• Published 19th Apr 2013
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MLP Time Loops - Saphroneth



Twilight Sparkle has been here before. In fact, she's been here so often she's thoroughly bored. Time Loop stories for Equestria.

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MLP Loops 112

112.1


Gilda the Griffin rolled around on her back on a cloud, mildly bored.

New loops were interesting, generally, but it depended who was there and what they were doing. And until she got contacted by someone who'd know for sure – like Dash or Spike – all she could do was check Element mixes and guess.

There was a good spread, at least, this time. Hopefully, a few of the non-element users would be there as well, and she'd be able to try a thing she'd wanted to for a while – swapping places with Luna at Nightmare Night, pretend it was a really good costume, and muck around with raising the moon and stuff.

Something was nagging her, though. What was it? Something to do with the Empire...

Cudgeling her unresponsive brain, Gilda decided to start from the top.

The Gryphon Lands. A large, complex mix of direct dependencies, vassals, client states, and aligned tribes-

Point one. Normally the Empire was more centralized. Interesting.

-spread over a few small landmasses, none of them more than fifty leagues on a side, and dozens upon dozens of minor archipelagos-

Point two. No great plains, no mountaintop eyries... sounded like the griffins were a lot more sea-oriented this loop, and a quick check revealed her bird part to be osprey and her cat part to be almost lynx-like.

A further quick check reassured her she could still do the ink magic thing with her tail. Losing that would have been inconvenient. Anyway, where was she...

-and she had been sent over on a trading mission, since Princess Celestia had been interested in securing the services of a number of dragons-

...bwah?


“Hiccup,” Stoic asked, slowly. “What in Niflheim are we?”

Hiccup looked down at himself. “Oh, huh. Wonder where we are... just gotta wait for those loop memories to kick in. Now, are-”

The coldest air in the world blasted them, ruffling their feathers.

Morning! Toothless announced, landing gracefully between father and son, and giving an 'I've-got-lots-of-teeth-but-I'm-hiding-them-to-be-polite' grin. Behind him, Blitsif settled to the grass.

“Oh, morning Blitz,” Stoic added, nodding his beaked head to her. “Where's Thor?”

Fishing, Blitsif told them. He Woke up a bit hungry, so it'll probably rain fried cod in a few minutes.

Hiccup grinned, which was quite a feat with a beak. “Cool. Well, may as well not waste it – Toothless, you still remember how to catch stuff with your wings?”

That's hatchling stuff. Toothless spread his black wings to their full expansion, covering as much surface area as possible. Week's worth of cat food, coming up.

“We're only half cat,” Hiccup pointed out, pedantically. “Half... I think either eagle or osprey, which more or less means the same thing diet-wise, it's true...”

“Which is called what?” Stoic stressed.

Thornado materialized on cue overhead, and let off a boom. It duly rained fried fish.

Cool, fast food, Toothless broadcast, then rolled his eyes at Blitsif's confusion. We need to get you a nuclear-age loop soon, half my jokes go over your head.

Just be glad I know what an idiom is, Blitsif replied, grinning.

“Oh, right, sorry.” Hiccup shook his head, inspecting his wings absently. “We're griffins, that's what.”

Loop memories settled.

“Pretty much the same Berk as usual, except we've already done the reconcile-with-dragons thing...” he continued, with the air of a seasoned traveller – which he was. “Ooh, and we're nominally part of a larger empire, but in practise all that means is that we have to provide about six of us maximum on request as military service.”

He shrugged, and started collecting the fish off Toothless' wings. “I think they're scared of us. And – oh, wait. Yes! Jackpot!”

Stoic blinked at Hiccup's sudden whoop. “What?”

“Oh, I was just wondering if I knew this place – and I do.” Finishing the job with the fish, he padded back over to his father and laid a wing against his side. (It took some doing – Stoic was a big griffin, and his son was a small one.) “I've got friends here. You'll like 'em.”

“Right.” Stoic frowned. “I think.”


112.2

Princess Celestia trotted onto the stage, to bows and applause.

She turned, facing side-on to the crowd, and made a grand gesture at the curtains. “Now, please welcome – your mayor!”

Ivory Scroll walked slowly onto the centre of the stage, to general confusion.

“Um...” Roseluck asked, raising a hoof. “Shouldn't this be the other way around?”

“Not really?” Celestia replied, confused. “What do I do? Raise the sun?” She flapped her wings, dismissing it. “A trifle. It doesn't make the world go round – well, in a manner of speaking, anyway. And it is not as if I am the only pony who could do that. But your mayor...”

Celestia paced the stage. “Your mayor is who keeps the town running. She ensures that Spick and Span are paid for their work keeping the streets clear, she organizes water, food, housing, balances the budget, makes sure the trains run on time – and, of course, takes the blame for whatever goes wrong.”

She smiled, dishoofingly. “Oh, I do my share of paperwork, as well. It's harder, true – but for that, I get a palace, gold, servants... I'm sure any pony in Equestria would want to be a Princess, at least for a day. But very few want to be Mayors.”

After letting that sink in for a minute, she shrugged. “So, I've donated my day to the Mayors and other civil servants of Equestria. It's the least I can do.”


112.3

"Okay." The unicorn flipped his mane out of his left eye, and it promptly settled back again. "So, your plan is to defeat your sister, yeah?"

"That is correct," Nightmare Moon confirmed.

The unicorn tapped his hooves against the ground. "Then you raise the moon into the sky."

"Exactly." The dark ruler of the night nodded again. "That is the most important aspect of the plan."

"See, I'm right on board, yeah?" He chewed on something, considering. "And after that... you want to make everyone marvel at the sky overhead, as they see true art, yeah?"

"Precisely!" Nightmare Moon bestowed a smile upon the mercenary unicorn. "You catch on much quicker than any of the others ever did."

"Yeah," the unicorn replied. "Okay, I know just how to help."


"...so, anyway," Celestia concluded. "I threw the fight, because I was interested in seeing what this new pony might mean for the loop. And Luna pulled the moon into the centre of the sky, and was just starting to gloat, when..."

Her two pupils frowned at the pause.

"Princess?" Twilight asked. "What is it?"

"...oh, wait," Trixie said suddenly. "I think I see."

"Exactly." Celestia pointed up at the beautiful ring system that shone in Equestria's skies, day or night. "Art, as he put it, is an explosion. Poor Luna..."

"So, Deidara rigged the whole moon to explode," Trixie summarized. Then began to grin.

"Trixie," Twilight said warningly. "Don't make me get the spritzer again."

