163.1
"Okay, so explain where you were going with this," Twilight invited.
"Sorry, Twi, can't quite hear you," Rainbow Dash apologized. "So, anyway, the idea was - well, first I needed the sand. Really good, high-quality sand. The kind of sand you get on a beach which has never known anything more sophisticated than a stick, run through five layers of filtering so it's nothing but pure silicon dioxide." She coughed. "I had to get Maud to help with that bit."
"I can imagine that would help," Twilight said, looking around at all the bits of shattered amorphous silicon dioxide.
"Still can't hear you! Anyway, then I got Spike to help - he's Awake, as I'm sure you're aware what with being a brainy pony and all - and he helped me get the forging temperature up. Up so high that most of my tools were melting, and I think that actually helped a bit - you know, additives." Twilight raised a hoof, but Dash kept going. "After that, I fitted it into the mold which it had taken your brother and Celestia to help build - you know, to handle the high heat and stuff."
"At this point I just want you to skip to the end," Twilight requested.
Not hearing her, Dash kept going. "Then I had Luna do the calculations on the rifling grooves, and cut them with a shallow pattern. Once that was done, I was able to fit the striking mechanism - it had to use some neat stuff Rarity discovered when trying to make -"
"Okay!" Twilight shouted. "Just tell me what happened, please, not your project notes!"
Dash looked Twilight in the eye. "It's simple! I can now conclude, experimentally, that a glass cannon can fire a shot! But that you really need to watch how much propellant you use."
Twilight just sighed. "What next?" she asked rhetorically. "Are you going to build a mighty glacier?"
Dash looked shifty. "...hold on a moment, I need to have a chat with Flutters. Later!"
163.2 (Evilhumour)
Twilight and her friends sipped their drinks, watching the aerial display of hotheadedness from two competitive ponies; some ponies were in the Rainbow Dash corner, Scootaloo in particular cheering her heart out, while Lyra supported her fellow musician with typical seapony enthusiasm, although without any gunfire or explosions.
After Twilight told Nyx of Vinyl’s latest attempt at using her sonic powers, what had started out as a debate between which style of flying was more efficient had broken out into a serious debate between the alicorn of speed and the wub queen.
So, like any mature people, they took to have a contest of sorts to see which one was better. Rainbow Dash had won the department for speed while losing to Vinyl for better control. The two went back and forth between winning and losing contests with Ivory Scroll telling them to end the birching thing.
Which led to this game of Tag with a twist.
"Come back, ya slowpoke!" Dash shouted, throwing more balloons filled with striped paints. The speeding unicorn promptly pulled up, allowing Rarity to be hit again; the fashionista shrieked as Vinyl's plaid paint filled balloons left her hideous.
With a quick change of tone in Vinyl's wub hooves, she paused mid flight. Throwing several balloons at her, Dash flew past her and into the Golden Oaks. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Dash was in the midst of a sonic rainboom, which dragged the DJ into the library too. With a mighty blast of music, screaming and splashes, the streets and ponies were covered with striped, plaid, or a mixture of both paints, leaving many screaming about the horror. Oddly enough, the Flower Trio were perfectly fine with this and were rolling their eyes at everypony else for being drama queens.
Twilight's eye twitched as the door opened on her ruined library to reveal two technicoloured mares walking out, each with a hoof on the other’s withers, laughing with each other.
After that, everypony learned that Twilight was slower than a galloping Rainbow Dash or a wubbing Vinyl Scratch.
163.3 (Evilhumour)
Rainbow Dash: looper; pony. Searching for a way to go even faster than all other pegasi. Then an accidental crash with a wall eyed mare alters their body chemistry. And now when Rainbow Dash grows peckish or hungry, an amusing metamorphosis occurs. The creature is driven by a desire to eat all muffins and is pursued by her friends to get videotapes of this.
"Girls, please stop laughing at me and leave us alone!"
The creature is wanted for winning an eating competition that she didn't want to enter. Rainbow Dash wants the world to believe she's dead, and she will let the world think that she is dead, until she can find a way to control the adorable klutz that dwells within her.
The Incredible Derpy!
163.4 (Masterweaver)
Derpy Hooves, a grey pegasus with googly eyes, snowboarded by on Cera, an orangey-tan triceratops. Hiccup, a thin Nordic human, paused and turned to Wrex, an alien super-turtle mercenary.
"...Is it weird that the only thing I want to do right now is critique their technique?"
163.5 (DrTempo- Fused Loop with RWBY)
'Another Loop, another one of those opening exams,' Jaune thought as he was once again launched into the forest. He had never liked that, but by now...
As he landed, he saw the Replacement for Pyrrha land gracefully. It helped that she could fly.
“Hey, Sunset. Enjoy your flight?" Jaune had heard some stories about this Equestrian Looper, who had experienced a very long series of Fused Loops before she had returned to her home Loop.
As he got up, Sunset chuckled a little. “Once I managed to fly under my own power. How in the heck you handle it every Loop....yeesh. So, what first?”
GROWL.
"Those guys." Jaune pointed behind Sunset, as a few Grimm had snuck behind the duo. Sunset nodded, and in a flash, the Grimm fell down, slain by Sunset's Keyblade. He had to admit, that level of speed was pretty good.
More Grimm showed up, and Sunset dispelled her Keyblade, drawing the weapon her Unawake self had: a hooksword with a gun in the hilt. Oddly, it did look like a giant key. Sunset cracked her knuckles. "Your turn, Jaune. Let's see what you got!"
Jaune removed a green hat from his Pocket and put it on.
"HAH!" He launched a flurry of attacks with his sword and shield, taking down the hordes of Grimm that had shown up.
Sunset clapped. "Hyrule Warriors Loop?"
Jaune nodded. "Yep. A perfect place to train my skills. Shall we?"
Sunset smirked. "Let's!"
The two charged into battle, ready for a fight!
163.6 (Crisis)
"Hey Twilight!" Vinyl Scratch called out, waving her forehoof in one of the subtle visual signals for 'I'm Awake, are you?' the Equestrian loopers occasionally used.
Twilight blinked in surprise before waving the unicorn mare over with the appropriate countersign. It was a bit odd to see Vinyl this early in the Loop. After all, she hadn't even gotten the order to oversee the Summer Sun celebration yet.
"Hey Vinyl, what's up?" Twilight thought of reasons why Vinyl would make an effort to come see her, and came to an obvious conclusion. "Was there something you wanted to try this Loop?"
"Oh, is there ever," Vinyl grinned widely. "Tell me Twilight, how'd you like to be a rap star?"
"A..." Twilight blinked as that registered. "I can't say I've ever thought about that. I mean, we sing all the time, but full-blown music star? Can't say I've ever had the time... Or the coordination outside a heartsong for that matter."
"I can help with that if you don't mind some subconscious subharmonics," Vinyl waved off the concern and pulled out a manila folder thick with loose sheet music. "Anyway, take a look at these songs I wrote for you and tell me what you think.”
Raising a curious eyebrow, Twilight accepted the folder with her magic, opened it, and started reading the first page. "I like big plots and I cannot lie... yeah, no, not happening." Twilight stopped reading and turned to walk away, only to find a pleading DJ in her face.
"Aw, come on!" Vinyl wheedled. "Read just a couple more lines before you call it a wash!"
Twilight debated the merits of just teleporting away versus the annoyance of Vinyl hounding her about this for who-knew-how-long, and decided to humor her for a moment longer.
