//------------------------------// // Ch.10: Allies Arrive // Story: Tapestry: A World Apart // by Star Scraper //------------------------------// There was no fanfare with their arrival. Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie simply saw the tiny space vanish and immediately be replaced by a cobblestone street, startling them into a jump. Applejack had her lasso coiled over a shoulder, ready to draw if needed. They all glanced around, blinking at the claustrophobic street around them, each still keeping a forehoof on Twilight. Immediately they felt the biting cold air and noticed the pitch black sky. The few ponies in the street were quicker to react this time. Most immediately darted away in shrieks of panic. “Not again!” one cried, sprinting away from the three confused Equestrians. One simply sat down, consigned to her fate, looking down at the street. “Again?” Twilight asked, her wings flaring as Pinkie and AJ let go of her. "What's wrong?" The mare who stayed behind just looked up at her. “P-Please, have some mercy. Don't turn me insane, or against everything I love. Just kill me if you must. Then leave our dome. We have nothing for you here!” The mare's eyes darted over all three of them – and spent a bit longer focusing on AJ's lasso, then on Twilight's horn. “What!? Who do you think we are!? We aren't hurting anypony! Our friend just came through here – what is this place? We're just trying to find her, then we'll be leaving...” somehow, she mentally added. Celestia only said she trusted I'd find a way to get back, but didn't tell me how... “Please!” the mare shouted, falling prone on the ground and covering her head with her hooves, “I can't keep living in fear! Don't lie to me! Just do it!” “Now what in flynn' sakes has gotten into you!?” AJ stomped a hoof, “nopony's hurtin' anypony! Not on our watch! We won't and that's just the honest'ta goodness truth!” Twilight could tell something was horribly wrong. It wasn't exactly subtle with a pony cowering in mortal terror at some random strangers, but while everypony focused on one terrified mare, her mind began asking, what kind of world makes a pony like this? Any likely answer seemed awful, but whatever it was, she sensed it was worse than she could guess. The mare started shaking and crying. Pinkie rushed over, holding the mare in an embrace and patting her back, “There, there, it's not so bad. We uh – we're just here to help!” she comforted. The mare just froze up, her breaths growing fast and shallow. “Miss, just please, tell us why you're afraid,” Twilight plead, coming out of her thoughts. She immediately heard the ticking from her stopwatch again, the sound pulling her out of the shock of the new setting. She looked down at it hanging from around her neck and clicked it to stop. “We don't have much time. We need to save our friend!” The mare slowly looked up at her, her pupils shrunken. “Don’t ask me why I’m scared! You know what you are! You're – you're one of them! A unicorn! Ponies corrupted with unnatural magic! The ones who bring winter! You – you're even more barbaric than they say! You're not even wearing clothes! It's true – it's true!” She shoved Pinkie away, standing up and backing away, bristling. “Hey!” Pinkie protested, “You don't just throw one of my hugs off! That's rude!” The objection fell on deaf ears that were folded back on a head that started scowling. “You're – I'm not! I'm not letting you win! No! No!” She turned and galloped away. “Uh, Twi, I don't think we're gonna get a very warm welcome. Not if they think all that...” AJ started, nervously adjusting her lasso while staring at the distant mare sprinting down the street. “She... she didn't hear a word I said,” the alicorn started, her wings flaring in agitation. “You think she's gonna get the guards?” The workhorse asked, turning to her magic friend. Twilight snapped out of her frustration, meeting AJ's look. “Oh. Maybe, we'll just have to be prepared.” Her horn charged a purple glow around itself, at the ready for any quick spell she needed. “But we're here to find Rarity. Ugh – why didn't I think to put a scrying spell on her!? Discord never even reported back so I guess I couldn't...” She bit her lip and looked down the empty street in each direction. “Well I doubt she's anywhere near here,” Pinkie deadpanned, her voice brimming with annoyance. “Why do'ya say that?” “Well, Ms. no-hug got all freaked out 'cause she thought Twilight was a unicorn – when she's obviously an alicorn! – so they would've freaked out at Rarity, too. And 'not again' obviously meant Rarity came here just like we did. So Rarity either made it out of the city or maybe they threw her in a dungeon?” Pinkie wondered. Twilight gasped, earning a glance from both her friends. "If we're lucky, that, or she escaped..." "An' if we're unlucky?" AJ asked. Twilight gave her friends a disturbed look. “If they were scared of me for having a horn, then neither of the princesses are in charge. They also thought I was evil just for having a horn, and you don't want to know what ponies did to 'evil' ponies back before the princesses came to power... We've got to catch one of these ponies and find out what happened!” She asserted, then broke into a gallop down the