The three girls had stepped through the portal prepared for the fluid sense of direction and space that normally accompanied the trip. It was always accompanied by a loss of orientation. There was a sensation of falling, to be sure, but it wasn’t necessarily that you were falling down. On the contrary, sometimes it was like the portal wasn’t sure which direction it wanted you to look, or in which to fall. You might feel as if you were looking or falling up, down, left, or right. It was one of the most intense, nauseating sensations a newcomer could possibly experience.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, therefore, were pleased when they found themselves becoming quickly accustomed to the strange sensations. As the three girls came out of Equestria’s end of the portal, the two visitors found themselves disoriented, and somewhat dizzy, but were acclimating well. In a matter of moments, their senses were returning to them, and they stretched their muscles, taking in that foreign, equine form.
Rainbow Dash stretched and flapped her intermittent wings, always both appreciative and excited by the opportunities afforded to her. She was always more of a girl of action than anything else, and speed was just her style. Of course, she wanted to get right down to better, more adventurous designs of flight, in spite of her inexperience.
Fluttershy also took a few moments to stretch, and flap, but did so with a relaxed attitude. While flying may have been an exhilarating, other-worldly experience, she wasn’t much for extreme heights and speeds. She preferred to use her wings more casually.
While her friends were collecting themselves, Twilight had exited the library which housed the portal, and was bound for the map room, contemplating which of Equestria’s sights to see first. As she trotted, she motioned with an excited pep for the other two to follow.
Fluttershy found her bearings and walked her way out of the library with a relaxed, curious energy in her step. Normally, someone like her might be more perturbed by radical changes to their environment; She’d grappled with that burden a number of times over the years. But she’d also spent just enough time in Equestria that the idea of moving about was now far less intimidating.
Rainbow Dash looked forward to the chance to do something awesome, and magical, and to be able to explore new flights at a whim. There was no better place to attempt these flights than Equestria itself. She headed in the general direction of the map room, out of the library, experimenting with the ability to maneuver at the same time
“Hey, Shy! Check this out.” Rainbow Dash moved to attempt a backflip mid-air. As best she could, she brought her hindlegs forward, while trying to throw her head backward. What resulted was an awkward tumble and loss of balance. She spread her limbs and flapped her wings to regain control, sending her backwards, crashing into a bookcase.
“Dashie!” Fluttershy called, as a number of books were knocked from the shelf, falling to the cold crystal floor with louds thuds. Although the thuds were short in the filled library, the fairly long, open halls allowed for a roar of an echo to sound throughout the rest of the floor, to signal the athlete’s blunder.
Rainbow Dash lightly flinched with each heavy thud, definitely expecting a scolding from Twilight about the books. “Damn,” Rainbow cursed, rubbing the back of her head. “That was kind of embarrassing.”
“Did you get hurt?”
“Nah, not really. Just my pride,” she joked. “You know, trying to maneuver with these pony legs—” Rainbow help up her forelegs for emphasis, bending them as she’d try to bend her arms “—is gonna be harder than I thought.”
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight’s voice came crashing down. Twilight flew over to the bookcase and inspected the fallen tomes, checking for bent covers and other such damages. While none of the books had sustained serious damage, the Princess was less than pleased by her friend’s reckless abandon, not for the first time, having entered the world not even 5 minutes prior. She put a hood to her forehead, at the same time wondering why she hadn’t herself expected such a thing. “Honestly, Rainbow Dash. Would a little caution kill you?”
Rainbow Dash guiltily chuckled. “Hehe, sorry about that Twi. But hey, at least I didn’t break anything, right?”
Fluttershy floated over to the assaulted bookshelf, and wiggled the shelf with her hoof. It budged slightly. “It’s a little bit loose, but I’m sure it’s nothing that can’t be fixed. Rainbow isn’t nearly heavy enough to break the shelf off the wall.”
Twilight let out only a light sigh in exasperation. After all, there’d been no serious damage. She did however, prefer that the castle’s contents not be ravaged throughout these visits. “I’ll accept your apology, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow had a sigh of relief. She was glad she hadn’t landed herself in hot water.
“But please,” Twilight implored, “no more indoor stunts. I would very much prefer that the castle remain intact.”
“Aye aye, captain,” she signaled with as good a salute as she could manage with a hoof.
Twilight rolled her eyes, but took the affirmation at face value. With the incident passed, and with nothing yet destroyed, she once again motioned for her friends to follow to the map room. Disregarding Rainbow’s inclination for haphazard, they might be able to move on to the rest of their possible itinerary. The destination spots in Equestria were many, and each one composed a noteworthy part of Equestrian culture and society.
They made their way out of the library — further from the portal, and further from familiar territory. Though they had been in the castle before, there’d been no tour, and certainly no geography lecture. So, despite growing more comfortable with the idea of traveling about, the visitors were mostly ignorant of the Equestrian topography outside the castle walls.
Upon entering the map room, Fluttershy recalled seeing the map in her previous visit, but only in passing. Looking at it now, thee landmarks and geography were all foreign, of course, and it only barely resembled a human map, without a compass rose.
“This map—it’s the one that sends you out on missions, right Twilight?”
Twilight glanced at Fluttershy in acknowledgement, and again at the map. “Right. Our responsibility in Equestria is to spread the magic of friendship, and to remind ponies of that magic when they lose their way. It’s all possible because of the map.” She patted the map with her hoof, as if to reward it for a job well done.
“Are the missions dangerous?”
The answer did not immediately come, but followed a brief period of reflection. Twilight skimmed her memories of the friendship missions. She remembered, on one occasion, an abduction and attempted reconditioning of her mind, and on another, nearly banishing a misguided pony in need to a timeless state of faux-existence.
