The Cards That We've Been Dealt

You know, there’s something bittersweet about how quickly your life can change and the chain of events that unfold because of it. For some, life is linear. Point A to Point B, before the inevitable end and then… that’s it. Simple, quiet… maybe boring, maybe easy. Others, life is wild, mysterious. Never knowing what’s around the corner, full of change. Life is different for everypony, but yet- in a way- also the same. Full of ups, downs, changes, challenges, surprises of all sizes. For a couple of teenage mares like we once were, our lives were both complicated and yet so easy and simple. Crushes, heartbreaks, gossip, peer pressure, educational pressure and all the other typical teenage woes and yays.

Things were a bit harder for me than they were for Anova before the big change. Being a changeling was hard enough, especially after the defeat at Canterlot my fellow changelings and I suffered. I had deserted the hive not long after, traveling as far as possible to put as much space between me and the hive as I could muster. There was always the lingering fear somepony would discover my secret, that the genuine loving, caring world I had worked hard to build and the friends I had gained would come crumbling down. A lingering fear that I’d become more of an outcast than I already had been.

Anova was the only one who knew and the only pony I trusted to tell. She was both my sister and best friend wrapped into one. Me being a changeling never bothered her, never scared her. In fact, the only regrets I had ever experienced with revealing my true nature to her were the millions of questions, scientific probing and ‘samples’ that were asked of me. Minor regrets, ones that were worth experiencing. Before the big change, Anova spent most of her time entertaining and working on the various scientific theories and projects her brain cooked up. She was more worried about advancing the sciences of ponykind and finding a way to safely and effectively merge it with magical applications than becoming prom queen or if the hot stallion from math class was single and interested.

That was most of the time, but Anova wasn’t incapable of having fun or experiencing all the other things us of average or lesser intelligence were going through. A good majority of the time, I didn’t fully understand anything Anova was going on about when it came to her projects, but I was always there for her. They brought her joy and excitement, gave her a purpose. Most of her experiments and projects- although well meaning and good in theory- ended in failure and caused a bit of trouble. I eventually lost track of how many times her parents had to fix the walls of the garage, how many times she had to do menial jobs for the neighbors, our school or our classmates because of it.

It was hard sometimes seeing her fail so often. I felt bad for her, but maybe it was me feeling bad on her behalf. Anova never gave up. When one project or experiment failed, she didn’t give up. She kept trying. I both admired and was mildly annoyed- sometimes concerned- by her perseverance. There were many days where she hadn’t slept, ate or did anything other than work on her projects. Were it not for me or her parents, Anova probably would have died from starvation or sleep deprivation. Sometimes life was hard for us, sometimes it was easy, sometimes in between. Anova never gave up, she had purpose. Even now, I still don’t know my purpose… if I was meant to have one. I do know, though, that no matter how hard or mundane life became, I kept going for Anova. I wouldn’t say she was my purpose, my reason for being alive, but I knew I needed her just as much as she needed me. Maybe more.

Our lives are so vastly different now than they were then. It’s almost impossible to imagine we’d end up here of all places. Displaced in a world not our own, forced to survive in the aftermaths of war we had no part in only to be caught in another, more present war. One that would determine our survival and the survival of thousands of strangers. One that changed my life forever. One that meant we could never go home. Almost makes me feel dumb for worrying over potentially failing tests or if Blaze Sunrise from Ms. Berry’s math class liked me the way I liked him. Our worries then paled in comparison to the ones we carried now.

The calms in between the storms gave us time to think about our old lives and the good times that were had. I still fondly remember the time our school took a week-long trip to a popular amusement park up near Las Pegasus. We were juniors in high school then and absolutely ecstatic to be there. We visited every attraction and spent just about every bit our parents gave us buying overpriced souvenirs. What really cemented this memory in my brain was the trouble Anova and I got into while there. Anova had cooked up these bracelet-like devices that would- in theory- make us completely invisible. While on the trip, we tested them by attempting to sneak into a staff-only area and explore the behind-the-scenes of the park.

To my surprise then- and even now- they actually worked as intended. In the beginning, at least. Anova tried to explain how they worked, but I didn’t quite grasp it. Something about refracting or reflecting light. We were actually invisible and it was thrilling. We snuck around those tunnels and hallways, saw unsuspecting mascots changing hooves or heading for an appearance at a different part of the park. We even ‘collected’ little things- things they wouldn’t miss- as ‘free’ souvenirs.

Trouble began, though, while we were using our newfound invisibility to watch actors dressed as the Power Ponies practice using their pretend powers to wow would-be crowds. The bracelets were these technological devices powered by these small orbs of magical energy that Anova had created. Mana Cores, she called them. No matter how she tweaked them, they always proved to be a bit too unstable in the end. Such was the case with the invisibility bracelets. The Cores overheated the bracelets and ultimately caused them to short circuit. Not only did that hurt and almost electrocute my soul out of my body, it caused us to be spotted.

Even though we were neck-deep in trouble and her invention proved to be only a partial success, we couldn’t help but laugh as we tried our best to run away from security. They almost caught us when we were so close to the exit, but- in a stroke of luck- the Mana Cores caused the bracelets to start to smoke. ‘Chuck ‘em! The Cores are gonna blow’, I remember her exclaiming. Ah, they were always prone to exploding everywhere and these ones certainly did explode the very moment they left our hooves. Between the smoke and the bits of bracelet flying in every direction, it provided enough time and cover for us to make a clean escape. Too bad we were caught later, though, when a member of staff recognized us. We were suspended from school for a week and grounded for a month, but it was worth it.

That was so long ago now, almost an eternity it seems. Things have been so incredibly different for so long, it almost seems like those memories are nothing more than dreams. Those dream-like memories have been almost completely replaced by the memories I’ve gained living in this unforgiving, god-forsaken sandbox in an alien world. Most of those are memories of the part I’ve played in a war we got drug into unknowingly and unwillingly. I’ve done things- and seen things- I would have never thought in a million years I’d do… or see. We both have. Our lives here and the things we’ve experienced and seen firsthoof are equal parts tragic, inspiring, sad, heartwarming and gut wrenching.

