Part 2
“And that’s why I asked you here.” Twilight smiled and raised Starlight’s chin up. “If you’re willing to learn, I’m willing to teach you what I know. You’ll have the power to make Equestria an even better place.”
Starlight looked at the group gathered around the cutie map, flinched, and leaned over to Twilight, asking, “How do I start?”
“Starting is easy! All you have to do is make a friend. And you’ve got seven of them right here.”
The others stood up and circled around, and Starlight closed her eyes, smiling with happiness. A war of emotions boiled inside of Twilight. Relief that it was over, pride in her new student for being willing to start again, and joy over Equestria being whole again and her friends being there fought back the exhaustion, the physical pain, and the deep, cavernous well of regret and anguish that threatened to drive her to the floor. She kept the smile on her face, let the happy feelings keep her going, and listened to the new conversations spring to life around her. She heard all her friends make plans with Starlight for the following days, places to go, foods to try, and ponies to see, which she knew would set Starlight down the right path. Or at least a right path. That would have to be good enough. While everypony milled about, talking and laughing, Twilight quietly slipped out the door of the throne room.
As the door clicked shut, Twilight closed her eyes and felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. She didn’t know how long she’d been awake. It had only been a few hours, it wasn’t even lunchtime, but it felt like days, weeks, maybe months of fighting, over and over again, through world after world after world, back and forth from Cloudsdale to new unknowns. Her joints ached with a dull throb, her head pounded, her eyes felt sticky. She told herself it was fine as she walked, her eyes trained on the floor to keep herself from stumbling. Everypony would understand if she went to her room and fell asleep.
She hadn’t gone to her room. She lifted her gaze, across the antechamber, and settled on the roots hanging from the ceiling. She followed the twisting, ropy tendrils with her eyes, marveling at their size, watching the light dance across the gemstones that dangled downwards. Each gemstone carried a memory of her old home, of the years she’d spent there, the ponies she met, and the friends she made there.
The gemstones carried new memories now. Hundreds of them. Thousands. Some witnessed and others imagined, lasting the years she’d been in the tree and years more, of a different life, filled with the friends she made and the life she built. At least, a life she built. A life worth living. A life that deserved to live.
She felt the moisture run down her cheeks. The glittering gemstones wavered in her tears, and she fell to her haunches, bracing to stay upright on her forelegs. A sob tore its way out of her throat, and she slammed her eyes shut, feeling her body shake. “I hope I did it right,” she whispered through her tears. “I hope it was worth it. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t …”
“Twilight?”
She flinched, and drew herself up, sniffling and rubbing her snout.
Applejack walked into the chamber, brow creased in concern. “Twi? You all right?”
She sniffled again and wiped her eyes. She looked around the room. “Where’s everypony else?” She felt her voice crack.
“Rarity’s takin’ Starlight to her place to make a dress.” Applejack touched Twilight’s shoulder. “What’s wrong, Twi?”
She looked at Applejack for several moments, feeling her head swim. “… On the day that we met, if I’d asked you to go stargazing with me, would you have gone?” she asked.
Applejack’s concern mixed with confusion. “What?”
Twilight closed her eyes and felt another tear escape. She wiped her face and pulled in a deep breath of air. “Sorry, that didn’t make any sense.” She studied Applejack’s face for several more moments, trying to recollect her strength, trying to rebuild the relief, pride, and joy to carry her through the day.
The strength wouldn’t come.
“Twilight, did somethin’ else happen?”
She shook her head and looked away, catching sight of a hanging gemstone. The image of Applejack touching her shoulder reflected back at her, except it wasn’t her shoulder, it was a different Twilight and a different Applejack, in a different life where she could press into Applejack’s neck and they’d fit together like they’d been made that way. She cleared her throat. “Um. When I was explaining the battle with Starlight, I said that the other versions of Equestria kept getting worse and worse, where Nightmare Moon, or Tirek, or Chrysalis had won, until it was so bad the world ended.”
Applejack nodded, still frowning and touched Twilight’s shoulder.
