A Crude Wakening
Rainbow Dash's head was pounding.
She twisted and turned in her sleep, and she could feel something soft against her back, but it wasn't the familiar feeling of a cloud or tree branch: it was something alien. It felt more grounded, dirty, and whatever it was she couldn't stand laying on it any longer.
She opened her eyes to reveal a wide-open valley, the green plains spread far and wide ending in a set of mountains and hills; the soft grass was such a brilliant, blinding shade of green that it made it difficult to see anything afar.
"Where am I?" she said to nopony in particular, standing up and brushing her eyes. Rainbow noticed that there was no sign of civilization anywhere near her.
She looked up at the skies, empty of clouds and with the sun right in the middle of it, making it difficult to know what time it was. But time was the least of her worries at the moment; what she really needed was directions. The sun`s position didn’t help either, making it impossible to locate the cardinal points from her position.
Looking back down at the fields of green, Dash found something that she was sure hadn’t been there before: it was a thin strip of road, its golden color standing out against the emerald fields. The road itself was very simplistic in design, mainly bricks put together in a malformed path that stretched across the land.
Rainbow approached the road— her state of half-slumber made it difficult to walk— and she almost fell once she arrived at the road. Like the landscape, the road looked like it went on forever, the yellow line running straight ahead from where she stood, into the horizon and through to the unknown.
If she wanted to find other ponies, she decided, it was her best bet to follow the road, so she started to walk into the horizon.
*o*o*o*
"Sir, could you please tell me, in as much detail as possible, what happened last night?" Twilight asked the dark stallion who laid in the hospital bed.
"Everypony in Ponyville must have heard of it by now; what good would interrogating me do?" the blue-maned colt said. He turned in his bed, looking away from her.
"Look, Thunderlane, I know it must be embarrassing to tell me the details, but every point of view counts, so please tell me what happen so that I —we— can find out who did it," Twilight said, placing a hoof on his shoulder.
"Fine," he said as he sat up on his back. "Yesterday, the Pegasus Weather Team was practicing for the upcoming Winter Wrap-up. Everything was going just fine; actually, better than fine, considering we finished earlier than expected.
"After a long day of practice, we all got together and threw ourselves a party to commemorate, and somehow —in the middle of all that— we got a hold of hundreds of muffins. I`m talking about rows upon rows of muffins, so we decided to have an eating contest." He stopped momentarily after his stomach growled. "Turns out cider and muffins don’t mix too well." His face became green and he placed a hoof to close his mouth.
"Is that all you can tell me?" Twilight said. She stopped writing down on her notes.
"That’s all there is to tell.”
"Thank you, Thunderlane, I hope you feel better soon," Twilight said before she exited the hospital room.
Outside, in the hallway, she levitated a list of names, checking off his name from the rest.
"Hey Twilight, how’s the investigation goin’?" Applejack said as she approached.
"Considering I found no leads, I say it`s going pretty terrible."
"Don’t sweat it sugarcube. I’m sure y’all will find something to help Rainbow.” She placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder.
Twilight let out a sigh. "I hope you’re right; I’ve been up all morning interrogating the other pegasi that attended the party, and nopony seems to had noticed anything out of the ordinary."
"Well, it is Ponyville after all; nothin’s really ordinary around these parts." She let out a small laugh.
"Even so, I still think somepony would’ve noticed how she started to act strange," Twilight said.
"With Rainbow you never know, ‘specially when she has a bit too much to drink," Applejack said, then removed her hoof from Twilight's shoulder. "Look, if you find anythin', let us know. I'll be with the others watching over her while she sleeps." She tipped the stetson hat on her head and left to Rainbow's room.
*o*o*o*
The blazing, bright yellow sun beamed down upon the green, mountainous land below. The air was dry and torrid, making the long walk along the golden road all the more difficult for Rainbow Dash. Her belly rumbled. It was probably hunger, she thought. Another set of noises erupted through her belly. Definitively hunger this time.
She had been walking for who knew how long, and to make matters even worse the vista hadn't changed much since she started. An empty landscape of green grass and blue skies continued to extend to the horizon.
Her mouth was dry as well; she needed to find a place to rest. Suddenly, a shadow fell upon her. Looking up, she found herself in the middle of a cornfield. She enjoyed basking in the shade for the time being, so she stopped to rest and maybe eat a corn-cob or two.
She searched around for the biggest, brightest, juiciest stalk she could find. Locating the paragon specimen next to a pink scarecrow, Rainbow reached for her golden meal.
"Hey! That's not yours!" a female voice called out, interrupting her.
