Chapter 1
Chapter 1
It was a bright, sunshiny day in Ponyville, and Princess Twilight Sparkle was not happy.
Just the other evening, the town’s Nightmare Night celebrations had been interrupted by the arrival of a ship from another dimension, and then its departure with Spliced Genome, the alicorn who had stayed with Twilight for some weeks. It had taken every bit of self-control she’d had not to react with extreme hostility to the new arrivals when she’d realized why they were there, and she was still just barely restraining herself from teleporting to some barren wasteland and letting loose with everything she had.
After the ship had left, Luna and Celestia had called for chariots to bring themselves and the diplomats from Hesturland back to Canterlot, and Twilight had gone back to her castle to think. She had spent most of the rest of the night in seclusion, gathering her thoughts and attempting, with only limited success, to calm herself. How she’d eventually managed to fall asleep with such a restless mind, she still wasn’t sure.
Things hadn’t improved much since then. Just a few minutes after she’d woken up this morning, she’d gotten a dragonfire letter from Celestia asking that she and the others come to Canterlot to meet with her, and she was trying yet again to calm herself.
A knock came on the door as she paced. “Twilight?”
“Come in,” Twilight responded. A moment later, the door opened and Spike entered, causing Twilight to smile. Maturing as he was, he was still her special little guy, and his presence was something she greatly appreciated. “Hey, Spike.”
“Hey, Twilight.” Spike looked rather concerned. “Look, I know you’re upset about everything…”
“‘Upset’ is putting it mildly,” Twilight said dryly. “Those… urrrgh!”
“If you’re thinking along the lines of what Luna did the first time she met Blueblood, go right ahead,” Spike replied. “I’ve heard worse.”
“I still need to have words with her about using that kind of language around you,” Twilight replied. “But you’re right… I know Celestia and Luna meant well, what they did, but I’m still mad at them for just letting Spliced go.”
Spike placed a claw on her withers. “She was an adult mare, Twilight,” he said quietly. “It was her choice, and much as I’m going to miss her too... I just wish she’d at least said goodbye before she went.”
Twilight smiled at him. “Thanks, Spike.”
“Now come on, we’ve got to get ready.”
A few hours later, the seven mares and one dragon had arrived in Canterlot, and had been escorted into one of the private meeting rooms. Celestia and Luna were both waiting for them, and once the eight were seated, Celestia cleared her throat. “Twilight?”
Twilight looked up at her. “Yes, Celestia?”
“We need to talk about what happened last night.”
“Yes,” Twilight said flatly. “We do.” She gestured to everypony (and dragon) else in the room. “I have a good grasp on everything that happened. But I’d appreciate it if you could explain your reasoning to all of us.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow at that before looking at everypony in the room. “I think that could be best said in private, Twilight.”
“I’d rather you say it where all of us could hear,” Twilight replied. “I’ve already shared a great deal of what I learned about other dimensions and Powers with everypony here - and Spike,” she added, giving him a fond smile. “They deserve to hear what you have to say.”
Celestia still looked hesitant, but felt a hoof on the back of her neck. “Tell them, Celly,” Luna said quietly.
“All right.” Celestia took a deep breath. “Last night, I found Genome laying next to the statue of Nightmare Moon. She confessed that she was a monster, that she’d ended the lives of untold millions with her creations - viruses and diseases that she’d made and spread. At that moment, I knew I could not allow her to remain with you any longer.”
There were gasps of horror from around the room, and Celestia continued. “There are ancient laws regarding how to deal with criminals from other dimensions. I am bound by these laws, just as all Powers are, including the six of you,” she said as she waved at Twilight and her fellow Bearers. “Had I refused to turn her over, those from Genome’s dimension would have had free legal reign to take what they believed was their due from our dimension.”
Twilight nodded. “Go on.”
“When she confessed, Genome told me that even if I did the absolute worst I could to her, it was far less than she deserved. She also asked that I tell you to forget about her, as she felt you didn’t need to be tainted by association with her.” Celestia shook her head. “I was prepared to simply have her locked away in one of our most secure prisons, ones that we had hoped never to have to use. But when her people came for her, I had no choice but to let them take her. Furthermore, she willingly surrendered to them, her only conditions being that they leave all of us alone and not punish us for her crimes.”
She bowed. “Quite frankly, I’m glad to have somepony like that back in the hooves of those who would ensure she’s kept safely away from the populace - and away from my little ponies.”
Twilight glowered, and for a moment, the others could see what looked almost like flames around her. “She was my friend, and you’re glad she’s gone‽”
Celestia gave her a sad look. "Twilight. Spliced Genome was a mass murderer. She killed millions with her plagues, and-"
"You think I don't know that?"
Celestia, taken aback, blinked a few times. "What?"
