Author's Note

Just in case anyone got confused while reading this chapter, I'll tell you what's happening. Twilight wakes up in the school after going through the portal thinking that everything that happened was a dream, but soon realizes that it wasn't a dream. Not only was it not a dream, she finds that Fluttershy had been sucked in as well to the other world. And what's more, something is causing her, Fluttershy, and Sunset Shimmer to slowly transform into their pony selves. That's all I'm going to say just in case you get baffled reading that part. There's more so don't skip this chapter!

Mass Vanishing Act

She was falling from the sky.

That's all Fluttershy could register. She was too weak to scream or move. With the air rushing by she could barely breath. Down below she could hear some ponies screaming.

" Look, she's falling!"

" Someone help!"

" Ahh!"

Fluttershy felt confused for a split second in her hazy state.

"...Some...one?"

" I got her!"

Fluttershy felt herself land in somepony's arms. She blinked and looked up. It was Bulk Biceps...only he looked odd. She couldn't say what looked different about him at that moment. Everything was too blurry. Before she knew it, she blacked out.

***

Twilight sprung up abruptly. She had just had the worst nightmare. She was going through a portal to the other world when lightning and wind came out of no where and dragged her in...

She blinked and found herself staring at Sunset Shimmer and her human Main 5 friends.

What? How could she be seeing them if this wasn't a dream? Surely she's just hallucinating. She's just back home in bed with Spike sleeping soundlessly in his own bed...

They weren't looking at her but at something else. She slowly got up and felt a sharp pain in her shoulder blades. She ignored it. Twilight reached out to touch Rarity and pushed her away gently. Rarity glanced at her in surprise.

" Twilight, you're awake.."

The said pony, or rather person, gasped when she saw what it was they were looking at. It was human Fluttershy. She was unconscious. But what really was off was that she had pony ears, wings, and a tail. One of her hands were turning into a hoof.

" What..? I must be dreaming. Fluttershy...she couldn't really be like this..."

" Twilight...is this the Pegasus Fluttershy?" Sunset Shimmer asked softly. She was turned away from her and was hunching over.

Twilight was taken aback. " The Pegasus Fluttershy? But isn't this your Fluttershy? The human version? This dream is really weird and I want to wake up right now!"

Applejack touched her shoulder. " Twilight, you aren't dreaming. You're in our world. The Fluttershy we know is away from school. She's sick and bedridden."

Realization hit Twilight right then. This wasn't a dream. Sunset Shimmer had written her in the friendship journal and she had come to see what was wrong. But...if the other Fluttershy is sick and the one before her in the bed is the Pegasus...how did she get here?

" Where are we?" Twilight asked Applejack.

" We're in the school infirmary. Both of you were falling out of the sky! There was a pink flash in the air and poof! You two were hurdling down! It caused quite a disturbance among the students here," she said.

" Falling out of the sky? We should've been coming from the statue at the front of the school..." Then she remembered. " There was a crazy gust of wind that dragged me here. Fluttershy must've been pulled through as well. But how we got there in the sky is beyond me..."

Twilight turned to Sunset Shimmer, who was still not facing her. " The wind. The lightning. Where is it?"

" I don't know. It disappeared as soon as you arrived," she replied.

Twilight nodded and felt her head throb. " Ow..." She raised her hand up to her head and felt a long horn. " What? I still have my horn?"

" You still have your wings, too," Pinkie Pie pointed out.

This was true. Rainbow Dash frowned. " I don't get it. How do you have your horn and wings when we didn't even use the elements? First, the wind and lightning, now this. What's going on here?"

Sunset Shimmer gulped and turned around.

Twilight gasped as she peered at the horn upon her head.

" This started coming back at the beginning of the storm. My horn came back and one of my hands..." Sunset Shimmer pulled back her sleeve to reveal a hoof.

" A hoof! Just like Fluttershy!" Twilight exclaimed. " What could this mean?"

Sunset Shimmer shook her head. " I don't know, but whatever it was that caused the storm is very strong and has Equestrian magic. Only powerful magic could cause us to change to our true selves, our pony selves..."

