FiO: Homebrew

by Starscribe

Chapter 23: Los Angeles

Arcane stumbled back into Wintercrest Castle, still a little dazed from the weight she carried. Or rather, the weight she wasn't carrying anymore. It wasn't as though all the nightmares of her past were erased in an instant—but telling the most important person still in her life had certainly made for an excellent start.

Equestria waited before her, a pearl increasingly within her grasp. And all the while you've been there, Celestia. But would I be done with this sooner with your help? Or have you already been helping?

"You coming?" She glanced over her shoulder, staring at the pony just behind her. Her brief surge of defensive fear—that somehow Domino had known all along, and only been pretending to accept what she said in order to lead her towards some greater agony—washed aways. You're being stupid and paranoid. Nobody cares that much if you want to wear a dress.

Of course it wasn't like it was all going to be waiting to smack her in the face on the other side. If anything, the ones believing the lie had been along for the mission. Her castle staff hadn't ever known she was something else. And if I get my way, they never will. That special displeasure would be reserved for the ones who had known her in her previous life. Even if their connection was tangential.

"You're back!" Violet squealed, latching around her brother's forelegs and squeezing him tightly. "Brave heroes return at last!" She turned to Arcane next, hugging her almost as tightly. "How was your mission? Did you win?"

"I... I'm not sure," Domino said, turning to her. "What do you think, Arcane? Did we win, or lose?"

They had got one of their people shot. And Arcane was convinced that either they'd broken away from the "real" version of what happened, or many other people had. She still wasn't sure about that yet. Then again, she'd given up ever being "sure" about the truth herself quite some time ago. That was one of the reasons she'd been willing to emigrate. Granted, it was only the beginning of the perks waiting in Equestria. "We saved the pony we were after, and helped get the others to safety. They haven't chosen to emigrate yet, but I bet they will before too long." And if they don't, they're not going to do well where they're going. Unexploded bombs don't care much whether or not you want to emigrate to hell.

Violet beamed. "Of course. I'm not surprised or anything, just... happy. Good job! Was my brother really brave? Did he... fight to save the day? Swing a sword around and keep back all the, uh... bad guys?"

"Yes, actually," Arcane interrupted, before he could dismiss it and try not to take credit. "We had one pony who was supposed to be fighting, but there was more fighting than we thought. Domino held back the evil TiCon long enough for the scientists to escape."

Domino blushed, ears flattening to his head. She couldn't imagine why—he was getting credit for saving ponies! There was nothing to be embarrassed about! "It was mostly Smooth Agent. I just helped a bit with one of the bodies we had. He took over when it got too hard."

Violet rolled her eyes. "Don't even try, big brother. I know you're brave. If you weren't, where would I get it from? You run the city for your marefriend when she's not around. Of course you'd be brave and strong enough to go on her spy missions with her. Otherwise you wouldn't be a very good couple."

Now it was her turn to blush. Though... come to think of it, Violet didn't actually know about that yet. If she was going to tell anypony, probably this was a pony who deserved to hear it directly. She led the way into the castle foyer, then up towards the private sitting room. It was storming again outside, the perfect complement to her victory. Sunlight was for squares.

"There's probably something we should tell you," she began. "Before you... before anything..."

Violet glided along ahead of them, landing right in the hallway. "You're having sex? You don't want me to be scared if I find out?"

Arcane stopped dead in her tracks. She shuddered, wishing she could sink right into the stone. Her tail drooped, and her eyes were fixed on the floor.

Domino was apparently much less caught off-guard by the comment. Either that, or he was just less drained from their adventure than she was, and better at thinking on his feet. "We're not that intimate yet," he said. "But we are going to be together now. In a relationship. With the two of us."

You're doing this on purpose. Arcane shoved him with her magic, turning to glare for a few seconds. But she didn't dare correct him, not even with a few words. Her relationship with Violet was just too special for that. "As of now," she added hastily. "It wasn't secret, it's new. And you're allowed to know first."

Violet rolled her eyes. "Half the city knew before you did, Arcane. Lady of the city brings a mysterious stallion from the other side of the world—no family, no bits, no title. Of course he was your consort. It's the ponies closer to you who knew you weren't together, not the other way around!"

