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// Subject 3 part 2, Doppleganger chase mambo 
// Story: Making Foals, with SCIENCE! and magic 
// by titankore 
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Okay, Dusk Shine let’s make a list and see where it went terribly wrong, thought Dusk

1.        Twilight and I set up a study schedule where I visit her at the end of each month and she visits me at the beginning of each month unless there are scheduling conflicts, in which case we use the mirror to cancel the visit.

Nothing wrong with that one, it’s always nice to have somepony that can keep up with me. Plus we can study two subjects at the same time and then explain them to each other perfectly.

2.        The spell to travel between our worlds takes a lot of magic and leaves the user drained for a couple days.

This was bad, especially if we wanted to practice spells with each other; one of us being completely incapacitated in terms of magic is never a good thing.

3.        So I invented a device that I could put a little magic in each day and since there are only two worlds I want to go to, Twilight’s and mine, it was easier to hard-wire for two coordinates. I also decided I would test it on this trip.

For the most part it worked OK; there are many bugs, including the layovers in other dimensions but for it was an interesting experience, with the exception of the buffoon.

4.        Apparently by going through multiple dimensions I somehow went back in time two days, which means Twilight is still in her Ponyville.

Which means no pony is expecting me, which really wouldn’t be a problem if it weren’t for item five.

5.        “SOME LUNATIC IS SHOOTING AT ME!!!!!” Dusk yelled out loud.

Moments after Dusk's arrival he walked to a newsstand, and thankfully moved a few inches as a dart went buzzing past him hitting the cranky newspony next to him.

“You crazy HOODLUM watch whacha doizzzzZZZZzzzzz,” the newspony said before passing out in her stall.

        Instinct took over as Dusk whinnied before running as fast as his legs could take him. Another dart whizzed by, after which Dusk threw up a magical shield.  Inside Dusk’s mind his crisis center was working overtime, trying to think of an escape from this situation.

Inside Dusk’s mind:

“Number One, do we know who is firing on us yet?” said a bald grey pony, his maroon uniform showing his strong build.

The bridge he was standing on was a gleaming testament to technology and design, filled with several ponies and other species working at their stations, each with an important job to do, all of them skilled and well-seasoned. Number one, a bearded stallion, trotted briskly to his seat by the captain, ready to do his duty.

“No, we do not, remember: we are in an alternate dimension, so even if we did know them we would only know their alternate self,” replied Number One.

“What course of action do you suggest?” said the Captain

        Then an earth pony with an unnatural looking coat of gleaming white and golden eyes turned to the captain.

“If I might make a suggestion, Captain: at this time we are currently at full impulse speed, and with our shields up we do not have the energy or processing power to do much else,” said the unnatural looking pony.

“That sounded more like an assessment then a suggestion, Commander Data,” replied the captain while Number one gave the pony a questioning look.

“I just wanted to make sure you were informed before I voiced my plan. I suggest we make use of the terrain, to block off the line of fire between us and our pursuer, then we hide as best we can, allowing us the few seconds necessary to teleport, and as the saying goes: get them off our tails.”

        A Buffalo with a strange wrinkled forehead working behind the Captain began to say, “That will be useless if we remained within their sensor range, and from the look of that ship’s exterior, it’s built for pursuing its prey. I say that we stay and fight.”

        Data, undeterred, responded “While I agree with Worf’s assessment of the enemy ship, we are simply unprepared in terms of offensive measures, seeing as we have and still are on a research mission.”

        The captain rested his head on his hoof, listened to both sides and pondered the situation; he looked up at the main viewing screen and could see they were running low on power.

“This ship is not built for long distance, let alone at our current speed. We should max at Trot 5.4 at the most, but we are currently going at Trot 6” he thought.

“Helm take us through the alley way, if this universe is like our own then there should be a small passage to a courtyard where we can go three different ways. Geordi, when we get into the courtyard prepare a hologram for the left and forward passage and we will go to the right,” The captain ordered with conviction.

        A dark brown pony with a visor over his eyes turned to the captain in response to his name.

“Captain, we will have to drop shields to prepare the holograms,” Geordi responded.

        “If we drop them the instant we enter the alleyway we should be outside her firing arc for 2.6 seconds, enough time to prepare,” responded Data flatly.

        “Make it so,” said the Captain.


Out in the Real world:


        Dusk was starting to get winded but he had a plan to get away from this crazy pony. He darted into a dark alley way he used as a shortcut to Pony Jane’s doughnuts and took down his shield and began to focus the magic in his horn to form some holograms. He had only seconds to form the magic properly, one mistake and the holograms would be recognized. 

        “Okay, I’m in the courtyard. Gotta release the spell the instant before she pokes her head through the alleyway. Okay, now!” he thought as he released the magic and darted to the right.

        “The illusion will last about a minute running in random directions, which should be enough time to get far enough to teleport a few times out of range of her senses; hopefully she doesn’t know how to sense a teleport spell, so one should do, but just in case I’ll do three.”

