MLP Loops 116
116.1 (Zetrein)
"...And I know for absolute certain, that everything..." The purple pony on the screen sang. Gloaming Glimmer softly sang along with herself, still thinking about what happened at the convention that afternoon. Was this really her life? Was she just a washed-up actress, from a beloved, but cancelled, show? Did she really have nothing else?
"Pegasus body double wasn't even close to my body shape." She muttered, as she opened a new bottle. "Had to wear that silly dress to cover it up."
Twilight woke up, in multiple meanings of the term, on her living room floor. Her name this loop was Gloaming Glimmer, she had a hangover, there were empty bottles on her table, and somepony was knocking on the window.
Looking up, Twilight flinched at the light streaming in. As she tried to cast a hangover cure, she could just barely make out a white pony standing on her patio. The pony gestured to her door.
Somehow staggering across the room, Twilight opened the door, now recognizing the frowning face of her friend. "Rarity?"
"Oh, Gloamy..." Twilight noticed she didn't speak with Rarity's accent. The mare, her memories now giving the correct name of Crystal Song, stepped up to hug her. "Gloamy, I'm sorry none of us followed you after you blew up yesterday. Judging by the smell, you could have used a friend last night."
Moving to her side, Crystal started helping Twilight walk towards the kitchen. Moving inside, away from the painful light, Twilight stopped squinting so much, and saw more differences between Crystal and Rarity. The most noticeable was how she wore her mane, a short braid that barely reached her shoulder.
"We're lucky I decided to drop by early, we still have a couple hours until that throwaway job. Here, take a seat, let's get you sobered up a bit, kk?" Setting her at the kitchen table, Crystal set a glass of water in front of her, then set about nosing through her kitchen.
"We're all worried about you, Gloamy." She addressed Twilight, pulling out a pot and a container of oatmeal. "Even setting aside that we didn't go after you yesterday, we've been worried you're starting to slip into a real funk." The pot on the stove, water heating, she turned to look at Twilight directly. "So I was thinking, after this gig Bright Eyes got us, how about we cut the autographs short, and go out somewhere? Just the seven of us."
Crystal looked down, with a sad smile. "Heh, if that silly drake was still alive, it'd almost be like old times."
They didn't talk much after that. Aside from a reply ping, Twilight's breakfast quietly passed by.
"Take it from us, we've been all over Equestria." Crystal Song said, smiling out to the crowd.
"But we've never seen such wonderiffic values as we've seen here, at..." Surprise continued, exactly on cue as usual.
"Tech Value Electronics Superstore!" Twilight finished.
There was a moment of silence, before Crystal nudged Prism. With a distinctly unenthused voice, she said her line. "This store is at least twenty percent cooler."
"...I mean, I get that it's my line, but seriously, do I have to use it every time?" The blue pegasus griped, as they walked down the road.
As it turned out, Bright Eyes, one of the show's writers, had been Ditzy. The rest of her friends, who were the actors that played her friends, were an interesting bunch.
"I kinda know the feeling, Pris. I mean, everypony expects me to do all this wacky stuff, not knowing that I had CG, bluescreens, and about twenty stage hands to pull it off." Surprise was strange to Twilight, in that she was almost normal; a Pinkie Pie that obeyed the laws of physics.
"It's yer own fault for ad-libbin' that line, Wings." Posey, meanwhile, was nothing like the character she portrayed. A cheerful, outgoing mare, a nickname for everypony on the show. Like Crystal, she used a different 'voice' in character, and sounded almost as country as AJ out of it.
Meanwhile, staying silent in the back of the group was Velvet Apple, B-list actor by day, persimmon farmer by weekend. Like Pinkie, she was very close to the pony Twilight knew. Originally brought in by a writer for insight into farm life, she ended up as Applejack after test-reading a few lines for her friend in front of the right pony.
Hours later, the seven of them sat around a table at some pub Crystal knew about. They had eaten dinner, then just spent their time drinking and reminiscing about, as Prism put it, that time they all had jobs.
In a lull in the conversation, Ditzy caught Twilight's attention, before giving her a wink. At least, she thought that was what it was. Hard to tell, sometimes.
"Say, there's something I've been meaning to bring up." Ditzy addressed the table. "Just say, if we could get funding for a season four, would you do it?"
Before anypony could answer, the lights flickered. "Hm? Hope the power don't go out, be annoying to get through my apartment in the dark." Posey turned her attention back to the table." Anyway, I think I'd-"
CRACK
Everything went dark. All the sound around them, the background noise of the crowded pub, all cut out, just for a moment. Then, they were back in the pub.
"Wh-what was that?" Prism asked, wide-eyed and clearly rattled.
"I don't kn-" Twilight had started to say as she stood, only to be interrupted by it happening again.
CRACK
Once again, they were in the void. The unicorns lit their horns, checking on everypony at the table, before trying to make out their surroundings. Aside from the table, chairs, and even the floor of the pub, the world around them seemed to be an empty void.
"Does anypony feel that wind?" Velvet asked, prodding the void with her chair.
Twilight tried to feel where this wind came from, even going so far as to flick her tail over the edge of the platform. "It's coming from below us."
"There's a light down there." Ditzy, meanwhile, had just stuck her head off the edge, while everypony was watching Twilight.
Seeing Ditzy had kept her head, they all ended up taking peeks of various lengths. In the far distance below them was a pinprick of light, swiftly growing larger. While Ditzy kept watch, the six of them tried to come up with a plan.
Well, Twilight tried to come up with a plan, the others were in various states of panic, save for Surprise. Surprise had just gone back to the table, to finish her drink.
Planning, panicking, and panicked planning, were all cut short when Ditzy dove for the table shouting. "Brace for impact!"
Most of them had enough time to process what she had said, before everything went white.
CRACK
As their vision cleared, they found themselves in a cave. Surrounding their patch of pub, was a massive hexagram, carved into the stone. Different places were inscribed with words, though they couldn't make them out from where they stood.
What they could make out, in the torchlight, were the dozens of robe-wearing ponies staring at them.
It was Posey that broke the silence. "Well, that's a whole new set of problems, innit?"
116.2 (FanOfMostEverything)
The entrance to Golden Oaks slammed shut. Twilight galloped up the basement stairs to see why.
There she beheld a furious Rarity, face flushing, tail lashing, and horn sparking. "That, that..." Rarity gave a noise that was part scream, part groan. "THAT!"
Twilight carefully approached her, making no sudden moves. "Talk to me, Rarity. That what?"
