Canterlot, Twilight’s Equestria…
Luna walked into a small study where Dinky was busy dusting off the shelves. She set a big box down next to her. Dinky stopped what she was doing and looking up at Luna with curiosity. Luna smiled down at the young filly, “Hello Dinky, would you mind taking a break and helping me shelve these elixirs Twilight received on her journey?" Dinky nodded enthusiastically, glad to have any other job than just simply dusting or running around to make sure there aren’t any cracks in the lower levels. Though the castle could withstand a constant barrage from the Shadows, it was still a good idea to strengthen the weak points.
Luna scooted the box over to an empty shelf; she was just about lift a jar out of the box when her horn suddenly began to flash a dark blue color. Luna frowned and growled, “It seems that the Shadows are giving the door everything they have. I must go and reinforce it. Will you be alright putting those away yourself?”
Dinky nodded and gave a small bow, “No problem, princess Luna.” Luna nodded her head and left the room, silently closing the door behind her. Dinky immediately set to work, pulling the first jar out of the box with her hooves. The jar was clear with a green glowing liquid inside of it. Dinky set it down of the floor in front of her. She then closed her eyes and began to concentrate hard. While working around the castle, Luna had been taking time out of her day to help Dinky learn simple spells to help out even more. Before, telekinesis was not an easy thing for her to do and the only thing she could pick up was a letter for a few seconds. Now however, with enough concentration, she could lift a two pound jar of liquid and set it on shelf no problem.
Dinky opened her eyes and was happy to see the jar was just hovering over the shelf. Dinky dropped her magic and let it fall an inch. It made a small thumping sound but stayed where it was. Dinky hummed a little tune to herself as she repeated this process. Moving all the jars out of the box and onto the shelf, however, Dinky found herself getting done a lot quicker then she had originally thought. Dinky stared at the last jar she had placed on the shelf. Upon staring at it for awhile she began to notice something odd when looking at some of the others. Some of them were a glowing green, but some were just a dark green.
Dinky levitated a glowing green jar onto the floor in front of her before doing the same with a dark green one. She then carefully popped off the tops. Dinky took a small sniff of the glowing green one and immediately felt sick to her stomach. She stuck a hoof her nose as she quickly put the top back on. After carefully making sure the top was secure, she moved to the other jar and gave it a sniff as well. She stuck out her tong and made an ‘ack’ noise. It too smelled awful but this one smelled familiar. Dinky took another careful sniff and released it smelled like spinach juice. “That’s odd,” Dinky muttered to herself.
She examined the box again, wondering if perhaps Twilight was given the wrong one. She tried to lift the bottom to see if it was labeled only to find that the box was somehow still heavy. Dinky placed a hoof to her chin, puzzled. After a moment of thought, she gave the box a hard shove. Upon doing so, she heard something shift inside of it. Dinky grew even more puzzled. She got up on her hind hooves and looked inside the box. She could clearly see the bottom. Dinky stuck her hoof in pressed lightly down of the bottom of the box, only to jerk it away when the bottom seemed to drop a bit. Dinky bit here lower lip. “What in the world?” She thought to herself.
*
Nyx opened her eyes. She found herself staring off into complete darkness. Nyx could feel herself start to panic as she wondered for a moment where she was. It took a few minutes to remember that she was sitting in a box, or at least, a hidden portion of it thanks to Apple Bloom. Nyx also face-hooved as she began to realize that she had accidently fallen asleep. Nyx took a deep breath, before slowing exhaling. “Alright,” Nyx thought to herself, “I made it to Twi’s world… I think. Now all I have to do now is find Twilight. Hopefully I can convince her to let me come along if I show her how determined I am to help.” Nyx smiled to herself.
She then felt her ears flatten as her spirit fell a bit. “Mom’s going to be angry though. She is probably worried sick about me. I feel bad leaving her without saying good-bye. But I am a big pony, mentally anyways, and I want to help Twi in any way I can. Hopefully mom will forgive me when I come home.” Nyx sighed to herself. She was about to push against the ‘fake bottom’ when the box shift. Nyx felt herself shift along with the box. Surprised, was about to push against the top when it pressed down on her by itself. Nyx felt it hit her right in the head.
She growled in annoyance and pushed it back up a bit, only for it to push back down on her enough to slam to face against the ground. Nyx lit her horn up in anger as she grabbed the fake bottom and pushed hard upwards. Light immediately spilled into the box. She heard something land with a thump right next to her followed by a much smaller thump. That got Nyx’s attention. “Uh, oh.” Nyx slowly lifted up her head out of the box and saw a grey filly unicorn on her back holding her head. She had her eyes closed and seemed to be in a bit of pain. Nyx crawled out of the box and quietly made her way over to her. She gently nudged the filly with her hoof. Dinky jerked her eyes open in surprise. Her eyes locked on Nyx and grew to the size of dinner plates.
Nyx rubbed to back of her head with her hoof, “Sorry about that, my name is…”
Nyx found herself cut off as the filly's mouth opened up and yelled a single word that seemed to shake the walls, “SHADOW!”
