Shimmering Sunsets

by Evowizard25


FOALNAPPED! {Shimmerverse}

Anrain seethed as the group settled on the docks. His vision, one that he had so clearly, was now in shambles. Oh how he loathed chaos and everything about it. He kept it hidden well, but his slight scowl, which was his usual face anyways, might have tipped off others.

Right now the group were making their way to the Air Docks, where the ponies kept their Zeppelins. The mighty air ships, some measuring to the size of the great fire drakes, were adorned in holy sun symbols. Their cannons were held out in salute to the solar monarch.

“HAIL CELESTIA, GODDESS ETERNAL!” Was the collective response of the soldiers present, bowing before the sun goddess.

Celestia bowed her head in return. She took a moment to glance at Anrain. “Is something the matter?”

“No,” Anrain sighed. “That Sparkle mare is certainly a hooffull. She has, with a single action, shattered my vision.”

“Should I be worried?” Celestia looked to her children, who were with the foreigner Sweetie Drops.

“They will be fine,” Anrain assuaded her fears. “Their fates are meant for grand things in the future. That is not up for debate. The present fates of the newcomers….is up for question.”

“Their safety is not up in the air as you would put it,” Celestia huffed. “They will be safe. I will not let anything happen to them.” She put a hoof to his shoulder. “And neither should you.”

“Perhaps you shouldn’t be so hasty to lend a hoof to another,” Anrain said. “But your kindness knows no bounds. A flaw if you ask me.”

“A flaw I will brandish with pride,” Celestia smirked.

Meanwhile, with the group….

“...And this is Canterlot’s Royal Air Navy,” Sunset motioned with her foreleg, encomposing the the entire yard. Canterlot’s Air Docks was stationed close to the capital on a large crystalized platform on the side of the mountain. It gave them a perfect view of everything around them and a defensive location.

"Oh my, that is certainly impressive. I wish I had my camera, it's such a lovely view." Sweetie said, taking it all in like a tourist. "So then, what do your airships use to fly?"

“A magical gas,” Sunset explained. “It’s referred to as ‘Magical Breath’, well that’s the short term really. It’s condensed magic sucked from the Realm of Magic itself and given a gaseous existence. Coupled with some intricate spells, it’s much better and efficient than other gases, such as helium and isn’t prone to catching fire.”

"That is quite impressive. It sounds like a lot of work goes into these things." Sweetie said, looking around. "We just use hydrogen generated by electrolysis."

“A tad primitive but effective none the less,” Sunset noted. She held up an info disk and checked the information. “We’re to be boarding the air ship ‘Holy Sun’, captained by….Duke Blueblood.” She groaned.

"Duke?" Sweetie looked quite confused. "Any relation to the prince? Or wait, is he not a prince here?"

“Prince?” Redheart asked. “Since there are no ‘prince Bluebloods’ here, I’d wager that they have differing titles...Of course, we might be talking about different ponies. Is he a blonde, white coated unicorn?”

"With a compass rose cutie mark?" Sweetie added in with a nod,

“That would be Blueblood,” Sunset snorted. “Well let’s hope this goes well enough without any headaches.” The group quickly found themselves standing before Holy Sun. It was a mid-class Zeppelin and wasn’t really built for battle and more for appearance and pleasure. The smoother and more lilted surfaces of the airship spoke of that.

To anypony who knew anything about warships. Which did not include Sweetie. "Oh my, this is quite the impressive vessel. I've never ridden on an airship before, this is quite exciting."

“I’m sure it will be,” the captain, Blueblood, said as he trotted out from behind the group. He came to stop before them and bowed. “Duke Blueblood, owner and captain of her majesty’s Zeppelin, Holy Sun’, at your service.”

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Sweetie Drops, it's a pleasure to meet you." Sweetie said, beaming. "I must say it probably took some doing to secure that name for your ship."

“My family lineage is perhaps one of the strongest and most influential families in the whole of Equestria,” Duke Blueblood boasted. “I built this ship myself and I had to choose a most fitting name. It wasn’t much trouble for one such as I, I assure you.”

“Oh pish-posh,” Applejack stepped out from the airship. She was currently wearing a green, red trimmed dress and had her hair in a tight fit bonnet. “Love, you spent such a while pining for that name.”

“Well I recieved it in the end,” Blueblood rolled his eyes. “That’s all that matters.”

“And you wonder why some call you spoiled,” Applejack giggled and kissed his cheek. She turned to Sweetie Drops. “Darling, it is so good to see you. I do so hope you enjoy your stay. Might I say that I simply adore your mane.”

"Thank you dear, it's honestly my natural look so it's not hard to maintain...I'm sorry you look a lot like a friend of mine from my...home. Are they allowed to be in the know? I'm not sure what the rules are for this stuff." Sweetie asked, turning to Sunset for answers.

“Don’t you worry about a thing, darling.” Applejack waved her hoof to dispel the issue. “I already know well enough. Your friend dropped by earlier and we had such a lovely time. If only she had stayed longer. I was planning on treating her to the spa. Oh look at me, Love. I haven’t introduced myself yet. How rude of me.”

“You? Rude? Never.” Blueblood nuzzled her.

Applejack returned the gesture. “Quite.” She curtsied, well as well as a quadruped could. “My name is Applejack, heir to Orange Industries.”

"It's a pleasure dear. As I said, my name is Sweetie Drops. I must say, that dress looks quite lovely on you. Green is certainly your color." Sweetie said as she looked the dress up and down, perhaps spending a little too much time on the mare's caboose, but in her defense she hadn't seen her girlfriend in a while and Applejack cleaned up very nice. "So, will you be joining us on this trip?"

“Of course I am,” Applejack hooked a foreleg around Blueblood’s. “My deary simply couldn’t survive a moment without moi.”

“She’s right,” Blueblood put a hoof over his heart. “I would simply perish without her. Truly, I couldn’t go on.”

“Do not worry, my love,” Applejack said. “I shant let that happen.”

Sweetie looked quite stunned. Applejack dating Blueblood. Her mind almost visibly struggled with the concept. If one listened closely, they could almost hear gears grinding in her noggin, and the more perceptive might swear they smell smoke.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Sunset groaned as she trotted inside.

“Well,” Applejack snooted, keeping her snout in the air. “Let us be off then. Oh and please be careful to clean your hooves. The floors were just polished and I’d hate to have any nasty dirt ruining it.”

With a silent nod, Sweetie repelled anything clinging to her hooves using her restored magic, making them clean as a whistle instantly before she trotted inside as well. She could see why you would want to keep the floors clean. "This is an airship?" she asked in astonishment as she looked around.

