OTR: Haven Stationby The King of HeartsChaptersPreludeArrivalA Visit, and a TourPassing the TimeOne DownLooming TroubleComplicationsSnoopingEscapingCapturedAwakeningFinalePrelude//// Haven Station: Prelude //// The air was refreshing as Twilight and all of her friends exited the train car, stepping into Canterlot, the Royal city of Equestria. They had been asked here by Princess Celestia, regarding some form of good will mission. They had been informed very little, and were somewhat anxious to learn what they were to do. “What do you think the Princess wants to send us?” Spike asked anypony who would listen. “For the millionth time, Spike,” Twilight sighed, annoyed, “I don’t know.” “I hope it’s to some kind of party!” Pinkie shouted, rather characteristically of her. “Somehow I doubt that,” Rainbow Dash laughed, stepping closer to Alex as he also exited the train, “But we can always keep our hooves crossed!” “Hooves crossed?” Twilight asked, not understanding the meaning, “What does that even mean?” “It’s an expression from my world,” Alex explained, “I say it sometimes, even though nopony here uses it… Dash just caught on.” “Crossing hooves is good luck on earth?” Twilight inquired, looking back to him. “Well, not quite,” Alex laughed, “It’s crossing FINGERS… I’d ask Spike to demonstrate, but… Well, he’s a pony now.” Laughing, Twilight looked forward and smiled, “It’s nice to be home like this.” “Oh, right.” Fluttershy spoke up, “I keep forgetting that you’re from Canterlot.” “Yup,” She smiled, “The house I grew up in is just down that road.” Everypony followed her hoof, and looked down the road she was gesturing to. They weren’t really sure what they were looking for, but all pretended they saw it, so they wouldn’t be the odd pony out. “It’s a lovely house,” Alex nodded, “An eight out of ten, if you ask me.” “I just love the roof, dear,” Rarity agreed. “Me too!” Applejack nodded rapidly, afraid she had missed it. Twilight just shook her head as they continued up the main street toward Canterlot Castle. The house was WELL out of view. “What else don’t we know about you?” Dash asked. “Ah’d like tuh hear a few things, mah-self!” Applejack agreed. Twilight scratched her head, what else didn’t her friends know about her? She was pretty open most of the time… Had she mentioned that her brother was the Captain of the Royal guard? Maybe not. “I told you guys that my brother was the Captain of the Royal guard, right?” Twilight asked, looking back to them. “What?!” Everypony shouted at once. “Oh, did I forget to tell you guys that?” She asked, “Well, it’s true! My brother is—“ “You have a brother?!” They all said again. “What?” Twilight asked, “You guys didn’t know that?” “You’ve never mentioned him!” Pinkie said, “I wanna meet him!” “Me too!” Applejack agreed, “Ah just might take a pass at ‘em!” “Woah!” Twilight said, turning around, “Hoofs off!” “Dang!” Pinkie added, “So much for my plan to ask him out.” “Wha-“ Twilight began. “I guess I’ll keep it in my pants, Twilight.” Fluttershy giggled, as the whole crowd erupted in laughter. Well, the whole crowd MINUS Twilight. Finally reaching the gates, the girls were greeted with two lines of Royal guards with a carpet between them, at the end of which, stood a white stallion, with a dually blue colored mane. “Shining Armor!” Twilight called, running down the carpet. “Twily!” He called, running toward her himself. The two embraced, smiling happily. “It’s been so long!” She said, still in the hug. “Too long,” He smiled, pulling away from her, and looking behind her, “These must be your friends!” They all smiled and waved. “Good lookin’ colt,” Applejack whispered to Rarity. She simply nodded in reply. “I hope Twilight hasn’t made me sound TOO bad when she’s talked about me before,” He joked with them. “Actually, Twilight hasn’t—” Alex began, before Dash nudged him in the side. “She’s made you out to be LOVELY,” Rarity laughed nervously. “Good to hear,” He smiled, “Come on, I’ll take you all to the Princess.” Following his lead, the nine of them walked up the grand staircase in the lobby of the castle, and walked through two of the biggest doors any of them had seen. Through them, was another lobby sort-of room, with several chairs, for ponies that were waiting their turns to speak with Luna or Celestia. Walking through the large archway, they entered the throne room, a place that filled Twilight with nostalgia, even though she had spent almost every day here a year ago. “Wow...” Rarity said quietly, “It’s so… extravagant.” “You can say that again!” Applejack agreed, never having seen such a beautifully decorated and purely colored room before. It was a little overwhelming. “Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia smiled, “It’s good to see you, and your friends again!” “Princess,” Twilight smiled, “It’s great to see you too.” “Wonderful,” She smiled, “And how is everypony else doing?” The group all called their answers at once, giving her a pretty good understanding of their general happiness at the moment. “I’m very happy to hear that,” She said, “Now, on to the matter at hoof.” “Yes, Princess?” Twilight asked. “I have personally been asked to invite the Bearers of The Elements of Harmony, to a resort on the edge of Equestrian territory, where you all will all be staying for a week, as guests.” Celestia explained. “Guests of whom?” Rarity asked. “A group of ponies that separated from Equestria many years ago, rejecting me as their ruler,” Celestia explained, “However, with the passage of time, they have come to accept that there is no reason that there should be any animosity between our people.” “I remember reading about them!” Twilight spoke up, “There were quite a few of them, if I recall.” Celestia nodded, “They have made themselves their own society that was built on democracy, something I have nothing but respect for.” “And… They want to pamper US as a sign of peace?” Alex asked. “Indeed,” Celestia nodded, “After hearing of your heroics, in defeating Night Mare Moon, they wanted to thank you themselves.” “Well, I know I’m down!” Alex laughed. “Me too!” Spike agreed. “I’ll bet we’ll have so much fun!” Pinkie smiled. “Where are we being sent, exactly?” Twilight asked. “It’s a resort called Haven Station,” Celestia said, “It’s beyond the badlands to the south.” Twilight cocked her head, “I’ve never heard of a ‘Haven Station,’ before.” “It’s only just finished construction,” Celestia explained, “They plan on using it to get tourists, and get some money into their economy.” “What kind of stuff does this ‘Resort’ have?” Dash asked. “Let me see…” Celestia said, levitating the pamphlet up to her face, “There are shopping malls, several pools, an entire athletic center, massage parlors, a zoo, restaurants, movie theaters, a video arcade, and one of the largest libraries in Equestria.” Everypony was slack-jawed. “Well…” Rarity breathlessly, “I don’t mind missing out on Photo Finish now…” “It sounds quite enticing…” Celestia admitted, giggling at the girls reactions, “I’ll have to book a time to stay there myself.” “Sounds good to me!” Dash laughed, “When do we leave?” “You all brought your belongings I hope?” Celestia asked. “We left them on the train… But yeah,” Twilight said. “Perfect, Shining Armor,” Celestia gestured, as he stepped forward, “Please have their bags moved from the Ponyville express, to the new line.” “Right away, your majesty,” He bowed, “Walking out of the room.” “New line?” Twilight asked, “You built a whole new railway just to go there?” “Of course not,” Celestia laughed, “The new track merges with the present one, we just built the new one to hold the new, faster train.” “Fast train?” Applejack asked, “Sounds excitin’!” “I’m sure it will be,” Celestia smiled, “It moves over three times faster than the one you arrived on.” “Well, the badlands are well beyond Appleoosa, right?” Twilight surmised, “So we probably NEED a fast ride.” “It would be a four day trip otherwise,” Celestia explained, “Now, it’s only a little over one.” “We’ll be past Appaloosa real quick then?” Applejack asked, “Ah hope they don’t mind me missin’ out on my trip there…” “After your trip, you could always stop in,” Celestia offered, “We’re simply on a schedule for tomorrow, so we wouldn’t have time.” “Of course, Princess!” Applejack smiled, “Thank ya’ kindly!” “Now, if everypony would follow me,” Celestia said, standing up, “I’ll take you to the bullet train.” //// “Woah…” Dash said in awe, looking at their sleek, silver transportation. “It looks so… new,” Fluttershy said, almost blinded by the reflecting sunlight, “I wonder how it looks inside.” “Only one way to find out,” Celestia smiled. All stepping aboard, they were surprised to see a rather normal looking interior… It was almost a complete copy of the usual trains they would ride in. “I expected more… shiny-ness.” Alex said, “This is pretty standard issue.” “Sorry to let you down,” Celestia laughed, “But at least you know nothing was sacrificed.” “Here… Are the… Bags… Your M-Majesty.” Shining Armor panted, having all the massive bags levitated around him. “Wonderful,” Celestia said, taking one bag at a time, and placing it next to each individual bed, until they were all placed, “I guess you’re all ready to go now, yes?” “I guess so,” Twilight said, “I was kinda hoping to spend some more time with you and Shining Armor…” “I’d love for that myself,” Celestia admitted, “But we have a very tight schedule to keep. I promise, when you get back, we can spend as much time together as you please.” Sighing, Twilight nodded and smiled, “I guess I can live with that.” “I promise,” Shining spoke up, “You won’t be missing me when you’re being massaged, or reading in that massive library.” “I guess that’s true,” Twilight giggled, as the train whistles sounded. “Well, that’s our cue,” Celestia said, stepping beside her Captain, next to the door, “I hope you all enjoy your stay there.” “I’m sure we will!” Rarity laughed. “Thanks for giving us the chance to go!” Pinkie smiled. “It’s no trouble,” Celestia smiled, as she stepped out the door, “Enjoy the trip.” “I’ll see you in a week big brother!” Twilight said, as the metal doors closed, separating them from the Princess and Shining Armor. Everypony chatted idly as they all moved to the seats Celestia had placed their luggage next to, and settled down. “Is everypony comfortable?” The conductor asked, walking from the front of the car. “Sure am!” Alex said, as everypony else followed suit. “Great,” He said, “We’ll be departing soon, and I’ll have to ask that you all buckle into your seats.” “Buckle in?” Spike asked, looking to is side, and seeing a seatbelt attached to his chair. “This train gets goin’ pretty fast,” The Conductor explained, “You just need to stay buckled, until we’re up to speed.” Generally accepting his explanation, everypony sat down, and attached their buckles. The conductor walked out of the room, and roared the engine to life. It didn’t sound like your usual steam engine. It had more of a ‘humming’ sound to it. It was much quieter, but somehow felt stronger. “Alright everypony!” the Conductor called over the PA system, “Hold on tight! Next stop, Haven Station!” The train kicked to life, and rapidly accelerated to top speed, forcing everypony backward into their seats. “W-why do we need th-these seatbelts?” Alex stammered, shouting over the now deafening humming coming from the engine, unbuckling himself and pushing it away, “I don’t think I’m going anywhere without it!” Suddenly the train lurched, and rapid decelerated, throwing everypony forward into their seat belts, and sending Alex flying into the wall at the other end of the train car, followed by him falling on his back, facing upward. “Sounds like somepony took off their belt!” The conductor laughed over the PA, “You’re free to walk around the cabin now.” Everypony got up, and quickly ran to Alex to make sure he was okay. “Are you okay?!” Dash asked. Alex laughed embarrassedly, coughing in pain, “Boy, did I just pick a patch of Oopsie Daisies.” //// Arrival//// Arrival //// “Alright everypony!” The conductor called, “Buckle in, we’ve going to be slowin’ down right quick!” Not one to be the fool twice, Alex ran to his seat and strapped himself in. He wasn’t going to be flying across the cabin a second time. The pain had JUST subsided. Everypony laughed passingly at his fear of deceleration as they all got to their seats and buckled in. “Stay put this time, Alex.” Dash laughed. “Don’t worry about me,” Alex said, leaning back in his chair, trying to keep himself from being thrown forward. Twilight shifted uncomfortably. She hated sitting on her rump this way. It felt so strange. Of course, to Alex and Spike, this was totally normal, as they would sit this way all the time. But, that made sense as they had sat that way for most of their lives. “Alright everypony!” The Conductor announced, “Here we go!” The steady humming of the engine was replaced by the deafening screech of the breaks, as everypony was thrown into their seatbelts as they rapidly decelerated. Spike grunted, this was actually a rather painful experience… Having all of his weight being pushed into the crossed belts across his chest. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the train came to a complete stop, and the force behind them subsided, leaving them all hanging forward against the safety belts. Sighing and falling back, Pinkie frowned, “That was NOT fun.” “Ah’m with ya’ on that one,” Applejack agreed. “Why don’t they fix that?” Alex asked. “This train is- is so new, that it doesn’t have comfortable safety features… Just ones that work.” Twilight breathed heavily. “Alright, off ya’ get!” The conductor said, stepping out from the front of the train, “Your hosts are waiting for you!” “How are you so… okay?” Alex asked, eyeing him suspiciously, “Everypony here can barely stand!” “I’m used to it,” He shrugged. “Fair enough,” Alex panted, removing the buckle, and falling on the floor. Twilight shakily stood up, and helped her friends up one by one. She REALLY wasn’t looking forward to the trip back. //// “You’ve arrived at: Haven Station.” A voice announced over the intercom, “Please enjoy your stay.” By the time they got their luggage ready to go, and exited the train, the sun was already starting to set. Something they were all grateful for, as sleep was something they had been somewhat deprived of on the train ride here. Not that the train had anything to do with it… They had all just been absorbed into a conversation for much longer than they had expected. “Hello, everypony,” A manly, nicely dressed, yellow Pegasus said, approaching them from the main entrance to the staggeringly large building in front of them, “I’d like to personally welcome you to Haven Station.” “It’s super-nice to be here!” Pinkie said, instantly recovering from her fatigue, “Would you like to be my friend?” “Cool it, Pinkie,” Twilight laughed, “It’s nice to meet you, Mister…?” “Alpha,” He answered, extending a hoof, “You must be Twilight Sparkle.” “Well, Alpha,” Twilight said, shaking it, “These are my friends: Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Alex, and Rainbow Dash.” “Heya,” Alex said nonchalantly, looking around the area. “Thank you for the invitation to stay here,” Fluttershy said, “It’s just lovely here.” “Thank you,” Alpha said, “We take great pride in our work here.” “So, where are the rooms?” Dash yawned, stretching her wings out, “I’m frickin’ tired.” “Rainbow Dash!” Rarity scolded, “Show a little more respect!” “It’s quite alright, Miss Rarity,” Alpha said, “I can see that you and your friends are tired. I’ll show you to your rooms.” “Now we’re talkin’!” Applejack said, happy that she could get some real shut-eye. As they walked into the lobby entrance to the resort, they were in awe of the layout of the room, and the colors it used to stand out even further. Directly in front of them, on the opposite wall, was the exit into the internal courtyard, where they were able to go shopping, see a movie, or read a book, depending on which section of the resort they went to. On either side of the exit to the courtyard, were two curved staircases that met in an arch above the exit, and wrapped around the lobby leading off into different hallways, where everypony’s rooms were located. The walls and carpets were all decorated in the color gold, while the hardwood kept its original color, matching perfectly, while the light fixtures were all perfectly white, giving the entire room a look of immense wealth. “It’s all so… wow…” Rarity said, her eyes wide in admiration. “I agree,” Alpha laughed, “Some would say opulence is a sin… Everypony here would disagree.” “Is everything here gold?” Fluttershy asked, still dazzled. “Not everything,” He smiled, “But a good chunk sure is.” “I love it here!” Spike said, “I feel so rich!” Alex was impressed himself, this room beat out the throne room in Canterlot by a mile. “Most of the staff has already gone home for the night,” Alpha said, “But they’ll be back first thing in the morning to make everypony breakfast.” “No dinner?” Spike whined. “I didn’t say that,” Alpha grinned, “Please follow me.” //// “Oh my glob…” Spike said, his mouth hanging open, “Look at this spread!” Alpha had just led them to the common room that they would all be sharing on the second floor. It offered a great view of either side of the building. The internal courtyard, where they were able to see a few stray ponies entering and exiting various sections of the complex, and the external compound, where they could see sprawling lake that reflected the setting sun beautifully. Inside the room, was a large table, large enough to sit the group of them. Beside it, was a collection of couches and chairs, where they would be able to relax and converse with one another. On the opposite side of the entrance to the room, was a large door that led to a hallway, with ten doors in it. Each one with a room inside it. “I had this meal made specifically made for you and your friends,” Alpha said, “You’ll find each of your favorite foods here.” Alex gave him an odd look… That was a bit weird. How did he know that? Maybe Celestia told him. Accepting that answer, he jumped to the large pile of pasta in front of him and went to town. “So,” Twilight said to Alpha, attempting to make small talk, “What kind of name is Alpha?” “I’m the day-to-day manager of Haven and it’s staff,” Alpha explained, “Alpha is more of a… designation.” “Do you have another name?” Twilight asked. “That’s private,” He said confusingly, “Simple etiquette in my culture.” “Alright,” Twilight said, accepting the answer, since she had no idea how these ponies operated, “I’m sorry if I was insensitive.” “No problem,” He said, leaning in to her ear, “Maybe if we get to know each other a bit better, I’ll tell you.” Twilight blushed and backed away, she wasn’t used to being hit on! “You all may choose whichever room you wish,” Alpha announced, stepping away from Twilight, “The remainder of the food will be removed once everypony is settled in for the night.” “Thanks!” They all chimed in. “No problem,” He smiled, “Tomorrow at noon, we’ll discuss the spa and conditioning procedures.” Rarity sighed happily, “I simply can’t wait!” “I’ll see everypony tomorrow, bright and early!” He said to them as he opened the door they had all just come in from, “Have a good night.” “We will,” Twilight said as he walked out the door, and closed it behind him. “Well!” Dash announced, “I’m ready for bed!” “Me too!” Alex said instantly as everypony gave them suspicious looks. “What?” Dash asked. “Going to bed at the same time, I see.” Rarity giggled. “It’s not like that!” Dash insisted, “I just want to make sure he’s there to sleep with!” Before anypony had a chance to make fun of her, Alex quickly jumped up, “We’re still not feeling too good about the whole Luna and Bolt situation! It helps to have somepony to sleep with…” The room silenced. “Goodnight,” Alex said, walking through the grand door with Dash. “Well that ruined the mood…” Pinkie said, reaching into her luggage, “Good thing I brought a cake in case that happened!” “’Cheer up, Everypony,’” Twilight read on the cake, “Well, Pinkie, nopony can say you’re an ill prepared pony.” “They sure can’t, Twilight!” //// A Visit, and a Tour//// A Visit, and a Tour //// Everypony collected in the lobby, after finishing their breakfast. They were anxiously waiting for what was coming next during their stay at the station. However, they were still waiting on Dash and Alex. The two had a tendency to spend ALL their time together, and it could be a tad annoying every now and then. Still, if they were too busy snogging to go on the official tour, that was their fault. The idle chat between everypony quickly silenced as Alpha walked out from behind the front desk. “I hope everypony had a good night’s rest,” Alpha said to the ponies assembled in front of him, “I hope you all enjoyed… Are we missing somepony?” “Alex and Rainbow Dash,” Twilight spoke up, “They’re probably just… Enjoying one another’s company.” “Right,” He laughed, turning to the courtyard, “We’ll start without them.” “Oh, before we start,” Twilight said, having him look back at her, “Who’s the owner of this place? I wanted to thank them on behalf of Princess Celestia.” “The owner?” Alpha asked, getting an odd look on his face, “I honestly have no idea.” “You don’t know yer’ boss?” Applejack asked. Alpha shook his head, “A few weeks ago, somepony bought the whole place off the old owner… Nopony’s ever met them.” “They just bought it?” Rarity asked in surprise, “An establishment like this would have quite the price tag.” “No kidding,” Alpha agreed, turning to Twilight and winking, “It’s almost ominous, huh?” “Almost,” Twilight said, walking past him, “Come on, let’s go!” //// “We should get up,” Dash mumbled, “Everypony left so long ago…” Alex smiled and pulled her closer to him, with the arms wrapped around her, “Sucks to be them. They’re off doing stuff, and we’re here, still asleep!” “Can’t argue with that,” She said into his chest, closing her eyes once again. The peaceful silence between them was fantastic, as they simply relaxed together, with no worries about obligations, or anything otherwise. Still, to Dash, this was an opportune moment to discuss something with Alex that she had been putting off for some time. “Alex… About that other guy…” She said, rather unsure of herself. “What other guy?!” Alex asked, shooting up, “I’ll be nicer! I promise!” “No, no no,” Dash said, a bit stunned at his sudden sit up, “I’m talking about Dax.” His expression went from one of humor, to seriousness. “Look,” She said, not wanting to upset him, “I just think that he needs to be discussed.” “Look, Colors,” Alex said, avoiding eye contact with her, “Dax is... Not me.” “That’s not true,” She said, leaning forward, “He might be scary, and totally different from you… But he still IS you.” Alex suddenly looked like he was concentrating hard on something, and Dash had no idea what it was. “Are you okay, Alex?” She asked. Closing his eyes, he exhaled deeply, before finally speaking up. “I’m just fine, sweet cheeks.” “Crap…” Dash said, completely forgetting that this could happen. “Trying to talk me up to the big man?” Dax asked, opening his eyes, revealing the glowing green irises, “How sweet of you.” “I’m trying to have a serious conversation with Alex!” Dash said, a bit disturbed that she was able to have a normal conversation with his alter ego like this, “You’re not helping things.” “It’s no fair that he gets to spend so much time with you,” Dax pouted, “I like you just as much.” “Please, Dax?” She asked. “Just… One second…” He said, leaning in uncomfortably close, and wrapping his arms around her. Dash was frozen in place. It felt EXACTLY like a hug from Alex… But it wasn’t from him… Well, it WAS from him, but it was from a different part of him. Suddenly, she felt something wet land on her back and run a small trail from her shoulder to her spine. “That’s enough hugging!” She shouted, shoving him back on to the bed. “Crap… he did it again,” He sighed, looking up and revealing his normal, blue eyes. “Alex…” Dash said, seeing the source of the wet spot on her back, “Was he crying?” “I don’t know,” Alex said, still collecting himself, “And I don’t care.” Staying silent, Dash decided to end the line of conversation. It was a sensitive place, and she didn’t want to push him too fast into accepting Dax as a part of him. Really, she couldn’t blame him either. Dax was a jerk. He seemed to be the polar opposite of Alex, and his Element of Harmony: Selflessness. “Let’s catch up with the group,” Alex said, avoiding eye contact with her, “I don’t want to miss anything…” The truth was, Alex felt vulnerable. This wasn’t something he ever had to worry about before in his life… It was truly terrible, being in such a weak position, that his body could be hijacked at any given time and used against his will. Sure, he acted normal around everypony after these episodes with Dax, but it was a trying experience, and he often felt like he would break down after he was given control back. “Sure,” Dash said softly, seeing the internal conflict he was having, “Let’s go.” //// “-And finally,” Alpha said, gesturing to a large, white building behind him, that was in the center of the station, “Our salon, and conditioning center.” “Can we go inside?!” Pinkie asked, jumping up and down. “Not yet,” Alpha said laughed at her energy, “We like your first appointment to be as powerful as possible, so your first time in, will be on your first appointment.” “When will we be having those again?” Rarity asked, leaning forward, hoping she could go in right away. “This afternoon will be the first appointment,” Alpha said to her, “It’s only one at a time, however, so pick between you who will go first, and they’ll come back in a few hours.” Rarity looked back to her friends, and gave them the biggest set of eyes that she possibly could. “Ah’ think ah’ should go first!” Applejack joked. “I think Applejack should go first too,” Twilight giggled. “Me too!” Spike chimed in as Rarity shot him the coldest look she possibly could. “Uh… I take it back…” Spike returned quickly. “You can go first, Rarity,” Fluttershy said, “We’ll all get our turn eventually.” “Not me!” Spike said, “I’ll be just fine the way I am!” “And of course, that’s your choice,” Alpha said politely, “Somepony else can go twice, in your place.” Spike knew whom THAT was going to be. “Well… Now that we’re finished with the tour,” Alpha said, looking across the group, “You’re all free to do as you please.” “I’m going shop-ing!” Rarity said in a sing-song voice, “You coming, Spike?” “Of course!” Spike said happily, trotting off with his marefriend. “What is everypony else going to do?” Twilight asked her remaining friends. “Ah’m goin’ tuh visit the food court!” Applejack said, “Ah’m famished!” “Oooh!” Pinkie said, jumping in front of her, “Can I come with?” “Sure!” Applejack said, “You hungry too?” “Thanks!” She beamed, “And no, I just need to pee!” “Thanks for sharing…” Twilight said sighed, “What about you, Fluttershy?” “Um… I think I’m going to visit the zoo,” She said, looking at the cylindrical building just outside the compound that held the atrium, and the zoo. “Would you mind if I tagged along?” Twilight asked, “It would be nice to be in a relaxing place for a while.” “Sure!” Fluttershy smiled, “I’m always happy to have some company!” “Great,” Twilight smiled, “I’ll see you two at the room!” “Sure thing!” Pinkie smiled, jumping up and down with her hind legs crossed. “See y’all in a bit!” Applejack called as she and Pinkie headed off toward the fast-food portion of the mall. “Have fun!” Twilight called back, as her and Fluttershy went off on their own, eager to relax, and enjoy their vacation. //// Passing the Time//// Passing the Time //// Rarity and Spike walked down the open mall, window shopping as they traveled. Ever since Rarity had called first dibs on the spa and conditioning treatment, she had been simply giddy. Something that Spike had noticed, and decided to take advantage of since he knew he could get away with a little more when she was in a good mood. “Oh!” Rarity said, eyeing a fancy hat within one of the countless boutiques, “One moment, Spike!” As Rarity ran inside, Spike waited patiently in the main section of the mall and scanned his surroundings. Was there a store he would be interested in? Finishing his check on his right, he frowned. The name of every store was either something incredibly unappealing to him, or was written in French… Which was also unappealing. But, it looked fancier somehow. Looking to his left, there was little different. There was a toy store, a plus size mare’s clothing store, and an outlet selling fancy suits. That would have been somewhat appealing to him, had he not already had matching tuxes with Alex. However, there was one more store at the end of the mall, with a blinking sign. Squinting, he was barely able to make out the word written on the flashing display. “Arr… Ca… De?” Spike slowly read, before getting the entire word at once, “Arcade!” “Would you carry this please, Spike?” Rarity asked, levitating the hat into his saddle bad, and gently placing it in the main section, “Please be careful with—“ “Can we go to the arcade?!” Spike asked, turning his face to Rarity. “Umm…” Rarity said scratching her head, “The… Arcade…” “Yeah!” Spike said enthusiastically, seeing he clear lack of interest in the option, “It’s supposed to be huge!” “I’m not sure that an arcade is a place for a lady, Spike,” Rarity said firmly, hoping he would simply buy that. “Come on, Rarity!” Spike said, “Just for a few minutes?” Sighing, Rarity nodded, “I’m going to run into the store next to it first, however. I’ll meet you inside when I finish.” “You’re the best, Rarity!” Spike beamed, kissing her quickly on the lips as he ran off to play some games. “Oh, what will I do with you,” She giggled, following behind him for a distance, before turning into her store. //// “Woah…” Spike said to himself, looking at the rows, and rows of endless game machines, “I… I want to play them all!” There were racing games, with cars to sit in, games with guns to shoot zombies, a rock climbing wall, a laser maze, and some form of dancing machine… That one in particular caught his eye. Walking over to it, he examined the two ponies that were currently playing. They had to stand on their hind legs, and hit one of four arrows, depending on which one was scrolling up the screen, while some hyper-happy-techno blared from the speakers… Spike liked the look of it… It was called: Hoof Hoof Revolution, and it could be played two player! Maybe Rarity would want to try with him. Walking over to a vacant machine, Spike fished a bit out of his bag, and tried to slide it into the slot. However, the gold coin was slightly bigger than slot, confusing him. However, instead of giving up, he simply kept trying, hoping that something would change, and suddenly accept his money. “Wow,” A pony said from behind him, “Look at this guy!” Looking over his shoulder, Spike saw a group of colts standing behind him. None of them were particularly fit, and all of them had some issues with acne. There were two brown Pegasi, one cyan earth pony, and a white unicorn, whom Spike assumed was the leader of the group… The brown ones were thin as rails, the cyan pony seemed to be right in the middle, and the white colt was on the wrong side of a few hundred pounds, with quite a collection of zits on his face. “This your first time in an arcade?” The cyan one asked in a snide tone, “Do you need some help getting it to work?” “Sure!” Spike smiled, not understanding that he was being insulted. Walking over, the large white colt tried his best to look cool as he caught the coin spike tossed him in his hoof. “So… What was I doing wrong?” Spike asked, “Did I just need to push really hard?” Scoffing, the white colt simply rolled his eyes at Spike, adjusted his glasses, and then tossed his bit under an arcade machine behind them. “Hey!” Spike shouted, “My money! What was that for?” “That was for coming into my arcade…” The leader said as he upwardly inflected the end of his speech, making everything he said sound like a question, “And not paying me respect, as the king of this place…” “What are you talking about?” Spike growled, “I just wanted to play a game!” “Well, it looks like you’re out of luck!” One of the brown ponies shouted over the loud noise of the arcade, “No more money!” “Psh,” Spike rolled his eyes, “I’ve got plenty of THAT.” Levitating a hefty sack of bits out of his saddle bag, the boys dropped their jaws, they had never seen that much money in their entire lives. “I’m going to play this dance game, like it or not!” Spike said, levitating yet another bit from the bag, “And I’m definitely not going to pay YOU any respect!” Narrowing his eyes, “You know what this means…” Spike pulled back slightly. Truth be told, he had no idea what it meant. “We must settle this with a dance-off!” He shouted, abandoning his upward inflection for one sentence. “Dance off!” The cyan colt started shouting. Soon, the news spread like wildfire, as almost everypony in the arcade finished their games, and made their ways over to the ‘Hoof Hoof Revolution’ machines in anticipation of the exciting battle that they were going to see. “W-wait,” Spike said, “I didn’t agree to this!” “Too late,” One of the brown colts said, “You’ve insulted Twinkie’s honor.” “…Your name is Twinkie?” Spike said, grimacing, “Sorry about that.” “On to the machine!” Twinkie called as he stepped on to the sensor mat, making an inappropriately large display as he did it, “Token me!” Jumping at the chance to pay for his game, a lot of the ponies in the audience started throwing their game tokens to him. Levitating four off the ground, he inserted them into the machine, and waited for Spike to follow suit, watching him with a smirk the whole time. Scrambling, Spike carefully levitated four coins off the floor and inserted them all into the machine. “Hoof Hoof Revolution!” The announcer on the game shouted. “Are you ready to get pwned?” He asked, with the usual tone, smirking to Spike. “What does that mean?” Spike asked. “Wow,” He said arrogantly, and rudely, “I can’t believe you don’t know what that even means.” Rolling his eyes, Spike hit his hoof into the machine, “Let’s do this.” //// Rarity walked out of the store, and examined the necklace she had just purchased… It was beautiful. Of course, on her way to the arcade, she realized that it would have felt a LOT better if Spike had bought this for her… She would have to tell him to buy her more presents. Entering the arcade, she was a bit confused since the only thing she could see was a pretty large crowd of ponies, surrounding some kind of game. Noticing the lack of ponies in the rest of the arcade, Rarity assumed that Spike was somewhere in this crowd… It really would have been much easier if she had just looked at the arcade machine in the front. “Spike…?” She whispered, trying to look over the group of colts. Considering entering the crowd, she became rather uncomfortable at the strange looks she was getting from the boys around her. She was used to receiving admiration from the men around her… But this wasn’t admiration. This almost looked like fear. “Uh…” One said, his voice cracking loudly, before turning away from her. Everypony simply started avoiding eye contact with her. “What is with everypony?” She said under her breath, “And where is—“ “Hoof Hoof Revolution!” The announcer on the machine called loudly as she turned her head to it. “Aaaaand… There he is.” She said to herself, feeling a bit stupid for not looking at the CENTER of attention for him. //// As Twinkie stood up on his hind legs, and grabbed the bar behind him for balance, he turned and smirked to Spike, “You know how to stand up, right?” Grinning back, Spike stood up on his back legs, and puffed out his chest, maintaining his balance perfectly, “I’ve been standing like this most of my life.” “Psh,” Twinkie said, looking back to the screen, and pressing a few buttons, and selecting a song, “I picked an easy one, just so you can get the hang of things.” “Wow, thanks!” Spike said, getting into position as the song started playing. Of course, the song WASN’T that easy… And since this was his first time playing the game, it especially showed. On one hoof, Twinkie was jumping and bouncing along with the song, hitting almost every note that came up the screen. On the other hoof, Spike clumsily flailed around the dance pad, missing almost everything, as his health bar quickly drained, locking his score at twenty, despite the few hits he scored after his failure. After what seemed like an eternity to the purple pony, the song finally ended, and Spike was presented with a big letter ‘D’ on his screen, whereas Twinkie got an ‘A’. Turning around, Twinkie raised his arms in victory, in possibly the lamest way possible, as the crowd cheered for him. Rolling his eyes, Spike leaned forward, and attempted to pick the next song in line. “Hey!” Twinkie called, “Winner picks next song!” “Is that the rule?” Spike asked, deciding not to have the argument, “Fine. But I pick next regardless.” “Fine,” He said, flipping his long greasy mane out of his face, as he picked the next track. This one sounded much faster in the sample, and Spike prepared himself for another pummeling. Why was he even still here? //// Rarity wasn’t sure how Spike had gotten himself into this situation, but decided not to try intervening. She would probably end up looking like she was babying him. So instead, she sat back and watched him lose this strange game to the pony beside him. The song was pretty fast, and the enormous white colt seemed like he knew what he was doing. But Spike looked like he was doing no better than the first song he had just played. Surprisingly however, Spike started landing a few notes in a few parts of the song. Something nopony had expected him to do. Still, just as before when the game ended, he was presented with a big ‘D.’ Rarity giggled. Big ‘D.’ Alex was starting to rub off on her. And again, Twinkie got an ‘A.’ “Ready to give up?” He asked Spike, turning back to the audience, “I think I’ve proven myself.” “How about this,” Spike suggested as Twinkie turned back to the audience, “If I do better than you this round, I win!” “Heh, fine,” Twinkie shrugged, “You’ll never beat me anyway!” Narrowing his eyes, Spike knew that he had no chance at winning… But maybe he could use a little shock and awe and make them both losers. Scrolling through the songs, Spike noticed one that had red text, instead of the usual blue and green. “Legend of Maxx…” Spike said, listening to the sample that played along with it, “I like it!” Twinkie turned back to the machine, having no idea the song Spike and just chosen, and readied himself. The notes filled the screen faster than either Spike or Twinkie had anticipated, and both of them were assaulted with combinations that they weren’t able to follow along with. Having had no idea this was coming, Twinkie missed a large sum of notes right off the bat, and failed the song with a measly score of ten. Spike did ONE note better and failed at fifteen. Since both players lost, the song immediately ended and simply presented them both with ‘D’s. However, the key difference in the score, was that Spike had managed to hit one more note, and surpass Twinkie’s score. “Yeah!” Spike cheered, “I won!” The crowd was silent, all of them embarrassed for their king. Seeing the shock on everypony’s face, Twinkie tried to make himself look cool again. “So what if he beat me in ONE song,” Twinkie announced, “I could trounce him in ANY game here! I’m way cooler than he’ll ever be!” “You tell ‘em boss!” The cyan pony shouted. Spike rolled his eyes as the audience slowly started buying into Twinkie’s speech. “So, that’s why I’m going to prove it, and beat him in a new game!” Twinkie announced, briefly noticing a pony making their way to the front of the crowd, “And after that, he’ll have to admit that I’m way better than—“ “Great job, Spike!” Rarity said to him, smiling cutely at him, “You won!” “Uhhhhh…” Twinkie said, wide-eyed at the gorgeous mare in front of him, “You know this guy?” “Well of course,” She said politely, “He’s my boyfriend!” A rolling gasp was heard by the crowd as they took in that piece of news as everypony started whispering to one another in disbelief. “Let’s hurry out Spike,” Rarity said to him, “My appointment is soon!” “Of course,” Spike said, stepping off the game pad, “Good game! Maybe I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” Walking out together, they didn’t look back once at the stunned crowd. “I just got pwned…” Twinkie sighed. //// “I’ll pick you up here in two hours!” Spike said to her, as they approached the large spa building. “Thank you, dear,” She smiled as they walked up to the booth next to the large entrance. “Do you have an appointment?” The mare asked in monotone. “I believe so!” Rarity said, “It should be under Rarity?” Looking at a clipboard, The mare saw the name and nodded, “Okay, you can go in.” A loud buzzing went off, that was followed by the massive doors opening, revealing a clean white room with a few pieces of furniture. The two started entering before the mare quickly called to them. “It’s just one at a time!” She explained. “Oh,” Spike said, stepping back, and looking back to Rarity, “I guess I’ll see you later.” Smiling and nodding, she leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek, “We’ll go out for dinner after.” “Sure thing,” He smiled earnestly. Turing around, Rarity walked into the building as the doors closed behind her. Looking around, Spike decided to head back to the room for now. All that arcade business drained him… He’d come back for Rarity when he woke up. //// One Down//// One Down //// Stepping out of the shower, Spike took a look at the clock that hung on the wall above the door. It was just about time to go pick up Rarity, and he was a bit giddy, which to be fair, was something he often was when it came to going out with her. He thought he’s get used to being out with her, and having every stallion around them envy him, wishing Rarity was theirs. It was surprisingly satisfying. Quickly drying himself off, he exited the bathroom. Walking into the common room, Spike glanced back and forth to see if anypony was back from their respective trips. Applejack had stopped in for a few minutes with Pinkie Pie to grab some money, and Rainbow Dash had been pressing her face against his bedroom window while he had been sleeping, which had turned out to be a very unpleasant alarm clock. However, just as he reached to open the door, it was shoved open as they tumbled through the door, on to the ground, and exploded in laughter over something Spike was out of the loop regarding. “Uh… What’s so funny?” Spike asked looking at them, wanting to get in on whatever was so hilarious. “O-oh…” Alex stammered through the tears, “You h-had to be there.” “Oh,” Spike said, a little put out, “Well, I’m going to pick up Rarity from the Spa, you wanna tag along?” Dash looked at Alex and shrugged, “You interested, Spot?” Alex scratched his head, he had come home to shower and eat something… But if Dash went out… Maybe he could find some cookies or something instead. “Na,” Alex said, “I’ll do my thing here, you two go grab Rarity.” “Sure thing,” Dash said, turning to Spike, “You good to go now?” Spike nodded, “She’ll be done any minute.” “Alright,” Dash nodded, “See you in a bit, Spot.” “See ya’!” Alex called as the closed the door behind them. Walking into the small, stocked kitchen, Alex opened a few cupboards, and eyed a box of crackers. Levitating it out, he noticed the steam escaping from where Spike must have just bathed, and got an idea. “Could I eat these and shower at the same time…?” //// “So, what did you and Alex do today, besides scaring me out of bed?” Spike asked, walking out of the main hotel, and into the large courtyard. “Nothing really,” She giggled, recalling the look Spike gave her when she pounded her head on the window, “We ate something, flew around, explored the area, looked at movie times. How about you?” “Shopping,” Spike shrugged, “I went to the arcade and had a pretty lame time. Then I dropped Rarity off, and took a nap.” “I hope everypony else is having a better time than us,” Dash said, glancing around, remembering where certain places were, so she could drag Alex back to them, “Where’s the spa? I missed the tour.” “Just there,” Spike said, pointing to the large building on the opposite side of courtyard, “It’s only five minutes away from the room.” “That’s it?” Dash asked, cocking her head, “It looks… Big for one customer at a time.” “Maybe it has some administrative space or something,” Spike suggested, “Or maybe more rooms...” “Oh, Rainbow Dash, Spike!” Fluttershy said, approaching them from a café in a gazebo, “Where are you two headed?” “We’re going to pick up Rarity from the spa,” Spike said, “Then we’re heading back to the room.” “Wonderful!” Fluttershy said, “I’d love to ask rarity about how it was in there!” “Come with us then,” Dash gestured. Fluttershy nodded and smiled, “Thanks.” Reaching the front of the building, Spike walked up to the booth, and spoke to the same mare that he talked to when Rarity first went in. “Hey,” Spike said to her, “Do you know how long it’ll be before Rarity is done with her treatment?” Looking at the clock, the pale green earth pony turned back to Spike, “She’ll be out any minute.” “Thanks!” Spike smiled, excited to see his marefriend. After a few minutes of idle chat between the three of them, the large doors opened up, revealing a very relaxed looking Rarity. “Hey!” Spike beamed, “How was it?!” “Oh Spike,” Rarity said breathlessly, “It was simply divine!” “Really?” Fluttershy asked expectantly. “Fluttershy, dear,” She said with a warm smile, “You MUST go next… I’ve never been so pampered in my entire life.” “You’re next?” The mare in the booth asked. “Oh…” Fluttershy said, “I wouldn’t want to—“ “Go!” Dash cut in, “Nopony else is here waiting!” “Well, I guess I could give it a try,” Fluttershy said with a small smile, hiding her excitement. “Perfect!” Rarity said, walking over to her, and gently nudging her to head through the door, “We’ll be back for you in a couple of hours, okay dear?” “Um… Okay,” She said, turning away from them, and heading into the building as the massive doors closed behind her. “My goodness…” Rarity sighed, “I think I may need a small nap before we go anywhere, Spike.” “Oh…” Spike said, a bit dejected that he wouldn’t be going out right now. “Don’t fret,” She smiled, “I just need some time for my muscles to wake up from the massage.” “Alright,” Spike smiled, “Let’s go back, we’ll figure something out from there.” “Thank you…” Rarity said, her eyelids becoming surprisingly heavy, “Let’s hurry before I fall asleep in the park.” “Oh, sure,” Dash said, picking up the pace as Spike stood next to Rarity, and walked parallel with her. “Rarity, are you okay?” Spike asked, feeling her putting more weight on his side to keep herself supported. “Of course dear…” Rarity said, shaking her head to keep herself conscious. Giving Dash an odd look, Spike turned back to Rarity and kept her as close to him as possible. This spa sure was strange… //// Opening the door to the room, Spike now had Rarity’s arm wrapped around the back of his neck as he walked her into the common room, and then beyond into her room, leaving Dash alone. “Alex?” She called, walking toward the bathroom, seeing the steam pouring out of the crack under the door. Opening the bathroom door, she walked over to the stall, she noticed that the glass door was open a crack, and a long bag of crackers was floating outside shower as one exited the bag, and flew inside. Swinging the door open the rest of the way, Dash scared Alex into stopping his levitation spell, and dropping them on the floor. “Hey!” Alex said, standing up and instinctively covering his nether regions. “…What are you doing?” Dash asked, “Why do you need to cover yourself in the shower?” Remembering that he was a pony now, Alex laughed nervously and lowered to a normal stance, “Sorry… It’s a thing from my world.” “Why are you eating crackers in the shower?” She asked, obviously judging him. “Because you KNOW you would if you could.” Alex challenged. Dash gave him a hard look before her expression softened, “Yeah. I can’t say I wouldn’t.” “So?” Alex said, moving on, “You get Rarity back?” “Yeah…” Dash said, getting a look of frustration. “What?” Alex asked, “Something wrong?” “Well…” Dash said, “Rarity was pretty out of it when she left the place… Spike had to carry her back.” “Really?” Alex asked, “Sounds like they did a good job!” “I guess,” Dash said, “It just felt weird to me.” “You’re just saying that because you’ve never been to a spa before,” Alex laughed, turning off the water, and stepping out of the stall, “A lot of ponies are tired after a spa trip. And with a place this fancy, it’s no wonder that she’s exhausted.” “It almost makes me want to try,” Dash laughed, seeing Alex open his mouth to respond, but, she stopped him before he could speak up, “ALMOST.” “Sure, sure.” Alex laughed, “You ready to hit up that movie?” “Yeah,” Dash said, “Hopefully, Rarity is feeling better after that!” “Quit worrying,” Alex said, “She’ll be fine.” As much as Dash tried to agree with her own sentiment, she felt like something was still wrong. She'd see how Fluttershy was doing when she came back from her appointment. That would be all the proof she needed to calm down. //// Author's Note Anyone catch my REALLY dirty joke in there? Looming Trouble//// Looming Trouble //// “How’s Rarity doing?” Dash asked, busting through the door, getting strange looks from everypony in the room as they sat around the dinner table. And among them, was Rarity. “I’m… Fine?” She asked, giving Dash a worried look, “Are you okay, dear?” “I told you nothing would be wrong,” Alex said, walking past her and sitting down at the table next to Spike. “What were you so worried about?” Twilight asked. “Oh…” Dash said, avoiding eye contact with her, “Nothing! I’m having a shower!” With that, she took off and closed the bathroom door behind her. “How was the spa?” Alex asked anypony at the table that had now been there. “It was amazing!” Fluttershy said, clearly excited enough to be loud about it, “I’ve never been so relaxed in my entire life!” “I agree with Fluttershy,” Rarity nodded, “I just might find a way to come back here in a few months.” “Yeah, me too!” Spike said quickly, before covering his mouth. “You went to the spa?” Alex asked, “…Really?” “Well… Rarity just made it sound so good!” Spike admitted, “And I’m always open to new things… You should go, Alex.” “Pass,” He laughed, “I’m not a spa-goer.” “Shame,” Rarity said, “It’s truly amazing.” “So, Twi!” Applejack spoke up, “What was it you were doin’ today?” “Um… Nothing,” She said, looking away from everypony. “Horse apples!” Alex shouted, “…Did I say it right?” “Ah’ guess…” Applejack said, turning back to the purple pony, “Spill the beans, Twi!” “You simply must!” Rarity added. “Don’t be so secretive!” Spike said. “Yeah Twilight!” Pinkie begged, “Please tell us!” Looking back and forth, she giggled, “I was hanging out with Alpha.” “What?!” Everypony shouted. “No way!” Alex said. “I can’t believe that!” Spike said in awe. “Good for you, Twilight!” Fluttershy smiled. “Ah’m startin’ to feel left out here!” Applejack laughed, “Everypony’s hookin’ up!” “It wasn’t a hook up!” Twilight countered, “We were just spending some time together.” “Ooooooohhh!” Everypony chimed in. “S-shut up!” She said, turning her look away from them and blushing furiously. Noticing the clock on the wall, Twilight’s eyes shot open, “I… Uh, I have to go!” “Huh?” Alex asked, “Why?” “I kinda have plans for dinner…” She admitted, “Alpha asked me out…” “Nice!” Pinkie said, “Is he taking you to that awesome place with all the tubes to crawl through?” “No, Pinkie,” Twilight said, “He’s taking me to a restaurant.” “And what about after that?” Alex asked. “Should we be expecting you home, dear?” Rarity asked, winking. “Of- Of course!” Twilight said in shock, still not comfortable with THAT topic, “I’m going to make sure I look decent!” Heading off, everypony was still laughing over her embarrassment. “We’ll leave the door unlocked,” Alex called to her as she closed her bedroom door behind her. Suddenly, a knocking was heard at the door. “That must be him!” Pinkie giggled quietly, “I’ll get it!” “No!” Twilight whispered as threateningly as she could “He-ya,” Pinkie said as she opened the door, and speaking in a sultry voice, “You must be here for… Twilight.” “Um… Yes?” Alpha asked, a bit worried. “She’s just… getting ready if you know what I mean,” Pinkie said, grinning suggestively. “She is?” He asked, “That’s good, I don’t want to miss the reservation.” Pinkie frowned. He wasn’t getting it. “Maybe you should go in there, and help her get ready.” Pinkie suggested. “I’m fine out here, thanks.” He said simply. “Ugh!” She groaned, “You’re zero-percent fun.” “Huh?” “I’m ready!” Twilight called, walking out of the room, looking exactly the same as she did two minutes ago. “Great,” Alpha smiled, “Let’s go.” The two headed out the door without another word, leaving everypony sitting in silence. “…We’re following them, right?” Spike asked. “Of course we are!” Rarity said, “But we need them to get a head start, so they don’t see us.” “Come on Dash!” Alex called, “We’re following Twilight on a DATE.” “Ooooooohh!” She called through the door, “Don’t lose them! I’ll catch up!” Accepting that, they all snuck out, excited to see how Twilight would act while she was out on a date. //// “Where is he taking her?” Spike asked as they all walked as casually as they could, from a safe distance. “That’s the café I was at earlier,” Fluttershy said, “They had a lovely salad.” The two walked to the front, and were then seated by a hostess, and handed menus that they read over during some kind of conversation. Running under some trees for cover, they all peeked over a bush in an effort to keep their eyes on her. “What do you think they’re saying?” Alex asked. “I can read lips!” Pinkie said, jumping up from the back, “Leave this to me!” They all looked to Twilight as Pinkie got in the zone. And from what she saw, this is the conversation that they had: “That sure is a nice hair color!” Pinkie said, imitating Alpha’s voice. “And you have nice legs!” She said, imitating Twilight. “My Mom has complemented me on them my whole life!” She switched. “Did you mean what you said earlier about my horn being so fat?” Pinkie said as Twilight poked her horn at the table. “I didn’t say fat!” Pinkie concentrated, “I said… Luscious?” “Well, ah’ve heard enough,” Applejack said, rolling her eyes, “I guess we don’t know what they’re talkin’ about at all!” “But—“ Pinkie tried. “Fluttershy, can’t you fly above the gazebo and listen in?” Rarity suggested. “Oh no…” Fluttershy said, avoiding eye contact with Rarity, “I’d get caught for sure.” “I was—“ “Alex, could you turn invisible or something?” Spike asked. “I don’t know any magic like that,” Alex shrugged, “And any volume increasing spells would draw attention to us.” “I can just keep reading their lips!” Pinkie said desperately. Everypony ignored her. She sighed. She had been pretty sure that’s what they were saying… //// “I promise you!” Alpha laughed, oblivious to the ponies hiding in the bushes such a short distance away, “I meant it as a compliment for your horn.” “Well, okay…” Twilight said, flustered that she had worried so much over a misunderstanding regarding the size of her horn. “What are you ordering?” Alpha asked, having had enough talk regarding her horn. “I think I’ll just get a sandwich.” Twilight said, setting down the menu and looking at Alpha, “What about you?” “Just a drink,” He shrugged, “I have plans with three other mares tonight, you know.” “You’d better not!” Twilight giggled. “Of course not,” He comforted, before smiling slyly once again, “I have plans with them tomorrow and the day after.” “Well that’s fine” Twilight winked, “As long as you’re free tonight.” Alpha raised an eyebrow. “That was just a joke!” Twilight laughed, “Don’t get excited.” //// “Pinkie, there is NO way Twilight just said that,” Dash said, having arrived just a moment ago, “You make her sound like whorse or something.” “I swear!” Pinkie defended herself, “I’m never wrong when it comes to lip reading!” “Why are we even listening to her?” Spike asked. “We’d be better off crawling up to them and listening that way,” Rarity sighed. “Is anypony willin’ tuh do that?” Applejack asked nopony in particular. Silence. “Guess not…” “This isn’t any fun at all,” Dash groaned, “Maybe we should leave Twilight to her date.” “It’s about time for my spa treatment too!” Pinkie said excitedly. “I thought it was Twilight next,” Rarity said. “Alpha postponed it so they could go on this date,” Spike explained, “He actually insisted on this time for their date too.” “Ah’m gonna head back with Pinkie,” AJ said, “This was a bit of a bust.” Alex shrugged, “Maybe I’ll stick around a bit longer, what about you, Dash?” “Sure, why not?” She said, “I just got here, I’ll spy a little longer.” “Well, I think I’m going to let Spike treat me to some dinner,” Rarity said, stepping next to him, “You two enjoy the rest of your night here.” “Two?” Alex asked, “Where’s Fluttershy?” “I saw her heading back to the hotel room on my way here,” Dash shrugged, “She had a funny look on her face, so I’m not too sure.” “See y’all later!” Applejack called, walking away with the bouncing pink pony. “Don’t wait up for us,” Rarity said politely as she and Spike went off on their own as well. Left alone in the park, Alex and Dash turned their attention back to the couple in the gazebo. “Why were you so anxious to stick around?” Dash asked him, now that nopony was in earshot of them. “Well… I can kinda read lips myself,” Alex admitted, “And when I really paid attention… I think she was right about what they were saying.” “…Really?” Dash asked quietly, “Like, seriously?” Alex nodded, “I think she said she was joking, but it’s still weird to hear her say.” “Maybe she is a whorse.” Dash shrugged. “Don’t say that,” Alex laughed lightly, “I’m sure that she’s plenty hard to get with.” “So… Do you really just want to stand here and listen to them talk?” Dash asked. “Na,” Alex said, “Why don’t we go do something together?” “What did you have in mind?” Dash asked. “Let’s fly around a bit,” Alex shrugged, “See what there is to see.” //// Walking up to the booth outside of the spa, AJ and Pinkie looked inside, at the young mare that was quite involved in her magazine. “Hey!” Pinkie shouted, shocking the girl. “W-what do you need?” She asked, looking back and forth in panic. “I’m here for my appointment!” Pinkie smiled, “Am I allowed to go in?” Glancing at a chart on her wall, the mare nodded, “You’re good to go in whenever.” “Yay!” She said, jumping her way over to the door, leaving Applejack alone with the mare. “So, how is this place?” Applejack asked, “You ever been conditioned in here?” “Sure have,” She smiled, “Everypony that works here got a complimentary trip.” “Really?” She asked, “That’s nice of yer’ boss.” The phone next to the mare started ringing, and she quickly picked it up, “Yes?” “Uh-huh…” “Really?” “Alright, if you say so.” “Of course, goodbye.” Hanging up the phone, she smiled to Applejack, “It appears that we have an opening right now, so you can go in.” “Ah’ thought it was jus’ one at a time.” Applejack said, cocking her head. “Well, they said that they have a surplus of staff inside, and will be able to accommodate two guests at once!” She explained. “Well, that’s great!” Applejack smiled, “Might as well get this trip outta the way, so ah’ can enjoy the rest of the night!” Trotting off, Applejack shouted a ‘Thank You’ behind her as she stood next to Pinkie and explained the situation. She was pretty happy about it, to say the least. //// “So…” Dash said to Alex as he landed next to her on the large roof beside her, “I can tell why you liked this spot so much.” Their spot sat atop the massive spa building, looking out on the train station at the entrance, and beyond, to the star of the badlands. During the day, this would be an average view, of a rocky desert, and some train tracks… But with the sun setting in front of them, it colored the orange sand a dark red, and the canyons, buried in shadows of itself, was a deep blue, mixing to make a purple color, when the shadow met the sand. It was something that Alex expected to see in a painting. “It looks a lot better now that the sun is going down,” Alex admitted, shuffling closer to Dash. Leaning her had on his shoulder, they sat in a comfortable silence and enjoyed the company, and the scenery. “I feel like my life would have been so much different if you never showed up, Spot.” Dash said, breaking the silence, “Like… where would I be right now? “I don’t know,” Alex said answered, thinking, “Would you be a Wonderbolt? Or did you only go through with that because I vanished?” “I think I wouldn’t have pursued it as much if you hadn’t shown up,” She said, “I’d just be… Living my life, day to day, making sure the weather was nice.” “And that’s a bad thing?” Alex asked, knowing full well that it was. “Duh!” She giggled, “We’ve done so much! We’ve gone to Manehattan… Twice! Spike is a PONY… We’ve Gone back in time, and saved a baby, then reunited Luna with her grandchild! Something tells me things wouldn’t have happened like that.” “Well, you can… Thank me for… That…” Alex struggled, closing his eyes as Dash lifted her head, and looked at him, “Are you okay?” “…No.” He said, opening his eyes, revealing the burning green color, “I’m not.” “Dax!” She said, recoiling, “W-what are you doing here?” “Something is… wrong, Rainbow Dash.” He said darkly as she looked at him confused, “I can feel it.” “What are you talking about?” She asked, surprised to see him being so serious, and not a complete dick. “Everypony needs to leave Haven Station, right now.” He said, suddenly tensing, and closing his eyes. “Get out of here!” Alex shouted, taking control back from the pony, “I’m sick of you taking my time away from Dash like this!” “Just let me finish!” Dax shouted, taking control back momentarily as Dash stood up and backed away for good measure. “Finish what?” Alex demanded, “Insulting everypony I know? Being a pervert to my girlfriend?” “I’m trying to help!” Dax insisted. “We don’t need it, thanks,” Alex said, forcing his eyes open, revealing one to be the normal blue while the other blazed the emerald green. “Don’t make me do this…” Dax threatened, confusing the other two. “Do what?” Dash asked. “Just go away!” Alex shouted. “Fine…” Dax growled, “You’ve asked for it.” A black aura surrounded Alex, and he was lifted off the ground. “What are you doing?!” Alex shouted, as he felt a bolt of energy start running through his body. “Something I should have done a LONG time ago!” Dax shouted as he and Alex both started screaming in pain. “W-what’s happening?!” Dash shouted as she watched in disbelief as Alex’s body started to what looked like rip in half. But, there was no gore, or blood… It just produced more coat. The same happened on his face, as a duplicate eye, nose, and mouth appeared in perfect reflection to one another, making two faces. Finally, they were separated, and two ponies landed on the ground next to each other, where there was one previously. “No way…” Dash said, completely shocked. Standing up shakily, the first one flashed her a smile, and winked, “Two of us, I know. Please try to contain yourself.” “W-what did you do?!” Dash asked, looking from the one she assumed to be Dax, to the one still collapsed on the ground. “Alex sleeps a WHOLE lot,” Dax explained, “And I tend to do some reading while he’s doing that.” “You take control of Alex while he’s asleep?” Dash asked, still not over the initial shock, “You do that with me around?!” “Don’t freak out,” Dax reassured, “I’m Alex, and you know it… I don’t need to take control for the… Fun parts. I’m there just as much as he is.” Dash still didn’t like that one bit. “Now, back to business,” Dax said, looking serious once again, “There is something really wrong with this pl—“ Dax was cut off by Alex punching him across the face as hard as he could, knocking him out cold. “Jerk.” He panted. “I-I don’t know what to say…” Dash said, still utterly shocked. “Me neither…” Alex breathed hard, “This would be a good time to go to a commercial break.” //// Complications//// Complications //// Opening his eyes and looking around, the past events slowly came back to his mind until he fully recalled how he wound up in this bed, tied up. Normally, he would be confused, and call for somepony to help him. However, he wasn’t the normal guy. He was the messed up one. So, his mind immediately went to anger, and frustration. “Hey!” Dax shouted, “What’s going on?!” “He’s awake…” A voice said from outside. Dax watched the door open as Alex and Dash walked through it. “Tying me up?” Dax asked, “Is this going to be a three-way thing? Because I’m game to share you.” “Shut up,” Alex said, still upset over this happening. Dash just rolled her eyes, and decided to find out just what was going on. “What did you do?” Dash asked, “How long have you been able to do this?” “Mmmmm… For a while?” Dax said, “I just didn’t see a situation desperate enough to use this separation spell.” “How come Alex didn’t know about it then?” Dash asked, “Since you two are the same pony, right?” “Hey!” Alex cut in, “That’s not true.” “Be quiet, Sally,” Dax said to him, “The grownups are talking.” Alex growled. “Hey!” Dash snapped, silencing them both, “Answer the question, please.” “I have my own memories,” Dax explained, “Alex can’t access them because he doesn’t accept me as part of him. When he makes that connection, he’ll pick up on a lot of information.” “What do you mean?” Alex asked. “My chaotic magic,” Dax started, “You’ll learn it all.” “With the snap of a finger, huh?” Alex asked. “Mhmm,” Dax said, “But come on, we both know that you won’t just let me in.” “No,” Alex said, “I’m still convinced you’re some trick Discord cooked up.” “You don’t have to tell me,” Dax laughed, “I know you pretty well.” “What about going back to Alex?” Dash asked, “You two are gonna have to—“ “Actually,” Alex said, “I like it with him out here.” “You need me in your head, Alex,” Dax said, “You may seem fine right now, but without me, you’ll turn into a big pussy!” “I’ll take my chances,” Alex frowned at him. “So,” Dash said, wanting to get back on to what Dax had been talking about earlier, “What was the danger you were sensing here?” Dax looked around the room, “Before I answer that, I have two questions.” “Okay,” Dash said, “Shoot.” “What time is it?” Dax asked, seeing that the sun was down. “Eleven.” Dash said. “Figured… And, where is everypony else?” Dax asked. The two were silent as they looked at each other. “You don’t know, do you?” Dax said. “Twilight is still on her date,” Dash said, “Pinkie is at the Spa…” “Applejack, Fluttershy, Spike, and Rarity are all unaccounted for,” Alex sighed. “Didn’t Pinkie go to the spa HOURS ago?” Dax asked, “And is it like Twilight to be out late with boys?” “Well…” Dash said, sighing, “Yeah…” “There are some powerful magical auras here,” Dax said, “They were messing with my head… Throwing my emotions around if you missed that, Dash.” “I remember,” She said, recalling his crying on her, “It was a bit out of character.” “It didn’t originate in the hotel, where we are,” Dax explained, “It’s all coming from that ‘spa.’” “Where everypony’s been?” Alex asked. “Yes,” Dax said, surprised at his play-nice attitude, “And if the magic resonance of the magic is enough to make ME cry, then I’m worried about what it’s doing to the ponies that are directly affected by it.” “How do you know ponies are being used in magic experiments?” Alex asked. “I don’t,” Dax said, “But the power makes emotions go haywire, so why would they cast spells like that on anything else BESIDES ponies?” Alex was silent. “So… What do we do?” Dash asked. “Well first, you promise you’re not going to knock me out again,” Dax said to Alex. “I won’t,” Alex said, “Just as long as you play nice.” “Here,” Dash said, walking over to the bed, “Let me untie you.” “Not necessary, my dear,” Dax said, casting a spell, making the ropes disappear. “Alright,” Dax said, looking at the clock, “We need to go check out this ‘spa.’” “How?” Alex asked, “If this place is the kind of place you say it is, won’t we be noticed?” “Na,” Dax said, “I have some magic up my sleeve.” “You don’t have sleeves,” Alex pointed out. “And you don’t have friends!” Dax shot back. “Quiet!” Dash growled, “Let’s just go.” //// Walking up to the door, Twilight turned to Alpha and smiled, “Thanks for the night out… It was a lot of fun.” “I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Alpha smiled. “I’d better get to bed quickly,” Twilight said, “I want to be up early for the spa tomorrow!” Alpha frowned to himself, “I think the spa is closed tomorrow.” “It is?” Twilight asked in surprise, “Since when?” “Since… Uh… Maintenance.” He said quickly, “I’m sure you can get in at some point after, however.” “Oh, well… Thanks for letting me know!” Twilight said. “Yeah… No problem…” Alpha said, “So, what now?” “I don’t know…” Twilight said bashfully, knowing what she wanted to happen, but wasn’t sure if he would make the move. To her surprise, he did. He looked right into her eyes, overwhelming her somewhat with the intense blue of them, as he leaned in, and kissed her lightly on the lips. Smiling to herself, Twilight lost herself somewhat, and allowed it to intensify, surprising