A week later, and Twilight is getting anxious. According to her numbers (and charts, and graphs, and calculations, and blah blah blah), we should have been able to open a portal back to Equestria by now.
Oh, wait. I know my fans are clamoring like “Wait, what? How can Twi do that? What happened?” Hang on, I’ll get to that.
After the events of the Battle of the Ruin, as my friends and I came to call it, we were whisked away back to the infirmary (ugh.). After some light patching up, Professor Goodwitch stormed in and gave my ears a good thrashing, something about “How could you go into the forest during mating season” and “What in the world were you thinking” and (to Ruby) “Why didn’t you stop her?”. Then, something clicked, and she was back to some semblance of order. She then congratulated me on rescuing three trapped souls in the middle of the wilderness.
I managed to convince her to register my friends as my team, under the name “Team Harmony”. She got all of them datapads, then left. They didn’t know what to do with the things. We got Twilight to Pinkie Promise to only spend one hour a day using it before we told her what it did. Now, whenever she’s not looking back over her numbers she’s gazing longingly at her pad, knowing she already spent enough time on the Internet today, but wanting just five more minutes.
We got introductions out of the way fast, and the story of my time here out even faster. Twi’s explanation, however, was anything but.
“You remember when Celestia sent me to that other world to stop Sunset Shimmer, right? When I got back, that started turning the wheels in my head. What if there are other worlds out there? Ones that aren’t like Equis, where all of us (not counting you guys, Ruby) exist, but are somehow different, like the world Sunset was banished to, where everypony was a human. I set up shop in my basement, and set to work. I was able to create a machine, the D-Hopper Mk. 1 (stands for Dimension Hopper, since I wasn't looking for similar worlds), and worked on the calculations in secret.”
"Why?"
I stepped in. "You didn't want the Princess to find out and shut you down, right? You know the dangers of messing with alternate anythings! Remember when-"
"Yes, I remember when we went to that other world and almost destroyed both it and Equis, or 'Issues #17-20' like Pinkie says. But this was different! No alternates of any of us that could cause a catastrophic collapse! Instead of alternate universes, located on the same plane, I went for alternate dimensions, on completely different planes."
I give her that look that people seem fond of giving me. She sighs, and facepalms. "Look at it like this. You see this graph?" As she draws one on a piece of paper. "I considered our Equis to be at the origin of our plane. I branched out, trying to find a world completely unlike ours. However, somewhere along the way, I realized I was looking on the same plane the entire time. I had to think in terms of a third planar dimension, the distance between planes." She adds another set of lines, and suddenly it’s a three-dimensional graph. She starts adding dots all over.
"With the introduction of this new dimension into the calculations, I could have the D-Hopper ignore the first two sets of information completely, and focus solely on the third. I eventually found a world where I could create a portal to." She makes a large X on a certain point.
"And that's when I found out, and wanted to go through, right?"
"Yes. You really did suffer memory loss? Hmm, I didn't, so it must have been some cosmical interference. You went in, and caused about half the systems to short out. When I rebuilt, I built in an extra number of safeguards. I reopened the portal, but you weren't there. I got scared, told the girls, and we planned to go after you. Now, I realized this other world might not have the technology to locate another dimension on another plane of existence, so I built this.” She pulls a large boxy thing out of her pocket. It’s covered in dials, sensors, and other technomagical stuff. "This is the D-Relay. When I press this big red button, it should connect to the D-Hopper and create a wormhole back.” She looks around sheepishly. "However, it takes a while to charge up, and it has to be in the right place. Seeing as how one place is obviously a hundred feet in the air over a monster infested forest, we should try to find another location."
So, we were stuck. It was a fun week though. We got to sightsee around Vale, meet a lot of people (Fluttershy latched onto Sun immediately, something about him being part animal), and got to see all the people from the other three Kingdoms coming to Vale for the tournament in a couple of weeks. We even got to spar with RWBY and JNPR a little. Fluttershy was afraid of hurting someone, but then we showed her the concussive rounds, and, promising they wouldn’t leave permanent damage, got her to join in. Man, if I thought fighting Yang alone was tough, fighting the whole team, even with my own, was brutal. They had coordination that would rival the Wonderbolts, and they’re a first-year team! Thankfully, it gave the others some time to sharpen their skills. We didn’t know how long we were going to be here, so might as well know how to fight.
