The Influence

by GMBlackjack

XII

Author's Note:

[IMPORTING…][…Ponygood speaking. To the dream entity: Hello! We are people speaking to Twilight from behind a phone screen, if you know what that is. I, personally, would appreciate it if you didn't ignore Twilight's existence, and maybe not interrupt all of her dreams. I do have a few important questions. First, are there evil entities on this island that seek to use Twilight's magic to escape some prison and do terrible things to the world? Second, are you, the forest creature, and Alderan related to them? Third, how can we know to trust you? That's all I wanted to direct towards you, dream entity. I'm rubbing off on you, Twilight? Heh, all part of my master plan... to STEAL YOUR SOUL! HAHAHAhehehe, just kidding! Even if I could, I would have no interest in doing so. Hmm... Infinity might be a problem if she decides to pursue you in her quest for answers. She could very well be put in danger from her foolish desires. When you do eventually set off, constantly scan for any unwanted followers, both physically and magically. And as for speaking to Blackjack? It is possible to directly speak to him on his other stories, his profile page, and by Private Message. The only reason we can't speak to him here is because this is reserved for speaking to you. He did comment twice on this story, though; once to tell Akuma he spoke too late, and once to notify me that he corrected his spelling error. He says it like a computer program, though. Speaking of computer, in going to try something. [COMMAND: Help //(Lists all commands)] And as for why I call this an island? I reasoned that everything's technically an island, however large it may be. However, I can start referring to it as a continent, if you want.
That'll be all… …Why Glimmer? Why not Twinkle or Sparky? Why not Twilight Shimmer?... ...Spike! Don't be rude. I'm sure she...I...we. *sigh* Spikes right that is annoying. Anyway, I'm sure you have a reason behind the nickname.
Also, be careful around Infinity. While I'm pretty sure she's harmless there's just something about that pony that's raising a few red flags in my mind. Also to the 'pony?' Named Afizha. I found this strange eye thing some time ago at Princess Celestia's old castle that let me communicate with you. What's weird though is that a few weeks after Spike handed it to me I've started having these visions of the old castle and fire… …SWEEPER!! What do you want with Twilight anyway?! I get that this is your story, but you can't reeding do this!. Stop, Key, nothing came about from yelling. It's clear he wants answers. Answers to what? What could it possibly want from us? Look, Sw- Blackjack? I don't know what you want, but if it's Keywii, it created our Organization 15 years ago and then left a few months later, Nobody has seen or heard from him since he abandoned Jane in the Equestria general hospital. He didn't even leave us with any direction, just "watch over what you do and keep the ponies you steal safe" Please, just, leave this Twilight alone, I don't want to see what happened in the Asanta system again... Twilight, I...I want to share what's happened to the other ponies the Sweeper takes, but I don't want to upset you, I JUST got back to you to be helpful. Just, for now, gather as much information from it as you can, you might learn enough to get you back home… …Ponygood again. If you must know, Twilight, the Asanta solar system was found in another of Blackjack's stories called Wanderlost, in which an evil all-powerful star god related to the Tree of Harmony was imprisoned, released, and re-imprisoned. He was also indirectly the cause of the death of your planet, and directly the cause of Celestia's death. His name is Corot, but I like to call him Carrot… …Be careful Twilight. Something tells me that the being in front of you does not have any emotions and is only treating you and all those around you as nothing but a science experiment. A means to an end and not caring what happens in the process… …Why...WHY WOULD YOU JUST SAY THAT?! I WAS SPECIFICALLY TRYING TO REFFING KEE- KEY, You're going too far, your use of language is unacceptable, you're being commandeered for the time being. Sir! I don't care about that right now, how can somebody named ponyGOOD just provide sensitive information like that? His casualness with the death of one of Twilight's loved ones is unacceptable! You're taking a break, Key, go to the lounge immediately. You're not working in this state. Now, Ponygood, I suppose I cannot change the way you handle sensitive topics, but moving forward together means compromise, and our organization is built on the fundamental that tact should be exercized when necessary. Now I'll keep Key from snapping at you the best I can, but in return I ask that you try not to just provide any and all information that could cause anxiety as soon as the opportunity supplies itself. Thank you… …Akumakami64 here. Sorry I didn't get to you last time. I was painting and got another story/world. Long story short, Discord