herself as she realized just what she was doing. Pulling back and blushing furiously, Twilight magically opened the door to the common room and took a step back. “Um… I-I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” She said, avoiding eye contact with him. “Of course, Twilight,” He said, stepping back, “Remember… Stay away from the spa.” “Of course!” She said, “Well, goodnight!” “To you as well,” He said as she closed the door behind her. Frowning, Alpha walked away from the room. Things had gotten complicated. //// Twilight exhaled dreamily, as she walked over to a desk and pulled out a piece of paper, and a quill. “I’ve got to write Princess Celestia about this!” She said to herself as she started jotting down on the paper. Dear Princess Celestia, This letter isn’t regarding a lesson I’ve learned about friendship, but one simply to communicate with you, as a friend. Today I experienced something quite foreign to me. I went on a date with a stallion! He’s the pony that’s been taking care of our party while we stay here. We seemed to hit it off right away, and after a few conversations about mutual interests of ours, he asked me to go out for dinner with him! So, I accepted, and the two of us spent the night talking about anything that came to our minds. But, most surprising of all, at the end of it all, I kissed him! And it was… It was enjoyable. And I wouldn’t mind experiencing that a little more with him. One thing that did surprise me was the naming system these ponies use here. Some of the employees, including my date, have designations rather than names. I’ve met a few Gammas, a Beta, and, the stallion I went out with, Alpha. I guess you could say that that is what I learned while I’ve been here, even if it’s not a lesson on friendship… It never hurts to know a little more! Your faithful student: Twilight Sparkle Smiling to herself, she rolled the letter up, and cast Spike’s spell, lighting the scroll ablaze, and sending it off into the night. She couldn’t believe how well everything was going right now! //// Snooping//// Snooping //// Walking through the darkness, the three approached the spa, under the cover of trees in the main park. Alex felt incredibly uncomfortable. He was used to sneaking, breaking into places, and maybe even getting into fights. But, when he has a split version of himself following him while he does them, things tend to get a bit awkward... Dax had a nasty tendency to throw out dirty jokes, and be a general, all-around, douche. And that is why Alex was sure that he couldn’t possibly be a part of him. He was a nice, polite guy. Sure, sometimes he could act a bit inappropriate… But nowhere near the level that Dax operated on. “Hey, Dash!” Dax whispered to her, giggling to himself as they snuck through a group of bushes, “Have you ever had a shocker?” “A what?” Dash asked. “It’s when—“ “That doesn’t work here,” Alex said, cutting him off, look at your hands. Stopping, and inspecting his hoof, Dax frowned. “No fingers, buddy,” Alex said, looking away from his doppelganger. “What’s a… shocker?” Dash asked. Leaning over, Alex whispered in her ear. “Ugh!” Dash said, recoiling, “That’s nasty! How would that even work?” “It does better on earth girls,” Alex shrugged. “Yeah, well… I hope I never—“ “Ugh…” Dax said, stopping dead. “What’s wrong?” Dash asked, turning to him. “That magic… It’s happening again,” Dax said, falling down on his front legs. “I can’t feel it,” Alex said. “Neither can I…” Dash said, leaning down, making sure he was okay. Shaking his head, Dax stood up, “Let’s just find the source of this already, I’m sick of feeling like shit.” Following a line of foliage, they reached the side of the spa, and stopped to make a proper game plan. “We should look in the windows,” Alex suggested, “We might be able to see somepony we know, or catch a glimpse of something.” “That’s what I was thinking!” Dax said, mock-surprised, “It’s like we’re sames!” Alex rolled his eyes, and took off, “Everypony check a side, I’ll do this one, Dash, you check the back, Dax, you look on the side opposite this. Don’t check out the front side… We’d be too obvious.” Nodding, they each flew off to their designated place. Something that surprised Alex a bit. He had expected Dax to be a smart ass. Flying up, Alex checked the rows and rows of windows, hoping to see some kind… Anything. But, inside was office space. Each floor, from top to bottom, save the first couple, were all empty cubicles. Squinting, he saw something move on the far end of the floor he was looking into. It was remarkably close to the windows… But, then he saw it. It was Dax. And he had pressed his lips to the glass, opened his mouth, and puffed out his cheeks, all the while waving to Alex. “That idiot,” Alex said, flapping up, to the roof and landing, waiting for the others two to catch up. Quickly, Dax wound up on the roof with them, and Dash followed. “Did you guys see anything?” Alex asked them. “Nope,” Dash said, “It looked like a perfectly normal building to me.” “I saw you!” Dax said, “Did you see me?” “I did,” Alex said, “And do you know how dirty those windows probably are?” “I’m a manifestation of your consciousness,” Dax said, “I’ll live with a bit of window grime.” “So…” What do we do now?” Dash asked. “We can storm the front!” Dax suggested eagerly. “With that huge door?” Alex asked, “We’d need a massive blast to get that out of the way.” “It’s a good thing you have me!” Dax said, knocking on his horn with his hoof. “Nononono,” Alex said, shaking his head, “We don’t even know that anypony is in danger, so let’s not go destroying anything yet.” “What do we do then?” Dax asked impatiently. “Let’s sneak in to the upper level,” Dash suggested, “We can work our way down from there.” “Good idea, babe!” Dax said, trotting over to the ledge of the roof, “Come on, let’s go!” “You’re like a child,” Alex said, annoyed. “You’re like a grandfather,” Dax retorted, “We even out, now let’s go.” Flying off the roof, the three moved down to the first window on the way down and stopped for a moment. “How do we get in?” Dash asked. “I think I can teleport us in,” Alex said, about to start casting a spell. “No!” Dax cut him off, “Let me do it!” Alex and Dash watched expectantly as Dax pressed his horn against the glass, and sent some kind of pulse into it. For a moment, it didn’t look like anything had happened, but then, in an instant; the glass turned to sand, and fell into a pile on the floor of the building. “I know,” Dax nodded, “Incredible, need to tell me, thanks!” “Let’s spread out,” Alex said, gesturing to himself, “Try to find the stairwell.” Again, the three headed off to the corners of the floor they arrived on, looking for some kind of way to head downstairs. But, to each of their surprises, they couldn’t find anything. In fact, the entire floor was empty. It had dividers. That was it. No chairs, plants, desks… It was just dividers. Meeting in the center of the floor, where the dividers left a large circle around some circular building supports, where they assumed some chairs should have been. “This is weird…” Alex said, “Did you guys see anything over there?” Dash shook her head, “Nothing at all.” “No stairs for me,” Dax said, “Nothing at all, for that matter…” “What’s up with this place?” Alex asked. “It’s just here in case anypony flies by,” Dax said, “It’s a background piece.” “Why would they build such a high building then?” Dash asked, “Why not just build a small one?” Suddenly, the floor dipped, and started to separate as the three flew themselves off the ground, to keep from falling. They all stared down in awe as each floor below them opened up successively; until it reached what they assumed was the ground level, or perhaps the basement. "That's... new." Alex muttered. “Should we fly down there?” Dash asked quietly, looking at the large hole below her. “No…” Dax said, surprising them both, “If that opened up, chances are that someone opened did it, and they would probably see us coming.” “So… what do we do?” Dash asked. “Know a spell that’d make us invisible for a REALLY long time?” Alex asked hopefully. Dax shook his head, “Nothing comes to mind...” Suddenly, a series of electric bolts started sparking their way up the large metal supports surrounding them, rapidly approaching them. “Get out of the way!” Dax shouted, flying into Dash, knocking her and Alex out of the air, on to the ground away from the hole. The electricity fired past them, and into the sky. Dissipating instantly, leaving a black smoke in it’s place, across the floors. “Here’s our chance!” Dash said, pointing to the exhaust caused by the energy, “Let’s fly down in that!” Neither Alex or Dax liked the sound of that, but, decided to go for it since neither of them wanted to be the one that let her down. Running ahead, and diving in, Dash vanished. Looking to each other, they sighed unhappily at the same time. “Alex… In case we don’t make it…” Dax said as he savagely kissed Alex. “Mph—Gah!” Alex shouted, pushing him off, “W-what the—“ ‘I love you.” Dax mouthed, before smirking, and jumping into the smoke. “Asshole.” Shaking his head, Alex decided to forget that happened, and followed behind them into the pit. //// Landing on the bottom floor, Dash looked up through the now disappearing smoke, trying to make out Alex or Dax. Unfortunately, the roof above her, suddenly snapped shut, separating her from the other two. Fighting the urge to shout, Dash looked around the room, trying to find a place to get to since all her firepower was now gone, and the smoke she had used for cover was now gone, leaving her in complete darkness… But she could sense that she wasn’t the only one in this room. “Hey Dashie!” Pinkie said from outside the smoke. “P-Pinkie Pie?” Dash asked, shocked from her sudden appearance. “Hey, sugar cube!” Applejack said, from behind her. “It’s great to have you here,” Spike said from her side. “You simply MUST have the spa treatment, dear,” Rarity added from her other side. “I was so relaxing…” Fluttershy finished, standing directly in front of her. “I knew it!” Dash shouted, “There IS something wrong with this place!” “Yes there is.” A deep voice said from behind Fluttershy, “Something very wrong.” “Alpha…” Dash said quietly, immediately feeling bad for Twilight, “You scumbag…” Nodding, he smiled, “I was surprised to see two of you… I had to adjust my plans.” “And what does that mean?” She asked, a large scowl forming on her face. “It means that you aren’t going to be having the spa treatment… Yet.” //// “Damn it…” Dax growled, his magic entirely failing him, “How could I be so stupid?!” Dax tried in vain to cast a spell to blast through the multiple floors below him and see if Dash was okay, but was unable. This place had some kind of anti-magic field. One that overpowered both the Doctors, and The Wonderbolts stadium. He had no power here. And if he had to guess, neither did Alex. They had all been separated from each other when the floors closed off. “Freeze!” A pony clothed completely in armor shouted. Looking up, Dax saw that he was surrounded. At least fifteen ponies stood around him. “You’re coming downstairs!” One barked. “You know,” Dax said, “I think I’ll pass.” Suddenly rushing one of them that hadn’t been as ready as all the others were, Dax knocked him over and rushed past him toward the windows. Extending his hoof, he started to fly, and closed his eyes. *Smash* *Smash* Looking up, Dax was surprised to see Alex doing exactly what he just had. The two looked to each other, nodded, and continued flying as fast as they could away from the station. After five minutes of flying through the night, they finally reached a place, well out of range from whoever had just attacked them. “What happened?!” Alex demanded, “Where’s Rainbow Dash?!” “I lost her in the separation…” Dax said, “And I don’t know If you noticed, but there was an anti-magic field in that building.” “I noticed!” Alex spat, “I thought you were immune to that stuff!” “Not this one,” Dax said, “It’s the strongest I’ve ever experienced.” “Fuu… Gh… Crap!” Alex shouted, opting for friendlier language. “I’m not happy either,” Dax said, “But we’re going to get her back.” “You’re damn right we are,” Alex said, “Even if it means that we destroy that entire building.” “Finally, some common ground.” Dax smiled. “Whether you’re me or not… We’re going to tear them apart,” Alex promised, “We’re going to—“ Suddenly, the station lit up, like a giant beacon in the desert. “Attention, Alex…” A voice said, booming outward, “Please return to the station, you’ve missed your spa treatment.” Alex and Dax both growled, once they realized that the voice belonged to Alpha. Hearing a loud sigh, the voice then continued, “Could all available guards please go retrieve Miss Twilight Sparkle from her room?” “Twilight is still safe?” Dax asked. “We have to get to her, now!” Alex said. Nodding to each other, they took off once again, this time toward the hotel they were staying at. Alpha wasn’t going to have any more of their friends tonight. //// Frowning, Alpha walked away from the propped up mic in front of him and sighed. He had made a bad decision, taking that girl out for dinner. It was making him feel poorly about his actions, and wish that he could take them all back. This left him with two choices. His loyalty to a mare he had just met a few days prior, or his loyalty to his brothers and sisters. It was no contest. Forgetting his brief interactions with Twilight, Alpha readied himself for the rest of the night. His plan has only just begun. //// Escaping//// Escaping //// Flying back to the hotel, Alex and Dax worked out a plan of attack on Alpha and were proud of the cleverness. It was going to require some trickery, and some fast and loose actions, but hopefully, they would save everypony, and stop whoever this pony was. But, first thing was first, they had to save Twilight from Alpha, and get her somewhere that she’d be safe while they took care of business. However, this is where the two disagreed. “Why does she need to be hidden again?” Alex asked, somewhat relaxed by the night air, despite the situation he was presented with. “Because she’s a girl, Alex,” Dax said, with a ‘no-duh’ tone. “She can handle herself,” Alex said, “She can help!” “Look,” Dax said, “She’s a mare! She’s good for having babies!” “That’s pretty rude,” Alex said, “She’d kill you if she heard that.” “I’d send her back to the kitchen.” Dax laughed. “Are you doing this just to annoy me?” Alex asked. “…Yes.” Dax admitted, “But I’m you, and that means you have these horribly sexist thoughts yourself.” “Well…” Alex couldn’t really argue, everypony had a racist or sexist thought at some point in their lives. A Broadway show did a song on it, he was pretty sure. “Thought so!” Dax said, “And it WAS on Broadway.” Alex frowned. How did he just know that? He must have been telepathic. He was NOT him. “We’re almost there, Susan,” Dax said, “Pony up… HA!” “Shut up…” Alex rolled his eyes. //// Entering the limits of the station, Alex and Dax immediately felt something wrong with them. “He’s using that magic dampener.” Dax said, “It feels weaker than it was.” “I know what you mean,” Alex agreed, “I think I could still squeeze something out.” “That sounded weird.” Dax said, looking back to him, “But! I think it’s because he’s spread the field so far that it’s so weak.” “It’s way bigger here than the Wonderbolts stadium was,” Alex said, “And the field is probably much more complex to cast since it blocks out all magic... Not just harmonious stuff.” “Try to use this to our advantage then,” Dax ordered, “Something tells me we’ll only get a few spells in before they notice and focus it on us directly.” “Got it,” Alex said, uncomfortable with being bossed around by somepony that looked so much like him. “Look!” Dax said, pointing to the back entrance to the hotel that faced the courtyard, as a group of armored ponies headed into the hotel, most likely heading for Twilight. “Let’s go in through the window,” Alex said, flying over to the one he and Dash had been messing around at, when they scared Spike in bed. “It doesn’t open,” Dax said, looking for a latch to open it. “Doesn’t need to,” Alex said, smashing it, “Easy peasy.” “Works for me,” Dax shrugged as they landed in Spike’s room. Opening the door to the common room, they looked for Twilight since they were sure she would be here in a panic. But, instead, the lights were out, and there wasn’t a thing happening. “Is Twilight in her room…?” Alex said, walking over to her door, seeing a faint light coming from under the door. Opening the door, Alex stuck his head in the crack, “Hey Twi—“ “Eeeeek!” She screamed, “Get out-get out! Haven’t you heard of knocking?!” Pulling out and slamming the door closed, Alex looked at Dax with wide eyes. “What did you see?!” Dax asked, “I’m you! So for the LOVE of god, tell me!” “Uh…” Alex said, “I, uh….” Behind him, the door flew open and Twilight stepped out. “How dare you just barge in!” Twilight barked, completely flustered, “I was totally… Just…” Twilight looked at Alex, then to Dax, and froze. “Masturba—“ Dax began. “What the buck is going on here?!” She shouted, “A-Alex?” “That’s me,” He said meekly, “That’s Dax…” “What?!” “Look,” Dax said, stepping forward, “Could we go five minutes without talking about your cooch? Your boyfriend is trying to kill us… So, we need to go.” “What are you talking about?” Twilight asked, as somepony started banging on the door loudly. “Twilight, don’t—“ “Coming!” Twilight called, “Don’t go anywhere! We need to figure you two out!” Dax rolled his eyes, “Guess it’s that time.” “So fast?” Alex asked as Dax ran to the door, passing Twilight. “Hey!” She shouted as Dax knocked her over on the way. “Eat this!” Dax shouted, Trying his best to shoot a blast of magic at the closed door. Unfortunately, it came out much more like a fizzle, “Shit…” “We need to get out of here,” Alex said, “Alpha is some kind of… Evil something… Didn’t you hear him on the PA telling everypony to come get you?” “Uh, no!” She answered, “Why would he do that? And where is everypony?” “He has them!” Alex said, “The spa is some kind of… Brainwashing place or something… You didn’t go, did you?” “No,” Twilight said, “In fact, Alpha told me to stay away from it!” “Why would he do that, really?” Alex asked. “Open the door, or we’ll break it down!” A pony called through the door. Alex raised his eyebrows. “Okay…” Twilight said, “Let’s go, but I want a FULL explanation!” “Deal,” Alex said, “Come on, Dax!” Turning around from the door, Dax followed the two of them to the broken window. “You didn’t hear us get inside?” Alex asked. “I was… Busy…” She giggled nervously. “Nice.” Dax said, earning a scowl from Twilight. “Hop on my back,” Alex said, “I’ll fly us out of here.” “I can use magic!” Twilight said, trying to cast a spell, but failing, “What…?” “There’s some kind of anti-magic barrier,” Alex explained, looking down, hoping he didn’t fall from the added weight of Twilight, “Now hop on!” Complying, she climbed on to his back and braced herself. She always hated riding a flying pony. The only time she felt safe doing it, was when Princess Celestia would fly her around the kingdom, to different places to teach her various lessons. However, that hadn’t been for quite a few years now. Hearing the door break open, Alex and Dax leapt out the window, lowering to the ground, where they could let Twilight off. “At least it’s empty out here,” Dax said, “I just hope nopony else gets hurt by these armed ponies.” Twilight was surprised to hear him express concern at all. “Where to next?” Alex asked. “We need a place to hide,” Dax said, “Let’s go look for somewhere in the mall.” All nodding, the three ran to the now dark mall, and once again, broke some glass to get inside. “We can use the darkness to our advantage here,” Dax said as they ran down one of the many large hallways housed within the building, “Hopefully they’ll walk right past us.” “I don’t think you thought this through very well…” Twilight said. “Why?” Alex asked, “I don’t see anything wrong with the plan.” The lights turned on. “Well, color be embarrassed.” Dax said, “Doesn’t mean we can’t keep running!” Surprisingly, the armed guard was already on them. They were clearly pegasi as they had caught up in almost no time at all. The chase was long as the mall had too many enclosed hallways to run through, for them to fly after them properly. “Dax!” Alex called, seeing that he had fallen quite behind him and Twilight, “Behind you!” Taking a second to look behind him, Dax was immediately pounced on by one of them, sending them both tumbling into a glasses stand, where Dax was able to escape in the confusion of flying glasses and fancy contacts. “You guys!” Twilight called, “We’re almost at a dead end!” Looking forward, they both saw that they had arrived at the movie theater, a place with exits, but were no doubt covered by guards. “What do we do?” Twilight asked. “Uh… Inside here!” Dax instructed, turning into the arcade, which was still lit up, and crowded with teenagers, “I guess this place closes later than the mall.” “Movie theaters always do,” Alex called to him, over the noise of the people inside. “Act natural,” Alex whispered to Twilight as they hid behind a thick group of boys surrounding some arcade game or another. Twilight lost contact with Dax and Alex for a few seconds but found them quickly. “Code six!” The leader of the armed ponies shouted as the entire arcade suddenly went silent, and everypony looked toward them, assuming a straight stance, and serious look. At this point, Alex, Dax and Twillight looked very obvious. “Nice job getting us stuck.” Dax growled at Alex. “My fault?” He growled back, “You told us to run in here!” “Well, I AM you, so it’s YOUR fault!” Dax shouted, "Well, except that I have green eyes." “Stand down,” The leader of the team said, “You three are coming with us to see Alpha.” “You know what?” Dax said, angrily, “I’m out of here!” “What?!” Twilight shouted, “Don’t you dare!” “Dude,” Alex asked, giving him an odd look, “This is NOT the plan.” “Sorry man, but it ain’t worth it… Maybe I’ll come back for you guys.” Dax laughed, focusing every ounce of energy he had as he vanished in a beam of light. “You ass!” Twilight shouted, hitting Alex in the arm. “What?!” He asked, offended, “I’m still here!” “He IS you!” Twilight growled, “And that means YOU abandoned us!” “Get moving!” The guard said, “Alpha wants to see you.” “Oh, BELIEVE ME,” Twilight said, her eyes narrowed, “I want to see him too.” //// Author's Note Might have a few errors, just wrote it out before bed. Feel free, GMZ. Captured//// Captured //// Alex and Twilight were escorted through the compound toward the spa, both brooding over the horrible situation they were in. “Where is that stupid pony?” Twilight whispered, looking around for Dax, assuming he would come out of nowhere, and kick some serious rump. “Why does everypony think I have ANYTHING to do with him?” Alex growled. “Shut up and keep moving!” The guard shouted as they walked through the front doors of the facility. The pure white color of the lobby blinded the two of them as they walked in from the darkness of the outside world. Holding his breath, Alex looked at the next set of doors, not wanting to see what was on the other side of this door. “Welcome to the manager’s office,” A guard said, opening the door, revealing an equally white room, with a large desk in the middle, “Alpha will be with you soon.” Walking out, the guards left the two of them alone, locking the door behind them. Alex and Twilight looked to each other afraid of what was coming for them. “So… Dax isn’t coming?” Twilight asked, losing hope quickly. “I have no idea,” Alex said, sounding completely betrayed, “I actually started to trust that asshole.” “Well, if he really is you, he’ll be back,” Twilight said. “Maybe…” Alex said. “I doubt it,” Alpha’s voice said. Looking around, the two looked for the source of his voice. “Down here,” He said. Suddenly, the floor started lowering, taking the two of them down into the basement, where they assumed they figured Alpha was waiting. Reaching the floor, they were taken from an intensely white room, to one of darkness, with no light source, besides a faint green glow. “Alpha!” Twilight shouted into the darkness around them, “Get out here!” Looking around, they tried to make anything out, besides the various instruments and walls barely lit by the green glow coming from above them. “Of course, Twilight,” Alpha said as the lights in the room came to life, illuminating everything. Alpha stood on a small podium with them in a truly massive room that stretched underneath the entire courtyard, all the way to the hotel. The space was almost empty, save the few instruments immediately surrounding them, and the support pillars that held the ceiling above them. “Now… We need to have a discussion,” Alpha said, walking over to Alex, and pushing his face up, looking into his eyes, “Good, blue.” “What?” Alex asked, snapping away. “Your friend has green ones,” Alpha said, “But, he’s gone now, so it doesn’t matter.” “Where did he go?” Alex asked, holding his breath. “He was seen flying away from the perimeter,” Alpha laughed as a massive monitor turned on behind him, showing Dax flying away from the mall, into the night. “He’ll sneak back,” Alex warned, “You won’t have cameras covering every inch of this place.” “I don’t need them,” Alpha laughed, “I’ve fine-tuned my anti-magic machine to tell me if there are any disturbances in the anti-magic field caused by discordic magic since your friend Dax is teeming with the stuff.” “He’ll find a way,” Alex insisted. “He won’t.” He said, “Any other questions?” Alex frowned at his quick dismissal. “Where are our friends?” Alex demanded. “We’ll get to them later,” Alpha laughed. Alex growled, “What’s your plan then?” “I don’t care about any plan!” Twilight barked, stepping between Alpha and Alex, “WE need to have a discussion!” “Listen, Twilight—“ “No!” She shouted, “I kissed you!” “And I’m very—“ She slapped him hard across the face. He didn’t respond. “I FRENCH kissed you!” She shouted, slapping him even harder, “Who the hell are you?!” Stepping back, Alpha gave them both a serious look as he rubbed his face. “I guess I owe you that, Twilight,” He said, stepping back on to his podium.” “I am…” //// Celestia slowly opened her eyes. It was one of those nights again. Recently, she had been waking up at all hours of the night, and found it incredibly difficult to get back to sleep. Getting up, and making her way to the throne room, she briefly thought to Twilight and her friends. She hoped that they were having a good time at the station. “Sister!” Luna smiled, “You are having trouble sleeping, once again?” Nodding, Celestia walked over to the window overlooking Canterlot and smiled. It was always calming seeing the lack of activity of her subjects. They were all in bed, resting for tomorrow. “Oh, Sister!” Luna said again as Celestia turned to her, “Twilight Sparkle sent you a letter.” “Oh, did she?” Celestia smiled, walking over to the parchment Luna was levitating, taking it herself, and opening it. Luna watched her read over it, and followed her facial expressions as she made her way through it. A smile changed to a calm face as she read the beginning of it. However, her face suddenly took a grave turn. “What is it, sister?” Luna asked, standing up and approaching her. “Luna… Do you remember, all those years ago before we became Princesses…” Celestia somewhat mumbled, still processing something. Luna listened silently. “We encountered a group of very strange looking ponies…” She continued, “Ponies that had a very… particular way of naming themselves, when being addressed…” It was a bit vague, and Luna needed a bit more help than that. Looking up to Luna, Celestia gave her a grim look, “Twilight has met a pony named Alpha, and with him, Betas, and Gammas.” “You must write her back, and warn her of the danger!” Luna said, now understanding. “We can’t risk them being discovered,” Celestia said, “We’ll go in ourselves.” Luna nodded, “I’ll call the guard into action.” Celestia turned and faced the train that sat outside the castle, “We leave in a half an hour, for Haven Station.” //// “I am Alpha,” He said as a green glow surrounded him, “The general of the queen’s army.” “Queen?” Alex asked, “What queen?” Suddenly, his entire body was surrounded in a green flame that seemed to melt his skin from his body. At first, Twilight thought Dax had come to rescue them, and had horrifyingly murdered Alpha in the process. However, it quickly became apparent that he wasn’t being hurt, and another pony was clearly under this first layer of now-melting skin. “Queen Chrysalis,” He smiled confidently, as revealing his true self, to be an entirely black pony, with several holes throughout his body, wings, and horn. “You’re a changeling?!” Twilight said in disbelief, “I-I’ve never seen a real one before…” “Well, here I am,” He laughed, “Now you understand why we wouldn’t have worked out, Twilight.” “What are you talking about?” She growled, “I would have dated a changeling, you think I’m some kind of racist?” “Well, no,” He said, a bit put off by this, “I mean, I’m not exactly on your side.” “No shit!” Alex shouted. “Enough of this,” Alpha said ending the line of conversation, “It’s time for your conditioning. You two are going to join the rest of your friends.” “Over my dead body!” Alex said, taking a defensive stance in front of Twilight. “Do you know advanced hoof-to-hoof combat?” Alpha asked, “Because your harmonious magic is being blocked in this room.” “Does that mean I can still use discordic magic?” Alex asked, hopefully. “Dax took that ability with him,” Alpha explained, “We both know that.” “Well, I hope he gets in here then,” Alex said to himself, “Then he could stop you.” “His magic may be blocked outside this room,” Alpha explained making a gesture, as the guards swarmed them, and started forcing them toward a bunch of beds, “But I can move the field to wherever I need it to go.” Alex struggled as he was placed on a bed next to Twilight as they were both restrained. “Try not to struggle too much,” Alpha said, somewhat comfortingly, “You’ll be with your friends soon.” //// Celestia and Luna finished loading the guards onto the bullet train as Celestia moved to the front to speak with the conductor. “Can we get this train to Haven Station any faster?” She asked. “I can ramp up the speed a bit,” The conductor explained, “But if I push her too hard, we’ll lose control.” Thinking to herself, Celestia got an idea. “If crashing isn’t an issue, how fast could this train go… Theoretically?” Celestia asked. “Uh… At maximum speed, it would be somewhere in the neighborhood of three hundred percent faster.” He said, shocking the princess. “That fast? We could be at haven station in eight hours?” She asked in awe. “We’d never keep steady though!” He insisted. “I can keep us steady,” Celestia said seriously, “I’ll keep us locked to the ground. Nothing will divert us.” “…Are you sure Princess?” He asked, clearly nervous at the idea, “I don’t feel like this would be a safe thing to do…” “I’m sorry that I have to say it, but this is an order, and you will follow it.” Celestia said, extremely out of character. “Yes ma’am,” He sighed, “Turning to the control panel, and working a few knobs, “I’ll let you know when we’re departing.” “Thank you,” She said simply, exiting the car. She had to get to Twilight before she was hurt. Normally, she would teleport herself there, but she had never been to the place… So she wasn’t able to do it. So, her only option was to get them there fast. “Alright everypony!” The conductor called, “We’re going to be moving fast here… So please be careful during acceleration.” “Are we ready to depart?” Luna asked. “Yes,” Celestia said, “But I’m going to need you to help me keep the train steady during the trip. At the speed we’re going to be moving at, the train needs assistance to keep from derailing.” “Of course,” Luna nodded. Sitting down in a nearby seat, Celestia waited anxiously for the train to start moving. Twilight was so far away… And she was going to have to wait for eight agonizing hours, hoping that she was okay… It would be torture. //// Awakening//// Awakening //// Nothing made sense… Twilight could see normally… But she had no control. She tried to speak, but nothing came out. She tried to shout, but again, nothing. She was in the passenger seat of her own brain and could only see out the windshield. Twilight watched as she turned to Alex. There was something off about him. It was probably the same thing that was wrong with her. “Now, ponies,” Alpha said as Twilight and Alex turned to face him. “Yes, sir.” Twilight said. “Yes, sir.” Alex repeated. Twilight tried to slap him again. But, it didn’t happen. She had zero control. She was stuck here. “Now that you’re on payroll, let me explain how things will be happening.” Alpha said as Alex and Twilight nodded. “You’re both very powerful ponies,” Alpha said, “In fact, all of your friends are.” As he said that, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, Pinkie, and Applejack walking into the illuminated part of the room, having been in the darkness the whole time. “All that’s left, is for me to condition your friend Rainbow Dash, and Dax.” Alpha explained, “I will use her to get him back here, where the magic field will weaken him, and we will capture him.” They all nodded. “Now, when everypony is under changeling control, you’ll be sent home,” Alpha continued, “Where you will work for us, to undermine the current power in Equestria.” Alpha looked across his group of brainwashed ponies and couldn’t help but smile. The Queen had had her doubts, but here it was, all coming together. “Then, when the grand plan is executed next year, they will have no hope of defending themselves.” Alpha finished. They all nodded. “Alright everypony,” Alpha said, “Follow me, we have a message to deliver to Dax.” //// The silence of the desert was once again broken by the loud PA system in the Station. “Dax!” Alpha called, “You forgot somepony, when you ran away.” “Dax!” Dash shouted, “Don’t—“ “You hear that?” Alpha said, “That’s your little girlfriend. And she’s not doing too well here.” “That asshole…” “Here’s the deal,” Alpha said, “I’m going to give you a chance to save her. We’re underneath the spa, and you can walk right in the front door, with no resistance.” “Is he serious?” “After that, well, anything goes,” Alpha said, finishing, “I know you’d leave Alex, and Twilight. But not her. So come on. Let’s do this.” “Fine.” Dax said, standing up from his hiding spot within the compound. It appeared that Alpha had fallen for that imitation of him flying away from the Station, “You’re going to get hurt for taking my friends away.” //// “And now we wait,” Alpha said, turning to his minions, “Everypony, head