//------------------------------// // Chapter 18 // Story: Enter the Spider... or Whatever I Am's Web // by Autum Breeze //------------------------------// Chapter 18 ___________________________________________________________ I have to keep myself from grumbling as Aunt Susan takes the thermometer out of my mouth, examining it with annoyed confusion. Will is in her bed across the room, a thermometer in her mouth to, it lazing to the side due to her annoyed expression. Aunt Susan goes over to Will, taking hers out of her mouth and I don’t need to see her face to know it’s the same she had when looking at mine. “You’re both fine,” she says, sounding very frustrated. “Like we told you, Mom, nothing’s wrong with us,” Will says, rolling her eyes. “We’re perfectly healthy.” “And that is why something has to be wrong here!” Aunt Susan says firmly. “You were both definitely getting a cold of some kind towards the end of the night. You shouldn’t be so healthy after a simple night’s sleep.” For context, after we got back from Arkanta last night and all went home, poofing our Astral Drops by saying the words, we had gone to bed, not actually knowing what had transpired during our unexpected single day of absence. Matt hadn’t been able to contact Will, since it was so late, but, if he had, we might’ve been more prepared. I’d honestly expected nothing much, aside from maybe learning my Drop had leaned a little too heavily into the shy and scared act. Granted, she had gone a tiny bit overboard, but not by much. However, her tiny bit overboard had been enough to give Uriah to try pushing things too far. While we weren’t able to get too much out of Aunt Susan without letting it slip we had no clue what supposedly happened to us at school, we found out it had ended with Uriah soaking all six of us, plus Matt and even Alchemy, in water, leaving us (or rather, our Astral Drops) completely soaked and, with it being so close to the end of the day, there hadn’t been enough time before school ended for the staff to get everyone dried off or temporary dry clothes and Uriah now had five weeks’ worth of afterschool detention. While we’re still unsure what happened to the others’ Drops, Matt and Alchemy, after our Drops had come home, still acting as they’d been instructed, it only made Aunt Susan more worried and angry what Uriah had done, especially to my Drop as she was giving a near Oscar performance of a shy and scared girl, Matt, I guess, having told her to double down on it once they got home, because of what had happened. Throughout dinner, our Drops had stayed pretty silent, Will’s Drop acting out the part of annoyed, though she’d apparently redirected the annoyance toward Uriah, which, given how hard it is for Drops to think, makes sense. She’d assumed, from how everyone had reacted at school, the annoyance she was supposed to pretend to have for my Drop should be directed at him instead. Our Drops had also shown signs of getting colds, so Aunt Susan had sent them to bed early, which was why they’d been asleep in our beds when we arrived… and why we’re playing catch up now. I can only imagine how it’s going for the other girls. “I don’t care what these clearly faulty thermometers say,” Aunt Susan says firmly, walking towards the door and looking back at us. “You two art staying in bed today. No exceptions. I’ll be calling the school to let them know.” “But, Mom—” Will starts, only to be cut off when the door closes. I sigh, resting my head on my knees. “Well, this doesn’t complicate matters.” Both mine and Will’s phones go off. We quickly answer them, Will choosing to speak first. “Let me guess, your parents told you you should be in bed because you seemed like you were getting a cold yesterday and, even though you’re perfectly fine, they’re still making you stay in bed today.” “How’d you know?” Hay Lin says… and I can’t tell if she’s joking or being serious. “Lucky guess,” I monotone. “So, what’re we supposed to do now?” Cornelia asks. “We can’t leave for school and head back to Kandrakar if we’re stuck in bed all day.” “At least we can play all day!” Lilian’s voice interrupts from Cornelia’s end. “Not if I’m supposed to be sick!” Cornelia loudly says. “Actually… this could work to our advantage,” Will says, thinking. “And how do you figure that?” Irma asks in a snarky tone. “we can’t just walk out of our rooms, go to your house, get new Drops and have them go back.” Will meets my eyes and I nod, seeing