Dash turn to see who had warned her, but she found nothing but more cornstalks and the pink scarecrow that stood tied-up to a crucifix.
"Hello, is anypony out there?" she called. With no answer she decided to return to getting her meal.
"I told you, that's not yours!" The scarecrow hit Rainbow's hoof mid-air before she could grasp the the cob.
The pegasus jumped so high and so quickly that she almost performed a mini sonic rainboom. Seeing this, the scarecrow started to laugh at her frightened expression.
"Alright then, if you think you're so funny, check this out!" Rainbow said. She dove down towards the scarecrow, spinning her crucifix so fast that the scarecrow was launched out into the field, where it crashed hard in the ground.
"Ha, how was that?" Rainbow said with a smirk on her face.
"That was fun!" the scarecrow laughed. She looked down to find a rip on her fabric. "Oh, wait, I think I lost some stuffing," she said. The scarecrow stood up to reveal a hole that had been torn in her stomach.
At the sight of the injury Dash`s left eye began to twitch slightly, and her mouth was curved into an expression that was both horror and disgust. "That looks like it hurt; are...are you sure you're ok?"
"Yep, just fine; as long as I have straw to replace my insides nothing can really hurt me," the scarecrow said. She picked up some of the nearby straw and pushed it back into her body. "Well, except for fire obviously."
The animated pile of straw extended a hoof "By the way, my name is Pinkie: Pinkamena Diane Pie. But I don't believe we’ve met, and trust me; I know everypony around here!"
"Name’s Rainbow Dash, and who is everypony?" Dash looked around to make sure they were alone.
"Well there is no other pony, per say, but I made friends with some crows!" Pinkie said. She pointed, with a grin, towards a group of crows wearing party-hats and standing atop of the corn-stalks.
"That's nice..." Rainbow said, letting out an awkward laugh.
"So tell me, Rainbow, where are you from? How did you get here? What's your favorite color? Do you like cupcakes? Do they have cupcakes where you are from?"
The bombardment of questions took Dash by surprise, and she stood there for a moment with her jaw open, stuttering to reply. "I-I..." She closed her mouth and thought for a moment.
"I don't know where I'm from, or at least I can't remember; it must be somewhere nearby because I woke up this morning in the middle of a valley," she said. Her stomach roared. "And I'm really hungry, so if you have a cupcake with you I’ll gladly accept it."
Pinkie looked around. "I don't think I have one, but I know a city nearby where we could buy some," she said with a bright smile. "Hey, we might even find out where you came from when we get there!"
"Is it far?" Rainbow said, and placed a hoof on her own belly. "Can't I just eat one of the corn cobs?" She tried her best puppy-eyes look.
"No can do," Pinkie said with a shake of her head. "Sorry, but I'm a scarecrow, and my job is to make sure nothing touches these plants, so I don't plan on failing anytime soon." She struck a hoof on the ground decisively.
"Okay then, but who do you work for anyways? I haven't seen anypony else till now."
"Sorry, confidential business," Pinkie said. She crossed her front hooves while standing on her rear.
"But they won’t even notice! Trust me, just one corn won’t make much of a difference to them." Dash placed a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder
Pinkie brought a hoof to her chin, and sat in deep thought before answering, "Well, since you are my friend, and you seem to really need food, then I guess it’s fine." She looked at Rainbow with a puzzled look "But how do you plan on eating it?"
"I'll cook it!" Rainbow said. She stomped her hoof on the ground and struck a heroic pose. As fate would have it, lightning struck down from the sky, and rain fell with a bellow of thunder. "...Or maybe not."
"We better get going if we want to reach the city by nightfall!" Pinkie spoke through the wet mane that covered her face. As she trotted to the road, Rainbow followed close behind.
*o*o*o*
"Hey, Twilight, over here!" Blossomforth cried out. She was laying on her hospital bed in the hallway. Like all the other pegasi that had attended the party, she also suffered from food poisoning.
"Oh, Blossomforth, I didn't see you there. How do you feel?" Twilight said as she approached the pegasus.
"Well, I’ve been better," she said with a small laugh. "Say, how is Rainbow Dash doing?"
Twilight sighed. "Her condition hasn't changed since yesterday; there seems to be something else affecting her...Hey, Blosomforth, I don't think I've interrogated you yet, have I?"
"Uhm, no, I don't think so...Why, do you think I was behind this?" she said with raised brow.
"Oh, no, no, no. On the contrary, actually," Twilight said while she waved a dismissive hoof. "I'm gathering information to learn what happened last night." She took out her quill and a piece of parchment. "Now then, what were you saying about a pony being behind all of this?"