Well, honestly, it’s been more tragic and haunting than anything. Since the beginning, I’ve wanted nothing more than for us to go home. Even now, as I lay here wounded and dying, I want us to go home. Even if we had the opportunity, though, there’s no way we could ever go back to Equestria or our old lives. After adapting to this harsh, savage world and the things we’ve done to survive another sunrise, it would be hard- almost impossible- to adapt back to Equestrian life. I’d like to see it one last time regardless. Now more than ever. Victory always comes with a price and it’s one it looks like I’ll be paying soon enough.

That’s why I’m recording this on this little gray square. A holotape, I think Anova called it. When I’m gone, I want my story to be remembered. I want to be remembered. I know they’ll regard me a hero, call me a legend. Well, they already do, but how long until I’m forgotten? Months? Years? Centuries? Even with this recording, I know I’ll fade into obscurity eventually, but maybe this tape will prolong it. All the suffering and enduring I’ve through, everything I’ve witnessed and now being so close to death… The very thought of going through all this, all just to be forgotten? All the sacrifices I’ve made, just to end up all for nothing and wind up an unimportant nobody when my time comes?

It’s terrifying, scares me to my core. All this rambling and philosophy I’ve gone on and on about, it’s honestly funny how having death hover around so closely can change somepony. Maybe I’m just being overdramatic. I probably am. I suppose if I don’t get to the point, this tape’ll be a waste of my dying breath and I’d kick the bucket before I’m finished. Maybe if I make it, I’ll tell you more in depth about our lives in Equestria. I don’t think I will, though. Make it, that is. Things are looking… less than stellar. Pretty grim, you know? What better place to start our story than the beginning of the end? Our last day- last hours- in Equestria. Our last day of normality. Well… It all started on the day of our high school’s annual science fair…

"And you're sure these aren't going to, you know... explode? Again?"

The purple coated mare looked at her doubtful friend with a look of mild irritation. Anova raised her eyebrows as she huffed out a sigh and rolled her golden-colored eyes. She resumed her last minute adjustments to the two tube-like inventions she had spent the last year pouring her heart and soul into. These inventions stood about two adult-sized ponies tall and could fit at least three inside comfortably.

The matte gray tops and bottoms were identical in nearly every way, circular with thin rings of black within and four rectangular pieces that were placed one on each side of the main circles. The sole difference between the two were the metallic centers. The bottom center was colored blue while the top center was colored red. Connecting the pads to the top were two thick glass panels, one of which was affixed to a sliding track that allowed entry inside them. On the inside the stationary panels were small yellow and gray boxes with a singular red button. On the outside was a small yellow computer with an empty black screen and built-in keyboard. The buttons on the keyboard were a dark gray with red symbols and letters on them.

“Yes, yes, yes. I’m POSITIVE they’re not going to explode,” Anova said through gritted teeth “have some faith, Bezzy, won’t you?”

“I always have faith your inventions will work. Faith doesn’t stop them from exploding, though,” Bezezelle quipped, stifling a laugh.

“Augh! You drive me nuts sometimes, you know that, bugbrain?” Anova exasperated as she threw a wad of paper at her.

“Love you too, nerdbrain,” Bezezelle playfully mocked.

“You’re gonna love it when this screwdriver finds its way up your derriere if you keep it up,” Anova threatened.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time if you’re not gonna keep your end of the bargain,” Bezezelle teased.

“Kinky bitch,” Anova muttered under her breath.

“Only for you, my dear,” Bezezelle continued to tease.

“Okay, love you, mean it, but… could you kindly go stand in the corner or something until I’m done?” Anova questioned with a small sigh “you can aggravate me later. You know, when I’m not working on something important?”

“Aww, am I in time out now, sissy?” Bezezelle questioned, faking a pout.

Anova looked at Bezezelle and glared harshly as she pointed to a corner on the opposite side of the garage. Bezezelle humored the request and trotted over to the appointed corner, all the while pretending to be sad about the ‘punishment’ dished out to her. Anova let out another sigh and shook her head as she resumed her last minute touch-ups. A few minutes passed by before the garage door swung open and smacked against the concrete walls. In the doorway stood Anova’s brash, snot-nosed younger brother. He wore a large, snarky grin on his face as he peered down into the garage with his magenta eyes.

The young colt was a unicorn just like his parents and sister. Short and squat, his powder blue coat and dark brown mane were neatly brushed for the school day. A neatness that would only last until recess, if Anova and Bezezelle knew the kid well. He stomped down the first couple of steps that led into the garage and then took a seat. His current attitude gave off ‘recently-promoted-to-CEO-so-now-I’m-better-than-you’ vibes to Bezezelle, something that was an often occurrence.

“Hey, buttheads! Mom says it’s time to leave, like, right now!” He barked proudly “pack up your nerdy projects and let’s go!”

“We’ll be up in a minute, Jet Force. Now scram before I stuff you in the mailbox,” Anova said in a mostly dismissive tone.

“I’m gonna tell mom you said you were gonna stuff me in the mailbox, you meanie,” Jet Force huffed, his face crinkling in anger.

“Don’t call me a butthead, then. Be a meanie to me, it’s only fair that I be a meanie back,” Anova sneered.

“Nuh-uh!” Jet Force argued back.

“Jet Force! SCRAM!” Anova exclaimed angrily.

“Butthead!” Jet Force huffed as he quickly turned and left.

The young brat slammed the door behind him, his stomps audible as he stormed off on his way to likely to complain to their mother. Anova rose from the stool she had been sitting on and roughly packed up the tools sprawled over the workbench into her toolbox. Bezezelle quietly left her corner and approached Anova as she packed up the various equipment she needed. She reassuringly patted her best friend on the shoulder.

“Hey, relax some, okay? I know the two of us have danced all over your nerves this morning, but today’s the big day,” Bezezelle said in a sympathetic tone “if we want everything to go right, we’ve got to be in a good state of mind.”

“Tch. Danced all over my nerves indeed,” Anova mumbled with a long, annoyed sigh.

