//------------------------------//
// An Offensive Defense or A Defensive Offense? 
// Story: Mission to the Pony Planet 
// by ersmiller 
//------------------------------//

“Huurrrgh!”

PANT

“Nguugh!”

PANT

PANT

“Aarugh! This is why Trixie never carries all her supplies at once!” shrieked Trixie, still hooked to her caravan. “But after this, once Sparkle awards Trixie with her shiny and sparklin—glimmering medal, Trixie will politely and demurely request a massive storage chamber for her supplies in the royal palace! It took hours for Trixie to drag this all the way back to Ponyville! Why did that secret cave have to be so far away? And why were all those batponies in there?! So what if your ancestors carved it out? That's Trixie's secret stash cave!”

Trixie made another attempt to walk forward but her heavier-every-step-of-the-way caravan was still stuck on something.

“TRIXIE IS A MAGICIAN, NOT A PACK MULE!” she screamed before collapsing to give her legs a rest.

A disgruntled retort grabbed her attention and she looked to the side to see a pack of mules each carrying a large bundle of supplies on their backs to parts unknown from parts unknown.

“N-not that being a pack mule is a bad thing!” she quickly followed up, remembering a friendship lesson she recited to her students as a substitute.

Trixie grumbled, stood, and unhooked herself to get a better look at the problem.

One of the wheels was in a small ditch caused by wear and tear on the old, uneven road. She lit her horn, and the wheel, and lifted.

“Ngggpphhh!”

PANT

Success!

Standing over the now freed caravan, Trixie smiled proudly until it rolled back into the ditch.

“Trixie needs an intermission,” she groaned, resting her head on the side of her caravan. "Stupid wheels."

“That was awesome!” a voice cheered a short distance away.

Instinctively, Trixie picked up her head and adjusted her magician’s cap, ready to address her surprise audience and receive their praise. But the voice was joined by another slower, yet still awed voice. “I know! All those rainbooms. Two at once even. How’d Rainbow Dash make a copy of herself?”

Momentarily disappointed that the voices weren’t watching her, Trixie let her features drop, but two points stood out to her.

1) Two Rainbow Dashes? The evil queen’s changelings were starting their attack!

2) Those voices were familiar.

She turned around and there they were: The Buckball player and the pudgy one. But more importantly, Ponyville‘s first Trixie fans!

“Ah-ha!” she called out to them. “Astute and avid fans of Trrrrrixie, the Great and Powerful!”

Surprised, Snips and Snails turned from the last visible evidence of the faded rainbooms in the sky to face her.

“Today is the day,” Trixie continued with a dramatic swish of her cape, “when the two of you will serve Trixie for the greater good!”

“Uh, hi, Trixie,” Snips uttered. “We’re doing what?”

“Saving Ponyville and getting Trixie a medal!” She motioned for them to get closer and used her magic to swap out her caravan's single-pony yoke for a double-pony version, decorated with her and Starlight’s cutie marks. “Let’s get you two hooked up and Trixie will explain on the way!”

Snips and Snails looked at each other.

More words passed between them in that one glance than existed in the thoughts Snails had that month.

That may be a low bar but still, none of those words were good.


*** 

 ***


“Calm down, everypony!” Twilight addressed the random ponies running amok in random trails throughout the town.

After getting the Cutie Mark Crusaders to agree to staying inside the train station for safety, and to try and reason with the ponies there, the others had left, and had gotten far enough to see that the problem wasn’t improving as they continued. No pony would stop when questioned while the train—a means of escape—was so close. So they tried a little further in.

But if speaking and consoling weren’t working. Perhaps Luna’s lessons would.

“EVERYPONY STOP!”

The screaming and galloping were replaced with startled gasps and the sound of many hooves screeching to a halt on packed dirt streets.

The Canterlot Royal Voice did have its applications after all.

“That’s better,” Twilight smiled. “Now that we’re all calm—“

“THERE’S A WHOLE SQUAD OF THEM!” a stallion shouted.

“SQUAD?!” answered a mare. “THAT’S NEARLY A PLATOON!”

And the townsponies's amoks ran anew.

“What?!” Twilight gasped. “That usually works better than that!”

Spike cleared his throat. “Maybe it’s because there’s two of all the ponies standing next to you?”

Twilight sheepishly looked at the five pairs of mares traveling with her. “… Right."

"But two of each of us is a good thing, yes?" asked Share.

A collection of silent faces turned toward the Pinkie Pies. One was standing on the other for a better view but was struggling to free her hoof from the other's mane.

