(DrTempo)
Entry 13
When I'd said that I figured I'd be landing in the Bleach Loop next, when I look at it, it sounded like Fate would be tempted not to send me there next.
Guess it didn't feel tempted to, because that was where I've landed next. I'm Ichigo's twin sister in this Loop..that's the second time I hadn't replaced someone.
Anyhow, we were able to quickly figure out something where my Keyblade could be passed off as a Zanpakuto.
Once again, though I was tempted to take Aizen out by surprise, I knew better. The guy had a LOT more battle experience than I do, and had more tricks. I may be cocky, but I know when to fold them. And there was the Arrancar problem, as with Aizen killed early, they'd have no one to hold them back, and they'd probably go nuts.
As for what Ichigo had to offer me in new skills...He had plenty of experience using pure sword skill. When all you have is a hammer, I suppose...
I did take the time to practice learning to change my Keyblade's appearance..Something Mickey'd given me before that Loop's end..Forgot to mention it, due to how my mind was at the time.
When the Winter War began, I was right in the thick of the action, as you'd expect from me. Ichigo told me to stay behind...I can see why. When Aizen sealed the portal to Huceo Mundo as per his plan... Cue my Keyblade thwarting that plan.
The pillars stayed put this Loop. I thought I actually saw Aizen's face shift expressions when I did that trick...
Nel and Grimmjow even fought on our side, thanks to Orihime's powers healing the both of them. Ichigo admitted he'd never considered that in baseline. Aizen started getting what looked to be angry, and I attacked him alongside everyone else, even Gin. Aizen may be powerful, but a combined effort took even him down.
As for the Fullbringers,so I knew what to expect from them. Ichigo told me the story about how Twilight had Tsukishima's move backfire on him, but I didn't even let him get the chance to use it.
If anything, I'm pragmatic at times.
As for the Vandenreich....It was interesting, to say the least...
I hope the next Loop is Equestria...Not holding my breath, but still...Can't help but want it to be...
Keychain: Chikai
87.1 (Drachefly)
Zelnick listened on the call from the surface. "It's just like you said, captain. Twenty meters tall, fifty meter scythe tentacles, and it looks like it's as strong as you said. Just, one thing..." Zelnick noticed a distinct lack of panic in the crewman's voice, so he wasn't surprised when the crewman went on, "It's not attacking."
Zelnick thought for a moment, then set the viewscreen to look down at lower magnification. The purpose of its path became apparent: the tracks it had left in the wilderness traced out "HELP".
A few minutes later, a perfectly non-stunned and friendly variant of ZEX's Beauty was aboard. Zelnick tentatively approached it, though carefully staying behind a force field that should slow it down should it change its mind about being friendly. Perhaps. In other loops, he'd seen it rip apart smaller vessels from the inside and outside, and was not eager to test whether the Vindicator could withstand it. "Hello. Can you hear me?"
It nodded.
"I wasn't expecting you to be like this. You're not the first one who's not the same as usual. A few months ago, we ran into a race that aren't normally ponies."
The monster twitched, excited.
"Are you normally a pony?"
It nodded, then shook its head, then waved its tentacles, then shook its head some more.
Not a pony, but one of them anyway. They mentioned... "Are you Spike?"
It nodded vigorously.
That is going to be awkward, for both of us.
"I don't suppose you'd be interested in... nah, never mind. I'll take you back to your wife and figure out what to do about my own problems."
As they approached Admiral ZEX's planet, Zelnick steeled himself for the extremely sketchy conversation that was about to come. Lacking a beast to trade, his only bargaining chip was himself. And unlike a beast, he couldn't tear his way to freedom. Not even with an Orz combat suit, even if he had one, which he hadn't bothered with. I guess I will just have to play it by ear. Worst case, I leave empty-handed. We can still win without this.
Taking a deep breath, he opened a channel. The tentacled, single-eyed monster with fifty or so campaign ribbons on its uniform was exactly the one he was expecting. But what it said? Well, it was close: "Ah! Human visitors! What a treat! I am Admiral Heartstrings. Please do not be frightened. Unlike the rest of my species, I... enjoy humans."
87.2 (Drachefly)
History swirled. A thousand lifetimes, a million. All at once, then one after another. He saw different paths, experienced them. He had long ago chosen the Golden Path, but the curse of his life was to always perceive the other possibilities. At some moments in these perceptions, his perceptions would expand further, containing themselves once again. Sometimes they would contract. He would lose his sight for a time, even. But ever and always again he would return to the moment of the vision and set forth once more. Effectively, the universe had ended; he had been allowed infinite life within this one momentary vision.
He once again experienced one of his possible deaths, and then...
He wasn't in the vision. He wasn't aware of any other possibilities at all. It wasn't blindness, not even future-blindness. In those times, he could still see where he fit into the larger pattern. Everything was expected, even if his viewpoint was too restricted for the moment to recall it. This was just something entirely different.
He looked up from the book with ponies in it. He was a pony. A mare, named Twilight Sparkle. He had always been her, and all of the other possibilities were just memories of memories. Did I just move past Kwisatz Haderach into something the Bene Gesserit never expected?
(Crisis)
Sunset's Journal: Entry 13
I met an intriguing pair this Loop. Not so much for their abilities or histories, though those are interesting in and of themselves, but for more how they're looping.
Blues is like me. Continuously looping into universes that aren't his own. He's been to his home universe a few times, but he told me he seems to spend most of his time elsewhere in the multiverse. Something about a damaged home Loop indicator.
It's actually kind of encouraging really. Means that I eventually will get home, which is nice.
As for Jenny... where do I start? She apparently doesn't have a home Loop to return to. Girl can't even remember if she ever did.
I can't even imagine what that would be like. Not having a home to return to...
Keychain: Red Song; Have Key, Will Travel
87.3 (Drachefly)
Twilight Woke. After a manner of speaking. She was aware, anyway. No loop memories. She could see herself, a black-bordered white equilateral triangle, from an external perspective, and a similarly black-bordered white rhombus. Both stood on a white background.
"Awesome!", declared the rhombus, revealing herself to be Pinkie Pie.
"Pinkie?"
"Yes, Twilight?"
"Since you seem to have a clue... where are we and what's going on?"
"The earth is a 4-dimensional hypertaco in a pudding-based universe and in a few years we're about to run into a giant piece of tapioca, which will wipe out all polygonal life and the sheep if we don't restore the guardians of the food groups. They're like elements of harmony, but for food, and there are eleven of them, and they don't generally get along all that well."
