//------------------------------// // Trouble Brewing // Story: The Rainbow Blitz Disaster // by arglefumph //------------------------------// Stallion Universe There was dead silence in the Carousel Boutique, following the sudden disappearance of Dusk Shine, Elusive and Spines. "Um...what the heck just happened?" Rainbow Dash asked. "They're...they're gone!" Butterscotch said. "But they were just here a moment ago!" Pinkie Pie said, checking under a table in case Dusk Shine was merely hiding. "They just turned to smoke and vanished!" As the only unicorn of the group, Rarity was able to notice something else. "The TDSL stopped giving off magic, too," she said. "It happened at the same time they disappeared." "What happened to our friends?" Pinkie Pie demanded. "Dusk was in the middle of telling a story! Now I'll never know how it ends!" Rarity closed her eyes in thought. "I think Twilight used the TDSLs to take three ponies to the Mare Universe," she said. "Huh?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking at the broken remains of the TDSL devices. "But we're still here." "Exactly," Rarity said. "It took three ponies, but the wrong three ponies." "You have GOT to be joking!" Rainbow said. "They're in your universe?" Butterscotch asked. "How do we get them back?" "We can't!" Pinkie Pie said. Her hair seemed to expand in frustration. "We're all out of unicorns! That means we can't use magic to cheat through our problems!" "I beg your pardon?" Rarity asked. "Oh, yeah, we have Rarity," Pinkie reflected. "Do you know intertransdimensional spell thingies?" "Of course not!" Rarity said. "I'm a fashion designer, not a physicist!" "But how do we get back now?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Without the Twilights, we're stuck here!" "I'm sure that once the mistake gets figured out, they'll rectify the situation," Rarity said. "Yeah!" Butterscotch added. "Dusk never lets his friends down! Even if they're, um, mares." Butterscotch looked at the three mares in the room, then blushed furiously and looked at the ground. He had never been alone in a room with three attractive mares before. Not to say he thought they were attractive! They were the mare version of his friends, after all, and he didn't find his friends physically attractive. But mares were still a mysterious to Butterscotch, and the biggest mystery of all was the fact that they could exude attractiveness without even trying. Like Pinkie Pie. She wasn't trying to be adorable, with her inviting eyes and fluffy hair and energetic smile supported by two lips that... No! Butterscotch thought, shaking his head. She's Bubble Berry! That's wrong! Pinkie Pie couldn't help but notice the pegasus' odd behavior. "Uh...not to be mean, but why do you keep staring at my mouth?" she asked. "Do I have candy stuck on my teeth?" "I...no...I have to go home now!" Butterscotch said. He tucked his wings as close as possible to his sides and took off at a fast-paced trot, much like he did when he met Rainbow Blitz's griffon friend. "...Buttershy is weird," Rainbow Dash commented. "I'm sure he's just shy," Rarity said. "In any case, what do you girls think we should do now?" Mare Universe A dimension away, Applejack and Fluttershy were chatting with each other in Fluttershy's room, when a scroll appeared above them and landed on the ground. "A letter!" Applejack said. "Ah bet it's from the Princess!" Fluttershy picked up the scroll and read it. "Applejack, Fluttershy. I need you to come to the mirror room immediately. Twilight." "Huh?" Applejack asked. "Oh, my, this sounds urgent," Fluttershy said. "We'd better get going." Applejack scratched her head with her hoof. "Something about this seems wrong," she said. "Why would Twilight send us a letter instead of coming to get us?" "Maybe she was too busy," Fluttershy suggested. "As a matter of fact, how did she send us a letter?" Applejack asked. "Spike ain't here in Canterlot with us!" "Do...do you think the letter is a fake?" Fluttershy asked. "Only one way to find out," Applejack said. "Let's get to the mirror room!" The two friends made their way to the mirror room at a brisk pace. From the doorway, Applejack saw a familiar-colored pony. "Twi!" Applejack said. "We got your message and—" Applejack stopped abruptly, causing Fluttershy to almost run into her. "You're not Twilight," Applejack said. "No, I'm not," the stallion said. He held out his hoof. "I'm Dusk Shine. You must be Applejack." "I'm over here, girls!" Twilight said, waving from a corner of the room, where she was talking with Princess Celestia, and what appeared to be Spike and Rarity. "What in the—" Applejack sputtered. "I'm from the Stallion World," Dusk Shine explained. "I guess you could call me the stallion version of Twilight." "L-like how Rainbow Blitz is the stallion version of Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy offered timidly. The shy pony was standing behind her farmer friend, using Applejack as a shield between herself and the strange new stallion. "Exactly," Dusk Shine said. "And you must be Butterscotch!" Fluttershy cringed a bit as Dusk Shine tried to peer around Applejack, so he could see her. "I'm Fluttsh..." she mumbled. "Wow, you look realllly different as a mare," Dusk said. "Your mane is huge!" "Not to be rude an' all, but what are you doing