The Mane Six must weather the flood. Sequel to Collision Course, and the next step of the Enervation Sequence.
It was the day after the dream that the rain started. An unrelenting, unforgiving rain. Just like... Some tragedies cannot be averted. That does not mean they cannot be remedied. But first we must return to our reality. First we must wake up.
Sequel to Collision Course, and the next step of the Enervation Sequence.
Rain poured from the sky. It was the same rain that had started the morning after the dream she had had, and Twilight Sparkle was officially worried. It wasn’t a scheduled storm, that was for sure. To make matters even more alarming, despite numerous attempts by Pegasi all over Equestria, the clouds remained. For it was all over Equestria. As far as Princess Celestia could tell—Twilight had been in communication with her regarding the issue—there wasn’t an inch of Equestrian land not presently being rained or snowed on, not even in the dry deserts to the south.
And so Twilight sat in her library, with Spike bustling around downstairs doing his chores and humming to himself, full of worry.
All she could think about was the way the dream had ended.
A violent storm. Discord’s cackling laughter. Her friends…
But of course, that was just a dream. Her friends were fine, and Discord had been resealed after his brief takeover of Ponyville.
Only the storm remained, the storm she seemed unable to shake, both physically and mentally.
Twilight sighed. She was starting to think she should tell her friends about the dream she had had. When she had awoken again the morning after the dream, she had become unsettled enough to feel the need to go around and see all her friends, just to make sure they were okay after all. Which they were, of course. However, she neglected to say anything regarding why she was going around checking up on all of them, and they all found it rather odd of her. She didn’t want them to worry about her; her and her strange dream and now this attitude of sadness, like she was missing important and that dratted rain that just would not let up—
Twilight got up from where she had been sitting on her bed. She decided she was going to go downstairs and research weather spells. The work would be nice; it might take her mind off of her troubles, and maybe she would find something to help Equestria be rid of this peculiar storm.
+ + +
Predictably, she had found nothing of use. While Twilight had learned a good bit about the way weather worked and what unicorns could do about it (nothing much; pegasi were the weather ponies for a reason, it seemed), she had found nothing about storms that wouldn’t go away or ways to fix them. Nothing like this had ever happened in Equestrian history, as far as she could tell. Which figured, seeing as Princess Celestia surely would have mentioned it if it had.
Though a few hours had passed since she had begun her research, the day was still young. Maybe one of her friends would be up to something interesting.
I could try talking to Rainbow Dash again, Twilight thought. Though she had done so in previous days, perhaps her friend had figured something out, with her knowledge of weather. Twilight resolved to find her, grabbed her umbrella hat Pinkie Pie had given her so long ago (she found it was easier to use than a real umbrella) and set out into the rain.
+ + +
“Nope, sorry Twilight, haven’t seen her!” Pinkie Pie squeaked. “I like your hat, though!”
Twilight hung her head. After wandering around Ponyville getting soaking wet for entirely too long trying to find Dash, she had decided to ask her other, less mobile friends regarding the pegasus’s whereabouts. She had been near Sugarcube Corner at the time, so, Pinkie it was. Apparently the pink pony would be of no use to her either.
“Thanks, Pinkie. I guess I’ll ask somepony else. Maybe Rarity will know…” Twilight knew that the odds that Rarity of all ponies would know where Rainbow Dash was were low, but she really just wanted an excuse to not have to walk all the way out to Sweet Apple Acres or Fluttershy’s cottage. Turning regretfully to leave the warm bakery, she was accosted by Pinkie.
“Wait! I’ll come with you!” Pinkie said.
“Are you sure? It’s cold… And wet… And anyway, don’t you have baking to do?” Twilight returned.
“Nah, not really. Not many ponies have been coming in lately, so the Cakes have been able to handle everything themselves. And anyway, I always have time to spend helping a friend!” Pinkie cried.
“If you’re sure, Pinkie Pie.” Twilight said.
“I sure am!”
And so the two friends walked out of the sweet-smelling shop, together.
+ + +
“We’re never going to find her!” Twilight said, exasperated. The duo had gone from Sugarcube Corner to Carousel Boutique as planned, but Rarity, as expected, had known nothing. She had given them both new raincoats that she had just designed, which made walking around in the storm less torturous, but it still wasn’t a pleasant experience.
They had tried Fluttershy next, but oddly enough upon arriving at her cottage they had found the door locked tight and the windows dark. Neither pony could figure where the yellow pegasus might’ve gone off to, but they knew they wouldn’t be finding anything there.
Finally, they had made the trek out to Sweet Apple Acres. The road was muddy and the going was rough, as it was then the storm had decided to pick up, blowing rain in their faces despite the umbrella hats (Pinkie had pulled hers out of somewhere upon exiting Sugarcube Corner) and beginning to thunder loudly every few minutes, lightning lighting up the sky.
Twilight and Pinkie Pie had just finished talking to Applejack, who knew just about as much about Dash’s whereabouts as Rarity did. However, instead of raincoats, the farmer had offered them both hot apple pie. Stepping back into the room from the kitchen, Applejack grinned at the sopping wet pair.
“Come an’ get it!”
+ + +
“So why’re ya tryin’ so hard to find Dash anyway, sugarcube?” Applejack asked.
Twilight merely groaned in response. Applejack had been baking all afternoon as a substitute for working on the farm, and there had been plenty of pie to go around. Possibly too much. She mustered her strength, however, and managed an intelligible reply.
“Well… I’m not sure, really. I’m just getting so tired of being cooped up in the library, not being able to do anything about the weather! I’ve tried doing research, and I’ve been writing letters to the Princess, and I even played a few games of Battle Clouds with Spike, but I… For once in my life, I’m bored, Applejack!” Twilight exclaimed.
