44.1
“Right,” Twilight said, her royal accoutrements in a pile against the wall. “I'm fairly sure the way this loop would go in absence of our being Loopers would involve severe paperwork trouble on my part, the five of you feeling neglected, and complete chaos as you tried to act out. Possibly ending in Lunar time-outs.”
“...hate to admit it, but that sounds about right,” Scootaloo said with a wince.
“So. To solve this, I've basically created half a dozen body doubles, and I'm going to use them for paperwork. Understand this, girls.” She looked each of them in the eye, one by one. “However it came about, we're family for now. I might not necessarily be any good at it, and I know I can't replace your parents – in Nyx's case because I always am her parent,” she added with pedantic correctness. “But I'll do the best I can. Let me know if there's anything I'm doing wrong.”
The five fillies nodded, solemnly.
Twilight returned the nod. “Thank you.”
Then she formed an illusion in mid air. “Now, the first thing I think you need to learn – while you're all here to learn it – is Star Swirl's last spell. It's technically tricky, but you should get the hang of it eventually – and it makes it possible to go back from alicorn to any breed you want, so you won't accidentally get stuck in alicorn mode for a loop.”
“Does this mean that new princesses aren't immune to homework?” Applebloom asked.
“It does indeed.” Twilight paused. “Well, in all honesty you probably know most of what you'd be taught, so I think I can limit it to politics, magic and so on.”
“That's something, at least...” Diamond Tiara sighed.
Scootaloo fidgeted in her regalia.
She still wasn't used to it. Heavy bronze shoes, a presence chain (something Twilight had told them she'd adopted from one of her brothers' ideas, since it meant you didn't have to wear both a peytral and a coronet) and, for the occasion, a bronzed saddle.
Still, at least bronze wasn't quite as silly a metal for jewelery as the solid steel Applebloom was wearing...
“The firstborn child of the Gryphon Emperor, lady Gerta Cottomenes!” an usher announced. (She thought he was called Hard Voice, which certainly fit.) He then walked into the room, and turned. “The daughters of Queen Twilight Sparkle, the Princesses of Equestria. Applebloom, Diamond Tiara, Nyx, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.”
The young gryphon who walked through the door after him seemed about as overwhelmed as they were, which was nice at least.
“Uh... hi,” she said, then winced. “Sorry. Greetings from the Heir-elect of the Gryphon-”
“Nah, the first one was better,” Nyx said with a wink. “Don't worry, we don't care much about formality.”
The usher looked quietly scandalized.
“Oh. Er, okay...” Gerta frowned, thinking, then gasped. “Oh! Sorry, I forgot, I have to present a gift to the Heir Apparent of Equestria. It's a goodwill thing, I think...”
She tailed off, as the five alicorn fillies exchanged glances.
“Girls?” Sweetie said. “Huddle.”
“Okay, who the buck is the heir?” Scootaloo whispered. “Did we ever work it out?”
“Nope,” Nyx replied, looking sour. “I don't know what kind of succession law we have here yet, so that's no help.”
“Can't we assume it's the firstborn?” Diamond Tiara asked.
“Tiara, if y'all remember that far back ah'm astonished.” Applebloom shrugged. “Far as ah can tell, Twilight just treated us all equal. Even before we all Awoke. Ah've got no idea who was born first.”
“Hang on a sec.” Nyx stuck her head out towards the gryphon fledgeling, who was looking a little lost. “We might be a while, feel free to grab some juice or something.”
“Okay,” Twilight said, sitting in the centre of a semicircle of filly alicorns. “Star Swirl's final spell is one of his most impressive – and, for the majority of loopers, one of the most useful. The basic idea is related to relative amounts of earth pony, pegasus and unicorn magic.”
“I think I know what you mean,” Applebloom hazarded. “After the loop reset which turned me back from an alicorn to an earth pony filly, Cookie could still detect a bit of pegasus magic and a bit of unicorn magic.”
“That's right,” Twilight nodded. “Technically, once you've ascended and become an alicorn – or, for Nyx, Celestia and Luna, once you're born one – your soul is permanently that of an alicorn in a few subtle ways. You always have a tiny fragment of all three. What Star Swirl's spell does, when used right, is to change the relative amounts. It can't create magic from nowhere – and trying leads to... interesting results...” Twilight remembered the time she'd accidentally scrambled her friends' talents, and winced. “But since you all have a little of the appropriate magic already, you can just play around with the amounts to turn yourself from alicorn to a different pony type and back.”
“So...” Scootaloo raised a hoof. “I can't normally cast magic...”
“Yes, I'm afraid that the step of going to a different breed of pony will always involve reascending to alicorn, and then undoing the spell again, so bear that in mind. I think your Devices all have the capacity for stealth spells, though?”
Nods.
“Okay. Nyx, would you care to demonstrate?”
“Sure!” Nyx concentrated, flared her horn, and her wings disappeared. “Ta-da!”
“Now reascend, please.”
The unicorn paused, then reached into her mane. The odd clattering sound could be heard.
“Nyx?” Twilight asked, concerned.
“I haven't needed my pendant in, what, centuries! I forgot where it is, okay?”
There was a crash.
“Never mind...” Nyx withdrew her hoof, a gibbous-moon pendant in cosmic spectrum stone dangling from it. “Okay, here we go.”
The room got momentarily darker, and Nyx was back to being an alicorn.
“...okay, what just happened?” Applebloom asked. “That didn't seem, well, possible.”
“My magic's kinda like that,” Nyx admitted. “Sometimes it makes unlight.”
“Hay, before we forget,” Scootaloo asked, as Twilight started chalking magical formulae on the board. “What are we princesses of?”
“Nothing yet,” Twilight answered absently. “I'm the ruler right now, and you're all considered too young and inexperienced.”
“That sucks,” Sweetie said with a pout.
“I'm sure we'll find our destinies eventually,” Diamond Tiara replied, then paused and put her head in her forehooves. “And now I sound like you lot...”
Applebloom stuck her tongue out.
“Okay, I'm going to love hearing the reason behind this one...” Twilight said, raising an eyebrow and keeping her hooves from sticking to the floor.
“Well,” Applebloom started, shuffling her feet. Or trying to. They made schlup sounds when she moved them. “I thought that Princess o' technology would be a good specialization, so I decided to try inventin' fast food.”
“I'm afraid I don't see how that's technology...”
“Well, the technology came in with the potato cannon, and the squash racket, and the maple syrup flamethrower.” Applebloom hovered over a fried splinter of potato. “It actually tastes quite nice. Sweet.”
Twilight plucked it out of the air, and nibbled on it. “I see. Well, I imagine it may be an acquired taste...”
