To be or not to be...by SukeChaptersThe Beginning?Nice to meet you, to meet you...A Friend?What walks on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and- oh, wait.Could you repeat that?The Beginning?????? Just a blur. There was no pain… or was there? He didn’t know. He didn’t know what this blur was, why he saw it, or where he saw it. He simply associates the word ‘blur’ with ‘unconscious’. He wasn’t sure how he could think while unconscious, or at least be aware of his unconscious state. Supposed it was due to the feeling he was having. Like his head was a book, and someone was dragging their finger along each line as they read it. It was making his head rather itchy. Eventually enough was enough, and shortly after remembering his name, “Dominique Guillory”, he woke up; a lot like picking up your keys before leaving the house. Slowly opening his eyes Dominique, or Dom, saw a glass panel pulling upwards and away from him, hinging above, hissing on its way. He thought it was a lot like the beginning of Halo, and then he thought ‘What’s Halo?’ Putting confusion to one side, Dom stepped out of the unknown machine and took in his surroundings. Simply put, there was nothing to see. Well there was vast, hilly, desolate and lifeless wasteland, but that didn’t count. There wasn’t even the slightest breeze. The Sun, a definite bright spot behind endless clouds of what seemed to be more than just water vapour, was setting. His breathing the only sound. Behind him the container machine he had exited rattled and then went dormant. It was a scratched metal cylinder with an opening where the glass ‘door’ had been, which was now held perpendicular to the opening. The ground around it was recently disturbed. A drill on top, covered in dirt and dust, helped Dom realise that until a moment ago, he had been underground. A rucksack sat inside, its design familiar to Dom. Upon examination, it contained a torch, advanced books in Physics and Technology and what Dom guessed to be personal belongings of his: a digital watch with a small scratch across the blank screen (claiming a 10 year battery life), a decorative bracelet and a phone (also out of power). Having now taken in his immediate surroundings, Dom decided to get a look at himself. Hiking boots, Jeans, dark red short sleeved button-up shirt over electric blue shirt with long, forest green sleeves. The right sleeve had a tear from elbow to end. Under the torn sleeve, Dom’s arm was bandaged, as well as the back of his hand. He left the bandages well alone, assuming they had good reason for being there. Instead, he tore off the weak fabric sleeve where the original damage ended, and roughly the same length was removed from his left sleeve, stowing the currently useless material in his rucksack. The shortened sleeves barely poked out from underneath the dark red ones. The glass door wasn’t reflective enough to examine Dom’s facial featured, so he finished there. Night time was fast approaching, and the apparent wasteland would be extremely cold without any smudged sunshine, like a desert. Dom wanted to get out of it before said cold arrived, but didn’t know which direction to take. Thankfully, with darkness joining the night, a patch of light, brighter than the Sun had managed earlier, could be seen off to the North-East, assuming the Sun had set in the West. The single human being, not knowing he himself was a beacon of light of sorts, set off at a fast yet steady pace, wanting to find answers, very, very soon. ’20 Questions has nothing on me’, he thought, once again confused as to what he meant. EQUESTRIA Everything carried on as always in the land of Equestria that evening. Celestia was reading a recent letter from Twilight before writing a reply and going to bed. Luna had just lifted the crescent moon into the night sky, and was now admiring her own work. Cadence and Shining Armour were enjoying a honeymoon in an undisclosed location, royalty and family alone knowing where. One family member, Twilight Sparkle, was just tucking Spike into bed before a planned overnight study session for nothing in particular. Rainbow Dash was reading another instalment of Daring Do in bed. Rarity was already sound asleep, dreaming of her designs. Fluttershy was tending to her nocturnal animal friends. Pinkie Pie was cheerfully returning home, odd as it was considering she’d failed to find anypony in need of a party anytime soon. Then again, Pinkie is Pinkie. Applejack had finally finished patrolling the orchard, more for stray fallen apples than actual thieves. This, however, was where the sense of normality came to an end. Most didn’t hear or sense anything. The majority of those who did ignored it or weren’t in a position to react, such as Celestia, who merely twitched in her sleep. Luna sensed a disturbance, in what she could not tell, but the direction from which it came was, to no surprise, Ponyville. She took off, half excited at the concept of being the pony to take charge, rather than her sister. Nopony ever really caused major problems at night. Fluttershy heard a loud boom, similar to that of thunder, but quickly decided to hide with her animals. Rainbow Dash heard it, mentally recorded her page number, and shot off to the source, knowing full well that a clear sky had been planned for tonight. Applejack couldn’t have not heard it, as the sound came from the very orchard she had just bucked clean today. As a matter of fact, whatever had caused the noise had also knocked over a large number of the trees. The radius of damage wasn’t too large, but it was still damage nonetheless. Big Mac rushed out from inside the house, eyes widening upon seeing the wrecked trees. Applejack, thinking on her hooves, turned to Big Mac and asked, “Has Apple Bloom woken up?” “Eeyup,” was the reply. “Try to get ‘er back to bed and don’t let ‘er out of sight. What about Granny?” “Nnnope.” ‘How could she sleep through that?’ she thought. ‘It doesn’t matter.’ “Ah’ll go check it out. No doubt somepony will show up to investigate. If ya think they can help, send ‘em mah way, alright?” “Eeyup.” With that, Applejack galloped back into the orchard. Shortly, she reached the outskirts of the damaged area. Slowing down and prepared for anything to jump out at her, she continued to the centre. Nearer and nearer to the middle, the trees were leant back further and further, until, almost there, uprooted trees rested against those further out. Applejack found herself in an opening with radius of about 5 to 10 metres. There didn’t seem to be any apparent cause of the earlier event. Just then, Rainbow Dash came zooming into view, spotting Applejack and changing her flight path to meet her. Watching the approach, Applejack noticed something in between her and her friend. It looked strangely like a crack in the air. Before she could point it out though, the Pegasus collided with it, head first. The crack didn’t budge while Rainbow flipped over it and hit the ground hard. Applejack ran over to her friend, who sat up where she fell, rubbing her head. “Ugh, what did I hit?” she asked when Applejack reached her. “Ah’m not too sure of that myself,” Applejack replied as she looked at the crack. “Whaddya mean you don’t… know...?” Rainbow Dash had followed Applejack’s line of sight. “What the Hay is that?” Applejack opened her mouth to reply, but a familiar regal voice answered for her. “Something neither my sister nor I have ever seen before.” Princess Luna gently landed beside the two stunned ponies. “I suggest we summon our friend, Miss Twilight Sparkle, to understand this anomaly.” ????? Dominique partly wished he’d woken up (from what he’d gathered was some sort of stasis) earlier in the day, because the cold, although weak at first, was beginning to get under his skin; then again, had he awoken earlier, he may not have seen the glow of artificial light, and gone in the wrong direction. The source of the light had come into view after Dom had made it over a deceitfully large hillock. From on top of this hillock, he could still make out the stasis tube behind him, as well his footprints in the dust. Ahead was a single building. ‘I see that 1 is the magic number today’ thought a frequently confused Dom. He had decided he did not like thinking too much, as he would just keep thinking up strange references without knowledge of their sources. He knew he should probably be trying to remember anything from before stasis, but the risk of ensuing confusion was too high. Dom really did not like being confused… but he didn’t know why. So, this building; from this distance not much could be made out. It was metal, cuboidal, with an antenna. The antenna was the source of all the light, high power light beams directed in all directions except down. By squinting, he could even see slight depressions where he guessed would be windows and possibly a door, with metal shutters covering them. Dom had thrown caution to the wind and continued his approach. It was damn cold. Now, at the point where he was wishing an earlier rising, he put his ETA at about one minute. And sure enough, one minute later he was standing at what took the rough shape of a door. No handle, keypad, or anything he could interact with. It was about this point when the wind came back from the dead, and with a mighty gust, it slammed him against the blocked door. Peeling himself away, he said, “Ow. Someone obviously doesn’t like me.” Dom ignored the green light that had started to scan him as he realised that was the first time he’d heard his own voice. To describe it, I need only direct you to his next thought: ‘That has to be the most stereotypical French accent I have ever heard.’ Of course, he then realised he’d insulted himself. He felt the confusion slowly return for another bout. It stopped when a voice spoke to him from the door. “Welcome, survivor, to the Lille Aftermath Station. Please ensure you are not being followed by undesirables, knock three times and enter quickly.” With a look over his shoulders at the vast nothingness, Dom did as he was told. The metal covering the door zoomed up to reveal a quaint wooden door. He opened it and strolled in, closing the door behind him. The metal shutters could be heard slamming back into place. A quick glance upwards explained the door a bit. Dom was standing on the ground floor of a house with its upper floors hastily removed or destroyed. Someone had then gone and built a metal casing over it to preserve as best they could. Some walls were just rubble now. The walls were peeling and most doors were missing. The stairs were- “Now proceeding to basement level,” the voice suddenly announced. A trapdoor opened beneath the unfortunate human and he dropped into darkness. There was that brain like a book feeling from before, but this time more along the lines of inhuman speed reading, flicking through his pages, analysing eyes barely seeing each page. It stopped as fast as it started. In the darkness, a person abruptly appeared, giving off their own light; Dom figured it was a hologram or something like that. The person was a smiling man looking like he was in his late 20s or 30s. Short and rough pitch black hair, face looking worn from what Dom would call over experience (seen too much for one of his age). His smile, surrounded by stubble, looked truly genuine, as if he was really there and happy to see someone else. His clothes were all dirty in some way, be it mud or blood. Green zipped hoody (or zoody), over a black shirt with an image of a black and white checker tie, faded jeans with gaping holes at the knees, and brown trainers. “Welcome to the Aperture Science Enrichment Centre! Let the tests begin!” Dom just stared, again confused, but thankful it wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t explain why but he felt dread too. “No? Nothing? Ah Phooey… Seriously? I’m sure even the sequel had come out before the shit storm hit. Anyway, all proper and honestly now: Welcome to the end of the world.” A/N: Can’t actually write French accents and I generally don’t hear many so forgive me for making you use your imagination more so than you already are. Constructive Criticism would be nice please. Nice to meet you, to meet you...EQUESTRIA "I have no idea what it is or how it's doing what it's doing," Twilight Sparkle said with a dissatisfied sigh. "Wait, it's doing something?" Rainbow Dash asked. "What's it doing?" "Well, as I'm told you proved earlier, it's somehow has a very solid physical presence, yet looks more like your hand should pass through it. Also, something seems to be coming through it. What that something is I couldn't tell you." Luna stared silently at the floating crack, it giving off a strange dark light. Nothing like this has happened before, even during the thousand years of her moon imprisonment. "Just what is on the other side of this thing? Twilight, can we use our magic to access the other side?" Luna queried her sister's faithful student. Twilight thought over this for a moment, and then replied, "I suppose my magic could amplify any sound and imagery, but it will leave us open for possibly unwanted visitors. We could be endangering Ponyville, or even all of Equestria." "I will contact my sister and we will come to a decision. With the two of us on our guards, we should be able to handle any problem should the need arise." Luna's horn began to glow, and she closed her eyes. "Isn't Luna gonna send a letter or something?" asked Applejack. "She's using mental communication. It's a surprisingly powerful spell that only the princesses can maintain and receive."Twilight informed her friends. "Sister? Sister, wake up." "Lulu? What is it? Why are communicating this way? Oh, no! Something's wrong! This isn't g-" "Calm down Celly. I may be the only one who can hear you but you should maintain your regal demeanor even so. Anyway, come to Sweet Apple Acres. I shall explain the current situation as you travel." "Of course. I am already out of the palace. Tell me everything." AFTERMATH STATION "Welcome to the end of the world." The strange man paused, "Well, the end of your world. There are plenty of worlds doing just fine at the moment, and some that, thanks to yours truly, will continue to be fine until they themselves choose otherwise." Dom just stared. Without any memories of his world, it didn't really hit him too hard that he'd lost his home. The man continued, "The point I'm trying to make is, this world, this reality, that you stand in right now, is lost. Of course worlds may naturally come to an end anyway, but the wasteland you saw on your way here was the work of outside influence. They never really decided on a name for themselves, so I call them Everto. It's Latin, with many meanings, most of them applying pretty well if I remember rightly. “Anyhooooooooooooooo, I, the great, but evidently not so great this time, defender of realities and bane of the fearsome Everto, have an offer to make. And looking outside, let's be honest Dom- You don't mind me calling you Dom right? -You'd be stupid to refuse. That, or bat-shit bonkers. Oh, and I'm Thunder by the way, or at least a well thought out automated response hologram of Thunder... And Thunder's only my traveller's nickname. Much cooler than my actual name. I'd even go as far to say it's 20% cooler." Silence. "Oh come on!" Dom was getting tired of sitting in the dark. He got up and tried to see his way around this basement. "Not much for patience are we?" Dom turned to glare at the hologram and said, "Thought you were automated?" "Motion sensors." With a raised eyebrow from Dom, it continued to say, "With precision accuracy. What does it matter anyway? It makes no difference for you either way. Real me isn't here. In fact, I'm probably fighting a few of the buggers who gone done the crap out there," he point upwards. "If I turn on the lights enough so you can make it over to the fridge and grab a bevvy, will you let me get with the offer I have here in my memory banks?" "As long as you try to stay on track." "I'll try my best but no promises." The room lit up upon the instant Holo-Thunder finished that last sentence. It was like a snug underground flat with no walls. Bedroom with kingsize bed and bedside table accompanied with analog alarm clock and lamp. A lounge with Epic TV and long semi-circular sofa. The