//------------------------------// // Canterlot Part 4 - The Royal Inspection // Story: Mission to the Pony Planet // by ersmiller //------------------------------// “Halt!” “I’d like to see the officer on duty,” Twilight politely replied as the lead courtyard guard cantered up to her. The lead guard gestured to a Wonderbolt who flew off at high speed. The guard, two other Wonderbolts, and six other guards took up positions around Twilight, Spike, and two Rainbow Dashes, one of whom was wearing a Stetson hat. Following behind Twilight’s group were two more Wonderbolts and three pegasus guards who joined the rest of the castle protectors. The Wonderbolts gave one of the Rainbow Dashes sheepish looks as they passed. Twilight simply sat down where she was and motioned for her group to do the same. It was only a minute later that the Wonderbolt returned with a guard officer in tow. Twilight saw him and smiled. “Captain Rotund Shield. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, confirmation I.D. six-one-eight-zero-three-three-nine-eight-eight-seven. And I vouch for the ponies with me as well as those you may have already taken into custody matching the descriptions of the Harmony Bearers and any more that may show up, so long as there are no more than two of each.” Captain Rotund Shield had snapped to attention upon hearing the code and saluted the princess. “Yes, understood, Your Highness.” He gave the apparent twins a curious glance. “May I ask?” Twilight looked over her friends and sighed. “It’s complicated. It’s not so much a secret as it is too long to get into right now. I’ll have you filled in later. For now, I’d like to make use of the West Conference Solarium, and be aware that Fluttershy—a Fluttershy, will be arriving soon from Canterlot Carousel.  Please have her directed in.” The captain nodded to Twilight and then to a guard who cantered toward the castle. “Your group may proceed now. Should I retrieve the others from holding and send them up?” “Right away, please. And, actually …,” Twilight turned to the Rainbow Dash wearing a Stetson, “you should go with them to give our friends a familiar face so they aren’t worried about the sudden move.” “Oh! Sure,” the Stetson’d Rainbow replied, giving her twin another look, and trading boastful smirks, before hovering toward the captain. “If any are available,” Twilight continued, “notify at least one of the other princesses or my brother and have them join us, but it can wait if they’re busy.” “Will do, Your Highness.” the captain put his pastern to his forehead again and kept it there as he waited. Twilight, looking a bit confused for a moment, eventually saluted back. “Dismissed?” Letting his salute drop, the captain pointed to the Rainbow Dash near him and two guards before turning and leading them to a small building off to the side while Twilight led Spike and the other Rainbow Dash forward toward the castle. Rainbow looked to Twilight with a raised eyebrow. “What were those numbers?” “A new anti-Chrysalis measure. We can’t just keep doing the Ladybugs Awake dance every time,” Twilight paused for a giggle. “Though I’d love to see Celestia and Luna do that. Currently it’s just the princesses that have I.D. codes as a trial, but I was planning to give them to each of you as well. Only a select few guards and the other princesses know the codes.” “And me!” added Spike. “And I guess I know yours now,” Rainbow commented, a bit miffed she hadn’t been told before. “But how long will you remember it?” poked Spike. “Uh.” “Exactly.” *** *** “Well, locked up or not, at least that’s a wonderful dress, darling,” commented a Rarity wearing a five layer gown. “It’s a pity the lighting is so poor in here, but it was quite lovely in the sunlight.” “Why thank you, darling,” answered a Rarity in a red dress. “And I see you finished the design I was working on back in Ponyville. It’s just how I envisioned it!” “It is?!” gown Rarity exclaimed. “Oh thank you, darling, I had hoped it would be! I was worried you might not like it but I had seen your design and the gems and I was just suddenly struck with uncontrollable—“ ““Inspiration!”” the two Rarities called out together before falling into giggles. Amid more “darlings” than she thought ever possible, Applejack sat nearby in the same cell silently looking from Rarity to Rarity. Not that she would have been able to get in a word had she tried with the rapid giddiness of their conversation. She tried to look for differences between them, aside from clothing, but was having a hard time. Perhaps the pony Rarity, in the red dress, seemed a little more refined. Hair, tail, and fur better kept, but that could just be her experience with being a pony simply making it easier to keep all that stuff nice and orderly. Though, their voices …. It was very slight, but pony Rarity sounded a little deeper. Her Rarity did mention their ponies were years older. Would her Rarity sound like that after college? She allowed herself a small smile. So what would pony Rarity look like in their world? Before the blush could spread, the door to their cell block opened revealing three guard ponies and a Rainbow Dash. “Dash?!” Applejack called. “AJ?” Rainbow replied, racing past the guards. “I got your hat!” “What do you mean you got …?” Applejack trailed off when she saw Rainbow fly up to their cell wearing a familiar hat. “Huh,” Rainbow uttered seeing Applejack also wearing a familiar