Split Second

by wille179

Changing of the Seasons

The Grand Galloping Gala was starting soon, and Sparkle was a tad nervous. She was crashing the biggest social event of the year, after all. She had taken precautions so as not to be recognized, including using illusions, coat dye, and contact lenses. Surprisingly, Cobalt had done the same thing, as it was a forest green pony that stood before her, fake horn adorning his head, that bore his soul. He was a bit shocked that she saw right through it.
"How did you know it was me?" He asked.
Sparkle smirked. "After you take your next geas, I'll show you how to partially camouflage your soul from those who can see it."
"Oh. That sounds useful." He swallowed nervously. "You're not surprised that I'm dressed up like this?"
"If you didn't notice, I'm not exactly myself tonight either," she pointed to her blood-orange colored fur and purple dress, an inversion of her favorite color scheme. "Besides, I've smelled the dye on you before, Cobalt."
"I guess I should tell you that Cobalt isn't really my name then."
"Oh?" Sparkle said, raising her eyebrow and perking up her ears in mock surprise. "Who are you then?"
"Hmmm... I'll tell you after this dance is said and done, alright?" The painted stallion said.
"Now I'm interested. Just who are you, mister? I suppose that we should be heading in now," Sparkle said. "The sooner we dance, the sooner I get your answer."
Her eyes looked down, taking in the suit he wore. They lingered over his belly, and he wondered for an instant if she knew of the four knives he had hidden there. But her eyes moved on without further reaction on her part, and the assassin relaxed slightly in relief.
The two ponies walked together and joined the line to enter the Gala. Sparkle's horn darkened, fading the two out of the conscious thought of those around them. She whispered, "When we get to the ticket taker, keep walking as if you already have given your ticket. Once inside, head towards the refreshments table." Cobalt nodded.
Steadily, the pair walked along with the flow of the crowd. A memory intruded into Sparkle’s thoughts.

“Thorn, remember what I told you.”
“But-”
“Thorn. Promise me you’ll do it.”
“Fine. I promise.”
“And I’ll be alright. Trust me.”

When they got to the entrance, they kept moving. Despite having confidence in her own illusions, Sparkle was still anxious that she would be seen; it was a silly little fear and soon proved unfounded as they entered without issue.
Instead, the excitement started immediately after, when the magic of music began spilling out into the crowd. Somepony had started a heartsong, and Sparkle wanted nothing to do with it. “Come on, Cobalt. Let’s not get stuck singing.”
Just as Cobalt was about to start singing along with the music in the air, he found himself forcefully dragged to the side. “Hey!”
Once they were a comfortable distance away, Sparkle apologized. “Ah, no big deal,” Cobalt replied. “Um, Ms. Sparkle... I was wondering, if you were stuck in a situation with two ways out, but both would hurt, what would you do?”
“That’s vague,” his teacher commented. “Here, let me tell you about somepony I knew once. His name was Black Hammer, and he was old enough to be my grandfather when I met him. I loved him like a grandfather too. Black was a natural dark magician like me, though his talent was enchanting, blacksmithing and dark weapons crafting. And, while he could make a cursed blade like no other, that wasn’t the most important thing he taught me. No, it was something else.”

“Don’t let them get you down, Sparks. You’re tougher than that.”
“But they’re so mean to me!”
“Yes, and they were mean to me when they found out what I could do. I didn’t let that get me down. I remembered what my father told me. ‘Walk proudly and with much vigor. Talk confidently and with much gusto. Mean what you say, say what you mean. Live fully and with no regrets. Do not betray yourself. Thrive at all costs, or you won’t live at all.’”

As Sparkle finished recounting her tale, she added, “What I’m saying is that you should do what is best for you first and foremost. Then worry about others. And, if worst comes to worst, it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission.”
Pensive in expression, Cobalt replied, “Thanks. That... might be just what I needed to hear.” He then made a show of looking around. “Hey, Ms. Sparkle, do you mind if I go off and look for my friend? He had a ticket, and I want to see if I can find him. I’ll bring him back when I find him.”
“Sure,” Sparkle replied. “I’m going to look for Twilight. Meet back here later?”
“Will do.”