"...my bibliophilia I can't deny. When you see a new book thick around the spine with those crisp fresh pages smelling fine..... Okay, I take it back, this is rather clever."
"So you'll do it?" Vinyl grinned.
"I'm thinking..." Twilight stalled while looking through some of the other rap songs Vinyl had put together for her to apparently sing. "You're really playing up the 'nerd' angle with these."
"What can I say? I've been planning this for a bit. You should see what I wrote up for the others."
Twilight paused and looked up at the grinning DJ curiously. "Even Applejack? Because I'm having a hard time imagining her as a rapper."
"Even if I bribe her with pictures and recordings of Twilight the rap star?"
"That might do it. Of course, now I feel kind of shorted. What do I get out of this?"
"Oh, as the first you automatically get rights to pictures and recordings of the others doing this," Vinyl grinned. "Plus if you want in on making it happen any time we're both Awake, I'll be happy to include you."
"Better," Twilight went back to looking through the songs Vinyl had written for her. "Okay, I think I'm okay with doing this, so..."
Twilight paused on one particular song and slowly raised her head back up to stare Vinyl straight in her sunglasses.
"'Twilight and Nerdy'? Really?"
163.7 (fractalman)(inspired by Conicer's " family generosity and demonology")
Lemon Rush yawned, stretched, glanced down at his hooves, and got out of bed. 'Ah, another Equestrian loop. I hope Fluttershy is Awake,' he thought.
Then the loop memories kicked in. "Why am I a member of the pony Inquisition?" He paused as he considered the memories in detail. "Huh. I've never really thought of Equestria that way before, but it makes sense."
Lyra's horn glowed a sickly, bubbling green and purple, while eyes sprouted across her body and flames licked away at the floor.
"The cookies are ready, Lyr- Oh, I see you're busy. Should I come back later?"
"THANKS, SWEETIE DROPS. JUST LEAVE 'EM ON THE TABLE."
Claws sprouted out of Lyra’s hooves, while tentacles grew from her back.
"EEEK!" yelled Roseluck as Lyra - or at least, something that vaguely resembled her - made its way to Sugarcube Corner. "Call the Inquisition! Call the Inquisition!"
Lemon raised an eyebrow as he squashed his grin and giggle. "So, is it trying to destroy our plane of existence?"
"No..." said Roseluck, while the Lyra-thing popped a cupcake into its mouth.
"Is it trying to bring about eternal night or otherwise destroy our planet?"
"No..."
"Is it or has it been trying to harm anypony?"
"No, but-"
"Then there's nothing to see here, citizen! Move along!" finished Lemon with a grin.
"But...but...but..." protested Roseluck, while the Lyra-thing wandered away, burbling about changing mazes.
Lemon's grin widened. "Our planet's already a daemon world. Haven't you noticed that the seasons and weather change according to the whims of ponies, and that the sun and moon move to the whims of a pair of particularly powerful ponies? I can assure you, that's not normal.”
Roseluck's eyes widened. "Oh...I...I see..."
Lemon chuckled as he flew off to Fluttershy's house to check on the Little Mother before heading back to Canterlot. According to his loop memories, Lyra would be back to normal within a day or two - maybe a week, tops, and none the worse for wear. All in all, it promised to be a hilarious Loop -
"HEY! GET BACK HERE! IT DESTROYED ONE OF MY FLOWERS!" yelled Roseluck at Lemon's retreating form.
Yep, definitely hilarious.
"Oh, hi Lemon, I didn't expect you," said Fluttershy.
Lemon grinned. "NOPONY EXPECTS THE CANTERLOT INQUISITION!"
Fluttershy sighed and gave Lemon the stinkeye.
163.8 (Darkmage97)
"Twilight?"
"Yes, Rarity?"
"Why are we made of meat?"
Twilight turned to stare incredulously at Rarity.
"Rarity, we were always made of meat."
Rarity frowned, "No darling, we're usually made of horse, but this time we're made of meat."
Twilight cocked her head to one side.
"Rarity, horses are always made of meat."
"That simply isn't true, darling. Horses are made of horse and meat is made of meat."
"Rarity, horses are still made of meat."
She stomped the ground, "No, we're not. Griffins are made of griffin, birds are made of bird, dragons are made of dragon, cows are made of cow, bears are made of bear, but we're horses that aren't made of horse. Instead, we're made of meat."
Twilight stared at Rarity,"Rarity are you...." Then her in-Loop memories hit her like a load of bricks.
"Rarity?"
"Yes, Twilight?"
"Why are we made of meat?"
163.9 (ORBSyndicate)
Gravity Falls: Friendship is Magic 2 - Tourist Trapped
Stan looked at his options.
He needed the perfect candidate…
The pink one was far too eager. She would do anything, no matter how absurd, with a smile on her face and a stupid grin. That wasn’t what he wanted…
The white one wasn’t anywhere near observant enough. She’d probably do it after a lot of annoying whining and then completely miss the point. Unless she was more than she appeared, which was always a possibility.
The orange one wasn’t anywhere near curious enough. She had a natural talent for conducting tours though.
The yellow one was either way too quiet, way too shy, or way too into animals. She hadn't been around long enough for him to truly figure her out.
That left the purple and rainbow ones…
“Eeny… Meenie… Miney… You,” he said, pointing at Twilight. He shoved a hammer, nails, and MYSTERY SHACK! advertisement signs into her hand. “Go into the forest and hang these signs up in the spooky part of the forest.” Stan grinned. “We’ll attract lost hikers! Make a fortune!”
Twilight sighed. He was sending her into the creepy part of the woods. Great. “You do realize weird things are in those woods right? Something is definitely off. Just today my mosquito bites spelled out beware.”
Stan glared at her. “That says bewarb.” Twilight, from years of experience, noticed the I’ve-said-that-so-many-times-I’m-about-to-puke face on Stan. ”And don’t be silly. All of those stories are just a bunch of hillbilly legends.”
Twilight blinked. Stan was a good liar. If she hadn’t just seen a fairy in the forest yesterday, she would have believed him. He really was going to be able to keep secrets from them.
Interesting.
She shrugged, took the hammer, nails, and signs, and marched to the creepy part of the forest.
Stan waved. “Remember to nail them into every tree you conceivably see!”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. A hint? Perhaps. She smiled. This was very interesting.
[br]
Pinkie yelled. “I JUST THOUGHT OF SOMETHING!”
“What, dear?” Rarity said.
“You’re married -” As soon as the words left her mouth Stan spat out his Pitt Cola and entered a coughing fit.
Rarity squinted. “I’m an adult most of the time, Stan. Really.”
Stan nodded. “I’m… going to go sit down… I don’t need to hear this conversation…”
Pinkie continued. “Anyway, you’re married, I’m the goddess of parties, Fluttershy’s married to the Emperor a lot of the time -”
“Um, that’s not, um, actually a big thing.” Fluttershy said.
“And everybody loves Rainbow and Twilight. But you know what? Applejack’s never really even had a date or a relationship of any kind! Or at least not much of one. She usually just doesn't get involved."
Applejack squinted. “And that’s a problem why?”
“Don’t you see? You need to FEEL the romance! Your Looping life has been broken without it! You need to experience companionship!”
“Thanks, but I’ll pass.”
“Great! Let’s get started today.”
“What?” Applejack said, before Pinkie grabbed her and pulled her away.
“We’re going to find you a date!”
“Pinkie put me down this instant -”
Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash simply stared in silence.
