The Sweetie Crusader Shield sat in an expanse of endless white. Alone.

Cinder thought it was beautiful. So pristine, perfect, and descriptive of who she was.

But its dominance was not to continue. Like glass, the white around the shield cracked, divides spiking out from the center like lightning. Voids formed, and within these other images took shape. Fire sitting within Water. Crystals of many colors. Bees. A spark of white magic. And, larger than all of them, a brilliant red rose.

They surrounded Cinder. No part of the white purity was saved from the jagged, dark roots of destiny wronged.

She knew she had put them there. That was the worst part. These scars were completely of her own doing through her choice. One or two of these could be excused through ignorance.

Not all of them. Never all of them.

Something prodded her neck. The sensation prompted her to check herself over, only to find that she didn’t have a body in the traditional sense, just the sensation of one. No hooves to see and no magic to use. Sadly, no amount of telling herself she didn’t have a body would make the burning in her nonexistent neck go away.

The blue gemstone vanished, the crack it was within quickly repaired to a solid white. The burning sensation increased slightly as this was done, but not enough to cause her worry.

I’m being operated on, she realized as the bee mark vanished with another surge of burning. They’re getting rid of them.

Several marks vanished and the cracks were restored with them, restoring more of the white to its proper state. This filled her with a sense of immense relief. Who cared if she was burning a little bit? They were fixing her mistakes. Righting her wrongs. Doing exactly what she’d wanted them to do.

The only concern was that they’d told her she wouldn’t be able to feel or remember any of this. Granted, she was in a bit of a dream-reality right now, but she was still more than aware enough to figure out what was going on.

She decided not to let that bother her just yet. It wasn’t like she could do anything, anyway.

The marks disappeared one at a time, and with each one the burning sensation became less and less. Either she was getting used to it or the doctors were figuring out how to move faster. Both were good.

Still Waters eventually vanished. Cinder half expected some kind of dramatic change in her soul, but she didn’t feel all that different. Not that she had felt all that decisive in the first place. For all she knew this was a drug induced delirium.

Fix the drug problem with more drugs. Oh, the irony.

Only two marks remained. The Crusader Shield, and the rose.

Cinder was confused. What did the rose mark do again? She remembered having it, yes, but she didn’t remember taking a mantle for it or using any talent related to it. Bizarrely, now that all the other marks were gone, there were no black cracks around it either. It looked like it belonged just as much as the Crusader Shield.

Weird.

The burning sensation began to rise in intensity. Cinder didn’t become concerned until it got hot enough to feel like she was casting fireball on her neck.

What’s that mean!?

The rose turned pitch black. For the first time, Cinder heard an unidentifiable noise; deep groaning unlike anything that had met her ears before. She wanted to turn away from it, but there were no ears for her to close.

Cinder suddenly felt as though she were falling, even though the rose and the shield remained directly in front of her. Everything trembled until the rose itself developed a hole in the middle, spreading out into a pitch black spirograph. It floated downward until it surrounded the shield…

Cinder screamed. Her eyes opened.

She was floating…

Or was she? It looked like it, but she wasn’t sure she could actually see anything. It wasn’t like she had eyes. Even though… images came to her. Images… below her.

There she was, stabbed with a half dozen white needles at various points in her body. Her mouth was open in a terrible scream and her eyes were open so wide they looked like they were about to pop out. All around her doctors scrambled, shocked by what was happening.

Why are they so worried? There’s nothing wrong.

Cinder’s intuition was still with her, slapping her consciousness across the face, focusing it on the situation.

…This is wrong. Something’s gone wrong.

She couldn’t muster up any fear or panic, just managed to acknowledge the truth of the situation.

All she could do was watch as her body dissolved into an amorphous white blob, shimmering with a beautiful light. The spikes refused to let the blob move, keeping it—her?—in place.

A Rarity charged into the room. Cinder didn’t recognize her. But she knew the spell she was using, the multiple blue shards of magic that surrounded the blob and rose to heaven. Esuna. The ultimate cure-all.

It did nothing to the blob.

Cinder didn’t know what the next spell was called, but given all the clock-like imagery in the magic spirals, she guessed it had something to do with time. Slowly, carefully, the blob reverted back to the form of a sleeping, calm unicorn.

The form of Cinder. With only the two Cutie Marks she was supposed to have.

Good.

Blackness.

Beep… Beep… Beep…

“Uuuugh.” Cinder muttered, opening her eyes for real this time. As expected, she was in a hospital bed. There were no wires or spikes stuck into her, just a nearby console that scanned her magically and let out beeps in time with her heart. “That was a trip…”

“Cinder?”

Cinder turned to the only pony in the room—her sister. Xenium.

“Yeah. It’s me. Cinder.” Cinder smiled. “Hi.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Confused, but that’s just because of the weird dream that could mean anything.” She sat up. Noting Xenium’s concern, she smiled. “Xenium, I’m fine. They patched me up really well. Don’t even feel sore and…” She checked her legs. Both cutie marks, nothing else. “Everything’s where it should be.”

“Oh, thank Celestia.” Xenium pulled her into a hug. “I was so worried, I…”

“I knew I would be fine,” Cinder said. “I knew it. That’s… that’s why I did it.”

Xenium nodded. “Celia… tried to explain. I think I understand. But… never do that again!”

Cinder thought of the last moments at the bottom of Vision. Letting out a terse sigh, she said, “Not planning on it…”

Xenium’s smile vanished. “…Do you need to talk about it?”

“Yes. But not now.” Cinder looked to the door. “How many people are waiting outside?”

“A lot,” Xenium admitted.

“Bring on the happy post-operation brigade!” Cinder declared, jumping to her hooves. Even she was a little surprised at how good she felt.

“That’s the signal!” a young, familiar voice called from the other side. “Let’s git!” She kicked the door in, revealing herself to be a bright yellow filly with a bow in her hair. One very particular Apple Bloom.

