//------------------------------// // The One With The Most Love // Story: Multiversal Voyage // by King Ice //------------------------------// Universe 47931 The original Twilight blinked a few times, too baffled to say anything while staring at her counterpart’s downcast expression. Of course, she realized the world she was in was… in complete desolation. Everything was just… Gone! She was too afraid of the truth to ask about it earlier since she didn’t wish to hear the fate of her loved ones’ counterparts. However, this was of a magnitude much higher than she imagined. “What did you say? It’s… It’s dying? This universe is dying? How is that possible?” She asked her counterpart. “A universe isn’t as hard to destroy as you would think. No. I would say, worlds are quite fragile,” Her counterpart sighed, her eyes wandering out the window to the black torn-up sky. “How did it happen? Where is everypony?” The original lavender alicorn questioned with a breath nearly stuck in her throat. Again, she was afraid of the answer, but considering the universe she had just seen, she could likely handle it. “They aren’t dead if that’s what you’re wondering,” The other Twilight stated plainly. Twilight felt like her counterpart attempted to sound and look confident, only for her to bite her lower lip and shake her head. “You could say… They never existed at all,” “This doesn’t explain anything,” Twilight uttered with a shake of her head. “I’m sure you are familiar with Starlight Glimmer,” Her counterpart assumed, making the original nod in confusion. “Yes, I am. What does she have to do with this?” She asked with a cocked eyebrow. “Everything. How did you deal with her?” Twilight 2 responded with narrowed eyes. The original alicorn backed away in surprise. She certainly wasn’t expecting this line of questioning since she couldn’t understand what Starlight had to do with anything. Nevertheless, she answered anyway. “I showed her the consequences her actions could bring. A barren Equestria. A land just… Utterly destroyed,” To Twilight’s shock, her counterpart sniffled, desperately trying to hold down her tears as she hid her face behind her hooves. The lavender alicorn wanted to comfort her, of course. However, she wasn’t even sure how. This wasn’t just any pony, but someone literally identical to her. If there was anyone she should have known best, it would be herself. Yet, she had no words to express. Instead, she began walking toward her to put a hoof on her shoulder, only for the second Twilight to look back at her again. “So simple… It was that simple? Not that the answer satisfies me…” She wiped her tears away. “As you might expect, things went differently here. I have never thought of doing that. Instead, I simply fought Starlight as many times as I needed. Unfortunately, she was too strong, and I lost every time,” She explained. “An alicorn? Celestia’s prized student? What a joke. I couldn’t even defeat another unicorn,” She scoffed in shame. “It’s not your fault! Starlight was just… Much stronger than we thought. Even I couldn’t win,” The original Twilight placed a comforting hoof on her counterpart’s shoulder. “Oh, but it is my fault. At least, partially,” Her counterpart argued. “The more I lost, the more I turned back in time and tried to stop Starlight. We fought so many times that I lost count, and I just couldn’t match up to her. At some point, I stopped paying attention to my surroundings, only focusing on her instead. If I hadn’t done that, maybe I would have noticed what happened to Spike,” “What happened to him?” Twilight inquired with a shaky voice. “He stopped existing,” Twilight 2 revealed, making the original poney’s eyes widen. “Messing up with time doesn’t kill anypony. It’s not something as simple and as… fixable as that. It erased them as if they were never born. The more timelines we created, the more entangled they got. Eventually, the same thing happened to Starlight. At some point, she just… Didn’t go back in time with me,” Twilight wasn’t sure what to say at first. Something so drastic could have happened in her universe?! Oh, Celestia. Her friends could have stopped existing?! She felt sick to her stomach, nearly throwing up at the realization that she was close to losing the ones she loved. Still, not all her questions were answered. Spike and Starlight were apparently erased from existence, but how did her counterpart survive that? Was it simply luck? “How… How are you still here? And I understand messing with time was dangerous, but how could it possibly lead to all of this?!” She gestured to her surroundings, pointing at the tears outside the castle. “Time is like a muscle that Starlight and I strained so much we eventually tore it apart. When you create so many time paradoxes, erase so many creatures as if they never existed, do you really expect the universe to handle it well?” The second Twilight asked rhetorically. “To put it bluntly, we screwed around with forces we couldn’t comprehend so much that the whole universe wasn’t enough to process all the massive and straining changes occurring in it. It just… Fell apart,” She explained. “And you’re the only one left?” Twilight gulped in horror. “Apart from time paradoxes, there isn’t a single living creature alive in the universe. Even then, I wouldn’t call those things ‘alive’ per se,” The other responded. “The universe’s destruction started slowly, so it gave me enough time to grow in power. I was strong enough to protect Equus, but as you can see it is the only planet that remains, and it is fading away as well. Everyone I ever knew… Was just gone in the blink of an eye,” She looked down. “B-But how long have you been doing that?” Twilight asked in shock. Naturally, this wasn’t her only question since she was also wondering how this version of her even got so powerful in the first place?! She was sure she couldn’t do that if she was in a similar situation! “Time is dead, Twilight. It has no meaning, anymore,” Her counterpart shook her head. “But still, if I had to calculate… Probably more than a billion years. It has…” She began before clutching her head in pain. The original alicorn, in shock at hearing how long she had been doing