“That…” Rainbow Dash muttered. “Can’t end well. Yeah. I’m out. I’m going to go see what Twilight’s up to.”
And with that Rainbow Dash produced wings and flew off.
Rarity facepalmed. “DEAR! You can’t just go giving yourself wing- and she’s gone.”
Fluttershy smiled. “Maybe things will be quiet now.”
“You two! Get down here! I need someone to rip off some customers!” Stan yelled.
Fluttershy sighed.
[br]
BAP! BAP! BAP!
Twilight had quickly discovered that nailing signs into trees was hard work. She was sweating, tired, and had yet to find anything even remotely interesting. She was beginning to wonder if Stan wasn’t just messing with her because he could. The old man obviously had a fondness for pranks, seeing as he’d already spooked Fluttershy three times with that fish-man mask of his.
She held up the last sign, ready to pound it into the tree. She lifted the hammer to drive the nail into the wood.
She was not expecting a metallic CLANG to resound through her body. She dropped the tools instantly and investigated the tree. There was a metallic panel which she pried off, revealing a hidden lever. She cautiously pressed the lever, and heard a loud clunking sound behind her. She turned to see a hole in the ground, in which was nestled a book.
It appeared to be a really old red leather-bound journal with an eyeglass attached to it. On the front was a big golden symbol of a six-fingered hand with a large “3” inked on it.
Twilight picked up the Journal, blowing the years of dust off it. The first page had the words “Property of…” with the lower half of the page ripped out. The second was dated June 18:
It’s hard to believe it’s been six years since I began researching the strange and wond’rous secrets of Gravity Falls, Oregon. In all my travels, never have I observed so many curious things! Gravity Falls is indeed a geographical oddity.
Twilight flipped through the journal’s pages. The book was filled with strange and fantastical drawings of things such as gnomes, ghosts, a strange thing known as a leprecorn, and strange triangles with eyes littered throughout the journal. She found that the second half of the book was blank, and that there was a hastily scribbled message on the last pages:
Unfortunately, my suspicions have been confirmed, I’m being watched. I must hide this book before He finds it. Remember—in Gravity Falls there is no one you can trust.
TRUST NO ONE!
Twilight blinked. She had figured this was going to be a silly, comical Loop that she’d just have to live through while being forced to suffer through Stan’s sense of humor.
But this book had many things in it that wouldn’t be in a normal happy Loop… like that one page with lots of blood stains.
It looked as if the author of the journal might have been insane…
“Hey! Whatcha looking at?”
Twilight yelped in surprise. She dropped the book to see Rainbow Dash hovering in front of her. “Rainbow!” she gasped, shaking her head. “Don’t do that! Ser- Do you have wings right now?”
“Um, yeah? Why? It’s not like anyone can see me out here -”
“That’s not the point! We are normal humans without wings!”
“Fine…” Rainbow Dash muttered, her wings vanishing. “Ya know, I probably could just fly without the wings -”
Twilight’s glare indicated that that wasn’t acceptable either.
“You're no fun.” Rainbow Dash leaned in closer. “Now, what are you looking at?”
“It appears to be a strange book filled with all sorts of secrets…”
“Cool…” Rainbow said, joining Twilight as they pored over the amazing secrets of the journal…
[br]
As Twilight and Rainbow Dash walked back to the Shack, they heard Stan yelling at the top of his lungs. “GET THE PINK ONE AWAY FROM MY MERCHANDISE!!!!”
Twilight sighed, rushing into the Mystery Shack. They found Pinkie jumping up and down with excessive energy. “OHBOYOHBOYOHBOYOHBOYOHBOYOHBOY!” She grabbed Applejack by the face. “I still can’t believe that we got you a date this quickly!”
Applejack sighed. “Neither can I. I was tryin’ to sabotage the whole thing…”
“YOU MUST BE DESTINED FOR SUMMER ROMANCE!”
“Pinkie, are ya sure you’re all right? This isn’t like you -”
“I’M LIKE EVERYTHING!” Pinkie grinned.
The doorbell rang.
“Thatmustbehim!”
Applejack moaned. “No. Please no…”
“Come on, everyone, let’s meet AJ’s new boyfriend!”
“I’m tellin’ ya, this is an absolutely horrid idea and he’s not my boyfriend!”
“That’s just what you think…” Pinkie said, grinning. She flung the door of the Shack open. “HI THERE!”
At the door was a tall boy wearing a dark black hood. His skin was pale, his eyes were distant, and he had what appeared to be blood on his face. “Sup,” he said.
Pinkie pushed Applejack forward. Applejack put on a fake smile. “Uh… hi there.”
Rainbow Dash poked her head forwards. “What’s your name?”
“Uh… NORMAL! man!”
Stan facepalmed. “Every time…”
Pinkie shook her head. “Silly, your name is Norman! Come on!”
Twilight blinked. “Are you bleeding, Norman?”
“Uh… it’s… jam,” “Normal Man” responded.
Stan shook his head. “That’s it. I’m out. Again.”
Pinkie shoved Applejack closer to “Norman.” “Now go have fun, you two!”
Applejack looked at everyone with a pleading look as Norman walked off with her.
Pinkie grinned. “This is great!”
Rarity, Fluttershy, and Twilight all exchanged glances. “Uh… yeah, no.”
Rainbow Dash, however, had a completely different reaction -
“OH MY GOSH! He’s a zombie! LIKE THE BOOK SAID!” She grabbed Twilight by the face. “Let’s go save her!”
“Now, Rainbow…” Twilight said. “I’m sure he’s not a zombie. I’d be able to sense the undead. And while there is magic about him, that is probably just because of all sorts of weird magic in the area -”
Rainbow Dash grabbed the journal and opened it up to the page on the Undead. She read aloud. “Known for their pale skin and bad attitudes, these creatures are often mistaken for teenagers. Beware Gravity Falls’ nefarious zombies!”
“DUN DUN DUUUUUN,” Pinkie added, grinning.
Twilight shook her head. “As I said, I would detect the undead.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie said, bouncing. “And plus, wouldn’t it be AWESOME to have a ZOMBIE FOR A BOYFRIEND?”
Rarity blinked. “Darling, are you sure you’re okay? You’re being more… extravagant than usual.”
“This is nothing. Wait till you see me towards the end of the summer!”
“What?”
“I’m being mysterious…” Pinkie said as she hopped out of the room backwards.
Rainbow Dash sighed. “Come on, guys! We need to form a rescue team!”
“Uh… no,” Twilight said. “He’s not a zombie. No need to go crazy, Rainbow. Unless you have proof -”
“Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash said, pointing. “You and me are going to spy on Applejack and Norman all day!”
“Um… why?”
“For the admirable goals of proof and blackmail!”
“Um… okay.”
Rarity and Twilight rolled their eyes. “You’re on your own,” was the general consensus.
Rainbow Dash cracked her knuckles. “Let’s do this.”
Fluttershy sighed, wondering once again why she had let herself be dragged into this.
[br]
Soos, handyman of the mystery shack and the man in the question mark shirt, was screwing in a lightbulb in the attic. Red light streamed through the triangular stained-glass window. Soos shuddered. He always felt like that thing was watching him.
He briefly looked around, wondering if there was someone to talk to. There wasn’t. He sighed. Yet another lonely day working in the Shack. The sextuplets were nice, but all of them were doing things not-attic-related.
He might be here all day screwing in lightbulbs.
