Rise and Fall of Nightmare Star

by sykko

Getting used to new bodies

Celestia and Luna looked at the device Sunset was levitating it in her aura, sweeping it back and forth, up and down. The needle clicked as it jumped back and forth while Sunset moved it in smaller and smaller circles. The two princesses stared in silent amusement at the device and how the formerly human Twilight had said it was "a crude prototype".

"It's hard to tell, but it seems she keeps centering her movements to a single location.", Sunset said.

Sci-Twi walked over, looked at the needle. It clicked as it dropped down. When Sunset moved the tracking device, the needle jumped up again. When the needle dropped again, she moved it back and the needle jumped up again. "See? Though I'm not sure how far away she is, she keeps moving back to what I assume is the same central location."

Sci-Twi started doing some mental calculations. "Could someone put a mark on that wall?", she asked, gesturing with a hoof and wobbling slightly, nearly losing her balance, "The tracker was able to locate you at a short range to within a meter, though I'm not sure how powerful a pegasus-unicorn is and that's the one of the things interfering with my calculations."

"Alicorn.", Celestia corrected.

"Huh?"

"It was what Starswirl referred to us.", Celestia said, "Because we have the traits of all three tribes, along with our own magic, he called us alicorns. It's short for all-in-one-icorn. Not the most original name, but it stuck."

Sci-Twi mused for a second. "If we had a way to determine the baseline magical signature of a pe--alicorn, maybe we could more effectively track her location."

"That's what we need!", Sunset exclaimed, clopping a hoof against the floor, "A thaumat-o-meter and a geomatic pendulum!"

"A whositwhatsit an' a geo-what?!", Jackie said confused.

"You stole the words out of my mouth.", Sci-Twi replied.

"If someone stole the words out of my mouth, I'd be all mmmmmmffffmmfmfmmfff!", P Dianne exclaimed.

"Plus that would be sooper-dooper meanie-weenie if somepony did that!", Pinkie D exclaimed.

All the ponies, former humans and one dragon in the room simultaneously facehooved/clawed.

"A thaumat-o-meter is a simple enchanted device that is used in the medical and criminal investigation fields to test the natural magical aura of a pony. A geomantic pendulum is an enchanted crystal, usually a diamond, suspended from a silver or gold chain usually contained in a clear quartz box that can be attuned to a specific magical signature, it's usually used by the magical surveying corps to track the natural ley lines and even mark the borders of strong natural magical fields.", Sunset said, "We could combine the two to help get a better fix on her location."

"I could use both of those devices to better track Princess Twilight.", Sci-Twi said.

"What about making...what was it you called it...micro...circuitry?", Luna asked.

"That would help make my readings be more precise.", Sci-Twi replied, "But that bit of technology can be very tricky to make from scratch."

"What materials would you need to make one micro-circuitry?", Celestia asked.

"For the board itself fiberglass is generally used because of weight issues, but in a pinch any non-conductive material can be used, cardboard or a thin veneer of wood. For the actual circuits, virgin copper is usually used, though gold and silver are the best, even if they are a bit expensive. For the microchips and resistors, I'll need silicone, purified carbon and palladium.", Sci-Twi replied after a moment of contemplation.

"Oooo! Microchips! Are they anything like potato chips?", Pinkie D asked.

"Nope! In fact they're icky-wicky!", P Dianne replied.

Sci-Twi started to ask when P Dianne would have eaten microchips, then thought better of it and justified it to herself as a Pinkie being a Pinkie.

Spike tapped his chin with a claw, then snapped his fingers. "Twilight has a lab down in the basement. I helped her build several machines. They might not contain micro-circuitry, but they do have banks of vacuum tubes. Could you work with that?"

Sci-Twi's face lit up. "Spike, you're a genius!" Almost immediately her countenance fell and she slumped onto her belly. Tears welled up in her eyes as she covered her face with her hooves. "I'm such an idiot!", she whimpered, "I left poor Spike behind. He's probably running himself ragged trying to find out what happened to me. How could I be so stupid?!"

Sunset knelt down next to the formerly human girl and gently rubbed her back. "Please don't beat yourself up. We all left in a rush and there are things we all left behind. I left my journal with Principal Celestia so we could write home. How about you be the first one to write back and have Celestia deliver messages to Spike, your mom and dad, and Cadance and Shining Armor?"

Sci-Twi sat up and nodded meekly. Sunset wrapped her forelegs around the former human girl-turned lavender unicorn mare. Both yelped in surprise when they found themselves squished in a massive group hug from the ten other mares.

"Y'all four c'mon over here, there's plenty o' room in this here big ole group hug fer ev'ryone!", Jackie said gesturing to Celestia, Luna, Starlight and Spike.

Celestia and Spike trundled over to joint the hug. Luna stayed where she was, feeling a bit uncomfortable, she scrapped a hoof against her foreleg. "I've...uh...never really--YEEP!" Her words were cut off when she was surrounded by a golden aura and drug into a giant pony group hug.

