Rarity was just trying to do Rainbow's mane. Promise. But when those hairless THINGS showed up, she ran, leaving Rainbow tied to the chair with the creatures surrounding her. Now Twilight must go through the mirror once again to save her friend.
Rarity was just trying to do Rainbow's mane. Promise. But when those hairless THINGS showed up, she ran, leaving Rainbow tied to the chair with those creatures surrounding her. Now Twilight must go through the mirror once again, to save her friend. And helping her rescue Rainbow Dash is... Rainbow Dash. Humanoid Rainbow Dash. See what happens when human and pony meet for the first time... and whether Rainbow makes it out alive.
A purple and magenta alicorn, a tear running down her cheek, flew down from her perch on top of the Golden Oak Library, watching the smoke clear from the sky. Down on the ground there were four ponies. A meadow-yellow pegasus pony, gently crying as her animal friends comforted her with little squeaks and chirps. The mare seemed to be holding a tortoise, though it also looked like the tortoise had aviator's goggles and a mini-helicopter strapped to its back. A bright pink earth pony mare, though her once-puffy mane now lay on her back without even a wave. She stared at the ground, glaring at nothing. An orange earth pony was gently comforting a snow-white unicorn, though when she caught the alicorn's eye, she nodded her head with a grim look in her eyes. Amid all of the chaos was the unicorn, her royal purple mane now a mess, her mascara dripping down her face.
"...b-but it's all my fault!" wailed the sobbing unicorn. "I tied her to the chair! It's all my fault!" The alicorn walked up to the pretty pony and knelt beside her.
"Rarity, you can't blame yourself. We all could have done things different to help her. Just remember, this could be a great thing," she said to the unicorn, Rarity.
"Twilight's right," said the earth pony, with a heavy Southern drawl. "Well, at least about the 'ya can' blame yer-self' part. I ain't so sure this could be such a great thin'. I mean, what in the hay is that suppos' tuh mean, gosh, darn it!" She threw down her hat in anger.
"Don't worry, AppleJack. We'll figure this out. We'll get her back. This could be part of a great destiny that none of us yet understand," soothed Twilight.
"B-but what i-if we d-don't get her back! W-we'll n-never see h-her again, and it's all m-my f-f-f-F-FAULT!!! WAAAAAAHH!!!!!!" Rarity bawled. Twilight summoned a shield for her and AppleJack with her unicorn horn against the rain of tears that was coming down on them both.
"Rarity!" shouted Twilight, but she couldn't seem to get the unicorn's attention. "Rarity! RARITY!!!" Eventually the ponies got Rarity to calm down enough to talk.
"Rarity! I've got a plan to rescue her! I've got a plan to rescue Rainbow!" Twilight exclaimed with glee.
"What is it, sugercube?" asked AppleJack.
"You know how those hairless things stole Rainbow?"
"Yes, darling, please go on," Rarity was fully hooked now that she could make it up to her friend.
"Well, I've seen those things before."
"Where?" AppleJack and Rarity said it at the same time.
"In the alternate universe through the mirror!" Twilight shouted with joy.
"WHAT?!?!" AppleJack's mouth dropped open. "So yer meanin' to say that there's ANOTHER way into Equestria besides the mirror? Now, that's just pony feathers. There ain't no way those human folk can get into Equestria without going through the mirror and gettin' turned into ponies."
"But what if there IS a way?" Twilight urged. "What if the mirror is just a shortcut, and you can get to the other world just by traveling over the ocean?"
"That does explain why they went on that giant floatie-thingie after they got her." Rarity reasoned. "It is a reasonable explanation. But, deary, PLEASE explain why you brought this up?"
"Because," Twilight whispered, "I am planning to go to the other world. Through the mirror. And I'm going to rescue our friend."
Pain. Darkness. Fear. Confusion. Rainbow getting her hair done. These were the only things Rainbow Dash remembered from the worst day in her life. The last was by far the worst.
At first, Rainbow couldn't see anything. Am I blind? She wondered in horror. Then she opened her eyes. Oh. She felt really stupid. Rainbow got a first look at her surroundings. First thing she noticed; her wings were tied, but something wasn't right. When she strained against the bindings, a flash of agony seared through her, more pain than she had ever experienced before. Why are the feathers sticking up there? she thought as she swallowed down a wave of nausea. Then she looked at her hind legs. Rainbow's stomach threatened to hurl again. Is it supposed to bend that way? she asked herself as she lay down her head to stop it spinning. Her stomach heaved again.
Wait. Why was she feeling sick? She had stopped looking at her broken limbs. Then she realized that the cage she was in was moving. Not like walking around. It was rocking. And every time it tossed, she felt like retching. Big time. She let out a hollow groan as the cage pitched her around without mercy.
A sickly scent hit a sick Rainbow's nostril's.
No, no, it's not what you think! Honest! It wasn't a certain sky-blue pegasus losing her lunch. It was her lunch. There was a sickly sweet smell coming from the food in a little blue bowl. Except it wasn't food. Well, it was, but it wasn't horse food. It was some brown, dry, pellets that to Rainbow looked a lot like Angel Bunny's little gifts to Fluttershy.
Rainbow sighed at the memory. Good times.
The mare looked around the tiny cage. She had to get back to her friends.
How can you do that with three broken limbs? said a voice in Rainbow's head.
"Shut UP!" she roared. I will get back to Equestria and my friends, no matter what it takes!
Look outside and then tell me what you think. said that stupid voice.
What? Rainbow tried to stand up, but a wave of pure fire shot through her body. She was forced to sit down.
Go on. That voice was sounding unsurprisingly like Discord.
"DISCORD!!!" Rainbow howled to the sky. "YOU GIVE ME BACK MY LIFE AND MY FRIENDS RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!"
Well, now, what fun is that? Discord mused in his sly voice. Rainbow saw him dancing around in her head, taunting her. Don't worry. I have a riddle to keep you busy, Dashie. Listen closely.
Loyalty the people take. Twin rescue, they integrate.
Think about that one. See ya!
"No, wait!" Rainbow shouted as Discord disappeared from her mind. "Don't... leave me."
Rainbow wished he would stay. She was lonely. But she hauled herself to her hooves despite the pain and looked out the barred door of the cage, and over the side of a giant transportation device. What she saw shocked, amazed, and frightened the pony at the same time.
"What in TARNATION do you mean by THAT!?!?" yelled AppleJack.
"What AppleJack means, dear, is how are you going to open the portal? It won't be open for another... let's see..." Rarity tried to calculate the number of moons left until the portal opened, but failed.
"18 moons?" Twilight supplied.
"I'VE GOT IT!!!" shouted Rarity, standing upright so quickly she knocked AppleJack over.
"What is it?" she grumbled. The earth pony did not appreciate being knocked off her hooves.
"It won't be another 18 moons before we can open the portal again!" she beamed at a confused Twilight.
"But that's what I just-" Rarity cut off Twilight's protest.
"So how do you plan to open the portal, Twilight?"
"Well, first I get all the Elements of Harmony-"
"But Rainbow's gone!" Rarity interrupted again.
"Would ya let the pony SPEAK?!?!" demanded an irritated AppleJack.
"I was getting to that. Anyway, I get the Elements and all of our friends, plus Princess Celestia, and we go to the mirror. I was thinking, what if all the power in the Elements can force open the portal? Since Princess Celestia is an all powerful being, I was hoping that she could bear the Element of Loyalty in Rainbow's place. She did use to represent three of the Elements by herself. Anyway, we need to get to the Crystal Empire right away. Rainbow could be in trouble!"
"I thought you said this was a good thing!" Rarity complained.
"I said that this could be a part of something good, but Rainbow being pony-napped is NOT good!" Twilight explained.
"To the Crystal Empire, everypony!" AppleJack whooped. "We're gonna save Rainbow Dash!"
The yellow pegasus with the light pink hair looked up from her silent sobbing with the tortoise. The angry earth pony was getting a light of hope in her eyes. Suddenly her irises grew super large and her flat hair exploded when she started jumping up and down with excitement. Suddenly her words were coming so fast nopony could understand her
"Ohmygoshwe'regoingtosaveRainbowDashI'msoexcitedwhendowestartdoweknowwherewe'regoingIwanttogoimisshersomuch,wait,didyouseemyHAIRHAHAitwentFLATIcantbelieveitomigoshomigoshomigoshomigosh!!!!" Soon the mare was rolling on the ground with fits of laughter and excitement for her lost friend.
"Wait, do you know how to save Rainbow Dash?" she inquired.
"Yeah, Twilight. Do you know?"
"Ooh! Ooh! Pick me! Pick me!" the once-depressed pony raised her hoof.
"Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asked, rolling her eyes.
"You guys just had a whole conversation about it. It took up like two chapters!" Pinkie grinned.
"Wait, what?" asked the pegasus, in her usual timid tone.
"Uh, yes," Rarity put in. "What was that about the chapters, dear?"
"Nothing!" said Pinkie. "I promised RainbowDash526 that I wouldn't tell that we were all in a story to amuse My Little Pony fans." And then she hopped away, leaving her friends wondering if Pinkie was going completely BONKERS.
Deciding that she was nuts, they set out for the Friendship Express.
Rainbow watched Luna's moon set with a sigh. She was glad that Discord had admitted that he was responsible for this mess. Then she could blame somepony.
Her belly growled like a timber-wolf. She was starving, but she didn't trust the smell coming off that goop in waves, or the fact that it was goop. She was able to get down some water, though. There was a bunch of dirty cloth lining the floor of the cage. She washed it in her water bowl, and used it to bind her broken leg back to its normal position. It wasn't easy, considering she had to gasp with pain every time she touched it, but Rainbow managed to get it so that it was a dull, horrible throbbing instead of agony.
In her meantime, which was every waking moment, she would ponder Discord's riddle. Loyalty the people take. Ok, that one was pretty easy. She was loyalty and she had been taken. Duh. The real mind-twister was the second line. Twin rescue, and they integrate. What the hay did integrate mean? Rainbow wasn't a dictionary. And what about the part about the twins? Rainbow tried to contact Discord again for answers, but it was in vain. She even resorted to pleading. That time she thought she heard a chuckle, but it was gone after about two seconds. Eventually she gave up hope and lay down to sleep.
Rainbow felt like she had slept for hours. But when she woke up, the sun wasn't up yet. It was completely dark, no moon, no stars, not even a hint of dawn. Strange, she thought. Celestia should have risen the sun by now.
Suddenly she heard voices. They were deep, like a stallions. Big Macintosh? Rainbow was really confused now. But when she looked out the bars, she could just make out creatures that stood on their hind legs, with rugged, short, mane cuts on the top of their heads. These "Its" were strange creatures, and they were panicking. Rainbow only heard bits and pieces, but she caught "sun" and "lost" and "stars". The Its seemed to be controlling the "Floater", as Rainbow called the thing she was on, but they didn't know where they were going. The leader yelled to get their attention, but the Its kept on screaming like school-fillies. Rainbow found it very amusing to watch them trip over their own feet and slam into one another in their panic. She fought down a giggle as one threw Itself over the side of the Floater.
"Yes, very funny, aren't they?" mused a certain draquonicus who poof-ed into the cage.
"Discord?" Rainbow was outraged that NOW he showed his sorry snake tail. "I've been pleading for you to come back, and NOW YOU SHOW UP!" She was sick and tired of Discord's "games". "YOU GIVE ME BACK MY LIFE RIGHT NOW!!!!"
"Easy now. I just wanted to give you time to ponder the riddle. Any questions?" he asked with a smile.
Rainbow had to take a deep breath to keep herself from beating him up then and there. "What does integrate mean?" she asked as calmly as she could.
"It means to unite, my dear pegasus. That is your every-second-day-ly question. You can ask me one question every second day that you ponder the riddle. If you solve it before the event actually happens, you might win a prize!" he said happily.
"So it means to unite," the blue pegasus said to herself.
"Yes, now tootaloo!" Discord snapped his talon and disappeared. Rainbow silently went back to thinking about the riddle and the next question she would ask Discord. Probably the twins, she thought. but a silent thought nagged at her mind. Will I ever get my friends back?
On the train to the Crystal Empire, Twilight noticed that the sun still wasn't up yet. Maybe Celestia was distracted with the invasion and all. At least, that's what Twilight hoped was the case.
AppleJack was watching Pinkie closely. The ponies still weren't quite sure what Pinkie had been talking about, or who this "RainbowDash526" character was. They had decided never to speak of this again, but Twilight still caught Rarity and Fluttershy stealing glances at her.
"Are you really going through the mirror again, Twilight? Can I come? Because I really want to meet the other me, since I'm the other other me, and then the other other me thinks that the other me is the other other OTHER me, and..." Pinkie broke the icy silence with her crazy rambling. Twilight smiled. Pinkie could make a pony feel good even when the world was ending just by talking. She was glad she had such good friends.
"Pinkie, you know why you can't come," said Spike, who had begged to come with Twilight on the train. He would stick to his friend to the end. "It would unbalance the other world creating complete chaos!"
"But that was when they didn't know we were from another world. They know this time, so we can come!" Pinkie protested.
"Yes, but what about the humans outside of Canterlot High?" Twilight reasoned. "They don't know that there is another world. What would happen if they saw two Pinkie Pies? They would go ka-RAZY!" she through up her hooves to make a point. "Besides, I'm not taking all of the Equestria Girls. Just one."
"What?" Rarity looked confused. "Which one of us?"
Twilight sighed. "None of you. I'm taking Rainbow Dash."
"So let me get this strait," Fluttershy said. "You're taking Rainbow... to rescue Rainbow?"
"Eeyep."
"And they won't have a problem with ya jus' takin' her away, in all?" AppleJack asked.
"Nope."
"You're sounding like Big Mac," Spike observed.
"Eeyep."
At that, all the ponies laughed, as the train pulled into the Crystal Empire.
Twilight shut up as soon as the train stopped. "We're here," she said, as she stepped into the station and planned how to get Rainbow Dash to rescue her friend.
Discord had been coming and going just like he said he would. But Rainbow didn't ask him any more questions about the riddle. She mainly used him for company.
The pegasus still refused the stuff in the blue bowl, and she was paying a heavy price. She was starving, and now there was some green-ish fuzz on the stuff and flies swarming it. The Its never bothered to change the food or the water. She was living off the little water left in her bowl, and her own reserves.
One day Discord came in, right on time, and saw the two or three drops left in the bowl.
"Oh, my dear, why didn't you say you were hungry?" he asked. He snapped the little fluff-ball-thing on the end of his snake tail and a banquet appeared before Rainbow's eyes.
"Y-you can just snap, a-and food appears?" she literally drooled. Her belly rumbled.
"Well, I am a creature of chaos," he said smugly, but Rainbow was too busy pigging out to notice. There was sandwiches, and a smoothie, and...
"What is that?" she demanded, pointing her hoof at this pink-ish stuff on the plate.
"Pork," said Discord.
"Pork?!?!?" she gazed in horror at the meat. "What's WRONG with you?!?!?"
"Hey," Discord protested. "I just took this from the kitchens down under. It's not my fault these things eat meat." With that he poofed away again, but thankfully keeping the food there for her to eat. Except the pork, of course.
I can't believe those things eat MEAT! Rainbow thought as she stuffed salad into her mouth. Will they eat ME?!? the horrible thought came to mind. What if that was why the Its had captured her? She let out a nervous whinny, but then shoved her hoof in her mouth.
"What was that?" demanded a stern voice. An It came into view, then looked in Rainbow's direction. She quickly shoved the food behind her, spilling the pork in the process.
"Do I smell... pork roast?" the It sniffed, than began to move closer towards the cage.
Rainbow was terrified. It was going to EAT her! The pony scrambled as far away from the monster as the cage and her broken leg would allow. She sat on it by mistake.
"OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!!!!!!!" she wailed. Other Its heard the commotion and ambled over to her cage.
"Did that horse just... talk?" one asked its companion.
"No way," the other replied. "Horses can't talk. They're too stupid."
Now Rainbow was mad. The It had just called her stupid. She forgot all about the comment about "Horses can't talk."
"Hey, stupid!" she called. "Who ya callin' STUPID?!?"
The Its gasped. Rainbow finally realized her mistake.
"Did that horse just talk? Weird," said one.
"Better go tell the Boss," said another.
"What's with the tattoo on its butt?" a third asked.
She immediately shied away from the beasts. What had she done? Now she had no chance escape. One of them run off to tell the "Boss" that she could talk, and she could live forever in a zoo, with all of the little It-foals braiding her mane and jumping on her back.
"Oh relax, Rainbow," Discord appeared in her head. "I'll help you get out of this. But just remember the riddle, and you'll be fine."
"How?" she asked. "I just blew any slim chance of escape, and now I'll never get back to Equestria! See? The Its are staring at me right now!" It was true.
"This is only the first part of your journey. Twilight will come to the rescue, just not in the form you think."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Whoops! You already asked your question. I'll be back!" And then he poofed away.
If Rainbow thought she was in deep trouble then, that was nothing compared to now.
