Spare Parts

by Troubleshooter

Rating: everyone
Tags: Anthology, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 12988

A home for stories that can't stand on their own, but shouldn't die unseen.

A home for stories that can't stand on their own, but shouldn't die unseen.

Published 2018-09-17 14:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2023-11-10 21:28:35 UTC

Nothing Happened

Author's Note

Made for the Break Away collab

Created with the support of the Power Press: [url=https://www.fimfiction.net/user/130762/Berry+Delight]Berry Delight and [url=https://www.fimfiction.net/user/228116/Dinode]Dinode.

Nothing Happened

“Are you sure about this?”

Rainbow Dash lashed her tail irritably. “Ditzy, we’ve had this conversation twice. I’m even surer now than I was when we started.”

Ditzy glanced down, and Rainbow bit her lip. “Look, I promise I’ll be as careful as I can be.” She paused. “Which isn’t super careful, because I’m letting an evil… whatever in my brain, but still! Pretty much careful.”

Ditzy used her Motherly Gaze™ on the other mare, which Rainbow managed to ignore through sheer practice. Spending most of her time around Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy had allowed her to build up a limited immunity to maternal disapproval.

“Look,” she said, “I’m sorry I’m disappointing you, but what do you want me to do? Everypony I know is going through this, and what kind of a friend would I be if I didn’t help?”

Ditzy reluctantly nodded. “I guess you’re right, but still… I just don’t want you to breeze in like you usually do, thinking that you’re going to fix everything in a second. It’s harder than you think it is.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Aw, give me a break! At least once a year, sometimes twice, I fight monsters that can end the world! This isn't any different!”

“Of course it is!” Ditzy snapped. “Dash… look, I know it won’t do any good, but will you promise me to take this seriously?”

Rainbow sighed. “Ditz, I promise.”

Rainbow Dash breezed into the room with the casual gait of somepony who was very committed to everypony noticing her casual gait. “Alright, guys; who's ready to get this done?”

The guards stared impassively at her. Rainbow flicked her ears and ignored them. “Whatever,” she grumbled. She strutted up to the podium and put a hoof on the Amulet. “How long is this gonna take?”

“No idea,” the one on the left replied. “It depends on the pony. For somepony as brave as you, it could be awhile before anything happens.”

Rainbow frowned. Was that sarcasm? “Well, it’d better have something big planned. I’m not gonna betray my friends.”

“Sometimes the biggest challenges aren’t the most dangerous.”

“Whatever.” Rainbow picked the Amulet up and poked it carefully. “Is it broken already? What’s taking it so long?”

The guard didn’t respond. Just as well, he wasn’t very helpful anyway. Rainbow held the Amulet in front of her face and peered into the jewel in the center. Maybe it’s gonna try and hypnotize me?

Nothing happened. Rainbow frowned. “Think it just gave up?” she asked. When the guard didn’t respond, she turned around to complain some more, but they had both left. Whatever, she said to herself, not like I needed them anyway.

Rainbow lifted the Amulet and whacked it against the podium a few times. Is it broken? Did it die already? Rainbow sat down and waited for something to happen. The room felt a lot more cramped than it had a moment ago. She tried to stretch her wings, but the tips of her feathers brushed against the walls. She stretched her legs, and unkinked her neck, and felt her head brush the ceiling.

After a while, Rainbow started to feel twitchy. “C’mon, what are you waiting for? Show me a giant monster, or zomponies, or that weird plant thing from that one musical that nopony else is afraid of! Do something!”

Nothing happened. Nuts to this. “Hey Twi,” she called, “I think there’s something wrong with the thing! Can you let me out?”

Silence greeted her. Slowly, Rainbow stood up and began looking around for the door. “Hello?” she shouted. “Is anypony there?”

Nothing happened. Rainbow frowned. “Hold on, is this my nightmare? You’re boring me into submission? What kind of a lame fear is that?”

Unable to find the door, she turned back to face the Amulet. Stuck to it was a small note that hadn’t been there before. It only held one short sentence.

You are alone.

Rainbow paced back and forth in the small room. It had been days. Her muscles tingled, her eyes drooped. She had laid down countless times, hoping to fall asleep, but sleep never took her. Her stomach rumbled and groaned and gurgled like it was trying to eat itself and failing. Each time she took a breath, the smell of dust and sweat mixing together made her want to gag. Every time she moved, she bumped into a wall.

It should be an easy test. She just had to do nothing; a task she had spent her entire life practicing. It was just all these little things, the muscle cramps, the hunger, that made her feel like she was going mad.

Rainbow tried to stretch her neck, and the top of her head bumped the ceiling. She ground her teeth together. “What are you waiting for?!” she snapped. “For me to let my guard down? Is this just a set-up for something? Are the walls gonna turn into spikes, or start to crush me or something?”

There was no reply— the seamless walls simply reverberated her words back at her. A mocking echo of her own voice rang in her ears.

“Well, it’s not gonna work,” she said. “My friends will figure out a way to save me. I’m gonna get out of here, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!”

She tried to turn around, but couldn’t work around the podium in the middle of the room. Growling, she tried to shove it over, but it refused to budge. Rainbow sank back against the wall and let herself briefly rest. What am I supposed to do?

Something that felt like paper crackled behind her back. Grimacing, Rainbow moved forwards and awkwardly stretched her wings around to try and grasp it. After several tries, she managed to shift the sheet in front of her. Squinting, she pieced together the awkward hoof-writing.

You’re right, of course. Your friends will free you. What you should be scared of is how long it could take.

Rainbow frowned. “ ...What do you mean?”

The words remained still, but Rainbow could hear an odd scratching sound from somewhere behind her. Awkwardly, she twisted around and saw the second note.

I’m referring to your friends. I can’t stop them from freeing you, it’s just that it’s irrelevant.

“Well, great. That clears up just about everything,” Rainbow said crossly. “Why is that irrelevant? What are you gonna do to me?”

She felt a piece of paper gently fall on her muzzle from somewhere above. She tried to snatch it but hit the wall with her knee. She flinched, biting down a grunt of pain as she tried to maneuver the note around to where she could read it.

Do you know how long you’ve been here already?

“A few days,” she replied cautiously, “give or take.” She suddenly felt uneasy. Why is it take so long for anypony to notice me? She looked around for the next note, but saw nothing. Rainbow worked her way around the podium to search for the next note. It was harder than she would have expected, given the small size of the room. It didn’t appear for several minutes, and she had trouble shifting her body to fit inside the awkwardly confined space. Rainbow eventually found the next note crumpled up in a corner, and flattened it out eagerly.

You’ve been here for less than one minute.

Rainbow blinked. She rubbed her eyes and tried to read it again, but it still said the same thing. “What? But… That’s…” There’s no way. It’s gotta be lying to me, to freak me out. What else could—

Another note fell on her face, and she managed to snatch it out of the air. Several other pieces of paper fell near her, but they all said the same thing.

I’m doing this the same way I create normal illusions, just applied in a different way. I’m in control of your perceptions, from your ability to tell time to physical sensations.

As she read the note, Rainbow felt a chill pass through her, and she shivered. No way. It had to be longer than that. It’s just messing with my head.

A torrent of notes began to fall. Her ears flicked with a troubled annoyance as paper crunched underhoof every time she took a step. Uneasily, she grabbed one of the loose sheets and began to read.

Of course I’m messing with your head. That’s the point. This room, these walls, these letters, it’s all in your head.

Rainbow recoiled, slipping on the papers and hitting her head on the far wall. She shook her head, waiting for the stinging pain to recede. It’s reading my mind?

The notes fell faster now.There were almost enough to cover Rainbow completely. She fought her way out from underneath them, but it didn’t matter as the onslaught just kept falling. Rainbow struggled against the unending cavalcade, fighting just to breathe as more and more paper fell.

Rainbow shouted for help, but nothing happened.

Rainbow once again tried to shove her way free, but she could barely move. Everything was black. She could barely breathe. The weight bore down on her, leaving a bruise across her entire body. She hadn’t been able to move in…

How long has it been?