"What? I was planning true finesse. A series of tens of thousands of coordinated explosions, large and small, to undestroy the moon!" Trixie swirled her cape, which flashed and sparkled well into the blue end of the spectrum. "And then put down a little flag with Luna's cutie mark on it. I am not a monster."


112.1 continued

I like this new setup, Toothless commented, as they skimmed low over the waves. Much easier on my back.

Hiccup trimmed his feathers, lashed his tail briefly to one side to steer, and drew up on Toothless' wing. “Yeah, but you'd better be there when I get tired. Unlike you, I can't keep this up all day.”

You know it. Toothless raised his head slightly to check on his own harness. Yep, still on. Land there whenever you want. Payment is one fish per hour.

“Suits me.”

A little higher and further back, the rest of the dragons and riders followed in a large V formation.

The twins led, their huge dragon providing the air flow that set up the others for long distance flight. On the left arm of the V, Hookfang and his rider led Meatlug and hers, with Gobber trailing (and carrying his Terror, who was making the best of the situation by napping.)

On the right arm, Blitsif and Stormfly composed the main part of the formation. Thornado was trailing, largely to keep an eye on Stoic – the member of their formation least used to long distance flight.

I thought Hiccup said he knew this place, Stoic grumbled to Blitsif and Thornado. Why do we have to go the long way?

The message went from them to Toothless to Hiccup.

“Well...” Hiccup executed a roll in mid-air. “Basically, it's been a while, and I don't want to end up... like, fifty feet underground, or back in time, or something. When a loop you think you know is this changed, you want to really use fresh coordinates.”

The answer was duly sent back from griffin to dragon to dragon to griffin.

I'm sure, Stoic sent to be relayed back. Then: How long is this going to take?

Well, if you're going to grumble... Blitsif replied directly. Hey, loudmouth, close up. Stoic and I are going the quick way.

She shed velocity, dropped low a bit, and then came up under Stoic so he ended up on her back. With a surprised squawk (that he later denied had happened), Stoic found himself rising abruptly away from the formation.

His feathers stood on end, as Blitsif began to trickle-charge from static electricity. Now, get that hammer of yours out. You're going by Blitsif!

Stoic nodded, understanding, and readied Mjolnir. Two quick spins, and it charged to the point it could achieve a lightning bolt.

Ready? Stoic asked.

...now! Blitsif told him.

The bolt of blue-arced lightning struck one of her spines, arced to the rest, and then enveloped them in a curtain of light.

Then they went.


“...huh,” Hiccup said, watching as the dragon and griffin shot off at about the speed of sound. “Not bad.”

He glanced over at Toothless. “No, it's not a challenge.”

Sez you. Toothless contemplated for a moment. Alright, I'll be good.


Princess Celestia landed in front of the best tea shop in Horseshoe Bay, ready to greet the envoys from the Griffin Empire.

Well, actually, she was several hours early. But she'd learned, even before the loops began, that turning up early was a perfect excuse for a cuppa and a slice of cake.

“Lieutenant,” she said to her duty guard commander, “Please try to avoid crowding other ponies in the shop.”

“Of course,” he replied, and turned. “Guard duty to form external perimeter.”


Ten minutes into a really very good cup of Earl Bay (the local speciality), Celestia's elevenses was interrupted by a loud BANG.

“What was that?” she asked, putting her teacup down. Then, as nopony appeared to know offhand, headed outside to find out for herself.


“That” turned out to be a dragon and a griffin sprawled over the main square.

The dragon was moderately sized – to her, it looked about Adult or Mature Adult, possibly smaller – and festooned with the most remarkable array of spikes, some of which still sparked with residual electricity.

The griffin was a large specimen of the species, and slightly... off, to her. It matched loop memories, but wasn't quite up to code with her wider experience of griffins such as Gilda.

Also, his every feather and every hair of his fur were standing on end. An occasional spark blazed from it to the hammer held in his foreclaws.

“Next time, Blitsif,” he muttered, “We try that when I don't have fur or feathers.”

Celestia nodded to herself. “I presume you are a newcomer to Equestria?” she asked. “I am Awake, if that helps, and I presume you are as well.”

The griffin shook his head, instinctually tried to soothe ruffled feathers, then gave it up and looked at her. He blinked.

“Huh. An' I thought griffins were weird,” he said, absently.

The dragon scrambled to its feet, and gave Celestia a long, careful look over. Then turned to survey the rest of the town.

“Oh, right.” The griffin palmed his hammer, which vanished. “You're a looper, right?”

“Indeed,” Celestia replied. “And your employer for the nonce, if I have this right. You are of the Hairy Hooligans, of Berk?” She made the connection. “Does that mean Hiccup is-”

Cold air blasted the town.

“Thanks for the coordinates, Blitsif!” a voice shouted from overhead. Hiccup sprang from Toothless' back, came gliding down to a landing beside the larger griffin, and watched as the rest of the Berk dragons landed in the remainder of the main square.

“Afternoon, Princess Celestia,” Hiccup added. “Several dragons and Vikings, reporting as requested. I see you've met my father.”

“Wonderful,” Celestia replied, both for their presence and for the fact of new Loopers for Berk. “I'm afraid my schedule is rather busy, but allow me to inform you of what I require of you.” To be precise, what her pre-awakening plans had been – extra guards for Twilight. “And – I look forward to meeting you, as I am sure do many others here, ponies and otherwise.”

Hiccup nodded. “Sounds good.”


112.4

Princess Luna sighed, turning away from the moon hovering overhead. And the huge bunch of grapes emblazoned on it.

Sisters loops were trying, sometimes. Especially when the fellow Sister connived with Discord to try to drive one to distraction.

Hopefully, Twilight would be able to handle Berry after her thousand year detox. She didn't even want to contemplate how to handle Awake Discord, who still wouldn't go in the bedamned statue...

“Your Highness?”

Luna looked up. “Ah, Vetter. Do sit down.”

When the unicorn had taken a seat, Luna went on. “Thank you for coming to see Us so quickly. We wished to discern the extent of the damage Our sister caused during her rampage.”

“Um, yes...” Policy Vetter's face made an interesting shape. “About that... most of the damage was trivial, easily fixed. The remaining chaos is administrative, and...” He paused. “Irrevocable.”

Luna blinked. “How can this be?”

In reply, Vetter put a star map down in front of her. “This was signed into the observatory by your own hoof. It is no longer possible to revert.”

The alicorn of the night sky stared, focusing on the chart. It was an accurate enough map, but...

