> Tails of the Ponyverse > by alfonso_rd_33 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue - SNK > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Golden Oak Library, Ponyville, Equestria - 90 days after the restoration of Princess Luna "Are you really sure of this...? I mean, we finished the door, but what you are proposing is a massive undertaking..." That was Twilight Sparkle's opening statement to the decidedly crazy Idea that had been presented to her, her friend Poncho Rodriguez (god the name is weird!), Alicorn of Ponyville was proposing something literally massive, a proposal so bold it was borderline insane! yet he seemed quite serious about it... "I am afraid I must side with my faithful student on this one... what you propose... yes could help my little ponies, but in the end, the cost of developing something like that..." "but sister, whither is thy spirit of adventure...? I can barely believeth thee of all ponies to beest the one issuing words of caution...! bethink of the possibilities...! the things we couldst learneth. the trade we couldst maketh. the excit'ment yond we couldst double...!" Said another voice, as we finally seethe interior of the treebrary, we Find fair Princess Celestia, of the alabaster coat and sunrise mane, all on her regalia, sitting on a chair in front of a table... a small dossier in front of her, which she levitates with her magic so she can read its contents. To her right fair Princess Luna, the ebony maiden just freed from her corruption, with her night sky of a mane, also having a similar dossier, levitating in her aura as she keenly makes mental notations. to the Left of sunbutt the solar Princess sits the Lavander Unicorn Twilight Sparkle, current head librarian of Ponyville and Princess Celestia's most faithful love slave / "notice me sempai" fangirl student, also reading the offered dossier with curiosity. In front of the Princess, the fourth being of this cabal, the simple black maned brown coated Alicorn Stalion Poncho Rodriguez, the Alicorn of Ponyville, kept going on his sales pitch... "Yes, as Princess Luna pointed out, the possibilities are endless... I'm offering you the chance of visiting other universes, including resources to disguise every pony going to them, and the possibility of trade to get mundane things from other universes that become invaluable rarities here in exchange for our own common stuff... think of it... the possibility to get cures for previously incurable diseases from another universe... new research topics at every possibility... loads and loads of almost never ending FUN! All I ask in return is the possibility to enlist a taskforce of Ponies with the adventurous cutie marks and scientific curiosity to help me deal with the crossovers, natural of otherwise, that happen in your Multiverse..." To This, Princess Celestia lowered her dossier, which prompted the other two mares to do the same, and then looked at the Alicorn in front of her, analyzing him once again... he brought that proposal one week ago on his weekly visits to Canterlot, , he even scheduled a Day court date to pitch his proposal in public... which had been a riot for her, as the stuffy nobles had to literally postrate when he bowed in front of her... "Good, but what about funding...? I would hazard to guess such an undertaking would cost billions of bits, at most... so how would the crown fund your enterprise...? rising taxes...?" "Uh... about that..." Said Twilight, which prompted the Alicorn to share what had happened the previous day to his last visit to Canterlot, when, while cleaning his saddlebags for the trip, he found inside them a bag of plah-stick, which contained several pounds of aluminum, so he told rarity... whom immediately offered him to have it valued... and it happened to be high quality aluminum, valued in over 60 million bits, and since then, a couple more bags had appeared on his saddlebags, all of the same weight... He had also written a book on his down time from building his house and the magical lessons with Twilight... "So, basically I'm the Richest Pony in the world...I wonder if I should build a "Money Bin"...? Anyways,funding shouldn't be an issue, even though... the Saddle Arabians might be pretty peeved about the diminishing Equestrian Imports, as should the guys on Minos..." Said Poncho earnestly before Princess Luna interrupted eagerly... "Ah yes, "Illion's Concerto" it is an excellent book, even if the Alicorns there are so mean and childish..." "Well Princess, the gods of old usually are, after all, they are my employer fragmented, so they lack usually things like common sense or positive traits..." Thankfully, Princess Celestia decided this tangent wasn't needed, and veered the conversation back to the topic at hoof.... "I see... very well, if you could give us a moment, so we can... decide on your proposal...?" To which the Alicorn agreed and trotted out of the Library, walking towards Sugar Cube Corner, and proceeding to order a serving of cookies while back in the treebrary the three mares deliberated ... "Well... What are we going to do about this project of his...?" Asked Princess Celestia as she saw Twilight and Luna, thinking about the idea that the Alicorn offered, only to have Twilight answer her.... "Well Princess, I will have to agree with the proposal... Now than the issue of funding was solved, I see no reason to deny the Alicorn..." "What about you Luna...? Do you think like my most faithful student..?" "Wherefore es sister, i doth concur with thy inhorn mare. The proposal is solid, despise the magical matrices in the same figure like rubbish, and, as Twilight Sparkle hast toldeth us, the empiric evidence is far moo solid yond aught thy Canterlot scholars has't cometh with. So we shall vote yay to his proposal..." Was the answer of the Lunar Pony Princess, causing her older Sister to inwardly groan, as She called on... "Very well, let us vote then... All in Favor...?" To which both the midnight blue Alicorn and the Lavender unicorn raised their hooves, lowering them moments later, as the solar princess said... "All against it...?" This of course generated no raising of hooves, as the Solar powered princess knew she was beaten, so she decided to declare the victory, yet Luna beat her to it... "very well, then i believeth the proposal is did accept! anon, Twilight Sparkle. if 't be true thee wast kind enow to bringeth back the stallion ere us to inform him of his success..." "Of course Princess..." Replied Princess Celestia's most faithful love slave / "Notice me Sempai" fangirl, moving to the door only to find the most curious scene.. the Brown and black Alicorn, resting on his back, wings at the sides in the floor, using all