Rarity heaved a few deep breaths in and out before she could compose herself enough to respond. In a voice far more collected than her expression, she asked, "Do you remember our last Loop together, Twilight?"
"Um... You mean the one where we just played mental chess?"
Rarity boggled at Twilight for a moment. "The one where we played mental chess. That's what stood out to you? The chess?"
This got a shrug. "Not the first time I've been a nebula."
"Yes, well." Rarity's voice adopted a sweetness on the edge of sanity. "Do you recall what I was, perchance?"
Twilight nodded. "A supermassive black hole. Good thing telepathy doesn't care about gravity, huh?"
"And did you perhaps share this fact with our other Awake friends at some point?"
"Well, I thought it was interrRainbow Dash made fun of you, didn't she?" Twilight groaned. "I'm sorry, Rarity, I didn't even think about that."
"Not a problem, not a problem!" Rarity's pupils had contracted to pinpricks. "I'm sure one day in the far, far future, when she calls me 'Singurarity,' I will join in her laughter. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go dust off my weather magic." She pranced off, head held high.
Twilight sighed. There was really only one appropriate reaction to this. "Losing a friend's trust is the fastest way to lose a friend—"
"FOREVER!"
"Hi, Pinkie." Easiest summoning ritual she ever learned. "I need you to tell Fluttershy, Lyra, Sweetie Belle, Silver Spoon, and the mayor that we have a Code Prank Prism."
Pinkie saluted. "You can count on me!" She zipped back into the drawer from which she'd emerged.
Twilight nodded. Unawake Pinkie, almost as good as dragon mail. At least now the other Loopers would be properly warned. Things would be getting messy soon enough...
116.3 (Hubris Plus)
"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Rarity asked miserably as they left the library.
"Ah ain't one to shirk work that needs doin'," Applejack answered in not-quite-a-whisper. "Somepony needs ta save the Princess."
"She's right," Twilight rasped. "Right now we're Equestria's best hope." Not to mention that a dose of Harmony will leave us all feeling a lot better than we are now, she added to herself.
It was a Lonely Loop and seemed to be baseline save for the persistent cold that had swept the nation just before the Summer Sun Celebration. The bug was at least partially magical, and had thus far withstood her every attempt to cure it. She hadn't tried ascending yet, but she was tempted to give it a shot.
"Wanna go bed..." Rainbow whined, dragging her hooves.
"Cheer up, Dashy, an adven-" Pinky's typical cheer was interrupted by a sudden coughing fit.
"Oh dear..." Fluttershy said, even more quietly than usual.
"Girls, we'll be fine," the Anchor insisted. "We're all just a little hoarse."
116.4 (Kris Overstreet)
No Need For Applejack (GXP)
A high school girl sat on a road embankment staring at a rice field, carefully pulling her thoughts together.
The other locals passing by on the local road above knew her as Fujiringo Yoshiko, human, a farm girl helping her aunt and uncle on their Okayama rice farm while the rest of her family grew apples up north in Aoyama. But inside her own head she had another name, a name that meant countless years of experience on multiple worlds, thanks to time loops and a wonky computer-tree-thing messing up all imaginable time and space.
Applejack sighed, letting Loop memories assimilate as she sent out another ping. Twilight Sparkle would have pinged first, had she been in the Loop. The others would have answered her first ping immediately, if Awake. Even a number of the more frequent visitors to Equestrian loops would have sensed the signal and responded. Nobody responded. There was nobody to respond, unless they were stealth Loopers like the Star Trek Loopers.
There had to be an Anchor somewhere in this universe; otherwise Applejack wouldn't be here at all. A world required an Anchor to Loop- a single individual, usually critical to the history at the point time looped, with above-average mental and physical stability and prowess. These people remembered every single iteration of a Loop, except when they were accidentally placed in another world's Loop. Anchors somehow dragged other people into the Loops with them, Awakening them and allowing them to remember some- but not all- of their own Loops.
Applejack had been the first Equestrian to join Twilight Sparkle as a Looper, but she wasn't an Anchor and never would be. Twilight was the Anchor. Twilight was always there. Always- well, almost always, but even when Twilight wasn’t Awake and some visiting Anchor was taking her place, there was a Twilight.
How long ago, how many Loops, had it been since the last time she was the only Equestrian in a Loop? How long since the last time she Looped without Twilight Sparkle? There was that time... no, wait, Twilight showed up later then... or maybe, um, no, Twilight had been there too, come to think...maybe that Doctor Who- no, Twilight had been the TARDIS, even if she hadn't realized it at the time. Well, how about- no... Wait, there was the time- no, no, I forgot, then too...
Ah. Then. An Eiken Loop she'd shared with the Evangelion Loopers. And that had been... at least two thousand Loops ago, she guessed. Probably more. Before that...
Applejack tried to concentrate, tried to remember all her Loops, despite how many of them basically repeated the same baseline events over, over, over, over and over again. That Eiken Loop, the Star Wars Loop where she and Twilight had awakened half a galaxy apart (and she'd become an alicorn after magically terraforming Tatooine)... and her visit to the world of the Avatars and learned earthbending. Those were, so far as she could remember, the only Loops where she'd spent any significant length of time without Twilight Sparkle either next to her or in easy reach. Twilight had just always... been there.
Or... wait... or was it, that Applejack was always there?
Yes. Good ol' Applejack. Good ol' dependable Applejack. Willing to go along with practically anything Applejack. Seldom having new ideas of her own Applejack. Seldom having new adventures of her own Applejack. Twilight helped break in new Loopers. Pinkie Pie bent even magical laws of nature into candy-coated pretzels. Rainbow Dash could achieve faster-than-light speeds without a ship. Fluttershy communed with nature more closely than any earth pony, even Applejack. Rarity and Spike had become the first Loopers to marry outside of baseline.
And Applejack? Oh, she was there, too.
She'd never really looked at it like that before. There had always been farm chores, family, and friends to keep her time filled. Earthbending came in extremely useful on the farm, and alicorn powers were a handy cheat now and again, but that's all she'd used them for- tools to make life a little easier. The other girls came up with the ideas, the adventures. Applejack just followed along, helped out, and did the work.
All of them were stuck in the Loops, but Applejack, she now realized, was the only one stuck in a rut. Her friends had grown... and she hadn't. She'd missed the opportunities, taken the easy way out, followed the others' lead. Take away the skills and powers learned or earned in the Loops, and Applejack was still the same farm pony whose baseline self kept thinking of helping other ponies, never seeking anything for herself.
