Chapter 3 - Mysterious Meetings
~~~~~~Dock 88 Customs House, Port of Manehatten~~~~~~
Rainbow Dash had been in a lot of locker rooms in her lifetime, which was the kind of thing that happened when you wanted to be a pro athlete. This particular locker room was on the low end of the scale when it came to niceness, but it was improved by the presence of her very favorite egghead. “Hold still Dash.” Twilight muttered, and dash winced a little as she applied disinfectant to a cut she hadn’t even felt run up her right forehoof. It wasn’t a bad cut, but Twi wasn’t taking any chances with it.
Actually, it was more than just that. Rainbow Dash was not the world's most observant pony when she wasn’t in the air, but this was not normal behavior for Twilight. Normally, Twilight would get exasperated but amused at Dash's injuries - usually followed by some lecture on personal safety. But Twilight was acting like Rarity or AJ did when their sisters got hurt. Both of them tended to freak out over the littlest thing, though AJ had gotten better about it recently.
Still, she was wondering what had brought this on. “There,” Twilight said primly, tightening the clean bandage around the cut and then rolling the sleeve of the white shirt she wore up back over it. Rarity had already stitched the slash in the shirt back up, and Dash had to admit she liked how tough it made her look. “You really need to be more careful, Rainbow.” Twilight’s new long, slender limbs brushed some dust off her vest and her voice descended into a mutter. “We’re all in a serious pickle here, and I don’t think we’re going to get out of it without you.”
Twilight was right, and that was what brought Dash's eyes to peer out the window of the small restroom and out towards the incredible skyline outside of it. Manehatten, writ large. Daring Do not recognizing Twilight. Daring actually calling her by that silly ‘Cloudsdale’ nickname. Dash couldn't wrap her head around what was going on as it was and Twilight acting all strange hadn’t helped… Which is probably why her mouth opened and started yammering before she realized what she was saying. "What can I say Twi? I like having your hooves all over me." She replied in a saucy tone of voice.
A bare second later she slapped her hoof over her mouth, hoping that comment wasn’t about to get her smacked. Luckily, Twilight appeared to be too distracted to really parse it, and she half chuckled. “Very cute Rainbow.” She paused in the middle of her chuckle and visibly swallowed. “We’re in deep trouble, aren’t we?” She whispered. It wasn’t really a question. “I mean… I know more about magical history than most ponies, and even I’ve never even heard of a portal between worlds.” Her head dipped a little, and she rubbed at it with a boot clad hoof. “It’s like something out of a ponytale.”
At that, Rainbow couldn’t help but laugh softly. “Uh, hate to break it to you, Twilight,” She began, hopping down onto her hooves and giving herself a nice long stretch. extending all her muscles and body forward while her wings flared out back as far as they could go. “But we’ve been living the stuff of ponytales for about three years now, Miss turned-into-an-alicorn.” Dash giggled faintly, unable to contain her amusement. “I mean, seriously!” The giggle turned into a full on laugh.
Twilight blushed a little, then joined in her laughter. She leaned in against Rainbow Dash, and Dash was pleased to find she wasn’t a whit heavier than she’d been before. She held up Twilight from under her shoulder and the pair of them got the stress out with a good solid chuckle. “Oh, Celestia. You should’ve seen the look on your face, Rainbow.” Twilight giggled, her eyes sparkling happily. “Okay, you’re right. I need to stop freaking out about this right now. We need to find Sweetie Belle, and then find a way home. Once we’ve managed that, then I shall freak out.”
“That’s the spirit, Darling.” Rarity’s arch voice soared through the room, and she slipped into it with all the pizzaz of a model stepping out onto the runway. Her eyes were steely and determined, and Dash was very glad for her presence right then and there. “I’m afraid that we may be up a rather more violent river than we’re all used to, however.”
“Regardless,” Twilight said firmly, standing up and shaking her worry off, “we’d better go talk to Daring Do.” She looked to Dash, and then to Rarity. “For the moment, I think we’d better assume that everything we think we know about her and Manehatten is wrong. And I think we’d better not bring up meeting A. K. Yearling, either.”
Dash had to nod at that, then looked towards the door to the main room. “She kept calling me Cloudsdale Dash, Twilight. That’s the nickname she gave me in her book.” Dash bit at her lip, then took in a deep breath. “Has it occured to you that we might very well be inside a Daring Do book?”