four hooves to keep a paper bag stuck in his muzzle, all the while he was seemingly licking and muttering... "Oh yes that's the stuff! BEST COOKIES EVER...!" Of course, the stallion was caught so red handed that after Twilight gently prodded him his eyes widened even more and vanished in a poof of smoke... only to appear seconds later, dressed in a black tuxedo and with no cookies trace on is muzzle... "So, I guess you will see me now, yes...?" Again, Twilight nodded in confirmation, and both entered the Treebrary, only to find both Princesses standing before the table that had held the negotiations, Princess Luna standing right next to Princess Celestia, and then Twilight moved next to her mentor, taking her left side, whom only saw the stallion in front of her with that face of seasoned maturity she always had before speaking... "Alfonso Rodriguez, known as the Alicorn of Ponyville, We have carefully studied your proposal, and the crown of Equestria has decided to grant you permission to proceed, with whatever backup you might need from the crown..." Then, before he could answer, the sun Princess carried out saying... "I expect great things from you, my little pony..." > Chapter 1 - Pony Incorporated: Now Hiring! - 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ah another wonderful Sunny Day in Ponyville... But who gives a Flying *yay* About Ponyville Anyways! the real action happens in the Everfree! and of course there are two (technically 3) beings brave or stupid enough to live near that CelestAI forsaken hellhole...! No, but really, As we begin this we see something unusual... we see an Unicron Unicorn walking the path towards the Everfree, so... let's be real perverts and let's check the mare out...! this young unicorn has a light cyan mane, with golden eyes and aquamarine coat, on her flanks her cutie mark is a lyre, and, in front of her, levitating on a golden aura, is a map... "Mmmm, let's see... according to the Map Left is Fluttershy's so right is it!" And, satisfied with her navigational skills, the mare takes the chosen path, walking all across the border of the Everfree, until is greeted by a house... which would be a non descript 2 stories house, save for the weird design of it... a Wooden sliding fence covering the left side of the behemoth of a home but only half way the building... to the right side a smaller door cut into the frame, but in the same style of the fence appears open, revealing a carriage parked inside, upon entering the little garage, the unicorn sees another door in the right , noticing a stair case built out of the other half of the fence, this one half made of stone, half wood, still, She notices the inner door opened so she decides to knock... "Hello? is anypony home...?" Asks the mare as moments later a green ghostly figure appears, of course by now everyone in Ponyville knows the Alicorn that made his home on their town... Yet, nopony had really coped with some of the things the Alicorn brought with him... main about those was the so- called MOS-Tan, Unicorns might try to magically justify it, but everypony knew things didn't have life, no matter how complex were... so, the mare couldn't avoid to be startled as a voice said... "Ah Miss Heartstrings...! Welcome... To the Castlevania..." This exchange, of course, ended with a creepy laughter coming from the ghost like appearance of the Alicorn's Assistant, which sent shivers upon the spine of "Miss Heartstrings"... still, the mare knew she had a purpose of being there,and an actual invitation, oddly hoof written by Princess Celestia herself...! (Yes, she checked, pestering Twilight Sparkle until the librarian broke and Acceeded to do the Veracity check spells on the letter....) so the mare just said, in a not so confident voice "Ah, yes I have an appointment...?" "Of course Miss Heartstrings... please come on in and take a seat, the Boss will see you soon..." Politely said the ghostly mare as she vanished, giving Miss Heartstrings time to see the room she was invited to... which it was a living room... tree plush sofas, ranging from a 3 seat to a 1 seat were arranged around a big mirror resting atop a fireplace, above the mirror various pictures of clearly bipedal beings appeared all along the top of the wall, in fact covering all but the one wall, to her right huge windows covered most of the room, providing natural light, while on the left, a book case like piece of furniture was covered with several Knick knacks and one closed door, next to a bigger door on the mirror's wall... "Do you like it, Miss Heartstrings, or would you rather like I go by using Lyra...?" Asked a new voice, as the door on the left wall opened, revealing the Alicorn of Ponyville, looking at her curiously ax the mase now known as Lyra Heartstrings spoke... "Aha! I knew my research back when I was in Canterlot wasn't faulty...! Oh if only those Stuffing Professors saw this! a trove of human things!" "Oh They have seen it... Old Digger found my decor "Tacky and Tasteless..." then again, They saw ponyfied versions of my stuff, while you, Madame, are seeing them as it... of course I did not glamor the stuff, it's only that only exceptional beings can see through your Universal Mirage... but let me be absolutely clear on one thing Miss Heartstrings... Your theories are, as of March 24th. 2017 completely wacko! Humanity has never existed on this version of a Ponyverse... that is why I look as you see... this Universe forced me to Alicornhood, as a means to reconcile my existence, ignoring and bypassing accords I set with what amount to higher beings... But of course that is not the thing I asked the Princess to get you to me... you see I have a... research... proposal for you..." > Chapter 2 - Pony Incorporated: Now Hiring! - 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "A research proposition...? what are you talking about...?" Was Miss Heartstrings more than logical question... sadly for her the Alicorn before her just seemed to ignore her question as he opened the two huge doors next to where he had came in, revealing a lush eight seat dinning room... the sturdy wood table had a white tablecloth over it and a shiny glass like coating over it, and the chairs had weird sofa like cushioning... in the bottom a drawer had several decorative plates and glasses, all behind doors of wooden and glass. after watching the place Miss Heartstrings finally noticed the mare sitting in the second chair of the side with the Drawer, as the familiar form of Twilight Sparkle, first looking forwards, then rising her eyes a bit to see Miss Heartstrings only to finally go back to looking forwards, of course this drew Miss Heartstrings' attention to where Twilight was looking... only to freeze instantly as she recognized the dawn colored flowing mane belonging to Princess Celestia, thankfully a voice shook her out of her stupor by saying... "Miss Heartstrings, please, take a seat..." "Uh... Yes, yes of course..." Said Miss Heartstrings, taking the seat to her left, finally looking at the ponies before her... Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia. Poncho Rodriguez, the Alicorn of Ponyvile and Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria and Alicorn of the Sun... Three of the most influential ponies of the land, yet Twilight spoke first.... "Lyra hello... How are you...?" Yet, before Miss Heartstrings could answer, the Alicorn of Ponyvile gently interrupted, trying to get back to the topic at hoof the meeting he had set up... "Lyra... Can I call you Lyra...?" Asked Poncho, receiving a nod of confirmation, which prompted him to carry on... offering Lyra a way to get back her credibility, then nodding at Twilight so She could offer Lyra a manila folder with a strange figure in the cover*, which Lyra watched intently before reviewing its contents... a series of surprisingly clear photographs of various things,,, amongst them being a photo of what was clearly an human beheading a giant dragon as a chimeric creature watched, seemingly posing... another one of Twilight in a forest alongside a strange bipedal creature with a couple tentacles instead of a mane... another of a mare eerily similar to Twilight, but lacking a horn, seemingly conversing with... Nightmare Moon....? and another one where Twilight, an unknown griffon and Rarity running from a shower of crossbow bolts... * "What is all this...?" Asked Lyra as she looked at the two Alicorns and the other unicorn, which Prompted Princess Celestia to Speak for the First time... "What you have seen, my little pony, is a glimpse of the various neighboring Universes to ours... as you've seen, there is quite a variety of Equestrias, some even harboring the creatures of your research..." "Yes I see your Highness, but what has this to do with me...?" Asked Lyra as she looked at the three ponies before her... trying to read the secret they were hiding from her, thankfully, Poncho resumed the chat by saying... "That, Lyra, is Project P.E.G.A.S.O. A project I am funding to fulfill several Directives, first and foremost being the keeping of the Ponyverse running smoothly, this will be doing by sending teams to the Ether between universes, so every time a non pony Universe overlaps with the Ponyverse the Team Quickly and efficiently get the merged version of the non pony universe, and integrates it into the Ponyverse..." "Other of the Directives will be traveling to other Universes inside our... ugh... Ponyverse with the purpose of sharing technology, knowledge and other things for the betterment of both Equestrias..." Added Twilight Sparkle, leaving clear how excite she was of the prospect of more knowledge, especially in magical worlds other than her own, prompting the Princess of the Sun to carry on... "Of course such a task will require several hundreds of operatives at the minimum, and they will require Special Security, that is why I will be reactivating a certain special Agency to serve as security for the P.E.G.A.S.O. Field operatives..." "I see... but What has anything of this have to do with me...?" Asked Lyra impatiently, as she moved her attention back to the impressive ledger before her, observing more photograps, stopping only a bit longer in those where her mythical humans appeared... "Well, I want you as a field Operative once we develop a way for Ponies to safely travel across universes... of course we are recruiting you now because we'll need help on that department too, and Twilight here said you were on her top 10 unicorns in terms of raw magical potential... so we think you would be perfect for every stage of the program..." This took Lyra by Surprise... Twilight recommended her...? Last time Lyra had published the results of her research, Twilight had been one of her first detractors... now she was offering her a chance not only at redemption, but to further her research beyond her wildest dreams... so of course she had to say... "Very well, I am in... but won't this interfere with my work in the choir...?" "Don't worry... until we have a safe way for our ponies to survive creation you will be working half time, and we will cooperate with Ponyville's choir to ensure you aren't scheduled in times your services are needed there..." Of Course, at the time I did not know that, by reactivating that certain agency, the Princess had ensured that I would have no secrets with the Pony most important to me... - Lyra Heartstrings... > Annex 1 - Preparations Part 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Following is a collection of extracts from the research log of Dr. Lyra Heartstrings - Head of the Non Equestrian Relations Bureau...* After I joined the team, We started up very quickly, the fist step was securing lands to house the whole Project P.E.G.A.S.O. in one building... As the morning got comfortably perched upon the Ponyville zone, we move to the House of its Alicorn, where he is, alongside Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity and Lyra Heartstrings... "Remind me once again what are you planning to do, darling...?" Asked Rarity, dressed in an elegant outfit most commonly associated with park rangers, looking at Poncho as the other mares gathered looked at him too, eagerly awaiting an answer... "Why I will commune with the Everfree...." Said Poncho casually as he looked back to the, visibly shocked mares, resuming before they had any chance to voice said shock... "Now, I am aware of the risks of both the spell and the communing with a spirit like the Everfree have, that's one of the reasons you're here AJ..." "Say what now...? Ah don't get it...? ya say you'll let the EVERFREE control YOUR BODY...? and that Ah'm here to stop it from hurtin' others...?" Answered the Orange country bumpkin of a mare, to which Poncho Quickly added "Eeyup... of course you're the last resort AJ, so, if you see my Everfree controlled body start plotting evil plots, just buck me to next month... of course the bulk of this operation rests on the unicorns with us... I assume you all read your ledgers...?" "Why of course darling... Or do you take us for simple mares...? I mean, My scholarship accolades might not be as extensive as Lyra's or Twilight's Here, but I am trying to get up in the social ladder so to say, and I can easily recognize a diplomatic mission when I see one..." Was Rarity's elegant answer as then Lyra took the word to voice some things... "And you need us here why...? Since we met I've felt an impressive