Universe 47931
Twilight let out a pained grunt as she emerged from the portal, crashing onto the ground. She barely had a moment to regain her footing before the portal sealed shut behind her, stranding her in an unknown location.
“Ouch…” She rubbed the back of her head while slowly standing up. “Where am I? Girls?” She asked herself as she finally opened her eyes and looked around, and instantly gasped.
One thing was certain: she wasn't in Equestria anymore. The ground beneath her was an immaculate white, emitting a faint and eerie glow. Strangely, it possessed a translucent quality, as though it was both tangible and ethereal simultaneously. Yet, she could stand firmly on it. As for the rest of the environment…
The surroundings were starkly barren. Scant patches of dirt hosted a few odd trees and rocks, but even these elements seemed anything but conventional. Strangely, the tops of the trees and rocks were undergoing a bizarre transformation, shifting into an inky, liquid-like substance that levitated in the air. This puzzling sight drew her gaze upwards, revealing a sky that defied all comprehension. Absent were the sun, the moon, and the stars. Instead, an abyssal expanse of unfathomable darkness stretched out, a black empty void.
No, there was one more thing. The sky appeared to be unraveling itself, unveiling immense fissures in the fabric of space itself. These rents in reality unveiled a torrent of vivid blue energy crackling behind them, an enigmatic phenomenon that defied explanation. She had absolutely no idea what those tears were; however, it didn’t seem like they could reach Equus since some kind of purple field separated the sky and the ground.
“What is this?” She wondered in horror. While she had no idea what it was, she could feel an extraordinary power emanating from the force field. As for the fissures in space… They were clearly things she wouldn’t dare approach.
With renewed determination, she set her sights on the distant houses and set off towards them with powerful wingbeats. Ascending into the sky, she maintained a careful altitude, not soaring too high, but being in the air allowed her to see even more of her surroundings. It was mostly exactly like the place she found herself in earlier. White endless ground with barely anything on it. Maintaining her steady flight, she couldn't ignore the strange transformation occurring around her. The structures she could see were slowly being consumed by an ominous blackness, vanishing into the sky itself.
Unfortunately, once she landed in the town, she realized not much was different. Some houses were even halfway gone!
“Hello? Is somepony there?” Twilight shouted as she walked around the houses, checking her surroundings, only to see that she was alone. “Anypony here? Girls? Are you there?” She continued to call out.
*Krrr*
Something moved. She turned around, her attention pulled toward a nearby house. The floor creaked as if someone just walked on it. It had to be another pony… However, the dread in her heart made her freeze.
“Is… Is somepony in there? I’m Twilight Sparkle!” She introduced herself to the house. It remained silent while the alicorn gulped, staring at it with apprehension. Seeing as she was going nowhere with this approach, she moved closer to the house. “Hello? What happened here? Where am I?” She asked.
The floor emitted another ominous creak as she cautiously approached the house. However, her steps were abruptly interrupted as the wall before her shattered, large fragments falling away to reveal a massive black hand bursting through the breach. A gasp of fear escaped Twilight's lips, her instinctual reaction driving her to leap back in a desperate bid to avoid the crushing grasp of the clawed limb. She lit her horn, ready to counterattack if need be while the unknown creature came out of the house.
The princess of friendship instantly paled as she laid her eyes on something she had never seen before. That monster was bulky and easily twice as tall as Celestia. It was all black with some kind of blue crystals growing on its back. These crystals possessed an unsettling quality, their surfaces swirling and churning as if they held the essence of a whirlpool within their depths. Its dark green eyes nearly burned her soul once she looked into them.
The scariest parts were probably the ones that would help it kill her the easiest way. Towering claws adorned both its forelimbs and hind limbs, their imposing size a testament to their deadly capabilities. Its maw, lined with massive, razor-sharp fangs, jutted out with a sinister gleam, some of these formidable teeth extending beyond its mouth. The creature maintained its stance on all fours, poised for a deadly lunge on the terrified alicorn.
“I-I don’t know what you are… But I’m sure we can talk this out!” Twilight offered, only for the creature to roar and jump toward her. “Ah!” She screamed as she flew out of the way and shot a beam of magic right into the monster’s side. Unfortunately, it only managed to knock it a few meters away without doing any significant damage.
“GRAH!” It roared again before trying to swipe her to the floor with one of its hands. Twilight flapped her wings in a panic, avoiding the hit as the hand slammed into the ground and created rubble out of it.
She had held her power back earlier since she didn’t want to hurt the monster too much, but it looked like it could tank hits well. So she charged up more magic in her horn and fired another beam, this time blasting the monster right in the face and making it fly backward and crash into another house.
“Alright. You don’t want to talk. Not sure if you even can actually,” Twilight exhaled as the beast broke the house apart and charged at her again. Naturally, the alicorn teleported out of the way and blasted it again in the back, making it eat the ground. “Stand down!”
Another roar came from behind Twilight, alerting her just in time of an incoming attack as she teleported out of the way again. She gasped as a second monster, albeit a smaller one, punched the floor. Where did it come from?! This one even had a long tail with a sharp stinger at the end!
