//------------------------------//
// This Carousel 
// Story: This Carousel 
// by RunicTreetops 
//------------------------------//

The atmosphere in the small, albeit cozy Canterlot Castle room was tense. At least, that's what it felt like to you. Your companion, meanwhile, was as hard to read as ever. A coy smile was plastered on her face as she sipped at her cup of tea, steam still gently rising from the fine china aṉ̸̠̾d̵͇̪̈́̈́͋ ̷͕̺̦̑̅c̴͉͈̗̚͘u̷͎̇̕̚r̴̻̙̱̓v̸̤́͆ȋ̵̹̙̮͘͝n̴̥͚̆͜g̶̹̑̒ ̴͔̀͊ḑ̴͙̦̈́ȩ̴̞̞̏l̷͉̼̠̓i̵͉̹̽́c̵̠̀͊ȃ̸̳ţ̸͎̱͐̕è̴̱̣l̴̺̺̳̋y̴̧̱̠̆ ̶̪͆̂̈́a̷̯͊͑̿r̸̯̱̮͋̍̀ǒ̸̘̳͚ư̴̰̮̘̿̀n̴̼̖̳̈̆͝d̷̲̞̙͝͝ ̴̜̱̰̍͝h̸͇̄e̵̱̳̿r̴̡̾̅̓ ̸̥̤̐ḻ̸̦̐̓͝o̴̬͔̟̓͆̏n̶̻͙͂̀ğ̵̡̮̟͌ ̴̖͂h̷̖̩̦̽o̸̢̓r̵̞̼͒͛͋n̴̨̲͗͠ ̵̗̏b̸̻̹͌e̶͔̞̎f̷̳̄̌͛ͅo̶͉̔͊r̴͖̊e̵͚̎̈́ ̸̲̰̼̔̇̽d̵͙̑̂͊i̸͜͝͝s̸̲͎͋s̸̜̯̝͒̍̒i̶͕̐́̑p̶̞̘͎̀͝ą̶̝̟̈́͐͌t̶̹͎͑́i̵͚̋n̸̩̓̔̈͜ǧ̶̺̃ͅͅ ̶̭̲̺͌͒̽ë̷̩́n̵͉͂̀̓t̷̨̑̎i̴̛͓r̸̩̯̜͑͝e̷͉̭̾l̵̢͇̗̈́̂y̷̧̖̏̐̅.̶͓̏̄̓

Click.

Sunny looks down at her sprained leg, realizing that the swelling is gone. In fact, it doesn't appear injured at all. As she notices this, she also realizes that her headache has gone away during their conversation. She looks at Zipp in surprise, who lifts her win̵͙͗̂g̷̼̙̦̈́ ̷͈̺̓̀͘a̵̬͈̹̚ņ̴͌d̸̨̖͓̅̑́ ̶̺̙̆̾ͅr̵͉̞̓̋͝e̸̞̓͋͘v̶̺̔̆e̸͉̦̠̔̕å̸͖̤͙̏͊l̷̼͚̑̒s̶̺̺̄ ̴͍̪̃̇̈́t̸̞̱̓̀͛h̶͇͙̼̉̀̆a̵̭͋̌ṯ̴́̃ ̶̝͛ȟ̶̞͑̐ę̸͈͚̉r̴̨̮̱̈ ̷̼̜͉̌͘n̴̖͓̑e̵̥͖͒w̵̲̪̹͝ ̷̈́͜w̴̘͛͂o̸̭͙̥̊̿ũ̴̹͍̬̍̑n̵͖̻̾͛d̵̛̙͍̓̕ͅ ̷̥̲̔͝͠h̵̰͓͆͂a̷̝͓͑s̵̞̗̲͆̇ ̴̹̲̺͊͑̋c̷̨̟̩̈́̀́o̶͕͖͔̐͒m̸͇̂p̷̦͇̩̌l̷̰͖̊e̴̝̿̇͒t̸̗̊ẹ̵̛̍l̸̲̈́y̴̻̫͒̃͠ ̴̙̂͊͂h̴̛̖̘̟ȩ̴͕͖̓͊̕a̷̯̫͂̈̄ͅl̵̡̜̾e̵̤̖͔̋̾̚ď̴̳ ̶̫̟̊͜ǫ̵̣̘͘v̸̯͆e̸̖͓͘ŕ̵̛̜.̴͉͈́͂͝ ̴͙̙̯͛̕͝Z̷̠͒̈́͜i̵̤̞͐̉p̸̨̓͌̅p̴̮̭̌ ̷͎̩̖̀̅̆v̷̦͈̓̒̈o̸̩̞̠̊ç̶̥̗̑͊͑a̴̢͇̗͗l̵̩͉̣̃̀̈́i̴̧̪̘͂͛̆z̶̫͔͉͆̄̅e̵̤̍ŝ̵̡̢̤ ̷͓͊̆ḧ̵̻̝́̾̅e̴̟͗r̵͔̿͋ ̷̹́͠͝s̶̻̹̘̾u̶̧̮̒r̷͈̳̎̿͘p̷̭̬̮͛r̸͔͊͛̏i̶̝̳͐͋̋s̴̱̗̊e̴̫̺͓͗͘.̴̼̖͇̎̋