Twilight nodded slowly. “I’ve considered that as a possibility, Dash. But right now we need more facts before we make any assumptions.” Nodding her agreement, Dash hopped down off the stool and trotted alongside Twilight and Rarity back into the main room of what Daring Do had called the 'customs house'. It was a pretty worn down spot, but it had this seedy sort of charm to it. A slightly dim sparklight hung from the ceiling and cast a gentle gold glow over a pair of beaten-to-heck sofas that might have once been a bright blue. A couple of ratty coffee tables and a work desk on which was piled an interminable amount of paperwork in front of a row of beaten up file cabinets along the wall completed the scene, and Dash couldn't help but imagine it as something straight out of... well...
Daring herself was perched on one of the sofas with a mug of something steaming in her hooves, and the earth pony with the flaming red hair was sprawled out lazily on the other couch. There was a small pile of scattered papers on the coffee table Daring was brooding over as the pair entered the room. "Thanks for waiting, Miss." Twilight began slowly, then took a deep breath. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I’m not exactly from around here.” She paused for a moment. "And I'm afraid if you're hoping we have answers, we're pretty short on them ourselves."
From the couch on which she sat, Scooter waved a hoof airily at that statement. "Lady, we've dealt with ghosts, demons, Aztrot demigods, gangsters, spies and the bucking royal family of Equestria. Trust me when I say there ain't nothin you could throw at us that’s going to make us blink.." Then she turned to Rainbow Dash, and her grin cracked even wider. “Well, almost nothin’. I mean, come on, Cloudy. When did you finally figure it out?”
Dash felt her cheeks flame red, but before she could open her mouth Daring Do interjected. “More importantly, where’ve you bloody been?” There was real hurt and concern in Daring’s voice, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You told me you were going to look for that long lost friend of yours, and you’d be back in a couple weeks. That was almost a year ago, kiddo.” She rubbed her temple and closed her eyes for a moment, before looking at Dash with something like relief and exasperation. “I came to Manehatten to look for you after that mess with Doctor Negative got sorted out, and then I got jumped all over by those goons…” She looked from Twilight to Rarity, both of whom had fallen silent, and then asked softly. “What the heck did you get yourself into this time, Cloudy?”
Rainbow Dash bit at her lip and tried to figure out what to say. Or maybe she was trying to come up with a good lie. But in the end, she decided… “Daring, I don’t think I’m…” Her words only got so far, and then… “ARGH!” The pain split straight through her skull, like someone had just hit her straight through the brain with a steel spike. “Wh...what’s going...MF!” She fell headlong off the chair she was sitting in and her head began to swim like she’d had too much salt.
“CLOUDY!” Daring screamed.
“DASH!” Yelled Twilight.
“SHADDAP!” Yelled… the other one, and Dash felt a pair of hooves shove her onto her back. “Get some cold water! Daring, grab a clean rag, I got some in the back seat!” The words seared into Dash’s head, and every loud noise was like a running of the leaves inside her own skull. “Shit. Dash, close your eyes!” The one called ‘scooter’ told her, and Dash was happy to oblige given how swirly the room was going.
With nothing but stompy sounds and muttered words to interfere, Rainbow Dash could see snippets of events swimming before her eyes. It was really freaky, and not the good kind of freaky that ended with cuddling. It was an intense pain that throbbed in and out of existence, followed by scenes from a life that was not her own. She hadn’t crashed out of the Sonic Rainboom, she’d pulled it off. She hadn’t run away from home… she hadn’t… she wasn’t…
The chill of a cold cloth hit her eyes and shocked some of the pain out of existence. “Just breathe, kid.” That was Daring’s voice, gentle and firm in her ears. “Solaris help me, I don’t know what’s happened to you and I don’t care. You’re my friend, and we’ll help you get sorted out somehow.”
“She’s our friend too!” Rarity’s voice cut in, razor sharp and as prickly as her needles. “And she’s not the only somepony in trouble. My precious little sister Sweetie Belle is missing too, and-”
Scooter’s voice cut in a moment later, "Wait a sec, ma’am! Did you just say 'Sweetie Belle'?" Twilight nodded at this, and Scooter worked her mouth around a little in consternation. "Daring, I know that name. That's the new kid they've got singing at the Blue Note lounge! But she’s been there since…”
“Right around the time Silver went missing.” Daring’s voice went soft, and Dash wished she could see… and then she felt the headache lance through her mind again and suddenly was glad she couldn’t. Sweetie Belle? Here for months? That was beyond crazy! But what was even crazier were these strange scenes she kept seeing in front of her eyes. What was going on?
“Wait, my little sister is singing at some sort of lounge?!” Rarity nearly shouted, and was shushed down by the others in the room. “But that cannot be! She certainly has a sweet voice, but no place would put a little filly up on stage amidst ponies drinking and carousing!”
