Synthesis of the Atheist

by BlackRoseRaven

Harsh Day, Silent Night

Chapter Thirty Two: Harsh Day, Silent Night
~BlackRoseRaven

Scrivener Blooms and Luna Brynhild had seen more than their share of different worlds: from the alien hell of Decretum, to the beautiful nearly-empty paradise that Looking Glass World had once been. Yet never had they seen a world quite like this before... a world that felt like it was almost entirely pure, a world that they knew just from stepping into it, had to be very close, on an inner layer of the spiraling ninety-nine worlds.

But what augmented that feeling all the more was the fact that there was a sense of wrongness in the air: a feeling like something alien and terrible had taken root here, and as the four ponies, dragon, and Draconequus sat around a roaring bonfire they had built in a clearing in a forest, Discombobulation finally said quietly: “We shall see that at which dogs howl in the dark, and that at which cats prick up their ears after midnight.”

“Yeah, I get that sense too.” Scrivener muttered and nodded, glancing awkwardly up at the sky. “It's in the holiest temples, where the blackest sacrileges leave the deepest scars.”

Luna grunted moodily, and Twilight shook her head as she rubbed nervously at her face before saying finally: “And yet I'm the scary undead monster here. You two are starting to creep even me out, though. Can't we just try and be positive for once?”

“No.” Luna, Scrivener, and Discombobulation all said in unison, and Celestia smiled despite herself as Twilight dropped her head moodily forwards. The three who had spoken traded amused looks, but then there was silence except for the crackling of flames as the bonfire burned between them.

Finally, Twilight looked up and said hesitantly: “I think... I think we must be close to Ponyville. I know this isn't Everfree, but maybe it's Whitetail...”

“Thou may be right. The forest does not whisper to me but it does seem familiar... although Everfree was always my territory.” Luna muttered thoughtfully, looking slowly back and forth. “Either way, though, Celestia shall guide the path. Her sense of direction has always been frustratingly-impeccable, and she has led us on what seems a true enough course so far through this forsaken wilderness.”

“Except it's clearly not forsaken, Luna... there are signs everywhere that this place has been tended to, now and again.” Celestia said softly, and then she gestured up at the night sky, adding quietly: “And look above. Countless stars, but some of them don't belong, do they?”

“Meddling with the constellations... aye, that is a sure enough sign of me, I suppose.” Luna murmured wryly after a moment, and then she shook her head slowly and smiled a little over at Celestia. “I always thought... 'twas the one thing I could do without thou noticing.”

She paused, then smiled slightly as her horn glowed, adding mildly: “And here, allow me to share with all thee gathered here today one of my favorite constellations...”

Celestia only continued to look calmly over at her sibling, as Spike, Bob, Twilight and Scrivener all looked up and watched as Luna concentrated, the stars slowly beginning to rearrange themselves before the mare grinned slightly to herself and declared, pointing up at the two vague circles of stars in the night sky above: “'Tis Celestia's Buttocks!”

“I was really hoping we'd make a good impression Luna, but... I suppose some things are a little too much to ask and expect from you.” Celestia said wryly, and Luna huffed over at her older sibling before the ivory mare sighed tiredly and looked moodily up at the night sky. “I hope that doesn't attract too much attention. The average pony might not notice it, but the Princess Luna of this world might...”

“Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud! By Loki, Celestia, do you always have to whine-whine-whine?” asked a voice crankily, and all eyes slowly turned to stare at the figure now sitting comfortably in a folding chair beside Discombobulation, as the Draconequus turned creakily to stare in surprise at a second chimerical creature that was resting calmly back and grinning widely, a large glass of chocolate milk held in one eagle's talon.

His other forelimb ended in a lion's paw, that was tapping thoughtfully at the arm of the ugly little chair he was seated in, while one green-scaled leg was crossed over a deer-like lower limb, his red-scaled dragon's tail flicking thoughtfully. His body was covered with thick brown fur, but his head was equine, with a scruffy, goat like white beard and large, bushy eyebrows about mischievous yellow eyes with red pupils that were far deeper than they seemed. Two mismatched horns twisted wildly out of his skull, and he had an uneven black mohawk of a mane.

A tiny bat wing and feathered, bird-like wing fluttered on his back as he absently tapped the single large fang standing out of his maw, and then he said mildly: “Well, looks like I'm not completely crazy after all. I mean, unless I'm imagining all of you, but I don't quite think I am. At least not today, anyway... puppy, I can't believe it's you, puppy! Don't you have a big hug for big dog?”

“Sure, right here.” Discombobulation said moodily, raising his metal arm and flexing it slowly, as Celestia stared in amazement and Luna grinned despite herself. Scrivener simply didn't know what to think, while Twilight Sparkle was trembling slightly but keeping herself in check, despite the warm smile that had spread over her face. “Shouldn't you be petrified? Or dead? Or maybe in that big garbage heap in the sky?”

“Ouch, that hurts me, puppy!” Discord retorted, leaping up to his feet on the folding chair, and then he yelped when it slammed closed on his legs and he fell backwards. Luna threw her head back and laughed at this loudly... but then winced when Discord appeared out of nowhere behind her and Scrivener and threw his arms around them companionably, grinning widely. “Besides, you think a little thing like the Elements of Harmony are going to keep something like me down? Hell no! I'm big daddy Discord... right? Right?”

“Get off me, Draconequus. Thou art smelly.” Luna said grumpily, and Discord gave her an offended look before he hopped backwards and rose an arm, sniffing several times and then sticking out his tongue as he made a face.

Luna huffed a bit, but she was smiling at his antics all the same as the red-eyed Draconequus made a sudden leap back over the campfire, landing beside Spike and making the dragon wince. Discord peered down at him for a moment, tilting his head back and forth, and then he snapped his fingers and remarked: “I kinda like it, kid, but that crazy enchantment on you? Wow. That's definitely not FDA-approved.”

“References are my thing, Discord. Your thing was always being an enormous douchebag. Why don't you go do that?” Discombobulation said in a surly voice, and Discord tossed his fellow Draconequus an amused look as Spike shifted lamely: the dragon was dressed in a fairly heavy, beautifully-designed breastplate with the profile of a unicorn over the front of it, and he had a large, round shield slung comfortably over his back. His greaves and gauntlets rested beside him, and Discord peered down at these for a moment before he simply sniffed and bounced over to Twilight Sparkle.