I also showed off my new glowy wings to Ruby and the gang. They told me (after picking their jaws up off the ground) that I must have unlocked my Semblance when I fell. They explained to me that, like an Aura, everyone has a Semblance that helps them. Weiss can create glyphs, Ruby can reach extreme speeds, Blake can leave a shadowy clone behind her, and Yang has her rage. I experienced that first-hand when I dueled her; she explained that the more hits she takes, the stronger and faster she gets. No wonder she can’t be beat!
So, that about brings us up to now. Twilight hasn’t found the spot where, her words exactly, “The cosmical forces have converged into a focal point unto which we can teleport back to our point of origin.” I thought maybe a round of shopping downtown with the ‘team’ would help ease her nerves, and give her a chance to try some locations outside of Beacon.
We visit the market, some clothing stores, back alleys (Twi’s idea), and are on our way to a humble little store by the name of From Dust ‘til Dawn, a Dust store Ruby highly recommends, when I hear a voice down a side alley.
“Hey! Hey you, with the colored hair!”
I look. There’s a guy standing there, beckoning us over. I fall for the bait. “Buddy, this hair ain’t colored. It’s all natural.”
He chuckles. Not a warm laugh, but one with a hint of… unease? Malice? I can’t put my finger on it. “Yeah, kinda figured. Aren’t you the one who almost defeated Yang Xiao Long?”
“What of it?”
“So your friends must be the ones who fell into the woods a week back.”
Now I’m getting uneasy. Nobody knew that except us, RWBY, Ozpin, Goodwitch, and the Watcher who first spotted them. The story we went with is that I’m a new student from a small village outside the Kingdom, who was scoping out Beacon, then brought my team in to learn at the school.
“How do you know that, bub?”
“Oh, I think you’ll find we know a lot of things, Ms. Not-from-this-world.” I suddenly realize he’s been leading us farther into the alley, away from the main road. I turn around to get out, but pull up short. Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy are on the ground, unconscious. Three hooded figures stand over them, masks covering their faces. I pull Rain to engage when a cloth slaps itself over my mouth and nose. I start to feel lightheaded. As the darkness takes me, I have time for one last thought. If I ever find this guy again, I’m gonna shove my boot so far up his ass he’ll taste leather.
----------
I come to with a pounding headache. Man, I have gotta stop blacking out. I open my eyes and look around. Hey, why are there chairs on the ceiling? Why is the door so high up on the wall? Why can I see spots and taste the color yellow?
Turns out, I’m hanging upside down by a chain attached to the real ceiling in a room with no windows, no nothing except a chair and a door. All the blood in my body is rushing to my head, which explains the loopiness and the headache. I yell until my throat goes dry, shouting obscenities, lawyers, and the need to go pee.
Seeing as nobody comes through the door, I slowly swing myself up, and try to figure out how to undo the chain around me feet.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
My concentration is broken, and I flop back down. Standing in the doorway, smug grin on his face (The kind that you want to slug off him the first chance you get), is the same guy from the alley. He’s cleaned up a little, with a casual suit and a shirt underneath, with a symbol of a red bear’s head on top of three red jagged claw marks.
My heart hits my throat. White Fang. He notices my gaze fixed on his chest.
“Ah, so you’ve heard of us?” His voice is slimy, like the Flim Flam Brothers. He walks in and sits on the chair. “That’ll make this a bit easier.” He clears his throat.
“Rainbow Dash. Dropped out of nowhere about a month and a half ago. Made friends with Team RWBY after saving them from a Grimm ambush. Incredible combat prowess. You fought Yang Xiao Long to a standstill during a duel, something that has never been done. About a week ago, we received a report of three others blinking into existence in the Emerald Forest. You retrieved them, and you have been living at Beacon since under the designation ‘Team Harmony’.”
I’m starting to get pissed. How does he know all of this? “Listen, bub—”
“Please, call me Oberon. I have a feeling we will become quite good friends.”
“Okay, Oberon. How do you know about me and my friends, why did you capture us, and how soon until you let me down so I can settle a bet with myself?”
He laughs, his voice full of malice. “One, a gentleman never reveals his sources. Three, likely never. Two, I was hoping you could tell me where you four came from.”
“Why?”
“Well, if you and your friends are any indication, you all possess a degree of ability far beyond anyone your age should have. Wherever you are from must train warriors from the moment they’re born. We, the White Fang, just want to know where you are from so we can ah, appropriate this knowledge for ourselves.”
“Not happening buddy.”
“Ah, I’m afraid you misunderstand me,” Oberon stands and walks over to me, a datapad in his hand. “If you do not provide the required information,” he presses some buttons, and a video feed comes up, “I’m afraid I cannot control what my associates are going to do to your pink-haired friend.” He shows me the video, and my heart stops.
