//------------------------------// // The Grid // Story: Appledashery // by Just Essay //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash shuddered and winced. "Nnngh... guhh..." She heard the echo of thunder in the distance. Then, somewhere close by, the dark landscape blooped and bleeped at her. "What... the...?" She sat up on her haunches, shaking her head. "Mmmff... where'd we land? The migraine dimension? Luna poop..." She raised a hoof to her aching skull. Cl-Clank! A gloved forelimb touched a glass helmet. "Huh?" She tapped it again. Clank Clank. Her vision returned, and she saw the translucent reflection of a pair of ruby eyes glinting off a curved visor. Her gaze traveled down, seeing the edges of her muzzle encased in a smooth, air-conditioned helmet. The outer lid of her visor glowed with a cool blue hue. "Uhm..." More lights flickered in the distance. Rainbow stood up, her body encased in a solid black suit with glowing blue lines. She squinted towards the horizon, and she saw a glossy flat plateau—like pure glass—stretching off towards obsidian black mountains that formed a sharp ravine. In the far distance, a city skyline of luminescent spires twinkled against a murky black sky. Lightning flickered at random intervals, tapering off into incandescent fractals of turquoise and silver. "Am I... inside a toaster?" Rainbow slowly pivoted about, spotting spots along the immaculately smooth terrain where beams of blue light lingered, buzzing in cold geometric patterns. Whenever she spoke, she heard her voice echoing as if with electronic modulation. "Or the world's lamest rave party?" "Guhh..." A stallion stood up beside her, his body—and wings—also wrapped in super tight latex armor that glowed along the seams. "Whoah! Stu!" Rainbow trotted over. The spotlight from her glowing visor illuminated the stallion's quivering figure. "Take it easy! We totally hopped sims!" "Is that why... I-I feel like a sardine can?" He looked at her, blinked, then blushed furiously. "Uhm..." He looked away from her, coughing into his helmet. "You're certainly... erm... dressed tight." "Stu." Rainbow frowned. "Normally you and I aren't even dressed at all." "I know, right? Don't you think clothes just ruin that?" "I... I think..." Rainbow blinked, gazing off to the side in deep thought. "Huh. That's a good—" She gnashed her teeth and shook her head. "Darn it! Now's not the time to get into the finer philosophies of equine outfitting!" He hoisted him up to his hooves. "We gotta find out where we are." "Your guess is as good as mine," Stu said. "I almost feel like I'm stuck in one of Vinyl Scratch's latest albums, only the music's turned off." "You know, she's my friend in person," Rainbow said. Stu gave her a double-take. "What? No kidding?" "For sure. We've been drinking buddies for years." "Huh. I did not know that." "I'll introduce you two after we're done rescuing Applejack from limbo." Rainbow tilted around. "Now, where the hay is Epcot?" "Epcot?!" Stu shouted, his voice crackling from his smooth helmet. "You there, girl?" "YES." The geodesic sphere—now considerably more luminescent—flew by with orange and silver trails. "Do you know where we are?" Rainbow asked. The sphere turned bright red, trailing neon lights against the charcoal heavens. "NO." Rainbow glared. "Could you revert back to adorable earth pony form, please?" Flash! Epcot appeared in a tight white suit with glowing pink lines. Her mane was completely tucked under what appeared to be a tight glowing hoofball helmet. "Heehee! For some reason, I feel quite at home here!" "But you don't know what 'here' is?" Stu asked. "How could I?" Epcot shrugged. "I didn't construct this, and neither did the Alicorns!" "But... Applejack did?" Stu blinked. "Is she the type of pony to fantasize about this sort of place?" "Epcot, I've never seen this 'place' ever!" Rainbow gestured wildly towards the distant glowing city. "This has about as much to do with an apple farm as Carousel Boutique does with mud wrestling!" "Well, it's somepony's fantasy!" Epcot nonchalantly pulled a glowing disc off her back and began balancing it—spinning—atop her muzzle. "And so long as they're here, they're just as lost in the dream as your buddy Stu was!" "Pffft..." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Great. Just how long will this take?" "Nose to the grindstone, Rainbow," Stu said. "So long as we keep Applejack in our hearts and mind, we can make it past any obstacle that stands in our way—" FWOOOOOOOOOOSH! A solid wall of bright blue light sliced between them, separating the three ponies. "Gaaaie!" Stu shrieked. "What the buck?!" Rainbow hollered. She tried to fly, but her wings were stuck to her side. "Nnngh! Darn suit!" She looked towards to her left. A pony was riding a glowing two-wheeled bike. As the cyclist zoomed off in a curved arc, the blue wall followed immediately after him. "Uhhhh—" Rainbow's right ear twitched beneath her helmet. She turned to her right. Several more cycles came, these ones trailing bright yellows and reds. Unfriendly ponies in glowing yellow suits piloted these vehicles, and they didn't seem to care that a petite pegasus was in the way. Rainbow bit her lip. Just then, Stu's strong forelimbs reached over the blue wall and hoisted her to his side. FW-FW-FWOOOSH! All three cycles ripped over the glass plateau, pursuing the distant cyclist. "Guh!" Rainbow and Stu toppled towards the side. "Thanks a bunch, pal," Rainbow wheezed. "You can thank me later." Stu stumbled to his hooves, gawking at the brilliant chase scene. "Right now... all I want is explanations." "Ooooh!" Epcot's whole suit lit up with dancing fuchsia particles. "My mortal senses are tingling! Heeheehee!" Rainbow pointed. "You mean one of those dudes is a guest of Shindig?" "If that's what you want to call him!" Epcot grinned. "He sure has an imaginative fantasy going on here!" "Well... he's gotta wake up from that fantasy!" Rainbow's voice cracked. "If we can get each of the abducted dreamers to wake up, one by one, then I'm willing to bet we can weaken the barrier between us and Shindig's inner sphere!" "Now you're thinking with your space noodle!" Epcot hugged herself. "Heeheehee!" "How in Tartarus' name are we gonna catch up with him?!" Stu gestured at the distant blue speck. "Even the guys chasing him haven't got a chance." Rainbow looked around at the landscape. She gritted her teeth. "We dream... and we dream hard."