~Introductions~
Minty Breeze sat restlessly in her seat on the 10:15 Canterlot Special. She sighed and began to read a newspaper that was placed neatly in the compartment in the back of the row in front of her. She raised a mint-green foreleg and brushed away a strand of chocolate-brown mane from her face. The newspaper was incredibly boring. After the incredible discovery of the Crystal Kingdom earlier that year, there had been almost no exciting news. It seemed like something noteworthy happened only twice a year in Equestria these days.
She put down the paper and looked over at her stark-white friend who was shaking violently at every bump in the tracks or sudden noise. She was completely white from her tail to her mane, which had thin, faint stripes of pink, and always looked as though she had seen a ghost. Honestly, Minty loved Iridescence, but sometimes she could be a bit much. For some unknown reason, Iridescence suffered from extreme anxiety, which made her incredibly jumpy. Not to mention that she was nervously shaking almost constantly. Being a pegasus, this severely hindered her flying ability.
Iridescence was an antiques specialist who ran a shop down in Ponyville. She was an expert in all sorts of things from Equestria's past. Ancient runes, rusted swords, broken pottery, and inscribed tablets were what made her feel at home. Whenever Minty saw her observing an antique specimen, it was like the shaking, nervous Iridescence was put aside, and the confident and capable 'Ridi' took the reins.
She had been called to Canterlot to investigate some ancient artifacts that were found in the frozen North some time ago. Somehow, she had been recommended directly to the Princess by one of the 'Mane Six' for her archaeological abilities. Apparently Ridi had helped out one of the Mane Six with an artifact they found that allowed ponies to switch bodies, and was deemed the right pony for the job up in Canterlot.
Since Iridescence couldn't fly higher than 500 feet due to medical reasons, she had to take the train. This irritated Minty quite a bit, since being a pegasus, she could fly anywhere she wanted, much faster than a train. Yet here she was, stuck on the cramped and bumpy Canterlot Special. She had begrudgingly agreed to accompany Iridescence on the train ride, since she was practically her only friend in the world, and she got severe panic attacks whenever she was alone in a strange environment. On the bright side, it wouldn't hurt to go shopping and see a few sights while she was there, right? It's not every day you get to go to Canterlot.
Iridescence let out a muffled yelp as all of the light in the train went out, leaving the interior pitch black as they entered the first mountain tunnel. Minty covered Iridescence with her wing in a soothing gesture and tried to comfort her as the magic light bulbs overhead began to flicker on. She slowed her breathing and settled back in her chair, shaking less profusely than before. Minty tried to calm her further with some conversation. "So, Ridi, what kind of stuff are they having you look at? Anything interesting?"
Iridescence seemed to perk up a little at the mention of her work. "W-well, they found some r-really old gemstones that th-they think might be ench-chanted. The diagrams they s-sent over suggest pre-Equestrian c-civilization. They h-haven't told me m-much, but I think it might h-have to do with t-teleportation!"
"Pre-Equestrian? Woah. Just the thought that there were ponies in Equestria before we arrived is pretty huge, right?"
"Yeah! M-maybe not even p-ponies at all! Some experts b-believe that dragons lived here before ponies d-did!"
Minty reclined back into her seat. "You really think that could be true?"
Iridescence quietly looked out the window, a stoic look on her face. "Maybe we'll f-find out."
* * *
The train screeched to a halt as it pulled up to the Canterlot station. Iridescence nudged Minty's shoulder, waking her up from her impromptu nap. They gathered their light baggage and filed into the line of ponies exiting the train. Iridescence gasped as they beheld the Canterlot Palace towers gleaming beautifully over the city. Minty quickly pulled her out of the way of a very impolite stallion in a top hat, who snorted and lifted his nose at them both. Minty scoffed and muttered under her breath. "Snobby jerk."
As they walked under the awning that lead into the train station, they saw a writhing mass of ponies filing in and out of platforms, buying tickets, and doing many other things. Right in the center of the station were two very familiar ponies; one pink and bouncing on all four hooves, and one one lavender with a refined yet friendly look on her face. The pink one was holding a sign in her teeth that read "Iridescence," which was extremely hard to read as she was bouncing up and down.