“Ah!” The alicorn hollered as the tail nearly went through her head. She didn’t even have time for a breather as the first monster attacked her again. She grunted in annoyance before releasing a powerful magical wave from her body, knocking back the two monsters. This time, the attack made them bleed.
She locked her gaze onto them, her eyes narrowing with determination, while her horn began to radiate a menacing glow. The leading creature mirrored her expression, its own eyes narrowing in response as if it wished to imitate her before it crouched into a predatory stance. The swirling crystals adorning its back emitted an intense luminosity, energy crackling and surging around them. In a disorienting instant, before Twilight could fully grasp the situation, a powerful punch connected with her face, propelling her backward with tremendous force. Her eyes widened in a mixture of astonishment and bewilderment as blood gushed from her snout upon impact.
Once more, her response was cut short as the creature lunged at her, its movement startlingly swift as it delivered another punch, this time aiming upward and striking her in the stomach. If not for her immediate reflex to conjure a protective barrier after the initial blow, her insides might have been ruptured. Still, despite her efforts, a spray of blood escaped her lips as she was flung high into the air, the impact far less devastating than it might have been. However, her respite was brief as the monster followed her trajectory, closing the distance in a matter of heartbeats. Its colossal fists collided with her, a thunderous blow that sent her hurtling back down to the ground, the impact creating a sizable crater upon her landing.
“Koff Koff!” She coughed as she looked up and noticed the monster descending toward her. She clenched her teeth and glared at it before lighting up her horn and teleporting away just before the beast slammed its claws where she was previously lying. “These things… They’re dangerous…” Twilight breathed heavily as she wiped the blood off her nose with a wing. The crater the monster left behind once it crashed down was even bigger than hers. It still wasn’t done with its attack as it turned to look at her and opened its mouth wide. The princess widened her eyes as it gathered magic inside it and created a blue orb. “No!” She shouted as she put a shield right before the orb was fired as a large magical beam.
Twilight gritted her teeth, channeling every ounce of magical energy she could muster into her horn within the limited time available. The resulting beam of energy met her hastily erected shield, exerting a force that forced her back slightly. The impact caused the energy to fragment into smaller beams, which scuttled across the surface of her protective barrier. Thankfully, her shield held firm, absorbing the onslaught. The creature, now realizing that Twilight had weathered its attack unscathed, snapped its massive jaws shut, a growl of frustration emanating from its throat. The crystals on its back darkened as if drained of their previous brilliance.
The lavender pony’s heavy breathing didn’t relent in showing how much effort she just used to avoid taking as much damage as possible. That creature... It punched as hard as Tirek! And its magic was as strong as Chrysalis’! No, wait. She shouldn’t panic. Fighting off two of those would be hard but not impossible.
After all, it wasn’t like it had Tirek’s impressive physical strength when he had the magic of Equestria, right? She had every alicorn magic at the time, so obviously, she didn’t feel Tirek’s blows as much. If she fought him as she was now, his hits would turn her into a smear on the ground!
She reassured herself as much as she could because she really didn’t want this situation to seem hopeless. Unfortunately, she wasn’t really battle-hardened. While she knew how to fight and even learned the basics of some martial arts, she wasn’t focused on combat magic as much as other unicorns. Granted, she was working on improving that aspect of hers lately, but she wasn’t confident in her abilities yet.
She was suddenly broken out of her thoughts once she heard the sound of something crumbling under her. The lavender pony quickly widened her eyes as she looked down, seeing the floor cracking beneath her hooves. She didn’t think twice about flying out of the way as another black hand came out of the ground. Soon enough, another monster dug its way out.
This one, unlike the other two, possessed much bigger arms and claws, making it resemble a giant mole.
“Another one!” Twilight grumbled before landing a few meters away. You know what? Maybe running away was the best option…
The first monster that attacked her growled before raising its arms, ready to launch itself toward the lavender alicorn. However, before it could even move its arms down, a purple beam went through its chest, killing it instantly.
Twilight widened her eyes in surprise while the creature collapsed to the ground with a gaping hole in its body. Her eyes quickly wandered in the direction of the beam’s origin. Unfortunately, she was unable to clearly perceive her savior as they quickly flew toward the beast with a tail.
The creature’s crystals crackled as it opened its mouth and fired a beam in the pony’s direction, who easily countered it with a beam of their own. In fact, their attack was strong enough to push the monster’s magic back and strike them in the shoulder, disintegrating it and making the beast cry out in pain. It launched its tail forward but the unknown pony simply made a much smaller beam, slicing the tail along with its owner in half.
Twilight couldn’t help but gasp at such a violent display, especially when the monster seemed to massively bleed black blood. The last creature attempted to dig down, and likely try a surprise attack, but Twilight’s savior wasted no time in grabbing it in a magical grab.
No matter how much the beast struggled, it was unable to escape the magical hold before it was squished into a ball of flesh and crystals.
Twilight gagged but managed to keep herself from vomiting as the figure landed in front of her, finally revealing who they were.
“You… You are…” Twilight stuttered as she looked at the newcomer from head to toe.
