Rainbow Dash entered Canterlot airspace just before noon, having made fantastic time from Cloudsdale. Not a record-breaking time unfortunately, but still pretty darn close, and she knew that if she'd given it another percent or two of effort she'd have probably broken her old record. She blamed the morning meeting for putting her off her game; she was still getting used to how the Wonderbolt officer meetings worked and it sometimes left her a little stressed out.
She came in for a landing just inside the Royal Palace's garden, coming in hot—as she liked to do, for show of course—and sending up a blast of air and dust as she did so. Two of the guards stationed nearby shielded their eyes and sputtered slightly at her entrance, but one of them recovered and swiftly approached her, horn alight and with a steely-eyed expression.
"Halt!" he called, stamping his hoof. "State your name and business—"
"Second-Lieutenant Rainbow Dash of the Wonderbolts," Rainbow said nonchalantly, touching her hoof to her shoulder to show off her officer stripes but otherwise paying more attention to brushing dust off her uniform. "Here for my monthly Friendship Council meeting with Princess Twilight. I've got clearance."
The guard raised an eyebrow and glanced at his fellow who gave a little shrug, then turned back to Dash, still steely-eyed. "Be that as it may, you are aware that we have a front gate for proper entrances, right? Her Highness insists on keeping things organized, especially visitors."
Dash smirked and shrugged. "Yeah, sorry about that, but I was running a little late. Caught up in Cloudsdale all morning with Wonderbolts business. The Princess'll forgive me for doing things my way just this once. Speaking of which, I should get moving, so if you'll excuse me?"
"Hold on now, wait just a minute. We still have to get this all cleared up—"
"Dashie!" shouted Pinkie Pie, who came rushing down the path from the palace itself like a rocket. "You made it!"
Rainbow opened her mouth to speak, then paused, eyes wide, as Pinkie leapt into the air and glomped onto her, hugging her like a vice. She was pretty sure she'd bruised a rib. "P-Pinkie… too tight…" she breathed, tapping Pinkie's barrel with her hoof.
"Oops! Sorry," Pinkie giggled as she loosened her grip and planted a kiss on Rainbow's forehead. "I'm just excited to see you. I was worried! You're late, you silly goose! Being late is the most un-Rainbow thing ever!"
"Yeah, I know, but you know I had that Wonderbolts meeting to handle first. It's not my fault Twi rescheduled our monthly meeting for this month to today. She'll understand."
Pinkie turned to the guards, her smile becoming business-like and serious rather than playful. "Not to worry, Sergeant! Second-Lieutenant Rainbow Dash is a good egg, and the Princess is expecting her! And me, actually. So you guys can go back to standing guard again. You're doing a fantastic job, by the way."
"It's Sergeant Major, actually…" the guard mumbled as he returned to his post.
Pinkie grabbed Rainbow's hoof and dragged her along up the path towards the palace entrance, though Pinkie more bounced along than walked, which worked out since Rainbow flew along at a snail's pace by her side. Well, a relative snail's pace; it was normal walking speed for a normal pony, but that was too slow for Dash.
"Sooo, how was the meeting, honey?" Pinkie asked. "Your first big officer meeting! How cool is that?!"
Rainbow shrugged. "Eh, pretty dull all things considered. It's funny, but I thought moving my way up in the Wonderbolts ranks would mean discussing flight shows and developing new maneuvers and stuff. I mean, it is, but it's also a lot of, uh… logistics and stuff."
"Logistics?"
"Yeah, like… math. Like making sure we've got supplies and stuff, figuring out rotation schedules for patrol routes, things like that." Rainbow scratched her chin. "I always figured Spitfire just took care of everything, but she delegates a lot of duties to the officers. Takes the pressure off, I guess. Kind of like how Twi has us helping her out with leading Equestria."
Pinkie smiled wide. "Cooool! So what's your delegated duty? Training new recruits? Developing flight plans for the next big show? Ooh ooh, scheduling that next flight show? 'Cause you should bring it to Ponyville!"
Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. "Naw, I'm responsible for assigning the new trainees to their barracks and guiding them along at the academy. Kinda like their RA, like when kids go to college for the first time. The other lower officers rotate the role around every semester, and it's my turn this time."
Pinkie's eyes lit up with stars and sparkles. "That's so cool! You're like the first friendly face these new recruits are gonna see! You're the coolest, Dashie!"
"Huh… yeah, I guess I am basically the face of the Wonderbolts to them, aren't I? Never thought of it like that." Rainbow nodded with certainty. "Awesome." As they entered the main palace doors—the palace hadn't changed a bit since Twilight took over—she asked, "So, I guess I'm the last one here?"
"Yup! Everypony's been waiting on you, which is like, super duper the opposite of how it usually goes.. That's what Applejack kept saying when the others got here, anyway, since she kept expecting the next pony to walk in to be you. She'll probably say so to you too. So, y'know, fair warning."
Rainbow snickered. "Heh, typical AJ. Thanks, Pinks."
Sure enough, as soon as she and Pinkie made their way through the long palace halls and arrived at the foyer to the Friendship Council Chambers, Applejack stamped her hoof and, with a big smile on her face, called out, "There she is! Y'know, Rainbow, usually y'all're the one complainin' 'bout everypony else keepin' ya waitin', but here ya are, doin' it ta us."
"Told you," Pinkie whispered to Dash.
"Yeah, no kidding," Dash whispered back. She then brightened and glanced about the room, where her other friends—sans Twilight at the moment—were waiting. "Sorry to keep you guys waiting, but there was a Wonderbolts meeting scheduled this morning. And of course Soarin held us up a bit because he wanted to go over the catering for the rally next week. Again."
"It's perfectly alright, darling," said Rarity from her spot seated in one of the comfortable chairs in the foyer—she'd picked the set out herself three months ago and had them arranged the way she liked them.
She was notably the only one of them apart from Rainbow that was dressed, but that went without saying. It wasn't quite cold enough to be wearing winter coats yet in Rainbow's opinion, but Rarity was dressed for cooler weather anyway in a fancy cloak with a faux-fur collar sprinkled with diamond dust. Rainbow only knew any of that because Rarity had gone over it in detail the last time that she wore it.
"You might be a tad bit late, but we all understand. Duty calls, as they say." Rarity then raised an eyebrow and looked Rainbow up and down. "I see you're still in uniform."
Rainbow tilted her head. "Yeah, I came straight here, didn't have time to get changed."
"Same design as always. I don't suppose Captain Spitfire has considered my request to give the Wonderbolts a little redesign yet?"
"I'll say it again Rares, but you'd have better luck convincing a fish to stop swimming or a bee to stop making honey," Rainbow said, proudly sticking out her chest. "These colors have been traditional for the Wonderbolts for generations. Blue for the sky that we call our home, yellow for the lightning that we strike like: swift and strong. A holdover from the old military days."
"All of which is just fascinating, dear, but I didn't intend to change the colors, just the style." Rarity both sighed and shrugged dramatically, like it was the most important thing in the world. "But it is what it is, I suppose. Maybe I'll try again when new leadership comes around that might be more considerate of my expertise in the field?"
Rainbow didn't like the little twinkle in Rarity's eye. It was no secret to the group that Rainbow was gunning for Wonderbolts Captain someday, and that she was a shoe-in for the role if she played her cards right. Which meant that Rarity was implying that she'd try to convince her to alter the uniforms, to put her under the pressure to say "no" to a friend.
Well, Rainbow would just have to cross that bridge when she came to it.
"So, AJ," Rainbow said, turning to Applejack. "How're things back home? Farm still doing okay?"
"Yeah, everythin's doin' alright, far as I'm concerned," Appplejack said, adjusting her stetson. "Could be better, but I can't complain. Crops're doin' great, family's doin' great, but it's still takin' some gettin' used to, y'know, comin' here e'ry month, only seein' some o' y'all when I do. Feels… y'know, strange."
Fluttershy, who'd been quiet thus far, peeped up: "I know what you mean, Applejack. This past year's been all over the place for me. I got so used to having all sorts of exciting adventures—even though they were scary sometimes—that things have just gotten…"
"Boring?" suggested Rainbow.
"Oh goodness no," Fluttershy chuckled, putting a hoof to her lips. "Life could never get boring when I've got Discord around all the time. He's done a wonderful job keeping me entertained and happy. I'm glad I have him around, and I don't know what I'd do without him."
"Why is it still hard to believe he's on our side these days?" Rainbow asked nopony in particular. "It still feels like just yesterday we were trying to keep him from taking over Equestria and turning it into his personal playground."