Now there weren't any others to follow.
What do I do now?
Well, think, pony. I'm a public school student in southern Japan. It's the end of summer vacation. School resumes in two days. I could go back to school, take my university admission exams in a year and a half, go on to college, and do whatever else Yoshiko or whoever was meant to do in baseline until the Loop ends.
I could do that, but I won't, because I've done the Japanese schoolgirl thing many times before, even not counting Eiken, and nobody should. I could take the exams right now and earn a perfect score minus whatever changes in history this Loop throws at me while fighting alien ninja ghosts from fairyland in a martial arts tournament. I refuse to do it again.
I could quit school and go back to, yes, my granny and brother and sister up north, and spend yet another Loop applebuckin'. Up to five minutes ago that would have seemed like a mighty fine plan. Now... now I kinda do and don't want to do it. After all, even if they're not Awake, they're family, and-
No. They're not Awake, and that's what matters. Nobody else from my Ponyville is here but me. That means this Loop is for nobody but me. Whatever I do this Loop, I do for myself.
So... what do I want for myself?
Applejack interlaced her fingers in her lap, closed her eyes, and let her mind go blank. Twilight and Fluttershy had both taught her meditation, and she'd found it really did help at finding answers you'd hidden within yourself. Just let the thoughts die away. Shut away the outside world. Turn off the senses, until your own heartbeat is the only thing you hear, the pulse of the earth the only thing you can feel. Turn your mind off, open it, and find the thing lost inside.
Instead of finding answers, she found power.
She could sense something extremely powerful not all that far away- not Looper ancient, but at least hundreds of years old. With her eyes closed she could see it glowing through the hills northwest of town. She could feel it tugging at her like a kite string when she opened her eyes again, plucking at both her earth pony magic and earthbending talent, leading her in the precise direction if she wanted to follow.
And yes, I do want to follow. Ain't no point in tryin' to find my answer if I just ignore it.
Loop memories continued to surface as Applejack ignored the roads and worked her way cross-country, using her skills to pass through the densely wooded steep hillsides without damaging a single plant. On the other side of the hills lay more farms, mostly belonging to the extended Masaki clan. (Yoshiko went to school with a Masaki, come to think of it. His older sister spent most of her time away at school or work or something.) A small lake glittered in the sunlight at the bottom of the valley. On the hill above the lake stood the Masaki shrine, dedicated to the memory of a legendary warrior who had imprisoned a demon in a cave in the hillside centuries before. The shrine never held festivals and seldom had visitors of any kind; "Yoshiko" had gone only once before to seek advice from the spirits on whether to stay with her aunt and uncle or go back to Aoyama.
Somethin' familiar about this, Applejack thought, but I can't think of why. Still, kind of makes sense that somethin' powerful and magical would be at or next to a Shinto shrine.
The power tugging at her senses led her down the other side of the hill to a spring-fed pond a little way above the lake. In the center of the pond stood a tree, an immense tree of hundreds of years' age if the thickness of the trunk was anything to judge by. Several freshly folded shide hung from a rope tied around the trunk, marking the tree as holy.
As if I couldn't tell that myself. I don't need to see it. I can feel her. And I'm pretty sure she can feel me.
A mix of stepping stones and wooden posts rose just above the water level of the spring, allowing Applejack to walk right up to the trunk itself. She put a hand to the trunk and said, "Howdy. I'm Yoshiko, but I'd rather be called Applejack."
A scattering of rainbow lasers flashed down from the leaves into the water around her. Applejack didn’t even bat an eye at the light show, nor at how she could sense words echoing from the tree’s depths. Loops are Loops.
"Funaho? That's a nice name."
More lasers rained down from the leaves.
"How'd you know I was a Looper? Do trees Loop?"
More lasers, these slightly redder than the ones before.
"Ah, yeah. Didn't mean to be insultin'. Nothin' wrong if a tree does start Loopin'."
The tree explained, through its laser-based telepathy, that although it did not Loop, it had a connection to Looper memories that made it aware of the Loops' existence. One such was its own grandmother, who was both tree and human, in a way Funaho wasn't able to explain. Another was the Loop's Anchor, who had Awakened only an hour or so before.
"Just about th' time I Awoke, too," Applejack said. "Where is she?"
After a lot of laser-based laughter, Funaho pointed out that Applejack's default gender was incorrect. Tenchi was, in fact, male.
"Whoops. Sorr- HEY!" Applejack stepped back from the tree, almost slipping off the stepping posts and into the water. "I KNEW there was somethin' familiar about this! This is that Loop Twilight visited that one time, with that super mad scientist girl! What was her name?"
The tree suggested tactfully that it might be good to say hello to the local Anchor and continue the conversation there.
"Maybe," Applejack said, putting her hand back on the trunk and running her hand along its bark. "But to tell th' truth I feel a lot more comfortable around trees."
Funaho suggested that more trees could be arranged, but for now she really ought to speak with Tenchi.
"Oh, all right." Applejack reluctantly stepped away from the tree and back onto solid ground. "But I'll be back for a longer talk when I get a chance."
Applejack didn't hear words in her head anymore, but the cascade of light from the branches seemed to her like a welcome to return.
Applejack got to the top of the stairs and passed through the torii gate just in time to hear a teenage boy shouting, "Grandpa? The demon of the cave and I are going into town! Do you want anything?"
"Have a good time! But lock the gate back before you leave!" The slightly raspy shout came from the small living quarters next to the shrine proper.
Applejack raised an eyebrow at this exchange. Kinda makes me wonder, she thought, what the first day shenanigans we pull in th' home Loop look like to visitors. "Hello?" she called out. "I'm lookin' for someone named Tenchi?"
"Hey, Tenchi," a deep female voice cooed, "is there something you should tell me about? Met another girl already?"
"No, must be a visitor," the first voice said. Applejack finally spotted the voices, coming from another set of stone steps that went even further up the hillside. The boy, obviously, was a nondescript black-haired, brown-eyed teenager. The female voice, on the other hand, belonged to a colorfully dressed woman with long, spiky hair brushed back from her brow- hair almost the exact color of Lyra Heartstrings' coat, Applejack noted.
And both of them, Applejack sensed, pulsed with power- even more so than Funaho the tree had. She hadn't sensed it before because, being an earth pony farmer by both origin and preference, Applejack had noticed the tree first.
"Howdy," she called out, walking over to the pair. "I've been thrown for a Loop and I'm lookin' for a strong Anchor."