Starlight sat by the map table, feeling a bit uncomfortable. She yelped in surprise when she was drug over to the massive group hug by various magical auras.

After they parted from the group hug, Spike fetched the journal along with a quill and an ink pot. "Here ya go, Twi!", he said in a chipper tone, passing her the quill and ink pot.

Sci-Twi looked at the quill, then at her hooves. "Uuuuuummmmmm...how do I..."

"Oh! Most ponies use their mouths or you can dictate to me and I can write it down.", Spike said.

As Sci-Twi debated internally about either holding the quill in her teeth or dictating the message to the dragon, Sunset spoke up, "I think I have something that might be a little easier." She quickly fumbled in her saddlebags and pulled out a retractable pen.

Sunset levitated the pen in her magic and clicked the button, making the ball point extend. Sci-Twi took the pen between her teeth and began writing in the journal.

***

Principal Celestia and Vice-principal Luna sat in the school's main office. Their nerves tingled with nervous energy. They had, just a few moments ago, lied directly to the faces of two police officers who were asking if the knew of the whereabouts the seven girls who were missing. They knew that as soon as their families realized they weren't at home or at their usual haunts, would call the police and file a missing person's report, the two sisters just hoped that they would have believed the myth about three days.

The two sisters took a deep breath and swallowed hard, they heard the conversations of the concerned parents and guardians outside the door with the cops. It would only be a matter of minutes before the six families came into the office to ask if either of them knew about their daughters. The two glanced at each other, debating silently about where or not to tell them about the portal and that the seven girls went through to a world of magical horses.

The door to the office opened and in walked Granny Smith, Twilight Velvet, Night Light, Bow Hothoof, Windy Whistles, Hondo Flanks, Cookie Crumbles, Igneous Rock, Cloudy Quartz, and Mr and Mrs Shy.

As Celestia and Luna internally debated on how they were going tell them that the girls were through the portal that made up part of the plinth that the horse statue in front of the school. The journal in Celestia's bag started chiming and buzzing answered that little debate.

Celestia reached into her bag and pulled out the glowing journal. Predictably the gathered adults took a cautious step back. "I ask you all to be calm and hear us out before I open this journal." She took a breath to steel her nerves. "Your daughters traveled to a parallel world ruled by magical talking horses." She blew out a sigh. "I know how this sounds, but Luna and I have seen firsthand on three different occasions what that kind of magic can do in the wrong hands. I know you're all scared, but we don't need to create an inter-dimensional incident by having a bunch of swat teams or soldiers storming through to a different world. From what I understand, there two rulers literally move the sun and moon. If they can do that, how much power do you all think they wield? All my sister and I ask is to let level heads prevail."

After the gathered adults settled down, Celestia opened the journal. "Twilight Velvet and Night Light, I believe this first message if for the two of you."

As Sci-Twi's parents read the journal, Celestia felt something nudge her on the leg. Looking down, she saw a familiar purple and green dog. "Could you send a message to Twilight for me?"

Celestia's eyes went wide with surprise. A talking dog?! As Spike laid a paw on her leg and started to ask if she was okay, she instinctively jerked in shock and the whole world tipped wrong end-up as she fell backwards with her office chair in tow, then blackness.

The first sensation Celestia was aware of was something warm and wet rubbing on her face. Opening her eyes, a purple face was close to hers, licking her on the face. Groaning as she sat up, she gently pushed Spike away and saw the concerned looks on the faces of the gathered adults. Her cheeks felt hot with embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry everyone. I was startled by..."

"Don't worry about it.", Spike interrupted, "I'm used to it. I sometimes forget that people aren't used to a dog that can talk."

Celestia stood up, righted her chair and sat back down. "So...how is it that you can talk? Did Twilight perform some kind of experiment on you?"

"Something like that.", Spike replied. He then proceeded to recount how at the Friendship Games how Sci-Twi had accidentally opened a portal to Equestria and when he was a normal dog, he had jumped through, getting exposed to Equestrian magic that expanded his intellect. All gathered sat quietly as they listened to the dog tell his tale.

After Spike had finished talking, Granny Smith spoke up, "Ya know, when I heard th' girls talkin' 'bout magic, Ah thought it was jus' a bunch o' wild stories told by a buncha teenage girls an' was jus' a bunch o' hooey, road apples an' what fell outa the north end o' a southbound bull."

The parents all murmured their agreement.

Celestia opened a drawer of her desk and pulled out an ink pen, offering it the parents and guardians of the girls.

***

The former humans read the responses their parents and guardians had sent back through the journal with misty eyes. The messages for the six girls spoke of concern and said for them to get back safely, except for the messages sent by Mabel's parents, who lauded how they were so proud of her and that she was the "greatest inter-dimensional savior ever".

