//------------------------------//
// Chapter Fourteen: Reassurance 
// Story: CRISIS: Equestria - Divergence, Book 3 
// by GanonFLCL 
//------------------------------//

Winter arrived in Hope's Point just a few minutes after dawn, but with Dawn, naturally; Dawn was the only one who could get her here with any kind of real expedience, and Winter was glad that the early hour didn't impede the other mare's teleportation accuracy. And while she hated having to constantly rely on Dawn for this—she preferred to maintain an independent lifestyle and work ethic—she knew that time was of the essence in everything she did going forward.

Forty days. Thirty-nine now, actually. There was something both terrifying and relieving about knowing just when everything was going to end. Not just start to get worse, but end. This was… much different from Twilight's last visit. Much, much worse.

Winter had spent the entirety of the last day gathering research materials that only Dawn could provide her, things that only Dawn's father Silvertongue would and could know about in the context of the situation; she'd had to promise to reveal why later, of course, but was going to do that anyway. Lorekeeper Gilderoy would be able to provide further clarification and information—a lucky break that he was still alive and easy to communicate with—but other than that, it was just a matter of taking the time to look at every possible angle and solution there was.

Because Winter was under no delusions about what everypony would want to do about this.

But she was here in Hope's Point now with a purpose, and it was for that purpose that she requested a meeting at the royal palace, immediately, to discuss the recent turn of events with the three ponies who had the most influence, power, and impact going forward, at least those who she knew personally. And though it was just after dawn and most ponies were either just waking up or hadn't even woken up yet, Winter knew that when she asked them to be there because of "world-changing" circumstances, they'd show up without complaint.

Golden Dawn herself was, of course, one of the three. As the leader of New Pandemonium and the only pony alive able to communicate with Lord Silvertongue—whose power she needed for a number of reasons—there was no question that she should be involved. The other unicorn dressed professionally as always and had brought a thermos of coffee along to perk herself up.

Queen Blackburn was the next, as being the ruler of Hope's Point meant that she had comparable resources to New Pandemonium but more importantly, she had a healthy relationship with the southern continent's leadership, which would likely be important soon; Harmonia would likely prove necessary for defeating Nihila, and Blackburn was her ticket in. Blackburn had, oddly enough, dressed in just a simple bathrobe and looked just a bit worn out; her own cup of coffee was likely spiked with something, too, knowing her.

But hey, it was her house.

Last was Twilight Sparkle, naturally, because at the end of the day, no matter what was decided here, Winter had to get Twilight home eventually and that was a large part of any future plans. Not to mention that Twilight's own power would likely be of benefit; if her Light magic was strong enough to keep this world alive just a little longer, she was powerful enough to give it a fighting chance, too. She also had a cup of coffee, natch; Twilight had never gone a day without it that Winter could remember, if she could help it.

Once everypony was gathered, Winter explained the situation as it had been explained to her, though in simpler terms and with a little more urgency; these ponies didn't have time to waste. She requested that they save questions for the end of the spiel, and for the most part they held to that; the most she got out of them was expressions of disbelief, mostly from Twilight, a few from Dawn, and only one from Blackburn right at the start. That was to be expected.

Once she was done, though, she concluded her explanation with, "So, that's the situation we're in. I wish there was more I could tell ya, I wish there was more that I could do, but there isn't. The data doesn't lie; this is the boat we're stuck in, and yeah, it's sinkin' fast. Now, what are we gonna do about it?"

"What a preposterous question," Dawn snorted, taking a sip of coffee the way an alcoholic would drink a beer; it seemed to soothe her, at least a little bit. "Naturally our agreed-upon course of action would be to take this lauded third option, to merge our worlds together to prevent utter catastrophe."

"My world would be more than happy to accept any and all comers from this one, no matter which option we choose," Twilight said simply, though unlike Dawn she didn't sip from her coffee as she did so. She'd already finished hers, actually. Two cups. "But for the record, the only options I'm even considering are the second and third. There's no way that I'm going to let you send me home and… and abandon this world to its fate."

"I figured you'd say that," Winter replied, giving Twilight a short nod. "I hadn't been considerin' that one seriously. It's the last resort, the button I have to press if we fail. Because I won't let you sacrifice yourself, your friends, and your world for this one, either."

"Yes, only logical option is a total merger of worlds," said Blackburn firmly. "Best option, provides most opportunity for growth, least opportunity for misfortune; second option, 'immigration', potentially ruins lives, relationships, careers. Those who don't accept it also die. Unacceptable; result would be devastating loss of life.

"Also, will be honest, has practical purposes as well. Relocation of Hope's Point? A new world to explore? Opportunities for growth and change, appeals to my sensibilities, to those of my citizens. Concern over potential loss of technology, city has robust cybernetics development, could potentially harm or kill many. Will need more data, but still, best option."

With a slight tilt of her head. "Also, a… newfound personal interest and investment has arisen. Hmm. Timing couldn't be more convenient."

"How in the fuck is this timing 'convenient'?" Winter snorted.

"As said, personal reasons. Will not divulge further."

"Ehh, whatever." Winter let out a short breath. "So, the consensus for now is that we're goin' with the third option: mergin' the worlds together. I can provide more information and details later as to the specifics of what that process entails, and the staff at HQ is workin' with the data to determine what sort of changes you can all expect from it. But none of that will matter until we find and destroy Nihila."

"My father is diligently searching for her as we speak," Dawn said with a nod. "I will communicate with him following this meeting and provide further updates as to his discoveries."

Winter raised an eyebrow. "So he's still searchin' for her? I take it that that means that our mystery alicorn downstairs isn't Nihila after all?"

Blackburn shook her head. "No. Identifies self as Pandemonia, Harmonia's sister, alicorn goddess of the south from ancient times that seemingly 'vanished', was replaced by Nihila. Situation perplexing. Seeking answers via deep sea exploration. Pandemonia's last memories are of her Warden venturing to minotaur capital, Athenos, alternatively 'Blackcliff'."

"The… minotaurs?" Winter asked, thoroughly confused.

She didn't know this world had minotaurs. They had ponies, zebras, barely had gryphons, only recently got hippogriffs, but they didn't have minotaurs, or changelings or kirins or yaks or buffalo for that matter. Or those weird taller ponies. Or a lot of things. Maybe some of them existed a long time ago, before the world had been assigned a Chronomancer?

"Ancient race, lived here on northern continent, coastal civilization. Sunk into the sea two thousand years ago, left no trace that was ever found." Blackburn nodded firmly. "Fortunate that Hope's Point had vessels in place to explore the sea beforehand. Silver lining to disarmament."

"Indeed, as the only reason that you had the time or wherewithal to convert portions of your fleet to the task was due to our peace agreements," Dawn mentioned, looking mighty proud of herself. "Incidentally—"

"Not the time to discuss it," Blackburn snorted, not even looking at Dawn. "Irrelevant anyway. With world merger, new world order established. Four potential new nations arise from it: New Pandemonium, Hope's Point, Zeb'ra'den, and Utopia. Need to form new allegiances, trade agreements, travel routes, not just with each other but with nations of 'new' world."

Twilight nodded and smiled. "And I can assure both of you that I will do everything in my power as the Princess of Equestria to keep everything peaceful and prosperous, as you two wanted for your own nations. I can only really speak for myself and my country, of course, but I can at least also offer confidence that the Crystal Empire will do the same."

"That is where your brother and sister-in-law serve as rulers, correct?" asked Dawn. She tapped her chin and nodded carefully. "Hmm. Yes, these circumstances present an abundance of opportunities for everypony involved. Peace with Hope's Point would not even be the most pressing concern, not compared to an alliance with… Equestria. It feels odd referring to it as just a country."

"Which is why we need to find and destroy Nihila, bringin' the conversation back around to that," Winter huffed. "So if this mystery alicorn isn't Nihila, but this 'Pandemonia', then I don't suppose she knows who Nihila is?"

"She possesses less information on the subject than we do, and that does not even include the information my father and Lorekeeper Gilderoy are aware of. The southern continent has great stores of knowledge pertaining to Nihila—in ancient times, mind—but nothing on this other alicorn."

"Have requested details as to why," Blackburn noted.