"We figured," the boy said. "I'm Masaki Tenchi, and this is Ryoko. We were about to go round up the rest of our local Loopers."
"Is that why y'all didn't respond to my ping?" Applejack asked pointedly.
Tenchi rubbed the back of his head and laughed nervously. "Uh, sorry about that. We almost always Loop together now, and we have so few visiting Loopers, that I kind of forgot to listen."
"Fair enough, I guess. I'm Applejack. From Equestria," she added quickly. "My local name this Loop is Yoshiko, but, well, you know how it is."
"Good to meet you. How's Twilight doing?"
"She's been better. Our Loop had a number of expansions, and ever since the latest expansion it seems hell-bent on destroying the library she lives in. She's not taking it well."
"Eh, who cares about a bunch of books anyway?" Ryoko grumbled.
"You're only saying that because we haven’t rescued Washuu from Kagato yet," Tenchi muttered.
"That's who I was tryin' to remember," Applejack said, smacking fist against palm. "Twilight and her got on like a house on fire, to hear Twilight tell it."
"The house DID catch fire." Now it was Ryoko's turn to mutter. "Five times."
"Which isn't that much more often than you and Ayeka do it," Tenchi replied. "Anyway, she doesn't usually Awaken until she's freed from Kagato. The fight can get pretty dangerous." Tenchi frowned slightly. "If you want, we can talk again after it's over. We don't want to put you at risk."
Applejack grinned. She reached her power into the earth and Bent, raising the cobblestones she stood on into a three meter column of stone and soil. She reached into her subspace pocket and pulled out a Space Marine autocannon, sized for the genetically engineered giant warriors and longer than she was tall. She held it up in one hand, using the other to pull out a Skifandr duelling sword. "I think I can handle myself," she said. "But it's your call. I prefer to be a team player. It's what I'm good at." She cocked her head in thought and added, "That, and apples."
Ryoko rose into the air, hovering in front of Applejack and examining the BFG. "Those must be some mean apple trees."
"Naw, th' trees are all sweethearts," Applejack said. "Th' fruitbats are a whole other matter, though."
"Really?" Applejack asked when the battle was over. "A pipe organ? Did he really think that was original?"
"Well, sorry if our universe's evil bastards aren't original enough for you!" Ryoko snapped.
"Please do not mind Ryoko." Ayeka, princess of Jurai, stepped forward with a dangerous gleam in her eye. "We have more urgent matters to consider. In particular..." The princess gave Applejack a stare that would have done a police interrogator proud. "What are your intentions towards Lord Tenchi?"
"My what now?"
"After all this time they still do this to almost every female visiting Looper," Tenchi groaned.
"Spill the beans!" Ryoko shouted. "We know Tenchi's irresistible, but we're not letting any visiting Looper try to horn in on us!"
"So if you have any base desires as regards Lord Tenchi, kindly abandon them now! We will not permit it!" Ayeka declared.
"Um... beg pardon," Applejack muttered, "but as cute as he is, if you're inta that sort of thing-"
"What sort of thing?" Ayeka asked. "Do you find something wrong with Lord Tenchi?"
"He's bipedal, omnivorous, lives in another universe..." Applejack shrugged and added, "An' he ain't an apple. I'm th' kinda pony who's married to my work."
"Pony?" Ayeka looked the thoroughly humanoid Applejack up and down. "Have the Loops driven you insane?"
"She's from Equestria," Washuu put in. "Remember Twilight Sparkle?"
"Oh, that explains it," Ayeka nodded. "Is she a friend of hers? It was nice having a sensible fellow princess around the house. With a sensible hair color." The purple-haired princess nodded her head in approval.
"Yeah... about that," Applejack shrugged. "I've been feelin' a bit like a third cartwheel ever since I got here. Seems like my friends, especially Twilight, are kinda leavin' me behind, and I hadn't noticed until they weren't actually around." After noticing the wave of confused looks, she continued, "I mean, all my friends seem to be growin' and learnin' new things, but I'm just th' same old me."
"Ooooooooooh," all the others said.
"Power issues," Washuu nodded sagely. "You don't feel like you're getting all the neat tricks your friends have."
"No! .... um. yes.... um, maybe?" Applejack sat down on the couch and slumped forward, chin on her hands. "It's just like... I dunno... I don't have anythin' that says, 'I'm a Looper with unique adventures and skills.' Instead I'm just th' one who goes along with whatever someone else is doin'."
"Oh, I get it!" Mihoshi giggled. "It's like that Loop where I spent the whole time watching TV and eating snacks while everyone else went out having adventures and stuff. I was having a good time at the time, but I felt like I hadn't really gained anything from it, and that made me really sad."
"(As if it were ONLY one Loop,)" Ayeka whispered to Ryoko, who nodded her head.
"I... I'm not sure that's how it works," Applejack said. Memo to self, she thought: putting this woman and Pinkie Pie together: probably VERY bad.
Washuu waved a hand, and a tasselled cushion appeared in midair, supported by nothing. She bounced up to sit on it and bounced her clasped hands on her knees as she spoke. "Well, maybe we can offer a bit of perspective. You see, we don't have that problem in this Loop. In fact, it's kind of the opposite."
The light in the living room changed, and suddenly a vast dark shadow rose behind Washuu- her own silhouette. The little girl seated next to Applejack on the couch- Sasami- had a similar silhouette. "Bear in mind that in our baseline, two of us are two-thirds of the highest pantheon in a twelve-dimensional universe. We suspected Tenchi had the potential to surpass even us... again, in our baseline. And every other person you see here," the little redheaded mad scientist gestured around the room, "has combat power, strength, psychic abilities, and political connections which by any other world's standards are ludicrous.
"Ranma Saotome started out as an ordinary mortal. He's still only about demigod rank, all things considered. He can still pick up new skills and power and what-not. But we cannot. We dare not. We don't know how much more power it would take for any of us to Ascend, but it can't be much. And we love each other, this world we created, and this family we sort of fell into, too much to risk destroying it."
Ryoko fidgeted and muttered, "Jeez, can the lovey-dovey mushy stuff, already."
Washuu shrugged. "So we spend our Loops mostly as homebodies. These days we pretty much all loop together, which makes it easier. We have a few variants where our power levels get severely reduced... well, most of us, anyway." She shot a glance at Sasami.
"What's wrong with being a magical girl?" Sasami replied. "Why don't you try it?"
"And when we have fused Loops outside our world, we usually end up at normal human power levels," Washuu continued, ignoring the comment. "Which only encourages us to keep a low profile."