Applejack opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by Pinkie, who managed excessive amounts of pie rather better than Twilight did.
“You shoulda come over sooner! We could’ve had all kinds of fun, Twilight! We could’ve played games, and had dance contests, and I could’ve taught you all about how to throw parties! It would’ve been great!”
“I… Thanks, I guess, Pinkie.” Twilight said, her face twisting in ever-so-slight confusion. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Anyway, sugarcube,” Applejack said once she could get a word in edgewise, “It sounds like you got a plain case of log cabin syndrome! Though I must admit, hearing you say you’re bored in that library of yours is a mighty odd thing to consider. Don’t you have any projects to be workin’ on like usual?”
“Not really, no,” Twilight said. “I haven’t been up to much of anything for the past few days, I’ve had…too much on my mind.”
“Like what?” Applejack asked.
Do I tell her? Twilight wondered. Would it be worth it to spill to her friends about the dream she had had, the dream she couldn’t let go?
“I… Oh, you know, just…”
“Twilight…” Applejack said, staring the unicorn in question down with her green gaze.
“Oh..! Oh, all right. Do you remember a few days ago, the day the storm started, I came around to see how you were doing?”
“Yep!” Pinkie Pie broke in again. “I thought it was really nice of you! Though I don’t know what could possibly be wrong with me!”
“Yeah, I do,” Applejack responded. “I thought it was kinda odd of you, though I suppose Pinkie’s right in sayin’ it was a neighborly thing to do.”
"Well... Gosh, sugarcube, sounds like a right terrible nightmare. I'm sorry this has been troublin' ya so. But I just don't see how it's different from any other nightmare!" Applejack sounded worried, but retained her practical attitude.
"It... It must be this storm, Applejack. Nothing like this has ever happened, never in Equestrian history! And for this strange storm to start up right after I wake up from a dream that ended with a similar one... Can it really be a coincidence?" Twilight said, quietly.
Pinkie Pie, the third pony of the trio, was even quieter than the mare who had just spoken. She said nothing after Twilight's comment, and silence fell upon Applejack's farmhouse. Eventually, though, she spoke up.
"Your dream was an awful lot like stuff that really happened, Twilight. Like when Applejack got so tired Applebucking, or when you and the girls through me my surprise party, or when Dashie did her Sonic Rainboom..." Pinkie shuddered, thinking of Twilight's dream-version events.
“I… I guess it was…” Applejack said, trying not to let the air fall to silence again.
She failed.
The friends sat in silence for a few minutes more, until Twilight decided enough was enough.
“Well, thanks for having us, Applejack, but I should probably get back home and see what Spike is up to. I don’t want him worrying about me. Pinkie Pie, are you going to stay here or..?”
“I dunno! Hey Applejack, do you want help baking? I could stay here with you!” Pinkie said, having regained some of her characteristic pep.
“Sure, Pinkie. I think that would be nice,” Applejack replied.
“Okay! I guess I’m staying here, Twilight! It was fun looking for Rainbow Dash with you!” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing into the kitchen.
“Okay then. Bye, girls! Thank you for… For listening to me.”
Applejack opened her mouth to respond, but Twilight had already gone from the room, the door swinging shut behind her.
+ + +
Twilight walked into her library, slamming the heavy wooden door shut behind her and mildly muting the sound of the ever-pounding rain. She was wet again, though Rarity’s coat continued to do its job even as the rain grew more torrential. She put the coat on the floor, reminding herself to bring up a coatrack from the basement, and put her umbrella hat on top of it. She shook her mane out, water flying everywhere.
Suddenly, she was assaulted by a chest-height purple form.
“Twilight! There you are! I’ve been worried! Why did you leave without telling me?” Spike cried.
“Oh, Spike…” Twilight said. “I’m sorry I forgot to say anything to you! I went out to find Rainbow Dash. I wanted to ask her if she had found out anything new about the storm, but she was nowhere to be seen… I met up with Pinkie Pie and we got sidetracked at Applejack’s for a while.”
“Okay…” Spike said, sounding unsure. “You’ve just been acting so strange lately, Twilight. These past few days with this storm, you’ve looked so sad. What’s wrong?”
Twilight bit her lip. She had shared her dreams with her friends (or some of them, at least), but should she burden Spike with what she had seen?
“I—Er… Nothing, Spike. It must just be the weather. You know how rainy days can get a pony down.”
“I… I guess, Twilight. Anyway,” Spike said, “A letter arrived for you from the Princess while you were out. I was worried and thought maybe it said something to do with why you were gone, so I opened it… It was about the storm.”
“What did the Princess have to say?” Twilight asked.
“It’s… Well, here. I’ll let you read it,” Spike replied, walking to the table in the middle of the library and picking up a re-rolled scroll. “It’s… It’s not good, Twilight.”
+ + +
My Dearest Student,
I am afraid a serious problem regarding the storm we find ourselves troubled by has arisen. Manehattan, as you well know, is on an island, and this incessant rain has caused the sea to rise to the point that ponies’ stores and homes have begun to flood. The Mayor of Manehattan has begun a full evacuation of the city, and I have sent the Royal Guard to assist in transporting the citizens. However, moving the ponies of Manehattan from their homes will do no good in the long run. We must find the cause of, as well as the solution to, this storm.
It is for this reason I ask you and your friends to join me in Canterlot as soon as you can, to attempt to remedy the situation. It would be best to have the Elements of Harmony nearby if their use is necessary.
Please, my faithful student, have Spike send a letter as soon as possible regarding when you will arrive.
Princess Celestia of Equestria
+ + +
Twilight finished reading the letter with wide eyes.
