Archmage: Beyond the Crystal Mirror “Out of Time - Part 1”

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Twilight had resolved herself. She needed to explore more diverse worlds than the ones she had visited already. Granted, the first world was a doozy, and visiting it had been a rather eye-opening experience. But there were millions of more worlds out there, and plenty of them had promising prospects. She conferred with Luna the morning after their most recent visit. Twilight was still sore from the all-night romp.

“I’ve been thinking,” She nuzzled Luna’s wet mane. They were showering. It seemed the two of them had some of their most important discussions while bathing. “I want to explore more complex and different worlds.”

“Oh? So soon?” Luna mused, setting the bottle of shampoo aside.

“Yeah,” Twilight nodded as Luna began scrubbing her mane thoroughly. “Specifically, I want to try a world where I had decided to become a god.” Luna stopped her scrubbing, but Twilight urged her on with a gentle nudge. “I want to see what happened if I tried to save Equestria.” That seemed to put Luna at rest, but she seemed reserved as she continued tending Twilight’s mane.

“I don’t know which one to send you to… There are a few dozen where you chose to become a goddess and tried to save Equestria. Not all of them might be ideal…”

“I trust you.” Twilight smiled as she leaned back into Luna’s scrubbing. “And I could handle it if you send me to a world that isn’t all that good. I survived the first world, didn’t I?”

“True.” Luna was frowning. Twilight didn’t have to look to know. She smiled and nudged her hip once again. “I’m just concerned. Your dreams after visiting that world have been troubled. They still are.”

“Really?” Twilight wilted a little. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, Twilight. You cannot control your dreams. At least, not directly. But do you really want to take the risk and put yourself through that torture again?” Luna stopped her scrubbing, letting Twilight rinse off the white suds.

“I know I can handle it,” Twilight said quietly. “But can you?”

“I’ve seen worse nightmares.” Luna admitted, running her hooves through Twilight’s mane, helping her smooth the long purple strands out. Twilight arched an eyebrow quizzically.

“Really? Celestia’s?”

“Yeah,” Luna’s whisper was almost inaudible. “She’s read some prophecies not even I’ve dared to look at. They give her dreams the likes of which I don’t wish anypony to see.” Twilight gnawed on her lip as the water buffed away the last bits of shampoo. Luna pulled her out of the stream and began applying the conditioner, but Twilight’s mind was elsewhere. Part of her wanted to read these prophecies Celestia had, but for the most part, she was thinking about the world she wanted to visit. As Luna finished with the minty-smelling conditioner, she stepped back under the water with a smile.

“I have faith in you, Luna. I know you’ll send me to a world I can handle. And I’m sorry in advance if my dreams are troublesome for you.”

“They never really are,” Luna’s smile was genuine, and she kissed Twilight gingerly. “As long as I have you to wake up to.”

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“Twilight,” Celestia’s voice stopped her hardly an inch from the portal. Twilight paused and turned about to look at her elder sister. Celestia’s look was troubled, but she wasn’t in any position to stop her. “A word, if I could.”

“Naturally.” Twilight stepped away from the portal, where Luna had it focused to send her to a world where she had agreed to become a goddess, but had tried to save Equestria from the fallout of her prophecy. Celestia stayed where she was, almost as if she were afraid to enter the portal herself. Twilight honestly couldn’t blame her.

“I’ve just come to inform you that I’m returning to Canterlot straightaway. I cannot afford to be absent from matters of state any longer.”

“I understand.” Twilight smiled and stepped further away from the mirror, going to embrace Celestia. She returned the hug with a warm smile, though there was still trouble in those magnificent eyes of hers.

“Please be careful in your experiments, Twilight. I worry for you.”

“No need to worry.” Twilight smiled at Celestia confidently. “I know I can handle whatever comes my way.” She cast a sideways glance to Luna, her smile turning from confident to warm. “With a little help.”

“Truer words…” Celestia smiled and leaned in to give Twilight’s cheek a gentle kiss. “Be careful, Twilight. My thoughts and prayers go with you. And you as well, Luna.”

“Safe journey, sister.” Luna advanced for a gentle embrace of her own. Celestia looked between the two of them a few times. She appeared to want to say something to them, but in the end she closed her mouth and nodded solemnly. When she turned to leave, Twilight and Luna shared a questioning look. Both of them wondered what it was Celestia wanted to say, but they weren’t going to bother her with it. At that moment, they had more important things to focus on.