hat. “Guess it’s the other Applejack’s hat. Which one are you?” “We met at the Freshman Fair, assuming you haven't always been a pony.” “Just today.” “Oh!” popped the Rarity in a five layer gown. “Then we met there as well!” “Rarity!” Rainbow cheered before noticing the third occupant in the cell. “Uh, Rarities? Neat.” “Yes, darling,” the same Rarity replied, “look who we found!” “Pleased to meet you, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity in a red dress tittered. “Does this mean we’re getting out of here?” Applejack asked. “Yep!” Rainbow answered, with an air of importance. “Not only did I find the pony Rainbow, I also found pony Fluttershy, dragon Spike, and pony Twi!” Noting the tone of voice, Applejack rolled her eyes, “That’s great, but it weren’t a competition, Dash.” “But if it was I’d have won!” “Uh huh,” Applejack deadpanned as the guards reached their cell to unlock it. “Princess Twilight is setting up a place for all of you to meet in the castle,” the guard captain announced. “I’m sorry to have had you all locked up in here, but we weren’t sure what was going on.” “Oh, it’s water under the bridge, good sir,” eased dress Rarity. “No harm done as far as I can see, and you were just doing your jobs.” “Thank you, ma’am." "Though, would it have hurt you at all to outfit the cell with some drapes? A rug perhaps?" "And those benches are so hard," gown Rarity added, "standing was more comfortable." Applejack caught the eyes of the guards and shrugged an apology. "Uh, we shall take that under advisement," the captain offered. "Private Pointy Spear here will lead you to the meeting place while we release the rest of your friends in the other blocks.” The two Rarities and Applejack nodded and followed the lone guard out while Rainbow, the captain, and the other guard headed for the next cell block. “See you there!” Rainbow called to them. *** *** *** Arriving in the second cell block, Rainbow and the two remaining guards were surprised to see what appeared to be shimmering lights from a disco ball. They could smell freshly baked desserts, and hear dance music. The three of them looked at each other. “Pinkie,” Rainbow explained, and the guards nodded. Rounding the corner they could see Fluttershy, another Applejack, and Pinkie Pie all chatting and together while waiting for their exoneration. “So much for being worried,” Rainbow commented. “Rainbow!” gushed Fluttershy upon noticing her and rushed up to the cell bars. “Um, which one are you?” “ ‘We have Chemistry together’.” Fluttershy giggled at the callback and gestured to the Applejack without a hat. “I met pony Applejack.” “Heh,” Rainbow scratched the back of her head, “I guess I did too.” “Yes you did,” Applejack replied, walking up to the bars, “and nearly broke my body to pieces in the process.” Rainbow chuckled nervously and tipped Applejack’s hat back at her. “Saved your hat though.” Applejack reached through the bars with her muzzle and flipped the hat back up to where it belonged. “Does this mean we’re getting out of here?” “Yep! Twi’s got a place we’re meeting at in the castle.” Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief. “Great!” cheered Pinkie. “I have more cupcakes! Let me just pack everything up.” Quickly zipping around, Pinkie began packing up her party supplies into her mane and tail. The cell block suddenly darkened as the disco ball plopped into the pink mass. She made sure to leave one cupcake for each of the guards. The guard captain cleared his throat, unlocking the cell door and receiving one of the cupcakes in a hoof. “Thank you, Miss Pinkie Pie. And I’m sorry to have had you all locked up in here, but we weren’t sure what was going on.” “That’s alright, sirs,” Applejack answered. “A lot going on this week. Understandable you wanted to keep a tight ship.” “Thank you, ma’am. Private Mirror Shield here will lead you to the meeting place while we release your other friend.” Applejack and Fluttershy nodded and followed the lone guard out. Pinkie Pie grabbed a cupcake for him and rushed forward. “Don’t forget your cupcake!” “See you there!” Rainbow called to them, already following the captain to a third cell block. “Again.” *** *** *** “Huh?” questioned Rainbow Dash, staring at an empty cell. Well, almost empty. A single party hat sat in the center of the floor on top of a doughnut. “Hrmm,” the captain groaned. *** *** Twilight, Spike, and Rainbow Dash sat around a large conference table with twenty pony cushions waiting for their friends from two worlds to arrive. Plenty of windows lined one wall, opposite some cabinets, with a set of doors leading to a balcony. Another wall had doors leading to a hallway. A cart of refreshments had already arrived, courtesy of the castle staff. Spike was crunching into his second sapphire and loading a plate with a slice of cake and some fruit to make it look like he didn’t just want the cake and gems. Rainbow was munching on a Sweet Apple Acres Apple Brown Betty to carbo-load in preparation for the inevitable competition she’d have with her counterpart, having already completed a set of stretches. The group all looked up when the hall door opened, and a guard led in an Applejack and two Rarities before bowing and taking his leave. The Rarities were still chatting and giggling with each other, the Applejack behind them seemed pleased they were getting along and smiling with them. “Girls!” Twilight greeted them, stopping