"Ponies change, Rainbow, and so do other creatures," Fluttershy replied, not upset or stern in the least, but with a tone in her voice that Rainbow knew meant she was serious. "Discord's my friend—our friend—and I couldn't be happier for it. He may be playful and mischievous at times, but he's also incredibly kind and cooperative. And he's been a big help with starting up my animal sanctuary."
"Well, glad to hear that that's goin' well," Applejack said, tipping her hat. "Been meanin' ta ask ya how it's workin' out, but it's been a busy harvest this year."
Fluttershy shook her head. "It's just that… it always feels like something's missing. It's hard to explain, but I think you guys understand what I mean."
Pinkie nodded sagely. "Exactly! You know what we need? An adventure! Something exciting to get us back in the swing of things!" She tapped her chin, biting her tongue in the process. "But what kind of exciting, crazy adventure could we even go on these days? We beat up all the bad guys and all the races of the world are living in harmony."
"Yeah, we've totally got the picture-perfect happy ending going here," Rainbow said. "I'm digging the freedom to pursue my dreams and stuff without worrying about some jerk trying to take over Equestria."
"Yeah, so long as it doesn't turn out that vanquishing the wendigos makes it turn out okay for ponies to divide themselves up and hate each other in the far, far future, everything'll be just fine!" said Pinkie, staring off at… something as she said it with an oddly judgmental look on her face.
Rarity scoffed, ignoring Pinkie's odd tangent. "I, too, don't mind the peace and quiet. I have no idea how I was able to maintain a successful business here in Canterlot for so many years while also dealing with miscreant villains, and I'm perfectly content with how things are now. For the most part, anyway, and going on some sort of adventure isn't going to make things better."
"So business is still doing well, I take it?" Fluttershy asked.
"Naturally, darling, as if there was ever any doubt," Rarity said with a confident smile as she fluffed her mane slightly. "I'm thankful that I've been able to capitalize on recent events to make a killing in the fashion world, and I certainly plan to keep up the pace.
"It's one thing being a prestigious designer for ponies, but being one of the first to jump into the fray of making fashion for other races is, well, exciting. Griffins have different tastes from yaks, who have different tastes from hippogriffs, and the changelings' tastes in clothes are just all over the place." She gave a satisfied sigh. "I relish the challenge."
"So, uh, not to interrupt or anything, but if I was late, where's Twi?" asked Rainbow, glancing about. "She moved this whole shindig up two days and we're all still out here in the waiting area like we're at the dentist. We've never had to wait before, so what gives?"
"Miss Inkwell came in before you got here to let us know Twilight was almost ready for us," Pinkie said with a grin. "She must be preparing something."
"Preparing something? I never heard anything about her preparing anything. Did she say anything to you guys?" Rainbow asked the others.
Collectively, they shook their heads, except Rarity, who nudged a large bag near her chair that Rainbow had noticed but not paid much attention to until just now. "Only a little bit, dear, but she'll be dreadfully upset with me if I say anything more. I'm not even sure exactly why I did it yet, either, but I've got a few ideas."
Rainbow scratched her head. "Huh?"
Then, the large doors at the other side of the room opened, and Twilight was waiting on the other side. "Hello, everypony!" she greeted, a wide smile on her face. "Glad you guys could make it. Sorry about the rescheduling, but trust me, you'll be happy once you know what I've got planned for today's meeting. It's a surprise!"
The group—again, sans Rarity—gawked at Twilight briefly. Rainbow blurted out what she knew everypony else was thinking: "Whoa, Twi, are you getting taller or are my eyes messing with me?"
"Hmm?" Twilight briefly glanced down at herself, then at Rainbow with a smile. "Oh, right, none of you have seen me since last month except for Rarity. Um… yes, I did get taller. About two weeks ago, I had a little growth spurt and woke up one morning like this."
She spread her wings—also longer than usual—and gestured down at her elongated limbs and slightly larger frame. Even her mane had grown longer and a little wavy, though it still had its distinct colors and the ever-recognizable bangs.
"She's almost exactly the same size as Cadance is," Rarity chimed in as she looked over Twilight, hoof to her chin. "I still have her measurements memorized from making her wedding dress. Twilight's just slightly taller, but not as slender." With a titter, Rarity added, "Though I wouldn't expect many mares to possess a figure like Cadance's."
Twilight gave a little nervous grin. "Yeah, well, it was a little awkward waking up that morning and not realizing that I'd grown bigger. It took me a month to memorize the path from my bed to the bathroom, but since I had a longer stride than I was used to and wasn't fully awake yet, I, uh… sort of ran into the wall."
Rainbow snickered; picturing her friend, the ruler of Equestria, running into a wall while half-asleep was just amusing. "You didn't break anything, didja?"
"No, I just suffered a little pang of embarrassment, that's all. I'm still trying to readjust to the new size, so… don't judge me if I do anything that looks weird that should look normal otherwise. Okay? I'm still finding it awkward sitting down in chairs."
"Hey, no judgin' here," Applejack said, holding up a hoof. "With the growth spurt that Apple Bloom just went through, y'all won't get anythin' but sympathy from me. Darn filly grew 'bout five years in one, I tell ya what. E'ry doggone day was a hassle fer her, gettin' used ta all the changes so fast."
"Oof, tell me about it," Rarity said. "Sweetie Belle's going through the same ordeal. I think she's finally settled down, so things should get back to 'normal' soon enough, but goodness if it wasn't aggravating to have to adjust her clothes' fit every other week. I'm glad I had the foresight to ensure the dresses I made are stitched of easily-adjusted materials."
"That's only 'cause y'all insist she keep wearin' clothes," Applejack said, tilting her stetson up. "Y'know she don't gotta, right? Apple Bloom don't wear nothin' but her bow, an' I think the only other kid in their class that wears anythin' at all is their friend Diamond, and that's just a lil' tiara."
"Of course not, but Sweetie's a very fashion-conscious young mare, and heaven forbid I, of all ponies, prevent her from her desire to express herself however she sees fit." Rarity opened her coat slightly to show off the red dress she was wearing underneath, which Rainbow thought looked familiar. "After all, I express myself all the time."
"That's just 'cause you're advertisin' yer business."
Rarity huffed and closed up her coat again. "I'll have you know that it's more than just advertising, thank you. A beautiful mare in a beautiful dress attracts all sorts of attention, and some of us like attention." She glanced at Rainbow. "Wouldn't you agree, Rainbow? If anypony here appreciates being the center of attention, it's you."
Rainbow looked between the two briefly, then held up her hooves and chuckled. "Hey, don't drag me into this little lovers' quarrel."
"Uh, Dashie, Applejack and Rarity aren't lovers," Pinkie helpfully noted. After a glance between the two mares in question, though, she tilted her head. "Though they do argue like an old married couple sometimes."
"We do not!" Applejack and Rarity said in unison.
"See? Maybe they are—"
Applejack held up her hoof. "Pinkie, lemme just stop ya right there 'fore ya start rattlin' off reasons ya think me 'n' Rarity are knockin' boots. 'Cause we ain't."
Pinkie steepled her hooves, raised an eyebrow, and stared at Applejack and Rarity for a moment, then nodded sagely again. "Yeah, okay, I buy it. Shame though. I bet in some other reality, you two are like the perfect couple. A total 'opposites attract' scenario goin' on there, yessir."
"Yes, well, thank goodness that's not this reality," Rarity said, rolling her eyes.
Twilight coughed into her hoof gently to draw attention back to her and away from Pinkie's tangent. "So, right, sorry to keep you all waiting—"
"S'alright, Twi, Rainbow was late anyway," Applejack said, pointing at Rainbow and giving a little shrug.
Rainbow grunted. "Hey! She wouldn't have even known if you didn't say anything! And besides that, it wasn't my fault!"
"Just sayin'."
"And it doesn't bother me that you were, Rainbow," Twilight said with an understanding grin. "Like I said, I'm sorry that I had to reschedule this month's meeting, especially on short notice like I did, but some big developments came up in the past two weeks, and… well, you'll see why in just a moment, if everypony will follow me?"
The group collectively moved to follow Twilight into the meeting chamber proper, where it was clear that things had indeed changed since their last meeting. Nothing too big, as the layout was the same, with a central table surrounded by chairs, and walls decorated with stained glass windows that depicted each member of the Friendship Council. And though the Elements of Harmony no longer played a role in their lives like they once had, their insignias—really just their Cutie Marks but fancy—were used to designate the seats.
The only difference now was that the Friendship Map had been moved into the center of the room, where there was normally just a simple round table. It reminded Rainbow of how the old meeting room looked many years ago, before Twilight had converted her old castle into a school and when they all used to go on regular adventures.
