Multiversal Harmony

by RK_Striker_JK_5


Chapter Six, Part Two. (Written by RK_Striker_JK_5)

The other five ponies looked at each other, their expressions ones of confusion. Octavia rolled her eyes. “All right, I’ll ask.” She stepped up to Pinkie Pie’s flank. “Pinkie, could you please explain to us what you’re talking about?”

Pinkie Pie’s head spun around. “So, just to make sure, none of you really know who Wind Whistler is, or what Dream Valley is?”

Rainbow Dash flew over, landed next to Pinkie Pie and leaned in close. “Well, I’m a bit… familiar with Firefly where I come from. Although considering how other relationships have turned out here in this wacky upside-down Equestria, I’m not sure it’s the same here. Or where you come from.” She paused. “Is it?”

Octavia chuckled lowly. “It depends on what your relationship is to Firefly.”

While the three talked, the fighting in the valley proper had begun to die off as most of the plunder vines at the near end of the valley were uprooted, torn up or stomped on. The ponies gathered up any salvageable weapons and tools and made their way back to the mouth of the valley and the path. Wind Whistler stopped at Pinkie Pie and the others. “Are any of you in need of medical attention, or are otherwise incapacitated? Plunder vines can have side effects not fully knowable until time has passed and symptoms become visible or debilitating.”

Rainbow Dash stared at Wind Whistler, while Pinkie Pie scratched the side of her head, and Octavia’s brow wrinkled.. Spike walked up to them. “I think we’re fine. Thanks for the rescue.” He leaned to his right and stared at the valley, letting out a slow whistle. “Now that is impressive work.”

Wind Whistler followed his gaze. “Thank you, but I am afraid it takes all of our effort to keep the plunder vines from exploiting this entry vector.” She looked up and motioned to the walls of the valley with her wings. “For reasons unknown, they have concentrated their avenue of advancement through this valley. Stray vines have been known to poke up here or there on the outskirts of our village, but they are easy to deal with. I can guarantee that, within forty-eight hours, they will be advancing once more.” She looked back. “You are all welcome there. We do not have much to spare, but it is yours if you need it.”

Rainbow Dash turned away and groaned. “I can hear my version of Celestia chuckling right now,” she mumbled.

Spike bowed his head. “Thanks. We’ll be along shortly, Wind Whistler. We’ve just got some things to hash out.” He smiled at her as she flew off, then turned to Pinkie Pie. “Okay, Pinkie Pie. You said this was the beginning, where it all started. What does that mean? Who are these ponies where you come from?”

Pinkie Pie turned around and around in a circle. “Well, okay. You see, these ponies? Without them, I wouldn’t be here. As in I probably wouldn’t exist.” She stopped and looked at each of the other five. “I mean Surprise, the Element of Laughter, here, she’s been my inspiration since I got my cutie mark!”

Ditzy let out a gasp. “Oh, is she your sister? Has she inspired you to spread laughter and smiles throughout Equestria?”

Pinkie Pie shook her head. “Well, no and yes. She’s related to me, but she’s not my sister. She’s been inspiring me, yes, but not directly. We’ve never even met.”

Ditzy’s eyes locked onto Pinkie Pie. “Oh, then... is she a distant cousin of yours in your Equestria?”

“Not anymore. She’s been dead for a little over fifteen-hundred years.” Pinkie Pie looked around. “What, you didn’t know? She’s my grandmother with about fifty ‘greats’ in front of that.”

There was silence for a moment. Finally, Octavia spoke. “That… explains most all of your surprise and reactions to those ponies.”

Spike slowly looked over his shoulder. “So those ponies, Wind Whistler, Firefly, Surprise, they’re from your Equestria’s past? They helped found it?”

Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs and shook her head. “Wait, no way! That’s impossible! Fire-these ponies can’t be from your Equestria’s past!”