Twilight raced off the Friendship Express, closely followed by her friends. They made a beeline for the castle, where the mirror was held. Twilight's horn had a magical magenta aura, and a jeweled box was levitating close behind the mares as they galloped.
"Twily!" came a deep neigh of a stallion. A white pony came through the doors, with his royal blue mane messy from sleeping. "What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night?"
"You haven't heard?" Twilight whispered.
"Heard what?" the unicorn looked confused.
"Twilight!" came a sweet voice.
"Cadence! This is an-" Twilight began.
"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little... shake?" Cadence trailed off of the secret hoofshake she and Twilight always did. "What's wrong?"
"Twily, what's going on?" asked the unicorn.
The purple alicorn broke down into tears. "Oh, S-Shining Armor! It w-was t-terrible! T-the humans! T-they came to E-Equestria! T-they took her!" she sobbed.
"What? Humans? Who did they take?" Cadence asked gently. Then Twilight's friends caught up to her.
Shining Armor's expression turned stony. "Where's Rainbow Dash?" he demanded.
"ThesehumanthingiescametoEquestriaandRaritywasdoingRainbow'smaneandshetiedherupbecauseRainbowdidn'twanthermanedoneandthenthehumansinvadedtheBoutiqueandRarityranleavingRainbowtiedtothechairandthenthehumanssurroundedtheexitsandRainbowwasstilltiedtothechairandthentheygrabbedherandputherintoacageandtookherawayandnowTwilighthastogothroughthatmirrortoCanterlotHighagainsoshecanrescueherandIreallywanttocomebutTwilightwon'tletanyofuseventhoughwemaynotseeheragainforareallyREALLYlongtime!" Pinkie Pie said, giving a humongous grin afterwords.
"Yep, that about sums it up," said AppleJack.
"You see," said Twilight, who was still sniffling, "I need to go through the mirror again to rescue Rainbow. We were hoping the Elements of Harmony would be enough to open the portal again."
"Twilight, you can't seriously expect us to let you go into that other world again," began Shining Armor.
"No, Shining, she can go if she wants to. She's a princess now, remember?" Cadence reasoned.
"I have to do this," said Twilight. "Otherwise we may never see Rainbow again!"
"I'm sorry, Twilight," said Shining Armor, now fighting back tears of his own. "You're a grown mare now. I have to let you go sometime."
"I'll always be there. And I'll come back," Twilight added, giving her brother a hug. "Now, where is the mirror?"
* * *
Twilight stood before the tall mirror with a look of wonder on her face.
She summoned a wave of magenta magic from her horn, and skillfully took her crown and Element of Harmony out of the jeweled case. She gently placed it on her head.
Next she levitated four necklaces out of the box, and placed each on her friend's neck, according to their Cutie Mark. She left one in the box. A ruby carved into the shape of a lightning bolt. Rainbow Dash.
"I'm going to do three experiments on how to open the mirror," she explained. "First, I will try it alone, to see if the crown holds such power to open the mirror by itself. If that fails, then we try with the five of us. If that doesn't work, we'll send somepony to get Princess Celestia and have her stand for Rainbow Dash. Any questions?"
"I've got one," said Fluttershy. "If it takes more than one Element to open the mirror, how will you get back to Equestria?"
"I'll leave my Element here if that happens, then Celestia can use my Element to open the mirror again once I've got Rainbow. Ready?"
"Ready!"
Twilight focused all of her power on the mirror. Soon her horn and crown began to glow, getting brighter, and brighter...
Suddenly there was a blinding white light, and Twilight pressed her hoof against the glass. It rippled like water.
Very slowly, she stepped through into another world.
"Sir! The horse talked! I swear!" said an It, walking alongside another It that had an aura of authority.
"Show me this 'talking horse', you bumbling buffoon. I have important things to take care of," said the Lead It. It had a hawkish face with a sharp, upturned nose, like it spent its free time scowling. Its short, rugged mane was a dark brown, sort of like Dr. Whooves' mane was. It had beady, black eyes that burned when it looked at you. Rainbow was seriously creeped out by this guy.
"Sir! It really did! It said 'Who ya callin' stupid, STUPID?' like it owned the world," described the It to the leader. "There!"
The It pointed its hoof at Rainbow's cage, while the leader looked interested.
"Well, aren't you an interesting specimen," mused the leader. Rainbow shrank into her coat. "She will sell for good money, though I don't know where you got the story that she can 'talk'. That is just ridiculous," It said.
Sell for money? Rainbow thought. This day just keeps getting worse and worse! If you could call it a day. It was at least noon, and the sun still wasn't up yet. There was no moon, no stars, and no sun. Just complete blackness.
"Sir, we are getting worried," an It interrupted her thoughts. "The sun is still not up, and it's already two in the afternoon!"
"Yes, it is strange, isn't it?" the leader looked up from Rainbow's cage. "But that is not our concern. We take the horse to the place and sell her for lots of money!" It looked into Rainbow's fear-filled magenta eyes and laughed. "Someone get me a lantern! I want to see what this horse looks like in the light!" It commanded. One of the smaller-ranking Its got one for the leader, "Sir". He took it in his hoof and brought it up to Rainbow's face. Whatever he saw frightened him.
"YOU!" Sir roared. "DID YOU DYE THIS HORSE?"
"N-no, Sir. We just grabbed it and took it. We didn't see that it was blue," the frightened It reported.
Blue? Rainbow was confused. There were tons of blue ponies in Equestria. Why was it so bad that she was blue?
"And the mane?" Sir was still fuming."Why does it look like a little girl made it look like a My Little Pony?"
"I-I don't know, Sir," stammered a nervous It. "But Joe saw a tattoo thing on its butt. It looked like a rainbow lightning bolt."
My Cutie Mark? Rainbow was getting mad now. They were mad at her about how she was born!
Easy... Discord appeared in her head. Don't blow your fuse. Try to hold it in, or the leader will never let you escape. the draquonicus calmed her enough for her to take a deep breath.
I'm scared. She would usually never admit this to anypony, not even her best friends, but this was pushing it.
Try to fight back without giving away your secret. Discord advised. Steal his toupe.
He wears a toupe? Rainbow was fighting to keep from bursting out laughing.
When Sir leaned down to look at Rainbow again, she pressed her face to the bars. Her teeth clamped hard around his mane piece and she pulled. Suddenly she was holding a blob of hair in her mouth. Yuck! She dropped it on the far side of the cage and watched while Sir desperately tried to cover his bald head.
Rainbow couldn't take it anymore. She rolled around the floor of the cage, laughing her head off. She saw Discord next to her, wiping a tear from his eye. That just made her laugh more.
"No!" Sir cried. "I will not be humiliated by a horse!" with that he grabbed the keys from another It and unlocked the cage. Before Rainbow could take off, he grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and pulled her out. She was small compared to him, and he was lifting her up over the side of the Floater.
"Sir!" The Its were horrified. "You can't drop her over the side!"
"This horse needs to be taught a lesson!" The leader was foaming at the mouth. He was completely insane! "Get a net!"
The Its scrambled to obey. One brought out a giant fishing net, and Sir dropped her into it and slung it over the side. She was only a foot above the dark, churning water.
No. Not the water. The net was rocking horribly and Rainbow could hardly breathe.
"HELP!" she cried, ignoring the gasps of the Its. "I CAN'T SWIM!!!!!"
"Ugh..." Twilight groaned as she opened her eyes. The sunlight burned her eyes after being in the dark for so long.
Immediately she felt the top of her head with her hooves... no not hooves. Hands. Good. Her crown was still there.
Twilight remembered the last time she went through the mirror into Canterlot High. She had taken one look at her new hands and screamed. Now she was could look at them and her clothes in silence.
Something else caught her attention. She had her wings. While she was a human. Weird. The Equestria Girls were in for a big shock when they saw themselves. Speaking of the girls, where was everypo- everybody? The pony-turned-human got to her feet and started sprinting for the doors to the school, but after two seconds lost her balance and fell.
"I will never get used to walking on two legs," she muttered as she regained her balance. Twilight started off again, going at a slower pace this time. She soon got the hang of it and was sprinting down the hall to the cafeteria.
"Empty," she said to herself when she got there. She walked up to a classroom and looked through the window. Nobody.
"I must see Principle Celestia," she decided, and took off through the halls to the office. She knocked on the door, but nobody answered. She tried the door, but it was locked.
"Where is everybody?" she wondered aloud. Maybe they were outside, she thought. Twilight suddenly remembered her wings and took off, soaring through the front door and onto the soccer fields. She was expecting to see Rainbow Dash kicking balls into the net, but it was empty. She went into town, then landed behind a hedge and folded her wings carefully behind her back. She walked casually to the boutique, where Rarity lived. She opened the door, and a tiny bell chime rang.