kitchen was like something out of a catalog. There was a door on either side of the room. Dom assumed one led to a bathroom. He walked over to a tall fridge in the kitchen section, opening it to find a multitude of beverages of all kinds. Taking a random lager can, he closed the fridge. He turned to the hologram and waved his free hand, motioning to continue, popping open the can with one hand. "Good to see you settling in. This place is a technological wonder. I figured that since it was too late to save the world, I could freely fuck with your techno timeline and make this. Adapts to each world like a TARDIS to be simple. Won't go deeper than that ‘cause it's not really important. Only when the need arises, which isn't now. "My job is, as I said earlier, is to go around each and every world, or reality, seeing as world is rather vague and can be misunderstood. You may think I mean-" Dom, mid-sip, kicked a cupboard. "Ahem. I protect realities from these Everto creatures that, for some reason I'm still in the process of working out, somehow enter alternate realities to fuck up their existences. Doesn't mean everything turns to dust, that was just how things ended up here specifically. Won't describe them. Past experience dictates that you'll encounter at least one soon after each arrival in a new world. Ah, yes. Onto the actual offer real me has for you. "As proven by the recent events, even though I arrive in each reality around the same point in time when Everto start pressing all the wrong buttons, I can't seem to stop the interference. I don't actually know how this happens but the best solution I can think of is to recruit assistants. Namely, you... and others around the world who showed an aptitude to survival of Everto attack. You weren't the only one cryogenically frozen underground until Thunder could lure the majority of the Everto to the south pole. "So there you have it. Oh, and by taking the job, you're promised minor improvements to your adaptability, including hopefully painless shapeshifting for fitting in where humans are not present, and sometimes when they're the baddies or whatever. Happened before. Whole world of just robots. Felt like a skeleton the whole time. And then there was-" Another cupboard was kicked. "You get the idea there. Also comes with access to fancy shit you can't see right now. "Now, if you don't like this, I've managed to contact a friend in a reality similar to this but secured; don't ask me how, I just did. All those still alive here already exist over there but my mate's prepared for that. If you choose this thrown together, half-assed plan, I suggest keeping in contact with whoever else chickens out. I hear chicken suits are involved for some reason or another... buckaw!" Dom finished his can and looked at Holo-Thunder blankly. 'Did he honestly just say that wanting to continue a relatively normal life was chickening out?' He sighed. So, start life anew without memories of past life, probably avoiding certain locations due to pre-existing self, or fight the twats who caused all this to happen, possibly recover lost memories (just a hunch), and see the Multiverse. "Meh, what the heck, beam me up- God Dammit!" "Good choice bud. Just a sec... now, I analysed your head earlier but chose to not look 'til you agreed. Had I checked earlier, I wouldn't have made all those references. Seems you've got amnesia from the rush job cryo-tube. Whoops, sorry 'bout that. I'll help you with that once we're on our way. You heard me, I'mma gonna join you on your whacky adventures. Can't leave this place though. Oh yeah, and I'm launching us. RIGHT NOW COWBOY!" There was a God awful sound of metal balloons popping. EQUESTRIA There was a Celestia awful sound of metal balloons popping, and the crack began to open rapidly. "Get back my little ponies!" Celestia called out. Celestia had arrived shortly beforehand, Luna having filled her in on the situation. Twilight was literally just about to attempt looking into the crack when the horrible noise had erupted from within. Now all bar the two princesses fled to behind some fallen trees. Doctor Whooves was now among them, having claimed the crack was a space-time anomaly. Nopony knew what he had been talking about. As the crack tore open, a metal cuboid the size of a house began squeezing its way through. As it forced its way in, unidentifiable objects crash into surrounding trees. The metal cuboid came to rest where the crack had been before said crack vanished. Silence returned. Everypony look to one another. Nopony was hurt. Before anypony could talk, the previously unidentifiable objects came to life, unfurling to become bipedal silhouettes. They had claws claws longer than Spike's, and matching teeth that glinted in the moonlight. "This does not bode well," Luna muttered before one of the silhouettes lunged at her. AFTERMATH STATION Dom found himself clinging onto a bedpost, the heavy shaking that followed the launch announcement having finally stopped. Surprisingly nothing had moved except for him and the can he'd dropped in the kitchen. "Right, we have arrived at our destination, which iiiiiiiiiisssssss... wow, this is gonna be an odd one; and hard too. Another welcoming is in order!" Holo-Thunder spread his arms out. "Welcome, Junior Reality Defender Dominique Guillory, to the land of- Drumroll please-" A drumroll started out of nowhere. "EQUESTRIA! Population: unknown, like always. Dominant race: Magical talking ponies. Other major races include: Griffins, Dragons, Zebra, Diamond Dogs and Changelings. Now, sensors indicate-" His eyebrows bounced up a couple of times "-that Everto have literally just begun attacking a group of ponies present at our arrival. Don't worry, I'll help. Just walk over to where you first landed in here." As Dom did as he was told, he was beginning to get nervous. These things brought his whole planet down into ruin. How was he going to help by himself. He looked back to the hologram as he reached the designated spot. "Two things before you do this. Firstly, you'll need a traveller's nickname like your dear mentor. I'll let you choose one after your first success, but for now, hmmm... Dominique, Dominic, Domnic... Omni! You can work with that for now. And secondly, you'll probably survive this round but I advise you to befriend the locals. I know it won't be too hard with this lot." A grin grew wide on the hologram's transparent face. Dom, or Omni as he was to be known in Equiestria, did not like that grin one bit. "Off you go then." The floor under Omni launched him back up the hole he'd come down through, then a metal panel from above smacked him out the presently open door. He flew, arms flailing, straight into one Princess Luna, just before her assailant could tear a chunk out of her neck. A/N: I know this is obviously gonna be a Human into Pony story but the other sort of things I'd think of or come too close to already exist. Such as 'Griffin the Griffin' and 'The Ballad of Echo the Diamond Dog'. Good reads. But yeah, I have a little something planned to get around that unoriginal idea. Well, I think it's original, the thing I have planned. Really need reader input so I know I'm not being wrong all the damn time with character personalities. All done... for now. A Friend?SWEET APPLE ACRES (OMNI) ‘Did that bastard just throw me out?’ was Omni’s first thought as he lifted himself off the poor dark blue pony. Getting to his feet, he noticed the horn and wings. ‘That’s one odd looking pony’ before ‘Ooooooh crap’ when he saw the crown. The pony’s eyelids slowly raised themselves off of its eyes. Realisation dawned upon its face and the horn on its head began to glow a similar dark blue to the pony’s coat. It was then when gravity decided to let go of Omni. “What the fuck?” Omni said as he waved his arms in a futile attempt to get gravity’s attention. “I don’t know who you are, but you better have a good reason for tackling a princess of Equestria!” demanded the pony who Omni realised was somehow levitating him. She (he figured it was a she by the word ‘princess’) stood up, proving to be almost as tall as Omni. Her mane flowed in the windless air, dark as the night sky, seemingly containing its own stars. Her tail was the same, and on her flank, where it was like someone had splotched on some ink, there was an image of a crescent moon. “So? What are you and what are you doing h-” “Luna! Look out!” From behind him, a silhouetted creature appeared in the corner of Omni’s eye. It was in mid-air, headed for the pony, or Luna if he’d heard right. Before Omni could get a good look at it, a beam of light, again from behind, struck the creature. It vanished in a cloud of wispy black smoke, accompanied with a horrible screech. “I’m glad that worked.” The same voice from behind said with a sigh. Another voice spoke up, “The others don’t seem to be attacking.” Luna glared at Omni, “I’m willing to bet this ‘thing’ has something to do with that. Are they waiting for your orders?” “I… I’m not like them!” Omni paused to consider his next few words. “I think… I think they’re what I’m here to get rid of. Please believe me.” “How do you expect to get rid of them? You have no horn for magic, your claws are blunt and you have hardly a muscle on you. You wouldn’t stand a chance.” “I don’t know that yet, but I’ll figure something out. Could you please put me down?” “No. I shall not.” As if on cue, Omni saw two more creatures come into view. One seemed to be headed towards the ponies behind him, whereas the other went straight for Luna. Luna, already using her magic to hold Omni, did the first thing that came into her head. Omni was thrown at the silhouetted assailant. ‘Shit! What do I do? What do I do?’ A voice shouted from his rucksack, “Punch the blighter!” Without a moment’s hesitation, that’s exactly what he did. Right fist into the face, knocking it to the ground where it burst as the first did. Around the same time another screech announced a third defeated Everto. When Omni hit the ground, he rolled and stopped himself, steadying himself with one foot, the other leg’s knee and a hand. Taking off his rucksack he opened it up to find a familiar face on his phone’s screen. “What did I tell ya? Another one bites to dust,” a maniacally grinning Holo-Thunder boasted. “Before you get confused again: It seems the ever-present magic in the air is a great power source for your phone. Same probs goes for your watch to, as useless as that’s gonna be. Enough of that though. FINISH THEM!” There was another screech, causing Omni to look up. More Everto were attacking the ponies. With phone back in bag, and bag back on shoulders, Omni ran into the fray. (APPLEJACK) ‘What in tarnation’ she thought as she watched the talking biped run towards the remaining monsters. Applejack, while the others either covered their eyes or focused on Celestia (Celestia herself being occupied briefly with her own personal assailant), was the only one to witness it kill a monster with a simple punch. Behaving like predators, she’d assumed the monsters would at least be able to survive a hit like that. ‘Maybe they aren’t so scary after all.’ Just as she thought that, the mysterious ally reached another monster and punched it. Nothing happened and both involved seemed to stare at each other. The first to react was the ally once more, punching with the other fist, the desired effect being the result; another screech. Applejack thought she heard a voice from the biped but his mouth hadn’t moved. It then nodded to nopony in particular and ran at more of the monsters, only swinging the arm he’d just used. By this point, all the attackers were focused on the one-punch fighter. Celestia was slightly out of breath. Everypony was now watching the one-sided fight. To her left, Applejack heard Rainbow Dash whisper, “Awesome.” On her other side, Doctor Whooves was shaking behind a fallen tree, hooves over his eyes. Twilight just looked on in silence, most likely thinking up millions of questions. When Applejack looked back at the scuffle, it was all over, the last screech echoing into the night. The victorious biped had his claws on his knees, and was breathing heavily. Celestia turned to Luna, whose mouth was hanging open. “It seems the thing’s-” ‘thing’ was said mockingly. “-chances were quite high, dear sister.” “B… But… How?” was all Luna could say. The thing in question turned to Luna and shrugged. He opened his mouth to speak, but a loud voice coming from his bag interrupted him. “Woo Yeah! Omni is in the HOUSE! Well, metaphorically speaking. Hey is there any VIPs here? I need to have an ickle private chat with ‘em.” Celestia, showing no signs of surprise, calmly replied, “I believe that would be my sister and me.” “Spot on! Omni my man! Open your bag and hand your phone over to the lovely lady, if you’d be so kind. I assume she’s a lady; can’t see a thing in here.” The being known as Omni followed the disembodied voices instructions, pulling out a strange object that glowed on one side. Celestia levitated it, then she and Luna walked a fair distance away so none could hear them. Luna could be heard raising her voice a couple of times, but not enough to make out what she was saying. During this moment of quiet, Applejack decided to approach Omni. He stared at her as she did this. “Erm… Howdy,” she said, trying to ignore the awkwardness of having to talk to someone much taller than she; almost twice as tall. “Ah’m Applejack, though most call me AJ. Ah think I speak for us all when I say we’re mighty thankful for taking care of them monsters.” “Thankful!?” shouted the familiar voice of Doctor Whooves, obviously over the state of shock he was in earlier. “He’s the reason they were here in the first place, what with their coming out of the same breach in space-time. What is that monstrosity anyway?” He pointed a hoof at the metal cuboid Omni had flown out of. “Beats me. H-T said it was like something called a Tardis.” “And who’s this H-T you speak of? The mastermind to your dastardly plot to mess up reality as we know it?” “He’s a hologram of a man calling himself Thunder. Confusing personality and occasional maltreatment of myself aside, he’s an alright guy- I mean hologram. Claims he’s just a clever automated response program.” “Yeah, about that: I lied,” H-T called over. “I’m actually an AI based on Thunder’s personality and such. I like that name though; H-T. Has a ring to it.” (OMNI) Omni looked over to the princesses who were returning from their private chat with H-T. The AI in question, smiling from Omni’s phone, looked like he was leading the way, the white coated princess levitating the phone in front. Omni was glad for the interruption, as the smaller ponies were showing blank expressions during his explanation, except for the brown one with the hourglass on his flank, who was showing blank, mixed in with anger, with a little bit of fear. “Luna and I have conferred with H-T, and we have learned that Equestria is under threat once more from those creatures you saw earlier. They are known as Everto, and are capable of worse things than the likes anypony has encountered before. Twilight, I would have you gather your friends at the library at dawn, where H-T will explain the situation in greater detail. My sister and I will be there, once I have raised the sun, as will Doctor Whooves and Omni.” The purple pony nodded and turned to the winged pony with the rainbow mane and AJ, “Come on girls.” They galloped off into the trees, AJ pausing briefly to tip her hat to Omni. The brown pony, the one believed to be Doctor Whooves, huffed and trotted after them. Once the disgruntled one disappeared from view, Omni turned to the princesses. For some reason, the fact they were royalty and one even mentioned raising the sun, he wasn’t really that much intimidated. It might have had something to do with the white one’s soft smile. “Now, Omni. H-T says you can change your form to blend in with your surroundings. Could you do that before heading into town?” “I guess so. I don’t really know how.” “It’s easy. Thunder tinkered with the bracelet you had on when he found you. Just slip it on then ‘poof’; Omni the Pony, at your service. Before you do that though, I should probably mention that relying on that right arm of yours ain’t gonna cut it. Lucky for