“Killjoy.”

*ears perk up*

Aria paused. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get them back.” She turned and shot a glare at Midnight. “And I pity the fool who gets in my way.”

Aria has been brainwashed into thinking she's Mr. T. This world's ruling class are somehow more vicious than the Twive mind!

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Oh god, what am I gonna have to deal with once you pass it off to me?

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Chaos.

The plot, it thickens.

Chapter 15 - DrakeyC

Twilight stepped back as the armored Sunset approached her. The Sunset stopped and looked at her carefully. “You have a Midnight Sparkle?”

“Uh...Yes?” Twilight nodded.

“Good.” The Sunset smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “But, I’m going to have to ask you to prove it. Is Middy in there now?”

“Middy?” Midnight choked out, glaring. She raised their hand and summoned an aura of pale blue magic.

“Excellent.” Sunset clapped her hands. “Bravo, well done Sirens. I told them to keep an eye out for a Twilight who could help me, but this is better than I expected from them.”

“Daybreaker.” The armored Sunset turned. Another Sunset in an identical suit of armor stepped out onto the balcony with an unconscious Sunset over her shoulder. Twilight recognized the bushy afro.

“I’ll take it from here. You make sure the others are secure. And do something about the Twilight.”

The other Sunset set the Sunset with the afro down, saluted, and turned to run off.

“Well, let’s get this party started.” The Sunset apparently called Daybreaker snapped her fingers. A wet cloth appeared over Sunset’s face and wrung itself out. Sunset sputtered and coughed, blinking awake.

“What?” Sunset looked up at Daybreaker and grimaced. “Please tell me you’re friendly.”

“Depends on how many tequilas you buy me.” Daybreaker grinned and held up a hand. “Have a seat.” She snapped her fingers again.

Suddenly they were sitting in plush wingback chairs, a round table between the three of them. Twilight leaned on the arm of the chair and held her head. She tasted copper. “How are you doing that?” she asked.

“My mentor taught me a few things.”

Sunset looked at her. “Princess Celestia?”

Daybreaker burst out laughing. “Not quite.”

“That other Sunset called you ‘Daybreaker’,” Twilight noted.

“Yup. My mentor gave me that name. Said a friend of his used it once and he liked the sound of it.”

“Enough with this. What do you want?” Midnight snapped.

Daybreaker smiled. “I want your help. I took a few hostages to get you to stay a while and listen.” She looked at Sunset and snorted. “Though I do find it more than a little funny that they bump into you in the company of a Midnight Sparkle.”

“Ha ha, yeah, hilarious,” Sunset muttered. “Why are they working for you?”

“I made an arrangement with them.” Daybreaker shrugged. “But that’s their business. Our business is something else.” She clasped her hands together and leaned forward. “I need you two to perform a very specific task for me.”

Sunset looked at Daybreaker with new suspicion. “What ‘task’ exactly?”

“I need you to kidnap a Twilight for me.”

Twilight squeaked.

Daybreaker scoffed and waved a hand. “Oh, not you! I think that’d be a little redundant at this point anyway.”

“Then who?” Sunset asked.

“My Twilight.” Daybreaker sat back. “I told the Sirens to keep an eye on any Twilights they find that might be able to help me, and they got me a Midnight Sparkle. I dunno about you two, but I feel like I just pulled a golden ticket.”

“What do you need me for?” Midnight asked.

“Hang on.” Sunset held up a hand. “You want us to kidnap your Twilight. Why?”

Daybreaker pursed her lip in thought. She looked at Twilight. “Middy, Sparky, you two share control now, right?”

“We do,” Twilight said.

“Good.” Daybreaker held her hand up, fingers poised as if to snap. “Because I really don’t wanna have to use this. But I will if you start getting uppity.”

“Bite me,” Midnight growled.

“You wish.” Daybreaker leaned forward, her joking demeanor fading. “Now, listen very, very carefully.”

Sunset and Twilight nodded.

“My Twilight is something far worse than the normal Twilights you find. And you two — you three, whatever — are going to help me rein her in before she does something multiple versions of us will regret.”

“Like what?” Sunset asked.

“Like say, turn that Twilight against you and convince her to abandon you.”

“I would not!” Twilight cut in before Sunset could. She paused for a moment and shook her head. “I wouldn’t abandon her. She’s a… friend.”

“I thought the same thing about my Twilight, once. I was wrong.” Daybreaker sat back. “We used to be like you guys. No joke intended. Voyagers. We spent years exploring the multiverse; young, adventurous, and in love. You could write a cheesy romance novel about the adventures we had.”

She gave a soft smile. “And of course we met other Twilights and Sunsets. All so similar and so different. We enjoyed it, it was fun seeing what our other selves were like. My Twilight began to catalog them, she came up with dimensional designations to differentiate them.”

Twilight nodded, ignoring a mental groan from Midnight.

“She called us the Prime ones, because we were the baseline she would measure the others against. I was Sunset Shimmer Prime, dimensional designation AAA-1.” Her expression clouded. “That filing system quickly became too limited. Too many Sunsets, too many Twilights…” She trailed off.