Click.

And so, here you are about a month later. You were, of course, only somewhat true to your word. You still told Twilight about Chrysalis, but not as a means of getting Chrysalis back into custody. Quite the opposite, actually. Instead, you informed Twilight that you and Chrysalis had struck a deal. She could live in your house with all of her expenses paid and feed on enough of your love to sus̶̥̉t̸̬̼͛a̸̢̗̽́͠í̸̼̼̱n̸̲͈̩͊̆ ̸̧̣͉̂h̸͖̎ề̴͈͗r̷̳͔̮̆s̷̛̛͓̤̤ĕ̷̘͉l̸̦̐̑f̸̮̥̆͜.̴̮̄̽͠ ̷̨̩̦̉I̸̥̰̓n̷̡̐̽͋ ̶̡͎̽̎̅ŕ̴̘̌͝e̶̻͕̾̈́̍t̵͚͛̉̄u̵͔̓ŗ̷̳̅̒̈́ǹ̴̩͈͑̌,̷̤̭̆͜ ̸͉͒ͅs̸̱̘̀̓̏h̴͎̩̗͒̄͆e̶͍̔̾͜ ̴̟͆͋̇w̸̟͖̹̾́̍o̸̢̮̬͊́̅u̵͚̓͜͠ͅl̴̲̾̀d̴̥̹̼͐̈͊ ̴͚̲̋͝ͅs̸̠̔̎t̵̼̤͂o̶̦͝͠p̵̻̮͊͋.̵̖̰̐̓͂.̵̻͉͍̊̊̏.̶̧̗͙̀ ̸͕̾̍͂w̷̺͐͊̈́e̵̘̱̯̾l̶̥͋l̵̢̡̺͒̕,̵̛̹͓͗̊ ̴̖̔͒̂y̶̙̅ó̸̪ú̷̢͚̀ ̸̜̣̏̃̈k̵̢̯͆̕n̸͕̗̤̈ȍ̶̟̜̙ẁ̸͔̰.̴͉̔̎ ̵̧̫̋̕B̸̢̭̮̈́͌e̸̟̅̑̀i̶͎̐͑n̴̡͍̥͑g̴̺̈́ ̸̹̂̋͝à̶̟͗́ ̵̯̼͋̚͜v̵̢̛͓̟i̷̼̓̽͗l̷̼̯̝̔͂ḷ̶̑̍͋â̷̞̥͆i̵̳̾̿́ǹ̶̛͓̯̟͂ ̷̦̭̆̒͛ǫ̵̮̀r̶̥͌ ̵̧̤̐w̷̛͓h̸̛̼̃ȁ̶͙̦͐͘t̴͕̊e̶̲̋̌̊v̷̧͈̓ė̷̫r̸͚͛̀.̷̼̰̥̽̇̀

Click.