“Well, look at you! All grown up, just like Princess Party Pooper wants you to be!” Discord said delightedly, gazing over the violet mare: dressed in her heavy cloak, it hid almost everything but her wings and face from view as the Draconequus leaned down, reaching a single finger out to flick her horn as he began to speak some jibe...

There was a small spark from the contact, and Discord froze, gazing down at her as Twilight looked back up, still smiling, but it slowly faded as the Draconequus only continued to stare in disbelieving silence. Then he reared backwards, his smile vanishing from his features as he reached up and covered his mouth, looking stunned into silence for a moment before he whispered from behind his lion's paw: “Oh, Twilight Sparkle...”

Twilight closed her eyes and bowed her head silently, and Discord studied her quietly for a few moments longer before he slowly turned to look at Celestia. She looked calmly back at him, and the Draconequus hesitated before he asked quietly: “And I don't suppose you're anything like the Celestia of this world, are you? And here I thought this was all either a most delightful dream, or a wonderful bit of random chaos... seeing as the puppy showed up, after all, even if he has...”

Discord looked thoughtfully over his shoulder, and Discombobulation held up his metal arm, saying in a soft voice: “This is reality. And reality may be relative to those who experience it, Discord, but in the reality I come from... things are a little different than the reality you've been living here. So Tia freed you, did she?”

“Tia? That's cute.” Discord remarked wryly, and then he turned back towards Celestia, asking with cheerful interest despite the way his eyes flicked almost nervously towards Twilight: “So tell me, Miss Tia. Your world, oh, it wouldn't happen to be Helheim, would it? I'm just thinking that, you know, since puppy's gone all angsty and grumpy, and Twilight Sparkle seems to be a little... uh... not-alive... and there's a dragon with a crazy binding enchantment and a... well... I don't even know what those two are... you might all have crawled up from Hell. Just checking, of course. Polite thing to do.”

Celestia only smiled slightly, and then she said quietly: “You're not far off, maybe... but rest assured. We're from another layer of reality, but we're here to help, Discord... so I take it... I wasn't as heartless in this world as I have been in others?”

“I wouldn't say that, precisely, if I'm not a good little boy my punishment is pretty clear.” Discord replied mildly, and then he twisted his head back and forth indecisively before spinning on his heel and asking flatly: “Okay, okay, I have to ask. Puppy, what's with the giant prosthetic implant? You finally take a reference too far?”

“You stilled me.” Discombobulation said mildly, flexing his metallic claw slowly as he looked down at it, and Discord looked taken aback before Bob smiled wryly and glanced up at his fellow chaos entity. “Then I kicked your ass anyway, big dog.”

“What? Impossible! That version of me must have been lame then. Double-lame for stilling you, I would clearly never ever resort to that. Probably.” Discord paused, thoughtfully poking at his own nose before he muttered: “I must have been mad as hell to do something like that to you. How did you even get out of Ginnungagap, puppy?”

“You died, in... our home layer, to send him to me. It's... it's complicated.” Twilight said quietly, looking down with a faint smile, and Discord looked over at her curiously even as he shifted away, before the Lich looked up and said softly: “I... I'm really happy to see you're free here. You never deserved... what we did to you.”

Discord looked surprised by this, shifting for a moment as he studied her, and then he smiled a little and nodded hesitantly, seeming reassured by this as he touched his own chest and said kindly: “You're a much nicer Twilight Sparkle than the one here. She seems to be having a little trouble forgiving me for all the little pranks I've pulled over the years.”

Then the chaos entity paused before clapping his hands together, looking thoughtfully up at the sky as he said mildly: “Well, I have to admit that I'm very happy to see we're all getting along here. I might even believe you all, and while chaos finds it oh so easy to start telling lies, good little puppy over there can tell you that we're much harder to lie to. And most of you ponies are bad liars, anyway. But so what the hell are you all doing here? Vacation? Sightseeing? Boring research mission? Exciting swords and sorcery adventure? Because I see you have plenty of both.”

Discord pointedly gestured at where Luna had dropped her spear and quiver of javelins next to Celestia's sword, and Luna grinned wryly before she answered easily: “Aye, we do, and they will be put to use sooner rather than later, I expect. We are hunting a death entity and his master, Discord... perhaps thou can help us, or at least get us an audience with... Princess Party Pooper.” Luna paused, seeming to relish this as she glanced thoughtfully over at Celestia. “I like this name for thee. 'Tis fitting.”

“I like you.” Discord smiled slightly, reaching up and stroking his beard thoughtfully before he glanced up at the stars and asked curiously: “Your work?”

“Aye, 'tis the constellation Celestia's Buttocks.” Luna said firmly, and Discord giggled stupidly at this before hurriedly slapping his hands over his mouth and clearing his throat when Discombobulation and Celestia both looked at him flatly. “And creature, to avoid confusion, let it be known that thou may refer to me as Brynhild, Celestia as Freya, and my darling Twilight as Morgan. This is also my husband, Scrivener Blooms, and I take it thou recognized Spike clearly enough.”

“Clearly enough.” Discord agreed, and then he dropped back as a pink cloud of cotton candy appeared behind him, falling into this like it was a floating bean-bag chair as he put his hands behind his head and smiled amusedly at Luna across the fire. “Brynhild, Freya and Morgan. And ponies think that I'm the weird one. I can't believe you three actually want to go and visit the Big C, though. Personally, I'm still a little sore about the whole 'being turned to stone for a thousand years' thing. Do you know how much good stuff I missed out on over that thousand years? And now I get back, and we have Chrysalis causing trouble and Sombra... by the way, genius move, really, you two. 'He's pure evil, so let's turn him into shadow and throw him in a glacier! There's nothing that can go wrong with this plan!'”

“Chrysalis I am familiar with by now, but who is Sombra? Made of shadow... that sounds almost like Ignominious, or perhaps simply a wretched Nightmare.” Luna said thoughtfully, glancing over at Celestia, who simply shrugged calmly.