"Well, I suppose exceptions exist," Renae concluded.

"Eek," Posey squeaked, dodging a sizable drop of viscous, white fluid. She looked up and squinted at the bird who dropped it. "Raymond?"

Butterfly followed her gaze then ducked, covering under her mane, when she got a good look at the bird. "Robert, maybe?"

"Are you sure? They can be hard to tell apart sometimes."

"You probably shouldn't tell them that."

Shadows passed by them and the group of ponies turned to track at least a dozen birds flying behind the initial pigeon.

The Rarities gasped, ""Duck and cover!"" and dived to the side under some bushes.

"If only I could use my diamond shields here," Renae followed up as the birds completed their flyby.

However, no additional ‘bombs’ were dropped.

The confused group watched the birds fly off. "Do they need to 'reload' or something?" suggested Ponyjack.

"I'm so sorry," cried Butterfly. "I didn't realize I had scared them so badly."

“It’s okay, Butterfly,” said Posey, “we’ll calm them down.”

“But why are they attacking everyone?” asked Jackie.

“STOP RIGHT THERE!”

The group turned to see a collection of ponies in black. Black blazers, black ties, black sunglasses, black hats, black shoes, black suitcases, black watches.

The lead stallion, in a fedora hat as opposed to the others’ derby hats, continued. “You are to surrender peacefully and turn in your leader!”

“ ‘Our leader’?!” gasped Shindy. “THEY KNOW WE’RE ALIENS! RUN FOR IT!”

She turned and ran but her tail was held fast by a purple glow. She got some distance but sprung back into place, her tail coiling up and dropping a few party hats and a rubber chicken.

“These ponies are my friends!” Twilight countered.

“Those ponies,” Fedora responded, “are un-defected changelings still working for Queen Chrysalis.”

“What?!” Twilight gasped. “What evidence do you have to suggest that?”

“*COUGH*twoofthem*COUGH*,” Spike coughed.

Twilight blushed sheepishly.

“Wait,” perked up Primo, pointing at the similarly-suited ponies accosting them, “we’re the changelings?”

“It looks like they did their shopping from inside a hive,” Share added before gasping. “Oh dear, that wasn’t speciesist was it?”

“What’s a changeling?” asked Rad.

“Some ponies called me that earlier,” said Jackie. “The ones in hazmat suits.”

Twilight took a step forward, stood to her full height, spread out her wings, and declared, “I am Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria and I vouch for these friends. They do not work for Chrysalis, nor are they a danger to anycreature here.”

“And how can we be sure you’re not Chrysalis yourself?” Fedora countered.

“Of course she’s not Sparkle!” shouted another voice to the side. All heads turned to see a familiar mare in a cap and cape standing dramatically on a nearby hill. “The real Sparkle has gone to Canterlot to do some thing or whatever there!”

Trixie then pointed to Twilight. “This impostor here doesn’t even look right! Look at her! The muzzle's too small, the eyes are too twitchy, the horn’s too big, and the belly’s too fat.”

Twilight looked down at her stomach, noticed everypony else was too, and blushed. “Hay!” she protested. "I'm a growing alicorn! S-some weight gain is expected."

Trixie ignored her and continued, “Clearly these Chrysalis changelings have nefarious plans to carry out while they believed Ponyville was underprotected. But they didn’t know The Great and Powerful Trixie was here! And this village is protected under her now!”

Trixie pointed to Twilight again. “Trixie bets you thought Trixie ran away. Didn’t you, Chrysalis?”

“I’m not Chrysalis and I thought you were going to the Crystal Empire with Starlight to visit Sunburst.”

“EXACTLY! You thought Trixie hadn’t been turned away because they’re off reminiscing over a special anniversary from their foalhood without her!” Trixie blinked and looked over her audience. “TRIXIE ISN’T BITTER!”

“I didn’t say—“

“Enough talk! Trixie protects this town … NOW!”

With that she turned to her caravan and the two boys still harnessed to it. “Hit it!”

"Was that the signal?" asked Snails.

"Just push the button!"

Snips looked back inside the opened front door of the caravan, lit his horn, and there was a click. Trixie’s caravan wasn’t sporting its normal flat roof this time, but rather a tiered pyramid. A panel on the new roof opened up and a small rocket shot out of it with a high-pitched whistle.

Up it went, while the gathered ponies just stared in confusion. A few of Twilight’s group even exchanged shrugs with the ponies in black.

Trixie lit her horn and the rocket changed directions to head directly for Twilight.