Rainbow Dash had read the message over Mabel's shoulder. "I see things on the other side aren't that much different.", she teased, nudging her inter-dimensional duplicate with an elbow.

Sunset took a breath to brace herself and wrote a message for Principal Celestia and Vice-principal Luna about the mirror portal being destroyed.

The response came several minutes later.

That's not good. Will you be working on a way to repair the portal?

Sunset read the short message and then wrote back: I will as soon as finish freeing Princess Twilight from the nightmare. You have my promise.

Snapping the journal closed, Sunset passed it to Spike, who promptly placed it on a nearby table. As she went to put the retractable pen back in her saddle bag, Celestia spoke up, "Sunset, may I take a closer look at your quill?"

"Sure." Sunset levitated the pen over to her former teacher, who took it in her magic, clicking the button, making the ball point extend and retract.

"Fascinating. Oomans make such wondrous magical devices."

Sunset chuckled and took the pen back in her magic. "It's not magic, it's a very simple piece of technology." She unscrewed the pen and took out the little tube within. "This little tube is the reservoir of ink. at the end it a little ball bearing that allows the ink to come out more evenly when you write. No need to dab excess ink or the risk of drips and splatters." She put the pen back together. "The little button on the back serves for more that extending and retracting the ball point. You can click it over and over when in thought, stressed or just want to annoy someone."

Luna took the pen in her magic and started clicking the button over and over.

After a couple of minutes of continuous clicking, an annoyed expression spread across Celestia's face. "Alright Luna, you've had your fun. Give Sunset her pen back."

A mischievously wicked grin spread across Luna's lips. "Never!" She started clicking the pen faster. "I am now Ink Pen Moon and the clicks shall last forever!" She held the pen next to her sister's ear and started clicking it faster and faster.

"Very mature Luna."

In response, Luna guffawed as she continued clicking the pen.

Celestia tried to snatch the pen several times with her magic, only to have Luna move it away. She tried to grab the pin with her mouth and wings, only to have it moved away again.

Growling with frustration, Celestia lunged at Luna. The two tumbled across the floor for a moment, ultimate Luna wound up on top of her older sister, sitting on her chest. "You want to be like that, fine!" She clicked the pen one last time, extending the ballpoint and started being the tip to Celestia's face.

"Don't you dare!", Celestia snapped, trying to fend off the pen with her hooves and wings.

Luna pinned her older sister's forehooves to the floor with her own and used her hind legs to pin the white alicorn mare's wings. "What a dapper mustache you have there m'lady and what a dashing goatee.", Luna said as she doodled on her sister's face.

Celestia blew at the pen in a futile attempt to keep her sister from vandalizing the fur on her face.

"A fancy monocle so you can attend high society soirees.", Luna said with a chuckle, drawing a circle around one of Celestia's eyes, with a swirly line coiling down the side of her face. "Oh! Look who's got acne just before her date with that handsome pegasus." She drew dots on her sister's cheeks.

Celestia wriggled out from underneath Luna and walked over to a mirror. She tried in vain to suppress a snicker at the curly mustache, triangle-shaped goatee, monocle and spots Luna had drawn on her face. Turning her head, she did her best to shoot a death glare at Luna, then looked at Sunset. "See what she did? Vandalizing my face in suck a manner!", she attempted another death glare at her sister, "I'll get you back!"

Luna snickered as the flipped the pen back to Sunset. "How so? Maybe you failed to notice, but I was born with dark fur, unlike a certain cake muncher."

"I don't eat cake that often."

Luna quirked an eyebrow.

"I only eat cake at baking competitions...and sometimes for dessert." Celestia wiped a hoof across her face and scowled at the smeared ink on her fetlock.

"Soap and water will clean that off.", Sunset said.

A few minutes later Celestia walked out of the bathroom, face freshly washed. "Do oomans graffiti each other's faces with ink pens?", she asked Sunset.

"Yeah, but usually we write cuss words and draw penises on each other's faces when they're sleeping.", Mabel interjected.

"That was you?!", Sunset exclaimed, giving Mabel a shove, causing the human girl-turned pegasus to unsteady.

"That...um...the was me.", Moonchild said softly, hiding behind her mane, which prompted surprised gasps from the remaining formerly human girls.

"Granny always said t'were th' quiet ones ya had tuh watch out fer.", Jackie said with a chuckle.

Small chuckles and snickers were shared by ponies, former humans and one dragon around the room for a few minutes.

After regaining their composure, the group made their way to the Castle of Friendship's basement. Sunset and the natural-born ponies casually trotted down the stairs that lead into the basement, the former human girls tentatively shuffled down the stairs sideways, like a line of toddlers taking their first expedition down stairs, Mabel was the exception. The formerly blue-skinned human girl with rainbow-colored hair-turned blue pegasus with rainbow colored mane puffed out her chest and tried to gallantly trot down the stairs. Her hoof slipped off one of the stairs and she tumbled end-over-end down the stairs, coming to a crashing halt at the bottom.