empty street. Her friends quickly followed close by. When they made it up to her sides, her wings instinctively spread over them. “Well what are we gonna do when we catch one?” AJ asked while they ran. “That mare back there wasn't exactly feelin' very chatty!” “Oh, I can make ponies talk when they need to talk!” Pinkie's voice boiled, earning concerned glances from both her friends. “Pinkie, we don't know why they're afraid. For all we know unicorns in this world may actually be evil!” Twilight patiently explained. “No, she's right, Twilight. What does it matter why they might've hurt her? Fact is we gotta figure out what happened!” The alicorn princess cast her friends another concerned look, then rapidly slowed to a halt, her friends taking a second longer to stop, putting both of them a few steps ahead of her. They turned to listen as she spoke, “Okay, first, AJ, Pinkie, we are not hurting anypony, okay? Second, I just realized if everypony's terrified of us, they're going to have already warned ponies off the streets, so we're going to have to go inside to look for ponies,” as she said it, everypony's ears perked to the sound of distant city bells ringing, making them stop for a moment. “Oh – I didn't mean hurting them,” Pinkie objected. “Pinkie!?” AJ called out, shock instantly shooting across her face as she looked down the street. Both of her friends looked to follow her gaze – just in time to see a pink head pop back inside a building on the left side of the street, a few hundred yards away, and for the brief moment they saw it, it looked like Pinkie's. “Nope, that's not me.” Pinkie shrugged. “But let's go meet her! We need to talk to somepony and she at least looks like me so that's a start.” Twilight led them across the street. Applejack gave both her friends a wide-eyed look as they started walking. “Is it just me, y'all, or did she look exactly like Pinkie?” “Down to the color of her eyes and her fluffiness of her mane!” The pink pony confirmed. “This place just gets weirder and weirder...” Applejack shook her head. “Well, whatever you do, just don't ask, 'how could this get worse?',” Twilight said with a half-humored grin and a nervous laugh. They'd made their way across the street, following close behind in a canter, when far up ahead a small group of uniformed ponies appeared around the corner of an intersection. It took Twilight only a moment to recognize what they were holding – and pointing at them. “BAD TWITCHY-TWITCH!” Pinkie cried, immediately summoning the strength to shove them both to the ground and to the side. Twilight cried out, her concentration on a shield spell broken as she was thrown to the ground. A salvo of cracks in the air heralded a cluster of bangs echoing down the street, and multiple sprays of red from Pinkie as she pushed her friends to the side. Two mares yelped in surprise, one in agony, all toppling to the ground in thunks. Pinkie's cry immediately collapsed into a tight grunting as she curled into a ball in a rapidly growing puddle of blood. Twilight's horn charged, her magic grabbed all of them, and in a flash they were a few inches off the ground in the nearby building they'd seen the mare in. The strange mare gasped. Her pink mane was just as curly and fluffy as Pinkie's normally was. The alicorn gently set her friends on the ground, casting a bubble of magic around all four ponies, and let all go except her most innocent friend, who started gurgling horribly as she shook, her mane now fully deflated. In a series of small flashes, tiny bits of metal and a small ball of blood appeared in the air next to Pinkie, splashing and clanking to the floor as her gurgling suddenly turned back to agonized breathing. Twilight’s horn was glowing. Pinkie’s wounds stopped bleeding, though the puddle from the ball of blood Twilight removed spread out until it reached her. “I-I'm sorry, Pinkie, I don't know how to numb the pain but I can – actually, I think I can!” Twilight cried out, her magic growing even more bright around her mortally wounded friend. Applejack, Pinkie's, and the new mare's eyes were all wide with horror and shock, but Twilight's were more focused, though just as terrified. Her magic lit around Pinkie's neck, and instantly her pained heaving was replaced by terrified, but regular breaths. “T-twilight, what – what did you do!? It – it doesn't hurt – I –” Pinkie stammered in surprise. “B-but, I can't feel – I can't feel anything!” Twilight's voice was distant, distracted. “Don't worry, Pinkie, I'm using my magic to do your breathing for you, but... I've kind of temporarily taken over your body with telekinesis. You won't feel pain this way.” “I-isn't there – isn't there any way to – ?” the new mare stammered in horror. “What about the guards outside? And Gold Will! I can't tell you how relieved I am to see you!” She turned to Applejack. “And surprised, to say the least.” Applejack took a surprised step back. “I – I ain't 'Gold Will'!” she exclaimed with frustration, then turned to her magical friend, “Wha-what happened to Pinkie, Twi!?” The alicorn's eyes were closed, she was carefully feeling her friend's injuries, internal and external, every damaged vein, bone and organ with her magic. She worked for a few long seconds