//------------------------------// // Fifty-five // Story: Freedom Through Harmony: Book II // by Electricut //------------------------------// Chapter in full color Fifty-Five ACT 3 Fancy Pants The TARDIS continues shaking gently, moving forward. According to Doc’s estimate, they will reach the Green Sun by midday the next day. So far, hours had passed without Discord returning, but Fancy Pants continues to watch the door, looking out over New Equestria for any sign of trouble. “So… What do you think is going to happen after this?” Derpy asks pensively. “I couldn’t say…” Doc admits. “Our future is full of uncertainty once again… Perhaps we’ll return our world to where it belongs. Or perhaps we’ll end up somewhere else. Hopefully someone at the Green Sun can repair the intense damage dealt to the planet by Discord.” “Discord said that he did that to a bunch of other planets, too.” Derpy says. “Not all were broken, but he said he visited sixteen others and killed people there. So those sixteen will probably be at the Green Sun, too.” “I refuse to believe there’s no way to stop him.” Fancy Pants states adamantly. “We can’t just keep running from him. He’ll always catch up. We’ve got to find his weak point, then make a stand and stop him for good.” Doc nods in response. “Everything has a failsafe, a weakness. We just need to find it… It seems all trails are leading to this meeting at the Green Sun. We’ll be able to have a moment of peace to plan, to find a permanent solution, and share any information we have.” “What do you think of this Ciella person?” Derpy asks. “She’s a bit no-nonsense…” Fancy Pants says, “But she definitely seems to know what she’s doing.” “Yeah… It’s kind of cool to be able to meet different kinds of people, though. I wonder what other kind of beings will be there?” “All I can say is that I hope they’re friendly.” Doc says. “Or at least that they realize who their real enemy is.” There is a lull in the conversation. After a few moments, Fancy Pants shifts quickly in his place, his eyepiece zooming in on something. “I’ve got some activity! Something’s coming!” “Discord?!” Doc asks. Fancy Pants doesn’t answer for a few seconds, then swears. “Yeah, it is! Get ready for impact!” The three ready their weapons. Fancy Pants grabs hold of the outside of the TARDIS, swinging himself to the exterior, rifle at the ready in his other mechanical hand. He can’t quite make out the shape of Discord yet, but the object approaching has his distinct energy signature written all over it, and it is coming in fast. He looks down the sights of his gun, then gasps. There are two signatures; Discord himself further back, and a massive blast of energy at the front, locked onto the TARDIS. “BRACE YOURSELVES!” Fancy Pants yelled. “This is going to hit us hard!” “Derpy, stand back!” Doc yells. “We’ve got no choice now, I’m going to open the watch!” Out of the corner of his eye, Fancy Pants sees a flurry of golden light come from somewhere near Doc, probably the pocket watch. The energy wave collides with the TARDIS, and Fancy Pants can hear the awful sound of metal grinding against metal. The TARDIS shakes violently, but keeps moving. He peeks inside and sees Derpy on the ground, knocked unconscious by the blast. There is a swirl of golden energy where Doc must have been standing. “Shit!” he swears again. “No, it’s alright, he should revive just fine. I just need to buy him some time.” Fancy Pants takes one last look inside the TARDIS. It’s still running fine, and knows where it needs to go. He nods, and kicks away from it, then rockets towards Discord. The TARDIS and New Equestria are soon far ahead. “Well, well.” Discord greets, sounding extremely pleased with himself. “Decided to sacrifice yourself to save your friends? I remember the last time someone tried that. Your friends, the brother and sister.” Fancy Pants doesn’t acknowledge the jab. “I don’t intend to die here. I’m going to keep my friends safe, and then I’m going to join them.” Discord laughs. “Is that so? Tell me then, how do you plan to walk away from this?” “You underestimate me. Leeroy and Quick Fix were good, absolutely no offense to them. But I’m simply the best there is. You know how many impossible video game bosses I’ve taken down