//------------------------------// // Ch.11 Proof of the Fantastical // Story: The Gaps in F r i e n d s h i p // by Arcanum -Phantasy //------------------------------// All was peaceful in the Castle of Friendship, its new house guests enjoying the gentle lull of the structure. After some of the brief traces of chaos that came up the day before during their tours, the four ponies could use some time to decompress. Spike thought about some of the stories they mentioned over dinner last night as he swept the library. Some of it was pretty funny, especially what happened to Bonbon at the Apple's, but one thing made him a little uneasy. *** "It would've been great if I could remember how good it all tasted," Bonbon grumbled as she took a swig of her apple juice. Everyone else laughed good naturedly at their friend's expense as they enjoyed an amazing vegetable stew Spike had cooked for them. The baby Dragon smiled at the mare's reaction to the Apple's cooking, knowing full well the level of skill most of the family had at their disposal. It was thanks to them that he knew how to make more than sandwiches and nachos, the later of which he had made for himself for dinner due to dietary requirements. "Hey, relax Bons," Vinyl smirked from her left. "At least you didn't almost blow up a building today." As she said that, she gave Lyra a cheeky smile, who glowered back at her. "I. SNEEZED!!!" she barked, cheeks red with embarrassment. "How the heck was I supposed to know that I'd shoot a laser doing that!" "You can't be serous," Octavia frowned, turning towards Twilight for confirmation. "She's telling the truth," Twilight sighed. Octavia's eyes widened at that. "Well that explains the light show," Lightning said casually as she took a swig of her water. "At least my flying lessons aren't going to take a building out. Good luck with that Princess Twilight." "Hey!" the two Unicorns and Alicorn exclaimed, earning a chorus of laughter from everyone present. "Anyway, I met my double today," Lyra smirked, staring at Octavia. "And?" Octavia said, tone betraying a trace of interest in spite of her stony expression. "It was love at first sight," Lyra sighed, a goofy smile decorating her face as she stared at her food. "The second I saw her, I just had to have her!" Octavia stared at her, a heavy silence filling the room before she broke it with a sigh. "I will have your money ready when we get home." "Thank you," she smirked. "But seriously, my double is a total weirdo." "Hey pot," Lightning smirked. "Names kettle. Guess what, you're black." "Hey, I'm not that bad," she pouted. "You tried to purpose to Sunset's mom just because she was from a magic kingdom," Vinyl said flatly. Twilight and Spike's jaws hit the floor at that. "You did what?!" Twilight gawked. "What did she say?" Spike asked. Everyone turned towards the Dragon, all bearing a deadpan. "What?" he shrugged. "Just curious." "Anyway," Lyra, continued, earning everyone's attention again. "The second my double found out I was from another world, she got this really creepy smile on her face and started asking me a bunch of questions." "What kind of questions, love?" Octavia asked, a trace of concern in her tone. "Stuff like what I was at home and what kind of gadgets we had over there. I didn't tell her about the portal or anything like that, cuz she was seriously starting to creep me out." "Did you tell her about us?" Lightning asked, a trace of edge in her tone. "Nah, I kept you all out of it," she smiled. "But I think she knows about Vinyl since she was with me." "Ah damn it," Vinyl grumbled. "I forgot about that. Great." "That's a bit....disconcerting," Octavia frowned. "Perhaps we should stay close to the castle for the time being, just in case." "Aw come on Tavi," Lightning groaned. "We finally get a lay of the land and you want to hide in the castle from a wild Lyra?" "It's just as a precaution," she amended, raising a hoof in a placating manner. "Yeah, yeah," Lightning grumbled, stuffing a spoonful of food into her muzzle. "You didn't tell her about the castle, right?" Twilight asked. "Nah," she smiled, shaking her head. "I told her I was sleeping at a hotel on the other side of town." "That's good," she sighed. "I don't want to have to recalibrate the castle's defenses again so close to Hearths Warming. It's always such a huge drain on me." *** Spike shivered at the thought of Native Lyra infiltrating the castle. While he didn't hold anything against the human obsessed Unicorn, her reputation made her something of a suspicious character in town. Fortunately, her skills with a harp caused her to take a significant number of out of town gigs. A fact that let the already chaos-prone town to take a breather from her brand of madness. With a sigh, he shifted his attention back to his chores, taking comfort in the familiar monotony. Suddenly, a chill shot down his spine, making him drop the broom with a yelp. "W-What the hay was that?" he stammered, picking his broom back up. After giving the library a quick once over, he resumed his sweeping. As he did, a single yellow eye watched him through a cracked open door. Slowly, his observer moved away from and closed the door, a noise dampening spell hiding her hoofsteps from the castle's inhabitants. *** Lightning Dust let out a groan as she dragged herself