short of the Rarities, next to the refreshments cart. “Wow. Is this what it was like when you saw me meet the other me?” “It is a bit strange,” replied the Rarity in a five layer gown. “But I am quite happy to have met my twin.” The other Rarity smiled back at her. “Um,” Twilight looked at the three of them, “which Applejack are you?” “Met you back in CHS,” she answered. “Okay, now which Rarity is which?” The Rarity in the red dress smiled and replied, “Would you care to guess, darling?” A moment later she, the other Rarity, and Applejack laughed at Twilight’s attempts to analyze them from various angles. “Pony?” Twilight asked the Rarity in the red dress. “Why do you say that?” she asked. “Well, I suppose it’s cheating, but I recognize that dress design from when you were sketching it out with the others for this week.” The Rarities giggled harder. “Wait!” came Spike’s voice from around the table. “The Rarities are here? Both of them?!” Spike came around the table into view. Applejack watched the baby dragon with interest. The Rarity in the gown smiled warmly at him. The Rarity in the dress shrieked, grabbed a platter off the refreshments cart in her magic, and screamed, “GIANT LIZARD!” before using that platter to slap Spike out the door hard enough to propel him down the hall with a deafening clang. “That thing was huge! Are there many like that?” Twilight’s eyes shot open almost as quickly as Spike shot down the hall and rushed after him. The Rarity in the gown gasped and ran after them. “Spikey-wikey!” “Spike!?  That was Spike!?” asked the Rarity in the dress, holding a severely dented platter in her magic. “Oh dear.” Applejack took a step aside and turned to watch the two ponies race after the dragon projectile. “Ah hope he’s okay!” “He’ll be fine,” Rainbow assured them, watching, lounging back with her hind legs resting on the conference table. “He’s been through worse.” “Are you quite certain?” Rarity asked, looking at the platter, now vaguely shaped like a head, as she tried to get her magic to drop it back onto the cart. “Oh yeah. Dragons are very durable, and I’ve seen Spike shake off a lot of hits before.” Applejack and Rarity breathed a sigh of relief and Applejack walked forward. “So you’re the pony Rainbow Dash, eh?” “Heh, yeah,” Rainbow answered and got up to get a closer look at this new Applejack. “And you’re the not pony Applejack.” “We call ourselves humanes.” “Huh. Like in the old myths? Daring Do found statues of some.” “Well we have unicorns and pegasus’es in our myths too.” “Pegasi. Daring said that there used to be an island of hoomanes a long time ago.” A clatter interrupted them when Rarity decided to just tweak her horn again to get the platter to drop. “Sorry,” she told the two, “Still working on that.” A sound of hooves delayed the conversation further as another guard led in a Fluttershy, a Pinkie Pie, and another Applejack. Fluttershy and Pinkie brightened up upon seeing their friends. The two Applejacks stopped and stared at each other. Sizing each other up. The Applejack just arriving used a hoof to push her hat back. The other did as well. They both narrowed their eyes. The Applejack in the hall pawed the ground as the other flexed her hooves as if tensing up to prepare to grab something. Outside, a bird give three slow, dramatic whistles which were echoed by a chorus of other birds. The moment held. The other four girls glanced from one to the other, feeling the very air in the room tighten around them. Then. Suddenly. Both Applejacks let out loud guffaws. Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Rarity shot each other confused glances while Pinkie just giggled and got some cake. “”Well ain’t that just a hoot!”” both Applejacks said through their laughter. ”We're just like each other,” the Applejack in the room continued. The two Applejacks began circling each other, getting a better look as more hooves announced the return of Twilight and gown Rarity, a slightly dizzy Spike on Twilight’s back. ""Twilight!"" Fluttershy, Pinkie, and an Applejack cheered. Twilight nodded to them with a smile before walking straight up to the Rarity in a red dress. “Not pony,” she said simply, pointing to her. “Yes,” Rarity replied sheepishly, “we switched clothes before arriving.” Hearing this, one of the Applejacks blushed slightly, the memory coming back to her. “Is Spike going to be alright?” “Spike?” asked Fluttershy, leaning in for a better look. “Oh my. So cute,” she whispered to herself. “The little wings. He-he.” “I’ll be fine!” he answered with bravado, jumping down from Twilight’s back and stumbling slightly. “I’m so very sorry, Spike.” Dress Rarity bent down to him as gown Rarity walked up beside her. “I’m so used to you being a fuzzy widdle puppy.” “Puppy?” asked gown Rarity. Spike blushed. “Spike turns into a puppy going through the portal like how ponies become humanes,” Twilight explained. “And vice-versa as we’ve now confirmed.” Rainbow spit out a laugh. “Oohh! A little Puppy-Spikey!” gown Rarity cooed. “That must be so adorable!” “Oh he is!” agreed dress Rarity with a giggle that spread through both Rarities, Fluttershy, and Pinkie. The amount of purple in Spike’s scales was quickly overwhelmed by the growing red, especially after getting a look at the two Rarities standing next to each other and giggling down at him. “Wow …,” he swooned at them, his voice trailing off along with his apparent life signs. Twilight