what she’s saying. “No, but this’ll actually be a lot easier.” “How exactly do you figure that?” Irma asks. “Oh, I see what you’re both saying,” Taranee says, sounding shocked. “It’s simple,” I say, “we make new Drops, tell them they just need to stay in bed and sleep through the day and that’s all.” “We won’t have to worry about too many directions or anything like that,” Will says, before chuckling. “I mean, how hard is it to sleep all day?” We chat for a few more moments, before we’re all in agreement. Will and I get out of bed and create our Drops, giving them the instruction to go to sleep in our beds and only interact a little with Aunt Susan if she comes in, like to give them something to eat, etc. With that sorted and our Drops getting into bed and going to sleep, we transform and teletransport to the others’ homes, doing the same for them. Once we’re all set, we head for Kandrakar. ___________________________________________________________ “Yes, this is indeed quite disturbing news,” The Oracle says as we all stand in the main chamber, finishing our tales of what has been happening and what happened to us specifically in Arkanta. “I knew of his foul opinion of me, but to create a Time Sphere, knowing the risks should it start to fail, as it was when you arrived… this is quite disturbing indeed.” “So, are we going back there already?” Irma asks, before slumping her poster. “Because I don’t think I can take another day there so soon.” “Irma speaks for all of us,” Will says firmly. “We’d hoped for a break at least, but while our Drops making us seem sick did gave us a good chance to come to you sooner, I don’t think we could handle going back there so soon.” To my surprise, The Oracle nods. “You are correct. Considering he now knows of you, Guardians and is aware his Time Sphere was destroyed, going back to Arkanta now we more likely prove detrimental instead of useful.” “So, what, we all go home and sleep to get over the colds we don’t have?” Irma asks. The Oracle shakes his head. “As you will not be returning to Arkanta any time soon and have an unexpected way to avoid being missed today, I recommend going to one of the altered Equestria timelines.” He waves a hand and the windows for each one opens up. We all look at each one, before the girls all turn to me. I blink. “What?” “You know more about Equestria’s history than any of us, Mel,” Taranee says, nodding to the windows. “It would probably be best you told us which timeline you think we should handle first.” The girls all look at me and I blanch. Oh, great. I’m just choosing which of the disastrous altered timelines in which the villains one to choose from. No pressure or anything. I stand with my arms folded and eyes closed, frowning for a while, thinking it over, before nodding and look to them. “Okay. I’ve decided,” I hold up a finger, “but, first, I think we should go over these timelines, so we’re all up to speed and I don’t have to retrace my steps here.” They all nod. I look from one window to the other, choosing my words carefully. I can’t let them know I know exactly what happened, since I wasn’t actually there. “Twilight, Starlight and Spike told me about their travels into the past and these altered futures,” I indicate to each one. “Oh, yeah,” Hay Lin gasps. “The Oracle did mention they’d gone time traveling back during that meeting after we met Mell.” I nod, looking back at the windows. “In each of these timelines, one of Equestria’s villains somehow gained the upper hand because of the changes made to the past.” I walk to Tirek’s window. “In this timeline, I don’t know all the details, as they didn’t stay long enough to learn any themselves, but Tirek, a centaur who attacked Equestria in the past, clearly found a way to drain all the Princess’s of their Alicorn Magic.” I stand in front of Nightmare Moon’s window. “In this timeline, since Twilight and the others never made their connection, no one was able to purify Princess Luna when she returned from the thousand year banishment on the moon, so Nightmare Moon took over, leaving Equestria in eternal night and, likely, misused Luna’s dream walking abilities to turn the populace against Celestia and turn herself.” It’s the only reason I can guess Rainbow Dash, supposed to be Element of Loyalty, wasn’t loyal to her original princess and worked for Nightmare. “And this one?” Irma asks sarcastically, pointing a thumb at the Flim Flam Brothers’ window. I frown, scratching