claims that when the stars align properly, Nightmare Moon will be able to escape from her prison on the moon. That particular alignment comes on the day after tomorrow, which is not just the Summer Sun Celebration but the thousandth anniversary of Nightmare Moon's banishment. I realize this is probably just an old pony tale, but it would be irresponsible of me not to bring it to your attention on the off chance that it's more than that. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.' Okay, send it, and now we can get back to having fun. I haven't been to a party since I was a filly, and I'd forgotten what it was like. Thanks for inviting me."

Moondancer beamed. Twilight spent a few minutes chatting with the group before Spike hiccuped out a scroll.

"Wow, that was fast." he said. "Want me to read it, Twilight, or should we let it wait?"

"If the Princess responded that fast, it must be important," Moondancer said, eyes wide. "If you need to go... well, it'll be too bad, but it's the Princess!"

"Go ahead and read it, Spike."

"'My dearest, most faithful student Twilight Sparkle: Thank you for the reminder; I had forgotten that old tale from my childhood. I'm glad to see you're sticking to light reading on what is supposed to be a break--' see, Twilight, I told you you should be taking it easy-- 'but as much as I prize your diligence, you need to learn that there is more to life than books. To that end, I am sending you to take charge of the Summer Sun Celebration, which is in Ponyville this year. I am also entrusting you with an even more essential task: make some friends!'" Spike raised an eyebrow at that. "So Princess Celestia is pulling us away from a party so you can make friends?"

"To be fair, she probably thinks I'm in my tower surrounded by books like I usually am." Twilight pointed out. Spike made a face implying he knew that but didn't feel like being fair at the moment. "Moondancer, everyone, I'm sorry, but if the Princess says I need to go to Ponyville, I guess I'd better go pack. I think I know where my Unexpected Trip Checklist is..."

She made her farewells and dashed to her tower, Spike on her back. A quick and not entirely necessary bout of packing later, she was on her way to Ponyville. Her introduction was the same as usual, but that was all right; Pinkie was Pinkie and they would meet again later. First she had to meet Applejack and eat way more than any sensible pony should, dodge Rainbow Dash, let Rarity fuss over her outfit, and not terrify Fluttershy.

Oh, and deal with Nightmare Moon. She had a few ideas for that already, and expected to have the Elements up and running without having to head into the Everfree.

All in all, not bad for this early in the Loop.





"You must be Applejack; I'm Twilight Sparkle, and Princess Celestia asked me to take charge of the Summer Sun Celebration this year. Looks like you're on top of things here."

"Well, howdy, Miss Sparkle! Yep, we're doin' our best here; got the whole Apple clan to help out. We got apple pie, apple dumplings, apple clafouti, apple brownies, apple pandowdy--"

"I'm picking up on a theme, here." Twilight teased. Applejack grinned back a little sheepishly. "It all sounds wonderful though, so please, don't change a thing."

"Ain't that a relief! But you gotta try some of 'em, make sure they're okay for the Princess, and meet some of the family." Applejack had that look in her eye, the one that always preceded her going overboard on the hospitality like she had the first day they'd met. Twilight knew how to defuse this, thanks to long experience.

"Thanks, I'd love to, but I'm afraid I can't take too long or eat too much, because I still have to check the weather, the decorations, the music... Oh, I know it's probably all under control, but this is the first time I've ever been given anything so important to be responsible for, and I'm just so worried something's going to go wrong if I let anything slide. I know it's a bit silly..."

"Aw, shoot, Twi, ain't nothing silly about it. We're all in the same boat, and that's the plain truth. We're all new to this organizing thing, and none of us ever did anything as big as this. But I got my family to help, Rainbow Dash may look lazy but give her a challenge and she's as hard a worker as any Apple, Rarity's got a good eye for frou-frou like you need for a shindig like this, and Fluttershy... well, be gentle when you meet her 'cause she's just like her name: shy. But she's good with animals and she'll have her bird choir ready in time. Now, sit down here next to Granny Smith and I'll fetch you a plate."





"Whoops, sorry! Great dodge, though!"

"You must be Rainbow Dash; Applejack told me you were pretty fast."

"Nobody faster!"

