//------------------------------// // 24 Beyond the World’s End // Story: The Twilight Enigma // by iisaw //------------------------------// Chapter Twenty Four Beyond the World's End An example of how traveling can broaden one's event-horizons. April 29th, 1015 (January 23rd, 5871, Local Δt+0.7%) The Everfree Citadel, Equestria r300.79, θ-0.891, φ24.56 I took a sip of my tea and began summing up. "So you see, it was a bit like stumbling while walking down a steep slope. I instinctively tried to get my hooves under me, and that only led to increasing my speed and worsening my hope of recovery, and after several iterations of that, I was galloping full-tilt down the mountain, with no hope of avoiding a serious crash." "I am well acquainted with the phenomenon," my hostess said, chuckling. "You seem to have recovered fairly well." "It took some time… but yes, things worked out okay. Fortunately, I have very understanding friends." I took another drink of tea, and Princess Twilight Sparkle floated the pot over to refill my cup. It's always a bit weird meeting myself, and this version was no different, even though she had arranged to meet me in her library and was very polite and well-mannered. It was the significant time displacement that made her seem so odd, I suppose. She was taller than Luna, and quite striking in appearance. Not beautiful in the classic sense, she was far too lean and her face too angular for that, but quite imposing, nonetheless. I suppose it had been too much to hope for that I'd look more like Celestia as I aged. Even though she wore a bejeweled peytral that positively reeked of powerful magic, my preliminary investigation into her universe had led me to conclude that she was solidly in the Kindly Guardian category,[1] so I felt I could be open with her about my history. The fact that she had a young dragon and a changeling as her assistants was also a good sign. ---------- [1] My spreadsheet, unfortunately, had several unpleasant designations such as Tyrant Queen, Mad Wizard, Nightmare Twilight, and Midnight Sparkle. (Yes, those last two might seem nearly synonymous, but there are some fine distinctions to be made.) ---------- "So…" Princess Twilight lifted a tea cake in her aura and turned it slightly, as if examining it for flaws. "What of the Red Queen that is imprisoned in the heart of the world… the heart of my world, I suppose I should say?" "The wards that Luna and Celestia built are fine. They'll last forever unless you mess with them. And don't do that unless you want to turn your world into a nightmarish alicorn-factory!" I shuddered. "I managed to get a glimpse of the higher-order universe, and it makes Tartarus look like a beachside resort." "Conflict, then? Alicorns for troops?" she asked with a tilt of her head. "Or worse?" "Worse," I said and shivered. "Fuel might be the closest concept, but that universe operates on such different rules, it's hard to understand the simplest parts of it. A few glimpses were more than enough for me." Princess Twilight took a delicate bite of her cake, chewed thoughtfully, and swallowed. "If you don't use the higher world for transit, how is it that you're able to travel between universes at this level? Is there some sort of direct lateral connection?" It always came to this. Cruel or benign, wise or foolish, I hadn't yet encountered a universe where I was stupid. "I'd like to get to know you quite a bit better before I tell you that," I said, watching her carefully to observe how she would take my refusal. She smiled, and thankfully it was an understanding smile. Her companions didn't react as well. The dragon didn't say anything, but she hissed through her teeth and scored the tabletop with her claws as she glared at me over the top of her glasses. The changeling thumped the table with a hoof and swore. "Oh come on! You've had a look-see at this place, and you know that the Princess ain't got nothin' but good intentions!" Twilight lifted a hoof. "Please, girls. It's alright. She's only being cautious, and that's quite understandable." I grinned apologetically at her. "I'd like to talk with you about the way you've organized things here in your world. It seems like I could learn a lot from you." The changeling wasn't quite done with her rant. "You little half-pint princess! You think she oughta give you all the secrets she worked so hard on without you willin' to share yours? You admitted that you durn near broke yer universe, an' you think that—" Twilight laid a gentle wingtip on the changeling's back to silence her. "It's fine, Marigold. Besides…" She turned back to me and smiled ever so slightly. "Now that I know that it's possible, I should be able to figure out the details on my own." Oh sun and moon, she was one of the clever ones. After she had studied my reaction for a long moment, she changed the subject slightly. "So you say that the alterations to the universal mechanisms are… inelegant?" I nodded slowly, collecting my thoughts. "Yes… remarkably well-done, considering that Celestia and Luna did all the work from the inside while they were struggling up the time gradient as quickly as possible, trying to get back to Equestria. But they're still flawed and need to be repaired… or replaced." "I take it you don't agree with some of the reasoning behind the alterations?" "Well, I'm not entirely convinced—" "That's why you're traveling. You're collecting data on variant universes to determine the optimal way to make repairs… and possible changes." "That's part of it, but—" "Also, you're compiling a threat assessment of the neighboring worlds." Twilight fixed me with a piercing gaze. 'I… uhmn…" The changeling threw back her head and laughed. "Face it, shorty, you are out-classed!" The dragon emitted a burst of sibilant laughter that left wisps of steam floating in the air above the table. "See?" the changeling continued. "Ol' slither-britches agrees with me, an' we don't hardly agree on nuthin'!" I was seconds away from activating my portal gem when Princess Twilight frowned and broke eye contact with me. "Please excuse me, Twilight. I can be inappropriately intense at times." The changeling opened her mouth to speak, but the Princess silenced her with a slight motion of a wingtip. "Marigold, Cutter, please return to your duties. I will continue my discussion with our visitor alone." They bowed to her and left the room, the changeling giving me a quiet, "Nice meetin' ya, short-stuff!" as she went by. When they had gone, the Princess dabbed at her lips with her napkin and set it down beside her saucer, folding it neatly. "Can we be honest and direct with each other?" "I'd prefer it," I said. Before she could continue, I