Potions and Wires

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

It has been drawn to my attention that a simulation project for the recently discovered badlands has been finished.

The scientists that completed the system and project have contacted me to find ponies that would be suitable for the job,

I could think of no better than the element bearers.

This is why I am asking you to collect the rest of the elements and report back to Canterlot castle to be sent to the simulation room.

Yours in faith and study,

Princess Celestia

Twilight grinned with glee at every word of the letter, sucking in every syllable of them.

"Spike!" She shouted, rereading the letter for the tenth time.

"Yes, Twilight?" He said, rearranging the books for the fifth time out of boredom.

"Take a letter." As if be magic, after the word 'letter' Spike shot off like a rock out of a slingshot and came back a second later, carrying an ink well, quill and paper.

"Got the things!"

"Okay, write;

Dear Princess Celestia,

I'll collect Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie and report to you as quickly as possible; any more information will be accepted with joy.

Your faithful student,

Twilight D. Sparkle.

Got that?"

"Hold on; is it Twilight E. Sparkle or Twilight D. Sparkle?" Readying the quill, dripping with ink.

"It's with a D." She said with a smirk.

"A D? What does that stand for?" He said, writing 'Twilight D. Sparkle' anyway.

"Do you really need to know?" She spoke with a scowl.

"Yes, unless you want your middle name to be something bad." He spread a sly smile over his face.

"Fine." She said sarcastically.

"You really what your name to be Twilight Dirt Sparkle?" The sly smile was replaced with a confused look.

"Is that the best you could come up with?"

"Yes." He smirked triumphantly.

"Fine; it stands for Dusk."

"Twilight Dusk Sparkle?"

"Yes! Dusk!" She shouted with a grumpy tone.

"Alright, Miss Lunar Cycle."

"You take that smirk of your face before I do!"

"Fine," he trailed off. "Miss Lunar Cycle." He chuckled under his breath.

"Call me 'Miss Lunar Cycle' again, and your eyes become golf balls."

"Alright, Miss-" he was cut off by Twilight charging up her horn. "Errr, Miss Violent?"

"Acceptable."

"Fine. Should we tell the others?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

Spike held open the door as Twilight walked out into the town, walking out himself and shutting the door behind.

"Who to find first Spike?" She questioned looking back at Spike.

"Five."

"Uh?"

"Four."

"Why are you counting down?" She turned around with a dirty look.

"Three." He looked towards the sky.

"What are you looking at?" She tried to track where Spike was looking, seeing nothing but white clouds.

"Two."

"Seriously; what are you looking at?!"

"One." He smirked.

"Seriously, what are you-"

A blue blur shot from the sky coming down like a meteor, striking into the floor. After it has stopped, it was the multicolored daredevil, Rainbow Dash.

"That," pointing at Rainbow dash. "Is what I was counting down to!" He smirked.

"Ha, ha." Twilight laughed sarcastically, pulling up Rainbow from the pile of gravel and grass.

"So; what are you guys doing?" Rainbow said, spitting out some grass and trying to look regular as she did it.

"Well, we were on our way to tell you about a mission given by Princess Ce-"

"A mission?!" She sprang up, a glint of adventurous stupidity in her eye.

"Yes, a mission." Twilight spoke slowly.

"What is it; demons, aliens, zombies. Oh, demon alien zombies!" The glint grew into an inferno.

"I wish!" Spike blurted. "But no, it's that badlands thing."

"What badlands?"

"You know; the dangerous lands they are talking about in the newspaper."

"I only read the sports section of the newspaper."

"Why order the entire newspaper?"

"Because I don't want to buy firewood!"

"Touché."

"Touché indeed..." Rainbow faded away. "What does 'touché' mean?"

"Another way of saying 'right back at you'."

"Why not just say 'right back at you' then, why say it the fancy way?"

"Because I like it the 'fancy'," imitating Rainbow's voice.  "Way."

"Fine, Miss Picky; so, mission?"

"The mission is to run a simulation on the badlands to see if it can be colonized," she say the odd look on Rainbow's face. "Or in other terms, run a magic-y wagic-y thing to see what good things happen in bad lands to see if we can life there!"

"Hey! No need to patronize me!"

"Oh, there was complete need to!"

"Mares, mares; no need to fight over who has the better makeup!" Spike pushed between the two; looking up, he could see the dirty looks and scowls. "That was a bad thing to say, what is it?" They both nodded, completed with the evil eyes. After thirty unnerving seconds, the two mares laughed and slapped the dragon on the back.

"You should of seen your face!" They both said through tears of laughter.

"Ha, ha terribly funny. So, are you up for the mission?"

"Yeah!"

"Good," Twilight cut in. "Train station, last train to Canterlot."

"Nine at night, right?"

"Yup." She nodded.

"Okay," she started to flap. "See yah!" She shot off into the sky.

"Goodbye Rainbow!" Twilight shouted up to the clouds.

"Okay; who next?" Spike questioned.

"Pinkie?"

"Okay; should I count down?"

"If you do count do, I'll-"

"HI GUYS!" Pinkie Pie shot around their vision from an alleyway in an explosion of confetti and balloons.

"Didn't even need to count."

"Ha," Twilight trotted over to Pinkie, half stuck out of a hay bale, pulling her hind leg. "Ha," grunt. "Ha!" Pulling Pinkie out.

"Guys, look what I found!" Pulling out a miniature axe with a leather handle and a feather sticking out of one of the leathers.

"You found that in a hay bale?"

"Yeah," throwing it back in. "Oh, a hundred points!"

"What are you even- fine, we have a mission, it entitles-"

"It entitles MINECRAFT?"

"Yes, how do you know that?"

"I read the future news."

