Ignoring the new arrivals, Jack quickly got his hands on the containers. He picked one up and placed it 20 ft. away from the other two. He then dropped another one the same distance away, forming a triangle pattern.
"Jack West, I said we need to talk."
"I know, but it'll have to wait."
He payed Celestia no attention, instead pulling out cords from the containers to connect them to each other. She was not in a patient mood. With a burst of magic, she telekinetically grabbed him and yanked him away. Pulling him face-to-face with her, her eyes landed not on him, but the small, steel combat knife now pointing at her. She tried to rip it from his hand, but his grip was too firm, even for her. Sensing the threat before he spoke it, she promptly set him down.
"We are threats to each other, understood."
"Wrong. I am a threat to you, not the other way around."
"Very well then. But if you expect me to sit by while you do who-knows-what in my kingdom without even an explanation, you are the mistaken one."
"Alright, then. I've tried to avoid this, but if we all die because of it, it's on your head."
At the mention of death, the tense atmosphere only became worse. Everypony was staring attentively at him.
"Dash, when I told you I wasn't from around here, I'm afraid that may have been an understatement. I am from another dimension."
Confused and surprised looks propagated the group.
"In my native dimension, humans like me are the ruling species. There are no ponies as you think of them. A few years ago, I had an accident while experimenting with some dangerous technology. This accident broke the barrier between our dimensions, causing many other dimensions to shift towards mine. Yours is one of them. In a plane of subspace, our dimensions are like large orbs, drifting towards each other. According to my data, they're getting too close to each other, starting to overlap. Once they overlap completely, and occupy the same space, it will create a time-space anomaly that will destroy both dimensions. It sounds crazy, but believe me, this isn't my first time at something like this."
Twilight was awestruck, but everypony else was dumbstruck. While her apprentice babbled on, unintelligable with worry, Celestia tried to make sense of the situation.
"So both of our homes are at risk?"
"Exactly. In a few minutes, both this world and mine will completely cease to exist. That's why I have this stuff. Our dimensions are being pulled together by a kind of subspacial gravity, the force of which I can concentrate into one mass with this equipment. From there, I can hopefully seal it, and thereby set your dimension back in its rightful position."
"Applejack, what do you think?"
Knowing what the princess wanted her to do, Applejack placed a hoof on Jack's shoulder and closed her eyes. Her cutie mark began to glow, and after a few seconds, she backed away.
"He's tellin' the truth, so I say we oughta let him get back to work."
"Indeed. Please continue, Mr. West. We will do whatever you need of us."
Smiling for once, Jack knealt back down to the containers. He flipped up a control panel and began typing into a monitor. Each rectangular box hummed to life, and lights on the outside began to blink. He pulled out another set of cords, one from each container, leading to the center of the triangle. Soon, all of the cords began to glow a luminescent blue, and electrical sparks connected the ones in the center. Jack glanced at his phone.
"We've got a minute left. The gravity force should be concentrating right... about... now!"
Almost on cue, an orb of energy and light began to grow from the center, reaching almost 6 ft. high.
"Initiating containment procedure... sealing as we speak... dammit!"
"What's wrong, Jack?"
"I'm sorry, Dash, but I can't seal the gravity force orb. The power redirection is there, but I need more energy to complete the process. I just need more... power. Princesses!"
"What dust thou require, Jack West?"
"Stand on either side of me. Blast that ball of energy with as much magic as you can. It may give me enough power to seal the gravity force."
"On it. Luna, now!"
Two radiant blasts, one of pure sunlight, the other glimmering with stars in a black void, shot from the horns of the respective princesses. Their bodies began to glow with energy, and an otherworldly shriek emmanated from the orb as it was struck. It began shrinking, but only slightly.
"Dammit, still not enough! We need more power! Twilight, Rarity, blast it with magic!"
On command, they launched their own beams of magical energy, and the orb shrank even more. It still would not disappear, though.
"What? Eh, um... kinetic energy! Applejack, Pinkie Pie, buck it!"
The two charged foward, spinning in midair to dropkick the energy ball. Each time they hit it, it grew smaller, but also knocked them away with powerful feedback. They were persistent all the same, continuing to charge, kick, get up, and charge again.
"Still not enough! Fluttersh... oh, never mind. Dash, can you do anything? I just need a little more power!"
"Give me a sec!"
He watched as she rocketed into the air, gaining altitude until she was next to invisible. At 20,000 feet up, she curled herself into a ball, hit the peak of her parabolic trajectory, and spread out as she began falling. Maneuvering precisely with her wings, she angled herself directly above the orb, then retracted her wings; she was in free-fall. A mach cone began to form around her face, and it was all she could do to keep her eyes open. The ground was approaching fast, but even closer to her was the edge of blacking out. Back on the ground, Jack turned his eye to his phone, which was now beeping out a countdown.
5
He noticed a strange, bullet-like object descending directly above him, and through the air-rush he could make out Rainbow Dash.