"Fast enough to clear the skies in time for the Summer Sun Celebration? I mean, there's a lot of little clouds and you are just one pony, after all." This was a bit tricky, challenging Dash, appealing to her ego while hinting at just enough doubt to be plausible but not insulting.

She was more than a little relieved at the cocky grin she got in return.

"Just watch me! I can do it in ten seconds flat!" And she did, just like in Baseline. It was still an impressive sight, even after so many Loops and knowing how far beyond this her Looping friend had gotten. It was a reminder of how much raw talent Rainbow Dash had. "Ten. Seconds. Flat."

"...Wow. Okay, you got this, and it's one less thing for me to worry about. Thanks; I've never been in charge of anything this big before and I'm really nervous." Twilight had played Nervous Newbie before, but was being a bit more casual about it this time. She wanted sympathy, but not enough that they thought she was in over her head. If they thought that, they wouldn't follow her lead when Luna showed up.

"Hey, relax, we've been getting ready since we found out we were getting this. Ol' AJ and her family never let anyone go hungry, Rarity's spiffing up the Town Hall right now, Fluttershy's with her birds, and I got the sky. Go check the other stuff and you'll see."

"I'm on my way. Thanks for clearing the sky!" Twilight trotted the few yards to the Town Hall, bracing for Hurricane Rarity. She had dodged Rainbow Dash, but had been caught in the slipstream and her hair showed it. Rarity would pounce on that the second she noticed it.





"Oh, my stars, darling, whatever happened to your coiffure?" Yep, right on cue.

"Got a bit too close to your local weather pony while she was getting ready to clear the sky. It's a mess, but worth it to see a new talent like that... and like this! This is beautiful! Oh, I know you probably want to make a thousand little changes, but if we had to hold the Summer Sun Celebration right now, it would hold up to any of the ones I saw in Canterlot."

"...You're from Canterlot?" And there was Hurricane Rarity. Twilight let herself be dragged to Rarity's shop, answering questions, even gossiping a bit to keep Rarity from completely bulldozing her. Once again she admitted to being new at her job, and once again she was reassured that everyone was up to their jobs. Of course, Rarity immediately went back to trying to find The Outfit, but Twilight had some time and was having fun with some of the more outrageous garments.

"What do you think? Punk rock or Flower of Mareseilles?"

"Oh, darling, no! You must try something a bit more classically-inspired!" Rarity laughed, calming down a bit. "Now, emeralds... oh, no, what am I thinking? Rubies would suit you so much better."

"Actually, I prefer tourmalines, if you have them; they match my stripe."

"Oh, of course, darling, so much more suitable." Twilight stuck around for another half-hour, leaving with a simple draped gown a few shades lighter than her coat, which of course Rarity had refused to let her pay for. Spike was nibbling at a spinel that Rarity had given him on learning he ate gems, commenting that it was hardly fair to have surrounded him with gourmet foods and then not allow him to have any. Now it was time for the most difficult encounter: Fluttershy.





213.11 (Vinylshadow)

Rarity and Spike entered Big Mac's bar and took a seat.

"You have my sympathies, of course," Rarity said, picking up the drink menu and going straight to the wines. "But you have no one to blame but yourself."

"How is Waking up in the middle of a harem my fault?" Spike asked, arching a brow.

Berry Punch materialized by their table, ears perked for gossip, but she pouted when she only got their orders and had to leave before they resumed talking.

"Fair enough." Rarity said with a grin. "I suppose it's only natural since you're one of the few males everyone regularly interacts with."

Spike pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I can understand why Twilight, you, the CMC and Thorax were part of it. What I found off-putting was the inclusion of Ember, Smolder, and the Power Ponies."

"Well, what Dragon Lord wouldn't have dragon mistresses?" Rarity teased, giggling when Spike's fins went pink.

"I was only Dragon Lord for a few seconds." he grumbled.

Berry Punch returned with their drinks and they politely waited for her to leave before Rarity leaned forward and patted her husband's hand.

"I know Harem Variants aren't a lot of fun and tend to be far more trouble than they're worth, but it does highlight how much of a caring and loving person you are."