She noticed the both of them approaching her and stood up on her hind hooves, waving the sign in the air with her front hooves. She spoke in an excited and high-pitched voice as they walked towards them. "HI! Looks like you made it right on time! Which is great, since you have a lot of work to do, and there's these huge things that glow and make weird sounds and then-"
"Pinkie, calm down!" The lavender mare steadied the pink one with a hoof and then extended it to Iridescence. "Hi, I'm Twilight Sparkle. Pinkie told me that you're here to take a look at the artifacts, correct?"
Iridescence accepted her hoof shakily and replied in a quiet voice that was almost completely lost in the din of the station. "Y-yes, that's right! I've heard so m-much about you, Twilight!"
Twilight looked rather pleased at that, and turned her attention to Minty. "Oh, who's your friend?"
"Th-this is M-Minty Breeze. She ac-companyed me on the journey h-here."
Twilight eyed Minty with what she thought was a calculating glance directed mainly at her wings. "Well, we better get a move on! Right this way, Iridescence!" As the group of ponies started to leave, Twilight whispered something in Pinkie's ear, which she accepted with a smile and an odd look towards Minty. Twilight stayed behind and offered her hoof to Minty. "Minty Breeze, was it? Why don't you accompany us? I'd like to make you a job offer!"
Minty eyed Twilight with awe. It was like she was peering into her mind! It's as if she had known that Minty was recently laid off at the cloud factory. And it was as if she had known, just by looking at her, that she would give her left foreleg to get a job right now!
Despite all of this, Minty played it cool and feigned disinterest. "A job offer? Do you always give out jobs to ponies you've just met?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't too forward, was I?"
Minty cursed under her breath. She was NOT letting this opportunity go, no matter what the job was. "Oh, no, it's just... What does this job entail, exactly?"
Twilight's face lit up with triumph as she turned her around, forcing her to match her pace. "Well, I will be honest with you, it is just a little bit dangerous, but there's just a 14% chance of anything extremely bad happening." Minty urged her to go on as they exited the station. Twilight sighed and looked at her hooves. "I really shouldn't even offer, since the job directly correlates with what Iridescence finds out today."
Minty was just about to tear her mane out in anticipation. She cried out, a little louder than she wanted. "WHAT?! What's the job?!"
Twilight lifted her head and turned it to the side just in time to hide the mischievous smile that spread across her face. She did her best to hide it and turned back to Minty. "How much did Iridescence tell you about what she's doing here?" Minty recounted the conversations about the ancient stones that were here in Canterlot. "Well, what we're doing here is using those ancient stones to create a gateway of sorts. In theory, it will allow us to teleport hundreds or even thousands of ponies at once!" Minty marveled at that concept. Thousands of ponies teleported at once? It was like the future of travel was unfolding right before her eyes! "Which leads me to your job offer. We would like you to be one of the first ponies that tests this new Gateway!"
Minty almost tripped over her own hooves, carrying her dangerously close to knocking over an elderly stallion in a dapper tuxedo. "Me? The first to try a top-secret teleportation network that could change the very future of Equestria?!"
"Will you do it? It is, like I said, just a tad dangerous and untested."
Minty felt her wings extend and her chest explode with butterflies. "Yes, I'll do it, but why did you choose me? It's almost like you knew I've been job-searching!"
Twilight breathed a relieved sigh as they passed under the gate to the Canterlot castle. "Well, to do the job, we need six ponies, two of each kind, mare and stallion. We already have both unicorns and we have one pegasus, so we need another. As for you specifically, well, don't take this the wrong way, but you had a certain look on your face when you arrived. Kind of like an 'I'm really used to being somewhere else right now and am not' look. And I knew that the cloud factory in Cloudsdale had some lay-offs recently, so being a pegasus with that certain look on her face, I just put two and two together." After she was done explaining, she saw the awed expression on Minty's face. "Don't worry, I know that feeling pretty well myself."
Minty had failed to realize that they had already approached Canterlot castle and were now walking up the front steps. After taking in the sights, she spoke again. "Wow, that was pretty good! You should be a detective pony!"
