"So then I conjured up a great fireball-" The blue mare boasted to nopony in particular.
"Uh huh." Twilight simply turned the page of the book she was reading, a book on alternate timelines.
"-And burnt the manticore into a crisp!" She continued her extravagant story, swinging her hoof in a punching motion.
Twilight sighed, and turned to the next page. "Yeah, got it."
"Then, on my way out of the Everfree Forest-"
Twilight sighed audibly. "Trixie, I'm trying to read. Can you please stop ranting?"
Trixie turned to face the lavender unicorn. "Trixie is not ranting," She trotted importantly up to Twilight, who was resting on her bed. "Trixie was telling the daring story of how The Great and Powerful Trixie cheated death on many occasions."
"And let me guess..." Twilight replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "It's all true."
"Of course!"
"Just like the Ursa."
Trixie twitched. "No, that was a false story in order to make me look better."
Twilight closed her book, and stood up. "Trixie, I know an fake tale when I hear one. And this is one."
"Well- I-" Trixie lost her argument. "It does sound at least convincing, right?"
Twilight pondered. "No. Not really."
Trixie glared at her self-proclaimed rival intensely. "And you said you would be helping Trixie!"
"No, I only said I'm letting you stay here until your new caravan is built." Twilight's flawless logic overrided any argument Trixie could come up with.
"Well, in that case, can you help me with my newest performance?" Trixie demanded, trying her best to keep her composure
The lavender mare stared at her with an utter lack of care. "You do know I don't know anything about showmareship."
Trixie scoffed. "Trixie thought someone like you would've at least read something about it."
"I'm not one for showmareship, so I have no need to read about it." Twilight snapped her book shut and put it back in the shelf. "It's that simple." She walked around the room, looking through shelves, finally pulling out another book, this time on arcane formulae. "I'm too busy with work from Celestia and pursuing greater arcane feats."
"Trixie is still the superior at magic feats than you, Sparkle." Trixie stood in a proud position, with an incredibly smug grin. "I am the greatest unicorn in all of Equestria."
Twilight sighed, somewhat amused. "Your talent is magic tricks, Trixie. You're naturally good with visually-stunning arcane practices-"
"So are you admitting that Trixie is your superior?" Trixie butted in.
"I wasn't finished." Trixie opened the book. "I'm good with magic overall. I have the ability to memorise spells even after just observing or reading about it once. We have our own talents. In many respects, we are equal."
"But... Trixie is still superior, right?" Trixie's confident demeanour had broken, struggling to keep up with her now-emerging underconfidence.
"In some areas." Twilight turned the page. "Your ability to make true friends, however, is lacklustre."
Were it not for her sheer tenacity to stop herself from showing emotion, Trixie would've probably started crying. As it was, Trixie merely stuttered. "I-I... Trixie h-has plenty of friends!" She shouted back, still keeping her emotional dam from crashing. "You're one of them!"
Twilight looked up from her book, quite startled. "We're friends?"
That's it.
Trixie turned away from the unicorn, so that the pony could only hear her voice. Immediately she broke into tears, somehow still keeping her poise. She remained as quiet as possible.
"Trixie, are you alright?" Twilight asked with genuine concern.
Trixie still kept herself silent. Twilight moved closer, and reached out with her hoof. "Trix-"
Trixie shot her hoof out, knocking Twilight's back. Trixie finally opened her eyes, glaring violently at her 'rival'. "Don't you dare try to comfort me! You said we are not friends!"
Twilight stared at Trixie for a moment, then smiled sweetly. "Trixie, I was shocked because I was surprised you actually thought of me as a friend. I thought you wouldn't want me as a friend."
Trixie stopped glaring and simply stared into her violet eyes. "Really?"
"Yes, now stop being silly. I have to study the tendency of particles to be transferred over dimensions, so I won't be free to talk to for a while." Twilight glanced at the time. "Actually, can you go and get something for dinner, please?"
Trixie looked shocked. "Me?! Go outside?! But the entire town will recognise me!"
"If you don't act like a jerk again, and take off the darn cloak, it'll be fine. Besides, I'm sure one of my friends won't mind if you need help."
Trixie reverted back to her old self again. "Hmmph. I don't need extra help. I know the town quite well, and I won't need extra hooves to help me carry things."
Twilight could only giggle at that. "I meant emotional support. But, if you say you'll be fine, go on then."
Trixie scraped her hoof on the dirt road. It had been almost an hour since she left the house on her errand. She didn't really know the town at all. To make matters worse, she frequently saw much of the town giving her odd looks, looks similar to 'what's she doing here?' and 'isn't that the loudmouth?'. Trixie felt disheartened, and started slowly walking back towards the library.
"Hi!"
Trixie screamed, then noticed the pink ball of energy bounding excitedly in front of her.
"You're new here!"
Trixie straightened herself up. "Sort of. I've been here before."
The pink pony sat on her flanks, contemplating. "I would know if you have, but I don't remember. My name's Pinkie Pie, what's yours?"
Trixie felt almost relieved about this pink fuzz and her inability to remember her. "Beatrix Lulamoon. You may know me as The Great and Powerful Trixie."
"Trixie..." Pinkie squinted at nothing in particular. "Oh yeah, now I remember! I was sick that day, and couldn't come and see you perform. How'd it go?"
The azure pony glanced back at a desert-coated pony, who was glaring at her. "It could've gone better. Actually, it went horribly. I was running a story on how The Great and Powerful Trixie had banished an Ursa Major, and two little colts brought an Ursa Minor to town so that I could see me banish it."
"I heard about the rest from Twilight. Even the bit about you admitting the truth."
Trixie blushed. "What? She- Uh-"
The pink pony giggled, wrapping a foreleg around Trixie. "Relax, I don't have anything against you. I can tell the town does, though." She released her grasp and moved back in front of her. "So, what's up?"
"I... hate to admit it, but I'm lost. I'm looking for somewhere to buy some ingredients-"
"Ooh! I know a place! Come on!"
Without warning or consent, Trixie was grabbed by the tail and pulled along and an impossible speed. When Pinkie stopped suddenly, her momentum kept her going and she hit the ground hard.
"Sugar Cube Corner!" Pinkie presented the gingerbread house-styled bakery in a dramatic way, confetti suddenly appearing out of nowhere.
Trixie stood up, dusting dirt and gravel off her face. "While I appreciate the-"
"Come on! I'll show you!"
