What happens when five normal girls are transported from the real world into Equestria? What happens when the people being transported are Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy?
Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were brought together by Twilight Sparkle and the magic of friendship and have had incredible experiences. But now they are trapped in a world they don't understand-Equestria. How will these five normal human girls deal with such dangers as dragons, minotaurs, parasprites, -and perhaps the most dangerous of them all,- themselves?
One month after the Fall Formal Near the front entrance of Canterlot High
“Sorry I’m late… soccer practice ended later… than I thought,” Rainbow Dash panted. She was drenched head to toe in sweat and clutching her legs as if she had just ran there, mainly because she had.
Moving past Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack, Rainbow Dash sat down on the newly completed staircase to the school and tried to catch her breath. Looking at the people around her, she noticed a certain member was missing. “Where’s Pinkie Pie, she’s the one that called us here.”
“Haven’t seen her since class got out,” AJ replied.
“Nor have I,” Rarity said as she noticed a distinct odor in the air. “Please tell me you took a shower before coming here.”
“Yeah, I just ran straight home, took a shower and then ran back here in five minute,” Rainbow Dash replied with a mix of sarcasm and annoyance. “Pinkie wanted us here at six, soccer doesn’t let out until 5:30 and I’d rather not miss something she said was important just to smell nice.”
“Well you could have at least put on some deodorant,” Rarity said this to herself more so than anyone else. Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes.
“Uh, girls, I think Pinkie’s here,” Fluttershy was now pointing to a figure coming round the school armed with a sledgehammer. The girls soon ran up to the figure, who was indeed Pinkie Pie.
“Uh, Pinkie, what’s the sledgehammer for?” AJ asked with confusion.
“It’s for my experiment, duh,” Pinkie soon walked over to the statue in front of the school and placed the sledgehammer down on top of it. She started to make measurements with her hands, not paying attention to the others behind her.
“Uh Pinkie, Hellooo?” Rainbow Dash was looking puzzled and annoyed as Pinkie reached in to her backpack and withdrew a permanent marker. Going over her mental measurements, she placed a big X on the pedestal of the statue.
“Pinkie, what in tarnation are y’all doing?” Applejack was use to Pinkie being, well, Pinkie, but minor vandalism for no real reason just wasn’t her style, however one may classify it.
“Trying to open the magic portal silly.” Pinkie now turned around to face her friends, all of whom were in a mild state of confusion, or-in Rainbow’s case- annoyance.
“Now Dear, we all miss Twilight as much as you, but have to accept the fact that this is just a regular statue now and we can’t see Twilight for another 3 year,” Rarity stated with a look of concern and compassion on her face.
“Yeah, you’re way too obsessed with that portal,” Rainbow responded bluntly.
“Listen, why don’t we forget about the portal for now and head on down to Sugarcube Corner get somethin’ to eat?” AJ had thrown her arm around Pinkie Pie and started to lead her away from the statue.
“That sounds nice,” Fluttershy stated.
“Come on guys, I’m being super serious right now,” Pinkie shook off AJ the way a dog would shake off water and picked up the sledgehammer. She swung it around her head, as if prepared to strike the statue.
“Pinkie, what are you doing?” Rarity yelled as Pinkie swung the sledgehammer full force into the statue.
When the sledgehammer made contact, there was not the expected metal on steel sound one would expect, neither was there any visual damage from the strike. Instead a weird metallic clicking noise was staring up and continuing long after the strike, as if dozen of latches and gear were turning inside the pedestal. After about a minute of this, the clicking stopped.
“PINKIE, WHAT IN THE HELL A MATTER WITH Y’ALL?” Applejack grabbed the sledgehammer from Pinkie and tossed it aside, nearly hitting Fluttershy, who managed to step out of its way. “Y’ALL BETTER EXPLAIN YOURSELF RIGHT NOW!”
“Aww, shoot, and here I-” Pinkie was interrupted by a sudden jet of liquid bursting from the backside of the statue. The liquid was held in place by some unknown force and stood there for about a minute before retreating by into the statue. The backside of the statue now had a smoother, more liquid like appearance to it.
“YES!” Pinkie shouted excitedly.
“Will someone please explain what’s going on?” Rainbow Dash stated with a look of utter confusion on her face.
“Yes, I do think we need an explanation for what is happening,” Rarity replied, just as confused as Rainbow Dash but with more control in her posture and tone of voice.
“Oh, well that’s easy,” Pinkie stated nonchalantly, “All I did was rearrange the graviton flux meters so as to create the illusion of a double lunar event.” She smile at the end her sentence as if it was complete obvious to everyone present.
“In English, please,” AJ had a look of annoyance on her face, her patience wearing thin.
“Okay, so you know how Twilight said the portal only opens once every 30 moons?” Pinkie started, “Well, I looked into the lunar cycle after Twilight left and notice that the portal opens every time the Moon was at its closest point to Earth in its orbit. However, the portal doesn’t open every time the Moon gets that close, which was strange until I thought about what might been on the other side of the portal. I thought that Twilight’s world must also have a Moon which goes through a similar orbit to ours and that the portal must open whenever both Moons are at their closest to Earth.”
“And just how does that open the portal?” Rainbow Dash replied, not truly believing what she was hearing.
“Tidal forces.” It wasn’t Pinkie Pie who responded to Rainbow Dash, but Fluttershy.
“And how does the tide open portals?” Rainbow stated in the same manner as before.
“Well, uh, if I get this then the gravitational force of the two moons, according to Pinkie, are enough to activate some kind of on switch, which is what we probably just heard. Pinkie must have somehow duplicated the force needed to open the portal with her hammer,” Fluttershy stated.
“EXACTLY, couldn’t have said it better myself, except then I’d be both Fluttershy and myself, I mean me and Fluttershy being one person would really weird and who’s voice would I be talking in?” Pinkie rambled on before seeing an annoyed Applejack.
Gathering around the newly opened portal, the group of girls looked at the shiny surface in both awe and confusion. “What do we do with it now?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I say we get some authority down here and have a looksee at this here portal,” AJ leaned in closer to better examine the portal as Pinkie Pie started to back up.
“We can’t do that,” Rarity responded, “Principal Celestia was barely able to keep out the reporters and special forces right after that terrible business with Sunset Shimmer.”
“You know I’ve been meaning to ask about that, just how much influence can a high school teacher really hold?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Uh, girls?” Fluttershy wasn’t looking at the portal like the rest of them, but rather behind her.
“Well, I think she just was able to persuade everyone that nothing out of the ordinary really happened here,” Rarity was now seriously thinking about the question now.
“Yeah, cause growing wings and horse ears are things that happened all the time.” The sarcasm in Rainbow Dash’s reply was thick enough to cut with a knife.
“It ain’t like anyone record it anyhow, seein’ as everyone else was under some kind of mind control,” AJ retorted.
“Uh, girls, I think you better move,” Fluttershy, still looking behind her, started to sidestep to her right.
“Exactly, Principal Celestia must have told the reporters that nothing of significance occurred here,” Rarity continued the conversation, ignoring Fluttershy.
“Nothing happened?” Rainbow Dash yelled in a tone that suggested she thought the idea was beyond stupid. “The entire front of the school was destroyed and there was a massive crater in the ground. No reporter on Earth would believe that.”
“I heard Principal Celestia told the press that it was a gas explosion that cause the destruction. I mean it might not explain everything, but it be more believable then all of us changin’ into half horse people and shooting down an interdimentional demon with rainbows,” AJ offered as a reply.
“Yeah, I guess that’s true,” Rainbow Dash said with a tone of acceptance. “But that still doesn’t explain-“
“What is it Flutter-,“Rainbow Dash stated as she looked up.
During the conversation, Pinkie Pie had backed up far down the walk way leading up to the entrance of the school and was now running straight towards the portal opening. Problem with that, however, was that Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash were directly in her path. By the time the three of them had looked up to notice Fluttershy standing to the side of the statue and saw Pinkie Pie running at them, it was too late for them to do anything as Pinkie Pie slammed into them and they tumbled straight through the portal.
Fluttershy, moving back in front of the portal, examining the strange gate which had just swallowed her friends.
“Girls!? GIRLS!?” Fluttershy started to panic. “I’ve got to get help.”
Fluttershy started spinning around, hoping to find someone.
Suddenly, someone had grabbed her wrist.
“WAAAAAA!” she yelled as Pinkie Pie’s hand, emerging from the portal, pulled Fluttershy in.
“Pinkie?” Applejack was in a haze as she began to stir; noticing that she was lying on the floor as she slowly began to awaken from the strange journey through the magic portal. Slowly stirring, she tried to stand up. However she noticed her legs would not bend the way she wanted them to, as if she was missing her knees. Pushing off the ground with her arms, she noticed something. Particularly that she had no hands.
“YAAAAHHHHH!” she screamed as she examined her newly hoofed arms. Turning her neck around, she noticed what had happened to the rest of her body. Instead of a human torso and legs, her body seemed to be that of a horse, with tail included.
Looking around, she noticed several other multi-colored horses lying in what appeared to be an unused storage room. Breathing heavily, Applejack approached the white and purple horse lying closest to her, walking uneasily. The horse was beginning to stir.
“Rarity!?” Applejack tapped the awakening horse. Looking up, it took notice of Applejack.
“AAAHH-“it began to scream until Applejack placed one of her new non-hands over the horse’s mouth.
“Rarity!?” Applejack asked once more. The horse, wide-eyed in shock, nodded as Applejack removed her arm, “Help me with the others.”
Applejack started to move towards the horse she believed was Rainbow Dash. Rarity was still in a state of shock and was examining her new body. Applejack ignored this and started to stir the cyan horse.
“AAAAAAHHHHHH!”
The scream had not come from the cyan horse next to Applejack, but a yellow and pink one next to a large mirror. “Fluttershy?” Applejack asked.
With eyes as wide as Rarity’s, the horse nodded. “Applejack?” she responded.
Applejack, also nodding in conformation, returned to what was almost certainly Rainbow Dash.
“Uh, my head,” Rainbow Dash began to groan, lifting her arms to her rainbow maned head.
“Uh, Rainbow?” Applejack was helping her to her feet, well, hooves now.
“What happened Apple-” Rainbow Dash opened her eyes to see the horse versions of Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity looking at her.
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!” Rainbow Dash leaped into the air several feet. In doing so she unfurled a pair of wings attached to the side of her new body and started to hover, wings flapping.
“AAAAAHHH!” Rainbow Dash cried out at this unexpected development.
