The Multiverse in a Nutshell

"YOU DID WHAT?"

Sunset didn't feel an inch of remorse when Rainbow flinched back from her raised voice.

"It's the only-" Rainbow started to try and explain herself again, only to be cut off by Sunset moments later.

"I can't BELIEVE YOU!" she cried, throwing her hands in the air.

UB and Salem seemed to have mutually agreed to take a backseat in the coversation and stepped back to both lean against the now-inactive forge, where Isis was trying her best to repair the fried circuitry as the two of them spoke in hushed tones.

"Sunset, the dragons are the only ones who have the power to completely kick Baalchion out of here!" Rainbow gestured to UB, then to Sunset. "Look at you guys! Even just a TASTE of what's coming to this world was enough to almost kill you!"

"But it didn't!" Sunset fired back. "If the enemy is bigger and badder than what we've faced before, we can still beat it the same way we always have: together!"

"BUT WE'RE NOT TOGETHER!" Rainbow shouted. "Look around, Sunset! The rest of our friends are gone! Even YOU'RE relying on your new friends more than anyone else!" She gestured towards Salem and UB. "How am I supposed to just take their word that they can beat Baalchion over the Chiracians'? I've SEEN the dragons turn whole armies of these bad guys into ashes! AND I know I can trust them, they've been taking care of me for half a year, just like Penn's been taking care of YOU!"

"For what it's worth," UB called, "In her position, I'd have done the same thing!"

"And what's THAT about?" Rainbow pointed an accusatory finger towards UB, "Suddenly Penn has some kind of superpowered alter-ego?"

"I prefer 'silent partner!'"

"Okay, I don't have much of an explanation for her, but that's because she's a mystery to me, too!" Sunset tried not to let the momentary backpedaling redirect the conversation. "But you sabotaged our efforts to help save the world! Even if we wanted to do it a different way, how could you risk the whole WORLD like that?"

"It's not a risk!" Aurelia chimed in from her place on Rainbow's shoulder. "If our plan is certain to save the world and yours might fail, then eliminating your option DECREASES the risk!" The little dragon leaned as far forwards as she could without falling off of RD. "Besides, you think we wouldn't recognize dragonslaying weapons when we see them?"

"WHAT?" Sunset felt her rage threatening to boil over. "These are for stopping the MONSTERS!"

"And it just HAPPENS that it's also almost COMPLETELY corrosion-proof?" Auri snapped back. "That could kill a dragon just as much as it could a knightcrawler!"

"Bu- We wouldn't-" Out of reflex, Sunset glanced back at Penn for clarification, only to receive the harsh reminder that Penn wasn't present in the form of a nonchalant shrug from UB.

"The baby dragon's got a point. Netherite's ancient AND durable, double-edged, metaphorically speaking."

"Has anybody ever told you that you're REALLY unhelpful?" Sunset muttered. Unfortunately, UB's smirk made it clear that she'd heard Sunset's remark anyway.

"You must have rubbed off on me, I'd better shower after this."

"GRRRRAAAAAAH!" Sunset threw her hands into the air. "Rainbow Dash just stabbed us in the back, how are you not more MAD about this?"

I did NOT! I just know more about this than you, for once!"

To Sunset's chagrin, UB seemed to take the question as an invitation to join the conversation in earnest. With a quick nod of acknowledgement to Salem, she stepped away from the forge and over to the two Rainbooms. She gave Rainbow and Aurelia a long, hard stare before reaching out her hand.

"Oh, I'm mad, but I'm also flattered." As a very confused Rainbow Dash took her hand and gave it a shake, UB leaned in with a grin. "First of all, you don't know jack about the Chiracians and Baalchionics compared to us. Don't ever, EVER make the mistake of thinking you know better than us. Secondly, if he's playing THIS ruthlessly, Chirac must consider us a real threat to his plans to take Remnant. If a God of Light wants to pull out all the stops and play dirty, then that's a real testament to the fact that Penn's plan is going to work."

