Chapter 7: Into the Well-Known!
~Sunset dragged her heavy suitcase to the front of the statue. It tumbled to the floor a couple of times, making it more difficult to drag, but she eventually got it under control. She saw Lightning and Nimbus chatting against the portal but Lightning stopped and raced to Sunset when she saw her.~
"Sunset! You need help with that?"
"No thanks, Lightning, I'm alright. Phew!" Sunset slumped her case down. "So, why did your dad want us to pack up a few things…?"
"I'll explain when the rest arrive."
~Both girls suddenly heard a thud and they looked over to see their friend, Rarity, and a ton of baggage around her. About 15 bags, at least. Sunset smiled and rolled her eyes at her, while Lightning was dumbfounded. She had never seen someone have that many bags before. Some were stacked on top one another and looked like they could fall at any second, and they did.~
"A little help, please?!" Rarity waved.
~Lightning raced over and caught the tower of bags before they fell down.~
"Rarity, do you really need all this?" Lightning asked shockingly.
"Of course I do!" Rarity responded dramatically. "You told me to pack the essentials!"
"But, we're only going away for a week! This looks like you're going away for a year!"
"I have a lot of essentials and I need them. All of them!"
"Ok then. Dad! Can you help please?" Lightning called.
"Coming, sweetie!"
~Nimbus jogs to Lightning and catches a falling suitcase in the process. Sunset watches them then to the portal, without knowing Applejack coming towards her. She looked at Lightning and Nimbus carrying Rarity's dozen of bags over.~
"Heh. Rarity packed her whole wardrobe again?" Applejack chuckled.
"Yep." Sunset smiled.
"Do ya know where we're goin', actually, Sunset?"
"I don't. Lightning said she'll explain when the others are here."
"I know where we're going."
~Sunset and Applejack felt something to their right and looked over to see Karly standing by them. Fluttershy, Twilight, Pinkie and Rainbow also showed up too.~
"We're going to our world."
"What?" Sunset blinked.
"Really?" Applejack added.
"Yep." Karly confirmed. "Kinda ingenious of Nimbus to think of going to our world where you will be safe. The Dazzlings won't think about this place, and if they did, they won't know where we will be."
"I guess that's true." Sunset shrugged.
"Wow!" Pinkie butted in. "Going to your world! This is going to be so much fun!"
"Don't get too excited, Pinkie, our world isn't that big of a difference compared to this one." Lightning said.
"Yeah, I mean, we still have schools, and restaurants...and a beautiful city." Karly admired.
"Oh! How wonderful!" Fluttershy smiled.
"Yes. And we are certain you girls will love it there and feel safe there." said Nimbus.
"Thank ya again, Mr. Star, we really appreciate it." Applejack said.
"Of course. As long as my daughter is happy, I'm happy."
"So, you can go to school without worrying about us, and we can train without worrying about the Dazzlings." Twilight grinned.
"Yeah." Lightning nodded.
"Then let's go! Into the Unknown!" Pinkie cheered.
~All the girls get excited and they jump into the portal along with their cases without second thinking. Lightning, Karly and Nimbus laughed and followed the Rainbooms in quickly. Unbeknownst to them behind the wall of the school, the Dazzlings had been listening to their conversation ever since Sunset arrived.~
"Did you two hear that?" Adagio asked.
"How could we not. We're right here." Aria answered obviously.
"Then you know what's going on? The Rainbooms think they can just run and hide in another world. Well, they can't. We need to follow them and get their magic."
"Do we have a plan on getting their magic?"
"I'll make one up as we go along. We just need to get them when their 'protectors' are busy or distracted."
"And how are we going to distract them?"
"I said I will make it up as we go!" Adagio yelled in annoyance. "So, let's stop wasting time and go, otherwise we'll lose them." She started walking to the portal.
"I hope their world has tacos!" Sonata's eyes lit up.
"Can you think of anything else other than tacos, Sonata?" Aria grumbled.
"Uh, yeah! I can think of Tuesday. Taco Tuesday!"
~Aria sighed and leaps into the portal with Adagio. Sonata does after she is done thinking about tacos. Over on the other side, the portal spat everyone out altogether rather quickly. They groaned in dizziness and pain as they crumpled up in a pile on the floor.~
"O-Oh my! Lightning! Karly! Are you alright?!" Nimbus asked, standing up first.
"G-Get these giants offa me!" Karly yelled from the bottom of the pile.
