Kindred Spiritsby viscolorusChaptersChapter 1: The BeginningChapter 2: The GatheringChapter 3: The NothingChapter 1: The BeginningA purple alicorn briskly walked along the corridors of the royal castle, eager to get to his destination. He had been called for a meeting by Lord Solaris, his ex-mentor and friend, and was excited to meet him. He quickly trotted to the location specified on the letter he had received, the royal meeting room which was guarded by two unicorn guards. They respectfully bowed and opened the door for him. He entered the room, expecting to see Lord Solaris, but was greeted with an unpleasant sight. The room was a large cylindrical building made out of stone and mortar that had a dome-shaped ceiling. The floor was covered by a large circular carpet with beautiful gold embroidery on it. In the center of the room was a large stone table with gold designs. Around the table were nine golden chairs that had been elegantly crafted. Four of the chairs were taller and had even more elaborate design on the top. The other five of those chairs were occupied and it was who were in those chairs that ruined his mood. His ‘friends’, the Elements of Harmony. “How nice to see you again, Lord Dusk Shine,” A white unicorn drawled from the left of the table, his voice heavy with sarcasm. He had a curly purple mane that draped around his shoulders. “Don’t push it Elusive,” Dusk Shine said venomously as he took his place on one of the taller chairs with his cutie mark design on it, “I’m not, or ever will be, in the mood to see you guys anytime soon.” “Do you think I want to see any of them?” A cyan pegasus spat out, raising a jagged eyebrow, “I couldn’t give two bucks about any of you.” “Come on guys, let’s not fight at the meeting,” A pink earth pony said anxiously, “You all know what happened the last time.” “Yeah, Rainbow got a black eye and a broken nose,” An orange earth pony said, adjusting his Stetson, “Oh that was fun.” “Want me to give you a few smashed ribs you low-life apple farmer?” Rainbow Blitz said, rising to his hooves. “I could kick ya sorry flank inta next week, ya snobbish Wonder-flop!” The orange pony growled, rage burning in his eyes. “Okay! Okay! Break it up!” The pink pony said desperately, “We’re not fighting again!” Both ponies turned and yelled at the pony, “Shut up Bubble Berry!” “What uncouth behavior,” Elusive commented loudly, “It is things like this that remind me why I left for Manehatten six months ago.” Rainbow Blitz glared at the white unicorn for a second then settled down into his chair again. “Where is his lordliness anyway?” The orange pony asked, leaning back in his chair, “For someone so important, he sure is slow.” “Hey, don’t talk about Lord Solaris like that!” Dusk snapped, pointing a hoof at the orange pony. “Yeah AJ, you should really learn some manners,” Rainbow Blitz said, smirking at him. “Ah could say the same ta both of ya,” AJ hissed back. “Silence,” A butter yellow pegasus said, in a threatening demeanor. He had a pink mane with a long fringe that covered his left eye. “Oh yeah?” Rainbow Blitz said angrily, turning to him, “What’re you going to do if I don’t give to you? Huh Butterscotch? Run home and tell your mommy?” Butterscotch moved part of his fringe and glared at Rainbow Blitz, causing him to freeze up and settle down. “You know I don’t like using it,” Butterscotch said, allowing his fringe to droop back down. “You’re lucky you have that,” Elusive said, polishing his hooves, “Or else you’d probably be much more injured than you currently are.” “Alright, enough!” Bubble Berry said, “We don’t need to fight amongst each other!” Suddenly, a black smoke erupted from the center of the table and quickly flooded the floor of the room. The smoke quickly thickened and bunched itself into tentacles that attacked them. The smoke in the center of the table seemed to melt and become a circle of violet liquid. “What the buck?!” Rainbow Blitz yelled, taking flight, “Is this your doing Dusk?!” “No!” Dusk shouted back, firing bolts of energy in an attempt to fend off the sinister tentacles. “Help!” Butterscotch squeaked as he being consumed by the black substance. “Forget ya!” AJ yelled, bucking open the main doors, “Ah’m leaving!” As AJ ran out of the door, the black tentacles quickly wrapped themselves around his hind hooves and pulled him back into the room. The guards attempted to pull the orange farm pony out but the black tentacles whipped them across the back of their heads, knocking them out. “Save me!” Elusive screamed as the tentacles pulled him in, “I’m too fabulous to die!” Bubble Berry reached out and grabbed Elusive’s hoof, pulling at it. Butterscotch, Bubble Berry and Elusive were the first to become pulled into the violet liquid which consumed them whole. AJ was pulled in next despite his monstrous strength. Rainbow Blitz attempted to flee but was caught by a net of black tentacles and Dusk was eventually overcome by the sheer number of tentacles. As Dusk was pulled into the liquid, he felt it was icy cold one second yet scorching hot the next. He gritted his teeth in agony as his whole being was pulled into the pool. Darkness enveloped him as he sank deeper into the abyss. He could not breathe, see, smell, hear or feel anything. He felt as if he had been removed from the world and was floating in limbo. Eventually, he blacked out. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ “Uhh…” Dusk said, rubbing his head with a hoof, “What happened?” He slowly got to his feet. His head ached and his entire body felt as if it had been rammed by a train. He opened his eyes only to be blinded by the bright sunlight. He squinted and surveyed his surroundings. He was in a large green field next to the other five ponies that had been consumed by the violet liquid. The field was surrounded by large twisted dark trees, the Everfree Forest. Except for an area of it which lead to a town. There was a path cutting through the middle of the field, leading from the Everfree Forest to the town. The sunlight was ridiculously bright however, much brighter than back home. He slowly got to his feet. His muscles complaining every time he moved. He spread his wing and checked them. No problems there. He casted a small light spell which caused an orb of light to float in front of him. No problem there. He heard groaning from behind him, he turned and saw Rainbow and AJ getting to their feet. “My aching head,” AJ moaned, “Where in Solaris’s name are we?” “I don’t know and I don’t care,” Rainbow Blitz said, spreading his wings, “All I know is that I’m outta here!” He took off into the sky, leaving a jagged rainbow trail behind him. “Hmph, show off,” Dusk spat out, stretching a little, “He won’t be able to fly as fast as he normally does in that condition. “For once, Ah actually agree with ya,” AJ said, cracking his bones. “Umm… hello?” An unfamiliar voice said from behind them, “Excuse me, but I have to pass.” Dusk turned and his jaw dropped. He saw a purple alicorn with highlights in her mane. Just. Like. His. Her jaw dropped too. “Well, Dusk,” AJ said, smirking a little, “Ya never told me that ya had a twin sister hiding somewhere.” “Who’re you?” both alicorns asked each other in unison. Dusk then cleared his throat and said, “Beg your pardon, my name is Dusk shine, may I know yours?” “Psssh,” AJ said, “You’re just acting