Everyone turned to look at Rainbow Dash. Spike spoke up. “Okay, Dash, I noticed you acting a bit odd when Firefly showed up.” He waved her off as she opened her mouth. “Reporter’s instincts,” he said, winking. His expression turned serious again. “Is it something bad in your reality? Is it a problem?’

Rainbow Dash dropped to the ground and kicked at the dirt. “It’s not a problem, Spike. It’s just weird!” She flapped her wings. “In my reality, Firefly is my mother.”

Pinkie Pie gasped and bounced into the air. “Oh, that makes sense!” Her smile fell away. “Dashie, in my reality, she’s your grandmother with about fifty ‘greats’ in front of it. Same generation as Surprise, Wind Whistler and the others.”

Spike glanced up at the sky, the sun and moon hanging motionless overhead. “Well, I still don’t know if it’s night or day here, but we’d better get moving to Wind Whistler’s village. Pinkie Pie, you can keep up a running answer session as we get there.” His stomach suddenly growled. “And we can eat breakfast, lunch or dinner, too.”

The six started walking, flying, and bouncing their way down the path. Ditzy looked down at Pinkie Pie. “Hey, I can’t believe I’m about to ask this, but is it possible we’re in this Equestria’s past? And that’s how all these ponies are still alive?”

Octavia shook her head. “A reasonable theory, Ditzy, but does that mean the plunder vines traveled into the past as well? Twilight Wish mentioned the princesses being captured, so I’m afraid we are definitely in the present.”

Ditzy’s ears drooped. “Oh, sorry.”

Rainbow Dash slid to her left and patted Ditzy on the shoulder. “Hey, it’s a good idea. It’d make more sense than half the stuff that’s been going on since we got here.” She floated over to hover right above Pinkie Pie. “So… in your Equestria, did Firefly marry a stallion by the name of Cyclone Bolt back in the distant past? That’s my dad’s name.”

Pinkie Pie shook her head. “Nope! I got a picture of them. Gimme a second.” She tilted her head back and her mane coiled in on itself. She stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth. “Let me see, where is it?”

Octavia arched an eyebrow. “Pinkie Pie, I highly doubt you have a whole photo album in there.”

Up ahead, a small village could be seen. A few-dozen buildings were scattered about, a wooden wall surrounding half of it. A river ran nearby, with a waterwheel and mill set up next to it. Ponies darted about on the streets and in the air. Their talk and occasional songs could be heard, carried by the wind.

Pinkie’s head shot forward and her mane poofed out. A strand of hair extended out in front of her muzzle, a slim, shiny box entangled in it. “Nope, but I’ve got my smart phone. And that’s got all my pictures saved on it!” She tapped the screen with her nose. “Megan was there at the wedding. She sent them to me through email.”

Auntie leaned over and stared at Pinkie Pie’s phone. “That… is your Equestria’s telephone? It’s so small!” She waved a hoof around it. “And no wires, either! This is remarkable! Is it magic?”

Pinkie Pie nodded, then shook her head. “Yup! It’s a telephone, but it’s not magic. Well, in some respects it is. It feels like magic!”

Ditzy tilted her head down and looked at Pinkie Pie and Auntie. Confusion crossed her face. “Tele… phone? Is that like some super-duper telegraph?” She looked to Rainbow Dash. “My own Equestria has telegraphs, but right now they’re more toys for the nobility. You know, something fun to do while lounging about?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Oh, yeah. I know all about those kind of horse apples.”

Pinkie Pie looked up. “Ditzy, a phone is a device that allows two-way voice communication. You don’t have phones? Oh, and Dash? Wanna see your multi-great grandfather, Bloodwing of the Sky Clans of the Peaks?”

Rainbow Dash halted in midair. “B-Bloodwing? His name is Bloodwing?” She and Ditzy dropped to the ground. Rainbow Dash flanked her opposite Auntie, with the others crowding around. She let out a gasp as she saw Firefly standing next to a large, heavily-built stallion with deep-red wings and slender legs. “Holy Celestia!” She jabbed her hoof at the screen and two other similarly-built stallions. “Who are they?!”