before responding, everypony waiting “The bubble will block all sound, too, and it could stop a speeding train. Isn't there any way to do what? And she's been shot, AJ.” “Isn't there any way to – you know –” the new mare glanced side to side, her voice dropping to a whisper, “save her?” Twilight's voice was panicked and distracted again, “Of course. What do you think I'm doing? This – this is medical magic, not my usual repertoire and I'm not gonna lie, Pinkie, I'm not a surgeon... But it's just a subset of high-precision telekinesis and hydrokinesis. I can feel the blood pressure, though – and that's right, I can't make it all clot! But with big gaps missing I'm not sure how... Oh, yes! Perfect! Let's just add in a little permanent transfiguration...” The bullets floated back into the air in her magic, disappearing in teleporting pops. Twilight's horn started flaring ever brighter and she started straining, sweat forming on her face, then her magic stopped. She panted and barely caught herself, almost falling over from sheer exhaustion. AJ held out a hoof to catch her. “Wha-what just happened!? Was that some kinda – !?” The alicorn looked into her eyes, her own now tired but wild with terror. “I – I'm not a certified surgeon, AJ! I don't know anything about medicine, except vessels need to carry blood and there's the organs and – I've made living things with magic, before, though, so making pieces of living things is no different, right!? But she’s not some orange, she’s my friend – it's Pinkie! I – how do I know if I did it right!? Is she okay!? I – I think so! I replaced all the parts of her that were damaged! Did I do it right? Before I did this I didn't even think of her blood as a pressurized fluid but it is – of course it is, her heart beats! Did suppressing electrical activity in the upper spine do permanent damage? There's so much I don't know that I might've screwed up on!” Her words were shadowed by Pinkie's agonized crying. They both looked at her. “P-Pinkie? Are you okay? I mean – does it hurt as bad as before?” Applejack asked desperately. “N-no,” she forced out. “B-but it – it – no, it doesn't hurt like... like before at all...” She shook, holding her hooves to her chest. Applejack put her other hoof on Pinkie's shoulder, “I – I don't know all kinda medicine stuff, but – but Twilight's the best darn pony at magic alive, Pinkie! You'll be alright! Of course you did a good job, Twilight! She's still alive, isn't she!” she comforted, her own eyes tearing up. “That... That was amazing!” the new mare declared, her eyes lighting up as she looked over the rescued pony, then the alicorn. “You – you – how many bullets was that!? Like, four!? In vital areas, too!? You must be from Bastion! Or – you're all buck naked of course you're not, gotta be a shard-state! Unicorn Range? But you speak Delphinian! North Shades? South Shades? Crystal Mountains?” her enthusiasm and energy seemed to match Pinkie's, yet her voice and intonation had a very slightly more gruff tone. “Three,” Twilight corrected, confidence returning to her voice, “throat, upper back, and hips. I –” she turned to Pinkie, “I'm sorry I touched you in all those places. I kinda had to feel through – you know – your entire body and all...” Through her pained groaning, Pinkie giggled. “It – it's okay, doctor Sparkle! You... Nng!” she gritted her teeth in pain, “- you should be certified as a surgeon when... when we get back!” Twilight let out a single laugh of relief, tears coming to her eyes. Amazed at her friend's spirit holding through such injury, still trying to cheer her up. “It...” Pinkie started shaking again, “It was so scary when I couldn't breathe! Thank you, Twilight!” Although she didn't move from lying on her back, she threw her forelegs around Twilight as best as she could. Both of them started crying. Applejack finally answered the mare's question, “We're – we're from really far away. Not sure you'd believe us if we told ya. To be honest we don't even know where we are. Or why those darn ponies are – are doing this to us!” fury came into her voice. The mare was taken aback. “Oh, well – first off – oh you must be from the Unicorn Range! – I think I've heard of nudists up there! But you’re not nearly thick-furred enough… But you really came all the way here and don't know a thing about the The Order of the Hatten Vanguard?! Oh my gosh! We've still got that big squad on us – a unicorn came through here a few hours ago so they're everywhere – they'll be kicking in every door in the dome! I'm surprised they're not here yet!” She glanced around, “And I – oh they'd better not see me with all of you – except she looks just like me!” she said, looking at Pinkie, then back at Applejack. “And you – I can't believe you're not Gold Will! You'll have to tell me where you came from! Oh, so much going on at once!” she complained. Twilight answered, “I don't want to move her, miss – uh...” “Astilbe.” “Astilbe, I think she should stay still – at least for a few days. I – I didn't make any big cuts, but the bullets did, and what I transfigured in should blend smoothly with existing tissue but I'd like to give her time in case there's imperfections that need to heal. Is there any way we can hide here – ” she finally