polite for the sake of it.” Dusk brushed off the comment and turned his attention to the alicorn before him. “My name is Twilight Sparkle,” The alicorn said, “What I want to know is how is it that you look like me?” “I… I’m not sure,” Dusk replied, thoroughly stumped. He had never been robbed of an explanation like this before. He then noticed her cutie mark. “What?” He said, walking over and examining her cutie mark, “You have the same cutie mark as me!” “Impossible!” Twilight said, looking at his cutie mark, “Why do you have my cutie mark?” “Ah hate ta break up this here conversation,” AJ said, looking at the sky, “But it looks like the weather ponies are about to let it pour.” Both alicorns looked up and saw that he was right, many pegasi had begun moving grey clouds to block out the once clear sky. “You ponies should come take cover in my house,” Twilight suggested, “We need to move quickly. You can also bring your friends with you.” “Friends?” AJ and Dusk asked as if she had just asked them something alien. “You know, the concussed ponies over there?” She said, pointing to the three ponies on the field. “Oh, those guys are not our friends,” Dusk said dismissively. “Yeah they’re just some guys on the side of the road,” AJ agreed. “Well we can’t just leave them here!” Twilight said, using her magic to levitate Butterscotch, “At least help me carry them.” Dusk looked at AJ and shrugged. He levitated Bubble Berry and AJ threw Elusive onto his back as it began drizzling. “Well, lead the way miss,” AJ said. Chapter 2: The GatheringRainbow Blitz tore through the town, darting left and right, dodging over the large cottages and swooping through the streets. He looked at the town as he flew through it, noting how similar it looked to his second hometown and previous work place, Ponyville. As he continued flying through the town, he had a mare yell, “Hey Dashie! Wait up!” He stopped right in his tracks, painfully snapping out his wings to slow himself down. He turned to the source of the voice and saw a pink earth pony mare. “What the buck did you just call me?” He asked angrily glaring at her. The pink pony was obviously taken aback, she looked at him again, squinting and putting a hoof above her eyes. “Ohhhhh… I’m sorry!” She said, bouncing up and down, “I thought that you were my friend Dashie, because you know, she always flies really, really fast and leaves a rainbow trailing behind her. Just like you. Also, have you ever tasted a rainbow before? It tastes like-” “ENOUGH!” Rainbow Blitz yelled, his face contorted with rage, “Oh my Solaris! You’re even more annoying than Bubble Berry! How is that even possible?!” The pink pony drew back a little, her smile turning into a frown. “Now that was a little rude wasn’t it?” She asked, pouting. “Look, I don’t care who you are or what you want,” Rainbow Blitz said, frustrated, “All I want to know is where this place is. For a pony as talkative as you, you can do at least that, right?” “I want an apology first,” The earth pony said, turning away from him. Rainbow Blitz rubbed his aching head with a hoof, mumbling a curse. “Alright, I’m sorry, you happy?” He said, “Now can you please tell me where I am?” “You’re in Ponyville silly!” The pink pony said, regaining her initial zealousness, “Oh by the way, are you new here? If you are, we could totally throw you a welco-” Rainbow blitz took off before she could finish, beating his painful wings hard and fast. “She seems like a nice pony, but I’ll dance with a manticore before I engage her in a full conversation,” He said to himself as he rose into the stratosphere. He flew higher and higher until he was above most of the clouds. He looked around him, noticing groups of pegasi forming a large rain cloud. “Must be time for the ol’ downpour,” He said. He winced as his body screamed at him to take a break. He had been flying ever since he woke up only a half hour ago, his body should be able to take much more than this. “Hey you!” A voice called out from behind him, “You new in town?” He turned and saw a cyan pegasus flying behind him, her rainbow mane flowing in the wind. “What do you want?” He asked her, rubbing his head with his hoof again. “Nothing,” She said casually, landing on a cloud, “Just wondering cause I’ve never seen you before.” “I could say the same for you,” He replied, taking a rest on the cloud, “I lived here until six months ago.” “Six months?” the mare asked, her magenta eyes wide with astonishment, “Funny. I don’t recall meeting you before.” Rainbow Blitz lay back on the cloud, relaxing his muscles. He just lay there, contemplating today’s events: meeting with the five ponies he never wanted to see again, the black tentacles, the pink pony, the pain and now, this random mare. He was about to drift off to sleep when he heard the mare ask him, “Hey, wanna race?” “Not particularly,” He replied lazily, covering his eyes with some cloud. “Aww… scared to lose to a mare?” She taunted, pacing around him, “Well, It is to be expected, I am the one and only, Rainbow Dash after all.” “Never heard of you,” He said, rising to his feet, “But I’ll take you on for the race.” “I’ll burn my name into your brain,” Rainbow Dash said, getting into position, “See how you forget me then.” “So let’s do this,” Rainbow Blitz said, feeling rejuvenated from the prospect of a good race. He had never felt such a vibrant energy radiating from any pony in a long time. He pointed to a distant raincloud and said, “First there and back wins.” “You’re on!” Rainbow Dash said, “I’ll leave you in the dust!” “Let’s see you try,” Rainbow Blitz replied smugly, readying himself, “three… two… one… Go!” The two pegasi shot off the cloud, both leaving behind rainbow colored trails. Rainbow Dash surged ahead initially, leaving the jagged trail behind but Rainbow Blitz caught up soon enough. They both sped toward the designated cloud, beating their wings as hard and as fast as they could. “You’re not bad,” Rainbow Dash yelled through her teeth, her his lips pulled apart by the wind. “You’re not too shabby yourself,” Rainbow Blitz yelled back, mouth being pulled back by same force. Both of them approached the raincloud at high speeds, the sound barrier forming on their fore hooves. At the cloud, both pegasi shot backwards, breaking the sound barrier with a beautiful spectrum of light. A sonic rainboom. Both ponies turned toward each other, surprise painted all over their faces, “You can do a sonic rainboom?!” They both shouted at each other. After their short exchange, they focused back on the race, each pony determined to beat the other. They eventually made it back to their starting cloud, Rainbow Dash coming in first, but only by a second. “Hah! I win!” She proclaimed, proudly, puffing her chest out, “I told you I’d win, and I did! Though you could do a sonic rainboom so that makes you pretty cool. What do you have to say about that… uh… what’s your name again?” She turned to see Rainbow Blitz passed out on the cloud. She flew over and shook him lightly. “Hey, are you alright?” She asked, shaking him. He didn’t respond. “Crap,” She said to herself. Then, thinking of a solution, she pulled the heavy stallion onto her back and flew off. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ “So what’s the problem?” Dusk Shine asked. He and the others had made it to Twilight’s house, a large tree. Much like his own, or at least, before it was renovated into his fort. Twilight sent for the doctor to come after the storm subsided and fortunately, it was a short one. “Well, it would appear that all of you have muscle fatigue and migraine,” The brown unicorn said, removing a piece of medical equipment from around Dusk’s foreleg, “Well, except Princess Twilight Sparkle.” “You know you don’t have to call me that,” Twilight said, blushing a little upon hearing her name and title, “I visit you almost every time I get a checkup.” “I insist on retaining the formality,” The doctor said smiling slightly, “Though it is nice to know that you don’t mind a little familiarity.” “So what’s the treatment?” AJ asked, rubbing his head. “Take a tablet of this and rest,” The doctor said, levitating a small bottle of pills over to AJ. He dropped it into AJ’s hooves and took his leave. “Well, that’s over and done with,” Twilight said, then turning to Dusk, “So how did you get here?” “Well, we were pulled into a violet liquid, presumably a portal, and ended up in the field you found us in.” Dusk said briskly, “That should sum it up.” “So, may I know your names?” Twilight asked, sitting on a stool. “Well, as you know, I’m Dusk Shine,” Dusk said, “The orange earth pony to my right is AJ, the three ponies on the mattress over there from left to right are Bubble Berry, Elusive and Butterscotch.” “Hey, mister high and mighty,” AJ said, popping out a pill from the bottle, “Ya forgot the rainbow colored pain in the ass.” Dusk glared at AJ but sighed and said, “Yes, there is another, Rainbow Blitz, the jerk cyan pegasus who flew off immediately after arriving here.” “Wow, isn’t that a bit strong?” Twilight asked, “I mean, you ponies know his name so you must be at least acquaintances.” “More like enemies,” Dusk said levitating the bottle of pills from AJ, “We used to be friends.” “Key word being ‘was’” AJ agreed, swallowing his pill, “And that was about six months ago.” “Well, what happened six months ago?” Twilight asked, levitating a book toward herself, “A falling out?” “That’s… a sensitive topic,” Dusk said. Twilight noticed that both Dusk and AJ flinched at the mention of a falling out. Dusk shook his head a couple times before asking, “Um, might I know where we are?” “You are in Ponyville,” Twilight replied, cocking her head to the side a little, “Why?” “Really?” Dusk asked, looking a little puzzled, “Because I could’ve sworn my fort was in this very location you brought us.” “Hmm, that’s funny,” Twilight said, tapping her hoof on her chin, “I don’t recall any construction occurring here recently.” “Well, it was built about three months ago,” Dusk said, trying to reminisce the events that had transpired since the construction of his fort, “Anything then?” “No, not really,” Twilight said, “Well, at any rate, it would seem that to understand how you came here, we would need to find out about that portal you came through.” “Portal?” Dusk asked, swallowing his pill, “Oh the violet liquid?” “Yes,” Twilight said, flipping through the book in front of her, “We need as much knowledge as we can possibly get.” “Ah’ll let ya two get ta that,” AJ said, laying down, “Meanwhile I’m gonna take a rest.” And with that, the orange farm pony dozed off. “Lazy piece of crap,” Dusk said to himself, levitating a book over. The two alicorns then proceeded to continue leafing through their books for any clues on the portal. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Bubble Berry awoke to find himself in a large library. He stood up, rubbing a sleepy eye with his hoof. “Hey, sleeping ugly, come and help out,” Dusk called out. Bubble Berry turned to the source of the voice. He saw, seated around a wooden table, Dusk, Elusive, Butterscotch, AJ and three unknown mares that looked a lot like his friends. One of the ponies was a purple alicorn and the other two were earth ponies. One of them wearing a Stetson, and the other was pink and had a bubbly mane. “Ooh! Is he awake Twilight? Is he awake?” The pink pony asked excitedly, looking at the female purple alicorn. “Yes Pinkie, he is up,” The alicorn, presumably Twilight, said, now you may go over to give him a mini welcome party.” The pink mare leapt over the table, landed in front of Bubble Berry, pulled out two party poppers and released them in his face. “Welcome to Ponyville!” She exclaimed, beaming at him, “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! What’s your name?” “I’m Bubbly Berry,” He replied, perking up. “Hey stop slacking and come and help,” AJ grumbled, pushing a book aside for another one. The two pink ponies walked over to the table talking excitedly about random stuff. “Well we’ve found absolutely nothing,” Elusive said, flipping through the book in his hooves, “Can we wrap this up so that I might return to my work?” “Work?” Dusk asked irritably, “You’re possibly in another universe and you’re concerned about work?” “Well, you haven’t proven anything yet,” Elusive argued, “All you’ve found is the very first female alicorn and two look-a-likes of these vermin!” He pointed to AJ and Bubble Berry. “Those sound like fighting words,” AJ hissed through his bared teeth, “How about ah kick ya sorry flank?” “Alright sugar cube, that’s enough,” The other orange pony said, “Let’s just resume the search.” AJ mumbled something but began searching through a book. Suddenly, Bubble Berry cried out, “Ahah! I’ve found it!” He promptly threw a heavy tome on the table and flipped some pages. “Here it is!” He said, pointing to it with his hoof, “‘Violet liquid that burns and freezes’ That’s what we’re looking for right?” The others looked at him, a face of wonder painted on their faces. Except Pinkie Pie who said, “Oh, I saw that book too!” “And ya didn’t bring it here?” The other orange pony asked, “Why not?” “Well, isn’t it obvious Applejack?” Pinkie said, bouncing up and down, “I wanted to see if Bubbles over there could find it too!” Applejack facehoofed. Twilight and Dusk looked at the text, examining it closely. “Well, it appears to be an inter-dimensional portal,” Twilight said, “So that would mean…” “That we’re from parallel universes!” Dusk finished, “But how is that possible? The text states that this magic was lost to time.” “Well, since we don’t know, we can’t go back,” Elusive said, “Is that what you’re saying?” “Yes,” Twilight replied. Elusive suddenly leaned back in his chair and said over dramatically, “Oh no! Of all the worst things that could happen, this is the, worst, possible, thing!” Chapter 3: The NothingThe medicinal smell of the room awoke Rainbow blitz. He opened his eyes only to be blinded by the bright fluorescent lights above him. He sat up slowly, shielding his eyes with a hoof. “You should stay down,” A female voice suggested, “You need to recover.” He turned to his right and saw the cyan mare he was racing with earlier. She was seated on a chair next to his bed. He looked around the room; it was a decent sized hospital ward with white curtains on both sides of his bed. There was a sort of medical machine next to him, there were wires coming out of it that were attached to him. “I said lie down,” The cyan mare repeated firmly, giving him a glare. Rainbow Blitz ignored her, trying to spread his wings only to find them bound to his back. “I thought you’d do that,” The mare said, rising to her hooves, “Honestly, we’re