“You? Yes. In a way,” The other pony replied. Standing in front of her was an exact replica of Twilight herself! It was as if a changeling had taken her appearance, yet, it somehow felt… different. “I suggest you follow me if you care about your safety,” She stated before taking off without even waiting for the original Twilight’s response.
“H-Hey! Wait! You can’t just say that and leave!” Original Twilight shouted as she flew off and followed after her counterpart. “Who are you? And where are we?”
“I’ll tell you everything you want to know once we’re somewhere safe!” The alternate Twilight responded as she was focused on flying forward.
“Can you at least tell me what those monsters were?!” The original questioned as her counterpart remained silent, seemingly pondering the question. After a few seconds, she spoke up.
“I guess, I can. They are time paradoxes and believe me, there are way more than three of them!” The counterpart answered, making Twilight arch an eyebrow.
“Time paradoxes? But a time paradox isn’t something physical! It’s a contradiction created by traveling in time! Those were actual monsters!” The original Twilight argued in confusion.
“Have you ever done something that resulted in a time paradox?” The other Twilight simply asked.
“Well… No… I think? I time-traveled before, but I’m not sure I created any paradoxes since I had no ever-lasting issues,”
“Then how can you know what a time paradox is beyond theories you’ve studied in books?” This question made the original Twilight pause. “Although you aren’t completely wrong. A time paradox isn’t entirely physical or abstract. These beasts are simply a physical manifestation of the time paradoxes, so you can say they are only one half of a bigger picture, the other being the abstract form of a time paradox,” She explained as the original nodded in understanding.
“This is fascinating…” Twilight mumbled under her breath. “I would really like to know more about these and what happened here, or even where is here,” She spoke up to her counterpart.
“And I will tell you everything you wish to know. I promise! However, as I said, there are many more time paradoxes around. We’ll have to go to my castle! It’s the only place that’s completely safe and protected from what’s happening,”
“O-Okay! I trust you!” Twilight called out to her clone, really hoping she wasn’t making a mistake.
Honestly, she was completely lost and didn't know what to believe. She felt like her counterpart was telling the truth about the earlier subject, but what about everything else? What was she? She couldn’t be a changeling considering the level of magic she used when she saved her. It was impressive because Twilight herself wasn’t sure she could accomplish what that other Twilight did!
Her counterpart seemed to smile at the words, likely happy that she had Twilight’s trust. They didn’t fly for very long before Twilight saw the castle her clone mentioned earlier. It was the castle of friendship! And it looked exactly like hers! Now that was getting even weirder!
Moreover, she still had no idea where her friends were… Maybe the second Twilight knew something about her friends too…
It seemed the castle was surrounded by a similar shield to the one around Equestria. Was the other Twilight the one who created it?
“Don’t worry, you should be able to go through the barrier without any issues,” Twilight 2 remarked as she went through the barrier, slowly followed by a hesitant Twilight.
“This is like my castle…” Twilight commented as she looked at the exterior while following her clone, who chuckled in response.
“I’m not surprised,” Twilight 2 replied lightly as she went into the castle.
The original Twilight somehow found a way to be surprised again once she followed her in because the inside of the castle was also the same as her own! Well, the structure was the same. The decoration differed a bit though.
“Looks familiar?” The other Twilight inquired as the original slowly nodded, then explored the throne room.
“This is so bizarre…” She muttered before turning to look at a nearby door, which she recognized as a room she used often. “How is the lab?” She asked herself before walking to it, only for her counterpart to teleport in front of her, stopping her before she could go in.
“Unfortunately, the lab was damaged before I could protect it. You can go inside, but you’ll likely have your existence erased,” The counterpart grimaced as she explained the laboratory’s situation.
“Oh. Wait, my existence? W-What is happening here?”
“Yes, I suppose it’s time I finally tell you. Look up,” The clone replied as she raised her eyes toward the ceiling, encouraging Twilight to do the same while her counterpart lit her horn.
Twilight widened her eyes in surprise as a familiar stone descended from the ceiling until it was a couple of meters above the cutie map. The white stone that she wanted to study, and that likely brought her here after separating her from her friends.
“I am sure you recognize it. I call it the Hexstone,” Her counterpart declared as Twilight stared at it, dumbfounded.
“Hex…” She repeated in a soft tone.
“Since you don’t know what happened, I suppose you aren’t aware of the power this artifact possesses. It will be hard to believe, I’m sure, but the Hexstone has the power to transport anyone into a whole other universe,” Twilight’s counterpart revealed as she looked into the original’s eyes. “You are in another version of your universe, and I am another version of you. I am as much Twilight Sparkle as you are,”
What? Did Twilight hear her right?
“Another… Another universe… I’m in another universe…” Twilight mumbled as she stepped back, looking with wide eyes.
“Alright, I see that you’re starting to freak out… But everything will be fine,” The second Twilight raised her wings, trying to calm the original Twilight down. “Keep calm and you’ll get through this. Your friends have been transported to different universes, but there is a way for all of you to get home,” She reassured the first Twilight as the latter’s face lit up in realization.
“That’s right! My friends! Oh, no! I hope they’re alright! They’re probably stuck who knows where because of me!” She held her head in her hooves and slumped to the ground in despair.