Daybreaker’s expression twisted to something between sadness and disgust. .

“What happened?” Sunset asked.

Daybreaker sighed. “She became obsessed. She cataloged everyone, everything. Every Rainbow Dash, every Applejack, every Celestia and Luna. Every Ponyville, Canterlot, Crystal Empire.

“Patterns emerged. We settled down and she poured over her data for days without rest. I would come in her lab in the mornings and find the floor covered in charts. She told me she was onto something. She tried to explain it to me and showed me her findings. I didn’t understand it until I took my own time to read them, but by then it was too late.”

Daybreaker spread her hands. Like projections, light shone about her, orbs showing dozens of Twilights and Sunsets interacting. She breathed deeply.

“Universal Constants.”

While the words were familiar, something about the way she said them made Twilight shiver.

“A fancy term. Really it just means that across a multiverse of infinitely chaotic possibilities, there are certainties. In fields of random data points, you can find some that are immutable… except, that’s not right, is it? How can one thing be set and others not? If there is a pattern, it is likely to be absolute. You just have to look deeper.”

Twilight swallowed heavily. Her Twilight looked deeper. “What did she see?”

“Get enough points of fixed data and you can graph a line. Graph a line and you can form equations. Form equations with reliable constants and you can solve the variables. One by one the unknowns become the knowns. Suddenly everything is a universal constant on a fundamental level. Everything is predictable, everything can be predefined. And when you have that reality staring you in the face, there is only one logical conclusion.” Daybreaker looked at Twilight evenly. She drew her hands in and the images around her vanished, and she held up her hand with fingers poised.

“My Twilight abstracted the multiverse down to its most basic reference point. She discovered the mathematical formula for destiny.”

“That’s impossible,” Sunset blurted instantly.

“I know. But she did it.” Daybreaker shook her head and shrugged. “She vanished one night when I was asleep. I looked over her notes and began to piece together what she had discovered. And when I read her diary and realized what had been going on inside her head… that was when my mentor found me. And we went into hiding.”

Daybreaker fell silent.

Twilight looked over at Sunset but her expression was unreadable, her eyes staring at nothing . Twilight turned her attention back to Daybreaker. “What happened to her?”

Daybreaker snapped her eyes up in a dark, knowing look. And Twilight knew the answer before she gave it.

“You’ve met her.”

“Lady Sparkle,” Midnight spat.

“In the Laboratory, with a Transdimensional Portal Talisman." Daybreaker chuckled. There was no humor in it.

“What does she want?” Twilight whispered.

“Freedom. To disprove the very thing she discovered, the equation that tells her that her life is not her own. Our bond, the universal constant of Sunsets and Twilights, is the keystone of her theorem. Remove either of them and the equation becomes false.” Daybreaker scowled. “She thinks that the only way for a Twilight to be free from her Sunset, or vice-versa, is to permanently separate them. Split them apart and suddenly fate leaves the building. It’s absurd, but that’s how she thinks. She’s a bit crazy, I’m sure you noticed.”

Sunsets bring trouble. Sunsets bring chaos. Nightingales do not flock with skylarks.

“She was going to kill me,” Sunset croaked.

“Really? Even for her that’s a bit much. Did you steal her Smarty Pants or something?” Daybreaker snorted. “Usually she charms Sunsets with an personalized banishment spell. Keeps them from coming too close to a Twilight. Think of it like a heavy duty restraining order. With a transdimensional taser duct taped to the fine print.”

Midnight nodded. “And she wants to do that to every single Sunset and Twilight she can find.”

“Bingo.” Daybreaker nodded. “Get it now? Between me and her, the fate of unknown thousands of Twilights and Sunsets hangs in the balance. But it’s a cold war. As long as I exist, she is bound by the equation, and I can't risk that changing. I’ve tried to fight back without directly confronting her, I rounded up as many of her exiled Sunsets as I can to help. It hasn’t worked well, her Twilights outnumber us by too much.”

Daybreaker smiled brightly. “But now things are different. You have a Midnight Sparkle, an active Midnight Sparkle. That changes everything.”

“Why?” Midnight asked.

“Twilight Sparkles are inherently logical, rational beings. Knowing what my Twilight knows, most of them would ally with her. But Midnight Sparkles are a different story. They’re more emotional, selfish, defiant. Horny, even.”

Midnight gave Sunset a wolfish grin and waggled her eyebrows. Sunset squirmed in her seat and avoided eye contact. Twilight wanted to find a hole and hide for the next few centuries.

“Midnight Sparkles are more inclined to keep their Sunsets close than your average Twilight is. The only catch is that it’s incredibly difficult to find one that’s active. Most Twilights with Midnight Sparkles suppress them, and the ones that can't tend to draw too much attention and get themselves killed or imprisoned.” Daybreaker looked Twilight over. “Whatever you two are doing, it’s different, and it’s the first time I’ve seen it. I’d prefer a dominant Midnight, but half-and-half is better than none at all. It’s a gamble I’m willing to take.”

“If you want me to be dominant, you just have to ask,” Midnight whispered.