"They still make my scales itch, and not in a good way." Spike said with a sigh. "Especially since the justification for inclusion can have so many holes poked into it without even trying that it just makes me feel like a scumbag."

"And more often than not, trying to exclude a member you Wake up with leads to them becoming a murderous stalker who's usually immune to being dealt with by the legal system." Rarity said. "I've had a Blueblood like that on occasion. Was the perfect gentlecolt otherwise though."

"At least Blueblood has minor pull with the upper class ponies, and is filthy rich-" Spike pointedly ignored Rarity's smirk. "-so him being a burr makes sense." He sipped his drink and sighed contentedly.

"Ouch." Rarity said dryly. "I resemble that remark."

"But you worked your way up to that level because it was something you always dreamed of." Spike said, lifting his glass to her. "You didn't take the easy route."

"Flattery will get you everywhere with me." Rarity said with a purr, fluttering her eyelashes.

They clinked their glasses together, losing themselves in one another's company.





213.12 (Vinylshadow)

Spike watched Twilight as she went over a few scrolls, comparing some, writing on others, and making thoughtful horse noises every now and then.

"You've been at this since breakfast and it's lunchtime." Spike said, setting down a plate of food, which was promptly grabbed by a purple aura and sucked into Twilight's face.

Along with half a scroll.

Spike patted Twilight on the back as she coughed violently and she sat back to catch her breath, flaring her wings as she did so.

"Thanks." she croaked, before clearing her throat and taking a swig of water. "Been finalizing a few things so as to make my coronation ceremony easier."

Spike arched a brow. "We only went through that expansion a few dozen Loops ago. Why the pre-preparations?" He raised a claw. "Wait, never mind, stupid question."

Twilight chuckled and set the scrolls down. "Well, you know how things usually go whenever some grand event gets going. I freak out, forget basically everything I've learned and then have to be reminded of how everything's going to be okay because I've got my friends there to support me."

"I went through Discord's return a while back after not doing so for a few hundred Loops and had completely forgotten about your… uh… meltdown." Spike said, rubbing his fins. "I mean, yeah, that was really early on and you hadn't really firmly bonded with anyone, but... Yeah, we're here for you."

They shared a hug and Twilight returned to her scrolls. "So, since Tirek and Discord are involved again, I'm sure there'll be something related to their past interaction rearing up again, so how would I deal with that...?"

"Sic Fluttershy on him?" Spike suggested with an arched brow.

"Spike, I'm not a sadist." Twilight chided him gently. "Slightly racist, if my changeling and dragon fantasies were anything to go by, but not sadistic."

"Not unless harm to books are involved." Spike pointed out.

Twilight bravely took the jab and examined her notes before sighing, setting them down. "Problem is, it's Discord, who in Baseline makes Chaos Goddess Pinkie Pie look sane, so... There's really no planning for what he does, so...I guess have chaos safeguards in place?"

"Pity Gilda hasn't been around lately." Spike said. "I imagine she'd enjoy a crack at Baseline Grogar."

"She spent a solid six hours laughing about it when I told her." Twilight said. "I'm sure she'll get her chance sooner or later."

"I imagine Chrysalis won't be much of an issue." Spike said, scanning one of the scrolls. "Granted, she's able to basically go wherever she wants whenever she wants and do whatever strikes her fancy because everyone keeps rolling low on Perception, Performance, and Deception."

"I'll ask Chrysalis and Trixie for help with that." Twilight said. "Which leaves Cozy Glow, who… is a delusional child who needs counseling out the wazoo, even more so because she's an orphan."

"Sic the CMC on her." Spike said. "Unless Grogar's evil lair has a supply closet they can lock themselves in, I'm sure they can handle her."

"We don't even know where his lair is, though." Twilight countered.

"Well gee, it'd sure be helpful if we had some kind of sentient map of the planet with places we haven't been to." Spike said dryly.

"Fair point." Twilight said. "I'll be sure to ask Chrysalis about it when I speak with her."

"I'll leave you to it then." Spike said, gathering up the plates. "Lemme know if you need anything, alright? I don't want to come back here in six hours and find you still agonizing over this."

"It'll be five hours and fifty-nine minutes at most!"





