Meet the Doubles {Shimmerverse}
Twilight stirred to consciousness. The first thing she was aware of was how warm the blankets were, and that the pillow was quite fluffy. The second thing she noticed was something every unicorn was unfortunately well equated with. The smell of disinfectant. "I'm in a hospital bed? Augh, is there a nurse or doctor here?" She opened her eyes, taking a look around somewhat dully.
The sterile white room was quite spacious, but simple. The bed itself was large enough that Celestia or someone/thing heavier than her could sleep on it with no problem. There were a few other beds in the room, but they were all empty. Her body was covered in rich, golden sheets as if they were made by the sun itself. Beside each bed was a stand with a golden statue sitting atop and a pendant in the shape and color as her cutie mark lay at its hooves.
On the floor beside her stood a Sun Priestess. The purple mane, yellow mare was more ornately dressed than most other priestesses. “If you are looking for either of those, than I am sorry to say I sent them away. I needed to pray over you in peace.” Her voice was warm and soothing, but also told one that she was getting on in years.
"I see...I guess. Can I get some water? I'm feeling a bit thirsty." Twilight asked, her throat feeling scratchy.
“Of course,” the priestess bowed her head and walked over to a strange little podium. It had a small nozzle at the top pointed down at the ground. Large blue gems stood upon it. Each was ornately carved in a cylinder. She plucked a small cup from the side, put it under the nozzle, and pushed the button. The gems lightly shone and water poured out from the nozzle. As the water ran, the priestess prayed over it. Filling up the cup, she gently trotted back over to her. “Here you go.”
"Thank you." Deciding to see if her magic was working now, Twilight concentrated. Her lavender aura flickered around the cup, floating it over to her, slowly but...well not surely it was wobbling quite a bit, but that wasn't the important part. Her magic was back on...sort of. Finally getting the cup to herself, she finally started drinking. The cup was only about two thirds full at this point. "So, is that some sort of magical version of a water cooler?"
“I don’t know what a water cooler is,” the priestess said. “But it sounds like an apt name for our hydro tanks. Do you not have water gems on your world?”
"Not that I know of." Twilight admitted. "If they did, they would be spirit magic." Taking a longer sip, she added "A water cooler is pretty simple actually. A large plastic jug placed upside down into a stand with a built in tap. Once it's empty, you replace the jug and refill the earlier one."
“A water gem never runs out unless it is destroyed,” the priestess commented. “They are infinite and pure. I would think it tedious to keep replacing water so much.”
"Really, infinite? ...isn't that a little overkill for drinking water?" Twilight asked.
“They do have to be maintained in case of breaks,” the priestess said. “They aren’t as numerous as we would like, but we have enough. There is no such thing as ‘overkill’ here.”
"Huh...so I imagine they'd be useful for irrigation." Twilight conceded.
“They are,” the priestess looked her over. “Are you feeling alright? Any soreness? Tired? Misfiring signals?”
"A little bit of light sensitivity, but I think that's because I just woke up." Twilight noted, finishing off the water. Her stomach then growled a little. "Also, I am apparently hungry."
“I will have something brought in immediately,” the priestess bowed. “To keep one blessed by Celestia herself waiting is a sin most foul. Do you have anything in mind?”
"Um, a daisy sandwich? Nothing fancy." Twilight said. "We discovered earlier that I was having...problems when I came to eating involving flavor. I would hate for a lot of work to go into something that I can't appreciate. A daisy sandwich sounds like a good test to see if flavor works for me after Princess Celestia...if my taste buds work right now." She shook her head clear. It would be embarrassing to faint in a hospital bed she just woke up in.
The priestess put a comforting hoof on her. “Trust in the sun goddess’s work. She has never failed in her blessings.” She took the sun pendant from the stand and placed in softly into Twilight’s hoof. Her eyes spoke of years of devotion and love. “Have faith. I will send a guard for your sandwich.” She trotted out into the hallway.
Twilight finished off her water, and looked at the pendant. It was..odd, but also a bit comforting. While Twilight was devoted to the Princess, she'd never gone so far as to literally worship her, despite what a few rumors had claimed. It was an odd idea, a Celestia that allowed worship. Her own Celestia had forbidden such practices centuries ago, being very insistent she was not a goddess. Here, Celestia was just as kind and loving as ever, but she let ponies worship her. Twilight wasn't sure what to make of that. Deciding to focus on other things, she turned her attention to her now empty glass. Focusing her attention, she worked on getting this new telekinesis working right. It was..different from what she was used to. Just a bit off, like blue instead of violet, but it was enough to make this more difficult than it should be.
And then her glass was a purple tomato with a smiley face.