Evacuation? Flooding? This is worse than I thought… The rain has to be even more torrential there than it is here…
“Spike! I’m going out again!” Twilight said, looking up from the scroll she held in her magic.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Twilight!” Spike said. “Even if you could tell everypony about what’s happening, the last train for Canterlot leaves in an hour. Not even you could get everything ready that fast. Sleep on it, and get our friends together in the morning. You look like you need the rest.”
“Oh… You’re right, Spike. Aren’t you taking good care of me today!” Twilight nuzzled the dragon.
“It’s what I’m here for,” he said.
Twilight felt just a bit sad at that.
It used to be me taking care of you...
+ + +
The next day…
+ + +
“So sorry I’m late, everypony! A customer came in at the last minute and I had to attend to them,” Rarity said, walking through the door of the library.
“That’s fine, Rarity,” Twilight said, approaching her friend. Gathered in the library were five ponies and one dragon; those ponies were Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity. The dragon was of course Spike.
Rainbow Dash was still nowhere to be found, Twilight had discovered, when the unicorn went out into the rain the next day to alert her friends to the situation. “You aren’t very late, anyway.”
“Now before I tell you all why you’re here,” (Twilight had simply asked them to arrive at the library and had not given any reason when collecting them), “I have a question: does anypony know where Rainbow Dash is? I know I asked all of you yesterday, but—“ Twilight turned to look at Fluttershy, who had opened her mouth just a bit. “Fluttershy? I didn’t have a chance to see you. Do you know where Dash is? And for that matter, what were you up to yesterday?”
“Well, um, I was out in the forest, actually, helping my critters with fixing up their dens to protect against the rain. And Rainbow… Well, I caught her flying out of town the day before yesterday. She said she had been called on emergency weather duty by Cloudsdale… I’m surprised she didn’t say anything to any of you girls.”
“That is odd. Well, thank you, Fluttershy. Now that my question’s been answered, I suppose I should tell you why I asked you all to come. The Princess sent me a letter yesterday, and she said that the rain in Manehattan has caused flooding bad enough to mean that everypony there has to be evacuated from the city.”
There was a general chorus of distress from the others gathered, save Spike, who continued to stand quietly at Twilight’s side.
“So are we going to help the Manehattanites? I’m surprised my Aunt and Uncle Orange didn’t say nothin’ about the floods…” Applejack said.
“Not quite,” Twilight responded. “The Princess wants us in Canterlot in case we have to use the Elements of Harmony for any reason. She asked me to send her a letter telling her when we can all arrive; I suppose I’ll have to include Rainbow’s absence. But that’s why you’re here; we need to go to Canterlot. Can you all be ready to leave in four hours?”
Twilight’s question was met with a positive consensus.
“Great! We can meet at the train station. I don’t know how long we’ll be staying, so don’t forget anything important. Now let’s go!”
With that, the four of Twilight’s friends began to filter out of the library, back to their homes and their saddlebags.
Twilight looked down at the other in the room. “Spike, take a letter, please.”
Twilight Sparkle looked down on the city of her birth from one of the towers of Canterlot Castle, where she and her friends had arrived earlier that day from Ponyville. They had of course gone immediately to the castle to see the Princess, who had thanked them for coming so quickly and put them up in the tower that Twilight presently stood at the top of.
And Canterlot was curious city. Who would put a city on a mountain? What could possibly inspire the construction of the capital of a nation against the tallest peak in the land? Of course, Twilight knew the answers, but that didn’t really make the question any less ponderable.
She also knew that she should stop wasting time and get back down to her friends and the Princesses, who were not waiting for her per-say, but would certainly appreciate her presence sooner rather than later.
But Twilight found herself oddly reluctant to leave the small room she stood in. A calm had come over her, standing high above the rest of the world, looking out at the city and the rain, the rain that poured even harder here than in Ponyville…
In fact, the Princess seemed to think the rain was worse over Canterlot than anywhere else in Equestria, Manehattan included.
Canterlot was a curious city.
+ + +
Down in the throne room, Princess Celestia greeted her six newest guests once again.
“Hello, my little ponies,” her voice rang out. “You all know why you are here. I wish for you to be at hoof in case a situation requiring the use of the Elements of Harmony may arise. I have sent a message to Cloudsdale as well requesting the presence of Rainbow Dash, and am told she should be in shortly…”
As if on cue, a soaking-wet and bedraggled Rainbow Dash slammed through the doors to the throne room.
“Oh! Hey, guys!” Her attention turned to the ruler in the room. “Sorry I’m late, Princess. I guess your guards were a little bit late and I was getting bored, so I kinda flew here on my own, and with the storm and all…” She trailed off, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. She looked back to her friends. “And sorry to you guys for not telling anypony other than Fluttershy where I was going. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be gone, and I didn’t think anypony would notice. I’m here now, though!”
She walked forward and was greeted by her friends and Spike, who all assured her that it was of course fine, and then they quieted down and looked back to Princess Celestia.
The Princess nodded down at the new arrival, smiling. “No apologies necessary, Rainbow Dash. You arrived with perfect timing. Do you know why you are here as well?”
“Yep! We gotta be ready in case there’s something to blast with the Elements, I saw your letter.”
“Good. Now, my little ponies, I do not require your services as of present; you are free to travel Canterlot as you wish. You may go.” The seven turned to leave. “Twilight Sparkle. I request that you stay with me.” Twilight stopped, as did Spike. “No, Spike, you may go with the others.” He turned to look at Princess Celestia inquiringly, but her calm gaze reassured him and he hastened from the room. Twilight turned as well.
“What do you need, Princess?” Twilight said.
“I wish for you to aid in discovering the root of this issue. Luna is presently working in the Archives; I’m sure she could use your help.”
“Yes, Princess. I will go at once.”