bent down to him. “Spike?” She waved a hoof in front of his face. “Spike? Hay. Hello?” Gown Rarity continued giggling at him, while the aliens seemed confused. “Looks like the boy’s going to be out of it for a while,” an Applejack commented on her way to the refreshments cart to grab an apple. "Come on, Sugarcube," she called to her twin. "These apples here are from Sweet Apple Acres. Give you a taste of the best fruit this side of the multiverse." The other Applejack followed her, noting how her counterpart had simply taken the apple in her teeth while on the move to a cushion around the conference table. She tried the same but missed the first two times before finally grabbing it, and turned with the apple in her mouth, blushing slightly at the silliness of it all, then sat on the cushion next to her counterpart. She had just started eating, eyes wide in wonderment at the magical taste of the pony world fruit, as Twilight walked past them with a catatonic Spike in her magic. She was sitting him down next to his plate when another Fluttershy flew in from the balcony and trotted up to her. “Well, I checked the boutique. According to Sassy Saddles, who seems to be very jittery right now, it sounded like two Rarities, two Applejacks, and the other me were there. My choir birds said they had been following other me, but they lost track and I didn’t find any of—oh!” she stopped upon Twilight pointing to the side where Fluttershy saw two Applejacks eating apples. One of them seemed to be staring off into space and drooling. “Are they all here already?" She looked around. "Oh dear. What happened to Spike?” “One too many Rarities,” Twilight explained. Fluttershy began to inspect Spike when another voice took her attention to the hallway. "It's wonderful to finally find you here, Twi." There was another Fluttershy there. That Fluttershy continued, "We really need your—" They made eye contact. “”Oh my,”” they both breathed before blushing and hiding behind their manes. A couple seconds later they both peeked out and looked at each other curiously. “”Um, h-hi,”” they squeaked together. ““I’m … F-Fluttershy.”” The Fluttershy by the balcony was the first to push her mane away from her face and smile. “I’ve been hoping to meet you.” The other Fluttershy smiled back and timidly walked forward, brushing back her mane. “Um. I’ve been wanting to meet you too.” The rest of the group just watched, letting the Fluttershies walk closer to work through their introductions. Rainbow and the two Rarities took seats at the table. Once about three pony lengths were left between them, the Fluttershies both stopped and paused. The others waited. Smiling, but fiercely blushing, both Fluttershies raised a hoof and gently waved to the other then looked at the floor. Rainbow slapped a hoof in her face. “Come on, ‘Shy, er, ‘Shies. You’re both, uh, you. You don’t have to be shy around another you.” The Fluttershies had looked to Rainbow at her comment, and then back to each other. There was a pause. And then both their faces lit up brightly and they spoke together in a rush. ““How many—Oh! I’m sorry, you first. Oh, no, no. You first. Oh dear, I couldn’t possibly—You should go first—Oh, it’s okay, I’ll wait—Oh, please do go on””— The group watched on. The Fluttershies were in perfect sync in both timing and words. Neither wanted to intrude on the other but were too excited to stop talking. Twilight, Rainbow, two Applejacks, and two Rarities all looked about the room at each other. Pinkie giggled. Finally, dress Rarity opened one flap of her saddlebags and levitated a gold bit between the Fluttershies and gently cleared her throat, stopping them instantly. “Heads: humane Fluttershy goes first. Tails: pony Fluttershy.” ““Oh, that sounds like a lovely idea, Rarity,”” both Fluttershies praised her in stereo. Rarity drew back for a moment at the weirdness of that event, turning to look at one then the other, but managed to shrug it off with a blink and shake of her head. She then flicked the bit upward in her magic, and discreetly tweaked her horn to let it go. Gown Rarity noticed this and gave her counterpart an odd look. Dress Rarity looked away with a blush and sheepish smile. The bit landed heads up. Both Fluttershies squeaked, fluttering their wings excitedly, and looked at the other. One Fluttershy waited eagerly as her counterpart began, tail wagging in excitement, “How many pets—?” “Whoa!” she was cut off by Spike waking up from his torpor. “Was that real?” He looked around and saw all of his closest friends, but with a double of almost all of them. He focused on the two Rarities and blushed. The gown Rarity smiled back at him. “It’s real.” Spike scratched at the spines behind his head and cleared his throat. “So, um. Who’s who?” “Easy,” claimed Rainbow Dash. She pointed to the Fluttershy that had flown in. “This is Pony’shy.” Getting a nod in return she continued, pointing first to the other Fluttershy then to the Rarity in the five layer gown. “Other Shy, Other Rare.” “Oh no, darling,” that Rarity replied. “I’m from this world.” “Oh, right.” Rainbow pointed to the Rarity in the red dress. “You did that homerun with Spike.” Dress Rarity cringed. “Again, Spike, I am so very sorry.” “Eh,” Spike replied. “Could have been worse. Ever belly-flopped into a pool of lava?” “Can’t say that I have.” “Good. You don’t want to, trust me.” One of the Applejacks cut in, looking between the