“Stop that!” Twilight said immediately after, blushing furiously.

Daybreaker snickered. “So, that’s my offer. Come with me to meet my mentor and hear us out on what to do about my Twilight…” she held up her hand, the TPT floating over her palm, “and I’ll fix your TPT and free your friends you made in this universe. Deal?”

Sunset leaned in her chair to look at Twilight. “Are you okay?”

Twilight hesitated for several seconds, and then nodded. “I… I will be. This is hardly the first shocking revelation I’ve taken in in the past… I don’t even know how long.”

“I’m here to keep her in check, too,” Midnight said. She looked at Daybreaker. “You have a deal.”

“Goodie.” Daybreaker stood up and stretched. “Now I can introduce you to the boss. Good thing too, you need to get out of this dimension anyway."

Twilight frowned as she and Sunset stood up. “Why?”

Daybreaker jerked her thumb at the door. “Because this dimension’s Twilight works for her.”

“What?” Midnight gasped.

“Lucky for you I was able to track Aria across the dimensions and intervene before she could contact them.” Daybreaker put a finger to her mouth to wet it and then drew it down in the air. A glowing purple slit appeared in the air and she pulled it open to reveal a portal. “After you.” She stepped aside and gestured her arms to the portal.

Twilight looked at Sunset as the two stood. “I can do this,” she whispered.

Sunset nodded. “I’m sorry, Twilight. I didn’t know about any of this...”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I promise, once we help her, we’ll get you home.”

“What about you?”

“I’m not worried about myself right now.”

Twilight looked down at Sunset’s hand sliding into hers. She raised an eyebrow, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she just nodded.

The two stepped into the portal together.

The portal closed and Sunset fell onto cold black and white tile, Twilight landing beside her. She winced and looked around, noticing she was a pony in this world. She frowned when she saw her mane, now tied in a long pair of pigtails that almost hung to her hooves. Daybreaker, also a pony, walked out beside her.

“Boss! They said yes!”

“Wonderful! Oh my darling little Daybreaker, I knew I could count on you!”

Sunset slowly looked up at the being smirking at her, applauding wildly.

Discord.

I have more questions than answers right now. I feel like that was on purpose.

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We're only halfway through this shindig, I can't wrap up everything so early by myself.

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And so, in a roundabout way, we get to what Adagio promised when the sirens met up with Sunset and Twilight. We also get quite the motive for Lady Twilight. And the master of mayhem himself has gotten involved. Oh, this will be fun...

Just one thing:

“Uh...Yes?” Twilight nodded, her ears going flat.

So... is Twilight ponied up at this point or what?

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Dammit Novel! That was his revision, guess he forgot they were human

When she brought up her mentor and used a male pronoun, for whatever reason my mind jumped immediately to Discord. I'm not sure whether to be amused or terrified that I guessed correctly.

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This went better than expected! Lots of things for me to work with here, so I'm happy. Great job, and thanks!

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Great to hear!

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Well, I hope her behavior hinted at it too. Discord has been a bad influence on her.

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That is entirely my fault. I was helping pre-read, gave a suggestion and I've been writing too much pony.

Oh, yes, such a delicious twist.

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Twilight hesitated for several seconds, and then nodded. “I… I will be. This is hardly the first shocking revelation I’ve taken in in the past… I don’t even know how long.”

“I’m here to keep her in check, too,” Midnight said. She looked at Daybreaker. “You have a deal.”

Midnight will keep Twilight in check?

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This make a lot of sense! Someone who discovers the orderly equation of destiny that dictates and order of the multiverse wouldn aturally be opposed by an agent of chaos like discord!

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I feel bad for all the midnight sparkles that were imprisoned or killed :'(

6326132

Oh I'm not complaining, they're all good questions.

Discord.

Sunset knew the proper name for the Chaos Gods was 'draconequus', of course; what self-respecting dimensional traveler didn't know that? But the first one she'd met – the one from her home world, in fact – had called himself Discord, and so the name had stuck with her and remained constant in her mind even when nothing else about the race did. Appearance, motives, personality, and every other trait imaginable; no two Chaos Gods were ever exactly the same.

Granted, their names did repeat quite often – only so many chaos-related synonyms to go around, after all – and she'd met at least three wildly different 'Discords' on her travels already.

The particular specimen currently towering over her with a mirthful smirk on his pony-like face was... massive, to say the least. A whale-like body and tail supported on four pillar-like legs of what appeared to be an elephant and bear in front, badger and duck in back, tapering into a serpentine upper body with the right arm of a human – no, the digits were wrong and it was covered in coarse brown fur; a monkey – and left of something black and chitinous and insectoid with three rigid-looking hooked claws at the end of it. His head was fairly normal in comparison, gray-skinned with a curled ram's horn growing from the left and some kind of colorful fish fin from the right.

He flicked a long, forked tongue in eager anticipation, and stared down at Sunset with cat's eyes. “Well!” he said in a slick, oily voice. “Well, well, well. I imagine our two guests must be filled to the brim with questions for one as illustrious as myself. Well?” he looked at Sunset expectantly, beckoning for her and Twilight to stand up. “Get on with it! The sooner we get through this, the sooner we can talk about what you're actually here for.”