“...what are these names?” Luna asked, blinking and looking closer. “'Boring Star'? 'See Above'? 'Emergency Backup Equestria'?”

Her eyes began roving all over the star chart, suddenly fearing the extent of the damage. Every star she had officially named before Spiked Punch had detonated the Jagernuke was still what it had been, but the rest... they bore names like Putz, Waste Of Sky, Discord Wuz Here, Hashtag Star, PLEASE REMOVE, Dry Clean Only, Just Marsh Gas, Here Be No Dragons, ***FREE TAIL PERMS*** and Go Outside And Get Some Fresh Air Because Astronomy Is Boring.

“I see,” she eventually said, quite calmly. “Thank you. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go find Discord and hit him with astronomy textbooks. I am not sure if I will ever stop.”


112.5

“Lemon Rush?”

The indicated colt turned. “Yes – oh, Shining Armor, right?”

The stallion (for it was he) nodded. “That's correct.”

He stepped a little closer, halting about two yards away. “I've heard – via Twilight – that you're dating my niece.”

“I am, yes,” Rush confirmed.

“Right. Now, I'm sure we both know how this is supposed to go.” Shining shrugged. “You know. Overprotective male relative, hurt my niece and I'll eviscerate you, and so on.”

He cricked his neck. “So let's take all that as read. Instead, there's something much more important I want to discuss. Something which might make all the unpleasant business moot.”

“Oh?” Rush asked, interested.

Shining took a breath. “Nyx is several things – overlady of the night on a time share with Princess Luna; remarkably cute; young whenever she can get away with it... but the important ones here are as follows.”

In the pause, Rush took up an attentive stance. He considered getting out a notebook, but felt that would be a bit crass.

“Right. Firstly – she's slow to trust. I mean, really trust, deep in her heart.” Shining frowned. “That's not to say she isn't comfortable with people quite quickly – quicker than usual, in fact... but that very comfort is based on her knowledge that she is not under duress.”

The stallion tapped a hoof, thinking hard. “Perhaps it would be easier to say she's slow to forget. She will forgive a transgression readily enough, but it will still colour your interactions for a long, long time.”

Rush nodded. “I see, and I think I understand. I'll try to err on the side of caution.”

Shining considered him. “Good. Secondly, she may prefer to appear as a child, but not only is she fully adult but she likes to be treated as one when things are important. Always invite her to discussions that may concern her – if she doesn't want to be involved, she'll just blow off the meeting inside five minutes or not turn up at all. But the important thing is to give her due consideration.”

Lemon absorbed that.

“Finally.” Shining looked Lemon directly in the eye. “I don't know how serious your relationship is – but I do know that you should not feel in the least bit reluctant to ask her how serious she thinks it is. If she is of the impression that it is more serious than you think it is, or if she thinks it is less serious, then you are likely to get in trouble. Avoid that.”

The Primarch waited a moment to see if there was any more, then saluted. “Got it. Thank you, Captain.”

Shining nodded to him in return.

“Oh, and Lemon?” he added, as the colt turned away.

“Yes?”

“If you value your life, tread carefully around my wife.” Shining smiled. “I sometimes think she can smell romance. Don't hesitate to ask me for help in... diverting... her.”

Lemon gave an elaborate shudder. “Never fear on that front. Spike and Rarity's wedding was spectacular, but I also remember what princess Cadence did after it ended...”


112.6

“I see.” Cheerilee wrote that down. “So, an operative should always have at least two independent fall-back locations?”

“That's right,” David confirmed. “At least one should be utterly unconnected with you in any way – I usually just open an atlas at the index and point, to get a good location – and the other should be somewhere with good records and good privacy, like Switzerland.”

“And what should go in it?”

“At least one weapon, several different kinds of disposable currency, and five fake ID at a minimum.” David shrugged. “Depending on the time frame, consider including a disposable mobile phone – prepaid, but unused, and with the battery separate – and a few half-filled books of small newspaper puzzles.”

On seeing her surprised look, the agent smiled. “Hey, fleeing a country involves long periods of boredom on aircraft or trains. Anyway, there should also be something on your person which leads you back to one of your safes. I learned the usefulness of that the hard way.”

“I've heard,” Cheerilee replied dryly. “Jason.”

“Yeah, I don't go by that if I can help it,” David Webb said, holding up his hands. “It might count as displacement or some other psychological thing, but as far as I'm concerned David Webb is the guy who didn't know what he was getting into, and Jason Bourne is the slightly deranged killer. Nowadays, I just carry a quick-mod kit for my guns which turns them into Merciful weapons, and use that if I'm just fighting... hell, the police or whatever.”

“I'd try to help, but psychology is one of the things I've not learned how to do the basics of yet.” Cheerilee gave an awkward smile. “Sorry.”

“Nah, it's fine.” David leant back on the chair. “I've had myself checked out a few times. I'm assured I'm on the mend, though there is a Good-aligned weapon in my pocket I check every so often. If it burns, I'm backsliding.”

“Sensible.” Cheerilee looked down at her page of notes. “Is that it for spycraft?”

“Nearly... for the theory part.” David grinned like a shark. “Now, for the practical. In about fifty seconds, the gendarmerie comes through the ceiling thinking I'm in the pay of the North Koreans trying to reignite the Falklands war, because of CIA trickery with my INTERPOL record.”

Cheerilee blinked at him.

“My baseline's kind of crazy,” the Anchor pointed out. “Now, try to keep up. Three, two, one-”

The ceiling fell in.

“You're crazy!” Cheerilee shouted as David dragged her through the door and down the stairs, exchanging fire with French policemen all the way.

“So?” David asked, glancing around and reloading with his off hand. “Ooh, a Ferrari. Forget using the dinky little car, we're taking this! And don't forget to keep good notes on how to escape vehicular pursuit.”


112.1 continued

As the day drew towards night, a number of winged forms landed outside Ponyville. Twilight heard the rushing of air, and exchanged a quick glance at her assistant as the newcomers slowed to a stop.

“Ah, there she is,” Celestia said. “Twilight!”

Twilight turned, and waved. “Princess!”

She cantered over, trailed by Spike, and caught sight of a number of familiar faces. “Hold on... Toothless? Ah, Hiccup, it's good to see you.”

Hiccup grinned, coming forward to bump claw to hoof. “It's been a while, Twilight.”

“You know her?” one of the other griffins asked.