“Trixie?!” Twilight gasped. “What are you doing?”

“Protecting the town from Chrysalis’s plot!”

“What,” asked Peachie, “is she going to sit on us?”

With the rocket still approaching, Twilight lit her own horn and put up a shield between it and her group.

Just before hitting, the rocket exploded into a kaleidoscope of sparks in the shape of Trixie’s face which all bounced off the shield in various directions.

“Yipe! Ow! Ow! Ow!” screamed a stallion in black, rushing off with his hindquarters smoldering when a ricocheted spark landed on him. He sighed in relief after extinguishing himself in a water trough.

“Hrmm,” Trixie hummed. “So changeling queens can cast spells other than levitation and their changeling things.”

After rolling her eyes, Twilight shouted back, “I am not a changeling queen!”

Her claim went unheeded as Trixie had simply galloped back toward her caravan, jumped between the boys and shut the door behind her. A moment later her head reappeared out a side window. “Well let’s see how long you can keep it up!”

She lit her horn and several more panels opened on the roof, each producing another rocket.

All the rockets glowed the same color as Trixie’s horn and zeroed in on Twilight’s group and the ponies in black.

“Get behind me!” Twilight shouted and her group huddled up. A few of the ponies in black did as well.

Twilight put up a dome shield around them.

The rockets fanned out in all directions before turning back toward her, exploding into colorful showers of sparks of varying shapes.

Seeing this, the ponies in black not in Twilight’s shield dove for cover.

When the sparks hit, they all bounced off, pelting everything in the area.

“Trixie! This is—!”

She stopped when more panels opened on the roof of Trixie’s caravan and more glowing rockets launched out in a steady stream.

Twilight looked around seeing the results of the tiny sparks landing on random flammable surfaces.

“RUN!” she cried, dropping her shield and turning tail.

Twilight’s group followed her. The ponies in black scattered. Ponyville citizens who had been watching screamed and ran amok once again.

Trixie cackled.

Fedora and some of his group attempted to stalk up to Trixie’s caravan, but a few fireworks aimed their way sent them running.

Trixie cackled louder.

“You two,” she called to Snips and Snails between cackles, “FOLLOW THE FAKE SPARKLE! Wah-ha-ha-ha!”

Snips and Snails grunted, pulling the caravan forward as more rockets launched. “At least there’s wheels this time,” Snips groaned.

Ahead of them Twilight’s group galloped on, dodging rockets and firework sparks.

“Your Trixie’s insane!” yelled Rad.

“Yours isn’t?” countered Primo.

“Eh, yeah, you got a point.”

They continued running with Trixie’s fireworks not far behind.

At an outdoor cafe they passed, a calm Octavia took a sip of her tea as rockets whizzed around. “Well that confirms it,” she sighed. “I really should have remained in bed after that chat with 'Pinkie' today.” She put down her tea, stood up, put a few bits on the table, and ran away from the commotion screaming.

Elsewhere, Cheerilee heard the explosions from home and was glad to have already sealed up her shutters. She continued feeding her cats.

Deep underground, a trio of ponies in hazmat suits congratulated themselves for warning the town of the approaching horror, and that the day’s freak-outs had been confirmed as not overreacted false alarms again.

Escaping the ordeal, Amethyst and Cloudchaser brought Dinky into Sugarcube Corner at the behest of the Cakes for shelter. Mr. Cake turned to his wife. “Well, at least it’s not as bad as the last time Pinkie went off her meds.”

Rounding past the marketplace, Peachie got an idea. “I know where we can go to hide!”

“Where?!” answered Twilight.

“Ponyville Adjacent! I have a shortcut; follow me!”

She zipped ahead of the group and lifted a large rock next to a mud puddle.

Inside was a long slide and a label that read, “Emergency Ponyville to Ponyville Adjacent Escape Hatch! Use only in emergencies when it’s necessary to escape Ponyville and end up in Ponyville Adjacent. Bring candy!”

A moment later Trixie—still cackling—and her caravan emerged.

“Whoa!” Trixie commanded, pulling back on the reigns.

They stopped and Trixie looked around. There was no sign of the false Sparkle’s group.

There was, however, a pair of those ponies dressed in black.

She narrowed her eyes with a grin and lit her horn.

But nothing happened.

She poked her head out and looked at the roof of her caravan. All the panels had been opened.

The ponies in black noticed and turned, advancing on the caravan.

Trixie ducked inside and, after a moment of silence, motors started whirring. The pyramid rotated around, revealing the opposite side’s still-closed panels. With a soft click, multiple panels on the new side opened.

