//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Continuing Day One // Story: Guardians of the Multiverse // by Draknir //------------------------------// “So, where are we?” asked Twilight as soon as she was able to see the rest of her squad. Going through the portal had forced her eyes to readjust, blinding the Unicorn for a minute or two. She found herself and the rest of her squad in what looked like an endless room of white. Nothing was visible, not even the floor Twilight assumed she was standing on yet couldn’t feel. “Universe 5562,” answered Pinkie without skipping a beat. “No, really?” asked her new squad mate, very clearly unamused by the joke. “We are currently in the core of the Universe, which is the main source of stability,” replied Sunset Shimmer, actually answering Twilight’s question, “We can go to various points of interest within the Universe from here in an instant.” “Wait, why didn’t we look at the core of that other Universe?” inquired the purple Unicorn, “I mean, I would have thought we’d look at that first.” “Not every Universe has one,” explained Shining Armor, “In those Universes, there are more places that bear the burden of keeping the Universe stable than in ones with cores.” “That makes no sense!” exclaimed Twilight, tossing her front legs into the air while standing on her back ones, “How can some Universes have cores while others don’t?!” “Twilight, can I ask you a question?” asked Pinkie, her voice flat. “Yeah, what?” “Does anything involving the MGH make sense?” “Um…I’m sorry?” “Think about it,” replied Pinkie, “We work for an organization that takes beings from the ever-growing number of Universes, often times against their will, mind you, and makes them ensure the Universes are stable. Universes that come into existence through mysterious forces and somehow end up at the same point in time as their base Universe in a fluctuating amount of time through other mysterious forces. Those beings are then outside of time with regards to aging, diseases, and death, with us being immune to those three, while still needing to eat, drink, and use the, uh, facilities. We also work for a boss that no one, not even the superiors of our superior, has ever seen and could very well not even have a physical form. WHAT ABOUT THIS MAKES SENSE?!” “Feeling a little stressed out there, Pinkie?” asked Sunset Shimmer, taken aback by the sudden outburst from the Pegasus. “What…was…your…first…clue?” replied Pinkie, panting because of the amount of air she’d put forth from her short monologue. “Feeling better now?” asked Shining Armor, which was followed by a large sigh from the Pegasus, “Pretty sure you freaked Twilight out.” “Huh? Oh, sorry Twilight,” said Pinkie sheepishly, seeing that the purple Unicorn looked uncomfortable, “I’ve been under a lot of stress, having to adjust from being the member of a squad to the captain of one. I did mention that, right?” “No, you didn’t,” answered Twilight, feeling a bit less unnerved once she’d had a chance to process what Pinkie had said, “But I’d more or less assumed that, since you were the one who was selected to train me.” “Speaking of which, we should get on with our observations,” advised Shining Armor, “You know how some ponies get when you take too long.” “So, exactly how do we observe the Universe here?” “Well, basically we go to the points of stability, or interest as Sunset Shimmer put it, and make sure everything’s in order,” answered Pinkie, “If, and almost certainly when, we find out nothing is amiss, we return here.” “And that’s it?” “Yep, simple job,” replied Pinkie, her voice laced with disappointment. “But isn’t that the point? If our job is simple, that means nothing is wrong, right?” “It’s boring that way. I mean, yeah, that’s a good thing and all. But still, it’s not exactly a fun job.” “But, we’ve got to do it,” advised Sunset Shimmer, “No matter how bored we get.” “So, what exactly are these ‘points of stability’ anyway?” asked Twilight, changing the subject. “Exactly what it sounds like; they’re points in the Universes where the stability is held,” explained Shining Armor, “While the core here is the main source, there simply have to be more places that govern the stability. Otherwise, when the Universes expand enough, they’d collapse on themselves. And, as I hinted at, that means Universes without cores have many more points than those that do. Like nearly five times as many.” “And who sets up these points?” “To be perfectly honest? None of us know,” answered Pinkie, “As time flows on, the Universes simply gain new points of stability. Which means our job is always getting larger.” “Shall we get started?” asked Sunset Shimmer, who couldn’t help but notice how easily they’d gotten side-tracked. “Let’s,” replied Pinkie with a smile, “Point of stability 1.” “Why’d you say tha-?” asked Twilight before she was cut off by her surroundings changing. Within just a few seconds, the ponies found themselves in what looked like a lush pine forest that nearly blocked out the sky, “Where are we now?!” “Point of stability 1,” repeated Pinkie, “It’s here that this Universe has a portion of its stability. Can you not feel how stable it is?” “I’m