‘Oh crap, I’m gonna be late! It took forever to get that recording down!’
This is the observer assigned to pod 47-a, and it was no joke that he was late. With quite possibly one of the largest meetings his organization has ever had having started five minutes ago, he was hoping he didn’t mess anything up. He rushed past several of his coworkers until he saw the door to the meeting room and another one of his friends next to it.
“You’re sweating up a storm there, you feeling alright?” she asked leaning against the wall.
“Oh I’m fine, I’ve only just been called to give evidence of one of the biggest meetings we’ve ever had. Not to mention I only just got said evidence ready, so yeah I’m totally fine!”
“No need to get snippy, I was just asking. You don’t need to worry anyway, they just started the meeting and you’ll be called in shortly.” She then looked around a little before leaning forward and asking, “So, what did you see?”
“You’ll see soon enough,” 47-a said and shrugged, “It’s nothing world changing anyway.”
“You’d be surprised what can change the world. You must have heard about all the weird stuff going on lately: the decrease in malignant universes, that thing that’s going on in 53-d, and now this. My ground unit won’t stop talking about it.”
“May you live in interesting times. I’d better go in now, you’ll see what I managed to find.”
“Alright then, good luck,” she said just as 47-a walked through the door and into the dimly lit hallway beyond. He could hear someone discuss recent events, his boss among them. He took in a deep breath and let it out as he approached the door into the meeting room.
‘Uh oh, it looks like everyone is here!’ was his thought when he saw just how many showed up. He was beginning to miss the pod when his boss looked back at him and, with a small smile, waved him forward.
“And speaking of the observers, the one I called has just arrived,” he said. 47-a could feel hundreds of eyes on him as he walked to the center of the room and took his place on the pedestal. Above and in front of him were his boss’ bosses, the five who made all the major decisions of the organization. He cleared his throat and stood up straight for the presentation.
“I’ve… come to give my on influences from the Prime universe,” he said with as much conviction he could muster.
“Were our theories correct?” one of the females asked.
“From what I could find, yes. It’s not very conclusive though, since I could only record about five or ten minutes. The changes are there though.”
“Show us,” one of the two males ordered. 47-a nodded and started to key in the information to the screens.
“I’ll put it on the main screen for the audience as well as each of your private screens for review. Is there anything else you’d like to ask?”
“Where did you record this? What universe was it in?”
“The universe? Um…” ‘Oh crap, what was the number again?!’ “I can’t remember the designation at the moment, but I know it was the primary universe I’m assigned to.”
“I can forward the designation during the playback,” his boss said from next to him.
“That’s acceptable. Play it.”
47-a didn’t need further encouragement and started the recording, looking up at the screen at what he got.
>connecting drone<
>…<
>drone connected<
It was just another day for Spike, busiest dragon in all of Equestria. Or at least he would be if it wasn’t for Twilight locking him out of the library. He was pretty sure what was going on in there and he was not looking forward to cleaning up the mess.
“Hey Spike, there you are!”
Maybe he could share the load.
“Hey Rainbow Blitz,” Spike greeted and stood up to walk over to Blitz, “did you come to see Twilight?”
“Yeah, I wanted to chat with her about… y’know, wedding stuff. I take it she’s inside?” Spike looked back at the library and cringed a little like it was a bomb. Rainbow caught that and asked, “What’s going on?”
“Well, I went to the store to get groceries when some Canterlot noble guy showed up. You know how much you two have been the talk of the town since Twilight’s coronation.”
“Ugh, tell me about it. I thought the whole ‘Prince’ thing was kinda cool at first, but you hear enough of something and it starts to get old.”
“Well anyway, Twilight must be talking with him since she won’t let me in. I think she put the groceries away though.”
“Those aside, I can’t possibly see how this will badly.” Rainbow sat down next to Spike and waited for the inevitable to happen. It didn’t happen since Twilight calmly opened the door and walked outside.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but my wedding will not be to the same extent as my brother’s,” Twilight said as calmly as possible to the noble behind her.
“I beg your pardon Princess Twilight, but I don’t understand why that is,” the noble said.
“If you must ask that, then I think you’ve forgotten the point of a wedding. You are still invited to come if you wish, just know it won’t be as big as you wish.” The noble thought for a minute before sighing.
“As you wish Princess,” he answered before bowing and walking away toward the train station. Twilight sighed a little and looked at Rainbow and Spike as she stretched her wings.
“Hi guys, have you been there long?” she asked and gave Spike a light nuzzle.
“I only just got here,” Rainbow said giving Twilight a small kiss and said, “I take it my new princess has been busy?”
“A little bit. He was the third noble to come visit me about the wedding.” Twilight motioned to the library and led them towards it. “It’s hard enough planning a wedding by itself, but on top of the nobles and my other duties it’s more hectic than it should be.”