"Wha—, but I—" She was silent for a moment. "I see there’s is no point in hiding this from you." She sighed. "Yesterday at the party, some mysterious, cloaked pony approached Rainbow and offered her a drink.”
Blossomforth looked around the room, avoiding eye contact. “I was curious at first, but...” She bit her lower lip.
“But what?” Twilight’s gaze narrowed a bit
“I just assumed it was, you know,” she said with a cheap smile. “I know it sounds racist, but honestly: who else would wander around Ponyville wearing a cloak?”
“So what made you change your...” Twilight searched for the right word, “accusation?”
"I thought to myself: what would Zecora be doing in the Weather Team's party?”
“So who was it?”
“I’m not sure. I searched for the mysterious pony but found nothing; moments later we were all rushed to the hospital.”
"That does help me find a lead, but tell me, Blossomforth, did you see anything else suspicious?" Twilight said. She stopped writing down notes to look at the mare.
Blossomforth brought a hoof to her chin. "Well, there was that one unicorn at the party, what's her name...Lyra, yeah, that's it. Lyra Heartstrings."
"Lyra, huh?" Twilight wrote down the name on her list. "Now what would a unicorn be doing in a pegasi party?"
"I don't know. She was probably the host or something. You don't have to be a pegasus to throw a party for the weather team."
"Anything else?"
"Not really, no. Besides the spoiled muffins that is." Her stomach growled and her face became green. "And the cider..." She placed a hoof on her mouth to hold back the oncoming fluids before finally facing a bucket next to the bed to let it all out.
"Well, thank you for the help Blossomforth," Twilight said. She let out an uncomfortable laugh while backing away slowly; the pegasus's vomit didn't show any signs of stopping. "Hope you feel better soon, bye." She bolted towards the exit.
*o*o*o*
Spike was having an uneventful day. First he woke up to find himself alone at the library, then he remembered that there were still dirty dishes waiting for him in the kitchen, and finally he found out that Peewee had turned to dust overnight...again.
"Spike, I need your help!" Twilight said as she burst through the front door.
Spike dropped the books he was holding and fell from the step-ladder with a scream.
"Geesh, Twilight, what's so important that you feel the need to scare me half to death?" he said. He stood up and brushed the dust off his scales.
“Sorry,” she said, holding back a laugh, “but I really need your help.”
“Of course, what is it?” Spike said. He raised a brow .“Does it have anything to do with why I was left alone in the library this morning?”
“Actually yes...well, kinda. You see, yesterday there was a party for the weather team, but it turns out that the party was sabotaged and Rainbow was rushed to the hospital after she collapsed; followed by the rest of the team, who suffered from food poisoning.”
“Wow, must’ve been a heck of a party huh?”
“Spike! This is serious; I need your help locating an unicorn named Lyra...” She brought a hoof to her chin. “Lyra...something.”
“You mean Lyra Heartstrings?” Spike asked with a raised brow.
“Yes, that’s it. But how did you know?”
“Lyra and I hang out whenever you forget to invite me to your adventures,” he said as he crossed his arms and pouted.”
“Ahh,” Twilight said in a baby voice. “I’m sorry, I’ll be sure to bring you along next time an unexpected adventure pops up in my schedule,” she said jokingly. “At least it’s good to know that you’ve made friends with a mare while we were gone.”
“Well, Lyra isn’t the only other pony I’ve met,” Spike said. “I mean, you’ve been gone alot.”
“You can tell me about the others after I’ve talked to Lyra,” Twilight said.
“Yeah, alright; she lives on 404 West Trotstreet.”
“Thank you, Spike, I’ll be back before nightfall.”
“Right,” Spike said, “that’s what you always say.”
*o*o*o*
"...and that is why you should never, ever, ever, go into The Dark Forest!" Pinkie finished her tale by dramatically jumping in front of Rainbow Dash to block her way.
"Pinkie, it's pouring out here. Come on! We’ve got to take the shortcut to get to town and head through the forest." She pushed Pinkie out of her way with a hoof and continued walking into The Dark Forest.
Pinkie stood behind, staring at her only friend walking into the most dangerous place she knew. She looked around the eerie woods before quickly trotting next to Rainbow. Both mares were soaking wet already, but the trees in the forest would provide shelter so that they could dry off.
The woods were a dark place even in the daytime; the trees were black as night and clustered in such a way that one could not see the skies from inside the forest, and the animals who inhabited it were creatures of nightmares. Glowing eyes watched them from afar, and noises could be heard from somewhere in the shadows, slowly approaching them.