The Cartoonist said, "All right, that's really not how I expected the first strip to go, but I can work with this."
"Hi, Cartoonist! We're going to have a lot of fun together!"
87.4(many)
Hubris Plus:
"Why are we learning this drivel?" The sable unicorn colt complained. "Everypony of worth in the class already has their cutie-mark."
"I do not," Luna pointed out, swiveling in her seat to glare at the offender. She had Woken up this Loop as Applejack's little sister and decided to run with it. It had been a while since she'd had a grade school Loop.
"I did say everypony of worth," he snorted contemptuously.
"Luna! Obsidian Crown!" The unAwake Cheerilee snapped, "that is quite enough out of both of you!"
"Yes ma'am," they both muttered after shooting one last glare at the other.
"Tonight I shall raise the Moon," Luna stated as she started along the path back to the farm. "That will earn me my mark and silence that foal."
"Oh, certainly," Disc Orb agreed, the pegasus following her balancing precariously on the circus ball he favored for locomotion while tossing a Frisbee from hoof to hoof. "Because mini-Sombra is a sane and rational individual who will let a little thing like being wrong get in his way." It was one of the rare Loops where the Draconequus had Woken up as a pony, rarer still that he wasn't an adult, and rarest of all that he'd decided to stick with the form he'd started with.
"He will, at the very least, have to get more creative," the former sovereign of the Moon grumbled.
"...Well, if it's what you want," Crystal Wish sighed. The usually Changeling Queen was currently Rarity's little sister and, until that moment, had seemed rather pleased with the Loop.
"Is something wrong?" Luna asked.
"It's just..." The monarch hesitated before plowing ahead. "I've never Looped in as an actual filly before. I've been adult ponies and adolescent changelings disguised as ponies, but this is the first opportunity I've had to earn a cutie-mark. And, well, considering who we've replaced..." She swept a hoof to include the group.
"You thought we'd do it together," Luna finished, frowning slightly in contemplation.
"Well, I'm game," Disc Orb put in. "I always get a kick out of seeing what the Loops decide my talent is. Never got the same one twice."
"I suppose it would be interesting to see if I can get something new..." Luna considered.
"You don't have to change you plans on my account."
"Nonsense, you were quite right. It would be a waste of the opportunity."
"How did this even happen?" Crystal asked, trying vainly to scrape the sap out of her coat. Luna's only response was to glare at Disc Orb.
"Please," he snorted. "Tree sap is too obvious. It's expected. That said," he added, "I have no idea where it came from. Isn't it marvelous?!" He waved his forehooves in excitement, flinging gobs of sap everywhere.
The two fillies glared at him for a moment as the fresh spray stuck in their manes, before the trio broke down into good natured laughter.
Wing Zero:
Ponyville was quickly becoming the home of the weird (... and tree sap, specially tree sap thanks to a certain trouble threesome composed by a pair of fillies and a colt); Today for Twilight Sparkle this would mean something completely different; due to this variant loop in which Luna, Chrysalis and Discord are replacing the CMC. Sure she had noticed that 'Obsidian Crown' colt, the current version of King Sombra in this loop and also noticed that little Beatrix Lulamoon filly who is following him like a lost lovesick puppy.
If her calendar was right, today it was supposed to be the day Trixie comes to town, but there was one slightly problem: That little Beatrix Lulamoon filly was actually this loop version of Trixie, so that meant somepony else must had been in her place. And right then, she heard from the distance the sound of jet engines at full power, tried to look around to spot where did the sound came from, and then at the direction from Cloudsdale, she spotted... something.
"LOOK! UP IN THE SKY!" Said Lily.
"IT'S A BIRD!" Said Roseluck.
"NO! ITS A PLANE!.... What's a plane anyway?" Said Daisy.
"NO! IT'S A FLYING LANWMOWER!" Said an unAwake Derpy.
"NO! IT'S A FLYING WAGON, RUN!" Said Time Turner before breaking into a full gallop.
Indeed, it was a flying wagon... A flying wagon that was going borderline the speed of sound, said wagon that was being pulled by a an orange furred purple mane and tailed mare who's wearing flight gear quite similar to the one used by Cherry Berry when she flies either the balloon or the helicopter, said flight gear consisted of what the HUB normally knows as a WWII pilot helmet, a pair of flight goggles, a rainbow scarf and flight jacket usually worn by veteran pilots or aces, in her orange wagon with red wheels there's a lot of tally marks in a good part of the walls.
The Pegasus powered wagon did a really low altitude, high speed flyby that almost touched with either the mare's hooves or the wagon's wheels some rooftops by such narrow margin of millimeters, leaving some light damage onto them by the trail vortex generated by its flight. Then the wagon did a 90° vertical climb while rotor-rolling (what is mistakenly known as a 'Barrel-Roll'), ten seconds later the climb reach to a stop, the wagon hoovered for a good three seconds without pegasi assistance until it began to free-fall.
The orange pegasus mare pushed herself upward to her point of view by motioning her wings, this made the cart's front side change from upside to the sky, back to horizontal position while upside down, and now downwards to the ground, the daredevil mare started to angling her wings and so, the whole wagon started to do an actual barrel rolling descend at high speed.
Then when she was about to hit the ground, she began to flap fast and hard to correct her flight path which she made, leaving barely a few centimeters between her, her wagon and the ground, now she's flying at high speeds INSIDE the town, dodging buildings, stalls and ponies alike with such ease that it actually made it look easy, many townsponies were left literally biting the dust thanks to the trail vortex produced by the high speeds the wagon was traveling in the sky.
"Well, now let's give them the grand finale!" Said the orange mare while heading at the same altitude towards the lake, leaving a rooster tail in her wake when she entered to the area of the water body, in there, she did something quite amazing, she pulled a Cobra at such low altitude and without loosing either speed or altitude right before flying into the narrow passages that are the lower sides of the several bridges that are on the town.
With said amazingly improvised free air show, said daredevil began to lose speed until she had finally gracefully landed with a gentle two points landing in the center of the town near the fountain; Once said mare finished to detach herself from her wagon, looking confidently to the crowd of ponies that had managed to gather in her landing zone, she removes her flight goggles from her face... and replace them with a pair of aviator type sunglasses taken from her jacket.
