//------------------------------// // Loops 34 // Story: MLP Time Loops // by Saphroneth //------------------------------// 34.1 (Detective Ethan Redfield) Clone Mayhem "Twilight, what have you done?!" It was at six in the morning when Celestia teleported outside the Ponyville Library after receiving an urgent request for help from Spike. She had just raised the sun when the scroll begging for her immediate help appeared in a green fire. As soon as she appeared, the problem became apparent immediately. Two ponies stood inside the doorframe, both of their ears drooping against the sides of their heads. Oh, and both of them were Twilight Sparkle. The left one's ears raised as she spoke, "Well...a couple months ago, I was doing some cleaning-" The right Sparkle looked at her with a dirty expression, "Wait, I was the one doing the cleaning and I'm the original-" Celestia stamped her hoof, "It doesn't matter at the moment. Please continue," she pointed her hoof at the left Twilight. The pony nodded, "As I said, I, we, were dusting the bookshelves. As we passed the scroll wing of the library, we came across a number of scroll written in a language we had never seen before. We pulled it out and tried performing a translation spell. To our surprise, it didn't work, or at least, it didn't translate into Basic Equis!" The Twilight on the right lit her horn as a scroll issued from within the library. Celestia took it with her own magic and unfurled it. It was a list of sorts as far as she could tell. Sure enough though, it was in a language she could couldn't read with words such as 'katon' or 'ninjutsu'. In addition, it also had pictures of ponies performing magic of some sort. The Twilight on the right continued from the one on the left, "So, part of our project was to translate the words to Equis. We haven't made much progress on that front." The Twilight on the left shoved the one on the right over, "The other part was performing the magic depicted on the images in front of us. We tried the first," she said, pointing to the image of one pony becoming two ponies. The foreign language over the picture said: Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu She continued. "And it worked really well! Unfortunately, we don't quite know how to end the spell. We tried the failsafe spell, and it didn't quite work." Celestia sighed, "Twilight, you could have come to me immediately and I would have assisted you in this research. I'm over a thousand years old after all, and have seen many a nation rise and fall. Perhaps if we had researched it together, I could have found some historic records of a civilization like this one." She pointed at the two of them, "But then, you tried a spell you've never heard of before and without knowing the consequences. It could have caused you to blow up for all you know when it made a copy of the pony in the picture." Celestia gave a stern look, causing both Twilights to drop their heads in shame, both saying together, "We're sorry, princess...we didn't think that through all the way. After a moment passed, Celestia's stern expression faded into a sad smile. She trotted over and hugged one student, then the other, "But you're alright, and we'll get through this together." Suddenly, the sound of Spike shouting from inside the library caused all of them to look to the entrance, "I don't think that's a good idea, Twilight." Another voice sounding suspiciously like Twilight's own echoed from within, "But you just heard the princess. She'll be able to help us!" The Twilight on the right, indeed the original Twilight, started sweating when Celestia's confused look turned towards the two standing outside, "Well..uh...the thing is...the spell didn't...quite go according to plan...you see..." Spike's voice echoed again, "No, stay back! All of you! NO! Put me down Twilights!" No less than 60 Twilights barrelled out the door with Spike held in one of their auras. Celestia's face was now in shock. The original continued, "...There may have been an...accident in the magical release...and I may have produced...a few hundred..." Celestia's eyes gazed over the mass of Twilights as more continued the pour out of the library. Her eyes began twitching as a moment later as her students surrounded her and started speaking at once. As result, she took the only logical action to preserve her sanity and passed out. Silence descended as the Twilights looked on in horror. Then one of the Twilights slapped the original in the back of the head, "Nice going Boss! Now how are we going to explain this to all of Ponyville when they wake up?" Spike maintained his horrified expression for a moment longer, then started chuckling, then laughing, then outright rolling on the floor roaring in amusement as tears poured down his cheeks. Moments later, the dragon shifted from Spike to Discord, "Oh, I haven't had that much fun in years. Give my thanks to Naruto for teaching you how to do the Shadow Clone technique with your horn only!" The original sighed, "Not quite what I had in mind. I meant to have her speechless, not unconscious." 34.2 “...so,” Luna said, holding a bedside lamp. “What does this do?” “It's a lamp, Luna,” Celestia answered kindly. “It makes light through electricity.” “Ah, a thunder stone!” Luna nodded. “I see! Well, I know how to work these!” Celestia was thinking hard. Thunder stone... thunder stone... oh, no! “Luna, wait-” Luna quite deliberately dropped the lamp, which hit the floor with a bang. The glass shattered. “...because it's not a thunder stone,” Celestia continued. “It uses electricity which is generated at a dam, and then transmitted by cable to the palace and then to the lamp. You make it work by pressing the switch.” “...oh.” Luna hung her head. “My apologies, sister.” “Whaa-taa!” Both alicorns looked up. “What was that?” A cloud of black smoke puffed out from the fireplace, making them both cough. “I am, ninja!” somepony shouted, then there was a series of whoosh noises. When they had ended, the smoke had gone, there was no sign of soot on the floor or furnishings, and the lamp was neatly reassembled on the dresser. Celestia reached up to her ear, which was suddenly itching, and found a black card there. Words in white read: Random acts of kindness a speciality! “...well,” she said, showing Luna the card. “I don't know about you, Lulu, but I'm not complaining.” “Haiii-ya!” Cranky Doodle Donkey blinked, and was somewhere else. In fact, he was in a dining room, with a table set for two. “What was that?” a voice asked, and- Matilda came in through the door, stopped, and put her hoof to her mouth. “Oh!” Cranky shrugged. “Don't know how it happened, but...” A black card fluttered to the floor. “So, this is a new thing for you?” Twilight asked. “Yep!” Pinkie nodded, her black outfit somewhat obscuring her identity. (The voice was still obvious, though.) “Random acts of kindness, huh? I can see it working. Do you advertise?” Pinkie looked at her like she was an idiot. “No, silly. Ninjas work in shadows!” “Which explains the black paper over all your windows, I see...” Twilight nodded absently. “You hiring?” “Nope!” Pinkie shook her head. “The fewer ninjas, the better! I can get three times as much work done alone as I could if I had an assistant!” She dug in her subspace pocket. “Oh, hey, I made these!” Twilight examined it. “What is it?” “Joke bomb! Like a smoke bomb, but laughing gas. I've only tested it once, though, and it didn't work out like I hoped...” “Not surprised...” Twilight muttered. “It did make Trixie's show a success, though, so she's hired me as the opening act.” Pinkie shrugged. “Isn't that a bit unethical?” “Nah, she just wants me to gas her. Loads of pratfalls, basically.” Pinkie grinned. “She said it would stink of defeat, were the stink not obscured by the smell of so much money.” “That's a direct quote?” Pinkie nodded. “Huh. Well, suppose if she's happy then that's all to the good. Happy unicorns don't try to take over Ponyville.” 