The inside held the appearance more befitting a mansion then a traversing vehicle. Everything was so neat and orderly with a sheen that would make diamonds jealous. Which there were diamonds present, as well as other jewels that lined the wall.

“I spared no expense when building this craft,” Blueblood grinned. “I wished to show off the vast wealth of our nation for all to see.”

"Well that is...wow." Sweetie said, looking around. "I just...so much...I...yeah. I'm a small town girl so this is just amazing. I really wish I had my camera."

“I personally think it’s a bit much,” Sunset glanced around. “Way too much….Like you’re trying to compensate for something.”

Blueblood frowned. “Of course not, Princess Shimmer. It needed all of this to make it special. Something our kingdom and the whole world can look to and be in awe!”

“Are you going to spend the afternoon flapping your gums, or are we going to hit the air?” A rather gruff voiced, belonging to what appeared to be a...brown moth pony. The older stallion, wearing the royal uniform albeit messily, griped. His antennas flitted about in the air. His voice carried a thick accent, the same you’d hear from a changeling. “I’m nocturnal you know. Having me work in the day ain’t best for me. Might be too much for me nerves.”

“You’ve been saying that for years,” Blueblood rolled his eyes. “And you haven’t fallen over or anything of the sort yet. Please excuse Aisling. He’s-” He stopped to think up a word.

“A ruffian of the highest order,” Applejack harrumphed.

“Well good day to you too,” Aisling snorted. “Now are we taking off or not?”

“Of course we are,” Blueblood said. “And please compose yourself. We have a princess on board not to mention a representative from another world.”

“I’ll compose myself when I’m dead,” Aisling muttered.

"...I'm sorry, what sort of pony are you?. Sweetie asked, uncertain. "I've never encountered one that looks quite like you before."

Aisling gave her a long, hard look. His eyes were rather insectoid, carrying no real iris to speak of. He was rather floofy in the chest and around his legs with thickets of longer fur. His wings were, obviously, moth like as well as the antenna on his head. “I’m a mothpony. I’d think that’d be obvious. What? Gonna ask me if I’m really a ‘pony’ or some sh-”

“Aisling,” Blueblood narrowed his eyes.

“Right, no swearing.” Aisling snorted. He grumbled to himself a little more.

"I'm sorry if I sounded rude." Sweetie said. "I'm from another dimension, so this sort of thing isn't obvious to me. I do apologize dear, I wasn't trying to insult you."

“Don’t worry about it,” Applejack put a hoof on her shoulder. “He’s rather grumpy towards everyone.”

"Still, I do feel bad." Sweetie pointed out. "I do apologize Mr. Aisling."

Aisling snorted. “No need to apologize. She said it. I’m a grump, or whatever the hay you want to call me. Don’t care, just tell me where you want to go and I’ll take you.”

“Crystal Empire,” Sunset spoke up. “I’d like to be there three minutes ago.”

“....You can’t be there three minutes ago,” Aisling said.

“With service like this, of course not.” Sunset snarked. “Now chop to it.” Redheart elbowed her side. “Ow! Come on. Let me have my jerk moments. I need to push someone around.” Redheart quickly pushed Shade into view. “Shade! What are you doing here?”

“Apparently to be your punching bag,” Shade snorted. “Well, at least I haven’t been burned yet. That’s a plus.”

“Well don’t count your blessings yet,” Sunset said.

“Why should I when you are the only blessing I need?” Shade grinned as Sunset blushed. He quickly jumped out of the way as she tried to blast him with a fire spell. “You certainly ‘brighten’ my day.” He teleported out of another. “The ‘flames’ of our passion are growing out of con-” Sunset jumped him and started pummeling him. “OW! I get it! No more flirting.”

Redheart sighed and got out the med-kit.

Coco blinked in confusion. “Why do they act like that anyways?”

“You’ll understand when you’re older,” Redheart muttered.

"Um...how old is Coco?" Sweetie asked, surprised that the girl apparently didn't understand what was going on.

“Fourteen,” Coco said. “My birthday was last month. It wasn’t that big of one, really.”

“Well they never are, dearie.” Pizzelle chuckled. “You have never been the ‘social’ type, but we love you just the same. Why I’m met countless individuals just as shy or shyer than you. Oh I could just go on and on about-”

Sunset teleported over and placed a hoof over Pizzelle’s mouth. “Pizzelle, before I remove this hoof, I want to know one thing. Were you just about to go on a one hour long speech or three.” Pizzelle remained silent. “Well then……...how about we just stick with what we have and call it even.”

Pizzelle rolled her eyes. “I have never gone on for three hours.”

“Seven,” Sunset deadpanned. “Remember?”

Pizzelle blushed in embarrassment. “Right...sorry about that dearies.”

“It happens,” Coco said to reassure her.

"Seven hours?" Sweetie asked. "Whatever were you talking about dear?"

“Oh this and that,” Pizzelle tapped her chin. “Mostly crystals and hats. Oh I do believe that I was mentioning the new craze in Hoofington with crystal hats as well. Those certainly are outlandish things. Could you imagine having so many crystals crammed onto a single hat? Preposterous.”

Sunset groaned. “Here we go again.”

"Oh no, please tell me it's not as bad as I think it sounds?" Sweetie said. "They didn't just stick on large crystal clusters with no rhyme or reason."

“Yes,” both Applejack and Pizzelle deadpanned.

“I never understood Hoofington fashion,” Applejack commented.

"You think that's bad? You should have seen my Rainbow Dash's attempt at creating a gala dress. It looked like a cross between a superhero outfit, armor, and a toga." Sweetie said, shaking her head. "Honestly, I have no idea what she was thinking when she designed that thing."

Applejack giggled. “Not all of us can be artists.”

“Yes well,” Blueblood interjected. “I do believe we need to get ourselves settled. Take-off can be a tad bit jolting.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” Shade stretched himself out. “I’d kinda prefer it over ‘her’ kind of jolts.”

“Hey, I’m way more pleasant than this blimp.” Sunset glared at him.

“Oh yeah?” Shade grinned. “Well prove it.”

“Fine,” Sunset said. “I promise to not scorch you so long as we reside in this blimp.”

“IT’S A ZEPPELIN!” Aisling yelled.

Shade blinked a few times then shook his head. “Fair enough.”

"Oh thank goodness." Sweetie sighed in relief. "I was slightly afraid that you would miss a spell and blow us all up. Really, fire on an air ship?"

“Eh, I’d survive.” Sunset shrugged. “Either way, I haven’t killed us yet.”

“Sunset’s motto in life,” Shade snorted. “‘Burn first, think later’.”

“Do you ever think before you speak?” Sunset asked, glaring at him.