"So you all might be wondering why the Friendship Map is here today," Twilight said, cutting off anypony that was likely to ask about it. "I had Starlight ship it over here from the school for a very specific purpose, which I'll get into in a moment. Go on, everypony, get seated. We have a lot to discuss."
Rainbow and the others took their usual seats around the table-like map, and Rainbow felt a little nostalgic for the years that had gone by. She remembered the first time she'd walked into Twilight's castle when it had literally magically appeared, the first time she'd glanced around the sweet-looking meeting chamber that came with a throne-like chair with her Cutie Mark on it—and other chairs with the others' marks too, of course. The current chairs were similar but had been built that way, not formed out of thin air.
She especially remembered the first time the map had activated and given them their first "friendship problem" to solve together. It was still… awkward looking back on it these days. It wasn't rare for her and her friends to make up with folks that were antagonistic towards them early on, but Starlight Glimmer's little cult community was… different. Still, that was all in the past, and Starlight was a good friend to them all now, so whatever, let bygones be bygones.
Twilight took her seat last—an actual throne fit for a princess, though not because Twilight had insisted—and then took a breath before she started talking again; Rainbow knew this meant Twilight was about to go on a long spiel, so she leaned back a bit to get comfortable.
"Last year, Celestia and Luna officially retired and I was crowned as the Princess of all of Equestria," Twilight said, a little twinge of anxiousness in her voice. "I'm still amazed that I—that we—have been able to keep things together this past year, but I'm so proud of all of us for making it happen. I'll admit, I was afraid when I first took the throne, afraid that I wasn't ready, that I'd mess it all up somehow…
"But, thanks to some of the greatest friends a pony could ever ask for," she said with a wide smile as she looked to the others, "I've been able to survive through my first year as the Princess Twilight Sparkle. I couldn't have done it without all of you by my side, supporting me and helping me through each and every situation that's cropped up, big or small."
"Shucks, Twi, y'all ain't gotta get all mushy on us 'bout that," Applejack said with a grin, leaning over and patting Twilight's shoulder. "We're honored ta have ya as our friend, an' friends always help friends out when they're in need, right?"
"Yeah!" Pinkie cheered, leaping out of her seat briefly. "We'd be here by your side even if you wanted us to be here more than once a month! We'd be here every week if you wanted, or every day." She then set both of her hooves firmly on the table, a dead serious look in her eyes. "If you asked me to, Twilight, I'd be here every single second of the day. And nopony here would say anything different, right girls?"
Nopony outwardly actually agreed with Pinkie—she had a habit of taking things too far—but the sentiment of their collective agreement was that Twilight could depend on them no matter what, though they hoped she didn't need them to be here that often. At least, that was what Rainbow felt; she'd fly here at the drop of a hat if Twilight asked, but she'd have to think hard if Twilight asked her to live in the palace with her so she could be on call.
"Thanks girls," Twilight said. "Anyway, my point is that you've been friends to me for more than just the past year. I've had you to rely on for years now, and I've done my best to be there for you all the same. I'd never change anything about all of that." She then lit up her horn, and poofed a large scrapbook in front of her. "And that's why I appreciate this gift that Starlight gave to me so much. I cherish it; it's my most treasured possession in all the world."
Twilight opened it up and flipped through the pages to prove her point, though everypony in the group already knew what the scrapbook was. Rainbow had honestly been impressed that Starlight had been able to collect so much from all of their collective adventures, even from before Twilight became famous as an alicorn princess. That took dedication; Rainbow would never deny that Starlight was always dedicated to whatever task she set out on, sometimes to extremes that made Twilight look tame.
"However, as much as I love and appreciate this gift that Starlight gave me, I could never tell her that there's just one flaw in it," Twilight continued, dramatically closing the book.
"A flaw?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yes, just one. One that I could never tell her about, and one that even if I did tell her about, that she'd never be able to fix." Twilight sighed and shook her head. "There's an adventure that we all embarked on many years ago, and yet this scrapbook contains no evidence of it. This little book contains excerpts of our lives together as friends for years, and yet it's missing something."
Rainbow tilted her head for a moment in thought, then perked up. "Oh! I get it, you mean that other Equestria? With Havoc and Flathoof and all those tall buildings and stuff?"
Twilight grinned and nodded. "Precisely. Seven years ago today, we encountered the tear in the Void that sent us to that other world. There's no way that Starlight could possibly provide excerpts of our time there, even if she knew all about the adventures we had in that world, even if we were allowed to tell her about them in the first place. All we brought back with us from that other world were the clothes we were wearing, and the memories in our hearts."
Pinkie leaned over to Dash and whispered, "And a certain toy that somepony enjoys very much." She then wiggled her eyebrows while biting her lip.
Dash, slightly red in the face, nudged Pinkie and whispered back, "And Twi doesn't want to hear about that."
Rarity smirked and nodded knowingly. "Ah, now I understand why you asked me to do this little project of yours."
"Yes, Rarity, and thank you again for doing it on such short notice," Twilight said, returning the nod. "I'll let you do the honors."
"It will be my pleasure."
"What's all this about a project?" Applejack asked as Rarity, her bag carried along in her magic, stepped around the table to come to her first.
Rarity opened the bag and hoisted out a familiar red plaid shirt. "Earlier this week, Twilight asked me for a big favor, one which she wanted to keep a secret from all of you until now. As she said, apart from the memories of our time in that other world, the only other thing we brought with us were the clothes on our backs. And, as you'll recall, I refused to just let you throw them away."
"Pshaw, ain't like we need ta wear clothes all the time 'round here, Rares," Applejack scoffed as she looked at the shirt. "I still ain't sure why y'all wanted ta keep 'em."
"For prosperity, I suppose. A little memento. I'll admit to having worn this dress of mine many times before now," Rarity said as she gestured down at the red lace dress she was wearing under her winter coat.
Now Rainbow realized where she recognized it from; she wasn't a fashion-conscious mare by any stretch, but she was pretty certain that a dress like that was quite a—heh—rarity in their own Equestria, but not so much in that other Equestria.
It was a little too revealing—a weird concept considering ponies rarely wore clothes anyway—and showed off Rarity's lovely figure just a little too well, but then Rainbow supposed that was why Rarity was wearing a winter coat over it even though it wasn't that cold out. Rarity probably wouldn't want to strut around in public wearing it; it might draw attention, but maybe the wrong kind.
Rainbow had to wonder where it was, exactly, that Rarity had worn a dress like that over the years.
"So, what, ya saved 'em 'cause ya thought we'd wanna wear 'em again?" Applejack asked, scratching her head.
"Ironically, yes, considering that Twilight asked me if I could remake them for a special occasion." Rarity glanced over at Twilight with a coy smile. "She was pleasantly surprised when I told her that all I needed to do was just touch up the old ones. A little cleaning, a little sewing to adjust for new fits, and voilà. Our old clothes born anew, like a phoenix from the ashes."
Applejack took the shirt from Rarity, looked it over for a minute, then shrugged and put it on, though with a little help from Rarity's magic. It was a typical sort of work shirt that even ponies in their world sometimes wore to protect themselves from the elements, though it wasn't commonplace. Most folks would just wear a hat and call it a day, like Applejack did practically always, at most putting on a scarf or a jacket when it was cold.
Rarity grinned as she helped adjust the fit, then patted Applejack's chest gingerly. "There we are, darling, looking just as I remembered. Better even, since at least now this shirt of yours is clean and doesn't smell like the week-old stink of sweat."
"Psh, a shirt like this is meant ta get covered in sweat 'n' grease 'n' such," Applejack sniffed, running her hoof over the sleeve. "Ain't make no sense fer it ta be all clean as a whistle. Just gotta be clean enough that it don't smell awful, an' it never smelt awful as far as I remember."
"Speak for yourself. When I took this shirt from you, it absolutely reeked of something awful. Now hush, darling, and tell me if it feels comfortable. I used the measurements I took last year for Twilight's coronation, so hopefully it fits. You look just as muscular as I remember, but you never know."
"It's… well, it's perfect, actually," Applejack muttered, adjusting her stetson. "Feels just like it did last time I wore it. I think. Hard ta know fer sure seein' as that was seven years ago I last wore it, yeah? But I don't remember it ever bein' tight or loose or nothin', an' this is even better than that."
"Well, as long as you're satisfied with the fit, then I'm satisfied."
Rarity then moved on to Pinkie and Fluttershy, and provided them both with their old outfits from when they returned home all those years ago. For Pinkie, a simple baker's outfit complete with an apron just like any that could be found in their own world, but with different colorings and with the logo of the bakery that Pinkie had worked at—The Sweet Spot—emblazoned on the front.