out into the perimeter, just in case he snuck in somehow.” “Yes sir!” They all called as they turned away and walked out of the room. “Alex!” He shouted, making the white pony stop and turn to face him. “You stay here…” Alpha said, “We don’t know what Dax could do to you, to free you.” Nodding, Alex stood in place and waited for his next orders. “Go keep your friend company,” Alpha said, pointing to the room Dash had been taken to, “I’ll call when Dax arrives.” Nodding, Alex walked toward the room Dash was being held in, and walked past the guards, closing the door behind him. “…Alex?” Dash squeaked, clearly having been knocked around by the guards a bit as her wings were bound, and she was inside a cage, “A- are you really under his control?” Alex didn’t respond. “No…” She said, her eyes filling with tears. Feeling his heart wrench, he watched on, wishing he could say something to her. Dash looked away from him. Here was the strongest pony she had ever met… And now he was against her. She had never felt as alone as she did right now. “Alex… If you can hear me in there,” She said, still not looking at him, “I’m not mad at you for whatever he makes you do.” ‘Thank you,’ Alex thought to himself. Dash looked back to him as he turned away from her, and looked at a large cable running across the ceiling. Cocking her head, she watched as a small spark came out of his horn, and floated into the cable, vanishing. “Wha--?” Alex turned to her for a moment, before turning away again. Closing her mouth, she left it alone. For all she knew, this was some part of his brainwashing. But, she couldn’t help but hope that it meant something good. //// Pinkie bounced down the road, looking around for the white pony she was supposed to bring back to the boss. Noticing some rustling in the bushes, she decided to inspect it. Maybe she’d get a promotion! “Stick ‘em up!” Pinkie said, jumping behind it. “Shhh,” Dax said, touching her with his horn, knocking her out, “Doesn’t look like Alpha can stop all the magic here.” Seeing the spa in front of him, he decided to take the same path he had taken before. Stealthily flying upwards, he kept to the shadowed side of the building as he headed for the window that he had melted out from its place last time he was here. Walking into the still empty office space, he pondered his next move. Should he run in guns blazing? No, if he had trouble casting spells up here, he was willing to bet that he would have no luck downstairs. “Um… Excuse me…” Fluttershy said from behind him, “I think you need to come with me…” Turning quickly, Dax cast the same sleep spell on her that he had on Pinkie, knocking her out on the floor. If she knew he was here, chances were that everypony else did too. Zapping into the room, Twilight gave him a smirk, “Come on, Dax. Come downstairs.” “I’m pretty sure Alpha said I wouldn’t meet resistance when I came in,” Dax said. “He’s a lying jerk,” Twilight said, smiling, “But he’s the boss.” “Geez,” Dax said, “What has he done to you?” “Taken control of me,” She shrugged, “Nothing huge.” Carefully stepping toward her, Dax tried to knock her out, in the same way he did with the others. “Slow down there!” She said, “Your magic is blocked out here, mine isn’t. Only chaotic magic is blocked up here. Downstairs is the opposite.” Dax stepped back. “Now, allow me to take you downstairs, so you can begin your spa treatment!” Twilight said, smiling WAY too much. Dax shook his head, “Twilight, can you not hear me at all?” “Hey!” She said angrily, “You abandoned me, and left me to him! Don’t try to appeal to me!” “You know, for brainwashed, you sure seem to be acting normal,” Dax continued, just trying to buy some time for him to think up an escape plan. “Don’t ask me,” She said, “I’m not the one who made that machine.” “This was done by a machine?” Dax asked. “He put me on a bed, and a strange light shined in my eyes from this big green ball.” Twilight explained, “It separated me from some of my soul, I think.” “That sounds horrible.” Dax said quietly. “But it’s okay,” Twilight continued, “I overheard a guard saying that it needed to be protected because destroying it would free everypony.” “You sure are being open with information,” Dax said, “Any reason for that?” “My separated soul told you that,” She said blankly, “Now, please come with me.” “Thanks, Twi.” Dax smiled, “I’ll see you when this is all over.” Backing up, Dax stepped on to the piece of the floor that had previously opened when they fell down, and charged a spell. “How are you using magic?” Twilight asked. Lifting a hoof to his lips, he shushed her, and then zapped her with a bolt of energy, knocking her out. “I’m coming to see you, Alpha.” Dax said, lifting off the ground, and focusing his magic on his hoofs. Then, he smashed into the floor, with his arms extended out in front of him as he broke through the floor, to the next floor, where he immediately punched through the next one, and the next one, as he made his way down the building interior. //// “Where is that damn pony?” Alpha asked himself as he looked from monitor to monitor, looking for any sign of Dax. Hearing something in the distance, Alpha quieted down and listened as some kind of smashing could be heard. “What is that?” Alpha whispered to himself as it grew louder and louder, until it was literally right above him. Then, completely shockingly, the ceiling above him crumbled to pieces and collapsed a few feet away from Alpha. Crashing into the ground next to him, Dax looked for the green ball Twilight had described. Seeing it, he dove for it, feeling his power start to fail him here. “Oh no, you don’t!” Alpha shouted, throwing himself at Dax, knocking him out of the way, and sending them both on to the ground. “Guards!” Alpha shouted, holding Dax down, “Adjust the magic field, and negate Discordic magic in cage two, and lower it down here!” Standing up, Alpha lifted Dax, and tossed him over to a marked place on the floor, where a massive cage fell down, locking him inside. Staggering up, Dax tried to cast a spell, and get himself out of the cage. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. His magic was cut off here. “That is what I call a home run!” Alpha laughed, “I’ve got you all!” Dax panted, “What is with this damn magic field?!” “I’ve concentrated every ounce of anti-chaotic magic into that cage,” Alpha explained, “When the spell is that potent, it can be a bit overwhelming to the other parts of your body.” Dax fell forward on to his knees. “Alex!” Alpha called, “Prepare the tables for Dax and Rainbow Dash!” Walking into the room, Alex looked to Dax, and then to Alpha. “Go!” He ordered. Nodding, Alex walked over to the table and went about his business. “With the eight of you ponies under my control, you have no idea how much power I will have!” Alpha laughed, looking to the almost unconscious Dax in the cage. “I just have one thing to say…” Dax said, looking up weakly. “What is it?” Alpha asked. Gesturing for him to come closer, Alpha stepped forward. Dax mumbled something Alpha couldn’t understand. “Speak up!” Alpha said, stepping right up to the cage, “What do you have to say?” “My eyes.” Dax whispered. Giving him a confused look, Alpha looked at Dax’s blue eyes. “What?” He asked, before it all clicked. “No!” Immediately, Alpha was lifted off the ground, and thrown into one of the support pillars and collapsed on the ground. Next, the massive cage was lifted off Dax, and thrown into the green orb above the operating tables, smashing it to pieces. “No!” Alpha shouted, “No, no, no, no!” “Oh, just let me finish this one off as well,” Alex said, smirking, as an explosion in the power line on the ceiling knocked out the power to the anti-magic generator. “Check.” Alex said from where he had been trapped by the cage. “Mate.” Dax said from the operation tables. “I’m afraid you had us mixed up,” Alex grinned. “You really should pay more attention.” Dax smirked. //// Finale//// Finale //// Alex and Dax stood in the laboratory, both exceedingly proud of themselves for outsmarting Alpha and beating him at his own game. Now, all that remained for them to do, was a bit of clean-up duty, and explain just how they did it. The two looked to the back area as the sound of a group of ponies was heard running toward them. “Alpha!” A guard called, “What’s going—“ They were all levitated off the ground, and tossed under the cage, keeping them at bay. “Damn it…” Alpha said, shocked at the huge amount of work he had lost in the last twenty seconds. “Confused?” Alex asked. “He’s confused.” Dax said. “Allow me to explain.” Alex said. //// Alex Dax //// “Remember when the two of us fled the city?” “We had a few minutes to plan our next move, you know.” “Part one, we had to look like we were fighting.” “Look like we didn’t get along.” “Which we didn’t at first, but taking our friends has a funny way of getting us to work together.” “So. We decided to escape to the mall, when we got Twilight.” “From there, Dax slowed himself down while we ran, allowing your guards to hit him.” “And what did we run in to?” “A glasses and contacts stand.” “I grabbed blue contacts, just like Alex.” “So, when we ran into the video arcade, Dax tossed on the contacts, and he became Alex.” “Alex ran away, and pretended to be Dax.” “But not before saying ‘This isn’t part of the plan!’” “My personal favorite.” “So, I waited for a while, long enough for Dax to assess the situation, and find out what we needed to know.” “Then I manipulated the magical hold you had on Twilight so she would spill some information to him. We had both heard the guards talking, but I wasn’t allowed to leave so I couldn’t tell him.” “Then I flew in, looking like a bona fide badass, fooling you further into thinking I was Dax.” “You captured him and put all of the anti-chaos field into his cage, freeing me to use whatever spells I needed." “Exactly what we planned for you to do.” “Then, when you called me into the room, I exchanged a simple thought with Alex, telling me to destroy the green ball when I called Alpha over to see me.” “And now, here we are.” “Endgame.” //// “So,” Alex smiled, “That’s about it.” “Any questions?” Dax asked. Alpha grunted as he stood up, and lightly tapped his hoof against the ground, something that took both Alex and Dax a moment to realize that he was clapping for them. “Honestly,” Alpha began, “I’m not a bad pony. I’m just a loyal pony.” Neither Alex nor Dax knew where this was going. “You two fought for your friends, and you did a damn good job.” Alpha continued, sounding more and more confidant, “But I can’t go back empty hooved.” “Listen,” Alex said, “You don’t need to go back anywhere. You could always—“ “No,” Alpha cut him off, “I love my family, and I won’t be abandoned by them for this.” “What do you mean?” Dax asked. “Nothing…” He said. “Come with me, then.” Alex said, somewhat worryingly, “I’ll get Dash, Dax.” Nodding, Dax readied a spell in case Alpha decided to try and fight his way out of this. Luckily, he was compliant, and allowed Alex to escort him to the jail cell that held Dash. “Alex?!” She asked, seeing him walk through the door, “A-are you okay?” Smiling and nodding, she immediately beamed. “Geez!” She said as Alex opened the door, and pushed Alpha past her, as she walked out, “I thought he had you for sure!” “Psh,” Alex laughed, “He never had anything on me!” “What’s next then?” Dash asked, “How is everypony else doing?” “They’re fine,” Alex said, “Their minds should be coming back to them.” “I couldn’t have done it better myself!” Dash said, “I’ll look after Alpha, why don’t you go out and make sure everything is looking good?” “Sure,” Alex said, kissing her on the cheek quickly, “If there’s any problem, just shout. We’ll come running.” Smiling and nodded, Dash watched Alex exit the room, and then turned back to Alpha. “I can’t believe he fell for it!” She laughed, “Now, what do I need to do to fix that anti-magic barrier for you, Alpha?” //// Pinkie opened her eyes weakly, feeling the rising sun on them. Shaking her head and standing up, she realized that she was in full control of herself! “Oh boy!” She shouted to herself, bouncing up and down, “I’m free! Which means everypony must be free! So I should go bake a cake in—“ Somewhere in the distance, a train whistle blew. //// “Did you hear that?” Alpha asked Dash as she worked away repairing the power supply to his machine, “Why is there a train coming?” “I don’t know!” Dash said, in a rude tone, “How am I supposed to know the schedule?” “I wasn’t asking you,” He said, looking up at the ceiling, “You need to hurry up.” “I am!” Dash snapped, “I don’t see you doing the work!” “I can’t get caught out of the cell!” She shot back, “Just hurry up!” //// Twilight warped herself and Fluttershy to the train platform, and watched the rapidly approaching bullet train that she and her friends had arrived on. They hadn’t seen any kind of guards on when they arrived here, so Twilight assumed that Dax had taken her advice, and destroyed everything below them, allowing magic to work once again. Deciding to take a step back, Twilight and Fluttershy knew this thing was going fast, and she didn’t want to get hurt if it crashed into the station for any reason. “Twilight!” Pinkie called, bouncing over to her, “Who’s on the train?” “There’s only one kind of train like that,” Twilight said, “So that means it’s coming from Canterlot.” “Did ah’ hear Canterlot?” Applejack asked, approaching the group with Rarity and Spike in tow, “That’s good, right?” “Well, at this speed,” Twilight surmised, “They’ve kicked it up by quite a bit, so it’s an emergency for them.” “So it’s help, right?” Spike asked. “I think so,” Twilight nodded. Finally, the train made its final approach, and quickly pulled the breaks, decelerating to a complete stop, in only a matter of seconds. “I hope nopony was hurt there,” Twilight said, cringing at the potential damage they could have gotten in that stop. A few seconds after the train stopped, the doors opened, and Princess Celestia stepped off. “Princess!” Twilight called, running over to her. “Twilight!” She said, running over to her, and embracing her, tears filling her eyes. “You might be in danger!” Luna said, stepping off the train, along with the better part of fifty soldiers. “We were,” Twilight said, “It turned out that our host is a changeling!” “I know,” Celestia said, “Your letter tipped us off.” “Good job Twilight!” Pinkie said. “I didn’t really do anything, She said modestly, “But we need to get down to the foundation of the station, their leader is there.” “Alright,” Celestia nodded, “Are there any dangers we should know about?” “There were anti-magic defenses, but Alex and Dax took care of them.” Twilight explained, “I think, anyway. “Dax?” Celestia asked, “His alter-ego?” “Yeah… It’s a long story.” Twilight said, laughing a bit, “I’ll fill everypony in later.” Walking toward the spa, Twilight spoke to everypony about what had happened to them over the past few hours, and what they might have to watch out for. Finally reaching the perimeter of the building, everypony stopped as Celestia quickly went over the attack plan with them. “We don’t know who’s in there,” Celestia said, “Each team will take a unicorn, use the true-form spell, and use it on everypony you see. I don’t want a changeling slipping past us.” Luna casually walked over to Applejack, and whispered, “It is strange seeing my sister like this.” “Ah’ll bet,” She answered, “Apple Bloom would look mighty weird doin’ this.” “When we have the changelings identified, and in our custody, we’ll do a sweep of the entire complex, and we’ll follow the same procedure,” Celestia continued, “Also, nopony leave your group. When we lose somepony, they gain a chance to sneak into our ranks.” They all nodded. “So, when the operation in complete, we’ll perform the true-form spell on everypony, to make sure you haven’t been impersonated. We don’t want this being the Manehattan Crisis all over again.” She finished. “Manehattan Crisis?” Luna asked, no having heard of that particular event. “It was a big fight in Manehattan, with those changelings and the royal guard, where lots of ‘em changed into our guys, and lots of ponies got hurt.” Applejack explained, “Lots’a books about it.” Luna nodded, before joining her sister. “Is everypony ready?” Luna asked. “Yes!” They shouted in unison. “Alright,” Luna said, “Then move—“ Suddenly, a loud buzzing was heard as a massive force field was generated out of the ground beneath the spa, and made its way outward and upward. “Everypony fall back!” Celestia called as they all ran away from the massive sparking shield that was expanding toward them. The huge group of ponies ran across the courtyard as the spell encompassed the entire thing, sealing it off from the rest of the outside world. “What’s happening?” Rarity shouted. “I think Alpha rebuilt his anti-magic shield with Rainbow Dash’s help!” Pinkie said as they all gave her an odd look. “What?” She asked, “It was just a hunch!” //// “Dash!” Alex shouted, running into the jail, “What happened?” “Sorry, Alex,” Alpha said, stepping out of the cell, “I forget to tell you that Dash was under my control.” “But she hadn’t had the procedure!” Alex said, stepping back as Dax arrived at his side. “That’s where you’re wrong,” Alpha said, “She went under a different kind of conditioning, that doesn’t require machinery. Just in case.” “You asshole.” Dax growled. “Come on,” Alpha said, “Don’t be like that. I won fair and square.” “By brainwashing our friends?” Alex asked, “That’s hardly fair.” “Regardless,” Alpha said, walking past them, “The magic barrier is back up, and I’ve erected a shield around it to keep it from being damaged once again. Alex and Dax weren’t sure what to do now. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to see who arrived in the train station.” Alpha said, exiting the room, leaving the three. “Dash!” Alex said, approaching her, “What did he do to you?” “Put his horn on me,” She shrugged, “That’s all.” “I hope he didn’t put it IN you!” Dax laughed, “That’s our job!” Alex gave him a serious look, “OUR job?” “Uh, yeah.” He said, “But I see what you mean... That sounds a bit strange.” “No shit.” Alex said. “Anyway! Why does she sound so normal?” Dax asked. “Twilight was like that too,” Alex said, “Dash… You need to tell us if there’s anything we can do to stop him!” “Sorry, bud,” Dash said, “Privileged information. Now, excuse me.” She said, walking past them toward Alpha. “What do we do?” Alex whispered to Dax. “I’ve got nothing.” He said frowned. “Well,” Alex said, “We could just beat the living hell out of him.” “I like that plan,” Dax said, “But he said he was a good fighter.” “Right,” Alex said, furrowing his brow, “Our big thing is magic.” “What then?” Dax asked. “Let’s go see who arrived,” Dax said, “Maybe it’s some kind of help.” //// “Can you penetrate the shield, sister?” Luna asked as Celestia shot a constant beam of energy into the field that had been formed. “I can’t,” Celestia Panted, ending the spell, “We need a new plan.” “Don’t worry about that, Princess!” Alpha said over the PA, “This is a lost cause.” “Who am I speaking to?” Celestia shouted, not sure if she could even be heard. “My name is Alpha,” The voice said, “I’m the general of the changeling army, serving under Queen Chrysalis.” “What is your intention?” She shouted. “To strengthen the empire!” HE answered proudly, “And while it may not be the fairest thing in Equestria, I’m taking your friends with me.” “You are not.” Celestia said angrily, “You will release them, and give yourself up.” “You’re not the best at bargaining, Princess,” Alpha laughed, “There is no room for negotiation. This is how it’s going to be happening. “And how do you expect to escape with us here?” Celestia asked. “That’s for me to worry about, and you to not know.” He answered, “In fact, you’d save yourself a lot of time if you just left now.” “This is a true act of war, Alpha,” Celestia warned, “You had best think twice before following through with it.” “I’m afraid I have my orders, and nothing will sway me.” He said, deciding to finish up, “Now, I have some preparations to make… Feel free to keep trying to break my shield, you’ll fail.” And with that, the PA system shut down, leaving them all in silence. “Unicorns, start trying to break that shield!” Celestia ordered, “Focus on a single point, and try to split it open!” “Pegasi!” Luna shouted, “Evacuate the open areas! Get everypony clear of the station!” “Earth ponies,” Celestia followed, “Try to find us an alternate path into the basement!” //// “Much less than I thought!” Alpha said, “But two princesses? I’m a bit honored.” “They’re here for us, not you,” Alex said. “Well, they’re not going to get you,” Alpha said, “I may have failed my primary goal, but if I take you three back, we can at least feed on love between you and Dash, here.” “What?” Alex asked, a bit weirded out. “Nothing,” Alpha said, “However, I am a bit surprised.” “Surprised?” Dax asked. “You two haven’t come at me yet,” He said, “I expected some fight with you two versus Dash and myself.” “I can’t risk her,” Alex said, “Who knows how you’d use her against us.” Alpha scratched his head, “You’re right, it’s not fair. Forget her.” “What?” Alex and Dax said together. “You two fight me, she won’t do a thing.” He said, “You win, you go free. I win, you come with me.” Alex and Dax looked at each other, nodding. “Fine.” Dax said, “Let’s do it.” “Stay back, Rainbow Dash,” Alpha instructed, before turning to the guards he had released from the cage Alex dropped on them.” They complied and stood at the sideline. Alex and Dax each took an offensive stance, as Alpha took his own. //// //// Alex thought carefully about what he would do when Alpha attacked him, but that time was cut short, when Dax ran head first into the changeling trying to knock him over. However, Alpha jolted to the side, and struck Dax as he ran past him, knocking him over. “Ow…” Dax said, righting himself. Alpha approached Alex, and took a quick jab at Alex that he quickly dodged. Alpha kept this up as Alex narrowly got out of the way of each hit. Unfortunately, he was getting faster with the punches, and Alex was slowing down. Seeing an opportunity, Dax ran up behind Alpha, and was about to hit him. But before he could, Alpha shot his elbow back and hit him in the nose, sending him staggering back. Seeing this distracted Alex long enough for Alpha to strike, and knock him on the floor. “Come on you two!” Alpha said, “This is nothing!” Both standing up, they threw caution to the wind, and went in hoofs flailing. However, with a few stops and counter attacks, they both hit the ground again. “This would be easier if you would concede.” Alpha said, “You sure you don’t want that?” Standing again, Alex shook his head, “I can keep going.” “Me too…” Dax said breathlessly, with a very bloody nose. “Such vigor,” Alpha nodded, “Love will do that, won’t it?” Dax staggered over to Alpha, and threw a slow, and predictable punch that he ducked under, then grabbed the arm above him, and flipped Dax over his back. Dax looked like he was out. “Come on, Alex,” Alpha said, “Let’s finish this now.” Alex looked over to Dax, and saw that he was glowing lightly. He remembered that light. He remembered seeing it when they were separating. Starting to walk in circles, Alex passed Dax once, simply looking like he was readying to attack. “Come on, Alex,” Alpha egged, “Just throw the punch.” Doing another circle, Alex passed Dax once again… Just one more. “Are you stalling for something?” Alpha asked, “No help is coming!” On the final circle, Alex sped up significantly, and made his way over to Dax as fast as possible. Finally reaching the right point, Alex pretended to trip and rolled toward Dax. Seeing this as an opportunity to strike Alex, Alpha moved to hit Alex when he ran into Dax, and would stop dead, so Alpha could knock him out. Alex held his breath and prayed for this part to work. Hitting Dax, instead of stopping dead, Alex passed through him as Dax was reabsorbed into his body. So, he kept rolling. Alpha then missed them both and fell flat on the ground. In an instant, Alex was up and struck hit him once in the back of the head, bouncing it off the ground, making a painfully loud ‘crack.’ A few seconds of silence followed before Alpha surprised them all, and stood back up. “Heh…” He said, as a green trail of blood ran down his forehead to his left eye, “That- That was good, Alex.” “Sir!” One of the guards shouted from behind them. “Quiet,” Alpha said groggily, “I- I’m speaking.” “He confused!” One of the guards shouted. “I’m not!” Alpha shouted back, showing himself as truly angry, “Silence!” “Rainbow Dash!” A guard shouted, “Code eight!” She nodded as she picked up a piece of pipe with a sharpened end, and held on to it, shaking. “I repeat!” The guard said, “Code eight!” “N-no…” Alpha murmured, not able to form the right words as he watched Alex turn to face her. Tears filled her eyes, and she felt herself lose the small amount of control she had. The pipe left her hoofs, and just as Alex turned and saw the pipe coming, his eyes flared green, and it impaled him through his chest. //// “Where am I?” Alex asked the black void that surrounded him. “In our head…” Dax said weakly. “A-are we dead?” //// The silence in the room was horrifying. Dash stood with a blank expression on her face as tears ran down her cheeks. The guards were silently congratulating one another as Alpha finally managed to get his head back in order. “Code zero one!” Alpha shouted, breaking the control they held over Rainbow Dash, “You idiots!” “Alex!” She shouted, running over to his limp, bloody body, “Nononononono!” Alpha watched in horror as she tried to get some sign of life out of him, lightly touching his head, or moving an arm. But, there was nothing. “Sir, your judgment has become impaired,” One of the guards said, “As per guidelines, we leave now.” “Excuse me?” Alpha asked. “You’re relieved of duty, sir.” He said, “Please step on the transporter while we gather the prisoner.” To her, they were a million miles away. “Alex!” She shouted, shaking his shoulders, “Answer me!” “C-Colors?” He asked weakly, opening his eyes a bit. “You’re okay!” She said, “You need… We need too…” “It’s not Alex…” Dax said, “I’m in the driver’s seat.” Dash was silent as he continued. “I- I took the hit...” Dax said, “And now I’m dying.” “Don’t say that,” She said, lightly stroking his face, “Just heal yourself up!” “Magic field,” Dax said, pointing at the ceiling, “Can you just do one thing for me?” “Of course!” She said, her face so wet that the tears weren’t even noticeable at this point. “Just a quickie…” He laughed weakly, pointing to the object that had impaled him “L-look at how big my pole is!” Dash laughed through the tears, “You’re dying, and that’s your final request?” “Time and a place,” Dax nodded, “Got it… How about a kiss then? I mean, I never really got one from you.” Not hesitating for a moment, Dash pressed her lips into his, and kissed him with as much energy as she could. She didn’t want to think about how much pain he must have been in, or the fact that she could taste blood from his mouth. She just wanted this to go on forever. Pulling back, Dash felt the tears start coming at twice the speed as Dax squeaked out a final, “Thank you…” Suddenly Dash was grabbed from behind, and started to be dragged toward the hole she had flown down. “No!” She screamed, trying her best to get back to Dax. But, they were stronger than her, and weren’t going to let her go. //// “Dash…” Alex said, hearing her agonizing cries, “So… This is it then?” “Not for you,” Dax said, appearing in front of him in human form, “Just for me.” “What?” Alex asked, “How…?” “Since we were just separated, I can break us apart again,” Dax explained, “You’ll come out unscathed, the damage will be left on me.” “But you can come with me, right?” Alex asked. “Not quite,” Dax said, looking at the ground, “There isn’t room for two personalities in that body.” “So what then?” Alex asked, “You just die here?” “Well, they don’t call me the element of selflessness for nothing,” Dax said. Alex gave him a sullen look, “There has to be another way…” “Well, there is one.” Dax said, “But you might not like it.” “What is it!?” Alex asked, “I’ll do whatever!” “We become one pony,” Dax said, “You accept me as a part of you, and we merge.” “W-will that change who I am?” Alex asked. “I’m only a small part of your soul, Alex,” Dax explained, “You’ll be yourself, but you’ll act like me every now and then.” “Will you still be in my head?” Alex asked. “No,” Dax said, “We’ll be the same pony.” “Fine.” Alex said, not wanting to waste time, “Let’s do it.” “Are you sure?” Dax asked, “This can’t be reversed.” “I figured that,” Alex said, extending his hoof, “It’s been good, my friend.” “Well, I’ve been good,” Dax corrected, smirking. “You got it from me,” Alex smirked back, “Let’s do this.” His smirk changed to a genuine smile as Dax shook the hoof with his human hand. Then, Dax lit up and vanished. //// Inhaling sharply, Alex sat up, and tried to get his bearings. He was confused. Is head felt so… full. Looking to the side, he saw… himself. Impaled with a pole, and lifeless. What the buck was going on again? He was in a basement. Below the spa. He was brainwashed. He broke the spell. Fought Alpha. Got impaled. Merged with Dax. Save Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash!” He shouted, standing up. Following her muffled shouts, he saw her standing on the platform they had fallen through a few hours ago, when the three of them had tried to explore the spa. “Let her go!” Alex shouted while his left eye rippled magic out of it. “Alex!” She shouted, extremely relieved, but still captive by the changelings. Fifteen guards, Alpha, and Rainbow Dash were all surrounded by a bright blue ripple that Alex assumed was the teleporter he had heard them talking about. “Let her go!” Alex shouted as his right eye started to glow as well. “Teleportation in ten—“ Alex felt something new. It was chaotic magic. “Nine,” But it was different. “Eight,” It was mixing with the harmonious magic within him. “Seven,” It was some new kind of magic, “Six,” And it was powerful. “Five,” Sending this new power into his front left hoof, Alex lifted it and slammed it into the floor, making the entire room shake violently. “Four!” “Give her back!” Alex shouted, firing a small amount of this energy into the teleporter, making the blue energy surrounding them tear and thin out. “He’s destabilizing the field!” Alpha shouted, “Let her go!” “Negative sir,” The guard said, “We’ll make it” “Three!” His eyes were now replaced with a solid green as he fired a shot with a bit more energy in it. Hitting three of the guards, they all fell to the ground shaking violently as the field shook and more. “He’s going to kill us!” Alpha shouted. The guard didn’t respond as he looked back and forth between Alex and Alpha. “Two!” Alex screamed, and he went for broke, and poured every ounce of power he had into a constant beam that he drew across walls, cables and various machines as it liquefied them, or made them explode. Grabbing Dash from the guard, Alpha threw her out of the teleporter as Alex broke several support bars, making the roof start saving in on them all. “He’s damaged the teleport controls!” A guard shouted, “We have no destination!” “We’ll be scattered into atoms!” Another shouted, “Abort!” Unfortunately, the teleporter went off before they could stop it, and they were all converted into energy. “I’m sorry it had to happen this way, Alex, Rainbow Dash.” Alpha’s voice was heard, as he, and the rest of his team was fired into the sky, disappearing. “Dash!” Alex shouted, stopping his rampage, running to her, and teleporting them out of the collapsing basement. //// Everypony watched at the spa, and courtyard surrounding it started collapsing in on itself, as a massive burst of energy shot into the sky through the roof of the spa. The destruction started under the spa and had now spread to the entire area inside the force field. Chunk after chunk of the ground fell into the sub-basement as the spa itself toppled, and fell into the pit that had just been formed. Once the dust settled, all that was left was rubble. “What happened?” Luna said quietly. “Did anypony hear those blasts of magic?” Applejack asked. “I did, I did!” Pinkie bounced. “Yeah, I think we all did, Applejack.” Twilight said. “What happened to the ponies inside?” Rarity asked. “I think that was the energy we just saw was them escaping,” Celestia said sadly, “They’re gone.” “What’s that?” Spike asked, pointing to a ball hanging in the sky. Pulling out her pink binoculars, Pinkie squee’d, “It’s Alex and Dashie!” They all breathed a sigh of relief. “What about Dax?” Twilight asked. “I only see two ponies up there,” Pinkie said, “I’m sure it’s fine though…” The floating ball made its way down to the Canterlot guard as none of them dared make a sound. Alex and Dash landed as the orb vanished, and stayed just as quiet as the rest of them. “What happened to you guys…?” Fluttershy spoke up, surprising everypony. “Let’s just go home,” Alex said quietly, “I’ll fill you guys in on the way.” “Dash?” Twilight asked, “Are you okay?” “I’m not sure,” She admitted, “I just killed him.” A gasp went through the crowd. “I’m going with him,” She said, turned around, and followed him to the hotel, where they proceeded to pack their bags, and get ready to leave. “Hey, Alex.” Dash said, seeing him sitting down on the bed, deep in thought, “How did you just come back to life?” “Dax sacrificed himself for me,” He said, “We had two bodies, and he used his to absorb the damage.” “Is he...?” She began, biting her lip. “Not quite,” Alex said, poking his head, “He’s in here.” “Like before?” She asked. “No,” Alex explained, “We merged into one consciousness.” “What does that mean?” She asked, completely confused. “It means that I’m now about seventy five percent Alex, and twenty five percent Dax.” He continued. “You seem okay to me,” Dash said, sitting down next to him. “Actually,” Alex sighed in defeat, “I’ve had a hard time not telling you that you have a great plot.” She instantly blushed, “I-I don’t mind hearing that if it comes out.” “I know,” Alex said, “But I’m afraid I’ll offend somepony that’s not you.” “I also got access to some new, powerful magic,” Alex said. “Well... Can you lock the door with this magic?” She asked. “Yes?” Alex said, demonstrating by locking the latch. “Good,” She smiled, placing a hoof on his chest. “You just watched me DIE,” Alex said, “Are you sure you wanna do this?” “It’s my coping mechanism, okay?” She said, “Besides, his last wish was for a quickie.” “I guess,” Alex sighed, “We might need to change this story’s rating to add a ‘sex’ tag though.” “What?” //// Author's Note Haven Station is done! Wooooooo... Working into the final chapters here.