Was this a metaphor for life? An eternal screwing of lightbulbs, doomed to continue until the end of time?
Was the eye in the window reminiscent of a higher power observing his every move, watching his lightbulb screwing, waiting for the day he messed up?
Was there a point to being this philosophical?
Soos shook his head. His wisdom was both a blessing and a curse. Maybe he should get some comfort food…
“SOOS!” the voice of Stan yelled from the floor below. “THE PORTABLE TOILETS ARE CLOGGED! AGAIN! AGAIN! AGAIN! AGAIN! AGAIN! AGAIN!-”
After innumerable “again”s, Stan finally ran out of breath. “Just… just fix them,” he said, hoarse.
Soos saluted to Stan, even though they were on completely different floors. “Duty calls, lightbulb.”
[br]
“Okay, Fluttershy, what zombie-like things have we seen Norman do so far?”
“Uh… stumble around as if he had no control over his body…”
“Good…”
“Fall into an open grave…”
“Good…”
“And break a window in the diner.”
“Good. I think we’ve got enough.”
“I still think Norman’s perfectly normal.”
Rainbow Dash groaned. “CAN’T YOU SEE? Something’s off about him!”
“But he doesn’t smell like any sort of death. I should know.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t bother asking how she would know. “But… You know what, I’m just bringing this evidence to Applejack.”
“Um… she’s not the one who’s in control of whether she sees Norman or not.”
Rainbow Dash blinked, realizing.
She had to convince Pinkie.
“Great.” She grabbed the camera from Fluttershy, and rubbed her hands together. “Let’s go to Pinkie -”
“Why would you need to go to me?” Pinkie said, holding up a camera.
“AUGH!” Fluttershy screamed in surprise.
Rainbow Dash was not amused. “Why do you have a camera?”
“They’re just so cute together!” Pinkie said, grinning.
“You’re turning into Cadence. That is not a good thing.”
“Oh come on! It’s fun! Hey Applejack!”
Applejack poked her head out of the bush. “Is he gone?”
“He’s been gone for a couple hours.”
“Good. He’s… unnerving.”
Rainbow Dash turned to Pinkie. “See? Even Applejack thinks he’s off!”
“She just has cold hooves - um, feet,” Pinkie responded, grinning. “Now come on, Applejack, we need to get in some kissing practice!”
“WAIT WHAT -”
“Oh not with me, silly! With a leaf blower!”
“WHAT?”
Rainbow Dash yelled after them. “NORMAN IS NOT WHAT HE SEEMS!” She held up the book. “SEE?”
“GNOMES?” Applejack yelled as she was being dragged off.
“What?” Rainbow Dash looked at the book, which was open to the gnomes page. “No! ZOMBIE!”
Applejack gave her the “seriously?” look before she was dragged out of sight.
Rainbow Dash sighed. “Great… We’ve got nothing.” She groaned. “There’s gotta be some sort of concrete evidence on him…”
Exactly two hours later, Rainbow Dash was still reviewing the video footage. A lot of Norman acting weird, but nothing completely indicting. There he was attempting to hold Applejack’s hand before she swatted it away. There he was munching on her hat and getting a punch to the face. There was him getting the “THIS IS NOT A RELATIONSHIP” speech and just going “ger.” There was him losing his hand and reattaching it. There was him with a -
Wait WHAT?
Rainbow Dash rewinded. Sure enough, Norman’s hand had fallen out of its sleeve and he had quickly picked it up and reattached it. Rainbow Dash yelled. “FLUTTERSHY, WE NEED TO-“
She realized she was alone outside in the middle of the forest. Fluttershy must’ve left at some point.
“Great,” Rainbow Dash muttered, summoning her wings back. “Guess I gotta do this myself…” She took off into the woods, trailing rainbows.
[br]
Norman and Applejack were alone in the forest.
Applejack was resigned to spending the rest of the day with him before locking herself up in the Mystery Shack’s cellar for a week. The guy either just couldn’t take a hint or had no brain.
No brain…
…nah. He couldn’t be a zombie. Nah. That was just crazy talk.
“Uh.. AJ?”
“Yes Norman…” Applejack sighed.
“I’ve got… something to tell you before we go any further with this.”
Applejack facepalmed. This guy was not up to date on social interaction. “Look Norman you don’t hafta do anythin-”
“But I have to… Don’t freak out, okay? Keep an open mind. Be cool.” Norman reached to the zipper on his jacket, unzipped it, and pulled it off.
Applejack’s jaw hit the floor. Standing in front of her were five gnomes. Two acting as the legs, two acting as the body and holding the arms, and one acting as the head.
“Um… so, yeah. We’re gnomes. First off. Get that one out of the way,” the gnome on the top said with a voice that was no longer brooding teenager, and more annoying middle aged man.
Applejack continued to stare, gaping.
“This is awkward, isn’t it. Well. I’m Jeff, this is Carson, Steve, Jason, and -”
“Schmebulock,” the lower left foot gnome said.
“Right Schmebulock. ANYWAY! Long story short, we have been looking for a new queen, and -”
Applejack didn’t even stop to think about what she was doing. She bucked them. She had long ago figured out that a combination of a handstand and a power kick could accomplish more-or-less the same thing her pony bucking could. The gnomes went flying.
“No,” she said.
“Oh, come on. I didn’t even show you the ring ye-”
“I SAID EEEENOPE!” Applejack said, glaring down at Jeff.
Jeff looked up and glared. “Fine. We understand. We’ll never forget you, Applejack.”
“You bet you won’t,” Applejack said, having had enough of the whole ordeal.
“Because we’re going to kidnap you.”
“Wait, WHAT?”
[br]
Rainbow Dash yelled at the top of her lungs. “AJ, I’M COMING! JUST HOLD ONTO YOUR BRAINS A LITTLE WHILE LONGER!” She briefly wondered why she was taking this so seriously. Applejack would be just fine. Probably. Then again, she didn’t think he was a zombie. So that could be a problem.
Rainbow Dash arrived on the scene to see Applejack standing over five gnomes, each of which were continually barfing rainbows. She blinked. “What… happened here?”
“Norman was a bunch of gnomes. And they turned out to be a bunch of jerks. Oh, and they tried to kidnap me.”
“What else is new,” Rainbow Dash deadpanned.
Jeff stood up, shaking his fist. “You will regret this! GNOMES OF THE FOREST! ASSEMBLE!”
Rainbow Dash and Applejack watched as hundreds of gnomes poured out of the woods, running into each other. They watched as a pile of around a thousand gnomes piled into a single, giant, humanoid shape. They had become a giant gnome of gnomes. The gnome of gnomes roared in anger.
Rainbow Dash didn’t bother to ponder how a being that was literally just a thousand gnomes stacked on top of each other could be roaring. She simply opened the Journal. “What’s it say about gnomes… Ah, here… Little men of the forest… Weaknesses… Unknown?”
Applejack facepalmed. “Seriously?”
Rainbow Dash grabbed Applejack and flew away just as a gnome-of-gnomes’ fist tried to crush them. “NEW PLAN! FLY AWAY!”
“YOU WILL COME BACK HERE, HARPIE! YOU DO NOT MESS WITH THE GNOMES! WE ARE AN OLD AND POWERFUL RACE!”
“Yeah, well… uh…” Rainbow Dash had been about to say that she wasn’t a harpie when she realized that that actually was pretty close to what she was right now, wings and all. ‘Uh… well, you’re slow!” She took off, leaving a trail of rainbows.