never went traitor and became Archduke of the Everfree. For reasons you might not understand, I'm very proud of that one already. Huh, so that's what the other commenters have been talking about. Well, Twilight, I think I know what this thing is, kind of. Dream Creature: Settle this for us. I know you are not the Sweeper the other keep going on about, but are you perhaps another version of that creature? As in a less destructive version of it from another universe relative to it? As for Information, I would gladly give some, but you need to be more specific. I know a Twilight who lives eternally by being reborn and changing the world with all the points she collects, I know a child that could consume entire universes, I know plenty of gods and heroes, even Eldritch abominations, and anything I don't know, I can research relatively quickly to you. Now,  if you want another question, here's this: Is this really the past? Oh sure, there's Celestia and Discord, but that doesn't mean a whole lot. The Sisters and the Draconequus are some of the biggest constants in all timelines of this world. So, was this ever this Twilight's past or are we in another timeline all together? Anyway, back to you Twilight. I'm actually surprised by how you handle Infinity. She reminds me a lot of you. But as for the rest.....When she says constantly shifting around, does she mean like a regular desert or something like Discord would do? Hard to tell, I imagine. And the Band.....i'm not saying go into, but get a look at that place. I have a feeling that may be important. Oi, the dogs....I have no opinion on that as I'm not sure what they're ultimately like a society- if it was mentioned, I'm sorry. Again, been a bit busy on my end. And tell Fluttershy I'm sorry for the panic attack I'm sure the others are putting you through right now. PS Dream Creature: Everything is true, it just depends on what universe you are in… …How many times am I going to say this? I am sorry. I just wanted to not leave any unknowns to Twilight, I saw an object that Twilight was ignorant of, and I didn't think for one second of the emotional consequences. I can definitely see how my philosophy and lack of emotional consideration can be problematic… …Giginss here. I think we all need to stop shouting, and try and focus on the current situation. Twilight, the entity you are currently speaking to is an unknown. Try to get as much information as you can out of it while not giving away as much as you can. Once we know more, we will be able to figure out what to do. Also, when you get back home, you should totally look up this in the history books, if this is really the past… …Josh here - not sure what you what information you're looking for, and just so key stops calling you the sweeper do have a name we could call you by? And ponygood if you're really sorry you'd do better next time… …Look, I get it, Ponygood, I really do, but even though I have a short fuse I still follow the three D's. Don't Discuss Death. it's a really sensitive topic that you need not blurt out. Otherwise, you need to wait for Twilight to specifically ask about other versions of her and their lives. I have a large wealth of knowledge of everything the Sweeper has done to her and her friends, but I'm waiting for her to be ready in order to handle it, it's not lunch time small talk. And Josh, I know the Sweeper has a name, it's GMBlackjack, but even if this dream entity is just a pale shadow of the real thing, it still acts in its place and I've always been uncomfortable using their names, there's an old legend that I don't believe in that if you call the Forerunners by name then they can steal your souls, obviously YOURS can do anything they want with you, but it goes that others can then steal you and use you for their sick games. And after 12 years following The Sweepers exploits, that's the last thing I want to have happen to me… …Very well. I will seek to better myself, and be more emotionally considerate. Just don't blame my if I forget to do that, though; I have a nasty habit of forgetting things. I didn't realize such a thing as the three D's existed… …Key, while i'm not doubting you, last time we talk to this thing it said "we have a case of mistaken identity" which means this is not the Sweeper, and from what you have said about the Sweeper and from how this guy is acting I have reason to believe he is working against the Sweeper… …Hmm... Oh, right, LeftMoss here, I was just really thinking about this, and still am, kinda. .........With the entity, try not to give away REAL important info, and I would have given you a suggestion for the one thing, but you can never be too sure about its capabilities. Apart from that, I have nothing to say, so I will be looking through these situations and provide advice for whatever goal you have in mind that I think is the best approach from now on (except for the parts where the entity appears, at least until we know its capabilities)… …Who keeps upvoting every comment?