+ + +
Standing in the doorway to the main room of the Archives, Twilight gasped another breath. Perhaps galloping the whole way hadn’t exactly been called for..?
Finally catching her breath, she trotted further into the massive library.
“Princess Luna?” she called, her eyes searching in the mild gloom for any sign of the darker Princess. “Princess Luna?” she repeated.
“Hello, Twilight Sparkle,” the Princess intoned, emerging from a shadow behind Twilight. Twilight jumped, landing facing the newly-discovered Princess.
“O-Oh! Hello! You startled me!” Twilight stammered.
“I apologize, Twilight Sparkle. I meant no alarm,” Princess Luna said, in her still-slightly-stilted tone.
“That’s fine, Princess,” Twilight said. “So, Princess Celestia told me to find you here and help with your research?”
“As I asked her to. I have made some progress, but it is slow going. I hoped your skills would aid the effort. Would you like to see the notes I have taken thus far?”
“Yes, of course,” Twilight said, beginning to switch into research mode. Something flickered in the back of her brain, something that connected this situation to another, some like déjà vu…
She suddenly recalled a scene from her dream—she had spent hours in these very Archives, just reading anything Spike brought her, trying to block out the pain of her losses… Until… She shuddered, and reminded herself that it was just a dream.
Just a dream.
+ + +
The next morning…
+ + +
Sitting up with bleary eyes and a rather terrible bed mane, Twilight groaned at the light streaming through her window. To say it had been a late night of studying was putting it very, very lightly, and the color of the light informed her that it was not far past dawn. The clock next to her bed reinforced the notion.
Twilight slumped out of bed, dragging her hooves every step of the way down from the tower to the dining hall—though she tried her hardest not to make enough noise to wake anypony else up.
While many things, Twilight Sparkle was not a mare to go back to sleep.
Arriving in the hall, Twilight was surprised to find it already occupied by no less than three ponies—Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and…
“…Pinkie Pie?” Twilight said, her voice a tad scratchy, like the rest of her.
“Oh! Hi, Twilight!” Pinkie said, her voice entirely too energetic and high-pitched, at least to the unicorn’s ears. “We were just having breakfast—come on in!”
Twilight stared at the odd scene for a moment longer, before doing exactly that, doing her slouch up to the table and heavily taking a seat next to the chipper pink pony.
A waitspony swept out to ask her what she wanted for breakfast, and then she was engaged in the conversation.
Princess Celestia turned to her. “Luna tells me you were of great help last night.”
Twilight blushed. “Oh, I just read over what she had already done, for the most part. I didn’t contribute all that much.”
Princess Celestia smiled. “Either way, I feel I must thank you and your friends again for coming here to Canterlot. Knowing that we have our best defense at hoof is-“
She was interrupted as the door to the chamber slammed open. In the hall stood a royal guard, a determined look on his face.
“Princesses!” he barked. “I’m to alert you the situation in Manehattan requires your attention at once and that flooding in several other coastal cities has worsened to the point that evacuation is required.”
The Princesses were on their hooves at once.
“Luna, see to the situation. I will gather Twilight’s friends.” Her sister nodded solemnly, before moving quickly to the door and following the guard down the hall.
She was standing in the hallway that their rooms all branched off of. Princess Celestia and Pinkie Pie were beside her.
Twilight suddenly became conscious of the fact that Princess Celestia was standing right next to her, and she had just shouted as loud as she could. Twilight looked at the Princess and took a few steps back, blushing.
“No, you may wake your friends, my faithful student,” the Princess said.
Nodding, Twilight continued walking down the hall, knocking on doors, yelling, and generally being as loud as she could. Pinkie Pie soon joined in, and together they quickly had a collection of four ponies (and one dragon) standing in the hallway before them.
“What is it?” Rainbow Dash grumbled. “It’s way too early to be wakin’ up!”
“I’m afraid I must concur with Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said, her voice falsely chipper. “A lady does require her beauty sleep, after all.”
Applejack and Fluttershy were silent, both seeming relatively at ease with the time; Spike merely glared around through half-closed eyes.
“Guys! It’s no time for being sleepy-heads, the Princess needs our help! There’s a big problem in Manehattan and-“ Pinkie Pie began to spew forth the events of the past twenty minutes, only to be cut off by Twilight.
“As Pinkie was saying, the situation in Manehattan has worsened to an unbearable degree, and flooding in other cities around Equestria has also become a problem. The Princess wishes for us all to attempt to help through the Elements of Harmony,” Twilight said.
Twilight’s summing of the situation seemed to wake the less-than-willing of the group; Spike shook his head around and the two grumbly ponies grew quiet.
“Well why the hay didn’t you say so?” Rainbow Dash said.
+ + +
Standing in the glass-walled hall of the Elements, the six friends each wore their respective piece of jewelry.
“I know this will be different from when you have previously harnessed the Elements of Harmony,” Princess Celestia said, “as you do not have a direct target upon which to focus.”
“Why don’t we just target the clouds?” Rainbow Dash broke in.
“Rainbow, how the hay do you expect us to get every cloud in Equestria?” Applejack retorted, silencing her friend.
Princess Celestia resumed speaking. “Instead, Twilight, you should think of the rain as a more…abstract concept. Think less of the clouds, and of the water; think about the problems it is causing the ponies of Equestria. Do you understand?”
Twilight nodded. “I do, Princess. Now let’s do this, girls!”
Princess Celestia stepped back, and Twilight closed her eyes. She felt her friends around her, and she thought, as the Princess had told her, of the ponies the rain was affecting. A familiar feeling welled in her gut, and she felt herself rising into the air just as her eyes reopened, glowing white with power.
As the Princess watched, a rainbow issued forth from the union, creating a circle around the six just before exploding in every direction, passing without prejudice through everything it touched—or rather, didn’t touch—and looking not unlike a Sonic Rainboom.
