Twibright pressed to the wall as they slinked. She was partially transparent, as if she had become some sort of ghost.

Watcher was much the same, enveloped in the same spell Twibright had used. "You are useful at times." She peeked around the corner. "I see the crack, but I also see employees coming and going from it."

Behind them, the workers who had been helping them looked confused at the space they had been. "Anyone catch the color of their eyes?"

"The one with the pet seemed like an old money blue. That unicorn was something really different. Never seen those before." He rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. "Were they just window shopping? Why didn't we hear the door close?"

The taller waved a dismissive hand. "Let's go. Maybe we can get that new kid on our shift fired. Wouldn't that be fun?"

The two shared a chuckle as they marched off with renewed determination.

Twibright peeked out from between Watcher's legs. "See?" She pointed at where the crack could barely be seen sneaking out from the hallway. "It hasn't gone far, but I don't know if it has anything holding this side. It may not have spread yet, but we need to fix it now."

Watcher started towards that corner, though her eyes were on Twibright , at least partially. They were still hidden, for the time being, but the more she thought about it, the more she knew the senses of that advanced world were many. Would they be noticed on infrared, motion, or some other sense? She hoped they weren't looking too closely while they were open for business.

Twibright was right, the crack was there. It was also larger than she'd anticipated. "Alright, I see it. We need to do something." It went deeper, but the other side was not something she was familiar with. It had teeth, and eyes. "Considering how bruised this world looked from the outside, this isn't as shocking as it should be."

Catching up with Watcher, Twibright gaped at the horrific mess of the crack as it worked back towards some facility in the back. "That looks a lot worse than the simple 'shattering' we had in Ponytopia. How do we fix it?" She shivered as a long tongue snaked its way free of the crack, licking the air for a moment before it slunk back within.

Watcher waved them back and away from the main room, instead following the line of the crack to an open room where the crack had expanded into what turned out to be a simple store room. The shelves there were lined with EyeGo logos and pictures that implied many were glasses or related things. The crack took the far wall, but it had not spread far into any other parts of the wall in either direction. "We could try the same glue as before. It worked well, then."

Twibright shook her head slowly. "The other crack didn't have so many, um, parts?" She waved at a sharp set of teeth as it came into brief view. "I don't think it will just let you press it together." She swallowed when she heard voices, and the two of them hid behind a large crate marked 'out for delivery'. "Besides, I think that's only a symptom of the larger problem."

Watcher agreed with a firm nod. "You aren't incorrect, but we must manage what we can see before we can trace it backwards."

Several short series of rapid puffs of air caught both of their attention. A new figure rushed in, dressed entirely in concealing clothing. "Get the box and go!" He didn't even glance back to see if they did, racing right back out the way he'd come.

Twibright watched, eyes wide. "What was that?"

Watcher was already looking around. "Good or bad news, depending on your view. I think this place is being robbed. That's very good for us, since we may have a little confusion to work with." She pointed at a large box labeled 'custom'. "That's our target."

Twibright jaw dropped. "Why that one?" She went for it despite her confusion. "There are plenty others. What makes that one special to you?"

Watcher's eyes slid sideways to focus on Twibright . "Why? It's special because he told us it was." She took the opposite side, and together they hefted it up. "Put it where our new guests will see it." Working together, they got it just where one could spot it rushing by.

They didn't have to wait long. The thief returned, and spotted the box right away. "Good, I don't have to hunt it down." He snatched up the box, and raced away from them. A few seconds later, an alarm blared, feet stomping the ground in the hallways outside, along with muffled shots and explosions.

Watcher nodded with a soft sound of satisfaction. "We have our distraction. Now, let's fix this crack."

Twibright sparkled as both ceased to be hidden. She let out a breath of relief at letting that spell go. "How can I help?"

"I am uncertain." Watcher spread her senses and thoughts. "You are right, this is a nastier case. But, what other choices do we have?"

Twibright hummed, her voice barely audible under the alarm. She leaned back on her haunches, and Watcher knew she was thinking hard. "You said you glued it last time, yes?" Watcher nodded. "Can you put some of that glue here?" She pointed just in front of herself. "In a pail?"

Watcher closed her eyes and lifted her hand, drawing forth the glue. It slid from between her fingers into the pail, slowly, but surely filling it. Once it was full, she stopped. "That isn't actually glue, so we're clear, but I am curious how you plan to use it."

"Simple!" Twibright beamed as she got up and walked around the bucket, then faced away. She bent down and took aim. With a small grunt, she pushed, and an orb of magic appeared above the bucket. It scooped out and drew the glue up, holding it aloft as she backed up. "I saw the crack, just as you did before. I want to see if it's something we can use to stitch it shut, if not something more drastic."

Hovering it along, she brought the glue over the crack and shook it around, sprinkling it all over the area in a great shower of the gunk all along the line of the crack, from where it entered the building to the back of the storeroom. "This is great." She kept moving, the glob moving over the crack and dripping as it went. "It's like a highlighter." She brought up her hooves. "And then." She brought her hooves together, her magic grabbing both ends of the crack and forcing it closed as if it were no big deal.

But it was a big deal. Watcher knew that. Watcher also knew Twibright was doing it anyway. She sputtered at the wonderful simplicity of it all. "Little pony, you have brought your world's simple solutions to something vastly greater than you. Keep going!" Watcher scrambled for a wall and braced against it, using the rest of the glue she had to strengthen the place where they were.

