Discord Meets Ruby Rose

by Maxes Altho

C3 - Return, Part 1

“For the last time, Rainbow Dash, keep me out of your stupid pranks!”

I’m flying lazily along, tailing Twilight, taking a break from cloud-pushing, and trying to plan my next great prank against the Pink Menace. Unfortunately, I seem to have hit a snag.

“Oh, come on, Twi! Just one candy cloud! I put it over Pinkie, make it rain candy, and just as the first piece is about to hit her mouth, you change it to a storm cloud and I zap her with lightning! It’ll be great!”

“No, Rainbow. I will not help you bring harm to one of our friends. I don’t care if Pinkie is part lightning rod, it’s not happening.”

Any further discussion is cut off as a familiar purple dragon comes streaking through the village, one word tearing from his lips over and over.

“TWIIIIIIILIIIIGHT!” The mare in question concentrates, and in a flash of purple magic, Spike is in front of her. However, he didn’t realize it, so I had to stuff a laugh back into my throat as he bowled her over. What he says while recovering, though, wipes any smile from my face.

“Twi…light…Discord…Flutter…ex…periment…purple…try…find…”

“Spike! Take a breath. Now, what happened?”

“Hoo. Hah. Thanks. Fluttershy and Discord came over, and wanted to go on a picnic with us. I said no, because you said to inventory the mothballed experiments. They tagged along, and we lost Discord somewhere. A purple flash hit the basement, and Fluttershy bolted. I found her in front of one of the experiments, curled up, not moving.”

“Which experiment, Spike?”

He drags his feet on the ground.

“Spike, what experiment did Discord mess with?”

“1008-D” he says quietly. Twilight gasps, backing up a step. I’m feeling kinda pissed at being left out.

“Twilight, what’s 1008-D? Twilight?”

“Rainbow, go get the others, as fast as you can. Spike, get ready to teleport. We’ve gotta get back to the library. I’ll explain once we all get there.”

Woah, what happened to Twilight? She’s looking more serious than Spitfire. “Twi, what-“

“I said I’ll explain when everypony’s there. Now go!”

----------

Less than five minutes later, I’ve rounded everypony up, and we’re sitting in the library. Twilight and Rarity are trying to comfort Fluttershy, but she won’t stop mumbling nonsense. Finally, Twilight gets up.

“It’s as I feared, guys. Discord has used the D-Hopper, and went to Remnant.”

In an instant, I’ve gone nose-to-nose with her. “You said you got rid of it! How is it still here?”

“I never said I got rid of it, Rainbow. I mothballed it, and it’s been sitting in storage ever since.”

Pinkie starts waving her hoof in the air. “Yes, Pinkie?”

“Um, what’s a D-Hoopy thingy?”

Twilight resists facehoofing. “I told you and Rarity about this! The D-Hopper Mk. 1 is a device capable of breaching the space between dimensions to allow for a pony to go through the portal… and I just realized I’m talking to Pinkie about advanced quantum mathematics.”

“Oh, no worries! I understand perfectly! Did you make sure to account for the possibility of finding an alternate universe instead of dimension, so you don’t end up going someplace like that High School you went to to stop that meanie person?”

“Uh, yeah, I…” Twilight goes slack jawed, as do the rest of us. “How…?”

“Oh, I read it in a book somewhere.”

Twilight shakes it off. “Anyways, I never destroy an experiment if I can help it. Not only is it dangerous, as some of the technomagical components are extremely delicate, but if I dismantle it, there is a high probability it will never work again!”

“But that still doesn’t explain how he was able to power it!” Then it hits me. “You were trying to find another world, weren’t you? You went behind the Princesses’ backs!”

Her ears drop and she scuffs a hoof along the floor. “Yeah. Is it any consolation that I was never able to do so? I only ran it when I was at home; I couldn’t risk a portal opening while I was out. But maybe my calculations are wrong. I can’t seem to find another dimension. Please don’t hate me.”

“Twi, I don’t hate you, but you gotta stop being so eggheaded.” I motion to our gathered friends. “We can’t risk losing you, girl! What if you found another world, went through, and ended up falling into a volcano or something? Then, the next time a bad guy like Chrysalis shows up, we can’t do anything because we lost one of our best friends!”

She sniffles. “Thanks, Rainbow. You always know how to get me to think straight.”

“Hey, it’s what I do. Now, you’ve gotta send a letter to Celestia.”

“What? Why?”

“Twi, we’re going after Discord in a world with far greater technology than we can ever hope to have. We need the Princesses’ help on this one.”

“…Okay. But if we’re going, we need a way back.”

----------

Twenty minutes later, the letter is on the way to Celestia via Spikebreath, and we’re waiting near the D-Hopper in the basement as Twilight begins to power it up. We all have the Elements on, along with a new device, also strung like a necklace. Twilight calls them the D-Relay Mk. 2. She’s removed the need for a focal point to use it, and as such, removed a lot of the sensors and displays. Now it’s just a big red button with a recharge timer. Pinkie doesn’t like wearing hers, keeps calling it a “Deus-Ex-Machina”, whatever the buck that means.

Twilight is about to begin the countdown to open the portal, when a great wind blows through the building. Then, a voice that would raise the demons from Tartarus.

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE! DON’T YOU DARE OPEN THAT PORTAL!” We’re picked up in fields of golden magic, and are lifted through the ceiling to face an enraged Celestia and Luna. She sets Twilight down, but keeps us floating.

“What are thou thinking, Twilight Sparkle?” Luna implores. “We doth told you to destroy thine project! Now we hear that Discord hath used it?”

“You two don’t understand!” Twilight is on the verge of tears. “Think of all that we could learn from other dimensions!”

“I don’t have to imagine,” Celestia mutters, then freezes when we all look at her in shock. What did she just say? She sighs, then sets us down. “My little ponies, you must not hold a grudge against what we are about to say, no matter how much it hurts. Luna and I are not of this world. We are, for lack of a better term, trans-dimensional beings.”

Twilight is broken. “What…you…not…how…why…”

Celestia smirks. “Now Twilight, all shall be explained. Luna, would you go make tea? I’m afraid this will take some time. Time which, thankfully, we have.”

“Why do ya say tha’, Princess?” Applejack asks.

“Because we know Discord isn’t going anywhere else. He’ll be content with stewing in his current plane until something happens.”

“And what’s that?”

“Luna and I arrive to destroy him, of course. Just like we did the first time, and many times afterwards.”

Author's Note:

The next chapter could very well be it's own story, but i won't do that. it will be of how Celestia and Luna got their power, and how they ended on Equis... it'll be a doozy

Comments

[soulknight13]

*jaw drop* what the hay for a minute there I thought all 6 were of to see ruby now yohr sayin the sisters are trans- dimensional beings oh my goddess this just got even better.

[Maxes Altho]

5423221 what? Gotta get some back story in here somehow. How else does Discord have his book of forms and remember something before Equestria?

[soulknight13]

5423225 True true not realy arguing that point just feeling a bit slack jawed cant wait till the next chapter when the main six disodeys tia and go save ruby and friends hehehe

[shadowstar618]

...am I the only one who thought that the royal sisters are planeswalkers?