“Right.” Twilight turned back to the mirror, her jaw set determinately. “So in this world,”

“You become the goddess of magic and use your newfound powers to save Equestria from the fallout of your prophecy. In addition, your relationship with me was stronger than ours has been. You decided to forgive me for my mistakes much sooner than you did in this world, and we’ve ah… Well…”

“We’ve what?” Twilight asked, glancing at Luna questioningly.

“We’ve picked up some rather… Rough… Tendencies in the bedroom. It’s led to the two of us trusting one another more and more.”

“Rough tendencies?” Twilight was intrigued now. Sore from last night, but still intrigued.

“Chains and hoofcuffs.” Luna’s blush was radiant. Twilight felt her own cheeks heat up. Rather than inquire further and invoke the wrath of a princess, she decided to call their attention back to the present.

“Ahem. I’ll be going.”

“I’ll be here when you return.” Luna kissed her softly, a faint smile on her lips. Twilight returned the smile before turning to the mirror once more. This time, nothing stopped her as she stepped forward into a world unvisited.

“Another one? Sheesh.” The voice was alien to her. Twilight blinked her eyes and shook her head, lifting a hoof to her swimming vision. “Wings, horn, alicorn. Here’s your number.” Twilight hardly had a chance to orient herself before a slip of paper was thrust towards her. It held the number eighteen on it, in thick, bold lettering. Hesitantly, she took it from the guardpony holding it out to her.

“Where… What…”

“You’re in Canterlot.” The guard sounded bored, and she found herself being shooed towards a door. “Now hurry up, you’re the eighteenth one of you to come through.”

“Through? Through what?” Twilight looked behind her, and her blood nearly froze.

There stood the crystal mirror, and on the other side, Luna.

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“Welcome!” Twilight blinked at the sight before her. The entire room she had just been shown into was filled with other Twilights. Some of them had wings, most did not. One in particular looked old and withered, and others still had scars or ugly-looking wounds. About five of them, though, were identical-looking, with no scars or telltale signs of struggle. Twilight rubbed her eyes in disbelief, groaning at what she saw.

“What’s this?”

“Well, why don’t you have a seat.” Another one of the princess-Twilights gestured to a nearby empty chair. “I”ll explain it all for you.” Twilight went to sit down, her mind still reeling at all that she saw. Some of her counterparts looked her way with curiosity, while others shrugged it off and went back to looking out of windows, reading one of the several books in the room, or spending time watching the dust motes float through the sunlight. The other princess-Twilight sat opposite her, beaming happily as she launched into an explanation.

“We’re all visitors to this world through the crystal mirror. We’ve managed to deduce that we all come from separate dimensions, alternate realities, though we’re not entirely sure what made them, or why they even exist. But we’re here anyways. Some of us, like that one there,” She pointed towards one of the bored-looking normal copies. “Can only come and go to and from this world. Others, like myself, can change the mirror to go to different worlds. She’s been here about a dozen times. This is my first. What about you?”

“First…” Twilight answered off-handedly. The bored-looking copy seemed disinterested in all that was happening. For somepony who’s been through it a dozen times, Twilight figured this world had to be safe enough. At least that much she could be thankful for. She turned her attention back to the princess before her. “Why so many of us, though?”

“Well, this world is awfully popular.” The other shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s really ideal, from what I hear tell. Apparently there’s a sort of temporal rift, you see… Twilight, that is to say our counterpart, chooses to become a god, and goes back in time to warn the princesses what it is she intends to do. I don’t know if that’s credible or not, but it sounds like it is. I mean, who knows what we could accomplish with godhood, right? Well, the princesses understand, and our counterpart also tells them of the crystal mirror. They re-locate it here, and open the portal for visitors to come and witness what happened. That’s what the numbers are for.” The other mare proudly showed off her number five, written in the same bold print that her own eighteen was. “You’re the eighteenth visitor this time around.”

“So, wait,” Twilight shook her head. “You said that one over there has been here eleven times before. Wouldn’t we be seeing all eleven copies of her visiting this world before?”

“That’s what I thought, but I guess it isn’t true. It’s funny, she says she’s seen each of us eleven times before. She even knows when we’ll arrive. Ah, look.” Twilight raised her head, watching as the counterpart who had been here a dozen times lifted her hoof. The door swung inwards, and number nineteen arrived. She had several long, pale scars along her side, and her right foreleg was missing. Twilight arched an eyebrow quizzically, and got a glare in return. She was about to open her mouth to ask what had happened when the counterpart grunted.

