Beams of light shone down over all of Equestria. The sun was risen and morning had began. Throughout the country, stallions and mares were being woken from their slumbers, some cheerfully, others not so much. One such cheerful pony was the shy pegasus from Cloudsdale, Fluttershy.
Fluttershy yawned as slowly outstretched her front legs. She fluttered her eyes softly, adjusting her vision to the light of the newly risen sun. A hoof ran across her eyes to remove any residue that might have grown on the upper or lower lids over night. The sensation of soft fur against her eyes pleased Fluttershy. Her hoof removed itself from her lids.
The pegasus's vision was a slight blur. She sat in her bed blinking until the haze cleared. Fluttershy tilted her head back and slowly slacked her jaw open to release one more yawn. As the yawn was released, Fluttershy turned her head to peer out into the beauty of the morning light. Outside her window two rainbow trails shot through the sky, one following close behind the other. Fluttershy failed to notice the rainbows, instead her focus went to something in her bed beside her.
All fatigue, as well as the color from Fluttershy's face, was drained instantly. In her bed sat a stallion whom she had never seen before. His colors were eerily similar to Fluttershy's own. However unlike Fluttershy, the stallion's mane was short, parted into two at the top of his forehead. The intruder's body structure was normal and thin. On his sides were a pair of wings the exact same size and color as her own, they appeared almost too small to support the pony's body in the air. The numerous similarities between them bothered Fluttershy heavily. He was handsome stallion, but an intruder nonetheless.
Fluttershy sat in the bed still in state of shock, highly disturbed by the near mirror image in front of her, more so by the fact he broke into her house.
A scream made its way up her throat and into her mouth. She released all her fear in one high shrill piercing shriek. Her front hooves kicked forward, as if she were in a marathon, simultaneously as she let out her high pitched yet relatively soft cry.
Butterscotch's tired eyes shot wide open, all manner of sleep was ripped from him. Beside him laid was a panicked, and ear-piercingly pitched, mare he'd never seen before in all his life.
Despite her high pitched squeal, the pegasus beside him had been the most beautiful mare he'd ever laid eyes on. Her mane was as pink as his own, but it arced and fell to her legs, coming up in an adorable curl on each side.
The unknown mare's body was thin and slender like the models Picture Shoot would use. If she wished, she could have become a famous model, her body was superior to those of the most famous models. The pony before him was the image of innocence and beauty itself, but it didn't change the fact she sounded like an emergency siren and was kicking her hooves like a train's wheels.
The pegasus stallion felt a yell unlike any he'd ever let out rise from his body. Still laying in the bed, he raised his hoof to his chest and released a soft yet high pitched squeal. His squeal mixed with Fluttershy's to produce a even worse sound that could be heard throughout the cottage.
On the lower floor the sleeping forms of two bunnies were rudely awakened from their slumber. The shrill scream-fest coming from the upper floor had torn them from their carrot related dreams. Each of the bunnies smacked their mouths, breathing in the stale morning air, hoping there would be a juicy carrot for them when they turned their heads. Instead of a carrot, the bunnies gazed upon one another, their feelings a mixture of disappointment from the lack of juicy carrots and surprise at seeing another bunny.
Angel bunny blinked. In front of him was a female rabbit that looked eerily similar to him. Everything about the female was the same, except that she lacked a certain body part and had eyelashes. He was perturbed only momentarily by the fact that what appeared to be a female version of himself stood before him. His mind quickly went to other things such as "Where the heck is my carrot?".
The female bunny, Angela Bunny, made the same observations of the male. She quickly took note Angel's similarity to her, minus a specific body part. Just like the male her mind went from slight concern over the other bunny to wondering where her carrot was.
Noticing there were no carrots for them to much on, the bunnies let out a disgruntled huff.
Angel turned his focus back to Angela. She crooked an eye brow at him. Both stood in their spots, their eyes locked at the other. Finally Angel began to move, Angela mirroring his movements. The male bunny reached out his paw and the female followed suit. Their paws pushed against the other's.
As they rubbed their respective chins, the bunnies pulled their paws back and made a slow step forward. The other acted out the exact same movement. Another slow step, the other copied. A small walk, their counterpart repeated.
Walking in a circle around one-another, the bunnies inspected each other from head to toe. Their counterpart looked and acted just as they did. They pondered what this could mean.
Perhaps the other was a doppelganger, one of those monsters said to live in the Everfree Forest. Maybe they were a clone made by some crazy scientist, or perhaps even a shape shifting ultra powerful being that was originally a hairless monkey but got turned into a pony and then somehow changed into a bunny.
They gazed into each other's eyes for a full minute, doing nothing but furrowing their brows and staring. Angel and Angela were both aware their respective owners had many bunnies but the one standing before them was different, almost like a photograph but with a flipped gender.
The pair leaned in towards each other for closer inspection, glaring at their other as they did. At that moment two loud shrieks came from upstairs. A loud crack came from the two bunnies as their heads collided painfully.
The pair scowled at the stairs, rubbing their heads in pain and annoyance. They quickly noted their similar responses to the pegasi's squeals. Something clicked in the pair's heads; the almost identical looks, similar reactions to annoyance, the same lack of care for a strange new bunny showing up, there could be only one explanation. They were both the same bunny, only different genders.
Seeing their opposite sex self should have bothered anyone, however, the pair's minds focused on other things. Certain new possibilities were now available for them.
Angel's eyes went over his opposite gender mirror image. On second inspection, he found the female him to be an quite attractive bunny. Angela made the same inspection, reaching the to the same conclusion.
The male bunny pointed to the female and back to himself. Angel proceeded to thrust his hips suggestively. Angela cocked a brow, failing to grasp the message the bunny in front of her was implying. Her counterpart wiggled his eyebrows and continued to thrust into the air. Angel's crude message quickly sunk in.
Angela looked around, checking for any other awoken animal. All the remaining animals within the cottage were still fast asleep, somehow having managed to sleep through the screaming.
The female nodded her head, a smirk on her mouth. With a quick turn the bunnies hopped off to find a more secluded area within the cottage.
Back on the floor above, the two pegasi continued their squeals. Fluttershy continued to kick her legs in a attempt to put distance between her and the intruder.
Quickly she made a roll to the left to escape the strange pony. Instead of escape, her struggles ended in her becoming curled and caught in the covers. The male Pegasus mirrored his bedmate's actions, rolling to the right instead of the left. He too fell prey to the snagging sheets of the bed.
The bed now bound Fluttershy and her intruder, forcing them to be closer than desired. Their pupils dilated as hard bucks and flails were made by both parties to unravel the sheets. Struggling against the sheets, they once more let out loud screams. Pink bed sheets uncurled and gave way, dropping the two to the hard wood floor below them.
Fluttershy grunted softly as she hit the wooden surface beneath her. Soft eyes fluttered open, hoping the intruder was merely a figment of imagination. The intruder lay on his back, clear as day, real as Fluttershy or any other pony. Frail back legs pushed hard against the floor. Fluttershy's wings flapped as she accelerated back against the wall adjacent to her bed. On the other side of the room the unknown pony reflected his counterpart's actions, slamming into the wall behind him.
"Who are you!" both shouted simultaneously, their eyes shimmering with fear.
"Why are you in my house!" they shouted, once more in unison.
"You're house? T-this is my house. Eep!" the shy ponies raised their hooves to their faces as if trying to block a incoming projectile.
"P-Please. Leave me alone. I-I don't have anything worth stealing." Fluttershy whimpered.
"I-I-don't want anything. I-I'm not a burglar. T-this is my house." Butterscotch squeaked in reply.
Terror gripped both the ponies. All evidence pointed to the pony before them being a delusional burglar. Fear twisted their thoughts, turning the otherwise calm ponies into engines of paranoia.
Realization hit them, neither would lay against the wall forever. Convinced the other was preparing for a direct attack, only one option remained for the two.
Ruffling of feathers and panting could be heard as wings on both sides of the room beat strong and hard. Butterscotch and Fluttershy became airborne. Two yellow blurs sped toward the door.
Quickly the blurs collided hard with one another in their rush to escape, becoming a massive yellow mound spiraling through the doorway. All control had left the ponies' wings as they spun, tangled against each other. The two ponies, no longer flying but aimlessly spinning through the air, came to the stairway.
"Ouch! Oof, Ugh!, Ow ,Owie!"
The pair tumbled down the stairs like a ball. Soft pony foreheads received multiple blows from the hard wood of the stairs, eliciting a grunt from whichever pegasus happened to receive the hit. A full flight of stairs delivered its damage onto the ponies before they hit the lower floor.
Butterscotch's body sat sprawled out on the floor, racked with pain from the tumble. Exerting himself, his legs slowly pulled upward until he stood fully upright on his hooves.
Red replaced the yellow on his face as he peered down between his front hooves. Fluttershy laid on her back directly below Butterscotch. Fluttershy's eyes were clamped tight, wincing in pain from the recent fall down the stairs.
The position they were in was not a innocent looking one.
Butterscotch's mind screamed at him to move before the mare opened her eyes. His legs however, refused to obey his commands. The scared pesasus stood, still as a statue, over the flustered Fluttershy.
As if fate decided it wanted to make Butterscotch suffer at that moment, Fluttershy opened her eyes. Staring down at her was Butterscotch, or as she knew him, the insane delusional burglar. Her face became one of pure, undiluted terror.
"Th-This isn't what it l-looks like" Butterscotch attempted to reassure her. Such attempts proved completely futile.
Butterscotch had absolutely no intention of hurting her. Fluttershy's counterpart had been just as frightened as she was, but fear clouded Fluttershy's mind. Instead of seeing the fear in the male's eyes, her mind went to the worst possible situation it could connect to the position she was in.
A cry like never before had formed itself in Fluttershy's vocal cords. It made its way up into her mouth. She released the cry within her.
Butterscotch's attempt to calm down Fluttershy was responded to with the loudest, highest pitch, and most shrill scream he heard.
"NO! NO! Not that! Don't Rape me!"
"R-r-r-r-rape?" Butterscotch stuttered in disbelief and his legs became jelly. Anxiety overtook the frightened male. The idea of doing...that...to a mare was too much for him. Thin yellow legs made a slow wobble. He collapsed.
Unfortunately Fluttershy was still beneath the poor stallion. Having a stallion on top of her, especially the one she believed to be an insane burglar, did nothing to calm her nerves.