sorry?” asked Twilight, confused. “It’s a joke, Twilight,” explained Shining Armor, “Nopony can feel stability in this sense.” “So…how large is this point?” “Not large, considering the size of this particular Universe,” answered Pinkie, “You see, this Universe is one of the smallest in our cluster. It only consists of five or six planets at the most, and this point is on the main one.” “Why so few?” “Universe 5562 is one where there are like eight or nine tribes of Ponies at the max, and they can all transfer between the worlds at will,” explained Shining Armor, “This is one of the stranger Universes, but each one has something different about it so it isn’t that bad.” “So, what exactly is the strange part of this? Aside, of course, from so few planets and ponies.” “Every week, the tribes gather for a competition to take a symbol of victory. Usually only five of the tribes compete while the others help construct the arenas of combat,” answered Sunset Shimmer, “However, there are some weeks where the tribes band together for a common goal, such as slaying a common enemy or exploring a new land.” “Dare I ask what this ‘symbol of victory’ is?” “Some kind of tower consisting of four solid gold blocks sitting on a block of pure obsidian,” replied Pinkie, “Yeah, we don’t understand the appeal either. And yet, the competitions are broadcast to the MGH because of how much we enjoy viewing them for some reason.” “Anyway, this point checks out okay,” stated Shining Armor as she viewed the surroundings, “Okay, let’s head back.” “Core,” said Pinkie once she confirmed for herself what her squad mate had deduced. As soon as she said that, the world around Twilight shifted again. The group now found themselves back where they’d been a moment prior, “Okay, let’s finish this up. Stability point 2.” The squad continued to inspect the points of stability for Universe 5562 for almost an hour before reaching the final one. Once Pinkie was satisfied that the Universe was completely stable, the group returned to the core. “Now that this one’s fine, let’s get back to the MGH,” said the Pegasus, “Return, authorization PP-073.” A flash blinded Twilight, causing her to gasp from surprise. Once she recovered, she found herself alongside her squad back in the portal room. “And we can check that one off our list,” said Shining Armor, apparently keeping a mental one. “So, why’d you need to authorize our return here?” asked Twilight, looking at the Pegasus, “Shouldn’t we be able to just do so as we please?” “The main reason I have to authorize it is that I’m the squad’s captain and I needed to verify that our job was finished,” answered Pinkie, returning the look, “The secondary and tertiary reasons are so we don’t have any ponies returning to the MGH prematurely and so we don’t have any unauthorized visitors respectively.” “Since Rainbow’s team is off-duty by now,” said Shining Armor as she looked at the central computer, “We’ve got the room all to ourselves. Let’s continue on. Pinkie, shall we indirectly visit our next Universe?” “Depends. What’s the next number?” “100, actually,” answered the white Unicorn without pausing, “Figured that would be one of the better ones to do so with. Especially since the other Universes we have on our list are easier to check than this one.” “Yeah, I guess that’s okay,” stated the Pegasus, “Let’s get to it then.” “On it,” said Sunset Shimmer as she walked over to the computer Shining Armor was looking at, “Universe 100, visit indirectly.” The portal behind the rest of the squad activated, this time with a light green color. “I take it this lights up differently depending on what option we chose?” “Yes, indeedy!” answered Pinkie before diving head first into the portal. With a sigh, each of the others walked through the portal. Wait, where am I? Thought Twilight as she regained her bearings. She couldn’t feel anything for some reason, nor could she move a muscle. She wasn’t even able to see anything except total darkness. What’s going on? No sooner had she thought that did her sight return. Twilight found herself in the room that had been replicated in her quarters, although this time it had windows. She heard a yawn, only to realize it seemed exceptionally close. “!ekipS, gninrom dooG,” said a voice that sounded exactly like her, only to jog the Unicorn’s memory. That’s right, I’m seeing this Universe through my counterpart. Thought Twilight as she saw the other version of herself get out of her bed. No sooner had she gotten her bearings did the Unicorn’s vision suddenly go dark. Within an instant, she found herself back in the portal room alongside of her squad mates. “What in the world?” asked Sunset Shimmer as she shook her head, “Well, that’s certainly never happened to me before.” “Well, looks like our day just got a whole lot more interesting,” said Pinkie as she motioned for her squad mates to take a look at the central computer. The screen was flashing red with an exclamation mark in the middle, “Something is up somewhere in Universe 100. We need to alert PC-001 immediately.” The Pegasus bolted off towards the door, leaving her squad behind. After looking at each other worried, they all ran after their captain.