this, unfroze to rush to her counterpart’s side. “It’s alright. As you can imagine, this is a lot to handle. The shield protecting Equus is draining most of my magic,” “No wonder! I’ve never seen a shield so big it surrounded an entire planet!” Twilight exclaimed while holding the other Twilight. “I’ve been trying to find a solution for all these years. Something… That will fix everything and bring everypony back,” She breathed out before sitting down. “I’m guessing going back in time and preventing your fight with Starlight from happening wouldn’t work?” Twilight suggested, making her counterpart sigh. “You guess right. As I said, time is dead. Whether you go back to the past or the future, you will always end up in the same destination: the present. If you can even call it that. Even if I could, the Equestria of the past would look exactly like this one. It would be a barren wasteland,” The second lavender alicorn grabbed her head with both of her hooves. “Everypony… None of them were even born! Even our parents! I don’t even have ancestors; I shouldn’t exist! This doesn’t make sense!” She shouted in anger, tears streaming down her face. “Do you understand now? Why this is so hard, so impossible to fix?” Twilight opened her mouth, only for her words to be stuck in her throat. What could she possibly say? The reality of the situation was finally setting in after she tried to avoid it ever since she got here. She always had a fear of losing the ones she cared about, and she was certain everyone had that fear, but this was actually real! The one thing she feared the most happened. It didn’t happen to her, exactly, but it was enough to remind her that this was a possibility and worse than she could have imagined. It wasn’t just family and friends that were gone. Everything was! It helped her realize something else. She and her friends had been solving friendship problems all over Equestria, saving ponies, and doing good. However, they never had to deal with mortality. They never had to comfort someone in grief or someone who had no one. If this was a friendship problem, she would have found the right words. Since she learned so much, she was certain she knew what to say when it came to the usual problems she faced. But this was so much more than she could chew. What could you tell someone who had no one? Someone who had been alone for even longer than you lived? She wasn’t even sure how she would have dealt with this situation if it happened to her! She was afraid that she would have given up if it did, so how could she possibly talk to the other Twilight? She never pretended to be all-knowing or that she could solve and fix anything. After all, there were many things she knew nothing of yet. Parenthood, romantic love, grief, yet she still felt incredibly bad for being unable to help. “Can I do anything? Maybe if we work together, we can fix this,” Twilight suggested. She was completely dedicated to helping if her counterpart accepted it, but truthfully, she had no idea what she could do to possibly fix time or a whole universe. They weren’t empty words, but they may as well have been. “No. Believe me, you don’t want to help me,” The second alicorn shook her head, then walked away from the original lavender pony. “Besides, I’ve had a breakthrough recently. I know how I can fix everything… I’m only a few feet away from the solution to every problem I’m currently facing,” She sighed before turning to look at Twilight 1. “Let me help you, instead. You’ll need it if you want to get back to your original universe, and your friends,” “T-Thank you… You already have so much to deal with. I feel bad to have you help me and do nothing for you in return,” Twilight put a hoof on her chest. “You being here is enough. I haven’t seen anypony’s face in such a long time,” The alternate Twilight reassured her before gesturing to the Hexstone again. “To avoid getting lost in other universes, I’ll also teach you everything I know about it. That way, you can use it, too,” “I don’t know what to say… I know you said you had a solution, but I do feel bad to leave without helping you,” “As I said, don’t worry about it,” The second Twilight put a hoof on the first one’s shoulder, then led her to the stone. The original alicorn seemed downcast for a second but lit up quickly after. If her counterpart was sure of herself, then she would trust her. Maybe she could even come back here with her friends once everything was fixed and she knew how to use the Hexstone. “Do you remember about the stone’s failsafe I talked about?” “Yes,” Twilight nodded. “If my friends and I all hold onto it, then we’ll be brought back to our universe thanks to our magical signatures,” She recalled. “Indeed, but this failsafe isn’t perfect. For example, it won’t work if you or any of your friends spend more than a month in the universes you landed in. The Hexstone will think you decided to permanently migrate and will see no need to activate it. Your magical signatures will slowly adapt, too,” Her counterpart explained, much to Twilight’s shock. “What?! It won’t take us more than a month, right?” She questioned in a panic. “Time is dead, here, so you won’t have to worry about being here for longer than a month. Who knows how much time has even passed for the others at this point? But don’t panic,” The second Twilight raised her wings to calm the first one down before she could freak out. “As I said, the failsafe isn’t perfect. I can forcefully activate it from this Hexstone,” She explained. “Oh, thank Celestia,” Twilight breathed in relief, wiping away the sweat on her forehead. “You and your friends are all linked to each other and your home universe. If I link you to my Hexstone, I should be able to use it to forcefully transport every multiversal traveler that comes from your universe back to it,” The alternate Twilight explained while the original nodded along. “However, the spell isn’t easy, especially since I’m already so drained. We’ll have to take a few breaks while I’m performing it, which is why I wanted to teach you a little,” While the second Twilight was casting the spell, the original one could use this as an opportunity to learn more about the Hexstone