The other former humans clung to the railing with their forelegs tightly as they watched their friend tumble out of control down the stairs and to the bottom.

Mabel sat up, wobbling as her eyes spun in her sockets.

"Oh my gosh! Rai--Mabel, are you okay?!", Sunset exclaimed, rushing over.

"Chalupa burger ice cream soccer ball bang.", Mabel slurred nonsensically.

"Yeah, I've been there a time or two.", Rainbow said flapping over and helping to prop Mabel up.

"Yeah, but she ain't a former ooman-turned mare who just went plot over tea kettle down a flight o' stairs.", Applejack said trotting up. She held up a hoof in front of Mabel's face. "How many hooves do ya see?"

Mabel blinked her eyes and shook her head head a few timed in an attempt to get some of her sense back. "Uh, eight? But your waving them around in circles."

Fluttershy quickly shooed away Sunset, Rainbow and Applejack and lay Mabel gently on the floor. She quickly checked the former human girl over. "It looks like she gave herself a nasty bump to the head. Rainbow, get me a cold compress from the first aid kit." After the rainbow-maned pegasus brought it over, Fluttershy activated the magical compound that immediately created cold and brought it close to the former human girl's head. "It's going to be cold." She placed the compress on the former human's head.

Mabel yelped in surprise, then sighed as the cold compress made the swelling knot on her head go down, she sighed.

The remaining former humans made their way to the base of the stairs gingerly and stood around watching the yellow-furred pegasus performing first aid on their friend.

"Keep that on your head for about twenty minutes.", Fluttershy said as she moved Mabel's hoof to hold the compress in place.

Spike showed Sunset and Sci-Twi the various various machines he had help Princess Twilight build. Sunset opened the access panels with her magic to get a better view at the banks of vacuum tubes inside.

"Hmm.", Sci-Twi mused and clicked her tongue in thought, "It appears, technology-wise, you all are only about sixty years or so behind. I think I can work with this." She blew and brushed some dust off the screws. "Yes! I can work with this! I just need a Philip's head screwdriver to get started."

"A what?", Spike asked.

Sunset walked over to a nearby workbench, looked over the various gathered tools and levitated a couple of screwdrivers. "I forget sometimes that ponies have different names for things than humans do. For future reference, Philips's head means cross-head and flat-head means, well I guess that one's the same."

Sunset and Sci-Twi set about opening up the various scientific machines, the latter grasping the screwdriver in her teeth and twisting her neck.

Finishing up removing the last of the screws from the cases of the machines, Sci-Twi spat out said screwdriver, wiped the drool from her chin and rubbed her jaw and neck. "This would be easier if I still had hands and thumbs."

Sunset gathered up the screws and screwdrivers, placing the former in a small cup on the workbench. "Girls, you need to work on getting used to your pony bodies. You each pair up with you duplicates and learn how to use your bodies properly...uh...that came out wrong. What I meant...well you know what I meant. I'll stay here and help Twi learn to use her magic."

Sci-Twi opened her mouth to protest, but Sunset raised a hoof to cut her off. "It's going to take a lot longer to make the gadgets we need if I'm the one doing all the work." She smirked at her now lavender-furred friend, "Besides it's not every day I can teach someone about magic from scratch."

***

Shining Armor sat uncomfortably on the bench of the passenger car, tending to his fussy daughter as the high-speed train pulled up to the station in the Crystal Empire. He laid his ears flat against his head and winced as the powerful brakes engaged, squealing loudly, making the train come to a stop.

Standing up, Shining levitated Flurry onto his back and hurried out of the passenger car. His heart was in his throat when the exhausted pegasus had delivered the message the Cadance was in the hospital alive. Ignoring bowing servants and guards, he rushed along the platform. Frightening images played out in his head of his wife wrapped up in bandages like a mummy, or lying comatose in a room, or her body being horribly mangled and her face scarred. Tears welled in his eyes as he ran full tilt through the streets.

Bursting through the front door of the hospital, the prince of the Crystal Empire rushed to the nurse's desk. "My*pant* wife!*pant-pant* Where?!*pant-pant*" The running and worry caught up with him, a burning stitch formed in his side and his stomach started feeling like it was doing the lambada. He rushed over to a trashcan as the nurse was talking and his stomach lurched, his meager lunch spattered in the bottom of the waste receptacle.

"Prince Armor, are you okay?!", the nurse exclaimed, hurrying over.

Shining wiped his mouth with a fetlock. "Sorry, I ran all the way here from the station." The nurse offered him a small cup of water which he took gratefully. After rinsing out his mouth while musing that 'food tastes much better going down', he thanked her and asked her what she had said.

The nurse smiled softly. "I said Princess Cadance is awake and doing well."