"... and then she returned to the Archives almost as soon as she left! It was so cool!"
Trixie was stunned. "Twilight knows a time-travel spell?"
Pinkie nodded furiously. "She's a genius! I'm so happy to have her as a friend!"
Trixie dropped back to her stage attitude. "She may be talented, but she does not possess the ability of The Great and Powerful Trixie."
Pinkie simply giggled again. "Nah, I think she's better than anypony when it comes to magic. It's on her butt, for Celestia's sake!" Pinkie broke into laughter at her own words.
The azure pony flicked some mane out of her eyes, grinning smugly. "Challenge accepted."
"What?"
"Trixie shall prove to you and Twilight Sparkle that she can perform feats beyond imagination."
"How?"
Trixie thought hard. "Twilight was telling me something of the tendency of particles to cross into another dimension."
The pink pony's brain strained to comprehend. "That's... the... rare event that small bits of matter move into another timeline or something?"
Trixie smiled. "Yes, it is. Or, at least, close enough to that. I was thinking... Of trying to move a full object into another dimension."
"Ooooohhh..." Pinkie leaned in, but then snapped back as something crossed her mind. "Wait, isn't that dangerous?"
"Unless it was me going through. Then I'll be able to make it back, hopefully with a souvenir."
"Ooh! Ooh! Can I tell Twilight?"
Trixie twitched. "No, I'd rather it be a surprise for her. And don't tell anyone else."
With a salute, Pinkie replied. "Okie Dokie Lokie."
Trixie sighed, and glanced at the time. "Which reminds me, I need to bring something to Twilight for dinner."
"Oops." Pinkie laughed nervously. "Sorry, I thought you were after something else."
"It happens." Trixie said. Particularly with that attitude, she added in her head. "So, Pinkie, where do I get ingredients for a quick dinner?"
"Follow me!"
"All done." Twilight snapped the book shut.
"Twilight," Spike, sitting on the stairs, said. "We have ingredients for dinner here already, why can't we just make it now?"
"Because, Spike," Twilight retorted. "I sent Trixie out to bring something, and I don't want to disappoint her by eating before she returns."
"Fine..." Spike muttered the rest to himself.
At that point, a rather unbalanced Trixie burst in. "Trixie has returned!"
"Yay!" Twilight squee'd in a surprisingly adorable way (to Trixie). "What'd you get?"
"Have a look." The azure mare levitated the bag to her friend, who looked inside. "I also met your pink friend."
"That explains the- Oooh!" Twilight nearly shoved her head in the bag. "I love these! How did you know I liked these?"
Trixie shrugged. "Pinkie suggested it, and I'm rather fond of them myself." She shook her head. "But that's not important! We need to decide who's going to cook."
"I think it'll be me or Spike. You look exhausted." she chuckled.
The purple dragon walked up. "I'll do it, Twi. You've been studying non-stop for two hours and you need some rest."
Twilight brushed her neck up against Spike as a sign of affection. "Thanks."
Trixie couldn't sleep. She couldn't even shut her eyes without having to open them. She had only one thing on her mind.
Which is why Trixie was sitting on the couch, looking over Twilight's books on alternate dimensions, runic circles and arcane formulae. She could only think of upstaging her rival-friend.
Credit where it's due, she though, while calculating the energy requirements to shift a pony-sized object across huge distances. For Sparkle to remember all this in her head is insane.
After hundreds of calculations involving the shape of the runic circle required to amplify her own power to hurl her across reality, the required materials to create the maximum output of the circle and other seemingly random equations, she finally reached a satisfying result. The circle was huge, but small enough to fit in the library, and had the closest material to crushed red diamonds soaked in dragon gall she had on hand, which was a paint specifically designed for arcane circles.
She looked at the clock, hoping it wasn't too late. It was. 10 minutes to 3 in the morning. The good news was, she felt absolutely exhausted, and managed to crawl into bed while being able to hide her calculations.
Trixie slowly arose, feeling refreshed. The time read 1.27 in the afternoon, which caused her to jump. Looking down off the upper story, she saw Twilight and her pink friend talking away. She grinned.
"This'll be great..."
The azure mare shifted the beds, and brought the paint up to her. She cast an illusion spell of the circle as a guideline, and started painting.
Almost before it was finished, Twilight walked up. "What are you doing?"
Trixie pulled the brush off the illusion, and dispelled it. "Morning, Sparkle."
"Is that my runic circle paint?"
"Yes." She replied, smugly.
"And is that a runic circle?"
"Duh."
Twilight stared at the circle. "Let's see, with a circle here and that rune there... and... also..." She recoiled as if she had just seen a dead body. "What the heck are you planning?!"
"I am going to show you just how great and powerful The Great and Powerful Trixie really is!" She laughed triumphantly.
"Do you even know what that is?!" Twilight was panicking. Perfect. "It's a teleportation circle, with elements of phasing and molecular reconstruction! And the formation of those show the required output of energy for..."
Silence.
"You're sending yourself to another dimension?!" Twilight screamed.
"I know, it's awesome!" Pinkie added, suddenly appearing next to Twilight.
"No! It's not awesome! It's downright dangerous!" She yelled at Pinkie, then turned back to Twilight. "Do you even know where you're going?!"
"I'll be fine. I'm the-"
Twilight grabbed Trixie. "What if you enter a volcano, or a world of only clouds, or even into a hostile group of other-worldly ponies! Or all three at once!" She pulled the azure mare close to her. "Are you really that stupid?!"
"I calculated it on my own. I don't think that means I'm stupid."
"But a smarter pony wouldn't even think of doing this!"
Trixie pushed Twilight away. "Get off! I'm going, whether you want me to or not!"
She planted herself in the middle of the circle, and generated magenta energy around her horn. Slowly, the circle started lighting up, energy swirling around the entire length. The ground was fire on Trixie's hooves, but she refused to budge an inch. Soon, the swirling energy became a tornado of magic, obscuring much of Trixie's vision.
The last thing she saw was Twilight running into the circle, screaming her name, before the world became a blur of white and black matter.
Around her was a swirling void of black and white, and a horrible screaming. Trixie covered her ears, but that didn't even dull it. Then, with a sickening jerk which knocked her to the floor, it ended.
One eye cracked open. She was, more or less, in the same spot in the library, minus the runic circle she had sketched before. She sat up and dusted herself off.
"That's one way to make an entrance..." She muttered to herself. She glanced at the clock, which was covered in webs. It read at about 12 at night, though it was hard to tell that with the cobwebs.