She selfishly thought she could toy with a magical artifact she knew nothing about, and her friends were going to pay for it! If the theories about the multiverse were true, then who knew where they ended up?! She would have lamented even more if it weren’t for her counterpart putting a reassuring hoof on her shoulder.
“Stand up, not all hope is lost. As I said, there are ways for all of you to go home,” The counterpart calmly said.
“Really? How?” Twilight asked, getting her hopes up as she stood up again.
“The Hexstone is a powerful object with an unknown origin. I am unsure if it is natural or was created by something… However, it is exceptionally well-built. Every universe has a unique magical signature, just as ponies do. If you and your friends have traveled together, then that means you are still connected by that magical signature. The Hexstone’s failsafe should automatically transport you all back to your home universe once all of you hold a version of it at the same time,” Her counterpart explained while Twilight was nodding along.
“But that means they’ll have to find a Hexstone in every universe they ended up in. If we’re all completely split up, then that means every single one of them will have to look for one!” She exclaimed. That was a risky plan, especially because her friends likely didn’t have someone to explain this to them. That meant they didn’t even know they had to look for the Hexstone! “What if there isn’t a Hexstone?”
“Believe me, there is. The Hexstone will always reach Equus at some point or another. However, using that method will indeed be complicated, even nigh impossible to accomplish. There are many different universes. Some are much more dangerous than others. Luckily, there is a Hexstone right here, and I’ve studied it for a long, long time,” Twilight 2 pointed at the stone floating above the cutie map. “I think I can find a way to get you all home. And as a bonus, I will even teach you everything I know about it. What do you say?” She offered as she lifted her hoof to shake Twilight’s.
The original stared at it, skeptically at first, since she was in an unknown world after all. However, this was a version of her and she saved her life too! Distrusting her would have been rude on her part. She didn’t even have any reason to distrust her. Still, she would be careful, but until now, her counterpart had been nothing but helpful. She shook her hoof.
“Thank you. I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t met you,” Twilight breathed out in relief.
“I’m just doing the right thing,” Twilight 2 nodded with a grin.
“So! Are you going to find my friends with that magical signature you mentioned earlier and teleport them here?” Twilight inquired as the two alicorns approached the Hexstone.
“Unfortunately, that’s impossible even for me. There are infinite universes. Even if I have your universe’s magical signature, it could take me several lifetimes to find all of your friends. By the time I do, they would have probably died of old age… Even if time passes differently in some universes…” Her counterpart shook her head in sadness, making Twilight sigh in disappointment.
“Figured it wouldn’t be that easy…” She muttered as her ears suddenly perked up in realization. “Wait, infinite? I know some theories say as much, but are there actually so many universes?”
“Of course. As I said, I’ve studied the Hexstone and many other universes for a long time. I know for a fact that there are infinite universes; however, I do not know how they came to be or why, so don’t bother asking me if God exists,” Twilight 2 chuckled while glancing at the original.
Twilight didn’t even think of asking her that, but it was an interesting thought. She was aware that many citizens thought the princesses were goddesses, and maybe to a lesser extent, they were; however, they were far from having as much power as the people thought. Celestia and Luna didn’t create Equus or the whole universe. She certainly didn’t do it. There were theories as to how the universe came to be, but were they true? What about the multiverse? What created it? Was it natural or did someone do it?
It almost made her forget the situation she was in because she desperately wanted to learn and know more. This was such a great opportunity to learn more about the world! However, she couldn’t forget about her friends.
“I do know something that may interest you, though. During my studies, I’ve learned that there is one universe that was born before every other one. That universe was used as the blueprint, and all subsequent universes were fashioned after its design. In many worlds, the theorists dub it the Prime Universe, the one that is the origin of everything,” Twilight 2 said, making the original arch an eyebrow.
“The Prime Universe…” She repeated. The one that started everything. Did that mean it was more important than the others in the grand scheme of things? Could she be from the Prime Universe? A part of her wished that was the case. She wasn’t sure why. Maybe because it made it feel like she and her friends would always be fine thanks to fate or something.
“Everypony thinks they are from the Prime Universe. That is often not the case,” Twilight 2 voiced as if she read Twilight’s thoughts.
“Even you?” Twilight inquired with a raised eyebrow, only for her counterpart to laugh.
“No. Look at the state of my world. Do you really think someone would use it as a blueprint for the multiverse?” She asked, making Twilight look down in shame as she was reminded of the dreadful state of Equestria. She still didn’t know what happened here. “There is no way to know what the Prime Universe is. I do not even know what the criteria are. Will that universe have the strongest versions of ourselves? Or maybe the ones who represent the elements the best? Or is it something that has absolutely nothing to do with us? Maybe our friendship doesn’t even matter in the wider view of the world,” She shook her head. “Nonetheless, with the Hexstone being the only artifact allowing multiversal travel, finding out the answers will be impossible,”
“What about the mirror and the human world?” Twilight perked up at the last sentence. She didn’t want to think about the friendship she had with her friends being possibly insignificant. It mattered to her, and that was enough.