Everything froze.
+ + +
Sitting up, Twilight had the strangest sensation of calm. Of absence. Of stillness. It was strange to her not because she had never felt it before, but rather because of how complete it was. As if everything had…
“…stopped,” Princess Celestia said. Twilight suddenly realized the Princess had been saying something to Princess Luna, who had apparently arrived in the hall.
“What were you saying, Princess?” Twilight said, getting up.
“The Elements seem to have frozen time,” Princess Celestia said, a strange look on her face. Or rather—not strange, just strange for the Princess. Because the emotion Twilight saw was unsurety. Almost confusion. The Princess was many things, but the Princess was never confused, at least not openly. Twilight suddenly became afraid.
“H-how? How could they do that? And why are we still normal?” Twilight asked.
“I do not know,” Princess Celestia said, Twilight’s fear replacing itself with a cold dread.
+ + +
Twilight stared at Spike.
All of her friends had woken up, over time, and the Princess had explained the situation—or what she could explain of it, at least—to them.
Spike, however, had not.
Seeing him standing stock-still—mid-blink, even—at the side of the hall brought back all of the initial strangeness of frozen time, plus a healthy topping of worry for her number one assistant.
“Do you think he’ll be okay?” Twilight whispered. She wasn’t sure who she had meant it for, but Princess Luna had heard her.
“I am not sure what the fate of young Spike will be, Twilight Sparkle, but I know it will be no worse than that of all of us if we do not find the solution to our troubles.”
Twilight’s eyebrows creased. “But wasn’t the point of using the Elements fixing the rain?”
“That was your intent, perhaps, but even the Elements cannot do everything, especially when lacking in specific direction. They have given us time, nothing more,” Princess Luna responded, the wordplay apparently unintentional. “I am sure my sister has realized the same at this point.”
The two looked from Spike over to Princess Celestia, who stood off to the side of Twilight’s five friends.
“Come. We should resume our studies; we mustn’t squander this gift,” Princess Luna said, walking towards the door.
Twilight followed her, looking back at Princess Celestia and her friends as she left.
+ + +
“This is impossible!” Twilight cried, slumping to the floor. Another shelf checked, another shelf empty of any relevant information regarding magical storms. Or mass time stoppage, for that matter.
“It does seem rather unlikely at this point that we will discover anything that will aid our purpose,” Princess Luna said, stepping up behind her. “But what other choice do we have?”
+ + +
One week. That was how long Princess Celestia said it had been. One week, with no hunger, no exhaustion, with the absolute silence of stopped time, with nothing to do but read. Twilight found the irony amusing in a twisted way; before she had come to Ponyville, such a world would’ve been nirvana. But now, under the circumstances…
The best she could do was wonder how her friends were surviving.
+ + +
Another three days had passed, but what Twilight stared down at over Princess Luna’s shoulder made it all worth it.
”…it is entirely possible, upon the occursion of two separate and distinct planes, on a universal scale, that they may become latched together at some specific, probably central position, and in doing so will push continuously their unique conditions upon each other.”
As Twilight comprehended the meaning of the passage, she began to grin at the Princess beside her, she began to muster herself for a joyous jump into the air, and somewhere in the back of her mind, almost unconsciously so, she began to twitch in cold, terrified recognition.
Twilight and Princess Luna had come up from the Canterlot Archives looking to share their discovery with their friends (and sibling, in the Princess’s case). They looked in the main rooms of the castle, but were confusingly thwarted. This inspired a longer-term search, which finally resulted with all six ponies being found in, of all places…
…the sewing room.
Rarity sat at the front of the room with what looked like a half-finished dress floating above her. Before her sat the other five ponies, Princess included, holding similar dresses—or at least attempts at similar dresses. Some of them, like in Fluttershy’s case, weren’t half bad. Others…were. All were seated on pink plush cushions of varying size.
Princess Celestia spoke first.
“Your good friend Rarity decided she would be willing to teach us all the basics of sewing, so we made our way here and got to it! I must admit, I am a bit rusty in the subject.”
“But—but—Applejack! Pinkie Pie! Rainbow Dash! Why are you ponies sewing?!” Twilight cried.
“One word, Twilight,” Pinkie said, getting up from her sewing. “Boredom! I mean jeez, we knew you and Princess Luna needed some time to do your bookey stuff, but it’s been weeks! A pony can only explore the castle for so long! And anyway, when we get back home now I can make Gummy a neat little suit! I’ve always thought he could use his very own tux! Don’tcha think?”
Twilight stood next to Princess Luna in the doorway, continuing to stammer unintelligibly.
Princess Celestia walked over to the two. She put a calming hoof on Twilight’s shoulder and smiled at her, and then turned to Princess Luna. “Sister, does your reappearance mean you have discovered something?” Princess Celestia said, her smile falling from her face as her voice took on a more urgent tone.
“It does. Twilight and I believe we have realized the cause, or at the very least, the origin of this unnatural storm. I found a passage in a book on multiverse theory that postulates that the collision of two universes can result in a portal that transfers the ‘unique conditions’ of each onto the other.”
“Jeez, I thought Twilight was the only one who spoke egghead,” Rainbow Dash muttered to Applejack with a smirk.
“Thank you, Rainbow,” Twilight said, having heard the comment and recovered from her earlier shock. “What Princess Luna means is…well…that was actually a pretty reasonable explanation. I don’t know how to explain it more clearly.”
However, Princess Celestia came to the rescue. “What my sister and student are trying to say, my little ponies, is that a magical portal somewhere in Equestria is the source of these rainclouds. I assume you both have a guess as to its location?”
“Well…” Twilight said, glancing at Princess Luna, who nodded at her. “We think it’s somewhere above Canterlot.