“Second volley!” Trixie shouted before cackling again as the first of the second wave of glowing rockets flew at the ponies in black, sending them running.

Trixie also noticed multiple citizens hiding from the ruckus, and she called out to them, still cackling.

“CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE! SEEK! REFUGE! HERE!”

A few rockets were sent to the sky, exploding as fireworks were meant to.

Her cackling increased.

The citizens of Ponyville sought refuge elsewhere.


*** 

 ***


“”Eeeeeeeeeekk!””

“”Ahhhhhhhhh!””

“”WHOOOOOA!””

“YAAAHHHHH!”

“”WAAAAAAA!””

“”WEEEEEEEEE!””

A collection of voices screamed—or cheered—their way down the steep, dark slide. A light appeared at the end of the long tunnel.

One by one they emerged into a large, underground cavern. The surprise and disorientation caused by the ordeal made it impossible for anyone to get out of the way of the next oncoming member.

A pile of nine dizzy ponies and one greener than usual dragon moaned while two pink ponies giggled from within the pile.

“I can’t see!”

“I can’t move!”

“Whose hoof is that?”

“Who’s asking?”

“I’d rather know whose tail is in my face!”

“Still depends on who’s asking.”

“I think it’s my tail.”

“Eeeeek!”

“Sorry, not my tail.”

“Why does this keep happening?!”

“Who smells like garlic?”

““We do!””

A series of purple flashes disentangled the tangle of ponies and dragon, leaving them splayed out in a circle.

It still took a minute for everycreature to stand and blink away the stars in their eyes. Native ponies recovered faster and helped out their foreign twins.

“Everypony okay?” asked Twilight.

There were a series of affirmations with varying degrees of warble in their voices.

“I’m okay too,” came a dull voice directly behind Twilight.

“Wahh!” Twilight turned with a shout to see an equally dull, gray mare greeting them. “Maud! Oh, it’s you. Don’t scare me like that.”

Maud closed her eyes.

Maud opened her eyes.

“Maud!” cheered Peachie.

“Maud? Maud!” joined in Shindy.

Both Pinkies rushed up to their sister, pulling her into a tight hug.

Maud was unphased by the double-strength Pinkie hug. Though she did smile slightly.

“Hello, Pinkies,” Maud greeted them after the hug before addressing the one to her left. “Welcome to Equestria, Shindy.”

“Eeeeeee!” Shindy squealed. “You’re exactly how I always imagined my sister from another world of magical ponies on the other side of a magical portal in the base of a statue outside my high school’s front lawn would be like!”

“I know, right?!” Peachie agreed.

A pair of Pinkie Pie name tags appeared on the ground in a purple flash. The Pinkies looked back to see Twilight and Spike passing out some other name tags that had come off in the pony pile.

Shindy turned back to Maud. “How’d you know I was me?”

“Maud Sense.”

Shindy gasped. “Do you hear the—“ she leaned in closer, “—oicesvay?”

“No,” Maud answered flatly. “Boulder does.”

Shindy blinked. “Wow. That explains a lot. Except for why he likes crackers so much.”

“They’re a flat bed sprinkled with sodium chloride.”

“Oooooh,” Shindy replied. “Another mystery solved!”

“Would you all like to come in?” Maud addressed her twelve guests, before heading toward a tent-like structure. “I just made tea. You’ll have to be quiet though, Mudbriar is still in bed.”

“Still?” asked Peachie. “But it’s almost evening.”

“Prevening?” offered Shindy before she and Peachie grabbed and put on their name tags.

“Yeah, that.”

One corner of Maud’s mouth curved up oh so slightly. “I rocked his world.”

Peachie adopted a sly grin. “Oh, ho. Tired him out did you?”

“Wore him down to the mantle,” Maud replied.

A blushing Twilight cleared her throat. “A-actually, we can’t stay. The whole town is going crazy.” She paused for a moment to sigh, “Again.”

Maud nodded. “They think you’re all working for Chrysalis.”

“Exactly!”

“And some think the sonic rainbooms were an attack.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Primo countered. “They were awesome and everypony knows I’m the only one who can pull them off!”

“And me!” Rad added.

“That’s the problem,” Maud explained. “Some think changelings copied Rainbow Dash to make them. Especially with all the damage from the one this morning.”

Rad scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

“So how do we fix this?” asked Ponyjack.

“If only I hadn’t scared those poor animals,” Butterfly fretted.