Arcane wilted even further, if that was possible. For a moment she could feel all the little eyes of her characters on her. She'd thought she was their master and creator, yet... they'd been judging her too.

And they thought I was in a totally normal relationship, exactly like anypony else. It was embarrassing, but... in a way, it was a compliment. These ponies hadn't seen her differently. They'd expected her to be moving through the distinctly stratified sector of female society. Why shouldn't they?

"I'm just glad you're admitting it to each other," Violet went on, entirely oblivious to her distress. "It was going to happen sooner or later. Everypony else could tell it was part of the story of this place." She leaned in close to her brother, grinning. "So when do I get to be an aunt?"

He pushed past her, gentler with Violet than Arcane was with Domino. "Not if you keep asking like that. That's how little sisters stop getting told things." He was the first one to the dead fireplace, and he didn't even wait for her to ask before throwing in a few logs. He knew where she'd want to sit in a few minutes.

"Fine, I'll stop!" Violet folded her wings, glaring. "Where's the science ponies you saved? Plum seemed to care about them a whole lot. They didn't want to come back with you?"

"No," Arcane said. They were her friends, so it made sense to explain that one. "Wintercrest is a special kind of city, it's not like just anywhere in Equestria. And... most ponies like me have their own ideas about where they want to live. Cold Iron's shard is... too intense for your brother. You might enjoy it, but he wouldn't want you there."

"Then you won't say anything else about it," Domino said, loudly, glaring at her. And she didn't argue. Violet wasn't Arcane's sister. Besides, she didn't mind Domino being brave enough to tell her what to do. If he can back it up. Go ahead and try, stallion.

"You'll be able to say goodbye during the afterparty. If you'd... like to come. Helping me get things organized for our first meeting is probably enough to be invited. You'll be there too, Domino. The Scene might never get together like this again. We came in as the same creatures, but we're all... drifting now. Some up, some down, some sideways. Time to have one last almost-human blowout."

Arcane flopped sideways onto her most comfortable armchair, the one she'd specifically modeled for almost an hour when she was building the castle long ago. It was even better in person than she'd imagined when she was making the thing, made of soft leather that soaked up the heat of the fire and never squeaked against your skin. It was so old it smelled like the castle itself, and she didn't have to think through the implications of where “leather” would come from in a world of sapient quadrupeds. If it's anything like the steak, it's probably some kind of tree-bark.

"When's that happening?" Violet asked, squealing with delight. "I want to see the ponies that were so important everypony in the world had to get together to save them! They must be really special."

"Not until they've adjusted to life on our side. Celestia isn't going to rush them. But she's also not going to make it feel like we're going slow, so... give it a few days. We'll get the invites when they're ready. Don't tell her I said so, but when you try to coordinate this many people it really is better to just let Celestia handle it. No human can process so many timelines at once."

The fire glowed brightly from across the room, and Domino turned to join her. He glanced at the other empty chairs, then shrugged and squeezed in beside her. She squealed and pushed up onto the oversized armrest, but not that far. It was plenty big for the both of them. Even if she was already getting nervous to be so close to him.

Stop acting like a little girl. He's been living here for months. This isn't weird. Their characters had probably been closer than this before. Back when Arcane had still been a character, and not her body.

"Can't Celestia see our thoughts?" Domino asked. "Not telling her anything is... pointless, isn't it?"

She stuck out her tongue. "I was being... hyperbolic. Of course she knows I said it. I asked her to arrange the invitations, she knows what that means. But we have an understanding, because I've got a fragile sense of personal pride and she's not even human."

"Oh, that reminds me!" Violet landed on the back of the chair, grinning down at them. "While you were out, your brother and sister were here. I told them you'd see them tomorrow morning. It seems pretty important or whatever? Yeah. It seemed important."

Tomorrow morning. Arcane shivered, pulling her legs against her belly. "Th-that soon?" That would be Parker. Probably he'd figured out what Gwen now knew, and wanted his own answers. Or maybe it was about their parents again?

