Hey, you know that nifty new game Bioshock Infinite? Well, this is a crossover with it! So guess what? Correct! THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. Now that that's out of the way, I just hope I do this justice. (I probably won't.)
Elizabeth stood in the now-deserted grove, and stared at the corpse of Zachary Hale Comstock. The corpse of Booker DeWitt. The corpse of her fathers. She'd finally escaped. It was over, but at what cost? She was alone, there was more blood on her hands than she could've ever imagined, and she was just tired. Tired of the fighting. Tired of Columbia. The matter at hand, however, was not any of that. A wave of black swept over the area, centering on her. As it washed over her alternate selves, they simply vanished. She couldn't sense that they opened tears, or escaped; they'd just never existed.
If that was anything to go by she was probably about to stop existing as well. Though her other selves were beyond saving at this point, there was still something she might be able to do. Something she had to be able to do! She wasn't going to die because of some technicality just yet. These technicalities, however, were beyond her control. She'd killed the person who'd shaped her entire life, and now her life was going to disappear. She reached out for the only people she could think of being useful in the situation.
"You should know by now that's it's considered impolite to forgo knocking, dear." Said Rosalind Lutece, emerging from a tear with her twin.
"Although I suppose it's perfectly excusable right now." Robert added.
"Doctor Lutece- Luteces! I don't have any time to-"
"Look around, Elizabeth. There's nothing to be worried about." And as the male Lutece said, the void had frozen in place.
"You can't just stop this, you said it yourself! You're dead! Both of you! You can't interfere in this-"
"This reality is practically gone. See the void? Everything that's not already absorbed by it is all that's left of Columbia." Robert said, gesturing at the area around Elizabeth.
"Well, if we have so much time, stop interrupt-"
"Time is relative to each individual." Rosalind interrupted.
Elizabeth huffed.
"Well, not at first. It doesn't take long branch out for everyone."
"You shouldn't exist. It's over." Elizabeth said as she shoved past them to the tear they had emerged from.
"You shouldn't either."
"Which you should know by now. Now, onto another matter. You're still Elizabeth."
"Yes, I am. What's wrong with that?"
"The only version of you that should still be alive is Anna DeWitt. And Anna DeWitt is not able to manipulate tears."
Robert continued his other's line of thought, "Now, we're in a purge right now. If you come with us, there will be some problems."
"Lots of them, actually.
"A Purge?"
"When an event influenced by multiple dimensions occurs, it will oftentimes repeat itself until it is, using your father's words, smothered. The resulting effect purges all beings created by no-longer-existing events. Hence, Purge. Now, If I remember correctly..." Robert finished Rosalind's sentence.
"Elizabeth Comstock was created directly by the influence of another reality, namely Comstock's and I with my sister. You smothered Comstock at his birth, directly preventing you from ever existing. Or us from ever meeting-" Rosalind butted back into the conversation.
"And we never would've been destroyed and scattered across everything, ever. But since we were, we'll be fine." Robert, annoyed, glared at her and turned the conversation back to himself.
"We're basically separate entities from every reality, but also the same with all of space time."
"I get that. Okay, well, I guess I'm okay with all of this. I'll try and get past this, maybe- oh!" Elizabeth grew elated as she continued talking, "I could go to Paris, and-"
"No." Rosalind said.
"Wait- but-"
"Problems." Robert said.
"Lots of them."
"You need to go make a mark somewhere. Anywhere that isn't Columbia." Robert added.
The other Lutece continued explaining. "Find somewhere you like; make friends, make enemies, kill a monarch. Anything that makes a mark on the reality you're in. There's some nice alternate realities here on Earth that diverged very early. 'Think the first one's where that archaeologist used a laser cannon to carve a love letter in a solid-diamond cliff face. Constant extraterrestrial contact throughout all human history."
"And future." Robert said. "I'd say go find a reality where you can have fun. It's much easier to change things when you don't mean to."
"The only realities I know all have to do with Columbia, I don't know any others." Elizabeth said in defeat.
"Then we'll send you to one."
"...Carry the two, put the Quantum Destabilizer in the Photonic Resonance Chamber, argh, no! Gah!" Doctor Hooves cradled his snout with a foreleg. "I'm almost done. I just need more time. My grand experiment before my life winks out, a finale to my career. I'm almost done. But what's wrong? I've done... everything! Nothing will do it! I've isolated the anomaly, I've tried to breach it with magic, science, strength, hell, I've talked to it for Celestia's sake!"
"I... I should take a break. Oh, I'm talking to myself again. Freud says it isn't healthy, but it's not like there's much life left for it to affect. Get back to the issue at hand, me. A break. Head to Saddle Arabia for a week, relax on the beach. It's not like I can't afford it! I'm the Princess' head scientist!" He sighed. "Oh, who am I kidding, I'll just end up locking myself in the hotel room and working on algorithms all day. I'll just... keep trying! You'll figure it out eventually, Doctor! Aaaand oh I can't do this. There's just- " He sighed again. "I like to sigh, don't I?"
The trio finally arrived at Elizabeth's recommended destination after much contemplation and resistance.
"As you distance yourself from Columbia, your memories shall deteriorate. That said, the likelihood of you being able to return from this world without making your mark," Rosalind curled her hand around an ornate handle on a set of large, ornate doors. "Is very, very low. Would you like to do anything before going any deeper?"
"...Yes."
"Elizabeth, this could have many consequences."
"I know. Problems."