Twilight gulped. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack looked at her nervously. Pinkie tapped her shoulder.

" What should we do? Should we go get Fluttershy? The one we know?"

Twilight shook her head. " No. Not until she's well. Besides..." Everyone looked at the unconscious Pegasus girl.

" I'm not quite sure what'll happen if they meet, especially with the magical imbalance of this world. The theory of the world destroying when you meet yourself could be true." They agreed with her.

" What we need to do right now is found out where the weirdness happened..."

Pinkie Pie tapped her chin. " I think I may have an idea where."

They all looked at her and grinned.

***

BACK IN EQUESTRIA...

Princess Celestia listened to the troubled pony friends of Twilight tell her about the portal to the other world and its crazy malfunction alongside Luna and Cadence.

" This is bad..." Celestia mumbled.

" Yes. Especially since thou hath lost more than one friend to this wretched portal," Luna added.

" The element of Kindness Fluttershy, " Cadence sighed. " If it was anypony but her I wouldn't be so worried."

" What? How come?" Rainbow Dash asked.

" Fluttershy...isn't the strongest of you six...she's the weakest. With the knowledge of the strange, but powerful magic that is coming from the other world and the Pegasus' limited abilities...it's troublesome..." Cadence explained.

Pinkie Pie jumped up. " Twilight's there! She'll definitely make sure Fluttershy won't get hurt!"

" Yeah!" the others chimed.

" Yes, you're right," the princess sighed and smiled.

Princess Celestia cleared her throat.

" Rather than talk of insecurities, we need to address the issue HERE." The princess pointed at all the ponies crowded outside of the palace in Canterlot. They all stood in the cold weather and cried for an explanation.

" Huh? What could've gotten them so riled up?" Then Rainbow Dash remembered. " The lights! They went out in Twilight's castle when the portal opened. Could there have been a black out?"

" Could be..." Applejack replied. "And the weather's gotten fiercer, too." This was true. The earlier calm snow fall was kicking up pace in the angry swirls of wind.

"Let thou waste no time. Thy subjects needeth reassuring," Luna said as she made her way toward the stairs.

" My sister is right. We must calm everypony," Celestia said. They all made their way to the main hall and had the castle doors opened.

Many ponies came rushing in.

" My loyal subjects!" Celestia announced. "Simmer down! Let one come forth and tell me your troubles!"

A grey Pegasus with yellow hair stepped forth.

" Derpy," the Rarity mumbled.

" Yes, Pegasus," Celestia said.

" Your highness," Derpy began. " I need your help! My good friend, Dr. Whooves, has disappeared! And not by the TARDIS! The Doctor just went away like poof! He had been standing next to me when it happened!"

Cadence put a hoof on the pony's shoulder to calm her down.

" That doctor is always on his own adventures, though," Pinkie Pie whispered.

" Hush up!" Rarity hissed.

Lyra came forth in tears.

" Bon-Bon disappeared the same way! We were sitting on a bench listening to Octavia's performance when she just vanished!"

That's when it was Octavia's turn to come up.

" Yes! And after the performance, Vinyl had gone! She was up next to show her 'wubs' but she wasn't there!"

Suddenly the whole hall erupted in panic as ponies talked and shouted over each other.

" Disappearing ponies? What the hay?!" Rainbow Dash said.

" Watch your language," Rarity snapped.

Rolling her eyes, Pinkie Pie said to the princesses," This must be related to the portal." Cadence sighed and held up a hoof.

" Everypony, quiet!"

When they were all no longer yelling, Cadence asked the three ponies a question.

" How exactly did they disappear?"

Derpy gulped. " From the corner of my eye, I saw I saw a flash."

" A flash?" Luna mumbled.

" Me, too! Only I saw Bon-Bon vanish before my eyes! There was a flash and a swirly pink thing that went away in a snap," Lyra described.

" When I went to search for Vinyl, I saw this pink hue floating by her wub canon," Octavia told them. The remaining elements and princesses gulped.

" Whatever it is causing these ponies to vanish has power beyond anything we've ever dealt with," Rarity whispered.