//------------------------------//
// A Glitch In the Sim 
// Story: Appledashery 
// by Just Essay 
//------------------------------//

	The shadows of evening had filled the valley by the time the group reached the windblown bastions of a decrepit clock tower.  Epcot mounted the balcony beneath the crooked clockface first.  She hummed, trotted over towards a mold wall of mortar, and pointed at it.

"And here we go!  Cozy, huh?"

"Uhm... Epcot?"  Rainbow Dash muttered, ascending the balcony before the rest of the group.  "It's a dead end."

"Yes..."  Mulia Mild shuddered, climbing and helping Donut Joe up beside her.  "Not to mention... erm... perfectly in view of everyone who lives here."

"Our mule friend is right!" Gustave said, flapping his wings as he hovered alongside the balcony.  "This cover of darkness won't hide us forever!"

"Heeheehee!"  Epcot smiled, fluffing her sparkly mane.  "Mortals are so adorable sometimes."  She winked.  "Once again, your heads are stuck in the regular dimension!  What we have here is a gap in comprehension!  Observe..."  She proceeded to lean against the wall... only to slide through it.

"Gah!"  Rainbow Dash did a double-take.  "Epcot, come back!"

With distorted light, Epcot stuck her head out, smiling.  "Oh, I'm still here!  And you can be here too!  Come on!"  And she slipped back beyond the wall.

Rainbow Dash and the others exchanged nervous glances.  At last, Rainbow Dash trotted forward, reaching a hoof towards the wall.  Her limb slipped through the mortal, and—with a gasp—she stumbled straight forward.

She heard echoing hoofsteps.  All around her, she saw what looked to be a distorted sphere of funhouse mirrors surrounding her at every angle.  Every fifth shard of reflected light displayed what looked to be a completely different image altogether.  Rainbow Dash saw movements, ponies, machinations, and several more things too incomprehensible to describe. And—at the very same time—she saw past it all, as if the outer surface of the clock tower was translucent.  Stretching up towards the north were the skycrapers that belonged to Shindig and Sons.  They glistened in the last rays of the sun peeking down into the valley within which the city of Philanthropy hovered.

Not long after Rainbow Dash had entered, Donut Joe, Gustave, and Mulia slipped in.  They too stumbled, no less dumbfounded.

"Magical, huh?" Epcot chirped.  "On account of Shindig's sim being so big, we've got this wonderful hiding spot!"

"You called it... a gap in comprehension?" Rainbow murmured.

"Yup yup yup!"  Epcot's smiling teeth glinted.  "It's like how most mortals only dream in black and white, or neglect to formulate words and text within their visions.  There are some things the mind can't do... or simply refuses to do.  It was a lot less problematic with the alicorns, of course.  But... a dream of this size?  Shindig couldn't dream it alone.  She needed other minds to help her build it!"

Rainbow took a deep breath.  "Frederick Flim.  Felix Flam."

"Indeedy!"  Epcot did a twirl, her skirts trailing as she gestured at the distortion bubbling around them.  "But they can't see us heeeeere!  Heeheehee!"  She swiveled to a stop, winking.  "Of course, if Applejack is really out there—dreaming along with the psionic currents—then she can't see us anymore either."

Rainbow Dash did a double-take.  "You mean to say she could see us the whole time before?"

"Well, part of her did!  She sent her... 'friends,' did she not?"

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath.  "Yeah... that she did."  Her jaw clenched.  "As Celestia is my witness, I'm gonna go find her and save her."

THUDDD!  Stu Leaves and his mech slid into the room, causing everyone to flinch.  "Duaaaaah!"  He wheezed, sliding out of his Red Rook suit and curling up on the floor.  "Goddess, that was just too much of a climb!  I almost thought I was gonna throw up!"  He took one look at the distorted imagery all around him and visibly blanched.  "Oh—urp—Celestia dang it..."