“I... I-I..,” Sunset heard Twilight try to say. She looked over to see her on her knees, legs splayed, slack-jawed and wide-eyed, raising a single trembling hand as though she were in some kind of classroom.

Guess she's never seen one of them before, Sunset thought to herself, staring more at her current companion and frowning as a thought occurred to her.

Wait, something's wrong with this picture...

Twilight's hand curled into a single finger thrust straight at 'Discord', and her sputtered words changed shape as well. “Wh... wh... who are you? What are you?”

His grin widened. “Well! I,” he drew himself up to his full height and rested a loving claw on his scaly chest, and only then did Sunset realize just how impossibly huge the room they were in was, filled with marble pillars stretching up to a ceiling she couldn't see and stained glass walls that seemed to loom up from the horizon, “am Discord, the One and Only.”

And then suddenly his neck-body was arcing down towards Sunset in a curving spiral until his head was level with her and he gave her the one of the cheekiest winks she'd ever seen, saying, “Accept no substitutes!”

“Wha... that...” she heard Twilight try to stammer and Sunset looked her way just in time to see her grit her teeth, the spectral spectacles blazing around her eyes. “That answers who you are,” Midnight said, “but not what you are.” The demand in her voice went unspoken.

She was rewarded with her previously-outstretched finger becoming Discord's neck and head, bending back towards her with a smile on his face. “Why, I'm your friendly neighborhood Spirit of Chaos, of course!”

“Gah!” Midnight cried, wildly shaking her finger – Discord dissipated from it with a puff of flower petals, leaving an unharmed digit behind. Midnight regarded it with a blank face once she realized it was back to normal, then turned a scowl back towards Discord.

Sunset registered a faint snickering from next to her, and turned her head to see Daybreaker – still wearing her armor, she noted – with a hoof to her muzzle.

“I hope that answers your question?” Discord asked, now somehow behind Midnight – or had she been the one to move? – and craning his neck over her.

She growled at him and finally stood up on two legs, and that's when it finally clicked for Sunset.

“Wait, why is only she a human?” she asked, baffled.

She heard Daybreaker snicker again, and turned her head. “Took you long enough,” she told Sunset with an infuriating smirk.

“That is strange,” Twilight remarked, brow furrowed as she looked at both Sunsets. “Every world before now we've always been the same species. I thought that was just how it worked.”

Discord snorted, and popped himself behind Sunset. “Well, rules are meant to be broken, isn't that right my little thief?” he said, reaching down and tussling her pigtails to her annoyance. And then he was gone, or rather he was a pattern in the floor tiles – a mosaic of color in a sea of black and white. “In this world, everyone simply is what they are, or rather, what they were born as. Quite the refreshing change of pace, is it not?”

“Makes just as much sense as everything else that's happened today,” Twilight replied, deadpan.

“And isn't that just grand?” Discord said, rising out of the tilework entirely though still keeping his mosaic appearance.

“No,” Sunset said, also deadpan.

Discord pouted. “Well, no matter.” He blew into his monkey-thumb, inflating himself back to his original size and texture. “Any other questions? I happen to know quite a lot of interesting secrets, you know.”

“As interesting as that sounds,” Midnight said, practically hissing as she crossed her arms and glared up at the titan, “I'd prefer to know what you want with me so I can get it over with and go back to doing what I want to do.”

“Oh, well that's simple,” Discord answered, resting his head in his monkey's paw and his elbow on his other arm. His upper body shortened, or perhaps retracted, as he bent down to look more closely at her, and after a moment of appraisal he said “Very simple, I think. The name of the game, as I'm certain my darling little student has told you-” his paw suddenly detached itself and reappeared patting Daybreaker on the head- “is Capture the Twilight. And you, my little shadow archetype, are the only one both resistant to that aggravating alicorn's mental prowess and powerful enough to pull it off.”

It was at that point that Sunset realized that Discord's face and voice had morphed into Midnight's, and unnervingly she couldn't recall exactly when it had happened. Midnight seemed just as unnerved, but only for a moment; a smirk appeared on her lips shortly after, and she said “Good to hear. Unfortunately, I know from experience that even if I can overpower her I can't do that and take care of her groupies at the same time.”

“Well, only two ways around that,” Discord replied, visage back to normal and long upper body craning around both sides of Midnight at the same time.

“Either get on her good side and stab her in the back when she's alone,” said the Discord on Midnight's left.

“Or set up a distraction to lure her little sheep away,” said the Discord on Midnight's right. “It's your choice.”

Then both Discords were gone, and then Discord was under Midnight, rising up with her on his head. Mid – no, Twilight – yelped in fear, and Sunset glared at Daybreaker when she snickered again.

“Luckily, we have plenty of time to work out the-” he stopped abruptly and his whole body suddenly spasmed, bending and twisting at painful-looking angles- “kinks in the plan.” He snapped his fingers, and suddenly Twilight was standing next to Sunset, and Discord was in front of them.