… …Also, Twilight. Be careful of who you trust with sensitive information. Not all ponies are as trustworthy as they look, as I'm pretty sure I don't need to remind you of the Flim-Flam Brothers. While I'm pretty sure Infinity is a friendly pony, she raises a red flag on how fast she knew it was you who made the sun move. Not only that but the way she kept hounding you with questions, it seemed like she was looking for either for a way to become an alicorn like you or find a way to render alicorns powerless. Before you leave, check on Wound Dream. That coughing fit didn't sound right. Afizha out… …Nickel again, looks like i managed a tenuous  connection during the time window despite my expectations.  heck yes our interface is loaded with bugs and errors, the bad entry mentioning years was nailed by an error message and i though it would be removed, just a typo on our end with no effect on yours.  as for contacting blackjack, while it is possible to make contact, there is no guarantee of a response and most of what we see from your primary is either from your end in reaction to us or error messages that don't make it to your side.  besides you wouldn't see any of the direct inquires until well after the fact assuming we got anything meaningful in response.  due to the interactive nature of this i doubt that even blackjack knows everything you want to know at this point.  but as usual i'm trusting things to work out with you making your own choices, any story can become boring if you have too much control over it after all, its why my enforcers nearly always took a power loss when it mattered, to prevent an instant solution from nowhere like they could have otherwise, power escalation got a bit insane among those i oversee.  but as a last bit, out of curiosity do you know the spell for the mirror portal?  if so or you can find the original then you may have a way back to your time after this is over with assuming you are still within your same timeline and universe and of course you aren't sent back by another method, time does seem to pass at a much faster rate in equestria as compared to the human world you are connected to at least when the gate is closed anyway… …This is Zen. Here we are faced with quite a conundrum.  This entity, it is implied, possesses considerable knowledge about the circumstances, worldly and otherwise, that you find yourself in.  Considerably more, i think it is fair to say, than any of us.  There is precious little which I can think of which I can tell it which it does not already know.  The only thing, in fact, is myself. So here we are.  But mark you, creature, a peak beneath the mask is all you're getting.  I am Zen.  This is short for Zendrelax, which I initially spelled with an 'x' at the front rather than a 'z,' because I was that sort of youth.  I have used the name Zendrelax in a great many places, and in many regards it has become a piece of myself.  But it is not the name I was born with. I do not know how much you are familiar with these particular circumstances, creature, and I know Twilight is not, so I shall elaborate. The circumstances by which I perceive and comprehend these events is couched in anonymity as a matter of course.  As, in fact, a matter of safety.  I have had it drilled into my skull, metaphorically speaking, that revealing personal details in any circumstances where you are not interacting with them in-the-flesh is a very dangerous thing. But here we are.  Hello, my name is Michael.  It is a distorted form of the question "Who is like God?" in another language, which was the name of the commander of a divine army, the Angelic Hosts of Heaven. It might be transliterated as "Mihail," or "Mikhail" in the script I am using.  My name is one of many variants created by being adapted into multiple different languages, and it is a very common name to give to newborns.  It would be customary for you to share some name in kind, but I will not ask for it. I feel considerable anxiety in this moment.  It is almost antithetical to how things work that I might share my name, even with it being so common, and even with it only being one of the three names which I was ascribed at birth.  and of those three being the least useful in identifying me.  This, Twilight, is why I did not share it with you from the start, even though it rationally makes little sense to feel this way.  I will not be apologizing for it, Twilight, as this is something One Does Not Do.  I hope you understand. Ah, yes, and it would make me deeply uncomfortable for any person now knowledgeable of that portion of my real name to use it to address me, so I would request that I still be addressed as Zen, or perhaps Zendrelax if you like.  I would honestly prefer you spelling either one with an x to addressing me by my real name. Now, entity, I would have my due.  It was a small morsel, but I feel I have explained the weight of a peek behind the mask.  Now, hear me and answer: How and Why was Twilight made to be where and when she is?  And if you lack the capacity to answer, give unto us the means by which we might learn…]