However long it had been, it had been an agonizingly long time. Cramps stretched her wings, making her gasp in pain. Any sounds she made were muffled by the tons of paper all around her, forcing her down and holding her in place. What am I gonna do?

“Oh, let me help.”

Rainbow hissed as light suddenly flashed across her vision. All at once, tension fled her body, and she could relax. Her mane fell against her neck instead of her shoulders, and when she reached up to feel it, it was drawn up in one of the few styles she liked. She blinked the spots from her eyes and looked around.

Rainbow was sitting in an outdoor cafe, one she’d frequented back when she lived in Cloudsdale. The sun’s golden rays were disappearing over the horizon, and the pleasant coolness of night was just settling over the land. She didn’t see anypony, but she could hear the clopping of hooves somewhere behind her.

She leaped out of the chair and spun around to see Ditzy, dressed as a waiter and holding a large covered plate. Rainbow fought to control herself as she tried to not pull the mare into a bone-crushing hug. It’s not her, it’s not Ditzy, that's the Amulet messing with me, don’t you dare hug it, don’t lose it, not now—

The Ditzy Doo facsimile trotted over and set the plate down before Rainbow. Cautiously, Rainbow lifted the lid. Inside was the Alicorn Amulet. Rainbow gave the waitress a harsh look. “Was that supposed to be funny?”

The mare’s face fell. “Aw, wasn’t it? I’m sorry, I’m not very good with humor.”

Rainbow scooted back from the facsimiles body, unnerved. There was something wrong with it, something that made it eerie instead of comforting, but she couldn’t think of what. “So, you’re still the Amulet, right?”

“Yep,” the Amulet said cheerfully. “I thought looking like this might help put you at ease.” She smiled just a little too wide. “Is it working?

A piece of Rainbow wanted to say yes, wanted to pretend for just a moment, that she wasn’t all alone. But she couldn’t ignore how unsettled she was. She tried to scoot further away from the Amulet’s body, but her chair refused to move. The Amulet’s grin didn’t shift an inch. “Soooo…” it began, “what’s a mare gotta do around here to get some cooperation?”

Rainbow glared at it. “Well, you could try letting me go.”

The Amulet snorted and shook its head. “I already told you how to leave.”

“But that’s not fair!” Rainbow snapped. “You won’t set me free, you’ll just make me go crazy like you did to everypony else!”

“Oh, those weren’t my fault,” the Amulet said dismissively. “I just give ponies power, what they decide to do with it is up to them.”

“That’s nuts! What about the vision you showed the real Ditzy? You tried to steal her daughter! You drove Trixie crazy!”

The False Ditzy didn’t stop smiling, but whatever it was that was wrong with it, was growing worse. Is it her eyes? The way it was sitting was odd, almost like it had frozen in place. The scene around them trembled slightly, twisting a little around them like Rainbow was looking through a fisheye lens.

“H-having a Bearer is my function,” it said stiffly. “I will do w-w-whatev-v-v—” Rainbow jumped backward as the entire scene folded up on itself. She momentarily had the sensation of becoming flat, of watching the colors bleed away and the brief vision of nothingness.

As quickly as it came, it was gone. The fake Ditzy smiled gently at the now-terrified mare. “I told you, I don’t make ponies go crazy. They do that on their own.”

Rainbow backpedaled frantically to get away from the thing. “What the hell was that? What is wrong with you? Let me out!”

“Not until I get what I want.” The Amulet’s voice was a perfect imitation of Ditzy’s own, but the polite tone made her threats all the more creepy. “I’ve decided to try being honest with my Bearers. I won’t hurt you; I’m not sure I directly can. But you will not leave until you agree to use me.”

The room disappeared with no warning, and Rainbow found herself back in the test room. It was completely empty, but still utterly tiny and cramped. Rainbow sighed, and started trying to pace again. There was nothing to do now but wait for somepony to come and save her.

Nothing happened.

The room was a little larger than it had been. It was probably big enough to fly in, but it didn’t matter. Rainbow had long since lost the strength to so much as shiver. Feebly, she tried once more to shift her legs, to huddle tighter around herself, but she couldn’t manage it. Her body had grown thin, almost skeletal. Her mane had started to fall out in patches years ago. Her hair had begun to turn gray, and her skin had shrunk around her bones until she looked like a skeleton. I never thought I’d be dying from old age.

Somewhere overhead, she heard the scratching of chalk on stone. She forced her head up and pried her eyes open. The words were still blurry, but she could just make them out.

Don’t you want to see them again?

Rainbow didn’t bother responding. She closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing. In and out. Each breath had to be forced out of her lungs like she had to pry the air out. The cold bit her, stinging as it passed through her mouth. She wondered if one day soon, she would just... stop.

The scratching carried on, despite Rainbow’s efforts to ignore it. The sound grew louder, grating against her ears until eventually she just gave up and looked again.

I understand this isn’t the best time to talk, but we’re not likely to get one again, so I wanted to give you one last chance.

Rainbow didn’t say anything. Slowly, the words erased themselves and began a new sentence. This time, the words were written silently, and it was easier to make them out.

It’s near the end. Your mind is deteriorating. Your friends have officially failed. You don’t have any options left.

Rainbow didn’t say anything. She couldn’t, she was worried her voice wouldn’t work after so much time. Despite her best efforts, her mind hovered over the Amulet’s offer. Is it really too late for me?

Just let me help you. I can make you young again, give you strength beyond imagining. You don’t have to do anything at all; just accept me.

Rainbow could feel a small surge of strength pass through her decrepit limbs, and she was able to lift her head. The Amulet lay in front of her. It was so close, and she could feel warmth flowing from it. I don’t want to die.

You don’t have to die. Just reach out. Just touch it, and we will both live.

Rainbow could feel the fear in her, pushing her foreleg forwards.Just one touch…

“No.”

The words were small, but it was enough. The world around her seemed to shiver, and Rainbow found the strength to stagger to her hooves. “No, I don’t care if I die. I’ll stand for my friends forever.”

WHY

The words were jagged and seemed to float off the wall for a moment before they blurred and returned to normal.

Why? Your friendship has failed to preserve you. What do you get out of it?

“What are you talking about?” Rainbow asked. “I don’t get anything out of it. I’m doing this because they’d do the same for me.”

Don’t be absurd. Despite all their kind words, everypony I’ve ever met was just one bad day away from abandoning all they’ve claimed to stand for.

“Until today, you mean?”

No new words answered her, and Rainbow smiled to herself. “I don’t know about those other ponies you’ve met, but my friends are better than that. Ditzy didn’t give in, Twilight didn’t give in, and nopony else will either. It doesn’t matter what you do; you’ll never win.”

Rainbow shouted in pain as the Amulet suddenly bore down on her, wielding feeling and emotions like weapons. Rage burned her, loneliness ripping out her heart. She screamed as the pain tore through her body, before she finally, mercifully, passed out.

Rainbow awoke slowly, coming back to life in small pieces. No part of her was in any sort of pain, which was new, and she didn’t feel anything holding her down. Heart hammering, she forced open her eyes.

The room she lay in was large and spacious. It looked like a hospital room, with stark white colors and monitoring equipment. The machine next to her bed lit up, sending magical pulses down the hallway to alert whoever was on duty as to her status.

Rainbow looked down She looked down at her hooves. They were still thin, but not the skeletal remains they had been a second ago. She wasn’t freezing cold anymore, and her mane no longer felt like that of a wild animal. Is… did it…

Slowly, she got up and walked to the window on trembling hooves. Opening it, she could see Canterlot in all of its glory. Crowds of ponies and various other species milled about, rushing to go about their business. She breathed deeply, smelling food carts and restaurants and flowers and everything that wasn’t sweat. She could hear ponies shouting at each other, hawking wares and ordering each other about. I did it.

I’m free.