“It sounds like you need a break,” Spike said and pointed a claw at Rainbow Blitz, “and he said he wanted to talk to you anyway.”
“Oh really, and what would that be about?”
“I’ll tell you on the way. I was also hoping you would join me for a quick flight.” Twilight smiled at Rainbow’s cheesy grin and shook her head lightly.
“I guess I can go with you, but only if you’ll help me out with some wedding details.”
“Good enough for me, since that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Rainbow took off and made a hoof gesture toward Twilight, who just shook her head and looked at Spike.
“I’ll be back before long, so can you-“
“I’ll clean up and sort out some minor details,” Spike said. “I assume you left a checklist or something somewhere?”
“It’s on the main table, and thanks Spike.” Twilight gave Spike another nuzzle and took off in the air after Rainbow.
Flying was one of the things that Twilight was still trying to get used too, much like any other skill that a pony can take up. She was sure that she would never fly as well as Rainbow or any other natural born pegasus, but she could still fly well enough. Once she and Rainbow were a good distance above Ponyville, he did the same thing he usually did when they flew together: he took a hold of her hoof and led her in a flight routine that is in many ways similar to a dance. Granted she wasn’t good at it at first, but after doing it at least once a day for the past two weeks when they could definitely helped.
“Show me what you got Twi!” Rainbow suddenly shouted and let Twilight’s hoof go. Twilight yelped a little at flying around on her own, partly because she had just been letting Rainbow drag her around, but she soon settled back into the normal routine she had been taught. Eventually Rainbow landed in her vision, grinning like a mad colt whenever he did that, and Twilight shot right for him.
Evidently Rainbow Blitz didn’t expect that, as evidenced by the surprised look he had when Twilight collided with him. They managed to keep their ‘balance’ and Rainbow found his bride to be kissing him. The kiss lasted only a few seconds before Twilight pulled away and threw a quick wink at Blitz before flying to a nearby cloud. Blitz hovered for a moment before shaking his head and following her to the cloud.
“It’s nice to see you’ve gotten used to those wings Twi,” Rainbow commented just as Twilight settled on the cloud and folded her wings, “especially since I don’t have to carry you around all the time.”
“Oh quiet, I’m not that heavy,” Twilight said rolling her eyes and patting the space next to her, which Rainbow acted on and sat next to Twilight. “I probably wouldn’t be so into this if it weren’t for you, you know that?”
“Yeah, I guess it’s just returning the favor though.” Twilight decided to let him have that little comment and scooted closer to him so they could mutually put a wing over each other as they looked over the scenery. The couple lay there in silence, basking in the warmth of the midday sun as well as each other, before Twilight decided to break the silence.
“So, what ‘wedding stuff’ did you want to talk about?” she asked looking over at Rainbow.
“It’s nothing major, our friends just wanted to ask your opinion on some things.” Rainbow then held up a hoof and gestured with it as he listed off their friend’s requests. “Butterscotch wants to know how his bird choir is sounding, both Applejack and Pinkie want us to taste test some dishes they have planned, and Elusive wants you to retry your dress to see if his additions will look good.”
“Did you…?”
“Relax, I didn’t see your dress or anything. Elusive just wanted me to pass that along.” Twilight closed her eyes in thought and hugged Rainbow a little closer.
“I’m sure they’ll all be amazing, but if it will put their minds to ease I don’t see the harm.” Twilight opened her eyes and looked at Blitz with a smile and asked, “So which one did you want to do first?”
“It is almost lunchtime,” Rainbow replied with a big grin. Twilight looked up to judge the time and found him to be right.
“I see your appetite is still as strong as ever. Alright, we can go see them first, and then see Butterscotch, and then I’ll see Elusive by myself. After that, we can meet at either the library or your house for dinner. How does that sound?”
“Can you squeeze in a few free minutes in before lunch?” Rainbow asked and gave Twilight’s ear a nibble. The new alicorn gave a light squeal and let her guard down enough for Rainbow to strike, rolling her over and pinning her to the cloud. Twilight’s wings shot out from the sudden change in position along with the excitement necessary for the moment.
“S-sure, but only a few minutes.” They both smiled and hugged each other closely as they exchanged small talk between small, loving kisses. “So Blitzy, are you going to be ready for our wedding?”
“Of course I will, why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well, I just keep imagining ‘Prince Rainbow Blitz’ and you just look so silly.” Twilight couldn’t help but let some giggles slip out while Rainbow rolled his eyes at the image.
“Laugh it up Twi. I never imagined you to be a princess and now look where we are.” Twilight was just about to give him a dirty look when he kissed the top of her forehead and said, “it’s ok though, I’ll grow to the idea. And maybe I’ll be the first Wonderbolt to marry a princess and become a prince.”
“You better be careful, an afternoon’s worth of study will be enough to destroy that idea,” Twilight said kissed Rainbow again and said, “I love you so much Blitzy.”