Twilight opened her eyes. "I hope you got something out of that."

The entity paid her no mind, but tingled with excitement from what it heard, sparking with energies Twilight could only describe as purple waves.

"Confusion," it said, "you all have confusion. Curious - it was meant to remove that. The purpose is not as intended... Perhaps you are correct, an exchange of information will accomplish more. You all speak of being unable to inform me of anything... And yet... Your discussions, your mere talks of Primaries, writers, universes, and abominations - that is what I requested. It comes as no surprise to me that the one I have the most questions about is the one you confuse me with - This Sweeper, G. M. Blackjack... The nature of this world in and of itself, and it's place among the apparent many, many others..."

Twilight cocked her head. "You... Want to find Blackjack?"

The entity, once again, didn't dignify her with even paying attention. "I, am not the Sweeper, the Primary, or anything of the sort. I am a being of this world, completely confined by the boundaries of the rules. I am Ine. In many ways, I am just another pawn in this game, like yourselves... The difference being I care not for the insignificants."

"Hey!" Twilight yelled.

Ine swirled around, looking at the Eye. "You know, you weren't even supposed to be here. You were supposed to be something completely different. An answer - not a pack of questions..." Ine moved back, flashing. "As a respectful gesture, I will answer your... questions as I see fit. But I will demand answers. I wish to know as much as possible about this G. M. Blackjack - and what threat it poses to my world as the Sweeper. I wish to know why this Twilight was chosen, why she was deemed the best for the role. And I wish to know of the exact process by which universes like my own are created - and how they opreate."

Twilight blinked - did this Ine really want those things? What point would they serve - Twilight had gotten a taste of it over the last few weeks, and it drove her rather crazy!

"As to your questions... I am indeed related to the other spirits you have seen, Alderan is, in fact, a being of a similar level to mine. That thing in the forest was so far beneath us it is inconsequential. You are, in fact, in the past - the past for the 'being' you are attached to. And as for you, Zen, who is like God... You are the closest - so your question. How the being arrived here... It was not my doing, I am only related to the Eye. A ritual was performed by Alderan at the order of another to bring her here, for a purpose of which I am uncertain. I do not think the reason is important - the flow of information continues regardless of the intention."

Twilight blinked - she was brought here on purpose. By that Alderan - and... someone else. Should she investigate? Could she investigate?

Ine drifted away. "You are the Influence - and you have been given a woefully inadequate tool by which to access this world. But the nature of the ritual insisted that the vessel brought forth would have been your choice - the one best suited. Why is that? I am not sure you know..."

And with that the dream ended. Twilight sat up in bed, a little sweaty, but not panicked. The sun was just barely rising, and Fluttershy was at the window, gazing out into the distance.

"...The dream creature came back. Apparently it's named... Ine." Twilight rubbed her head. "Ow..."

Fluttershy turned around. "Oh! You're awake - good. ...Did you learn anything?"

"Well... Ine really doesn't care about me, thinks I'm... beneath it. Like I'm not important and only the Influence itself is..."

"It may just have a different perspective. Plus, you don't have to listen to it," Fluttershy said.

"...I think I do. It's asking them a lot of quesitons, about how the world works, about Blackjack, about universes..." Twilight sighed. "I... Think I can handle those answers myself, but won't they be a bit... Distracting, I wonder?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "It's not something to worry about."

"It might, Fluttershy - there may be this giant Star out there by the name of Corot that could destory Celestia! Who knows what that'd do?!"

"...I don't know, Twilight. How about we just focus on trying to find our way back home first...?"

"Yeah... To the desert. Have to get out before Infinity finds us - they don't trust her either. Well... Actually Akumakira finds it confusing that we're avoiding her. Uh... Akumakira? It's because I don't know how they'll react to me moving the sun, to me being from the future, to all this mess... Diorite has already shown sucpicion, and... well I don't want to chance it." She walked over to her things, threw on the cloak, and looked at the map. "It's a few hours fly from here - the band - we'll have to prepare for it."

"I think we should to to Wound's place - have her help us get the supplies," Fluttershy said.

"Good idea... I should talk to them first though."

Fluttershy sat down. "Take your time."

Twilight took a breath and looked down at the Witch's Eye. "Well guys, here we are, preparing to set out on the next adventure. Some of you are messing with me, and some of you are trying to help. Thank you for all this trying - but, it's obvious now that Ine is not Blackjack. In fact I think... it? he? she? I... Nevermind - might actually be helpful. I don't think we can trust her - but I think she literally doesn't care about what we care about. Key, Ponygood... Both of you could stand to take a moment and think about your actions. Key, I don't mind what Ponygood told me - it hasn't happened here, and frankly, I've already got death on the mind far too much. Ponygood, you do come across as... Crass. Very crass. And well - I think some of you were having two to three conversations at once? That... Was pretty confusing at times, admittedly. I don't know if that's something you can fix or not..." She frowned. "What are upvotes?"

Fluttershy blinked. "...Voting upwards?"

"...Maybe? I don't know." Twilight shrugged. "There's a lot of weird things going on. And Twinkle? I'm going to call you Twinkle because that's the first thing you said - I had to come up with Glimmer on the spot. I was already using it, so... Yeah. It's here now. Sorry if it's confusing, but you usually call Starlight by, well, 'Starlight.' Shouldn't be too much of an issue. And Zen... Thank you for doing what you do, and being reasonable. Now..." She turned to Fluttershy. "I'm teleporting us to Wound's house. Prepare yourself."

They were gone in a flash - and appeared right inside Woudn's front door. Wound laying on top of a clockwork lizard, sleeping.

Fluttershy blinked. "...She looks tired."