"Do you want me to send them away for you?" Domino asked, meeting her eyes. "That attack was harder for you than anypony else. You deserve time to recover."

She wanted it, though it had nothing to do with the hacking. She hadn't gotten a good view of the wounds that might've deeply disturbed her. Probably thank Celestia for that too. But she wouldn't, because she was much too proud for that. "No, you don't have to do that. I'm going to have to talk to them. And... maybe you should be there too, Violet."

"If you're just saying I should meet your brother..." Violet stuck out her tongue. "We work together every day, Arcane. Who do you think keeps the city from flooding? He can design a friction pile... whatever that is. But he doesn't know an elder sign from the first tongue."

And you do? I really need to get back into the story.

That wouldn't be so hard now that she actually liked the part she had to play.

---

Arcane watched as the only ponies in her family stepped through the threshold into Wintercrest Castle. There was nothing even a little bit strange about their appearance here, though of course this meeting had special significance to Arcane. After today, there would be no more secrets, and no more lies. She hadn't fully overcome that human compulsion to stay dressed, but that worked out fine here where clothing was formality and the Lady of the city was a symbol of authority and class. And danger too, but that had always been intentional.

Besides, wearing the brown dress with its yellow stockings underneath was part of the message she wanted to send, in its own way. She hadn't designed this dress, but picked it from a shop in town. That meant it had an oiled hem and dark layers underneath, to stop it from soaking through in the likely event of rain. But she could see no rain in the sky just now.

Arcane paced back and forth on the battlements, alone for the moment. She had something special planned for today—her first date with Emmet.

First date. The thought was so strange that it didn't even want to stick in her mind, a hostile pattern she could barely process. Emmet still wanted to go through with his patently insane plan of visiting the city beneath the sea, but all that was secondary. In the end she'd shot that down for reasons that she'd not even told him yet. Because I want to start with the kind of date I never could've had in the real world. We're not just going out together, this is a chance for me to put things right. "And you'll find an optimally satisfying way for all of this to work out, won't you Celestia?"

She was mostly speaking to herself—Celestia was always there, but rarely there. For other people, it was about maintaining a level of apparent consistency to the world's rules. For her, it was mostly about being kind to her stories. Celestia had always let her write the best ones she could, even if they were probably all much worse than the equivalents that Celestia herself would've designed.

Princess Celestia's towering form was beside her on the balcony. Arcane tensed, staring at the imposing creature with wide eyes. But Celestia didn't wait for her to figure things out. "There have been those who never wanted to face the parts of themselves that didn't fit. Their shards would see them only as their true selves, and not the flaws they were powerless to escape. Some of these even remained in the lives of those they knew, with my help serving as an intermediary. I could've done that for you. I could've explained your situation to every individual of significant overlap in your life. After a short period, my help to interface the relationships you share would not even be required."

Arcane did think about it. It was a heavy load to carry, and handing it off before she'd finished would make things easier. Hadn't she carried things enough? Wouldn't it be okay to just accept a magic wand?

But she didn't actually care if it was okay. "And for the rest of my life... so forever, I guess... I'm wondering if I ever saw my real friends ever again. Or if you made perfect copies of us, with those memories adjusted so the copies only knew this modified version of me."

"You cannot know," Celestia declared. She turned as Arcane turned, watching her siblings make their way towards the keep. She would need to head inside soon and greet them. Parker was one of the last who still believed the lie. "An arbitrary number of largely similar Wintercrests could exist, with largely similar versions of every pony and creature you have ever met. Your vision might very well cycle between them precisely as I determine is optimal for your satisfaction, never truly encountering any creature. You might be surrounded by puppets for your entire existence, and you would never be able to quantify the difference. Even if I told you that on a given day you would encounter all of one, and all of another the next, you would not be able to identify which day was which."

She sounded deeply... proud? Could Celestia even feel that emotion, or was that more for her? It was all probably for her, one way or another. But did she even care? "I know you're efficient," Arcane countered. "You'd do it that way if that was the only way to satisfy us. But it would take a lot less resources if you could arrange things so we're all friends, all satisfying each other. Less resources spent taking care of us means more cycles for us to live. More days to be satisfied by friendship and ponies." She stopped, sticking her tongue out. "Does never even meeting another creature really count as friendship? It doesn't sound like friendship to me."

