Six ponies and one dragon sat on a table in the middle of Perceptor's lab. Mike and Michelle had been taken to VIP quarters to eat and rest. A holographic image of the barrier and white-coated alicorn floated before them. Rainbow Dash finally spoke. “Twilight... what in the bucking hay are we looking at?!”
Twilight Sparkle glanced to her right, at the pegasus, noticing that she was sitting on her haunches instead of floating in the sky. She looked back at the hologram, focusing on a series of numbers and graphs just to the right of the image. “It's some sort of barrier, Dash. Extremely destructive, too.” Her eyes narrowed. “The amount of thaumic energy being put out is immense!”
Applejack stood up and trotted over to the right of the hologram and looked up at the scrolling numbers. “Celestia's sakes, I cain't make heads nor tails o' these!” She looked to Twilight Sparkle. “Whare is this?”
The unicorn's eyes focused on a small map. She looked to her left and Perceptor, standing there but remaining silent. “Perceptor, is this hologram contained in magnetic fields for touch-sensitivity?” At his nod her horn lit up. The map expanded. Latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates appeared over an image of Kentucky. Twilight Sparkle's expression changed from intense to a mixture of worry and sorrow. “Oh, no. Herd no. Not there, anywhere but there!”
Applejack glanced at her friend. “Twilight, ahm not tha smartest pony, but that's where Megan and Mike's house was, I'm guessin'.”
Fluttershy's entire body heaved. She bit her lip as tears streamed from her eyes. “T-this is awful!” she cried out. Her head darted about to all her friends. “Why is she doing this? Princess Celestia would never do something s-so awful!” Her head dropped down and her eyes screwed shut. “I'm sorry,” she squeaked out.
Rainbow Dash and Rarity sidled up to their friend. The former draped a wing over Fluttershy's still-shaking withers and back. “Hey, it's all right,” she said, squeezing lightly.
Rarity wrapped a foreleg around Fluttershy's neck. “Indeed, darling. This has proven to be a most traumatic experience for us all. There's no shame in crying a bit.” She wiped her own eyes. “I... must admit a certain moistness to my own eyes. I hope it doesn't ruin my mascara.” She swallowed as Applejack turned and glared at her. “A joke, a joke!”
Twilight Sparkle rubbed her chin. “Megan told us that this isn't Celestia, Fluttershy. It's some other version of her.” She shook her head. “Although how the hay she became like this is... I have no bucking clue. We're talking massive personality drift here.”
Pinkie Pie spoke up. Her hair, while not fully straight, had lost some of its poofiness. Her coat was also a bit duller than usual. “Ah, I know I'm not normally the one to point out stuff like this. But if this dome thingie is over where Megan and Mike's house was...” She let her voice trail off to let the implications sink in.
Rainbow Dash sucked in a breath. She jumped into the air and flew up to the hologram, kicking at the air. “Oh my gosh!” she blurted out. She looked down at Twilight Sparkle. “Twilight, where's the Rainbow Bridge?” The pegasus landed, placed her hooves on Twilight Sparkle's shoulders and began to shake them. “Twilight, we're stuck on Earth!”
Twilight Sparkle's head whipped back and forth. Her horn glowed and Rainbow Dash's hooves were forced from her shoulders. She dropped back onto her haunches, her eyes spinning. “D-Dash...” Her eyes blinked rapidly, finally regaining a bit of focus. She looked over various numbers, occasionally tapping the hologram to bring up even more numbers. She finally looked up to Perceptor, her teeth grinding together in frustration. “How can I cut through the thaumic radiation to get proper sensor readings?! I'm getting massive feedback along a lot of channels, here.” She stomped a hoof as frustration built.
Perceptor slowly shook his head. “I am afraid that at current levels, the information we are obtaining about the interior is as optimal as possible. The interference seems to be deliberate, not naturally occurring. Otherwise there would be vastly more information at our disposal.”
Spike spoke up, catching everyone's attention. “Hey, wait a second,” he said, waiting for everyone to turn to him before continuing. “Isn't there some sort of time thing going on between here and Equestria if there's no bridge?” He scratched his forehead, ruffling his spines slightly.
Twilight Sparkle's eyes became the approximate size of saucers. “Oh, bucking horse apples!” She slapped a hoof against her forehead.
Rainbow Dash's ears twitched. “Wait, time's going faster there if the Rainbow Bridge goes kablooey, right?” At Twilight Sparkle's frantic nod, her eyes dilated and her wings flared. “Oh my gosh oh my gosh ohmyGOSH!” She jumped into the air. “All of our fam-”
Applejack reared up on her hind legs. Her teeth clamped onto Rainbow Dash's tail and she tugged, bringing the panicky pegasus to the plasteel table below. She spat out the multi-colored tail and stomped on the table. “All right, now wait just one cotton-pickin' minute!” she roared, catching everyone's attention. “Now, I know things don't look too good, but no sense in panicking and runnin' off half-cocked. We lose our heads, we'll be no good to nobody. We all get that?” At their nods, she turned away for a moment and looked to the table. “Jus... gotta put it in the back of our minds is all.”