Another thing that stood out was the sheer disorganisation of the shelves. And some books were missing. It was, in her mind, very peculiar... and a little unnerving.
Then she noticed the night. The entire library was pitch-black, save for the sliver of light that shone behind her. Trixie turned the library's light on from a distance, and it glowed dully.
She made her way down the stairs and to the door, moving slowly out of slight fear. Once she opened the door, she could see the entire street. It was bathed in a silvery light, a full-moon at double strength, providing plenty of light but no warmth. Around, ponies lumbered around in no particular direction, heads low in terror or depression. From the door of the library, she could see that almost everypony was mumbling indistinctly, and to themselves. What really hit home was the familiarity of some of these ponies. She recognised the mint-green mane of the lyrist unicorn, and a pink-coated flower salesmare, amongst others.
She walked up to a desert-coated, red-maned earth pony that she knew as Rose. "Excuse me, but-"
Her question, one pertaining to the time and date, was interrupted by an increase in the volume of Rose's mumbling, making it audible to her. "...Night forever... No point... She sees all..."
"If you could plea-"
"...The sun has left... Night forever..." Rose repeated cryptically.
Trixie grabbed Rose by the shoulders. "What's the time?!"
"No point! She sees all! The sun has left!" Rose started screaming her message this time. As soon as Trixie let go to cover her ears, Rose reduced her scream to a loud mumble.
Trixie went up to another pony. The pegasus stallion responded slightly differently in way of words, but the message was the same. The next pony she tried was much the same.
She approached Sugar Cube Corner in a state of frustration, and was glad to see that the lights were on. She pushed it open, and saw one of the adults who worked there, tending to one of his foals.
"Hey there." He said in a mixture of mock and real enthusiasm. "I'm sorry, but we're all out of stock at the moment."
Trixie approached. "It's ok; I'm not here to buy anything."
The stallion froze. "Y-you're not one of Her agents, are you?"
Trixie wanted to just say no, but her sense of justification broke through. "Well, if I don't know who She is, then-"
"You don't know who She is?" He seemed genuinely confused.
Trixie grinned sheepishly. "I'm new here."
"That explains it." He turned his attention to the orange-maned foal. "So, what can I get for you, miss?"
"I just want to know the time and date. Make sure I've arrived at the right time."
"Well, I don't remember it, sorry. It's been too long. I think the Mayor's office has a Timekeeper there."
Trixie said her thanks, and was just turning to the door when a familiar voice called out. "You want to know what's wrong with those ponies, don't you."
She turned to see Twilight's pink friend, in duller colours and with a straight mane and tail. "How did you-"
"I heard the shouting of Rose, Thunderlane, Vinyl and Rarity. Only someone who wants to know what's wrong with the Lost approaches them."
In truth, Trixie had only approached them to get the time (a futile attempt), but she did want to know what was wrong. "The Lost?"
"The Lost," The stallion started. "Are ponies that, over the course of time, have lost their ability to do anything except amble around and mutter."
"They're kinda like zombies in the fact that they don't feel any physical pain, only sadness." Pinkie added. "They also don't need to eat or drink or sleep very often. Everyone from around here eventually turns into a Lost pony."
"How long have you fought off this?" Trixie inquired
"We've been going for about two years." The stallion said. "Well, I think it's been two years."
"Me and the twins have some... immunity to it. I wasn't born in Ponyville and the twins were born during this time. When the Cakes eventually become Lost, I promised them that I would look after the twins and move out of Ponyville."
"So, what you're saying is that if you were not born in Ponyville, you can't become one of the Lost."
"Pretty much." Pinkie said.
After a moment's silence, Trixie sighed. "Well, I have to go. I need to find out the time."
"Are you sure you'll be ok to go? I mean, you're not from around here."
Trixie's mind flashed back to her hour of stumbling around Ponyville. She could only remember the library-Sugar Cube Corner route. "Actually, I might need some help."
Pinkie smiled weakly.
"So, what's your name?"
Trixie looked at the pink mare in a fit of confusion. Haven't I already... Oh, right. "I'm Trixie Lulamoon."
"Pinkamena Diane Pie." Pinkie replied, not as cheerfully as she did in Trixie's universe. "I was called Pinkie, back when I was an expert party thrower, but that was years ago."
The air was unnervingly cold, the sound of the Lost creating an eerie atmosphere. Trixie thought all it needed was a disturbingly quiet violin soundtrack and it'd be complete. "So, what happened?"
"Ages ago, Princess Celestia was killed there." She pointed to the town square, a broken statue of Celestia strewn across the ground. "But not before months of watching Equestria suffer under eternal night."
Trixie swore she could see a spear of blue magic dart through the bushes, but she blamed it on the light. "That would be so horrible for her."
"When she was placed back on land, Celestia had been weakened to Her level. Celestia still refused to defeat Her, and was eventually killed." Pinkie stopped. "Here you are. I'll wait here."
"Thanks." Trixie made her way up the stairs, and then stopped. "Hey, just curious, would you know somepony called Twilight Sparkle?"
Pinkie thought. "Hmmm... No, I haven't. And I know everyone in Ponyville."
Sitting at the large desk was the Ponyville Mayor, looking rather distressed but holding up an aura of authority. Paper was strewn all over the room, and Trixie noticed that the one she had just stepped on was a death certificate of somepony called Vinyl Scratch, dated around a year ago (which was unusual, considering that she'd seen Vinyl mumbling to herself on the street). Next to the desk was a blue mare with a thoothpastey mane, looking over several clocks and calendars and other notes, seeming very stressed.
"Excuse me," Trixie started. "But I'm just after the time."
The blue mare turned. "It should be 1.45 PM. Hang on." She turned to her notes, sending several papers flying. "Sorry, 1.52."
"And the date?"
"I'd love t' tell you, miss, but I've lost some track, so I might be a few weeks off." She looked at a calendar. "It's at least a Thursday."
It was Thursday when I brought myself here... Trixie calculated. "Thanks anyway."
"Hey, if you want a correct date, you should see a higher-ranked Timekeeper. Try Manehattan or something."
At this point, Pinkie had walked in. "Is there one in Canterlot?" Trixie asked.
Dead silence, save for the ticks of clocks.
"Are you for real?" The Mayor asked, honestly shocked. "Everypony knows Canterlot's a death sentence."
"Well, you could say I'm not from around here, so I don't know."