with a bit of elbow grease? As far as I’m concerned, that’s you. The impossible post-game boss of our game. And I’m going to beat you just like I beat all the others.” Discord finds this extremely funny, but also seems intrigued. “Fine then. You talk a big game. Let’s see how closely you can stick to those words.” *** … THE FUCK IS THAT? what? THAT THING OVER THERE, FLYING NEXT TO OUR SHIP. AND HOW THE HELL IS IT EVEN KEEPING UP WITH US? where? lemmie see. … that’d be the tardis. THE WHAT? it’s a time-traveling phone box. … A TIME-TRAVELING yes. A TIME-TRAVELING PHONE BOX. yes. … YOU KNOW, I’VE HEARD A LOT OF SHIT THAT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE COME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH, BUT THIS IS UP THERE. I REALLY FAIL TO SEE HOW THAT THING CONSTITUES A TIME-TRAVEL DEVICE. dude no trust me, i know time travel shit thats a time machine alright not half as cool as mine though SO HOW THE HELL DOES IT WORK THEN, SMART ONE? THING CAN’T FIT MORE THAN, WHAT, TWO PEOPLE? MAYBE? NOT MUCH ROOM FOR CONTROLS, EITHER. ALSO, ARE WE JUST GOING TO STAND HERE GAPING AT IT, OR ARE WE GOING TO BRING IT IN? yeah, i’m on it. so, it’s bigger on the inside. there should be a big control panel in the middle. it belongs to this guy called the doctor. he goes around in it and fights evil aliens and stuff, except without really fighting. AND YOU KNOW ALL THIS BECAUSE… there was a tv show about it he watched it a lot i think my bro did too i didnt very much but i know the basics at least cant run a blog and not know a thing or two about dr who come on AND WE AREN’T QUESTIONING WHY A FICTIONAL BLUE HUNK OF WOOD THAT TRAVELS THROUGH TIME HAULING SOME MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL’S ASS AROUND TO GIVE CHEESY ALIENS A SLAP ON THE WRIST IS HURTLING THROUGH SPACE AT SEVERAL TIMES FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF LIGHT NEXT TO US. nah lets be honest weve all seen a lot weirder WELL, GLAD THAT WE’VE GOT THAT WELL AND TRULY CLEARED AWAY. WHA- DAMMIT, THE DOOR IS LOCKED. HOW THE HELL DO WE OPEN THIS THING? well… we don’t. we have to wait for the doctor to come out. or his companion. but they’re the only one with keys to it. DOES ANYONE IN CHARGE OF THIS THING ACTUALLY HAVE A FUCKING NAME? AND WHY DID WE EVEN PULL THIS THING ON BOARD IF WE CAN’T GET INTO IT? well, the doctor doesn’t. he’s just the doctor. his companion will, but i don’t know what it is. he’s had a lot of different companions. i dunno which one will be in there. YOU HUMANS SURE DO HAVE SOME STONE-COLD RETARDED IDEAS OF ENTERTAINMENT AND STORYTELLING. roses pile of trashy troll novels would like a word with you FUCK YOU, STRIDER. love you too Derpy awakes on the floor of the TARDIS, her head throbbing. Looking around, she can see no one else in the control room. Across the chamber, the device Doc had used to change himself into a pony smolders lightly, seemingly ruined. There is a little blood present among the scorch marks. She doesn’t see Doc anywhere though, or any traces of him dragging himself away from the device. Derpy frowns, worried. The last thing she remembers, Discord had attacked the TARDIS. There is no one else in the ship, but it is still travelling to its destination. The three must have gotten separated while she was unconscious. Doc’s weapon and tool of choice, the sonic screwdriver, lies on the ground near the control panels. He will want it back when he next sees her. She pulls herself off the ground and captchalogues it. Derpy decides to exit the TARDIS. She tries to find windows to look out of first, but it seems that the only way she will see what is outside the TARDIS is by peeking out the door. She trots over to exit, and sighs heavily. She doesn’t know what’s out there waiting for her, but she knows it isn’t her new world. It isn’t New Equestria. And it probably isn’t her friends. She opens the door, and the first thing she sees is the void of space, followed closely by the deck of a golden ship. She recognizes it quickly as a vessel of Prospitan design, one of their flagships. Looking to her right, she sees nothing but space, and what seem to be stars zooming by. She looks to her left, and sees an extremely confused creature staring back at her. He