“Yes,” Shade said. “But riling you up is so much fun.”

"Aww, that's so sweet. In a weird way, but still sweet." Sweetie said, smiling. "You know, my Sunset kind of has two mottos for life. "I'm sorry" and "the forces of darkness will rue the day they ever dared to mess with my friends". But yours is very catchy."

“Yeah well….” Sunset punched Shade in the chest with a light blush. “Idiot!”

“I try,” Shade chuckled as he rubbed his chest.

"...huh, you know thinking about it, you could arrive three minutes before you asked if this ship can travel faster than light, enabling it to go backwards in time." Sweetie realized. "But I doubt this ship can breach the speed of sound, so that's just not plausible."

“....” Sunset sighed. “Right about now Quickfix would be running towards the engine room-”

“With a hooffull of tools-”

“And yelling science a lot.” Coco sighed.

“Now dearies,” Pizzelle spoke up. “We’re going to see our friends all soon enough. I’m sure Fiddlesticks is planning a reunion party as we speak.”

"That sounds lovely. And sorry about earlier, it was just an idol thought. Never really thought I'd find any use for the stuff I learned when I was eight." Sweetie said with a shrug. "Still, it was easier working with the conceptual stuff than the hard sciences like orbital mechanics. I hated math when I was that young."

“Math can be quite useful,” Redheart stated. “I was rather skilled in it, but my preferred topic was biology.”

Sweetie rolled her eyes. "Well the only math I really use nowadays is accounting, measuring, and radiocarbon analysis formulation...my marefriend has interesting hobbies."

“Attention passengers,” Aisling’s voice resounded about through the loudspeakers. “We’re about to take off, so get your arses in motion and don’t bucking come crying to me if you fall over.”

"...Pizzelle dear, your son wasn't here to hear that was he?" Sweetie asked.

“He’s with Spike,” Pizzelle stated.

“Don’t worry,” Sunset stated. “The little guy was tuckered out, so Spike took him to one of the cabins. He probably slept through it.”

"Oh that's a relief." Swetie said, eyes closed gently as she smiled warmly. "I was afraid I'd have to force feed Mr. Aisling his own antenna for swearing in front of children. That would have been quite the bother." she said pleasantly, smile unwavering. As her friends knew, a golden rule with Sweetie was that you don't mess with children around her. Ever.

“I’d certainly cheer you on, dearie.” Pizzelle smiled. “My boy already has enough worries, with school and bullies, swearing wouldn’t be a welcome addition.”

"Oh dear, is the poor thing picked on because he isn't a pony?" Sweetie asked concerned.

“That’s a part of it,” Pizzelle bit her lip. “He’s such a nice, gentle thing, but he is still a predator. Some of the other ponies think I made a mistake adopting him and….It was really tough in the early days. They...nearly took him away from me, it was so bad.”

Sweetie blinked in confusion. "Because he's a predator? But, isn't that the same for pegasi in this world? Why was that such a big deal?"

“Because they’ve grown used to pegasi,” Pizzelle said. “We are ponies, so they don’t mind. He doesn’t look anything like us. He can make illusions just by thinking. He can do all these amazing things, but they’re afraid he….” She sniffled. “That doesn’t matter anymore. They haven’t taken him away from me….They won’t take him away from me.”

"You tell them dear." Sweetie said, giving her a small hug of support. "But really, the nerve of those ponies. I can't believe it. We have restaurants in my Ponyville that have mixed diet menus, and we don't even have a single carnivore living in town, it's for tourists. How can a place with your kind of pegasi be that uncomfortable with meat? It really doesn't make sense. Different looks mean nothing, just look at the tribes...well my world's tribes anyway."

“Eh, some ponies just prefer their own.” Sunset said. “Trust me, I’ve lived my life around the court. You know these things, given all the hate speeches I hear every day. It doesn’t matter. Hikaru isn’t going anywhere, even if Bon Bon pitches a fit or something.”

"...my double is doing WHAT?" Sweetie asked as the airship lurched into motion.

“Well it wasn’t so much that Bon Bon didn’t like Hikaru,” Pizzelle said. “Your double adored him, it’s just you...I mean she, didn’t think I was mother material...It didn’t help that the first week was rather eventful.”

"I imagine any adoption would require a lot of adjustments and discoveries." Sweetie said. "Looking at just the first week isn't very fair, you'd just be getting everything settled in."

“Well that’s how long Bon Bon was giving me,” Pizzelle said. “It didn’t help that he almost got eaten by a cragadile, or the bullies, or...I...’ She wiped away a few tears. “I almost started to think I didn’t deserve to be a mother.”

"Right, no more tears. As Mask would say, enough drama, time for comedy!" Sweetie said, reaching into the saddlebag she had procured. "I was saving this for later, but you look like you could use a pick me up. Tada!" She shouted, pulling out a small covered serving tray. Taking off the lid she revealed "Peanut butter fudge! I made enough for everypony, dragon, and fox."

“Thank you,” Coco smiled as did the rest of them as they took a few pieces.

“This is simply divine,” Applejack said. “I must have this recipe.”

"I'll make you a copy before we leave." Sweetie said. "Though speaking of divine I never did try out that fudge recipe those gods gave me. Turns out the kitchen was out of cream cheese. Shame, it looked quite good."

“It is,” Sunset mumbled. “If you can actually grab a piece.”

"Shame. Probably would be the tastiest thing I've ever had." Sweetie lamented.
______________________________________________________________________

"These are probably the tastiest things I have ever had." Rainbow admitted as she munched through another bowl of crystal berries.

“We do try,” Princess Cadance smiled. “Everything in the Empire is grown with the utmost care and love.”

"It pays off." Rainbow said, smiling, and trying to ignore the slight itch in her wings. It had been growing for a bit, and she wasn't too sure why, but preening to take care of it in public was a major no go.

Of course, Cadance was born a pegasus herself. She could see the itch as well as Rainbow’s emotions. Being an emotive goddess had its payoffs. “Is there something wrong?”

"No no. Everything is awesome." Rainbow lied, wings twitching slightly. "So...this is a big library...we are probably never going to see Twilight again you realize?"

“I hope so,” Cadance chuckled. “I’m rather growing fond of her. She reminds me of our Twilight when she was younger. I just loved babysitting her.”

"Yeah well, I doubt we'll ever get this egghead to leave." Rainbow grumbled.

From somewhere deep within the library, Twilight's excited voice echoed out "Oh my goodness! This book is bigger than I am! This is the best day of my life!"

“We’ll find a way,” Cadance said. “But first, we’ll need to take care of your wings.”

"What about my wings?" Rainbow said, glad that her feathers muted her embarrassed flush.

