//------------------------------//
// Chapter Seven: Progress 
// Story: Over There 
// by Boltstrike58 
//------------------------------//

Starlight and Spike rejoined Twilight in the living room of the castle, where the purple alicorn sat surrounded by books, lengths of parchment, and writing materials. Her horn was flaring with magic and levitating several quills that scribbled away at the same time.

"Okay, so with Thorax's help, we've determined that there is no changeling magic being used to conceal the being from another dimension. At least, not in Ponyville or Canterlot," Twilight concluded, crossing 'changeling magic' off her list of possible hiding mechanisms. "Where does that leave us?"

"To be honest," Spike said, as he went down that list, "not that different than before. We've still got a lot of things we haven't ruled out, and we're still not one hundred percent certain if it's really here or there."

"He's right," Starlight added. "I don't like to admit it, but we're not making a lot of progress. Obviously, it's not some giant monster, because we would've heard about that by now, but that doesn't exactly narrow it down."

Twilight groaned. Problems like this, where she didn't have access to all data surrounding the conundrum, never failed to frustrate her. It wasn't like it was anypony's fault, and she was doing the best she could with what she had, but even that didn't seem like enough.  

"Well, let's look at it this way," she continued, "if it were a sapient being who just randomly fell into Equestria and was lost, we most likely would know about it, because they'd have asked for help, and somepony would've seen them. So there's a strong possibility that it's either a non-sapient creature with the intelligence of an animal, or..." She paused as the troubling thought occurred to her. "...or it's an intelligent creature that wanted to come to Equestria. Or at least to pass through the portal."

"That doesn't mean it's evil!" Spike hurriedly pointed out, before either of the mares could start Twilighting. "Maybe it's an explorer who just wants to observe pony life and then return to its home dimension."

Twilight nodded slowly. "We can't rule that out. Thanks, Spike."

"Hey, Twilight?" ventured Starlight. "This might be a stupid question, but have we considered that what came through might be a pony as well?"

Twilight froze where she sat. That was something she hadn't conceived, at least not seriously. She'd been operating under the assumption that something from an alternate dimension couldn't possibly look like a normal (well, normal to them) pony. But, since she didn't know anything about the dimension that had connected to Equestria for those few seconds, she had to recognize the prospect that beings in that dimension looked exactly like the ones here. Thinking about it, she really should've done so previously.

Then another idea hit her like a lightning bolt.

"So...we might just be looking for any old pony," Spike groaned, slapping his face with one claw. "That narrows down the search."

"Wait a minute, I just had a thought," Twilight cut him off. "Remember how the mirror portal changes Sunset Shimmer back into a pony? And how the other portal changed all the Canterlot High students on that cruise into ponies?"

"Yeah, but what's your point? You don't feel it when they use those portals, so it can't be anyone from that world."

"Yes, but that's not the focus here. The point is, what if the rift that let something in behaves like that? What if, when it interacted with Equestria's magical field, it altered their body, changing them into a pony or some other sapient species that lives here? Pony is the most likely candidate, since we're the species most closely connected to the magical field, but the main takeaway is, what if that's what happened?"

Starlight thought about it. "It's another theory to add to our list, I suppose," she finally replied. "At least we're not leaving it out. But that still leaves us no closer to finding this thing."

"Not necessarily," Spike pointed out. "If the tear in reality did change whatever we're looking for into something native to this planet, that could be a clue. First of all, they'd be in a completely new body, something they're not used to. They'd be adjusting to that body, trying to get to a point where they could walk and stuff. If we find a pony who's had trouble with seemingly mundane tasks, that might be our subject."

"Good thinking, Spike," said Twilight, jotting down what he'd said. "But by itself, that's not enough to find this being. Sure, we can keep a close eye on ponies doing everyday things, but there's no guarantee we'd be looking in the right place. Plus, the rift happened almost a week ago. They've had time to learn and adapt, maybe even enough to fool us."