“Yeah, true. You get enough tree sap as often as we do and you kinda develop a palate for it.” Applebloom shrugged.
“Be that as it may, we do need to get the wall repaired. Hypersonic potatoes aren't very good for the stonework, and I think you may have freaked out a couple of peckish gryphon guards.”
Something exploded a short distance away.
Twilight looked in the direction of the noise. “Any idea what that was?”
Applebloom drew a circle in the puddles of syrup. “You know as well as I do that that was probably one of my sisters.”
With a sigh, Twilight nodded. “You're right, of course. Out of interest, how does Cheerilee cope with you lot?”
“Normally we don't have crazy new magic powers to explore?” Applebloom volunteered.
44.2
“...well, that's that adage proven true,” Twilight concluded as she closed a medical dictionary. “Modern magic really does have a cure for everything except the common cold.”
Spike sniffled.
“Or perhaps we should call it the uncommon cold, because this clearly isn't a normal rhinovirus,” she continued. “Maybe Fluttershy could help?”
“I dunno,” Spike said thickly, rubbing his nose. “Worth a try-”
He inhaled massively.
Twilight, suddenly having a moment of premonition, dove for cover.
“WA-CHOO!”
Ponies in the market turned to look at where the loud sneeze had come from.
They saw a large dragon tail poking out of the library wall, a large dragon leg sticking out one window, and a large head having smashed through the top floor of the building.
Roseluck cleared her throat, coughed, and then screamed.
That started the Standard Ponyville Stampede Mark IV.
“Well, dis idn't gonna be fun,” Spike muttered, dabbing at his streaming eyes as he shrunk back to normal size. “I tink my age-shifting's on de fritz.”
“I'd noticed,” Twilight commented, standing up again from behind the counter. “Perhaps it would be better if we went to see Fluttershy now, because I don't think the building can take another sudden dragon expansion.”
“Sounds good to me...” Spike felt another sneeze coming on, and clamped his claws on his nose to hold it in.
Twilight translated his look of desperation to mean “hurry up”, and fired off the teleport.
With a loud crunch-crash-tinkle, half a tree landed on Celestia's dresser.
The Princess of the Day looked up from her Daring Do book. “Oh, dear. Spike had better have a good explanation for that.”
She turned the page. “Ah, Azihuotl again. She does have something of a perennial problem with him...”
The broken crockery could wait until she'd finished the book. It was quite engrossing.
“...well, on the plus side, at least you missed Fluttershy's house?” Twilight tried.
Spike put his enormous head in his equally large hands.
44.3 (Stainless Steel Fox)
"Wait!" A reporter ran up, cameraman following, who locked his aim on Twilight. "This is Joseph James, reporting live from King's Metal Reclamation in Robley, where police are in a tense stand-off with an alien... pony?"
"Actually, I'm pretty relaxed," Twilight responded, "and it's more of a stand around."
She manifested a plush cushion and sat down. "Any-pony else want one? Okay, now it's a sit down. Actually, you talk to the Inspector over there, if I'm going to be on camera, I'll get changed."
A cloth screen appeared between them and her, and you could hear her humming. After a few seconds, the reporter turned away and had the cameraman focus on the police officer. "Sir, who are you and what's been happening?"
That worthy was actually feeling pretty grateful towards the purple pony, as her distraction had given him time to think so he wouldn't come out looking like a complete idiot.
"Inspector Burns, Merseyside Constabulary. We were sent here in response to a call by a worker here that an invader had appeared and was about to attack. He'd included smart-phone video, so we took the report seriously. We were sent here to rescue any survivors and contain the alien threat."
The screen vanished, and Twilight stood there, now clad in her business-mare outfit. "I'm not a threat, though I'm told I do get tetchy first thing in the morning before breakfast. My assistant Spike says it's because I pull all nighters and don't snack. However, they arrived and handled the situation with diligence, dispatch, dedication, and... a lot of other good things, at least one of which should begin with 'D'... sorry, that kind of got away from me, carry on."
The fact that the pony was now available to talk to made Joseph switch his attention.
"So who and what are you, if not an invader? There have been reports of a crea... individual matching your description appearing in Japan and Brazil. Was that you, and if so, what is your purpose here?"
"Right now? Delivering that load of scrap spacecraft parts I collected from orbit for recycling. In general, helping out. I was in Japan and Brazil, and now I'm here in the United Kingdom and likely to stay here for a while, if I'm allowed. In general, I want to help out. This planet has had a rough time even without the invaders, and I hope by generating wealth and then using it and my powers to aid people, I can both alleviate that and at the same time demonstrate my good will. As to who and what I am, I've got a prepared statement here..."
Her horn glowed and her business briefcase style saddlebags twitched as she pulled out some note cards. A pair of wire rimmed glasses appeared on her muzzle, and she consulted her notes.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I come from the land of Equestria on the planet Equus. It is a land of sentient ponies like myself, and home to many other races. And I was originally a unicorn. There are two other main races of pony, earth ponies with strength and earth related powers, and pegasi with flight and cloud control."
A projected image appeared above her horn showing a street scene from Ponyville, and then Canterlot. Both were from a first person point of view, with Spike waling out in front of her and pointing excitedly at a bakery.
"I am not affiliated with those monsters you call invaders, and did not even know of their existence until after my arrival here; which was ultimately an accident, though something they indirectly caused."
The scene changed to her study at the palace, littered with astronomical charts, books, blackboards with arithmantic notations and other paraphernalia. Princess Celestia was in front of her, looking at a star chart.
"I am a magical researcher and scholar, the protégé of Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria, and an alicorn, one of the rare ponies who combines the traits of all three races, and trust me, the whole is far greater than the sum of the parts. I act as something of a trouble shooter for her. I'm also well regarded as an astronomer, with multiple papers on both subjects to my credit. The ponies working on the Search for Extra-Equestrial Intelligence project had detected strong super-luminal energy surges from this part of the sky, and I was part of the team trying to discover their origin. I now believe it was an alien mother ship exploding.
"I developed a new generation of scrying spell using teleportation techniques that had interstellar range and could return images in real time, something of a breakthrough. Unfortunately when I tested it, it malfunctioned, due to the presence of a recently evaporated quantum singularity in the system. It overpowered the focussing array and caused an inversion. Rather than bringing the image to me, I was transported to the source of the image.
"Thankfully, I was in visual range of Earth when I emerged, and the residual atmosphere that had been carried with me could be contained by a forcefield, so I could survive long enough to get my bearings and teleport to the surface. However, it wasn't exactly my best landing. I was in shock and the sudden demand on my powers had made me semi-comatose, I had to have been radiating thaumic energy like mad."