Then she sat there while reclining into her wagon while crossing her fore hooves with such confidence... and turned to speak to the amassed crowd of ponies that now look at her with amazement, curiosity, and some mixed puzzled expressions.
"FILLIES AND GENTELCOLTS, THE AMAZING AND AGILE ORANGE BARONESS HAS ARRIVED! you have seen right now my incredible flight skills and prowess but this was just a small sample of what I can do, Come on guys, I OPEN A CHALLENGE TO ANYPONY, THEY CAN CHALLENGE ME INTO ANYTHING, BUT I WILL DEFEAT THEM WITH EASE, ANYTHING THEY CAN DO, I CAN DO IT BETTER! The tally marks on my wagon are not for show, they are pones who were defeated by the Orange Baroness truly." Said the now denominated Amazing and Agile Orange Baroness to the crowd with such confidence and pose that almost quite scream 'Like a BOSS!' anywhere.
Looking at their distance Twilight Sparkle along with the current Cutie Mark Crusaders who somehow had managed to get close to her while she was concentrated looking at the incredibly dangerous maneuvers this version of Scootaloo have just pulled.
"Umm, any thoughts on this?" Twilight asked them.
"I don't know Twilight, to me it seems that she will brag about anything" Luna said and with a very good reason, right now The Orange Baroness is bragging about the Wonderbolts wanting her to be their flight leader, but she turned them down because she didn't want a bunch of posers getting her light and constantly trying to steal her thunder.
"Well, Considering she's in the place of Trixie, I think she will be bragging about dog-fighting an Ursa Major and win without getting winded and ever being hit." Crystal Wish commented.
"If that gets to happen, this will be going to be good, should I bring some beach chairs, some drinks and popcorn over that hill, or should we watch this in the Library's balcony?" Disc Orb mussed to nopony in particular.
"*sigh* Well, it seems that I will have to deal with this like I normally do in baseline, you think you may be able to help me if anything goes pear-shaped due to these changes?" Asked Twilight to the current CMC Team.
"Sure, this will be fun!" Said Crystal Wish, it may be because she's a filly now and not an adult that she may had said that, but regardless of the age, if she's being honest to herself, she may have admitted that she would find this loop variant fun anyway.
"The fun shall be doubled!" Said little Woona while jumping around in excitement, how many times does she have a loop in which she can do children stuff to begin with it, and more with the use and abuse of the things she had stored in her sub-space pocket.
"And the tree sap, don't forget the tree sap!" Said Disc Orb with such glee that he practically ignored all the other three ponies around him shuddering in horror at the thought of a tsunami of tree sap that would engulf the entire town in one go.
Hubris Plus:
"Bested an Ursa Major in combat, eh Flam?" Flim confided to his brother.
"Must have been quite the spectacle, Flim," he agreed.
"Folks would get pretty worked up over something like that."
"Why, I dare say they'd be willing to buy tickets."
"Such a shame that one can't arrange for the occurrence of such a natural disaster."
"Especially not on a schedule tight enough to collect bits."
"..."
"..."
"To the Everfree?"
"To the Everfree!"
"Pardon me," Luna said as she hunkered down in the bush beside Crystal Wish. "But wasn't dating Trixie supposed to deter this kind of behavior?"
"What do you... Oh! Oh, no," she answered, turning away from her quarry for a moment to shake her head. "I'm not stalking her."
Luna raised an incredulous eyebrow in answer, nodding towards the camera suspended the unicorn's magic and the spectacle on the other side of the bushes.
"Ah, no, you see... You know how the Loops used to pair me with Sombra all the time? Well..." She hoofed over the polaroids she'd already snapped, displaying a sequence of an obviously nervous Trixie scooting gradually closer to an indifferent Obsidian Crown. "I never really saw it until now, but this right here? Adorable."
"...More than it has any right be," Luna agreed after a moment.
"Huh," Crystal added after a moment, craning her neck to look at her still blank flank. "I was also kinda hoping that my special talent was espionage. Largest information network in Equestria and all that. Ah well, we still on for potions with Zecora tomorrow?"
"I'll see you there," the alicorn turned Apple agreed.
Vulpine Fury:
The sinuous draconequus looked down at the loopers replacing the Cutie Mark crusaders.
"My. My. My...." Cacophony purred, her voice like a choir of angels... all slightly out of tune. "Three arguing
little foals... I'd like to thank you, really."
Disc Orb's eyes widened. "Whoa. You're gorgeous."
The pale pink draconequus paused in mid rant. "I am?" She squeaked.
Crystal facehooved. Of course Discord's analog this Loop was a non-looping version of Baseline Sweetie Belle.
Hubris Plus:
"Come on, say it," Disc Orb insisted while a snickering Crystal worked her camera.
The little filly before the trio clamped her mouth shut and shook her head.
"Saaaaaaaay it..." He pushed again.
"Neither of them is going to stop until you do," Luna advised with mild exasperation. It had, in theory, been her night before they'd gotten side tracked.
With a sigh of defeat, the filly drew herself up in an entirely counterproductive attempt to maintain dignity, and opened her mouth.
"Tonigh's my fiwst Nighmare nigh'," Sunset Shimmer ground out, none of her fused loops having prepared her for enunciating through a still-developing nervous system. That was half of her grievance, the other half being the poofy pink dress and conical hat she was wearing. The most aggravating part was that, even though she'd Woken up in it, she clearly remembered wearing something similar on her actual first Nightmare Night. She always had wanted to be a princess, even if it were the pretty pink sort.
"Oh this is gold," Crystal proclaimed as Disc fell over laughing.
For their parts, the villainous Crusaders had decided to go as themselves. Disc Orb had used a heap of paper-mache and paint to turn himself into a passable draconequus, though none of the mismatched limbs were in the 'correct' positions. Crystal, using cardboard and mane dye, had managed a decent changeling queen. Luna naturally only needed a few sheets of tinfoil to pass herself off as Nightmare Moon.
She'd intended to use it to bolster Princess Spoona, but then they'd stumbled across Sunset doing everything in her power to avoid running into Twilight in costume.
"Oh, don't give me that face," the master of chaos scolded, wiping a tear from his eye as the filly groused. "Tell you what, I'll set you on fire to make it up."
"You'll what!?" She squealed, stumbling over her own hooves as she backpedaled. She'd suddenly recalled that these were some of the greatest threats Equestria had ever faced.
"Please," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'd make you fire-proof first. Simultaneously at the latest. You know, so you'd fit our theme?" He gestured at their costumes.
