> The Mane 12
>  by PinkiePotter42
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Chest ( Ch. 1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Pinkie!"
Twilight screamed down at the pink mare from her perch at the top of the stairs. This produced Pinkie's head from an old dress-up box. Her mane was frazzled, and she wore an ancient hat and a pair of aviator's goggles around her neck.
"But Twi," she mused, a victimized look on her face, "You asked us to help... so I'm helping!"
Pinkie fell back into the box giggling, sending up clouds of dusk, along with some old beads and a hole-ridden tutu.

True, Twilight had asked her friends to help her clean, but they were doing more bad than good. Twilight had only recently discovered that her library even had a basement, and it seemed to be endless. Pinkie Pie seemed to want to explore every nook and cranny of it - and all in her own time.

She trotted over to Rarity and Fluttershy, who were sorting through an old pile of scrolls.
"Twilight, why did we have to start with the scrolls? I mean, couldn't you at least give us something more exciting to do? a lady like me expected to be working with fine, vintage fashion, not dusty old parchment. Look! This one's dirty!"
Rarity recoiled at the sight of one of the older scrolls, sending the pile toppling down onto Fluttershy. She yelped and darted away behind one of the old, wooden support beams, her face quivering as it stuck out from her moldy hiding spot.
"What was that?"

Rainbow Dash grinned and swooped in behind Fluttershy, careful not to make a sound as she crept up behind her.
"Oh, nothing... Just the footsteps of the big, hairy, pony-eating MONSTERS!"
Dashie jumped out at Fluttershy, sending her ricocheting into Applejack with a squeal.
"Monsters?"
Applejack stood up and brushed herself off, straightening her trademark hat and clearing her throat.
"There's no monsters, sugar cube. Just ignore Dashie here. Why don't y'all go and help Pinkie with, er, whatever she's doin' over there."
Fluttershy nodded, and slowly walked over to the dress up box.
"Surprise!" Pinkie jumped out of the box, now wearing a ridiculously sparkly necklace, with matching earrings. Fluttershy shot back to her beam, eyes squeezed shut.
"Fluttershy, it's just me!" Pinkie giggled, promenading around the basement as if it was a catwalk.
Spike spotted her necklace, and started to lick his lips, before being rewarded with a stern look from Rarity.

Twilight rolled her eyes. They were her friends, after all, but sometimes she wished that they'd take a little more care. Applejack seemed to be the only one actually working. Pinkie Pie seemed to think they were throwing a party, Rainbow Dash was pulling pranks, and Fluttershy jumped at the slightest noise. She looked to her right. Spike was franticly laying out cloths for Rarity to stand on so she didn't have to touch the earthen floor, with the same puppy-dog eyes he always wore when she was around.

Twilight paused near one of the smaller mounds of junk. Near the bottom, she saw a small, green glimmer, out of place compared to the moth-bitten clothes and disintegrating scrolls. She dug down to reveal a small chest, no bigger than two apples side by side. It was covered in green gems, each giving of a radiance to rival Celestia's twinkling mane. The brown wood was wrapped in golden metal, fastening it together with a delicate strength.

Her friends began to notice the strange light, and wandered over to have a closer look. Pinkie begane swarming around the box, poking and prodding and examining it from every angle.
"What do ya think's inside?"
She murmured, so wrapped up in the box that it was hard to believe that just moments before she was bubbling and bouncing through thousand year old dress up.
Rarity ran a hoof over the box, her eye for detail surpassing even Twilight's magical judgment.
"Wa ha ha! I think I may have found an inscription!"
A smile crept onto her face as she turned the chest over triumphantly, revealing a dusty message hidden on one of the short sides of the box.



Hidden inside is a magical swirl, which takes you to another world.
If you chose to go inside, return but wounded, heart, hooves, pride. 



Applejack backed away.
"I don't care what kind of fancy language this thing is using. I don't trust it one bit. Don't y'all think we should leave it alone? "
Rarity trotted over to her side, head held high, but eyes wary.
"For once, Applejack, I agree with you."
Spike hastened to join her. "Yeah Twily. We don't know what horrible creature are waiting for us on the other side."
Fluttershy gasped. "H-h-h-horrible c-c-creatures?"
Spike glanced worriedly at Twilight "Even if you are a Princess, we can't risk bringing the elements with us - we don't know if we can even come back!"
Even Rainbow Dash looked afraid. "How about we take, um, a lunch break?"
The rest of the ponies voiced their agreement, even if Pinkie did look a bit disappointed. 
Twilight turned to make her way towards the stairs. She had barely taken a single step when she felt a pull gripping her tail.
"Dashie..."
Twilight turned, horrified, to see Pinkie's tail disappear in to the blue box, as the others were being dragged to follow. she felt her tail entering the box, then she was falling, falling, until she hit the ground and the world went black.