“Rainbow,” Cadance huffed. “You do know I was born a pegasus, right? If not, either way I can tell they’re giving you trouble.”

"...ah well...yeah." Rainbow muttered, feeling even more flustered. "Look do you, um, bathroom or something?"

“Do I have a bathroom?” Cadance said. “Yes, it’s right down the hall, first door to the left. If you’re just going there to preen I might actually try and insist on a trip to the spa. You simply haven’t lived till you’ve had a taste of ‘Crystal’ living.”

"...you guys actually preen in spas here?" Rainbow asked, slightly shocked. "That's just...well...anyway I don't do spas. I'm too cool for them."

“Don’t knock them till you’ve tried them,” Cadance lifted a glass to her lips with her magic and took a sip. “So I gather that preening is a bit taboo in public or something like that?”

"Yeah. I guess it's not so much here." Rainbow guessed. "Since we have feathers all over our bodies preening fully can look a bit...suggestive at times. So it's not polite to do in front of others. Not even just the wings or chests with a quick nip, cause ponies don't know if you're going to just stop there and get a bit huffy about it."

“I can see where that can be a problem,” Cadance nodded. “It is rather strange to think that myself over there is covered in feathers instead of fur. Of course, it’s not all that strange. I did grow this.” She tapped her horn. “And becoming a goddess was no small feat either. A feather body though, might be another story. I’ll keep a note to ask her about it if we meet.”

Rainbow sighed, rubbing her eyes with her wings. "To cover the questions everypony asks: no it doesn't tickle. Can you describe what it's like to be born with hair instead of feathers? No? Then how do you expect us to be able to do the opposite? It's called molting, not shedding, and no you can't have a feather for your collection, quill, hat, or just because you think it looks pretty."

Cadance slowly took a sip. “I seem to have hit a nerve.”

"Nah it's just...everypony whose not a pegasus seems to ask us these questions at one point or another." Rainbow said, shrugging. "It's honest curiosity. But seriously, it's like they have a checklist of some pretty dumb ones. Why would we find our own feathers ticklish? And that's like the number one thing they ask besides "what's it like to have feathers" as if we could give a serious answer to that?"

“Well the whole ‘growing a horn and goddess’ thing tends to pop up in quite a few questions, so I understand.” Cadance said.

"Yeah, I can see that." Rainbow said, trying to keep her wings from twitching. "At least you don't have to deal with the stereotype questions."

“No, but I did get asked what grass tasted like so many times during my mothers adventures.” Cadance huffed. “I get that there are a lot of species on this planet, but why do they need to pester us with inane questions. Granted some of us aren’t that much better, but still. I don’t know how mother does it, let alone write it.”

Rainbow shrugged. "Eh, grass tastes like grass. Boring question. At least you ddin'r get asked "what rank is your dad" or "is this your first time on the ground" or the like. The never even considered that my dad might not be military or that my best friend is a ground pounder."

“Could we not use slang like that,” Cadance said. “I have to hear too much of it, one way or another, already and yeah. Heard those before. Well, that and if mom can autograph their books, or bless this or that.”

Rainbow looked confused. "Slang like what? What did you think I was saying?"

“Ground pounder kind of sounds similar to speciest slangs,” Cadance pointed out. “It’s not really that bad, but somepony might take it the wrong way.”

Rainbow looked shocked. "Wowh woah woah, what? I am not speciesist, I have a griffon as a long standing friend for crying out loud!"

“I never said….” Cadance’s eye twitched. “Griffon?...” She shook her head. “No, no, not going to say anything. Just...yeah, be a tad bit more careful with your words.”

Rainbow huffed a bit, wings twitching. "Right, I'll keep that in mind. But just FYI, back home ground pounder means a pegasus that prefers life on the ground to flying."

“Gotcha,” Cadance said. “I can tell it’s bothering you still. You can go preen, I’m not stopping you.”

"Thank you." Rainbow said as she dashed off towards the bathroom, ready to take care of whatever was causing the problem already. Locking the door behind her, Rainbow started rooting through her wings, and was surprised to find a large number of damaged secondary feathers, the quills snapped. "The hay did that happen? I haven't crashed since I got here." she muttered as she proceeded to remove feathers, a good number of them. When it was over she had removed almost two dozen feathers. From each wing. To a non-pegasi it would make her wings look different, but in a "I can't put my hoof on it" kind of way. To other flyers, it would be quite obvious. Rainbow sighed, this was embarrassing. At least it was only secondaries, so she could still fly. Control and stability would be shot, but eh she wasn't a precision flyer to start. Depositing her shed feathers in the trash, she went back hoping Cadance wouldn't notice.

As Rainbow returned, Cadance’s eyes widened as she peered at her wings. “I didn’t think it was that bad, honestly.”

"Neither did I." Rainbow admitted. "I'm not sure how, but they were pretty badly damage, snapped and everything."

“Oh dear,” Cadance cast her a weary glance. “You honestly have no recollection of it happening? No tumbles, turbulence, anything?”

"Nope. No crashes since I came through the portal, and I would have noticed them then." she pointed out. "Although with that many secondaries gone, I am definitely going to be feeling turbulence."

“Well try and keep to the ground for a bit,” Cadance suggested. “We don’t know what caused it and I’m sure you don’t want it happening again.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Thank you doctor princess, but I think I can handle being a few feathers short just fine."

“If you say so,” Cadance shrugged.

Twilight came galloping over then. "Rainbow Dash, you will never guess what I just found!" she asked with a huge smile, horn glowing as she hovered something behind her back.

"A really rare book you've always wanted to read, but it was considered lost to the sands of time?" Rainbow guessed, looking bored.

"No! Well, yes actually I ran into a few of those, but I also found this!" Floating it forward, Twilight broke into the biggest grin ever. "The newest Daring Do book! It won't be out for another two months back home!"

Rainbow did not look impressed. "Oh wow. That is amazing. Truly it is the wonder of the mystical other world." she said in a flat tone.

“Hey,” Cadance glared at her. “My mother puts a lot of time and effort into making these books.”

"Your mother is a writer?" Rainbow asked, surprised.

“And an adventurer,” Cadance smiled. “All first hoof information gathered in the field.”

Rainbow blinked a few times. "I feel like I'm missing something here."

“Daring Do’s my mother,” Cadance flat out stated.

Rainbow's jaw dropped. "Um, Twilight, I thought Daring Do was fictional."

"She is in our world." Twilight responded. "But this isn't our world now is it?"

"...wait," Rainbow said, struck by a sudden thought, "does this mean there is a world out there where the Power Ponies actually exist?"