Posey frowned. “If only we could get to my place and talk to them. Show them I’m okay and you’re a friend. But I don’t know how we’d get past Trixie and those ponies in black.”

“Who were those ponies anyway?” asked Share.

“We should call them The Pibb,” suggested Spike.

“Pibb?”

“P. I. B.. Easier than saying ponies in black all the time.”

“Sounds like a soft drink,” mused Shindy. “There were a few unicorns in the group. I wonder if their horns taste like cherries. Should we call the leader Mr. Pibb or keep with Fedora?”

“Hrmm,” Peachie chimed in, “Mr. Pibb is cuter, but Fedora is more descriptive. Anyway, I don’t know who they are, but I know a shortcut from here to Fluttershy’s place. I have a bunch so I can visit Maud at any moment!”

One of Maud’s eyebrows tilted slightly. “… We’ve noticed.” She turned to the Fluttershies. “Talking to the animals could help. I think The Pibb were using birds as scouts and a bunny was riding on one of The Pibb’s withers.”

“They’re taking orders from a rabbit?” asked Twilight.

“Maybe Angel will know about that,” hoped Posey.

“Okay.” Twilight began pacing. “The Fluttershies will talk to the animals to get their aid. The rest of us will go along the edge of town. Trixie and The Pibb won’t expect us to reappear behind them, so we can get the element of surprise on our side too.”

Nods, salutes, and voiced agreements responded. “Pinkies, lead the way,” Twilight finished up. “And thank you for the help, Maud.”

“And it was so great to meet you!” Shindy cheered, giving Maud another hug, which Peachie joined in on. “You’re now my fifth sister and my second oldest! Well, not my second oldest, that makes it sound like you’re not as old as the Maud in my world, but you’re actually older here which would make her the second oldest and you the oldest oldest, but you’re the second sister to become the oldest so you’re the second oldest, oldest oldest!”

“Pinkies!”

““Coming!””


*** *** ***


Eleven ponies and a dragon emerged from a tunnel hidden under another rock, nestled inside an unassuming group of trees.

They had to quickly duck behind those trees when a rocket passed nearby, exploding into a rock wall.

““She’s heeeeerrrrrree!”” the twin Pinkies droned.

“Ya think?” Primo retorted.

One of The Pibb pulled herself out of a nearby stream and ran away from a followup rocket.

““Yep!”” the Pinkies answered.

“Okay,” said Twilight, “change of plans. Fluttershies, you’re still going to speak with your animals. Somepony should go to help you. Applejacks? Pinkies?”

““Ya got it!””

““Roger that!””

“The rest of you come with me. We’ll keep an eye on things and hopefully keep them from escalating too far, and keep The Pibb and Trixie away from Fluttershy’s cottage.”

“Well, we better hurry,” called Rad. “The mad cackler is leaving.”

The others looked and noticed that the flashes of light, the whizzing of rockets, the explosions of fireworks, the screams, and the cackling were indeed quickly making way down a hilly road.

“Let’s go!” Twilight rushed after them.

““Good luck,”” the other team’s members called to them.


*** *** ***


“Run! She’s right behind us!”

Twilight’s team had been following the screams for a while. The Pibb were scattered. Running scared.

They even saw one of them riding one of the rockets.

And not by choice.

“Good thing she didn’t have that pyramid on her caravan when she tried to get revenge on you,” Spike commented. “She might not have even needed the Alicorn Amulet. You weren’t as good at shields back then.”

“Well she’s going to have to run out of rockets eventually,” Twilight replied.

“Most of the panels on that thing are open,” added Primo, coming back from an aerial reconnaissance flyby. “There’s only two left.”

“That makes things easy,” sighed Share. “We just have to wait her out.” Renae nodded.

“I say we speed up the process,” challenged Rad. “I’ll fly out there and have her shoot at me then fly straight up. Easy-peasy!”

“I’m not sure if—“ Twilight tried.

“Yeah,” added Primo, “her horn’s gotta have a range on it. I bet I’d find it faster.”

“You’re on!” Rad returned the challenge and the Rainbows took off.

“Hay!” Twilight shouted. “Get back here!” She lit her horn to try and grab onto them but they escaped.

Spike looked up at her. “Your horn has a range too.”

Twilight grumbled. “They surprised me and they’re really fast!”

The remaining three ponies and dragon crept forward to peer out between some trees and watched.

“Hey, Trixie!” Rad shouted rounding the left side of Trixie’s caravan. “Those guys are amateurs! How about a real target?”

