The door to the Ponyville Library slammed open, as Butterscotch ran in. "Dusk!" he cried. "Duuuusk!"
"Woah!" Spines said. She fell over from the place where she had been sitting. Getting up, she said, "Easy, Butterscotch, Dusk is in the back. I'll go get him for you."
"I'm coming!" Dusk Shine called from the other room. He opened the door to the main room and said, "I swear, AJ, you're so loud I can hear—Butterscotch? Was that you?"
Butterscotch looked at the ground and kicked it. "Um...sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to be loud."
"That's okay," Dusk said. It wasn't very often that Butterscotch got this excited. "What's up?"
"I met a mare!" Butterscotch said. "She was so nice and kind to me! I think she could be my special somepony!"
"Awww..." Spines said. "That's sweet! You deserve a nice marefriend, too!"
"I agree; congratulations!" Dusk Shine said. "What's her name?"
"Pinkie Pie," Butterscotch said. "When we talked, it felt like we've known each other for months! And she was smiling the whole time! She likes me!"
"I don't think I know anypony named Pinkie Pie," Dusk said. "You'll have to introduce us sometime."
"How did you meet her?" Spines asked.
"It was by accident," Butterscotch said. "And, um, that's why I came to see you. Idunotamars..."
"Excuse me?" Dusk Shine asked.
"I don't know how to talk to mares!" Butterscotch said. "You've gotta help me!"
Spines started chuckling like crazy. "You have mare problems, and you came to Dusk for advice? Ha ha ha!"
"Quiet, you," Dusk Shine said, with a disapproving glance. He turned his attention back towards his yellow friend. "Butterscotch, what do you mean you can't talk to mares? You can talk to Spines just fine. Right?"
"Spines doesn't count, because she's a baby," Butterscotch said. "Pinkie Pie is a full, adult mare! What do I say to her?"
Spines scowled and put her hands on her hips. She was getting a little tired of always being called a baby dragon. If she was grown-up, she bet the handsome stallion Elusive would pay more attention to her.
"Okay, I agree that mares are scary," Dusk Shine said. "Maybe you could find a mare to practice talking to. I bet Rainbow Dash or Applejack's sister—"
Butterscotch looked up. "Rainbow Dash is still here?" he asked.
"Of course," Dusk Shine said. "Why shouldn't she be?"
"Because she used Applejack," Butterscotch said. "Mares who trick stallions into kissing them...that's just wrong."
"I agree," Dusk Shine said, even though he had secret hopes of meeting a kissing mare. "But the thing about Rainbow Dash is...she really does come from another dimension."
The pink-maned pony looked confused. "But that's impossible," Butterscotch said. "Isn't it?"
"I'm not sure," Dusk confessed. "I have to do a few more experiments. But I can't deny the fact that right now, she's here instead of Rainbow Blitz."
"...I wish Rainbow Blitz was back," Butterscotch said, lowering his head. "He'd know how to help me talk to Pinkie Pie."
Personally, Dusk Shine thought it was a good thing that Rainbow Blitz wasn't around to give Butterscotch mare advice. His advice would probably involve something incredibly inappropriate.
"I'm sorry," Dusk Shine said. "We have some romance novels in the library, but there's nothing along the lines of a guide on how to talk to mares. I'm not sure I can help with your problem."
"Oh," Butterscotch said, looking sad. "I was worried that would be the case..."
"What about Elusive?" Spines asked.
"Hey, yeah!" Dusk Shine said. "He used to run that dating service—I bet he knows tons about how to talk to mares. He could help!"
"Really?" Butterscotch asked. "Oh, thank you, Dusk! That'd be a big help!"
"You're welcome," Dusk said.
"Maybe I should go with you," Spines suggested. "Just in case you need any help."
Dusk smiled at Spines' thinly-veiled excuse for going to see her crush. "Maybe we should both go," he said. "The more the merrier, right?"