For Fluttershy, just a plain white blouse with a long green skirt that had been decorated with pink butterflies, though Rainbow could tell that a lot of attention was put into the details that she hadn't seen before, namely that the butterflies looked realistic, as if they'd just landed on the skirt and settled there.
Next, for Rainbow, Rarity provided the old flight jacket that she—like Applejack with her work shirt—had picked out of a junk pile at a police station just to satisfy the need for clothes in the other world; everypony else in their group had replaced their makeshift original outfits, but Rainbow and Applejack hadn't cared to do so. Rarity had done a number on the jacket, though, and made it look brand-spanking new and cool as all heck. It fit perfectly, too, just like the others' clothes did.
"Dang, Rares, you outdid yourself on this sucker," Rainbow said as she settled into the jacket.
With it on top of her Wonderbolts uniform, she felt like she'd look at least fifteen percent more boss at the next officer cocktail party. Oh yeah, she was gonna keep this jacket. She actually regretted giving it to Rarity and never asking for it back over all these years.
"Don't let anypony ever tell you you can't make clothes look cool, okay?" she said, patting Rarity's shoulder. "'Cause I'll find 'em and deck 'em for ya if they do."
Rarity blinked, then smirked briefly. "I appreciate that, Rainbow, though I don't think you'll need to 'deck' anypony on my behalf anytime soon."
She then approached Twilight and pulled out a much larger outfit than she had for the others—obviously—and presented it to the princess like it was a treasured possession. "As for you, Twilight, I unfortunately couldn't do anything with your original outfit to make it fit you, especially after your most recent growth spurt. I had originally planned just for wing slits after you became an alicorn, but well, things change, hmm?"
Twilight curiously eyed the outfit that Rarity was holding. "So then, what's this?"
"A recreation," Rarity said simply as she helped Twilight fit into it. "I ordered material for Manehatten to perfectly replicate the original outfit's texture and color."
The new outfit was just as Rainbow remembered it, though on Twilight's new frame it looked sort of… odd, was the best word Rainbow could use. It consisted of a cable-knit sweater and a long pleated skirt, the typical sort of clothes that a librarian would wear if they decided to actually wear clothes.
Rainbow found that thought hard to parse through; she'd not given any consideration to the fact that everypony was usually naked until she started wearing her old outfit again. What was it about clothes that made her notice when others didn't wear them? And why didn't her Wonderbolts uniform make her feel like that?
Also, Twilight looked particularly odd wearing the librarian outfit and her royal tiara. She was glad when Twilight set said tiara aside, because the juxtaposition of regal and plain was off-putting.
Either way, once everypony was dressed, Twilight got the group's attention again by clearing her throat. "So, the clothes are purely for nostalgia's sake, everypony, and if you want to keep them after today, you can. You don't have to wear them now or in the future if you don't want to, but I figured that it would help jog some memories, hmm?"
"I'll say," Applejack agreed. "Just wearin' this here getup again reminds me o' all the haulin' I had ta do at that there warehouse. Heh, I 'member the look ol' Big Mac gave me when we came home an' he saw how much muscle I done got while workin' there, 'specially after I started breakin' applebuckin' records that even he had trouble with."
"I remember all the treats I made and sold at The Sweet Spot!" Pinkie chirped, fanning her apron. "Every single one. Every fakey-fake cookie, pie, cake, donut, milkshake, ice cream sundae, and pudding. They were so close to the real thing, but boy oh boy, it was so nice getting to scarf down some real sweets when we got home. Those cupcakes I made with Red barely held me over!"
Twilight smiled. "And I remember every single colt, filly, stallion, and mare that came to me for help at the library there, and how I had to quickly learn to use their weird computer systems instead of the books that I'm used to." Her smile turned slightly sad. "I remember when Winter complimented me on my outfit when I first put it on. I remember… a lot of things…"
She looked among the others. "Tell me, and be honest: do any of you sometimes think back on things that happened back during our time there? Good thoughts, bad thoughts, it doesn't matter; do those memories come back to you? When you're alone at night, do you think back on friends that you'll never see again? Do you miss them?"
Rainbow didn't need to even consider it. "Yeah, sometimes. When the Wonderbolts get together for friendly skyball games, I constantly think about how much I miss having Havoc with me, whether we're on the same team and kicking tail together, or if we're squaring off and trash-talking each other like there's no tomorrow. Nopony in the Wonderbolts is as good of a blocker as she was."
"I think about Red all the time," Pinkie said, her mane drooping just a little. "I love my family, I love my sisters, and Red, well… she felt like just another sister to me. I called her my Long-Lost-Twin-From-Another-World, and I meant it with all my heart; she felt like she was my twin, another me. She and I were like two sides of a coin! I loved her like family…"
"I know how you feel," Rarity said with a nod. "Insipid felt like a little sister to me in many ways the same as Sweetie Belle does, but… older. Sweetie is several years younger than me. But Insipid was like… well, like Pinkie says, like a twin I never had. I miss her dearly, and constantly regret that I'll never know for sure if her career took off like we'd hoped."
She pawed at the thin strand of gray in her mane; Rarity had been extremely self-conscious about it last month since nopony else was getting gray hairs yet.
Applejack removed her hat and held it over her chest. "Makin' friends wit' Flathoof and his family… well, it was the closest thing I'll ever get to bein' wit' my parents again. I dunno, I guess… I guess they just kinda gave me some closure I didn't even know I needed. I ain't ever gonna forget 'em, just like I can never forget my real parents. Some ponies just leave an impression…"
"Gray was… nice…" Fluttershy muttered, looking at the floor. "I know I'll never meet another pony like her again. She made me feel… safe. Confident. I feel that way with all of you, too, but with her it was… different."
Rainbow noticed Fluttershy's face reddening a bit, and knew exactly why, but didn't say anything since she knew Fluttershy had always been self-conscious about that sort of thing. She understood more than anypony else here would, even if she and Fluttershy weren't exactly alike in that regard, but she got it.
Twilight then straightened up in her seat and gave a firm nod. "So, with that in mind, I decided that remembering things just wasn't enough. It isn't enough to just think fondly on good times with friends, on memories long gone with ponies and places you'll never see again. Most ponies have keepsakes of those sorts of memories, things that help them visualize those thoughts.
"So, when Starlight gave me this scrapbook, and when I realized that there weren't any mementos from our time in that other world other than the outfits—which until recently I didn't even know Rarity had kept—I knew that I had to do something. I had to give us something real."
Applejack raised an eyebrow. "What're ya talkin' 'bout, Twi?"
"Over the last two weeks, I've been working with Starlight—and Trixie, oddly enough—on the development of a new spell," Twilight said matter-of-factly as she lit up her horn.
The lights of the room dimmed a little, and the Friendship Map started to glow like it used to back in the day. Rainbow watched as the features on it brightened, and memories of those old adventures came flooding back.
Twilight then paused, tilting her head and giving a light shrug. "Well, to be honest, I've been working on the spell for the past six years, but it wasn't until after my growth spurt that we made a breakthrough. It took a lot of work, a lot of experimentation, a lot of materials, and a lot of failing and trying again, but we did it. We finished the spell."
"And this spell does… what, exactly?" asked Rarity, on the edge of her seat just like everypony else.
"It will allow us to 'see' our otherworldly friends again."
The table went silent.
Rainbow spoke up first. "Hang on, like… you're gonna open a portal so we visit them or something?"
Twilight chuckled and shook her head. "No no, nothing like that. Interacting with the Void magic is something that's already extremely difficult to do, and even with Starlight's help, I'm simply not powerful enough to do that on my own. I'd need to be as powerful as Celestia and Luna to do that, and I don't think I'm quite there yet." She paused, then held up a hoof. "Not that I would! I know the kind of danger that represents. No, this is sort of like… a crystal ball."
"A crystal ball? Like the one the fortune tellers use at fairs?" asked Rarity.
"Sort of. The spell will let us 'view' our friends in the other world for a brief moment. We can't interact with them in any way, or vice versa, and there are a few limitations I had to place on the spell to make it safe for us to use so that I don't accidentally tear a hole open in the fabric of the Void."
"Limitations such as…?"
"For one, we'll only be able to see our friends, not hear them. I could do it the other way around—that was a major part of the testing I did—but I felt that that wouldn't be satisfactory enough." She then looked sad——no, heartbroken—for a brief moment. "It's… harder. To hear their voices but not be able to see them. To want to join in their conversation, to ask them a question, to have them acknowledge you again…"
After a pregnant pause, Rainbow cleared her throat. "Uh, yeah, 'cause I bet Havoc is probably swearing up a storm doing whatever it is she's doing!" she said in her best attempt to lighten the mood. "We've got some sensitive ears in this room, y'know, so yeah, visual's probably best."