34.3 Twilight looked up. For some reason, this loop, she was an absolutely tiny unicorn – barely a half centimetre tall – but the world itself was fairly interesting. If built for normally sized humans. The sky looked marvellous, right now, with the young moon rising into the heavens, and Twilight worked busily on her sketchpad. (She had one this loop, and had decided to keep it up as a hobby. Perhaps it would, one day, let her get a cutie mark that wasn't the star of magic again.) Then came the peal of a mighty bell, and the calm air went straight into a screaming, howling storm. Twilight was far too small to stay on the ground in that kind of wind. Startled, she went flying, and bounced off a shrine underneath a peach tree. (Fortunately, she ended up out of the wind, and a moment's work with magic got her pinned down properly.) Thus safe, she looked at the shrine... Which moved. A white alicorn shook her head, bits of stone falling all around her, and turned towards her. “Wait,” Twilight said, squinting. “Celestia?” “Oh, hello, Twilight, I didn't see you there,” Celestia said, waving a hoof. “I appear to... well, have more or less the same job as normal.” Twilight nodded, levitating herself up to eye level with a mage's blithe disdain for a mere storm. “I see. Does this mean I'm your sidekick?” “Probably.” Celestia shrugged, looking herself over. “Well, that's neat. I like the tufts in my coat... not sure about the black tail tip, though.” She twisted to get a better look at it. “Whoops!” The sun came up. “...do that again,” Twilight said, blinking. The sun came up again, briefly dipping below the horizon only to come up once more. “Actually, this is a lot easier than the way I normally do it,” Celestia commented. “I approve.” “Right.” Twilight hovered over, and took up a seat just behind Celestia's horn. “Are you going to stay there the whole time?” Celestia asked. “Well, I'm not going to walk,” Twilight countered. “Very well, then. Let us see what this loop is about.” “Right,” Spike said, handing over a large scroll. “I don't understand how this works myself, but basically now you can repair things with ink from your tail.” Celestia nodded. “That will be useful. I like the look, by the way.” “I don't know...” Twilight said critically. “Might be a bit too long and thin for my taste...” “Are you going to help at any point?” Celestia asked, with perhaps a trace of irritation, as she swung a magic mirror like a bludgeon at two imps with guitars. Twilight kicked back, hooves wrapped in Celestia's mane. “I could provide vocals.” “I meant help me.” “Oh.” Twilight considered it. “Not especially, no.” “...this is payback for the whole Sombra thing, isn't it?” “So,” the alicorn of the sun muttered. “Giant robot run by a fish. What to do now...” Twilight bounced on her head. “Summon the brush goddess of Bloom.” “Are you sure?” Celestia asked. “Yep,” Twilight replied. Her inky tail moving in a single, precise circle, Celestia called on the magic native to this loop... And Fluttershy materialized on the battle field. Her eyes narrowed. “Mister fishy! You are a bad fish!” The whole giant robot of Yami flinched. “Okay, now the one for Power Slash.” Another flare of magic, and Gilda appeared. “Hey, Gilda?” Twilight shouted. “Fancy a fish dinner?” The aquiline predator perked up. “Buck yeah!” Yami looked from pegasus to griffin (the latter of whom was carrying a very large knife and a napkin)... and jumped off the platform. “You're not escaping that easily!” Gilda shouted, jumping off after it. Celestia and Fluttershy trotted to the edge, and peered down after them. “So...” Fluttershy said, after a moment. “Is that it?” “I assume so,” Twilight said. “Except for trying to paint an advert on the moon. Now that would restore faith in, er, you.” “I may need Luna's permission...” Celestia mused. 34.4 (Masterweaver) "Twilight, we've been friends for many loops now." The purple unicorn sipped her tea, giving her former teacher a polite, but confused look. "I sense this is going somewhere..." "Well..." Celestia sighed. "Yes. It's nothing personal, just... a habit that irks me a bit. I've lived with it for a while, but..." "What?" Twilight put her teacup down. "If I'm doing anything to make you uncomfortable, you can tell me." "...it's really rather silly, and it's not really your fault – " "Celestia, don't make me break out the p-word." That got a small laugh out of the alicorn. "You'd really do that?" Twilight shrugged. "You're dancing around the subject, what works works." "...alright." Setting down her tea and taking a deep breath, the former mentor looked her former student in the eye. "I want you to stop swearing by me." There was a quiet moment. "....that's it?" "That's it." Twilight nodded to herself. "Huh. Okay. Okay, sure, I'll... I'll try – " "Also, could you pass the message on to the other loopers? It really is nothing personal, but when you can't tell if 'dear sweet YourOwnName' is an expression of affection it tends to get on your nerves after a while." "Oh, wow. Yeah, I get where you're coming from, all the Sister loops I did – " The unicorn shook her head. "Wow, I never even thought about it. It was just an unconscious habit. I'm sorry." "No, it's fine. You didn't know." They sat amicably for a little while longer. "...you know, we're still going to need to swear occasionally," Twilight pointed out. "That might cause a bit of a problem." "Swear by trees," Celestia suggested. "They're fairly reliable." 34.5 “Twilight!” Twilight turned, already feeling tired. “What have you rigged to explode this time?” Trixie paused, then took out some notes and scribbled on them. “Nothing. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go replace some hydrogen with helium. If something catches fire, please shout about 'oh, the equanity' before coming to help.” With that, the blue unicorn left – not quite at a run. “Zeppelin?” Spike asked. “I think so,” Twilight replied. “Right.” “You know what?” Twilight said, not precisely to Spike. “I think I'm going to go get her productively employed on something. Preferably a long way off...” “A moon shot?” Trixie said, looking at the project proposal. “Very interesting, Twilight. Yes, I think this should be a good long term project. Should I work from Apple-loosa, or the Frozen North?” “Apple-loosa makes more sense.” Twilight pointed. “You'd have the rail line. Though perhaps set up an day's canter or so away from any of the actual population centres, since keeping a buffalo tribe and a town-full of pioneers awake at night might not go well. Just put in a spur line, or something.” “That is true.” Trixie nodded. “Very well, I shall begin at once!” A flash of light, and she was gone. “Right, that's dealt with her for a few dozen loops...” Twilight said, then looked upwards with a frown. “Now, what do I do with this Zeppelin?” Trixie trotted happily around her new work site. “Everything is in place! Fuel, launch bunker, control room... all that is needed is the rocket.” Picking up some sheet steel in her magical grip, she started an arc-welding spell. “Good enough,” the blue unicorn pronounced. “Now, where's that tritium...” Trixie carefully wired up the last contact on her control board. “Done! Now, can everyone clear the launch area.” She chuckled at her own joke. She was the only pony in a hundred miles. “Launch in five, four, three, two, one-” Trixie hit the firing contact, and nearly tripped over a log on the road. Her wagon behind her didn't stop as quickly as she did, requiring two awkward half-steps and a skid to stop it overrunning her. Hold on a minute... she thought. Where's the launch pad gone? A purple flash lit the wooded road in front of her. “Trixie! Are you alright?” “Fine, thank you, Twilight,” Trixie replied, still frowning. “But someone has stolen my entire launch range.” The other unicorn shook her head. “Okay, clearly it all happened too fast. Whatever possessed you to use grav-pinch tritium?” “Well, Trixie read a very interesting proposal for a project 'Orion', but it used weapons that were far too dirty. So she rebuilt it to use clean fusion weapons...” Twilight facehoofed. “Ce-Tree damnit, you're myopic sometimes. Project Orion was designed for out-of-atmosphere propulsion, not liftoff!” “...oh.” Trixie paused. “So you have been checking for me ever since I blew myself off the face of Equestria?” “Yes,” Twilight replied. “And next time, stick to chemistry. In fact, if you ever start getting involved in nuclear physics again, I may extract a Pinkie Promise.” Trixie shuddered. “Understood.” 34.6 Angel Bunny kicked the spinner, managing somehow to convey total and utter disdain for all of equinity. Quite an erudite rabbit, really. “Green,” Fluttershy read off, and moved her left fore hoof carefully to touch a green circle. Angel kicked the spinner again. “Ooh,” Discord said, squinting. “Feline.” Chrysalis frowned, and her ears shifted to cat ears. Another kick. By now, Angel was reading a book. “Blue!” Twilight entered the forest clearing. “Hi, guys – okay, what the hay are you all doing?” Discord grinned, which was quite impressive, seeing as he currently had the head of a crocodile. Chrysalis shrugged, awkwardly. “Discord calls it Shape-Twister. Says it's good practise.” “Oh, fair enough. How's that going, by the way?” “Ears and tail, mostly,” Chrysalis admitted. “Biology is hard. Discord finds it easy, though...” “That's because I basically ignore it,” Discord stage-whispered, changing his crocodile head back to normal before putting his right arm on red. Just the arm. Not the rest of him. “Okay, that has to be cheating,” Chrysalis said, scowling. “I – whoa!” Twilight winced as pony, changeling and draconequus collapsed in a heap. 34.7 Dash looked over the paper. “Twilight... you sure about this?” Twilight shrugged. “Well, organizing things worked so well when I did it at the Winter Wrap-Up, and quite frankly the whole weather schedule seems very complicated – quite unnecessarily, really – so here's my plan, and I'd like to give it a go.” “Well...” Dash looked at her friend askance. “If you say so, Twi. But this ain't gonna go well.” “Thank you, Dash!” Twilight grinned. “What's up with the weather, ah ask you...” Applejack muttered to Twilight, as she dragged a cart to market. “Four months o' constant sun! The apples ain't gonna take much more of this. Let me tell you, ah have half a mind to track down Dash and...” Twilight coughed. “Yeah, dry throat and all, too,” Applejack said sympathetically. “Alright, everypony,” Dash said, consulting her chart. “That's a hundred and twenty-eight days, on the dot, so that's it for the sunny period.” Several pegasi sighed with relief. Derpy had her hooves hooked into a small cloud, and was dangling upside down from it to stay in the shade. “What now?” Raindrops asked. “Well, according to this plan, we're past what's called Garam, and into what's called Khalif.” Silence greeted that announcement. “Yeah, I dunno either. But it looks like tomorrow is going to be a storm.” Dash flipped onto the next page. “As is the day after. And... hold on a sec, guys.” Flip. Flip. Flipflipflipflipflipflipflip... “Huh.” Thunderlane crowded around to look at the weather plan. “...wait a sec. That's three and a half months away.” “Yeah,” Dash confirmed, contemplating the work ahead. Then clapped her hooves. “Okay, looks like we get to just shove a storm cell on top of Ponyville and keep refilling it for... basically ages.” “This is not working,” Dash said to Twilight. “Yes, thank you, I had gathered that,” Twilight replied, keeping a shield spell over her book collection. They had to be shielded. After all, they were on the balcony in pouring rain – because Ponyville was flooding. Note to self. Ponyville is not suited for a monsoon climate. Maybe, rather than just becoming an alicorn on occasion, it would make sense to reverse engineer Star Swirl's spell and learn how to untransform. If nothing else, she might be able to make it turn her into a pegasus, and clearly learning how the weather worked was going to take practical experience... 