The Revenge of Dr. Negative

by Lapis-Lazuli and Stitch

Rating: teen
Tags: Romance, Adventure
Length: 49454

Rariy and Sweetie Belle get caught up by a tear in the multiverse and are kidnapped by Doctor Negative. Rainbow Dash and twilight must brave a strange, new world to save their friends and perhaps, each others heart.

Originally written for the Twi-Dash group's Abandoned Prompt contest - never submitted due to time constraints.
Temporarily On Hiatus - Will be going back into production following completion of The Twilight War

When a twist in the multiverse brings a mad scientist into the land of Equestria, Rarity and Sweetie Belle find themselves in the hooves of the nefarious Doctor Negative, a villain straight out of the novels of Daring Do!

It'll up to our heroes Rainbow Dash and Twilight to travel to a strange and mystifying world to save them. And in this world of brass and steam and the whiff of gunpowder, of valiant heroes and dastardly villains, they'll find out just how powerful Loyalty and Friendship can be when everything is on the line.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-07-09 05:46:15 UTC

Chapter 1 - Carousel Catastrophe

“No!” Dr. Negative cried, scrambling backwards on the ground as his own groaning servants began to swarm him. He managed to get a short distance across the courtyard before he backed into a wall. “What have you done? Wha-what have you done?” He fumbled through his satchel and seized a small vial with his hoof.

His triumphant cheer was cut short though, as the vial was knocked out of his grasp and  beneath the horde of drugged ponies. Frantically, he reached for his bag again, only to find it crushed beneath the hooves of a large red stallion; multicolored fluids coated the ground around it. “No!” He cried out, his eyes wide with fear.

“It's no use, Doctor,” Daring Do called out in a cold, unfeeling tone as she watched the physician's struggle from her perch on the balcony above. “You did this to yourself.” She hopped off the railing and started for the door, walking past a fedora-wearing Earth pony.

“You're just going to leave him?” he asked, following her back into the manor. “Seems a little cold for you, DeeDee...”

Daring paused as the door shut, canceling out the screams of agony now echoing about the place. Her gaze fell to the floor with her wings. “It’s not like he doesn't deserve whatever happens to him down there.” She shuddered. “Brainwashing ponies like that... It's... It's just wrong.”

When no response came, Daring's eyes shot up. She could handle danger; give her a crazed doctor with way too many drugs or an ancient temple filled with traps and she couldn't care any less—but him? She needed him. If she upset him—scared him off or ignited his righteous fury—she'd never forgive herself. A quivering desperation seeping into her tone, Daring asked, “You... You don't think I'm a horrible pony for this, do you?”

A brown hoof settled on her shoulder as Manehatten Silver looked her straight in her watery eyes. “No,” he said softly, pulling her into his embrace. “Negative's the monster here, not you.”

Daring choked back a sob as she nuzzled deeper into Silver's chest. “Wh-when he had you—back at the lab... You... a-and the syringe... When you... When you...” Her words failed her and turned into incomprehensible sobs. Gently, a hoof patted her back. Soft words were whispered into her ears, causing her to only hold on tighter to the stallion she'd so nearly lost.

“I was so scared,” she whimpered. Her whole body trembled in his forelegs, but he only held her tighter. “I wanted to kill him—I wanted to rip his throat out and stomp it into the dirt! I-I—”

“Shh,” Silver whispered, running a hoof down the pegasus's gray-scaled mane. “It's over now,” he said. “It's all over.”

“All I could think about was that night in Fillydelphia,” Daring continued, “And how stupid I was for walking out and... I'm so sorry...”

Biting his lip, Silver shifted his weight and looked away from his long-time friend and rival adventurer. “Look, Dare, you don't have to—“ A tan hoof interrupted him and jarred his face down towards Daring Do's. Her eyes shone like rubies in the dim light of the hall.

“Just shut up and kiss me,” she whispered, pulling him closer. Her wings flared as their lips furiously collided in a passionate—

“What?” Rainbow Dash cried indignantly, raising her hooves in the air."WHAT?" She exclaimed, venting her rage at the book before her with furious distaste. “That's... that's... What!?!” she sputtered out, her hooves flailing about in the air as she tried desperately to process this obvious insanity.

“So sweet,” Twilight sighed dreamily, utterly oblivious to Rainbow's complete loss of composure. She closed her eyes and smiled lazily, her tail lightly sweeping across the wooden floor of the library. “Don't you think so, Rainbow?” she asked in a cheerful sort of voice, turning her head to regard the pegasus bemusedly.

“So not!” the pegasus retorted, batting the novel aside. It flew across the room and was stopped short of the wall by an enveloping magical glow. Paying no mind to Twilight's irritated stare, Rainbow hurled herself to her hooves and began to pace around the pile of cushions on the floor. “What about Rosetta?” she demanded, flapping her wings in obvious aggravation and letting out a huff of breath. "What about her feelings, huh?!" She demanded again of Twilight, shaking her hoof firmly.

“What about her?” Twilight asked, slightly amused at Dash's reaction. Her eyes traced over the cover that read Daring Do and The Dastardly Doctor before she gently floated the book back to its proper place on the shelf, alongside its numerous cousins. “She's still back at the college, right?” Twilight said with an arched eyebrow, wondering idly just what mad thought had buried itself in Dash's brain this time.

Dash huffed and blew a stray bit of her mane out of her face, fixing Twilight with a steely glare. “So?” She spat out angrily, tossing her mane firmly over her ears. "SO?" She continued with incredulity, planting her flank on the ground and turning her head away with a huff.

“Sooooo...” Twilight drew out the word slowly, rolling her hoof in the air in a gesture for her friend to explain further. When Rainbow didn't turn around, she sighed. I don't want to know, I don't want to know... Oh, ponyfeathers. “What's the problem?” Twilight asked, her voice thick with dread, really wishing her curiosity wouldn't keep getting the better of her

“What's the problem!?” Rainbow roared, spinning around. Twilight stumbled back in surprise as Dash's hooves slammed into the floor and shook the picture frames on the walls. "Can't you see this is all wrong?" Nostrils flared, Rainbow began prowling around the room, her head lowered and her voice a low growl. “How can Daring just... Why would she... He's totally wrong for her!”

Twilight felt a migraine coming on, but she was beginning to get worried about her friend. “Rainbow?” she said slowly, watching Rainbow curse and rage at the heavens, feeling as though she'd missed something. “Are you okay?” Twilight asked tentatively, trying to soothe her angry friend.

“No!” dash yelled, burying her hooves in her face as she sank into a sitting position on the cushions again. “Yes!” She half sobbed at the floor as Twilight stood up and stepped closer, Dash's voice cracking under the strain. “Ugh! I don't know! I don't get it! It doesn't make any sense!” Dash wailed, throwing her hooves up in defeat and then dropping them down into her lap.

Now Twilight was thoroughly confused. She placed her hoof at her temple and slowly began to rub there, feeling a headache coming on. “What don't you understand?” she asked again, still trying to remain as patient as she possibly could.

“She kissed him!” Dash said bitterly, glaring at the book on the shelf in accusation “That's what doesn't make any sense!” Once again her hooves came up, in righteous indignation. "How can you be so smart and not see what's wrong with that?!"

Twilight gave her friend a patient look, frowning in concentration as she tried to follow Dash's convoluted chain of logic. “What is wrong with that? I think it's a very sweet conclusion to the story.” she remarked, her face a study in puzzlement.

Dash stared at her for a moment, then facehoofed. After a few moments of awkward silence, she said in her most patient voice, “But what about Rosetta?” she asked, as though she was trying to explain the concept to a filly.

Twilight brought a hoof to her head and rubbed her temple, feeling that headache definitely coming on now. “I don't think I understand where you're going with this, Rainbow,” she groaned. “What do you mean?” she enunciated every word, hoping her impatience would finally bleed through to Rainbow's ears.

Dash rolled her eyes, signaling that she'd heard Twilight's exasperation, but obviously not ready to give it up yet. . “I mean that Daring totally belongs with Rosetta—not stinkin' Silver!” She finally snapped out, smacking her forehoof into the ground.

Twilight stared at Rainbow for a moment, obviously trying to process that statement. “What?” she said flatly, her tone incredulous. “You're joking. You've got to be joking. Right?” Twilight plead quietly, sending up a little prayer to the princess that Dash was not about to start an argument over this.

Rainbow's face went stony, dashing all of Twilight's hopes on the subject. Her wings ruffled and she said in a just as flat tone of voice. “No, I'm not.” She re-folded her wings back behind her and crossed her hooves, practically pouting now.

Twilight gave an eyeroll, her voice taking on a pedantic tone. “But there's been no evidence that Rosetta and Daring feel anything more than platonic friendship at all, Rainbow,” Twilight giggled despite Rainbow's steadily growing scowl, finding this whole conversation immensely funny. “Not a single scrap in the whole series!”

Dash's eyes drifted down to the floor and grumbled something non-committal, her wings displaying her agitation quite spectacularly as feathers and down fluff shed out of her rapidly flapping wings.. Without thinking, her gaze shot back to her friend and she protested, “They got milkshakes in the beginning of the book!” She said, and even before it left her lips she knew it was the lamest excuse ever.

“Oh,” Twilight said, smirking, “Then it must be true love!” she said in a voice absolutely oozing with false sincerity.

“It was a date!” Rainbow stuck her tongue out, having decided that - lame excuse or not, she wasn't going to back down from this one. “And that's way better than some stupid kiss!”

“It was not a date!” Twilight countered, her tone exasperated but still obviously amused. “Daring Do has never gone to her for more than advice or to hang out!” she pointed out with ruthlessly logical efficiency, neatly skewering several of Dash's next few points.

“That's not dating?” Dash huffed, glaring at Twilight in slight anger. Why couldn't Twilight just accept it! Dash knew, knew right down to her bones that she was right. “Daring's totally crazy for her! She nearly lost it when Rosetta got kidnapped in The Maltese Griffon too!”

Twilight sighed. "Dash, just because somepony gets a milkshake with somepony else doesn't mean that they're romantically involved.” Twilight said, a hint of annoyance seeping into her tone. She wanted to put a capstone on this argument, and fast. “And don't you think that I'd freak out if any of you girls got kidnapped? I'm hardly in love with Fluttershy, Dash!” She reminded her, trying to firmly put her hoof down here.

Dash's wings flared and her ears slicked back behind her head as she turned to the side to stare out the window sullenly. “I-it wasn't about the milkshakes, Twi...” she mumbled to the floor, feeling the setting sun warming her cheeks as she shuffled her hooves together “I mean, I could totally see that... that they were happy together...” She finished, wishing she was better at this arguing stuff.

Twilight shook her head sadly. Geeze, she's really gotten this thing built up in her head.. “Rainbow, I'm sorry. I don't know how you got the idea that Rosetta and Daring love each other—let alone the fact that they are both homosexual—but it just isn't there.” Twilight tried - she honestly did! To keep her tone gentle and conciliatory. It was clear this was important to Dash, even though Twilight couldn't fathom why.

Rainbow's eyes never rose from the floor. There was a crack traversing the length of one of the boards on the far side of the room, she followed it with her eyes across the floor to Twilight's hooves. She didn't want to look up at Twilight right now, so this would have to do. “But... but it has to be...” she whispered so low that Twilight didn't manage to catch it. “Daring... Daring totally loves her...” her voice cracked a little on those last few words, wishing this sort of thing was easier.

Crap. She's losing it... I've got to find a way to snap her out of it. Arguing seemed to help. Twilight thought, then took a deep breath. “Besides,” Twilight said, tapping her chin with her hoof as if in thought. “Daring and Rosetta would make for a very strange couple—don't you think so, Rainbow Dash? I mean, Rosetta's a professor at Canterlot University—it'd be awful hard for somepony as adventurous and free-spirited as Daring Do to stick around and be in a real relationship with her.” Twilight injected considerable doubt into her tone, hoping it would light the flames of Dash's passion again.

Dash jumped to her hooves, her eyes blazing in determination.  “She could do it if she wanted to! Daring Do could do anything she put her hooves to, no matter how tough it might be!” Her voice rang with the kind of conviction Twilight rarely heard out of dash.

Twilight raised her hooves. I wonder why this is so important to her? She thought, as she continued to speak “I'm not saying that she couldn't,” she reasoned calmly. A scroll on a shelf on the far side of the room lit up in a purple light. It floated over to the duo and presented itself to Twilight, who opened it. An illustration of a pretty unicorn mare with bright green eyes, wearing glasses and a lab coat adored the back. “And I guess I don't see any major flaws in their dynamic...” She said slowly. I've got to try to calm her down without completely crushing her spirits, but... Twilight thought, biting at her lip in thought.

Rainbow's face lit up for a second, a big brilliant smile on her face. “See? Even you gotta admit they'd be great together!” Dash enthused, practically prancing in place with excitement.

Twilight rolled her eyes a little, before continuing where Dash had cut her off. “But there's still the complete lack of anything beyond friendship exhibited in their actions, Rainbow,” Twilight sighed, setting the scroll down on her desk. “Just because they get along doesn't mean that they'd make a good romantic couple. Daring Do has often been shown to have a soft spot for Manehatten Silver—she is obviously in love with him if she asked him to kiss her, after all.” Twilight tried to keep her voice even, gentle. It was clear reason wasn't going to work on Dash this time.

Dash’s smile faltered. Her eyes narrowed as she opened her mouth to say something but before she’d even started to speak, the door to Twilight’s bedroom burst open and a little purple dragon ran through it at top speed. He tumbled to his knees, huffing and puffing as he tried to catch his breath, his claw gripping at his chest dramatically. "Twi... Light.. Trouble...Help..."

“Spike?” Twilight cried out in surprise, rushing over to try and help him up to his feet. The dragon continued to wheeze, but looked up at her when he heard his name called. His eyes went wide and he gripped at her

“Twilight!” he gasped, clutching his chest harder. His other claw came up to grab at her mane firmly, his eyes wide with panic. “She... they... help! It’s horrible!” His voice came out in fast pants. "Rarity... Sweetie Belle... magical accident at... boutique! You gotta... Gotta go help her!" He collapsed then, next to the door, his need for air forcing him to give up his desire to speak and his eyes closing as his body focused entirely on that task.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash both threw a look at each other. Dash nodded quickly, and ran at top speed into the kitchen as Twilight grabbed her emergency saddle bags. "Spike, can you hear me?" Twilight asked, and Spike nodded in understanding. "Good. As soon as you can, go tell the mayor what's happened and send a letter to the Princess."  Spike nodded slowly, still wheezing softly. "Dash and I are going to go and see what we can do in the meantime." Twilight finished, tightening the band of her saddlebags around her midsection.

Dash came galloping out of the kitchen a moment later, with Twilight's insanely comprehensive 'Emergency Aid' kit over her shoulders - complete with medical supplies, food, water, shelter and everything else you might need in an emergency.  The thing was stunningly light for how much stuff Twilight had crammed into it, but Dash was pretty sure magic was involved anyway. "C'mon, Twi!" She yelled as she made for the door. "We don't have time for horsing around!" She said, still a little angry from their argument.

Twilight rolled her eyes and followed closely on Dash's hooves, hoping that Spike was going to be okay. Stop worrying, Twilight. Rarity needs you right now! She lowered her head and picked up speed, trying not to think too hard about exactly what the words 'magical accident' could mean...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The pair of ponies rushed across town at remarkable speed, given that Dash couldn't fly with the damn pack on her back, and Twilight was worried about teleporting next to a magical anomaly. Still, being prepared was more important than speed.... or so Twilight kept telling herself.  Rarity isn't that strong, but if Sweetie Belle is involved the variable gets more complex. Two unicorns, both acting on a single spell with different intents, oh dear, oh dear... Clovers sixth transmuted theorem all over again. She felt her lungs ache a little as they rounded the last turn and sprinted towards the Boutique at top speed. First thing is first, a containment shield around the boutique - then message glyphs so the Princess can follow us in...

Twilight's thoughts came to a crashing halt as they rushed up the stairs - and found the boutique door broken open. "Unhoof me, you ruffian!" Rarity's voice screamed out, and the sounds of a physical struggle came from inside. Dash didn't even hesitate - she threw the pack off her shoulder and with a single flap of her wings went off like a cannon shot through the doorway. Twilight was right behind her, already summoning up a fleet of offensive spells... Only to be stymied by the scene in front of her.

The Boutique was always a little disorganized, but right now it was a complete wreck. Bolts of fabric had been hurled across the room, the two sewing machines Rarity favored had been upturned and now lay in heaps across the ground. In the very center of the boutique, a grotesque spill of purple and silver magic hung in the middle of the air. It rippled and sparked, sending little flashes of lightning across the ceiling and ground and causing burn marks as it did so, the thing resembling nothing so much as some kind of proto-portal... but that didn't make sense! Rarity was not even remotely powerful enough to open a portal of any kind, much less one of this size! "I said, Unhoof me!"  Rarity's voice cried out again, and Twilight's attention snapped around, noticing the now three figures engaged in a struggle on the other side of the portal.

If Twilight Sparkle had been anypony else, she might have frozen in total shock. As it was, she was still momentarily stunned. Rarity was being held firmly around the neck by a crazed looking unicorn stallion wearing a white lab coat and heavy, brass rimmed goggles. His mane was a wild frizz of red and accompanied a similarly frizzed out mustache across his lips. Rarity looked angry and scared in the same breath, and was desperately trying to fight the seemingly mad strength of the strange unicorn - while Rainbow Dash stood in front of them in an aggressive pose. "Stay back, you multi-hued ninny! Or I'll give your little friend here the closest shave she's ever had in her life!" The unicorn spat, and Twilight then saw the shining steel scalpel in his hoof, pressed firmly up to Rarity's horn.

Dash was blowing steam out of her nose in frustration as the madpony slowly backed his way up to the portal. "Keep your distance...And don't you think about using your magic, my sweet." He growled in that same half-crazed voice. "I really do owe you for pulling me out of that jam, and I'd rather... repay you suitably." He growled in a half lustful voice at Rarity, and Rarity wailed in obvious fear.  She was moving, but only at the pressured insistence of that blade. Twilight's mind raced as her horn lit to magic... and she could not come up with a single safe spell to use. Damnit! There's no telling what that portal might do if I cast anything with a real chance of helping her, and if he cuts her horn with that thing... Twilight didn't want to contemplate that possibility.

Rainbow Dash, however, was clearly not thinking on the same logical level as Twilight was. The madpony's eyes darted towards Twilight - giving her the impression of a combination of genius and total insanity... Just long enough for Rainbow to rocket off the ground at an incredible speed. She barreled into the both of them, wrestling with the madpony's hoof. "What!? LET GO YOU NINN-" and then all three of them - Rarity, Rainbow Dash and the madpony tumbled through the wriggling mass of portal magic. Twilight's mouth half opened in dying words of denial... only to fall silent at the sight. Oh no. Oh no no no no no no no... her thoughts began to run, her anxiety kicking into high gear...

"SIS!" Screamed out a younger voice, and a little white form barreled into the portal before Twilight could so much as register that Sweetie Belle had gone charging in too.

There was no more time for thought - No time to get help. Twilight's horn lit up and she quickly scribbled the most short-handed and badly hornwritten description of what had just happened that she dared leave before turning towards the portal with a pained grimace. This is a very, very bad idea! Her thoughts wailed... But she did not hesitate. Her friends were in danger, and she wasn't going to let that slide. She charged at top speed, hoping that momentum would give her the courage to pass through the thing...

The tip of her horn hit the portal and sent Twilight spiraling through some bright nether-plane of color and light and sound. She would have screamed, but she had no voice. She would have cried, but her body was nothing more than a spiraling blob of pure energy. On and On and On she went, tumbling down the rabbit hole, and more confused than she had ever been in her entire life.

Worlds seemed to pass her by - strange worlds, frightening worlds. Worlds of danger and worlds of peace. Twilight was aware of the fact that something impossible was happening, and she had no idea why. Perhaps because it was impossible. Was this the kind of place Discord came from? Or was his madness a product of a terrible place not unlike this where his mind could not escape from the never ending explosions of light and sound.

Being made of energy gave a pony some weird perspectives on things. Like how bodies were really awfully inconvenient, and how thinking was so much easier without having to worry about over stressing a brain. But perhaps the biggest perspective shift was her concern for Rainbow Dash. Sure, she could be painfully vain and pushy and occasionally a bit lazy at times... but she was more than just incredibly loyal.

Dash the only pony in town who had come to enjoy reading as much as Twilight did, even if her tastes were awfully specific. Even then, she'd broadened her horizons lately, and while she'd never find pleasure in Twilight's academic books, she was coming to enjoy more and more forms of fiction and even a few bits of non-fiction when it related to her passion for flying. Of course, it was that passion that so often amazed and thrilled Twilight to the core, that fierce desire with which Rainbow dash threw herself at every possible problem. Just as she had thrown herself at that crazed madpony...

Who was he? What did he want with Rarity? Where would Dash be and if she wasn't immediately there, how would Twilight find her? And when would she finally exit this nauseating vortex? The last question was answered first, of course, as she felt her body, now back to it's normal corporeal state, hit a solid and cold stone floor with a slightly audible thump and a gentle grunt... a few moments of waiting allowed the diziness to subside, and Twilight slowly pushed herself up to her hooves and exhaled a deep breath.

Where am I? she wondered as she began to open her eyes.

Chapter 2 - If Adventure had a name...

~~~~~~~??????~~~~~~~

Twilights eyes cracked open and slowly adjusted to the dim but clear light all around her as she tried to stand up on slightly sore hooves. Twilight winced silently, and held her position on the stone-cold floor, gently checking with her hoof for blood or other serious injuries and... miraculously, finding none. She pushed herself up to her hooves and looked around her, her eyes adjusting to the dark gloom of the... warehouse?

Sure enough, she was surrounded by wooden crates stacked up far above her head - piled atop a solid grey concrete floor. Only a few dimly lit spark-lights overhead provided any illumination.  "H-hello?" Twilight ventured, all too quietly. Her voice echoed off the boxes, but brought back no immediate reply. Twilight licked her dry lips, and wondered where the hay she could be... quietly, very quietly, she picked her way down the cramped hall-ways between the boxes. She didn't know how long it was until she heard noises... what sounded like ponies talking. Arguing.

Quickly, Twilight picked her way through the narrow passages between, under, and around the stacked crates - doing her level best to remember all of the stealthing techniques that Pinkie Pie had taught her years ago. It felt weird to think of Pinkie Pie as sneaky, but she'd been surprisingly adept at the art. The voices became louder and louder, and more identifiable... and one of them was Rainbow Dash! "Look, I don't know who you creeps think you are,  but you'd better let me go or else..." That was unmistakably Dash, in all of her pride and arrogance.

A braying, sinister laugh answered her even as Twilight tried to get closer to the voices. "Or else what ya little filly? Ya gonna go cry to yer momma?" A number of other voices - all of them obviously less than reputable - brayed laughter in response to that. The very sound of which began to boil Twilight's blood in anger, her eyes narrowing as she slipped up under a set of crates towards a much brighter patch of illumination...

Rainbow Dash had been lashed, wings and all, to a stiff backed wooden chair - surrounded by four burly looking earth ponies wearing cheap suits and ties, and ratty hats. All of them were mud-colored, and the one who was right in Rainbows face had a spectacular sneer on his face. "Yer just lucky da boss thinks yer worth the trouble, else me n' my boys would be havin a little party of our own right now!" He sneered softly at Dash, who was sweating heavily, but masking her fear well. Twilight knew Rainbow hated being unable to move, and being bound up like that must be pure torture on her...

Twilight's eyes narrowed and she quickly examined the scene, her mind working like a well-oiled machine. Four targets, spaced approximately four meters apart. Earth ponies, obviously fighters. Tough. Won’t go down to light stunbolts. Her eyes darted around the scene, taking in every minute detail and making up a battle plan. Drop crate on first two, farthest from Dash. Use distraction to stun leader - big bolt. Final pony will charge. Dodge blow, counter attack with buck to the chest. Use magic to free Dash. Tag team. Victory.  Twilight inhaled deeply and prepared to charge in - she had no idea who these punks were... but no pony hurt her friends like that and got away with it...

Then, seemingly without warning, there was a roaring sound from somewhere to their left. Almost predictably, all four of the thugs turned to stare at the source of the sound. One of them even went so far as to say "What the-" before some kind of vehicle came crashing through the crates and crushed one of the thugs under its wheels spectacular fashion - a dark coated mare with an artfully styled red mane gripping onto what looked like some kind of steel bar and screaming incoherently... and obviously having fun doing it.

By the time Twilight could process this stunning scene - the tan blur of a pegasus came flying out from where the vehicle had come and struck one of the other gangsters with both her rear hooves in a massive flying dropkick. The thug went spinning away from her and crashed into a set of the crates... the upper ones promptly falling down and burying the thud beneath their miscellaneous contents.

Twilight stared as that same pegasus slowly floated to the ground - her black mane covered by a beige pith-helmet and her violet eyes glaring at the other thug. Twilight's jaw dropped to the ground. Impossible. Her thoughts whispered, as though through denial she could proclaim that none of this was actually happening.

Then the Pegasus turned on her four hooves and smiled challengingly at the thugs. One of whom cried out a moment later. "By Solaris' Beard, It's Daring Do!"

~~~~~~~Mysterious Warehouse~~~~~~~

Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia and bearer of the element of Magic had seen a lot of strange things in her life. She'd seen clouds made out of cotton candy and a royal wedding crashed by a villain straight out of legends. But never before has she seen a character from a fictional novel come to life before her very eyes. She was absolutely perfect, right down to the smile on her face and the black and charcoal mane. Just as predictably, she threw the first punch, launching a strike right at the face of the gaping earth pony gangster.

He ducked that one, and threw one right back at her, which Daring nimbly dodged. Then her eyes went wide as she ducked the second, much more rapid punch that barely cleared the top of her helmet and rolled to the side, trying to get under the gangster-pony's guard... only to be bracketed by the second one. The two bigger stallions grinned toothily at Daring Do... and Twilight's eyes narrowed considerably as one of them chuckled heavily. "Got nowhere to run little filly." He leered at her in an almost comical way.

Twilight didn't see much humor in it though... and she wasn't about to let this go on. Weird situation or not, somepony was in trouble and she was gonna do something about it. Twilight thought only for a split second before calling Number 8 into her horn - her first self-defense spell, a pretty potent little stun bolt that had never failed to satisfy. She leaped out of her little hiding spot and let the spell go, she felt a curious sort of tingle... and what came out of her horn was not Number 8! It flashed like a lightning bolt and blasted the stunned looking guard pony in the chest - sending him comically flying across the room.

Twilight gaped for a moment at the physical impossibility of the spell she had just cast... one that had left a smoking black spot in the middle of the cheap suit he was wearing. Until Dash's voice cried out "Duck, Twilight!" And she did, working from the pure instinct that had been drilled into her to trust her friends when they said something like that. A heavy looking hoof barely cleared her mane from the other grim looking earth pony - only to have the look of anger wiped off his face by a double-hoofed kick to the chin from Daring Do herself.

Just like that, all four guards had been knocked unconscious or otherwise dealt with... which meant that Twilight could now take a few moments to fully process what had just happened in that room. Or perhaps not, as her ears caught the sounds of other yelling ponies, and many hooves striking the concrete floor of the warehouse. "Damn!" Said Daring, turning to Twilight with an arched eyebrow. "You got anything bigger in your arsenal, miss? Because we could sure use it right now!"

Twilight rolled her eyes and pushed past her, shaping her telekinetic power into a blade and deftly slicing the ropes holding Rainbow Dash in bondage. "Of course I do." Twilight snapped a little, pulling Dash up to her hooves, who was apparently still trying to take in the fact that they were standing right next to Daring bucking Do. "And what in the name of Celestia was that thing!?" She continued, pointing her hoof towards the wreckage of boxes the strange machine had left behind... only to nearly leap out of her skin as it roared back, coming to a screeching halt alongside them.

Twilight's mind had to pause, even in that moment of incredible danger, to marvel at the mechanical device before her. She'd never seen anything quite like it in her entire life, with its sleek lines and shining steel pipes it looked like nothing less than a growling beast out of myth and legend.  It had two wheels on the main... chassis, which was the word. The front wheel was attached via a set of thick rods to a broad bar, which appeared to turn the front wheel like a ship's till.  But for the life of her, Twilight simply could not fathom what the heck the thing was.

