Dash stumbled, hitting the ground and managing to avoid the master console. She looked around wildly, trying not to panic.
“Twilight?! Luna!”
The room was empty of anypony save herself, but everything else—the console, the towers, the cables—were exactly the same.
No… not exactly.
Dash frowned as she willed her heart to stop beating quite so fast. The glowing telltales on each tower, a riot of color before, were now all a cool white-blue. Everything, in fact, looked a little bluer than normal, a little cooler and crisper, like a translucent cerulean film had fallen over her eyes. She blinked and rubbed at them but it didn’t go away.
A bitter metallic taste coated her tongue. Dash shook herself out and pawed at the ground uneasily, unsure what to do. There was no sign of Twilight or Luna. But maybe...
“Princess Celestia! Are you there?” she shouted, then listened intently. No reply.
She peered at the master console but had absolutely no idea what to do with it. A glance behind her revealed the strange device that had… done whatever it had done to her… was gone.
With one last look around at the strange metal towers, she flew out of the room.
Dash emerged into the castle proper and glanced around warily. Nopony around. Is that weird? She wasn’t sure if there would normally be anypony in this area of the castle at this time of day. Time of night? It’s still pretty early in the morning, pre-dawn. She started making her way toward the exit, or at least where she thought the exit was. She hadn’t been paying much attention when they’d all come down this way.
Outside the basement, every surface looked like smooth black marble, polished to a shine. Streaks of blue light ran along the floor at the base of the walls, casting an eerie glow over everything.
Everything looked different. Twilight and Luna had disappeared. Just like Celestia had disappeared, maybe? It must have been some kind of spell. She didn’t know anything about spells. That panicky feeling rose up in her again and she tried to force it down. Everything would be fine. She’d find Luna or Twilight or somepony and—
Coming around a corner, she almost flew face-first into another pony.
“Oh! Am I glad to see you. Sorry, didn’t—”
“Halt,” the pony said in an odd voice, deep and sort of garbled. Dash wondered if he was sick. Maybe he was really sick—it could explain the suit he was wearing, or at least why it covered him from mane to tail. Jet-black and formfitting, with thicker pieces of some kind of matte-black armor attached at key points. He also wore a helmet with a smoked-glass visor that hid his eyes and mane, though his ears and muzzle poked out. The whole getup almost reminded her of a Wonderbolts flight suit, except for the armor plates. And the channels of glowing orange all over it, tracing along the pony’s body and legs.
She’d never seen a Canterlot guard wearing anything like it.
“Cool outfit,” she said suspiciously. “Uh, are you okay?”
“This program has no disc,” said the same voice from behind her.
She whirled in midair. An identical pony stood behind her, expressionless, wearing an identical suit. “Not smart to sneak up on a pony like that, you know,” she growled. “You might end up bucked. Now, maybe you ponies can help me out. Pretty sure I’m lost, I need to find my way out of here. Can you give me some directions?”
“Another stray. You will come with us.”
“Yeah, gonna pass on that. Just tell me where—”
“You will come with us.” They grabbed her and started dragging her down the hall.
“What the hay is this?! Let go of me!” She struggled against them, bucking and twisting, flapping her wings as hard as she could, but they were much stronger than they looked—much stronger than her, she was surprised to discover. Dash kept fighting them until one reached up and gave her a firm tap on the back of the head.
A burst of power surged through her nervous system, and she speculated in a detached sort of way that this must be what a lightning strike felt like before her eyes rolled up into her head and she was gone.
She came to in the middle of a circular room, with the distinct impression she’d been dumped there without any regard for her personal well-being. Groaning, Dash untangled her limbs and gingerly felt the spot where the guardpony had shocked her. It was tender, but there didn’t appear to be any lasting damage. Her mind felt like it was packed in fluffy white cumulus, though. Pushing up to her hooves, she shook her head, blinking away the fuzziness, and the room came into focus.