Suddenly, a loud growl hollered out, startling Pinkie. She screamed and jumped in the air and hung on a tree branch a few feet above the ground. Rainbow Dash looked up to face her friend. Pinkie's eyes were wide open, she was shaking a bit, and hanging on to the branch for her dear life.
"Pinkie, you can come down now; it was just my stomach," Rainbow explained with narrowed eyes. Her stomach growled again and she placed a hoof on her belly. "I hope the town isn't far.”
Pinkie dropped from the branch. "Well, if you’re so hungry, why don't you get some of those colorful apples over there?" She pointed towards a tree.
Rainbow turned to look, and what she saw was a sight to behold. The tree sat just off the left side of the road, a few feet away from where she was standing. A beam of light broke through the cluster of dark branches just above the tree, making its bright colorful leaves shine all the brighter. The apples that hung from the branches had a rainbow coloring to them. Rainbow Dash’s mouth watered just from looking at them.
Pinkie grabbed Rainbow by the shoulder. "Wait! This forest is dangerous; it isn't safe to leave the road! Let's just keep going, we might get to the city soon." She looked worriedly at her friend.
"Relax, Pinkie, it's just a few feet away from the road; what could possibly go wrong?"
Rainbow continued to approach the tree, and her hooves left the road as she tried to climb the bark. She stretched her neck as far as she could trying to grab one of the apples, but just then another set of growls erupted.
"I see you’re pretty hungry yourself, huh Pinkie?" She looked back at her friend with a smug expression on her face.
"That wasn't me," Pinkie said, shaking with fear once again. "It was them!" She pointed to something behind the tree.
A cold drop of sweat ran down Rainbow's neck as she heard more than one growl approach her from behind. Without looking back she grabbed one of the apples and dropped back onto the road.
"Come on, Pinkie, just run!" she yelled at her friend without looking at what was pursuing them.
"I told you not to leave the road!" Pinkie yelled back. "Now look at what you got us into!"
"What...are they...anyways!?" she spoke through gasps of air as they ran.
"Timber...wolves.. they guard...Zap-apple trees!" Pinkie tried her hardest to keep up with Rainbow Dash, while talking at the same time.
Both mares were getting tired, their hooves cramped, and sweat poured down their backs as they forced themselves to try to outrun the creatures behind them.
*o*o*o*
"399...400...401...402...403...ah-ha, here it is, West Trotstreet 404," Twilight said. She stood in front of the doorway of the large building.
Ponyville wasn't a big city per-say, but since Twilight rarely got out —other than to visit her friends— she found it difficult to navigate through the city. It took her a long time to actually find the building where the party had taken place, but once she saw how much of a mess it looked from the outside, it was hard to believe she hadn't found it earlier.
She knocked on the door with little hope that somepony was actually still inside; the place looked abandoned, but to her surprise a mint green unicorn opened the door.
"Yes, can I help you, Twilight?" Lyra asked, the confused look on her face reflecting Twilight's expression.
"Lyra?" Twilight tilted her head sideways.
"Yes, Twilight, it's me. You know, the one mare who has been studying with you in Canterlot since Magical-Kindergarten." The sarcasm in her voice was almost palpable.
"Oh, right," Twilight said. She let out an embarrassed laugh "Sorry, I wasn't really the friendly type back then.”
"Forget about it,"Lyra said as she turned and walked inside. "Come on in; whatever it is you want, I got a feeling it's going to take some time."
*o*o*o*
Rainbow Dash turned her head to see how far back they had placed their pursuers. She couldn't see the wolves anymore which was a good sign.
"Rainbow, look out!" yelled Pinkie.
Dash turned to face forward, but at that very instant her body smashed right into a large —hard— object that was in front of her, and she collapsed on the ground.
The pegasus shook her head as she stood up, and brought a hoof up to her cyan head to check for any blood. To Dash’s luck, the accident caused no real damage to her head nor body. Rainbow looked at the object she had crashed into; it was a strange metallic pony statue with a purple mane and a stub of hair for a tail.
*o*o*o*
Lyra led Twilight into the kitchen, which surprisingly was left almost intact, and both mares sat down to talk at the tea table.
"Do you want some tea?" Lyra used her magic to levitate the teapot to serve.
Thinking back to the hospital filled with sick pegasi that had indulged in Lyra's delicacies, Twilight kindly declined her offer.
"I guess you are here because of last night's incident?" Lyra looked down at her filled teacup "Look, I told the guards already, I'm innocent!" She stood-up with watery eyes.
"Ok, calm down, Lyra, nopony is accusing you." Twilight leaned in and touched the other unicorn’s hoof to comfort her.