Pinkie walked up. "According to legend, much of Canterlot was destroyed after Celestia's death, and everypony who lived there died horribly. Not from the rubble, but from something else."
"Well, it shouldn't do anything to me. I know how to handle myself." Trixie said smugly.
"You couldn't even find your way around Ponyville!" Pinkie yelled. "I'd doubt you could even deal with Canterlot."
Trixie chuckled. "Trust me, I know Canterlot quite well."
"How-"
"I think I'll be fine."
"Well... I'm coming with you!" Pinkie blurted out.
"Very well then." Trixie didn't even bat an eyelid.
"Hey," The blue unicorn added. "I'd love to ask if I can come along, but my shift ends in a few hours, and I have to keep time here. But-" She lifted an unusual set of barding. "-here. It's a chronoharness. When worn, it keeps time for you, and it's accurate to the microsecond. It also has the capacity of visual time travel, but that soaks up a lot of energy, so unless you have some charger stones, you'll be stuck without time."
Trixie lifted it up and had a look. "Then why haven't you used it yourself? You know, for keeping time."
"There are rules for Timekeepers. One of them forbids using a chronoharness as a time-measuring device. It's for travel only, and I ain't moving any time soon."
Trixie thanked the mare, and set out.
Along the way, Pinkie ran in front of Trixie, holding them in her tracks. "What the hay did you mean by 'you know Canterlot?'"
"I grew up in Canterlot." Trixie replied, trying to get past but didn't go anywhere.
"Then how come you don't know anything about the past few years? Canterlot and Ponyville were the centre of the events."
"It'll take a while to explain."
"Are you sure you're not one of Her agents?"
"Who the hay is She, anyway?" Trixie hated ambiguity.
"If you tell me who you are and where you come from," Pinkie started. "Then I'll tell you who She is."
"Look, I don't have time for this. I have to go, and you don't have to follow me." Trixie started trotting.
Pinkie galloped up and kept to Trixie's pace after a few seconds "Why are you even going to Canterlot anyway? You have the chronoharness, which tells you time accurately, and there's no Timekeeper there."
"Three reasons," Trixie started. "One: I'm going to find some charger stones there, supposing they're not all broken. Two: I want to find out what happened. By myself. Three: I might find someone in Canterlot."
"But everypony died there. There'll be no one."
"Well, then consider the other two reasons." Trixie said, and continued walking. "Are you going to follow Trixie or not?"
Pinkie just stared at her. "As long as you don't refer to yourself in third-person ever again..."
No skycharriots meant no quick flying. No train means no travel. So all there was left was...
"We have to walk this?!" Pinkie yelled.
"You didn't have to come." Trixie chimed. Truth be told, she wasn't much happier about this herself.
Trixie smiled, and then looked along the tracks, a snake along the mountain, and her smile dropped. "Let's go."
No more than twenty minutes along, a blood-curdling shriek was heard.
"Uh oh." Pinkie said quietly while crouching. "Bloodwings."
"What?"
"Keep your voice down!" Pinkie yelled through her teeth, but quietly. She continued softly. "You know how Ponyville has the Lost?"
Trixie crouched to Pinkie's level, wishing her coat wasn't so bright. "Yeah?"
"Cloudsdale got a worse effect. Everyone born there ended up a savage, carnivorous monster."
"This day just keeps getting bette-"
Something large landed next to them. Actually, it was three pony-sized things landing (one unceremoniously crashing) at once. One of the creatures stood proud, dishevelled rainbow mane rippling in the breeze, strange, simple magenta eyes that faded to black scanning around them. It turned to the crashed pegasus creature, it’s terrifying appearance nullified slightly by its misaligned, golden eyes. The third one seemed to shy away from the two of them when the blue one barked at the grey creature as it stood up, and hid behind its filthy pink mane. So far, none of them had noticed the two normal ponies.
The two ponies remained silent, watching the bloodwings looking around. The yellow one's teal eyes finally tracked over them, unable to see them due to the shadow cast by a huge rock.
It spoke in the same manner as the rainbow bloodwing, but Trixie swore she could hear the name 'Dash' in that speech. Without warning, the three took off; the rainbow bloodwing launched herself quickly, a jagged trail of spectral light in her wake. The grey one took off next, scanning two areas at once with those borked-up eyes. The last to leave was the pink-maned bloodwing. She looked over the shadow once again, and left slowly.
After a few minutes, Pinkie spoke softly. "Bloodwings don't have the best sight. They're like bats, in some ways."
"Is it scary that I recognised them?" Trixie asked.
"It was Fluttershy, Derpy and Rainbow Dash." Pinkie said, and stood up gingerly. "We should get going."
Another ten minutes passed, and they were already half-way up Canterlot Mountain. Pinkie stumbled a bit, and then straightened herself up.
"Hey Trixie, can we take a short break?" Pinkie slowed to a snail's pace. "My hooves are getting sore..."
Trixie sighed, and then noticed her own hooves' soreness. "Alright, let's-"
The same ear-piercing scream. Both of them instantly ran for shadows, but they had just hit a point where there were no long shadows for a good distance. They heard something akin to a jet engine just before a jagged rainbow ran straight into Pinkie, sending her flying. Trixie ran up, dodging a grey missile on the way, but something knocked her to her side. She looked up to see the yellow bloodwing staring down at her with teal orbs.
"Is it alright," It said in a raspy yet also soft and gentle voice. "If I eat you. I mean... if you don't mind..." Trixie noticed that the ex-pegasus couldn't keep her eyes on Trixie at all, and was looking rather sad.
"Fluttershy!" The rainbow bloodwing exclaimed, in a similarly raspy voice, but it was more energetic and aggressive. "Just eat her!"
"I'd rather not be eaten, thanks." Trixie said, standing back up. The yellow bloodwing hid behind her mane again.
"Oh, ok..." She flapped her wings to gain some air. "I'll just... leave you alone then."
The grey bloodwing poked her head up from the ground. "We make her into muffin?" It seemed that this one had trouble speaking Equine, though the real Derpy likely had better linguistic capacities from what Trixie has seen back in her dimension.
"No, we don't have kitchen." The rainbow bloodwing spoke harshly. She turned to her pink prey, trapped under her hooves. "You look like candy." She bared her teeth and ran her elongated tongue over them. "Should taste good."
