//------------------------------// // MLP Loops 128 // Story: MLP Time Loops // by Saphroneth //------------------------------// 128.1 (Gamma Cavy) Children of the Nightmare, final snip. This was the worst Sombra that she had ever had to handle. It was like his baseline personality had been fused with Tirek. To top things off, Discord had turned up at the same time instead of his usual arrival. The Crystal Heart had been missing from its usual location, and Dash was hunting for it. Her Daughter was tied up keeping the Crusaders, who had somehow wound up in the middle of this out of trouble, and Discord and Sombra were fighting each other as well as her. That gave her a bit of a breather, but it was wreaking havoc with the local architecture and geography. Text covered every building thanks to Discord, and she would have been more easily able to handle them if not for the fact that this was going off with about two thousand crystal ponies in the line of fire. Then of all people Derpy skidded into sight, and on her back was the Crystal Heart. Discord aimed another chaos blast at sombra, who retaliated with... was that a rapid de-age spell?! "Cutie Mark Crusader distractions go!" came a familiar yell. Nyx had protections on them, she could tell, and was diving for the Heart— What happened next happened in very slow motion. Discord's chaos blast shot toward her, Sombra's de-ageing spell went off course as the crusaders landed on him, and a Rainboom detonated in the sky above as Dash arrived. Discord’s magic and Sombra's spell collided, merging into something new, before the newly created spell bounced off her shield. The ricochet went right for the Crystal Heart. the last thing she saw was the heart glowing, and both Discord and Sombra disintegrate, before the blast wave hit her and Nyx. "Ow." She looked around. "Well this is new. " She had had the occasional pre-Equestria Loop and knew what the stars looked like in the distant past, but she had never wound up somewhere like this. Nyx was unconscious to her right, and two filly unicorns were looking at her. She knew what a young Celestia and Luna looked like, and she had no loop memories, thus was clearly still in the same loop. The last thing she remembered was the chaos altered de-aging spell hitting the Crystal Heart, so what had happened? Oh. Clearly the chaos magic, de-aging spell and crystal heart all colliding had triggered her being thrown into the distant past. She remembered what Celestia had said about being taught by a violet unicorn, and the hint at a loop within a loop, so she fired off a quick illusion to hide her wings, and shook her head, as if waking up. "Hi!" chirped the young Celestia. "Who're you?!" "And can you teach us?" Luna asked. "No one will teach us anything. Please pretty mare, teach us magic?" "My name is Magic's Dawn," Twilight replied with a gentle smile. And the paradox within a loop settled. 128.2 (Leviticus Wilkes) Nyx sipped her apple juice, slipping Big Mac a tip for the sweet drink. The red stallion swept up the bit with a light, smooth smile, even though both knew he didn't charge anything for his drink. The bartender reached underneath the bar and pulled out another flask of the Apple's apple juice, mush to the alicorn filly's delight. Off to the side, towards the end of the long bar, a certain looper, Rapid Hooves, or rather, Ranma, sipped his own cup of hard cider in silence, removed from the amicable pair. One hoof gripped the cup in a sticky bind, whilst the other traced the empty, dark brown on darker brown wood grain, stopping every now and again to tap at a random knot. As he tapped, the martial artist sipped his drink, numbing painful thoughts with the buzz of alcohol. "What are you doing?" The filly's question screeched across Ranma's ears like fingernails against a chalkboard, or more accurately, a dentists drill against raw tooth. "You've just been sitting there all day, drinking. Come on: I won't bite," the inquisitive filly continued. Ranma took a bigger sip from the cup, trying to ignore the 'most annoying mare in the world'. "Come on Ranma-hey!" Nyx's questions were cut off when Big Mac, recognizing the fact that Ranma would probably remain silent for the time being, decided to spare him the trouble. So he just took Nyx by the scruff of her neck and put her back at the end of the bar. Big Mac pulled out a glass cup and began cleaning it, working it with slow, long wipes of the soaped rag. "Nyx, let the man be. He's got a lot on his mind." Ranma made no comment, simply casting a single, forlorn glance at Twilight Sparkle's daughter, and finishing his drink. 