"...Theme?" She cautiously inquired.
"Hmm, Twilight told me you'd started Looping," Crystal realized. "But I don't think any of us has Looped with you for an invite."
"I have," Luna admitted, "but it quite slipped my mind."
"Ah, well, in that case," Disc Orb produced a card and flicked it towards Sunset. "Welcome to the Equestrian Club for Former Villains. Help yourself to the fridge and try to keep any nefarious schemes to Snidely Whiplash levels." He raised a hoof and the false talon at the end snapped its claws, causing the filly to burst into flames which curled in such a way that they suggested wings.
"I'm not quite sure I fit in..." The mildly shocked unicorn stated.
"Too right," the former draconequus agreed, snapping once more. The flames were replaced by by red and yellow strips of paper dancing in the wind and a pair of cardboard wings.
"No, you see-" Sunset tried to elaborate. She'd spent Loops trying to make up for her baseline actions, and this seemed like too much much of a step backwards.
"Look," Disc sighed. "Have you tried to conquer Equestria?"
"With a plan that, in retrospect, was kinda ridiculous?" Crystal added.
"Fueled by jealousy over someone you once loved?" Luna finished solemnly.
"Yes," she squeaked in response.
"Then you are among friends," Luna assured her gently.
"And friends help friends get candy!" Disc Orb grinned, shaking the pillowcase he'd been collecting his sugary goodness in.
"I... I think I'd like that," Sunset said with a small smile, worries easing as she fell into step behind the other three.
FanOfMostEverything:
This had been an… interesting loop thus far. The Crusaders had made for surprisingly effective threats to Equestria. The one who had taken Chrysalis's place was especially capable. None of the usual tells were present. If it weren't for the green aura around her horn when she used magic, Twilight might not have suspected anything about her. Furthermore, clandestinely casting the standard changeling magic disruptors had done absolutely nothing to her disguise.
The Anchor decided to expedite the usual process. As she and "Cadance" left the fruits of Applejack's labor (and fruit) in the royal kitchens, she said, "Hey, Cadance, could I talk with you privately for a moment?"
The alleged alicorn pondered this for a moment. "Sure, Twilight." She led the unicorn to a nearby pantry. This being Castle Canterlot, the pantry was about as big as the main room of Golden Oaks. "Cadance" smiled. "Well, it's just you, me, and the flour sacks. What's on your mind?"
"Cadance's magic is blue."
"Ah. That. I was wondering when you'd bring that up." The impostor's horn lit up in incriminating green.
Twilight put up a dome shield, but nothing struck her defenses. Instead, a matching iridescence came from behind her. "Barred the door?"
"Naturally."
"I can teleport, you know."
"Cadance" just smirked. "Try."
Rather than take the bait, Twilight fired a bolt of force at the impostor. Nothing lethal, just something to probe her defenses.
The alicorn's coat flared green for a moment as the spell impacted, but her smile didn't even waver. "That was the worst teleport I've ever seen." She stomped the floor.
The floor beneath Twilight's feet lit up in a dense spell matrix. Her eyes widened. "How—"
Then she vanished.
"Cadance" tsked to herself. "You unicorns and your shields. Just because solid matter's in the way doesn't mean nothing can get through."
The trip to the disused crystal mines was actually more pleasant this time. Instant teleportation was certainly nicer than sinking through a sea of cold green fire.
Contact from "Cadance" followed this pattern. No gloating, no evil cackling. Just a rather smug smile and, "Hey. No hard feelings?"
"No hard feelings? You trapped me under the mountain!"
"You knew about the mines?" The alicorn shook her head. "Of course you knew about the mines. Why am I even surprised? You're Twilight Sparkle."
Twilight snorted and glared at the image. "Then you should also know this won't hold me."
"Not for long," "Cadance" conceded, "but it will for long enough."
"My friends will know I'm missing."
"Cadance" grinned at this. "Yeah, funny thing about that…"
A very familiar unicorn appeared alongside her in the crystal. "Hi, template!"
Twilight facehoofed. "Right. Changelings."
"They were an inspiration, yes."
"Inspiration?" Twilight frowned. "That's not a drone?"
"Cadance" was practically beaming by this point. "Nope!"
"Then what is it?"
Twilight's doppelganger pouted. "I'm not an 'it.'"
"No you aren't, sweetie." "Cadance" nuzzled it. Er, her. "As for your question… well, I didn't expect to stump Celestia's student. You'll excuse me if I keep a few secrets. Good luck, Twilight!" And with that, she ended the spell.
Twilight sat and thought. She could go storming back now, but she had much more time before the wedding than in the baseline. Better to use it to plan.
"Mares and gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor."
"Cadance" listened to Celestia with only half an ear. She was honestly kind of disappointed. She'd had such high hopes for Twilight as a nemesis, but it seemed like the unicorn had just given up once she was in the caves. Well, at least everything was going according to plan.
"Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you—"
"I object!"
Everypony turned to see a rather dishevelled Twilight.
Rainbow Dash boggled. "Wha… Twilight?"
Pinkie turned to the best mare. "But if she's Twilight, and you're Twilight, and I'm Pinkie Pie, and the conductor is wearing plaid socks, then how many stops until Mornington Crescent?"
"Seven over kumquat," said Disc Orb.
Celestia looked from one lavender unicorn to the other and made her decision. A beam of coherent sunlight struck the Twilight on the dais, launching her into the rear wall with a metallic crash. Sparks flew from her body, which flickered and fizzed until it resolved itself into a vaguely equine contraption of steel and rubber.
The entire room paused at this. Twilight broke the silence. "Well, that was fairly low on the list of possibilities."
Then she pulled an EMP grenade out of her subspace pocket and chucked it at "Cadance."
One moment, the projectile proceeded towards a pink pony princess. The next, a mechadendrite snatched the grenade out of the air with a high-pitched mechanical whine. Attached to the tendril was a yellow-coated earth pony mare built like Big Macintosh. Well, most of one. Many pieces of her body were replaced with technology far beyond Equestria's baseline, including prosthetic wings and an artificial horn. Her cutie mark was a similarly augmented apple.
Celestia found her voice next. "Who are you?"
The mare kept disassembling the now disarmed grenade with her mane. "Call me Singularity," she muttered, engrossed by the components before her. "This is very good work. Might have even inconvenienced me."
The real Cadance made her entrance, slightly put off that she wasn't getting a dramatic reveal, but there were more pressing concerns. "What did you to my fiancé?"