213.13 (DrTempo)

Angel Bunny glared up at Zecora, clearly angry. Well, more so than usual. He pulled out a sign, holding it up for the zebra to see.

'What was your Baseline self thinking with that option in the latest expansion? And DON'T talk in rhyme!'

Zecora sighed, facehoofing before she replied. "I did warn you and Fluttershy to wait until you got home, for one. And second, what better way to understand one than to walk a mile in their shoes, so to speak?"

Angel frowned, but managed the bunny equivalent of a dry chuckle.

'You may have a point, but that potion had me and Fluttershy do that literally! And my Baseline self was acting like a spoiled brat!'

Zecora just grinned ear to ear. As Angel realized what he had, for lack of a better term, ‘said’, he groaned. Although, now that he thought about it, Zecora was acting differently than usual. He shook it off though, grumbling.

'I walked into that one. Seriously, I'm not as bad these days! No wonder so many people find me annoying! Baseline me is a jerk!'

"That is not news, Angel.” Zecora nodded. “Baseline me may have hoped that potion would help you understand each other, but the Baseline version of you should have ensured Fluttershy would be alright."

Angel just shrugged.

'Eh, she would’ve been fine. You have a point, though. She couldn't talk, for one, and I should have helped out. No wonder Fluttershy was able to redeem Discord, though; she’s used to dealing with jerks. I can be such an idiot!'

Zecora smiled. "At least you're trying."

‘And at least Pinkie Pie can use that option to pull some crazy pranks.’

"But Angel, don't you understand?” At that moment, Pinkie Pie’s body entered, face wide with a grin, “Pinkie already had that planned!" Suddenly, what Angel knew was the end of the effects the potion happened, and Zecora laughed in her own voice and body.

"Pinkie Pie, that was a prank well done. Pretending to be you was so much fun!"

Angel growled.

‘I should have known..Something about Zecora seemed different.’

"To be fair, you’ve understood that Baseline you is a jerk for a long time, Angel.” Pinkie giggled. “Anyhow, the look on your face just now was priceless!"

Angel just sighed.

'Note to self: Don't fall for that trick!'

Zecora and Pinkie just laughed at this, glad to have successfully pranked Angel.





213.14 (Vinylshadow)

Celestia sipped her tea and set out breakfast for herself and her sister.

Her ears twitched as the doors that led towards Luna's wing of the castle opened and closed, and she turned to welcome her sister, only for the words to die in her throat as she was instead greeted by the sight of a much smaller Luna.

"I can see this is going to be a fun Loop." Luna grumbled, awkwardly scrambling into a chair. "Shrinking in the bath is never a good sign, but it's usually Nyx who gets to experience this kind of thing."

"At least she has the excuse of being a construct of magic, which doesn't always follow the rules from casting to casting." Celestia said, hiding a smirk behind her teacup. "Not to mention the times she Wakes up as Voldemort or Calypso due to her creation being extremely similar to theirs."

"Oh, that certainly explains a few Loops." Luna said, horn sparking as she tried to lift her cup. "Stupid… magic… organ--" she growled, poking it with a hoof. "The knowledge is there! This is literal child's play! I command thee to work!"

"Gently, Luna." Celestia said. "You're overthinking things."

Luna stuck her tongue out before breathing deeply and letting each one out slowly before lighting her horn again. This time, she lifted the cup without issue.

"Consistency would be great." Luna groused, setting the cup down and picking up some fruit. "But no, why have that when you can instead have thousands of different magic types in as many Loops?"

"Keeps us on our toes." Celestia said. "Although the magic that operates on iambic pentameter needs to crop up less, or the ones that use extremely esoteric wording."

"Like this prandicle we're partaking in?" Luna asked. "How many pyroleters did you go through making all this?"

"The impigrity of my cooking prevented such things from ever being a problem." Celestia said, before the two sisters shared a grin and a giggle.

"So, is Woona a permanent status condition or does it wear off after a while?" Celestia asked curiously.

Luna shrugged. "Depends on the Loop." She stared at her hooves for a moment before stretching them up and out a few times. "Seems like it'll be a while, so I'll probably be re-organizing my things to pass the time."

"And if it's permanent?" Celestia queried.

