Twilight’s eyes flickered as her mouth opened to answer, before growing dark and her muzzle snapped closed. Her limp body fell to the scorched earth, her wings splayed out in an unseemly fashion. As Chrysi stared confusedly at her, a voice next to her spoke out with an exasperated sigh.
“Because my wife is an idiot, sweetie.”
Turning in surprise, Chrysi found Starlight, casually hovering there, right next to her head; having been watching for the past few hours.
“Mom? Why would you say that?”
Starlight merely chuckled. Gesturing a wing at the still Alicorn.
“Because it’s true.”
The words weren’t spoken with ill intent, if anything it sounded almost loving.
“We need to help her!”
Starlight shook her head and spoke in a reassuring tone as she descended and gently nudged Twilight’s body.
“There is no need to worry. She does this a lot actually. Forgets her own well-being to help others, though she’s started rubbing off on me with that philosophy…Hm? What’s this?”
Starlight watched as the wing Twilight had repaired turned to dust at her touch. Likewise, her left foreleg, half of her chassis, and part of her neck did as well. Starlight stared at the sight for a moment, before turning to Chrysi.
“Do me a favor, breathe on me with your fire.”
“But mom…”
Flaring her wings, Starlight let loose a roar at the dumbstruck dragon.
“I gave you a command, Chrysi! I am your mother and you will do as I say! Now hit me with everything you’ve got!”
Chastised, and completely cowled by the ferocity of Starlight, Chrysi obliged; summoning up every bit of magic she could, Chrysi opened her mouth and unleashed it all.
Starlight smiled as the blast of Emerald Flames shot towards her. Holding out her wing, as Twilight had, Starlight took the blast head-on, though while it was striking the one wing, she immediately plunged her other one down to dig her wingtips into the blackened ground.
The electrical current crackled across her body. Sparking and visibly traveling down her wing, the flow of current ripped its way down her wing in a straight line, crossed over to the other wing, and down into the soil.
Her smile carried hints of an almost predatory nature, as Starlight let out a guttural screech. She hadn’t felt this kind of rush in a long time; one wrong move, and she would be fried. Her circuits crackled and popped; sparks flying, and her HUD was flashing countless alarms as the soil beneath her hooves erupted with an unfathomable explosion from the overwhelming current.
As the sound continued ringing in her audio receptors, and the flash of light faded from all sensors, Starlight stood there, smiling in a twenty-meter-deep crater. Her body was sparking and arcs of current could be seen jumping across her metallic form. The fire had left horrific scorch marks that would have to be buffed out, but as she lowered her wings and began laughing, it was clear; she was completely uninjured, though not unscathed.
“Mmm, that is brisk!”
Her body glowed and sparked, wings flared to their full length as the electrical charge visibly arced across the plating. After a few minutes, as the sparking dwindled before stopping, Starlight finally folded her wings. Shaking her head in visible amusement, Starlight chuckled with visible joy.
“Ooh boy, That certainly was…fun.”
Visibly worried, Chrysi asked her.
“Are you okay?”
Tilting her head in confusion, as she lifted Twilight’s remains on her back, Starlight replied nonchalantly.
“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I mean, I just attacked you-”
Starlight chuckled.
“-At my command.”
“-And then there’s what happened to mom.”
Starlight paused for a moment, staying silent; deep in thought. Finally, having situated Twilight’s destroyed body onto her back in a good position, she turned to look Chrysi in her ocular receptors. Narrowing her eyes, Starlight said softly.
“You really don’t understand, do you? Let me show you something, Chrysi.”
Starlight channeled magic into her horn. She chuckled and said.
“Now, keep in mind, it has been years since I went all out, so I’m not nearly as able as I once was.”
Turning away, before Chrysi could say a word, Starlight pointed her horn at the pasture and-
With an unholy blast of magic, the entire pasture as far as Chrysi could see was bathed in a light blue glow shortly before erupting in a tremendous explosion. As the glow faded, Chrysi’s jaw dropped in disbelief. The entire pasture, lava flows, and all had been turned into a crater of at least twenty meters in depth.