“Oh, you don't have him where you're from?” Discord asked curiously, sitting up, and Scrivener winced a little and rubbed slowly at his temple as there was a quiet chuckle in the stallion's mind. The charcoal earth pony also couldn't help but notice the way Discord's eyes flicked to him for a bare second: the chaos entity was clearly as sharp as ever, even in this layer. “He's... unpleasant. Evil unicorn tyrant king, formerly of the Crystal Empire and all that. He's got a tiny little grudge against you ponies for blowing him up. Repeatedly. But since he's sentient shadow and all, the smallest piece of him left behind, well...”

“He's Brainiac. Or Swamp Thing. No, Swamp Thing isn't a douche, let's stick with Brainiac.” Discombobulation said mildly, and Discord gave him a pointed look before the metal-armed Draconequus rolled his eyes, then snapped his fingers, and a pile of comic books fell neatly into Discord's lap. “Happy?”

The red-eyed chimerical creature only sniffed disdainfully, picking up the first comic on the pile and holding it upside down as he opened it, saying mildly: “Shut up, puppy. I remember enough of the old days to know that I used to be in charge, even if you seem to be a free agent now. And hey, are those laser eyes? I've always wanted laser eyes. Puppy, think fast.”

Discord glared over the top of the comic before beams of red light shot out of his eyes, but Discombobulation only calmly held up his metallic arm, and the beams bounced off his forelimb and became bright rainbows that arced back directly into Discord's wide eyes, cutting off the crimson rays as he flopped backwards on his cotton candy cushion and howled: “Oh god I've been maced by rainbows! Puppy, I'm going to slap you with a newspaper!”

“Well, there goes that quiet camping atmosphere.” Scrivener said mildly as Luna giggled stupidly, and Celestia only sighed tiredly at the antics of the two Draconequus. Spike and Twilight, meanwhile, only sat back and watched awkwardly as comic books fluttered in all directions and Discord finally flopped to a halt, grumbling and glowering up at the sky before he rose a hand and snapped his fingers.

Discombobulation winced as his metallic arm sparked, then turned bright pink, the claw transforming into a large, padded oven mitt as the Draconequus stared blankly down at this, and then Discord pointed at him without looking up as he said mildly: “Keep misbehaving, puppy, and I'll make the rest of you match your cute little accessory.”

Discombobulation grumbled, then brushed moodily at his arm several times, the pink peeling off like cheap paint as he shook away the mitten, and then he said moodily: “Oh, this is just going to be the best night ever, isn't it?”

With some coaxing, Discord eventually agreed to take a message to the Princesses about what these strange, armed and armored ponies from another layer were doing here. He said he would do so, and then would meet them in Ponyville, probably when the Princesses did. Of course, the moment he was gone, Celestia couldn't help but remark: “He was studying us the whole night... I wouldn't be surprised if he already slipped a message to the Princesses of this world at some point. We should be careful, just in case.”

“I do not know. I think we made a fairly good impression.” Luna said positively, her starry locks now decorated with several large, pretty black bows as she gestured brightly several times up at her mane. “And look! 'Tis just like Sleipnir used to do when we were bored and thou would not let us go out to pursue pleasure or distraction!”

Celestia sighed tiredly, shaking her head slowly before she glanced over at Twilight Sparkle, who smiled faintly and simply shrugged. And finally, the ivory winged unicorn looked over at Discombobulation, who tilted his head back and forth before he finally nodded moodily a few times and said grumpily: “I suppose it could have been worse, yes. But I think he was still showing off. He reminds me of Ferris Bueller. I never liked that kid.”

The ivory mare only shook her head slowly, giving the Draconequus an entertained look before she glanced up towards the now dawn-lit sky, murmuring softly: “We shared much with him, though... he was smart, wasn't he?”

“Yeah, even I noticed that.” Spike smiled a little as he finished pulling on his equipment, then grabbed his backpack, hefting it over one shoulder: the sheathed sword strapped to the side of it clinked lightly as he said continued: “I mean... I guess I'm used to pulling apart mixed signals and all, but I think he was kind of testing us too, wasn't he? Not just to how we reacted to him... being Discord... but... how we reacted to him probing for information.”

“Very good, Spike.” Celestia nodded calmly once, then her horn glowed as she lifted her saddlebags, setting them carefully into place before Tyrfing floated slowly off the ground to settle into place on her back. And to the surprise of all present, there was a chittering before Ratatoskr poked his head sleepily out of the saddlebag, but Celestia only smiled over her shoulder at the fire-red squirrel. “It's alright, go back to sleep for now. I'll give you something to eat when we reach Ponyville.”

The squirrel chittered, then vanished back into the saddlebag as Discombobulation looked absurdly touched, staring across at Celestia before the ivory mare gave the faintest blush as she turned, saying softly: “What can I say? I've gotten attached to him... and besides, he's smart and spry. I still can't tell if he's something you found in the wild or... just a little piece of you, Bob.”

“Let's not discuss our feelings in front of the class.” Discombobulation replied awkwardly, hurrying forwards, and Twilight smiled and shook her head slowly before she flicked her horn, stirring the embers that remained of the fire up into the air before a wash of dirt kicked up over the fireplace, suffocating the last few dying sparks as the dust settled.

Spike shook his head as he followed quickly after Twilight, the dragon looking strong and ready for the journey despite the long, sleepless night they had spent together, while Scrivener and Luna followed last after picking up their own saddlebags and equipment. They let a little distance come between them and the others, and then the sapphire mare glanced over at the charcoal stallion and said softly: “Tell me.”

“Valthrudnir. Some of the things that... Discord talked about...” Scrivener lowered his head a little, shaking his head before he looked uneasily back and forth. “And... and I dunno. There's something here. Some presence, something... watching us. I feel... familiarity in it, and that scares me a lot, you know?”

Luna nodded slowly, and then the sapphire mare leaned over and kissed his cheek gently, the stallion smiling faintly and closing his eyes before she said softly: “Scrivener Blooms... know that no matter what happens and what comes of this, we face it together. And not just us... Twilight and Celestia too, are our family. Discombobulation and Spike friends: there need be no secrets here. Thou does not need to be ashamed.”