~Nimbus works to move everyone off of each other. Finally ending with a crumpled Karly curled up on the floor.~
"Ggghhh…" Karly suddenly hears her stomach gurgle and churn. "I-I think I'm gonna vomit…"
~Lightning and Applejack pick Karly up off the floor, only for her to pull out of their grip, run to the nearest bin, and retch.~
"O-Oh dear…" Fluttershy said uneasily.
"So, that's what going through a portal feels like. It's horrible, I wouldn't recommend it." Lightning shrugged.
"You'll get used to it, Lightning. After all, how else are we supposed to get back to the hideout?" Sunset asked.
"Hmm."
~Lightning smiled then gazed ahead at the view of her world. In front of her and the others was just a car park, but to Lightning it looked amazing. The shops in the distance of the car park were lovely to see too. It's like she had been stuck inside her house for ages, now she has finally come back out to see nature's beauty in all its glory.~
"Wow, I haven't been back home ever since we met and Devil tried to take over your world." She said to the Rainbooms.
"Yeah...it feels great…" Karly groaned, stumbling over like she was an old woman. "More or less…"
~Karly suddenly fainted because she still felt queasy from going through that portal. Lightning caught her and held her up with her arm over her shoulder. Nimbus Star smiled and stepped into the car park and over to a large indigo blue car.~
"Ok, girls. My car can only fit 8 people, so 2 of you might have to walk to my house."
"Karly and I will walk." Lightning volunteered. "I think Karly needs some fresh air still and I just want to walk. The house isn't that far, we'll be fine."
"Alright then. Hop in, girls!"
~Nimbus unlocked the car for the Rainbooms to climb in. Pinkie called shotgun, Sunset, Twilight and Applejack got in the middle seats and Fluttershy, Rainbow and Rarity flung in the back seats.~
"We'll see you guys there!" Sunset waved.
"Ok! Dad! Do not tell any embarrassing stories to them along the way!" Lightning yelled.
"I won't!" Nimbus chuckled.
~With that, the car started up and drove off leaving Lightning and Karly in the car park.~
"You gonna be ok to walk?" Lightning asked Karly as she woke up.
"Yeah, I'm feeling better now...Man, I do not want to go through that portal again."
~Together, the duo started walking along the pavement, while The Dazzlings were just coming out of the portal. Adagio regained from the rough landing so just see Lightning and Karly walk off.~
"There they go. Quick or we'll lose them." Adagio ventured.
"Alright...I'm coming…" Aria rolled her eyes.
Sonata got up from the floor, eyes spiralling. "Waiter, there's something spinning in my taco…"
"Sonata! Focus!" Aria said, snapping her out of her trance.
"Right, Sorry."
~The three sirens grinned and sneakily began to follow the girls while keeping at a distance and keeping things completely causal.~
~Meanwhile, in the car, The Mane 7 looked out the windows and the outside of this new world. However, Lightning was right, the world did have the same things as theirs did, but, it was still cool to see it all. They were star-struck at the buildings they drove by.~
"Wow...Look at that." Twilight said in awe. "Those buildings are so beguiling."
"Whoa…!" Sunset exclaimed. "Maybe we will see something that we don't have in our world, or even Equestria."
Pinkie gasped. "You guys have a Coinky-Dink World!?"
"Yes? You like that place?" Nimbus asked.
"I love it! I work there too!"
~After a few more minutes of driving, The car comes to a stop. The girls safely got out one by one and once they all did they looked up to see a large, suburban mansion in front of them. They jaw-dropped. The mansion was almost the size of CHS! Nimbus, lastly, got out of his car and smiled.~
"Well, here we are."
"Are you sure this is where you and Lightning live?!" Twilight asked.
"Yes. Didn't Lightning mention we live in a mansion?"
"Not at all!" Rarity said in shock.
Everyone spots Lightning and Karly walking towards them. "Hey, Dad! Girls! I see you made it here before us, of course-"
"Lightning, darling, why ever didn't you tell us you live...in. A. Mansion?!" Rarity interrupted.
"I wanted it to be a surprise…" She answered spontaneously.
"A surprise?! You have your own mansion and you didn't tell me-"
"Hey, hey, Rarity, calm down…" Applejack clamped her hands on Rarity's shoulders.
She calmed down. "Phew! The mansion is beautiful, darling."
"Uh-huh. Yeah. Wait til you see the inside."