"...wow, am I glad I decided to practice. I wonder what went wrong?" Twilight mused. Perhaps she shouldn't try casting until she had a unicorn here to teach her. If her attempts at levitation could do that, she had seriously underestimated how complex the magic here was.
“What went wrong?” A familiar, but off voice rang out throughout the room. It laughed, which was something you’d hear out of a pony from the insane asylum. “Aww, you don’t like tomato’s? I can make it taste like cotton candy.” And then the tomato was a big fluff of cotton candy. The smiley face was still on it. “Better?” The face spoke.
"Gah!" Twilight shouted, dropping the thing. "Food should not be talking!"
“Should or shouldn’t, doesn’t matter.” The voice laughed again. “Chaos doesn’t have either. It’s just fun, fun, fun. Why, does me not like fun? That’s silly. I love fun.”
"Chaos?" Twilight was quite worried now. "Are you a Draconequus?" That would be just her luck, running into one while she can't cast spells and was recovering in a hospital bed.
Right then, a pony shape appeared in the covers. It squirmed until it was right next to her and then the offenders’ head popped out. “I wish.” Twilight Sparkle, one of the most powerful chaos Priestess’ ever, smiled widely. Celestia’s brand on her right cheek. “I’m just a pony, like you.”
"...I'm not buying it." Twilight said. "I know there are shapeshifters here. Quit trying to mess with my mind."
“I”m not joking,” Sparkle giggled. “Or maybe I am. I don’t know, yes, no.” She tapped her chin. “Wait...I’m not joking. Weird. Maybe you can’t lie to yourself.”
Twilight was feeling rather uncomfortable dealing with...Twilight. "So...you are the me here then."
Sparkle laughed. “Yep, I wondered why I was somewhere else. Well, not really. I do that all the time to mess with ponies. It’s so fun to trick them and mess with their heads. So, I went and found you and you’re here.”
"Uh huh." Twilight sighed. She could see where this was going. "So, any reason you climbed into my bed? Cause if not, please get out."
Sparkle booped Twilight’s nose. “Chaos doesn’t need a reason…” She teleported both of them out of the bed. “But okay, I’m out.”
"Of course chaos needs a reason." Twilight argued. "If it was genuine chaos, then all states would be valid, including the current normal state. You have agendized chaos. You said yourself it's for the purpose of fun."
“Chaos is fun silly.” Sparkle giggled. She backflipped into the air and disappeared. To which she appeared at Twilight side with a daisy sandwich. “You never know what it does till it happens. It’s random. I love it!” She squealed. “There’s just no fun in making sense.” She made a raspberry which caused several pink bubbles to float out from her tongue.
Twilight rolled her eyes. "If you actually were random, you couldn't make coherent sentences, let alone hold a conversation. In addition, your own opinion on chaos would change, meaning at times you would find chaos tedious and boring. You'd also on occasion find making sense the funniest thing you could possibly do."
“No fun,” Sparkle booped her nose, turning Twilight’s horn into a dunce cap. “That’s no fun talk. Chaos doesn’t follow rules or regulations. We do whatever we want.”
"Isn't not following rules in and of itself a rule?" Twilight argued. "And turn my horn back, I just got that working again!"
Sparkle sniffed and tapped her nose again fixing it. “I’m a meanie, that’s what I am over there huh? Rules on chaos? Telling me I’m wrong? That’s no fun. Why do you want to make sense? Why?”
"Because I need to make sense." Twilight argued back. "I need to be in control. To understand. To analyze, to confirm, to know. I need to be disciplined. I need to be organized, ordered."
“That wasn’t any fun,” Sparkle poked her chest. She glared at her double. “I did that and they wouldn’t accept me. I was just some nosy little filly. What did it get you, all that studying and control?”
"Respect. Love. My son. My life. Training from Celestia. Being one of the saviors of the world. Bearer of the Element of Loyalty." Twilight argued. "And what did you get doing nothing but goofing around? Ponies don't respect you. They think you're a joke. The idea of you doing anything serious is treated as something to laugh at. You are squandering your talents on self indulgence."
“SHUT UP!” Sparkle stomped the ground, crying. “SHUT UP! I just need my family and my master. That’s all. I don’t care what they say. I don’t care. Why did you get all of that? HOW?!! They wouldn’t accept me in Celestia’s school. They didn’t even with all my power. Why did they accept you, not me? Huh? HUH?”
Twilight stepped back, unprepared for her double's outburst. "...I lost control. I lost all control. Celestia had to come and fix my accidental rampage. I had to be her student. Nopony else could teach me. I have to be in control. I have to be disciplined. I can't afford to be anything else...for a while all I had was my family, Sunset, and Celestia. I didn't want anypony else. I was too scared of hurting them...what is your special talent? I noticed our cutie marks are different."