Scrivener nodded a little, looking down before he gazed back and forth through the forest around them, the stallion shifting uneasily before saying almost suddenly: “I am afraid though, yeah. And part of it is because Valthrudnir might be bragging, but he has no clue what's going on either. I... I hate that I've come to rely on him a little. I hate that I keep wanting to go to him for information, especially when he dangles little bits and pieces in front of me, but when the memories come back of”

the earth pony was the first test subject, a historian that worked for the Royal Court of Canterlot. Valthrudnir had chosen this deep dark blue pony because he was a loner by nature, and spent days and days up here alone, in his tower full of books, doing pointless research into pointless, insipid literature and the worthless history of the worthless cultures that populated this worthless, overflowing world.

The pony was staring up at him, looking terrified as he was held in place by two ponies Valthrudnir had taken control of without even having to flex his superior powers. He had simply offered them some of their shiny little coins, and they had fallen all over themselves to declare themselves his loyal servants. But Valthrudnir thought it was a fair trade: to him, their money was of little importance, just as all these ponies were of little importance. The perfect combination.

The Jötnar smiled coldly, then he said kindly as he held up the syringe full of dark corruption in one hand: “Now stay still, and this won't hurt for more than a moment... you should be proud, you see. You happen to be

“the first Replicant experiment... he did...” Scrivener shuddered, clenching his eyes shut for a moment before he shook his head hurriedly as Luna looked at him nervously, feeling that moment of static in their link as awful memories that weren't his own flashed through the glossy-black unicorn's mind. “Sorry. Sorry, just... what I was talking about. The fact my corruption gets excited and... Valthrudnir likes to push... it's a bad combination.”

Luna nodded slowly, then leaned over and nuzzled him for a moment before she smiled a little, meeting his eyes and saying quietly: “Well, fear not, Scrivy. Thou shall feel much better once we hunt down where Thesis hides, and pummel him into submission. We shan't let him threaten us, nor do any kind of harm to our family ever again... and well, at least we are only defending ourselves upon this adventure, that is a pleasant change of pace, is it not?”

“Yeah. Not having to worry about Ponyville or Equestria for once... but... I am worried about Antares. I hope he's okay, and... I wish he didn't have to be involved in this, you know?” Scrivener replied quietly, and Luna sighed softly but nodded with a faint smile, and the two looked ahead before Scrivener said abruptly: “And you... you look pretty with your mane all... pretty.”

Luna laughed and shook her head, but she smiled wider all the same as she glanced over at the charcoal stallion tenderly, and after a few moments the two caught up to the rest of the group. They walked onwards in a comfortable silence, trading conversation occasionally, but keeping an eye on their surroundings. The fact this world seemed so peaceful and gentle, after all, was unfortunately heavily outweighed by the fact that all of them could also feel that distinct pulse of wrongness in the air, the taste of darkness and impending doom.

The six made it out of the forest after only a few hours, and were unsurprised to find several Royal Guards waiting for them, to escort them the rest of the way to Ponyville. The soldiers, however, were understandably a little cowed by what had emerged from the forest: seeing an enormous pony that looked like Princess Celestia in marvelous golden battle armor, with a massive sword on her back, followed by a winged unicorn that resembled the Princess of the Night, with silly bows in her hair but her own armor and array of deadly-looking weapons... it would spook anyone. And that was even before considering the dragon, the Draconequus, the large, scarred stallion and the cloaked winged unicorn.

All the same, the guards were respectful, and the escort of four soldiers led them to Ponyville without complaint, although they also didn't answer many of their questions. And Luna couldn't help but smile wryly as her starry mane flowed and twisted slowly, before she said mildly: “Remember, Scrivener. My helm is in thy left bag. So should something go wrong, thou can swing the bag into the faces of thine enemies. But thou art enough of a mare to know the basics of using thy purse as a weapon, art thou not?”

“I hate you, Luna Brynhild. I really do.” Scrivener said wryly, and Luna shrugged peaceably before the stallion glanced back and forth as they walked into Ponyville: a Ponyville that was full of gawking citizens, excitedly whispering to each other over what was going on, without walls or defense towers. “We must be on an inner layer... it looks... it looks like old Ponyville.”

“More Ponyville than our Ponyville back home, aye.” Luna agreed quietly, smiling faintly before she murmured: “'Tis strangely reassuring, Scrivener Blooms, that throughout the many layers we have visited... only ours is protected by wall and fortification.”

“Yeah. I know what you mean.” Scrivener smiled a little after a moment, nodding slowly as he looked ahead: Spike was gazing back and forth in amazement, as Twilight only smiled a little over at her draconic companion. And at the front, Celestia was keeping her gaze calm and ahead, looking more as if she was leading an honor procession than being escorted by the Guard herself as Bob followed calmly along behind her.

To their surprise, it wasn't the library they were brought to, but instead the sweets shop that Luna and Scrivener recognized all too well, although the version of it in their world had its tiny differences: the sign out front read 'Sugarcube Corner,' for example, while the shop that the Pink Twins ran went by 'Sugar Cube Corners...' and of course, at Pinkamena's insistence, had a few less gaudy candy decorations covering its front and frame.

There were two Pegasus Guard stationed at either side of the door, but they bowed their heads as the other four soldiers stepped aside, one of them saying calmly as he managed to make himself look up without trembling: “Please wait inside. The Princesses will be arriving shortly.”

“Thou did well. Thy voice only shook a little, I can barely tell thou art terrified out of thy mind at all.” Luna said cheerfully as the others headed inside, but the sapphire mare lingered a moment to lean in towards the guard's face, before suddenly flashing a grin: and at the sight of her fangs and large, sharpened teeth, even the well-trained stallion couldn't stop himself from staggering hurriedly backwards as his eyes widened in shock. “But fear is a sane response.”

With that, Luna flicked her ribboned, ethereal locks and strode proudly inside before her eyes gleamed in delight: a lanky, yellowish earth pony dressed in a baker's apron and wearing a small paper hat over his orange mane stood nervously next to a blue mare with a swirled, pink and purplish mane and tail. Their eyes flicked to one another fearfully, then looked out over the ponies in the room as the sapphire mare licked her teeth slowly, drawing her eyes over them and the tiny Pegasus and unicorn toddlers sitting in the double-carrier than hung over the earth pony mare's back. They were both staring with wide eyes at Luna as the sapphire mare approached slowly, grinning widely as the two earth ponies half-clung to each other, turning to try and protect the babies...

