The previous night…
The little embers that made up the vast sea of unconscious minds swam magnificently through the blue-tinted void, dancing around the lunar alicorn like her children of the night. Every single one a window into another life, full of ideas and hopes and dreams that would take the mare lifetimes to understand. Lifetimes she had spent, and yet came no closer to witnessing the full scope of the dream realm. Lights would come and go, ponies rising up from young to old, and every single one held a new story for her to bear witness to.
Of course, they also held nightmares to vanquish along the way.
Yes, it could be taxing patrolling the realm, as was her self-given duty to the ponies of Equestria, and even beyond on some occasions. Not every mind was… clean of vice, some far worse than others, but all fell under her jurisdiction one way or another. The innocent majority, the brightest minds flying all around her all deserved her love and care; fear to lay to rest, torment to be ended, a duty she performed with all her ability and heart.
As for the less innocent? Well, nightmares were the least of their concerns.
Thankfully, though, such incidents were in the minority, and it was here that she now peered at the minds of those she enjoyed attending to the most. The children. The brightest minds of all, so full of life and imagination, many of their dreams filled with adventures with friends and the loving embrace of family.
As was the case with the dream before her, or at least it was now. A few moments prior, it had been a rather amusing nightmare of the young colt being chased around by equations from an incoming math test. Such were the dreams she imagined Twilight Sparkle to suffer as a foal.
‘And still does on occasion. But that’s confidential,’ Luna mused with amusement. ‘One day I’m certain she will stop trying to find the definitive end to ‘pi’.’
The dream’s terrifying contents had been resolved, however, and now the colt was instead experiencing an equally amusing scenario that involved something to do with a pencil, a piece of gum and a stormcloud.
The minds of ponies were incredibly strange at times, but at least this one didn’t have a flamingo. Those accursed feathers…
Her ruminations on past hijinks were abruptly cut off when she felt a subtle, but tangible, shift in the space around her. Luna frowned, her ears perking up while her eyes turned to zero in on the source of the disturbance. She had felt it once before, only a few nights ago, but when she went to study the scene, the disturbance had gone.
This time, the shift was stronger. Adding to her surprise, it was then followed by another. And another. Three subtle shifts in rapid succession gently rocked the Dream Realm like the cradle of a sleeping foal, causing everything around her to sway and drift from one side to the other.
Narrowing her eyes, Luna set off, her hooves gliding effortlessly along a long ribbon of pale blue light that carried her closer to the source of the disturbance. Whatever it was, she had no intention of letting it get away this time. If it was a threat, she needed to know at once.
A few short leaps and glides later, Luna came to a soft landing on a vaguely disk-shaped platform of stars. She looked down into a more or less empty region of dream space, where her eyes were drawn to a rippling orange shroud and the beings who stood in front of it.
Luna’s eyes widened. ‘What in the world…?’
Down below, she saw Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle as a pony alicorn, and another Princess Luna. All three were looking around, squinting into the Dream Realm as if searching for something.
“Odd… she was here the last time,” the other Luna mused to herself in thought. “Perhaps the rift took us somewhere else…”
“That would make this process exceptionally more difficult,” Celestia added with a grimace. “If these rifts aren’t guaranteed to take us to my daughter, then we’d almost be better off not using them…”
Luna’s eyes widened even more ‘Daughter? Sister, what are you talking about?’
“But what other options do we have?” Twilight asked uneasily, turning to the two alicorns with her ears drooping. “You found her here once! Can’t you find her again? I mean, this is your domain, isn’t it? Don’t you have more power here?”
The other Luna shook her head with a grimace of discomfort, the Dream Realm once more shifting around her for a moment. “Alas… wherever we are, the Dream Realm here is resistant to my attempts to pull on it. I do not believe I have ever been here, before…”
“Oh…” Twilight relented quietly, her ears drooping. “Well… I guess we do this the old fashioned way, then?”
Celestia nodded. “It would appear that way… but we could scour this place for a lifetime and only touch on a fraction of it. There must be millions of dreams in all of this. Even with Rainbow’s being as distinctive as it is, finding it in all of this would be akin to finding one needle in a mountain of haystacks.”
“Fortunately,” the other Luna added with a small grin. “You have a magnet. My influence is severely limited here, but I do still have some power. I know what to look for, what to feel for. If we draw close enough, I should be able to find her and guide us to her.”