Her projection started to play a view of what had happened from her point of view.
"When I started to recover my senses, I got it back under control, but by then a group of military types had showed up, complete with a psychic, who immediately tried to mind control me. I chucked her out of my mind and pushed her away. I tried to communicate, tell them I didn't want to hurt anybody, just wanted help, but when I tried to cast a translation spell, they decided I was attacking and tried to blast me.
"I cast a sleep spell at the first one to do so, but then they all started, and while I was trying to block them, one must have used stealth technology to sneak up on me and use an electric stunner to knock me out. When I woke up, I was in a big glass chamber, with some sort of suppressive field making it hard to think. The invaders apparently use psychic powers too, and the scientists had some sort of suppressor.
"While the magic I use is different, it is related, and they were interfering with my powers. I resisted, they started trying to crush me to see how much power I could put out, and I refused to be crushed. No-pony really knows how the apotheosis works, but rarely, a regular pony at the very limits of their will and ability to survive can metamorphose into an alicorn."
She flexed her wings. "As a unicorn I was in the top bracket of magic users in both power and versatility, both by talent and dedicated training and research. Alicorns are many times as powerful, and as a newly ascended one, my powers are still growing. The princesses Celestia and Luna are functionally immortal and can control the orbits of celestial bodies, and I'm fairly sure by the time I get back I'll be able to pinch hit for them if they need a holiday.
"Anyhow, I escaped, copied some memories from their chief scientist, something I'm not proud of, but I desperately needed information about this place and she would presumably be the smartest one there. I found out among other things that she was ultimately going to do the same to me, though unlike my harmless spell, her methods involved driving metal probes into my brain and copying the electrical signals. The subject doesn't live long, and not with anything resembling a mind."
She wrinkled her muzzle.
"Obviously, I got out of there, and had to decide what to do next. I've already managed to send a message scroll back to Equus bare-horned, and will probably be able to follow it in a few days, though I may need to build a focussing array to get precision targeting. But I also found out what kind of stuff you guys had been through, and I wanted to help. But rather than just wandering around, randomly zapping things better, I decided to do it the hard way.
"The business I've set up, Nightlight Industries gives me a legal identity, since as a non-human I'm not covered by regular civil law, and I intend to use my powers within a framework of business to generate money for charitable purposes, and give a structured way to ask for my help directly. Which reminds me, half of the profit from this first sale of orbital salvage will be going to charity through the Nightlight Foundation. The rest will be invested in some other projects I thought up, which should ultimately create even more money for aid work.
"As well as that, I also have dozens of slightly used satellites and upper stages that could probably be reconditioned with a repair spell or some shop work. Their original owners get first refusal on my selling them at 100,000 pounds a pop, and as my advert stated, free delivery anywhere inside geostationary orbit. If the original owners don't want them, I'll put them up for general sale, I'm sure I can get better than scrap metal values from a collector who wants their own satellite."
"I also asked Princess Celestia not to send anyone after me, as I know you people are still leery of aliens. And that's the other reason I'm doing this, to make it clear, not by fancy words but by deeds that my people are not like those monsters you've been fighting. And that's all I have to say. Thank you for your time. In the manner of friendly aliens from your fictional works, live long and..."
She held up a hoof and then looked at it, frowning. "Huh, didn't think that one through..."
That got a laugh from most of the people there. She gave them a grin and teleported away.
It wasn't until some time after that Joseph James found the business card for Nightlight Industries in his pocket with a written note about calling to set up a proper interview.
44.4 (Masterweaver)
Twilight walked into the bar with a haggard expression, giving Macintosh a brief nod as she slumped onto a stool. She stared at the mug he placed in front of her for a moment.
"....I walked in on Spike and Rarity."
Macintosh blinked, pulled the mug away, and replaced it with something stronger.
Twilight finally started drinking, staring into the distance. "I mean... he's basically my son. How am I supposed to feel about this? I'm happy for him and Rarity to be sure, but..."
Sweetie Belle walked into the bar, blushing furiously as she cast an age spell. Macintosh raised an eyebrow, placing a bit of watered down cider in front of her.
"....I walked in on Spike and Rarity."
Macintosh nodded, pushing the mug closer to the now technically adult mare.
"...It's weird, you know?" Sweetie Belle sipped her drink. "I mean... Sometimes, I wish I could 'wake up' as a slightly older pony, but other times I get some sort of cootie fever..."
Chrysalis stepped into the bar, swishing her tail grumpily as she located a stool. She managed a brief, terse smile as Macintosh slid a glass of cider in front of her, before sighing.
"....I walked in on Spike and Rarity."
Macintosh raised an eyebrow, gesturing for her to go on.
"I don't understand why they were so embarrassed," she continued, nursing her mug. "I mean, I was only in there to grab a comb, and it was only sex..."
Cadance was positively giggling as she traipsed into the bar, humming brightly to herself. She grinned brightly at Macintosh as she took the glass of wine he held out, sipping it dramatically.
"....I walked in on Spike and Rarity."
Macintosh gave her a confused look.
"It is just so cute!" she squealed, clapping her hooves together. "I'm so happy that they've found each other. I mean, I had to give them a few tips, but honestly they were so enthusiastic..."
A guitar exploded through the roof, standing up and strumming metal chords on itself as Discord moonwalked into the bar wearing thick sunglasses and a high-collar pink leather bomber jacket.
"....I walked in on Spike and Rarity."
Macintosh stared at him in shock.
"Not that it's actually important or anything. I just think people have been telling you that a lot. So what booze is available today, I loved that Bloodwine stuff..."
44.5 (Crisis)
"I AM TRIXIE! THE GREAT AND POWERFUL!" the floating illusory unicorn head boomed at a volume rivaling the Royal Canterlot Voice.
"Yah know," deadpanned Applebloom, "I don't know why any a' us expected somepony different..."
It was a weird sort of fused Loop. To their knowledge, no current looper was from this Oz place, much like there was no looper from the Eiken universe, not to mention the fact that it usually wasn't populated with Equestrian races. Nyx had Awoken after her house crash-landed from being whisked away from some farm place called Kansas by a tornado. After a song and dance number from a town of bushwoolie things regarding the death of some 'wicked witch of the east' she'd collected Peewee – idly wondering if the phoenix was looping and how anyone would be able to tell if he was – as well as some ruby ponyshoes and set off down the yellow brick road to go see the Wizard.
