It was strange, seeing Canterlot in such an undamaged state. Rainbow Dash frowned at the city on the mountain as the train drew closer, thinking back on how her world’s version of the ancient city was visibly broken down after the series of battles that had taken place within its walls. She could clearly recall the perpetual haze of dust that had settled over the city and the omnipresent ruckus of construction as ponies scrambled to repair the damage. Piles of rubble, collapsed buildings, and scorch marks had been numerous.
None of those things were true for this Canterlot. It was the pristine image of what the city was supposed to be. A shining beacon displaying the dedication and ingenuity of ponykind to build a city on such a precarious slope and make it their capital.
‘Coulda just built in the clouds,’ she thought to herself. ‘But eh. Maybe I’m biased.’
She tore her eyes away from the city to survey the interior of the train cart. She was accompanied by Twilight, Chrysalis, and Spike, of course, all sharing her booth and talking idly amongst themselves. The rest of their friends were huddled up in groups around the cart, having broken off after the first half of the journey and their various questions had been answered.
Trying to get Applejack to understand how multiple worlds worked was, in Twilight’s implied words, a tangible nightmare.
Pinkie understood it far too quickly to be coincidental.
“So, you wish to have two Rainbow Dashes wandering around Canterlot in plain sight, hoping nopony finds something wrong with that,” Chrysalis snarked to break up a bout of silence that had suddenly filled their carriage, likely having quickly grown bored of listening in to the others’ drab conversations. “Might I interject and propose there could be complications with this plan, daughter?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Hey, it’ll be fine. We’ll just say one of them is a drone or something.”
“And that is meant to increase their confidence?”
“To be fair,” Rainbow pointed out, glancing briefly at her other self by Pinkie and Fluttershy. “From what I’ve heard, I’m kinda famous over here. Having a drone admirer wanting to look like me, while creepy as all heck, wouldn’t be totally unbelievable.”
“I think your ego could go without the stroking,” she deadpanned in turn. “No drone would want to imitate you. Not from my hive.”
Twilight raised a hoof. “Um, actually-”
“Not. A. Drone.”
Twilight got the message and decided to stop her rebuttal then and there.
Spike chuckled at the banter. “Oh, relax you two. Two Rainbows is hardly the weirdest thing these ponies have seen. I’m sure they’ll just chalk it all up to some friendship problem that has nothing to do with them.”
“If anything, ponies might just assume she has a twin that’s little known about,” Twilight mused. “There are enough noticeable differences to make them assume you’re actually two different ponies. The scar, for one, the hairstyle, the way you carry yourself… If anything, two changeling royals just wandering about is more likely to raise some eyebrows. Not to mentions the fact that our drone escort is still shadowing us.”
“You didn’t expect them to stay in that backwater town, did you?” Chrysalis sneered. “They can stay out of sight. But yes, I do concede an unannounced visit might raise more questions than I can be bothered with. Fine, we will do it the usual subtle way.”
With that said, green flames surrounded the Changeling Queen that caused her form to noticeably shrink down, black fur replacing chitin as her messy and marginally translucent mane was replaced with an equally scuffed head of normal green hair.
The new unicorn leaned back in her seat, giving a rather pleased-with-herself smirk at the others.
Rainbow started snickering.
Chrysalis’ smirk drifted off into a snark. “What?”
Rainbow pointed a hoof at her, using the other to hide her giggles. “That’s the best you can come up with? Really? I don’t think anypony’s gonna mistake that. Heh.”
The snarl increased. “I’m hardly trying to infiltrate your garishly colourful little city, interloper. It’s enough that ponies won’t think much of it. It wouldn’t matter if I were a mere drone, but a royal gallivanting through the streets will get some attention.”
Another flash of green went off next to Rainbow, Twilight too shifting into her old pony form. This time without the wings, however.
“She’s not wrong. I haven’t been back to Canterlot since… Well…”
“Since they tried harming my child. So excuse our diligence,” Chrysalis said with her eyes narrowing.
Rainbow opened her mouth to ramble out an apology, the mirth quickly fleeing her system. However, before she could get the words out, a voice spoke out over the loudspeaker of the train. “We are now arriving at Canterlot Station. This is our final station, so all passengers, please prepare to depart. Thank you for travelling with the Friendship Express!”
Spike hopped down, looking relieved. “Whew! Finally! Let’s get a move on! Those archives aren’t gonna search themselves!” he declared.
Twilight followed him with a similarly eager smile. “No, they won’t! Do you have the checklist?”
“You mean of all the books you want us to find first?”
“Of course.”
Spike pulled it out with a fanciful flourish. “Right here!”