Luna strode straight past them, and both the ponies looked dumbly over their shoulders to watch as the sapphire mare greedily buried her face into a large, whip-cream covered cake on the counter, and Scrivener dropped his head with a loud thunk against the large table that had been set up as Celestia sighed in exasperation, but Discombobulation only politely sipped at a tiny cup of tea with metallic pinkie extended. He had also slipped on a monocle, top hat, and tie out of nowhere, as he remarked to the stunned-looking ponies: “I must say, this is all very tip-top. Good show, jolly good show.”

Twilight only shook her head slowly, and Luna pulled her face out of the cake, dripping chocolate icing and whipped cream as her eyes sparkled with delight. “Scrivener! Scrivener! Scrivener, this is fudge and chocolate and 'tis so sweet and delectable and sugary my teeth ache! Oh, what a glorious delight!”

“You are a glutton.” Scrivener shouted from the table, and then he sighed and slumped a little as Spike awkwardly patted him on the shoulder, the stallion moodily reaching out to grab the nearby teapot and pour himself a cup. “Bob, give me a reference for this situation.”

“Oh, come now, Luna, I've already given you plenty. You can remember at least one, I wot.” Discombobulation remarked, and then he sipped slowly at his tea and added politely to the staring, scared ponies: “Absolutely smashing.”

“Smashing!” one of the foals exclaimed, and then the Pegasus infant flailed his limbs violently before both he and his sibling laughed, and almost immediately the tension in the room seemed to loosen as the two ponies of this layer slowly relaxed.

“Uh... well, hello there, I'm glad you all... started to help yourselves...” began the mare, clearing her throat and quickly stepping forwards as she gave a smile: still uneasy, but when the people at their table looked at her politely and curiously, she seemed to gather her courage, continuing quickly: “I'm Mrs. Cake, my husband Mr. Cake and I run this store. These are my foals, Pound Cake...” She turned, indicating the smiling Pegasus. “And Pumpkin Cake.”

She turned the other way to show off the unicorn foal, and Scrivener and Spike traded a look before they both looked at Mr. Cake, but the freckled earth pony stallion turned his eyes lamely away as Mrs. Cake hurried onwards: “We were asked to give you a bit of a meal, and heard the Princesses themselves will shortly be arriving to speak with you, so... we put together a small banquet, as you can see. If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask, although I see that you... might already know that.”

She and her husband looked awkwardly back at Luna, who had eaten almost half of the chocolatey cake on the counter before she drew her head back and belched loudly, and Scrivener grabbed at his face with one hoof as Celestia closed her eyes slowly and Twilight simply pulled her hood further over her face. Then the sapphire mare huffed, glaring over at them and saying flatly: “Shut up, 'tis a compliment. And I shall have thee know that in the days of old, Sleipnir and I could out-quaff and out-belch any fool who challenged us!”

Then she paused before rubbing briskly at her features to scrub away any remaining whipped cream or chocolate crumbs, before striding forwards with a smile at the foals, gazing over them as Mrs. Cake winced a bit before Luna firmly bumped her muzzle into Pound Cake. He giggled, and she blew a raspberry against him, making him laugh even as the Cakes both stared at the sapphire mare, who drew back after a moment. “What a splendid little colt! And... oh, what, art thou jealous, filly?”

With that, Luna hopped into the air and flapped her wings firmly, launching herself over Mrs. Cake and nearly squishing Mr. Cake as he staggered quickly out of the way when she dropped to the floor, then she leaned forwards and firmly nuzzled down into Pumpkin Cake, who giggled and grabbed wildly at Luna's face before the sapphire mare drew back and nodded firmly. “Gorgeous foals, both of thee are! And such lucky parents! Lucky, lucky, lucky parents.”

She leaned slowly down into Mrs. Cake's face with a knowing look and a waggle of her eyebrows, and the earth pony smiled with a deep blush as she said hurriedly: “My husband has a cousin who's a Pegasus-”

“Brother! I mean, uncle! Half-Pegasus!” Mr. Cake stumbled out hurriedly, and then he added lamely: “And my wife's mother's... father... her grandfather is a unicorn!”

“Grandmother. I mean, grandmother's... father.” Mrs. Cake stumbled out, and they both stared at Luna as she looked moodily back for a few moments before rolling her eyes and turning around, and the Cakes took a moment to trade a look before turning and hurrying for the swinging doors leading into the back. “Excuse us!”

“Celestia, perhaps on this layer thou got the Cake mare pregnant.” Luna said conversationally as she approached the table, and Celestia only sighed tiredly before Luna added thoughtfully, looking over at Scrivener Blooms: “Or perhaps the Cake mare is simply... adventurous.”

“Or, you know, they do have mixed up genetics.” Scrivener said after a moment, and when Luna gave him an amused look, the stallion said awkwardly: “Please don't get us thrown out, okay? Not yet at least. And I would really, really love to go through a layer without starting a fight with the resident Celestia and Luna.”

“Resident Celestia. That would be the scariest game ever.” Discombobulation remarked, sipping slowly at his cup of tea before he added dryly: “And no matter how badly you screwed it up, it would still be better than the movies. I've always been a fan of the classics, though, puzzles and using your brain as much as shooting zombies in the face.”

Twilight looked up moodily, and Discombobulation touched his own chest, giving her a pointed look. “Now don't be oversensitive, Twilight Sparkle. I would never shoot you in the face. Besides, you'd be a side-character, someone you probably have to save from getting her head torn off, like Rebecca. But you'd get your own time to shine, sort of, in the spinoffs.”

“Thanks. I think.” Twilight said dryly, and then she shook her head slowly before gazing quietly towards the back of the kitchen, murmuring: “The Cakes... I remember them. And if their kids are still foals, this timeline must be...”

She looked down, trying to think of how to explain it, but then she only smiled a little as she looked quietly down the table at Scrivener. Their eyes met, and in that moment, they traded thoughts and images and simple feelings back and forth, all these things that couldn't be expressed easily as words, and the stallion smiled: not just at understanding what Twilight meant, but at how she had stretched out and used the link they all shared.