34.8 (Masterweaver) Twilight and Chrysalis sat together in a bar, Chrysalis having a folder in front of her and downing another shot of whisky. Twilight patted her on the back while smiling, "Don't worry. So, who's the next person on your list." Chrysalis pulled out a set of papers on her next attempt. The image of the pony caused Twilight's cheerful demeanour to disappear faster than Pinkie when she went to set up her "Welcome to Equestria Party." Chrysalis opened her mouth to speak, but Twilight lifted the file up with her magic and caused it to burst into flames, "Not him. It won't work out, I promise." Chrysalis looked in horror as the ashes fell, "But...he's a prince like Shining! And also, the papers voted him the most eligible bachelor in Canterlot." Twilight facehoofed at the comparison of Shining Armor and Blueblood. Where was looping Rarity when she needed her? She resolved to have the two meet the next time they were looping together. "I think," she said slowly, "we're going about this wrong." A smaller, thinner folder floated out of her subspace pocket. "It's time you move onto a different class of pony." The changeling queen opened the folder cautiously. "...Loopers?" "It's the one thing we haven't tried yet..." Trixie blinked. She blinked again. She took a moment to compose herself. "You... are asking me out." "Yes." "...we are both mares." Chrysalis coughed. "Well, technically, you're a mare and I... don't actually have ovaries, I just lay the eggs – " "No, you're right, stupid me. You're a shapeshifter! Not a problem." The unicorn giggled. "Nope, not a problem, I just – why me?" The changeling queen bit her lip. "Well... you're looping... and, you know my, ah, issues with Shining – " "Er, no. No I don't." Chrysalis winced. "...look, it's complicated, but I'm trying to move on. And – " "Wait. I'm a rebound?!" "No! Not like that – " "I cannot believe – " "It wasn't him! It was a not-awake version of him and – " " – I thought you were actually into me or something – " "GAAAH!" A holey black hoof pressed against Trixie's muzzle. "Look, I have issues, okay? And it's been suggested that I try to find another pony, and... I'm doing this wrong. Hold on, let me start over." She took a breath. "Miss Trixie Lulamoon, you have caught my attention, would you give me a chance to catch yours?" The unicorn stared at her. After a moment, she shook her head. "You know for a species that literally feeds on love, you are terrible at this." "My last stable romantic relationship was with an escaped slave of an enemy nation while we were both constantly hunted. I... it kind of just happened, situation... thing." Trixie shrugged. "Okay... you know what, okay. Sure. Why not, let's see where this goes." 34.9 (FanOfMostEverything) Once again, Homura's eyes flew open. Once again, she rose into a sitting position and sighed. Once again, she had failed Madoka. Then she noticed that she was naked. And had hooves. She didn't scream or boggle at the sight. She'd seen far stranger within witches' barriers. Instead, instincts honed by an endlessly repeated month of struggle had her reaching for her Soul Gem. Which she dropped. Because she had hooves. Homura took a deep breath. She wasn't sure what was happening, or why. There was a very real possibility she had gone insane, or had become a witch herself, or both. Still, she could get through this. She had endured far, far worse than fleeting annoyance, and no doubt there was worse yet to come before she could finally rest. Still, it would've been nice if she hadn't collapsed immediately after getting out of her hospital bed. Stupid horse legs. Stupid hooves. After a few mortifying minutes of learning how to work her new body, Homura realized something that she'd missed while caught up between her usual post-reset depression and the whole horse thing: she didn't recognize her room. It was different. She was different. If ever there was a chance to save Madoka, this was it. Nurse Tenderheart entered the room and beheld one of the chronic patients, a filly who had barely been able to move for years, jumping up and down in joy. The nurse smiled. Such were the miracles of modern medicine. "Congratulations, Daybreak!" The purplish-gray little unicorn seemed to halt in midair. Once she landed, she put on a terribly serious, composed expression that did nothing to hide her furious blush. Tenderheart kept a straight face thanks to years of paediatric experience. Checking the clipboard she had in her fetlock helped too. "Now, everything seems to be order. Get your things together and we can get you released." The answer was as stiff as the filly herself. "Y-yes. Thank you. I won't be long." It was a bit harder for Tenderheart to hold in her laughter this time. She tousled Daybreak's ebon mane. "Come on, now. No need to embarrassed. This is a big day for you. It's only natural to get excited." Daybreak's lips slowly curved into a smile, as if she were afraid her happiness would be taken away the moment she tried to enjoy it. She blinked – were those tears? – and nodded. "Okay." Tenderheart matched her smile for smile. "Attagirl. Come down to the lobby whenever you're ready." Homura moved quickly. She needed to. She couldn't take the chance that Kyuubey wasn't still plaguing the planet, which meant that she only had about a day to keep a cat from dying. Otherwise, as in that first go-around so long ago, Madoka would resurrect it with her contract wish. Luckily, it seemed some part of her remembered this new room as well as she did the usual one, the same part that had spoken English with a fluency she'd only felt in the classroom after a few dozen loops. She knew where everything important was, and in some cases, what it was. The twin pouches were apparently saddlebags, and they were where she stuck the few personal possessions that had made the room more than a place to wait for either recovery or death. It wasn't until she reached her glasses case that she realized that her vision was still blurred. Homura whipped out her Soul Gem with an impatient snort and once again willed her eyes to perfection. Once the world came back into focus, she blinked. What she saw didn't change. Her Soul Gem's light seemed to have escaped the little jewel and was now surrounding it, making it float in midair. Then she noticed a matching light above her eyes. "Um…" The Soul Gem drifted back into one of the saddlebags, as if responding to its owner's unspoken thoughts. The light faded. Homura decided to take a quick detour. Old and new memories agreed that the room would have an attached bathroom, which would have a mirror. Homura moved down the hallway in a mild daze, trusting the strange intuition to guide her to the lobby. She wasn't sure how to feel about being a unicorn. Deep under the layers of emotional scar tissue, whatever was left of the awkward girl she'd been thought she was absolutely adorable. Another part of her was wondering about the marks on her rump. The diamond she recognized from her fingernail and Soul Gem, and the twisted loop overlaying it seemed to be the symbol for infinity. Her new memories knew it was important, but couldn't say what it meant. A third was wondering how being a tiny horse would affect her magic. A fourth came back to whether Kyuubey was even here. Would there be any witches to fight? If not, how long could she last if she kept her magic use to a minimum? A fifth… Well, in any case, it was entirely understandable when she walked into an adult horse's legs. Homura stumbled back. "Sorry! I wasn't—" "It's fine." The horse – pony, her new knowledge insisted – seemed to be female, given her voice. "I've certainly been lost in thought before." She was also a unicorn, Homura noted, her coat a more vivid shade of purple. "Well, I see you two have met," said Nurse