Chapter Nine: “The True Adventure Begins”
Twilight and Celestia stood next to Luna's bed, slightly before the eight hour mark of Luna's spell. Twilight's face gave away her concern and Celestia looked at her with a bit of pity. “It's OK Twilight, my sister can handle herself.”
“I can't help but think of this as my fault.”
“I told you, accidents happen, and fixing it is the only way to make amends.”
“Yes, but...”
Twilight was interrupted as Rarity and Luna stirred at the same time. Rarity leapt from the bed first, landing perfectly straight while Luna slowly rose behind her stretching. Twilight levitated some paper and began to write, but Rarity shook her head and raised her hoof. “No need for that Twilight.” Rarity said, slightly fast.
Twilight and Celestia stared in shock. Luna stood up tall and smiled at them. “We have been working on her ability to speak at normal speed.”
Twilight blinked. “But... I mean... how?” She stammered.
Rarity smiled. “Let's just say we had a lot of time to develop some interesting skills.”
Celestia nodded. “I would imagine that three years would give you some practice.”
Luna shook her head. “Actually by my count it was almost five, it seems that the length was extended by the same amount normal dreams are.”
Twilight still stared at Rarity. “So Rarity... you are OK?”
“If by OK you mean back to normal, then no, not one bit, but if you mean am I able to function in this state, than most definitely.”
Celestia looked to Luna. “You seem to have done a wonderful job sister.”
“Indeed, though I must admit it was quite a journey.”
Celestia stared at Luna as hard as Twilight had been staring at Rarity. “You... you said 'I'.”
Luna smiled, then blushed as she bowed her head slightly. “Oh yes, I may have picked up some habits from Rarity.”
Rarity smiled. “Some?”
They both erupted in laughter simultaneously. Luna wiped away a tear and looked at Celestia. “Sorry, five years in somepony else's head will do that to you. I assume you two have been working on a spell to fix dear Rarity?”
Twilight nodded slowly, still in shock. “Yeah... I... uh... I had an idea that could work. You see, a large part of traveling to other dimensions is syncing yourself to your destination. I think that if we sent you to another dimension, you could, theoretically, be back to normal speed. Then you could come back with no problem.”
Celestia shook her head. “I think that would be too dangerous, if we just take some time we can isolate which part of the spell...”
Rarity interrupted. “Dimension hopping? What do you think Luna, up for some fun?”
Luna laughed. “Always the adventurous one.” She turned to look at Celestia. “Dear sister, allow me to go with her, I am more than capable of bringing us back if a problem arises.”
Celestia looked between Luna and Rarity. Rarity's face never broke from the smile she had worn since she had awoken. Celestia sighed. “This is against my better judgment.”
Rarity smiled broadened. “You heard her Twilight, that means do it.”
Twilight walked a little closer to Rarity. “Are you sure about this? I'm only going on a hunch here, I'm not sure what will happen.”
Rarity looked directly into Twilight's eyes. Twilight nearly shuddered from the intensity of the stare. “Any chance is worth taking to escape a never ending nightmare.”
Twilight stepped back and took an uneasy breath. “OK, so you want me to try and send you both?” She said looking towards Luna.
“Is that doable?”
Twilight sighed. “Actually, I think I could send us all, four shouldn't be difficult.”
Celestia nodded. “I would feel better going with you sister.”
Rarity looked around impatiently. “We all want to go, so let's just go.”
Twilight nodded and began to cast the spell. A small bubble engulfed them all in a shroud of purple, before a bright flash blinded them all. Twilight slowly opened her eyes to see Luna still in front of her, and Celestia still beside her. They were still in Luna's bedroom, but Rarity had vanished.
Luna looked around. “Twilight, what happened?”
“I don't know... that should have sent all of us, not just her.”
Celestia looked intently at Twilight. “Try again, we will help.”
Twilight began casting her spell again, as Celestia and Luna aided her with their magic. Another bright flash. Still they remained in Luna's bedroom. Twilight was breathing heavily. “I don't... understand... it's like... something is... blocking us out.”
Rarity began to open her eyes, from having shut them in preparation for the spell. She seemed to be on the outskirts of Ponyville. Midway through opening her eyes she could make out the shapes of four ponies standing in front of her. It only took her a moment to identify the silhouettes. Standing in front of her was a beaming Pinkie Pie, a inquisitive looking Twilight, a serious looking Apple Jack, and a sad looking Rainbow Dash.
Slowly Rarity's ears adjusted and she began to hear Pinkie Pie's voice “...she would be here.”
Twilight shook her head. “Fine, I'll admit you got this one, but how you knew she would end up here at this exact time... I wish you could just tell me.”
“It's pretty hard to describe, I just kinda know... ya know?”
Twilight looked over at Rarity. “So if the pattern holds true, she is the only element to the glitch from that world?”
Pinkie Pie nodded enthusiastically. “Yep! It was the whole world, but it corrected itself to her! Kinda like you.”
Twilight stared at Rarity. “Well... do you speak?”
Rarity nodded. “I do, but would you care to explain who you are?”
Twilight shook her head. “Forget everything you just left behind. I'm not the Twilight you know, these aren't the friends you know.”
Rarity stood up straight. “I've been through a lot today, I'm pretty sure I can't be surprised any more.”
Twilight took a step forward. “I am the combination of a Twilight Sparkle from another dimension and the remnants of the creator of the multiverse in which all of our universes preside. Behind me is a collection of glitches caused across reality by a massive destabilization in the grand machine that is our multiverse. In an effort to prevent a total breakdown in the machine, and the destruction of what remains of reality, I hunted each of them down and brought them together .”
Rarity smiled. “And I'm one of these glitches?”
Twilight looked towards Pinkie Pie. “Do I have another telepath here or what?”
Pinkie Pie shrugged. “Not a clue, I can't read her mind at all, it's all buzzy.”
Rarity laughed. “No, I'm a little more complicated than a mind reader. I perceive time at three thousand six hundred times the rate of normal ponies.”
Twilight mouth hung open. “And you can still talk?”
“Admittedly it took a few hours to master.”
Twilight shook her head and looked back at Pinkie Pie. “All right, two more, which one next?”
Pinkie Pie frowned. “That's a toughy, both of these next ones are real doozies!”
“You said only the last one was going to give us trouble.”
“Things have... changed...”