is bipedal, the same as the humans of New Equestria and the Carapacians. He sits against the front of the TARDIS, a hand on one knee, and has his head cocked at Derpy, mouth open slightly, yellow eyes squinted, trying to process his situation. He wears simple clothing- a black sweatshirt and grey pants- and has skin the same color grey as Derpy’s own fur. His mane is a tangled black mess, and he has a pair of rounded yellow-and-orange horns atop his head. ???: … EGBERT, YOU DIDN’T MENTION THAT THE DOCTOR WAS A FUCKING HOOFBEAST IN GOD TIER ROBES. ???: what? let me see. Another boy pokes his head around the corner. This one looks pretty much like one of the people of New Equestria, a child of Earth or Fire. No horns, no wings, but his shape and skin tone are the same. He wears square glasses and had black hair, less messy than the person sitting in front of him, but still messy. Strangely, he wears a blue hoodie almost identical to the one Derpy wears, that of a Hero of Breath. The design is a little different from her Page outfit, though. The boy approaches her and lowers himself slightly to look her in the eye. Well, the one eye that’s looking at him, anyway. The other has become distracted by the lights rushing by off the side of the ship. ???: that’s weird… i’m guessing you’re the doctor’s companion, though. DERPY: y-yeah… you could say that. ???: OKAY, I AMMEND MY PREVIOUS STATEMENT. YOU DIDN’T TELL ME THE DOCTOR’S /COMPANION/ WAS A FUCKING /TALKING/ HOOFBEAST IN GOD TIER ROBES. DERPY: stop calling me that! DERPY: i’m not a /hoof-beast/! i’m a pony. DERPY: my name is derpy. ???: guess you were from another session, huh? one with pony players? DERPY: yeah… so, you mean, you guys are from another world? and you played the game, too? ???: SWEET HUMAN JESUS, IT’S LIKE I’M HAVING WAR FLASHBACKS. I COULD SWEAR THIS IS THE EXACT SAME SHIT YOU ASKED ME WHEN WE FIRST SPOKE. ???: don’t worry about karkat there, he’s just grumpy. all the time. but he’s not that bad when you get to know him. ???: but yeah, we’re from different sessions of the game. we’ve got players from three different sessions on this ship. four now, counting you! ???: my name’s john! JOHN: so… did any of the other players from your session come with you? DERPY: um… yeah, there were two others that made it to the new world. but then we got attacked and separated… JOHN: huh… well, don’t worry! i’m sure they’re fine, and they’ll catch up. JOHN: you said you were attacked. was it the same thing that attacked us? DERPY: i dunno. what attacked you? JOHN: this really big… thing. JOHN: he looked like he had parts of a bunch of different animals all grafted together. JOHN: and a really big red sword. DERPY: oh… DERPY: … DERPY: you didn’t lose anyone, did you? JOHN: yeah, we lost some civilians… JOHN: i think the final count was close to a hundred and fifty. JOHN: h-hey! don’t cry! DERPY: i’m sorry… DERPY: that monster… discord… DERPY: he was from our session. JOHN: oh… i see. JOHN: don’t worry. this isn’t your fault. nobody’s blaming you for it. JOHN: i know how you feel, too. KARKAT: AND NOW IT WOULD SEEM YOU KNOW HOW WE FELT, TOO. KARKAT: SOME INVINCIBLE SUPERDEMON FROM SOME SESSION OF WEIRD ALIENS WALTZES IN AND FUCKS UP YOUR PERFECTLY GOOD SESSION? KARKAT: SOUNDS DISTINCTLY FAMILIAR TO ME. KARKAT: AND BY THE LOOK OF THINGS, THIS FUCKER IS EVEN MORE INVINCIBLE THAN THE LAST TWO GUYS. KARKAT: WE BARELY SURVIVED LORD ENGLISH WITHOUT LOSING HALF OUR HEADS, AND WE HAD A SHITTON OF BACKUP AND SECRET ENDGAME WEAPONS THEN. KARKAT: IF THE LEAD WE’RE FOLLOWING TURNS OUT TO BE A DEAD END, WE MAY AS WELL JUST AGREE TO OFF OURSELVES. IT’D SURELY BE A LOT LESS PAINFUL THAT WAY. JOHN: karkat, i usually try to avoid being this blunt, but… JOHN: can you just shut the hell up right now? JOHN: she’s already scared and upset enough without you adding to it. DERPY: it’s okay… i’ll be okay… DERPY: so… what lead? JOHN: oh! well, after we fended off the initial attack, a lady appeared. a hero of space, from some other session. JOHN: she got that discord guy away from our planet with help from her first guardian friend. JOHN: she told dave- our time guy- to put our world in a time-lock, and for us to go to the green sun. JOHN: that’s the one place that’s constant