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A Necessary Plot Device

"I can't get over how convenient this is." Twilight said, tapping the metal device strapped to her horn. The machine's bright silver metal matched Pan's orb. The A.I. herself floated lazily next to her master, sitting cross-legged.

"I know, right! Technology is great!" Pan chirped, happily adjusting her glasses. Twilight sent the hologram a sideways glance; apparently, those hoof-things were called hands. Whatever they were called, the mare decided, they were still gross.

"Shh!" an old graying mare, the librarian of the Canterlot Archives, shot Pan an intimidating glare. Intergalactic visitor from space or not, nopony interrupted reading time. Twilight glanced at the book she was reading. Fifty Shades of Hay. Classy.

Pan looked abashed, frowning adorably. "Sorry!" she whispered loudly.

"Shh!"

"Sorry!"

"Shh!"

"Sor-"

"Pan. Just stop." Twilight shook her head in exasperation. The A.I. bowed her head and nodded sullenly. Together, the two made their way deeper into the depths of the Archives, away from the crabby librarian.

"So, Pan. You still haven't told me how this thing works." the bookworm stated. Twilight stopped, turning to browse a particularly old looking shelf of tomes. Every book there dealt with some kind of abstract question or topic; things like the meaning of life, if there really was a god, and recipes for apple pie. Twilight laughed quietly at the sorting mistake. Amateurs.

'Oh! Mysterious Myths and Hidden Truths seems promising.' The book mare pulled the tome from the shelf, flipping to the table of contents. After skimming the text for a bit, Twilight sighed. No luck. An hour had already passed since Twilight began looking for a book about her condition; she was beginning to lose hope.

"Oh! The Limiter? It stops you from Changing anything!" Pan said, smiling widely. Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Obviously. You told me that last night." the Changer replied. As it turns out, blowing up planets and learning you're the sole hope for all ponykind takes a lot out of you. After Twilight left the throne room, she decided to go straight to bed. That's when Pan strapped this Limiter thing to her head.

"Oh yeah!" Pan giggled. "Sorry!"

Twilight picked up another book. "So?"

Pan blinked. "So?"

The purple mare gritted her teeth. For a super-intelligent program designed to help Twilight control reality-altering powers, Pan was proving herself to be pretty dense. "How. Does it. Work?"

Pan gasped. "Oh!"

Pause.

"I don't know!" the A.I. answered gleefully. Twilight face-hoofed. "But," the program continued, "I know it's made out of the same metal I am! And I can't be Changed, no matter what!"

The hologram looked deep in thought. "It's some kind of... anti... Change... metal, I guess. Oh!" Pan giggled. "Let's call it Antimetal! I like that! It sounds mysterious!" Twilight groaned. Every time the A.I. answered one of her questions, it just brought up even more.

"But, that doesn't make any sense. If I can Change anything I want, why can't I Change this Antimetal stuff?"

Pan waved her hands in front of her face, eyes wide. "Mysteeeerioousss..."

"Ugh. Never mind." Twilight pulled another tome from the shelf. Ponies or Parasprites: Who is the True Monster?. Sounded preachy.

"Wait," the unicorn said, "If I can't make any Changes, what's the point of you being here to help me? What's the point of these powers in the first place?"

Pan laughed. "Silly! You can still make Changes, you just have to deactivate the Limiter!"

"Okay. How?" Twilight asked, shelving the book.

Pan flew over to the bookworm's horn, tapping the metal device with a ghostly finger. "It's voice activated! Just say the magic word!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What's the magic word?"

"Oh! That's easy." Pan grinned. "It's change!"

"...change? That's the magic word?" Twilight asked, bewildered. 'Wait a minute...'

"But didn't I already say change like four times?"

As if on cue, a loud scream echoed through the library.

"Huh." Pan scratched her head. "I guess you did." The ghastly librarian from before sprinted past Twilight and Pan, screaming bloody murder. A faint, very familiar, buzzing noise filled the lavender pony's ears.

"Oh no." Twilight whispered.

The parasprite swarm crashed down over the shelves at the end of the row, hungry mouths devouring hundreds of years of knowledge and history. "Pan!" Celestia's protege called, voice tinged with panic. "Pan! How do I activate it again?!"

Pan smiled. "Oh, it does that automatically! From the time you say the word, you have ten seconds to do whatever you want! Then it activates again and, poof! No more powers!" The A.I. looked at to the advancing parasprites. "Ohhh, you want to get rid of them?"

Twilight nodded furiously, already fleeing the approaching mob.