It would be sealed. The place they were standing, at least, would be safe. "As you said, this doesn't fix the source, but this world, at least, will be able to finish as it should. That's a win!"

Twibright slumped down, panting. "I'm glad." She smiled at Watcher as her magic wavered. "I don't know what that is. But, if I can help, I'm glad I can do that much at least." She slathered glue along some of the crack that was winding through the hallway outside, sealing it properly. "Are we done here? I'm very curious about this world and how it functions."

Watcher nodded quickly. "I think we both need time to recover from this one." She came up to Twibright and rubbed at her cheek gently. "I have never been more impressed. Let us go back to my place and get something to eat before we do anything else."

Twibright looked confused. "But, I mean, if we do that, I can't examine this." She waved her hooves about. "And I don't think you eat when you don't have a body."

Watcher paused. "Oh." As if she had just forgotten a moment. "You are correct. Still, we must continue to trace towards the source of this, before more worlds are damaged." She paused a moment in thought before nodding slowly. "You know how you use magic?" Twibright nodded. "You can do that even without a body. I can feel your connection to it, as well as your energy. It is what you were meant to do."

She had expected some amount of awe from Twibright, but she looked instead like Watcher had said something silly. "Of course." She pointed at the mark on her rump. "That's my destiny. See? Magic. It's my, uh, thing." She rolled a hoof in the air. "Just like yours was watching. I saw your mark, very on the nose, or in the eye in your case."

Watcher blinked in astonishment, then sighed. "Of course." She placed a hand on her forehead, feeling a little foolish. "I forget that not all worlds have the same things I think of as normal." An existential quagmire? No, that was perfectly normal for Twibright. At least that part. "We should go."

Twibright hopped onto her back. "Let's!" She expected a ride, and she did get one, but they slipped from the world entirely. The multitude of other worlds flew past her before she fell to the ground in Watcher's home. "Oh. That wasn't very nice of you. I really did want to look around that world."

Watcher was already turning their attention to the infinite. "If we had time, I'd let you. But, you do understand what we just did. We mended a world, or at least fixed it enough that the people within it can live, die, and fulfilling lives as their purpose demands. Our objective is to prevent other worlds from having similar problems, with worse outcomes. There are only so many of us outside watchers, so we must move with purpose."

Twibright rubbed her face and stood up. "That makes sense. Besides, if they don't have the glue you used, they won't be able to stop the cracks. What happens then?" She flicked an ear back. "Right, they can't even see the cracks. It'd be really hard for them to fix it." More thoughts tumbled into place. "Why could I see it? Spike couldn't. Pinkie seemed to, but she ignored it. I could, and you could. What made me special?"

Watcher was sifting through dozens on hundreds of worlds at a time. "If I tell you, it may bother you. I have an idea, but I cannot prove it. Do you wish to hear it?"

Twibright nodded slowly.

"You were already cracked. Remember when I said not to enter a crack? I think you did. Accidentally, of course, but you did, and you survived the journey. You emerged as something not quite like your old self." They were quiet a moment, closing in on something. "You can see the crack because you already are. You're not a random individual with some unseen gift. You are a cracked being that can see other cracks."

"Cracked?" Twibright's voice was suddenly small, her eyes wide as she stared at Watcher. She was trying very hard not to panic. Her hooves pressed against the floor, though her body wanted to rise up in terror. "Is, um, oh. Is that why I couldn't just go back?"

"One reason of many." Watcher waved over the infinite. "First, find your world. I have patience if nothing else. Finish that task and we can consider the next problem."

Twibright nodded once, her mind still on her new discovery. "That's a lot to think about." She shook off as much of the emotion as she could, then started looking. "How did you find my world the first time?"

"Luck." Watcher homed in on the next world. "This one may be more familiar, in some ways."

"Oh?" Twibright leaned forward, trying to see what Watcher did.

Watcher brought Twibright's awareness to that one specific world. "It is animated, like yours, but far more violent. It has animals, like yours, but bipedal as a majority, unlike yours. Magic is present. Corruptions appears to be thick. There is no crack yet."

Twibright nodded. "I do want to look around." She licked her lips. "But, if it's not broken yet, maybe we should hurry? I mean, I want to find my world again."

"It is broken, just not in a single fine line as we have been dealing with." The view shifted, showing a cat person skulking through the night. "Their minds. What you may call a soul? They are corrupted, as are the plants, the rocks. Everything is colored. This will be harder to fix."

"Corruption?" Twibright watched the scene unfold, then shuddered when the cat struck, attacking someone. "Oh, you're right, this is a lot more violent. But, if I understand what you said, they didn't used to be?"

Watcher waved, or made the impression of it. "Oh, no. From what I can see, it was always violent. It's become more dangerous in other ways. To lose your life is a quick event. You can suffer other harms that linger even while life continues. We should go. Are you ready?"

Twibright paused. "What about my body?"

"What about it? You are far less strange in this world. Though, since you brought it up, I now wonder what I will be this time. Will we match?" Without waiting, Watcher took grip of their assistant and sent them both hurling into the new world to find out the easiest way possible.

Author's Note

I am curious, are there worlds you hope they get to visit?

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