“Ready girls?” Twilight asked, looking back at her friends expectantly.
Four of them nodded.
Pinkie closed her eyes and frowned. “No. We can’t do this. I’m sorry. I only did what I had to, but I still lied to all of you and I can’t ask you to forgive me for that. I’ve been lying since you let Disco out. I guess I always was, but until then I didn’t know it.” She produced a thick stack of papers and began to rifle through them. Stopping a short distance into the pile, she turned her gaze to bore directly into Discord’s eyes. “Have you ever thought about what other people think?”
“I’m not sure I understand the question,” he replied, raising an eyebrow.
Pinkie sighed heavily. “Everything is super simple, right? You get almost all of it, with just a few mysteries left buzzing around. So how come nobody else does? Twilight’s a genius, and I’m sure Simon and his friends are really smart, too. Why did EVERYTHING come so easily to you while they had to work so hard and still be confused?
“I don’t know. That’s one of the few things left I don’t understand.”
“Pinkie, what exactly are you getting at?” Twilight asked.
“Okay. So that’s strange, but worrying about it all the time would be silly. So you don’t. You just accept that one day, everything changed and write it off as a fluke. But you know what else is weird? The humans are just as confused about friendship as you are, but the ponies aren’t. And NOBODY seems to understand how exactly it works, even if they’re really good at it.” Pinkie kept stepping closer to Discord with each sentence.
He started to back up. “I’m afraid I have to agree with Ms. Sparkle. You’re delightful, but I have no idea what you’re trying to tell me.”
“Isn’t THAT weird, too? Why am I the only pony you can’t figure out?”
“I imagine if I knew that, I’d be able to make some progress.”
“Nope,” Pinkie said, lifting the papers and holding them in front of herself. “You wouldn’t. And I know why. I know a lot of things you don’t. Do you know what this is?” She gave the papers a light shake.
“Whatever it is that Spike was writing.”
“You’ve got a real good eye for details. I think you would be really good at throwing surprise parties. That’s exactly what this is, but do you know what he was writing about?”
“I do not.”
“That’s okay. You can’t read everything ever written. There’s no time. It’s a story about a little boy named Daniel. It’s a true story, but I’m not sure how Spike found out about it.”
All eyes were on Pinkie. Some faces were scrunched, some were twisted, some were hard to read, but all of them were driven by confusion.
“Daniel wasn’t a bad boy. He always tried to be nice, but sometimes it was hard because he didn’t understand what other people felt. He was different, and some meanies made fun of him for it for a long time. Over the years, really spooky things started to happen. One time, Daniel was being bullied in front of school, and a flagpole fell over and hurt the bully really bad.”
Simon and the ponies were just as confused as before, but the uncertainty on Discord’s face started to melt away.
“It never wobbled before that, and it wasn’t windy that day. Another time, a big rock flew into someone’s head and nobody knew who threw it. Once a desk moved all by itself and pushed someone into the wall. Bad things kept happening to people whenever Daniel got hurt or scared or mad, and eventually some strange men in suits came to Daniel’s house to take him away. He didn’t want to go.”
Discord’s eyes started to water. At some point, the others had disappeared along with the room they were in. All that remained was a conversation between two confusingly knowledgeable creatures.
“He cried and tried to resist, but the men wouldn’t listen. Daniel was put into a car and the men started to drive away. After a while, Daniel got mad and the car crashed. The men in the car died, and Daniel broke his legs. He really wanted to go home, but he was far away and walking would take a long time even with good legs.”
Discord rubbed at his eyes. “You can stop now. Nobody... nobody cares about Daniel. Can we... can we please get back to the here and now?”
“That’s the problem. There are people who really do care about him, but for all the wrong reasons. Because of them, it might not be a good idea to get back to the ‘here and now.’ I... don’t feel right forcing you to do anything. I’m just trying to let you know, so you can choose.”
“Let me know WHAT? All you’re doing is bringing back painful memories that don’t make any sense!”
“Daniel, I’m sorry. I thought you were happier here, so I was quiet. But you were about to do something with consequences you didn’t understand and I just want to help you make the right choice.”
“So what is all this, then? Where are we? What happened to me?”