Immediately images of Cadance with tubes and wires sticking out of Celestia knows where as she stared at him in pain-filled eyes filled his mind. "W-w-where's her room?" The nurse directed him to her room. Hurrying down the hallway, he stopped outside the room that help his wife. Lifting a trembling hoof to the door, he hesitated for a moment, taking a breath to steel himself for the absolute worst, he opened it and walked in.

Shining blew out a sigh of relief, Cadance was lying on the hospital bed, talking with a nurse while eating her dinner. His eyes wondered to the casts on her legs, the wing in a brace and the padded collar around her neck.

"Other than the throbbing aches in my legs and my wing itching like Tartarus, I'm not experiencing any...Shiny!"

Shining Armor blushed slightly as the nurse looked over and her eyes went wide, she quickly bowed. "Many apologies your majesty."

"You have nothing to apologize for, you're doing your job.", He said, gesturing with his hoof for her to rise.

Flurry Heart squealed with delight as she leapt off of her father's back and landed on her mother's chest, who in turn let out a grunt.

Cadance lifted Flurry off of her chest and gave her daught a quick nuzzle and kiss. "You gotta be careful sweetie, mommy's still hurt.", she said nuzzling the little alicorn again.

The nurse quickly finished filling out her paperwork and hurried out of the room. "I'll be back in a bit to check up on you again.", she said before closing the door.

Shining looked his wife over. "So how bad is it?"

Cadance took a breath to steel herself. "Honestly? I'm busted up pretty good. At least a dozen broken bones, the worst of which is in my back and neck. The doctors said if I wasn't an alicorn, they would have had to scrape me up off the ground." When she noted the pained look on her husband's face, she reached out with a forehoof and patted it on his chest.

"Do they know how long you will be laid up?"

Cadance's gaze fell. "No. The last time an alicorn was injured that required medical aid was over a thousand years ago. And the medicine at that time wasn't that great, they used mercury, leaches and enemas to treat everything. They won't know anything for at least a week." She grabbed her husband in her aura and pulled him closer. "Now I'm no medical expert, but I think a kiss from a big strong stallion will help a lot." As the two moved their lips closer to each other, Flurry interjected between her parents, causing them to kiss her on both cheeks. This elicited soft chuckles from both.

After parting from their daughter's cheeks, Cadance gently moved Flurry aside and drew Shining close again for a kiss.

Shining parted from his wife and licked his lips, tasting her lips on his. He scratched a hoof sheepishly on one of his forelegs. "Uh, Cady? Sunset came through the portal and brought her friends through. Shortly after the nightmare destroyed it.

Cadance's eyes went wide. "What?!"

***

Applejack brought Jackie to Sweet Apple Acres to better teach her how to better use her earth pony magic. After Applejack telling Granny Smith, Big Mac and Apple Bloom about what had happened and why there was now two Applejacks on the farm, Granny simply shrugged and said, "Ah dun got no problem with all o' this as long as ya earn yer keep." The other two Apple sibling, though they didn't fully understand, nodded in agreement with the matriarch of the Apple clan.

"Ya dun hafta worry 'bout me none Gra--Mrs. Smith, my Granny Smith taught me all 'bout a hard day's work an' Ah will do my best to keep up 'round here."

"You c'n call me Granny if'n ya like.", Granny Smith said, "It looks like yer Granny Smith brought ya up tuh be a right-n-proper mare soes Ah know ya will do yer best."

Jackie wiped a tear from her eye. "Yes ma'am, Granny, Ah mean my Granny taught me tuh be an upright an' hardworkin' young woman. Thank ya Mrs.--Ah mean Granny."

"Now go on an' git! Yer burnin' daylight an' th' apples in th' southwest field won't buck themselves."

Fluttershy and Moonchild stood on a low rock outside Fluttershy's cottage. The former human stared at the ground, legs trembling. "A-are you sure it's safe?", Moonchild asked nervously, "It seems awfully high." "It'll be okay. Just spread your wings and glide gently onto the ground.", Fluttershy replied, spreading her wings in demonstration. The butter creme yellow pegasus took a delicate leap and glided across the ground for a several body lengths before flapping her wings to maintain lift and banked back aroud to land on the low rock. "Just like that. Come on, I'll do it with you."

Moonchild swallowed hard and prepared to leap, but her legs froze up "O-o-oh my." Angel bunny sat behind Fluttershy and Moonchild shaking his head. He gestured to get Fluttershy's attention and mad a mock kicking motion with one of his hind legs. The mare shook her head no ever so slightly. He made a shoving gesture and again Fluttershy shook her head no. The white fluffy bunny pinched the bridge of his wiggly pink nose and gave an aggravated, squeaky sigh. Angel bunny leapt up and bit Moonchild on the base of her pink tail. The former human girl-turned pegasus mare let out a yelp of surprise and leapt off the rock.

Moonchild kicked her legs in the air like she was trying to run and frantically flapped her wings.