“Well, given how different our worlds are,” Cadance started. “I wouldn’t really be surprised.”

"That would be so cool! Hey, if we get stranded in another world let's aim for that one!" Rainbow said, sounding rather excited. "I could totally race Filisecond, or do weather stuff with Zapp, or take down super villains all by myself even!"

Cadance sighed. “I miss defeating villains. It’s so much fun to crush them under my hoof or slash them with my scythe. Anything really to break this monotone ‘princesshood’.”

There was a grinding sound as Rainbow scooted her chair a bit away from Cadance. "You don't say? Hey, has anypony seen the local me recently?"

“She’s currently jousting,” Polish appeared out from behind Rainbow. She bowed to Princess Cadance. “Empress-”

“Princess,” Cadance said through clenched teeth.

“Right,” Polish corrected herself. “Princess Cadance. I have a few reports from the patrols.” She hoofed over a few folders.

“Thank you, Polish.” Cadance took them closer to herself.

"Um, is jousting different here?" Rainbow asked. "Because last I checked you needed a horn to joust. It's a unicorn sport."

“The Crystal Empire doesn’t really have any unicorns or pegasi,” Cadance explained. “It’s predominantly Earth in a sense. So instead they’ve come up with using lances. Same goes for Equestria. Makes it a bit fairer and more inclusive that way.”

"Huh, that is kind of neat." Rainbow admitted. "Hey Polish, could you show me where this jousting thing is? Sounds a lot cooler than ours."

“Right this way,” Polish bowed her head and started off.

Rainbow dashed off. "Well later guys, enjoy your nerd zone."

After Rainbow left, Twilight sighed. "I'll never get how because I read book I'm a nerd, but her reading comics is 'cool'." She shook her head in resignation. "She really is an impulsive kid at times."

“Some beings just like to feel a bit better about themselves so they call others names and such,” Cadance said. “Of course, it can be all in good fun. When me and Pinkie hack and slash at each other during our spars, we don’t really mean to hurt each other. It’s all good fun.”

"Oh I know Rainbow Dash means it all in good fun, we wouldn't be able to use the Elements if we weren't good friends." Twilight said. "I just don't think she really thinks her teasing through. Then again that just might be my opinion due to years of exposure to Sunset's wit."

“Ah yes, Sunset.” Cadance sighed. “She really was an unreasonable mare before the Elements...still kind of is, but she hasn’t tried to burn me so that’s a plus. I hope yours was a tad better in that regard.”

"Our Sunset rechristened her Element from Magic to Friendship, gives speeches about the importance of friendship, teamwork, and harmony, and is a peace talks advocate." Twilight replied.

“Well that’s certainly a step above ‘Do what I say or you burn’ motif ours has going,” Cadance said. “I don’t really mean to sound harsh. I do care for Sunset like family. She’s just...difficult.”

"Our Sunset isn't perfect either. She has a bit of a temper problem and is sarcastic a lot, but she is actively working on it because she feels bad about it...of course she also feels guilty if she forgets to bring in the morning milk. Or a lot of other things really. She has some...self esteem issues."

“Well I wish her the best of luck with that,” Cadance said.

"Therapy helps." Twilight answered. "Sooo...can I read this? Because knowing what's going to happen two months ahead of everypony back home will give me a jump start on my analytical review for the fan magazine."

“Go ahead,” Cadance nodded. “I see no problem with it.”

Squeeing with delight, Twilight sat down and began to read.

____________________________________________________________________________

“It shouldn’t be that far from here,” Polish said as she lead onwards.

"That's what you said two hallways ago." Rainbow grumbled. "Seriously, why are palaces so big?"

“It is necessary to be this large in order to house the correct amount of staff and nobles,” Polish stated.

"....you win this round logistics." Rainbow muttered.

Polish chuckled and was about to say something before she was cut off by a feminine voice.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t our lost little Dashie. Having trouble finding your world? Tut, tut, tut, what a shame.”

Rainbow was instantly at the ready, wings splayed as searching around her. "Right, evil villain taunting. Come on out so I can kick your flank into next week. I've fought alicorns without using the elements, so you don't scare me." She added that last part knowing how big a deal that would be to the locals.

“Scare you? On the contrary, I wanted to congratulate you.” The voice said. “You are certainly a credit to our race, even if you featherbodies are of the….herbivorous type. Sad really. Either way, I might come out if you say please.” The voice chuckled.

"Alright then, please come out little miss enclave pegasus so I can buck your teeth in." Rainbow taunted.

Around the corner stepped a white, red maned mare. She wore a gray, metallic collar and had a roulette wheel cutie mark. “Happy now and do please save the bucking for later. We are civilized beings, are we not?”

Rainbow gave her a flat look. "You're taunting me about being stranded on another world, which is not public knowledge in the slightest. You're tribalist to the point that you look down on other pegasi that don't fit your mold, and you totally suck at the smooth villain dialog deal."

“Well I’m not the villain here,” Fortune shrugged. “So I hardly know how to sound like one.”

Rainbow was unconvinced. "Not the villain, really? You're practically shouting 'I am part of the group that made the portal'." she pointed out.

“Well on that count I am guilty,” Fortune smirked. “Now, Rainbow Dash, perhaps you’d be willing to at least hear me out, maybe take a little ‘walk’ with me.”

"...do you know how creepy that sounded with you talking to a minor right?" Rainbow pointed out.

“Yeah that was creepy,” another feminine voice called out. “Like, super creepy.”

“Shut up, Pepper!” Fortune growled. “I didn’t mean it in that way. Who the buck would think I meant it that way. Do I look like a molester...If any of you bastards say ‘yes’ I’ll cut you up into pieces so small, you could fit several on the head of a needle!”

“...Would you cut us up on a ‘maybe’?”

Fortune face-hooved. “The ponies I work with,” she grumbled to herself.

"Yeah, it must be harder working with ponies smarter than you." .rainbow quipped.

Polish checked her notebook. “That quip puts Rainbow in the lead.”

“Go Rainbow!” Pepper called out.

“Stop cheering the enemy!” Fortune growled. “We’re supposed to foalnap her, not….Why the hay am I arguing about this. Just get out here and secure the mare.” She tapped the metal collar and instantly the metal configured itself around her body as a form fitting armor. Around her tail formed a scorpion style metal tail with a barb sharp enough to pierce the strongest steel. “Oh, and don’t rough her up too much. I don’t think our lord will appreciate her damaged, daughter or no.”

"Daughter? Aww damn it, my alternate dad is involved in this?" Rainbow moaned. "He's way more embarrassing than my dad pulling off all this stuff."