“… One of them …” she turned and looked at Applejack, feeling her heart hammer and her voice tremble in her throat. “One of them wasn’t worse. One of them was just … different.” She cringed, not sure how to go on, not sure how to explain it, or if she even had the strength to. A weight fell off her shoulders when she realized she didn’t need to explain it. “Let me just … show it to you.”
Twilight closed and pulled to mind the entire chunk of time she’d spent in the quiet, other Equestria, where the monsters never came, or if they did then somepony else was there to fight them, where they had never known the elements and the castle had never grown, where their fates hadn’t been intertwined and yet they’d been drawn together anyway. A quiet little Ponyville without fear and without pain, but full of warmth, happiness, friendship, and love. A wave of despair nearly drove her to the floor, but she grit her teeth and cast Aurora Symphony’s memory sharing spell.
Applejack shook her head slowly as the magic faded. “… Wow.”
“And now … it’s gone.” She bowed her head. “I gave them the choice. I couldn’t just leave and—and, erase them and live with myself, so I let them decide what happened. And they chose for me to go back. They knew that all of reality was in danger, and they chose for me to go back to save everypony here. And now they’re gone.” She sniffed and wiped her cheek. “They kept saying that I was the brave one, that this was the version of their world where I was the hero. I’m not the hero. I’ll never meet anypony as brave or as selfless as them for the rest of my life.”
Applejack shook her head slowly. “Wow.” She raised her head, carefully studying Twilight’s face. “I’m … sorry, Twi. I’m sorry the rest of us weren’t there with ya. None of what you did today’s somethin’ anypony should have to do on their lonesome.” She looked away. “I know Spike was there, too, but …”
“He’s still very young,” Twilight finished. She nodded and wiped her face again.
“And I’m sorry you couldn’t save everypony who deserved savin’.”
Twilight closed her eyes.
“But that don’t make you not a hero for all’a this. Even if it’s just for one pony today.” She touched Twilight’s shoulder again and drew her into eye contact. “What you did for Starlight really means somethin’, Twi. We both know it. We both saw her face when she realized she’d done wrong, but was gettin’ a second chance. We both know ain’t none of this that really makes ya feel like a hero, ya mostly feel scared, and lost, and worried about your friends, and all you can do is try and do what ya think is right. And sometimes that’s all it takes.” Applejack smiled. “You might not be feelin’ like a hero, but you’re a hero to her.”
Twilight sniffed. “I just … with everything they gave up … I had to make it worth it. I couldn’t let it be for nothing.” She shivered. “And when I took Starlight through the portal with me again … into that world of nothing …” She felt her eyes sting and she wrenched them shut, shaking her head hard. “I can’t believe they decided that. I can’t believe they were okay …”
“… I believe it. You would’a given up just as much for them, if that’s what they wanted. And … I would’a, too.” Applejack pulled Twilight into a hug. “Ya can’t beat yourself up for us bein’ us, Twi.”
Twilight bit her lip and hugged Applejack back. The weak surface of composure she’d built up crumbled around her, and she sobbed into Applejack’s neck. “I should have been able to do something! I should have known what to do! What good does it do to be called the hero if you can’t do anything when it’s really important?” Applejack rubbed her back in slow circles as she cried, feeling the well of rage and loss boil over, hoping that getting it out would offer relief, but the despair felt endless, bottomless. She could shed a tear for every mare, stallion, and foal in that other world and it wouldn’t be enough.
“You did what you could,” Applejack told her through her sobs. “You did what you could, and ain’t nopony who could ask for more than that.”
Twilights heaving slowly turned to shaking as her eyes dried up and turned red and puffy. Her chest hurt and her cheeks ached from grimacing. She slowly withdrew from the embrace and wiped at her matted coat. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thanks for being here.”
“Always.” After a few moments of silence, Applejack’s expression grew distant and she shuffled her hooves on the floor. “… I, uh … I sometimes think about what things would be like if I hadn’t followed you into the forest then. When we met. Not outta regrets, mind, the opposite’a that. Followin’ you into the forest and everythin’ that’s happened after changed my life. It made my world bigger, gave me a group of ponies worth layin’ down my life for, and made me a better pony. I think back and wonder about where I would’a ended up without that.” She took her hat off and held it to her chest. “… It’s good to know that there’s at least one world without it where I’d still end up findin’ my way.”
