//------------------------------//
// Great Minds Think Alike 
// Story: The Crisis on Infinite Equestrias 
// by Redback Spino 
//------------------------------//

All about her was darkness. So dark, she could not be sure she had even opened her eyes for all the difference it made.
But as Twilight staggered to her hooves, groaning from her own pounding headache and weak limbs, she saw that she was inside some strange structure. She was enclosed on all sides, with what looked like a large glass window on one side, and a smaller one higher up on the wall behind her. And on the other side of the larger glass wall, a much larger room, the walls lined with chambers similar to her own.

Are these... prison cells? Twilight tapped nervously on the glass. Solid as stone, not even wobbling or vibrating in the slightest. This isn't glass, she realised. This is... diamond!

Frantically, she slammed her eyes shut, preparing to charge up a teleportation spell to get her out of her cell. But as she felt the magical energy accumulating in her horn, her entire head throbbed with pain, and the spell dissipated. She tried again and again, but to no avail. Any spell she attempted to cast resulted in nothing but a feeble glow of magenta energy and a headache.

"You won't get anywhere with that, I'm afraid."

She froze in place as she heard the voice. As if by magic, a pony had suddenly stepped out of the shadows of one of the far corners. Or at least, she hoped it was a pony. With its rather strange armour, covered in glowing tubes and a strange sort of mask, somewhat like a respirator or a gasmask, covering its face, it was hard to tell. All she could see of their face were two big, purple eyes.

"Wh...What do you mean?" Twilight asked, shrinking away from the diamond glass as the figure approached.

"Disabling spell," they replied, in a buzzing, mechanical voice through the mask. It may have been her mind playing tricks on her, but something about the voice seemed feminine. "All of these cells have them, for obvious reasons. We can't have you escaping before he's done with you... but then again, given where we are, where exactly could you escape to?"

"Given where I...?" Twilight headed to the opposite wall, rearing up on her hind legs to get a peek out the high window.

For a brief second she saw nothing but blinding white light, but then the light dimmed and she saw it. All around her was an endless mass of swirling lights and colours, some impossible to describe, as far as she could see in any direction. It reminded her almost of the colours on a soap-bubble, constantly twisting and bulging, fading from one colour to the next. It looked almost exactly like what she had seen...

"... Between the mirrors," she whispered to herself, as stunned realisation chilled her whole body. "But that would mean..."

"Precisely, Twilight Sparkle," the figure interrupted. "We are in the space between spaces. The Limbo, the Bleed, the Void. The space that lies between universes. And the home of my master's fleet."

Looking again, Twilight could see them. Enormous structures, unlike any ship she had ever seen, just floating in the Void. They almost resembled enormous turtle shells, lined with windows and ports, and with massive tendrils of inky, shadowy blackness reaching out through giant holes in the underside of the vessels. There were dozens of them floating around her, ranging from little ships that could perhaps house a dozen or so ponies, to massive ships more akin to flying castles. But from what she could see through her tiny porthole, they all paled in comparison to the vessel that she herself sat imprisoned within.

"How many are there?"

"Enough," the figure replied. "Enough to spread across universe after universe, until they are all under the protection and control of Emperor Sombra."

Twilight turned away from the window. "Emperor who?!"

"Emperor Sombra, Commander of the Voidfleet, and Ruler of all Reality." she replied. "And I speak for him to you, as his Harbinger."

"How... how is this possible? We destroyed Sombra years ago!" Twilight exclaimed, slumping to the floor in shock. "I was there, I saw it happen! King Sombra is dead!"

Harbinger simply shook her head. "Oh you silly girl. Do you really think yours is the only world out there? My master, Emperor Sombra, is from a universe far apart from your own. And now, with the strength he has gathered to his side, he rides across the Multiverse, bringing every world and every universe under his control."

"But what do you want from me?"

Harbinger sat down just outside the diamond window. "Well you see, Emperor Sombra is not without mercy. He's taken quite the interest in you, Twilight Sparkle. It would be a shame for such an alicorn as yourself to go to waste in a world such as your own..."

Twilight cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'wasted'?"

"Think about it," Harbinger replied. "Not only were you one of the most powerful unicorns in history, but now an alicorn no less! And yet what has happened to this girl with incredible power? Playing Fourth String to the other Princesses."

"That's not true," Twilight replied. "I'm equal with Celestia, Luna and Cadance now. And I know they must have some sort of plans for what I should do as a Princess..."