“Rainbow Dash, calm down,” Applejack called to her airborne friend, “we ain’t gonna get anywhere by panicin’.” However, Applejack was still as bug-eyed as the rest of them and was still breathing hard.
“OHMYGOD, THIS IS SO EXCITING!” a pink horse, next to Fluttershy, had said that.
“Pinkie Pie?” Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity shouted, with Fluttershy adding what would be a scream for her. “OOOOOOO! Fluffy!” Pinkie Pie was now examining her new tail with much delight and completely ignoring the others in the room.
“Pinkie, what the hell did you do?” Applejack asked the oblivious horse.
“Well, it obvious, I pushed us into the magic mirror and now we’re in Twilight’s world.” Pinkie Pie responded, still focusing on her new body. “New teeth, that’s weird.” She said as she licked her lips.
“Why the hell are we horses?” Rainbow Dash yelled, still hovering in midair.
“We’re not horses Dashie, we’re ponies.” Pinkie Pie replied.
“Alright then, why are we ponies?!” Rainbow Dash asked, still in a state of slight shock and panic.
“Duh, this is Twilight’s world; you know, the super-awesome-magic-kingdom-land filled with talking ponies.” Pinkie Pie now had one of the largest grins Rainbow Dash had ever seen on her.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” Rainbow Dash stated, still with a hint of panic in it.
“The magic portal is what changed us into ponies. I mean five humans might stand out, don’t you think?” Pinkie Pie replied.
“That doesn’t make any sense. Do you have any idea how complicated DNA is? You can’t just go taking out chromosomes and what not and get a horse, ponies, or whatever we are.” Rainbow Dash continued.
“It’s a magic portal, Dashie, it can do what it likes,” Pinkie stated in a matter-of-fact sort of way.
Rainbow Dash, clutching the top of her head with her hooves, stared at the pink pony with a mix of anger and confusion, “THAT MAKES EVEN LESS SENSE!”
“GIRLS!” Fluttershy, in a rare moment, had been the one to yell. As soon as all eyes were on her however, she began to retreat a bit under her hair.
“Uhm,” she began in her normal tone, “We don’t need to be arguing right now about trans-dimensional physics. All we need to do is simply walk back through the portal and go home.”
“Quite right dear,” Rarity started walking over to the rather large mirror in the room. “Come now, let’s go back home and forget this ever happened.”
BANG!
Rarity had run straight into the mirror and had gotten her face stuck to the mirror. Using her two front hooves, she peeled herself from the mirror. Tapping it, she found that it was an ordinary mirror.
“Ah think we may have a problem,” Applejack said, noting Rarity’s constant taping of the mirror.
“B-b-b-but why isn’t working,” Fluttershy said.
“Shoot, I knew I forgot something,” Pinkie replied.
“YOU FORGOT SOMETHING!?” Rainbow Dash yelled. “WHAT THE HELL WAS IT, OR WAS THIS MEANT TO BE A ONE WAY TRIP!?”
“Jeez Dashie, all I forgot to do was reverse the polarity of the neutron flow,” Pinkie responded.
“OKAY, NOW I KNOW THAT’S JUST STUPID TECHNOBABBLE!” Dash replied angrily.
“WOULD Y”ALL JUST SHUT UP!” Applejack was getting tired of the pointless back and forth between those two. “Pinkie, you brought us here,” she began in a calmer tone, “Can you bring us back home?”
“Sure I can,” Pinkie turned to the mirror and gave a half-hearted laugh, “It may just take some time.”
“How much time,” Applejack knew she wasn’t going to like the answer.
“Oh, about a month,” Pinkie responded.
“Why in tarnation do you need a month?” Applejack asked, “You got our side working in five minutes.”
“Well that was a big old statue, this is a foot thick mirror, the dimensions are completely different and I’ve got no idea how the physics work here. Jeez, it’s like you guys never took inter-dimensional quantum mechanics before,” Pinkie rolled her eyes.
Applejack face-hoofed, “Okay then, since we can’t go home right now, our best option is to go outside and find someone who can help us. Twilight said she was a princess here, maybe if we go and find her, she’ll be able to help us once we’ve explained ourselves.”
The others looked at her skeptically.
“Yeah, ain’t got nothin’ better,” she said realizing how absurd her plan was.
“Well at least I do look gorgeous,” Rarity said fully taking her new self in at the mirror, “For a horse that is.”
“Yeah, never mind the fact the your naked right now,” Rainbow Dash replied.
A moment of slow realization dawned on Rarity. “ALL OF YOU TURN AROUND NOW! NOBODY LOOK AT ME!”
“Uh, Rarity, in case you haven’t noticed, none of us are exactly wearin’ clothes,” Applejack responded, sighing at the overly dramatic pony, “Well, save for mah hat,” Applejack said noticing the rather well fitting Stetson on her head.
“And besides, it not like you can see anything,” Rainbow Dash said. She was soon met with annoyed stares from the others, save Pinkie Pie, who was too occupied with her own reflection at the moment.
“What? It’s true.” Rainbow Dash responded to their looks.
“Anyhow,” Applejack said, trying to change the conversation she started making her way to the only door in the room, “Uh, how Ah’m ah goin’ ta open this?” she said looking at a completely ordinary door handle, “Don’t exactly have hands.”
“Oh, I can do that,” Pinkie Pie walked up to the door, placed her hoof on the handle and swung the door out.
“How didja do that?” Applejack asked.
“It’s a door handle, AJ. All you gotta do is turn it and the door opens, silly,” Pinkie said that with the utmost sincerity.
“But,” Applejack began before Rainbow Dash placed a hoof over her mouth. “It’s Pinkie Pie, let it go.” Rainbow Dash had gone from angry to just plain tired and seem to have stopped trying to figure out how this new world in which they were in worked.
“You gonna join us here on the ground?” Applejack asked her still airborne friend.
“I, uh, don’t know how to get down,” Rainbow replied while running a hoof through her mane, with a look of embarrassment on her face.
“Well maybe you should stop flappin’ those wings you got there,” Applejack said.
“Hey, why do Fluttershy and I have wings anyhow and the rest of you don’t?” Rainbow Dash then stopped her wings and fell face first onto the floor. Applejack held back her laughter.
“I have wings?” Fluttershy inspected her body and discovered that she did in fact, have wings.
“Ah don’t know, we’ll just add it to the list of unexplained shit this world is throwing at us, anyhow we need to figure out which way to go,” Applejack stepped out of the room.
The group was now entering a rather large and ornate hallway lined with arches and stain glass windows.
“OOOO, I say we go this way!” Pinkie was pointing to her left.
“Sure, why not,” Applejack led the way.
Continuing down the corridors for several minutes, the group came across several weirdly dressed ponies at an intersection. Fluttershy pulled the group into a closet on the side.
“Whatcha-“Applejack began as Fluttershy put her hoof over her mouth.
The group now got a better glimpse of the ponies through the crack in the door as they passed. It was clear that they were guards of some sort as they had on large helmets, what appeared to be body armor, and they were carrying rather large spears.
Waiting for the guards to pass, the group exited the closet and continued down the hallway.
“We must be in some sort of royal palace,” Rarity explained.
“That would explain the guards,” Rainbow Dash commented, “Hey, why don’t we just ask them where Twilight is. I mean she is a princess, so they’re the ones who are probably guarding her. They can take us right to her.”
“Or to a dungeon,” Fluttershy responded weakly.
“OOOOOO, I hope it’s one of those super geeked out dungeons, you know where the guy’s got a massive TV system, all the major consoles, a deck out surround-“ Pinkie was interrupted by Applejack.
“Ah don’t think it’s that type of dungeon,” Applejack said, “Ah think Fluttershy’s right on this one. If they are guarding Twilight, they’re not goin’ ta let five strangers just walk up to her.”
“We could tell them about the mirror and how we got here,” Rainbow Dash offered as a reply.
“Nah, can’t do that. They’d think we're plum crazy,” Applejack continued down the corridor, paying much more attention to their surroundings. If there was one thing about this new body of hers, it was that it definitely had better hearing than her human one, and the ears could move around, allowing her to detect the direction of any sort of noise. Up ahead she heard voices in the distance and hoof steps coming closer.
“Quick,” Applejack whispered, motioning the group into another room located nearby.
As the group entered the room, the voices started to become more intelligible.
“Sweet Celestia, this is boring,” the voice, to the shock of the group, was identical to Rainbow’s, “I mean there’s a ton of booths and other awesome things outside and we’re stuck in here waiting for Twilight.”
“Listen dear,” said a voice similar to Rarity’s,” Twilight’s a princess now, so she needs all the support she can get and since Princess Cadence and Shining Armor are overlooking the fairgrounds, it’s Twilight’s duty to take their place at the Parliament meeting.”
“Yeah but that was supposed to end, like what, an hour ago?” said the Rainbow Dash sound-a-like.
“Ahm sure the only reason she’s late is that somethin’ important is goin’ on down there,” this voice was unmistakably Applejack’s, “We all know how orderly she can be.”
The ponies were now in view of the door, unaware that the group of inter-dimensional travelers were watching them with awe and surprise.
“I hope it’s nothing serious,” the yellow and pink pony who was identical to Fluttershy spoke.
In fact, the entire herd walking down the hall looked exactly like they did, save for the fact that these ponies had some strange markings near their hindquarters.
“Now don’t you worry, Fluttershy,” the Rarity clone said, “Twilight’s will probably be joining us shortly, she probably just had a minor hiccup in her first royal meeting.”
“Hey, does anyone else feel that this is super expositional, like we’re informing people about things we clearly know but have to inform them in order to explain why we’re here and what we’re doing?” the Pinkie Pie one had been the one to say this. The rest of the group stopped right in front of the door which housed the group from Earth, and shot the pink pony some strange looks, “Just me then? Alright.”
“Anyhow,” the white and purple pony began as the look-a-likes continued down the hallway, save for the pink one, “we don’t get to see the inside of the Crystal Palace very often. The architecture is simply divine.”
“I, uh, think it’s Neo-gothic in design,” the cyan one commented, her voice trailing down the hall. However the pink one was still in view of the door crack and seemed to be sensing something.
“I sense something,” she began, “A presence’s I’ve not felt since-“
“Pinkie Pie, you coming?” The Rainbow Dash like voice snapped the pink pony’s concentration and she ran down the hall. “Coming.” She replied back.
The voices and hoof steps slowly started to fade as they continued down the hall.
The group stood motionless inside the room.
“Was-was that US?” Rarity finally addressed the elephant in the room.
“Ah reckon so,” Applejack responded, still in a state of shock and staring at the door where their counterparts had just passed.
