//------------------------------// // I got a Plan // Story: Across the Multiverse // by dramatic_spoon //------------------------------// Lyra’s ears picked up, as she continued to work on her lyre. The unicorn turned her head towards the direction of Sugarcube Corner. “What the…” “Mrs. Lyra?” a young white unicorn with a pink mane spoke, catching Lyra’s attention again, “Is something wrong?” “No, it’s nothing. Try that piece again, Rome.” --- Big Macintosh frowned as he placed a crateful of cider down. As Berry Punch and two other ponies exited the bar, he turned his head towards the library. “Take it to the cellar, I wanna keep it cool.” Berry Turned to the farmstallion, “Mac, you alright?” “I jus’ got th’ weirdest feelin’…Like it’s deju vu all over again…” --- Golden Gem paced the library, looking over the remodeling and redecorations. “So who runs it now, Dinky or Sweetie Belle?” “Miss Dinky,” Lighting Gem responded as Rhapsody and Slide Rule motioned for the three of them to huddle up. “Who’s that?” the pegasus whispered. “I dunno,” Slide Rule shrugged, “She seems to know your dad, though.” “I’ve never seen her before.” Rhapsody shrugged. The three fillies turned to see Golden Gem looking at Tomahawk, Flash Bulb and Party Popper. “Let me guess… Your mom is Rainbow Dash, Your mom is Pinkie Pie and…” Golden Gem paused as she looked over Flash Bulb, “Your dad is definitely Flash Sentry, can’t tell who your mom is, though.” “…My dad says I shouldn’t talk to strangers,” Flash Bulb muttered. “Good advice.” “So what do we do?” Slide Rule hissed. “For now, keep her occupied,” Rhapsody instructed, “Gem, if you get the chance, get out of here and let my dad or mom know.” “Right.” The two nodded. “How do you know who our parents are?” Popper asked. Golden Gem smiled, “Let me tell you a story…” The older pony took a seat as Popper, Flash and Tomahawk sat near her. The other three stayed further away, waiting for an opportunity. “In another land, much like this one, my parents met and had me. To me that was my entire world and I couldn’t imagine it to be any other way. But then something happened. I found myself in another world, with new ponies that were similar yet different. Neither pony who I knew as my mother or father had any idea who I was…” As the older pony continued on, Slide Rule and Rhapsody nodded at Lightning Gem. The pegasus quickly snuck into the bathroom and flittered out of the window. --- Big Macintosh continued down the street, pulling the empty cart behind him with ease. Something thudded into the back of the cart, causing it to rock back and forth. The annoyed stallion looked back at the cart: Lightning Gem grinned back. “Hi Uncle Macintosh.” “I thought you were with Rhapsody an’ the others, Gem.” “I was, but then this weird pony showed up at the library…” --- “And that’s that.” Golden Gem concluded. Tomahawk, Party Popper and Flash Bulb blinked before commenting. “That was stupid.” Tomahawk grumbled as Flash and Popper nodded in agreement. “...Miss Golden Gem?” Slide Rule called out, “So, you’re basically saying that the multiverse theory of existence is correct?” “It is,” the mare nodded, “who is your father?” “Time Turner. This means that- ow!” Rhapsody jabbed her elbow into the other filly’s side, “What was that for?” “How do we know she’s not lying?” Rhapsody hissed through clenched teeth. Before the filly could respond, Big Macintosh entered the room, followed by Lightning Gem. The filly raised a hoof towards Golden Gem. “That’s her.” Gem looked up at the stallion and smiled. “Hi dad.” “…Gem?” the stallion shook his head, clearing his mind. As he opened his eyes again, his expression turned hard, “Can’t be…” “Sparkling Cider, Apple Pie, Scarlet Tornado, Garden Royal, Center Stage, Apple Cinnamon, Acey Mac, Golden Sweet, Carson, Novamac, Bellona, Apple Jam, Stratos, Apple Pie, Midnight Bliss, Idun, Oaken Shield, Fantasia and Oscura,” Golden Gem paused in thought, “Maybe I should include Paula Red, Mandolin Heartstrings, and Apple Pomace. Only