"Be right there!" called a voice from behind the counter. There was already a human standing there, a stallion by the looks of it. He was tapping his foot impatiently for Rarity.
"Just a minute!" called Rarity again as she emerged from the counter. Twilight saw that she had two horse ears sticking up from her royal purple hair, and her white skin was flawless, as usual. She brought up a suit for the man in front who just stared at her ears, eyes wide. When he took the suit and saw Twilight with her ears, he took off, yelling something about mutant horse-people from Mars, whatever that meant.
"Now how may I help yoOOOUUU!!! her voice turned into a yell as she saw Twilight. "Twilight? What are you doing here?" she gasped.
"Rarity! I need your help. Where's Rainbow Dash?" Twilight was starting to get frantic. With every passing moment, her Rainbow was getting farther and farther out of reach!
"Calm down, deary, and tell me what's wrong," Rarity soothed gently when she saw tears brimming at the Equestrian's purple eyes.
Twilight took a deep breath and calmed down. "We need to talk," she said.
* * *
"They did WHAT?!?" Rarity looked horrified at Twilight's story. "I had heard about some people taking animals from their natural homes for money, but I never thought it was TRUE!"
"And I need Rainbow Dash to help me save her," Twilight concluded.
"Why Rainbow Dash?" Rarity asked with concern.
"Well..." Twilight trailed off. "I don't know, really. Maybe because this Rainbow would now if my Rainbow would get in any trouble if she was kidnapped?"
"I completely understand, dear," Rarity reassured. "She's at her house. How about I take you there?"
Twilight just nodded, glad that she had such good friends in both worlds.
"Come on, then," Rarity could read Twilight's feelings perfectly, and she could tell just by looking at her that the pony was heartbroken for her missing friend.
* * *
The two girls looked up at an average house in the "'burbs", as Rarity called them. Rarity walked right up to the door and rang the doorbell.
Ding... dong... the sound faded and the door creaked open.
"Hello, Mrs. Dash," Rarity said to a middle-aged lady who looked down at them both. "May we see Rainbow, please?"
"Always so polite, Rarity," Rainbow's mom beamed at her. "And who might this young lady be?"
"A new girl at school. I wanted Rainbow to meet her," Rarity said.
"She's in her room. You know where it is," Rainbow's mom gave the girls a wink.
"Thank you, Mrs. Dash," Twilight said, because it seemed like the right thing to do in this world. Rarity led the way up the stairs into a hallway that led to a room at the end.
Rainbow's room was like no other school-filly's room she had ever seen. It was huge, for the first thing, with sky blue walls decorated with clouds. There was a loft bed with a ladder leading up to the top, and a desk underneath. A blue laptop was running a screensaver of a soccer player from the Canterlot Wondercolts. There were sports posters everywhere, and the closet had a dresser inside of it. On the bedstand there were tons of sports magazines, a lamp, and a tank with a small turtle inside.
On the bed, reading a magazine, was Rainbow Dash herself. Her cyan-blue skin reflected her messy mane of rainbow hair. She wore a white shirt with a storm cloud shooting out a rainbow lightning bolt. Over that she wore a denim jacket with a pink and white striped skirt. She wore black leggings underneath the skirt, with sky blue knee-high boots. She was just like Twilight remembered.
There was another addition to the girl. Her hair was longer than usual, she had pony ears protruding from her head, and she had blue, feathered wings sprouting from her back. She didn't seem to notice them or the girls.
"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity yelled. Rainbow jumped so hard she fell off the bed. Right before she hit the floor, she started hovering, her wings flapping. She peeked open her eyes, and saw that she was an inch from the shag carpet. Then her wings snapped to her sides, and she landed on her face.
"Tell me next time you come into my room!" Rainbow snapped. Then she saw Twilight. "Oh... that explains the wings."
Hours passed, and Rainbow continued to cry out for somepony to help her. It was as if the dark water was expecting her to fall and drown. Whenever Sir came by, he just looked at her and laughed. How could any living being be so cruel?
One It was nice to her, though. It would look around, then slip her a slice of bread through the holes in the net. It would smile at her, but not like Sir. A warm, sad smile, like he wanted to help her, but couldn't. Then he would walk away.
One time when he did this, Rainbow looked up at him with her sad, magenta eyes, and silently begged it to help her. Then it said something to her. "My name is Brandon."
"Rainbow Dash," she whispered back, and he smiled and nodded slightly. Brandon, the cyan pegasus smiled at him as he walked away.
The reason why she was so terrified while in the net was because pegasi didn't swim. It wasn't in her DNA. She couldn't get her wing feathers wet or she couldn't fly until they dried. But she was especially scared. She couldn't swim. Even pegasi learned to swim and cope with wet feathers, but Rainbow had never learned. She always made an excuse to why she couldn't swim, like she was pooped from cloud-busting and needed to catch some Zs, or she was freezing and didn't want to go in. Which was silly, because pegasi don't feel cold. Twilight had once given her a lecture about pegasus magic, but Rainbow had filed it under "Egghead stuff".
When Brandon ever came by, she would beg him to help her. But he would look around nervously and whisper "I can't. I'm sorry, but I can't." And then he would walk away before any other Its could catch him.
When Sir came by after hours of this, Brandon walked up to him and whispered something in his shriveled up ear on the side of his head. Sir nodded, then ordered Brandon to lift up the net! He obeyed, and put Rainbow into a cage again, but a bigger one this time. He put in fresh cloth, clean water, and actual food in the little bowls. Right before he put Rainbow in it, he saw the dirty rags binding her broken leg. He got fresh ones and gently wrapped the pony's leg.
Then he spotted her wings.
He let out a small yelp of surprise, but Rainbow shoved a hoof in his mouth before it got any unwanted attention. She brought the other one over hers, and he nodded. She gently unwrapped the bandages with her mouth and unfurled the feathered limbs. It hurt, but she did it until they were fully out.
"You're... you're a pegasus," Brandon whispered.
"Yes," Rainbow replied. "Only the fastest flier in ALL of Equestria," she added, holding her chin up.
"You're a pegasus," the human said in wonder.
"Uh... you said that already. What's the big deal? There are tons of pegasi in Equestria," Rainbow was starting to act like her old self now. "Unless my awesomeness makes you so stunned you can't talk."
"Oh..." he swooned, like he was going to faint. Rainbow noticed Sir giving them stern glances. She tucked her wings and backed into the cage before he could come over and question Brandon.
"Dude!" she hissed. "Get your act together!"
"Right," he said, finally coming to his senses.
He bound Rainbow's broken wings with fresh cloth and shut the cage door. In this cage, Rainbow could stand up if she hunched over just slightly and she could walk around if she pulled it really tight.
"Yes, much better, isn't it?" asked Discord. He had appeared again.
"You," Rainbow was fuming. It was his idea that got her stranded in the net in the first place!
"Me," he said casually. "I see you just made a new human friend."
"Yeah, what's it to ya?" Rainbow snapped. She was sick and tired of him ruining her life with his stupid riddles and pranks. He was supposed to be good now!
"It's my idea that got you his sympathy, and he will help you later on," Discord replied with a smirk.
"Why are you doing this to me?" Rainbow sounded like a spoiled filly, but she didn't care. "You're supposed to be good!"
"Oh, I didn't do this! This is destiny!" he mused. "I'm just helping you so you'll survive. It may seem like bad advice now, but it'll do you good in the long run!"
"Then, if you want to help me so much, why do you keep speaking in riddles?" she asked.
"Sorry, you already asked you're question!" Discord smiled, then disappeared.
"DISCORD!!!" Rainbow howled to the sky. The question thing had seemed like a good thing when he first announced it, but now it was driving her CRAZY! The Its were looking at her funny, and she realized they couldn't see the draqonicus. Just as well, thought the pegasus. If they think I'M weird, then Celestia knows what they'd do if they saw something like DISCORD.
Now that she was out of the net, she started thinking about the riddle again. She was glad she had Brandon to watch her back now. It may seem like bad advice now, but it'll do you good in the long run! Discord's words kept coming back to her.
"What?" Rainbow looked very confused. Looking at her face, Twilight couldn't take it anymore. She sat down with her back to the wall and started sobbing.
"Was it something I said?" Rainbow's voice was soft as she knelt next to Twilight.
"No, dear, she has been having a hard time back in Equestria. I think I'll let her explain when she's ready," Rarity said gently.