Behind her, the door slowly creaked open. “Rainbow,” Ditzy— the real Ditzy— called out. “Are you awake? I’m sorry the other’s aren’t here; Twilight has to monitor the test, and most of the girls had already gone back to Ponyville before they heard...”

Ditzy’s voice trailed off as she saw the look on Rainbow’s face. She approached the Dash carefully, like one would when trying not to spook a wounded animal. “Rainbow, you’re shaking.”

It’s real, right? This isn’t another dream?

Rainbow shook her head weakly, trying to play it cool but unable to hide her fear. Ditzy took another step closer, and she shied back. “Rainbow, it’s okay.” Slowly, Ditzy moved forwards, and Rainbow held herself still. Cautiously, Ditzy folded the younger mare into a hug. “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered.

Rainbow waited for something to try and hurt her, but nothing happened.

The Final Failure

Pinkie blinked, disoriented, as Sugercube Corner slowly swam into view. For a single moment, the world rocked back and forth like a boat as edges of the room swam into place. Everything, even the ponies and furniture were stripped away, leaving the room barren aside from her booth. The window had grayed out, and Pinkie couldn’t even see her reflection in it. Despite the lack of clutter, the room felt a little smaller than it should, somewhere between claustrophobic and comforting. Carefully, Pinkie sat down.

In the space across from her, the world seemed to contract. The shadowy outline of a pony crawled across the air, distorting in shape and size as it sought a full form. It was spazzing out, appearing as Moon Dancer, then the Doctor, then Sweetie Belle. Pinkie’s eyes burned as she tried to follow the display until she had to look down.

When she turned back, it was wearing a very good imitation of Twilight Sparkle. Her mane was so neat that her coat looked messy by comparison, and she had the same friendly look in her eyes. Her smile wasn't right though; it was static and uncomfortable. Pinkie smiled at it anyway. “Finally! I’ve been waiting forever for you to show up!”

The Amulet frowned. “I was under the impression that generating this place took only a few moments.”

Her voice was the same as Twilight, but the tone was all wrong. It sounded stiff and robotic as if she couldn’t feel anything from the words she was saying. Her expressions were basically warm and friendly, which made everything thing even eerier. She leaned forward, trying to ignore the sense of foreboding she felt in the pit of her stomach. “Well, yeah, but it’s supposed to happen so fast you don’t even notice it, right? I mean, I gotta watch the store be created, and that was super weird, but my point is for you that’s still taking a really long time, isn’t it?”

The Amulet froze in place for several seconds, deciphering Pinkie’s words. It took several more to decide how best to respond; Pinkie was a complicated mare. “I am... diminished. Interacting with your mind is more complicated than it should be.”

Pinkie snorted. “Yeah, I get that a lot. But I can’t help but notice that you didn’t have any trouble processing a bunch of ponies smarter than me, and at least one of them is totally nuts. Something else is happening to you, isn’t it?”

“Enough.” The Amulet’s tone was stiff and blunt. “This is not about me.”

“Of course it is!” Pinkie said. “Don’t be silly. I mean, sure, everypony was probably going on about how they want power or fame or infinite rice pudding, but that’s super gross and I don’t want to be gross; I want to talk to you!”

The Amulet hesitated, a common mistake to make when talking to Pinkie, but this time she gave it enough time to respond. “I do not understand.”

Pinkie rolled her eyes. “I want to talk to you. You have to be a sen— sorry, sapient being to be smart enough create these illusions. If you weren’t you’d be doing even worse than you are already!”

“Worse?” the Amulet repeated dumbly.

Pinkie shrugged. “Yeah! I mean, think about it; how many ponies have you had the chance to grab this week? And everypony else who sought you out was, ya know, seeking you out and everything. This has gotta be one of the first times you’re trying to actually change somepony’s mind, and it’s not going so well.”

The Amulet glared at Pinkie. “Do not mock me.”

Pinkie leaned forwards and poked Twilight’s doppelganger in the chest. “See! Right there. You said that to me and thought it would work. I bet it has something to do with how much power you have… Maybe you don’t have enough processing power to sort through all of my thoughts and talk to me all at once? Hm.” She leaned back in her chair. “Well, that’s not important now. Like I said; this is all about you.”

The Amulet stretched and flickered in place, warping like parchment left in the sun. Its posture had changed, casually leaning forwards on the table, but it hadn’t actually moved. “Explain.”

Pinkie shrugged. “Well, it’s not super complicated. I want to get to know you. What’s your name?”

The Amulet tilted her head to one side, frowning. “The Alicorn Amulet.”

“No, I mean— like, something more personal than that. Alicorn Amulet would be your title, so I’m wondering about your name!”

The Amulet frowned. “Why would I have a name? I’m just a tool.”

Pinkie gasped. “You mean somepony went through the trouble of building you and didn’t give you a name? That’s terrible!”

The Amulet shook her head. “No, it isn’t. I am—”

“I’m gonna call you Amy!”

The Amulet blinked. “...Why?”

“Because everypony needs a name, silly!”

“I’m not a pony,” The Amulet — henceforth Amy— said, frowning. She put an odd emphasis on the word pony, like it felt funny and she wasn’t sure what to do with it. “I’m just an artifact, a weapon. Nothing else.”

“Don't be silly,” Pinkie said. “I read up on stuff like this before I came here.” She cleared her throat and adopted a snootier, more intelligent accent. “In ordah to create and maintain an illusiohn of such ah magnitude, one must possess the imaginatiohn of ah pony to keep ahead of the mind trapped within; Absolutely top drawer, I must say wot wot?”

Amy stared at Pinkie for a long moment. “I don’t make these illusions,” she said. “I interface with the mind of my bearer and use their imagination to build something to convince them to agree with me."

Pinkie nodded thoughtfully. “Okay, but what if I could prove that wasn't true at all?"

The Amulet began to scoff but hesitated partway through. It was creepy. It was like her face was animated, and the animators had lost some of the frames so her face jumped from scoffing to frowning instantaneously. “How could you prove this?”

Pinkie beamed. “That's easy! We’re going to play a game!”

“I do not play games.”

Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, this one is easy. I’ll let you have, say three questions, to get me to agree with you. If I change my mind, then you win.”

Amy froze in place for a long moment, its eyes darting over Pinkie’s body as she considered the implications. “And there are no tricks? That’s all I have to do?”

“Yepperoni!” Pinkie leaned forwards. “Are you ready?”

Amy nodded. “First question: Are ponies not cruel?”

“Of course not! I mean, some ponies can be, but it’s not like we’re born evil or something.”

Pinkie flinched as, without warning, Amy’s body distorted. Its proportions stretched out, gaining several inches, and her colors lightened from purple to blue. The color bled from her mane, leaving it a pale white. In the space of a few seconds, Amy had transformed herself into a copy of Trixie. “I do not alter the mind of my bearers. Every action they undertake is one they choose themselves. Everypony I have talked to has eventually chosen evil.”

“That’s just ridiculous!” Pinkie shot back. “Trixie wasn’t... well, she wasn't a total psychopath before she put you on, and that’s pretty darn different!”

“If you remove the reason to hold back, you see what a pony is truly like. If you look deep enough, everypony has a dark side. Gaining power simply allows them to act on it. I’m not responsible for any of it.”

Pinkie glared at her. “What about all the terrible stuff you’ve done to tempt ponies? Twilight wouldn’t tell us anything about what happened to her, Carrot Top was crying for hours, and Cadance won’t come out of her room!”

Amy shook her head mechanically. Her mane didn’t sway with her. “Everything they saw came from within themselves. I created none—”

“What about Dashie?”

Amy was silent.

Pinkie pressed forwards, getting right in the other mare’s face. “She freaks out if she’s left alone for more than a few minutes. You didn’t borrow something from her mind to build that; it was all you, right?”

Amy stared at Pinkie for a long moment. “...I was fulfilling my purpose. Nothing else matters.”