The heavy excitement of the past few minutes finally broke his thin emotional wall. His eyes became watery and tears ran down Butterscotch's face while he desperately attempted to explain his situation to the frightened mare.
"I-I'm n-not a Burglar. I don't know what's g-go-"
Fluttershy's fear muted his words. She opened her mouth. Another scream rang throughout the cottage.
The scream had echoed around the entire room, waking all the animals that happened to reside within the quarters. Such shouts made it difficult for two bunnies to enjoy the special activity they had been participating in behind Fluttershy's couch. Angel Bunny hopped out, an angry grimace across his face, from behind the soft cotton couch. His fur was ruffled and messy, lightly padded with sweat. Angela bunny emerged shortly after, the same angry grimace plastered onto her face. Her fur was similarly messy and ruffled.
The pair was particularly aggravated that their activities had been so quickly disturbed. They had hoped for a good thirty minutes of privacy, instead only receiving a shrill, shout-filled five. In a angry huff, the bunny couple bounded toward the shrieking ponies, ready to slap some sense into their respective owners.
Butterscotch clamped his ear down with his hoofs. He sobbed, unaware to any solution for his dilemma.
Instantly the shouts stopped.
Angel Bunny had his paw over Fluttershy's snout, keeping her jaw shut so she couldn't continue her impressions of an emergency siren. Accompanying Angel was Angela, who now sat beside the collapsed stallion, tapping her foot as she glowered up at her owner.
"A-Angel-AAH!" surprisingly strong paws pushed against Butterscotch. The stallion rolled over onto his back, directly to the right of Fluttershy. Not five seconds later both the ponies felt themselves being turned toward each other by the bunnies.
Still tense from events of the past five minutes, The ponies forced themselves up enough to look each other in the faces, only to return their eyes the aggravated bunnies.
"A-Angel. H-he's a burglar" she said as her legs weakly pushed against the floor, trying hard to keep her away from her intruder.
Angel smashed his palm onto the center of his furred face. As he tilted his head downward, the bunny pinched the small bridge of his nose. His paw ran down the bridge pulling on the lower eyelids before shortly releasing them. The bunny looked back up at his owner, glaring at her as if she was the stupidest pony in all of Equestria
Angel got on his tip toes and acted out a sneaking motion. He stopped his impression and pointed to the male Pegasus. The bunny speedily shook his head sideways.
` "Um..." Fluttershy was clueless to what the bunny had attempted to communicate.
"I think h-he's trying to tell you I'm n-not a burglar." Butterscotch's head was turned to the floor.
Angel nodded.
Butterscotch moved his eyes around the room. At first glance, there was nothing that could be seen to indicate he was not in his own cottage. All the furniture was arranged the same, every birdhouse was in the same location, nothing appeared different. Birds flew out of their houses, woken by the shouts, landing on whatever they pleased.
Species-wise they were all the same as the ones in Butterscotch's home, the only difference was their gender. Such a detail would have been missed by any other pony in his situation, however, being a animal caretaker, Butterscotch was able to tell the difference immediately.
Butterscotch's mouth slacked an inch. He turned his head back to the mare that was shaking in front of him.
"I-I-I'm sorry a-about this. I -I thought this was my house."
"I-If you're not h-here t-to rob me, w-why were you in my bed?"
"I-I don't know. I-I went to sle-sleep yesterday a-and woke up by you."
Angel and Angela stood beside the pair of timid ponies, tapping their feet in frustration. Patience had worn very thin in the bunny pair. Their fun behind the couch had been interrupted and they wanted to return to it as soon as possible.
As if Celestia herself was paying attention to the bunnies plight, the cottage door slammed open wide. Salvation had arrived in the form of two ponies. Pinkie Pie and an unknown stallion bounced in place at the door entrance, smiling wide toothy smiles that showed their pearly white teeth.
"Fluttershy look! It's another me!" Pinkie giggled and bounced at the foot of the door.
"Isn't this great Butterscotch!? Now we can have twice the fun!" Bubble Berry bounced frantically in a manner similar to Pinkie Pie.
"DOUBLE THE PARTY!" the pink pair cried joyously.
Only moments prior to arriving at Fluttershy's cottage, Pinkie Pie had rested in a peaceful slumber.
She dreamt of a better world, a world where she was queen and everyone was Pinkie Pie. In her dream world every day was a party. Even the smallest things, kicking a rock, could be rewarded with a grand party. There was no war, no famine, no suffering, it was only cupcakes and sunshine.
The morning light tore Pinkie from her happy dream. Normally puffed up pink hair laid slightly flattened. Pinkie blinked twice, adjusting her eyes to the light, and smacked her mouth.
Her eyes shot wide. In the middle of her room was a smoking rock larger than Tom. Behind the fallen meteor laid the large hole it punched in Pinkie's room. How it had come through without waking everypony, was anypony's guess.
A pink stallion with the same puffed up hair as Pinkie was draped over the space rock. Bubble Berry snored loudly, caught in a dream of various oddities. Earth was inhabited by only Bubble Berries, male and female. In this world he was king, ruling alongside his queen, a female Bubble Berry. War, famine, depression, they were all unheard of concepts in his world. Any problem could be solved with a simple party or cupcake. It was a better world to live in. Bubble Berry was torn this dream world when a pony gasped loudly.
He blinked his eyes twice, adjusting them to the light, and turned his head. The cutest and most totally awesome mare he'd ever seen before in his life was staring at him from her bed. Sheets flew into the air as a rush of wind hit Bubble Berry directly in the face. Bed sheets floated down and draped themselves over Berry and the other pony, who was now in his face.
"Oh hey! I've never seen you before! I'm Pinkie pie" Pinkie completely ignored the large meteor in her room.
Bubble Berry let out a gasp then smiled. "I'm Bubble Berry. Nice to meet you Pinkie Pie! Do you like parties! I really like Parties!"
"Omigosh you like parties too!" Pinkie squee'd in excitement.
"They're the best things EVER!"
"I know, Right!? Saaaay How'd you get here?" The hyper pony's happy expression faded into one of wonder.
Berry continued to smile wide. "I rode the comet" He said, tapping his hoof on the rock under him.
"Ooooooh neat!" Pinkie stated, her smile returning.
"Yeah! I was talking to some smiling thingy for hours and hours and hours and hours and then his smile went away. He was sad so I tried to cheer him up. Then he told me Fu- fu fu...uhh I don't remember the first word but it was something with an 'F'. He told me 'F-something you, horse. Shut the F-something up' and then we were both suddenly in space, on a comet!"
Pinkie removed herself from her entrancement with the story to ask a question. "How'd you breathe?"
Bubble Berry just shrugged.
"Hmmmmm saaaay. Is the smiling guy the villain sue from that fanfic the author badly wrote, stopped, then rewrote as this but without the sue?"
"Yep. He's still a bad writer." Bubble Berry said with a slight nod.
Pinkie nodded in response "Indeed, very bad."
The writer's eye twitched in frustration.
"Anywho." Bubble Berry continued his tale.
"Then the smiley guy told me 'bye' and disappeared, leaving me alone on the comet. It was boorrriing, but then the comet went into a swirly worm hole thinga-ma-jiggy. I went to bunch of places and did lotsa stuff like make cupcakes with giant ants, found a place where there were only Dusk Shines, and got turned to a newt. I got better. Then I was thrown off on another comet when I saw Mr. Smiley again. Then I went through another wormless wormhole, came out of the wormy hole and crashed here. I was tired so I went to sleep! Neat huh?"
Pinkie's eyes were wide from the strange story that Berry recounted to her. "That's super duper neat! Does this mean we get to have super duper fun adventure!?"
"I hope so!" Bubble Berry jumped on the fallen meteor in excitement. His stomps caused the meteor to collapse into a fine powder that spread across Pinkie's floor. Up to his hooves in space dust Bubble Berry giggled sheepishly.
"Sorry."
"S'alright" Pinkie replied, softly waving her hoof as sign of forgiveness.
Familiar balloons caught the baker's eyes. Pinkie leaped into the air, legs outstretched at all sides. The mare miraculously hung in the air. Her hoof directed itself toward Bubble Berry's flank.
"You have the same cutie mark as me!"
"I do!?"
She dropped to floor, legs remaining in their outstretched position. Landing stomach-first did nothing to bother Pinkie Pie, eliciting only a soft squeak from her as she collided with the hard wood below. The trademark grin she so often wore emerged immediately after collision with the floor.
"Yeah! Do you know what this means!?"
Bubble Berry's legs ascended him into air. He bounced about the dusty floor. Dust shifted around the room as he leaped in joy.
" I sure do!"
Pinkie and Berry directed their snouts to the sky and shouted "Were the same pony! Hooray!"
Sugarcube Corner's front door slammed open, leaving a large crack in the gingerbread wall. The pair tore down the road, leaving cloud of dust in their wake.
"Hey! I just realized! I look good as a mare!"
"Thanks! You look great too!"
In another world a man by the name of Nostradamus woke up in a cold sweat. The night was young, he had just been given a vision. He saw the end of the world. The end came in a barrage of utterly insane pink ponies, ponies that spread like virus. Because no-one would believe pink ponies would bring about the end of the world, he just told everyone it would be a meteor.
"Umm Pinkie. I don't think that's possible."
Butterscotch nodded slowly. "T-there's no way for there to be another one of us."
Bubble Berry and Pinkie looked on at the shy ponies, unfazed by their statements. The hyper earth ponies were quick to point out evidence of their theory.
"But look at you're cutie marks!" both yelled, pointing at their friend's flanks. Looking over at each other, Butterscotch and Fluttershy saw their own cutie marks on the other gender's rear.
"It's just a coi-coincidence Pinkie. Colgate and the Doctor have the same cutie mark, they aren't clones." Fluttershy stuttered out.
"But you act the same!" Berry and Pinkie told their friends
"No w-we don't." Butterscotch managed to say.
"Do you like small adorable worable animals?"
Both pegasi nodded.
"Are you afraid of the dark?"
Both whimpered.
"Do you have that collection of clop books in your closet that you thought no-one knew about but I really knew about for years" the pink earth ponies beamed a smile at their friends.
Butterscotch and Fluttershy stared blankly. Heat crept into their cheeks. Their faces rivaled Big Macintosh in their hue.
"um... um... um."
Berry and Pinkie circled the two, leaping in joy as they moved. "Told you!" They cried.