Twilight took another breath, then was all smiles again. "So! The other limitation is a time limit. I can only keep the connection open for a few minutes, and with Starlight's help I was able to tweak the spell to accommodate exactly six minutes of time—one minute for each of us to spend on one pony each that we want to see."
"You're serious?" Applejack asked, lifting her hat. "This here spell o' yers'll let us see our friends again, if only fer a minute?"
"Yes, it will. I could've probably made it work for longer, but this is Void magic we're talking about," Twilight replied. "I don't know if Summer Rains is still our world's Chronomancer or not, but I'd rather not draw any attention with the spell in case she or whoever thinks there's a danger. Because there isn't. I've tested the spell more than once and it works perfectly. Today's our first field run, but I'm confident in its success."
The group shared anxious looks with one another, then all smiled at Twilight and nodded almost as one.
"Let's do it!" Rainbow said, pumping a hoof.
"You're the best, Twilight!" cheered Pinkie. "This is the best unbirthday present you've ever given me!"
"I would definitely enjoy the chance to see our friends again, if even for a mere moment," Rarity agreed, nose in the air. "Perhaps it will bring us some proper closure, hmm? To know that things are going as well for them in their lives as they are for us in ours?"
Twilight let out a breath of relief. "Thanks, girls. I'm glad you're on board with this."
"Why wouldn't we be?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well, it's just… hmm. Nevermind. I don't know, I just thought that maybe you didn't all feel the same way I do. I was worried I was the only one who still… remembered."
Twilight then cleared her throat. "So, I figure the best way to go about this is to take turns, one minute each. We'll go in order, and to be fair, we'll draw straws for it." She procured some straws out of nowhere with her magic. "No alphabetical order, no going by our ages or ranks or whatever. Just pure chance. Does that sound good to everypony?"
"Sounds good to me," Rainbow said, leaning forward and gesturing for a straw. "Just so you know, I'm the best at drawing straws." As she drew the straw from Twilight's magic—which carefully concealed their length—her jaw fell; she'd drawn the shortest straw. "Aw nuts. Guess that means I go last, huh?"
"Them's the breaks, Rainbow. Maybe y'all shouldn't be gettin' too big fer yer britches 'bout drawin' straws," said Applejack as she reached out to draw next. Her straw was barely longer than Rainbow's. "Well horseapples."
"Them's the breaks, right AJ?" Rainbow chortled.
The others all drew as well until the order was determined: Twilight drew the longest and would go first, then Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and lastly Rainbow.
"Okay, everypony," Twilight announced. "Time to prepare the spell. This'll only take a moment, and then we can begin. Is everypony ready?"
"Ready!" they all called out as one.
Twilight took a deep breath and lit up her horn, which caused the lights to flicker and made the Friendship Map glow brighter than ever. Rainbow didn't know anything about magic, but she did know Twilight was a magical genius, so she wasn't worried. If Twilight said she'd taken all of the necessary precautions, then she'd done just that and everything would be fine. Six minutes of nostalgic closure for everypony, and then they could get to proper Friendship Council work.
They'd be done in time for a late lunch.
The Friendship Map continued to glow until eventually it generated an image, exactly as it had always done before when pinpointing a friendship problem that the group needed to solve. Only the image took up the entirety of the table, and it completely erased the actual "map" that was normally there for everypony to see.
Instead, the top of the table became covered with a swirling vortex of energy that looked like a chaotic field of stars, only it was rather faint and calm. It reminded Rainbow of a sink draining water at a slow, steady pace; some of the magical energy even seemed to "splash" around the edges of the bowl. Unlike the portal that Rainbow remembered from all those years ago, there was no sense of pull from the vortex, no sense of danger.
Though it took a few minutes, and though Twilight looked to be straining herself to make it work, eventually the spell seemed to fully take hold and the group was wowed to see an image actually form itself in the "water" of the spell. The image quality wasn't anything special, like watching an old, grainy movie at the local movie theater, but there was no mistaking what they saw.
Winter Glow was an icy blue unicorn mare with a snow white mane. She was shorter than any mare that Rainbow had ever known, so short that she could be confused for a teenager at best and hadn't gotten any bigger in the past seven years. She always wore a purple turtleneck sweater and a matching scarf and beret, and now was no exception.
By Winter's side was another filly, roughly the same height as Winter but clearly younger judging by her facial structure, dressed in a black mare's tuxedo with a small, matching top hat. Her coat was the color of vanilla pudding, her mane a pinkish purple. With the way she followed Winter's lead, it was clear that Winter was some sort of guide or instructor.
The pair was traveling through what looked like some sort of cave system, though the lighting made it hard to tell anything more than that. Winter's horn lit up the walls around them enough that everypony could see that the cavern was encrusted with what looked like gemstones of varying colors.
Rainbow didn't pay too much attention to the two ponies in the viewing pool, though. She was more focused on Twilight's face. She knew the look that Twilight had in her eyes, she knew what the small, sad smile meant.
Twilight had never said it out loud to any of them, but Rainbow knew that their little group had all figured out by now that Twilight and Winter had grown close during that little adventure. It was clear as day just looking at Twilight now that none of them wanted to see that world again—to see their friends again—more than her.
"Winter seems to be doing well for herself, doesn't she?" said Rarity, gently putting her hoof on Twilight's side. "Still physically fit and everything, hmm?"
"She does," Twilight said quietly, not taking her eyes off the pool. With a small smile, she added, "She's just as short as I remember. And I'm much taller now than I was then, too. I bet she'd be so tiny next to me nowadays…"
"Who's that other mare with her?" asked Fluttershy, tilting her head.
"Looks like they're talkin' 'bout somethin'," Applejack said, scratching her chin. "Ya sure we can't hear 'em and figure out what it is?"
"No, we can't do both," Twilight said, shaking her head. "Though in my testing over the years, I did manage to listen in briefly without any visual manifestations. I won't say I'm completely certain, but I'd bet that this other mare is her apprentice, Hourglass I believe. I can't be totally sure since it's not like I ever heard her appearance described before, but I'm getting that feeling here just by looking at them."
As the minute time limit approached, the group saw Winter suddenly stop for half a moment and, after checking her little pocket watch—which was glowing a pathetically faint green—stared straight towards them, as if there was a hidden camera following her and she'd managed to finally spot it. The viewing pool closed before anything else could happen, though, leaving just the familiar field of stars behind.
"Did… did she just look at us?" Rainbow asked. "I thought you said they wouldn't be able to see us?"
Twilight's brow furrowed. "Well, this is a manipulation of Void magic, and her Timekeeper—that little pocket watch—is capable of detecting Void anomalies. It stands to reason that it detected my spell, if only for an instant." She shook her head. "But I know that it'll just show up as a minor blip. Like a hint of static during a radio broadcast."
"Me next!" Pinkie cheered, all smiles. "I wanna check in on Red!" She paused briefly, ears flattening out. "Uh, but… be ready to close it up quick though, in case she's doing anything, y'know, kinky. That's kinda Red's thing, y'know, and I don't want to tick off the censors. This is a kid's show!"
"I'll keep that in mind," Twilight murmured.
She lit up her horn again, and the swirling vortex took shape once more, this time showing a view of none other than Red Velvet, Pinkie's friend from that other world.
The two mares had an uncanny resemblance apart from how they styled their manes and tails—Pinkie's were curly and poofy, Red's were long and straight—all the way down the the very last detail as far as they could tell; Rainbow often wondered just how physically similar the two were, if only because she considered herself an expert. Red wore a rather simple blouse and skirt, not at all the provocative sort that Rainbow remembered the other mare preferring.
Pinkie's smile fell slightly, though, because Velvet didn't appear to be in what could be described as a good mood.
She was in what looked like a small hospital room, and there was an earth pony colt on the bed who looked like he was hooked up to a bunch of monitors. The colt was no more than ten or eleven, and had a brown coat and a darker brown mane, with a dark patch around his muzzle. He was alert and reading a book aloud, and looked as though he was struggling with the process.
By Velvet's side, seated in another chair, was a young pegasus filly about the same age as the colt, golden brown in coat with a strawberry-blonde mane. She, too, was reading aloud from a book, though she didn't look like she was struggling quite as much. In fact, she looked like she was trying to help, if her sympathetic expression was any clue.
"Something bad must've happened…" Pinkie muttered as she leaned back in her seat.
"I mean… maybe, yeah," Rainbow said, rubbing the back of her head. "Orrr, maybe Red's just visiting a children's hospital or something? Doing charity work! She seems like the kind of pony that'd love to do that, just like you are. You visit the one in Canterlot every year, dressed up like a clown to make the colts and fillies laugh."