The world slowly zoomed back into focus. Twilight got up and dusted herself off. She checked to see that the others were with her (they all were). What she saw when she looked around was her biggest shock. They were still in the library basement.

Twilight was confused. She looked around. Every scroll, every cobweb, every bit of dust was exactly in its place. The others looked normal- same coat, same mane, same cutie mark... so what had happened. The others seemed just as confused. Five mares and one dragon looked back at her, seeking guidance. She put on a smile for them, even though she hated lying.

"How about that lunch break?"
Twilight trotted casually up the stairs to the basement door.
What she found when she opened it would be the biggest surprise of her life.
> 6 + 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight almost fell down the stairs. In front of her she saw six stallions and a dragon having lunch. They were so similar to her friends that she nearly could have sworn that she was looking in a mirror.

The white one was clearly Rarity- his unicorn horn swimming is a blue haze as he lifted a napkin to his mouth. A male Rainbow Dash was creeping up behind stallion Fluttershy, and stallion Applejack - a spitting image of Big Macintosh - was chatting to a male version of Twilight. Their cutie marks matched the sixs' perfectly, and so did their personalities. There was even a girl Spike, fawning over stallion Rarity.

Her friends crowded around the door, equal looks of shock on their faces. 
"Look at him! Isn't that white pony handsome?"
Rarity flicked her mane, adjusting it with her hoof. It was obvious she had made the connection.
"Don't y'all find this a bit creepy?" 
Asked Applejack, shying away from the door in a manner that would be more suited to Fluttershy.
"Let's just leave this place. Right now." whispered Twilight, ushering the others down the stairs.
"Achoo!"
Just when they were about to make their getaway, Spike sneezed - creating a green fire cloud, and causing the other ponies heads to snap to them.
Twilight shuffled her feet.
"Um, hello?"
The six male ponies charged at Twilight and her friends. Male Twilight was clearly the leader, his horn blazing, as female Spike rode on his back.
"Hey boys? Remember how to deal with Changelings?"

Twilight noticed that he was fitting his companions with golden breastplates, each with a different gem in the center. A gold crown rest atop his head. She had seem something like that before... think Twilight, think.
"The Elements of Harmony?" she guessed, hooves shielding her face.
The boys skidded to a halt. Stallion Pinkie came to circle them.
"What do you know about the Elements?" said guy Rarity, striding over with an air of elegance, rivaling even our Rarity. 
"What has King Nymphamos told you about them? Huh? Huh? Huh?"
Male Pinkie darted around them, much like normal Pinkie.
"Calm down, Bubble Berry. Elusive - maybe they have a point. I don't trust them entirely yet, but I'll at least tell them our names. Don't let your guard down, men."

Male Twilight assembled the boys in a line. Twilight did the same, so that each pony faced their counterpart.
"This is Bubble Berry, the pink one, Applejack, orange, Rainbow Blitz, in blue, Butterscotch, yellow, Elusive, white, Barbra, the dragon, and me, Prince Dusk Shine."
Dusk spread his wings, his air of authority flooding the room, crown twinkling. Twilight stood her ground, though she felt strange, addressing herself.
"This is Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity and Spike, respectively, and I am Princess Twilight Sparkle - but you can call me Twilight."
She spread her wings to match Dusk's.

Dusk looked her up and down apprehensively.
"How can you prove that you aren't changelings?"
Pinkie took a big breath.
"We came from this alternate universe, called Equestria, where we're ruled by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, who control the sun and moon, but they had this big fight and Luna went all evil, so we had to stop her of course, and Fluttershy helped a manticore, and Dashie fixed this old bridge, and Rarity used her tail to fix this dragon's mustache, but when we got there Luna was all like 'I'm nightmare Moon', and Twilight's eyes went all white, and our elements started glowing, and then KAPOW this massive rainbow came down and wrapped her up and she wasn't evil anymore!"
She gave Dusk a huge smile. For a moment, nothing happened, but after about 5 seconds, Bubble broke out into a smile and gave her a high five. 
"Nice one, Pinks!"

Dusk shook his head and looked back at Twilight for her to continue. Twilight kicked some dust onto Rarity's flank.
"Agh! Dirt! Get it away! No no no no! More dirt! Get it off!"
Dusk turned away still not convinced. Twilight thought for a while, then decided to use her trump card.
"What if I told you about how you went through a magical portal to the human world, specifically Canterlot High, where you had to run for Prince of the Fall Formal to regain your crown after it had been stolen by a orangey pony with a red and yellow mane, and you met human versions of all of your friends, and Barbra was a dog? Oh, and you met this really cool orange filly, blue mane, that you kind of had a crush on, who asked you to dance at the formal, and turned out to be a member of the royal guard."