Knowing there was no arguing with the permanently sugar high ponies, Fluttershy and her companion let out a sigh. Ruminating the idea of opposite sex clones, Fluttershy turned her head to Butterscotch. Butterscotch did the same.
Strangely, the idea of the pony beside them being their gender-flipped self was more comforting than frightening. Such a circumstance, eerie as it may have been, would mean the other wasn't a horrible killer.
Gazing into the others' eyes neither found the slightest traces of malice. Both noted their counterpart had beautiful eyes.
"Y-You're name is Fluttershy r-right?"
"Y-yes." She squeaked.
"I-I'm sorry about...being in your bed. I r-really don't know how I got there."
"It... it's okay..."
"No its not... I'm sorry for scaring you", Butterscotch kicked the dirt, anxiety returning. Despite Pinkie and Berry relieving the tension earlier, Fluttershy was still the most beautiful mare he'd ever seen. Talking to mares was still as difficult for him right then as it had been his whole life.
Fluttershy let out small smile. No longer in a state of panic she could see he was telling the truth.
"W-what's your name?"
"I'm Butterscotch."
They smiled softly at one-another.
The tender moment was shattered like glass when Pinkie and Berry started to yell again.
"What if..." Pinkie began to say.
"We all have doubles?!" Berry finished immediately.
"AWESOME! " The two shouted, excitement overtaking their small bodies.
"Come on! We gotta go see if the others have a double too!" they hollered.
"Oh... I don't know if that's a good id-AAH!" Fluttershy and Butterscotch felt themselves drug out the door by their pink friends.
The four only made it halfway on their journey to Twilight's library when out of the sky two rainbow trails fell to the ground. From their collision came a near deafening explosion. Rock glided through the air around the ponies.
Butterscotch and Fluttershy curled up to balls on the ground, shaking in fear. Berry and Pinkie let a excited "WHEEEE!" as the wind blew their manes back. A small crater had been formed in front of them.
In the dirt of the crater two forms, one female, one male, wrestled against one another. The dust cloud obscured the fighting figures from identification. One of the figures spread its feathery wings and took flight, its thin body proved it be the mare. A scratchy voice cried out from in the cloudy crater.
"You think you can steal from me!?" said the voice.
"Jerk! You broke into my house!" replied a similar yet lower pitched voice.
The female figure bucked the male in the face. In response the male leapt onto the female and pulled her to the ground. Angrily, the two restarted their tussle.
Butterscotch and Fluttershy shut their eyes tightly. Neither was very keen on the idea of fighting. Pinkie and Berry just continued to watch as the dust settled and the mare and stallion duked it out in their hoof-made crater.
Once the dust settled Rainbow Dash and a rainbow-maned stallion were revealed to be the combatants. The male's build was similar to rainbow dash's, thin and lean, but with more muscle in the front. His mane was similar to Rainbow's in color, but not in structure. Structurally his mane was far spikier than Rainbows flat one. Like his mane, the stallion's tail differed from Rainbow's. His was jagged, unlike Rainbow's messy and ruffled hairs.
"Help me out here Berry! This mare is crazy! Yelled the rainbow-maned male.
"You're the crazy one!" Dash responded.
The two pushed their faces together and growled.
"This is great!" both the pink ponies cried as they stood on their hind legs and raised their hooves to the sky. "We all have doubles!"
"What..." the speedster pair said flatly, instantly ending their fight. Two pairs of magenta eyes focused themselves on the pink duo.
"Look! you got a double, Fluttershy has a double" Fluttershy and Butterscotch, standing once more, backed up, uncomfortable with attention being put on them. "I've got a double!" Pinkie and Berry gave each other a spine-crushing hug.
"You're crazy Pinkie" Rainbow snorted.
"You're crazy Berry."
"He's got you're cutie mark!" Pinkie directed a hoof to Rainbow Blitz's flank.
Rainbow Dash and Rainbow Blitze's eyes went wide with horror. Pinkie was right.
"There no way..." Rainbow Dash uttered.
"Way to freaky..." Rainbow Blitz murmured to the air.
"It's a coincidence" Both stated sternly.
"Nuh uh Rainbow Dash/Blitz. You're the same person!" Pinkie pie and Bubble Berry bounced about once more.
Again, the speedsters denied their friends theory. Pinkie and Berry resorted to the questions once more to prove their point.
"Do you like speed?"
"Duh Pinkie/Berry."
"Do you both have those Playmare/Playstallion magazines hidden in your house?"
Both the Rainbows' jaws dropped, baffled. They could only wonder how Pinkie and Berry knew about the magazines they had been so careful to keep out of sight.
"Ummm m-maybe we should get back to s-seeing Twilight." Fluttershy managed to mutter in her nervous state.
Butterscotch nodded, assuming Twilight was Dusk's counterpart. " Dus- Twilight might know what's going on."
Pinkie and Berry snapped their focus onto their timid friends. "That's a great idea!" they screeched.
Pinkie, Fluttershy, Butterscotch, and Berry returned to their quest toward the tree library, leaving the cyan ponies to sit in bewilderment and eventually continue their argument. As they passed Carousel Boutique, Fluttershy and Butterscotch hoped, if Pinkie and Berry were correct about them being opposite gender doubles, that their friends were okay
"M'lady I assure you- AH!" the horned stallion ducked behind a turned over cabinet to avoid a incoming book.
"M'lady I assure you I am no burglar!"
"Liar!" screamed Rarity.
Once more Elusive hid behind the over turned cabinet. A small red book flew overhead, landing mere feet from him. Elusive glanced at the title, recognizing it immediately. Only the Best, a guide to the choice fabrics to use in making a fashionable outfit.
"A fine choice of literature." Elusive mused to himself. "The lady has good tastes in books."
He was quickly torn from his musings as three more books flew over his head. One managed to graze his mane. Elusive snorted, irked that the airborne book had muddled his mane, even if the damage was slight. He had spent hours the previous day getting it perfect, now he would have to do it over again.
The stallion peeked out from behind the cabinet, careful to keep his mane out of range of any books that may fly his way. Instantly another hardcover soared his way. Moving quickly, Elusive ducked under the tome. He attempted to reason with the frightened mare once more.
"Madam! Please!"
"Burglar! Help! Help!"
His attempt yielded only more flying books from Rarity's seemingly endless shelf.
Five minutes passed, minutes that seemed like hours to the stallion. Books on how to sow, what fabrics to use, even some fiction and autobiographies, all littered the floor like trash.
Elusive huffed behind the cabinet. "Such a mess..." he uttered in whisper. He despised messes, except those he used for inspiration, this literary sty was no exception. As another book flew over his head, the thirty fourth if he had counted right, a thought entered his mind.
"It appears there is but one way to prove my innocence to this fine mare"
Elusive stood tall atop to turned over cabinet puffing out his chest. He awaited the inevitable, the hard slamming of a book against his face and body. It came, it came hard. The largest book in Rarity's personal library, To Be a Fashionista by Cotton Mane, pushed strongly against the gentlestallion's face. Cotton's Mane's guide hit him directly on the cheek, it's edge being the section to strike him.
Elusive flew back from the force delivered by the offending literature. Eyes clamped shut, the suit maker fell to ground. The back of his head struck the wood floor. He groaned as the room spun around him. Two hard hooves pinned his front legs to the ground. Rarity towered over him, furiously glaring at the unicorn.
"Who are you!? What are you doing in my house!?"
"My name is Elusive Unicorn, I do not know how I came to be in your home, and I assure you I have no desire to steal any of your possessions" Elusive stated matter-of-factly.
"Liar." Rarity hissed at him.
Elusive sighed. It was going to take a while to convince the mare.
In the middle of Ponyville laid a irregularly large tree. Long ago the tree had been hollowed out and turned into the Ponyville public library. The domain now housed the most powerful magician in Equestria, the personal student of Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle. Like her friends, her opposite sex double had mysteriously found his way into her bed. Unlike the others, she had not yet awoken to find the disturbing site.
Spike had woken only thirty minutes prior to this moment. He would have slept another three hours had he not been jabbed in the back by something's claws. The minute he woke up he found himself face to face with what could only be described as him if he were born a girl.
The dragons' initial reactions had been the same as everyone else's, they freaked. After a large war, using books as ammunition, between the two, they finally managed to calm. An exasperated groan came from each of the dragons.
"Were going to have to clean this up..." Spike bemoaned.
The female dragon groaned as well, " Dusk will freak if he wakes to find this"
The female dragon was almost a mirror image of Spike, more so than the ponies male counterparts had been to them. The only notable differences had been that the girl's spines were further pushed back than Spike's and she possessed two pairs of face fins. Beyond those traits, the two dragons were spitting images.
Spike picked up a book, one of many, from the literature littered wood floor. " Dusk? You mean Twilight. She'll flip out if she sees her books all over."
"No I mean Dusk Shine, he's in charge of this library"
Spike chuckled "You're wrong there, Twilight is in charge. Princess Celestia gave her this library."
"She gave it to Dusk. He's her personal student"
Spike let out a flustered groan. With a sigh he decided to humor the strange dragon residing in the library with him. "Sure he is.... What's Dusk like?"
"Studies every waking hour, in love with books, doesn't handle stress well at all, red star with sparkles for a cutie mark."
Spike stopped in mid-reshelving. "That sounds way to much like Twilight..."
"What do you mean" Barbara tilted her head quizzically.
"I mean Twilight is exactly the same way."
"I doubt that. You should have seen what happened with his Smartypants doll."
"Want-need-it spell, whole town chased after it?"
"How did you... Oh Celestia."
"You're me aren't you?" Both slowly drawled simultaneously. They backed away from each other, but remained careful not to step on the many remaining books.
Barbara released a sigh "Appears so."
"So. What's your name? Spines? Flippy? Integra?"
"I'm Barbara." the female replied, annoyed by the stupid names Spike had guessed.
"Spike." they looked around the library and then back to each other.
"Okay, you're me, but a girl." Spike shuddered at the thought of being a girl. "What's going on here?"
"I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm guessing different universes. Celestia knows how we got here."
"So who's in who's universe?"
At that moment Derpy Ditzy Doo Hooves passed by the window, making her way through the mail route. Dinky Hooves could be seen seated and giggling in the right mail pouch as Derpy flew away.
"Yours." Barbara replied flatly, dropping a book from her claws.
Against the ground, the book made a small thud. Twilight and Dusk snorted in their sleep. The dragons held their breath. What seemed like an eternity passed, in reality it had only been ten seconds, before the soft snore of Twilight and Dusk calmed Spike and Barbara.