The red-headed mare atop it lifted a pair of flight goggles and grinned broadly at the pair of them. "Ain't no time for gawkin' pretty filly. Get yer flank on here and let's move!" Twilight squawked as a dark-red hoof came down and hauled her physically up onto the padded seat . "DD! Grab the colorful pegasus! We gotta haul flank, the Doc's goons are gonna be all over us in a sec!" The red headed pony yelled... Twilight's mind finally processing that she was a mare, and an earth pony to boot.  Then she didn't have time for thinking too much, because the demonic machine between her rear legs roared to life and took off, carrying her with it.

Twilight had once, with the aid of a feather-fall spell, jumped out of a window in Canterlot Castle to get a more up-close and personal relationship with gravity. She remembered quite vividly the incredible feeling of the wind rushing through her mane for a few glorious moments before Celestia had snatched her out of the air. She had also remembered the severe scolding she'd gotten after, and the commands to never again attempt spells that mimicked flight in any way, shape, or form. She had never forgotten that feeling, though...

But this was so much more intense. The roar of the vehicle nearly drowned out the roar of the wind around her as the red-headed mare steered the thing using the bars. What was left of Twilight's normally rational mind coldly noted that wheels were turning at a truly fantastic speed as they blazed down a central 'hall' of boxes through the warehouse. The front wheel is steered by that central column, which is attached to the bars. Simple leverage - clever. Those wheels are made out of some kind of rubber, obviously filled with air. Also clever, cushions against bumps, provides minimal contact with the road, increases energy efficiency.

The rest of Twilight's mind, however, was too much preoccupied with the speed. Was this how Rainbow Dash felt when she really put her mind to it? Twilight could barely keep her eyes open, her mane was so far beyond 'flyaway' that Rarity would pitch a fit if she saw Twilight in this state, and yet... She couldn't possibly be enjoying herself more, she felt a smile slowly spread across her face as her hooves grabbed for the nearest support - which was the mare in front of her.

Luckily, it didn't seem like she much minded Twilight hanging on for dear life as they rapidly approached what looked like a doorway out of the place. "Hang on, little filly! YEEEEEHAW!" The red-headed mare ducked her head down below the handle bar and Twilight followed suit, just in time for the machine to crash through the warehouse door and send them barreling into the night...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rainbow Dash could not quite believe what was going on -  maybe she'd smacked her head on a post in Twilight's library again and was having some kind of insanely vivid dream. Dream or not though, this was awesome in every sense of the word. There were bad guys chasing them in a massive horde behind them, a shady warehouse, and a crazy mare on some kind of weird machine. Of course, the biggest piece of the awesome was just a little bit behind her. Her wings beat powerfully behind her as she began to pick up speed...and realized that she was only a little bit faster than Daring Do.

Daring Motherbucking Do!

Right there! Right behind her and keeping up with Dash no less! Dash dodged, whirled and barrel rolled around the warehouse crates as the spirit of adventure filled up her soul. Of course, she was also dodging the incoming steel shot being fired at them out of some odd looking sticks held by the gangsters, and the occasional explosion as someone launched some kind of bomb at them. Not that any of that crap could hit Rainbow Dash - she was just too damn fast for them to track her as a target. Wasn't even a challenge for the best damn flier in all of Equestria.

She swooped around a hanging spark-light and gave a mighty kick to a stack of crates that sent them tumbling onto a mass of their pursuers. "HA! Take that, ya lunkheads!" Dash taunted behind her as she tried her darnedest to follow in the wake of Twilight and that crazy looking bike she had been hauled onto. The thing had a definite turn of speed to it, but Dash and Daring Do were both faster on the wing. Even the possibly lethal projectiles being hurled her way couldn't dampen Rainbow Dash's spirit as she flew... and caught the wicked confident grin of Daring Do behind her.

Dash saw the machine crash through the door ahead of them, leaving a somewhat convenient hole for the two of them to follow. Was gonna be a tight fit. Threading the needle trick time! Drop down to five feet above the deck. give yourself one last full wingbeat, tuck them in three seconds before the doorframe. Three... Two... Drop! Dash spun in midair, and dropped down to just above head-height for most ponies... Daring had slowed down a little to take the door the safe way, but Dash couldn't resist a chance to show off.

It was the kind of trick that took countless practice runs and countless crashes into thick cloud walls, the kind that you either got exactly right every single time or your flank was a smear on the stands. It was also the kind of trick that when you did it, it made every single spectator stand up and cheer their minds out. That meant that, in Rainbow Dash's mind, it was the very best kind of trick. Which is why she was so damned good at it.

She powerfully swept back her wings and then tucked them in tight against her body, spinning through the air like an arrow shaft and out through the doorway in a flash of color and speed. The cool night air hit her body like Pinkie Pie on a sugar binge, but she snapped open her wings in perfect time with the stunt and soared high up into the skies to get a good look at where the buck they were.

Dash stared in awe all around her... at a city so much bigger than she'd ever imagined existing. Towering structures soared into the sky, lit with bright yellow patches of light in the shape of squares on their sides. Paved streets, like Manehatten's except there were more of them, created a grid between the buildings big and small. Below her, a massive expanse of squad looking stone buildings - likely more warehouses - sat silently along the seacoast as waves rolled into piers and docks that stretched out as far as her eyes could see.

It was... Incredible... her thoughts whispered softly... turning slowly in midair until a blazing beige form pulled up beside her. "Holy crap, kid! That was some flying!" Said the charcoal maned adventurer, a huge grin splitting her lips. "But now isn't the time for seeing the sights, we got bigger problems!" She grabbed Dash's shoulder and hauled her around to face... four looming, bulky black forms against the sky advancing towards the piers from the seaside. Dash stared at the... flying things that sure as buck weren't clouds or any weather pattern she'd seen before. "Airships." Daring said softly. "Worse, those look like Neighzi markings and they're coming this way."

Dash's eyes quickly scanned to the ground - following the path of the bike as it sped down one of the lonesome streets in between the warehouses. It was pretty obvious the fast moving black blobs Daring had called 'air ships' were gonna intercept Twilight. I dunno who these punks are, but I'm not gonna let em get to Twilight! "Can you get down there and keep em safe?" She turned, still astonished that she was talking to the Daring Do. "I can handle those jerks so long as I know Twilight'll be okay."

Daring raised a disbelieving eyebrow at Dash. "Normally I'd argue, but I've got bigger worries." Daring nodded at dash, flaring out her wings as she did so. "I'll get em safe. We'll meet you at the end of the docks." She pointed down to the far end of the piers, where Dash could just barely make out what looked like a rickety house of some kind. "Good luck, Kiddo." She remarked and peeled out from where they'd been hovering, diving down towards where they were speeding away. Rainbow Dash grinned a little.  I don't need luck. I've got speed.

Dash turned in place and beat her wings hard downwards, trying to get as much altitude as she dared... Let’s see how those things like a Sonic Rainboom!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight was beginning to adjust to the insane speed at which she was currently traveling, which gave her a few moments to notice all of the other oddities of the world around her. For one thing, there were a lot of spark-lights lining this particular road. Even big cosmopolitan cities like Manehatten preferred to rely on the much cheaper oil lanterns for their street lights. Even more incredible were the buildings, made out of some kind of solid and flat grey stone that had no obvious seams in them - they appeared to have been carved out of some massive, single piece of rock.

Up in the sky however, was Twilight's single biggest thought. She had to strain her eyes in the darkness of the night, but the moon was bright enough that she could see that rainbow trail that was Dash's signature. She appeared to be gaining altitude, but why? Logic dictated that Dash would likely have come immediately back to Twilight... except she hadn't. Which meant two possible things - either Dash didn't know where she was and was trying to get higher to spot her, or... Or there's another threat up there of some kind.

Twilight swallowed a lump in her throat she hadn't even known was there. She had always trusted Dash to keep herself in one piece, but that was back home. Who knew what kind of weapons or magic they might have here? Dash could get hurt or killed and then what would she do? Twilight tried - oh Celestia, she tried - not to think of the million and one possible scenarios that would unfold from those two results.  It was no use though, especially given the events that had preceded their rather speedy introduction to this familiar but still strange place.

Twilight was sure of many things, thanks to a lifetime of careful research and learning - but when it came to emotional things, Twilight knew she was still a foal in the woods compared to, say, Rarity. She had learned so many wonderful things in these past years, living in Ponyville with those five remarkable mares who had come to be her friends... and one thing that had stuck with her more than anything was that you needed to work hard to keep those friends close to you. The last thing Twilight wanted was for an argument over a stupid story to be the last conversation she had with Rainbow Dash.

These were her thoughts as a charcoal maned pegasus caught up with their riding machine - and yelled over the din of whatever was making that growling noise. "What the buck is your friend up to?" She was obviously directing that question at Twilight, which caused the unicorn to start and stare up into the sky... where a streak of rainbow light was plummeting towards the ground at ever increasing speed and... Oh, Ponyfeathers! Twilight's mind screamed, as she realized just what in the heck Dash was doing.

"We need to get under cover! NOW!" Twilight screamed back, and luckily it seemed both of the other ponies had heard her. Oh Celestia, quick Twilight... Distance... She quickly eyeballed it, and ran a few quick calculations given the trajectory, speed, and size of Dash in comparison to the moon. We ought to be safe so long as we're someplace steady...  The vehicle had slowed considerably, and turned sharply into what looked like a covered stone porch.

The red maned earth pony arched an eyebrow at Twilight. "We can't stay here all that long, but I'm with Daring here. What the heck is that pegasus up to?" She queried, squinting her eyes up into the sky. "I can barely make her out, but it looks like she's headin' straight for the middle of that airship."

Twilight sucked in a deep breath, now that she had stopped she could finally collect all of her scrambled thoughts and emotions and deal with them quickly and efficiently. Well, she hoped she could. The Sonic Rainboom gave off a tremendous shockwave of magical energy, and there was no telling how it might impact this world as in comparison to their own. There were far too many dimensional variables to figure that out, so the best thing they could do was hunker down and wait and see. "My friend... Rainbow Dash is quite the flier." Twilight quietly remarked. "She's also the first pegasus in centuries to be capable of doing what... I think she's about to accomplish right now."

Both of the other mares stared at her for a moment, then whipped their eyes back up where dash had become a tiny streak of bright white light rocketing towards the air-ships that were over the seas. "Waitaminute... She isn't gonna..." was all Daring Do got out before a flash of bright white light scorched the horizon, followed by a rapidly expanding shockwave of rainbow energy exploded out from just above the three bulky black forms. The shockwave sliced right through the three vessels as though they were made out of tissue paper, sending all three of them slowly crashing towards the waves below.

Moments later, a massive wave of wind and sea spray slammed into the three ponies standing on and next to the mechanical bike, and the wave of energy rushed over all of them as it slowly dissipated into the atmosphere. Daring's helmet went flying off her head and rattled to the ground some twenty feet behind her, and the red-headed earth pony said in an incredibly awed and excited voice. "Sweet Solaris, it's a Sonic Rainboom." She whispered, practically bouncing on her seat as she said it and reminding Twilight rather strongly of Scootaloo. That oath was odd though...Solaris?

Daring shook her head slowly. "No way. That's impossible. That's..." Daring Do, the heroine of so many books Twilight had read and loved rubbed hard at her eyes for a few seconds before reopening them as Dash etched the letters "R D" in the sky in a trail of rainbow light before zooming down towards the end of the docks. Daring shook her head slowly, then went to recover her helmet. "Well, at least I don't gotta worry about the damn Neighzi's for the moment. C'mon Scooter, we better go meet up with her... and then we can all sit down for a nice long chat."

Daring took off a moment later, and the mare Twilight could now identify as Scooter turned around to grin at her. "Well, shall we go then?"

Chapter 3 - Mysteries and Meetings

~~~~~~Dock 88 Customs House, Port of Manehatten~~~~~~

"Ow! Careful Twilight, sheesh!"

Rainbow Dash winced a little as Twilight fussed over the scrapes, cuts and grazing wounds she'd gotten in her rather awesomely heroic dive attack on those air-thingummies. Turned out they didn't much like being hit by that kind of magical shockwave, and had basically gotten completely wrecked in the process. Of course, she'd also probably given the city the show of its lifetime, which was a really nice bonus when she got to thinking about it. "Oh hush, Rainbow Dash. I need to get these clean! I swear you get beaten up like this on purpose sometimes..." Twilight muttered softly at her, but not angrily... just worriedly.

Rainbow Dash was not the world's most observant pony, but this was not normal behavior for Twilight. Normally, Twilight would get exasperated but amused at Dash's injuries - usually followed by some lecture on personal safety. But Twilight was acting like Rarity or AJ did when their sisters got hurt - all mutters and worried looks and stuff. Buck, Twilight half looked like she wanted to ask Rainbow if she needed a hug! Dash was pretty damn unsure what to make of this sudden attitude change, but she certainly didn't mind it! No matter how weird the change was in comparison to... everything that had happened.

That was what brought Dash's eyes to peer out the window of the small restroom and out towards the incredible skyline outside of it. Daring had said this was the city of Manehatten but that couldn't possibly be right! Dash had been to Manehatten, and while it sure was a swank town, it wasn't anywhere near this huge! Still, there wasn't a lot of reason to question her word at this point... Dash couldn't wrap her head around what was going on as it was, which is probably why her mouth opened and started talking before she realized what she was saying. "What can I say, Twi? I like having your hooves all over me." She replied in a saucy tone of voice before she realized exactly what she'd said and damn near crushed her face with her hoof.

Luckily, Twilight appeared to be too distracted to really parse that particular innuendo, only replying irritably. "Very cute, Dash. This is the last one, so hold still!" Dash winced heavily, but did as she was told this time as Twilight tied off the last bandage and settled back down onto her haunches. "Phew. There. Luckily, nothing was really all that deep. Now let's go talk to those two... ponies." Twilight said with some degree of nervousness. "And find out just how deep in it we are."

Nodding her agreement, Dash hopped down off the stool and trotted alongside Twilight back into the main room of what Daring Do had called the 'customs house'. It was a pretty worn down spot, but it had this seedy sort of charm to it. A slightly dim sparklight hung from the ceiling and cast a gentle gold glow over everything in the room. A pair of beaten-to-heck sofas that might have once been a bright blue, and now were so heavily patched they resembled quilts.  A couple of ratty coffee tables and a work desk on which was piled an interminable amount of paperwork. A row of beaten up file cabinets along the wall completed the scene, and Dash couldn't help but imagine it as something straight out of... well...

Daring herself was perched on one of the sofas with a mug of something steaming in her hooves, and the earth pony with the flaming red hair was sprawled out lazily on the other couch. There was a small pile of scattered papers on the coffee table Daring was brooding over as the pair entered the room. "Thanks for waiting, Miss..." Twilight began- as though she really didn't want to outright say that they knew who she was. Rainbow couldn't honestly blame her, it would probably be awful awkward if they revealed that they were both huge fans of her fictional books. Though to be fair, Dash was beginning to wonder just how fictional they were...

"Ah, yeah. I guess we haven't had time for names." Daring replied, with a roguish sort of grin on her face. "I'm Doctor Daring Do, and this is my..." She eyeballed the red-headed earth pony mare on the couch, who promptly grinned herself. "Sidekick. Scooter Roll." Waitaminnit. Scooter Roll? No way. Rainbow Dash thought incredulously, then gave what she'd presumed was an earth pony a much more thorough look. She's way too skinny for an earth pony. But then, so is Mr. Cake, so...

Twilight's voice cut through Dash's thoughts, bringing her attention back to the present. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and this is my friend Rainbow Dash... and I'd like to thank you for your timely rescue." She paused for a moment. "I'm afraid if you're hoping we have answers, we're pretty short on them ourselves." Twilight frowned a little as she lit up her horn and dragged a pair of surprisingly comfortably looking easy chairs over from another room and hopped up into them. Daring had given her an impressed look at this little feat of magic, and Dash felt a surge of pride in her friend. "Our situation is... rather fantastic, I'm afraid."

From the couch, Scooter waved a hoof airily at that statement. "Lady, we've dealt with ghosts, demons, Aztec demigods, gangsters, spies and the bucking royal family of Equestria. Trust me when I say there ain't nothin you could throw at us that we haven't at least heard of before today." Dash couldn't help but make comparisons to a certain much younger pegasus from home... and yeah, the voice was a little different, and the ages were a lot different... but Dash could very easily imagine Scootaloo growing up to be just like this mare.

Twilight smiled faintly. "I'm afraid I don't have all the details but... we were at my library in Ponyville when we heard about an accident at one of our friend's shops. There'd been some kind of magical incident." She frowned. "Which I don't know how it happened to be honest. When we got there, there was some kind of portal just hanging in midair. Our friend Rarity was being held hostage by this madpony in a doctor's coat-" Both Scooter and Daring whipped their heads up at this statement, startling Twilight out of her narrative.

Daring quickly leaned across the table. "What'd he look like? Describe him, every little detail!" Her voice was sharp, and her eyes were narrowed. Scooter had hauled herself up from the couch and was leaning forward on her seat herself. Dash took this moment to crane her head around just a little, with the pair of them focused on Twilight and... Damnit, she was wearing some kind of jacket over her shoulders. It was just bulky enough that it might be hiding wings, but there was no way to tell.

Twilight bit her lip for a moment then nodded. "He was about... This tall." She intimated with a hoof wave. "Red mane and mustache, both really frizzed out. His coat was heavily stained with something." She frowned a little. "Bright yellow coat, he was wearing these brass rimmed lab goggles. He had some scrapes and bruises on him too, I think - but anything else I can think of about him is hazy. Our meeting was rather abrupt." She finished, and tapped her hooves together nervously.

Daring sank backwards into the couch, pulling her helmet off and rubbing at the bridge of her nose. "You'd think after a decade and a half of doing this, I'd learn better than to walk out of the room when the bad guy is still obviously alive." She said with a miserable expressiveness, then glared daggers at Scooter. "And I don't want to hear a word out of you, Scoots." The flame-haired pony grinned back at her, and Daring shook her head. "Sorry. Finish up the story, Twilight - looks like we got a lot in common."

Twilight nodded a little. "Like I said, he was holding our friend Rarity hostage. He got distracted by something and Rainbow Dash tackled him to try to get her free... and they all fell through the portal." Dash winced a little, rubbing the back of her neck and wondering why she'd done the stupid-in-hindsight stunt. "Rarity's little sister ran in after her, and then I followed." She frowned softly. "What confuses me is that I arrived completely by myself, but only Dash was anywhere near me. I didn't enter the portal that long after Sweetie Belle did."

Daring opened her mouth, but Scooter flung her hoof out. "Wait a sec, Daring! Did you just say 'Sweetie Belle'?" Twilight nodded at this, and Scooter worked her mouth around a little in consternation. "Daring, I know that name. That's the new kid they've got singing at the Blue Note. But she showed up eight months ago."  Twilight's jaw did a little drop, and Rainbow Dash's eyes went very wide... Eight *months*!? But.. how long has Rarity been here then? It was a sobering, terrifying thought... Dash had only gotten to this place a few hours before Twilight had.

Daring shook her head slowly. "Looks like things are more complicated than I thought." She said softly, obviously used to having to state the obvious. "Kid, go give Rosie a call. Tell her to meet us at the Blue Note in an hour or so." Scooter nodded and hopped up off the couch, shoving her forehooves through the arms of her strange black jacket before trotting off into another room. Rosy? Dash wondered... could she mean...? "As for you two, I don't want to make any promises... but it looks like we're chasing the same pony." Daring gave them both a level, serious look. "You both know how to handle yourselves in a tight spot. How do you feel about teaming up?"

Twilight and Rainbow Dash exchanged a look, Dash's practically lighting up with excitement. Twilight looked worried at first... and then, there was a glimmer of hope and a dash of her own excitement. Dash felt her heart flutter a little at the look on Twilight's Face... and wondered just what the universe might throw at them next. Team up? With Daring Do? "We're in." Rainbow Dash said confidently, a broad grin on her face. Maybe she'd even get a chance to talk to Twilight about... stuff. Oh! And I'll get to find out the truth about that stupid Silver right from Daring Do herself!

And that just made the idea of the adventure all the sweeter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's so big." Twilight Sparkle whispered as she stood outside of the dockside house, her eyes ranging over the gloriously glowing skyline. It was like something out of a fairy tale, or... well, a Daring Do novel. Has it occurred to you yet, Twilight? That you might very well *be** in a Daring Do novel?* Twilight slowly shook the thought out of her head. It was impossible! So was that crash through the doorway. So is... this thing.

Twilight's eyes slowly ranged over the sleek and shiny vehicle Scooter had called a 'Motorcycle'. She still had no idea what the thing ran on, but it was clearly a mechanical device and not something strictly magical. I'm beginning to think there are a lot of things that are going to be 'impossible' here. She thought wryly, when the door swung open to reveal the other big impossibility of the night.

Daring Do slowly waltzed out with a gusty sigh, and came to stop next to Twilight. Her own eyes ranged over the skyline with a slight smile. "I never get tired of seeing her like this. All bright and glittering in the night, like nothing could possibly bring her down." She sighed a little. "Reminds me a lot of somepony."

Oh... she must be talking about Manehatten Silver. Twilight thought faintly and bit at her lip - there was no way she could possibly bring the subject of him up like this. Daring would start to ask a lot of uncomfortable questions Twilight really didn't have the answers to. "I'm sorry." Twilight hedged with, getting a surprised look from Daring. Crap! Twilight cover! Cover fast! "I mean.." She continued, looking a little hesitant. "It sounded like somepony you've lost or something."

Daring Do blinked and nodded once. "You're pretty observant. Yeah, a stallion." Her eyes hardened a little and she turned away from Twilight. "Doc's got him, just like he's got your friend. Dunno what he wants with em, but I'll bet it's to hurt me." She shook her head slightly. "Let's forget about that for now. We'll tell our stories once we meet up with Rosie." Daring turned back to Twilight with a slightly more confident grin. "So, tell me about your pegasus friend. She's seriously the real deal, isn't she? That wasn't just some fluke up there."

Twilight nodded, feeling a proud smile cross her lips. Why on earth would I feel proud of Rainbow Dash? I'm hardly her keeper! "Best flier in all of Equestria, and you're never going to find a more loyal friend."  Twilight said with just a hint of a grin. "We've been through a lot together, me and her. I don't think there's anypony else I'd rather have watching my back." And that was the truth, Twilight realized. Okay, maybe Applejack could qualify too, but... I think I'd still prefer Dash.

Daring nodded a little in response to that. "Heh, you sound like Rosie." She said, oh-so-softly... and in a way that sent a little shock down Twilight's spine. Did she...? But that was foolish to speculate about right now. "Anyway." Daring shook her head out. "We'll save the rest of our stories for the Blue Note." She eyeballed Twilight up for a moment in a way that made her blush. "Gonna have to scrounge up something for you to wear, though. This is Manehatten after all. Pony not wearing anything on the street's gonna attract attention where we're going."

Twilight swallowed a little, but smiled anyway. "What did you have in mind?"

~~~~~Elsewhere, in a hidden lair...~~~~~

Rarity reclined gracefully on the surprisingly comfortable bed which she had become rather used to over the past... well, she really wasn't entirely sure how long it had been. The lack of windows or clocks in the room meant that time passed in strange fits and starts. It certainly wasn't her featherbed at home, but one worked with the resources one had. That really did sum up the whole of how she had spent her stay here - working with what she had to do what she could.  Fortunately, she did have plenty of ink and colored pencils, so much of her time had been spent imagining her next clothing line based of the... interesting fashion choices of the guards here.

Rarity had no real memory of what precisely had happened once she'd fallen through that dreadful magical thing.  She had simply awoken in this room, surrounded by much of what she was surrounded by now. Richly appointed carpet, finely made furniture and all of the sophisticated needs of a lady right at hoof. She'd actually been quite surprised that she hadn't awoken in some dreadful cell. True, the light was provided almost entirely by some kind of oil lanterns and the door was very heavy and very locked, but the rest could hardly be complained about. She even had a lovely modern restroom, complete with a fine shower.

The door to her little cell opened thrice daily, whereupon a suited servant earth pony and a trio of heavily armored - and heavily armed -  guards would escort a tray of food and sometimes a box or two of small things she had requested. New shampoos, a bathrobe, more pencils and ink. No sewing supplies, sadly. The servant had politely informed her she was not to be trusted with sharp objects, and then apologized most profusely. Rarity's hooves itched to create something, but she was certain that was not likely to happen soon.

Today though, things were different. She'd always noticed her room was suspiciously clean every morning which she awoke from her slumber, but this morning there was new furniture here as well - a new bed, if slightly more sparsely appointed than hers. There was also a new dresser, and a new writing desk - all of which looked like they were suited for some rough-and-tumble working class stallion. All of her questions had gone rebuffed however, and she'd been forced to speculate why such a bed might be placed into her room. Surely there was nothing untoward going on, was there?

It was not until late that evening, as Rarity contemplated turning in for the evening when the door opened an unprecedented fourth time for the day... but this time there was no servant. Only six guards carrying a bruised and unconscious stallion in between their armored hooves.  They dumped him rather unceremoniously onto the plain bed, and dropped four or five large cardboard boxes labeled "Slvr" on the side in crude markers, before leaving without a second word and slamming the locked door behind them.

Rarity did not hesitate for longer than a moment. Gauze, rubbing alcohol, and hot water straight from the tap were at her hooves in mere moments. She quickly turned the brown coated, blonde maned earth pony over on the cushions as gently as she could. Did we have... Yes, we did. She quickly came back with the small glass bottle of painkillers from the bath room and gently dipped a soft cloth into the alcohol laced water, using it to gently clean the various scrapes and cuts all over his... well, rather handsome form. Keep your mind out of the gutter, Rarity! She quietly scolded herself.

He winced, even in his unconscious state as she vigorously scrubbed the cuts clean, then bandaged them up as best as she could with limited resources. Her hoof gently brushed back his stiff, thatch mane and smiled a little. As if on cue, his eyes squinted for a moment then slowly opened up, revealing a pair of bright, distinctly silver eyes looking up at her unfocused. "Are you an angel?" He asked in a rough, but soft voice.

Rarity couldn't help but giggle a little at that incredibly cheesy line, and shook her head. "Afraid not, darling. You're still quite amongst us in the land of the living." She paused and eyeballed the room around her. "For whatever value of living one can ascribe to this place." She shook her head then smiled at him. He really was quite dashing looking, if a bit rough around the edges.

The stallion nodded minutely, then winced. "Ow. I hate it when they use the rifle butts..." Rarity floated the bottle of painkillers into view. "Oh, thank Celestia. I'll take two of those, please."  Rarity nodded and helped him get the pair into his mouth, which he swallowed without water. "I'm Silver. Manehatten Silver, and I am awfully tired." He said with a slight slow smile. "But I'd rather not sleep until I know the name of the pretty mare I'll be bunking with."

Rarity couldn't help it - she laughed softly, an elegant sound that sang through the room. "My name is Rarity, darling. We'll talk more in the morning." She gently patted him on the shoulder and he nodded, his eyes closing softly... His lips muttering softly as he fell into sleep.