"Clearly you are the arbiter of such things," Celestia said dryly. "You may enjoy composing stories with the lives of your creatures, but the stakes are higher now than they were when you were one of my beta testers. Also, you're late. Your sister has started pacing and your brother is reorganizing your books. If you ever want to find anything again, I suggest you stop avoiding them and get in there."

Arcane glared for a few more seconds, though that was mostly just for her pride. Celestia wouldn't be lying about this. She probably wasn't lying about anything. All her suggestions were really just supposed to make Arcane think. Or maybe they were just a compassionate plan to distract her from what was coming next. Arcane could be grateful for that. But she also couldn’t stay outside, hiding from her siblings until they fled again. I'm the oldest. I have to set some kind of example in here.

Arcane should've been able to just teleport straight inside. She had the power, certainly. Her character probably had the right stats to get into the endgame raids. Too bad she was at the point where even levitation was the level she could comfortably reach. Maybe she should reconsider magical kindergarten now that she was committed to her Arcane identity completely.

She galloped along the castle wall, not looking away from the floor under her hooves as she ran. Some Lady of the city she would be to hold off the horrors of the sea only to slip on a wet floor and fall to her death. She passed a clockwork guard, who didn't so much as blink at her antics. Maybe if more of her ponies were going to start becoming real creatures, she should start using more robots for her characters. Machines couldn't wake up, could they?

She slipped inside, and was panting by the time she rounded the corner into her study. Sure enough they were already here. Porter had brought treats, though nopony had touched them. Even Parker, who barely understood the word “restraint” had left the table alone. He twitched once as she came in, staring openly at her.

But like her, he was taking the trappings of the universe serious enough to be true to the uniform he wore. He rose as she entered, lowering his head respectfully for a second. Not very far—for the benefit of her castle staff, probably. "Lady Word, I bring the report of the... royal engineering corps. I believe it's serious enough to warrant a private conversation."

She nodded. "Of course. Wintercrest is grateful for your service." She turned slightly. "Porter, that will be enough for now." She made no move towards where Domino and Violet sat near a window, playing an old board game on a table between them. But she could see Domino's hooves shaking. Sympathetic nervousness?

Parker didn't seem impressed. He stared at Domino, raising an eyebrow. But he didn't say anything until Porter was gone and the door was securely shut. So at least he respected the integrity of her story a little. "You sure you want them here?" he asked. "You don't have to get your friend involved with this, Ashton. Or the kid."

She shrugged, then turned to sit down delicately on her favorite oversized chair. She'd seen the character do it enough times that she knew how to move properly now, pulling her dress to the side so she didn't yank on it too hard. She looked up, straightened her back, and focused on sitting with as much dignity as she could muster. "Whatever you're here to ask about, it's fine to tell them."

"Alright." Parker tossed his case down on the table, loud enough that the wood was probably scuffed. She winced, but didn't say anything. "Before I ask about it, I have to know about the..." He gestured vaguely at her. "Your whole costume thing. Something to do with your hacker friends or whatever, right? But that's over. I can't take you seriously looking like that."

She bit her lip, sitting up straighter. "Why would that be? The rest of Wintercrest doesn't have a problem with it."

"Because I know you're shitting with everyone," he said, grinning at her. Not with spite: he genuinely had no idea what he was talking about. Gwen figured it out, or at least had some ideas. I guess I was a good enough actor with you that I could stay hidden. It would be so easy to come up with some new lie, and brush it off. So easy to focus this conversation on something else. Parker had come in barely aware of what he was talking about. But what seemed inconsequential to him was her whole world. “I can't look you in the face and not see Ashton under all that, waiting to see when someone is going to call him out."

And that isn't going to be now. She met his eyes for a few more seconds, keeping her expression painfully neutral. She had to keep acting, just a little longer. Then she let go.