"You said once that you have all of the information that your predecessors had, right?" Twilight asked, looking meaningfully at Winter. "Surely some of them recorded data that might be of use?"

Winter shook her head. "This world's first Chronomancer was Sunrise Shake, and she was assigned here one thousand five hundred eighty-two years ago, well after Pandemonia supposedly disappeared, accordin' to her story anyway. Chronomancer HQ found this world two years before that and assigned it a field agent when the southern civil war caused a major imbalance."

"Great. There goes that idea, I guess."

"The general consensus I believe that we have arrived at is that we should continue to perform the tasks that have been assigned to us regarding the mystery of Pandemonia and how it is related to Nihila," Dawn summed up. "In the meantime, I will assume that the information involved in our discussion is to be kept classified?"

Winter shook her head. "No, not at all. The Secretkeeper Protocol was lifted in order for me to even have this discussion with ya, and since you lot are workin' with a bunch of folks that're helpin' ya with these problems, I absolutely want ya to tell them what's goin' on, eh?"

Blackburn gave Dawn a pointed look. "Yes, would seem important to share this with others, hmm?"

Dawn stuck her nose in the air. "If we are permitted to discuss it, then I have no intention of keeping this information from my sisters. Curaçao naturally is assisting with the investigation into Nihila's whereabouts via her mysterious cult, which she believes is hiding in the Redblade Mountains."

"Dawn, you need to tell your other sisters too," Twilight said softly. "This isn't something that should be kept from them. From anypony, really, but I can understand not informing the general population. Your sisters' lives are potentially going to be completely changed if we go through with this, and they may be able to help."

"Again, I had no intention of hiding this information from my sisters. Together we were instrumental in destroying Nihila's physical body, so it naturally follows that they would still be instrumental in defeating Nihila now." A pause. "Yes, even Insipid. However, I will inform Curaçao first and consult with her on our course of action."

"Southern leaders also have stake in this," Blackburn said with a terse nod. "Have already contacted them in regards to Pandemonia. Received report yesterday: messenger has arrived, delivered message, and southern nobility is responding. Will be en route to Hope's Point shortly for a summit. Anticipate arrival within a week, probably less."

"I was never informed that you were planning on discussing anything with the southern nobility," Dawn noted.

"Seems obvious course of action, but you didn't need to know," Blackburn snorted with a smug smirk. "Also, made arrangements during sandstorm, couldn't relay information to you anyway except via Ambassador Gray Skies. Informed her, of course. Ah… she did not tell you either then. Hmm. Curious. I wonder why."

Winter rolled her eyes. "Okay, well, if we're all done snippin' at each other, I think that our business here is done." She rose from her seat and shook her head. "I'm gonna go inform Hourglass of the developments, you three should inform those closest to ya, keep folks in the loop as you see fit."

"Are you sure we can really just tell anypony?" Twilight asked. "I mean, I don't know who I should tell besides my friends from my world, or who I'm allowed to tell."

"Twilight, you could tell every single pony you come across on your way to the restroom for all I care," Winter replied simply. "It won't matter. If we succeed with the plan, they need to know they're movin' anyway, and if we fail and I have to send you home, well… they're gonna die. Might as well let 'em know why."

"Are… are you going to be okay? I know that this must be hard, seeing as your entire life's work is based on keeping the world safe from situations like this. But from what you've told us… it wasn't your fault, Winter."

Winter snorted and turned away. "Yeah, well… it still feels like it is. I'll be fine. Now, if you'll excuse me?"

She headed out the door of the small meeting room that Blackburn had arranged for the meeting, giving a little nod to Gadget who was stationed outside to ensure privacy, then headed off on her way to find Hourglass and let her know what was going on. She was already dreading the conversation; how does one explain to a pony who can still remember one world dying that they're going to have to watch it happen again?

She already hated it enough as it was.


*****


Fluttershy arrived at the lounge of the royal palace early in the morning, not too long after the crack of dawn in fact. She wasn't used to waking this early lately, though it wasn't unusual for her to do so at home when there were certain animals that needed to be taken care of. She only really took the time to dress before coming down here, still rubbing some sleep out of her eyes as she went.

It was why she was waking up early that intrigued Fluttershy, actually, not just when. Rarity had invited her to breakfast, which in and of itself wasn't odd, but the timing was where the confusion came in. 

Rarity tended to sleep in until mid-morning—to get her beauty sleep, naturally—and even back home was rarely ever seen until the sun was over the horizon; Applejack would often joke that Rarity and Rainbow Dash at least had that in common. Neither of them had been amused.

So naturally, having Rarity be up and alert this early in the morning, earlier than Fluttershy, and inviting Fluttershy to a very early morning breakfast was just… puzzling.

Rarity waved her over from the little table she'd sat at in the corner, where there was a great deal of privacy compared to elsewhere, where assorted members of the palace staff and guards were present having their own breakfasts. Fluttershy had noticed that many of them preferred to do so in the lounge rather than the dining hall, but neither room was ever too crowded.

"Fluttershy, darling, thank you so much for joining me," Rarity said with a big, friendly smile; she seemed much too alert for this time of day. "I'm dreadfully sorry if I woke you earlier."

"Oh no, that's okay Rarity. You didn't wake me at all," Fluttershy replied, wiping some sleep out of her eyes; she wasn't lying, exactly, because she was just waking up when Rarity had knocked on her door. "And I'm always happy to join you. It's just so unusual to have breakfast with you this early."

"Oh I know, dear, but I just felt like being a bit of an early riser today, that's all."

As she sat down, Fluttershy saw that Rarity had even already ordered their food, and as always she knew exactly what Fluttershy was in the mood for, in this case just a simple, lightly-toasted bagel—an "everything" bagel—with a side of cream cheese. Rarity herself had ordered a bowl of assorted fruit, which Fluttershy knew meant she was eating light but wanted a bit of variety and flavor, plus the pick-me-up from the sugar. 

Though with how big the cup of iced coffee Rarity was drinking from was, she doubted that Rarity needed that much energy. It explained why she was so chipper.

Rarity was dressed to impress, as always, with her favorite new coffee-colored jacket over a green sundress today, but there was something else, something new and different: a scarf. By itself it wasn't unusual since it was getting colder around here, after all. However, Fluttershy had been friends with Rarity for many years, and she knew the difference between an "I'm cold" scarf and an "It's in right now" scarf, and this scarf was neither one of those, not with the way it was wrapped around Rarity's neck so completely.

Sure, the scarf was still absolutely fashionable—Rarity wouldn't wear it if it wasn't—but it definitely wasn't just to make a statement.

"So, how are you this fine morning, dear?" Rarity asked as she worked on her fruit bowl, popping a grape into her mouth to start.

"Oh, just fine Rarity, thank you," Fluttershy replied as she spread the cream cheese on her perfectly-toasted bagel. "I like your scarf."

Rarity paused for a moment, then closed her eyes, smiled, and nodded. "Well, you're getting right into it, aren't you? I suppose it's too early in the morning to try and beat around the bush, hmm?"

Fluttershy nodded back. "I was just curious, is all, and… yeah, much too early for small talk. I know you, Rarity, and I know that you don't just wear a scarf for any old reason. It's been scarf weather for days now, but this is the first time I've seen you wear one since we got here."

"I figured that you'd notice. I was hoping to have a little small talk beforehand, but you're too clever for me." Rarity took a short breath, then leaned in and in a voice barely above a whisper she said, "Can you keep a secret, darling? I would very much like to keep this conversation private, mare to mare."

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "Of course I can. Is something wrong?"

"Oh goodness no. Nothing's wrong at all. It's what's right that I wanted to talk about with you, actually." Rarity glanced to the side to make sure nopony was looking, then tugged her scarf up ever-so-slightly on her right side.

Fluttershy tilted her head and observed Rarity for a moment, then gasped quietly and put her hoof to her mouth, barely hiding the mischievous little smile. There was a little mark there, a rather familiar one that she'd seen on Rarity in the past before and that Rarity would always choose to hide with a scarf. Rarity was the only one of her friends that ever hid a hickey; Pinkie would wear the ones Rainbow gave her with pride, and Applejack just never seemed to care.

And Twilight, of course, never had any to hide in the first place.