Pan's orb floated alongside the fleeing unicorn as the hologram pondered the situation. "Well, just because the Limiter activates again doesn't mean everything goes away." The program beamed. "You have to fix it yourself! If you didn't, you wouldn't be learning anything!"

Her anger towards the airhead A.I. aside, Twilight gulped and focused on the task at hand. Picturing the pristine, quiet library that used to be the Archives, the mare opened her mouth to speak.

"Um...- Uh...! Ch-change!"

The buzzing stopped. The library was quiet once more.

"Yay!" Pan cheered. "You did it!"

"Shh!" came the librarian's response.

Pan frowned. "Sorry." The pair was back at the front of the Archives. A faint click echoed from the Limiter; Twilight assumed that was the machine re-activating.

The Changer looked around excitedly, adrenaline still pumping through her veins. She did it. For the first time since yesterday morning, Twilight felt in control again.

The mare practically skipped out of the library. "Did you see that?!" Twilight proclaimed, hooves clopping merrily on the tile floors of the great hall. "I can do it! I can cha-" the purple unicorn stopped herself. "...do things without wrecking everything!"

Pan smiled pleasantly. "Yes! See, it's not so bad!"

The unicorn shook her head in disbelief. "That was... amazing. Did I just travel through time? Is this the past?" Twilight already experienced her powers before, but that was when they were out of control. Actually Changing something... you know, on purpose... that was another experience all together.

Pan shook her head. "Oh, no! What you did was something much, much different!" The hologram adjusted her glasses in a scholarly-like manner.

"You created your own library in your head! Then, you used your powers to bring that library, the library you created, into reality, dragging that meanie librarian and us along with it!"

Twilight blinked. "So... what happened to the old library?" the confused mare asked. Pan stared at her master blankly.

"I don't know!" the A.I. cheered. Twilight sighed.

It was going to be a long month.

---

"Huh. That's pretty convenient." Rainbow Dash tapped the Limiter with a hoof. She had just finished ranting about how awesome Twilight's powers were, finally giving the librarian the chance to explain her situation in detail.

"You're telling me." Twilight replied, shifting in her seat.

Five mares and a dragon sat around Twilight in one of the many pleasure rooms of the castle. They arrived shortly after the Changer's episode in the library. It didn't take long for them to begin assaulting Twilight with questions.

"You could have told me you were leaving..." Spike grumbled, pouting. The librarian smiled warmly.

"Oh, Spike. You know I would have if I could." she responded, embracing the little dragon in a hug. He blushed furiously.

"T-Twilight! Stop that!"

"Hee hee! Oh! Oh! Say kumquat! Say it!" Pinkie Pie giggled, batting Pan's metal orb with a hoof.

"Okay!" Pan enthused. "Kumquat! Kumquat!" The A.I. laughed happily. "That's such a fun word to say!"

Pinkie could barely contain her laughter. "I know, right!?" The party pony turned to Twilight. "Twilight! It's so funny! She sounds like me!"

"Indeed," Rarity chimed in, "the resemblance is uncanny. Pan, dear, where did you say you were from?"

"I'm from space!" Pan chirped.

Rarity nodded slowly. "Yes, we knew that. Where from space?"

Pan cocked her head. "The big empty part!"

Fluttershy raised her voice shyly. "Um... Pan, I think she meant where you came from. Like, um, where you were made?"

"Oh!" Pan said, suddenly understanding. "I don't know!"

Rarity opened her mouth to respond before Twilight cut her off with a hoof. "I wouldn't bother." the Changer sighed. Rarity raised an eyebrow but didn't pursue the subject.

"Who cares about all that boring stuff?!" Pinkie interjected. "Pan! Pan! Say chimicherrychanga!"

"Okay! Chimicherrychanga! Chimicherrychanga!"

"So lemme get this straight," Applejack began, ignoring Pan and Pinkie, "Ya have magical reality-altering powers, ya can't control them, and Pan here is an alien A.I. from outer space sent ta help ya?"

"Don't forget about the apocalypse in less than a month!~" Pan said, floating next to the farmer's head. Twilight sighed massively.

"...Right." the earth pony said, gently nudging the silver orb away from her face.

"Hmm... so Twilight needs training so she can save the world, huh...?" Rainbow Dash rubbed her chin with a hoof, pondering the situation.

"What are you thinking about, Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked. The rainbow-maned pegasus suddenly snapped her hoof.

"I've got it!" she shouted, rising into the air triumphantly.

"Got what? Got what?" Pan and Pinkie asked, echoing each other.