amount of magical power actually flowing out from you, so I guess communing with the Everfree might be within the scope of your abilities..." "I agree with Lyra... I mean, if she felt the magic pouring out of you, I can honestly say, the spell required for that kind of feat is right up in your alley... and that is my "Element of Magic" opinion..." Finished Twilight as Poncho kept looking at the four mares... seemingly considering their words as he finally said... "Agreed, but, at least for me, the "Communion With Nature" spell is one I usually do with two bodies, using a clone... something that in this universe I'm unable to do, since there's not the technology, nor the other means to create a stable clone... that is why I got the Help of 3 powerful unicorns and the strongest mare in Ponyville to make sure this goes without a hitch... now, I believe We should start here, don't you agree ladies...?" Then as he finished, the usual musical background that indicated Poncho was casting started as his tricolored aura appeared on his horn, as he started levitating for the amount of power he was using, to the shock of his guests... Of course he managed to commune with the Celestia forsaken Everfree, so Rarity, Twilight and Myself got to work in convincing it to agree on his request: enough land to build a facility for his needs, and protection for everypony working on the facility of the predators that made the forest their home... thankfully we could convince it, and the spectacle of the forest actually retreating in an area of 100 lengths was impressive... and his recovery time too, so hardly he wasted a week before building proper started. Of course, There were surprises during the process... As Lyra Walked towards where her research would be done she found herself startled as the massive hole where the Research facility would be built... and at the bottom of the hole a canine looking creature dressed in a striped orange and green shirt with brown pants and, oddest thing: a set of black glasses and a black hat... "Is that a Diamond Dog...?" "As a matter of act, yes, yes it is... those are the best diggers in this world, so it was logical to get them to prepare the land for the building..." Answered a voice, which happened to be the voice of one Alicorn of Ponyville, whom carried on as he walked towards Lyra... "I found a pack of those when I went to practice Rarity's Gem finding spell a couple weeks ago, so when I got the Everfree's permission to use the land I knew who I wanted to set up the building zone..." As both chatted back in the hole, the diamond dog Lyra saw had stopped digging, moving slowly towards the edge of the hole, easily climbing out from it and moved towards the chatting ponies... "Ah Bone Rock! just the dog I wanted to see... how is it going...? but oh look at my manners... this is Miss Lyra Heartstrings, she'll be one of the ponies helping me in my projects..." "Dumb Alicorn thinks Dogs care about ponies... dogs care about dogs..." The harsh answer did not make the smile on the brown Alicorn to fade, on the contrary, it seemed he was going the extra smile on the dog... yet he said... "OK Straight to the point I see... well, how are things Going...? when does the clan think you'll be done...?" "Work will be done in 4 more days ... dogs will take the break you offered now...." "I see... How is the gem production...?" "There are almost no gems left... dogs expect Alicorn keep his word..." "I see... then I guess you'll need the payment packages, yes...?" "Alicorn promised dogs... that's why dogs dig for Alicorn..." "Of course... take this..." Said Poncho as an envelop materialized before him, which he gave to the dog... "Tell Sunset Soul to give you the Payment packages... I'll be with you once I am done with Miss Heartstrings here..." During this exchange, Lyra on her part had only looked curiously , politely waiting for him to be done with the dog before resuming the favor She was doing for Twilight, so, once the dog was dismissed and out of range Lyra said.... "So, you' employing Diamond dogs...?" "Fastest diggers in creation as far as I know... you see, even in my universe, this kind of digging would have taken months, but the dogs have made it in week and a half... and it was relatively cheap... " "Oh...? how cheap...? How exactly are you paying them...?" "That's simple: they get to keep all the gems they find during the digging of the hole... using diamond dog claw made "payment packages" in case the gems stop being enough to pay for their 8 hours a day shifts per day..." The diamond dogs did finish on time, after that Poncho got crews of construction ponies and built a skyscraper near Ponyville... half of the 12 stories of it buried in the hole the dogs dug... still, with the Project P.E.G.A.S.O. building done, we finally begun working in earnest... "Well everypony, this is it... in this place we will make history...!" Said Poncho as he addressed the 20 Ponies that were with him as he guided them in a tour of the newly built facility, amongst the Ponies the faces of Carousel Boutique Owner Rarity, Element of Magic Twilight Sparkle and Musical researcher Lyra Heartstrings as a Peach colored, blue maned Unicorn Mare said... "And how exactly will we do that...?" "Ah glad you ask... Springed Starlight, was it?" So, after receiving confirmation from the unicorn Poncho took a moment to review her cutie mark: a comet, measured by a ruler... > Chapter 3 - The Awakening of the Soul (first draw) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Creation. The beautiful mishmash of Light and Darkness born of the Primal Explosion, the first breath of the wild, and the origins of life… But creation must have a balance, and as such in moments of Great Distress creation itself creates agents to maintain said balance, or to gently nudge it towards survival of itself… Outside the Universe there’s a void, not black, nor dead nor lifeless, just empty, and on it, the many facets of Life reside, thriving to themselves, unless meeting is necessary… and necessary it is, as in one corner of it someone notices something, and so it is relayed… “Boss,,,? Something seems to just have entered the universe… it is something small, but not insignificant,,,” “I see… I will investigate...” After this exchange happened, back outside, a small ball of white light continues traveling, summoned by higher powers, as what it is and represents is necessary… until it stops… “Mmm… what’s this…? A soul… why is a single soul traveling creation…?” Said a shadow like figure, shifting between Alicorn and something else, as it extends its hoof, which soon changes into a hand, before reverting to a hoof, and, upon contact with the soul, the shifting figure’s