Rarities, “So, when Ah got to one of y’all’s boutique saying Ah was looking for Dash, which you was you?” Gown Rarity blinked. “Um, which Applejack are you again?” “Pony.” The dress Rarity spoke up, “Oh. That was me you found.” “Ah guess that was before Ah got there and found pony Rarity,” the other Applejack added. “Perhaps that was why Sassy was behaving so strange,” gown Rarity pondered. Spike shook his head wildly. “This is getting confusing.” “Yeah,” agreed Twilight. “I say we get name tags for everypony.” An Applejack looked around. “Meaning just for the pony ponies, or all us ‘ponies’?” “Right. Name tags for everycreature.” Spike started off toward a cabinet opposite the balcony. “I’ll make them. The other Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie aren’t here yet?” “I’m here!” called a new Rainbow Dash landing on the balcony. “But we’re missing a Pinkie Pie.” The Rainbow sitting at the table turned to see her counterpart with Captain Rotund Shield guiding her to the conference room. “I’m sorry, Your Highness,” the captain said with a salute, which Twilight bashfully returned. “She got out of her cell somehow. We are still looking for her.” “Which Pinkie is missing?” Twilight asked, turning to the Pinkie in the room. “The one that isn’t me!” she answered. The Rainbow Dashes rolled their eyes. The two Rarities looked at each other and giggled, sharing the experience. “Pinkie,” Twilight admonished her. “Um,” spoke up one of the Fluttershies, “Pinkie? You told me you’ve been through the portal.” “Yep!” Pinkie concurred. “So, you’re our Pinkie?” Fluttershy finished. “Yep!” Pinkie nodded. Twilight looked between Pinkie and the Fluttershies. “Pinkie, Do you even know which Fluttershy is ‘ours’?” “Yep!” After a pause, Twilight pressed further. “And which one?” “Oh, Twilight, silly, you know they both are,” Pinkie giggled. Twilight screwed up her face a moment, thinking how to follow that. “Yes, both of them are my Fluttershies, I’ve befriended both of them years ago. But one of them you are just meeting today.” “Wow! Are you going for a personal silly record? That’s three in less than a minute.” “But there’s no way you could have met both Fluttershies before. You and one of them have never been in the same world until today!” “And that’s four!” “Am I missing something here?” Spike voiced a collective thought upon returning to the table with stationery supplies. “I think you’re missing that we’re all already friends!” All the ponies, and dragon, in the room looked around at each other, seeing their friends, seeing their doubles, and seeing their friends’ doubles. There were smiles, nods, giggles, and a hoof bump as they all agreed. “So of course they’re both ‘our Fluttershies’,” Pinkie concluded. “But we still need to know which Pinkie is missing!” Twilight moaned. “The one that isn’t me!” “You just said that! And that isn’t helping!” “Uh, Twilight?” began Pinkie, “That’s five because I only said that the first time.” Twilight gawked at her, slowly noticing that their friends were starting to look away from Pinkie and toward the hallway. She turned around and saw, standing brightly in the doorway, another Pinkie. “Hiya!” she cheered. “Found you!” Twilight sighed and turned back to Captain Rotund Shield. “You can call off the search.” “Yes, Your Highness.” He saluted, but a thought came to him and he asked, “What should we do if more show up?” Twilight jolted upright, eyes wide, ears and wings standing at attention. She took a breath, bringing her hoof to her chest then letting it out slowly. “Alert me immediately and bring coffee. Strong coffee. Luna’s blend.” Taken aback, the captain gave a quiet whistle. Having taken the hint, he didn’t wait for a return salute and simply flew off. The Rainbow beside him turned to the new Pinkie. “How’d you get out of your cell?” Pinkie scoffed, “They locked me up all alone! That’s a cruel thing to do to a Pinkie. Makes her all crazy and hear voices all loud and GRR,” she growled at the end. “Of course I didn’t stay in there. And it’s not like it was the first time I’ve been arrested.” She then giggled at her counterpart. “Am I right?” The other Pinkie nodded, giggling in return, even giving an eye-roll to whatever memory they were apparently sharing, then began pronking up to her twin. Remembering an earlier conversation, one Applejack and one Rainbow Dash traded worried glances. They then traded them with their counterparts who instantly gleaned the trepidation and watched as the Pinkies got closer. The two pronked closer and closer until they landed with their noses coming to touch the other’s with a pair of honks. They both giggled at that for a moment. Before turning deadly serious, pushing their foreheads together. And letting out another giggle. Then turning serious again. They took a step back and circled each other first one way then the other, then quickly launched into the surest test they could think of. “”Ack!"” they both shouted in unison. “”A sack of slick soapy soup spoons slid past a perilous pile of pink pointy prickle-barrel powdered pastries before Blue Bonnet balled up her baby basket bouncy bobbles into ingenious iridescent igloos filled with four fine figments of floundering fishes caught caring for crumpled-up crates of crawling criminal crustaceans charged wrathfully with wrongful wringing of unwilling silver slivers of slick soapy soup spoons!”” The Pinkies blinked and turned to their