"If you're a girl, but me... does that mean everyone's the opposite gender in your universe?"
"I don't know, Derper is a girl here, Celestia sounds like she's the same. I haven't seen Discord here so I can't tell you about him."
"Discord is a guy... and a statue."
"He's a statue?" Barbara's expression turned to one of shock.
"Yeah, evil, blasted by the Elements of Harmony" Spike mimicked a explosion with his arms.
"Where I'm from he's just a prankster. Annoying too."
"Really?" The male dragon smiled, enjoying the idea of a non-evil Discord.
"Yeah. He married Celestia centuries ago too."
"Dude that's creepy."
"I know." Barbara replied to her male counterpart.
The dragon duo continued to inform the other as they went about cleaning the book ridden floors. A good hour passed by the time the two finally finished reshelving the final book.
During the intervening time they learned details about the other's respective universe. On Barbara's world, every pony was, save for Celestia and Discord, gender flipped. Spike had also learned Barbara's world had been going through a major heat wave at the time she and Dusk had showed up in Spike's world.
Another dragon, pony, or any creature would have quickly denied everything the two conversed about. However, these two had been around their teachers' long enough to know that even the strangest instances could be possible. Both believed that the strange circumstances they were under stemmed back to a spell their respective teachers had cast wrong. Usually it was a spell cast wrong that led to situations like these. Situations like the giant Pinkie Pie/Bubble Berry that had occurred six months ago.
The dragons shivered at the memory and looked at their teachers' bed.
"Should we give them a heads up?"
"That or have them freak out, mess up the library, and have us clean it again."
Their gazes moves to the magicians bed above. The two began their ascent up the staircase. Arriving at the bed Spike and Barbara peered over at the other.
"You ready for this?" Spike asked his mirror image.
Barbara nodded slowly. They made their way to their owners bedsides. Twilight and Dusk were facing opposite directions, so keeping them from losing their minds would be somewhat easier.
"Twilight." Spike gave Twilight a soft nudge
"Dusk." Barbara did the same.
Two pairs of Purple eyes slowly opened. Both of the magicians let out a tired yawn. Their eyes met with their dragons'.
"Spike? you're up early."
"You're up early Barbara."
Twilight and Dusk's eyes shot wide open. Both noticed a unrecognized voice behind them in their bed. Before they could roll over to see each other, Spike and Barbara clutched their heads.
"Twilight. Don't freak out."
"Dusk... Don't freak out."
"There's a lavender stallion who looks like you in your bed. He's not a burglar, he doesn't want to hurt you, I doubt he knows how he even got here."
"Dusk, there's a mare that looks like you behind you. Please don't freak out, she doesn't want to hurt you, rob you, or anything. Just talk to her. Please don't go insane."
Reluctantly the assistant's released their teachers' heads from their grip. The unicorns slowly rolled over to look at each other. Spike and Barbara held their breath. There was a long pause as Dusk and Twilight looked at each other. The dragons' eyes widened. A smile started to creep onto their face, the unicorns hadn't started to scream or assault one another.
A loud scream came from Dusk and Twilight. Spike and Barbara groaned.
"I'll get the ladder again..." Spike lamented.
"We're gonna need it." Barbara pinched the bridge of her snout in frustration.
The pair awaited the inevitable mess of books to come.
High above Ponyville, in the tall tower of Canterlot Castle, Princess Celestia stood in her room. Celestia had just finished raising the sun, a task she had taken on since her youth.
Something was nagging her in the back of her mind. The princess looked around her finely designed room. Normally the marble walls of her private abode were a place of comfort to the god-like alicorn. In that moment they provided no comfort.
There was a problem in Equestria, but she didn't know what it was. She had only had a feeling like this back when Luna was in the beginning phases of her transformation into Nightmare Moon. The sun-goddess silently and motionlessly prayed to her mother, "She who bore the Crimson Mane", that such a event was not about to occur again. Twilight hadn't sent any letters to her, there were no urgent messages, no evidence of a dilemma existed except that gut feeling.
Calmly, she turned to the mirror in the corner. Slowly Celestia trotted over to the large reflective piece of glass. A white aura outlined her long sharp horn. Along the mirror's edges the same magical aura shined. Celestia's image faded from the glass, replaced by a large stallion.
On the other side of the mirror stood another alicorn, similar to Celestia in many ways, but different. Instead of a pink, green, and cyan ethereal mane, the male alicorn possessed a beard of orange, red, and yellow. His own mane reflected the color of his beard. The stallion's build was completely different from that of Celestia's. While Celestia was thin and lean the male was thick and muscular, standing a few inches taller than the princess.
The alicorn in the mirror gave Celestia a smile and spoke "Hello there Celestia, you're looking quite fine today" .
"Hello Solaris" Celestia let off a small smirk, seeing Solaris did that to her.
"So, what's on your mind? You don't contact me unless there's a problem."
"I have a feeling in the back of my mind, something is happening" her smile disappeared into a neutral expression.
"I know."
Celestia raised a brow. "You do?"
"Yes. I've been having the very same feeling. I was just about to contact you when you called."
Celestia nodded her head. "I think it's time for a meeting with the others, it may be nothing but..."
"We can't risk another Nightmare Moon." Solaris finished.
"Or Inferno Blaze... " both the alicorns shuddered at that name.
"I'll contact the others and tell them it's time to meet." the sun goddess told her male counterpart.
"Does that Include Molestia, Trollestia, The Tyrant, and Inferno Blaze?"
"Unfortunately." Celestia's face turned to a mixture of an amused smile and annoyed frown.
"Darn. Well I'll be in the Black Room waiting for you."
"Thank you Solaris."
"Of course, Celestia." The male alicorn said, giving Celestia a wink before disappearing.
All magical aura around the mirror dissipated. Celestia stood over the once more reflecting mirror. She hoped the feeling in her head was nothing serious.
Thanks you guys, your comments made me feel better about my writing. Buuuuuuut that doesn't mean I'm gonna deprecate myself any less! It's just far too much fun to make fun of myself and my worse than My Immortal style of writing. See, fun!!
YOU WILL LAUGH AT MY SUFFERING DAMN IT!!
The sky glowed with a bleak pastel shade of red. Early dawn loomed over Equestria, the last dawn the planet would see. Heat beat down on the land like a sledgehammer to a wall. Clouds, once filled with life giving cold water, had faded, became nothing but steam. Leaves shriveled and crumpled on their branches, plummeting gently to the ground . The source of the heat, Celestia's yellow sun, hung in the sky. Brilliant white light beamed from the massive gas ball, it let out its hot breath onto small planets below. Each spew of solar energy was another step closer toward the end for the creatures of Earth. Every flare was a countdown to the destructive force that was coming, a force they were all blissfully unaware of, the final flare.
High in Canterlot Castle the royal siblings made preparations for the coming flare. Celestia stood at her throne, quill going to work in her telekinetic grip. Droplets of ink fell on the hot ground below. Marble floors absorbed the heat of the onslaught of miniscule flares cascading down onto the planet. The black liquid steamed and bubbled gently as it touched the hot marble. The white alicorn drove herself to ignore the burning sensation pushing against her hooves. Sweat rolled down the sun-goddess's brow. Raising her front leg, she wiped the hoof across her forehead, removing the sweat from her head. She had to finish this letter before the final flare ignited out of the sun, the fate of the only ponies she had been able to save depended on it.
Artemis, brother to Celestia, ex-holder of the title Darkhorse Night, and Prince of the Stars, made a slow canter to his sister's side.
"Will they all be safe Tia?", The dark prince of the night questioned his sister. It was a cruel irony, he and his sister both commanded the stars in some form, yet the one that gave them life for so long would now be the one to destroy them all. The shining ball of gas no longer obeyed his sister's commands and was belching out its destructive flares around the solar system.
"I have faith in my other, Artemis" Celestia solemnly replied to her anxiety-ridden brother. Guilt filled the sun goddess. Guilt over not telling her subjects of their impending doom. She felt deep-rooted disappointment in her own abilities. Even with her god-like power she could only save a few of her beloved ponies, plus a few animals, the rest would be destroyed by the coming flare.
"How will they react to seeing...themselves, though?"
"They'll freak out of course." A floating draconequus snorted and chuckled, flipping himself upside down then inside-out. " They'll flip out" He chortled, amused at his heinous verbal/physical pun. Discord outstretched his arms, as if expecting some kind of applause for his humor . Prince Artemis's face fell flat, unamused by the draconequus's antics. Artemis had never cared heavily for the chaos god, even if the creature was his brother-in-law. Discord's cartoonish behavior annoyed the indigo prince more than it did entertain him.
"They will be worried at first, but I'm sure in time they will accept their fate, as hard as it will be." Celestia smiled half-heartedly at her brother. Water permeating at her tear ducts betrayed her attempt to appear calm.
"Was it right Tia? Was it right not to inform our subjects?"
Celestia opened her mouth to answer her brother, only for Discord, who had returned himself to normal, to speak in her place.
"Well would you rather die in panic or have fun blissfully unaware of your impending doom?" Once again the mish mash of animals released a laugh as he finished his statement. The white alicorn nodded in response then turned her gaze back unto her brother.
In the next moment, it came. The final flare ascended out of the burning ball of gas. Powerful solar energy hurtled toward an unaware planet, ready to incinerate all that existed upon the space-bound rock.
"Ah here it comes." Discord murmured as he peered out of a broken window, looking directly into the flaming gas giant. With a snap of the fingers, a pair sunglasses materialized into existence, perching themselves in the air as they defied all laws of physics. Discord commanded the glasses over to his eyes. Snapping his fingers again, a cloud specially made to resist the heat appeared behind the chimeric creature.
Celestia moved her focus to a large door residing in the room. Magenta and purple streamed out from the molded sun sitting in the middle of the large twin doors. Ignoring the heat of the marble floor, the pure white alicorn commanded her body over to the door.
Artemis stared down at Discord, who laid leisurely on the cloud sipping a glass of chilled chocolate milk.
"How can you be so calm?"
"'Scuse me?"
"We're all going to die. How can you just sit there!? How can you be so calm!?"
"I'm not calm Arty. I'm terrified", Behind Discord and Artemis, Celestia inserted her horn into the molded sun, activating its magical lock. Within the large door multiple clicks could be heard as the celestial magic spread throughout the door's inner workings.
"You're sitting on cloud. Sipping! Chocolate! Milk! Does thou not care we are going to die!?"
