Somewhere in the Neversphere, 12:04 a.m., Neveryear 1449R
"So," said the creature with a deep voice, echoing throughout the realm, "let's make a few things clear." The creature, as tall as the buildings and as long as a few trains, with rows of spikes upon his back, an appearance of one of those the mortals call an "Eastern Dragon", spoke with a commanding tone.
"First, Ouroboros, the Warden of Time, Keeper of the Realm and Chief Strategist amongst the Order, respected member of the High Council of the Order, the All-Knowing, is now in the world of Equus," the creature said as he glanced at the three figures in front of him, glaring at the three before he continued, "is that information correct?"
"That is correct, Prime Omegus," the man with a staff said, hooded to the point that only his eyes can be seen, as it shone in the shadows. Omegus, staring directly at the man, sneered. "Of course, then that shall lead me to my next problem," leering at the three, "Do you wish for me to proceed, Guardian of Space, Deros?" Deros immediately nodded respectfully, awaiting for Omegus to continue on the interrogation. "Continuing onwards, that the reason he is now in Equus is because of a, and I quote, 'a stupid bet'. Am I correct in stating this, Keeper of the Dream Realm, Oneiroi?" Oneiroi sheepishly grinned, only to remember who she was in the presence of. She immediately bowed as she started to speak.
"Apologies, Prime Omegus," she frantically said, "I did not know it would go this far!" Omegus simply exhaled, thick smoke blaring out from his nostrils. Omegus simply turned to the other figure as he continued. "Lastly," he continued, "am I correct with the knowledge that he was transported by none other than you, Keeper of Oaths, Mythir?"
Mythir was a man with a tall stature, a stoic expression plastered amongst his face, only breaking a bit when he is in front of the Prime, Omegus. "That is true, Prime Omegus," he said, bowing as he retained his view on the Prime. What happened next shocked all three as the Prime finally lost his temper, exhaling a great flame in the "sky" above them as he bellowed a mighty roar!
Omegus, controlling his temper, closed his mouth, smoke barely coming out from the space of his teeth. "And you think that it would be the best... course... of action?" Omegus grunted, holding himself back at burning the fools in front of him. He glanced at Mythir, who was visibly shaking, cowering at his feet. "You do realize that not EVERY BET should be taken seriously, that this bet was indeed a STUPID BET?!"
Oneiroi, quivering at the enraged Prime in front of him, boldly tried to speak. "Well... he did swear it on his name... so." she nervously giggled, thinking that it was a good reason. This only angered the Prime even more. "And do you THINK that is a GOOD reason?"
"No sir..." She said, immediately hiding behind a pillar, as if that would save her. He then glanced towards Deros. "And you? Do you even have an excuse for such a travesty?" Deros simply shook his head, afraid to speak out as it would only backfire.
As Omegus glared at the three, he sighed and shook his head, his hand across his face as he squeezed the ridge between his nose. Breathe in, breathe out, or at least, those are what the psychologists told him to do. "I'm not mad, just disappointed." He then looked at the three with a calm demeanor, his anger no longer getting the best of him. "Just, bring him back, as soon as possible. I fear that his servants are not enough to maintain the time streams."
The three of those in the receiving end simply glanced at each other, unable to even speak their minds on the subject. This caused Omegus to stare at them, dumbfounded and confused. "Why are you simply standing there? Did I not order you to bring him back?" Not a single one of them wanted to state the "accident".
It was only when they were glared at by Omegus, as he readied himself to spew flames, that Oneiroi spoke. She spoke with fear, gulping and stuttering, afraid to even tell the truth. "Well... Prime Omegus... I, I mean, we," she muttered, gesturing at the two behind, "it kind of... backfired." She, again, grinned sheepishly, trying to hide her face from the Prime in front of her.
Mythir coughed, gaining the attention of the angry dragon in front of them. "Well, there has been... an incident, sir," he said, not even bothering to look at him in the eyes. "While... bringing him to that dimension, he... somehow did something..." Deros said, copying the actions of the one that spoke before him.
"Mind you, he was... drunk when he did it... My fault, I admit," Oneiroi added. If looks could kill, the three would definitely keel over and perish on the spot, only to resurrect themselves and perish once more on the spot.