Harbinger raised an eyebrow sceptically. "Really? Can you be sure of that? How do you know the Princesses really consider you an equal? How do you know they aren't just keeping you around for some other, lesser reason?"

She placed a hoof on the window, staring intently at Twilight through the diamond glass. "We can offer you so much more. With your kind of magical power, you could be a true leader. You could command your own ship, and who knows? When Sombra's conquest is complete, perhaps he'll even let you hold dominion over a few worlds."

Twilight rubbed her head, her mind buzzing with thoughts. She had dealt with would-be conquerers and tyrants before, but at most, she had dealt with ones who had enslaved a city, or perhaps a kingdom at most. How could this Sombra character have amassed enough power to travel between universes at will? And just how far has he gone in his conquest? Has he really conquered whole universes?!

And what of his offer? Would he really give her a planet to call her own? given his apparent power, maybe he really could.

And if he offered you a choice of which world, said a voice in the back of her mind, why not your own world? You could keep it under your wing, keep it safe from the likes of this 'Emperor' character. For a split-second, it was almost a tempting offer.

"What are you, completely loco?!"

As soon as this thought became manifest in her mind, however, another cried out. Pinkie Pie's voice, no less!

She imagined what her friends would say, if they saw her agree to Emperor Sombra's terms.

"You seriously agreed to work for that creep?!"

"Heavens, Twilight, I thought you had a stronger resolve than this!"

"I ain't gonna live in any world ruled over by some tyrant who calls himself 'Emperor!"

They're right, she thought.

"So," Harbinger whispered through the glass. "What say you, Twilight Sparkle?"

"I say no."

The armoured pony stepped back from the glass, eyes wide with shock. "Pardon?!"

"I said no!" Twilight shouted, rising to her hooves again. "I'm not going to submit to the will of some tyrant like your master! And my friends back in my Equestria will give you the exact same answer. And as long as my friends fight against you, so will I!"

Harbinger stared through the glass at the alicorn, who glared defiantly back. She sighed. "I see. Well, that's... disappointing. But no matter, you're still trapped here with us, and I'm sure we'll find a... use, for you."

With that, the strange pony opened the door and left the room. Twilight shuddered slightly as she sat back down in her cell. She did not like the way that Harbinger had said the word 'use'.

On another part of the ship, a figure stood by a massive window that stretched across the room, looking out at the fleet of ships that floated in the Void around them. Behind the giant silhouetted figure,  door opened and Harbinger skulked in.

"How is our prisoner doing?" the figure asked, in a voice like ice.

Harbinger bowed low. "Master. She was less than cooperative, I'm afraid. In her own words, for as long as her friends fight against you, so will she."

The shadowy figure sighed in a low, rumbling voice. "Indeed... Well then, we shall have to keep her around. She could prove useful as leverage, should things not go to plan."

"And until then," Harbinger asked, unable to contain the excitement in her voice. "Would it be okay for me to have a little... fun, with her?"

"If you must. Just, do not physically harm her. We need her alive and unspoiled," he replied.

Harbinger groaned with disappointment. "Oh, very well... Lucky for me, I have a few tricks up my sleeve that I've been meaning to try out."

Wringing her hooves with glee, the mare bowed low and exited the room, leaving the dark figure to gaze over his fleet, pondering his next move.





Rainbow Dash rubbed her eyes for the umpteenth time that morning. How can anypony stand to live in a place so... bright? Sure, Equestria was a very colourful and bright place to live, but here, all the colours seemed glaring, saturated in some way. Honestly, it hurt her eyes to stare at it for too long.

"Hey... Scootaloo," she asked the pony trotting ahead of her. "How much longer 'til we reach this Kimono person?"

The orange earth-pony pointed to a small house less than fifty feet down the road. "It's right there, Rainbow Dash. Are you sure you're alright? I'm sure I heard that you'd visited her less than a week ago."

"Right, sure..." Rainbow trailed off. Weird colours, ponies that I sorta recognise, but then I've never seen them before, but they... somehow recognise me... Sweet Celestia this place is weird!

The two knocked on the door of the modest cottage. From within they could hear the familiar clattering of hooves on a wooden floor, but also a muffled voice. The words were unclear and indistinguishable, but the tone was very obviously excited.

The door creaked open and in the doorway stood a violet mare, with a darker purple mane tied up in a topknot. She was dressed in the robe of her namesake, a kimono with an orange and red flowerprint. "Ah, Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, do come in. I admit, I was not expecting visitors today but..."

"Who's at the door? Ohmygosh, is it more ponies? Oooh, I wanna see them, I wanna see!!"