+ + +
“I still don’t get what I’m looking for,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Well… It’s supposed to be… Um… Ugh! Why is this so hard to explain?” Twilight cried. She and Princess Luna had been trying for a rather obnoxiously long time to illustrate to Dash just what the portal she was looking for would appear as. However, their own lack of any real knowledge was not exactly an aid to their cause.
The three were standing out on one of the many balconies of Canterlot Castle, Rainbow Dash wearing the flight goggles she had arrived with. Around them hung thousands of raindrops, suspended by the time stop. The light from the overcast sky refracted through them all, creating the appearance of what almost looked like a field of stars, brought to earth. However, the weight in Twilight’s stomach told her that there wasn’t time to marvel at the beauty.
It was now or never, it seemed.
Princess Luna broke the momentary silence. “Perhaps, Rainbow Dash, you can simply search for anything that seems…out of the ordinary. While we may not know exactly what this portal is going to look like, it seems highly unlikely that it will appear anything other than abnormal.”
Twilight shifted. “I… Guess that works. Now remember, Rainbow. You go up there, you find the portal, and you come back as—“
“Yeah, yeah, Twilight! As soon as possible, I gotcha.” With that, Dash winked a goggled eye at Twilight and took off, her rainbow contrail looking almost natural amidst the unmoving rain.
+ + +
Pacing up and down the hall just in from the balcony, Twilight considered the situation.
Hopefully Rainbow Dash would find the portal, or whatever it was, quickly. But what then? Presently, she was considering asking Princess Luna to fly her up to whatever it was—maybe they could analyze it then? But how would they go about closing it?
For that matter, what had caused it to open in the first place?
The book seemed to suggest that it was the result of interdimensional travel, and the present symptoms of Equestria certainly matched those prescribed. But what, or who, would have been traveling from…from another plane of existence? Twilight began to pace faster, her heartbeat picking up ever so slightly. What if this, the rain, was just the first part of some sort of invasion? Sure, the Elements had given them time to work on closing the portal and stopping the rain, but was that really their biggest problem? How would they know if there was something out there? Could it be too late already? Could—
She was stopped in her tracks by a hoof on her shoulder. She looked up. Applejack smiled at her.
“Y’ looked like you could use somepony to talk to, sugarcube,” Applejack said.
Twilight took a deep breath. “I’m just worried that maybe the storm is the least of our problems.”
“Now whaddya mean by that?” Applejack replied.
“If the portal was caused by something coming to Equestria from another dimension… Then what was it? What if we were invaded? What if there’s some horrible monster out there right now—“
“Frozen in place?” Applejack laughed. “Twilight, listen. I know that you’re a pony to do all kinds of plannin’ and whatnot, but I think right now the most important thing for you is to just focus on one thing at a time. Sure, there might be somethin’ out there, but it sure as hay can’t hurt anypony, ‘least not right now. Just keep track of what you’re doin’ in the moment and you’ll be fine.” Applejack looked out the window. “And I think you’re about to have somethin’ new on your plate.”
+ + +
“Okay, so, it was really weird,” Rainbow Dash said. “Like a little sun or something, sitting right in the middle of the sky. And there were a bunch of clouds right around it, looking like they were coming out of it.”
“That does indeed sound like what you are searching for, my faithful student,” Princess Celestia said.
Twilight nodded in agreement and turned to Princess Luna, who stood next to her amidst the small crowd of ponies gathered around Rainbow Dash.
Princess Luna looked back at her and said, “Let us go, Twilight Sparkle. Perhaps we may yet end this predicament.”
Princess Luna walked towards the still-open window, gesturing to Twilight. Twilight climbed—with some difficulty—onto Princess Luna’s back, and together they took off into the still, gray sky.
+ + +
Rainbow Dash hadn’t been kidding when she’d said the portal looked like a miniature sun. It hadn’t been difficult to find—Princess Luna had simply flown above the clouds, and they’d looked around. Twilight figured Dash must’ve sat to marvel, or perhaps just stretched her wings in flight, because there was no way it had actually taken her so long to find the orb of light that hung with so eerie a stillness in the morning sky.
Twilight’s eyes burned from staring at it, but she was unable to tear her gaze from the thing. Something about it was mesmerizing—it felt so peculiarly…familiar. Like she had seen it before, or…
Finally, hearing the voice of Princess Luna, she managed to look away. Twilight turned her eyes to the mane of the Princess on which she sat.
“What was that? Sorry, I…”
“I was merely saying that Rainbow Dash was certainly correct in her assertions. Should I fly closer, that we might investigate?” Princess Luna asked.
“Y-yes. Yes, fly closer. I’ll try some magical readings,” Twilight responded, her voice confusingly shaky.
Complying, Princess Luna angled herself towards the orb, her wings flapping loudly in the stillness of the sky. As they neared the portal, Twilight’s stomach felt like it had decided to jump off the back of Princess Luna and leave Twilight herself behind. Twilight began to sweat, even as she lit her horn and began casting spells.
“Twilight? Are you all right?” Princess Luna asked, feeling the sudden shaking of the unicorn on her back.
“I… I don’t know, Princess,” Twilight said. “I feel terrible all of a sudden. I’m not sure this thing is safe. How about you?”
“I am well, but I am a princess. Perhaps we should not have come here.”
“No, no, I’m sure… I’m sure I’ll be alright. And—Oh! I think I’ve—“ Twilight cut off in the middle of her exclamation. Princess Luna brought herself to a halt, hovering in midair, and twisted her neck around. Twilight sat on her back, staring into the orb, her body still as stone and her eyes massive. Her horn had stopped glowing.