"But they are; I overheard some ponies talking about the party, and they all think I did it!" The pressured mare started to cry.
"But you didn't do it, did you?"
"Whatever happened to those pegasi was all that earth pony's fault!" The outraged mare hit the table with a hoof, sending her teacup to the ground.
Twilight eyed the broken cup, then turned to Lyra once again. “Earth pony? What earth pony?”
Ms. Heartstrings let out a heavy sigh “It all started yesterday morning...”
*o*o*o*
I woke up to the sound of knocking on my door; at first I thought it was Bon-Bon wanting to invite me to go shopping or something, but then I remembered that she left Ponyville last week for vacation.
So I decided to check on the front door. When I got there I could see from the front windows that there were hundreds of boxes stacked up outside, so I opened the door to see what this was all about.
There, on my doorstep, was this tall brown earth pony, I’ve never seen him before, since Mr. Zippy takes care of most deliveries in this part of the town.
“Hello there, Mrs...Lyra. I have a delivery of two hundred cupcakes here for you,” he told me.
I told him how it was impossible. I never ordered cupcakes, especially THAT many, but he insisted that this was the right address.
“Look, what could I possibly do with two hundred cupcakes?” was the only reasonable question I could think of at the moment.
“I don’t know, and I don’t care; your eating habits are not my concern,” he said...
*o*o*o*
“The nerve! Can you believe he said that?” Lyra said as she threw both hooves in the air.
“So what did you do with the cupcakes?”
“I figured it was best to share them, so I decided to throw a party for the Weather Team.”
“But why the Weather Team?” Twilight said. She stopped taking notes for the moment.
“...I don’t know, I had a feeling, like my conscience was telling me to do it.”
Whatever it was, it made Twilight’s curiosity peak. She made sure to write down the information “Is that all?”
“No, I remember something else; it was a strange pony-like being but it had no fa—”
Lyra’s eyes went to the back of her head as she collapsed on the floor with a loud thud. Twilight sprang up and looked around, searching for the cause, but found nothing.
“Lyra! Are you ok? What happened?” Twilight lifted the unconscious pony with her magic. “Lyra? Don’t worry; I’ll get help!”
She ran to the front door, but it opened by itself to reveal a brown earth pony stallion with an hourglass cutie-mark.
“Come with me, Twilight Sparkle, we haven’t got much time.”
*o*o*o*
"Dash, are you alright?" Pinkie stopped running and walked back to help her friend. Catching her breath, Pinkie let out a long —and overly dramatic— gasp in shock.
"What!? What is it!?" Rainbow felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. "Are there more of them?" She looked around, carefully examining her surroundings.
"No, look," Pinkie said as pointed towards the metal statue. "It's one of those things." She stopped to rub her head in deep thought. "What did they call them?... Oh right, a Cyberpony!"
"A what-now pony?" Rainbow raised a brow quizzically.
"A Cyberpony, silly. They’re like ponies, but made up of metal parts and what-nots." Pinkie said as she approached the Cyberpony carefully.
She analyzed the entire structure: it was rusted on the lower parts of its legs, and the hooves themselves broke through the yellow bricks, and were buried under the soil. Moss grew all around its belly, and its horn was mostly intact, but the mane was unkempt and losing color just like the short tail. The face was emotionless, although the eyes looked as if they were teary, though where the ears should've been were two tubes that connected to the sides of the cranium. Overall it seemed to have been left there in the open for a very long time.
"I wonder if it still works..." Pinkie searched for any indication of an 'on and off' switch of any sort.
"Pinkie, we don't have much time; just leave it there. It's not like it hasn't been here for decades. Now come on, those wolves must still be looking for us!"
"But wait, look, somepony forgot to plug the battery in!" She pointed towards a dimly-lit blue cylinder that looked as if it had been neglected for many years.
She picked up the gloomy object which had been left on the ground behind the Cyberpony's ankles. She searched for a place to insert the nuclear battery, but the howling of the approaching Timber Wolves broke her concentration.
"Pinkie!" Rainbow pulled the talkative scarecrow by the shoulders trying to get her to follow, but Pinkie insisted in trying to find the battery relay.
"Don't worry; I got it, Dash!" She reassured her friend as she placed the cylinder inside a hole that was hidden under the Cyberpony's mane.
The Timber Wolves had caught up to the fleeing mares. The largest of them —presumably the leader — slowly advanced forward as the rest of the savage animals surrounded their prey, ready to leap in and devour the colorful herbivores at any moment.