On the way she'd come across the Awake versions of the CMC. Applebloom was some sort of pony-like scarecrow strung to a wood post, Sweetie was a tin mare who had rusted up in the woods, and Scootaloo was a griffin of all things. Nyx mused that the Loops had a strange sense of humour. The Loop memories of her three companions implied that her friends were seeking things they already possessed in spades. But they'd all still agreed to come with Nyx to see the Wizard because, why not?
"I still say that gate guard sounded familiar," Sweetie cut in.
"Are you still on about that?" Scootaloo groaned. "Just because he's got a bit of a Trottingham accent doesn't mean he's anyone we've met before. You don't need to inspect everyone we come across to see if they're the Anchor you know."
"YOU DARE IGNORE TRIXIE, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL?!" the floating head boomed again.
"Sorry," Nyx called back. "How's the Loop treating you auntie?"
The head gave a big sigh before it dissipated along with the fog it was projected on. A curtain off to the side of the room was swept back and Trixie strode out.
"Not bad," she replied reluctantly. "But you four could show some respect for Trixie's showmare skills."
"Sorry," Applebloom apologized, "but I noticed the projector lens when we came in and pointed it out to the others. It's still pretty dang impressive. Even if it's not quite what we'd expect from you these days."
"Trixie's been rediscovering her roots this Loop," the showmare admitted. "After a near disaster with an experiment, Trixie has been cutting back on the brute force she's come to rely on over the Loops and begin re-honing her skills at the stagecraft that once served her so well. In fact, Trixie has not used so much as a cantrip this Loop. And she has still convinced Oz and the threats to it that Trixie is a wizard of great skill and power. All through smoke and mirrors."
"That's pretty awesome!" Scootaloo beamed. "So, do you have a super-amazing quest for us to undertake?"
"Indeed Trixie does," the showmare admitted. "The Wicked Witch of the West is still at large and she is more powerful than her sister ever was. The task is to retrieve her ring, which possesses a gem through which she is able to focus her foul magics. Without it, she will be rendered powerless and of no more threat to Oz."
"And after that?" Nyx asked. "I mean, it's not like any of us need the things we're supposed to want. Applebloom's got more brains than any of us, Sweetie's heart is as caring as ever, Scootaloo's still a daredevil, and I've never technically been to the Kansas place I'm supposed to be from this Loop so I've got no real incentive to return. So I think we'd probably just stick around for any more adventures you've got on tap."
"Well..." Trixie mused. "There's the Nome King, Mombi, the Wicked Witch of the South is due to wake up from her enchanted sleep any time now, Princess Langwidere is out there somewhere collecting heads, Tyrone the Terrible is due to make a move soon, and there's probably a few others that escape Trixie's mind at the moment."
"This is gonna be an awesome Loop!" Scootaloo cheered.
Picard the winkie dog, and normally one of the three Trek Anchors, stretched back in his guardpost. This was shaping up to be another nice vacation for him. His only interaction with other loopers had gone as usual, with them completely unsuspecting of his looping status. The Prime Directive probably wasn't meant to cover situations like this, but it had served him rather well in keeping his head down around other loopers.
44.6 (Masterweaver)
Twilight walked into the living room. "Mom, Dad, I'm stuck in a time loop that lasts a few years before rebooting, I've had multiple lifetimes, I can transform into an alicorn at will, and I have an adopted daughter named Nyx who is technically Nightmare Moon."
The two unicorns gave her a long look.
Then, finally, her mother spoke. "Are you.... happy?"
"Well... yeah, pretty much. I'm not alone in the loop."
"Well... alright then." The elder mare hugged her gently. "We'll always love you, no matter how strange and incomprehensible you get."
The stallion raised an eyebrow. "Is Shining in this time loop too?"
"Yeah."
"Good," he said with finality. "If you find any special somepony you should take them to him for approval."
"Daaaaaaaaaaad!"
44.7 (Crisis)
Twilight blinked as she Awoke, and blinked again as her Loop memories hit.
Everyone she knew was still there. They were all the same colors, had the same talents, but this Loop instead of ponies, everyone was...
"Ah, smurf," she muttered bitterly.
Oh, great. It was affecting speech patterns too.
44.8
“Well, it's been a while since I was last here,” Twilight said, adjusting her Robe And Wizard Hat. “Wonder if AJ's going to take the chance to go Paladin?”
The inn door creaked open.
“...huh.” Twilight looked the newcomer up and down. “Wasn't expecting you, to be honest...”
Gilda shrugged, the enormous sword hovering above her back riding silently up to stay at a set distance. “What can I say.”
Twilight moved over. “Come on, sit down. We might be waiting a while. Oh, what class did you go with?”
“Duskblade.”
“Huh.” Twilight frowned. “Can't say I've heard of that one... it wasn't in that book Pinkie had, anyway.”
Gilda settled into the chair. “So, what's this place like, anyway?”
“Adventure with swords and sorcery, pretty much.” Twilight shrugged. “All six of us 'classic' Element bearers had one a long while ago – that's where Fluttershy got started on her druid thing, though it took a while for her to really get used to using it again once the loop was over.”
The gryphon nodded. “And any idea who else is here, then?”
“Not really...” Twilight's eyes unfocused. “I picked up an Element of Honesty, of course, but that turned out to be yours... oh. Well, that should be interesting...”
“What?”
The door slammed open. “Tremble before the power of the Great and Powerful Trixie, Wilder extraordinaire!”
A cough came from behind the blue unicorn.
“And Chryssy, of course,” Trixie added, stepping aside to reveal the Changeling. “She's a psion.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Hi, guys. Come on, take a seat. I'll go get something alcoholic. Beer?”
There were general nods.
“...so, anyway, according to our backstories we met when she tried to use Charm on me and I tried to use a wild burst energy ray on her,” Trixie said with a grin. “Long story short, huge psionic glitch, both of us lost our powers for three days, actually got to know one another.”
Twilight nodded, sipping at her tankard. (Inns in Oerth always had quite good beer. It was the Profession system.)
“So, are we heading out or what?” Gilda asked, idly casting Bloom on Trixie's beer and creating a miniature lily pad.
“Well, I'm not sure if there's other party members on the way, but last time there were six,” Twilight hedged. “I'd say set off tomorrow morning.”
The door creaked open again.
“Or we could just have them turn up now,” Chrysalis observed, then winced. “Oh. Well, this could be awkward...”
“Hi, Shiny, Cadence,” Twilight said, smiling. “How are you?”
“Tolerable,” Shining replied, shaking water out of his mane. “It's raining out there, has been for two hours.”
Cadence spread her wings and fluffed them out. “I miss weather schedules.”
“So, er...” Chrysalis began, in a voice of forced calm.
“Don't worry,” Cadence said, furling her wings again and looking Chrysalis in the eye. “Tell you what. Let's see this as a team building exercise. We can learn to be comfortable in one another’s presence.”
