//------------------------------// // Interdimensional Testing (Part 1) (Edited) // Story: Vanishing Act // by redandready45 //------------------------------// Castle of Friendship, Science Lab The Bearers of Harmony had seen and done things that others would describe as impossible. But they didn't know what impossible really was until they saw another version of themselves tumble out of a mirror. Their doppelgangers tumbled out of the mirror, one by one, with Sunset Shimmer and the Twilight they knew being the last one to follow. Their doppelgangers writhed on the ground, discombobulated by their interdimensional journey. Once they got their bearings and were able to walk on four legs rather than two, the two groups got to know one another. "Ah'm seeing double," Pony Applejack said with awe. "I wonder what cute critters you get to take care of," Human Fluttershy cooed. "Good to know I am fabulous in another world as well," Pony Rarity said with a proud smile. "Are we gonna fight each other to see which is better Me?" Human Rainbow gushed with enthusiasm to her pony version. "Oh boy," Pony Pinkie enthused while leaping up and down. "So many ponies means so many parties!" Her fellow counterpart also started leaping with the same excitement as well. Princess Twilight took out a magic book and scribbled a message. Soon, five more ponies tumbled out of the mirror. Another set of humans-turned-ponies that the Pony Bearers weren't familiar with tumbled out of the mirror, looking equally worse for the wear, clearly not used to interdimensional travel. "I think I need a barf bag," Indigo muttered as she slowly regained her bearings. "I need an antacid," Sunny muttered. "Don't worry," Sunset said reassuringly, using her magic horn to help them up. "The first journey is always the roughest. You five are doing pretty well for creatures who never have been exposed to magic before." Once the Shadowbolts adjusted themselves and learned to maneuver in their new forms, they all looked in a mirror. "Oh, my Holy Vida!" Sour Sweet said in a rare display of shock. "I am Pegasus," she shrieked, looking at her wings and hooves with awe. "So do I," Lemon Zest said, looking at her new feathery appendages with fascination. "You weren't kidding Sunny," Indigo said, "you do have a horn." "And you have wings too," Sunny said to Indigo. "And I have nothing," Sugarcoat said, seeing her new Earth Pony form with some boredom. The Human Bearers and Pony Bearers both looked at the Shadowbolts with no small amount of amusement. "Earth Ponies have super strength," Sunset said to reassure the dismayed Sugarcoast. "You could plow a whole field in a day." "Yes, I always aspired to live in the sticks," Sugarcoat said sarcastically, "sticking my hand-hooves in the dirt is what I dream of every day." "Hey, you got a problem with that?" Both Applejacks sternly asked the taciturn Sugarcoat in unison. The two farmers looked at each other and laughed. "OK," Rainbow said, "what are we doing?" "You ten are going to be going through some tests," Princess Twilight said to both versions of her friends, "with the help of my assistant, Starlight." "Tests?" Pony Applejack asked. "I want to explore the similarities and differences between ponies and humans-turned ponies," Princess Twilight said, "these could be the key to finding the version of me that came from the human world." "What about us Princess?" Sunny asked the pony monarch, "what are we going to do?" "There is somepony I want you to meet for a specific purpose," Princess Twilight said intentionally vaguely. Sunny and her friends read between the lines and kept their mouths shut. "Look at your cutie marks," Pony Pinkie shouted. "Our what?" Human Applejack said. "The marks on your flank," Sunset said, "that determine your special talent." "Oh my stars," Pony Rarity said in shock, "they're different from ours." Everyone looked and saw that their counterparts had different tattoos. Human Rarity had a cutie mark with a sewing needle, Human Applejack had a cutie mark with a tractor, Human Pinkie Pie had roller skate cutie marks, Human Fluttershy had a stethoscope cutie mark, and Human Rainbow had the cutie mark of a blue sweatband. The Shadowbolts saw they had gained their marks too. Indigo gained one that looked like track shorts, Lemon gained one that looked like a cloud with a single lemon inside of it, Sour Sweet had one that combined a lemon and a sugar cube, Sunny gained one that looked like a purple aurora, and Sugarcoat had one that looked like a piece of purple rock candy. "What does it mean if our marks are different?" Human Fluttershy asked. "It means that our magic signatures may not be so similar," Princess Twilight said, "which means I may not be able to use mine to find the other me." The Shadowbolts looked horrified. "Don't worry," Sunset said with a smile, "I'm sure there are other ways to find her. There is nothing to," "AAHHHH," Indigo yelled in