Moondancer1, and Infinitesimal Space2
1 Graduate of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns
2 Trauma of Moondancer
Abstract
Equestria has been under siege by alien invaders for a long period of time due to the formation of Cross Dimensional Rifts after the creation of Starswirl’s Mirror of Refraction, and further worsened after the banishment of the Pony of Shadows to Limbo by the Pillars of Equestria. This paper will be used to summarize the functionality of the Rifts, as well as propose potential solutions to the ongoing crisis of cross dimensional invaders.
Additionally, though regrettably, this paper will forgo some of the traditional aspects of a scientific study due to the lack of experts on the subject and little to no foreknowledge, meaning there will be no citations1 given.
1 The primary reason is due to the secretive nature of Redacted and refusal to allow cited sources in any non-Redacted documents. Additionally, even if I had been granted permission to do so, the majority of experts in the field have been erased from existence by Malformants, which makes it rather difficult to properly quote them.
Terms
The following will be a brief guide on important terms necessary to understand this paper and provide a unifying guide of proper terminology1.
Agent: A catch-all term for any employee working within Redacted. This includes facility caretakers such as Wallflower Blush, Mr. Greenhooves, and Spearhead, field agents such as [Redacted], [Redacted], and [Redacted], and subject matter experts such as Sunshine Smiles and Moonlight Raven.
Invader: A catch-all term for any Cross Dimensional Traveler using a Rift to enter into Equestria.
Malformant: Cross Dimensional Invaders who have become corrupted and taken on monstrous appearances. Categorized by Redacted under Sin.
Redacted: Organization under the leadership of Princess Celestia herself. Handles all incidents related to Rifts and Cross Dimensional Invaders.
Rift: Cross Dimensional Portals linked to other dimensions.
Sin: A sorting category used by Redacted to identify Malformants and determine proper containment. The categories are as follows: Hatred, Feast, Obsession, Vanity, Loathing, Desire, Apathy, and Wallowing.
1 Do you know how hard it is to gather research on a topic when everyone you talk to uses completely different words to describe the exact same thing with said words getting increasingly more outlandish with every new locale? For example, an Agent from Canterlot calls Rifts ‘Donuts’, an Agent from Dodge Junction calls them ‘Varmint Holes’, and an Agent from Vanhoover calls them “The Bad Electric Slide”. The fact that this sounds like the setup for a terrible joke does not help matters.
Introduction
The core problem Redacted is facing at this time is the continued containment of Malformants. Malformants are the corrupted form of any Invader that attempts to cross through a Rift into Equestria1. The final form varies greatly depending on the Invader; however, they can be roughly categorized into one of eight classifications of Sin by Redacted. It is currently unknown why this transformation occurs.
Malformants are dangerous. The majority cannot be reasoned with and, when left to their own devices, a single Malformant can cause casualties numbering in the dozens or even thousands. The general populace is unaware of their existence, as they have been masked as either mythological creatures or are influenced by the measures put in place by Celestia herself to protect the state of mind of her ponies.
Resources have dwindled. Casualties are increasing. Malformants are growing in number. Though several hubs have been constructed to handle the mass containment of Malformants4, due to our inability to permanently destroy them5, we need new technology to assist in the handling of this dire situation before it grows beyond our control.
Thus, we have two avenues to approach: closing the Rifts, or improving our capture methodology. The prior is impossible, which will be covered later on in this document, but I have devised a solution to the latter through the Dom Initiative6.
1 There is in theory a way for an Invader to cross over into Equestria safely2; however the only known method of travel capable of doing so is the Mirror of Refraction3, which has been sealed away due to an incident involving one of Princess Celestia’s personal students.
2 For reasons unknown, this phenomenon only applies when entering Equestria. In past incidents, ponies have crossed through Rifts and returned with the Malformant transformation only happening when they came back. Unfortunately, due to lack of viable recording equipment and volunteers, we do not have a clear idea of the worlds on the other side of the Rifts to glean a possible reason for this.
3 An artifact created by Starswirl the Bearded pre-Limbo. The classification of this item as an artifact is due to the supposed impossibility of recreation due to very exacting requirements. Princess Celestia has declined to give those requirements.