"Explain," was all Omegus stated.
Oneiroi, braving the depths, step forth and did so. "Well..."
"Well, let's get on with it then!" Deros said, unamused that he was summoned for such a purpose. Although, seeing the drunken stupor of the man who was initially "dead inside" made it a bit worthwhile.
"WhErE ThE FuCK aM I?" Ouros said as he was being carried by Deros and Mythir. The fact that Ouros was this drunk made no sense to the both of them, after all, he was a heavy drinker. The moment they saw Oneiroi, however, they immediately understood. "Did you use your dreamwake ability to outdrink him?" Mythir questioned, to which Oneiroi nodded, wobbly after the barrage of alcohol ingestion. "I won't lie, even with my dreamwake, it was a really close match!"
The two men simply nodded as they looked upon the mountain of empty barrels. "What made you two do this gamble in the first place?" Deros, this time, questioned as he struggled to help the clumsy drunkard. Oneiroi, breathing heavily, decided to sit down before explaining things.
"It all started with me managing to acquire a certain stock of alcohol. I just wanted to share it with Ouros, only, he was too busy. So, I kind of challenged him, even offering diamonds for him to eat. He-" Oneiroi paused as she tried to forcefully swallow what's left of her stomach. She exhaled, and continued on with the explanation.
"He then denied, but the moment I mentioned what type of alcohol it was, he just dropped whatever he was doing and accompanied me to drink. We were drinking quite a lot, and I might have made a deal with him..." She blushed as she remembered what she said, only to frown when she remembered what that oaf has said to her. "I think it is already obvious enough that I like him, but he denied that, saying that he'd rather marry a cactus!" Oneiroi was furious now, glaring at the already drunk Ouros.
"WhAt tHE fUcK aRE yOu LoOKiNg At, ShRiMp?" was all that Ouros said, before almost passing out. The two simply rolled their eyes at his shenanigans. Oneiroi simply continued, "And, well, I guess it became a bit... personal... so I used my ability to kind of... cheat."
"Well, since it was like that, and since he swore on his name, might as well do what I do best," Mythir shrugged as he nodded towards Deros. Deros opened a portal to the world of Equus, as the one who said it vowed upon his name. They were about to simply place him on the portal, as it was set near what the equines call the "Everfree" forest, only for Ouros to use his powers and counter the portal. While the portal was not directed at that iteration, it might as well be as Ouros decided to wake up and struggle at the wrong time. He turned himself into his serpentine form and decided to "devour" the portal. It did not work though, but it did have some consequences. One being that he is now looping back and forth in a rift, tumbling through different variations of the world of Equus. The other, being stuck in his serpentine form. Deros and Mythir tried their best to try and reduce the anomaly, only for the portal to simply close.
"Oh... shit."
"... and that's basically what happened."
Oneiroi, who at this point feels like being spiked through the Neversphere, expecting a sudden "GAME" announcement, decided to hold her ground as she awkwardly smiled at the now silent Prime. To say that this would be the most awkward moment of her entire life would NOT be an understatement. It was silent, no breaths, no snorts, no nothing. They glanced upwards, shocked at what they saw. Omegus fainted!
"So... I guess this is our time to... leave?" Oneiroi said, trying to lighten the mood for the others. The others, simply too afraid of what might happen next, nodded and bolted away with Oneiroi. It turns out, however, that that was the right decision as mere seconds later, Omegus woke up and simply roared one really loud roar that pierced the very fabric of reality, spewing great flames on everything inside.
Twilight was trying her best to outrun the unknown puppy, even asking Spike for assistance. Spike, of course, was confused. "Twilight, it's your puppy, right?" Twilight, who teleported at the top of one of her bookshelves, shook her head, aghast at Spike's comment. "I never planned for a dog!" Spike, who was petting the puppy as she licked him, narrowed his eyes at Twilight. "She's a wolf, and her name is Sif... You named her, Twi!"
Twilight, who was still at the shelf, looked at Spike, confusion in her eyes. "Spike, I never took in a puppy!" She slowly got down and sat away from... Sif. "Spike, I don't know what's happening anymore..." Spike, worried as to what was happening, simply walked towards Twilight as he tried to calm her down. "I know, I know. Can you at least remember what happened, like, at all?" Twilight shook her head, "No... I don't."