“Adder!” Cinder called, using her friend’s chosen name before rushing her into a hug. “You came to Celestia City?”

“Ah couldn’t just sit on th’ farm while you were here!” Adder laughed.

“She’s a great friend,” Sunshine said, rolling in behind her.

“Ah’m the best!” Adder grinned. “And Ah can see why you picked up this Sunshine pony, both o’ us bein’ yellow and all.”

Cinder rolled her eyes. “That had nothing to do with it.”

“CINDER!” Seren shouted, jumping through the door and tackle-hugging Cinder to the ground. “Everything’s okay!”

“Hey, I was supposed to do the tackle-hug!” Blink called. “Geez…”

“You can still do it,” Nira pointed out.

“Nah, I totally wouldn’t… It wouldn’t be proper unless it was a surprise, you know?”

“Suit yours—“

Blink proceeded to tackle-hug Cinder, creating a pile of small, laughing ponies.

“This is a good sign,” Sweetaloo said, smiling from the doorway.

Burgerbelle held up a “laugh” sign.

“More or less,” Sweetaloo admitted.

Celia walked in more gracefully and nuzzled Cinder only after she had stopped laughing and managed to get her hooves back under her. “I’m proud of you.”

Cinder frowned. “…Really?”

“Yes. Really. You made some bad choices… but you remained true to yourself and got the rest of us through that terrible place.” She tilted Cinder’s head up. “We would never have gotten what we did without you going so far. Never forget that.”

“Thanks.” Cinder said, tears in her eyes. “I… just, thanks.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Squiddy walked in slowly, looking up to Cinder with slow, uncertain eyes.

Cinder’s smile vanished the moment she saw the inkling. Images of ponies burning and bees filled her mind. After a short shiver, she hung her head. “It… it didn’t take long for me, did it?”

Squiddy shook her head.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t listen, I couldn’t stay away from it, I—“

Squiddy slapped her with a tentacle.

“Squiddy!” Xenium gasped.

Squiddy ignored her. “None of that wallowing, Cinder. You’ve already gone through it. There’s nothing you can do to stop it from happening now. So accept it and move on.”

Cinder gingerly touched the spot she’d been slapped. After a moment of processing, she let out a laugh. “Good advice.”

“You should try it sometime,” Celia said, directing the comment at Squiddy.

Squiddy shrugged, leaning against a nearby wall. “I do what I can.”

It was at this point Cinder finally noticed the last pony in the room. A pony she hadn’t seen in almost three months.

“Scootaloo!?” Cinder gasped. “Oh my gosh, you’re back from camp!” She pulled the orange pegasus into a hug. “I’ve got so much to tell you and s—“

“Y-yeah,” Scootaloo said, weakly. “You’ve been through a lot while I wasn’t around, huh?”

Cinder frowned. “…Scootaloo?”

“I’m… I’m glad you’re okay.” She moved slowly, as though she had to force herself to reciprocate the embrace.

Full of doubts, Cinder glanced to Adder. She shrugged—she had no idea why Scootaloo was acting this way, either.

It, unfortunately, was something that would have to wait for later. Cinder had already noticed that someone was missing.

“Where’s Suzie?”

Xenium sighed. “Cinder, dear… Suzie’s on trial for what she’s done. Her movements are currently restricted while whatever classified thing she’s done is dealt with. She’s simply not allowed to be here right now.”

“On trial?”

“Has been ever since you got back two days ago.”

“…Can I see her?”

Celia sighed. “You will soon enough. You’re being asked to testify as soon as your health returns.”

Suzie had to pull a lot of strings to be allowed out of classified custody temporarily. Classified custody was a bit like being jailed, except the accommodations were excellent and she wasn’t allowed to talk to anybody since her alleged crime dealt with highly classified intel.

But she had connections, and those connections knew people, and certain people who were in charge of the most classified information knew how to keep it secret in situations such as this. They had to wait until the dead of night on Equis Vitis, but they teleported her to a particular location in Ponyville.

“Hope you find what you’re looking for,” her ‘assistant’—more of a guard, really—Roxy Lalonde said, adjusting her Void mask.

Suzie didn’t say anything. She simply looked at the large double doors of the church before her, a sinking feeling rising in her stomach. Whatever she felt through those doors, it wasn’t going to be pleasant.

But it might be needed.

With a deep breath, she pulled the doors open. Roxy remained outside.

The interior of the church was abandoned, but there was a candle lit at the front altar. The usually awe-inspiring beauty of the stained glass windows was diminished to a somber melancholy by the night outside. Slowly, she walked down the aisle, legs shaking.

She didn’t even make it to the altar. The moment she passed the window with the large, golden cross, she fell to her knees and banged her fists on the ground, letting out a heave of inner agony. Every muscle in her body tensed and groaned, to the point where she felt like she would lose the lunch she hadn’t eaten. She clutched the pendant hanging from her neck, letting out sharp, raspy words.

“I failed… I failed everyone… I failed myself… I failed You…”

“No one is righteous—not even one.”

Suzie didn’t need to look up to know who was standing behind her. A Starlight Glimmer, well known by many for running this church. She was known simply as Rev to everyone, even her friends. And she was a reverend with security clearance.

And, more than that, she was a pony Suzie knew.

“I’m… worse than that…”

“Paul said he was the chief of sinners.”

“Good for him!” Suzie shouted, banging her hands on the ground again. “He didn’t murder an entire city because he was angry!”

Rev sighed. “...No. He didn’t.”

“I’m no saint… I’m just… Weak.”

“Everyone’s weak, Suzie.” She placed a gentle hoof on the woman’s back. “Everyone fails.”

“Who gets up after… this?”

“You’d be surprised how many conquerors, enslavers, and despots repent. Just ask Eve how many she’s turned over the years. Just because they have killed cities, worlds, universes… doesn’t mean they can’t be given another chance. Or another chance after that. Or another chance after that.”