you, your new home has access to a fancy alloy Thunder went and made called Malium. This shit’s more adaptive than the Borg, and non-sentient too, so win-win. The station is made of it, which is why it was still there when you found it. “Only way anyone can do any damage to it is if they… get… in- SHIIIIIIIIT!” Omni guessed the problem and quickly looked to the station to see the door open. Small scratching noises could be heard from within. He made to run and jump in (seeing as the ground floor was now the first floor), but H-T shouted, “STOP!” Omni looked questioningly at the hovering phone, which continued to speak, “It’s too late. They’ve just about breached the floor. Knew he should have put some Malium under the floor.” The same voice he heard when stood at the door on Earth boomed out, “Security Breach! Self-destruct in 10 seconds!” “Aaaawww, really?” moaned the AI. “Welp, I suggest a rapid retreat, and possibly a shield to contain the explosion. Wouldn’t wanna do more damage to this lovely orchard.” “Agreed,” the sisters said, simultaneously. The three of them ran for a few seconds until the princesses stopped, turned and made a bubble of magic around the ticking time bomb with a couple metres space between metal and magic barrier. The building had started counting down from 5. Just after 1, Omni heard H-T talking quickly from the phone, “All necessary files transferred. Now just to back my-” BOOM! The explosion lasted within the bubble for close to a minute. Once the rubble settled and the fires went out from oxygen starvation, the princesses released the barrier. There was now a small crater filled with the remains of Omni’s brief home. The phone let off a small tune; Omni grabbed it out of the air and examined the screen. H-T’s face was gone. An image of an opened letter had a 1 next to it so he tapped it. Up came a message addressed from H-T: Firstly, please imagine this in fancy ‘ye olde’ writing, if you can. You done that? It doesn’t really matter, since I’m sure you won’t get it anyway, but humour me just this once. Dear Dominique ‘Omni’ Guillory, While in your phone, I messed with its memory capacities so there was space to store files on Everto to help with the Library gathering we got planned. I also added files on your old home, in case you wanted to, you know, reminisce (or just remember life as it was). I also messed with the camera and light functions so you can project stuff. Was meant to help with explanations at prior mentioned gatherings, as well as project myself. Sadly, there wasn’t enough time to put a backup me on this phone. Probably should have done it sooner… then again, probably should have closed the friggin’ door. :P I mentioned before that there were more people being offered this job, but they would be greeted by different versions of me, tweaked here and there to make each of us ever so slightly individual. I say this because I want you to know, in the brief time we hung out, that I, the AI named H-T, had a blast (mind the pun)! I regret not being able to assist you any more than I already have, be it in saving this world, the worlds that followed, and/or recovering your memories. Had you chosen the ‘chicken’ option, I’d have stuck with you. My only other regret is not being able to annoy you with what would have been a perfect Navi impersonation, and I can only hope you eventually learn what I mean by that. I wish you luck, Omni of the kick-ass right arm. AI assigned to Lille Aftermath Station, H-T. (LUNA) Luna didn’t think Omni had realised, but he was crying. H-T had briefly gone over the state of Omni’s home world, and how he was made to sleep through it all, said sleep causing amnesia. Celly had followed it up with the knowledge that, in similar situations of memory loss and minimal social contact afterward, most ponies were known to count the first genuinely friendly face as a true friend. They may only do this subconsciously, but even so, it would be as if they had known the friendly pony since foalhood. Watching as Omni finally noticed his own tears, Luna considered H-T’s and Celly’s words. A dear friend, lost so soon after just meeting him. The biped ran towards the rubble, dropping his ‘phone’ on the way. It was distressing to watch, to say the least, as he tried digging through the mess. Her eyes were watering up a little. Then something caught her eye above the wreckage. (H-T) It was weird, looking down on Omni recklessly rummaging around. As a program, he hadn’t seen through the eyes of his hologram. That was just something for people to look at, calm them a bit. A lot less disconcerting when you’ve got a face to talk to rather than a room. Now, he was floating above what was best considered as his body. He looked at the transparent image that he was now; almost identical to his creator, bar a few differences that probably represented the tweaks that made him unique. He guessed at ‘Magic’ being the cause of this anomaly. The two princesses looked at him, and even Celestia showed some surprise. H-T smiled and raised a finger to his lips. They got the message. Returning his attention to his first and only friend, H-T thought to himself: ‘A place where things like friendship and love produce powerful magic, eh? Not bad for a first world. Hopefully get him into the groove of things slowly, unless he has Thunder’s luck in those matters. First though, he needs to pull himself out of the dirt.’ “It’s pointless mate. There are plenty more friends to be made here, plus you’ve got a job. DO EEEEEEEEEET!” Omni frantically turned to find the source of the voice, but H-T had gone. A/N: So, yeah, killed H-T off 'cause the combination of him and Omni would fucking Mary Sue the whole thing, plus every god damn HiE does game/anime culture references. With H-T gone and Omni with no memories, I feel that this differs from the average HiE. What walks on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and- oh, wait.SWEET APPLE ACRES (OMNI) He was sure he caught a glimpse of something when he looked up. He turned to the princess ponies who stared back, faces pitying. “Did you hear anything just now? Or see anything above me?” They both shook their heads, Luna ever so slightly hesitating beforehand. He didn’t know whether to trust their answer, but either way, Omni knew what he heard was right. H-T was gone and he had a job to do; though he wasn’t so sure about making friends. Associates maybe, but the risks with having friends were evident in the recent turn of events. He overheard Luna’s sister, “Lulu, I must return to the castle to explain our absence to the guard. I shall bring in the day while there. Take Omni to the library soon to avoid the townsfolk.” Omni heard hoof-steps approach him, “Omni, might I advise wearing the bracelet H-T mentioned? Just in case a pony were to see you. And I’m terribly sorry for your loss. Here in Equestria friendship holds much power, and the sudden unexpected loss of a friend hurts that much more because of it.” Omni stepped out of the crater, replying, “An expression I seem to recall from Earth comes to mind: ‘Sod’s Law’.” “And what would that mean?” Luna enquired. “I don’t know, but my brain seems to think it’s appropriate. Probably something like ‘It had to happen’, but not in terms of need… I should hope.” Omni said as he took his rucksack off of his back once more. Getting out the bracelet and giving it a once over, he couldn’t understand how one could make a piece of gold painted jewellery alter another’s form. Then again, he’d got the impression this Thunder was well practised in the art of fucking with physics. Also, for all he knew, technology back home had been or become advanced enough for such feats. The former theory was more likely however. “By the way, Miss Sunshine?” he said, pulling the white princess from her thoughts. “I know your sister’s name, and you both know the one I go by, but I do not know yours.” “Oh, of course, how rude of me. I am Princess Celestia. I must be off now, as day must soon be upon us.” With that, Celestia’s horn glowed and she vanished in a flash of magic. Omni started but recovered quickly, assuming the princess had intended to do that. He looked back at the modified jewellery in his hand. “I don’t know what’s going to happen so give me a little space, ok?” he asked the remaining pony. Luna nodded, stepping a few paces back, watching with fascination and slight concern. Slipping it on, Omni felt comfortable with it wrapped around his left wrist. His last thought before changes began was that he never got to look at his real face or hair. (LUNA) Just as Omni had that last thought, Luna’s was similar. She’d never focused on his actual physical features other than the abnormal amount of clothing. H-T had said these humans were hairless (mostly) monkeys. She tried to take in his face as fast as possible but Omni’s right hand got in the way as he reached for his blonde mane for some reason, and then it was too late. With a flash similar to that which accompanied a teleportation, albeit less… magical looking, there stood in front her was an Earth Pony. His coat was the deepest black imaginable, like it was not only a lack of light, but it absorbed nearby light as well. As such, it didn’t even reflect light like the usual black coats ponies had. The main and tail were mismatched; short tail but long mane. Both were had a wild-ish look to them, and were electric blue with forest green tips, just like his undershirt, which was no longer present. The crimson over shirt was still there, if not a little strained. The hooves were a murky gold, and the right fore hoof and leg were bandaged. Not the buffest of stallions, he was taller than average, coming close to Luna’s height. Strangely, his flank bore no cutie mark. (OMNI) Omni the Stallion stared at his left hoof. He couldn’t believe it. In the blink of an eye, he went from scientifically acceptable biped to magical four legged equine. He felt a bit like rubber, somehow being able to bend his limbs into semicircles in directions that didn’t seem right. His coat reminded him of the Everto he’d dealt with earlier. The fact he was wearing barely anything didn’t bother him much, probably with the knowledge that these ponies didn’t appear uncomfortable being naked around each other. ‘First thing: walking on all fours,’ he thought to himself. ‘Surprisingly easy.’ The rubber-like limbs were most likely the main reason for this. The best way to compare the feeling to walking bipedal would be crawling without lower legs and having feet on your knees. Luna interrupted his line of thought, “How do you feel?” “Not much different. Going to have to get used to being shorter. That and I’ll miss the opposable thumb.” Omni waved a hoof, its flat bottom sadly void of digits. “We can still pick things up with our hooves.” Omni stared at Luna in disbelief. “Don’t ask me how we do it. Celly- I mean Celestia- believes it is an ancient magic. Nopony dares look into it at risk of losing the gift altogether. Best if you don’t think about it; makes it easier.” “I’ll take your word on it.” Omni jogged- no, trotted- over to his rucksack. With a little bit of trouble, he managed to get it onto his back, only to discover it rubbed the shirt awkwardly into his coat and skin underneath. Sighing, he took off the rucksack, followed by the shirt. He stuffed the shirt into the bag and went back to step one. This time, there was no rubbing. ‘Gonna need to do something about that.’ Omni had grown fond of his few belongings, and he wasn’t going to give up on his last bit of clothing that easily. He still had those bits of sleeves too. ‘Later though. Onward into the unknown!’ “Lead the way Princess.” Luna had not heard him, as she seemed entranced by something off in the distance. Omni looked to see what was so fascinating. The sun had begun to peep over the horizon, as dawn broke across Equestria. A beautiful sight to say the least, but Omni felt there were more pressing matters. (LUNA) ‘To think, I wanted to stop this from ever happening again. I was such a stupid little filly.’ “Princess? Princess Luna?” Luna tore herself away from the sunrise. “Yes?” “I’m all ready to go here. Shall we be off?” “We shall. Come closer and I shall teleport us to our destination.” “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to walk; take in the scenery, get used to my surroundings.” “If that is what you wish?” And so, they began to walk side by side away from the rubble of Omni’s former home, and through the orchard. “I was wondering Luna…” “What is it?” “Could you please tell be about your kind? I noticed there were blatant differences between you and the smaller ponies.” “Ah, yes. You see, ponies are split into four subspecies: Earth Ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns and Alicorns. You’re an Earth Pony, which means you have an affinity to plant life and are also naturally stronger than most. Pegasi are winged ponies who can interact with clouds and as such, control the weather. They generally have a knack for speed. Unicorns are horned ponies, said horns being used for channelling magic; that’s their specialty. Unicorns are often more studious. I say all this, but there are many cases for all three kinds of ponies where their special talents are different to the norm. Now, my sister and I are Alicorns. Our kind is quite rare and powerful. We excel in many places, and are royalty in Equestria. “One thing we all have in common is the Cutie Marks on our flanks. They represent our special talents, and appear on their own accord once said talent is discovered.” Omni looked at Luna as if to ask if that was it. There was more, but what remained to be said was more the history of Equestria, and Luna deemed it long and unnecessary for the moment being. “Is there anything else you would like to know?” “I suppose the next thing I’ll need to know about is these Elements of Harmony. Then, if there’s still time, any recent major events in Equestria.” And so Luna went on about the Elements. She explained their brief origin, and described their current bearers as best to her knowledge. She merged the topic of their uses in history with the recent events, feeling slightly embarrassed when telling of her stint as Nightmare Moon. Omni listened attentively, not missing a word, sometimes asking little questions here and there to clarify points, sometimes just commenting. She found it odd, how this pony didn’t react like most others at the mention of her darker self. Luna knew he was not originally from here and how he would not have witnessed, nor heard stories of, her activities during that time. She even saw genuine pity in his eyes upon hearing of her thousand year imprisonment. He had no memories of his past, yet seemed to understand her jealousy, her loneliness. Of course, she knew he’d understand the strangeness of knowing nothing of the world she returned to, to a limit. Omni seemed to just take everything in and analyse it. He made her feel oddly appreciated. She had grown to be accepted once more in Equestria, with the help of Celestia and the Element bearers, but this… this was different. She had not been given a chance to make first impressions for a very long time. “So what has happened to the changelings now?” the neutral pony enquired, Luna having finished talking about her niece’s wedding. “Well, within the past few months since then, many ponies encountered them strewn across the land. Through interrogations with the help of truth detecting magic, we have found that over half the changeling species were wiped out, most not surviving their landings once launched out of Canterlot, the Queen included. Apparently the Queen was using her magic to force the rest of her kind into their hive-mind state. “Now free and independent, they are capable of forming identities of their own without copying us. They quite like our culture and so mimic our Cutie Mark tradition. They leave their flanks bear until discovering their special talent then decide upon a cutie mark. I will admit there is still prejudice against them, but they are slowly earning their place in our society. Would you believe me if I said that some changelings decided upon being simple pets?” “I would,” Omni replied. “I suppose it’s ‘each to their own’ really.” “I suppose so. So nothing has happened since the wedding, other than the changeling integration?” “Surprisingly, and thankfully, no. Not that I have heard of; until you of course.” Omni chuckled. Luna had watched him as they had gone from the orchard to now part of the way through Ponyville, the Library Tree in view in the slight distance. While paying full attention to their conversation, he’d also been looking left to right, taking in the sights. The town was still empty, with sounds of early morning ponies in their houses, getting ready for their day. “This is a quaint little town isn’t it?” he asked. “It is, although this is my first time seeing it so quiet. My visits are usually a bit more… active.” Omni just nodded. The remaining distance was covered in silence, Luna deciding to take advantage and look around like Omni. They reached the Library door, and just before Omni knocked, they heard voices from inside. “I still wish we could hold the party now,” one cheerfully moaned. “We’ll have one later once we’ve had our meeting with the princesses,” said another. “I am sorry to make you wait Pinkie Pie,” said Celestia’s voice. “It’s ok,” replied the first. “I wonder what kind of pony he’ll be,” said a fourth voice. "He may not even be a pony. I think he'll be like a diamond dog, standing on two legs. He deserves as much trust as them too," said a fifth, Luna knowing it was the doctor's. ‘Celly must have told them that he would be disguised,’ she thought. Omni finally decided to knock. “Can we come in?” he asked through the door. The door magically opened. Omni and Luna entered. The door closed behind them. Everyone present stared at Omni, except for Celestia, who smiled at Luna. Luna went and sat next to her sister. Celly whispered to Luna, “Did you have a nice chat on your walk?” “Yes. Even though it was mainly me answering questions, it was nice talking to him. Quite the understanding gentlecolt when he’s not flying into you,” she whispered back. The seven ponies sat around the library continued their group stare. Omni was smiling awkwardly, throwing glances at Luna. His eyes screamed for help. Luna would have cleared her throat loudly, had her sister whispered something else in her ear. “Now don’t go falling for him just yet Lulu.” “What!?” Luna shouted, leaning back from Celestia. All stares turned to her, and it was her turn to smile awkwardly, as well as blush. Her brain sighed and said to her, ‘Well, you got their attention, didn’t you?’ A/N: Updates are gonna be ever-so-slightly slower, as may already be evident. This is because I've passed the whole 'new story buzz' stage and into the more carefully thought out 'don't fuck this up!' stage, writer's block included. That plus a friend and I had an idea involving characters by a group of authors, all set in the same universe. Waiting for confirmation from the main three currently. The first has said yes and suggested the other two be informed before anything goes ahead at all. Of these other two: one hasn't seen my message yet, and the last is being unresponsive. ...Oh, yeah! Hey look! I made up some plot devise for changelings to not be absolutely gut-hated. I've seen loads of 'changeling-phobia extravaganza' fics, many being good reads, and felt they'd had enough of it. Small Edit: A month is too short a time for changelings to be even the slightest bit accepted in Equestria. Heck! It took Luna almost a year or so. Could you repeat that?PONYVILLE LIBRARY (OMNI) He didn’t think it was intentional, but Luna had successfully grabbed everypony’s attention. He now sat between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, remembering Luna’s descriptions for each. A quick look around the rest of the group showed Twilight Sparkle next to Celestia, and Fluttershy in between Twilight and Dash. On the other side, after Applejack, there sat Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Doctor Whooves. Luna was still blushing, holding a hoof to her mouth. Celestia quietly chuckled, letting the second awkward silence continue. As much as he knew in the back of his mind that royalty was to be respected, Omni had the feeling that he was going to slowly learn to dislike the older sibling. It appeared to be up to him to solve the ongoing lack of sound and activity. He took off his bag and placed it down in front of him. He searched its insides to find the phone. He started pulling it out but suddenly wondered how he was holding it, which led to the phone to sit back in the bag. On the second try there was success, and the phone was now on the floor with the bag pushed further away. There was a brief pause as Omni considered how to operate the thing. He’d probably be able to slide and select apps but typing words was most definitely going to be a no go. He searched through the apps and found the app for voice command. The phone beeped to signify it was listening. In the corner of his eye, Omni could see attention had returned to him; or more precisely his phone. “Oooo, what’s that?” “It’s the device that H-T spoke through.” “Request not recognised,” said the phone. “Was that H-T?” It seemed Celestia had not yet informed them of H-T’s passing. She probably considered it not to be her position to do so. That didn’t matter at this moment though. Omni lifted his head and said, “I need silence to work this, if you don’t mind?” “Okie Dokie Lokie!” said Pinkie. “Request not recognised.” Looking back down at his phone, Omni had no clue where to go from here. He could only hope H-T had left things simple. “Erm… Run… ‘Introductions’?” “Request recognised. Running ‘Introductions?’” The phone said the last word with a recording of himself. A familiar voice came from the modified device, “I’m going to guess that the screen’s facing up. Could you flip it over if it is? Thanks.” Omni had half expected a voice recording so wasn’t so shocked as to cease all movement. The phone was flipped and a projection of H-T stood in the air. It was met with faces of curiosity, excitement, confusion and expectation. (LUNA) The floating see-through man was the same as the one she and her sister had seen on the screen that night only he was black and white. Another difference was that he didn’t look at anyone in particular; he just stared off into nothingness. “Before anyone –sorry, anypony– says anything, I am not actually here. This is a recording, for real this time,” H-T grinned, as did Omni. “The fact you’re running this means I’m… erm, for lack of a better word, dead. This is quite unfortunate for many reasons, but we must press onwards! I will pause and answer questions I predict will be asked, hopefully at appropriate times. Now, let the explanations begin! “First of all, I am H-T, one of a number of varying Artificial Intelligences based on a man who generally goes by the name Thunder.” Upon the mention of his name, a man with identical facial features and height popped into view next to H-T. Thunder was coloured and more importantly, armoured in a stereo-typical medieval design. Rainbow Dash quietly wowed in awe. The image sported a cocky grin and rotated as H-T continued. “This man has travelled a fair bit of the multiverse. To keep things short, the multiverse contains an infinite number of Universes, each having a unique variation from all the others. Of course, Thunder isn’t just a sightseeing tourist; he saves them from destruction.” The image next to H-T changed from Thunder to one of the creatures that were encountered hours before. Fluttershy let out a squeak at the sight of it. “You see, there’s a race of ex-humans that discovered how to travel the multiverse freely. This technology somehow corrupted them and they evolved, or some might say devolved, into what are now the Everto. Naturally capable of going between the Universes, they infiltrate them and mess up the events which separate them from the others. Upon doing so said Universe collapses. Sadly this is not all. “To help with things, I want you to imagine you’re having a simple conversation with somepony. Now imagine you used the word ‘unnecessary’. A thesaurus would tell you that another word for ‘unnecessary’ could be ‘superfluous’. There would in fact be another reality where the only difference was that you used ‘superfluous’ instead of ‘unnecessary’ without any change in reaction by anypony in this alternate reality. Pretty stupid reason for another Universe to exist but they’re out there. All those extremely similar Universes are connected in a way that if one falls, so do the others. “When the Everto have their way, the Universe is still sort of there, only it’s just nothingness. The process is pretty much: all life quickly deteriorates, followed by the evidence of their existence, and then the Universe’s natural decay is sped up. It’s still slow but fast enough for the decay to be noticed in a single lifetime… Thunder watched it all once or twice in his earlier years.” Twilight started asking, “But how could he have”- “Shortly after his first Universal jump Thunder was made ageless. He was certainly older than you two Princesses when he made me.” “I pity him,” Celestia said. Luna nodded. Not only was he long-lived, he had witnessed the death of an entire reality. H-T’s description, as minimal as it was, made her thousand year banishment seemed nothing in comparison. Yes, she still hated the experience and hated watching the world go on without her but at least there was life to watch. “I’ve pretty much covered the foundations now, so on to Omni’s job in Equestria. You should by now have guessed that he is here in place of Thunder. Firstly I need to mention that he needs somewhere to stay as his original intended residence is by now a pile of rubble after going all explody.” “What?!” Applejack exclaimed, worried about her farm and family. “It was contained,” Celly assured her subject. “That aside for the moment, a bigger problem would be that, according to Princess Celestia, the events that I have on record to be the Everto’s targets have already happened, and without a hitch.” “Without a hitch?” balked Rarity. “What I meant to say was without interference not of this world. My conclusion therefore is that this is a ‘Double F’ Category Universe. I’m sorry to say this Omni, but I can’t offer much help other than information on the enemy, and even that is limited to basic info on type templates. That comes under the program name ‘Everto Templates’; simple enough really. I think that about wraps it up.” H-T started counting off the list on his translucent fingers, “We’ve covered Thunder, Everto, Multiverse aaaaaaand the job in hand or hoof… heh, hoof. That leaves this little thought I just had. If you need a more pony-esque name for Omni here, hows about adding the last name ‘Chrome’. ‘Omni Chrome’ sounds cool right? Well, I’m signing out now. Got more recordings to make in the seconds I still have to live. Thank God for my massive processing power. Au revoir!” (OMNI) H-T disappeared. Before silence could settle in again, Twilight spoke up. “Princess Luna, didn’t you say you sensed their coming?” “Yes.” “I also remember detecting the anomaly, although I was asleep at the time,” Celestia added. “Do either of you recall this happening before now?” The princesses shook their heads. “Then how did he know of past events before showing up in Equestria?” “It is possible to see into other worlds, although it requires a lot of magic. Perhaps this Thunder uses his abilities to look ahead and check for the Everto’s presence?” Celestia offered her student. “That sounds reasonable I suppose…” Omni listened to the discussion while making his own theories on the matter. What the princess suggested did make sense but there were other possibilities. He was sure there was something on his phone left behind by H-T that would explain. A hoof on his shoulder distracted his line of thought. “Ah’m sorry t’ hear about ya friend’s passing Omni. And ya home too. If ya’d like, we have a spare room at the farm?” “Thanks AJ. That would be nice. I’m sorry for the damage we caused.” “Don’t worry ‘bout it. It’ll be slow but it’s repairable.” Omni looked once more at the ponies around the room. Rainbow was comforting Fluttershy, who was in shock, muttering something about her animals safety. Twilight was in quiet discussion with her mentor. Luna seemed to be giving concerned looks to Doctor Whooves, who was in turn glaring at Omni. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why, but at least got the impression it was no longer mistrust, but something else entirely. Omni would have carried on studying the ponies but as he turned to see what the last two were doing, Pinkie popped up from below his line of sight. This confused him greatly as he knew she hadn’t been there a second ago. This probably came under what Luna had told him was Pinkie being Pinkie. Even knowing this, it was still going to be a while before he got used to her. “Hi I’m Pinkie Pie! I’d ask your name but I already know you’re Omni. Or is it Omni Chrome now? I think it should be! Where was I? Oh yeah! Since you’re new to Ponyville, I need to throw you a party!” Rarity tried to jump in, “Pinkie I don’t think-” Pinkie turned to Rarity, “I know Rares. Not tonight.” Rarity was taken aback. “Um, yes. This isn’t like you.” “A lot has happened for him, and as much as I think he needs it to cheer up, I Pinkie Promised the Princess to wait for tomorrow.” Rarity looked out the corner of her eye at the window then at Omni. They silently agreed not to remind Pinkie tomorrow had already come. ‘Then again,’ Omni thought, ‘She may have actually meant tomorrow in terms of today rather than yesterday… I don’t think I’ll ask.’ Facing Omni again, Pinkie continued, “The party will be great! Everypony’ll be there and they’ll all get to meet you! Then they can all be your friends!” “What about you?” Omni asked. “Silly Omni! We’re already friends!” “I think I speak for us all when I say everypony in this room is your friend Omni Chrome,” Celestia said, bringing his attention to the room again. Everypony was smiling at him in their own way. Whooves’ looked a little forced, giving Luna a nervous glance, the princess in question seemingly oblivious. “Really? I’ve hardly even spoken to most of you.” “Darling,” said Rarity. “You went into harm’s way to save my friends. For that I consider you a friend too.” “I wouldn’t say you saved me, but you helped, and that’s alright in my book,” said Rainbow. “Everypony’s my friend!” Pinkie exclaimed. Luna looked down at Whooves, who let out an inaudible sigh. “The Elements of Harmony and the Princesses have accepted you so I’d be a fool to not follow suit. Perhaps… we could talk some time… about these Everto… I would like to know more.” He got up and walked over to Omni. A hoof was held out and accepted by the other. Then he left. “What’s bitten him?” asked Dash. Twilight put a hoof to her chin then said, “He talks so much about rifts and alternate realities, but I don’t think he’s ever seen the other worlds. I think he’s jealous of Omni here.” “That appears to be the case,” agreed Celestia. Omni saw Luna’s eyes drooping sleepily, and only just realised his own tiredness. He yawned, which made a few others yawn as well. Celestia chuckled quietly again. “I suppose Luna and I should be off,” she said. “Goodnight my little ponies. Or should I say good morning?” All the girls said good night in unison. “Where will you be staying Omni?” the older princess asked as everypony prepared to leave. AJ replied before Omni, “Ah said he could stay on the farm.” Everypony nodded in agreement and left one by one. Twilight headed up to her room. As Omni and AJ headed for the door Luna called over to them. “Ponies will be up and about in town now. Allow me to teleport you back to the farm.” “Ah’m sure we’ll be fi-” There was magical glow around the pair and then they were outside the farm. SWEET APPLE ACRES “-ne... She did it anyway. No offense to her, but she still needs t’ work on her social skills.” “A thousand years with just your evil counterpart will probably do that to you. I for one find her an interesting conversational partner.” “Oh really?” said AJ, raising an eyebrow at Omni before heading up the steps into her family abode. Omni watched her go inside with a confused look and followed her in. A/N: I've given up on matching chapter names to the story title. It's a nuisance and limiting. Any suggestions for replacement names for earlier chapters would be appreciated.