and how to use it. She was quite fascinated by the prospect of studying the entire multiverse. “So, how do we start?” She asked as her counterpart made the Hexstone levitate between them. “First, let’s sit across each other. I’ll begin the spell and I’ll tell you more about the stone,” The alternate alicorn instructed before sitting down, which Twilight did too. “As I already said, the Hexstone isn’t simply a tool for travel. It can also glimpse into other universes, which you already experienced. However, you can also use it to communicate with them, to communicate with anypony as long as you are connected or know their magical signatures,” She explained while gesturing to the stone. “I’m guessing there is more?” The original Twilight arched an eyebrow. She had a hunch that this stone was even more powerful than she thought, and she doubted these were the only features. “There is,” Alternate Twilight nodded before lighting her horn. The original Twilight was suddenly surrounded by a weak lavender aura, which was slowly making a string of light connected to the Hexstone. This was likely the spell her alternate version was casting to activate the failsafe. “Even I don’t know the full capabilities of the stone, but I’ve watched several universes where it was used in different ways. Some used it as a power source since the magic it holds is infinite,” “That small thing? That has infinite magic?” The lavender alicorn cocked an eyebrow as she pointed at the Hexstone. “It has, but it’s hard to harvest. I only know of one way myself. Unfortunately, for me, it’s impossible considering my situation,” Alternate Twilight shook her head. “I’ve also seen a few ponies take the appearances of their alternate selves,” She added to Twilight’s confusion. “This is… Is it useful? Do they just look like them?” She cocked an eyebrow. “It’s possible they could eventually copy their power, too. However, I’ve never seen it or tested it, so I can’t say for sure,” Alternate Twilight replied before grabbing her head in pain, the aura around Twilight flickering. “Are you alright?” She inquired, ready to stand up if it weren’t for her alternate self gesturing for her to keep sitting. “Don’t worry. First, try to use the stone to look into other universes while I’m casting this spell,” She instructed while pointing at the white stone. “Okay. How do I do that?” Twilight questioned. “This is going to sound difficult to do, but it’s actually nothing too hard,” Alternate Twilight stated. “The Hexstone isn’t just like any other magical objects, which only need a bit of magic leaking into them to be activated. You must connect with it, and it will be even easier to do since I’m casting a spell to link you with it. Close your eyes,” “Close my eyes…” Twilight whispered as she did as instructed. “Have you ever tried meditation?” Her alternate self inquired. The original Twilight simply shook her head in response. “It’s something similar to meditation. As you know, everyone has a magical signature. It’s like a second set of hoofprints,” “Yes, I think a few machines can record them, but I’ve never used them,” Twilight responded with her eyes still closed. “Indeed, but some ponies can feel those signatures. Strong creatures like Discord can, too. You have to learn this,” Alternate Twilight revealed, nearly making Twilight’s eyes widen in surprise. “But I thought you had to be born with that skill!” She expressed in shock. “Some are born with it, sure. I thought these ponies were the only ones who could do it, but training yourself to learn this is possible. The mind has several walls that keep us from reaching our potential; meditation can be a great tool to break them. This can be a long process, so I’ll help you,” Alternate Twilight explained before casting yet another spell. Since the original Twilight didn’t see her counterpart hold her head in pain again, she focused on her mind instead, which suddenly felt much lighter. It was like the doubts and fears she had earlier were gone. “I feel different…” Twilight whispered with curiosity. She wasn’t familiar with whatever spell her other self cast. “Meditation should be much easier. Now, I want you to open your mind. Forget everything else, and focus on yourself. Empty yourself of thoughts,” The other alicorn spoke in a soft voice. Twilight silently nodded as she listened to the instructions. Perhaps, she had done meditation in the past, but it was nowhere as seriously as now. She was so used to having her mind be orderly and organized that she never tried to empty it. Mind played the biggest part when it came to magic. Someone random like Pinkie, for example, wouldn’t use magic properly if she was a unicorn. Instead of casting spells in a controlled fashion, she would throw them at random. A transfiguration spell instead of a freezing one, or levitating instead of teleporting. Even she could make mistakes when she was freaking out. For a unicorn to fully empty her mind, and make herself vulnerable; it was unthinkable. Yet, she did it. She let go of her thoughts. First, she didn’t feel anything. She was in complete and silent darkness. She felt… Alone. It didn’t deter her, of course. She understood it was part of the experience. Suddenly, something flickered. It was weak, at first. However, the more time passed, the stronger it got. It was… It was magic. She would recognize magic everywhere! “You feel it, don’t you? The magic around,” Alternate Twilight asked softly. “Yes. It’s so wild… It’s coming from outside. I-It’s like torrents, huge waves crashing down against mountains,” The original Twilight explained. Not just waves, it was as if a deluge was happening inside her mind! Powerful slashing winds coupled with burning hellfire. The earth was opening itself up beneath her hooves, she was ready to open her eyes and collapse to the floor, but she held on. “What you’re feeling is the universe breaking apart. It’s only a glimpse, but you must ignore it. Focus on the stone. Feel its magic,” The second alicorn ordered as Twilight nodded. She attempted to cut herself off from the devastation occurring outside and focused on the castle’s interior instead. She could still feel the destruction, but it was getting