Booker DeWitt rose from his desk as he heard the infant in the next room begin to cry.
"What's it now, Anna?" He sniffed the air. "No... She must be hungry." He left the room, leaving the door open, and strolled to his apartment's kitchen. He heard a faint whooshing noise. Just the wind. Anna stopped crying. Wait, wind? This place is in the middle of- Anna!
"Anna! I'm coming!" He vaulted over his desk, knocking a mountain of files off his desk, scattering them to the floor. He grasped the handle to her room, and pushed it open. Well, he tried it. It was locked. He reared back, and smashed into the door with his shoulder, splintering, then shattering, the wood around the handle. In the center of the room was Anna's crib, rocking back and forth gently. She cooed at the newly-placed mobile handing from the awning on the crib, experimenting with the various shapes hanging from it. Blimps? Wait, no those are houses. Blimps. Blouses. Uh, forget it. He almost thought he heard somebody say 'goodbye'. He was going bring this up with his psychiatrists later.
"Howdy Twilight, Rarity. What brought ya'll out here?" The cowboy-hat donning pony said.
"Excuse us Applejack, I was looking for Spike, he'd been helping Rarity again, and she said she'd sent him on an errand to pick up some spare fabrics from Quills and Sofas almost an hour ago. Have you seen him?"
"Sorry sugarcube, but I ain't seen hide nor hair of him. You try askin' Rainbow? She'd be able to find him right quick."
"We looked for Rainbow, but she must be off working with the Weather Team again, she wasn't sleeping or practicing in the fields." Rarity replied.
"Well, maybe ya'll can ask Pinkie. She works 'round those parts, if he'd gone that way she probably woulda seen 'em."
"You're right, Applejack! Thanks for the help!" Twilight and Rarity began to head back down the path.
"I'd come with ya'll if it wasn't harvestin' time for tha apples! See ya 'round!"
The pair of unicorns trotted down the path at a steady pace.
"She hasn't seen him either, Rarity." Twilight spoke in a hushed, hurried voice.
"Wouldn't it be more productive to tell everyone?"
"Not when we know that one of us is a Changeling, Rarity. A Changeling that's kidnapped Spike!" Twilight sighed. "Did she seem suspicious to you? At all?"
"She's the Element of Honesty, Twilight. If she was lying, any of us would be able to pick it up. Why can't you just... scan them?"
"The Changeling knew how to hide its teleport trail, it's definitely powerful enough to resist that spell. We'd just get a false negative."
"We know that it had to be a pegasus-"
"Then why suspect Applejack and Pinkie Pie?"
"In case the Changeling got them too! The Changeling jumped out your window and flew before teleporting away when you grabbed it with your magic. The only pegasi that had been to your library that day were Rainbow, Fluttershy, Derpy, and Scootaloo."
"And we know it wasn't Scootaloo, Changelings can't change their size that drastically, and Derpy was outside delivering mail across the street, so we know it wasn't her." Twilight paused. "That's it! We can ask the weather team if Rainbow was with them this morning, and if she was, then it's Fluttershy! Oh no! Fluttershy would never be calm again if she was foalnapped! She's too soft!"
"Let's go to the Weather Hut now, we can keep worrying after we talk to Cloud Chaser."
She walked through the doors.
"Yes, we are aware that the-"
"No, you obviously aren't! If you were, you would've approved the bill!"
Celestia sighed.
"Lord Highfalutin, the grant you request has been given to the education system. I'm sure you can fund your new winery by yourself, regardless of the great innovation and joy it shall bring to all of Equestria." Celestia said.
Highfalutin pouted. "You never deny Blueblood grants, yet he is of practically equal, or more likely, lower, rank to me! I call nepotism! You're no leader!"
The Alicorn forced a smile. "I'm sure we can work this out. How about we meet again, say, tomorrow?" Celestia grumbled to herself, "...or never." A thump from the back of the hall shook Highfalutin out of his rant and garnered Celestia's attention. Naturally, what Celestia is aware of, her guards are as well.
"Stop right where you are!" A pair of pegasi clad in gold armor flew through a hatch in the ceiling, spears angled downwards towards the trio of bipedal intruders.
"Such an unwelcoming manner." Said Rosalind.
"Just like the others."
Elizabeth piped up. "Ro-"
"Quiet, dear, the grown-ups are talking." The female Lutece said.
"I- fine." Elizabeth sulked and hung back behind the Luteces.
"Put your hooves- er, hands, where we can see them!" The brown-coated guard shouted.
"You are trespassing on her majesties' property!" His fellow said.
"Quiet boys, we can talk this out." Robert chided.
One guard lowered to their level and held the spear menacingly to Robert's chest. "You will come with us to the dun-"
"Guards, you are dismissed." Celestia chimed.
"Ma'am-" Celestia looked the hovering guard in his reluctant eyes. He prodded his partner and they exited the room. "Lord, you may leave as well. Lord Highfalutin?" The uppercrust was cowering in the corner behind Celestia's throne. "Never mind him. Welcome back, Rosalind, Robert, I see you brought somepo- body with you."
"And now there's talking mythical horses. I should've seen this coming."
"I assume she's new to this." Celestia said, and turned to face Elizabeth. "I'm Celestia, an Alicorn. My sister and I are like..." She turned back to the Luteces. "Does she?" The twins gave an affirmative nod. "Like you."
Author's Note
I say that's a good cutoff point for now. More action and stuff later, but right now, I just had to find some kooky reason for Bioshock Infinite to link to Equestria.