friends. “”Oh, she’s good!”” They then turned back and suddenly pointed behind the other and shouted, “”Is that a giant cherry and rutabaga favored bucket of ice cream topped with cheesecake and lasagna? Wait?! Really?”” After quickly turning around and scanning the conference room and hallway respectively, both Pinkies turned back to each other. “”Where? Did I miss it?”” “”How long are we going to watch this?”” asked the two Rainbow Dashes. ”And how long till something explodes?” an Applejack added, the other Applejack having returned to eating the mesmerizing Equestrian apple. “Do we even know which one is which yet?” asked Spike. Both Pinkies turned to Spike and gave a stunningly clear answer while pointing at the other, ““I’m not that one!”” “Did that really count as ‘stunningly clear’?” the Pinkie from the hallway apparently asked nothing while scratching her head, getting a surprised look from the other Pinkie. “No it was not!” Twilight cried. ““But it was accurate!”” the Pinkies defended, the one not in the hallway slightly delayed from her earlier surprise. “Pinkies, darlings,” dress Rarity called out. “Simply tell us which one of you is a student at CHS?” The Pinkies spoke simultaneously while pointing at each other again, ““That one!”” Then the hallway Pinkie followed that up. “No wait! Not that one!” Everyone else in the room took a moment to process that then let out a sigh of understanding, except a Fluttershy who only looked confused, pointing to the Pinkie in the room. “But then That Pinkie is pony Pinkie? But she’s the one who brought me here and she said—“ ““Now that that’s solved, let’s eat!”” the Pinkies declared, cutting off Fluttershy, and pronking to the refreshments cart, leapfrogging over each other in the process, thoroughly confusing everyone else as to which was which again. The other Fluttershy leaned toward her counterpart and whispered, “What’s wrong?” While the Fluttershies whispered to each other, all the other pony pairs in the room also began having conversations with each other, completely missing the Fluttershies’ questions. The Rarities gabbed about dresses and their places of work. The Rainbows boasted about stunts and argued over which of them would win their looming competition. The Applejacks discussed baking … and apples. The Pinkies had a cake eating contest until the cake ran out after twenty seconds. They then chattered about the best parties they’ve ever thrown and the friends they’d made. Spike and Twilight stared, blinking, and slowly turned to each other. “Wow,” Spike gawked before frowning. “So, ours didn’t come through?” “I guess not,” Twilight answered. “For the best, really. We have enough confusion as it is. But I don’t know why Sunset didn’t come. She would have been able to guide them around Canterlot at least, and my palace, if not Ponyville.” “Guess we’ll have to find that out.” “Exactly. Rainbow—the one from CHS—was too focused on Applejack—the one from Equestria, though she didn’t know which one at the time—having been grabbed by the guards to say why they came through the portal.” “I have the name tags assembled.” Spike held up ten sheets of card-stock parchment each punctured with fur-clips. “Should I just write everycreatures’ names and species or should we choose nicknames like how you and your counterpart have ‘Twi’ and ‘Twily’ and I’m ‘Claws’ and the other me is ‘Paws’?” Turning back to the others with a thoughtful hum, Twilight addressed the whole group, “Girls.” Chatting and giggling continued. “Girls,” she tried again with no luck. “Girls!” The pairs all stopped and looked at Twilight. The Fluttershies gave each other a sideways glance and a giggle. Twilight cleared her throat and entered announcement mode, a second cousin to lecture mode, “So I believe we all have a lot to talk about.” One Fluttershy perked up immediately and was about to speak when she was cut off by a Pinkie. “And how! Did you know she lives in a bakery?!" she pointed to her Pinkie twin. "A bakery! Lives in! With the Cakes, baking cakes in a bakery where she lives!” “And she lives with her family!” cheered the other Pinkie. “She still gets to laugh at Maud’s jokes every day, without even leaving the house”— “Bakery!” —“and she can also hug Marble, and pat Limey’s head every day! Maud lives adjacent to town now, but I have to get on a train or run for a long time to see my other sisters.” “What about your parents?” asked an Applejack. “I have to get on a train or run for a long time to see them too.” “Ah meant the other Pinkie. The human one.” “Humane,” the other Applejack corrected. “Whoman?” asked a Rarity. “Hoomane,” corrected a Rainbow Dash. “Hum’mana-hum’mana?” giggled a Pinkie. “The Pinkie other than me giggled that,” the other Pinkie uttered a clarification to nothing, getting a concerned look from the other, and confused looks from everycreature else. “Humane,” the other Rarity re-corrected, ignoring the Pinkies and refocusing on the discussion. “Really?” asked a Rainbow. “Yeah,” the other Rainbow concurred. “Humane?” “Yeah.” The first Rainbow thought a moment. “That sounds weird.” ““Weird is fun,”” said the Pinkies. Twilight cleared her throat again. “That’s not what I meant." Fluttershy again attempted to say something but Twilight continued. "We should really get some name tags before we continue, so what do each of you want on them?” One set of friends looked confused at that, but the other gave knowing nods. “That’s