here?" Applejack asked. "Ah thought Pinkie and Rarity were only going to get Rainbow." "Don't worry," Dusk Shine said. "We're working on a solution to get everypony back into their own universe. And the Princess wants to make sure no mistakes like this can ever happen again. Now let me introduce you to my friends!" Dusk Shine smiled happily and trotted off. Applejack shrugged and followed. In a few seconds, she realized the pony she mistook for Rarity was actually a stallion. "Oh, wow..." Fluttershy said. "This is strange." "Girls, this is Elusive and Spines," Dusk Shine said. "Pleased to meet you," Elusive said cordially, while giving a polite bow. "I apologize if I seem out of sorts. This other universe situation is...quite odd." "Heyo!" Spines said. "I like this universe! It's nice to be around mares for once." Fluttershy perked up. "I've never seen a girl dragon before!" she said. "Your cheeks are bigger than Spike's! And your tail is shorter! Is that because—?" "So..." Elusive said. "What are your names?" "Ah'm Applejack, and mah friend here is Fluttershy," Applejack said. "Really?" Elusive said, in a deep, flat tone. "Applejack has the same name, no matter which gender he is? That doesn't make any sense." "Huh," Applejack said. "Well, Ah was told that when mah parents got married, Pa swore that he'd name one of the foals 'Applejack'. That's where mah name comes from." "I didn't know that," Elusive said. "Maybe I should ask my parents where my name comes from. I wasn't named after a relative or anything like that." "BROS!" a voice shouted. Everypony turned to see Rainbow Blitz fly into the room. He went directly to Dusk Shine and gave him a noogie. "I thought I'd never see you again!" "Ow! Quit it!" Dusk said. "Nice to—ow!—see you again, Rainbow!" "I see he got my letter," Twilight said. "Elusive!" Rainbow said, giving his friend a brohoof. "You're here, too! Does this mean I finally get to go back home?" Princess Celestia smiled. "Good," she said. "Now everypony is here." "We can get started, then?" Twilight asked. "Of course," Celestia said. The Princess of the Sun drew up to her full height and took steps towards the main group. "I have been speaking with Twilight Sparkle and Dusk Shine, and I think we have some idea of what happened several days ago." "What did happen?" Rainbow Blitz asked. Princess Celestia paused for a moment, as she tried to think of a better explanation than "random fluke". "It appears to be an unfortunate combination of spells," Celestia said. "In any case, it would be unwise for us to jump to any conclusions before consulting with Prince Solaris. We can get our questions answered after." "After what?" Fluttershy asked. "After we send the stallions back home, of course," Celestia said. "Yes!" Rainbow Blitz cheered. "Aw, we just got here!" Spines said. "I wanna meet the colt version of me!" "How do we get home?" Elusive asked. "The same way that Rarity and Pinkie Pie entered your world," Princess Celestia said. "You go through the magic mirror." She gestured towards the large mirror that had been used previously. "Huh," Dusk Shine said. "So that's why they call this the mirror room." Since everypony's attention was focused on the mirror, they were able to see the disaster as it happened. A hoofball, which seemed to appear from out of nowhere, flew through the air and smashed into the mirror, breaking it into six large pieces. The ponies let out loud cries of shock and dismay. Only Celestia seemed to understand what was happening, and she braced herself as a familiar, sinister figure appeared before them. "Well, well, well," Discord said. "It looks like some of the Elements of Harmony are trapped in another universe. What a shame!" Stallion Universe In the stallion universe, the mood inside Carousel Boutique was one of frustration, as the sun went down and Prince Artemis raised the moon in a starless sky. "Why haven't they done anything yet?" Rainbow asked. "It's been hours!" "I know!" Pinkie Pie said. "This is boring! I could be out meeting new ponies, instead of waiting forever!" "It has been a while..." Rarity said. She sighed and stood up. "Well, it looks like there's nothing we can do about it. Let's get started." "Started? With what?" Rainbow asked. "Making plans," Rarity said. "It's starting to look like we'll be stuck here overnight. Where are we going to sleep?" "Well, you can't stay at my house, because it's in the sky," Rainbow Dash said. "Maybe we could get a room at a hotel," Pinkie suggested. "Hmmm..." Rarity thought. "I'd rather stay here, to be honest. It's not my Carousel Boutique, but it's close enough to home. I just hope Elusive doesn't mind me using his house without permission..." "I'm sure he'd understand," Pinkie Pie said. "Can I stay here, too?" "Actually, why don't you stay at the library?" Rarity asked. "With Spines and Dusk Shine gone, nopony is there to watch it." "You want us to house-sit for the colts?" Rainbow Dash asked. "What are we, their servants?" "Well, it is our fault that they're no longer in this universe," Rarity said. "It's the least we can do. And we have to stay somewhere." "I can watch the library, I guess!" Pinkie Pie said. "Twilight would be really upset if nopony watched it, so Dusk Shine probably feels the same way." "Eh, I don't think I need to play foalsitter for the