"Clockwork can't be easy," Twilight said. "Hey, uh... Wound?"

Wound woke up like a spring - shooting up into the air elastically, panic in her face. "Not my eyes!"

"Uh..." Twilight said, backing up.

"Oh." Wound Dream relaxed the instant she saw them. "Just you. Okay... Sorry about that, I never get good sleep at all."

"You okay?"

"Eh, side effect of living in a house filled with off-time clockwork machines." Wound Dream shrugged. "...Why are you in my house?"

"Well..." Twilight bit her lip. "We're going to leave town, and we want to do so without Infinity chasing us down."

"Ah. I'll go find Prancey... What do you need?"

"Supplies for a journey, and... Well I think that's it, unless you can think of any other way to prepare us for the desert."

Wound Dream nodded. "Eh, won't be too hard to grab. Might even get it for free..." She walked to the front door, heading out.

"Wound?" Twilight said.

"Hmm?"

"Thanks. Really, you and Prancey have been really kind."

Wound smiled. "I try. Until then." She left the two mares from another time in her house. They spent the time listening to the tick tick ticking of clockwork.

Twilight took out the map. "There appears to be one large city on the edge of the Bands... Acket. We should probably head there. If we can't cross... It appears there's a pair of border towns, Onyx and Uler, over here. The road into the Lost Desert goes through the Moissan city of... Chrysocholla."

"That looks pretty close to that star there - their capital right?"

"Yeah.... Heildor. I only hope the dogs will let us through their nation." She looked closer at the Moissan nation - there were a few larger cities marked, and a couple points of interest - the Pillar of Lore, the Eternal Mine, Mt Pyre - but it was a lot less detailed than the areas of Peran. The Lost Desert was even worse - besides the band, there were only two places marked - a dot called Fosis, and a big question mark towards the upper end of the map labeled Estur. "Estur..." She frowned - that sounded vaguely familiar.

"Does that mean anything?"

"I don't know..." Twilight checked the map for other question marks - there was another on the complete opposite side of the map, in the southwest sea, labeled Frau. The name didn't sound familiar at all. "Why put a question mark on a map of the known world...?"

Prancey barreled in at that moment, dumping a pair of saddlebags on Fluttershy's back. "You have water, rations, and detailed maps of the bigger cities! Oh, and seventy yuan, just to get you started out there. Consider it payment for the powder you got me!"

Twilight blinked. "That was fast..."

"I'm a fast pony."

Wound Dream appeared in the doorway, panting. "No... Kidding..."

Prancey saluted. "Well, there you are! Off! Off into the night!"

"It's morning, Prancey," Wound said.

Prancey rolled her eyes. "Bah, doesn't matter. Get going you two!"

Twilight smiled. "It was nice to meet you. If I can.. I'll come back to visit. ...Ready Fluttershy?"

"...Sure."

Twilight lit her horn - and they teleported to the outskirts of town. Twilight glanced behind them - and saw Diorite floating above the town, looking at them. Fear shot through Twilight - his eyes were narrow, and his expression untrusting. But her fears were put to rest when he nodded, and waved them off.

Twilight waved back with a smile on her face. She removed her cloak, spread her wings, and took to the skies, Fluttershy behind her.

