DAiE Ch. 8 P. 2/??? Ch. X P. 1 - The Point of Departure

>You are Doctor Anonymous.
>And right now, you are falling.
>There is no air here to rush past you.
>No gravity.
>There is only the sense, deep in your gut, telling you.
>You are falling.
>Tears trail above you as you plummet, your chest heaving with every aching sob.
>You are falling.
>No.
>You try to speak it, but the word doesn't come.
>No.
>Again, you try. Even through your painful convulsions, you scream out into the deafening silence, no more loud than the piercing quiet.
>But glowing with defiance.
>NO.
>You scream out again, not expecting a response, knowing no one will hear you.
>NO.
>You reach out, as you try to scream again.
>NO.
>They say that attempting the same action over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of madness.
>NO.
>Being a scientist, you have a slightly different, more rigorous definition of madness.
>NO!
>But then, again...
>NO!
>Some people HAVE referred to you as a 'mad scientist.'
>NO!
>NO!
"NO!"
>Your reaching hand finds something.
>And you pull.

>No!
>No no, no no no, no no nononono!
>You are Pinka-... Pinkie Pie.
>And right now, you just...
>You don't understand!
"No, no, no, no, no!"
>You frantically search around the now empty wheelchair.
>Where did he go?
>Why did he call you Pinkie?!
>Why the buck until he wait until now?!
>WHY THE BUCK DO YOU STILL CARE?!
>You check behind the chair.
>In front.
>The sides.
>He can't be gone.
"No, no, no, nononono!"
>You circle the chair once more, before standing on your back hooves, placing your forelegs onto the chair, looking helplessly, desperately for where he could have gone.
>You look around you.
>The girls are still confused, dumbfounded even.
>And Albert?
>He's gone too.
>Then...
>Then...
>Then they really...
...
>You can't finish that thought.
>You kneel down into the chair, where he was sitting just a minute ago.
>And cry.
>You feel a hoof find its way to your shoulder.
>A comforting, caring hoof.
>You push it away.
"No! No, no, no, no, no!"
>It's all you can say.
>No.
>Wait, what?
>Your ears perk up.
>NO.
>What was...
>NO!
>Okay, what the buck?!
>"NO!"
>You feel something grab your hoof.
>And it pulls.
>You are falling.

>You are Doctor Anonymous.
>And right now, you are no longer falling.
>Your back hurts.
>Every part of you hurts.
>It seems like hours before you stir.
>But you prop yourself up.
>And with trepidation... you open your eyes.
>You never thought you would be so unhappy.
>So unhappy to see home.
>You're back in your lab.
>Just like you left it.
>Just like you thought you wanted.
>With difficulty, you stand up.
>Well, more like throw yourself up, and then onto a counter.
>You don't have the strength.
>You don't want the strength.
>All you want to do is to go back.
>But you don't know if you can.
>You
>Don't
>Know
>If...
...
>Damnit.
>Damnit.
>DAMNIT.
>DAMN IT.
>You slam your hands down onto the counter, as hard as you can.
>The metal bends and twists before your augmented strength.
>Before your sorrow, and rage.
>Pain shoots through your arms, but you don't care.
>You don't want this.
>You don't want any of this!
>This isn't home anymore!
>You drive your fist through a nearby machine.
>The metal shatters, tearing into your skin.
>But you.
>Don't.
>Care.
>You slump down, and the tears return.
>All you care about.
>Is her.
>Seeing her again.
>Hugging her again.
>Telling her how sorry you are.
>How much she means to you.
>But you can't.
>You'll never.
>See her.
>Again.
>The tears stop.
>You don't have anymore.
>Anymore tears.
>Anymore strength.
>Your body goes limp, and you slide unceremoniously to the floor.
>"Doctor?"

>You look up, your heart skips at what you see.
>There is a pony.
>There is a pony in your lab.
>There is a pony in your lab, and she has long, flowing pink hair.
>With newfound vigor, you spring up into a dash and throw yourself into the tightest, warmest hug around her you can possibly muster.
"Pinkie! Pinkie, I'm so sorry, I'm so-"
>"Oh.. oh my."
>Wait.
>You look down.
>You're hugging...
>Fluttershy?!
>She looks up at you with a terrified expression.
>"Hello."
>You drop Fluttershy, and whirl around.
"...hello."
>Your eyes narrow at what you see.
>"Who are you?"
>He's as ready for a fight as you are.
>"What are you doing in my lab?"
>Your doppelganger.
>"Why do you look exactly like me?"
>You've been prepared for this moment.
>"And why were you hugging my marefriend?"
>Wait, what?
"Marefriend?"
>The fiend who looks exactly like you spring as the opening in your defense.