"Oh my," Fluttershy peeped. "I didn't even know you were seeing anypony." She paused, blinking. "Wait a second, Rarity, are you seeing somepony? We're not in our own world, you know? Doesn't that seem, I don't know… weird?"

"I know, dear, I know. But… a most wonderful opportunity presented itself, and I just… I had to take it." Rarity set her scarf back down and set her hoof on the table, touching Fluttershy's other hoof gently. "Now, I should say that I'm not just hiding this because I want to. It's because I've been asked to keep this a secret, for now at least. I can tell my friends, naturally, but I don't want to tell any of them but you just yet."

"Why not?"

"Because I think you're the only one who will take this in stride, so to say. Twilight wouldn't understand it, Applejack would probably judge me at first until she had time to think about it." With a roll of her eyes, she added, "And Rainbow and Pinkie would want all the lurid details, none of which I am about to share. I'll tell everypony later, but for now, just you."

Fluttershy raised her eyebrow again. "Oh, this sounds serious. Who would want you to keep this a secret?" She paused, then her eyes widened in a terrifying realization. "Nooo…"

Rarity bit her lip and nodded.

"B-but, Rarity… he's—" She paused, making sure she wasn't speaking too loud or that anypony was listening in. "Rarity, he's married. To the Queen."

"Yes, he is." Rarity's grin turned cheeky and her hoof pawed gently at her scarf, just over where the hickey was. "But he didn't give me this. She did."

Now Fluttershy was confused rather than scandalized. "Wh-what? What do you mean 'she did'?"

"I can't and won't go into details, darling, but suffice to say, the situation was certainly not anything I've ever experienced before, and definitely not anything I'd ever have expected from them. If you told me yesterday that I was going to do what I did last night, well, I'd say that you were crazy… and perhaps a bit lewd-minded."

Fluttershy leaned back in her seat and looked at her friend, reading her expression and trying to get a feel for what was going on. "Well, you seem happy about it, so I'll assume that this was a mutual thing? That everypony was happy with what happened?"

"Oh, we were quite happy about it, yes." Rarity tapped her hooves together. "I know that we have to go home eventually, dear, but… until then, they've asked me if I wanted to keep this going. I said that I did, and… well, there are some details that I'm keeping private for now."

"Well, if it makes you happy, then I say go for it," Fluttershy said with a smile and a nod. "How did this happen, anyway?"

"Well, again, no details, but I heard that a certain mare admitted that she was in love with a truly wonderful stallion, and that wonderful stallion admitted that he'd loved that certain mare for a very long time, years in fact after they'd last seen each other." A pause, followed by a lick of her lips. "And then that stallion's wife asked that certain mare to join her and her husband for the evening in their bed."

Fluttershy's face was red; she never in her wildest dreams thought that Rarity would ever be involved in such a… provocative tale. "W-wow. This was her idea?"

"Well, she and her husband had agreed on it beforehand, and she said that it was a way for all three of them to be happy, even if it was only temporary." Rarity smiled and nodded. "And yes, it does make me happy. His feelings for me are genuine, as are mine for him, and… and I get along well with her, and now that I know that she isn't angry, oh, you cannot imagine how much of a relief that is.

"I know, it's not what I always imagined a loving relationship to be, definitely not like any dream that I've ever had, but… maybe it's better. And yes, I know that soon I'll have to leave and that I'll never see them again, but…" Rarity sighed and looked at the ceiling, her other hoof drifting from her chest to her stomach. "But I know that I'll be able to cherish this time with them. Always."

Fluttershy nodded in understanding. "I'm happy that you found some happiness then, Rarity. You deserve it, even if it's only just for now."

"Thank you, darling. I appreciate your support, as always."

After another pause, Fluttershy, redder than before, coughed into her hoof. "So, um… h-how was it? The, um… the, y'know."

"You mean the sex?" Rarity smiled wide and playfully slapped Fluttershy's hoof. "Oh, the sex was fantastic. But a lady doesn't share details, hmm?"

She and Fluttershy shared a brief fit of giggles; Fluttershy was happy for her friend, that much was for certain. Sure, the whole thing sounded strange and unusual to her, but if it made Rarity happy and got her to smile and laugh and especially joke again, then what was the harm in it?

The two were interrupted when they saw Twilight enter the room, who came walking over to them with a purpose. "Rarity, Fluttershy," Twilight said, addressing them each with a small nod. "Sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but I'm getting everypony from home together for a meeting in five minutes; you're the last two I've told about it. I've got… I've got big news for you all. I can't discuss it here. Meet me in my room, okay?"

Fluttershy and Rarity shared a brief look, then nodded, quickly working through what was left of their breakfast. Whatever it was, it must have been important; Twilight was rarely this severe about anything.


*****


Twilight made her way down into the deepest bowels of the royal palace of Hope's Point, her mind still ablaze and reeling with all of the day's events, and it wasn't even noon. But she knew that it wasn't over yet; her friends knew what was happening now, and they all agreed: this world in which they'd found themselves needed to be saved, no matter what that meant. 

Winter had been insistent that the world itself—the physical matter, the earth, the sky, etcetera—was beyond saving. But they could still save the ponies, zebras, and whatever other creatures they could, even if they might have to abandon their homes and lives. All that would matter was that they lived.

And that was exactly what Twilight was going to do, no matter what it took. Winter would have to drag her kicking and screaming back to her own world if she could help it.

And that meant that Twilight needed to know everything. She needed every piece of information she could find, down to the teeniest, tiniest detail. Since information pertaining to Nihila's location was still being looked into, and since Nihila's history over the past few thousand years was well-documented and obviously wasn't helping, she figured that there had to be information that was unknown. A weakness, maybe? An idea as to where she would hide?

And, more importantly, where had she come from if this "Pandemonia" had been the original southern goddess?

Thus, Twilight knew that she had to talk to the other alicorn. Maybe she could ask her a question that nopony else had thought of yet? Maybe she would have some insight that others lacked because she herself was an alicorn? There had to be something that she could do.

When she arrived in the top-secret ultra-classified chamber down in the deepest parts of the palace, she was surprised to see that it had been decorated like some sort of guest room. There was a comfortable-looking bed, several pillows and blankets, a desk with a chair, a large couch made for lounging, and one of those Teevees, a large one that had been fastened to the wall. She understood that Queen Blackburn had wanted to make her guests comfortable.

"Guests" was plural, because apparently Pandemonia wasn't the only one living down here, as there was also the gryphon that had come along for the ride, so to speak. Twilight wished she had been present for the discovery; it sounded absolutely fascinating, like discovering the long-lost secret proof of the existence of a mythical creature. Not too far off, actually, considering gryphons were supposed to be extinct and alicorns weren't supposed to have physical forms.

She also wished that she'd been able to see the gryphon ruins in the first place, but she wouldn't give up what she had with Aculeata, not for anything, certainly not for that.

Besides Pandemona and Gilderoy, there was another guest in the room that she hadn't expected, a young unicorn colt with a peach-colored coat and a spiky orange-and-gold mane that looked sort of like a campfire. He was wearing a little brown jacket over a plaid shirt and sported a set of goggles with green-tinted lenses which looked more like overly-large glasses, though they weren't over his eyes at the moment.

"Oh!" the little colt peeped, having been the first one to notice Twilight's presence; if anything, he looked like he'd actually been expecting her, as the other two were busy in a private conversation and hadn't noticed yet. "H-hello there. Are you here to visit Miss Pandemonia and Lorekeeper Gilderoy?"

Twilight smiled and nodded at the colt. "I am. I don't think we've met. My name's Twilight Sparkle. And you are?"

"I'm Sunspire, Miss Sparkle. A pleasure to meet you," he said, stepping over to offer his hoof. He seemed to pause in surprise as Twilight reached down to shake his hoof. "Wait… 'Twilight Sparkle'? That name sounds familiar. Are you the same Twilight Sparkle that Miss Dawn used to talk about?"

"That's me," Twilight replied. "Assuming that your 'Miss Dawn' is Golden Dawn, of course."

"Yup! Wowww… she never mentioned that you were so tall." He squinted and rubbed his eyes; he looked like he might be suffering from a headache. "Or so bright. Wow. I've only met one unicorn that glows like you do, Miss, and that's Miss Dawn herself." A look towards Pandemonia and back made him add, "You're almost as bright as Miss Pandemonia is, and even Miss Dawn isn't that bright. Close, but not quite."