“Hey, hey. What kind of dog does a scientist keep?” Bezezelle questioned as she playfully nudged Anova.

“Hmm, one that helps the scientist get their inventions to the wagon for the school science fair?” Anova answered, raising her brows.

“Close, but naaah. The correct answer is… laboratory retrievers!” Bezezelle revealed with an over exaggerated laugh.

“Tch. That was soooo corny,” Anova said as she tried not to laugh “laboratory retrievers. Heh, that was a good one, though. I’ll give you that.”

Anova gave Bezezelle a small grin as she packed the last of her tools and used her gold-colored magic to place the toolbox in the back of her family’s wagon. Bezezelle lent a hoof in getting Anova’s inventions into the back of the wagon, which they then secured with what Bezezelle felt was an unnecessary amount of multicolored bungee cords. Although the weather forecast called for clear, sunny skies all day, Anova then secured a blue tarp over the wagon to shield her hard work from any sneaky, rouge rain clouds. With the devices snuggly secured to the wagon, Bezezelle volunteered to pull the wagon and secured the harness around her waist.

Anova walked alongside the wagon as the pair united with the rest of the family at the end of their home’s walkway. Jet Force sat on his mother’s back with a pouty look on his face, still clearly upset with his older sister. Their mother- Lila Love- was a tall, slender and very attractive mare with a well kept lavender coat, curled turquoise and soft yellow striped hair and big, expressive magenta eyes. She was very well known and twice as popular in their hometown of Potter’s Fray, not only because of her good looks and charming personality, but thanks to the modeling career that landed her in numerous fashion and beauty magazines all over the country.

Their father- on the hoof- was noticeably smaller in height than the average stallion. Despite the few wrinkles on his face and numerous wiry gray hairs mixed in with the dark brown in both his mane and facial hair, fellow townsfolk often accidentally mistook Kelvin Comet for somepony around his daughter’s age. That was, at least, until they viewed his face and realized he was- in fact- an almost-sixty-year-old stallion. Anova inherited her father’s eyes and coat, as well his earnest love for technology.

If Bezezelle hadn’t been so well acquainted and loved by Anova’s family, she might have- like some of the townsfolk- found the twenty-one year age gap between Anova’s parents to be strange. More than anything, Bezezelle found it sweet and endearing, as the two were happily married and deeply in love. Having lived with them for so long and gotten to know their story by heart, it really annoyed Bezezelle when her classmates would accuse Mrs. Lila of being a ‘gold digger’ or using Mr. Kelvin as a ‘sugar daddy’. She made sure to remind them that- despite his well paying engineering job- Anova’s mother made twice the amount her father did.

“You’re sure your whatchamacallits are going to work, Novie?” Mr. Kelvin questioned as the duo approached.

“Should I go with the two of you to school, darling? Just in case they, you know…” Mrs. Lila trailed off and mimicked the sound of an explosion with her mouth.

“Ugh! Mom, dad, just because past experiments exploded doesn’t mean these will!” Anova exclaimed in annoyance.

“Mr. Kelvin, sir, she’s calling them ‘Instantaneous Teleportation Pads’. It might be easier to remember if you call them ITPs,” Bezezelle said with a reassuring smile “but they’ll work, sir. These won’t explode.”

“I know you mean well, but could you for once believe in me and have faith that, this time, something of mine will work?” Anova questioned, her eyebrows raised in irritation.

“I’m sorry, Novie. We didn’t mean it like that,” Mrs. Lila said apologetically “of course we believe in you. We just worry for your safety, that's all.”

“Relax, I’m not gonna get hurt. As a safety precaution, I designed them to contain an explosion if something does go wrong,” Anova explained with an exasperated sigh “but nothing will, because they’ll work this time!”

“They’re fruit, school supply, children’s toy and insect tested and approved,” Bezezelle said, trying to maintain an air of reassurance “we only lost a few apples and pencils, but the rest stayed intact… and alive.”

“Well, I’m not a religious stallion, but I pray you’ll stay ‘intact and alive’ when you go to demonstrate your thingamajigs,” Mr. Kelvin said, patting his daughter on the shoulder.

“ITPs, dear,” Mrs. Lila gently reminded her husband.

“That’s what I said,” Mr. Kelvin said with a dismissive wave of his hoof “now, off to school we go!”

Mrs. Lila chuckled softly as she shook her head in response to his comment. Mr. Kelvin trotted off and cheerfully led the group to town to drop the kids off at school. Potter’s Fray was one of the bigger towns on the west coast, shadowed only by Vanhoover and Las Pegasus. While not as popular or considered as a city like the two, Potter’s Fray was still a flourishing, busy town that came close to reaching that status with each passing day. At least, that was what Bezezelle had been told by Anova’s father, but she had no reason to doubt the validity of the statements. It was a beautiful place filled with numerous amazing ponies and fun things to do, and that’s all that mattered to Bezezelle.

After the disaster that was Queen Chrysalis’s siege on Canterlot, word of her defeat had unsurprisingly reached Potter’s Fray. Being a former soldier who had been present at the siege and one of the many to have fought the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, Bezezelle knew their opinions on her kind and walked amongst them disguised as an ordinary earth pony. Her disguise- and alias- was inspired by the mascot featured on the billboard she had landed next to upon her arrival to Potter’s Fray on a dark, moonless night. The billboard had been an advertisement for a beverage popular and only found in Potter’s Fray; Rocket Pop.

Meeting Anova had been a chance encounter in the town’s most popular park that occurred a couple of weeks after Bezezelle’s arrival. The former seemed to have taken a keen interest in Bezezelle after bumping into her and personally welcomed her to the town. Upon learning Bezezelle had no place to call home, Anova invited her to home and introduced her family. After that, Bezezelle had a permanent place in the family’s home and was now like an adopted daughter and sibling to them. It was something that Bezezelle was forever grateful for and never took for granted, but something she also feared losing if anypony learned of her big secret.