“The human world… It’s been so long since I’ve been there last,” Twilight 2 mumbled, seemingly reminiscing about something. “I’m so happy to have met you! I missed teaching somepony!” She exclaimed eagerly while clapping with her hooves. “The human world and the mirror are other things entirely. I’ll show you,” She said in a tone that Twilight knew very well: the start of a lecture.
“Alright,” Twilight nodded, getting serious as she always was when receiving a lesson from someone. Her counterpart also reminded her of Celestia in some way.
“Imagine this is the multiverse,” Twilight 2 spoke as she lit her horn. Suddenly, the throne room was filled with thousands of small purple transparent orbs, making the original Twilight’s eyes lit up with wonder. “Let’s say this is your universe,” She added as a random orb suddenly grew in size, as if they zooming on it. “The Hexstone allows you to travel to other universes, meaning to different orbs. However, inside a universe, there are dimensions,” She explained as several horizontal and vertical lines ran across the orb. “There are a hundred of them on average per universe. The human world and our world, where ponies and other magical creatures reside, are only two of those hundred dimensions,”
“How fascinating…” Twilight commented as two red dots suddenly materialized in two of the squares created by the lines her counterpart made. She felt like she was learning more than she ever had on the human world and her own! Not even Celestia knew any of this! Not even Starswirl or any other unicorn before! She was the first! Well, the first in her universe. The fact that someone already knew those things kind of bummed her out, but at least it was one of her counterparts!
“I know!” Twilight 2 responded excitedly while nodding. “Sometimes, natural, but rare, occurrences can create a path between two dimensions and suck ponies in or out of them. Good luck returning back to your dimension after that. Some ponies have strong enough magic to create those paths themselves. Sometimes, they create artifacts capable of making a permanent path between two dimensions. Usually, Celestia’s mirror always leads to the human world dimension because it is the closest one,”
“The closest? Aren’t they all just next to each other?” Twilight pointed out with curiosity.
“Eh, not really. I used this imagery to make it simpler, but each dimension is gigantic in size. They are as big as what you thought was the whole universe, complete with stars, galaxies, etc, etc… If I had to measure the average distance between two dimensions, then it would be something around billions of lightyears,”
“That much?!” Twilight shouted while shaking her head in bewilderment.
“I was impressed too when I learned that for the first time. Nonetheless, changing dimensions is much easier than changing universes,” Twilight 2 grinned as she turned off the light from her horn, making the holograms disappear.
“But how do you know so much? I don’t get it. Nopony in my universe ever came close to learning any of this!” Twilight raised her wings, dumbfounded.
“The Hexstone,” Twilight 2 smirked as she pointed at the magical object. “It’s not simply a tool for travel. And I can teach you to use it another way,” She responded as she lit her horn, hitting the stone with her magic. The original Twilight widened her eyes as several light beams suddenly burst out of the Hexstone and made thousands of minuscule orb-like structures around the two alicorns. “It can glimpse into other universes. Their past and present except for your own or the one you reside in,” She said as the original Twilight’s jaw slightly dropped as she looked around the room in wonder. “There are only a few thousand here, but I’m sure you’ll find something interesting. Take a look if you want,” She motioned at the small mirrors.
Twilight gulped, looking at them hesitantly as her eyes wandered around the room. Seeing other universes was not something she thought she would ever do. A part of her was scared of what she would see, but another begged for a pen and a notepad to write down everything she was about to learn.
Finally, she moved to a random universe and put her hoof on it. Suddenly, her eyes turned white as her vision changed. The throne room was replaced by a completely different place, which she was seeing from the sky as if she were in the air.
This was another room. The Crystal Empire’s throne room. Sombra stood with his head high in pride and arrogance while staring down at his defeated foe. It was Twilight herself! Except she was only a regular pegasus! Seeing herself as a pegasus was so strange… But it was no time to think about that! Pegasus Twilight was bruised and hurt while a smug Sombra was taunting her!
“To think a mere pegasus would attempt to fight me! The most powerful unicorn to have ever lived!” Sombra laughed with arrogance before sneering at the fallen pegasus. “Does Celestia underestimate me that much? Does she really think a… a pegasus would beat me? What else? An earth pony?!” He stomped the floor in anger. “She will pay for her arrogance. As for you… You will die without your teacher, alone,”
“She is not alone,” A voice spoke with confidence as an orange beam of magic hit Sombra right in the chest, pushing him back.
The dark unicorn grunted in pain before glaring forward, hate directed at the new arrivals. A pegasus Rarity landed protectively in front of Twilight as a unicorn Applejack ran soon after. A unicorn Pinkie Pie also teleported beside the three friends while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, as earth ponies, ran in and helped Twilight to her hooves. Even Spike, the baby dragon entered a second later, helping the earth ponies with the lavender pegasus.
“You defeated my guards?!” Sombra growled in anger.
“Of course, we did! Our friend needed us!” Pinkie Pie declared with a wide and confident smile.
“I’m sorry… I left you behind because I thought Princess Celestia would be… would be proud of me if I won alone. I’m a bad friend. I don’t deserve you, girls,” Twilight teared up, regretful.
“You think one mistake would make us abandon you?” Fluttershy’s lips curled upwards reassuringly.