“So there are two of me? Awesome!” Rainbow Dash had flown back into the air as she said this and noticed Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy was holding down Pinkie Pie, trying to restrain her. “Uh, Fluttershy, what are you doing?”
“Trying to stop the collapse of the universe, that’s what,” Fluttershy stop holding Pinkie as she stopped struggling.
“Shoot, just missed her,” Pinkie said to no one in particular.
“HUH?! What do ya mean by that?” Applejack was talking to Fluttershy.
“Well, whenever there are two identical people in the same place and they interact with each other, bad things always occur. We could melt, or giant bat like creatures could start eating reality, or we could blow a hole in the universe the size of Belgium,” Fluttershy answered, curling up into a ball as she did so.
“Belgium? Seems a bit dramatic, doesn't it?” replied Rarity.
“It wouldn't be so nice if you’re at the center of it,” Fluttershy had resumed a normal stance now, at least normal for a pony, anyhow.
“Okay, and just where are you getting these ideas from?” Rainbow Dash question Fluttershy.
“Well, uh,” she began, retreating slightly into her hair, “Mostly from Sci-fi shows, but I’d rather not take the chance on finding out whether they’re right or not.”
“She has a point there, Dash,” Applejack responded.
“Fine, we won’t interact with our doubles,” Rainbow Dash began in a defeated tone, “Beside, Fluttershy’s right. The universe couldn't handle the sheer awesomeness of two of me,” Her voice was full of pride.
Applejack rolled her eyes at the comment, but let it pass, “So we’re all agreed, we won’t interact with our doubles.”
The three other heads in the room nodded in agreement. Applejack checked the number of faces.
“Where’s Pinkie Pie?” Applejack stated as she noticed the door to the room had been swung open.
“She must have left when we weren’t looking,” Rarity responded.
“She must be looking for her opposite,” Fluttershy said, “We’ve got to stop her!”
The group left the room only to notice a pink blur rushing to the right at the end of the hallway. The group followed after the streak. Running, they noticed they were going much faster than what should be humanly possible and had soon caught up to Pinkie Pie, who seemed to not be running but jumping along at a reasonable pace. Soon enough, the group caught up to her.
“Hey, girls,” Pinkie said, “You want to meet your twin too?”
“Pinkie, didn’t ya hear what Fluttershy said?” Applejack replied, “The entire universe could be destroyed if that happens.”
“Or at least Belgium,” Rainbow Dash muttered to no one.
“Don’t be silly,” Pinkie was still bouncing down the hall,” The only way the universe could be destroyed is if me and myself held such a huge party that we accidentally bring about the heat death of the universe early. But don’t worry, I’m sure the party won’t be THAT big.”
Applejack looked confused at Pinkie Pie for a second before moving back to the topic at hand, “Sorry Pinkie, but we can’t take that chance,” she put a hoof out in front of Pinkie to stop her.
“AWWW, come on guys,” Pinkie said with a sad look on her face, “we could have so much fun with them. Rainbow Dash, imagine all the cool athletic things you could do if there was two of you.”
“Yeah, that be pretty awesome, but I kinda need the universe to exist for that to happen,” Rainbow Dash replied.
“Now, Pinkie, Ah don’t mean to upset you, but we need to find Twilight, get the mirror fixed, and go home before anyone misses us or we end up destroyin’ all of creation,” Applejack started moving down the corridor. “Come on, y’all”
“You guys are just no fun sometimes,” Pinkie complied.
“I’d rather be alive and no fun at all then dead, Pinkie,” Rarity replied.
“Uh, girls!” Fluttershy motioned behind them. Around the corner, they could hear faint hoof steps and saw shadows on the wall approaching them. Applejack motioned them into the rather large and impressive doors next to them and they entered the room.
The room the group had just entered was no ordinary room. There was a long walkway surrounded by marble columns and incredibly detailed stained glass windows, all of which lead up to a rather impressive throne located at the back of the room. Lucky for them it was also completely empty.
“This must be some kind of throne room,” Rarity said.
“Shhhh,” Applejack hushed Rarity.
“Then this is perfect,” said Rainbow Dash in a whisper, “All we got to do is wait here until Twilight shows up.”
“SHHHH!” Applejack said with more force, “Y’all gonna get us caught.”
Soon, the group could hear voices approaching. Unfortunately, the voices were all too familiar.
“Admit it Rainbow Dash, we’re lost,” It was Rarity’s duplicate that had spoken.
“Please, I know this place like the back of my own hoof,” this time it was Dash’s double.
“Alright then, where are we?” The Rarity double sounded annoyed.
“Uh, here,” said the Dash double matter-o-factly.
“And just where is here?” It sounded like the Rarity double was losing her patience.
“Y’all quit your fightin’ I think this is the throne room,” the Applejack’s voice sounded like it was right beside the door, “Betcha there’s a map in here.”
Applejack looked around and noticed there were no other exits save the large door their duplicates were standing in front of. Noticing a space behind the throne, she motioned the rest of the group behind it. Just as she slid behind the large chair, the door swung open.
“Here we go,” the Applejack double said. It sounded as though they were still near the entrance. Applejack took a quick peak from behind the throne. The group of identical ponies were looking at a map on the wall at the other side of the room, facing away from the throne.
“Aw shucks, we’re on the other side of the castle,” the Applejack double said.
“I told you we were lost,” said the Rarity double.
“Whatever,” the Dash double replied in a tone of bruised pride.
“Ah said quit it,” the AJ double snapped, “Ah got the direction, now we can go back to our quarter and wait for Twilight to get done with her meetin’.”
“Achoo!” Applejack turned around to see that the Fluttershy next to her had just sneezed. As with all things Fluttershy, it had barely been noticeable and Applejack hoped that her double and her friends hadn’t noticed. However, her heart felt like it could burst out of her chest at any moment.
“Bless you,” the Rainbow Dash double said nonchalantly.
“Who’re you blessing, Dashie?” The Pinkie Pie double had said.
“Uh, Fluttershy, did you hear her sneeze?” The Dash double responded.
“Uh, I didn’t sneeze,” Fluttershy’s double imputed.
“Okay,” the Rainbow Dash double sounded suspicious.
“So ya thought you heard Fluttershy sneeze, no big deal,” the AJ clone retorted.
“Come now, let us return to our rooms so I can take a nice relaxing bath,” Rarity’s clone has spoken up.
“Yeah, you guys are right,” The Rainbow Dash double said, still holding the same suspicious tone in her voice, “Let’s leave.”
There was the sound of hoof steps exiting the room, followed by a loud bang indicating the doors had closed.
Waiting a few minutes to make sure the group’s doubles didn’t re-enter the chamber; Applejack closed her eyes and drew a breath of relief, “That was a close one.”
Opening her eye, she discovered a certain cyan pony standing at the top of the throne looking down on them, “Yeahh, not really,” the rainbow haired pony replied.
“Admit it Rainbow Dash, we’re lost,” Rarity said. The group of ponies had been wandering around the Crystal Palace for some time now, and seemed to be going nowhere.
“Please, I know this place like the back of my own hoof,” Rainbow Dash replied. In actuality, Rainbow Dash hadn’t the slightest idea where they were.
“Alright then, where are we?” Rarity looked at Rainbow Dash with an annoyed look on her face.
“Uh, here,” Rainbow Dash responded, one hoof pointing at the large throne room doors next to her, even if she didn’t know that.
“And just where is here?” Rarity was now really annoyed now.
“Y’all quit your fightin’ I think this is the throne room,” Applejack was looking at the door. Turning to face her friends, she started to open the door. “Betcha there’s a map in here.”
The group entered, and Rainbow Dash noticed a movement near the rear of the room, beside the throne itself. She thought this was strange but paid it no mind. So the group was huddled around the map placed beside the door.
“Here we go,” Applejack said as she traced an outline on the map linking the guest quarter to the throne room, “Aw shucks, we’re on the other side of the castle.”
“I told you we were lost,” Rarity’s face had an I-told-you-so look on it.
“Whatever,” Rainbow Dash said, annoyed at the comment.
“Ah said quit it,” Applejack said.
After walking around the castle, she was a bit tired and didn’t want to put up with her friends bickering, “Ah got the directions, now we can go back to our quarters and wait for Twilight to get done with her meetin’.”
“Achoo!”
“Bless you,” Rainbow Dash responded, more as a force of habit than a conscious effort on her part.
“Who’re you blessing, Dashie?” Pinkie Pie asked inquisitively.
“Uh, Fluttershy, didn’t you hear her sneeze?” Rainbow Dash responded.
“Uh, I didn’t sneeze,” Fluttershy said, looking a bit confused at the accusation.
“So ya thought you heard Fluttershy sneeze, no big deal,” Applejack said, both trying to avoid another argument.
However, Rainbow Dash was looking at the throne with a distrustful eye.
“Yeah, you guys are right,” she said, not taking her eyes of the chair, “let’s leave.”
The others were leaving the room, when Rainbow Dash slammed the doors shut just in front of them. Before Applejack had a chance to speak up, Rainbow Dash had placed a hoof over her mouth and motioned the others to remain quiet. After about five minutes of waiting, Applejack had just about had enough. She was going to speak up but Rainbow Dash motioned for her to hold it. She rolled her eyes and decided to ignore Rainbow Dash’s instructions. However, something else happened.
“That was a close one.” The sound had come from behind the throne, but that wasn’t the strange part. It was that the voice sounded identical to Applejack’s.
Rainbow Dash flew over to the throne and looked behind it, “Yeah, not really.”
Note: In order to keep straight the characters, the names of the EQG cast will be altered. This will only apply out of universe so they will still answer to their original names. The new names are AJ, RD, Shy, Pink, and Rara for EQG, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity, respectfully. The FIM cast will retain the original names out of universe. Example Rainbow Dash refers to the one born a pony and wishes to be a Wonderbolt, while RD refers to the human girl who is captain of the Canterlot Wondercolts sport teams. This break also allows me to insert a break to allow for a more universal viewpoint instead of one focused around one set of cast members.
“YAAAAAHHHHH!” Startled by the appearance of the cyan pony above them, the group of ponies hiding behind the throne scrambled out from their cover. They were soon met with a group of stares from the other set of ponies at the main entrance. The two groups stared at each other for about a minute, one group in confusion, the other in panic.
“Changlings!” Rainbow Dash spoke up after the unusual pause. She started to rush towards the group in the corner, prepared for a fight.
“Stand back,” RD yelled, “I’ve got a Pinkie Pie and I’m not afraid to use her,” RD held Pink by her tail and neck in the fashion of a Gatling gun. Pink gave of the sound of a shotgun click. RD looked confused at the sound but quickly turned her attention back towards her opposite.