Rainbow Dash patted Applejack on her shoulder. “Hey, like you just said. We gotta be strong right now.” She spun around. “Okay, so now what do we do?” She reared back on her hind legs and punched the air with her front hooves. “I say we go right over to this so-called 'Celestia and show her what the Elements of Harmony do when our friends get messed with!”
Fluttershy dropped down and covered her head with her wings. “Oh, no!” she squeaked out.
Rarity rolled her eyes. “Please, darling. I am fairly certain we'd be swatted away like fruit bats.” She motioned to her neck. “Besides, it's not like we have the Elements to combat this cheap knockoff.”
Twilight Sparkle let out a gasp. “That's it!” She trotted over to Rarity and the still hunkered-down Fluttershy. “Rarity, you're a genius!” she said, wrapping her forelegs around Rarity's neck in a hug.
Rarity blinked. “I am? Well, I suppose I am, at that,” she said, grinning. She looked at Twilight. “Although, pray tell, just what am I a genius at, precisely? For future reference, of course.”
Twilight Sparkle let go and turned on a hind hoof to look at Rainbow Dash and then Spike. “We're going to create a new Rainbow Bridge and go get the Elements!”
Spike blinked a few times. He exchanged a glance with Rainbow Dash, who wore a similar expression of confusion. “Wait, Twilight.” He held his hands up in the air, palms out. “We're not even fully sure of what happened up over the Everfree that day. W-we might end up burnt up or kicked into another dimension. Or worse!”
Twilight Sparkle's head swished back and forth. “It's not just us who have been affected, Spike. There's over a thousand ponies on Earth besides us.” She waved to the image of the barrier with a foreleg and grunted. “We have to open up a new path to Equestria, as soon as possible!” She walked up to Spike and leaned down, nuzzling him slightly. “Please?”
The baby dragon let out a sigh. “Okay, but you owe me a sack of emeralds when we get home.” He scratched the side of his head. “Hey, wait a second.” He looked up to Perceptor. “Are there any hot air balloons kicking around Autobot City?”
Perceptor's optic sensors flashed. “I'm sorry, what did you say?” he asked, scratching his head.
Twilight Sparkle let out a groan and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Perceptor, please focus! We're trying to recreate the Rainbow Bridge here, so we need a balloon for Spike and I to float in and Rainbow Dash to hit with a sonic rainboom!” She turned back to the hologram. Her horn glowed and lines of text began filling up sidebars. “Ugh, why no balloons? You've got anti-gravity this and that, but no hot air balloons?!” A few bits of her mane sprung out of place.
Rarity spoke up. “Twilight, my dear, perhaps you should focus less on getting this precisely like it was that day. I seriously doubt that the hot air balloon was really necessary to the creation of the Rainbow Bridge. I'm not even sure Spike is essential.” She looked to the dragon. “We should consider his safety, after all.”
Spike's cheeks turned beet-red, but Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention once more. “Rarity, we have to make sure conditions are as close as possible to the original incident. So that means a hot air balloon!”
Applejack eyed her. “Don't that mean a dragon has to be shootin' fire at yah while yer hovering close to a forest?”
There was a pause before Twilight Sparkle's head drooped. “Okay, okay. Maybe I don't have to go that far.”
Applejack nodded. “Good tah hear.” She rubbed her chin. “Say, I recall there being a heap o' humans and ponies around studying tha Rainbow Bridge.” She looked to Perceptor. “Any info in that fancy computer of yours?”
Rarity spoke up. “Actually, now that I think about it, wouldn't we need permission before we try ripping a hole in space? I don't think Rainbow Dash can simply start zipping around and creating sonic rainbooms all over Autobot City's airspace.” She looked up to Perceptor, trotted up to the edge of the table and batted her eyes at him. “My dear Perceptor, if you could be so kind as to talk with those in charge and expedite permission for us to engage in recreating the Rainbow Bridge?”
Perceptor chuckled slightly. “My dear Rarity, there is no need for flattery on your account.” he turned to face one of the various computer consoles lining his laboratory. He tapped the side of his head. His optic sensors changed from blue to green and twin beams shot from them. They hit a light-sensitive sensor embedded right below the screen. “Computer,” he intoned, his voice going oddly monotone. “Transfer files in the folders labeled 'Inter-Dimensional Displacement' and 'Sonic Teleboom' to central table and holographic projector'.”
The holographic image of the dome and alicorn at the top disappeared, only to be replaced by two holograms. The first was the Equestrian side of the Rainbow Bridge, a simple hole in the sky right above the edge of the Everfree Forest. The other was the Rainbow Bridge on Earth, with the hole and solid rainbow trailing down into the backyard of Megan and Mike's house. Schematics and numbers scrolled down all around them.