Prelude//// Haven Station: Prelude //// The air was refreshing as Twilight and all of her friends exited the train car, stepping into Canterlot, the Royal city of Equestria. They had been asked here by Princess Celestia, regarding some form of good will mission. They had been informed very little, and were somewhat anxious to learn what they were to do. “What do you think the Princess wants to send us?” Spike asked anypony who would listen. “For the millionth time, Spike,” Twilight sighed, annoyed, “I don’t know.” “I hope it’s to some kind of party!” Pinkie shouted, rather characteristically of her. “Somehow I doubt that,” Rainbow Dash laughed, stepping closer to Alex as he also exited the train, “But we can always keep our hooves crossed!” “Hooves crossed?” Twilight asked, not understanding the meaning, “What does that even mean?” “It’s an expression from my world,” Alex explained, “I say it sometimes, even though nopony here uses it… Dash just caught on.” “Crossing hooves is good luck on earth?” Twilight inquired, looking back to him. “Well, not quite,” Alex laughed, “It’s crossing FINGERS… I’d ask Spike to demonstrate, but… Well, he’s a pony now.” Laughing, Twilight looked forward and smiled, “It’s nice to be home like this.” “Oh, right.” Fluttershy spoke up, “I keep forgetting that you’re from Canterlot.” “Yup,” She smiled, “The house I grew up in is just down that road.” Everypony followed her hoof, and looked down the road she was gesturing to. They weren’t really sure what they were looking for, but all pretended they saw it, so they wouldn’t be the odd pony out. “It’s a lovely house,” Alex nodded, “An eight out of ten, if you ask me.” “I just love the roof, dear,” Rarity agreed. “Me too!” Applejack nodded rapidly, afraid she had missed it. Twilight just shook her head as they continued up the main street toward Canterlot Castle. The house was WELL out of view. “What else don’t we know about you?” Dash asked. “Ah’d like tuh hear a few things, mah-self!” Applejack agreed. Twilight scratched her head, what else didn’t her friends know about her? She was pretty open most of the time… Had she mentioned that her brother was the Captain of the Royal guard? Maybe not. “I told you guys that my brother was the Captain of the Royal guard, right?” Twilight asked, looking back to them. “What?!” Everypony shouted at once. “Oh, did I forget to tell you guys that?” She asked, “Well, it’s true! My brother is—“ “You have a brother?!” They all said again. “What?” Twilight asked, “You guys didn’t know that?” “You’ve never mentioned him!” Pinkie said, “I wanna meet him!” “Me too!” Applejack agreed, “Ah just might take a pass at ‘em!” “Woah!” Twilight said, turning around, “Hoofs off!” “Dang!” Pinkie added, “So much for my plan to ask him out.” “Wha-“ Twilight began. “I guess I’ll keep it in my pants, Twilight.” Fluttershy giggled, as the whole crowd erupted in laughter. Well, the whole crowd MINUS Twilight. Finally reaching the gates, the girls were greeted with two lines of Royal guards with a carpet between them, at the end of which, stood a white stallion, with a dually blue colored mane. “Shining Armor!” Twilight called, running down the carpet. “Twily!” He called, running toward her himself. The two embraced, smiling happily. “It’s been so long!” She said, still in the hug. “Too long,” He smiled, pulling away from her, and looking behind her, “These must be your friends!” They all smiled and waved. “Good lookin’ colt,” Applejack whispered to Rarity. She simply nodded in reply. “I hope Twilight hasn’t made me sound TOO bad when she’s talked about me before,” He joked with them. “Actually, Twilight hasn’t—” Alex began, before Dash nudged him in the side. “She’s made you out to be LOVELY,” Rarity laughed nervously. “Good to hear,” He smiled, “Come on, I’ll take you all to the Princess.” Following his lead, the nine of them walked up the grand staircase in the lobby of the castle, and walked through two of the biggest doors any of them had seen. Through them, was another lobby sort-of room, with several chairs, for ponies that were waiting their turns to speak with Luna or Celestia. Walking through the large archway, they entered the throne room, a place that filled Twilight with nostalgia, even though she had spent almost every day here a year ago. “Wow...” Rarity said quietly, “It’s so… extravagant.” “You can say that again!” Applejack agreed, never having seen such a beautifully decorated and purely colored room before. It was a little overwhelming. “Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia smiled, “It’s good to see you, and your friends again!” “Princess,” Twilight smiled, “It’s great to see you too.” “Wonderful,” She smiled, “And how is everypony else doing?” The group all called their answers at once, giving her a pretty good understanding of their general happiness at the moment. “I’m very happy to hear that,” She said, “Now, on to the matter at hoof.” “Yes, Princess?” Twilight asked. “I have personally been asked to invite the Bearers of The Elements of Harmony, to a resort on the edge of Equestrian territory, where you all will all be staying for a week, as guests.” Celestia explained. “Guests of whom?” Rarity asked. “A group of ponies that separated from Equestria many years ago, rejecting me as their ruler,” Celestia explained, “However, with the passage of time, they have come to accept that there is no reason that there should be any animosity between our people.” “I remember reading about them!” Twilight spoke up, “There were quite a few of them, if I recall.” Celestia nodded, “They have made themselves their own society that was built on democracy, something I have nothing but respect for.” “And… They want to pamper US as a sign of peace?” Alex asked. “Indeed,” Celestia nodded, “After hearing of your heroics, in defeating Night Mare Moon, they wanted to thank you themselves.” “Well, I know I’m down!” Alex laughed. “Me too!” Spike agreed. “I’ll bet we’ll have so much fun!” Pinkie smiled. “Where are we being sent, exactly?” Twilight asked. “It’s a resort called Haven Station,” Celestia said, “It’s beyond the badlands to the south.” Twilight cocked her head, “I’ve never heard of a ‘Haven Station,’ before.” “It’s only just finished construction,” Celestia explained, “They plan on using it to get tourists, and get some money into their economy.” “What kind of stuff does this ‘Resort’ have?” Dash asked. “Let me see…” Celestia said, levitating the pamphlet up to her face, “There are shopping malls, several pools, an entire athletic center, massage parlors, a zoo, restaurants, movie theaters, a video arcade, and one of the largest libraries in Equestria.” Everypony was slack-jawed. “Well…” Rarity breathlessly, “I don’t mind missing out on Photo Finish now…” “It sounds quite enticing…” Celestia admitted, giggling at the girls reactions, “I’ll have to book a time to stay there myself.” “Sounds good to me!” Dash laughed, “When do we leave?” “You all brought your belongings I hope?” Celestia asked. “We left them on the train… But yeah,” Twilight said. “Perfect, Shining Armor,” Celestia gestured, as he stepped forward, “Please have their bags moved from the Ponyville express, to the new line.” “Right away, your majesty,” He bowed, “Walking out of the room.” “New line?” Twilight asked, “You built a whole new railway just to go there?” “Of course not,” Celestia laughed, “The new track merges with the present one, we just built the new one to hold the new, faster train.” “Fast train?” Applejack asked, “Sounds excitin’!” “I’m sure it will be,” Celestia smiled, “It moves over three times faster than the one you arrived on.” “Well, the badlands are well beyond Appleoosa, right?” Twilight surmised, “So we probably NEED a fast ride.” “It would be a four day trip otherwise,” Celestia explained, “Now, it’s only a little over one.” “We’ll be past Appaloosa real quick then?” Applejack asked, “Ah hope they don’t mind me missin’ out on my trip there…” “After your trip, you could always stop in,” Celestia offered, “We’re simply on a schedule for tomorrow, so we wouldn’t have time.” “Of course, Princess!” Applejack smiled, “Thank ya’ kindly!” “Now, if everypony would follow me,” Celestia said, standing up, “I’ll take you to the bullet train.” //// “Woah…” Dash said in awe, looking at their sleek, silver transportation. “It looks so… new,” Fluttershy said, almost blinded by the reflecting sunlight, “I wonder how it looks inside.” “Only one way to find out,” Celestia smiled. All stepping aboard, they were surprised to see a rather normal looking interior… It was almost a complete copy of the usual trains they would ride in. “I expected more… shiny-ness.” Alex said, “This is pretty standard issue.” “Sorry to let you down,” Celestia laughed, “But at least you know nothing was sacrificed.” “Here… Are the… Bags… Your M-Majesty.” Shining Armor panted, having all the massive bags levitated around him. “Wonderful,” Celestia said, taking one bag at a time, and placing it next to each individual bed, until they were all placed, “I guess you’re all ready to go now, yes?” “I guess so,” Twilight said, “I was kinda hoping to spend some more time with you and Shining Armor…” “I’d love for that myself,” Celestia admitted, “But we have a very tight schedule to keep. I promise, when you get back, we can spend as much time together as you please.” Sighing, Twilight nodded and smiled, “I guess I can live with that.” “I promise,” Shining spoke up, “You won’t be missing me when you’re being massaged, or reading in that massive library.” “I guess that’s true,” Twilight giggled, as the train whistles sounded. “Well, that’s our cue,” Celestia said, stepping beside her Captain, next to the door, “I hope you all enjoy your stay there.” “I’m sure we will!” Rarity laughed. “Thanks for giving us the chance to go!” Pinkie smiled. “It’s no trouble,” Celestia smiled, as she stepped out the door, “Enjoy the trip.” “I’ll see you in a week big brother!” Twilight said, as the metal doors closed, separating them from the Princess and Shining Armor. Everypony chatted idly as they all moved to the seats Celestia had placed their luggage next to, and settled down. “Is everypony comfortable?” The conductor asked, walking from the front of the car. “Sure am!” Alex said, as everypony else followed suit. “Great,” He said, “We’ll be departing soon, and I’ll have to ask that you all buckle into your seats.” “Buckle in?” Spike asked, looking to is side, and seeing a seatbelt attached to his chair. “This train gets goin’ pretty fast,” The Conductor explained, “You just need to stay buckled, until we’re up to speed.” Generally accepting his explanation, everypony sat down, and attached their buckles. The conductor walked out of the room, and roared the engine to life. It didn’t sound like your usual steam engine. It had more of a ‘humming’ sound to it. It was much quieter, but somehow felt stronger. “Alright everypony!” the Conductor called over the PA system, “Hold on tight! Next stop, Haven Station!” The train kicked to life, and rapidly accelerated to top speed, forcing everypony backward into their seats. “W-why do we need th-these seatbelts?” Alex stammered, shouting over the now deafening humming coming from the engine, unbuckling himself and pushing it away, “I don’t think I’m going anywhere without it!” Suddenly the train lurched, and rapid decelerated, throwing everypony forward into their seat belts, and sending Alex flying into the wall at the other end of the train car, followed by him falling on his back, facing upward. “Sounds like somepony took off their belt!” The conductor laughed over the PA, “You’re free to walk around the cabin now.” Everypony got up, and quickly ran to Alex to make sure he was okay. “Are you okay?!” Dash asked. Alex laughed embarrassedly, coughing in pain, “Boy, did I just pick a patch of Oopsie Daisies.” ////
Arrival//// Arrival //// “Alright everypony!” The conductor called, “Buckle in, we’ve going to be slowin’ down right quick!” Not one to be the fool twice, Alex ran to his seat and strapped himself in. He wasn’t going to be flying across the cabin a second time. The pain had JUST subsided. Everypony laughed passingly at his fear of deceleration as they all got to their seats and buckled in. “Stay put this time, Alex.” Dash laughed. “Don’t worry about me,” Alex said, leaning back in his chair, trying to keep himself from being thrown forward. Twilight shifted uncomfortably. She hated sitting on her rump this way. It felt so strange. Of course, to Alex and Spike, this was totally normal, as they would sit this way all the time. But, that made sense as they had sat that way for most of their lives. “Alright everypony!” The Conductor announced, “Here we go!” The steady humming of the engine was replaced by the deafening screech of the breaks, as everypony was thrown into their seatbelts as they rapidly decelerated. Spike grunted, this was actually a rather painful experience… Having all of his weight being pushed into the crossed belts across his chest. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the train came to a complete stop, and the force behind them subsided, leaving them all hanging forward against the safety belts. Sighing and falling back, Pinkie frowned, “That was NOT fun.” “Ah’m with ya’ on that one,” Applejack agreed. “Why don’t they fix that?” Alex asked. “This train is- is so new, that it doesn’t have comfortable safety features… Just ones that work.” Twilight breathed heavily. “Alright, off ya’ get!” The conductor said, stepping out from the front of the train, “Your hosts are waiting for you!” “How are you so… okay?” Alex asked, eyeing him suspiciously, “Everypony here can barely stand!” “I’m used to it,” He shrugged. “Fair enough,” Alex panted, removing the buckle, and falling on the floor. Twilight shakily stood up, and helped her friends up one by one. She REALLY wasn’t looking forward to the trip back. //// “You’ve arrived at: Haven Station.” A voice announced over the intercom, “Please enjoy your stay.” By the time they got their luggage ready to go, and exited the train, the sun was already starting to set. Something they were all grateful for, as sleep was something they had been somewhat deprived of on the train ride here. Not that the train had anything to do with it… They had all just been absorbed into a conversation for much longer than they had expected. “Hello, everypony,” A manly, nicely dressed, yellow Pegasus said, approaching them from the main entrance to the staggeringly large building in front of them, “I’d like to personally welcome you to Haven Station.” “It’s super-nice to be here!” Pinkie said, instantly recovering from her fatigue, “Would you like to be my friend?” “Cool it, Pinkie,” Twilight laughed, “It’s nice to meet you, Mister…?” “Alpha,” He answered, extending a hoof, “You must be Twilight Sparkle.” “Well, Alpha,” Twilight said, shaking it, “These are my friends: Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Alex, and Rainbow Dash.” “Heya,” Alex said nonchalantly, looking around the area. “Thank you for the invitation to stay here,” Fluttershy said, “It’s just lovely here.” “Thank you,” Alpha said, “We take great pride in our work here.” “So, where are the rooms?” Dash yawned, stretching her wings out, “I’m frickin’ tired.” “Rainbow Dash!” Rarity scolded, “Show a little more respect!” “It’s quite alright, Miss Rarity,” Alpha said, “I can see that you and your friends are tired. I’ll show you to your rooms.” “Now we’re talkin’!” Applejack said, happy that she could get some real shut-eye. As they walked into the lobby entrance to the resort, they were in awe of the layout of the room, and the colors it used to stand out even further. Directly in front of them, on the opposite wall, was the exit into the internal courtyard, where they were able to go shopping, see a movie, or read a book, depending on which section of the resort they went to. On either side of the exit to the courtyard, were two curved staircases that met in an arch above the exit, and wrapped around the lobby leading off into different hallways, where everypony’s rooms were located. The walls and carpets were all decorated in the color gold, while the hardwood kept its original color, matching perfectly, while the light fixtures were all perfectly white, giving the entire room a look of immense wealth. “It’s all so… wow…” Rarity said, her eyes wide in admiration. “I agree,” Alpha laughed, “Some would say opulence is a sin… Everypony here would disagree.” “Is everything here gold?” Fluttershy asked, still dazzled. “Not everything,” He smiled, “But a good chunk sure is.” “I love it here!” Spike said, “I feel so rich!” Alex was impressed himself, this room beat out the throne room in Canterlot by a mile. “Most of the staff has already gone home for the night,” Alpha said, “But they’ll be back first thing in the morning to make everypony breakfast.” “No dinner?” Spike whined. “I didn’t say that,” Alpha grinned, “Please follow me.” //// “Oh my glob…” Spike said, his mouth hanging open, “Look at this spread!” Alpha had just led them to the common room that they would all be sharing on the second floor. It offered a great view of either side of the building. The internal courtyard, where they were able to see a few stray ponies entering and exiting various sections of the complex, and the external compound, where they could see sprawling lake that reflected the setting sun beautifully. Inside the room, was a large table, large enough to sit the group of them. Beside it, was a collection of couches and chairs, where they would be able to relax and converse with one another. On the opposite side of the entrance to the room, was a large door that led to a hallway, with ten doors in it. Each one with a room inside it. “I had this meal made specifically made for you and your friends,” Alpha said, “You’ll find each of your favorite foods here.” Alex gave him an odd look… That was a bit weird. How did he know that? Maybe Celestia told him. Accepting that answer, he jumped to the large pile of pasta in front of him and went to town. “So,” Twilight said to Alpha, attempting to make small talk, “What kind of name is Alpha?” “I’m the day-to-day manager of Haven and it’s staff,” Alpha explained, “Alpha is more of a… designation.” “Do you have another name?” Twilight asked. “That’s private,” He said confusingly, “Simple etiquette in my culture.” “Alright,” Twilight said, accepting the answer, since she had no idea how these ponies operated, “I’m sorry if I was insensitive.” “No problem,” He said, leaning in to her ear, “Maybe if we get to know each other a bit better, I’ll tell you.” Twilight blushed and backed away, she wasn’t used to being hit on! “You all may choose whichever room you wish,” Alpha announced, stepping away from Twilight, “The remainder of the food will be removed once everypony is settled in for the night.” “Thanks!” They all chimed in. “No problem,” He smiled, “Tomorrow at noon, we’ll discuss the spa and conditioning procedures.” Rarity sighed happily, “I simply can’t wait!” “I’ll see everypony tomorrow, bright and early!” He said to them as he opened the door they had all just come in from, “Have a good night.” “We will,” Twilight said as he walked out the door, and closed it behind him. “Well!” Dash announced, “I’m ready for bed!” “Me too!” Alex said instantly as everypony gave them suspicious looks. “What?” Dash asked. “Going to bed at the same time, I see.” Rarity giggled. “It’s not like that!” Dash insisted, “I just want to make sure he’s there to sleep with!” Before anypony had a chance to make fun of her, Alex quickly jumped up, “We’re still not feeling too good about the whole Luna and Bolt situation! It helps to have somepony to sleep with…” The room silenced. “Goodnight,” Alex said, walking through the grand door with Dash. “Well that ruined the mood…” Pinkie said, reaching into her luggage, “Good thing I brought a cake in case that happened!” “’Cheer up, Everypony,’” Twilight read on the cake, “Well, Pinkie, nopony can say you’re an ill prepared pony.” “They sure can’t, Twilight!” ////
A Visit, and a Tour//// A Visit, and a Tour //// Everypony collected in the lobby, after finishing their breakfast. They were anxiously waiting for what was coming next during their stay at the station. However, they were still waiting on Dash and Alex. The two had a tendency to spend ALL their time together, and it could be a tad annoying every now and then. Still, if they were too busy snogging to go on the official tour, that was their fault. The idle chat between everypony quickly silenced as Alpha walked out from behind the front desk. “I hope everypony had a good night’s rest,” Alpha said to the ponies assembled in front of him, “I hope you all enjoyed… Are we missing somepony?” “Alex and Rainbow Dash,” Twilight spoke up, “They’re probably just… Enjoying one another’s company.” “Right,” He laughed, turning to the courtyard, “We’ll start without them.” “Oh, before we start,” Twilight said, having him look back at her, “Who’s the owner of this place? I wanted to thank them on behalf of Princess Celestia.” “The owner?” Alpha asked, getting an odd look on his face, “I honestly have no idea.” “You don’t know yer’ boss?” Applejack asked. Alpha shook his head, “A few weeks ago, somepony bought the whole place off the old owner… Nopony’s ever met them.” “They just bought it?” Rarity asked in surprise, “An establishment like this would have quite the price tag.” “No kidding,” Alpha agreed, turning to Twilight and winking, “It’s almost ominous, huh?” “Almost,” Twilight said, walking past him, “Come on, let’s go!” //// “We should get up,” Dash mumbled, “Everypony left so long ago…” Alex smiled and pulled her closer to him, with the arms wrapped around her, “Sucks to be them. They’re off doing stuff, and we’re here, still asleep!” “Can’t argue with that,” She said into his chest, closing her eyes once again. The peaceful silence between them was fantastic, as they simply relaxed together, with no worries about obligations, or anything otherwise. Still, to Dash, this was an opportune moment to discuss something with Alex that she had been putting off for some time. “Alex… About that other guy…” She said, rather unsure of herself. “What other guy?!” Alex asked, shooting up, “I’ll be nicer! I promise!” “No, no no,” Dash said, a bit stunned at his sudden sit up, “I’m talking about Dax.” His expression went from one of humor, to seriousness. “Look,” She said, not wanting to upset him, “I just think that he needs to be discussed.” “Look, Colors,” Alex said, avoiding eye contact with her, “Dax is... Not me.” “That’s not true,” She said, leaning forward, “He might be scary, and totally different from you… But he still IS you.” Alex suddenly looked like he was concentrating hard on something, and Dash had no idea what it was. “Are you okay, Alex?” She asked. Closing his eyes, he exhaled deeply, before finally speaking up. “I’m just fine, sweet cheeks.” “Crap…” Dash said, completely forgetting that this could happen. “Trying to talk me up to the big man?” Dax asked, opening his eyes, revealing the glowing green irises, “How sweet of you.” “I’m trying to have a serious conversation with Alex!” Dash said, a bit disturbed that she was able to have a normal conversation with his alter ego like this, “You’re not helping things.” “It’s no fair that he gets to spend so much time with you,” Dax pouted, “I like you just as much.” “Please, Dax?” She asked. “Just… One second…” He said, leaning in uncomfortably close, and wrapping his arms around her. Dash was frozen in place. It felt EXACTLY like a hug from Alex… But it wasn’t from him… Well, it WAS from him, but it was from a different part of him. Suddenly, she felt something wet land on her back and run a small trail from her shoulder to her spine. “That’s enough hugging!” She shouted, shoving him back on to the bed. “Crap… he did it again,” He sighed, looking up and revealing his normal, blue eyes. “Alex…” Dash said, seeing the source of the wet spot on her back, “Was he crying?” “I don’t know,” Alex said, still collecting himself, “And I don’t care.” Staying silent, Dash decided to end the line of conversation. It was a sensitive place, and she didn’t want to push him too fast into accepting Dax as a part of him. Really, she couldn’t blame him either. Dax was a jerk. He seemed to be the polar opposite of Alex, and his Element of Harmony: Selflessness. “Let’s catch up with the group,” Alex said, avoiding eye contact with her, “I don’t want to miss anything…” The truth was, Alex felt vulnerable. This wasn’t something he ever had to worry about before in his life… It was truly terrible, being in such a weak position, that his body could be hijacked at any given time and used against his will. Sure, he acted normal around everypony after these episodes with Dax, but it was a trying experience, and he often felt like he would break down after he was given control back. “Sure,” Dash said softly, seeing the internal conflict he was having, “Let’s go.” //// “-And finally,” Alpha said, gesturing to a large, white building behind him, that was in the center of the station, “Our salon, and conditioning center.” “Can we go inside?!” Pinkie asked, jumping up and down. “Not yet,” Alpha said laughed at her energy, “We like your first appointment to be as powerful as possible, so your first time in, will be on your first appointment.” “When will we be having those again?” Rarity asked, leaning forward, hoping she could go in right away. “This afternoon will be the first appointment,” Alpha said to her, “It’s only one at a time, however, so pick between you who will go first, and they’ll come back in a few hours.” Rarity looked back to her friends, and gave them the biggest set of eyes that she possibly could. “Ah’ think ah’ should go first!” Applejack joked. “I think Applejack should go first too,” Twilight giggled. “Me too!” Spike chimed in as Rarity shot him the coldest look she possibly could. “Uh… I take it back…” Spike returned quickly. “You can go first, Rarity,” Fluttershy said, “We’ll all get our turn eventually.” “Not me!” Spike said, “I’ll be just fine the way I am!” “And of course, that’s your choice,” Alpha said politely, “Somepony else can go twice, in your place.” Spike knew whom THAT was going to be. “Well… Now that we’re finished with the tour,” Alpha said, looking across the group, “You’re all free to do as you please.” “I’m going shop-ing!” Rarity said in a sing-song voice, “You coming, Spike?” “Of course!” Spike said happily, trotting off with his marefriend. “What is everypony else going to do?” Twilight asked her remaining friends. “Ah’m goin’ tuh visit the food court!” Applejack said, “Ah’m famished!” “Oooh!” Pinkie said, jumping in front of her, “Can I come with?” “Sure!” Applejack said, “You hungry too?” “Thanks!” She beamed, “And no, I just need to pee!” “Thanks for sharing…” Twilight said sighed, “What about you, Fluttershy?” “Um… I think I’m going to visit the zoo,” She said, looking at the cylindrical building just outside the compound that held the atrium, and the zoo. “Would you mind if I tagged along?” Twilight asked, “It would be nice to be in a relaxing place for a while.” “Sure!” Fluttershy smiled, “I’m always happy to have some company!” “Great,” Twilight smiled, “I’ll see you two at the room!” “Sure thing!” Pinkie smiled, jumping up and down with her hind legs crossed. “See y’all in a bit!” Applejack called as she and Pinkie headed off toward the fast-food portion of the mall. “Have fun!” Twilight called back, as her and Fluttershy went off on their own, eager to relax, and enjoy their vacation. ////
Passing the Time//// Passing the Time //// Rarity and Spike walked down the open mall, window shopping as they traveled. Ever since Rarity had called first dibs on the spa and conditioning treatment, she had been simply giddy. Something that Spike had noticed, and decided to take advantage of since he knew he could get away with a little more when she was in a good mood. “Oh!” Rarity said, eyeing a fancy hat within one of the countless boutiques, “One moment, Spike!” As Rarity ran inside, Spike waited patiently in the main section of the mall and scanned his surroundings. Was there a store he would be interested in? Finishing his check on his right, he frowned. The name of every store was either something incredibly unappealing to him, or was written in French… Which was also unappealing. But, it looked fancier somehow. Looking to his left, there was little different. There was a toy store, a plus size mare’s clothing store, and an outlet selling fancy suits. That would have been somewhat appealing to him, had he not already had matching tuxes with Alex. However, there was one more store at the end of the mall, with a blinking sign. Squinting, he was barely able to make out the word written on the flashing display. “Arr… Ca… De?” Spike slowly read, before getting the entire word at once, “Arcade!” “Would you carry this please, Spike?” Rarity asked, levitating the hat into his saddle bad, and gently placing it in the main section, “Please be careful with—“ “Can we go to the arcade?!” Spike asked, turning his face to Rarity. “Umm…” Rarity said scratching her head, “The… Arcade…” “Yeah!” Spike said enthusiastically, seeing he clear lack of interest in the option, “It’s supposed to be huge!” “I’m not sure that an arcade is a place for a lady, Spike,” Rarity said firmly, hoping he would simply buy that. “Come on, Rarity!” Spike said, “Just for a few minutes?” Sighing, Rarity nodded, “I’m going to run into the store next to it first, however. I’ll meet you inside when I finish.” “You’re the best, Rarity!” Spike beamed, kissing her quickly on the lips as he ran off to play some games. “Oh, what will I do with you,” She giggled, following behind him for a distance, before turning into her store. //// “Woah…” Spike said to himself, looking at the rows, and rows of endless game machines, “I… I want to play them all!” There were racing games, with cars to sit in, games with guns to shoot zombies, a rock climbing wall, a laser maze, and some form of dancing machine… That one in particular caught his eye. Walking over to it, he examined the two ponies that were currently playing. They had to stand on their hind legs, and hit one of four arrows, depending on which one was scrolling up the screen, while some hyper-happy-techno blared from the speakers… Spike liked the look of it… It was called: Hoof Hoof Revolution, and it could be played two player! Maybe Rarity would want to try with him. Walking over to a vacant machine, Spike fished a bit out of his bag, and tried to slide it into the slot. However, the gold coin was slightly bigger than slot, confusing him. However, instead of giving up, he simply kept trying, hoping that something would change, and suddenly accept his money. “Wow,” A pony said from behind him, “Look at this guy!” Looking over his shoulder, Spike saw a group of colts standing behind him. None of them were particularly fit, and all of them had some issues with acne. There were two brown Pegasi, one cyan earth pony, and a white unicorn, whom Spike assumed was the leader of the group… The brown ones were thin as rails, the cyan pony seemed to be right in the middle, and the white colt was on the wrong side of a few hundred pounds, with quite a collection of zits on his face. “This your first time in an arcade?” The cyan one asked in a snide tone, “Do you need some help getting it to work?” “Sure!” Spike smiled, not understanding that he was being insulted. Walking over, the large white colt tried his best to look cool as he caught the coin spike tossed him in his hoof. “So… What was I doing wrong?” Spike asked, “Did I just need to push really hard?” Scoffing, the white colt simply rolled his eyes at Spike, adjusted his glasses, and then tossed his bit under an arcade machine behind them. “Hey!” Spike shouted, “My money! What was that for?” “That was for coming into my arcade…” The leader said as he upwardly inflected the end of his speech, making everything he said sound like a question, “And not paying me respect, as the king of this place…” “What are you talking about?” Spike growled, “I just wanted to play a game!” “Well, it looks like you’re out of luck!” One of the brown ponies shouted over the loud noise of the arcade, “No more money!” “Psh,” Spike rolled his eyes, “I’ve got plenty of THAT.” Levitating a hefty sack of bits out of his saddle bag, the boys dropped their jaws, they had never seen that much money in their entire lives. “I’m going to play this dance game, like it or not!” Spike said, levitating yet another bit from the bag, “And I’m definitely not going to pay YOU any respect!” Narrowing his eyes, “You know what this means…” Spike pulled back slightly. Truth be told, he had no idea what it meant. “We must settle this with a dance-off!” He shouted, abandoning his upward inflection for one sentence. “Dance off!” The cyan colt started shouting. Soon, the news spread like wildfire, as almost everypony in the arcade finished their games, and made their ways over to the ‘Hoof Hoof Revolution’ machines in anticipation of the exciting battle that they were going to see. “W-wait,” Spike said, “I didn’t agree to this!” “Too late,” One of the brown colts said, “You’ve insulted Twinkie’s honor.” “…Your name is Twinkie?” Spike said, grimacing, “Sorry about that.” “On to the machine!” Twinkie called as he stepped on to the sensor mat, making an inappropriately large display as he did it, “Token me!” Jumping at the chance to pay for his game, a lot of the ponies in the audience started throwing their game tokens to him. Levitating four off the ground, he inserted them into the machine, and waited for Spike to follow suit, watching him with a smirk the whole time. Scrambling, Spike carefully levitated four coins off the floor and inserted them all into the machine. “Hoof Hoof Revolution!” The announcer on the game shouted. “Are you ready to get pwned?” He asked, with the usual tone, smirking to Spike. “What does that mean?” Spike asked. “Wow,” He said arrogantly, and rudely, “I can’t believe you don’t know what that even means.” Rolling his eyes, Spike hit his hoof into the machine, “Let’s do this.” //// Rarity walked out of the store, and examined the necklace she had just purchased… It was beautiful. Of course, on her way to the arcade, she realized that it would have felt a LOT better if Spike had bought this for her… She would have to tell him to buy her more presents. Entering the arcade, she was a bit confused since the only thing she could see was a pretty large crowd of ponies, surrounding some kind of game. Noticing the lack of ponies in the rest of the arcade, Rarity assumed that Spike was somewhere in this crowd… It really would have been much easier if she had just looked at the arcade machine in the front. “Spike…?” She whispered, trying to look over the group of colts. Considering entering the crowd, she became rather uncomfortable at the strange looks she was getting from the boys around her. She was used to receiving admiration from the men around her… But this wasn’t admiration. This almost looked like fear. “Uh…” One said, his voice cracking loudly, before turning away from her. Everypony simply started avoiding eye contact with her. “What is with everypony?” She said under her breath, “And where is—“ “Hoof Hoof Revolution!” The announcer on the machine called loudly as she turned her head to it. “Aaaaand… There he is.” She said to herself, feeling a bit stupid for not looking at the CENTER of attention for him. //// As Twinkie stood up on his hind legs, and grabbed the bar behind him for balance, he turned and smirked to Spike, “You know how to stand up, right?” Grinning back, Spike stood up on his back legs, and puffed out his chest, maintaining his balance perfectly, “I’ve been standing like this most of my life.” “Psh,” Twinkie said, looking back to the screen, and pressing a few buttons, and selecting a song, “I picked an easy one, just so you can get the hang of things.” “Wow, thanks!” Spike said, getting into position as the song started playing. Of course, the song WASN’T that easy… And since this was his first time playing the game, it especially showed. On one hoof, Twinkie was jumping and bouncing along with the song, hitting almost every note that came up the screen. On the other hoof, Spike clumsily flailed around the dance pad, missing almost everything, as his health bar quickly drained, locking his score at twenty, despite the few hits he scored after his failure. After what seemed like an eternity to the purple pony, the song finally ended, and Spike was presented with a big letter ‘D’ on his screen, whereas Twinkie got an ‘A’. Turning around, Twinkie raised his arms in victory, in possibly the lamest way possible, as the crowd cheered for him. Rolling his eyes, Spike leaned forward, and attempted to pick the next song in line. “Hey!” Twinkie called, “Winner picks next song!” “Is that the rule?” Spike asked, deciding not to have the argument, “Fine. But I pick next regardless.” “Fine,” He said, flipping his long greasy mane out of his face, as he picked the next track. This one sounded much faster in the sample, and Spike prepared himself for another pummeling. Why was he even still here? //// Rarity wasn’t sure how Spike had gotten himself into this situation, but decided not to try intervening. She would probably end up looking like she was babying him. So instead, she sat back and watched him lose this strange game to the pony beside him. The song was pretty fast, and the enormous white colt seemed like he knew what he was doing. But Spike looked like he was doing no better than the first song he had just played. Surprisingly however, Spike started landing a few notes in a few parts of the song. Something nopony had expected him to do. Still, just as before when the game ended, he was presented with a big ‘D.’ Rarity giggled. Big ‘D.’ Alex was starting to rub off on her. And again, Twinkie got an ‘A.’ “Ready to give up?” He asked Spike, turning back to the audience, “I think I’ve proven myself.” “How about this,” Spike suggested as Twinkie turned back to the audience, “If I do better than you this round, I win!” “Heh, fine,” Twinkie shrugged, “You’ll never beat me anyway!” Narrowing his eyes, Spike knew that he had no chance at winning… But maybe he could use a little shock and awe and make them both losers. Scrolling through the songs, Spike noticed one that had red text, instead of the usual blue and green. “Legend of Maxx…” Spike said, listening to the sample that played along with it, “I like it!” Twinkie turned back to the machine, having no idea the song Spike and just chosen, and readied himself. The notes filled the screen faster than either Spike or Twinkie had anticipated, and both of them were assaulted with combinations that they weren’t able to follow along with. Having had no idea this was coming, Twinkie missed a large sum of notes right off the bat, and failed the song with a measly score of ten. Spike did ONE note better and failed at fifteen. Since both players lost, the song immediately ended and simply presented them both with ‘D’s. However, the key difference in the score, was that Spike had managed to hit one more note, and surpass Twinkie’s score. “Yeah!” Spike cheered, “I won!” The crowd was silent, all of them embarrassed for their king. Seeing the shock on everypony’s face, Twinkie tried to make himself look cool again. “So what if he beat me in ONE song,” Twinkie announced, “I could trounce him in ANY game here! I’m way cooler than he’ll ever be!” “You tell ‘em boss!” The cyan pony shouted. Spike rolled his eyes as the audience slowly started buying into Twinkie’s speech. “So, that’s why I’m going to prove it, and beat him in a new game!” Twinkie announced, briefly noticing a pony making their way to the front of the crowd, “And after that, he’ll have to admit that I’m way better than—“ “Great job, Spike!” Rarity said to him, smiling cutely at him, “You won!” “Uhhhhh…” Twinkie said, wide-eyed at the gorgeous mare in front of him, “You know this guy?” “Well of course,” She said politely, “He’s my boyfriend!” A rolling gasp was heard by the crowd as they took in that piece of news as everypony started whispering to one another in disbelief. “Let’s hurry out Spike,” Rarity said to him, “My appointment is soon!” “Of course,” Spike said, stepping off the game pad, “Good game! Maybe I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” Walking out together, they didn’t look back once at the stunned crowd. “I just got pwned…” Twinkie sighed. //// “I’ll pick you up here in two hours!” Spike said to her, as they approached the large spa building. “Thank you, dear,” She smiled as they walked up to the booth next to the large entrance. “Do you have an appointment?” The mare asked in monotone. “I believe so!” Rarity said, “It should be under Rarity?” Looking at a clipboard, The mare saw the name and nodded, “Okay, you can go in.” A loud buzzing went off, that was followed by the massive doors opening, revealing a clean white room with a few pieces of furniture. The two started entering before the mare quickly called to them. “It’s just one at a time!” She explained. “Oh,” Spike said, stepping back, and looking back to Rarity, “I guess I’ll see you later.” Smiling and nodding, she leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek, “We’ll go out for dinner after.” “Sure thing,” He smiled earnestly. Turing around, Rarity walked into the building as the doors closed behind her. Looking around, Spike decided to head back to the room for now. All that arcade business drained him… He’d come back for Rarity when he woke up. ////
One Down//// One Down //// Stepping out of the shower, Spike took a look at the clock that hung on the wall above the door. It was just about time to go pick up Rarity, and he was a bit giddy, which to be fair, was something he often was when it came to going out with her. He thought he’s get used to being out with her, and having every stallion around them envy him, wishing Rarity was theirs. It was surprisingly satisfying. Quickly drying himself off, he exited the bathroom. Walking into the common room, Spike glanced back and forth to see if anypony was back from their respective trips. Applejack had stopped in for a few minutes with Pinkie Pie to grab some money, and Rainbow Dash had been pressing her face against his bedroom window while he had been sleeping, which had turned out to be a very unpleasant alarm clock. However, just as he reached to open the door, it was shoved open as they tumbled through the door, on to the ground, and exploded in laughter over something Spike was out of the loop regarding. “Uh… What’s so funny?” Spike asked looking at them, wanting to get in on whatever was so hilarious. “O-oh…” Alex stammered through the tears, “You h-had to be there.” “Oh,” Spike said, a little put out, “Well, I’m going to pick up Rarity from the Spa, you wanna tag along?” Dash looked at Alex and shrugged, “You interested, Spot?” Alex scratched his head, he had come home to shower and eat something… But if Dash went out… Maybe he could find some cookies or something instead. “Na,” Alex said, “I’ll do my thing here, you two go grab Rarity.” “Sure thing,” Dash said, turning to Spike, “You good to go now?” Spike nodded, “She’ll be done any minute.” “Alright,” Dash nodded, “See you in a bit, Spot.” “See ya’!” Alex called as the closed the door behind them. Walking into the small, stocked kitchen, Alex opened a few cupboards, and eyed a box of crackers. Levitating it out, he noticed the steam escaping from where Spike must have just bathed, and got an idea. “Could I eat these and shower at the same time…?” //// “So, what did you and Alex do today, besides scaring me out of bed?” Spike asked, walking out of the main hotel, and into the large courtyard. “Nothing really,” She giggled, recalling the look Spike gave her when she pounded her head on the window, “We ate something, flew around, explored the area, looked at movie times. How about you?” “Shopping,” Spike shrugged, “I went to the arcade and had a pretty lame time. Then I dropped Rarity off, and took a nap.” “I hope everypony else is having a better time than us,” Dash said, glancing around, remembering where certain places were, so she could drag Alex back to them, “Where’s the spa? I missed the tour.” “Just there,” Spike said, pointing to the large building on the opposite side of courtyard, “It’s only five minutes away from the room.” “That’s it?” Dash asked, cocking her head, “It looks… Big for one customer at a time.” “Maybe it has some administrative space or something,” Spike suggested, “Or maybe more rooms...” “Oh, Rainbow Dash, Spike!” Fluttershy said, approaching them from a café in a gazebo, “Where are you two headed?” “We’re going to pick up Rarity from the spa,” Spike said, “Then we’re heading back to the room.” “Wonderful!” Fluttershy said, “I’d love to ask rarity about how it was in there!” “Come with us then,” Dash gestured. Fluttershy nodded and smiled, “Thanks.” Reaching the front of the building, Spike walked up to the booth, and spoke to the same mare that he talked to when Rarity first went in. “Hey,” Spike said to her, “Do you know how long it’ll be before Rarity is done with her treatment?” Looking at the clock, the pale green earth pony turned back to Spike, “She’ll be out any minute.” “Thanks!” Spike smiled, excited to see his marefriend. After a few minutes of idle chat between the three of them, the large doors opened up, revealing a very relaxed looking Rarity. “Hey!” Spike beamed, “How was it?!” “Oh Spike,” Rarity said breathlessly, “It was simply divine!” “Really?” Fluttershy asked expectantly. “Fluttershy, dear,” She said with a warm smile, “You MUST go next… I’ve never been so pampered in my entire life.” “You’re next?” The mare in the booth asked. “Oh…” Fluttershy said, “I wouldn’t want to—“ “Go!” Dash cut in, “Nopony else is here waiting!” “Well, I guess I could give it a try,” Fluttershy said with a small smile, hiding her excitement. “Perfect!” Rarity said, walking over to her, and gently nudging her to head through the door, “We’ll be back for you in a couple of hours, okay dear?” “Um… Okay,” She said, turning away from them, and heading into the building as the massive doors closed behind her. “My goodness…” Rarity sighed, “I think I may need a small nap before we go anywhere, Spike.” “Oh…” Spike said, a bit dejected that he wouldn’t be going out right now. “Don’t fret,” She smiled, “I just need some time for my muscles to wake up from the massage.” “Alright,” Spike smiled, “Let’s go back, we’ll figure something out from there.” “Thank you…” Rarity said, her eyelids becoming surprisingly heavy, “Let’s hurry before I fall asleep in the park.” “Oh, sure,” Dash said, picking up the pace as Spike stood next to Rarity, and walked parallel with her. “Rarity, are you okay?” Spike asked, feeling her putting more weight on his side to keep herself supported. “Of course dear…” Rarity said, shaking her head to keep herself conscious. Giving Dash an odd look, Spike turned back to Rarity and kept her as close to him as possible. This spa sure was strange… //// Opening the door to the room, Spike now had Rarity’s arm wrapped around the back of his neck as he walked her into the common room, and then beyond into her room, leaving Dash alone. “Alex?” She called, walking toward the bathroom, seeing the steam pouring out of the crack under the door. Opening the bathroom door, she walked over to the stall, she noticed that the glass door was open a crack, and a long bag of crackers was floating outside shower as one exited the bag, and flew inside. Swinging the door open the rest of the way, Dash scared Alex into stopping his levitation spell, and dropping them on the floor. “Hey!” Alex said, standing up and instinctively covering his nether regions. “…What are you doing?” Dash asked, “Why do you need to cover yourself in the shower?” Remembering that he was a pony now, Alex laughed nervously and lowered to a normal stance, “Sorry… It’s a thing from my world.” “Why are you eating crackers in the shower?” She asked, obviously judging him. “Because you KNOW you would if you could.” Alex challenged. Dash gave him a hard look before her expression softened, “Yeah. I can’t say I wouldn’t.” “So?” Alex said, moving on, “You get Rarity back?” “Yeah…” Dash said, getting a look of frustration. “What?” Alex asked, “Something wrong?” “Well…” Dash said, “Rarity was pretty out of it when she left the place… Spike had to carry her back.” “Really?” Alex asked, “Sounds like they did a good job!” “I guess,” Dash said, “It just felt weird to me.” “You’re just saying that because you’ve never been to a spa before,” Alex laughed, turning off the water, and stepping out of the stall, “A lot of ponies are tired after a spa trip. And with a place this fancy, it’s no wonder that she’s exhausted.” “It almost makes me want to try,” Dash laughed, seeing Alex open his mouth to respond, but, she stopped him before he could speak up, “ALMOST.” “Sure, sure.” Alex laughed, “You ready to hit up that movie?” “Yeah,” Dash said, “Hopefully, Rarity is feeling better after that!” “Quit worrying,” Alex said, “She’ll be fine.” As much as Dash tried to agree with her own sentiment, she felt like something was still wrong. She'd see how Fluttershy was doing when she came back from her appointment. That would be all the proof she needed to calm down. //// Author's Note Anyone catch my REALLY dirty joke in there?
Looming Trouble//// Looming Trouble //// “How’s Rarity doing?” Dash asked, busting through the door, getting strange looks from everypony in the room as they sat around the dinner table. And among them, was Rarity. “I’m… Fine?” She asked, giving Dash a worried look, “Are you okay, dear?” “I told you nothing would be wrong,” Alex said, walking past her and sitting down at the table next to Spike. “What were you so worried about?” Twilight asked. “Oh…” Dash said, avoiding eye contact with her, “Nothing! I’m having a shower!” With that, she took off and closed the bathroom door behind her. “How was the spa?” Alex asked anypony at the table that had now been there. “It was amazing!” Fluttershy said, clearly excited enough to be loud about it, “I’ve never been so relaxed in my entire life!” “I agree with Fluttershy,” Rarity nodded, “I just might find a way to come back here in a few months.” “Yeah, me too!” Spike said quickly, before covering his mouth. “You went to the spa?” Alex asked, “…Really?” “Well… Rarity just made it sound so good!” Spike admitted, “And I’m always open to new things… You should go, Alex.” “Pass,” He laughed, “I’m not a spa-goer.” “Shame,” Rarity said, “It’s truly amazing.” “So, Twi!” Applejack spoke up, “What was it you were doin’ today?” “Um… Nothing,” She said, looking away from everypony. “Horse apples!” Alex shouted, “…Did I say it right?” “Ah’ guess…” Applejack said, turning back to the purple pony, “Spill the beans, Twi!” “You simply must!” Rarity added. “Don’t be so secretive!” Spike said. “Yeah Twilight!” Pinkie begged, “Please tell us!” Looking back and forth, she giggled, “I was hanging out with Alpha.” “What?!” Everypony shouted. “No way!” Alex said. “I can’t believe that!” Spike said in awe. “Good for you, Twilight!” Fluttershy smiled. “Ah’m startin’ to feel left out here!” Applejack laughed, “Everypony’s hookin’ up!” “It wasn’t a hook up!” Twilight countered, “We were just spending some time together.” “Ooooooohhh!” Everypony chimed in. “S-shut up!” She said, turning her look away from them and blushing furiously. Noticing the clock on the wall, Twilight’s eyes shot open, “I… Uh, I have to go!” “Huh?” Alex asked, “Why?” “I kinda have plans for dinner…” She admitted, “Alpha asked me out…” “Nice!” Pinkie said, “Is he taking you to that awesome place with all the tubes to crawl through?” “No, Pinkie,” Twilight said, “He’s taking me to a restaurant.” “And what about after that?” Alex asked. “Should we be expecting you home, dear?” Rarity asked, winking. “Of- Of course!” Twilight said in shock, still not comfortable with THAT topic, “I’m going to make sure I look decent!” Heading off, everypony was still laughing over her embarrassment. “We’ll leave the door unlocked,” Alex called to her as she closed her bedroom door behind her. Suddenly, a knocking was heard at the door. “That must be him!” Pinkie giggled quietly, “I’ll get it!” “No!” Twilight whispered as threateningly as she could “He-ya,” Pinkie said as she opened the door, and speaking in a sultry voice, “You must be here for… Twilight.” “Um… Yes?” Alpha asked, a bit worried. “She’s just… getting ready if you know what I mean,” Pinkie said, grinning suggestively. “She is?” He asked, “That’s good, I don’t want to miss the reservation.” Pinkie frowned. He wasn’t getting it. “Maybe you should go in there, and help her get ready.” Pinkie suggested. “I’m fine out here, thanks.” He said simply. “Ugh!” She groaned, “You’re zero-percent fun.” “Huh?” “I’m ready!” Twilight called, walking out of the room, looking exactly the same as she did two minutes ago. “Great,” Alpha smiled, “Let’s go.” The two headed out the door without another word, leaving everypony sitting in silence. “…We’re following them, right?” Spike asked. “Of course we are!” Rarity said, “But we need them to get a head start, so they don’t see us.” “Come on Dash!” Alex called, “We’re following Twilight on a DATE.” “Ooooooohh!” She called through the door, “Don’t lose them! I’ll catch up!” Accepting that, they all snuck out, excited to see how Twilight would act while she was out on a date. //// “Where is he taking her?” Spike asked as they all walked as casually as they could, from a safe distance. “That’s the café I was at earlier,” Fluttershy said, “They had a lovely salad.” The two walked to the front, and were then seated by a hostess, and handed menus that they read over during some kind of conversation. Running under some trees for cover, they all peeked over a bush in an effort to keep their eyes on her. “What do you think they’re saying?” Alex asked. “I can read lips!” Pinkie said, jumping up from the back, “Leave this to me!” They all looked to Twilight as Pinkie got in the zone. And from what she saw, this is the conversation that they had: “That sure is a nice hair color!” Pinkie said, imitating Alpha’s voice. “And you have nice legs!” She said, imitating Twilight. “My Mom has complemented me on them my whole life!” She switched. “Did you mean what you said earlier about my horn being so fat?” Pinkie said as Twilight poked her horn at the table. “I didn’t say fat!” Pinkie concentrated, “I said… Luscious?” “Well, ah’ve heard enough,” Applejack said, rolling her eyes, “I guess we don’t know what they’re talkin’ about at all!” “But—“ Pinkie tried. “Fluttershy, can’t you fly above the gazebo and listen in?” Rarity suggested. “Oh no…” Fluttershy said, avoiding eye contact with Rarity, “I’d get caught for sure.” “I was—“ “Alex, could you turn invisible or something?” Spike asked. “I don’t know any magic like that,” Alex shrugged, “And any volume increasing spells would draw attention to us.” “I can just keep reading their lips!” Pinkie said desperately. Everypony ignored her. She sighed. She had been pretty sure that’s what they were saying… //// “I promise you!” Alpha laughed, oblivious to the ponies hiding in the bushes such a short distance away, “I meant it as a compliment for your horn.” “Well, okay…” Twilight said, flustered that she had worried so much over a misunderstanding regarding the size of her horn. “What are you ordering?” Alpha asked, having had enough talk regarding her horn. “I think I’ll just get a sandwich.” Twilight said, setting down the menu and looking at Alpha, “What about you?” “Just a drink,” He shrugged, “I have plans with three other mares tonight, you know.” “You’d better not!” Twilight giggled. “Of course not,” He comforted, before smiling slyly once again, “I have plans with them tomorrow and the day after.” “Well that’s fine” Twilight winked, “As long as you’re free tonight.” Alpha raised an eyebrow. “That was just a joke!” Twilight laughed, “Don’t get excited.” //// “Pinkie, there is NO way Twilight just said that,” Dash said, having arrived just a moment ago, “You make her sound like whorse or something.” “I swear!” Pinkie defended herself, “I’m never wrong when it comes to lip reading!” “Why are we even listening to her?” Spike asked. “We’d be better off crawling up to them and listening that way,” Rarity sighed. “Is anypony willin’ tuh do that?” Applejack asked nopony in particular. Silence. “Guess not…” “This isn’t any fun at all,” Dash groaned, “Maybe we should leave Twilight to her date.” “It’s about time for my spa treatment too!” Pinkie said excitedly. “I thought it was Twilight next,” Rarity said. “Alpha postponed it so they could go on this date,” Spike explained, “He actually insisted on this time for their date too.” “Ah’m gonna head back with Pinkie,” AJ said, “This was a bit of a bust.” Alex shrugged, “Maybe I’ll stick around a bit longer, what about you, Dash?” “Sure, why not?” She said, “I just got here, I’ll spy a little longer.” “Well, I think I’m going to let Spike treat me to some dinner,” Rarity said, stepping next to him, “You two enjoy the rest of your night here.” “Two?” Alex asked, “Where’s Fluttershy?” “I saw her heading back to the hotel room on my way here,” Dash shrugged, “She had a funny look on her face, so I’m not too sure.” “See y’all later!” Applejack called, walking away with the bouncing pink pony. “Don’t wait up for us,” Rarity said politely as she and Spike went off on their own as well. Left alone in the park, Alex and Dash turned their attention back to the couple in the gazebo. “Why were you so anxious to stick around?” Dash asked him, now that nopony was in earshot of them. “Well… I can kinda read lips myself,” Alex admitted, “And when I really paid attention… I think she was right about what they were saying.” “…Really?” Dash asked quietly, “Like, seriously?” Alex nodded, “I think she said she was joking, but it’s still weird to hear her say.” “Maybe she is a whorse.” Dash shrugged. “Don’t say that,” Alex laughed lightly, “I’m sure that she’s plenty hard to get with.” “So… Do you really just want to stand here and listen to them talk?” Dash asked. “Na,” Alex said, “Why don’t we go do something together?” “What did you have in mind?” Dash asked. “Let’s fly around a bit,” Alex shrugged, “See what there is to see.” //// Walking up to the booth outside of the spa, AJ and Pinkie looked inside, at the young mare that was quite involved in her magazine. “Hey!” Pinkie shouted, shocking the girl. “W-what do you need?” She asked, looking back and forth in panic. “I’m here for my appointment!” Pinkie smiled, “Am I allowed to go in?” Glancing at a chart on her wall, the mare nodded, “You’re good to go in whenever.” “Yay!” She said, jumping her way over to the door, leaving Applejack alone with the mare. “So, how is this place?” Applejack asked, “You ever been conditioned in here?” “Sure have,” She smiled, “Everypony that works here got a complimentary trip.” “Really?” She asked, “That’s nice of yer’ boss.” The phone next to the mare started ringing, and she quickly picked it up, “Yes?” “Uh-huh…” “Really?” “Alright, if you say so.” “Of course, goodbye.” Hanging up the phone, she smiled to Applejack, “It appears that we have an opening right now, so you can go in.” “Ah’ thought it was jus’ one at a time.” Applejack said, cocking her head. “Well, they said that they have a surplus of staff inside, and will be able to accommodate two guests at once!” She explained. “Well, that’s great!” Applejack smiled, “Might as well get this trip outta the way, so ah’ can enjoy the rest of the night!” Trotting off, Applejack shouted a ‘Thank You’ behind her as she stood next to Pinkie and explained the situation. She was pretty happy about it, to say the least. //// “So…” Dash said to Alex as he landed next to her on the large roof beside her, “I can tell why you liked this spot so much.” Their spot sat atop the massive spa building, looking out on the train station at the entrance, and beyond, to the star of the badlands. During the day, this would be an average view, of a rocky desert, and some train tracks… But with the sun setting in front of them, it colored the orange sand a dark red, and the canyons, buried in shadows of itself, was a deep blue, mixing to make a purple color, when the shadow met the sand. It was something that Alex expected to see in a painting. “It looks a lot better now that the sun is going down,” Alex admitted, shuffling closer to Dash. Leaning her had on his shoulder, they sat in a comfortable silence and enjoyed the company, and the scenery. “I feel like my life would have been so much different if you never showed up, Spot.” Dash said, breaking the silence, “Like… where would I be right now? “I don’t know,” Alex said answered, thinking, “Would you be a Wonderbolt? Or did you only go through with that because I vanished?” “I think I wouldn’t have pursued it as much if you hadn’t shown up,” She said, “I’d just be… Living my life, day to day, making sure the weather was nice.” “And that’s a bad thing?” Alex asked, knowing full well that it was. “Duh!” She giggled, “We’ve done so much! We’ve gone to Manehattan… Twice! Spike is a PONY… We’ve Gone back in time, and saved a baby, then reunited Luna with her grandchild! Something tells me things wouldn’t have happened like that.” “Well, you can… Thank me for… That…” Alex struggled, closing his eyes as Dash lifted her head, and looked at him, “Are you okay?” “…No.” He said, opening his eyes, revealing the burning green color, “I’m not.” “Dax!” She said, recoiling, “W-what are you doing here?” “Something is… wrong, Rainbow Dash.” He said darkly as she looked at him confused, “I can feel it.” “What are you talking about?” She asked, surprised to see him being so serious, and not a complete dick. “Everypony needs to leave Haven Station, right now.” He said, suddenly tensing, and closing his eyes. “Get out of here!” Alex shouted, taking control back from the pony, “I’m sick of you taking my time away from Dash like this!” “Just let me finish!” Dax shouted, taking control back momentarily as Dash stood up and backed away for good measure. “Finish what?” Alex demanded, “Insulting everypony I know? Being a pervert to my girlfriend?” “I’m trying to help!” Dax insisted. “We don’t need it, thanks,” Alex said, forcing his eyes open, revealing one to be the normal blue while the other blazed the emerald green. “Don’t make me do this…” Dax threatened, confusing the other two. “Do what?” Dash asked. “Just go away!” Alex shouted. “Fine…” Dax growled, “You’ve asked for it.” A black aura surrounded Alex, and he was lifted off the ground. “What are you doing?!” Alex shouted, as he felt a bolt of energy start running through his body. “Something I should have done a LONG time ago!” Dax shouted as he and Alex both started screaming in pain. “W-what’s happening?!” Dash shouted as she watched in disbelief as Alex’s body started to what looked like rip in half. But, there was no gore, or blood… It just produced more coat. The same happened on his face, as a duplicate eye, nose, and mouth appeared in perfect reflection to one another, making two faces. Finally, they were separated, and two ponies landed on the ground next to each other, where there was one previously. “No way…” Dash said, completely shocked. Standing up shakily, the first one flashed her a smile, and winked, “Two of us, I know. Please try to contain yourself.” “W-what did you do?!” Dash asked, looking from the one she assumed to be Dax, to the one still collapsed on the ground. “Alex sleeps a WHOLE lot,” Dax explained, “And I tend to do some reading while he’s doing that.” “You take control of Alex while he’s asleep?” Dash asked, still not over the initial shock, “You do that with me around?!” “Don’t freak out,” Dax reassured, “I’m Alex, and you know it… I don’t need to take control for the… Fun parts. I’m there just as much as he is.” Dash still didn’t like that one bit. “Now, back to business,” Dax said, looking serious once again, “There is something really wrong with this pl—“ Dax was cut off by Alex punching him across the face as hard as he could, knocking him out cold. “Jerk.” He panted. “I-I don’t know what to say…” Dash said, still utterly shocked. “Me neither…” Alex breathed hard, “This would be a good time to go to a commercial break.” ////
Complications//// Complications //// Opening his eyes and looking around, the past events slowly came back to his mind until he fully recalled how he wound up in this bed, tied up. Normally, he would be confused, and call for somepony to help him. However, he wasn’t the normal guy. He was the messed up one. So, his mind immediately went to anger, and frustration. “Hey!” Dax shouted, “What’s going on?!” “He’s awake…” A voice said from outside. Dax watched the door open as Alex and Dash walked through it. “Tying me up?” Dax asked, “Is this going to be a three-way thing? Because I’m game to share you.” “Shut up,” Alex said, still upset over this happening. Dash just rolled her eyes, and decided to find out just what was going on. “What did you do?” Dash asked, “How long have you been able to do this?” “Mmmmm… For a while?” Dax said, “I just didn’t see a situation desperate enough to use this separation spell.” “How come Alex didn’t know about it then?” Dash asked, “Since you two are the same pony, right?” “Hey!” Alex cut in, “That’s not true.” “Be quiet, Sally,” Dax said to him, “The grownups are talking.” Alex growled. “Hey!” Dash snapped, silencing them both, “Answer the question, please.” “I have my own memories,” Dax explained, “Alex can’t access them because he doesn’t accept me as part of him. When he makes that connection, he’ll pick up on a lot of information.” “What do you mean?” Alex asked. “My chaotic magic,” Dax started, “You’ll learn it all.” “With the snap of a finger, huh?” Alex asked. “Mhmm,” Dax said, “But come on, we both know that you won’t just let me in.” “No,” Alex said, “I’m still convinced you’re some trick Discord cooked up.” “You don’t have to tell me,” Dax laughed, “I know you pretty well.” “What about going back to Alex?” Dash asked, “You two are gonna have to—“ “Actually,” Alex said, “I like it with him out here.” “You need me in your head, Alex,” Dax said, “You may seem fine right now, but without me, you’ll turn into a big pussy!” “I’ll take my chances,” Alex frowned at him. “So,” Dash said, wanting to get back on to what Dax had been talking about earlier, “What was the danger you were sensing here?” Dax looked around the room, “Before I answer that, I have two questions.” “Okay,” Dash said, “Shoot.” “What time is it?” Dax asked, seeing that the sun was down. “Eleven.” Dash said. “Figured… And, where is everypony else?” Dax asked. The two were silent as they looked at each other. “You don’t know, do you?” Dax said. “Twilight is still on her date,” Dash said, “Pinkie is at the Spa…” “Applejack, Fluttershy, Spike, and Rarity are all unaccounted for,” Alex sighed. “Didn’t Pinkie go to the spa HOURS ago?” Dax asked, “And is it like Twilight to be out late with boys?” “Well…” Dash said, sighing, “Yeah…” “There are some powerful magical auras here,” Dax said, “They were messing with my head… Throwing my emotions around if you missed that, Dash.” “I remember,” She said, recalling his crying on her, “It was a bit out of character.” “It didn’t originate in the hotel, where we are,” Dax explained, “It’s all coming from that ‘spa.’” “Where everypony’s been?” Alex asked. “Yes,” Dax said, surprised at his play-nice attitude, “And if the magic resonance of the magic is enough to make ME cry, then I’m worried about what it’s doing to the ponies that are directly affected by it.” “How do you know ponies are being used in magic experiments?” Alex asked. “I don’t,” Dax said, “But the power makes emotions go haywire, so why would they cast spells like that on anything else BESIDES ponies?” Alex was silent. “So… What do we do?” Dash asked. “Well first, you promise you’re not going to knock me out again,” Dax said to Alex. “I won’t,” Alex said, “Just as long as you play nice.” “Here,” Dash said, walking over to the bed, “Let me untie you.” “Not necessary, my dear,” Dax said, casting a spell, making the ropes disappear. “Alright,” Dax said, looking at the clock, “We need to go check out this ‘spa.’” “How?” Alex asked, “If this place is the kind of place you say it is, won’t we be noticed?” “Na,” Dax said, “I have some magic up my sleeve.” “You don’t have sleeves,” Alex pointed out. “And you don’t have friends!” Dax shot back. “Quiet!” Dash growled, “Let’s just go.” //// Walking up to the door, Twilight turned to Alpha and smiled, “Thanks for the night out… It was a lot of fun.” “I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Alpha smiled. “I’d better get to bed quickly,” Twilight said, “I want to be up early for the spa tomorrow!” Alpha frowned to himself, “I think the spa is closed tomorrow.” “It is?” Twilight asked in surprise, “Since when?” “Since… Uh… Maintenance.” He said quickly, “I’m sure you can get in at some point after, however.” “Oh, well… Thanks for letting me know!” Twilight said. “Yeah… No problem…” Alpha said, “So, what now?” “I don’t know…” Twilight said bashfully, knowing what she wanted to happen, but wasn’t sure if he would make the move. To her surprise, he did. He looked right into her eyes, overwhelming her somewhat with the intense blue of them, as he leaned in, and kissed her lightly on the lips. Smiling to herself, Twilight lost herself somewhat, and allowed it to intensify, surprising herself as she realized just what she was doing. Pulling back and blushing furiously, Twilight magically opened the door to the common room and took a step back. “Um… I-I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” She said, avoiding eye contact with him. “Of course, Twilight,” He said, stepping back, “Remember… Stay away from the spa.” “Of course!” She said, “Well, goodnight!” “To you as well,” He said as she closed the door behind her. Frowning, Alpha walked away from the room. Things had gotten complicated. //// Twilight exhaled dreamily, as she walked over to a desk and pulled out a piece of paper, and a quill. “I’ve got to write Princess Celestia about this!” She said to herself as she started jotting down on the paper. Dear Princess Celestia, This letter isn’t regarding a lesson I’ve learned about friendship, but one simply to communicate with you, as a friend. Today I experienced something quite foreign to me. I went on a date with a stallion! He’s the pony that’s been taking care of our party while we stay here. We seemed to hit it off right away, and after a few conversations about mutual interests of ours, he asked me to go out for dinner with him! So, I accepted, and the two of us spent the night talking about anything that came to our minds. But, most surprising of all, at the end of it all, I kissed him! And it was… It was enjoyable. And I wouldn’t mind experiencing that a little more with him. One thing that did surprise me was the naming system these ponies use here. Some of the employees, including my date, have designations rather than names. I’ve met a few Gammas, a Beta, and, the stallion I went out with, Alpha. I guess you could say that that is what I learned while I’ve been here, even if it’s not a lesson on friendship… It never hurts to know a little more! Your faithful student: Twilight Sparkle Smiling to herself, she rolled the letter up, and cast Spike’s spell, lighting the scroll ablaze, and sending it off into the night. She couldn’t believe how well everything was going right now! ////