“What?” Rainbow Dash stopped, confused by the statement just made. She began to lunge at them again but was stopped by a tug at her tail.
“Ah don’t think they’re Changlins’,” Applejack said with a mouthful of rainbow tail in her mouth.
“Of course they are,” Rainbow Dash said, trying to tug out her tail from Applejack, who had taken it from her mouth and placed a hoof over it, “What other explanation could there be!?”
“OOOO, I know, I know,” Pink began, “We’re-“
“Cos-players!” Shy said, placing a hoof over Pink’s mouth, “Yes, that it, we’re cosplayers.”
Shy laughed nervously and started rubbing her front hooves.
“Cosplayers? Really,” Rainbow Dash said in a deadpan expression.
Shy motioned to RD to keep Pink, who was struggling against Shy, under control and for Rara to help RD. “Yes, we’re, um, really big fans of yours, right. I mean you,” Shy started looking around noticing the stained glass windows, “um, defeated the evil snake-like thing? With a magic laser?” Shy’s voice trailed off as she spoke the last sentence.
“You mean Discord?” Fluttershy responded.
“YES!” Shy said, “You stopped Discord and, um.” Still rubbing her hooves, Shy tried to focus on what Twilight had said during the confrontation with Sunset Shimmer, “You’re the Elements of Harmony!” Shy said, pointing at the group by the door, suddenly remembering.
“Alright then,” Rainbow Dash said, “Then why are you in the throne room?”
“Uh we got lost from our tour group,” Shy said, “We were going to the washroom to um change when we got separated, yeah that’s it, and we started searching, until we got here.”
“OOOO, she’s good!” Pinkie Pie was watching, eating out of a popcorn bucket she had somehow managed to get ahold of. “Then why were you hiding?” Rainbow Dash said, still suspicious and ignoring Pinkie Pie.
“Um, we didn’t know who you were and didn’t want to get in trouble,” Shy replied with a nervous smile on her face.
“So you’re cosplayers who got lost and accidentally found your way to the throne room?” Rainbow Dash said, eyeing the group in the corner.
“Yes,” Shy responed and everyone else in her group, outside of Pink, nodded in agreement.
“Then why are you missing our cutie marks, if you’re such good cosplayers?” Rainbow Dash said.
“Oh lay off ‘em Dash,” Applejack replied, “You gave ‘em a right scare and now you go on questionin’ ‘em.”
“You’re not seriously buying this,” Rainbow Dash said, giving a surprised look towards Applejack.
“Ah admit their story sounds crazy,” Applejack began, “but Ah think they’re harmless.”
“Are you out of your mind!?” Rainbow Dash said, throwing her arms in the air, “There clearly part of some Changeling plan to bring down the Crystal Empire. I mean it’s the perfect time, with the Equestria Games going on, nobody would predict an attack.”
“Since when have you seen a Changeling do an imperfect transformation?” Applejack question, “Also, the last group we encountered weren’t so talkative.”
“Well, they could be spies then.” Rainbow Dash said, refusing to give up her suspicions.
“And they’re gonna go as imperfect imposters of the friends of the newest Princess in Equestria?” Applejack said, “No spy worth his metal would be stupid enough to try that Dash.”
“Well, I still don’t like them,” Rainbow Dash said, running out of ways to argue her position.
“Well your dislike for them doesn’t mean we have the right to hold them,” Rarity said, walking close to her counterpart, “But I do say, the detail on the horn is quite remarkable, I can hardly tell the difference.”
“I HAVE A HORN!” Rara yelled, letting go of Pink, feeling the top of her head. Shy hoof palmed.
“Okay, explain that!” Rainbow Dash commented towards Shy.
“Oh, well, uhm, she can be a bit forgetful at times?” Shy replied, trying to keep up the game. She gave Rara a look, as if to tell her to keep up her end.
“Yes, quite right, I am sorry about that outburst, it just slipped my mind,” Rara responded, giving a sheepish grin and laughing nervously.
“Okay, why do you guys sound like us anyhow?” Rainbow Dash said but more so out of natural curiosity than suspicion. “And why are you holding down your guy’s Pinkie Pie?” RD was still struggling to contain Pink.
“Oh, we’re, uhm, all method actors,” Shy replied. “Our Pinkie Pie takes her role a bit too seriously and we want to avoid trouble.” She gave a short little laugh.
“Well you don’t appear to be keeping up a good Fluttershy,” Dash responded, “Fluttershy would only act this way if she thought the world was going to end or something.”
“Well, hehe, I’m just trying to avoid an unpleasant situation,” Shy said with a very nervous grin, “I mean, there is absolutely no way the universe could collapse in on itself right now,” Her smile had now left.
“Oh hey, would you look at the time,” Shy motioned to her empty wrist, “We really must be off, it was a pleasure to meet you, see you later goodbye,” she said rapidly, motioning the others in her group to follow her as she made her way to the door.
At that moment both Pinkie Pie’s ears flopped, their eyes fluttered and their knees (in their front legs) twitched. This also had the effect of setting Pink free from RD grasp.
“Bang!”
Shy was hit square in the face by the large throne room doors.
“Oh my, Fluttershy are you alright!?” A lavender pony with both a horn and a set of wings, now entered the room, attending to Shy.
“Would you like a jelly baby?” Shy said in a dazed voice, as if her mind was not actually there.
“I’m so sorry Fluttershy,” Twilight said, turning to the other ponies in the room. “Girls I could… Wow, that meeting took more out of me than I thought.”
“Well according to them-,“ Rainbow Dash began, expect Pink interrupted her, “Finally now I can tell you what’s really happening. It’s that-“
“You’re from an alternate dimension, but just not any dimension; you’re from the one Twilight went to to get back the element of magic, and stop Sunset Shimmer. And all you guys are actually over-dressed monkey ape creatures,” Pinkie Pie concluded with a smile on her face.
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Pink said to her opposite.
“We’re called humans and-“AJ said, stopping mid-sentence, her eyes having widened at the realization of what she had just done. Rara and RD hoof palmed.
“Uh, what Ah mean is,” AJ continued, but realized it was pointless at this stage, “She’s right.” AJ said with a tone of defeat . “Wait, what?” Twilight said confused. The rest of the Mane 6, save Pinkie Pie, looked equally confused.
“Let’s start from the beginning,” AJ said.
*After reading Chapter 1*
“Well, that was interesting,” Twilight said, “Grammar could use a little work though.”
Et tu, Twilight.
“But that still doesn’t explain why you guys just didn’t tell the truth when you were found,” Twilight continued.
“Well Fluttershy said that if we met ourselves, Germany would melt due to bats, or something like that,” RD responded.
“Don’t be silly, Dash,” Pink replied, “That kind of stuff only happens in time travel stories, but this is dimension hopping.”
“You don’t actually believe them, do you Twilight?” Rainbow Dash said, “I mean they could have made the whole thing up. They have no proof.”
“OOO, I’ve got it,” Pink replied, pulling out an iPod and speaker setup.
“Where did ya get that from?” AJ asked.
“From a transdimensional pocket located in the void between universes, duh,” Pink Responded.
AJ was about to reply but was interrupted by RD, “Magic, got it.”
“That’s not how magic works,” Twilight said, slightly confused, “But anyways, continue Pinkie.”
Pink pressed the play button on the speaker.
“Help!” “I need somebody.” “Help!” “Not just anybody.” “Help!” “You know I need someone.” “Heeeeeelp!”
“Whoops, wrong song,” Pink said, hitting the next button and a new track started.
“Hey, hey, everybody, we’ve got something to say.” “We may seem as different as the night is from day.” “But you look a little deeper, and you will see.” “That I’m just like you and you’re just like me.”
“What is this thing,” Rainbow Dash said, inspecting the speaker system. She managed to press the next button.
“Hey you.” “Out there in the cold getting lonely getting out. Can you feel me? “ “Hey you.” “Standing in the aisle with itchy feet and fading smile. Can you feel me?”
Pink grabbed the system from Rainbow Dash and pressed pause, “Weird, I don’t even remember owning that song.” I close my iTunes browser.
“Well that proves it Rainbow,” Twilight said, “Only my friends in that other world would know that song. How were you able to play it, though?”
“Uh, iPod,” RD replied
“Uh, girls,” Fluttershy said, looking over her counterpart.
“Yes Fluttershy,” Twilight replied.
“I think we may need to bring her to a hospital,” Fluttershy was pointing at Shy, “I think she may have a concussion.” “MUFFIN WAFFLE!” Shy said, still walled eyed and dazed as before.
“Right, let’s get her to the infirmary, and then we can discuss what we’re going to do about all this,” Twilight said, motioning to everyone in the room. They picked up Shy and began to carry her out into the hallway of the palace.
Shy began to stir. She realized she was lying in a bed and had a blindfold on. “Uhhhh,” she muttered.
“Fluttershy, how are you feeling?” RD said to her.
“Who turned out the lights?” Shy asked in a tired tone to anyone in the room.
“You’re in the hospital, you bumped your head. The blindfold is to help in case your light sensitive right now, at least that’s what the doctor said,” Rare replied.
“Once again, how are you feeling?” RD asked.
“Oh,” Shy began, “Dazed and confused, but otherwise fine.”
“Anything else?” Rare responded.
“Well, it feels like I’m missing my fingers, and then I had a strange dream where-,” Shy stopped herself. “I’m still a pony, aren’t I?”
“Ehyup,” RD replied.
“We met our doubles?” Shy asked with a deadpan tone.
“Ehyup,” RD said again.
“Are they here with us?” Shy asked.
“Well only two of them,” Rare replied.
“The universe didn’t explode?” Shy said.
“Nope,” RD replied.
“Oh thank God.” Shy sat up in the bed and removed her blindfold. In the room she noticed the four other ponies in the room.
Soon, another pony entered the room, with a stethoscope around his neck, clearly a medical examiner.
“Ah, I see you’re awake now,” he said looking over Shy.
“Uh,” Shy said looking awkwardly at the other ponies in the room.
“Oh I know all about you,” he said.
“You do!?” Shy responded.
“I must say that is an impressive costume you have there. Must have magically altered your coat, can’t seem to get the stuff off.” The doctor said.
“Oh, right,” Shy said, “So, what’s up doc? How am I?”
“You’ll make a full recovery,” the doctor said, “Just a minor bump to the head. I’d take it easy for a while, but you’re free to go. Now if you’ll excuse me I have a rather annoying patient in the next room. The other examiner claims that he has two hearts.” The doctor rolled his eyes and left the room.