"I figured out she must have done something horrible a long time ago," Twilight said quietly. "As I told you in that one letter I sent a while back, she talked casually about warfare and the kinds of weapons they had in her world - weapons that could destroy entire planets. When I described some of what I'd learned about the most powerful weapons that existed from the human world I went to, she said they were smarter and better restrained than her own people for not wanting to use them." She shook her head. "I knew then that she must have done something horrific to end up where she did, and when I took the time to think about it, I guessed it must have involved a lot of deaths. When the ponies from her homeworld came here and confirmed it, that just proved what I'd suspected."
"Then how can you stand up for her?" Celestia asked, a bit sharper than she'd intended.
"Because I also saw how she was changing," Twilight said. "And in case you’ve forgotten, I was there when she surrendered - I saw her asking for clemency for all of us. If she truly didn't care, would she have done that?" As Celestia started to speak, Twilight cut her off. "No. She gave herself up to protect us. And I don't think anypony would have done that unless they were truly repentant."
"Twilight, I know you like to see the best in people, but-"
"Celestia." Twilight looked her right in the eye. "You once told me that you'd watched me grow up, how I've changed and matured. You'll always be my teacher, no matter how... peeved I am at you for certain things. But right now, I need for you to trust that I know what I'm doing."
She took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and slowly released it. "And I know we've had an effect on Spliced. I know she's changing for the better. I know that in her heart of hearts, she was really a friend." She gazed sharply at the elder Princess. "And I also know that if I could freely cross over to her dimension in order to stand up for her, I would. But with our status as Powers, I can't. Nor can I send Spike or Starlight - Spike’s still underage, and besides that, I don't trust Hesturland's leaders not to try something to endanger them. Or to tamper with any message I might try to send over."
Twilight took a moment to calm herself again, then looked up at Celestia. "Until and unless I can personally confirm otherwise, I will continue to consider Spliced Genome to be my friend. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go somewhere else for a while."
And with that, she telekinetically lifted her friends, and the eight vanished in a flash of light.
Looking at the spot where Twilight had stood, Celestia lowered her head. "Oh, Twilight..." she said sadly. With everything I’ve done… how did I lose your faith?
Seven ponies and one young dragon rematerialized in Twilight's castle, and Twilight slowly levitated them to the ground. When she'd done so, she cleared her throat. "Girls... I need to be alone for a while."
"Twilight-" Spike started, and Twilight's face softened.
"Hey," she said softly as she drew him over. "It's okay, Spike. I'm going to be okay. I just need a day or so to cool off. Someplace away from Princess duties, where I can just be a normal civilian for a while." She smiled. "Once I get packed and go, take care of the castle for me while I'm gone, okay? And you know how to reach me."
Spike smiled up at her as he figured out what she meant. "Sure thing, Twilight."
“Oh, and one more thing. Discord!”
The draconequus in question popped in, wearing a butler’s suit. "You raaang?"
“Discord.” Twilight looked up at him. “I’m heading through the mirror. And from what I’ve been told, I’m pretty sure doing so won’t leave an opening for an alternate Lord or Lady of Magic to come here, but you’d know better than anyone else. So, is it safe?”
Discord nodded, snapping his suit away and for once looking serious. “The two worlds were linked almost from the moment of Creation and, while not quite reflections of one another, they have undergone a form of parallel development and are intrinsically bound together.” He looked thoughtful. “Should a Power from this world leave it for a completely different world for a time - you visiting Spliced’s world, for example - it would leave a gap in this world. The mirror-side Twilight, having linked to you as a Lady of Magic, could cross over and fill that gap with her very presence protecting this side from intruders. But, that would leave her side open to another Magic from Outside.” Discord tapped his claws. “So long as both local Magics, or Honesties or Kindnesses or the like, are present in one or the other of this particular pair of worlds, another of that Power cannot enter from Outside.”
He popped into a form Twilight recognized, and she cringed to see her Canterlot High outfit on him. “Due to the close links between these two worlds though, it’s perfectly safe for both of you to be on the same side together - that won’t leave a gap in the overall setup, like visiting another Equestria or its mirror-side world entirely would. There was one case where something went a little wonky in the connections and a gap was left, but that was due to extenuating circumstances in which Harmony itself was not fully in balance and had been playing around with things. You won’t have to worry about that here, I guarantee it.”
He popped away his outfit and bowed to Twilight. “Enjoy your vacation, Twilight.”
Twilight smiled. “One more thing. What did you think of Spliced Genome?”
Discord froze, then turned solemn. “All I can say,” he said quietly, “Is that she had been hurt very badly. And while she could have been a threat, her mindset in this world was such that she didn’t want to be one, even before she had your examples to learn from. And in the time she was here, she learned far more about what it means to be a good person than Celestia is currently willing to acknowledge.” He raised a claw. “I’ll see you for tea next week, Fluttershy. Ta-ta!”