“...It’s chaos magic,” Sparkle’s still came. “I got it when I lost control that day...They wouldn’t let into the school. Not after what happened. Why did they let you in the school after that? Why? After what happened to daddy….”
"They didn't. When I said nopony besides Princess Celestia could safely teach me, I wasn't kidding. I was too dangerous for the general student body. I got my mark too. My talent is Magical Disaster. My magic naturally wants to turn to destructive and disruptive ends. I was too dangerous not to train, and too dangerous for anypony to train. If Celestia had never taken me in, I'd either be dead now, or be considered one of Equestria's worst monsters." Twilight explained.
“BUT WE KILLED DADDY?!!” Sparkle shouted. She raged through her pain. “How could Celestia take you in when we killed him? HOW?!!!”
"...I'm sorry. That didn't happen in my world." Twilight admitted. "I turned my parents into plants, sent the school board flying around the room, and turned an egg into a two hundred hoof tall dragon. Celestia managed to fix everything." Her heart went out to her double. "Daddy here, that's, I..." Not knowing what else to do, she hugged her double and cried.
“I just wanted to make them proud of me,” Sparkle cried. “I tried...maybe too hard and it just happened. I didn’t mean to. My magic was strong and it warped everything….I...summoned a daemon...And one of my magic bolts hit...I pierced his heart with my magic!” She wailed. “I just wanted him to be happy!”
"You didn't mean it. It's not your fault. You didn't mean it. We never mean it." Twilight said, doing her best to try and sooth her double. "...we're cursed with power. I'm locked off from a world made of fine porcelains, having to tread carefully so that I don't break everything. You're hurting behind your smiles. We're cursed, both of us."
“I sometimes miss being sane,” Sparkle whimpered. “Everything made sense back then. At least you’re not a chaos freak.”
"...yes I am." Twilight said. "I just show it the other way. If everything isn't just right, I spaz out. I measure the frosting on cupcakes with rulers and compasses. I'm not a chaos freak, I'm an order freak...and I'm pretty sure I'm not sane either. It just doesn't show as much."
Sparkle chuckled and touched a hoof to Twilight’s heart. “Good to know….Does daddy still love you over there?...Is he okay?”
"Yeah, he's great." Twilight said, smiling. "Maybe...when we find the way back you could come over and visit for the day?"
“What if he doesn’t love me though?” Sparkle sniffled. “I’m not his little studious filly anymore. I...did that to him.”
"You're me...mostly. That would be good enough for him." Twilight assured Sparkle. "...admittedly he'd probably be confused as all heck at first but he'd shake it off quick enough...oh my goodness I think Rainbow Dash is rubbing off on me. I just thought of a horrible prank."
Sparkle happily gasped. “Oh, I bet it’s a good one.” She grinned.
"Well, what if you walked in the front door instead of me, and acted like nothing was going on." Twilight said, grinning.
“It’s so simple it’s brilliant!” Sparkle hugged her double. “I’m so clever.”
"Yeah I am pretty smart." She hesitated. "Ah listen, could you maybe not, you know, tell anypony else about what happened at my exam? It's...kind of a big secret. Even my Sunset doesn't know, and she's well, Celestia's elder student. As far as I know, only my Princess Celestia and myself know what my talent is. I'm trusting you with a very big secret here. Promiss me you won't tell anyone."
“I promise,” Sparkle grinned. “Besides, I love secrets. That’s why I didn’t tell Shiny about Cadance’s crush on him. It was kind of funny to see him flail about.” She giggled.
"...my Shiny didn't tell me he was dating Princess Cadance for three years." Twilight sighed. "He is such a dork sometimes."
“Yeah, but he’s our BBBFF.” Sparkle pointed out. “We love him because he’s a dork….And three years? Really? My Shiny never lies to me...Well, he doesn’t really talk about some of his missions, but that’s top secret stuff. How can he lie to his LSBFF?”
"He didn't really lie. He just conveniently forgot to tell me for three years. Cadance was pretty pissed when she found out." Twilight chuckled. "And yeah he's a lovable dork...even if he thinks he's so cool. Did yours play oubliettes and ogres?"
“All the time,” Sparkle rolled her eyes. “Sometimes I can’t believe my awesome bro, the stallion who has won so many campaigns, is such a dork and that sounds pretty mean of him to do that. Not telling you about him dating for so long. I hope you got back at him for that.”
"I sicked Mom and Cadance on him. I think he suffered enough. Though I did set up extra measures if he ever tried something like that again." Twilight broke out into a wicked grin.