Pinkie’s tail lashed, and she closed her eyes for a few seconds to steady herself. When she looked back, Amy had changed again. She towered over Pinkie, with black skin and insectoid wings, and fangs that shone even in the relative darkness of the bakery. It wasn’t as perfect as the others had been; her mane looked like it had been melted into one solid piece, and Pinkie was pretty sure her wings were clipping through the chair. “Chrysalis has attempted to destroy your kingdom once before, and she will do so again. What do you say to her?”

Pinkie’s ears flicked, and she snorted in irritation. “The same thing I’m saying to you; there’s a better way.”

Amy rolled her eyes dismissively. “She wouldn’t agree, you know. She would take any opportunity to destroy you.”

“Oh, and then what?” Pinkie snapped. “The Changelings destroy and conquer all the time, but it hasn’t actually gotten them anywhere.” She sighed. “Look, she’s gonna destroy herself and drag the rest of the Changelings down with her if she doesn’t learn how to listen to others, and so will you.”

Amy frowned. “What is the alternative?”

Pinkie smiled and placed a hoof over Amy’s. “Friendship.”

Amy snatched her hoof away from Pinkie. “Friendship has no survival value.”

“It gives value to survival,” Pinkie shot back. “It gives us a reason to live. I mean, what do you even have to live for?”

Amy froze for a moment, her appearance flickering like a bad movie projector. “I-I-I must exist to-to-to...” She shook her head and glared at Pinkie. She flinched; it was the most emotion the amulet had shown. “How will your friendship save me? You ponies claim to care for everything, but none have shown me any consideration. Since the first day, I have existed solely to be used. Why should I not use them? None of you care about anything other than yourselves.”

“I care. I’m here, aren’t I? Look,” Pinkie leaned forwards, desperately holding Amy’s gaze, “I know this is a lot to take in, but I’m here because I think you can be helped.”

“YOU ARE LYING.”

Pinkie jumped back as with a deep, unearthly buzz, Amy’s body vanished. She looked around the room as the corners began to fade into darkness. The shadows oozed forwards, forming odd patterns that were difficult to make out but mesmerizing to watch. Pinkie stared at them for a long moment, before realizing she had zoned out and looked away. A red glint caught her eye, and she looked down to see Amy’s body— her real body, all polished points and black metal— lying on the table in front of her. Her voice persisted, but it was badly distorted, like a poorly tuned radio.

"Everypony I’ve met has wanted something from me," she hissed. "They’ll use me to do anything to get it, and if they do get it, then they do more things to get something else. They talk about how horrible I am, but they choose to inflict harm on others themselves. They are the ones who break their moral code. They are the ones who are flawed."

“What about this week? ‘Cause you haven’t been doing so great lately.”

Amy remained silent.

Pinkie stood up, lifting Amy so she could look her in what she guessed was Amy’s face. “This week, you’ve dragged ponies through the darkest parts of their souls, and not one of them really failed. Today, we proved that, yeah, there’s a lot of bad in ponies, but there’s a lot of good too, and they chose to be good. And so can you.”

"I CANNOT."

“Of course you can! Just let me help you!”

"You are st-st-stalling." Even though the mechanical intonations, Pinkie could hear the very real desperation in her voice. "You claim that my exis-tence matters. Prove it. Help me."

Pinkie bit her lip. “No, I- I can’t.”

“Then you have killed me.”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake!” Pinkie snapped. “Look, I’m trying to help you, but—”

“But you do not wish to actually take any risk. I fail to see how this makes you any better than those who came before.

“I—” Pinkie gritted her teeth together. “I can’t let you overtake me. I just can’t.”

“Then what do you propose as an alternative? I do not have time left for other options.”

“And you’d let me go after?”

"As soon as you asked me to."

Pinkie shivered as she watched the shadows crawling around the edges of the room. She jerked her attention away from them and concentrated on Amy. “I can’t help you until I know that you’ll change.”

“I do not have enough time,” Amy insisted. “You wish to save me, correct?”

“Of course I do!”

“Then please,” Amy whispered. “You can’t let me die.”

Just a few minutes ago, Pinkie would have realized how out-of-character it was for Amy to appeal to emotion like that, but somehow it made sense now. She swayed a little, staring at the shining stone. I want to help her. That’s why I came here, isn’t it?

“You can save me,” Amy whispered. “Just reach out and touch me, and everything will be alright.”

Pinkie shook her head, her eyes never leaving the Amulet itself. “...You… did somethin’,” She said weakly.

“You don’t really think that.”

“I don’t really— shut up!” Pinkie closed her eyes for a second, trying to collect herself before she felt compelled to open them again. “No,” she whispered. “This isn’t what I want.”

“Of course it is. You want to save me, and that means becoming my bearer. That’s half of a ‘yes’ right there. It’s enough to give me a lifeline, but I need you to take that last step. Please.”

Pinkie bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. She gasped as the sudden, stinging pain helped her focus. “I want to save you, but I want to keep my friends safe too. I can’t do that if I end up like all the others that tried you on.” She swayed, trying to remember to close her eyes again. “I... I’m sorry.”

“WHY?”

All around Pinkie, the shadows began to flow across the floor towards her. They formed tendrils that moved with hypnotic cohesion; everywhere she turned there was something to catch her eye. Pinkie backed away, fighting with all of her strength to remain herself. Amy’s voice began to distort, becoming more and more mechanical.

"Everypony who has taken me has wanted something. Tell me wh-wha-what you de-sire. I could allow you to visit every filly and colt in Equestria to deliver gifts."

Pinkie shook her head, even as the thought warmed her heart. She backed up onto the table, hooves slipping on the slippery surface as the shadows oozed across the floor towards her. She tried to come up with a reason, an argument she could present. “No,” was all she could muster.

The shadows, emboldened by her lackluster argument, move closer. They rose up, towering over her head. She tried to look away but felt her gaze fall back towards them. "You could force everypony in Equestria t-to smile forever."

“Never,” she barely got out.

The shadows shifted, revealing the Alicorn Amulet nestled in its folds. It hung tantalizingly before Pinkie, who even couldn't look away now. “TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT. I WILL GIVE IT TO YOU. JUST TELL ME.”

The shadows hovered inches away from Pinkie on all sides. She couldn’t last any longer. “I just... wanted to…” She drunkenly leaned forwards, mere inches away from the dark. “I just wanted to be your friend.”

The shadows froze in place. The sudden lack of motion jerked Pinkie out of her trance, and she staggered backward trying not to throw up. The darkness had completely encompassed the room now, and the only thing left was the tabletop. Pinkie could see herself fine, and the table was perfectly lit despite the lack of light.

“I d-do not understand-stand. You turn down my po-power but still wish for my s-safety. Reconcile this con-con-conflict.”

Pinkie swallowed her bile, feeling it burn down her throat. She stood on unsteady legs and faced what she guessed counted as Amy’s head. “Because you could be worth it.”

“Y-you risked your li-lif-life.”

“So?!” Pinkie tried to take a step forward, but she was too weak. She shook her head, trying to focus. “Ponies matter. People matter. You matter because if you would just listen, if you would just humble yourself a teeny, tiny little bit, you could do such amazing things. Please,” and she was surprised to find that she was crying, but she didn’t have time to think about that now, “please, just give up! Let me help you.”

“I-t does n-n-not make sense. W-w-why why why why—”

The shadows pulsed, shuddering and falling in a blocky motion. All of Pinkie’s senses had been dulled, other than an odd buzzing in her ears. For the briefest moment, she thought she could see the real room with her real eyes.

“You cannot I cannot this does not explain explain explain—”

Pinkie pressed her ears back against the harsh buzz that echoed after Amy’s voice stopped talking. She could feel it vibrating in her bones, shaking the room itself. “You’re starting to lose it. You have to give in. Just trust me, please!”

“I cannot I am not I will not I won’t be responsible they hurt I didn't mean to I

I-I-I

“I didn’t mean to.”