Snooping//// Snooping //// Walking through the darkness, the three approached the spa, under the cover of trees in the main park. Alex felt incredibly uncomfortable. He was used to sneaking, breaking into places, and maybe even getting into fights. But, when he has a split version of himself following him while he does them, things tend to get a bit awkward... Dax had a nasty tendency to throw out dirty jokes, and be a general, all-around, douche. And that is why Alex was sure that he couldn’t possibly be a part of him. He was a nice, polite guy. Sure, sometimes he could act a bit inappropriate… But nowhere near the level that Dax operated on. “Hey, Dash!” Dax whispered to her, giggling to himself as they snuck through a group of bushes, “Have you ever had a shocker?” “A what?” Dash asked. “It’s when—“ “That doesn’t work here,” Alex said, cutting him off, look at your hands. Stopping, and inspecting his hoof, Dax frowned. “No fingers, buddy,” Alex said, looking away from his doppelganger. “What’s a… shocker?” Dash asked. Leaning over, Alex whispered in her ear. “Ugh!” Dash said, recoiling, “That’s nasty! How would that even work?” “It does better on earth girls,” Alex shrugged. “Yeah, well… I hope I never—“ “Ugh…” Dax said, stopping dead. “What’s wrong?” Dash asked, turning to him. “That magic… It’s happening again,” Dax said, falling down on his front legs. “I can’t feel it,” Alex said. “Neither can I…” Dash said, leaning down, making sure he was okay. Shaking his head, Dax stood up, “Let’s just find the source of this already, I’m sick of feeling like shit.” Following a line of foliage, they reached the side of the spa, and stopped to make a proper game plan. “We should look in the windows,” Alex suggested, “We might be able to see somepony we know, or catch a glimpse of something.” “That’s what I was thinking!” Dax said, mock-surprised, “It’s like we’re sames!” Alex rolled his eyes, and took off, “Everypony check a side, I’ll do this one, Dash, you check the back, Dax, you look on the side opposite this. Don’t check out the front side… We’d be too obvious.” Nodding, they each flew off to their designated place. Something that surprised Alex a bit. He had expected Dax to be a smart ass. Flying up, Alex checked the rows and rows of windows, hoping to see some kind… Anything. But, inside was office space. Each floor, from top to bottom, save the first couple, were all empty cubicles. Squinting, he saw something move on the far end of the floor he was looking into. It was remarkably close to the windows… But, then he saw it. It was Dax. And he had pressed his lips to the glass, opened his mouth, and puffed out his cheeks, all the while waving to Alex. “That idiot,” Alex said, flapping up, to the roof and landing, waiting for the others two to catch up. Quickly, Dax wound up on the roof with them, and Dash followed. “Did you guys see anything?” Alex asked them. “Nope,” Dash said, “It looked like a perfectly normal building to me.” “I saw you!” Dax said, “Did you see me?” “I did,” Alex said, “And do you know how dirty those windows probably are?” “I’m a manifestation of your consciousness,” Dax said, “I’ll live with a bit of window grime.” “So…” What do we do now?” Dash asked. “We can storm the front!” Dax suggested eagerly. “With that huge door?” Alex asked, “We’d need a massive blast to get that out of the way.” “It’s a good thing you have me!” Dax said, knocking on his horn with his hoof. “Nononono,” Alex said, shaking his head, “We don’t even know that anypony is in danger, so let’s not go destroying anything yet.” “What do we do then?” Dax asked impatiently. “Let’s sneak in to the upper level,” Dash suggested, “We can work our way down from there.” “Good idea, babe!” Dax said, trotting over to the ledge of the roof, “Come on, let’s go!” “You’re like a child,” Alex said, annoyed. “You’re like a grandfather,” Dax retorted, “We even out, now let’s go.” Flying off the roof, the three moved down to the first window on the way down and stopped for a moment. “How do we get in?” Dash asked. “I think I can teleport us in,” Alex said, about to start casting a spell. “No!” Dax cut him off, “Let me do it!” Alex and Dash watched expectantly as Dax pressed his horn against the glass, and sent some kind of pulse into it. For a moment, it didn’t look like anything had happened, but then, in an instant; the glass turned to sand, and fell into a pile on the floor of the building. “I know,” Dax nodded, “Incredible, need to tell me, thanks!” “Let’s spread out,” Alex said, gesturing to himself, “Try to find the stairwell.” Again, the three headed off to the corners of the floor they arrived on, looking for some kind of way to head downstairs. But, to each of their surprises, they couldn’t find anything. In fact, the entire floor was empty. It had dividers. That was it. No chairs, plants, desks… It was just dividers. Meeting in the center of the floor, where the dividers left a large circle around some circular building supports, where they assumed some chairs should have been. “This is weird…” Alex said, “Did you guys see anything over there?” Dash shook her head, “Nothing at all.” “No stairs for me,” Dax said, “Nothing at all, for that matter…” “What’s up with this place?” Alex asked. “It’s just here in case anypony flies by,” Dax said, “It’s a background piece.” “Why would they build such a high building then?” Dash asked, “Why not just build a small one?” Suddenly, the floor dipped, and started to separate as the three flew themselves off the ground, to keep from falling. They all stared down in awe as each floor below them opened up successively; until it reached what they assumed was the ground level, or perhaps the basement. "That's... new." Alex muttered. “Should we fly down there?” Dash asked quietly, looking at the large hole below her. “No…” Dax said, surprising them both, “If that opened up, chances are that someone opened did it, and they would probably see us coming.” “So… what do we do?” Dash asked. “Know a spell that’d make us invisible for a REALLY long time?” Alex asked hopefully. Dax shook his head, “Nothing comes to mind...” Suddenly, a series of electric bolts started sparking their way up the large metal supports surrounding them, rapidly approaching them. “Get out of the way!” Dax shouted, flying into Dash, knocking her and Alex out of the air, on to the ground away from the hole. The electricity fired past them, and into the sky. Dissipating instantly, leaving a black smoke in it’s place, across the floors. “Here’s our chance!” Dash said, pointing to the exhaust caused by the energy, “Let’s fly down in that!” Neither Alex or Dax liked the sound of that, but, decided to go for it since neither of them wanted to be the one that let her down. Running ahead, and diving in, Dash vanished. Looking to each other, they sighed unhappily at the same time. “Alex… In case we don’t make it…” Dax said as he savagely kissed Alex. “Mph—Gah!” Alex shouted, pushing him off, “W-what the—“ ‘I love you.” Dax mouthed, before smirking, and jumping into the smoke. “Asshole.” Shaking his head, Alex decided to forget that happened, and followed behind them into the pit. //// Landing on the bottom floor, Dash looked up through the now disappearing smoke, trying to make out Alex or Dax. Unfortunately, the roof above her, suddenly snapped shut, separating her from the other two. Fighting the urge to shout, Dash looked around the room, trying to find a place to get to since all her firepower was now gone, and the smoke she had used for cover was now gone, leaving her in complete darkness… But she could sense that she wasn’t the only one in this room. “Hey Dashie!” Pinkie said from outside the smoke. “P-Pinkie Pie?” Dash asked, shocked from her sudden appearance. “Hey, sugar cube!” Applejack said, from behind her. “It’s great to have you here,” Spike said from her side. “You simply MUST have the spa treatment, dear,” Rarity added from her other side. “I was so relaxing…” Fluttershy finished, standing directly in front of her. “I knew it!” Dash shouted, “There IS something wrong with this place!” “Yes there is.” A deep voice said from behind Fluttershy, “Something very wrong.” “Alpha…” Dash said quietly, immediately feeling bad for Twilight, “You scumbag…” Nodding, he smiled, “I was surprised to see two of you… I had to adjust my plans.” “And what does that mean?” She asked, a large scowl forming on her face. “It means that you aren’t going to be having the spa treatment… Yet.” //// “Damn it…” Dax growled, his magic entirely failing him, “How could I be so stupid?!” Dax tried in vain to cast a spell to blast through the multiple floors below him and see if Dash was okay, but was unable. This place had some kind of anti-magic field. One that overpowered both the Doctors, and The Wonderbolts stadium. He had no power here. And if he had to guess, neither did Alex. They had all been separated from each other when the floors closed off. “Freeze!” A pony clothed completely in armor shouted. Looking up, Dax saw that he was surrounded. At least fifteen ponies stood around him. “You’re coming downstairs!” One barked. “You know,” Dax said, “I think I’ll pass.” Suddenly rushing one of them that hadn’t been as ready as all the others were, Dax knocked him over and rushed past him toward the windows. Extending his hoof, he started to fly, and closed his eyes. *Smash* *Smash* Looking up, Dax was surprised to see Alex doing exactly what he just had. The two looked to each other, nodded, and continued flying as fast as they could away from the station. After five minutes of flying through the night, they finally reached a place, well out of range from whoever had just attacked them. “What happened?!” Alex demanded, “Where’s Rainbow Dash?!” “I lost her in the separation…” Dax said, “And I don’t know If you noticed, but there was an anti-magic field in that building.” “I noticed!” Alex spat, “I thought you were immune to that stuff!” “Not this one,” Dax said, “It’s the strongest I’ve ever experienced.” “Fuu… Gh… Crap!” Alex shouted, opting for friendlier language. “I’m not happy either,” Dax said, “But we’re going to get her back.” “You’re damn right we are,” Alex said, “Even if it means that we destroy that entire building.” “Finally, some common ground.” Dax smiled. “Whether you’re me or not… We’re going to tear them apart,” Alex promised, “We’re going to—“ Suddenly, the station lit up, like a giant beacon in the desert. “Attention, Alex…” A voice said, booming outward, “Please return to the station, you’ve missed your spa treatment.” Alex and Dax both growled, once they realized that the voice belonged to Alpha. Hearing a loud sigh, the voice then continued, “Could all available guards please go retrieve Miss Twilight Sparkle from her room?” “Twilight is still safe?” Dax asked. “We have to get to her, now!” Alex said. Nodding to each other, they took off once again, this time toward the hotel they were staying at. Alpha wasn’t going to have any more of their friends tonight. //// Frowning, Alpha walked away from the propped up mic in front of him and sighed. He had made a bad decision, taking that girl out for dinner. It was making him feel poorly about his actions, and wish that he could take them all back. This left him with two choices. His loyalty to a mare he had just met a few days prior, or his loyalty to his brothers and sisters. It was no contest. Forgetting his brief interactions with Twilight, Alpha readied himself for the rest of the night. His plan has only just begun. ////
Escaping//// Escaping //// Flying back to the hotel, Alex and Dax worked out a plan of attack on Alpha and were proud of the cleverness. It was going to require some trickery, and some fast and loose actions, but hopefully, they would save everypony, and stop whoever this pony was. But, first thing was first, they had to save Twilight from Alpha, and get her somewhere that she’d be safe while they took care of business. However, this is where the two disagreed. “Why does she need to be hidden again?” Alex asked, somewhat relaxed by the night air, despite the situation he was presented with. “Because she’s a girl, Alex,” Dax said, with a ‘no-duh’ tone. “She can handle herself,” Alex said, “She can help!” “Look,” Dax said, “She’s a mare! She’s good for having babies!” “That’s pretty rude,” Alex said, “She’d kill you if she heard that.” “I’d send her back to the kitchen.” Dax laughed. “Are you doing this just to annoy me?” Alex asked. “…Yes.” Dax admitted, “But I’m you, and that means you have these horribly sexist thoughts yourself.” “Well…” Alex couldn’t really argue, everypony had a racist or sexist thought at some point in their lives. A Broadway show did a song on it, he was pretty sure. “Thought so!” Dax said, “And it WAS on Broadway.” Alex frowned. How did he just know that? He must have been telepathic. He was NOT him. “We’re almost there, Susan,” Dax said, “Pony up… HA!” “Shut up…” Alex rolled his eyes. //// Entering the limits of the station, Alex and Dax immediately felt something wrong with them. “He’s using that magic dampener.” Dax said, “It feels weaker than it was.” “I know what you mean,” Alex agreed, “I think I could still squeeze something out.” “That sounded weird.” Dax said, looking back to him, “But! I think it’s because he’s spread the field so far that it’s so weak.” “It’s way bigger here than the Wonderbolts stadium was,” Alex said, “And the field is probably much more complex to cast since it blocks out all magic... Not just harmonious stuff.” “Try to use this to our advantage then,” Dax ordered, “Something tells me we’ll only get a few spells in before they notice and focus it on us directly.” “Got it,” Alex said, uncomfortable with being bossed around by somepony that looked so much like him. “Look!” Dax said, pointing to the back entrance to the hotel that faced the courtyard, as a group of armored ponies headed into the hotel, most likely heading for Twilight. “Let’s go in through the window,” Alex said, flying over to the one he and Dash had been messing around at, when they scared Spike in bed. “It doesn’t open,” Dax said, looking for a latch to open it. “Doesn’t need to,” Alex said, smashing it, “Easy peasy.” “Works for me,” Dax shrugged as they landed in Spike’s room. Opening the door to the common room, they looked for Twilight since they were sure she would be here in a panic. But, instead, the lights were out, and there wasn’t a thing happening. “Is Twilight in her room…?” Alex said, walking over to her door, seeing a faint light coming from under the door. Opening the door, Alex stuck his head in the crack, “Hey Twi—“ “Eeeeek!” She screamed, “Get out-get out! Haven’t you heard of knocking?!” Pulling out and slamming the door closed, Alex looked at Dax with wide eyes. “What did you see?!” Dax asked, “I’m you! So for the LOVE of god, tell me!” “Uh…” Alex said, “I, uh….” Behind him, the door flew open and Twilight stepped out. “How dare you just barge in!” Twilight barked, completely flustered, “I was totally… Just…” Twilight looked at Alex, then to Dax, and froze. “Masturba—“ Dax began. “What the buck is going on here?!” She shouted, “A-Alex?” “That’s me,” He said meekly, “That’s Dax…” “What?!” “Look,” Dax said, stepping forward, “Could we go five minutes without talking about your cooch? Your boyfriend is trying to kill us… So, we need to go.” “What are you talking about?” Twilight asked, as somepony started banging on the door loudly. “Twilight, don’t—“ “Coming!” Twilight called, “Don’t go anywhere! We need to figure you two out!” Dax rolled his eyes, “Guess it’s that time.” “So fast?” Alex asked as Dax ran to the door, passing Twilight. “Hey!” She shouted as Dax knocked her over on the way. “Eat this!” Dax shouted, Trying his best to shoot a blast of magic at the closed door. Unfortunately, it came out much more like a fizzle, “Shit…” “We need to get out of here,” Alex said, “Alpha is some kind of… Evil something… Didn’t you hear him on the PA telling everypony to come get you?” “Uh, no!” She answered, “Why would he do that? And where is everypony?” “He has them!” Alex said, “The spa is some kind of… Brainwashing place or something… You didn’t go, did you?” “No,” Twilight said, “In fact, Alpha told me to stay away from it!” “Why would he do that, really?” Alex asked. “Open the door, or we’ll break it down!” A pony called through the door. Alex raised his eyebrows. “Okay…” Twilight said, “Let’s go, but I want a FULL explanation!” “Deal,” Alex said, “Come on, Dax!” Turning around from the door, Dax followed the two of them to the broken window. “You didn’t hear us get inside?” Alex asked. “I was… Busy…” She giggled nervously. “Nice.” Dax said, earning a scowl from Twilight. “Hop on my back,” Alex said, “I’ll fly us out of here.” “I can use magic!” Twilight said, trying to cast a spell, but failing, “What…?” “There’s some kind of anti-magic barrier,” Alex explained, looking down, hoping he didn’t fall from the added weight of Twilight, “Now hop on!” Complying, she climbed on to his back and braced herself. She always hated riding a flying pony. The only time she felt safe doing it, was when Princess Celestia would fly her around the kingdom, to different places to teach her various lessons. However, that hadn’t been for quite a few years now. Hearing the door break open, Alex and Dax leapt out the window, lowering to the ground, where they could let Twilight off. “At least it’s empty out here,” Dax said, “I just hope nopony else gets hurt by these armed ponies.” Twilight was surprised to hear him express concern at all. “Where to next?” Alex asked. “We need a place to hide,” Dax said, “Let’s go look for somewhere in the mall.” All nodding, the three ran to the now dark mall, and once again, broke some glass to get inside. “We can use the darkness to our advantage here,” Dax said as they ran down one of the many large hallways housed within the building, “Hopefully they’ll walk right past us.” “I don’t think you thought this through very well…” Twilight said. “Why?” Alex asked, “I don’t see anything wrong with the plan.” The lights turned on. “Well, color be embarrassed.” Dax said, “Doesn’t mean we can’t keep running!” Surprisingly, the armed guard was already on them. They were clearly pegasi as they had caught up in almost no time at all. The chase was long as the mall had too many enclosed hallways to run through, for them to fly after them properly. “Dax!” Alex called, seeing that he had fallen quite behind him and Twilight, “Behind you!” Taking a second to look behind him, Dax was immediately pounced on by one of them, sending them both tumbling into a glasses stand, where Dax was able to escape in the confusion of flying glasses and fancy contacts. “You guys!” Twilight called, “We’re almost at a dead end!” Looking forward, they both saw that they had arrived at the movie theater, a place with exits, but were no doubt covered by guards. “What do we do?” Twilight asked. “Uh… Inside here!” Dax instructed, turning into the arcade, which was still lit up, and crowded with teenagers, “I guess this place closes later than the mall.” “Movie theaters always do,” Alex called to him, over the noise of the people inside. “Act natural,” Alex whispered to Twilight as they hid behind a thick group of boys surrounding some arcade game or another. Twilight lost contact with Dax and Alex for a few seconds but found them quickly. “Code six!” The leader of the armed ponies shouted as the entire arcade suddenly went silent, and everypony looked toward them, assuming a straight stance, and serious look. At this point, Alex, Dax and Twillight looked very obvious. “Nice job getting us stuck.” Dax growled at Alex. “My fault?” He growled back, “You told us to run in here!” “Well, I AM you, so it’s YOUR fault!” Dax shouted, "Well, except that I have green eyes." “Stand down,” The leader of the team said, “You three are coming with us to see Alpha.” “You know what?” Dax said, angrily, “I’m out of here!” “What?!” Twilight shouted, “Don’t you dare!” “Dude,” Alex asked, giving him an odd look, “This is NOT the plan.” “Sorry man, but it ain’t worth it… Maybe I’ll come back for you guys.” Dax laughed, focusing every ounce of energy he had as he vanished in a beam of light. “You ass!” Twilight shouted, hitting Alex in the arm. “What?!” He asked, offended, “I’m still here!” “He IS you!” Twilight growled, “And that means YOU abandoned us!” “Get moving!” The guard said, “Alpha wants to see you.” “Oh, BELIEVE ME,” Twilight said, her eyes narrowed, “I want to see him too.” //// Author's Note Might have a few errors, just wrote it out before bed. Feel free, GMZ.
Captured//// Captured //// Alex and Twilight were escorted through the compound toward the spa, both brooding over the horrible situation they were in. “Where is that stupid pony?” Twilight whispered, looking around for Dax, assuming he would come out of nowhere, and kick some serious rump. “Why does everypony think I have ANYTHING to do with him?” Alex growled. “Shut up and keep moving!” The guard shouted as they walked through the front doors of the facility. The pure white color of the lobby blinded the two of them as they walked in from the darkness of the outside world. Holding his breath, Alex looked at the next set of doors, not wanting to see what was on the other side of this door. “Welcome to the manager’s office,” A guard said, opening the door, revealing an equally white room, with a large desk in the middle, “Alpha will be with you soon.” Walking out, the guards left the two of them alone, locking the door behind them. Alex and Twilight looked to each other afraid of what was coming for them. “So… Dax isn’t coming?” Twilight asked, losing hope quickly. “I have no idea,” Alex said, sounding completely betrayed, “I actually started to trust that asshole.” “Well, if he really is you, he’ll be back,” Twilight said. “Maybe…” Alex said. “I doubt it,” Alpha’s voice said. Looking around, the two looked for the source of his voice. “Down here,” He said. Suddenly, the floor started lowering, taking the two of them down into the basement, where they assumed they figured Alpha was waiting. Reaching the floor, they were taken from an intensely white room, to one of darkness, with no light source, besides a faint green glow. “Alpha!” Twilight shouted into the darkness around them, “Get out here!” Looking around, they tried to make anything out, besides the various instruments and walls barely lit by the green glow coming from above them. “Of course, Twilight,” Alpha said as the lights in the room came to life, illuminating everything. Alpha stood on a small podium with them in a truly massive room that stretched underneath the entire courtyard, all the way to the hotel. The space was almost empty, save the few instruments immediately surrounding them, and the support pillars that held the ceiling above them. “Now… We need to have a discussion,” Alpha said, walking over to Alex, and pushing his face up, looking into his eyes, “Good, blue.” “What?” Alex asked, snapping away. “Your friend has green ones,” Alpha said, “But, he’s gone now, so it doesn’t matter.” “Where did he go?” Alex asked, holding his breath. “He was seen flying away from the perimeter,” Alpha laughed as a massive monitor turned on behind him, showing Dax flying away from the mall, into the night. “He’ll sneak back,” Alex warned, “You won’t have cameras covering every inch of this place.” “I don’t need them,” Alpha laughed, “I’ve fine-tuned my anti-magic machine to tell me if there are any disturbances in the anti-magic field caused by discordic magic since your friend Dax is teeming with the stuff.” “He’ll find a way,” Alex insisted. “He won’t.” He said, “Any other questions?” Alex frowned at his quick dismissal. “Where are our friends?” Alex demanded. “We’ll get to them later,” Alpha laughed. Alex growled, “What’s your plan then?” “I don’t care about any plan!” Twilight barked, stepping between Alpha and Alex, “WE need to have a discussion!” “Listen, Twilight—“ “No!” She shouted, “I kissed you!” “And I’m very—“ She slapped him hard across the face. He didn’t respond. “I FRENCH kissed you!” She shouted, slapping him even harder, “Who the hell are you?!” Stepping back, Alpha gave them both a serious look as he rubbed his face. “I guess I owe you that, Twilight,” He said, stepping back on to his podium.” “I am…” //// Celestia slowly opened her eyes. It was one of those nights again. Recently, she had been waking up at all hours of the night, and found it incredibly difficult to get back to sleep. Getting up, and making her way to the throne room, she briefly thought to Twilight and her friends. She hoped that they were having a good time at the station. “Sister!” Luna smiled, “You are having trouble sleeping, once again?” Nodding, Celestia walked over to the window overlooking Canterlot and smiled. It was always calming seeing the lack of activity of her subjects. They were all in bed, resting for tomorrow. “Oh, Sister!” Luna said again as Celestia turned to her, “Twilight Sparkle sent you a letter.” “Oh, did she?” Celestia smiled, walking over to the parchment Luna was levitating, taking it herself, and opening it. Luna watched her read over it, and followed her facial expressions as she made her way through it. A smile changed to a calm face as she read the beginning of it. However, her face suddenly took a grave turn. “What is it, sister?” Luna asked, standing up and approaching her. “Luna… Do you remember, all those years ago before we became Princesses…” Celestia somewhat mumbled, still processing something. Luna listened silently. “We encountered a group of very strange looking ponies…” She continued, “Ponies that had a very… particular way of naming themselves, when being addressed…” It was a bit vague, and Luna needed a bit more help than that. Looking up to Luna, Celestia gave her a grim look, “Twilight has met a pony named Alpha, and with him, Betas, and Gammas.” “You must write her back, and warn her of the danger!” Luna said, now understanding. “We can’t risk them being discovered,” Celestia said, “We’ll go in ourselves.” Luna nodded, “I’ll call the guard into action.” Celestia turned and faced the train that sat outside the castle, “We leave in a half an hour, for Haven Station.” //// “I am Alpha,” He said as a green glow surrounded him, “The general of the queen’s army.” “Queen?” Alex asked, “What queen?” Suddenly, his entire body was surrounded in a green flame that seemed to melt his skin from his body. At first, Twilight thought Dax had come to rescue them, and had horrifyingly murdered Alpha in the process. However, it quickly became apparent that he wasn’t being hurt, and another pony was clearly under this first layer of now-melting skin. “Queen Chrysalis,” He smiled confidently, as revealing his true self, to be an entirely black pony, with several holes throughout his body, wings, and horn. “You’re a changeling?!” Twilight said in disbelief, “I-I’ve never seen a real one before…” “Well, here I am,” He laughed, “Now you understand why we wouldn’t have worked out, Twilight.” “What are you talking about?” She growled, “I would have dated a changeling, you think I’m some kind of racist?” “Well, no,” He said, a bit put off by this, “I mean, I’m not exactly on your side.” “No shit!” Alex shouted. “Enough of this,” Alpha said ending the line of conversation, “It’s time for your conditioning. You two are going to join the rest of your friends.” “Over my dead body!” Alex said, taking a defensive stance in front of Twilight. “Do you know advanced hoof-to-hoof combat?” Alpha asked, “Because your harmonious magic is being blocked in this room.” “Does that mean I can still use discordic magic?” Alex asked, hopefully. “Dax took that ability with him,” Alpha explained, “We both know that.” “Well, I hope he gets in here then,” Alex said to himself, “Then he could stop you.” “His magic may be blocked outside this room,” Alpha explained making a gesture, as the guards swarmed them, and started forcing them toward a bunch of beds, “But I can move the field to wherever I need it to go.” Alex struggled as he was placed on a bed next to Twilight as they were both restrained. “Try not to struggle too much,” Alpha said, somewhat comfortingly, “You’ll be with your friends soon.” //// Celestia and Luna finished loading the guards onto the bullet train as Celestia moved to the front to speak with the conductor. “Can we get this train to Haven Station any faster?” She asked. “I can ramp up the speed a bit,” The conductor explained, “But if I push her too hard, we’ll lose control.” Thinking to herself, Celestia got an idea. “If crashing isn’t an issue, how fast could this train go… Theoretically?” Celestia asked. “Uh… At maximum speed, it would be somewhere in the neighborhood of three hundred percent faster.” He said, shocking the princess. “That fast? We could be at haven station in eight hours?” She asked in awe. “We’d never keep steady though!” He insisted. “I can keep us steady,” Celestia said seriously, “I’ll keep us locked to the ground. Nothing will divert us.” “…Are you sure Princess?” He asked, clearly nervous at the idea, “I don’t feel like this would be a safe thing to do…” “I’m sorry that I have to say it, but this is an order, and you will follow it.” Celestia said, extremely out of character. “Yes ma’am,” He sighed, “Turning to the control panel, and working a few knobs, “I’ll let you know when we’re departing.” “Thank you,” She said simply, exiting the car. She had to get to Twilight before she was hurt. Normally, she would teleport herself there, but she had never been to the place… So she wasn’t able to do it. So, her only option was to get them there fast. “Alright everypony!” The conductor called, “We’re going to be moving fast here… So please be careful during acceleration.” “Are we ready to depart?” Luna asked. “Yes,” Celestia said, “But I’m going to need you to help me keep the train steady during the trip. At the speed we’re going to be moving at, the train needs assistance to keep from derailing.” “Of course,” Luna nodded. Sitting down in a nearby seat, Celestia waited anxiously for the train to start moving. Twilight was so far away… And she was going to have to wait for eight agonizing hours, hoping that she was okay… It would be torture. ////