“Looks like you have a little chaos too, missy.” Sparkle giggled. “Sicking Mom AND Cadance on him? Have you no mercy?”
"Sure I do. That's why I didn't add on the extra stuff, that's for next time. I went light on a first time offender." Twilight shrugged. "I'm planning on escalating every time he has a critical attack of dorkness."
“But he’s such a dork,” Sparkle pointed out. “How is he going to survive?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Oh please, I figure he'll learn his lesson before I even get to situation four."
“Maybe,” Sparkle giggled. “He is a quick learner. I have to keep trying to find new ways to mess with him after he figures out my tricks.”
"Have you tried doing nothing and acting normal? Not being up to anything while doing something boringly normal in front of him, just to watch him panic as he tries to figure out what you did to make you so calm?" Twilight asked. She knew such a trick would send her mind spinning into nightmare scenarios after all.
“...Why didn’t I think of that?” Sparkle tapped her chin. “That’s brilliant! Again, I’m really clever. I’m sure your pranks are really great.”
"I don't prank him." Twilight said, shaking her head, before grinning. "The serious one, remember? I do mess with him though. Do you know how much fun it is to pretend that he is a serious magical scholar that I've looked up to for so long because he's my BBBFF? He has to do his best to follow along while I babble stuff that sounds impressive and he has to pretend he can understand it?"
Sparkle laughed. “Prank or not, that’s hilarious. How well did he take you getting a coltfriend? Mine still get so uppity about it.”
Twilight stopped. "Coltfriend? I don't...I'm not ready...emotions running high...I can't. Not yet."
“....Oh,” Sparkle looked uncomfortable. “Well….this is awkward.” Sparkle tried to think of something to get them off the topic, since it seemed her double didn’t like to talk about it. “So….Mom’s a writer over there?”
"Editor." Twilight replied. "She tried to start a writing career, but it didn't take off. She mainly edits YA literature now. She swears that if she has to edit one more series where an impractical dystopian future under elk rule is thwarted by a group of rebellious teens with relationship troubles, she's going to go and conquer the elk lands so that ponies will stop writing about the 'elk menace'."
“That sounds like mom,” Sparkle noted. “But her writing really took off here. She’s a world renowned writer. Hay, even griffins and humans like her writing, though they won’t admit it since a pony wrote it.”
Twilight smiled "Good for her...do you know if they have a copy of her books in the library? I'd like to read it."
“I can show you,” Sparkle bounced up and down on her hooves. “I can, I can. I know where all the books are….It’s a bit of a hobby.” She blushed in embarrassment. “I loved books when I was a filly….now I like to mess with them.” She shrugged. “It’s a love hate thing, but I promise not to mess with the books you choose.”
"Thank you...if you get bored while I'm reading, why not try pretending you're about to do something to the books? It'll drive the librarian nuts, and if she yells at you, you can point out you didn't do anything."
“...I really like me.” Sparkle’s eyes glimmered with glee. She teleported the two of them in a flash.
"I have your sandwich." the Sun Priestess said, walking in the room. "...hello?"
___________________________________________________________________________
The city of Canterlot was a beautiful city. There was no denying that. From the ground or in the air, it’s splendor was well known. Citizens from all over the country flocked to it daily to see the sights and pleasures of the fair capital city, home of Princess Celestia herself. Yes, it was grand.
“Cloudsdale is better,” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as she trotted through the holy city. Eh, a pegasus would obviously choose a city in the sky to one on the ground. There wasn’t much of a contest.
Of course, right now it didn’t matter where it was. What mattered was that she couldn’t find what she was looking for. Well, that and anything awesome to buy. To top it off, she had lost her company.
“This is why I hate big cities,” she huffed as she scanned the crowds and skies. Oh yeah, she could easily do it from the air and feel more comfortable, but there were many allies or shops that would be out of view then. She needed to be on ground level. It really didn’t matter though. She was going to find what she was looking for one way or another….Well, she could always go check up on Dirtbound again. He was pretty cool.
“Alright,” Rainbow tapped her chin as she thought about where she would like to go. A few ideas sparked in her head. “Hmm, maybe what I’m looking for won’t be so hard to find, if I’m anything to go by.” She took off in a steady trot. Several ponies waved her way, or gave their wishes, or even shouted praise. She smiled and waved back a few times, but she kept on going. Whatever she was about to find could well enough be life changing. She was was always prepared, so it better bring its A game.
As she trotted along, she caught a glimpse of something. Something rainbow. She narrowed her eyes. “There you are.” Her wings flared and ponies would swear she just disappeared. Of course, she that was simply because she was too fast for their eyes. The next second, she was at a stall not far behind her target. She glanced her over, keeping herself close to the buildings and out of sight. She wanted to keep an eye on her target before pouncing. So she would wait…...’Waiting’s not my style!’ Just like that, she was gone faster than you could blink and then behind her target’s group.