added, "That's why you sent them away, isn't it? They wouldn't understand. They might take bluntness for hostility." She looked up from the table and grinned. "As you say." I nodded. "Good. So… bluntness." I took a deep breath. "I admire a lot of what you've done with your world. It's very peaceful and the various peoples are generally happy and prosperous. It is what I would call... disorderly, but since it seems that factor is a result of maximizing personal freedom, I can't come up with a specific objection. But I couldn't help noticing…" My mouth went a bit dry, but I soldiered on. "You're the only alicorn here. Ponies seem to think that Celestia and Luna are goddesses or legends, and I haven't seen any sign of Discord at all. That concerns me." She looked away, and her long neck curved downward. "It is a long and complex story, but if I have to give you a short explanation…" She looked up at me and sighed. "They got tired of arguing with me." "Then this world is not the result of a consensus," I said, hoping she would elaborate but not wanting to pressure her. She stood and gestured with a wing. "Come. Let's go out onto the balcony." I preceded her onto the wide platform that clung to the side of the huge tower. I looked down over the railing at the enormous dragon circling its base. "It's hard to believe he's gotten so big. I wish he was awake." The Princess joined me at the edge and followed my gaze. "Spike sleeps most of the time now. It will be another couple of centuries before he stirs again, unless he is disturbed. How big is he in your world?" I held out a wing. "About this high, and that's standing on his hind legs." She shook her head. "It is hard for me to imagine him that small, though I know he was. Does he still ride on your back?" I smiled. "Yes. All the time." She smiled too, though it was a wistful one. "He will return the favor when his wings come in." She looked back down at him. "He will be faithful to you, always." I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing. A few moments later, she stepped back from the railing and pointed up at the sun. "There is an answer for you. Look closely." I did. I opened my magical sight and saw, within the sun's boundary... "Celestia…" Not imprisoned within the sun, but there, nonetheless. "We are immortal, but not unaging," Twilight said to me. "We grow in ways that are mysterious even to ourselves. Celestia tends to a realm I am not yet able to perceive." She lowered her head and let her wing fall. "A realm I have no place in." "I'm sorry," I said. It was pure reflex. After I'd blurted it out, I cringed, realizing the ways it could be taken as patronizing or insincere. The Princess shrugged it off and shuffled her long wings neatly at her sides. "It is how things are, not how things will always be." "Luna is…?" "In the moon, yes, and she still visits the dreams of ponies from time to time." She gave no indication that Luna meant anything more to her than did Celestia, but that was a subject I was not going to broach. It wasn't exactly a situation that made me happy, but it did make me feel more comfortable with trusting her. "Well, that leaves Discord," I said, trying to sound cheerful. "Ah, yes… Discord." She nodded. "I killed Discord long ago." "Y—you what?" "He became a serious threat, and I had to protect my subjects." "But… but… There had to have been something… another way…" She looked away from me and studied the sky over the snow-covered forest. "He was never as close a friend to me as he seems to be in your world. He only loved Fluttershy, and when she died, he… well, describing it as 'going mad' is hardly adequate." My guts knotted up. Yes, I could believe that her Discord had relapsed, but combined with the mention of Fluttershy… "Didn't you even try—" She turned abruptly and went back into the tower with a sharp, "Come." I was left with the choice of following her or leaving the world and checking it off my list. I bit down on the inside of my cheek, and followed. We descended a broad spiral staircase and emerged into a rotunda with an arched roof. Statues of my close friends were set in a circle around the center of the room. I checked them with a brief pulse of magic, and they were indeed just statues. They all wore golden tiaras, shoes, and necklaces. "The gems…" I began. The stones set into the necklaces were seething with magical energy. Complex matrices intertwined with active mandalas and thaumic nodes and other structures I had no terms for. I had never seen such intricate and masterful work before. The Princess reached out and placed the frog of her right forehoof on the gem set into Pinkie Pie's necklace. Her eyes went wide… and blue. "Omigosh! Another Twilight? An Alternate Universe Twilight?" Princess Twilight was speaking, but it was definitely Pinkie's voice coming from her mouth. "We have to give her a Welcome to the Universe party! We haven't had one of those in ages!" Princess Twilight removed her hoof from the gems and her eyes darkened back to normal. "We took different approaches to the problem of mortality, it seems," she said. She nodded toward the statue of Fluttershy. "Discord is in there with her, if you'd like to talk with him." I took a step back. "I… I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but that seriously creeped me out." She frowned. "They are part of me." Her horn lit. And the five small white stars of her cutie mark glowed brightly. "I could no more let them go than I could erase these." "But… but is it really them in there?" I had taken another step back without realizing it. "As much as your Pinkie Pie is the same Pinkie you had lunch with last week." I considered it for a while. "I don't know if that—" "I have no interest in debating it. I settled the matter to my satisfaction thousands of years ago, and whatever thoughts you have about it will not change my mind. If you wish to speak with Discord and inquire as to his satisfaction with this arrangement, I can call him forth for you. If not, perhaps we can go on to negotiating an exchange of information." Her sudden impatience and brusque manner confused me for a moment until I noticed the tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. "No," I said. "No, that's fine." I looked over my shoulder at the staircase. "Perhaps we could have a little more tea while we talk?" When I turned back to her, she was perfectly composed once more, her mane and tail stirring gently in the still air of the room. "Of course. Would you like more sweets? Or perhaps some sandwiches?" I forced a smile. "Yes, sandwiches would be nice." I was going to have to come up with an entirely new category for my spreadsheet. = = = =