“They’re different. I’m supposed to be better! We’re supposed to be better! He… we’re supposed to rely on Him. I didn’t.” She put her hands in her hair and started pulling. “I didn’t. I was just angry. So angry.”

“How much of that was actually you?” Rev asked. “I don’t know much, but I do know that place was cursed.”

“Enough.”

“Then take the blame. Admit what you’ve done. And get back up.” Rev smiled sadly. “It both is and isn’t that simple.”

Suzie didn’t respond. She only breathed.

“I’ll still welcome you back, Suzie. If I can do that, what will He do?”

“I know… I know…” Suzie muttered, finally looking Rev in the eyes. “I know… but I don’t feel it. I…”

“You’ve turned the anger on yourself. You…” Rev let out a sigh and shook her head. “Suzie, you’re right, you have done something terrible. But you should make it better, not worse.”

“I know… I know…”

“And I know you can’t just flip a switch and feel differently.” Rev nodded sadly. “As terrible as it is, we are often our own worst enemies.”

“We’re so weak and pathetic and broken and…”

Rev sighed, stopping her. “You’re right. We are. And we need to have the courage to admit that. With dignity and hope, not sorrow.”

Suzie looked at the ground, quiet.

“I can’t help you with how to deal with the consequences of your actions on the ponies around you. But…” She sat down in front of Suzie and pressed her hands together between her hooves. “I can help you with this.”

Suzie broke into tears again, devolving into rushed murmuring. Rev held her close the entire time.

“So… Distant.” Allure pressed her hooves together. “I take it you like Celestia City.”

“What gave you that idea?” Distant was currently wearing a baseball cap with a Merodi insignia on it, a labcoat filled with pockets of holding that were somehow overflowing with small devices like phones and scanners, shoes of Gem construction that sparkled every color of the rainbow, and earring hoops permanently dialed to a universe of serene purple scenery.

“…Just a hunch,” Allure deadpanned.

“Right. So. Why am I here?” Distant levitated a juice box out of one of her labcoats and started sipping it.

“Well, I’m here to talk about your future.” Allure pressed a button on her desk that let out a DUN DUN DUUUUUN noise.

“Classy.”

“We try.” Allure pressed her hooves together. “I understand you’re still reeling from what happened in Vision—we all are—but life’s moving on at a breakneck pace, and you have an amazing talent ponies are already clamoring to get a piece of.”

Distant glanced at the three circles on her flank. “Figured you guys would have a lot of dimensional researchers.”

“Oh, we do. A lot. But our society isn’t old enough to have developed lots of special talents related to dimensional research. Marks like yours are rare, and… well, this might come a little too fast for you, but I’d like to ask where you’d like to work.”

“Don’t you have an entire research section in your basement?”

“We… do,” Allure admitted. “And I was tempted to just hire you directly. But… Distant, this is the League of Sweetie Belles. Given all that’s happened… I couldn’t in good conscience take you on when there are valid options that won’t put you in a place where The Sweetie Belle is revered and her face is plastered everywhere.”

Distant frowned. “I could deal with it.”

“I know you could. But if you had a choice, would you want to?”

Distant looked around Allure’s office for a moment. Pictures of Sweeties lined almost every wall. There were a few trophies, medals, and awards, all also mostly based on Sweeties and their accomplishments. Too many of them looked exactly like her mother.

…Including the painting in the back that clearly was her mother, crystal blade, mineral hair, and all.

“She really is everywhere, isn’t she?”

“It’s not like we worship her… mostly.” Allure sighed. “If Vision taught me one thing it’s that I was getting dangerously close… but it’s going to be hard to keep who you are from the League. You would probably be asked about it. Even if you were comfortable, the Sweeties might not be with what you have to say.”

“Are you keeping everything secret from them?”

“Only Suzie’s involvement since her ability is classified as it is,” Allure said. “Everything else is available for public consumption. There’s probably going to be a news special when Aid expands their efforts. But that won’t stop the Sweeties from looking to their absent hero.”

Distant nodded. “Right, right, I get it. Fine, probably shouldn’t work for you. Who then?”

“We have an entire Research Division in Merodi Universalis. I can introduce you to some powerful people who work in some really advanced multidimensional projects. You’d probably start as an intern… but you’d get to see history being made.”

Distant’s eyes sparkled. “Yes.”

“Good!”

“Let’s go right now.”

Allure frowned. “Distant, you still need time to reco—“

“I want to see what the cutting edge of science means to you.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll make some calls!” She pulled out her communicator. “Yeah, it’s me, she wants to come now. You’re open? …Convenient, but I’ll take it! Be there in a few minutes!”

Distant smirked. “I didn’t think bureaucracy could be that fast.”

“We try.” Allure hopped down from her desk. “Come on, we can use the teleporter to get to the Research Division.”

The two trotted down a mostly-empty hall in the League, only passing Bot on the way by. She let out a synthetic greeting and continued along her way.

“…You know, you seem to have recovered from Vision pretty quickly,” Distant observed.

“You too.”

“I’m distracting myself with shiny toys,” Distant laughed nervously. “You…”

“This isn’t my first rodeo,” Allure said with a sigh. “Vision was particularly bad. But… it’s not the worst I’ve seen.” She stepped onto a blue teleporter pad. “Wasn’t even the most personal, though it comes close.”

“What was?”

“I was stuck in a time loop. Alone. For the longest time.” Allure sighed. “It was… hard.”

Distant nodded, respecting her enough not to pry further. A flash and a smattering of blue sparkles later, they were in another building on the other side of Celestia City. This one was made of darker material and had a lot less friendly decoration strewn about. Allure walked right in and told the receptionist they were expected.

Without warning, they were teleported to the main office, right in front of the robotic Research Overhead and his Second, Corona Shimmer. Corona smiled at Distant warmly. The R.O.’s sparkling, glassy face was impossible to read. The stars within stirred both awe and fear within Distant.