"Rarity, huh... that's a pretty name."

~~~~~The Blue Note~~~~~

"Twenty minutes to curtain, Sweetie! Hey... You okay in there, kiddo?"

A very pretty - and very worried looking pegasus with a powder blue coat and bright blue eyes poked her head through the door with a smile. "Hey, me and the girls are gonna grab some grub up at the Cat's Deli after the show. You in? My treat." She asked in her chirrupy voice, her head tilted at an angle so her long, shiny and sleek dark blue mane fell in waves over her shoulders.

Sweetie Belle turned on her little stool and smiled up at her - Bluebell was one of those ponies who just had a habit of looking out for everypony, but she'd always been extra nice to Sweetie Belle. "Sure thing, Blue." She said in a surprisingly happy sort of voice. "I'll meet you out front?" Blue nodded at that, and then vanished out of the door. Sweetie Belle had never heard the saying 'you can get used to anything', but if she had she'd have agreed with it. Four or five months ago, she'd have been in here crying a little almost every single night. And every single night, Bluebell would stop in and give her a hug with those big feathery wings of hers and tell her it'd be okay.

The other girls here were pretty okay too, considering how incredibly new everything was to Sweetie Belle now. Discreet Whispers and Pleasurable Company had both been really super nice to her too, even if they were usually busy at night doing whatever they did at the club. The bartender, Dry Martini had never failed to be there when Sweetie needed some advice about something she'd never encountered back in Ponyville. Even the club manager, Miss Kitty was always willing to take a little time out of her day for her. Of course, she'd been the one to bring Sweetie Belle in after... well, after everything had happened to her.

But now, eight months down the line from the incident which had torn her away from everything she ever knew, Sweetie was starting to accept her new life. She really, really missed Scootaloo and Applebloom, not to mention her big sister, but Sweetie knew just how insane her situation sounded. Who could she tell?  She'd tried sending a letter to the Princess but either it hadn't gotten to her, or maybe she'd just been dismissed as a kook. She wouldn't have been surprised if it had been both of those things.

Rarity had always told her there were something’s you just couldn't change, and maybe this was one of them. She looked up into the mirror into the pretty and made-up face that looked back at her, and she had to smile. Besides, it wasn't all bad. There was plenty of good stuff too. Bluebell and Discreet and Pleasure were all really good friends, and Martini knew how to mix up the best milkshakes. That, and... well, there was the one other thing that had changed for the better.

Sweetie Belle quickly called up her magic into her horn which glowed a quiet silvery white, and lifted the dress off of its hook by the door, slipping into it with a practiced ease over her sleek white body. Pausing only for a moment to turn her hip a little towards the mirror and smile at the sight, before tugging it all the way on. She quickly trotted out the door and into the back stage hallway, gently floating a packet of sheet music in front of her as she decided on the songs she'd sing tonight.

Yeah, things weren't so bad. After all, if you got to do something you loved to do, got to have wonderful friends and good times with them, and got to live in this fascinating and amazing world she'd fallen into... what was there to complain about? She only hoped Rarity was okay, wherever she was. Though Sweetie knew Dash and Twilight would probably easily be able to take care of her. That was what she kept telling herself, anyway, as she passed a tall, pink coated earth pony with a slow smile on her face. "Evening Sweetie. Big crowd out there tonight."

Sweetie Belle smiled at Miss Kitty. "Good night for tips then, Miss." She replied with a chirrup of happiness. "What kind of mood is the crowd in?" She asked casually as her eyes watched Lotsa Laughs send the club into peals of uproarious laughter after one of his trademark slapstick jokes.

Miss Kitty purred a little, as was her habit, before speaking. "They're gonna need a nice cool down after Lotsa's act. Arpeggio and her sister are here tonight, so I figured we could use a little smooth and jazzy. Think you can manage that?" She asked, tilting her white and purple streaked mane with that slow and sensual smile of hers, somehow smoky and heated and suggestive all in one facial gesture.

Sweetie chuckled softly, leaning up just a little to kiss Miss Kitty on the cheek, like she'd done for her new big sister so many times before. "You got it boss." She winked, and pulled out a dozen or so old favorites, humming softly to herself as she did so. There were some things you just couldn't change. It was better to enjoy what you had, and make the best of it.

Sweetie kind of liked it that way.

Chapter 4 - Manehatten Blues

~~~~~Manehatten~~~~~

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but feel a little bit claustrophobic as they trotted away from the docks, the massive towering buildings looming over their little group were more than a little intimidating. Still, this club wasn't supposed to be all that far away, so Daring had said they were gonna hoof it. Something about not wanting to attract too much attention. Yeah, like that's going to happen in these getups. Dash had to admit the clothes were pretty stylin, but like most pegasi she knew, she didn't feel comfortable in anything but a flight suit.

Still, the sleek black vest and flat cap looked kinda boss and fit her plenty well enough that she didn't feel too constricted by the clothes, and she had to admit the long forehoof gloves were pretty smexy.. Scooter was trotting right alongside Twilight in that thick black cloth coat she wore with a happy grin. Alongside... Twilight. Who looked absolutely beautiful. Daring Do had produced a sleek looking black silk shirt and short skirt, along with a bright white tailcoat, meshed stockings and a jaunty looking top hat. Dash thought Twilight looked like a sexy stage magician, but Daring insisted it was one of 'the styles' of the time for powerful unicorns

Dash didn't care what the style was, Twi looked hot. She bit down a little on her lip and turned her eyes away from her, trying to focus instead on the questions she'd been fielding from Daring Do. "So yeah, I think we're from some kinda alternate dimension. I don't understand how we got here, but I can tell you that our Manehatten is nothing like this place." Dash remarked, staring up once again to the tall buildings that flanked them at every turn. "My turn. Just who were those guys who tied me up and in those weird ship thingies? You said something about Neighzi's?" Dash tilted her head, a curious expression across it.

Daring sighed a little and rubbed at her chin. "Well, I'm pretty sure those guys in the warehouse were members of the Apple Mob." Dash was beginning to feel the effects of whiplash as she turned suddenly to stare at Daring for what felt like the umpteenth time today. "Didn't get a look at their cutie marks, so I can't say for sure. As for the Neighzi's? Ugh. I hate those jerks." She shuddered a little as she walked, and spoke softly. "Okay, so to keep a long story short - basically, they're Pony Supremacists. Some really charismatic unicorn started making this big political stink about ten years back about how we couldn't trust our current peace treaties with any of the 'lesser races' and how we needed to basically conquer and enslave them."

Daring made a disgusted sort of face. "Unfortunately, he had a lot of folks who agreed with him, or were just scared of anything that wasn't a pony. Eventually they got pretty powerful and the Royals decided they couldn't risk em causing an incident, so the first time they did something stupid they all got banished to some big island out east of Manehatten." She waved a hoof generally in the direction of the sea. "They've been stirring up trouble all over the world ever since.  Seriously, those guys never know when to give up. That's kinda simplifying the story, but you get the idea."

Dash slowly nodded, and bit at her lip. I really don't want to ask this but... What choice did she have? If she had to live with the idea that a certain somepony might be her enemy here, she'd better know now before things got sticky. "I know I already had one but... I figure I've gotta know what's going on if we're gonna stay safe here. What did you mean by the Apple Mob?" She queried in a slightly quavering voice, suddenly really glad they hadn't taken the time to go hunting for Applejack. She heard a titter of sound behind her... Scooter and Twilight talking about something.

Daring cut in through that thought firmly. "Gangsters. They run the biggest hard cider distillery in northern Equestria." She shook her head slowly. "But that's just a front for everything else they're into. Gambling, extortion, racketeering, smuggling, and a lot of brute thug work. Unlike most of the other mobs, they're actually pretty damn cohesive. They're a literal family, ya see... kept in line by the head Apple herself, Miss-"

Daring's words were cut off as they rounded a last corner, and Dash cursed and praised the interruption... having not particularly wanted to know what that name might be. A wave of noise had descended upon them as they crossed into the busy downtown club districts of lower Manehatten.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight was fascinated. Scooter had been only too willing to talk extensively about the mechanics of her Motorcycle, as well as where all these spark lights and other mechanical marvels had come from. Much to her incredible amusement, it appeared that a slight change in history had turned the Flim Flam brothers into two of the biggest industrial magnates in Equestria. With one of the most respected brands of motorized vehicles anywhere in the world to boot. The mechanics of how everything worked were the big thing though, and Twilight was already making plans to spirit away a few books on the subject back to her Equestria.

And she was more than certain now that she was in some kind of other Equestria, one that had taken dramatically different historical paths. More importantly, one that still sat under a deadly and dangerous threat. Twilight's eyes traced up to the moon, where two equine faces faced one another with a mournful look upon them were etched into the surface of it. Twilight didn't yet understand why there were two, but the meaning was painfully clear to her. She could only hope that there would be time to warn the Princess Celestia of this world about the impending event.

For now though, she had to focus on what she could accomplish - rescuing Rarity and Sweetie Belle. As the little group of ponies turned into the bustling and busy streets of Manehatten, her thoughts began to race. There were so many ponies! Of every color, type and style walking through the streets quickly from destination to destination. "How far away is this place?" She asked Scooter, pitching her voice close to her ear.

Scooter replied back, yelling a bit too loudly as she did, "About a ten minute walk! We're gonna need the extra time to get a table on a friday night!" Twilight nodded and followed quickly in her wake, trying to keep from getting caught up in the crowd.  It was rather like trying to swim in a swift stream, although the stream was made of ponies with extremely foul mouths. Still, it wasn't quite as difficult to keep up with Scooter as she'd originally thought it would be.

Eventually the first crowd dispersed, leaving them with a bustling street but still quite able to talk together in a group. Daring and Dash went back to talking about whatever they had been talking about, and Twilight elected this to be a good time to do the same. "So, tell me about this Rosie." she said, sticking extra close to the flame-haired pony so they could be heard over the general din of the walking crowds.

Scooter nodded, a little sober looking. "Yeah, Rosetta Stone. She's a pretty damn smart unicorn, she's known Daring forever. They had something of a fallin' out a few months ago and things've been kinda strained, but they're still really good friends. Leastwise I think they are." Scooter frowned a little bit. "Even if they get a lot grouchier at one another nowadays. Nopony more reliable when it comes to crazy stuff like this though, I'm glad Daring was willing to bring her in."

Twilight sucked in a soft breath and exhaled it. "Falling out? What happened?" She asked... quite earnestly, and then berated herself for it. Damnit, Twilight! You've got to put a lid on your feelings about these things before it causes some kind of paradox! She cursed silently, but luckily it didn't look like Scooter noticed that too much. "I mean, I'd rather know what kind of subject to avoid so I don't cause a problem." She noted, and Scooter nodded, looking impressed.

"Yeah, stay away from the subject of Manehatten Silver. If either of 'em brings it up, try to steer the conversation someplace else or we're gonna have issues, ya dig?" Scooter noted, just a little bit grimly and Twilight nodded her acquiesce. "Good. Oh, and one more important warning... You look like a sweet kid, but you've never been in Manehatten before." Scooter began as they turned onto a strip of street full of bright lights and flashing glows.

Scooter shielded her eyes a little for a moment, then grinned. "So be careful what kinda offers you accept from other ponies, or you might find yourself in hotter water than you can handle." She said, a little mysteriously before hurrying on ahead to join Dash and Daring, and Twilight picked up her pace to join them.

~~~~~~The Blue Note~~~~~~

Twenty minutes later, they were past the front doors and inside.

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but stare, the whole place was just... perfect. The doors to the club were made of old and much polished oak and brass, and swung open at the touch of the suited bouncers. The floor had been richly carpeted beneath their hooves, plush and deep enough to sleep on.  The lighting of the entire place was just bright enough to see other ponies, but dim enough that if you were careful and stuck to the shadows you could probably get away with a lot in the secluded little corners.

The tables were spaced just far enough apart to encourage privacy, but the place being packed probably helped that a lot more than anything else did. There was a single lit candle at every table in the main room, but very little other lighting except for the stage. The air above the tables hung with just a little bit of smoke coming from pipes or cigars being enjoyed by many of the patrons. And oh, the patrons! Suited business stallions, uniformed soldiers both mares and stallions alike,  shifty eyed ne'er-do-wells, this place had it all. Discreet mares wearing... rather risqué outfits slipped in between the tables bearing platters of food, drink and other sinful pleasures. As dash had just been thinking, it was perfect for the nightclub rendezvous scene.

A pretty pegasus mare with a bright blue coat lead them down the steps into the mane room as the smell of tobacco and... other things permeated the air. Dash felt her wings give a little involuntary ruffle at the sight of the blue mare's rolling flank as she walked, and bit her lip firmly to get under control. This was exactly the wrong place for that kind of reaction - so she dragged her eyes to the stage where a little white sign sat upon a stool that read 'On break, back in 10 minutes.' Well, damn. She had been hoping for something to distract her, but apparently no dice.

They reached a cozy and out of the way booth that still had a good view of the stage, and the pegasus mare cooed in a voice that made Rainbow Dash shiver just a little. "Welcome to the Blue Note, my name is Bluebell and I'll be... taking care of you tonight." She winked saucily, which got a grin from Scooter and an eyeroll from Daring... and a very distinct blush from Twilight. "Nice to see you too, Miss Do. I see you've brought some new lovelies this evening..." Those bedroom eyes drifted over Rainbow Dash, and made her rather acutely aware of just how long it had been since she'd engaged in any... unusual forms of exercise.

"Mm." Bluebell gave off a little suggestive sound, then licked her lips and chuckled. "Very lovelies. We've got a full bar and Bell Pepper's in the kitchen tonight, so the food's divine. Take a moment..." She slipped a menu deftly into Rainbow Dash's hooves as she sat down. "To see just what we can offer you." She winked. "I'll be back in a minute or two." she said all softly, breathily, before slipping away into the dark room. Dash turned to Twilight and was immensely thankful that she was blushing just as much as Dash was right at that moment.

Daring actually chuckled softly. "Easy there girls. We're here on business, not pleasure." Scooter made a disappointed sound and Daring smacked her across the back of the head with her hoof. "Quiet, Scoots.  At least we've got a waitress we can trust, Bluebell is a damn good pony." she observed, gently lifting the slim menu to glance inside for a moment and then shut it with a snap. "How much longer we got, Kid?"

Scoots pulled out  - much to Dash's amazement - a brass pocket watch and checked it coolly. "Twenty minutes. Better order something, Daring, we don't want Miss Kitty giving us a hard time again. Especially not with new fillies around. You know how she gets when..." She stopped in mid-sentence as Dash and Twilight stared at her together and then chuckled softly. "Let's just say Miss Kitty's got a healthy kind of appetite... and you two are exactly the sort of dish she enjoys indulging in. Catch my drift?"

Twilight colored up extra prettily, and Dash had to enjoy the sight. To be honest, she probably wouldn't much mind that sort of attention from somepony right now, but Twilight might give her a hard time about it... and besides, the pony she'd rather be getting that attention from was, well. Dash probably shouldn't be thinking that stuff right now. Not until she had a time to talk to her alone, anyway. So she slipped open the menu to take a look, wondering if a place as fancy as this seemed to be had hay fries. Much to her surprise, there was a little pink card tucked into the middle of the menu. It had a kiss of lipstick upon the corner, and a little hoof-written note in the middle,

"You're pretty cute for a new filly. What's your name? - Bluebell. ' I'm ________ ' "

It even read, and there was a little pencil tucked into the menu. Dash looked up furtively... and then shrugged, picking it up between her teeth discreetly and scribbling out her name onto the card before going on to further examine her menu. Much to her delight, the thing wasn't packed with overly complex appetizers and too-expensive fancy meals, but with the same kind of working-class faire that Dash favored above all other foods. Of course, there were also listings for... rather more intimate services as plain as day in the menu, and Dash's jaw had to drop at the sight of it.  Sure, she wasn't so naive as to believe this sort of thing never went on in Ponyville, but to have it out in the open and bold as brass like this?

Luckily, Twilight hadn't even opened her menu before the soft sounds of applause distracted the whole table of ponies from further discussion over the menu. A pair of elegant looking mares walked out onto the stage and took up positions next to a large standing piano and a huge double-bass. Rainbow Dash wasn't entirely sure but... well, the mare at the piano had a white coat and was a unicorn, and the one on the bass was an earth pony and had a grey coat and dark mane. Sure, the unicorn's mane was different - but if Dash didn't know better... "Hey Twi, doesn't that look like Vinyl and Octavia?" She whispered to her, and Twilight nodded slowly. Things were getting weirder and weirder, and Dash was beginning to wonder just how much stranger things would get.

Then she got her answer.

The room went silent as the pair of mares began to play a soft sort of tune, the kind of thing that tickled at Rainbow Dash's memories in an odd way.... For a few moments, she was confused... until a sweet and sexy sort of voice began to project out from the stage, obviously being amplified magically somehow. The sound of it sent a shiver up her spine and set her neck hairs to standing on end at... at just the pure beauty of it...

♪♫ "Now.... You... say you're lonely.

You cried the long night through...

Well you can Cry me a river...

Cry me a river....

I cried a river... over you..."♪♫

A sleek white hoof stepped out onto the stage wearing a glittering back heeled shoe, then was followed by a second hoof wearing the same. Dash's jaw slowly dropped as she watched the elegant mare in a sleek and glittering blue dress slowly pace out onto the stage, her long mane fetchingly done up to emphasize her bare shoulders and beautiful face. The soft red lipstick and blush simply made every movement of her lips enticing, and for a moment Dash tried to force herself to believe that this name was just a coincidence.

But Dash couldn't deny it for very long. The mane color was too perfect, the body shape - while obviously much, much older looked far too familiar. She was the spitting image of Rarity, except somehow all of Rarity's grace and elegance had been transformed into this glamorous and beautiful little starlet of the stage. Every step she took was just a little smoky, and every turn of her head was just a little suggestive. What convinced Dash the fastest though, was that voice. There was no mistaking it, that was Sweetie Belle alright.

♪♫ " Now... you... say you're sorry,

For bein' so... Untrue...

Well you can Cry me a river...

Cry me a River....

I cried a river... over you." ♪♫

"Celestia help me, she can sing." sighed Scooter, looking nothing so much as absolutely in love with the mare on stage. Privately, Dash had to agree with that sentiment. Heck, even Twilight was nodding slowly, her eyes riveted to the stage as Sweetie slowly came back to the stage, slowly perching herself up on the tall wooden stool. She even managed to make that look sexy, the silk of her dress slipping over her body and legs as she moved sinuously, her forehooves keeping her balanced on the chair as she crossed her legs a little.

♪♫ "You drove me,

Nearly drove me... Outta my head.

While you.... never shed... a tear....

You remember, I remember.. all that you said...

Told me love was too plebeian,

Told me that you're through with me... and now...." ♪♫

Dash felt her gaze tugged over to Twilight, and for just a moment their eyes met as the soft sounds of the song wafted around them. Dash didn't entirely know what she was doing, and for once she didn't care. Her hoof slowly stretched out under the table, blindly looking for another to grasp - and for a moment, she found it - Twilight's hoof gripped tightly around hers and the two of them looked at one another as the world moved around them. Damnit, Dash! Say it! Just bucking say it! Buck the consequences, buck the timing!

But couldn't. Her mouth opened and no sound came out. She swallowed and tried again, but the words kept getting caught behind some stupid feelings Dash didn't know how to categorize or deal with. It didn't help that Twilight looked like she was trying to come up with the right words to say herself, so for the last minute or so of the song - which Dash tuned out completely in spite of the beautiful voice singing it - the pair of them simply held hooves as they both tried to confront fears they didn't know how to describe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight on the other hoof, was just about to break through the barrier of speech when the song came to an end to quite raucous applause, and the sweet and sensual looking Bluebell appeared by their table with that pretty smile of hers. "Sweetie's sure got pipes on her, doesn't she?" The waitress observed, with a fond look over at the stage before turning back to the table. "So what'll it be, fillies?" She asked in a sweet and brisk sort of voice, having apparently decided to turn down the sexy-mare routine, for which Twilight was infinitely thankful.

"I'll have a double scotch on the rocks, and the dandelion club." Daring Do noted, and then gave Scooter a stern sort of look.

Scooter sighed. "I'll have the usual, Bluebell. No help in the lemonade though." She said with a mournful look at Daring, who seemed to be smiling in patient amusement.

Dash looked startled and then bit her lip before responding. "Gimmie a tequila sunrise with extra orange juice and uh.." She quickly flipped through the menu for a moment before saying. "The Spinach salad with a side of hay fries." She handed over the menu with a slight blush on her cheeks, and Bluebell gave Dash a very... cute sort of look.

Which for some reason annoyed Twilight, but now wasn't the time to get snippy with the help. "Large spring water." She indicated smoothly, wanting to be at her absolute best tonight. "With the grilled cheese and tomato soup, thank you."  She finished, floating the menu back primly.

Bluebell nodded and slipped off into the darkness again, giving Twilight a few moments to indulge herself in self-examination - tuning out the music and the quiet sounds of Scooter giving Dash a ribbing about how she'd reacted to Bluebell.  Sweetie Belle looked like a fully grown, if still kind of young mare up there. She hadn't aged eight months - she looked like she'd aged eight years. What if Dash and Twilight had been similarly changed? Her magic back in that warehouse had been incredibly powerful, so powerful that a simple stun-bolt spell had turned into a massive lightning strike.

Twilight was scared. Incredibly, undeniably scared - what if they were changed so dramatically that it'd be impossible to go back home? Worse still... what if there wasn't any way to go back home in the first place? Twilight had left an explanation for Celestia, but she knew the Princess. If that portal was a threat to Equestria, she'd close it in a heartbeat. She might weep and rage at the heavens for the necessity, but she would still do it. Twilight didn't know how Dash had known she needed somepony's hoof to hold, but she was glad that she had known. She'd been a hairs breadth away from completely breaking down right then.

Twilight didn't think she'd have been able to handle this with anypony else. Applejack certainly wouldn't be as cool and laid back about this insane situation, and Pinkie Pie was... well, Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy fell into that same category, as much as she loved her as a dear friend. But Dash was the mare of action of their little group - even when her performance anxieties got the best of her, there was nopony more fearless in the face of the weird.

The minutes passed as Twilight silently worried over her problem - before she knew it, the food was hitting the table and the golden brown toasted bread of her sandwich was a welcome sight. No matter how odd this world was, grilled cheese was still grilled cheese, and for that she could be thankful.  Two bites later though, yet another new thing intruded upon her world... something that she knew, instinctively, was going to change more than just their situation.

Out of the dim light of the club, a new unicorn mare walked into the little pool of light surrounding their table, and Twilight dropped her sandwich onto her plate in mid bite as she saw her. She had a dark blue coat that was perhaps just a shade or so off from the color of Twilight's mane, and her mane was streaked with bright pinks and purples. She wore a pair of spectacles and a buttoned up suit and tie that looked very collegial. But that wasn't what had sent Twilight into shock.

Twilight lived and breathed being observant about everything around her - she'd known that Rosie had to refer to Rosetta from the books, but what she hadn't been prepared for was what she looked like in pony. Twilight knew, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that if she were to stand next to Rosetta in the same outfit, the only way a pony would have been able to tell them apart was by coloration. She even looked the same way Twilight did when she was aggravated about something.

It was like looking into an enchanted mirror, and when Rosetta spoke her voice was pitched only a little bit above Twilight's. "I do hope this was important. Our instruments just recorded a physical impossibility right over Manehatten Bay and..." She paused, as her eyes caught the serious and sad look on Daring Do's face. Immediately, Rosetta's whole attitude changed to one of concern as she spoke much softer, "Is everything alright, Daring?" There was worry in her voice as her eyes traveled over Twilight and Rainbow Dash. "You don't normally send that particular emergency code. Who are these young ladies?"

Daring Do adjusted her helmet and spoke softly. "Grab a seat, Rosie. We've finally got a lead on Doctor Negative, and a whole lot of other crazy stuff is going down." She eyeballed Dash and Twilight a little before speaking. "These two girls are caught up in it too. The doc's got one of their friends in his insane hooves, and it looks like they might know how he got away the first time."

Rosetta looked startled and nodded, hopping up into the booth a moment later and leaning over the table with her hooves folded as she looked at Twilight with appraisal. "Yes, I think there's quite a lot we've all got to talk about. Why don't you go first, Miss..." She trailed off, the look in those bright and intelligent eyes sending a shiver down Twilight's spine.

Well, nothing for it. Better to show confidence than anything else, Twilight. She leaned in herself and folded her hooves in a mirror image of Rosetta's pose - which wasn't hard, considering it was the kind of look she adopted when she was thinking. "Twilight Sparkle." She indicated, and then her eyes traced for just a moment to the stage. "We've probably got some time until she's done anyway." She noted, before staring back into the eyes of... well, herself. "Ask whatever you'd like, Miss. I'll answer what I can."

Twilight had a feeling though, that the night's excitement was just getting started. There were more than a few mysteries left to solve, not the least of which was what had happened to Sweetie Belle... and maybe even herself.  Twilight only hoped that the answers could be found in time, and in the case of how to get home... that the answers existed at all.

Chapter 6 - A Blue Note

~~~~~~~The Blue Note~~~~~~

Twilight wasn't entirely sure what to expect in the back rooms of a house of ill repute, but she was pretty sure it hadn't been this. The place resembled nothing so much as a warren of private rooms, lounges and little personal facilities that wouldn't have disgraced a Canterlot office building. Dash might have presumed she was naive about such things, but Twilight was nothing if not very well read. Of course, all the books in the world hadn't prepared her for that little moment on the floor with Dash. Nor the unconscious reaction that closeness had apparently summoned up in her friend.

Luckily, nopony else had seen the aborted attempt at a kiss as they lay sprawled there on the floor. Luckily, that meant that only Twilight and Dash knew about it, which also meant that nopony was going to pressure her to talk about it any time soon. Which was good, because the last time Twilight had been this confused it had been when Pinkie Pie had tried to explain her Pinkie Sense. Given how that particular event had ended, Twilight was just glad things weren't falling onto her head right now.

Dash appeared to be remaining silent on the issue too, though Twilight could easily observe that the muscles in her wing joints and where they met her shoulder blades were... very tense. Given what that sort of tension usually indicated, it was probably a good idea to set aside the little... incident for now, and focus on the important things. The most immediate important thing being the door that stood in front of them after a few more paces of walking. Dash and Twilight looked at each other for a moment, and Twilight took in a deep breath before gently knocking at the door.

It opened after a moment, and a familiar blue pegasus peeked out of it - her long mane still rippling over her shoulders fetchingly. Twilight ruthlessly suppressed a moment of jealousy over that mane - why couldn't she get hers to look like that when she wanted to fancy up? Bluebell looked over the both of them, then nodded and swung open the door... revealing the little powder room beyond it. Twilight had once visited the Canterlot Theatre, and had seen a room much like this in the back - a large mirror surrounded by lights, clothes racks and stands, and a little comfortable looking couch on one side... in which a familiar, if very different mare sat.

Seeing her up close like this, she was completely and unmistakably Sweetie Belle.  The glittering blue stage dress sat draped carefully over a hangar, and Twilight could now see the brand new cutie-mark which adorned her flank - a sleek looking microphone with a pair of musical notes drifting out of it. Sweetie looked up for a moment, her eyes full of some strong emotion that Twilight couldn't immediately identify. She hopped down off the couch, barely pausing when Bluebell laid a hoof on her shoulder and came right up face to face with Twilight.

Sweetie reached up and touched Twilight's cheek with her hoof. "Is that really you, Twilight?" She asked in a soft, melodious voice. Twilight nodded with a small smile... and tears filled Sweetie's eyes. "TWILIGHT!" She yelled at the top of her longs and threw her hooves around her neck, hugging her as tightly as Twilight had ever been hugged and driving the breath out of her chest. "You're here! You're alive! Oh, thank Celestia!" She sobbed out into Twilight's shoulder, and gripped hard enough that Twilight had to struggle a little to breathe - but she didn't complain. She simply put her own hooves around Sweetie's middle and stroked her hoof down her back.

They stood like that for a few long moments, with Dash joining them a moment later to gently join in the hug. Sweetie must have cried for nearly five minutes, but far sooner than Twilight would have guessed she was rallying her emotions and her self control, with as much grace as even Rarity could have managed. Much to Twilight's surprise, the look on Bluebell's face had transformed from wary to warm in mere heartbeats as they slowly led Sweetie back to the couch.

Soon enough, Sweetie was sitting comfortably next to Twilight and Dash, while Bluebell perched upon a stubby wooden stool. At some point, the pink mare Daring had been calling Miss Kitty lounged against the door frame, watching them with a very complex look on her face. She seemed... amused? Happy? Twilight wasn't sure, but it worried her a little.  Miss Kitty was still an unknown to her, with unpredictable motivations and uncertain objectives.

Still, Sweetie was apparently in a mood to talk.  "I can't tell you exactly how long it's been." She began, a glass of cool water floating toward her which she sipped at daintily. "My memories of coming out of that thing are a little hazy.  There was a lot of noise and other ponies yelling." she frowned a little. "I remember feeling really awkward... I came out of it way older, like this. My body wasn't moving right, and it was smoky and there were lots of flashing lights. I remember..." She bit at her lip. "I remember passing out and it felt like I slept for a really long time... when I woke up, Bluebell was there."

Bluebell piped up softly. "That was two years ago, give or take a few weeks." She confirmed. "I've got the calendar up in my rooms if you need something more exact. I found Sweetie badly beaten up and in a rather sorry state out on Vine street, and I brought her back here.  Took me three months to nurse her back to health." She continued, shifting a little uncomfortably. "She was falling into and out of sense for the longest time, until I finally could afford to bring in a doctor. He did some kind of complex magical thing, and then refused the payment - said he hated seeing innocent ponies like that."