Big griffin, she mused, looking around at the others in the clearing. Most of them weren't as familiar to her as the Anchor to introduce her to the wider multiverse, but she felt she at least knew the dragons... which was why it was a surprise to see two more than she was expecting. In fact, there were as many dragons as there were griffins, and that was before accounting for the two-headed Zippleback that she recalled the twins sharing.

Hiccup was talking. “...strange thing, I met her fellow loopers before I met her, but that happened the very next loop. Anyway.” The feathered Viking cricked his neck. “May as well do this the local-loop way... Twilight Sparkle and Spykoranuvellitar, be known to Stoic the Vast, chief of the Hairy Hooligans – and my father. And be known to Thornado and Blitsif, dragons of the Hooligans.”

The dragons waved. So did the Viking, though he was slightly slower off the mark.

Twilight blinked. “Hiccup? Your father's looping?”

Then she beamed. “Congratulations!”

“Yeah, it was an emotional moment all round,” Hiccup admitted. “And – yeah, sorry that neither of your parents are yet.”

“No, no, I'm...” Twilight paused. “I've accepted it. And don't... I'm happy, really. Your dad deserves it.”

She kicked the floor, producing a staccato clop. “Anyway, we're getting a bit off topic – Spike, go tell Pinkie to switch to New Looper Party, and quick!”

Spike needed no further prompting, turning on his heel and dashing for the library.

“Right.” Twilight glanced over at the building. “That gives us about three minutes before we're being made happy to the limits of Equestrian endurance. So, who are the dragons? More new loopers?”

Hiccup nodded. “Yep. But I'll let the chief introduce them.” He stepped back smartly, past Stoic, who abruptly found himself in the conversation.

“Oh. Er... gods, Hiccup, is this revenge for all those chiefing lessons?”

Yes,” Hiccup said, smiling broadly.

“You'll pay for that... anyway, this is Thornado, a Thunderdrum. This is Blitsif, a Skrill.” The indicated pair of dragons bobbed their heads as indicated. “They're my dragons.”

Twilight blinked. “Huh. You get two?”

There's too much of him for just one of us to carry, Thornado told her solemnly. We have to share the workload.

Stoic shook his clawed foreleg at them. “And aye, they're always like this.”

“Count yourself lucky,” Twilight said, smiling. “My dragon assistant got married.”

Stoic absorbed that. “Well, I can see I've got a lot to learn about this place.”

At that point, Pinkie happened, and the meeting was abruptly adjourned in favour of balloon animals. (Some of them fifty feet long and made for dragons to chase. Pinkie was an equal opportunity partier.)


“You,” Stoic informed the Element of Laughter solemnly, “are a delight to find in a world which looks so wholesome.”

Berry shrugged. “It's just ale. It's not as if it's very spectacular. It's even got a physically possible proof.”

“Aye, aye.” Stoic waved that off, and took a draught. “But I don't have a pocket big enough yet, Gobber won't give me some of his stash, and none of the rest of the Berk loopers seem to bother much with ale.”

He swilled the liquid around in the mug, and took another drink, savouring it as it went down. “Let alone ale seasoned in a... honey-glazed barrel of pine wood with teak shavings. Delicious.”

“I try,” Berry allowed. “Do either of your dragons want some? I see my boyfriend is entertaining them.”

Stoic glanced over at the dance floor. For most of the past hour, the dragons had been enjoying what had been advertised (with a solemn seriousness which looped back around to funny) as a Disco-rd.
He still hadn't quite gotten his head around that. It was like having Drago Bludvist running a buffet...

“Are there any villains from your baseline still around?” he asked, distracted by that thought. “I mean, there's that Nightmare Moon lass, who seems to be over there chattin' to herself and Twilight and my son and Toothless; there's this Trixie who I've been warned about not letting Thornado near; there's... Dischord?”

“Discord,” Berry corrected. “Chrysalis is here as well, and even Gilda was quite unpleasant at first as I understand it. But – yes, there are a few. Sombra and Tirek come to mind.”

Good,” Stoic said firmly. At her confusion, he went on. “I'd hate to feel like it was some kind of requirement to sort all that out.”

“Oh, no, this is quite exceptional.” Berry shrugged. “Anyway, the ale thing?”

“Oh, right. No, don't think so.” Stoic nodded over to them. “Blitsif's more of a one for spirits, and I can't get Thornado to stop whining about Klah.”

“I have some of that,” Berry offered. “I don't just do alcoholic beverages.”

The Thunderdrum sidled over to the bar. Did someone mention Klah?

“They did, you bottomless caffeine addict,” Stoic muttered. “Quietly.”

I have excellent hearing, Thornado informed them loftily.

“You're half deaf!” Stoic protested. “Were you eavesdroppin' on me again?”

You thought about Klah, I couldn't help it. Thornado tilted his head. Anyway. Do you have any, pony who knows stuff about drinks?

“Sure do.” Berry rummaged for a moment, and pulled out a flask. Four seconds of heat magic from a convenient spell, and it was steaming. “Don't drink it all at once, I've not checked in a while how much I have left.”

Thornado accepted the flask. I like this place, he pronounced.

“I really need to learn how to store the stuff,” Stoic commented. “Or I might face some kind of revolt.”


112.7 (ScootaLewis)

Sweetie Belle awoke - and Awoke - under a large tree. After following Twilight's long-standing good advice to check the surrounding area thoroughly at the start of an unfamiliar loop, Sweetie had managed to gather a few nuggets of information.

First, she was still her usual pony self. A relief, for sure.

Second, the tree she was under was one of many that appeared to be making the soothing sound that had been in her ears since she woke up - its leaves were a peculiar shape, and the wind moving through them produced a tinkling that was pleasant but pervasive. She quietly mused to herself on the idea of grabbing a sample for Applejack; musical trees would be neat to have around.

Three, there was a very large otter in a green peaked cap bent over her, with a good-natured grin on his face.
Sweetie barely had time to register the fact before it spoke, with what sounded like a Trottingham accent.

"'Ere, luv, I don't suppose you happen to 'ave been repeatin' a certain slice o' your life over 'n' over?"

Sweetie also took a few moments to digest this information. Realization dawned, and she smiled herself.

"I certainly have! And by the sound of it, probably more than you, actually."

"Oh, really?" He sounded quite affronted. "I'll have you know this is me 12th time around! Though it's certainly the first time anyone but Jon-Tom's showed up, so there's that."

Sweetie's smile got a little more smug. She got to give the multiverse speech for the first time!

"Well, I can't say for sure, but I've definitely had a bit more than 12 loops. I lost count around a few hundred, and that was ages ago. I guess this is the first time any of your company have been replaced?"