"Hey, let me have first bite!" Derpy flew up ungracefully, skidding next to Rainbow Dash. "I bite, you bite, 'Shy bites-"
"I don't actually..." The yellow bloodwing said, before she was interrupted.
"-Then we make muffins."
"Well," Pinkie objected. "You can't actually make muffins from meat."
Derpy shoved Rainbow off the pink pony. "I make you muffin anyway!" She took a massive bite into her shoulder, and Pinkie screamed in pain.
Trixie reacted suddenly. She grabbed a bar of metal off the rails, and swung it at the grey monster. It was hit with a wet crack and flew into the mountainside, leaving a giant red splatter in her wake. Trixie dropped it and grabbed the biggest loose rock she could sense and lifted it above the rainbow bloodwing.
She was about to drop it when the yellow bloodwing screamed at her to stop. The rock hovered, surrounded in a field of magenta magic and slowly spinning.
"Dash's my friend! Don't kill her!" She flew next to the stunned rainbow bloodwing.
"She tried to eat my friend!" Trixie froze. Did she just... call Pinkie her friend?
"And I'm very sorry about that." She helped her pegasus friend up. "We weren't expecting any resistance, honestly."
Dash grinned. Her maw was unnervingly pointy. "You've got guts, unicorn. I think I'll avoid eating you guys."
Fluttershy turned her heat to the bleeding Pinkie. Her entire shoulder had been torn out. Immediately, the three rushed to her side.
"'Shy, can you do something?" Dash asked.
"No, you?" She turned to Trixie.
She gulped. "I think I know a healing spell. Hold on."
Trixie closed her eyes, trying to remember her spell. After no luck, she remembered a bandage spell that would stop it from getting worse. She tensed up, focusing on the shoulder and the metaphysical matter (a fancy term for magic) around it. She binded strands of it in her head, and then binded the straps around the hole. A flash of magic in her mind told her that the spell was complete, and she opened her eyes to see Pinkie's shoulder glowing with azure magic. The pink pony sat up gingerly, rubbing her hoof along her shoulder.
"That's pretty nifty. But why didn't you completely heal me?"
"I don't have a heal spell." Trixie explained. "But if I know who's in Canterlot, then she'll have a heal spell herself."
Dash looked at Fluttershy. "Join them, Flutters."
Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash with shock. "Huh?"
"You're still stable. Just. I'm half-way to feral, and I don't want to be around when It appears. I'll fly to Baltimare if I have to. Nopony lives in Baltimare"
"B-but you can't leave me!"
"You've got these two. You'll be safe." Dash gave Fluttershy the most intimate hug Trixie had ever seen, muzzle pressed against the shy bloodwing's cheek, wings wrapped all the way around. Dash pulled back slowly and, in a jagged rainbow, took off. Fluttershy hung her head.
"W-we were very close." She explained through raspy sobs. "She and I didn't turn into these monstrous forms for a good few months. She protected me, a-and..." She fell to the ground. "I was the first to change. She still protected me, even though she knew that I was unintentionally hungry for her flesh. But now, I'm all alone." She stood up, in a pose that contrasted her mood. "But if I don't keep to her directions, I'll never forgive myself." She turned to the two of them. "Let's go."
She hid behind her mane again. "I mean... if that's ok with you..."
The rest of the walk took nearly twice as long, what with Pinkie unable to move herself. Between Trixie and Fluttershy, they were able to make good headway, and Fluttershy's flight allowed for a good view of upcoming terrain. Eventually, they reached the stone gates of the railway into Canterlot.
"Hm... Needs a good clean." Trixie said as they passed under the stone, mossy monolith.
Their eventual trails led them to a stone pathway, littered with skeletons of different sizes and race. Trixie was slowing her pace as if to not disturb the spirits and incur impossible wrath.
A crimson bolt of energy rushed just passed Trixie's head and narrowly missed Fluttershy's. The pegasus panicked and hid behind a tree, which was quickly destroyed by another bolt. Fluttershy flew surprisingly fast over the slag and into a pile of rocks. Another crimson bolt rushed past, but Trixie knew a trick or two.
Trixie wrapped the bolt in a field of suppressive magic, and looked at it. It wasn't much more than a sphere of crimson energy. She dropped it on the ground when a familiar lavender unicorn, holding an intricate arcane weapon in her magic, emerged from the dead foliage.
"Who sent you?" The pony asked aggressively.
"We came on our own. Would your name be Twilight Sparkle?"
Trixie recoiled as the gun was brought to her head. "Who told you my name?"
"I-"
Twilight turned to her right suddenly, blushing. "Shut up, Shining! I do not have a crush on her!" Silence for a few seconds. "We just met her! And she came here with a bloodwing! How can-" Twilight stuttered. "I know you have nothing to do except sit there until I die, but don't go meddling in my life! Go away!" She turned to Trixie, suddenly tired. "Sorry... brother acting stupid again."
"What... Is..."
Twilight turned to her left this time. "What should I tell her? ... I should just tell her about this? Ok, if you say so." She turned back. "This'll take a while."
Trixie was struggling to understand. "So what you're saying is... You have the entire populous of Canterlot in your head?"
Twilight nodded. "Like how Ponyville is suffering the Lost phenomenon, and Cloudsdale the Bloodwing mutation, Canterlot turned into free-flowing spirits. Most moved on, but others entered my mind. I now have unparalleled knowledge, but at the cost of-" She smacked herself in the head with her hoof a few times. "-constant migraines and noise in my head."
Fluttershy flexed her wings. "Really? It's that simple?"
"Indeed. And what's your story, Trixie?"
Everyone leaned in to listen to Trixie. She felt happy to have a crowd for once, and she cleared her throat. "I'm from an alternate universe."
"What?!" Twilight exclaimed, then held her head in pain. She turned behind her. "Not all at once! I need to think!" She turned back. "Really?"
Pinkie facehoofed. "That explains everything. Like, how you know Canterlot and Twilight, but you don't know anything about the past two years."
Fluttershy was merely on the ground in mild shock. Pinkie prodded her a few times to no avail
"So," Twilight asked. "What's your world like?"
Trixie coughed. She went into detail from how Celestia was alive, the sun still moving and her best knowledge on those surrounding her.
"That sounds like a paradise!" Pinkie exclaimed, slightly miffed. "What the heck happened here?"
"In my world," Trixie continued. "Twilight went to Ponyville to prepare for the Summer Sun Celebrations, and along the way made friends with you two," She gestured to the earth pony and the bloodwing. "Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack. You six were the Elements of Harmony."