4
A small protrusion of rainbow-colored energy developed at her nose, and began to spread across her body.
3
The rainbow blazed across her, making its own cone.
2
Now 500 feet above him, she was descending rapidly, coated in rainbow energy.
1
Her hooves touched the orb, and the rainbow began to explode out from her in a radial shockwave.
0
0
0
His phone timer had frozen, as apparently the world around him also had. He still had consciousness, but he was trapped in place, immobile. It was like a screenshot, frozen in time. The princesses, Twilight and Rarity were maintaining their magical beams, each glaring with determination. Applejack and Pinkie Pie had their back hooves in contact with the orb. Each was covered in bruises, Applejack had lost her hat, and Pinkie the curls in her mane. And most striking of all, Rainbow Dash, face painted with righteous fury, had slammed herself into the orb, and a burst of rainbow energy surrounded her. All around them, machinery glowed with heat and power, as sparks were motionless in midair. It was a living monument to perserverence; the only shame was that he was the only one who would ever lay eyes on it.
But the crisp, painting-like stillness was broken by motion of the energy ball. It was still shrinking, this time continuously. It compacted itself into a micro-orb, which glowed pure white. But a split-second later, it released itself in a massive blast of raw power. Time returned to normal flow, and the combined blasts of the implosion and the Sonic Rainboom knocked everypony in the vicinity off their hooves. The ponies took the brunt of it, and were shot back into the brush in opposite directions. Jack, shielded behind a container, was thrown backwards, tumbling several times over. But Dash was worst hit, launching back into the sky at breakneck speed
Jack pulled himself to his feet, seeing Dash's silhouette above him. Looking about, he saw none of the other ponies were even conscious, much less able to help. He followed in her direction, which happened to be heading directly into Ghastly Gorge. She had hit the arc, and was now falling towards the canyon. Jack pulled the railing off the edge where he stood, and watched her carefully. Drawing his grapnel gun, he timed himself, then took a running start and leapt off the side. He quickly shot towards a high rock formation, turning his fall into a swing. Midway through, Dash descended upon him, and he grabbed her by the hoof. He swung her up to hang around his shoulders, and slammed into the cliff wall opposite, swinging back into the canyon.
"So Jack...ack! how'd you like my Sonic Rainboom?"
"Nice. How did you like my catch?"
"Pretty good. But it needed to be about.. hack! ugh! 20% cooler."
"I'll keep that in mind next time."
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Back in the field, Fluttershy, who had barely moved an inch (due to being so pressed into the ground in fear), slowly raised her head.
"Is..is it over?"
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The next day, Jack, the Mane 6 and the princesses returned to Ponyville, taking the chance to lick their wounds (Celestia had decided againt Canterlot, on the grounds of overzealous guards and inquisitive nobles). One could imagine the surprise of the nurses when the rulers of Equestria and the Elements of Harmony entered Ponyville General Hospital as patients. They were served promptly and efficiently, even though their injuries were relatively minor. Jack hung back, hiding in the library to avoid the panic his appearance would undoubtedly cause. The others returned soon, and a rested Celestia was able to teleport them to her private chambers in the palace.
"So, what should we do with you, Jack West?"
"Sister, standard policy requires that, as a foreigner, he be turned back to his native land."
"That policy was revoked during your, um...absence, Luna."
"It is perfectly acceptable to speak of the incident now, Tia. I believe I've, how you say, gotten over it."
"That's good, Luna. But the question still stands: what do we do about Jack West?"
"Actually, Celestia, Luna was closer to the truth than she thought. I have the technology to return to my own dimension, and I can do it at any time, now that I'm linked to my base computer system. All I have to do is press a few buttons and I'm gone."
Dash, perking up her ears, took the chance to speak out.
"No, Jack, you can't leave! I want you to stay with us! I'll mi...er, it won't be as cool around here without you!"
Jack playfully ruffled her mane, as a parent reassuring a child.
"Relax, Dash. If I can leave, I can come back, right? And don't worry, I plan to come back soon. I just need some time to gather equipment, so I can make a more suitable home here."
"You promise you'll come back?"
"Hey, have I ever let you down before?"
Rainbow quickly smiled at this.
"Well, Jack, that sounds like a fine idea, but I simply can't allow it."
"I beg your pardon, princess?"
"I cannot allow you to leave... without accepting my personal thanks for saving Equestria. And I would also like to bestow upon you the Equestrian Award of Gallantry, for bravery and perserverence in the face of danger."
A small, golden medal materialized on his right breast, hanging from a light blue ribbon. On the medal was a design split into three parts: one of a unicorn, another a pegasus, and the third of an earth pony.
"It's an honor, Princess Celestia. Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me..."
Whipping out his phone, Jack pressed a series of buttons, and a small blue portal appeared next to him.
"...it's time for me to leave."
He began to step into the portal, much to Rainbow Dash's disappointment.
"But don't worry: I'll be back."
With this, Jack walked into the portal, disappearing in a flash of light.