metaphorical eyes widen… “What the…? Kal…? You Died…? Dude, you are Superman, Dying is not within your skill set...” To this musings to the void, the soul in the hoof / hand seems to twinkle, as if addressing the ethereal shadow stopping it, this not being unnoticed by it… “I see, you aren’t but another version of him, one that died so he could help here… but here there are no beings like you, and the special powers you possess depend on your body… were you to go as you are you would not offer more than wisdom and a couple things you learned...” To this, again the soul shimmered, as if answering the shadow, to which the shadow answers back… “Very well, I think I can help you… right now you are magical energy, that will go to where it's needed, so I will bend the rules this once... ” And, moments after this is said, a small vial appears in the void next to the shadow and the soul, filled with a red liquid, as the soul continues… “This is a bit of your body’s blood, I will bond it to your current soul self, so, no matter what happens, you’ll have the full access to your special skills, as if you merge with somepony, it will bond with the pony’s being, giving him of her your skills,but in a lesser potency that your body had, and if not, it will grow you a new body to live… a body that will be like your old one, but fitting to your new playground...” Then, the liquid in the vial started bubbling out, thinning until it became a red blood light, to which, the shadow being let go of the soul he was stopping, to use both his front hooves / hands to manipulate the light blood, ushering it into the soul, causing it to shift from white to a swirling ball of blue and red light… “Of course, to avoid you spoilering the fun this conversation won’t be recalled by your still there consciousness, but only by the very core of your soul… now go, Godspeed Hero...” And so, the soul speeds up again, moving towards one of the infinite myriad of spheres in the void, going to the Universe where it was called to help… and the shadow chuckled to himself… “Mmm… I might have to have a clone here, just in case more souls need of their worldy being to truly help wherever they are going...” > Chapter 4 - The Awakening of the Soul > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Creation. The beautiful mishmash of Light and Darkness born of the Primal Explosion, the first breath of the wild, and the origins of life… But creation must have a balance, and as such in moments of Great Distress creation itself creates agents to maintain said balance, or to gently nudge it towards survival of itself… As we enter yet again the Ponyverse the Zen no Ban’nin has made his home, we move through Ponyvile swiftly reaching Golden Oak Library, and upon further inspection, discover that both the Alicorn of Ponyvile and the most faithful love slave / “Please notice me Senpai" of Princess Celestia are in the basement of the library… “Ok Twilight… let's see if this new version of your multiversal door works…” Says Poncho as he looks at the horseshoe shaped door, built with wood and with a set of 8 dials embedded in the right side, at doorknob level, only for Miss Sparkle to answer… “It should work, and adding the thaumic address system​ will ensure that others can use it to travel safely…” Oh yeah, thought Poncho, remembering that the purpose of the door testing was to develop a way to travel using the ether between universes… “So, I only have to cast energy to the focus Crystal, yes…?” Asked Poncho as in one corner of the void that is the ether between universes, someone notices something, and so it is relayed… “Boss…? Something seems to just have entered the universe… it is something small, but not insignificant…” Said the ever familiar voice of the soul of Poncho's pipbuck, its hologram flaring to life as Poncho started charging his horn, causing him to lose focus before replying... “I see… I will investigate...” “Oh, what is it? If it is something easy can I go with you…? Please…? Said Twilight as she saw the Alicorn in the room, making puppy eyes, hoping it would help her explore the unexplored, yet Poncho answered gently… “Twilight, do you remember when I told you how can I travel between universes with my body…?* You can't come with me, as your body can't handle the ether, that's why we made this thing for the easy bus project, so you ponies get changed to a form that can survive there for the couple seconds you would get out of your universe… but I think I have an idea…” After this exchange happened, back outside, a small ball of white light continues traveling, summoned by higher powers, as what it is and represents is necessary… until it stops… “Mmm… what’s this…? A soul… why is a single soul traveling creation…?” Said a shadow like figure, shifting between Alicorn and  human, as it extends its hoof, which soon changes into a hand, before reverting to a hoof, and, upon contact with the soul, the shifting figure’s metaphorical eyes widen, as the Alicorn of Ponyvile in astral projection realized what soul was he interacting with… “What the…? Kal…? You Died…? Dude, you are Superman, Dying is not within your skill set...” To this musings to the void, the soul in the hoof / hand seems to twinkle, as if addressing the ethereal shadow stopping it, this not being unnoticed by it… “I see, you aren’t but another version of him, one that died so he could help here… but here there are no beings like you, and the special powers you possess depend on your body… were you to go as you are you would not offer more than wisdom and a couple things you learned...” To this, again the soul shimmered, as if answering the shadow, to which the shadow answers back… “Very well, I think I can help you… right now you are magical energy, that will go to where it's needed, so I will bend the rules this once... ” And, moments after this is said, a small vial appears in the void next to the shadow and the soul, filled with a red liquid, as the soul continues… “This is a bit of your body’s blood, I will bond it to your current soul self, so, no matter what happens, you’ll have the full access to your special skills, as if you merge with somepony, it will bond with the pony’s being, giving him or her your skills,but in a lesser potency that your body had, and if not, it will grow you a new body to live… a body that will be like your old one, but fitting to your new playground...” Then, the liquid in the vial started bubbling out, thinning until it became a red blood light, to which, the shadow being let go of the soul he was stopping, to use both his front hooves / hands to manipulate the light blood, ushering it into the soul, causing it to shift from white to a swirling ball of blue and red light… “Of