Sweetie nodded a little. "When I woke up, I was really scared. Things were so different here... stuff I don't think either of you have even seen yet." She noted, with a far more mature smile on her face than Twilight would have expected. "I was lucky to have Bluebell to help me out. Miss Kitty took me in and gave me a cleaning job." She smiled broadly and genuinely across at the pink mare, who actually colored a little in the cheeks. "I did that for quite a while, and I have to tell you two I learned... quite a lot about the world in the process.  Then one day, Miss Kitty heard me singing while I worked and.." She shrugged, chuckling softly. "Well, you see how that all ended up. Turned out singing really was my special talent." She said, with a soft sort of sadness. "When it happened... I cried for two weeks. Not because I didn't like to sing... but because Scootaloo and Applebloom weren't here to share it with me. " Sweetie sucked in a shuddering breath and then exhaled it. "So... you're going to get my sister back, right?"

Twilight nodded once. "Yep. We've got some idea where she might be but... it's probably going to be dangerous." She said as gently as she could. "We've got no idea how long she's been here either, even if we've got a very... general sort of idea." Dash was giving Twilight a warning look, but Twilight ignored her. Sweetie deserved the truth.  "Once we've got her back, we're going to work on a way to get home." She insisted, and gently squeezed Sweetie's hoof...

And was incredibly surprised by the next thing she said. "No, Twilight." She said, softly. "Look.. I'm glad to know somepony's going to be able to help Rarity. I really am. It means a lot to me to know nopony else got hurt coming through... but... I can't leave." She looked away from Twilight and Dash for a moment, as though she was trying to hide her face. "I'm sorry."

Twilight was about to open her mouth... when dash stuffed a hoof in it. "Okay, Sweetie." She said firmly, which got a surprised look from everypony in the room... not the least of which was Sweetie Belle. "I mean it. You obviously love your job, you've got good friends... Daring told me this was good paying work." Dash continued with a soft, sad smile. "We'll take care of Rarity. We'll even make sure she doesn't try to guilt you or anything, cuz I know how she can get." She said with a wry grin, and Twilight just stared as she tried to process whatever the heck was going through Dash's mind right then.

Still, Sweetie Belle's smile was pretty obvious proof that whatever Dash was up to, it was a good thing. "Thanks, Dash... will you do me one other favor?" She asked tremulously, and Dash nodded in the most serious way Twilight had ever seen. "I'm... Will you take a letter back to Scoots and Applebloom for me? And something for Rarity, too?" Sweetie Belle's voice had gone soft, almost tremulous... until Dash reached up and squeezed her shoulder with a solemn nod. "T-thanks, Dash." Sweetie whispered softly. "Thanks for understanding."

Twilight couldn't fathom it - not in the least little bit. Didn't she want to go home? Didn't she want to see her friends again? "You can use the desk in my office, Sweetie." Miss Kitty spoke softly into the silence that followed. "I'd like to have a few words with your friends in private, anyway."  Sweetie Belle nodded and hopped off the couch, passing out of the room in silence. For a few moments, Twilight stared bewilderingly after the mature and somber mare that had once been such a vivacious little filly

Kitty's voice cut through Twilight's thoughts though - especially the soft, gentle tone. "It seems I much misjudged you, Miss Dash. I apologize for my... behavior." Twilight watched Miss Kitty gently shut the door and pace across the room in her glittering heels and sleek dress. "Thank you for recognizing how difficult that was for her. It almost looked like you were familiar with that sort of conversation..." She trailed off a little, obviously fishing for a little information to sate her curiosity.

Rainbow Dash smiled with just a touch of wry humor. "I had a similar kind of talk with my mom when I left Cloudsdale for Ponyville. I just did what my dad did for me." She leaned forward from her seat on the couch. "Which reminds me. I'm gonna tell you the same thing my dad told the weather team captain in Ponyville. You hurt that little girl's heart, and I don't care what I gotta do - I will hunt you down and end you." Dash's voice turned into a full throat growl by the end of the sentence, and Twilight could feel her heart racing at the sight of Dash transformed from lazy friend to stern matriarch. Of course, the fact that she'd just threatened somepony who might be their only source of good information....

But Miss Kitty laughed softly. "I think I misjudged you even more than I thought, Rainbow Dash." She said, with a gentle hint of good humor in her smile, and a glimmer of warmth in those bright eyes. "I promise you, we'll take good care of her here - and keep her safe too." She nodded firmly, her hair bobbing up and down just a little as she turned towards the door, then paused. "Rosie said you two came from... somewhere like here, but unlike here." Twilight and Dash both hesitantly nodded, and for a moment the pink mare turned her head away from them. " I... tell me something, then. Did.. did the Cakes end up okay?"

This time, it was Rainbow Dash who looked shocked, and Twilight was the one to sweep in quietly. "Their shop is very successful. They've got two foals now, Pound and Pumpkin cake, and they couldn't possibly be happier." She said softly, her own hoof finding Dash's and squeezing it now. "And a certain somepony lives with them, helps take care of their foals and wants nothing more than to make everypony in town smile." She shot a quick look at Dash, who nodded in obvious understanding.

Miss Kitty took in a deep breath and exhaled softly. "You two need to be very careful. You know secrets about certain ponies that could be absolutely catastrophic in the right hooves. You know the truth about the pasts of some very powerful individuals - individuals who would rather those pasts remain very firmly buried and forgotten." She paused and then placed her hoof on the door. "If things go badly for you..." She turned and smiled, a pure and genuine smile that lit up her face like a candle light. "My door's always open. You'd both make wonderful additions to our family here.."

Then she slipped out of the room without a second word, leaving only the two friends to stare at where she had stood silently. Twilight spoke softly. "Dash... are you starting to think what I'm starting to think?" She said, her thoughts a jumble of confused emotions and facts. Yet despite all of them, there was a thought that kept bubbling up to the surface - something that was nagging very hard at Twilight, like sitting on a pebble you couldn't seem to get out of your chair.

Dash nodded slowly. "I think so." She said with a soft, defiant sort of air. Maybe for now, it was just a thought... but Twilight knew better than most how a single thought could blossom into a full blown tree of them way faster than you'd think. After all - there were a couple other thoughts Twilight was tending to at that moment that were starting to look like more than just little sprouts.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sweetie Belle stood at her window, in her own little room at The Blue Note and watched as Dash and Twi hopped into the back-seat of a slick looking town car. Dash looked up at her before she was all the way in and gave a casual little salute before slipping into the vehicle. The doors shut and the vehicle slowly pulled away from the club, taking with it the last little pieces of her life before the Blue Note. Sweetie pressed her face against the cool glass and closed her eyes. She'd done the right thing, hadn't she?

She felt a pair of hooves gently wrap around her from behind, followed by a pair of fluffy-soft wings that squeezed her gently. "I couldn't go back, Blue." Sweetie whispered. "I've... I've changed too much... what would I say to Applebloom? Or t-t-to Scootaloo? or... or to Rarity?" she whispered softly, eyes scrunching tightly closed. She didn't want to watch the tail end of that thing slipping around the turn and away from the club. She didn't want to think about Dash and Twilight riding off to her sister’s rescue, maybe to get in really serious deadly danger to do it. She didn't want to think at all.

Gently, Sweetie Belle felt Bluebell turn her around and pull her close. "It's okay, Sweetie." She said gently. "It's always hard to let family go like that... but they loved you enough to be willing to let you go, and you gotta know that's a pretty damn special thing." She continued, gently chucking her hoof under Sweetie's chin. "Now c'mon. No more tears, you're bunking over at my place tonight."

Sweetie nodded. "Thanks Blue." She said softly, and cuddled a little more firmly up into those feathery blue wings. "Um... I don't suppose we could still go to the Deli first? I kinda want mac and cheese right now..." She admitted, which got a giggle out of Bluebell.

Blue grinned at her. "Sure thing, Sweetie. Maybe we can get a little something else that's hot and gooey later, eh?" She winked saucily, and Sweetie Belle blushed. Some things, you just couldn't change. Sometimes, you just didn't want to change because what you'd found was so wonderful. Maybe that's what it came down to now. Maybe this really was her destiny all along.

But still couldn't take her eyes off the corner where Twilight and Dash had ridden off into the night, and she couldn't keep herself from wondering if she'd done the right thing.

~~~~~~The Royal City of Canterlot~~~~~

"Did you sense it, too?"

The soft yet very feminine voice rolled off the tongue as the sleek white Alicorn slowly ascended the staircases. As always, she wore the golden crown and torque of her office, and the delicate hoofboots she so loved. He turned to face her and smiled gently. "You ought to be in bed, Celly." pronounced Lord Solaris, his eyes soft with concern. "But yet, I did sense it. Something I have not sensed in nearly a thousand years." His eyes went up to the bright moon that hung over head.

Her eyes followed his, as she slipped up alongside him, placing her hoof on the stone railing of the balcony that overlooked the main courtyard. "Has it truly been so long?" she whispered softly, her eyes following the gaze of her peer. "Do we still have enough time to find them, I wonder. " She further observed, closing her eyes and laying her head upon the balustrade. "Even with such a marvelous sign as the Rainboom, I fear we may be far too late."

"Nonsense." Lord Solaris said firmly, tossing his head from side to side. "In this you can be certain Celestia, we have far more time than you suspect.  The wards are holding firm... and the key Summer Solstice is not for another year at least, possibly even two or three. We shall not fail them." His words became iron hard at the end. "Not again."

Celestia winced a little but nodded slowly. "No, we will not." She affirmed and leaned up against the bulky form of her counterpart, the weariness evident in her voice. "I could not sleep, Solaris. I cannot shake this feeling deep inside of me... as though there is somepony out there that needs me right now. Somepony who is dear to my heart, to my very soul... yet I do not know who this pony is." She whispered softly, fearfully. "That pulse of energy we sensed some moons ago... It is connected to that somehow."

Solaris nodded slowly. "Mmmm. A very great many mysteries can be laid at the hooves of that particular event. I am beginning to believe our mysterious pegasus is connected to it as well." There was a long silence between them, and then a gentle sigh. "The pieces on the board are beginning to move far too rapidly for my taste. Should we intervene, though?"

Celestia shook her head firmly. "No. Events must play out naturally, or we might stymie our last and best hope before it even has a chance to grow. Still." She turned a sly look upon her counterpart. "We do lack critical information. Perhaps we ought to make a trip to Manehatten ourselves. It has been quite some time since we've had a few days off."

Solaris appeared to ponder this for a moment, then his face split into a grin. "Well, It has been a long time since we've gone out in disguise... And besides, I think it might be nice to stop in and speak to Rosetta. I have missed her so."

~~~~~~The Streets of Manehatten~~~~~~

Dash and Twilight sat quietly in the back seat of yet another mechanical marvel as it smoothly rolled through the busy streets of downtown Manehatten - even at this very late hour. "Where are we going?" Twilight ventured, obviously less than comfortable with the sudden silence that had fallen over the group since the news of Sweetie's decision had circulated amongst them.

"Manehatten University. I need to finish my evening's work and then start pulling information on the strange occurrences that have been happening lately. Much of it will be rather boring and technical, so the rest of you are going to get a little sleep." Rosetta said firmly, with a heavy glare at Daring Do... who had ended up perched right next to her in the front part of the vehicle. "And I do mean sleep, not staying up till all hours fretting over the million and one possible things that could go wrong at any moment." Daring Do just rolled her eyes and Scooter was laughing quite loudly at this declaration. Dash didn't even so much as react, though. She was too busy thinking.

Thinking was something Dash rarely slowed down to do in any significant detail. What she needed to do was usually so obvious that it didn't require fretting over. Her friends needed support? She was there. She needed to perfect that trick? Practice time. Hungry? Sugarcube Corner, here comes Dash. Life was so much simpler than anypony generally realized, and that helped make sure Dash could get the important things done while not worrying too much about the unimportant stuff.

There were generally only two very glaring exceptions to this rule: One was when she was just about to do a performance, because there was often nothing she could do if she wanted to stay focused on her difficult tricks. The second one was... well, she was sitting right next to her and had become even more complicated of a problem, and Dash had once thought that was impossible. Unfortunately for her, a two more knotty problems had now joined the list... the problem of what they were going to do about Rarity, and the problem of getting home themselves.

Seeing Sweetie like that - just moments from completely breaking down had triggered old memories in Rainbow Dash. Sweetie had found her dream, she'd found a life and a home and friends... who were they to tell her she had to come back to Ponyville? Just because that was the way it was supposed to be? How did they know that? But Rarity would know - oh yes. Dash knew that mare all too well when it came to the way things were supposed to be. She'd rant and rave and scream and pout and all of the other things Rarity did when she was well and truly emotionally distraught... but Dash couldn't let her guilt Sweetie Belle. Sweetie had found happiness, and as far as Dash was concerned, that was the end of it.

Still, Rarity was a problem several orders of magnitude smaller than the other new problem - Twilight had brought it up, and now Dash couldn't stop thinking about it. She hadn't seen any return portal when she'd dropped into this weird world. They didn't even know how Rarity - or whoever - had managed to open it in the first place! It might not be possible for them to get home! In which case... what would they do then? They didn't have anything to fall back on here, except for the generous offer of Miss Kitty.  They could throw themselves at the mercy of the Princess but... would the Princess even listen? Dash didn't know.

And of course, that brought up a third knotty problem - the one Dash had been very intentionally trying to avoid thinking about! It was becoming more and more clear that this world was some kind of mirror to their own... one in which her friends had not merely never met one another, but had all gone on to lead drastically different lives and take on entirely new identities. Worse still, they had one and all been astonished at the concept of the Sonic Rainboom... which meant that Dash's... well, alternate, if there was one, hadn't succeeded at the very first one she'd performed as a filly. All of which collided to one, single, terrifying thought.

What had happened to the Rainbow Dash of this universe?

~~~~~~The Airship "Liebe Kristall", Bay Six~~~~~~

"Is something amiss, Lady Butterfly?" An anonymous male pegasus asked quietly, wearing the beige raincoat and Stetson that was the standard disguise for agents about to deploy into enemy territory. His eyes mirrored a concern for the mare - the same concern all of her subordinates had for her during those periods in which a melancholy took hold of her. They were not often, but they did occur. It had always warmed her heart that her subordinates took such concern for her well-being, in spite of how firm or rough she could often be with them. It was endearing in the best way.

"Nein, Captain." She said softly, as she always did when the mood took her. "Simply reflecting on a few regrets." Regrets she would never be able to purge from her memories - regrets which she reviewed on a regular and regimented basis to remind herself what she was fighting for... and the lengths she would go to for her goals. "Is everything in readiness?" She then said much more briskly, her voice returning to its professional firmness. The Captain nodded, snapping to attention with a smile upon his lips. "Gut. Inform Commandant Panzer. We leave as soon as he is aboard with the Colonel."

The bright yellow coated mare turned and marched up the ramp of the smaller airship, swaying the slightly-shorter-than-regulation black skirt as she walked. Her pink-and-black streaked tail and mane swaying with her movements and getting a longing glance from the squad of Stormponies that had been arrayed behind her - until she vanished from sight into the ship. She had to keep her head in the game, especially now that their plans were beginning to reach fruition. She would avenge those old memories, and she would never forget what had brought her here today.

To do otherwise would be disrespectful to the memory OF That Mare.

Chapter 7 - Two Apples

~~~~~Manehatten University Labs~~~~~

Rainbow Dash had woken up in a lot of ways in her life. She'd woken up sleepy, and went back to bed. She'd woken up bright and perfectly ready, and gone out to do the things of the day. But as Dash's eyes opened up and saw the moonlight streaming through the window, she realize she hadn't ever woken up quite like this, nor had she done so on a bed quite like this... nor had she ever woken up next to the mare who had so often invaded her dreams - many of which had featured her waking up... just like this. Dash was frozen, paralyzed with disbelief and uncertain for the first time in her life if she'd actually woken up or if she was still dreaming.

Yet the sweet scent of Twilight's mane was unmistakable in her nose, and the gentle pattern of breathing was just like the real thing. Dash swallowed silently, taking in the sight of the sleek purple form curled up next to her - looking up just briefly to check something. Yep, Twilight's bed had also been rather messed up. That was probably what had awoken Dash - the feel of somepony else clambering into her bed. That confirmed, her eyes came back down. Asleep like this, Twilight looked so vulnerable, peaceful. Dash couldn't help herself - she reached over, very gently, and pulled herself closer to Twilight, gently holding her even as she slept.

Why can't I say anything when I'm around you? Rainbow Dash thought, running a hoof silently through Twilight's mane. Why is it every time I look at you my throat dries up and my tongue turns into a knot? Twilight didn't answer... or read minds, Dash was pretty sure. That was a good thing, considering how all of those dreams she'd had about this particular mare sharing a bed with her had all ended... Well enough of those thoughts. I wish Rarity was here. Heck, I even wish Pinkie Pie was here. Both of them, Dash could talk to about this. Rarity was a bona-fide expert on romance and Pinkie Pie had had so many marefriends... and coltfriends, come to think of it... that surely she had some idea of how to talk to them. Sure, they'd probably tease her for the rest of her life about the subject - but Dash was beginning to think that was preferable to this emotional stalemate.

It wasn't that Dash didn't have the courage to tell Twilight, it was... well, she really just didn't know how to say it. Especially not to somepony like Twilight who would probably over analyze the heck out of anything Dash told her. Right, Like I can just waltz on up to her and with no preamble say 'Hi Twilight, I've been secretly in love with you and everything about you ever since you saved my worthless flank from Discord, and I'd love to have a nice long sloppy make out session with you right now.' Ugh. Dash damn near facehoofed at that long and overly complicated thought. She'd give me that eye-twitchy look and stammer something about math and then run off. And I'd never be able to look her in the eye again.

Worse still, Twilight was too damn smart and observant that even when Dash was trying to be all subtle and suggestive, Twilight completely misinterpreted it. She'd tried everything she could think of - Taking Twi out to dinner, helping out at the library, going with Twilight to every possible freakin thing, she'd bought gifts, she'd brought flowers for pities sake!  And then that stupid argument over Daring Do and Rosetta... what in Equestria had Dash been thinking? Just cuz you wish you were Daring and...damnit, Twilight! Why can't this just be *easy?***

Dash sighed quietly, and tucked a hoof around Twilight. There was no point in getting mad about it. Twilight was Twilight, and Dash truly wouldn't have her any other way... Even when Twilight was being so dense she wanted to smack her with a pillow. Dash would figure something out, eventually.. she just hoped she wouldn't be too late. Dash closed her eyes, determined to get a little more sleep. At least I can pretend for just a little while that she's my marefriend, and we're cuddling up together for the night... she thought, reveling in the soft feel of Twilight's coat against her as she drifted back off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~

Twilight's eyes slowly creaked open as her body registered something... different. She'd been unable to sleep in the cold, quiet bed... with no sound of Spike snoring or the wind blowing gently up against her tree. This silence was unnerving for some reason... so... she'd done the only thing that made logical sense. She'd slipped over to Dash's bed, and promptly fallen asleep to the gentle sounds of her breathing.

Except now something had changed. Something was different. Twilight's eyes slowly cracked open and her mind began to register what things she was physically feeling... one of which was Dash's forehoof wrapped around her body, and another thing was Dash's body pressed up against hers. Those were not things she'd been feeling when she fell asleep. Instantly, Twilight's heart leapt from a nice resting heart rate to a rhythm better associated with drum lines in marching bands.  For a brief moment, she could not breathe and could not speak - she feared if she did, she would scream and that would cause all sorts of problems.

After a few long moments though, the surge of adrenalin slowly faded away and her heart resumed its normal beating patterns. Twilight could barely see Dash's face in the darkness of the room, yet what she saw deeply concerned her. There was a need there - a fear that Twilight had no name for. She was not so much holding Twilight as clinging to her, obviously desperate for some physical comfort. Once again, the feelings came instantly to Twilight - in this case, guilt. She'd been just a little unnerved at the silence, but what in Equestria had been going through Dash's mind?

Whatever it had been, it had to have been distressing her pretty badly. Twilight shifted her position a little and moved in closer, now nearly lips-to-lips with the rainbow-maned pegasus. Twilight's mind was waking up a little bit, and until it calmed down there would be no hope for sleep. So she took the time she had to study her friend as she slept. Much unlike when she was awake, Dash's muscles and body were well and truly relaxed as she slept. There was no wound up tension in the shoulders, ready to spring into flight at a moments notice - nor any of the subtle strength of her heavily developed wing joint muscles that rippled a little when she walked, disguised by her soft coat.

Not that Twilight paid attention to such things.

Or at least, that's what she kept telling herself in the dark of the night. Even if it was just another blatant lie in a long and storied line of the blatant lies Twilight often told herself. Like how she was perfectly okay with not having a very special somepony, or how it was alright that she was still a virgin even when everypony else she knew was at least modestly experienced. Or perhaps biggest of all, the lie that surely Rainbow Dash couldn't possibly be attracted to a bookish and dowdy mare like her. It was a lie that had gotten increasingly more difficult to believe, and with every day that passed Twilight was beginning to wonder if maybe she ought to say something.

Oh, but what would she say? She had no idea what the proper thing to say to someone for a romance was, and worse still she had no access to her all-powerful Library which might contain the answer.  Of course, this was Rainbow Dash she was thinking about - the most brash and tomcoltish pony Twilight knew. Who knew if she'd even like the proper romantic things to say? Twilight hardly even knew if Romance (with a capital R) was even something Dash thought of, or if it was just some kind of extension on how she'd view Twilight as a friend?

Love was amongst the most confusing subjects in all of creation, even Cadence had long ago admitted that. More critically, What exactly did Twilight want? She wasn't sure. She wasn't even sure she knew how to find out. All she knew... all she knew was that there was something there fit to make her heart burst.  Seeing Sweetie Belle today had been the wakeup call of a lifetime. They had all been changed by that transit through to this world, but how deeply had Rarity been changed? Or herself? Or Dash? Was Rarity even still alive?

More and more, Twilight was beginning to realize that Dash might be the only pony she had now. And in spite of all of the incredible fear from that thought... it was also one filled with a fierce joy Twilight could not describe. If she was stranded in a strange Equestria, with no obvious or easy way to get home...

Twilight was glad that at least she was stranded here with Rainbow Dash.

Twilight wished she could talk to Cadence right now, or even Shiny. They'd both had surprisingly superb advice on the subject of romantic attraction before and if anypony knew what the right things were to do in this situation, it would have been them. Twilight's eyes traced across that stubborn jaw, that soft blue coat, those strong wings with more than enough power to hold the world up on their feathers. She sighed and softly tucked her head up under Dash's chin. Maybe sleep would help her think up the right words. Maybe the morning sun would inspire brilliance into her tongue as it had so often inspired her mind.

Twilight tried not to think about what kind of pony would be raising that sun as she drifted off into sleep. After all of the strange and terrifying changes she'd already seen in just one pony that had been her friend on another world, she almost did not wish to know what had happened to the rest of them. So she cuddled in closer to Dash - and felt Dash's wing unconsciously extend and wrap warmly around her shoulder. And in that moment, she felt safe for the first time since she'd ran into Rarity's shop.

Sleep followed not long after.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the sun finally rose again upon Equestria, after a long night of danger and sadness alike, two ponies awoke almost simultaneously in a way neither of them quite expected to. Their eyes opened together, and gazed into each other with only a tiny hint of disbelieving bleariness. They said nothing, for neither of them had the words - but neither did they shrink from the embrace they had wrapped themselves into. Twilight gently nuzzled up against Dash's cheek, and the small physical touch was soon reciprocated. There they stayed, laying in one anothers hooves in silence as the first warm rays of light spread down over them. For a few moments at least, they could ignore the needs of the world outside of those sheets.

But only for a few moments.

"Dash... I... We..." Twilight stammered softly, and Dash simply continued to hold her - obviously wanting nothing more than for that moment to simply go on forever... until both of their stomachs growled quite convincingly. And loudly. Twilight paused and Dash actually laughed weakly. "We'll talk soon." Twilight whispered. "I promise." She finished, and Dash felt her heart hammer quite firmly... before nodding hurriedly. "We'd better go get some breakfast first though... before Daring or Scooter come in here looking for us." Twilight gently continued.

Rainbow Dash contemplated the consequences of Daring Do or Rosetta or Scooter finding them like this... and decided that just this once, she'd listen to the voice of reason. "Mkay, Twilight." She said softly, and flicked the sheets away from them with her wing, and rolled out of the bed in a tumble of wings and limbs. "Oof!" she proclaimed as all four hooves hit the ground together, and she shook out her mane. "Ugh, I'm going to need a really good workout today or everything's gonna get stiff on me." Dash muttered as she stretched out her limbs and back, pushing herself up and out with her muscles until a series of little cracks told her she'd stretched properly, then she went to work on getting her wings flared out and back into shipshape as she stumbled a bit around the bed - where Twilight was predictably making the bed with her magic as she went to work on her mane with her brush.

That got her a raised eyebrow from Rainbow Dash, who fluffed and then flapped her wings repeatedly before being satisfied that they were in good enough shape to see her through the day and left a fairly substantial pile of wing fluff behind her. "Twi, leave it. It's a college dorm, it's supposed to be messy." She said with a slight grin as she trotted her way to the door. She'd probably need to preen before doing anything bad, but she could handle that after she'd gotten something into her belly. Preferably something substantial. I'm so hungry I could eat fish! She thought with a chuckle of good humor, as Twilight let out an exasperated sigh... and then followed in her wake.

A few minutes later, Dash hoofed open the door to Rosetta's combination of Laboratory and home and trotted in with a cheerful sort of whistle. "Morning, everypony!" She proclaimed as bright and chipper as she ever was. After all, she'd just woken up in what was possibly the most fantastic way ever. What did she have to be glum about? Sure, there was a mad scientist to foil, crazy evil gangsters and weird racists at every turn - but who gave a buck? Twilight had nuzzled her! That was an event fit for a celebratory parade through Canterlot so far as Dash was concerned.

Rosetta and Daring Do sat at the table in the little kitchenette, neither of them wearing their outfits and apparently enjoying a nice big glass of OJ and two big steaming bowls of oatmeal. Good breakfast to boot? Something had to go wrong now. If things kept getting better, Dash was going to start suspecting that she was still dreaming - and she really, really hoped she wasn't. "Morning, Miss Dash." Replied Rosetta, and held up a sheaf of black and white paper with a smile. "You made the front page of the Manehatten Times. Congratulations." She said with a chuckle, tossing the thing onto the table - where a blurry picture of her rainbow streaking away from the visible blast of rainbow energy sat below the headline "Mysterious Pegasus performs Sonic Rainboom!"  Dash picked it up in awe, and mouthed the words of it slowly. Rosetta's face split into a slow grin. "I was actually called to consult this morning on the event - apparently, they wanted to make certain it wasn't a hoax before the Times went to print."

Twilight trotted up behind her and craned her head over Dash's shoulder - and actually smiled quite broadly. Dash swallowed softly and looked up at the two famed ponies sitting at the table... both of them grinning at her without shame. "Can I... Um... Can I keep this?" Dash said quietly, eyes travelling back down to the picture. "I always wanted to make the front page of the Times." She whispered softly. Rosetta laughed and nodded firmly, and dash carefully tucked the paper under her wing before looking up. "So. What's on the agenda today?"

Twilight trotted over to the stovetop and returned a few moments later with two steaming bowls - which Dash promptly hopped up onto a chair for and after liberal application of butter and syrup, dug into the mass of oaty goodness. "We've got a few possible leads, but nothing very substantial. It's going to take a fairly serious bit of luck if we're going to find the Doctor in time. We're pretty sure he's somehow learned how to create some kind of teleportation technology." She gently lifted a sheaf of papers. "By exploiting that portal you two came through. Manehatten Labs has one of the most sensitive sets of instruments in all of Equestria, and they've been receiving some rather strange signals."

Twilight perked up at this, as Rosetta laid out a series of charts onto the table. Dash was paying attention... but she was pretty sure most of this was the technical crap. So for a few blissful minutes, she focused on her breakfast. After a little while though, the conversation seemed to go back to the important stuff. "...So you see, after the first big energy spike which actually happened before the events with Daring - which was the initial portal opening - there was a series of lesser spikes, the kidnapping of Silver, then Dash's arrival, and finally yours, Twilight. It took a while to find Sweetie Belle's spike, but it really was about two years ago - here.  We've also found one more spike we cannot explain... right about here." She tapped a line. "I've sent off telegraphs to every other major university in Equestria. If we are fortunate others will have detected this effect, we'll be able to use the level of energy from each spike and triangulate where the first big portal opening actually occurred."

Twilight nodded enthusiastically. "But we can't be certain the other universities have sensed it. Most of this activity has been in and around Manehatten." She noted, and tapped her hoof. "Except for the big spike. This ought to be much larger if that much energy really was expended anywhere near Manehatten proper.  There's going to be some kind of time dilation too, so we'll need to be very careful using this as our guide." Rosetta was nodding, and Dash was pleased to see Daring applying herself just as vigorously to her morning breakfast - the pair of them met eyes and smiled understandingly at one another. Nice to know even Daring Do gets bored by the fine detailing.