“I’m just happy I’m not the one with an ego problem for once! Maybe you aren’t as much an egghead as I thought,” Rainbow Dash chuckled as Twilight’s eyes wandered from one pony to the other.
“Girls… Thank you,”
“Now that we’re all here, darling. Why don’t we take care of that ruffian?” Rarity glared at Sombra before unfolding her wings.
“Ah’m ready whenever ya are!” Applejack shouted enthusiastically.
“You think that just because you outnumber me, you will…” Sombra started with frustration before being hit by another beam of magic coming from Applejack’s horn, this time hitting him in the face and blinding him as well as interrupting his monologue. “Grah!”
That was the cue for all 7 friends to run or fly toward the dark unicorn, launching their assault.
“Pegasus that, unicorn this! Who cares about who you are?” Rainbow Dash shouted as she jumped and landed on Fluttershy’s hooves, which she used to throw the cyan mare forward. “We’ve already fought a ton of enemies just like you!” She added as she punched the unicorn with full force right in the belly, making him spit out saliva. She didn’t stop her assault there and kicked him so hard he was sent flying up in the air.
“And we won every time because we’ve fought together every time! Isn’t that right, Twilight?” Rarity added as she flew at full speed toward Sombra and slammed into him, pushing him further up, and punching him multiple times.
“Of course. I’m sorry… I ever doubted you!” Twilight responded before taking off just as Rarity kicked the unicorn down toward the floor. The latter was quickly intercepted by the lavender pegasus before he could do anything and was kicked again and again. “Where would I be if it weren’t for you?”
“Fighting us was yer mistake, Sombra! We ain’t the elements of harmony for nothin’!” Applejack declared as she lit her horn and fired yet another beam while Sombra was in the air, hitting him right in the chest.
“RAH!” Sombra screamed, getting enraged. His horn gained a dark glow as a black barrier expended out of his body and hit the two pegasi, launching them away from him. He managed to land on his hooves but was forced to rub his eyes because of Applejack’s first hit.
“And don’t forget about me!” Spike shouted as he pumped up his chest, then breathed a stream of green fire aimed at the dark unicorn.
Sensing the oncoming heat, Sombra put up a shield. Unfortunately, some embers still managed to land, burning his fur and making him cry out in pain. He clenched his teeth, then fired a magical beam through the flames. Spike was just about to be hit until Pinkie teleported in front of him and created a shield, protecting him in time.
Dark crystals appeared around Sombra, likely to protect him until he fixed his eyesight. However, the bearers of the elements didn’t relent. Every single one of them landed multiple hits on him, either by running or flying by and dodging his magical attacks right after they hit him. They were coming from every side!
“We know making Princess Celestia proud is your dream, so…” Fluttershy started as she headbutted Sombra in the head.
“Just ask us to help you next time!” Rainbow finished the sentence as she kicked Sombra in the chest with both of her hind legs, propelling him against his throne. “Yah!” She shouted before running toward him, followed by the rest of her friends.
“Enough!” Sombra screamed as a wave of dark magic escaped from his horn, throwing all his enemies away and breaking his throne. “I’ve had enough,” He spoke in a low tone while dark miasma was slipping out of his body. “Enough talking about dreams and emotions,” He spat the words with disgust before opening his red and green eyes, surrounded by purple magic. “It’s time to face reality now. The Crystal Heart is destroyed. You cannot harm me! You do not have anyone with strong enough magic to defeat me. Not here! Not anywhere in Equestria or Equus! I’m the strongest!” He declared with pride. “I will make all of you my slaves, and toy with you until you die or I grow bored!” He laughed as black smoke surrounded his body. His horn glowed red, and dark magic burst out of his body, creating dangerous winds all over the room.
The Twilight watching this began to grow worried. Especially since the bearers from this universe were lying on the floor, hurt by Sombra’s previous blast. They all looked at the dark unicorn, in fear, losing hope. But then, they looked at each other. They weren’t alone, and they weren’t dead yet. There was hope. And there would be hope as long as they lived.
Applejack grabbed Twilight’s hoof, smiling reassuringly at the pegasus. The lavender pony looked down at their interlocked hooves with curiosity, then smiled through her tears. She quickly grabbed Rainbow’s hooves, who then held on to Fluttershy’s. Rarity and Pinkie Pie swiftly joined in, ignoring Sombra’s mocking laughter as they held Applejack and each other’s hooves.
Suddenly, a bright and powerful light emerged from them, strong enough to blind an entire kingdom, and radiated with immense power. Spike, still on the ground, could only watch with wonder as the six ponies began rising into the air.
Sombra looked in disbelief, unable to process what was happening to them. However, he swiftly regained his senses at the reminder that they were his enemies and attacked them with all the magic he had been charging up, only for it to be completely nullified. He widened his eyes in shock and fear as what he thought was an unstoppable blow had done nothing. From the light, the six ponies emerged. All of them bore new limbs. Limbs made of pure light, in the colors of their coats. The pegasi now had not only wings but horns too. The unicorns now had wings. And the earth ponies had both.
“What is this! What happened to you?!” Sombra demanded as he stomped the floor in anger.