“FOLLOW THE SKITTLES!” Jeff yelled.
“What are skittles?” the gnome below him said.
“It’s what humans call barf trails.”
[br]
“And now, folks, come look at the world’s most distracting object!”
Stan had long ago replaced the old distracting object with one that looked identical but had an actual distracting enchantment. He pulled the string.
All the customers of the Mystery Shack stared at the device, unable to look away. Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Twilight gazed deep into its swirling movements.
It’s simply darling… Rarity thought.
It makes me think of fluffy non-murderous bunnies… Fluttershy thought.
Books! was the only word in Twilight’s head, for some reason.
What Pinkie was thinking was, literally, zdwfk zlwk ph. No telling why.
The only person in the Shack not looking at the world’s most distracting object was the teenage cashier, Wendy, a redhead who was busy being bored out of her skull. She studied the knots in the mismashed conglomeration of real-wood and fake-wood planks that made up the ceiling. She was so into the boredom she didn’t even notice the rumbling of the ground as a giant gnome chased Rainbow Dash and Applejack back to the Shack.
“Rainbow! We can’t let this thing destroy the Shack!”
“What do you suggest? Fight it?”
“Well, we are Loopers. We could do all sorts of things.”
“Oh. Yeah. Right.” Rainbow Dash dropped to the ground, causing Applejack to slam into the ground.
“HEY! Coulda done that a little SLOWER.”
“Maybe. Didn’t feel like it.” The cyan human (or harpie?) turned to look at the assailant. The gnome of gnomes was running towards them.
“Any particularly interesting ideas on how to take this thing out?” Rainbow Dash asked, turning to her friend. She blinked. “Why is your face all red?”
“Pinkie’s ‘kissing practice’ came with hazards. Like a leaf blower stuck to your face -” Applejacks eyes lit up. She reached into her subspace pocket, grinning. “Aha! I DO have one in here!”
She pulled out a leaf blower the size of a pine tree, and pointed it at the gnome of gnomes.
The gnome of gnomes stopped, and stared.
“How are you holding that?” Jeff yelled down from his place at the top of the gnome of gnomes.
“Does it matter? I’m pointin’ it at y’all!”
“Riiiiight. You know what? ATTA-”
The gigantic leaf blower turned on, blasting the gnome of gnomes into its fundamental parts (a lot of gnomes) and spreading them out across the forest. The gnomes growled and yelled before running off into the bushes.
Jeff stood up. “YOU WILL FACE THE WRATH OF THE GNOMES -”
Applejack pointed the leaf blower at him at point-blank range. “You were saying?”
“Uh. Right. Bye.” He took off as fast as his little legs would carry him (which was about as fast as a one-legged cat).
Applejack and Rainbow Dash cheered, rushing into a hug and laughing.
“That. Was. AWESOME!” Rainbow Dash yelled, grinning. She flipped open the Journal to the gnomes page, taking a pen out of her Pocket. “Weaknesses: LEAF BLOWERS! WOOT! This deserves a party!”
Another excited hug followed, before the two walked back into the Shack.
Stan watched them, lightly sipping his Pitt Cola.
So they escaped the awkward sibling hug. That wasn’t too unusual. As far as he knew, anyway.
He smiled. They were nice girls. As they walked into the Shack, he gave them a smile. “You know what? I overstocked on inventory and I need to clear some stuff out. You six can get something from the gift shop. On the house.”
Twilight blinked. “You mean, free? Without paying?”
“Sure. Why not. Now hurry, before I change my mind.”
Rainbow Dash instantly grabbed a rainbow baseball cap with a lightning bolt on it. “This is mine.” She grinned.
Twilight took a triangle-shaped pendant with an eye in it, because it looked interesting. Applejack took a crossbow. Rarity took one look at the gift shop and decided the only thing she even remotely liked was a shiny pen.
Pinkie Pie yelled, “GRAPPLING HOOK!” She grinned, holding the device for all to see.
Stan laughed his head off. “Sure, sweetie, you can have the Grappling Hook. Go climb some dangerous cliffs for Grunkle Stan.”
“YAY!” Pinkie said, running out of the Shack.
Wendy and Soos walked up to Stan. “Uh… Mister Pines?” Soos said, twiddling his thumbs. “We were wonderin’ if we could, uh…”
Wendy took over. “We’d like something from the gift shop, too.”
“I pay you two to do work. I don’t pay them.” Stan grinned. “I’m amazing!”
Wendy sighed. “Fine,” she said, walking back to the cash register.
Soos saluted, walking back to the lightbulbs.
Stan smiled. This day had gone well. So far so good.
Of course, he knew that eventually the new people and locations in town would affect the Loop somehow…
He would have to keep going.
163.10 (Vinylshadow & Evilhumour)
Twilight, Luna and Fluttershy met in front of the Mirror to Canterlot High, each bearing a simple message from Sunset Shimmer.
Nyx and Leman want to talk - please come to the Mirror World. -SS
Sharing worried looks, the trio entered the Mirror and found themselves in the familiar courtyard in front of the high school.
"Glad you could make it," a voice called out to them. As one, the trio turned to see Sunset Shimmer walking towards them.
"Sunset, what's going on?" Twilight asked, her mind running a mile a minute with possibilities as to why they had been called.
The traveling Looper shrugged. "They wouldn't tell me anything concrete. They just asked me to send messages to you and left."
"Left? Where -" Fluttershy began, but was cut off by a gruff voice.
"Glad to see you could make it," said someone unoriginal.
The four Equestrians turned to see two people walking towards them, their hands laced together.
On the left was a petite perky goth girl whose face lit up upon seeing Twilight. Standing next to her was a very tall male teenager, nearly a head taller than the small female. His whole appearance screamed dangerous, with his biker jacket, broad shoulders, messy blond hair and a very hard face, which softened slightly when he laid eyes on the pink-haired woman who had raised him.
He offered a nod to Fluttershy. "Little Mother, may I offer my sincerest apologies for my rude behavior towards you?"
Fluttershy swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. "I'll always forgive you… you know that. You're my son. Even when you push me away, I will always love you." She stepped towards him, a hopeful expression on her face. Leman took a step away from Nyx and opened his arms; Fluttershy didn't need another invitation, and hugged him tightly.
While the two spoke quietly to each other, Nyx approached Twilight and Luna shyly. "I'm sorry I pushed both of you away. I -"
She staggered back as both Luna and Twilight wrapped their arms around her.
"You don't have to say anything, Nyx," Luna whispered into her hair, stroking her younger sister’s back.
"We're your family," Twilight said, voice thick with emotion.
The entire group was quiet for a few minutes before Twilight gently pulled away from Nyx and cleared her throat. "You said you had something to tell us?" she asked, eyeing Leman warily.
"Let's go somewhere where we can sit down?" he offered, gesturing towards the café Twilight remembered visiting during several Loops.
The six Loopers commandeered the corner booth, which offered ample room on one side for Sunset, Luna, Fluttershy and Twilight while Leman and Nyx sat across from them.
"Well, if it wasn't obvious, we've taken the time to clear our heads..." Leman winced. "Not in the best ways, looking back, but..." he fumbled his words. Nyx gave his hand a light squeeze and a look passed between them.
"So you've reconciled?" Luna asked, resting her chin on her hands and looking at them with a neutral expression.
Nyx nodded, and the other Loopers relaxed.
"So you're dating again?" Sunset asked, happy to see the two talking again.