>You are Doctor Anonymous.
>And right now, you have your doppelganger where you want him.
>You always knew he'd come for you, try to destroy your work and steal your identity.
>But you never knew he'd follow you to Ponyville.
>It doesn't matter though, he's pinned, and you're about to drive the life right out of him.
>"W-wait!" He chokes out from under your grip.
>"C-... code 83-B-27-5-6-6-5!"
>...what.
>How could he know-
>He takes advantage of your surprise, getting you into a grip of his own.
>You manage to weasel your way out of it, however, and after a short tussle, you both end up with your hands around eachother's throats.
>You look into his eyes, and he into yours.
>"...on three."
"...fine."
>"One..."
"Two..."
>"Three..."
>You both call it out at the same time.
>"INTELLIGENT DESIGN IS AN EQUALLY VIABLE EXPLANATION FOR THE ORIGIN OF MAN AS EVOLUTIONARY THEORY!"
>You both collapse onto each other, gasping for air as you try to recover from the stupidity you just uttered.
>Shit.
>He's not a doppelganger.
>"Uhm... doctor?"
>...what.
>"Doctors?"
>You look over. Is that...?
>"What the hell was that?"
"ALBERT?!"

>You are Albert.
>And right now, you are so confused.
>You were falling.
>And then you were home.
>But Fluttershy is here.
>And so is Anonymous.
>But there are two of him?!
"What in science's name is going on-"
>One of them springs up, crying you name and rushing over to you.
>He... hugs you.
>He's never hugged you.
"D..doctor?"
>"Albert.. how did you.. I thought I'd.... okay, what's going on?"
"Was... that...?"
>The other Anonymous stands up, brushing some dirt off his coat.
>"Yes. A method of identifying ourselves. A phrase so utterly incorrect, no intelligent human being would ever utter it unless they were insane, horribly maleducated, or..."
"...you?"
>"...well, when you put it that way, I-"
"Okay, hold on, this is all really confusing, why are there two of you?"
>"Isn't it obvious, Albert?"
>The Doctor who DIDN'T hug you walks over to a window port, and opens it up.
>"We're not home."
>Your optics struggle to process what they're looking at.
>"We're in Ponyville."
>He pauses.
>"Well, a different Ponyville."

>You are Doctor Anonymous 1.
>And right now, you can't believe you're being so stubborn.
>Well, YOU'RE not. Doctor Anonymous 2 is.
>"And why the hell should -I- be number 2?! You're in -my- Ponyville!"
"Well, that makes me a guest, and you should respect your guests! Therefore, Doctor 1."
>Albert sighs. "What are you talking about. -Your- Ponyville?"
"Yes! The sudden change in Pinka-.. Pinkie's emotional state disrupted the reaction! It didn't send us home, it sent us to an alternate Ponyville!"
>"An alternate Ponyville?"
>"Yes." Doctor 2 continues. "Multiverse theory, Albert."
"Infinite universes, every universe a slight deviation from another, maybe even a single point of departure from the last."
>"Which results in there being a universe for every single possibility, infinite places where anything that was possible, has happened, somewhere."
>"That's very obtuse."
"Yes, well, why do you think I didn't accept it? We're in a parallel Equestria, Albert. Where a parallel Doctor Anonymous was sent to. The point of departure seems to have resulted in me, or rather, Doctor Anonymous 2, ending up with Fluttershy instead of Pinkie."
>"I told you, -I'm- Doctor Anonymo- wait, you ended up with Pinkamina?"
>You sigh.
"Listen, I'll be Doctor Anonymous 1..."
>The alternate you glares.
"And you can be Doctor Anonymous A."
...
>"...that's acceptable."
"Anyway, we need to hurry."
>"Hurry? What for?"
"Because I don't think I came here alone. And I don't mean Albert."

>You're Pinkie Pie!
>And right now, you are looooving this cake.
>It smells so good!
>You might eat it all yourself if you weren't already enjoying a lollipop.
>You hum merrily to yourself as you work, dancing about the kitchen in a blur of flour, sugar and pink fun.
>You hear the bell signal someone entering Sugarcube Corner.
"Hi there! I'll be right out~!"
>You call out to the incoming customer.
>There's no response. But you hear something.
>Are they... crying?
>Oh, you can't have that!
"I'll have you know, the Sugarcube Corner has a very strict no-sadness policy!"
>You giggle, making sure it's clear that you're joking.
>"W-what?"
>You trot up to the counter, throwing off your messy apron to get a good look at the customer.
"That's right! Now, what can Pinkie do to make you..."
>You freeze.
>Standing in the room, staring wide-eyed at you, is...
>You.
>But it can't be you.
"..you... smile..."
>There's a horrible silence.
"Ch...ch.."
>You know just what's going on.
>The fake Pinkie's eyes widen.
>She didn't even get your hair right.
"CH.."
>"N..no.. please, I-I'm not-"
"CHANGELING!"