“But… will that take long? I mean…” Twilight asked, gesturing out at the vastness of the void ahead of them.
“Time has little meaning in the world of dreams. It is as we need it to be, more or less. I believe I can give us the time we need, at the very least, but we should tread with care. My previous experience in this place was… unnerving. I’ve never encountered an area of the Dream Realm I couldn’t control such as this, nor one with such... anomalies as I saw.”
“Anomalies? Like what?” Twilight asked uneasily.
The other Luna frowned, falling quiet for a moment before turning to face Twilight and Celestia directly. “I do not know how to describe it, and it would be better if I did not leap to conclusions. Until I know more, I ask that you focus on just finding Rainbow’s dreams.”
“Agreed,” Celestia stated. “Let us be swift. This ‘rift’ may have taken us to a whole new aspect of the Dream Realm yet undiscovered, or something else entirely. If you do not know, sister, then I cannot claim to.”
“Stay close then, lest you cause more trouble.”
“I will be on my best behaviour, you have my word.”
“Good, this is my domain. Even if it is stranger here. Come, chatter will not find my niece any faster.”
Twilight sheepishly nodded. “Y-yeah. Right…”
And from above them, as the trio began to move out into the Dream Realm with the lead alicorn’s horn flaring out to scan the environment, Princess Luna stared down at the interlopers and clear imposters with a rather unamused frown. She had seen enough.
‘HER domain? The arrogance!’ Parasites? Facsimiles? One of Discord’s pranks? ‘Whatever the case, they intrude on my domain. The Night shall not abide by this insult!’
Smirking to herself, quite ready to see these imposters booted from her realm, Luna’s form dissolved into a blue smoke as she engaged her shadowform spell. Dark magic? Technically. But hardly harmful, and it was most useful in deterring the unwelcome…
Her shadow snaked its way through the void, weaving between the motes of light as Luna trailed the three ponies as they started to study the various dreams that passed them by. What would they do with them? Who were they looking for? The thought that these imposters might harm her subjects through the Dream Realm made the princess’ shadowy form bristle in anger. This simply would not abide.
Soon enough, the shadow settled behind them as they came to a stop, the lead imposter who dared wear her face seemingly trying to find a route through the realm, and so her own shadow began to expand, forming itself into a giant equine figure not unlike the Tantabus that haunted her own dreams. Her eyes opened as blotches of pure light to contrast with the shadow surrounding the rest of her form. A dreaded aura began to come off of her as she opened her mouth. The Royal Canterlot Voice bellowed out for all to hear.
“INTERLOPERS! WHEREFORE DOST THOU INTRUDE UPON MY DREAM REALM!? LEAVE! DEPART YOUR FALSITIES AND BEGONE, LEST YOU FACE THE NIGHT’S WRATH!”
The three ponies all turned around with a start, staring up at the shadow-bound being with their eyes widening in surprise. Twilight Sparkle shrank bank with a terrified help, retreating behind Celestia as she and the other Luna shared a glance.
And then Celestia spoke.
“...Luna? I do appreciate your theatrics, but this is hardly the time.”
The other Luna frowned, lowering herself into a defensive stance. “I assure you that this is not me. Not this time,” she said carefully, her horn softly shimmering with magic.
“Sister, this is clearly the kind of stunt you would have as a countermeasure. I would know, I have personally suffered from the ‘Wrath of the Night’ routine.”
Luna was rather taken aback by this development, her false form frowning in confusion. “FOOLS YOU ARE-”
The other Luna scoffed. “Enough. End this charade this instant.”
“WHAT!?”
“The mirror image is quite disconcerting, and from where I stand you are the interloper. Who are you to take one of my own visages?”
Now Luna was just offended. The audacity of this mare!
The shadow began to shrink, reverting back to the form of Princess Luna herself as she faced her own doppelganger and her little group of intruders.
“I am Princess Luna of Equestria! And this is my Dream Realm!” the Princess declared, sending out a pulse of magic that rearranged some of the dreams around them in demonstration. Her doppelganger blinked, becoming quite rattled at the sight. “You are the intruders here, not I!”
Celestia frowned, taking a step forward. “I believe you are mistaken. My sister stands next to me right now,” she said in a cautious, yet diplomatic, tone.
“I am so confused,” Twilight mumbled from behind her.
“I believe I would know if I had a twin, lest you hide yet more from me, sister,” Luna remarked mockingly.
