17 - Workspace
The five of them sat in silence for the longest time. The candlelit library offered them very little light to see with, but none made any attempt to rectify that.
That was until Crystal Faire lit her horn and made several more candles appear. A flurry of sparks ignited their wicks and thus elevated the room beyond its dim hues. She could see, clearly, the various doodles on the chalkboard.
So… she thought, discontinuities… come about when the past is set in stone, but the future… can change. But… that’s just like what I’ve been doing all along. It’s just like…
Twilight swallowed and then, at length, said, “Crystal… there’s something that I don’t understand.”
Crystal hummed.
“The discontinuity… was at the moment we entered that timeline,” Twilight said. “It happened at the moment we interfered.”
After a moment, Crystal nodded. “Yes.”
“And I would guess that sort of discontinuity could happen with any timeline. Maybe it’s been happening just like that all over, every time you went someplace. Except…”
“King Sombra,” Starlight Glimmer said as she shifted in her cushion.
“That point where everything diverged,” Sunset Shimmer, who leaned against one of the tables, added.
Twilight’s entire body shook and yet she managed to climb to her hooves. She turned her gaze to Crystal and, as the color drained from her face, she said, “That moment… when supposedly… you began.”
Chrysalis, who also sat on a nearby cushion, raised an eyebrow. “It’s highly suspect, don’t you think?” she asked in a sing-song tone.
Crystal crossed her forelegs and narrowed her eyes. “The implication is that the reason that existence is broken on a fundamental level… might have something to do with me. Is that right?”
“Well…” Chrysalis said, pulling back.
Crystal shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t know. You could be right.” She buried her face into her hooves and mumbled, “I just can’t believe it…”
Starlight threw her hooves into the air. “Well, it’s not like it does us any good thinking about it. Who knows what happened?”
Twilight eventually nodded. “I think I agree. Let’s just move on. Crystal? What’s next?”
Crystal sighed and stood up “I did some blueprinting, and I think I have an idea of what we’re looking at.”
Twilight nodded. “I see. That’s good news, at least.”
“Do you wish to see it?”
“Of course.”
Crystal lit her horn. A set of papers appeared in the air beside her. She levitated the papers to Twilight who took them and read through the first few pages. She flipped a page, flipped back to examine something more carefully, and then continued on.
Starlight trotted over and read over Twilight’s withers.
Twilight frowned. “This seems like a solid spell. I could see this working. But… uhhh—” she flipped through a few prior pages again and then replaced all of them in order, “—I can foresee a logistical issue.”
Crystal raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
“This spell… This is going to be large.”
Sunset shrugged. “I’m sure we could find space for it somewhere.”
Twilight shook her head. “I’m not so much concerned about the space, although I can say right now that I don’t have confidence that we could fit it in the castle—”
“The foyer, maybe?” Starlight butted in.
Twilight paused. “Hmmm. Maybe. That’s a small issue in itself, but… this will take several days of work, even with all of us.”
“That is an issue,” Crystal muttered as she scratched her head. “We could certainly use some discretion, and that would be difficult here.”
Twilight lit her horn and disappeared in a flash. She reappeared a few seconds later with a scroll in her magic. “I’ve got some royal duties that I can’t afford to put on hold. Actually…” She pressed her face into it and then eventually shook her head. “I’d have to throw out my entire schedule for the next two months just for this!”
“Okay, yeah. Uh, what about another timeline?” Sunset suggested. “If we went there, we could work wherever we want. We wouldn’t have to worry about the passage of time there.”
Twilight giggled. “That’s a great idea!”
Crystal turned her eyes to Sunset and nodded. “I believe you’ve read my mind.”
Sunset chuckled. “You know I can’t do that here.”
Everypony else save Crystal went “Huh?” under their breaths.
“But you’re smart enough to readily make up for it,” Crystal replied. “No doubt from dealing with the Nameless.”
Starlight rolled her eyes and stepped forward. “Uh, so, Crystal… Since we’re moving to some other timeline… Do you have any place in mind?”