“Embarrassed?” Fortune chuckled. “Why should he be embarrassed for our glorious cause? The Enclave would be nothing without him. Though, I will have to admit, perhaps he’s not aware of everything we do. Like if I were to give you a black eye, for example. That’s of course, up to you. Come quietly, or we’ll make this painful.”

"Show of hooves." Rainbow interrupted. "Who here is willing to fight the mare that beat Nightmare Moon in a one versus one battle? Cause if it's not you I would suggest you just trot away."

No hooves came out.

“Alright, if you don’t fight her, I will personally tell Blitz each and every one of your names and what you did.” Fortune uttered.

Instantly, eight pegasi, outfitted with the exact armor and sporting helmet, rushed out. The pegasi surrounded Rainbow and Polish.

“That’s better,” Fortune snorted. “Now, Rainbow, please be a dear and come with us. This is your last chance.”

"Well when you put it that way I say," grabbing hold of Polish, Rainbow smirked "tornado time." Spinning while holding onto the mare she needed to protect, Rainbow generated a class three tornado.

The pegasi surrounding her were cut off guard and quickly swung about, clunking into each other and the walls around them. Fortune grit her teeth, glaring into the tornado. She had more experience than the rest so she was able to keep herself on the ground from the force. She flapped, propelling herself backwards while also freezing the tornado with a large, cold front.

“Get up and secure this, you idiots!” Fortune snarled, thanking her luck for being an ice elemental. The other pegasi shook themselves out of their stupor. It was just her luck she’d been stuck with a bunch of rookies.

Looking around the corner, Rainbow was glad she'd ditched that tornado before it got frozen. "Polish, go get the guards. I'll distract them."

Polish nodded. “Right.” She took off.

“Wait a tick!” Fortune glanced inside the frozen tornado. “She isn’t here! Find her and kill that crystal mare. Leave no witnesses.”

Rainbow then bopped her on the head. "Tag, you're it." And she was off in the opposite direction than Polish, attempting to draw them away.

Fortune snarled and took off with the others behind her. She was quick, but she knew that this Dash was quicker. Taking in a large breath, she let it loose, letting a gust from her wings propel the ice-beam into Rainbow’s wings.

Rainbow dodged easily. "Seriously, make me at least have to break the sound barrier. I thought you were better than a "feather body"." She blew a raspberry at the Enclave soldiers.

Fortune howled in rage, sending shards of ice as long as swords hurtling at Dash.

"Woah!" Rainbow did a quick rolling deflection, kicking the couple of swords that came close to her off to the sides. "Sheesh, you sure you're clear on how the whole "capture alive" thing works? You're lucky I'm as awesome as I am or else you'd have failed yourself."

Just then, something smashed into Rainbow’s side, or rather, somepony. The figure had jumped kicked Rainbow straight through the crystaline walls. Standing over her, the mare sneered. “No they don’t.” In one of her forehooves was a small crossbow, which she used to shoot a dart into Rainbow’s chest.

"...cheater." Rainbow said, just before darkness overtook her.

The mare glanced over to the other figures. The mysterious figure wore a full body set of fatigues, with several exotic weapons dotting it. Her purple mane was rather stylishly done, inviting a classy rogue set against her pink skin.

Fortune and her Enclave soldiers stopped before her. She cleared her throat. “Thank you for the assistance, Suri Polomare. That will be all.”

“Will it?” Suri tilted her head, which caused the pegasi to flinch in fear. “No, I don’t think so. I was paid to aid you in this….little endeavor of yours. Aid was the word, but it seems already you don’t have the skills to pull this off on your own.”

“What do you want?”

“Double.”

“You can’t have……………….” Fortune blanched at the glare she received. No one ever talked back to Suri Polomare and for good reasons. “Fine.” She glanced at her soldiers. “Take her.”

Pepper trotted over and quickly put Rainbow over her back. “There you go, boss's daughter who isn’t boss's daughter.”
______________________________________________________________________

Normally Twilight wouldn't have speed read through a Darring Do book but instead would have taken her time, but with so many new books to read it was torture to take too much time on any one book, leaving the others there, unread, taunting her. Well not literally taunting her, bunions of them were enchanted to talk, but still.

Suddenly, a hoof tapped on Twilight’s shoulder. A yellow maned, blue pegasus mare cleared her throat. She had a pot of potpurie as her cutie mark. “Umm...excuse me?”

Turning, Twilight broke out into a friendly grin. "Hello there, can I help you?"

“Well, actually you can.” The mare smiled. “Could you, umm, please come with us. It’s kind of important.”

"Sure." Twilight said, figuring this was a messenger Princess Cadance had sent. She seemed a bit like Fluttershy, timid and a bit fragile.

“Thank you,” the mare said. “I’m Fragrant Pansy, by the way.”

"Twilight Sparkle." she replied with a smile. "So, where are we going?"

“Oh nowhere special,” Fragrant replied. “Just our base underneath the Empire…..I’m not supposed to tell you that. I’m sorry.”

"Wait, base?" Twilight asked, stunned. "What base?"

“Oh it’s our secret base……..I’m not supposed to tell you that either. I’m sorry.” Fragrant folded her ears back. “This is my first mission.”

Twilight stopped in her tracks. "Alright, explain what is going on right now."

“I’m foalnapping you...if that’s okay with you.” Fragrant gulped. “I mean, is it foalnapping if you’re coming willingly? I...um, well not really, but that’s all really just opinions. I don’t want to force you to think that way if you don’t.”

A larger stallion sighed and came out of the bookworks. Swiftly he clonked Twilight over the head, knocking her out.

“Thank you,” Fragrant sighed in relief. “I didn’t have the heart to hurt her.”

“Well change that tune or you’ll be in the path of a bullet, ancestor or not.” The stallion griped as he pulled Twilight onto his back. The two trotted off, making sure to keep out of sight. Thankfully, the Empire wasn’t all that full really. Helps having a ruthless dictator weeding out the population for stealth missions.
____________________________________________________________________________

“So Aisling,” Blueblood said, levitating the binoculars from his face. He was inside the captain’s room, overlooking the surrounding area. Like he had predicted, his airship had gotten them their in record breaking time. This was a surprised to no one, since he was simply the greatest when it came to engineering. “Can you set us down in the park?”

“Can I set us down?” Aisling snorted. “Lad, I could do it with me eyes closed.”

“And you have...and crashed it all the same.” Blueblood deadpanned.

Aisling snorted. “Yeah, yeah. Crashing is still landing, ‘cept not as gracefully.”

“That’s what you’ve said before and each time I’ve nearly fired you,” Blueblood groaned. “Kragon?”