Turning to look at the astounded dragon, Starlight said simply.
“Time to head home, next recharge cycle, you and I will return to this spot. And when we do, you’ll get the answer to your question, sweetie. Come on, Chrysi.”
The two left the crater, still smoking, behind them as they headed back to the camp in silence. Chrysi, completely dumbstruck, watched as Starlight calmly gave Applejack the supposed corpse; the latter who seemed unbothered. It didn’t make sense to her. How could they be so unfeeling? And then the next day, after her recharge was complete, Starlight showed her why.
***
“Wait a minute, where are we?”
In front of Chrysi, in her dragon form, was a massive lava flow, and a pasture of scorched, blackened rock; next to one jagged boulder, lay a pile of rusted metal plates, frayed wiring, and gears. Chrsyi even saw the lavender-hued wing that had been Princess Twilight’s.
Starlight gestured around her.
“Exactly where we stood, before recharging yesterday Chrysi.”
Chrysi froze. That’s impossible! There were no signs of the immense crater Starlight had caused, and yet the very same lava flow, the same landmarks; everything was exactly where it had been before. Untouched, as though it never happened.
“This, Chrysi, is the world in which we live-”
Starlight smiled and her voice grew low and silky.
“or perhaps, just exist as it wills.”
Reaching down, she dug her metal wingtips into the scorched dirt and lifted it up; it shone and gleamed within the bright light. Letting it fall to her wayside, Starlight chuckled.
“As indestructible as you or I, Chrysi; this world is completely self-replicating. The damage we inflict? Repairs itself over the course of a few hours. That pit I left, has filled itself in, rebuilding exactly what was here, before I erased it.”
“But wait, how is that even-”
Starlight nodded at the response.
“And this, Chrysi, is why we adopted you.”
“H-huh?”
“You are a foal. Oh sure, physically, you are over 600 years old; older than myself, Twilight and the entire camp put together. And though I have no doubt in your world your magical wisdom is far greater than my own. Still, you are an infant. In this world you are nothing more than a babe mewling for its mother’s milk; you have no knowledge, nor wisdom, no understanding of how this world works. Just like a newborn foal.”
Chrysi lowered her head in shock, as the words rang in her audio receptors. I…She isn’t wrong. I don’t know anything about this world…
Starlight looked thoughtful for a moment.
“Though as to why our daughter specifically. I suppose that can be chalked up to my lovely wife’s idiocy. You see, we always wanted a child of our own, and my guess is she found the perfect chance in you.”
Something Starlight had said was now consuming her processes and resources in an attempt to solve it. Something still doesn’t make sense. Perhaps it was just Chrysi’s ignorance of this world, but where she was from, magic was finite; spells cannot last forever and would simply degrade in efficiency over time until finally dissolving entirely. This was how Nightmare Moon had broken the seal of Celestia in her reality.
The way she spoke, the world would self-replicate eternally, that the residents of the camp could never die. Is she arrogant or is there an actual reason for this remark? I have to know. Fine, she was young and inexperienced in this world, she could accept that. But that just meant to learn more about this reality she now belonged to, she would have to ask about it. And right now, just one question was on her mind.
“Mom?”
Starlight smiled gently, her LEDs growing dark as she closed them. She knew what was coming. It wasn’t the first time she had to answer the question that was coming, after all. She spoke with a soft crackle in her words.
“Yes, Chrysi?”
“The way you mentioned this world being self-repairing, that the creatures of camp; you and I, and others were indestructible…It sounded like you were saying the world itself and those that exist in it are immortal. How is that possible?”
“13,659,472,021.”
Chrysi blinked in confusion. She was sure that couldn’t be the only answer, that there was more. Starlight, however, just sighed and shook her head, before turning away, saying.
“Time to go back to camp. And Chrysi you’ve been in that form long enough, come on, show me my adorable daughter again.”
Chrysi gave a whimper at this command. Looking down, she slowly scratched her talon, in an embarrassed, almost ashamed, manner. Muttering, she said.
“I…um…can’t.”
Stopping, Starlight turned to look at her, in surprise.