“Well then!” he said, his tone and expression suddenly jolly. “Was that satisfactory, Miss Sparkle? Care to sort out the finer details with me? Perhaps over some nice tea?” He pulled off his ram's horn and used it to pour tea into a porcelain cup he'd produced from nothing. He offered it to Twilight, who stared into the liquid as wide as her head and grimaced.

“Umm...,” Twilight said, biting her lip uncertainly.

She'll say yes, Sunset thought. I know she will. How couldn't she? She's a Twilight. Besides, it's not like Midnight seems interested in stopping her from rushing recklessly into battle against an incredibly powerful foe that honestly isn't her responsibility to do anything about.

That's... pretty much what Twilights always end up doing. Even...

Sunset looked up; she knew Twilight – the one she was with now – had said something to Discord, was looking up at him with a resolute expression, but she couldn't work out what. All she could think about was her Twilight, what had happened back then, where she could possibly be now...

The realization struck her like lightning, and she silently cursed herself for not recalling Adagio's words sooner – clearly, Sunset was getting soft. She glanced at the Talisman hanging around Daybreaker's neck, and felt a fire reignite inside herself.

“Hey!” Sunset barked, striding forward without fear, her gaze locked on Discord. He looked back at her with an amused expression. “I just remembered! You know where my Twilight is, don't you?”

Discord grinned, and shared a look with his equally-grinning disciple. “You really aren't very quick, are you?” Daybreaker said.

Sunset glared daggers at her. “Whatever. Just take me to her, and I promise I'll do whatever it is you want.”

“Ooh, I've been waiting for this part,” Discord said with a quick and giddy clap. “And since you've been so generous as to pay up front, I think I'll take you there right away!”

He raised his paw, and snapped his fingers.

Sunset found herself – as well as Daybreaker, Midnight, and Discord – on top of a grassy hill. It was almost stereotypically scenic; cool wind, cloudless blue sky, mountains in the distance, and hints of a village in a valley to her right. Even the quaint little cottage standing in front of her, although the satellite dish sticking out of the roof was a little jarring.

At least she had a killer mohawk now, if her brief feel-around of the top of her head was any indication. Plus Midnight was a pony again.

“Oh, Twily-poo!” Discord leaned forward and practically sang at the front door. “Guess who's here to see you!”

It wasn't even a second before a unicorn appeared in front of them in the telltale puff of teleportation residue. She looked up at Discord with excitement on her muzzle, saying “Boss! It's-”

She was exactly as Sunset remembered her, from the notch in her left ear to the mane cut short so it wouldn't get caught when they were on the run. Even the angry glare she leveled when she caught sight of Sunset was familiar, as was the bitterness in her voice as she spat out, “You.”

In that moment, Twilight was all that mattered to Sunset. She didn't notice the looks that Daybreaker and Midnight were giving her, nor Discord's smile. Just the mare in front of her, the hair rising on the back of her neck, and the fire raging inside her.

“Yeah. Me,” she spat back, taking a step forward. “You've got a lot to answer for, Twilight!”

Twilight let out a short, bitter laugh. “Oh please! Don't act like you're the innocent victim here! My brother had to seal himself away because of you!”

The rage in her eyes and the pain of the memories it drug up were enough to stop Sunset cold, but the words she heard next were enough to stop time entirely.

“Twily? What's wrong?”

Five pairs of eyes whipped as one to the cottage doorway as it opened, revealing another Sunset with her mane tied back tight and an apron that read 'Cooking with Sunny' on the front. She fell silent, staring dumbfounded at the party assembled on her doorstep.

Discord was the one who spoke first, and Sunset could hear him smiling. “Well! If it isn't a double dose of universal reunions! I never would have guessed."

"Wait, really?" Daybreaker said, because Sunset was too confused to do so herself.

"Yes indeedily!" Discord replied, practically giddy. "Two thieves from one universe," he said, swirling around Sunset and her Twilight before changing course to circle around the other pair. "And two ex-humans from the other!"

Sunset looked at Midnight and the other Sunset, who were now staring at one another in open-mouthed shock.

"What."

Oh, so THAT'S what happened to Sunset's human counterpart in that particular universe. Good to know.

6327934
Oh, I've been waiting for this moment for so long, but Fang gave us a MAJOR TWIST with it! Not only do we finally get to meet Our Sunny's Twi... but THAT Twi is currently with another Sunset.

...who just happens to be the human Sunset from SciTwi's world.

I'm totally geeking out.

Also, major props for Fang's Discord work. Seriously. The visuals? Totally wild and totally in character for Discord.

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Thanks, once more! Discord is one of my favorite characters to write, so getting the chance to go a little wild with him was exciting - and hearing I did a good job writing him was exciting as well!

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Hey, twists have been the name of the game! How could I not add one of my own? Originally I was just gonna get up to finally revealing Sunset's Twilight, but I saw the chance to go a bit further in an interesting way and I took it.

6327934
Major points for a draconequus design so different from the canon one. They're avatars of chaos. Why would they have a consistent look to them?

