//------------------------------// // Reader of the Stars. // Story: Across the Dimensional Divide // by StrawberryGamer //------------------------------// Tex: Look down there: you can see them plotting. Church: Maybe they're scheming? Tex: No, definitely plotting. Scheming looks different. -Red vs. Blue (again) “I don’t get it. This just seems too easy. Why did Twilight drop this book? Twilight never drops books like this.” Vinyl said as we started walking back to her house. I didn’t want to go to mine, considering I was now potentially on an adventure. This was gonna be awesome. “I don’t ask questions. Asking questions means there will be some sort of logic behind why. I don’t do logic.” I replied. Vinyl rolled her eyes. “What? I can’t be illogical? Logic is for sane people. I am not sane; therefore I logically do not need logic.” Vinyl gave me a confused look, and then shrugged it off. “You can’t be sane if you’re taking this change so well. I’d be freaking out if I were you.” She said. I had to react to that one. “Oh no, I’m a fucking pony in a parallel universe and I have to tell everyone and hope that someone believes me or I could just plain fucking panic!” I shouted sarcastically, waving my forelegs in the air randomly. Vinyl laughed. “Yeah, I guess that’s the best choice. Though, why did you tell me?” She asked. I shrugged. “I guess part of me wanted to tell someone. I need an ally I can trust, rather than a friend I don’t know. You are a trustworthy pony. You are also a good friend. After all, every adventure hero needs a great sidekick, right?” I asked, getting a look from Vinyl. “What makes you think you’re the hero? What if I want to be the hero?” she asked back, but by her tone, she wasn’t being serious. I held in a chuckle. “You aren’t the one apparently being stalked by Twilight Sparkle.” I said, making sure to put emphasis on her name, hoping she heard me. A light yelp followed by a flash of light answered that question. She was stalking me, and I bet she wants the book back too. Well, she isn’t getting it until I’ve read it. I know it has something to do with me. The DJ turned into her front yard, and I realized we made it back to her house. I took a quick glance around. No Twilight. Either she left or she just found a better hiding spot. Oh well. In I go. Octavia wasn’t in the living room, but from the sounds upstairs, I’d say she’s practicing her cello. I decided to head upstairs to listen in. I stopped at her door and just listened to her play. She was proficient. That much was sure. Of course, when one plays the cello as long as her, one tends to be good at it. I remember the time in elementary school in which I played the trumpet. I wasn’t bad, but I only had a couple months of training. Maybe I should try again. Of course, cello and trumpet don’t duet together. Damn, stop tangenting me, you’re missing out on Octavia’s music. Sorry me. I stood there for another ten minutes, just enjoying the music. When it stopped, I finally knocked on her door. Octavia opened the door, and looked mildly pleased, and at the same time a bit surprised. I was a little shocked at how easily I could read the facial expressions of these ponies. They were quite expressional. She quickly regained her composure and smiled politely at me. “Hello again, Sunshine. Was there something you wanted to say?” She asked. I nodded. “I heard you practice your cello, and I have to say you are really good. I loved it.” I said, smiling. It was legit. I really like her music. I have a vast appreciation for music. Even if they aren’t that good, I’ll still give them credit for their effort. Guess it comes from the time I played the trumpet. Octavia’s polite smile brightened. “I’m glad you like it. Most of Vinyl’s friends don’t appreciate my work.” She said. “Well, I like all sorts of music. The only thing I don’t like is rap.” “I don’t understand human rap music either. Do you play?” Octavia asked. “I did. I used to play the trumpet back in 5th grade.” Octavia got a little more curious. “Really? Why did you stop?” She asked. I shrugged. “I kept getting in trouble with the teacher, so I decided it wasn’t worth it.” I really did. True story. Octavia looked like she was in thought for a moment, and then went back to her polite smile. “I see. Well, it was nice talking to you again. I say, you have a good taste in music, but an odd choice in friends.” She said. “I like the strange ones. They make life more fun.” Octavia giggled. “I see what you mean. Anyway, have a nice day Sunshine.” She shut her bedroom door. I turned around and glided down the stairs into the living room, where Vinyl was on the couch, looking at the front cover of Twilight’s book. I looked at the cover too. “You know, it would make sense to read a book.” I said. I picked up the book and opened it. I checked the Table of Contents, knowing Twilight would have a very detailed one, considering it’s her notebook. I scanned the contents. “Okay, Operation: Cupcakes, Operation: Sweetie-Bot, notes on human habits.” None