Twilight gave her a sad smile. “I think there are lots of worlds where you would. You’re a good pony, Applejack.” She rested her hoof on Applejack’s shoulder. After a moment, her smile faded. “… You would have gone stargazing with me that day. I don’t even have to ask, I already know.”
“… Course I would’ve. Wouldn’t have crossed my mind to say no.” She stepped closer, bringing their faces bare inches apart. She lowered her voice. “I’d follow you anywhere, Twi. To the ends of the universe.”
Twilight closed her eyes and rested her forehead against Applejack’s. “If the day we’d met had just been more peaceful.”
Applejack touched her cheek. “Not a lot we can change about all’a that now. All we can do is … decide what’s next.” She stepped back and Twilight opened her eyes. Applejack gave her a level, probing expression. “… You know I already love you as a friend with all my heart, Twi. I’d follow you into the forest every time without a thought. But if where you’re wantin’ me to go ain’t into the forest … I’d follow you there, too.” She flashed a mischievous smile. “That other me wasn’t lyin’ when she said you’re the cutest pony I’ve ever met.”
Twilight felt her cheeks warm up, and she returned the smile, then looked down. She shuffled her hooves. “Have I been … keeping you waiting? For me to … realize that … that you were …” She grimaced. “Have I just been stupid and blind?”
Applejack chuckled and shook her head. “You’ve been my friend, Twi, and that’s been enough for me for a long time.” She put her hat back on and pulled it low over her eyes. “It’s just that, uh, that other world’s got me thinkin’ that I’ve been missin’ out.”
“Yeah.” Twilight grinned. “Me too.” She scraped her hooves on the ground for a moment then stepped forward, nuzzling Applejack’s cheek. “Want to find out what we were missing out on together?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Applejack turned and kissed Twilight’s cheek.
Twilight had wondered where the dumb butterflies in her stomach had been, and why they took so long to show up to the party. She grinned until her face hurt and stepped back, sharing the smile with Applejack. “You, um, free for dinner?”
Applejack’s smile widened and she nodded. “Least I hope so, depends on what’s goin’ on with Starlight next, she said she wanted to help out on the farm some.”
Twilight let out a long breath as the little bubble around real life broke and she remembered what else was going on that day. “Yeah, and I was going to look through the library with her.” She shook her head and giggled. “If dinner doesn’t work out … how about I bring my telescope out to the orchard after dark?”
“That sounds like a plan even if dinner does work out.” Applejack winked.
“It’s a date, then.” They both smiled, cheeks colored, then Twilight sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Sorry for … all of the drama and crying when you came in.”
Applejack waved her off. “Not like it ain’t deserved.” She rocked back and forth on her hooves, then looked upward. Twilight followed her gaze toward the tree roots and the dangling gems. Applejack scooted around and wrapped a hoof around Twilight’s shoulders. “… In a way, they ain’t really gone, so long as you remember ‘em.”
Twilight leaned into Applejack. “Maybe so. I’m never going to forget them.”
“Don’t think I’m gonna, either.” Applejack squeezed and kissed Twilight’s temple. “You’re probably beat to heck from today.”
She let out a long sigh.
“I can go and let you rest. Or stay, if that’s what ya want.”
Twilight hugged Applejack sideways and pushed into her neck. “Thank you, but I probably should lie down for a while. See you tonight?”
“You got it, Twi.” She kissed Twilight’s temple again, then stepped away from the hug. “… I know it probably don’t feel like it, but ya done good today, Twi. Ya didn’t fail them, and you gave Starlight a new start, and that ain’t nothin’ to scoff at. Nopony could ask for more out of you.”
“I do know that. I’ll … try to remember it.” They shared another smile, and Twilight turned her attention back to the tree roots. “It’s going to be hard.”
Applejack nodded, then walked to the door. She cast a look over her shoulder before leaving, her expression tinged with worry, then she slipped out the door.