As for the new developments... Well, Discord's certainly enjoying the havoc, resentment, and confusion on display. Great work all around with the twists and turns, especially the mirrored Sunlight pair at the end of the main Sunset's initial personal quest.

6327934
You get instant points for noting that Discord is wildly different across the multiverse and giving this one his own unique shape. Discord all around was awesome. And once again a great twist!

*reads*

*gets up from computer and takes a walk to contemplate existence*

*returns and reads again*

Welp, makes me wonder what I’ll be handed to do. Great work, Fang!

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I love the discord design! My artist senses are having trouble even visualizing it which is perfect for a spirit of chaos!

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I'm a little confused about the significance of this sunset being from scitwi's world though... i dont think they've even met, and scitwi's world before the events of EQG was just a normal canada/USA expy except with the naming conventions of equestria and everyone being rainbow colored, so Its not like their shared experiences in that world would be particularly unique...

I just don't see what significance this would have for scitwi or that sunset except a "hey, thats a neat coincidence".

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Well, what if this sunset wants to go home? Then scitwi and she would be trying to find the same home dimension

Anyway, I love this entire thing so far its so great!! I can't wait to see what happens next!

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Hm... maybe.

Idk, we only gota brief glimpse, but it seems like this sunset is perfectly content living as this twilight's wife (hence the apron, lol)

Its hilarious that they each seem to be falling in love with their "thief" opposite counterparts. Thats another thing they have in common it seems: they both like bad girls

6329008
Honestly, I mostly did it because I thought the symmetry would be neat, as well as establish just what happened to that iteration of Sunset as far as SLS is concerned. The extent to which she ends up being relevant is, of course, left to Cover Art and everyone else downstream of me.

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Discussions are welcome, but remember, try not to influence future writers! Let them come up with whatever it is they'll come up with :)

First and foremost, you write Discord _magnificently_. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy the description of his new design for this particular universe (and how fitting it is that the God of Chaos has multiple forms across the different universes), but you caught his voice so well I could _hear_ him in my head. Well done, well done indeed.

As for human Sunset... my, my, my. Guess this answers what happened to her, and now I'm _really_ curious about how she met her Twilight. I smell a whole other story there.

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Its interesting that he spent so much time saying he's the ONLY discord "Accept no substitutes". IS it possible he resents the fact that there are many draconeqii doing their thing across the multiverse?

Edit: I say this because maybe he thinks he's being predictable and downright non-discordant by doing the same thing as the others!

This
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Is interesting... I really wish I found out how to participate...

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I did my best to advertise the project all over the place when it went live! Sorry you didn't catch it!

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Ah, it’s fine. Maybe I can participate in the third story. If there is going to be one. I’m hopeing.

Twilight rapped her hooves nervously on the sturdy wooden table. Sitting across from her, looking about as confused and uncomfortable as she felt, was Sunset Shimmer. Her Sunset Shimmer.

“I would have thought your Sunset Shimmer was the preppy one from back home. Or maybe the broody thief.”

As much as Twilight hated to admit it, Midnight did have a point. If she’d been asked a week ago who her Sunset Shimmer was, she probably would have said that one can’t own another person, but since she only knew one Sunset Shimmer, there wasn’t much of a choice. If she’d been asked an hour ago, the answer would have been a little more tricky. Yes, she had known the Sunset Shimmer from back home longer, but she was on a life-altering multiverse adventure with this Sunset Shimmer.

But now…

“Why not all three? I wouldn’t mind having more Sunsets around, and it’s not as if there’s a shortage...”

“Cut it out,” muttered Twilight.

“I’m sorry?”

Realizing she’d spoken aloud, Twilight clapped her hooves over her mouth.

“Nothing!”

The word was little more than a muffled squeak, prompting Sunset to give her an incredulous look.

“How long is this going to take?”

Daybreaker stood by the door, keeping a careful eye on both Twilight and Sunset. Her presence had been a compromise between the other Twilight and Sunset, neither of whom trusted the other enough to put their companions alone in a room together, but whose bickering made any conversation between the two impossible. Now that they were (mostly) alone in the cottage’s rustic kitchen, there was a new problem.

“What do I say to her?”

“I have a few suggestions.”

Twilight didn’t respond.

“Well, why ask if you’re just going to ignore me?”

Sunset Shimmer cleared her throat. “So, this is kind of awkward.”

“Tell me about it,” laughed Twilight. “I thought I was getting used to meeting alternate versions of myself and my friends, but here you are: the Sunset Shimmer from my world.”

Sunset waved a hoof. “Please, just call me Sunny, everyone else does. Besides, it’s going to make this a lot less confusing.”

“Alright, Sunny, how did you meet Twilight—not me, obviously, I mean—”

“Twily,” said Sunny, cutting her off.

“What?” asked Twilight. She could practically hear Daybreaker rolling her eyes.

“Just call her Twily. Sunny and Twily. It’ll make everything—”

“Less confusing,” finished Twilight. “Right.”

“I’m starting to doubt that.”

