The Future Is Not Set, But Only If You're From Another Universe

"Ah yes, Twilight Sparkle, or rather, I," she paused to ask a question, "Do you mind if I tell this in first person? It would be significantly easier for my portion of the tale."

"Not at all," Celestia responded.

"Very well then. This is a little background for what I'm about to tell you.

"You see, I used to have a god complex of sorts. You couldn't really consider it megalomania as I actually did have, to some degree, omnipotence and significance at one time. It's nearly funny, because I didn't even have a large hubris, if one at all; no, in fact, you could almost say it was the opposite. I would always downplay my accomplishments with ideas of a more perfect state I could reach, then, when I got to the next level of, let's say, 'enlightenment', I would strive for even more. The best way to describe it is this: I was hopelessly addicted to a drug, with that drug being power and control.

"I'll never be sure when it started, but I do know that my earliest remembered experience is with ant farms--" Princess Luna chuckled, "--It's humorous, I know, but it's true. I remember being utterly infatuated with the idea of having all but complete control over the matter inside that glass box. The fact that I controlled the fate of another, even if it was as minuscule as an ant or a blade of grass, was simply intoxicating. Just the very fact that my will was reality for those, even for non-complex beings, was enough to make me tremble with pleasure. I was truly disgusting.

"Soon after I got my first ant farm, I learned of alicorns. I had heard that they possessed all three types of magic, which gave them an incomparable amount of power. So, that is when I formulated my plan. I won't reveal it to you all at once, otherwise it won't be a very suspenseful story.

"Anyway, by some stroke of luck, I met a pegasus pony who goes by the name Monotone...."

It was just another day in Canterlot, it seemed; little did I know I would meet someone--someone, who's actions, with mine, would change Equestria for the worst.

"Wait, wait," Luna interrupted, "So why didn't you just go to another universe in which you hadn't met 'Monotone' yet? And why are you telling us this story? I'm sorry for interrupting, I'm just curious about your motives."

Twilight responded, "Well, the reason I didn't go to another universe is because it was calculated that I would need to jump at least a septillion times before I got to the nearest universe in which that was the case. In order to jump, I have to bend the space around me in such a way that the membrane of the current universe and the one I want to get to collide and combine for a short period of time. This is very complicated to do and Ember and Cadence, my Cadence, are the only ones I know, besides myself, that have the precision to do it. Anyway, I only had to jump a few hundred times to get here--that's why I can get here in under 15 seconds.

"And as for why I'm telling you, well, why not?" she took a deep breathe, "Does that answer your question?"

Luna was in awe, "Well... yes. I suppose it does. I thank you for taking your time to come, in that case."

So, as I was saying, I was walking down the streets, alone, contemplating how I could gain the power of an alicorn. I knew a substantial amount about magic and spells for my age, but none of the books I could find dealt with obtaining or controlling alicorn magic. I couldn't even find a book that mentioned a study about it.

But on that day, my luck did not run out; quite the opposite. I met a young filly by the name of Monotone with a grey coat and a grey scale striped mane. Go figure. She also didn't have her cutie mark when I met her. Don't tell her I said this, but she can be very boring. Regardless, she is also incredibly intelligent.

I was walking along, spacing out, thinking about alicorn magic, when I literally ran into her. We bumped heads which made her drop all of her papers over the side walk. "I'm so sorry!" I told her.

Then, I saw what she was, apparently, working on. It was a theory about inter-universe travel. When I saw her work, I was sure this was a pony that could help me achieve omnipotence. In other words, I knew I had to befriend this pegasus.

As I was picking up the paper, quickly examining her work, I said, "Wow! This is a theory about warping space? That's so cool! I never thought about using magic like that!"

"Yeah, well, that's not what the professors at the university think. They told me it was pointless and that it would never work, even after I showed them that the math was irrefutable. I'm sorry I'm bothering you with this nonsense," she said plainly

"Nonsense?" I said, with a tone of confusion, "This is genius. Please, I'd like to hear more about it."

"Are you certain? The ideas are quite complicated, I'm not sure if you will be able to grasp them," she inquired insensitively

"Ah, I'll be fine. Just, please, I would love to hear more. I'm heading to the library right now. Why don't you tell me about it when we are walking there?" I asked.

"Wait, you're telling me... that you want to hear about this?" she broke her composure and began laughing, though it was quite awkward to listen to. I'd best describe her laugh as, well, fake sounding. Just imagine the most artificial laugh you could possibly muster. It's almost creepy.

"Well, yes! Why would I be asking, otherwise?" I rhetorically asked.

