Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot

by Equimorto

Take a Good Luck in the Mirror

Twilight's clone stared at the window, watching Scarlet walk away from her house. She was going to warn a friend that they'd found the stallion again, and the alicorn had offered to keep an eye on him while she went do that. Once the mare was far enough, Twilight's clone had another look around the room, then her eyes set on the only other pony in it, sitting at the same table as she was. "We're alone now."

"We are," he replied.

The alicorn held back a growl. "The explanation, remember? Puzzles, me and you, your friend seeing me as a unicorn? What's going on?" She put emphasis on the last part, letting go of her hold on her temper for a moment.

"Oh, right, that, sorry." The stallion swallowed. "Would you like something to drink?"

"I could kill you now and no one would ever know it was me."

"But you won't." He got up from his chair and began to walk towards another room. "I'll be right back," he said, and sure enough he came back just a few seconds later, holding a bottle of water. He took a sip as he sat down again. "Because I have answers you want."

Twilight's clone tilted her head to a side. "Spit it out, then."

"No rush." The stallion tapped on the table like one would on a typewriter. "Like we've established, the things you could learn from me are the what's keeping me alive right now, aside from your obvious desire not to leave traces behind. We've also established that I'm the only one who can tell you're actually you. Once you have nothing left to learn, you may very well decide getting rid of the only pony who can recognise you is worth a murder that no one can trace back to you. I just want some insurance." He threw a glance towards the window.

Twilight's clone breathed once, slowly. "You're a smart one, aren't you?"

"Nah. But I'm not an idiot either. And I'm not crazy. They call me crazy, you see. I'm not crazy. I know the things I see are actually there." The stallion sighed, then shook his head and tapped the table again. "Well, anyway," he cheerfully picked up again, "I must say I am extremely excited to finally meet another one! Oh, goodness, I thought I was the only one for a while. This is refreshing."

Taken aback by the sudden mood shift, Twilight's clone tilted her head the other way. "Another one? Another one of what?"

"Of us!" The stallion pointed at her chest. "You see that, well, no, no you can't see that, of course not, I think I'm the only one who sees those, but still, it's there. I should probably explain it to you, you have no idea what I'm talking about. I forget about that, I still have trouble remembering others don't see what I see. It's there, a coil wrapped around your heart, like it is around mine."

The alicorn looked at herself, without seeing anything but her usual purple coat. "A coil?"

The stallion nodded. "Oh, now I wonder how many others are out there. There ought to be a few, right?"

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Huh. That's almost an explanation. Getting meaningful information out of someone who not only doesn't see the world the way you do but has every incentive to not share very much will be frustrating for Stella and the audience.

[Venerable Ro]

Ah yes the thingummywut. Dreadfully fiddly buisness, one minute you've a bit of dust in a box, the next it's eternal winter and the stealing of freely-given apples.

Or perhaps the moon simply punches you in the face, that happened the one time...