right!” cheered an un-confused Rainbow Dash, “nicknames will make this easier. I’ll be Radical Dash. Rad for short.” She then turned to her twin, “And you can be, uh, ‘Danger … Ranger’? You know, to keep the initials the same. Sort of.” “Why are we making nicknames?” asked a confused Applejack. “Why not just say ‘pony’ or ‘humane’ before our names?” “Because,” began dress Rarity, “why be ‘humane Rarity’ when I could be ‘Resplendence’?” “Uh, nicknames are supposed to be easy to say,” complained Rad. “Do you really want us to have to call you Resplendence all the time? Like, ‘hey, Resplendence! Get your resplendent butt-flank over here!’” “Well, certainly not in such a crass sentence.” “What about a synonym for 'rarity'?” Twilight suggested. Gown Rarity gasped, “How about Recherché?” ““Wha?”” asked the Rainbows. ”Sounds like Fancy,” an Applejack commented. “I—we do like fancy,” gown Rarity admitted. “”Okay, research-say it is!”” the Pinkies conformed. “Hold your horses there,” the other Applejack spoke up. The two Pinkies gasped, looked at each other with giant grins, and pulled themselves into a tight hug, laughing into their manes. Seeing that, the Rarities giggled, smiled at their twin and leaned into a hug of their own. The Fluttershies blushed but looked to their counterpart and stepped closer, also hugging with tiny smiles on their faces. The Applejacks stopped at the display, each turning to look at their other, shrugged, and wrapped a foreleg around the other. The Rainbows looked at their twin, tilted their heads, and gave the other a hoof bump. Twilight blinked, feeling a little left out, until she felt a familiar set of arms wrap around her. “You’ve always been my horse,” said Spike. “Aww,” Twilight cooed, giving him a nuzzle. “You’ll always be my dragon.” “Would have been great if the other Spike showed up though.” “Way to ruin the moment,” Twilight rolled her eyes. As the hugs began to wind down, The Applejacks looked at each other and started to speak at once, but one cut herself off and motioned for the other to continue who cleared her throat. “What we meant was, hold on a moment, because, uh ‘Rad’ is right, nicknames are supposed to be easy to say and re-share-shay is harder to say than resplendence.” “How about cutting that down to Share?” asked the other Applejack. “Still fits her, being so generous and all.” “We’ll take it,” Twilight concluded. “Spike, write down ‘Pony Rarity, colon, Share’. Or maybe just ‘P Rarity: Share’. Ponies might wonder if they wear name tags that say pony and humane.” “More than they would after seeing two of each of them?” asked Spike. “Point taken, but still. Keep it simple?” “Got it,” Spike replied, writing the first tag and clipping it onto Share’s gown. “And for humane Rarity?” asked Twilight. “How about Radiance?” Spike suggested. “The superheroine?” the unnamed Rarity asked. “You looked great in the outfit." Spike blushed. "At least in this world." “Why thank you, darling. Though,” she hummed in thought. “I’d rather have an original nom de plume. Keeping with the theme, I’ll be Renae. Shorthand for renaissance. It’s fitting given that Renaissance means revival or rebirth, for I have been reborn as a pony, at least for the time being.” “ ‘H. Rarity: Renae’.” Spike concluded, writing it down on a tag moving up to clip it on Renae’s dress. One Applejack nodded to the other who spoke up next. “Ponyjack works for me. Direct and honest.” She then looked to her twin while Spike made the name tag. “Ah’ll be Jackie,” the other Applejack said, getting a surprised look from Ponyjack. “Ah spoke with your Grand Pear today. Ah gave him permission to use the name. Ah hope you don’t mind.” Ponyjack considered that a moment before giving her a smile. “Ah think that’s right swell”—she put a hoof on her shoulder—“Jackie.” “Okay,” announced Spike, “ ‘P. Applejack: Ponyjack’ and ‘H. Applejack: Jackie’.” The Applejacks stood still as Spike secured the tags to their chest fur. “Next?” The two Fluttershies looked at the gold bit from before, still where it had landed, and one took it in her mouth and flipped it. “Um,” said the other Fluttershy after it landed on heads, “Butterfly rhymes with my name. Does that work for everyone?” “”How about Buttershy?"” The Pinkies suggested. “"Then it’ll really rhyme!”" “But I’m not shy with butter. I have it all the time on toast.” The other Fluttershy giggled, but not so loud that a cricket several rooms over couldn’t still be heard over the lack of response. “Um, that was a joke,” Butterfly explained. “Sorry.” “We’ve never been that good with jokes.” Her counterpart cringed at a bad memory of performing standup for all of Ponyville, before coming up to give Butterfly a gentle pat on the back. "But I liked it." “So, we going with Butterfly?” asked Spike, getting a shy nod in return. “And you’re which one?” “Oh! I’m from the portal.” “If you’re Butterfly, I can be Posey,” suggested the other Fluttershy.Fun fact: The pony Lauren Faust designed Fluttershy after was named Posey. “Oh, that’s really pretty,” affirmed Butterfly, “and it starts with P for pony. That helps.” Finished with two more name tags, Twilight passed them out to their owners. “ ‘P. Fluttershy: Posey’ and ‘H. Fluttershy: Butterfly’.” “Oh, should I have tried for a name beginning with P also?” asked Share. “It should be okay, Rares, uh, Shares,” offered Ponyjack. “It ain’t like Danger Ranger starts with P either.” “You could