“Anyway,” Sunny continued, “tell me if this sounds familiar: a lonesome girl shows up on your doorstep with a busted Talismen and a broken heart. She can fix the portal tech, but needs help with the—”

“Underlying magic transfer tech. But how did you…?”

Sunny smiled. “Swap those around and you have the first project Twily and I ever worked on together. Voyagers talk a lot about constants, but parallels are just as common. Twily probably thinks Sunset brought you here as some sort of trick to steal me away from her, but I knew better.” She looked at Twilight suspiciously. “I did know better, right?”

“No.”

“Yes!” Twilight wore her least conspicuous smile, doing her best to ignore Midnight’s cackling in their head. “I mean, you were pretty close; Sunset appeared in my room, not at my doorstep, and she was bleeding and… you know, now that I look back on it, it was actually pretty scary.”

“So, how long have you two been together?”

Twilight gawked at Sunny.

“Travelling together. I know time can get a bit messy, so just give me your best estimate.”

“Right,” said Twilight, feeling the blush creeping its way onto her cheeks. “Well, first we were ponies, then deer, then humans again...” Worlds mashed together as Twilight tried to construct a mental timeline of their adventures. “I did get knocked out for a while in Applejack’s living room, so… a day? Maybe two? It feels like a lot longer.”

Sunny blinked at her. “You went to four worlds in two days?”

“No, of course not!” Twilight did the math in her head. “More like eleven. Twelve if you count my world.”

“Wow,” said Sunny.

“Our world, Sorry.”

“That’s not what I… never mind. Besides, it’s not exactly my world anymore, is it?”

It was Twilight’s turn to look confused. “What do you mean?”

Sunny sighed. “It might only have been two days since you left, Twilight, but for me it’s been closer to two years. I didn’t have any friends or family back there, and the only thing I left behind was my apartment—which I was renting, by the way, so I’m pretty sure I’ve been evicted.”

“Why is she telling us all this?”

“You’re probably wondering why I’m telling you all this.” Twilight bit her lip but said nothing. “The point is, that world is no more mine than you are my Twilight. This is my world, my cottage, and out there is my Twilight, who is probably doing her best not to murder your Sunset while we talk.”

“One of my Sunsets,”quipped Midnight.

“Speaking of which,” said Twilight. “I do have a question to ask you about, you know, them.”

“Here we go,” said Daybreaker, earning her glares from both Twilight and Sunny. “What? Lots of Voyagers break up, most of them don’t air their dirty laundry across the multiverse.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed and she felt herself being pushed back into the recesses of her mind as Midnight asserted her control. “Isn’t your ex currently on an interdimensional quest to break up literally every set of Twilights and Sunsets?”

“Midnight!”

“What? It’s true!”

“She’s got you there,” said Sunny.

“Yeah,” said Daybreak, rubbing her neck with an armored hoof, “she does.”

“See?”

The interruption dealt with, Sunny turned her attention back to Twilight. “What was your question?”

“Just… what happened between them? Sunset said Twilight—sorry, Twily—dumped her on some world that wasn’t hers.”

“Dumped in more ways than one,” muttered Daybreaker, earning her another set of glares. “Okay, shutting up now.”

Sunny looked out the window kitchen window, and for a moment Twilight believed she’d lost herself in the rolling plains. “It’s not my story to tell, but if you’re going to be travelling with her, you deserve to know both sides.” She looked back at Twilight, all mirth from their interaction with Daybreaker drained from her face. “Twily did abandon Sunset, but from the way she tells it, it was more than Sunset deserved.”

Twilight opened her mouth to argue, but Sunny held up a hoof, cutting her off. “I’m not saying she did or didn’t, I’m just telling the story. It’s no secret that neither of them were angels—they were thieves, after all—but Twily held them to certain standards: never steal from their world, only steal from people and ponies who deserved it (whatever that means), and never bring anything back if they weren’t one hundred percent sure it was safe. She fancied herself the multiverse’s equivalent of Robin Hood.”

“Who?” asked Daybreaker.

“I understood,” said Twilight.

“Sunset had, well, let’s call them different standards. Things worked for a while, Sunset put up with Twily’s heroism, and Twily pretended not to know about the room in her castle where Sunset stashed the trinkets she brought back from their adventures. But then something happened.”

“What?”

“Sunset took something she shouldn’t have.”

Twilight gave her a blank look.

“Yeah, I know, they probably shouldn’t have taken most of what they did, but this was different. Whatever it was that she took, there was something inside of it. I tried getting the details out of Twilight—Twily, sorry, now I’m doing it—but she just gets a faraway look in her eyes and says this:

“Monsters can be fought, plagues cured, and curses broken, but what Sunset unleashed on our world was something far, far worse.”

“Pretty vague,” said Midnight. Twilight scolded her mentally.

“Yeah, well, it’s all I’ve got to go on. Besides, Twilight might not be able to describe it any better because she wasn’t actually there to see it.”

“What do you mean?”

“You see, whatever it was, it didn’t emerge until Sunset and Twily were visiting another universe, and without them there… well, let’s just say that castles and cities can be rebuilt. Honestly, when I first heard about the destruction that was caused, I was surprised there weren’t more casualties. In our world, in a disaster like that, they would have numbered in the thousands, but in their world there was only one.”