"R-Rainbow D-Dash h-has been p-pony-napped!" Twilight cried. "The h-humans, t-they c-came to E-Equestria, on a g-giant floating t-thingie t-that l-left s-smoke in t-the air, and t-they took h-her, and w-we h-have to g-go r-rescue h-her RIGHT NOW!" she wailed.
"What?" Rainbow said again. "I'm right here. I haven't been kidnapped."
"She means the other Rainbow Dash, dear. The one from her world," Rarity explained. "That's why we came to you for help."
"What can I do? Besides being awesome, of course," Rainbow just had to add.
"Y-you would know what you would do if you were in that s-situation," Twilight replied, calming down a little bit. "Whether you would fight back or just sit quietly and wait to be rescued."
"I'd fight back! Nobody can lay a hand on me without a good punch to the face!" the cyan girl retorted.
"Exactly! S-so she has to be really contained if they want to keep her in there!" Twilight's gears started turning.
"And if they lay a hand on her/me, she'll/I'll kick 'em back to Equestria!" Rainbow finished with a familiar gleam of adventure in her eyes. Twilight saw that glow often. She sighed at the memory.
"She wouldn't be scared, if I know Rainbow," Rarity added.
"She could probably take 'em!" Rainbow balled her fists as if she were the pony and she was going to punch the idiots who kidnapped her.
The girls didn't know how wrong they were.
"But she still needs to be rescued," Twilight put a downer on their conversation. "So will you do it?"
"Of course!" Rainbow was obviously itching to go on the adventure. "But I need to ask my mom first."\
"You aren't seriously going to ask her this?" Rarity demanded. "'Oh, hey, Mom, can I go on an adventure with my friend Twilight who is from another world to rescue her pony friend Rainbow Dash that might possibly get me killed?'" Rarity made little mouth motions with her hands. "'Oh, sure, Rainbow!' NOT! She will never say yes!"
"I'll just say it's a school project that I want to help Twilight with," Rainbow argued. She turned to Twilight. "Do you know where they are taking Rainbow?"
"Twilight," Rarity began, "Equestria may seem really big to you, but it is really just one small island in a giant world. They could be anywhere!"
"Yeah, Twilight. Did you hear them mention any place in particular?"
"Well..." said Twilight, trying to remember. "They said something like 'Biscuit will pay good money for this one,' but that's about it." her gaze was locked on her boots.
"Great!" Rainbow started pacing the room, looking irritated. "What now?"
"I'VE GOT IT!!!" yelled Rarity so suddenly Twilight jumped and slammed her head on the wall.
"Sorry, dear, but I recognize that name! That's Ficher Biscuit from Largest Ever Pet Shop!" She was really excited now.
"They want to sell me to a PET SHOP?!?!?" Rainbow was outraged. "I am like, the coolest pony ever, and they want to sell me to a PET SHOP?!?!?"
"Anyway, I know where that is!" Rarity said.
"Yeah, yeah, who doesn't?" Rainbow was still fuming.
"I want Rainbow to come with me to rescue her," Twilight said.
"What about me?" whined Rarity. "Don't you like me?"
"Of coarse I like you," Twilight said gently. "But this is Rainbow's fight, if you know what I mean."
"Sweet!" Rainbow was now zooming around the room in excitement.
"But we need to go. Now. Rainbow could be in terrible danger."
Rainbow Dash stretched her legs as she saw Brandon coming over. Ever since she had befriended the It, he had been exceptionally nice to her. Hours had passed since Sir had slung her in the net, and now the sun had finally risen, but only for a few minutes. Since Celestia had apparently forgotten to raise the sun for pretty much all of the day, it was about the time to set the sun.
Brandon mirrored her thoughts as he came over. "Weird sunrise, isn't it?" he asked as he brought the evening meal.
"Yes," Rainbow replied without hesitation. It had once creeped her out to befriend her captor, but Brandon had convinced her he was on her side now. "Princess Celestia must have been really worried about me. She never forgets to raise the sun."
"Who's Princess Celestia?" Brandon looked confused. "And nobody raises the sun. It comes up by itself."
"Haven't you ever wondered which pony makes the sun and moon come out?" Rainbow was surprised at this It. "Like, every filly knows that it's the two royal pony sisters, Celestia and Luna," she added. Brandon only cocked his head. He really didn't know!
"Oh," Rainbow sighed. "You really believe that the sun comes out by itself?"
"Well, of coarse! Have you ever seen this Princess Celestia ever raise the sun?" he mocked playfully.
"As a matter of fact, I have," Rainbow looked so smug Brandon ruffled her mane and smiled.
"You win," he teased, holding his hooves up in surrender. He still had that crooked smile that Rainbow had come to like. The cyan pegasus smiled back, then started eating her hay.
She actually liked daisy sandwiches much better, though hay worked. Brandon didn't know that, but she didn't want to be snobby when he had already done so much for her.
Rainbow smiled.
"LAND HO!!!" an Its voice broke through Rainbow's thoughts. Land?!? she jumped up, slamming her head on the roof of the cage. Ow... she sat back down and held her spinning head with her hooves. She got up, slower this time, and looked out the bars. In the light of Luna's moon, she saw a huge mass coming up ahead.
She nearly started prancing, literally. Then she caught herself.
You are a grown mare, Rainbow, she scolded herself.
Oh, but I can't wait to get out of this stupid old cage! the inner-filly in herself argued.
"Want to get out?" asked a cold voice. Rainbow looked up at the hawkish face of Sir, freakish in the dim light. "Well, don't get your hopes up," he sneered. "You won't be coming out of there for a while."
"Sir!" Brandon came jogging up when he saw Rainbow being taunted by his boss. "We are ready to bring the horse out, Sir!"
"Very good. Bring her to the truck, and don't unload her until I say so!" Sir walked away, barking orders at the rest of the Its.
"Hey, Joe!" Brandon called to one of the other Its. "Help me lift this cage!"
Together the two Its lifted the cage, and slowly walked it to a large thing. Rainbow didn't know what it was, but it had four giant black hooves, glowing yellow eyes, and the Its were loading crates onto the monster's back. It growled softly, but didn't seem to react to the Its. Rainbow was facing Brandon, so she could only see his face, but that wasn't such a bad thing.
Suddenly his face got deadly serious.
"I've unlatched the door," he hissed. "Go!"
Rainbow didn't hesitate. When she pushed on the door, it opened freely. She jumped over Brandon, who ducked, thank Celestia, and she ran off onto a stretch of hard, black dirt. The Its chased her as far as the edge, but then stopped. Rainbow looked back in the middle of the dirt and stuck out her orange tongue at the horrified Its.
Then Rainbow realized that the Its weren't looking at her. They were looking down the strip of dirt, looking at something else on the track. Rainbow followed their eyes to see...
A monster. Hurtling straight towards her at speeds only the fastest pegasi could match. Its glaring yellow eyes looking right at her, and a strange honking noise coming from it, like it was telling her to get out of the way.
But Rainbow couldn't move. She was helpless as the monster's giant black hooves got closer, and closer, and closer, until...
THUMP.
* * *
The last thing Rainbow remembered was Sir's cold, smiling face, as if to say You will never escape me.
"Um... okay. But be back by dinnertime," Mrs. Dash agreed nervously. "If you aren't back by an hour after dinner, I'll call the police," she joked.
At least Twilight thought it was a joke. The main thing was that Mrs. Dash said it was okay.
"Okay, Mom! Be back soon!" Rainbow gave her a small hug, than ran out the door. Mrs. Dash gasped when she saw her daughter's wings, but then rubbed her eyes and shook her head like it was nothing.
"Thank you, Mrs. Dash," Twilight said.
"Yes," added Rarity. "We'll make sure Rainbow comes back in one piece," she half-joked, and Mrs. Dash laughed.
"Good luck, girls!" she waved as they went off into the city.
"Ok, Twilight! Where to?" Rainbow was flapping her wings in excitement. Some of the neighborhood kids were looking at her funny.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight hissed. "Keep your wings tucked! We want to act as normal as possible."
"Ah, come on, Twilight. We're going on a top secret mission through town, right? We want to fly to get a best view!" Rainbow protested.
"No! We're going to do it the human way!" Twilight insisted.
"I'll go let the other girls know about their ears and such," offered Rarity. "They probably don't even know about it yet!"
"Right," Twilight said, not really listening. "Rainbow, we should try to be as undercover as possible. If they see two flying girls with wings, they'll capture us with Rainbow!"
"True," admitted Rainbow. "Fine, we'll take a cab!"
"Yay!" Twilight looked enthusiastic about this. "But first one thing."
"What?"
"What's a cab?"