“Don't ask for miracles...” Chrysalis muttered.
“Actually...” Cadence paused. “I suspect that I could. Eventually. Technically. Oh, I'm a Favoured Soul and Shiny's a Paladin, just so you know.”
“Right.” Twilight moved two more stools over. “That's us better off for healing than last time, anyway. Any idea what the Quest is?”
A gnome walked up to Twilight, handed her a gilt envelope, and headed off for the back room.
“Oh, thank you.” Twilight opened the envelope. “See, that's one nice thing about this world, it's so convenient for adventuring... aha!”
She held up the letter within.
Dare YOU enter the OFFICIAL World's Largest Dungeon?
Every monster you've ever heard of! (Non-core source books not included)
All the levels!
Caution: entering the dungeon does not allow one to exit from the dungeon. Bring food.
“What do you think?” she asked.
Gilda cracked her knuckles. “Sounds good to me!”
Trixie gave Twilight a pitying look. “You even need to ask?”
Cadence and Shining exchanged a look, then nodded.
After a moment, Chrysalis sighed. “Well, all for one and one for all.”
“Great!” Twilight took out a map. “It looks like it's a few hours' journey from here. Let's get a good night's sleep first.”
44.9 (Masterweaver)
"I dunno," Spike mused, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "On the one hand, he was an alicorn, but...."
Chrysalis nodded. "I know, it's confusing to me as well. We're the Nonascended and technically he didn't ascend." She sighed as she stirred her cocoa. "I think we should let him stay, though. There is a precedent in Discord..."
The draconequus in question shrugged. "Honestly, I don't care one way or the other. To me this is a game club." He rolled his dice and moved a piece across a board. "And that puts me in control of the Orange grove. Take that Angel!"
A small white rabbit smiled, plunking a card down and rolling the dice.
"...touché."
"Speaking as a single mare, I say we keep him in." Berry sipped her drink. "I mean, no offence to you Discord, but between you and him he's the better prize. Hot, single, same species..."
"He doesn't feel that way about you," Chrysalis pointed out.
"A gal can dream. And look." The mare sighed happily. "Oh can she look..."
"SO!" Spike smiled. "It's settled! We'll let Mac stay in the club."
Discord gave Berry Punch a sly smile. "You know, I can technically become a pony."
"Ugh, not even drunk, Dissy."
44.10 (Masterweaver)
Diamond Tiara sidled up to the crusaders with a grin. "So, ladies, any plans for this loop?"
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shared a look. Scootaloo snorted, glaring at the ground.
The pink filly blinked. "Is.... is something wrong?"
With an aggravated sigh, Scootaloo looked up and took a deep breath. "Last loop... you weren't awake. And I know I can't blame YOU for... what she said, but... I am irrationally angry at you right now."
"Oh." Diamond rubbed the back of her neck and blushed. "I... really am sorry for... whatever happened. Even though I don't remember it."
The pegasus had the decency to look abashed, taking a longer, more calming breath. "Okay, okay... So, we've hit another expansion period, and there's a contest at school near the end of the loop to determine which team of fillies will be Ponyville's flag carrier for the Equestria Games..."
"We decided ta only use baseline abilities," Apple Bloom interjected. "Ya know, for fairness's sake."
"And our theme was the unity of the tribes that Ponyville represented!" Sweetie Belle cried.
"But the thing is, I'm about... eighty five percent sure I can't fly, or at least can't get lift in the baseline loop," Scootaloo continued. "So... our test performance was really great, but--"
"But I came along and said something about chickens and dodos, right?" Diamond sighed, putting her face in her hooves. "Wow. I... wow, just, I can't believe I was ever that.... I really am sorry."
"It's cool," Scootaloo replied, folding her wings and taking a deep breath. "It wasn't... you. I'm just a little.... rrrrghar right now."
"On the upside, we got to see Snails in a dress!" Sweetie said brightly.
There was a quiet moment.
"...I'm..." Diamond looked askance at the unicorn "I'm sorry. what?"
"Yeah, that loop Snails was kinda genderconfused," Sweetie explained casually. "It happens sometimes, and he, er, she usually trusts me with that secret."
"Ah was wondering why he was so pleased when Tiara threw her costume away in disgust," Apple Bloom mused. "Or... she?"
"Ugh..." Diamond Tiara shuddered. "And to think I was married to him that one loop where I was your mother!"
"Wait, what?" Scootaloo gave her an odd look. "You were our mother? I don't remember this!"
"None of you were awake that loop..."
44.11 (Masterweaver)
Rainbow Dash Awoke again, shaking her head and yawning as she took in the loop memories. Right, summer sun celebration, check the elements to see who's awake this loop – oh, Rarity wasn't awake, but the other bearers were. Well, that should be interest--
There was a loud, angry thump on the front door. With a sigh, the pegasus walked downstairs and opened it, revealing a grumpy Scootaloo.
"It's that time again."
Dash chuckled. "Yeah, don't worry kid, I'm looping."
"Good." The younger pegasus produced an all too familiar sheet of paperwork and trotted in, tossing the documentation on the table as she flomped onto the couch.
With a sigh, the weathermare pulled out a pen and began going through the papers. "Abusive parents again? Wow. Sorry, Scoots, I... I really don't think you deserve this."
"It's like the loops can't make up their mind!" Scootaloo sat up suddenly, throwing her hooves into the air. "Half the time I have parents they're total deadbeats! Drunk or abusive or racist or... whatever. I can't even remember if I'm supposed to be an orphan or not!" She crossed her forelegs and glowered at the floor, idly pulling a necklace out of her subspace pocket and putting it on. "...And none of the other crusaders are Awake, according to Pansy."
"Ugh." Rainbow shook her head as she finished off the final bit of paperwork. "Tell ya what, kiddo. After I adopt you this loop, we'll rope Bloom and Sweetie into helping us build an airplane factory. Sound good?"
"...yeah." The orange filly smiled. "Thanks, Dash. You always know how to cheer me up... I guess Sweetie will be in charge of advertising..."
44.12 (Detective Ethan Redfield)
Great equestrian Foam War Part 1:
Twilight's awakening took place as she stumbled over a rock in the road. Her loop memories returned a moment later and she was conflicted. On the one hand, Nyx was here and replacing Trixie always made for an interesting loop. However, last loop had been a doozie and she could use a nice, relaxing vacation loop for once.
Fortunately, Nyx was awake as well and didn't mind returning to Ponyville. She wanted to see all her friends and her family as well. Within moments, the two ponies and the cart disappeared from the road.