weaker, now. The stone. The stone. Twilight needed to focus on the stone, but she couldn’t feel its magic! That was until something caught her off guard. “There’s something else…” The lavender pony muttered in a shaky voice. “It’s massive! And… So cold,” She added, trembling while describing it. “It’s like a black hole,” “This isn’t the Hexstone, Twili-” The alternate alicorn began speaking, only to wince in pain. She gritted her teeth, holding her head while the light around her horn flickered and the aura around Twilight started fading away. “We’ll have to take a break, soon… Until then, forget about that magic. Don’t think about it. Focus on the stone. Even if its magic is infinite, it’s hard to… detect,” She uttered through the pain. She understood what her counterpart was saying, but ignoring such tremendous magic was difficult. Still, even in this cold aura, she focused on the stone levitating between them. It was… Faint, but she could definitely feel something. It was small but warm and welcoming. It was almost like a little heartbeat. The more she focused on it, the larger its presence grew. Finally, it flooded her mind, completely warding off all the magic she felt earlier, including the universe’s. “I feel it,” Twilight finally spoke. “Good, now reach for it,” Alternate Twilight said with a strained voice. Suddenly, the stone shone brighter, its light expanding until it created multiple tiny orbs around the two alicorns, filling the whole castle. “You did it. You activated it!” “Really?!” Twilight exclaimed in surprise as she opened her eyes, which immediately wandered around so she could fully appreciate what she had done. “You were right! It was easier than I thought it would be!” She added before noticing her counterpart’s weakened state. “Hey! Are you okay?! You look like you’re about to collapse!” “It’s fine… As I said, the spell is tiring because of the circumstances,” She replied while breathing heavily. “I’ll have to take a break, soon. But I’ll get better, don’t worry,” She panted, the light around her horn still flickering. “You should be proud of you. Now that you know how to feel magical signatures, you can easily activate the Hexstone whenever you please,” “It looks exactly like how you did it earlier… You said I could look into the present and the past of any universe except my own and the one I live in, right?” The alicorn asked as her clone nodded. “When I watched some of them earlier, were they…” “It wasn’t the present. Well, it could have been, but not for all of them. Somepony inexperienced will only watch random moments in time. It’s more likely you’ve glimpsed scenes from the past. Do you want to learn how to navigate a universe’s history?” The second Twilight inquired, still breathless from her spell. “Of course!” Twilight happily replied. Even if she was glad she got to learn so much and study something no other pony or creature in her world ever studied so closely, she still wanted to be careful with it. Even if those were different universes, she wanted to make sure to respect other creatures’ privacy. She would rather avoid having a similar accident as earlier… As informational as it was. “Very well. Pick one of the random orbs,” Alternate Twilight gestured to the room full of tiny orbs. The original Twilight’s eyes wandered around, inspecting every orb they landed on until she noticed one that seemed quite peculiar. Unlike the others, which were plain blue, there was a pink aura emanating from it. Not only that, but it also looked like small ethereal confetti and cake were bursting out of it? The lavender alicorn narrowed her eyes before making the orb levitate to her. The second Twilight slightly widened her eyes as she realized which orb the original picked, and raised her hoof to stop her. “Wait…” She began weakly before holding her head in pain. Twilight 1 didn’t hear her as she glimpsed into this universe. The first thing Twilight saw was… Pink. The sky was pink, the floor was chocolate cake, and the houses were made of candy. If only there was nothing strange going on beyond that. Unfortunately, many houses were floating in the sky. Some were upside down! Random statues of ponies made out of candy and other sweets littered the floor. Meanwhile, very much live ponies were running around screaming. Some were chased by gigantic whipped cream monsters, while a few others were drowning in strawberry jam. Twilight was beyond shocked, of course. Especially since many other random events continued to occur everywhere at once. The first culprit she thought of was Discord, naturally. However, her heart nearly jumped out of her chest once she saw the poor draconequus being flung around in a gumball machine. He seemed in pain, too. Nearby, her friends along with an alternate version of herself were bouncing back and forth between multiple giant balloons, unable to do anything to stop themselves. Half of them were green, seemingly holding down their vomit. The only one who was missing was… Pinkie Pie. Until her voice reached Twilight’s ears. “HA HA HA HA! Look, girls!” A booming laugh made Twilight’s eyes gaze to the side. There stood a gigantic version of her pink friend, her mane swirling in every direction while arcs of pink lightning surrounded her. What… What happened to her? “I’m a god, now!” She laughed before breathing literal ice cream out of her mouth, blowing Princess Celestia and Luna out of the sky. How did this happen? What kind of magic was Pinkie using? Why was she even doing this?! Regardless, the lavender alicorn couldn’t question it any longer when Pinkie Pie suddenly looked up, locking eyes with her. Wait… Did she notice her? Was that possible? “Hey! Is someone watching me?!” Pinkie’s right eye suddenly expanded to an abnormally large size, nearly bursting it out of its socket as she stared at the place Twilight watched from. “Come to my party instead of sitting back!” She laughed as she held out one of her hooves, which grew bigger and longer, reaching for Twilight. “Get off, you idiot!” Alternate Twilight shouted, pushing the other alicorn out of the way with a magical push, nearly making her fall on her back. It seemed she got her out of that universe just