Pinkie Pie giggled. “His brothers Deathmane and Killhoof Red. they led the Sky Clans of the Peak after Commander Hurricane. All four of them founded Cloudsdale a few years later.” She tilted her head back and the phone slid back into her mane. “I’ll show you more pictures later!”

The six resumed their journey. After a few minutes, they entered the village. Pinkie Pie’s head shot around, her body soon following. She bounced back and forth. “Okay, where’s Surprise? Where is she?” She stopped in mid-bounce and her entire body turned around. “Anyone else see a bakery, or Twilight Wish? Surprise mentioned getting parties ready for them.”

The others looked around. Spike spotted Wind Whistler flying towards them. “If there’s anyone who would know, it’s probably her.”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip, but a small giggle still escaped. “That, and probably the answers to fifty-million trivia questions.”

Wind Whistler landed and bowed her head. “I am most pleased to see you six here.” She waved at a large, two-story building with her left wing. “We have an inn for travelers, although with our isolation, it did not see much use even before the plunder vines.” Her brow furrowed. “I hesitate to ask this, but what is your purpose coming here?”

Pinkie Pie opened her mouth, but stopped short of speaking. Instead, she waved the other five into a circle. “Okay, I know we were kinda coy about telling them the previous three times until the whole Element reveal, but I think Wind Whistler can take it. If she’s anything like the Wind Whistler in my reality, and she really does seem like it, she won’t be confused or frightened and we can skip a lot of hassle.” She batted her eyes and pouted her lips. “Please, oh please?”

Octavia eyed her. “I’m not sure you’d know how much she’d match up to your version of Wind Whistler. Yours has been dead for fifteen-hundred years. Still, I think this mare has more than enough intelligence to be able to understand and help us out.”

Spike nodded. “It’s your call, Pinkie.”

Pinkie broke from the others and turned to face Wind Whistler. “Okay, this is gonna sound really weird, but it’s the truth.” She sucked in a big gulp of air before continuing. “Each one of us is from a different version of Equestria. We were brought here by a being named Discord to find this Equestria’s version of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. See the shiny necklaces, cello and circlet? Good! We’re being sent to various parts of this Equestria to find ponies that we’re close to in our Equestria, except they’re in this Equestria. If we find all six, they can stop the plunder vines, free the princesses and stop this crazy mess. Right now we’re searching for my counterpart, the Element of Laughter, and I’m near dead-certain who she is.” She panted a bit. “So… this is where you ask us what the real story is, right?”

Wind Whistler tapped the ground and bobbed her head. “Actually, Pinkie Pie, what you say is not out of the realm of possibility. Neigh Ton, Star Swirl the Bearded, Clover the Clever and even our own Twilight Wish have done extensive research into the ‘many worlds’ hypothesis. And considering my life experiences, it would be folly to dismiss your claims out of hoof. Pinkie, who is the mare you’re searching for?”

There was silence among the six for a moment. Octavia finally let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank Cadance! This one should be…” Her voice trailed off before she shook her head. “No, better not to tempt fate.”

Pinkie Pie jumped into the air and bounced around. “Oh, this is great!” She stopped in midair and looked to Wind Whistler. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Surprise is, would you? Where I come from, she’s… a relative of mine.”

Wind Whistler’s head darted about, her body following. “I believe the last time I saw her, she was at the bakery. There is some confusion about whether she is trying to throw a party for it opening, Twilight Wish’s birthday, or some odd combination of the two. I shall lead you there.”

Spike took a step forward. “Thanks, Wind Whistler. Just--” He stopped in mid-gait as his legs wobbled and stomach growled. He blushed and looked to the inn. “Maybe it’s all right if I go get something for us to eat and get us some rooms at the inn?’

Auntie’s stomach also growled. She blushed and bowed her head slightly. “Perhaps it would be best for some of us to go to the inn. Crowding around Surprise might spook her a bit.” She looked back at her saddlebags. “Now, we do have some of the local currency for payment. Hopefully it should be enough.”