of these seemed interesting at the moment. “Operation: Harmonize, page 42.” I turned to that page, feeling like that would be it. Operation: Harmonize Twilight’s notes (Simplified by Spike) Test Subject: Danger Zone (A.K.A. Mathew) Species: Unicorn Status: Green Subject experiences short bursts of rage, but unicorn nature prevents overexertion of anger. Subject lost human memories after a trip to the bar. Inebriation of test subject proves effective in assimilation. Other ponies responded to new memories well. Good development in magic. Has a small temper, but is otherwise friendly. Result: Successfully Harmonized. All traces of chaos gone. I turned the page. Test Subject: Three Leaf (A.K.A. Stacey) Species: Earth Pony Status: Green Subject was depressed at first, but after spending time with friends, seemed to recover. Accepted new memories without question. Other ponies almost broke artificial memories, but recovered with minor assistance. Friendly disposition. Result: Successfully Harmonized. All traces of chaos gone. There appeared to be one more, so I turned the page once more, and gasped. Test Subject: Sunshine (A.K.A. William) Species: Pegasus Status: Yellow Subject showed normal signs of gender reconfiguration. Afterwards, adapted to it perfectly. Slight motor control problem at first. (I blame myself for that.) Fluttershy reported normal behavior. Pinkie Pie reported trance-like state under cinnamon rolls. Despite being from another dimension, subject seems to recognize certain ponies. Either that or the new memories are kicking in, despite the strong resistance. Inebriation just developed hostile intentions towards me. I feel like this one could be more trouble than she’s worth. Too bad, we could have become friends. No result yet. I felt like flipping a table. I’m not the first. I’M NOT THE FIRST! Twilight has done this twice already. I’m the third victim of this torture. Not only that, but I’m the only one to experience “gender reconfiguration.” Sounds better then gender swap, or gender bend. It doesn’t matter though. I’m a chick, and it’s all Twilight’s fault. It wasn’t an accident. She did it on purpose. I ripped out the page in anger. I’ll keep it for now. I threw the book behind me. I was done with it. Twilight can have it. A tap on my shoulder sent my anger into my muscles, and I kicked at whatever had the nerve to bother me. A yelp, a thud, and a crash all occurred behind me. I turned around, ready to expect Twilight on the ground, bleeding. What I found was Vinyl on the ground, knocked out and bleeding slightly, a broken dish scattered around her. I felt the anger suddenly leave me, replaced by sadness and fear. I ran out the door, not looking back. I couldn’t handle it anymore. I ran into the trees, not wanting anyone to find me. Stupid stupid STUPID! That’s what you are! You kept it all bottled up inside, instead of facing the problem. Now look what you did. You hurt your friend. Now you are on your own. You have nopony to turn to anymore. You might as well give up. The voice in my head was right. After kicking Vinyl in the face, she probably doesn’t want anything to do with me. I was stuck here alone and there was no way to get back. I can’t stand up against Twilight. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I let the tears flow. It felt almost good to let my emotions out, and it’s not like I can do anything differently. I messed up. I seriously fucked myself up. I don’t know how long I cried. It felt like hours. I just sat there, wallowing in self-pity. I was alone in this world. A twig snapping brought me back to reality. I looked around, wiping a few tears away, but not all of them. I wanted whoever came here to see I was crying. Could it be the police? Did Vinyl decide to call them on me? I wouldn’t be surprised. Maybe someone just decided to explore the woods. It seemed likely. These woods are interesting. I like nature. Sometimes I would-no. No tangent now. Focus. I saw a lavender figure approach me, about fifty feet away. It was option C: Twilight Sparkle. She came to hear my surrender and end the pain. You know what? I was happy to let her do so. She came closer and smiled. “So, you decided to stop resisting?” She asked. I nodded. I couldn’t handle it anymore. “Good. After all, you have nopony to turn to anymore. You might as well give up.” She said, her horn glowing. Something clicked within me. The voice in my head said the same thing. That wasn’t just any voice in my head. That was her voice in my head. She tricked me into giving up. The problem was I agreed. I did give up. While I wasn’t happy with her, she was right. I was done. It was over. She came closer and lowered her horn to my head. It was all going to be better. I’m sorry, my friends from my dimension. I failed, but there was nothing I could do. I closed my eyes and waited for it to end. I waited a bit more. It still hasn’t come. I waited. Still nothing. I finally decided to open my eyes. I was met with a meadow straight out of Equestria. Wait, how the fuck did I get here? I looked up. The moon was shining brightly. It looked good. The night sky was a beautiful thing. “I’m glad you appreciate my work.” Came a voice from right beside me. I jumped and stumbled back. I heard giggling and turned to see who startled me. She was dark blue with a flowing mane and tail resembling the night sky. A horn was on her head and a pair of wings were on her sides. I recognized her easily as Princess Luna, ruler of the night. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it.” She said. I dusted myself off. Hang on a sec. “Am I dreaming?” I asked. Luna nodded. “You are. I had to protect you from Twilight Sparkle’s spell. She is making a big mistake in undergoing this experiment.” She stated, giving me a friendly smile. I shook my head. “You should have let her. I have nothing left. I hurt my only true friend in this world, and have no one to turn to anymore. I lost, and she won.” I said dejectedly. I felt my ears flatten down, and more tears started to come. Luna lifted my head up and gave me a suddenly hard look. “You are not alone here. Vinyl Scratch has nothing against you, and neither does Octavia. They like you and still want to be your friend. There is also Charcoal Embers and Starry Night too. They like you for you. Don’t throw your life away like this.” She laid down and put a wing around me. “There is also someone else who wants to talk with you.” She said, and pointed across the meadow where a bipedal figure approached us. He was really tall, but not quite twice my height. I saw short brown hair, a pair of jeans, shoes, and a Halo 4 T-shirt. His brown eyes looked down at my blue ones and I realized I was looking at me. “Hello.” He said. Yep, definitely me. It took me a moment to regain my senses. “How is this possible?” I asked, looking between Luna and myself. The humanized me was the first to answer. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am a multidimensional traveler from Calcutta. I travel the multiverse, studying as much as I can. I thought your travel to this dimension was an anomaly. A mistake on my part. I was wrong. Twilight caught the signal and pulled you into this one. I’m doing my best to live your life, but of course Jennifer knows about me. I’m also trying to figure out a way to fix this and get you back home. Luna, seeing Twilight and Celestia’s mistake, has offered to help me. For now, see what you can do on your side. See if you can figure something out.” He said. I nodded, suddenly filled with hope. I could get home after all. All I needed to do was get away from Twilight and stay safe. I then realized how close I was to losing. “What about Twilight? She’s right in front of me, still trying to get rid of my memories. What do I do?” I asked. Luna smiled at me again. “Just trust in your friends. They’ll help you through this.” She said. Her horn glowed and she touched my head with it. The forest came back to me, and so did the purple unicorn, standing in front of me with a confident smile on her face. It was also darker. I must have been sleeping for a while. Before she could react, I thrust myself into the air. “I’m not letting you take my memories away. I have decided not to quit.” I said. Twilight narrowed her eyes at me. “The spell didn’t work? How? You don’t have any magic defenses. Either way, you lost. You don’t have any friends aside from those I made for you.” She said. “That’s where you’re wrong!” A voice from the side said. We both turned and found Starry Night standing there, her horn glowed a deep blue. “I am her friend, and the stars say that her destiny is not yours to control.” She said. Twilight ignored her and turned back to me. She fired a beam from her horn. I braced for it to hit me, but it never did. Starry Night deflected it with her magic. Twilight glared at the blue unicorn. “You must understand. Sunshine has reached status red. She can no longer go about freely.” She said, pointing at me. I landed down next to Starry Night. “I am a free mare, and I will go home, whether you like it or not!” I yelled at her. Starry Night nodded. “It is the destiny laid out for her by the stars.” She said. “You have no right to change it, no matter what the sun says.” With that, she lit up her horn and the next thing I knew, I was in a house. Pictures of star charts were all over the walls, and there was a night theme to everything. I liked it. It had an atmosphere to it that felt calming. “Welcome to my home Sunshine. I had to teleport us here to get away from the student of the sun.” Starry explained. “You teleported us all the way here? You’re a pretty gifted unicorn.” I said. Starry smiled. “I have to ask you something. Why did you save me? How did you even find me?” I asked. “The stars tell me things. The night is my teacher, and I am her student.” She said. “I hope you realize you’re more cryptic than Celestia.” I deadpanned. She giggled. Then she laughed. Then I laughed. Before we knew it, we were on the floor laughing our flanks off. It felt good to