so similar it’s disgusting.” She promptly pushed him down onto the bed. Blitz attempted to fight back, but his painful muscles and low energy prevented him from doing so. “Who do you think you are?” He spat, “To say that I need rest?” “Somepony obeying orders from the doctor.” She said firmly, sitting back down. “Whatever,” He said, letting out a puff of air that blew his rainbow colored mane out at her. “Anyway, how did I get here, um… Rainbow Dash, right?” “Yes,” she replied, “I carried you here after you collapsed. Really, don’t you know how to take care of yourself? Racing despite having severe muscle fatigue.” “I thought I could handle it, okay?” Blitz said, slightly annoyed. He was a pro athlete and also part of the Wonderbolts; who was this mare to tell him he did not know how to take care of himself. “Well, you’re a pretty good flyer,” Rainbow Dash commented, “I’ve never seen any other pony do a sonic rainboom before, save for me.” “Same here,” He replied, leaning back on both hooves, “So, where are you from?” “Ponyville,” She answered promptly, “Why?” “It’s nothing,” He said, closing his eyes. “Well, where are you from?” She asked, resting her hooves on his bed railings. “Cloudsdale,” He replied, “Though I went to live in Ponyville for a while.” “I see,” Dash said, getting up, “Well, you’re a cool pony, so when you get better, wanna race?” “Sure,” Blitz said, cracking a small smile. “Great!” Dash exclaimed as she flew out of the ward, “Even though you’ll lose!” “Hmph,” He grunted as she left the ward. “With that speed, she’d make a good Wonderbolt,” He said to himself as he rolled over and fell asleep. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ “Ah’m pooped,” AJ stated, leaning back. He and the others had been researching in Twilight’s house for the past few hours, trying to find a way to return back to their universe. Dusk closed the book he was reading and looked at the orange earth pony, an eyebrow raised. “You just took a nap three hours ago you lazy shit,” Dusk said tonelessly, “At least put in more work before you complain.” “Whatever Princey,” AJ grumbled, grabbing a random book and opening it up. “Um… sugar cube,” Applejack said, “We already read that.” AJ let out a sigh of frustration and tossed the book aside. Applejack handed him another book, which he took and began reading. “This doesn’t make any sense!” Dusk cried, resting his head on a hoof, “The only mention of the spell was in this book, yet there is nothing about how to cast it!” “Calm down,” Twilight said, “maybe we should all take a break from this and head over to Sugarcube Corner.” “An excellent plan dear madam!” Elusive said, piping up immediately. “Ooh! Alright!” Pinkie Pie chirped, “I can treat all of you to my very special cupcakes and muffins!” “I’ll stay here then,” Dusk said, levitating a book, “I need to find a way to reverse this as soon as possible.” “Suit yourself,” Butterscotch mumbled, rising from the table. The other six ponies followed him and left the library. “Well here we are!” Pinkie Pie said excitedly, “The one and only, Sugarcube Corner!” They had just arrived outside of the cake themed bakery and the sweet aroma of baked goods already began attacking their nostrils. “Wow!” Bubble Berry commented, bouncing up and down, “It looks just like it did before it back home!” They walked into the small bakery and were greeted with a warm welcome from two earth ponies, a blue mare and a yellow stallion. “They look so familiar!” Bubble Berry thought to himself, “I could’ve sworn I’ve seen them somewhere before.” “Welcome back Pinkie!” The blue one said cheerfully, “I see you’ve brought your friends over!” “Yes I have Mrs Cake!” Pinkie said happily, “Can I borrow the kitchen to make some treats for them?” “Mrs Cake?” Bubble Berry uttered. Were the Cakes still running Sugarcube Corner in this universe? “Of course you can,” The yellow stallion replied, directing her to the kitchen. Mrs Cake then pointed the other ponies to an empty table and said, “You can sit over there.” “Thank you Mrs Cake,” Twilight said as the group walked over to the table. “The Cakes still run this place?” AJ asked as he sat down. “Of course they do,” Applejack answered, “Why wouldn’t they?” “Well, Dusk thought it would have been more efficient if the Cakes were replaced by a professional patissier,” Bubble Berry explained, “As a result, he made a ‘few’ renovations and other changes to the place to spiff it up.” “What happened to the cakes then?” Applejack asked. “He fired them,” AJ replied simply, “Made them lose their job. Ah however, took them in to help Macerina with making them apple pies.” “Macerina?” Pinkie Pie asked, “Who’s that?” “Mah sister,” AJ answered. Then he turned to the pink earth pony, slightly startled and asked, “Why are you here?” “Well I finished baking silly!” She replied, placing a tray of assorted sweets on the table. The other ponies took a pastry each and began chowing down. “Are they good?” Pinkie asked, looking at the stallions. “These are really good!” Bubble Berry commented as he contentedly ate his lemon surprise muffin. “For once, I agree,” Elusive said. AJ was too busy eating to respond and Butterscotch merely nodded. “That’s good to know!” Pinkie said happily. She always felt happy when she could put a smile on somepony’s face. They sat there for a good while, talking and relaxing in the soothing atmosphere of Sugarcube Corner. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rainbow Blitz left the hospital after he had a nice nap. The doctors had told him he needed to rest in bed for a whole day but he knew better than that. After all, he knew how to take care of himself. “Well, I guess I’ll try to find Rainbow Dash” He said to himself as he trotted down the street. He did not have anything to do so he might as well check out this cool mare he just met. He walked around the town, asking about where he could find her. He eventually found her, relaxing on a cloud along the outskirts of town. “Hey Rainbow Dash!” He called out. The cyan pegasus looked out from over the edge of her cloud. “Hey Blitz,” She called back, waving a hoof, “How are you feeling?” “Almost fit to fly,” He replied, “Are you doing anything?” “Nope,” She said flying down to meet him, “Wanna hang out?” “Sure,” He said, “you can show me around Ponyville; I haven’t been here in ages.” The two of them set off down the road, talking together about various things and events related to each other. The group made their way back to the library, completely de-stressed and relaxed. Their bellies full of their favorite treats, of Pinkie Pie. “Man those were some good cupcakes!” Bubble Berry said, bouncing along the pathway, “Almost as good as my own!” “I agree, those sugar tartlets were simply divine,” Elusive agreed. “Well, I guess I can assume that we are all ready to resume studying?” Twilight asked, opening the library door. All heads nodded in response. “Then let’s do this!” She said, they walked in and noticed Dusk was not at the table. “Dusk?” Twilight called out, “Are you there?” “Duskie! Where are you?” Pinkie Pie called out. “Duskie?” Elusive asked, smiling a bit at the nickname. AJ chuckled heartily while Butterscotch let out a “Pfft,” “He’s probably in the toilet,” Applejack said, sitting down. She noticed a piece of paper with some writing on it. He picked it up and after reading it said, “Um, guys? We have a problem.”