"Of course I do Shakespeare, calm down. I'd just rather die with smile", glee stretched across the draconequus's face. The lion arm raised itself over Artemis' head and softly came down atop the night prince's mane. Discord gave Artemis a few soft pats on his dark blue head.
"Won't be a problem for you though."
Artemis's face twisted into confusion. Celestia's young brother prepared to question Discord's words right as his older sister trotted up to him. A familiar box was held in her telekinetic grip. Artemis gave a grunt as the box was shoved into his chest.
"You'll need these Artemis."
"Tia, These are the Elements of Harmony."
"I know. I need you to protect them Arty. I know you can."
"Sister, we are all doomed to perish in the sun's flames. The Elements are useless now."
"No, you're not going to die. We are."
"Wha-" The question was cut short when Artemis felt himself ascend from the ground. His sister's horn glowed, illuminated by massive power coursing through it. Discord lifted his eagle claw, letting chaotic energy flow through. The energies channeled themselves into the night prince's body. Chaotic and cosmic power traced his form, pure energy illuminated Artemis's body.
"We're going to send you to my other's world Artemis."
"Sister wait!"
Celestia paid no heed to her brother's pleas. Her desire to save her sibling from their planet's destruction greatly overshadowed any worry she might have had about her brother's general discomfort.
" You'll be safer there. Good bye brother." her tears betrayed the smile she tried to comfort Artemis with.
"See ya' moon boy." Discord wrapped a arm around his wife, ready to face his final moments.
"Sist-", In a instant the prince of the moon disappeared from sight. For what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only an instant, the young alicorn felt his molecules torn from his body. Time and space bent around the speeding particles as they flew through the fabrics of reality. Even as he sped through the tunnels of the multiverse, Artemis could see his sister Celestia and her chaos-god husband come together in a final embrace, awaiting the imminent flare. He saw the end of his home. A wave of fire washed over his world, turning it and all its inhabitants to ash, as he was flung across the cosmic ocean into another universe.
Artemis awoke with a scream. Beads of cold sweat mingled inside his coat, creating a damp padding around him. He brought his front leg to his face, wiping away the cold excretion. The royal sibling lurched forward, huffing in anxiety. The heart beats within his chest could be heard clear as day. He sucked in air, the cold breeze felt good going down his throat. Taking deep breathes slowly he managed to calm himself.
"Such a terrible dream. It shall be a interesting tale to recount to our dear sister."
A slight tilt of his head brought his eye to the sleeping form of a female pony beside him in bed.
"Did we get into the royal liquor chamber again last night?"
He ran his hoof across the sheet covered pony and mused, "I do wonder, does this pony possess an attractive form?"
Overturning the covers Artemis found the last thing he had expected. In bed beside him was not a pony, but an alicorn. The moon prince froze in terror at the sight of the pony before him. There was a frightening similarity between the two. Almost everything about the alicorn was the same as him; her cutie mark matched his, her mane was a mixture of stars and night sky outlined by blue, her coat was the same dark blue.
Artemis' mouth went dry as his mind tried to process what was going on. Quickly his thoughts returned to the "dream" he had been visited by. Could it be the dream had really happened?.
"No. No it cannot be real."
His heart began to race, each thump becoming audible. Realization dawned on the prince of the night, the alicorn beside him was his female double. The spell had been successful, he had traveled across the ocean of the cosmos and landed in the other Celestia's universe. His home world was gone, destroyed by a massive solar flare. In his worry, Artemis failed to notice the box that contained the Elements of Harmony at his side.
Luna's eyes dredged opened. With a yawn she sat up, using her hooves to scratch her sides. Arching back a rain of cracks and pops emitted from her back side. The princess grunted, she, ironically, didn't care for the mornings. Yawning again she stretched out her long legs, eager to stretch out the kinks in her muscles.
"Ow! my eye!"
Luna whirled her head toward the source of the sound. A male alicorn, who was rubbing their hoof against a recently injured eye, stared her directly in the face. Instead of horror as the element bearers had expressed at the sight, sheer delight was present on the princess' face.
"By mother's crimson mane! It is true! Our sister did not lie. Other versions of us do exist!"
"Thou- thou art me" Artemis gaped at Luna.
"Indeed other me! And you are me! Oh how this does joy us so! Stay other me, we have so many questions to ask of you!"
Artemis stared with wide eyes at Luna. A single question raced through his mind.
"Where is Celestia!?".
The Black Room, that was what they had come to call the strange location that sat between their universes. It was near infinite void stretched out into oblivion. Any kind of recognizable shapes were few and far between, to approach them meant death anyway. Many a would-be conquer had made the mistake of trying to enter anyone of the alicorns' universes, only to become lost in the desolation of the Black Room or crushed by the few remote objects within it.
In the middle of the Black Room laid a circle of mirrors. They sat upon a black plane which blended with the remainder of the empty border world. Each of the crafted panes of glass acted as a gateway in and out of the void for their alicorn owners.
A circular table resided in the center of the mirrors. Constructed of dark matter, it became a defense measure against universe hopping villains with plans of invasion. Heavily shaded purple veins, nearly as black as the emptiness around them, wrapped around the dark matter furniture. White outlines around the edges of the table made it visible in the blackness. A faint glow emanated from the outline, contrasting the table against the black and providing the only light for billions of miles in the vast empty space of the Black Room. Next to being a defensive weapon, the table served its purpose as a marker for the location of gatherings, such was the reason for its faint glow.
From the one of the mirrors came a white hoof, adorned with golden shoes. A light clicking sound was made as the regal hoof came into contact with the plane below. Celestia stepped out from the mirror. She gazed on the additional mirrors residing in the room. Out of each of the panes came an alicorn, and one human.
Twelve alicorns and a single human woman stood around the ultra dense table.
"Is everyone here?" spoke Celestia.
"You should know that, you contacted us all. Or are you as moronic as Princess Derpy?" Asserted a voice on the other end of the circular table. The voice belonged to an alicorn whose appearance mirrored exactly that of Celestia's, bar the hateful scowl that resided on the clone's face.
"Hey!" rebutted a grey alicorn the size of an average pony, her voice like that of a female imitating a male. "I'm not dumb, just clumsy."
"Be silent you unintelligent mentally retarded foal. You don't even deserve a place at this table" hissed the hate-filled Celestia clone.
"Stop it Tryant! Leave Derpy alone." barked a tall lavender alicorn.
Tyrant Celestia made a quick glance to the other council member. She narrowed her eyes at the lavender mare and released a annoyed grunt.
"Why, Twilight? Do you have feelings for the retarded mare?" feelings of victory satisfied the iron fisted dictator's ego. To finish her victory over her counterpart, the tyrannical mare shot a gloating smirk toward the lilac princess.
" I do!" claimed another clone of Celestia. Unlike Tyrant Celestia, who's appearance matched the normal Celestia's perfectly, but this version bore a dull purple monochromatic mane. This particular counterpart wore a naughty smirk, eyeing every one of the council members rears. Beside her sat another Luna as well as another Twilight. Each of them wore a lewd smile on their faces too.
"Screw you Molestia"
"I thought you'd never ask, Tyrie."
Tyrant Celestia's face contorted into a fiery scowl. Molestia responded with a flutter of the eyes.
Trollestia's mouth curled into a stalker smile. The prankster leaned over, sure to position her mouth directly next to the tyrant's ears. "We all know you want it." She whispered in the most seductive tone she could find.
The tyrant's hoof sped like a bullet. It crashed hard against her joking partner's face with enough to tear a normal pony in half.
"It's fun to see you when you drop the nice princess act". Trollestia rubbed her raw cheek but still smiled, unphased by the oppressor's attack.
Princess Twilight scoffed, forcing her eyes from the dictator. She refused to look at the violent princess of the sun.
Celestia summoned all her willpower to keep herself from face-hoofing. The sun goddess had hoped that this could have been the one meeting where there wouldn't be bickering between the rulers. This had been a false hope, as this meeting was proceeding along like any other, with an argument spread across the entire table. Fate decided to give Celestia another slap to the face a second later. There was the ding of an oven, then the roar of an explosion .
A sweet pasty dough flew through the void. Cake batter splattered all over the thirteen council members. The thirteen peered down at their bodies, now marked by delicious cake mixture.
"Great, it got in my dress." thought the human Celestia. She stared at the batter seeping into her dress.
A silence hung over the entire council.
Laughter rose from Princess Twilight, quickly condemning the silence. Her companions, minus Inferno blaze and Tyrant Celestia followed suit. Cake batter explosions failed to shock any of the leaders, it was fairly common in their gathering and a welcome occurrence to all but the most serious of them.
'Welcome welcome welcome. A fine to you! Welcome welcome welcome. A fine welcome to y-" sang a pink alicorn before she was cut off by her furious flaming companion.
Must you do this every time pink one!?", a voice like the echo of crackling fire screamed into the desolation. Heat poured from the owner's body, baking the batter on her instantly. Had the alicorns not been in the airless void of the Black Room, the heat would have turned their meeting place into a sauna.
Princess Pinkie turned her attention to the furious mare standing across from her.
"Of course I do Blazey, it's my 'Welcome to Another Meeting Greeting'." The pink alicorn in chocolate armor beamed. " Sorry about the cake. I accidently put the cake in the confetti cannon and the confetti in the-"
Princess Pinkie Pie found her explanation cut short when a scream from Inferno Blaze resounded through the circle of mirrors. The pale yellow splotches of baked cake quickly transformed into a solemn gray. All the cake atop the corrupted alicorn was reduced to ash.
" I will turn you to ash!" She bellowed in a furious roar. The crackles and pops of her mane became as booming as her voice as she screamed.
"Aaaaw..... someone's grumpy."
"Die!!!"
Inferno beat her wings against the void. The blazing mare ascended into the emptiness. Heat swelled around Inferno Blaze. Small sparks came into being around her. They orbited their summoner and grew in size. Celestia and her fellow princesses watched on as the flames expanded and swirled around Inferno like star turning supernova. Their faces sat blankly as a spinning inferno came to life around the mistress of the sun.
"Perish in fire, vile pink demon of Tartarus!!"
Red became white as the orbiting flames left the 'air' around Inferno Blaze. Heat that matched the intensity of three stars melded together washed over Princess Pinkie Pie. Inferno Blaze panted as she watched Pinkie become consumed by fire. Her rage slowly ebbed away with each breath ... until the flames cleared. Princess Pinkie was completely unscathed. She held a large pile of toasted marshmallows in her hoofs. The marshmallows quickly met their end at the hoofs of a hungry pink princess.