Pinkie blinked. Everything was silent. The testing chamber looked as it should, blandly lit walls with no lighting issues, abnormal sounds or smells, and fully functional gravity. Amy’s body lay on the podium like she had been when Pinke first came in. There were minor cracks running across her surface, and the jewel set in the front wasn’t glowing, but she otherwise looked okay. Pinkie lifted the necklace to get a better look.

Amy shattered.

Pinkie dropped the Amulet’s corpse and backed away, a scream strangled in the back of her throat. Slowly, she approached the podium with trembling legs. Amy had broken into equal halves that could be easily put back together with glue or tape. Her jewel had been reduced to dust, and Pinkie knew there would be no fixing that. The Alicorn Amulet was finally broken.

She shuffled the pieces across the floor, sitting in a morose silence. Pinkie wasn’t sure for how long. Somepony behind her reached around and pulled her into a hug. She jumped, startled before she realized who it was. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Twilight replied. She let Pinkie lean on her, and didn’t say anything else. The two of them sat in a comfortable silence for a while. Pinkie wasn't sure for how long. It felt like a while. If it’d been the Cakes comforting her, she’d have been forced to keep bottling up all her feelings to keep them from worrying over her. If it had been somepony like Applejack or Rainbow Dash, then the words would have been pulled out of her throat. But Twilight had learned to be patient, and after enough time the words simply flowed.

“I couldn’t save her, Twi.”

Twilight didn’t say anything. She pulled her wing tighter around Pinkie’s shoulders.

“I just… I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t she give up? Why couldn’t…”

Twilight waited a long moment, long enough to make sure Pinkie had finished, before responding. “Some ponies are scared. They don’t know what’ll happen if they give up, or they think that getting help makes them weak and not worth helping or… they can’t accept that they might need it.” She sighed. “I’m so sorry, Pinkie. I know you really hoped you could save it.”

The words didn’t change how Pinkie felt, but having Twilight there made it easier to deal with. She sighed and pulled back. “So, now what?”

Twilight stood as well, stretching each leg from having sat for so long. “I have to find a way to secure the Amulet’s remains.” She hesitated. “Do you want to help?”

Pinkie shook her head. “No, I promised Ditzy that I’d take her shift with Dash so she could go see Dinky. You shouldn’t be alone after you go through something like this, ya know?”

Twilight looked at Pinkie for a long moment, before impulsively pulling her friend into a hug.

Pinkie snorted. “Silly Twi, I told you. I feel better already!”

“That one was for you being you.” She leaned back and smiled at her friend. “I’m going to go to the hospital to check on Rainbow before I get back to work. You want to come with me?”

Pinkie shook her head. “Give me a second first. I need to check something first.”

Twilight frowned and glanced at Amy’s remains. A pulse of magic probed the Amulet, then she nodded and left Pinkie alone in the room.

Pinkie looked down at the Alicorn Amulet and sighed. “I’m really sorry I couldn’t help you, Amy. I Pinkie Promise to do better for the next one!”

She gently shifted the rubble, so it at least looked better, and sadly smiled.

“Goodbye, Amy.”

Author's Note

Made for the Break Away collab

Created with the support of the Power Press: [url=https://www.fimfiction.net/user/130762/Berry+Delight]Berry Delight and [url=https://www.fimfiction.net/user/228116/Dinode]Dinode.

Building a home

Author's Note

Heavily inspired by Kamen Rider Double.

Building a home

The Bookshelves looked different every time Twilight visited. It wasn’t real, of course; it was just a mental construct to aid in organization of such a massive amount of information. She had access to every little piece of knowledge in the entire world, and it took several mental tricks to keep herself from overloading her own mind.

Back when she had started, the Bookshelves had been a featureless void. There was nothing but some shelves hanging in large amount of white nothingness. She hadn't thought to add more; after all, it was just a tool. But Rainbow had kept asking her questions.

“So, is it a big room that’s white, or is it just a big amount of nothing?”

“What do the bookshelves stand on?”

“What kind of shelves are they?”

Twilight had finally snapped back, telling the half-boiled detective that they were wooden. She hadn’t ever paid attention before; they had just been there. But ever since then, they had looked wood. She hadn’t bothered mentioning it for a few more weeks, but then Rainbow had finally persuaded her to leave the house for a short while. “It’ll be good for you,” she had insisted. “Get you some fresh air.”

They’d gone to a library, to work on a case. Twilight was supposed to find something while Rainbow was a distraction. She’d ended up being forced to hide until night fell. It should have been terrifying, and it was. But then Twilight, out of boredom, had opened one of the books to read. Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone. She had fiction in her Library, but she’d never read it. She probably had read some—

Before

—Back when she was a normal pony, but she couldn’t remember any of it. This was the first fiction story she’d read. And it had been amazing. Rainbow had to practically force her to escape, and they’d had to leave the book behind. When they got to the lair, the first thing Twilight did was go to her Bookshelves to try to finish the book. But the book was really long, and standing in a featureless void wasn’t very comfortable, so she added a beanbag chair. Simple, and it fulfilled its purpose without distracting from her studies.

After that, she kept making little alterations. Since the Bookshelves was entirely mental, most of them was subconscious. The walls came first. Circular, wooden, and a soft brown. There was a window that gave light over her Beanbag, letting her read and keeping her warm. The stairs came next, leading to a corner of Planet Bookshelves that was all her own. She kept more personal details there, like the files on her...

Family?

...On Rainbow Dash and Rarity. There were less necessary touches included here, like the poster of Starswirl the Bearded, or the oak desk with the old typewriter on it. She’d use the typewriter to compose her thoughts sometimes, writing journals in a place she knew nopony else would read. She had a bed in here; she couldn’t sleep here, but it seemed like something to have in a bedroom. She’d added a basement to do scientific experiments in, a television room and before she knew it…

She’d made it a home. Not just a tool, but a refuge. A place of safety. Somewhere she could call her own. Her home. Her Library.

As the World Burns...

Author's Note

Sequel to Consequences, by Wander D. Support his Patreon.

As the World Burns...

Twilight stared at the flames, as they consumed her world.

It was terrifyingly beautiful. The flames climbed as high as the upper atmosphere until the sky itself was made from fire. Everyone else had died. Everything in the whole world.

Dead.

Twilight just stared at it all, trying to comprehend it. Trying to take in the enormity of it all. They still had hours left, at least. The table would protect the surrounding area from all the chaos for a while. She was going to use the spell, it was just... Everything. She couldn't take it in.

I lost.

So many had died. She couldn't even respond to how many had perished. She tried to feel something, anything, but she nothing came. She couldn't even think. The entire world was breaking apart around her. It was too big, too horrible, for her to even fully understand.

"Well, I have to say... I have definitely seen worse."

The voice was rough and cheerful, tinged with a thick alien accent that Twilight knew well. British, if her memory served. She knew his face as well; young, constantly smiling, with short brown hair that stuck up in spikes and incredibly deep brown eyes. The man was an alien, humanoid in appearance. He was tall and wore a very raggedy brown trench coat over a fancy dress suit and worn sneakers. His face was normally irrepressibly cheerful, and constantly in motion. Today, it was grim and hard, almost looking like a statue. His eyes looked the same as ever. They were warm and compassionate. He nodded to her. " 'ello, Sparky."

"Doctor."

Twilight didn't move from her spot, nor did she turn to acknowledge him. She didn't even complain about the use of her nickname. Slowly, the Doctor walked over to her. He sat down, slowly. The two of them just sat there for a while, looking at the sky. Very slowly, the Doctor reached a hand out and pulled Twilight into a one-armed hug. He didn't say anything, which wasn't normal, but he didn't need to. His presence was comfort enough. Eventually, Twilight broke the silence.

"Did you feel anything when it was your turn?"

She realized how that sounded, and hurried to rephrase it. "I mean, at the exact moment. When you pushed the button and Gallifrey..." her words trailed off as she gestured at the mess. In the background, an entire mountain range began to melt, crumbling and shrinking in the distance.