        As he made his way to the next hiding spot that he can breathe and teleport, he heard a familiar buzz as a dart flew by nicking his cheek drawing a few drops of blood.

“You think some illusions are going to stop me? Mine is the will that will create a god, with you I will create a double helix, a ladder to the heavens themselves, I am Diana Heartstrings, PhD and I will not be denied!”

        On top of the wall behind him he saw her; a silhouette, her eyes glowing, and the glow of her magic swirling around her tranq gun was popping and crackling. She had lost her hat in the chase, allowing her teal mane to sway in the breeze; she was both frightening and beautiful, like a lioness right before the kill. Dusk was frozen, the madness and the ferocity of his pursuer locked his legs, but he could still act.

“Fire all weapons!!!” shouted The Captain

        Still locked in place, the magic was drawn from his entire body, swelling into his horn as he released blast after blast, decimating the wall that the hinter was standing on. Quickly she jumped down and fired her gun, as the dart flew through the air it was incinerated by one of the blasts. When she reached the ground she quickly aimed and fired again, this time only releasing a small click.

“Celestia damn it,” she spat

        Diana released her magic, dropping the gun and started to rush her prey, going in for close range combat.
Dusk was no longer frozen and started to fire multiple small blasts at once allowing him to use less energy but also to increase his firing spread. Unfortunately, the madmare quickly crossed the gap between them, coming in close with her horn. She sliced upward with her horn, the magic surrounding it buzzing like a saw, narrowly missing Dusk’s face as it cut off a few strands of hair.

        Dusk had little time to contemplate his near-death, and instead focused all of his power into her horn. His magic touched hers that under normal circumstances would have been intimate but instead was painful; the buzzing magic cut into his first wave, but was soon overwhelmed. Dusk began to push deeper, ignoring the phantom pain; wave after wave of magic from the powerful sorcerer overwhelmed the Doctor’s own. Then Dusk saw it in his mind’s eye, like a pane of glass, or more like a lens that focuses the magic under the mind’s direction. Normally he would never consider this, or at least have a better plan.

Well, she will recover. I think, he thought before he forced his magic once more and cracked the glass.

        With that the teal unicorn gasped in pain before passing out, slumped over in the street. For a minute Dusk could do nothing, the buzz of adrenaline made his pangs of guilt on what he just done feel all the more confusing and disquieting. Timidly he reached his magic back to the unconscious pony; looking into her mind and was relieved to see the cracks already mending.

“At that rate you should be able to use magic in just a day or two,” he said.

        He knew he couldn’t leave her like this and even if he was heartless enough to leave her weak and defenseless, she was a danger to others. He needed to find some guards; she could then recover in one of their cells safely away from normal ponies.

Dusk went out into the open street and saw three guards at the doughnut shop. He silently mused to himself about how the cute Jane from his universe was a well built stallion in this universe, whom he would not want to get into a tussle with here.

        The shop owner spotted the disheveled Dusk and chalked up his messiness for pulling another all-nighter. “Ohh hey Dusk, where’s Twilight? I never see you here without her,” said Joe.

“I’m here a little early for our rendezvous. Also, I have business with these guards so if you’ll excuse me,” Dusk replied shakily, drawing concern from Joe.

        One of the guards turned around at this and gave the purple unicorn a quick look over and saw that he had one hell of a night.

“What seems to be the problem?” he said.

“Some crazy mare has been chasing me through the streets, attacking me ever since I arrived in Canterlot,” Dusk replied, his exhaustion making his word’s tremble.

“She cornered me over there and we had a fight. I managed to knock her out, I think she is alright but she is dangerous she had a dart gun of some kind,” his words began to crack under his emotion.

“Shooter, you stay with the poor fella while we check it out,” He said as him and his fellow officer got up to check out the alley.

Shooter leaned over and gave a comforting hoof to the trembling Dusk. Joe, seeing his distress and hearing the whole thing, came over with a pot of coffee and poured him a cup while mumbling that it was on the house.

“Its okay. Don’t worry, you’re safe now, no ponies going to hurt you” Shooter gave the warmest smile he could muster to the distressed colt.

        Dusk calmed down a bit and leaned down to drink the coffee, either too tired or distressed to muster the magic to pick  it up properly. Dusk started to clear his mind and start to think I am safe now, just calm down and rest.... He soon realized that his hoofs were shaking from all of the stress, and he could barely keep himself up. It's over now. I just need to get a hotel room and I can sleep until Twilight shows up. Yeah, that's a good plan, he thought.

“Looks like Kite and Ballistae are done checking out your assailant,” Shooter said, spotting his compatriots leaving the alley.
Then Dusk heard something that made his blood freeze, it was the guard that he originally talked to.

“SEIZE HIM!!!”

Shooter didn’t need to grab Dusk; the poor boy simply passed out and slumped over, knocking his coffee off the table.