As the otter mulled it over, she checked the loop memories that were coming in. Huh. She had been playing with Bloom and Scoots at the treehouse, until she suddenly blacked out and woke up here. No idea why, or how, but probably magic. The otter's attire looked less refined than anything she'd seen in Ponyville - probably a low-tech loop.

"Yeah. Yeah, I reck'n so. Why d'yer ask?"

"This'll be your first Fused Loop, then...I better start from the top. Basically, every universe - and there's WAY more than one - is inside a big tree, and something bad happened to that tree. The people who tend that tree made it so that time repeated for all the people in those universes while they tried to fix it. To keep the universes stable, they made it so that at least one person for every universe could remember it every time their world "reset". That person is called an Anchor, and they keep their world rooted so that there's some record of the original at all times. Anyway, each "looping" universe is like a branch on that tree, and when the branches cross over each other, it results in a "Fused Loop", where two universes cross over and people from one experience the world of the other."

"So...me entire world is a branch on a giant tree, and your world's branch touched mine which is why you're here instead of Jon-Tom."

"Pretty much, yep. Is Jon-Tom one of the other people from here, then?"

"Yep. Usually I start rememberin' just about when he shows up, and he only remembers about half of the time.

It's gotten easier to keep him outta trouble, though, the naive git." He paused. "That puts me in mind o' somethin; we 'aven't been prop'ly introduced. Me name's Mudge, and I'm usually a thief, a gambler, a drunk, and an incorrigible womanizer. Ever since the end of me first loop, though, when I met me wife, I've tried to clean meself up so's I can stay more presentable when I eventually meet her. How's about you, lass?"

"Well, I'm Sweetie Belle; my world is called Equestria, and I'm a young unicorn. My Anchor is another, called Twilight Sparkle, and she's way more experienced at this than I am. I wonder...does your..."Jon-Tom" do much singing?"

"Oh, bloody hell, he does that. 'E's what's called a Spellsinger, 'ere, which means he can do some downright impressive stuff when he gets goin'. He needs his instrument to do it, though. Why did you mention it? Don't tell me you're a Spellsinger too. Even now I can barely handle his mad magical mishaps."

"Well, I dunno about a spellsinger, but as a unicorn of Equestria I have magic - though it's pretty weak since I'm just a filly - and my special talent is singing. So, hey, if we can find an instrument, I guess I can give it a shot!"

Mudge pinched his nose, such as he could - a gesture learned from Jon-Tom. This would be a long loop.

"Alright, then. Round about now, I take Jon-Tom to see the resident wizard of these here Bellwoods, a senile turtle called Clothahump." Sweetie giggled at the name. "Shush, you. Batty or not, he's a ruddy powerful mage, and he's threatened me enough times that even now I'm fairly scared of him. But he's nice enough, and when he finds out he brought you here he'll probably apologise profusely. Maybe mentioning that you can do magic from the start will liven things up, though. You might even get better at it, learning from the old git."

The otter and the unicorn strolled through the tuneless tinkling of the Bellwoods, each smiling at the possibilities the loops had brought them now.


112.8 (Detective Ethan Redfield)

Twilight blinked as she awoke, in both senses of the world, to a place neither her library nor the meadow where she first read about Nightmare Moon's return. It was a room with a small window that oversaw Ponyville's Library. The bed she lay on was white and the walls were a simple turquoise, designed to invoke peaceful feelings in those who live within. There was even a bookshelf to the side of the bed with several of her favorite classic works and even a few Daring Do stories. Two things were off with the situation, however. Her horn was wrapped in an insulation material designed to nullify her magic, and the door was one more typical for a security room. She checked her memories, which caused her to stagger since they were her baseline memories.

She briefly contemplated her options. Panicking was right out, since she had faced much worse awakenings. Ascending to alicorn status was an option for later should it prove necessary, but for now she decided to go with it. She lay back in her bed and took a nap. Whatever this loop's game was, it could wait.


Moments after Twilight's eyes closed, they opened again to her Library, with her friends all gathered around her. Twilight looked sheepish, "Uh, girls, what are you doing here? Did you all sleep walk here and are you awake now?"

Applejack sighed, "Yeah, we're all loopin'. Pinkie, tell her, would ya?"

Pinkie was bouncing up and down several times, "Hey Twilight! Guess what, guess what! You remember that loop where Nyx and I were imaginary friends?"

Twilight felt a headache coming on, "...yes...?"

"Weeellll, it's kinda like that, except we're all your imaginary friends, and your baseline self has been a bit more out of it than that the last time Raine Sage looped in and you helped her edit the History of the Multiverse, volume four-"

"So basically," Twilight rubbed her head, "I'm in a Psychiatric Hospital, you all are figments of my imagination and I've shielded myself from outside interference with a magical shield."

Pinkie tapped her ching for a second, then nodded, "Yepperoni! Well, the last one is more unresponsive to outside stimuli, but close enough."

Applejack cut in, "Well, not quite, see we're all based off ponies ya run across in the hospital."

Twilight sighed, "Great. Well, this is something new."


The Next Morning:

Twilight awoke just as the sun started peeking its way through the window. She reached up and tried pulling off the magical insulator cone, but it was secured on there by a spell of some sort. Magic was out at this point. Instead, she closed her eyes and dug deep, reaching for and tugging at a different energy source. It wasn't one she used ordinarily, much preferring to stick with her magic or the Force. However, the force couldn't do what she needed this energy to perform. A second later, it was like a plug had been removed, and chakra started flowing through her body. The next step would be even more difficult, since seal-less jutsu were ridiculously difficult under ideal circumstances. Seconds later, her body started glowing blue as she finished gathering enough for this one jutsu and called out its name. With a puff of smoke, her mouth curled into a grin.

Unfortunately, that was exactly the moment another pony decided to arrive.


Doctor Applejack was a simple psychologist. She enjoyed working at Ponyville Psychiatric Hospital. She had helped countless patients recover from their mental conditions. There had been quite a few odd things the patients had done over the last couple years. However, it paled on comparison to walking in to a single patient room with some food and a plan to read a Daring Do novel to Twilight, only when the door opened, She found not one, but six ponies present. All of them were familiar too. There was Rarity from the children's wing, Pinkie Pie who was another of Applejack's patients, Rainbow Dash who had been a recent arrival, a pegasus she didn't quite recognize, but was sure she was another inmate she had seen in passing, and then the crown, a perfect duplicate of herself.