in time. “Even if you’re not… Physically there… Some have a way to sense you,” She breathed out tiredly. “She nearly pulled you in,” “What… Was that?!” Twilight shouted, her heart beating so fast it nearly felt like it would burst out of her chest. “From the looks of it, Pinkie Pie went mad with Discord’s chaos magic,” Alternate Twilight replied, slowly catching her breath. “How did she even get it?” “I’m not sure. I haven’t checked this particular universe, but it’s not the only one like this. The others I’ve seen, she got it thanks to Grogar’s bell,” Twilight 2 explained. Twilight blinked a few times, unsure of how to even answer or process that. How did Pinkie even come across Grogar’s bell? Why did it have Discord’s magic? Most of all, the bell existed? She thought it was a legend! But then again, the mare on the moon was known as a legend, too. “I was curious because this orb looked different,” She pointed out apologetically. “I know. Some of them have auras. Usually, it’s because those universes are dominated by something. For this one, it means chaos reigns supreme,” Alter Twilight pointed at the orb Twilight just witnessed. “If the aura had been a rainbow, then that means harmony in that universe is powerful. Usually, it happens when our alternate versions are so close with their friends that they act like they’re in symbiosis. A black aura usually means the universe is full of negative emotions. That’s… uhm, not very good. There are more, but let’s keep that for our next lesson,” She looked down. “I’m sorry. I should have been more careful. Let’s try with another one,” Twilight suggested hopefully. “Be my guest,” Alter Twilight gestured to the orbs. The original Twilight looked around again, and this time made sure she wouldn’t pick any weird-looking orb. The mare breathed in and out, then grabbed the nearest one. The first thing she laid her eyes upon was… White. Pure white. She realized she was on a snowy mountain. Naturally, she didn’t feel the cold at all, but she did wonder what she was doing here. Nothing interesting was going on here. “The Hexstone showed us and our friends before because I was the one who activated it, and programmed it to do that. Since you’re the one who activated it now and are inexperienced, it just showed you a random place,” Alter Twilight explained when she noticed Twilight’s confusion. They were both viewing this universe and even though their bodies weren’t really there, her counterpart could somehow see her. Twilight was unable to do the same, but she assumed it was because she was inexperienced at using the stone. “You have to move,” “How?” Twilight asked in confusion. She still didn’t have a body, after all. Everything she had witnessed until now was displayed like a play she looked at from a theater seat. “The Hexstone responds to your thoughts. That’s why you must be in sync with it. Simply imagine yourself moving, but be careful. It has no notion of speed, so you could spin around Equus, and I don’t want to clean up if it makes you throw up,” Alter Twilight replied, making the original blush in embarrassment. “And it looks like you’re in the present here too,” The mare did as instructed, focusing on her moves and making sure she wouldn’t shoot up in a random direction. Fortunately, it seemed she got the hang of it. She flew past the mountain, noticing she had been somewhere north of the Crystal Empire. She almost flew to the palace to try and find Cadance, but stopped herself dead in her tracks when she realized yet again that this would probably count as a breach of privacy? If there was anyone she should be looking at, it should be herself… Right? Quickly, quicker than she ever flew, she reached Ponyville. Surprisingly enough, there was no friendship castle. Instead, her library was still there, undamaged. It nearly brought a nostalgic tear to her eyes as she stared at it. She almost envied her other self. Speaking of, it seemed voices were coming out of the library. Going in through the wall, she saw an identical version of herself lying under a blanket and reading a book. However, she wasn’t alone. Pinkie Pie was there, too. “Come on, Twilight! Come on, come on!” She repeated while jumping around, making the second Twilight roll her eyes. “Pinkie, I would love to spend some time with you, but I really want to finish this book. I haven’t had the chance to read it for weeks!” She responded. Her pink friend’s ears dropped. “Please, Twilight! This is a limited-edition cake! They won’t make any other after today!” She begged while giving the alicorn puppy eyes. “But why does it have to be me? I’m sure anypony would like to go with you to Canterlot. I’m busy,” The lavender pony pointed at the book, desperately trying to avoid Pinkie’s eyes. She knew if she looked into her eyes, she would feel so bad she would accept whatever the earth pony wanted. “But I want to go with you! The others don’t care about cake as much as we do!” Pinkie argued. The other mare arched an eyebrow in confusion. “I like cake, but I don’t have any particular love for it, you know? I’m sure I don’t love it as much as you do,” She replied. “I still want you to taste it! Come on! We’ll have so much fun! You can finish reading your book later!” Pinkie retorted as the lavender alicorn sighed, looking down, uncertain. Noticing that she was close to breaking, the party pony jumped closer to her. “Please? For me? Wouldn’t you do it for your bestest friend in the whole world? Pretty please, Twilight?” She gave her yet another set of puppy eyes, which made Twilight bite her lower lip. “Alright! You win,” Twilight finally conceded as she closed her book and removed the blanket over her wings. “Let’s go,” “Yay! I knew you wouldn’t let me down!” Pinkie Pie celebrated before pulling her friend into a hug. “Choking… Me…” Twilight breathed out while holding Pinkie’s foreleg. The Twilight watching smiled at the scene, which was so much better to see than what she witnessed earlier with the Chaos Pinkie or the universe where she blew up. “Since you learned to move around. Try to go to the past, now,” Alter Twilight suggested. Before Twilight could even ask how she continued. “This is a little more complicated, but