Twilight watched the light catch in the gemstones as they spun, throwing back images of a different life. In that life she saw hopeful echoes of a possible future for herself, but they all cut deep to the bone. She didn’t want to do it. She hadn’t made the decision. And yet. And yet nopony else could be responsible but her. Thousands of happy lives, different from the ones she knew, but oh so similar, snuffed out in an instant, replaced in favor of the reality she stood in, like a profane house built over the graves of innocents. She grimaced. She didn’t know if she would be able to look herself in the mirror, anyway. She didn’t know if she deserved to. She wasn’t the hero. The gems glittered in accusation, and she looked down.
A different glint of light caught her eye.
Twilight raised her hoof, wide-eyed. The slim gold chain shone through her coat, clasped around her fetlock. Her breath caught in her throat as she unhooked the other Applejack’s wedding band and held it in the light. The gemstone cutie marks sparkled through the gold, dancing, reflecting a life well lived and well-loved. Twilight couldn’t breathe as she cleared her mind and drove magic into her horn, casting a true seeing spell.
The wedding band glowed. Bright, shimmering, constant, vibrant magic, emanating from its enchanted clasp, but also from the very material it was made out of, a barrier against reality, protecting it from its paradox. The magic held strong as she looked, a closed loop, not the hoofprints of an unfinished spell, because there wasn’t a spell to end.
Twilight hugged the band to her chest, cradling it close, and felt tears roll down her cheeks. She looked up at the roots again, grinning ear to ear, wanting to laugh, wanting to scream, wanting to dance.
Despite it all, despite everything, somewhere out there, her tree was still alive, and still full of love and happiness, full of a life worth living, a life that deserved to live.
She slipped the band back around her hoof and clasped it on. “I’ll never forget you,” she told it. “You’re the true heroes of this story.” She stood up and looked back at the tree, smiling, her heart bursting with joy, and she wiped away her tears. “I told you I never know what I’m doing when I charge into the forest. These things just have a way of working themselves out.”
Twilight walked out of the antechamber and deeper into the castle, her exhaustion forgotten, off to sort out books to look over with Starlight, off to pack her telescope into its carrying case. She had a lot to do and so much to look forward to. Time waited for nopony.
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That'll do, fledermaus. That'll do.
I don’t remember the last time a story made me cry, but let’s just say I have to reset the timer.
This was truly beautiful.
"For once, everybody lives!"
--The Doctor
I enjoyed this, even if I felt that the more interesting conclusion would have been that the other timeline had been erased. Twilight having to learn to live with that and move forward is just more compelling to me. Also, doesn't this mean that all those other horrible timelines are intact as well?
Holy moly. *Slaps chapter 2* Now this is a good story right here, yessir.
Sequel! SEQUEL!!!
9793678
Probably you just need to take something from an alternate timeline to keep it running?
I swear I've seen this premise before. Is this based off of another story?
9793764
It is not based on another story, no, though I imagine playing with the different canon AUs and making up new ones in The Cutie Re-Mark is a pretty common jumping off point for fanfics, it's pretty rich soil for writing. I wouldn't be surprised if there are similar stories out there.
Dammit, you got me crying here. XD I figured the bracelet would play into it and I'm glad that I was right. That was a very sweet ending...but if that other reality still exists...then what of the other Starlight and that town? Will that Twilight realize what happened and will she still have her memories? Will she be able to do something and go through her own version of what Princess Twilight went through? Inquiring minds want to know! Also I do love how sweet that other universe was. I kinda want to revisit it. Consider a sequel, lol.
Loved both parts and how you let them end up together still in the end. Funny thing, I didn't even notice you were the author, I noticed your page breaks and remembered it from Spellbound Fireflies, one of my most favorite stories on here. I'm glad your still writing these amazing fimfics :)
9793764
I can think of 2 stories, one where Twilight ends up in a world where Sunset became a princess and one where she ends up in a world ruled by demon Sunset.
Can't remember the names unfortunately.
9793966
You might be thinking of The Reality I Choose and Long Live the Queen. The first one especially has a similar premise, though this one explores much deeper the ramifications of having to choose which timeline gets to exist.
