//------------------------------// // Chapter 60: // Story: I am my own OC // by KittyrinnAiko //------------------------------// We made our way up to Luna’s tower and there on the far wall of the grand entry hall with its white log columns and rich furnishings stood a grand set of double doors with stained glass panels depicting alicorns of day and night in orbit around a central point that hadn’t been there a short time before. “Our home away from home,” Tsuki offered as the doors responded to her presence. To my surprise and delight the doors opened into the greenhouse. That enormous greenhouse I had envisioned so long ago. The doors had been set at the top of a landing that overlooked the place allowing us a good look at the gardens. Before us lay mixed gardens of various backgrounds. There were lawns, flower beds, trimmed bushes, bonsaied trees of every imaginable variety to include the white trees from the Silver Wood. “Everything you see is in its own pocket dimension between dimensions,” Prince Prometheus explained as we entered. Off to my right was the facade of a grand manner. To my left could be seen the facade of cottages. “There seems to be considerably more than I’d envisioned.” “Possibly because we’ve added since we were last in range,” Tsuki offered. “If you don’t mind, can I ask what you do? I mean when you aren’t popping into neighboring dimensions and providing Arbitration services,” Princess Celestia inquired. “We do what we can to put timelines on a more favorable track,” Princess Louise informed her. “Would you like tea?” Princess Diana asked. “I’d be delighted,” Princess Celestia replied. “But this, putting timelines on a more favorable track?” “A pony named Starlight Glimmer tricks Twilight Sparkle into casting a time travel spell which allows the two to go back in time to the point where Rainbow Dash gains her cutie mark,” Prince Prometheus offered as we went into the greenhouse where tea and sandwiches now waited on a serving cart and we’d a cushion each along with a small table in much the style of an Onsen. “Nova mentioned a pony named Starlight Glimmer,” Mom supplied. “So does she succeed in her nefarious scheme?” “Any chance the Guard located her and evaluated her as a potential threat?” I asked. “In our world she did,” Prince Prometheus informed us. “Most annoying. Worse yet was Twilight trying to stop her.” “One’s own timeline can not be changed,” Tsuki stated. “Any point in time that guides even the smallest change in an individual's journey through time becomes fixed in reference to that individual. Should the individual in question go back in time and succeed in changing events that their present reality is dependent on it results in quantum duality resulting in two timelines from one, the original and a brand new timeline. The original timeline must exist for someone to go back in time, change or no change. Only someone who is safely outside of a given timeline can alter events without impacting the flow of time. Between the two of them, they created several brand new timelines.” “And you fix this? Put them back?” Celestia asked. “If we can prevent it from happening there will be nothing to fix,” Louise explained. “Quite possibly why your little Nova brought her to your attention.” “But if she impacts the timeline?” Mom asked. “It’s not part of her past,” Prince Prometheus explained. “She has seen versions of what occurred in other dimensions. In this dimension, it’s only a maybe. It’s not a must-be. One might even go so far as to say she is acting as an agent of chaos.” “Bite your tongue,” I quipped. “Well it’s true. You are a wild card. You don’t even exist in timeline zero.” “In our timeline it is Princess Twilight Sparkle who is my mother,” Tsuki offered. “Come everyone, pick a seat.” “And Luna in ours,” I responded as I picked out a spot to sit. “And we are the daughter of the Neighpon ambassador in yet another,” Tsuki informed us. “In the original timeline Twilight never married. She got placed in a leadership position she wasn’t ready for and ended up in the same trap of virtue as yourself, dear sweet Aunt Celestia.” “Mom marries Twilight Sparkle,” I add in response to Celestia’s unasked question as to the other all find a preferred place to sit. All protocol has been thrown out the window as well. “But?” Twilight Velvet asked having followed us. And yes, a cushion was provided for her as well. “Considerably more generations,” I supply. “Your Night Light’s not a Tenko?” I looked to my counterpart for confirmation. “Not unless he hides it really well,” Tsuki offered with an odd look on her face. “I do recall one dimension where Twilight was Luna’s Granddaughter.” “Ours as well,” I offered. “Kitsune ancestry and all.” “Um, should I be sitting with you?” Twilight Velvet asked. “You are our daughter-in-law,” Mom replied. “We really should spend more time-” “Hello?” Sunset called from the entryway. Diamond was with her. When Sunset found out what had happened to Diamond she immediately regretted everything she’d said to her in Ponyville. Sunset dropped or put on hold several ongoing projects so she could show Diamond around while I was otherwise stuck in Court. “Hi Sunset, hi Diamond. Come on in, we are having tea,” I called out. “Now dear, do let the host do the inviting,” Mom admonished. “That’s fine, we are kind of the same pony more or less,” Tsuki offered with a grin. “Sunset, Diamond, come on in and have a seat. Is Cadance around?” “Cadance is spending most of her free time at the emergency shelter for the foals that don’t seem to have a home to be returned to,” Celestia informed her. “Understood. Nova told me about her adventure while she was out-cold,” Tsuki explained with a smirk on her face. “Out cold?” Sunset asked as she and Diamond came in and sat down on cushions that hadn’t been there a moment before. “House-elves,” I whispered to mom. “I’ll try to explain later.” “So, um, hi.” Sunset offered. Hesitated, bowed, Tsuki made a polite nod of the head in response and then chose a cushion. “You’re highness… Fluttershy?” Diamond had