So, Terraria's 1.2 update came out recently. Three guesses what I've been up to since then! Thankfully I already had chapter 47 written by the time of the update, but in case I miss a Friday in the near future, you can probably blame Terraria. I'm a pretty big fan of it as you can likely tell by the fact that this story started with it, after all. But yeah, if that does happen, I won't have lost interest in Another World, of course, I'd just be more interested in the game for the time being!

(I wrote that yesterday and then I went on to play terraria and almost missed the deadline. Argh. Total professional here. Oh well.)

Chapter 47: Holmestuck

"Whew..." Broshi leaned against the interior wall of the traveling TARDIS and stretched, savoring his first chance to relax since his exile. "I gotta say... I don't know if I'd still be alive if it weren't for you two. So, thanks for showing up."

"Oh, it's no problem at all!" Tom Nook welcomed, downplaying the seriousness of the situation. "I'm simply doing my duty as a time-traveling raccoon, after all. Hoho!"

"I didn't even have any control over it," Spike said modestly. "It's almost like Blah knew what he was doing when sending me into that portal..."

"So anyway, Nook, I have a question," Broshi addressed.

"Well, time is on our side," Tom answered. "And I'm sure both of you have loads of questions for me, hm? So, ask away!"

"When we found the TARDIS in the alternate timeline," Broshi began, "Blah mentioned something about a doctor being the original owner of this thing. Are you that doctor?"

The raccoon laughed. "Oh, heavens no! I'm just a humble shopkeeper from a small village near the coast."

Broshi crossed his arms. "So then, how did you get it, and how did you know where... and when... to find us?"

"That, my friend, is a long, LONG story." Tom Nook continued to fiddle with the controls.

"But you JUST said we have a lot of time," Spike complained, digging idly through the backpack.

"I didn't say I wasn't going to tell it, hoho!" Nook laughed. "So, where to begin... ah, yes, you are one of the players of the game known as SBURB, correct?"

Broshi nodded. "Yeah... or at least, that's the plan... what about it?"

"Well, let's just say that you're not the first to play it, hm?"

Spike's eyes widened. "You've played it before?!"

"Hold on, how could you be a player?" Broshi asked inquisitively. "Blah said there were only supposed to be eight of us, and we already know who..."

"Eight players in your session," corrected Nook. "But there are other sessions, like my own. We also had eight players."

"Isn't the game supposed to..." Spike struggled to remember. "Separate the universes... or something? Can that be done more than once?"

"It can if the games were played in different universes altogether," Nook answered.

"Are you saying that you come from a universe that's completely separate from our hybrid?" prompted Broshi.

"Well... yes and no," said the raccoon. "That one's a little complicated, I'm afraid. It's a separate story all its own, one that took even me a while to fully understand..."

"Try me," shrugged the Yoshi, as Spike pulled a small, cylindrical object out of the pack and fiddled around with it.

"Ok, here's the gist of it," Tom Nook began. "Our universes are made from the same basic materials, except some of them were switched around near the beginning, causing one to develop quite differently from the other."

"Like an alternate timeline?" Broshi guessed, ignoring the noise eminating from the implement that Spike held.

"In a sense, yes. Both of our games started for the same reasons, but by different players. However, ours..." He looked away, as if remembering something painful. "...wasn't going so well." The two reptiles were silent, letting him continue. "The timeline we're in now exists because we needed another chance."

"So you... reset the game, so to speak?" suggested Broshi.

"Shh! Not so loud," Nook hushed him, to his confusion. "The... r-word is taboo where I come from." He looked around the room in a panic, as if expecting someone to pop up at any second. When all he received in return were the dumbfounded stares of the two listeners, he calmed down. "But yes. That is what we did."

"Well, if you don't mind me asking..." Spike carefully approached the subject, putting down his newfound toy for a moment, "...what happened to the other players?"

"Normally, when such an action is carried out, the old timeline is completely blanked, along with everything - and everyone - in it. Thankfully, though, I... we found a way around that. Our plan didn't come without a price, but..." He sighed. "It's up to me to make sure their sacrifice wasn't in vain."

Spike caught on to his implications. "Oh, man... I'm sorry..."

The engine of the TARDIS ground to a halt. "Looks like we're here," Nook announced.

"Back in the present time?" questioned Broshi, already heading gladly for the door.

"Well... you'll see," Nook answered ambiguously.