the fact that you have already time-traveled multiple times will make this easier. It’s similar to it. Again, the Hexstone should react to your thoughts, so you have to imagine going back to the past. Personally, I visualize a clock, which I rewind,” “Alright,” Twilight nodded. She didn’t expect to learn so much during this entire ordeal. She was nostalgic again because she was reminded of her time as Celestia’s student when she was still learning magic. So much has happened since then. Yet, she still had so much to learn. Maybe she could teach the other princesses about the Hexstone once she returned to her world! Imagining the others as her students was certainly something. “Don’t feel down if it’s hard, though. Mastery over the Hexstone takes time, even if using it isn’t as difficult as you would think,” Alter Twilight informed reassuringly. “How do I know if I am in the past or the present, though? It’s as if you can immediately tell,” The original Twilight inquired. “With enough practice, you can simply feel it. You can use the Hexstone as if it were one of your limbs,” Her counterpart answered. It seemed it was enough to satisfy Twilight’s curiosity as she focused back on the magical artifact. It took her a few tries, but Twilight managed to use the stone to see the past. However, she wasn’t sure how much she rewinded. Unlike her counterpart, she still didn’t have a feel for it yet. She was in the library again, which made sense since she hadn’t moved from that spot. It was nighttime, and Spike was seemingly asleep in his basket. Her second counterpart, who was a unicorn now, was walking up the stairs to go to bed. At least, that partially answered her question. It was happening before this version of her became an alicorn. “It feels weird to sleep in a whole new place,” Twilight commented, followed by a yawn as she slowly slipped under her bed covers. “It’ll take some time getting used to,” She added while fidgeting, trying to get comfortable. With another yawn, she closed her eyes, ready to sleep. “Psst, Twilight,” Someone whispered in her ear. The young unicorn blinked a couple of times, shaking her head. She must have misheard it, right? She glanced toward Spike, but he was still asleep. Yeah, she imagined it. So she closed her eyes again. “Hey, Twilight,” The voice murmured again. This time, the lavender mare gulped, realizing she wasn’t alone. Slowly, she turned around until her vision was invaded by blue eyes. Pinkie Pie was only a few inches away from her. “Surprise!” She exclaimed. “AH!” Twilight screamed in horror, widening her eyes in surprise as she jumped out of bed and fell on her back. “SURPRISE!” Dozens of ponies shouted excitedly as party cannons shot in the air, and someone turned on the lights. The library was filled with ponies! “What’s happening?! Who am I?!” Twilight asked while looking around, looking disoriented. Once her eyes finally got used to the sudden light, she turned her attention to Pinkie, ignoring the rest of her friends who were already setting up party decorations. “Pinkie! What are you doing?!” “Can’t you see? It’s ‘First Night in Ponyville Party’! I wanted to surprise you since this is your first night, here! Are you happy?!” The pink earth pony giggled in joy, missing Twilight’s bloodshot eyes twitching. “Do you have a party for everything? It’s not even my first night here!” Twilight shouted while the other ponies were settling in without a care in the world, chatting with each other. “Sure, but we spent the whole first night chasing Nightmare Moon, so it wasn’t really, really your first night, you know?” “It’s 4 AM, Pinkie!” Twilight threw her forelegs in the air. “Because I wanted to surprise you! Are you surprised?!” Pinkie asked as she gave the mare a bone-breaking side hug, much to the lavender pony’s annoyance. “Oh, I am,” She muttered. “I don’t throw these parties to just anypony, Twilight!” Pinkie grinned. Twilight, on the other hand, raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “From now on, you’re my bestest friend in the whole world! That means we’ll be friends forever! We’ll stay together forever, and ever, and ever!” She happily announced as her friend widened her eyes. The word forever continuously repeated itself inside Twilight’s mind as her shoulder got heavier and heavier, the sounds around her fading away. All her mind could do to protect her was to shut down. The original Twilight had to admit it was pretty funny, watching this. Nonetheless, she was glad Pinkie didn’t throw her one of these when it was her first night because she wasn’t sure she would have handled the surprise well. “Oof,” Something suddenly pulled her out of her thoughts. The alicorn stopped watching and swiftly turned to look at where the sound came from. It was her counterpart! She didn’t look like she was feeling well. “Oh, Celestia! Are you okay?” Twilight ran up to her, holding her so she wouldn’t collapse to the floor. “Just tired. I need a break. I’ll have to cast the spell a few more times until you’re linked to the stone,” Alter Twilight responded, panting in pain. “Here, let me help a bit,” Twilight uttered before casting a healing spell on her counterpart’s head. She also cast a cooling spell. She didn’t need to touch her horn to know that the other Twilight was overheating. “Should we stop using the Hexstone?” “No, no need. You’re the one who is using it, so it doesn’t affect me at all. As I said, I just need some rest. Besides, you still haven’t learned… How to go from the past to the present,” Alter Twilight exhaled. “If you’re sure… I’ll check one last universe, then,” Twilight said. She could take a break, too. Again, she picked a random orb, and her vision changed. What she saw was Sombra trying to take back the Crystal Empire. She didn’t need her alternate self to tell her she was in the past. She visualised the clock again, but this time instead of rewinding back, she attempted to make the needles turn faster and faster. Still inexperienced, she dashed toward the present, nearly missing all events that transpired between Sombra’s attempted take-over and the present. Unfortunately, the sight wasn’t as positive as the last one. Tirek was standing