“A natural talent for dimensional study,” the R.O. said, his synthetic voice fascinating Distant with its ability to convey emotion, even if that emotion was skepticism. “Admirable. But does that really make you a good candidate for the highest echelons of research?”

“Give her a break,” Corona said, rolling her eyes. “I’m sure she’ll meet the qualifications.”

“She will have to pass the R.E.”

“She will,” Allure said.

“I will?” Distant repeated, a bit confused.

“It’s just an exam on things like the scientific method and critical thinking. I was able to pass it, I’m not even a scientist.”

“The R.E. is just step one,” the R.O. continued. “You must prove yourself not only talented, but prudent, driven, and curious.”

“Oh yes, curiosity is a big one,” Corona agreed.

“Is there a test for that?” Distant asked.

Corona shrugged. “You could let me touch your emotional center. I’m an empath. But that’s not requir—“

“Will it get me to see the big research projects faster?”

Corona frowned. “Yes. But… are you sure you want to? I’ll see a lot of things you probably don’t want people to see.”

“What I want is to see what you guys really have to offer.”

“Driven,” the R.O. observed. “Adequate. Second, proceed.”

“Okay…” Corona removed her glove. Carefully, she touched Distant at the base of the horn.

For a moment, Distant’s and Corona’s selves ran past each other. Distant caught sight of a woman full of fire who conquered death itself and refused to let existence dictate how life had to be. Corona, in turn, saw a hurt, broken mare with brilliant ideas and a bright future.

Corona severed the connection as soon as she could. She fixed Distant with a sad smile. “…R.O.?”

“Yes?” the robot asked.

“I haven’t taken on a personal apprentice in a while.” Corona extended a gloved hand to Distant. “I think I’m going to take her.”

Distant gently placed a hoof in her hand. “So… I guess from all that emotional flashing, you’re kind of a big deal?”

“She has churches devoted to her,” Allure deadpanned.

“That I do not encourage!” Corona put her hands on her hips. “Really, what part of inventing an immortality serum makes you worthy of worship!? Shimmy’s closer than I am, but nooooo…” She put a hand to the bridge of her nose.

“…Experiments?” Distant asked.

“Oh, yes, of course.” Corona said. “I’ll take us right there.”

“Wait a minute,” Allure said, pulling something out her bags—a book. “This is for you, Distant. You don’t have to read it.”

Distant picked up the book in her magic.

The Incomplete Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments.

“If you’re ever curious.”

Distant had a pretty good idea she would get curious. Eventually. But not today—today she really wanted to see something else. She put the book away, nodding to Allure in thanks.

“Ready?” Corona asked.

“Ready.”

“All right, so, some preface. First of all, we’re currently trying to use multi-destination portals to examine the bleeding of physical laws between eldritch spaces and flatlands in a controlled environment. The difficult part is collecting data without leaking our own physics into the experiment a—“

“Just take me to the lab already, baconhair.”

Corona chuckled. “As you wish.”

With a flash, they were gone.

“Ninety percent casualties…” Jingle, a Luna and Second of Aid, breathed, looking over the current report for Vision Aid Efforts. “That’s one of the worst ever…”

Squeaky frowned. “U-Catastrophe is… effective.”

“One almost thinks it is too dangerous.”

“There are a lot of things that are too dangerous in the multiverse. We’ve got a lot more than just that one…”

“It reminds me far too much of the nuclear games played on the Earths,” Jingle said, scrolling to the next section of the report, taking in more information about the collapse of the city government and the disappearance of Twilight Sparkle. Following this was a sub-report from one Starbeat confirming the existence of a strong ka-curse in the city itself. “First real day on the job and disaster city drops on me while the person who knows what they’re doing is off on some long-distance relief effort in the Great Void…” Jingle put the report down and rubbed her forehead.

“Hey, don’t worry, you’re doing great.”

“Only thanks to you. And I can’t have you around all the time, unfortunately.”

Squeaky rolled her eyes. “I’m a general and an explorer. All this? All these ponies you’re saving and the history you’re salvaging? That’s all you, Jingle.”

“I… you’re right! I can do this! I c—“

There was a knock at the door.

Jingle twitched. “Who is it?”

“Celia, Chalcedony!”

“…Who?”

“…The Gem-Sweetie from Relations?”

“She’s good,” Squeaky said, trotting to the door and opening it. “Come on in!”

“Oh, thanks, dear. I was thinking I would have to barter first.”

“Barter?” Jingle asked.

“You know, explain that if you let me in I might have some help?”

“What kind of… help?”

Celia stepped to the side, revealing a certain aged Fluttershy. “Um… Hi.”

“Oh…” Jingle opened the report again, frowning. “You… you’re her, aren’t you?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Yeah.”

“I can vouch for her,” Celia said. “Her beliefs and abilities may be concerning, but she really does want to help. I thought there wouldn’t be a better way to start than to join the Aid efforts for her own world.”

Jingle nodded slowly. “You would have invaluable information. And the reports do speak of your care, despite the… other aspects.” She pressed her hooves together. “Consider this a test run. If you show me you’re willing to help and put aside your personal beliefs, I’ll consider putting you in a permanent position. For now, you are just an informant.”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy bowed.

“Are you just Fluttershy, or…?”

“I’m going by Solicitude, for now,” Solicitude said, smiling sadly. “Where are you sending me first?”

“Mattie’s team is currently complaining about resistance, I’ll send you down to help them manage everything.”

Celia sputtered. “M-mattie is on a mission for Aid!?”

Jingle smirked. “Yes. Though, from what I understand, it’s more Cryo’s idea.”

“I… wow.” Celia blinked. “I did not expect them to delve into humanitarian efforts.”

“There was a look in her eyes…” Jingle’s expression became distant. “Something had happened to Cryo. I’m not sure what.”

“I suppose I’ll have to ask… later. Right now, I’ve got a defense to run.”