my chin. “That one’s… more tricky to guess. The Flim Flam brothers are con artists, not real villains. Best I can guess is, somehow, things turned out fine for the most part, aside from them cheating the Apple Family out of their home illegally.” To the confused looks, I tell them the events from Super Cider Squeezy 6000 and how, despite the rules of the contest being only the rights to sell cider in Ponvyille, but how the Flim Flam brothers had outright kicked the Apples off the farm altogether, with only the fact everypony realized the brothers’ cider was terrible being the only reason nopony called the brothers out for illegally kicking the Apples of the farm when it hadn’t been part of the deal. “Wow,” Hay Lin looks to the window. “What a butch of jerks.” Girl, you have no idea. “And… this window?” Cornelia stands in front of the Chryalsis window. I sigh, folding my arms. “That’s the one I think we should tackle first. In that timeline, Twilight wasn’t able to warn everyone at Princess Cadance and Twilight’s brother, Shining Armour’s wedding about the Changeling Queen pretending to be Cadance. Thus, the Changelings’ invasion of Canterlot succeeded and now, the only known survivors or at least those in the Resistance, are living deep in the Everfree Forest.” “Well, looks like they weren’t hidden well enough, judging by this view,” Corenlia points. I nod. “By sheer chance, when Twilight and Spike arrived in that time, it was shortly before the Changelings would go to the village, intend, I’m sure, on finishing the job.” “Well, it’s decided then,” Will nods to The Oracle. “Our first stop, the Changeling timeline.” ___________________________________________________________ The Changeling Queen leered down at the pinned zebra beneath her. It had been fun, in a way, having to track down this little resistance. She was sure, fun as her rule had been since the Canterlot wedding, it would be slightly duller now, with the Resistance gone. She was almost sad to end it. Almost. Looking menacingly into the zebra’s eyes, she charged her horn, prepared to deliver a final blow. “Guardians, attack!” The unfamiliar voice gave her pause, followed by a scream as she was thrown off of Zecora, a blast of what felt like lightning striking her and sending her toppling back. Getting up, she whirled around, snarling, ready to murder whichever of those retched ponies had dared attack her— only for her eyes to widen. No! The stories Mother told me… they’re true. It’s them! The Guardians of the Infinite Dimensions. She frowned. Wait. Who was the sixth one? Her mother had only ever told her of there being five guardians. Who was the younger, more spider-like sixth one? And why did that one have her eyes on her specifically? ___________________________________________________________ We pass through the Fold, going on the attack. I did remind the girls before we passed through the Fold that we shouldn’t be lethal with the drones. Chrysalis might be evil, but her drones are just following orders. There’s a change they can be redeemed, just like in our Equestria. The ponies are clearly very confused by our arrival and the fact we’re aiding them. As their queen gets up and meets me eye to eye, however, I notice Zecora is looking at us, well, the others anyway, in awe. I get the feeling the legend of the Guardians of the Infinite Dimensions is a ltitle more known in this version of timeline. “Give it up, Changeling,” I yell, flying towards the queen, shadow energy surrounding my hands. “You won’t win.” She flies up, clearly aiming to avoid me, but I just change my course and then fire a mass of black webbing from my hands. It slams into her, sending her flying and pinning her to a tree. She snarls, seeming to disappear, then reappearing just outside the webbing. Either she teleported, or quickly changed to a smaller form, then back again. She looks like she’s about to pop a blood vessel, before glancing around and snarls, pointing a hoof at me. “You and the Guardains may have won this round, whatever you are, but this battle is far from over.” She whirls head back. “Retreat, now!” Any Changeling not unconscious, frozen or trapped in vines lift into the sky and the swam, maybe a third as smaller than when it had arrived, fly off. The ponies all cheer, while the others join me by Zecroa, who’s studying me closely. “I am thankful for all you Guardians have done,” she says, eyeing me, “but I know of only five Guardians. Who