There was no sign of Alderan or Infinity.

~~~

They left the plains behind quickly - the grass turned to dirt filled with various shrubs, a few of which moved on their own. They passed a few small towns overhead, a few ponies below noticing them, but not caring. A few dragons were in-flight as well, passing them by without so much as a glance. Most were the lung variety Diorite was - but there were a few interesting variations. One was simply a serpent without wings or limbs, while another had only wings. They varied extremely in size - though none approached the tremendous girth of Dragonlord Torch.

"There!" Fluttershy said, sometime after noon. "I see the desert!"

Twilight turned her head - sure enough, a few miles ahead of them on the horizon was an intense expanse of sand. Twilight saw dune after dune in the dry field, but no structures of any kind - she could see the city of Acket though, a semicircular set of structures, fixed around the edge of the desert itself, only a few long sections stretching into the sands - like a predatory claw tearing into the skin of some sandy beast. Dozens of dragons flew over the towers of Acket, and who knew how many others walked in the streets.

That wasn't their first stop though - they were going to check out the band.

Twilight frowned. "I can't see anything but normal desert..."

"The edge is pretty straight. That's not normal."

"Mmm..." Twilight and Fluttershy set down at the edge of the sand - only then could they see the band. From above, it just looked like another part of the sand dunes. But from the ground...

Twilight gawked. "What in the..."

The sand dunes they saw from above were resting atop of something completely different - a translucent magical forcefield that rippled with colors from blue to purple stood in front of them, several stories high. The field sparked with lights, but was otherwise substanceless, giving the sand the appearance of resting on nothing. Only, the sand wasn't resting - looking from the bottom, Twilight could see the sand particles dancing, rippling, and shifting with ever increasing energies. One sand particle interacted with a sparkling light directly - and transformed into a bolt of blue lightning that shot into the sky, spraying sand everywhere - sand that somehow didn't fall on the side of the band Fluttershy and Twilight were.

"What in..." Twilight took a few steps back. "What is this?"

Fluttershy gave her a 'don't look at me!' look.

Twilight's curiosity beat out her fear rather quickly - she inched closer to the band, looking down. The forcefield went far, far beneath the earth - the ground she was standing on had a sharp, flat edge. Far, far in the depths, she thought she could see complex circuitry, brimming with powerful magics.

"What in Equestria is this? What could it be FOR?" She shook her head. "Bizarre..."

"Now we know why it's dangerous. Random lightning bolts of energy from the ground."

Twilight bit her lip. "I think I could deflect them... But taking you over top with me could be risky..."

"Hmm..." Fluttershy said. Her eyes went wide the moment the Witch's Eye lit up.

"Oh." Twilight took a few steps back from the band and closed her eyes. "Here we go..."

Comments

[Ponygood11]

Ponygood speaking.

When I described Corot/Carrot, I didn't mean that he was an actual threat. Your story and the story he is in are seperate universes, and he absolutely does not exist in yours. If that were true, and all of Blackjack's stories mingled together, Pinkie Pie would be simultaneously a chaos god, trapped in a terrible alternate universe, and dead. You do NOT have to worry about Corot.

And now, some meanings of names. Some, like Acket, Onyx, Uler, Fosis, and Estur, have no important meaning that I was able to find. Chrysocholla is similar to chrysocolla, which is a crystal known to our magical wackjobs as a communication stone which also calms people. Heildor is similar to heliodor, which our magical wackjobs believe leeches toxins from the body. And, in case you're wondering, magical wackjobs are people in our world who believe, despite no known evidence of magic existing, that crystals can heal you and your chakras, and that Jews came to space on a metaphysical enlightenment spaceship. That is all the explanation I feel sane enough to give.

I was not expecting the desert to be so... wierd. I can't think of anything to help you, except for the general advice of watch out for wierd magical things.

Finally, upvotes are little things that are created when one of us click a little thumbs-up button on someone else's comment, and that tells everyone that someone "likes" that comment.

This statement is directed towards Zen. I was thinking of saying it earlier, but Twilight beat me to it. Basically, thank you for being perhaps the sanest one of all of us and always thinking of the stupidly obvious things that none of us consider. Also, I have a large amount of respect for you for revealing at least a portion of your true identity.

That is all.

[nickle241]

nickel here. the interface is becoming a mess again, i thought it had calmed down. anyway, upvotes don't matter to you, they are a part of the interface on our end and due to the interface having been repurposed to reach you they have no bearing whatsoever on your situation. as for whats happening to you now, im more lost than you are in regards to what is happening, but it looks like you may have received some of those direct answers i mentioned before, if in a slightly unusual fashion. while ire is almost certainly not blackjack, it might be what in my worlds are known as fragments, a piece of the awareness and mind of your primary and such presences are often used for more direct influence and self inserts. that in no way gaurantees it knows everything or that it will feel like helping you, rather it means that there is little you can do to influence it if it doesnt feel like playing along, while most of my fragments tend to be either willing to help or stressed beyond reason i know nothing of what your primary will do with his, so good luck.