Just then, the front doors opened, revealing a pink pony with a green alligator nibbling on her mane, and along with her were her friends, bringing their own pets as well. "Good morning Twilight! This is going to be soo much fun!" Pinkie said as she ruffled Owlowiscious' feathers. "Indeed, I expect Opal to finally be on her best behavior! Isn't that right Opal?" Rarity cooed as Opal hissed at her, offering a stern look from the unicorn. Rainbow simply brought Tank, even going so far as putting him on an "Aerial Ace" attire. "Yeah, this pet playdate's gonna be awesome!" Rainbow then picked up Sif as she cooed at him and nuzzled the cute little furball. "Winona's mighty excited too, aren't you girl?" Applejack asked as Winona barked in response. Fluttershy, smiling as wide as Pinkie, simply floated towards Rainbow and Sif, giving the latter a nuzzle.
Twilight, however, was not pleased. Tired, annoyed, and possibly covered in wild mutt saliva filled with unknown diseases, Twilight simply bellowed in a loud enough tone, "ENOUGH! I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON!" garnering everypony's attention. Sif, however, simply scratched her ear as she ran towards Twilight. Twilight, in response, placed the pup in a bubble, which irked Fluttershy... Again.
"Twilight! That's rude! Release Sif this instant!" Rarity ordered, with the rest following her attitude towards Twilight. They all stared at her. "I-I... okay," Twilight muttered, defeated. Sif, because of this action that triggered some sort of PTSD, decided to run towards Spike, hiding behind his back, and growled at Twilight. "Look what you did, you scared her!" Fluttershy said, staring at her friend. "Apologize to Sif, Twilight."
Twilight, not wanting to anger her, or her friends even more, quietly and wholeheartedly apologized. Applejack, worried about her friend, asked what Spike was thinking before they barged in. "Twilight, is something wrong?"
"Yes! Well, no! But... UGH!" Twilight shook her head. At least this quelled their anger at her for a while. "I really don't know what is going on, I really don't," she said, sniffing as tears began to form. "One moment, Spike told me that I was talking about a filly being in danger, then I learn that I somehow managed to cook without even having experience. Then, somehow I began to prank you guys, buck an entire orchard, and and-" she coughed a bit as she held back her tears, "and then I learn that I went to a spa with Rarity after finding out that I was biting a gem for an experiment... only for me to forget those things... I just..." She could no longer hold her tears as she cried, genuinely upset about everything and nothing at the same time.
She then looked at them, and with a sincere look upon her face, she asked, "Am I... going crazy?"
"Twilight, you aren't!" Spike declared.
"Oh no dear, you're not going crazy!" Rarity affirmed as she sat right in front of Twilight.
"Sugarcube, you aren't. Don't even think about that, okay?" Applejack reassured as she pressed her hoof unto her withers.
"Yeah Twilly, you are the bestest and most not crazy pony I know of!" Pinkie stated as she went closer.
"Please don't let yourself down, you aren't going crazy..." Fluttershy muttered, holding unto Sif.
"Ehh, I mean, you kinda are," Rainbow Dash said, to which everyone glared at her. For some reason, though, Pinkie Pie was sweating. Rainbow looked at the sweating pink mare. "Something's up with Pinkie," Rainbow thought to herself, deciding not to press the issue at the moment. Applejack, who was the closest to her, decided to smack the pegasus. "Owwie!" Rainbow shrieked. "What?! It's not like I'm the only one who thought about it!" Everypony except Pinkie, who was still sweating, shifted in place, for they too were kind of thinking it.
"I'm sure there is an explanation! She can't possible become crazy all of a sudden!" Rarity exclaimed. Twilight, who at this point doesn't know whether to smile or to cry, especially when she knows what is really happening, blew her nose from a napkin Spike provided. "Twilight," Rarity spoke again, "do you remember doing any type of spell BEFORE waking up randomly and, well, shaking Spike and asking some weird questions?" Twilight pondered then spoke. "No, I wasn't doing any spells before that particular day. I was only reading Daring Do..."