The Beginning?????? Just a blur. There was no pain… or was there? He didn’t know. He didn’t know what this blur was, why he saw it, or where he saw it. He simply associates the word ‘blur’ with ‘unconscious’. He wasn’t sure how he could think while unconscious, or at least be aware of his unconscious state. Supposed it was due to the feeling he was having. Like his head was a book, and someone was dragging their finger along each line as they read it. It was making his head rather itchy. Eventually enough was enough, and shortly after remembering his name, “Dominique Guillory”, he woke up; a lot like picking up your keys before leaving the house. Slowly opening his eyes Dominique, or Dom, saw a glass panel pulling upwards and away from him, hinging above, hissing on its way. He thought it was a lot like the beginning of Halo, and then he thought ‘What’s Halo?’ Putting confusion to one side, Dom stepped out of the unknown machine and took in his surroundings. Simply put, there was nothing to see. Well there was vast, hilly, desolate and lifeless wasteland, but that didn’t count. There wasn’t even the slightest breeze. The Sun, a definite bright spot behind endless clouds of what seemed to be more than just water vapour, was setting. His breathing the only sound. Behind him the container machine he had exited rattled and then went dormant. It was a scratched metal cylinder with an opening where the glass ‘door’ had been, which was now held perpendicular to the opening. The ground around it was recently disturbed. A drill on top, covered in dirt and dust, helped Dom realise that until a moment ago, he had been underground. A rucksack sat inside, its design familiar to Dom. Upon examination, it contained a torch, advanced books in Physics and Technology and what Dom guessed to be personal belongings of his: a digital watch with a small scratch across the blank screen (claiming a 10 year battery life), a decorative bracelet and a phone (also out of power). Having now taken in his immediate surroundings, Dom decided to get a look at himself. Hiking boots, Jeans, dark red short sleeved button-up shirt over electric blue shirt with long, forest green sleeves. The right sleeve had a tear from elbow to end. Under the torn sleeve, Dom’s arm was bandaged, as well as the back of his hand. He left the bandages well alone, assuming they had good reason for being there. Instead, he tore off the weak fabric sleeve where the original damage ended, and roughly the same length was removed from his left sleeve, stowing the currently useless material in his rucksack. The shortened sleeves barely poked out from underneath the dark red ones. The glass door wasn’t reflective enough to examine Dom’s facial featured, so he finished there. Night time was fast approaching, and the apparent wasteland would be extremely cold without any smudged sunshine, like a desert. Dom wanted to get out of it before said cold arrived, but didn’t know which direction to take. Thankfully, with darkness joining the night, a patch of light, brighter than the Sun had managed earlier, could be seen off to the North-East, assuming the Sun had set in the West. The single human being, not knowing he himself was a beacon of light of sorts, set off at a fast yet steady pace, wanting to find answers, very, very soon. ’20 Questions has nothing on me’, he thought, once again confused as to what he meant. EQUESTRIA Everything carried on as always in the land of Equestria that evening. Celestia was reading a recent letter from Twilight before writing a reply and going to bed. Luna had just lifted the crescent moon into the night sky, and was now admiring her own work. Cadence and Shining Armour were enjoying a honeymoon in an undisclosed location, royalty and family alone knowing where. One family member, Twilight Sparkle, was just tucking Spike into bed before a planned overnight study session for nothing in particular. Rainbow Dash was reading another instalment of Daring Do in bed. Rarity was already sound asleep, dreaming of her designs. Fluttershy was tending to her nocturnal animal friends. Pinkie Pie was cheerfully returning home, odd as it was considering she’d failed to find anypony in need of a party anytime soon. Then again, Pinkie is Pinkie. Applejack had finally finished patrolling the orchard, more for stray fallen apples than actual thieves. This, however, was where the sense of normality came to an end. Most didn’t hear or sense anything. The majority of those who did ignored it or weren’t in a position to react, such as Celestia, who merely twitched in her sleep. Luna sensed a disturbance, in what she could not tell, but the direction from which it came was, to no surprise, Ponyville. She took off, half excited at the concept of being the pony to take charge, rather than her sister. Nopony ever really caused major problems at night. Fluttershy heard a loud boom, similar to that of thunder, but quickly decided to hide with her animals. Rainbow Dash heard it, mentally recorded her page number, and shot off to the source, knowing full well that a clear sky had been planned for tonight. Applejack couldn’t have not heard it, as the sound came from the very orchard she had just bucked clean today. As a matter of fact, whatever had caused the noise had also knocked over a large number of the trees. The radius of damage wasn’t too large, but it was still damage nonetheless. Big Mac rushed out from inside the house, eyes widening upon seeing the wrecked trees. Applejack, thinking on her hooves, turned to Big Mac and asked, “Has Apple Bloom woken up?” “Eeyup,” was the reply. “Try to get ‘er back to bed and don’t let ‘er out of sight. What about Granny?” “Nnnope.” ‘How could she sleep through that?’ she thought. ‘It doesn’t matter.’ “Ah’ll go check it out. No doubt somepony will show up to investigate. If ya think they can help, send ‘em mah way, alright?” “Eeyup.” With that, Applejack galloped back into the orchard. Shortly, she reached the outskirts of the damaged area. Slowing down and prepared for anything to jump out at her, she continued to the centre. Nearer and nearer to the middle, the trees were leant back further and further, until, almost there, uprooted trees rested against those further out. Applejack found herself in an opening with radius of about 5 to 10 metres. There didn’t seem to be any apparent cause of the earlier event. Just then, Rainbow Dash came zooming into view, spotting Applejack and changing her flight path to meet her. Watching the approach, Applejack noticed something in between her and her friend. It looked strangely like a crack in the air. Before she could point it out though, the Pegasus collided with it, head first. The crack didn’t budge while Rainbow flipped over it and hit the ground hard. Applejack ran over to her friend, who sat up where she fell, rubbing her head. “Ugh, what did I hit?” she asked when Applejack reached her. “Ah’m not too sure of that myself,” Applejack replied as she looked at the crack. “Whaddya mean you don’t… know...?” Rainbow Dash had followed Applejack’s line of sight. “What the Hay is that?” Applejack opened her mouth to reply, but a familiar regal voice answered for her. “Something neither my sister nor I have ever seen before.” Princess Luna gently landed beside the two stunned ponies. “I suggest we summon our friend, Miss Twilight Sparkle, to understand this anomaly.” ????? Dominique partly wished he’d woken up (from what he’d gathered was some sort of stasis) earlier in the day, because the cold, although weak at first, was beginning to get under his skin; then again, had he awoken earlier, he may not have seen the glow of artificial light, and gone in the wrong direction. The source of the light had come into view after Dom had made it over a deceitfully large hillock. From on top of this hillock, he could still make out the stasis tube behind him, as well his footprints in the dust. Ahead was a single building. ‘I see that 1 is the magic number today’ thought a frequently confused Dom. He had decided he did not like thinking too much, as he would just keep thinking up strange references without knowledge of their sources. He knew he should probably be trying to remember anything from before stasis, but the risk of ensuing confusion was too high. Dom really did not like being confused… but he didn’t know why. So, this building; from this distance not much could be made out. It was metal, cuboidal, with an antenna. The antenna was the source of all the light, high power light beams directed in all directions except down. By squinting, he could even see slight depressions where he guessed would be windows and possibly a door, with metal shutters covering them. Dom had thrown caution to the wind and continued his approach. It was damn cold. Now, at the point where he was wishing an earlier rising, he put his ETA at about one minute. And sure enough, one minute later he was standing at what took the rough shape of a door. No handle, keypad, or anything he could interact with. It was about this point when the wind came back from the dead, and with a mighty gust, it slammed him against the blocked door. Peeling himself away, he said, “Ow. Someone obviously doesn’t like me.” Dom ignored the green light that had started to scan him as he realised that was the first time he’d heard his own voice. To describe it, I need only direct you to his next thought: ‘That has to be the most stereotypical French accent I have ever heard.’ Of course, he then realised he’d insulted himself. He felt the confusion slowly return for another bout. It stopped when a voice spoke to him from the door. “Welcome, survivor, to the Lille Aftermath Station. Please ensure you are not being followed by undesirables, knock three times and enter quickly.” With a look over his shoulders at the vast nothingness, Dom did as he was told. The metal covering the door zoomed up to reveal a quaint wooden door. He opened it and strolled in, closing the door behind him. The metal shutters could be heard slamming back into place. A quick glance upwards explained the door a bit. Dom was standing on the ground floor of a house with its upper floors hastily removed or destroyed. Someone had then gone and built a metal casing over it to preserve as best they could. Some walls were just rubble now. The walls were peeling and most doors were missing. The stairs were- “Now proceeding to basement level,” the voice suddenly announced. A trapdoor opened beneath the unfortunate human and he dropped into darkness. There was that brain like a book feeling from before, but this time more along the lines of inhuman speed reading, flicking through his pages, analysing eyes barely seeing each page. It stopped as fast as it started. In the darkness, a person abruptly appeared, giving off their own light; Dom figured it was a hologram or something like that. The person was a smiling man looking like he was in his late 20s or 30s. Short and rough pitch black hair, face looking worn from what Dom would call over experience (seen too much for one of his age). His smile, surrounded by stubble, looked truly genuine, as if he was really there and happy to see someone else. His clothes were all dirty in some way, be it mud or blood. Green zipped hoody (or zoody), over a black shirt with an image of a black and white checker tie, faded jeans with gaping holes at the knees, and brown trainers. “Welcome to the Aperture Science Enrichment Centre! Let the tests begin!” Dom just stared, again confused, but thankful it wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t explain why but he felt dread too. “No? Nothing? Ah Phooey… Seriously? I’m sure even the sequel had come out before the shit storm hit. Anyway, all proper and honestly now: Welcome to the end of the world.” A/N: Can’t actually write French accents and I generally don’t hear many so forgive me for making you use your imagination more so than you already are. Constructive Criticism would be nice please.
Nice to meet you, to meet you...EQUESTRIA "I have no idea what it is or how it's doing what it's doing," Twilight Sparkle said with a dissatisfied sigh. "Wait, it's doing something?" Rainbow Dash asked. "What's it doing?" "Well, as I'm told you proved earlier, it's somehow has a very solid physical presence, yet looks more like your hand should pass through it. Also, something seems to be coming through it. What that something is I couldn't tell you." Luna stared silently at the floating crack, it giving off a strange dark light. Nothing like this has happened before, even during the thousand years of her moon imprisonment. "Just what is on the other side of this thing? Twilight, can we use our magic to access the other side?" Luna queried her sister's faithful student. Twilight thought over this for a moment, and then replied, "I suppose my magic could amplify any sound and imagery, but it will leave us open for possibly unwanted visitors. We could be endangering Ponyville, or even all of Equestria." "I will contact my sister and we will come to a decision. With the two of us on our guards, we should be able to handle any problem should the need arise." Luna's horn began to glow, and she closed her eyes. "Isn't Luna gonna send a letter or something?" asked Applejack. "She's using mental communication. It's a surprisingly powerful spell that only the princesses can maintain and receive."Twilight informed her friends. "Sister? Sister, wake up." "Lulu? What is it? Why are communicating this way? Oh, no! Something's wrong! This isn't g-" "Calm down Celly. I may be the only one who can hear you but you should maintain your regal demeanor even so. Anyway, come to Sweet Apple Acres. I shall explain the current situation as you travel." "Of course. I am already out of the palace. Tell me everything." AFTERMATH STATION "Welcome to the end of the world." The strange man paused, "Well, the end of your world. There are plenty of worlds doing just fine at the moment, and some that, thanks to yours truly, will continue to be fine until they themselves choose otherwise." Dom just stared. Without any memories of his world, it didn't really hit him too hard that he'd lost his home. The man continued, "The point I'm trying to make is, this world, this reality, that you stand in right now, is lost. Of course worlds may naturally come to an end anyway, but the wasteland you saw on your way here was the work of outside influence. They never really decided on a name for themselves, so I call them Everto. It's Latin, with many meanings, most of them applying pretty well if I remember rightly. “Anyhooooooooooooooo, I, the great, but evidently not so great this time, defender of realities and bane of the fearsome Everto, have an offer to make. And looking outside, let's be honest Dom- You don't mind me calling you Dom right? -You'd be stupid to refuse. That, or bat-shit bonkers. Oh, and I'm Thunder by the way, or at least a well thought out automated response hologram of Thunder... And Thunder's only my traveller's nickname. Much cooler than my actual name. I'd even go as far to say it's 20% cooler." Silence. "Oh come on!" Dom was getting tired of sitting in the dark. He got up and tried to see his way around this basement. "Not much for patience are we?" Dom turned to glare at the hologram and said, "Thought you were automated?" "Motion sensors." With a raised eyebrow from Dom, it continued to say, "With precision accuracy. What does it matter anyway? It makes no difference for you either way. Real me isn't here. In fact, I'm probably fighting a few of the buggers who gone done the crap out there," he point upwards. "If I turn on the lights enough so you can make it over to the fridge and grab a bevvy, will you let me get with the offer I have here in my memory banks?" "As long as you try to stay on track." "I'll try my best but no promises." The room lit up upon the instant Holo-Thunder finished that last sentence. It was like a snug underground flat with no walls. Bedroom with kingsize bed and bedside table accompanied with analog alarm clock and lamp. A lounge with Epic TV and long semi-circular sofa. The kitchen was like something out of a catalog. There was a door on either side of the room. Dom assumed