“Yes. Why do I feel like she would do something like that?” the other Luna agreed dispassionately.
Celestia grimaced, giving the blue alicorn next to her a hurt look. “Luna! We shall have plenty of time to point hooves and make outdated accusations at a later time. But for now,” she turned to face the true Luna. “We have other matters to deal with.”
A brief silence fell over the group before Celestia took the lead again. “I do not know who you are, but your control over this place has been demonstrated, and thus cannot be denied. I assure you, we did not come here with violent intentions. We are merely searching for a missing family member so that we can return her safely home. If you would allow us to conduct our search in peace, or even lend us your aid, then there will be no cause for violence or conflict.”
Luna looked unconvinced. “I find it doubtful you would find any such member of one’s family in my realm, whether or not you are who you appear to be, which I have obvious reason to doubt has any real merit.”
The other Luna hummed, appearing intrigued by the comment. “Actually, there may be some merit… Two minds, both belonging to Rainbow Dash…” she muttered under her breath, rubbing at her chin with a hoof.
Princess Luna tilted her head. “I beg your pardon?”
The other Luna turned to her taller counterpart. “Celestia, the anomalies I mentioned. One of them was encountering two separate dreams, both containing the signature that I know to belong to your daughter. Two Rainbow Dashes.”
The native lunar alicorn’s eyes widened. “What did you just say!?”
The interloping Luna turned to her with a frown. “...I said that I saw the dreams of two separate Rainbow Dashes when last I was here,” she stated matter-of-factly.
“Preposterous. There is no way that...” Luna began, briefly turning her mind away from the discussion and focusing on the distant stars of the dream realm. Her eyes widened when, sure enough, she sensed two dreams, both identical in composition, albeit far different in contents, far off near Ponyville.
Luna blinked several times. “But… how? How is this possible?!”
Celestia frowned “I, too, would very much like to know the answer to that. I believe I would know if my daughter had a clone.”
As the intruding alicorns continued their discussion, Luna noticed Twilight’s face scrunching up in thought before she spoke. “Another world…” She all but whispered to herself.
All eyes turned to her. Celestia, in particular, raised an eyebrow in question. Twilight looked up, noticing the sudden attention, and shrank down further in a manner Luna would find more befitting of the Bearer of Kindness than that of Magic.
“Twilight?” the Princess of the Sun called out gently. “Care to elaborate?”
“Uh… I mean…” She shuffled uncomfortably on the spot. “I was just a… It was something I read about once after I got home from the Empire. Most of it went over my head, but it was talking about the possibility of other worlds.”
Celestia and the other Luna shared a glance, their brows furrowed, the former being the one to speak her thought first. “By chance, was that tome written by Starswirl the Bearded?” she asked after a moment.
Twilight nodded. “Er, yes. Why?”
The other Luna hummed. “He was our teacher when we were foals. The full extent of his research is not known to us, sadly, but we do know he dabbled in that area for a time. He even had something to show for his efforts, a mirror that, if his research is accurate, leads to another world. Although neither my sister or I have ever taken the liberty of passing through it. Too many unknowns, even for my tastes.”
Princess Luna gave a hum of contemplation, moving in a half-circle around the group as she studied them with cautious curiosity. “Starswirl the Bearded, you claim? I do recall the artefact in question; I, too, have never delved into his final creation. However… I remain sceptical. How could you come to be here?”
“How could there be two Rainbows?” her other self pointed out. “We are unclear as to the details, but we have developed a theory of sorts. There was recently an event where we came from, a cosmic storm that emerged from the heavens themselves. All of my initial examinations led me to believe it would prove to be a harmless spectacle and nothing more. However, Rainbow Dash’s abrupt disappearance coincided with the storm’s arrival in Equestria, and it touched very closely to Ponyville. When it passed, so too had my niece seemingly vanished without a trace. As for how we came to be here,”
She turned and gestured at the orange anomaly that yet lingered some ways away. “The storm left residual energy, mirrored in both the waking world and the Dream Realm. I passed through one previously, but it collapsed and snapped me back to my body before I could get very far. This is another such rift, albeit far larger than the last. We cannot physically pass through, but the Dream Realm has ever been an intangible space, unbound by the same limitations as the waking world.”
The native Princess of the Night frowned at her counterpart’s words. “Yes, that would make a degree of sense. Time’s laws have less meaning here, as do the laws governing what we would define as our reality. What say you, Twilight Sparkle? I would assume you are as studied as the changeling I know, even if your appearance suggests certain differences, what do you believe?”