Twilight blinked at the doctor and said sheepishly, "Uh, doctor...I can explain everything."


One week later:

Twilight and five other ponies found themselves resting in Ponyville Library under close supervision of the Princesses and the doctors of Ponyville Psychiatric hospital. Rarity asked, "Twilight, dear, tell me again how did you manage to get the necessary DNA to make these clone bodies?"

Twilight shrugged, "Applejack and Rarity parted with samples as long as we would teach them how to do the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Pinkie Pie just approached her doctor and gave permission without being prompted. Fluttershy only allowed it if our Fluttershy would visit her every so often. As for Rainbow Dash, she wasn't willing so I used genetic samples obtained from one of her pegasus eggs loops."


111.6 continued (TokoWH)

Twilight's tree library was bustling and Ember's 'Welcome to Ponyville' party was in full swing. This loop had been rather interesting so far. As it stood, despite Twilight informing her that they possessed quite possibly the largest amount of loopers, this loop only three others were really awake. From what she had told Ember, she'd meet two of the three eventually. For now, though, there was only one other looper in the immediate area.

"So then, dearie, how are you enjoying our loop so far?"

Ember turned around, coming face to face with a white mare with a glorious mane.

"I'm really enjoying it," Ember said, giving Rarity a soft smile. "I was a bit unnerved at first, since this is my first fused loop by myself, but all the loopers here so far have been really nice."

"That's good to hear," Rarity said, sitting down at the table Ember was at. "If you ever need anything, feel free to ask."

Ember had a grin on her face. There was a short pause and only the sounds from those enjoying the party could be heard. Ember blinked, an odd feeling like she was being watched coming over her. She turned her head to look behind her, catching Rarity's attention in the process and making her look as well. The two ladies caught sight of the purple head of a small dragon whose emerald eyes were peeking out from behind a chair. Realizing he had been spotted, Spike quickly jumped and dashed away, a luminous blush on his face. Both girls giggled at the sight.

"I still find it a bit hard to believe that you're married to the looping Spike," Ember said, looking back at Rarity. "I mean, I know you two have apparently been looping for many, many years, but it's hard to view him as an adult dragon."

"Yes, it takes quite a few loopers to wrap their heads around it at first," Rarity said, a slight smile on her face. "Looping Spike has grown up a lot compared to his baseline self, though, and he also managed to gain complete control over how mentality can affect the age and size of his body. He's one of the few loopers whose body can grow alongside his mentality." Rarity have a slight giggle before shaking her head. "The next you're here while he's awake, deary, you should see if he can teach you how to do so as well. It's a very rare thing for looper's bodies to actually age in the loops, and it's usually an ability most loopers would love to have."

"Oh, no, that's alright," Ember said, putting her paws in front of her. "I'm quite happy with my body the way it is. Besides, I'm not sure if Dragon Realm dragons can actually do that."

Ember turned back to the table and paused, nervously shifting her eyes. "Um, sorry about...uh..."

"It's alright, dearie," Rarity said, shaking her head. "I know my Spike, the awake one, wouldn't so much as look at another women. Besides, I'm not the jealous type."

There was a silent pause as Rarity glanced over to see Spike looking down from the balcony, though he quickly ducked back when he saw Rarity looking in his direction. Rarity narrowed her eyes slightly. She was unable to make out exactly who Spike was looking at. A few seconds passed before Rarity looked forward and hovered a small glass up to her lips.

"...Though, do keep in mind, dearie," Rarity said before she took a sip, her voice a tad bit more serious than before. "If you do decide to humor his childish crush, keep in mind that his awake self is a married dragon." In a small flash of light, her wedding ring appeared on her horn.

Ember gave a slight nervous chuckle, quickly raising her paws in front of her as she gave a nervous grin. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that! I don't go after those who are already in a relationship, and even if he's technically older than I am—"

Rarity took a deep breath, shaking her head as her expression lightened. "I'm sorry about that. I have no idea what came over me there." She placed her wedding ring back in her subspace.

Once again, Ember chuckled nervously. Just as things began to get uncomfortably silent, Twilight walked up to them. Giving a small smile, she sat down. "So how have things been so far?"

Ember turned to Twilight, a wide smile on her face. "Pretty good."

"That's good to hear," Twilight said with a smile before turning to Rarity. "Anyway, any ideas on how to deal with Nightmare Moon?"

"Hmm..." Rarity said, placing a hoof to her chin. "...Trapping her in drapery?"

"Done it."

"...Trap her in a bubble?"

"Done it."

"Hm... Drop octopi on her?"

"Done it."

Ember watched on with a blank stare as Twilight and Rarity bantered ideas back and forth. Finally, Ember shook her head. "Um, excuse me?" she asked, butting into the conversation. "What are you talking about?"

Twilight blinked, looking at Ember. "Oh, right!" she exclaimed. "We haven't told her about that yet."

With that, Twilight brought out the ever famous book she was almost always reading at the start of her loop. As the book was floated over, Ember carefully took it in both claws.

"You can keep that if you want. Birch only knows how easy it is for me to get more copies of that," Twilight said, rolling her eyes. "It goes into quite a few details about it, but to give you the abridged version: Nightmare Moon is the evil alter ego of Princess Luna, who used to rule alongside her sister Princess Celestia over a thousand years ago. She controlled the moon and night, as Celestia did the sun and the day."

"However, Princess Luna eventually grew jealous of Celestia, with how ponies usually slept through the night and were more active during the day," Rarity joined in, putting her glass on the table.

"In her jealousy, Luna sought to overthrow Celestia so that her night would reign supreme and never go unappreciated again, becoming Nightmare Moon in the process. Nightmare Moon attempted an attack on Celestia, but even though it seemed like she had won, Princess Celestia used the Elements of Harmony to stop her, imprisoning her on the moon," Twilight said, raising her hoof. "And after a thousand years, she is to escape this Summer Sun Celebration."

Ember listened to the story with wide eyes. She opened the book, flipping a few pages in and seeing the respective images of white and blue winged unicorns. Looking back up, she stared. "Wait, did you say this Summer Sun Celebration? Isn't that...?"

"Oh, oh! No need to worry! Taking care of Nightmare Moon is rather easy for us at this point," Twilight said, waving her hoof in front of her in reassurance. "It's actually become a bit of a game for us. How unconventionally can we defeat Nightmare Moon? Without accidentally traumatizing Luna when she reverts back, of course."