Twilight tilted her head. "I don't know what you mean by 'bright'. Do you mean my coat color?"

"Oh, no, I mean your magic."

"My magic? But…  I'm not casting any spells?"

"Your inner magic. I have the ability to 'see' magical energy, so long as I'm not wearing my goggles," he said, tapping said goggles on his head. "Even non-unicorns have inner magic that I can see, but unicorns tend to be a lot brighter, and Miss Dawn used to be the brightest pony I'd ever seen. Then I met Miss Pandemonia… and now you."

"I see. And what are you doing down here, Sunspire? Are you using that ability of yours to help somehow?"

He scratched his cheek. "A little bit. Miss Pandemonia's magic has been returning to her ever since she woke up, and I've been keeping track of it to help the Lorekeeper with the data he's been measuring." He perked up, then grabbed a small stack of datapads that he had in his saddle bag. "That and getting as many history books as I can to help Miss Pandemonia learn about everything she's missed!"

Twilight smiled. "Well now, that's very nice of you. Have they been helping her at all?"

"A little bit, yeah," he said with a nod. "I think Missus Gray's tours have been helping her a lot more, but this is the best that I can do at the moment. I've been trying to catalogue and arrange everything into specific categories to help her space out the learning so that there's some rhyme and reason to it. In her physical body, she has to read just like you and me, y'know?"

"Oh? You've been organizing them for her too? Well now, aren't you a helpful little librarian?"

"I try, Miss Sparkle."

"Y'know, I used to be a librarian myself a long time ago. I still enjoy reading of course, but long gone are the days when that was my primary focus. You and I should have a little chat, huh? Just a couple of library enthusiasts talking about books." Twilight stared up at the ceiling. "Sweet, sweet books…"

He chuckled. "That sounds nice. Most of the ponies I know don't really appreciate reading like I do." He cleared his throat. "Um, but I shouldn't be keeping you from your visit. You didn't come down here to talk to me."

"It's no trouble at all, Sunspire. We'll talk later though, okay?"

"Okay, Miss Sparkle."

She stepped past him and approached the other two occupants of the room, the gryphon Lorekeeper, Gilderoy, and the alicorn goddess given form, Pandemonia. The former fascinated her because of the history of his race, not to mention those strange implants he had; the latter both fascinated and frightened her because despite everything she'd heard about her, she did still look exactly like the Nihila she remembered from seven years ago.

The two turned to face her—they'd been in a private conversation up until now—and greeted her with warm looks and a little bit of curiosity. Gilderoy addressed her first. "Well hello there. You must be the famous Princess Twilight Sparkle. Queen Blackburn told us that you'd likely be coming down here eventually."

"Hello, pleased to meet you," Twilight replied with a nod. "That would make you Lorekeeper Gilderoy."

"Obviously. Not too many gryphons making their way around here these days, hmm?"

She balked. "Oh. I… I didn't mean—"

He chuckled. "Not to worry, Princess. I've long since come to terms with the fate of my kind and my new role in the world. With everything that's been going on over this past month, as well as the… troubling news that Queen Blackburn just delivered us, I daresay that a little bit of gallows humor goes a long way to alleviating stress. A common method of deflection."

"Ah, yeah, I suppose it is." Twilight then gave a deeper nod to Pandemonia. "And you're Pandemona, of course. I know know if there's any sort of proper title that I should address you by—"

"Just Pandemonia will do," the other alicorn said, eyeing Twilight up and down briefly. "I am in no state to accept any sort of reverence or worship in my current form, and so I refuse to allow ponies to treat me as such; it is an abuse of power, a sign of megalomania in a sense, and I have no interest in such things." With a tilt of her head, she added, "You have been given the title of 'Princess'?"

"That's right. I'm the leader of the country of Equestria in the world where I'm from."

"Indeed, so I have heard. What I was not told was that you were an alicorn like myself. I suppose ponies like to keep that part a surprise?"

Twilight blinked, and she glanced down at her sweater which still hid her wings. "You can tell?"

Pandemonia smiled and nodded. "There is a saying: 'like recognizes like'. I do not believe that it technically applies here—my understanding is that it is meant as a form of insult, actually—but I feel that it has a basis in fact." She gestured at Twilight's sides. "Even without seeing your wings, I can sense your essence, your soul, and it resembles my own in many ways.

"Were it not for the information that was given to me by Queen Blackburn this morning, I might consider this a sign of great upheaval, of a great looming threat that comes to doom us all." A pause, and she considered her words with a tap to her chin. "Hmm. Well, that actually doesn't seem to be our current predicament, doesn't it? But through Adversity… we become stronger."

"In my world, alicorns aren't quite so rare," Twilight said with a grin. "Eh… technically speaking, anyway. When I first came to this world and returned home, there were only three alicorns: Princess Celestia, my mentor; Princess Luna, her sister; and Princess Cadance, my babysitter and sister-in-law. Then I ascended, and then Cadance gave birth to my niece, Flurry Heart."

Gilderoy's jaw dropped. "Your sister-in-law gave birth to a natural-born alicorn?"

Twilight smiled. "She did. Believe me, it was quite an event. She's the first natural-born alicorn in our world's entire history; even Celestia and Luna ascended into their alicorn states, as did Cadance. She's a very special filly."

"Indeed she is," said Pandemonia with an air of… mystique in her tone. "Even my sister and I, alicorn goddesses in this world, were not per se 'natural-born'. We came into existence as beings of Light and Dark, luminous and immaterial. These forms that we have taken are merely the result of thousands and thousands of years of reverence by ponykind, forms which their minds can comprehend."

Now it was Twilight's turn to tilt her head, intrigued and confused. "Really? So… this isn't your true form?"

"No, merely one that mortals are comfortable with, in a manner of speaking. Within the Dreaming, our home plane, my sister and I are pure energy. In time, even our new… 'brother' Lord Silvertongue will abandon his antiquated notions of how an alicorn should appear and will take on a form that truly represents what a god should be."

"That's… wow, that's certainly a different way of looking at alicorns," Twilight said, rubbing the back of her head as she wrapped her head around the words. 

Her world didn't have actual "gods" in the same sense that this world did; Discord could technically be considered such a being based on the power and scope of his domain of Chaos, but nopony had ever referred to him as such. She imagined that if anypony ever did, his ego would become truly, immeasurably enormous. Probably enough to have its own gravitational field.

"What brings you down here to our humble abode, Princess Sparkle?" asked Gilderoy, gesturing around the room. "I would offer you a drink, but as neither Panemonia nor myself require food nor drink to function—her divinity, my implants—I don't believe that Her Majesty installed any sort of refrigeration units to keep beverages cool."

"A pity, as I understand that is the best way to maintain the ideal temperature for most alcoholic beverages," said Pandemonia with a curious grin. "Have you ever sampled the alcoholic fare here in the city, Twilight? It is most disgusting, a poison for both the tongue and stomach, and the liver as well from my understanding. Yes, quite revolting. I am growing fond of it."

Twilight blinked. "Er, right. Uh, I'm actually here because I wanted to have a chance to at least meet the two of you, to see if there was anything I could do to help with the situation we're all finding ourselves in. I assume Her Majesty told you both about our intended solution to the problem?"

"She did," Gilderoy said, stroking his beard. "Unfortunately, until we have the opportunity to explore whatever is left of the minotaur capital, Athenos, there is little new information that we can provide to assist. It is our hope that we can find something there that may help jog Pandemonia's memory."

"Indeed," said Pandemonia, clearly more than a little disheartened. "But we appreciate the offer anyway, Twilight."

"Well, okay then. So long as you both know that I want to help however I can, that's suitable for me." Twilight tilted her gaze over towards young Sunspire, who was busy organizing a shelf with the datapads. "I hear that Sunspire has been helping you acclimate, Pandemonia?"

"Yes, he has," Pandemonia replied, her grin returning. "A precocious youth, and well-educated at that. In my time, an average colt of his age would either be an apprentice to an artisan, an assistant on his parents' farmland, or a squire to a knight. If he was born into the nobility, then maybe his education would be on par, for the day at least."

"Who is he, exactly?"