"Thanks Blazey! I was feeling snacky for toasted marshmallows. Chomp. Mmmmm... sticky."
"Why am I your friend again?" Inferno Blaze droned, pushing the superhot metal of her shoe against her face. She rubbed the bridge of her nose in a vain attempt to relieve her irritation. Though she tried to burn Pinkie Pie, she had no intention of ever hurting her. Inferno had been fully aware the attack would not leave a mark on the princess, releasing her fire was just a good way of relieving her anger. Pinkie was her only friend, hurting her would be the stupidest thing Inferno could do.
"'Cause the rest of us hate you." Trollestia replied to the fiery princess, with a cheerful chuckle.
"Are you done playing with Pinkie, Inferno?" spoke the only human in the room. Constant outbursts from the mistress of sun had become somewhat of a bother to the human. The flame alicorn's rages kept the meeting from moving forward.
Inferno growled.
"Yes," she said dully. The flaming mare lowered her head in deep annoyance.
Tyrant Celestia stared down at her flaming companion. "So, the great Inferno Blaze, Bringer of 'Justice' , bows to a pink party pony. That's just pathetic"
"Be careful Tyrie, Inferno is the second strongest of us all." Human Celestia warned.
"Die in a fire, human." Tyrant Celestia hissed back to her human councel member.
"I'm afraid I can't dear, I've been hit by enough rockets and grenades to know that", The human Celestia tilted her head a small degree to the right, giving a sly smile toward the hateful Celestia.
"Silence!"
All the voices became silent within the black room. The alicorns turned their attention to their dark blue council member. Luna of the Lunar Republic met their eyes with a stern glare. In her annoyance the stars within her ethereal, eternally flowing mane had grown in size and intensity. A harsh scowl rested on the night goddess's face, disappointment written all over her face.
"We aren't here to argue amongst each other, we are here to discuss...whatever it is Celestia called us here for"
"Thank you Luna" Celestia softly set her hooves atop the ultra dense table. " Recently I've been having a strange feeling in the back of my mind. It's the same o-"
A angry screech interrupted the solar princess. Tyrant Celestia eye's were narrow, focused on the benign version of herself. "That's why you called us here!? A mere feeling that could be anything?". She spat, hate oozing off of every word that erupted from her mouth.
"It's the same feeling I had before Luna became Nightmare Moon." Celestia rebutted calmly.
"That is a matter of your world Celestia, it has no place in this council!" The oppressive matriarch shouted. Her venomous stare became like daggers etching across Celestia's skin. Celestia could feel the pure hatred that filled the tyrant's glare.
"Actually", Princess Pinkie stated, her smile still as wide as ever. "On my world, everyone's Pinkie and Berry senses went off all at once. It was a real doozy".
"Everyone?" Twilight's eyes widened, her jaw feebly hanging , as she stared at the pink princess in astonishment. Pinkie's world consisted of nopony but 6 billion collective Pinkie Pies and Bubble Berries. If everyone of them had their Pinkie sense go off then something huge had to be coming.
"Uh huh everyone, me too"
Orange tipped wings brushed against a crimson red coat, producing a ruffling sound that grated on the already jagged nerves of Tyrant Celestia. Princess Philomena adjusted her wings , removing any out of place feather's before she gave her opinion on the matter. Clearing her throat she spoke," Well it appears there is something occurring. Now, what do we do about it?"
Molestia giggled, perverted thoughts flowing through her mind the minute she heard the word "do". Philomena smiled and rolled her eyes.
Celestia motion her head in a arc around the room. "First, we must compare notes. I've been having a nagging feeling in the back of my head. Pinkie had her entire world's pinkie sense go off."
"Oh oh! Can I do roll call? I can ask everyone if anything's been going on in their world."
The tyrant glared daggers at the pink alicorn. "You stupid foal. There's no use for that now. We already know something is hap-"
"Of course Pinkie", Celestia shot a warm smile to her freakishly happy counterpart.
The ruler of the Solar Empire's face fell flat. "What?" the tyrant asked in a tone equally as flat as her expression.
Twilight grinned the same grin she got whenever a checklist was made. "That's a great idea. We can just ask everyone if something is going on in their world. So efficient." she clapped her hooves joyously.
"Yeah! And we can have character development! No one wants to read about a bunch of one- dimensional princesses sitting around a table arguing. Though knowing the writer he'll probably mess it up and make us all real boring. I mean he's already put in so much padding with this whole council thing." Pinkie smiled wide.
A collective stare was placed on the pink princess.
In a vain hope of finally getting beneath Princess Pinkie's skin, Tyrant Celestia unleashed another volley of insults upon the freakishly joyful alicorn.
"Pinkie has a imaginary friend it appears. Derpy, I retract my statement. You, while incredibly and utterly moronic and incompetent, are not a mentally retarded foal. That glorious honor goes to our council member, Pinkie Pie of Pinquestria.
A pair of literally burning eyes turned themselves upon the tyrannical ruler. Inside Inferno Blaze, raw emotions began to boil. Each word the tyrant shot at Pinkie added kindle to the rage that burned inside of her.
The rest of the council quickly brushed off her comment as her just being Pinkie Pie.
"Aaaaalrighty then!" Pink energies materialized in the void. They came together to create a checklist complete with the names of every council member.
"Celestia Prime? anything wrong in your world"
"Only a feeling Pinkie. I haven't gotten any letters from Twilight or her friends. I know something is happening though"
Pinkie nodded, checking Celestia's name off the list as she moved down to the next name.
"Sun Bro and Moon Dude?"
No answer came to the cheerful alicorn. "Aaaaaw they aren't here. Must be busy surfing again"
" And thank mother for that..." Inferno Blaze muttered under her breath
"Aaaand Inferno Blaze. Hmmmmm", A telekinetically levitated quill pushed itself against the underside of Pinkie's chin.
" I don't think you could have any problems in your world. You burned it all with a big ol' solar flare"
"Murdering billions of innocent ponies" Princess Twilight added with a growl.
Inferno Blaze's anger flared, her mane glowed white as it burned with supernova intensity. "I saved those ponies! I am not the tyrant who derives pleasure from making ponies suffer! I saved them!" She screamed with a shriek that rattled around the entire Black Room. Purple flakes fell from the dark matter table, burned off by Inferno's super heated mane.
"I don't call burning over two billion ponies to death saving them!" Princess Twilight responded, her volume at near Royal Canterlot Voice levels.
"They were suffering! Even if they didn't know it they were suffering! My world was growing dark! My world's Pinkie Pie had already slain Rainbow Dash in a bout of insanity! She baked her own friend, her fellow element bearer, into cupcakes! S-she slew my faithful student..." Her voice wavered as she reached the final sentence. Inferno Blaze tilted her head and looked down at the table. She could feel tears begin to well in her eyes. Forcing back the tears, her brow furrowed and she turned back to Twilight with gritted teeth.
" I only did what I had to, to prevent anymore ponies from succumbing to the encroaching darkness! " Inferno Blaze smashed her hooves onto the table, sending a crack through the dark matter furniture.
"You had no right to end their lives! You may be an alicorn, but that doesn't give you the right to judge whether a pony has the right to live or die!"
"You're idealistic my dear Twilight, it is because of that you will fail as a princess! Just wait until your fellow element bearers die, your husband turns to bones, the sun gives its final breath. Tell me where your ideals get you when you see everything you love die around you as I did..."
"Quiet!" Luna screeched, her Royal Canterlot Voice in full swing. Once again a hush fell over the room. A short moment of silence passed before Inferno Blaze produced a guttural growl, turning her gaze to Twilight. Twilight's brow furrowed, she delivered a harsh glare onto the burning princess of fire.
Pinkie continued on with roll call, completely ignoring the recent argument. "Princess Luna of the Lunar Republic. Anything wrong?"
Luna eyes widened at the sound of her name. She quickly turned her eyes to Princess Pinkie Pie. Her dark blue coat blended deep with the darkness of the Black Room. Only the faint white shimmer of light produced by the table's lines made her visible.
"I have the same feeling as Celly"
"Is anything wrong with your Element bearers? Hmmmmm!?"
"No, Trixie hasn't sent me any letters. As far as I know Trixie, Lyra, Vinyl, Roid Rage, Octavia, and Colgate are all fine"
"Hmmmm, Philomena how about you." The airborne quill zipped up to a deep red alicorn, it's proximity uncomfortably close.
Pinkie directed her attention onto the crimson alicorn. The red alicorn's pure yellow mane flowed in the airless void. Her orange-tipped wings stayed snapped to her sides. She failed to hear Pinkie's inquiry as she watched Molestia stare lewdly in her direction.
"Any problems for you? Element bearers doin' okey dokey?" Philomena felt a small poke from the quill as it pushed lightly into her nose. Black droplets fell from the quill onto her fur, leaving a small stain.
"My pets Celestia and Luna have been acting up, they only do so when something is about to happen. As for my Element bearers; Gummy, Winona, Opalescence, Tank, Angel, and Owloysius are fine."
Pinkie looked at the only human in the room and opened her mouth to speak.
"The feeling. My Element bearers are fine" the human cut her off before any words came out.
"Solaris? Any problems, dillemas, or conundrums going on in your world? Elements fine? " Pinkie squeaked as she moved the quill into Solaris's face.
" I've been getting the same feeling as Celestia. Dusk is in my castle right now on royal business and he hasn't reported any disturbances. Well, no disturbances other than Berry convincing Applebuck he could fly. "
"Okey dokey lokey. Hmmmms. Oh Blazey, I never asked you if anything is wrong"
"My world is a pile of ash Pinkie, you know nothing has happened." Inferno Blaze sighed.
"Okey dokey!
Pinkie pointed a hoof to a small pony sized alicorn with multiple bubbles as her cutie mark. "How about you Derpy?"
"Mmmmmmmm tha' feeling. Dinky, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, Twist, and Pipsqueak ah' fine though " Derpy let out a smile as she thought of her daughter, The Element of Magic.
"Tyrant Celestia?"
"Don't call me that.... you pink fool...."
"Oke-"
"Shut up, I have felt nothing. Now stop talking to me you pink nuisance"
"Sorry. Molestia how about you?"