Rainbow watched them go for a few seconds before glancing out her window one more time. Her brow furrowed somewhat before she, too, slid out of her seat and went to follow Twilight. She paused by Chrysalis long enough to give her a sideways glance. “...Sorry. I was just trying to lighten my mood a bit, that’s all.”
“So I can understand, Rainbow Dash, but even for the aforementioned drones that do live in Canterlot full-time due to our embassy, being in our own forms is, unfortunately, an uncomfortable affair. We never know if somepony will react as they did before.”
Rainbow looked directly ahead, her eyes downcast. “...Right. I gotcha,” she relented before giving the Changeling Queen a sideways look. “But if it makes you feel any better… long as I’m around, I don’t plan on letting anypony hurt Twilight. Mine, or yours.”
Chrysalis gave her an odd look. “...You truly mean that. I can smell it on you. What are your intentions towards her, exactly?”
Rainbow snorted. “Well, I don’t plan to sweep her off her hooves or anything like that, if that’s what you’re worried about. I just won’t leave my friends hanging. Not again.”
Chrysalis seemed less than convinced but decided to accept this explanation for the time being. “Very well. I can see your words are as honest as the orange one would insist upon, and I appreciate the sentiment. In truth, she remains hopeful that past ‘incidents’ will fade from memory sooner rather than later. I remain unconvinced. There are reasons for our kind’s isolation for all these millennia, but… Well, I suppose her grandmother would be pleased…”
Rainbow hummed at that before moving forward, giving Chrysalis room to stand up. “Fair enough. Maybe if we get a moment, you and Twi could tell me a little more one of these days. It would be good to bring that kind of info back home if only because I know my Twilight will love to hear it.”
“They are studious like that, aren’t they? I do wonder where she would have gotten such things from where you come from. Seeing as I am, apparently, neither her mother nor particularly sane. An… amusing thought.”
Rainbow shuddered. “Not amusing for me,” she reminded before lifting up her hoof to show off her scar.
Before either of them could say anything else, the train finally pulled to a stop, and the crowds of passengers seeking to disembark began to grow increasingly thick. Rainbow looked down the cart towards where Twilight and the others were already trying to squeeze out the doors, the changeling royal among them glancing back at her with confusion.
“So I recall,” Chrysalis said slowly before brushing past Rainbow. “We may discuss this matter another time. For now, we should not keep the others waiting. We have work to do, after all.”
Rainbow had no complaints, and took off after the Queen, the two of them soon rejoining the others by the train door.
“Hey,” Twilight greeted them again as they finally reached the group. “What were you talking about back there?”
“Little of note,” Chrysalis dismissed. “Now, let us get this over with. I’ll feel better when we are back at the castle, assuming they have maintained the added security measures we suggested.”
“You know they have,” Twilight chided. “There’s nothing to worry about, Mother. You’ll see.”
“Wait wait, hol’ up,” Applejack interjected. “What’s she doin’ lookin’ like that?”
“What do you mean?”
“All pony?”
“Noooot exactly convincing, either. Sheesh, you’re losing your touch, Chryssie,” Pinkie Pie remarked.
Chrysalis’ eye twitched. “...You know what? Fine. You win.”
Another bout of green flames, one that proved quite alarming to the other passengers given the stares and yelps of surprise, but once it was done the blatant pony Chrysalis was replaced with a pale green unicorn mare with a darker orange mane giving them all an irritated glare.
“There? Is that more to your ‘approval’? If anypony asks, I am a photographer trailing royalty for some article somewhere. Shutterbug, how about?”
They all looked at her, snorts and giggles spreading through the ranks.
She growled. “NOW WHAT!?”
The native Rainbow Dash looked ready to burst into hysterics. “Shutter… bug…?”
“I hate every last one of you.”
Twilight rolled her eyes.
The trot through Canterlot was a brisk one, Chrysalis insisting that they not stop until they were within the castle’s walls. Twilight seemed more bemused at her mother’s continued disdain towards the city than anything else, feeling relatively at ease at the familiar streets she’d known since she was a child.
But she couldn’t fault her for her continued paranoia. Twilight’s pleasant memories here still outweighed that terrible day, even if the scars were still there, figuratively and literally. But her mother’s experiences here were nought but strife. Nearly losing her child once to natural causes, leading to the… ‘misunderstanding’ that followed, and then almost losing her again to a few misled fools and a shadow that continued to hang over them to that very day.
It really was no wonder she was as paranoid as she was, even if Twilight could feel the minds of their escort, disguised as ponies mingling among the crowd.
Maybe one day changelings could walk in their own forms in far greater numbers without fearing the past. One day…
But that was a question for tomorrow, today there were far more immediate matters on Twilight’s mental to-do list.