In any case, I liked this, in particular the little twist at the end.
Just like life, the magic of friendship finds a way...
I agree with what 9793798 said. Beat me to the punch, actually. That Starlight is still out there, and might do stuff. There is totally room for a sequel, if you feel like it. Forced sequels are never as good, but if you happen to feel inspired by ideas, then please do. I love-hate this story because it made me misty-eyed, and I would love to see what else could happen.
Bats on top of the feature box once again! Love it! :D
So basically by giving Twilight the wedding band Applejack preserved her universe with out knowing it, giving her reality a anchor in Equestria "Prime". Makes you wonder where any other anchors unintentionally created? Of course show cannon says there IS a multiverse but all universes appear to have been created at the same time though Starlight do rewrite large portions of the spell who knows what new effects she added with out meaning to? Yes basically suggesting Twilight was wrong about what was going to happen, not a problem really, she went with the info she had with out the advantage of the outside perspective of the Author/Reader.
OOF man this hurt me with the feels
and makes me miss the Tree even more then I already have been lately with the show ending and such
ANYWAY
This was really good
Would recommend 10/10
~Reggie
Goddamnit bats, you come back and just Serious series: serious punch me in the heart like this.
Thanks for the feels running down my face when I should be asleep.
Having just watched Infinity War tonight, after rewatching the entire MCU with my parents over the course of the summer, I find myself feeling like G4 has just gotten the perfect send-off with your story. Not just for the timing and premise, but the depth of characterization and how you’ve honored the show’s first season, the one that made me irrevocably fall in love with these ponies and their world. Thank you.
Yes, i saw this Chekhov's gun from afar. The moment Applejack gave her this item, i was like: "Ohoho, you smart little potato, i see what you did there. You want to create a paradox by preserving the item without origin, to force it's origin to exist."
One thing though, if penchant didn't disappear, why would Twilight do? She could have lived then. And don't give me crap about having duplicate already, and not having one there for item. Because by this logic, if she marry here and make one as well, then gifted one will disappear. And it's has nothing to do with science anyway.
... Okay, I'm sold on this pairing now.
9794773
The multiverse stuff is intentionally left vague, because the characters are working from limited knowledge, but places like the humanish world of Equestria Girls and Discord's home operate less like alternate realities and more like pocket dimensions inside of Equestria. They have their own rules and you can't necessarily walk there from Equestria, but they're more like places inside of the primary timeline than separate timelines. The "Library Equestria" would have its own, different versions of those places, which would be distinct from the primary timeline's versions thanks to what's different between Library Equestria and the main timeline.
All an can think of is you having an epilogue.
I was thinking one up to sorta poste on this but honestly I dont know how to put something as hidden, to hide spoilers.
Was going to be years latter with library Twilight getting a letter from P.Twilight.
Feh. The braching timelines trope is like the Princess Luna ON the moon, as opposed to the explicitly stated in canon IN the moon. A source for excessive drama where only a little bit of ignoring the canon goes a long way. Although even despite canon version of events, there's only 2 possible ways of things to work here. Either the Equis' shards always existed, just like Starlight was always meant to time travel and be stopped, or it's a single shard being re-written. In the first case, Twilight only gets to fix Starlight. In the second, the shard in question returned to it's stable, 'as intended' state, with all entities back the way they should be. Neither warrants any overflowing angst.
Also AppleLight. Feh squared.
9794853
9794833
Let's be honest though, the multiverse existing is really the only way for time travel to make sense in this case. If it doesn't then time travel gets really confusing because it's practically impossible to avoid a paradox when messing with your own timeline (which is why it's one of the few things the Doctor doesn't allow on Doctor Who).