“Thanks for everything, Celia,” Solicitude waved.

“Don’t mention it.” Celia trotted out.

Solicitude let out a sigh. “Okay. Let’s… do this. Go back in…”

“You sure you’re up for this?” Jingle asked.

“Yes. I am.”

There was a judge in the courtroom. This was unusual for Merodi judicial proceedings, which were usually carried out by an artificial intelligence that averaged out opinions and punishments from dozens of cases and popular opinion.

This was not the case for classified situations, which Suzie’s definitely was, given the use of U-Catastrophe. The judge in question was a member of the Justice Division by the name of Albatross “Phoenix” Wright. He appeared middle-aged, but everybody in the room knew he was much older than that. Overall, his features were kind, but extremely serious.

On the prosecution side there was only a single red Zircon Gem. She had several stacks of data pads, each one open to another legal document. She had already done a lot of talking.

The defense consisted of Suzie, Celia, and the Sweeties who were allowed to be there: Cinder, since she had to testify; Nausicaa, since she needed to manage the paperwork; Allure, since she was present for the events; and also Burgerbelle. She was a founder and technically had the clearance to be here. For once, she was being quiet, though occasionally Cinder would catch her playing with some memetic construct out of the corner of her eyes.

Celia was currently talking. “…And while Starbeat’s report on the ka-curse should be more than enough to convince everyone of my client’s innocence, I have further evidence. I call Cinder Belle to the witness stand to describe her experiences with the curse.”

Wright nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Objection!” Zircon blurted. “She is—“

“Just let the kid talk, Zircon,” Wright sighed.

Cinder walked up to the podium. “So… uh, I have this intuition. Really not sure where it comes from, but I’m decently good at guessing how things are going to go. While I was in Vision I… got enhanced with a lot of magical drugs called mantles that changed the way I thought. It… wasn’t good. It was pretty terrible, really, and I knew it. But one thing it did was make me think clearer and see farther. I was able to not only identify the curse, but point out exactly how it was influencing all of our team members who were there—including myself.”

“Care to explain that quickly?” Celia asked.

Cinder sighed. Seren already gave permission… “I gave in to my addiction to ‘adventure’ far sooner than I should have, you, Celia, entertained the moral ambiguity of brainwashing, Allure began to lose her faith in her name and her purpose, Seren was on track to have her idea of family shaken, and Suzie…” Cinder gulped. “Suzie was angered beyond the point of reason.”

Suzie looked down at the ground.

Zircon coughed. “It should be known that all these ‘flaws’ were already present in all agents at the time of entering Vision, the city only exaggerated them. Suzie’s anger is still culpable in these events. Note how, while all the others were affected as well, none of them engaged in such levels of damage.”

“Could we have?” Cinder asked. “ I mean…” Catching herself, she shut up before she imposed herself on the situation more than would be helpful.

Celia smiled. “Thank you Cinder, that will be all.”

Cinder returned to the others, sitting down.

“Thanks for doing this,” Suzie whispered to Celia.

“It’s the least I can do after all the dastardly things I put you through in that city,” Celia whispered back.

“That I put you through, you mean.”

“I suppose it is mutual…” Celia shrugged, turning to Wright. “I will conclude my statements by bringing us back to where we started—Suzie’s record. It speaks for itself. She is an exemplary soldier, a great leader, and has been a hero time and time again, repeatedly saving lives and changing worlds for the better. We all make mistakes from time to time. This one should not take Suzie from Merodi Universalis.”

“I disagree,” Zircon said, bringing up a file on Suzie’s past. “Suzie, while she has engaged in many successful operations and has a high approval rating within the League, has been shown to be inadequate on numerous occasions. I have seventeen separate instances of anger-induced outbursts, and those are just the ones that are recorded.”

Celia hissed. “Someone did research in the intermission…”

Zircon continued. “Furthermore, we have not even mentioned the loss of her previous subordinate, Ser “Silver” Bell.”

Suzie and Celia tensed instantly. Cinder looked at them in confusion. “What…?”

“Cinder, I—“ Suzie began, but Zircon was suddenly pointing forcefully at her.

“You, Suzie, were immensely negligent in your duties as captain, and that resulted in the death of Ser.”

“Ser doomed himself,” Celia said.

“I am not addressing you,” Zircon said.

“This isn’t an Earth court, I can talk whenever I please.”

Zircon shrugged. “Ser may have been on a path of self-destruction, but his death is directly related to Suzie’s negligence in leadership. She sent him on a mission with Sweeties who hated him, thinking they’d ‘work it out’.” She adjusted her tie, scrolling through some more reports. “For over a year, Ser had been seducing at least three separate members of the Sweetie Expedition Team, and Suzie had no idea this was occurring until the Sweetie known as Nira attempted to kill him for his advances. Instead of reporting the incident of harassment, Suzie attempted to reconcile them. She failed, multiple times in this one event, to judge her capabilities and the capabilities of those she led.” Zircon set the data pad down.

Celia lifted her head, glaring down at Zircon. “She’s not perfect, and Ser had most of us fooled.”

“It is not the only time Suzie has been put under suspicion of being less capable than suggested.” Zircon tapped the screen a few more times, bringing up a report entitled A Critical Analysis of Suzie’s Leadership Qualifications by Nausicaa.

Nausicaa’s eyes widened. “I wish to express that this report does not line up with my current opinion.”

Zircon shrugged. “It still collects important data. Eleven different moments where Suzie demonstrated an inability to understand her crew. Three deaths under her command, two of which were deemed avoidable. Several instances of favoritism—while not explicitly illegal, very suspicious and telling. Furthermore, the report talks of Suzie’s emotional inability to deal with failure, represented most in Cinder.”

Cinder blinked. What?

“Ser was gone less than three weeks before Suzie picked up a random Sweetie from a random universe and gave her full Agent status with alarming speed.” Zircon looked right at Suzie. “Cinder is likely nothing more than a replacement for her los—“

“You’ve made your point!” Suzie shouted, slamming her fist into the table.