is this younger one?” “That’s a bit of a long story, Miss Zecora,” Will says, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “For now, though, shouldn’t we get ready for the Changelings’ return? They know where your camp is now.” Zecora just smiles coyly. “Rather presumptuous of you, to assume we only have one, and more than two.” We don’t get to talk or learn much, as the camp is quickly packed up, with everypony moving further into the forest, the six of us following, myself and Hay Lin using our powers to our advantage to keep scout of the area. After half a day of travel due to also bringing the Changeling prisoners, we arrive at another campsite. It doesn’t look like it’s been used in a long time and there’s not a lot of open space to see the sky. Much better for avoiding being able to be abused by an aerial assault. Only once everything is set up, defences and scouts assigned and everypony settled in, does Zecora agree to speak with us properly in her personal hut. Oddly, Pinkie Pie joins us. Seeing her so seriously is kind of unnerving. Not Cupcakes Pinkie unnerving, but still. Plus, I can’t help getting a weird feeling from her, something I can’t place. Will and the others explain what they can to Zecora and herself them. It turns out, while it is true that the wedding was a disaster, it wasn’t as bad as I’d personally feared. Twilight and Cadance did make it out in the end, but, like most ponies, they had to go into hiding. Last Zecora heard from them, they were traveling north in hopes of finding allies outside of Equestria. Hearing that does make me worry if we’ll have to deal with Sombra too, but we’ll have to wait to cross that bridge when we come to it. Not to mention it makes me want to know what happened regarding Nightmare Moon, but can tell it’s better to wait a bit before asking about what are likely very touché subjects. First and foremost, we have to stop the Changelings. “I suspect you won’t always be here. It would ruin your own lives to stay too long, I fear,” Zecora says, before sighing. “I had hoped things would be better when Princess Twilight returned to the past while we held of the attack, she could put the world back on track.” Will shakes her head. “I’m afraid not. While it’s true, she was able to return to her own time, it didn’t fix this one. Your world is now separate from hers. Messing with time won’t fix it.” I’m only half paying attention though. Throughout the talk, that feeling about Pinkie has only been getting stronger. It’s not danger, that much I can tell, but… it’s familiar, in way. I blink, thinking I saw something for second. I frown, concentrating harder. This seems to get the pink mare’s attention and a slight sliver of worry enters her eyes as she calls out, “Wh-what? What’re you staring at me for?” Whether she’d meant it to or not, now everyone’s attention is on the both of us. “Mel?” Hay Lin asks, looking between me and the party pony. “What’s wrong?” I glance at Will, indicating for her to come over. She does, though doesn’t look any less confused. “Hold the Heart of Kandrakar towards her,” I point at Pinkie, who seems confused now, as well as worried. The look Will gives me says she gets where I’m going and does so. The moment she holds the Heart towards Pinkie, two things happen simultaneously. A light shines in Pinkie’s chest at the same time as her Cutie Marks glow and a pair of wings and a horn appear on her. The others all gasp. Zecora nods, causing the now fearful pink pony to relax, then looks at me. “You sensed her Heart, right from the start.” I nod, frowning in thought. “Yeah. Having a Heart myself, I guess I’m just attuned to it. But… Twilight is supposed to be Equestria’s Heart, not Pinkie.” You would think the thought of an Alicorn Pinkie Pie in control of Equestria’s heart would have me pissing my pants in terror, but I think I’m staying calm because it’s this Equestria’s Pinkie, who is clearly different from the main one I know and the EQG ones. Those ones, I’d be terrified if they got the power of a heart. Here? It doesn’t feel like a bad thing. “In the original timeline,” Taranee points out. “In this world, Twilight never gained the connection she needed. So, logically, the Heart went to the next pony likely to stand a chance at helping Equestria.” Zecora nods. “While it did not happen during our time of disaster, our Pinkie Pie still gained her Heart after finding her laughter.” “I hide the fact I’m a princess because