"What do you mean?" Broshi looked back at Nook as he opened the door. "If we're not in the present, then where a-"

He stopped, as he turned to look through the open door. Staring back at him was a long, playfully grinning face sporting mismatched horns and a lone, asymmetrical fang.

"Well, if it isn't the dinosaur, the dragon, and the doctor," greeted Discord. "Fancy meeting you here!"

As Hailstorm and Blahsadfeguie phased back into the physical world, they found themselves once again in front of the grand capital city of Equestria. Or at least, Blah assumed it was the capital. He couldn't quite remember. And, more to their dismay rather than their surprise, the protective magical dome still surrounded it.

"Hey, Sera," wondered Blah, "couldn't you have teleported inside the dome and saved us some trouble?"

"That would be ill-mannered of us," Sera replied. "They have it up for a reason. Bypassing it without anyone's permission is kind of rude, is it not?"

"It's ok," Hail said, confidently walking up to the edge. "Now that we've cleared things up with Celestia, the guards should let us in if we ask."

Blah looked down at the two gold-clad royal guards standing on the path just outside the dome, and then at the two standing just inside, right behind them. Their presence seemed a bit redundant, but Blah wasn't about to question it.

"Hello," greeted Hail calmly. "Would you mind letting us in for a moment? We just need to pick something up real quick."

The two external guards exchanged glances for a second. One of them replied. "We can inform the Princess that you need into the city, but it might take a while before an opening that you can pass through can be created..."

"We are allowed to come and go as we please, though?" Sera asked.

"Yes, but..."

"Excellent. That is all I needed to know."

Before he knew it, the pegasus and Kadabra had vanished. Looking behind him, he saw that they had teleported inside.

"How did..." one of the internal guards questioned in bewilderment.

"Nothing to worry about," cried Blah as he rode off on Hail. "I doubt those meteors you're keeping out can do that!"

After a bit of asking around, the two or three heroes ended up at the castle that marked the center of Canterlot, as well as the center of the Princess' rule over Equestria. Apparently, Celestia preferred to keep both her friends and her enemies close. The small group wandered the huge, regal halls of the castle in awe. As important as their mission was, they couldn't help but feel dwarfed by the proud tapestries and statues decorating the castle, serving as reminders of the influence and power that these alicorns held over the massive and loyal populace.

Such was the grandiose of the castle that they nearly forgot they were supposed to be getting directions from guards along the way to the ponies' rooms, a task which Sera had thankfully performed for them. It also helped that there seemed to be a lot more guards patrolling the castle than they thought would be necessary, probably due to their "special guest".

Upon finally reaching the guest rooms on an upper floor, Hail raised a hoof and briskly knocked on the door. After several seconds, a glow of purple magic surrounded the doorknob and opened it in response, revealing a somewhat relaxed Twilight Sparkle. Seeing Hail and Sera, she put on a wide grin. "Hey Hailstorm!" she greeted cheerfully. "And Seraphina, I presume?"

"Blah, at the moment," replied the borrower in his own voice. "She's still in here too, of course. Just taking a back seat."

"Right..." Twilight looked around awkwardly. "Well, as long as you're still here, there's nothing to be worried about I guess. I take it you've gotten Astra and Beats to their destinations all right?"

"Yep, the trip was surprisingly uneventful," Hail confirmed. "And now Eggman's at his lab working on a new body for Blah. So it's just the three of us for now." Twilight nodded. "Anyway, we're here to pick up my computer so that I can enter the game and hopefully get rid of the need for having that shield around the city."

"Well, come on in!" Twilight invited, stepping back and letting the visitors enter. "I left it on the table over there."

Hail and Blah followed Twilight into the room. For a guest quarter, it was quite lavish and roomy. Blah would have been lucky to have a bedroom half as luxurious as this room back home, and he estimated that it was bigger than the house he had built for himself in Blahtown, even.

"So, how's Discord doing?" Blah asked, helping himself to a seat on a heavily-cushioned white sofa as Hail retrieved his tablet.

"Pretty well, actually," reported Twilight. "Ever since Pinkie went into his room to entertain him, or whatever it is they're doing in there, he hasn't bothered any of the rest of us at all."

"Ah, that's..." Blah was about to say it was good news, but something didn't seem right. "...you haven't heard a peep from them?"

"Well, no..." Twilight started to realize it as well. "We appreciated the peace and quiet, but now that you mention it, both Pinkie and Discord in the same room, making no noise whatsoever?"

"Silence like that is unreal," Blah commented. "It doesn't even happen, most of the time."