“Yes, sir.” His butler, a suited Troodon, nodded. He was a clever sort of fellow and Blueblood relied on him heavily. It also helped to scare his rivals. As with most Troodon, he was golden feathered with a large red feathered crest and ‘mask’ around his eyes. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t ‘crash’.”

“I’m not crashing,” Aisling muttered. “I’m an expert.”

“Which is why you crashed us into that mountain and wrecked the kitchen,” Blueblood pointed out. “I doubt Mary is going to like it happening a second time.”

Aisling blanched. Mary was their human cook. Blueblood liked to mix up his crew when it came to species as a sort of way to promote harmony. It was a vessel given the title in honor of his beloved monarch and aunt. She loved harmony more than anything. Mary was a…..rash woman and loved her kitchen more than anything else. Hay, she was practically the kitchen’s princess. You didn’t mess with it when she was around, or at all really. “Gotcha.”

Slowly, but surely, the vessel touched down on the soft grass. They made sure not to land in the large crater.

“There,” Aisling smirked. “I didn’t crash.”

"What's this about crashing?" Sweetie asked, walking in with a tray balanced on her head. "Also, would anypony like a brownie? Me and that lovely human Mary made them. They're hot and fresh~."

“I would love to have one,” Blueblood smiled as he took one in his magic. “Kragon?”

“I would be delighted,” Kragon took one in his talons and politely nibbled on it. “Very well made, Miss Sweetie. Commendable talent.”

"Thank you dear. It is my special talent after all. Mr. Aisling, would you like one as well?" Sweetie asked.

Aisling snorted and munched on a couple. “...It’s okay.”

“Don’t mind him,” Blueblood rolled his eyes. “He’s a rather trying creature to get along with.”

“Yes, talk about him right next to him.” Aisling grumbled. “Real smart you are, Duke.”

"Now now, no need for fighting." Sweetie said, smiling. "I'm glad you like them Mr. Aisling, and I wish to say you did a fantastic job flying; I barely felt a thing the entire trip."

“Then you have my engineering skills to thank for that,” Blueblood put a hoof to his chest.

“Real modest, ain’t he?” Aisling remarked.

"Well the ship is very well made. Anyway, I better go see if the others want some. Have a nice day dears." Sweetie cheered before heading out into the main lobby.

“...I like her,” Aisling said. “Wish she could stay. Make for a better cook than Mary.”

“Quiet you,” Blueblood glared at him.

Kragon sighed. “Just another day, sir.”

"Hello Sunset! Hi Coco! Would you like a brownie?" Sweetie asked.

Sunset lowered the book she was reading and took a piece. She quickly threw it into her mouth and hovered the book back up into her face. “Thanks.” She swiftly said.

Coco smiled and took one as well. “Thank you for making them. I hope it wasn’t much of a bother.”

"Not at all." Sweetie said, smiling. "I love cooking. Normally I spend a good chunk of my day cooking, so I've been missing it a bit during this whole other world thing."

Coco munched on it. “I can see why. They’re lovely.”

"Thank you dear. Do you know where the others are? I haven't seen them in a while." Sweetie looked around, trying to spot the others.

“They’re probably-” Coco started.

“Here I am,” Hikaru hopped out from under Coco, causing her to scream and hide behind Sunset. He chuckled. “Sorry.”

"How did you get under there?" Sweetie asked, before narrowing her eyes. "Hikaru, does your mother know you are here?"

“.....Yes?” Hikaru looked around nervously.

"Hiiikaru." Sweetie frowned. "Little boys who lie don't get brownies."

“....I wanted to see the Empire,” Hikaru’s ears folded backwards. “Mommy won’t mind ‘cause it’s safe, so it’s nothing really bad or anything.”

"So why didn't you stay with your mommy then?" Sweetie asked. "If it wasn't a problem she would have been happy to to take you if you asked her."

“But I wanna go on an adventure with her,” Hikaru said. “She never let’s me go do that.”

“Well you kind of nearly get eaten every other day as is,” Sunset pointed out, not taking her gaze off of the book. “I think she’s just not taking her chances.”

".eight, we are finding your mommy right now mister." Sweetie said. "Hopefully you're not in trouble, but if you are it's your own fault."

“In trouble for-” Pizzelle trotted around the corner and stopped as she saw Hikaru.

“Um…” he waved. “Hi Mommy.”

“...Hikaru?” Pizzelle stared at him him shock. “What are you….Where...Why aren’t you…..” She sighed and put a hoof to her forehead. “I’m not really surprised. I….need to sit down for a bit. This is a lot to take….Are those brownies?”

"Freshly made." Sweetie said. "Here, you look like you could use something sweet."

“Thank you,” Pizzelle munched on one. “I needed this, dearie. I tend to bake and eat when I’m nervous or not feeling all that well….Well, more than I usually do when I’m happy and cheerful, because really, who doesn’t love baking. Aside from Sunset, of course.”

“We all have our strengths,” Sunset said.

"Yeap, as my Sunset would say, our diversity and ability to bring our best qualities together as friends is one of the greatest strengths of friendship." Sweetie replied with a mod, smiling at the memory of her dear friend.

“Yes well...Hikaru!” Pizzelle shouted. Hikaru was trying to nab the tray of brownies. “Only one brownie. The rest are for everyone else.”

“Sorry mommy.” Hikaru backed off.

Pizzelle sighed and hugged him close. “I’m sorry for shouting, sugar. It’s just the Empire isn’t the safest place at the moment and I don’t want you getting hurt. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“But I’m a big kitsune,” Hikaru said. “And my illusions are getting better.”

"Yes well," Sweetie said, frowning, "wait, it's not safe? I thought the Empire was peaceful."

“It is,” Sunset said. “Pizzelle’s just a worrywart.”

“I am certainly not,” Pizzelle said.

“You nearly had a heart attack when it lightly rained that one day,” Sunset pointed out. “You thought he’d drown in a puddle.”

“He could trip and fall,” Pizzelle shot back.

“No I wouldn’t,” Hikaru muttered.

"I'm sure you wouldn't dear...has anypony seen Redheart or Spike?" Sweetie asked. "I think we need to get moving soon, and I want to see if Princess Cadance would like some brownies."

“-And that’s how I genetically engineered the world’s first goldfish dragon hybrid,” Redheart explained to Spike as she turned the corner. “Oh thank goodness. We finally found you. This place is honestly quite massive.”

"I think it's rather lovely, Blueblood did an excellent job designing it. I could hardly tell I was flying." Sweetie complimented. "Anyway, would you care for some brownies? I made them fresh with the help of the ship's cook Marie."

“Why thank you,” Redheart grinned as she and Spike took a piece. “Delightful.”

