CHAPTER ONE
Rarity waved goodbye to her last customer. "Thank you for your service!" she called to him as he left. "Your suit will be sent to you in one week!" The customer disappeared from her sight. Rarity walked upstairs to her design room and began to work on a sketch for her suit.
After a few minutes, Rarity heard a bump noise downstairs. She looked up at her doorway and stood up. "Hello?" she called. "Is anypony down there?" There was no response. Rarity walked downstairs to investigate. "I heard you. You can quit hiding," she said trying to keep a calm demeanor. She heard a shuffling behind her, and snapped her head around, bringing her face within a few centimeters of a mannequin.
Rarity shrieked, then fell backwards onto the ground. She looked up at it. "Keep it together, Rarity," she told herself. She got up and turned to continue her investigation, finding herself face-to-face with another mannequin. She fell backward, expecting to knock over the first mannequin. Instead, she landed in the arms of a pony. She looked up and saw the mannequin standing over her. Its head moved to look down at her.
Rarity began to scream, but the other mannequin's hand covered her mouth. The mannequin began buzzing, and the one holding her began buzzing in response. Another mannequin stepped out of the shadows, holding a strip of fabric. It approached Rarity and ripped a piece off of the fabric. The second mannequin removed its hoof from Rarity's mouth, and the third mannequin used the fabric as a gag, muffling her voice. It then ripped off another piece as the first mannequin lowered her. The third mannequin used the second piece of fabric and tied Rarity's legs together. The mannequins began buzzing at each other again, leaving Rarity on the ground.
Rarity looked up in fear at the creatures above her. What in Tartarus was going on? Why were her mannequins were alive? And what were they doing?
She found herself looking at the door. The door was slightly opened, even though she was positive she had locked it. Maybe she could-
One of the mannequins caught her gaze. It picked up a table and moved it in front of the door, blocking her escape. Well, some much for that plan.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Rarity: her sister. What if Sweetie Belle woke up? What would the mannequins do to her? What if they found her while she was still asleep?! She tried to turn towards the stair so she would be able to see if her sister came downstairs. What she would do if Sweetie Belle appeared, she didn't know. But she thought she could at least warn her.
Suddenly, the mannequins stopped buzzing at each other and looked at Rarity. No, not at her--behind her. Rarity followed their gaze. They were looking at a dark corner of the room. A green pony was standing in the corner. He had a red mane with white highlights. He wore a bright blue cape and had glasses on. His horn seemed to be discolored. Rarity let out a muffled plea for help. The stallion walked over to her and and freed her.
Rarity stood up and removed the gag. "Thank you so much!" she said.
"No problem," the stallion said in a cheery Canterlot accent. "I would duck if I were you." Rarity, without hesitation, dropped to the ground. The stallion pulled out a strange looking box. It was silver with a black tube in the middle and had a brown handle.
A bright stream of light flew out of the box and hit one of the mannequins behind Rarity. Its form seemed to shatter like glass before it disappeared completely. The stallion pointed the box at a second mannequin and the same thing happened to it. He did it to the last mannequin, then looked back at Rarity. "Are there any more mannequins in this place?" he asked her.
"Five more," she told him. "Upstairs."
The stallion nodded. "You should probably hide," he said. He turned to the stairs and began to ascend them. Rarity followed closely behind.
"What's going on?" she asked him. "Why are my mannequins coming to life? Who are you?!"
"My name is Mister K," the stallion said. "I'm not sure why the mannequins are coming to life. All I know is I felt a trans-dimensional energy coming from this, and I need to get rid of it."
"'Trans-dimensional'?" Rarity repeated. "What are you talking about?"
Mr. K opened his mouth to explain, but, just then, a cry sounded from down the hallway upstairs. "Sweetie Belle!" Rarity yelled. She began running down the hallway. K followed closely behind.
Rarity turned into her sisters bedroom and saw her little sister, Sweetie Belle, backed against a corner, blocked by a mannequin. Sweetie Belle saw her sister. "Rarity!" she cried. "Help me!"
Rarity ran over to her sister. "Let her go!" she yelled. The mannequin turned just in time to get bucked in the face by Rarity. The mannequin's head flew off and landed at the foot of Sweetie Belle's bed. Rarity shoved the body out of the way and embraced her sister. "Are you okay?" she asked her.