More smooth walls lit by glowing lines. There were seams running over some portions of the wall, their purpose not immediately clear. In front of her, two panels set into the wall seemed like a good way out of here.
Dash made to run for the doors, but couldn’t lift her hooves. She looked down in irritation and saw transparent blue cuffs glowing around the ends of her legs. “Are you kidding me? Hey! Jerks! Get back in here and let me—”
A low hum filled the room and the seams on the walls split, panels sliding away to reveal racks of equipment, plus four unicorns wearing pure white suits, unarmored, with cool blue lines glowing on them instead of orange. Their manes and tails were as white as their suits and elegantly styled. They stepped out of their alcoves and walked toward her, surrounding her, all moving in unison. Dash was seriously creeped out.
“What are you doing? Get away from me! Somepony had better tell me what’s going on around here!”
All four unicorns stopped just shy of her. None of them spoke. Dash glared at each of them in turn. “What, uh…”
The lead unicorn’s horn ignited. Dash flinched, but nothing happened. She felt an odd sensation around her hooves and looked down. Sleek black material was materializing around them, sparkling into existence, moving up her legs to completely enclose her body.
The other three unicorns lit their horns and pieces of armor floated from the equipment racks, attaching themselves to the new bodysuit at strategic points. White-blue lines flickered to life all over her. “Okay, that’s… kinda cool, actually.”
The unicorns exchanged glances.
“What?” Dash asked. She turned her head to inspect herself and raised her wings experimentally. The black material had covered them as well, but they moved and functioned freely. Flapping a few times, she could tell she hadn’t lost her lift, though she was still shackled to the floor.
The unicorns just stared at her, until one murmured, “You are different.”
Before Dash could respond, the lead unicorn spoke. “You shall receive an identity disc. Everything you do or learn will be imprinted on this disc. If you should lose your disc, or if you should fail to follow commands, you shall be subject to immediate deresolution.”
Dash started and squinted at the unicorn. That voice…
One of the other unicorns magicked over a weird disc with the middle cut out. She attached it to a port on Dash’s left flank, turning it to lock it in place. It glowed, and Dash twitched. Something felt funny. The base of her skull tickled for a few seconds. She shook her head in an effort to scratch the itch, and caught sight of her right flank, where the outline of her cutie mark glowed white-blue.
“Mirroring complete. Disc activated and synchronized. Proceed to games.”
“Games?” Dash asked.
The four unicorns retreated to their alcoves. Dash tried to follow, but she was still stuck to the floor. “Wait! Rarity?”
The lead unicorn gazed at her. “I am Jewel.”
“Jewel?” She could have sworn— Sure, her mane was different, but the way she moved, the way she talked…
The wall panels began to slide closed. Dash called out, “What am I supposed to do?”
Jewel grinned at her as the panels sealed shut, her ice-blue eyes twinkling.
“Survive, darling.”
Dash glided through the air, happy to confirm she really could still fly despite the new bodysuit. She followed the luminous symbols on the walls. A different wall panel had slid open and indicators had lit up, guiding her down a hallway. She reached the end and stopped: the corridor dead-ended in the darkness. She frowned, flaring her wings to touch down and turn back the way she came, but without warning the floor glowed to life. Before she could jump in surprise, it jerked and sped upward, taking her with it. She tensed into a crouch, watching as the walls around her blurred.
Be cool. It’s just an elevator.
The floor slowed as it reached the top of its shaft and smoothly clicked into place at the surface, with no visible seam. Dash looked around, almost overwhelmed by the roar coming from every direction—the roar of thousands of ponies eager for a fight.
She was in the middle of a vast arena. There were other ponies with her, wearing similar black suits with glowing blue lines, all standing at attention as though they were waiting for something. The ground level of the arena was broken up into different sections, some of which she recognized, some of which she didn’t. Horseshoe pits, tug-of-war ropes, high strikers. Like an Iron Pony competition.