Zircon nodded. “I believe I have. Thank you.” She sat down.

Wright sighed, putting a hand to the bridge of his nose. “Celia, do you have any retorts?”

“…I wish to reiterate that Nausicaa’s file is out of date and her opinion has changed since that day,” Celia said. “Otherwise… no, I believe we’ve already made our points.”

“In that case, I only have one question, and it is for Suzie.” Wright leaned forward, folding his hands together. “Suzie. You have a very dangerous ability inside you, U-Catastrophe.”

Suzie nodded in agreement.

“I want your honest opinion. Are you strong enough to handle it?”

Suzie’s fists relaxed and a soft, amused smile crossed her face.

“Suzie…” Celia warned.

“No,” Suzie said, looking Wright in the eye. “No. I am not.”

“Suzie!”

Wright smiled. “Thank you, Suzie.” He tapped his fingers. “Suzie, you are found innocent of all actions within Vision.”

“Thank you, your honor,” Suzie bowed.

“But you know there is more to this than just the events of Vision.”

Suzie nodded. “I… am aware.”

“I have to find you unfit for duty.” Wright’s smile vanished. “As long as you have U-Catastrophe, you cannot go on Exploration missions barring circumstances where your power is specifically requested. Your Stand is to be kept in nonviolent, safe situations—those of normal citizens—unless otherwise requested by someone with sufficient rank to know of its existence in Merodi Universalis government. Normally, I would suggest removing the Stand, but I am well aware how unique U-Catastrophe is and how its abilities cannot be replicated. This is effectively a permanent ban from leadership positions within the Expedition Division or any kind of high-intensity work.”

Suzie nodded slowly. “I understand.”

“See if you can get an exception. I know you have friends in high places, maybe they can convince the Divisions to allow U-Catastrophe to be destroyed.”

“Maybe one day,” Suzie said, shaking her head. “But I suspect I’ll use the time to… engage in less anger-inductive activities.”

Wright nodded. “In that case, we are adjourned.”

Zircon packed up her pads and left without another word. Wright left the courtroom through the back entrance.

“Suzie…” Celia said, face twisting through several different expressions. “You…”

“If you really think I’m strong enough, even after all this time…” Suzie chuckled. “I shouldn’t be trusted with this kind of power. I’m honestly surprised they ever let me think I could.”

“…That’s the problem with building your government out of close friends, I suppose,” Celia sighed, turning to Allure.

“I still think she could do it,” Allure said, putting a hoof on Suzie. “But… well, in the end, I guess this was your choice. He asked you that question for a reason.”

Suzie nodded. “Thanks for having all that unfounded faith in me.”

“Eh… I’ll take it.”

“And Nausicaa?”

The pegasus didn’t want to meet her eyes.

“Thanks for telling me when I was full of it.”

“I… try.”

Suzie turned to Cinder—and the smile vanished.

“What was that all about?” Cinder asked.

“Oh… Ser…” Celia sighed. “He was a bit of a Casanova who didn’t care for things like social boundaries. He… well, there’s a reason self-dating is frowned upon, and when it involves the opposite gender it’s explicitly illegal. He w—“

“I get all that, I think,” Cinder said. “What I want to know is what all this talk of replacement was about.”

Celia frowned. “Cinder, you have to understand, Suzie w—“

“Zircon was right,” Suzie said, leaning forward. “I was weak. I wanted someone new and small and full of energy that… that hadn’t been hurt by this. Who wasn’t Sweetaloo, just there to make sure we didn’t fall apart. I… I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was just looking for something, anything to change what was…”

“Oh,” Cinder said face blank.

“Cinder…” Suzie sighed. “None of our experiences were lies. We still had fun, we still adventured, and you are an amazing Agent I’m proud to have served with.”

“I get it,” Cinder nodded, slowly. “I… I just need some time to process, okay?” She frowned. “It’s… it’s not as bad as Vision, but it’s still hard to swallow.”

“I really am sorry you had to figure out this way,” Celia admitted. “I had been considering telling you myself ever since I fused together, but… I wanted to get Suzie’s opinion first, and our relationship had hit a rocky spot…”

“It’s okay,” Cinder said, holding up a hoof. “It’s okay, okay?” She forced a smile. “We’ll make sure everything’s fine.”

Celia frowned. “Cinder…”

“…I’ll talk to Xenium about it. There’s… a lot of things I want to talk to her about. …I kinda want to go home for a while.”

“All right.”

“I do have a question though. Who’s the captain now?”

Suzie pointed at Burgerbelle. She was currently smoking a pixelated blunt and had crying laugh emojis instead of eyes.

Cinder raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

“Founder Burgerbelle at your service!” Burgerbelle declared. “And in my first act as Captain I say Celia gets to handle all the crazy stuff.”

“A recently corrupted Gem of darkness whose true nature and orientation are currently unknown is now in charge of the Primary Sweetie Expedition Team,” Nausicaa deadpanned. “…Great.”

“Hey, if it works…” Burgerbelle gave Nausicaa some finger guns.

The pegasus jumped into the air. “Don’t point those at me!”

“What?” BANG! BANG! “They don’t hurt! Much!”

Everyone let out a chuckle.

Except Cinder.

“…I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be angry or sad,” Cinder said, laying on her bed. Her bed. Back home, her Equis. Xenium was sitting in the chair, listening to her complaints.

“About Suzie giving herself up?” Xenium asked.

“Well… yes, but not really.” Cinder sat up. “I mean… I’m still recovering from the mess I put myself through, the team dynamic is changing, and… and I found out I’m a replacement.”

Xenium’s eye twitched. “A… replacement?”

“Yeah. It’s…” Cinder rolled her hoof in the air. “It’s hard to be angry, because the guy’s dead, right? But… but if I’m just a replacement… what…” Cinder sighed. “…Yeah.”