Twilight brushed her hair from her face, looking just a little smug. "Well, thanks!" As they approached the doors of the castle, the two massive front doors lit up, beautiful golden filigree casting warm luminescent rays down on both of them. They glided open on silent hinges just enough to allow them to both enter. The entire interior of the castle's cavernous foyer echoed with their muffled hoof-clops as they approached a grand staircase at the end of the opulent red carpet that was laid from it's first step to the door. Two ambiguous royal guard unicorns stepped out from spaces in the side of the staircase and touched their horns to crystal orbs on pedestals set on both sides of the staircase. Minty watched in awe as the first ten or so steps of the staircase shimmered and then evaporated into a luminous fluid, revealing a large twisting marble slide. At the top of the slide were two red rubber mats that looked about pony-size.
Twilight knelt down on the left mat and motioned for Minty to do the same. Once they were both on the mats, Twilight signaled to the two unicorn guards. "Alright Minty, hold on!" At her signal, the two guards placed their hind hooves on the flanks of both mares and simultaneously gave them both a gentle but firm push.
Minty's breath caught in her throat as they both slid down the slide at alarming speed. Twilight was hooting excitedly beside her, but Minty found it difficult to do anything other than to stare ahead, petrified with fear. The slide twisted around and made several deep banks before a light appeared at the very end. As they approached the end of the slide, a rough patch of what appeared to be thick black wool caught the bottoms of both of their mats, stopping them abruptly and sending them flying across a well-lighted concrete room and into a three-foot thick fluffy mattress. They both rebounded from the wall mattress and landed softly on a similar mattress on the floor.
Twilight got up and shook herself, prancing excitedly around the fluffy mattress while Minty lay, still paralyzed, and covered in fluffy folds of fabric. "How'd you like the slide, Minty?" Twilight bent over Minty, who's eyes were pinpoint and open wide. Instead of replying, she propped herself on four shaky legs and wheezed weakly.
Twilight laughed quietly to herself and helped her onto the solid concrete that surrounded the mattress. "Yeah, you get used to it after the first time."
Minty steadied her breathing and found her voice. She squeaked out a weak reply. "Can we not do that again?"
Twilight was about to reply when the pink pony from earlier entered through a door to the left, looking a bit unsure about something. "PST, Twilight! We got a teensy problem over here!"
Both Twilight and Minty trotted over to the door where she stood. "Oh, by the way, this is Pinkie Pie."
"Hiya!"
Minty was about to reply in greeting until she saw the forlorn mass of white on the hospital bed in the corner of the room. "Ridi!" Minty galloped across the room to her friend, who was trembling and breathing heavily on the bed. "What happened?!" Pinkie danced nervously on her hooves and glanced wordlessly back towards the slide exit. "You let her ride that thing?! She has serious medical problems!"
Pinkie let out an apologetic whine and covered her head with her hooves. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I thought it would be fun!"
Minty found Iridescence's saddle bags laying on the floor beside her bed and rummaged through them until she found a small vial of crushed black leaves. She grasped it with both hooves and pulled the cork with her teeth. She then took the vial in her mouth and wafted it back and forth over Iridescence's muzzle. The white pegasus slowed her breathing and started to calm her shaking. Minty corked the vial and turned back to the two extremely uncomfortable mares standing behind her. She purposefully let an edge on her words. "For future reference, keep Iridescence away from anything stupid like that slide."
Pinkie looked as though she was about to cry, covering her face with one hoof and choking back a sob as she trotted briskly out of the room. Twilight approached Minty apologetically after looking back to see if Pinkie was okay. "I am so sorry about that. Pinkie thought it would be a good idea to make the entrance a little more exciting. We can just use the elevator next time."
Minty exhaled and cooled her anger before replying. "It's okay, you didn't know." She glanced back at the now slightly trembling Iridescence and brushed a strand of mane from her face. "She'll be just fine."
* * *
Minty marveled at the numerous instruments hanging on walls and dangling from ceilings as she moved through the secret compound deep beneath Canterlot Castle. The entrance to the compound had a large sign with blocky letters that read simply, "C-Lab." Hundreds of ponies in lab coats and construction hardhats moved about, taking notes while observing the figures that crawled across multiple gemstone projectors. Burly earth ponies moved giant gears into their places in massive engines and clockwork devices. Unicorns in cavernous firing ranges fired spells at gemstone targets. At the very end of the hallway was a window looking into a cavernous room. At the very center of the room was what appeared to be a giant golden triangle. "Here we are! C-Lab's main attraction!"