“Twi—“ Princess Luna began. However, she did not have time to finish her sentence, as Twilight’s eyes suddenly contracted with terror, her body jerking violently. Twilight fell from Princess Luna’s back, and began a long descent to the ground.
Just as Princess Luna finished processing the situation, time unfroze.
“Twilight!” Princess Luna shouted, immediately throwing herself into a dive despite the now-freed storm’s best attempts to snap her wings in half. She flew downwards with all the strength she could muster, the wind pushing back against her just as intensely. While the updrafts from the storm were slowing Twilight’s fall ever so slightly, Princess Luna was still rapidly losing her.
Finally catching a break in the wind, she managed to make some headway towards Twilight, coming close enough that she felt comfortable catching her in her magic.
Trappings of blue enveloped Twilight, slowing her fall gently and bringing her to a halt. She hung in the air, wrapped in Princess Luna’s magic, her stillness now in sharp contrast to her untamed surroundings.
Making her way down to Twilight with some difficulty, Princess Luna levitated the unicorn safely onto her back once more.
+ + +
“Twilight, what’s wrong?” Pinkie Pie asked, looking into her friend’s shining eyes.
Twilight merely sputtered and looked away.
Gathered around her in one of the many halls of Canterlot Castle were her closest friends (Spike now included). After Princess Luna had caught Twilight, she had flown right back to the castle. Twilight had sat on the Princess’s back, tears streaming down her face, curled into a ball, unwilling to speak.
She couldn’t. Not with what she had remembered. Not with what she had seen.
“C’mon, sugarcube. Please?” Applejack said from beside her.
“Twilight?” Spike said, tightening the hold he had gotten on her foreleg.
“I… I… No…” she whispered. “I can’t…”
“Can you at least tell us what this is about?” Applejack said. “Because we’re all mighty worried,” she continued, a statement that was backed up by a collective “uh-huh” from the others, and a ripple of nods.
“It was the portal,” Twilight again whispered. “I… I saw…”
“What? What did you see?” Applejack asked, softening her voice.
Twilight looked up into her eyes, and into the eyes of Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie, and Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, and then down to Spike.
“…Myself,” Twilight finished, even Applejack straining to hear her.
+ + +
“I’m sorry, Twilight. But you know you cannot remain here,” Celestia said, her voice almost, just almost, trembling. Luna stood by her side, stoic.
Twilight sat in front of them, all three in the throne room. Head hung, a muffled “I do know” slipped out.
“W- I… I am so sorry, Twilight,” Luna said.
“It’s not your fault,” Twilight murmured.
+ + +
Bitter tears fell from every eye.
“Just re-remember,” Twilight stammered, “You’ll see me again. So soon. It’ll be okay for you.”
“But we don’t want it to be okay!” Rainbow Dash cried, her face twisted. “It won’t be the same! You have to stay.”
“I’m sorry, girls. And you too, Spike. But I can’t let the portal stay open. I can’t be so selfish.”
“And you’re sure that this’ll close the thing? Because we don’t wanna lose ya’ for no reason, y’hear?” Applejack said, her voice catching on some of the words.
“Yes. It will. I’m sure,” Twilight said, trying to add some firmness to her tone. Failing, mostly.
“Well… Then I see no way we can keep you, darling,” Rarity said, wiping at her eyes.
“G-Goodbye, Twilight,” Fluttershy said.
Twilight turned for the window, but Spike had grabbed onto her leg again.
“Spike…”
“How do we know that we’ll get you back? Are you sure about that? I don’t want to lose you, but I couldn’t lose you completely!” he sniffled.
“Yes,” Twilight croaked. “You’ll get me back. There’s no other way it could work.”
Resting her hoof atop his head, Twilight nuzzled his cheek.
She began walking again, Spike letting go, this time. The Princesses followed, flanking her, as they all traveled towards the balcony.
“Do not try to follow us, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia said, looking back at them. “This storm is not safe, not even for you.” Dash looked away.
Twilight climbed onto Celestia’s back and the two Princesses took off, a blue bubble forming around them and protecting them from the wind and the rain, which were worse than ever before. The door to the balcony slammed shut behind them.
As soon as they were gone, Rainbow was at the door, but to no avail. It was locked, and there was no key.
+ + +
It was funny, Twilight mused, the way this had all started. A trip to find a friend. She had found a lot more than a friend.
They neared the portal. For the first time they saw it clearly in all its mad power, the clouds rushing out of it like water from a broken dam. It was almost strange the storm hadn’t gotten worse faster.
Coming up to the side of the portal, Celestia looked back to Twilight. No words were spoken; all that was said was said with that glance.
It was her teacher’s goodbye.
Looking away, Celestia lit her horn. A golden platform appeared to her side. Twilight clambered off Celestia’s back and onto the magical floor.
The floor began to shift, moving over even closer to the edge of the portal. As she moved, Twilight threw one last look at Luna. Luna returned it, and her goodbye was almost as evident as Celestia’s.
Twilight turned and leapt into the portal.
Everything went white.
+ + +
Twilight fell out of the portal, and a surprised Celestia caught her in magic.
Brought up to rest on Celestia’s back, Twilight gazed with awe at her.
“Princess?” she wondered.
“Twilight?” Celestia came to her senses. “Where are you? Do you know how we got here?”
Whatever reply Twilight would have returned was cut off by a massive wave of force and energy as the portal collapsed.
+ + +
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna flew back to the palace amidst the still-present rainfall and mild gusts of wind. But they could tell that the storm was clearing already. Twilight was once again borne atop Princess Celestia’s back.
Landing back at that same balcony one more time, Princess Celestia lifted the lock on the door and opened it.
“Twilight!” the five ponies (and one dragon) chorused.
+ + +
“So whaddya mean, Discord was back?” Rainbow Dash said, confused.
Six ponies and one dragon sat in one of the many castle suites, a fire roaring before them.