back into the waking world. While she wasn't a morning person per se, she wasn't the type to oversleep either, hating how sluggish it made her feel thoughout the day. This was compounded by how her new body operated, with her wings feeling like a pair of lead weights if they fell asleep on her. Never before had she wondered what it would be like to have her shoulder blades go numb before coming to Equestria and now she knew from first hand experience. "Lucky me," she yawned as she stepped out of bed and made her way towards the bathroom. As she reached for the doorknob, a strange feeling came over her. She froze, ears unconsciously swiveling as she looked around for what could've been giving her such a feeling. Suddenly, a sharp pain from her flak made her yelp, dragging her attention to it. Any swears she had died on her tongue as she stared wide-eyed at a blowdart sticking out of her right cheek. Before she could let out a cry for help, her whole body went numb and fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. As her eyes grew heavy, a mint-green Unicorn stepped into the room, a wide grin plastered across her face and a blowgun held in her magic. As everything turned black, a single thought echoed through her head. Aw fuck me... *** Octavia let out a pleased hum as warm water ran through her mane and down her barrel. While being technically naked twenty-four seven was a new experience for her, it did make the necessary steps to get ready in the morning a lot shorter. Granted, working her hooves took some getting used to in addition to using a separate shampoo to clean her coat instead of a simple bar of soap. Trifling things in the grand scheme of things, but key in the ever important quest to appear presentable. After a quick lather and rinse, she reluctantly turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Navigating the hazy bathroom, she found some towels to dry herself off with. When she dried herself as throughly as she could with them, she picked up a hair dryer off of the bathroom counter and finished the job, all the while humming happily to herself. After a few minutes of that, she switched the hairdryer for a brush to tame her now windswept mane. Curious. This world seems almost devoid of technology, yet they have devices such as hairdryers and sewing machines. Maybe magic has something to do with it. After making sure her mane was properly brushed, she took a moment to admire herself in the mirror. While she wasn't an expert on pony appeal, she did have to admit that she looked quite fetching by her standards. While shamelessly posing, she noticed something in the corner of the room reflected in the hazy mirror. Frowning, she turned towards the object. The second she did, a towel flew into her face, flooding her senses with darkness and the strong smell of chemicals. With a panicked scream, she struggled to get the towel off of her face, but to no avail. Eventually, whatever the towel was soaked in started to take effect and her eyes started to get heavy. With a desperate groan, she fell to the floor, knocking the towel away from her face. As she started to blackout, a mint-green blob started to close in on her, a golden glow centered on what looked like a horn at its peak. "Wh-what....?" was all she could manage before the darkness claimed her. *** Bonbon hummed a happy tune as she stepped out of the shower, eager to get more of Spikes godly pancakes or anything else the Master Chef Dragon wanted to surprise her with. As a sweet maker herself, she admitted to being outclassed by the youngster. Granted, she mainly worked with candy, but it was still something that made her nod her head in appreciation to him as a confectioner. If he was about seven years older and a different species, she thought ruefully as she made her bed. There's always something isn't there? Suddenly, a light melody started to fill the room. Intrigued, she sat and listened to it, a faint smile starting to form on her muzzle. It was a soft, gentle tune that brought to mind lazy afternoons at the beach, scenic routes through forest trails on a sunny day, and other such calming images. Dimly, she became aware that she was swaying slightly to the music, all the while trying to place the instrument that was being used. It sounded so familiar, like a memory just outside her reach to recall. Slowly, her mind started to grow hazy, the music demanding more and more of her attention by the second. Soon, all she could think about was the music and how peaceful it was. Her head slowly started to droop as her eyes gradually grew too heavy to keep open. It was when she finally fell asleep that she figured out why the instrument sounded so familiar. How could she forget what her closest friend's favorite instrument sounded like after all? *** Vinyl strolled casually down the halls towards the dinning room, an eager smirk spread across her muzzle as she closed in on her target. Countless possible delights ran through her head as she tried to guess what kind of spread awaited her. Waffles? Bacon and eggs? No wait, ponies don't eat meat. Damn. Maybe some kind of veggie omelet? Hmmm. It surprised her how quickly she managed to adapt to a mostly vegetarian diet since coming to Equestria. Especially when she considered how much she loved burgers back home. A part of