Set within the points of the triangle were three different uncut gems. One was a dull red, one a pale sapphire color, and one a milky jade green. Minty could not help but stare into those wonderful gemstones, their very presence eliciting a powerful yet beautiful force on the mind. She knew as soon as she saw them that they were extremely old. It was like looking into the hearts of three dying stars. Twilight pulled her out of her trance by tapping on the shoulder. "You know, you can still back out now if you want. Technically we have no idea if these things will even take you to the place we point them towards."
Minty snapped away, gaining back her attention. "No, it's fine! I can handle it!"
Twilight gave her an encouraging smile. "Fantastic! Three earth ponies and a pegasus already turned us down. All we need is two earth ponies, and we'll be set!" She gazed at the stones for a while, and then shook her gaze from them. "Oh, and you'll be paid magnificently, of course. How does ten thousand bits sound?
Minty felt her legs wobble beneath her. Ten thousand bits?! She had not even considered the payment until now, but she had never even dreamed of such a large sum! "Um, yeah, sure! That'll be just fine!"
As she tried to regain her breath, she heard two sets of hoof-steps walking up behind them. Minty turned around to see Iridescence walking on her own hooves again. "Ridi!" Minty ran to her and embraced her with a hug. Iridescence jerked anxiously and then accepted the hug. Minty felt the breath get squeezed out of both her and Iridescence as two bright pink legs tightened themselves firmly around both of them. "I'm so so so so sorry I almost killed you with my super way-to-fun slide!!"
Iridescence wheezed out a faint accepting of her apology, and then felt the legs tighten around them even more firmly. "You know what? I'm gonna throw you a HUGE party!" With that, the hall was filled with a streak of neon pink, leaving quite a few ponies looking rather stunned and knocked over onto their flanks.
Twilight cleared her throat and led Iridescence to an armored door next to the viewing windows. "Alright, Iridescence, Dr. Golden Harvest is waiting for you inside. Just examine the stones and find out whatever you can. He'll show you how to record your findings. Meanwhile, I'll be running Minty through the initiation process with the other test-ponies." Minty gave her a sour look a the term 'test pony.' Wasn't she more than just a glorified lab rat? She was risking her life for a potentially deadly experiment that may or may not completely dismember her in a thousand different ways. Didn't she deserve a more fitting title?
Minty thought about this as they left Iridescence to her task. The reality of it all was just starting to hit her. She had really just agreed to do the experiment because, in all fairness, she just didn't have anything better to do. Walking down the corridor, the once friendly ponies in lab coats seemed to turn into tall distant figures dressed in gleaming robes and looking down on her. The intriguing machines became intimidating masses of loud and dangerous metal shapes. She suddenly felt very small and helpless.
She grabbed the awful feelings and swept them under a metaphorical rug. It could be worse. She could be an UNPAID lab rat.
* * *
The orientation video was... Interesting. Most of the video was arcane magical jargon that she had no chance of understanding. The rest of it was a very unsettling way of beating around the bush by trying to avoid directly saying "we have no idea what this thing does or what will happen to you when you enter it." She had at least some reassurance in the fact that they had already successfully sent nine out of ten rocks to their desired locations with no hiccups. She had lost all assurance when she found out that they had no idea where the tenth rock was.
The test was simply to send all six of the different ponies through the gate to see what effect it had on each type of pony and each different gender. If the test was successful, they would simply walk through the gate and end up at the appointed destination, just a few hundred feet north of Sweet Apple Acres, in a matter of seconds. Minty couldn't help but think that if this really did work, it would definitely revolutionize travel in Equestria forever. Hundreds of ponies could be sent to ANYWHERE in the physical world, just by knowing the correct coordinates! She really hoped this worked, as she was sure did everypony down here working their flanks off.
Iridescence was still not done observing the gate, and the full team-initiation could not start until they had found two earth pony subjects, so Minty occupied herself by looking around the underground compound, which took about an hour, since most of the compound was classified work. Even the little she HAD seen was still classified, and she had to sign MOUNTAINS of documents stating that she would not disclose the information given her under penalty of incarceration, etc. etc.