He glanced towards Luna, and she smiled warmly as he felt his approving, positive feelings as well as understood Twilight's thoughts. Celestia gazed across the three almost enviously for a moment as Spike only awkwardly rubbed at his head, but then the ivory mare shook her head and said softly: “What Twilight is getting at is that if events have reflected and refracted throughout the layers, assuming there was nothing to interfere with them... she thinks that we can guess at what might have happened on this layer already, and how relationships have been affected and grown. For example, Chrysalis: I wouldn't be surprised to learn that on this layer, her first appearance was when she staged her attack at the wedding of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor.”

“That's correct.” confirmed a voice from the doorway, and the six now gathered at the table all looked up to watch as Princess Celestia calmly strode into the room. She held herself proudly, looking over them with sharp interest in her amethyst eyes, and she was adorned with a flowing golden cape that covered her body almost completely, held closed at the front by a large brooch.

She strode inside, followed by a sapphire winged unicorn... who didn't have a mane of flowing stars. She was smaller, too, younger-looking, with only a light blue mane and tail of natural hair. She shifted uneasily, almost hiding behind her older sibling as she looked out at them quietly, adorned with only her black tiara and peytral as Princess Celestia regarded them silently.

Luna Brynhild and Celestia Freya both stood, followed after a moment by all the others at the table except for Bob, who only poured himself another cup of tea before raising his cup and saying kindly: “Don't worry, I won't get up. That would ruin your opinion that all Draconequus are ungrateful and rude, and that would most certainly be far less polite than what I'm doing right now.”

“Discord has been very helpful, as a matter of fact... I've begun to rethink my opinions on the Draconequus.” Princess Celestia replied quietly, and then she paused before silently studying Freya, asking quietly: “May I ask your names?”

The golden-armored winged unicorn turned her eyes to the sapphire, starry-mane mare, who only grinned wryly before nodding firmly once and stepping forwards. “As I am sure thou hast been told... we are thee. But to keep it simpler, let me be Brynhild to thee, as my big sister shall be Freya. This is Scrivener Blooms, my husband, and that is Twilight Sparkle, whom thou may refer to as Morgan if thou so desires, and she is my wife.” Brynhild's eyes became challenging, but Princess Celestia didn't react: whether it was because she thought Luna was joking or didn't think it was the right time to challenge her, the warrior mare didn't know. “And this is Sir Spike, of the Starlit Knights, who I fear lacks a second name, as does Discombobulation.”

“Discord told us that you were his apprentice, 'back home.' I still don't know what the Draconequus means by 'home' to this day, but... he and I aren't as close as we once were, and he always was fond of riddles.” Princess Celestia studied the Draconequus, who only shrugged and gestured to her with his teacup, and the Princess of the Sun gave a small smile after a moment. “Yes. He wasn't lying, I can see that clearly enough now.”

She stopped, then drew her eyes over the other, studying them, their armor, their weapons. She saw in front of her six warriors, taking in each of them in turn until her eyes finally settled on Twilight Sparkle, and the ivory mare asked quietly: “Please be honest with me. Are you like Sombra?”

“We don't even know anything about Sombra... he wasn't in our world. At least, we don't think he was, but... I guess the Strange Ones could have him locked away...” Twilight looked at Freya apprehensively, but when the golden-armored mare cleared her throat pointedly, the Lich blushed and nodded hurriedly before looking ahead, taking a slow breath, and saying quietly: “I'm a Lich. It means-”

“I know what it means.” Princess Celestia's voice was a little sharp, and Twilight flinched back... but after a moment, the Princess of the Sun sighed a little when behind her, Princess Luna silently tugged at her, and she closed her eyes. “It's okay, little sister, I didn't mean to raise my voice. And... I apologize, Twilight, I have simply had... unfortunate experiences with...”

She stopped, then shook her head slowly before gesturing calmly at the table: “May my sister and I join you? I'd like to get to know you before addressing any sensitive topics or issues.”

“Of course.” Luna Brynhild smiled and nodded, then called cheerfully: “Come out now, Princess Luna, I understand that I am scary but fear not! I am thee, and thou art me, and we shall be the best of friends, thou shall see.”

Princess Celestia visibly stiffened, her gaze sharpening as behind her, Princess Luna shifted worriedly back and forth, and there was an awkward silence for a moment before the Princess of the Night silently leaned out from behind her older sibling. And as their eyes met, Brynhild frowned a little as she saw something wasn't... something was...

Princess Luna shifted a little, stepped forwards, and Princess Celestia was quick to reach up and wrap a foreleg around her, pulling her comfortingly close and leaning down to whisper a few encouraging words to her. After a moment, the Princess of the Night nodded a few times silently, and then Celestia looked up and said quietly: “I'm sure we'll... all get to know each other very well in time.”

There was silence for a few moments as the table shifted, and Luna stepped carefully to the side. Scrivener, Freya, Twilight and Discombobulation all watched, no one knowing what to say, as the Princesses sat down on the other side of the table, and Brynhild carefully sat down beside the faintly-trembling, scared and somehow... child-like... Princess of the Night.

They stared at each other, and then Princess Celestia reached up and touched her sibling's shoulder gently, shaking her once to get her attention. Princess Luna blushed and looked up, and then she dropped her head forwards and closed her eyes, mane spilling forwards over her features as Princess Celestia looked up and smiled faintly. “My little sister is very special. She is very, very strong. But the Elements of Harmony... no, it's not their fault. It's no one's fault, alright? It's no one's fault.”

Princess Celestia squeezed Princess Luna closer as she began to shake her head violently, trembling, and Brynhild looked disbelievingly, slowly upwards, as the Princess of the Sun closed her eyes and said softly: “She has been very, very strong. Working very hard to restore her strength... it's just taking... longer than expected, but one day, everypony will see. My little sister will be back to her old self. Strong and happy, and... she may even regain her ability to speak.”

“She... is mute?” Luna Brynhild asked disbelievingly, and Princess Celestia shot her a furious look as she hugged her younger sibling closer, making the armored mare wince back slightly and say hurriedly: “I mean no disrespect just... 'tis... 'tis surprising! She... she cannot speak...”