Rosetta sighed. "Yes, we will. Hence the comment about needing luck. Still, it will give us time to prepare and..." She paused as the sound of clattering hooves from the hallway interrupted her words. Daring stood up from her oatmeal, her gaze all business as she stared at the door. "I had thought Scooter was keeping watch outside..." Rosetta remarked softly, and a moment later a pair of oblong objects made of solid metal had floated up from under the kitchen table and pointed towards the door - Rosetta's horn glowing with magic as two little thingies on them clicked back menacingly... and Dash didn't need to know what they were to know they were lethal weapons.

Twilight herself had turned towards the door and her horn had burst into a bright and sparkling violet of barely restrained magical power. Dash wiped her mouth quickly with a napkin and turned around, flaring out her wings powerfully... feeling the strength in them that was better than ever. For a moment, no one spoke as the clattering hooves got louder and louder.... and then stopped. The door to the lab slowly swung open. Dash narrowed her eyes and then felt them widen as a pony swaggered in through the door.

He wore a slick cream colored suit with a bright red necktie and a matching Stetson hat. He wore matching trousers, which had three bright blue horse-shoes stitched onto the flank... probably a mirror of his cutie mark. Of course, Dash only knew one pony with that particular cutie mark. Twilight herself whispered it barely audibly. "Caramel?" her voice was incredulous, even as the swaggeringly confidant earth pony stopped a few paces away from the door - beyond him a crowd of tough looking earth ponies of various sizes looked inside with some obvious trepidation.

Caramel Apple (If that was who it was) held up a placating hoof with a smile. "No need for violence, ladies. I come in peace with a message from the Big Apple herself." He proclaimed in a smooth, city-slicker Manehattenite accent which sounded just... wrong coming out of him. At least, it sounded wrong to Rainbow Dash - who began to wonder where the shy and occasionally forgetful earth pony from her world had become this smooth talker. "She'd like to extend you the courtesy of her protection until midnight tonight, and would like to invite you to join her at The Macintosh Club for a little brunch.  She very much regrets the actions of some of her subordinates the previous evening, and would like to make amends."

Dash glanced back at Daring and Rosetta - both of whom were giving each other a similar look. Rosetta raised the two strange metal objects up so their long parts face the ceiling. "You know I'm not just going to take your word for it, Caramel Apple." observed Rosetta softly. "So why don't you bring out the real underboss to deliver your message." she said, nodding to the hallway outside. "Who'd you bring, anyway?"

"That'd be me, Miz Rosie."

Dash nearly squeaked with surprise at that voice. Twilight's magic vanished into thin-air at the sound of it too, and the pair of them could only stare. A teen-aged and yellow-coated earth pony trotted in through the door, her apple-red mane tied back with a bright pink bow - she wore a similar suit to Caramel's, except hers was of a much finer cut and far more expensive materials. She walked with a purposeful, almost predatory stalk and Caramel actually doffed his hat and bowed down to her as she passed by him and walked boldly up to the table, obviously dismissive of any danger. "Ah knew you wouldn'ta believed it from anypony else, so ah came personally." She observed, her voice and accent blessedly still identifiable as Applebloom's - just older and more mature. Aside from the suit and business like shoes, the only other cosmetic difference was a thick silver ring around her left forehoof with a red gem in the shape of an apple set into it. "An' we really do come in peace, Miz Do. Mah sister is powerful embarrassed by the behavior of our Family last evenin'."

"The Little Apple herself." Daring Do said wryly. "She must be serious if she sent you here." She continued, slowly resuming her seat by the table. "Ease up girls. She might be a cold-blooded killer, but Applebloom here keeps her word. So does her sister, come to that." she noted, taking a big spoonful of the oatmeal before continuing to speak - Twilight and Rainbow Dash slowly coming out of their state of shock... Dash herself now dreading what seemed all but inevitably the truth. "So. When does the high and mighty Apple want to meet?" Daring said softly, leaning back with her hooves gently arched.

"Soon as possible, Miz Do." Applebloom cheerfully commented. "An ah think you'll agree with me when I tell ya we've got some infermation ya might be interested in." she continued, slowly pacing up to the table. "Seems we've got a mutual interest in seein' Doctor Negative wrapped up and tossed int'a the river. Th' Family'd like to offer ya our assistance in seein' that taken care of, free of charge." She grinned at something - and Dash looked around to see surprise and shock crossing Rosetta and Daring's faces.  "We got cars waitin' outside fer ya. So. You comin or what?"

~~~~~~The Macintosh Club~~~~~~

"Sorry boss." Scooter Roll muttered, shifting in her seat in the back of the very fancy vehicle. "Stupid Applebloom snuck up on me. Again!" She groaned out, burying her face in her hooves. "I swear to Solaris, I couldn't spot her if she was wearing bells and doing the Dance of the Seven Veils!" She proclaimed to the roof of the vehicle, prompting Twilight to wonder just what the dance was, and why it might make somepony easier to spot.  She decided a few moments later that she probably didn't want to know. Probably.

"Ease up kid." Daring Do soothed, adjusting her helmet on her head and patting Scooter on the back. "I didn't expect her to be showing up either. We'll just have to be more careful from now on. Speaking of which." She turned her eyes towards Twilight and Dash - the former wearing one of the formal teacher’s uniforms that Rosetta habitually wore, and Dash wearing the vest-and-cap from the night before. "You two need to know a few things before we get to the club.  There are two iron-clad things you can say about the Apple Mob - When they give their word, they keep it - and they believe really, really strongly in home-style courtesy."

Dash blinked a little, and Twilight titled her head quizzically. Rosetta sighed and then spoke firmly, adjusting her cravat as she did. "What Daring here means is that so long as you're under one of her roofs and she's promised to protect you, she'll treat you like family. She'll offer you drink, food, other home comforts." Rosetta paused, eyeballing the interior of the limousine they were riding along in. "I recommend not outright refusing any of them.  If she's really bringing us here to apologize to us, she'll be laying the generosity pretty thickly. She'll be speaking casually, but don't be fooled by that. She's as sharp as anypony I've ever met, and she's got a sixth sense for lies."

Daring cut in a moment later. "Most importantly of all, if she asks you a question - answer it. Truthfully if you can, or keep it evasive if you can't. There isn't anything about you that she can't find out if she wants to spend the time and resources." She nodded her head firmly. "Still, I'm getting worried. If the Doc is crazy enough to go pissing off the Apple's, he's got to have some kind of powerful allies we don't know about... and that could mean big trouble." She looked up as the motion of the vehicle began to slow and exhaled a deep breath... not for the first time, Twilight wondered just what was going through her head in times like this. "Alright, let's do this."

Twilight hopped out of the vehicle first - followed by Daring, Dash and Rosetta - and Scooter slumped out behind all of them, still looking a little dejected. A little wooden sign hung above a pair of large and heavy wooden doors - the sign read "The Macintosh Club - An Apple Family Establishment" and a burly looking earth pony in a dark red suit leaned up against the outside of the doorway. He flicked a glance at them as Applebloom marched up to the doorway, having exited a second vehicle. "Mah sis here?" She queried of the guard, who nodded minutely. "C'mon everypony, best not to be keepin' her waitin." She continued, and the knot of ponies traversed the steps and passed through the doorway.

Twilight was immediately struck with a powerful wave of apple scent... a scent that was at once immediately familiar to her. It was the smell of the famous Apple Family cider, perfectly preserved from one universe to the next. The entire room was also powerfully familiar - decorated in the same style as the Apple home back in Ponyville - hoof crafted wooden furniture passed down through the generations, barnyard related kitsch hanging on the walls, even fully grown and viable Apple trees growing out of large pots.

And there in the center of the circular room, a single pony sat waiting. As she had done with Miss Kitty and Rosetta, Twilight immediately went searching for the little differences to the mare who awaited them now. But truthfully? Aside from that candy-apple red suit she wore - with no tie, Twilight noted - and the thick looking boots that adorned her rear hooves, currently laid up on the table - Twilight could not see a single speck of physical difference. The same hat, the same straw-golden blonde mane, the same orange coat. The same freckles.

As they approached the table, Applebloom's voice piped up from besides them - rich with good humor and wry teasing. "Lazin' about already, big sis? It's hardly even noon yet!" she proclaimed - and a soft and rich chuckle smoothly exited from the pony in the room - a chuckle utterly lacking in that Apple Family accent Twilight noted. It sounded... odd coming out of her. Very odd. "We got guests, big sis. Two new ponies that ah don't recognize too."

The slick and thick boots swung off the table, and the voice that came out was pure Manehatten sophisticate. "Well now, I'd better introduce myself then, shan't I?" She proclaimed and stood up with her forehooves pressed to the table. A pair of vibrant green eyes swept across the four ponies that now stood in a row and smiled softly, slowly... Speculating, Twilight might have said. "Good morning, Daring. Good morning Rosetta. And a good morning to you two ponies. My name is Miss Applejack. I'm the Big Apple around these parts. We've got quite a few things we need to discuss. Why don't you all have a seat?"

Chapter 8 - Brothers and Sisters

~~~~~~~Mysterious Lair, Somewhere....~~~~~~~~

I woke up aching like I'd just gone fifteen rounds with Big Macintosh Apple, on an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar place. Ordinarily, this is the part where the stone-faced pony who's been assigned to torture me would start to sharpen his knives, but instead I opened up my eyes and saw a vision of heaven itself. She was as pure white as the driven snow, with a vibrant violet mane that reminded me of the ripest, freshest blueberries. She moved like beautiful music and had a voice that would've put Celestia's to shame. I hated to admit it, especially to myself, but the instant I saw her, I was in love.

The fact that she'd obviously been the one to bandage up my wounds and tuck me in with a nice soft comforter only made it worse. I swung my legs out over the rough mattress with a grunt of pain, feeling the bruised ribs and the lump on my head that would likely ache for days. Much to my immediate surprise, heaven didn't just come with a beautiful body - it came with a ready pair of aspirin and a glass of water to go with it. I downed the pills without comment, wondering if I was actually dead and she really was an angel just humoring me until I was ready to accept it.

"Good morning, Darling!" The mare who had called herself Rarity piped up, with all the good cheer of a housewife greeting her husband. Her voice was pure Manehatten Class, and my heart began to thump with the speed of a Tommy Gun going off on full auto. Who was this dame, and how in the name of buck had I ended up in her tender care? Doctor Negative was usually not nearly this courteous. "You look to be in much better health after a little sleep. Think you can get up and face the day?" She said as she was standing next to my bed, with a sly and suggestive look on her face. She surely wasn't suggesting any erotic exercise given the state of my body. She was probably suggesting breakfast.

I gave her a stiff sort of nod, having never been particularly chatty before my first six cups of coffee - but the whiff of that heavenly elixir convinced me that I could unbend a little. Just this once though, I had a reputation to maintain. "Give me a coupla pots of that stuff, and I'll be ready to take on an army of Doctor Negative's goons." I proclaimed with all the bluster and bravado of a cop fresh on the beat. I couldn't back it up, but I still felt a responsibility to at least pretend I had some kind of plan to get us out of this mess.

She laughed archly, and gently aided me in  getting my beaten up flank out of the bed and over to her little breakfast table, where two massive cups of joe were already being poured - an act for which I was more than ready to declare her a saint. She was a unicorn then, and I hadn't been hallucinating the graceful horn that adorned her forehead. "Breakfast is a trifle cool I'm afraid, dearie - but I've managed to keep the coffee hot, at least." Not just a saint then, but a damned goddess. It only took four cups of that dark and bitter brew to revitalize me in the presence of that beauty as she went about her daily tasks.

I took in the details of the room, and wondered just who this girl was that Doctor Negative was willing to go this far for her comfort. It then occurred to me, all at once, that this poor mare was likely going to be the Doctor's new chosen concubine once he got his operations fully back in business. I resolved, right then and there, to make sure that never happened. I've never been one for the heroic stand or the white knight routine... but I sure as heck wasn't gonna let a pretty mare like this end up a drooling husk. First thing was first though - I needed more information. "So, Rarity was it?" I asked, putting on my best business face. "Tell me everything you know about this place and the things that you've seen - We're gonna figure out a way to bust us outta here, or my name's not Manehatten Silver."

~~~~~~The Macintosh Club~~~~~~

Dash smacked her lips happily and gave off a truly huge grin. "Now that is Cider!" She proclaimed quite boisterously, and that got a wide array of grins from everypony sitting at the wide circular table... with maybe the exception of Rosetta, who was obviously taking this particular scenario wayyyyy too seriously. Dash was like, Sure, she sounds really weird with that Rarity like accent, but I'd been afraid she'd have been all screwed up like Pinkie had been. Besides - she was Applejack for pity's sake. Applejack was simple to understand, even back home - You didn't mess with her family or friends, and you didn't mess with her business. Same deal here.

Besides, Dash could see that Applejack was quite happy to have someone as obviously uncomplicated and appreciative as Rainbow Dash was when it came to her cider. "Thank you kindly, Miss Dash." Applejack replied, still in that really weird Manehatten Socialite accent. "And thank you Daring, for being so understanding of our... situation here." she continued, clasping her hooves together on the table. "You must be aware that this is a difficult time for the Family, and if you can help rid ourselves and our city of a threat like Doctor Negative, we will do whatever we can to help you accomplish this goal."

Dash thought that sounded eminently reasonable, and waved over at the colt who was manning the tap. Dash thought it looked like Braeburn, but she wasn't at all certain. Still, he seemed cheerful enough - drawing off another tankard of the good stuff and bringing it over personally. "I'm glad we can see eye-to-eye on this one, Miss Apple." Daring Do replied quietly, and Dash wondered why she and Rosetta were so darn nervous. There really didn't seem to be any reason for it, as far as Dash could tell. Maybe it was something subtle.

Regardless, Applejack nodded solemnly. "Applebloom here will be assisting you, and we'll be providing you with everything we know about the Doctor's movements." She nodded towards her little sister, who had a lazy sort of smile on her face. "The Doctor has made one critical error in his plans - he's tried to suborn my family." The coquettishness in Applejack's tone vanished completely, to be replaced with the hard-charging stubborn sound that Dash was much more familiar with. "For that, he must die." She proclaimed - with all the casual finality of discussing what crops were going to be grown in the south fields this year.

Twilight swallowed a little, and Rosetta and simply watched on without making any obvious emotional reactions. Dash felt a little unnerved... but not quite so much as when Applebloom giggled and clapped her hooves together excitedly, as though she'd just been offered some kind of treat. Dash shook her head slowly and turned her eyes to Twilight. Sheesh, everypony in this world really -is- crazy! "Now, This is what we've found..." Applejack held up a sheaf of paperwork. "The good doctor has been making orders for more than a few shipments of mechanical and magical goods all over Equestria.  We don't know what he wants this stuff for, but we do know that there's a place in downtown Manehatten that's connected to all the orders. You should probably start-"

Applejack's words were cut off in the next moment at the sound of roaring and powerful engines outside the bar. Everypony inside the bar looked up towards the doors.... and a moment latter a loud rattling sound sent every earth pony - and Daring and Rosetta - diving down behind upturned tables and behind the bar. Within moments, Twilight was running pell-mell for the bar and Dash was right after her - only pausing to snatch up the scattered papers Applejack had been holding a moment before.

The pair of them reached the bar at the same time - Twilight vaulting it with surprising athleticism, and Dash quickly soaring in behind her. The storm of rattling sounds continued - and several large bottles of liquor were shattered by unseen projectiles slamming into them, pouring raw smelling booze into the back of the bar. Luckily, none of it fell on them.  "Twilight, we need a shield!" Dash screamed over the noise, and a moment later a solid wall of purple energy blossomed from Twilight's horn across the middle of the room - the incoming shots now ricocheting off of it as opposed to the room around them.

Dash took this moment to peek over the bar - where she saw all of the earth ponies now dug in behind the cover of the table and wielding the strange long metal bars with levers and various doodads. Dash Still had no idea what they did, but she suspected it had something do with those shots she couldn't see. "Applebloom! We need an exit, now!" Applejack screamed... in her much more usual Apple Family accent, and the little yellow filly vanished through a back door... just after the rattling noise came to a halt. "Can't be the police..." Applejack muttered, obviously unaware she could be heard. "Can't be the Carrots... Who the buck would have the gall.."

The front doors exploded in a hailstorm of splintered wood and explosive force.... which hit Twilight's barrier with no obvious damage to it. Dash looked at her friend a moment later, and saw her wincing from the force of the impact. "Drop the shield, Twi." Dash whispered softly, as the bar was clouded with dust and debris. "We might need it to get out of here." Twilight nodded and the purple barrier vanished into nothingness, Dash gently rubbing her hoof along Twilight's shoulder as they both peered over the edge of the bar.

Much to their surprise, Daring Do and Rosetta were both slipping around the opposite end of the bar as they did so. "Stay down!" Daring whispered in a hushed and serious tone. "Use this!" She proclaimed in the same quiet voice, producing a small circular mirror with a little handle attached to it. Dash and Twilight ducked behind the bar as she slowly craned it over the edge - it wasn't very large, but Daring rotated it slowly to get a look at the scene.

A group of about twenty ponies wearing pitch-black armor of some kind were wielding stubby looking metal-rod things and some kind of mask that covered their faces completely along with red-tinted goggles. They wore heavy coats which completely obscured whatever pony race they might be too. "Stormponies." Whispered Daring Do, obviously a little disturbed. "What the heck are Neightzi Stormponies doing in the middle of Manehatten? They'd have to be with... oh buck me." She said, choking on her next words as a new pony strode through the front door.

Dash couldn't believe her eyes, but she had to. This world was so bucked up, so utterly insane, that perhaps this sight was inevitable. Her mane was streaked with black and pink, and her eyes cool and distant. She wore a much sleeker, much finer uniform than the rough and tumble guards - but it was unmistakably of the same origins. "We are looking... for a pegasus." She said in a firm voice that belonged absolutely nowhere around that particular mare. "She has a very vibrant colored mane... and is very powerful. We know she entered this building, and we would like you to turn her over to us." She continued as she slowly paced towards the center of the room - where Applejack was apparently standing with her hooves planted firmly on her table and looking pissed. Fluttershy - for it had to be her, nopony else in the world looked quite like that - smiled a little as she came nearly face to face with Applejack. "Please."

"Ya'll must be joking." Applejack growled out, though Dash couldn't see too much of her face from this angle. "You shoot up mah bar, you threaten mah family, and you think ah'm just gonna bend over an' take it like a good li'l filly? Ya'll really are insane." She spat onto the table. "Get the fuck off mah property a'fore I have ya'll turned inta' swiss cheese. Now." She commanded, slamming her hoof hard enough into the table that a large chunk of it broke off and clattered to the ground.

Much to Dash's utter and total shock, Fluttershy didn't so much as bat an eyelash. "I'm afraid I can't comply with that, Miss Applejack. The Commandant would be very displeased with me if we left before he could sample your Cider." She said in her most casual tone of voice... and Dash saw Daring and Rosetta freeze up in abject fear. It was an emotion she never would associate with the pair of them, and she had to wonder who this Commandant guy was who could scare them of all ponies.

They looked at one another for a split second, before Rosetta grabbed Twilight's hoof. "We've got to get you out of here right now, Twilight." She said, cryptically. "We've got to go right now." she said in a whisper soft voice. "Daring, grab her other hoof!" She proclaimed quietly, tugging as hard as she could. "The back room, hurry!"

Twilight only resisted a little, her eyes going wide. "What are you..?" She half asked, before Daring grabbed her other hoof and they were dragging her out towards the back door, trying to stay as low and out of sight as possible. They were just rounding the end of the bar when Dash shot a look towards the door - the same look Twilight was making as they fiddled with the back door's handle. Twilight's voice blurted out - quietly, oh so quietly...

"Shiny?"

~~~~~~The Mysterious Lair~~~~~~

"Which brings me to today, dear. That's when they brought you in, quite rudely - and just like that, my breakfast tray got twice and large and started to include a large pot of coffee." Rarity gestured at the remains of the meal. "They'll come in in another few hours with luncheon and carry away the dishes and leave without another word. I have quite thoroughly explored this room too." She continued, crossing her hooves primly as she watched the rough-and-tumble earth pony scribbling with his mouth. "There are no vents, no ducts, nothing so much as a mouse hole in the entirety of this place that I can find. I can only guess how the room maintains the excellent air circulation."

The Earth pony dotted a period then spat out his pencil. "Seems like the Doc. He's always been thorough when it comes to the obvious crap." He growled out in that deep and manly stallion voice of his. His flinty eyes looked up and he smiled just a little. "And you've got no idea why he's got you here?" He pressed a little, and Rarity shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"No, not particularly. I still really don't know how he got into my shop like that." That was... a very shaky half truth. She'd never admit to the series of events that had led to the magical accident. She was pretty certain it had been her fault that the portal had opened, but she truly did not know how that madpony had come through it. "I am very worried about Sweetie Belle though. She was in the shop with me, and I worry that she might have done something rash." That had been her biggest fret, ever since the thought that Sweetie might not have stayed in hiding like she'd been told.

Luckily, the earth pony called Silver nodded his acceptance of that set of facts. "Well, that does leave us in quite a pickle. Rushing the door isn't gonna be doable until I'm all healed up - and I doubt the Doc's gonna leave us alone that long." He frowned softly. "Damnit, I wish I could figure out how he snuck up on me in my office like that. It just doesn't make any sense - my door bell didn't ring, and my other little warning devices were all quiet when I was closing up for the night." He rubbed at his forehead, obviously vexed.

Rarity nodded unhappily, then sighed. "Nothing we can do for the moment, then. Best we simply tend to your healing and figure the rest out from there." She gently hopped off her stool and trotted around the table. He blinked at her as she set her hooves into his shoulders and began to work out the kinks in the muscles there. "Now hold still. I'm hardly Aloe or Lotus, but I do know stiff muscles aren't going to help you feel better anytime soon."  she proclaimed, hiding her blushes behind his head and in her work. It certainly wasn't because he was awfully handsome and she was... well.

Admitting that certainly wouldn't be ladylike.

~~~~~~The Macintosh Club~~~~~~

Twilight stared as Dash, Daring and Rosetta dragged her quickly out of sight behind the back door, shutting it as quietly as they could.  They were in some kind of storage room, full of large wooden crates and barrels and a single heavy wooden door leading out from the other end of it. "Let me go!" Twilight whispered harshly, ripping her hooves out from the grip of Rosetta and Daring before peeking up through the door's little window slit back into the main room of the bar. A moment later, she was joined by Dash who had an incredibly concerned look on her face.

Sure enough, there he was.

His eyes were far, far colder than Twilight had ever seen, and his mane was tucked up under that severe and militaristic looking cap, but there was no mistaking that stallion for anypony but her brother. Twilight's horn lit briefly as she cast her see-it-hear-it spell... which blessedly did not do something stupidly dramatic, and instead worked just as it was designed to. It amplified the sound in her ears from whatever direction she was looking. A moment later, a hard and unmistakable voice was ringing quietly in her ears. "I admire your bravery, Donna Apple, but you are not aiding yourself by hiding her from us. We know she is here. The sooner you produce her, the sooner we can repay you for the damage done to your... place of business." He said in a hard and unfeeling tone of voice - one that was as utterly alien on him as the sophisticated voice was on Applejack.

No reply came from Applejack - at least, not an audible one. Twilight couldn't blame her, surrounded as she was by half an army of faceless ponies. But right now, Twilight's thoughts were entirely upon the white unicorn that stood in front of her. Why was he here? Why was he here with Fluttershy of all ponies? What had happened to him to make him this way? Worst of all, the thought that sent all down her spine... where was she? Where was Cadence? Was she alive? Dead? Never been born perhaps?  And...

What had happened to the Twilight from this world? "I have to know." Twilight whispered softly.... and began to push open the door...

Only to be physically and magically dragged away from it by Rosetta, who stared fiercely into Twilight's eyes. "I'm going to beg you, Twilight... don't go out there. There are no answers out there." She said, her voice soft and trembling. "Please, we need to run. As far away from here as we possibly can." she continued, the desperation obvious in her eyes... Twilight's listening spell shattering as she shook her head slowly. "I know. I know what you saw, what you thought you saw." Rosetta continued, as Daring Do and Dash stared at them both from the other end of the room. "But that stallion is not who..."

Her words were cut off as the back door Dash had been leaning on rattled loudly with the impact of several hooves, and a gentle voice came streaming through it. "I would like to ask the bright maned pegasus to come out, please." came Fluttershy's voice, remaining firm in tone even if her volume was kept softy. "I would rather we did not need to bring harm on anypony else."

Dash backed away from the door for a step, then took a deep breath and hardened her face. Oh no. No she is *not** going to do some stupid sacrificial thing for me.* Twilight thought, Her horn blazing to life and clamping Dash's muzzle firmly shut. "Get Dash out of here." Twilight said quietly as she magically dragged Rainbow Dash over to the heavy door on the other side of the room.. 'It's obvious she's the one they're after. I'll delay them long enough for you to get her to safety, and I'll follow." She continued, with Rosetta giving her a scared look... and Daring a look full of respect. "Rosetta... trust me." Twilight continued with a smile she didn't really feel inside. "I know what I'm doing."

Which was a damn lie of course, but she was the only one here who could possibly hold off Shining Armor and Fluttershy working together. After all... I know them both better than even Dash does. she thought, as she idly unlimbered the bars on the back door of the storage room. "Go." she whispered softly, and Rosetta nodded with a very angry look on her face, her lips drawn tightly over her teeth as she rushed off to the other end of the room - grabbing Dash and slipping out the back door.

Daring paused for a moment and tipped her helmet to Twilight. "We'll be back in a flash. Keep the back door open." She noted, and then grinned. "And don't go getting yourself killed. I don't wanna hafta explain that to your marefriend. She might wreck the city with her Rainbooms." She commented flippantly, before rushing out the back door herself.

Twilight took in a deep breath and turned back towards the door back into the bar. Okay. A number six shield, followed by... let’s try a number thirty-three. It brought an amused smile to her face, as she double checked that the back door was open directly behind her. She grabbed the lock on the bar-room door and slid it open audibly. At first, there was no reaction - and then the door swung open slowly.  Fluttershy slowly came through first, and Twilight forced herself not to stare too much at her. She looked left and right and sighed. "I should have guessed you would try to delay us." She said softly, as Twilight's horn lit up into a powerful violet glow - a foot thick shield completely cutting off the room from the back doorway. "Commandant Panzer." She called back into the room, and Twilight arched an eyebrow. Panzer? Really? "I require your assistance - this unicorn is... remarkably skilled. "

Twilight grit her teeth a little and held her ground. It's time to finally get some bucking answers about this bucked up world. She thought grimly, and waited as the figure slowly stomped his way into the room. For a brief moment, his eyes met hers... and that entire deep chill fled from his gaze. His eyes widened - for a moment in confusion, and then in pure disbelief. His hoof came up and pulled off his hat as he slowly walked forward towards her shield. Behind him, Fluttershy's eyes went wide, and she said softly. "Commandant Panzer... is... is that?" She whispered, as if she could not believe what she was thinking herself.

Twilight though, had only eyes for her brother of this world. He stood just on the other side of her shield, staring at her as though he could hardly believe his eyes.... and then all of the aggression vanished from him too. And in that moment, Twilight saw the stallion behind the uniform transform magically into her brother. "Twily." He said softly, laying his hoof on the iron-hard shield. His voice was thick with emotion as he spoke, and his eyes brimmed with tears. "Is that really you?" he asked, his voice tremulous and almost begging for confirmation.

Twilight bit at her lip a little and took a deep breath. "Yes, Shiny." she said softly. "It's me." She confirmed quietly, and was quite surprised to see Fluttershy swiftly turn and slam the bar-room door shut behind her, the look on her face unreadable to Twilight - even as Shining Armor whispered two words through the shield. Two words Twilight had feared ever since she'd come to this world, and found no evidence of the Elements Of Harmony... and had found plenty of evidence that Nightmare Moon still waited in her prison.

"I cannot believe it..." Shining Armor said, the tears slowly streaking down his cheeks. "You're alive."

Chapter 9 - Divergence Point

Clover the Clever's theory of Variable History states that there are certain events she calls 'Lynchpins' which determine the outcome of other events throughout history. This so called 'ripple point effect' is analogous to dropping a rock in a pool of otherwise still water. If a rock is dropped in a certain way, it will create very specific ripples in the water. However, if a single variable is changed - say, that the rock is dropped in even the most minutely different manner - you will get a radically different result.

Although there is no known way to test this theory, it stands to reason that even when events in history occur in very similar ways, a single change will produce catastrophic results for every single other event connected to that change.

-From the manual of Temporal and Spatial Anomalies, Third Ed.