"So what you're sayin' is," Applejack drawled, "that y'all don't really have any perspective on my problem at all!"
"Not one little bit!" Washuu agreed.
Applejack groaned and pulled her hat over her head.
"But we do try to be hospitable to visiting Loopers," Washuu continued. "I wouldn't call it a sanctuary Loop like you have at home- if someone wants to make trouble, we let them have fun... until some of the OTHER absurdly powerful forces in our world catch up with them."
"Like Lady Seto," Ayeka smiled.
"Or Tokimi," Sasami grinned.
"Or Seina," Tenchi nodded.
"Or Grandmother!" Mihoshi giggled.
"This world can take care of itself pretty well," Washuu said. "But if you're more inclined to play nicely, we can be more helpful than that. What would you like to try?"
"What d'ya mean?"
"You can hang around here, you can study in my lab, you can go offworld-"
"Offworld!" The decision happened before Applejack thought of the reasons. Staying here would mean staying on the farm- well, on somebody's farm, anyway. If this was going to be her Loop just for her, then she'd have to seek out adventure- and what more adventure could you ask for than outer space? You always got adventure and excitement and like that in outer space, especially if you were travelling with Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Trixie, or (oak help the aliens) any combination of the three.
"All right," Washuu said. "Is there anything in particular-"
"Mya." The shortest and furriest member of the household, who had spent the entire conversation lying still in Sasami's lap, looked up at Applejack. "MyaI've been talking with Funaho," Ryo-Ohki said in a half-squeak, half-meow. "She really likes you."
"I thought she Awoke here on Earth," Ryoko grumbled. "Or are you talking about the tree, sis?"
"Must mean th' tree," Applejack said. "We had a brief chat before I met you an' Tenchi."
"If you like trees," Ryo-Ohki continued, "how would you like to meet Funaho and Ryu-Oh's sisters?"
"Um... sure?"
Jurai, a planet whose surface is seventy percent forest. (That doesn’t mean seventy percent of the land area is forest. Practically all the land, and a large part of the oceans, are covered in trees.)
Jurai, where the capital city, imperial palace, main shipyards, and principal holy site are all located in a single tree… a tree so tall its crown brushes the planet’s tropopause.
Jurai, a planet where practically everything, even the spaceships, are made of wood.
A casual visitor would take the impression that the human species native to Jurai was just a touch tree-happy, and the casual visitor would be understating the case. Jurai had been founded when a space pirate discovered a very special tree indeed… and the secrets of that meeting had made Jurai the single most powerful political and military force in the known galaxy (that didn’t live under Tenchi’s roof).
So when that eldest tree, the goddess of Jurai, had manifested in human form and requested top clearance for a special visitor to the most sacred, most secret, most secure location in all Jurai space- the place even the rulers of Jurai walked only seldom, and the common citizens never- the answer had been, It shall be done.
Still, the royal courtiers and priestesses could be excused for flinching when their visitor said, “Whoo-ee! Ain’t this somethin’?”
Applejack gawked at the vast open area in the heart of the great tree, at the saplings of the royal trees, all descendants of the original, each planted in a special platform that hovered in total defiance of gravity well separate from the central walkway. It was worth gawking at. Not even in Lothlorien, in the Arda Loop, had Applejack seen living wood and trees in such a vast and glorious display of the power of growing things.
And then the trees began to flash with rainbow laser light, and Applejack could hear their voices in her head.
Hey! This one’s different!
I like how she feels!
Who are you?
Who are you?
“Er, I’m Applejack. Nice to meet all of ya.”
She’s an Applejack!
Hi, Applejack!
Welcome, Applejack!
Are you here to name one of us?
Hey, no fair! I want to bond with her!
Oooh! Pick me! Pick me!
Dozens of the floating platforms began moving, rising from the distant depths, descending from the heights of the great chamber, clustering around the center of the walkway where Applejack stood.
Hey, be kind to my friend. Applejack couldn’t quite tell if that was Sasami’s voice. It felt like her, but… Don’t be rude! Behave yourselves!
Sorry, mama/mistress, a ragged chorus of tree-voices echoed in Applejack’s head. The platforms backed off a little distance, no longer overshadowing the walkway, but still staying close. To Applejack it seemed like Birnham Wood had come to the Galactic Senate.
Most of the attendants had scrambled away at the approach of the royal trees. Only two remained standing: Funaho Misaki Jurai, first wife of the Emperor of Jurai (and the woman the tree was named after) and Seto Kamiki Jurai, the emperor’s mother-in-law by second marriage. "I've never seen anything like it," Funaho said, helping Applejack to her feet from where she’d ducked.
"Every single unbonded tree actually moving their platforms and swarming her," Seto nodded.
"Do you hear the voices?” Applejack asked, looking back and forth.
“For most of those who bond with a royal tree,” Funaho said, “it is only an empathic bond, not true telepathy. And for those not bonded, not even that, except on those rare occasions when Tsunami speaks. We heard her just now.”
“I heard Sasami’s voice,” Applejack said.
“Tsunami has chosen to be Sasami’s tree,” Funaho said.
“Just as, apparently, every single tree here has chosen to be yours," Seto continued, "I’d call it entertaining, but…"
Applejack frowned uncomfortably. "I'm sorry. I'm powerful sorry," she said, turning on her feet to address the trees. “I am really very sorry. But Washuu an' Tsunami explained th' Loops to ya, right?"
Loops? What are those?
My Key is shaped like loops! You could make a necklace out of it!
Hey, I can make a key shaped like a loop too!
Children! This time the dominant voice sounded a lot less like Sasami; older, vastly more mature.
The trees subsided again.
"More or less," Seto said. "You're repeating time, and after a few years you'll be returning to your home universe."
"Well, that's th' thing," Applejack said, facing the Juraian royalty again. "I could go bond with one o' them trees, all nice ladies an' gentlemen that they are. An' for a few years I don't doubt we'd have a lot of fun. But then th' Loop would end. I'd go home, but my friend would jus'... vanish. As if she never existed."
"And are we any different?" Seto said calmly. "We would all reset to where we were at the start of the Loop, none the wiser. But you would at least have the memory of the fun times. I think you're making a mistake. I always say, better to regret having done something than to regret having done nothing."
"That's only part of it," Applejack sighed. "Whichever tree bonded with me would be in my head all the time, right? No secrets. An' whatever tree I took would know it was on borrowed time. 'Tain't fair to th' tree, is what I'm sayin'.