"I believe he is an associate of Miss Dawn's," said Gilderoy. "A ward of hers in some capacity, though I'm not certain exactly what capacity that is."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "He's Dawn's ward? Like an… apprentice? Assistant?"

Gilderoy shrugged. "I do not know. Though I do find it slightly odd that she left him here during the entirety of the sandstorm rather than returning home with him to New Pandemonium. And… still leaves him here, actually."

"She left him here? Why?"

"That would be a question for him, or for her, I feel." Gilderoy paused to poke at his beak. "Incidentally, Princess, I have an interesting theory to present to you. I hope that I am not revealing too much in saying that the theory pertains both to you and to your genetic 'clones', as they referred to themselves? Otherwise this would be most awkward."

Twilight frowned, sighed, and nodded. "Right. Golden Dawn and the others are clones of me and my friends. I learned about it last night." She shook her head. "It's disgusting. Not what they are, of course, I mean… how they were made. Lord Silvertongue violated me and my friends by doing what he did. What's more, he robbed those mares of so much of their lives. I understand his motivations, but—"

"Princess, if there's anyone in this world whom you do not need to justify your anger with Lord Silvertongue to, it's me," Gilderoy said with a hard expression. "After what he did to my people, it sickens me to my very core that I must work alongside him in order to save our world. Oh yes, his motivations were good and he deemed it necessary, and thus he justified it in terms of ends and means. And that is why he is a monster. Not evil, no. But a monster nonetheless.

"Say what you will about the good he has done, the good he is trying to do, but I know him. The concepts of good and evil are nothing to him. He considers the moral right and wrong to be ideals for children; the logical right and wrong are all that matter. He justifies the murder of tens of thousands of gryphons by saying that it saved billions of pony lives over hundreds of years. Cold, heartless calculus."

Twilight nodded again. "On that, we agree. I don't like working together with him either, but I do not blame his daughters for his wrongdoings."

"An ancient saying from the south seems relevant here: 'the sins of the father shall pass down to his sons'. Southern pony nobility has quite an interesting history and philosophy, for if a father can bequeath wealth, then surely he could bequeath debt."

"Well, it certainly isn't a philosophy that I would ever agree to." She shook her head. "Anyway, all of that is besides the point. You had a theory about me and my friends, about Dawn and her sisters?"

"Ah! Right, of course. Forgive me, just a little… venting." He cleared his throat. "You are aware of the enhanced capabilities that Miss Dawn and her sisters possess, yes? I believe that the parlance used by less academic individuals would be 'superpowers'? I believe that Ambassador Skies has utilized the term."

"You mean like Havoc's Pyromancy and Velvet's Hemomancy?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, I'm well aware of their abilities. Gray said that it was because she and her sisters underwent an infusion of magical power from Nihila, Silvertongue, and the northern Beacon all at once. It gave them these powers."

"Hmm… no," said Gilderoy; Twilight was certain that if he had glasses, he'd have adjusted them. She'd seen Dawn do the same earlier this morning when making a point. "Technically correct, yes, but a misconstrued interpretation of events. I would agree with Ambassador Skies absolutely, had I not met your friends Rarity and Fluttershy and interacted with them for as long as I have."

"Oh? Why? Did something happen?"

"No, nothing like that. But I am a curious sort, and when I was informed of this genetic duplication, I decided that I needed to obtain a little data." 

Gilderoy took from the pocket of his robe a slender metal tube, like the makeshift "wands" that stage magicians used; Trixie had something just like it in her cutie mark, though hers had a star on the end, his did not. His was perfectly plain, silver and utterly featureless, likely easy to mistake for something utterly unimportant.

"I always carry my wand on my person now that I have left Aeropolis, and it is always scanning my surroundings and collecting data on the environment. Having never left my Sanctuary since the genocide of my people, many things have changed; my wand collects information so that I may document those changes." With a grin, he added, "As a Lorekeeper, it is quite literally my job to know everything, you understand."

Twilight eyed the tube, the "wand" carefully. "Okay, so… what did you find out?"

"I won't pretend to know everything about your world, Princess, but I do know a thing or two about magic, and there is a great magical potential within your friends. That same potential energy resides in individuals such as Ambassador Skies. The difference is that the potential in Ambassador Skies, as well as that within her sisters, has been 'realized', to put it into simpler terms. The potential in your friends has not. It is locked away, hidden, but it is there."

Twilight balked. "You're saying that my friends potentially have enhanced abilities as well? Like Gray and Havoc and the rest?"

With a stroke of his beard, he said, "Yes. I believe that it may have something to do with whatever bond the six of you share that made you such interesting targets to Silvertongue and Nihila seven years ago. Perhaps in your world this potential has been realized, but it hasn't in this one because it manifests differently."

Twilight hummed in thought for a moment, then perked up in realization. "The Elements of Harmony. In our world, we were the only ones capable of using them. Are you saying that we could somehow use something like that here?"

"Perhaps, but I don't know for certain. However, I can offer your friends assistance in 'unlocking' this potential, so to speak. It is a simple spell, actually, one that is a crucial part of the wand-making process and as such one that I am intimately familiar with. If your friends would like, I could perform the spell on them at any time. Just send them here."

"I suppose that I could let them know, Lorekeeper," she replied with a nod. "They'll make their own decisions, I'm sure. I don't know if they'd even want such powers. Some of them, maybe. But not all."

He nodded and smiled back. "Excellent. I figure that if we are seeking out Nihila so that we may put an end to her for good, every advantage we can get will be necessary."

"That's… actually a really good point." 

Twilight gave him a tight-lipped smile. This was a very strange conversation; a gryphon with mechanical implants and a wand, the last of his race, had just offered to give her friends superpowers to help them in their battle against a goddess of evil. It was like a tale right out of one of Spike's comic books.

She cleared her throat. "Well, if there's nothing else I can do for you two, I'll just go let my friends know about this new development. I'm sure they'd be very interested in whatever help you can offer them."


*****


Fluttershy had never been on a rollercoaster before, but she'd certainly seen what they looked like. A big, big, big climb with a tall high, followed by a huge drop, followed by twists and turns and loops and humps and dips and every other possible thing that could be imagined to make the ride more terrifying. Sorry, "exciting". Well, just looking at one of those contraptions was enough to make Fluttershy feel queasy and uneasy.

With everything that had happened over the past twenty-four hours or so, give or take, she felt like she was on one of those very same rollercoasters. From the amazing high of seeing her dear friends again and learning that Twilight and Applejack were safe, to seeing Gray and Havoc get into a terrible fight with their sister, to learning about Twilight's new friend Aculeata, to waking up and learning that Rarity had spent the night with Lockwood and Blackburn, and then finishing it all off by having Twilight tell them that this world was dying, well… it was a lot to take in.

And then, just to add one last little dip of "excitement", Twilight tells them that Lorekeeper Gilderoy wanted to see them? Something about superpowers? What was this, one of Spike's comic books? Or one of those Ogres and Oubliettes campaigns that Discord liked to play with Spike and Big Mac?

Everypony else was reacting… well, pretty much how Fluttershy expected them to be reacting to all of this, actually.

"You really think this here gryphon fella can do what he says he can do?" Applejack asked as the group descended the stairs down into the deepest reaches of the royal palace. "'Cause y'know, ta me, it sounds like a big ol' bunch o' hooey."

"Are you kidding? You've seen what our friends are able to do," argued Rainbow. "Havoc can launch fireballs and shoot off like a rocket, and she says she can get so hot she can melt through steel! 

"Now, sure, I dunno what all the others can do exactly, but we know that they all have superpowers. Havoc told me and Pinkie, Gray told Shy and Rarity; it's legit. So, if this old gryphon dude says that he can give us some too, I don't see why we wouldn't want to take him up on the offer."

"I didn't say we shouldn't wanna do it, Dash, I asked if ya think he can. I don't rightly know much about what happened; all them words got kinda confusin', yeah?" Applejack briefly removed her hat to scratch her head. "I ain't know nothin' 'bout no 'gin-eh-ticks' or whatever that is, but it all sounded like it was just a whooole bunch o' magic at work."

"Well, if he says he can do it, I don't see why we'd doubt him. Why would he lie about that?"