Chapter 1: The BeginningA purple alicorn briskly walked along the corridors of the royal castle, eager to get to his destination. He had been called for a meeting by Lord Solaris, his ex-mentor and friend, and was excited to meet him. He quickly trotted to the location specified on the letter he had received, the royal meeting room which was guarded by two unicorn guards. They respectfully bowed and opened the door for him. He entered the room, expecting to see Lord Solaris, but was greeted with an unpleasant sight. The room was a large cylindrical building made out of stone and mortar that had a dome-shaped ceiling. The floor was covered by a large circular carpet with beautiful gold embroidery on it. In the center of the room was a large stone table with gold designs. Around the table were nine golden chairs that had been elegantly crafted. Four of the chairs were taller and had even more elaborate design on the top. The other five of those chairs were occupied and it was who were in those chairs that ruined his mood. His ‘friends’, the Elements of Harmony. “How nice to see you again, Lord Dusk Shine,” A white unicorn drawled from the left of the table, his voice heavy with sarcasm. He had a curly purple mane that draped around his shoulders. “Don’t push it Elusive,” Dusk Shine said venomously as he took his place on one of the taller chairs with his cutie mark design on it, “I’m not, or ever will be, in the mood to see you guys anytime soon.” “Do you think I want to see any of them?” A cyan pegasus spat out, raising a jagged eyebrow, “I couldn’t give two bucks about any of you.” “Come on guys, let’s not fight at the meeting,” A pink earth pony said anxiously, “You all know what happened the last time.” “Yeah, Rainbow got a black eye and a broken nose,” An orange earth pony said, adjusting his Stetson, “Oh that was fun.” “Want me to give you a few smashed ribs you low-life apple farmer?” Rainbow Blitz said, rising to his hooves. “I could kick ya sorry flank inta next week, ya snobbish Wonder-flop!” The orange pony growled, rage burning in his eyes. “Okay! Okay! Break it up!” The pink pony said desperately, “We’re not fighting again!” Both ponies turned and yelled at the pony, “Shut up Bubble Berry!” “What uncouth behavior,” Elusive commented loudly, “It is things like this that remind me why I left for Manehatten six months ago.” Rainbow Blitz glared at the white unicorn for a second then settled down into his chair again. “Where is his lordliness anyway?” The orange pony asked, leaning back in his chair, “For someone so important, he sure is slow.” “Hey, don’t talk about Lord Solaris like that!” Dusk snapped, pointing a hoof at the orange pony. “Yeah AJ, you should really learn some manners,” Rainbow Blitz said, smirking at him. “Ah could say the same ta both of ya,” AJ hissed back. “Silence,” A butter yellow pegasus said, in a threatening demeanor. He had a pink mane with a long fringe that covered his left eye. “Oh yeah?” Rainbow Blitz said angrily, turning to him, “What’re you going to do if I don’t give to you? Huh Butterscotch? Run home and tell your mommy?” Butterscotch moved part of his fringe and glared at Rainbow Blitz, causing him to freeze up and settle down. “You know I don’t like using it,” Butterscotch said, allowing his fringe to droop back down. “You’re lucky you have that,” Elusive said, polishing his hooves, “Or else you’d probably be much more injured than you currently are.” “Alright, enough!” Bubble Berry said, “We don’t need to fight amongst each other!” Suddenly, a black smoke erupted from the center of the table and quickly flooded the floor of the room. The smoke quickly thickened and bunched itself into tentacles that attacked them. The smoke in the center of the table seemed to melt and become a circle of violet liquid. “What the buck?!” Rainbow Blitz yelled, taking flight, “Is this your doing Dusk?!” “No!” Dusk shouted back, firing bolts of energy in an attempt to fend off the sinister tentacles. “Help!” Butterscotch squeaked as he being consumed by the black substance. “Forget ya!” AJ yelled, bucking open the main doors, “Ah’m leaving!” As AJ ran out of the door, the black tentacles quickly wrapped themselves around his hind hooves and pulled him back into the room. The guards attempted to pull the orange farm pony out but the black tentacles whipped them across the back of their heads, knocking them out. “Save me!” Elusive screamed as the tentacles pulled him in, “I’m too fabulous to die!” Bubble Berry reached out and grabbed Elusive’s hoof, pulling at it. Butterscotch, Bubble Berry and Elusive were the first to become pulled into the violet liquid which consumed them whole. AJ was pulled in next despite his monstrous strength. Rainbow Blitz attempted to flee but was caught by a net of black tentacles and Dusk was eventually overcome by the sheer number of tentacles. As Dusk was pulled into the liquid, he felt it was icy cold one second yet scorching hot the next. He gritted his teeth in agony as his whole being was pulled into the pool. Darkness enveloped him as he sank deeper into the abyss. He could not breathe, see, smell, hear or feel anything. He felt as if he had been removed from the world and was floating in limbo. Eventually, he blacked out. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ “Uhh…” Dusk said, rubbing his head with a hoof, “What happened?” He slowly got to his feet. His head ached and his entire body felt as if it had been rammed by a train. He opened his eyes only to be blinded by the bright sunlight. He squinted and surveyed his surroundings. He was in a large green field next to the other five ponies that had been consumed by the violet liquid. The field was surrounded by large twisted dark trees, the Everfree Forest. Except for an area of it which lead to a town. There was a path cutting through the middle of the field, leading from the Everfree Forest to the town. The sunlight was ridiculously bright however, much brighter than back home. He slowly got to his feet. His muscles complaining every time he moved. He spread his wing and checked them. No problems there. He casted a small light spell which caused an orb of light to float in front of him. No problem there. He heard groaning from behind him, he turned and saw Rainbow and AJ getting to their feet. “My aching head,” AJ moaned, “Where in Solaris’s name are we?” “I don’t know and I don’t care,” Rainbow Blitz said, spreading his wings, “All I know is that I’m outta here!” He took off into the sky, leaving a jagged rainbow trail behind him. “Hmph, show off,” Dusk spat out, stretching a little, “He won’t be able to fly as fast as he normally does in that condition. “For once, Ah actually agree with ya,” AJ said, cracking his bones. “Umm… hello?” An unfamiliar voice said from behind them, “Excuse me, but I have to pass.” Dusk turned and his jaw dropped. He saw a purple alicorn with highlights in her mane. Just. Like. His. Her jaw dropped too. “Well, Dusk,” AJ said, smirking a little, “Ya never told me that ya had a twin sister hiding somewhere.” “Who’re you?” both alicorns asked each other in unison. Dusk then cleared his throat and said, “Beg your pardon, my name is Dusk shine, may I know yours?” “Psssh,” AJ said, “You’re just acting polite for the sake of it.” Dusk brushed off the