Enchorus

by GMBlackjack

Aside of Bacon (FanofMostEverything)

Author's Note:

Related to The Immortal Game arc from The League of Sweetie Belles.

Shimmy didn't really have an office, per se. Technically speaking, she wasn't even employed, at least not in the sense of collecting wages. She certainly didn't want to get involved in multiversal politics; that was no place for a spirit of Harmony. (Okay, Cosmo Sparkle put the lie to that; it was no place for this spirit of Harmony, because she said so.) She'd called herself the ultimate trophy wife more than once, to Egghead Sparkle's great displeasure. Still, only one of them had become the R&D head of a multibillion-dollar magitech company after Fancy Pants stepped down, and it wasn't Shimmy.

What Shimmy did have was the penthouse apartment atop the Fancy Industries headquarters, which she had to admit was a step up from the abandoned warehouse in the bad part of Canterlot she'd called home for her first years on Earth Shimmer. (That was now a church, because Shimmerists were more tenacious than kudzu and spread about as quickly.) The palatial suite also acted as a great spot for her work as a pro bono consultant for Fancy, though at this point, Egghead's understanding of the finer points of thaumology met or exceeded her own in many disciplines.

"What do you mean you didn't get everything back!?" cried Egghead.

Then there was the entirely different magic of defusing a subcritical Twilight Sparkle without collateral damage or hour-long lectures, where Shimmy had her wife beat several times over. "Relax. Some thaums just got spread across the sum totality of Sunsets. And I left a mark on the Mad universe. No big deal."

That didn't stop Egghead from pacing in front of a sofa that cost more than all of her furniture in that warehouse (Neither of them had wanted something that expensive, but it had been a wedding present from Rarity.) "But someone could—"

"It's fine, really. I've nearly finished regenerating everything Silvertongue took from me that I didn't get back immediately."

The good news was that stopped Egghead's pacing. The bad news was it didn't calm her down even slightly. "Nearly? It's been months! What if this is a starfish situation and the lost magic grows a whole other you?"

Shimmy shook her head. "It's just magic. There's no mind or soul for it to grow around. It can't do anything on its own."

Egghead twitched. "Based on my admittedly limited studies of ka, I suspect you just doomed someone. Possibly us."

"Relax, Egghead."

"I'm still not comfortable with that nickname."

Shimmy smirked and embraced her Twilight. "Well, I'm the Divine Bacon Horse. You're my wife. You can follow the logic from there."

"That doesn't mean I have to like it." Egghead leaned into the hug regardless.

A ringing phone ruined the moment, though Shimmy didn't let go of Egghead even as she telekinesed it to her ear. "Shimmy Shimmer."

"This is Captain Suzie Mash. Did you notice any missing magic after the Silvertongue Incident?"

Shimmy sighed. She didn't even need to look to know Egghead was giving her an "I told you so" glare. "You know, it's funny you should mention that..."

~~~

A portal opened, depositing the alicorn in the park. The spirit of Harmony teleported to her a moment later.

Pathos considered Shimmy.

Shimmy considered Pathos.

"You know, I never did get a chance to appreciate having feathered wings." In a flash, Shimmy became a duplicate of Pathos and fluttered her wings experimentally. "I mean, myriad forms and all, but I usually stick with the human." She returned to that shape.

Pathos said nothing for a few moments. "I am... unsure how to feel about meeting you."

Shimmy nodded and began walking to a tree atop a small hill, making sure to cover them in an SEP field. Pathos didn't need any unwanted interruptions. "I know how you feel."

"Yes. You do."

"... Right." Shimmy shook her head with a grin as she sat. "You know, I'm technically one of the least empathic Sunsets out there, at least in terms of psychic power? Turned down the geode and everything. I guess it's just baked in. But yeah, seeing what's essentially me as an alicorn... Well, I don't get out much in a multiversal sense; the closest I usually see is Corona. It's weird to see an old dream in the flesh."

After a moment of hesitation, Pathos sat next to her. "It is rather stranger for me. I had encountered few humans before now, and the unique properties of this world make it feel like the first time all over again. Research is one thing, but seeing it for myself..." She trailed off and looked up, watching several pegasus aspects soar overhead on wings of light.

Shimmy followed her gaze and smiled. "Yeah, tourism's boomed since we fully joined the Merodi. Come for the unusual magic, stay for what we can do with it. I've heard some people say the food's almost on par with Earth Ottoman."

Pathos gave a noncommittal whicker. "Then there is the matter of my own identity. I... do not know what it means to be a Sunset Shimmer. Sometimes it seems that strangers know me better than I know myself, or at least claim to."

"From what I've heard, that's common for most people who happen to be well-known characters. Be glad we're well-respected. Ditzwalker could tell you stories about being judged based on her counterparts."

"And then there is how you are like Titan, and yet so different from him." Pathos spread her forelegs to encompass the scene before them. "You rose from insignificance to take on the mantle of the mare he slew. You govern this universe, yet share the burden with many others. Mortals revere you against your will. You rule without ruling. He would find you abhorrent on every conceivable level."

"Well, based on what I've heard, the feeling's mutual. While I'm glad he created you, I'm also glad most Equestrias don't have to deal with him." Shimmy held her hand out towards Pathos. After a nod, she ran her fingers through the pony's mane. "You still seem tense."

Pathos winced. An ear scratch didn't relieve nearly as much tension as it usually did. "I thought you were one of the least empathic Sunsets."

"You demonstrate how that isn't saying much. Still working through everything?"

"That, and..." Pathos shivered. "I can feel my magic resonate with yours. Weak as I am, you could consume me and I would not be able to resist for a moment."

"Good thing I'd never do that. I'm not about to kill someone else just because they used to be a part of me. That would be like..." Shimmy's hand came to a stop as the thought struck her. "Hmm."

"What?"

Shimmy grinned and got out her phone. Once the call connected she said, "Hey Egghead, guess what? We have a daughter now!"

"Technically speaking, I am not your daughter."

"And we're skipping straight to the moody teenage years! She just said I'm not her real mom!"

A shaky smile made its way across Pathos's muzzle. "You are a strange one, Shimmy Shimmmer."

Shimmy covered her phone and smiled back. "This is the multiverse, Pathos. You have to sacrifice a little sanity if you want to maintain the rest of it." She took her hand off the microphone. "No, no, this is nothing like the Gamma Project! Let me know when you're free; you'll love her."

Comments

[Voltaje]

This is weird, sunset got a dougher, which is herself, XD, I mean, she is kind of a spirit, I think she could create several if she wishes using her esscense, anyway, I think the right thing to do is return the magic twilight got from phatos, now that titan is no more it should be safe, or giving it back to shimmy, that power do not belong to her, she got enough from silvertongue.

[Crack-Fic Casey]

Hey, I recognize this!

[Jalthir]

Didnt one of the LSB people say the same thing to pathos? Or am I mixing instances up?

[DarthSonic66]

"This is nothing like the Gamma project"

WHAT DID YOU DO TO GAMMA, FAN YOU FIEND?!

derpicdn.net/img/2018/9/3/1823624/large.png

[FanOfMostEverything]

10190629
Egghead was just worried that Shimmy had gone and done drunken magical science without her. at all, because that would be wrong.

[My name is R]

This has the exact same feel to it as some of the chapters from Group Precipitation, especially with how it started as a comment on another story in the set.

"You are a strange one, Shimmy Shimmmer."

I honestly don't know: Is that a typo, or does her last name have 3 ms?

9932777
No, but FoME did type a few key passages of this in the comment section.