128.3 (fractalman) Twilight Awoke in front of what appeared to be Slenderman...in a clown costume and a judge's wig. "Order in the court! Now introducing the case of Discord versus Sleipnir! First witness: Twilight Sparkle." said the Slenderman...thing, in its androgynous voice. Twilight turned to Sleipnir, who whispered "It's a long story involving a bug in the Pokemon servers and some Admin-level blackmail...just play along, please?" Twilight shrugged, and then headed up to the witness chair. “Please supply the first piece of evidence.” ‘That is not how trials work’ thought Twilight with some indignation. When she opened her mouth to protest, however, out came a zebra, a giraffe, a hippo, a lion, and four penguins… “Bum bum budabuda bum bum circus, bum bum budabuda bum bum circus, Circus afro Circus afro. Polka dot! Polka dot! Polkadots and moonbeams…” Crazy lights and acrobatics accompanied the song. When it ended, Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at the adorably glum Sleipnir in a pink tutu. Coyote walked into the room, took a picture, and left. “Please present the next piece of evidence.” Twilight shrugged, and opened her mouth. Out came a party-in-a-box, which exploded, covering everything in paint and streamers. Coyote walked into the room, took a picture, and left. The judge banged his hammer. “This concludes the trial of Discord versus Sleipnir.” 128.4 (Detective Ethan Redfield) The Great Equestrian Foam Sword War, Part 4 The sun dawned on Equestria. Ponyville had long since evacuated into its geofront. Not even the crickets remained thanks to Fluttershy's urgings. Twilight stood atop the balcony of Golden Oaks Library. With a flash of light, she ascended and began casting a multitude of protection spells. Protego, Prismatic Wall, Trixie's magic barrier, Light Screen, Reflect, even space Time fuuinjutsu seals that would move Ponyville to the desert island on the other side of the world should it be hit with a tactical nuclear bomb, though Twilight swore combatants to not use nuclear weaponry (Trixie was insistent on being allowed to use non-lethal explosives). After the spells encased Ponyville and the geofront underneath, she changed her focus and cast scrying spells that would project the events to every city in the world. After completing that, she departed for the interior of her library, pulled up a couch, and plopped down with a bowl of popcorn. With another burst of magic, several magical mirrors appeared, showing the status of every participant in the war. "How do you think I look," Spike asked, already having grown to the size of a regular human. He was decked out in brown and tan robes of the Jedi Order with his lightsaber on the belt. He and Rarity stood on the North end of Ponyville near the river that snaked its way around the town. "Stunning my dear Spikoranuvellitar. Do you think the armor is a bit much," Rarity looked at herself. She had ascended to alicorn status to allow for freer use of her magic. Her wings were covered in tritium mesh along with a battle dress with runes sowed in for emergency teleportation and a single use barrier that repels explosives. Spike rolled his eyes, "I doubt it. Trixie will probably turn her battlefield into a minefield and with Chrysalis, it may be better to think up passwords now in case we get separated-" Spike didn't even notice as Rarity grabbed him and teleported them a few feet away as a crack echoed across river. Rarity looked behind them, where a foam sword embedded itself in the tree. She turned to the river and snorted, "how uncouth. Forcing me to use one of my teleportation runes to save my dragon." Spike rubbed his head, "Sorry, Rarity." Rarity blinked, "Oh, not you, Spike dear." "First shot missed," echoed Applebloom in Sweetie's ear, "You know Rarity will use barriers next." Sweetie ejected the magazine and switched to a red painted one, "Right." With another second, she lined up the unicorn in her sights, and fired twice more. Rarity sensed the second round the instant it was fired. Her horn glowed pink and her entire body glowed, then the armor exploded into magic and withdrew to her subspace pocket. Then a new Armor set replaced it, pure white attachments extended from the armor on each hoof with the base armor itself was navy blue and white. A helmet more befitting a samurai warrior graced her head and covered her mane. This all took place in a single instant. A second instant after, a yellow barrier formed around Rarity, designed off of Inoe Orihime's Santen Kosshun, to deflect all attacks. Sweetie's first bullet struck the shield and got crushed. But then the bullet glowed for a second as the magic rune activated. The rune had three functions,replace the bullet on contact with a foam sword, to activate its twin rune, and be a focus point for the second rune's teleportation spell. The second bullet teleported a foot within the barrier and barreled towards Rarity's exposed forehead. Until Spike's saber snapped up and cut the bullet from the air. He swatted down two more shots exactly like that in less than a second. His eyes landed on Sweetie's position, "I have her. She won't get off another like that." Rarity let out the breath of air she didn't know she had been holding, "Thank you, Spike." Sweetie's eyes widened in surprise, then returned to her grim determination as Applebloom spoke, "Shots did not connect." Before Sweetie could respond, Rarity's barrier dropped and a determined looking Spike dashed across the river towards her position. Just as Spike was halfway across the river, the water beneath him exploded upwards as a Orange gundam swung a foam sword at Spike's feet. The Jedi managed to slice through the blade and leap away across the river, forced to focus on this new foe. Spike looked around, asking himself: where were the other three crusaders? 