recognized her. She’d begun to bow and then froze. “They are from another dimension,” I explained. “We are using the classical name Diana to differentiate from our Fluttershy.” “Oh, alright.” “Diamond, are you alright?” Fluttershy asked. “I, I’m getting better,” Diamond offered, completed her bow, Fluttershy nodded her head, and Diamond sat down. “Better?” Fluttershy pressed. “She was one of several foals who’d been foal-napped,” Mom offered. “Oh dear. But yes, I understand ‘better’ now.” “Now, you wanted to know about 'out cold',” Tsuki stated while smiling at Sunset. “After Nova overextended herself at Flight Camp I became aware of it due to her drawing manna off myself thanks to the close proximity of our dimensions right now. I sought her out in the dream realm. Took me three tries to do it.” “I was draining from you?” This bit of news was not something I ever expected to hear. “So, um, what is this place?” Sunset asked. “Our home,” Louise offered. “You’re not…?” “In the mirror world?” Sunset finished. “No, mom came after me, got trapped, and then we were rescued by a Mrs Arthol who turned out to be Nova.” “Arthol?” Tsuki asked. “Can’t as say it’s a name I’ve ever used.” “Married name,” I supplied. “Right, Luna is my actual mom in this dimension, I got caught up in the fight between her and Aunt Tia, and ended up in that other world. My coming back here has been something of a mixed blessing.” Diamond was giving me a horrified look. “I can imagine,” Tsuki offered. “I have left behind far too many ponies.” She dropped her head followed by Louise scooting over to her and wrapping a wing around her. “You going to be alright,” Rose asked. At least I think she’s Rose. “We’ll be alright,” I offered. “Rose Myrtle wasn’t it?” “Ah, yes…” Rose said to me, followed by turning to Tsuki. “We’ll be fine, don’t worry about it,” Tsuki offered. “So, this place?” Sunset pressed. “Are you familiar with the turn of words tempest in a handbasket,” Prince Prometheus inquired. Sunset nodded. “Well, this is harmony in a suitcase.” “A pocket dimension. Sometimes called Wizard space,” Tsuki explained. “With it, I can link any two dimensions so long as there isn’t too great of a time differential. Our being here is because one Mrs Daisy Bellis Woods had the audacity to attempt to forestall justice by formally requesting arbitration of her case by a Priestess of Akkadia.” “And I just happen to have one on speed dial,” I boasted. I’d no doubt I’d a rather large smirk on my face. “Do you mean to say you weren’t drifting off?” Celestia asked. “She was talking to me. I saw the whole thing,” Tsuki offered. “From her point of view, that is.” “I must confess I thought she had drifted off,” Celestia admitted. “Woke up, realized what was going on, and gone Night Mare on us.” “We are Night Mares. Our saving grace is the fact that we can love and we are not soon to anger. We are safe enough so long as we are in harmony within.” “I must confess I came mighty close to breaking my own rules,” Celestia admitted. “That mare… to think I trusted her with my own daughter.” “It did look very much like they’d planned well in advance,” I offered. “They are likely scrambling to come up with an actual defense right now.” “I must confess that had she started with a story about how she’d fallen in with a bad crowd and asked for leniency I probably would have given it,” Celestia offered in a tone of regret. “They come to you because they see you as a soft touch,” Sunset offered. “It’s out of her hooves now,” Tsuki stated. “And given what I’ve seen so far it’s really a question of sentencing. She is clearly unapologetic about her actions, or why request arbitration from an office thought long gone?” “True,” I offered. “There could be any number of individuals readily available who would not have looked on Aunt Tia favorably.” "We will of course endeavor to provide fair and impartial arbitration," Louise stated. “Prolonging sentencing indefinitely seems to have been her goal,” Celestia suggested. “Regardless of who she chose, in her effort to cast as much blame as she could on her fellow conspirators she confessed far too much. They, in turn, shoved it right back at her.” “And you should see the Drumlin Hay,” Sunset offered. “Nova’s told me about it,” Tsuki responded. “It’s armed to the teeth,” I stated. “Is it now?” Tsuki asked. I’d almost swear she was salivating. What I knew of her suggested that she was truly a war goddess. “We can have a look after we have tea,” Louise reassured her. ☠ So there I was once more on that catwalk overlooking the Drumlin Hay. Only this time we’d a much larger group. As for my feelings concerning that ship, well, I can honestly say that I am beside myself. “I do believe you’ve got yourself a nice airship,” Tsuki offered. “And a wake-up call we didn’t get.” “It has a lightning gun too,” I offered. “And you’ll be refining it I imagine,” Tsuki mused. “Actually no. I’d figured on duplicating Nova’s plasma burst,” Sunset offered. “Plasma burst?” Louise asked. “When I combine all four types of manna available to me and release the mix into a burst of raw energy.” “Really?” Tsuki asked. “Never occurred to me to try that.” “You mean there is something I can do that you can’t?” “Oh I didn’t say I can’t, I’ve just never tried it. I’ve always considered that sort of use of manna to be wasteful. It runs the risk of depleting manna pools too rapidly. It might also prove useless against an antagonist like Tirek.” “That’s right, you prefer to launch projectile’s don’t you?” I asked. I suspect that she might well be right about Tirek and we're going to have to come up with some anti-tank guns. “I do at that. Fire and go. Rapid-fire at one target or multiple targets. Line up the shot and they’ll punch through even the stoutest shield or armor.” “Any chance I can get you to demonstrate?” Sunset asked. I’ve got a test range already set up.” “Don’t see why not.” Tsuki offered and once more we were on our way minus Princess Celestia who’d decided her time might be better served if she spent it discussing the case against Daisy.