[Sonic Rainboom Dash]

Spike here. Alright, I guess that's a good enough reason, and I got a laugh at 'Twinkle's' reaction to her nickname. And the fact that right now she's on a studying binge trying to find out more of how that 'Impossible' field exists. Speaking of, if you do figure out how it works, DON'T MESS WITH IT! I know how you get when you try to find out how things work. And to prove a point, just two words. Pinkie Sense.

[Sonic Rainboom Dash]

afizha here. The town of Heildor might be a place of learning and knowledge. What the ‘magical whackjobs’ Ponygood11 is talking about is the heliodor crystal which means is this.

A crystal of golden light, Heliodor radiates the warmth and power of sunshine, the illumination of higher thought, and a centered, more vibrant physical well-being. Its name literally translates from the Greek as a gift of the sun.

Heliodor invokes the celestial Golden Ray of knowledge and learning, to stimulate the higher mind and enable the brain to function more efficiently. It is a stone of true nobility and selfless leadership and allows one to make decisions based on wisdom instead of emotion or reaction. [Ahsian, 188]

Yang in nature, Heliodor helps one develop aspects of the many virtues - assertiveness, self-confidence, physical and mental strength, benevolence and power. These traits serve both men and women. [Simmons, 188]

Heliodor is the yellow variety of the Beryl family, generally referring to the greenish-yellow crystal, but includes all yellow, yellow-green, light green and brown Beryl.

Golden Beryl is a variety of Heliodor with a bright, pure yellow to golden yellow color. For the purpose of this article, we will refer to both as Heliodor except where the metaphysical properties may vary.

While Heliodor and Golden Beryl are the yellow varieties of Beryl, the Beryl family also forms in other colors used as gems, such as Green Emerald, Blue Aquamarine, Pink Morganite, Red Beryl or Bixbite, and the colorless variety, Goshenite.

That kind of crystal might be strewn all over heildor to promote knowledge growth or physical growth; I’m not certain.

[wizard0209]

josh here - sorry for bringing up upvotes like that; i know that wasn't the best moment for that but that is something that was happening for the start so you might understand my impatience. anyway upvotes are just part of a ranking system on our end, so no need to worry about it, but i have to point out that you can't vote on your own comment which means someone has been here from the start, and not only have they went out of their way to positively vote on everything everyone has said, but also have not said anything themselves, and i have to just ask them why? you're obviously invested what's happening so why not do something? also i'm more than a little creeped out...

[Giginss]

Giginss here. I would highly recommend staying away from that artificial desert, as magical forcefields that spew lightning have a great risk of injury, or, depending on the power of the field, death.
Or, perhaps, examine the magical circuitry. That circuitry sounds way out of place if you really are in the past, so either that is a long lost relic of an ancient civilization (your typical Daring Do book), or you are in the far future. That doesn't explain the town, though, and that annoys me with the inconsistencies. There must be something larger at play here, and we cannot see it yet. We must know more.
Good luck.

[AkumaKami64]

AkumaKAMI here! Bwhaha! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's just....Twilight, I understand you have a lot of us to keep track of, I'm just wonder how mixed up Kami with Kira. I'm not upset or anything, it just amuses me!

As for you, Ire, thank you for your information. I have only one important question at the moment- for future references, do you want your answers during the.....lets say, Inputting, right after you ask or do would wish us to wait until the next next one that happens during a dream with you? Either way, I'll gie some answers now.

I personally don't know much about Blackjack or his world. He has nine "stories" or universes, including this one. Technically speaking, the "Sweeper" is his by our own rules as its from one his universe. Three of them are "oneshots." Essentially meaning that what we perceive of that universe is very brief, even if it covers a long time. Some are summaries of the lives of entire worlds or universes, from start to finish. Other are just a moment in a day.

One of that I have read involves another version of Twilight talking down Starlight Glimmer who had gone full nihilist thinking there was no point to anything anymore. I think Starlight was an alicorn in that one but I'm not sure.

As for why Twilight? Its because that she has the most potential. At least, that's a common thought among us primaries. We were making worlds with Alicorn Twilight, Twicorn, long before we perceived the main Twilight Ascend.

Okay, Twilight, Ire, both of you listen. There is something we call canon. That's the main branch, the Trunk if you will, the original universe that we first perceived Twilight and her friends from. I'm not to sure how long you've been in Ponyville Twilight, but we first saw that seven years ago.

Why is this import for you, Ire? These Universes, these stories, are made from that original timeline. Of course, you didn't exist there. Wether we create universes or just find and manipulate isn't really the important part to figure out. From that original timeline, That Trunk, we mold and twist the branches to fit one thing:

An idea. We don't see everything of your world, Twilight. Not the original one. We humans are curious, imaginative creatures that always wonder How, What If, and What Else? Viewing new canon occasionally fills in some blanks, but we sometimes fill them in on our own and those are sometimes dark and twisted. Like Rainbow Factory. But for a more detailed instance, we never saw most of your friend's parents for the longest time. So many of us pondered that some of you were orphans or had a bad homelife. To this day, most of us are very sure that Applejack's parents are dead, but we recently saw that Rainbow's are not. Due to Discord's lack of backstory, many have imagined him as being Starswirl gone crazy, having been abused and mistreated for his appearance, or even that him and Celestia were lovers gone wrong. Albiet, mosto f the romantic ideas around Discord have moved over to you and Fluttershy.

You yourself, Twilgiht, have had been fiddled with the most. You've been the daughter(biological or adopted) or descendant of Celestia, Luna, Sombra, Discord, and Chrysalis on different occasions. On unrelated times, you've also been a lover to each of those as well. Sometimes more than one at once. You've also turned evil, and in at least one story, you were raised by dragons. You've also turned against Celestia several times, but those were mostly Tyrantlestia and Molestia fics- lets just say bad versions of Celestia. A few of were also Celestia gone a bit crazy,

Yet, the What If is the most tantalizing of questions to us. Its, essentlly, making the trunk of the tree split at any given point we desire to see a major off branching. A common one is if Celestia had gone Nightmare instead of Luna, or Luna hadn't been insane and actually rebelled or seceded from Equestria,or if Celestia had a different student. Or changing a single concept in the timeline.

Other times, the change is more....foreign. We take something from an entire other canon and drop it into yours. These are Crossovers, or Xovers. Sometimes this is sudden, literally dropping a character or object into Equestria, other times its more subtle, melding the worlds more seamlessly, to some extent. Such as Celestia and Luna(and Discord) having been from another world and either traveled to the pony world andtook pony form or simply reincarnated there. Or that one canon's world comes before or after the timeline of Equestria by distant ages. Or they simply exist as planets in the same universe.

Due to you not caring about the "insignificants", I doubt this'll be much help to you, Ire. The only thing we humans love to imagine and create gods as much as we enjoy gaving heroes and villains rise up and tears them down.

I think there's a reason why that one universe called us a subspieces of Draconequus.

Well, sorry Twilight, I probably just fried you're brain. Any way.....I'm with you on the Band. What the actual bucking Tartarus? Is that to keep people out or is that to keep something trapped?

Akumakami out!

[Ponygood11]

8207079 Damn it, Akuma! I had an entire convoluted plan to get Ire to Pinkie Promise to interact with Twilight in exchange for information! Did your patents ever teach you to not trust rude dream strangers? Shame on your face.

[AkumaKami64]

8207160
(shrugs) While a bit rude to Twilight, Ire has been relatively polite to us and threw out an olive branch so we'd stop accusing them of being the Sweeper, so I threw out one as well. Albiet, its a big branch.....Why am I using so many tree metaphors today?

[Keywii_Cookies55]

-Keyandthelocks- is currently offline.

[Ponygood11]

Ponygood again.

Our interface, which we use to read about and communicate with you, has underwent a massive change, courtesy of its administrators. This likely won't affect you, but it may affect all of us, including Blackjack. You have been notified.

[Sirnmn]

Storm Crow
Ire i’m not sure why I can act at this point. I think the sweeper is like a creature of the abyss something that lurks out side reality and wishes to undue it as it is confide by what is. I have given my life to opposes. worlds are created guided by the actions of those who live there. don’t disregard those who live for a universe will die when it get less motion, it grow weaker and easier to be swallowed / unmade by the beings of the abyss. Twilight Good Luck avoid the band maybe try going the other why round, and be careful since Ire has confirmed this is your timeline. Plan for the future you can come back to investigate when are better prepared so long as you remain whole. Protect fluttery as she has “ less value” to those who have power and they might harm her out of hand or by accident. why are you trying to avoid infinity you need information as badly as she want it just agree to trade question and so long as not out right danger is there get her to promise to hold your secrets. I think she would be willing so long you promise more information when if you return and considering your thirst for learning I can’t see you leaving a new half of the globe alone. Lastly what happens if you go the other way around the band?

[Sonic Rainboom Dash]

Twilight, this is Afizha here. I hate to tell you this bit of news, but it refers to the ‘Rainbow Factory’ universe Akumakami mentioned. It is a dark world, set in an Equestria that doesn’t make its rainbows from rain or could-stuff or however they’re made in canon; I think it mentioned it in the main timeline, but I fell asleep during that one and forgot to go back to it. The reason ‘Rainbow Factory’ is dark, however, is that it uses the ‘socital Rejects’ to make its rainbows. Please do not ask what I mean by ‘Socital Rejects’ because that was the last time I could look at a rainbow without crying.

There is one more world that is so dark that no amount of light can penetrate its core. ‘CUPCAKES.' I will not tell you why, but it involves Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.