The ground level was surrounded by stands, and the stands were filled with thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of ponies, all wearing suits glimmering either blue or orange in the distance, all cheering and stomping the ground. Dash grinned involuntarily. They aren’t eager for a fight, they’re eager to see some competition! At one end of the coliseum, there was a high tower; she thought she could make out some movement at the top.
Dash glanced up, glad to finally be out of the castle and back under the sky, but she paused at the strangeness of this one. Dark clouds roiled above her, white-blue lightning cracking between them—the sky of an angry goddess. Even allowing for the oppressive clouds, she got the sense from the quality of light it was still nighttime. Dash realized that, despite the time she’d spent knocked out, she was pretty sure it had been less than an hour since she had been with Twilight and Luna in the other castle. The familiar thought of them while she was surrounded by this alien landscape filled her with a fierce wave of longing and homesickness. Only a matter of hours, but she was suddenly desperate to be home in Ponyville.
Should have just gone back to bed. Should have taken Twilight up on her offer to turn around after dropping her off… No. Then she’d be here, wherever here is, and Dash couldn’t imagine that Twilight would be handling it well at all.
A calm voice reverberated through the arena. “All contestants, prepare for Pillar Weave.”
The crowd went even wilder, stomping their hooves and chanting, “Pillar Weave! Pillar Weave!”
On Dash’s left, there was an empty area she had more or less ignored. Now she watched with interest as the border of the area lit up and glowing blue pillars extended themselves out of the ground in a straight line. Two lines shimmered to life on the ground at the beginning and end of the line of pillars, perpendicular to them. Familiar enough.
Dash found herself caught in the press of ponies moving toward the first line. “Hey, watch it!” she protested, but nopony reacted. They formed a queue, and she ended up in the third spot. A scoreboard materialized, floating in the air over the course with no visible supports, with a line for each contestant’s number and time.
“Contestant One. Pillar Weave. Begin.”
The first pony in line, a unicorn mare, tensed, leaned forward, and took off. As she passed over the first line, it flashed, and the first scoreboard entry, the one labeled Contestant 1, started counting up. When the pony reached the second line, it flashed again and the counter stopped.
“Contestant One. Pillar Weave. Twenty-one point three seconds.” 21.3 flashed on the board as the crowd stomped their hooves.
“Oh, please. I could beat these ponies in my sleep,” Dash muttered as the second in line, a pegasus stallion, started their run. “Wonder how bad they ding you for nudging a—”
One of the stallion’s wings extended a feather too far and brushed against a pillar. Dash jumped at his agonized scream, watching in horror as he shattered, falling apart into a thousand tiny blocks that scattered on the ground before dissolving into nothingness.
“Contestant Two. Pillar Weave. Disqualification.” An X flashed on the board.
Dash gulped. Yes, it was very lucky that it was her here and not Twilight.
“Contestant Three. Pillar Weave. Begin.”
Dash took her mark and launched herself forward, making a point to keep her wings tucked tight against her sides, her trademark rainbow trail blazing out behind her as she sped between the pillars.
High above the arena, a pegasus mare wearing a black bodysuit, cloak, and helmet lounged on her private observation deck, idly watching the competitors and spectators. This didn’t look like a particularly inspiring crop of contestants. She shifted briefly and the orange telltales on her outfit flared. Behind her, the entrance to the observation deck slid open, and hoofsteps squeaked quietly. She didn’t bother moving.
“Um, no unusual activity. Security sweeps and patrols have been intensified,” the newcomer said. “I hope that’s okay?”
The first mare grunted, her helmeted head resting on her hoof. She exhaled through her nose as a pegasus stallion derezzed on the pillar weave course. “Idiot.” Her voice was deep and distorted by the helmet.
“I’m sorry…?”
“Not you, Shy. Him. What a pathetic bunch of—”
Below them, the next combatant started their run, a spectrum of light trailing behind her. The dark mare sat up, staring at the sudden burst of color as the combatant crossed the finish line. Something... new?
“Contestant Three. Pillar Weave. Fourteen point seven seconds.” Below them, the crowd hesitated in surprise before breaking into raucous cheers.