“So,” Rainbow Dash spoke up. “You’re the pony I’ve been hearing about….Does my mane really look like that from behind?”
Rainbow Dash turned around, and stared at herself. "Oh my goodness, I think that's the real Rainbow Dash." Turning to Applejack, she added "Well not that I'm not a Rainbow Dash, but that's the famous Wonderbolt hero one."
“My word,” Applejack grinned. “It really is you, in uniform even. Oh, I am such a fan of your work.”
Rainbow Dash grinned. “Always happy to meet my fans.” Which was true. That was one of the best perks of being a Wonderbolt; all the ponies looking up to you. It was a hard job living up to that expectations. Of course, even though she was here for personal reasons, she still wore a traditional Wonderbolt dress uniform with two swords, one on each side.
“Oh I must simply have your autograph,” Applejack looked to Blueblood. “Dearie, do you have….” Blueblood pulled out a little notebook and pen from a pocket of his dresswear. She giggled and kissed his cheek. “You remembered.”
“Of course I did,” Blueblood chuckled and handed it to Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash quickly used her wings to sign the little book. “Here you go,” she smiled as she hoofed it back.
“Oh the other nobles are going to be so jealous,” Applejack squealed. “I’ve got Rainbow Dash’s autograph.”
“Yeah, speaking of Dash,” Rainbow Dash turned her now hardened gaze on her younger self. “Mind telling me who you are and why you look like me?...Well, you know, except all that plumage.”
"Well, this is kind of funny, but the name's Rainbow Dash. And before you ask, no I didn't change my name, and I'm not that much younger than you so I obviously wasn't named after you." Rainbow Dash said. "If I'd known I was going to be meeting the Wonderbolt Rainbow Dash on my trip up here to Canterlot, I'd have brought an autograph book myself. I don't suppose you have a signed photo hoofy? It'd be really something to show the guys back home."
Dash rolled her eyes. She used her wing to pull out a photo from her jacket and a pen. With a quick flourish of her wings, she smiled and hoofed it to her look alike. “Here you go. Be sure to rub it in your world’s face.”
"Ha, the folks back home are never going to believe this." Rainbow said, smirking, as she slipped the signed photo into her small bag containing the tonic bottle she had acquired from Dirtbound. "I mean who'd believe I actually ran into you like this?"
“Maybe a certain musketeer,” Dash offered, smirking. “Cloudsdale?”
Rainbow tapped her chin a few times in thought. "Nope, not ringing any bells. I haven't been to Cloudsdale yet, couldn't have met anypony there." It was amazing what you could say without lying.
“Oh? You don’t remember sending anyone to the cloud city? Not even an eager out of breath private?” Dash asked, amused.
"I never told anypony to go to Cloudsdale." Rainbow responded. "I mentioned to a waiter I was thinking about going there, but I decided on Canterlot instead. Who wouldn't want to visit the capital if given the chance?"
“Are you really lying to yourself?” Dash asked with a deadpanned expression. “Really?”
"Of course not." Rainbow replied. "It's hardly my fault if you don't believe me."
Just then, a stallion’s heavy breathing could be heard.
Dash peered around her double. “Then try telling that to him.”
"Oh, hey Stonewall." Rainbow said, smiling. "You know, I think manners dictate I buck you in the face after ditching me at a restaurant while I was in the bathroom."
The stallion huffed, breathing heavily. His wings lay limp against his side and his grip on his musket shaking. He sent Rainbow an annoyed glare. “Ma’am *huff* I do believe *huff* that was *huff* rather rude of you.” He tried to collect himself.
"No, I'm pretty sure it's rude to offer to buy a mare lunch, take her out to a nice cafe, have a good conversation, then ditch her while she's in the bathroom and almost fly off without paying the bill for the lunch you offered to buy her." Rainbow responded. She turned to Applejack. "I'm not wrong, am I?"
“Oh no deary,” Applejack stuck her nose up into the air snootily. “How most dreadful of him.”
“You had the gall to ditch me?” Dash raised an eyebrow. “Wow, didn’t know you had a deathwish.”
Stonewall’s irises shrank to pinpricks. “Captain…*huff* Dash, I assure you.”
“No, no,” Dash said as serious as she could at the moment. “I see how it is. Such a barbarian.”
Blueblood was glaring down at him. “I have half a mind to challenge you to a duel for the lady Rainbow’s honor, you swine.”