There was an embarrassed cough, and Scooter spoke quietly. “Ma’am, the Sweetie Belle I know ain’t no little filly. She’s got this pink and light purple mane and a white coat, and she’s probably one of the prettiest mares I’ve ever seen…” Scooter’s voice trailed off, and Dash could have sworn she heard the tones of a pony crushing on somepony hardcore.
“I think we have a serious mystery on our hooves, Miss Do.” Twilight sounded shaky, but she also sounded pretty determined. “And I think it’s going to take more time than we’ve got to waste to unravel it. We need to keep exchanging information and keep moving, and find someone who can help Rain-” A pause, a swallow. “Who can help Dash.”
There was a pause, and then a sigh. “You’re right. Fortunately, I know just the pony.” A ruffling of hooves. “Scoots, go find a phone and call Rosetta. Tell her to meet us at the Blue Note and bring her medical bag lickity split.” Scurrying hooves hurried outside, and then there was silence for a long time. Almost a full two or three minutes, but Dash was thankful for it. Finally, though… “What are you, really?” Daring said, in the quietest possible voice that Dash could still hear.
“An Alicorn from another world.” Twilight replied, in an equally quiet voice. “And somepony who is very, very concerned for the health of our mutual friend. We can settle any suspicion you have of me when she’s safe, but right now I’d like to avoid getting into a shouting match.”
More tense silence, then… “Agreed, but we’re going to go have words with Lord Solaris and Lady Celestia once we’ve got things sorted with Dash. I don’t know where you’ve come from Miss Twilight, but they’re the only someponies I can trust to handle you. ”
If Daring had been expecting any other kind of reaction from Twilight, Dash knew she would probably be disappointed at Twilight’s gentle giggle. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, Miss Do.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It's so big." Twilight Sparkle whispered as she stood outside of the dockside house, her eyes ranging over the gloriously glowing skyline. It was like something out of a fairy tale, or... well, a Daring Do novel. Has it occurred to you yet, Twilight? That you might very well be in a Daring Do novel? Twilight slowly shook the thought out of her head. It was impossible to travel inside of a book! Beside, they knew Daring Do personally! It was all just fictional!
Yet as Twilight's eyes slowly ranged over the sleek and shiny vehicle Scooter had called a 'Motor Car' she was beginning to wonder if ‘impossible’ was simply the order of the day... She still had no idea what the thing ran on, but it was clearly a mechanical device and not something strictly magical. I'm beginning to think there are a lot of things that are going to be 'impossible' here. She thought wryly.
Dash sat quietly in the back seat, laid out on her back with a still cool cloth laid over her eyes. She’d insisted she could walk, but Twilight wasn’t going to take that chance until they got her to see a doctor of some kind. “She’s a hell of a pony. I’m glad to see her safe,” Daring said over the gentle roar of the engine as they navigated the roads of outer manehatten. “I just hope Silver’s safe too.”
For a moment she was confused, but then...Oh... she must be talking about Manehatten Silver. Twilight thought faintly and bit at her lip - there was no way she could possibly bring the subject of him up like this. Especially when Dash hadn’t even gotten to that chapter yet. "I'm sorry." Twilight hedged with, getting a surprised look from Daring. Crap! Twilight cover! Cover fast! "I mean.." She continued, looking a little hesitant. "I hope you find your friend too. It sounds like he might be pretty special to you.”
Daring Do blinked and nodded once. "You're pretty observant. Yeah, he’s a special kinda guy even if he is a jerk sometimes..." Her eyes hardened a little as she turned away from Twilight. "I don’t know where he is, but I know him going missing is no coincidence." She shook her head slightly. "Let's forget about that for now. We'll tell our stories once we meet up with Rosie." Daring turned back to Twilight with a slightly more confident grin. “We’ll get Dash a quick check-up, and see if this Sweetie Belle is the same as your friends sister.”
Twilight sighed. “This news of her being older makes me wonder if we’re not flying up the wrong tree. Still, we need to eliminate every possibility.” She shook her head firmly, and looked at Dash. “I hope she’s okay. She’s… she really is special.” Twilight swallowed and hoped she wasn’t showing any sign of nerves. The emotions inside of her were roiling at a steady boil, and she wasn’t entirely certain how long she could keep it up. She needed to think of other things, and fast. “Ugh, I should probably be thinking up a disguise instead of waffling about like a filly.”