Pinkie's words bypassed Molestia completely. She currently held her sister, Lunaughty, and pupil, Twilust, in her hoofs. Both the perverted alicorns ran their hoofs across the student's stomach, reaching between her legs. Twilust let out a lengthy moan, as the alicorns reached between her legs. The royal sisters locked their mouths into a passionate embrace, aroused by their student's moans.
The other alicorns, plus the Human Celestia, watched on in great discomfort. They were used to Molestia making a public display of her lewd personality, but she had never brought in her sister or student before. Twilight and Luna were the most disturbed, seeing mirror images of themselves ravage each other deeply discomforted them.
A blush as red as Philomena's crimson coat crept onto Pinkie's face. "Uum.... Molestia"
"Do you like that my faithful student?" Molestia ran her tongue over Twilust's horn, eliciting another deep throated moan from the unicorn.
"Oh yes, Please give me more, Princess." Molestia was all to glad to comply, caressing her students inner thighs.
Pinkie pulled a megaphone from hammer space, turned on by her magic. She put her mouth to the megaphone and yelled. "YOOHOO! PRINCESS MOLESTIA!"
"GAAAAH!!" All three of the hormone addled ponies jumped, instantly parted from their embrace other. Pinkie tossed the voice amplifier to her side.
"Is anything going on in your world? Huh, is there? Is there?" Princess Pinkie leapt a few inches into the air with each sentence.
"Mmmm. Only a small, unarousing nag in the back of my mind." Molestia brushed the back of her head to signify the back her mind.
"Kay, how about you Celestia who's married to Discord but we cant find a proper nickname for?" Pinkie's attention moved to an empty spot in the circle of alicorns.
"Heeeey that's weird. She always here with her hubby Discord, but she's not even here this time."
"We thank you for this information, oh captain of the obvious." Tyrant Celestia snarked.
"Your welcome Blazey!"
"Burn in the flames of Tartarus, pink idiot"
"I could arrange for that to happen to you, tyrant" Inferno Blaze glowered at her tyrannical counterpart.
"No thanks Tyrie. I like Pinquestria. Trollestia! How about you! Anything wrong in your world?"
Trollestia giggled as she scrawled messy ink splotched words across a scroll. Pranks, Capers, and Escapades were sprawled on the parchment. The trolling ruler circled one that read "Tell Twilight's parents I sent her to the sun" and chortled to herself.
"Trolley trolla trolla loooo , Pinkie is talking to you" Pinkie said in a sing-song voice.
"Yes Pinkie?"
"Anything wrong in your world? Huh Huh Huh?"
"Nothing that I haven't caused"
"What'd ya do Trolley?"
Trollestia grinned eerily, "I turned all of Sweet Apple Acres' apples into pears then stole their leaves"
"Neat! Ooookay, Nightmare Moon"
Nightmare Moon cradled a picture of Pipsqueak, whispering sweet words to the photograph. "Soon I will be your favorite princess... my love." The mare of the moon ran a hoof gently across the photo.
"Uh, Nightmare." Pinkie's smile lightly wavered as she watched Nightmare Moon caress the photo.
Nightmare Moon shot her attention to the pink alicorn, hiding the photograph in her mane " Oh, I've been having the same feeling as the others." her focus quickly returned to the photo.
Pinkie blinked. She moderately raised her hoof to point at the photo. " Is that Pipsqueak?"
Nightmare, without moving her head, turned her gaze onto Princess Pinkie. "Yes..."
"So do you like hi-"
"You could never understand our love!" Nightmare hollered.
"Why do I keep getting interup-"
"No-one wants to understand it...." The Tyrant cut in.
Pinkie adjusted herself to face Twilight. An opened black book floated in front of the matriarch. The image of a pair of hooves clutching an apple laid on the cover. Twilight wore a blank face that was the verge of quickly becoming a disgusted frown. Each sentence she read pushed her mouth further into a grimace.
"Rainbow Dash, you told me this was my biography." She thought.
"Twilight?" Pinkie poked Twilight with the floating quill. Twilight gasped, torn from her thoughts.
"Y-yes Pinkie?" Twilight said, still slightly shaken.
"Is any bad badness going on in your world?"
"Dusk and me both have the same nagging feeling Celestia has"
"Who's Dusk?" Pinkie tilted her sideways at a unnatural angle.
"H-he's my husband." Sweat cascaded down Twilights neck, she was sure Pinkie would inquire into what Dusk's full name was.
"Oh okay, neat!" Pinkie chirped, not pressing the matter any further. A black line was scratched against the final name on the list. Pink energies overtook the floating checklist and the list dissolved away.
"Well that was unproductive. There were horrible switches between tenses, the sentences didn't flow, lots of padding, poor characterization, and we just spent twelve pages doing absolutely nothing!" Pinkie waved her legs, her hooves became blurs as they rushed through the air. "Writer, you're never gonna be as good as Conner Cogwork or Garuuspike if you keep this kind of thing up!"
The writer stopped typing. He pondered what Pinkie had said and broke into sobs as he realized he was doomed to forever be a mediocre storyteller.
Again the alicorns stared at the flailing pony and again they quickly brushed off Pinkie's strange comment. They had learned long ago to accept such things as Pinkie being Pinkie.
"So what do we do about this feeling?" Philomena asked Celestia as she preened her wings.
"Right now, we can't do anything until we have more information. If anyone learns anything, report it immediately. Until then I advise everyone to take whatever precautions they can until we learn more about what's happening."
The council nodded, except Tyrant Celestia who frowned.
"Can I say ' Meeting adjourned'? Huh can I? Pleeeease." Princess Pinkie pleaded with her fellow princess.
"Of course."
"Woo! Meeting adjourned everyone. Buh bye!"
Merely three minutes had gone by since the dragon duo woke up Twilight Sparkle and Dusk Shine. Initially the students of Celestia gave the same reaction their friends, bar Pinkie Pie, to seeing a gender-flipped version of themselves, absolute freak-out. Both the unicorns had rolled out of bed shouting, naturally surprised from the sight of an opposite gendered self.
Their assistants stood by with a ladder and broom on hand. They had been sure a war of books was about to start and they would be the unfortunate custodians to clean up the aftermath. Fortune, however, decided to smile upon Spike and Barbara. No books, large or small, bad or good, ever exited their shelf. Instead the two scientists' fear had been replaced with curiosity.
Twilight moved her eyes over the stallion sharing her color scheme. Dusk mimicked Twilights actions exactly.
"Who are you?!" they yelled in unison.
"Why are you in my house?" they asked in unison once more.
"Your house? You're in my house." again they spoke in unison, each attempting to talk over the other.
" Twilight/Dusk," the dragons tried to interject.
"This is my house. Not yours." Twilight lightly pushed the tip of her hoof into Dusk's chest to emphasize her point.
"Twilight/Dusk." another failed try to get the ponies attention.
"Princess Celestia gave me this library when she sent me to Ponyville."
"Princess Celestia gave you a library?" Dusk raised a brow.
Twilight nodded.
"Something is wrong here," Dusk thought.
"Twilight!/Dusk!" the dragons bellowed.
"He's/She's you from another universe." it did not take long for the dragon pair to realize how ludicrous their comment sounded .
A long stare from the unicorns in front of them was their response. A curl appeared on the lips of Twilight Sparkle. Dusk's cheeks lightly inflated. Each sounded like they were pigs snorting as they failed miserably to stifle their laughter. Their defenses crumbled, Twilight and Dusk collapsed onto the floor, a rain of laughter pouring from their mouths.
"Oh Spike, that's silly."
"Barbara, really?"
"That's impossible. Ponies don't just drop into random universe for no reason." Twilight told her assistant, still in the throes of laughter.
"Exactly, besides no pony would be able to generate the immense amount of power needed to do such a thing." The male unicorn added to his partner's statement.
"We have proof." The dragons objected in unison.
"Really?" The ponies took a step toward their assistants, ready to see what they had to prove the insane notion.
"Uuuh yeah. Uuuum... " they quickly realized the only proof they had was Derpy flying by the window and by that point Derpy was long gone.
At that moment Owloysius and his female counterpart, Owlwishes, decided to perch themselves on the table. "Hoo." the owls crowed, their feathers lightly puffed out as the single sound fled from their throats. A few feathers decorated the tables they sat upon.
"How about that?" The assistants asked, their scaly arms outstretched toward the pair of birds.
And with that the assistants immediately regretted waking the ponies. Not twenty minutes after they did, a hailstorm of commands rained down upon their heads.
"Spike, could you get the tea?"
"Barbara could you get Fabric of Time and Space? "
"Spike, get the paper. We're going to need to make a checklist"
"Speaking of that, Barbara could you get the ink well and quills?"
"Oh, and Spike I need the microscope."
"Barbara could you go get the scissors?"
"We should have let them freak out..." Spike lamented to Barbara.
Twilight turned to the male dragon. Her mane flung itself around herself for a moment but quickly let go, falling at the side of her neck.
"Amazing. Alternate universes. Do you know what this means Spike?"
"You're going to run us ragged?"
"No, it means there's an unlimited amount of possibilities." The scientist divulged, completely missing her assistant's flustered tone. A twinkle shimmered in Twilight's eyes. Spike could almost hear the cogs inside her mind grinding away.
"Do you know how much knowledge could be exchanged!" Dusk's eyes sparkled with excitement. His enthusiasm, however, was short lived, Pinkie and Berry had found their way to the library entrance.
The door sped along an arc until it came to rest on the library wall. A loud thump signaled the door's collision with the inner wall of the library, leaving a small dent where the door's edge hit the wall.
"Twilight!" Shrieked two excited chipper voices.
Twilight and Dusk's eyes became small as peas. Their mouths fell open. An image of horror beyond mortal comprehension, nay, a terror capable of tearing apart reality itself, stood in their entrance.
Pinkie bounced into the library, her hoofs clacking against the floor every time she made contact. Behind her followed Bubble Berry.
"Oh boy you've got a double too Twilight."
Bubble Berry gasped. "You too Dusk!"
"Pinkie. Who is this?" Twilight asked, eyes still at pea size.
"Oh, he's Bubble Berry. He's me from another universe. Neat, huh?"
Twilight moved to her friend without a seconds hesitation. An eye twitched at the sight of a second Pinkie Pie. Already her mind assumed the worst of the possibilities. In her mind's eyes she saw a party encompassing all of Ponyville, tossing the entire town into complete chaos. It could be like the giant Pinkie incident all over again, or worse. Her left eye twitched again.
"Pinkie this is very important. Have you seen any more of these 'doubles'."