comment and turned his attention to the alicorn before him. “My name is Twilight Sparkle,” The alicorn said, “What I want to know is how is it that you look like me?” “I… I’m not sure,” Dusk replied, thoroughly stumped. He had never been robbed of an explanation like this before. He then noticed her cutie mark. “What?” He said, walking over and examining her cutie mark, “You have the same cutie mark as me!” “Impossible!” Twilight said, looking at his cutie mark, “Why do you have my cutie mark?” “Ah hate ta break up this here conversation,” AJ said, looking at the sky, “But it looks like the weather ponies are about to let it pour.” Both alicorns looked up and saw that he was right, many pegasi had begun moving grey clouds to block out the once clear sky. “You ponies should come take cover in my house,” Twilight suggested, “We need to move quickly. You can also bring your friends with you.” “Friends?” AJ and Dusk asked as if she had just asked them something alien. “You know, the concussed ponies over there?” She said, pointing to the three ponies on the field. “Oh, those guys are not our friends,” Dusk said dismissively. “Yeah they’re just some guys on the side of the road,” AJ agreed. “Well we can’t just leave them here!” Twilight said, using her magic to levitate Butterscotch, “At least help me carry them.” Dusk looked at AJ and shrugged. He levitated Bubble Berry and AJ threw Elusive onto his back as it began drizzling. “Well, lead the way miss,” AJ said.
Chapter 2: The GatheringRainbow Blitz tore through the town, darting left and right, dodging over the large cottages and swooping through the streets. He looked at the town as he flew through it, noting how similar it looked to his second hometown and previous work place, Ponyville. As he continued flying through the town, he had a mare yell, “Hey Dashie! Wait up!” He stopped right in his tracks, painfully snapping out his wings to slow himself down. He turned to the source of the voice and saw a pink earth pony mare. “What the buck did you just call me?” He asked angrily glaring at her. The pink pony was obviously taken aback, she looked at him again, squinting and putting a hoof above her eyes. “Ohhhhh… I’m sorry!” She said, bouncing up and down, “I thought that you were my friend Dashie, because you know, she always flies really, really fast and leaves a rainbow trailing behind her. Just like you. Also, have you ever tasted a rainbow before? It tastes like-” “ENOUGH!” Rainbow Blitz yelled, his face contorted with rage, “Oh my Solaris! You’re even more annoying than Bubble Berry! How is that even possible?!” The pink pony drew back a little, her smile turning into a frown. “Now that was a little rude wasn’t it?” She asked, pouting. “Look, I don’t care who you are or what you want,” Rainbow Blitz said, frustrated, “All I want to know is where this place is. For a pony as talkative as you, you can do at least that, right?” “I want an apology first,” The earth pony said, turning away from him. Rainbow Blitz rubbed his aching head with a hoof, mumbling a curse. “Alright, I’m sorry, you happy?” He said, “Now can you please tell me where I am?” “You’re in Ponyville silly!” The pink pony said, regaining her initial zealousness, “Oh by the way, are you new here? If you are, we could totally throw you a welco-” Rainbow blitz took off before she could finish, beating his painful wings hard and fast. “She seems like a nice pony, but I’ll dance with a manticore before I engage her in a full conversation,” He said to himself as he rose into the stratosphere. He flew higher and higher until he was above most of the clouds. He looked around him, noticing groups of pegasi forming a large rain cloud. “Must be time for the ol’ downpour,” He said. He winced as his body screamed at him to take a break. He had been flying ever since he woke up only a half hour ago, his body should be able to take much more than this. “Hey you!” A voice called out from behind him, “You new in town?” He turned and saw a cyan pegasus flying behind him, her rainbow mane flowing in the wind. “What do you want?” He asked her, rubbing his head with his hoof again. “Nothing,” She said casually, landing on a cloud, “Just wondering cause I’ve never seen you before.” “I could say the same for you,” He replied, taking a rest on the cloud, “I lived here until six months ago.” “Six months?” the mare asked, her magenta eyes wide with astonishment, “Funny. I don’t recall meeting you before.” Rainbow Blitz lay back on the cloud, relaxing his muscles. He just lay there, contemplating today’s events: meeting with the five ponies he never wanted to see again, the black tentacles, the pink pony, the pain and now, this random mare. He was about to drift off to sleep when he heard the mare ask him, “Hey, wanna race?” “Not particularly,” He replied lazily, covering his eyes with some cloud. “Aww… scared to lose to a mare?” She taunted, pacing around him, “Well, It is to be expected, I am the one and only, Rainbow Dash after all.” “Never heard of you,” He said, rising to his feet, “But I’ll take you on for the race.” “I’ll burn my name into your brain,” Rainbow Dash said, getting into position, “See how you forget me then.” “So let’s do this,” Rainbow Blitz said, feeling rejuvenated from the prospect of a good race. He had never felt such a vibrant energy radiating from any pony in a long time. He pointed to a distant raincloud and said, “First there and back wins.” “You’re on!” Rainbow Dash said, “I’ll leave you in the dust!” “Let’s see you try,” Rainbow Blitz replied smugly, readying himself, “three… two… one… Go!” The two pegasi shot off the cloud, both leaving behind rainbow colored trails. Rainbow Dash surged ahead initially, leaving the jagged trail behind but Rainbow Blitz caught up soon enough. They both sped toward the designated cloud, beating their wings as hard and as fast as they could. “You’re not bad,” Rainbow Dash yelled through her teeth, her his lips pulled apart by the wind. “You’re not too shabby yourself,” Rainbow Blitz yelled back, mouth being pulled back by same force. Both of them approached the raincloud at high speeds, the sound barrier forming on their fore hooves. At the cloud, both pegasi shot backwards, breaking the sound barrier with a beautiful spectrum of light. A sonic rainboom. Both ponies turned toward each other, surprise painted all over their faces, “You can do a sonic rainboom?!” They both shouted at each other. After their short exchange, they focused back on the race, each pony determined to beat the other. They eventually made it back to their starting cloud, Rainbow Dash coming in first, but only by a second. “Hah! I win!” She proclaimed, proudly, puffing her chest out, “I told you I’d win, and I did! Though you could do a sonic rainboom so that makes you pretty cool. What do you have to say about that… uh… what’s your name again?” She turned to see Rainbow Blitz passed out on the cloud. She flew over and shook him lightly. “Hey, are you alright?” She asked, shaking him. He didn’t respond. “Crap,” She said to herself. Then, thinking of a solution, she pulled the heavy stallion onto her back and flew off. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ “So what’s the problem?” Dusk Shine asked. He and the others had made it to Twilight’s house, a large tree. Much like his own, or at least, before it was renovated into his fort. Twilight sent for the doctor to come after the storm subsided and fortunately, it was a short one. “Well, it would appear that all of you have muscle fatigue and migraine,” The brown unicorn said, removing a piece of medical equipment from around Dusk’s foreleg, “Well, except Princess Twilight Sparkle.” “You know you don’t have to call me that,” Twilight said, blushing a little upon hearing her name and title, “I visit you almost every time I get a checkup.” “I insist on retaining the formality,” The doctor said smiling slightly, “Though it is nice to know that you don’t mind a little familiarity.” “So what’s the treatment?” AJ asked, rubbing his head. “Take a tablet of this and rest,” The doctor said, levitating a small bottle of pills over to AJ. He dropped it into AJ’s hooves and took his leave. “Well, that’s over and done with,” Twilight said, then turning to Dusk, “So how did you get here?” “Well, we were pulled into a violet liquid, presumably a portal, and ended up in the field you found us in.” Dusk said briskly, “That should sum it up.” “So, may I know your names?” Twilight asked, sitting on a stool. “Well, as you know, I’m Dusk Shine,” Dusk said, “The orange earth pony to my right is AJ, the three ponies on the mattress over there from left to right are Bubble Berry, Elusive and Butterscotch.” “Hey, mister high and mighty,” AJ said, popping out a pill from the bottle, “Ya forgot the rainbow colored pain in the ass.” Dusk glared at AJ but sighed and said, “Yes, there is another, Rainbow Blitz, the jerk cyan pegasus who flew off immediately after arriving here.” “Wow, isn’t that a bit strong?” Twilight asked, “I mean, you ponies know his name so you must be at least acquaintances.” “More like enemies,” Dusk said levitating the bottle of pills from AJ, “We used to be friends.” “Key word being ‘was’” AJ agreed, swallowing his pill, “And that was about six months ago.” “Well, what happened six months ago?” Twilight asked, levitating a book toward herself, “A falling out?” “That’s… a sensitive topic,” Dusk said. Twilight noticed that both Dusk and AJ flinched at the mention of a falling out. Dusk shook his head a couple times before asking, “Um, might I know where we are?” “You are in Ponyville,” Twilight replied, cocking her head to the side a little, “Why?” “Really?” Dusk asked, looking a little puzzled, “Because I could’ve sworn my fort was in this very location you brought us.” “Hmm, that’s funny,” Twilight said, tapping her hoof on her chin, “I don’t recall any construction occurring here recently.” “Well, it was built about three months ago,” Dusk said, trying to reminisce the events that had transpired since the construction of his fort, “Anything then?” “No, not really,” Twilight said, “Well, at any rate, it would seem that to understand how you came here, we would need to find out about that portal you came through.” “Portal?” Dusk asked, swallowing his pill, “Oh the violet liquid?” “Yes,” Twilight said, flipping through the book in front of her, “We need as much knowledge as we can possibly get.” “Ah’ll let ya two get ta that,” AJ said, laying down, “Meanwhile I’m gonna take a rest.” And with that, the orange farm pony dozed off. “Lazy piece of crap,” Dusk said to himself, levitating a book over. The two alicorns then proceeded to continue leafing through their books for any clues on the portal. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Bubble Berry awoke to find himself in a large library. He stood up, rubbing a sleepy eye with his hoof. “Hey, sleeping ugly, come and help out,” Dusk called out. Bubble Berry turned to the source of the voice. He saw, seated around a wooden table, Dusk, Elusive, Butterscotch, AJ and three unknown mares that looked a lot like his friends. One of the ponies was a purple alicorn and the other two were earth ponies. One of them wearing a Stetson, and the other was pink and had a bubbly mane. “Ooh! Is he awake Twilight? Is he awake?” The pink pony asked excitedly, looking at the female purple alicorn. “Yes Pinkie, he is up,” The alicorn, presumably Twilight, said, now you may go over to give him a mini welcome party.” The pink mare leapt over the table, landed in front of Bubble Berry, pulled out two party poppers and released them in his face. “Welcome to Ponyville!” She exclaimed, beaming at him, “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! What’s your name?” “I’m Bubbly Berry,” He replied, perking up. “Hey stop slacking and come and help,” AJ grumbled, pushing a book aside for another one. The two pink ponies walked over to the table talking excitedly about random stuff. “Well we’ve found absolutely nothing,” Elusive said, flipping through the book in his hooves, “Can we wrap this up so that I might return to my work?” “Work?” Dusk asked irritably, “You’re possibly in another universe and you’re concerned about work?” “Well, you haven’t proven anything yet,” Elusive argued, “All you’ve found is the very first female alicorn and two look-a-likes of these vermin!” He pointed to AJ and Bubble Berry. “Those sound like fighting words,” AJ hissed through his bared teeth, “How about ah kick ya sorry flank?” “Alright sugar cube, that’s enough,” The other orange pony said, “Let’s just resume the search.” AJ mumbled something but began searching through a book. Suddenly, Bubble Berry cried out, “Ahah! I’ve found it!” He promptly threw a heavy tome on the table and flipped some pages. “Here it is!” He said, pointing to it with his hoof, “‘Violet liquid that burns and freezes’ That’s what we’re looking for right?” The others looked at him, a face of wonder painted on their faces. Except Pinkie Pie who said, “Oh, I saw that book too!” “And ya didn’t bring it here?” The other orange pony asked, “Why not?” “Well, isn’t it obvious Applejack?” Pinkie said, bouncing up and down, “I wanted to see if Bubbles over there could find it too!” Applejack facehoofed. Twilight and Dusk looked at the text, examining it closely. “Well, it appears to be an inter-dimensional portal,” Twilight said, “So that would mean…” “That we’re from parallel universes!” Dusk finished, “But how is that possible? The text states that this magic was lost to time.” “Well, since we don’t know, we can’t go back,” Elusive said, “Is that what you’re saying?” “Yes,” Twilight replied. Elusive suddenly leaned back in his chair and said over dramatically, “Oh no! Of all the worst things that could happen, this is the, worst, possible, thing!”
