//------------------------------// // The Challenge // Story: Multi-mental in Manehatten // by CTVulpin //------------------------------// “Admit it, you enjoyed that. I can sense the smile on your face. How can you resist the joy of unbounded Chaos?” “A little Chaos goes a long way. And this is pushing the boundary.” Twilight’s mind woke up before her body, giving her a few seconds to unscramble her thoughts before fresh sensations got in the way. I would be willing to bet real money that things are not going to be like they were before I blacked out, she thought. As feeling started to return to her body and her senses kicked back in, she heard Trixie’s worried voice, accompanied by the feeling of a gentle hoof pressing into her shoulder. “Twilight? Or, Rainbow Dash? Somepony, wake up!” Why would she be confusing me for Dash? Twilight thought as she stirred and opened her eyes. She winced as light flooded into her eyes, but after a few blinks she was able to make out the form of the pale blue unicorn magician. “Trixie,” she said, “What happened?” “You should probably see for yourself Twilight,” Trixie answered, “I’d ask you not to scream, but maybe that’ll wake the others up. Here.” Her horn lit up as she used her telekinesis to help Twilight stand up, and then leaned up next to her as she guided the disoriented pony toward a mirror. Twilight took one second to wonder about the mirror’s presence before registering what it was reflecting. Her mouth went dry and her irises shrank in disbelief and shock. Then the screaming began, but it wasn’t coming from Twilight’s mouth. Rather, it seemed to come from a point just behind and to the left of her head, and sounded faint, with a slight echo, despite being so loud. ‘Aaaaaaah! What’s going on? I can’t move!’ Twilight was pretty sure she recognized the voice. Rainbow Dash? ‘Ahhhhh!’ “Rainbow,” Twilight said aloud, trying to get through. ‘I’m possessed! Get out of my body you… you…’ “Rainbow Dash, BE QUIET!” Twilight yelled. ‘Wait… Twilight?’ “Yes Rainbow,” Twilight muttered, rubbing her forehead and trying to ignore the lack of horn she discovered there, “Can you please stay calm for a few moments so I can think?” She took a look around and finally realized that she was in a backstage dressing room. Besides Trixie, who was standing nearby with a worried look on her face, there were two other mares stirring out of sleep on the floor, whose appearances made Twilight do a double-take. One was an orange unicorn with a blonde mane styled long with an elegant curl and trio of red apples as a cutie mark. The other was a butter-yellow earth pony with a wildly curly pink mane and three pink butterflies for a cutie mark. Twilight herself was now a lavender pegasus with a short, somewhat ragged dark blue mane with a pink streak. “Oh dear,” she said, realizing what had happened to her and her friends. “Oh, mah head,” the orange unicorn groaned in a country accent. She put a hoof to her forehead as she started to rise, and then froze when the hoof encountered her horn. “What in tarnation?” She looked around, and her jaw dropped when she saw Twilight. “What in- Who’s there?” She jumped up and spun around to her left. “Rarity?” She spun left again, looking confused beyond measure. “I’m not imagining this, am I?” she asked, eyeing Twilight and Trixie. “No Applejack,” Twilight said, “I’m afraid this is quite real.” She walked over to the third pony to try and shake her awake. It turned out, however, that she was already awake, but remained on the floor with her hooves covering her ears as she quivered in fear. “Fluttershy?” Twilight guessed. The yellow pony squeaked something. “Fluttershy, are you ok?” “……” “Please speak up,” Twilight urged gently, “What’s wrong?” “Pinkie Pie’s in my head,” the quivering pony mumbled, and then looked up at Twilight, eyes almost pure white in fear and worry. “It’ll be ok,” the lavender pony assured, nuzzling Fluttershy, “At least we’re all accounted for. I’ve got Rainbow Dash, and AJ and Rarity are together.” “Multiple Mental Occupancy?” Trixie asked. “Looks like,” Twilight said with a slight nod. ‘You mean, like what happened to you and Trixie that one time?' Rainbow Dash asked, ‘Couldn’t you two, like, share control?’ Yes, Twilight said with a blink. When the expected sensation of being shoved aside didn’t come and Twilight found herself still in control, she frowned slightly. Rainbow, she thought, you’re trying to take control, aren’t you? ‘Yeah,’ Rainbow Dash said, as if it were obvious. Twilight blinked again, and again, and finally a third time without sliding out of the control position. ‘Well?’ Dash asked impatiently. Twilight sighed and rubbed her head. “Applejack,” she said, “Rarity’s in the back of your mind, right?” “I’m hearin’ her voice,” the orange pony replied, “So I guess so. She’s yelling for me ta get out.” “Blink your eyes,” Twilight instructed. AJ gave her an odd look before complying. “who am I talking to?” Twilight asked when her eyes opened again. “Still me,” Applejack said. “Um…” Fluttershy said, “I… I can’t seem to switch with Pinkie.” “So,” Twilight concluded, “This isn’t the type of MMO Trixie and I experienced.” She looked at herself and added, “Although, since we’re each apparently a fusion between two ponies now, that should have been obvious. Any idea how this happened Trixie?” The showmare shook her head. “I think I blacked out when you all did, just after the lights went out. When I came too, the… three of you were lying unconscious on the stage and Mr. Arch and some of the stage crew were trying to make sense of everything. We brought you in here at my insistence. I suspected you’d been subjected to something like MMO, so I’ll gladly offer my experience to help you all adjust.” AJ’s eyes slid to the right for several seconds, and then she spoke, “Rarity says she appreciates the thought, but she’d prefer gettin’ this un-done. I second that by the way.” Fluttershy nodded her agreement. ‘Same here,’ Rainbow Dash said to Twilight. “The first thing we need to figure out,” Twilight said, “Is who or what did this to us and how.” A wicked laugh rolled through the room, coming from nowhere in particular. “Well, as much as I would love to see you stumble about trying to solve that mystery,” a masculine voice said, “I’ve got something else in mind for you.” “That voice,” Twilight said, sharing horrified glances with her friends, “It can’t be!” The voice laughed again and Trixie’s mirror shone as the image of a beige, goat-like head with yellow eyes with mismatched red pupils, a deer antler, a goat horn, and a large fang dangling from its mouth appeared in the glass. “Surprise!” Discord crowed with a huge grin. “H-how?” Twilight sputtered, unwilling to believe her eyes, “We sealed you in stone! How did you get out again?” “Oh, stop your fretting Twilight Sparkle,” Discord said with sigh, all traces of amusement draining from his face, “My prison is still intact, for the most part. I’m only able to speak to you now thanks to… a little assistance in stretching my power out to Manehatten.” “What pony in their right mind would help you?” Applejack demanded. “That would be telling,” Discord said with a small smile, “And I think you have more important things to worry about at the moment. After all, how can you use the six Elements of Harmony is there are only three bodies between you?” He laughed at everypony’s reactions and his head spun up-side down before speaking again. “I am so very much weaker than I was,” he said, “But I can give you the means to un-do this little spell. All you need to do is fetch a few things.” “No deal Discord,” Twilight said emphatically, feeling her wings snap out under their own power, “We’re not going to play your games. Come on girls, we’re going to Canterlot. I’m certain somepony there can fix this.” She turned away from the mirror and started heading toward the door. As she reached for the handle, it vanished without a trace, effectively sealing the ponies inside the dressing room. The image of Discord’s head met the lavender pony’s glare coolly as she spun around to confront him again. “Two choices,” he said, “Play the game or stay here forever. I do have enough power to keep you from leaving.” “Heh, we’ll see,” AJ said. She walked up to the door, turned her back to it, and bucked at it with all her might. As her legs extended, the door bent away so that the orange unicorn hit nothing but air and lost her balance, falling flat on her stomach. She lay there mumbling curses under her breath for a few seconds before snapping, “Oh, like you had a better idea Rarity? Oh, heh heh, right…” She stood up, looked at Trixie, and asked, “any chance of you bein’ able to magic us up a way out of here?” “I can try,” Trixie said. Her horn lit up and she blinked out of sight, only to reappear on the other side of the room. “I was aiming for the hallway!” she exclaimed, looking around. Discord chuckled. “Please,” the draconequus said, “Do continue; this is so entertaining.” “Pinkie Pie wants to play,” Fluttershy said, “and… to be honest, I think I’d rather take my chances with playing along too. Uh, if that’s ok with everyone that is.” Twilight and AJ exchanged a look while Rainbow Dash said, ‘I want out of this, and I don’t care how we do it.’ “Fine,” Twilight said, looking at the mirror, “what’s the game Discord? And don’t hide anything.” “Now where’s the fun in telling you everything up front?” Discord asked with a comical frown, “You had to work to stop my lovely chaos, you’ll have to work for this too. Here’s the game: A simple errand is all I ask. A trio of items you must fetch, if you’re up to the task. The spice of life that rolls and twists, but only in its purest form. A living jewel, no, make it ten, in irritation born. Finally, excitement distilled, the element that can make rain go ‘BOOM.’ The rules are simple: each paired pony must retrieve one of the items. You cannot leave the city, and no money can exchange hooves in the process of obtaining the items. Bring them back here once you’ve found them, and I’ll reverse the spell.” The face started to fade away, but then returned briefly. “One last hint,” he said, “In each pair, one pony should be able to identify an item while the other has the means to acquire it. Good luuuck! Hahaha!” The face vanished in a flash of light and the dressing room door flew open, revealing a very concerned Proscenium Arch. “Oh thank goodness,” the mahogany stallion said, breathing a sigh of relief, “Is everypony ok in here?” “For a certain value of ‘OK,’” Twilight said dully. “It’s almost curtain time Trixie,” Arch said, “the house is only a quarter full tonight. If you’d rather not go on…” “Trixie will perform,” the showmare said, waving a dismissive hoof at Arch, “I need something familiar and normal to do after what I’ve just experienced. There will be only a slight delay at best.” Arch nodded and left for the stage. “Girls,” Trixie said, turning back to the three melded mares, “If you don’t have a place to spend the night, I can find space for you in the apartment I’m renting.” “I appreciate that Trixie,” Twilight said, moving to leave, “but we should get busy figuring out Discord’s riddle so we can get this ‘errand’ over with.” She found her way out of the room barred by Trixie’s leg. “It’s far too late to be wandering around,” Trixie said, “especially with bodies you aren’t familiar with. Twilight, are you even aware that your wings are still out?” The pegasus glanced at her back and blushed slightly to see that Trixie was right. ‘Just relax,’ Rainbow Dash advised as Twilight tried to pull the wings in, ‘you’re thinking about it too much.’ Why didn’t you say anything earlier? Twilight asked accusingly. Dash didn’t respond, but Twilight picked up some embarrassed feelings. “And,” Trixie continued her line of thought in the meantime, “I’m sure Rari-jack there can’t use magic at the moment.” “Rari-jack?” Twilight and AJ both asked incredulously. “That is Rarity and Applejack, right?” Trixie asked, pointing to the orange unicorn. “Can we please not do the nick-name thing?” Twilight asked. “Hmm,” Trixie said, rubbing her chin, “Well, for you I may have to forego the nickname. Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash. Those just don’t go together well.” “Rainlight.” Everypony turned to look at Fluttershy, who shrank back with a slight blush. “T-that was Pinkie’s idea,” she said, “She, uh, also suggests Twidash. And Rainbow Sparkle.” ‘Oh bleh,’ Rainbow Dash protested, ‘Those are horrible!’ “I’ll answer to Twilight, Rainbow, or Dash,” Twilight declared, finally getting her wings closed, “Nothing else.” Trixie sighed and then looked at the yellow earth pony. “I’m thinking Flutterpie for you,” she said. “Oh… ok, if you want,” Fluttershy replied. “As I was saying,” Trixie said, “I insist on giving you a place to sleep tonight if you don’t have someplace already.” “That’s mighty nice of you Trixie,” Applejack said, “We were gonna stay with mah relatives, but I don’t think I want ta drop in on ‘em so late, ‘specially with this thing on my head.” She poked her horn a few times. “Fine,” Twilight said, giving in, “We’ll get started tomorrow. In the