“This is your reality,” Twilight simply spoke as the light surrounding them changed into a powerful beam and blasted the dark unicorn head-on.
No amount of magic protected Sombra as he screamed in agony while his body slowly burst apart, being reduced to nothingness.
The Twilight watching smiled warmly as the six ponies turned back to normal and hugged each other in celebration. Having seen enough of that universe, Twilight let go of the orb.
She blinked a few times as she realized she was back in her counterpart’s throne room, not that she ever left in the first place.
“This looked so… Real,” Twilight muttered. Those ponies were like her friends, but… still different, obviously.
“Because it is real. Want to see another one?” Twilight 2 suggested.
The original Twilight looked around, then put her hoof on a random universe again.
This time, she was faced with a quite familiar scene. Celestia was standing up to Nightmare Moon! Not again! Twilight didn’t wish to see that event for a second time, but she stayed still, hoping that something would go different in this universe.
“Luna! You must lower the moon! Please! I do not want to fight you, so do not make me!” Celestia begged her younger sister, only for Nightmare Moon to laugh in mockery.
“Luna is no more! We have stayed in your shadow for far too long, Celestia! If the ponies of Equestria refuse to love us and our night, then the night shall last forever! Your selfish sun will remain in the dark from now on,” Nightmare Moon sneered as Celestia looked heartbroken.
“Is that what you want? You want to fight me because the citizens do not love you?” She questioned in despair.
“Indeed. You, who have only cared about basking in your own glory, shall pay for your ego!” Nightmare Moon declared before lighting her horn. “Now fight! We will take the throne by force if we need to!”
“I see… I understand why you are in pain now…” Celestia whispered through her tears. She lit her horn too. Nightmare Moon charged an attack, ready to counter whatever the other alicorn was going to send her way.
However, against all her expectations, a beam of light burst out of Celestia and flew into the ceiling instead. Nightmare Moon covered her eyes until the light subsided. Her sister was lying on the floor. She wasn’t hurt, but her cutie mark… Her cutie mark was changed! Her sun was now in chains! Nightmare Moon widened her eyes in realization.
“You… You sealed your own magic?! You fool! Do you not realize what you’ve done? Unless someone, as strong as you, unseals it, you can’t use any magic!” She shouted at her fallen sister. “You can’t possibly defeat me this way!”
“Because I don’t intend to defeat you…” Celestia muttered tiredly while slowly standing up again. “I would rather lose my throne than my sister. If ruling Equestria and controlling the sun made you turn on me, then I’m giving up on it right here and now!”
“What? What are you talking about?” Nightmare Moon inquired incredulously.
“I’m saying that you can have the love of all Equestria’s citizens if you want. Be the sole ruler. All I ask of you is to move the sun and the moon as we did until now… And to remain my sister,” Celestia explained while Nightmare Moon stared at her in disbelief, then slowly smiled before she broke into full-blown laughter.
However, the alicorn of the night suddenly screamed in pain.
“What are you doing?! Stop fighting back, you fool!” She yelled as white cracks began appearing over her body. “We’re about… To have what we wished for!” She screamed again while Celestia looked at her sister with confusion and worry. “You will become a weakling again without me! No! NOOOOO!” She let out one final scream as her body burst apart, nearly blinding Celestia with a dust cloud, which slowly dissipated to reveal.
“Luna…” Celestia whispered as her little sister, back to how she was before becoming Nightmare Moon, breathed heavily while looking at the ground. “Sister!” Celestia shouted before running to her and embracing her.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, sister!” Luna cried as she returned the hug.
“I’m sorry too. I promise I won’t ignore your pain anymore. I promise,” Celestia whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks as she caressed her sister’s head. “Everything will be okay from now on,”
Twilight stepped back after letting go of the orb. She started crying too at the end because of how nice this one was! To think there were universes where Celestia and Luna immediately settled their differences. How did that universe progress next? She was sure she looked into its past but not the present, mostly because she was just working on instinct when checking those universes.
Her counterpart likely understood that those were tears of joy rather than sadness since she didn’t say anything and simply smiled instead.
Twilight didn’t speak, and moved to another orb, then touched it. How interesting, this one was about a universe where Princess Celestia adopted Rainbow Dash and made her a princess!
She quickly changed to another orb, looking forward to seeing how different the others were. This one didn’t look very happy… Equestria seemed desolated as if it had gone through a massive war! There were some kind of huge green monsters with claws and ponies wore strange armor! She shook her head and went for another orb.
Huh, this universe didn’t seem special. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were just happily dancing while baking cupcakes! It didn’t look that interesting. Unfortunately, she didn’t know how to view other places in that universe, so she moved to another orb.
Now that was something else! It was a world where every villain they fought was reformed! Celestia was even having tea with Chrysalis! Tirek was bonding with his brother and Fluttershy! How did their counterparts accomplish this?
How about that… Everyone had their gender reversed in this one. So that was how she would look as a stallion? The events didn’t seem to change much. She decided to look into another universe.
As she watched what was happening in the next one, her eyes suddenly grew wide and she instantly stepped away from it, her cheeks red and her wings completely unfolded. Twilight 2 glanced at her, a small smirk on her face.