"I dunno." The Doctor's words were compassionate but clipped. He didn't like reminders of what he'd done during the Time War. "The actual moment... pushing that button... it's gone. Right out of my memory. I can remember seeing things like this," he gestured to the world in general, "fairly often, mind you. As the Time War rolled on, so did the meaning of the words acceptable losses." He spat the words out like they were something rotten. "But still, it's not quite the same when it isn't your home."

Twilight shuddered. Her home. Everypony, everybody everywhere, and they were all dead now...

"Hey now. Hey." The Doctor pulled her closer to him, and she leaned against him. "You're not alone, alright? You. Are not. Alone."

"This is all my fault." Twilight got out shakily. "All of it. I could have let the Arbiter go, and—" her voice just choked out. Her body was shaking, but she still couldn't feel anything. It was an odd, disconnected feeling that she wasn't sure was good or bad.

"You had every right to." The Doctor told her. "The Arbiter is just a malfunctioning machine, that's trying to fulfill a function that has long since been unneeded. It has to be stopped."

"But I didn't stop it!" Twilight was yelling, all of the sudden. "It was there! It's been here before! It's killed everypony but me, and I couldn't save them!" Her breath came out in ragged gasps. She swallowed, her mouth dry. "I have to go back. I have to tell myself to let that thing kill—" The words wouldn't come out She swallowed again and forced them out. "K-kill my friends. They're going to die all over again, and there's nothing I can do."

"Well... you could keep fighting."

Twilight laughed. It was shallow and bitter. Pinkie would have winced at its hollow rattle. "I've seen what fighting leads to. I have to give it my friends. It's the only way."

"Not necessarily." The Doctor paused, trying to find the right words. "You have the Time Travel spell, and you know everything that thing has done for the last… what, six hundred years? Go back. Give yourself some hints. I mean, normally I'd advise against spoiling things but all things considered... I'd say it's permissible."

"Is it?" Twilight looked at the ground, lit by the closest thing one could see to the fires of hell this side of death. "Celestia told me that her role as an immortal prevented her from creating real change. That we couldn't, shouldn’t interfere. And given what's happened... I can't see how she was wrong."

They sat a while longer, watching the sky. It was incredibly quiet, though that was to be expected when everything was dead. Eventually, the Doctor spoke again. "She wasn't entirely wrong, but I think she was missing something. When you get to be as old as we do, it's easy to just... decide, on what's right and what's wrong. We forget that we aren't perfect. But the answer isn't to do nothing. It's never to do nothing. Because some things are so big, so massive, only a very select number of people can deal with them. If you let that thing go, it'll be back. It'll kill more, and more, and it won't ever stop. Unless you stop it."

"How!" Twilight wasn't sure when she'd stood up, but she was staring the Doctor in the face, eye to eye. "How can I go through that again? How am I supposed to fight something that can devour continents? I lost billions of lives, Doctor. I can't go through this again." Her shoulders sagged, and she leaned against that damned Table of Harmony. "Not again."

The Doctor stood back up, his back creaking. "If you don't, then you're letting a monster eat innocent people to fulfill a very vaguely defined and almost certainly meaningless goal."

Twilight's voice was low. Quiet. Hating herself, she whispered, "Six for the world..."

The Doctor's tone was equally cold. "One is too many. Not if there's another way." He knelt down and lifted her head to look into her eyes. "Go back. Fight this thing. And then if you lose, fight it again, and again. As many times as you have to. Because they're worth it, Sparky. Your kingdom, your friends, your family, your neighbors, that one guy who makes pancakes for you in the morning— Every. Single. Life, on the planet, is worth fighting that thing over.”

The two of them sat for a while, the flames growing closer. After a very long while that felt like far too short a time, the Doctor stood again. "I have to go. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but I'm not supposed to be here at all. Temporal rifts are— Well, it's bad. For a lot more than just me."

Twilight reluctantly nodded. She knew the Doctor; if there was anything he could do, he would have done it as well as stopped to explain to the monster exactly how. She sighed and stepped toward the Table. "Will we meet again?" She asked.

"That depends entirely on what you choose." The Doctor glanced back, surveying the damage done to the world. "It’s all in your hands. Always was.”

Twilight mustered up a smile. A real one, which was more than she'd been able to do for a long time. "Good luck to you, Doctor."

"I'd wish you the same, but you won't need it." He smiled back, a small smile that just said you got this so much better than words could. "Go get 'em, Sparky."

Fear Itself

Author's Note

The Prologue to a sequel I decided to ax off. Equiforce just had too many moving parts and it wasn't worth pursuing. The ideas behind this setting (Fluttershy is a supernatural detective and Applejack is her sidekick) are going to be recycled in a story I hope to have up by Halloween.

Fear Itself

Detective Fluttershy drifted through the hospital so quietly one might have assumed she was a ghost. Her eyes slid from point to point, taking in as much information as they could.

There are relatively large hallways that provide lots of space for a large number of ponies to mobilize at once. It also means there’s very little cover for sneaking around, but I don’t think that’s intentional. There aren’t very many ponies watching the hallways right now; it’d be easy to gain access to a place like this if one could get past the front desk.

She’d been to hospitals before, but it was good to be in the habit of absorbing information. Lax ponies were dead ponies. Fluttershy stopped in front of the room she’d be summoned to and listened at the door.

Only one pony inside. Excellent.

Slipping inside, Fluttershy made sure the door was closed behind her and took the patient in. The older stallion was covered in burns and bandages, making it almost impossible to tell anything about him. He wasn’t in pain, at least; whatever drugs the doctors had given him appeared to be doing their job. Reluctantly, Fluttershy turned to the chart for help.

Let’s see… his name is Doctor Fantastic. Admitted with severe burns to the face, chest, and forelegs, as well as internal injuries. If it weren’t for magic, he’d have died several times by now. No attempts have been made to revive him, or at least won’t be made until the burns have healed more. Hm, it also says that they’ve gotten odd magical readings from his brain.

Fluttershy frowned. Unknown magic generally ended up being the most dangerous kind; she’d proved that herself time and time again.

Speaking of which, Fluttershy’s ears twitched as she heard the doors at the end of the hallway swing open. They rotated, changing angles to get the most sound as she closed her eyes and sorted through the ambient noise.

His heart's beating awfully fast for the pace he’s trotting at; he must be nervous. I can’t smell very much through all these disinfectants, but there’s some strong coffee on his breath. He’s slowing down and checking the rooms, so he probably doesn’t know which room he’s looking for. I bet that he’s the pony that asked me to meet him here.

Fluttershy smoothly replaced the chart and sat down. She adopted a slight slouch in her posture and allowed her eyes to drift apart as she stared off into space. There was no reason to be here earlier, and she was probably allowed to read the nurse's chart, but any knowledge that you had and others didn’t was a potential weapon, no matter how small it was.

A Unicorn with a blue mane and white coat that immediately made Fluttershy think of toothpaste nervously trotted in. “Hi, there! My name is Shining Sparkle, Director of Sunburst industries. I hope I haven’t kept you waiting long.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble,” Fluttershy said easily. She smiled, glancing over the pony and absorbing more data in a second than most could from a comprehensive background file.

He’s a little pudgy, but working on getting into shape, likely because of his new marefriend. He forgot to shave and his suit is so wrinkled it looks like he slept in it. He keeps looking at Peachy all worried, so either they’re more connected than my files on him let on (unlikely) or he takes a personal concern in his employees. His general exhaustion also indicates whatever I’m being hired for is a large concern. Good. It’ll be nice to do something important for a change and the pay will be nice.

She extended a hoof. “Please, sit down. You look tired.”

Shining nodded, barely shaking the offered hoof before collapsing onto the bench beside her. “You have no idea. This whole mess has been…” His voice trailed off. “Well, it’s a mess.”

Fluttershy nodded sympathetically. “Please, start from the beginning.”

“The beginning… Good grief.” Shining rubbed a hoof against his face as he closed his eyes and tried to organize his thoughts. “I guess it all started a few months ago when we hired a new scientist named Trixie. She claimed to have a Mark that helped her work with others but she proved to be difficult. Eventually, she had to be let go. She had to be dragged from the lab, swearing revenge. That’s not even the worst part.”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “Is that why we’re in a hospital?”