"That's it!" Twilight jutted in. "That's the shift in time! I didn't go to the Summer Sun Celebrations, I got somepony else to do it!" She smiled proudly to herself. "I'm surprised I managed to convince them, myself."
"I think the Ponyville library has a book on the Elements." Pinkie said. "Under E. We should go and find out."
Twilight stood. "I think I can teleport us there. Hold on."
Lavender energy wrapped around the four ponies, spiralling around. Trixie's rudimentary knowledge on magic told her that there wasn't enough power. Without any warning, a streak of the most golden magic she had ever seen shot through the field, and she felt her entire being thrown across a vast distance. The four ponies scattered around the library room, Trixie crash landing back where she had placed her runic circle a while before.
"Everypony ok?" Twilight said as she pulled herself out of one of the many shelves. "Not you, Spike, you're in my mind."
Pinkie raised her hoof out of a pile of books. "I'm fine."
Fluttershy flapped out of a bush suspended off the ceiling. "I'm ok..."
Trixie looked up from her faceplant. "Trixie is fi-" Her words died on her lips.
She had just noticed something unnatural. Something that wasn't supposed to be even possible. The sheer sight both explained the huge light and terrified her entirely, and the fact that she hadn't even noticed it didn't help at all. She couldn't even hear her new-found companions talking to her, or even Pinkie complaining about her use of third-person.
Trixie didn't know whether the fact that there were two moons hanging in the sky or the fact that she hadn't even seen them until now was more shocking.
She settled on the two moons.
The original moon was in its place, minus the unicorn head that had been on it until the Summer Sun Celebrations two years ago. The second moon was hanging just behind it, and looked very much similar.
"You've just noticed Her moon, haven't you?" Twilight said, pulling Trixie's attention off the freakish event.
"I guess." Trixie stood up, hooves shaking. "How did you know?"
"I have accidental telepathy. I think its somepony called Minder who does it. He's antisocial, so I don't have to deal with him much, but in a bizarre twist of fate I have his power."
That was almost as unnerving as the two moons. Almost. "I suddenly feel very unsafe around you."
"I get that a lot." Twilight pondered. "Actually, I don't get that at all, seeing as how I lived in some mockery of seclusion, but I can imagine why."
Pinkie waved her hoof fast enough to be heard, and her voice made up for what it was missing. "Hey guys, come and have a look at this!"
They all looked over the dusty book with well-deserved expectation. The book named five of the Elements of Harmony, and the rumoured location of them.
"Now all we have to do is find Rarity, Applejack and Dashie again." Pinkie said to the group.
Twilight jerked suddenly, and looked at the group with... well, what could only be described as different eyes. "They are no longer linked." Twilight spoke with a mixture of her own voice and a wholly powerful one, one that would be owned by a god or something like that. "But we do not need them."
"Twilight? Are you ok?" Fluttershy looked at her with concern.
Twilight shook her head and looked at her feathered companion. "Huh? I'm fine. I just... I don't know, actually."
"I'll ask on the way." The azure mare said, and started heading to the door. "Come on, we have Her to stop."
"I have this... unique voice in my head," Twilight said. "Insanely powerful and doesn't speak often. But when she communicates to me, my brain can't handle the raw magic capacity of it and I temporarily shut down. In addition," She picked up a random stone and tossed it somewhere. "She's the only mind in my head that can communicate through me. I'm too strong for the rest of them to control me, but she's too strong for me to stop her."
"That's pretty harsh." Pinkie said, kicking a stone. "I wonder who she was."
"As do I." An adorably raspy voice from above added. "Maybe the head magic user?"
"The term is Arch-Mage, Fluttershy." Twilight replied matter-of-factly. "I should know, we were good friends. But it's not him."
Trixie shivered. "It's quite cold."
Pinkie sighed. "It's because you're used to a sun. I'm not."
Fluttershy landed. "Actually, it does seem to be abnormally cold." She flicked her wings. "I wonder why?"
"It's the Everfree." Twilight added. "It's insanely cold."
"But," Trixie pointed out. "We're not actually at the Everfree- oh, wait, we are."
The four of them stood at the entrance to a huge, dark, scary forest. Only Trixie seemed to be undaunted, but in truth she was just as terrified at the others.
"We've got a world to save, girls, let's not dawdle."
"By the way, what's with the second moon?"
"Her moon," Pinkie started. "Is rumoured to be Her way of looking over all of Ponyville all the way from where She lives."
"In scientific terms," Twilight started. "It's approximated to be the casting point of a continuous scanning spell. I theorise it's that because I've occasionally seen an arcane circle drawn on the moon's surface for a few moments."
Silence reigned for several minutes as they avoided loose stones and sticks. A low growling could be heard.
"What's that?" Fluttershy squeaked, hiding behind the limping Pinkie.
Her question was answered when a giant winged lion with a scorpion tail landed in front of them.
"A Manticore, apparently." Twilight lifted her rifle up, and primed it. "Any suggestions before we blow its head off- Fluttershy?!"
Fluttershy had just walked up to the Manticore and had calmed it down. It revealed a thorn on its paw, and she yanked it out. The scene mirrored what Twilight had told Trixie about the night of the Elements.
Twilight groaned. "Well, at least we can pass."
Much later, in a field of twisted trees, Pinkie had taken the lead.
"If anything seems too scary," She chimed, seeming unnaturally cheery considering her depressed appearance. "Just laugh at it. It'll go away."
"That is the most absurd logi-" Twilight started.
"It worked for my world's Pinkie." Trixie butted in. In truth, she was surprised how blunt this was becoming. Maybe it had something to do with the changes to their personalities kicking in.
The area suddenly grew into shadows. The atmosphere grew colder and more sinister. Trixie almost bumped into a tree, only to notice the horrific visage on it. Trixie unwittingly screamed like a little filly, as did Twilight. Fluttershy's scream sounded similar to the hunting cry used by Rainbow Dash back on Canterlot Mountain. Pinkie simply broke out into song.
After a short musical number, the entire group was laughing their heads off, though Twilight was having a bit of trouble with the many voices in her head joining in. Pinkie even seemed to have a little bounce back in her mane. They continued until they reached a rope suspension bridge.
"We've skipped quite a bit." Trixie said as she noted the suddenness of their quest's end approaching. "We missed the serpent and the cliff as well."
"You know an awful lot, don't you?" Twilight said.