In a quick snapping motion of her wrist, however, UB adjusted and tightened her grip on Rainbow's hand to pull her in close, just close enough for their foreheads to almost touch. Even watching from the side, Sunset could see the glow of one blue eye and one red on Rainbow's pale white skin. "However, I didn't bail the two of you out of an improvised military tribunal and summary execution for the fun of it! I did it because I know that it's what Penn would have done." She clicked her tongue derisively. "But if the two of you show me your tails again, I won't hesitate to bite them off. Savvy, kids?"

For perhaps the first time, Rainbow and Aurelia both looked frightened, not that Sunset blamed them. UB seemed to be absolutely radiating malice, the same red-hot malice Sunset had felt every time she'd tried to touch her black-sleeved cards.

With a loud gulp, Rainbow and Auri both nodded their heads. Seemingly satisfied with their terror, UB simply returned to her carefree smile.

"Good! Glad I could get the message across!" With that said, UB turned towards the workshop doors and strode away. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go binge on the rest of Penn's leftovers! Food's always just BETTER when you're possessing somebody! See you later! Same bat time, same bat channel!"

And with that, she let the door quietly click shut. As she vanished from sight, Sunset caught a glimpse of Salem snickering to herself before shaking her head and moving in the same direction.

"Never a dull moment with that fellow. I'll be taking my leave, as well! You children can work out your internal affairs on your own, and I've no interest in computer repair."

"Wait!" Aurelia shouted, causing Salem to pause. "That- thing, said Penn's plan IS going to work, in the present tense... what did it mean?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Salem smirked. "It means that you've yet to kill him, so it's inevitable that he'll devise some method to win." With those words, she slipped through the same exit. "If I were you, I'd certainly take her word for it! Watch your tails!"

Now left alone with the two of them (except for Isis working silently at the forge), Sunset turned her glare back on Rainbow and Auri. "Seriously. the Rainbow Dash I knew never would have stooped to cheating like this."

"CHEATING?" Rainbow gasped. Sunset knew that, for a lifetime athlete like RD, the word carried a lot more weight.

"What else would you call sabotaging the other team's equipment?" Sunset folded her arms.

"Strategy!" Rainbow countered. "And this ISN'T a game, Sunset!"

"No, it isn't!" Sunset snapped back. "So why are we working AGAINST each other when the stakes are so high? We're FRIENDS, aren't we?"

"Yeah, but, how are we supposed to work together when you won't BELIEVE me?" Rainbow cast her glance to the side. "Seriously, it's like you trust that Penn guy more than you trust me!"

Maybe it was the stress of the long day, the pain of her injuries, or her wounded pride that formed her next scathing comment, but whatever the reason, the words pushed past her lips before she had a chance to remove any of the bitter venom from her tone.

"Well, if you'd go behind my back and do something like this, maybe I don't know you as well as I thought!" She gestured up to the little golden lizard on RD's shoulder. "Besides, I could say the same thing about YOU trusting Aurelia more than you trust ME! Is six measly months all it takes for you to give up on the Rainbooms and throw your lot in with a bunch of overgrown, holier-than-thou LIZARDS?"

When Rainbow's jaw fell slack and tears brimmed in her eyes, Sunset knew she'd gone too far, but in the moment she was too fired up to care.

"I- I never gave up on the Rainbooms..."

"Then WHERE WERE YOU?" Sunset stepped forward, forcing Dash to step back. "Because with YOUR SPEED, you could have covered ten- no- a hundred times the ground I have! But you DIDN'T! You just got comfortable and waited for the rest of us to come to you because you LIKED your new home! Liked it too much to leave!" Sunset could feel tears running down her cheeks, but she wasn't finished. "And now you'd rather turn around and make things harder on me so that you can have the satisfaction of doing things YOUR WAY! Because things have been going your way since you disappeared! Well, congratulations, I hope you're HAPPY!" Sunset took a long, shuddering breath. "I hope you're happy with your choice to follow orders, even if it means betraying your friends and taking away people's decisions." She felt deflated, now, completely hollowed out now that all of her angry words had flown out her mouth. "Suddenly, I see why Penn hates the military so much... The Rainbow Dash that I was friends with would never have sacrificed her integrity just because somebody TOLD HER to."