“How about two real targets?!” Primo added from the right, with a slight scoff sent toward her twin.

“So you’ve finally stopped hiding from the Great and Powerful Trixie,” Trixie said from the window of her caravan.

“Hay! I wasn’t hiding!”

“Yeah! We just didn’t want you to burn down—”

“Save it for the courts!”

Trixie lit her horn. Two rockets emerged from the final two panels on her pyramid roof and shot off after the two Rainbow Dashes.

The Rainbows smirked at each other and shot straight up toward the clouds with the rockets following them, away from anything flammable.

“TEACUP!” Trixie shouted.

The Rainbows, confused, looked back down to Trixie and failed to notice that the clouds above them had turned into a shower of teacups.


"“Ow!
“"Ow!
“"Ow!
“"Ow!”"


There was hot tea in all the cups.

Pottery pelted the Rainbows and forced them to veer off to the side.

“Teacup! Teacup! Ha, ha, ha!” Trixie cackled.

Hidden back behind their trees, Twilight, Spike, and two Rarities shook their heads sadly. They really could have just waited it out. A rainstorm was scheduled for overnight so the weather team had been prepping the sky with clouds. Trixie had plenty to work with.

The Rainbows weaved, Trixie’s gaze followed, and so did the rockets and teacups.

Remembering their original plan of simply getting the rockets out of Trixie’s range, the Rainbows each picked a direction away from her and flew.

“SMOKE BOMB!”

Only to be pelted with smoke bombs instead, obscuring their vision.

Twilight and the rest watched on as Trixie loaded up a slingshot with smoke bomb after smoke bomb, guiding and igniting them remotely with her magic.

“Shouldn’t we be helping?” asked Renae.

“Nah,” answered Spike. “Those are her last two rockets after all.”

Twilight nodded. “Once she’s out of the dangerous stuff I can just go back to using shields.

The Rainbows coughed and wafted the air in front of them, trying to clear the smoke. Rad wished, again, that she had kept those goggles, especially after she and her twin collided in midair.

““Dooof!””

They bounced off each other and landed in twin heaps on the ground.

Trixie halted her cackling to cheer and used her magic to have the rockets orbit the pair tauntingly. “Take that, fake Rainbows! The Great and Powerful Trixie never fails!”

And then her rockets sputtered and fizzled, having been burning too long without being allowed to explode.

Trixie simply let them drop next to the Rainbows. She then levitated out a rope and tied them up together.

“I believe that’s our cue, darlings,” Share directed.

Twilight nodded, but before they could head in, a large group of The Pibb, who would prefer to call themselves Agents of S.M.I.L.E. if it wasn’t a secret organization, jumped out of various hiding places.

“Get her!” shouted Fedora.

Trixie rolled her eyes and lit her horn.

The Pibb got closer.

Trixie looked at the emptied roof of her caravan, then the approaching ponies in black.

“THIRD VOLLEY!” she screeched out.

The Pibb all scattered back into their hiding places.

Trixie smiled smugly to herself and lifted the Rainbow Dashes in her magic.

““Let us go!”” they yelled, struggling against the glowing rope.

“You two are going straight to the Donut Dunker to 'meet' the sheriff. Trixie got you! It took all of Trixie’s fireworks for the year, but Trixie got you!”

“All the rockets?” shouted one of The Pibb, poking his head out of a bush before calling out. “There’s no third volley!”

Trixie’s ears flopped down as The Pibb reemerged and rushed her. “Oh horse-apples.”

She dropped the Rainbows where they were with a thud, ducked back inside her caravan and slammed the window closed. A loud pop was heard and smoke exploded out from underneath the caravan, completely covering the area. The Pibb, Snips and Snails, and the Rainbows were all sent into coughing fits.

When the smoke cleared, the caravan’s front door was wide open and nopony was inside.

“To quote Shindy, ‘She’s gone’,” droned Renae while pointing further down the street. “ ‘Oh, wait. There she is’.”

Just shy of the crest of a hill galloped Trixie, away from the coughing Pibb.

“Hay!” shouted Snips between coughs. “Wait for us!”

“Yeah, wait for us!” parroted Snails as the two galloped after her, pulling the still smoking caravan with them.

The Pibb let them go and turned to the two Rainbows, still struggling with the rope.

“Hold it!” Twilight shouted.

A flash of purple teleported the three ponies and dragon next to the Rainbows. Renae startled back, looking around a moment before settling down and adopting a challenging pose similar to her twin’s.