"Wow!"
That was all Twilight could say as she stepped into Big Mac's bar alongside Nyx. The place was packed with countless friends all talking up a storm. Berry just finished setting down a pair of 'honeymoon' cocktails between Shining Armor and Cadance before returning to Mayor Mare, the newest equestrian looper. The crusaders sat at the Mayor's hooves as she gave the tale of latest fused loop in the DC Universe. Dash, Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy were at their own table exchanging stories of their own. Applejack was nowhere to be seen.
Chrysalis sat with Luna and Celestia, clearly uncomfortable as she fidgeted while proposing ideas about a tea shop. The princesses, or at least Celestia, seemed delighted at the idea, which meant Chrysalis would be seeing more of her. Twilight knew it would be good for the nervous changeling, to get her out of her shell. Nyx scurried across the floor to the Crusaders as Twilight announced her arrival, "Morning everypony!"
The bar responded with a resounding, "Twilight!" with the exception of Discord who shouted "Norm!"
Big Mac slid a pint of cider to the edge of the redwood counter where Twilight usually came to a rest and asked, "How's the loops treatin' ya, Twiligh'."
Twilight cantered over next to Mayor Mare, "Vampires and Nazis Big Mac, enough said. Where's Applejack?"
The owner replied, "Back a' the farm preparin' more cider. Everyone's awake this time. Dash got a letter from Gilda this mornin'. Tiara's workin' on a project back at 'er home. Trixie's busy with other duties, so she'll be in later. We even had a couple loopers from the multiverse in earlier."
Twilight nodded to Big Mac and looked at the Mayor as she continued her tale. She slurped up the cider in one gulp and set it down as the Mayor got to the finale, "And so after Apokolips invades and half of Metropolis is leveled, Superman punches Darkside through the other half! Literally, there wasn't a building left standing afterwords."
The mayor looked to Twilight, "How do you get used to such ruffians like the humans? They build such magnificent structures only for super powered monsters to tear them down like foals playing in the sand box."
Twilight gave a small grin, "I found not all of them are so bad. Superman perfers to solve his problems without violence...it's just the others are not so willing. You sound like you could use a vacation, visit some family and old friends even if they're not awake."
The mayor sighed, "That does sound nice. But I have duties to Ponyville here-"
Twilight waved a hoof in a dismissing gesture, "I could handle your Mayoral duties. I've ran a country or two before after all."
"Actually," the mayor began, appearing not sure for a moment, "I'm not the Mayor this time around, I'm the Librarian. Trixie is the mayor. I assume you've replaced Trixie."
The idea that Trixie replaced the Mayor sent a shiver of dread down her spine. Already, she could feel her quiet vacation loop disappearing like smoke in the wind. She listed and categorized several of the strongest alcohols out there before deciding on one and calling out for some of Jack Sparrow's rum stock he left behind before leaving Equestria, not even bothering to answer the former Mayor's question as her panic set in.
But instead of a bottle of rum, a sparkling highball glass was set before her along with some gin. She looked up to see a human form Berry Punch standing in front of her giving her a smile that radiated calm, "I'd like you to try a human cocktail I was taught when I started perfecting my trade. If it doesn't fix your problems, I'll get that rum for you."
Twilight looked the human Berry over for a moment, then remembered, "You surprised me there, Berry. Forgot you can shift from pony to human form."
Berry's grin turned melancholy, "The loop where I learned shape shifting was the same loop where I got my act together. It was a very strange loop, where no one was sent to the moon, you were replaced with Sunset Shimmer as the Summer Sun Celebration Co-ordinator, and a new bar named Eden Hall opened up where your treehouse library is."
All activity in the bar ceased as the loopers turned to listen to Berry. The bartender didn't even notice as everypony was now listening, so lost in her thoughts and preparing the cocktail. She took a glass bottle labeled Angostura Aromatic Bitters and added it to the edge of the glass with four shakes.
"I believe the owner was your anchor replacement. He's actually quite the urban myth among loopers. Some call him the 'Phantom Looper' since he tends to draw so little attention to himself that most loopers don't tend to realize he's looping. His local name was Shot Glass with the image of a golden cocktail being poured into a deep martini glass as his cutie mark."
Berry chuckled as she added the ice and a double measure of premium gin, "I decided to sample its fine wares before its grand opening. As always, I broke into the building and made my way to the cellar. But when I got to the wine racks, there was nothing there. I searched for the better part of an hour in vain. I checked everything that could hold a bottle containing anything alcoholic. That was when Shot Glass found me."
The cocktail was topped off with some tonic and the mixture was stirred slowly four times as it turned a pink hue, "He found me trying to break into the only locked cabinet in the building, which only held some local equestrian seasonings. I saw him in human form and almost had a heart attack right there. That loop had a quirk where ponies could shift into human form, part of what terrified me so deeply. The other half was he could have called in the royal guard and had me exiled from town. Instead, the looper shifted into an earth pony with a black mane and tan coat. His eyes were full of kindness and a small amount of pity. An hour later, I'm sitting at the bar as a human after being taught how to shift into human form with this cocktail resting on the countertop."
The bartender slid the stirring spoon out and added a lime wedge before shifting back to pony form and sliding the drink forward towards Twilight, "Here you are, Twilight, the Pink Gin and Tonic, adding some herbs that I found mix well with this drink."
The anchor took a sip of the drink and found the stress and pain from the last loop bleeding away with every drop that slid down her throat, "Berry...this is amazing!"
Berry rubbed at her snout in embarrassment at the praise. Twilight looked at the bartender, expecting Berry to finish her story. She caught on and continued, "He started on about what type of Gin he used and the different citrus fruits one could add. But then he gave a small history about how the tonic had been used to treat Malaria in countries so far away they couldn't be found on the map. The word tonic means 'invigorating, refreshing.'"
Berry closed her eyes as if remembering an old friend, "He served me countless cocktails from places that existed in legend with bottles that appeared from seemingly thin air. After all that, and when I couldn't pay him for all the drinks he gave me, I was offered a job as an assistant bartender. He took me under his wing and taught me how to pour and mix my own drinks. Turned out, I was good at the job, picking up the trade over the course of that loop. He learned that we were both loopers and introduced me to the multiverse. Bit by bit, he helped me clean up my life."
After Twilight finished her Gin and Tonic, Berry cleaned out the glass, "I hope to meet him again, show him how much I've improved both as a mare and a bartender. So, Twilight, do you feel better? Do you still need that rum?"
Twilight gave a pleasant smile, "Actually no, I think I'm good. I was hoping for a quiet loop, but an anchor's work is never done I guess. Mayor Mare, enjoy your vacation. You got yourself a replacement librarian."