Pinkie shook her head. "But I always have a smile on my face when I'm doing that, because I have to show off my positivity. Red looks… sad. Something happened; she knows that colt, and she's visiting him because something bad happened. I had that look when I visited you when you were in the hospital, remember?"
"Well, maybe he's her kid or something? Or maybe the filly is? We know Red, y'know, enjoyed stallions, like, a lot," Rainbow suggested. "I mean, it wouldn't surprise me if she had a kid by now."
"Rainbow, dear, far be it from me to question the insinuation you're giving of Miss Velvet's character, but that's just not possible," Rarity scoffed. "Those two youngsters look to be about ten or eleven. We left seven years ago, so unless she had a three-year-old foal of her own and just never told anypony about it—"
The viewing pool closed; the minute was up.
"It was nice seeing her again, even if it wasn't the best time to look in on her," Pinkie said, stroking her chin. "And now I'm worried about what's going on. Twilight, is there any way that we could do this again? So that I can check up on her maybe?"
Twilight tilted her head. "I suppose that I could make that happen, sure. The Friendship Map doesn't really have enough juice to support this spell often, though, so it might be a while before we could do this again. But I'd never object to something like that, especially if it's important to you guys."
Pinkie nodded. "Thanks, Twi. You're a peach."
"I suppose that means I'm next," Rarity said, leaning back in her seat and taking a stressed breath. "Only one minute for one pony to look in on though? Truly?"
"I'm afraid so," Twilight replied. "Trying to do something more complicated would stretch the spell's limitations, and that could cause issues.
"Hmph. That certainly does make things complicated, doesn't it?"
"What d'ya mean?" Applejack asked. "Ya just tell Twilight who ya wanna check in on, and poof, there ya go. 'Tain't so hard."
"It is when you have two wonderful friends that you want to check up on, darling," Rarity huffed. "On one hoof, I have my dear friend Insipid, who I'm certain is making a name for herself in the modeling world by now, and I would love to see how the fashion trends have changed since we left. On the other hoof, there's Lockwood, who I consider a true friend in every meaning of the word, and who did so, so much for all of us."
Applejack tipped her stetson gently. "Hmm, yeah, I see yer point. Can't be easy if'n ya ain't sure where they're gonna be, I guess. I mean, y'all know who I'm gonna pick, an' I'm crossin' my hooves hopin' he's 'round other ponies I met 'n' cared about. It's unlikely considerin' the time o' day 'n' all that, but I gotta take my chances."
"Same here!" Rainbow chimed in. "I mean, I'd love to see how my old team is doing and all, but I'm not gonna count on Havoc being near 'em when I take my turn. But if I gotta just pick one pony and I only get a minute, I know who I'm gonna pick." She gestured at Twilight. "I mean, we all know Twi had to make the same decision too, right? Winter or Dawn?"
Rarity glanced at a slightly-blushing Twilight briefly, then back to Rainbow. "A fair point. Still, it doesn't make the choice exactly easy, and Twilight likely has been thinking about how to go about that choice for some time now. I feel rather put on the spot having to make the decision right here and now."
Fluttershy reached over and set her hoof on Rarity's shoulder. "If you want, Rarity, I'll use my turn to check in on Lockwood, while you check in on Insipid. Or the other way around, if you'd prefer."
"Oh, darling, no no, I couldn't do that. What about Gray Skies? Surely you wish to check in on your dear friend, hmm? She meant so much to you."
"I mean, you know that Lockwood's my friend too, right? Maybe he and I didn't quite have what you two had, but… I wouldn't mind seeing him again either. Besides, he was a good friend to all of us, one of the first ponies we met that treated us with kindness and compassion, so I figure we'd all like to see how he's doing."
Rarity blinked, clearly struck by Fluttershy's words. Fluttershy's logic was sound and fair, and even Rainbow had to agree with it. Lockwood turned out to be an alright guy, and she supposed she owed him for the opportunity he gave her, gave all of them really.
"I… suppose so," Rarity muttered, tapping her hooves together. "But—"
"And besides, I've got a good feeling that I'll see Gray one way or another," Fluttershy said with a grin towards Applejack, who just raised an eyebrow and looked to Rainbow and Pinkie as if they had an answer—they didn't, of course, but Rarity seemed to get it.
"Well, if you insist." Rarity bit her lip, then nodded. "Insipid for me it is, then. Thank you, Fluttershy. I appreciate this more than you know."
"You're very welcome, Rarity."
Twilight's horn lit up again, and this time the viewing pool showed what looked like a fancy apartment, the kind that wouldn't be out of place in the high-end sections of Canterlot, which was already a high-end place to live. There were a number of ponies gathered there, all of whom looked to be exactly the sort of mares and stallions that Rarity wouldn't be out of place associating with. There were plenty of hors d'oeuvres and drinks being served by a wait staff dressed in classy outfits. Rainbow had been to a few fancy dinners with the Wonderbolts by now, and this blew those out of the water.
The image was focused on one mare in particular, but even if it wasn't, she'd have drawn attention to her anyway. Insipid was a black unicorn mare with a platinum blonde mane and tail that were styled similarly to Rarity's, only longer and curlier. She was wearing a silk cocktail dress that drew Rainbow's eyes to her stellar figure, which she had to admit was better than she remembered, and Insipid had already had a good figure, much like Rarity did. She hesitated to say better than Rarity, actually.
"Wowww…" Pinkie breathed. "Dang, Rarity, Insipid got super pretty. Super prettier, actually, 'cause she was already super pretty! Just like you!"
"I really like what she's done with her mane," Fluttershy agreed, glancing at Rarity's curls. "She's still modeling it on yours, it looks like. You must have left a good impression on her."
Rarity's grin was ear-to-ear. "My my my, she certainly has come a long way. I'm a little jealous, actually. She doesn't have a single strand of gray in her mane. Lucky girl. And look at this crowd she's associating with, hmm? I could just as easily mistake this for one of Fancy Pants's weekend cocktail parties. These must be some of the most elite ponies in all of the city." She clapped her hooves together and let out a little squee. "Ooh, I'm so proud of her!"
"Hey, look at how she's talking to the waiter," Rainbow said, pointing to the conversation in question. "I know that look! She's telling him what to do, like he works for her or something!"
"Ooh, does that mean this is her party?!" Pinkie gasped. "Wowee! I know I usually prefer my kinds of parties, but I can spot a well-run shindig a mile away, with a blindfold on and one eye closed! And this, whew, this is a high-falootin classy party! Look look look! There must be music playing 'cause ponies are dancing! This is how I imagined my first GGG to be like."
"First what?" asked Rarity.
"GGG! Grand Galloping Gala, duh!" Pinkie rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Rarity, you gotta get with the acronym game if you're gonna be a PIMP like Insipid is one day."
Rarity looked aghast; Rainbow would never use that word, aghast, to describe anypony but it was perfect here. "A what? I beg your pardon?"
"A Particularly Important Model Pony, obviously. What did you think I meant? Sheesh, Rarity, get your mind outta the gutter."
The viewing pool closed, and the party was no more.
Fluttershy took a breath. "Okay then, let's see how Lockwood's doing."
Twilight nodded and lit up her horn again, and this time the viewing pool showed the stallion in question seated at a table in what looked like some sort of restaurant. Rainbow was honestly amazed at how much he had changed; the others so far hadn't changed a bit from what she remembered of them, but Lockwood certainly had.
The gray-coated pegasus had once been a scrawny wimp, and while he hadn't exactly bulked up or anything he'd clearly put on a little weight and gained a little muscle; he actually looked like a fairly average stallion now as far as his build went. He also normally hid that figure under a shabby raincoat, and did the same with his short brown mane under an equally shabby fedora, but now he hid neither, and wore a snappy-looking white vest and shirt, very professional.
As always, what was most striking about him were his eyes, a rich golden color that Rainbow didn't see very often; the only pony she personally knew with eyes like that was Derpy Hooves, one of Ponyville mail carriers. Lockwood's captured attention like nopony's business; even Rainbow had to admit they were kind of pretty. For a stallion, anyway.
Lockwood was joined by two other ponies. One, a mare seated across from him, drew immediate attention from the group. "Is that Tempest Shadow?" Rainbow asked, pointing at the mare.
"It certainly looks just like her," Twilight said, tilting her head carefully as she scrutinized the image. "But no, it's not. Tempest just checked in with me last week; she's in griffin country right now, not a completely different world. And besides, even if she were, Tempest's scars aren't that bad, and she definitely hasn't replaced her horn with a metal spike as far as I know. I'd like to think she'd tell me."
"Maybe she should get a replacement. That spike looks boss," Rainbow said with a smirk. "Especially with how it's glowing and everything. Super sci-fi kind of stuff, like those space marine movies Pinkie and I like. Like she's some kind of cyborg or something."