With a smile and a chuckle, Celestia turns and walks away with Neighsay trailing behind her. Anon turns to Cheerilee, who looks back up at him with a mixture of emotions on her face. What is she supposed to be feeling right now? So much has happened in such a sho̷̫̬͗͆͜ṛ̶͈̠̾͌t̷̛̖̉͠ ̵̰̩̌͜s̶͕͆̑͗p̵̗̙͝a̷͇͔͋n̸̡̖̪͂̐̆ ̵̹͆o̴̢͎̒f̴͔̜̩̌͝ ̶̧͓̥̂̊̀t̷͉͓̙̑͑̕i̸̗̩͖͒m̸͔͂ė̸͎͖̌,̵͉̉ ̸̧̜͠s̷͉̓̈̀h̸̻͆̈́e̶͈̝̬͗͌̕'̶͈͔͛̆ṡ̵̬͑͗ ̶͕̮͊̊͒ͅn̷̟̺̎̾o̷̪͊̏̕t̵̲͑ ̶̙̅s̵͎͈͋̀ͅu̸̱̔̔̽ṛ̶̦̖͋̑ĕ̵̻̪ ̶͎͐i̸̘͓̾͂̌ḟ̷̢͉̫̂ ̵̝͗̂̈́s̷̭̎͝ȟ̷̛́͜e̷̬̟͓͛ ̵̘̖̱̐c̸̟̯̭̀̒ä̷̟́̅́ǹ̸̒̎͜ ̵̺͚̿p̵̪͂̒̍ͅr̷̹̐̔͗o̵̙͆̈̊c̷̫̗͑͌̽ë̸̳́̽̓ṥ̸̖̤̯s̸̫̯͈̀̃ ̸̻͍̹̊̍͒i̶̔̀̕ͅţ̶̞͛̇͝ͅ ̴͍̳̅̄á̷̟l̸͚͊̓̂l̶͖̹̝̚.̷̬̬̃̿͘ ̸̩̹̂ͅW̷͉͐̀̽ͅh̴̲̏a̶̘͓͌͑̇t̸̮̐̈́̓ ̷̨̝͈́̅͗s̴͉̘̈́̿͑h̷͍̊͗o̷͔͊u̷͉̹̫̒l̸̺̽d̴̘̟͂̎ ̶̞̎s̴̠̮̗̍̀̂h̸̡̘̮̃è̷͙̬̐ ̷̟͎͘s̵̖͖͌̓̐a̵̲̠͊̒y̶̨̳͇̋͘͝?̴̜͎͚̈́ ̴̘̐̽̕Ẃ̸̡̭̥̇́h̵̤̰̯̀̔̒a̸̡̱͑ṱ̴̦͆̚ ̸̧̘̥͐̉s̴͖̝͐͐͝h̷̯͂͑ö̸͓́̀u̷̦̻̒͗l̶̩͈͂̋̚d̸̛͖͕̦ ̴̪̞̱̓͝͝s̸̳̐̈́̈h̶͎̋ẻ̴̪͌̏ ̷̞̦͂̈d̴͍͒͘o̵̼͊́͐?̶̡̱̲̾

Click.

Princess Celestia lets out a contented sigh as her horn glows with yellow magic. After a moment, the large, circular mirror that had been projecting images of familiar places and ponies begins to ripple as if it were made of water. Seconds later, the color disappears from it, leaving behind a perfectly normal mirror. With a warm smile, she turns to face her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.

"Well?"

Twilight glances between the mirror and her mentor. One of her eyebrows is raised, and her jaw is ever-so-slightly agape.

"I... I'm sorry, Princess Celestia. I don't understand."

Celestia merely chuckles at her student's confusion. Her horn glows yet again as the sound of shuffling breaches Twilight's ears. She turns around just in time to see two stools being levitated towards them. One stops directly behind Celestia, and she elegantly takes a seat. The other stops just behind Twilight, who hesitantly follows in her mentor's hoofsteps.

"This is the Runic Mirror. It's one of my best kept secrets."

"What was all of that just now? I kept seeing Anon, but first he was with you, then he was with ponies I don't know, then he was with Chrysalis, then Miss Cheerilee?"