Cinder waited for Xenium to offer her words of encouragement, to assure Cinder that she really was who she was supposed to be, and that being a ‘replacement’ didn’t matter, especially not now.

It never came.

“Xenium, come on, I nee—“

Cinder noticed that Xenium was crying.

“…Rarity?” Cinder slipped.

Xenium nodded slowly. “Yes, Cinder, I’m here. I… Oh, Celestia, you really don’t need to hear this right now, you need to heal, to get better, to…”

“Rarity, what is it? What’s going on?”

Xenium took in a deep breath. “Cinder… this all started a long time ago. I should have told you when you first left but I didn’t. I was ashamed. I… Twilight’s been encouraging me to…”

Cinder pulled Xenium into a hug. “Just tell me.”

Carefully, Xenium pulled a photograph out of her mane. It was of Cinder, as a baby. Strange, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a baby photo of myself…

Then she saw it. What was wrong.

Green eyes.

Not orange.

“Wh…”

(Sweetie Belle wasn’t yet of the age for speaking, but the Rarity that would be Xenium still found her to be a wonderful partner in her many quests to become fabulous. Tonight, they were in their house, tying random fabrics together with yarn. That is, until Xenium had the excellent idea to incorporate leaves into the design.

The two sisters went outside. Just out to the tree. A trip they had made several times on several other nights without incident. It was one of their favorite places to relax.

They never made it to the tree, that night.

The sky went red. A dark tooth pierced the heavens directly above the two, tearing a hole of pure darkness through reality. A sphere of light fell from this hole at high velocity, creating a crater in the grass below.

Sweetie Belle was killed instantly.

“Sweetie Belle!” Xenium called, scrambling into the fiery crater. “Sweetie!”

All that remained was a small blob of white, shifting, churning—almost as if it was confused. As Xenium approached, however, it began to resolve itself. Four legs, a tail, a head, and a small horn… the shape of a small, white filly identical to Sweetie Belle in every way. Except one.

The eyes.

Those piercing, orange eyes that reflected the fire around them so perfectly.)

“…I told mother and father you must have been hit by magic, changing your eye color,” Xenium continued, tears rolling down her face. “I… I only told my friends recently, after you started leaving.”

Cinder looked at her hooves. “…I’m not from here.”

“Cinder… Sweetie, you’re still my Sweetie Belle, no matter what, a—“

“That’s why I felt like I belonged out there. I really did!” Cinder started to giggle. “I was right at home there… I’ve always been a replacement, huh? Maybe that’s what I am. A Replacer. I exist to fill holes. For your other sister. For Ser. For… all those ponies I’ve helped.” Cinder’s giggles got louder. “All those ponies who liked me for no reason! That’s why, isn’t it?”

Xenium pulled Cinder into a hug. “I don’t care about any of that.”

Cinder’s laughs died instantly and she bawled into Xenium’s mane. “I wanted to come home… Now I don’t know where home is…”

Xenium choked on whatever she was going to say.

“You… you know what I decided, while under the influence of the waters?” Cinder asked, pulling back and staring at the ceiling.

“What?”

“That I… wasn’t coming home.” Cinder swallowed. “Summer was ending, I would have to go back to school here… but I didn’t want to. I wanted to keep going. When I came back, I thought that was just me being selfish. But now…”

“Cinder, if your home is really out there, exploring… I won’t stop you.”

“…This is why you were so comfortable with all the danger,” Cinder sighed. “You knew.”

“Yes.”

“Everyone has a secret of some kind…” Cinder flopped onto her bed, closing her eyes. “…I just want to be Cinder. I just want to be… Sweetie Belle.”

“You are.”

“…You don’t know that. I don’t know that.” Cinder opened her eyes. “Xenium?”

Xenium leaned in.

“I’m sorry.”

Cinder walked up to a panel in Swip. She tapped it, revealing the dimensional devices. Taking one out, she popped out the back and removed the tracker.

“Going somewhere?” Swip asked, appearing on a nearby screen.

“Just taking it apart to see how it works,” Cinder said, pretending to examine a wire.

“Yeah, BS.” Swip’s avatar folded her arms. “You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

Cinder sighed.

“You might want to take more than one. Never know when one of them might break. Also, there’s a secondary tracker in some of them in a hidden compartment toward hte left, special issue for government use.”

Cinder raised an eyebrow. “Swip…?”

Swip shrugged. “Take it or leave it.”

Cinder smiled sadly. “…That first day. You let me trick you, didn’t you?”

“You ain’t getting nothing out of me.”

Cinder pocketed the devices, putting a hoof on Swip’s screen. “Watch over them, okay?”

“Come back soon.”

“The intent is not to come back.”

“Buuuuut…”

Cinder rolled her eyes. “I think we both know this won’t last. I may want it to, right now, but…” She waved a hoof in the air.

“Your intuition must drive you crazy.”

“I bet it’s like being able to process three million things at once and not knowing what to do with it.”

Swip laughed. “You know nothing of my pain.”

“Agree to disagree.” She saluted. “You’re a good ship.”

“Don’t you go replacing me, you hear?”

“No promises!” Cinder activated one of the dimensional devices and hopped through.

Swip smiled to herself. That filly’s going places.

Now, the question was how she was going to break this to Celia without getting punched in one of the screens.

“I bet you’re wondering why I called you here today,” Cinder said, standing at the podium in her Crusader Clubhouse.

Scootaloo and Adder looked at her expectantly.

“…I’m going to find out who and what I am,” Cinder said, simply. “It turns out that… I’m probably not a pony, and am actually from another universe. I don’t know what this means, how it affects anything, or… why really, but I know I’ve got to find it. And… I can’t do it with the other Sweeties. That might be petty, and it probably is. But I’m not going with them.” She smiled sadly. “I don’t want to go alone, though.”

“You want us to drop everything, run away, and jump around the multiverse with you?” Scootaloo asked.