Twilight shrank back again, her eyes widening. “Wha- changeling?!” she echoed in alarm. “But… but I’m not…”
Celestia glanced at Luna with a sceptical look. “...That raises a fair many questions,” she said plainly before leaping to her student’s defence. “But as it stands, I am afraid Twilight Sparkle is… not as able to contribute to such matters at the present.”
Twilight nodded shakily. “R-right… I have amnesia,” she admitted, her ears drooping. “I’ve only been like this for a month or two… Everything’s so… new.”
“...I see. A pity, as your mind has always been one my sister has cherished so, and one I respect,” Luna noted with sympathy. She gave her other self an odd look as she spied her somewhat disagreeing expression. “Even so, I must admit… Your minds are eerily similar, if not identical, to those I have tended to before in this place. There is… credence for what you claim. Which would indeed make Rainbow Dash the child of you, sister?”
“Adopted, but yes,” Celestia affirmed. “I take it this is not so on your side of the equation?”
“Indeed. My own sibling is as hopeless in romance as she is resisting a side order of cake,” Luna noted with a sly smirk. “Tis good you clarified the adoption, I was starting to think one of you actually managed to woo a stallion against all evidence to the contrary.”
Celestia pouted, the other Luna grinned, and Twilight frowned in confusion.
“Was that truly necessary?” Celestia asked in a deadpan.
“Ever and always,” the other Luna answered without missing a beat.
“Ugh.”
“And yet I am further convinced, for our usual sparring, and that expert sulk, to be so precise,” Princess Luna said in amusement. “But assuming it is so, what is it you intend to do? As… revolutionary as this development is, you are still outsiders in my Dream Realm.”
The other Luna nodded her head. “So it would seem. As it stands, we had come here oblivious to that fact, with our intent being to discern my niece’s location so we may find her and bring her home. However, if it is true that she is in an entirely different world from our own…”
“Then matters just got significantly more complicated,” Celestia finished with a growing expression of concern.
“And yet this meeting may prove favourable,” the native alicorn told them. “With this being an increasingly likely alternate reality, I am more than capable of leaving this realm and searching my own world. And if I had to guess… Hmph, it would be fitting for this to occur where they were involved. You should be aware that I can sense both your Rainbow Dash and my own in Ponyville.”
“Double Rainbows?” Twilight asked, her eyes going even wider. “...Can we see?”
Before Luna could give her answer, a low, bassy rumble rippled throughout the Dream Realm, the orange rift visibly spasming and growing smaller. The interlopers all let out pained grunts as their visible forms began to flicker and became transparent.
“Gah! The rift!” The other Luna turned to it in irritation. “I thought we would have more time!”
So, too, did the native Luna flinch at the sudden magical assault, reaching out with her own influence in an attempt to assist her other self in keeping the opening stable for a short while longer.
“I fear your time here is nearing an end. But fear not, for I also sense the minds of the other Bearers of Harmony with your progeny. You should know them, as you know your Twilight, amnesia notwithstanding. They will almost certainly deliver her to us, and I will do all I can.”
“You have our thanks,” Celestia replied. “Until we can find a way to bring her home, take care of her for me. Please.”
“And keep an eye open for any more of these rifts,” the other Luna added. “We shall do the same. When next an opportunity presents itself, I propose we attempt to make contact again.”
Luna nodded. “We will watch for your presence. Do not fear, if she arrived here as she has, there must be a way to return. Good luck… Wherever you come from.”
And with that, the rift snapped shut with a sound akin to a blast of thunder in reverse. With little fanfare, the three interlopers flickered and vanished from sight, leaving the Princess of the Night to hover in the midst of her Dream Realm, alone once more.
Present Day…
Princess Luna finished regaling those gathered around her about the visitors in her Dream Realm and all that had occurred between them. Princess Twilight was, rather typically, having Spike help her with an abundance of notes, and the Element Bearers all had mixed reactions while Queen Chrysalis looked merely disgruntled by the development.
“So, you see…” she began her conclusion. “They are searching for you, Rainbow Dash. These tears, in reality, are at least strong enough for us to communicate, but likely more than that seeing as you are here at all.”
“A troubling matter,” Celestia added. “Considering what could have caused such a thing.”