Stratos and I where there when that happened.” “…It really is you isn’t it?” Big Macintosh sighed, “But they told us…” “Dad, I can explain it all, just not here.” Golden Gem shook her head, “Shall we go?” “…Rhapsody, you stay here with the others.” “Actually, I think its better if she comes along,” Golden Gem interrupted, “I have plans…” “…Rhapsody, come with us.” “We need Lyra as well…” Golden Gem continued as the three left the library. As the door slammed shut, the remaining five ponies looked at each other and then at the black scorch marks on the floor. “What are we going to tell Miss Dinky?” Lightning Gem sighed. --- “Very good work today Rome,” Lyra nodded as the filly headed to the door, “Keep practicing, next time we will try the new piece.” “Alright.” The filly left the musical studio as Golden Gem trotted up to the door. “Hello, how can I help you today?” Lyra cheerfully greeted the pony. “Hello Miss Heartstrings,” Golden Gem grinned, “Or is it Lyra Apple now?” “…It’s still Lyra Heartstrings… Do I know you? There’s something oddly familiar about you…” “It’s me, Golden Gem.” Lyra blinked as she took in the information, “That’s not possible.” Golden Gem’s grin grew, “We were in your living room when you rented a house with Miss Bonbon. You were in the kitchen discussing things with dad.” “…That’s information anyone would k-” “Mandolin Heartstrings and Apple Pomace. Oh, and we had disguised myself and Apple Jam as Sweetie Belle so that we could trick Trixie Lulamoon. We also had to disguise Idun as a potential child from Rainbow Dash and you.” Gem interrupted. “…It is you, isn’t it?” Lyra sighed, “Does Mac know?” “Mac and Rhapsody,” Golden Gem chuckled, “She’s a cute little filly.” “Most kids are when they’re that age. You were like that once.” Lyra shrugged, “Anyway, is this important?” “Eeyup,” Golden Gem grinned, “It’s a long story, but I want you, dad and Rhapsody there to explain.” “Don’t call him that,” Lyra interrupted, “You’re old enough to know.” “I don’t like calling him Mac,” Golden Gem shook her head as she responded, “He’s still a counterpart to my dad and they still look the exact same.” The unicorn paused, “Well, not the exact same, but close enough.” “Then don’t call him Mac, call him something else,” Lyra curtly responded, “and why does Rhapsody have to be there?” “I’ll explain everything at your house…” --- The four ponies sat around the kitchen table. Lyra shot Big Macintosh a concerned look as Golden Gem grinned. “What do you understand about quantum mechanics?” “…I think that’s the name of a superhero on the Power Ponies show,” Rhapsody responded. “…Something about dead cats, right?” Big Mac shrugged, “I don’t know that sort of thing.” “Are we talking about the multiple universe theory? Because I’m pretty sure that’s not a theory any more,” Lyra scoffed. “I’m more interested in quantum decoherence,” Golden Gem rolled her eyes, “That theory means that we should not have been able to cross over due to how things interact. The fact that we have done so and continued to exist, means that there is more at work…namely, magic.” “…My head hurts,” Rhapsody laid her head atop the table. “Basically, I took up studying quantum mechanics under Lemon Hearts, who’s part of A.R.M.O.R. in my dimension.” “That doesn’t explain how you made it here,” Big Macintosh interrupted. “I’m getting to that. Basically, I was able to get access to some of the probes that they use to explore alternate universes and I…shall we say… borrowed them to work on and was able to learn something interesting.” “You stole from them?” Lyra slammed her hooves on the table, “Are you stupid?” “Let me finish!” Golden Gem shot back, “I did what I had to. What I discovered is that there were multiple wavelengths involved. Twenty-four of them to be specific, I was able to discover which one was mine, and from there figure out which ones are most likely to belong to who. And after doing that, I figured out which one was the ‘prime’ universe. Well, I thought it was the prime