“How long was I out?” Shy said turning towards the others.
“Only an hour, Dear,” Rare replied.
“Where are the others?” Shy asked.
“Twilight and the rest decided to go check out the mirror,” Applejack said.
“Yeah, that way we don’t have anyone asking unnecessary questions.” RD said.
“And how is everyone getting along?” Shy said uneasily.
“Everypony’s getting along like fava beans and chianti,” Pinkie Pie said smiling.
“And you’re not freaked out by the appearance of trans-dimensional versions of yourselves?” Shy asked Applejack and Pinkie Pie.
“Not really, sugarcube,” Applejack replied, “Twilight told us all about you when she returned from your world.”
“Kind of wish she told us that,” RD mumbled to no one.
Not hearing the comment, Pinkie Pie began to speak, “Yeah, you guys are nothing compared to the time there were hundreds of me, I mean I didn’t even know which me was me.”
“And what happened to them?” Shy asked inquisitively.
“Complete genocide,” Pinkie Pie said smiling without a tone of remorse or regret.
“WHAT!?” Rare, RD and Shy all yelled.
“Pinkie,” Applejack facehoofed and turned her attention to the others, “Listen, it wasn’t like that. Pinkie used a magic cloning pond to create doubles of herself, all magic based, so they were livin’ to begin with.”
“And besides they were all crazy,” Pinkie Pie said, “So you know they were crazy if I couldn’t bear them.”
“Don’t ever mention that again,” Rare said, now facing Shy, “Fluttershy, do you think you can walk?”
“Yes, I think so,” Fluttershy got out of bed. “Where to?” She questioned Applejack and Pinkie Pie.
“Come on y’all, this way,” Applejack said leading them out of the infirmary and down the hall.
“All this equipment is useless,” Twilight said, tossing aside a gyroscope. “It’s all a thousand years out of date.”
The group of ponies surrounding her looked on. “Pinkie, you said that you hit the portal open on the other side, right?”
“Yes siry,” Pink replied.
“And it was still open when you came through, correct?” Twilight said.
“Ah reckon so,” AJ replied.
“So then it’s only a matter of opening the portal on this side,” Twilight mused to herself.
Rainbow Dash approached Twilight and began to whisper to her, “How are you feeling Twi?”
“Oh, just great,” Twilight responded, twitching slightly, “Actually, I feel kind of odd. I think my emotions are canceling one another and I’m left with this calm that I’m kind of just running with.
“What emotions?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well, I’m really glad to see my friends from that other world,” Twilight replied, “And then I’m terrified by what Princess Celestia said about multiple ponies- people- whatever’s crossing through the portal.”
“You don’t think they were right about the whole destruction of the universe thing?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“No, I don’t think anything major could happen,” Twilight said twitching again. “But you know, flood, fire, plague, cosmic wars, minor stuff like that.”
“Any progress,” Applejack asked as the group from the hospital entered the room.
“Only bits and pieces,” Twilight responded, “If I only had my lab equipment, I could run a full diagnostic on this mirror.”
“Well what do you know so far, princess?” RD said in a slightly annoyed tone.
“That kind of tone is going to get us anywhere Rainbow,” Rare replied.
“Whatever,” RD said grumpily.
“Well, from what I’ve been able to piece together from both Pinkie Pies,” Twilight pointed at the mirror. “And from my own experience through it, I think I have a way to send you guys back.”
“That’s awesome,” RD said excitedly,” So what’s the plan?”
“Since it appears that the moon opens this portal, we’re going to wait for the full Moon, pump this mirror with electricity and send you back to your world,” Twilight concluded.
“We’re just going to wait for a full Moon?” RD asked. “And just how long will that be?” She asked annoyed.
“Well, once we get back to Ponyville,” The name seemed to get a short laugh out of the inter-dimensional travelers, but Twilight continued on, “We’ll get Spike to send a letter to have Princess Luna bring forth a full Moon as soon as possible.”
“Princess Luna?” Talk about a promotion,” Rare whispered to RD.
“Hold on a minute,” AJ replied, “There’s a princess here who can control the Moon?”
“Why, yes, doesn’t someone do that in your world?” Twilight asked.
“No, not really.” RD replied.
“Well at least you have someone to control the Sun, right?” Twilight said.
“No, we don’t have one of those either, silly,” Pink replied.
“Really, then how does the sun rise and set?” Twilight was now curious.
“Gravity and the Earth’s rotation,” Shy responded.
“And just what is gravity?” Rainbow Dash injected.
“Well, it’s a fundamental force in which objects with mass will be attached to one another, and it gives us weight.” Shy hid behind her hair after saying this.
“As fascinating as a discussion on other worldly physics may be,” Rarity said, with a hint of sarcasm, “I do believe you said something about Ponyville Twilight.”
“Yes,” Twilight responded. “Spike is there right now and we need him to send a message to the princess. We also need my lab equipment to set up the electrical circuits that will activate the mirror.”
“And just how are we going to smuggle a giant mirror out of the castle?” Rare asked.
“Let’s just say being a princess has its perks,” Twilight said coyly.
“And just what does that mean,” Applejack asked suspiciously.
“I asked some the guards to help me move it to the train station,” Twilight said sheepishly.
“Well then we better get out of here,” AJ said, “Unless we want to explain why there are two of us here.”
“The train doesn’t leave for another three hours, so we’ve got some time,” Twilight replied. “We probably should get something to eat before we leave.”
Noticing their guts for the first time, the group of inter-dimensional travelers realized they hadn’t eaten for some time.
“Yeah, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” RD said. “I could really go for some bacon right about now.”
“Bacon?” Fluttershy asked.
RD realized what Fluttershy had just asked. “Please tell me you guys have bacon!”
“Yeah their diets are completely vegetarian,” Pink said, and then thought to herself for a moment. “I should use that in a song one of these days.”
“But… but bacon is awesome!” RD began to pout.
“Aw quit your cryin’,” AJ said “Free food is free food.”
“Yes, I do believe you are being quite rude to our hosts, Rainbow,” Rare inputted.
“Fine,” RD said. “Let’s eat,” She said with a defeatist tone. The group left the closet.
In the main dining room.
“This is definitely one of the perks about being a princess,” Twilight said, leading the others into the room.
The dining room was similar in style to the throne room; expect instead of a rug and throne, there was a large table and chairs surrounding it. The table looked like it could seat a hundred or so. The first third of the table was covered in fruits, breads, vegetables, and flowers, more than enough food for the eleven ponies.
“Will Shining Armor or Princess Cadence be joining us?” Rarity asked.
“No. Cadence is still presiding over the games and Shining got called up north to the ice border,” Twilight replied.
“Don’t you think we may not want too many people knowing about us?” RD said.
“I think we can trust my brother and foal sitter slash sister-in-law,” Twilight said, “And besides, this part of the castle is closed off for the time being.”
“And if you look to your right, you’ll see the rather impressive neo-gothic architecture this castle is well known for,” A tour guide said, walking down the hall next to the dining room.
Twilight instantly closed the doors. “Oops!” she said, facing the others with a guilty smile. The others rolled their eyes and sat down.
The main universe group had taken their seats. However, the group of travelers were having a much more difficult time. “Ok, just where do Ah put this?” AJ said, trying to maneuver her tail though the chair.
“Just throw it around, like this,” Applejack said, motioning her tail to her side. AJ mimicked her movements, however her motions were less controlled than her counterpart's.
“Ah reckon you never dealt with a tail before?” Applejack asked.
“Didn’t have one until a few hours ago,” AJ replied.
“Ah can’t imagine myself without one,” Applejack said.
“It’s different biology, okay. Now can we just eat?” RD interjected.
The group soon started to pass around the food and fill their plates. However, the group of inter-dimensional travelers noticed something was missing, except for Pink. She and her opposite had discovered several gallons of chocolate milk and were having a drinking contest between the two of them.
“How are we supposed to eat this?” AJ said, noticing the lack of silverware.
“Like this,” Rainbow Dash said, tearing wildly at her plate, similar to how a polar bear clubs a seal before eating it.
“Really?” Applejack replied before gently grazing at her plate.
“I agree, that’s barbaric,” Rarity chimed, lifting a small apple wedge in a blue magical field, taking a bite of it.
“How are you doing that?” Rare asked.
“Oh it’s just a simple levitation spell,” Rarity replied. “Why don’t you try?”
“How am I supposed to do that?” Rare responded.
“Just uses your horn dear,” Rarity said.
“Oh, right,” Rare uneasily, “And how do I do that?”
“Just use your magic,” Rarity replied.
“Magic?” Rare said. “And just how do I use magic?”
“They don’t have magic where she’s from, Rarity,” Twilight responded as both looked up at her. “Well except maybe for those bright, bigger on the inside encyclopedias.”
“Well then, we must teach you,” Rarity said to Rare. “First, you must feel the magic between you and the apple.”
“So it’s basically the Force,” RD commented.
“The Force? I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Rarity replied.
“You know, the Force. From Star Wars.” RD said.
“Star Wars? Never heard of it.” Rarity said.
“WHAT?” Shy said, “You’ve never seen Star Wars?” Rarity nodded. “And the rest of you?” Shy said to the other ponies, who agreed with Rarity. “But it’s one of the greatest movie sagas EVER! It’s one of the best things in existence.”
“Even the prequels?” RD said, trying to irritate Shy.
It worked all too well. Shy shot a look at RD that would make The Stare look like a mercy, “We don’t talk about the prequels.” She soon returned to her normal posture, while RD was curled on the floor. “If only I had the video with me, I could show you how awesome it is.” Shy said saddened.
“Ah’d like to see their reaction to Empire,” AJ whispered to Rare.
“Here you go Shy,” Pink said, handing over three movie wheel film canisters to Shy.
“Uh, Pinkie, where did you get these?” Shy replied.
“Inter-dimensional pocket, remember?” Pink said.
“I mean how did you get them?” Shy asked.
“Oh, I just found them lying around,” Pink said walking over to a window. She opened the window and chucked what looked like a pair of goggles and a map labeled Skywalker Ranch out of it.
“Would y’all just sit down and eat,” AJ said, “We can watch the movie later, but first we got to catch a train.”
“Yeah, and no movie can be as awesome as I am,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Now with that out of the way, someone help me with this,” AJ said holding an unpeeled orange.
After helping AJ with the orange, and giving both AJ and Applejack some teasing about it, the group ate relatively quickly. Making sure the coast was clear the group made their way to the train station. They had decided to head out in two groups so as not to draw attention to themselves, each group only having one version of each pony. They were soon on the train and had found an empty sleeper car and soon were on their way back to Ponyville.