“I would never besmirch a lady’s honor,” Stonewall looked at Rainbow in panic. “Rainbow, you’ve got to believe me. I payed for that dinner. I wouldn’t have wanted to leave if I didn’t have to. I was enjoying myself. The waiter told me you went to Cloudsdale. I swear.”
"That would be the same waiter that said it was shameful you hadn't given me a band yet?" Rainbow asked.
Stonewall nodded. “Why yes….”
“Wait, you have the gall to date me and THEN ditch me?” Dash put a hoof to her chest. “You really do have a deathwish. Oh such a shame. You had such promise to. Oh well.”
"You know, the waiter was very disappointed in you Stonewall. He used to have such a high opinion of you." Rainbow said, shaking her head with exaggerated sadness. "You know, I actually got a chance to talk to Princess Celestia about you."
“Oh you’re screwed,” Dash shook her head in disappointment.
Stonewall shook in panic. “Alright, I’ll get you a band. We’ll get married swiftly. Oh please, Rainbow. I’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to you.”
"Well, you're going to want to go see Celestia first. She has special orders for ya." Rainbow said. It was amazing how much you could screw with somepony just by telling the truth, nothing but the truth, and a heck of a lot less than the whole truth.
Stonewall nodded and started, ever slowly as he was tired, trotting to the castle. “Thank you. I’ll do my best to make it up to you.”
“Well, you could kiss her for starters.” Dash grinned. Stonewall stopped and stared at her in shock. “What? You don’t want to kiss her? Even after a lovely date? Shameful and you were so promising in the musketeers.”
"I am so out of his league." Rainbow said, scoffing. "What kind of desperate girl would accept a kiss from the guy that ditched her?"
Stonewall opened his mouth, but then closed it. Instead of talking, he just looked down at the ground in shame and walked off.
“Such a classless brute,” Applejack huffed. “I hope to never see him in my life.”
“I’ll make sure of that,” Blueblood assured her.
"Oh don't be too mad." Rainbow said. "I'm pretty sure what the Princess has in store for him is punishment enough."
Dash chuckled. “Well, I’m just as awesome over on your side.” She lightly pushed Rainbow. “So….was he any good?”
"Any good at what?" Rainbow asked, confused.
Dash eyed her up and down. “Wait a moment...OH yeah, you’re barely of age.” She chuckled and patted her head. “Sorry squirt. Forgot I was talking to a mini me.”
"Hey, just because I'm a minor doesn't mean you can talk down to me." Rainbow argued, brushing Dash's patting hoof aside with her wing. "I'm too awesome to be ignored like that."
Dash threw her head back in laughter. “You really are me. I remember saying the same thing to my father when I was your age. Well, our father really.”
"Um, what?" Rainbow asked, casting a quick and meaningful glance over at Applejack and Blueblood.
Dash glanced at the others. Her mouth made an ‘oh’. “Sorry, I mean my father. She just looks so much like a twin or something.” She chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head.
“She sure does, Miss Dash.” Applejack nodded. “Why, I even mistook her for you. Oh I’m dreadfully sorry for that. To the both of you.”
“No sweat,” Dash grinned, waving it off with a hoof.
"Yeah, we do look a lot alike. Except with my feathers I'm the better looking one." Rainbow puffed up her chest.
“....Say what?” Dash sent her an annoyed look. “I do believe I’m the more awesome looking of the two.” She puffed out her own chest and spread out her wings.
Rainbow inflated the ruff in her chest, while flairing out her own wings. "Well I guess there is only one way to settle this. First one to Cloudsdale is the good looking one."
Dash smirked. “I like to think all those playcolt magazines speak for that, but you’re on.”
Taking a starting position, Rainbow turned to Dash. "When you're ready, I'll count to three, then we go. You ready?"
Dash took her position, her predatory nature kicking in. “Ready,” she said, showing off her fangs in her grin.
"Alright then, on three. One...two...three!" Rainbow shouted, starting the race.
Dash was off the ground the moment the word three came about. She literally vanished into thin air. She had been in several races being a Wonderbolt and all. She hadn’t lost a race yet and she wasn’t going to do that now. Not even to herself...Which is odd when you think about it….And then she noticed something.
“Not cool,” she said from right behind Rainbow.
"Aww nuts." Rainbow said from her place on the starting line. "I was hoping you'd be halfway to Cloudsdale before you noticed."
“I nearly was,” Dash glared down at her younger self. “Of course I’ve been in plenty of races to know to keep an eye out for other racers. I’d think I’d notice if you weren’t at least keeping up.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "You're older, fully developed, highly trained, and have probably hundreds more flight hours than me. You're a Captain in the Wonderbolts. I'm a small town girl. What the hay makes that sound like a fair competition?"