* * *
A long cab ride later, the girls were standing in front of a massive building with five security droids guarding the entrance.
"Isn't that a bit extreme?" Twilight asked.
"This is the most heavily guarded building in town," Rainbow looked at the building with disgust. "It helps that the owner is a ba-gilionaire."
"Wow."
"So now what?"
"Now we go inside and look for Rainbow."
"And if she's not there?"
"We wait around until she shows up."
"Fine with me."
So the two girls walked inside. They folded their wings and tried their best to conceal their ears, but it was still pathetic.
They made a beeline for the back. Rainbow said that was where they kept all of the pets. Twilight was horrified from what she saw there. All the animals were in cages, and there was a gunk in little bowls that was who-knows-what. There were little toys, but the little pets looked so bored and tired that Twilight couldn't look. She tried to imagine Rainbow Dash cramped in one of those little cages, chewing a plastic bone while waiting for someone to take her home. Twilight wiped a tear from her eye.
The girls didn't see a blue horse anywhere, so they went outside to wait.
They didn't have to wait for long. Soon a black truck pulled up, and a bunch of mean looking men came out and unloaded the trunk.
There, a trickle of blood coming from her mouth, was Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow heard voices before she even woke up. All was blackness, but she could hear familiar voices coming from a few feet away.
"You should have checked the lock!" said a stern voice. Rainbow had a groggy memory of Sir, her evil captor.
"I'm sorry, Sir," said a timid voice. Rainbow remembered Brandon with a jolt. She twitched in her sleep, which left her with a blast of pure fire to her chest.
"Sorry?" barked Sir. "You're lucky we got her back, but now Biscuit will never pay full price! I'll be ruined!"
"It won't happen again, Sir," Brandon almost whispered. Rainbow realized how much Brandon reminded her of Fluttershy.
"We're here, Sir," said another It.
"Good," growled Sir. "You're lucky I'm so nice," he said one last threat to Brandon before Rainbow heard his boots clomp away.
She heard an It coming towards her, and she put on her best "dead" face, which wasn't hard.
"I'm sorry," She heard Brandon whispering in her ear. She strained to open her eyes, but couldn't.
Brandon must have seen her eyes flutter. "You're awake?"
The pony tried to open her eyes again, and this time got them open a crack. She tried to respond, but when she did, she got a huge pain in her chest and spluttered. Something wet came past her lips.
"You're hurt," Brandon said with compassion. "Here, let me help you."
"No..." Rainbow gasped. "Fine..."
"You are not fine," Brandon snapped, then get some bandages.
"You! Bring the horse!" commanded Sir.
"Sorry," sighed Brandon, then he and another It took the cage she was in and gently lifted it out. Rainbow got jolted and blacked out from the pain in her chest.
* * *
When Rainbow woke up again, she could open her eyes.
How long was I out? she wondered. She could see a giant building in front of her, Brandon and the It standing next to Sir, and...
Twilight? Rainbow blinked. No, it wasn't an illusion. There was an It who looked just like Twilight and one that looked just like... her. She wanted to rub her eyes just to be sure they weren't playing tricks, but she didn't dare let Sir know that she was awake.
Twilight blinked at her. She mouthed Rainbow Dash! Wait, what?
Twilight, Rainbow mouthed back.
Are you okay?
That'd be a big no, Rainbow silently replied. She looked at Twilight with her magenta eyes, silently pleading for the It to help her.
Twilight nodded. She said something to Rainbow-Two, then marched up to Sir.
"That's my horse!" she cried.
"What?" Sir looked confused.
"She's mine! I was on vacation on an island with my family, and we brought her along to get some fresh grass, and suddenly she went missing! Thank you, thank you!" she through her arms around Sir who pushed her away immediately.
"No, she's mine!" Sir snapped. "Now stay back!"
"Give her back!" Twilight pushed harder.
"No! She's mine!"
"Mr. O'Brien, what is all this noise?" asked an irritable It with a gray mane. He looked as if he wanted to get this over with.
"Mr! Mr! That man is stealing my pet horse!" cried Twilight. She looked on the verge of tears. Rainbow was impressed with her acting skills.
"What is this all about, Mr. O'Brien?" asked the grey-maned It.
"Mr. Biscuit! That girl is lying! I found this animal on a deserted island, wild and untamed, and I alone tamed the wild beast to stay put in her cage." lied Sir.
"Hey!" Rainbow called. Her voice was doing much better now. "Who are you callin' a beast? Last I checked, you broke my leg trying to get me in here!" she whinnied.
"It talks!" said Biscuit, obviously amazed.
"And it has ears, you know!" she responded.
"I'm very sorry, Mr. Biscuit," Sir got to his knees. "We were working on manners when we arrived."
"Yea, right," scoffed the pegasus. "You were threatening one of your employers on the way here!"
"How did you know about that?" breathed Sir, suddenly paling.
"So you admit it?" Twilight jumped in. "That is my horse! You stole her!"
"Gah!" screamed Sir. He all of a sudden pulled a knife from his belt.
The crazy It opened the cage, but before Rainbow could escape, grabbed her by the scruff of her neck.
He dragged her out and lifted her up(which wasn't hard, considering Rainbow would only come up to his waist if she stood up). Sir took his knife and held it up to her throat.
"Not another step!" he warned, pressing the blade against her neck. "Or the horse dies!"
Twilight watched in horror as O'Brien pressed the knife to Rainbow's throat. She froze where she was, and looked on helplessly as Rainbow's magenta irises grew as her fear increased. The cyan-blue pony had always been there for Twilight, now she wasn't able to do anything to help her friend when she needed her most.
This realization made Twilight angry. She was her best friend, for Celestia's sake! The other Rainbow Dash had walked off before O'Brien brought out the knife to take a call from her mom, so Twilight was all alone.
She took a step forward, but raised her hands in surrender as O'Brien pressed the knife against Rainbow's neck.
"Alright," she sighed. "You win."
"Haha! I was right! Wait, what?" he suddenly looked confused. "You're trying to trick me."
"No, I'm not," she said, taking another step forward. "I lied about her being my horse."
"Haha!" he fist pumped with the knife, but still kept a firm hold on Rainbow. Her eyes screamed Get me away from this crazy thing!
"I wasn't lying about knowing her, though," Twilight added. "She's one of my best friends, from Equestria."
"I found her on an island with little cottages and a castle in the distance," O'Brien was getting nervous.
"I live there, and the wild horses do, too. They are friendly creatures that never have need for violence," Twilight said.
"No," O'Brien muttered.
"And I am their princess," Twilight finished.
"LIES!!" O'Brian screamed. He dropped Rainbow and charged Twilight with the knife. She ducked, and kicked the knife out of his hand.
Twilight could hear sirens in the distance, but they were still distant. She needed more time.
She sprinted towards Rainbow, but O'Brian got in her way and stabbed at her.
WHEEE-OOHHHH!!! the sirens blared. Just a few more seconds.
Twilight didn't have one second. O'Brien stabbed again, and it nicked her arm. Crying out in pain, she looked desperately for Rainbow Dash. She was gone!
Then Twilight saw one of O'Brian's henchmen pulling her to safety. She couldn't look long, because O-Brian took another swipe. Before she could duck away again, he caught her wrist.
"You will never interfere with my plans again!" he foamed, raising the gleaming blade.
"Hold it right there!" called a police officer. "Drop the weapon!"
"Officers!" called Rainbow, the humanoid version. "That man is attacking my friend and stealing her pets to sell!"
"Officer," stammered O'Brian, getting to his knees. "I can explain!"
"You have the right to remain silent," said the gruff voice of the police.
"You will never get your hands on me," growled O'Brian, and then he turned tail and fled.
"Ms, are you alright?" asked a paramedic.
"Just a cut," replied Twilight. But she was distant. She looked at the broken form of Rainbow on the ground, and gulped.
"She's barely breathing," informed the man who had brought her away from O'Brian. But Twilight wasn't listening to him. She felt Rainbow's chest, then her breath caught in her lungs.
"OUT OF THE WAY!" shouted humanoid Rainbow, and lunged to Twilight's side.
"Oh, no," she gasped when she saw her friend's expression. "Is she..." she trailed off. Twilight couldn't even nod.
When Rainbow got to the pegasus's motionless body, she looked at her face. Her hand moved to her pony-counterpart's chest.
Suddenly a ruby glow pulsated from her fingertips. It slowly got brighter and brighter until it completely enveloped the girl and pony.
Suddenly there was a flash of red light, and Twilight, Rainbow, and Rainbow were gone.
When Rainbow woke up, she was floating. Not like being lifted in a cage, actually floating, like on thin air.