In the dimly lit and smoke filled room, the purple and green dragon slide his chips to the center of the green felt table. His chips joined the impressively large group there. Two of his opponents folded. Only one remained, but this was Spike’s hand…er claw. He had the four and ten of clubs and on the table was the jack of hearts, and the two and six of clubs. All he needed was another club and he’d have a flush. The last card came down, the jack of clubs. With his victory assured, he laid down his cards and began to collect his earning. “Well, somepony’s finally getting lucky today,” Spike couldn’t help but smile.
His reach was cut short by a rabbit’s paw. Stopping him was Angel, dress in a black vest and bow tie, as he pointed to his remaining opponent. Gummy laid down his cards to reveal a pair of jacks. “A four of a kind? Son of Winona!” Spike said realizing he had just lost. And understanding what he just said, Spike turned to the Border collie. “No offense.” The dog didn’t seem to mind.
Angel slid the chips to Gummy, which he added to his rather impressive stack. Of all the pet, none of them expected him to be the best poker player, but there he was, king of the table.
Spike left his chair and found a cup full of gem. Reaching for one, he handed it to Angel, the game’s dealer. “Would you mind cashing this one out?” This was the third time Spike had done this and it was against the rules, but Angel allowed it. Weather it was out of kindness or some sort of pleasure seeing Spike lose so often, no one could tell.
Just as Spike handed over the gem, there was the sound of a key sliding into the lock and the front door of the library swung open.
“Why is it so dark in here?” Twilight asked, using her horn to light the room to its normal brightness. “And why is there so much smoke? Spike, you didn’t try making that soufflé again, did you?”
Spike entered the main Library lobby, “Uh, hey Twilight you’re back early.” Spike gave a nervous smile and looked behind him. Motioning the pets to get rid of the poker table, they were trying to stuff the table into the broom closet. Spike turned back to Twilight.
Spike soon noticed there was more than the usual amount of ponies he had come to expect. In fact, it seemed like everyone was doubled. In the lobby stood two Rainbow Dashes, two Fluttershys, two Pinkie Pies, two Applejack, and two Raritys. Soon the other pets joined him.
Twilight noticed her dumbfounded assistant. “Spike, you remember everyone from Canterlot High, right?”
Spike shook his head and regained his composure, “Wait, you mean they’re from that weird lanky universe though the mirror where I was a dog?”
“Yes,” Twilight said. “They’re going to be staying with us until we can figure out a way to get them back home.”
“Ah was expecting him to be bigger,” AJ said to Rare in a whisper.
“I was thinking he’d be more like Godzilla or something like that,” RD said, overhearing the comment.
“Me too,” Rare replied. “He’s much more human looking than I expected.”
“Ya got a crush on him now?” AJ said smiling “Ah saw the way you handle him back when he a little puppy.” AJ grin grew wider as Rare turned redder.
“Now, AJ just because I, shall we say, gave him some affection doesn’t mean that there’s any sort of relationship between us. I’m sure that our friendship here is strictly platonic.” Rare replied.
“So you’re telling me there are two Raritys here?” Spike said have dazed in a love sick tone.
“Yes, at least of a while,” Twilight replied. The concept was too much for Spike to take and he fainted.
“Oh my!” Shy said quietly, moving around to check on the unconscious dragon, who was only muttering “Two Raritys,” in a happily glazed tone.
“I think it’s way past his bed time,” Twilight said, grabbing Spike in a violet aura and moving him to his bed. “I think I’ll send a letter to the Princess tomorrow about the whole mirror thing.”
“Oh, that reminds me.” Twilight flashed out of the room. There were two flashes outside and one coming from a door in the lobby, from which Twilight emerged from. “Had to get the mirror down there, just couldn’t have it standing around outside.”
“Now explain to me why we had to take the train again?” RD asked.
“Well, I needed to contact the Princess, and Spike is the fastest way to get ahold of her,” Twilight said, “And if we just sent a letter in the mail, then the train it would be on would have to pass though Ponyville anyways, so it saves us a lot of time.”
“No, I mean why didn’t you just teleport us here?” RD replied.
“Well, it only works over a short distance and I can only take about two to three ponies with me,” Twilight responded, “So, at best I could gotten half of us about five miles away from the Crystal Empire. That wouldn’t have been very helpful.”
“Well, Ah think Ah’d better get back home,” Applejack said, taking a leash to Winona. “Winona hear don’t like sleepin’ in other ponies’ house and apparently somepony forgot to pick her up. When Ah get home, Applebloom’s gonna get an earful.”
“Ah hear that,” AJ said. “My sis just the same at times.”
“Well, it was nice meetin’ ya, me, y’all” Applejack said. “Ah’ll see you in the mornin’. Night.” Applejack exited the Library.
“Yeah, I think I’ll head out too.” Rainbow Dash said. “Nothing against your place Twilight, I just like the feel of my own bed.”
“I agree,” Rarity said. “Nothing feels as comfortable as one’s own surrondings, expect for maybe a spa bath, or a hooficure, or the feel of a nice long…” Rarity looked up and turing slightly red, noticed she was rambling. “Well, anyhow I think will be off, come here Opel.”
The white cat walked slowly over and Rarity placed her in her cage. “Well, since Applejack is coming by tomorrow, I think I shall join her. See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, smell ya later. Come on Tank.” Rainbow Dash said, and Rarity and Rainbow Dash left with Tank running into the wall before finding the door.
“Wait, she has a flying turtle? That’s so awesome.” RD said.
“Actually, he’s a tortoise,” Fluttershy corrected her. “I think I’ll be going home to, if that’s alright with you. I have a whole bunch of animals that need to be taken care for. I got Harry to help out, but some of the little critters are still frighten by him.”
“Uh, would it be alright if I stopped by tomorrow?” Shy said “I love to see all the animals you take care of, if you don’t mind, that is.”
“Sure, that be wonderful,” Fluttershy responded. “My cottage is right next to the magically enhanced forest that is home to a plethora of untamed wild beasts. See you tomorrow.”
As Fluttershy exited, she could still be hear conversing with Angel. “Why are you wearing that?” she said innocently, noticing Angel’s clothes, as her voice trailed softly into the night.
Looking at the six remaining ponies in the room, Twilight motioned to the side room. “Well it looks like it’s just us tonight. I’ll go get some sleeping bags.”
“Hey, Twilight, what time is it?” Pinkie Pie asked,
“Uh, eleven thirty, I think?” Twilight said, looking for a clock.
“Eleven-thirty?! Gummy’s favorite movie is on!” Pinkie Pie said. “If he misses it, he’ll be so upset!” The alligator blinked, his expression unchanging. “Come on, Gummy, if we hurry, we can still catch it.” Pinkie Pie ran to the door. “See you tomorrow Twi!” She said exiting the library and sprinting down the street.
“Well I suppose that’s one less sleeping bag,” Twilight said. “Now where did I put them?” She entered the side room and opened the broom closet. “AHHH!” Twilight screamed as poker chips and table fell on her.
After helping Twilight with the mess caused by the poker set and grabbing the sleeping bag, the ponies soon formed a circle around their makeshift base.
“I hope you guys don’t mind sleeping here,” Twilight said. “I have a spare bed, but I think it be kind of unfair to have two of you sleep in it while the others only have these.” She pointed to the bag.
“Nah, its fine.” RD said. “Why did you grab one?”
“Well I was reading my slumber party book and it said that if there are not enough beds to hold everypony, then everyone should sleep together, including the host.” Twilight replied.
“Seriously, you read a book on slumber parties?” RD said in a deadpan tone.
“Uh…Yes?” Twilight said, blushing slightly.
“NEEERRRD!” RD said, point a hoof at her, giggling a bit.
“Now stop the Rainbow,” Rare said. “I’m sure Twilight her just needed some pointer on how to act as a proper hostess for this kind of occasion.”
“Yeah and any book about partying is okay in my book,” Pink replied.
“Alright, I’ll stop. Besides, Twilight isn’t the biggest nerd here anyways. Right Fluttershy?” RD turned to look at Shy.
“Who, me?” Shy said, a bit frighten by the sudden attention.
“Yes, you. Somewhere down the road you became a sci-fi fan. You were referencing all sorts of weird plot elements and stuff when we arrived here today. Where did that come from, anyways?” RD asked.
“I’d rather not talk about it.” Shy retreated into her mane.
“Actually, I kind of like to hear that,” Twilight said. “Our universe’s Fluttershy doesn’t come here very often to check out books and she’s never really expressed an opinion on science fiction.”
“I really don’t want to talk about it,” Shy said, burrowing her face into her pillow.
“It’s alright Sugarcube,” AJ said, “You’re surrounded by friends here, why don’t ya tell us. We won’t judge ya, or anythin’.”
“That’s the thing,” Shy said softly. “I got into it when we weren’t friends.”
The group was silent. They knew what she was talking about.
“As you know, I volunteer at the animal shelter. I really enjoy helping all those animals find new homes and just taking care of them in general. But a lot of cases aren’t pleasant. We get a lot of abused animals in there. Some of them are really tragic. There was this one family that had to give up a puppy because she had got in a car crash and they didn’t have the money to heal her. But anyways, you guys were always there for me, so I could take the bad with the good. I mean for as many injured or beaten animals we get, there are twice as many willing to adopt and give these creatures a loving home.” Shy said, not wishing to look at the group.
“But after the un-silent auction,” Pink looked away from Shy. “We didn’t get to many people coming in. So, we were still getting a ton of animals, but no one was coming to take them. And we had all stop hanging out together, so there were some days that I just sat down and cried.”
“So since we weren’t friends anymore, I had a lot of time on my hands when I wasn’t at the animal shelter, so I started watching some TV shows. Most I didn’t really like, ether they were too gritty or to naive for my taste. Well, then I found some old sci-fi show, you know, like Star Trek and Star Wars and they were wonderful. They showed these great and amazing worlds, and while there was still evil and hatred in them, the good always shown though and they was just so wonderful.” Shy said with a bit of optimism.
“So those shows were kind of like a ray of light for me during last summer,” Shy continued. “If anything, they’re the silver lining for the whole fight we had. I just wish I had talked to you guys sooner.” Shy concluded, still looking away for the group.
“It’s okay, dear,” Rare replied. “We were all manipulated into disliking one another. It’s not your fault.”
“I know, but I still didn’t like you when we were fighting,” Shy said. “I should have been a better person, but I just felt so right in my anger at you that I never thought that you were just misinformed. I should have handled it better.”