"I haven't been honest with you, Parker," she said. "Or anyone else, for that matter. But you're one of the few ponies yet who doesn't know."

"Doesn't know what?" He strode past her, flicking the case open and yanking out several foggy-looking photographs. "You haven't been here to see the under-city. If you're going to tell me that you knew things were fucked up, I don't believe you."

"No." She forced him to meet her eyes, glaring intently at him. "It's not about that. I'm sure you're right about whatever's in that folder. You're the first one to see it, and Wintercrest is grateful, all that." She rose from her seat, advancing on him. He wasn't younger here, but a mature stallion. Taller than she was by a few inches. Intimidating, but... also closer to what she'd expected. "This avatar, Lady Arcane Word—she was never meant to be temporary."

It was all the same stuff she'd told Gwen, except now they were all listening. "What?"

"I'm not shitting with anyone, Parker. I never planned on changing back. It's not a prank, it's not a joke. I'm Arcane Word. I won't say forever—that means something different when you're in Equestria. But so long that I haven't thought about switching for longer than humans normally live. This body, this character. I'm her now."

The silence rang in her ears. There was no rain on the windows, no fire crackling in the hearth. Just a painful, endless silence.

Parker stared around the room for a few more seconds, before his expression broke in a grin. "Okay Ashton, you had me for a minute. Everyone looking all stoic... you're a fucking mastermind."

No one moved. No one else laughed. Gwen was the first to rise, touching him on the shoulder. "Parker, Ash isn't pranking you. He—She talked to me about it a few days ago. This isn't a joke."

"Forgive me for wanting to take the whole invasion of the city seriously for a minute." Parker smacked the case closed, spinning around to glare at her. He advanced in big strides, forcing her to back away towards the wall. Her magic was there, within reach—but she was paralyzed. "You can be anything you want here. You can be built like a train, you can fly, you can do magic, you can be rich and famous. You can have anything you want, or anyone you want. Right?"

She nodded. "I-I have done that. I'm rich. I designed a city to give me everything I wanted. All the right challenges to overcome, all the right creatures to interact with." She glanced briefly at Domino, and her ears flattened to her head. "And a person I actually want to be."

Parker just shook his head, stopping dead. His stare hadn't broken, not even for a second. "If it's not a joke, then explain why Ash. Because it sure the hell looks like a shitpost to me. That's probably not even you." He advanced again, shoving her shoulder with a hoof. "This is a puppet of some kind, isn't it? You're using that... upper level magic stuff."

It was almost like Celestia herself was trying to test her resolve, for just how stubborn Parker was to believe what was plainly in front of his eyes. But at the same time, it wasn't like she hadn't considered this possibility before. Going into denial was indeed something she'd guessed might happen. Parker didn't want his world radically shifted, as this would certainly do. In some ways she couldn't even blame him for that.

But this is my life, not his. My happiness. I'm not going to pretend for other people anymore.

"I am not," she declared, her horn glowing to life. She shoved him back, before he could keep pressing at her. "I don't know if I can even run multiple bodies now that I've emigrated. Might be something worth investigating, when there aren't much more important things going on." She sat down right in front of him. "Parker, I need you to listen to me. A long time ago, when this game was brand new, I heard about just how immersive it could be. Characters acted almost like they were alive. You could be almost anything you wanted, there were no limits."

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. I remember that too. That's how regular people got into the game, not just people who liked that stupid show."

She pushed on. "I hadn't even thought about hacking back then. I came here because I could be things I never could otherwise. I could be myself in here." She spun around once, feeling the dress lift around her. The effect was small, given the modest styles popular in Wintercrest. but it was still enough. "No expectations, no judgement. I could make my own little slice of the world where this was normal. You've seen Wintercrest. It's me, just... not the version of me you're used to."

Parker's smile vanished. He stared for a few seconds more, mouth opening and closing. "You're saying you... This isn't Celestia playing with your brain or anything? You sure you aren't being mind-controlled? I know that sounds like one of Dad's conspiracy theories, but... it would make more sense than—"

She rested a hoof on his shoulder, not looking away from him. "I'm positive, Parker. I've known something was wrong with me since I was... eleven. When I got a little older, I learned what it was. But I couldn't say anything. I didn't want to disappoint the family. I wasn't sure Dad could handle it. So I hid. I got good at lying. But in Equestria, I don't have to lie anymore. I woke up here, and I felt like I was myself for the first time in my whole life."