Twilight Sparkle's eyes widened and her mouth dropped almost to the table itself. She reached up with a hoof. “This is... by the Herd, Perceptor. Approach vectors, energy emissions...” She reached up with a hoof, tentatively poking at the magnetic field surrounding the hologram. Her horn glowed and windows began opening up.
The door chime sounded. Perceptor's head turned. “Enter,” he called out.
The door opened and a cargo truck rolled in, one with four benches running the length of the bed. An EDC soldier was in the driver's seat with Marie Hernandez sitting right beside him. She opened her door and leaned out. “Twilight Sparkle!”, she called.
Twilight Sparkle trotted over to the edge of the table. Her horn glowed and she disappeared, reappearing on one of the benches, behind Marie, then looked up at her friend. “Commander Hernandez?”
Marie turned to face her, letting her legs hang out of the door. “Twilight, the President of the United States has 'requested' that you go to Washington DC,” she said, making quote marks with her fingers at the word “requested”.
Twilight Sparkle let out a sigh. “And by 'requested' you mean ordered, right?”
A sigh escaped the EDC officer. “Autobot City itself is on High Alert and a state of national emergency's been declared.” She looked up to Perceptor. “Sideswipe is organizing a task force to head north to Kentucky, and Jazz wants you in Central Command ASAP.” She tapped her temple. “You might wanna turn on your internal comm a little more often.”
Static erupted from Perceptor's vocalizer, causing everyone in the room to wince slightly. “My apologies, Commander Hernandez. It must have slipped my central processor.”
Pinkie Pie blinked rapidly. She looked up to Perceptor. “B-but you've got a computer for a brain and how does that work?” She tilted her head to the side, continuing around for a bit. “I mean, can't you just-”
Applejack jammed a hoof into the pink pony's mouth. “Not now, jus... not now.” She removed the hoof and trotted to the edge of the table. “Twilight!” she shouted. “Yah might wanna tell 'er about yer plan!”
Rainbow Dash spread her wings, hopped up and flew down to the floor below. She motioned to Twilight Sparkle with her right wing. “Twilight and I have a plan to bust through to Equestria. After we do that, then we can go to Washington.”
Marie's eyes widened. She looked to a rapidly-blushing Twilight Sparkle. “I'm sorry, what?” she asked, straightening back up.
Twilight Sparkle's ears folded down. She cleared her throat. “With the Rainbow Bridge either blocked or outright destroyed, we're trapped here on Earth along with a lot of other citizens of Equestria. It's imperative that contact is reestablished as soon as possible. Not only for us, but for humanity as well.” Twilight looked away as she continued. “This other 'Celestia' or whatever the hay she is has already harmed Megan in ways I can barely understand.” She looked up and locked eyes with Marie. “And I feel the real Princess Celestia can help, not only with Megan but stopping this other alicorn.”
Rainbow Dash nodded. “That's telling it,” she said, grinning.
Twilight Sparkle glanced to her friend. “But that's not all of it to tell, Dash.” She turned and motioned to the table and holograms. “There's a lot of information you and I have to go over. Some of the information there I'm not too sure of.” She waved off Rainbow Dash even as the pegasi's wings unfurled and her mouth opened. “I'm serious, here! I do not want to rip some hole into yet another Equestria. We need to get this right the first time.” She stomped a hoof onto the floor for emphasis, wincing slightly from the impact.
Rarity trotted over to the table's edge and looked down. “Twilight is right!” she shouted. “One must pay attention to the details on such a monumental undertaking.”
Rainbow Dash let out a groan and rolled her eyes. “Oh, all right!” she groused, frowning.
Rarity smiled, but her expression changed to one of fright as she caught eye of the distance from the table to the floor. “Twilight, could you be a dear and teleport us down to the floor?” she asked, batting her eyelashes.
Applejack rolled her eyes. “Herd's sake, Rarity! We can't jus' rely on Twilight or Trixie tah teleport us from here to thar!” she exclaimed, waving a foreleg from side to side.
Twilight Sparkle chuckled slightly. “It's no problem, Applejack.” Her horn glowed brightly and the tip flashed. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Spike disappeared from the table, only to reappear right in front of the unicorn and pegasus. “See? No problem at all!”
Marie cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention. “Now, if there's nothing else, we've got to get you to Hangar Nine.” She motioned to the benches on the truck. “We have all your personal belongings loaded up for you already, so no need to go to your rooms for anything.”
Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Spike all climbed into the bed while Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash leapt into the air and took up flanking positions along the carrier.
Perceptor walked up to the group and knelt down. “Wait,” he said, holding out his right hand and extending his index finger. The tip opened up and a comparatively-tiny claw emerged, clutching a small tablet in its pincers. “I have downloaded all relevant datatrax to this,” he said.
Twilight Sparkle smiled up at her friend. The tablet glowed and floated over to her. “Thanks, Perceptor.” Her expression hardened. “Rainbow Dash and I will be sure to put this to good use!”