Pinkie blinked, a neutral expression on face. Her hair jiggled as she made a quick turn of the head to Bubble Berry who wore the same expression. The twos' face lit up with their trademark jaw-breaking smile.
"Of course silly!" Pinkie rubbed the flat of her hoof against the Twilight's mane. " Rainbow Dash has one, You have one. Fluttershy and her double are outside right now."
"Get in here Butterscotch!" Bubble Berry said with grin mirroring Pinkie's.
A quiet almost whispery voice resounded from outside the library. "I don't know if I should."
"Aaaaaw don't worry. It's safe."
" Are you sure?"
Pinkie jumped into the conversation, right after she jumped onto the top of Berry's Head.
"Sure were sure, silly willy."
Butterscotch slowly trotted into the library. Every three seconds he would glance at the entrance, ready to rush out the door if trouble arose. The desire to bolt out of the room rose with each step. Fluttershy followed Butterscotch into the library, making quick glances to the door just as Butterscotch did.
"Berry, you said you saw Rainbow Blitz with a 'double'." Personal space became irrelevant as Dusk positioned himself directly in front of his pink friend.
"Yuppy yeppy!" Bubble Berry nodded his head.
"Did you see anyone else with a 'double'?"
"Nope!"
Dusk and Twilight quickly exchanged a worried glance and ran for the door. Their pupils returned to pea size.
"Where ya goin'?" Pinkie and Bubble questioned in eerie unison, both tilting their head in confusion.
"Sweet Apple Acres! The Crusaders were having a sleepover there! Something is going on. We have to know how far it's spread!" Twilight cried.
Pinkie giggled at her friend's reaction. "I think you overreacting Twilight."
"What's the worst that could happen?" Bubble Berry chirped.
The stink of apples beginning to rot hung over Sweet Apple acres. Inside the farm house the walls were painted with slick fruit concentrate. Apples sat across the entire length of the house, mashed or otherwise. The red fruit was pasted onto the ceilings, walls, floors, and furniture. A war raged within the Apple family home, their homegrown fruit the ammunition.
In the middle of the entrance room an overturned table hid the Apple family, bar Big Macintosh, and Cutie Mark Crusaders from another rain of apples.
Applejack peered over the table to check the enemy's movements. With the speed of a bullet, an apple shot across the room and clocked her straight in the nose. Chunks of yellow mush spread across the farmer's face as the force knocked her onto her back.
"Sis are ya'll okay!?" Applebloom nudged her sister's unmoving body.
"Applejack's down!" screeched Sweetie Belle
"Gather your apples girls!" shouted Scootaloo"
Each of the crusader ran to a pile of apples and grasped as many as they could hold in their small hooves. They faced each other and nodded.
"Cutie Mark Crusader Frontal Assault! Yay!"
Opposite the over turned table sat wall of furniture. Gender-flipped versions of the Apple family, bar Macareina, and Cutie Mark Crusaders shielded themselves behind the makeshift wall.
"Alright. Scooteroll. A'll set the apple down infront of ya'll and you buck em' toward those fake Apples. While they're distracted A'll run over n' buck their table over. Got that Scooteroll?" Applejack's opposite sex counterpart pointed his hoof to the spot he would place the apples at.
"Huh. Yeah sure. Whatever."
"Applebuck y- wheres Applebuck?" the male Applejack's heads whisked about in a futile attempt to find his little brother. A loud yell clued him in to his brother's whereabouts.
"Cutie Mark Crusader Counter Assault! Yay!" screeched a trio of colts as they stood atop the furniture.
Sweetie Bell lurched backward as an apple crashed against her forehead, becoming impaled on her horn. The male Crusaders were quick to take advantage of the filly's moment of weakness. A multitude of apples rammed into the white filly. Soon Sweetie Belle laid strewn across the floor, coated with a layer of sweet yellow mush.
"Sweetie Belle! Noooooooo!" screeched Scootaloo.
"S-s-Scootaloo" Sweetie Belle croaked through the mush lodged in her mouth.
Scootaloo held her sticky, fruit scented friend close. Her coat became matted with apple extract and fruit chunks.
"T-t-tell Rarity" an apple zoomed overhead. On the other side of the room Scooteroll dived behind a large pile of apples.
"Yes Sweetie Belle? What is it?"
"Tell R-Rarity h-her new dress doesn't look very good"
"Don't worry Sweetie Belle. I will."
Sweetie Belle gave her friend a tired smile before her eyes slowly closed.
"Nooooooooooooo!!!" Scootaloo screamed at the heavens. she turned to the opposing Crusaders, all of whom held numerous apple in their tiny grips. The flames of determination burned brightly in the small pegasus filly. She brought herself to her hooves and stood triumphantly toward the enemy.
"You jerks! You knocked out Sweetie Belle!"
A hurricane of apples brought itself down upon the vengeful filly. Scootaloo screamed as she was buried deep within the fruit. Her leg remained visible from the pile. It twitched lightly before it fell motionless.
"Ya' got er' Scooteroll!!" Applebuck leapt cheerfully into the air.
"I know! Wasn't it awesome?! Did you see how many apples I kicked?!" Scooteroll shouted as he clenched his hoof.
Sweepy Belle joined his fellow crusaders in a high hoof to celebrate their victory over Sweetie Belle.
Macareina and Big Macintosh watched as their siblings and friends continued their food fight. They had long since figured out they weren't from the same world. Not counting the Doctor's hourglass cutie mark, it was a rare occurrence when ponies had the exact same mark. Exactly matching patterns of behavior were pretty rare as well.
A strand of wheat sat perched in Macareina's mouth. With a small flick of the tongue, the wheat moved across her mouth.
She directed her attention to the food fight raging in front of her. Her brother, Applebuck, tossed three apples at the opposing family as she opened her mouth to speak.
"They're gittin' bit carried away with their game"
"Eeyup" her male counterpart responded.
An apple smashed into a calendar behind them.
"Ah'm not cleanin' th' mess."
"Nope." The female replied, turning the wheat between her lips once more.
In spite of the chaos, a pair of elderly ponies slept against the farmhouse walls. The sounds of war rumbled around them, failing to wake them from their naps.
Within the confines of the Black Room, Inferno Blaze stood at the dark matter table. Only her and Pinkie remained of the council, the rest had left for their respective worlds.
"Bye bye my flamey burning usually angry blazing inferno buddy." Pinkie waved to her friend.
"Goodbye pink one." Inferno Blaze returned a wave as Pinkie passed through a mirror and returned to Pinquestria. The mistress of fire smiled, a rare occurrence, as she watched her friend leave. Pinkie was a strange mare to say the least. Despite all of Inferno's misdeeds and uncontrollable temper, Pinkie looked past all that and accepted her as a friend. It had been the only friendship Inferno Blaze had since she was forced to burn her own world. Inferno sighed at the memory.
So many ponies. How many of those ponies were innocent, uncorrupted by darkness. A hundred? A thousand? A million? Inferno Blaze did not know, all she knew was that she did what she had to. Had she not, her world would surely have become a destroyed wasteland populated only by the scum of the earth.
Memories of her own past brought about more recent memories of Tyrant Celestia, how she insulted Pinkie. The princess made a mental note to smash the tyrant's face into the dark matter table repeatedly the next time they all gathered.
Inferno Blaze cast her eyes on Celestia's mirror. As always, Celestia placed a special seal over her mirror, just as all the other of the celestial council had done. The seal surrounding the plane was meant to prevent any foreign invaders from entering the alicorns' worlds, every ruler having their own respective seal. Celestia Prime's usual attention to detail was not present in her own magical wall. Worry and stress had taken their toll on the sun princess, a small crack was present in the seal.
A feeling near forgotten by the corrupt ruler flooded her body. Joy, sheer, pure, undistilled joy coursed through every fiber of her cosmic being. In her glee, Inferno Blaze began to dance in place, much like her pink counterpart would do every time the rulers gathered. Though small, this crack presented a mammoth opportunity to the princess. If she played her cards right, a brand new world would be available for her to save. Her justice would no longer be confined to her barren ball of ash. She would be able to see her faithful student once more, her beloved Twilight Sparkle.
Shaking her head, Inferno Blaze quickly ended her dance. She peered down at the crack in Celestia's arcane seal. Magical energy swam into Inferno's horn, taking the form of bright orange fire. Breathing in, she commanded her fiery magic to the crack. Like water on a sponge, the flaming sorcery seeped into the crevices of Celestia's mistake. Slowly everything came together within Inferno's mind. The mechanics and construction of Celestia's seal were becoming clear, as was the method required to bring it down.
She began to formulate her plan. Every factor, ever minute detail would have to be taken into consideration. The first objective would be to produce her own seal. The seals would have to be strong enough to confine her counterparts within their own worlds, especially Princess Twilight. A large period of time would be required to gather the energy needed to accomplish this task. Next she would have to break Celestia's seal and intrude on her world. Blaze pondered what time would be best to break the seal and enter Celestia's universe.
"Night. She'll be asleep by then. If Luna tries to stop me I'll just burn her a little" Blaze muttered to herself. Entering at night would allow her to escape Celestia's castle unnoticed. Once she regained her strength again she could command Celestia's sun to bring down her justice down upon the planet, a solar flare big enough to incinerate the entire Earth, save one lavender mare.
"The perfect plan." She mused to herself. It would be a rigorous task, but in the end it would all be worth it. Soon she would bear her gift of fire onto a new world. Soon she would reunite with her beloved student.
Sorry about the ultra long council meeting scene, among the other numerous flaws in the chapter, I got carried away with the scene and drug it on too long.
Just a heads up, Unlike Cross and Arrow and those other "Mane 6 meet male selves" fics, I'll be delving into a bit darker territories with this one. It's not going to get gory, be a clopfic, or go into grimdark territory, so don't worry about that. There will however, be some darker themes like death, sex (to a very very very limited degree) and pregnancy. You've been warned, dawg. Get ready for some Cerebus Syndrome once Inferno Blaze is brought in!
Some of you are going to hate me for this, but I'm going to develop the character of Inferno Blaze, go into the reasons she's villain, etc, etc. I'm trying to avoid making her the standard "Muwhahahaha I'm evil just cause villain."
Oh by the way. Yes I am very aware I took a hammer to physics in that solar flares don't travel that fast. Well...winged unicorns don't lift the sun either so I think I can take a few creative liberties.
Hope I managed to make this worth your time.