"If I could take her with me when the Loop ended, like I could a lightsaber or computer or somethin', that'd be different." Applejack pulled a lightsaber, a laptop, and a small pickup truck (complete with cardboard cutout Twilight Sparkle) out of her subspace pocket to demonstrate. As she put them back, she continued, "I built a tree-ship once for a battleship game, an' any of yours would put mine to shame. But Loopers share horror stories of the old days when the Original Seven Loopers put people in their pockets- heck, sometimes whole populations in subspace, an’ th’ next time they looked they were all dead of old age, killed each other in wars, or jus’ plain vanished. We don’t do that anymore. Ever.” Well, excepting accidents, but Applejack didn’t even like to think of those situations, much less talk about them.
“If I got one o' them trees inta th' pocket, no tellin' what'd be there when I tried to pull it out next Loop... but I don't think it'd be one o' these sweet, friendly, intelligent creatures we got here. I'm terrified it'd be a pile o' rotten sawdust."
No, the trees all replied. No, no. We wouldn’t let it happen. No.
"Perhaps seeds, then?" Seto hazarded. "Grow a new one whenever-"
"No, dangit!" Applejack stomped her forehoof... then remembered she didn't have forehooves, and she'd just bent forward and jammed her middle finger on the walkway. She straightened back up and rubbed her sore finger, continuing, "I am NOT bringin' any intelligent life form inta th' world just so th' Loops can wipe it out four or five years later!"
"Well," Seto smiled warmly, gently grasping Applejack’s injured hand, "you're obviously upset, and I think we can let the matter lie for now. Why don't you have that hand looked at, my dear? And while you're doing that, I'll have a chat with a few people."
"What about?" Applejack asked.
"Oh, this and that." Seto flipped open a fan and covered her lips with it, walking along the walkway to the far gates of the Sacred Grove.
Bye, Applejack!
Come visit us soon, Applejack!
"Why do I have th' feelin' she's plottin' somethin'?" Applejack asked Empress Funaho.
"If Lady Seto is awake," Funaho sighed, "then she's ALWAYS plotting something."
Applejack opened her eyes and immediately wondered if she'd slept through the ending of a Loop.
There had been a banquet. Said banquet had included quite a lot of large mugs of a strange fruit wine- she'd done a classic spit-take when Lady Seto had told her that one bottle of the stuff could buy a whole bucking PLANET. After reassurance that there was plenty for everyone and that it was only withheld from the market to keep prices up (reminding Applejack of zap-apple jam back home), she'd developed a taste for the stuff.
She'd been mellow... no, she'd been way beyond mellow, she'd been downright plastered by the time she was escorted to a guest bedroom better than anything the palace at Canterlot could boast. She should have been waking up in that room again with a hangover that only Berry Punch could truly empathize with.
Instead she was wide-eyed, clear-headed, and sitting up in a modest bed in a modest room with no windows- hence Applejack wondering if she'd Awakened in a new Loop.
Check mirror- nope. Yoshiko Fujiringo still stared back at her.
So. What. The. Buck?
She reached out with her earthbending senses... and felt absolutely nothing. No soil. No rocks. No plants. Not even ordinary metal or wood, aside from the bedframe. Absolutely nothing with an affinity for the ancient element for a very, very, VERY long way.
She summoned the Element of Honesty, and she sighed with relief as the necklace and gem appeared around her neck. Right. The kick-flank-and-take-names option is ready and on standby.
Applejack walked over to the far wall from the bed, which appeared to have a Star Trek world sliding door set into it. It didn't open automatically as she approached, but there was a touch-pad to the right. When she put her hand to the panel, it buzzed irritably. Touch, buzz. Touch, buzz. Touch touch touch, buzz buzz braaaap.
Well, this is gettin' annoy-
"Oh, that's strange! I wonder if it's broken?"
Applejack spun around. The blonde woman with dark skin, a cheerful smile and huge blue eyes had NOT been there ten seconds before. Nor had the mop in her hands.
Wait... mop?
Seriously, what the buck?
"Here, let me have a look." The strange woman stepped past Applejack and bent down to stare at the panel. She reached out her hand, and her fingers danced in a complex pattern Applejack couldn't follow. At the end, one corner of the panel blinked yellow. "Oh, I see!" the woman with the mop said. "You haven't answered your messages yet! Would you like to do that now?"
Possibly the strangest thing about the woman was the voice- as cheerful as Pinkie's, but with the soft edge she usually associated with Fluttershy. In fact, if it wasn't for the softness, she'd have sworn-
"Er, beg pardon, ma'am," Applejack said quietly, "but are y'all any relation to a young woman named Mihoshi?"
"Oh, have you met Mihoshi?" The smile grew a little bit more cheerful. "She's my daughter! I'm Mitoto Kuramitsu. Glad to meet you!"
"Er... Yoshiko Fujiringo, but my friends call me Applejack." After shuffling her feet for a moment, she added, "An' beggin' your pardon again, but where exactly ARE we?"
"Um... um.... um..." Applejack's heart sank as Mitoto looked around the room. "Well, that's funny... I was cleaning the girls' dormitory at the GP Academy, but this certainly isn't one of the rooms there!" After a bit of a nervous giggle, she added, "It looks more like a first-class stateroom of an Express-class transport ship."
Applejack's mouth opened to ask how a body could get on a transport ship without realizing it. It shut again when she realized: (a) the same instincts that told her to not ask questions about Pinkie Pie screamed at her now; and (b) Applejack herself had no idea how she got on board a spaceship in mid-flight. Oh, she could guess, but guesses didn't count.
So, for lack of any better ideas, Applejack reached a finger forward and pushed the flashing yellow square on the door's touchpad.
A large screen appeared in the wall to the right of the touchpad. Lady Seto sat in a luxurious wooden chair, waving a paper fan, flanked by attendants. "Good morning, Applejack," she said, her voice a purr that put Applejack in mind of a cat on an all-canary diet.
"Hi, Seto!" Mitoto waved. "Wow, Applejack, I didn't know you were friends with Seto!"
"I hope you had a pleasant night's sleep," the Demon Princess of Jurai continued with barely a pause. "You'll be glad to know that I looked up a few things as regards the problem you had with our trees."
"Yeah yeah yeah, whoop-de-doo, tell me what Ah'm DOIN' here!" Applejack growled.
"I got this straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak." Seto’s recorded image smirked wickedly. “You didn’t tell us about that, by the way. Next time I’ll make sure the banquet has plenty of oats and hay.”