Rainbow looked absolutely gutted by Sunset's remarks, tears brimming in her eyes and unable to meet her gaze. Even Aurelia seemed to be at a loss for a comeback, sitting quietly and pondering. Still, the little dragon was the first to break the painful silence.

"How do you KNOW your friend is right?" For once, she didn't ask it in an accusatory way, without the self-assuredness of someone who already knew the answer she wanted for her question. "I mean, where did he LEARN all of this? From a TV show? From a book? How can you be sure that his information is right, or if he even has the whole picture?" Aurelia shuffled uncomfortably on Rainbow's shoulder. "He DOES know a lot, I'll admit it. That spirit possessing him even used a Chiracian saying to threaten us before she left! But how can you be so sure that he's right and we're wrong?"

"Because- because he always is!"

"Nobody's right one hundred percent of the time except gods." Aurelia countered. "And even in your own story, he was still wrong sometimes! About the White Fang's plans, about his ability to defeat Frisk, even about how to stop Salem permanently! What makes you so sure that he's infallible now?"

To everyone's surprise, it was Isis's voice that answered.

"Because, since their very first battle, every risk that Penn has taken put the consequences on his own head."

Sunset's eyes widened as she realized what Isis was saying.

"She's right. If Penn ever needed to take a gamble on a hunch... he never risked anyone else's safety on it. It was always him who paid the price if it went wrong." Sunset turned back and looked Aurelia in the eye as certainty asserted itself. "Every time that it's been somebody else's life on the line, he's always either been absolutely certain or absolutely relentless, and he's ALWAYS pulled through!" Sunset nodded to herself, feeling the stirring of her magic deep in her gut. "I know better than anybody what it feels like to feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, like everything and everyone is counting on YOU to keep them safe." She reached out, putting her hand on Rainbow's unoccupied shoulder. "And I know YOU do, too, Rainbow. We're both intimately familiar with the sensation. So believe me when I say this: that sensation? It galvanizes Penn, and once he's under that pressure there's no way to stop him. UB knows it, 'Sally' knows it, and I know it, from the bottom of my heart." With her rage and pain all spent and replaced with that assurance, Sunset felt the familiar rush of warmth that came from her magical transformation as she once again ponied up.

Rainbow stared at her, eyes wide and tear-filled as she seemed to struggle with herself. Finally, she seemed for find her voice again, albeit choked-up and faltering.

"I think... after you all disappeared, I was scared. When I realized that I might DIE out there, alone, and not even know why or how... I didn't know what to do. And then when I finally made it to Radian, I couldn't help but wonder... if I could have stopped it." She reached up to her shoulder, taking a hold of Sunset's hand and giving it a squeeze. "If I'd seen what was happening sooner, if I'd been faster to react or strong enough to break free, could I have stopped the Elements from blowing up the portal?" Rainbow shook her head. "Auri helped me realize that there's no use in worrying about the past. We can't go back and fix things, just try to make sure that we're ready for the future."

Aurelia nodded, leaning in to nuzzle Rainbow Dash's cheek before she continued.

"Chirac promised me he could help. And every time, he was telling me the truth. He said that he'd look for the rest of you, try to make sure you were safe while I learned how to be stronger and faster from the other dragons." She let go of her grip on Sunset's hand for a moment, letting a crackle of blue electricity run along her fingertips. "So I threw myself at that, harder than I ever trained for anything in my life! And every promise they made me came true. I'm faster, stronger, and more ready than I've ever been! The next step was supposed to be for me to start using that strength to help other people, to fight back against evil!"

For the first time, when Rainbow looked into Sunset's eyes, Sunset didn't see an ounce of difference between the Rainbow Dash of the present and the Dash she knew before she'd left.

"But then you show up with your new friend and start telling me that I'm wrong about everything, that the people who helped me ARE the bad guys and have to be stopped? How am I SUPPOSED to take that?" Rainbow shook her head. "You're my friend, and you always will be, but I REALLY don't think you know what you're talking about." She took a long, deep breath. "But I DO trust you, and you're so sure, as sure as I've ever seen you! But- but I-" She turned away from Sunset, reaching up and pulling Aurelia off of her shoulder. She stared the little dragon in the eyes for a few seconds before beginning to stroke her head. "I know what I know, but I WANT to trust you, too! I... don't know what to do."