Wind Whistler waved her off. “Renumeration is not necessary. Although would you be willing to do some small tasks around the village? It would not be anything dangerous.”

Rainbow Dash jumped into the air. She spun around until she spotted some clouds hanging over fields of crops. “Hey, you need help with weather-control? I’m one of the best in all Equestria! Well, my Equestria.”

Spike piped up. “My Equestria too, Dash!”

The others all spoke affirmations. Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head and blushed. “Hey, thanks. I guess along with Dinky and Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash being awesome is a multiversal constant!”

Wind Whistler cocked an eyebrow. “I suppose. Anyway, if you are so inclined, several of the pegasi are over in the fields, performing climate-control. Please report to Firefly when you arrive.” She looked to Pinkie Pie, then the others. “Will anyone else be accompanying Pinkie and myself to the bakery?”

Octavia walked up to Pinkie Pie’s flank. “I will.” She looked to Pinkie Pie. “If you’ll have me.”

Pinkie Pie wrapped her forelegs around Octavia’s neck and squeezed, turning her face from gray to dark-purple. “Oh, thank you thank you! This’ll be super-great!”

Octavia gagged and squirmed. “Pinkie… air… Pageturner?”

Pinkie Pie let go. She spun around and leaned her head back. Her phone emerged from her hair. “Spike, here’s my phone. I’ve got a lot of movies and songs and other stuff saved on it.”

Spike’s horn lit up and the phone gently floated over to hover in front of his face. He looked past it at Pinkie Pie. “Wait, you’ve got movies and songs on this thing?” He squinted his eyes and looked at the screen. “What are these icons?” He looked to his right and Pinkie was suddenly there, startling Spike and sending him cantering to the side. “Pinkie, don’t do that!”

Pinkie blushed slightly. “Sorry, Spike. I just wanted to show you how to use my phone. The screen’s touch-sensitive, and they made it so it’ll detect a unicorn’s magic or the pressure of a hoof.” She rubbed her chin. “Hmm, how’s about you push the round circle? That turns on the camera.”

Spike looked back to the screen. He focused on it with his telekinesis, and the screen changed from an image of Pinkie Pie and some stallion with a sandwich cutie mark to an image of Auntie, standing right in front of him. He let out a small gasp. “This thing’s actually a camera, too! A phone and a camera!”

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. “Well, duh! I told you that!”

Spike chuckled. “Yeah, sorry about that. It’s just insane. Hay, we don’t even have ‘phones’ in my Equestria.” He clicked on another icon. “Hmm, contrast, bright levels, auto-focus, and it saves the pictures? My version of Twilight Sparkle would kill for something like this!” He looked up. “Auntie, smile!”

Auntie brushed her mane back, then crossed one foreleg in front of the other. She smiled at Spike. “I’m ready for my close-up, Spike.”

It took a second, but Spike managed to snap a few pictures of Auntie. After some experimenting, he flipped the phone around and showed them to Auntie. “What do you think?”

Auntie leaned forward and narrowed her eyes. “Quite nice, Spike!” She looked to her left at Pinkie Pie, but she was gone. “Pinkie?”

Spike pointed a hoof past Auntie. She turned around and spotted Pinkie Pie and Octavia following Wind Whistler. “I think she’ll be all right.” He turned in the direction of the inn and started walking towards it, Ditzy and Auntie following.

Rainbow Dash flew over to them. “I’ll be back in an an hour or so. Just gonna go help Mo-Firefly out for a bit.” She groaned and slapped her forehead. “Dang it, why is this so hard?”

Auntie spoke up. “Dash, will you be all right there? Celestia knows I can empathize with you on how strange it can be interacting with someone who’s close to you, but isn’t the same person.” She looked at the other two standing around her. “We all know that feeling.”