Daring nodded a little in response to that. "Heh, you sound like Rosie." She said, oh-so-softly... and in a way that sent a little shock down Twilight's spine. Did she...? But that was foolish to speculate about right now. "Anyway." Daring shook her head out. "We'll save the rest of our stories for the Blue Note." She eyeballed Twilight up for a moment in a way that made her blush. "Gonna have to scrounge up something for you to wear, though. This is Manehatten after all. Pony not wearing anything on the street's gonna attract attention where we're going."
Twilight nodded once. She’d been to manehatten, and she knew the truth of that statement. Fortunately, she hoped it wouldn’t be too hard to cook up a disguise. "What did you have in mind?" She asked, hoping that Daring already had some alicorn sized clothes for her to fit herself into.
~~~~~The Blue Note~~~~~
"Twenty minutes to curtain Sweetie! Hey... You okay in there, kiddo?"
A very pretty - and very worried looking pegasus with a powder blue coat and bright blue eyes poked her head through the door with a smile. "Hey, me and the girls are gonna grab some grub up at the Cat's Deli after the show. You in? My treat." She asked in her cheery voice, her head tilted at an angle so her long dark blue mane fell in waves over her shoulders.
Sweetie Belle turned on her little stool and smiled up at her - Bluebell was one of those ponies who just had a habit of looking out for everypony, but she'd always been extra nice to Sweetie Belle. "Sure thing, Blue." She said in a surprisingly happy sort of voice. "I'll meet you out front?" Blue nodded at that, and then vanished out of the door. Sweetie Belle had never heard the saying 'you can get used to anything', but if she had she'd have agreed with it. Four or five months ago, she'd have been in here crying a little almost every single night. And every single night, Bluebell would stop in and give her a hug with those big feathery wings of hers and tell her it'd be okay.
The other girls here were pretty okay too, considering how incredibly new everything was to Sweetie Belle now. Discreet Whispers and Pleasurable Company had both been really super nice to her too, even if they were usually busy at night doing whatever they did at the club. The bartender, Dry Martini had never failed to be there when Sweetie needed some advice about something she'd never encountered back in Ponyville. Even the club manager, Miss Kitty was always willing to take a little time out of her day for her. Of course, she'd been the one to bring Sweetie Belle in after... well, after everything had happened to her.
But now, eight months down the line from the incident which had torn her away from everything she ever knew, Sweetie was starting to accept her new life. She really, really missed Scootaloo and Applebloom, not to mention her big sister, but Sweetie knew just how insane her situation sounded. Who could she tell? She'd tried sending a letter to the Princess but either it hadn't gotten to her, or maybe she'd just been dismissed as a kook. She wouldn't have been surprised if it had been both of those things.
Rarity had always told her there were something’s you just couldn't change, and maybe this was one of them. She looked up into the mirror into the pretty and made-up face that looked back at her, and she had to smile. Besides, it wasn't all bad. There was plenty of good stuff too. Bluebell and Discreet and Pleasure were all really good friends, and Martini knew how to mix up the best milkshakes. That, and... well, there was the one other thing that had changed for the better.
She lifted the dress off of its hook by the door, slipping it with a practiced ease over her sleek white body. Pausing only for a moment to turn her hip a little towards the mirror and smile at the sight, before tugging it all the way on. She quickly trotted out the door and into the backstage hallway, gently levitating a packet of sheet music in front of her as she decided on the songs she'd sing tonight.
Yeah, things weren't so bad. After all, if you got to do something you loved to do, got to have wonderful friends and good times with them, and got to live in this fascinating and amazing world she'd fallen into... what was there to complain about? She only hoped Rarity was okay, wherever she was.That was what she kept telling herself, anyway, as she passed a tall, pink coated earth pony with a slow smile on her face. "Evening Sweetie. Big crowd out there tonight."
Sweetie Belle smiled at Miss Kitty. She might have looked a lot like a certain pink pony she’d known once upon a time, but there was no way they could be the same pony. "Good night for tips then, Miss." She replied with a chirrup of happiness. "What kind of mood is the crowd in?" She asked casually as her eyes watched Lotsa Laughs send the club into peals of uproarious laughter after one of his trademark slapstick jokes.
Miss Kitty purred a little before speaking. "They're gonna need a nice cool down after Lotsa's act. Arpeggio and her sister are here tonight, so I figured we could use something a little smooth and jazzy. Think you can manage that?" She asked, tilting her white and purple streaked mane with that slow and sensual smile of hers, somehow smoky, heated and suggestive all in one facial gesture.
Sweetie chuckled softly, leaning up just a little to kiss Miss Kitty on the cheek, like she'd done for her new big sister so many times before. "You got it boss." She winked, and pulled out a dozen or so old favorites, humming softly to herself as she did so. There were some things you just couldn't change. It was better to enjoy what you had, and make the best of it.