"I could claim that if I knew more about this world," She rebutted, fully aware of the complementary nature of that statement. "Then I'd know a lot."
"How did they get past this bit?" Pinkie asked.
"Rainbow Dash flew over the bridge and secured it, but her challenge was something involving joining this 'Shadowbolt' team or helping her friends cross."
"Element of Loyalty. I know her choice." Twilight said. "Well, someone else knows, but she's in my head."
"Luckily, I have magic to solve this."
A few minutes later, she gave up. "There's an impenetrable wall of magic I can't get past. Someone needs to go over and secure it."
"I'll go." The lavender mare said. "I can teleport."
"No, you have to stay back. You send me over." Trixie said. "And I'm not taking no for an answer."
"How about-" Pinkie started
"Or any form of disagreement, thank you very much."
"Are you really sure you want to go?" Twilight asked with genuine concern.
"No, but I'm... probably expendable anyway." Trixie, after her surprisingly self-deprecating statement braced herself.
"Alright. Here goes."
A sickening jerk later and Trixie was on the other side. She rapidly tied the rope before anything could move up to her and tempt her. Well, that was the plan. A voice rang out of the mist.
"Trixie Lulamoon, why are you doing this? You should be ruling over these ponies with your superior magic, not bringing a group of mutants on a pointless journey that will result in your death."
"Death would be preferable to living in this hellscape." Trixie rebutted. "And I'm not falling for the same tricks that Nightmare Moon presented to my world." She turned to wherever the voice was coming from, a smug grin on her face. "After all, the Great and Powerful Trixie is far less suseptible to your mind-games than you'd think."
The voice chuckled. "Very well, you win this round. But the next round, you'll soon wish you had accepted my offer."
The mist parted, and Trixie secured the bridge. "It's ok now, go on across!"
The rest crossed the bridge, except Fluttershy who flew across. Slowly. She was looking left, right and centre in fear. Eventually, she landed.
As the bloodwing and the pink pony moved further inland, Twilight remained behind, next to Trixie.
"Hey, Trixie..." The lavender pony said, blushing and avoiding eye contact.
"Hm?"
"When this is all over, and I have my mind back..." She faltered. "Never mind."
Before anypony could say anything, a low-key rumble emanated from everything. It grew in intensity alarmingly fast.
Twilight pointed at the old castle in front of them. "The Elements are there! Let's get them!"
The four ponies raced in, and saw the pillar slap-bang in the centre of the room. It had no orbs on it whatsoever.
"Where are they?" Twilight asked, over the rumble.
"They're supposed to be here!" Trixie shouted. "And what the hay's causing that?!"
Trixie looked up. Something was happening. Something incredibly big was forming out of the aether right behind the two moons. It was a celestial body that was at least ten times the size of a moon, and was positioned behind the two identical ones. This one had a darker shade, its shadows reflecting differently to the others, and tinted with an ungodly blue. Small stones startes rising up as the rumbling reached a crescendo.
Fluttershy roared like an animal, and curled up. Twilight covered her ears, screaming at the voices to shut up. Pinkie and Trixie were unaffected, except for fear.
"The Nevermoon?!" Pinkie yelled. "What the hay is it doing here now?!"
"Nevermoon?" Trixie called out.
"It's a third, ungodly moon that increases the torment of the Curses."
Fluttershy was struggling to keep herself together.
"More ponies become Lost, bloodwings go into a rage!"
"And it seems that Twilight's voices are completely audible now!" Trixie added.
Trixie felt something heavy impact on her side. Hard. She hit the pillar and saw a blood-frenzied Fluttershy about to bite her. Trixie held the bloodwing's head back with magic, but strained with the effort.
"My magic's weaker!" She cried, almost slipping her arcane grasp. "Is that normal?!"
Pinkie grabbed Fluttershy, only to be swiped at by a hoof and knocked to the ground. Trixie lost her grasp, and the monster bit into her flesh. Under the searing pain, Trixie felt the sharp daggers of teeth stab easily through her body, and then felt it being pulled. Trixie, instead of attempting to pull the pegasus's head back, pushed it in to hold her tearing.
All of a sudden, a bright gold light burst from the lavender unicorn, shielding the group. Fluttershy's blood-rage slipped, and she noticed her fangs embedded in her friend's shoulder. She immediately pulled back, unaware that her jaw was still clenched, pulling out a huge chunk of meat from her chest. Twilight immediately calmed down, and ran up to Trixie.
"Trixie!" She screamed, louder than the rumbling of the Nevermoon. "Hold on!"
Pinkie looked up at the dome of gold energy in utter shock. "What the hay is that?"
A small sphere of black energy popped up next to her. It suddenly expanded out to cover a larger range than the dome of gold, and with a sickening jerk it, the gold dome, and the castle fell away into a barren blue-grey landscape.
Trixie, having her horrific wound patched up by Twilight, looked towards the sky. This sight really took the cake this time. More than two moons, more than a giant third moon that sowed terror and cost her some of her coat and quite a bit of blood.
The two moons were now even closer, and the second one in front of the first this time. A short distance behind, a celestial object with blue, decaying green and browns lay behind. The object had ice on either end of the sphere, and a whole mass of white strands that looked like clouds.
"Is that Equestria?!" Trixie nearly tore her wound open, as it wasn't yet finished healing.
This time, Pinkie, Twilight and Fluttershy were also speechless. They may have seen the two moons and the Nevermoon from Equestria's viewpoint, but they've never seen Equestria from the Nevermoon.
Unusually, this absurdly flat (not truly flat, but there was no hills or valleys whatsoever) moon of utter evil wasn't affecting them at all up here. Except for their breathing, there was absolutely no sound.
"Enjoying the view?"
The group turned to see a huge mare. A pitch-black alicorn that stood at least double their height, with blue armour plates and a mane of pure magic.
"It's Her!" Pinkie exclaimed.
Trixie had enough. "You! The one in the armour! Who the hay are you?"
"I am Nightmare Moon."
Trixie thought. Eternal night, dying crops, utter horror, three moons... Why didn't I get that message?
"I know your mission. But it was doomed from the start."
Twilight glared at the alicorn. "How was it doomed?"
"I destroyed the Elements so that nopony could ever use them again." She said, smugly. "At least you get to see a wonderful view of the planet before you die."
"Why did you do this? You knew eternal night would kill Equestria!"
"Because these ponies didn't respect my night, and it'll be the last thing they ever see before they all eventually go."