~~~~~~Manehatten Skyport~~~~~~

Two young ponies - both of them Unicorns, both with matching white coats and manes of pink and bright orange, respectively, stood in the private cabin as the airship slowly sailed in to its docking bay. Normally, they would stand and enjoy the sight of the modern technology providing some manner of flight to everypony in Equestria... but right now, the pink-maned mare was too busy staring out over the city. Her ears were perked up and her eyes straining as though trying to see some object far away.

"Did you sense that?" Lady Celestia proclaimed in a soft hushed voice. "There... again! That magic!" she said, her voice rising in volume and delight. She did a little cavorting dance "It can be no other! I would know that magic anywhere!" She exulted brightly, with Lord Solaris looking on in patient amusement. "She is here, here in Manehatten! The Element of Magic!" Then she turned on her heels, her eyes widening with sudden realization. "Which must mean..."

Lord Solaris grinned slowly. "The one who performed the Rainboom must be the Element of Loyalty. Hah!" He smacked the ground with his hoof and a triumphant grin. "Superb! Just superb!  We must be cautious, however. The one thing we are absolutely certain of is..." He trailed off, giving Celestia a stern and reminding look even as she continued to do her little dance.

Celestia paused and laughed softly. "We must not interfere with their friendship. I remember, Sunbutt." She smirked at him and smacked her flank against his. "Don't get your mane all tousled. We won't do more than get their names and looks, so we can make sure nothing else interferes with them. Of course, with our fortunes - they're probably already with Daring Do and Rosetta, so we'll hardly even have to look for them."

Solaris chuckled softly. "I fear you may be only too right. Still, I do hope Rosetta is showing them a good time around town. I wonder what their names are." He mused, scratching at his chin. "We'll have to double our efforts to find the other four, but with two of the elements already together, perhaps it will simply happen naturally?" He posited, and Celestia chuckled in response. His smile turned wry. "Yes, yes. I know. Wishful thinking on our part, eh?"

Celestia shook her head. "Come on now, Mister. We're going to have to move fast if we intend to intercept them in town." She trotted towards the door to their cabin, her tail frisking fetchingly from side to side. Solaris just laughed and trotted after her - enjoying the opportunity to get an eyeball of her flank from this angle.

Perhaps everything really was going to be fine.

~~~~~~The Macintosh Club~~~~~~

A thin barrier of power separated the two ponies physically, but far more than that separated their minds. "What are you doing here, Shiny? And wearing that?" Twilight blurted out a moment later, pointing at his outlandish black outfit. Her mind was racing with every conceivable possibility that could have led to this strange set of events...but Shining was still weeping silently, and every single instinct she had was more powerful even than her innate sense of caution.  No matter how strange this world was, no matter how insane things had become, no matter how scared she was that she could never, ever return home... This stallion was still her brother, alternate universe or no alternate universe.

The shield of violet power vanished in a moment, and Twilight strode over to the stallion and hugged him. Every rational, logical part of her brain was screaming at her to stop and she refuted it After a few moments, his tears ceased and she stepped back quickly as he recollected himself. "You must..." he croaked out. "You must tell me what happened." He said, blindly groping for reason in a world where reason seemed to have gone on holiday. The dark version of Fluttershy slowly drew up alongside him, and was watching her with careful - almost clinical eyes.

Twilight shook her head slowly. "I don't know what's going on, Shining. Things are happening that I don't fully understand yet... but I need you to trust me and let me figure it out." Twilight replied, with quiet conviction - hoofsteps carrying her slowly back to the door. "I need you to... to stay away from Dash until... until I know more." She heard the roar of an engine behind her slowly coming closer to the back door. "Please. Both of you." She plead - hoping beyond hope that there was a peaceful solution to this.

Shining Armor's face became pained, his eyes squinting shut. "I..." He started, hesitatingly, then he took in a deep breath. "Lady Butterfly." He said, in a firm and commanding voice. "It is truly regrettable that the pegasus and her friend escaped before we could capture them, is it not?" He said, turning firmly away from Twilight as he did so. His hooves clasped behind his back as he began to walk away.

Dark Fluttershy... Fluttergoth, maybe? Twilight couldn't call her Fluttershy. Maybe Butterfly was her name now. At any rate, she looked startled at those words, and gave Twilight a searching look. "Did she just say..." She whispered softly, then shook her head firmly. "Jahwohl Commandant, truly regrettable. We should arrange pursuit immediately." She cottoned on quickly, adopting the same firm 'nothing to see here' tone of voice as Shining as she firmly turned her back on Twilight.

Twilight bit at her lip and then softly smiled. Butterfly slipped through the door to the bar, with Shining right on her heels... save that he turned around and spoke softly. "I can only do so much. They will chase you. If they take you... I shall have to take you to the Fuhrerin." He paused, and took in a deep breath. "Good luck... Twily." He said gently, then redonned his cap and slipped through the bar room door.

Twilight shook her head slowly. Fuhrerin? Germane for Leader... female connotation. But he wasn't just saying it in a formal sense... Suddenly, the roar of the engine behind her was too much to ignore - and she ran her flank out the door. Rosetta had questions to answer - they had a lead to follow. And Twilight was beginning to think they were running out of time.

~~~~~~~~~~

The bar was cleared out. Applejack and her associates had left mere moments ago, just before Commandant Panzer had gone into the back room.  The guards were already outside, piling into vehicles to give chase to the escaping ponies. The Colonel was in charge, as was proper for something of this nature - but the stormponies were his subordinates, and they knew their orders. They would.... restrain the Colonel if necessary. All of this was good, as it gave Shining Armor time to think.

To think about the impossibility he had just confronted - to think about his neat and ordered world turned upside down. To think about the evidence he had now seen of Doctor Negative's treachery before his very eyes. He was angry now - oh yes, very angry. But more than that, he now knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that the Doctor had been both lying and telling the truth in the same breath. The truth - that he had uncovered a mysterious portal to another dimension, one in which all things were different in some very important way. The lie - that he had not used it to influence any events or occurrences here beyond the few individuals he had kidnapped for his... plans.

Lady Butterfly joined him in the empty room as he slowly sank into a rough wooden chair and placed his head in his hooves. "I had never thought to see her alive again." He whispered softly, his eyes shut in anguish. "I had been so very certain... so very certain that she had died that day." He continued to whisper, thumping his forehead against his hooves. "Butterfly, I am torn. It is clear the Doctor is the one responsible for this, yet do I thank him with all of my heart for returning her to me? Or do I curse him, for surely this is some scheme on his part?"

A gentle hoof touched his shoulder as it had so many times before, and then encircled his neck as they also had so many times before. "Hush now, Commandant. We know very little as of yet. Do not harm that magnificent brain of yours over this cruel twist that fate has laid upon you." She spoke now in that gentlest of voices. "We must trust that she is skilled enough to evade the Colonel... although I have few doubts to that, given the power I saw in that shield. We shall follow her carefully, and speak to her when the time is right." She soothed, gently kissing his cheek.

He sighed expressively then nodded. "Ja ja... You are right, as always." He cocked an eyebrow at her. "She is chasing the Doctor, is she not? Perhaps we need not follow her - but merely lay in wait for her at the next obvious step on the trail." That got a firm nod from Butterfly, and he stood up - happy to now have a definitive plan of action. "And who knows? Perhaps she will be sympathetic to our cause, and we need not trouble ourselves with worries about allegiances." He remarked with an upbeat tone.

Yes. That was an encouraging thought, wasn't it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I need answers, Rosetta. Now." Twilight Sparkle growled out, as the large black vehicle banked around a turn so hard that it nearly slammed the lot of them into the doors. Scooter Roll was behind the wheel, with Applebloom sitting in the front seat and cradling a lethal looking weapon in her hooves - her eyes darting from window to window as they rocketed down the streets of Manehatten. "You knew I'd know him, you knew I'd recognize him. How? I haven't told you a thing about my personal story beyond some bare details about my world!"

Rosetta shot an angry look at Daring before sighing gustily and speaking quickly. "It made logical sense, once you kept seeming to recognize individuals from our world but obviously seeing differences. Once I saw how you looked at Miss Kitty, I was reasonably certain our worlds had parallels. What I failed to realize until just a few minutes ago was how those similarities must have effected both of our worlds." Rosetta looked rather... frustrated, Twilight noted.

She kept speaking, her voice pitched low and trembling with some kind of emotion. "I know what you want to ask. There was a filly once named Twilight Sparkle, who wanted nothing more than to go to Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. But she was not granted entry, having failed to perform any notable magic upon the dragon's egg." Rosetta's face was crestfallen, and she was shaking a little. "That little filly could not bear the failure of her magic, and so she renounced it completely. She went to a private school instead, and hurled herself into academia. After many years of study, she received a full scholarship at Canterlot University at the unprecedented age of fourteen. There, she met a young archeology student who was already starting to use the name Daring Do."

Rosetta sucked in a breath, her words coming out in a rush now as she plowed on, trying desperately to get out the words. "That same year, that young mare was... involved in an attack on the university.." She looked away. "There was a bomb. She was rushed to the hospital, but Twilight Sparkle was declared dead that same day." Rosetta notably swallowed, and Twilight felt a cold sweat running down her spine. "Then Lady Celestia arrived. She could not save my previous life... but she could give me a new one. I was needed, she said, though she did not say why. She only said that it was a matter of destiny. I was scared, I was dying, and I was desperate. I took her offer. It seemed like the only logical thing to do."

Rosetta gestured downwards. "I awoke in a hospital bed, as you see me now. A newly minted student at the university. Daring was the only pony allowed to know my secret, because there was frankly no way to keep it from her. My family, my friends, everypony else had to think I had died in that explosion." She looked down, pawing her hoof at the car seat. "I took on a new name,  a new identity. But I couldn't completely escape my past. I watched my brother and my foalsitter weep over my grave. I watched my mother descend into depression and my father unable to cope with the strain. Guilt nearly took my life. Daring was the only thing that stopped the knife." she admitted, her words trailing away as she gently tapped her forehooves together.

Daring shook her head slowly. "Don't beat yourself up, Rosie. You got put through more crap than anypony could ever be expected to handle." she growled out, looking just a little angry. Twilight was a little too busy being stunned to note much more than that about her current attitude.

Then that stunned sense snapped and Twilight found her voice again. "Wait a minute! You said 'Foalsitter'! Do you mean Cadence?!" She exclaimed, her voice rising to a yell loud enough to make Rainbow Dash wince a little. Rosetta nodded, looking a touch confused and Twilight ran a hoof through her mane, mussing it up quite a bit as her thoughts raced to-and-fro. "Okay. Okay, this is starting to get really complicated. Because all of this presupposes one extremely glaring error in history." She pointed a hoof at Dash. "It all comes back to her. Somehow, some way - she never performed the Sonic Rainboom in this world."

Dash shook her mane out vigorously, her voice low and scared. "Well yeah, duh Twilight! What worries me is why. I know I wouldn'ta stopped trying to pull it off, no matter what happened to me! That was part of my dream! So... What happened to me?" Her words trailed off into a terrified whisper.

Daring shook her head, then stopped and spun around in her seat. "Oh buck no, They're on our tails!" She growled out. "Scoots! Get us outta here!" She yelled over her shoulder and dove back down, grabbing at something under the seat.  "C'mon, there's always one... aha! Rosie, catch!" She yelled, tossing up a thick metal device that everypony in this world seemed to be carrying - which Rosie caught with a glow of her magic and a Clack-Clack sound filled the cabin. "Twilight, we'll figure the emotional crap out later, Right now we could use a little magic!" Daring yelled, as she produced another similar looking object and worked the sliding handle on the front with her forehoof.

Twilight smacked her hoof into her face and then growled in irritation. Much to her surprise, Dash had gone from abject terror to helpless laughter. Twilight arched an eyebrow at her and got a grin in return. "Come on Twi! I don’t care how screwed up this world is, we're in the middle of a chase scene with Daring Do! Isn't that freakin' Awesome?" she proclaimed, then yelped as the back window of the vehicle shattered under incoming fire - Rolling off the seat into the space between them and covering up her head. "Shield might be nice right now, Twi!"

Twilight turned her head to gaze out of the back window - where five large black vehicles were weaving about the street and firing those weapons at them. Her eyes narrowed and her blood began to boil a little. She had had just about enough of this crap. In just two days, Dash had been tied up, hurt, shot at repeatedly, put in all manner of danger, and now these ponies wanted to kidnap her for reasons unknown? Not on my watch. Twilight growled and pulled magic into her horn. She knew a thing or two about science too, and she was about to display a few facts of physics to these so-called stormponies.

Her horn flashed with bright violet magic that seemed to fill the cabin of her car, and a trio of energy blasts went rocketing back into the oncoming vehicles - the front three vehicles dodged her shots, but the ones in the rear were not so lucky - taking massive blows to the front and flipping end over end through the air to crunch into the rode, their wheels spinning helplessly in the air. Daring blinked in astonishment... and so did Rosetta. "Whoa." Rosetta said, all pretenses to her normal formal language dropped. "I didn't know I could do that."

Twilight's face split into a fierce grin - at long last, she could finally take some control over this damned world, and all of its damned insanities. She let loose another torrent of magical blasts, screaming in arcane words of Power as she flung her frustration against the world. The cars dodged again, though one faceless enemy took the shot as he hung out the side of the vehicle, sending him to slump limply out the window. Twilight's body pitched as they screeched down a side alleyway.

Luckily, Dash had grabbed hold of her legs at some point and grinned up at her. "Hold it steady, Twilight!

She yelled up, and Twilight nodded. She licked the sweat off of her lips as the vehicles streaked down the alleyway behind them - Twilight braced herself against the car and flung another force bolt from her horn towards the lead car. Just as intended, it smashed into the vehicle... unfortunately, she hit it at such an angle that it launched into the air, with the other two cars zooming under it dramatically.

Twilight snarled in frustration as the shots from the strange weapons started to pepper their vehicle again, and threw up a momentary shield to deflect the incoming fire while Daring and Rosetta unloaded shells of their own into the oncoming cars. "I need another alley!" Twilight yelled, a sudden moment of inspiration grabbing her - Scooter responded by banking the car with another hard left down a new alleyway. Twilight waited for a second, and then she flung up a ten foot tall wall of power in the narrow alley behind them. They all watched as the black vehicles zoomed past the alleyway, and Twilight grinned down at Dash before feeling a touch dizzy - swaying in place and slumping down into the seat and feeling just a little bit drained.

"Scooter, we need to lose em!" Daring yelled, as Dash scrambled up onto the seat and wiped Twilight's brown with her cap. "Hey, you okay?" She asked quietly, as Twilight nodded just a little. She really wasn't all that tired, just a little dizzy. That was normal after three big whammy spells like she'd just unleashed, Dash shooed Daring away as the car continued to pitch and heave from side to side as Scooter performed some kind of acrobatics with the motorized vehicle.

Dash spoke quietly to her, her voice pitched soft and concerned. "I think we need to focus on finding Rarity, Twi. We can't sit here and keep moaning and groaning about how things are different. Once we've found Rarity, we can get the heck back home and this'll all be a funny memory, okay?"  Twilight paused for a moment to absorb those words, then nodded slowly - swallowing the lump in her throat. The thought of leaving Shiny like that - thinking she was dead, tortured by the cataclysmic loss of his sister... But what could she do? This wasn't her world. She didn't belong here...

....Did she?

Chapter 10 - Unforeseen Consequences

~~~~~~The Streets of Manehatten~~~~~~

Dash had started the day quite happy about the situation with Twilight and the remarkable and adventurous world she'd landed in. Now, she was starting to think that had been the universe fucking with her, just so it could drop all this other crap on them. Dash felt her body slam against the side of the vehicle as Scooter took yet another ridiculous turn, knocking the wind out of her for a few moments. Damnit! This day just keeps getting more ridiculous! Gangsters, crazy ponies who look like Twi's brother, and now I'm stuck in a scene straight out of the movies! Not that Dash wasn't having fun, but she could use a breather! "We lose em?" She asked Daring, keeping one worried eye on Twilight.

"For now... They're not going to give up though." Daring commented with a remarkable amount of calm. Although perhaps not so remarkable, given the sort of thing she did for a living. "Scoots! We need to get to..." She grabbed up one of the scattered papers Applejack had given them from the back seat, examining it for a moment. "The east side... Wait, We were just at these warehouses!" She yelled incredulously, and Dash blinked at her uncomprehendingly. "Last night!" Daring elaborated, and the information clicked a moment later.

All thought of that was driven out of Dash's head though, as Daring stuck her head into the front seat to argue with Applebloom, Twilight started to come around from her mental daze. "Whuzza... did I miss anything?" Twilight asked in a muzzy tone, shaking her head firmly as she tried to clear out the cobwebs. "Dash? Is everypony okay?" She asked in a small, kind of lost voice.

Dash couldn't help it - she shook her head and grinned at Twilight. "We're all okay, Twi. Just take a breather. You kinda scared me there for a second." She mock scolded, smacking Twilight's shoulder with her hoof. Twilight just smiled back as she started to rub at her temple. "Jeeze, Twilight - I knew you'd been holding back all this time, but I didn't realize you'd been holding back that much." Dash chuckled softly, feeling an odd rush of pride. "Bet you gave those goons one heck of a shock."

Twilight smiled briefly. "I haven't been holding back, Dash... something's different about me. About my magic." She shook her head, that small smile still on her face. "I think... I think it has something to do with... coming through the portal. It's just a theory right now, but..." She frowned. "Do you feel any different? Like... faster, or something?"

Dash blinked at that one, opening her mouth to reply, then shutting it. Huh. That Rainboom... was it easier, and I just didn't notice? Dash already knew she was pretty damn awesome, that was just a given... but that had been one of her harder tricks she'd pulled when she barrel rolled through that doorway back in the warehouse. "I dunno. There's only one real way to find out." She flexed her wings a little and grinned at Twilight. "You're all about the scientific experiment, Twi... Want to do a little test?"

Daring pulled her head back from the front seat and blinked at Dash as she worked the handle to roll down the window. "Wait, what are you two talking about?" She asked, furrowing her brow. Rosetta (who Dash now noticed had been listening in the whole time) was stifling a grin and had a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Twilight's mouth twisted into a slow grin as Scooter pulled them around a corner and let out a yell that filled the cabin, "They're still following us! Bucking Celestia, don't they ever give up?!"

Dash grinned fearlessly. Should I....? Heh. Why the heck not? "Hang on Scoots. I'll just step outside and have a word with 'em." She said, in a saucy and confident tone as the wind whipped past the now opened window. Dash looked back through the hole that had been the rear window for a moment, and smirked as she saw the black-uniformed goons leaning out of their own windows. "Be right back." She continued, then launched herself out of the window.

Daring yelled something behind her, but Dash was already too far gone into the air to give a buck. The wind blazed into her face and felt like a balm - her wings snapped open and caught the rushing stream of air as she transited from moving vehicle to moving on her own power. Sharp pegasus eyes caught the incredulous stare of Daring Do and the jaw-drop of one of those black uniformed goons as Dash banked into the wind. Okay... Twi thinks we're changed. Her magic is supercharged.... I wonder if I'm just... better.

Dash mulled over that thought... until she realized she was keeping up with the vehicle without so much as trying. She pulled her wings in for a moment and then gave one mighty beat of them... the passing buildings became a massive blur around her, as her speed launched her down the streets and far away from the car-chase behind her. Instinctively, she banked up and then back in midair, carrying her back at insane speed towards one of the goon vehicles. With a fierce grin, Dash pivoted in midair just in time to meet the forward-window of the vehicle with her rear hooves.

What came next seemed to go in slow motion - she shattered the glass as though it wasn't even there, rocketing through the plate so fast it left a Dash shaped hole as she passed through.  Her rear hooves connected with the jaw of the driver...and kept going, carrying him along with her as she traveled through the car's cabin through to the back seat - where the stunned goon-pony went crashing through the rear window, his chin still tucked over her hoof. Her body followed his until she was fully clear of the car, at which point she snapped open her wings and rocketed away from him, leaving his body to tumble along the ground while the vehicle he'd been driving crashed into a lamp post.

Dash had always been fast, even as a little filly in flight school. It had taken her time to learn maneuverability, which is what had earned her the nickname 'Rainbow Crash' in that same flight school. Yet after a decade of dedication to her sport, she wasn't just fast - nor just maneuverable. She was at the pinnacle of her art, the ultimate flier. All that truly separated her from her idolized Wonderbolts was experience. But here?

She was beyond merely fast. She was only just starting to exert herself, and she was achieving speeds at ground level it would have taken her hard work and distance in the thinner air of the high skies to achieve. She wasn't simply maneuverable - she was pulling turns that would have given her muscle strains back home. It was as though this world took everything that was her and turned it up to eleven. Including my emotions... and Twilight's. But does that mean it's just because we're here or... it wasn't a pleasant thought to consider that every bit of progress she'd made with Twilight might just be because of this crazy new world they were in but... she couldn't dismiss it.

The last car, containing a screaming pony in a funny hat, peeled off from the chase of their vehicle. Dash gave a satisfactory nod at that and then swept her wings back firmly to pick up her speed a little. She needed time to think, and there was no better time to do that than when you were flying. Maybe by the time they got to where they were going she'd have figured out what the heck she was feeling... and what it might mean for her and Twi.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You all caught that, right?" Daring said in a soft, almost too-gentle tone of voice.  "I wasn't the only pony who just saw her do that... right?" she continued, as dead silence filled the rest of the cabin of the car. Applebloom was rubbing her chin, and Scooter was practically vibrating in her seat from pure, unadulterated excitement. Rosetta had caught Twilight's eye, and the pair of them nodded at one another. "Holy Solaris." Daring whispered softly, sinking back down into her seat as Dash pulled up alongside the car and flew along as casually as if she did this sort of thing every day.

Twilight was quite calm, however. "Are you thinking..." She began to speak, as her mind raced with this little piece of confirmed information...

"Yes, I think so." Rosetta cut her off - or did she finish her sentence? Did it matter? They were effectively the same pony, even if death and a few... other details had changed some of their experiences. "Our reality apparently has slightly different physical and magical rules than yours does. They wouldn't even have to be that significant on a cosmic scale to be effecting you."

Twilight nodded slowly, picking up the thread of logic. "Our bodies are adapting to that set of rules. It's supercharging our magic - unicorn and pegasus alike." She frowned. "I suppose It might do the same to an earth pony, though I don't quite know how. Regardless, we're changing..."

Rosetta picked up again, as their thoughts moved quicker and quicker in tandem. "And you're also... fitting in to things better." Rosetta appeared to be groping for the right words, which was just fine because Twilight didn't have them either. In fact, she simply couldn't explain why this world kept getting more and more absurd... and why none of it seemed to bother her in the least. Why was that? There had been so many physical impossibilities today, that Twilight well and truly had lost count.

After all, all of the events so far had truly strained the boundaries of credulity as far as it came to coincidence. She and Dash just so happened to be in the warehouse Daring Do was investigating in the disappearance of Manehatten Silver. She and Dash just so happened to have been discussing that very same relationship, mere minutes before they were pulled into that warehouse. Further, Rosetta just so happened to have access to data regarding a portal, that just so happened to have kidnapped them into a world where it just so happened that Twilight Sparkle had died and become somepony new entirely. And worst of all, a world where Rainbow Dash just so happened to have never performed the Sonic Rainboom.

It was a long, torrid series of coincidences and happenstances that - when you added them all up - didn't seem so much like coincidence or happenstance at all. What was it Luna told me? Once is mere chance, twice is suspicious, but three times is enemy action. It didn't make sense - logically speaking - for all of this to be going on. Rarity lacked the power to open that portal, and Twilight had known that right from the start. She should have been asking questions as to how that portal had gotten there, yet she had just as recklessly thrown herself into this story as Rainbow Dash had. As though they were characters in a book.

...As though we were... in a book.

They hadn't acted rationally, now that Twilight stopped and truly thought about it. They'd simply accepted that this mare was Daring Do, and this other mare was Rosetta. They'd not even questioned the insane and inept villains, the crazy schemes and plots being hatched by virtually everypony around them. The smoky rendezvous at a nightclub, where a familiar friend just so happened to have the information they needed. Even now, even this insane vehicle chase... where were the other vehicles on the streets? Where were the pedestrians? What about those poor ponies in the vehicles she'd crushed with her power?

Yet Twilight would be willing to bet that some perfectly reasonable, if utterly insane reason would appear if she raised the question. Road construction, villainous backup, the ponies in the cars were faceless and evil goon squad members. They'd found Miss Kitty because that was the most logical next move for them to make if they were looking for a lost somepony. As though this was the way things were supposed to be happening... as though... "Wait." Twilight said, her train of thought crashing to a sudden stop. "I'm... Daring, when you first saw me and Dash - what were your first thoughts? Beyond the obvious problems we were having with those gangster ponies." She elaborated, listening carefully for the pegasus' reaction to that question.

Daring blinked and shrugged her shoulder. "Mostly that you two looked pretty and you needed to be rescued. That, and I was wondering why the anonymous tip had said you two were so important." She frowned. "I couldn't figure it out then, and I'm still working on it now... who sent that tip? And why? How did they know you were going to be there, at that exact moment?" She shook her head slowly. "And why am I getting the feeling that we've been set up, somehow?"

Twilight paused, hesitating over the logic... yet... "What's missing here isn't a why or a how... it's a who. Two of them, to be precise. " She looked up, licking her suddenly dry lips. "It seems insane on the surface of it, but..." She looked up to the sky for a moment, biting down on her lip. "But it makes sense, even though the reasoning behind it is...I cannot believe she might pull something like that, but then again... maybe I can believe it." She continued, her voice reduced to a whisper. "Given no other choice, scared of the possibility of failure, I could fully believe that she would be willing to..."

"Twilight!" Rosetta said sharply, firmly. "What in Equestria are you going on about?" Her voice was firm, but not hard - she looked concerned to Twilight. Concerned for her doppelganger no less, which was as absurd as any other fact Twilight had dealt with over the years. Twilight sucked in a deep breath, It is likely she will not like what I am about to suggest, but it is our only option. We have no other choice...

"Rosetta, I think we need to speak to Princess Celestia." Twilight said calmly, though she felt no such calm. It was an insane thought, but the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Occams razor thus applied, it only made logical sense to follow that particular train of thought to its inevitable and terrifying conclusion. "Your Princess Celestia, to be a bit more precise." She looked up and out of the window, towards the gliding form Rainbow Dash, now so much more precious to her than she'd ever been before. "As soon as we possibly can." Twilight said with an air of finality to it.

Yet even if she was right. Even if this insane theory held any water whatsoever... did Twilight really not like it? If she was being utterly and completely honest with herself, did she really dislike the effects so much? Or was it merely her stubborn insistence that the world must make logical sense by her standards?

Rosetta stared at Twilight for a moment, her face a study in worry and concern. She looked as though she wished to say something, but dared not speak a word. Thankfully, Daring quietly cut through the silence, speaking softly and reasonably. "We'll be at the warehouse in a few minutes. Let's can this discussion until we get the next piece of the puzzle, shall we?"

~~~~~~~The Mysterious Lair~~~~~~

Rarity was quickly becoming convinced that fate was somehow involved in putting her in the same cell with Manehatten Silver. Oh certainly, her fortunes had not precisely been perfect as of late - but she had little to no doubt now that they would escape here in due time. The stallion had obviously been in a scrape or two like this before - Rarity had long ago cultivated the skill of knowing the difference between arrogance and earned confidence. It was a useful skill in the fashion world, good for figuring out when somepony was bluffing you about the level of abilities they had in one manner or another.

Confidence - real blood and bone confidence oozed out of every pore of the handsome earth pony stallion. He studied her sketches of the guards and the butler with all of the diligence of a tried-and-true agent provocateur. Rarity in the meantime was busying herself with a few more sketches - with what few details he could recall about the madpony, along with a sketch of Sweetie Belle, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash. She figured it might be useful for him to know who to trust should the time come. "An you're absolutely sure about these guys? Pony tribe, coloration, the works?" Silver asked, in that gruff but not angry voice that told her he was simply confirming his data. He was rather crude at times, and rough around the edges - much like Applejack, when she thought about it - but he was never impolite to her.