There was a moment of peace as Pinkie bought a round for the whole place in celebration. But then like glass shattering, the peace was destroyed with the doors being flung wide open as Trixie flourished her purple cape, "Rejoice, my fellow loopers, for it is I, the Great and Powerful Mayor Trixie, who has come to improve your lives!"
She went amongst all the loopers, handing them scrolls and coming to an end with Twilight and Mayor Mare. Already fearing the worst, she opened the scroll and frowned.
NOW ANNOUNCING THE FIRST ANNUAL EQUESTRIAN FOAM SWORD WAR!
The office of Mayor Trixie welcomes all who consider themselves loopers to Ponyville to participate in momentous occasion. Loopers will engage in combat with only a foam sword. Whoever is struck by a foam sword will be eliminated. The victor will receive the assistance of Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle in any of their personal projects.
Rules of Combat:
- No killing.
- Any attacks must be in the form of a foam sword. However, the sword based attack could be administered in any form. If you can fire a foam sword from a gun, it is valid.
- A competitor will be eliminated if he or she is struck by a sword on an exposed body part.
Celestia and Luna looked the scroll over, then shouted their full support for the mountain of hilarity that was about to ensue. The former Mayor whispered in Twilight's ear in a begging tone, "Please make sure some of Ponyville is standing when I get back."
Twilight muttered under her breath, "Tree damn it!"
44.13
Twilight trotted into Celestia's room.
“Your Highness?”
Celestia turned. “Ah, Twilight. I'm sorry to have dismissed your concerns about Nightmare Moon in what may have seemed a cavalier manner-”
“Oh, no, that's fine,” Twilight shrugged. “You want me to gather the Elements of Harmony, together with suitable bearers, so you have a backup plan if you can't talk Luna round when she gets back from the moon.”
The Princess of the Sun blinked. “...yes, actually. How did you know?”
Twilight sat down. “Time travel.”
“You used a spell from the Star Swirl wing?”
“No, not that time travel. A time loop – self contained temporal cyclicity, duration a little over five years.” Twilight grinned, summoned the Element of Magic, and Ascended in a flash of purple light.
Celestia's jaw dropped.
“This isn't the first time. It isn't even the thousandth. I've been going around in temporal circles for a long time. And I'm not always the only one, either.”
Twilight ruffled her wings. “Anyway. There's a reason I'm telling you this. See, a couple of the other loopers want to partake of a certain ceremony, and to avoid anyone being left out of the first one they've asked for it to be done when none but them and I are Awake. So... it might help to get you on side, to straighten a few issues out.”
“I'm still absorbing that you're an alicorn, Twilight,” Celestia said, strain in her voice. “Give me a minute or two.”
“Sure,” Twilight replied readily.
Celestia closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then made some tea. She heated the water the slow way, with a simmering heat spell, rather than simply flash-boiling it, and then poured two cups.
“Okay,” she said, placing the cups on either side of a low table. “Let's start from the beginning. You are... time looping, you said?”
“I did, and am.” Twilight took the proffered cup and sipped from it. “Ah, lovely. You do know how to brew a good cup... anyway. The first thing we need to do is to set up a party in Ponyville. I've done it before, so I know how to set it up to handle Luna nice and amicably.”
Celestia swallowed, shook her head, and took solace in some more tea.
“Sorry, I'm overwhelming you, aren't I?” Twilight shook her head. “I should really get better at breaking it to you when you're not Awake. Anyway, Spike and Rarity are both also looping this time, and they'd like to tie the knot.”
“...who is Rarity?” Celestia asked. “And – isn't Spike rather too young to be married?”
“Time loops,” Twilight reminded her. “His mental age is on the far side of lots, and we worked out a way he can change his physical age at will. Rarity is a unicorn from Ponyville – the Element of Generosity.”
Celestia nodded.
“The first time around, he got quite a bad crush on her. She might have reciprocated to some extent, she's not quite sure, but nothing happened within five years of today and so we never found out. When they met up in the Loops, both of them were quite a lot older and more experienced. They took over a hundred years – that's twenty iterations of the loop – to decide to become a proper couple, and they've been significant others since then. It tallies up to...” Twilight paused. “Lots.”
“I see.” Celestia carefully considered the situation, and what Twilight had told her. “And they are happy together?”
“Very.”
“Alright, then.” Celestia nodded. “I'm sure it will make sense once I meet her – and this new, older Spike. I assume you want me to attend the wedding?”
Twilight smiled. “Spot on – though I'd also appreciate your help handling the legal quagmire involved.”
“Hmm, indeed...” As the shock faded, the Princess of the Sun began to apply her formidable mind to the problem. “Very well, I think it should be eminently achievable.”
“Thank you, Princess.” Twilight turned to go.
“Oh, Twilight?” Celestia said, warning in her tone. “Are you sure you want to go out into the corridor like that?”
Twilight looked back, caught sight of her wings, and blushed before undoing the transformation.
“That, more than anything, helps convince me of the truth of your words,” Celestia commented. “That you are so clearly comfortable in an alicorn's form.”
The unicorn grinned. “Yeah, a lot of us have been able to do that for a while...”
“Well?” Spike asked.
“She seems fine with it,” Twilight replied. “Right, who next?”
Spike drummed his claws on the table. “Either your family – because I'm sort of part of it – or Rarity's. Might be better to have Rarity for both those meetings.”
Twilight lit her horn. “No time like the present. And I can drop off those party instructions with Pinkie on the way.”
“Rarity has become more dear to me than... anything else I possess,” Spike said solemnly.
Magnum frowned. “Anything else?”
“I am hers, as she is mine.” Spike shrugged, blushing a bit. “I... it's hard to explain, and it's kind of related to dragon psychology. We hoard things. Other dragons hoard gold, or gems, or artworks... I still have some of that, but the main thing I treat as a hoard is my friends. To me, Rarity is mine, and I would protect her to my last breath. And, at the same time, I am hers, and anything she desired, I would do.”
“Does that include leaving?” Rarity's mother asked with a frown.
“Yes,” Spike said with a quick nod. “If she told me to go away and never come back... and if she meant it, and continued to mean it... I'd stay out of her life. It would probably destroy me, but I would.”
Pearl nodded slowly.
“Can we speak to our daughter?” Magnum requested.
“Sure.” Spike turned to go. “I'll let her know, and give you some privacy. Just ask when you want me back in.”
“If, you mean,” Magnum said sternly.
Spike nodded, and pushed the door open.
“Does he make me happy?” Rarity repeated. “Yes. A thousand times yes.”
She gave her parents a long, appraising look.