Unlike most of the times they had met before, this time, time did not bend equally. It was, in practical terms, as if Sparkle and Sparkle alone was straddling the temporal divide. To everypony in her timeline, they would see nothing out of the ordinary, aside from the fact that she was reacting to things that weren’t there. In Twilight’s timeline, the ponies would see Sparkle appear and react to things they couldn’t see.
“Why are you orange?” was the first thing out of Twilight’s mouth.
“You didn’t think I’d crash a party looking like myself, did you?” Sparkle rhetorically replied. “So, do you have whatever gadget you were working on that you wanted me here to help you sell?”
Twilight produced a curved funnel-shaped object. “Put the narrow end in your ear,” the inventor instructed. Sparkle complied, and was greeted with the sound of Spike’s voice.
“Hey, Sparkle. How are things?”
“Hi, Spike. Where are you?” Sparkle asked.
“Donut Joe’s Shop, for now,” the living drake replied. “I’m coming by later, after this is done.”
“OK,” Sparkle replied. To Twilight, she said, “I think I saw Fancy Pants back that way. Normal splitting procedure?”
Taking back the sound transference horn from her sister, Twilight replied, “Sure. I’ll see you in a second.” Time clicked back into its regular place.
Turning to the left, Sparkle trotted over to the “most important pony in Canterlot,” according to his followers. “Excuse me, excuse me. Mr. Fancy Pants, could you please take a step to the left? It’s really important.”
Confused, but seeing no problem in complying with the strange mare’s request, the stallion did so. “Might I ask why?” He said in tandem with himself.
Sparkle pointed at Twilight’s Fancy Pants, as Twilight pointed at Sparkle’s. “We wouldn’t want you running into yourself,” the two mares replied.
“What is this? How did you make another me?” Fancy and Pants said, as so designated by Twilight and Sparkle respectively. The duo managed to explain the entire situation while staying in perfect sync, a feat that lent credence to their words. Then, Twilight gave their pitch on what the horn was for. “So this horn of yours can communicate instantly between two locations? May I try it?” Sparkle’s Fancy said.
Twilight offered the horn to him. “Hello? Is anypony there? ... With whom am I speaking? ... A dragon, you say? How fascinating. ... What do you mean, which Fancy Pants am I? ... Sparkle did. ... You are in a separate reality than me? Amazing!” Fancy pulled the horn away. “I am sold! You two will be rich mares when I am done with you.”
Sparkle smirked. “Actually, we’ll be even richer. Since we’re in different timelines, you’d only have to pay one of us, and you specifically,” - she pointed to her Fancy Pants - “won’t even have the possibility of somepony figuring this out and making a knock-off, as we’re literally pulling these blueprints out of thin air.”
Fancy’s eyes widened, and Sparkle could almost see the bit signs in his eyes. “Let’s talk numbers, shall we?”

Red Fields watch patiently from the upper balcony that overlooked the dance floor. He didn't know why he was waiting. He should just throw the knife and be done with it like his mother had taught him, and his grandparents taught to his mother. He was from the greatest assassin clan in all of ponykind. So why was he hesitating on a job?