Sweetie kind of liked it that way.
~~~~~Manehatten Harbor, some time later~~~~~
Iron Resolve stood silently on the shoreline as the bright spark lights bobbed up and down across Manehatten Bay, marking where the three great Air Fortresses had fallen to ignominious defeat. On the shore, a battered and bruised pony wearing a much ruffled uniform knelt on the sand before two black coated officers, both of whom were speaking far too quietly for most ponies to hear. Fortunately for Iron Resolve, his hearing was quite excellent, which was why he had been attached to this security detail.
“Surely you do not expect me to believe such a fantastic tale.” Generalfeldmarschall Panzer growled in his most intimidating voice. He was really a fine and jovial fellow most of the time, but he could just as easily be a cold blooded monster if need be. And right now, he was putting on an exceptional show for the surviving soldiers of the fortresses by making their captain absolutely terrified.
“It is true, mein kommandant! I swear to you, on all that I hold sacred!” The poor surviving Hauptmann of the three Air Fortresses was practically pissing his uniform with fear. Nopony liked the direct attention of the High Command, but to attract the attention of those two was the worst of all. “It was a Sonic Rainboom! My mother took me to the gallery in Cloudsdale where they have the paintings!”
“We will see, täuschen” The mare next to Panzer said, her voice impossibly calm and quiet. The Lady’s name was not spoken except amongst the highest ranked officers, but she was legendary for never raising her voice above a normal speaking tone. She didn’t need to. Her ability to inspire and terrify those who served her and those who opposed her was without equal, and so she needed no histrionics.
“Kommandant! We have recovered the tapes!” A rubber-clad diving pony dragged his way up the surf, bearing a trio of large and bulky cases on his back. Several white-coated technicians hurried over to the devices, and for several long minutes Panzer looked on in silence as they worked their techno-wizardry on them.
Iron Resolve waited patiently, knowing that one way or another there would be orders for him to shortly carry out. He was not wrong, as the General nodded to the technicians and turned away from the still shaking captain. “Astonishing.” Was all Panzer said at first, his eyes half closed and his hoof on his head. “We must report to the Fuhrerin immediately. The loss of Daring Do will need to wait to be addressed.”
He turned to Iron Resolve, and his eyes were hard. “Major Iron. The crews of these vessels have performed to our satisfaction, but the surviving officer has not. Deal with him.” He turned and walked away a moment later, The Lady in close attendance to him and the three bulky cameras loaded into his official vehicle for transport.
Major Iron Resolve turned to the poor Hauptmann, and drew his service pistol. Two precise shots rang down the shoreline, and then nothing more. “Get rid of him,” The Major growled to the remaining crew of the vessels, and glared out into the bay where the salvaging operations would likely be going on for days. So much waste. But if the story had been true, perhaps a profit might be gleaned from it.
The Major turned away and stepped into the official car along with his General. The Fuhrerin needed to be informed, and the General would need for him to give his report as well.
~~~~~In front of The Blue Note~~~~~
Down on the streets of Manehatten, five figures stepped out of a swank looking speed-machine and slowly moved towards the entrance of the club. Two beady eyes watched them slip inside, and then slipped away into the shadows. It grasped at the battered old payphone and shoved a bit into the slot. A few presses of buttons later, and the figure waited until the line clicked. “She’s with them, just like he said she would be.” A pause, then a rasping chuckle. “I will make certain they do not know she is gone until it is too late, Mein Doktor.”
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This story is flippin' awesome!!!
I cannot wait for more!
...Just, promise me there won't be any fridge-surviving nukes.
Can't wait for more explanations from the characters. Away!
4244607
No fridgenukes. No crystal skulls either.
Well, *I* wasn't disappointed. And in the end, isn't that what really matters?
I am sorry this story hasn't attracted the same level of attention as some of your others. Still, I'm loving everything so far and am really looking forward to more chapters.
With Dash's headache filled with odd visions it would seem that crossing dimensions merges you with that world's version of yourself if they exist. Which is absolutely fascinating.
Amazing!
I can not get enough!
This is amazing, and deserves to have more viewers.
I cannot understand the poor reception. There's not nearly enough like this out there.
Disappointing debut, or not. I am still loving this story!
Can't wait to see how it goes.
I feel like there is a differ story like this one
Also I love this so far
And I am finally reading the updates. Been a long while indeed. Cool chapter so far.
When does the story take place? Twilight's an alicorn, but interdimensional travel is something unknown, even though Equestria Girls happened, and travelling into a piece of fiction is something strange, but it's apparently something possibly semi-common as shown from Power Ponies.