tall with a victorious grin while an alternate version of herself and her friends were sprawled on the ground. The land around them was devastated. The ground was open, the remaining trees were on fire, and the sky was black from storm clouds. Twilight widened her eyes in terror. Those counterparts weren’t in a good state either. They were injured and bleeding with cuts all over their bodies. Rarity’s horn was cracked, but luckily not broken. One of Rainbow Dash’s wings was bent the wrong way, but it was the least of the pegasus’ worries since she was barely conscious thanks to the blood dripping out of her head. Pinkie lied in a hole with her eyes closed, her chest barely rising as she breathed. Considering Tirek’s size, it also looked like he absorbed the princesses’ magic, except Twilight’s since she still had her cutie mark as well as her friends. “And here I gave you a fighting chance by letting you all keep your magic! You barely scratched me!” Tirek laughed in Twilight’s face. The alternate alicorn spat out her life juice as she glared at him in defiance. She wasn’t faring much better than the others. All of her limbs seemed broken. The centaur likely had no mercy to give her. “Even in this state, you think you have the luxury to glare at me?” Tirek grinned in amusement, then spun around. “Let’s see how you react to this,” He gazed at another pony. Fluttershy, who was bleeding from both of her hind legs, was attempting to crawl away. As if she noticed his stare, she looked behind her in fear. “What? No! No!” Twilight shouted at him, only to be ignored. Tirek simply marched forward, slowly while the yellow pegasus desperately tried to flee. “Please, don’t! Do whatever you want to me, but don’t hurt my friends!” She begged with tears spilling out of her eyes. The original Twilight nearly choked on her spit but managed to control her breathing before losing her mind. “What… What is going to do?!” She asked the counterpart who was in the room with her. “Kill them, most likely,” She plainly stated. “What?! We have to stop him!” The original lavender mare yelled hurriedly. Unfortunately, her alternate self didn’t seem to agree. “We can’t,” She shook her head. “What?! Why not?! You can’t open a portal to them?!” Twilight questioned in shock. “I can, but this is their world, Twilight. Not ours,” She simply replied, much to her other self’s confusion. “Why does that matter? We can’t just stay back and watch!” She argued before looking back at the battlefield, hoping it wasn’t too late. “Tirek, please!” Twilight pleaded as Tirek raised one of his hooves above Fluttershy, ready to stomp her. “No… No…” The pegasus mumbled weakly. “This is how heroes end in my world,” Tirek smirked before lowering his hoof. Both Twilights screamed, only to realize something blocked the centaur’s hoof right before it could reach Fluttershy. It was… Applejack! She was on her hindlegs, pushing against the bottom of his hoof with her forelegs, keeping Fluttershy safe. “Still alive?” He asked in amusement, pushing his hoof down. “Gah!” Applejack grunted in pain, her bones cracking. “Applejack…” Twilight and Fluttershy both muttered. “S-She bought us time! We have to act, now!” The original Twilight cried with a shaky voice. “I told you! We can’t! I’m not happy about it either!” Alter Twilight responded. “But why? They’re just there!” Twilight pointed at them. However, her counterpart didn’t want to hear any of it. Instead, she shook her head resolutely. “Fluttershy… Ya can still use your wings,” Applejack mustered enough strength through the pain to talk. “Run. Fly away. As far as ya can… Leave… You’re the only one who can… Survive right now,” She muttered, crying as Tirek pressed on his hoof harder. “Huh? No! I’m not leaving without any of you!” Fluttershy retorted, teary-eyed. “If you’re identical to me, then you won’t let them die! Please, do something!” “Flutters… Ah wish Ah could follow ya… But… Look!” Applejack said through her gritted teeth. She gestured at the rest of their friends with her chin. “None of us can! It’s better if… At least one of us… Lives,” “What’s the point of living if I give up on you?” Fluttershy yelled back. “Please, Twilight! Teach me how to open a portal to them, at least!” The alternate Twilight sighed, looking conflicted. The words of the alternate versions of their friends seemed to cut deep inside her, too. “How touching,” Tirek chuckled. He pushed even harder to crush these little bugs. However, to his surprise, the earth pony still held on. How could she push back his hoof like that? Suddenly, lavender magical bindings appeared around his body, trapping him in place. “Applejack is right, Fluttershy!” Twilight declared, her horn glowing weaker than ever. “It’s my fault, anyway… That we’re in this situation… If I just had more confidence, and… Accepted to take the others’ magic… Instead, I was just a coward, and look where it got us!” A few tears rolled down her cheeks as her eyes met Fluttershy’s. “I’m sorry. I’m the only one who should pay for this, but I got you in this mess,” She apologized from her heart. “It’s not…” The pegasus began to say. “I wish the six of us could have spent more time together…” Twilight interjected before the other mare could finish talking. The little strength she had left, she would use it to help Applejack hold Tirek back. “We can still save them! I beg you, I don’t want to watch my friends die again! Please!” “But they’re not your friends, they’re only… Alternate selves,” The other argued, biting her lower lip. “Fluttershy… GO!” Applejack howled as her forelegs cracked even louder. Tirek was stomping with more strength into it; it seemed the earth pony couldn’t handle it for much longer. With a resolute look at her last conscious friends, Fluttershy released a few more tears, then turned around and flapped her wings. “I’m… I’m sorry!” She apologized loudly while flying away as fast as she could. Applejack and Twilight just smiled in relief as they stared at their friend’s back. “As if I’d let that happen!” Tirek grunted before grabbing the pink bindings around him and tearing them apart with his bare hands. The other Twilight gasped in pain while the centaur charged a