fright. Everyone looked at her and was stunned by what they saw. The carpet turned into a snake and began constricting her. "Help," Indigo said fearfully, "It's going to eat me!" The Human Bearers, Sunset, and the other Shadowbolts looked horrified, while the other ponies looked annoyed. "Discord!" Pony Fluttershy admonished softly but firmly, "Please stop". "Oh come on," a rough male voice said with some annoyance. The "carpet" released a fearful Indigo who scampered away toward her friends. It then morphed into some weird chimera creature. "I was just trying to be friendly and break the ice," it sai. "If that's you friendly," Pony Rainbow, "I'd rather you be evil." "What is that?" Sunny said with horror and concern. The Shadowbolts looked equally shocked and horrified while Indigo shook in terror. "I'm not a 'that'," the chimera said with some offense, "I am Discord, Lord of Chaos." "Lord of Chaos?" Sugarcoat asked with a cock of her head. "What is this, an echo chamber?" Discord asked with some annoyance, before the same voice started repeating itself over and over. "Discord now is not the time for-," Fluttershy scolded. "Oh come on Fluttershy, when I learned of creatures from that human world were coming over," Discord said with paw-rubbing glee, "I just couldn't pass up an opportunity." "Wait, you knew about us?" Sunny said, cocking her head. "Of course," Discord said, "Fluttershy mentioned you. And I must say, when I learned about you human, I was quite impressed." The creature extended his body across the room to pull the Shadowbolts into a hug. "Really?" Sour asked the Chaos Lord. "Of course," Discord said with a smile, "I heard about how you five traded your teammate's life for a pointless game." His smile suddenly became vicious and his eyes hard, "even in my brief stint in villainy, I never ever reached such depths of selfishness and cruelty." The Shadowbolts took his passive-aggressive swipe at them like a punch in the gut. "Discord," Princess Twilight said in a scolding tone, "I don't want you here if you're going to put these creatures down. They're trying to make up for what they did. If you're just gonna insult them, leave." "You think I'm here to throw insults," Discord said in a wounded tone, "I'm here because I want to help." "How's that?" Rainbow asked with narrowed eyes, thinking Discord was planning something. "Why I can figure out where you're friend is," The Shadowbolt's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. "Really?" Indigo said with a pleasant smile. "You can?" "I am chaos," Discord said, morphing into a tesseract, "reality is a mere suggestion to me." Everyone in the room smiled happily at that. "That's great!" Sunset said with a smile. "So where is she?" Discord morphed into a globe. "Here," Discord's voice said. "Where?" Indigo said happily. "Here." "Where here?" "In Equestria," Discord said, morphing back into his normal self with a cheerful grin. "See, I told you exactly where she was." Everyone frowned furiously at him. This drove Discord into a laughing fit. "I got you good," Discord, rolling on the floor. "That's not funny Discord," Pony Rainbow said, flying into Discord's face with a scowl on her face. Everyone started yelling and shouting at him. "OK, now that you've had your fun," Princess Twilight said, "please bring the other version of me here." Discord responded with an annoyed frown and started stretching his limbs, causing them to elongate. "Aren't you going to tell us?" Sunset Shimmer asked Discord. "Nope." Discord said. "Not feeling it." "No," Human Rainbow said with dismay. "Why not?" "Here it comes," Discord said with genuine frustration. " 'Discord can you do this?' 'Discord can you do that?' It's never 'Discord how are you?' or 'Discord, how's your day going?' Every day, I am asked to do some stupid task by some random pony without an ounce of intelligence, but never am I invited into anypony's home for even a cup of tea." The ponies and humans protested dialed down, understanding and somewhat sympathizing with the Chaos Lords' plight. "And another thing," Discord said with an annoyed grin. "I am the Lord of Chaos." A butler uniform appeared with a serving tray in one of his paws. "I am not your servant." He morphed into a carriage that was yellow with black squares on it, "nor am I your taxi!" He morphed back to normal and got up into the Shadowbolts' faces. "If I help you, you'll never learn to do things on you're own." A pink brain appeared in his paws. "You have to use whatever brain cells you have, or else they'll shrink into nothing." A fedora appeared on his head. "Good luck," he said, before teleporting away. Everyone felt a bit annoyed at the Lord of Chaos welcome and lack of assistance. "Seems like a fun guy to be around," Sunny said with angry frustration. "You have to excuse Discord," Pony Fluttershy said, "Discord...means well. He just has a...different approach to...things." "Of course he does," Pony