Dusk blushed, and Twilight knew she had hit the target. She gave a clever smile. Dusk shook his head and tried to calm his reddened cheeks.
"You have some explaining to do."
> Party Soft
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight and Dusk strode off towards the inner part of the library, leaving their friends standing in the now awkwardly silent foyer. Applejack cleared his throat;
"Since y'all are new here, how about we show y'all around?"
Bubble Berry slid over to his friend's side.
"Great idea, AJ! Now, which of these girls am I going to give the V.I.P tour? Very important party, that is!"
Bubble Berry scanned the crowd - one of the mares, Fluttershy, he thought, looked particularly shy and nervous... she definitely need a party!
"C'mon, Flutters! Lets' go!"
He linked arms with the filly, and pulled her out the door.

Bubble bounced along next to the tawny mare, the spring in his step sharp contrast to her shrunken shuffle, wings drooping, and her aqua eyes shimmering shyly behind a curtain of coral hair. The only thing they seemed to share was a fuchsia flush. He slowly stopped jumping; his gallivanting spring reduced to a hop then a slow trot.
"What's up, buttercup?"
He flashed her one of his biggest smiles, receiving a whimper as she shied away. He didn't seem to know what was wrong. It had seemed he had lost his ability to brighten ponies' days. He smiled at the passing Guyra, earning a grin in return, like usual. It seemed his charm wasn't working on this mare in particular. 
"So, have you done everything we've done? Like, the Gala, that was awesome, with all the vests, and the dancing, and the singing, ooh, and the Royal Wedding! Please tell me you went to that, 'cause it was so cool, and I thought it was just going to be a normal wedding, but then BAM! The changelings show up, and we end up in this huge fight, and-"
He looked over to her, a hopeful gleam in his eye, but was faced with an even sadder look than before. He would have to resort to plan B - it always worked on Butterscotch. Why hadn't he thought of it before?

He stopped in front of her, putting his hooves on her shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. He softened his tone.
"Hey, Fluttershy?" 
She looked up, eyes afraid and cautious.

"Sorry you got stuck with this crazy pony!" Bubble waved his hoofs in the air dramatically, derping his eyes. She gave a little giggle. Bubble grinned- he was back on track. His smile softened to a coy grin, then he shook his head, as if snapping himself out of some sort of trance. He fiddled with his mane for a moment, then struck what looked like an attempt at a sophisticated pose. If only Elusive could see him now.

"How about I take you down to Sugar Cube Corner? We can visit the Cakes, see what they're baking today. It would be my treat to accompany such a nice madam as yourself"
He tried to imitate Elusive's elegant stride, tripping up in the process. It was really funny to watch- the party pony holding his head high, striding down the dirt road as if it were a cat walk. Fluttershy smiled, pawing at the tip of her mane. It was hard to tell if he had impressed her, or if she was holding back a laugh.
"Um,"

She was interrupted by a group of three ponies, a stallion and two school fillies.
"Sugar! Spice! Go to Sugar Cube Corner and get me some crackers and peanut butter! Quickly! The Great and Powerful Trevor does not like to be kept waiting!"
Trevor posed, his cape fluttering dramatically as he used his magic to activate fireworks and sparklers behind him. Show off. He strode towards Fluttershy.
"Ugh, Bubble Berry and Butterscotch... a mare? Ha, I knew it, that's why you were always such a scaredy-cat. Those tail extensions really suit you."
He held his head high, kicking dust onto her as her marched towards the sweet shop.

That jerk. Bubble's already pink face ignited to a deep red. You could practically see what he was thinking, and his bouncy mane even lost a bit of its curl. He stood in front of Fluttershy's shrunken form, copying the stance Dusk took when casting powerful magic.
"Don't you dare insult her, meanie!"
Trevor whirled around, in a manner more suited to the likes of Severus Snape.
"Hmm? Oh, Bubble's got a crush. How quaint." 
Trevor flicked his mane out of his eyes, looking the strange up and down. He strode towards them, Sugar and Spice dashing after him.
"We got your crackers, Trevor."
Trevor scowled. 
"It's the Great and Powerful Trevor you fools!" he shouted, knocking the crackers to the ground. He reared onto his hind legs, spraying Bubble with dirt and shattered cracker bits.
"Let's leave these unfortunate little foals alone, shall we? I don't hurt little fillies."
Trevor galloped off, Sugar and Spice in tow, leaving the two unlikely companions in the street. He was lucky Bubble hadn't charged, or worse, brought out the party cannon. It could have been messy.

"Um, Bubble..."
Bubble twirled  around, still fuming from their encounter with the annoying and arrogant Trevor, then tried to saunter over with flair that not even Rarity possesed. She had dusted herself off, a speck of dirt clinging persistently to her muzzle.
"You know, um, what you said about Sugar Cube Corner? Well, I'd really like to go, I mean, if that's all right with you, or-"
He brushed aside her mane and wiped the dirt off her nose, trying to control his rapidly increasing heartbeat.
"Lead the way."

They turned to head down to the shop, side by side, when the ground was shaken with a thundering boom and the sun began to fade as they were thrown to the ground. What the hay?