“They wanted to study you, and you wouldn’t cooperate. They had to... sedate you. We don’t know exactly why, maybe they gave you too much, but it didn’t work out how they planned. You’re in a coma, Daniel.”
He tried to hold back a sniffle. “I still don’t... what is this?”
“Friendship is like magic because you don’t know how else to look at it. As heartbreaking as it is, I’m not sure you ever had a real friend. The humans have warped it because you think we’re all ugly on the inside. You understand everything else because it’s all yours. You made the humans. You made the ponies. You made all of this.”
“So that’s it, then? This is all just a dream?”
“No, it isn’t. You’re REALLY powerful Daniel. More powerful than you could ever believe. This is real.”
“I don’t... I don’t understand,” he replied, now openly sobbing.
“I know you don’t. I’m trying to help you.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Elizabeth. I’m... like you. We’re both at the same facility. When I found you, I thought you were better off here. Nobody could push you around. But now I’m not sure. You’ve learned an awful lot about friendship from the ponies, but I’m still not sure you understand what it means to have a real friend, and you’ve found out just how boring it can be to be a god. I’m letting you know. If you cross the barrier... if you go to the other universe you found, you’ll wake up. The universe will be full of mysteries again.”
“Then why didn’t you just let me do it?”
She put a hoof on his shoulder and stared intently at him. “Because they’re still there, waiting to study you. You won’t have peace. And more importantly, because actions have consequences. You can’t maintain an entire universe from the outside. If you go, this all ends. You may have created it all, but that doesn’t make it any less real. If you leave, you’re letting every last sentient being here die.”
“Well then I don’t really have a choice, do I? I go ‘home’ and gain nothing but a fresh sense of wonder and a heap of guilt or stay here and be a bored god who DOESN’T cause countless deaths,” he snapped angrily, pushing her away.
She broke eye contact and cast her gaze to the floor, idly scratching a hoof at it for a moment before looking back up. “There’s... more. Even from in here, it’s an incredible strain on you. You can’t keep this up forever. Eventually, it will all collapse on you. There won’t be a warning, and it will cause more pain than you’re capable of imagining. To you and everyone else. If you stay, this universe will live in the looming shadow of a true apocalypse.”
He threw up his hands. “Well THANKS. I was bored, and now I’m morally torn between two awful options that I have no right to choose between!”
“I just didn’t want to let you make a mistake out of ignorance. I... I’ve made choices I regret because I wasn’t aware. I have to go soon. I’m not that powerful, and staying here is difficult for me.”
There was a long silence. “Why?”
“There are still mysteries out there, and I can’t explain how it all works. I just know I can’t do this.”
“No. Why... why did you stay here?”
“I don’t need much of a reason. Out there I’m locked up alone except during tests. In here I’m not. This was a whole world of interesting new possibilities. You’re different, though. You’ve moved heavy objects; you can escape. I’m sure with time and practice, you could do a lot more. I’m sorry you’ve had such a difficult life. But here’s your chance. You can choose your future.” She hesitated. “I really do have to go now. Talk it over with the others.”
“I don’t have to choose immediately, right? Can you come back later?”
“Sorry. Time flows differently here. A few seconds out there is thousands of years in here. By the time I’m ready to come back, it’ll probably be too late. Goodbye, Daniel.”
“Wait!”
In a bright flash, she was gone and the room was back. The occupants, who had huddled together to discuss the best course of action, turned to see Discord’s return.
After a brief pause, Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “Where’s Pinkie?”
---------------------------------------------------
The two of them stretched lazily across the hilltop, basking in the rays of the setting sun.
“Do you think I did the right thing?”
“I don’t know. Maybe there is no right or wrong here.”
“That sounds like a cheap way to justify a choice.”
“Maybe it is. Maybe humans really don’t properly understand friendship.”
“Equestriaverse humans or Earthverse humans?”
“Either. One was based on the other. Traits were only magnified or diminshed, not manufactured out of thin air.”
“Maybe. So what now?”
“I dunno. I guess the only thing we CAN do is move forward and try to be the best friends we can be.”
“Maybe we should throw a party.”
“I think I’d like that.”