"Well, once we cooled down, we took some time for ourselves to think about our relationship. Nyx eventually contacted me and we talked it out," Leman said.
"We did it during a Daemon hunt, actually," Nyx chimed in.
Fluttershy and Twilight both blinked in surprise. They knew Daemons were dangerous, and usually required your full attention on them, but… the two mothers knew their children wouldn't have been too distracted by a chat.
"How did that go?" Fluttershy asked.
"It...hurt," Nyx said. Twilight reached for her, a worried expression on her face, but Nyx raised a hand, stopping her. Before Twilight could withdraw her hand, Nyx clasped it gently. "It wasn't any fault of the Daemons, mom."
Twilight relaxed and Fluttershy let out a relieved sigh.
"Seeing Leman after avoiding him for so long hurt worse than any death I've suffered," Nyx said. "But it was a good kind of hurt. I knew I had made the right choice with him, so once we had finished our hunt, we sat down and talked."
Sunset and Luna leaned forward, anxious to hear the news.
"Turns out we both had similar reactions to our spat. We withdrew from the Loops, pushed everyone who wanted to help us away and thought about what we had done wrong," Nyx said, leaning against Leman.
"We..." Leman started, then paused, grimacing. "This is probably gonna sound stupid, but… everything we've done together, everything we've shared… made us realize what we were giving up if we split. I… love Nyx… she's amazing, caring, patient, beautiful - ow!" he grunted as Nyx elbowed him with a glare. "Alright, sorry… but once we got our feelings out in the open, I… well…"
Together, they raised their left hands.
Twilight and Fluttershy's jaws dropped, Luna gasped, and Sunset's eyes went wide.
On their ring fingers were a matching set of engagement rings.
"I asked her to marry me," Leman said quietly, looking at Nyx with a smile.
"And I said yes," Nyx said, leaning in and kissing him.
Nyx's eyes darted from one Looper to another anxiously. She fidgeted as the silence grew before she spoke hesitantly. "We wanted you to be the first to know, which is why we were so quiet about it. Um… I was expecting more of a reaction. Are you mad?"
Her voice seemed to snap the other Loopers out of their blank state, and Twilight found her voice first.
"No! No, we were… well, I was, at any rate, shocked." She took a shaky breath. "Reconciliation is one thing, but to propose," her eyes darted to Leman, and he shrank back from her piercing stare, "and to accept…" Twilight's voice trailed off and she teared up. "I'm not mad, I'm happy."
Fluttershy simply smiled at Leman. "I'm glad you finally worked up the courage to ask her, Leman," she said. "It's always a mother's dream to see her son finally find someone he wants to spend the rest of his life with, and I don't think you could've chosen a better wife than Nyx."
Sunset felt out of place in such a serious conversation. She had spent Loops with both of them, but she still felt uncomfortable around both of them. The young woman simply offered a small smile to the two, which seemed to relax them further.
Luna had leaned forward, her eyes on the engagement ring. "Do you mind if I take a look at that?"
Nyx and Leman exchanged confused glances, but gave their rings to Luna somewhat reluctantly.
The Night Mare examined them closely. "That's a beautiful gesture you've done for her, Leman. I've had ponies ask me to put their Cutie Marks in the night sky, but… I dare say you've done one better and put the stars into a ring she'll have forever." She passed the rings to Twilight, who admired the enchanted rings with something bordering on awe.
"A modest ring barely containing the beauty inside… That's definitely my daughter," Twilight said softly, which caused Nyx to blush happily as Twilight handed the rings back.
"Should we head back then?" Sunset asked, standing up and stretching her arms behind her head. Everyone but Nyx and Leman agreed, but when neither made a sound, Fluttershy turned to look at them curiously.
"What's wrong?" she asked, her voice worried.
Leman ran a hand over his face with a sigh before speaking.
"I hurt a lot of people, especially those back home, with what I said to Nyx. And even after all this time, I'm not sure if they've forgiven me for what I did."
Twilight shook her head. "If you want me to explain to them -" she began, but fell silent as Leman abruptly stood up.
"No, no, it was my fault, and I should be the one to apologize for my behavior."
Nyx rolled her eyes, muttering, "Men!" under her breath as she stood up and gave him a reassuring hug.
"Come on, my sweet Lemon Baby, let's go spread the news. The sooner we start, the sooner we can get to the honeymoon."
Without another word, the couple left the café, leaving behind a quartet of dumbfounded Loopers.
"'Sweet Lemon Baby'?" Sunset finally managed to ask, clearly not sure whether to laugh or retch.
"Oh, don’t be like that, Sunset," Fluttershy said, patting her shoulder. "When you find someone, you'll come up with cute nicknames for them as well."
"Never gonna happen," Sunset said flatly, crossing her arms and looking away.
Luna snickered. "If I had a bit for every time I've heard that..."
Chatting, the group followed after the engaged Loopers.
As Lemon, Nyx, Twilight, Sunset, Luna and Fluttershy walked out of the portal, the young couple looked at each other.
"Momma," Nyx smiled, nuzzling up against Lemon, "can you tell Cadence about the news, and how we've decided to ask her if she wants to be our wedding planner?"
"Uh, Nyxie," Lemon frowned, looking down at the black alicorn he had already wrapped a wing around, "didn't we agree to tell her together? I am fairly sure that Mi Amore Cadenza will be very cross with me if we use a proxy to ask her about this offer."
"She'll understand that it was necessary, as I will have to teleport us to Ponyville without giving you any chance to prepare yourself for meeting our friends," Nyx said with a soft smile before leaning up and placing a kiss on his face to distract him.
It seemed to work as Lemon's eyes became unfocused as the younger alicorn of the night teleported the two away, leaving the rest of the group a bit confused.
"Twilight," her sister in-law asked as she walked over to her family and friends with an eyebrow raised. "I just felt some powerfully strong love here. Care to explain?"
One short explanation later, all the glass in the Crystal Empire broke due to one very shrill shriek of joy.
With a pop, Lemon and Nyx found themselves in front of the Sugarcube Corner, with the stallion trying to look cross at the mare next to him.
"Nyxie, I thought we planne-" Lemon started when he noticed he wasn't alone.
"Hiya." Nyx smiled at a frowning Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity Belle. Pinkie Pie was simply smiling a bit less, which was easily equatable to a frown. "How are you?" With a less than subtle elbow to the ribs, the alicorn mare nudged her head towards the four mares already present to meet the two.
"Hello, miss Apple, miss Dash, miss Belle, miss Pie," Lemon said in a strained tone, looking to the side. "I -"
Before he could continue speaking, a purple scaly hand reached down and grabbed the alicorn stallion. Lifting Lemon up in the air, the dragon glared at the pony. "If you ever hurt my sister again, we will learn exactly how long it takes for my body to digest you, got it?!" Spike thundered, eyes narrowed in barely restrained anger.
"Spike!" both Nyx and Rarity shouted, causing Spike to reluctantly place the stallion back down on the ground. The unicorn's eyes glared up at her husband before glancing over at the young alicorn mare and gasping loudly as she noticed the piece of jewelry on her horn.
"Nyxie, dear, is - is that what I think that is?" she asked, a hoof pressed against her chest and eyes already watering in joy.
"If you think it is an engagement ring, it is!" Nyx smiled, beaming with joy as all the other mares gasped loudly at the news. Spike leaned down to hug his sister tightly, his grin going from ear to ear.