“Did you see something interesting?” She asked with a small snicker.
“No, no, no! Nope! Nothing at all!” Twilight laughed nervously before clearing her throat and moving to another orb.
Better forget she saw anything. Oh, she prayed she wouldn’t dream about any of this! Who knows what Princess Luna’s reaction would be if she stumbled on it!
The next universe seemed just as strange but not in the same way as the previous one. In this one, humans and ponies lived in the same dimension, and for some reason… Equestria was turning humans into ponies? She didn’t listen to this version of Celestia’s explanation about these events and moved to another universe.
She wondered if she could find her friends this way. Would it even be possible? Looking through other universes, she was disappointed to see that the next one didn’t have two versions of her friends. It was about Princess Celestia going undercover in Ponyville as a pegasus. She wondered if her Celestia had done this before, but she didn’t recognize ever seeing a pegasus like that.
What about this one? Wait, something was happening…
Discord was laughing while Twilight’s friends were looking away from him with worry. All of them wore their elements of harmony. Was this when Discord was freed? The thing they were staring at was Twilight! As a unicorn. The element of magic lay on the ground nearby while the lavender unicorn was screaming in pain and holding her head with magic crackling around her. Her eyes and the inside of her mouth were pure white, reminding original Twilight of when she obtained her cutie mark.
“Haha hahaha! How cute! Looks like it’s the first time she used so much magic in her life! I know you expected to beat me but come on, only foals go through a flare like that!” Discord laughed. From what he said, it seemed this version of Twilight attempted to fight him directly. Was she insane? Even Celestia and Luna weren’t strong enough for that!
“T-Twilight! Are you okay?” Fluttershy tried to fly to her, only for a magic beam to shoot out of her body and narrowly miss the pegasus. “Eep!” Fluttershy shouted in fear.
Those weren’t the only beams! Many more of them kept shooting out of Twilight. Fortunately, her friends were quick enough to dodge them.
“G-GIRLS!” Twilight screamed in agony as her magic increased in intensity.
“So much drama! And only because you’re going through a flare,” Discord shook his head mockingly before snapping his fingers and making a bubble around Twilight, keeping her magic inside it. “There! No more stray blasts! Although, seeing you hurt your friends would have been hilarious!” He laughed while clutching his stomach.
“Twilight!” Seeing that she was in a bubble and that her magic wouldn’t reach them, Rainbow Dash and Applejack ran up to her and put their hooves on the bubble, trying to see what was wrong with her.
“You okay, Twi? What do we have to do to help?!” Rainbow Dash asked in a panic before punching the bubble, which remained intact.
“Ya just got us our memories back, Sugarcube! It’s our turn to help ya,” Applejack added, only for Twilight to scream in pain again, desperately clutching her head.
“PLEASE…” Twilight screamed in response while gasping for breath.
“What did you do to her, you brute?!” Rarity demanded an answer out of the laughing Discord.
“Moi?” He asked, putting a hand to his chest and pretending to be offended. “Nothing, dear! She is the only one at fault! Trying to fight me when her body can’t handle her own magic! But a flare only happens to foals, she will be fine! Unless I release her and watch how much she hurts you…” Discord paused in his tirade as if he just realized something was wrong. Even more magic was crackling around Twilight, getting more and more potent. “That’s… That’s not a flare?”
“PLEASE… RUN!” Twilight managed to scream as her body suddenly burst apart, exploding with magic. She was completely annihilated from the inside, and she wasn’t the only one.
Discord’s bubble wasn’t able to contain the explosion and broke as quickly as Twilight’s body did. The nearest ones to this, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, only had enough time to widen their eyes as they were instantly disintegrated.
“Barrier!” Discord shouted before creating a barrier around him as fast as he could. He only had a second, and a second was not enough for him to think of teleporting somewhere. His barrier didn’t even last a full second as it was blown away and his body obliterated. If something like this was enough to kill him, no one but himself knew.
The rest of Twilight’s friends weren’t any luckier. The explosion of magic first burned away all of their flesh, leaving only their bones behind, which were swiftly reduced to dust soon after. The explosion continued to grow in size, more and more until it wiped out all of Ponyville. Once it was done, only a gigantic crater remained, with no signs of life.
Twilight gasped for breath as she let go of the orb and collapsed to the ground, then caught her head in her hooves. She never sweated as much as she did now. She didn’t even notice the tears rolling down her cheeks while she desperately tried to breathe. She didn’t even think she would have been able to catch her breath if it weren’t for the second Twilight putting a hoof on her shoulder.
“Not every universe is a happy one,” She somberly stated as the original Twilight was still shaking.
Her friends. She just saw her friends die. A horrible and gruesome death. Even Discord. Why? Why did that happen? Could it happen to her? Would it happen to her? Why were they dead? Why were they dead? No! She didn’t want to look at those things anymore! All she wanted to know now was one thing…
“What happened? What happened to your universe? Why is it like this? Where is everypony? Tell me now!” She shouted. This wasn’t a question anymore, but a demand. The other Twilight stepped back and looked down, displaying deep sadness.
“In all of Equus, I am the only one who remains. I’m sorry, but… You are in a dying universe,”