Dinky was like a lightning bolt. As soon as the words escaped her lips, she was already across the room trying to open the door with her magic. However, she was in too much of a panic to concentrate. Nyx ran over to her and stopped just a few inches away. “Please, listen to me Dinky.”
Dinky turned around in surprise, “How do you know my name?”
Nyx gave her a reassuring smile, “You and I are in the same class in my world.”
Dinky’s horn dimmed, “Wait, you mean you’re not a Shadow?”
“No, my name is Nyx. I’m from another Equestria.”
“Ok…" Dinky looked at Nyx with confusion, "Why are you here? And why do you look the daughter of Nightmare Moon?”
“It’s a long story.”
Dinky frowned, walked over and sat on the couch across from the door. “We have plenty of time. Luna won’t be back for awhile.”
Nyx cringed, “I’d rather have Twi find me than Luna.”
Dinky nodded her head and looked at Nyx smugly, “Tell me your story, and I’ll make sure that Twilight will meet you when she gets back.”
Nyx sighed. It seemed she had little choice in the matter. She walked over and jumped up onto the sofa. She sat down right next to Dinky. “Alright, it all started when my mom, Twilight, first found me in a rose bush…”
Just outside the room, unbeknownst of the two fillies, the princess of the night also began to listen to her tale. Having heard Dinky, she had rushed up to help her but stopped when she heard Dinky talking to another filly. She decided instead of barging in, perhaps it would be better to see who this mysterious stranger was. She opened the door just a crack in time to see Dinky on the sofa talking to a little black Alicorn. This caught Luna off guard but she appeared to be of little threat. Luna stayed silent as she listened to the little black filly tell her tale…
**
Littlepip’s Equestira, Apple Jacks Orchard
Twilight and Night sat next to each other while Littlepip, Velvet and Calamity sat across from them. A fire had been made as is seemed to quickly be growing dark outside. Twilight held her Keyblade outwards as she was just finishing up on how she had ended up where she was now. All three Wastelanders kept their full attention on her. Occasionally, Littlepip would stop Twilight to ask about her world and the other one she had visited. What she considered to be most exciting, however, was the idea of both worlds being what she considered peaceful despite all that had happened. When Twilight did finish, the whole camp was silent. Littlepip seemed to be in awe while Calamity and Velvet were doing their best to wrap their heads around all that had been told to them. Twilight grunted to get everypony’s attention, “Now that I have managed to fill you all in how I am not dead and talking to you all, how about you fill me in what happened to this world. And maybe what happened to me and my friends.”
Velvet opened her mouth to speak but closed it again. She put her hoof to her chin before turning to Littlepip sitting next to her. “I think it would be best if you told them everything. You’ve seen far more than we have through those memory orbs. I believe you may give our history better justice.”
Littlepip scratched the back of her head with her hoof, “Are you sure? I mean, you are a better story teller.” Velvet quietly nodded her head and smiled at her, causing Littlepip to blush. Littlepip took a deep breath before looking at both Twilight and Night. Her whole demeanor seemed to change in an instant as she began to recount what had happened.
“About 200 years ago, a school for gifted unicorns was built near the zebra territory. It was not long before a small group of zebras came by looking for help. Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding, the zebras were killed. What happened next was a domino effect. A zebra blew up the school in revenge. Almost all who were there perished. Celestia blamed herself and allowed Luna to take over. The zebras took it completely the wrong way. You see, they still viewed Luna as Nightmare Moon and thought she had taken over. The zebras thought that by taking over, they had taken the minds of the ponies as well. Soon it seemed to them, that Nightmare Moon had to be stopped.
However, the innocent ponies had to be dealt with as well. They figured that they had been enslaved and could not be saved. A war soon broke out between Pony and Zebra kind. The Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, in order to combat the Zebras, became known as the Ministry of Mares. They each set about creating their own ministry to help in the war efforts. Rarity with the Ministry of Image, Pinkie with the Ministry of Morale, Apple Jack with the Ministry of Wartime Technology, Fluttershy with the Ministry of Peace, Rainbow Dash with the ministry of Awesome…” Littlepip turned her head and looked directly at Twilight, “And, the Ministry of Magic lead by Twilight. It was thanks to them that that we had an explosion in technology as we tried to outdo the Zebras in every possible way. But at the same time, it is what also lead to Equestria’s destruction. ”
Twilight’s gaze broke away from Littlepip as she stared off into the distance. “What happened?”
Littlepip’s voice became cold, “The Last Day happened. Twilight, your friends helped to change the very course of the war, however, one of them also lead to our defeat. Fluttershy was trying to create a spell that would heal all ponies but unfortunately, that meant the opposite side as well. What’s worse, some of the Zebra’s got their hooves on it and completely redesigned it creating the worst Mega Spell ever created.