"I was so scared!" Sweetie Belle said, tears in her eyes. "The door opened, and I thought it was you, and..." Her voice was lost among her sobs.
"It's okay," Rarity said, stroking her sister's hair. "You're safe, now."
"Not necessarily," Mr. K said. "There's still four mannequins left. I would recommend that you hide somewhere."
Rarity nodded. "Sweetie Belle, get under the bed," she told her sister. "I'll be in the closet." Sweetie Belle nodded, then hid under her bed. Rarity turned to K. "What are you going to do?"
K brandished his box. "What I came here to do," he said. "Wipe these things out. Don't come out until I see the coast is clear."
Rarity walked back into the closet and closed it. K looked down at the box. "Time to go to work," he said.
* * *
K looked into a room. Three mannequins were standing in the room, all buzzing at each other. He pressed a button on the side of his gun, activating the translator.
"-the unicorns," one of them said. "Their magic will play a great part in Master Temple's plan."
"We also need to eliminate the bounty hunter," a second mannequin said. "That's our primary objective."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" the third asked. "Let's get 'em."
Suddenly, a hoof grabbed K from behind, knocking the gun out of his hoof, and threw him into the room. The mannequins turned toward him. K turned to look at the mannequin that he grabbed him from behind. "Here's your bounty hunter," the mannequin told the group.
"Well well well," the first mannequin said. "If it isn't the bounty hunter."
"K," K said. "My name is K."
The mannequin lifted K up. "You've been a thorn in the master's side, you know that?" he said.
"Well, that's kind of my job."
The mannequin slammed K against the wall. "So," he said, "anything you want to say before we finish you?"
"Just one thing," K said. "Focus your magic into the handle."
"What in Tartarus are you talking about?"
Suddenly, the mannequin's form shattered and K fell to the ground. K and the mannequin looked at the doorway, where Rarity was holding his gun.
"You're a quick learner!" K said. He turned and bucked one of the mannequins, knocking him to the ground. He ran over and grabbed his gun and shot one of the mannequins. He fired at the rest, but they escaped out the window.
"Crap," K said. "Well, there's always tomorrow." He turned to Rarity. "That was a really brave thing you did. Thank you."
"Those things attacked my boutique," Rarity said. "I wasn't going to let them get away with that."
K nodded. "Well, I'll be going now." He turned and walked down the stairs. Rarity followed him, but stopped at the stop of the stairs.
"Wait!" she yelled. "Do you think you could explain exactly who you are?"
K stopped at the bottom of the stairs, thinking for a moment. After a second, he turned to face Rarity. "Fine," he said. "Come to the front of the town hall tomorrow. I'll explain everything there."
"Alright," Rarity said. "See you then."
K nodded, then turned and left the boutique, moving the table that had blocked the door. When he had left, Rarity turned back to her sister's room. "Sweetie Belle," she said. "You can come out now."
Sweetie Belle's head poked out from under the bed. "Are-are they gone?" she stuttered, fear in her voice.
"Nopony's going to hurt you," Rarity said.
Sweetie Belle got out from under the bed. "D-do you think you could sleep in here tonight?" she asked Rarity.
"Of course," Rarity said. Sweetie Belle climbed into bed, and Rarity lay beside her. "I'll be right here all night. You have nothing to worry about."
Sweetie Belle leaned on her sister and almost immediately fell asleep. Rarity turned off the lamp and relaxed. She deserved a rest.
Chapter Two: Bounty Hunter
The next morning, Rarity took a day off to visit Mr. K. She gave Sweetie Belle a day off from school so she could come with Rarity. Rarity figured her sister had the same right to know what happened as much as she did.
The two sisters stood in front of the town hall for ten minutes waiting for Mr. K to arrive. Sweetie Belle kept looking around nervously. "Nopony's going to hurt you," Rarity said. "You'll be alright. I'm right here with you."
"You're pretty brave," Sweetie Belle said.
Rarity smiled. "Yes, I am," she said, and Sweetie Belle smiled back.