“Let me put it this way. I know we mentioned the loops, and they're an easy concept to explain, but... they're nearly infinite in variety. I've been worshipped as a goddess, I've been a slave with not even my own cutie mark. I've been the ruler of the world, I've been a noble unicorn mare in my own right, I've been a simple shop owner, I've started my own business...” She shook her head. “It sometimes feels like I've done everything, though the loops constantly show that I haven't. And if there's one constant I can truly rely on, it's that Spike cares for me.”
“That kind of devotion...” Pearl winced. “It sounds... almost creepy.”
“I do understand where you're coming from,” Rarity admitted. “It probably could look bad from that perspective. From the outside. But... well, we didn't exactly rush into it. It took us over a hundred years to go from friends to being an official couple, and that was... oh, so long ago. By now, he and I feel the same – neither of us started like this, but both of us developed it over time.”
“And you trust him not to hurt you?”
Rarity surprised all three of them by giggling. “Oh, sorry. But there's two things funny about that. The first is that, well, not to blow my own trumpet, but...”
A soft white light flooded the room.
“I can match him if I need to,” Rarity finished, extending her wings to their full span. “When we do spar – or have a spat – it's essentially a toss-up as to who wins. I'm no damsel in distress, at least unless I want to be.”
Magnum blinked a few times, then visibly got a grip on himself. “And second?”
“Spike's a bearer of Loyalty,” Rarity replied matter-of-factly. “The short version is, that he bears Loyalty means that that trait, trustworthiness – dedication to his friends – is a fundamental part of his makeup.”
Rarity fidgeted. “In all honesty, we don't need your blessing... after all, Spike and I are both adults by a long way. But it means a lot to me, and it would mean a lot to him. So – do we have your support?”
Magnum and Pearl exchanged glances.
“Is there anything which would make you leave Spike?” Pearl asked.
“No,” Rarity replied. “Anything that would make me want to – he wouldn't be Spike any more. Not the one I love.”
“Good answer,” Magnum commented.
“Well, then... yes,” Pearl said softly. “We don't understand all of this, but what we do understand is all good.”
Tears started in Rarity's eyes. “Thank you.”
“Well?” Twilight asked, re-entering the main room of her parents' house.
Twilight Velvet nodded to her with a smile. “It's strange, because we still think of little Spykoran as, well, little, but if you and he agree that he's old enough... well, what else can we do?”
Spike smiled.
“Okay, that's good. I'll send you the invitations shortly. Is Shiny still living here?”
“Well, he comes over often enough,” Night Light said. “A couple of times a week. He'll get them.”
Twilight grinned. “Actually, I want to come over and give him the invitations for Cadence and him myself now. Just to see his face when he realizes that I know.”
Velvet put her hoof over her smile. “Oh, dear, that would be funny. He still thinks he's managing to hide it, you know – says it's 'work-related' reasons he's seeing her so often.”
“So you know, actually,” Twilight said, reaching into her 'pocket and retrieving an album. “Here's some of their wedding pictures.”
She paged through them, first the ones from their normal-loop weddings (both to plan and post-Changeling-battle) and then the increasingly exotic ones which were from especially noteworthy set-pieces for Loopers.
“Are they always together?” Night Light asked, as his wife examined one of the photographs more closely.
“Just about,” Twilight replied. “It doesn't happen every time, admittedly, there's been a few edge cases, but-”
“Statistically insignificant,” her father filled in.
“Yes.” She paused. “Cadence is one of the ponies I really trust, after so long in the loops. Don't worry, Shiny's in safe hooves.”
“I still don't believe they all knew,” Shining Armour said ruefully.
“It's hardly the end of the world,” Cadence chided, smiling to remove the sting. “Besides, I think Twilight and Spike have an unfair advantage.”
“Point,” Shining conceded. “Do you think-”
Cadence overrode him. “Ssh! This is the good bit!”
Words drifted over to them. “...in Eiken or in Hub...”
“I still don't know what that means,” Shining said, frowning. “I overheard Spike writing them, but...”
“I assume it's part of that whole Loops thing, now shush!”
Spike stared at the thin circlet of metal, still not quite believing it.
Rarity tapped him on the shoulder. “Careful, or I'll start to get jealous of that ring.”
“Well, you're what it symbolizes,” he replied, putting his arm around her. “I... it all seems like a dream, really.”
Rarity glanced down at her dress. Like the rings, it was a simple one – her mothers' dress, in fact.
“I know what you mean,” she said, more quietly.
They could both hear Sweetie Belle pestering Shining for a place in the Guard. Shining had tried to explain why she was a bit young, but Sweetie wasn't listening – and everypony else was finding it too funny to come to Shining's aid.
“You are my wife,” Spike tried, the words feeling almost unreal.
“We're married,” Rarity ventured, finding the same thing happening.
“Well,” Spike said, gamely, “at least we'll get a lot of time to practise saying them.”
“That's very true.”
They sat back, and watched Luna's moon rise through the trees.
“...you realize,” Rarity said, in a much less serious voice, “that I am no country bumpkin to be won over by so paltry a display.” She winked.
“Oh, indeed, my fair lady,” Spike countered, then dropped the act. “I've been planning the big one for a while. Still not finished yet.”
“I can wait,” Rarity promised. “As long as it takes.”
44.14 (Masterweaver)
There was a flare of pink fire as the boutique door slammed open. "RARITY BELLE PLATINUM PRINCESS WHATEVER OTHER NAMES YOU'VE HAD!"
The white unicorn looked up from the dress she was sewing and raised an eyebrow. "You know, the full name ultimatum doesn't actually work in the loops, does it? I suppose for humans it's generally easier but--"
"DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!" In stormed a pink alicorn, mane shifting and swirling angrily as she glared down at the traitor before her. "YOU! HAD A WEDDING! WITHOUT ME!!!!!!!"
Rarity took a moment to still her terrified heart.
Then she took a breath and let it out. "I take it you've seen Twilight's film of the ceremony?"
"Well, yes. It was very beautiful, quite sincere. I really wish I could have been there." Cadence blinked and shook her head, remembering her wrath. "WHICH BRINGS US BACK TO MY ORIGINAL POINT--!"
"We're still planning on doing the big wedding!" the unicorn reassured her quickly. "We just wanted everyone to be Awake first!" She wasn't sure if that was true or not but she figured it would buy her time.
"...You had BETTER," Cadence growled, "be sure about that."
"Absolutely."
There was a tense moment.
"...are... you not going to yell at Spike?" Rarity finally ventured.
"Oh, he lives with Twilight," the princess replied with a dangerous grin. "I've already expressed my displeasure with him."