Rainbow Dash slowly lowered herself to the ground. “Thanks, Auntie. It’s just… I mean in my reality she’s my mother who married Cyclone Bolt and lives in Cloudsdale. But in Pinkie Pie’s reality she’s my distant ancestor, has been dead for fifteen centuries, founded Cloudsdale itself and she married some stallion who looks like he ingested a whole keg of performance-enhancing drugs!”

Spike bit his lip, but laughter still escaped. “So glad I’m not the only one who saw that.” He focused on Pinkie Pie’s phone once more. His tongue stuck out of the edge of his mouth for a moment before he flipped the phone around and showed the screen to Rainbow Dash. On it was a static image of Firefly. His magic reached out, pressed the ‘play’ icon on the screen, and the image came to life.

“This on, Megan? Okay, thanks! Hi, I’m Firefly! I’m the fastest and most-daring flier in all of Ponyland! No one’s got speed on me, or moves! The Sky Clans of the Peak think they’re the best fliers? They haven’t seen me!” The small piece of video ended, showing Firefly in the air and punching the sky with a wing.

Rainbow Dash slowly smiled at the small image. “I guess some things really do stay the same. Thanks, Spike.” She leaped into the air and flew off, wind whipping behind her.

Spike turned back and resumed walking to the inn. Most of his focus was on Pinkie Pie’s smart phone as he experimented with various other icons. He let out a small gasp. “If I’m reading this right, Pinkie’s got over ten thousand songs on this thing!”

They entered the inn. Inside was an earth pony stallion at a desk with the cutie mark of a steam train. He looked up as they entered. “Howdy! Name’s Steamer. Good to see you folks again.”

Spike half-smiled. “Right, I remember seeing you swatting plunder vines with a shovel at the valley. Thanks for the rescue.” He looked around. “Wind Whistler told us we could stay here in exchange for chores or help around the village.”

Steamer nodded. “That’d be mighty helpful of you.” he pointed down a hallway, at a set of double-doors at the end. “If you three set one of the tables in the dining room, I’ll whip us up a nice dinner. May not be the fanciest thing ever, but it’ll fill your bellies.”

Auntie curtsied to him. “We’re quite grateful, Mister Steamer.” She led the others down the hall and into the dining room. Inside were several dozen tables, all with their chairs placed upside-down on top of them. Although not dusty, the room nevertheless had an air of disuse about it. Auntie’s nose wrinkled. “I guess they really don’t get much visitors.”

Ditzy fluttered over to one of the tables and started placing the chairs back on the ground. She looked over to Spike, his head down as he stared at the phone. “Spike? Equestria to Spike?”

Spike’s head shot up. “Sorry, Ditzy. Sorry, Auntie. Got distracted by something I noticed on the list of songs.” He turned the phone around so the two could see the screen. “Each song has either an ‘H’ or ‘E’ next to it. I’m not sure what those mean.”

Auntie ducked through a side door, emerging a minute later and pushing a cart stacked with dishes, cups and silverware. “Well, I’m certain you could pick any one of them, and at least it’d be energetic.” She looked to the dishes, then the table. “Spike?”

Spike blushed slightly. The plates, floated up and over to the table, followed by the cups, and finally the silverware. “Sorry about that.” He shrugged. “Okay, there’s a ‘random’ icon here. I’ll just tap that and we’ll listen to the songs.” He floated the phone over to a stand, gently placed it on it and leaned it against the wall. He set the volume to ‘maximum’ and hit ‘play’.

An infectious beat started up, sending everyone's hooves tapping. Ditzy’s head bobbed up and down, along with the rest of her body. “Okay, this is definitely a song my Pinkie or any Pinkie would listen to!”

Auntie and Spike also bobbed along to the beat. “I’ll give this to Pinkie, she knows how to pick music!” Auntie said, twirling about on her hooves. “Oh, if only Mosley was here to join in!”

Spike half-smiled as his own thoughts turned to a certain purple-maned unicorn. “I know what you mean, Auntie.”