"Okay, I should probably check on them then..." Twilight hustled out of the room, that too-familiar look of worry on her face. Blah and Hail decided to follow her.

Twilight knocked on the door rapidly. "Pinkie? Discord?" she called. There was no answer. She attempted to open the door, but the knob wouldn't budge. "It's locked!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Looks like we'll have to break it down," Blah decided, stepping back a ways and poising to run at it.

"I would not advise that," Sera's voice echoed in his head. "Do you not have an alternative to this problem?"

Blah thought for a moment, then snapped. "OH. Right." He retrieved his Sonic Screwdriver, pointed it at the lock and pressed a button. The door replied with a resounding click, and Blah wasted no time in getting it open.

The room was very much like Twilight's, as they expected, only with one key difference. One very major key difference.

A fluffy mass of pink and red sat underneath the table. From the doorway, it looked almost like a blanket, and Blah's every instinct urged him not to try and prove himself otherwise. And yet, he found himself creeping slowly towards the object, his senses fading into obscurity as if he were waking up from a dream.

"I-Is that..." he heard Hail's muffled voice, followed by a heavy gulp and then silence.

Blah could barely pay attention. He simply continued walking on autopilot, his every step heavier than the last, like a zombie, eventually reaching the table. He lifted it, practically tossing it aside in order to get a good, hard look at whatever was underneath. This HAD to be just a blanket, he told himself. But he couldn't just leave it at that, he had to make SURE.

He just HAD to make sure...

But he couldn't deny what was in front of his eyes - the blank, lifeless face of Pinkie Pie.

The void overtook Blah in an instant.

"Twilight. Inform everyone in the castle that a murder has taken place. The culprit cannot have gotten far, but time is of the essence."

Sera was the only clear-minded and conscious individual in the room, and her orders were concise and professional. With Blah having fainted, she was forced to regain control - not only of her body, but of the situation as a whole. She had kneeled over and was already examining the victim to pinpoint the cause of death.

Twilight hesitated for a moment, still fixated in disbelief on the corpse of her close friend. The Kadabra's instructions finally registered after some delay. "R-right." She galloped out of the room uneasily, yet determined.

"Pinkie..." Hail uttered as he paced the room, himself finding it hard to believe as well. "Why did you think it was a good idea to be alone with Discord..." He stopped, suddenly turning to Sera. "Sera, can't you do the... the thing that you did with Blah?"

"Unfortunately, it is too late," Sera replied. "Pinkie's departure happened a while ago. Her soul is long gone."

"Of course..." Hail began to pace the room again. "That'd just be too easy. Ugh, if I could just..." He began to form a plan about how to reverse this tragedy, but his thoughts were cut short upon remembering that Discord probably couldn't be brought down that easily.

Twilight soon rushed back into the room, followed by Applejack and Fluttershy. Immediately after seeing Pinkie, Fluttershy let out a small shriek.

"P-Pinkie Pie!" Applejack shoved her way past Sera and checked her desperately for a pulse.

"It is no use," Sera explained. "Pinkie has been dead for a while. I am sorry."

"Where's Rarity and Rainbow Dash?" Hail asked, noting the missing ponies.

"Rarity was eager to go into town," Twilight told him. "I thought Discord had finally calmed down, so I said it was okay... and then Rainbow Dash left soon after, looking forward to the open air..."

"We shoulda known this was gonna happen," Applejack said angrily. "That Discord played us all for fools... he'd already made it clear he didn't mind offing his enemies, even... why, I don't care HOW powerful he is, if I could get my hooves on him, I'd..."

"Are you sure that you heard nothing coming from this room since Pinkie and Discord entered?" Sera requested from Twilight.

"I'm sure... So we don't even know the exact time of the incident..." Twilight tried to focus on the events that lead up to the present moment despite how close to home it hit. Fluttershy's unnerved sobbing certainly didn't help that either.

"Does that even matter?" Hail shouted. "It's obvious who did it. With Pinkie out of the way, there'd be nothing stopping Discord from exerting his full power over Equestria..."

"How can you be so sure that it was Discord?" Sera asked, walking over to the open window and looking out of it.

"Well, gee, maybe it's the fact that they were alone in the room?" Hailstorm answered sarcastically. "And his motive is clear as day!"

"While it is true that there may be nothing stopping him from turning Equestria into his personal playground..." Sera thought back to what she had heard from Blah. "It is not going to matter for him if the eight players of SBURB do not enter the game properly. His power will still be reduced to nothing if Charge wins, so he still has reason to cooperate with us."