"So far, we've pretty much done everything from sicking Spikezilla on her to trapping her in a bubble," Rarity added, though she was quick to scratch the back of her neck. "Of course, Spikezilla was back during our earlier looping days, and something we're not particularly proud of..."

Ember blinked. "How did you defeat her in baseline?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Well, normally, my friends and I are supposed to travel into the Everfree Forest to the old castle, where we'd get the Elements of Harmony and use them to expel the evil in Luna," Twilight explained, giving a slight sigh. "Of course, I'm a lot less crabby about it now than I was my first time through."

"Well, why don't you use those? I'd be interested to see how things went with you girls the first time through," Ember said, giving a small smile.

Rarity paused, looking upwards as she put a hoof to her chin. Shortly after, she turned to Twilight. "How about it, Twilight? Now that I think of it, it has been quite a while since we last went along with the baseline."

"Maybe," Twilight said, putting a hoof to her chin. "Ember appears to be replacing Fluttershy, though. Though outside loopers getting a husk element isn't unheard of, whether or not she gets kindness specifically has yet to be seen. Of course, juggling around the Elements between us is nothing new..." Twilight said, slowly becoming more and more lost in her ramblings. Finally, she jumped slightly. "Oh, and, of course, if Ember will be willing to wield an element."

Ember paused, her expression blank. 'I'm not even sure what an Element of Harmony is...' she thought, her expression remaining unreadable. 'I don't think even Spyro has tried using stuff from other loops yet. I'm not even sure if it'll work because I'm replacing the normal user of it.'

Ember glanced down, a slight frown on her face. 'And yet... I don't know why...'

Ember looked back up, a grin on her face as a determined glint appeared in her eyes. "Alright! Considering I'm replacing one of the people who normally wields it, I suppose it's only fair."

"Well, alright then! It's settled!" Twilight exclaimed, a smile on her face. "For a change, we'll actually go along with the baseline method."

An upbeat aura came over the group as Twilight and Rarity began discussing the specifics and what to do if things somehow went wrong. Ember watched them with a smile for a moment, then glanced out the nearby window. The moon glowing eerily in the sky. It had almost reached its peak. A nervous frown creased her face.

'Oh boy... What have I just gotten myself into?'


112.1 continued

“Not bad,” Twilight allowed, looking at the heavily concussed Tirek lying on the floor. “How'd you pull that off?”

“Little help from my son,” Stoic allowed, hefting a very large hammer. “Field of antimagic on my body, and there wasn't anything for him to drain. Then I just hit him a lot.”

“Huh.” Twilight nodded. “I see. So, the simple solution then?”

“Sometimes works best,” Stoic confirmed. “Now, that is about it, right?”

“Pretty much it for our loop, yes.” Twilight shrugged. “So far, anyway. How have you liked it here?”

The burly griffin considered that. “Good, I think,” he allowed. “You're all very accommodating, which is nice – that Gilda was especially helpful with, er, the... you know, griffin thing – but at the same time, it isn't boring.”

He shrugged his wings with care. “One downside of Pern, it's a wee bit repetitive at times.”

“I see what you mean,” Twilight said, with another nod. “Yes, we do try to make sure that there are challenges – for those who want them.”

She indicated the groaning centaur. “Case in point.”

“And the non-looping villagers are pretty nice too,” Stoic went on. “I mean, they got used to the dragons pretty sharpish. Well, mostly.”

As he spoke, Roseluck crossed the square heading to the shops. She had a pair of blinkers on, and was determinedly looking straight ahead.

“I did talk to her about that.” Twilight winced. “She does understand, it's just... well, she can't get over the fear response. The blinkers are a compromise, and we agreed on it.”

“Aye, well.” Stoic rubbed his beak with a claw. “Suppose it's the best we can hope for.”

Twilight shrugged, awkwardly. “That's the way of things, I think. Muddle through as best we all can.”

“As for you,” she went on, more brightly, “I'm glad to see you're getting on so well with looping.”

“Thank Hiccup, not me,” Stoic told her. “And Blitsif and Thornado, of course. It's still painful, knowing my wife isn't with me,” he added, with a sigh. “But those two keep me grounded.”

“From what I've heard, those two are more likely to need grounding from you.” Twilight smiled. “Anyway, I need to go see Pinkie. It's not long until the end-of-loop party, and-”

There was a loud boom.

“Oh, not again,” she sighed, and turned to look out over Ponyville.

Sure enough, her library was on fire.

Thornado flapped to a halt on a rooftop. Sorry, he said, wincing. My fault, I sneezed. Hold on a minute.

He took flight again, and vanished.

There was a splashing noise, loud enough to be heard even over the distance from there to the dam, and then Thornado reappeared and dumped about ten tons of water on the tree-library.

Twilight blanched, and vanished in a teleport of her own.


“...the fire was bad enough, but to dump water on it as well?”

Twilight shook her head. “It's a library! Fire and flood... what could be worse?”

Hiccup pointed a claw at her. “You know as well as I do that all your books were too well shielded to be damaged.”

“It is the principle of the thing!”

Twilight sighed, then looked back up at her fellow Anchor. “You're right, of course. This is practically nothing by the standards of what usually happens to my library.”

There was a crack of tearing air.

“And I installed a lightning rod,” she went on, without missing a beat. “So that's all sorted out.”

Hiccup had to chuckle. “Nice work. Well, nice seeing you, Twilight. And it's been too long since I last saw Spike.”

Twilight nodded to him. “Do convey my greetings to Leah next time you see her, it's been a while since I saw her as well. I want to make sure she's alright.”

“She will be,” Hiccup said, shrugging. “I know what her baseline was like, but by now she's as tough as old boots and twice as good at kicking jerks.”

Toothless shouldered the door open. Are you two going to join in the party or what?

“Well, we'd better go,” Hiccup nodded towards the door. “The unholy offspring of lightning and death has spoken.”

“Ooh!” Pinkie said, poking her head through the door just underneath Toothless. “Is it time for you to Get Down with a Night Fury?”

I could just sit on you, you know, Toothless observed.


112.9

“Behold!” the changeling queen called. “Behold the might of my changeling horde!”

She then launched into a really rather respectable musical number written for a solo part and ten-voice harmony backing.

“Er...” Twilight raised a hoof. “Shouldn't you be, well... infiltrating?”

The queen reached the end of her song (it had started off being about ultimate power, but had somehow switched topics to pies).

“Oh, probably,” she admitted. “I just thought – what's the point? I mean, it's not as if there's something I actually need from an invasion.”

Twilight frowned, then decided this had to be a looper. “Why not?” she asked, choosing to pull the thread and see where this went.