"The future news?"

"Yeah, the future news, five."

"Not this again."

"Four."

"Seriously? Spike was doing this a minute ago."

"Three."

"Come on, seriously?"

"One, DUCK!"

"No, I am not ducking, seriously? What is-" Twilight was cut short by a falling vase.

"Should of ducked, Twi."

"Fine; do you know what train we are on?"

"Yup; the nine at night train to Canterlot."

"Right," smirking. "See you later Pinkie." Walking away with Spike.

She pulled out a comically large megaphone and some ear muffs. Strapping the ear muffs on, she shouted down the megaphone; "SEE YOU LATER, TWILIGHT!" Deafening the unlucky ponies in the way of the sound or behind it.

"Ow," Twilight rubbed her ear, turning her head around. "See yah, Pinkie!" She shouted back.

"Why does she carry this stuff around?" Spike questioned.

"She is Pinkie Diana Pie, that's why." She winked.

"No explanation needed, then?"

"No explanation will never be needed." She said, turning a corner heading towards the EverFree Forest.

"Well, do you think she was carrying around that axe?"

"No, why would Pinkie need an axe?"

"I don't know. A more intense party?"

"I have never been to a party where you need an axe."

"Target practice?"

"She uses the confetti cannon."

"A little more force is sometimes needed."

"Fine, fine."

They had reached the edge of EverFree Forest, seeing Fluttershy's house. Walking up to it, they knocked. From the inside, they heard a startled squeak and a crash of metal. Spike chuckled.

"Fluttershy?"

After a few lock clicks and key rattles, a yellow face popped from around the door. "Yes?"

"Hey Flutter, we have a mission for you."

"A mission-n-n?"

"Yes, a mission, train, nine at night, got it?"

"Train, nine at night, got it."

"Okay; can you talk to Rarity about it?"

"OK, I'll tell her over one of her dresses."

"Try and shout, she may not notice you." The two laughed, making a flock of birds erupt from the trees.

"See you later Twilight."

"See you later Fluttershy."

"Hello, Elements." Domme greeted the elements with an held out hoof.

"Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle." She shook his hoof and moved on to be greeted by Prof.

"Hiya! Name's Rainbow Dash!" She shook the hoof up and down like a train's rods and moved on to be say 'hello' to Prof.

"Pleased to meet you, my name is Rarity Belle." She bowed, not shaking his hoof and more skipped than trotting to Prof.

"HIYA! MY NAME'S PINKIE PIE!" Domme's ears were slightly shaken by the overly load mare but he straightened up and accepted the overly excited handshake and she moved onto Prof.

"Hiya, name's Applejack!" She shook his hoof so hard he thought it was going to disconnect. Luckily it didn't and she moved on.

"Hello...my name's...Fluttershy." She spoke so quietly and softly but Domme picked up what she was saying and smiled.

"So, the elements!" Prof grinned with pleasure, clapping his hooves together. "I see you accepted this simulation project!"

"We did, it will be nice to see if the badlands are considerable for life." Twilight said, proudly stepping in front of the rest of the elements.

"Well, this is exactly what we are trying to do." Domme slid in front of Prof.

"So; how awesome will this be?!" Rainbow Dash piped up.

"Depends on your opinion of awesome but we think pretty damn so!"

"YES!" Rainbow screeched.

"So; is everyone up for it?!" Domme shouted like a parent trying to get their filly into the zoo.

"Hell yeah!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"Yes!" Twilight shrilled.

"Yah!" Applejack shouted.

"Totally!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

"I would be delighted to!" Rarity cooed.

"...yes please." Fluttershy whispered.

"Well, okay! Let's go!"

After a tour of the labs, they brought them to GAL, who was shut down for the moment but all the cores were chattering to themselves.

"And these are the cores!" Domme said. "Curiosity core!" he pointed towards the green eyed sphere. "The common core!" Pointing towards the white eyed sphere. "The anger core!" Pointing towards the red eyed core. "The intelligence dampening core!" Pointing at the blue eyed core. "The history core!" Pointing towards the glasses wearing core. "And yes, you may talk to them." He said, looking as if he had a walking stick.

"Really?" Twilight questioned.

"Yes, you may talk to them; if you want to get to the simulation then talk to them after it, then you can."

"I believe that we shall do the simulation first." A couple of muffled moans came from behind her.

"Okay; then, pods please." He said.

"Pods?" Pinkie Pie raised an eyebrow.

"Yes; pods, it is where the simulation happens."

"Oh cool, where are they?"

"Please look down."

As they did panels moved and dodged each other to uncover white pods with a small porthole to look inside, inside was a bed cut to shape the pod.

"These are the pods?" Rarity said in both surprise and disgust.

"Yes they are. but you won't see them for long. You'll be put in simulation, remember?"

"Oh, yes." She shuddered.

"So; let's get you in simulation!" Prof shouted.

As the elements fitted themselves into the pods, the two scientists fiddled with switches on a control pad; after a while of blinking lights and a few technical smashes on the controls, the tubes' doors closed again.

The intercom spluttered to life in the tubes. "You okay in there?"

"Indeed I am." Twilight replied.

"Hell yeah I am!" Rainbow shouted down the intercom.

"I'm okay, no roomy enough for a party but okay." Pinkie chortled.

"Not the best of accommodations but if it has to do..."

"I'm fine..." Fluttershy whispered.

"Let's do this!" Applejack yelped down the mic.

"I think they are ready." Domme whispered over to Prof, after a "are-you-kidding?" Look, they shared a good giggle.

"Alright, prepare for simulation."

"In three." Prof said.

"In two." The elements chortled.

"In one." Domme smiled.

"Let's do this!" They all screamed as they hit the big red button.