“Except for a troublesome chaotic jester believing himself hilarious?” Chrysalis suggested. “For all his supposed ‘reformation’, his antics are well documented.”
Rainbow Dash blinked at that, turning to face Chrysalis directly. “Woah, hold on. Chaotic jester?” she asked slowly, her eyes revealing a deep-seated anxiety. “Who are you talking about?”
“Discord. That draconequus has been no end of trouble, if only because he seems to be inconveniently absent whenever his foolery may be useful.”
The colour visibly drained from Rainbow’s face, her pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks. “...Discord? W-wha… what?” she stammered out, her words coming out choked, as if she were being strangled by the mere idea. “He… he’s still around?!”
Fluttershy perked up a little too much for Rainbow Dash’s liking. “Oh, yes! You just missed him before you came to Ponyville. He always makes sure to be on time for our tea parties! But he can be a little hard to get a hold of when he’s… wherever he goes when he’s not around…”
Rainbow stood still as a statue for several moments, her eyes going distant. She took a few deep breaths before screwing her eyes shut and shaking her head. “R-right, okay, uh… just gonna try and not think about that,” she managed to say.
“Okay, maybe we should leave the implications and differences of two entirely different Discords out of this, huh?” Twilight said with a nervous half-smile. “Um, so… tears in time and space! That sounds interesting!”
Rainbow appeared to be distinctly aware of that topic change, but for the moment elected not to press it.
“Fascinating, and profoundly concerning,” Luna responded to the young changeling royal.
Twilight’s nerves didn’t improve. “What? Why?”
“Discord is unlikely to be responsible. His attempt would be far more… flamboyant. The lack of an obvious presence all but rules out his involvement, leaving the cause of this incident entirely unknown to us.”
“But the power required is certainly… worrying, in its implications,” Celestia also pointed out.
“So who is the foe we must face to be rid of this nonsense?” Chrysalis demanded to know.
“If there’s a foe at all,” Twilight remarked. “I mean, what if this is some kind of weird… multi-dimensional natural… disaster…”
Princess Luna saw the proverbial light bulb go off in Twilight’s eyes.
“Oh! You look like you’re about to give an epic Twilighting moment!” Pinkie Pie cheered on.
“That’s a good thing now?” Applejack deadpanned.
Rainbow shook her head at them. “Hey, let the egghead do her thing! I’m itching for anything that can help us figure this thing out!”
Native Rainbow shrugged. “Gotta hoof it to me, I’ve got a point.”
“Two separate ponies,” Rainbow grumbled at herself before turning to Twilight directly. “So what is it? Please tell me you’ve had some amazing epiphany that can get me home.”
“Well, I’m not so sure I can go that far yet, but thinking about this as a natural disaster made something occur to me…” Twilight continued. “Princess Luna, do you know how long these ‘rifts’ have been appearing for?”
“Alas, I do not. Not for certain,” she said with a shake of her head. “The earliest point I can currently imagine would be roughly around the same time our foreign friend here arrived in our world.”
“But what if they started appearing a little before that? I mean, it makes sense she just got caught up in a particularly bad one, right?”
“And how does that have anything to do with, well, anything?” Princess Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well, it coincides quite neatly with the entirely unexplained earthquakes that absolutely should not be happening within any reasonable scientific confines,” Twilight concluded. “Including the one that went off right as Rainbow Dash faceplanted into our hive!”
“Did ya have to word it like that?” Rainbow asked with a pout. “Couldn’t have said something a little less degrading?”
Chrysalis opened her mouth.
“Wasn’t talking to you.”
Chrysalis shut her mouth.
“This would explain a few things, if it rings true,” Princess Luna noted. “Perhaps I could study such locations in the Dream Realm and compare notes with these earthquakes. I’m sure you’ve documented them extensively.”
Twilight nodded. “I have, but they’re back at the Badlands Hive. So I’ll have to have Carduus relay them over the egregore.”
“Carduus!” Chrysalis chimed in over the hive mind at her daughter’s comment.
“Back so soon, my Queen?”
“Snide remarks are hardly required, Captain. Find my daughter’s research on these infernal earthquakes and be prepared to be our eyes regarding them.”
“Alright… Might I ask what this is about?”
“Later. Do as I command, if you would please.”
“On it.”
“He will see it done post haste,” Chrysalis reported in to the others.
“I see. Though, there is still the matter of how this information will help us,” Princess Celestia noted. “The rifts encountered so far are hardly enough to send Rainbow Dash back through to her native realm.”