“I dodged left instead of right.” Unasked questions answered, the mare limped over to the dozen-visit Twilight and nodded knowingly.

“It seems those two know eachother. Perhaps she’s visited here before?”

“Ugh.” Twilight’s head was swimming. This world was so surreal. She had expected to have to conceal herself and survey the goings-on surreptitiously, like she had in the last world. Here, it seemed, visitors through the mirror were commonplace. “This world is so confusing. I never expected this.”

“Tell me about it. The last world I visited wasn’t half as crowded.”

“Last world?” Twilight looked up at her counterpart. “How many have you been to?”

“This is my eight-hundred and fourth.” Her counterpart smiled warmly at her. “But I’ve never really gone to any world that anything went wrong in… I always visited worlds that had minor differences from my own. It’s better than-“ She stopped suddenly, drawing Twilight’s eyes up. She had originally struck Twilight as a cheery copy of herself, someone who wasn’t so burdened by the stressors of her station. But in that moment, this particular counterpart looked much more world-weary and exhausted than normal.

“Better than…?”

“Nevermind.” The other offered a weak smile. “Sorry I said anything. What about you? What world do you come from?”

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The next few hours were spent watching the visitors arrive one by one. After a few short hours, they were up to twenty-eight copies of Twilight from different worlds. Some were whole, others were scarred, and one had to use magic to support her hind legs, which were shriveled and crippled. Twilight almost asked her what had happened, but decided against it. In some other worlds, it seemed, she wasn’t quite as able as she was in her own. She actually began to enjoy hearing the other Twilight’s stories. None of them could really put words to how their world differed from others, save for the ones who had been to this particular world a few times over. One of them, and older version who appeared to be on the verge of death, said she had visited this particular world almost six hundred times. Twilight overheard this much, because as soon as she tried to talk with the elderly mare, she was spit upon.

“Curse your eighteen.” The other Twilight snarled, turning and stalking away angrily. Twilight wondered what had caused her to be the brunt of so much anger when she realized the other Twilights, the ones who had been there multiple times, had all given her a wide berth as well. Some of them were giving her some rather nasty looks. She was about to confront them all when a guard entered the chamber.

“Pardon me, eer… Archmages. The ceremony is beginning. We have prepared a place for you.” Twilight stiffened at the mention of a ceremony. She realized what particular time she might have just arrived in. She had returned to Equestria as a princess shortly after the ceremony that would commend her body to the stars. Her burial, so to speak. If she had chosen to become a god instead, the fallout would have happened immediately.

She was about to witness her own ascending to the stars. Her own death.

In a solemn procession, the guard led all of the counterparts into the courtyard of Canterlot Castle. They were all greeted by a mixture of looks. Some smiled at them warmly, others stared with wonder at them, and some cast wary looks at the scarred and broken counterparts. None of them spoke, though. This was a somber day for this world. Their Archmage had died, and was about to pass the proverbial torch to the next Archmage. The procession of Twilights were shown to a spot not far from the central dais. A hush fell over the audience as Banner, Celestia, and Luna emerged. Banner carried in his grip one very old and very withered-looking Twilight. Twilight felt tears begin to well up within her eyes at the sight of Luna.

She wondered if they had had a relationship in this world. And if so, how meaningful it was to either of them. For Luna, seeing all these copies of Twilight, some of them a princess, others scarred and broken, must have been a very confusing experience. She looked so torn. She must have wondered if Twilight was going to return a princess, stay dead, or come back broken like some of the others. None of them had no way of telling her. None of them could grant her solace. Instead, each of them bowed their head. Banner paused for a moment, looking at all of them. Even the real Twilight had to bow her head to her counterpart. They were paying homage to a life well-lived. For some of them, this was a vision of things to come. For fewer of them, a memory of things past. And for others still, a grim reminder of what the future held.

Banner passed them by and gingerly laid the body on the dais. They went through the motions, the spell erupting into life with a brilliant light. Banner cast the spell that would commend Twilight’s body to the stars, and all of her counterparts watched as the glimmering pinpricks of light began to ascend to the heavens. Twilight wondered what her Luna had gone through just then. The prophecy had said she would live forever, but she had seemingly passed away. To know that the hopes and dreams you had for an eternity with your loved one were false, and wonder what sort of fallout to expect from the prophecy. A mutter began among the gathered Twilights.

“This is where I came back.”

“Same here.”