The other pony with Lockwood was a stallion, a big stallion with a mocha-colored coat and a chocolate mane, taller and broader than any stallion Rainbow had ever seen, including Big Macintosh. And, that was if Rainbow was assuming correctly that the body armor he was wearing wasn't particularly thick. The fact that he was wearing body armor was obviously a point of interest to the others, too.
"Is that… armor that guy's wearin'?" asked Applejack.
"It's not like anything I've ever seen on any of our own soldiers or guards before," Twilight said. "But it looks like it fits the aesthetic of their world. I remember watching some of their Teevee programs before. There was one about an entire army of ponies that wore armor just like that. Some kind of clone army or something like that. I didn't get to finish it."
"He looks like he's guarding the table," Fluttershy said. When Rainbow and Applejack gave her a look, she blushed and replied, "Some animals are known to watch over their nests with a posture like that. I… I just assumed. He's watching the table while Lockwood and this other mare are in a meeting."
Rainbow tilted her head. "How can you tell they're in a meeting?"
"Well, they have a bunch of those datapad things in front of them, like the kind that Lockwood always used to keep track of files on his tenants. Maybe this mare is his new assistant?"
Pinkie glanced over at Rarity and gave out a whistle to get her attention. "Hey! Equestria to Rarity! You haven't even said anything yet! Fluttershy gave up her turn for you, ya big goof!"
Rarity raised her head slightly. "Hmm? Oh! R-right, sorry. I was just…" She gulped and shook her head. "I always told him that if he took better care of himself he'd be quite the looker. I typically have a good eye for… potential, you understand. He's certainly quite the handsome fellow these days, isn't he? Not to disparage how he looked before, of course."
"I'm not the best judge on that, so I'll take your word for it," Rainbow said, putting her hooves behind her head. "He's in better shape though, that's for sure. He must be working out and eating better. I bet he's got a trainer and everything to get in shape like that."
The viewing portal closed, and Rainbow was certain that Rarity looked more than a little disappointed.
Next was Applejack's turn, and this time the portal opened to show none other than Flathoof, Applejack's close friend from the other world and a dead ringer for Big Macintosh. More than ever, it seemed; Rainbow remembered Flathoof being just a little slimmer and shorter than Big Mac was, but now he was about the same build. He was dressed fairly casually, though Rainbow wasn't sure what counted as "casual" in their world anyway.
To her surprise, though, Flathoof was seated at a table with three other ponies.
The first was Gray Skies, Fluttershy's friend, a brick house of a pegasus mare that was somehow larger than even Flathoof was, an unusual quality in a mare; if anything she was also bigger than Rainbow remembered, putting her at nearly Big Mac's size. She had a gray coat with a two-tone gray mane, and there was still a streak of magenta going through the middle; that settled it, it wasn't dyed. She was also dressed casually in a hooded sweater.
There were also two youngsters with them, a green-coated, green-maned earth pony colt that had to be in his teens with how big he was, and a pink-coated, blue-maned pegasus filly of about five or so. The kids, Gray, and Flathoof were all seated around a table together enjoying a meal of pizza and breadsticks. With the way they were all smiling, there was no doubt whatsoever in Rainbow's mind: they were a family.
"Hoo doggie, wouldja lookit that," Applejack whistled, a wide smile on her face. "If I weren't lookin' at it wit' my own two eyes, I'd never believe it. Flathoof 'n' Gray hookin' up together, how 'bout that? Though I guess it kinda fits. Flathoof always did say he liked his mares tough, 'n' Gray's tough as nails."
Rarity glanced over at Fluttershy and set her hoof on her shoulder. "Everything alright, darling? I can't imagine this is what you expected to see when Applejack checked in on Flathoof."
"I'm just glad that she's happy," Fluttershy said, looking at Gray with a pleasant smile. "When we left, all I could think about was that I wanted her to be happy. So I'm glad things worked out between them. It would've never worked out between us anyway, I know that. Gray wouldn't be interested in a mare like me."
Rainbow shrugged. "I guess it would kinda suck seeing this since you had the hots for her and all."
"I believe the term you're looking for is 'crush', darling," Rarity tutted.
"I knew it!" Pinkie exclaimed, shooting out of her chair.
"And that's all it really was: a crush," Fluttershy said with a nod. "So no, I'm not upset. I'm happy that she's happy and found somepony that makes her happy. She deserves it. They deserve it."
"An' lookit the state they're livin' in," Applejack whistled. "Them's some pretty nice digs, I tell ya what. Looks like they're livin someplace nice, nicer than where they were livin' 'fore we left anyhow." She nodded with approval. "Good. Makes me pleased as punch seein' them livin' a good life together. Why, I bet Flathoof done took that promotion he tol' me 'bout before we left."
"I'm sure Gray is helping out, too. Considering what we learned about her and her sisters, I doubt they're hurting for money."
"Yeah! Why, I bet Flathoof's whole family moved someplace bigger 'n' better than where they were before. A nice set o' folks like that deserves better'n what they were gettin' 'fore we all showed up." Applejack turned to Twilight. "Thanks fer this, Twi. Knowin' my friends 'n' their families are livin' better, well, it's the nicest thing I could've asked for."
Twilight smiled. "I'm glad to make this happen for you, Applejack." She turned to Fluttershy. "And you too, Fluttershy."
The viewing pool closed, and the group turned to Rainbow, who adjusted her jacket. "Alright then, saving the best for last of course. Let's see how Havoc's doing, Twi. I bet she's in the middle of a big game or something, or out training and stuff. We were talking about her getting faster before we left."
Twilight nodded, lit her horn, and the viewing pool adjusted to show Rainbow's good friend Havoc. Rainbow's jaw dropped because Havoc looked much different from how Rainbow remembered. Sure, the other pegasus mare's sporty red coat was the same, and her black mane with a white skunk stripe was the same—though much shorter than even Rainbow's—and she still wore a cool jacket, this one with her name on the front and her Cutie Mark—a burning meteorite—on the back.
But the big difference was her left eye. It was… different. Unnatural. It was hard to tell for sure because of the quality of the image, but it almost looked mechanical. That wasn't all, actually. Most of the left side of her face was scarred, as was most of the left side of her body that Rainbow could see. Bad scarring too, the kind that didn't just heal and go away on its own. Something had happened to Havoc, something bad, something real bad.
Seated across from Havoc was her sister, Golden Dawn, who coincidentally happened to be good friends with Twilight. Dawn was a golden brown unicorn with a cream-colored mane that she wore in curls that framed her face. She also wore a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, as well as a professional-looking purple dress suit.
The two mares were in some sort of office. And they were arguing. Ferociously, if Havoc's demeanor was any indication.
"Oh my, what happened to your friend, dear?" Rarity asked, hoof over her mouth. "She looks like she's been in a nasty accident. The poor mare."
"That's what I was thinking," Rainbow grunted. "I mean, she's standing up and moving around and stuff, and sure as hay has the energy to argue with her sister, so I guess whatever it was wasn't too bad, right? She doesn't look bothered by it. I mean, didn't Flathoof tell us how crummy the medical stuff was in their city? It had to be a long time ago."
"And why is she arguing with Dawn?" Twilight muttered, shaking her head. "It's wonderful to see Dawn again too, but this isn't what I was expecting to see when I saw her. I was expecting to see her addressing a lecture hall, or doing some research on a new project, or something to that effect. This isn't like the Dawn that I remember."
Rainbow shrugged. "Who knows. Havoc said she and Dawn argued about everything, even stupid things like table ettiquete because Dawn's got some freakishly high standards. Dawn probably set her off about something again because Havoc set her off about something again. I wouldn't worry about it."
"I… I disagree," Twilight said with obvious hesitation.
"C'mon, Twi, you remember what she was like at the party. I don't mean any offense, but Dawn's kind of a stuffy-snooty sort. She's worse than Rarity about certain things."
Rarity raised an eyebrow. "And what is that supposed to mean?"
Twilight shook her head. "I understand what you're saying, Rainbow, but Dawn was still a good friend to me and Winter. Even when we disagreed on something, we never had any real arguments, not like this." She gestured at the Friendship Map. "Look. The Map is reacting to what we're seeing. It's clearly not 'just' an argument. This is serious."
Sure enough, the table itself, the base of the Friendship Map, was giving off a familiar pulsating glow.
"It always did that when it was detecting a friendship problem that we had to go and solve," Twilight continued. "I don't know how it's reacting to what's going on in their world, but it shouldn't be." She tapped her chin. "Then again, I never tested to see what the effects would be if it detected something like this in the course of our viewing. A variable I didn't account for…"
"That's not gonna be a problem, is it?" asked Applejack.