Rainbow Dash felt her heart skip a few beats as she heard a familiar voice. Shrill, perpetually excited and hyperactive. "Pinkie Pie, is that you?!"

"Sure is, cute little pony! But how'd you know my name?" replied the voice. As the source of the voice came around a corner and stepped into view, Rainbow's jaw dropped nearly clean through the floor.

Sure enough, it looked like Pinkie Pie. Except last time she checked, the Pinkie Pie she knew was not dressed in a pink skirt, a white shirt and blue cardigan with blue knee-high boots and a bow in her hair. Nor was she furless, except for her mane, or lacking a tail, or walking on two legs.

But sure as her name was Rainbow Dash, this furless, bipedal clothed... thing, was Pinkie Pie.

Her dumbfounded shock was only amplified as the creature barrelled right towards her and swept her up in a rib-crunching hug, squealing at the top of her voice all the while.

"Ooooh, you are just the cutest thing! I mean, those colours look awesome on you, but you still look cute too! You know, you kinda remind me of a friend of mine back in high-school..."

"Pinkie."

The bipedal Pinkie Pie blushed, grinning awkwardly as she put Rainbow Dash back down. "Oops, sorry Kimono, I forgot. Sometimes I just don't know my own strength, you know?"

Kimono rolled her eyes. "I know. So, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, I imagine you are wondering exactly who this girl is?"

The two of them could only nod dumbly.

"Well, do come inside, and I will try my best to explain."

As Scootaloo closed the door behind her, another young pony skipped past the cottage, completely oblivious of the bizarre events transpiring within.

"So then," Kimono said as she sat down again inside the cottage. "Pinkie Pie, perhaps you could tell our friends here what you told me?"

The strange creature nodded as she perched herself on a hoofstool, barely large enough to accommodate her. "Okey dokey! Well first of all, hiya you two, I'm Pinkie Pie!"

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo nodded, neither of them having quite rediscovered their voices.

Pinkie continued, "Well, the other day I was walking home from school, that's Canterlot High, with a couple of my friends, Applejack and Rarity..."

"Woah woah!" Rainbow Dash spoke up, waving her forehooves. "Hold up. So not only is you rname Pinkie Pie, but you also have friends called Applejack and Rarity?!"

"And Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash, yeah!" Pinkie replied. "And like I said, you totally look like Rainbow Dash if she was a pony. What did you say your name was again?"

Rainbow scratched her head. "Erm, I am Rainbow Dash. And that's the weird, thing, I have friend with the exact same names as your friends. I even have a friend named Pinkie Pie, and she looks just like you if you were a pony instead of a.... erm..."
"Human?"

"Yeah, I guess... Wait, 'human'?" Rainbow Dash chuckled to herself. "Heheh, Lyra is gonna flip when I tell her about this!"

"Anyways," Pinkie continued. "One of my boots came undone, so I crouched down to tie it up again, and I told the others to go on, and I'd catch up. But then I get back up when I'm done, and suddenly I'm not on the high street anymore, I'm in this forest. Weird, huh?"

"Indeed, it is unusual," Kimono replied. "And neither of your friends were anywhere to be seen?"

"Nope. None of you have seen them, have you?"

"I am afraid not, Pinkie Pie," she said. "Though I do find your presence unusual. As a matter of fact, I too know of a pony named Pinkie Pie, who lives in town not far from here."

"Ooh, do you think I could meet her?" the human Pinkie leapt up, knocking her stool over. "I bet I'm super cute as a pony!"

"Uh, I dunno if that's a good idea," Rainbow said. "I mean, wouldn't that cause some sort of... I dunno, a paradox or something?"
Scootaloo asked, "What's a paradox?"

"I...uh..." Rainbow scratched her mane. "I dunno. But the thing is, I have a friend back where I come from, who says she once visited a world that was kinda similar to mine, but everyone was one of these 'human' things... Well, except for Spike, he was a dragon..."

"Spike the Dragon?" Scootaloo echoed. "You know him too?"

"Oh, you guys got a Spike as well, huh? That's pretty cool... Anyways, she did say that she met a bunch of humans who were exactly like me and my friends. In fact, Pinkie Pie, I think you met her, her name was Twilight-"

"Twilight? As in Twilight Sparkle?! Ohmygosh, she was awesome!" Pinkie interrupted, leaping up and down in excitement. "I remember now, she was a new girl at school, then she was crowned Princess of the Fall Formal, then she got into this battle with Sunset Shimmer, who turned into this huge demon thingy, then we all got cool powers, and she got to dance with Flash Sentry and..."