Tenderheart. "Daybreak, this is Twilight Sparkle. She'll be looking after you." "What?" A second later, Homura realized she was physically younger than normal. Too young, it seemed, for an apartment of her own. She may not even have the funds available to afford rent. The nurse seemed to be expecting her reaction. "I know, Mister Cueball had already volunteered to take you in, but, well, he's coming in as you're coming out." "He's sick?" Homura gave a silent cheer. Sure, the name could be a coincidence, but she was willing to bet all the money she might not actually have that Cueball had red eyes, a white coat, and an obsession with thermodynamics. "Injured. Can't say why. Or won't." Tenderheart shook her head. "Stallions. In any case, Miss Sparkle offered to take his place." Twilight nodded with a grin. "I think we're going to have a lot of fun, Daybreak." Her voice had the cheery condescension found in most people's "talking to children" voice. Daybreak Heart. That was her name. Or, at least, it was what everyone… everypony? Seriously? It was what everypony would be calling her. Homura gave a small smile of her own. "I hope so." She was already devising a plan for getting out from under Twilight's hooves. As the two unicorns walked out of Ponyville General, Homura asked, "How well do you know the ponies here, Miss Sparkle?" "Well, I'm no Pinkie Pie, but I'm at least acquainted with quite a few Ponyvillians. Why do you ask?" Well, it was worth a shot. Homura considered how Madoka might appear in this timeline. "Would you happen to know a girl about my age? Pink coat, kind to a fault, wears ribbons in her hair?" Twilight considered this for a few steps before shaking her head. "Can't say I do, but Miss Cheerilee might. She's going to be your teacher. I can introduce you to her after you've gotten settled in." Homura held back a groan. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. "I see." "Is she a friend?" "An old one, but we've lost touch." Homura drooped a bit. "I don't even remember her name." Not whatever she was called as a pony, anyway. Strawberry Ribbons, maybe? "I'm sure you'll find her soon," Twilight assured her. Homura simply grunted. Empty words were about the best she could expect from adults. There was a flash of light, and the filly came to halt, her head darting up. A translucent sphere had sprung up around her, leaving the outside world a bit dulled and blurred, like a light fog. "Walk with me, Daybreak." Twilight's voice had steel in it now. Homura started walking. It seemed like a very bad idea to disobey that voice. She turned to Twilight, whose horn was faintly glowing. "What's going on?" "The spell?" Twilight gave a wave of her horn in no particular direction. "It's a privacy field. Anypony who might be eavesdropping on us will only hear the sort of empty chatter I was subjecting you to until now. The situation? You tell me. About an hour ago, a transequine entity manifested in my house and told me that a temporal energy burst would erupt in the foals' wing of the local hospital, and that I should be there to pick up a very confused filly before she hurt herself or others." At least the mare sounded like she was speaking to an equal now. Still, there was a problem. "I don't understand," admitted Homura. "Neither do I. I was hoping you could tell me who she might be. She identified herself as 'Eternal Hope.' Does that help?" Homura shook her head. "Even if I knew her, it wouldn't be by that name. Do you know of humans?" Twilight grinned. "I see. I thought that might be the case. What's your actual name?" "Akemi Homura." "Ah." Twilight nodded, as though this told her everything she needed to know. "I have a theory. Are you familiar with the term 'memory leak'?" "Not really." "Well, if a computer program—" "You know what computers are?" Homura hadn't seen so much as a pixel since she'd woken up. It was honestly a bit disconcerting. "I know a lot of things." Twilight resumed the lecture. "Anyway, if a computer program requests memory but doesn't release it, that memory can stay tied up. If the program runs over and over, it leaves more and more memory locked up." Over and over… "Is that why I'm a pony?" Homura asked. "Because I looped too many times?" Twilight shook her head. "No, no. Imagine the leaking program is deleted, but the memory it allocated finds its way to another program that can use it, but has to change the file format… well, the analogy kind of breaks down at that point." Homura wasn't listening. Her attention had latched onto one word. "Deleted?" She lurched to a halt. "What do you mean, 'deleted'?" Twilight opened her mouth, but decided against whatever she was going to say before she could say it. "Well, it's probably best you get the explanation from the best source. We're here." She dropped the privacy bubble and opened the library door. Homura trudged through, too lost in thought to notice that she was walking into a living tree. Her gaze stayed on the floor before her until a pair of hooves came into view. She looked up, her eyes widened, and she dropped onto her haunches, mouth agape. Eternal Hope was a full-sized horse, pink as strawberry ice cream. Her mane and tail were cascading streams of energy, shading from magenta at the roots through purple, reaching royal blue by the tips. She had both horn and wings, and her cutie mark was a teardrop overlaid by a fat red X. Despite all this, Homura recognized her smile in an instant. "Madoka?" Madoka nodded. "Hello again, Homura-chan." "I…" Tears welled in Homura's eyes, and she wasn't sure why. "I'm so confused. Are you a magical girl? Are you safe? Is Walpurgis—" She fell silent as wide, pink wings embraced her. "Shh." Madoka held her friend in her forelegs. "It's okay now, Homura-chan. You don't have to worry about me anymore." With a chaste kiss to the forehead and a quick spell, she guided the unicorn to sleep. Once Homura was resting, Madoka looked up at her hostess and gave her a grateful nod. "Thank you, Twilight." "It was my pleasure," Twilight said sincerely. "Friendship problems are something of a speciality of mine, after all." "So it seems." Madoka's ears flattened, her smile taking on a melancholy cast. "It's a shame you won't remember this." Twilight tilted her head. "What do you mean? I'm the Anchor of this Loop." She began casting the first memory spell she could remember, already thinking of others besides. "I'm afraid I don't leave much of an impression on people. You'll see when I leave. Or, rather, you won't." With no further preamble, the alicorn transformed into pink energy and imploded, taking Homura with her. Twilight paused midway through casting Antimony's Anamnesis Assistant. "Huh. What was I doing?" She pondered for a moment. "Casting a memory spell. And I've forgotten what I want to remember. That's a bit too ironic to be coincidental." She scowled and extracted a file marked "In Case Of Memory-Proof Entities" from her subspace pocket. "Darn