“Shining Armor,” said Twilight, remembering Twily’s scathing remarks to Sunset.

“Right,” said Sunny. “What they needed was Friendship Magic, but without Twily and Sunset there to help, they had to improvise. I’ve heard it said that Shining Armor has some of the most powerful protection magic in the multiverse, and Twily claims her’s was the best of the best. Using the power of an artifact called The Crystal Heart, Shining Armor did what no one else could, and erected a glowing prison in the sky strong enough to contain the entity. Unfortunately, Shining’s power makes shields, not tombs, meaning he had to be at its center.”

“But if Shining Armor was trapped in there with it, why didn’t it just kill him and escape?” asked Midnight.

“Good question. He put himself into some sort of stasis—invulnerable, but completely unaware of the outside world. He know going in that this was a one way trip, a sacrifice that he made willingly to save countless lives, including those of his wife and child.”

“His child?”

“Now, how is your relationship with your Shining Armor?”

“He’s my brother,” said Twilight. “Sure, he can be a doofus, but I love him more than anything. How couldn’t I?”

“You’d be surprised,” said Sunny, grimly. “Anyway, now imagine that you get home from this adventure and he’s in prison—a prison where you can never see him again. You find out later that your testimony in his trial was all that stood between a conviction and going free. Could you ever forgive Sunset for taking you away?”

“I—”

“I’m not done. Now, imagine that Sunset shows absolutely no remorse for her actions, and that every time you look up into the sky you see a glowing reminder of her guilt—of your guilt—nearly the size of the moon. I ask again: could you ever forgive her?”

Twilight didn’t respond.

“So, Twily and Sunset left their world, Twily dumped Sunset, and the rest is history.” Sunny stood up from the table and approached the door, craning her neck to look back at Twilight. “Twily is healing. It’s slow, and sometimes it causes almost unbearable pain, but she is healing. I’d like to believe that Sunset is healing, too, and that coming here was a way for her to get closure and not some petty plan for revenge, but whatever this is… it has to end.

“It’s been nice meeting you, Twilight.” The corners of her mouth turned up into a barely perceptible smile. “Say goodbye to your world for me.”

The scene outside the cottage was… chaotic.

A pair of enormous earmuffs straddled the cottage, presumably (and inexplicably) soundproofing it against the argument that had been going on outside. But that was only the beginning of the madness.

To her left, Twilight observed a bouncy castle not unlike the one she’d seen at Pinkie Pie’s last birthday party, except there did not appear to be a way in or out. Inside, through the semi translucent walls, she could see the silhouette of Sunset Shimmer (the mohawk was a dead giveaway) who wasn’t bouncing, but whose enraged breathing appeared to be making her bob slowly up and down on the inflated floor.

To Twilight’s right stood a towering statue of a mare—Fluttershy, if Twilight had to guess from the mane—made entirely of wicker. Within its chest, behind what appeared to be a row of prison bars, sat a very disgruntled looking Twily who glowered down at them from above.

Discord, who had been lounging in a massive hammock between two trees that almost certainly hadn't been there earlier, tipped up a pair of dark sunglass and regarded the trio.

“Oh dear, is it time to go already?” They nodded. In a blink of the eye, Discord was no longer in his hammock, and instead was dressed as a police officer, spinning a pair of handcuffs (hoofcuffs?) around a chitinous claw. “Alright, inmates, looks like you’re being bailed out!” He snapped the fingers on his monkey paw, freeing Sunset and Twily for their respective prisons. They stumbled, gave each other hateful looks, but as they turned to face their companions, Discord put a claw on Sunset’s shoulder.

“Now, miss Shimmer, I’ve held up my end of the bargain and I’m ready to receive payment for services rendered.” A bill appeared midair before her, bearing a poorly drawn image of a Lady Sparkle, only with jagged teeth and a pair of overly exaggerated (and angry) eyebrows.

“I get it, we’ll get you your Alicorn, just give us a minute,” said Sunset, crumpling the bill with her magic before turning to address Twilight. “I hope you got what you needed.”

“Did you?”

Sunset gave a lingering look back at Twily, sighed, and nodded.

“This chapter of my life is over. Now, let’s go write a better one.”

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One story ends, another begins...

Well I'm glad someone was able to do something with the chapter. Great chap.

Heh, Wickershy.

Finally a second entry to add to wickerpedia.com

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Excellent work! And an excellent follow-up, too.

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Ooh, thats not at all what I expected! I like it!

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I don't understand the wicker fluttershy thing. Is that a reference to something? Someone please explain :(

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And so it continues.

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It’s in the last chapter update. It goes by really fast though.

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See here. A lot of Internet awareness of wicker men stems from the 2006 Nicolas Cage movie. You ever heard "Not the bees!"? It's from that. (Well, it's actually a cut scene from that, but still.)

People seem to have latched on to wickermare. I may have made a mistake.

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Do you know if the Sliders Discord will still be around after the story ends?

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I have absolutely no idea! Each author decides what happens next on their own!