Crystal chuckled. Her eyes remained on Sunset. “Well… Now that you mention it, I do. In fact, I know of a mare there—who I think you may recognize from your home timeline, Sunset—who might be willing to help out…”
* * *
Crystal flung the cockatrice with her magical grasp and slammed it into the ground. She watched as the creature repeatedly squawked while it scrambled back into the nearby trees. She stared at the spot where it disappeared into the bush and then she snorted.
She then turned to face the others just as they removed their hooves from their faces. “We’re clear.”
Twilight shivered. “I’ve been turned to stone by one of those before. It’s not exactly an experience that I like to remember.”
Starlight frowned. “I don’t think you’ve ever told me about that one, Twilight,” she said.
Chrysalis chuckled. “Now that is something that I would have liked to have seen.”
A moment passed by. “Maybe we could call that cockatrice back and have it turn Chrysalis into stone…” Starlight mused.
Chrysalis’ eye twitched and she shook her head. “No, thank you.”
Sunset stood facing away from them. Her eyes remained locked on a figure lying on the ground. She took one cautious step forward, and then another.
Crystal hummed and trotted over. She swung around the other side of the figure just as Sunset arrived. The others shuffled over in wonder soon after.
The mare on the ground stirred. Her long and silvery mane complimented her darker complexion and she carried the faint scent of roses. Her eyes shot open and she used her wings to flip herself over. Bits of ephemeral magic coursed through her horn as her eyes darted between the five of them.
“Queen Adamantine of the unponies,” Crystal began with a smirk, “you are looking quite well for one who’s just been petrified by a cockatrice.”
Adamantine clutched at her head. “Good heavens… cockatrice… I remember…” She blinked again and then narrowed her eyes. “Ponies. You…”
Sunset looked as white as a sheet. “Adamantine…” she wheezed.
Adamantine’s gaze shot onto Sunset and she narrowed her eyes even more. “You… how do you know who I am?”
“I am a master of reality,” Crystal explained. “I know just about everything about you. Don’t worry, your secrets are safe with us.”
Twilight and Starlight exchanged confused glances and the former eventually shrugged.
Adamantine rolled over and climbed to her hooves. After taking a moment to dust herself off, she stood at her full height, which placed her almost as tall as Crystal. “Well, I suppose that I should thank you for saving my life. Truly… I do not suspect that you have ill intentions…”
“The truth is,” Crystal began, “we came here for several reasons. Helping you was one of them.”
Adamantine’s muzzle twitched. “And… what are your other reasons?”
* * *
Sunset kept her eyes locked on Adamantine even as the six of them meandered through the jungle. She stayed behind the rest of the pack where she watched Twilight, Starlight, and Chrysalis whispering between each other trying to figure out exactly what an “unpony” was. I wonder if they’d be able to figure it out, she thought. Unponies don’t look all that different from us; it’s all on the inside. Maybe I’ll just let them sweat this out.
Crystal and Adamantine took point, with the former speaking for long stretches of time while the latter only chimed in with the occasional question.
The six stepped through the bush, and it was as the terrain crested and started to descend that Sunset caught a glimpse of the ocean some ways away. She tried to imagine the civilization she was familiar with somewhere across the sea.
And… Sunset thought, they have a village out here?
She looked again and caught some glimpses of wooden structures through a gap in the trees. She couldn’t make them out precisely, but they looked like the tops of wooden poles.
No way.
“I see,” Adamantine said. “This spell will consolidate all of the problems in the multiverse.”
“That’s right,” Crystal replied. “And we will be putting that together. We hope that you might have some workspace to lend us.”
“And how exactly does the spell operate?”
“The spell will read the state of the multiverse and will feed me that information so that I can use it. I’m planning on using entangled particles to proliferate the effect between timelines, hence the physicality.” Crystal cleared her throat and said, in a subdued tone, “I’m not sure yet how large this will end up being, but I predict it will have some size.”