it, and this seemed like it was going to be such a peaceful Loop." Madoka manifested outside of Yggdrasil in a similar surge of pink, this time in human form. Well, humanoid. To those in the know, the blue marks on her forehead and temples spoke of her divine nature. In her hands she held a brightly shining purple Soul Gem. Homura didn't need to see how the cosmic sausage was made. "Oh, it's you." One of the sausage makers happened to be nearby, scowling at the embodiment of hope from her seat in front of the supercomputer. Madoka gave a shallow but respectful bow. "Hello, Skuld-senpai." Skuld's scowl deepened. "Don't 'senpai' me, troublemaker. Your haywire ascension has been the biggest headache I've had since we had to start the Loops." "My universe ceasing to exist would cause a magical girl to despair," answered Madoka. There was a slight singsong aspect to her tone from sheer repetition. "Yeah, you." "Nevertheless, I wasn't just permitted to preserve it, I had to." "Whatever you say, Little Miss Force-of-Nature." The raven-haired Norn called up a smaller window and cross-referenced the younger goddess's movements. "So, what should I tell Sleipnir when he finds your fingerprints all over one of his worlds? You know, other than 'Here's my hammer. Go nuts.'" "Oh, I was just cleaning up after myself," Madoka said with a smile. Skuld snorted. "That'd be a first." Madoka shrugged and manifested her bow. The living device extended itself, runic interfaces blooming along its surface. She held the Soul Gem to one, which uploaded the jewel's data. Homura would be having some odd dreams for a while. "You know," she mused, "I'm no expert, but it seems like you should've backed up everything." "On what, that twig of yours? You can't back up a supercomputer on a laptop, and it's not like we had a grove of server-grade world trees on standby in case of the unthinkable." "Well, you may want to think about that in the future." Skuld leapt out of her chair, hovering eye to eye with Madoka, debugging hammer in hand. "You do not get to talk to me about the future!" The other goddess didn't even blink. "Hope is a wish for a better future. Aren't goddesses supposed to grant wishes?" Skuld sputtered for a bit, her grip on her hammer tightening to white-knuckle intensity. A dark, especially Norse corner of her mind noted that a good, old-fashioned blood eagle wouldn't kill a goddess. Not if done properly. Ultimately, she huffed a sigh and muttered, "I don't have time for this." She returned to her chair and hunched over the console, typing furiously. "Some of us are actually trying to fix this problem." "I'll get out of your hair, then." Once more, Madoka shifted into a plume of pink energy, entering her bow. The world sapling hovered for a moment before vanishing into itself, an ontological paradox only possible with the smaller models. Meanwhile, Skuld continued to assault her keyboard, muttering divine profanities in commented-out Yggdrasil Command Speech. 34.10 (Masterweaver) "Mmmmmm." "Mmmmmmmm." "Mmmmm." "....mmmmmm." With a flash, Twilight appeared in the room. "We have a – Oh! I'm sorry, I just, I'll be going...." She backed out sheepishly, averting her eyes. Spike and Rarity shared a look. Eventually, the dragon sighed and put down the spatula. "She's not going to believe we were just making cookies, is she?" "No, I don't think so." Rarity sighed, removing her apron. "To be completely fair, we were licking the batter off each other." "You started it." "Yes, well. Maybe we should go see why she's here?" "I suppose," Spike sighed, taking off his own apron. "I just hope it's something important..." "...and that's it." Twilight finished awkwardly. "So... um... yeah." Spike and Rarity stared at her, eyes wide. Eventually, the dragon coughed and took a breath. "So. If I were to flat out say no...?" "Political explosions, possible war with the dragons and the griffons, a chance that Celestia could be deposed..." "And if I say yes, I lose Rarity, marry some stranger, and go rule a nation of jerks." Spike dragged his hands down his face. "Errrugh. What is with Celestia this loop?" Twilight sighed. "I think she was banking on being able to shape the dragons into a more agreeable race before you hatched and matured. She's not awake, so... you know, she didn't know about..." The unicorn gestured between the two of them. Rarity finally managed to gather herself. "Well... you're a prince though! That's... okay, that's no justification whatsoever." She groaned. "Who arranges marriages centuries ahead of time?" "And why did it take me centuries to hatch anyway?" Twilight shrugged. "Dragons this loop hatch when they hatch. You're an early bloomer." She levitated over the copy of the treaty. "Anyway, when Celestia heard about you two, she sent me this. If we find a loophole, you guys get to stick together. We've got three months. Go." Spike cheered, slamming down a lawbook. "Aha! If I choose to abdicate in favour of my cousin, the treaty with the griffons will technically be fulfilled!" "Except your only cousin that still qualifies is still in an egg," Rarity pointed out, "and part of the treaty stipulates renegotiating the trade agreement within a year of coronation." She sighed, looking up from the genealogies splayed in front of her. "I don't think we're going to be able to find a peaceful solution to this, Spike. It's been two and a half months!" "We've still got half a month, and I am not going to give up on this. I won't abandon you even if I have to divorce my fiancée after the wedding." "Awww... that's so sweet of you." The unicorn stood and stepped over to him, giving the dragon a fond nuzzle. "Wouldn't work," Twilight offered distractedly. "Royal marriages require consummation, at least by these laws." She remained oblivious of the other two's glares as she sorted through another stack of books. "Outdated. Doesn't apply. Doesn't apply. Outdated. Immoral. Revolutionary. Doesn't apply. Revolutionary. Doesn't apply..." She stopped suddenly. The book glowing in her magical grip had stopped flipping. Spike put a claw on her shoulder. "...Twilight? Did... did you–?" "it's risky," she managed. "Dangerously so. Fatal for a normal pony, but..." She let the book levitate over to Rarity. "You might be able to pull it off." The ivory unicorn took the book, reading down the page. "...rather uncouth, don't you think?" "Yeah, well... it's the only viable option so far." Twilight shrugged. "I'll keep looking, but you should start training now." Selindavri wrapped her tail around Spike's, draping a blue arm over his shoulders. "Don't be so nervous, darling." "Please... please don't call me darling." She patted his chest in understanding. "Of course, of course. My big strong drake doesn't need such frilly nicknames, does he? Relax. In but a few minutes the ceremony will be over and we can move on to... important things." A gentle smile graced her snout. "I know how hard this is for you, leaving the