The most fun she had had in the compound was in the flight-agility-gauntlet. She was now currently wiping the sweat from her brow and scoping her current high-score. She had come in at fifth place with a time of 20 seconds. She would have been more impressed with herself if she wasn't only one of ten pegasi to run the gauntlet. The first place slot was, of course, Rainbow Dash of Mane Six fame, winner of last year's young flyers competition.
Minty was about to leave when she heard a very familiar male voice coming from inside the gauntlet. Just a few moments later, a mint green pegasus buck flew from the agility tunnel at the end of the course, skidding to a stop before Minty with a surprised expression on his face. He had the exact same mint green coat and chocolate colored mane as Minty, but stood about three inches taller. He stumbled for a moment and then steadied his footing. "Minty? What are you doing here?!"
Minty shook her head and tried to piece things together. Somehow, her twin brother of all ponies, was here at the compound the same time as she was! "I was gonna' ask you the same thing!"
Minty walked alongside her twin brother, listening to the story of how he was recruited to the C-Lab project. "... so then I looked around for another entrance, since the door to the rest of the castle was locked, which is when I found the elevator. The doors closed shut right in my face and It started to drop like a rock! Then it slowed down, and I was shaking like super hard when it stopped. I thought the package was gonna' be broken for sure! SO the doors open, I step out, this Pink pony grabs the package and signs me up for a job down here! Can you believe it?"
Minty had to agree, that was a pretty wild story. It seemed as though the credentials for top-secret-highly-experimental jobs in C-Lab were little to none. "Wait, what about the job you already had? Have you gotten in contact with anypony?"
Her twin brother stopped dead in his tracks in the middle of the hallway. "Oh, buck! I hadn't even thought about that!" He looked down and Minty saw he was still wearing his black EPS delivery uniform.
Minty facehoofed and grunted at her brother. She loved him, but he could be a real moron some times. And to think, he'd soon be testing a highly experimental machine! "Zephyr, this is not good! You could lose your job!" She poked a hoof at his chest. "You need to get out of here and contact somepony!"
Zephyr brushed her away defensively. "I can't! They said we have to stay here until the test is complete and they get statements ready, and all of that bull!"
Minty groaned, louder this time, and plopped her haunches down on the floor, rubbing her temples with her hooves. This was obviously very poorly planned, and was becoming more and more stressful. "Ugh, I should have never even taken this stupid job!"
"Whoa, chill out sis! It's all cool! I'm sure they'll understand once they know I was away on official Canterlot business, right?"
Minty mentally tried to calm down, breathing slowly and trying her hardest not to explode. She stood up and began to walk briskly through the cold metal and concrete hallway. "Come on, Zephyr. Let's go get some answers."
* * *
Minty knocked on the door with Twilight Sparkles nameplate tacked to the front. A voice from inside told her to come in. Minty looked around the room, which was stacked to the ceiling with books and rolls of scroll paper. In the middle of it all was Twilight, sitting at her desk, reading an extremely thick book. She noticed their presence and looked up. "Minty, hi! Did you want to talk about something?" As Minty stepped into the room, Zephyr entered behind her, causing Twilight's face to light up with recognition. "Wow, you guys are twins! How did I not notice?"
Minty rolled her eyes impatiently. "Yes, we are, but I was going to ask, Zephyr said something about you not letti-
"Wow, I wonder if that will affect the test results at all? I ought to run that by Dr. Golden Harvest, he should-"
"Hey, I was talking here!" Minty slammed her hooves on the desk for emphasis. Twilight looked both apologetic and offended as a stack of papers fell to the floor. Minty rubbed a hoof on her forehead and breathed slowly out of her nostrils. "I'm sorry about that, I'm a little on edge right now."
Twilight began to gather the papers with her magic. "On edge? You aren't thinking about backing out now, are you?!" She put her hooves on Minty's shoulders, looking a little frantic and pleading. "Please, you have to do this! The earth pony subjects are almost here, and we're scheduled to start in an hour! The future of Equestria depends on you!"