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Dash rolled her own eyes. “I beat Spitfire when I was a filly. She was a Wonderbolt then, not captain back then, but a Wonderbolt none the less. I beat her easy. Of course, you’re right about it in this case.” She grinned. “You’ll be a Wonderbolt Captain sooner than you realize. Well, if those Wonderbolts in your world have any brains in their heads...Wait, have you performed the Sonic Rainboom yet? I mean after that one time.”
"You mean the Sonic Rainboom from pegasi mythology?" Rainbow asked. "The one nopony in over a thousand years was ever able to do?"
“Aw man,” Dash grumbled. “Really? You haven’t done it? Come on, I’m too awesome for it not to happen. That’s how I got my cutie mark and picked up by the Wonderbolts, for Celestia’s sake.”
Rainbow broke out into a huge grin. "Of course I'm too awesome. Boom, cutie mark. Way too young or the Bolts though."
“Well, I wasn’t made a bolt for a while,” Dash admitted. “But they took me in and nurtured my talents. I mean, I’m the only pegasus to be able to perform the Sonic Rainboom in generations, something thought to be only legends. Why wouldn’t the Wonderbolts want me to join as soon as I could?”
"...I'm captain of my hometown's local Weather Patrol." Rainbow said.
“Lame,” Dash rolled her eyes. “So no invitation or Bolt coming to check up on you?...Are they just blind to awesomeness or something?”
"One, my job is not lame. Two, I was eight at the time. And three, everypony thought it was a hoax." Rainbow explained.
“...Wow, that sucks.” Dash said. “I mean, I did it while racing Spitfire. Who were you racing?”
"Some older kids at flight camp that were picking on a weak flyer who was my friend. No adults were around, and nopony got a good look at it." Rainbow explained.
“Wow that really sucks,” Dash frowned, her ears pinned back. “Sorry to hear that.”
"What, that I can do the Sonic Rainboom? Yeah, it sucks I didn't get everything I could dream of, but I think it worked out fine in the end." Rainbow said, shrugging it off casually.
“Yeah,” Dash nodded. “So, a bearer huh? Guess I really showed Nightmare Moon a thing or two then.”
"Heck yeah. I turned her into a potato." Rainbow said, smirking.
“........I don’t know what to say to that.” Dash blinked in confusion. “I mean really. What do you say to that?”
"I think you say 'wow it's amazing that you turned Nightmare Moon into a potato, dropped her from several hundred hooves in the air, and then Sonic Rainboomed her face for good measure', but that's. Just a guess on my part." Rainbow said, grinning a giant grin.
“I’ll take your word for it,” Dash conceded.
“Dear,” Applejack spoke up. “I do believe I am lost. Are we to infer they are the same pony from different worlds?”
“It would seem so, my love.” Blueblood nodded.
“Shoot,” Applejack huffed. “I owe my cousin Fiddlesticks a bag of bits then.”
"Sorry about that." Rainbow said, shrugging. "I avoided saying anything earlier because I didn't want to freak you out. And then she started talking about the Sonic Rainboom so familiarly, and I figured buck it, it's too obvious now."
“And that’s why I’m not an Inquisitor,” Dash shrugged, chuckling.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about, darling.” Applejack sighed. “I think it’s rather exciting to meet a pony from another world. I mean, do all of you pegasi have such exquisite body plumage?”
"On our world? Yeah." Rainbow admitted. "Also, me, I would totally rock as an Inquisitor."
“You sure?” Dash asked. “I mean, you get a cool outfit and some good action, but the Wonderbolts are better for me. No lurking or any of that. Just point me at the problem and...well, no problem anymore.”
"Oh yeah, I'm still totally going for the Bolts, don't worry." Rainbow reassured her double. "I'm just saying, if being clever is a prerequisite for an Inquisitor, I think I qualify."
“And what, I’m not clever?” Dash eyed her.
"Well did you ever get Celestia to unknowingly appoint a guy that ditched you as your personal guard for an indefinite period of time during which they have to do whatever you tell them to?" Rainbow asked.
“Did he really ditch you?” Dash quirked an eyebrow. “I’m just curious. He seemed like an honest pony.”
"Oh he is." Rainbow said. "That's why when the waiter suggested that I said something about Cloudsdale he rushed off without checking with anypony else if I had actually left or not. He's a bit naive and too straightforward. Still, he's got guts, getting to Cloudsdale and back to here in a day when he can't go super sonic? Takes real dedication."
“Yeah,” Dash nodded. “So...you going to ride him or what?”
Rainbow blinked...and then blanched. "Okay, eww, I'm a minor. Ewww, I mean really? Ewww."