ponies, but it really is the right thing. And don't worry, you'll be able to see them fairly regularly... oh, and of course I will help you adjust to life in the conclave." Spike rose an eyecrest, giving her a look. "Really." "It's why I'm here, da – ironpecs." Selindavri rapped a fist against him. "Really, though, those are impressive. Ah, that's our cue." She patted his shoulder gently and began to walk across the volcanic ash, a serpentine silhouette against the red and gold glow of the lava flows. After steeling himself, Spike walked after her. Some accommodations had been made for Spike's friends of course. The dragons had arranged for an area filled with cooling charms and magical shields repelling the molten rock, where the ponies could watch the glorious wedding of the dragon prince. It was oddly quiet in that region, a contrast to the thrumming of the dragons surrounding the crater. Rainbow Dash and Applejack where fidgeting in their seats. Pinkie and Fluttershy couldn't help but click their hooves together as they watched. Twilight and Rarity seemed oddly calm. Finally, the couple stopped in front of a massive dragon, black as the sky with wings large enough to wrap over the entirety of Ponyville. He turned his red eyes on spike, and from him to Selindavri. "Mmm. A match between the line of Horvem and the line of Krin. A portent of things to come, perhaps." He breathed in, not noticing the significant glance between two unicorns. "Who here would dare object to this match?" "I." There was rustling among the watching dragons as Rarity stood. She walked out of the protective circle, horn gleaming as light wrapped tightly around her. Selindavri turned to look at her, surprised and annoyed. "I, Rarity Belle, Child of the line of Platinum, claim this match unfit." "I expected opposition," the blue dragon said, "but not from you." A black claw waved her to silence. "She is within her right to object... should an elder not." The red eyes scanned the assembled dragons. "Does anybody else challenge this match?" "There needs be no other challenge. I invoke the right of claim." That got a murmur from the dragons watching the scene. "It's a trick!" one cried. "She's a disguised alicorn!" "I assure you, my good sir, I do not have access to any such power. I am nothing but a tailor." Selindarvi sighed. "You are a pony, miss Rarity. To fight me is to die, and I do not wish to sully my wedding with an international incident." "Then you concede?" "I would... refuse." Rarity shook her head sadly. "The line of Horvem has truly fallen to produce a dragon so... frail." The blue dragon narrowed her eyes. "Careful, pony. I am being merciful, and I know how much your kind values that." "Yes. We do value mercy. That is why I am invoking Claim instead of Treachery." The mutterings of the dragons behind them ceased at once. "An... interesting statement," rumbled the black behemoth. "A threat, perhaps." Rarity said nothing. Selindavri flicked her tail. "...clear the field. She will have her Claim." Oh sweet Celestia I'm fighting a dragon. Rarity's face was the picture of calm as she stared across the lava pit, where Selindavri was meditating. She wasn't nearly as brutish as the dragon who would take up residence in the mountain every loop; in fact, had circumstances been different Rarity could easily see her as a potential friends. Coupled with her long claws and, to Rarity's trained eyes, well toned body, the unicorn could only come to one conclusion. Oh sweet Celestia I'm fighting a smart dragon. Then her mind threw up a fact she'd stumbled across during her research. Oh sweet Celestia I'm fighting a smart dragon with magic. The unicorn took a deep breath, thankful for the environmental filter spell she'd cast, and let it out. She'd fought smart dragons with magic before, on rare occasions. True, those were usually fused loops, and she was usually an alicorn for those fights, where here she had to avoid becoming an alicorn in order to keep her claim legitimate. Still, this wouldn't be as hard as it looked. Now if only she could convince the part of her that was a quivering ball of horse of that fact, and concentrate on strategies. I'm going to die. I'm going to be immolated. I'm going to cease to be. Rarity told her instincts to shut the tartarus up, death was temporary and anyway she could easily avoid it. I'm going to be torn to bits. She told them to shut up please she was trying to concentrate. I'm going be gobbled up. With a sigh, she mentally grabbed her instincts by the ear and slapped them repeatedly. This, in retrospect, probably explained the headache. The black dragon took a breath. "The time of preparation has ended." Selindavri snapped forward and slammed her magically glowing claws where Rarity had been half a second ago. Jump. Run. Dodge. Cast. Look. Roll. Spell. And then, suddenly, Selindavri backed away, tilting her head. "No... you are the smart one, aren't you? You're playing to your strengths." She smiled. "Very well then." Rarity had less then a second to react before the fire hit her. The blue dragon let out a sigh. "Tactics are important, but power is too." The fire suddenly rippled unnaturally, tightening and compressing until it wrapped around the unicorn in a fanciful, glowing dress. "While I agree, I do think theatrics play a part as well." "....hmmm." The two women circled cautiously around, now truly assessing each other. Occasionally, Selindavri's tail would flick a boulder at Rarity; she'd destroy it, naturally, but always did so in a different way. Her return volleys were similarly countered, once by claw, once by wing, once by magic... and then again by claw, but not the same manner as before. The battle had become a series of small, tense tests as the two attempted to get a feel for each other. Selindavri suddenly feinted with a claw, so obviously that Rarity was already dodging her snapping jaws – itself another feint as the massive tail wrapped round and flung her into the air. With a glow of her horn, gravity was negated. She smiled, lounging in the sky as her flaming dress whipped in the upcurrents of the crater. "I must say, the view is striking from up here! Very powerful. I can see why dragons chose this as a meeting place." "It was something of an inspiration to me, actually." Selindavri nodded back, a small smile on her own face as her wings snapped out. "I'm glad I got to share it with you." A single flap propelled her toward the hovering pony. Of course she wasn't expecting Rarity to suddenly fall straight at her weighing as much as Cerberus himself. When they hit the ground, the unicorn rolled off, glancing at the dragon behind her. Still breathing... and much more surprisingly, attempting to get up. "Are you alright, dear? I don't actually want to injure you permanently, just convince you to concede." "You... are quite good." Selindavri shook her head as she stood. "Thank you, dear." "...but not good enough." The dragon's neck whipped