"Oh, Shiny? Catch somepony off guard and it doesn't matter how good his shields are. Isn't that right, hubby?"
Shining flickered for a moment before the hologram around another robot deactivated. Twilight blanched. "Wha..."
Singularity smirked. "I'm guessing you didn't find him. Don't worry, he's in stasis. I'm not going to let—"
Applejack delivered her best buck to the monologuing mare. Singularity barely stumbled. She turned to the farmer. "Do you mind?"
AJ glared back. "You eggheads love t' hear yerselves talk, don't ya? No offense, Twi."
"None taken." Twilight shook herself out of her bemusement. "Right. Singularity, we're going to kick your asymptote."
Blank stares outnumbered groans. Singularity chuckled despite herself, then stomped a hoof. About half of the audience and most of the guards revealed themselves as more robots. The brewing panic was quashed by a voice amplified almost to Royal Canterlot levels. "With the shield under my direct control, I was able to smuggle in enough automata to secure Canterlot out from under your muzzles. And on that note." She flicked an ear, and the light streaming through the windows returned to unfiltered sunlight as the citywide shield dropped. Small shapes could be seen streaking down into the streets. "The wedding was a formality. If you could all form a nice, neat line?" Nopony did so. Singularity scowled. "I thought not."
Waves of heat began to waft off of Celestia. "If you think I'm going to stand by and let you enslave my little ponies—"
"Enslave? I only want to make our lives better! Imagine a world where every pony can fly, can cast spells, can pull a house off of its foundations. All because of an earth pony!" Singularity's eyes narrowed. "The world I proposed in that royal audience ten years ago."
The sun princess's jaw dropped. "Apple Bloom?"
Applejack gasped. "Auntie!? Ah ain't seen you since Ah was a filly! Everypony thought you'd passed on!"
Singularity snorted. "They were right. Apple Bloom is dead. I abandoned that life along with my meat limbs and a couple organs." She turned back to Celestia. "I came to you in peace, Celestia, and you rejected me."
"I remember," Celestia answered, "and if anything, your current state proves that I was right. Debasing the equine form as you have can only lead to—"
"Debasing!?" cried the augmented mare. "Enhancing my natural magic, emulating that of the other tribes, replacing finicky glands and organs with robust mechanisms, you still call that debasement?" She rose into the air. "I had hoped to introduce my gifts into Equestria from a position of power, but now? Now I will do it with force!"
With that, every robot took on the appearance of a pony in the room.
Singularity spread her wings, artificial horn aglow. " If I have to crack a few royal eggs to make a transequine omelet, then so be it! I am Singularity! Mother of machines! Industrial revolutionary! The celestial spheres are an outmoded, obsolete system, and the march of progress will crush them underhoof!"
Under one of the pews, Crystal Wish was blushing so hard she was practically giving off her own light. Disc Orb, meanwhile, was taking notes. "I have to say, this is some very good material." He considered the developing melee. "As is that. I give it eleventeen out of Q."
Hubris Plus:
"Reminds me of the time I was Chrysalis of Borg," Crystal Wish noted as she fired a rocket into a cluster of equidroids, resulting in a prismatic rain of servos and wire. She'd have to remember to thank Trixie for the armament, she'd never seen mayhem so dazzling before. "Were you there for that one?"
"Hm? Oh, yes, that was a fun one," Disc Orb agreed as he kicked off his ball, sending it careening through the room to topple robots and knock ponies out of the line of fire. "The only thing funnier than the reactions of the Romulans and the Dominion was the way Starfleet never quite knew what to do with you."
"An armada of Cubes sitting along the Neutral Zone will do that, yes," she said, blasting over a column to provide cover for a squad of guards who had just entered the room.
Hubris Plus:
Twilight was on guard against deviations from the baseline as she entered the Crystal Empire. Nightmare Spoon had stuck largely to the script, and Cacophony had merely added a musical theme to her mayhem, but Singularity had bucked the trend with a scheme she hadn't seen coming. After hearing Celestia's briefing on this version of the Empire, she was expecting much the same.
There a definite sense of wrongness as she walked the streets of the city, but it was a different texture of gloom than she had come to expect from it. Where once the citizenry had been sad and cringing, they were now withdrawn and aloof, looking down their noses at everypony else, but especially her. Every attempt at communication was met with a disdainful sniff before they trotted away. It was as though somepony had taken the attitude of the worst of the Canterlot elite, imposed upon each and every crystal pony, and magnified it a few times for good measure.
The empty halls of the palace were somehow worse, tricks of light and perspective making it very easy to feel small and insignificant. Not to mention the ever present sense that she was being watched, which made her give a start every time she caught a flash of pink from her reflection upon the walls.
...Pink? Stopping mid-step, she slowly turned her head to look directly at the wall.
"Queen Diadem," she stated softly, meeting the unimpressed gaze of a pink unicorn wearing an elaborate crown.
"I was wondering when you'd notice," came the cold reply from the reflection. "I must say, you managed to fall short of even my lowest expectations."
"You're right," Twilight answered confidently, taking a measure of satisfaction in the slight surprise she saw at the statement. "I should have expected something like this, right from the moment the Princess told me she'd sealed you in a mirror. Of course you wouldn't be able to escape."
"Escape?" The Queen replied incredulously. "Why ever would I want to? Your rulers' petty attempt to mock my vanity has granted me every power they sought to deny. Once I merely ruled the Crystal Empire. Now I am the Empire."
"Trapped in a reflection," Twilight whispered as realization dawned. "And almost every surface in the Empire-"
"-Is a mirror," Diadem finished smugly. "I guess there's a brain in there after all. I used to have to watch my subjects like a hawk to remind them who was in charge, but now I am with them wherever they go, whispering in their ears, telling them how Equestria has grown soft in the centuries since they dared to banish us."
"You banished the Empire when you were defeated," the Anchor corrected.
"To-ma-to, to-mah-to," the Queen mocked. "All that matters is that they believe it. And tomorrow, at the Crystal Ball, that belief and their unity will empower the Heart, granting me strength enough to make good on my promise to conquer your fair land."
"You'll never take Equestria," Twilight stated defiantly. "I won't let you."
"And how will you stop me, little unicorn? You are in my house of mirrors, and you shall never leave it." In demonstration, the light of the palace suddenly seemed to twist and squirm, the hallway becoming completely different than it had been a moment before.