one led to a bathroom. He walked over to a tall fridge in the kitchen section, opening it to find a multitude of beverages of all kinds. Taking a random lager can, he closed the fridge. He turned to the hologram and waved his free hand, motioning to continue, popping open the can with one hand. "Good to see you settling in. This place is a technological wonder. I figured that since it was too late to save the world, I could freely fuck with your techno timeline and make this. Adapts to each world like a TARDIS to be simple. Won't go deeper than that ‘cause it's not really important. Only when the need arises, which isn't now. "My job is, as I said earlier, is to go around each and every world, or reality, seeing as world is rather vague and can be misunderstood. You may think I mean-" Dom, mid-sip, kicked a cupboard. "Ahem. I protect realities from these Everto creatures that, for some reason I'm still in the process of working out, somehow enter alternate realities to fuck up their existences. Doesn't mean everything turns to dust, that was just how things ended up here specifically. Won't describe them. Past experience dictates that you'll encounter at least one soon after each arrival in a new world. Ah, yes. Onto the actual offer real me has for you. "As proven by the recent events, even though I arrive in each reality around the same point in time when Everto start pressing all the wrong buttons, I can't seem to stop the interference. I don't actually know how this happens but the best solution I can think of is to recruit assistants. Namely, you... and others around the world who showed an aptitude to survival of Everto attack. You weren't the only one cryogenically frozen underground until Thunder could lure the majority of the Everto to the south pole. "So there you have it. Oh, and by taking the job, you're promised minor improvements to your adaptability, including hopefully painless shapeshifting for fitting in where humans are not present, and sometimes when they're the baddies or whatever. Happened before. Whole world of just robots. Felt like a skeleton the whole time. And then there was-" Another cupboard was kicked. "You get the idea there. Also comes with access to fancy shit you can't see right now. "Now, if you don't like this, I've managed to contact a friend in a reality similar to this but secured; don't ask me how, I just did. All those still alive here already exist over there but my mate's prepared for that. If you choose this thrown together, half-assed plan, I suggest keeping in contact with whoever else chickens out. I hear chicken suits are involved for some reason or another... buckaw!" Dom finished his can and looked at Holo-Thunder blankly. 'Did he honestly just say that wanting to continue a relatively normal life was chickening out?' He sighed. So, start life anew without memories of past life, probably avoiding certain locations due to pre-existing self, or fight the twats who caused all this to happen, possibly recover lost memories (just a hunch), and see the Multiverse. "Meh, what the heck, beam me up- God Dammit!" "Good choice bud. Just a sec... now, I analysed your head earlier but chose to not look 'til you agreed. Had I checked earlier, I wouldn't have made all those references. Seems you've got amnesia from the rush job cryo-tube. Whoops, sorry 'bout that. I'll help you with that once we're on our way. You heard me, I'mma gonna join you on your whacky adventures. Can't leave this place though. Oh yeah, and I'm launching us. RIGHT NOW COWBOY!" There was a God awful sound of metal balloons popping. EQUESTRIA There was a Celestia awful sound of metal balloons popping, and the crack began to open rapidly. "Get back my little ponies!" Celestia called out. Celestia had arrived shortly beforehand, Luna having filled her in on the situation. Twilight was literally just about to attempt looking into the crack when the horrible noise had erupted from within. Now all bar the two princesses fled to behind some fallen trees. Doctor Whooves was now among them, having claimed the crack was a space-time anomaly. Nopony knew what he had been talking about. As the crack tore open, a metal cuboid the size of a house began squeezing its way through. As it forced its way in, unidentifiable objects crash into surrounding trees. The metal cuboid came to rest where the crack had been before said crack vanished. Silence returned. Everypony look to one another. Nopony was hurt. Before anypony could talk, the previously unidentifiable objects came to life, unfurling to become bipedal silhouettes. They had claws claws longer than Spike's, and matching teeth that glinted in the moonlight. "This does not bode well," Luna muttered before one of the silhouettes lunged at her. AFTERMATH STATION Dom found himself clinging onto a bedpost, the heavy shaking that followed the launch announcement having finally stopped. Surprisingly nothing had moved except for him and the can he'd dropped in the kitchen. "Right, we have arrived at our destination, which iiiiiiiiiisssssss... wow, this is gonna be an odd one; and hard too. Another welcoming is in order!" Holo-Thunder spread his arms out. "Welcome, Junior Reality Defender Dominique Guillory, to the land of- Drumroll please-" A drumroll started out of nowhere. "EQUESTRIA! Population: unknown, like always. Dominant race: Magical talking ponies. Other major races include: Griffins, Dragons, Zebra, Diamond Dogs and Changelings. Now, sensors indicate-" His eyebrows bounced up a couple of times "-that Everto have literally just begun attacking a group of ponies present at our arrival. Don't worry, I'll help. Just walk over to where you first landed in here." As Dom did as he was told, he was beginning to get nervous. These things brought his whole planet down into ruin. How was he going to help by himself. He looked back to the hologram as he reached the designated spot. "Two things before you do this. Firstly, you'll need a traveller's nickname like your dear mentor. I'll let you choose one after your first success, but for now, hmmm... Dominique, Dominic, Domnic... Omni! You can work with that for now. And secondly, you'll probably survive this round but I advise you to befriend the locals. I know it won't be too hard with this lot." A grin grew wide on the hologram's transparent face. Dom, or Omni as he was to be known in Equiestria, did not like that grin one bit. "Off you go then." The floor under Omni launched him back up the hole he'd come down through, then a metal panel from above smacked him out the presently open door. He flew, arms flailing, straight into one Princess Luna, just before her assailant could tear a chunk out of her neck. A/N: I know this is obviously gonna be a Human into Pony story but the other sort of things I'd think of or come too close to already exist. Such as 'Griffin the Griffin' and 'The Ballad of Echo the Diamond Dog'. Good reads. But yeah, I have a little something planned to get around that unoriginal idea. Well, I think it's original, the thing I have planned. Really need reader input so I know I'm not being wrong all the damn time with character personalities. All done... for now.
A Friend?SWEET APPLE ACRES (OMNI) ‘Did that bastard just throw me out?’ was Omni’s first thought as he lifted himself off the poor dark blue pony. Getting to his feet, he noticed the horn and wings. ‘That’s one odd looking pony’ before ‘Ooooooh crap’ when he saw the crown. The pony’s eyelids slowly raised themselves off of its eyes. Realisation dawned upon its face and the horn on its head began to glow a similar dark blue to the pony’s coat. It was then when gravity decided to let go of Omni. “What the fuck?” Omni said as he waved his arms in a futile attempt to get gravity’s attention. “I don’t know who you are, but you better have a good reason for tackling a princess of Equestria!” demanded the pony who Omni realised was somehow levitating him. She (he figured it was a she by the word ‘princess’) stood up, proving to be almost as tall as Omni. Her mane flowed in the windless air, dark as the night sky, seemingly containing its own stars. Her tail was the same, and on her flank, where it was like someone had splotched on some ink, there was an image of a crescent moon. “So? What are you and what are you doing h-” “Luna! Look out!” From behind him, a silhouetted creature appeared in the corner of Omni’s eye. It was in mid-air, headed for the pony, or Luna if he’d heard right. Before Omni could get a good look at it, a beam of light, again from behind, struck the creature. It vanished in a cloud of wispy black smoke, accompanied with a horrible screech. “I’m glad that worked.” The same voice from behind said with a sigh. Another voice spoke up, “The others don’t seem to be attacking.” Luna glared at Omni, “I’m willing to bet this ‘thing’ has something to do with that. Are they waiting for your orders?” “I… I’m not like them!” Omni paused to consider his next few words. “I think… I think they’re what I’m here to get rid of. Please believe me.” “How do you expect to get rid of them? You have no horn for magic, your claws are blunt and you have hardly a muscle on you. You wouldn’t stand a chance.” “I don’t know that yet, but I’ll figure something out. Could you please put me down?” “No. I shall not.” As if on cue, Omni saw two more creatures come into view. One seemed to be headed towards the ponies behind him, whereas the other went straight for Luna. Luna, already using her magic to hold Omni, did the first thing that came into her head. Omni was thrown at the silhouetted assailant. ‘Shit! What do I do? What do I do?’ A voice shouted from his rucksack, “Punch the blighter!” Without a moment’s hesitation, that’s exactly what he did. Right fist into the face, knocking it to the ground where it burst as the first did. Around the same time another screech announced a third defeated Everto. When Omni hit the ground, he rolled and stopped himself, steadying himself with one foot, the other leg’s knee and a hand. Taking off his rucksack he opened it up to find a familiar face on his phone’s screen. “What did I tell ya? Another one bites to dust,” a maniacally grinning Holo-Thunder boasted. “Before you get confused again: It seems the ever-present magic in the air is a great power source for your phone. Same probs goes for your watch to, as useless as that’s gonna be. Enough of that though. FINISH THEM!” There was another screech, causing Omni to look up. More Everto were attacking the ponies. With phone back in bag, and bag back on shoulders, Omni ran into the fray. (APPLEJACK) ‘What in tarnation’ she thought as she watched the talking biped run towards the remaining monsters. Applejack, while the others either covered their eyes or focused on Celestia (Celestia herself being occupied briefly with her own personal assailant), was the only one to witness it kill a monster with a simple punch. Behaving like predators, she’d assumed the monsters would at least be able to survive a hit like that. ‘Maybe they aren’t so scary after all.’ Just as she thought that, the mysterious ally reached another monster and punched it. Nothing happened and both involved seemed to stare at each other. The first to react was the ally once more, punching with the other fist, the desired effect being the result; another screech. Applejack thought she heard a voice from the biped but his mouth hadn’t moved. It then nodded to nopony in particular and ran at more of the monsters, only swinging the arm he’d just used. By this point, all the attackers were focused on the one-punch fighter. Celestia was slightly out of breath. Everypony was now watching the one-sided fight. To her left, Applejack heard Rainbow Dash whisper, “Awesome.” On her other side, Doctor Whooves was shaking behind a fallen tree, hooves over his eyes. Twilight just looked on in silence, most likely thinking up millions of questions. When Applejack looked back at the scuffle, it was all over, the last screech echoing into the night. The victorious biped had his claws on his knees, and was breathing heavily. Celestia turned to Luna, whose mouth was hanging open. “It seems the thing’s-” ‘thing’ was said mockingly. “-chances were quite high, dear sister.” “B… But… How?” was all Luna could say. The thing in question turned to Luna and shrugged. He opened his mouth to speak, but a loud voice coming from his bag interrupted him. “Woo Yeah! Omni is in the HOUSE! Well, metaphorically speaking. Hey is there any VIPs here? I need to have an ickle private chat with ‘em.” Celestia, showing no signs of surprise, calmly replied, “I believe that would be my sister and me.” “Spot on! Omni my man! Open your bag and hand your phone over to the lovely lady, if you’d be so kind. I assume she’s a lady; can’t see a thing in here.” The being known as Omni followed the disembodied voices instructions, pulling out a strange object that glowed on one side. Celestia levitated it, then she and Luna walked a fair distance away so none could hear them. Luna could be heard raising her voice a couple of times, but not enough to make out what she was saying. During this moment of quiet, Applejack decided to approach Omni. He stared at her as she did this. “Erm… Howdy,” she said, trying to ignore the awkwardness of having to talk to someone much taller than she; almost twice as tall. “Ah’m Applejack, though most call me AJ. Ah think I speak for us all when I say we’re mighty thankful for taking care of them monsters.” “Thankful!?” shouted the familiar voice of Doctor Whooves, obviously over the state of shock he was in earlier. “He’s the reason they were here in the first place, what with their coming out of the same breach in space-time. What is that monstrosity anyway?” He pointed a hoof at the metal cuboid Omni had flown out of. “Beats me. H-T said it was like something called a Tardis.” “And who’s this H-T you speak of? The mastermind to your dastardly plot to mess up reality as we know it?” “He’s a hologram of a man calling himself Thunder. Confusing personality and occasional maltreatment of myself aside, he’s an alright guy- I mean hologram. Claims he’s just a clever automated response program.” “Yeah, about that: I lied,” H-T called over. “I’m actually an AI based on Thunder’s personality and such. I like that name though; H-T. Has a ring to it.” (OMNI) Omni looked over to the princesses who were returning from their private chat with H-T. The AI in question, smiling from Omni’s phone, looked like he was leading the way, the white coated princess levitating the phone in front. Omni was glad for the interruption, as the smaller ponies were showing blank expressions during his explanation, except for the brown one with the hourglass on his flank, who was showing blank, mixed in with anger, with a little bit of fear. “Luna and I have conferred with H-T, and we have learned that Equestria is under threat once more from those creatures you saw earlier. They are known as Everto, and are capable of worse things than the likes anypony has encountered before. Twilight, I would have you gather your friends at the library at dawn, where H-T will explain the situation in greater detail. My sister and I will be there, once I have raised the sun, as will Doctor Whooves and Omni.” The purple pony nodded and turned to the winged pony with the rainbow mane and AJ, “Come on girls.” They galloped off into the trees, AJ pausing briefly to tip her hat to Omni. The brown pony, the one believed to be Doctor Whooves, huffed and trotted after them. Once the disgruntled one disappeared from view, Omni turned to the princesses. For some reason, the fact they were royalty and one even mentioned raising the sun, he wasn’t really that much intimidated. It might have had something to do with the white one’s soft smile. “Now, Omni. H-T says you can change your form to blend in with your surroundings. Could you do that before heading into town?” “I guess so. I don’t really know how.” “It’s easy. Thunder tinkered with the bracelet you had on when he found you. Just slip it on then ‘poof’; Omni the Pony, at your service. Before you do that though, I should probably mention that relying on that right arm of yours ain’t gonna cut it. Lucky for you, your new home has access to a fancy alloy Thunder went and made called Malium. This shit’s