Trixie felt faint, but kept herself up. "Where's the sun?"
Nightmare laughed again. "Why, you're standing on it."
Silence.
"What?!"
"I couldn't get rid of the sun. It's impossible. So, after killing my sister Celestia in order to establish rule of the sun and Equestria, I cooled that bloody fireball into this wonderful rock." She grinned, slitted pupils shrunken in insane glee. "I knew that rendering the source of warmth to ponykind would lead to their eventual doom. Magic is a strange thing that only the Gods understand completely."
"You won't get away with this!" Pinkie yelled.
Nightmare moon broke out into hysterical laughter. "I already have! And you've heard more than anypony ever has." Her horn glowed, and her hair was tipped with magic blades. "Time to die, my little ponies."
One of the tendrils of energy lashed out to Trixie, and she prepared for her certain death.
Silence again.
She dared to open her eyes, and saw that her entire world except her had turned grey. She spotted a small pony, bigger than her but tiny compared to the goddess they were fighting, standing elegantly in front of the frozen Nightmare. She was bathed in a silvery light.
"I'm very sorry, Beatrix." The blue alicorn said, looking so upset that Trixie couldn't help but shed a tear. "I didn't want it to go this far."
A very warm glow hit Trixie's back, and she turned to see a huge, graceful, white alicorn standing majestically in a field of sunlight.
"But we can prevent it. The Elements were not destroyed, merely separated."
Trixie instinctively bowed. The smaller alicorn walked up, her short blue mane flowing in a non-existent breeze. "What are you talking about, Celestia?"
Celestia grinned. "Trixie, you can rise." She continued to her sister. "The Elements are prepared to be used to save ponykind. Afterwards, everything will be restored to normal. Luna?"
"Yes, sister?"
Celestia said something in a language completely unknown to Trixie. She then turned to the azure unicorn. "You will die in this battle, but we are prepared to grant you one wish."
"The rules are simple: No wishing for the Elements not to work, no wishing for infinite wishes, and we have the ability to deny a wish request." Luna sat next to Trixie. "I know I'm about to kill you, but I just want you to know..."
Luna pecked a kiss on Trixie's cheek, a tear streaming from her eye. "I'm very sorry."
Trixie, broken from her depressed stupor, rose to a dramatic position. "I only have one simple wish." She whispered it into Luna's ear, who then said something in that strange language to Celestia.
Celestia smiled. "A very humble request."
"One last thing," Trixie added. "How much do you know about my world?"
Luna smiled cheekily, and with a sudden flash of silver and gold light Trixie was lurched back into reality.
The blade of magic stopped in the dead-centre of a stone shield, constantly scraping against it.
"What?!" Nightmare Moon exclaimed.
The stone shield turned into a crystal shield with silver edges. The crystal was a brilliant blue, and shone brightly. The other Elements materialised around them, taking the forms that Trixie knew were the ones from her universe. A golden avatar of the Sun Princess Celestia burst in a blaze of sunlight, armed with the Elements of Generosity and Loyalty. A silver avatar of the Moon Princess Luna slipped in in a bath of moonlight, holding Honesty.
Nightmare tried to equal the power. All of her starmane was bladed and grinding against Trixie's shield. The sheer pressure of the onslaught tore her wound open, but the blood that seeped out was glowing gold and silver, and Trixie felt no pain.
Trixie's element didn't have a name. It had no defining characteristic that made it a true element. It wasn't even the right shape. However, it was just as important as any of the Elements of Harmony. The shield started to glow from the pressure.
The Elements of Harmony burst into a spectral beam which shot into the sky. It arced down onto Nightmare, and Trixie could see her body being torn apart to reveal the Luna she had seen. Finally, her shield broke, and bathed her in a pure white energy.
All she could hear after that was silence. She couldn't feel anything, not even her wound. She could taste blood, but that was about it. She decided to simply lie there, and see what happened next.
She dared to open her eyes, only to see a panicked Twilight looking down at her.
Her ears were still adjusting, and couldn't make out what her rival was saying.
She tasted blood again. A dull pain roared through her body, but she could hardly move.
She slipped into her dream-like state once again, leaving the small library to itself.
When she next awoke, she could see the same mare's head resting next to her.
She looked around slowly, making sure not to strain herself. Yep, she was in hospital. The curtains, the bed, the weird tubey thing jammed into her arm. She knew it was a bad idea to take that out.
Her attention made its way back to the mare on her bed. She looked very peaceful there. She noticed a letter under her hoof. She picked it up and read it.
Dear Trixie,
I don't know what you've done this time, but I swear I'll kill you when you wake up.
Also, I was really worried about you. Don't do this ever again. Please.
Twilight Sparkle.
Trixie dropped the letter and looked at the pony next to her. She dared herself to reach out and stroke her mane, which woke her up.
"Trixie?" Twilight said, half-asleep.
"Hey." Trixie replied quietly.
Twilight looked at her with teary eyes, smiling sweetly. Were it not for the fact that they were rivals, she swore she could've fallen in love with this adorkable pony. Apparently this adorkable pony was quite perceptive as well.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Twilight sounded more curious than upset.
Trixie buried her face in her hooves. Celestia, that was embarrassing. "N-no reason!"
Twilight moved closer. "Did something happen over there?"
Trixie removed her hooves from her face to see Twilight's face alarmingly close to her own. "I met you there. You had a few scars and your mane was a wreck, and your mind had about a 10th of Canterlot in it. And you are a hayuva lot cuter than she-"
Oh Celestia what did I just say?! Trixie suddenly realised her Freudian slip. She burrowed under her blanket a little
Twilight simply blushed. "You think I'm... cute?"
Trixie thought of so many alternatives to yes. She ignored them. "I guess... I mean, you're not as-"
Trixie's mouth was too oscured with Twilight to continue, sending a cascade of crimson across her face. As quickly as she had moved in, Twilight retreated to the end of the bed, apologising frantically. It was actually quite cute.
"T-Twilight, its ok." Trixie said, although she was still reeling from Twilight's actions.
The lavender mare looked up. "But... I just..."
"Sparkle, quit fussing the small stuff. Besides..." She looked sheepishly elsewhere. "... I was kinda enjoying that..."
Twilight slowly made her way back, almost staring into Trixie's eyes the whole time. Just before contact, the door was slammed open by a particular pink mare.
"Hey guys what's going on in this-" She saw the position that Twilight was frozen in. "Shall I come back?"