"And if they came with hostile intent..." Starlight began, nervous sweat beginning to drip down her face. "To spy on us, that's what they'll be trying to do. Because they won't want to be noticed."

"Calm down, Starlight," Twilight insisted, getting out of her chair and walking over to her friend. "We don't know for certain that they have any dangerous designs on Equestria. Really, there could be any number of explanations we haven't thought of yet."

Starlight took another deep breath, putting on a relaxed face for Twilight. Inside, however, she was still nervous. The idea of extra-dimensional invaders who were secretly moving among Equestria's populace was not a pleasant one. In fact, it terrified her. But Twilight was correct, they didn't know for sure that was the case, and panicking about it certainly wouldn't make things easier.

Twilight, having gone deep into thought, suddenly perked up again. "I just had a brainwave!" she announced. "Unfortunately, this idea is going to require some outside help."

"What kind of outside—" Spike began, but Twilight wasn't listening to him.

She'd already ignited her horn, focusing her magic down the appendage. A bright sphere of white energy gathered at the tip, glowing so brightly the others had to close their eyes to keep from being blinded. Twilight lowered her neck down, then snapped it back up as she released the spell.

With a simple popping sound, Discord appeared in the room. He was sitting at a simple desk, writing on a piece of paper with a pen. Of course, this being Discord, he was writing with the back end of the pen.

"'My dearest Fluttershy,'" he began, not noticing his change in surroundings, "there is something I simply must confess to you. You see, I—'" Then he looked up, discovering what exactly had happened to him for the first time. "What the—?!" Then he rounded on Twilight. "Really, Princess?!"

"I'm sorry, Discord," Twilight hastily replied, genuinely apologetic. "But this is an important matter, and it just can't wait."

Discord sighed, placing his lion's paw over his eyes. He snapped the eagle talons on his other hand, causing his desk to disappear, presumably back to his home. "What is it, Twilight? And please make it quick. My time is valuable."

Twilight resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Listen, we may have an idea on how to locate whatever it was that passed into our dimension. We think that it may have taken the form of a being native to this world, meaning we won't just be able to pick it out of a crowd. However, according to Starswirl's Law of Dimensional Interaction, every different reality vibrates at a different frequency, and that extends to the living beings inside it. If we could somehow get a pinpoint on the frequency of the dimension this creature came from, we could easily identify it! And—"

"And you were hoping that I, master of chaos magic, capable of warping between realities at will, would be able to isolate this frequency," Discord finished. "That is a logical deduction, Twilight. And I must admit, the idea of this challenge is...intriguing to me." Indeed, his face had lost all traces of boredom, and he looked genuinely invested in it now.

Twilight smiled hopefully. "Will you please try? I promise to do you a favor in return."

Discord shrugged. "Most favors that I need would be beyond your abilities, Twilight," he said, "let's just call this a friendship favor and leave it be." He snapped his fingers again, conjuring a pair of horn-rimmed glasses in the air. "Now, it'll take me about a day, but once I figure out that frequency, I'll place an enchantment on these glasses. Then, when you wear them, you be able to see a shimmer of light in the air through which that otherworldly creature has passed, as well as on its body. If it is here in Ponyville, it should be easy to spot."

Twilight leaped from her position on the floor, wrapping her front legs around Discord's midsection and hugging him tightly. The chaos spirit stared in surprise, as did Spike and Starlight, but Twilight didn't even seem to notice.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" exclaimed the alicorn. "You have no idea how much trouble this saves us! Thank you so much!"

"Uh...sure. You're welcome," Discord replied, clearly uncomfortable. Feeling awkward, he snapped his fingers, disappearing with another pop. Twilight almost fell face-first onto the ground, but managed to catch herself with her wings.

"Well," said Starlight, as Twilight got back on her hooves, "that cuts down on our workload."

"Sure, but it doesn't eliminate it completely," replied the Princess of Friendship. "Spike, can you take another letter? We should inform Celestia and Luna of our progress."