"Thank you. And Spike, I didn't forget my promise from earlier. I'll be making your those pastries with amethyst shavings as soon as I find time to get those gems." Sweetie assured the dragon.

“I don’t wish to be a bother,” Spike stated. “But I do look forward to those delightful treats.”

"Oh it's no bother, I love baking." Sweetie said with a smile. "That's why I'm so happy I could make a career out of it."

“Oh dear,” Applejack burst out of her room. She had her hair up in a large, poofy manner and a form fitting light pink dress on. “Oh dear. We’re here? I need more time. I’m not ready. Look at me. I am lovely, but not that of the Empire. What ever shall I do?”

"...I think you look quite lovely dear." Sweetie said, needing a moment to stop staring as the dress hugged all the right places. A lack of hard farm work had given this Applejack a much more slender, feminine figure. Sweetie was really trying not to pay attention to that. She had a marefriend after all. "I'm sure you'll be welcomed just fine as you are, right everybody?"

The others nodded.

“Are you sure?” Applejack said, turning to let the others get a better look at her frame. “I’ve been having such a dreadful morning. The last thing I need is for something going wrong….Does it make my flank look too big?”

Sweetie blushed so hard at that she looked like a tomato. 'Applejack just had to ask that of a flank lover didn't she?' Sweetie thought and looked to anyone else to answer AJ's question.

Sunset wasn’t even looking, paying attention to the book. Pizzelle was currently keeping Hikaru’s attention away from Applejack’s attire by talking about his illusions. Redheart simply wasn’t caring and had taken up talking with Coco. Which left Spike….

“Nonsense,” Spike grinned. “It fits your firm perfectly. Any dress would look divine on such a form you were fortunately blessed with.”

Applejack blushed and giggled. “Flatterer. I expect nothing less from the son of our goddess and what of you, Sweetie. You seem to be one of the few here that are actually willing to comment on my attire. I appreciate the honeyed words of my prince, but a mare’s word is appreciated. Does this dress ride my flank too well or not enough?”

Sweetie was sweating. "Flank, lovely, yes, dress good...excuse me." Rushing off into the bathroom, one could hear cold water running and a few splashes. About a minute later, Sweetie came out, drying her face with a hoof towel. "I believe it looks quite wonderful on you and accents your gorgeous figure quite nicely."

“Why thank you,” Applejack smiled. “I was ever so worried. I do declare, what a horrid sight it would be if I was parading myself around with ‘humongous’ flanks. Tis not the case here.” She lightly hugged Sweetie. “Thank you for the aid.”

"N-n-no problem." Sweetie stammered as she returned the hug, being very, very, very careful about where she put her hooves. "I'm happy to help a friend."

“Yes, well, you are always welcome wherever my family does business.” Applejack pulled back. “I could very well use a mare as sweet as you on board.”

"Sorry, I have a lot of responsibilities back home in my world." Sweetie admitted. "Still, if I get a chance I would love to visit your home one day. I'm sure it's as lovely as you."

“Oh-ho, I wish.” Applejack giggled. “But let’s be off, we have an Empire to greet.” And with that, Applejack trotted off, making sure to keep a good natured, lady-like gait.

"Right. Let's get going guys, we have an Empire to see and friends to find." Sweetie said, heading out right behind Applejack so she could take in the sights...of the Empire, yes of the Empire. Very crystally and colorful. Yes.

A few butlers and maids stood at attention as Applejack came by, followed by everyone else. They quickly walked down onto the grass and Applejack stopped to gawk at the Crystal Empire. “Oh...OH! It’s far more beautiful than I could’ve imagined.”

“Oh yes,” Pizzelle nodded. “I loved it so much the first time I came here. Shame Presto wasn’t able to see it.”

"Really? Why did he never visit here? Not a fan of the cold north?" Sweetie asked.

“He hasn’t had the chance,” Pizzelle explained. “The Empire just appeared not long ago and he’s on a world tour at the moment.”

"Wait, it just appeared out of nowhere?" Sweetie asked in surprise, taking a good look around and really seeing the place for the first time. "How does all this come out of nowhere?"

“Evil overlords and curses,” Sunset stated. “Happens.”

Sweetie blinked in confusion. "An evil overlord cast a curse to build an entire city out of nothing in the frozen north?"

“No,” Sunset clarified. “He cast a curse to hide an entire city for over a thousand years. It wore off and the Crystal Empire was discovered again.”

Sweetie thought about it for a bit, then facehoofed. "This sounds like something me and the girls are going to have to deal with when we get back home. Always with the thousand years and the ancient evils."

“Eh,” Sunset shrugged. “You get used to it. After your third villain of the week, you’ll see.”

Sweetie groand. "I can almost fill it in now, the madlib this thing is. After one thousand years, blank is finally free! They now seek to conquer Equestria with their evil blank magic, and the only ones who can stop them are the prophesied heroines wielding the Elements of Harmony. It is up to them, as they are the only ones who can save the day. How close am I?"

“We have a winner,” Sunset responded.

Sweetie sighed. "...huh, replace Equstria, Harmony, and day with blanks and you'd have a pretty good one actually now that I think about it."

“Yep,” Sunset nodded. “Seems kind of standard at this point, fiction or non-fiction.”

"Well enough about the future, let's focus on the now and ind Twilight and Dash...mine to be more specific, but I think we left your Twilight back in Canterlot and I believe your Dash is in Cloudsdale." Sweetie summed up.

Just then, a contingent of guards, both Crystal and Equestrian, trotted over. One of them strode forth. He bowed before Sunset. “Princess, we have dire news.”

“What is it?” Sunset asked, already knowing she was going to hate what she was about to hear.

“Both of the foreigners, Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, have been….foalnapped.”

Sweetie looked stunned. "What? But, what could possibly capture them?"

“We believe it to be the Enclave,” the soldier said.

“The Enclave?” Redheart asked. “But what are they doing here?”

“We currently have no information about their whereabouts or motives.” The soldier reported. “We were just tasked by Princess Cadance to keep the rest of your safe in case of an attempt on Sweetie.”

"Oh my, this sounds serious. Who are these Enclave people?" Sweetie inquired.

“They’re pegasi extremists,” Redheart snorted. “They think that the pegasi should take their cloud cities and become independent. That us ‘mud wallowers’ and herbs are just prey and that we’re taking away their rights.”

Sweetie naturally looked quite appalled. "Well wherever these brutes are, they better hope they have Dash well locked up, or she will be tearing them a new one. She hates tribalists with a passion."

“Well that’s if she can handle them,” Sunset put in. “If they’ve already taken her, it’s safe to say that she isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Of course, ‘any time soon’ means ‘when we arrive’ but that’s just the details.”