Suddenly her hooves touched the ground. When she opened her eyes, she was in a magical place, where there was no ground, yet Rainbow felt something under her hooves. She looked around and saw another Rainbow, only she was an It.
"What happened?" Rainbow-the-It gasped." Then she looked at Rainbow. "You! But you were..." she trailed off.
Rainbow gulped. But she heard hoof-steps before she could ask what that meant.
"Twilight!" Rainbow-Two. "Where are we?"
"We're in the place where I became a princess," smiled Twilight. She was back to her normal pony body, though Rainbow got the feeling that Rainbow-Two could see her as an It.
"Am I going to become a princess now?" she gasped.
"Not yet," said Twilight. "But you are going to gain some power."
"What do you mean?" asked Rainbow-Two.
"I understand now," the alicorn smiled again. "This was all a part of a great destiny to discover your other selves!"
"What?" Rainbow and Rainbow demanded at the same time. Twilight giggled. Then she began to explain.
"I unlocked my destiny by creating new magic," she said. "You can do that, too, and this adventure was a major part of it. Your natural strengths will increase, along with your Element of Harmony, loyalty."
Rainbow stared into her counterpart's magenta eyes, the exact copy of her own. Suddenly her whole body began to tingle, and she realized that a burst of red light shot out of both of their chests and started to circle around them both, crimson energy drawing then together. Then it centered around her neck, and her Element of Harmony appeared around her throat, the ruby glistening in the energy of loyalty.
And then everything went black. For the second time in like, an hour.
* * *
Rainbow opened her eyes to see a giant red lightning bolt lighting up the night sky. Her counterpart's eyes were just beginning to open, but Rainbow noticed something new about her. A small ruby pendant, in the shape of a lightning bolt, hanging from her neck.
Twilight was standing nearby, back in It-form. Her shining crown sat on top of her head.
Then Rainbow noticed a familiar weight on her neck. She looked down to see a familiar gold necklace glowing on her neck. The ruby was a mirror image of Rainbow-Two's.
Mirror... She looked at Twilight. How had she become an It anyway? The only way was...
"You went through the mirror again," she said to Twilight.
She nodded, gently smiling.
"For me?" Rainbow's voice cracked. She felt a warm, wet streak fall down her face, but she didn't care.
"Of coarse," Twilight replied. "You're my best friend. Why wouldn't I?"
"It's just..." she wiped at the tears now coming in sheets down her face. "I don't know. I didn't think you would go through the mirror for me."
"Oh, Rainbow, I will always be there for you, no matter how far away you may be," she said, wiping away some tears of her own.
"Twilight?" Rainbow-Two groaned. "What happened?"
"Don't worry, Rainbow," Twilight soothed.
"It's night?" she mused. "My mom's going to kill me. I said I'd be back by dinner." Twilight giggled.
"I have to go back to Equestria now," she said. "My Rainbow Dash has some serious injuries and needs help. I might not see you again for a while," she added.
"I understand," Rainbow said simply, than got to her hind legs and walked away.
"Wait!" Twilight called. The It looked back. "I'll miss you."
Rainbow smiled. "Ditto." Then she walked off and disappeared.
Suddenly all the pain Rainbow had experienced in the last twenty-four hours bit her in the butt. She lay down her head and passed out, knowing that this time, she would be safe.
As Twilight lugged her unconscious friend to Canterlot High, she wondered what had just happened. She had been teleported from Largest Ever Pet Shop to the mystical place where Celestia had made her an alicorn, and Rainbow had been given unthinkable power in her Element just by uniting with her human counterpart. Twilight wondered if O'Brian would cause more trouble, now that he knew where Equestria was located. Would he kidnap more ponies? What if her friends were threatened by him? She couldn't bear the thought of losing AppleJack, or Rarity, or Pinkie...
Twilight could barely see the pedestal of a giant statue of a pony that signified the gateway back to Equestria in the darkness. She felt the cold stone with her hand, but the portal held.
The Equestrian gently put down Rainbow Dash and concentrated on the pedestal. Open, she thought. A magenta beam of light pierced the gloom, landing on the stone horse's forehead. Its eyes lit up, and Twilight stepped through, bringing the cyan pegasus with her.
* * *
"TWILIGHT!!!" cried a familiar voice as she stepped through. She was still standing on her hind legs, holding Rainbow in her front.
She almost let her friend go as she dropped down to four legs, but Shining Armor caught her with his magic just in time, carefully setting her down in the corner to rest.
"Ya' did it!" cried AppleJack. "We've been so worried!"
"Oh, Twilight, darling! You got Rainbow back!" Rarity threw her legs around Twilight, then sighted her cut on her foreleg.
"You're hurt," said Cadence, wrapping a bandage around the scrape.
"Forget about me," she protested. "Help Rainbow!"
"I'm on it!" saluted Pinkie Pie, then ran off to get Nurse RedHeart from Ponyville. Cadence did what she could, but it still wasn't enough. They needed an expert.
"I-is there anything I can do? If it's okay with you, of course," added Fluttershy in her shy little voice.
"I'm here! Everypony out of the way!" Nurse RedHeart shouted.
"She's over there," Twilight pointed.
Nurse RedHeart examined Rainbow, then said to Twilight, "She needs to get to the hospital immediately!"
"Somepony call an ambulance!" shouted Pinkie.
"Twilight accompanied her friend the entire way back to Ponyville, and into the hospital. She stood outside of the door as the doctors worked, and came to see her everyday afterword to see if she was awake. Every time, she was still out cold.
"Oh, Twilight," said Fluttershy the last time she walked into Rainbow's room. "She's not going to wake up anytime soon!"
"Yes, she will!" Twilight snapped, and scared the poor pony away by her rudeness. "Oh, Fluttershy, I'm sorry. I'm just stressed, that's all."
"It's okay, Twilight," Fluttershy replied, though her voice was still very small.
Twilight could not rest, not when Rainbow could be in trouble. She spent all night pacing until she wore open that old groove in the floor. She spent all day at her hospital bed, waiting for her to wake up. But it was all in vain.
"Twilight, ya' have ta' get some rest," AppleJack argued whenever she caught Twilight staring at Rainbow. "Ya'll are sleepin' on your hooves!"
"I'm fine," yawned Twilight, but every day she got more and more tired, until she stopped working all together.
"Okay, Fluttershy," whispered Rarity one morning. Twilight was in bed, staring at the wall, worried. "You grab her and hold her down, while we tie her down. You got that?"
"An' don' ask permission firs'! Jus' do it!" hissed AppleJack. Fluttershy nodded. She crept up behind Twilight and lifted her hooves. She hesitated for a second, but then brought them down on Twilight's chest.
The meadow-yellow pegasus cried as Twilight struggled, but didn't let up. Soon the alicorn was tied to her bed, with the other ponies grinning smugly about it.
"Twilight, we are not going to let you go until you get some rest," Rarity lectured. "Rainbow will wake up in her own time, and you cannot and will not kill yourself fretting over nothing."
"I'm sorry, Twilight," whispered Fluttershy.
Twilight stopped struggling and gave her friends one last puppy dog look before sighing.
"All right. I'll sleep," she said, and in ten seconds flat she was snoring.
"Good work girls," Rarity whispered, and together they sneaked out to check up on Rainbow Dash.
When Rainbow woke up again, it took her a moment to take in her surroundings. Drab, boring curtains, white sheets, medical egghead stuff everywhere.
How did I get in the hospital? she wondered. When she looked down, she saw her chest was bandaged, as with both her wings and her back leg.
Twilight must have brought her back to Ponyville! Finally, Rainbow was home!
But something was missing. Rainbow realized her friends weren't there welcoming her back. Had they forgotten about her?
No, Rainbow scolded herself. How could her friends forget her in twenty-four hours? I must have been out for a little bit. They probably had to carry on with their lives. But if Rainbow knew Twilight Sparkle, she would be there staring at her. So why wasn't she?
Suddenly she heard hoof-steps outside. She straitened, waiting for her friends to burst in yelling "Welcome back, Dashie!"
"Oh, Miss Rainbow Dash. You're up," said a nurse. "Well eat up, because you'll probably be asleep in an hour." She dumped a tray of food onto Rainbow's lap, then walked out. If you could call it food. Ugh, that's disgusting, she groaned in her head. It was literally a blob of pink Jello-like substance, and water in a glass. Well, at least it's better than the goop they served on the Floater, she thought. She gulped it down making many signature faces while she did it, and finally looked for something to do.
Rainbow spotted the latest novel of Daring Do on the shelf next to her bed. Courtesy of Twilight, obviously.
She heard more hoof-steps outside just as she picked up the book, so she put it back and waited for her friends to come in.
