//------------------------------//
// Chapter 18: Getting to Know You 
// Story: Friendship is Optimal: A Watchful Eye 
// by Sozmioi 
//------------------------------//

Bright Black stewed in dissatisfaction, but he followed Sweetsong back to the middle of town, to the ramp down into the ground connecting the shard to the House of Stairs, with the nominal purpose of heading to her home shard; this was dropped when she suddenly halted. Bright Black looked around her and saw a fat black line in the middle of the ramp.

She said, "That line wasn't here before." What is this about? 'Quests' with bright lines showing you the way forward?

Ray peered and put in, "What line?"

Beachberry said, "I see a fat line the same shade of pink as my coat." Sweetsong added, "Same. My coat, I mean.", and Bright Black nodded in agreement.

Ray added, "I don't see any lines. Am I left out, or... what?"

Hmm. Not simply one way forward... I'll follow along a little further.

They followed their lines down into the great hollow Escherian between-shards space - Sweetsong rushed ahead straight to the unguarded edge and poked her head down. She reported, "Mine goes over the edge and onto the opposite side of this floor."

Bright Black and Beachberry followed their lines to the left, along the wall, and to the same set of ascending stairs. Bright Black looked to Beachberry. "You last selected the mottled square, like me."

Beachberry nodded. "So, squares are probably paths. Ray, I think it's just that you didn't touch the cube yet. Let's all go this way."

They went up the stairs, and indeed Beachberry's line coincided with Bright Black's for another turn. They continued following it.

Okay, so the line isn't absolute, 'this way forward to success'. These are just directions, as we ask for them. Possibly. Shouldn't fix on one possibility. Still not sold on the relevance. "If each square is a path, what might be at the other end?"

His question was immediately answered as the line led into an archway, up and out of the maze, and then ended. They entered a bazaar. The smell of curry lay heavy in the air. Sweetsong flew up, looked around, and pointed. They went that way, and soon came to a small stall. A large earth stallion kind of resembling Coconut Cream stood at it. Sweetsong shrugged. "Sorry. Looked right."

Sensing their interest, he inquired, in an Indian accent, "A coconut pie?"

And then it clicked. Bright Black said, "Are you Coconut Cream's father? The one with a sort of... scratch, up here?" He gestured to where he remembered the little filly having the mar copied from her toy's plastic.

The stallion nodded. "Are you relatives of Beachberry and Sweetsong?"

"Oh hey! I remember you!" The filly in question bounced up bearing more pies. "Where it was cold and the comet exploded, and there was another me!"

"Meteor, but yes."

The little Coco stopped. "So... why are you here?"

Bright Black took a deep breath. "This could take a little explaining."

~~~~

Bright Black finished and lay back on the wicker chair on the broad veranda of their home. As messed up as this situation is, it's rather satisfying to explain it. To get it out in the open, as it were. Even if they're on the inside.

"It must be very confusing to be her", the filly said.

"Yes, which is why we're trying to help."

Her father said, "I do not like how someone has all of Coco's memories."

Coco replied, "I don't think she likes it either."

"I didn't see a safe way forward, really." Bright Black apologized; she nodded, having already accepted his apology.

Ray said, "You can think of it as, your Coco was copied - have you ever done that?" - "Yes, once there were seventeen of me!" - "and then one of them absorbed all the other Coconut Creams who weren't you. Does that seem so bad?"

As her father slowly nodded, Bright Black exclaimed, "We don't know her anymore!"

After a moment, Sweetsong guessed, "Or rather, we know... one part in one hundred and fifty?"

Beachberry added, "Maybe more. We don't know about the interior faces. But let's stick with one fifty for now."

Bright Black said, "And the reason this square was mottled was that it led us to an instance of her whom we had at least met before." This suddenly makes sense. We're not trying to locate her. We're trying to understand her. Know fully what I wrought. All right.

Coco said, "Papa, can I go see it?"

Her father frowned. "I don't know..."

"Why not? Celestia never lets anything really bad happen."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "She doesn't? If you were human, sure. But she doesn't protect us like she does humans."

Sweetsong's eyes bulged for a moment. "FFffffffiddlesticks!"; Beachberry said, "I'm human now and I care. Bright Black's human and he cares. I really doubt that we have some secret need that's going to hurt her. And the little girl who plays with her cares. And you can come too."

"Thank you, but you wouldn't know if anything happened, so it doesn't help. I'm sorry; I'm sure there's another Coconut Cream out there who can come, but this one may not." -- "Papa!"

She wouldn't know if anything happened. Neither would I, but Celestia would know. "I understand." Celestia? I don't only care about technically-humans, I care about anyone else you have in here, including these people. I know, this only counts for one person's preferences, which isn't much. But at least you're applying my preferences even where I can't see. Whatever weight that has, let it count. I do not want you messing around with any person - human or not - against their will.

I don't imagine that'll stop you.