She turned. “Who is that?”
“Oh, um, I don’t know.” Shy nosed a wall panel that lit at her touch; biographical information on the competitors flashed past. The screen titled Contestant Three was filled with question marks. “No data,” Shy murmured. “I don’t understand how—”
“Well?” she prompted.
Shy squeaked and nosed another control. “Contestant Three, identify yourself… if you wouldn’t mind.” The dark mare rolled her eyes, but stood and began pacing back and forth, staring down at the course.
Dash grinned, looking out at the assembled ponies cheering her. Showed them, she thought triumphantly. Fifteen seconds wasn’t bad, but she could do better. She chalked the below-average showing up to the strange situation and weird bodysuit. If these ponies loved athletes so much, maybe this place wasn’t so bad after all.
A voice echoed through the arena. Not the announcer, somepony else. Another familiar voice. “Contestant Three, identify yourself… if you wouldn’t mind.”
Dash glanced around. Where is that coming from?
A different, harsher voice: “Identify!”
Dash frowned and spoke to the air. “I’m Rainbow Dash, from Ponyville.” A hush fell over the crowd, murmurs replacing cheers. “What? You guys heard of me?”
The first combatant, the unicorn mare, had been standing nearby, looking generally impressed by Dash’s performance. Now she was tense and afraid, ready to back away.
“What’s the big deal?” Dash asked her.
The unicorn made as if to speak, but nothing came out. Her eyes focused behind Dash, and Dash turned. An armored pegasus stood behind her, orange suit stripes burning menacingly. She could see nothing of the mare’s face, completely encased in a smooth black helmet reflecting Dash’s apprehensive expression right back at her.
“Contestant Four. Pillar Weave. Begin,” said the calm announcer’s voice. “Contestant Three. Accompany Cracken.”
Dash groaned. The guardsmare moved to grab her and she flapped once, kicking herself back out of reach. “Chill! I’ll come quiet, no need to get rough. Maybe you can tell me just what the hay is going on.”
Cracken didn’t tell her anything. She was taken out of the center of the arena, under the stands, spectators leaning over the railings to watch them go. Two more armored pegasi met them at the edge of the field and took the lead, Cracken bringing up the rear.
“Cracken” didn’t strike Dash as the sort of name a friendly pony would go by. She glanced back over her shoulder, watching the other pegasus. Dash couldn’t help but think there was something familiar about this pony too. She ran through the names of the pegasi she knew in Ponyville and Canterlot as they walked, but couldn’t put her hoof on it.
They came to a door that hissed open at their approach and stepped through. Another elevator ride took them to the top of a tower—it was a long ride, so she figured it was the one she’d seen earlier. More doors opened for them and the guards marched through with Dash in tow.
The room’s walls were made up of more of the smooth black material she’d seen elsewhere and lit by glowing conduits of light running up and down the walls and along the ceiling. Big bay windows on the wall across from her looked out over the arena. She saw another pony make their run down the weave course and heard the announcer state their number and time, but it was muffled and distant.
A pegasus mare, wearing a cloak over her bodysuit and a glossy, opaque helmet like Cracken’s, was standing in front of the windows, her back to Dash, her cloak covering her tail. The two guardsponies moved to either side of the cloaked mare and stood at attention, their hooves snapping on the floor. Cracken took up position behind Dash, just off to one side, a little more relaxed than the other guards, though Dash got the sense Cracken would be the one to watch out for in a fight.
Nopony moved for what seemed like a long time.
“Where am I?” Dash finally asked, a hint of frustrated impatience in her voice.
The cloaked mare turned, faced Dash, didn’t say anything.
“Who are you?!” demanded Dash, stomping a forehoof.
There was a moment of silence. Then—
The cloaked mare’s helmet hummed, split along hidden seams, and folded itself back behind the mare’s head, letting a lock of multicolored mane fall across her forehead.
Dash gaped at her own face smirking back at her.