“Me too.” Twilight had to join in. The other princesses, the ones with wings, remembered this moment. They would have descended from the heavens to the cheers of hundreds, and the embrace of Luna, provided they had a relationship prior to this.

But this wasn’t their world. In this world, Twilight chose to become a Goddess. And her prophecy had failed.

It started as a low rumble. So low, in fact, Twilight felt the need to hush her counterparts. They all fell silent as they listened. Before long, the ground began to shake. Twilight wondered what sort of manifestation the prophecy might have taken, how it would affect Canterlot and the world. Then she realized that all of them were corporeal. If Twilight failed, or only partially succeeded, some of them might die here. In a world that wasn’t their own. Twilight began to fear for her life, until she saw one of the scarred counterparts yawning boredly.

They didn’t have anything to fear. In fact, they seemed almost like they were waiting for a long and boring ordeal to be over with. For her, this was a new experience. Her heart thundered in her ears, and she felt almost as if she should make a run for the portal, back to her world. But those feelings were all squashed as ponies began to lift their heads to the sky. Cries of ‘Look!’ and ‘What’s that?!’ rang out. Twilight followed their gazes, looking up into the mid-day sky with wide eyes.

“By the heavens.” She breathed, her heart pounding even harder. Floating high above Canterlot, dwarfing mountains and indeed the entire city, was a brilliant, shining visage of Twilight. The goddess was so massive, Twilight had to turn her head side to side to see all of it. She was still equine, but had the body of an alicorn. Her horn alone had to be the size of one of Canterlot’s towers, and her wingspan stretched from horizon to horizon. The ground still rumbled beneath them, and only when Twilight followed the line of sight from her goddess self to the horizon did she see why.

Far to the North, a massive black orb had materialized. Its surface was streaked through with red, making the whole thing seem like some foreboding, sinister bowling ball. Twilight would have laughed at the thought if she wasn’t completely shocked by what happened next. The goddess above them lowered her horn, and the day was dwarfed by the magnificent lavender glow. A shockwave washed over them, making Twilight’s mane whip around her neck. The goddess was using magic! Not just any magic, but the kind that echoed across the entire world!

The black orb on the horizon had to have been the fallout of her prophecy. But this goddess was fighting it. Her horn erupted in a brilliant blaze brighter than the sun, shooting a razor-thin line of energy directly at the orb. Twilight watched with wide-eyed wonder at the fallout as the energy struck it. Time and again, the goddess cast brilliant world-rocking blasts at it, and each one ripped chunks from the orb. The shards whirled through the air, dissolving into nothingness one after the other. Before long, nothing remained of the orb. The rocking sound of the goddess’ magic echoed back to them from the mountains, but soon everything was still. Twilight knew what had happened, and so did her counterparts, but for everyone else in this world, this was a new and wonderful experience. A cheer went up, building until it hurt her ears.

The goddess fell to the earth, shrinking as she dove. When she landed in the courtyard, she was maybe the size of a house, and absolutely regal. Her mane wafted about her head, crackling with magical energy. Her eyes glowed with an intense energy, and her wings almost covered the entire square. Still, ponies cheered for her, screaming and hollering. None of them knew it, but she had just saved their lives. Twilight knew what happened when the fallout succeeded. She knew what sort of world this could have become. They didn’t know the hell her counterpart had just saved them from.

”Everypony.” The goddess’ voice boomed out over them, causing everyone to fall still. Her crackling eyes looked over them all, and her lips spread in a warm smile. Twilight had seen many things, and accomplished many great feats of magic, but she knew in an instant this creature dwarfed her greatest arcane achievement without even trying. She was in awe. ”You know me as Twilight Sparkle, your former Archmage. I retain my name, but I am far more than a simple advisor to the princesses now. I am a goddess. I hold as much power as your sacred night and your beloved day. Those who find solace in the arcane, in the mysteries of magic and the allure of knowledge will find a new deity to worship in me. However.” The goddess’ head swung around to the small group of Twilight and her counterparts, huddled together. Suddenly, Twilight felt very afraid.

”Your presence here is causing disturbances. Some of you have been here multiple times. Your continued involvement in this world could lead to catastrophic events. The easiest solution now is for you to leave. The Root is here, and that is all I need. I suggest you all leave now.”

“Here it comes.” Twilight was shaken out of her reverent stare by a muttered curse next to her. She recognized the voice as one of the few who had visited multiple times. She was getting looks from several of them, including the elderly mare who had spit at her.