Rainbow Dash hugged Pinkie tightly, and they both closed their eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
A loud hissing sound came from the mechanical pony as its power returned. Its horn produced electrical sparks, and its hooves broke free from the ground. The mouth did not move as it spoke, but the feminine — yet robotic — voice that it spoke with could be understood clearly.
"I did my duty for queen and country! I did my duty!" it bellowed as it extended its front-right hoof at the wolves.
One of the wolves jumped at the opportunity and grabbed the hoof by its teeth, but with the slightest effort the silvery warrior flung the beast away into a tree, which was knocked over by the sheer power of the throw.
The other wolves stood their ground; they still had the advantage in numbers. The Cyberpony resumed its previous position to point her front hoof at what appeared to be the leader of the wolf pack.
"Analyzing target. Subject is inferior. Species Cataloged: Timber Wolf. Status: Incompatible! Course of action: Delete!" With that its hoof morphed into a blaster, and a charging noise became louder as the gun loaded.
With a loud zapping sound, a blue streak of plasma fired from the hoof. It hit the massive Timber Wolf spot on, disintegrating the creature into dust in a spectacular flash.
Seeing this, the other wolves growled at the Cyberpony as they backed away, then slowly they turned one by one and ran away back into the woods once more.
Rainbow and Pinkie opened their eyes, and looking around they noticed that the danger was gone and that their savior was now staring directly at them while pointing its weapon.
"T-thank you," Pinkie said, trying to break the ice while the cyborg scanned her with its glowing eyes.
"Analyzing target. Species not Cataloged Status: Incompatible." It aimed the gun at both mares.
“Pinkie, don’t thank her yet! Run!” Rainbow picked the scarecrow up using her front hooves and dashed away.
Rainbow couldn’t fly very fast with Pinkie’s weight hanging off of her, but she seemed to have placed a long distance between them and the killer robot.
The machine stood still as the pegasus fled. It looked down at its rusted hooves, analysing the damage done over time. After the scan showed no major injury, it started to walk towards its targets.
Rainbow could see the forest’s exit just up ahead: the skies were still dark and cloudy, and the rain had gotten even heavier.
She turned to look back at the Cyberpony, who was now slowly building up speed as it remembered how to run.
*Zap*
A shot passed right over Rainbow’s head. She dove down to keep herself under the enemy’s aim for just a few more seconds, just enough to get Pinkie safely out of the forest.
*Zap*
This time the shot hit its mark. Luckily, it was aimed at the top half of Rainbow’s right wing, but it was enough to get her out of the skies indefinitely.
Rainbow crashed-landed at the forest’s exit, her body carving a path through the dirt as she came to a halt. The forest exited out onto a small cliff, off of which Pinkie was now hanging. She held onto Rainbow’s hoof as hard as she could, but her weight proved too much for the tired pegasus. Pinkie fell, followed by Rainbow Dash, and both mares rolled down the cliffside, their bodies crashing into one another as they hit the bottom.
Rainbow stood up and check for any broken bones. Luckily she landed on a soft object, preventing any real damage.
“Pinkie, are you alright?” Rainbow tried to find her friend amongst the darkness and heavy rain.
“Over here!” Pinkie called out. “I think I lost some of my straw.”
“What do you mea—” Rainbow stopped once she noticed that she was talking to a disembodied head. “Oh, I see; I think you’re right.”
The Cyberpony had caught up to them by now, but it slowed down at the forest’s exit to avoid the same fate as her targets.
“You Will Be Deleted!” It pointed its gun downwards at the mares.
Rainbow stood in front of Pinkie to protect her, functional wing outstretched and the bleeding one folded. If she was going to die, she figured, at least it wouldn’t be shamefully.
*Zap*
A thunderous sound emerged from above the skies as a bolt of lightning struck the horn of the metallic pony, causing it to emit sparks from its head to its tail, and causing both mares to close their eyes from the immense amount of light being emitted.
It was over before they knew it; a suit of armor with smoke coming out of it was the only thing left standing atop the cliff.
“*Phew*, that was close,” Rainbow said as she brushed the sweat off her forehead.
“Yeah, for a moment there I thought we wer—”
A new set of sparks emerged from the metal shell, its black-dot eyes becoming an intense blue, and the sound of working machinery returned.
“Well, so much for that.” Rainbow sat next to Pinkie, both completely disheartened.
“Rainbow, if it means anything, you were my bestest friend,” Pinkie said with a smile.
“I knew you only for a little while, but you were okay, I guess,” Rainbow said, smiling back.
*o*o*o*
“Where are we going and where are you taking me!?” Twilight contemplated as the mysterious stallion pulled her by the hoof.