An hour of discussion later, and the twin Fancys had decided to meet with Twilight and Sparkle later to finalize the sale and production of their invention. And, while definitely a good thing for them, the conversation had left her thirsty.
Sparkle found herself at the refreshment table soon enough. A simple glass of water in hoof, she set about pony watching. Large crowds, a twirling mass of soul-lights of every possible color, had always seemed beautiful to her. They were like stars twinkling in the night, tiny flames held behind the eyes of every single pony. Princess Celestia, under that same analogy, looked as blindingly bright as her sun – her soul hundreds of times bigger, brighter, and denser than anypony elses – and yet didn't smother the crowd with her presence.
If the crowd was the stars, and the Princess at the top of the steps the sun, then the otherwise ordinary mare in the plain, black dress at the refreshment table with Sparkle was the moon. To the necromancer's eyes, the sight was actually quite odd looking; she had never seen a soul bigger than the body it was inhabiting. And, since an alicorn's soul looked like their body, unlike a pony's flame-like soul, it was quite obvious that this was Princess Luna.
But who was Sparkle to oust somepony from their disguise? Grabbing two plates of the fancy cheese samples, she trotted up to the other disguised mare. "I'll withhold the formalities since you appear to be dressing down for the evening, Lady Nightbringer. Cheese?" Sparkle said as she offered a plate.
Luna jerked in surprise, turned, and got a look at Sparkle. Recognition dawned in her eyes for the same reason Sparkle had recognized her. The night princess smiled. "You are the first mare to address me by that title since my return. That, as well as your tone, makes for a refreshing surprise, Ms. Sparkle." She took the plate from Sparkle and popped a piece of the dairy product into her mouth. Frowning, she said, "It seems that after a millennia of being spoiled by the taste of moon cheese, I find this sort dreadfully bland.
"Now, I do not believe you were on my sister's guest list, were you?"
Sparkle's pupils constricted to pinpricks with fright. "I... Ah..."
"Do not fear, Ms. Sparkle. I mean nothing by it," Luna said, her voice edging on laughter. "I have crashed my fair share of parties in exactly this form you see before you. In fact, I think you may have been the first pony to see through my guise. Tell me, how did you? Your deduction was impressively swift, especially considering that we have only met twice before."
Significantly more calm now, Sparkle explained what she had seen. Luna did laugh now. "Truly? How interesting. This reminds me of something. When we first met, I was still under the nightmare's thrall. Yet, I still remember that day clearly. You were reading a book of mine.”
“I suppose I was, my Lady,” Sparkle admitted. “It was really well written, and-”
“Not a subject to be discussing in public,” the royal mare interjected. “Your flattery is kind, but such things are not meant to be conversed in a location where we could be overheard. Perhaps over tea later? Or, if you find yourself yearning for a more practical demonstration, should I invite you to a shared dream?”
Sparkle immediately realized the enormity of what the night princess was offering. “Yes yes yes! That would be amazing, my Lady. I would love to.”
Luna lowered her horn and tapped it on Sparkle’s head. There was a dim, blue flash. “This will let me find you when you sleep. I shall be in contact, Ms. Sparkle.”
"Hey, Bones! Fancy seeing you here," a new mare's rough voice said, announcing its owner's arrival. "Long time, no see. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
"No, you were not," Princess Luna replied. "We were finishing up as you arrived." Looking to Sparkle, she added, "Until later, then."
"I look forward to it," Sparkle replied. With a small smile, Luna's false body turned and trotted in the direction of her sister. Turning to the mare that bore a striking resemblance to her brother, Sparkle said, "Vinyl, are you sure you should be talking to me?"
"That's the thing, I don't think that the LSC will care that much at this point. Bigger things are happening," the mare replied. As she spoke, she had tilted her head forwards enough that Sparkle could see Vinyl's luminescent, crimson eyes.