we can’t let the Changelings know,” Pinkie says, frowning in thought. “More so than we even thought. We had no idea I actually had Equestria’s Heart inside me.” I had always wondered why there was that animation error in the finale where this timeline’s Pinkie Pie became an Alicorn for a second after they brought Twilight and Spike to the original camp. Pinkie is this Equestria’s Heart. Plain and simple. “This does complicate matters, though,” Will rubs her chin in thought. “We had hoped the Heart hadn’t chosen a vessel yet, that Twilight not getting her connection that would lead her to becoming a princess would mean the Heart simply remained in this world’s aether, yet to choose it’s host or vessel.” “But that plan’s gone right out the window,” Irma shrugs. “So much for that idea.” “But, if she has her world’s heart, can’t Pinkie Pie fight those Changelings back on her own?” Hay Lin asks. Zecora shakes her head. “In order to keep ourselves hidden away, Pinkie has not been able to practice with her power, I am sad to say.” I fold my arms, trying to think. “What if we got The Oracle to help train her, like he did Elyon?” “This world could probably last a while if Pinkie was only going to Kandrakar for a part of each day and then coming back,” Will reasons, looking to Zecora. “Queen Elyon of Meridian was able to go between Earth and her world every day for a while, since she originally grew up on Earth. I’m sure we can do something similar with Pinkie’s training with The Oracle.” Zecora frowns, deep in thought, before looking to the pink Alicorn. “What do you say, Pinkie Pie? Are you willing to give training with this Oracle a try?” Pinkie thinks for a moment, before nodding, her expression firm. “I want to help everypony. I want them all to be able to smile again. If I need to train with this Oracle in order to help ponies smile again, I’ll do it.” Will nods, looking to Zecroa. “Okay, then. We’ll return to Kandrakar and speak with The Oracle about it. I doubt he’ll refuse.” “And we’ll come by as often as we can to help you win against the Changelings,” Cornelia nods, holding up a fist. With that, Will opens a Fold back to Kandrakar. We need to fill The Oracle in and then all get back home and poof our Drops before anyone gets wise. ___________________________________________________________ “Blast it all to Tartarus!” Chrysalis screamed, magically throwing a chair against the wall, causing it to shatter. Former Princess Luna’s personal chamber had been converted a long time ago to suite it’s new occupant. The walls were covered in glowing green moss, black stalagmites and stalactites here and there, with the sheets of the bed being a dark silk. The room was designed to intimidate any who dared come in. The Changeling Queen glared down at the splintered pieces of the chair now scattered by the wall. “Why now?” she snarled. “Why have the Guardians chosen now, of all times, to come to this world?! They haven’t been seen in a thousand years! What are the odds they would return now, when I finally was so close to removing the last of the ponies’ blasted resistance?!” “It is rather frustrating, isn’t it?” The voice caused Chrysalis to whirl around, blasting the wall. The figure who’d been by the window a second ago leapt up, seeming to vanish from sight as it touched the ceiling, before a tap on her shoulder made the Changeling Queen whirl around in shock. It was one of the Guardians. Or, at least, looked like one of them. She looked like the youngest one, the one who’d seemed to fixate on Chrysalis… but something was different. Her form was similar, but the spider-like look was gone and her eyes and teeth were different too. “I understand my sister caused you quite the annoyance,” the figure said calmly. Chrysalis was about to attack, but hesitated. She sensed no ill will from this creature. Her appearance and voice were similar, but her aura seemed vastly different from the being who’d attacked her at the Resistance’s camp. “Your… sister?” she asked cautiously. The figure nodded, putting an arm over her chest and giving a polite bow. “Call me Miranda. As for dealing with my sister and the Guardians, I believe I have some insider knowledge that could prove useful to you.” Chrysalis could tell from the way this Miranda carried herself, she clearly had an ulterior motive, but that, in a sense, she was being sincere. The Changeling Queen gave a predatory grin. “Very well, Miranda. I’m listening.”