Sunset had never seen Rainbow this unsure of herself. The time, the distance, the weight of it all hung over her like a heavy blanket draped on her shoulders.

"I don't- I can't-" Rainbow seemed to be going back and forth with herself, clearly unable to make up her mind what to do. Sunset's heart hurt at the sight of her once-unflappable friend struggling like this. She stepped up to Rainbow from behind, giving her shoulder a tight squeeze.

"Then don't."

"What?"

"If you don't know what to do, just... wait." Sunset spoke in her softest tone, practically whispering.

"We can't wait. Every second we're not taking action is-"

"Do you remember what the general said?" Sunset interrupted. "A decision needs to be made before either of us can do anything. No matter which plan we go with, we HAVE to wait." Sunset smirked. "A while ago, a friend of mine told me that if you can't do anything about a situation, it doesn't accomplish anything to worry about it. Even if the world seems to be ending."

Silence fell again, this time heavy with the tension of whether or not Rainbow Dash would take her words to heart.

"...fine. I'll wait... but wait for what?"

"For when you know what to do. You know what's right, Dash, but it's all jumbled up in your brain. You have to slow down." Sunset smirked. "Same old Dash, acting first and thinking second."

That finally managed to get a chuckle out of Rainbow. In a flash and a crackle of electricity, Sunset found herself wrapped in a tight hug from her friend, accompanied by a growing damp spot on her shoulder.

"Same old Sunset, always grounding the rest of us when things get crazy."

The two of them stayed like that for a while, Sunset wasn't sure for how long.

As the two Rainbooms embraced one another, Aurelia floated her way over to the console of the forge. Dash had managed to critically damage it with a bolt of lightning in her struggle with the general, and now that mechanical mimic of a Chiracian scout was rummaging around inside of it.

She cleared her throat and readied herself to try and break the ice with the thing. It was a machine, but it seemed as able to think and talk as any of her fellows. "Well, since it looks like we're not going to be enemies for now, how's it going in there?"

"Poorly. The silicon circuitboards have been completely compromised."

Aurelia clicked her tongue. "And you can't fix it?"

"Negative. Consider it akin to trying to un-burn a piece of wood after a fire."

"Ah. Not going to happen..."

"Barring counterentropic intervention, yes."

Aurelia bristled slightly. "You're not suggesting we try going to our enemies to try and get THEM to fix it?"

"Negative. It is simply a possible solution. I presented it in anticipation that another individual may know an alternate path to pursue such an avenue of repair."

"Crowdsourcing ideas for a detour... not bad." Auri mused. "Sounds like how things work in the mass current through Radian. All the scouts in the flow share their knowledge and ideas so we can figure out solutions to our problems faster."

"As it stands, repairs will have to wait for a delivery of parts. I am sending them via emergency express, but given this dimension's location in the greater multiversal scale and the inclement weather, it may take several hours."

"Only hours?" Aurelia couldn't help but feel a little bitter that she and Dash had fought so hard only to stop their plans for a few hours.

"By which point the netherite will have cooled completely, both the original pieces and the harvested portion, which was being kept liquid in the same chamber. The required energy to restore malleability of such a large solid mass will require the forge to run at one hundred and twenty percent the rated heat capacity for an additional two days."

"Two DAYS?" Aurelia tried not to laugh. "Just to melt some metal?"

"You have never encountered an alloy like this one, no Chiracian has."

As the initial feeling of triumph faded, Aurelia felt a small trickle of dread. "Wait, so if the humans here choose YOUR plan, it'll take an extra TWO DAYS?"

"Affirmative."

"What if we don't HAVE two days?"

"Uncertain. There is the possibility that there are unaccounted for variables that could speed up the process."

"Like what?"

"Were I aware of the potential workings of 'magic,' I would already have factored them into my predictions."

Aurelia sighed, looking back at Rainbow and Sunset as the two of them finally seemed to have made their amends.

"Can't predict those two, huh? ...fair enough."

"Well, you once again prove to be a different beast than your partner."

UB didn't so much as flinch as Salem came up behind her, eventually walking abreast with her.