“I don’t know who you ponies are, and maybe you think you’re doing the right thing, but I am the real Twilight Sparkle and these are my friends! If you give us a moment we can try to prove it to you.”

Fedora and his group stared down Twilight and hers.

It was matched in kind.

SCREEEEEE

Everycreature looked up to see a falcon soaring down toward Fedora with a group of other birds behind it.

Behind those birds flew a Fluttershy.

Another Fluttershy, two Applejacks, and two Pinkies galloped after them.

Fedora raised a hoof and the falcon landed on it, following up with a series of shorter, quieter screeches and chirps.

As the two were apparently conversing, Butterfly landed beside Twilight. “I’m sorry, it’s my fault after all. The animals called for help after I scared them. That’s why The Pibb are here.”

“But who are The Pibb?” asked Spike.

“We don’t know. None of the animals could say.” Butterfly looked at the falcon with Fedora. “Posey said she doesn’t know who that falcon is; never seen him before.”

Fedora nodded at the falcon and it flew back up to join the other birds circling the area. He then bowed respectfully at the princess, the other Pibb following his lead. “We apologize for the misunderstanding, your majesty. We’ll be going now that things have been cleared up and there is no threat to your village.”

“What?!” “That’s it?” “The fight’s over?” alternatively asked the Rainbows.

“Uh,” Twilight blinked, “Thank you, sir. And thank you for trying to help with the information you had. But who are you?”

Fedora tilted his head to another Pibb behind him who stepped forward, lifting a mirror out of her suitcase.

“You needn’t worry about that,” Fedora continued.

“Hay!” cried Peachie. “Can we call you Mr. Pibb?”

“Or Fedora?” countered Shindy.”

The Pinkies gasped, looking at each other for a moment before trying together, “”Or how about Mr. Fedora Pibb?””

Suddenly the mirror flashed.


*** *** ***


“To think swamp gas of all things could really do all that?” remarked Renae.

“Must have been from Froggy-Bottom Bog,” surmised Posey.

Spike scratched his scales. “And light reflected off the rings of Alicronus at just the right angle to ignite an underground gas main? Didn’t know Ponyville even had those.”

“It was right swell of those fellers to help with the cleanup,” Jackie added.

“And they helped calm down all the animals,” smiled Butterfly.

Ponyjack nodded. “Glad Princess Celestia wasn’t so busy with the ambassadors that she couldn’t get them sent out here.”

“Even if their uniforms were so bland,” Share criticized.

““But why do I have a craving for cherry soda?”” asked the Pinkies. ““You too? No way! And do you really, really want to wear a fedora, too?! Yeah! That’s so weird!””

“And why are we still tied up!” yelled Primo.

“We’ve been sitting here for like five minutes already!” Rad complained.

“Oh! Sorry!” Spike rushed, going over to bite the rope binding the double Rainbow.

Twilight absently watched the proceedings and mumbled to herself, “But Princess Celestia has been busy all day, and Ponyville doesn’t have any gas lines. And Alicronus shouldn’t be in alignment this time of year. Unless Luna redecorated last night.”

““Finally!”” cheered the Rainbows, stretching their wings and returning to the air.

“Just gotta get to the mirror portal now, right?” Rad followed that up, pointing to Twilight’s palace, not far away.

“Right behind you, RD, er, Ah mean R-A-D,” Jackie agreed, trotting after her.

“Come to think of it, why were we tied up to begin with?” pondered Primo before noticing her twin having too much of a lead on her and dropping the question to catch up.

Her friends resuming the trek to her palace snapped Twilight out of her thoughts and she followed along.

On the way, Spike noticed her expression. “Twily still hasn’t written back yet?”

Twi gasped and brought out Sunset’s journal in a rush, turning quickly to the last entry. Her expression dropped again seeing it was her own. “No, not yet.”

Renae dropped back within the group and walked close to them. “Twi, darling, I should tell you that we may have had a few, uh, boo-boos getting oriented in your palace.

“Oh, it’s okay. I remember what it was like when it was Spike and me learning your world. I understand.”

Renae giggled, “Why thank you, dear. I suppose it was just some knocked over bookcases—“

“Let me guess,” interrupted Spike, “that one was Rad.”

“Well, possibly a little of us all. The portal ejected us all quite rudely. Also we scratched up the hall's crystal floor a bit.”

“Oh, don’t worry about the crystal,” Twilight assured her, “it grows back eventually. It’s a living crystal tree. Very helpful when Ember turned my dining room into a meal rather than the meal itself. Also, for whenever Spike feels the need for a midnight snack.