“Well, I don't need much in the way of love,” the queen explained. “I mean, I only have ten changelings.”

She paused for a moment, then smiled and tapped one on the shoulder. “Of course I love you.”

The other changeling – one with gold highlights instead of the usual green – looked mollified.

“Only ten?” Twilight blinked. “That's... well, actually quite ridiculously small.”

“But it means I know them all by name,” the queen replied easily. “This here is Beauty, and this is Rocky, and these two are Diver and Poll.” She looked up. “I'm not boring you, am I?”

“You tell me, you're the telempath,” Twilight retorted.

“Actually, it's hard enough sorting out the voices of just ten changelings,” the queen replied. “Especially when they're keeping up a running commentary. Anyway, these three are Mimic-”

“At last, a proper changeling name,” Twilight interrupted.

“Don't expect it to last,” the queen said. “And these are Lazybones and Brownie. These two ones with the green highlights are Auntie One and Auntie Two, and the blue one is Uncle.”

“Auntie One and Auntie Two...” Twilight repeated. “Wait a second, I know who you are!”

“Oh?” The queen raised an eyebrow. “Do tell.”

“Welcome to Equestria, Menolly,” Twilight said by way of answer. “I should have realized sooner. How often do you see a brown changeling?”

Mimic looked hurt, and transformed into a copy of Twilight. Brownie looked down at himself and shrugged, and Lazybones had already fallen asleep.

“I have to say, though, this does explain how early you attacked,” she added. “If you can call this an attack. I mean, usually there's an Ursa around this time...”

The library window banged open.

“Trixie is still not speaking to that har-”

“Trixie,” Twilight said warningly.

“-per.” Trixie looked mulish for a moment. “Trixie does appreciate that the harper in question is not behind the disappearance of her marefriend, but she is also a little bit moody right now.”

The window banged shut again.

“So, anyway,” Twilight said, brightly. “Have you met Sweetie Belle before?”

“I don't think so,” Menolly answered, as Beauty started organizing the rest of the hordette to put their instruments away again. “Why?”

“Oh, she's a musician by trade and talent,” Twilight told her. “She was Sebell once – barely needed a name change... anyway, she once helped sing Arda into existence.”

“Really?” Menolly looked interested at that. “Perhaps we should compare notes...”


“Sorry?” F'lar asked. “Could you repeat that?”

“I said,” Chrystal repeated, slowly, then paused. “Shut up!” she shouted.

The deafening cacophany of wings abated, replaced by the occasional shifting of clawed feet on grass.

There was still a lot of noise, given how many sets of clawed feet there were. But it was manageable.

“Anyway,” Chrystal continued, projecting her voice with all the force her sixteen-year-old body could manage. “I appear to have Impressed a very large number of fire lizards.”

She scanned the field – and the other fields, covered by shifting multicolored bodies all the way to the horizon. “Possibly all of them.”

With a cough, she returned her attention to the Benden Weyrleader. “Do you have a need of about thirty-five thousand fire lizards?”

“Not that I can think of, no...” F'lar admitted.


112.10 (FanOfMostEverything)

Twilight landed in Ponyville once again, speaking with Spike in a long-established code for establishing their respective plans for what seemed to be another baseline Loop. She came to a halt when she noticed a striking shift from the norm.

"Pinkie's not here."

Spike frowned and muttered, "Wait, why would you want to open a gate to the Elemental Plane of Laughter after last time?"

Twilight shook her head and leaned close to him. "Just thinking out loud. I meant that Pinkie literally isn't here. She should've gasped and darted off to plan the surprise party by now."

"Oh, we're there already?" Spike shrugged. "Eh, no big deal. Either she has a replacement or she's planning something." At a more conversational volume, he asked, "So, will this affect your plans for tonight's festivities?"

"Well, I was considering the traditional approach. I may need to make a few adjustments, but it should still work."


A week later, Twilight couldn't take any more. Constant vigilance for somepony with Pinkie's capabilities was exhausting. As such, she found herself in Sugarcube Corner, knocking on a door. "Pinkie? We're starting to get worried out here."

"Huh?" The response was drowsy and slurred. "Oh. Oh!" The door flew open, and Pinkie latched herself onto Twilight like a cotton candy barnacle. "I'm so so so sorry, Twilight! My thoughts were just running around in circles and I decided to try to meditate a little and so I imagined there was paint drying on the ceiling and then it got dark and light a couple times and that must have been Celestia and Luna and how'd you deal with Nightmare Moon?"

Twilight paused for a moment to catch up with the rant. "Berry's Awake, so she subbed in for you. I realize this may seem like a silly question, but have you eaten?"

"Oh, don't worry about little old me, come in, come in!" Pinkie all but shoved Twilight into her room, shutting the door behind her.

Inside, the unicorn could see a few plates and tins with the distinctive "licked-clean" appearance that told of a past powwow with a peckish Pinkie Pie. "Let me guess, emergency cakes?"

"And emergency pies. Never know when you might Loop into a famine situation." Pinkie seemed almost subdued now that they were alone, her speech less bubbly, her gaze directed nowhere in particular.

Twilight frowned. "Okay, so what's been occupying your mind all week?"

Pinkie sat down and rested her head on her forelegs. "I think I found something I can't solve with parties."

"Really?"

"Cheese Sandwich with the Alicorn Amulet."

Twilight took a moment to process this. Then another. "I... uh..." Nope, not enough. "What?"

"Well, it turns out that trying to out-party a regime of mandatory fun just results in mutually amused destruction. Lina getting involved didn't help. At all."

"Party nukes?" Twilight asked with a wince.

"Party nuclear winter. Which is kind of like a really big Hearth's Warming party, but not even I like that much eggnog."

"Well, you know we're here if you need us, Pinkie." Twilight very carefully didn't add "for all the good it would do."

Author's Note:

112.1: The oldest of friends. (Hiccup knew some anchors before he met Twilight and the others, but he was Twilight's first.) The new dragons are Thornado and Blitsif, bonded to Stoic.
112.2: Redressing the balance.
112.3: Art is an explosion. Yeah?
112.4: A messier star catalogue than normal.
112.5: Serious Talk.
112.6: Remember this guy? He turns his baseline into a Bond film now, because those are more funny and less soul-destroyingly grim.
112.7: Sweetie Spell?
112.8: A vibrant inner life.
112.9: Meet Menolly. (An oddly small changeling horde, and far too many fire lizards.)
112.10: Handle with care.

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