Starlight's plan, for example, makes no sense without the multiverse because it falls into the problem of a grandfather paradox where she only travelled back in time to get revenge on Twilight but if she succeeds she'll be erasing her reason for going back in time in the first place. This clip sums it up nicely:
Still though, awesome story, we always need more TwilightxApplejack stories.
someone once said "It is not ours to know our time but ours to do what we can with what time we have even if it is only one night." noone ever thinks of what insanity it was that six barely trained noncombatants rushed into a forest of death expecting to never come out again. logistically speaking, this was a huge blunder that no commander worth the title would ever green light. and they got through. they came back. Library Twilight and her wife may not have been the heroes that Princess Twilight and her friends were but in that all important moment they did not falter, they did not waver, they stepped forward into danger knowing they weren't coming back. it is moments like these that separate the fakes from the heroes.
Star Swirl was wrong about a lot of things. The nature of space, time, and reality would hardly be a surprising addition to the list.
In any case, beautiful story. It may leave a few world building questions hanging, but those aren't what's important. What is is the bond between friends and lovers, the strength of character that sends ponies out into that midnight wood, and the incredible trust and faith these ponies have in each other and, in a bizarre sense, themselves.
Also, I appreciate how the alternate Twilight and Applejack each had a cutie mark that was somehow incomplete. Really captured the sense of some indefinable something being missing from the world.
Wonderful story. Thank you for it.
9795033
But as it functioned in It's About Time, time travel worked as a closed loop, so a paradox couldn't happen because all events of time travel were already present in the times they happened, with no changes possible. Meanwhile, Starlight's spell worked entirely differently, which Princess Twilight theorizes is because the spell was powerful enough not to allow for time travel specifically (going off of how she understands time travel to work as based on the events of It's About Time), but rather for the reshaping of all of reality, which, among other things, allows for the temporary, within-the-confines-of-the-spell, creation of multiple universes in order to avoid creating paradoxes. Thus, multiple universes are not the byproduct of the natural structure of the universe, but rather the byproduct of the spell that Starlight cast, and once the spell concluded, should have been destroyed and reset to the natural state of the universe barring any complications. At least as interpreted by the characters in the story, they are operating under limited information and may have interpreted things wrong.
9795305
Personally I believe it only operates in a closed loop because it could only be used once. If Twilight could have used it a second time she would have easily broken the loop. It was most likely a safety mechanism to prevent abuse but the fact it wound up as a closed loop was just dumb luck thanks to how Twilight wound up using it.
Basically she only travelled back in time because her future self did so but I doubt it's the only way the spell could be used as Starlight later proved.
9794833
I'm rather curious though, what was the event that was different to not cause the Sonic Rainboom and how did Nightmare Moon get released early and was it really Celestia that defeated her? I'm rather wondering if maybe Sunset became good and was part of the reason things were different and how did Starlight change things to allow that to happen.
9794853
If you were against the premise as set out by the tags to begin with, why are you here?
9795435
Those are questions that I have some answers for, which I'm not going to spoil because they may or may not get explored in the future if I opt to write a sequel to this story. No, like, 100% guarantee on a sequel, but there are a few possible story routes for continuation that I had in mind when writing this one, so it's something I might return to if the mood strikes me. The answers to specifics about how the Library Equestria developed the way it did might end up playing a significant role in the story, so I don't want to go into a bunch of details that might be plot points later. Plus, this way I reserve the right to wildly change my mind on what those specifics are and still write a story without contradicting stuff I said beforehand.
9795438
Ooooh I love your profile!
Transformers right?
9795546
Yep.
Fantastic story.
9795438
MLP: FiM Romance Drama Twilight Applejack.
Not against any of those by themselves. They're pretty ambiguous. It's the form they take here that I'm at odds with. And I wouldn't know that until I explored the fic, which is why I am here. Satisfied?
9795653
Generally speaking, when you see a romance tag, the characters tagged are the ones being shipped, yo.
Why if I didn't know any better, I'd say this is just your way of shipping Twijack
9795764
I can easily find a dozen fics where that's not the case, that and more. The design intent behind tags is merely to include
everything and a kitchen sinkabstract key aspects of the story. Even if something like 'drama' is so vague, the system works and helps with clarity and search. Shippings aren't included in the tags nor intended to be represented by them, so if someone chooses to imply something with a tag combination, well, that's on them.It used to be people declared shippings in a story description. That was certainly helpful.
Welp.