“She cannot.” Princess Celestia's tone was a little rough still, but her eyes had already softened as she looked silently down at the mare beside her, Princess Luna resting with her eyes closed and her head against the ivory mare. “She cannot speak... and she cannot even focus her magic very well yet... but she will, one day... one day she'll be back to her old self, she will.”

Slowly, Princess Celestia brushed back the mane of the Princess of the Night, and Brynhild's eyes sharpened as she saw some kind of ring was locked around the very base of her horn, hidden by her mane. Her eyes flicked worriedly up, but Freya remained impassive, so the mare decided not to speak... and when Princess Celestia spoke again, there was such honest pain in her voice that it made it almost impossible to imagine this mare could even think of harming a hair on her sister's head: “We used to live in such a peaceful world... but since my sister's unfortunate return, it seems like Equestria is falling apart. Discord returned, and was briefly sealed again by the Elements... which I only resorted to using because there was no other recourse. Then Chrysalis attacked, which you somehow seemed to know about, and she tried to hurt my sister, in front of me... but I stopped her. Not without cost, but seeing her go after my little sister... I couldn't let that happen, no matter what.

“And then the evil King Sombra returned... and even though he was stopped and the Crystal Kingdom saved, we've had to stay on guard to drive back his attempts to darken Equestria. Old, forbidden artifacts have risen back into sight after a thousand years of being buried away, and now I've been hearing rumors that once more, the Crystal Kingdom is in danger... that ponies are vanishing. I already sent the Elements of Harmony to investigate, but...”

Silently, Celestia looked down at her little sister, reaching up and touching her cheek quietly. “After what happened with my little sister... I feel uneasy every time I call on them. They're good ponies. Wonderful ponies. But the Elements of Harmony themselves did... this... to my poor little sister. I don't want to inflict this kind of pain even on my worst enemies. I felt terrible using their power again on Discord, when... when now I truly understand what they can take away.”

She quieted, then looked over her shoulder with surprise as something tugged at her cape, and the Princess of the Sun smiled faintly at the sight of Pound Cake, the tiny Pegasus foal gazing up at her happily. She reached down and gently picked him up as Mrs. Cake hurried out of the back, then blushed furiously as she approached, bowing rapidly at the same time. “Oh, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna! I'm so sorry we weren't here and... oh, there you are, Pound Cake, you naughty colt! I'm sorry, I hope he wasn't any trouble, but my husband and I forget just how fast they are sometimes...”

“No trouble at all.” Princess Celestia said quietly, passing the foal back to Mrs. Cake, who smiled awkwardly after a moment before the Princess of the Sun turned her eyes over the table, adding quietly: “Please, if you could, bring out a fresh pot of tea, and some fudge for my sister. It's her favorite. I would truly appreciate it, Mrs. Cake.”

Princess Luna shifted a little, blushing silently before glancing awkwardly at Luna Brynhild, and the sapphire mare stared back as Scrivener looked at the Princess of the Night as well. Meanwhile, Twilight was looking uneasily at Celestia, the Lich's hood pushed back enough to reveal her features as she asked nervously while Mrs. Cake hurried away: “I... I'm sorry, but I can't help but ask... in this world, Twilight is... I mean, does she still... are you still...”

“Twilight is still my apprentice. My favored apprentice. But... there is a distance, yes, that was created between us.” Princess Celestia smiled faintly after a moment, glancing over at the Lich. “But some days I think she's so busy with the friends she has now that I don't believe she entirely notices it herself. I suppose that is for the best, though.”

The Lich shifted uncomfortably, and then there was simply silence until Mrs. Cake strode in and set down a new pot of tea, and a tray of freshly baked fudge. The earth pony smiled at Princess Luna as she picked up a plate and quickly served her, but she didn't interrupt the silence as she went about her work, until she finally excused herself with: “Just call or ring the bell at the counter if you need anything, anything at all.”

She hurried off, and Princess Luna shifted uncomfortably, then quietly reached forwards and fumblingly picked up a piece of fudge before beginning to eat in silence as her eyes flicked back and forth. She looked embarrassed, but shortly Princess Celestia drew the table's attention as she poured herself a cup of tea and said calmly: “Discord mentioned that you have business here. That you're chasing something... he said it was something I wouldn't understand.”

“I don't know about that.” Freya said softly, and the twinned mares studied one-another for a moment before Freya asked quietly: “Can you tell us about this 'Crystal Kingdom' you mentioned, and about the disappearances?”

“Of course.” Princess Celestia nodded, replying softly: “A thousand years ago, my sister and I battled a terrible evil, King Sombra. He was a unicorn who had enslaved the Crystal Kingdom, and the crystal ponies that lived within it: we turned him to shadow, and sealed him away under the ice of the north. The crystal kingdom itself was cursed, however, and shrouded with magic... for a thousand years, it sat hidden from reality, until it reappeared only recently. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor have been watching over it for me... they're working with the Elements to find the source of the disappearances, if there's a flaw in the protective barrier that surrounds the kingdom. It's made of positive energy... the kind that repels dark forces.”

Brynhild, Scrivener, and Twilight all shifted a little, wondering how that would affect them before Freya asked quietly: “I take it the Crystal Kingdom is important to Equestria?”

“Very.” Princess Celestia smiled a little, nodding slowly and saying softly: “When the Crystal Kingdom prospers, Equestria prospers. It's a magnifying point. Losing it to outside forces would be... unfortunate. And I'm afraid that's also why I feel hesitant to tell you the location of the Crystal Kingdom, even with what you say your intent is.”

“I also notice...” Celestia's eyes roved to Brynhild, as Princess Luna shifted uneasily. “You not only seem to be in whole control of your powers... Nightmare Moon has done something to you. There's a sense of lingering dark forces around you, Brynhild... I would almost call it malevolence. You, and that stallion... and in a sense you as well, Twilight Sparkle, but your tampering with necromancy explains that.”

“Actually, it was me who made her into a Lich.” Freya said courteously, but her eyes were sharp, meeting her counterpart's fearlessly as the Princess of the Sun looked at her with surprise. “But that perhaps isn't a story for first meetings, while we continue to try and... get a proper sense of one another, and where we stand in regards to our goals.”