Adamantine chuckled. “Fascinating. I see your reason for discretion. I will do whatever I can to lend you my assistance,” she said as she hopped down a short drop-off.
Sunset hopped down after the others and turned her attention past the trees ahead where she spotted more structures. She could see huts and gazebos made of straw and wood. As she squinted to see better, she caught glimpses of countless ponies with the same shade of dark coat as Adamantine.
Oh my goodness...
“That said…” Adamantine began as her smile faded, “you will have to forgive me if I wish to keep my hooves firmly planted in my own reality.”
“And that’s fine,” Twilight reassured with a nod of her head. “Anything at all will do.”
“I am sure that there will be some who will also be willing to help,” Adamantine said.
Soon enough, the party emerged into an open space where Sunset could now see more of the village. She saw ponies playing all sorts of aerial games while those grounded gathered around books and lively conversations. Hints of music carried over the hubbub as many enjoyed the sunny day.
And several of them turned at their arrival. Several exclamations could be heard as many of them trotted and flew in their direction. At least a hundred of those charcoal-colored ponies—all of earth, pegasus, or unicorn variety—gathered with more on the way.
And Twilight, Starlight, and Chrysalis immediately returned to their prior conversation on what unponies were with renewed vigor.
Sunset watched them all in utter silence. She watched them as they gathered around their queen, laughing and smiling as they went. And then she too cracked a smile.
* * *
Crystal glanced around the clearing, noted the large, unoccupied pavilion (which was of simple wooden design) off to the side, and nodded. “I think this will do nicely.”
Adamantine bowed. “I am glad. If you will excuse me, there are some matters that I need to take care of. I will return in a few minutes.”
“Okay,” Twilight replied. “We’ll be here.”
Adamantine smiled and lit her horn. She then instantaneously disappeared amid a white light and an airy pop.
Crystal regarded the spot and then cracked her neck. “Okay. So, the first order of business, which I really must address immediately…” She trotted over to Chrysalis and slapped her on the back of the head.
Chrysalis recoiled from the hit. “You cur! What was that—”
Crystal placed herself in Chrysalis’ muzzle. “I can tell exactly what you are thinking,” she hissed. “You will not suck them dry of their love. You may only nibble, and nothing more.”
Chrysalis bared her teeth, but quickly backpedaled when that garnered no reaction. She grumbled something unintelligible before backing away.
Crystal smirked as she turned to the others. “Now, Sunset, you’re alright?”
Starlight, who was eying a small pony-like figurine within her grasp, looked up and turned to Sunset with a frown. “Oh, yeah. You’ve been pretty quiet since we got here.”
Sunset sucked in a breath and nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just… those were familiar faces from my own timeline. That’s all.”
Starlight returned to the wooden figurine still in her magic. It looked like a nondescript alicorn. She tilted her head, raised her eyebrow, and then hummed in thought. “Hey, Crystal?”
Crystal turned. “Yes?”
“I got this from one of the villagers a bit ago. Do you think that you could send this home, say… on my shelf in my room?” Starlight asked as she held the figurine up.
Crystal fixed her eyes on the object and then lit her horn and floated it over. “Your usage of the word send is not lost on me, Starlight. I might as well try to practice this now.”
Chrysalis shuddered and backpedaled. “I think that I will keep my distance on this one.”
Twilight turned and nodded. “I agree. Let’s give her some space.”
The four of them shuffled in the direction of the pavilion, and once they had retreated half-a-hoofball field’s length away, they turned and watched.
Crystal remained in the same spot where she carefully studied the object. She set it down and stared at it intensely. Many seconds of silence passed.
Focus on that spot. It’s just like traveling… but not including myself, Crystal thought. Focus…
Her mind’s eye centered on the timeline in question. She saw the moment in which the five of them had left it and where everything thereafter turned hazy. She focused on a moment not long after that.
Focus…
She touched that spot with her mind’s eye, but at the point where the power normally acted on herself, she redirected it at the figurine instead. The figurine disappeared with a bang while she herself remained standing in the same spot.