Elusive was actually an unexpectedly popular pony that day. Within the span of a half-hour, no less than nine ponies came to see him. The first three ponies to stop by were the Cutie Mark Crusaders, hoping to borrow his pet cat so they could get their cat juggling cutie marks. Needless to say, Elusive kicked them out.
The next pony to stop by was our hero, Rainbow Dash. She slammed on the door.
"Dude Rarity, come on out!" she called.
"Just a moment!" Elusive said. He opened the door, and a sour look was on his face. "Rainbow Dash. I thought you would have stayed in Cloudsdale."
"Hey..." Rainbow Dash said, awkwardly putting one of her hooves behind her head. "I need some help. Applejack sort of..."
"Kicked you in the face?" Elusive asked. "I can see. Those black eyes are dreadful."
"Tell me about it," Rainbow Dash said. When your eyes make up over a third of your head, a black eye is nothing to laugh at. "You can fix it, right?"
"Not to be rude, but you deserved it," Elusive said. "Kissing Applejack, then running away with a ridiculous lie! Why, you might be worse than Princess Bluebelle!"
"It's not a lie! I am from another dimension," Rainbow Dash said.
"Uh huh," Elusive said. "Then how did you get here? Do you have a transdimensional travelling machine?"
"Uh...to be honest, I'm not entirely sure how I got here," Rainbow Dash said.
"Thought so," Elusive said. "I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, but mares like you are not welcome in my store. Do yourself a favor and find a new place to visit."
With that polite-but-firm dismissal, Elusive stepped backwards and used his magic to close the door to the Carousel Boutique.
"Well!" he said to himself, as he turned around and trotted to his work table. "Claiming to be from another dimension! What a ridiculous way to break up with somepony!"
"Hey!" a voice shouted. Elusive didn't have time to blink before a cerulean-cyan blur flew in through the window. It was Rainbow Dash, obviously; she landed right in front of Elusive and stared up at the taller stallion. "I did the best I could, okay? I've never had to break up with somepony before!"
Elusive put a compassionate hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder and said, "Rainbow, darling, I mean this in in the nicest possible way: get out of my house."
"Not until you get me something to fix my eyes," she said.
"Fine," Elusive said. As it turned out, Elusive had plenty of the cream used to get rid of black eyes, because hoof fights were somewhat common in the Stallion Universe. He went to go a bottle from one of the crates in the back.
"And for the record, I didn't want to break up with Applejack," Rainbow Dash said. "But he got mad and went away before I could explain."
"Well...Applejack can be a bit stubborn sometimes..." Elusive said, reflecting on his own experiences with the Earth pony. Then, Elusive shook his head, mentally reminding himself to stay out of his friend's mare problems. "At the very least, you owe him a full apology."
"If he'll even talk to me again..." Rainbow Dash muttered.
"Anyway, here's the cream you want," Elusive said. "It's only five bits per bottle, and you—"
He was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Hellooooo!" a voice called out. "Elusive, I'm here for our daaaate!"
Rainbow Dash's blood went cold. I know that voice... she thought.
Outside the Carousel Boutique, two mares were arguing.
"I keep telling you, Elusive is you!" Pinkie Pie said. "Why else would he meet you at your house?"
"Elusive mentioned that the Carousel Boutique is a tuxedo rental shop in this universe," Rarity said dismissively. "The fact that it's my house in our universe is just a coincidence."
"Rarity, you're crazy!" Pinkie Pie said. "How do you not see that he's you?"
"He is a completely different pony," Rarity said. "Now, shoo. I don't need a third wheel tonight."
"But Rarity, this is a really bad idea!" Pinkie Pie said.
Rarity stepped past Pinkie Pie and knocked on the door. "Hellooooo!" she called out. "Elusive, I'm here for our daaaate!"
"Coming!" Elusive called.
Pinkie's ears perked up. Like all Earth ponies, she had better hearing than unicorns or pegasi, so she could almost hear some voices inside.
"—that?"
"—my date—mare named Rarity. Now—"
"RARITY?" the female voice shouted. "NO WAY!"