Anova was the only member of the family- and the only pony in town- who not only knew her true nature, but had seen her true form and knew her real name. It excited Anova to have a best friend who was secretly a shapeshifting bugpony. She once admitted to Bezezelle that one of her numerous reasons to keep her secret was that she was somewhat unwilling to share that excitement with anypony else, not even her own family. An odd admission, but one that warmed Bezezelle’s heart every time it crossed her mind.

“Do you two need help with getting your doohickies into the gymnasium?” Mr. Kelvin questioned.

The inquiry pulled Bezezelle from her thoughts and back to reality. Jet Force had already been dropped off at his K-8 school a couple of blocks away and now the four of them stood just outside the highschool’s gate.

“Daaaad! Ugh!” Anova whined with a pouty look “you can recite the entirety of your work manual by heart word for word but can’t even remember the acronym for my inventions?”

“Wha- Of course I remember! RGBs, right?” Mr. Kelvin scoffed proudly.

“Not even close, darling. She calls them ITPs for short,” Mrs. Lila said as she patted his shoulder.

“That’s what I said!” Mr. Kelvin exclaimed “Sheesh, I know I’m getting old, but maybe you should get your hearing checked out, hunny bun.”

“In that case, ‘oldielocks’, let’s go to the ear doctor and let the kids get set up for the fair,” Mrs. Lila said with a petty smirk.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m itchin’ what you’re scratching,” Mr. Kelvin said dismissively.

“Nopony says that anymore, dad. Try ‘I’m picking up the vibes’ or something,” Anova teased “you know, to stay ‘hip and young’ and all that.”

“Tch. ‘Vibe’ yourself to that gymnasium, smartypants,” Mr. Kelvin teased back.

With that, Anova’s parents began to trot away towards the direction that had previously come from. Mrs. Lila looked back at the pair of teens and waved goodbye to them.

“We love you, darlings. Have a wonderful day at school,” Mrs. Lila called out as she blew a kiss “stay safe and out of trouble... Anova.”

“Oh, and Atom Bunny, dear, would you please keep Anova on track during the presentation? We know just how… enthusiastic she can be,” Mrs. Lila added.

“Hehe, don’t worry, Mrs. Lila. I’ll keep her on the rails, I promise,” Bezezelle assured with a big smile.

“Bye mom, bye dad! We’ll see you after school!” Anova called out “love you too!”

Anova turned to Bezezelle and flashed a grin of excitement. Bezezelle returned the same grin before turning and leading the pair to the school’s outside entrance for the gym. The double doors were propped open as wide as they would go and allowed entry to the slow stream of students bringing in their entries to the annual science fair. The doors were guarded by the school’s head principal and vice principal, who greeted each student who walked past and complimented their entries.

As Anova and Bezezelle approached, the pair of principals looked over at them. Their eyes gazed up at the tarp-covered contents, then looked at each other with regretful looks on their faces. Bezezelle knew and understood why. She even sympathized with them. Anova had the reputation of ‘that one student’ who always took science class and the science fair ‘way too seriously’ amongst the entirety of the school population. In a school environment, maybe that was partly true, but Bezezelle knew science was simply Anova’s greatest passion and hobby. Something she loved dearly and- perhaps- at times did take it a bit too seriously. Bezezelle couldn’t fault her for that.

The principals- to an extent- knew and understood that like Bezezelle did, but it didn’t take much imagining to sympathize with the amount of trouble, money and paperwork they would go through when Anova would reveal a new invention on school grounds. Bezezelle couldn’t speak for the complete authenticity of it, but apparently the school had an entire separate budget set aside solely for damages incurred by the failure of Anova’s experiments. A budget that Bezezelle heard was mostly funded by Anova’s parents. Regardless of the truth and despite the regrets they had for allowing Anova to participate, Bezezelle knew the principals admired Anova’s drive and passion for learning.

Once, Bezezelle even overheard the head principal telling members of staff that- as annoying as constantly repairing parts of the school was- it was wrong to ban her from participating in events like the annual science fair. ‘Someday, she’ll figure out a rhythm that works’, she had told them ‘but until then, she’ll experiment with what she knows and blow up walls in the process’.

“Good morning, Atom Bunny. Good morning, Anova,” Head Principal Sandy Breeze greeted with a smile.

Principal Breeze was a unicorn mare roughly the same age as Anova’s mother. Bezezelle was almost certain Ms. Breeze was older than Mrs. Lila, but she had no proof as the head principal kept her age a secret from the students. Ms. Breeze was average sized in height but more on the plump side in terms of weight. As usual, she wore a dark blue suit jacket with a white ruffle dress shirt underneath that contrasted with her teal colored coat, short blonde bob and rose colored eyes.

“Good morning, Principal Breeze,” Anova greeted back, maintaining her excited grin.

“Good morning!” Bezezelle cheerfully greeted back.

“What, uh, ‘delightful’ inventions are you submitting for this year’s entry?” Vice Principal Silver Note asked Anova with a strained smile.

Vice Principal Note was an earth pony a bit older in age wearing similar attire, except their jacket was black and featured a silver rose lapel pin on the chest pocket. Mx. Note had a beige colored coat and long, curly silver and white striped hair. Their carrot color eyes hid behind a pair of round, black framed glasses. Everypony knew Mx. Note wasn’t a morning pony and knew to not take what came across as unfriendliness personally. By the end of the day, Mx. Note was a blast to be around and always had everypony laughing with their corny jokes and assortment of amatuer magic tricks.

“I call them ‘Instantaneous Teleportation Pads’, something I know will change ponykind in the best way possible for a long time to come,” Anova answered excitedly.

“And I’m assuming you’re pairing with Anova on this entry… as usual, Bunny?” Mx. Note asked Bezezelle.

“Yes, Vice Principal,” Bezezelle answered with a small nod.

“Alright, then. Will you two need a Lot with access to an outlet?” Mx. Note questioned.

“Do you even need to ask? Of course not! These works of art are powered by-”

“Your ‘Mana Cores’. Yes, we’re aware, Anova. Very well aware,” Ms. Breeze interrupted with a small sigh “which is why I’ve reserved Lot 37 for your entry.”