magical orb between his horns. “Twilight, please! Do you really want their universe to end up like yours?!” The original Twilight screamed. It seemed this was enough to reach her alternate self’s heart. “Shit… Out of the way!” Alter Twilight cursed before pushing her counterpart away from the stone and making her unable to see this universe. Her horn lit up as a portal suddenly opened in front of the stone. In an instant, the second alicorn launched a charged magical beam inside the portal before closing it immediately, making sure no one from this world would notice anything. “Did you… help them?” Twilight asked hesitantly while the Hexstone slowly deactivated. “Yes,” The other replied without expanding any further. Twilight blinked in confusion as the orange magic building up between Tirek’s horns faded away. The centaur stared forward, his eyes open wide. Blood streamed down his chin from the gaping hole in his forehead. Someone, somehow, had defeated their enemy. Her brain wasn’t even able to process it until his corpse collapsed to the floor, letting Applejack go while all the magic he absorbed was slowly released back to their original owners. What… Could have possibly happened? “Thank goodness,” The original Twilight breathed in relief. She panted for a few seconds, thankful the other mare listened to her. However, she quickly glared at her once she remembered how hard it had been to convince her. “Why were you going to let them die?” “I don’t expect you to understand. I’ve watched scenes like this thousands of times,” Alter Twilight pointed at the Hexstone. “There are infinite universes like this one. They’re sad and miserable, and the ones we love have a bad ending. It doesn’t matter if you save one world that isn’t even yours,” Twilight shook her head, baffled at her alternate self’s reasoning. “So just because it happens everywhere, you wouldn’t do anything?” She argued. “Look at my universe! I already have enough problems to deal with! I can’t go around saving worlds! Most of all, saving all of them is just impossible!” The alter alicorn sighed while rubbing her forehead. “I can understand that, but they were just here! We were watching them anyway, so why wouldn’t you save them when they’re so close?” Twilight stomped the floor in anger. She knew her alternate self lived through a lot, but she refused to believe she would ever lose her sense of justice like that! “Twilight, you have to understand that these were not your friends nor mine. Merely versions of them,” Alter Twilight replied calmly. “The ones who matter the most are the ones we know and care about! I understand it must hurt seeing these ponies harmed, but you have to keep that in mind. There are some universes out there with… fucked up versions of them!” She snarled, surprising Twilight. It looked like she was recalling things she had seen. “Fucked up versions of her friends? I don’t believe it,” Twilight denied. “Yet, they exist. A Rarity who is the complete opposite of the one we know. A greedy pony who thinks only of herself and got wealthy by scamming and lying to everyone,” Alter Twilight began telling without missing a beat. “A version of Rainbow Dash who loves herself so much that she can’t handle not being praised every ten seconds. Other ponies are tools for her! And you know what’s funny?” She asked her counterpart, who could only weakly shake her head. “She took advantage of our alternate self. She was new to Ponyville and didn’t know anypony. She didn’t know how to talk to others or make friends, or anything! That was an excellent opportunity for that world’s Rainbow Dash. She gained her trust, manipulated her and that version of us is nothing but a groupie who is dependent on her!” “I… uhm…” Twilight stuttered. She didn’t even know how to respond to that. “Don’t get me started on the version of Pinkie who is a complete psychopath!” Alter Twilight sneered in disgust. “She pretends she’s everyone’s friend during the day, but the moment night falls… She kidnaps ponies…. Ponies who trusted her. She tortures them. She kills them. She enjoys every second of it,” She recalled, which made the original alicorn shiver at the prospect of Pinkie ever being that way. “I was beyond disgusted. In the end, she got careless and died in a ditch once she bit more than she could chew,” “This…” The words were stuck in Twilight’s throat. She couldn’t even speak. “Fluttershy. Poor and innocent Fluttershy. A version of her was mutated by Discord’s chaos magic during their first encounter. She became some sort of… Monster who looked nothing like her. She ate her own friends. Alive,” Alter Twilight continued to talk, nearly making her counterpart puke. “Would you consider those versions of them your friends? If not, then why would you treat the ones we just saved any differently?” Twilight remained silent. She wasn’t expecting this question. Honestly, she wasn’t even sure she wanted to answer it. The truth was that she couldn’t answer. “I don’t know…” She finally replied, her head down. “That’s what I thought,” Alter Twilight firmly said. “My world simply matters more to me than any other. Do you get it? I can’t afford to help everypony I come across! This isn’t what I studied the Hexstone for!” This last sentence did make Twilight perk up. “Then why are you helping me?” “Huh?” Alter Twilight muttered in surprise while the original lavender mare stared into her eyes. It seemed the first alicorn had come to her senses as her eyes seemed to bore into her counterpart’s soul. “Why are you helping? Why didn’t you just let me die to those time paradoxes? Why didn’t you just throw me into a random universe? If nothing else matters… Why did you decide to help me?” She interrogated. Her alternate self didn’t speak nor change her expression. They remained motionless, in a staring contest as if they were waiting for either one of them to break. After a few seconds, Alter Twilight turned around, breaking contact. “I told you. I’m just doing the right thing. That’s all. Take a break. I’ll start the spell again soon,” She answered, then walked away without turning around. Twilight stared forward, standing and unmoving from her spot. She had a lot to think about.