Setting her face in a determined expression, Twilight began to walk.
It had taken hours longer to find a path through the palace than Twilight had expected. Diadem, like Sombra before her, was a master of misdirection and pitfalls, and her personal attention made them all the harder to outmaneuver.
In the end it had taken an array of scrying spells from both Equestria and Oerth to map the true shape of the building, but she'd finally gotten through. The Heart was sitting at the end of the hallway, placed on a pedestal in the center of a grand chamber and glowing with a sinister purple light. Breaking into a trot, she made a run at her target...
And slammed face first into the polished surface of the wall.
"Oh, and you were so close," the Queen tittered. "Well, no, not at all, actually. This is being reflected clear from the other side of the palace. Or... Possibly the next room over? Who can say? Certainly not you."
"Laugh all you want, Diadem," Twilight spat, her horn lighting as she prepared a spell. "I know something you don't."
"And what's that?" She mocked, "something about the power of friendship? Persistence in the face of adversity? Your tail from your mane?"
"Yes, yes, and yes," the Anchor answered primly. "But I was referring to the refractive properties of harmonic light." She fired off her spell, a small burst of rainbow light that bounced off the wall, reflecting again and again as it perfectly retraced the convoluted path the image had taken.
"No!" Diadem shrieked as she was an instant too late in dismissing the mirror magic that had carried the illusion, allowing the burst of Harmony to strike home. On its last dregs of power before being renewed at the Ball, the dark enchantments over the Heart buckled under even the relatively small amount of Harmonic power Twilight could call up without the elements.
The image faded out along with the tyrant as the source of her power was disrupted, and the palace returned to more comprehensible dimensions.
"Right," Twilight muttered as she reoriented herself. "Now to convince an entire city of Bluebloods to play nice..."
LordCirce:
"Arr. I tried to tie up Celestia when she visited Manehattan, so my mum sent me here."
The CMCVE (Cutie Mark Crusaders, Villain Edition yay!) glanced at each other, then back at the black coated mare with light green hair and a pirate's hat. Well, Luna and Crystal glanced at her, Disc was too busy rolling on the wall laughing.
Hubris Plus:
"Obsidiaaaaan!" Trixie whimpered as the float careened down the street, "make it stooooop!"
"I could have sworn we said no to the sabotage plan," Crystal noted distantly from where she sat on the sidelines.
"Silence, foal!" The tyrant in training barked, "I am in complete control!"
"We did," Luna answered. "If you'd permitted me to add retrorockets, this wouldn't be happening."
"Yar, abandon apple!" Plunder Seed shouted, "Ev'ry mare fer herself!"
"Not everything needs to be a spaceship, Luna," the former queen sighed. "The brakes should have worked fine."
"Ooooooh," Disc Orb said slowly. "Brakes. Not breaks. I thought you wanted crumple zones. You know, for safety." The two fillies stared at him for a moment before deciding he was probably being honest.
"None of us is actually that good with craftsmareship, are we?" Crystal asked forlornly.
"I must admit, wood does not fare well out of atmosphere," Luna agreed, taking on a thoughtful expression. "Unless you are Applejack."
"You're asking me to follow a plan and the laws of physics," Disc Orb pointed out. "We're lucky it's right-side-up."
"And I tend to grow most of my vehicles," Crystal finished with a sigh. The three took a moment to watch their creation barrel along, the children inside arguing loudly. "Shouldn't we do something?"
"Oh, very well," Disc Orb snorted before cupping his hooves around his mouth and shouting. "Look at how fast it's going! We'll definitely get our race-car building cutie-marks for this!" The two fillies watched in vague astonishment as the float suddenly started squealing and jittered to a halt, before they trotted over to it.
"Told you I had it under control," Obsidian Crown grumbled as Crystal helped a dizzy Trixie down and Luna stuck her head under the vehicle. Plunder Seed was sprawled on the grass, mumbling something about land-lubbers.
"It would appear the wood we used was too fresh-cut," the patron of the moon noted. "The axle is all gunked up with resin." The pair of them exchanged glances before raising eyebrows at Disc Orb.
"Murphy and I go way back," He explained. "He owes me a few favors."
Hubris Plus:
Crystal grit her teeth as she fired off another flare into the encroaching vegetation. The Plunder Vines were something that continued to be a hassle for the Equestrian Loopers. Sometimes Zecora could wrangle them with her Wood Release, and if all the Bearers were Awake they could return the Elements early to cut the issue off at the pass, but most of the time Ponyville would just have to deal with a few hours of mayhem as Twilight led the other Elements to the Tree of Harmony.
The Nox Vines that Cacophony had planted were no easier to deal with, she considered as the shadows were driven back by the dazzling ammunition. Their veil of darkness momentarily burned off, the plants shied away from the bright light and allowed the fillies and colts they'd been harassing to escape.
It was only a momentary reprieve, the flare's light dying and allowing the fluid darkness to flow back all too quickly, obscuring and protecting the vines even as it confused and trapped their prey. Before it faded entirely, she managed to spy Disc Orb in the the thick of it, bouncing and dancing among the variations on his creations, leading them on a merry chase that ended with a dozen of the shoots knotted together in a uselessly writhing ball. The occasional flash of light allowed her to track their newest member, Sunset Shimmer, as she used her Keyblade to keep the darkness at bay. Elsewhere, she knew that Luna was truly in her element, more at home in the shadows than the vines projecting them.
"Obsidian, what are you- Aaahhhh!"
Crystal's eyes widened as she heard the panicked shriek. Trixie! Breaking into a gallop, she ran towards the source of the disturbance, passing Obsidian Crown as he matched her speed in the opposite direction. Firing off more flares as she went, she finally came upon the whimpering filly as she was released by the rapidly retreating vines.
"He-" She hiccuped forlornly, "he tripped me..." Crystal's blood ran cold at the revelation, but she grit her teeth and pushed away the burgeoning rage. The little brat would have to wait.
"Trixie," she said as gently as she could manage while still edging it with command. "I need you to use your fireworks. Can you do that for me?"
"I-I think so," Trixie answered shakily, screwing her eyes up in concentration. A few dim sparks shot from the tip of her horn before, with a grunt of effort, a prismatic sphere of crackling light burst forth, chasing away the shadows that had been reforming in Crystal's wake.
"That's good, Trixie," the former queen reassured. "Keep that up and we'll get out of here just fine."
