Metagaming

by Snowday_Pegasus

07_Home-Directory

Fizzy did not speak, and only gently poked away at the keyboard of Yearling’s laptop.

Luna looked at Discord, who remained in a silent melancholy. She had never known him to be so downcast. Even enough negativity to fall under the label of bittersweet was rare for Discord. What in Celestia’s name happened down there?

Yearling’s hooves were wrapped in bandages as she and Caballeron watched on from the couch, both of them drinking Cider-Ritas. Shock was evident in their eyes. Numerous times, each had the urge to speak, but neither dared.

After what felt like an eternity, Fizzy stepped away from the laptop and looked towards the two ponies on the couch. Both Yearling and Caballeron tensed up. Fizzy quietly said, “Old files were still in the recycle bin. Your story should be fine now.” She paused. “I need to be alone.” She kept her eyes to the floor and trudged out of the room.

Luna’s sad eyes beckoned Discord for an explanation.

Discord said to her, “She got rid of the Tantabus. But it was a half-victory. She wasn’t ready. I’m sorry.” Discord stared at the ground and vanished.

Luna said to the remaining two in the room, “I shall take my leave now.” She exited the room and slowly shut the door.

Alone now, Yearling and Caballeron needed to break the silence. The same idea was turning over in both of their minds: their connection to the past of this world. If a Tantabus destroying random messages on the internet could impact their very existence, what did that mean?

It was something that Fizzy Glitch had been forced to deal with, though for not nearly as long as Discord. Perhaps some creatures (convention mascots in particular) had somehow been able to transcend dimensions to achieve a heightened sense of awareness. Or perhaps for each, the strength and scope of this intuition, and by extension, their ability to cope with or ignore it, was different.

Until the Book of All Stories was opened on November 17, 2023, the world that Bronies came from and the world that Ponies came from were mostly connected in very limited, subliminal ways. But Fizzy, for example, was directly working with the fandom during the darkest days of 2020, when large social events were forbidden. She was busy developing methods through which Brony conventions could persist online. She was truly a Kirin, and yet somehow, she knew. She knew it all. It was both a blessing and a burden; a burden that both Yearling and Caballeron now shared on some level.

“Do you want another Cider-Tini?” Caballeron asked.

“Make it a double,” Yearling said.

As if Discord knew they were troubled, or because he was cheating by reading the narrative (yeah, Discord, I’m talking about you), Discord reappeared in the room, mildly frightening Yearling and Caballeron. “You know, I did try to warn you. But if either of you decide you want to forget about all of this, just let me know.”

Luna sat in the lounge area near the elevators, trying to process her thoughts. Dreadful memories raced through her mind. Her years of feeling ignored, her nearly-lethal battle with Celestia, her wallowing in self-pity and anger during her endless exile on the moon. Finally she clenched her eyes shut, trying to keep in her tears. With a single stomp of her hoof, she said, “Please, not another one. Find your way back, Fizzy…”

Discord then approached from down the hallway. “Princess Luna, I’m sorry for going away so soon before, but there’s something you need to realize. Fizzy’s in a very bad place; however not all is lost. She used the page in a very villainous fashion, but…she did it to save the three of us.”

Fizzy sat in a dim service corridor of the hotel where she could be alone with her thoughts. Therefore, it was very surprising when she heard the voice of a gray mare coming from around the corner. “Fizzy?”

Fizzy looked up. “Derpy? What are you doing here?”

“I…can’t fully explain it. We’ve never met before, but all of a sudden, I just got this feeling that I needed to bring you a message.”

“What is the message?”

Derpy hugged her, for a long time, and then said, “Thank you.”

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