Chapter 3: The NothingThe medicinal smell of the room awoke Rainbow blitz. He opened his eyes only to be blinded by the bright fluorescent lights above him. He sat up slowly, shielding his eyes with a hoof. “You should stay down,” A female voice suggested, “You need to recover.” He turned to his right and saw the cyan mare he was racing with earlier. She was seated on a chair next to his bed. He looked around the room; it was a decent sized hospital ward with white curtains on both sides of his bed. There was a sort of medical machine next to him, there were wires coming out of it that were attached to him. “I said lie down,” The cyan mare repeated firmly, giving him a glare. Rainbow Blitz ignored her, trying to spread his wings only to find them bound to his back. “I thought you’d do that,” The mare said, rising to her hooves, “Honestly, we’re so similar it’s disgusting.” She promptly pushed him down onto the bed. Blitz attempted to fight back, but his painful muscles and low energy prevented him from doing so. “Who do you think you are?” He spat, “To say that I need rest?” “Somepony obeying orders from the doctor.” She said firmly, sitting back down. “Whatever,” He said, letting out a puff of air that blew his rainbow colored mane out at her. “Anyway, how did I get here, um… Rainbow Dash, right?” “Yes,” she replied, “I carried you here after you collapsed. Really, don’t you know how to take care of yourself? Racing despite having severe muscle fatigue.” “I thought I could handle it, okay?” Blitz said, slightly annoyed. He was a pro athlete and also part of the Wonderbolts; who was this mare to tell him he did not know how to take care of himself. “Well, you’re a pretty good flyer,” Rainbow Dash commented, “I’ve never seen any other pony do a sonic rainboom before, save for me.” “Same here,” He replied, leaning back on both hooves, “So, where are you from?” “Ponyville,” She answered promptly, “Why?” “It’s nothing,” He said, closing his eyes. “Well, where are you from?” She asked, resting her hooves on his bed railings. “Cloudsdale,” He replied, “Though I went to live in Ponyville for a while.” “I see,” Dash said, getting up, “Well, you’re a cool pony, so when you get better, wanna race?” “Sure,” Blitz said, cracking a small smile. “Great!” Dash exclaimed as she flew out of the ward, “Even though you’ll lose!” “Hmph,” He grunted as she left the ward. “With that speed, she’d make a good Wonderbolt,” He said to himself as he rolled over and fell asleep. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ “Ah’m pooped,” AJ stated, leaning back. He and the others had been researching in Twilight’s house for the past few hours, trying to find a way to return back to their universe. Dusk closed the book he was reading and looked at the orange earth pony, an eyebrow raised. “You just took a nap three hours ago you lazy shit,” Dusk said tonelessly, “At least put in more work before you complain.” “Whatever Princey,” AJ grumbled, grabbing a random book and opening it up. “Um… sugar cube,” Applejack said, “We already read that.” AJ let out a sigh of frustration and tossed the book aside. Applejack handed him another book, which he took and began reading. “This doesn’t make any sense!” Dusk cried, resting his head on a hoof, “The only mention of the spell was in this book, yet there is nothing about how to cast it!” “Calm down,” Twilight said, “maybe we should all take a break from this and head over to Sugarcube Corner.” “An excellent plan dear madam!” Elusive said, piping up immediately. “Ooh! Alright!” Pinkie Pie chirped, “I can treat all of you to my very special cupcakes and muffins!” “I’ll stay here then,” Dusk said, levitating a book, “I need to find a way to reverse this as soon as possible.” “Suit yourself,” Butterscotch mumbled, rising from the table. The other six ponies followed him and left the library. “Well here we are!” Pinkie Pie said excitedly, “The one and only, Sugarcube Corner!” They had just arrived outside of the cake themed bakery and the sweet aroma of baked goods already began attacking their nostrils. “Wow!” Bubble Berry commented, bouncing up and down, “It looks just like it did before it back home!” They walked into the small bakery and were greeted with a warm welcome from two earth ponies, a blue mare and a yellow stallion. “They look so familiar!” Bubble Berry thought to himself, “I could’ve sworn I’ve seen them somewhere before.” “Welcome back Pinkie!” The blue one said cheerfully, “I see you’ve brought your friends over!” “Yes I have Mrs Cake!” Pinkie said happily, “Can I borrow the kitchen to make some treats for them?” “Mrs Cake?” Bubble Berry uttered. Were the Cakes still running Sugarcube Corner in this universe? “Of course you can,” The yellow stallion replied, directing her to the kitchen. Mrs Cake then pointed the other ponies to an empty table and said, “You can sit over there.” “Thank you Mrs Cake,” Twilight said as the group walked over to the table. “The Cakes still run this place?” AJ asked as he sat down. “Of course they do,” Applejack answered, “Why wouldn’t they?” “Well, Dusk thought it would have been more efficient if the Cakes were replaced by a professional patissier,” Bubble Berry explained, “As a result, he made a ‘few’ renovations and other changes to the place to spiff it up.” “What happened to the cakes then?” Applejack asked. “He fired them,” AJ replied simply, “Made them lose their job. Ah however, took them in to help Macerina with making them apple pies.” “Macerina?” Pinkie Pie asked, “Who’s that?” “Mah sister,” AJ answered. Then he turned to the pink earth pony, slightly startled and asked, “Why are you here?” “Well I finished baking silly!” She replied, placing a tray of assorted sweets on the table. The other ponies took a pastry each and began chowing down. “Are they good?” Pinkie asked, looking at the stallions. “These are really good!” Bubble Berry commented as he contentedly ate his lemon surprise muffin. “For once, I agree,” Elusive said. AJ was too busy eating to respond and Butterscotch merely nodded. “That’s good to know!” Pinkie said happily. She always felt happy when she could put a smile on somepony’s face. They sat there for a good while, talking and relaxing in the soothing atmosphere of Sugarcube Corner. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rainbow Blitz left the hospital after he had a nice nap. The doctors had told him he needed to rest in bed for a whole day but he knew better than that. After all, he knew how to take care of himself. “Well, I guess I’ll try to find Rainbow Dash” He said to himself as he trotted down the street. He did not have anything to do so he might as well check out this cool mare he just met. He walked around the town, asking about where he could find her. He eventually found her, relaxing on a cloud along the outskirts of town. “Hey Rainbow Dash!” He called out. The cyan pegasus looked out from over the edge of her cloud. “Hey Blitz,” She called back, waving a hoof, “How are you feeling?” “Almost fit to fly,” He replied, “Are you doing anything?” “Nope,” She said flying down to meet him, “Wanna hang out?” “Sure,” He said, “you can show me around Ponyville; I haven’t been here in ages.” The two of them set off down the road, talking together about various things and events related to each other. The group made their way back to the library, completely de-stressed and relaxed. Their bellies full of their favorite treats, of Pinkie Pie. “Man those were some good cupcakes!” Bubble Berry said, bouncing along the pathway, “Almost as good as my own!” “I agree, those sugar tartlets were simply divine,” Elusive agreed. “Well, I guess I can assume that we are all ready to resume studying?” Twilight asked, opening the library door. All heads nodded in response. “Then let’s do this!” She said, they walked in and noticed Dusk was not at the table. “Dusk?” Twilight called out, “Are you there?” “Duskie! Where are you?” Pinkie Pie called out. “Duskie?” Elusive asked, smiling a bit at the nickname. AJ chuckled heartily while Butterscotch let out a “Pfft,” “He’s probably in the toilet,” Applejack said, sitting down. She noticed a piece of paper with some writing on it. He picked it up and after reading it said, “Um, guys? We have a problem.”