Even Rarity could hear that shouting. She pursed her lips angrily. "He has another mare with him?" she asked.
"I know that voice!" Pinkie Pie said. She grabbed the front door and threw it open. The door swung inward and smashed Elusive against the wall, but Pinkie didn't notice this as she galloped in, Rarity at her heels.
"Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"RAINBOW!" Pinkie said. She tackle-hugged her pegasus friend, while Rarity stopped near the doorway and helped Elusive get up.
"How did you get here?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"The Princess sent Rarity and me to come get you," Pinkie Pie said, hugging her friend again. "Now you're back! We finally have you with us again!"
"Great!" Rainbow Dash said. "Let's leave, then! There's nothing for me here."
"Rarity, you know Rainbow Dash?" Elusive asked, rubbing the side of his head.
"Of course, she's one of my best friends," Rarity said. She walked up to Rainbow Dash and hugged her too. "We've missed you so much! The Rainbow Blitz stallion who's been taking your place—well, nopony can replace you."
"Rainbow...Blitz...?" Elusive asked. "Did you say 'Rainbow Blitz'?"
"Rainbow, darling, what happened to your eyes?" Rarity asked.
"Applejack kicked me," Rainbow Dash said. "It's a long story."
"You need to tell us everything!" Pinkie Pie said. "You've been here for, like, three days!"
"Excuse me," Elusive said. "But I believe an explanation is in order."
Rarity snapped back to reality, as she realized that the stallion she liked was standing five feet away. "Oh, dear, my apologies," Rarity said. "Elusive, these are my friends, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Girls, this is Elusive, my date for tonight."
"Hey, Lucy!" Pinkie Pie said, waving.
"You're dating yourself?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Not you, too!" Rarity said. "For the last time, Elusive is not me!"
"Are you nuts?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You two are practically twins!"
Elusive adjusted the collar on his tuxedo. "Now that you mention it..." he said. "We do look similar...is your cutie mark the same as mine?"
Rarity paled, which is something marshmallow-colored ponies don't do often. "I...three diamonds...but..."
"Told you!" Pinkie Pie said.
"Yoo hoo, Elusive!" a voice called. Everypony turned towards the entrance of the Carousel Boutique, just in time to see a baby dragon bound inside happily.
"Spines?" Elusive asked.
Spines stopped short, when she saw the other poines. "Whuh—why do you have so many mares in your house?" she asked, sounding hurt.
"I didn't invite—"
"We're here too!" Dusk Shine announced, coming in with Butterscotch.
Elusive had to double-check his door, to make sure nopony had put up a "Please come inside without asking" sign.
Butterscotch gasped loudly. "It's...her!" he said, before diving behind Dusk Shine.
"Her, who?" Dusk asked.
"The mare I told you about!" Butterscotch said. "Pinkie Pie!"
Dusk made an educated guess and decided that Butterscotch was talking about the pink mare. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Pie," he said. "My friend Butterscotch told me all about you."
"You must be Dude Twilight!" Pinkie Pie said. "I mean, Dusk Shine! Prince Solaris told us about you!"
"You know Prince Solaris?" Dusk Shine asked excitedly. "I'm his personal student! He says I—" Dusk stopped. "Wait. I'm sorry, it's selfish to talk about myself, when you want to talk to Butterscotch. Here."
Dusk went behind Butterscotch and pushed his friend forward, towards Pinkie Pie.
"Hello again!" Pinkie Pie said.
"Eeeek!" Butterscotch said.
"So they're Fluttershy, Twilight and Spike," Rainbow Dash explained to Rarity.
"I see," she said. "But if they're our friends, then Elusive is...is...dear Celestia, he really is me!"
"What on Earth does that mean?" Elusive asked.
"Noooo!" Rarity said. "I don't like this universe anymore! I want to go home!"
"Join the club," Rainbow Dash said. "How did you two get here, anyway?"
"Through the magic mirror!" Rarity said. "Hmmm, now that I think about it, that's like that fillies' book with the mad tea party..."