“I love you too Twi.” Neither of them said anything else and spent the remaining minutes they had silently holding and kissing each other.
The recording faded out and showed the drone’s disconnect screen and 47-a silently waited for a reaction. The first one to speak was, strangely enough, the quietest of the five heads.
“How much can you vouch for universal accuracy?” he asked sternly, “is there any real change from before the Prime’s shift?”
“No sir,” 47-a replied, “the only change is the anatomy and status of the Element of Magic. Everything else is either constant or a reasonable change.”
“No malignancy?”
“No sir, not even the weakest sign.” 47-a thought for a moment before deciding to speak up. “I would also like to note that the… shift isn’t constant; the whole universe didn’t change immediately. I only saw one other scene before I came here.”
“And what would that be?” the first head to talk to him asked.
“It’s something from later in the universe’s timeline. I couldn’t get a video, but I did save a still picture. I have two of them, both before and after the change if you wish to see.”
“Go ahead and show it.” 47-a didn’t hesitate in following the order and pulled up a picture on the screens. He didn’t really need to look at it to know what it was.
Simply put, it was a picture worthy of any family’s wall. Loyalty and Magic were celebrating their twenty something anniversary with their adult daughter. He couldn’t have helped but take a snapshot of the scene when he saw it, the happy laughter of all three as they spent time with each other.
He waited half a minute for the room to take in the picture before bringing up the second picture. When he first saw it, he was a little stunned. He looked up at the second picture depicting a similar scene: Magic, Loyalty, and daughter embraced in what could best be described as a group wing hug. The reason he remembered taking it was, save for Magic’s new wings, nothing else was different between the two pictures.
“I would like to quickly point out what no doubt everyone else has noticed; Magic has aged, despite her new position and ascension. I don’t believe this change is like the Sun and Moon Princess’, at least not for this universe.”
“This is still new information,” the quiet one stated, “We can’t take one recording and a few pictures as irrefutable proof.” The others nodded in agreement and the female in the middle, the leader of them all, looked down at 47-a with a measured, piercing glare before pointing at him.
“You are a follower of the creed of Magic, are you not?” she asked. 47-a looked down at the band on his right arm, a simple black cloth with the purple symbol of the Element of Magic on it.
“Y-yes I am,” he stated slowly.
“I would like to know your personal opinion as a follower of Magic. Not as a pod worker and not as a member of this organization.”
“My… personal opinion?” The head nodded and 47-a looked to his boss, who pointedly avoided his gaze. Seeing little choice, 47-a stared at the ground in thought and decided to speak his mind as plainly as possible.
“I… don’t see any reason to speak out against it,” he started and licked his lips before he continued, “I’m sure we’ve all either read or seen the events in the Prime universe. I believe this transformation, and all the consequences felt through the multi-verse, are simply a result of who Magic is. She did say she wouldn’t be where she was if not for the other elements.
“I’m not sure if I can put it in scientific or logical words, but I know on an emotional level that she is right. This, um… change doesn’t affect anything in the long run, or at least I think so. If anything I think it proves we still have so much to learn, not just from our main subject of research but from everything else too. The magic of Friendship is still a large unknown, but it is a strong force.
“Truthfully, I don’t believe we will find the answer to that question on the magic of Friendship. But we can at least try.” 47-a looked up at the assembled leaders and finished with, “That’s my personal opinion.” He watched silently as the leaders talked among themselves for an agonizing few minutes before looking back at him.
“We concur,” the main one said, which nearly stopped 47-a’s heart. “This sudden change is an enlightening one and definitely deserves a closer look. Until we can devise a suitable plan for that, all pod observers, ground teams, and demolition teams are to follow their current orders until told otherwise.” All five of them stood up and said, “This meeting is adjourned.”
As the leaders walked out of the room, 47-a released a held breath he didn’t even know he was holding and looked at his boss. All he did was smile and say, “Take a couple hours off. You earned it,” before walking out of the room as well. 47-a stood there for almost twenty seconds before following him out of the meeting room.
“Jeez, that was such a letdown! I was expecting something more dramatic than wedding planning.” 47-a sighed when he was assaulted by the complaints from his ground team friend.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but that was just the smallest piece of my job. Hardly anything exciting happens during observation,” he replied with a wave to his friend.
“I don’t know how you can stand it. Put me on the ground anytime, at least then I have something to do besides watching ponies kiss on a monitor.”
“How is that going for you?”
“It goes. I heard there’s some developments in 53-d, so I might be going there soon. You’re free aren’t you, why not treat me to some lunch?” 47-a gave her a weird look, though honestly he was a little hungry and he couldn’t resist spending time with his friend. There was just something about that smile that fit so well with her Loyalty pendant.
“Sure, why not? I think the mess is serving your favorite.”