library if Pinkie's going to be there," Rainbow Dash said. "I'd rather go back to my house for tonight. I mean, it's not my house, but, uh...ah, you know what I mean." "It's settled, then," Rarity said. "I'll stay here tonight, while Pinkie sleeps at the library. If nothing happens overnight, we can all meet at the library tomorrow at 9:00 and decide what to do next." The three friends nodded in agreement, then went their separate ways. Pinkie Pie shivered a bit as she walked to the library. It was a cold night because there were no stars, and nopony was on the streets besides for two tax collectors visiting from Manehatten. They both gave Pinkie Pie strange looks that made her feel wary. Can't wait to get into a warm bed! Pinkie thought, trying to be cheery. The door to the library was unlocked, so Pinkie was easily able to open the door and turn on the lights. She looked around the familiar library, but stopped cold when she saw something out of place: an angry face glaring at her. It was Owlowiscious. Or at least, the female version of Owlowiscious. And she did not look happy that a stranger had broken into the library at night, when Dusk Shine wasn't around. "Whooo?" the owl said. "Oh, hey there!" Pinkie Pie said, forcing out a laugh. "I know this probably looks bad, but I'm not here to do anything naughty! I just—" "WHOOO!" the owl said, showing her teeth. "I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie said. "And I'm sure Dusk Shine would give me permission to be here alone, so you don't have to—" "Whooo! Whooo! Whooo!" the owl said. She flew up into the air and then dove towards Pinkie Pie, talons forward. Pinkie gasped and jumped out of the way. "I'm not a burglar!" she said. "Don't hurt me! I just—" "Whoo! WHOOOOO!" the owl howled. The angry night hunter dove towards Pinkie again. Pinkie let out a short scream, then ran out the door, slamming it behind her. Pinkie caught her breath, while leaning against the closed door. In a few seconds, she heard a clicking sound as the owl locked the door from the inside. "Hey!" Pinkie said. "You can't lock me out! I need a place to stay tonight!" The only response was silence. Pinkie walked away from the library slowly, her hair deflating a bit. Behind her, the library's lights were turned off, throwing her into the darkness. She shivered again. "Guess I'll go back to Rarity..." Pinkie said to herself. "Hey! Baby!" a voice called. Pinkie looked up, to see one of the stallions from earlier. There was no mistaking it this time; the look on his face definitely made her feel uncomfortable. "What's a cute little filly like you doin' all alone, on a night like this?" the stallion leered. "Uhm...I'm not a filly," Pinkie Pie said, but the stallion didn't seem to hear her. If Pinkie had to guess, this stallion had a bit too much cider to drink that night. "You should come home with me," the stallion said. "I'll take real good care of you!" "N-no," Pinkie said, stepping backwards a bit. The alarm bells in her head were practically screaming Stranger danger! Stranger danger! at her. In fact, she could almost see the friendship report that would result from this encounter... Dear Princess Celestia, I used to think that I always like making new friends. Today, I learned that there is an exception. I do not like making friends with creepy stallions in the dark. Your loyal subject, Pinkie Pie "Ain't right for a mare to say—" "OH MY GOSH, LOOK AT THAT!" Pinkie Pie said, pointing behind the stallion. He turned to look at where she was pointing, and the instant his back was turned, Pinkie galloped away at top speed, dodging street lamps and trash cans. Her mind was on autopilot, as the only thing she could think of was getting to safety, and so it was not a conscious decision that brought her to Sugarcube Corners. She grabbed one of her keys from its usual hiding spot, then threw open the door. She dived inside and slammed the door shut behind her, panting heavily. I...I think I'm safe! Pinkie thought, as she got up to lock the door securely. She almost caught her breath again, when a strange voice called out, "Who's there? Bubble, is that you?" "Oh no!" Pinkie said. Two ponies came out from one of the back doors. It was clearly Mr. and Mrs. Cake, even if they were different genders. They bore a strong resemblance to the Cakes that Pinkie knew, with Mr. Cake being the taller member of the pair, and Mrs. Cake being short and pudgy. "Who—what are you doing here?" Mr. Cake asked, taking a step forward to protect his wife. "It's past closing hours!" "Please, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, don't hurt me!" Pinkie said, her eyes tearing up. "I just got attacked by an owl and a creepy stallion, and I don't have anywhere to stay tonight, and I want to go hoooome!" Pinkie started weeping openly. The two Cakes looked at each other, then at Pinkie, then at each other again. They nodded, then walked up to Pinkie Pie. "Please don't cry, dear," Mrs. Cake said. "If you're in some kind of trouble, maybe we can help you." "That's right!" Mr. Cake said. "If you need a place to stay tonight, I'm sure we can find you a hotel, or—" One of the upstairs doors opened, and a voice asked, "Hey, what's going on?" The three Earth ponies on the floor looked up to see Bubble Berry standing in his doorway, looking confused.