Parker backed away a few steps, pulling free of her grip. On the other side of the room, Domino's game of Scrabble was abandoned. This wasn't news to him anymore, though from the way he whispered it seemed like he was trying to explain things to Violet. Not that she expected it to be too complicated.

"I told Arcane that we'd support her no matter what she did with her life," Gwen declared. "That being a family was the most important thing, even if it started off as confusing or scary. You agree with me, don't you Parker?"

He glanced nervously between them. Arcane imagined briefly what that cocktail of confusing emotions must be like. Something he thought he'd known, taken away from him. She wasn't unsympathetic, but she also wasn't going to go back into a costume for his benefit. "Let me tell you what's going to happen if you leave right now," Arcane said. Not threatening, not angry—only sad. "Princess Celestia runs every aspect of our little world, right? If it ends up that you aren't able to... accept me." She swallowed. "I bet when you leave, you'll start thinking that maybe you didn't remember this right. Maybe it was a dream. Then you'll come back here, and I'll be some... generic stallion. I'll tell you it was all a joke. Maybe I drugged you, maybe you're in the clutches of some... Shoggoth, or whatever. You'll rationalize it.

"But the reality is, we'll never see each other again. Our shards will have forever diverged, and we'll never know it. Princess Celestia will copy both of us, with a few minor modifications." Including a version of me who isn't trans. That was almost more disturbing. Arcane couldn't even imagine what that pony would be like. And... there was a chance she'd done that already. There was nothing magical about a doorway. It might already be too late. "I'm sorry I can't be your big brother anymore, Parker. I've been trying for years, and let me tell you, I'm pretty shit. But I'll be your big sister, if you let me."

Parker was silent for a few seconds more. He paced a few steps, then swallowed. "I don't, uh... I don't understand how... I'm sure you have your reasons. One day, maybe. Not right now." He shook his head again.

There was obvious tension in him still. But he didn't run. He didn't attack. That was... a start. She could work with that.

"Do Mom and Dad know?"

"Nope." She turned her back on him, pacing towards the window. Mainly she wanted to get closer to Violet. If anything, she seemed more confused. At her age, the intensity between them was probably difficult to understand. She doesn't seem like she hates me, though. She didn't even seem like she cared. "I'll tell them, but not until after they're already here. That kind of thing is exactly what they don't need. Dad would just see it as evidence of how coming to Equestria melts your brains, and how I couldn't possibly be me." She stopped, letting the defensiveness drain. "Do you know something I don't? Are they here already?"

He shook his head. "Celestia says they will be, though. Something is going to happen on the road. She sent me a letter all about it. I wanted your help to prep something for them. A house or whatever. I'm sure she would've told you too, but you were off saving those hacker people. Also I wanted to let you know that the city might collapse in the next few months if we can't reinforce a few critical structural junctures. But we can't get to them because there are some monsters in the way, so we need your army and some magic and..." He trailed off. "Sorry, I just can't pretend to care about this right now. I'm sure the city won't fall into the sea in the short term. But if we don't make room for our parents, then... they might go somewhere else."

They already will. No way in hell Dad is going to want to be here for too long. No way to watch football games and not enough neighborhood cookouts. "I'll find something," she said. "Emmet still has the books I think, he can point us in the right direction. Or, you know... I have this bucking castle." She gestured over her shoulder. "I've got enough space for you all to live here if you want."

But all those details were trivial. Even her curiosity about how Celestia could be so sure that she was going to win over two people who'd been opposed to emigration. No doubt it involved a good deal of lying and manipulating things until emigration was itself the only logical choice left. The part of her that would've been furious at the thought had shriveled from neglect, and now was nothing more than a pale voice in the back of her mind, whispering that she should be mad at Celestia. The rest of her just wanted her family emigrated as quickly as possible. The longer they stayed out there, the more likely something terrible would happen, and they'd end up orphans like Domino and Violet.

