//------------------------------// // A higher authority // Story: Always Another Day // by XavierMendel //------------------------------// Pinkie and Twilight walked back to the Canterlot Library slowly, not speaking. The day had been hard on the both of them, and neither were in the mood for conversation. Twilight went to open the doors to the Starswhirl the Bearded wing only to find them locked. A sign was taped to the door, reading: “The Starswhirl the Bearded wing is currently under renovation. Please check back at a later date. -The Management” “Well,” Twilight began, “that certainly is odd. I wonder why they decided to renovate? Guess we're headed home, Pinkie.” Pinkie hadn't been listening, She was lost in her own mind, thinking about all the things she'd been told today. “Pinkie?” She snapped out of it, finding Twilight much closer to her than before, and looking worried. “Oh, sorry Twilight, I was just daydreaming.” She put on a happy face, but knew she'd never buy it. Nonetheless, it stopped the questions. They walked back to the balloon without incident, and began their descent to Ponyville. “What should we tell everypony?” Twilight didn't know how to answer that. On one hoof, keeping it a secret could deny Pinkie comfort in her friends. On the other, telling everypony might lead to bad results. "Well, I don't know, Pinkie. It's hard to imagine our friends reacting badly, but everypony else? I just don't know." "Oh..." "We'll figure it out somehow, Pinkie." Their trip to ponyville was fast as usual, and they soon found themselves once again entering the library. Spike jogged down the stairs to meet them. Twilight looked at them both and said, "Spike, can you set up the extra bed? Pinkie will be staying over." Pinkie looked like she was about to decline, but the outcome would've been obvious. And so Spike went on with his task. Pinkie and Twilight sat in the main room, Twilight reading from a book titled "The Amber Rose and Doctor Irving Spectre" and Pinkie pretending to read "The Party Compendium". She couldn't keep her mind from wandering, even for a second. The thoughts of the staircase clouded her head most of all. The improbability of that event made her wonder, and she decided to voice her concerns. "Twilight?" She looked up from her book as she'd done many times that night. Pinkie continued. "You said before that if I died, I'd just move ahead like it never happened. Well, I was wondering. None of this happened to me before. I mean, I was still alive last week, so nothing wrong happened before then. Why would two things happen now?" For a while Twilight just sat in thought, and Pinkie kept waiting. Finally, her horn glowed, and a book was levitated over from a high shelf. She paged through it quickly, familiar with its contents, and began reciting from it. "The law of probability states that the cause leading up to the event approaches 100% from a smaller percentage based on the acts before the event takes place. With a single event, the probability moves from 0 to 100% at a sharp incline of 100%. Given multiple events, it will move gradually until it reaches 100%, which must always be the last event in the series." Twilight took no time in translating to a simpler speech, knowing most of it would fly over Pinkie's head. "Meaning, a pony with one death will have a 100% chance of it happening at some point, with the rest of it being 0% until they die. Make sense so far?" She shook her head. "Right, so what if a pony had more than one death? The probability would increase each time they died until it reached 100%." "And what happens then?" Pinkie chimed in. "I... I don't know." Spike casually walked into the room at this point. "Will either of you be eating dinner, because I'm starving!" "Sure thing, Spike," Twilight said, "I'm sure we're all hungry right about now." "Biscuits and gravy, coming right up." They sat there, eating mostly in silence. At least Twilight was able to fake happiness for Spike's sake. Pinkie couldn't do that so easily. Spike knew better than to ask. So, dodging the topic, he tried for easier questions. Trouble was, nothing was worth talking about, as they spent every day together. And so they ate in silence until Twilight had an idea. "Pinkie, would you be up for going to Canterlot one more time?" "Huh, but I thought they closed the library for repairs?" "We're not going for the library. We're gonna go talk to the princesses." "Sure! But, uh, we should get some sleep first. I'm pretty tired." And after a few minutes of strained dialogue later, they did just that. In the morning, they woke to the sounds of birds and the light tapping of hooves on the ground outside. The two ponies woke fast, leaving Spike only to imagine the details of their mission. Still, at least he didn't have to get up... "Spike, I'm going to need you to look after the library. Here's my checklist." He accepted from under the blanket. There goes his perfect day. They headed off for Canterlot in a train this time, which is much faster and involved a lot less work. Pinkie and Twilight sat in the caboose, mainly because of Pinkie's love of the name, leaving them alone from the rest of the early-morning crowd. As they climbed the mountain tracks, with Twilight talking lightheartedly about the recent discovery of a new element, Bulletium, and Pinkie pretending to understand, the train stopped. The incline of the general environment and the obvious lack of ponies lead to the deduction that this was not Canterlot. Suddenly, the train began to roll backwards. Pinkie looked scared, positively frightened. "Is this supposed to happen, Twilight?" "Somehow I don't think so." Twilight ran to the door of the cabin and opened it. Nothing but empty air awaited her. "The car's detached itself! We're heading down the mountain!" The cliff wall wasn't so far downhill. Twilight went back to Pinkie Pie and just stared out the window. Pinkie looked at her, sad, but wearing a smile. "Twilight, you could use a teleportation spell and get out of here." She knew that. She could get out of here with only some minor injuries, but she wouldn't. She won't. "No. I won't abandon my friend, no matter what." There was barely enough time for a tear to roll off of Pinkie's cheek before they made contact with the wall. Not even time for that tear to hit the ground. "Welcome back to Canterlot, Ms. Sparkle." They looked at each other, to the guard, and back again. They hugged and yelled and cried like nopony had seen before, and despite the odd looks they got, that moment was the best they'd had. "Uh, are you two alright?" "Oh, uh, sorry sir," Twilight started after calming a bit, "but we, uh, just got some good news." This all looked awkward from his perspective, but he passed them threw anyway. Questioning Twilight Sparkle never failed to get you lectured. Twilight and Pinkie approached the throne room where Celestia waited. With a glance and a brief nudge, they entered. "My faithful student. Come seeking answers, or just to have a chat?" Celestia sat alone in her usual attire with a calm look on her face. And yet, Twilight felt that something was wrong. That feeling you get when something just didn't look right. "Uh, yeah, we came to ask you a few questions." "Well, let's hear them." "Something happened to Pinkie, and it's all my fault. I used her in an experiment, and now she's..." "She's immortal." The bluntness of her words threw them both off balance for a moment. Twilight didn't know what to say. Celestia began to talk. "I'm sure from reading Starswhirl's works you know quite a bit about time travel, having performed an experiment or two yourself. And from last night I'm sure you now know about his idea of quantum immortality." "That's... that's right." "There's a lot you still don't know. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them." Twilight understood what was so offputting about the situation. They were alone. Celestia always has at least two guards around her, but this time there were none. They were the only three in the room. She thought for a moment, and asked. "What's going to happen to Pinkie?" A hardhitting question, and right to the point. Celestia seemed to be expecting it. "She won't ever stop existing. She will die countless times over countless years, but will always remain the same." "Can it be reversed!?" "No." And that was that. Twilight and Pinkie must've shared the same look in that moment. Crushed, and hopeless. One for her life, the other for her dear friend. Twilight managed to ask only a short question. "Is there anything you can do? Please..." "I'm sorry, Twilight, but Starswhirl died long ago, and no other pony knew his spells well enough to help you." It took them a few painful minutes to leave, letting themselves get escorted to a royal suite within the castle that was once Twilight's. She had her books to turn to for comfort. But despite her best efforts, Pinkie could only weep.