“Aww, we always get Lot 37. Can’t we be in a more front and center Lot this year?” Anova whined “I don’t want to be in the same corner every science fair!”

“I’m sorry, Anova. It’s just for safety purposes and damage control,” Ms. Breeze said apologetically “I understand your frustration, but once you’re able to properly stabilize your wonderful inventions, then I’ll make sure to have you front and center, okay?”

“Prepare to have us front and center then, because I know without a doubt these are a hundred percent stable!” Anova said proudly.

“Well, in that case, we look forward to seeing your entry in action, Anova,” Ms. Breeze said with a kind smile “but it’s Lot 37 for now.”

“Ugh, okay, fine,” Anova said defeatedly.

Ms. Breeze patted Anova on the shoulder reassuringly before gesturing for her and Bezezelle to enter the gym.

“Oh, and you’ll need to leave the wagon outside, Bunny,” Mx. Note said as they gestured to an empty spot in the grass behind themselves.

Bezezelle looked from the Vice Principal to the wagon she pulled, then two the gym doors. A beige colored metal pole was fixed in the center of the doorframe. Its presence prevented Bezezelle from walking through with the wagon still attached. She looked back at them and raised her eyebrows as if to say ‘you don’t say’ without uttering a word. Mx. Note simply shrugged in response as Bezezelle turned and parked the wagon in the grass nearby. Ms. Breeze helped Anova remove the tarp and bungee cords as Bezezelle removed the harness from around her waist.

Bezezelle followed along behind Ms. Breeze and Anova as they carried Anova’s fair entries inside the gym. Once inside, they took an immediate left and in a few short trots arrived at the back corner of the gym. Medium sized square ‘lots’ made of red duct tape were spaced evenly throughout the orange floor of the gym and assigned a number. A makeshift sign made of paper, permanent marker, a yardstick and a block of green foam indicated that this corner lot was Lot 37. If anypony looked close enough at the walls around the lot or even at the floor, they’d be able to see where it was replaced time and time again from the many fair entries of Anova’s that suffered from a Mana Core malfunction.

“You two know the drill. Set up your entry, do what you’ve gotta do and then head on to your homeroom classes,” Ms. Breeze instructed “your fourth period teachers will dismiss you when it’s time for the fair to begin.”

“Yes ma’am. Thanks for the helping hoof,” Anova said, wasting no time in getting her inventions presentation ready.

Ms. Breeze nodded her head in response before she turned and went back to her post outside by the doors. There wasn’t much in the way of help that Bezezelle could provide Anova, so she simply stood nearby and watched her best friend work her magic. Out of the corner of her eye, Bezezelle could see a familiar figure approaching them. Bezezelle let out an annoyed sigh as she braced for the insults that were about to come their way.

“Hey, baby horn! What kind of bombs did you bring to blow up part of the school this year?” The familiar figure heckled.

Anova paused what she was doing and let out a loud, irritated groan. She then continued with her setup preparations and tuned out the heckler. Bezezelle turned and looked at the cause of irritation; the school’s most popular colt, star buckball player and resident stereotypical bully. She honestly was unbothered by the things Wild Haze had to say about her, but the nasty things said about Anova made her blood boil. If she knew she could get away with it, Bezezelle would buck him right in his stupid face every chance she could. If she could guarantee her secret wouldn’t be compromised in any way, shape or form, Bezezelle would have used her changeling abilities to frame Wild in some way to get him into a heap of trouble.

“Hey, baby dick! Are you actually participating in the fair this year or is a baking soda and vinegar volcano still way over your head?” Bezezelle sneered as she placed herself between him and Anova.

“Was I talking to you, dumbass?” Wild Haze questioned angrily.

“No, but I was talking to you and you didn’t deny having a baby dick, so it looks like I’ll be telling everypony about it,” Bezezelle snapped “unless you’d like to kindly fuck off?”

“Oh, go choke on an apple, bitch. Calling your nerdy ass friend ‘baby horn’ is a factual statement,” Wild Haze snapped back “that thing’s so small, her mane completely hides it. It might as well not even be there.”

“Okay? And calling you ‘baby dick’ is a factual statement too,” Bezezelle snapped “your dick is so small and useless, Blossom can’t even reach the Big O, jackass. It might as well not be there.”

“Shut up about my dick, you bland cunt. You haven’t seen it and- for the record- it’s the biggest in the entire school,” Wild Haze sneered.

“I haven’t seen it, true, but Blossom talks an awful lot about it and how disappointed it makes her feel,” Bezezelle said snarkily.

“How do you know it’s the biggest, anyways? Been trading polaroids with the other colts in the school?” Anova chimed in “I’d say Blossom would be pissed to know you’ve been showing your nudes with anypony who isn’t her, but even she knows there isn’t much to look at.”

“I mean, we’re both a hundred percent okay with and accepting of colts being attracted to colts, so no hate there, but isn’t trading nudes with anypony other than your s.o. cheating?” Bezezelle questioned, her words laced with sarcasm.

“Oh, totally. A hundred percent cheating. Blossom’s gonna be sooo pissed,” Anova answered in an identical tone.

“You know what? I’m gonna-”

“Gonna what? Beat me up? Tch, good luck with that. Go bother somepony else who actually gives a shit, Haze,” Anova interrupted “at least what I lack in horn size, I make up for in intelligence. Unlike you.”

“And then some,” Bezezelle added “but if you’re looking for somepony to hand you your ass on a silver platter, I’m more than willing to help.”

“Tch, that’s real rich. You? Kick my ass? In your wildest dreams, asshat,” Wild Haze scoffed “I’ve got better things to do than waste my time talking to the two of you nerds.”

“Unfriendly reminder you walked over to us, so you’ve already wasted your time and ours,” Bezezelle snarked “but thanks for fucking off. Have fun disappointing your marefriend some more, loser.”

“Fuck you!” Wild Haze angrily exclaimed as he turned and stormed off.

“No thanks!” Anova and Bezezelle exclaimed in unison.