Dash chuckled and shrugged. “Just messing with you.” She ruffled her younger self’s mane. “I’ll stop teasing you about your coltfriend.”
"I turned Nightmare Moon into a potato. Do you really want to mess with that?" Rainbow asked, glaring slightly.
“Can’t I mess with myself now and again,” Dash said.
“Uhh…” Applejack said.
“I know how that sounds,” Dash shot her an annoyed stare.
".....bad brain, bad!" Rainbow shouted. "Okay, that's it, I'm out of here. Got to see my friends at the palace bye!" And with that she shot off like a bolt of prismatic lightning.
“And that’s my cue to leave,” Dash sighed. “Sorry I couldn’t stay any longer, but I know whatever’s going down might need a little ‘Dash’ of awesomeness….okay that was bad.”
Applejack giggled. “I thought it was hilarious, miss Dash and do be careful.”
“Of course I will,” Dash smirked and then disappeared in less than the blink of an eye.
Applejack sighed. “Sometimes I wish I could go on adventures.”
Blueblood put a comforting hoof around her shoulders. “Life with you is an adventure.” He kissed her cheek, making her blush and giggle.
“Oh you,” Applejack pulled her beloved into a deep kiss.
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This chapter was... I dunno, tame, I guess? A little too tame if you ask me. I guess the problem here is how normal everyone is.
I mean, Shimmerverse Twilight could have at least been screaming and teleporting around, not making much sense and just being an asshole just because. But here, she seems relatively normal that it doesn't live up to her job of Chaos Priestess.
Sure, she did some chaos magic, but that's par for the course. It's like you were trying too hard to make her likable, eventhough the thing that made her likable so much in the first fic is because of how over the top and annoying she is. Don't worry about making your characters redeemable. Jackasses are fun to read as well!
and seriously, I could believe Shimmerverse Dash acting like that, but not Applajack. Shouldn't a royal noble like her act much more surprised? Maybe panic a bit? I mean, an alternate universe isn't something you see everyday!
Also, treating Stonewall like that is sorta too much. It was funny the first time,but the way Dash kept putting him into trouble and just laugh at it is just really mean-spirited. It's in line with the "Dash can't get cider" joke in the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. But at least it all built up to her getting a glass in the end. Here, I'm just worried about how this would affect Stonewall's social life. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up hating Dash by the end of this.
All in all, a... worthless chapter, I guess? It didn't need to exist, but it doesn't hurt anything in the long run. Hopefully the next chapter is much better and will actually have something worthwhile in it.
5562798 So the chaos entity did not do what you expected...and you are upset by this and saying that's not chaotic? Seriously, even we didn't realize the two would get along until they started to do so. I expected a big spaz out fight. Instead, boom, Heartstrings tugging. Sparkle is too chaotic for even the writers to predict.
AJ isn't royalty, she's just rich.
We do have plans with Stonewall, we aren't just kicking him around.
I couldn't stop smiling during either parts. I was surprised the Twilights got along so well but it was a pleasant one. Hopefully we can see those two pull something on the local Shining.
5563050 Well, to each their own, right? I might not have enjoyed this chapter much, but I'm sure others have!
Sorry if I sounded mean just now. It was completely unintentional
Fun chapter, meeting chaotic Twilight. Some good background on why she didn't join Celestia's school. I hope someday we get to see her interact with a non-sadistic Discord.
I like the interaction between the Dashes, and the contribution of the Applebloods. I guess in this world, ponies are tough enough to take the weird in stride, no matter their station.
Does seem like they're picking excessively on Stonewall though.
5564468
Stonewall is to them what Flash is to the fandom...the love interest / punching bag.
But that of course is mean. Stoney is 20% cooler than Flashy.
Great chapter btw.
I love the part with the two Twilys. So many feels!
"Hundreds"? If Shimmerverse!RD is four years older than Sunsetverse!RD, and if they both spend half their time in the air (which I think are both conservative estimates), then the estimated experience gap is approximately 17,500 flight hours.
It was fun, until the bit with Rainbow. Can someone screw her over? I mean, REALLY?!
Rainbow exits to bathroom, then feeds FALSE INFO that SHE BAILED, MAKES THE GUARD FOLLOW NON-EXISTANT TRAIL, and THEN HAS THE AUDACITY TO SAY THAT HE BAILED ON HER TO PUNISH HIM?!?!?! Get bent, Dash, I hope you get yours soon.
9994761
She didn't actually tell Celestia to punish him, she only made him think she told Celestia to punish him. What she did tell Celestia was to make him her personal guard because he was "nice", "a cool guy", and "a friend" who "showed me around town and treated me to lunch since I didn't have any money".