Celestia lets out a knowing chuckle once again.

"What you just saw are possibilities, my faithful student."

"Possibilities?"

"You came here because you're concerned about Anon, yes?"

"Well, yeah! An alien just crash lands in front of the library and I'm not supposed to ask you what to do with him?"

"You've given him a place to stay, yes?"

"He's using Rarity's guest bedroom. I'm thankful that she was generous enough to offer."

"Then what is your concern?"

"I... I don't think we're going to be able to send him back home."

"Did you tell him that?"

"I did. He, uh... didn't take it too well. As I'm sure you can imagine."

"It's only natural. All we can do is make him feel safe and welcome."

Twilight sighs.

"Yeah, and I intend to do that." Twilight realizes that her brow has been furrowed for quite some time, and she shakes her head in an effort to clear her thoughts. "But, that aside. What's with this mirror? What did you mean by possibilities?"

"Hmhm. Here, watch this."

Celestia's horn glows with magic yet again, and the mirror begins to ripple like a liquid once more. What follows is a scene being played out right in front of the princess and her student. In it, Anon, Twilight (who mysteriously has wings) and Spike live in a big crystal castle. Twilight is feeling a bit down, so Anon takes it upon himself to build a book fort for her. It's massive, and frankly, Twilight isn't sure how to feel about it. Like before, the image begins to ripple and fade away right as Anon and Twilight lean in for what seems to be a kiss, causing the Twilight watching to blush profusely.

"Wh-what was that?!"

"That, Twilight Sparkle, was a possibility."

"I..."

"This mirror allows us to peer into an infinite number of worlds. Parallel universes, alternate timelines, you name it. Each and every one of them is a possibility."

"B-but what does that have to do with Anon?"

Celestia turns to her student, her famous gentle smile still adorning her face.

"You said you 'don't know what to do with him?'"

"No... I don't."

"What you mean to say is that you're afraid of what comes next." Twilight blinks and opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out. "You can't control Anon. You know that. His actions are his own, just as you alone are responsible for how you treat him."

Twilight sighs.

"I want to know more about him. I want to be friends with him, but... I don't want to make him even more upset."

With a single, stifled laugh, Celestia uses her magic to start up the mirror once more. This time, Anon can be seen relaxing in a hammock. Not long after, Twilight approaches him and the two share a conversation about knowing how to unwind. Eventually, Anon convinces Twilight to lay herself back in the hammock with him. In that moment, they seem content.

Twilight chuckles.

"Look at us. We look so happy."

"It's a possibility."

Twilight watches the mirror turn back to normal as her expression slowly darkens. After remaining silent for a few moments, she quietly turns towards Celestia.

"I get what you're trying to do here, but... wouldn't this imply that some of the 'possibilities' in that mirror aren't good?"

Celestia meets her gaze, her smile slowly fading. With a slight nod, she allows the mirror to ripple again.

Equestria is bathed in eternal night. Anon arrives in the Everfree Forest and quickly becomes involved in the reign of Nightmare Moon after falling in love with her. Along the way, he commits countless atrocities and even betrays that world's Twilight's trust. Eventually, Nightmare Moon is defeated, and Anon is left to wander. After a soul-crushing realization, he is forced to walk a long, painful road, but one that he inflicted upon himself.

"Oh dear," Twilight mumbles. "She never loved him back, huh?"

"No, no she did not. Though, to be fair, this Anon might not have the same background as ours."

"Heh, and it's not like Nightmare Moon is the type to fall in love anyway."

"Oh really?"

"I... huh?"

With a cocky smile, Celestia starts up the mirror again. This time, they watch as Anon and Nightmare Moon fall asleep while embracing each other, a stark contrast to what they had seen moments before. Unlike what Twilight just said, they do seem to be genuinely, deeply in love.

"They're all possibilities, Twilight."

Twilight scoffs before quickly covering her mouth, apparently embarrassed to have done so in front of her teacher.

"I refuse to believe that anything is possible."

"Oh? What's an example of the impossible?"

"Well, you, for one. Er, no offense."

"Me?"