"What is going on here?" Elusive asked loudly.
Dusk Shine walked over, attracted by Rarity's pretty mane. "Hey, another unicorn!" he said. "I haven't seen you before. What's your name?"
"She's my date," Elusive said protectively, taking a step towards Dusk Shine.
On the other side of the room, things were not going well for poor Butterscotch.
"Whaaaaaat?" Pinkie Pie asked. "I talked to you for three minutes! That doesn't make me your marefriend!"
"Oh...oh no..." Butterscotch said. "Oh NO!"
"Hey, don't talk to Butterscotch that way!" Spines said defensively. "He's a great pony! You should be glad he likes you!"
Rainbow Dash flew up into the air and took a deep breath. "EVERYPONY QUIET!" she shouted.
Everypony stopped talking and looked at Rainbow Dash, who landed on the ground. "That's better," she said. "Now, let's get some things straight, before we start talking again. Pinkie Pie and Rarity are my friends from the Mare Universe."
"Of course!" Dusk Shine said. "They're the mare versions of Bubble Berry and Elusive!"
"Wha-wha—you're not seriously saying that Rainbow Dash is from another universe?!" Elusive said.
"Muh—mare Bubble Berry?" Butterscotch asked.
"Thaaat's me!" Pinkie Pie said.
"We came here to get Rainbow Dash," Rarity said. "Somehow, she got switched with Rainbow Blitz, and now we're going to switch them back."
"How?" Dusk Shine asked. "I've been looking into interdimensional travel, and it's practically impossible!"
"Twilight Sparkle—your female counterpart—gave us these," Rarity said, using her magic to pull the TDSL pouch out of her saddlebag. Inside the pouch were the three TDSL balls. "She said if we smash them against the ground, she can locate us and return us home."
"What are those?" Dusk asked curiously. He stepped forward to take a closer look, but Rainbow Dash flew and grabbed the pouch.
*Smash!*
"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity said.
"What?" Rainbow asked, standing over the pouch. "You said I just had to smash it to get home."
"There's a twenty minute delay," Rarity said.
"Oh," Rainbow said.
"I suppose twenty minutes is long enough for us to get acquainted," Elusive said, settling back on his haunches. "Now could someone explain what the hay is going on here?"
As a gentlecolt, Elusive rarely swore, but he felt the situation called for it.
Twenty-five minutes later, Princess Celestia and her student, Twilight Sparkle, were together in front of the interdimensional mirror.
"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Princess Celestia asked. "It is an immensely complicated spell."
"I know, but I'd like to try it myself," Twilight said. "If I can't do it on my first try, then you can help me."
"As you wish, Twilight Sparkle," Princess Celestia said. Sometimes, Twilight had trouble asking for help when she needed it.
Twilight carefully read the correct spell out of a book, as she concentrated her impressive magical abilities. It took less than a minute for her to cast the spell and locate where the TDSL signal was coming from. After that, the spell grabbed ahold of the three nearby ponies, and Twilight began the difficult work of bringing them back to her Equestria.
"I...rrrrrrrgh!" Twilight said.
"Let me help," Celestia offered. Horn glowing, she added her magic to Twilight's. A sigh of relief came out of the unicorn's lips, as her burden was greatly relieved.
"Thank you," Twilight said. "I think we're...almost...there!"
Twilight jerked her head backwards and to the right, as she finished the spell. At the spot where her horn was pointed, smoke from the mirror started to gather. Gradually, the smoke formed into the shape of three ponies.
As the forms became more defined, a flaw in Twilight's plan became apparent. The TDSL is primarily a locating device, perfect for use if you want to find somepony who is lost. It is not so good, if you're trying to find three specific ponies inside a crowded room, especially if they happen to be over a hundred miles and a dimension away.
"Something's wrong," Princess Celestia said instantly. "One of them is too small." Her pupils contracted as the smoke solidified, revealing two unicorns and a baby dragon.
"Oops," Twilight said.