her suspected that her new body had something to do with it. If that was true, she silently thanked the portal for letting her turn into a pony. The last thing everyone needed was a Vinyl Scratch suffering burger withdrawal. She was so lost in her musings that she didn't notice the mint-green figure hiding in the shadows to her left until it was too late. A muffled yelp slipped past her lips as a pair of forelegs grabbed her and dragged her into the shadows, a hoof holding a foul smelling rag over her muzzle as she struggled. Slowly, the drug coating the rag started to take effect and the DJ's strength faded. When she went limp, her capturer lowered her to the ground, a manic smile decorating her muzzle as she observed her handy work. One left, she thought, a crazed chuckle slipping past her lips. *** Lyra smiled as she let herself into the kitchen, the sweet smells of breakfast summoning her like a siren's song. Her heart leapt with joy as she saw a plate of chocolate chip pancakes waiting for her at the table, still fresh and steaming with a tall glass of orange juice next to it. Licking her lips, she power-walked towards the table to devour her offering of fluffy paradise. Just when she was about to take a bite, she paused, noticing that something didn't seem right. It was quiet, a fact that probably didn't mean much to an outside observer, but for Lyra, it was a massive red flag. Especially when she remembered that Vinyl and Lightning were in the building. Another thing she noticed was the fact that there was only one plate set on the table. Okay, this screams trap, she thought as she stepped away from the table. Suddenly, the doors and windows slammed shut, making her jump into the closest thing to a defensive stance her body could manage. A split-second flash of light above her caught her attention as small silver orb fell to the floor. The second it made contact, a dense purple cloud of smoke poured out of it. In seconds, the room was flooded with the smoke, making the trapped Unicorn cough and wheeze. All the while, her vision started to blur and darken as the chemicals in the smoke started to take effect. Coughing and stumbling, she tried to move towards a nearby window only to fall over as a result. Desperately, she struggled to stay awake as she crawled towards the window, but as her limbs started to numb, she could tell it was a futile effort. As she started to black out, she saw a figure moving towards her in the mist, a golden glow surrounding them. Really should've asked......how......to do......that....... *** Lyra groaned, her head throbbing as she came back to the waking world. At first all she could see were a bunch of colorful blurs in dim darkness. That changed quickly when she realized she couldn't move as adrenalin obliterated the remainder of her grogginess. Panicking, her vision instantly cleared and she turned her head around to get a handle on her situation. She was tightly tied to a chair with only her neck and head being left unrestrained. The room she was in was cold and dim with solid stone walls and a low-hanging wooden ceiling with visible beams. All of the crates on one half of the room suggested that it was some kind of storage room while the table in front of her made it clear that the room had additional uses. Hanging from the ceiling above the table was an old drawstring lamp providing the room with its only source of light. Bound to chairs in a similar manner to her, her friends were sat around the table, all of them slowly coming to as well. "Ugh, fuck drinking," Lightning groaned, blearily blinking as she tried to wake up. "The next time someone tries to stick me with something, I'll knock their head off." "Seconded," Vinyl groaned, red eyes visible in the absence of her shades as she grimaced. "Thought that chloroform shit only worked in movies." "Apparently not," Octavia frowned, briefly struggling against her bindings. "W-What's going to happen to us?"Bonbon whimpered as she frantically tried to break free from her chair. "I-I wish I could tell ya," Lyra said, trying to hide the fear in her voice. "I can." A cold chill shot down everyone's spine at the familiar-sounding voice. Slowly, they turned their heads towards its source and collectively gulped. Equestrian Lyra gave them all a bright smile as she stepped down the stares towards her captive guests, oblivious to the looks of sheer terror on their faces. Happily humming, she approached the table with a small gray metal box hovering behind her in her magic grip. "You five are going to help me prove the existence of one of the greatest legends in Equestrian history," she beamed, setting the box onto the table. "A-And how are we going to do that?" Octavia asked with a shaky smile. "Oh, just a snip here. A sample there. No biggie." As she said that, she opened the box and levitated out several tools. Most of them were harmless things such as petri dishes and test tubes, but when a knife and pair of scissors came into view all hell broke loose. "I SWEAR IF YOU COME NEAR ME WITH THAT, I'LL MAKE YOU EAT IT!!!" Lightning snarled, struggling against her ropes. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!!" Bonbon wailed, tears falling down her face. "Geez, calm down," Equestrian Lyra cringed, setting the knife aside. "I'm just going to take mane and feather samples from you all. That's it!" "And the knife?" Octavia said evenly, keeping her fear well hidden from their capturer. "I need to take hoof and horn shaving samples from my double to compare them to mine." This made the Terran Lyra flinch, an action that didn't go unnoticed by the Unicorn. "Don't worry," she said, leveling an understanding smile as she approached her. "It won't hurt. It's like picking off an old scab." As the Unicorn closed in on her, knife and petri dish held afloat in her magic, Lyra tried to tap into her own magic as a means to escape. Her heart sank as she realized she couldn't feel her magic at all. Equestrian Lyra frowned, slowly setting the knife to her double's horn. "Don't strain yourself," she said, gently scraping the blade against the captive Unicorn's horn and collecting the resulting dust into the dish. "You don't want to force your way past a horn suppressor." Helpless, she stopped trying to use her magic and just went with what was happening as her double took the knife to her hooves. "There," she smiled, sealing the samples and storing them in the metal box. "Was that so hard?" Lyra glared daggers at her Equestrian double. "Well," she gulped. "Moving on." As she said that she levitated five small containers onto the table and switched the knife for a pair of scissors. With laser precision and speed, she snipped a half-inch piece of everyponie's mane and levitated them into their own containers. Lightning let out a yelp as one of her feathers was plucked and levitated into another container. "And now that that's all taken care of," she smiled as she lowered all of her samples and tools back into the metal box and levitated it to a far corner of the room. "Let's get to the interview!" "Interview?" Vinyl asked, her and everyone else a great deal calmer now that the tools were gone. "Yep!" Equestrian Lyra smirked. "Okay?" Octavia said, raising a brow. "What do you want to know?" "Well, where's your ship?" she asked. The group blinked, not sure they heard her properly. "Our what?" Lightning asked. "Your spaceship," Equestrian Lyra said, and eager smile growing on her muzzle. "We don't have one," Vinyl said flatly. "What do you think we are, aliens?" "It was one theory," she shrugged. That earned an amused snort out of Lyra. "Well then," Equestrian Lyra smirked. "How did you all get here." A moment of silence passed as the captured ponies tried to think of something to say. "Princess Twilight summoned us," Octavia said calmly. Equestrian Lyra raised a brow at that, then put a hoof to her chin and hummed in thought. "So a summoning ritual. That makes some sense actually. If that's the case then more study would be required for my theory to hold any water." She stared at Octavia and asked, " Is that why you all look like ponies?" "Yes," she said flatly, holding a perfect pokerface. "It was so we wouldn't draw too much attention to ourselves. A futile attempt it would seem." "Ah, makes sense," she nodded. "Humans would naturally stand out like a sore hoof here." "Hey, I've got a question," Vinyl growled. "Yes?" "Why didn't you just ask us this stuff yesterday? Why kidnap us like this?" A manic grin started to grow on her face as she said, "Are you serious? If I started to interview you then and there, Princess Twilight would've tried to confiscate any findings I made. After so many years of painstaking research, I finally found flesh and blood evidence of one of Equestria's greatest legends! There is no way I was going to let an opportunity like that pass me by!" "And the rope?" Lightning asked flatly. "A safety precaution," she said, casually waving a hoof at her. "Can't be too careful considering all the legends about your kind." Suddenly, Equestrian Lyra's eyes widened as she realized she missed something. "Aw how stupid of me," she groaned, face-hoofing. "Um....what?" Bonbon sniffled, earning a flinch from both Lyras. "I, uh, missed a human," she said, face a strange mix of guilty and crazed. "I heard some ponies talking about two Fluttershys walking around yesterday." Everyone's eyes widened at that as the native Lyra quickly made her way towards the stares. "I'll be right back," she called as she ran up the stares and slammed the door shut behind her. The five Terrans stared at each other in shock, not sure what to make of their situation. "So, what do we do now?" Lightning asked, leveling a glare at Lyra. "Charades?" Lyra offered weakly. "You smell that?" Vinyl asked, crinkling her snout as a sharp stink filled the room. "Indeed," Octavia scowled, looking around. "What is that?" "W-Well," Bonbon frowned, fidgeting in her seat. "She pulled out a knife." Everyone stared at her in confusion before a steady dripping caught their attention. A dripping that seemed to be coming from Bonbon's chair. "Oh," Octavia said, awkwardly. "When this all over, I'm gonna punch her," Bonbon muttered, cheeks burning. "I do believe there is going to be a line," Octavia frowned. Everyone nodded in agreement. *** Equestrian Fluttershy hummed a happy tune as she worked in the kitchen, all of the windows covered to give the house a dark and gloomy feel. In spite of that, the yellow Pegasus was on cloud nine as she made enough oatmeal for two. A glance at the two bowls she had setup in advance brought a happy squee out of her at what