“He’s so intimidated by my smarts and accomplishments, but even he won’t admit it. He’s got to go and make a fool of himself just to prove he’s the best,” Anova scoffed “he’s worried I’ll outshine him.”

“You already do, Anova! You’re better than him in every aspect that matters in teenage society,” Bezezelle said encouragingly “for somepony considered a ‘nerd’, you’re pretty up there in terms of popularity. You’ve got more money than him that you earned yourself. You’re smarter, better looking, more likable and the list is just endless!”

“Hehehe, careful now. Don’t stroke my ego too much, I’m not ready to climax just yet,” Anova teased “save it for the presentations later.”

“Ma’am, yes, ma’am,” Bezezelle laughed.

The gymnasium was now filled nearly to the brim with both students and faculty members. A roar of chatter filled the room and the excitement in the air was palpable. Anova and Bezezelle had taken their place at their assigned lot and now the former was pacing back and forth nervously. Although confident that her inventions would work, Anova couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous about her half of the presentation. Bezezelle felt nervous about her half as well, but tried to remain confident for the both of them. As they waited for the judges of this year’s fair to make their way to the back of the gym, Bezezelle mentally rehearsed her lines.

Prior to the start of their project, the two had agreed Anova would handle the majority of the work involved and Bezezelle would help present it and do most of the talking, even if she didn’t quite understand every bit of what she was presenting. As long as she remained confident, Bezezelle was sure the judges would believe she knew what she was presenting… or so she hoped. After what felt like a painstaking eternity, the judges- the mayor, the superintendent and the dean of the local community college- finally arrived at Lot 37 and were accompanied by Ms. Breeze, who introduced the duo and their project’s title.

“Hello, sirs and ma’ams. Thank you for taking the time out your busy schedules to be here today,” Bezezelle greeted “and thank you for taking the time to hear out our presentation.”

“As Ms. Breeze has already informed you, our entry for this year’s science fair are inventions I’ve named ‘Instantaneous Teleportation Pads’- or just ITPs for short,” Anova explained “the name is just a placeholder until I can think of something better to name it.”

“Well, as with all your inventions, they certainly look impressive and sound interesting, but what do they do? How does it work?” Mayor Solar Mark questioned.

“And what’s the science behind it? How will it benefit our society?” Superintendent Thunder Gust questioned.

Anova took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled it as she stepped aside, gesturing at her inventions with a hoof. Bezezelle knew that was her cue and quietly cleared her throat before gesturing to the pads herself.

“All excellent questions that we’re so glad you asked. The devices are powered by a newer version of Anova’s Mana Cores, which- as you already know- are made of raw magic condensed and stabilized into viable energy sources- or orbs, if you will,” Bezezelle explained “a stable Mana Core is impressive in and of itself, but the real gem of this project is a little something we’re calling the ‘Spell Core’. Without it, these pads are nothing more than sci-fi eye candy.”

“Similar to Mana Cores, the Spell Cores are orbs of magic that take any existing spell and condense it into an easy-to-use, stable repository that anypony can use, particularly those who are naturally unable to utilize magic!” Anova explained with great excitement “both the teleportation pads and Spell Cores are easy to use for anypony, but are aimed more for earth ponies, pegasi and any unicorn who hasn’t learned to teleport.”

“These Spell Cores for these pads use a specific core that we call the TeleCore- for obvious reasons- as it contains the magic of teleportation spells inside,” Bezezelle explained “based off their looks, it would be a more apt description to call them ‘teleportation tubes’ than ‘pads’, but the top and glass panels serve important purposes.”

“As I’m sure you can recall, my previous inventions used Mana Cores that- in the end- didn’t remain stable. While these newer versions of Mana Cores are perfectly stable, in the event of a malfunction the thick glass and blast-resistant top are there to contain the resulting explosion,” Anova explained “one side of the glass panels are attached to a sliding track that allow users to enter the pads. The top also serves as the housing for the TeleCores, which are easily identified by the red metallic circles. The blue circle you see at the bottom is the housing for the Mana Cores.”

“Additionally, when closed, the glass panels form a tight seal to help further contain any malfunctions. The computers- or terminals as we call them- you see attached to the stationary panels are an important feature that control the entirety of the pads’ functions,” Bezezelle explained.

She paused her explanation momentarily to trot over to the pad closest to her and turned the monitor on. The screen lit up, displaying a welcoming message and a list of available options in a bright green text.

“Before one can use the teleportation pads, they must use the terminal to select the ‘Power’ option in the menu to turn on the main power for the pads. While not in use, the pads essentially run on a low-power mode that only feeds power to the terminals,” Bezezelle explained “with the main power activated, however, users can now select their desired location from the ‘Locations’ option in the menu. Once a place is chosen, the terminal will present two options: ‘Proceed’ or ‘Abort’. Choosing the ‘Proceed’ option automatically opens the panel, while ‘Abort’ clears all selections and returns you to the main menu.”

“Additionally, once the main power for one pad is activated, a signal is sent out that automatically turns on the main power for the receiving pad,” Anova quickly added.

Anova trotted over to the pad closest to her and excitingly gestured to the attached terminal before turning its monitor on as well. She drew an imaginary circle around the pad with a hoof and then patted the top of the computer gently as she began to speak.

“Now, I’m sure your asking yourselves just how exactly the terminals are able to determine the location of the other pad. The answer is both simple and quite exciting,” Anova explained “think of Bezezelle’s pad as ‘Pad A’ and mine as ‘Pad B’. Both terminals are equipped with a ‘Geolocator’, which is just the fancy word I’m using in place of ‘GPS’. The Geolocators auto-detects the locations of both its home pad and the sister pad.”

“It’s a two-way system, kind of like walkie-talkies in a sense. The Geolocators send out signals that both pads pick up, which shows up in the ‘Location’ options. Pad A displays its location on the main menu but isn’t selectable while Pad B’s location is selectable in the ‘Locations’ options,” Bezezelle explained “since these two are the only ones in existence and they’re both here, the location options for these aren't all too impressive at the moment.”