"That's the idea, yes." She raised an eyebrow. "I have to confess, you were probably the last person I expected to comer riding to our rescue back there."

"You of all creatures ought to expect me to keep to our alliance." Salem smirked and leaned a little closer. "Your judgement isn't clouded by fear like his."

UB returned with a smirk of her own, reaching over and pushing Salem back with her fingertips. "True, but that doesn't mean I have high expectations. As we've seen today, loyalty doesn't mean much as stakes grow higher."

Without warning, Salem's hand shot up and snatched UB's in a violent motion. In the same instant, a wave of invisible force crashed into her, pushing the two of them away from one another and up against the walls of the hallway. Salem was unfazed by the magical reciprocation, but UB was clearly shaken. One hand came up over Penn's heart, clutching at his chest. Her breathing was shallow and rapid, and the light in her eyes was flickering in and out.

"Wha- what-"

"The soul may be changed, but the body remembers." Salem's tone was one of quiet disappointment. "He still fears me. It almost cost him his life in our battle, as I'm sure you remember."

As the mystical pressure relented, the two both stepped forward until they were face to face again. UB was glowering with a hateful scowl, but Salem was unfazed by her silent tantrum.

"We need to make the body forget his fear."

"Easier said than done." She tilted her head and parted her lips in a snarl, exposing sharpened canines. "Alternative: I'll keep him safe, and you'll stay the hell away from us, you rotten old witch."

"Because that would have worked out so well a short hour ago." Salem reached up, running her finger behind Penn's ear. She held the offending digit up to UB's face, showing the streak of oily blackness across her finger. "That body was only barely clinging to life with a death grip of drugs and determination before you took it over, and I know for a fact that spirit channeling like this is terribly strenuous. You won't be able to keep this up much longer, perhaps a few hours at most. You won't be able to protect him in the coming battle."

The two of them stared one another in the eyes, two gazes full of hate trying to overpower one another in a silent struggle... but UB was the first one to let her gaze flicker. She finally lifted her palm up to her forehead and turned away with a pained groan.

"See, THIS is why I can actually hold a conversation with you, even if I hate your guts! You actually show me enough respect to take me seriously and deal with me straight."

"Like Chirac's little prospective do-gooder back there?" Salem smirked. "I suppose I can see why you have such distaste for Sunset Shimmer. She lacks the grit to finish matters decisively."

"Exactly!" UB threw her hands into the air. "And every time she hesitates or tries to solve things the soft way, guess who pays the price? Everybody else! But no matter how many times he gets hurt on the adventures she ropes him into, Penn makes excuses for her, and it's back to the cycle!" She took a deep breath before letting Penn's head hang back. With a loud popping sound, it leaned back far enough to look her in the eye from behind.

"But I digress, and like you said, Penn's body can't keep this up forever."

"Indeed." Salem strode back up alongside her, taking gentle hold of Penn's head as she passed and pushing it back up to its proper position. As she released her gentle grip, there was a crackle and popping of light between their skin, a manifestation of some moment of magical power. "And so, I want to ask you for repayment."

"Repayment?"

Salem pressed her finger to UB's lips before she could begin another tirade. "Before you raise your hackles like some attack dog, I will remind you that I just saved Penn's life, and yours by extension. I captured and tortured your partner, and he not only banished me to a nightmare realm, but killed me in an excruciating manner, nearly for good." Her eyes narrowed, countering UB's multicolored stare with her own glowing red irises. "We were even, and now I saved the two of you from near-certain death. Tit for tat, I'm claiming repayment."

UB growled, staring at Salem with a look that could have ignited tinder, but her silence indicated her willingness to relent.

"You've felt firsthand how Penn's fear is crippling him, even to the point of endangering his life and, by extension, the mission. Breaking such a physiological response may require... drastic action." Salem moved her finger from UB's lips down to Penn's chin before moving closer, close enough to feel the heat of each other's breath on their cheeks. "I want your promise that you won't intervene between your partner and I again."

UB's eyes widened, and Salem couldn't help but seem to show a thrill of glee at the tiny glimpse of fear in the supposedly-invincible spirit's eyes.