course, to avoid you spoilering the fun this conversation won’t be recalled by your still there consciousness, but only by the very core of your soul… now go, Godspeed Hero...” And so, the soul speeds up again, moving towards one of the infinite myriad of spheres in the void, going to the Universe where it was called to help… and the shadow chuckled to himself… “Mmm… I might have to have a clone here, just in case more souls need of their worldy being to truly help wherever they are going…” Finished musing Poncho as his as astral self moved back to his Ponyverse, the deal with the heroic soul complete, only to find himself looking at two big eyes as he became whole again… “That was amazing…! You just got something from another universe and magically worked with it to strengthen a soul…! That's a whole new field of study on it's own…!” Gushed Twilight as Poncho looked at her, blushing as he said… “It was no biggie… it's nice to know that the portal offers a clear view of the destination…” And so, we end this adventure in science, but it's not the end, and s next time, the Alicorn of Ponyvile will have a chat with a certain being of chaos about not throwing carelessly his garbage... > Chapter 5 - The Awakening Of the Soul II > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 Days Later... As we enter we see Poncho, The Alicorn of Ponyville, in his temporary lodgings in the Golden Oak Library, getting his presentation ready for pitching the "Instant Transmission Travel System" to the Diarchy. His back vibrates in what he affectionately calls his "Spider Sense"... Moments later the chirping of the PipBuck in his foreleg chimes in… "Boss... Another Soul is traveling towards that Ponyverse.." "Yes I've noticed... let's go see if we can render assistance..." he said in response. And so he opened a portal, hoping he would be able to intercept the soul. The white doorway was framed by his tricolored aura. Once it finished forming, he stepped through and out of Reality to the In-between… It didn’t take him long to find the soul. It was traveling fast, itching to reach its destination, so of course The Alicorn intercepted it, capturing it in his aura as he mused to himself. "Got’cha. Now let's see who are you..." Of course, the very blue, white, and red soul should have been a good enough giveaway, yet still the Alicorn got surprised as he recognized the next Hero to be requested by that Ponyverse… "¡No mamen...! ¿Primero Kal y ahora tú...? ¿Y cómo Moriste, Soldado...? ¿huh...? Nieblas de Terrigen... Toda la humanidad se volvió inhuman... decidieron recolectar artefactos de poder¿Te dispararon...? Mar-Vell tenía el Escudo..." ¿¡te volviste una estrella...!?* After venting his frustrations of seeing friends ultimately died, the Alicorn moved to work... a bare soul, yes, a soul that essentially was the soul of a country, yes, but still a soul, so he said, “You'll need Erskine's work, but where you’re going there's no Erskine, nor his Job. He was just like this... so bear with me a bit... Yes, I am Fine.... just trapped in this Universe... so the me you interacted the few last times had a 50-50 chances of being a clone... don't tell Parker, you know where he stands regarding clones..." And so, the Alicorn of Ponyville "sat" cross legged as he said, "Of course, Erskine's work is lost to everyone... even me, but that can be changed, even if temporarily. Besides, I will need assistance on this one. Do you mind if I call a friend?" After a blink of consent by the soul, the Alicorn closed his eyes, as he exerted a power few possessed. He started to telepathically communicate with Twilight Sparkle. "Twilight? Are you there?" Thought Poncho as Twilight herself was surprised of hearing voices in her head, thankfully, not voicing her confusion, only by a small tinge of displeasure even Poncho felt outside the universe before answering... "Huh? Poncho, is that you? where are you? what's going on?" "Don't panic, I'm using my mind to talk to yours. Another soul was called like last time, but this time I think your world should do the job. Another friend of mine was asked to help there, but like with the last one, his enhancements required an external source. What I'm planning with this one is to magically synthesize the external factor so the recipient of this soul can actually access to the abilities the external source granted, yes Twilight, one of the N.C.** versions of me has confirmed the souls are placed into ponies, and they merge and combine into a new soul, having the best of the Pony and other being traits." To this, the Alicorn paused, letting Twilight think on his offer. Meanwhile, the clone of himself outside the closed pony multiverse finally reached back, giving him the knowledge he wanted, as both of them, and to a lesser extent Twilight, felt the countless other Ponchos Rodríguez of every species, gender and moral compass stir out, some complaining for the blatant rupture of the Taboo, as the source of that friend's augmentations was to be unknown to all, others demanding to be allowed to keep the information and others praising him for the idea he used to help their mutual friend… "Yes, yes, sure I will help you. What do you want to create using magic?" was Twilight's answer as she felt the weight of the choice her friend Poncho had made. This was the secret to the greatest soldier in creation, and she could see the possibilities, positive and negative. So she just waited. "Basically it is a potion, a potion lost to time and violence on the world it was crafted, but I'm getting it via the shared mind we all Ponchos have. Of course, we will forget it as soon as this is done. That much power should not be in anyone's hooves, and that includes mine and yours..." Again, despite the fact that Twilight understood the logic behind his choice, she couldn't help but feel hurt at the utter loss of knowledge, yet she said… "Oh...I... I understand... Do you have the formula?" "Of course Twilight. Here it is." And so, the Human turned Pony offered the Knowledge of the Super Soldier serum to Twilight Sparkle, whom worked hard to translate the scientific prowess of a lifetime into a magical Matrix, so a spell would be created, a spell designed to change ambient energy into the magical Equivalent of the serum that created the greatest soldier in creation... and Twilight said... "Since we're doing this only once, I'm bypassing you learning how to cast a spell and will give you detailed instructions on how to cast this spell. Seeing that this spell is not something you or anypony could innately cast..." "Wait Twilight, I think I can 1-up you... Twilight Sparkle, Welcome to being a Poncho..." Poncho interrupted her. And then, the world opened for