The filly nodded slowly, sticking close to the changeling-turned-unicorn and occasionally using her magic again as they headed towards the relative safety of the town center. Before they'd gotten halfway there, they heard shouts that quavered between fear and fury emanating from the darkness off to one side.
"Obsidian?" Trixie said uncertainly, faltering at the sound.
Crystal sighed. Once, oh so very long ago, she would have left him to his fate as a matter of efficiency. For a long time after that, she would have left him for throwing Trixie under the bus. At some point, without her even realizing it, such actions had become impossible.
"Stupid noblesse oblige," she muttered as she fired off another flare and stalked into the pool of light it created, Trixie following warily at her heels. The vines exposed refused to retreat under the glare of the light, too focused on their prey to give up. She fired more rockets directly at where they emerged from the ground, the close range and vicious blaze doing actual damage rather than merely drive them back. Trixie, picking up on the strategy, fired off at a few of them herself, earning a reassuring grin from Crystal.
Wounded, the vines snapped away, leaving behind the scratched and grumbling form of Obsidian Crown, his eyes darting about in a paranoid panic as he sprawled on the ground.
"Are you alright?" She asked, surprised at the genuine concern in her own voice.
"Get... Get... Away..." He panted, on the edge of hyperventilating. "I-I can... Take care... Of myself! I..." Frowning, Crystal shoved her hoof into his mouth to cut off the hysterical rambling.
"For once in your miserable life," she intoned as a wide eyed Trixie looked on. "Comport yourself as the stallion you claim to be instead of the petty colt you are. Now, once more, are you okay?" She removed her hoof and waited as he got his breathing under control.
"I... Yes. I am fine," he finally answered, a familiar edge of superiority entering his voice. "And how dare you lay your-"
"Good," Crystal interrupted before whipping her hoof across his cheek in a vicious slap that sent the colt tumbling onto his side. "If I ever hear that you've caused harm to another pony, there will be consequences," she nearly snarled. Turning away from the unicorn that had been startled into silence by the assault, she found Trixie staring at her in confused awe, a faint blush on her cheeks.
"Oh, what the hay," she shrugged before stepping forward and giving the pale blue unicorn a peck on the cheek. Trixie blinked slowly in confusion, and then again in dawning realization.
"Well," she said with a confidence the filly had lacked all Loop. "That was the best Wake up call I've had in awhile."
"Trixie!" Crystal cried happily, embracing the other mare. "We really need to try the Sleeping Beauty protocol more often..."
"Agreed," the show mare answered as she returned the hug. "Oh, new mark," she added, catching sight of the once-changeling's flank. "I like it."
"What!?" Crystal asked, breaking away and twisting around to spy her own rump. There, standing out against her dark hide, was a white shield wreathed in bright green flames, a black dragonfly at its center. "Ha! Best day ever!" She cheered, before glancing about, "you know, aside from the impending end of Equestrian civilization."
"Hmm," Trixie murmured before producing a massive firework from her Pocket. "I think the Komodo should do it," she stated confidently as she lit it off. The rocket blazed into the sky, rising high before exploding in a brilliant flash that bathed the whole of Ponyville in light and, for a moment, drowned out the sun and moon both. The vines let out shrieks of outrage as they snatched themselves back beneath the comforting darkness of the soil. "Better?"
"Yes. Now it's perfect," Crystal agreed.
87.5 (misterq)
"You didn't know? How long have you been studying all alone up there in Canterlot?"
Twilight sighed. She was the only looper and it was another strange variation loop, "Rainbow Dash, just because I wasn't aware that ponies could swap cutie marks and special talents doesn't mean I was a complete shut-in."
"Uh huh. Yeah right," The sky blue pegasus wasn't convinced, "But here, I'll show you how it's done. Hey Fluttershy, bump me!"
"Wha.. what?" Fluttershy managed to get out before her friend landed right next to her and bumped her flank with her own. There was a brief flash as soon as the two cutie marks touched, then each pony had the others' mark.
The butter-colored pegasus blinked and then smiled, "I think I'm going to visit all the pet stores as fast as I can."
Rainbow Dash nodded, "I'll help. So many adorable animals I can pet and make sure they're all right. Later, Twilight!"
Twilight watched as the two pegasi flew off. Then her memories hit. She looked back at her familiar cutie mark, one that her new memories said was extremely valuable on the talent exchange market. Not as much as Celestia's, but attempting to steal the princess' talent bore dire consequences.
Then one thought firmly implanted itself in Twilight's mind, "I'm really, really going to have to watch out for the Cutie Mark Crusaders this loop. And maybe get some pants."
87.6 (DataPacRat)
"Alright," Twilight said to Cheerilee, who groaned whenever the icepack on her head slipped. The two were shaded from the sun on the Apple family's porch, sharing a swing-seat. "Care to tell me what happened?"
"Only after you cast a headache spell," Cheerilee managed. Twilight shrugged, her horn flashed, and Cheerilee sighed as she relaxed in relief. "Much better. Thanks."
"So," Twilight prompted.
"So," Cheerilee agreed. She set the ice to the side. "Where were you?"
"Cloudsdale, laying the groundwork for a prank on baseline Gilda that's now completely derailed. Are you trying to stall?"
"Maybe just a little."
"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine."
"No, I do - I just need to put my thoughts in order."
"Take all the time you need."
They sat quietly, sipping from some glasses of apple juice for a few minutes, each thinking their own thoughts as they watched the farm for a few minutes. Eventually Cheerilee took a breath. "Alright. It seemed like a baseline loop, with nobody Awake - and then you conspicuously failed to show up. So I guessed we had a guest Anchor, but they never showed. Nightmare Moon did, right on schedule."
"I lost track of time," Twilight cleared her throat and blushed a little.
"You'll have to explain what sort of prank preparations could keep /you/ from sticking to a schedule."
"Remind me later. So - Nightmare Moon?"
"... Shows up, and gave the standard speech. 'Night will last forever'. My in-loop memories seemed to say there wasn't a good way to handle eternal night with local magic, so I figured I'd have to stop her myself."
"Substitute Elements of Harmony?"
"Not even close. I'm a teacher... so I stepped up, and offered to teach Nightmare Moon why her plan needed improving. She didn't take it well, but it was only right to make the offer."
"Mm-hm," Twilight encouraged.