Princess Celestia digested this, and the words beneath what the ivory mare had just said, before Brynhild added quietly: “And aye. I am darker than perhaps any Luna we have met so far, in our travels across the layers... but so what of it? I would prefer to get my fleas from beasts that know honor instead of cowards and hypocrites.”

The Princess of the Sun looked less-than-pleased with this, but when Princess Luna shifted and shook her head a few times as she tugged quietly at her cape, the Princess of the Sun sighed tiredly before nodding slowly, asking after a moment: “Then will you accept my invitation back to Canterlot? Agreeing to come with me alone would show a depth of trust, and within the castle walls, I would feel more comfortable discussing more sensitive matters with you.”

Brynhild looked towards Freya, but Freya only looked calmly back, and after a moment the starry-maned mare grunted and nodded thoughtfully, saying after a moment: “Aye, I believe we shall do that, Princess Celestia. But I believe that we can at least start that process here, can we not? Scrivener Blooms, Twilight Sparkle... perhaps thou can both tell the Princesses a little of our world, thou art both the storytellers. Why, Scrivener himself is a writer, although I fear that if thou knows anything of their breed, 'twill only lessen thy opinion of him.”

Scrivener sighed tiredly, but Princess Luna gave a small, silent giggle as Princess Celestia smiled faintly... but it was clearly much more at her little sister's reaction than anything else, before the golden-caped winged unicorn nodded slowly. She looked at Scrivener Blooms, studying him, and the stallion smiled wryly before he shrugged and said mildly: “Well... Spike, Bob, if neither of you want to take this on...”

Spike hurriedly shook his head, smiling lamely, and Discombobulation held up his metal hand before tilting it back and forth, then saying finally: “Flashbacks aren't really my thing, Luna. At least, not unless they're drug or alcohol induced. But you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?”

Scrivener sighed tiredly, then he returned his eyes to the Princess of the Sun: at least with how often he'd done this, he'd started to get good at summarizing everything. “First of all, we come from a place we've taken to calling Looking Glass World...”

It didn't take Scrivener long to summarize things, and while Princess Luna looked almost foal-like as she clung to her older sibling, at the same time she studied Scrivener with shining eyes, clearly enjoying the way he told a story. It made Luna Brynhild smile faintly as she studied this fragile version of herself, thinking of how even with how different they were, she understood that all too well: there were few things she enjoyed herself more than listening to Scrivener tell a story.

When the charcoal stallion finished, Princess Celestia took only a moment to process things before she asked quietly: “And these Clockwork Ponies are truly that dangerous? Designed for war, you said, solely to hurt other ponies...”

“Well... the one we're chasing is a special kind of Clockwork Pony, and... he's made for war, yeah. His entire design is around strategy and combat.” Scrivener said quietly, shifting uneasily: he didn't really want to get into the fact that he was Clockwork Pony himself right now. “The other ones we've seen... one is nearly indestructible, and not to brag or anything, but Luna and I can pack a hell of a punch when we want to. But we couldn't do a thing to stop this thing... no matter what we did to it, we couldn't slow it down.

“One we haven't had any experiences with yet, but I have no doubt she's very capable of hurting someone, and I'm not sure I want to find out how. The last seems to be a living hive...” Scrivener grimaced a little, shivering despite himself. “Poisonous, on top of that. And they have a death entity, too. Can't forget about Kismet.”

Luna grunted moodily, not knowing how she felt on the subject of the Great Reaper as Princess Celestia frowned worriedly at this, then shook her head slowly and looked away hesitantly. And just by looking at her, Freya knew where her mind had instantly gone: if these really were the things preying on ponies in the Crystal Empire, and she had sent the Elements of Harmony there to investigate... “It's been more than a thousand years since any kind of reaper walked Equestria... stories about demons and ghosts, they're now nothing more in my world but fairy tales to scare little foals. But you all stand here today... telling me that there's something worse out there than demons, or monsters. That there's a force out there that wants to kill you, but will destroy anything that gets in its way...”

Princess Celestia gave the smallest shift, but Freya's eyes immediately narrowed before she said quietly: “If you've learned anything from your experiences, Princess Celestia... you won't make the same mistakes I did. Because you cannot bargain with these monsters. No matter how smart you are, no matter what deals you make... rabid dogs bite anything that's close, and don't care about logic.”

There was silence for a few moments, and then Princess Celestia looked up and said quietly: “So you think I have no option but to trust you to go to the Crystal Kingdom, to make sure that Elements of Harmony are alright, and stop their investigation before they become victims themselves?”

“Yes. Because if something has happened to them, they're already dead. And if you succeed in making contact with Thesis to trade our lives for theirs, the only thing you'll receive in return are bones, and you'll be giving up your only chance to stop these monsters. Because of them all, their leader is the only one close to sane... and once he gets what he wants, I have no doubt he'll let the other three off their leashes. And if they end up being freed in your world, Equestria will be destroyed, all because of the chain of events you started.” Freya said coldly, and Princess Celestia trembled, breathing a little hard before the golden-armored mare closed her eyes quietly. “Don't make my mistake.”

There was silence for a few long moments, as the group simply sat together, before Princess Celestia leaned down and whispered something quietly to her sister. The younger, child-like mare nodded quietly, and the two stepped up to their hooves before Princess Celestia said quietly: “The journey to the Crystal Empire is a long one. Let's head to Canterlot: you can prepare there, and I'll ensure the train is ready to leave by tonight. We'll leave as soon as possible, with no stops.”

“We?” Brynhild cocked her head in surprise, and when Princess Celestia only silently reached up and touched her younger sibling's shoulder, the starry-maned mare couldn't help but smile wryly. “Very well then. The more, the merrier.”

The Princesses both nodded, and the six visitors from another layer nodded back as they stood, ready to begin their adventure to the Crystal Kingdom... and to stop Thesis before it was too late.

Comments

[Black TearsWolf]

I love this version of Luna. Nuff said

[AXl711]

Celestia with a cape... That makes for an awesome mental image!

[hellcatte]

I'm guessing there's around 40-something layers intact?

[Koekelbag]

Slip-uo:

We'll leave as soon as soon as possible

[talontitanbane]

Celestia said something about cost. I'm guessing she's hiding that she lost her wings under that cape