meantime, let’s try to figure out what exactly we’re supposed to be looking for.” “Say,” Applejack said, looking around, “anypony see mah hat anywhere?” “Well,” Trixie announced as she opened the door to her apartment, “here we are.” The apartment was larger than Twilight would’ve expected, looking to have been built for two or three ponies to live in. The lavender unicorn wasn’t in much of a mood to take note of her surroundings though, as she was presently frustrated over untangling Discord’s vague riddle. Applejack was also looking sour, since she had failed to locate her precious hat anywhere in Trixie’s dressing room or the theater. Fluttershy simply walked into the apartment and found a corner to sit down in, her eyes barely focused as she tried to deal with wherever Pinkie Pie’s thoughts were currently wandering. Trixie looked at each mare and shook her head as she closed the door. “Lighten up, all of you,” she said, “This can’t be the worst situation you’ve been in.” ‘Speak for yourself,’ Rainbow muttered, ‘I mean, does she really know what it’s like not to be able to control my own body?’ She and I got stuck in Multiple Mental occupancy before, remember? Twilight asked. ‘That was different,’ Rainbow insisted, ‘you two could switch out.’ “This ranks pretty darn high,” Applejack said to Trixie while Twilight and Dash were talking, “I’d say it’s either the worst or tied for when Discord brainwashed us.” Her eyes slid to the side for a second and then she added, “Rarity says it’s definitely the worst for her, what with not bein’ able ta do anything except watch and…” she grit her teeth before finishing, “suggesting that I do certain things.” “Oh, right,” Trixie said, “I… as similar as my experience with MMO was, I can only imagine not having the ability to share control of the body.” ‘Told ya,’ Dash said smugly. Twilight rolled her eyes and then looked toward the pale yellow pony in the corner. “How are you and Pinkie holding up Fluttershy?” she asked. “Huh?” Fluttershy said, snapping out of her funk and looking around. “You doing ok suger cube?” Applejack asked, looking at Fluttershy with concern. “Oh, yes,” Fluttershy said quietly, “I… I mean we’re fine. Don’t worry about us.” “Pinkie’s not being too crazy, is she?” Twilight asked, “She’s a big enough hoof-ful normally.” “Oh, no!” Fluttershy said, “She’s trying so very hard not to be a bother. It’s just…” her voice failed and her gaze dropped to the floor. Twilight went over and lay down next to her, trying to stretch out a wing to wrap around her back. “What’s wrong?” she asked in a soothing tone. Fluttershy mumbled something that sounded like “Pinkie Pie Swear” and squeezed her eyes shut. “Fluttershy,” Twilight said, “Pinkie, we’re friends right? Friends shouldn’t keep secrets if they’re hurting. Remember your fashion model career Fluttershy, and how much trouble that caused for everyone involved?” Most of all me, she finished mentally, ignoring Dash’s snickering. Fluttershy was silent for a long time, but finally she looked up and met Twilight’s eyes. “You might not understand,” she said, “but, as hard as she tries, as much as she wants to for my sake, she just can’t stop. She’s… Oh, I can’t say. Sorry Twilight.” The lavender pegasus regarded for a few seconds before sighing and standing back up. “Let me know if you want to talk about it later, either of you,” she said as she clumsily returned her wing to her side and looked at Trixie. “So,” she asked, “Where are we all going to sleep?” “Let’s see,” the showmare said, looking around, “I don’t normally have guests, but somepony can take the sofa… I can probably find enough blankets and cushions to make up a spot on the floor somewhere, and then somepony can have my bed.” ‘What, with her?'” Dash asked suspiciously. “What about you?” Twilight asked more diplomatically. “Trixie will sleep in her wagon,” the showmare declared in a tone of finality, “I much prefer sleeping there anyway, but a successful performer like the Great and Powerful Trixie must not be seen to live below her means in this city.” Her voice had taken on an increasingly sarcastic note as she spoke. She turned toward the door and opened it. “I shall return with the extra blankets momentarily,” she said as she left the apartment, shutting the door behind her. Twilight and Applejack exchanged a glance. “Well,” Twilight said after a moment, “Any volunteers for the floor?”