universe, research showed that this one is simply one among many others… And that the one thing I was able to find is that there was a…quantum fingerprint from a twenty-fifth universe. I double checked things, and it does not match any of the others I found.” Gem’s smile grew, “This mean it’s the origin universe, the one that’s responsible for this.” “…So then why are you here?” “Because I am not stupid enough to go there by myself, I have no idea what’s going on in that universe,” Golden Gem shook her head, “A.R.M.O.R. refused my proposal to send a team. I… rediscovered my old interdimensional transport device, and reverse engineered it to build my own version.” Gem tapped the device on her foreleg. “It’s much more complicated, I can program which universes to visit and it keeps track of my previous visits.” Big Macintosh jolted up, as realization hit, “You’re serious not going...” “I am,” Gem’s grin grew bigger, “I’m recruiting a team to go to the Origin universe and figure out why this happened.” “…Oh no,” Lyra managed to whisper, as realization sunk in. “And I want all of you to come with me.” Stunned silence replaced her exposition as the married couple stared at her in horror. “Absolutely not!” Lyra slammed her hoof onto the table, “You don’t even know what you’re getting into, and you want to drag us into it?” “…Gem, I can’t let you do that.” Big Macintosh shook his head, “You didn’t tell your parents what you were doing, and you’re doing this without A.R.M.O.R.’s help either.” “The ‘punching holes in the multiverse;’ theory is crap, if you pardon my language,” Gem shook her head, “But I figured you’d react that way.” “Can I go?” Rhapsody interrupted Lyra and Big Macintosh’s counter arguments, “It sounds like fun.” “NO!” the filly’s parents yelled in a mix of horror and anger. “There’s no way I’m going to let you do something that dangerous!” Lyra slammed her hoof onto the table. Rhapsody winced at the impact, and looked at Big Macintosh. “I ain’t letting you either.” “I can take care of myself.” “No.” Rhapsody sulked off, as Big Macintosh turned his attention back to Golden Gem. “…Gem, the fact that you’re here means that it doesn’t matter what I tell you, because you’re going to ignore it.” the stallion sighed at his alternate universe daughter, “But I want you to take care, and stay safe. If things get bad, get out of there.” “I know, Mac.” Golden Gem nodded, “This still needs time to charge up, can I stay here for the night?” “Of course.” --- The guest room door creaked open, Rhapsody stuck her head into the room and quickly scanned the room to make sure she was alone. As her eyes fell to the bed, she watched as the sheets rose and fell with Golden Gem’s breathing. Satisfied, she crept into the room and went over to Golden Gem’s bag. With a flicker of magic, she popped it open and looked inside. Quickly scanning the room again, she slowly slipped into the bag, zipping it up after her. --- “I really hope you know what you’re doing,” Big Macintosh shook his head as Gem slipped the bag onto her back. “I know what I’m doing,” Gem responded, “This thing feels heavier than I remember…” “What dimension are you going to first?” Gem flashed a grin at Big Macintosh, “I’m going to find Stratos first.” A dial on the device turned and Gem paused, “See you soon, Mac.” The unicorn hit a button on the device and a bright light engulfed the mare. As it faded, Big Macintosh found scorch marks where the mare had been. Before he could do anything else, Lyra burst into the room. “Rhapsody’s not in her bed.” The mare frantically informed him. “What abou-” “I checked, she’s not in the house.” The stallion frowned, thinking of where she could be. After several moments, realization hit him. His stomach dropped as he remembered what Golden Gem had said. This thing feels heavier than I remember “She must have snuck into Gem’s pack without us noticing,” Big Macintosh slowly stated. Lyra turned white, “Mac…are you…” “I think so,” the stallion groaned. “She’s somewhere in the multiverse.”