"Probably wander around Canterlot, and bask in the attention they lavish on the young," Luna replied. "Something they should do by default, since I'm the younger sister." she added.

"Who's still a head taller than most of them," Celestia pointed out.

"Silver lining," Luna said smugly. "I get to experience childhood ag-" She abruptly popped back to full size, bouncing off her chair and landing in a heap on the floor as she did so. Righting herself, she thoroughly shook herself and sighed. "Well, that was fun while it lasted."

"You certainly got over that quickly." Celestia said. "And here I was eager to see you go through puberty again."

"Sarcasm really isn't your color," Luna said, sitting down again. She looked up at her horn and then at the assorted fruit she'd accrued. "And I get to recalibrate my magic again! Hooray!"

"Two and a half times increase in output should put you back to where you were before your bath." Celestia said. "Going off size, anyway."

"Size isn't indicative of magical prowess," Luna said, simply using her wings to pick up silverware and eat the fruit. "Not if your students are any indication."

Celestia beaned a blueberry off Luna's horn, the breakfast swiftly devolving into all-out war.





213.15 (DrTempo)

Big Mac and Trixie were relaxing, as both were thinking of the most recent expansion. After a few moments of quiet, Trixie spoke.

"Trixie does feel that Starlight Glimmer made the right choice for the Vice Principal of the School of Friendship.” a pause. “And I know that isn't the actual name of the job, but Trixie finds that far easier to say."

“Eeyup.” Big Mac, as was to be expected of him by now, replied simply.

At this, Trixie chuckled. "To be fair, you would also have been a good choice, Mac."

Big Mac shook his head, replying, "Awake me might have been a good choice, but the Unawake me? Eenope. At least he understood that he wasn't a good choice for the job."

Trixie smiled, nodding her head in agreement. "And admittedly, having me in Starlight's old job makes sense. Although,” she coughed awkwardly, “my attempts to prove myself to Starlight were slightly ill-conceived."

Big Mac laughed. "Thankfully, there weren't that many explosions."

Trixie smirked, retorting, "And now you have given Trixie a clever idea for next Loop..."

Big Mac sighed. Whatever Trixie had in mind, it wouldn't end well...





213.16 (DrTempo)

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy smiled as they watched the end of their latest adventure with Daring Do. After a moment, Rainbow Dash hummed in deep thought. Seeing something bothering her friend, Fluttershy inquired.

"What is it, Rainbow?"

Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy, before chuckling dryly.

"I understand why Daring Do wanted to acquire the artifacts she did, but she should have been thinking of what their guardian thought of that. Though, to think Ahuizotl of all beings was just that: a guardian for those artifacts."

Fluttershy nodded. "I know. Even that surprised me. And throughout the Loops, I've seen a lot. He was going a little bit too far with that, though."

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Yeah, can't argue with ya there. Guy went a bit nuts. Good thing he came to his senses. Still, goes to show that nothing’s as black and white as it looks."

Fluttershy smirked. "With our branch, that seems like an odd thing to say."

With another shrug, Rainbow Dash replied, "Yeah, I know. But hey, that's how things work. At least this mess is settled. Had Ahuizotl allied with Grogar, we might have had even more trouble."

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. The end of the expansions were coming, and they had to be ready.

Whatever happened, this final threat couldn't win...





213.17 (Vinylshadow)
What’s the Rush?

The Lyra sat on a bench, each lost in their own thoughts.

One thing each of them had in common, however, was a new piece of jewelry in their possession.

"Okay," Pony said slowly. "I'll admit that when I asked her, I wasn't expecting a reply, but… it all worked out."

"I'm curious as to why we all have a ring, even though Pony was the one to propose." Seapony said, her tail curling protectively around her ring.

"It's because we're all Lyra." Human said, wearing her ring on her ring finger. "We all share the Baseline experience."

Thief stared at their ring silently, lost in the depths of the gem and Sweet Roll patted them on the shoulder, which none of the others questioned because they were all lost in their own thoughts.

"But what does this mean going forward?" Pony asked, getting the others' attention. "This happens so late in Baseline and at no other point does Bon Bon ever remotely show interest, so..." She wrung her hooves anxiously, cradling her ring to her chest.