“I’m not sure,” Twilight said. “It’s getting foggier every minute, almost like a dream. I think I woke up, except I was in Canterlot… And yes, Discord was back, and everything was like it was the first time he got free. Except I was alone, and not just because he had tricked us all.” Twilight’s eyes grew large, and maybe a bit afraid. “T-terrible things had happened to you all. Applejack, I think I remember that you were in a coma? And Rainbow… Oh, Rainbow… Pinkie Pie, you left Ponyville completely! And Rarity, you… Well, you… And you too, Fluttershy! Both of you… Left…” Twilight’s eyes had started to water.
Her friends moved to embrace her, all speaking words of reassurance. But they all thought of the things Twilight had told them mere hours before. The stories she had told, not new to some, but familiar now to all.
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna looked on from the door. What had previously been only a theory—a likely one, but a theory nonetheless—it was now, for all intents and purposes, the simple fact of the matter.
The pony at the center of the pony pile was Twilight Sparkle.
The pony who had walked into the portal was also Twilight Sparkle.
One belonged; one did not.
Both were returned to where they had come from.
And the Princesses feared for the fate of the Twilight they had sent away.
Twilight stumbled, hitting a cobblestone wall. She blinked. Where was she?
The events leading up to her stepping into the portal were still clear to her, but they felt almost like a dream. However, Twilight understood this feeling now. She understood what had happened, or more specifically, what she had caused to happen by casting the Failsafe Spell. Instead of undoing Discord’s chaos, the spell had simply taken her somewhere else; somewhere untainted by the wrongs of the past and the distortion of the present.
It had taken her to another dimension.
And apparently that journey had done some strange, strange things to her memories.
Looking around, Twilight noticed something very peculiar.
Hanging before her in midair were several small pieces of dust. Not hanging as dust is wont to do, suspended by small drafts of air and the like, but actually hanging. Or… Well, almost hanging. Staring, Twilight was able to notice tiny hints of movement. The dust wasn’t perfectly still, but it wasn’t travelling with any normal and natural force. Really, it seemed like it was…
…slowed. Twilight’s eyes widened.
The properties of dimensional connection that had caused the storm in the other dimension were communicating the time stop the Elements of Harmony had created! Of course she wouldn’t be affected; none of them were. But then…
Twilight looked up, and began dashing down what she now recognized as an alley of Canterlot. She had to find out if anything (or anyone) here was unaffected by the time stop! Or… Time slow, apparently. Thinking about it, there could be numerous reasons that time wasn’t completely halted like it had been before; really she should do more research into dimensional properties, clearly there was a lot to discover—
Her run—and her train of thought—were interrupted by a sudden lack of ground to run on. Or, more accurately, a lack of ground that actually provided a helpful amount of friction, Twilight found, attempting to ignore the bitter taste of soap that coated her tongue. It was a clear sign that Discord was still on the loose.
Discord.
Her friends.
The reminder of all that was wrong with this dimension hit her like a brick, and suddenly she wasn’t so sure she wanted to find anypony else…ever again.
+ + +
Picking herself up, Twilight continued on her way, her mood significantly dampened and her speed significantly slowed—though that was in part due to the fact that the roads were all apparently made of soap now.
As she trekked towards the palace (she was assuming it would be the best place to go to find somepony else), her mind wandered over what she did and didn’t know about this dimension…her home dimension, she supposed.
It certainly seemed like there had been some sort of time difference between when she left and when she had returned; the fact that she ended up in a back alley basically confirmed that much. The real question was how much time had passed. Assuming that the timelines travelled at the same speed, then it was at least two days. But seeing as the time stop was affecting this world, too… But apparently only gradually…
The question quickly spiraled out of control in Twilight’s head. There was too much she didn’t understand about the magic at work.
Turning her attention to her surroundings, she noticed that time did actually seem to be speeding up. The bubbles from the soap looked to be moving faster than before, though not quite normal. She hadn’t seen any ponies (or draconequui), but that would make sense if they were all slowed down.
Twilight continued on.
+ + +
Coming up to the front of the castle, Twilight started with shock. The doors were completely destroyed! The damage was absolute, the charred wood leaving no doubt in her mind as to its cause. Somepony had been wielding fire magic.
She passed through the ravaged doors, the clip-clop of her hooves on the floors deadened by the carpet of the entrance hall. The carpet, too, was destroyed, and in much the same way. Twilight’s confusion grew.
Twilight moved up the stairs and continued on into the palace proper
Minutes passed, with nothing but the lone sound of her walk echoing through the massive structure.
Having traveled for a fair distance, Twilight stopped, and looked around. Finding what she was looking for—a window—she tried her best to get a good angle on the light…
Surely enough, the dust swirling in it was back to its normal speed.
Whatever effects the Elements of Harmony and the dimensional tie had been creating in this world were gone.
From up ahead came a loud crash…
…and then a voice Twilight wished desperately to unhear sounded around her.
“Well, Luna, my dear, no reason to be so unkind!” Discord trilled.
Wait. Princess Luna? Twilight thought. She’s free? Twilight began moving once again, her previous clip replaced with a frantic gallop.
She followed the increasingly loud sounds of conflict and taunting, turning faster and faster through the halls that seemed to be growing in both length and monotony, and her breathing became labored. Finally she came to the throne room, although it felt like it had taken her far longer than it should have to get there.
Throwing open the doors (which were remarkably undestroyed, unlike a good portion of the rest of the castle), she was met by an impossible sight.
Before her stood Discord—but he looked not to her. All his attention was focused on the other mare in the room, the one which Twilight hoped would never exist again, the only pony that might have been worse to have around than Discord—
Nightmare Moon stood tall, facing down the God of Chaos.