between all sessions. JOHN: she left right after that. so we got a ship, and now we’re headed to the green sun, to figure out what to do next. DERPY: oh, yeah. DERPY: we saw her too. she appeared in the tardis and told us to go to the green sun, too. DERPY: doc already put one of those time lock things on our world, though. DERPY: it should still be with us, since the tardis was pulling it. DERPY: it should still be time locked, too. JOHN: oh, so that’s what that was! JOHN: we were wondering whose planet was following us. JOHN: jade is carrying it now, along with our planet. JOHN: she’s our hero of space, and she’s got first guardian powers too, which definitely gives us an advantage. she’s able to shrink things down and carry them. DERPY: discord was one of those too, a first guardian. but his powers have been dampened. JOHN: dampened? how’d you do it? DERPY: he did it to himself. he said unlimited power was boring, and took the rings from the black and white queens. he’s actually less powerful with them. KARKAT: STOLE THE RINGS, GOT FIRST GUARDIAN POWERS, YEP. THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR TOO. KARKAT: BUT THAT BEING SAID… WE DID BEAT SOMEONE LIKE THAT ONCE. JOHN: that’s the spirit. we did it once, we can do it again! JOHN: anyway, derpy, if you’re going to be riding with us to the green sun, why don’t i introduce you to the rest of the team? JOHN: i know at least one guy who’ll probably become a fast friend. DERPY: alright! John leads Derpy away from the TARDIS, and begins showing her around the deck of the Prospitan ship. It’s a huge cruise ship class, but has been outfitted with countless weapons, ranging from lasers to explosive canons to harpoons. John explains that several of the vessels had made it with them to their new session, and that the science-minded among them had spent a great deal of time and effort refurbishing them. “It helped that me and Jade knew our way around one of these already.” John explains. “We took a long ride on one, and lived on it that whole time. This is a slightly different model, but they all have a pretty similar layout… Oh! Hey, Dirk, come here for a sec.” John calls to another human standing near the balcony on deck, and he turns and walks towards them. He wears a dark, redish-violet God Tier garment, a tiara on his head of blond hair, and a pair of black triangular sunglasses. He approaches, then pauses when he sees Derpy. He stares for a few seconds, then looks to John, then back to Derpy. “You’re a pony.” he observes. “Yup. My name’s Derpy.” He seems to consider something for a few moments, then shrugs slightly to himself. “Don’t suppose you knew Rainbow Dash, by any chance?” Derpy frowns, confused. “I met her once, but I didn’t KNOW her, no. But… how do you know about her?” The human, Dirk, frowns for a moment, considering his answer. “Well… I have a theory. See, back on Earth- our old planet- there was… Well, a story of sorts, about Equestria. But on Earth, it was completely fiction. But clearly, somewhere in paradox space, it wasn’t. It was a reality for you. I realized that when we fought Discord. I was horribly confused at first, but I think I’ve got an idea of what it means. “Dividing all the worlds in paradox space are a series of walls, though they don’t exist in three-dimensional space. The first and second I think are essentially metaphorical, walls dividing space and time. Anyone can travel through the first wall, and many can travel through the second. The next two walls divide the worlds in ways that most people can’t travel through. If my theory is right, the third wall divides worlds that aren’t tied to each other in any way. Dirk sighs, seeming to prepare himself to explain a difficult concept in understandable terms. “The fourth wall, however, divides worlds that are tied together in some way. Paradox space has a weird way of binding things together; physical objects can’t make it through, but sometimes, ideas get through from one world to another. And sometimes, those ideas end up in peoples’ heads, as visions, and dreams, and soon, they become stories.” Dirk sighs again and scratches the back of his head. “There are holes in that theory, I realize, but it’s the only thing I was able to come up with that makes