With that, he was gone.
Twilight looked at the others. “Girls, Spike?”
“Yes?” Applejack asked.
“While I’m gone… I want you all to think about Spliced. What we saw of her, what you think about the kind of pony she is. I want your honest opinions, the good and the bad. And when you’re done… I want to go over them, just to see what else we can learn from the experience.”
Once the others had acknowledged her and left, Twilight and Spike headed for Twilight’s room, Starlight following them. Inside, she got out her saddlebags and several large books, which she tucked inside. Then, the trio headed for the Mirror Room.
In there, Twilight retrieved the old journal, the one with Sunset’s Cutie Mark on it, and began to write.
Dear Sunset,
This will be the last message you receive from this journal. Not because I’m cutting off contact, but because as close as this one’s getting to being full, I’ve made several new pairs. One set will stay empty and be used exclusively for keeping the portal open after this, and the other sets are for you and the other girls to keep in touch with me. Though you won’t actually need to use the first of those for that purpose for a few days.
I’m coming for a visit in a very short while. I’ve missed seeing you in person, and we’ve got a lot to talk about.
Your friend,
Twilight Sparkle
With the glowing letters that signified the message had gone through, Twilight set the journal into its slot on the device she’d added to the Crystal Mirror, and activated it. When the device had powered up, she looked back at Spike and Starlight.
“Take care of yourselves,” she said. “And I hope the other Pinkie doesn’t try to get me to make out with myself this time.”
Spike threw her a salute, a cheerful grin on his face, and Starlight gave a faint smile. Then, the two watched as Twilight walked through the Mirror.
When she was gone, Spike turned to Starlight. “So, what’re you going to do now?”
“Well, I’d better be off to write that report Twilight wanted,” Starlight said with a sigh. “I don’t know how much she’s going to like it though - I know she thought of Spliced as a friend, and I know that mare gave herself to protect us all, but to be honest? I still don’t like her.”
“Twilight never said you had to like her,” Spike pointed out. “She wanted honesty. And as grateful as I am for much as she helped me, even I think she was kind of creepy at times.”
Starlight nodded. “Point taken.” Then she blinked. “And what did Twilight mean by ‘I hope the other Pinkie doesn’t try to get me to make out with myself this time’?”
“Apparently, when Twilight went over the last time and met the other her, Pinkie kept trying to get them to kiss each other and stuff,” Spike said with an eye-roll. “She thought it’d be funny for some reason. Both Twilights disagreed.”
“Oh-kay.” Starlight still looked confused, then shook her head. “I’m not even going to try and fathom how that Pinkie’s mind works - I have a hard enough time figuring out our Pinkie.”
“You and me both,” Spike replied as he looked around. Setting one journal on a nearby table, he pointed. “That’s the one Twilight said she’d be using to contact us in case something comes up. She’s got an alarm spell set up on it so we should hear it anywhere in the castle, so keep an ear out for it. ”
“I will,” Starlight promised him.
With that settled, the two headed for their rooms, their minds whirling.
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... don't you have a death squad or two ready to kill her and her friends.
How could you not lose her faith with everything she has learned in this series
Yeah, Celly can be quite hypocritical sometimes
9295197
Except Twilight doesn't know that part yet - when she does find out, expect fury (even when she learns Celestia made similar precautions for herself). What she does know is that Celestia's kept a lot from her, and she's not happy about it.
Until next time...
Anon e Mouse Jr.
If you're Anon e Mouse Jr, who's Anon e Mouse Sr?
9295502
My dad, who used to post on a now-defunct forum as Anon e Mouse. I briefly posted there as Anon e Mouse Jr., and kept the name for pretty much everything else I've done since then.
Until next time...
Anon e Mouse Jr.
9295597
Fair enough.
Im not quiet sure where this story is going...
Is is about Twi wandering throu the EQG world and trying to cope with what happend ?
Or is it about the Main six and how they react to who Spliced really is?
If this does not spoil anything I would greatly appreciate a little clarification.
Maybe it is really obvious and I am just a little dense today ...
9297753
This will be a multi-arc story. The first arc will involve the following:
* Twilight spending time on the far side of the mirror with Sunset and the rest of the HuMane Seven.
* The others reminiscing and thinking about Spliced, which will happen at the same time in-story.
* Twilight will return from her visit in plenty of time for she and the others to send recorded documentation (from the Princesses) and other sworn accounts of Spliced's time in Equestria over to Spliced's world, information that will be used in her trial as previously shown in The Mare From the Moon.
Beyond that, there's one event I can publicly confirm as happening: the meeting that Gear Shaft said she was setting up for later (back in chapter 25 of The Mare From the Moon).
There will be more arcs afterward, but I'm not yet ready to reveal them.
Until next time...
Anon e Mouse Jr.
9297799
Thx for the explanation