"She said something 'With Celestia gone, not even all of Equestria put together can stop me! Mua-ha-ha!', or something of the sort. So I cleared my throat, and said, 'Well, actually - any one of us can. A lot's changed since you left.' She said, 'Really?'. I said, 'Pick any one of us, and what to challenge, and if you can best them, then I'm wrong. But if I'm right...' She sneered, and said something about not lowering herself. I couldn't help but say, 'Well, if you're afraid of losing...'."
"I'm with you so far," Twilight said, taking another sip, "But I'm still not sure where this is going."
"We're almost there. She grumbled, and pointed her hoof at... the mayor, I think it was, and said, 'Combat.' So I started walking up to her, saying some pointless encouraging words - but what I was really focusing on was some telepathy I've been learning to use in Loops that allow it. I've been working on ways to teach non-Loopers useful things in a hurry, so I was working out an appropriate set of skills from Naruto's Loops to telepathically implant in the mayor's mind, taking into account that she's never had the opportunity to develop her chakra coils or significantly exercise her muscles, and I've had few opportunities to determine the long-term consequences given the usual length of Equestrian Loops, and... none of that is really relevant."
"Then what is?"
"Just as I was getting ready to send the psi packet, I was... distracted. I guess Nightmare Moon decided not to play along. She blasted me. So instead of transmitting a carefully chosen set of ninjutsu and reflexes into one pony's mind... I kind of broadcast it."
"To whom?"
"... Everybody in Ponyville, I think."
Cheerilee fell silent, and the pair of them returned their attention to the goings-on at the farm. Big Mac was walking along the side of the barn, making repairs. The herd of cows wandered across the stream to a new grazing area, their hooves not sinking into the water. Granny Smith had adapted a leaf-cutting jutsu to peel apples. Applejack was leaping from tree to tree, and Apple Bloom was trying to transform herself into a pony with a cutie mark.
"I've been through Fused Loops," said Twilight, "with a Village Hidden in the Apple Orchard, but that's not quite the same."
Cheerilee took a cue from Big Mac, with a simple, "Nope."
"What happened to Nightmare Moon?"
"Well... I was partly out of it from the blast, but from what everypony told me, they basically teamed up and beat the stuffing out of her. She's in the hospital now, recovering - Nurse Redheart is using some medical jutsu on her to speed the healing."
"Is she back to being Luna?"
"No - but she's asked, very politely, if she can start attending school once she's back on her hooves."
"Hm," Twilight said. "I wonder - if I arranged to have Discord's statue brought here, do you think you could give everyone a crash course in genjutsu?"
Cheerilee dropped her head back down with a groan, pulling the ice-pack back on to cover her eyes.
87.7 (Yannoshka)
As it hath been in the yonder days of our ancestors
As it shalt be in the days of our descendants
Let the choirs of the great temple of harmony
resound with our thanksgivings
Praise be untho Celestia Gloriana
Whose radiant sun doth give us warmth
Ande ye, unto the twinne Moons Sentinel
Dreamwarden Luna ande Nyx the Nightshield
Ande celebrant we be for triune we name not fully
Our lady of Laughter, the Sanity's Test
End of reason, the Chaos Incarnate
ande Mirth from the bottle, Brewmaiden Mare
Farmer ande the Dressmaker ande the Teacher
hear our joy upon thine resplendence
whom feed us and clothe us and raise our minds
in Diligence, and honesty, generosity and wisdom
We greet thou Spykoranuvellitar Dragonfather
Ande thou dauntless Gilda, of the gryphonflight
Ande our love be thine Chrysalis mistress of change
Whom govern those not of Pony
Great be thou Twiligh, Scholar Superior, Harmony's Gift
Ande thine peers, the other great Ladies of Magic
Trixie, The Great and Powerfull, Illusionist and Conjurer
Ande Zecora the Wisdom of Wise, Sage of the Sages
Hallowed be the Lovers three
Cadence, with romantic wings true
Shining, the defender's stalwart care
Macintosh, holding the love of kin
Blessed be the Three Saintly Mares
Showing the Balance of a Sister's Heart
Rainbow of passion, Diamond of grace,
ande Fluttershy of the kindness sweet.
Graces Shower upon Mistresses of Adversity
Shimmering Mare, Sunset of Second Chances
Argent one Spoon, ye Filly of Life Transitions,
and the Beloved Imperfect, Derpy known as Ditzy
Beatificaticated art thou and thine Domains threefold
Whom Sees Beyond, our Hearths Strings be thine Lyre
Whom Listens and Plays forth the Thrum of the World
Whom Heavens and all the World Administrates
Jubilation be unto the Child goddesses,
Applebloom whom governs the progress and Craft
Sweetie Belle Divine Singer, whom gives us Arts
Ande Scootaloo whose domain be the Sports
As the chorus of thanksgiving wound down, the bowing supplicant was ritually covered by the sap of Oak and Pine by her sponsors while she recited the tenants of the order. When the pots of sap emptied the sponsors turned to Mother Superior and proclaimed, each in her term the supplicant ready and worthy.
Mother Superior calmly accepted their proclamation, and raised the final pot of tree sap - this one of Sandalwood.
“By tree-sap we consecrate thou, so your wows may always be as holding as it is. Raise Dame Pensee, and assume thine place amongst your sister Crusaders.”
87.8
“But... what the... how?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Fluttershy pulled on her new Wonderbolts uniform, getting it straightened out. “Well... I asked nicely...”
Dash gaped. “Are you seriously telling me that all I'd have needed to do to get into the Wonderbolts – the bucking Wonderbolts! - was to ask nicely?”
Fluttershy nodded. “Er... yes. Have you tried?”
After a moment's more gaping, the blue pegasus slumped. “Okay, you're right, I haven't.”
“Well...” Fluttershy waved a hoof. “It does help to be, well, good at flying – as well, I mean – but I asked Spitfire, and her main concern was your attitude.”
The Element of Kindness smiled earnestly. It was, after all, true – this time, at least. And she felt like Dash's baseline self needed a lucky break this loop.
She'd sworn them to secrecy about the Sonic Flutterboom she'd performed to really get on the team, though...
87.9
Luna knocked on Celestia's door. “Celly? Do you want to build a snowman?”
“Alright.” The slightly older filly alicorn pulled the door open. “Let's go.”
Luna paused. “I kind of feel like that should have taken longer.”
Celestia shrugged. “I did feel the heartsong starting, but I do like the idea of building a snowman. Let's go, quick!”
Queen Twilight smiled, watching the two young princesses playing outside.
It was nice that the two of them had some time to be little for once.