"I don't think she's worried about him lying, Dashie," said Pinkie as she hopped along. "I think it's more that she doesn't think it'll work. I think it's because she's scared that it's gonna hurt, 'cause when it happened to our friends they had to be asleep for it, like going into surgery! And it totally changed them! 'Cause before that, they were actual clones, right?"

Applejack rolled her eyes. "I ain't worried that it's gonna hurt, Pinkie. I'm just worried that it won't work out the way we think it will. I know, I know, there ain't no sense in not given' it a go, but I dunno, I'm worried that it might… y'know… change us, like Pinkie said. Make us different from how we are now. Or who."

"An awfully philosophical take on the issue, dear," said Rarity. Fluttershy could tell she was nervous, more now than she had been when they started coming down here; maybe Applejack's concern was concerning her too?

"You alright there, Rares?" aked Rainbow. "You've been real quiet all night. I expect that kind of stuff from Shy, not you."

"Yeah, you barely asked any questions when Twilight was telling us all about what was at stake!" added Pinkie. "You only asked about what might happen with that other option Twilight talked about, the one we weren't gonna take."

Rarity nodded. "Yes, well, I just wanted some clarification. I absolutely agree that the third option is best, naturally, but I was concerned over the potential dangers of the third option and just wondered if the second might be the safer choice for everypony involved."

Fluttershy, of course, knew it was more than that. If Lockwood and Rarity had really come to some sort of arrangement, one that involved Blackburn even, then surely she wanted to make sure that they were okay. They were all invested, of course, and any one of them would've probably asked the same questions Rarity did. She was just quicker about it, that was all, and had a more personal investment.

After all, it was certainly one thing for all of them to be worried that their friends might change if they simply "transferred" over to their Equestria from this one, if they'd retain everything about them that made them them. It was another thing entirely to wonder if the same thing would affect somepony you were in love with. 

But yes, it was pretty much universally agreed upon that the third option was best. And if Nihila needed to be… eliminated, well, that meant that everypony needed to do their part to make that a reality. Fluttershy wasn't sure what she could do, even if she were given superpowers, but she was certainly going to at least try to support her friends however she could.

There was no way that she was going to let anything happen to her friends and their families. Not if she could help it.

Fluttershy hadn't been to the "super top secret" room underneath the palace since the first time she met Pandemonia, so she was surprised to see that the layout had changed a little. There were all sorts of accoutrements in here now, not just so that Lorekeeper Gilderoy would have a place to sleep and rest, but so that Pandemonia herself could become accustomed to "mortal sensations" like sleeping, lounging, resting, even, amusingly, watching Teevee. Gray had mentioned something like that, anyway.

The gryphon lorekeeper was the only one present at the moment, as Pandemonia had gone on another little trip with Gray and Flathoof, supposedly to watch a movie at the movie theater and see what all the fuss was about. The old gryphon noticed them come in and smiled, nodded to acknowledge them, put down whatever it was he was reading, then stood and approached.

"Ah, you must all be the other friends of Princess Sparkle," Gilderoy said, looking between Pinkie, Rainbow, and Applejack. "I am Lorekeeper Gilderoy, though I'm sure that you've all heard enough about me by now that I don't need to introduce myself any further than that. You three are new faces to me, though."

"Hi!" Pinkie greeted, bouncing forward to take the gryphon's metal talon and give it a shake. "I'm Pinkie Pie, the greatest party planning pony in all the world and beyond! That's right, I said it: I'm the best party planner in our world, in this world, in any world, and I will fight to the death to defend my honor!"

"Quite a bold claim," Gilderoy chuckled as she shook away.

"I like your claw-hand-talon thing! It's cool to the touch, like when I accidentally leave a spoon in the ice cream in the freezer."

"Ah, yes, regulatory temperature control. A new feature installed by Miss Gadget, or rather, an upgraded version of the previous technology." Gilderoy eyed his talon appreciatively. "I must say that it feels good to be able to move so freely again. I feel a hundred years younger."

"Well, all that stuff makes you look cooler than the other side of the pillow," Rainbow said, crossing her hooves over her chest. "I mean, I dunno what it looked like before you got, uh, 'upgraded', but it's pretty rad. Oh! I'm Rainbow Dash, by the way. Second-Lieutenant of the Wonderbolts back home. And if this all works out, I guess that'll be your home eventually, right?"

He smiled and nodded. "So the story goes, yes." He turned to Applejack. "And you, Miss?"

"Applejack, howdy, nice ta meetcha," she said, taking his talon and giving it a shake while also tipping her hat. "I don't mean ta make it sound we're in a hurry 'n' all, but Twi said y'all got some sort o' spell that'll give us superpowers or somethin'? I didn't really understand everythin' she said, but that's the gist o' what I got."

"An oversimplification, but yes, that's essentially what I suggested to Her Highness. If I might offer an analogy to help understand the process, imagine that there is a young pony who seems to be talented with… say, the piano. You might say that he has the potential to become a professional pianist."

"Well, sir, I'd never say that about nopony, 'cause that sounds awful rude," Applejack said, amidst barely-stifled laughter from Rainbow and Pinkie.

Gilderoy seemed justifiably confused. "I'm sorry?"

"Like I said, I don't think it'd be right ta call no little colt somethin' like that just 'cause he likes the piano. Kinda rude, don'tcha think?"

Gilderoy blinked, then smiled and let out a laugh. "Aha! A play on word pronunciation. Quite an amusing joke, Miss Applejack, and much appreciated. Some lighthearted fun is necessary with all of the doom and gloom surrounding our lives at the moment." 

He wiped a tear from his eye, or rather he didn't because he couldn't actually cry, but he made the motions anyway for the group's benefit. He was considerate like that, one of the reasons Fluttershy liked him despite how scary he looked at times with all that machinery.

Applejack leaned over to Rarity and Fluttershy. "What's he on about? What joke? I just think it's rude callin' a lil' colt a—"

"Applejack?" said Rarity, not meeting Applejack's eyes.

"Yeah?"

"I really thought better of you."

Applejack blinked. "What? Am I missin' somethin'?"

Gilderoy returned to his spiel. "Well, to continue the metaphor with perhaps a less amusing career, let us say that this young colt is talented with baking. You might say that he has a potential future career as a baker."

Pinkie let out a loud laugh and rolled onto the floor. "Ahaahaa! A baker! Ha! Ha…" She then got back on her hooves just as suddenly as she'd gotten off them. "Continue."

"Er… ahem. Well, if this young baking prodigy has the potential to become a baker, then should he grow up and hone his talents and become a world-famous baker, you would say that he realized his potential." Gilderoy drew out a long, slender, metal stick; Twilight had mentioned it before, and it did indeed remind Fluttershy of what was on Trixie's cutie mark. "I possess a spell that will… skip a few steps, hmm?"

"Ya mean like cheatin'?" asked Applejack, sounding very much like she didn't approve, which was just so her.

"Hmm… yes and no. Certainly it takes away the experience of developing these capabilities for yourselves, but that could potentially take months or even years to reach the same point that your comrades are at. I would never want to take such an enlightening journey away from you… but we do not have that kind of time."

"Yeah… I s'pose we don't…"

"So you just, what, swish and flick the heck out of your wand, chant some magic words, and boom, we're superheroes?" asked Rainbow.

Pinkie nodded in approval… and somehow, without anypony noticing, had suddenly dressed herself in a black robe with a red-and-gold scarf and a pair of glasses. She also somehow had a wand of her own. "Yeah! Wingardium Leviosa!" she shouted as she indeed swished and flicked the heck out her wand.

Nothing happened though. Fluttershy wasn't sure what she expected to happen, actually.

Pinkie glared at her wand, tapped it a few times on her hoof. "Hello? Is this thing on? Did I forget to change the batteries—" The wand tip exploded point-blank as she was looking down the length, leaving her face covered in black soot. "Hmm. Dang thing's busted."

Gilderoy blinked, tilting his head slightly, then shook his head and cleared his throat. "No, Miss Dash, there are no magic words involved, no incantations required. Not for this particular spell, at any rate. It is also quick and completely painless; I am merely tapping the wand into your inner energy and helping that energy flow throughout your body and soul."

"So it won't hurt?" asked Rainbow.

"Not at all."

"And this will allow us to do amazing feats like what our friends are capable of?" asked Rarity.