“To a safer place, Ms. Sparkles. You are in terrible danger!” the stallion ran even faster, pulling her harder along behind him.
“That doesn’t really answer my questions: Why am I in danger? What is after me? Who are you!? And why did you call me Sparkles!?” She tried to break free of his embrace to no avail.
“All in due time my dear, I shall explain it all once we get...here!” He came to a halt in front of an odd blue box.
“And where is here?” Twilight questioned. They were at the edge of Ponyville, far away from any location worth running to. “Are you referring to this...this weird, colored bathroom stall?”
“Bathroom stall!?” he blustered, his voice carrying a heavier Trottingham accent than before. “The TARDIS?” He motioned towards the box. “I’ve heard people call it many things, but never a bathroom stall! How diminutive, how impudent of you, how—”
“If you’re going to stand here all day trying to find smart words to describe how my statement has hurt your feelings, I’ll just go,” Twilight said, then turned as if to walk away.
“Wait, I’m sorry. Look we haven’t got much time. Your friends, your family, the Princess: they are all in danger!”
“Then show me, where is this danger? Who are you? How can we stop it?”
He turned to his blue box and opened the front door. “All your answers are in here.” He gestured for her to enter.
She slowly walked inside, with wide eyes observing the interior. “It’s...it’s...”
He eagerly awaited for her to finish her sentence.
“It’s not that impressive.”
“Wasn’t expecting that,” he said to himself.
“What were you expecting?” she asked, overhearing him.
“I dunno, something about the size comparison from the outside and the inside.” He walked over to the control panel.
“Everypony knows that spell Mr...”
“Doctor actually,” he replied with a smirk.
“Right, Dr. what?” She raised a brow.
His smirk faded, leaving only a look of disappointment in its place. “Just ‘The Doctor’.”
“Well, Doctor, what now?” Twilight said as she approached the control panel.
“Now? How about we go on an adventure!” he spoke enthusiastically.
“Will this help decide the fate of Equestria?”
“If I say ‘yes’, will you come with me?” he asked with a smile.
With a heavy sigh, she shook her head in defeat.
“Then hold onto something, because this is going to be a bumpy ride.” He pressed the buttons, twisted the wheels, pulled the levers, held on to the railings, closed his eyes, and waited for something to happen.
*o*o*o*
“Are you two alright down there?” asked a feminine —and now non-robotic— voice from atop the cliff.
Rainbow looked up to find the Cyberpony staring back, equally perplexed. “Did you just ask us if we were alright?”
“But of course my dear, what kind of lady would I be if I’d leave two injured ponies alone in the wilderness?”
Rainbow looked at Pinkie, who stared back at her with the same confused expression. “Hum...Sure, we could use your help,” Dash said.
“Let me see here,” the cyborg said. She searched behind her for any object that could be used as a ladder. “Oh goodness, just look at my beautiful tail; it’s a complete mess!”
“Not to rush you or anything, but I’m bleeding over here,” Rainbow called out while examining her burnt wing.
“Here you go, grab on to it!” The metallic mare threw a vine down the cliff.
Rainbow grabbed the vegetation with her teeth, and picked up what remained of Pinkie with her hooves. The metallic pony pulled both mares up to safety with ease.
“There, now that you are both safe I can formally introduce myself. My name is Rarity, and you are?”
“Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie, do you wanna be friends?” the dismembered scarecrow said.
“Rarity, huh?...Sounds familiar,” Rainbow said. She thought for a second. “Well, I’m sure it will come back to me some time. By the way, I’m Rainbow Dash.” She extended a hoof to greet the strange mare.
Rarity motioned a hoof to shake Rainbow’s, but she quickly retrieved it once she saw what it looked like.
“Oh, no, this cannot be happening. My hoof! Just look at it! It’s all rusted and old, and...an—” The metallic pony collapsed on the ground, emitting a sound that was an equivalent to crying.
“Just look at me! I’m a Cyberpony! Oh no, this means...” She stopped and gasped, and if this cyberpony wasn’t made of a metallic substance her silvery face would have looked a lot paler.
“The Queen! I failed her! Oh, this is bad; this is very, very bad!” The panicked mare paced unrelentingly in a circle, carving a furrow in the ground under her metal hooves.
“Now, now, it’s okay, I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Rainbow said, pleading, and to her surprise Rarity stopped. Sadly, it was only to continue arguing.
“Okay!? You don’t understand; Emerald City needs me! The Queen needs me!”
“Emerald City? Is that nearby?” Rainbow asked Pinkie, who did her best to mimic a shrug using only her ears and facial expressions.