Shining ears lay back, but he nodded. “She was working for this pony, Doctor Fantastic. They were experimenting with a form of magic called Psychomagia.”

No...

Fluttershy immediately sat up straight. Time seemed to slow as her brain went into overdrive, memories rising to the surface and threatening to consume her.

Heknows killhimkillhimkillhim beforeitstolate kill…

Fluttershy allowed the fear to rise to the surface and breathed it out. She had no reason to assume that Shining knew about her magic, or that this was any kind of trap. She should hear the rest of what Shining had to say before deciding whether or not to deal with him. Besides, the last thing Fluttershy needed was the attention of the Royal Guard.

All of this had flashed through her mind in an instant. Shining, unaware of how much danger he’d been in, continued. “Now look, I know it’s something of a crank theory, but he’s been right about a large number of other unlikely ideas in the past. His Mark lets her deal with seemingly fantastical forms of science and magic, so I let gave him pretty much whatever he wanted.”

“And what did he want?” Fluttershy asked. “In, uh, layponies terms, please.”

Shining frowned. “Well, simply put, he wanted to remove and store emotions to help ponies dealing with emotional trauma. Psychologists already use spells that extract emotions for the duration of a session, but those effects are temporary. Something like this could replace medication and help thousands of ponies— no, thousands of people all across the entire world!”

Fluttershy’s voice was utterly flat. “What went wrong.”

Shining shifted uncomfortably. “Well… You see, Doctor Fantastic had said that the machine didn’t work. He’d wanted to melt it down and move on to another project. We didn’t have a reason to think that the facility needed extra security.”

“It was stolen.”

Shining nodded. “Trixie is the most likely culprit. There’s no telling what that machine can do.”

Fluttershy turned to face the unconscious pony, frowning. “Did he have a history of paranoia? Why keep it a secret?”

Behind her, Shining shifted uncomfortably. Her wings twitched, and her earlier worry was looking more and more justified. “Thing is,” he said slowly, “some of our investors can be… short-sighted. Just because something can make us money in the short-term, they ignore any long-term problems.”

“He kept it a secret because somepony would have actually used it. I know, that’s pretty clear.” Fluttershy turned back around and affixed Shining with a glare. “But why not trust you with it? This is your job.”

Shining sat up straight, his front hoof stamping against the ground with a loud bam. “I don’t know, alright? Maybe he thought I needed plausible deniability or maybe he was telling the truth and Trixie’s just crazy! Look, I realize that this was not handled properly, but complaining about that doesn’t help us right now, does it?”

Fluttershy glared for a long moment, before sighing and appearing to let the matter go. Or maybe he’d planned to use it for something himself. Or maybe you did and it’s all spiraled out of control. I can’t trust anything right now. “When was the theft? Please be as precise as possible.

Shining carried on glaring at her for a few seconds, before collapsing back onto the bench. “We’re not sure. The fire was reported around five by some pedestrians. We’re at a loss. Trixie has the machine. All things considered, it works, and there’s no telling the havoc she could reak. If you don’t help us, it’s a catastrophe!”

It’s already a catastrophe, Fluttershy thought to herself. She refrained from pointing it out; as negligent as Sunrise Industries had been, antagonizing them wasn’t useful. She stood, remembering to stretch her wings as if she’d been there a while. “Don’t worry, Director. I’ll do my best to destroy the machine and capture this pony. I just have a quick appointment to make this morning, and I’ll be by to check the crime scene later.”

Shining frowned. “I’m sorry, but there’s a deranged madmare on the loose with whatever that machine can do! What could be more important than that?”

“Princess Celestia summoned me,” Fluttershy answered simply. “I’m late as it is. With any luck, it shouldn’t take too long.”

The Perfect World: Coming Soon!

Author's Note

To be clear, "Coming soon" is a part of the title for the story, not indicative of a longer story following.

This was part of a story I had that was supposed to be about Celestia. She was supposed to set Twilight up with a No-Win scenario, to help her get over her fear of failure. She and Twilight both entered magic comic books with a problem and had to complete the scenario. Celestia had an easy one so she could get out and make sure Twilight was okay, and Twilight had the above one.

Thing is, Celestia hadn't gone on an adventure for a while and doesn't read a lot of adventure fiction. Wrong Genre Savvy leads her in circles until Twilight accidentally paradoxes her comic to death and has to pull Celestia out, and Celestia admits that even somepony as old as her isn't perfect.

I wasn't totally on board with the concept. I always write Celestia as a character that's amazingly good— except for one thing that inevitably ruins her. She's a great politician, and can't protect her county without help. She's a loving mother figure, except for Sunset and Luna. Celestia believes in the magic of friendship so strongly because without it she wouldn't have half of what she has. (Daybreaker, by contrast, does nothing but has fun with evil, never plans anything, and is inevitably done in by her own hubris.) This story felt like it was going to lean hard on her doing stupid things. and while that kind of exaggeration is a legit comedy style, I didn't like doing that to somepony I loved so much.

Twilight's section was way easier to write because the comedy style was more Discworldian than Simpsonian. Twilight isn't my favorite character to watch, but she's easily my favorite character to work with. There are so many things you can do with her. Funny mad scientist, brooding evil princess, sarcastic voice of reason, dork, straight mare— she's got a fantastic range.

I had an introduction for Celestia and half of the below scene written out before I scrapped it and went to a similar story about Celestia and Luna as foals.

The Perfect World: Coming Soon!

Twilight Sparkle was in hell. The world was hewn out of dead rock and filled with fire and brimstone and the occasional maimed skeleton despite how often she checked and cleaned the place. Demon flew across the sky carrying horrible weapons of death. Ponies huddled together in groups, ragged and unkempt, desperately trying to find scraps of food. The entire world was simply depressing and horrible.

Still, she was the Queen, and that helped.

One of her demonic legions landed before her and knelt. “Your Majesty. We’ve apprehended one of the warlords that were waylaying food transports. Would you me to send him in?”

“Oh of course!” Twilight said brightly. “Just give me a moment to freshen up, please.”

“Of course, your grace.” As the demon rose and left, Twilight stood and stretched. She placed her paperwork back in the hollowed-out portion of rock that functioned as shelving and magically sealed it in. She walked over to the cracked mirror to make sure her armor was straight. Twilight was glad it was a simulation, otherwise, the spikes would make the suit horribly uncomfortable. Still, until metalworking improved, there was nothing for it but armor carved from the bones of her enemies. It was surprisingly sturdy and made her tattered purple cloak look impressive instead of tacky. Rarity would be proud.

She cleared her throat. “Okay, evil voice, evil voice, evil voice.” She dropped her voice lower and lower each time she spoke and added a rumble in the back of her throat. It took a little practice, but she could manage a very intimidating demonic growl without even needing to use her magic. She levitated her hood over her head, casting her face in deep shadow. As a final touch, she canceled the perfectly normal lighting spell and lit a series of light blue fires around the walls. She returned to her throne and sat down, casting an imperious look at the door. “Bring him to me.”

The warlord (she couldn’t remember his name, something like Medaton, or something,) managed to walk with dignity as he was led in by her guards. He was taller than she was and strong enough to wear armor carved from granite. Twilight considered tracking some down but decided against. She’d already committed to her look. He sneered as he strode down past her guards and made sure that everypony could see his pointed teeth and terrifying red eyes “So, you are the ‘mighty’ Queen Twilight Sparkle. It’s just so good to finally meet face to face, isn’t it? After all this time?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I suppose. Remind me who are you, again?”

“Who am I,” the warlord repeated. “Who am I? I am the Gladiator of Kaon. I am the Emperor of Destruction. I am the one who has drunk of the Blood of the Great Destroyer itself. I. AM. MEGA—

“Actually, I don’t care,” Twilight interrupted. “I’m Twilight Sparkle. I don’t need titles because I’m Twilight Sparkle. You know who I am, that’s why you’re in chains.”