4 Some example locations used to handle certain Categories of Sins are the Evening Watch Cafe, the Canterlot Castle Garden Pavilions, and the Moors of Hollow Shades.
5 Malformants cannot be permanently killed. After a far-too-short period of time, they will eventually reform and continue to wreak havoc. Currently, over 20,000 methods have been attempted to destroy Malformants. They have all failed.
6 Stop making the obvious joke, it's unprofessional.
The Problem with Rifts
Allow me to be frank, we cannot close the Rifts. Ever. Only mitigate. This is due to several very important factors:
For these reasons, any actual attempt to stop the Rifts from opening is impossible. A task made even more so by the number of Fractals6 within our Dimensional Shell.
In conclusion, it is not worth the time or bit investment to continue research into the closure or destruction of Rifts. The best we can do is to focus on improving our reporting, detection, and communication technology and methodology to handle the aftermath of Rifts.
1 This statement is not entirely correct; however, a pony would need to be capable of overriding the SUN Protocol2 put in place by Celestia, which requires magic on par with the Princess herself.
2 The SUN Protocol is a nationwide spell that handles several very important aspects in regards to the public handling of Malformants. This includes memory fabrication and erasure, as well as stopping the creation of more Rifts. It is unknown to me whether this protocol extends to the other races.
3 Any work toward discovering a pattern to the formation of Rifts stopped after Discord4 appeared one day and told hardworking researchers that their topography map of Rift locations within the last hundred years was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. It was concluded that the rift location was, in fact, random.
4 For reasons he is unwilling to share, Discord is willfully ignorant of anything to do with Rifts and Malformants. He has to date shown one exception in regards to what is known as the Butterfly Monarchy incident that is considered highly classified and not accessible by my security clearance.
5 There is a reason why most of Stallingrad has been abandoned.
6 A unit of measure used to determine how much damage has been done to the fabric of our Dimension. More Fractals means more Rifts, which leads to more Malformants. We have a lot of Fractals. A lot.
Dom Initiative
Now, to the main topic of this paper. I believe I have developed a solution to the threat of Malformants. We simply need to improve the power of individual Agents to better combat Malformants, as well as make it easier for Agents to attain the level of power necessary to do so.
As you know, Redacted has three main weapons to battle with Malformants:
Two of the above options are in extremely short supply, and the last is hampered by our ability to gather and train skilled Agents with how high Redacted’s mortality rate is. Eventually, we will become unable to hold back the Malformant tide.
Thus, after several long years of research and with the assistance of my Trauma Infinitesimal Space, I have devised a new method of combating the Malformants using Malformants.
Allow me to introduce the Dom Initiative.
Firstly—
1 A natural phenomenon by consequence of the high Fractal rate of our Dimensional Layer. There is no concrete science behind the birth of Traumas; however, it is believed that a Trauma is formed from deep-rooted emotions that manifest themselves as a sort of guardian to assist the connected pony(ies). It is unknown whether or not other races are capable of this feat.
2 This is made more limited by Celestia’s absolute refusal to bring Princess Luna, Empress Cadance, or Princess Twilight Sparkle into the fold. I once more plead to Princess Celestia that leaving them in the dark will only hurt us, as we need both their knowledge and power in order to pull through this ordeal. But I know you’ll ignore me like you always do in this regard.
The rest was illegible. Nonsense glyphs conjured by Moondancer’s Trauma.
Agent Harpsichord, Lyra Heartstrings, surveyed the devastated apartment of her friend. There was a huge wall in a portion of the single bedroom abode. The exact nature was unknown, but Lyra felt it safe to presume it was due to the work of a Malformant, as no ordinary entity could get past Infinitesimal’s shields.
Thankfully, the only documents left in the apartment were drafts. The real thing had already been delivered to the Princess, who had given the go-ahead on the Dom Initiative.
Unfortunately, her friend was gone.
She wasn’t dead. Lyra would know since her Trauma, the Chorus, would have notified her. But she didn’t have any clue where she could be… or what state she was in.
Lyra was determined to find her, but Redacted was already stretched far too thin already. They couldn’t afford to grant her Agents to assist in finding a researcher that had already done their job. That meant drawing on another trusted organization within Equestria. One that may have a potential ally that she was already intimately familiar with.
Bonnie was going to be so mad at her.