Minty brushed the frantic unicorn away, her lavender eyes beseeching her from under a shock of mane that was drastically more messy than earlier today. "An hour? Wait, I just wanted to know when we were allowed to leave! My brother has a job already you know, and I just wanted to know about how that's going to be taken care of."
Twilight visibly relaxed and trotted back behind her desk. "That's simple enough. Once we're done with the test, you'll all be retrieved from the designated arrival point near Sweet Apple Acres, and then-" A knock on the door interrupted her explanation and a brown unicorn mare poked her head through the door of Twilight's office. Twilight seemingly forgot all about the conversation she was just having. "Yes? Are they here?!"
The brown mare smiled and nodded to Twilight, who let out a repressed sound of delight. She trotted quickly past the two pegasi in her office and called back over her shoulder. "Come on! We can start early now!"
Minty made impatient and confused sounds as she stood in Twilight's office. "I, but, who, when, er... WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PONIES?!"
Zephyr pushed Minty, who was seized up in pure consternation, out the door and into the hallway. "Easy now, Minty. Let's calm down and get this over with, alright?"
* * *
Minty took some time to cool her jets, and was now sitting around a low table filled with the four other ponies that would be accompanying them on their test run. At the center of the table was a large pink-frosted cake with a surprisingly detailed drawing of the gateway iced on top. It had been sliced into six equal pieces, fracturing the colorful stones at each three points into two. The bouncy mare Pinkie Pie had set it on the table and promptly left after insisting that everypony introduce themselves while the test preparation started.
On her immediate right were the two earth pony candidates. The male was a short yet stocky buck named Ratchet. He had a tan coat and a cropped russet mane that was hidden mostly underneath a plain black beret. He gave his name, but was very quiet and looked impossibly uncomfortable in the awkward silence. Bits of frosting were still stuck in his thick walrus mustache, but he had somehow managed to keep his pressed white collared shirt pristine and spotless. Minty noticed his cutie mark was a gear with a wrench poking through the middle.
To his right was Wisteria Dreams, an amiable mare with a sky blue coat and a shock of long purple mane that was probably the inspiration for her name. She had not hesitated to tell everyone right away that she loved them and was "super excited to make history with all of you wonderful ponies." Oddly enough, her cutie mark was a dark cloud surrounded by a bright silver lining. She had insisted that the rest of the group share their cutie mark stories, but thankfully the unicorn mare Starbright had insisted that they not, because the test would start any minute now, and she didn't want anypony to get interrupted when they called them to the gateway. Heaven knows how she would live with the suspense.
Minty already liked Starbright. Anypony who could talk her out of telling her cutie mark story was okay in her book. It's not that she didn't like her cutie mark, half a bitten chocolate showing it's creamy green center flanked by two white wings, but her's was a rather boring story, and she would be extremely embarrassed if she had to bore anypony with the details.
Starbright was a beautiful unicorn mare with a deep blue coat and a gorgeous curtain of royal blue mane with streaks of starry yellow. Even though she wasn't looking at him directly, Minty could mentally feel the drool dripping from her brother's mouth next to her. Minty would have said she wanted her mane, but the color would clash horribly with her mint green coat. In truth, she just wished her mane would stay perfectly in place like that. She had a soothing voice that was like music to hear, radiating with sincerity and politeness. Her flank was decorated with a lovely depiction of a shooting star that blended perfectly with the dark blue of her coat like a nighttime sky. She came off as the type of pony you wouldn't mind sitting down with for a nice cup of tea and a casual talk.
Luminous, on the other hand, was visibly dying of boredom. He had refused his piece of cake and was now running an expensive comb through his light blue and deep purple striped mane for the FOURTH TIME in under half an hour. He had seemed rather upset at the prospect of depriving the ponies around him of the chance to hear what was probably in his opinion the greatest cutie mark story known to pony kind. He was now vapidly admiring his own silver flank, adorned with a depiction of a hexagonal gem of rich purple amethyst. If he wasn't rather handsome in a snobbish Canterlot pure-bread way, Minty would probably be choking on the putrid fumes of his own self-centeredness right about now. It seemd the only function Luminous held was simply as eye candy.
After what seemed like hours of waiting, the same brown-coated mare from before poked her head in the door and informed everypony that it was time to move on into the testing chamber. Minty took a deep breath and proceeded out the doorway behind the five other ponies. Even though she had been waiting for what felt like the longest time, this was moving just a little bit fast for her.