Bezezelle paused her explanation once again to use the keyboard to turn on Pad A’s main power, then to select the location of Pad B from the appropriate options. She then selected the ‘Proceed’ option when prompted, which opened the moveable panel with an audible ‘swish’. Bezezelle then proudly entered the pad and faced the judges and Ms. Breeze. Just as they had explained, once Pad A had become visibly powered, the black rings now emitting a bluish light and an overall quiet electrical hum, Pad B powered up and did the same. Anova quickly joined Bezezelle inside the pad with an ear-to-ear excited grin on her face.

“Once inside, users will find a small, yellow and gray box with only a red button on it. This button signals for the doors to close or- if you’re now at the receiving pad- to open them,” Anova explained, barely containing her excitement “as soon as the doors are closed at the home pad, the TeleCore activates, reads the location signals from the computers on both pads and casts the spell to send the user to the target location.”

“It’s a process that is one hundred percent safe to use. We’ve tested it numerous times on various inanimate objects like toys, pencils and hammers as well as organic life like apples and small insects,” Bezezelle explained.

“But you haven’t tested it on actual ponies yet? It may be safe for apples, crickets and model cars, but how can you be sure it’s safe for pony use?” Mayor Mark questioned.

“No ponies have used these yet, but… Atom Bunny and I will provide a live demonstration to you right now to prove that it is- in fact- safe for usage by ponies!” Anova proudly answered “and now, behold as we get moved from Pad A to Pad B in a matter of seconds!”

By now, a large crowd of onlookers had gathered behind the judges and watched on in awe and minor disbelief at the pair’s bold claims. At the front of the crowd, Bezezelle could see Wild Haze standing next to his marefriend- Blossom Dance- with a look of mischievous satisfaction on his face. Before she had time to question it, Anova gently nudged her and gestured for Bezezelle to press the button. Bezezelle momentarily stared at Wild Haze before looking away as she pressed the button. With another ‘swish’, the panels closed and the inside of the tubes became bathed in a red hue from TeleCore above them.

The previously quiet electrical hum grew gradually louder with every passing second as the red light from TeleCore also grew. The electrical hum soon became an electrical screech that was unbearably loud and almost painful, causing everypony nearby to cover their ears instinctively. A look of horror spread on Bezezelle and Anova’s faces as they realized something was going horribly wrong with the process.

“This isn’t right! It shouldn’t be doing this! Everything was fine! Everything… Somepony must have tampered with the pads while we were in class!” Anova shouted over the electrical screeching “Open the door! Open the door now! Hurry! Hurry!”

Bezezelle frantically pressed the button, but was only met with an error noise as the screeching continued and grew ever louder. She pressed the button repeatedly in hopes that it would listen and release them from the tube. However, the only thing that happened as a result was multiple error noises being played back to back. To make matters worse, the tube was now visibly shaking and vibrating, like the whole thing was getting ready to blow at any given second without warning.

“It’s not working! It’s not working! Just teleport us out!” Bezezelle frantically shouted.

“I-I can’t! I… I don’t know how! I had my mother help me with that part!” Anova shouted, tears filling her eyes.

“We’ll be okay, right? No matter what happens?” Bezezelle questioned.

“I don’t know! I’m sorry! I don't know what will happen!” Anova answered “I’m sorry I asked you to get involved!”

“What? No! We’re in this together, even if the worst happens!” Bezezelle shouted.

“Somepony sabotaged my inventions, Bunny! Somepony had to, I know it! Everything was working fine before we got to school!” Anova shouted.

Her words didn’t reach Bezezelle’s ears, as the screeching had swallowed their sound, but Bezezelle was able to make out her words regardless. There was only one pony she knew that would be bold enough to do something as low as sabotage. Angrily, Bezezelle pointed in Wild Haze’s direction and shouted something the onlookers couldn’t quite make out. As the red light completely obscured the trapped mares in the tube, Bezezelle squeezed her eyes shut, reached out for Anova and pulled her best friend into a tight hug. She didn’t know what was going to happen to them, but made sure her last thoughts were of all the happy memories she shared with Anova.

The screeching reached its climax and- despite having their eyes closed- the pair could tell the red light shifted to a lighter- but equally bright- color. Bezezelle squeezed Anova tightly as it seemed the end was near. Abruptly, the screeching was momentarily replaced by an ear piercing ‘poof’-like noise and then even more abrupt, ear-ringing silence. In tandem with this, the bright light suddenly turned to total darkness. A frighteningly long time passed by during this silent darkness, leading Bezezelle to believe that the two of them had moved on to the afterlife. Another ear piercing ‘poof’ and sudden return of bright light, however, soon proved them both wrong about their fate.

Bezezelle opened her eyes and looked upwards on instinct to see an empty, red colored void that immediately shrunk and disappeared, revealing a vast blue sky littered with wispy white clouds. Her eyes widened with fear and her ears flattened against her head, but before she could make a single sound, Anova screamed and clinged even tighter to Bezezelle. Immediately, Bezezelle followed Anova’s fear-filled gaze to the ground below that was coming at them fast. As the wind whistled loudly in her ears, Bezezelle used a hoof to make Anova look at her.

“Do something quick before we become flatter than a crepe!” Bezezelle shouted over the wind “Anything is better than dying!”

“Wha- yeah! Yeah! Hold on, I’ll think of something!” Anova agreed in a panicky tone.

Anova looked around frantically as she tried to think of a way to prevent them from getting hurt. An idea suddenly came to her and immediately used her magic to cast telekinesis around them, which drastically slowed their fall enough that the pair didn’t die upon impact with the hot sand below. Much to their surprise, they suffered no major injuries that they could tell at the moment but did gain several painful bruises. Bezezelle released her iron grip on Anova and rolled onto her back with a pained groan. Anova hugged the sand and made a noise of relief, grateful to be on solid ground again.