“It’s alright,” Pink said. “If I was trying to help abused animals and someone wreaked my attempts to help them, I would have blown up too.”
“But I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that,” Shy replied. “You were only doing what you thought would help. I really should have talked with you instead of being angry.”
“I know how you feel darling,” Rare responded. “I was quite upset with both of you. But we know the truth and our friendship is stronger for it. Now we know that we should always try to talk to one another before we jump to conclusions.”
“I’m still sorry about the way I treated you guys,” Shy replied.
“Me too,” Rare replied.
“Me three,” Pink also chimed. The three ponies moved in for a group hug.
“Uhg, stick a fork into it already,” RD commented.
Breaking from the hug, Shy turned to the rest of the ponies, “So, um, what you all do during the summer?”
“Worked out and slept, mostly,” RD replied.
“I was working at Sugacube Corner at lot,” Pink responded. “I also babysat a lot. Let me tell you, you do not want to watch the Miller’s kids.”
“I got a job.” Rare replied.
“Huh? You don’t own your own shop Rarity?” Twilight asked.
“Of course not, I’m only seventeen,” Rare replied.
“Oooo, where you get your job at?” Pink asked.
“A certain retail store, which shall go unnamed,” Rare said as a shiver ran down her spine. “Never work retail girl, it’s absolutely dreadful. On time I had to clean the restrooms because the janitor was on his lunch break. I would have quit right then and there if I didn’t need the money.”
“So do you still work there?” RD asked, snickering a bit at the thought of Rare cleaning a urinal.
“Thank heavens no,” Rare replied, “It was only a summer job and I’m glad it’s over. Besides, the uniform was atrocious."
“Ah quit your bellyachin’,” AJ said to Rare. “Maybe when you’ve done some real work, then ya can complain.”
“And pray tell Applejack, what did you do this summer that was so difficult?” Rare responded.
“Ah was helping my folks at the factory,” AJ replied.
“Huh?” Twilight said. “Factory, what factory?”
“Huh, guess you don’t know,” AJ replied. “My parents own a bottling factory. Sweet Apple Acres Bottling Co. Our best selling product is Granny Smith’s Sparkling Apple Cider. I help with the local deliveries and what not.”
“Wait, your parent?” Twilight asked, “You mean like the ponies...er people that gave birth to you and who you live with?”
“Yeah, that’s generally what parents are,” AJ replied. “Why you askin’?”
“Uh no reason,” Twilight said quickly, wishing to change the subject. “So, what did you guys think of yourself.” All Twilight got was a couple of confused looks. “Your pony self’s I mean.”
“Ah reckon were pretty similar,” AJ replied.
“Rarity did seem quite fabulous and generous, I will say,” Rare replied. “A bit more Victorian than I expected though.” Twilight was a little confused at the wording but let it slide.
“I thought my other self was nice,” Shy said softly. “I don’t know why she had a tattoo on her side though. In fact I kind of noticed every one of our doubles had one. ”
“You mean their cutie mark?” Twilight replied. “Well that’s-. “ She began but was interrupted.
“Is it a magically symbol representing who you are, your identity and your special talent in life?” Pink interjected.
“Yes, how did you know?” Twilight replied. “Another one of your hunches?”
“No, deductive reasoning,” Pink said smiling innocently.
Twilight stared at Pink for a few seconds before turning her attention back to the conversation. “What did you think about yourself, Rainbow?”
“She was pretty awesome, can’t wait to do some training with her. She’ll be like the best opponent ever.” RD replied. “But I do have one question.”
“What?” Twilight asked.
“If me and her did it, would that be called sex or masturbation?” RD said.
The room was silent. AJ and Twilight turned to one another.
“WELL GOOD NIGHT!” they both yelled in unison and switched off the light as fast as they could.
Next Time: The Chase
Bonus-The Feast of Steven (Formerly The Time Meddler)
RD couldn’t sleep. She had curled up in a sleeping bag in the middle of the library and was tossing and turning. It wasn’t for her lack of trying though. A strange light seemed to be coming from a room of to the side and was shining straight into RD’s eyes.
“Stupid light,” RD whispered, getting up to investigate the source. As she made her way to the door, she failed to notice another pony in her path. The subsequent trip and fall were relatively quiet.
“Rainbow, get off me,” AJ said rather annoyed that her friend had just woke her up. “What ya doin’ up anyways?”
“Checking out that annoying light,” RD said pointing at the illuminated door.
“That is a mighty strange glow,” AJ said, noticing the door for the first time.
Both ponies made their way over to the door and slowly opened it.
Inside the room was a hexagonal box with six key holes standing on a pedestal.
“What do you think it is?” RD asked, her sight remaining fixed on the unusual box.
“Ain’t got a clue.” AJ replied.
“Looks important,” Shy whispered. AJ and RD jumped in freight at Shy’s unexpected arrival. “I’m sorry,” Shy said, seeing her friends react.
Taking a moment to regain themselves, AJ was the first to speak. “What in tarnation are ya doin’ up Fluttershy?”
“Oh, I was just getting a glass of water, um, if that okay with you,” Shy said with her usual amount of self-doubt.
“It’s fine,” RD said, “Just don’t go around scaring us like that.” RD took a moment to process what she just said. “I mean, it’s not like we were scared, it’s just that lesser people might freak out if they saw you come out of nowhere.” RD said with a fair share of pride and deflection mixed in.
“Well, since ya here, what do ya make of this here?” AJ said, returning her attention to the mystery box.
“Uh, would someone please turn off that light, you’re making it very difficult to get some shut eye,” Rare said off in the distance.
“Sorry Rarity,” Shy said.
“Hey, Rarity, since you’re up why don’t you get a look at this.” RD said.
“If I must,” Rare said somewhat annoyed at the prospect of getting out of bed. She made her way over to the other three.
“Hm, quiet interesting. Do any of you know what it’s for?” she asked.
“If we knew, we wouldn’t be-“RD began.
“Well, if I had to wager a guess, which would be rather silly since you don’t wager guess you, I’d say it has something to do with the Elements of Harmony,” Pink said, coming out of nowhere.
“Pinkie what are you doing up?” RD asked.
“Well I was having a wonderful dream where I was skiing up a giant frozen waterfall of soda when my stomach started doing differential calculus, which normally means several people are getting together to discuss something not related to the plot of this fanfic but really important in the show, so I decided to get up and see what you were up to,” Pink replied.
“Oookay then,” RD said looking at her friend with concern while rubbing a hoof behind her head.
“Well, anyways darling, what were you saying about the Elements?” Rare asked.
“I was saying that this box is some kind of super puzzle which has to do with the missing Elements of Harmony,” Pink replied.
“How ya know this?” AJ asked.
“I read it from Twilight’s journal. See?” Pink said. She pulled out a spiral bound notebook and read. “11/23/63. After giving the Elements of Harmony to the Tree of Harmony in order to save it from the seeds of Discord, said Tree produced box of unknown origin. Contends are also unknown at this time as box cannot be force open with ether magical or conventional force. Will investigate further.” Pink smiled as she looked up from the journal.
“So, is this some kind of replacement for them then?” RD asked.
“Ah doubt it,” AJ replied. “If the Tree no longer needed the elements, it could have just handed them back.”
“So what do you think is in there, then?” RD asked.
“Probably nothin’” AJ said.
“Well if there’s nothing in it, why does it have so many locks?” RD retorted.
“It’s just some kind of heart of pureness test or somethin’ like that” AJ responded. “Ya know, like when the hero faces a huge problem and needs somethin’ only to discover he had in him all along sort of thing.”
“I doubt it would be that cliché,” Rare said. “More than likely it contains the ultimate source of the Tree’s energy.”
“Why would the Tree give up something way more powerful than the Elements if it needed them to survive in the first place?” RD question.
“Well, since the Tree was threaten in the first place, maybe it figured to condense all its power in order to ensure it would be well guarded once Twilight brought it back here.” Rare mused.
“Maybe it contains the Eye of Harmony,” Shy said to no one.
“What was that Fluttershy?” RD asked.
Realizing she had been overheard, Shy retreated into herself. “Oh, um nothing,” she replied.
“It was something about the Eye of Harmony, right Fluttershy?” Rarity asked.
“Oh Shy that’s really silly, everyone know that harmony has a least two eyes.” Pink stated.
“Um, well no, the Eye of Harmony is actually a collapsing supernova being converted into a black hole while held in stasis and provided unlimited energy.” Shy said. “I was just think about it since a lot of thing here are also called the X of Harmony.”
“So then what do you think is really in the box then?” RD question Shy.
“Well, since the Tree was attacked by the seeds of Discord, maybe the box contains the seeds of Harmony, sort of like Rarity’s idea except that once it’s opened, new Trees would sprout up from the ground. And since there would be more of them, they wouldn’t likely be as threatened by incoming enemies.” Shy replied. “I mean if I had to guess. What do you think is in it Rainbow?”
“It’s got to be some kind of Pandora’s Box,” RD responded. “You know, like all the evil the Tree had been storing got placed in the box as it cleansed itself and the six keys are to make sure that whatever’s in there doesn't get out.”
“OOO! Or maybe the Tree has a really embarrassing Christmas photo. You know, like one where it got drunk on too much maple Schnapps and starting hitting on that sexy spruce across the clearing.” Pink chattered. She got confused looks from her friends.
“Well, anywho we ain’t gonna figure it out tonight,” AJ said, making for the door. “Maybe we can ask Twilight in the mornin.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” RD replied heading back to her sleeping bag. “Gonna grab this first.” She grabbed a bunch of extra sheets and after everyone else had found their respective sleeping bag, RD shoved them into the crack at the bottom of the door. “Much better.”
RD soon wrapped herself up in her own bag as was read it hit the hay, when one more thought about the box entered her head.
“Hey guys?” RD whispered.
“Yes?” Everyone else replied.
“What if the box actually turns all of us, or our counterparts anyways, into alicorn princesses like Twilight over her?” RD said with a smirk on her face and a tone of amusement in her voice.
“Okay, now you just talkin’ crazy,” AJ responded.
“As much as I would love to be a princess, I would have to agree with AJ,” Rare retorted, “There would just be no way that would happen. There would at least have to be some kind of built up towards it.”
“And it would probably wreak the entire Equestrian government if it suddenly had five new rulers come in out of the blue,” Shy stated. “I mean I don’t think the people would be so willing to accept five new princesses so easily.”
“Yeah, and just imagine what would happen here if I got ahold of magic and flying, let alone my counterpart.” Pink stated.