"Way ahead of you, Twilight," replied the dragon.





"Now remember," Rainbow yelled, ensuring that her voice crossed the gap between her and the other pony, "you gotta flap rhythmically! Not too hard! You gotta feel the wind and use it to keep yourself airborne!"

The target of her encouragement, Swift Wing, was currently perched atop a small cloud, higher than all the buildings in Ponyville (except Twilight's castle). Rainbow had managed to haul him up there, and was hovering a good distance from him. Their lessons had advanced far enough that Rainbow was confident he was ready for a flight from a high dive. Swift, to his credit, wasn't screaming in terror, though he was clearly sweating.

"Are you sure about this?!" he shouted back. "Don't I get a practice jump off Sugar Cube Corner or something?!"

"That's not tall enough!" Rainbow replied. "Look, if you don't do it, I promise, I'll catch you!"

Swift swallowed, presumably in fear, but he nonetheless stepped back a little, preparing to leap. Rainbow observed his form, noticing with no small amount of smugness that it was vastly improved. His wings were properly tensed, but not spread yet. His muscles, built from several days of training, were visible beneath his coat.

Swallowing one more time, Swift rushed across the small surface of the cloud, before leaping off just as he reached the edge. He naturally began to plummet downward, straight as an arrow, before spreading his wings. Rainbow observed the movement of the appendages, watching as the rhythmic beating began, slowly catching the air beneath the pony. Swift was clearly fighting to keep his eyes open, but he managed it, as he approached the ground.

With a sudden whoosh of air, Swift changed direction in mid-fall, rocketing upwards. He thrust both forelegs forward, streamlining his body as he flew, punching through a stray cloud from below and busting it. Of course, with gravity working against him, he couldn't keep up that speed forever, and soon enough, he settled into a relaxed hovering position, his wings working to keep him in the air.

"I...I'm doing it," the crimson stallion breathed. "I'm flying! I'm staying airborne under my own power!"

"See? I told you you could do it!" Rainbow cheered, flying over to him. "What else could be the outcome when you have an awesome teacher like me?" She wrapped one of her forelegs around his neck, giving him a nuggie with the other one. "And you were an awesome student!"

"Rainbow, stop it!" Swift complained, but he was laughing at the same time. "Seriously, though, thanks. This'll make things so much easier for me."

"Great," replied Rainbow. If she were completely honest, she was extraordinarily happy for her fellow pegasus. Seeing one unable to utilize his natural gift of flight just broke her heart, especially now, because he seemed to be enjoying it so much after all their lessons. She'd been afraid he'd turn out like Fluttershy, who could fly, but barely did so. Swift, on the other hoof, seemed to embrace it, or at least take joy in it. Sure, he'd never be a Wonderbolt, but he wasn't half-bad.

"Well, I guess we can put an end to that lesson," she declared. "Wanna get Sugar Cube Corner to celebrate? I'm buying."

"No, let me buy, I insist," Swift replied, as they drifted slowly back towards the ground. "It's the least I can do for all these lessons."

"We'll compromise and split the bill," said Rainbow. The two touched down in Ponyville, heading directly towards the bakery. "Unless one of us gets coffee and the other one gets, like, an entire cake or something."

"Fair enough," said Swift.

The two pegasi strolled into Sugar Cube Corner, finding Pinkie Pie running the counter. Applejack was there as well, taking a break from farm work, munching on some banana bread.

"Howdy, Rainbow. Swift Wing, nice to see you again," said the earth pony. "Nice to see y'all are settling into Ponyville and making friends."

"Oh yeah. Just showing him some of the sights in my free time," Rainbow replied, remembering  her promise to be silent about Swift's previous lack of flying ability.

Swift strolled up to the counter. "Hey, Pinkie. Could I get a red velvet cupcake, please?"  