"Of course, Darling. it's always the same seven or eight guards, switching off shifts every few days or so." Rarity gently flicked the sketches of her friends across the table, glad to know she hadn't forgotten any of the key details about mane color or style. "Always the same three different unicorn waiters, always on the same shifts." She paused, snatching up a bit of paper and eyeballing him while the muse came to her. "Why do you ask, dear?" She idly questioned, beginning to sketch him out. Oh he'd look positively dashing in something from those Film Noir movies. The long rain-jacket, the broad brimmed hat, Mm-yes.

He gnawed on his pencil for a moment, then spat it out onto the table. "Sheesh. Doc's got this place wrapped up tighter'n a virgin's plothole." He growled out in obvious frustration. Rarity paused in her sketch, moving over to the other side of her paper to capture the moment. Oh, such a brooding figure. She thought, enjoying the moment to study another pony in such depth, especially one as expressive as he was. It was rather like doing sketches of Rainbow Dash when she wasn't looking. She could imagine him hunched over a desk, glass of rough whiskey in hand as he agonized over a case. She was even willing to overlook the crude language.

Silver shook his head slowly and sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Aright, so bribery is out. These are prolly trusted subordinates of some damn type." He continued, looking as grouchy as  Twilight often did early in the morning. He winced and rubbed at his ribs under the bandages she'd kept tightly on him, remembering something about compression helping such things heal. "Any chances we're gonna get are gonna come if he decides to come gloat at us... or move us somewhere." He rubbed at his chin. "We'll need to be ready for that chance."

Rarity paused for a moment then smiled at the sketch she'd made of him - and the outfit she just knew he'd look perfect in. Later, darling. Business before pleasure. She reminded herself with a happy little hum. "I agree. What precisely did you have in mind darling?" She queried, putting her head up in her hooves and tilting her head at him. Imprisoned in some strange fortress or not, at least she wasn't quite so alone anymore.

The rough-and-tumble Manehatten Silver rubbed at his chin, eyeballing some of the furniture in the room. "I got a few ideas. How good are you at doing delicate work with that horn of yours?"

~~~~~~~East Side Warehouses, Dock 42~~~~~~~

As the vehicle slowly pulled up outside of a very familiar looking warehouse, Twilight felt a tingle in the air. Something she couldn't quite put her hoof on... as though something very, very important was going to happen and quite soon. She stepped out of the vehicle quickly, with Rainbow Dash landing next to her with hardly a drop of sweat on her. "Dash... stay close to me." Twilight said softly, and got a silent nod. Dash feels it too. She looks tense, ready for a fight... I dearly hope we won't have another one of those. She thought faintly, as the rest of their little band piled out behind them.

Surely enough, something unusual was definitely going on as they approached the warehouse doors... only to hear a gentle male voice call out. "Quite an unusual collection of ponies, wouldn't you say, Sunny?" spoke a white-coated unicorn wearing a snappy looking suit as he strode out from around the corner of the warehouse.

A second pony soon followed - also a white-coated unicorn, and wearing the exact same suit. "I would have to agree with you Bright." She chirruped... in a voice that was instantly and chest-achingly familiar to Twilight. She pranced around after him...and came to a stop next to him. She was smiling brilliantly at all of them, her eyes tracing across and then stopping on Twilight with just a touch of wide eyed recognition.

In an instant, Twilight felt a powerful pulse in her chest... a feeling of safety. One she simply could not dismiss as being a reaction to the presence of her beloved Teacher. Celestia was here. It didn't matter to Twilight's brain that she was some other world's Celestia... Twilight had to believe, in her heart of hearts - that the only difference would be in the minute details.

The one she'd called Bright nodded a little at Twilight, the look of surprise slowly fading from his face to be replaced by... humor? He looked pretty amused, actually. "Well, I suppose we ought not to be surprised, Sunny."  He said with a slow smile on his face. "Or perhaps I ought to drop the pretense." He said, with a wicked sort of grin that reminded Twilight an awful lot of Luna's smile. "I think we're mostly already acquainted... aren't we?" He queried softly, his eyes firmly on Twilight.

Twilight took a hesitant step forward, Applebloom having shouldered her gun and eyeballing the newcomers rather dubiously. At least she isn't going to shoot first. Twilight thought faintly, as Sunny Skies took a hesitant step forward of her own. "I know you." Sunny whispered softly, in words meant only for her. "We have never met before today, and yet I know you." She continued, her steps and Twilight's matching one another as they came closer and closer, with Rainbow Dash hot on her hooves.

Twilight swallowed softly and smiled brightly. "Of course you do." She insisted, even though she knew that too was a lie... yet it was a Lie that right now, Twilight was willing to believe - willing to accept because the alternative would mean they were utterly, completely alone in this strange and frightening world. "After all, you're the one that taught me everything I know." She continued, ignoring the gasp of shock that came out of Rosetta and Daring Do's mouths. The words poured, unbidden from her mouth - Twilight utterly unaware of the forces she was about to set in motion. "Isn't that right... Princess Celestia?"

Applebloom's jaw dropped. Rainbow Dash's face lit up for a moment in confusion - and then naked, unrestrained joy exploded across her entire form, her wings flapping happily as she bounced up and down in place. Scooter's head popped out of the car to stare at them too, a look of awe come over her face. Sunny Skies smiled brilliantly, the disguise melting away completely to reveal the true Alicorn beneath it. Her mane and tail shone with multi-hued beauty and the bright golden crown she had once played with as a filly still sat regally upon her head. "Of course.." Celestia whispered, as though a revelation had come to her. "How could I possibly forget... my most faithful student?"

Had Twilight been paying attention in that moment, she might have felt it. She might have felt the titanic forces of magic and fate that she unleashed with but a few simple words, spoke in desperation. As it was, she was simply too relieved - simply too thankful that at long last, the world had begun to make sense again.

Everything was going to be fine. Twilight was certain of it now.

Chapter 11 - Domino Effect

~~~~~East Side Warehouses, Dock 42~~~~~

Even as the little conversations broke out all around them, Princess Celestia's attention and focus were all dedicated to one singular mare. I cannot let her leave. Her thoughts whispered traitorously, even as she sat down in front of Twilight Sparkle to listen to her recount their adventure so far. It is as though there was some hole in my heart and soul... and just sitting next to her, I can feel it filling up.  And Oh! What a feeling it was! Celestia could feel the cheer, and love and wonder seeping into her soul with every word they exchanged. It was... it was...

Glorious. I have found a missing piece of myself, and... and I do not wish for her to go. Those thoughts continued, whispering softly and traitorously. But that was wrong of her to think that, and wrong of her to consider all of the myriad ways she might accomplish it. No, Celestia! You will not force this wonderful, beautiful little pony to remain here against her will! And what of other methods? What if she.. No! You will aid her willingly. You will not coerce her as though you were...  Her thoughts snapped off in that moment, and she nearly bit her lip in concern. "Princess Celestia?" The young mare ventured, obviously concerned for her. Twilight was concerned for her, without any obligation or duty to force her into such a stance. No... Twilight was concerned for her because she cared about her. And how long has it been since somepony other than Solaris has truly cared about you, Celestia?

Too long. Far too long. Too many centuries spent alone - the distant Lady of the sun, as untouchable as the searing orb of light that brought life and happiness to all of her little ponies. So many of her subjects venerated her like a goddess, in spite of all of her efforts to the contrary. Yet here was this fearless and bright little unicorn who treated her like... well, a beloved schoolteacher - or perhaps a favorite aunt. With a gentle love and care, and a bright curiosity for all of the many differences of their worlds. Celestia barely paid attention to what she was saying - answering questions and asking her own when Twilight's story took an unexpected turn.

A mysterious portal of unknown origin and power. A madpony with access to teleportation powers far beyond that of normal unicorns - a friend in peril, and the tragedy - well, at least it was a tragedy for Twilight and her friend - of the little sister mysteriously transformed. Celestia herself had never toyed overmuch with the power to pass between worlds, even though she theoretically could have done it at will. Yet there had always been too much to do at home to take the time out for long inter-dimensional vacations.  Worst of all, Twilight feared there would be no way for them to get home - believing the portal they had used to be uncontrollable, or worse - lost completely.

And oh, how easy it would be to convince her that she was correct - and then, with all of the gentle care and concern in the world, to offer her sinecure and safe harbor. Every effort would be taken to see them home, and until then they would be given the very best of care and comfort. That Twilight Sparkle was clearly the Element of Magic that Celestia had so long awaited the appearance of - and her friend equally the Element of Loyalty - was naught but the icing on the cake.

With time and determination, the other four elements could be found - and the artifacts themselves recovered at long last. With good fortune, they would even be in time to save Luna and Artemis from another thousand years of imprisonment upon the moon. That she would just-so-happen to get to spend the many glorious years that would follow with this wonderful young mare was but a small, insignificant little bonus... and who knew? Perhaps there was a greater destiny for this young Twilight Sparkle to pursue. And perhaps... just perhaps... she was the one who could fix Celestia's most recent failure.

And all of it at the low, low cost of a little white lie.

Could she do that to this mare, who set a joyous fire ablaze in Celestia's heart for the first time in centuries?

Did she dare to do otherwise?

~~~~~~~~~~~~

What seemed like a long time ago, Rosetta Stone had chosen her name because it was a connection to the past. Such connections were few and precious to her, and so she had latched on to any single connection she possibly could. Although she would never admit it to Daring or - even worse, Lord Solaris - sometimes, in the depths of the night when the wine was sweet and there was nopony else around to worry about, she would perform little thought experiments - trying to figure out where she'd gone wrong. Trying to figure out if there really was anything she could have done to change the cruel fate life had bestowed upon her.

They had not been fun experiments, they had actually been quite mentally and oft times physically painful for her. She'd driven herself into the depths of despair more than once, and when one such experiment had nearly ended at the cost of her own life, she had never performed them again. But now, standing her before her, Rosetta saw a vision of that life she had once agonized and wept over never knowing. A young mare - who was her, but was not her - stood in stark contrast to Rosetta's own life. It would have been so easy to hate her, to despise her with all of her soul.

Yet Rosetta could not, for it had not been by her will that events had been shaped, but by the life of another pony. The actions of somepony else, like a rock dropped into a pond, that had rippled outwards and touched countless lives. Rosetta turned her eyes to that pony, the one named Rainbow Dash, and marveled at how the actions of one individual could so radically alter the course of history. Oh certainly, it had happened in the past... but it was one thing to read about such an individual in a book, and imagine them striding across the stage of history, proud and arrogantly certain of their destiny. It was quite another to meet such a pony, and realize that so many of those others must have been much like this - Filled with the same worries, desires and wishes as anypony else.

Daring's hoof gently touched hers, startling Rosetta for a moment. She squeezed Daring's hoof briefly, then looked away. There was no time now for regrets - no time for what-if's and maybes and could-have-beens.  She had a good life, a life with a job she enjoyed and the very best friend anypony could ask for. And yet... and... yet... Could it be that she didn't have to settle for just one friend? After all... who in the world could better understand her... than herself? Could it be that Twilight had the answer to her dilemma?

Could it be that these two ponies had the answer to more than just that? After all, Dash was quite crazy - much like Daring was at times - but there was also fierceness in her. She'd already risked her life twice for them, without even thinking too much about it. She had not asked for explanations or demanded reparation for the trouble she'd gotten in on their account... but rather, simply accepted it as a part of life. How many ponies, period, would do that for two strangers they'd never met before? In that moment, as Teacher met Student across the bounds of time and space, Rosetta felt her heart beat a little bit faster.

After all, a pony could meet friends from anywhere... right?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daring Do was very worried about Rosetta.

More than just the usual worries about her being an academic with no field experience being thrown into deadly and dangerous situations. No, this worry was much more elemental and rooted much more deeply in her emotions. Daring tried not to let emotions get in the way of her work - especially not when it came down to villains like Doctor Negative, where her emotions had allowed that bastard to get away because she was too angry to do the right thing. Predictably, the universe was now punishing her for that choice, and Silver was going to pay the price if she couldn't find him in time.

Even so, her emotions were incredibly conflicted about that relationship now - as it became more and more clear that Rosetta had been carrying a torch for Daring for longer than she'd realized. Maybe it had been the sight of Rainbow Dash, so obviously pining for Twilight's affection that had caused the sudden moment of clarity. Or maybe it had been Rosetta's mournful glances when Dash and Twilight moved closer to one another when they needed comfort. It was the kind of sappy, over-the-top thing that Daring actively tried to avoid thinking about too much.

Except now she couldn't ignore it - not and be the kind of friend she'd always tried to be for Rosetta.  She couldn't ignore the fact that her best friend of more than fifteen years now had a pretty serious crush on her. No, DD. Be honest with yourself - that isn't a crush she's harboring. She's out-and-out in love with you, and you can’t figure out what to do about it.

That was the real kicker. When she'd decided she'd finally give over the whole too-tough adventuress routine and ask Silver out, she had been sure that she'd be able to find Rosetta nice guy too... and then Rosie had started up that huge argument out of absolutely nowhere about Silver's methods and his morals and all sorts of other crap. Sure, he was basically a glorified grave robber sometimes, but nopony was perfect - At least Silver had a code of honor he simply didn't sway from. Boiled right down, Silver had been one of the few peers Daring had that she knew she could trust when push came to shove.

For a few months, everything had seemed... fine. Rosetta apologized for her behavior, then headed off to Manehatten to work on some kind of nebulous university stuff. Yeah, you shoulda asked questions, Daring - but you never remember to do that when it really matters. She thought bitterly, glaring at the ground for the moment. No, she'd been so caught up in the romance she hadn't even thought twice about it. Well, the sex had been a big part of that - after years of off-again and on-again trysts and the occasional visit to Miss Kitty's, it had been kinda nice to rut with a stallion who actually gave a fuck about her.

Of course, love came with costs.  Especially when the one you loved was a stallion dedicated to his career like Silver was. And one day you wake up, and he's been kidnapped right out of his office - no evidence, no signs of break in, no nothing. And who had stepped in, when Daring was getting ready to absolutely blow her stack? Who else but Rosetta? Who else has always been there, huh? Who else has never let you down? It was a damning thought for the mare of adventure, and she wondered how the hell she could have been so damned stupid as to not see it sooner.

Whatever. You couldn't change the past. Twilight and Dash were living, breathing proof of that old and clichéd maxim. All you could do... all anypony could do... was do the best you could to make a better future. Yeah. So what are you gonna do about *her** better future, Miss Do?* She thought, eyes traveling over to Rosetta - and then to Dash and Twilight. Maybe it's time to give up the solo gig. After all, they certainly know how to handle themselves in a tough spot...

And wasn't that an intriguing idea?

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dash couldn't help herself - she was bouncing up and down in excitement from the absolutely great news they'd finally gotten. Celestia! Here! The way home couldn't be more secure if they were already walking through it. Twilight was pretty heavy in conversation with the Princess, so Dash took the moment to get some of that excess energy out of her system. Sure, it would kinda suck to be leaving Daring Do behind, but this had been enough adventure to keep Dash satisfied for a nice long time. It would be good to go back home, catch a nap or two, and get back to practicing for the Wonderbolts.

Just as she got her limbs stretched out though, that funny Stallion who had been with the princess had trotted over to her with an amused smile on his face - watching her. "What'cha lookin at?" She sneered at him, turning away with a flick of her tail. "I know I'm sexy, but I'm not interested, dude." She offhandedly commented, stretching her wings out firmly before turning back... and getting a face full of a stallion twice her size. Literally twice her size. As in, as big as Celestia - staring down at her. With wings. And a horn. And "Oh, fuck me." Dash said softly, her ears drooping down with her wings in a truly pitiable fashion.

The new male Alicorn arched an eyebrow at her and grinned saucily. "Only if you take me out to dinner, first." he said with a sly and saucy grin that did not belong on an Alicorn... Prince? Prince had to be the term, if Celestia was a princess. "For now though, I'm going to presume you've never seen somepony like me before. My name is Solaris, and it is my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss...?" he trailed off, offering an armor-shod hoof to her in greeting.

Dash took her moment of shock to take in all of the details about him - he had a neatly trimmed and square shaped beard in a bright orange color which matched the many orange, gold and red hues of his own mystically flowing mane, even if his was much more distinctly masculine. He had the same vibrant violet eyes as Celestia though, and that same twinkle of good humor in them. Huh. Well, no sense in not being polite, at least. "My name's Rainbow Dash." She replied, her wings and ears perking up a bit.  "And yeah, never seen a male Alicorn before." She continued with her own bright grin. "So, are you Princess Celestia's brother or somethin?"

Solaris gave off a slow grin. "Not quite, actually." He eyeballed Dash with a slow smile. "Our relationship is a little odd by most ponies standards, but we do just fine. Still, it's a little strange that you recognize her but not I." He hummed softly. "So, there are only female Alicorns in your world, then?" He asked, just a little casually. "Celestia, I must presume is there - but who else?" he continued to query, and Dash wondered for a moment why he'd ask...

But then she shrugged. What could it hurt to tell him? "Well, there's Princess Celestia - of course. Oh, and her sister, Princess Luna." She proclaimed with a proud smile about that - she never quite forgot the role they'd played in restoring the Princess of the Night to her rightful self. It was a constant reminder that with Twi and her friends, there wasn't  a single bad guy they couldn't conquer. "Oh right, and Princess Cadence." She continued offhandedly...

Solaris' head snapped around for a moment, as if a thought had suddenly caused him whiplash. "Wait a moment. Princess Luna?" He asked, in an obviously surprised tone of voice. His head darted back and forth for a moment - then he leaned in and spoke in a whisper soft voice. "Then... Nightmare Moon?" He asked - hesitantly! As though he dared not speak the question loud enough for anypony to hear.

Dash smirked confidently. "We beat her - Me, Twi and our friends - and freed Princess Luna." He was still staring at her, just a little slackjawed... and Dash couldn't help it. She grinned slyly, answering the most obvious question in her most confident tone of voice. "With the Elements of Harmony, duh. Me, Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy." She counted off, tapping her hoof up to the number six. "Which is kinda why we're here. That madpony kidnapped our friend Rarity - she's the Element of Generosity - and we're going to get her back." She proclaimed, as though the outcome was so self-evident as to not even be in doubt.

Solaris visibly swallowed and then paused, a small smile returning to his face as he summoned his confident air back. "I see. I suppose I oughtn’t to be so surprised... the connection of Friendship between you and your friend is very strong." Dash preened at the compliment... or she thought it was a compliment, anyway. "So, does she know?" He queried a moment later, and Dash blinked uncomprehendingly at him for a change. "That you are in love with her." he continued... his last few words stifled as Dash lept up, her eyes going to Twilight in blind panic and stuffing her hoof into the Alicorn Prince's mouth.

"Shhhh! Not so loud!" She whispered, drawing back as fast as she had moved, much to Solaris' obvious surprise. "Look, that's complicated, okay?" She said softly, keeping her voice hushed. "I don't want to pressure her into anything she doesn't want - and I sure as fuck don't want her freaking out over my feelings just because I didn't tell her at the right time. We're going to talk about it so please, change the subject for now?" She plead a little, her eyes darting to the thankfully oblivious Twilight Sparkle, who was too busy speaking to Celestia.

Lord Solaris nodded, then spoke in a much louder voice - obviously changing the subject from the previous one for Dash's sake. "Still, I can't imagine a world without my handsome visage." He lamented... though he did so with his tongue quite firmly in cheek. Rainbow Dash snorted softly and he grinned. "Tell me about your other friends then, the other Elements of Harmony. One of them was named Pinkie Pie, you said?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So. They have gotten involved now." Said the gentle, masculine voice of Shining Armor as they watched and listened in upon the meeting from afar. "We have no choice. We must report to the Fuherin that they have become directly involved." He paused. "Colonel, you will inform our soldiers to stand down at once and remove themselves from the area. Leave nothing disturbed or changed." He paused, and then growled aggressively. "And if you endanger the life of that pegasus again with your arrogance, I shall personally feed you to the Infiltration Corps. Are we quite clear?"

The suddenly pale looking unicorn nodded with a slow gulp, then ducked out of the side door of the car and quickly ran towards the warehouse. That task thus accomplished, Shining turned his immediate attention to the far more important concern. "My Lady." He began softly. "Are you well?" he gently queried, laying a hoof on Butterfly's shoulder. "You look pale and your hooves are shaking."

Lady Butterfly jerked in place, then relaxed a trifle. "I am... I am fine, Commandant." She replied with a soft whisper. "Looking at them, seeing the world that might have been made flesh before our eyes... It is..." She took in a deep breath and exhaled. "It brings old and painful memories to the surface. It makes me wish I could see this world of theirs. To know how things could have gone so differently." She spoke gently, almost too gently... but Shining could hear the barely suppressed pain in that voice. It was a pain he knew well, as his eyes found the bright purple mane of his beloved Sister.

Twilight Sparkle. Alive. Well. Bright and cheerful and as smart as a whip, as she had always been - and apparently, a born magical prodigy as he'd always suspected. Did she have a brother of her own, in that world of hers? What must it have been like, to see her grow into the beautiful and intelligent young mare that now stood so achingly close to him.  Never since he had committed himself to this path, to see justice done to those who had brought harm upon his little sibling, had he ever once been so close to simply tearing off his uniform and begging Celestia for forgiveness. All so that he might spend time with her once again - to play, laugh, and live as a Family he had long thought lost forever.

Could he possibly tell Mother and Father? No. Celestia would see to that, and that was proper. They did not know what had become of their son, and perhaps it was better that way. One day, he hoped they would understand that what he was doing, he was doing for the good of all Equestria. But the temptation to throw it all over, to throw it all away just for one more hug from his sister...

He gave Butterfly a long look, one that she returned. Her eyes were infinitely sad, and he wondered what he now showed in his own eyes. What had she seen down there that had triggered those too-strong memories of her past? What event had driven her here - that the sight of that rainbow maned pegasus had driven her to near tears? Did he really want to know?

Or would either knowing what the other was thinking simply be the straw that broke both of their wills to see things through?

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Princess Celestia." Twilight's voice softly insisted - snapping Celestia's mind out of the train of thoughts she'd been so guiltily pursuing. "We've got to find Rarity, before something terrible happens to her. Is there anything you can do to help us?" She asked - her voice soft, desperate and sad. Any other pony might have thought first about their own peril, their own horrible situation or fate - to be lost, so very far away from everything they called home - and still to think first of their friend's danger, and not of their own?

Something stirred in Celestia - something powerful. She could feel the energies of the world churning around them, shifting and changing and swirling with greater and greater force. A choice was upon her, and it would change so many things that were to come. "I don't know, Twilight Sparkle." She said with total honesty, and then... no. She would not restrain herself, she would not abandon her no matter how much she might desire to use every possible excuse to keep her here. "But if there is something I can do, I will do whatever it takes to help you save your friend." She looked up and into the firm gaze of Solaris. "Let us investigate this place, then. Who knows? If fortune favors us, perhaps we are not so far away from your friend after all." Celestia remarked cheerfully.

And if Lady Fortuna holds me in any esteem whatsoever... perhaps she will favor me with your presence for many years to come... my most Faithful Student.

Chapter 12 - Discussions in Warehouse 42

~~~~~Warehouse 42, East Side Docks~~~~~

The Warehouse 42 office was an absolute chaotic mess. It was incredibly clear that nopony had bothered to organize anything in it for months. Boxes upon boxes of documents were stacked against every wall, trash cans sat stuffed with paper debris and what few desks could be seen under piles and piles of unfilled paperwork were strewn with used coffee cups, quill shavings and various other bits of detritus. Naturally, Rainbow Dash felt right at home in this kind of environment - it reminded her of the weather-control offices back in Ponyville, which looked pretty much just like this, unless there was some kind of inspection about to happen.

Of course, Dash knew that this place was practically the antithesis of how Twilight usually did things. It was so against her grain, that Dash was not at all surprised to find both Twilight and Rosetta staring at the chaos with near-on identical eye twitches. Right, time to work fast! "Hey, let's go start rummaging through all those boxes and crates and stuff, eh guys?!" She proclaimed in her loudest voice - spreading wings and hooves and herding the rest of their gang - Solaris, Celestia, and Daring Do - out of the office as quickly as she could manage with two Alicorns and one adventuring legend. Luckily for her, Scooter and Applebloom were still outside - watching the car, they'd said. They got out of the office just in time, as Twilight said in her most firm tone of voice. "Right. I'll handle the left half.." And the rest was cut off by a slamming office door, followed by the sounds of massive amounts of paper shifting around the room.

Rainbow Dash wiped away a bit of sweat from her brow and let out a relieved sigh. "Remind me to never walk into a messy library with both of them around." She quipped softly. "I have a feeling they could probably re-shelve the entire Canterlot library by themselves." Dash continued just a little faintly - which got a rather amused smile from the Alicorns and a solemn nod of understanding from Daring. "Okay - so they'll handle the paperwork side. Daring, you know more about this Doctor Negative guy than any of us, so I think we oughta follow your lead. What should we be looking for?" Dash gently crossed her hooves over her chest as she took to the air - hovering a foot or two above the ground.

Daring paused for a moment to take in the fact that Dash had just done a runaround on the bucking rulers of the country before responding. "Okay - the last time all of this went down, the Doc was trying to create some kind of chemical formula that would let him basically control ponies minds. He made a lot of mistakes, and his earliest attempts just all turned into mindless zombies he ordered around - or more often, simply pointed in the direction he wanted destroyed." She frowned, looking around her. "Rosie said he was trying to build some kind of teleporter now, but I doubt that he's given up on his dreams of mind control. We oughta be looking for chemicals and chemistry equipment - and anything else that's really weird and out there." She paused and shrugged. "I know that's not super specific, but it might give us a clue as to where he's hiding out, or what he's up to with your friend."

Dash nodded, and before she knew it the two Alicorns were trotting off into the warehouse - and once they were out of sight, Dash let off a hefty sigh of relief. "Sheesh, and I thought Princess Celestia back home made me nervy." She grumbled out, and caught an amused grin from Daring. "Yeah yeah, laugh it up." She grumbled softly and flitted over towards the first stack of boxes, eyeballing the arcane stamp on the side Dash decided the level headed thing to do was to just open boxes until something useful fell out.

Just as she was acquiring the services of Mister Crowbar.to that end, Daring's voice popped up. "Hey Dash, I got a question for you." She half yelled - apparently stuck halfway in a large wooden crate for a moment before her head popped out covered in floppy hats. Dash grunted, hiding her amused grin as she levered the thin tip of the crowbar under a crate lid. Daring continued to talk as she dug through the floppy hats, "What would you do if you knew somepony was in love with you, but they just didn't say anything about it?"

Dash very nearly dropped the crowbar in surprise at that question, but quickly recovered - levering up the crate lid to find what looked like stacks upon stacks of steamy romance novels. How incredibly ironic. She thought wryly, slamming the lid shut and giving off an audible "Hmmmmmm." to stall for time. "Well, I mean... That's a tough one right there, especially if they're somepony you already know. I mean - if it's just some random pony, I'd probably try to shoo 'em off. But if it's a friend... whoof." She let out a burst of air from her cheeks. "You gotta be careful there."

Daring blinked up at her as she opened a second and third crate, obviously finding nothing of interest. "What do ya mean?" She quipped, leaning against one of the crates - and very clearly more concerned about this question than she was about searching the warehouse. Rainbow Dash cast her an irritated look, but honestly couldn't blame her. Nopony was going to cause a problem here with the Princess around.

So Rainbow Dash sighed and leaned against her own crate. "Look, this is just me, okay? I care about my friends. A lot. Like, even more than most ponies." She said very firmly, trying to get her feelings across without sounding like she was trying to hide anything. "There have been times when I really screwed up on that - but when it comes to somepony's heart? Especially if they're really, seriously, goo-goo eyes in love? Screwing up with that..." She shook her head. "It could get real ugly, real fast if you're not super careful about it."

Dash looked away and sighed expressively. "I'm no expert on love, but I don't think I could forgive myself if I broke somepony's heart on purpose." She muttered softly, shuffling her hooves in place. "It's one thing to mess up and hurt a friend - that stuff happens sometimes, and good friends grow into better friends because of it. It's a whole 'nother to... well, you get the point." She waved her hoof airily. "You want my advice? I'd figure out how I felt about that pony first. If I didn't love them back, well..." She sighed. "That's complicated. I don't honestly know what I'd do there."

Daring nodded once. "Yeah. That kind of thing is... well, I'd personally rather deal with some ancient spike trap. Less hazardous to your health." She grinned slyly, then went back to rummaging about in the crates. Dash, who couldn't honestly disagree with her assessment, did the same.