Crystal went wide-eyed and jumped in response. Her mind’s eye immediately scanned the shelf in the other timeline and found the figurine wobbling for a few seconds before it eventually settled into an upright position. The few hazy minutes of timeline before then turned semi-crystallized; the brief moment the figurine appeared on the shelf was a hardened crystal. The rest was still hazy and remained that way.
Most of the others gave cheers and shouts in response. Chrysalis, who did none of that, simply raised her eyebrow and smirked.
Crystal, whose mouth curled into a wide smile without her even willing it to, turned to them. “Well… we may very well be in business.”
* * *
Chrysalis rolled over on the pile of leaves that she had scrounged up for herself. The ground was hard but, as she had found out in the months since the coup in the hive, it was hardly the most unorthodox of places to rest.
The sounds of crickets and frogs pervaded her ears, and in her mind, they complimented the countless nighttime stars above. She would have to thank Froggy Bottom Bog for that one.
She glanced toward the pavilion where the other four lay in silence. She could see three of them fast asleep on some cots while the fourth, Crystal, examined some pieces of paper by way of the fire pit in the center.
Her eyes watched as Adamantine emerged from the shadows and entered the pavilion. Crystal glanced up and said something to her, though Chrysalis couldn’t hear what it was from her faraway position. Adamantine, in turn, replied, and then the two carried out a short conversation which Chrysalis could only guess at, but in the end, she didn’t care enough to do even that. Eventually, Adamantine turned and left, leaving Crystal to her readings once more.
There was one empty cot which had been appropriated for herself. But I would much rather not be near them, Chrysalis thought. To think that I’m now even associating myself with them! Ugh!
Her face scrunched up and she stole a glance in their direction. What I wouldn’t give to bite their heads off! The things that I want to do…
Her eyes settled on Crystal and Chrysalis shrunk back down. Even if I managed to destroy those three… I couldn’t hope to match Crystal Faire. She would probably smite me down where I stand.
Chrysalis shuddered. No… she would just be able to prevent it before it even happens… She might even know already that I’m thinking about it!
She slapped some leaves out from under her. Curses!
In the nearby pavilion, Crystal glanced up with her eyebrow raised. She said nothing for several moments but eventually rolled her eyes and turned back to her work.
There was a pause as her mind ran through other lines of thought. She crossed her forelegs and sighed as she felt her blood cool down. But… I do have to admit, these problems with the… multiverse… are concerning.
She felt at her right thigh and imagined the large stone that had once been there. She imagined how wrong everything had felt in those first few moments where everything had gone wrong.
And it’s true that I would have died in that forsaken timeline… I suppose that they get some credit for saving my life.
A scowl briefly crossed her features. It changes nothing between us.
She imagined what she had experienced and then thought about countless hers walking within other times and other lives and suddenly having that same wrongness. She thought about how violating it all was. She thought about those other lives where those that mattered were still loyal, and then how they would thus be violated regardless.
But whether I like it or not… they are the only ones that can do anything about this mess. And I want to continue existing…
Chrysalis nodded to herself. Just for now… I need them alive.
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Pragmatic Chrysalis is an appealing Chrysalis. Just saying.
So Chrysalis is still being the cheeselegs conspirator that she is. Cool beans.
And does this mean that this was the first time Crystal tried using her multiversal displacement spell (the best name I could come up with for the spell) on an inanimate object without herself going with it?
Can't wait for Chapter 19! Er, I mean 18!
Ok, yeah, the actual 17th chapter makes much more sense. Carry on.
You don't have to sleep in the ground, Chryssie.
I just hope nothing more bad happens to her. *snugs his Chryssie plush*
Huh, never heard of unponies before.
8424813
They would be from Substitute (~118K words). but that story is a direct sequel to (and is heavily reliant upon) Feedback (~84K words). Both are incredible stories, though they can be a touch hard to follow.
Well, duh. C'mon.
Welcome back, Adamantine.
In reading these again in proper chronological order, I can see why Sunset is so shocked what with the unponies alive and well, and Adamantine free.