The LSC stood for Lune de Sang Cirque, otherwise known as the Blood Moon Circus. While it actually was a circus, the LSC was also a moderately sized vampire coven. Neither the largest nor the smallest of Canterlot's covens, the LSC was possibly the most diverse coven, with the only membership requirement being that each member had to be an entertainer or an artist of some type.
Sparkle would have loved to work with them, had the situation been different. As it was, having a necromancer as an ally would have meant that the other five covens would have attacked them. Sparkle, to avoid inciting a blood war, had agreed with the council's decision to remain neutral.
It bothered Sparkle that Vinyl Scratch, one of the more public members, would willingly start a conversation with her, knowing the stakes. “So why did you come looking for me?”
“I didn’t. It surprised me that you were here, but I couldn’t let this chance pass,” Vinyl said. “Look, some of the covens are starting to ally together, covens that have been at each others throats since their founding. Some of those founding members are still around, which makes their alliance all the stranger.”
Sparkle frowned deeply. “That is bizarre.”
“No,” Vinyl argued, “that’s just strange. What’s bizarre are the moonlighters and silver bloods joining up with them.”
Moonlighters were what the vampires called werewolves when they didn’t want to say “werewolves” aloud. By the same reasoning, changelings were known as “silver bloods,” as their blood contained enough mercury to give it a silvery sheen.
That tidbit really set Sparkle on edge. Neither changelings nor werewolves liked vampires, and vampires didn’t like them back. A many-way alliance of groups that all despised each other screamed of something fishy. “So you want my help?”
“Not yet. The elders still haven’t decided on a course of action. I’m just warning you for now, because I know you’re going to get caught up in this anyway.” Vinyl’s hoof rubbed the back of her neck. “And I’m hoping you’ll help us when the time comes.”
“I will. Lune de Sang Cirque is the only coven that hasn’t pestered me at some point or another. That’s as good a reason as any, I guess,” Sparkle replied. “I’ll also make sure my apprentice is filled in on what’s going on.”
“You have an apprentice?” Vinyl said, somewhat shocked. “Since when?”
“He’s been my student for about three months now, though we haven’t made the apprenticeship final yet,” the lavender mare answered.
“What’s he look like?”
“Right now? Forest green unicorn, but apparently he likes fur dye and fake horns,” she answered.
Vinyl’s nose flared as she sniffed the air. Turning, she pointed to the upper balcony. “That him?”
Following her hoof, Sparkle looked up and saw Cobalt looking at them, only to turn away and pretend he wasn’t. “Yeah, that’s him.”
“He smells like fresh curare and old blood,” Vinyl mentioned. “An assassin, Sparkle? You sure know how to pick them.”
Sparkle sighed. “Yes, well, I’m hoping my gamble with him pays off.”
“What do you mean?”
“I win if I walk away without his knife embedded in me.”
The vampire winced. “Ouch. That won’t be fun. Couldn’t you stop him, if you wanted?”
Sparkle nodded. “Yes, but that isn’t what this is about. His bastard family has him strongly conditioned to obey them. I planted a single idea contrary to that deep, deep within his subconscious. He’s been struggling since.”
“And you’re not worried about him actually killing you?”
“With those knives? No. He couldn’t do enough damage that I couldn’t fix it,” she replied.
Vinyl’s eyes narrowed. “And your kid?”
“Taken care of. Savior will live,” she assured. “I’ll make it a guarantee.”
Vinyl sniffed again. “I’d probably get to a doctor, if I were you. Your kid doesn’t smell too hot.”
Sparkle looked down and back to her ever-so-slightly bulging belly. The embryo within didn’t move - it was too early for that. It did, however, cause its surrogate mother to frown in concern. “I swear I did everything right,” she muttered softly to herself.
The vampire’s enhanced hearing caught the comment, but she withheld any reply regarding it. Instead, she said, “Be careful, Bones. Don’t go throwing your life away.”
“I don’t plan on it.”