Fluttershy flew next to Moonchild. "Flap your wings smooth and easy like mine." When she saw Moonchild was still panicking, she quickly turned the former human's head to focus on her. "Just focus on my wings and copy my motions."

After a few false starts and a couple of clumsy crashes, Moonchild, with Fluttershy at her side, finally figured out flying. She soared over flowers and dandelion puffs. "I'm flying! I'm flying!" She banked around. caught some low thermals and flapped her wings to gain altitude. She circled around the cottage made from the hollow of the oak tree, steadily gaining altitude. Flying over the top of the tree, she suddenly realized how she was. Panic set in and her wings folded up with a snap.

Bangs and crashes sounded as Moonchild bounced off of trees of the oak tree and in through the top of the cottage.

Fluttershy rushed over to the door of her cottage and opened it. Clouds of dust, fuzzy critters and birds rushed out the door. Moonchild was upside down of the head of a grumbling Harry, who had been awoken from his nap. The bear's expression shifted from mild annoyance to shock seeing Fluttershy standing at the door and a copy on his head. "It's okay, Harry. She's a friend from another world. I was teaching her how to fly."

Harry shrugged, spun around on his bed a few times, the upside down Moonchild still on his head and lay back down.

Fluttershy helped Moonchild of of Harry's head and checked her over, ensuring she wasn't injured. Using her wing to dust the former human girl off, she said, "You did good. We'll work on landing...later."

Mabel and Rainbow Dash stood on the balcony of the Castle of Friendship. "I'm not sure how you oomans teach each other how to fly, or if you ll even know how to fly. But this is Equestria and this is how pegasi have taught each other for like ever.", Rainbow said, "Just open your wings and get ready to glide."

Mabel stood on the railing and opened her wings. Before she could ask what to do next, Rainbow shoved her off.

"Glide or crash!", Rainbow shouted.

Mabel's wings caught the air and she started gliding.

Rainbow flew up beside her. "Not bad newbie. You ready for the next step."

"Bring it on! I was born ready."

Before long the two were zooming across Ponyville, leaving twin rainbow contrails behind them. They bounced off of clouds, causing some to fire bolts of lightning and claps of thunder, busting others apart. Rainbow flew around one cloud, shaping it into the Wonderbolts logo, Mabel flew around another cloud, shaping it into the Wondercolts mascot. The two arced high into the air and gave an epic high hoof.

Rainbow and Mabel landed on a cloud, panting out of breath.

"You're looking*pant pant* a little winded there newbie.", Rainbow said.

"If I am, it's only*pant pant gasp* that I'm having to carry your butt.", Mabel retorted.

"You up for a race?"

"Only if you are."

"Alright wisepony, first one to the far side Sweet Apple Acres and back here wins."

The two took off in a flash of rainbow contrails. The jockeyed for position, bumped and nudged, performed high speed tricks to impress the other.

Derpy, wearing her mailmare uniform, was watching two different butterflies flutter by, she didn't see Rainbow and Mable speeding towards her until the last second. Derpy ducked down, covering her head, as the two racers split away, missing her by the narrowest of margins. As the slipstreams washed over her, she stuck her head up and waved at them, then flapped away lazily.

Mabel tried to regain control, but caught an awkward cross breeze, sending her into an out of control corkscrew dive. She desperately steered herself towards the canopy of an apple tree that was quickly approaching. "Llllloooooookkkkk ooooouuuuutttttt bbbbbeeeeeeeeeellllllooooowwwwwww!"

Below said Apple tree, Applejack, Jackie and Apple Bloom had made a game out of launching apples that were too bruised, rotten or bug eaten to be sold into nearby baskets. The sound of screaming drew their attention upwards as Mabel crashed into the branches of the tree, sending apples, leaves and sticks raining down on the three.

Applejack, Jackie and Apple Bloom popped theri heads out of three piles of apples, leaves and sticks.

"Hah heh.", Mabel chuckled unsure as she hung from the tree branch, "You think my flying is getting as good as Rainbow Dash's?"

A split second later Rainbow crashed into the tree, sending more leaves and sticks raining down.

Applejack, Apple Bloom and Jackie looked up at Rainbow and Mabel, the former hanging upside down from a tangle of branches, and said at the same time, "Eeyup."

Sunset laid a quill on the table in front of Sci-Twi. "Alright, think of your unicorn magic like a hand, just a little more glow-y. First make your horn glow, then reach out with your aura and touch the quill. When you can feel it with your magic, simply wrap your aura around it like fingers and pick it up."

Sci-Twi went cross-eyed as she focused. Her horn glowed, then she reached out with a magenta aura and touched it to the quill. She enveloped the quill in the aura and lifted with it. The feathery writing implement stayed where it was as the magenta aura raised into the air.

Sci-Twi snorted in frustration. "This is harder than it looks."

Sunset patted her friend on her back. "It's okay Twilight. Nopony gets it on their first try. Let's try again."

Sci-Twi nodded and went through the steps again...with the same results. A groan of frustration.