"But what if he tries to replace somebody, just like Charge is trying to do?" considered Twilight. "He's as much our enemy now as Charge is... if either of them make their way into the game, we'll be in trouble."

Sera did not respond. She merely continued examining the body and the room for clues. Before long, the group noticed the sound of approaching hoofsteps. Princess Celestia and a couple of accompanying guards entered the room.

"Princess!" Twilight exclaimed, glad to see her mentor on the scene.

"Hmm, so it's true," Celestia confirmed, witnessing Pinkie's corpse. She paused for a brief moment, and Sera noticed her lip quiver ever so slightly. Even royalty is entitled to emotions, after all. "I never would have expected such a blatantly heinous act from Discord... are you sure it was him?"

Everyone else nodded except for Sera. "Judging from the crime scene," she began, "there are no signs of a struggle, or anything that stands out as relevant to the act. Pinkie's body was found under the table, and there are no traces of blood anywhere else in the room, suggesting that she had moved there before the killing blow - which appears to be a stab to the back with a long, moderately thin instrument. Not only that, but no sound was reported to have been heard from this room during the time the murder would have taken place."

"I see..." Celestia looked around the room, seeing nothing different from Sera's description. "The circumstances are strange. I know for a fact that Discord prefers not to dispose of his enemies with murder, and even if he were to resort to that, why would he use a blade?"

"He already asked us to kill Charge and his minions," Hailstorm reminded her. "But you're right, being a deity of chaos and all, there are far better, cleaner ways to kill..."

"He's probably tryin' to frame somepony else," suggested Applejack.

"He would not need to," Sera responded. "Without the Element of Laughter, there is nothing we could do to him if he were the murderer."

Silence engulfed the group again as everyone pondered their next course of action. With an unrestrained Discord on the loose, it seemed hopeless...

"...There is one thing we can do," Celestia finally spoke, her tone darkening.

"What?!" Twilight shouted. "Something that doesn't require all six of the Elements...?"

The princess nodded. "I wasn't going to mention it, because it had been unthinkable... up until now."

"So what is it?" Hail prompted. "I'd do anything in order to bring that backstabber to justice..."

"If I were to combine my power with that of my sister, Luna," Celestia explained, "we could banish him to the Furthest Ring for eternity. This action would be irreversible, as he would be stranded in an undefined portion of space in which his power has no meaning. Not even we can bring him back after that."

"Ah, I understand..." Twilight responded. "You knew that Discord still had the potential to be reformed, so you couldn't even consider that... You said it yourself, that everyone has the potential for good within them, no matter how black the heart."

"Precisely," affirmed Celestia. "However, if Discord does prove to be the murderer, we may have no choice. He would be beyond help."

"So all we have to do is figure out whether or not he's guilty," Hail began to pace the room again. "That's not going to be easy..."

"There's no definitive proof either way," Twilight said. "He seems like the most plausible suspect, but some things just don't make sense..."

"I have one last question for you, Princess," Sera addressed. "Does Discord know that you and Luna are capable of sending him to the Furthest Ring?"

"He does," Celestia replied. "He also knows that we would only do such a thing if he were considered irredeemable."

"Which means he does have reason to frame someone after all," Hail added. "So we're right back where we started."

"We should start by finding and interrogating Discord," Sera determined. "We should also gather information such as the possible time of death. Discord will likely have an explanation for us, true or untrue. The more facts we have to compare it against, the better."

"Our guards are already searching the city and the castle for Discord," said Celestia. "They've been instructed to bring him here for questioning."

"Good. Hailstorm." Sera turned to Hail. "In the event that Discord is the murderer and is planning to replace someone in the game, I would advise that you work on getting Beats in as soon as possible. Our goal has become yet more urgent."

Hail looked down. "But... who's going to be my server? I'll only be able to get Beats into the game myself, and neither you nor Blah can do anything by yourselves until Metal Tails is finished..."

"Hopefully, by the time your entry becomes a concern, that will all be sorted out. I will teleport you to Ponyville, at which point you are on your own. Beats should fill you in on what to do. We will contact you through Eggman if something comes up."

Hail took a moment to let it all sink in. He nodded. "Gotcha. Good luck to all of you."

"Same to you," Twilight returned the favor. As Sera grabbed Hail's hoof, a thought occurred to the unicorn. "Wait, is it really that easy to get through the-"

The two were already gone. Twilight sighed.

Sera returned moments later. "Yes. It is quite easy to pass for someone of my capabilities."