But she paused mid-tirade as Kimono pointedly cleared her throat. "Oh, er... sorry, got carried away again."

"It is quite alright," Kimono said, motioning for her to sit down again. "But you raise an interesting point. You mentioned that your friend Twilight Sparkle travelled to another world, Rainbow Dash? And that world was apparently where you came from, Pinkie Pie?"

"Yeah, but Princess Luna and Celestia said that the mirror that connected the two world only opened every thirty moons or something. And it doesn't sound like Pinkie Pie travelled through the mirror at all."

"Nah, I'd remember that," Pinkie added. "Like I said, One second I was on the high street, then I kneel down and when I look up, suddenly I'm in this forest!"

"That is kinda weird," Scootaloo said. "So if she is from another world, why is she suddenly here in ours?"

Kimono leaned forward in her seat, resting her chin on her forehooves. "I am not sure... This is all very confusing."

"It has been a rather strange day," Scootaloo agreed. "I've heard ponies all over Ponyville talking about seeing strange things, like strange creatures, ponies they've never seen before, giant floating cities in the sky, flying machines..."

"And this is why I live out of town," Kimono muttered, with a slight hint of snark.

Rainbow spoke up again. "Well, this is just an idea at the moment, but hear me out. After the whole thing with the mirror portal, I know that other worlds exist, and Pinkie Pie here is proof of that. And even though this place is called Ponyville, just like the place where I live, I've never been here before and I don't recognise anyone here. So what if this is another different world, and somehow I've ended up in it just like Pinkie?"

"But why? What has caused all this?" Kimono asked.

"Well, maybe for some reason all these different worlds are, like, coming together or connecting or something... It's kinda hard to describe."

"No, I think I understand what you're saying," Scootaloo replied. "I remember my sister Cheerilee read a book that talked about something like that."

Her sister... Cheerilee?! "And what did it say?"

"Well, it basically talked about the idea that the world we live in is just one in a bunch of different worlds. Like, when you make a fruitcake or a plum pudding. The book described it like all the different worlds are like the plums, all part of one big pudding, but held apart by the dough inbetween them."

"Mmm, I could sure go for some plum pudding right about now," Pinkie said, licking her lips.

"So, if we were to go by this analogy," Kimono continued, "What if the plums are, for whatever reason, coming closer together, or maybe even merging together somehow. That would, possibly, allow creatures from each world to cross over and interact."
Pinkie Pie sighed. "So somewhere out there is my actual home? Well that's kind of a relief, so I'm not stuck here in Ponyland... no offense."

Kimono smiled. "None taken. But the biggest question is, why? Why are all our worlds suddenly colliding together like this?"

"I dunno, but it may have something to do with that!"

All eyes turned to Scootaloo, who had headed over to one of the front windows, now pointing with a forehoof up at the sky outside. The three ponies and one human gathered at the window, watching in horror at the scene unfolding outside.

A pink and purple earth pony trotted down the path, a look of urgency on her face. "Ooh, I better hurry," she said to herself, "or I'll be late for Twinkle Twirl's class! And I don't like to face that pony when she's mad, no siree! She'll be all grumpy and she'll pick on me to demonstrate all the hard dance moves and... oh, you know what I mean..."

As Skywishes rambled on and on to herself, she failed two things. One was the rippling, surging rift in the sky high above her, out of which streamed strange black clouds and streaks of shadow. The other was the strange inky-black shadowy form that was emerging from the bushes just ahead of her.

Until she bumped headlong into the shadow, that is.

"Oof! Oh, sorry!" she muttered as she staggered back from the thing. "I guess I was thinking to myself, and I didn't look where I was going. You're not hurt are...?"

Only now did she get a good look at what she had bumped into. It was like the silhouette of a pony, only several heads taller than her, and somehow solid.

She did not even have time to scream before it expanded around her and engulfed her.





Fluttershy whimpered, huddled inside her cottage with her myriad animals gathered around her, desperately trying to shut her hears from the commotion outside. She could hear the shouts and screams of her friends as they battled the shadowy monsters that were descending on her house, but even a few voices that she did not recognise.

Silently, and treading as lightly as a mouse, she snuck over to one of the windows. She peeped up, peering outside at the melee. She could see her friends all in the midst of the fight, against the strange shadowy things, whatever they may be.