about, circling them both with fire as she raised her claws and slammed down. Rarity couldn't help but let out a pained cry when she felt the magic around her being torn away as easily as a sheet of paper. Even with her own admittedly vast stores of power, it would be incredibly difficult to weave a spell without a field of magic around her. Then Selindavri swung a claw at her– Technically, her horn was glowing. Technically, she did forge the shield that protected her. Granted, she'd forged it a while ago, in a loop where Mithril could be mail ordered – at a high cost – and she'd just pulled it out of her subspace pocket... but if Selindavri drew the conclusion that she'd just spawned it out of mid air, which judging from her expression she did, then Rarity wasn't going to correct her. "...Why do you want him?" the dragon finally asked. "Because I love him," the unicorn replied simply. There was a moment of quiet. Then Selindavri shook her head and, with a flap of her wings, put out the ring of fire. "I concede." Rarity blinked, putting down her shield as her ears perked forward. She'd... honestly expected that to be a lot more difficult. The massive black dragon tilted his head, confused as well. "This is an unexpected outcome. Explain." "Pride." Selindavri looked at the ones watching her. "It is not power that drives a dragon. At our core, we are proud creatures. The purest of us, the ones remembered in fame and myth, are the avatars of honor, dignity, and confidence. And ponies, for all their differences, have among them pure hearts as well, but there core lies not in pride, but in love. I would never oppose a dragon whose pride was pure; I would be a fool to not extend that right to any pure heart, even if their purity is one I can never hope to have. And it is clear that in this matter, at the least, Rarity Belle of the line of Platinum has a pure heart." She smiled crookedly. "Aside from which... I will still be an advisor to Spike, no matter the outcome. That is enough for me." "Hmmm." The elder drake pondered the words. "Very well. Claim has been made, Claim has been taken. If another wishes to make Claim..." His eyes peered at the watching dragons. "Speak." None dared make a sound. "....then we will reconvene in a fortnight for a proper union." And with that, the black drake shut his eyes and let his head rest on the ground, a clear dismissal. "Well." Spike sipped his drink for a moment. "That's that then." "Yes, it was quite something, wasn't it?" Rarity shook her head, relaxing on the couch. "This whole fiasco has tired me out, darling, I just hope the rest of this loop's politics aren't as crazy as the Platinum Crown loop..." The dragon raised an eyebrow. "The....?" "Before your time. I was doing research on Blueblood for that loop and it turned out his actions were based off a childhood belief that since Celestia was, well, Celestia, he was essentially worthless." She waved a hoof. "I helped him out, we fell in love, noble families tried to sabotage our relationship to get their hooves on ancient spells... There was the whole thing with Chrysalis, too, I'm still not sure exactly how involved she was." "You fell in love with Blueblood?" Spike sputtered incredulously. "Like I said, it was before you started looping. I was incredibly young back then... I thought I'd changed him permanently. I didn't realize he'd reboot." The unicorn sighed as her face flushed. "I spent half the next loop a complete wreck. I..." Rarity looked up at Spike, smiling gently. "I'm glad I learned that lesson before you started looping, darling. Don't hold on to that which is fleeting, but cling to that which truly matters." Spike blinked. Then, slowly, he chuckled and shook his head. "Well... thank you. Really, though, Blueblood? I can not figure how that one happened." "Looking back on it, I think it was just a strange loop. You have no idea how long Twilight teased me about it." With a dramatic swoon the unicorn fell back into her couch. "And now you know my darkest secret! O please my dear sir, do not think of me less for it!" "For shame, Lady Belle! For shame!" The dragon waggled a claw. "Naughty, naughty!" It only took three seconds for the both of them to collapse in helpless giggles, Rarity moving to make room for Spike to sit down. They leaned into each other, laughing for a good long while. Eventually they managed to collect themselves, looking at each other and sharing a smile. Then Spike took a breath. "You know, we're lucky Cadance is awake this loop." "Oh?" Rarity tilted her head. "Why?" "Because she would kill us both if I did what I'm about to do while she wasn't." He stood up, wringing his hands. The unicorn's eyes widened. "Spike... are you–?" "When I saw you out there," the dragon began, "I... I saw how you were beautiful even then. Even taking on a full grown dragon, one of the most dangerous and... and let's face it, dirty things anybody could do, you were absolutely radiant. And it wasn't just how you looked. It was how you moved... how you acted. You were... amazing. And... I thought about how were all the time, and how much you have given of yourself... Rarity, you're a wonderful pony. An incredible pony. And seeing you out there... I realized I didn't want to lose you, even as temporarily as one loop." He reached into his subspace pocket. "Honestly, I've been waiting for a loop where we're all awake. The girls, the princesses, Shining Armor, the Crusaders and their friends, Trixie, Gilda, Chrysalis..." He scoffed a bit. "I doubt Berry would be there even if that would have been nice. But... after this, after coming so close to having to give up the pony I love.... it's not something I can do." Spike knelt down, taking the object in his hand and opening it. "Rarity... will you please do me the honour of letting me claim you forever? Will you please give me the joy of... of becoming my... my wife?" And lo, on that day did appear a smile so radiant that it came not solely from the heart, but from every fibre of the lady's being. Tears so tightly filled with joy that a single one could hath drowned Chrysalis herself ran freely down her face, a face blushing not from embarrassment but from the overwhelming emotion coursing through her. Her laughter was loud and graceful, dancing through the room in a glorious ballroom waltz which she could not join, for already she had leapt upon her partner and cried a single, pure confirmation. The knight, overwhelmed by his own emotions, could barely slide the ring he had forged and perfected o'r lifetimes onto her waiting hoof before joining in her laughing tears. And they grew close, sharing a single deep kiss that spoke of the most complete union of souls any mortal could hope for. "Mmmmmm." "Mmmmmmmm." "Mmmmm." "....mmmmmm." Twilight walked into the room with a sheaf of papers. "So, I think I'm done with – Oh! I'm sorry, I just, I'll be going...." She backed out sheepishly, averting her eyes, but a smile danced upon her face.