Rainbow muttered angrily. "Anyways," Princess Twilight said, "let's get you five to the testing," she said to the Shadowbolts. "After you, your majesty," Sunny said respectfully. The Shadowbolts followed Princess Twilight to the third floor of the castle. The Shadowbolts followed silently along, suppressing their curiosity out of respect for the princess who had given them another chance. Princess Twilight knocked on a wooden door with an iron knob. "You may enter," a female voice said. "Girls," Princess Twilight said, opening the door with her magic, "meet Princess Luna." "Luna's a princess here?" Indigo asked with surprise. Before anyone said anything else, they saw who was inside. Princess Twilight greeted the other Princess before she wandered off to take care of other business. This version of Luna was an alicorn like Princess Twilight, only taller, more muscular, with a longer wingspan, and with an even more elongated horn. Her coat was darker than human Luna's skin color. Her cutie mark was a moon surrounded by black splotches. Her mane was blue, full of shining stars, and seemed to shimmer in the wind. She wore some black bib with a moon around her neck, a black crown, and silver horseshoes. It was to the Shadowbolts that this pony held a lot of power. But what was more striking to the Shadowbolts was her demeanor. If Princess Twilight could put on an air of authority when it was necessary, Princess Luna seemed to radiate it. The Shadowbolts, as if driven by some unknown instinct, bowed to her. "Rise please," Princess Luna said with a stoic tone. The same instinct forced the Shadowbolts back up. "Princess Twilight instructed me about you." "What...did she say?" Sugarcoat asked, her normally robotic tone becoming one of respect and fear. "Your majesty." "She told about how you abused your teammate, pushed her to cheat, and misused magic in a way that nearly put your school in jeopardy," the alicorn surmised in a calm but stern tone. The Shadowbolts flinched at her words and the authority that hung in them. "All for the sake of a minor competition. She has also told me about how you gave kindness to a lonely being, protected her from mistreatment, and have worked hard to make amends and undo the damage you did." Princess Luna said, her tone becoming less severe. The edge of the Shadowbolts went down but did not fade. "It takes courage to be better, and it is for that reason that you have been given a second chance. But please do not misuse magic in such a way, or take our forgiveness as a license to act as you did before." "We won't, your majesty," Sunny said with a respectful tone. "When we find our Twilight," Indigo said with a fierce expression, "we'll give her the love and friendship she deserves." The other Shadowbolts were also stern in their resolve. Believing that they were genuinely sorry, the Princess of the Night gave them a warm smile. "Very well," Princess Luna said, "I am the Mistress of the Night. I control Equestria in the night. I raise the moon and observe the dreams of ponies to help them with their nightmares." "Really?" Sunny asked. "Since Princess Twilight alerted me to the existence of your Twilight, I have scoured the dreamscape trying to find her." "And," Sunny asked expectantly. "I have not found her," Princess Luna said with a stoic frown. When she saw the Shadowbolts frown, she held her hoof up. "Do not fret, children. It is possible she is merely enjoying the wonders of Equestria. I can only enter the bad dreams, and I might be missing her" "OR MAYBE SHE GOT EATEN BY A MONSTER!" Sour yelled. "Ms. Sweet," Princess Luna admonished, "it is not helpful to speculate so horribly. I ask that you show a little faith. Anyways, it is also possible she may not be connected to the Dreamscape due to being a human being. So to be sure, I ask for your permission to be allowed to observe your dreams, to see if that is the case or not." "You want to get into our heads," Sunny asked suspiciously. "Ms. Flare," Princess Luna reassured, "I am bound by the stars themselves not to reveal information you do not wish to share. I assure you that I am not going to reveal anything you wish to keep private." She raised her hoof. "This is merely going to be a test of my magic, nothing more." "Alright," Sunny said after a few moments, "if it helps us find our Twilight." The rest of the Shadowbolts nodded in agreement. She trotted forward. "I'll go first," she said with stern resolve. "Come to me," Princess Luna ordered. The Crystal Prep student came forward. "Please lie down." Sunny lied down on her stomach. "Do not fret, Ms. Flare," the ancient Princess said, "this will not hurt." Princess Luna placed a hoof on Sunny's head. Soon, Princess Luna's horn started glowing and her eyes turned white. "Sunny-," Indigo said with some alarm. "Don't worry guys," Sunny said, "I trust her." With that, Sunny's horn started to glow and her vision was consumed by a white light.