Her blood ran cold, however, as she saw a terrifying sight. A dragon, about the same size as her house, its scales white and purple, came barrelling into the fray, sweeping the shadows about with its massive tail. It did not seem to be using its firebreath, but that failed to make it any less terrifying to the poor pegasus. She stood, rooted to the spot with fear as she watched the dragon, until an earsplitting bang made her jump clean out of her skin with a squeak.

Not even bothering to look for the source of the sound, Fluttershy huddled down on the ground with her hooves covering her eyes, quivering like a leaf. She could hear another unfamiliar voice shouting something, and within a moment the commotion of the battle began anew outside

Suddenly, there was a loud rattling noise. She cowered even lower as she heard something outside, pushing and knocking on her door. Is it one of the shadow monsters, she thought. Is it something worse? Is it another dragon?!

"Fluttershy, open up!"

A masculine voice rang out from the other side of the door. Whoever it is, Fluttershy mused, it doesn't sound like how one of those shadow monsters probably sounds.

She got up, keeping her head low as the battle sounds seemed to be dying down outside, and hurried over to her porch. "Who are you out there?"

"It's me, Fluttershy, it's Connor!"

She frowned slightly. "Erm... sorry, b-but, I don't know anypony named Connor..."

The voice groaned. "Oh for crying out loud, why doesn't anypony recognise me?! Fluttershy, this isn't really the time to be playing around, now let me in, please!"

"I'm sorry, but I've never heard that n-name in my life, now i-if you could just go away and leave me alone p-please... I mean, if you wouldn't mind..."

There came another knock on the door, this time a little gentler. "Fluttershy, are ya in there?"

The timid pegasus' ears perked up at the more familiar voice. "Applejack?"

"It's okay Fluttershy, you can open the door. Whatever those thing were, they're gone now. And don't worry about this Connor fella. Whoever he is, he seems friendly enough."

Tentatively, Fluttershy slid the bolt on the door aside, and had barely enough time to step back before the door was pushed open from the other side and she found herself swept up in a pair of peach-coloured hooves. Her cheeks burned red as she opened her eyes and saw that she was, in fact, being hugged by a rather odd-looking pony.

He was a stallion, a little taller than her, with pinkish-cream coloured fur, and a short black mane, just as messy and spiky as his tail. He was holding her tight to him, hugging her with all the affection of a close friend of years. "Thank God," He whispered. "Thank God you're okay..."

"Erm, pardon me fella, but d'ya mind tellin' us why yer cuddlin' up with Fluttershy?"

Applejack stepped inside the house, frowning at the strange new stallion, followed closely behind by Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and a fourth pony she did not recognise, with greenish-turquoise fur and a pink mane, who smiled at her. "Aww, how sweet!" she said.

The stallion finally let go of her. "Alright, this is getting annoying now. You girls know me!" he said, his voice beginning to rise. "For the hundredth time, I'm Connor! You girls know me, we've been friends for a few years now!"

"My good sir," Rarity replied. "I think we would remember someone of your... unique, colour scheme."

"But... But..." Connor sputtered. "I-I'm friends with you girls. I used to be a human, remember? I helped save Ponyville when the Dragonfire ponies attacked. Me and Fluttershy, we've been..." he trailed off as he saw the blank faces on all the ponies around him. "You girls really don't know who I am, do you?"

They all shook their heads. "I-I'm sorry," Fluttershy replied. "I mean, you seem like a nice enough pony, but I've never seen you before in my life."

Connor's face fell as his hooves gave way beneath him and he slumped to the floor. "Dammit," he muttered. "Dammit, dammit, dammit. And just when I had everything figured out..."

There came an audible throat-clearing cough from the doorway, and all eyes turned to see the grey and brown unicorn standing in the doorway. "I hate to interrupt, but we might want to find somewhere a little safer to shelter, in case those shadowy things come back."

Minutes later, the small group were back in town, hunkering down inside Carousel Boutique. Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie and 
Fluttershy all sat around a table, while Rarity the Unicorn, Connor and Minty sat at another adjacent table. Dragon-rarity, of course, remained outside, but poked through a ground-floor window, her head looking for all the world like some sort of morbid hunting trophy hung on the wall.

"Okay," the grey unicorn said, finishing a sip of hot chocolate. "First of all, my compliments to whoever made this hot-chocolate, this is probably the tastiest thing I've eaten in a long time!"

Pinkie Pie grinned with pride.

"And second, I want some answers if you don't mind. Who are you ponies, where am I, but most importantly of all, why the hell is this place so... green?!"

"What do you mean?" Applejack asked. "All of Equestria's like this. Well, except the Badlands and the Desert down south, but otherwise, this is pretty normal."