"Well, shucks, ain't that the best news Ah've heard in a while!" Applejack took her hat off, kicking the ground with one foot.
"Thank you, miss App- OW!" Lemon shouted in pain as Applejack punched him square in the shoulder.
"That's for being a total idiot, ya darn fool!" Applejack was brooking no argument, already landing another punch into his shoulder. "That's for thinking we wouldn't forgive ya, and don't ya dare try and tell me otherwise."
Lemon's ears folded, muttering curses in Low Gothic as he tried to reclaim usage of his right foreleg, to no real success. It was not helped when Applejack punched him again in the same place, causing Lemon to swear a bit louder.
"What the hay was that for, Applejack?!" Lemon growled, his anger growing before he was aware of it.
"That's for treating us like strangers, silly," Pinkie Pie said, pulling Lemon and Nyx into a tight hug. "Now tell us how it happened! Auntie Pinkie Pie needs to know!" Her grin was far larger than normal, and no one was sure if it was due to Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie or if she was using her warp goddess powers to fully express her joy.
"Well, if you don't mind, I am going to let the girls know the good news so Lemon can tell you all the details!" Nyx leaned up for another kiss before taking to the air, leaving her fiancé alone with her slightly predatory aunts to let the stallion know she was still a bit sore about their breakup. "See you soon, Lemon baby!" she shouted, giggling as Lemon gave her a rude gesture in return for using the same trick twice on him, only for Dash to smack him upside the head.
"So, girls," Nyx smiled as she flew into the clubhouse, where her five best friends were sitting, "you heard that Leman and I are talking again?"
"Eeyuup." Apple Bloom nodded her head, looking at the alicorn with a raised eyebrow. It was noticable that she wasn't a filly like usual, but a young mare on the cusp of full marehood. "Mah sis mentioned you summoned Twilight, Fluttershy and Luna for somethin', and we figured that we should all be here for whatever news you've got for us."
"Yeah." Nyx's smile grew as she nodded her head, letting her mane drop from her horn; a reflective gleam caught the eyes of all the fillies. "You can say that." Nyx let an awkward laugh out, rubbing her hooves together. "I'm engaged!"
There was a loud gasp from everyone in the room, with a rush of congratulations, praises and questions rushing out of their mouths before they all paused and looked at each other before they all shouted in unison.
"DIBS ON MAID OF HONOUR!"
The five looked at each other again, sharing a wicked glare.
"Wait, girls, I know how to handle thi-" Knowing what was coming, Nyx tried to prevent the chaos and destruction but was too late.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER MAID OF HONOUR YAY!" With that, the five fillies dashed off to create the rules of how to decide who would be their best friend’s maid of honour, leaving Nyx feeling very sorry for everyone.
Licking her lips, Nyx decided that she should go rescue her fiancé from her aunts, though she had been the one who’d left him to deal with them. She then giggled to herself: her fiancé! With a smile, she flew back to Sugar Cube Corner, hoping that Leman hadn't annoyed Applejack again; he was already down one leg, after all.
163.11 (Bliss Authority) (Undertale)
“…Thus did the humans win the great war, their seven greatest sorcerers sealing away Ponykind beyond the Barrier MirroOOOOKAY this Loop is sure starting with a bang,” Twilight said as she Woke Up. She closed the book she had been reading, looked at the cover, saw that the cover was the same as baseline, and reopened it to the chapter on the great war between Humans and Ponykind.
Spike dug at the inside of his ear with a claw. “Okay, did I mishear that, or is this one going to be a strange one?”
Twilight drew a tree in the ground. “Root and Branch, please let this not be a Bureau loop.”
“Boy, you can say that again,” Spike said. “So what do your loop memories say? Cause mine aren’t really all that relevant. Just a bunch of baseline #1 assistant things. Which reminds me – we should totally do Moondancer’s party this time.”
“Oh yeah, wouldn’t miss that for the world,” Twilight said, flipping through the book. “A – huh. There we go. Nightmare Moon was banished for trying to breach the Mirror and war on humanity, and on the thousandth year of the longest night the yadda will yadda in her yadda.” Twilight sent out a quick Ping, frowning. “Given everything else about the loop’s history, I REALLY hope Sunset is Awake this iteration...”
“Do ya have Celestia’s half of her diary in your Pocket?” Spike said.
Twilight shook her head. “Good thinking, but I’m not going to risk tipping off an Unawake Sunset if there WAS a war between ponies and humans and she defected – or worse, still thinks she’s ‘on ponykind’s side.’ That can wait for a Loyalty to confirm it’s her. Still -”
Twilight just then got thirteen responses to her Ping in rapid succession, including Spike’s. Thirteen fellow Loopers, no other information – frustratingly vague, but at least she wouldn’t have to do this alone. “Right. Send out the usual letter and ask if there have been any stirrings around this ‘Barrier Mirror’ in particular. In the meantime, make your preparations for the party: I’m going to get some going-away presents for my Canterlot friends… and some history books.”
Spike gave her a brisk salute. “Aye aye, Captain!” he said, with only the barest hint of irony.
Frisk woke up to the familiar sensation of tumbling headfirst into the darkness, rolled her eyes, and got set to break her fall. There was a blur of yellow beneath her as usual – but somehow, there was also some pink –
POMPF. She landed in prime position to roll on her arms. Only this time, there was a soft squeal, something like the sound of a dog toy squeaking, as she landed – followed by the unmistakable sound of someone blowing a raspberry.
The pink, shaggy, vaguely equine monster that broke Frisk’s fall turned to look at her, then stuck out its tongue with another raspberry sound.
Frisk blinked at it. It repeated the gesture back to her.
Acting on impulse, Frisk threw her stick. The creature gasped, then shot off after the object.
Chuckling, Frisk looked around the room, trying to see if anything was different, and took a bag of popato chisps from her pocket for a snack while she did so. Jizo’s explanation of what Loopers could do had been thorough without being pedantic or irritating; Loop memories and a Pocket were the first things she’d figured out, and she was working on the Ping.
Hell, her actual lowercase ‘P’ pockets acted as sort of a small uppercase ‘P’ Pocket, even in baseline; there was no other explanation for how she managed to keep (even ever-fresh, monstrous) slices of pie, hot-dogs, ice cream, burgers, steaks, tutus and frying pans in there and still retrieve them all in completely pristine condition. Frisk hadn’t questioned how until now, but it was undeniably useful – especially since she now could carry items with her into the next Loop.
Suddenly, there was a pink snout under Frisk’s arm. The fluffy creature had returned with the stick (from, Frisk noted with some amusement, a completely different direction than the one Frisk had thrown said stick) and was now inspecting the chisps with its (her?) nose.
Clearly the proper thing to do was to pet it and give it some chisps. Petting fluffy monsters had gotten Frisk pretty far in the loops, and she wasn’t about to stop now. This earned another happy gasp – not a big surprise, as petting had always proved to be the blatantly correct choice.
“I see you have made another friend,” a familiar voice said. Frisk turned towards that voice –
– and started at the huge, goat-eyed, quadrupedal creature wearing Toriel’s robes.
“Tori?” Frisk asked.
“Do not be afraid,” the goat sighed. “I remain your friend, Toriel, caretaker of what has proven a very different set of Ruins this Loop. You are fortunate that this particular Loop’s version of Flowey is – indisposed, at the moment. But she will not be for much longer. We must make haste before they find us here.”