With another groan, Bezezelle slowly stood up and looked around. The side that had made impact on the ground was incredibly sore and was borderline unbearable to Bezezelle. As she looked around, Bezezelle struggled to recognize their surroundings. Behind them was a tall, rocky mountain. In front was a seemingly endless existence of rock and sand. If she squinted hard enough, Bezezelle could barely make out what looked like a windmill off in the distance in front of them and what appeared to be a town roughly off to their left. Bezezelle gently nudged Anova with her back leg, which caused the latter to cease her praise of the ground and look up at her best friend.

“Are we in the San Palomino Desert?” Bezezelle asked as she looked down at Anova.

“I have no idea, Bezzy,” Anova replied as she stood up with a pained groan “but it sure seems like it, at least.”

“I think we may be in luck for a change of pace. I could be wrong, but I think I see a town over that way,” Bezezelle said as she gestured to their left.

“Hmm. Yeah, that looks town-ish to me,” Anova agreed “I guess that’s our only option at this point.”

“Okay, so here’s what we’ll do, Novie. We’ll travel to the town, if they’ve got a doctor of some kind, we’ll see if they can help ease the pain from our fall and then we’ll get directions back to Potter’s Fray,” Bezezelle said confidently “well, at the very least, we’ll get directions back to somewhere like Applewood or Las Pegasus.”

“I hope you’re right, Bezzy. I’m sorry this happened to us. I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” Anova said in a sad tone, her voice wavering as she tightly hugged Bezezelle.

“Hey, hey it’s okay, Novie. I’m not mad at you or anything of the sorts, I promise,” Bezezelle said reassuringly as she wrapped a front leg around Anova in a half hug.

“I’m so fucking scared right now, Bezzy. I… I just wanna go home,” Anova said, nearly choking on her words “I want my mom, my dad, even Jet! I… I don’t want to be here!”

“I-I know, I know. We’ll be home soon, okay? It’s okay if you’re scared, I am too, but we can’t cave to fear just yet,” Bezezelle said reassuringly “let’s… wait, d-do you hear that?”

It wasn’t Bezezelle's intention to scare Anova with that last question, but she could hear an odd skittering that she couldn’t quite pin to a source. Bezezelle pulled away from their embrace as she turned around to locate what she was hearing. She soon found her answer as she looked up at a small sandy path leading up part of the mountain. Five child-sized, lizard-like creatures with bluish-gray scales and big orange eyes were quickly advancing towards them on their hind legs, all the while letting out horrendous sounding snarling. There was no doubt in Bezezelle’s mind that these overgrown lizards intended on using her and Anova as hearty meals.

“R-Run! Run!” Bezezelle frantically shouted as she turned and began to gallop.

Anova let out another scream as she quickly followed after Bezezelle. As the pair galloped for their lives, the hungry creatures skittering after them were quickly closing the gap. One leapt forward and landed a successful bite on Bezezelle’s back right fetlock, scratching the skin around with its sharp little claws in the process. Bezezelle let out a loud noise of pain as she tried to run and shake off the attacking beast at the same time. Risking a similar injury, Anova slowed down and paused momentarily to buck the creature off Bezezelle’s leg.

Although successful in removing the pest and just barely avoiding an attack from one of its friends, the forceful removal caused the beast to rip some of Bezezelle’s skin and leave deeper wounds that instantly began oozing a green liquid. Anova frantically caught up to Bezezelle as they continued to flee. A third creature leapt at Anova, this time landing a successful swipe at her left back leg that quickly began bleeding, making Anova cry out in pain as she quickened her pace.

Using her magic, Anova quickly lifted a large rock they had just galloped past and tossed it in the lizard-creatures’ path. This quick thinking successfully slowed the beasts down momentarily, giving Bezezelle and Anova enough time to put a decent amount of distance between them. As they climbed a hill and approached what appeared to be a small windmill attached to a pump-like device, Bezezelle came to an abrupt halt as she panted heavily. Just ahead of them were more of those nasty, lizardy creatures around the pump.

Bezezelle looked at the pack of three ahead that hadn’t yet spotted them, then to the pack behind them and then to the surrounding desert as she quickly assessed the best course action. Quickly, Bezezelle redirected them down a hill and to what seemed like a path off to the right. As they continued to flee, the pair spotted more creatures off to their left which- to their luck and surprise- also didn’t seem to notice them. However, the pack that originally attacked the duo were still pursuing them and steadily gaining ground. As the town grew closer into view, a black-and-gray cattle dog suddenly appeared around a pile of rocks and flew past the duo.

The dog attacked the lizardy creatures, quickly killing two of them as the creatures turned their attention to the dog. Bezezelle and Anova paused to watch the battle between them, which caught the attention of one of the creatures who then leapt towards Bezezelle and landed a solid bite on her left back leg just below her flank. Immense, searing pain spread throughout her leg and flank as the creature's fangs sunk into her flesh. Bezezelle yelped loudly in pain and then flinched as a startling noise echoed in the air. Suddenly, the lizard attacking Bezezelle made a noise of pain as it let go and fell to the ground, writhing momentarily before coming unnervingly still.

Bezezelle and Anova looked upwards to the source of the sudden sound. Standing on the rocks above was a strange, bipedal creature the two had never seen before. Whatever it was, appeared to be female and had white skin, dark colored eyes and reddish hair that looked like it might have been thrown up into a short ponytail or messy bun. The bipedal wore clothing that appeared to be made of leather and wielded a weapon of which the two had never seen before. Whatever it might have been, this weapon was the source of the startling noise but thankfully put a swift end to the remaining monsters that had been pursuing them.

“Whew. We showed up at just the right time didn’t we, Cheyenne?” The creature asked, its voice further cementing that it was female in Bezezelle’s head.

The dog- who Bezezelle assumed was called Cheyenne- approached Bezezelle and Anova, sniffing rapidly in their direction. It barked loudly at them, which caused Anova to make a noise of fear and use Bezezelle to hide herself. The bipedal creature carefully jumped down and approached the duo with a kind smile on her face. Bezezelle took a few cautious steps away, gently pushing Anova alongside her in the process.

“Cheyenne, stay. Don’t worry, she won’t bite,” The creature said as she reached down and patted the dog’s head.

“Let’s get the two of you to Doc Mitchell. Gecko bites can get nasty real quick.”