"Well, most people ask because they want to befriend me so I'll do school work for them. But, seeing as though you don't seem to be attending school, I hypothesize that is not what you request from me. If you wish to befriend me for financial reasons, note my family is not wealthy. If, on the off chance that you actually wish for a friend like me, then, sure, I will divulge my theories to you," she said bluntly.

"Uhm... okay," I said slightly confused. "Please, tell me about your theory. No strings attached, I promise," I said, being supportive.

"Very well," she started.

I'll cut you some slack and just say that we took a very long detour, which made for a very long lecture on alternate universes and space time. From where I had been, the Canterlot Library would have only taken ten minutes to get to, so I changed courses to make sure she'd be able to tell me everything, all in hopes of gaining a ally. I still don't know if she was completely oblivious, or she was happy to be able to have a listening audience; either way, that walk set the stage for literally everything else that will happen.

"Hey," I asked, "What's your name anyway? Mine's Twilight Sparkle."

"Monotone," she stated.

"Oh," I quietly giggled. I had always noticed a correlation between ponies names and their color/personality/cutie mark, she being no exception in the slightest regard. "So uhm, do you want to be pen-pals or something?" I asked sheepishly. I wasn't one for making "permanent" friends, but this needed to be done.

"Yes, Twilight Sparkle, I would like that," she said with a microscopic smile and the faintest hint of happiness.

"Cool! My adress is 7659 N. Mares St. What's yours?" I told and asked.

"990 N. Jasmine St, P.O Box 896," she replied.

"Awesome! I'll send you a letter soon!" I said excitedly.

"I will be waiting for your approach. When I receive your letter, I will reply." She said forthrightly.

It was almost a week before I sent my letter. I didn't want to come on as too desperate, so I waited some time before sending.

It read:

Dear Monotone,

Hi! Reply if you get this! What have you been up to, anyway? Please, tell me all about it!

Your Friend,

Twilight Sparkle

Her reply came in the mail only a day after I sent mine. It read:

Twilight Sparkle,

Thank you for sending me a letter. If you must know, I have been thinking a lot about my

theories on warping space with magic. After discussing them with you, I have realised I

my math was not completely correct. Although the math worked, it was simply not

complete. I thank you for helping me realise this, even if it was not your intention in

talking to me.

Your Friend,

Monotone

Seeing the swiftness of her reply, I then assumed it was okay for me to reply in a timely manner as well. It was all friendly and non-serious for almost eleven months. We would write almost everyday, except for the days that she or I were going somewhere that would make it inconvenient. If that was the case, we would write to the other before hand to tell them that we would not replying for the next couple days.

After eleven months, we knew a lot about each other. We were very good friends, and we occasionally met up at the library or at a park to talk in person.

One day, after all those months, I didn't get a letter. I didn't think much of it at first. I replied to her, regardless, asking where her letter was. The next day, still nothing. Then, on the third day, what I got was shocking. I didn't get a letter; I got Monotone herself, at my door, and... she was acting different.

When she arrived, my mother came to the door; she asked my mother if she could see me. Of course, me being an introvert, my mother was very excited that I finally had a friend come over to our home. She showed Monotone to my room where I was studying. When they opened up the door, I was astonished, "Monotone, what are you doing here?"

She opened up her mouth, but my mother cut her off and said, "I'll just leave you two alone!" She then left the room.

Monotone picked back up again, tears in her eyes, "Th-They laughed, T-Twilight! I-it's n-not f-f-air!" She collapsed on the ground and began sobbing, "W-Wh-hy w-would th-they d-do th-th-at!"

I spoke as warmly as I could, "Who laughed, Monotone?" I was actually concerned. Nothing told me before that she was even capable of crying.

"Th-the tea-chers! I sh-sh-owed them m-m-y th-thing a-nd th-they lau-ghed! I-I'm s-o du-umb! I h-ha-te m-y-se-lf!"

"Don't-don't cry, Monotone," I pleaded. It's actually really hard to watch her cry. She has only done it three times in the 5,000 years that I've known her. I continued, "...Please? For me? Just tell me what happened."

She remained balling for almost another five minutes before she began to speak to me again, "I-I ga-ave m-y p-aper t-to th-the pro-fess-ors an-nd the-they ju-ust laugh-ed," she continued sniffling for another five minutes until she was well enough to speak more clearly, "They just said 'Oh, Monotone, you've been working on this for almost a year now why don't you just give up!'" she shouted and began crying again.

"Please, Monotone, it's not your fault," I cooed, "It's okay."

"No! It's not okay! I'm stupid! I let everyone down!" she screamed. If my mother heard it, she was not about to console the insane.

"Monotone, you're not stupid! You're smarter than me! Way smarter than me!" I tried soothing her.

"No! It's not true! I'm stupid, and noone likes me! And-and I'm dumb! And everyone hates me!"