“Look, Rarity is it? Pinkie and I are going to a nearby town, maybe you can find somepony that can help you,” Rainbow said. She smiled.
“Nopony can help me! I’m ugly!”
“Don’t say that, just look at me, I’m a talking head!” Pinkie laughed.
This seemed to help dissolve the situation, as Rarity stood up and stopped crying. “That is true.” She gave a small laugh. “Oh, my, I apologize; I don’t mean to offend you.”
“Not at all, I find it funny myself; the world looks so much bigger this way,” Pinkie said.
“You know, I think that somepony can help us, but she lives in Emerald City...Maybe she can fix us if we can get there,” Rarity said.
“And who is she?” Rainbow asked.
“She is the court wizard, but most refer to her as ‘The Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz’.”
“Oz, what’s that?” Rainbow said.
“Surely you must be kidding; you don’t know where you live?” Rarity motioned a hoof at their surroundings. “This land, it is all Oz.”
Rainbow’s belly rumbled. “And where in ‘Oz’ can a mare get some food?”
“Heavens if I know, I don’t even remember how I got to this forest.” She made a gesture resembling a shrug. “But I think I saw a small village just up ahead from where you fell.”
“That’s our best bet, so let’s get going,” Rainbow said. She signalled for them to follow, and Rarity picked up Pinkie’s head and did so.
*o*o*o*
Twilight stood unimpressed next to the Doctor, who was for his part holding on the rails for dear life. “Is something supposed to happen?” she questioned, unimpressed.
The Doctor opened one of his eyes and looked around. “Funny, we should’ve been launched through space and time by now.” He looked to the control panel searching for any signs of malfunction. “A-ha, I forgot to pull the ‘wibbly lever’!” With a quick pull of the lever, he held to the rail once again.
“So when are we going t—” Twilight was interrupted by a loud strange whooshing sound sound that erupted from the control panel.
Soon the whole room shook violently, as if they had been caught in the middle of a tornado, and Twilight used her magic to hold on to one of the columns in the wall.
“Doctor, is this supposed to happen!?” she spoke up to ensure he heard her over the loud noises of machinery.
“Only when we cross to a different dimension!”
“A different dimen--...What do you mean a ‘different dimension’!?” she asked him, eyes narrowed.
“Exactly that! We are arriving in a different dimension,” he started to lower his voice as the TARDIS came to a halt. “Correction, we’ve arrived in a different dimension.”
“That is impossible, Doctor, it’s inexplicable!”
“Nothing is inexplicable, Twilight, only unexplained.” He walked to the front door of the TARDIS. “Besides,” he said to himself, “it isn’t as if this is the first time I’ve done it...”
“And how did you know my name before I even met you?” Twilight continued as she raised the tone of her voice out of annoyance from being kept in the dark.
“Who doesn’t? After all, you are the bearer of an Element of Harmony; and sister-in-law of a princess, and a student of another. Let’s not forget you’ve also saved Equestria not only once, but twice! I mean, does this seem all that inexplicable to you?”
“Fine, you have a point about knowing my name. But that doesn’t explain how we’re in a different dimension, or even if you’re telling the truth.” She was standing next to him now, glaring at the enigmatic stallion.
“Oh, but I can assure you that outside these doors lies another world, in a different dimension. We are in Oz, a magical land of green valleys and friendly folk. A place with a different type of magic from the one you are used to. A place of wonder and happiness,” he smiled and held back a giggle. “I can’t wait to see the look on your face when I reveal to you this magnificent, brave, new world!”
With that The Doctor threw open both doors simultaneously with such enthusiasm that even Pinkie would be envious of.
“Doctor, are you sure we are in the right place?” Twilight had a face of disgust rather than wonder.
The TARDIS had landed outside the gates of a huge industrial city. The skies were black with smoke that seemed to burst out nonstop from rows upon rows of chimneys. The huge tainted walls seemed to have once been green, but now they bore a rusted brown coat to them. And above all, in the middle of the city, was a castle-like structure made up of gothic spikes and sharp corners.
“This...this cannot be. Something has gone wrong,” The Doctor said. He paced around in a circle, brushing his mane every now and then. “We may be a bit late, but not too late, Twilight. We can fix this!”
“I sure hope so, Doctor. I hope so.”
*o*o*o*
The trio had been walking for hours by now as they followed the golden path towards the forest border, and every step brought them closer and closer to bright sunlight. Once outside the forest, Rainbow noticed a road sign. It pointed east, and read: “River Wood - Land of the Famous Dragonborn: Dovashy.”