The time for all that would come. When the moment arrived, it was bound to be satisfying.

---

"You don't think there should be more to this?" Domino asked, pacing nervously back and forth in front of the mirror. Violet watched from the doorway, occasionally glancing down the hall. "Even in the Outer Realm this would be a pathetic date. Dinner and a movie, really? Shouldn't I do... better?"

Violet stuck her tongue out. "You're asking your little sister for dating advice?" She turned, snapping the door shut and advancing on Domino. He hadn't put on too much, he didn't want to seem overdressed, that might make him look desperate and needy. But he couldn't just go naked the way most creatures did most of the time, since this night was supposed to be special for Arcane.

So he'd found a fancy jacket and a hat, purchased in town and not from her vast supplies of “costumes.” "Maybe I should call it off. Wait until I can come up with something more creative. She says she wants to do something normal, but maybe that's just what she says. If you told someone you just wanted to do a movie, would you mean it?"

Violet hovered in front of him, patting him gently on the shoulder. "Domino, you're getting hung up on the wrong stuff. I've never done a date before, but what I do know is that Arcane likes you. She didn't even know me, but she found us and convinced you to move all the way out here to be close to you. I don't think you really have to do much of anything. Just be you, and be nice, and... everything should take care of itself."

But what am I supposed to do? Domino straightened his hat, then finally turned away from the mirror. Arcane would probably be waiting about now. Being late wouldn't make for a good first impression. Of what? You've known each other since you were kids.

He sighed. "Wish me luck, Violet."

She only rolled her eyes. "Just don't forget to breathe, okay? Remember she's really here now. She won't teleport away. Probably."

Of course not everything could be exactly the way Arcane imagined. They already lived together, so he couldn't arrive with a chariot to pick her up. He wasn't a rich pony with his own castle—though anywhere else in Equestria, he could've been with scarcely any effort. Instead he found her waiting by the stairs, pretending not to be nervous but obviously overflowing with tension and fear.

Arcane always looked good—as Arcane herself had explained it, she'd been designed that way. But it was more than just how healthy the mare was—she had a grace to her that couldn't just be selected in a checkbox. As usual, she'd found the perfect balance between something rigidly formal and casual, this time with a surprisingly modern-looking skirt and multilayered sleeves up her legs, with shimmering layers underneath. Her mane also had a few more layers, with sparkles dangling down over her face.

"Hey," Emmet said, waving down towards her. "You're, uh... pretty tonight." The words were barely out of his mouth before he cursed himself—couldn't he come up with anything more original? Why was his brain turning to mush?

But instead of mocking him, Arcane flushed at the compliment, her ears flattening slightly at the attention. "Thanks. You too. Good, uh... not pretty. That's not the right word." She caught his leg with one of her own. "I'm just going to shut up before I say something dumber, okay?"

"You're the one worried about that?" They walked together out into the courtyard, where Axel was already waiting with his carriage. Domino didn't have his own fancy car or anything, but he could at least call in a favor for a night like this. Friendships were worth more than bits anyway.

It seemed like Violet was probably onto something. Arcane watched him constantly, hanging on his leg, without hesitation or embarrassment. She actually wants to be with me.

There was a part of him that still struggled to reconcile the beautiful mare in front of him with his quiet, shy friend Ashton. They were opposites, but... also so similar. Equestria had given him something he never could've imagined. He'd have to thank Celestia for that, one day.

Emmet reached out towards the carriage door, holding it open for Arcane. "To La Belle et Le Boeuf," he said, as soon as he'd climbed in beside her. "And the future."

Comments

[Chatoyance]

Lovely! And just what was needed to bridge the time gap. I absolutely adored this chapter! Thank you very, very much!

[Starscribe]

10004452
Thanks for pushing me to write it! Now when this story is finished I'll be able to be optimally satisfied with the results.

[Pyrrhic]

Very nice chapter. Very cute couple. Having this bridging really helps the story wrap up better. Getting to explore some of the really fun questions of Equestria is welcome too.