* * *
A group of unicorns were chatting in a large group centered around the gateway in the middle of the large room, while the test subjects all hung back at a corner wearing their test gear.
The group orientation was more or less the same as the video Minty was shown, followed by an outfitting of their special test gear. The test gear included saddlebags with a three day supply of freeze-dried food, several magical data recording crystals that also served as tracking devices, what appeared to be a stark white all-purpose all-environment hazmat suit with a detachable oxygen mask, and a weapon they called a "spell-stick" which was a wooden dowel with a mouth grip carved with glowing runes and set with two alternating gems on either side: A blue one for a stunning spell, and a red one for a heat beam that could be used to ignite fires. This seemed like a lot of equipment for a simple two to three minute test, but according to Dr. Golden Harvest, if the test went wrong in any way they could be sent anywhere on the physical plane of existence, which included the far off zebra lands and even the mysterious dragon-filled east. This did nothing to calm Minty's nerves.
It seemed like an eternity for Minty as she stood in her now slightly sweaty quasi-hazmat barding, waiting for something to happen. A side door opened and a trembling mane of pure white emerged into the large room. Minty waved her hooves and grasped Iridescence's attention. "*PST*, Ridi! Over here!" Spotting her among the crowds, Iridescence smiled and floated over to the test subjects where Minty was standing.
Iridescence looked considerably more relaxed and was shaking a lot less, probably from the excitement of examining the stones. "So, what's the details on those stones? Find anything interesting?"
Iridescence nodded excitedly, the action even more pronounced due to her acute shaking. "Oh yes! These s-stones are incredibly old! I've never s-seen anything like them! They predate any Equestrian civilization, and if the markings on them are any indication, they might predate the e-earliest civilization known to ponies!"
Minty tried to wrap her head around this thought. These stones were obviously nothing to trifle with lightly if what Iridescence said was true. "What do these things even do? Where do they come from?"
"Th-that, Minty, is a very good question." Iridescence was being very un-Iridescence right now. The playful and quizzical look on her face was a strange contrast from her usual anxious self. "These things p-predate the Princesses, and as far as we know, predate even the earliest settlements that lived b-before the ponies who founded Equestria! Princess Celestia is the one who found them over a thousand years ago, and she has given c-conformation that they are extremely old and were found far in the north beyond the Crystal Mountain range." She looked around as if she expected someone to be listening and then continued. "These stones might very well b-be connected to Equestria and the rest of the world, almost like they're the heart of the world itself! The scientists believe that's why they have the ability to teleport objects like they do. They don't know for sure, but if what they believe is true, these s-stones could be bigger than just teleportation, Minty. We could be holding the v-very heart of the world we live in in our hooves!"
Minty was now mentally staggering. She had thought something had seemed strange about those stones when they first captured her gaze, but she had never thought to hang THAT much importance on them! This was way bigger than her, and probably way bigger than most of the ponies in this room. If given the chance, she would gladly back out immediately, but since she had signed all those wavers and forms binding her to the C-Lab by-laws, and the only thing that could get her out of this project was some extremely fortunate head trauma or worse.
Just like my dad said, I guess. She thought to herself. I made my bed, now I have to lay down in it.
After a few minutes and a surprise reunion on the parts of Iridescence and Ratchet, who had apparently met each other at one of Pinkie's 'Welcome-To-Ponyville' parties earlier this year, the Princess entered a door that led to a balcony overhanging the laboratory floor. A hushed silence filled the room as the Princess raised her beautifully majestic wings in a gesture of royal greeting.
Her equally majestic and soothing voice wafted over the crowd of ponies in a clearly audible but not overly loud manner. "Thank you all for being here today! I can never repay you all enough for all the time and effort you devote down here, discovering wonderful new things and increasing our understanding of the world we live in beyond even MY wildest dreams! All of you incredibly talented engineers and arcane scientists are the key to a better and brighter future!" A spontaneous burst of cheer broke from the crowd at the Princess' praise. The noise died down respectfully, almost as quickly as it started. "But while all of your efforts are great, we must take a moment to thank these six brave ponies for laying their lives on the line today." The entire crowd of ponies cast curious glances at Minty ad the five other ponies. "I would never ask anypony to do something as dangerous as what they are about to do, but these brave ponies answered the call and took up the positions in spite of this! I cannot guarantee this gateway will work as planned, and these ponies have agreed to test it anyways. I have full confidence that they will return triumphantly, and when they do, they will be cast as the heroes of a new age of progress!"