“Why are you a goat, mom?” Frisk asked. “And what do you mean, ‘indisposed?’”
Toriel – this transformed Toriel – sighed, putting a split hoof to her forehead. “If you have not yet consulted your Loop Memories, do so now. I understand they are usually much more useful for Sans and I in particular, but this is of the most vital importance.”
Frisk shrugged. She knew how this story went anyway – getting in an argument with her parents and running away (sometimes), getting lost exploring Mount Ebott (sometimes), her friends at Canterlot High School daring her to touch the statue of a horse (sometimes), and –
Wait a second. Canterlot High School? From a former equine city – equine, not monstrous – that the humans claimed as their own, the site of the Mirror Barrier?
The pink fluff pony gasped, then rooted through the poptato chips that Frisk had dropped in her shock. It squealed its delight.
“It’s a bit unnerving when your memories and those memories don’t match up, isn’t it?” murmured Toriel.
“Oh shit,” Frisk groaned.
“Language,”Toriel scolded.
“Ptthbt,” Fluffle Puff replied.
Twilight walked into Moondancer’s party with Spike, several gifts, and a frown. Celestia’s return letter made it clear that she wasn’t Awake, but otherwise raised more questions than it answered. In particular, it emphasized that Twilight was to “show the visiting emissaries of the Goat Kingdom a good time.” She spoke with Moondancer and the others on the subject, trying to fish for information.
“They ARE only our closest allies,” Moondancer said, smiling – clearly glad to be the expert in this situation, to be able to teach Twilight something important instead of the other way round. (Ficus, was she always this obvious about her regard for Twilight in baseline? But that was a tangent.) “Their research into magitech and applied metaphysics is second to none, particularly as it applies to soul theory – among other things, their Royal Scientist figured out some things with very interesting implications about cutie marks.”
“I heard a rumor that they helped develop some of our most powerful weapons, right after the Human War,” Lyra said, looking Twilight right in the eyes. “As in, just in time to fight Discord and Nightmare Moon.”
“You hear ALL SORTS of rumors,” Lemon Drop said, laughing. “Tell us again about how three humans beat Tirek instead of Firefly Thunderhoof.”
“They helped Firefly, they didn’t beat him on their own,” Lyra said. She winked at Twilight. “Stay woke, all of you.”
Aha. Lyra – well, all of the Lyrae – were awake. That made things significantly easier. (Also the events of a Gen 1 loop were apparently the antiquity of this Loop – possibly useful information.)
“I don’t think I’ll be able to get much sleep done when I have a job this important,” Twilight said. “But that’s nothing new. I’m always Awake. When does that ever change?”
“We always did have too much blood in our caffeine systems,” Lemon Drops said.
Moondancer brayed laughter. “Amen. You should get some Pony Joe’s coffee grounds for the road – I know they always help me when I cram.”
Twilight had done her shopping and packing for the trip already and considered saying way ahead of you. Then she thought better of it, and beamed at her biggest fan instead. “Good idea, Moondancer; I think I’ll have time tomorrow. I’m going to need to find a replacement in Ponyville – Lyra, you live there, where do you recommend?”
Lyra got up. “You know what, we should probably compare notes. Mind if I borrow Twilight, Moonie? Don’t worry, I’ll bring your waifu back safe and sound.”
Moondancer stammered something incoherent in reply.
“Great!” said Twilight, who was suddenly uncomfortable herself. “I’m just getting some fresh air, and don’t worry – she’s taken.”
Oh, Branch. Why did Twilight say that? Moondancer put her hooves over her glasses as they left, Lemon Drops giving her the waggly eyebrows.
As soon as they were out of earshot of the others, Twilight turned to Lyra. “I hate the Variants where I need to turn her down,” Twilight muttered. “Right, Lyra. Who’s Awake?” she said. “Is Sunset awake? Let’s start with that.”
“Yes, Sunset’s Awake, thank Pine,” Lyra said, her expression unusually stern. “We’ve also got Spike, the other five original Element-Bearers, Trixie, Shining, De- well she’s going by Muffins Redacted this loop, but you know who she is –”
Twilight facehoofed. “Muffins. Redacted.”
“I told Bon Bon I knew about her deep cover ‘Monster Aggression Response Equines’ stuff and ‘Muffins Redacted’s’ mom is Bonnies’ handler this loop, Data Expunged. Okay? Great, now I lost my train of tho-”
Lyra shook her head, and her entire body language changed. She stood up on her hind legs and cracked her neck. “Okay, I’m going to take over cause I didn’t lose track,” Lyra said. “The other three are Chrissy, Candy, and Ivory.”
“I’m addressing human-Lyra, right?” Lyra nodded at Twilight’s question – and Twilight cringed. “Oh root it, you’re part human. That might be… troublesome for you,” Twilight remarked.
“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Human-Lyra growled. “This Loop’s cosmology is all about souls, and I have a human soul – speaking! – and a bunch of others. Have you brushed up on this Loop’s Soul Theory?”
“I was going to after Moondancer brought it up,” Twilight said.
“You better,” Human-Lyra said. “I’m pretty much ascended without the wings or hooves right now, and if anyone who isn’t Awake or Bon-Bon finds that out I’m in deep trouble.”
“WHAT!?”
“Keep it down, Twilight,” Lyra hissed. “But yeah, I’ve gone full Alicorn without actually going full Alicorn, just by having a human soul jumbled up with the rest of my alters. Turns out monsters, including us ponies, can take them this Loop; I remember someone on the wrong side of the Mirror willingly giving me one with their dying breath as part of my Loop Memories – human-side Lyra. Phenomenal cosmic powers – all you need is a dead human and you’re in business.”
“Oh no,” Twilight groaned. “No, no, no, no, no. That’s what the war was over in the first place, wasn’t it?”
“Bingo.” Lyra sighed. “Tirek was the only one that tried to steal souls, but Tirek was bad enough to get the rest of humanity panicking about the fillies and gentlecolts from across the Rainbow Bridge.”
“I’m not sure if I can blame them,” Twilight said. She put her hoof under her lip and frowned. “Equestria isn’t exactly a bad place to live, but it’s also a lot more dangerous than Sunset’s world even without that additional temptation. Abacus Cinch aside, anyway.”
Lyra folded her fetlocks. “Oh, and you can go through the Mirror to and from Canterlot High, but you can’t get out without at least a human soul and a monster soul in one body. Loop Memories say we used to sneak across, shifting bodies with magic. M.A.R.E. took advantage of that, with my and Bonnie’s permission.”
“This has to be a Fused Loop,” Twilight said. “But I’ve never even heard of a universe that functioned this way before.”
“Maybe it just started Looping?” Lyra suggested, shrugging.
“Are you two okay?” Moondancer called from across the hall.
Twilight turned and waved. Then, after shaking her head, Lyra got on all fours and started trotting back.
Twilight followed, thinking. Assuming a Fused Loop, the other universe was new enough that the Loopers didn’t know how to Ping yet – none of them had responded to any of the fourteen native pings. Moreover, the Goat King wasn’t baseline – if he wasn’t the Looper, one of his retinue almost certainly was, and they were all VIPs on their way to the Summer Sun Festival.
She was going to get the Loopers on the same page with letters from Spike, and get a course of action ready - to greet the new Loopers, and to get them up to speed, and protect them from what was looking to be a much more dangerous Nightmare Moon than baseline.
Right after she dealt with the much more fearsome task of friendzoning Moondancer.
Twilight audibly gulped.