One, reach Canterlot. Check. Two, tell the Princesses of Equestria that the walls between universes have holes in them. Three, plug said holes.
Easy!
...Or perhaps not so easy. It was nothing she and her friends couldn’t figure out, though. If nothing else, if they needed something brute-forced, her mother was on-station for that.
“Do be careful about transmitting your thoughts whenever in ‘the zone’, daughter.”
Eep!
Their arrival at the castle could not come fast enough, and it came as a relief to the changelings present when they finally left the streets of the city behind. Twilight took a deep breath, savouring the familiar environment of the west castle courtyard, before turning and gesturing towards one of the interior entrances.
“Come on. Let’s get inside and figure this out.”
Rainbow Dash hummed. “Yeah, right. Come on, the archives are this way.”
The other Rainbow gave her a confused look. “Huh? How the heck do you know?”
“Grew up here, remember?”
“Oh, right. A little hard to keep this other-world stuff straight…”
“Tell me about it,” Applejack deadpanned.
“Oh, it’s not that bad. It’s really quite interesting,” Fluttershy said supportively. “Um, do you think we should talk to the princess first? You know, if we really want to…”
“Probably. Seems like they should know RD broke things,” Applejack commented.
“Did not!” Rainbow, both of them, protested.
“Yes, we should do that,” Twilight interrupted. “Extra insight is always welcome in a group study session!”
“To a point, I would agree,” Chrysalis stated. “I am eager to put this matter to rest. It has been an… unconventional few days.”
“Psh, that’s often for so many of our days,” Rarity noted. “But maybe you should leave those guards of yours out here? I’m hardly against being pursued by so many stallions-”
Applejack made a show of gagging.
“-but perhaps our little crowd is becoming a tad on the large side, hm?”
Pinkie took in a breath. “Oh! Like cooks in a kitchen! Like that time I had Mr Cake and Mrs Cake and the twins and Gummy and-”
They left her to babble as their conversation continued without the party pony.
“We might work quicker if we’re not being crowded. They can keep an eye on things out here, maybe in their usual forms so the Royal Guard knows they meant to be here,” Twilight agreed.
Chrysalis paused for a moment, but then gave a hum of agreement. “Very well. Just remain close.”
With a tiny twitch of her head, the guards received the command and green flames revealed them from their positions around the courtyard. They each saluted before going to integrate with their pony counterparts and ensure the safety of their charges.
“Carduus, we are in Canterlot. Hopefully, we shall return in a short time,” the Queen concluded with a short update to her Captain of the Guard.
“Noted. The hive is well, as I am sure you have noticed. Need anything else from us?”
“Just keep tabs on the drones here in Canterlot. They are your eyes in this matter.”
“Understood.”
Chrysalis turned back to the others. “Very well, are we ready?”
Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah. I wanna figure this out and get home.”
“Then let’s get going,” Twilight concluded, leading the way as the others moved to follow her into the castle. “Hopefully Celestia and Luna have some insight into this.”
With one very obvious exception, at least.
“-and Maud’s picture from that one Hearth’s Warming and that odd little stick Gummy found that one time and ME! It was a mess let me tell you!” Pinkie Pie finished with a reminiscent smile. “What do you think? Cupcakes or enchiladas?”
She turned, only to see the hind ends of her friends vanishing into the castle.
“Heeeey! Wait up!”
Rainbow’s eyes roved over the inside of the castle as the group made their way for the throne room. The general aesthetic was identical to the one she knew, albeit there were a few subtle differences in layout and proportion that her keen eye caught right away. The halls were a touch wider, the ceiling a little higher, and the windows were a little closer together.
Were it not for those slight tilts setting her senses off, she might have forgotten she was in a parallel world.
The group passed through a set of ornate double doors leading into what Rainbow presumed was the antechamber, a sort of waiting area for petitioners and court-attendees to wait their turn. But instead of an assembly of courtiers and ponies waiting to be admitted to the throne room, Celestia and Luna were facing one another, speaking in hushed voices. The two alicorns turned to face the group as they arrived.
“Ah, good, there you are,” Luna greeted with a warm smile. “We were just about to go…”
Rainbow’s mind didn’t pick up the following words. Her jaw had fallen open, her heart beating harder in her chest. They were identical to her family back home. Every detail… even the tiny imperfections she had long ago learned to pick out in Celestia’s otherwise pristine face were exactly the same.
Hearing her adoptive aunt’s voice again was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back.
Rainbow suddenly kicked off the ground, throwing herself against the two alicorns and wrapping her forelegs in a tight hug. They both staggered back from the impromptu embrace, both of them falling back to their haunches in surprise.
Celestia didn’t immediately remove the pegasus, just shooting Twilight Sparkle a questioning look from over Rainbow’s shoulder as said disguised changeling, and all her friends, gave the scene one giant look of shock and disbelief.