Celestia stepped forward and nuzzled Sci-Twi's cheek. "It's okay Twilight. Here is an exercise--"

"That would be fine if we had a year, sister.", Luna interjected, "But we have three days for her to learn how to use her magic." She looked over to Spike. "Get me a big red bouncy ball."

A few minutes later Spike returned bouncing a big red bouncy ball.

Luna took the ball in her aura, then using her magic, she formed a lane of two dark blue shimmering walls, holding herself and Sci-Twi. "Alright Twilight, the name of the game is bombardment. The rules are simple, I throw this ball at your face, you have to catch it with your magic and throw it back at my face."

"So kinda like dodgeball?", Sci-Twi asked.

"Ah, good. It seems oomans know of this game. It shall save me some time explaining the subtleties." Luna narrowed her eyes. "Game on."

Sci-Twi lit her horn as Luna hurled the ball down the magical lane. She reached out with her aura as the ball sped at her. The big red bouncy orb passed unfazed through the sparkling magenta aura, smacking Sci-Twi straight in her snout.

Luna snatched up the big red bouncy ball as the lavender former human scrubbed her fetlock across her nose.

Sci-Twi lit her horn again as Luna drew back the ball in her magic and threw it again. Once again the ball passed unaffected through the magenta aura, striking the former human on her cheek, causing her to stumble.

"Thou needs to strive to do better, Twilight Sparkle, else yon orb shalt remove thine head from thine shoulders." Luna levitated the ball in her aura again, preparing to throw it.

Setting her jaw, Sci-Twi lit her horn again, a small crackle of energy from its tip to its base.

Ceestia opened her mouth to tell her sister not to throw the ball so hard, but a touch on her foreleg by Sunset interrupted her. Looking down at her former student, she noted that the amber unicorn was pointing a hoof. Looking over, she saw it, dust motes around the former human's hooves were levitating up off of the floor ever so slightly.

Luna hurled the ball again. A magenta field surrounded the ball, causing it to slow down and stop midair for a split second, before it flickered out, causing the red orb to fall to the ground.

Luna quickly snatched the ball in her aura once again. "A mark'd improvement." She readied the ball once again. "Have at thee!" The ball hurled through the air once again, a shock cone forming at the front.

The ball stopped a hair's breadth from Sci-Twi's face, levitating in a sparkling magenta aura, the rush of now displaced air making her mane and tail blow backwards slightly.

"Huzzah!" Luna turned to face Celestia. "You see sister I can--OOF!" The big red bouncy ball slammed into the side of her face with great force.

Sunset and Celestia looked in a mixture of surprise and no small amount of amusement at Sci-Twi, who stood still staring at Luna, a smile like unto a Cheshire cat on her lips.

Luna turned her head to the former human girl, a small trickle of red on her lip. She ran her tongue across her lip, licking the small trickle of blood away. "It seems I forgot Rockhoof's first law of engagement, 'never take your eyes off of your opponent.'"

Rarity and J B stood in the creation room of Carousel Boutique looking over a partially finished peach-colored dress.

Rarity levitated up a small cluster of silvery gems to the collar.

"What do you think you're doing, darling?", J B asked, "Silver gems clash too much with that color." She scooped up a light blue sapphire in her hoof and held it up to the dress. "See? This compliments the color much better."

Rarity snagged the sapphire in her magic and tossed over to the cluttered desk in the corner, then levitated one of the silver gems up to the neck of the dress. "No no no, darling. This will much better compliment the mare's mane much better." She levitated a photograph of the are she was making the dress for. "See? This much better compliments her mane."

J B's eyes went crossed for a second as she concentrated hard, making her horn shimmer with a blue aura. She snatched the photograph from Rarity, studied it for a second, then levitate the sapphire from the desk. "Oh nonononono, darling! As you can see, sapphires work much better with her eye color and makes them just pop!"

Rarity flicked the blue gem away with her magic. "I can tell that they don't teach you oomans about basic color theory. The stallions and mares of your world must walk around in the most amateurish fashions."

Soon the two were face to face, pressing their noses against the other's, practically snorting steam. They quickly devolved into each placing gems on the dress while knocking the other's away, often shouting 'blue!' or 'silver!'.

Sweetie Belle, who had been walking by, stopped dead in her tracks seeing her sister and her sister's doppelganger, arguing about what color of gems and their placement. "Great! Now there's two of them.", she muttered to herself. She walked off grumbling about 'being too old for this.'

Rarity and J B, after the big fight, slumped on a fainting couch, both of their immaculately coiffed manes a mess, shoveling spoonfuls of ice cream into their mouths as they marveled that somehow in their tizzy, they had managed to complete the dress, which now sported an elaborate neck piece, made from blue and silver gems.

"You know darling, the dress came out more beautiful than I originally intended. We should argue more while making masterpieces.", Rarity said around a mouthful of ice cream.