“That… is what I’m asking,” Cinder admitted. “I understand if you don’t wanna go…”

“Ah’ll go,” Adder said. “Ah’m not lettin’ you bounce around everywhere so hard you get lost. Ah… Ah don’t like runnin’ away, but Ah think Applejack will understand. We’re almost grown mares anyway.”

“It’ll be hard, Adder,” Cinder warned. “There are terrible things out there.”

“Ah saw you when you got back from Vision. Ah… Ah know.”

“You don’t. But… thanks.”

“Ah try.”

“Are you insane?” Scootaloo shouted. “Sweetie almost died out there! She’s just… I… I don’t even know!” She flailed her wings. “You two are going absolutely nuts! Changing your names, talking about the multiverse, running away from our families.”

“…Xenium already knows,” Cinder said.

“She’s just as bad as all of you!” Scootaloo flared her wings. “Seriously, it’s the name change! It turns you into different ponies! I leave for three months and the two of you aren’t the same ponies anymore!”

Adder frowned. “Scootaloo, Ah—“

“Apple Bloom! You named yourself after math! The pony I know would never do that!”

“…Ah named myself after a snake, Scootaloo.”

“A snake? Why in…?” Scootaloo stamped her hooves. “I didn’t want to come back home to this.”

Cinder frowned. “Scootaloo, ponies change. It’s part of life. I can’t go back to what I was before. Not… anymore. And I’m not sure I want to.”

“Well, I want to!” Scootaloo shouted, running out of the clubhouse.

“…Ah reckon’ she’s gonna tattle on us,” Apple Bloom said.

“Probably.”

“Ah should probably write that note for Applejack.”

“Yeah.”

The Sunset known as Isekai when such a name was necessary cleaned a wine glass. Currently, her bar was devoid of customers. A little unusual, given the recent influx of business, but she wasn’t complaining. It was nice to have a moment to think every now and then. She found herself contemplating the shape and make of the glasses themselves.

Where does Rarity get these? Does she make them herself?

Her ponderings were interrupted when a Sweetie and an Apple Bloom entered. She recognized the Sweetie immediately—the orange eyes were unmistakable.

“And this is Sunset’s Isekai,” Cinder said. “That’s Isekai at the counter there.”

“…Cinder, this is a bar,” the Apple Bloom said.

“Yes. Yes it is.”

“We’re too young to drink.”

“Isekai! Cherry nonsense, stripe the whipped cream!” Cinder called, jumping onto the barstool. “Two of ‘em!”

“Cinder!”

“Relax, it’s non alcoholic.”

“Oh.” The Apple Bloom crawled up one of the barstools. “Then Ah’d like one too.”

“Already ordered yours.”

“Yeah, Ah have no idea how this works.”

Isekai smirked, stirring up the drinks and serving them. “So, what brings you two here?”

“Exploring, as usual,” Cinder said. “I’m taking Adder here on a little tour before we go new places.”

“Yep!” Adder took a sip of her drink. “…Cinder, you like cherries too much.”

“A pony can never like cherries too much.”

Isekai raised an eyebrow. “I’ve seen a cherry monster that could eat worlds.”

“Did anybody like that cherry?”

“Not exactly.”

“My point still stands.”

“Ah bet it tasted pretty good,” Adder said.

“Probably,” Cinder admitted. “So, Isekai, got any cool coordinates we could check out?”

Isekai reached into her countertop and flipped through a notebook. “I have no idea what’s in half these places. But hey, you’re a professional explorer and all, so you can tell me.”

Cinder winked. “Sure thing!” She took out a dimensional device and scanned some of the coordinates in.

“So…” Isekai folded her arms. “No Scootaloo?”

“She, uh…” Adder shifted nervously. “Didn’t want to come.”

“She resents me for changing,” Cinder explained, looking into the distance. “I didn’t talk to her while I was out because, well, she was at camp, having her own adventures. Nopony thought to go interrupt them. Then she came back, I came back, and… things didn’t work.”

“Ah think we moved a bit too fast for her.”

Cinder nodded sagely. “…Hard to believe it’s only been three months.”

Isekai noted that she had experienced quite a bit more than three months. Par for the course, really.

“Well, summer’s over, and a new day is dawning.” Cinder smiled. “Thanks for the cherry nonsense!”

“You’re welcome. Hope you work out your differences with Scootaloo.”

“I hope so too.” Cinder frowned. “It’d be terrible if she ended up a villain.”

“Wh…”

“By the way, when they come looking for us, tell them we’re fine.” Cinder trotted to the door, holding it open for a while. “Go ahead and give them the list. It won’t help them.”

“Uh… bye,” Adder waved. “Nice to meet you!”

The two of them scrambled away.

They’re running away, Isekai realized. …Or… not quite, but that’s what it looks like. “Hey wai—”

The bar shook, suddenly, as if a small earthquake were passing through. Isekai’s eyes widened. What could do that!?

The hall that led to the front door was gone. In its place… was a train track. Before any of them could register what was happening, a futuristic train with eerie green windows rolled past, essentially becoming the wall of Sunset’s Isekai.

As quickly as it rolled in, it stopped. A sign designed to show the destination had only one word printed upon it.

Cinder smirked. “I think I know where we’re going, Adder.”

“Mysterious train?”

“Mysterious train.” Cinder grabbed her by the hoof and jumped on board.

Isekai moved forward, unsure what to make of the mysterious train. But before she could get much closer, it sped away, leaving her bar’s halls as they had been just moments before. She was alone.

Isekai folded her arms and let out a short sigh. I should probably call Suzie… chances are she needs a drink after all this.

Isekai had no idea how right she was.

Author's Notes:

OKAY! The Siren Song arc is FINALLY DONE! Now we can get away from massive depressing darkfic town and back to some nicer stuff. Like...

NEXT CHAPTER:
Arrow 18 (Another one I've wanted to do since the start)

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