"Potentially, yes. There is no telling what your abilities may manifest as, but that is certainly the hope."

"An' you're sure it'll work?" asked Applejack.

"Absolutely," Gilderoy said with a smile, tugging his beard. "Not to brag, but I have hundreds of years of experience with more complicated spells than this by far, and I've utilized this spell many, many times. I believe there is an old zebra word that they might use to describe me: a 'wizard'. I think I'm more of a sage myself, but who am I to argue."

"Well, you certainly sound like an expert on the subject," Rarity said with a nod. "I see no reason why we shouldn't trust you to know what you're doing."

Applejack stepped forward. "Do me first. I figure if anythin' goes wrong or whatnot, it's best that it happens ta me. I trust that ya know what you're doin', Mister Gilderoy, but y'know, Twilight says the same kinda stuff 'bout her spells sometimes, as I'm sure you're aware. No offense, ta either of ya."

Gilderoy smiled. "Well, your caution is certainly appreciated. Once you see the results of my work, though, hopefully that caution will be replaced with confidence, hmm? This will only take a second."

He drew the wand up above Applejack's forehead, then tapped it just once. The wand glowed white for an instant, then a shiny bronze, and when he drew it away the air was filled with the faintest sounds of rumbling earth.

Gilderoy hummed as he looked at the wand in his talon, then nodded as if some mystery had been answered for him, which really wasn't far off at all actually. "Miss Applejack, the magical energy inside you is related to a school known as Geomancy. It is considered a rather common school of magic for earth ponies to specialize in, but your control is—"

"Wait wait wait, hol' on now, earth ponies don't got no magic," Applejack interjected. "I mean, sure, okay, y'all say I do 'cause o' whatever that there spell is an' 'cause o' the fancy things Twilight tol' us about, but that's just me, right?"

"On the contrary. Every pony in existence has a magical potential inside of them. Naturally these magical abilities are typically related to whatever talent their Cutie Mark represents, but it's still a form of magic at a very basic, miniscule level.

"An earth pony that specializes in farming, for example, often has a small scrap of Geomancy magic within them, which they of course tap into when they are performing their farming tasks. Geomancy is a school of magic related to manipulating the earth, you see. Another pony who has a talent for… well, let's use that piano again. Musical talent relates to Audiomancy; sound magic."

Applejack tilted her head, then glanced at her hooves. "So, you're sayin' that ma superpower is… what, makin' grass grow or somethin'? That don't seem too, uh… useful. I guess, what, I could help feed a bunch o' soldiers?"

"Well, that might be your special talent, but I don't know that for certain," Gilderoy chuckled. "But that isn't your 'superpower'. Your innate enhanced ability is a fundamentally-deep connection with natural, earth-related materials. Not just dirt and soil, but also stone, sand, and yes, even metal.

"The metal, of course, is a more complicated point, as the metal would need to be in its natural state, unmarred by craftwork, smelting, etcetera. The same would apply to gemstones such as rubies or diamonds: once cut, your connection is lost. It's rather finicky, because they can have such changes applied through a natural process."

Applejack removed her hat and scratched her head. "So, uh… what, I can control these things or somethin'?"

"Yes, and more than that, your body can adapt and adopt their qualities." Gilderoy tapped his chin for a moment, then raised a talon. "Ah! Perhaps a demonstration would assist you. One moment."

He walked over to the desk that had been provided to him, whereupon he searched through one of the drawers until he fished out a small ruby, which he brought over to the group. It was more than just small, it was tiny, no larger than a watermelon seed.

"Fortunately, Her Majesty Queen Blackburn has been providing me with materials to do my own technomagic work down here," he said. "I required an uncut ruby onto which I needed to make some microscopic inscriptions, but I hadn't yet gotten around to it in all the excitement. Thus, it is still unmodified, uncut, untouched; a virgin ruby, so to say."

"Pfft, virgin ruby," Rainbow chortled, nudging Pinkie in the ribs. "AJ's gonna pop the ruby's cherry."

"Rainbow, really?" Rarity huffed, eyes narrowed in disbelief. "You've been spending too much time around Havoc."

Gilderoy set the ruby onto Applejack's hoof. "Now, my dear Miss Applejack, take this ruby in your hoof and concentrate. Focus all of your energy on it. You will hear it call to you, just as you surely hear the call of the soil when you tend to it, not in your ears but in your soul. When you hear that call… let it wash over you."

Applejack blinked, looking at the ruby, then shrugged, closed her eyes, and focused. Fluttershy wasn't even sure what to expect to happen, but as she watched Applejack look like she was straining, she started to worry that maybe Applejack had been right all along, and that nothing was going to—

Then, she and the other mares all let out a collective gasp.

"What?" Applejack asked, her voice slightly tinny. She opened her eyes wide. "The hay's wrong wit' my voice?"

"Look at yourself, darling!" Rarity cooed, her eyes alight with wonder. "You look simply gorgeous!"

Applejack raised her hoof up to look at herself, and could now see what they all could. "Golly, what the hay?"

Her skin and coat, her mane and tail, even her hooves, were all made out of ruby. The only things unaffected by the change were her clothes, from her shirt to her hat, even the bands in her mane and tail to keep them orderly. She otherwise could be mistaken for a very elaborately-cut pony-size ruby, like a work of art, really, or like the crystal ponies back home only more… solid?

"This is weird…" Applejack muttered, turning her hoof around. In the process, she dropped the ruby; as soon as it left her hoof, everything quickly-but-gradually turned back to normal. "Huh? What happened?"

"You must remain in contact with whatever material it is that you are adopting the qualities of, of course," Gilderoy explained as he picked the ruby back up. "Much as you must physically tend to the soil that you would use to grow crops, by hoof, up-close. It's not much more complicated than that, though this is of course an oversimplification. You may yet discover more things you can do with this magic."

Applejack smirked and fanned herself with her hat. "Well ain't that a fine kettle o' corn. If'n I could turn myself inta things like rock or whatnot, that'd make me one hard sucker ta crack. Not bad, no sirree."

"Ooh, do me next!" Pinkie blurted, practically shoving Applejack out of the way with her… all of her. "Do me! Do me! Please! I gotta knooowww!"

Gilderoy chuckled and drew his wand out once again. "Ah, if only I still had that sort of rambunctious energy even in my own youth." 

He tapped his wand to Pinkie's forehead, whereupon it first glowed white, then shined with all the colors of the rainbow. He drew it away in surprise, and chuckled as he waved the wand about in the air. It gave off a sound like a kazoo whenever it moved.

"My my my, this is certainly a surprise," he said, attempting to make a legitimate melody with the kazoo sounds until they wore off. "Miss Pie, I don't think you actually even needed my assistance here to unlock the potential of your Verisimulation. As far I can tell, you're not only aware of your 'superpower', but you make use of it all the time. Frequently, in fact."

Pinkie's eyes widened. "Ohhhh, so that's what it's called."

"Wait, Pinkie, you already knew you had superpowers?" Rainbow asked, dumbfounded. "And you've been using them? And you never told us about them?"

Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Dashie Dashie Dashie," she said, throwing her hoof around Dash's shoulder. "Honey, sweetheart, baby doll. I've been telling you guys about the kind of amazing stuff I can do for two-and-a-half books now, plus an entire alternate timeline where this scene took place, like, way sooner. Nopony ever believes me."

Rainbow looked at the rest of the group for clarification; Fluttershy, at least, had no idea what Pinkie was talking about, and shrugged just like Rarity and Applejack did.

"Let me put it this way, Dashie," Pinkie said… somehow all of a sudden wearing a lab coat and goggles. "Just let me do my thing, but don't ask questions. Don't ask questions! The key to making me work is the mystery of it all. The fun factor. As long as everypony's having fun, why should it matter how it works? I even wrote a song!"

"When did you have time to write a song?!"

"♫If you're wondering how she does that stuff,
And other science facts
(La la la)
Just tell yourself 'it's just a fic,
I should really just relaaaax'.♫"

As Pinkie finished her… song, Dash scratched her head. "Huh. I mean, I want to be miffed about this, but I know you Pinks, and I know that whatever it is you're up to, it's usually best not to ask questions, 'cause you know what you're doing. I mean, I've seen you pull your party cannon out of your mane before, and we all know that there's no way that fits."