"Indubitably."

Over the next three day the former humans worked with their counterparts to better learn how to work with their bodies.

***

Cadance spent a week, her legs and wing in traction. The doctors closely monitored her healing process, so they would a point of reference for modern medical journals involving alicorn anatomy.

On the seventh day the doctor cut away the hard casts on Cadance's hind legs. "You're healing faster than we first anticipated, princess. We're going to place walking casts onto your legs, after they set, we'll fit you with a pair padded boots. We'll also fit you with a brace for your back and wing. Unless there's unforeseen complications, we'll be releasing you tomorrow. I'll urge you to get as much rest as possible and if you have to walk, wear the padded boots and the back brace. We'll give you a padded neck brace just in case you're having trouble with your neck. Until the braces on your wing comes off, no flying.

The next morning as the sun came up, Cadance slowly made her way through the lobby of the hospital, a race around her barrel to support her back, a series of braces on her wing to keep it from being further injured, a pair of walking casts one her hind legs with padded boots over them. Shining Armor walked by her side so she could use his body to lean on.

Outside the front of the hospital, a carriage await, surrounded by several crystal guards. As the princess made her way into the carriage, they helped her inside. Once the royal family was secured inside, the guards at the front began trotting, drawing the carriage with them.

***

For four days and nights, Sunset and Sci-Twi worked almost nonstop on a new device using many of the vacuum tubes from Princess Twilight's scientific instruments.

Sci-Twi, levitating a spool of soldering wire, melted the soft metal to complete the last of the circuits. She looked over at Sunset who was closing the housing for the monitor. With a grunt of satisfaction, she blew on the still melted solder to hurry along its cooling, then closed up everything.

Sunset hooked up the power supple as Celestia and Luna teleported in. "Hang on to your butts." Using a hoof, she flipped the switch into the 'on' position.

With some sparks, a low hum that grew in pitch until it was a high whine, and a couple of whiffs of ozone, the machine powered up and the screen came to life with a green glow.

Sci-Twi hooked up the thaumat-o-mater to the machine as Sunset placed the geomantic pendulum into a recessed slot on the machine. A topographical map of Equestria faded in on the screen, followed by several wavering blobs of indicating active natural magical fields.

Sunset looped a length of silver wire of the princesses horns and passed them a small silver rod each attached to a length of wire. "Place these between your teeth. You may feel some tingling and mild discomfort. If you feel any pain or small anything burning, spit them out immediately."

Celestia paused. "Pain? Burning?"

"Yes.", Sci-Twi replied, "This is mostly an untested technology, well untested on alicorns anyways."

After the princesses did as they were instructed, the wavering blobs vanished and were replaced by five dots. Sunset and Sci-Twi quickly checked their math and adjusted a few nobs on the control panel.

"Alright, I think we've got the baseline down. You can remove the rods and wires now..", Sunset said.

Luna spat out the rod and wiped down her tongue with her fetlock. "Bleh! That tasted like I was holding a bunch of ants in my mouth."

After Celestia removed the wire and rod, she walked over to the machine, watching the green glowing monitor with five dots on it.

Sunset gave a last few adjustments, then pointed to the monitor. "Alright, these two up north I can guess are Cadance and Flurry Heart. Then these two here towards the center are you and Luna. This one here must be Twilight."

The four watched as the fifth dot would disappear, then reappear at a point, only to disappear and return to the original point.

After several minutes of watching the fifth dot disappear and reappear, Sci-Twi tapped on the screen. "She seems to return to that same point on the map. It looks like some kind large rock formation, probably a butte."

Celestia quietly mused. I know that place. What was it called? Think. Think. Think.

Luna touched the edge of her hoof to the monitor that depicted an old river valley. "Sister, that's where Dream Valley once was before the windigoes consumed it." She touched her hoof to where the fifth dot keeps returning to. "And that's the ruins of..."

Both sisters looked at each other. "...Nightmare Castle."

Author's Note:

I wanted this chapter to have a bit of comedy before going back into the serious.

I thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoy.

Like the story? Hate the story? Have a question? Spot any typos or misspellings? Wanna throw shade or pure bane? Leave it down in the comments.

Comments

[nightshroud96]

Honestly even if they were rushing, Sci-Twi shouldn't have forgotten about human-world Spike like that.
In fact it shows the damage is worse that due to Sci-Twi has actual friends now, human-world Spike is more "forgettable" now.
I still feel like human-world Spike would be really pissed at Sci-Twi for not only not bringing him but also the fact she forgotten about him like that. Even if the girls were rushing to Equestria, human-world Spike is Sci-Twi's closest thing to a friend and shouldn't been forgotten like that. But since she did, it just shows human-world Spike is just not "needed" anymore due to she has actual friends and thus not even bother to remember about human-world Spike.

Though I find it pretty hilarious with Princess Luna messing around with that ink-pen and even wrote on Celestia's face like that.