more adaptive than the Borg, and non-sentient too, so win-win. The station is made of it, which is why it was still there when you found it. “Only way anyone can do any damage to it is if they… get… in- SHIIIIIIIIT!” Omni guessed the problem and quickly looked to the station to see the door open. Small scratching noises could be heard from within. He made to run and jump in (seeing as the ground floor was now the first floor), but H-T shouted, “STOP!” Omni looked questioningly at the hovering phone, which continued to speak, “It’s too late. They’ve just about breached the floor. Knew he should have put some Malium under the floor.” The same voice he heard when stood at the door on Earth boomed out, “Security Breach! Self-destruct in 10 seconds!” “Aaaawww, really?” moaned the AI. “Welp, I suggest a rapid retreat, and possibly a shield to contain the explosion. Wouldn’t wanna do more damage to this lovely orchard.” “Agreed,” the sisters said, simultaneously. The three of them ran for a few seconds until the princesses stopped, turned and made a bubble of magic around the ticking time bomb with a couple metres space between metal and magic barrier. The building had started counting down from 5. Just after 1, Omni heard H-T talking quickly from the phone, “All necessary files transferred. Now just to back my-” BOOM! The explosion lasted within the bubble for close to a minute. Once the rubble settled and the fires went out from oxygen starvation, the princesses released the barrier. There was now a small crater filled with the remains of Omni’s brief home. The phone let off a small tune; Omni grabbed it out of the air and examined the screen. H-T’s face was gone. An image of an opened letter had a 1 next to it so he tapped it. Up came a message addressed from H-T: Firstly, please imagine this in fancy ‘ye olde’ writing, if you can. You done that? It doesn’t really matter, since I’m sure you won’t get it anyway, but humour me just this once. Dear Dominique ‘Omni’ Guillory, While in your phone, I messed with its memory capacities so there was space to store files on Everto to help with the Library gathering we got planned. I also added files on your old home, in case you wanted to, you know, reminisce (or just remember life as it was). I also messed with the camera and light functions so you can project stuff. Was meant to help with explanations at prior mentioned gatherings, as well as project myself. Sadly, there wasn’t enough time to put a backup me on this phone. Probably should have done it sooner… then again, probably should have closed the friggin’ door. :P I mentioned before that there were more people being offered this job, but they would be greeted by different versions of me, tweaked here and there to make each of us ever so slightly individual. I say this because I want you to know, in the brief time we hung out, that I, the AI named H-T, had a blast (mind the pun)! I regret not being able to assist you any more than I already have, be it in saving this world, the worlds that followed, and/or recovering your memories. Had you chosen the ‘chicken’ option, I’d have stuck with you. My only other regret is not being able to annoy you with what would have been a perfect Navi impersonation, and I can only hope you eventually learn what I mean by that. I wish you luck, Omni of the kick-ass right arm. AI assigned to Lille Aftermath Station, H-T. (LUNA) Luna didn’t think Omni had realised, but he was crying. H-T had briefly gone over the state of Omni’s home world, and how he was made to sleep through it all, said sleep causing amnesia. Celly had followed it up with the knowledge that, in similar situations of memory loss and minimal social contact afterward, most ponies were known to count the first genuinely friendly face as a true friend. They may only do this subconsciously, but even so, it would be as if they had known the friendly pony since foalhood. Watching as Omni finally noticed his own tears, Luna considered H-T’s and Celly’s words. A dear friend, lost so soon after just meeting him. The biped ran towards the rubble, dropping his ‘phone’ on the way. It was distressing to watch, to say the least, as he tried digging through the mess. Her eyes were watering up a little. Then something caught her eye above the wreckage. (H-T) It was weird, looking down on Omni recklessly rummaging around. As a program, he hadn’t seen through the eyes of his hologram. That was just something for people to look at, calm them a bit. A lot less disconcerting when you’ve got a face to talk to rather than a room. Now, he was floating above what was best considered as his body. He looked at the transparent image that he was now; almost identical to his creator, bar a few differences that probably represented the tweaks that made him unique. He guessed at ‘Magic’ being the cause of this anomaly. The two princesses looked at him, and even Celestia showed some surprise. H-T smiled and raised a finger to his lips. They got the message. Returning his attention to his first and only friend, H-T thought to himself: ‘A place where things like friendship and love produce powerful magic, eh? Not bad for a first world. Hopefully get him into the groove of things slowly, unless he has Thunder’s luck in those matters. First though, he needs to pull himself out of the dirt.’ “It’s pointless mate. There are plenty more friends to be made here, plus you’ve got a job. DO EEEEEEEEEET!” Omni frantically turned to find the source of the voice, but H-T had gone. A/N: So, yeah, killed H-T off 'cause the combination of him and Omni would fucking Mary Sue the whole thing, plus every god damn HiE does game/anime culture references. With H-T gone and Omni with no memories, I feel that this differs from the average HiE.
What walks on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and- oh, wait.SWEET APPLE ACRES (OMNI) He was sure he caught a glimpse of something when he looked up. He turned to the princess ponies who stared back, faces pitying. “Did you hear anything just now? Or see anything above me?” They both shook their heads, Luna ever so slightly hesitating beforehand. He didn’t know whether to trust their answer, but either way, Omni knew what he heard was right. H-T was gone and he had a job to do; though he wasn’t so sure about making friends. Associates maybe, but the risks with having friends were evident in the recent turn of events. He overheard Luna’s sister, “Lulu, I must return to the castle to explain our absence to the guard. I shall bring in the day while there. Take Omni to the library soon to avoid the townsfolk.” Omni heard hoof-steps approach him, “Omni, might I advise wearing the bracelet H-T mentioned? Just in case a pony were to see you. And I’m terribly sorry for your loss. Here in Equestria friendship holds much power, and the sudden unexpected loss of a friend hurts that much more because of it.” Omni stepped out of the crater, replying, “An expression I seem to recall from Earth comes to mind: ‘Sod’s Law’.” “And what would that mean?” Luna enquired. “I don’t know, but my brain seems to think it’s appropriate. Probably something like ‘It had to happen’, but not in terms of need… I should hope.” Omni said as he took his rucksack off of his back once more. Getting out the bracelet and giving it a once over, he couldn’t understand how one could make a piece of gold painted jewellery alter another’s form. Then again, he’d got the impression this Thunder was well practised in the art of fucking with physics. Also, for all he knew, technology back home had been or become advanced enough for such feats. The former theory was more likely however. “By the way, Miss Sunshine?” he said, pulling the white princess from her thoughts. “I know your sister’s name, and you both know the one I go by, but I do not know yours.” “Oh, of course, how rude of me. I am Princess Celestia. I must be off now, as day must soon be upon us.” With that, Celestia’s horn glowed and she vanished in a flash of magic. Omni started but recovered quickly, assuming the princess had intended to do that. He looked back at the modified jewellery in his hand. “I don’t know what’s going to happen so give me a little space, ok?” he asked the remaining pony. Luna nodded, stepping a few paces back, watching with fascination and slight concern. Slipping it on, Omni felt comfortable with it wrapped around his left wrist. His last thought before changes began was that he never got to look at his real face or hair. (LUNA) Just as Omni had that last thought, Luna’s was similar. She’d never focused on his actual physical features other than the abnormal amount of clothing. H-T had said these humans were hairless (mostly) monkeys. She tried to take in his face as fast as possible but Omni’s right hand got in the way as he reached for his blonde mane for some reason, and then it was too late. With a flash similar to that which accompanied a teleportation, albeit less… magical looking, there stood in front her was an Earth Pony. His coat was the deepest black imaginable, like it was not only a lack of light, but it absorbed nearby light as well. As such, it didn’t even reflect light like the usual black coats ponies had. The main and tail were mismatched; short tail but long mane. Both were had a wild-ish look to them, and were electric blue with forest green tips, just like his undershirt, which was no longer present. The crimson over shirt was still there, if not a little strained. The hooves were a murky gold, and the right fore hoof and leg were bandaged. Not the buffest of stallions, he was taller than average, coming close to Luna’s height. Strangely, his flank bore no cutie mark. (OMNI) Omni the Stallion stared at his left hoof. He couldn’t believe it. In the blink of an eye, he went from scientifically acceptable biped to magical four legged equine. He felt a bit like rubber, somehow being able to bend his limbs into semicircles in directions that didn’t seem right. His coat reminded him of the Everto he’d dealt with earlier. The fact he was wearing barely anything didn’t bother him much, probably with the knowledge that these ponies didn’t appear uncomfortable being naked around each other. ‘First thing: walking on all fours,’ he thought to himself. ‘Surprisingly easy.’ The rubber-like limbs were most likely the main reason for this. The best way to compare the feeling to walking bipedal would be crawling without lower legs and having feet on your knees. Luna interrupted his line of thought, “How do you feel?” “Not much different. Going to have to get used to being shorter. That and I’ll miss the opposable thumb.” Omni waved a hoof, its flat bottom sadly void of digits. “We can still pick things up with our hooves.” Omni stared at Luna in disbelief. “Don’t ask me how we do it. Celly- I mean Celestia- believes it is an ancient magic. Nopony dares look into it at risk of losing the gift altogether. Best if you don’t think about it; makes it easier.” “I’ll take your word on it.” Omni jogged- no, trotted- over to his rucksack. With a little bit of trouble, he managed to get it onto his back, only to discover it rubbed the shirt awkwardly into his coat and skin underneath. Sighing, he took off the rucksack, followed by the shirt. He stuffed the shirt into the bag and went back to step one. This time, there was no rubbing. ‘Gonna need to do something about that.’ Omni had grown fond of his few belongings, and he wasn’t going to give up on his last bit of clothing that easily. He still had those bits of sleeves too. ‘Later though. Onward into the unknown!’ “Lead the way Princess.” Luna had not heard him, as she seemed entranced by something off in the distance. Omni looked to see what was so fascinating. The sun had begun to peep over the horizon, as dawn broke across Equestria. A beautiful sight to say the least, but Omni felt there were more pressing matters. (LUNA) ‘To think, I wanted to stop this from ever happening again. I was such a stupid little filly.’ “Princess? Princess Luna?” Luna tore herself away from the sunrise. “Yes?” “I’m all ready to go here. Shall we be off?” “We shall. Come closer and I shall teleport us to our destination.” “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to walk; take in the scenery, get used to my surroundings.” “If that is what you wish?” And so, they began to walk side by side away from the rubble of Omni’s former home, and through the orchard. “I was wondering Luna…” “What is it?” “Could you please tell be about your kind? I noticed there were blatant differences between you and the smaller ponies.” “Ah, yes. You see, ponies are split into four subspecies: Earth Ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns and Alicorns. You’re an Earth Pony, which means you have an affinity to plant life and are also naturally stronger than most. Pegasi are winged ponies who can interact with clouds and as such, control the weather. They generally have a knack for speed. Unicorns are horned ponies, said horns being used for channelling magic; that’s their specialty. Unicorns are often more studious. I say all this, but there are many cases for all three kinds of ponies where their special talents are different to the norm. Now, my sister and I are Alicorns. Our kind is quite rare and powerful. We excel in many places, and are royalty in Equestria. “One thing we all have in common is the Cutie Marks on our flanks. They represent our special talents, and appear on their own accord once said talent is discovered.” Omni looked at Luna as if to ask if that was it. There was more, but what remained to be said was more the history of Equestria, and Luna deemed it long and unnecessary for the moment being. “Is there anything else you would like to know?” “I suppose the next thing I’ll need to know about is these Elements of Harmony. Then, if there’s still time, any recent major events in Equestria.” And so Luna went on about the Elements. She explained their brief origin, and described their current bearers as best to her knowledge. She merged the topic of their uses in history with the recent events, feeling slightly embarrassed when telling of her stint as Nightmare Moon. Omni listened attentively, not missing a word, sometimes asking little questions here and there to clarify points, sometimes just commenting. She found it odd, how this pony didn’t react like most others at the mention of her darker self. Luna knew he was not originally from here and how he would not have witnessed, nor heard stories of, her activities during that time. She even saw genuine pity in his eyes upon hearing of her thousand year imprisonment. He had no memories of his past, yet seemed to understand her jealousy, her loneliness. Of course, she knew he’d understand the strangeness of knowing nothing of the world she returned to, to a limit. Omni seemed to just take everything in and analyse it. He made her feel oddly appreciated. She had grown to be accepted once more in Equestria, with the help of Celestia and the Element bearers, but this… this was different. She had not been given a chance to make first impressions for a very long time. “So what has happened to the changelings now?” the neutral pony enquired, Luna having finished talking about her niece’s wedding. “Well, within the past few months since then, many ponies encountered them strewn across the land. Through interrogations with the help of truth detecting magic, we have found that over half the changeling species were wiped out, most not surviving their landings once launched out of Canterlot, the Queen included. Apparently the Queen was using her magic to force the rest of her kind into their hive-mind state. “Now free and independent, they are capable of forming identities of their own without copying us. They quite like our culture and so mimic our Cutie Mark tradition. They leave their flanks bear until discovering their special talent then decide upon a cutie mark. I will admit there is still prejudice against them, but they are slowly earning their place in our society. Would you believe me if I said that some changelings decided upon being simple pets?” “I would,” Omni replied. “I suppose it’s ‘each to their own’ really.” “I suppose so. So nothing has happened since the wedding, other than the changeling integration?” “Surprisingly, and thankfully, no. Not that I have heard of; until you of course.” Omni chuckled. Luna had watched him as they had gone from the orchard to now part of the way through Ponyville, the Library Tree in view in the slight distance. While paying full attention to their conversation, he’d also been looking left to right, taking in the sights. The town was still empty, with sounds of early morning ponies in their houses, getting ready for their day. “This is a quaint little town isn’t it?” he asked. “It is, although this is my first time seeing it so quiet. My visits are usually a bit more… active.” Omni just nodded. The remaining distance was covered in silence, Luna deciding to take advantage and look around like Omni. They reached the Library door, and just before Omni knocked, they heard voices from inside. “I still wish we could hold the party now,” one cheerfully moaned. “We’ll have one later once we’ve had our meeting with the princesses,” said another. “I am sorry to make you wait Pinkie Pie,” said Celestia’s voice. “It’s ok,” replied the first. “I wonder what kind of pony he’ll be,” said a fourth voice. "He may not even be a pony. I think he'll be like a diamond dog, standing on two legs. He deserves as much trust as them too," said a fifth, Luna knowing it was the doctor's. ‘Celly must have told them that he would be disguised,’ she thought. Omni finally decided to knock. “Can we come in?” he asked through the door. The door magically opened. Omni and Luna entered. The door closed behind them. Everyone present stared at Omni, except for Celestia, who smiled at Luna. Luna went and sat next to her sister. Celly whispered to Luna, “Did you have a nice chat on your walk?” “Yes. Even though it was mainly me answering questions, it was nice talking to him. Quite the understanding gentlecolt when he’s not flying into you,” she whispered back. The seven ponies sat around the library continued their group stare. Omni was smiling awkwardly, throwing glances at Luna. His eyes screamed for help. Luna would have cleared her throat loudly, had her sister whispered something else in her ear. “Now don’t go falling for him just yet Lulu.” “What!?” Luna shouted, leaning back from Celestia. All stares turned to her, and it was her turn to smile awkwardly, as well as blush. Her brain sighed and said to her, ‘Well, you got their attention, didn’t you?’ A/N: Updates are gonna be ever-so-slightly slower, as may already be evident. This is because I've passed the whole 'new story buzz' stage and into the more carefully thought out 'don't fuck this up!' stage, writer's block included. That plus a friend and I had an idea involving characters by a group of authors, all set in the same universe. Waiting for confirmation from the main three currently. The first has said yes and suggested the other two be informed before anything goes ahead at all. Of these other two: one hasn't seen my message yet, and the last is being unresponsive. ...Oh, yeah! Hey look! I made up some plot devise for changelings to not be absolutely gut-hated. I've seen loads of 'changeling-phobia extravaganza' fics, many being good reads, and felt they'd had enough of it. Small Edit: A month is too short a time for changelings to be even the slightest bit accepted in Equestria. Heck! It took Luna almost a year or so.
Could you repeat that?PONYVILLE LIBRARY (OMNI) He didn’t think it was intentional, but Luna had successfully grabbed everypony’s attention. He now sat between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, remembering Luna’s descriptions for each. A quick look around the rest of the group showed Twilight Sparkle next to Celestia, and Fluttershy in between Twilight and Dash. On the other side, after Applejack, there sat Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Doctor Whooves. Luna was still blushing, holding a hoof to her mouth. Celestia quietly chuckled, letting the second awkward silence continue. As much as he knew in the back of his mind that royalty was to be respected, Omni had the feeling that he was going to slowly learn to dislike the older sibling. It appeared to be up to him to solve the ongoing lack of sound and activity. He took off his bag and placed it down in front of him. He searched its insides to find the phone. He started pulling it out but suddenly wondered how he was holding it, which led to the phone to sit back in the bag. On the second try there was success, and the phone was now on the floor with the bag pushed further away. There was a brief pause as Omni considered how to operate the thing. He’d probably be able to slide and select apps but typing words was most definitely going to be a no go. He searched through the apps and found the app for voice command. The phone beeped to signify it was listening. In the corner of his eye, Omni could see attention had returned to him; or more precisely his phone. “Oooo, what’s that?” “It’s the device that H-T spoke through.” “Request not recognised,” said the phone. “Was that H-T?” It seemed Celestia had not yet informed them of H-T’s passing. She probably considered it not to be her position to do so. That didn’t matter at this moment though. Omni lifted his head and said, “I need silence to work this, if you don’t mind?” “Okie Dokie Lokie!” said Pinkie. “Request not recognised.” Looking back down at his phone, Omni had no clue where to go from here. He could only hope H-T had left things simple. “Erm… Run… ‘Introductions’?” “Request recognised. Running ‘Introductions?’” The phone said the last word with a recording of himself. A familiar voice came from the modified device, “I’m going to guess that the screen’s facing up. Could you flip it over if it is? Thanks.” Omni had half expected a voice recording so wasn’t so shocked as to cease all movement. The phone was flipped and a projection of H-T stood in the air. It was met with faces of curiosity, excitement, confusion and expectation. (LUNA) The floating see-through man was the same as the one she and her sister had seen on the screen that night only he was black and white. Another difference was that he didn’t look at anyone in particular; he just stared off into nothingness. “Before anyone –sorry, anypony– says anything, I am not actually here. This is a recording, for real this time,” H-T grinned, as did Omni. “The fact you’re running this means I’m… erm, for lack of a better word, dead. This is quite unfortunate for many reasons, but we must press onwards! I will pause and answer questions I predict will be asked, hopefully at appropriate times. Now, let the explanations begin! “First of all, I am H-T, one of a number of varying Artificial Intelligences based on a man who generally goes by the name Thunder.” Upon the mention of his name, a man with identical facial features and height popped into view next to H-T. Thunder was coloured and more importantly, armoured in a stereo-typical medieval design. Rainbow Dash quietly wowed in awe. The image sported a cocky grin and rotated as H-T continued. “This man has travelled a fair bit of the multiverse. To keep things short, the multiverse contains an infinite number of Universes, each having a unique variation from all the others. Of course, Thunder isn’t just a sightseeing tourist; he saves them from destruction.” The image next to H-T changed from Thunder to one of the creatures that were encountered hours before. Fluttershy let out a squeak at the sight of it. “You see, there’s a race of ex-humans that discovered how to travel the multiverse freely. This technology somehow corrupted them and they evolved, or some might say devolved, into what are now the Everto. Naturally capable of going between the Universes, they infiltrate them and mess up the events which separate them from the others. Upon doing so said Universe collapses. Sadly this is not all. “To help with things, I want you to imagine you’re having a simple conversation with somepony. Now imagine you used the word ‘unnecessary’. A thesaurus would tell you that another word for ‘unnecessary’ could be ‘superfluous’. There would in fact be another reality where the only difference was that you used ‘superfluous’ instead of ‘unnecessary’ without any change in reaction by anypony in this alternate reality. Pretty stupid reason for another Universe to exist but they’re out there. All those extremely similar Universes are connected in a way that if one falls, so do the others. “When the Everto have their way, the Universe is still sort of there, only it’s just nothingness. The process is pretty much: all life quickly deteriorates, followed by the evidence of their existence, and then the Universe’s natural decay is sped up. It’s still slow but fast enough for the decay to be noticed in a single lifetime… Thunder watched it all once or twice in his earlier years.” Twilight started asking, “But how could he have”- “Shortly after his first Universal jump Thunder was made ageless. He was certainly older than you two Princesses when he made me.” “I pity him,” Celestia said. Luna nodded. Not only was he long-lived, he had witnessed the death of an entire reality. H-T’s description, as minimal as it was, made her thousand year banishment seemed nothing in comparison. Yes, she still hated the experience and hated watching the world go on without her but at least there was life to watch. “I’ve pretty much covered the foundations now, so on to Omni’s job in Equestria. You should by now have guessed that he is here in place of Thunder. Firstly I need to mention that he needs somewhere to stay as his original intended residence is by now a pile of rubble after going all explody.” “What?!” Applejack exclaimed, worried about her farm and family. “It was contained,” Celly assured her subject. “That aside for the moment, a bigger problem would be that, according to Princess Celestia, the events that I have on record to be the Everto’s targets have already happened, and without a hitch.” “Without a hitch?” balked Rarity. “What I meant to say was without interference not of this world. My conclusion therefore is that this is a ‘Double F’ Category Universe. I’m sorry to say this Omni, but I can’t offer much help other than information on the enemy, and even that is limited to basic info on type templates. That comes under the program name ‘Everto Templates’; simple enough really. I think that about wraps it up.” H-T started counting off the list on his translucent fingers, “We’ve covered Thunder, Everto, Multiverse aaaaaaand the job in hand or hoof… heh, hoof. That leaves this little thought I just had. If you need a more pony-esque name for Omni here, hows about adding the last name ‘Chrome’. ‘Omni Chrome’ sounds cool right? Well, I’m signing out now. Got more recordings to make in the seconds I still have to live. Thank God for my massive processing power. Au revoir!” (OMNI) H-T disappeared. Before silence could settle in again, Twilight spoke up. “Princess Luna, didn’t you say you sensed their coming?” “Yes.” “I also remember detecting the anomaly, although I was asleep at the time,” Celestia added. “Do either of you recall this happening before now?” The princesses shook their heads. “Then how did he know of past events before showing up in Equestria?” “It is possible to see into other worlds, although it requires a lot of magic. Perhaps this Thunder uses his abilities to look ahead and check for the Everto’s presence?” Celestia offered her student. “That sounds reasonable I suppose…” Omni listened to the discussion while making his own theories on the matter. What the princess suggested did make sense but there were other possibilities. He was sure there was something on his phone left behind by H-T that would explain. A hoof on his shoulder distracted his line of thought. “Ah’m sorry t’ hear about ya friend’s passing Omni. And ya home too. If ya’d like, we have a spare room at the farm?” “Thanks AJ. That would be nice. I’m sorry for the damage we caused.” “Don’t worry ‘bout it. It’ll be slow but it’s repairable.” Omni looked once more at the ponies around the room. Rainbow was comforting Fluttershy, who was in shock, muttering something about her animals safety. Twilight was in quiet discussion with her mentor. Luna seemed to be giving concerned looks to Doctor Whooves, who was in turn glaring at Omni. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why, but at least got the impression it was no longer mistrust, but something else entirely. Omni would have carried on studying the ponies but as he turned to see what the last two were doing, Pinkie popped up from below his line of sight. This confused him greatly as he knew she hadn’t been there a second ago. This probably came under what Luna had told him was Pinkie being Pinkie. Even knowing this, it was still going to be a while before he got used to her. “Hi I’m Pinkie Pie! I’d ask your name but I already know you’re Omni. Or is it Omni Chrome now? I think it should be! Where was I? Oh yeah! Since you’re new to Ponyville, I need to throw you a party!” Rarity tried to jump in, “Pinkie I don’t think-” Pinkie turned to Rarity, “I know Rares. Not tonight.” Rarity was taken aback. “Um, yes. This isn’t like you.” “A lot has happened for him, and as much as I think he needs it to cheer up, I Pinkie Promised the Princess to wait for tomorrow.” Rarity looked out the corner of her eye at the window then at Omni. They silently agreed not to remind Pinkie tomorrow had already come. ‘Then again,’ Omni thought, ‘She may have actually meant tomorrow in terms of today rather than yesterday… I don’t think I’ll ask.’ Facing Omni again, Pinkie continued, “The party will be great! Everypony’ll be there and they’ll all get to meet you! Then they can all be your friends!” “What about you?” Omni asked. “Silly Omni! We’re already friends!” “I think I speak for us all when I say everypony in this room is your friend Omni Chrome,” Celestia said, bringing his attention to the room again. Everypony was smiling at him in their own way. Whooves’ looked a little forced, giving Luna a nervous glance, the princess in question seemingly oblivious. “Really? I’ve hardly even spoken to most of you.” “Darling,” said Rarity. “You went into harm’s way to save my friends. For that I consider you a friend too.” “I wouldn’t say you saved me, but you helped, and that’s alright in my book,” said Rainbow. “Everypony’s my friend!” Pinkie exclaimed. Luna looked down at Whooves, who let out an inaudible sigh. “The Elements of Harmony and the Princesses have accepted you so I’d be a fool to not follow suit. Perhaps… we could talk some time… about these Everto… I would like to know more.” He got up and walked over to Omni. A hoof was held out and accepted by the other. Then he left. “What’s bitten him?” asked Dash. Twilight put a hoof to her chin then said, “He talks so much about rifts and alternate realities, but I don’t think he’s ever seen the other worlds. I think he’s jealous of Omni here.” “That appears to be the case,” agreed Celestia. Omni saw Luna’s eyes drooping sleepily, and only just realised his own tiredness. He yawned, which made a few others yawn as well. Celestia chuckled quietly again. “I suppose Luna and I should be off,” she said. “Goodnight my little ponies. Or should I say good morning?” All the girls said good night in unison. “Where will you be staying Omni?” the older princess asked as everypony prepared to leave. AJ replied before Omni, “Ah said he could stay on the farm.” Everypony nodded in agreement and left one by one. Twilight headed up to her room. As Omni and AJ headed for the door Luna called over to them. “Ponies will be up and about in town now. Allow me to teleport you back to the farm.” “Ah’m sure we’ll be fi-” There was magical glow around the pair and then they were outside the farm. SWEET APPLE ACRES “-ne... She did it anyway. No offense to her, but she still needs t’ work on her social skills.” “A thousand years with just your evil counterpart will probably do that to you. I for one find her an interesting conversational partner.” “Oh really?” said AJ, raising an eyebrow at Omni before heading up the steps into her family abode. Omni watched her go inside with a confused look and followed her in. A/N: I've given up on matching chapter names to the story title. It's a nuisance and limiting. Any suggestions for replacement names for earlier chapters would be appreciated.