any sense. Jade didn’t have any better ideas, either.” Derpy nods. “I think I understand. And, you said you knew who Discord was before you saw him?” “Yeah. Though I didn’t think he was half as powerful as he turned out to be.” “I probably couldn’t imagine it either…” Derpy agrees. She tells him about what Discord was like before his transformation, about what he did that made him the way he is now, and how much of a threat he poses. Dirk doesn’t say anything for several seconds, considering this. He then nods quickly. “Dave! Get your sword ready, we’re sparring again.” Another boy approaches, one who looks remarkably similar to Dirk, but with a slightly different hairstyle, rounded glasses, and a red God Tier outfit, a Hero of Time like Doc. “Again?” Dave asks, but his sword is ready. “If you say so. Don’t want that freak to catch us sleeping… Is that a pony? You had something to do with this, didn’t you Dirk?” Dirk holds up his hands in mock surprise. “Happy coincidence, I swear.” Derpy and Dave are briefly introduced, before he and Dirk leave to spar. “Dave and Dirk Strider.” John explains. “They’re brothers, as much as you can say that about people like us. Paradox clones and all that.” Derpy nods in full understanding. “Anyway, they’re both amazing swordsmen. Plus Dave can do all kinds of time travel stuff, and Dirk’s great with machines, and has a few tricks up his own God Tier sleeve. “Oh, I hadn’t asked yet- that was kind of rude of me- what about your teammates? I’m sure they’ll catch up with us, so why don’t you tell me about them so we know who to expect?” “Oh, alright, sure!” Derpy replies, glad to be able to talk about her friends. She didn’t want them slipping from her mind, not while they were lost somewhere out there. “Well, there’s Fancy Pants. He always played a lot of video games, so he cleaned up in our session. Plus he’s a fantastic rifleman. “Then there’s Doc…” Derpy trails off for a moment, and John smiles, knowing just what she means. “He’s great with time travel stuff too, but not much of a fighter. He prefers to talk things out if he can… I think we’re going to get married soon, actually. I had just brought it up, and he seemed to like the idea… but then Discord came.” John frowns slightly and pats her shoulder lightly. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be able to pick that conversation back up when you see him next. And now that you mention it… I think I know exactly who we need to find next. I think I know where she’ll be.” The two make their way through the inner decks, not seeing much of anyone else. John tells her that the people of their land are on the planet itself, and that only thirteen people were on the ship, plus her. Eight humans, five trolls, which is what Karkat was; Creatures from a different session that had become intertwined with the humans’, and who had taken refuge in the humans’ new world out of both necessity and friendship. The pair approaches a balcony, where a girl stands, with pretty blond hair and an outfit much like Quick Fix’s, one of a Hero of Void. John attempts to tiptoe up behind her, but she turns long before he reaches her, unimpressed but amused. “Come on, John.” she says, “You’re gonna have to do better than that. You’ve done that one on me a million times, your prankster’s gambit has never been lower.” John chuckles and steps forward. The two wrap their arms around each other and share a short but loving kiss. “Don’t worry, Roxy, I’m working on some great new material. You won’t know what hit you. Anyway, I wanted to let you know that we’ve got a new passenger on this ship. Roxy, this is Derpy. Derpy, this lovely lady is Roxy.” Roxy separates from John and up to Derpy, smiling. “Aww, you’re so cute! … Wait, tell me I didn’t miss Dirk’s reaction.” “Afraid so.” John says. “It was pretty funny though.” “Darn. Ah well. Is it… Just you?” “Right now, yeah.” Derpy replies. “There are two others that will catch up with us sooner or later.” Roxy nods sympathetically. “That’s good. I’ve been in that spot before; being alone, with your friends who-knows-how-far away. It sucks. But hey, you can be friends with all of us! And like you said, your own friends’ll join us sooner or later!” Derpy smiles and nods. “I’d like that.”