"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Twilight inquired.

"Where can you save the world over and over again, without any risk?" the pegasus asked with a sly look in her eye. Everypony looked at each other in confusion.

"I don't know." Twilight admitted.

"What are you saying, dear?" Rarity questioned.

"What I'm saying," Rainbow Dash replied, "is that I know how we can prepare Twilight for the apocalypse."

"How?" everypony asked, exasperated. Rainbow Dash smiled wickedly, a gleam in her eye.

"Video games."

Author's Note:

Yo! Welcome to the Author's Notes! If you liked the chapter, be sure to leave a LIKE or COMMENT! Thanks!

Also, I released this early because I NEEDED you guys to see the new cover art. LOOK at it. LOVE it.

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honeyhoneyhoney

honeyhoneyhoney #1 · Jul 11th, 2013 · · ·

teganaxis

teganaxis #2 · Jul 11th, 2013 · · ·

2856821

THE MOST

BEAUTIFUL...

xDxDxD

JDC

JDC #3 · Jul 11th, 2013 · · ·

One of the best parts is, Twilight hasn't figured out an easy solution to her problem.

Change herself so that she is omniscient, and move on to being omnipotent, or at least alter the powers she has so that they go off when she wills it.

The thing is, that solution would kill the story, unless someone thinks of it AFTER the problems are over (yes, you can shamelessly put this in as a joke at the last chapter if you like).

teganaxis

teganaxis #4 · Jul 11th, 2013 · 3 · ·

2856972

MY GOD. YOU'VE MESSED WITH THE NATURAL OOORRDDEEERRR

But seriously, to Change something, Twilight has to picture it. How do you picture omniscience? Twilight can't Change her changer powers because she doesn't understand them, and can't picture herself fully in control.

I HAVE DEFEATED YOU FOAL but thanks for the comment! Glad you like the story

JDC

JDC #5 · Jul 11th, 2013 · 1 · ·

2857007
I won't be defeated that easily!

*Pictures a thick book entitled: Changer powers: A complete guide to how they work and their use.*

Oh, and, you're welcome.

Lyall

Lyall #6 · Jul 11th, 2013 · · ·

*Twilight at the store*
WHERE'S MY CHANGE?!?!?
*Money starts falling from the sky*
Uhh nevermind then.
But somehow I can see no one having a problem with that scenario.

teganaxis

teganaxis #7 · Jul 11th, 2013 · · ·

2857363

Aha, but to imagine a book about changer powers Twilight would have to imagine its contents, which she can't do because she doesn't know anything about her powers yet. If she wished for a book about her powers, a book with the same title you put would appear, but it would be completely blank! Have at ye, nonbeliever

2858624

Your avatar scares me.

JDC

JDC #8 · Jul 11th, 2013 · · ·

2859821
She didn't have to imagine the structure of the sun, and know everything down to the last detail, in order to destroy it, either. It's enough that she was able to picture the idea.

As for the book, she can picture the contents as being literature on what the title of the book is, she'd only need to go as far as focusing on words/diagrams, but not in the precise detail as to what words and diagrams would actually be in there.

If that doesn't work, she could imagine a book about theory of unicorn magic (which she WOULD be familiar with for obvious reasons), and research a new spell to figure out how her changer powers work.

teganaxis

teganaxis #9 · Jul 11th, 2013 · · ·

2859878

Hmm. Twilight doesn't know enough yet to even have an idea of what her powers truly are. You can't picture the idea if you don't have it in the first place. Even if she does conjure a book that tells her everything, controlling her powers is dependent on her being in complete control of her thoughts. There is no secret solution to her problems

JDC

JDC #10 · Jul 11th, 2013 · · ·

2859899
She could try to disable or remove her powers, instead of controlling them. Or she could try using unicorn magic to control her mind and stop subconscious imagination or something, and instead only do imagination consciously.

teganaxis

teganaxis #11 · Jul 11th, 2013 · · ·

2859910

Well, first of all, disabling her powers would be the last thing she'd want to do, considering she needs them to save the world from the apocolypse. And, in my headcannon at least, unicorn magic is based on imagination, so using it to limit imagination would be impossible. It might be different for everybody, but that's the way it is in my head.

I've been talking out of my ass this entire time, so I'll stop now lol. Have a nice day!

JDC

JDC #12 · Jul 11th, 2013 · · ·

2859922
Wait... don't tell me the apocalypse is something that ISN'T caused by her changer powers. If that's the case, Twilight Sparkle has no easy solution and Luna's 'wise words' apply.

teganaxis