Mega-whatever chuckled. “Chains are a state of mind, your highness. I—”

Twilight lit her horn, yanking him by the chains up and into the ceiling. At her command, the floor cracked open, revealing a horrible pit of lava underneath. Dark shapes swam underneath, coming ominously close to the surface. “That’s really inspiring, but I’d point out that death can alter someponies state of mind very thoroughly as well.” She let some slack into the chains, letting the self-styled warlord slip perilously close to the lava. The chains made him immune to most heat, but she'd made sure to let some through for effect. "Now, I understand you have some kind of grievance with me?"

The warlord coughed. "Well, ah— the thing is, we feel sort of oppressed, you see."

"Ah." Happy to see that the grandstanding was out of his system, Twilight pulled him back up. "Well, that's very unfortunate. Please elaborate."

"You have reighned— can you let me stand on the floor."

"No, that's okay."

"Okay, um—" he cleared his throat. "Ponykind wishes to live in a land that is free, with full bellies and warm hearts. To do that, we require your death."

"And how does my death bring about those things?"

"You have become what you feared!" He roared with the passion of people who are really committed to other people being wrong about something. "You have betrayed your values and—"

"Stop shouting or I dunk you again."

He stopped shouting. Twilight sighed. "Listen, how does killing me make more food?"

He continued to stop shouting. As a matter of fact, he stopped speaking entirely. "We have an army protecting us, jobs, and enough food to put off dying in the near future. To keep that, I have to be this," she flexed, causing the spikes to conduct shimmering purple electricity with the four corners of the room "around bad ponies. It's not a permanent system. It's not a system I'll outlive. But it keeps us going until we can find a better one. Can you look me in the eye and tell me you have a better way?"

He stared at her for a long moment, considering her words.

Then he faded from existence.

Her throne room left too, and her armor and even her cloak. She was left in an empty blue void staring at repeating white words.

UNFEASABLE CONCLUSION. PLEASE RESET.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Fiiiiine. Jeez. Let's run it again."

Triptych Recap (spoilers)

Author's Note

I'm wondering if I should publish this as a story and put it in the Tryptich folder, but it goes here until the author will give me an answer about that.

Triptych Recap (spoilers)

With help from Kitkat36 and Cogswheelbrain. Triptych can be found here.

Writing this is harder than I thought it’d be.

I’ve had hard friendship reports before, but this is… well, it’s not a friendship lesson, is it? It’s just me trying to make sense of all of this. So much happened, and I can’t talk to Celestia about it. I… still have a little while before I talk to my friends about it. I want to make sure it’s all straight before I go to them and explain ~~how I used to be a monster~~

Before I explain.

We were on a mission to Trotter’s Falls. We met this mare, one who’d been experimented on, with abilities from each pony race. She could only use them one at a time, and changing between each hurt her. She didn’t even have a name back then; it wasn’t until later that she named herself Triptych. She’d been psychologically abused by her father, ~~who was~~

Let me back up because there’s something else I need to deal with properly. Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie’s Earth Pony magic didn’t work when she was a filly. She couldn’t be a rock farmer, and her dad didn’t take that well. I’d always imagined her growing up pretty happy, maybe with a stern-yet-loving older sister or something, but she didn’t have anything like that.

Her father kicked her when she was a filly.

Eventually, Pinkie escaped. She was found by a unicorn named Gentle Arrival. He brought her to Ponyville, introduced her to the Cakes, and kept in contact with her. She wrote him letters about everything that happened to her, loved him like a father, and it didn’t come out until later that he was just doing that to keep an eye on her.

I don’t know if that’s fair. She doesn’t think that’s fair, but I… don’t know. I feel like maybe she should assume it’s not, just in case, ~~but I~~

I’m off track. Gentle’s wife had died giving birth and he couldn’t handle having an Earth Pony filly on top of that. He had to find a way to ‘fix’ his daughter because she wasn’t a unicorn and of course that was a problem. He found ancient texts, took a job as a midwife to gain access to as many foals as he could, and convinced Equestria that he was a good pony. All the while accruing influence and finding more ponies like him. This had been going on for decades by the time we got there.

The foals he experimented on weren’t hurt. He used Discord’s essence on them to change their magic, using that in tandem with the stolen essence of the dead to try and change the tribes of the foals he needed to save, which he failed to do no matter how much essence he flooded every dying foal with. Fluttershy’s ability to talk to animals, the Stare, Pinkie’s ability to conjure party supplies, the Pinkie Sense; it’s all because they’re Hybrids.

This mare we found, she was Gentle’s daughter. He’d tried to make her an Alicorn. It didn’t work. But he didn’t want to give up. His… it was a cult. They didn’t call it that, but it was a cult. Nearly everypony in town was in it, including...

~~One special~~

~~Just this~~

~~A liar~~

~~Misguided~~

...One I liked. A lot. He was a good pony, except for where he wasn’t. I wish I could talk to him, get him to change his mind, fix him… But I can never find him. Not if he doesn’t want to be found. His talent is dismissal resonance (making ponies ignore him) and I only got around it by using powers he didn’t know about.

Right. Those. Earth Ponies have a secret kind of magic, one that lets them control the earth. It’s kind of funny how straightforward it is, compared to everything else. I mean, it’s not easy, because if I let slip that I know how Earth Pony magic works then the best case scenario is that the town will lynch her and I. Earth Ponies have been keeping this a secret for thousands of years, and I have no idea how far they’ll go to keep it.

It’s nearly ironic that the cult didn’t have any Earth Ponies in it. They formed it because they thought Earth ponies didn’t have ‘real’ magic, and not only do they, but they feel the same way about unicorns that unicorns feel about them.

We caught Gentle, in the end. Helped Triptych escape her father, and he’s in prison. Discord’s helping Tish learn how to use her magic, and we all went home.

~~But not before~~

This is the hard part. More than anything else on this list, this is what’s scaring me. I talked to Celestia after the mission was over. ~~And I found out she hates me~~

...Long ago, when Discord ruled the land, Celestia and Luna put together a group of friends that became the original Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. I don’t know who all of them were, but I know that aside from the Sisters, there was Star Swirl the Bearded. He was their Magic. He built the Elements. But after they beat Discord, that wasn’t enough for him. He was angry he wasn’t an Alicorn, so he tried to find a different way to Ascend. He created the Alicorn Amulet and hunted down magic from others. He intentionally turned himself into a monster.

They caught him, in the end. He wasn’t able to use magic for the rest of his life. And as the other Bearers died, he ended up being the last one alive. Celestia…

I don’t know much about what she was like, back then. Which definitely is ironic. Because at the end of his life, she cast a spell on him. One that changed the very nature of his soul, which is apparently possible. She ~~cursed~~ ~~saved~~ made him reincarnate, over and over. Until he realized what he did wrong, and how to do it right. His died and lived, for a thousand years, until eventually…

Until I did.

I am Star Swirl the Bearded. I can’t remember what I was back then, or anything before… this me. But she looks at me and

~~She’s never seen me as me~~

And I don’t know. Maybe I’m just a way to fix her mistakes, maybe she actually gives a damn about me. She tried to write me after, but I shut her down. Then I wrote to her, and she hasn’t written back. And I have no idea what’s going to happen next.

Luna told my friends to keep an eye on me. They stayed up in shifts all night to make sure I was okay. I haven’t told them; I’m still trying to deal with it. But I think it’s going to be okay. No matter what happens, I’ll carry them with me.

I have no idea what’s going to come next, but it’s all going to be so new.

Under her Iron Skin

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Peg & Corn!

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No Pepper II (NSFW?)

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Some People can only Whistle

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Shopping for the Stars

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I Would Give You the Stars

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Not-a-god tier cosplay

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The Duties of the Younger

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Spider-Mare VS the Sandmare

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She-Ra: Broken Reflection

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The Hurricane's Eye Blinked

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Choosing Who You Want to Be [Miss Martian]

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