"Really? Because I'm pretty sure that after the Great War, all the megaspell-radiation made growing plants pretty much impossible, didn't it?"

"Great War? Megaspell? What on earth do you mean?" asked Rarity. "There hasn't been war in Equestria for almost a millennium. Well, maybe if you count the whole ordeal with the changelings a few years back."

"I remember that!" Connor blurted out. Wilting slightly under the bemused gazes, he trailed off again into muttering. "I-it's just... I remember that whole invasion. Another thing I was involved in, and let me guess..."

"Nope, sorry, I don't remember ya bein' there either," Applejack said with a shrug.

"Thought so."
Minty threw up her hooves, leaning back in her chair. "Can I just say that I have no idea what any of you ponies are talking about? What's Equestria? What are changelings? What's a war, even?!"

"I'd like to know that myself," Rarity the Unicorn added.

"Look, we don't have time for all this!" the Grey unicorn shouted, standing up. "I'd like some answers if you don't mind, but otherwise we should work on what to do when those shadowy things come back.

Rarity stood up as well, glaring at the unicorn across the table. "Pardon me, but when did you become in charge? We don't even know your name or where you came from!"

The unicorn stared back, refusing to back down. But as the tension became unbearable in the room, she sighed and backed down. 

"Alright, alright. My name is Littlepip. I'm a Pipbuck technician for one of the Stables, Stable 2 in fact. I was out travelling, searching for a... a friend of mine. I'd just found this..." her horn glowed as she lifted up the strange weapon she had been carrying. "And I'd just gotten into a little fight with a pegasus pony who was trying to attack a caravan nearby. I passed out from my wounds, but when I woke up, here I was, with no idea where I had ended up, who anypony was, or how grass could be growing here! I thought the radiation from the megaspells had sterilised the land centuries ago. This whole place should be a wasteland."

Applejack shrugged. "I dunno what to tell you, but as far as I know, there's always been grass here. And I might not be some history buff like Twilight, but I'm pretty sure if there was some Great War that turned Equestria into a wasteland, I'd know about it."

Littlepip sat down, her head in her hooves. "This is insane. None of this makes any sense..."

Suddenly Pinkie Pie leapt out of her seat, jumping up and down, shrieking, " Ooh, hooh! I got it! I think I figured it out!"

"Pinkie Pie, whatever do you mean?" Rarity asked, watching her friend with some confusion.

"Well think about it," Pinkie explained. "Minty here apparently knows me, but we've never met before. Connor apparently knows all of us, but we've never met before. Littlepip says she comes from somewhere where all of Equestria is a wasteland, and now we've also got a young filly and a dragon who both call themselves Rarity."

"What are you getting at?" Connor said.

"Don't you get it, we're all from alternate universes!"

There was dead silence as Pinkie declared her conclusion. Even as she grinned proudly at her own genius, everypony looked at Pinkie with an expression one would wear upon seeing a friend declare themselves to be an alien or the second coming of Christ.

"Okay Pinkie," Connor said, rubbing his temples with a forehoof. "I dunno if they have comics in Equestria, but if they do, you gotta stop reading all those crossover stories."

"No no, hear me out!" Pinkie continued. "Remember when Twilight went after Sunset Shimmer into the mirror in the Crystal Empire? She said there was a whole other world on the other side of the mirror. So if that world exists, why couldn't all these other worlds? What if, somehow, all our different worlds are somehow merging together, into one big super-world? So ponies, and other creatures, are all appearing in eachother's worlds and stuff?"

Rarity frowned. "I don't know, Pinkie, that sounds rather far-fetched, don't you think?"

"Maybe, but it does seem to make sense," Littlepip added. "But if this is happening, then why? What's causing all this, and what's going to happen when all these worlds come together completely?"

"I'm guessing it had somethin' to do with those shadowy things, and that big hole in the sky," Applejack replied, walking over to the window to look at the rift that still hung in the sky, less than a mile away. "Whatever's causin' that must be causin' all this weirdness too... I wonder how Twilight's doin' up in the Crystal Empire, d'ya think she's figured all this out yet?"

Before she could even blink, Pinkie Pie was at the window alongside her, pointing out the window "You can ask her yourself!"
Sure enough, just at the far end of the town square, three familiar figures, two ponies and a tiny baby dragon, rounded the corner, but skidded to a halt as they saw the enormous body of the dragon sitting outside.

"Huh, when did Twilight get a dye job on her fur?"