128.5 (Detective Ethan Redfield) "Hey Twilight! What are you studying this time," asked Pinkie as she stepped into the heart of the purple unicorn's lab. Twilight was wearing a lab coat and staring at several notes, "Something that has been bugging me for quite awhile. You know in Minecraft loops, we can store stuff in chests?" At Pinkie's nod, Twilight continued, "Well a couple loops ago, I found a chest containing several items, including another chest altogether. I'm trying to figure out how that's possible." Pinkie tilted her head and quirked her eyebrow, "Wouldn't the chest be like a subspace pocket?" Twilight sighed, "Yes, but I'm trying to figure out the principle behind how it works. Literally, I put it together from 8 wood planks. No magic goes into it, the box just becomes a subspace pocket. I've already tested the crafting table, but that's just four planks put together. You can't just put 8 planks together and create a subspace pocket! That's like taking fire to fresh gasoline and not expect a chemical reaction to take place, but in reverse!" Her mane started fraying at the edges before Pinkie patted Twilight on the back, "Don't worry, silly filly. You're the smartest of the smart ponies I've ever met, and one of the bestest best brainy loopers in the multiverse. You'll figure it out." Twilight sighed and gave her a heartfelt smile, "Thanks Pinkie." 128.6 (Filraen) "That was harder than I thought," said Twilight after entering to her home. "Who is the...?" Spike's, wearing an apron, appeared by the kitchen's door. "Hi Twilight! You're just in time for dinner." "That'd be nice, I skipped lunch today," said Twilight with a hint of tiredness on her voice. As both pony and dragon getting themselves ready to eat. Spike curiously asked "By the way, what were you doing? I didn't see you the whole day." "Just preparing a little payback." At Spike's inquisitive look, Twilight continued. "Look at the sky, it must be time for sunset." Still sitting at the table, Spike looked through the window. As on cue, the sun left the sky replaced by the moon. Except... "You marked your cutie mark in the moon's surface? Why?" "Because a few loops ago Luna pretended to be Nyx and told me just before the loop reset." "But Luna is Nyx, you know..." Twilight looked at Spike for a moment. "... You know, Spike? Forget it" she managed to answer before returning to her daisy sandwich, her mood clearly burned out. Spike barely managed to hold a chuckle. 128.7 (Kris Overstreet) Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia Awoke to the sight of a little black alicorn filly holding up an excruciatingly familiar book. "Auntie Celestia! Big sis! Wait until you hear what I just-" The filly blinked, shook her head, and sat up a little straighter. "Oh. Er. This is kinda weird." "Hello, Nyx," Twilight smiled. "So, this Loop you're the one who reads about the Mare in the Moon?" "I guess so. I was trying to learn more about where I came from, you know?" A moment of concentration later, Twilight did indeed know. Nyx's origins were not that different from the original, except that the cultists had held a ceremony in the Castle of the Two Sisters before, rather than after, Nightmare Moon's return. After quite a bit of this and that, Nyx had been adopted by Twilight's parents as her younger sister. "So," Celestia said firmly, "Mare in the moon, prophecy, Ponyville, Summer Sun Celebration, taken as read. The question is, what's Luna's current state?" As she asked the question she sent out a ping, and Nyx and Twilight automatically responded. No other pings returned. "Obviously not Awake," Twilight said. "I better go check." Nyx concentrated, and her little filly body turned into glittering spectral smoke, swirling into the marble floor and vanishing. Only a couple of minutes later the process reversed itself, and Nyx reappeared. "She's full Nightmare, babbling to herself about revenge, and chewing more scenery than your average Gundam pilot." She made a twirling motion next to her ear with one hoof and made cuckoo-clock noises. "So, standard villain mode," Twilight nodded. "We can work with that." "Actually," Nyx said, "could you let me handle it this time? I don't get an opportunity like this very often..." "I see no reason why not," Celestia smiled. "I haven't put on my surfing jams for a couple Loops now. I bet there'll be some prime sunspots when Luna comes down..." "THE NIGHT WILL LAST FOREVER!" "NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!" Thunder boomed in the town hall, and a swirl of midnight cloud coalesced in the middle of the crowd of ponies into a second