change Share to Pear,” suggested Jackie. ““Ohh!”” chimed in the Pinkies. “”If one Rainbow Dash is Rad, then the other can be Plaid!”” Ignoring Danger Ranger’s horrified expression, one of the Pinkies kept talking. “Wait! Shouldn’t it be Rad and Pad?” “Heh,” Jackie chuckled, “and be forever in that time of the month.” Only four occupants of the room displayed anything other than confusion to that comment. “Is that a bad thing?” asked Danger Ranger. “”Yes!”” came five replies. “In that case, I’ll stick with Danger Ranger, or Danger Dash,” concluded Danger Dash. “Good!” chuckled Ponyjack. “Ah can shorten that to Dang’it Dash!” “Or maybe something else then.” Jackie chuckled. “Since you’re a pegasus pony, how about Peggy'sis?” “How about no?” “Phenomenal Dash?” suggested Rad. “”Yeah! We’ll shorten that to Phenny-Penny!” shouted the Pinkies. “Nope,” insisted Danger Dash. “Alright, Danger Dash,” chided Ponyjack, “Ah'm sure no pony will make fun of your new nickname, Dee Dee.” “Okay, we’re definitely not going with Danger Dash now!” "Aww," pouted the Pinkies. "We thought Dee Dee was cute.”" “Primo Dash?” suggested Renae. “Meaning first and finest.” “Hey!” argued Rad. “How come she gets that one?” “Hay, yourself,” Danger Dash countered. “You’re already Radical. I’m taking first and finest!” “Okay, I’m calling it,” Twilight ended the argument. “Spike?” “Done!” he replied, holding up two more name tags. “ ‘H. Rainbow Dash: Rad’ and ‘P. Rainbow Dash: Primo’.” “Pinkies, Your turns.” “”Peachie and Shindy!”” they replied instantly. “Where did you get those names?” asked Spike. “”Peaches are pink and shindigs are a kind of party! We’re pink party ponies! Peachie and Shindy!”” “Did you two discuss this beforehoof?” “”Why would we do that?”” “Right. Don’t know why I was expecting you to say anything else.” Spike shrugged. “I’m assuming Peachie is pony Pinkie?” “”Works for us!”” they answered. “Okay, ‘P. Pinkie Pie: Peachie’ and ‘H. Pinkie Pie: Shindy’. Spike passed out the last two signs for the Pinkies, but stopped, not knowing which was which. The Pinkies giggled at him and just grabbed a sign each with their mouths then tossed them between each other a few times, “Whee! Whee!” and finally pinned them on the other’s chest. “Um, okay?” Spike observed and decided not to get involved. “And that’s everycreature. For the humanes we have: Jackie, Butterfly, Rad, Shindy, and Renae. For the ponies we have: Ponyjack, Posey, Primo, Peachie, and … Share.” “I do rather stand out with that one, don’t I?” Share pointed out with a concerned expression. “Eh, don’t worry yourself none,” soothed Ponyjack. “You are the Rarity of our group. You ain’t supposed to match.” The Rarities giggled at that, getting Jackie to blush. “Whew,” sighed Twilight. “Now let’s move on to the whole reason you’re here unannounced to begin with." She took a breath. "Seriously! What the hay, girls?!” The five visitors all stopped still in an instant, their eyes going wide. “Oh no!” Renae gasped. “I can’t believe it.” “We should have been back by now,” groaned Rad. “How much time has it been?” asked Jackie. “Sunset needs help!” cried Butterfly. “Sunset?” Twilight stood up in alarm. “What’s wrong?” “I’ll explain it!” rushed Shindy. “You see, there’s this girl that found out about all the magic getting everything all magical in our world and she’s super smart, but also super mean, and she made this thingy that would suck up all that magic like Twily’s gizmo from the Friendship Games—because she stole her blueprints—but instead of going all berserk and making holes in the fabric of the multiverse and destroying everything, she made the thing stuff all that magic into a big giant glowy thing of magic and shoot it at her to make her all super powerful and amazing and evil and unstoppable and honkingly huge, but we found her first and tried to turn it off but we couldn’t because the power switch was glued in the on position or something so Sunset bum-rushed her right when it fired and the building kind of blew up and the two of them were under the pile of rubble and we were all freaking out about Sunset being hurt until this giant red claw shot out of the rubble and then we were freaking out because it had turned the girl into a horrifying awful winged monster, but then we realized it wasn’t the girl at all because Sunset got her out of the way and it was actually Sunset who turned into the horrifying awful winged monster again and she looked at us wondering why we were freaking out and I told her it was because she had turned into a horrifying awful winged monster again and she looked down and saw that she was a horrifying awful winged monster again and then she freaked out and kinda started burning everything which made everyone freak out even more and she couldn’t stop it so she jumped into a pond and it started boiling and then we tried to help her but she told us she was too dangerous and to stay away because she could feel it making her crazy and said ‘buck it I’m out!’ and flew away!” The room was silent. Four heads bowed, pained over the reminder of their sidetracked mission. Five looked on in confusion and concern. Spike gasped, remembering the form Sunset Shimmer took at the end of their first adventure in that other world. Twilight’s jaw dropped, stunned at the revelation. Shindy looked around casually. “Oh, she'll be fine! At this point in the story I think we can all say it’s really just a MacGuffin.”