"No, it won't be. We're still separated by the entirety of the Void, after all. I suspect the Map is just such a powerful artefact that it can even detect problems across worlds if the right sort of window is open. I'd even theorize that it's connecting to something similarly powerful in their world and piggybacking off of it."
"Like their own Friendship Map?" asked Fluttershy.
"Perhaps. I mean, I recall from my experiences in alternate timelines of our world that there was always a Friendship Map, so maybe if all timelines possess one, then so too do all worlds." Twilight grinned and tapped her hooves together. "This will make for quite an exciting study! If I can figure out how to study it, of course."
"Is it just me, or does it look like Dawn's looking at us?" asked Pinkie, gesturing towards the viewing pool.
"Huh?" Twilight and the others glanced at the image, and sure enough, Dawn seemed to be staring straight at them. "No, I don't think so. There must be something in that direction that's distracting her. Something outside of a window, maybe."
"Distracting her so much that she's ignoring Havoc getting all up in her grill?" Rainbow asked. "Because if one of you got all up in my face like that, I'd be giving you my full attention even if there was like, a train wreck behind you."
"Apparently it's that distracting then."
"And you're sure it's not because she can see us?"
Twilight rolled her eyes. "The only way she could see us is if she had some way of detecting Void magic, which Winter assured me that only Chronomancers could do, and even then only with their Timekeepers. That's why Winter almost noticed us—this spell is utilizing a miniature, artificial Void rift. Besides, she's not looking directly at us."
As soon as Twilight said that, Dawn's gaze shifted again, this time looking directly at them. Speak of the devil.
"Uh, now she is," Applejack muttered.
"No no no, there's clearly something directly behind the manifestation I've made," Twilight said, brushing that thought away with her hoof like an unwanted dish at a party. "If she were looking directly at us, then—"
To the surprise of the group, the viewing pool flickered for half a second, as by now it had hit the one-minute time limit; yet, it didn't close. To the further surprise of the group, the image changed slightly, and what looked like a pair of eyes opened up near the pool's edge opposite Twilight. The eyes weren't normal by any stretch; instead of white, they were filled with what appeared to be a starry, nighttime sky. The pupils even looked like crescent moons.
And they were looking right at Twilight.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Rainbow muttered, scooting her chair back from the table about an inch or two. "Gettin' some déjà vu vibes here."
"Yeah, not the good kind of déjà vu at all," Pinkie agreed, scooting closer to Dash.
"Shut off the spell, Twilight," said Rarity, not taking her eyes off of the eyes in the pool.
Twilight, whose horn was aglow, replied, "I'm trying, but something's wrong. The spell isn't responding, and it should've shut off on it's own by now."
"Oh dear…" Fluttershy peeped, shrinking down in her chair.
Applejack straightened up in her seat. "What's goin' on, Twi? What're we lookin' at?"
"I… I don't know," Twilight answered. "But I can't—"
Everything that happened next happened so fast that, even to Rainbow, it felt like a blur.
The viewing pool exploded outwards in a spray of magical light, knocking everypony seated at the table, except for Twilight, tumbling backwards over and out of their chairs. Then, tendrils of oily black magic lashed out from the pool at Twilight, who raised a barrier to defend herself. The tendrils collided with the shield and wrapped around it, but couldn't penetrate it; Twilight looked like she was struggling to keep it that way.
"Shut off the spell, Twi!" shouted Applejack.
"I'm trying! It's not working!" Twilight shouted back as the tendrils wrapped almost completely around her barrier. "This shouldn't be happening! I tested the spell over a hundred times!"
"Don't worry 'bout that right now, just close it up!"
The magic from the pool spilled out into the room and started ripping apart anything and everything it touched, which mostly included chairs, parts of the wall, the door, the stained glass windows, and chunks of the floor. Worst of all, the magic lingered wherever it went and kept anypony from finding a way out of the room through the damage.
Luckily, Rainbow and her friends were able to avoid the dangerous magic, but they were running out of space to move around, and she was sure none of them wanted to find out what that magic did to a pony. Rainbow in particular snagged up Pinkie to keep her out of harm's way; Fluttershy did the same for Rarity, though with not nearly as much ease. Applejack, meanwhile, maneuvered around the lashing magic and tried to get to the Friendship Map.
When she did, she bucked it as hard as she could.
"What're you doing, AJ?!" Rainbow called down. "Get out of there!"
"If'n the map is workin' to let Twi use her spell, I reckon it won't work wit'out it!" Applejack shouted back as she gave the table another hard kick. "We gotta do somethin' 'fore this thing gets outta control!"
Unfortunately, they never found out if that would've worked. As soon as Applejack kicked the table a second time, the tendrils of magic spewing out of the pool managed to break Twilight's barrier spell and latch onto her instead. Twilight's horn ignited even brighter as she tried to fend them off, and brighter, and brighter still, until eventually there was a bright flash and Twilight collapsed, exhausted.
"Twilight!" everypony shouted in unison.
Things went from bad to worse immediately, as without Twilight holding it back, the viewing pool's magic enveloped the entire room and started drawing everypony into it. Not just with sheer force, like Rainbow remembered it working seven years ago, but with active intent, as though the viewing pool was purposefully trying to grab them.
And within the confines of the tiny room, with nowhere to run or fly, they didn't have a chance. Rainbow barely managed to hang onto Pinkie as the pair of them were drawn into the pool, and she saw Rarity and Fluttershy tumbling together behind them, with Applejack just ahead. She completely lost track of Twilight in all the chaos.
The experience was familiar to Rainbow, certainly, but there was something different about it. Once again, Rainbow found herself falling along what she could only describe as a river of magic, which rose and fell and twirled about in unpredictable ways. All around her was a field of stars streaked with magical ribbons of light. That part was the same as she remembered; it was hard to forget an experience like that.
What was different was the array of oily black rivulets that snaked along the sides of the "river" she and the others were on, and which were actively affecting the way the river moved. Rainbow's eyes widened as one particularly large tendril drove itself into the middle of the river, tearing it in half and sending violent sparks of magic spraying everywhere.
Rainbow, with Pinkie clutched tightly in her hooves, rolled left, following Applejack, just narrowly avoiding the tendril itself. A glance behind her, though, told her that Fluttershy and Rarity didn't react as quickly, and they were taken along the right path, completely out of sight.
"Fluttershy! Rarity!" shouted Pinkie, reaching out with her hoof. She glanced at Rainbow. "Dashie, we gotta do something!"
"I'd love to, but we've got our own problems!" Rainbow replied as she rolled to avoid another tendril slicing apart a chunk of the river ahead. "As soon as we see them again, we'll try and get us all back together, okay? We still don't even know where Twilight is!"
Applejack pointed off the side of the river. "She's down there!"
Rainbow glanced over and saw that, sure enough, Twilight was on a river of her own beneath theirs by a few dozen feet. Only she wasn't moving at all, nor was she reacting to the chaos around her, which in this case meant the black tendrils adjusting her river to move in a very particular direction. Judging from where it was going, it would only be a few seconds before they lost sight of her, too.
"Okay, we don't have a big window here, but I think I can swoop down there and bring her up here," Rainbow said. "She's bigger than I'm used to, but—"
Applejack then leapt off the river down towards Twilight.
"AJ!" Rainbow and Pinkie shouted.
They watched as Applejack collided with the river below, hard, tumbling towards the edge and stopping just short of falling; she was hanging by her hooves off the edge of the liquid magic, only barely holding on.
Rainbow released Pinkie for a second and made to fly off after Applejack, but another tendril of black magic blocked her path and knocked her back onto the river, hard enough to almost send her over the side; Pinkie barely grabbed her hoof to keep her from falling off. By the time Pinkie helped Rainbow back onto their river safely, they'd lost sight of Applejack and Twilight too.
"Thanks, Pinks," Rainbow said. She gulped as the river ahead looked like it was trailing off into a sort of "waterfall"; she couldn't see where it led. "You'd better hold onto me, okay?"
Pinkie grabbed Rainbow tight. "Whatever happens, Dashie, at least we're together, right?"
Rainbow grabbed Pinkie tight too, maybe a little tighter. "Right."
They both screamed as they went over the edge of the fall, tumbling down, down, down, into what looked like a shimmering pool of light.
As they passed through it, they landed roughly on a hard, solid floor, all of the velocity from the fall somehow evaporating. Rainbow's head felt like it was spinning; she could barely register where she was or what was around her.
She could hear just fine, though, and heard the familiar voice of her close friend Havoc—it was just like she remembered, maybe a little harsher—say, "What the fuck?"