dark alicorn, this one about half the size of the one on the balcony. "I, Nightmare Moon, shall stop you!" "WHAT?" In a swirl of starry cloud the original Nightmare transitioned from balcony to floor, staring more or less face to face with the newcomer. "Imposter! How dare you impersonate the rightful ruler of Equestria!" "I'm impersonating nobody!" the smaller alicorn insisted. "I am Nightmare Moon, ruler of the night, guardian of dreams!" "Inconceivable!" "That word," Twilight Sparkle said from off to one side. "I do not think it means what you think it means." Nyx couldn't quite keep the grin off her face. "Search your feelings!" she shouted. "You know it to be true!" "NO!" Nightmare Moon shouted, not full Royal Canterlot Voice but loud enough to push all the ponies nearby a few hoofsteps backwards. "There is only room in Equestria for ONE Nightmare Moon! And that Nightmare Moon shall be-" "WAAAAAAAIT wait wait wait!" A pink blur wearing a black and white striped jersey popped up between the two alicorns. She punctuated her interruption with a loud blow on a whistle hanging on a strap around her neck. "We can't have a proper good twin - evil twin battle without an audience!" "A what?" Nyx said, train of thought totally derailed. "What new madness is this?" Nightmare Moon snapped. The unAwake Pinkie Pie grinned maniacally at both mare and filly. "Well, don't you want all Equestria, or at least as much as you can get in one place, to see who wins? To see that nothing can stand before you?" "Well, this is true- I mean nay!" Nightmare Moon stood tall and proud. "I shall not let pettifoggery interfere with my cause! You shall not delay me any longer!" Some time passed. Things got done. Nightmare Moon sat on a stool in one corner of the fighting ring. She looked over her shoulder at Twilight Sparkle, who'd reluctantly agreed to be her coach, and said, "How precisely did I get into this again?" Twilight shrugged. "From what I'm told, Pinkie's always like this," she said. "The locals don't question it, they just embrace the insanity." A mixture of ponies, griffons, batponies and even a few changelings roared and stamped their approval as Pinkie Pie, now dressed in a spiffy black suit with bowtie, stepped into the middle of the ring. "LADIES AND GENTLEPONIES!" she shouted into a microphone that hung from the rafters. "It's time for the main bout of the evening!" The cheers and stamps grew louder. "In the west corner!" Pinkie stabbed a hoof at the larger Nightmare. "Direct from the moon, with a record of 4 and 1, with two wins by knockout! The royal roller! The regent of regret! The successor to be the oppressor! And the alicorn princess of making ponies wet themselves in fear: the One and Only NIGHTMAAAAAAARE MOOOOOOOON!!" Over the cheers Twilight hissed into the Nightmare's ear, "You stand up and wave to the crowd." A little awkwardly Nightmare Moon did so, slightly surprised that most of the noise made by the crowd was positive. "And in the east corner!" Pinkie shouted when the noise subsided a little. "From Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns and Others, with a record of 1 and 1, with one win by knockout! The protector of dreams! The daughter of destiny! She Who Goes Bump in the Night! And the defender of candy and other sweet goodies on Nightmare Night. The Two And Only: NIGHTMAAAAAARE-" "WAAAAAAAAAAIT a minute!!!" Before Pinkie could finish introducing Nyx, the larger Nightmare dashed to the center of the ring. "The defender of sweet goodies?" she asked. "Nopony told me that was an option!" "Well, it's true," Nyx said, coming to the center of the ring as well. "Every pony deserves candy and goodies on Nightmare Night!" "But- but- wait, wait," Nightmare Moon said, anxiety rising. "If you're the defender of sweet goodies... then that makes me... er... not the defender of sweet goodies..." Nyx shrugged. "Well, ponies can't get up in the morning and make candy if there's no morning." Nightmare Moon whimpered quietly, but the microphone picked it up and amplified it loud enough for the thousands of ponies in the arena to hear. After the moment, in a small voice, she added, "A thousand years... without... candy..." "I can't imagine a thousand minutes without it," Nyx said sympathetically. "Do they still make," Nightmare made motions with her hooves, "that ribbon candy, that looks like you can slurp it up like noodles only it's all hard, so you have to bite and crunch it until your mouth is one big sticky yummy mess?" "They sure do!" "And those red and white peppermint drops?" the Nightmare asked. "Are those still around?" "Even better!" Nyx nodded. "For Hearth's Warming Eve they make long peppermint sticks, curved at one end like a walking cane, so you can hang them on the tree!" She held her hooves apart about a foot. Nightmare Moon whimpered yet again. "And... those delightful chocolate drops? The kind unicorn nobles eat while lounging on a sofa and pretending they're productive citizens?" Over the laughter of an audience that was primarily