"You welcome everypony you meet with open arms. I mean, look at how nice you are when speaking about Anon! You haven't even met him properly yet!"

"And you're certain that's always the case?"

"...Well, judging by the way you said that, I have a feeling you're going to show me something else."

"You're catching on quick!"

This time, the mirror shows a strange sight. Anon is certainly present, but he is far from an adult. Instead, he is a young child, and Twilight seems particularly protective of him. Even stranger is Celestia, who seems uncharacteristically harsh around him. As they watch, time seems to jump forward over and over again. Twilight becomes a sort of mother figure to Anon, and they all eventually learn that Anon's people were responsible for killing Celestia's mother. However, at a crucial moment in the story that has Twilight fully invested, the mirror shuts off.

"H-hey! What happened?!"

"There are too many possibilities in this instance. Anon has a choice to make, and we don't have all day to sit here and watch other worlds. Still, I wouldn't exactly call myself the 'good guy' in this scenario. Would you?"

"..."

Twilight's head droops, her eyes cast towards the floor. Countless thoughts swim through her mind as she ponders her mentor's words. The concept of there being infinite possibilities isn't exactly new to her. However, never before has she thought about what that really means. There are so, so many things that could go wrong. Who is Anon? Who will he become? What will he do?

...What will she do?

"..." Celestia leans over and drapes one of her large wings around the frustrated Twilight. Her natural warmth immediately soothes her, and she lets out a quiet sigh. "It's scary, isn't it?"

"Yeah." She lifts her head to look at Celestia, who is now sitting mere inches away and embracing her fully. "Princess." Twilight's voice is shaky, and she begins to whisper as any confidence she may have had evaporates. "What do I do? I... I have no idea what's going to happen next."

Celestia is quiet for a moment. After a bit, she lowers her head and gently nuzzles against Twilight before speaking softly into her ear. 

"What do you want to happen?"

Twilight freezes. The room, although quiet, suddenly feels less so. The gentle sound of Celestia's breathing fills her ears, of course, but there's something else. Another pair of ponies breathing just as quietly.

Celestia slowly pulls away, a smile on her face as she turns to face the mirror. Twilight does the same, and she immediately locks eyes with her reflection. Strangely, she can still hear the breathing through the mirror.

"What's going on?"

She recoils as she speaks. If the volume is anything to go by, the sound of her voice came out of her reflection as well.

"The mirror is on right now, my faithful student." Both Celestia and her reflection speak at the same time. "It looks just like a normal reflection, doesn't it?"

"Then... that's another world?"

"It is. It's a world just like ours." Both Celestias smile and wave at each other in perfect unison. "There are countless versions of you struggling with the same thing. Of course, I'm sure you're wondering something." Celestia, with a smirk on her face, gently nudges Twilight with her wing. The other Celestia does the same thing at the same time. "Go ahead. Ask her."

Twilight once again locks eyes with the other version of herself. She stutters for a moment, eventually taking a second to breathe and compose herself. Finally, both she and her reflection open their mouths at the same time.

"What are you going to do?"

Both Celestias chuckle one last time as their horns glow, causing the mirror to ripple. If not for that ripple indicating the end of whatever spell or enchantment allows the mirror to work, Twilight would think that there was no change. Her actual reflection looks just like the world she was peering into.

The world that was peering back.

"...So?"

Twilight remains quiet for some time, simply gazing at herself in the mirror. After a while, she finally smiles.

"You know what? I think I do know what I want to do."

Twilight stands from her stool with a spring in her step. She bows before her teacher, who chooses instead to smile and hug her student.

"Trust your heart." She lets go of Twilight before her horn glows one final time as she uses her magic to open the door for her. "And treat Anon well, okay?"

"Don't worry, I have an idea that might help cheer him up a little bit. I think Pinkie might be able to help me with this, too. I wonder if he likes cake?"

"Hmhm. Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle."

"Bye, Princess!"

Twilight carefully closes the door behind herself as she exits the small room. With the tiniest of head tilts, Celestia beams at no one in particular.

"And who knows what you'll decide to do next?"