Awakening//// Awakening //// Nothing made sense… Twilight could see normally… But she had no control. She tried to speak, but nothing came out. She tried to shout, but again, nothing. She was in the passenger seat of her own brain and could only see out the windshield. Twilight watched as she turned to Alex. There was something off about him. It was probably the same thing that was wrong with her. “Now, ponies,” Alpha said as Twilight and Alex turned to face him. “Yes, sir.” Twilight said. “Yes, sir.” Alex repeated. Twilight tried to slap him again. But, it didn’t happen. She had zero control. She was stuck here. “Now that you’re on payroll, let me explain how things will be happening.” Alpha said as Alex and Twilight nodded. “You’re both very powerful ponies,” Alpha said, “In fact, all of your friends are.” As he said that, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, Pinkie, and Applejack walking into the illuminated part of the room, having been in the darkness the whole time. “All that’s left, is for me to condition your friend Rainbow Dash, and Dax.” Alpha explained, “I will use her to get him back here, where the magic field will weaken him, and we will capture him.” They all nodded. “Now, when everypony is under changeling control, you’ll be sent home,” Alpha continued, “Where you will work for us, to undermine the current power in Equestria.” Alpha looked across his group of brainwashed ponies and couldn’t help but smile. The Queen had had her doubts, but here it was, all coming together. “Then, when the grand plan is executed next year, they will have no hope of defending themselves.” Alpha finished. They all nodded. “Alright everypony,” Alpha said, “Follow me, we have a message to deliver to Dax.” //// The silence of the desert was once again broken by the loud PA system in the Station. “Dax!” Alpha called, “You forgot somepony, when you ran away.” “Dax!” Dash shouted, “Don’t—“ “You hear that?” Alpha said, “That’s your little girlfriend. And she’s not doing too well here.” “That asshole…” “Here’s the deal,” Alpha said, “I’m going to give you a chance to save her. We’re underneath the spa, and you can walk right in the front door, with no resistance.” “Is he serious?” “After that, well, anything goes,” Alpha said, finishing, “I know you’d leave Alex, and Twilight. But not her. So come on. Let’s do this.” “Fine.” Dax said, standing up from his hiding spot within the compound. It appeared that Alpha had fallen for that imitation of him flying away from the Station, “You’re going to get hurt for taking my friends away.” //// “And now we wait,” Alpha said, turning to his minions, “Everypony, head out into the perimeter, just in case he snuck in somehow.” “Yes sir!” They all called as they turned away and walked out of the room. “Alex!” He shouted, making the white pony stop and turn to face him. “You stay here…” Alpha said, “We don’t know what Dax could do to you, to free you.” Nodding, Alex stood in place and waited for his next orders. “Go keep your friend company,” Alpha said, pointing to the room Dash had been taken to, “I’ll call when Dax arrives.” Nodding, Alex walked toward the room Dash was being held in, and walked past the guards, closing the door behind him. “…Alex?” Dash squeaked, clearly having been knocked around by the guards a bit as her wings were bound, and she was inside a cage, “A- are you really under his control?” Alex didn’t respond. “No…” She said, her eyes filling with tears. Feeling his heart wrench, he watched on, wishing he could say something to her. Dash looked away from him. Here was the strongest pony she had ever met… And now he was against her. She had never felt as alone as she did right now. “Alex… If you can hear me in there,” She said, still not looking at him, “I’m not mad at you for whatever he makes you do.” ‘Thank you,’ Alex thought to himself. Dash looked back to him as he turned away from her, and looked at a large cable running across the ceiling. Cocking her head, she watched as a small spark came out of his horn, and floated into the cable, vanishing. “Wha--?” Alex turned to her for a moment, before turning away again. Closing her mouth, she left it alone. For all she knew, this was some part of his brainwashing. But, she couldn’t help but hope that it meant something good. //// Pinkie bounced down the road, looking around for the white pony she was supposed to bring back to the boss. Noticing some rustling in the bushes, she decided to inspect it. Maybe she’d get a promotion! “Stick ‘em up!” Pinkie said, jumping behind it. “Shhh,” Dax said, touching her with his horn, knocking her out, “Doesn’t look like Alpha can stop all the magic here.” Seeing the spa in front of him, he decided to take the same path he had taken before. Stealthily flying upwards, he kept to the shadowed side of the building as he headed for the window that he had melted out from its place last time he was here. Walking into the still empty office space, he pondered his next move. Should he run in guns blazing? No, if he had trouble casting spells up here, he was willing to bet that he would have no luck downstairs. “Um… Excuse me…” Fluttershy said from behind him, “I think you need to come with me…” Turning quickly, Dax cast the same sleep spell on her that he had on Pinkie, knocking her out on the floor. If she knew he was here, chances were that everypony else did too. Zapping into the room, Twilight gave him a smirk, “Come on, Dax. Come downstairs.” “I’m pretty sure Alpha said I wouldn’t meet resistance when I came in,” Dax said. “He’s a lying jerk,” Twilight said, smiling, “But he’s the boss.” “Geez,” Dax said, “What has he done to you?” “Taken control of me,” She shrugged, “Nothing huge.” Carefully stepping toward her, Dax tried to knock her out, in the same way he did with the others. “Slow down there!” She said, “Your magic is blocked out here, mine isn’t. Only chaotic magic is blocked up here. Downstairs is the opposite.” Dax stepped back. “Now, allow me to take you downstairs, so you can begin your spa treatment!” Twilight said, smiling WAY too much. Dax shook his head, “Twilight, can you not hear me at all?” “Hey!” She said angrily, “You abandoned me, and left me to him! Don’t try to appeal to me!” “You know, for brainwashed, you sure seem to be acting normal,” Dax continued, just trying to buy some time for him to think up an escape plan. “Don’t ask me,” She said, “I’m not the one who made that machine.” “This was done by a machine?” Dax asked. “He put me on a bed, and a strange light shined in my eyes from this big green ball.” Twilight explained, “It separated me from some of my soul, I think.” “That sounds horrible.” Dax said quietly. “But it’s okay,” Twilight continued, “I overheard a guard saying that it needed to be protected because destroying it would free everypony.” “You sure are being open with information,” Dax said, “Any reason for that?” “My separated soul told you that,” She said blankly, “Now, please come with me.” “Thanks, Twi.” Dax smiled, “I’ll see you when this is all over.” Backing up, Dax stepped on to the piece of the floor that had previously opened when they fell down, and charged a spell. “How are you using magic?” Twilight asked. Lifting a hoof to his lips, he shushed her, and then zapped her with a bolt of energy, knocking her out. “I’m coming to see you, Alpha.” Dax said, lifting off the ground, and focusing his magic on his hoofs. Then, he smashed into the floor, with his arms extended out in front of him as he broke through the floor, to the next floor, where he immediately punched through the next one, and the next one, as he made his way down the building interior. //// “Where is that damn pony?” Alpha asked himself as he looked from monitor to monitor, looking for any sign of Dax. Hearing something in the distance, Alpha quieted down and listened as some kind of smashing could be heard. “What is that?” Alpha whispered to himself as it grew louder and louder, until it was literally right above him. Then, completely shockingly, the ceiling above him crumbled to pieces and collapsed a few feet away from Alpha. Crashing into the ground next to him, Dax looked for the green ball Twilight had described. Seeing it, he dove for it, feeling his power start to fail him here. “Oh no, you don’t!” Alpha shouted, throwing himself at Dax, knocking him out of the way, and sending them both on to the ground. “Guards!” Alpha shouted, holding Dax down, “Adjust the magic field, and negate Discordic magic in cage two, and lower it down here!” Standing up, Alpha lifted Dax, and tossed him over to a marked place on the floor, where a massive cage fell down, locking him inside. Staggering up, Dax tried to cast a spell, and get himself out of the cage. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. His magic was cut off here. “That is what I call a home run!” Alpha laughed, “I’ve got you all!” Dax panted, “What is with this damn magic field?!” “I’ve concentrated every ounce of anti-chaotic magic into that cage,” Alpha explained, “When the spell is that potent, it can be a bit overwhelming to the other parts of your body.” Dax fell forward on to his knees. “Alex!” Alpha called, “Prepare the tables for Dax and Rainbow Dash!” Walking into the room, Alex looked to Dax, and then to Alpha. “Go!” He ordered. Nodding, Alex walked over to the table and went about his business. “With the eight of you ponies under my control, you have no idea how much power I will have!” Alpha laughed, looking to the almost unconscious Dax in the cage. “I just have one thing to say…” Dax said, looking up weakly. “What is it?” Alpha asked. Gesturing for him to come closer, Alpha stepped forward. Dax mumbled something Alpha couldn’t understand. “Speak up!” Alpha said, stepping right up to the cage, “What do you have to say?” “My eyes.” Dax whispered. Giving him a confused look, Alpha looked at Dax’s blue eyes. “What?” He asked, before it all clicked. “No!” Immediately, Alpha was lifted off the ground, and thrown into one of the support pillars and collapsed on the ground. Next, the massive cage was lifted off Dax, and thrown into the green orb above the operating tables, smashing it to pieces. “No!” Alpha shouted, “No, no, no, no!” “Oh, just let me finish this one off as well,” Alex said, smirking, as an explosion in the power line on the ceiling knocked out the power to the anti-magic generator. “Check.” Alex said from where he had been trapped by the cage. “Mate.” Dax said from the operation tables. “I’m afraid you had us mixed up,” Alex grinned. “You really should pay more attention.” Dax smirked. ////
Finale//// Finale //// Alex and Dax stood in the laboratory, both exceedingly proud of themselves for outsmarting Alpha and beating him at his own game. Now, all that remained for them to do, was a bit of clean-up duty, and explain just how they did it. The two looked to the back area as the sound of a group of ponies was heard running toward them. “Alpha!” A guard called, “What’s going—“ They were all levitated off the ground, and tossed under the cage, keeping them at bay. “Damn it…” Alpha said, shocked at the huge amount of work he had lost in the last twenty seconds. “Confused?” Alex asked. “He’s confused.” Dax said. “Allow me to explain.” Alex said. //// Alex Dax //// “Remember when the two of us fled the city?” “We had a few minutes to plan our next move, you know.” “Part one, we had to look like we were fighting.” “Look like we didn’t get along.” “Which we didn’t at first, but taking our friends has a funny way of getting us to work together.” “So. We decided to escape to the mall, when we got Twilight.” “From there, Dax slowed himself down while we ran, allowing your guards to hit him.” “And what did we run in to?” “A glasses and contacts stand.” “I grabbed blue contacts, just like Alex.” “So, when we ran into the video arcade, Dax tossed on the contacts, and he became Alex.” “Alex ran away, and pretended to be Dax.” “But not before saying ‘This isn’t part of the plan!’” “My personal favorite.” “So, I waited for a while, long enough for Dax to assess the situation, and find out what we needed to know.” “Then I manipulated the magical hold you had on Twilight so she would spill some information to him. We had both heard the guards talking, but I wasn’t allowed to leave so I couldn’t tell him.” “Then I flew in, looking like a bona fide badass, fooling you further into thinking I was Dax.” “You captured him and put all of the anti-chaos field into his cage, freeing me to use whatever spells I needed." “Exactly what we planned for you to do.” “Then, when you called me into the room, I exchanged a simple thought with Alex, telling me to destroy the green ball when I called Alpha over to see me.” “And now, here we are.” “Endgame.” //// “So,” Alex smiled, “That’s about it.” “Any questions?” Dax asked. Alpha grunted as he stood up, and lightly tapped his hoof against the ground, something that took both Alex and Dax a moment to realize that he was clapping for them. “Honestly,” Alpha began, “I’m not a bad pony. I’m just a loyal pony.” Neither Alex nor Dax knew where this was going. “You two fought for your friends, and you did a damn good job.” Alpha continued, sounding more and more confidant, “But I can’t go back empty hooved.” “Listen,” Alex said, “You don’t need to go back anywhere. You could always—“ “No,” Alpha cut him off, “I love my family, and I won’t be abandoned by them for this.” “What do you mean?” Dax asked. “Nothing…” He said. “Come with me, then.” Alex said, somewhat worryingly, “I’ll get Dash, Dax.” Nodding, Dax readied a spell in case Alpha decided to try and fight his way out of this. Luckily, he was compliant, and allowed Alex to escort him to the jail cell that held Dash. “Alex?!” She asked, seeing him walk through the door, “A-are you okay?” Smiling and nodding, she immediately beamed. “Geez!” She said as Alex opened the door, and pushed Alpha past her, as she walked out, “I thought he had you for sure!” “Psh,” Alex laughed, “He never had anything on me!” “What’s next then?” Dash asked, “How is everypony else doing?” “They’re fine,” Alex said, “Their minds should be coming back to them.” “I couldn’t have done it better myself!” Dash said, “I’ll look after Alpha, why don’t you go out and make sure everything is looking good?” “Sure,” Alex said, kissing her on the cheek quickly, “If there’s any problem, just shout. We’ll come running.” Smiling and nodded, Dash watched Alex exit the room, and then turned back to Alpha. “I can’t believe he fell for it!” She laughed, “Now, what do I need to do to fix that anti-magic barrier for you, Alpha?” //// Pinkie opened her eyes weakly, feeling the rising sun on them. Shaking her head and standing up, she realized that she was in full control of herself! “Oh boy!” She shouted to herself, bouncing up and down, “I’m free! Which means everypony must be free! So I should go bake a cake in—“ Somewhere in the distance, a train whistle blew. //// “Did you hear that?” Alpha asked Dash as she worked away repairing the power supply to his machine, “Why is there a train coming?” “I don’t know!” Dash said, in a rude tone, “How am I supposed to know the schedule?” “I wasn’t asking you,” He said, looking up at the ceiling, “You need to hurry up.” “I am!” Dash snapped, “I don’t see you doing the work!” “I can’t get caught out of the cell!” She shot back, “Just hurry up!” //// Twilight warped herself and Fluttershy to the train platform, and watched the rapidly approaching bullet train that she and her friends had arrived on. They hadn’t seen any kind of guards on when they arrived here, so Twilight assumed that Dax had taken her advice, and destroyed everything below them, allowing magic to work once again. Deciding to take a step back, Twilight and Fluttershy knew this thing was going fast, and she didn’t want to get hurt if it crashed into the station for any reason. “Twilight!” Pinkie called, bouncing over to her, “Who’s on the train?” “There’s only one kind of train like that,” Twilight said, “So that means it’s coming from Canterlot.” “Did ah’ hear Canterlot?” Applejack asked, approaching the group with Rarity and Spike in tow, “That’s good, right?” “Well, at this speed,” Twilight surmised, “They’ve kicked it up by quite a bit, so it’s an emergency for them.” “So it’s help, right?” Spike asked. “I think so,” Twilight nodded. Finally, the train made its final approach, and quickly pulled the breaks, decelerating to a complete stop, in only a matter of seconds. “I hope nopony was hurt there,” Twilight said, cringing at the potential damage they could have gotten in that stop. A few seconds after the train stopped, the doors opened, and Princess Celestia stepped off. “Princess!” Twilight called, running over to her. “Twilight!” She said, running over to her, and embracing her, tears filling her eyes. “You might be in danger!” Luna said, stepping off the train, along with the better part of fifty soldiers. “We were,” Twilight said, “It turned out that our host is a changeling!” “I know,” Celestia said, “Your letter tipped us off.” “Good job Twilight!” Pinkie said. “I didn’t really do anything, She said modestly, “But we need to get down to the foundation of the station, their leader is there.” “Alright,” Celestia nodded, “Are there any dangers we should know about?” “There were anti-magic defenses, but Alex and Dax took care of them.” Twilight explained, “I think, anyway. “Dax?” Celestia asked, “His alter-ego?” “Yeah… It’s a long story.” Twilight said, laughing a bit, “I’ll fill everypony in later.” Walking toward the spa, Twilight spoke to everypony about what had happened to them over the past few hours, and what they might have to watch out for. Finally reaching the perimeter of the building, everypony stopped as Celestia quickly went over the attack plan with them. “We don’t know who’s in there,” Celestia said, “Each team will take a unicorn, use the true-form spell, and use it on everypony you see. I don’t want a changeling slipping past us.” Luna casually walked over to Applejack, and whispered, “It is strange seeing my sister like this.” “Ah’ll bet,” She answered, “Apple Bloom would look mighty weird doin’ this.” “When we have the changelings identified, and in our custody, we’ll do a sweep of the entire complex, and we’ll follow the same procedure,” Celestia continued, “Also, nopony leave your group. When we lose somepony, they gain a chance to sneak into our ranks.” They all nodded. “So, when the operation in complete, we’ll perform the true-form spell on everypony, to make sure you haven’t been impersonated. We don’t want this being the Manehattan Crisis all over again.” She finished. “Manehattan Crisis?” Luna asked, no having heard of that particular event. “It was a big fight in Manehattan, with those changelings and the royal guard, where lots of ‘em changed into our guys, and lots of ponies got hurt.” Applejack explained, “Lots’a books about it.” Luna nodded, before joining her sister. “Is everypony ready?” Luna asked. “Yes!” They shouted in unison. “Alright,” Luna said, “Then move—“ Suddenly, a loud buzzing was heard as a massive force field was generated out of the ground beneath the spa, and made its way outward and upward. “Everypony fall back!” Celestia called as they all ran away from the massive sparking shield that was expanding toward them. The huge group of ponies ran across the courtyard as the spell encompassed the entire thing, sealing it off from the rest of the outside world. “What’s happening?” Rarity shouted. “I think Alpha rebuilt his anti-magic shield with Rainbow Dash’s help!” Pinkie said as they all gave her an odd look. “What?” She asked, “It was just a hunch!” //// “Dash!” Alex shouted, running into the jail, “What happened?” “Sorry, Alex,” Alpha said, stepping out of the cell, “I forget to tell you that Dash was under my control.” “But she hadn’t had the procedure!” Alex said, stepping back as Dax arrived at his side. “That’s where you’re wrong,” Alpha said, “She went under a different kind of conditioning, that doesn’t require machinery. Just in case.” “You asshole.” Dax growled. “Come on,” Alpha said, “Don’t be like that. I won fair and square.” “By brainwashing our friends?” Alex asked, “That’s hardly fair.” “Regardless,” Alpha said, walking past them, “The magic barrier is back up, and I’ve erected a shield around it to keep it from being damaged once again. Alex and Dax weren’t sure what to do now. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to see who arrived in the train station.” Alpha said, exiting the room, leaving the three. “Dash!” Alex said, approaching her, “What did he do to you?” “Put his horn on me,” She shrugged, “That’s all.” “I hope he didn’t put it IN you!” Dax laughed, “That’s our job!” Alex gave him a serious look, “OUR job?” “Uh, yeah.” He said, “But I see what you mean... That sounds a bit strange.” “No shit.” Alex said. “Anyway! Why does she sound so normal?” Dax asked. “Twilight was like that too,” Alex said, “Dash… You need to tell us if there’s anything we can do to stop him!” “Sorry, bud,” Dash said, “Privileged information. Now, excuse me.” She said, walking past them toward Alpha. “What do we do?” Alex whispered to Dax. “I’ve got nothing.” He said frowned. “Well,” Alex said, “We could just beat the living hell out of him.” “I like that plan,” Dax said, “But he said he was a good fighter.” “Right,” Alex said, furrowing his brow, “Our big thing is magic.” “What then?” Dax asked. “Let’s go see who arrived,” Dax said, “Maybe it’s some kind of help.” //// “Can you penetrate the shield, sister?” Luna asked as Celestia shot a constant beam of energy into the field that had been formed. “I can’t,” Celestia Panted, ending the spell, “We need a new plan.” “Don’t worry about that, Princess!” Alpha said over the PA, “This is a lost cause.” “Who am I speaking to?” Celestia shouted, not sure if she could even be heard. “My name is Alpha,” The voice said, “I’m the general of the changeling army, serving under Queen Chrysalis.” “What is your intention?” She shouted. “To strengthen the empire!” HE answered proudly, “And while it may not be the fairest thing in Equestria, I’m taking your friends with me.” “You are not.” Celestia said angrily, “You will release them, and give yourself up.” “You’re not the best at bargaining, Princess,” Alpha laughed, “There is no room for negotiation. This is how it’s going to be happening. “And how do you expect to escape with us here?” Celestia asked. “That’s for me to worry about, and you to not know.” He answered, “In fact, you’d save yourself a lot of time if you just left now.” “This is a true act of war, Alpha,” Celestia warned, “You had best think twice before following through with it.” “I’m afraid I have my orders, and nothing will sway me.” He said, deciding to finish up, “Now, I have some preparations to make… Feel free to keep trying to break my shield, you’ll fail.” And with that, the PA system shut down, leaving them all in silence. “Unicorns, start trying to break that shield!” Celestia ordered, “Focus on a single point, and try to split it open!” “Pegasi!” Luna shouted, “Evacuate the open areas! Get everypony clear of the station!” “Earth ponies,” Celestia followed, “Try to find us an alternate path into the basement!” //// “Much less than I thought!” Alpha said, “But two princesses? I’m a bit honored.” “They’re here for us, not you,” Alex said. “Well, they’re not going to get you,” Alpha said, “I may have failed my primary goal, but if I take you three back, we can at least feed on love between you and Dash, here.” “What?” Alex asked, a bit weirded out. “Nothing,” Alpha said, “However, I am a bit surprised.” “Surprised?” Dax asked. “You two haven’t come at me yet,” He said, “I expected some fight with you two versus Dash and myself.” “I can’t risk her,” Alex said, “Who knows how you’d use her against us.” Alpha scratched his head, “You’re right, it’s not fair. Forget her.” “What?” Alex and Dax said together. “You two fight me, she won’t do a thing.” He said, “You win, you go free. I win, you come with me.” Alex and Dax looked at each other, nodding. “Fine.” Dax said, “Let’s do it.” “Stay back, Rainbow Dash,” Alpha instructed, before turning to the guards he had released from the cage Alex dropped on them.” They complied and stood at the sideline. Alex and Dax each took an offensive stance, as Alpha took his own. //// //// Alex thought carefully about what he would do when Alpha attacked him, but that time was cut short, when Dax ran head first into the changeling trying to knock him over. However, Alpha jolted to the side, and struck Dax as he ran past him, knocking him over. “Ow…” Dax said, righting himself. Alpha approached Alex, and took a quick jab at Alex that he quickly dodged. Alpha kept this up as Alex narrowly got out of the way of each hit. Unfortunately, he was getting faster with the punches, and Alex was slowing down. Seeing an opportunity, Dax ran up behind Alpha, and was about to hit him. But before he could, Alpha shot his elbow back and hit him in the nose, sending him staggering back. Seeing this distracted Alex long enough for Alpha to strike, and knock him on the floor. “Come on you two!” Alpha said, “This is nothing!” Both standing up, they threw caution to the wind, and went in hoofs flailing. However, with a few stops and counter attacks, they both hit the ground again. “This would be easier if you would concede.” Alpha said, “You sure you don’t want that?” Standing again, Alex shook his head, “I can keep going.” “Me too…” Dax said breathlessly, with a very bloody nose. “Such vigor,” Alpha nodded, “Love will do that, won’t it?” Dax staggered over to Alpha, and threw a slow, and predictable punch that he ducked under, then grabbed the arm above him, and flipped Dax over his back. Dax looked like he was out. “Come on, Alex,” Alpha said, “Let’s finish this now.” Alex looked over to Dax, and saw that he was glowing lightly. He remembered that light. He remembered seeing it when they were separating. Starting to walk in circles, Alex passed Dax once, simply looking like he was readying to attack. “Come on, Alex,” Alpha egged, “Just throw the punch.” Doing another circle, Alex passed Dax once again… Just one more. “Are you stalling for something?” Alpha asked, “No help is coming!” On the final circle, Alex sped up significantly, and made his way over to Dax as fast as possible. Finally reaching the right point, Alex pretended to trip and rolled toward Dax. Seeing this as an opportunity to strike Alex, Alpha moved to hit Alex when he ran into Dax, and would stop dead, so Alpha could knock him out. Alex held his breath and prayed for this part to work. Hitting Dax, instead of stopping dead, Alex passed through him as Dax was reabsorbed into his body. So, he kept rolling. Alpha then missed them both and fell flat on the ground. In an instant, Alex was up and struck hit him once in the back of the head, bouncing it off the ground, making a painfully loud ‘crack.’ A few seconds of silence followed before Alpha surprised them all, and stood back up. “Heh…” He said, as a green trail of blood ran down his forehead to his left eye, “That- That was good, Alex.” “Sir!” One of the guards shouted from behind them. “Quiet,” Alpha said groggily, “I- I’m speaking.” “He confused!” One of the guards shouted. “I’m not!” Alpha shouted back, showing himself as truly angry, “Silence!” “Rainbow Dash!” A guard shouted, “Code eight!” She nodded as she picked up a piece of pipe with a sharpened end, and held on to it, shaking. “I repeat!” The guard said, “Code eight!” “N-no…” Alpha murmured, not able to form the right words as he watched Alex turn to face her. Tears filled her eyes, and she felt herself lose the small amount of control she had. The pipe left her hoofs, and just as Alex turned and saw the pipe coming, his eyes flared green, and it impaled him through his chest. //// “Where am I?” Alex asked the black void that surrounded him. “In our head…” Dax said weakly. “A-are we dead?” //// The silence in the room was horrifying. Dash stood with a blank expression on her face as tears ran down her cheeks. The guards were silently congratulating one another as Alpha finally managed to get his head back in order. “Code zero one!” Alpha shouted, breaking the control they held over Rainbow Dash, “You idiots!” “Alex!” She shouted, running over to his limp, bloody body, “Nononononono!” Alpha watched in horror as she tried to get some sign of life out of him, lightly touching his head, or moving an arm. But, there was nothing. “Sir, your judgment has become impaired,” One of the guards said, “As per guidelines, we leave now.” “Excuse me?” Alpha asked. “You’re relieved of duty, sir.” He said, “Please step on the transporter while we gather the prisoner.” To her, they were a million miles away. “Alex!” She shouted, shaking his shoulders, “Answer me!” “C-Colors?” He asked weakly, opening his eyes a bit. “You’re okay!” She said, “You need… We need too…” “It’s not Alex…” Dax said, “I’m in the driver’s seat.” Dash was silent as he continued. “I- I took the hit...” Dax said, “And now I’m dying.” “Don’t say that,” She said, lightly stroking his face, “Just heal yourself up!” “Magic field,” Dax said, pointing at the ceiling, “Can you just do one thing for me?” “Of course!” She said, her face so wet that the tears weren’t even noticeable at this point. “Just a quickie…” He laughed weakly, pointing to the object that had impaled him “L-look at how big my pole is!” Dash laughed through the tears, “You’re dying, and that’s your final request?” “Time and a place,” Dax nodded, “Got it… How about a kiss then? I mean, I never really got one from you.” Not hesitating for a moment, Dash pressed her lips into his, and kissed him with as much energy as she could. She didn’t want to think about how much pain he must have been in, or the fact that she could taste blood from his mouth. She just wanted this to go on forever. Pulling back, Dash felt the tears start coming at twice the speed as Dax squeaked out a final, “Thank you…” Suddenly Dash was grabbed from behind, and started to be dragged toward the hole she had flown down. “No!” She screamed, trying her best to get back to Dax. But, they were stronger than her, and weren’t going to let her go. //// “Dash…” Alex said, hearing her agonizing cries, “So… This is it then?” “Not for you,” Dax said, appearing in front of him in human form, “Just for me.” “What?” Alex asked, “How…?” “Since we were just separated, I can break us apart again,” Dax explained, “You’ll come out unscathed, the damage will be left on me.” “But you can come with me, right?” Alex asked. “Not quite,” Dax said, looking at the ground, “There isn’t room for two personalities in that body.” “So what then?” Alex asked, “You just die here?” “Well, they don’t call me the element of selflessness for nothing,” Dax said. Alex gave him a sullen look, “There has to be another way…” “Well, there is one.” Dax said, “But you might not like it.” “What is it!?” Alex asked, “I’ll do whatever!” “We become one pony,” Dax said, “You accept me as a part of you, and we merge.” “W-will that change who I am?” Alex asked. “I’m only a small part of your soul, Alex,” Dax explained, “You’ll be yourself, but you’ll act like me every now and then.” “Will you still be in my head?” Alex asked. “No,” Dax said, “We’ll be the same pony.” “Fine.” Alex said, not wanting to waste time, “Let’s do it.” “Are you sure?” Dax asked, “This can’t be reversed.” “I figured that,” Alex said, extending his hoof, “It’s been good, my friend.” “Well, I’ve been good,” Dax corrected, smirking. “You got it from me,” Alex smirked back, “Let’s do this.” His smirk changed to a genuine smile as Dax shook the hoof with his human hand. Then, Dax lit up and vanished. //// Inhaling sharply, Alex sat up, and tried to get his bearings. He was confused. Is head felt so… full. Looking to the side, he saw… himself. Impaled with a pole, and lifeless. What the buck was going on again? He was in a basement. Below the spa. He was brainwashed. He broke the spell. Fought Alpha. Got impaled. Merged with Dax. Save Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash!” He shouted, standing up. Following her muffled shouts, he saw her standing on the platform they had fallen through a few hours ago, when the three of them had tried to explore the spa. “Let her go!” Alex shouted while his left eye rippled magic out of it. “Alex!” She shouted, extremely relieved, but still captive by the changelings. Fifteen guards, Alpha, and Rainbow Dash were all surrounded by a bright blue ripple that Alex assumed was the teleporter he had heard them talking about. “Let her go!” Alex shouted as his right eye started to glow as well. “Teleportation in ten—“ Alex felt something new. It was chaotic magic. “Nine,” But it was different. “Eight,” It was mixing with the harmonious magic within him. “Seven,” It was some new kind of magic, “Six,” And it was powerful. “Five,” Sending this new power into his front left hoof, Alex lifted it and slammed it into the floor, making the entire room shake violently. “Four!” “Give her back!” Alex shouted, firing a small amount of this energy into the teleporter, making the blue energy surrounding them tear and thin out. “He’s destabilizing the field!” Alpha shouted, “Let her go!” “Negative sir,” The guard said, “We’ll make it” “Three!” His eyes were now replaced with a solid green as he fired a shot with a bit more energy in it. Hitting three of the guards, they all fell to the ground shaking violently as the field shook and more. “He’s going to kill us!” Alpha shouted. The guard didn’t respond as he looked back and forth between Alex and Alpha. “Two!” Alex screamed, and he went for broke, and poured every ounce of power he had into a constant beam that he drew across walls, cables and various machines as it liquefied them, or made them explode. Grabbing Dash from the guard, Alpha threw her out of the teleporter as Alex broke several support bars, making the roof start saving in on them all. “He’s damaged the teleport controls!” A guard shouted, “We have no destination!” “We’ll be scattered into atoms!” Another shouted, “Abort!” Unfortunately, the teleporter went off before they could stop it, and they were all converted into energy. “I’m sorry it had to happen this way, Alex, Rainbow Dash.” Alpha’s voice was heard, as he, and the rest of his team was fired into the sky, disappearing. “Dash!” Alex shouted, stopping his rampage, running to her, and teleporting them out of the collapsing basement. //// Everypony watched at the spa, and courtyard surrounding it started collapsing in on itself, as a massive burst of energy shot into the sky through the roof of the spa. The destruction started under the spa and had now spread to the entire area inside the force field. Chunk after chunk of the ground fell into the sub-basement as the spa itself toppled, and fell into the pit that had just been formed. Once the dust settled, all that was left was rubble. “What happened?” Luna said quietly. “Did anypony hear those blasts of magic?” Applejack asked. “I did, I did!” Pinkie bounced. “Yeah, I think we all did, Applejack.” Twilight said. “What happened to the ponies inside?” Rarity asked. “I think that was the energy we just saw was them escaping,” Celestia said sadly, “They’re gone.” “What’s that?” Spike asked, pointing to a ball hanging in the sky. Pulling out her pink binoculars, Pinkie squee’d, “It’s Alex and Dashie!” They all breathed a sigh of relief. “What about Dax?” Twilight asked. “I only see two ponies up there,” Pinkie said, “I’m sure it’s fine though…” The floating ball made its way down to the Canterlot guard as none of them dared make a sound. Alex and Dash landed as the orb vanished, and stayed just as quiet as the rest of them. “What happened to you guys…?” Fluttershy spoke up, surprising everypony. “Let’s just go home,” Alex said quietly, “I’ll fill you guys in on the way.” “Dash?” Twilight asked, “Are you okay?” “I’m not sure,” She admitted, “I just killed him.” A gasp went through the crowd. “I’m going with him,” She said, turned around, and followed him to the hotel, where they proceeded to pack their bags, and get ready to leave. “Hey, Alex.” Dash said, seeing him sitting down on the bed, deep in thought, “How did you just come back to life?” “Dax sacrificed himself for me,” He said, “We had two bodies, and he used his to absorb the damage.” “Is he...?” She began, biting her lip. “Not quite,” Alex said, poking his head, “He’s in here.” “Like before?” She asked. “No,” Alex explained, “We merged into one consciousness.” “What does that mean?” She asked, completely confused. “It means that I’m now about seventy five percent Alex, and twenty five percent Dax.” He continued. “You seem okay to me,” Dash said, sitting down next to him. “Actually,” Alex sighed in defeat, “I’ve had a hard time not telling you that you have a great plot.” She instantly blushed, “I-I don’t mind hearing that if it comes out.” “I know,” Alex said, “But I’m afraid I’ll offend somepony that’s not you.” “I also got access to some new, powerful magic,” Alex said. “Well... Can you lock the door with this magic?” She asked. “Yes?” Alex said, demonstrating by locking the latch. “Good,” She smiled, placing a hoof on his chest. “You just watched me DIE,” Alex said, “Are you sure you wanna do this?” “It’s my coping mechanism, okay?” She said, “Besides, his last wish was for a quickie.” “I guess,” Alex sighed, “We might need to change this story’s rating to add a ‘sex’ tag though.” “What?” //// Author's Note Haven Station is done! Wooooooo... Working into the final chapters here.