“What do you mean you can’t?”
“I…um…I”
Narrowing the lit pattern of LEDs that comprised her eyes, Starlight demanded.
“Speak up, tell me why you can’t.”
Her voice a squeaky cry, Chrysi shouted at her.
“I can’t remember the sub-menu you helped me find when we were practicing!”
Starlight’s fierce demeanor immediately faded away, and a loving smile appeared on her muzzle, her eyes soft and caring once more. Laughing, she approached Chrysi, who looked on the verge of tears. Starlight’s voice was gentle and warm.
“Oh, sweetie. Is that why you were thrashing about earlier?”
Her voice was almost like that of a sobbing child, as Chrysi explained.
“I was scared of disappointing you!”
Starlight just smiled. She still has her own issues, I’m being far too harsh with her. Though, it is uncanny; between her destructive abilities like my own and the same forgetful nature as Twilight, no creature could be faulted for mistaking her for the spawn of our own genetics. And though I hate to admit it; I’m not against the idea at all.
“It’s alright Chrysi, no need for tears, mommy is here for you. Here, let’s go over it again. Now follow along, first, you need to…”
It’s strange and yet, I can’t help think of her as anything but my child. Every time she cries, my heart melts once more. Times really have changed. Twilight’s right, I really have become a softie. What in the-
“No, Chrysi, not like that. Here, let me see your HUD.”
Her horn aglow with a soothing light blue, Starlight displayed what Chrysi could see before her; pointing a hoof a part of the screen, to which Chrysi nodded and activated that area.
“There you go! Now, next, you need to…”
I just need to be patient, something that admittedly is hard for me. She is only learning after all…Just like when we taught Flurry Heart. Hold on, how did she even do that?
“Chrysi, exit that prompt and start at the beginning. What comes first?”
Oh my me! Has she really forgotten what I just told her already? She really is like Twilight!
Chrysi stop! Pay attention. First, you need to access…”
“Oh, like this?”
“Exactly! Now next, follow my hooves, you see this area? You need to…”
Easily distracted, very forgetful, and making me smile. So much like Twilight, it hurts, or maybe I’m just taken in by her desire to understand. Either way…Huh, I've never even seen that prompt before.
“Chrysi, you need to follow along with mommy, don’t bring up random prompts like that…”
***
Twilight’s LEDs flickered, until lighting up completely. She attempted to move before a shrill, homegrown voice stopped her cold.
“Stay still!”
Freezing in place, Twilight spoke.
“Applebloom?”
Now that her patient was behaving herself, Applebloom’s voice became much more respectful.
“Howdy, Princess Twilight.”
“How long have I been out?”
“About three weeks, Princess.”
Carefully and swiftly, the sister of Applejack worked the smithing hammer, delicately when needed, but slamming it down with a strength that rivaled even her own sister, when required. Feeling a pain radiating down her spine, Twilight grunted.
“Arugh!”
The hammering stopped. Sounding concerned, Applebloom spoke to the aching Princess.
“Sorry, Princess. You weren’t supposed to feel that.”
Flabbergasted and wracked with unseemly pain, Twilight cried out.
“How exactly wasn’t I supposed to feel that?”
Applebloom glanced over at the stack of empty containers of a numbing agent Sweetie Belle had given her. She had delicately and deliberately coated each and every sensor neuron in Twilight’s body with the substance. She sighed. You Alicorns really adapt too quickly, this stuff stops every other creature from feeling anything for many recharge cycles. Note to self, have Sweetie experiment with a new mixture.
“Well, I got some good news and bad news, Princess. The good news is because you can feel pain, that means I reassembled you correctly.”
Twilight blinked in confusion.
“What’s the bad news?”
Picking up the fusion torch in her hooves and striking the tip to create a bright blue flame; formed using Starlight’s own magic, Applebloom positioned the replacement wing. Looking pensive for a moment, she answered Twilight.
“The bad news is…I apologize for this ahead of time, your majesty.”
And before Twilight could process this, Applebloom touched the superheated tip to Twilight’s wing membrane.