“I prefer apples,” Applejack muttered. “An’ roses when they’re in season.”
"Anyway,” Seto continued, using her fan to wave away the detail, “I spoke with Tsunami herself, and she reassures me that your concerns as regards the trees are quite mistaken. The bonding ritual includes a soul-bond which Tsunami reports is almost identical to soul-bonds of universes like Mid-Childa or Bleach... whatever those are,” Seto shrugged. “Ryu-Oh in particular has traveled along with Ayeka to most loops where her own subspace pocket is accessible, with no ill effects. In most other universes the trees' power is very much reduced, but it is still capable of fully powering a starship and engaging in combat.
"Here are a few other facts to put your mind at rest, though I'd appreciate it if you kept these to yourself while you're in our universe. First, trees of Jurai are not susceptible to old age. Second, all royal trees from Tsunami to the fourth generation can create a seed of themselves when death is imminent, containing their memories and power. For all practical purposes short of total disintegration, the trees are immortal.
"And finally... royal trees generate their own subspace pockets. My own tree keeps a small continent inside its main unit, which is most convenient for keeping pets or hosting guests. Tsunami and Washuu both say it is extremely unlikely, should you bond with a tree of Jurai, that these Loops would present any great difficulty."
Applejack wanted to sit down, but the bed was too far away from the viewscreen. "So what you're sayin' is-"
"In short, if you want a tree, you can have one," Seto continued. "Obviously there are a lot of trees who want their very own Applejack. But there are... conditions." The fan snapped shut with a loud clack. "Tsunami and Washuu have both pointed out that you probably won't return to our universe anytime soon, if ever- and if you did I wouldn’t remember you. You would have to build your own main unit to house the tree and care for the tree by yourself, without any aid from us. You would also have to learn how to operate the ship your tree would power- since, of course, we could not provide you with a crew.
"So, to make a long story short, we're going to test and see how badly you want that tree. I've sponsored you for the next class at the GP Academy, which begins in five days. Graduation takes two years, after which your education will continue on the job, as it were. Tsunami and Washuu assure me that our loop has a stable run-time of at least twenty years, possibly quite a bit longer if certain variants crop up, so asking you to give five years to the Galaxy Police seems like a safe test."
"Th' Galaxy Police?" Applejack asked.
"After you've completed five years of honorable service... assuming you survive, but that shouldn't be a problem... return to Jurai, and we will teach you the secrets of building a containment unit for your ship. If you absorb your lessons well enough... then we shall see which tree gets the honor of surviving the end of this Loop with you.
"Now, I have no doubt you'll accept my offer, considering the deep love of trees you showed us all here," Seto continued, reopening her fan and using it to hide her smile. "But I thought it wise to send you on your way while you slept, so that you wouldn't waste time and energy dithering about it. But remember... if you feel for whatever reason that you can't go through with it, you can always say no at any time. You can drop out of the Academy; you can resign your commission; you can avoid Jurai for the rest of your stay. You'll be returned to Earth at once with no hard feelings and no questions asked."
Applejack's teeth ground. She had had some misgivings, mostly about having her ability to choose her destiny taken from her, but that last little bit had flushed them right out of her head on a wave of anger. What kind of pon- er, woman does Seto think I am? Apples ain't quitters!
"I do believe that covers everything," Seto said. "Good luck, Applejack, and have a wonderful time!"
The viewscreen blanked out.
"Wow!" Mitoto gasped, hugging Applejack to her bosom. "You're going to be a GP cadet! We're going to be seeing a lot of one another! Oh, I'm sure we'll be the best of friends!"
"Bwuffle? Murfle mffpt mff-" Applejack managed to break the hug and get a clear breath. "How's that again? Are you part of this 'Galaxy Police' thing too?"
"Oh, yes!" Mitoto smiled. "My father is Grand Marshall of the GP. My mother is headmistress of the Academy. And I'm the chief of sanitation!"
"Yer... yer... aw, I can't say it." I don't care how happy she seems to be about it, nopony deserves th' title, 'head cleaning lady.'
"Ah, I believe your door’s unlocked now!" Mitoto smiled. She touched the panel, and the doors slid open onto a futuristic-looking corridor. "Would you like to go meet the captain?"
The technician's name was Erma. Unlike most of the other people Applejack had seen in this universe's space travels, she didn't have a human face. Instead she had a muzzle and slit eyes, looking like a cross between a cat and a dog from the neck up.
'Taint fair, Applejack thought. There's gotta be a planet of pony people in this Galactic Union thing. Why couldn't I have started there?
"Before you begin classes at the GP Academy, you must undergo body modification," Erma said. "Nanobots will be introduced into your bloodstream. These will reconstruct your body, making you stronger, faster, and more resistant to damage."
"Really," Applejack said coolly. "How 'bout not? Supposin' I already had somethin' just as good, or even better?"
"Well, we can put it to the test and see," Erma shrugged. "If you can meet the minimum standards without body modification, it's not required. But the process is free and safe, so there really isn't any reason not to have it."
"You had this body modification yourself?"
"Of course."
"Then how 'bout a little race?" Applejack asked. "Got an obstacle course 'round here?"
Ten minutes later the alien Wau and the human Applejack stood at the starting line of the Academy's obstacle course. "Twice around the main track before entering the obstacles, then once through them. Agreed?"
"Agreed. Y'all call it."
"Ready... set... GO!" Erma took off in a superhuman blur of motion.
Applejack grinned, summoned her Element, and reached for its full power. Alicorn ascension wasn't quite possible here, but as the power surged through her, she knew the difference in power wasn't enough to worry about. Her ears shifted from human to pony ears. A long tail sprang out of the seat of her pants. Call it magic, call it esper power, call it manipulating probabilities... whatever you call it, I got it.
And now y’gonna see why Rainbow Dash is th' only pony can keep up with me on th' ground. Ms. Erma.
Erma rounded the final curve of her first lap, expecting to see Applejack ahead of her just waiting to be lapped. She was going a good fifty kilometers per hour, which for an enhanced body was about equivalent to a light jog. No unmodified human- and especially not one from a primitive world like Earth- could do better than thirty kilometers per hour for any great period of time.
Instead Erma heard a rumble as if a stampede of hooved animals were right behind her. A gust of wind nearly blew her off her feet, and then a yellow-haired blur faded ahead of her into the far curve.