"I won't hurt him, I promise." Salem snickered to herself.

"What, exactly, are you planning on doing?"

"Oh, nothing so terrible." Salem laughed. As she stepped back and away again, another crackle of magic trailed between the point where their skin had touched. "But you know as well as I do that he needs that speedy little mind of his clear. Between the fear of what we're confronting and the anxiety around me, he's been paralyzed, locking himself away in that kitchen from dawn to dusk to try and mitigate the symptoms rather than addressing the root physiological instinct. I thought you respected a ruthless approach?"

"And you think you can just rewrite his instincts to stop being afraid of you?" UB was glowering, now, but hadn't made any move to attack or retaliate in any way to Salem's contact.

"After so many eons, there is one lesson that I have learned over and over, never changing one iota, not even between two different iterations of humanity, be they magicians or huntsmen... The hearts of men are easily changed." Salem turned back, holding out her hand to UB. "Do we have an accord? For the greater good?"

UB pondered the hand for a few seconds, obviously at odds with herself before reaching out and taking it. As magic crackled between their touch, her own violet flames spring to life, adding her own magic into the interchange.

"For the duration of our truce. No longer."

Salem's smile was enough to send chills down UB's spine, as if she hadn't already known that this agreement was a bad idea, but Salem's argument had left her honorbound to her request.

"An accord of respectful ruthlessness, then. A pleasure, UB."

With the deal struck, UB's attention turned upwards, towards the now-quiet dorm rooms. "If you'll excuse me, I have something else I need to do while I have time."

"We both do. You're excused."

"It's a figure of speech, I wasn't actually asking- never mind. I've let you get under my skin enough for one day."

Blake wasn't sure what was worse: waking up from her fantasy after so long, sudden;y brought back to the reality that she'd been granted an escape from... or the summary of what she'd committed while under the spiders' spell, betraying not only her friends, her bonds, but her entire WORLD and everything she knew and loved.

The rest of her team had already been asleep when she'd woken up, but Isis had told her everything she needed to know. She'd singlehandedly almost been responsible for the forces of darkness stealing away their best chance of winning this war.

All because she'd been too caught up in the fantasy of fixing the past to seize back control in the present... and the only thing in her heart other than shame for her actions was longing... longing to go back to the paradise of equality she'd dreamt of making. A longing so strong, that she worried she wouldn't be able to resist its call forever.

So, under the cover of night, she'd gathered her most important possessions, wrapped herself in the heaviest winter clothes she could find, and slipped open the door to their dorm room.

If she was at risk of caving in to her regrets and the temptation to undo them again, then she wouldn't let herself risk it. Her friends wouldn't be hurt because of her weakness again.

As she pondered how best to make her exit, however, a low voice- no, two voices- came winding down the hall.

"Blaaaaaaaake..."

Her head snapped around to lock on the source. Even with the night vision that all faunus had, however, she couldn't seem to make out the source. It was like the shadows at the end of the hallway had all collected around whoever was calling out to her. One hand instinctively went to Gambol Shroud, even if she couldn't make out the ones calling to her.

"Oh,Blaaaaaaaaake..."

There. A speck of light amidst the darkness, a red glow. Blake's inside's all turned to ice as she realized that it was a single, furious EYE staring at her.

What happened next happened in only a fraction of a second. Blake tried to draw her blade, but before even a fraction of Gambol Shroud had made it out of the sheath, a figure was already practically on top of her. She tried to slash at them, but an unrelenting hand wrapped around it, leaving the screeching sound of metal scraping against metal. That red eye was only inches from her face, completely illuminating what SHOULD have been Penn's face, warped and twisted almost beyond recognition with absolute glee.

"Leaving so SOON?" The once-low feminine voice overlapping with Penn's was now high enough to grate at Blake's sensitive ears. Penn's other hand came up and grabbed her by the jaw, forcing her to look him in the eye. "Come on, we still have to play a little GAME!"

As the shadows that had once cloaked Penn at the end of the hallway closed in on the two of them, making the rest of the world fade, Blake felt a dawning, overwhelming sense that she'd unwittingly stepped into the lair of a ruthless hunter.