Luna, meanwhile, had less patience for such nonsense.
“RAINBOW DASH!” Luna bellowed in a rather unnecessary example of the Royal Canterlot voice, stepping back and looking mildly displeased at being assaulted. “This is not a welcome intrusion! Twilight Sparkle, do explain the clinginess of the blue one this instance!”
And then Luna blinked, seeing a second Rainbow Dash shrinking back with an absolutely mortified expression that screamed ‘Oh my gosh I’m so dead’.
Her expression cooled. “Ah, now I see.”
Rainbow had backed out of the embrace the moment Luna had shouted at her. Her ears had folded back against her head in a desperate attempt to shut out the ringing sound now flooding her skull. She took a deep breath and backed up until she was standing a little behind Twilight. “S-sorry… just… impulse,” she mumbled, looking away.
‘They aren’t my family,’ she reminded herself solemnly. ‘The Rainbow they know isn’t anywhere near that close to them.’
“Luna!” Celestia hissed so as to chide her little sister. “That was unnecessary.”
The lunar alicorn huffed. “I do… apologize for the reaction, Rainbow Dash. But do try to keep to yourself. I do believe you are far from what is familiar.”
The words took a second to click in Rainbow’s mind. When they did, she looked up at Luna with wide eyes. “Wha- huh? You… how do you know that?”
“Yes, how do you know, lest you have developed a hive mind of your own in our absence,” Chrysalis’ voice spoke out, ‘Shutterbug’ stepping forward and reverting to her more familiar form. “It is an odd coincidence, don’t you think?”
“Ah, Queen Chrysalis,” Celestia greeted with a nod of her head. “I should have expected you, too, would be here.”
“You were expecting us at all…?” Twilight questioned further.
“Yes, Twilight. We were. Or, at the very least, we were planning on reaching out to you,” the Princess of the Sun confirmed, stepping forward and nuzzling the false unicorn on the head. “But leaving that aside for the moment, it is good to see you again.”
Twilight returned the nuzzle to her mentor and other mother-figure. “Likewise. It’s… been an odd few days.”
Celestia chuckled. “Isn’t it always?”
“And irritating,” Chrysalis added.
“I’m sure it was. But as Queen of the Hive, I’m certain you handled it gracefully.”
Chrysalis gave her a flat stare. “Do mind yourself, Celestia. You might accidentally bite off that witty tongue of yours.”
“I dunno about ‘gracefully,’” Rainbow said quietly. “I mean, she kinda punted me with a sleeping spell…”
It was now Celestia’s turn to level the Changeling Queen with a flat look.
“...She was being an irritant. A most distressed irritant,” the Queen retorted. “Causing untold havoc in my hive, not to mention striking at my daughter.”
Rainbow’s ears folded shamefully.
Celestia hummed. “I’m sure she was. But I suppose you are looking for a way to fix… this strange mess in which we have found ourselves.”
“Indeed. The disruption of my hive is one thing, but it seems there might be more at stake if we cannot get this other Rainbow Dash back where she seemingly belongs.”
“Then we are in agreement. It is good you came.”
“Yeah, ‘bout that,” the other Rainbow piped up, raising a hoof. “Sorry to cut the formalities and junk short, but do you guys know what’s going on already? ‘Cause we kinda ran up here to tell you about it.”
“Yeah, and yet y’all seem to have all the answers already,” Applejack pointed out.
“Seems oddly convenient, don’t you think?” Rarity agreed.
“That is certainly one way to view it,” Luna remarked as she stepped forward. “But we are hardly all-knowing of other worlds. Our view into such things vanished with Starswirl, for the most part. The stallion did have a knack for the strange and otherworldly.”
“Then do enlighten us,” Chrysalis demanded. “This pony fell through a tear and landed at the Badlands Hive, plain for all to see. How do you know of this?”
Rainbow stepped forward as well, forcing down any lingering embarrassment from her affection outburst. She came to a stop not far away from Luna, looking deep into the alicorn’s eyes. “...What do you know?” she finally managed to ask. “Please. I just wanna go home…”
Luna’s eyes softened, if only a little. “A great deal, as it was your own family who brought this matter to my attention.”
Rainbow’s eyes widened. “W-what?! How?!”
Luna closed her eyes for a moment. “...I was undergoing my patrols in the Dream Realm, as I always do. But a few nights ago I sensed another presence in my realm, if only briefly. It vanished… Until last night, when it returned. And I found it.”
Twilight tilted her head. “Another person inside the Dream Realm? Who?”
Luna levelled Twilight a cool stare, her answer coming both swiftly and decisively.
“Me.”