they meant as she worked. A brief flash of light in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Curious, she turned towards the light. A second later, a black bag was forced over her head from behind. Panicking, she flailed blindly behind her with her hooves, screaming in terror. Grimacing, Equestrian Lyra pulled a bottle out of a pair of sattle bags on her barrel with her magic. Just a couple drops and nighty-night, she thought, struggling to pull the cork out of the bottle with her magic while holding her target. "Excuse me," a soft, calm voice said from the darkest corner of the kitchen. "But what do you think you're doing?" Both ponies froze, a great relief settling in the yellow Pegasus while cold dread filled her attacker. All the warmth in the room seemed to drain away as Equestrian Lyra turned her head towards the voice. A pair of glowing red eyes greeted her from the void, freezing her to her soul in the face of their barely contained rage.The Unicorn struggled to find her voice as the demon took slow, deliberate steps towards her. Her heart pounded in her chest as the gap between her and those eyes grew thinner by the second. Pure terror flooded her as Fluttershy stepped out of the shadows into the dim light of the kitchen, a deep scowl defacing her normally sweet face. "Well?" she said through clenched teeth, a glint coming off her fangs. "What. Do. You. Think. You. Are. Doing?" *** "I spy with my little eye something....brown," Lyra said dully. "Wood?" Lightning groaned. "Yep. Your turn." Lightning groaned as she let her head fall limp into her chest. "I must admit," Octavia sighed. "Never before had I considered boredom to be an effective form of torture." A deep snore filled the room as Vinyl's head shifted position. "She really can sleep anywhere, can't she?" Bonbon frowned. "Yep," Lightning grimaced. Yet another moment of silence befell the group as they struggled to find a way to kill time. "Hey," Lightning smirked. "Do you think she "walked in" on them?" "Really Lightning?" Bonbon sighed. "Hey, if what Octavia said is true, those two are absolutely nuts about each other." All conscious party members turned towards the pony in question, who nodded in the affirmative. "And she didn't come back to the castle last night," Lightning smirked impishly. "A blessing considering the circumstances," Octavia grumbled. "So, do you think other me is dead yet?" Lyra said flatly. Everyone looked at her in shock at that, each receiving a blank look. "She used Spike's cooking as bait. She gets no mercy from me." "Oooooohhhhhhh," everyone chorused, nodding in understanding. "Pancakes!" Vinyl snorted, waking with a start, only to frown as she took in her surroundings. "How long was I out?" she yawned. "About ten minutes I think," Bonbon said with a trace of uncertainty. "Really?" Vinyl asked, raising a brow. "One, what the hell is taking her so long? And two, how do you know?" "Don't know about one, but I've spent this whole time counting from about half an hour after she left to now." "That bored, huh?" she smirked. "Says the girl who fell asleep," Bonbon said evenly. "Touche," Vinyl laughed. Suddenly, the basement door slammed open and the sound of multiple hoofsteps could be heard coming down the stares. In addition to a shellshocked Lyra, Equestrian Bonbon and both Fluttershys ran down the stares to the bound mares. "I am so sorry about all this," Equestrian Bonbon said, a look of mortification decorating her face as she untied her counterpart. "She's never done this sort of thing before. I swear she isn't like this normally." "Good to know," she said, letting out a relieved sigh as she slid off of the chair. "Thanks by the way." Once everyone was free, a loud cacophony of groans and snaps filed the room as stiff joints and muscles were stretched. After all that was out of the way, they collectively turned towards their jailor, ready to enact their own brand of justice. An urge that died almost immediately when they saw the state of the mare. She sat, almost lifelessly while staring at a wall and strumming a small harp. "Uh, is she going to be okay?" Lyra asked, concerned for her double in spite of recent events. "I hope so," Fluttershy frowned, her red eyes showing a trace of guilt as she stared at the mare. "Damn Flutters," Lightning whistled, eyeing the other Lyra with concern. "What did you do to her?" "Let's just say," she growled. "We had a little "chat" about sneaking up on people." "O-Oh," Lightning gulped. "Well, looks like she got the message." "A little too well," Fluttershy sighed, turning towards her Equestrian counterpart, shame heavy in her features. Said Pegasus noticed and gave her an understanding smile, which eased her pain a little as she turned back to her friends. "I think she'll be okay once she gets over the shock." "I hope so," Lyra said, giving her double a sad smile. "All things considered, she seems like a pretty cool pony." At that moment, now no longer restrained by a suppressor, a tiny glimmer of magic formed around her horn and a faint image flashed into her minds eye. A forest almost choked by thick muddy swampland infested with large insectoid creatures and slimes. She blinked and stared at her double and sighed, the onset of a migraine making itself apparent. Looks like things are gonna get complicated.