"Sure thing!" replied Pinkie, passing the treat over the counter. "Hey, Swift Wing! What kind of cake frosting do you like best? I didn't know what to put on it for your 'Welcome to Ponyville' party, so I went with chocolate, which usually works, but your 'Happy One Month in Ponyville' party is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I wanted to get a head start, and—"

Swift Wing casually raised his hoof, cutting Pinkie off. "It's fine, Pinkie. You already through me one party for free, you don't need to do another." At Pinkie's slightly crestfallen response, he hastily added, "But if you insist, I like marzipan."  

Pinkie hurriedly scribbled that down on a scrap of paper. "Got it!"

Rainbow and Applejack shared a good chuckle. "No point in resistin', Swift," said the farm pony. "When Pinkie wants to throw you a party, she's gonna do it, no matter what."

"I guess I should've seen that coming," said Swift, taking a bite out of his cupcake. "You've probably seen it a million times, but the way she reacted when I walked into town..."

Rainbow nodded, a nostalgic smile crossing her face. "Did she go 'Whaaaaaaa?'"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"That's what I do whenever a new creature comes to live in Ponyville!" said Pinkie, happily bouncing over to their table. "Of course, I had to stop blasting them with my party cannon filled with cake batter..."

"After the Cranky Doodle incident?" asked Swift Wing.	

"Yeah," Pinkie answered, her mane slightly deflating. "I guess I needed to learn to be less pushy." Then she perked up as a thought occurred to her. "Hey, how'd you know about that? Are you psychic?"  

"Oh, n-n-no," Swift replied, shaking his head quickly, "I-I just read about it in the Friendship Journal you guys published."

Applejack groaned to herself. "For Pete's sake, that thing was a nightmare," she complained. "You weren't here when we released it, Swift, but that darn thing drove ponies crazy about us."

"Tell me about it," replied Rainbow. "I mean, being awesome is nice, and having ponies know about it is nice, but some of those fans were just insane."

"I wouldn't know about that, I guess," said Swift. "I did take some good lessons from that journal, if that's any consolation."

"Hey, as long as you're not just laughing every single time I talk, you're fine," chimed in Pinkie.

"I'm just happy you've settled into Ponyville alright," said Applejack. "The town's basically become the weird capital of Equestria since Twilight moved here and became a princess, and we've lost a hoofful of ponies who just couldn't deal with it. It's nice to have somepony new stick with it."

"What can I say? It's a nice little town," said Swift. "It seems like a place I could settle down for a long time."

The conversation continued, with Swift chiming in every once in a while. The pegasus was a little shy around the three social mares, but he seemed to be overcoming his nerves in the moment. Soon enough, he'd finished his cupcake, and got to his hooves.

"Well, I'd better get going if I want to get enough sleep tonight," he announced. He pulled a couple of bits out of his saddlebag, placing them gently on the table to cover the cost of his cupcake. "See you girls around, I guess." With that, he strolled out of the door, into the Ponyville evening.

"Well, he certainly seems nice enough," said Applejack, "You gettin' to know him any better, Rainbow?"

"A little. He doesn't talk about himself very often," replied the pegasus. Indeed, during their flying lessons, Swift had asked her some questions about her life as a Wonderbolt, but divulged very little related to his own life. Admittedly, Rainbow hadn't had the nerve to pry, considering his lack of training in flight was not a good indicator of his past, but she wasn't going to tell Applejack that. "Not that that's a crime or anything."

Suddenly, Pinkie started to shiver, bouncing on her hooves as her whole body vibrated. Rainbow and Applejack instantly directed their attention to their friend.

"What was that? Another Pinkie Sense?" asked Applejack.

"Yeah. It's like that one when I was trying to convince Twilight it was real." Pinkie stopped, focusing on her body for a minute. "It's a doozy, but I don't know what kinda doozy."

Rainbow Dash swallowed. "Let's hope it's not the Blow-Up-Ponyville kind of doozy."