The crowd of ponies stomped their hooves in applause, hooting and cheering the six would-be heroes for their bravery. Minty was blushing profusely at this level of recognition. She didn't feel that great about being set higher than ponies who had dedicated months or even years in these labs, but the praise was accepted anyways.
"Good luck to all of you here today. Begin the experiment!" The crowd of ponies dissipated, some of them heading to corners or out of the room completely. A few technicians sat behind banks of gem-encrusted desks that projected glowing screens of magical data displays into the air, writing things down or speaking frantically to other ponies that walked by.
A ring of unicorns of all sizes and colors ringed about the gateway, their horns beginning to glow softly. Twilight Sparkle came from somewhere behind the test subjects and herded them frantically into two lines, separating them by type and gender, and pushed them close to the ring of unicorns. "Alright, wait for the gate to open, and then file in, one group at a time! Good luck you guys!"
Twilight filed into the ring surrounding the gateways as the room became deathly quiet. A single pure note hummed from her throat as her horn began to glow. The unicorn beside her hummed in harmony to her, and the next one, and then the next one, until the entire ring of ponies was humming in a beautiful harmony. Then the harmony shifted into place as their horns began to glow a collective white color that drifted into the heart of the triangular gate forming a ball of pure light in the center. The humming reached a powerful apex until it cut off all together. Each of the stones set into the gateway pulsed with a beautiful light that flooded the interior of the triangle. Red and blue and green light twisted together to form a prismatic light show that began to extend infinitely into space beyond the gate.
Minty stared in pure awe as the interior of the gate was replaced with a long triangular hallway that glowed with multiple flickering panels of light, extending into infinity beyond Minty's vision. Twilight called out the signal and the two earth ponies walked forward first. They both entered the gate and disappeared into a fluid curtain of warping space. The two unicorns stepped forward and disappeared just as the first two had.
Finally it was Minty and Zephyr's turn. Her legs wobbled uncontrollably underneath her. Zephyr began to walk up the platform to the gate, looking back at Minty, urging her to proceed. Minty stole a glance upward and caught the gaze of the Princess. Her eyes met Minty lovingly, like a proud mother who's filly had just received her cutie mark. She could hear a powerful yet gentle voice echo through her mind.
*Be strong my little pony*
Minty steadied her legs and pushed forward with renewed resolve. She closed her eyes as her legs finally began to work, not looking ahead but walking forward into the gate alongside her brother.
She felt nothing more than a slight ripple, like a cross between a light breeze and a gentle waterfall. Her hooves clopped infinitely loud on a hard surface and then became abruptly quiet as she felt soft grass beneath her.
It worked! She opened her eyes to see lush green grass right beneath her hooves. She looked up to find herself in a clearing in a densely wooded forest. She looked around for the rest of her group, a sinking feeling creeping through her body. She called out to her brother, to all the other ponies in her group, wondering where they were. She had never been to Sweet Apple Acres, so she didn't know exactly what the area looked like, but she thought the place looked somewhat familiar.
Then she looked at the sky.
Her heart jumped up into her throat, almost choking her. In the sky, flanking the sun on either side were not one, but two giant colorful moons.
Her breathing quickened and she began to panic. "ZEPHYR! ANYPONY!"
She ran to the nearest edge of the clearing, searching for anypony that she knew. A rustling in the bushes turned her attention to her right. "ZEPHYR?!"
INstead of Zephyr, she found two glowing blue eyes staring directly at her from the brush. She backpedaled as fast as she could go until she felt a tiny prick in her neck, like a mosquito bite. Her hoof brushed against a feathered dart that was protruding from her neck as her vision began to blur.
She heard hoofsteps on the grass as she fell onto her back, looking up at the sky which was slowly being enveloped in a ring of black.
There were two moons.
~***~