"DASHIE!" shrieked Pinkie Pie, giving her a giant bear hug that made her chest ache, and got several dirty looks from the nurses.
"Ow! Pinkie, that hurt!" she protested. "Oh, I've missed you all so much!" she finally gave in.
"Dashie! I'm planning this huge Welcome Back party for you once you're better, and it'll be fun-a-fun-fun!" Pinkie said in a quieter voice, but it was still very loud.
"We've missed you," said Fluttershy simply. Rainbow gave her a big hug than turned to Applejack.
"'Sup, AJ," she said. Then she cracked up and gave another big hug.
The only pony that hadn't said anything was Rarity. She was wiping a tear from her eye, and was anything but happy to see her long-lost friend.
"You're probably going to renounce me as your friend," she sniffed. "I understand if you do."
"Why in Equestria would I renounce you as my friend?" Rainbow was puzzled by Rarity's sadness.
"I'm the one who got you kidnapped in the first place," she said. "You'll probably hate me for that."
"Oh, Rarity, I don't hate you," the pegasus grinned, throwing her arms around her. "Just promise me one thing."
"What? Oh, I'll do anything to make it up to you!" Rarity cried, now in full-on sob mode.
"Never try to style my mane again," she laughed.
All her friends laughed at that, and let's just say there were some tears shed.
Then Rainbow noticed that she was missing somepony.
"Where's Twilight?"
"We... um," Fluttershy trailed off.
"We, uh, kinda tied her to her bed," muttered AJ.
"What?"
"Deary, she was going insane over you," Rarity burst out.
"She was going even more koko-loko than me!" Pinkie Pie clarified, which wasn't very clear.
"She was fretting for days about when you'd wake up. She wouldn't sleep, or eat, or do anything but sit here and stare at you!" Rarity explained.
"I've been out for days?" Rainbow whispered.
"Afraid so," sighed Applejack.
"Wow," Rainbow was shocked. Days?!? Poor Twilight!
"That reminds me," Rarity was looking sheepish. "We should probably let her go now."
"I'll go get her," offered Fluttershy.
"I'll go with you!" bounced Pinkie, and together they went to the library.
* * *
"RAINBOW DASH!!!" Twilight yelled. More nurses gathered, giving Twilight angry looks despite her rank as princess.
"Thanks," Rainbow looked at her hooves.
"For what?"
"Saving me. I'd probably be sitting in a pet shop right now if it weren't for you." Her huge, magenta irises gleamed.
"I'd do it for any of you," she said, wiping a tear. But a tear of joy, this time. "You're my best friends in Equestria, and beyond, and I'd never let anypony hurt you."
"Now, about that Welcome Back party..." Rainbow got that familiar, mischievous light in her eyes, and she had a feeling that everything was finally back to normal at last.
* * *
"WHEEE!!!!" shouted Pinkie Pie as more and more ponies filed in. This was the BEST PARTY EVER!!!!
Everypony looked at Twilight Sparkle as she wheeled in a cyan-blue pegasus with a chromatic mane and tail in a wheelchair. Rainbow Dash must have looked surprised that everypony cared for her so much, because that's how she felt. She looked at all of the familiar faces with a brand new light. Lyra, Bon Bon, Derpy, Scootaloo, Rose, Lily, Daisy, and all the others...
Her gaze rested on a few special ponies standing in the middle while Twilight wheeled her towards them. Her friends, her fellow Elements of Harmony...
Rainbow's eyes glazed over at all that everypony had done for her. This was the biggest party she had ever seen, and even Mayor Mare was there, ready to make some huge speech in honor of her. Even though she wouldn't be able to walk for a few days, or fly for two weeks, she felt great.
Nothing could ruin this day. Rainbow had a feeling that everything would be just fine from now on...
Yes, everything will be just fine, thought Twilight as she read with Rainbow Dash. Her friend was still in a wheelchair, and it would be a few weeks before she would be allowed to fly.
Are you so sure about that? mocked a sly voice Twilight knew well.
"Discord?" Rainbow dropped the book she was reading and gasped. "If you're here to cause trouble again, I swear-"
There'll be no need for that, the draquonicus interrupted. You're challenge is done. You can rest in peace until the next bad guy comes along, which won't be for a while yet. But you're friend Twilight hasn't even started HER challenge yet! Discord giggled.
"Discord! Show yourself!" Twilight demanded, and he appeared right in front of her, literally an inch from her nose. She jumped backwards while Discord laughed.
"What do you want?" growled Rainbow.
"Well, now, that's no way to greet somepony who helped you get back home, now is it?" he mused.
"What does he mean?" demanded Twilight, looking pointedly at Rainbow. She blushed.
"He... uh... kind of gave me... some hints about... who would rescue me," she stammered.
"You WHAT?!?" the alicorn demanded. Discord just smirked.
"So, Dashie, did you figure out the riddle yet?" he asked.
"Yeah... I guess," she shrugged. "Loyalty, that's me, the people took. I got kidnapped. Twin, that was the other me, rescue, they unite. We did go to the weird place where Twilight became a princess, and we each got some new powers. That's what you get when you put together two beings from different worlds."
"Okay..." Twilight didn't know what the hay they were talking about, but she didn't like it. "So why are you here now?"
"To warn you, of course," he said with a wink. "This isn't the first. You have many more challenges to come, and I'll be there to help the kidnappee, but you have to do the rest." He snapped his talon and poof-ed away.
"I hate it when he does that," Rainbow grumbled, and Twilight had to agree. There was going to be more kidnapping? If that O'Brian fellow didn't lay off, she'd sent her and the other Elements to teach him a lesson.
"What if the guy who got me kidnapped our other friends?" Rainbow mirrored her thoughts.
"We have to go check up on them!" Twilight gasped.
"Why don't you invite them to dinner tonight, and if one of them is missing, we ask the others why she didn't show up?" Rainbow suggested.
"That's a great idea! I'll go right now!" As Twilight ran out the door, Rainbow cleared her throat loudly and gestured towards the wheelchair.
"You stay here and read. I'll be back as soon as possible," she promised.
* * *
"Welcome, everypony!" Spike stood at the door, taking all the mares' coats as they walked in the door.
"Oh, Rarity..." he sighed when he saw the unicorn. She was wearing her best dress and looked wonderful. Everypony giggled when they saw Rarity fan her face. The whole town knew that the baby dragon had a huge crush on Rarity.
"So, Twilight, what's this here party all abou'?" Applejack inquired.
"I have just received a dire warning," Twilight started. "Wait, where's Fluttershy?"
"She had to feed Angel Bunny, deary," Rarity remarked as she tossed her coat to Spike. "She'll be along shortly."
"This is bad," Rainbow looked nervous. "Somepony has to go find her!"
"Why?" asked Pinkie Pie. "Ooooh! I love guessing games! Is Angel going to attack her? Will she fall off a cliff? Will the Hydra attack like in Froggy Bottom Bog that one time?"
"Today I received a dire warning that somepony will be kidnapped by the same human that kidnapped Rainbow Dash. We can't leave anypony alone at night! Especially Fluttershy!" Twilight explained as briefly as possible. Every moment Fluttershy was out there was another chance for her to get stolen!
"Let's go ponies!" Rainbow shouted, reaching for the go button on her wheelchair.
"Whoa, nelly," Applejack stepped in front of her. "Ya' can' go."
"Why not?" demanded Rainbow.
"Because we don't need another Element missing. We need you to heal as fast as possible so you can be there when we need you," Twilight said gently.
"Fine," she grumbled.
Together the four ponies galloped to Fluttershy's cottage as fast as their legs could carry them. When they got there, everything was dark. Applejack pushed open the door with an eerie creek, and two bright teal eyes stared at them.
"Girls?" Fluttershy flew out of the darkness and landed in front of them. Twilight sighed with relief. "What are you doing here at this hour? I was just about to go to bed!"
"You didn't come to Twilight's dinner party, so we got nervous, because the guy who kidnapped Rainbow Dash is still on the loose, and we got worried that he might come back, and that he took you when you didn't show up!" Pinkie explained super-fast. Fluttershy cocked her head.
"Don't worry girls. I'll be safe, don't worry," she whispered in her little voice. I'll lock my doors at night, and take lots of precautions."
"Phew. Good. I'll come check up on each of you every day," Twilight promised.
"Okey, dokey, lokey!" Pinkie sang.
"Of course, Twilight," Rarity nodded.
"Don't ya' worry your pretty little head," Applejack assured her. "We'll be fine."
"I'm sure," she smiled. Things were going to be good now that she had Rainbow Dash back.