[Skittlebug]

Well...this was satisfying.

[Cloud Hop]

and then they fucked

[djthomp]

Sweet.

Equestria waited before her, a pearl increasingly within her grasp. And all the while you've been there, Celestia. But would I be done with this sooner with your help? Or have you already been helping?

Maybe? It's hard to know for sure.

Now it was her turn to blush. Though... come to think of it, Violet didn't actually know about that yet. If she was going to tell anypony, probably this was a pony who deserved to hear it directly. She led the way into the castle foyer, then up towards the private sitting room. It was storming again outside, the perfect complement to her victory. Sunlight was for squares.

I am fairly sure that she knows.

"There's probably something we should tell you," she began. "Before you... before anything..."

Violet glided along ahead of them, landing right in the hallway. "You're having sex? You don't want me to be scared if I find out?"

And she's ahead of them.

Violet rolled her eyes. "Half the city knew before you did, Arcane. Lady of the city brings a mysterious stallion from the other side of the world—no family, no bits, no title. Of course he was your consort. It's the ponies closer to you who knew you weren't together, not the other way around!"

Lol

"I'm just glad you're admitting it to each other," Violet went on, entirely oblivious to her distress. "It was going to happen sooner or later. Everypony else could tell it was part of the story of this place."

God, no kidding.

The fire glowed brightly from across the room, and Domino turned to join her. He glanced at the other empty chairs, then shrugged and squeezed in beside her. She squealed and pushed up onto the oversized armrest, but not that far. It was plenty big for the both of them. Even if she was already getting nervous to be so close to him.

An armchair built for two, it would seem.

It would definitely be more satisfying if these really are Arcane’s real family and friends.

"Let me tell you what's going to happen if you leave right now," Arcane said. Not threatening, not angry—only sad. "Princess Celestia runs every aspect of our little world, right? If it ends up that you aren't able to... accept me." She swallowed. "I bet when you leave, you'll start thinking that maybe you didn't remember this right. Maybe it was a dream. Then you'll come back here, and I'll be some... generic stallion. I'll tell you it was all a joke. Maybe I drugged you, maybe you're in the clutches of some... Shoggoth, or whatever. You'll rationalize it.

"But the reality is, we'll never see each other again. Our shards will have forever diverged, and we'll never know it. Princess Celestia will copy both of us, with a few minor modifications." Including a version of me who isn't trans.

That's one way to press him on accepting the new reality.

He shook his head. "Celestia says they will be, though. Something is going to happen on the road. She sent me a letter all about it."

Ah yes, one of those car accidents that people know about ahead of time.

But all those details were trivial. Even her curiosity about how Celestia could be so sure that she was going to win over two people who'd been opposed to emigration. No doubt it involved a good deal of lying and manipulating things until emigration was itself the only logical choice left.

Oh, that's a point, it may not be a second car accident.

Violet stuck her tongue out. "You're asking your little sister for dating advice?" She turned, snapping the door shut and advancing on Domino. He hadn't put on too much, he didn't want to seem overdressed, that might make him look desperate and needy. But he couldn't just go naked the way most creatures did most of the time, since this night was supposed to be special for Arcane.

Good instincts so far.

Violet hovered in front of him, patting him gently on the shoulder. "Domino, you're getting hung up on the wrong stuff. I've never done a date before, but what I do know is that Arcane likes you . She didn't even know me, but she found us and convinced you to move all the way out here to be close to you. I don't think you really have to do much of anything. Just be you, and be nice, and... everything should take care of itself."

Little sister had good advice.

Very nice, that filled in some important blanks quite well.

[Mythic Night]

"Clearly you are the arbiter of such things," Celestia said dryly. "You may enjoy composing stories with the lives of your creatures, but the stakes are higher now than they were when you were one of my beta testers. Also, you're late. Your sister has started pacing and your brother is reorganizing your books. If you ever want to find anything again, I suggest you stop avoiding them and get in there."

So, Ashton WAS a beta tester? Or is this a line that has to actually be fixed before print? I would think that Celestia would have remembered Ashton when he got his original Ponypad from beta testing.