the Element of Magic. She had become her friend, her mind joining to the infinite chorus of anyone that was Alfonso Rodríguez. From there Twilight could see exactly how the spell forcing her Poncho into the Alicorn shape worked thanks to her innate magical talent, yet she remembered the task at hoof. To help the greatest soldier in creation to effectively help the ponies of his new world. As he knew whom said soldier was, and what pony was supposed to receive his soul… “Oh my Sweet Celestia! This… this is what you live with…? How do you know what thoughts are yours and what are of other versions of you…? I mean, the possibilities of knowledge alone are mind boggling, but… nopony should be able to cope with the sheer amount of personalities...” Mussed Twilight as she tried to focus, She knew now that the soul of the soldier was going to merge with Fluttershy’s… the idea of how her friend would be ending up making her squeal with glee, as another voice answered… “The consensus is that the expanded mind power came either from the running of the thunderstorm or what happened before the minute training...” To this, Twilight saw something strange… before her, the green scaly dragon was huge, serpentine and agile. Twilight was surprised as the draconic being kept looking at the purple pony that was with her mouth agape watching this behemoth of a dragon… “Hello, I am Alfonso Rodriguez, in my universe the dominant life form are the dragons, so, unlike the version of me you know, I did not need some meddling of the Deities before the discovery of America to become a dragon… I am sure you can recollect both events, Twilight Sparkle…?” To this revelation, Twilight stopped to think, dismissing the chaos that was trying to understand how somepony could sort out having the knowledge and connection to every version of him or herself… finally recalling those events… running from the school to home in a thunderstorm, her body covering her book bag as she said in a strange tongue the equivalent to “*yay* you”, to the point where her first younger sister gave her a couple hoof guards… which pulled her through the ether for the first time… she soon dispelled the fake memories, deciding to focus on the task at hoof of giving the Captain the means to make Fluttershy “Tougher than the toughies and smarter than the smarties...” noticing how the hero souls were meant to work, at least regarding magic... "You magnificent bastard I READ YOUR BOOK!" said Twilight, as she casted the spell to the soul resting in her new, wilder aura, noticing how the red, white and blue of the soul seemed to shimmer even more. "Thank you Miss," she heard, for the first time directly in her mind, his voice say to her. After that, the aura surrounding the soul vanished, and the soul raced to meet its new body. Twilight felt her mind starting to forget the spell she had just cast, and the formula from whence it came. Once the knowledge was gone, she felt herself being separated from the infinite versions of... herself? Only one thought of the experience of becoming her friend lingered in her mind... "About this Twilight... Let us not talk about it ever again..." > Chapter 6 - A Glowing Mirror -1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Project P.E.G.A.S.O. Secure Installation, behind Poncho Rodriguez's house, border between Ponyville and the Everfree - 300 Days after the restoration of LUNA The Massive tower built behind the odd looking house build on the edge of the Everfree was an odd place to look at, of course by this universe standards the 3 floors of the tower visible were an Element of Generosity, yet underground, the 12th floor of the facility was a n empty space, sone and wood mixed as all over the area several doors were seen, crystals perched atop them and sets of dials to the right at hoof length... at the entrance of the rooms, two beings converse... "Are you sure about this...? I mean, we've Finally ended the Polyverse Suits, but You are saying you won't accompany us in their Maiden voyage...? isn't that a bit drastic...?" Asked Twilight Sparkle as she looked at Poncho through the special Lenses of the strange suit she wore, a suit made of sturdy black fabric coated with small gemstones pulsating in the color of her aura, to be honest, Twilight was about to freak out, yet Poncho did stop her by saying... "Yes I am sure... the Universe I need you to go is a relatively safe one, and besides, didn't you want an excuse to be with your BBBFF...? Thankfully, after the Princesses and I streamlined the cooperative mechanisms between P.E.G.A.S.O. and the Crown operated Dependencies, things like requesting guard backup for certain missions has been easier..." Then, another Figure clad in another suit joined the pair as Shining Armor, Captain of the guard arrived, and looking at the Alicorn he Saluted in Military discipline... "Captain Shining Armor ready for the Operation Sir..." "At ease Captain... we are all friends here... Now, for mission briefing... well, most of your briefing will be done by the MOS-Tan coordinated S.P.I.K.E. MI unit, it's generator crystal being the one next to your right ears, but I assure you, the Universe you will visit is perfectly safe... but just in case... take this..." Answered the brown Alicorn as he took on his tricolor aura a circular shield, eerily similar to his cutie mark, but lacking the stars on the outer circle and instead of the strange mark in the center was a stylized figure of an eagle devouring a snake while sitting atop a nopal tree... and, when Shining armor's rose aura grabbed it the Alicorn resumed "Grab her by the leather handles and... oh, oh my you can talk...? I mean... B.. but... God Country and Mayo...! the Uru...?! Are you sure...? He might have similar training..." To this Both Shining Armor and Twilight looked on confused,, which helped the Alicorn focus, causing him to address the brother and sister again... "Excuse me, it seems my Shield has had sentience all this time since... another incident... and She's worried Shining here doesn't have the training for her proper use... so she wanted to know if you both were OK with using a mental link spell so she can be used a bit better not only for Shining, but Twilight as well...I assure you, the Process is fairly simple and not harmless..." "Well since it has a consciousness, why not link her to the S.P.I.K.E. units instead...? that way you don't mess with our heads and she can still do her job..." Said Twilight as her horn shined despite the fact that it was covered and shot a magic stream towards Shining's levitation aura, connecting the shield directly with it and sending a couple of streams to the crystals where said unit was found... "OK, some moments more