Rainbow seemed a little deflated at that.
“Well, way ah see it, we just need a bigger ‘quake, right?” Applejack casually commented.
All eyes turned to the farm pony.
“...What? Something in muh hat?”
“Um, Applejack, darling?” Rarity addressed innocently. “Care to repeat that?”
The apple farmer shrugged. “Ah mean, a bigger shake would mean a bigger space hole thingy, right? Don’t need to be a changeling princess with a library for a brain to figure that. Just plain common sense is all.”
“That’s… actually rather brilliant!” Twilight chirped cheerfully. “An astute point, Applejack!”
The earth pony mare struck up a smug pose. “Well, ah do like to be appreciated.”
“Where did that come from?” native Rainbow whispered to Pinkie Pie.
“No idea. Just go with it!” was the response.
The other Rainbow nodded along slowly. “Well… it’s a start, I guess,” she said before nodding her head. “So, what are we supposed to do now?”
“Before we pursue the ‘biggest shake’, there is one last thing that you should all be aware of. Particularly you, Princess Rainbow Dash,” Princess Luna announced.
Rainbow turned to her, an uneasy look suddenly appearing on her face. “What…? What is it?” she asked, a small tremor working its way into her voice. It was clear she was anxious about possibly getting any more bad news.
“When I was in the Dream Realm, I spent some time after my encounter with your family studying the remnants of the rift,” she continued without missing a beat. “What I found was… concerning. Its collapse was inevitable, only accelerated by my counterpart’s usage of it. Based on my observations of the magical decay, I would gather that time is short before the storm passes by in its entirety, and with that, the remaining rifts will be sealed.”
An uneasy silence fell over the room with Rainbow, in particular, appearing to be shell-shocked. She stiffly cleared her throat. “S-so… if we can’t send me home soon, then… I m-might be stuck here? Like… forever?”
“How… How long do we have?” Twilight asked, instinctively moving closer to Rainbow as she sensed the sheer dread falling off of her.
“...Perhaps a week. It is hard to be sure. I may very well be wrong, as this is a matter I have little experience with. Likewise, I have nothing to reference, not even in my late mentor’s own research.”
“Um, maybe I could take a look…?” Twilight suggested.
“You could, but for all your brightness, can you claim to know the inner workings of such things?”
Well, she had looked into Starswirl’s mirror. But for this situation specifically? No, she couldn’t truly claim she did.
And would they even have the time?
Rainbow looked between them all for a few seconds, mouthing like a fish. She tried several times to speak, to find something to say, but the words never came. Eventually, she elected to simply sidestep to be closer to Twilight, trying to take some comfort in the changeling’s sympathetic presence.
“So, for fear of having her be forced upon us for all time…” Chrysalis chimed in. “How exactly do we help her?”
“You intend to follow us further into this matter?” Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow.
“...I fear I am committed.”
“Hm... I suppose you are,” the Princess replied with a knowing smile. “Then may the Crown of Equestria offer the services of its war room. We can use our map there to compare the rifts and the earthquakes our subjects have been suffering.”
“Ah! Good! A holographic projection is exactly what is needed for the cross-referencing of all the valuable data and making a comparison of points of interest!” Twilight squee’d in a scholarly manner.
“Not to mention it is a tad more fantastical than a drab piece of parchment,” Rarity also noted.
“What’s wrong with a good old-fashioned paper map!?” Applejack asked around in search for support, finding terrifyingly little.
Rainbow blinked. “...Holographo-what now?” she asked in bewilderment. “The heck are you talking about?”
“A big projection of sparkles and magic that look like itty bitty little buildings all over Equestria!” Pinkie explained in her usual fashion. “I can even see Limestone’s rock! I poke it just because I know it makes her all pouty!”
“Laughter, since when have you been able to access the war room for such… juvenile fantasies?” Luna demanded to know.
“Haha, please.”
Rainbow just looked confused.
Twilight gave her a small, reassuring smile. “How about we just show you?” she asked, putting a hoof on Rainbow’s back.
“Uh… sure.”
“Then let us be about it,” Luna said before turning and making her way to a nearby door. “The sooner we can discover another suitably large rift, the sooner we can find a means of sending you home.”
Everyone else fell into step behind Luna, shuffling out of the lobby and vanishing into the corridors of Canterlot Castle.