This was a nice read. A lot of emotions packed into two chapters.
I would like an epilogue-esque thing, though. One last peek into what happened, in both universes.
I have a few questions now that I’ve been thinking about this for several days.
Is the Library universe the only one that continues existing after our Twilight sets things right.
If so, did Twilight have the moral authority to make the decision to end the other universes just because they didn’t measure up to her standard of a better world?
If she had found a world that was significantly better than the one she came from, rather than just slightly different, would she still have attempted to get back to her old timeline?
None of this is meant as a critique of the story these are just thoughts that have been floating around in my head.
I’m most concerned with the second question. Certainly, the Nightmare Moon and Sombra worlds were troubled but the ponies there were still unique individuals which she made the choice to unmake. She doesn’t seem to have an issue with this because those worlds were worse off, according to her, than her original world. Perhaps, in the beginning, she didn’t understand the situation as well as she did once she reached the Library timeline but I would think that would make the guilt worse knowing you flippantly destroyed several different worlds and all who resided there in the hope of remaking the one you remember.
She gives the Twilight and Applejack of the Library world the choice of whether she returns or not because she doesn’t feel she has the right or desire to make it herself. How good does the world have to be for her to offer this choice? If she had to do another loop but ended up in a world where the only difference was she was in a relationship with Rainbow Dash would she offer that choice again? Or one identical to the Libary timeline but Fluttershy was dead for some reason? Where is the tipping point? How bad off does a world have to be before Twilight feels she has the right to decide whether or not it exists?
Okay, if that is anything like 'the book of might have beens' I AM GAME!
This is beautiful. I love the, essentially, mundane universe idea. Kinda like the difference between a fictionalized dramatisation and the actual events. Of course they weren't super important. The events didn't happen in such a close sequence. There are plenty of heroes, not just the same 6 every time.
Not sure about the ending, I think it would have been more... Meaningful a sacrifice if the alternate timeline was lost, but I can't fault you for it.
9796144
All good questions on the ethics and morality of the situation. I left a lot of that unexplored in this story on purpose, both because it would have dragged things too far away from the core idea that the story would have ended up bloated and meandery, and because I'd like to explore those ideas in depth in a possible sequel.
9797080
I'd say that spell more unlocked her friends' own memories that had been suppressed by Discord's magic, rather than one that shared whole memories with someone else. Magic in a similar vein, but not exactly the same spell. And it isn't that she was surprised that a spell like that could exist, she was surprised that she hadn't come across it before but this other version of herself with a more limited access to higher level magic thanks to their different schooling background had found the spell.
9795305 In that case, I have a hypothesis as to why the Mundane alternate did not collapse.
The wedding band Twilight is carrying is the key. The spell allowed for multiple universes to be created within the confines of the spell, to protect the main line from paradoxes. When the spell ended, the alternate universes would collapse and currently reified universe from the spell would overwrite the main line, including the time travellers.
But, the wedding band is an artefact from inside the spell-created universes that was brought out of them, carried by some-pony who was protected from the paradox by the spell. So it continued existing even after the spell ended and the alternates collapsed. But for it to exist, the Mundane alternate had to still exist, otherwise paradox. So the Mundane alternate couldn't collapse, and spun off to become a stable universe.
Technically, all the spell universes must have had some degree of material exchange with base line Twilight, as she breathed their air and may have eaten or drunk, but in those cases, she wasn't in any one universe long enough to incorporate any significant amount of material into her body. So if it vanished on the spell ending, it wouldn't be noticeable. She may have felt dizzy and out of breath for a few moments, nothing more. Either that or the material wasn't unique enough and was simply replaced by it's main line equivalent.
I wish someone would write a version of this sort of story where Starlight has her nose rubbed in the fact that she created more suffering and destruction that all the other villains put together. That her meddling with time created and destroyed entire universes of people, unique and different and wiped away never to have existed. Multiple counts of omnicide in other words.
9797226
I think her crimes can be forgiven by creating the Discordian Timeline, though.
It's the one "bad" timeline I'd want to live in.
9794285
Well, EQ Girls automatically means there is a multiverse....