“Guys, settle down. I’m just kidding,” RD said. “I know there’s no way that would happen. It would be a total copout. I mean it would almost be like we would be made princesses just so we could be more like Twilight instead of us going on some deep personal journey where we learn that our differences are what makes us unique and that we don’t need to be alicornes or princesses in order to be important or follow our dreams or something like that. Well anyway it’s late enough as is so good night everyone.” RD shifted in her sleeping bag.
“Good night,” AJ, Rare, Pink and Shy replied.
Settling down, RD now found it much easier to fall asleep and soon was.
Gray dull light filtered in from a nearby window. RD began to stir as the light hit her face.
Slowly getting up, she looked down at her hands, only to see hooves. She was momentarily freaked out until she remember the following day. “Oh right.” She muttered to herself.
She went to the washroom and splash a fair amount of cold water on her face, forcing herself to wake up. The others were still asleep as she quietly made her way downstairs.
Moving into the kitchen, RD could see more clearly outside. The entire town was covered in a thick fog. Putting the weather aside, RD looked through the kitchen cabinets for something to eat.
She found a box of Lucky Hooves, Toaster Stirrups, and some Quaker Oats.
“I swear, if everything in this town is a pun, I’m gonna commit suicide,” RD commented. “Oh wait, it probably be called saddleside.” She rolled her eyes and settled down with some peanut butter on toast and an apple, RD quickly ate her breakfast.
After finishing her breakfast, RD looked at the time. It was around 6:00. This was the time she normally went out for her morning jog. Knowing she would be bored if she stayed inside until her friends woke up, RD decided that she shouldn’t break her tradition now. Also she figured with the fog outside that if anyone saw her, she would just be mistaken for her counterpart and nothing more.
Opening the door, RD was greeted with a blast of cool air. After looking around, she began her routine.
Looking around the town, she notice the layout and design of the town. It had a quaint charm to it, as if it were out of a fairytale more so than designed with a practical purpose in mind, with long winding streets and large amounts of space between each house. Then again, she could only see so far, given the fog, so how much of the town was being represented, RD didn’t know. However, her contemplation of the town was soon interrupted.
Following a huge gust, RD soon found herself tumbling end over end as the fog was being pushed right towards the edge of town, not that she knew that though. Soon the fog seemed as still as it had been before.
“Time?” Rainbow Dash yawned, overlooking the fog bank.
Tank soon handed a stopwatch over to his owner.
“12.8 seconds!” Rainbow Dash said with a look of astonishment. “Geez, I must really be tired.”
RD finally regained herself and noticed her counterpart floating above her. “Hey, what’s the big idea?”
Rainbow Dash turned to notice another pony within the fog. “Ohmygoshohmygosh,” Rainbow said panicking. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t-“She raced down and reached her counterpart, pulling her out of the fog. “Oh, it’s you,” she said with relief, noticing who it was. “You had me worried there for a second there.”
“What do you mean ‘it’s just you’?!” RD said indicating that she was pissed off. “I’m minding my own business when you come out of nowhere and start tossing me around.”
“Hey, I said I was sorry,” Rainbow Dash said. “Also, I thought my interspace thing counterpart could at least take a beating without whining about it.”
“I’m not whining,” RD replied, rubbing the back of her head. “It’s just that I don’t like having a rock smash into my head and my world turned upside down every couple of seconds, although that seems to be happening a lot more often than I would have thought.” She looked at her counterpart, still pissed off.
“Well, again, I’m sorry,” Rainbow Dash replied with a hint of annoyance.
“Thank you,” RD said with fake gratitude. At that point, RD noticed she was near the town’s entrance. “What are we doing here?”
“Got to bring the fog somewhere,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Here’s as good a place as any to get it to weep. Want to help?”
“Uh, sure?” RD said, unsure of what Rainbow Dash had planned.
“Okay then,” Rainbow Dash said, landing on the cloud. “You do know how to weep a cloud right?” Rainbow Dash said in a serious tone.
“Err Yea-“ RD silenced herself and thought for a moment. “I’ve got no idea.”
“It’s pretty easy,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Just copy what I do.” She started bouncing up and down on the cloud. Below her, raindrops were forming and falling to the ground.
RD started bouncing very shallowly at first but so found the cloud was very much like a trampoline and started bouncing higher and higher.
“Now you’re getting the hang of it.” Rainbow Dash said.
RD and Rainbow Dash bounced up and down for several minutes as the cloud slowly shrank.
Rainbow stopped bouncing after a while, but noticed that her counterpart wasn’t slowing down.
“You may want to-“ Rainbow Dash said, but it was too late. RD had landing on the cloud, but it was far too thin to support her and she landed on her plot a foot or two below. “-stop.” Rainbow Dash looked down at her counterpart, a smirk on her face. “Way to go Rainbow Cra-“ She stopped herself midsentence. “Jeez, no wonder everyone calls me that,” she said to herself. Rainbow Dash shook her head and helped her counterpart up, who was rubbing her sore bottom on the ground below.
“Got to be careful,” Rainbow Dash said. “When the clouds get this thin, we just flick them away.” Rainbow Dash proceed to lower the cloud closer to the ground and started flicking her tail at the remaining fog. After a few more good tail thwacks, the fog had dissipated.
“What!?” RD replied. “Fog is awesome! It’s nice and cool, which makes early morning runs really nice, and it’s a cloud near the ground. It’s like the best cloud ever!”
“No, it’s not,” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s dense, boring and you have to get up really early to clear it. It’s just a pain in the neck. Cumulus nimbus on the other hand…” Rainbow Dashes thoughts trailed for a moment.
“Whatever,” RD said, rolling her eyes.
“Have you ever been in a Cumulus nimbus?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I mean they’re-“
“No I haven’t,” RD said as she interrupted Rainbow Dash. “Didn’t have these until yesterday.” She flared her wings.
“That’s gotta suck,” Rainbow Dash replied. “I don’t know what I’d do without my wings. What do you do?” Rainbow Dash was rather curious.
“Well, first, it doesn’t suck because I don’t know what it’s like to have them.” RD responded. “And for the most part I play a lot of sport. I’m the captain of all the Wondercolts teams.
“Wondercolts?” Rainbow Dash said, before snickering to herself. “So you’re a WonderCOLT?” She started laughing rather loudly. RD was confused. “What’s so funny?”
“Colts, you know as in guys,” Rainbow Dash said, as she stopped laughing trying to explain herself. “I’m saying- you know what, never mind. Anyways, they sound like a rip off of the Wonderbolts.”
“Well, these ‘Wonderbolts’ sound like a rip-off of us.” RD said defensively.
“Please, the Wonderbolts are only like the most awesome thing of awesome.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“If they’re so awesome then why aren’t you on the team?” RD asked.
“Well, you see, the thing is,” Rainbow Dash began. “Hey, wait a minute, how did you know I’m not on the Wonderbolts?”
“I didn’t,” RD replied, smirking.
“Yeah, well …Shut up,” Rainbow Dash responded. “Besides, I’m more awesome than you can handle.”
“Prove it,” RD said, relishing the challenge.
Rainbow Dash scanned the sky. She found a small cloud in the distance and pointed it out. “Alright, first one to that cloud.”
“You’re on,” RD replied.
Both mares dug there hooves into the ground, readying themselves for the start.
“On your mark,” RD began.
“Get set,” Rainbow Dash continued.
“GO!” both mares said.
They leaped from the ground and bolted straight towards the cloud, Rainbow Dash taking the lead. RD tried to catch up, but wasn’t use to using limbs she previously didn’t have. The race was over in a matter of seconds, with Rainbow Dash touching the cloud.
“What took you so long slowpoke?” Rainbow Dash said, mockingly.
“I’ve never had these before,” RD said, pointing to her wings frustrated at her loss. “Also, I’ve never been…this... high…up.” RD said as she looked down. She was hovering high in the air. Realizing where she was, RD panicked and dashed as quickly as she could to the perceived safety of the cloud and processed to choke the ever-loving [redacted] out of it.
“A Pegasus scared of heights,” Rainbow Dash said rather amused. “Now I’ve seen everything.”
“Hey, I’ve never been up this high before, I’m not use to it,” RD said, still holding on to the cloud. “And what about Fluttershy? I bet she’s scared of heights.”
“Fluttershy’s not scared of heights,” Rainbow Dash replied. “She is scared of crashing, falling, spinning out of control, and hitting things, but she’s not scared of heights. Actually, she a really good flyer, not that she believes it. She’s nowhere as good as me obviously, but still.”
“Hey, you want it help me out here?” RD asked, still on the cloud, annoyed.
“I know they’re new to you, but you do have wings.” Rainbow Dash replied. “Just take a deep breath and flap them. You’ll be fine.”
“Right, great advise,” RD said, her voice thick with sarcasm.
“Jeez, I didn’t know you were such a chicken,” Rainbow Dash said, turning her back on RD.
“Hey, who you calling chicken.” RD processed to get up off the cloud and race towards Rainbow Dash, forcing her to turn around.
“Not you, that’s for sure,” Rainbow Dash said, point to the cloud behind them.
RD looked at the cloud behind her and then at what usually would have been her feet. She was once again floating high above the ground.
“Deep breath,” Rainbow Dash advised.
RD drew breath. As she exhaled, she felt all of her fear evaporate.
“Definitely your first time flying.” Rainbow Dash said.
“No, I’ve flew before,” RD replied,
“When?”
“At the Fall Formal, when everyone was a half horse hybrid thing. And then here when we were roaming the castle.”
“That’s not flying, that’s hovering at best.” Rainbow Dash said. “This is flying.” Rainbow Dash processed to do several high speed twists and turns that my poor writing abilities cannot describe, although that’s not saying much.
“So what’d you think?” Rainbow Dash asked.
RD was awestruck. It took her a minute to register the question. “That. Was. AWESOME! You gotta teach me that.”
“Well, I suppose I could show you some of the basics,” Rainbow Dash said with a slightly mocking tone to her voice.
After a couple hours practice RD had nearly mastered everything Rainbow Dash had taught her and was flying around with expert precision.
“You’re a natural,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Well, I had a pretty good teacher,” RD replied.
“You’re too kind,” Rainbow Dash replied. Both ponies then processed to laugh, until a new noise entered the conversation.
“Forgot to grab breakfast,” Rainbow Dash said as she rubbed her stomach, slightly embarrassed.
“It’s fine. Probably time for lunch anyways.” RD replied. “Know anywhere good to eat?”
“Yeah, there’s Sugarcube Corner on the west side of the town hall.”
“Race ya there.” RD said, grinning madly.
“You’re on,” Rainbow Dash smiled as the two speed off toward lunch.