"Heh… that's what she said," Pinkie said, waggling her eyebrows and looking at… why was she looking at Applejack?

Dash snorted laughter out her nose, then patted Pinkie's back and turned to Gilderoy. "Me next! What sort of awesome powers do I have, old dude?"

Gilderoy tapped his wand on her head, and it glowed white at first before it glowed a bright neon blue, accompanied by the sound of distant thunder. "Aha, Meteomancy. I daresay that fits right in alongside Miss Applejack's Geomancy: a common magic associated with pegasi in this case, albeit amplified to magnificent levels."

Rainbow blinked. "What the hay is 'Meteomancy'? Is that like something to do with meteors?"

Pinkie nodded sagely. "You read my mind, Dashie. I was gonna suggest the same thing. And that's a total endgame spell, y'know." A pause, then she looked off to the side at… nothing in particular? "Or would it be more of an infinity war spell nowadays? I mean, that was a moon—"

"Does anypony have any idea what the heck she's talking about? Or who she's talking to?" Rainbow asked the others.

Again, shrugs and blank stares. As usual.

Gilderoy cleared his throat. "Meteomancy is the school of magic related to the weather, Miss Dash."

"Oh." Rainbow scratched her chin. "Well, I mean, I don't work for the weather team anymore, but I was the best at it when I did. That was like… my thing. First thing I did when I met Twi was prove to her that I could clear the sky in ten seconds flat." With a cocky smile, she added, "Yeah, no sweat there. Piece of cake."

"Then you are already aware of what you're capable of, to a degree," Gilderoy said with a sagely nod of his own. "Your mastery over the weather extends beyond just knowledge, of course. Your body has the capability to quite literally create and manipulate it, which is tied intimately with the manner in which you fly, including speed, direction, and other factors."

Rainbow steepled her hooves over her mouth. "So, you're saying that if I flew really fast in a circle, that I could make a tornado all by myself? 'Cause that usually takes a whole team of pegasi to do." With a look towards Fluttershy, she added, "Right, Shy?"

"If you're focused on doing so with all of your heart and soul, yes."

Rainbow nodded in understanding, oddly calm. "Awesome…"

Rarity tilted her head. "I was expecting more of a reaction than that, Rainbow. This is rather, well, subdued for you." Fluttershy was glad that Rarity had said it so that she didn't have to.

"Oh no, I'm totally psyched right now Rares. It is literally taking everything I have not to jump up and try it out right here and now, you have no idea. If I don't restrain myself—"

"Oh no, you are not messing up my mane with one of your little tornadoes," Rarity scoffed. "Wait until you get outside."

"That was the plan, actually. I'm gonna grab Havoc, and we're gonna go outside the city, and I'm gonna practice this. And when I show her, she's gonna freak, and it's gonna be awesome. So awesome…"

Rarity snickered. "Well, that sounds a bit more like you." She turned to Gilderoy. "Well then, how about me? While I certainly hope I don't have something quite so… involved as Rainbow and Applejack—I'd prefer to be on the backlines—I do still want to help in any capacity that I can. There are ponies in this world that I hold very close to my heart; I will do anything to save them."

"Well spoken, my dear Miss Rarity." Gilderoy tapped his wand to the tip of her horn, whereupon it flashed white and stayed white, emitting a faint tinkling sound like a wind chime. "Aha, now that's interesting. I do believe that had I known about your abilities, I would have performed this spell on you first and then had you demonstrate upon your friends."

"Hmm? What does that mean?" Rarity asked, tilting her head.

"Your enhanced ability is directly related to a very common, fundamental magic school known as Benefaction. All unicorns are aware of this school of magic, or at least its most basic use, though most don't even think about how important it is because of how simple it is.

"Benefaction is the art of magical transfer, that is, using one's magic to enhance the magic of others. My wand is utilizing a modified version of this most basic of spells so that I might be able to understand and explain your abilities to you. With this ability, you would not only be able to help your friends unlock their abilities, but also to do so with others."

Rarity tilted her head the other way. "You mean I could… give other ponies superpowers as well?"

He chuckled. "No no, what I mean is… well, remember that I said that all ponies, even earth ponies and pegasi, possess an innate magic deep within their souls? One that is tied to their special talents, their cutie marks?"

"Ah… I think I understand. I can enhance the special talents of other ponies then? That seems rather useful."

"Indeed. Take Miss Gadget, for instance, whose talent is engineering wondrous feats of technomagic. Were you to enhance her talent for a time, I daresay she'd be able to invent something capable of truly tremendous feats." He tapped his chin. "Hmm… perhaps something even us gryphons thought impossible, like space travel. The sky is literally the limit, hmm hmm hmm."

Rarity blinked. "Oh my, this sounds like a truly incredible ability." She turned to look at Fluttershy, then shifted her eyes back to Gilderoy. "Shall I perhaps help Fluttershy 'unlock' her special powers?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "Oh, you don't have to do that, Rarity. To be honest, I wasn't planning on having anything, um… 'unlocked'. I'm here for moral support, really. I know that even if I had something that was truly amazing, I wouldn't be able to stomach the thought of… of being in the thick of things."

"Oh, darling… are you sure?"

"I am," Fluttershy said with a nod. "I'm fine staying in the back to make sure nopony gets hurt, and to take of the ponies who do."

"Well, what if your 'superpower' is to heal others who do get hurt?"

"Oh… well, I never thought of that before," Fluttershy muttered. 

She truly hadn't considered that idea at all, she had no idea what to make of these "superpower" things. To her, they just sounded like extensions of their special talents, or even their connection to the old Elements of Harmony, at least if one really squinted at the concepts. Rarity's Element connection was easy—Generosity meant giving power to others—but Rainbow's was hard—Loyalty was… controlling the weather?

Even special talents didn't perfectly fit. Sure, Rarity's was, again, rather easy: her talent was finding gems, so her superpower was "finding" potential in others. Right? But then, Applejack's talent was farming and apples, so what did that have to do with turning herself into rocks and gems? It was all so confusing, like the powers were just something that just fit. Again, like a comic book.

Oh goodness, she hoped that she didn't get something like she did when they all ventured into Spike's comic book. She didn't want to think of herself turning into some sort of hulking monster in order to help. But if that's what she had to do—

"If you're uncertain about what your ability might be, then perhaps it would be best to let me make use of my spell," Gilderoy said, drawing his wand out again and also drawing Fluttershy out of her panicked train of thought.

Fluttershy took a calming breath, then nodded. "Okay."

He tapped his wand to her head, whereupon it glowed white at first and then a light green. When he swished it through the air, it roared like a lion, and rather loudly at that.

"Aha, you have a connection with Zoolomancy, the school of magic related to animals, be it tending to them, commanding them, even understanding them at some fundamental level." He paused, then frowned. "Ah… well, that is rather unfortunate, isn't it? I would hesitate to ever say that there isn't a potential use for something—"

"No, I understand," Fluttershy sighed. "My power is useless. There aren't any animals up here in the north, except for those Gargantuans. And… and from what I hear, they're all gone now too, thanks to whatever it is that's causing your world to die. Only Twilight's new friend Aculeata is left, and she's not exactly an animal any more. Twilight says that she's intelligent."

"Truly? Well now, that's certainly a remarkable development." Gilderoy stroked his beard and shook his head. "A shame that we are not in Aeropolis, and that I cannot simply leave and return to and from my Sanctuary easily. I was in possession of an artefact, a contraption if you will, that might have been of some use."

"It's alright. I'm fine with trying my best elsewhere. Maybe if we go down south and we need help from the animals or something I might be able to help, but I doubt that…"

Rarity put her hoof around Fluttershy's shoulder. "Oh, darling, I'm sure that we'll find some way for you to be more than just some glorified nurse or foalsitter. Just you wait, I'm certain that we'll need you for something important soon that only Fluttershy, the Mistress of the Animal Kingdom, can solve!"

"The… Mistress of the Animal Kingdom?"

"It's a working title, dear, don't judge me."

Fluttershy giggled and nodded. "Thanks, Rarity. For trying to make me feel better. But it's okay, even if there's nothing that my special talent can help with, I'll try my best to help in every way that I can. I promise."