"I don't hate you," I said.

"No! It's not true! Everyone hates me!" she went on admonishing herself.

I didn't know what to say or when to say it. So I did the only other thing I could do without words: I sat down beside her and hugged her. She continued crying on my shoulder. It made my coat soaked with tears.

And then, I had an idea. It was an idea so disgustingly sinister and manipulating that it haunts me to the very day: I wanted to use her weak moment to convince her to go along with my ambitions. So, I started, "Monotone, we can get back at them.... We can make them pay for how they made you feel...."

Her, still shaken and crying, though not wailing, said weakly, "D-o y-ou me-ean i-it?

"Yes, of course. We can make them pay. They hurt you, and I can't forgive that," I said, smiling behind her back.

"R-really? Bu-ut h-ow?" she asked, intrigued.

"I don't know..." I paused and thought, "But I do know, that if we work together, we can make it a reality."

She didn't say anything and instead hugged me back tighter. A few moments later, she said simply, "O-Okay."

It was a long time before either of us said anything. We were just sitting there, enjoying each others embrace. After almost twenty minutes had passed, she finally spoke, but not in her usual, emotionless, way, "Twilight, you're my... my... my best friend," she hesitated, "...My only friend... really. Thank you Twilight. I don't deserve a friend like you.... I'm so stupid... and du-"

I cut her off, "Stop. You're not stupid, and noone hates you. Got it?" She looked away. "I said, got it?"

"Yeah..." she mumbled.

It was another ten minutes before either of us spoke again, until Monotone, in her new emotion-infused inflection, asked, "Do... do you think I could spend the night here, Twilight?"

I didn't know what to say. This was the first time someone had even been to my house, much less slept over for the night, you understand. "I... I don't know. I guess... if it's okay with your parents and my parents then yeah." I said.

"It-it's okay with my parents," she said meagerly. She spoke up again, "But, is it okay with your parents?"

"I don't know. I'll go ask," I replied.

So, me and monotone trotted downstairs to my parents and I asked them if Monotone could spend the night. I'm sure my mother was on the verge of fainting. Nevertheless, they said yes--rather enthusiastically--and Monotone spent the night.

Later that night, we talked about our plan to "get back at those teachers". Unbeknownst to Monotone, my true agenda was far more sinister and selfish.

Anyway, Monotone apparently knew a pegasus that everyone called Deathwing, for obvious reasons: she was fast, she was strong, and she had an obsession with cracking skulls. The last one eventually had her put in a juvenile detention center for 2 years--she never actually cracked skulls, she just thought about it far too much. So, me and Monotone decided that we should meet Deathwing in person and further develop the plan.

We decided that we should all meet in Canterlot City Park.

"Are you sure she's coming?" I asked Monotone.

"I am certain of it. There exists no doubt in my mind that she would not accept out invitation. After all, she only has things to gain," she reassured me.

"Yeah, but from what you told me she's not the most logical pony," I argued.

"She will come. You must trust me."

"Okay."

After an hour of waiting, I was starting to get skeptical. "Are you su-" she then landed behind us, "-Well, speak of the devil, finally!" I exclaimed.

Deathwing, a yellow coated pony with a pink mane and heavy black eyeliner, asked, "Are you the Twilight girl Monotone told me about?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Good. She told me about you in her letter. So, you have something I might want? What is it?" she inquired.

"We think... you might want in on our plan. It's just the two of us so far, but we need as many talented ponies as we can possibly get. We heard you were strong," I stated.

"Yeah? What do I get?" she asked.

"To crush skulls," Monotone replied.

"Oh? And how do you suppose we get away with that? The guards will be on us in minutes if we crush skulls," she said.

"So, we crush the skulls of the guards. But we won't have to worry about any guards. I promise," I smiled wryly.

"And why is that?" asked Deathwing, intrigued.

"I'll tell you why," I said.

I explained our plan in greater detail. I won't disclose it all to you until it comes up in the story. Like I said...

"...It wouldn't be as suspenseful. Anyway, I think it's time we take a short break," Twilight concluded.

"That's just mean!" Celestia retorted.

Twilight shrugged, "My throats getting dry."

In the meantime, Luna was contemplating literally all of the interactions she had had with Twilight Sparkle. She voiced her thoughts, "May I ask you one thing before we adjourn? What ever happened to Monotone and 'Deathwing'?"

"You see, I switched the 'aura's of Monotone and Deathwing, which ended up creating Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. I must say, they are very good actors," Twilight explained.

Both sisters were aghast. Celestia spoke first, "Well, wow! I wasn't even aware that was possible."

"You know it as a different type of magic," Twilight reassured. "Anyway, shall we?"

Meanwhile, with the three sisters...