~Lightning weirdly turned to the large front door and went to throw them both wide open, but they did not budge. She pushed on them again, then realised that, they were locked.~
"The door is locked, sweetie." Nimbus chuckled.
"I can see that. Key, please."
~Nimbus reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of keys. They jingled as he tossed them over to Lightning. She caught them using both hands, then immediately turned to the door to unlock. After she did, she went ahead and threw them wide open with success. Everyone stepped into the mansion and at first, the feeling was cold and gloomy, but it felt ok after a second.~
"Whoa…" The Rainbooms stared in awe.
"Alright, girls. I gotta head into my office for a few things, Lightning, give everyone a tour and help them settle into the guest room." Nimbus ordered.
"Ok, dad."
~Nimbus, with a smile on his lips, went off through the hallway of the mansion. The girls waved goodbye to him.~
"Your father is very kind and caring, Lightning." Fluttershy adored.
"I can see him in you." Sunset smiled.
Lightning felt herself blush at the compliments. "Thanks. He raised me to be just like him." She suddenly clears her throat. "Right, well, uh. Drop your bags here, we can deal with those later. There's alot to show you here."
~The girls listened to Lightning and dropped their bags at an instant. Lightning smiled and began to walk to the left of her house. The rest followed along with her.~
"That's the kitchen, filled with everything you could desire. That's the Giant TV room."
"It looks just like a movie theatre!" Pinkie said, peeking through the door of the room.
"That's the point. Always wanted a cinema." Lightning shrugged. "Oh! There's the arcade."
"Arcade?!" Sunset exclaimed.
"This place is awesome!" Rainbow gushed.
"Glad you love it. Ah, this is my old play room. I played in here all the time when I was a young child. About 5, maybe 6…"
~While Lightning was busy jabbering on about her old play room, Fluttershy let her mind explore elsewhere and she wandered the hallway and other rooms. She looked in between rooms timidly until she spotted a family portrait hanging off the wall. It looked old, but not that old. She was fascinated by it alot.~
"Aww...This is a sweet picture…"
Rainbow sped beside the shy girl to also take a look at the picture. "Hey, Lightning, what's the picture about?"
"Huh?" She looks up at the picture. "Oh right. That's an old picture of my whole family...kinda. It was our last family reunion."
~Everyone looked at the picture and the people in it. They saw a young Lightning, her father, seven men, six women, four boys, four girls, and an old sophisticated woman.~
"There sure are a lotta people there." Applejack pointed.
"Heh. Yeah, my grandfather wanted to make a big family." Lightning said.
Rainbow raised a brow. "Really, why?"
"Well, it's because my grandfather was an orphan." Lightning began to explain. "He was adopted by a secret agent and grew up without knowing where he came from or who his biological parents were. So, he made a promise to himself that he would make the family he has always dreamed of, and he ended up getting that wish. By the time he turned 23, he married the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, my grandmother, Heaven Light, and had 10 sons."
"WHAT?! 10 SONS?!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"Yep. Like I said: My grandfather wanted to make a big family."
"So, you have, like 9 uncles?!" Sunset gasped.
"Yep."
"Wait, I only see your father and 7 other men in this picture...Where are the other 2…?" Twilight asked.
"They...died while on a mission months before that picture was taken…"
"The story of that always makes me cry…" Karly sighed.
"Oh...I'm sorry for your loss…" Rarity said.
"It's ok...I mean, one of them I wasn't attached to, the other I was, but, I'm not that sad about it very much...of course my cousin was...he lost his dad, for pete's sake…!"
"Hm...Well, I'm also sorry for his loss…"
"Thanks. I'll be sure to tell him that." Lightning smiled.
Fluttershy gasped. "Um...Lightning…? Your grandfather isn't in this picture...Is he-"
"Don't worry, Flutters, he's alive. He was just on a mission. He is still in right now."
"A mission? He's got to be around 80 years old, how is he still on a mission?" Sunset asked.
"He's been on that mission for about 40 years. He's travelling around the world, visiting every single country, and once he's finished he will return back home. We know he's still alive because he always sends us letters. Also, he doesn't want to retire. He has a saying" 'Ya work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, until ya dead.' It's a little odd, but we love him."
"Aww…" Pinkie sighed.
"Um...let's continue on with the tour, and then get to bed...it's getting late."
"Ok!"
~The girls nodded and proceeded to walk across the hallway. At the same time, the Dazzlings peek through the window and grin evilly. They now knew that the Rainbooms cannot hide from them anymore.~