On the pad, Fluttershy is tied to a chair in the middle of a dark room, with only a single bare lightbulb hanging overhead. She is blindfolded and gagged, but conscious, given the wriggling she is doing.
“Now, my associates and I realize she is a Faunus, and we would so hate to injure a fellow Child of Nature, but if you do not comply, they will begin pulling her wings off her back, one feather at a time. We have your other friends in similar situations,” he says as he flips to two more video feeds. Twilight and AJ are also bound and gagged. “I think we will start with their fingers. Now, Ms. Dash,” he leans close, with a shit-eating grin, “will you tell us what we want to know?”
I headbutt him in the nose.
As he staggers away, clutching at his broken nose, I begin to speak, my rage boiling. “You capture us, tie us up, and threaten to torture us. You want me to give away my home. You, buddy, have made a grave, grave mistake if you think I’m going to let you take Equestria!” Crap.
“Equestria? Interesting. I don’t think that village is on our maps.”
Oh, well. Might as well go all the way. The dam holding my fury breaks. I laugh. “You won’t find it on any maps of Remnant. Equestria isn’t even on Remnant. My friends and I are the protectors of our world.” I will my wings to start growing. “We are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, the most powerful magical tools on our planet. I just so happen to be the Element of Loyalty. Do you know what Loyalty is, Oberon? It means never giving up on your friends, no matter what. You will never hurt them, never break them, not even lay a finger on them. You know why?” With that, my wings are fully grown. I flap once, hard. The chain snaps like paper, and I twist around to land on my feet. I turn my stare onto him. He’s backed into a corner, eyes wild.
“What the hell are you?”
As I approach, I grin. “Buddy, I am your worst motherbucking nightmare.”
----------
Team RWBY was flying low over the city, along with ships containing Team JNPR and a few teachers. When Rainbow didn’t come back that night, Ruby got worried. Rainbow could be a little late, but they learned the hard way that Twilight keeps schedule. If there was any deviation, she would have called to note it.
As they flew over the residential section, Ruby’s pad started ringing. She pulled it out, and Rainbow was calling her! She answered as fast as she could.
“Rainbow? Where are you? We were so worried!”
“We’re in some kind of industrial area. I’ll send up a Hail Mary. You might want to bring some backup though; we sorta just took out an entire White Fang base.”
“WHAT?”
“Yeah, they captured us. Get your butt over here. These guys won’t stay unconscious forever.”
“O-okay. The closest ship is JNPR’s. I’ll call them and tell them to watch for it. Rainbow, we were worried sick.”
“Us too, Ruby. Us too.”
----------
After knocking Oberon unconscious (I wasn’t going to leave him there, where he could get away), I quickly found the rooms with my friends. They weren’t expecting an attack from within, so I got the drop on any guards posted around their doors. After freeing them, we found the armory and retrieved our weapons. We had to do a bit more searching, and fighting, to find where they had taken the D-Relay. I explained to the girls on the way out that the White Fang wanted the location of Equestria so they could get warriors just as strong as us. We had a momentary laugh at that. I mean, come on! The closest thing Equestria’s had to a war in the past thousand years was the whole Appaloosian/Buffalo thing, and that was fought with pies.
Once outside, we ran into a whole mess of White Fang. We went to town on them. Afterwards, I called Ruby, then sent up my Hail Mary. A few minutes later, a ship swooped down, and Team JNPR, along with Goodwitch and another professor, exited and took control of the situation. Another few minutes later, and the place was swarming with cops, and Ruby arrived.
What the cops said wasn’t encouraging. Apparently, the White Fang had been rebuilding its forces in Vale. They had a crap ton of weapons, several giant mechs, and more than enough men to use it all. Also, Oberon is a light sleeper, because he somehow slipped out before the cops showed up.
As I relay the story to RWBY, Goodwitch approaches. “I feel that I must congratulate you girls. Not only did you uncover a new White Fang plot, but you singlehandedly made sure it never came to light. It is unfortunate their leader got away, but with your description of him, Ms. Dash, should he ever appear, we will apprehend him. And, in regards to the security breach, our systems are being looked over with a fine-toothed comb, and Watcher Jones is under investigation.”
I feel so relieved. “Good. The sooner we can put that scumbag away, the better.”
Applejack tilts her hat. “So, what now?”
Ruby shoots her hand into the air, waving it excitedly. I call on her.
“How about some rest? It’s been a long day. The tournament starts the day after tomorrow, and we’re in it. Would you guys like to come watch?”
I grin. “Sure. It’s a date.”
We board the ships, and set off for Beacon.