laugh. Its official, Pinkie Pie has the best Element of Harmony ever. Laughter is awesome. After a good minute or two, I got up and stopped laughing. That felt great. “Even so, I still have to thank you for saving me. Also, I have to thank you for considering me a friend, even though we only met briefly.” I said. Starry Night gave me a soft smile. “The stars tell me many things, but I don’t need them to know who makes a good friend.” She said. That made me feel good, but it brought up another thought. What about Vinyl Scratch? Starry seemed to sense my troubles. “If you’re worried about the DJ, she doesn’t have anything against you. Both she and her roommate like you and will still want to be your friend.” She said. That calmed my nerves. “Now, we are safe here. The student of the sun can’t find us here. If you’re hungry, bored, or tired, let me know.” She went into the other room, leaving me to collect my thoughts. Princess Luna said that Vinyl Scratch was okay, and didn’t hate me. The dimensional traveler that is apparently me said they are working together to find a way home for me. He also said for me to try and find something here that could help. I could try and make friends with someone who could help. I’m not sure who would be able to help me though. Twilight is probably going to blacklist me, or get me arrested. Either way, I’m not safe here anymore. Okay, I think I know what to do. I’m going to need to gather my friends and embark on a journey to find a way home. Should be fun. I followed Starry Night into the other room, which turned out to be an observatory. More star charts, constellations, what looked like a picture of Princess Luna, and a telescope that was bigger than Twilight’s. She was looking through the telescope when she noticed my presence. Starry turned to face me. “You wish to journey to find salvation, don’t you?” She asked. Before I could nod, she continued. “The road will be rough and you may have to look away from the sun to find the light, but be assured, you’re not alone. I will accompany you, as will your friends. The quest will be long though. You will need a bit of help.” She said, and then gave a slight smirk. “I happen to know somepony who can help.” I lit up. “Really? You’d be willing to help? I can’t tell you how much this means to me. Let’s go find this pony.” I said. I then yawned. “Of course, we can do that in the morning. I need actual sleep. What happened earlier was not real sleep.” Starry Night giggled. “Sure. You can sleep on the couch.” She said, pointing back to the living room. I went back and laid down on the couch. It was comfy. I let myself relax and closed my eyes. Sleep would be good now. “I am very disappointed in you Twilight.” Celestia said. She was in her throne room in Canterlot, Equestria. A dejected-looking Twilight was in front of her. “First you lose the notebook, and then you fail to remove Sunshine’s memories.” Twilight shot her head up to look at her, desperation in her eyes. “But Princess, she had help from an outside source. A unicorn came at the last second and escaped with Sunshine.” She said, trying to defend herself. Celestia shook her head. “Your first attempt failed, and the unicorn wasn’t there. I sense there was more than one pony helping her.” She said. “But Vinyl Scratch hates her now. I mean, Sunshine did kick her in the face.” Twilight stated. “She has to hate her after that.” Celestia shook her head again. “You forget that Sunshine already told Vinyl Scratch everything. Not to mention they are both stubborn. Vinyl will easily forgive her, and will even chase after her, dragging her roommate along, like she always does.” She said. Twilight couldn’t argue with that. The former Ponyville DJ was known for being as stubborn and loyal as Rainbow Dash. Once, she considered using Vinyl as a substitute for Rainbow Dash just in case, but threw that idea out the window. Rainbow Dash would not be happy if they had to use the Elements of Harmony without her. Not to mention they would never have to because she would always be there. “I’ll fix this. Don’t worry Princess.” She said finally. Celestia smiled. “I know you will succeed. I don’t have any doubts about you, my faithful student. If you need the Elements of Harmony, they are always available.” She said, levitating the box of said magical artifacts into view. “I don’t want to use them yet. They don’t have any effect outside of Equestria. Her search will eventually take her here though, and that’s when we harmonize her.” Twilight explained her plan. The Princess of the Sun gave the matter a little thought. “Very well then. Just keep an eye of her and don’t forget to bring your friends along. You could learn something valuable about friendship from this.” She said. Twilight nodded and teleported out. From in the shadows, Princess Luna watched the whole thing, telepathically transmitting the conversation to a soundly sleeping Sunshine, along with a message. “Keep your friends nearby, and trust your instincts. You are now being hunted.”