Looking back towards his mentor after she had spotted him, Red Fields silently cursed. That mare she was with seemed rather perceptive. He’d have to wait.
There was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. He touched the hilts of the four knives hidden under his suit. Slowly, so very slowly, a question bubbled up to his conscious mind, a question that perfectly underscored the discomfort he was feeling.
Red Fields had perfect aim with throwing knives. He had never missed, and could hit a vital organ from distances further than this. So why did he, as skilled as he was, need four knives?

"What the buck are you playing, Tavi?” The lively song contrasted sharply with current mood between her and the necromancer. A second later, Vinyl jerked her head to the side, indicating to Sparkle the approaching pony. “It’s the colt of the hour. You ready?"
“As I’ll ever be in this kind of situation,” Sparkle replied.
When he finally arrived beside the pair, he said, “Ms. Sparkle.”
“Hello Cobalt. You find who you were looking for?” she inquired.
“I believe I have found him. Thank you, Ms. Sparkle.” Suddenly, he spun to face another direction.
“Oh? For what?” She asked as Cobalt started walking away.
Pausing and looking over his shoulder, her student replied, “For everything. And... I wouldn’t interfere, if I were you.” Cobalt left without another word.
“Well, that was interesting,” Vinyl commented. “I take it that wasn’t what you expected from him?” she said, having accurately read the necromancer’s body language.
"You can say that again.”
“Are we going to follow him?”
Sparkle nodded. “Of course.

Five ponies, all unicorns, stood together in a conversational group. Or rather, four of them did while the white mare stood awkwardly to the side. It was these ponies that Red Fields approached, a wine glass levitating in an aura that an earth pony wasn’t supposed to have.
On the far left was Lord Tycoon, a member of parliament and a prominent business owner. Next to him was Lord Gerrymander, a career politician who had spent decades in office. Near the middle was Rue, a middle aged mare and Red’s own mother, who didn’t recognize her well-disguised son. The last of the main group was Prince Blueblood.
A mare Red recognized as Rarity from Ponyville stood off to the side, but she was of little concern to him at the moment. It was the four standing together that held his interest, the same four that had conspired to get a hit on his teacher. If he were more superstitious, Red would have said that fate had contrived this meeting just for him.
“Oh, what have we here?” He said, laying on the arrogant Canterlot accent as thickly as he could. “Just the ponies I wanted to see. How delightful that you are all right here!”
“Do I know you?” Tycoon asked.
“No,” Red replied. “We have never personally met, though you did hire me through my mother-” he gestured in Rue’s direction “-for a very specific job.”
“I’m sorry, you must be mistaken. I do not have a unicorn son,” Rue replied.
“No, I know that. It’s just, I would have expected you to pay more attention to who your son was being tutored by. Say, for instance, by his target? Wouldn’t it be entirely possible that he learns something that should be impossible?” He used his magic to bend the rubber horn on his head, causing the group to gasp.
“As it is, I quit,” he said.
“Red Fields, you are not allowed to quit! When we get home, I will see you thoroughly disciplined.”
Red winced at Rue’s comment of “discipline,” as he knew very well what that entailed. But, drawing up his courage, he said, “Watch me.”
They didn’t hear the words, for at that moment, a loud cry of “YOU’RE GOING TO LOVE ME!” echoed through the palace hall, accompanied by a cacophony of animal noises.
Rarity turned to run, as did the other four, but only the aforementioned mare made it more than a dozen steps. The other four - two lords, a prince, and an assassin - found themselves with a knife embedded in each of their skulls, the blades having been propelled by magic.
Red Fields then turned and joined the panicking crowd, using the amazingly convenient distraction of rampaging animals to make his getaway.

"Now that’s how you quit a job!”
“I’m going to have to teach him a less obvious killing method than that,” Sparkle replied.
“Yeah, but you can’t deny that it was so badass!”

With the sudden appearance of dead bodies, the Royal guards swarmed into the room. The panic was quelled swiftly, the animals were shooed out, and the guests were detained. “Nopony is to leave this room until we can properly ascertain what has occurred tonight,” the magically amplified voice of Shining Armor’s superior boomed out.
Sparkle felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked over and was greeted with the sight of a stallion about her age. She immediatly realized that something was wrong when she saw the red irises and yellow sclera of his eyes, and the pale blue horn that didn’t match his light brown coat. “Your ability to inspire chaos without much effort is truly marvelous. Do keep it up,” the stallion said. Strangely enough, his voice sounded like the color blue, as odd as that was. The stallion conjured a card and showed its contents to Sparkle.