Pinkie Pie and Octavia followed Wind Whistler down a street and up to a two-story building near the center of the village. A muffin-shaped sign swung from an awning, and a small crowd had gathered outside the front door. Pinkie Pie sniffed the air, and a small bit of drool escaped from her mouth. “Ooh, that’s some good baking they got going on inside there.”

Octavia lightly sniffed the air. “Oh, my!” She patted her stomach and looked over to Pinkie. “Well, I suppose my diet could permit me some… slight indulgence.”

Wind Whistler led them to the storefront and all three peered through it. Inside, Surprise flew about, hanging banners up in one place, then pulling them down in another. As she went about, her expression grew darker and darker. Twilight Wish cantered about on the floor, her head back as she looked up at Surprise.

Pinkie Pie’s expression fell, along with her mane. “That’s not how you do a store opening and birthday party!” she tested the door handle. “Locked!”

Octavia nodded. “I am in full agreement, Pinkie. We must--” She suddenly looked to her right as Pinkie was gone. Movement inside caught Octavia’s attention. She groaned as she spotted Pinkie Pie inside. “Of course.”

Wind Whistler arched an eyebrow. “Fascinating. I was under the impression only Surprise was capable of such circumstance-based reality warping.”

Octavia slapped her forehead and dragged the hoof down her muzzle. “By Cadance, there’s two of them?”


Surprise growled as she flew about the ceiling. “No no no! Why can’t I get this right? The banner’s not hanging at the correct angle!” She suddenly dove down to a table with a three-tiered cake on it. “Oh, horse apples! The frosting is supposed to be ivory-white, not light-white!” She threw her hooves into the air and spun about. “Can anything actually go right for this?”

“Oh, I don’t know. The banners look fine where they are, and everyone will be too busy eating the cake to notice the slightly off-color frosting.”

Surprise dropped down to Pinkie Pie’s level and stared at her. “But they might, and probably will! This has to be perfect, or else the others won’t enjoy themselves!”

Twilight Wish blinked. “Hey, how’d you get inside? I thought the front door was locked!”

Pinkie Pie turned to her and nodded. “Yes, it was.” She then looked up at Surprise. “Okay, I think you’re focusing a bit too much on details and not enough on everyone having a super-stupendous time with all their friends and family.”

Surprise threw her forelegs into the air. “No, everything has to be perfect, and I know perfect parties! If I don’t get it perfect, then all those teeny-tiny details and wrongs will add up, and the guests will get mad, and everything I’ve done will be for nothing! No one will be happy, no one will be dancing or singing or making cute small talk. And there won’t be any laughter or happiness, and then we’ll all get depressed and the plunder vines will get through!” She flew forward, pushing Pinkie Pie back until her backside was up against a wall. Her expression flashed from anger to sorrow before going back to rage. “And it’ll be all my fault, because the cake frosting was the wrong color!”

Pinkie Pie’s darted back and forth. She swallowed and let out a nervous chuckle. “Hehe, I see… kinda. Well, sorta.” She suddenly blinked and gasped. “Oh, by the Herd, this is how others--”

Surprise pushed off towards the door. “I need to clear my head!” She burst out of the bakery and flew off, shouting, “party’s cancelled!” over her shoulder.

Twilight Wish slowly approached Pinkie Pie. “Are you all right?”

Octavia and Wind Whistler entered the bakery and trotted right over to Pinkie Pie. Octavia began to speak, but stopped as she saw her friend’s expression and posture. She dropped down to her belly and, slowly, gently, nuzzled Pinkie Pie’s cheeks. “Pinkie, what is it? We heard some shouting inside, then Surprise burst out.”

Pinkie Pie let out a breath. “I’m okay, I think. Thanks, Octavia.” She slowly rose to her hooves and dusted herself off. “Can we go to the inn, please? I’ve got some stuff to think about with my substitute thinking cap, and I might need some advice.”

Octavia half-smiled and wrapped a foreleg around Pinkie Pie’s shoulder. “We’ll get to thinking on this, Pinkie. And we’ll get to making it right.”