The Last Day occurred in Canterlot. The Zebras were barraging Canterlot with Mega Spells. Canterlot was able to fend them off with a powerful shield spell. But that is what the Zebra’s had intended. One of them managed to make their way into the city and set off a bomb within the city. It released a cloud of death that killed or mutated most of its inhabitants; including Luna and Rarity. Mega Spells soon rained from the heavens, killing off most of Equestria’s population including most of the Ministry of Mares. We still don’t know what happened to Rainbow Dash. There is a chance she could have survived. But she would still be dead by now anyways.”
Twilight shifted uncomfortably, “So what happened to me? I mean the Twilight of this world.”
Littlepip looked away grimly, “Some things are better left unsaid…”
Twilight shook her head, “I understand. So in other words, everyone I knew is dead.”
Littlepip turned back to Twilight about to say more but closed it, deciding not tell her what had happened to anyone she had knew that survived. Most of them aren’t really the same and never will be. So instead she glanced at Twilight apologetically, “I’m sorry.”
Twilight shook her head, “It’s alright, not like it’s my world truly. It hurts to know that I won’t be seeing my friends and to hear what happened to them. But there is nothing we can do. What’s past is past.” Littlepip could see the pain in Twilight’s eyes but chose not to press on.
Twilight rubbed the back of her head with her hoof, “What I don’t understand is how somepony could live in such a wasteland like this?"
Littlepip shook her head, “I come from a place called Stable 2. It is where both Velvet and I were born. She eventually escaped and I went to look for her the next day. Neither of us have returned since.”
"Was Calamity born in a similar place?" All three ponies shook their heads.
Calamity grunted, “Well, I come from an Enclave above dem clouds.” Calamity pointed his hoof towards the sky, “I left after deciden it weren’t worth being there after see’en the way tha treats other ponies. Just don’t sit right with me.”
Littlepip nodded her head, “It wasn’t long after I escaped that I came across him. We didn’t exactly hit it off very well at first. Getting shot four times after meeting someone doesn’t usually end well.” Calamity cringed a bit a looked away in shame. Littlepip got up and walked over to him. She sat to next to him and nudged him. “Hey, it was my fault though. It was thanks to that experience that I learned to be more careful out here and try to think with my head.” Calamity smiled and Littlepip continued, “Later on I came across Velvet.
After rescuing her, she began to travel with us and we have been friends ever since.”
Twilight cocked her head, “Rescue?”
Littlepip and Calamity grinned sheepishly. “It’s a long story.”
Twilight opened her mouth to question it, but then thought better of it. “So it’s just you three traveling as a group then?”
Littlepip shook her head, “No, there were two others. One was needed back at her back home, something about a creature problem. The other… is no longer with us.” Littlepip’s ears dropped as she refused to meet Twilight’s gaze.
Night Glider decided it was time to change the subject, “So what are you all doing here anyways?”
Littlepip shook her head as she tried to refocus herself, “We received a message from a friend of mine, Homage, that there were some strange black creatures popping up near Ponyville. They seemed very hostile and surprisingly more dangerous than most creatures around here. I couldn’t resist checking it out. I gotta tell you though, was not expecting this mission to be so strange and unexpected.”
Velvet glared at Littlepip, “We traveled all the way across Equestria to see some strange new creatures only to be attacked and nearly killed in the process. Sounds like a normal mission to me.”
Littlepip smiled apologetically, “Anyways, now that introductions are out of the way, what your plans?”
Twilight glanced back at Night who shrugged his shoulders. Twilight grimaced, “In all honesty, we don’t know. We are looking for an artifact, a piece of the Door. Without it, our Equestria is doomed. But we have no idea where it is. It could be anywhere.”
Littlepip put a hoof to her chin. She thought for a moment before her face brightened, “Oh, I might know someone who can help. He keeps an eye on everything that goes on in Equestria. If anyone has an idea where it is, the Watcher should be able to help. I can take you to him.”
Twilight grinned, “Well it looks like we will be following you then.”
Littlepip's face seemed to be glowing, “Yes, I can’t believe I will be traveling with the famous Twilight Sparkle!”
“You do realize I am not YOUR Twilight.”
“But you are Twilight and that is good enough for me.”
Velvet and Calamity shook their heads in amusement.
Night grunted, “How soon until we leave.”
Calamity glanced up at the sky; it had grown much darker. “I reckon we can head em out in ta mournin.”
Velvet shivered as a breeze blew by, “I don’t suppose we could maybe sleep in the barn?”
“Bad idear, could be full a Raiders.”
“Night and I were just in there. Aside from the hole at the entrance, there was nothing there.”
Littlepip stood up, “The barn it is then.”
Everypony stood up and made their way toward the barn. Twilight and Littlepip lead the way. Both chatted back and forth in more detail about how their adventures got started and both them found a few things in common when it came to how much trouble seemed to find them everywhere they go. Littlepip laughed out loud once Twilight had finished talking, “It seems that trouble finds us no matter where we go huh?”
Twilight snickered, “Yes, but I have a feeling that as long as we stick together, we can handle what comes to us.”
Both ponies nodded their heads at the same time.
Two ponies who were never meant to meet, had just become best friends.