Dr. Ocsid’s Books
314 Hayseed Ave.
Canterlot, Equestria

In the three seconds she had to look at it before it erupted into a cloud of confetti, she felt the address burn itself into her memory so well that she doubted she even could forget it. As the confetti settled on her muzzle, making her go cross-eyed as she tried to look at it, the stallion whispered, “Happy UnBirthday.” A shiver went down Sparkle’s spine, though she swore the sensation went deeper than that.
There was a flash of light. When it cleared, Sparkle found herself on the corner of a Canterlot street intersection, and Cobalt was standing next to her, equally confused.
“What just happened?” He asked.

It was a little known fact that Discord, the spirit of chaos, was massive. True, he could change his size, weight, inertia, and any other property about himself at will, but in his base form, a pony could fall into a normal, physically possible orbit around him. His magic was equally massive as well, such that unless he hid it, his magic would have effects on reality outside of even his control.
Now, the reason that Sparkle and Twilight could communicate with each other was because their magics attracted each other like two electromagnets; when the energy flowed, they attracted. Discord, on the other body part, was so attracted to himself that he permanently distorted time in such a way that he perpetually overlapped himself. And, because both halves always experienced both timelines, there really weren’t two Discords. There was one.
The draconequus’s pull, when he really let it go the way it wanted to, flattened the timelines together to a degree that everypony in the local area could completely see and interact with their doppelgangers.
Now, when a crowded hall full of panicking ponies and rampaging animals suddenly has double the number of both, the panicking only grows. Then, with the doors sealed shut and the windows turned into transparent rubber that bounces back any pony that attempts to break through, Discord couldn’t hold back his laughter any more.
Appearing above the crowd in all his twisted glory, the spirit cackled like the madman he was. "Such wonderful chaos, and I didn't even have to lift a finger! You ponies amuse me so much!"
"Discord! How did you escape?" The twin Celestias said.
"Oh, you know, two time bending ponies in the most chaotic party of the year, which just so happens to be right beside the gardens where you kept me in stone," Discord replied flippantly. Twilight, standing beside Trixie and their mentors, shrank back in embarrassment when her involvement was pointed out.
"Twilight/Beatrix, gather your friends," the Celestias commanded. "We must use the Elements of Harmony as soon as possible."
"Come now, Celestia A and Celestia B, I just got out! Can't a guy have a little time to stretch his legs after a thousand years in stone?" Discord asked, drifting over to the twin alicorns and twisting about their heads.
"After your last reign of terror, that isn't an option," they replied.
"Hmm, well that's no fun at all!" He snapped his fingers. Four things happened in rapid succession: ten pairs of eyes flashed, though their owners didn't notice, one Element of Harmony from each set swapped places, the sets were then moved to two separate locations, and Discord split in two. "I hereby challenge you to a race. Whomever gets me first will win, but it would be a shame if you weren't in your right place. Around and around this draconequus goes, where he'll stop, nopony knows!"
The two spirits materialized floating race cars and drove off in opposite directions, punching Discord-and-car shaped holes in the castle walls, which looked like cardboard on the inside.
"Princess Celestia, who was that?" Trixie asked.
"Discord is the mischievous spirit of disharmony. Before my sister and I stood up to him, he ruled Equestria in an eternal state of unrest and unhappiness. Luna and I saw how miserable life was for Earth ponies, Pegasi, and unicorns alike, so after discovering the Elements of Harmony, we combined our powers and rose up against him, turning him to stone," Trixie's version of her mentor explained.
"Yes," Twilight's Celestia agreed. "I – we – thought the spell we cast would keep him contained forever, but since Luna and I are no longer connected to the Elements, the spell has been broken."
"Come, there is no time to waste."

Two bald, fedora-and-suit wearing ponies looked at their instruments with worry. The slightly taller of the two said in his even-toned voice, "The Shard has awakened."
"It is too early," the other replied.
"Perhaps it is a consequence of Discord's release."
"The Daybringer will be able to ensure that the necessary events occur. The Shard must grow correctly for the integrity of time."
As if in protest of the statement, the machine beeped. Looking down, the taller earth pony read the result. "There is interference. The location of the Shard is indeterminate."
"Can the device be adjusted to account for this, September?"
"It will take time, August."
"Time we might not have."