“What? What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

“She means us.” The one who was missing her right foreleg sighed. “We have to leave now. Still, that was a nice show. It makes me wonder what I’m going to choose when my time comes. Oh, before I forget.” She met Twilight’s eyes, her gaze flickering down to Twilight’s paper with the number eighteen on it. “I hope you visit my world and let me know what it is she keeps you over for.”

“What? Keeps me over?” Twilight arched her eyebrow. All of the copies who had visited this world multiple times were looking at her now. Some with envy, others with disdain. “What’s happening?”

“We’re leaving.” The elderly mare sighed and began trudging off towards the castle, back towards the portal.

“She said there was intereference… Shouldn’t we all leave?”

“Not all of us.” The elderly mare shot her another glare over her shoulder. “She always keeps you behind. Six hundred and twelve times I’ve witnessed this phenomenon, and every time, she keeps you over.” Her eyes flicked down to the number once again. “Fuck you, eighteen. I could learn so much from this world.”

“What?! Hey!” Twilight went to confront the older counterpart, but a presence stopped her. On instinct, her own magic swelled to life, ready to defend herself against being suppressed. She was an alicorn now. She had leveled mountains and performed arcane tasks that even some of her gathered counterparts wouldn’t be able to comprehend. But it was to no avail. This magic, whatever it was, was supreme and absolute. Twilight had erected barriers that could protect entire cities. She had once bore two miles into a mountainside just for practice. Later in her life, she had leveled one mountain that threatened to collapse in on itself and create a terrible earthquake. She should have been able to break any bond. Even Celestia’s and Luna’s.

But this magic was stronger still. She couldn’t move. She could only watch as her counterparts began to shuffle out of the square, leaving her, Celestia, Luna, and the goddess behind. When they had all left, Twilight was finally released. She gasped in relief, collapsing to the cold tile ground. “What- what happened?”

”Be calm, number eighteen. I have much to discuss with you.” The goddess’ face loomed closer, and a gentle hoof lifted her off of the ground. When Twilight stood, the goddess had shrunk to approximately Celestia’s size, but she was still as intimidating and awe-inspiring as before. ”But not here, not in the company of so many. Come, follow us.” Twilight could only nod and follow along as the goddess, Celestia, and Luna left the plaza. The other ponies shuffled away, recounting their stories of what had just happened.

What had just happened? Twilight came here to see how Equestria fared when she had chosen godhood. Instead, she was chosen by the goddess to be discussed with? Why her, and not one of the other counterparts? Hundreds of questions whirled through her mind, but Twilight knew they would be answered. She had to content herself with following the three back into the castle.

Only when they were in the throne room did the goddess turn and fix her with its piercing, intent gaze. ”You are the Root.”

“The what?”

”The Root. The world from which all the other worlds branch off. Your world was the first and the last. This world, where we live, is but a copy of yours. It’s no less real, but it is still a copy.”

“What do you mean, a copy?” Celestia stepped in, her expression drawn and worried. “Are you saying this world exists only because-“

”Several specific choices were made, drastically effecting the timeline of events. This world, this copy, was made when I chose to become a goddess, and with the knowledge I had, decided to save Equestria rather than move on. This Twilight, the counterpart I told you would come-“

“About that.” Luna stepped forwards now, her face a mirror to Celestia’s. “You approached both of us in our dreams three days ago, and told us of the mirror. How?”

”I have a friend.” The goddess smiled at all of them. ”I am powerful, but admittedly, I do not control the sands of time. There is another being who pulls those particular strings. Twilight, I ask you this.” The goddess stepped up to Twilight, their faces hardly six inches apart now. Her brilliant, glowing eyes bore straight into Twilight’s own. ”What drew you here?”

“I… I wanted to see a world that I had chosen to become a goddess that didn’t end in destruction… Luna told me this was the ideal world.”

”No.” The goddess stepped back, her beguiling smile disarming Twilight.

“What do you mean ‘no?’ What brought me here?”

”There is a presence from your world. From the root world. It makes its home here, though it has many forms. You know it well. A memory from long, long ago. I know him as Chronos, God of Time, and my good friend. But you know him by a different name.”

“What, I don’t understand.” Twilight racked her brain, trying to place her counterpart’s words. “Who?”

He appeared suddenly. As if stepping out from behind a curtain, the massive dragon emerged into the throne room, smiling faintly at them all. Twilight’s eyes went wide. Despite his size, she knew this dragon.

“Spike…”