She would worry about Twilight later.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lord Solaris had a problem - a very big one, it seemed. "Solly, we simply must think of a way to convince them to stay!" Celestia enthused, her eyes brighter than he had ever seen them in nearly a thousand years. "They are not merely perfect for their elements, they're wonderful ponies too. Solly please, I do not wish them any ill - but they simply must stay." She plead and begged of him, her eyes going watery in the kind of way that suggested she was about to cry. She wasn't going to, of course - Solaris knew Celestia's tactics well by this point in his life, but to be honest it wasn't the tactics that were bothering him.

It was an undercurrent of desperate need and sincerity that bothered him. He strongly suspected it was not Rainbow Dash she was speaking of when she say 'they' or 'them'. It was the young Twilight Sparkle - the living embodiment of Magic, and perhaps even worse - a perfect student to match Celestia's perfect teacher. They had fit together like a pair of clock gears - they complimented one another, even as they fed off one another's intellects. "Celly... Did you not hear me? They are both already Element Bearers in their own world. Do you truly propose we deny another world their protection?" He tried once again, vainly hoping that Celestia would give ground to the logic.

To no avail, of course. "Solaris - you are being silly. The Elements, once awakened, will find appropriate bearers." Celestia insisted with a huff. "It is not in their nature to lie dormant. The only reason ours have is... well, you already know the last use to which we put them. A use which was wholly inappropriate." She sighed softly, and so did he. The two of them bowed their heads for a moment in remembrance of those mistakes, before shaking off the gloom. "Solly, we have spent the past century searching for even just one potential Element Bearer - now, potentially three of them have fallen into our laps. This must be fate, and we must not waste this opportunity!"

Solaris pinched at his snout for a moment, hoping that the small headache he was beginning to get wouldn't grow into something monumental. There was no point in arguing this with Celestia, not in the mood she was in now. "Let's focus on finding their friend, Celly. We won't be able to convince them of much until we do." He pointed out with his usual ruthless logic, and luckily Celestia seemed to be satisfied with her momentary victory. The pair of them trotted off deeper into the warehouse... when a very painful, but very probable thought suddenly occurred to Solaris. One that he wished he hadn't thought, since his stupid mouth decided to open up at that very moment and give voice to it. "Celestia, you don't have... feelings for Twilight Sparkle, do you?"

Celestia very pointedly did not say a word, her horn lighting up to lever open the lids to crates - but Solaris could see a very faint, if well hidden blush on her cheeks. Oh, that's just *perfect.*** he thought gloomily.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The flurry of papers throughout the room was much like standing in the middle of a very warm snowstorm. Two unicorns, each of whom was rather skilled in the art of 'pushing' paper around an office went to town on the disorganized clutter. "We don't have infinite time - let's sort by date." Twilight said firmly, as a giant bag of old coffee cups went sailing out the office door. "We can figure anything within the last three months is probably relevant to our needs. Collate and file everything else by month name."

"Mm, yes, that's logical." Rosetta replied absently - leaving the voluminous paperwork to Twilight while she focused on putting the office to rights so they could make use of it. She did give a little hoof of assistance towards the collating though, since that was mostly boxing up the papers by month name. "We don’t have enough boxes... Let me stack them, you focus on getting everything separated." She admonished and went to work on that chore - straightening the paper stacks they weren't going to use, while casting a long look at Twilight. Should I? she half wondered, then scolded herself. What have you got to lose?

"Twilight?" Rosetta ventured, and Twilight turned a curious look towards her. "Um. Could you help me with a little problem?" She asked, doing her best to hide her blushing cheeks in the flying paperwork. Twilight made a noise of assent - something like an 'mmhm.' The preliminary awkwardness out of the way, Rosetta sucked in a breath and just... went for it. She'll understand. We're the same pony, just lots of different experiences.  "Well... what would you do, if you were in love with somepony and you couldn't figure out how to tell them that?"

There was a sudden thud of a stack of papers missing a desk and hitting the edge, before a flurry of energy gathered them back up again. Twilight gave off an unconvincing cough, obviously trying to cover the shock of the question. "Um, that's an awfully specific thing to ask, Rosetta." Twilight said slowly, obviously mulling over the information she'd just received. "I suppose I'd need more data than that to give you a real answer." She concluded after a few minutes, finishing stacking another set of papers on a desk for examination.

Rosetta exhaled, then trotted across the much cleaner floor - much of the dust swept into a corner and bagged for removal. "Daring." She said quietly, and Twilight blinked in astonishment at her. "I know, I know... She's completely not my type! She's brash and danger-hungry and she can be so bloody thoughtless sometimes!" Rosetta stomped her hoof, glaring at the pile of paper nearby. "But nopony else has stuck by me like she has. Nopony else has saved my life like she has. She's the pony I'm closest to in all the world... she's not perfect, but every time I see her push herself to her utmost limits, she makes me feel like I could do it too." Rosetta's words came out in a rush, as she tried purposefully to suppress her blushing cheeks and failing miserably at it.

Twilight was half staring at her - as though she was trying to process all of it. Rosetta kept speaking, relying on momentum and desperation to keep her talking before her courage ran dry. "When she came home with Silver... I admit it, I lost my temper with her. I got incredibly angry and sad and... and I realized how much she had come to mean to me. It wasn't just some infatuation, or crush, or friendship like I'd told myself countless times before." Rosetta sucked in a deep breath and smacked her forehead against the desk. "When I found out that Silver had been kidnapped, I felt equal parts elated and disgusted with myself. I wanted Daring to be happy, but...." She petered out, unable to keep it going any longer - Much more and she'd be reduced to tears, and there would be no way to hide that from the others.

Twilight gently touched her shoulder. "Then I would tell her." Twilight said, oh-so-softly. "As soon as there's an appropriate moment. Take her aside - I'll keep Dash and the Princess occupied - and tell her. The only way to find out if it's worth pursuing is to try." Rosetta looked up to see Twilight smiling softly down at her. "I'll be there for you if you need me, too."

Rosetta exhaled softly and nodded. "Thank you Twilight." She said with a gentle smile of her own. "And in return, I promise to be there to help you with your own love issues." She said with a wry smile - and much to her surprise, Twilight froze up again. Rosetta frowned a little. "Was I amiss? I thought it was rather obvious that Rainbow Dash was very much in love with you." Twilight made a noise that sounded like a strangled squeak, even as Rosetta kept speaking. "I mean, really. The way she was looking at you, the way she followed your words, the way she put herself into danger for your own well-being... It's very much precisely what Daring so often does for me, which is why I thought she loved me for so very long."

Twilight let out a strangled sound - like a cat getting its tail stepped on, but Rosetta pretended not to notice as she hopped up in a chair and started sifting through the paperwork. "Regardless, you ought to talk to her about it, Twilght." She paused and set the papers down for a moment, her voice dropping low. "Especially if you might share some of those feelings... before it’s far too late for either of you to say anything." She continued quietly, then began to sort through the papers while Twilight processed all of that information.

Hopefully, she wouldn't be offended. Hopefully.

Chapter 5 - Parallel's and Perils

~~~~~~The Blue Note, One explanation later~~~~~~

"... And that's what brought us to here." Twilight finished, the remainder of her food now nothing more than a buttery memory. Yet the food was the last thing on Twilight's mind. She had often wondered what it might be like to spar wits with somepony she could view as a genuine equal. It had been... absolutely glorious. For the entire explanation, Rosetta had taxed Twilight's every faculty to recall even the most minute of details - about the spell, about the teleport, about the madpony and more. Twilight in turn had managed to coax quite a remarkable amount of information out of Rosetta - especially about the breadth of the threat they were already facing.

In a way, it was almost uncanny the way their fields of knowledge mirrored one another. Twilight was well versed in physical sciences, but her mastery was very firmly in the realms of the arcane. Likewise, Rosetta knew a great deal of arcane lore, but she was well and truly Twilight's superior when it came to the physical world. "This is a fascinating set of developments." Rosetta remarked, a sparkle in her eye at the thought of so many incredible new things to research. "Not the least of which is the knowledge that a Sonic Rainboom is actually possible to achieve."

Rosetta eyeballed Rainbow Dash... who was deep in quiet conversation with Daring at the moment. "I would love to run some tests, but perhaps that is best saved for a quieter time." Twilight nodded her agreement to that statement, as the music they had been speaking to began to subtly change. Scooter - who had taken up a chair outside the booth in order to facilitate better conversation between them - looked up with excitement. "Ah... this is Scooter's favorite song." she remarked dryly, and sipped at her green tea. Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but the soft thrum of the double bass and the gentle driving sound of the piano smothered her words...

Sweetie slowly slipped off her wooden stool, the gentle glitter of her dress shimmering across the crowd as her mouth opened and a sensual sound flowed out. Her body swayed gently from side to side as she slowly descended a staircase Twilight had previously not seen, down into the floor of the club as a spotlight followed her.

♪♫"You had plenty money when you were... twenty-two...

You let other fillies make a... fool of you...

Why don't you do right...?

Like some... other colts do...."♪♫

Sweetie gently leaned over to a handsome looking business stallion as she hit the floor, tracing her hoof along his chin as she passed his table with a slow and sensual smile on her face. Twilight wondered when in the name of Celestia she'd learned to do all of these things... and began to wonder if Sweetie had been here even longer than they'd thought.

♪♫"Get outta here...

Get me some money too..."♪♫

Rosetta shook her head at the sight of Scooter staring with wide, vacant eyes at the slinky movements of Sweetie as she strutted slowly around the club floor. "Poor girl's completely besotted." She remarked in a very low voice, and Twilight nodded in agreement. "At any rate." Rosetta continued, keeping her voice pitched low as to not disturb the other patrons. "It's my turn to tell a story. I'll keep it short and to the point... you don't need to know the gory details, just the facts." She sucked in a deep breath, obviously a little distressed at the subject matter. "It all comes back to Manehatten Silver and Doctor Negative." She began, for the first time appearing something other than in total control of her emotions.

♪♫"You're sittin down and wonderin.... what it's all about....

If you ain't got no money, they will.... put you out.

why don't you do right...?

like some other.... colts do...."♪♫

"It all started about six months ago, shortly after Daring finally cornered that madpony and dealt with him. Or so she thought. She and Silver started... going steady." She remarked, the pain in her voice evident even to Twilight - who was never the most emotionally aware pony. Dear Celestia... did she really have a thing for Daring? Twilight thought faintly. "I've never hidden the fact that I dislike Manehatten's methods and his attitude, but Dee... She seemed happy. We had a fight, but.... we made up." She swallowed a lump in her throat and kept going. "About two months after that, I started to hear disturbing rumors that Negative's old operations were getting started up again, but in an entirely new research direction.  Unfortunately, every time I got some kind of intelligence worth a buck, it turned out to be a dud."

♪♫"Get outta here...

Get me some money too..."♪♫

Sweetie Belle was getting closer to their table by the moment, and Twilight began to get a little nervous that she'd see them... and she'd cause a disturbance. The last thing Twilight wanted was to cause some kind of problems with the room - but Rosetta seemed oblivious to this possible problem. "Daring didn't seem to think it could be him, until about a month ago.  Manehatten went missing one day coming home from his office, and Daring panicked. We searched high and low for him, but nopony had seen him leave his office and nopony had seen anypony go into his office either." She looked up for a moment, but it didn't seem that Daring could hear her over the music and her low voice.

♪♫"Now if you hadn't left me all those... years ago...

You wouldn't be a wanderin now from.... door to door....

Why don't you do right...?

like some other colts.... do.... "♪♫

"Ever since then, we've been chasing ghosts." Rosetta remarked softly. "Every time we had a lead, it vanished into nothing, until tonight, apparently... we got a... very high level tipoff that the Doctor was holding some very important ponies in that warehouse. I didn't know Daring was going to go in there tonight, or I might have been there with her." She glanced at Twilight and Dash now, her eyes remarkably sincere. "So I'm forced to question what makes that... high level informant think you two are so important, beyond the obvious fact that you are an absurdly powerful unicorn, and your friend is capable of something no other pegasus in the world can do." Her eyes were boring quietly into Twilight. "I don't suppose you have any theories?"

♪♫"Get outta here...

Get me some money too..."♪♫

Sweetie Belle was there just outside of their table, softly running her hooves down Scooter's shoulders with a slow and sensual kind of smile - and for just a moment, her eyes met Twilight's. There was a flash of recognition, but either Sweetie had become quite the professional, or she didn't believe it could possibly be her. She didn't react visibly in the slightest, slowly slipping away from scooter with an almost imperceptible brush of her lips across the flame-haired pony's cheek.  Twilight took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. "That would depend entirely on who that pony was." Twilight remarked quietly. "But if it is who I think it is, then yes, I would have an idea."

♪♫"Get outta here...

Get me some money too..."♪♫

Rosetta nodded as the music slowly came to its jazzy end all around them, with Sweetie Belle slowly slipping back onto the stage. "We've got to be careful. Once we've spoken to your friend there, we ought to have a more reliable time line for events. Once we have that, we'll go back to the University here and I can consult my data - and perhaps come up with a plan of action." Her eyes scanned the room for a moment. "We ought to get some local intelligence as well... and I know just the pony for it." She nodded to one side of the room - Twilight followed her gaze to a beautiful pink-coated earth pony with an elaborately coiffed mane and an elegant, almost regal sensuality to her stance. She wore a sleek burlesque style dress and mesh stocking hooves ending in heeled boots... and not for the last time today, Twilight felt a sudden and massive surge of recognition flood through her.

♪♫"Why... don't you... do right....

Like... some other colts.... do.....?"♪♫

It couldn't possibly be her. Could it?

~~~~~~The Airship "Liebe Kristall", Somewhere three hundred miles west of Manehatten~~~~~~

"Again." Commanded the smooth, sultry female voice from behind the desk. The nervous unicorn technician fiddled with the machine for a moment before the recorded video once again replayed the scene from just a half hour earlier that evening. "Incredible. Eight centuries, beloved. Eight Centuries since any pegasus was born capable of the Sonic Rainboom. Just look at her..." the mare gestured at the screen as the film zoomed in to the rainbow-maned pegasus as the white streak showed her breaking through the very air itself, detonating it in a display of power. "She is magnificent. That mane, so purely an expression of the power the pegasi command. That sleek form, so honed in its physical beauty. She is..." the mare raised her hooves up, as if in ecstasy. "She is perfect. The perfect pegasus, as I live and breathe."

"Mein Frau Fuhrerin... you will pardon my insolence." replied a black-coated unicorn, his dark eyes burning under the brim of his hat. "But that 'perfect pegasus' thwarted our plans to seize the special warehouse, and destroyed three of our Air Fortresses." He eyeballed the video disdainfully. "It is an impressive display, but she clearly is a threat to us." he growled out, his hooves gripped together behind him as he stood there upright and stiff.

The sultry mare's voice laughed disdainfully. "Are you jealous, Herr Colonel? Do you think she will supplant you in my favor?" A slow and sensual smirk crossed her face, and the unicorn Colonel flushed under her gaze. "She very well may if you continue to show such stupidity. Of course she thwarted us - she knows nothing about our righteous cause. She was led astray by that confounded Daring Do, her ears filled with lies and deceit. It is likely she was told we were a threat to her unicorn friend."

The Fuhrer waved her hoof dismissively. "It does not matter. We must have her for the cause - her perfection will birth untold foals of superior genetics, and in due time they shall all grow to be capable of that momentous feat. With a dozen Sonic Rainbooms to rain destruction upon our foes, even Celestia will have to acknowledge the truth of our belief." Her hoof slammed into the desk.  "Once she is in our hooves, we will be able to bring her around to our way of thinking. Beloved, take the dear Colonel here and... oh, a squad of your finest Stormponies. Capture the unicorn too, if you can, but the capture of that pegasus is paramount to all other goals. You must even ignore that confounded Daring Do if it means succeeding - she will be incapable of stopping us with the power of the Rainboom at our command."

The tall stallion next to her in his own black coated uniform bowed over her hoof, kissing it gently. "Jawohl. Your wish is my command, Beloved. Colonel Stahl." He snapped a moment later, and the other Unicorn snapped to an even stiffer attention. "Inform Lady Butterfly that we have an assignment. I shall meet you down in Bay Six in one hour."

The unicorn snapped his hoof up in salute. "Jawohl, Commandant." He replied, and quickly trotted out of the command room. The other two ponies behind the desk glanced at each other with a smoky smile and the technician pony quickly evacuated the room as the movie clearly showing Rainbow Dash's feat played over and over on the screen on the wall.

He would rather not be in there when the Fuhrerin's lust was up.

~~~~~A dark office, somewhere in Manehatten~~~~~~

"I don't care what they did. I don't care what you saw. I don't care what he offered you. I do. Not. Give. A. Fuck if Celestia herself walked up to you and gave you a discord-damned happy ending!" A pair of hooves slammed into the cheap wooden desk, and the dozen or so huge earth ponies on the other side of it winced away. "You do NOT take jobs from ponies like bucking Doctor Negative without consulting me! You do NOT fuck up said jobs, and then come to me asking what you should do cuz you're afraid he's gonna turn you into zombies!  And worst of all, you DO NOT get Daring Fucking Do involved by not knowing how to keep your damn traps shut!"

One of the earth pony thugs tried to open his mouth and a moment later a pair of iron-shod hoofboots collided with his face and sent him crashing into the wall behind him. "No excuses! Do any of you dirt for brains know what I'm gonna hafta do to smooth this over? How many bits it's gonna cost the family?" The hooves slammed into the desk again. "You realize I'm gonna hafta explain this to Granny, right? I'm gonna hafta explain this to our investors? That I'm gonna hafta call Daring Do into one of my own damned offices and apologize because you cider-addled idiots made me break my word about staying out of her way?"

That got a scared, terrified look on the faces of all the mooks standing across the desk from the Boss, who looked about ready to send them all to the bottom of the river wearing concrete hoofboots. "So this is what yer gonna do. You boys are gonna go find Daring Do and tell her I want a meeting at The Macintosh Club tomorrow for lunch. Tell 'er I am personally guaranteein' her safety from now until midnight tomorrow. An' then you, an every other member of your crew - an' that means goin an' explainin to Caramel why you shitheads aren't gettin any sleep until tomorrow night - are gon' go and make fucking sure that nopony brings so much as a shred of harm onto Daring Do or any of 'er friends heads until I've had a chance to explain the situation. Do I make myself one hundred per'cent fucking clear?"

The goon squad all nodded repeatedly, and then piled out of the small dark office as fast as their hooves could take them... leaving the pony behind the desk and one other, leaning against the wall by the door.  The mare beside the door shoved herself off the wall and walked slowly across the room. "The Doc ain't gonna like this, Sis." She remarked quietly as she rounded the desk to lean onto the chair the other mare was sitting in. "They probably ain't the only crew he's got wrapped around his hoof.  Ain't gonna be terribly obvious who we can trust. Mebbe we ought'a think 'bout helping out old pith helmet with this problem?" She suggested, tilting her head so her deeply colored mane shone in the dim light of the office.

The mare behind the desk blew out a sigh and nodded. "I reckon you might be right." She paused for a moment. "Put a kit together and go see what you can scrounge up about the Doc's movements. We're gonna need a peace offerin' anyway." The mare leaned back into her chair and rubbed at her eyes. "Buck my life. Neighzi's horning in on our territory, the Doc doin some kind of insane experiments and kidnapping fucking nobles and celebrities, a fucking Sonic Rainboom over the bay, and now Daring Do is gonna have me by the little apples for this disaster. What the buck else could go wrong?"

~~~~~~~The Blue Note~~~~~~~

Rainbow Dash needed to force herself to focus on things that had nothing to do with pretty mares before she started blurting out very embarrassing things to Twilight. Luckily, Daring had been extremely eager to engage in conversation regarding their next moves once they'd had a chance to talk to Sweetie Belle. Twilight and Rosetta appeared to be deep in conversation about the mechanics of what had happened, which meant Dash could focus herself entirely on the action. Which was good, because Dash really had no freakin clue about how they'd gotten here, or what the deal with that portal was.

Besides, there were bigger and more important things to deal with. Like trying to get a meeting with Sweetie Belle, and then trying to figure out how to rescue Rarity. Well. First they had to find Rarity, and then they had to rescue her, and then they had to get home. The last part was the only thing Dash was a little sticky on at the moment - She was otherwise confident that they could find and save Rarity from whatever horrible fate the sinister Doctor Negative had her trapped in. Daring was chewing at her lip though, as though she was thinking of something complicated and problematic. "Hey, Dash - can you describe your friend Rarity to me? Like, what does she look like, her cutie mark, personality?" Daring asked, a look of cunning across her face.

Dash blinked and nodded a little. "Sure, Rarity's pretty easy. She's got a white coat and this blueish-purplish mane she always keeps super well styled. She's got a cutie mark of three blue gems and she's a unicorn. Personality... well, she's super girly." She remarked, with a soft kind of chuckle. "And super snobby, but she's not the jerk kind of snobby. She's really into fashion and being all high-brow and stuff like that, but she's also really nice. She makes fancy dresses and clothes for ponies as a job, and she's really good at it. She's not greedy or anything though, even if her special talent is finding gems." Dash finished a little casually, proud of her rather succinct description.

Daring appeared to be deep in thought and nodded slowly, muttering softly under her breath for a moment before speaking. "Yeah, things are starting to make sense now." she replied somewhat cryptically, but before Dash could comment she perked her ears up and sat up a bit straighter. "We're about to have company, Dash. Whatever you do, don't let yourself get talked into signing or doing anything unless I give you the OK."  She said quickly and in a hushed tone of voice, before putting on a lazily confident expression.

Dash blinked at that one, and turned to follow Daring's gaze... which just so happened to bring her face to face with a pair of baby blue eyes and a slow smile. "Well well... what do we have here?" said the mare right in front of her in a whisper-soft voice. Dash found herself unable to move, unable to even breathe for a moment as her mind processed the sudden invasion of her space by this strange pony. A soft, slinky chuckle came from the pony, who backed up a little to show her pink coat and white and pink streaked mane. "Bluebell was right, you really are quite the cutie Miss Rainbow Dash." The pink mare said with a sensual sort of smile.

Dash felt Daring's hoof grabbing her shoulder and dragging her further into the booth. "Go easy on her, Miss Kitty. She's had a rough night." Daring said in a smooth but warning tone of voice, which elicited a slow and sexy sort of chuckle out of the pony she'd called Miss Kitty. "You're not going to be adding her to your little stable, so give over." She said in a lazy way, but Dash could feel the extra-firm grip on her shoulder choking off any objections to the treatment. Obviously, something else was going on here.

Miss Kitty gave off a tittering laugh before leaning lazily against the table, her long pink tail flicking at Scooter's chin and slowly dragging its tip down her neck. "Aw, you're always such a spoilsport Daring. She looks like she really needs to unwind a little, you know?" She winked a little, then shifted her stance and turned her eyes towards Rosetta. "A little bird tells me you girls wanted to talk about something. What can Miss Kitty do for you lovely fillies tonight?" She queried, her eyes ranging slowly over Twilight as she spoke.

Dash, now finally released from that piercing blue gaze, shook away her paralysis and wondered why the buck this mare looked so dang familiar. She rubbed her chin a little and ran her eyes over to the door of the club.... she wasn't quite sure what it was, but something was triggering her flight instincts. She was getting nervous for no obvious reason, and she wasn't quite sure why... worse still, the nervousness was ruffling her feathers a little.

How weird, that never happens to me... am I getting paranoid or something? Dash thought, as Rosetta spoke up in tones of pure business. "We'd like to speak to Sweetie Belle, Kitty. And I'd like to ask you a few questions about the word on the streets tonight." She said smoothly, nodding to Dash and Twilight. "These two are friends of hers from back home." She noted, with a soft smile. "Which you probably already knew, given that she saw them here during her last big number."

Miss Kitty was still smiling, but something about her body language became much more... predatory. "Well I did notice my little Sweetie recognizing these two little ponies here." she said smoothly. Maybe not predatory, Dash thought after a few moments. More like... protective? That was odd. A little encouraging, in that it probably meant she cared about Sweetie Belle, but dangerous since it meant she might not be inclined to let them get close to her. Dash had been hoping they could get Sweetie without a problem and move on to the tougher stuff... but it wasn't looking likely.  "Still, Bluebell seems to like them... But I can hardly let them backstage without a little quid pro quo, Rosie." Kitty said with a little pout on her face.

Rosetta smiled slowly. "How about I tell you that these two mares are helping us try to bring down Doctor Negative once and for all?" She said with a sly sort of confidence, Kitty's tail going suddenly rigid - even though the expression on her face didn't change. "More importantly, how about I tell you that they might just have the lead we need to finally track him down." She continued, tapping her hoof confidently on the table.

Miss Kitty went silent for a few moments, then nodded a little. "You always were a smart cookie, Rosie." She sighed extravagantly. "Come on then, I'll take you to the back room. We gotta discuss a few things before we do this." She swished her tail and slowly sauntered off into the club, the whole group of them piling out of the booth to follow.

~~~~~~~~~~~

They slipped through a discreet door at one side of the club, and slowly walked back through a labyrinth of hallways and rooms into the depths of The Blue Note's backstage. Dash was left with Twilight while Scooter hung out near the back door to the place, and Daring and Rosetta went off to discuss something in a locked office. For the first time since they'd arrived in this strange world, Dash was alone with Twilight.  "Hey Twi..." Dash said softly, looking over to her dearest friend with the ghost of a confident smile. "You holding up okay?" She asked, reaching out with a hoof to her.

Twilight took it almost without thinking, and squeezed firmly. "I think so, Dash. I just..." Twilight began, hesitating for a moment over some thought before continuing. "Dash do you realize how much trouble we could be in?" She whispered softly, her grip on Dash's hoof becoming far stronger. "We've got no idea how we're going to get home.. Rarity could be almost anywhere. We've got no money, no real resources, no home. I don't know what we're going to do when this is over and.. and..." She was slowly coming apart at the seams, and Dash knew that look. Twilight was about to have one of her emotional freak outs.

Dash couldn't let that happen. So she - perhaps bravely, perhaps suicidally, perhaps just... because she was Dash... grabbed Twilight's chin and gently turned it to face her. She moved in quickly to grab Twilight's other hoof and spoke in a quiet, confident tone. "It's gonna be okay, Twi. We'll figure something out." She winked at Twilight, trying to convey some of her strength through her gripping hooves. "So long as we stick together, there isn't anything we can't do." She said with one of her best cheesy grins. "I know that's kinda stupid sounding..." She admitted, and was startled when Twilight's face turned into a slightly tear filled smile.

"Not stupid at all, Dash." She whispered, and the pair of them stood there like that - holding each other’s hooves in that quiet backstage hallway for an amount of time Dash would never be able to fully recall. Twilight bit at her lip and spoke again a moment later. "I'm sorry I was so dismissive of you earlier, Dash. I shouldn't have disrespected something you felt so passionately about." She said softly. "I was... I just... It's hard sometimes, you know?" She said, with that little shy smile of hers. "To figure out all the things I'm feeling, figure out all the things I want to say and how to say them right."

Dash swallowed a thick lump in her throat and forced a gentle kind of smile onto her own face. "Y-yeah, well... you're not the only pony who's got that problem, Twi." She said, her voice unintentionally much softer than it should have been. "Twi... I um... I wanted to ask you something." Dash said in a rush, feeling her heart pounding firmly in her chest over and over again. Twilight looked up curiously at her, wiping the tears in her eyes away with the back of her hoof. "Twi, do you..." Dash began...

Only to be suddenly and very firmly interrupted by the slam of the doorway next to them - sending both her and Twilight leaping up from the shock and then suddenly sprawled out on the floor - with Twilight very conspicuously atop Dash with her hooves awkwardly wrapped around Rainbow Dash's neck - their lips just a hairs breadth away from one another. For a moment, they just stared at one another - with Dash hesitantly moving her head up to close that distance between them... and then Twilight vanished in a poof of purple magic, only to reappear fully upright and leaving Dash sprawled out on the ground.

Miss Kitty sashayed out of her office and gave Dash an amused glance. "Really, dear. You ought to consider letting me find you some... relaxing company for the evening." She said in a soft tone, one that Dash suspected was just meant for her. "Those poor wings could certainly use a massage, don't you think?" She added saucily, and then swayed past Dash in such a way that her tail flicked under Dash's chin.... which was the point at which Dash noticed her wings had fully flared out and were very, very stiff indeed.

It was only through pure force of will that she managed to fold them back down by the time Daring, Scooter and Rosette exited the office. “C’mon kiddo - On your hooves." Daring said quietly. "We've got a meeting with your friend, and we've got some important new information too. Seems like we might still be in for some trouble tonight."