Wha- Bu- How- Time to bring my A game! Erma picked up her own pace, pushing herself to maximum effort. Applejack still pulled ahead. By the time Erma was midway through her second lap, Applejack was already crawling under the cargo nets like a serpent. Erma watched, her own pace slowing to a walk, as the cadet entered the tires, her pounding feet sending sod flying three meters high. She ignored the rope swing, leaping across the mud pit and landing perfectly on one foot in the middle of the balance beam beyond.
Past that stood the wall- five meters of sheer, slick metal wall a foot thick. It had been built to withstand the worst abuse cadets could throw at it, even cadets with the latest body-mods and strength training.
Erma's jaw dropped as Applejack hit the wall with her shoulder like a hockey player checking an opponent. The wall leaped out of the ground and went flying, smashing into the bleachers at the other end of the stadium.
Applejack stopped just short of the cargo net climb, turning around to face the admissions officer. "Er, sorry 'bout th' mess," she said. "But Ah think Ah made my point."
"Er... um... yes," Erma gasped. "So long as you're willing to undergo special tests and physical examination... then I think we can waive the body modification."
Yes. Lots of tests. And a report.
Two reports.
Unnoticed by Applejack, Erma's eyes narrowed.
Dear Tenchi and all,
The GP Academy has turned out to be pretty interesting so far. I'm learning a lot about your technology, your laws, and your worlds. O'course all of that stuff you already know and would likely bore you, so I'll talk a bit about the people I've met.
First there's Mitoto, Mihoshi's mother. By the way, she says hi and to tell Mihoshi to stay warm, since it's autumn back in Japan. She reminds me of a calm Pinkie Pie: she's friends with everybody, and it's pretty clear there's a genius hiding behind that innocent face. I learned the hard way not to follow her when she's cleaning, though- we ended up on a Galactic Army ship three sectors away, and I missed a week of classes riding back with that ship! Like I said, she REALLY reminds me of Pinkie.
Mihoshi's great-aunt Mikami runs this place. We've spoken together a few times. I gather she's friends with Lady Seto, and Seto's pulling strings to make sure I don't end up in an office somewhere doing nothing. Doesn't feel rightly fair, but on the other hand it does mean I'm getting all sorts of chances to show what I can do!
I even got to meet Mihoshi's grandfather, the GP Marshal, but he spent most of the time interrogating me about Mihoshi being on Earth. I told him the truth, excepting the parts about Loops, which means I didn't tell him much.
Then there's my student advisor, Erma. I don't know if I get along with her or not. She never lies to me, but I always have a feeling she's hiding something around me. All the medical tests and scientific exams she puts me through don't make me trust her more, I tell you that. If I wanted to be a blamed guinea pig I'd have stayed there and let a real expert do the poking and prodding!
Then there are my roommates. They're nice, but I think they're proof that the Loops have a lousy sense of humor. (No news there.) One of them is a Wau who's the spittin' image of my dog back home. Even the name- Ona na Wyn- no way is that a coincidence! And then there's the other one... she's an Inanan... and consarn it I KNEW you had a planet full of pony-people in your Loop! And yes, she looks like one of the newest Loopers from my world- calls herself Brightly Doo here, but I know Derpy when I see her. Makes sense, though... she's a delivery mare back home, and the GP funds itself as the high-priority mail and shipping service for the galaxy. Knowing my luck, her Looping self will probably remember this Loop. She does that sort of thing sometimes.
I get on fine with both of 'em... but it's just so weird!!
One more thing: tomorrow I begin combat classes. The teacher is the mens' fitness supervisor, Captain Seriyo Tennan. I'm hearing a lot of mixed things about him. On the one hand he's popular because his ships practically never get attacked by pirates. He also has a reputation for taking care of his crews. On the other hand, a lot of people tell me he's a complete idiot who got where he is on a combination of being super-rich and super-lucky. Can you tell me anything about him? Does he Loop?
I still haven't decided about the tree thing. I still get the heebie jeebies about putting a thinking being in my pocket. You know the horror stories- you might even have been there for a few! But if I do go through with it, I've decided to name her "Shojiki," for "integrity." I thought about "Makoto," but there's at least three Loopers with that name already. Speaking of name confusion, give my love to Funaho-no-ki, and tell her to be careful of beetles!
Write me back soon!
Love, Applejack
Applejack,
Seriyo is an arrogant idiot. Thank the Admins he is NOT Looping and hopefully never will. However, he IS lucky, he IS a skilled fighter, and he IS practically indestructible, so have fun with him.
Everyone says hi, and keep on fighting!
Washuu
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116.1: This looks like fun
116.2: *Grins* I you could aim her, she'd be even better than dragon mail
116.3: bwahahaha
116.4: Interesting but the manipulating bugs me ^^;
Okay, Friendship Quest is offically my new favorite loop
. I love Glaxay Quest! Now where's my popcorn?
4932456 In canon Lady Seto is master manipulator... and an outright compulsive schemer. Her granddaughter Sasami describes her as someone who "throws rocks in a pond to watch the ripples."
... I wanna know the original for 116.4. The concept of this loop intrigues me...
4933350
I want to say Tenchi Muyo.
4933350 4933458
It's Tenchi Muyo GXP. It was released in between the second and third Tenchi Muyo OAVs and also takes place in between them.
(In fact, there are certain plot points in the third OAV that only make proper sense if you're familiar with the cameo characters from having watched GXP.)
A Galaxy Quest variant! Yes! Yesyesyesyesyes!
116.3 (Hubris Plus)
Hubris Plus needs to be hunted down and beaten. Yes, the greatest reward a punster can receive.
Hey, remenber the loop Pinkie Pie looped as Washuu?
4947186 Actually no, I don't offhand.
116.3…
>Ryoko rose into the air, hovering in front of Applejack and examining the BFG
Big Fucking Gun?
i do hope that 116.4 has a continuation im sure it will since it seems like more can happen
4947186 ……………………she did what?
this reminds me of a character in several Diskworld stories. i think his name is "Rust"...a stupid but lucky officer who would always charge headlong at the enemy, getting everyone on his side except himself killed EVERY time!
8501636
In Jingo he managed not to get anyone killed but that was mostly because of Vimes and Vetinari.
*dies of cringe*
Yay tenchi muyu
https://youtu.be/XV_VCKQ8mj4
4932456
116.4 - Same, I honestly kind of wanted applejack to tell ‘em to go buck them selfs!
Applejack is saying she doesn’t have a thing to distinguish herself but what happened to the whole thing about her starting and being curator of a loop museum? Wasn’t the whole point of that to solve the same problem that she’s facing here.