and... there...! once the S.P.I.K.E. units go online The Shield will be able to talk to us via it..." "OK, now, since you used your magic for doing that, I'll Open your Portal and send you your merry way...." Answered Poncho as he poured magic on the nearest doorframe's crystal, a portal formed in the doorway, with his tricolor aura on its edges, and then Shining Armor braved forwards, closely followed by Twilight and with the Shield firmly rested on his right flank... > Chapter 7 - A Glowing Mirror - II > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the portal framed with a Green-white-red colored edge opened, the swirling pink energy that made it up silently parted, letting two nondescript unicorns walk through it, their only defining characteristics being that it was a couple: a mare and a stallion, both covered from horn to hoof by a non-descriptive black bodysuit lined with white gems all over their not so dead bodies, the portal safely deposited them in an alleyway, completely obscured as the moon shone brightly above them, then, as the portal dissipated, the obvious mare of the pair said... "Huh... It's night already...? Odd... It was almost noon when we left... I was under the impression that it was still daytime when we left..." To this, the stallion of the pair just shrugged, pressing the crystal on his chest, triggering the crystals to light up rhythmically as magic enveloped him, finishing up with a chime before answering... "Maybe the teleporting was fritzed or this universe has not a sun or..." To this the mare looked at the recently transformed unicorn before her, the chocolate brown coat, electric red straight mane, and tail and the cerulean eyes were a harsh departure of everything Shining Armor ever was, yet Twilight Sparkle couldn't ignore the built of this unicorn, nor the profit graph that was its cutie mark... Yet, before she could muse further, her attention was brought back to her, so she pressed her disguise crystal... "Don't be silly Shiny... Everypony knows a sun is necessary to sustain life..." Answered the mare, as the magic of her suit changed her appearance, Shining Armor noticing the new pony his Twily had become. This pony has a dark purple coat, a scarlet red mane, dark purple eyes, the stack of bills paired with a star in the scales showing a money-oriented pony, the look ended with black-rimmed glasses... "Very well, I guess it's time for Mission briefing..." Said Shining armor in his new body, prompting Twilight to tap the right side of the rim of her glasses, which caused a green light to hoot out from the rim, forming a projection in the shape of the ever-faithful number 1 assistant of Twilight Sparkle, which started talking... "OK, in this universe Princess Celestia's team to gather the Elements of Harmony, spearheaded by Moon Dancer failed, causing the Eternal Night event... The main reason seemingly being the biggest difference in the universe: there is no Twilight Sparkle..." The finality in the virtual version of the Assistant 's projection shook both ponies, yet he continued without losing his stride... "In this Universe Twilight Velvet married an earth pony, so, Shining Armor was born a unicorn, but the mare destined to be Twilight Sparkle was born an earth pony, ergo missing the development you had Twilight... Now for the mission: you are Profitable Star and Rising Profit, and you two have an appointment with Princess Nightmare Moon's most trusted advisor that goes by the name of Twilight Glow..." To say the news of the lack of a Twilight Sparkle was unnerving for the brave explorers was of course understandable, so they half-heard the mission's parameters until Twilight whispered... "I... I'm an Earth Pony here...? B... But..." "Keep it Together Twilly... It's OK... That is another you, not you... All is well... Let's finish this fast..." Said Shining Armor Raising Profit as he looked at Twilight Sparkle Profitable Star, who was looking up sad, with her ears down as Raising Profit carried on... "So, do we have a plan on how to approach this...?" "Of course Shiny Don't you know me...?" Answered Profitable Star, to which Rising Profit just grinned as he said playfully "Why Miss Profitable Star, it is the first time I see you in my life..." And Profitable Star glared at Rising Profit, who just looked back at her with a dopey smile... "Well, as far as we know, the probe did get in contact with somepony in a position of power in this universe, so we have an appointment with somepony..." > Special Annex: Best Match! - Comes a Legend > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As we entered into the Room I saw Poncho... sitting on his haunches in a careless manner, his bloodshot eyes showed the sign of crying recently... both Twilight and Rarity looked at me, urging me to stride forwards, so I gently walked at him... "Poncho..." "Gone... countless universes gone..." He said, in an oh too loud whisper, which prompted both Rarity and Twilight to come over... looking at the obviously sad Alicorn, whom kept looking at the teleporting door, displaying a view of clouds... grey stormy clouds... his horn shining in his familiar tricolor aura, willing the dopor to show the next universe... "W... What do you mean "gone", Darling...? " "Here... let me help..." Whispered Twilight as she poured Magic towards Poncho's horn, looking at him sadly as I moved to hug her... "W... We can no longer observe around 125 universes... t... their researcher is gone... " To this we all couldn't but gasp, as far as we knew The mysterious Researchers were beings that, despite being able to see other universes, were as mortal as anypony... to hear someone had died it was a truly sad endeavor... "C... Can't you carry on with his research...?" Asked Twilight, still pouring magic as we reviewed the universes lost to us, not destroyed, but inacessible, histories just started now unable to be continued... "It wouldn't be the same... we could pierce the clouds, but there's no guarantee we would understand what we'd see properly, isn't it, darling...?" "Yes, exactly Rarity..." "still, darling, you should rest... have you slept yet...?" Carried on the Fabulous Fashionista, warmly looking at him, noticing that he was getting out of the depression, so she soldiered ON! "Besides, whatever works he has left are his legacy... what if The stories don't end...? the good things they brought will remain forevermore..." And, with that, Poncho Finally stopped casting, and moved to look at the girls before saying... "Thanks Everypo...ny..." And fell like a sack of potatoes , finally asleep, and, with luck, watching the worlds the Moth can't watch no more, but unable to chronicle them, The Moth deserved as much as that...