looked around the place, realizing it was a clothing store of some kind “wherever this is?” “Best place for contemporary everyday costumes! Uh, that won't really help us now, though. But you two can get dressed, at least, please! At least – Pinkie, was it? – at least Pinkie's got a reason to stay naked. But we should definitely get a blanket for her, and a towel to clean up this blood and such. But – oh that won't do us any good when they kick this door down and find us in here.” “You want us to go fancy ourselves up while one friend is missin', another's just been stabbed through with some freaky magic from a block away, an' we're hidin' from the ponies who did it who're searchin' for us!?” the farmhorse huffed. “Uh...” Astilbe looked between the pony and her injured friend, then stood up, “On second thought, I'll just grab you two some clothes real quick, and maybe a jacket or blanket. Also rifles aren’t magic, they’re weapons.” She stood up, and started looking through a clothes rack that was mostly inside Twilight's bubble. “Will this bubble hurt me if I touch it?” she asked. “No,” Twilight answered, “But okay – we can teleport out of here, but it’s dangerous. I need some way to know where we're going. Do you have something unique to a place we can hide? Or maybe – no, I don't want to try even more risky magic, though, we're already in enough danger...” The mare scoffed, and pulled some plain clothes off a rack and put them on her back. “It's worth the risk, trust me! We need to get out of here yesterday, or you'll all end up like your friend and worse. Then you'll say, 'physician, heal thyself!'.” She turned around and faced Twilight, “Does a dance count?” The alicorn blinked. “A dance?” “Yes, a dance. I do dances, but only on-stage. The theater's closed right now and – just trust me it's a safe place. Mmm, I can see it in my mind right now!” “Perfect! Picture it as clearly as you can!” Twilight started charging her horn. “Nono, I need you two!” Astilbe hopped forward, pulled AJ and Twilight onto their hindlegs and began can-canning between them, her eyes closing in glee as they simply blinked in surprise. “The ponies love it! It just makes them so happy! With you two naked and without earmarks they'd pay a lotta extra to see this show!” “Think of the stage, Astilbe!” Twilight demanded. “Oh, it's actual, honest-to-goodness new wood, only a century old!” Twilight took advantage of the moment and immediately fired off her spell. The store and magic bubble vanished from around them, immediately replaced with a stage, where they stood surrounded by curtains and a backstage on either side. Astilbe stopped dancing. “Aw, curtains closed already? I guess we're done for the night.” She walked next to Pinkie. “If the Hatten Vanguard shot ya you know you're doing something right, you know? Also, to all three of you, confession time; the Horus theater doesn't actually do redlight shows. But uh - sorry about dancing in the middle of all this - you just said to picture the theater as clearly as I could so I did...” Twilight found herself practicing the same 'ignore the crazy parts' technique she had to use to understand Pinkie. The pony looked as much like her as a Mirror Pool clone. “Think you can tell us where we are or what's going on, yet?” she asked the lookalike. Astilbe looked around, putting a hoof to her chin. “Hmm. Not quite. Who knows when some inspector may come knocking or some pony out of the loop may come sweepin' in. So where do we hide a body? A living body, of course! But still a body that we can't exactly go home with. She's got no papers if she's not from here!” She turned to the Equestrians in a quick snap, continuing, “Aha! Did you know the Horus theater also does – wonder shows? One hundred percent certified and inspected non-magic, of course!” She stood on her hindlegs and held her forehooves to each side in a grand, wizard-like gesture. “But you may be amazed and in awe of the wonders of science!” She fell back onto all fours and explained in a less grandiose voice, “The Hatten Academy of Sciences has already confirmed and approved our acts, of course, meaning as long as we don't change the routine the storage room for the equipment is strictly off-limits to the public – goodness knows we wouldn't want some of that equipment falling in the wrong hooves! But regular inventory checks aren't necessary since our successful shows are proof enough we still have all our approved equipment, so...” she cast a sly grin at them. “We have a room from which strange noises may come and few can access so it's the perfect place to hide an injured fugitive.” “So… you’re saying you've got a safe place we can take her and talk?” The alicorn asked again. “Well duh,” Astilbe rolled her eyes, then started trotting away, “just follow me.” “Wait just a moment!” Applejack objected, freezing Astilbe in her stride. “All the other ponies were freakin’ out and tryin’ to kill us ‘cause Twilight’s an alicorn. Why ain’t ya afraid of us like they were?” “I guess you really aren’t Gold Will… I’m not afraid of you because I found a book. A journal. That I got from some friends from far away… But I’ve already said too much, just, please, quickly, let’s go to that storage room, we can hide there.”