Human patted her withers. "We just keep doing what we've been doing. Maybe now she'll be more receptive to our advances and it won't take years to woo her."

"Rushing a relationship - especially with someone who resets every single Loop - doesn't sound particularly healthy." Sweet Roll pointed out. "And I wouldn't be surprised if our glitched code prevents soul-binding, even if most of the kinks have been stabilized."

"And if we tried, it could corrupt her code, and then where would we be?" Thief said quietly.

The others stared at the Lyra for a moment before each once again losing themselves in their respective rings.

Vinyl, Octavia, and Bulk Biceps walked by, stared at the curious quintet, then continued on their way.





213.18 (Vinylshadow)
A Familiar Face

Zecora wandered the streets of Manehatten, taking in the sights, discreetly dampening the sounds, and filtering the many interesting smells of the bustling metropolis.

A shadow briefly covered her and she looked up to see a pony flying overhead. No-one she recognized, but it was enough of a distraction to bump into someone.

She caught herself easily enough, then reached out a hoof to help the one she had bumped into, then paused in surprise. She had bumped into a zebra, and one that felt slightly familiar at that.

"My deepest apologies." The zebra said, dipping his head politely. "My mind was elsewhere."

"It's no trouble." Zecora said. "It's been a while since I've been in the city and my mind was also elsewhere."

"Completely understandable." The zebra replied. "For inconveniencing you, may I offer you lunch?"

"A bit forward of you." Zecora remarked. "But not unwelcome." She added when his ears turned red and he looked away sheepishly.

Relocating to an outdoor café - by the park Applejack had remodeled some years back, Zecora noted, the two zebras settled in, ordering their food.

"My name is Ziazan." The zebra said. "I've been traveling the world, seeing what it had to offer. From Abyssinia, to Saddle Arabia, from Vanhoover to Fillydelphia, and beyond the oceans to lands unknown."

"Impressive." Zecora remarked, filing his name away. It was rare enough to meet one of her kind, and she liked keeping track. "I've always wanted to travel, but my roots have firmly been planted. Well, not here specifically." She added. "I'm usually found near Ponyville."

Ziazan nodded. "I've been there. Charming, rustic, cozy. A little prone to invasion and demolition, but that's to be expected, sadly."

Zecora chuckled, a tad bitterly, and nodded. "True, but it's nothing compared to the Everfree Forest."

It was Ziazan's turn to let out a bark of laughter. "Ah, so you're the one that river serpent was talking about when he mentioned another like me living in the woods. A pity we didn't meet, then."

"I'm well-known for being a bit of a recluse." Zecora said sheepishly. A lot of Loopers were, she added silently with an inward sigh. "It comes with the territory."

"At least you're spared the indignity of being scanned at the checkout line." Ziazan said.

"I made an excellent griffon meal." Zecora said with a rueful grin.

"Lucky." Ziazan said. "I was an adult DVD collection."

The two shared a knowing grin before their food arrived and they tucked in.





213.19 (Wixelt)

“Wha...? Rainbow!” Zephyr Breeze perked up, abandoning his post at the sight of his beloved. “I knew you’d come running when you heard I got this job! The mares love a pony in uniform, am I- uh...” he stopped, frowning as he noticed just what his mark was wearing. “...and ...just what is that you’re wearing?”

“What does it look like?” Dash responded with a shrug, as if the live griffon, and a somewhat non-standard one at that, currently draped over her body was no big deal. “All the rage these days.”

“Really...?” Zephyr’s eye twitched, his bravado faltering as he struggled with a composed response.

“Hey, don’t knock it til ya try it, bucko.” Gilda cut in.

“Yeah, keep an open mind, Casanova.” Grizelda snarked.

“Quiet, you.”





213.20 (Saphroneth)

When Twilight finished explaining, Starlight was silent for a long time.

About thirty seconds in, her hoof lifted, and she paused for almost a minute before slowly lowering it to the floor again.

“I don’t mind if you ask questions,” Twilight told her. “And I know you must have some pretty big questions.”

“Yes,” Starlight agreed. “Big questions. Like...”

She paused, and thought about it for a long moment again.