Spike startled back. “H-how’d you know?”

“I can hear the nibbling some nights.”

“Sorry,” Spike cringed with a blush.

Clearing her throat, Renae continued, “We may have also dropped-your-armoire-down-a-flight-of-stairs?”

“You, wha—?” Twilight did a double take.

“Rad did that one!”

Hearing her nickname, Rad slowed to a hover so the conversing ponies would catch up with her.

“Why did Rad drop my wardrobe down the stairs?”

“Whoa, Whoa, Whoa,” Rad cut in. “I lost my grip trying to get it for Renae because she wouldn’t go anywhere naked." She then eyed Renae with a smirk. "Did you tell them about the stocking?”

Renae blushed. “We are not talking about the stocking!”

“I think we’re talking about the stocking.” Rad teased.

“What about the stocking?” Twilight asked.

“Nothing about the stocking!” Renae insisted while Rad lost her altitude from laughing too hard. “I cleaned much of what I could in the palace once I learned magic, but I couldn’t find a washing machine!”

“It’s okay, Renae. I’ll get ‘the stocking’ washed. But now I’m curious, what—“

“Well, you know what they say, ‘curiosity killed the cat’.”

“Heh,” Rad chuckled, “and Renae’s dignity!”

“Now, now, Rad,” chided Share, dropping back and hugging her flushed twin under a foreleg, “one shouldn’t pick on their friends too much. We want them to stay friends after all.”

Renae looked to her twin with a smile. “Of course we’ll always stay friends. The two of us as well. And I hope we’ll be able to return here some day, after we confirm that the portal is keeping the boundaries between our worlds healthy.”

Those words reminded the group of their impending separation. They stopped and looked at each other and the palace, now just a few steps away.

The Applejacks pulled each other into a hug.

“Take care of your pa,” said Ponyjack.

“And you take care of your Grand Pear Pear,” returned Jackie.

The Fluttershies also hugged. Bright smiles and only slight blushes this time.

“I’m glad your animals are alright now. I’m sorry I—“

“It’s okay, they understand," Posey cut off her twin, feeling confident she wouldn’t mind. "And we hope you can come back. I’ll show you around Sweet Feather, my animal sanctuary!”

“Oh, I’d love that!”

The Rainbows landed near each other and scratched the backs of their heads sheepishly. “Sorry about before,” said Rad.

“Nah, I get it. Don’t think I’d—“ she looked around to be sure everycreature else was out of earshot and spoke more quietly, “—be into a furless minotaur with no tail.”

“Heh, tell that to your Twilight.”

The Pinkies turned to each other, leaned in so their foreheads were touching, and spoke together.

““You know what I’m thinking—You know what I’m thinking!”” They winked. ““Well don’t let me stop you!””

They crushed each other into a tight hug, almost disappearing into their manes and tails.

““Oh! I was wondering where I put that banana cream and peanut butter and jelly pie! You too?! You know it! You mind if I—? Go right ahead!””

They each reached into the other’s manes, pulled out a pie, and started to eat.

Share, with Renae still under a foreleg, and watching the other pairs ahead of them, gave her twin a friendly nuzzle. “Perhaps we could keep in touch with that journal.”

Renae gasped and turned to Twilight. “Could we get more? I wouldn’t want to use up all of Sunset’s pages.”

Having been smiling upon seeing all the hugs, Twilight nodded. “I was just thinking about that.”

““Really?”” the Rarities squeed.

“It will take a while to enchant five more pairs of journals, and I won’t want to use the portal for some time after today, but I should be able to get them to you long before the thirty moon cycle starts over.”

Cheers and more hugs erupted among the group.

“You think Paws can write?” asked Spike. “I mean he’s a dog and has, well, paws. No horn either. Could he write with his mouth like ponies? But dogs can slobber a lot. He might need a waterproof journal.”

“Oh!” spoke up Renae. “Unlined for ours, please. We’ll be sharing designs as often as letters!”

Twilight giggled, “Seven pairs of journals. I think I’ll get a set with Twily too, and I’ll see what I can do about specifics.”

It was then, amid the cheers that the existing journal finally began to buzz and glow.

The chatter and cheers died down almost instantly. The Pinkies quickly swallowed what was left of their pies. Twilight hurriedly opened the book to watch as the newest entry filled in.

The writing was rushed, sloppy, had terrible spelling, and gave no indication of the author. It wasn't even adhering to the lines, instead being sprawled near the center of the page. Twilight did her best to read it out loud.





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