"Hmm," pondered Rarity. "I know this might hurt you but," she said as she glanced around, "for now, try to limit your... magic and well... reading about magic." Everypony gasped. Twilight? Having to limit herself from magic, reading AND gaining knowledge?? IMPOSSIBLE! PREPOSTEROUS!! BLASPHEMY AND HERESY OF THE HIGHEST ORDER!!!
Of course, Twilight was shocked the most, and before she could even start a tirade, Applejack and Rainbow Dash stepped in, with Rainbow Dash accompanying Applejack with placing her hoof on the crying mare's withers. "Twilight, calm yourself. This is only a 'temporary' solution, okay?" Applejack stated. "Yeah, you know, 'Too much water can overflow a bowl' or whatever the saying was!" Rainbow Dash said as she hovered in front of her. "Besides, you're already too much of an egghead, don't want to see you turn into an Ultra Egghead." Twilight, while still annoyed at Rainbow, giggled at her. She hugged everypony and thanked them for their unending support. She, of course, walked towards the new family member, as Applejack puts it, and decided to make things right.
"Hello, uh, Sif! My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I hope you give me another chance," she glanced at the puppy, still behind Spike's back. It honestly hurt her when the wolf hid behind Spike as she got close. "It would really help me with understanding you better!" She reached her hoof out, allowing Sif to sniff her hoof. After a while, Sif came out and decided to lick her owner, making Twilight giggle a bit.
"Don't worry, Twilight, we will find out what is going on with you, and we will help you," Rarity spoke, "isn't that right, girls?" Everypony nodded, and everypony started their pet playdate. Twilight was laughing as she got to know more about Sif.
On the other hand, Ouros simply listened. "Ah... well shit," he exclaimed. Crap, he knew what he did was too much. And now everyone, er, everypony, is now a bit more suspicious of his actions. Perhaps it was time to reveal the truth... Or...
Perhaps he can simply remove their memories as well. But that won't do, as it would only bring nasty business. If he did remove their memories, what would happen to Sif? What would happen if he overdid it? What would happen to the Pinkie Promise? Looking back, Pinkie has kept her part of the deal, so maybe he can give her an exception, or maybe just remove her memories of him.
No, that would be too much. No memory wiping, no erasing, no nothing.
It might break not only the timeline (which he was sure is already broken by simply being there), but also their world in the process. Still, though, that could only lead him to two options; to go forth and abuse this power of his, or be responsible. Of course, he is responsible. That also leads to two options; to reveal himself now or to reveal himself later.
It's a tough decision as he wanted to do more things before his host, his roommate, knows about him. He sighed, groggily slithering towards his host's memories. He can't just break her friendship with the others. It was pure. He closed his eyes as he tore a rift, going into his own personal pocket dimension, and watched the future. It was already diverging, yet it still held true that she would become an alicorn princess, future ruler of Equestria. However, he could also see far into the future where magic disappeared. He doesn't want that to happen, personally, but perhaps that was the world's set future. Of course, if he meddles even more, he'll have to think twice and trice and yet again before taking action. He could try and maintain a different outcome, one where that future would not happen, but before he does that, he has to ponder about it. This is not his world, nor was he tasked to even meddle with it. The only times where he was in a host body were to save their world from extinction, war, or something else. And as such, him meddling with the timeline to achieve the necessary and probable future is a must. He is the Warden of Time, after all, and even if some people think that meddling with someone's outcome can ruin the future, they were dead wrong, for without him meddling, it would actually cause more damage.
It's why he lets a certain Doctor do his thing, as not only does it help the timeline, it actually manages to repair said timeline. That and he makes his job easier. Even if he annoys him... though he did see him as a her at some point, perhaps she regenerated. He could also sense the same being in this world. Interesting, perhaps he should look unto that situation.
But for now, he'll have to wait. Something this pure and serene, he doesn't want to ruin...
Still though, why can he hear Omegus roaring? "I bet he's pissed again, but from what?" He said as he left his personal pocket dimension. Well, at least he can still read from his "personal library" aka, Twilight's memories. Though, he really needs to figure out how to link their minds. He could try for a Neural Handshake, but he doesn't want to control 1/2 of the brain...
Well, he's got time to think things through, at least. For now, he'll just sleep for a bit. Rest is important, after all.