“I’m going to assume you’re interested in knowing what question I’ll ask first.” she said eventually.

“Well done for not phrasing that in the form of a question,” Twilight complimented, and that won a little smile from Starlight.

Then the unicorn’s face set a little.

“How many times have you had this conversation?” she asked. “With me, I mean.”

“A lot,” Twilight replied. “I don’t keep a precise track, partly because telling you would just be a bit rude and partly because there are some times I don’t know if it counts.”

“You don’t know if it counts?” Starlight repeated. “How could… did it involve changelings?”

“Sometimes.” Twilight began to count on her feathers. “Changelings, magical illusions, extremely good makeup, you and another pony being swapped in role, you being a different version from another universe, an alien shape shifter-”

She stopped, seeing that Starlight was looking a little overwhelmed but more importantly had clearly got the idea, and waited for Starlight’s next response.

“So… back in Our Town,” Starlight began. “When you just happened to have a spare copy of your cutie mark in a jar?”

“That was because I knew what was going to happen,” Twilight confirmed. “You came a lot closer to getting us all the first time through.”

“There’s… ugh, I don’t even know if I should feel proud about that on any level,” Starlight complained. “It wasn’t this version of me, and it was doing evil, but at the same time I feel like I’m glad I did good worksmareship? Does that make sense?”

“According to the Third Revised Code of Ex-Villainous Ethics, you’re permitted to feel moderate pride so long as you’re also remorseful that it was necessary in the first place.” Twilight replied, pulling a book out of thin air and putting it on the table.

Starlight regarded it as if it might explode, or possibly turn out to contain Pinkie Pie – admittedly not much of an exaggeration – then looked back at Twilight.

“I’ve been all over the multiverse,” Twilight reminded her friend gently. “I’ve tried to have a cleaner life than most, but I do know the sort of thing you’re thinking about.”

Starlight thought about that, picking up the book in her magic and checking the contents page and dedication – and the signature on the inside front cover.

“Ow,” she said, blinking. “Who signed this?”

“Darth Vader,” Twilight told her. “Also Anakin Skywalker, he goes by both names.”

“I didn’t even know you could make a signature that was two different names at once,” Starlight admitted, then put the book down again.

She sighed.

“So… what does this mean?” she asked. “Is this a confession, and now you’re going to say that you’re not really my friend because you knew how it was going to go before we even met?”

“I knew roughly how it was going to go,” Twilight answered. “I knew it was going to be difficult to become your friend, and that there’d be a lot of tricky situations on the way. I knew I could make things easier – and simpler – by just not letting you get away back at Our Town. And I knew what not to do.”

She shifted herself slightly, a tiny little mental alteration, and Starlight took a step back as her mane began to flow.

“But that doesn’t mean I’m not your friend,” Princess Twilight Sparkle said, emphasizing every word. “It just means that I knew a lot about you from… a relative, let’s say.”

The presence faded away again, and Starlight stared – then shook her head.

“So...” she began.

“So,” Twilight agreed. “I think that it’s possible that, if anyone else from our world ever starts Looping, you’re likely to be one of them. And if it’s this version of you that it happens to, I think you’d be grateful to know ahead of time.”

“And if it’s not this version of me?” Starlight asked. “Isn’t that the overwhelmingly likely outcome?”

“Then that’s fine,” Twilight said, trotting over and giving Starlight a quick wing-hug. “Somepony who isn’t looping is somepony who I get to know over and over again. I get to enjoy the first part of our friendship over and over again.”

Starlight still looked a little troubled, but she nodded. “I… all right. Thank you, then, Twilight. For going to all this effort, for all the versions of me.”

After a moment, she coughed. “So… does that conversation go the same way every time?”

“No, not at all,” Twilight said. “I keep changing how I do it, because I don’t want it to turn into a recital.”

“At least it didn’t turn into a song,” Starlight ventured, sounding almost back to normal now after the world-shaking revelations Twilight had dropped on her. “That might mean you’d have to dance.”

“I did actually learn to dance, once,” Twilight told her. “Eventually.”

“You mean that was deliberate?” Starlight blinked.

“I didn’t say I remembered how to do it…”