"Ahem," a voice said. Rarity let out a high-pitched squeak. She immediately ran behind a bush and hid. "Real brave." Rarity peeked out over the top of the bush and saw Mr. K standing behind Sweetie Belle, who was obviously trying not to laugh.
Rarity got herself together and climbed out of the bush. "Well, then," she said. "So, are you ready to offer an explanation to us?"
"Yes," K said, nodding. "But not here. Let's go to my house."
"Why not here?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I've got something to show you there," K said. "Follow me." K turned and started walking down the street. Rarity and Sweetie Belle looked at each other, silently talk to each other.
What if it's another trap?
We might get some answers.
Do we want to risk is?
I think we should.
"You coming?" K asked, looking at the sisters. Rarity and Sweetie Belle nodded at each other, then followed Mr. K back to his house.
Mr. K's house looked like it had been built overnight, which would've made sense, since Rarity was positive it hadn't been there last night. There were no windows or roof.
"Are you ready to get your minds blown?" K asked. He opened the door, revealing an oily blackness. "Step inside. I'll follow right behind you." Rarity and Sweetie Belle looked at each other. K noticed their suspicious looks. "Come on, you can trust me."
The two sisters hesitantly walked into the house. K followed closely, closing the door behind him, leaving the three in pitch black. K brought his leg up and kicked the floor. The room slowly lit up, revealing on the most stunning sights the sisters had ever seen.
The inside of the house was much larger than the outside. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made out of steel. There were strange metallic desks that were built into the walls. Strange boxes rested on the desks with sides of them glowing. A clear tube was on the far side of the room.
"Whoa," Sweetie Belle breathed.
"Well said," K said, smiling. "This is my home. The MAT-CD."
"'MAT-CD'?" Rarity asked.
"'Machine Able to Change Dimensions'," K said. "It allows me to change dimensions and do my job."
"Your job?" Rarity asked.
"I'm a bounty hunter," K said. "I hunt down inter-dimensional criminals and return them to the prison dimension, known as Dimension 9."
"What gets somepony classified as an inter-dimensional criminal?" Rarity asked.
"Not all criminals are ponies," K said. "Some are birds, some are just magical energy, some are just...unidentifiable. Whatever they are, I hunt them down and send them back to Dimension 9."
"Sounds dangerous," Rarity said, still looking at the house.
"And awesome!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"And fun," K said, smiling.
"What are all these boxes?" Rarity asked.
K walked over to one of the boxes. "It's a computer," he said. "This one allows me to go to another dimension." He pointed to another computer on the other side of the room. "That's what allows me to track criminals in the dimension I'm in."
"So, this room is your explanation?" Rarity asked. "You hunt down criminals from another dimension?"
"Yeah," K said, nodding. "And, yes, it is as fun as it sounds."
"Do you really expect us to believe you?"
"Well, it is the truth. Do you remember last night? Those things are being controlled by some inter-dimensional thing. It's somewhere in Equestria, and I'm hear to find it."
Rarity nodded, an unbelieving look was on her face. She looked around the room. "This is an elaborate hoax. How much preparation did this take?"
"I'm not lying!" K exclaimed. "I swear, I'm telling you the truth."
"I'll believe you when I see this magical entity," Rarity said.
Suddenly, an alarm went off in the room. A light on the ceiling blinked red. K looked at the alarm, smiled, then looked down at Rarity. "You want proof?" he asked. "You got proof."
At that moment, the door burst open. Five various statues were standing in the doorway. They buzzed at the three ponies in the room. K immediately picked up his gun and pressed a button. "I'm sorry," K said, "could you say that again?"
"We've found you, Bounty Hunter!" a statue of the mayor said. "Now, you're going to Master Temple!"
Rarity looked at K, who was smiling at the statues. "What are you waiting for?!" she asked him. "Get rid of them!"
"You asked for the entity," K said. "You've got him." K layed his gun on the ground.
Rarity's eyes got wide. "You don't mean-" she started.
Suddenly, the mannequins leaped off of their pedestals and charged the three ponies. K immediately put his hands up in surrender, but Rarity and Sweetie Belle charged for the door. One of the statues tripped Sweetie Belle and grabbed her. Rarity turned to help her sister, but a second statue hit Rarity on the back of the neck.
The last thing Rarity saw was a statue slamming her sister to the ground.