//------------------------------//
// Fighting Shindig by Mule Light 
// Story: Appledashery 
// by Just Essay 
//------------------------------//

	With three pony shrieks, the trio fell through bright blue skies before landing atop a gravel-laden rooftop.

"Oof!"

"Guhh!"

"Ummf!"  Rainbow Dash winced, squirming in her suit.  She slowly pulled herself back onto her hooves, looking past the stirring figures of Stu Leaves and Donut Joe.

A sprawling maretropolis stretched around them with tall skyscrapers and massive apartment complexes.  In the center of the city stood a tall pointed tower constructed out of bright red metal girders.  In the distance, the landscape rose in elevation.  Cherry blossom trees bordered dark emerald forests, and as the mountains scaled higher, Rainbow could see a snow-capped volcano in the distance.

"At least it's a lot..."  Stu sputtered.  "...br-brighter here."

FLASH!  Epcot materialized between them, kicking her hooves with joy.  "Woohooo!  Figment be praised!  You made it!  Way to go, dreamers!"

"Rrrrgh!"  Donut Joe stood up, frowning.  "What the heck are you congratulating them for?!  They've ruined everything!"  He spun about.  "What kind of a program is this?!  Get me back to the Grid before I de-rezz you!"

"Dude... take a good smell of that smoggy city air."  Rainbow squinted his way.  "We're no longer in your fantasy of blips and bloops."

"H-huh?!"

"None of this is real, Mr. Joe," Stu said through his helmet.

"Actually, I'm just called 'Joe.'  'Donut' is my surname."

Stu blinked, then slumped back to the rooftop.  "The darn video game warrior nonsense made more sense."

"Somepony help me out here," Joe stammered, pulling his helmet off and shaking his mane loose.  "If none of this is real, then how come I can still think and talk?"

"Look, you're still you," Rainbow Dash said.  "You've just been abducted into a place called Cider Space where what you think becomes real."

"Then toss me back out, you creeps!" Joe snarled.

"We weren't the ones who did it!" Rainbow's voice cracked.  "Don't you get it, ya dough huffer?!  We came in to get you and the other ones out!"

"Other ones?" Joe squinted.  "What other ones?"

"Could that be one of the mortals over there?" Epcot pointed due north.

Stu and Rainbow craned their necks.  "Where?"  They both blanched visibly.

"Oh.  Nevermind."  Epcot smiled sweetly.  "He's a little too big to be a pony."  A beat.  "And not cute."

"HRESSSSSSHAAAAA!"  A giant dragon with obsidian scales stood at the far end of the city, towering above the buildings as he smashed his way into downtown.  Ponies fled through the streets below, shrieking in horror.  Snarling, the dragon breathed fire and made its way towards the large red tower in the middle of the maretropolis.

"Uhhh..."  Joe winced.  "That's definitely not from the Grid."

"Rainbow..." Stu squeaked.

"Right."  Rainbow gulped.  "Let's peel out of these stupid suits and fly out of here—"

"Not so fast!" warbled a feminine voice.

All three whirled around, then squinted as a bright light shone in their faces.

A quadrupedal figure lowered down from the heavens.  As the bright energy faded, they could all see a female mule standing on her hindquarters, her body garbed in a pastel colored bodice with a rainbow colored skirt.  Sporting a tiara atop her dark mane, the mule wielded a scepter and dragged a crescent-shaped beam of light across the air.

"In the name of Luna, I shall punish you, foul creature!"  Then, grinning, she held the scepter forward.  With the sound of twinkling bells, the scepter pulled her up into the air and launched her body via a stream of sparkles towards the rampaging dragon in the distance.

"That..." Rainbow winced.  "...is the epitome of girliness."

"Mulia...?" Joe exhaled.

"Huh?" Stu glanced at him.

"Mulia Mild...?!"  Joe trotted up to the edge of the building, watching as the mule in question spun furious circles around the monster, zapping it all over with bright flashes of light.  "What in the heck is she doing here?!  She's no fantasy of mine!"

"Or mine," Rainbow said, shuddering.

"You know her?" Stu asked.

"Yeah, she's big time competition for me at every year's National Dessert Competition!"  Joe turned and looked towards the other two.  "You guys weren't kidding about this Cider Space stuff, huh?"

"How wonderful!" Epcot beamed.  "You must have dreamed us directly into another mortal's sim!"

Rainbow shuddered.  "Guess that means if Shindig's already chosen an heir, then it's either Gustav le Grand or..."  She gulped, whispering beneath the sound of the dragon's roar.  "...Applejack."