earth pony in composition, Nyx grinned, "Even better. They put it in bars now. Some with peanuts, some with caramel, some with cookies inside... and some with ALL of it." The whimper which followed sounded like it echoed from the deepest, darkest pit in Tartarus. "And they even make chocolate bits with candy shells all over," Nyx smiled, twisting the knife just that much more, "so they melt in your mouth, not in your saddlebags." In a choked voice Nightmare Moon asked, "With peanuts?" "With or without," Nyx nodded. "Whichever you like." Looking up she added, "Of course, if you win, there'll be an end to all that, because, well, you know- endless night, rule of oppression, all those little colts and fillies who get no fun or joy or candy for-" "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Nightmare Moon reached up, removed her helmet, and set it atop Nyx's own, smaller helmet. "I concede! I surrender! Anything but that! You're the Nightmare! All hail Princess Nightmare Moon!" A loud cheer followed, after which Nyx asked, "So, if I'm Nightmare Moon, what's your name?" "Er... um... I'm nopony!" Nightmare Moon shook her head. "Just an anonymous lover of sweet things! A simple Jane Doe!" "HEY!" a pair of voices shouted in indignation from the cheap seats of the arena. One of the two objectors had a large set of antlers. "Sorry! Sorry!" Nightmare Moon backpedaled some more. "And don't call yourself Anonymoose either!" a cloaked figure with an even bigger set of antlers said from the front row of seats. (This combination of circumstances had not made him a popular neighbor, but few ponies are prepared to object too loudly to someone three times their size.) "Didn't you have a different name once upon a time?" Twilight Sparkle asked, stepping through the ropes and into the ring. "Wasn't it... Princess Luna?" "Luna?" The darkness melted away from the larger alicorn, who shrank gradually to about the same size as Twilight Sparkle. "Luna. Yes. I was Luna." The darkened windows at the very highest corners of the arena suddenly lit with the young, vibrant light of a much-delayed dawn. A moment later Celestia appeared in a flash of light. For a moment much of the crowd thought she was wearing a horrible pair of overlong shorts with a print of provocatively posed stallions on them, but a second flash removed what must have been a bizarre illusion from view. As Celestia, Luna and Nyx hugged, Pinkie Pie reached up to bring the microphone to her lips. In a deep, demonic voice that shook the rafters she said: "FRIENDSHIP." It didn't literally bring the house down, but it did it in every other way. EPILOGUE: "And this, dearest sister," Celestia said, gesturing to the friendly if somewhat rough looking stallion behind the counter, "is Pony Joe, proprietor of Donut Joe's." "Such a wondrous establishment you have," Luna said, nodding graciously to Joe. "And so kind of you to be open as late as this." "Beg your pardon, your Highness," Joe mumbled, "but actually, we never close." "Never close?" Luna's eyes widened. "You mean you stay open all... night... long?" "If there's customers, yeah," Joe said. "I have an assistant who covers during the day so I can get some shut-eye. I prefer the night shift- you meet more interesting ponies at night." "Come sister," Celestia said, nudging Luna towards a booth. "Allow me to introduce you to a frosted maple Bismarck... with sprinkles." And for miles around every pony could hear the Royal Canterlot Squee. 128.8 (Crisis) "Twilight?" "Actually Rarity, I think I do know why we're anthropomorphic versions of our normal selves trained in the art of ninjutsu. You see–" "No, no, no, I got the Loop memories of the mutagen just fine. I was more wondering how six Hub-standard equines even got into the New York sewers in the first place." "Oh... Huh... Nope, I got nothing." 128.9 (Detective Ethan Redfield and Wildrook) The doorway to Ponyville opened, revealing two massive humans. Mayor Mare's eyes widened in joy as she and others joined in, "K! You're back, the lightgiver! All hail K, all hail K, Oh K can't you see, by the dawn's early light! Fresh K, Fresh K, Fresh K." Agent J looked at his partner with a quirked eyebrow and a wry grin plastered on his face, "So this is what you keep in your closet. Man, I didn't know you were into that stuff-" K looked about ready to throttle him, "We are not having this conversation. I'm leaving." Suddenly, one of the mini ponies appeared on K's shoulder. She was Pink, with a massive smile on her face, "Kaysie! You're back! Don't forget to take your watch and card-" K looked at the pony, "Pinkie Pie, we've already sent the princess on her way. I would rather forget this loop if you don't mind. Next loop in Equestria, I will sit through whatever party if you leave me be this loop." Pinkie nodded, "Okie Dokie Loki!" (Later...) "ALL HAIL K! ALL HAIL K!" the Ponies in K's locker yelled before he shut it. J tried not to laugh, but K's stare got him to break down. "Turnabout's fair play, isn't it?" he asked.