“They’re nothing terrible,” she settled with nonchalance. “Settling a dispute here, clearing up a misunderstanding there—you know how it goes.”
Fluttershy nodded, trying to imagine her friends going on such missions themselves. The princess of friendship made it sound easy enough.
Twilight left the two to their musings, and studied the map, trying to decide on their first destination. Canterlot is a large, royal city, and would be a lot to take in for a first stop. Ponyville would be quaint and easy, but they were likely to be recognized. Having an extra Fluttershy and an extra Rainbow Dash roaming Ponyville might cause undue confusion—an issue that was best avoided. Truly, there were options and possibilities abound, but the deliberation was cut short when Rainbow put forth a curiosity of her own out loud.
“Hey Twi, what’s this over here?” Rainbow Dash pointed with her hoof to a colorful region of the map, in the northern half of the visible expanse. It was a cloudy region surrounded on all sides by mountains, with rainbow trails descending from elegant cloud formations. She tried to picture such a thing in her mind. She tried to imagine seeing it in her own world. If it was anything like her mental image, it was bound to be an amazing sight.
“That, Rainbow Dash,” —Twilight turned her attention to the location on the map, and moved around the circumference to stand beside her friends, to get a better look at the northern expanse— “is Cloudsdale.”
“Cloudsdale? As in the Cloudsdale? Clouds-dale? You’re telling me that Cloudsdale in your world is literally a city in the clouds?” she asked, with an air of disbelief.
Twilight giggled at the chain of thought, harmlessly improper as it was. “Well, that’s not quite what “-dale” means, but yes. It’s a mobile civilization, built into a large cloud formation. It’s where the pegasus ponies manufacture Equestria’s weather.”
Along with Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrows, and leaned in slightly, out of surprise. “So, you guys really do control your own weather!?”
“Mhm. The pegasi tend the weather with their magic of flight.” She flapped her wings graciously, to illustrate the point.
“This world’s Cloudsdale must be so awesome! What do you think, Flutters?”
“It sounds so amazing,” she agreed. “The pegasi must be so proud, to be able to control something as important as the weather.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” the princess assured. “The pegasi are a proud group of ponies, and they’re no slackers. They may not have the earth ponies’ natural strength, but they certainly are devoted to their roles in Equestria. And they may not live in Cloudsdale anymore, but Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are no different.”
“And we did actually live there?” Rainbow was the slightest bit jealous of her counterpart for having been born into this magical world.
“They were born there, actually. The pony Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are from Cloudsdale. They didn’t move to Ponyville until later.”
At that, Fluttershy remembered the conversation she and Twilight had shared at the Christmas party. They’d talked about the ponies’ lives in Equestria. They’d talked about hers and Rainbow’s personal histories. “Oh! I do remember, now. You told me that in this world, our counterparts grew up there. It’s where they met, just like us.”
“Either way, it sounds awesome. Let’s go there. You can show us where I defended Fluttershy’s honor!” she pleaded, with enthusiasm.
Twilight contemplated the notion. She’d been thinking of somewhere just a bit less metropolitan, but it was hard to deny that it would be a meaningful destination for them all. “Hmm. You two are bound to be recognized by some of the ponies there. But, maybe I could schedule a royal visit to the weather factory? At the least, it would give us a reason to be there on “royal business”. That way, we could minimize our contact with other ponies, leading up to the visit…” She rubbed her snout with a hoof, putting the ideas together in her head.
“Sounds good to me. Ready to go whenever you are, Twi.” Rainbow Dash was now enthusiastic with a purpose, looking forward to seeing Cloudsdale in all of its magical glory.
“I guess it’s doable. If that’s what we’re going to do, I’ll have to have a letter penned for the factory manager to expect us. Where’s Spike?” Looking around to see if perhaps the dragon might luckily be found close by, Twilight noticed he was absent. He’d been here earlier, but was now nowhere to be seen. “SPIIIKE!” she called, louder this time.
She stepped away from the map table to search for her assistant, only to be distracted by a dim flash of light in her peripheral vision. At first, she brushed it off, figuring it was merely natural light reflecting off of a portion of the crystal wall. But abruptly, with no warning, the flash of light intensified, and receded to a moderate pulse. As well, there was now an accompanied motion. She turned her head to address the pulse, and was met by a glowing, dynamic cutie mark.
As the realization dawned on her, Twilight was momentarily thrown for a loop, caught completely off guard. “No…”
“Are you ok, Twilight?” Noticing the cutie mark behaving strangely, Fluttershy grew slightly concerned.
“Your cutie mark thing is going wild. What’s up?”
Internally, the princess sighed, groaned, at face-hoofed all at once. “No. No, no, no, no, no. Now? Of all the possible moments?”
Just then, images of two cutie marks appeared before all of their eyes, and floated above the map table for a brief moment, before settling on one area of the map itself. The two marks went on revolving around one of Equestria’s most iconic sites, instilling in Twilight confusion at first, which quickly started to turn to dread.
Both marks could be seen orbiting Canterlot, for a time. But they began to behave erratically. Twilight’s own cutie mark twitched in and out of view above the royal city, as if to signal confusion, or pain. To the confusion of all, the second mark left Canterlot, and separated from its partner. It moved ever so slightly to the west, and circled, appearing to settle on the crystal castle—the very castle in which they all stood.
“Umm,” the Princess muttered, dumbfounded. She scanned the table, trying to interpret the signs playing out in front of her. But for the map, these behaviors were unprecedented.
“Is everything alright, Twi? That looks pretty buggy.” Rainbow leaned in for a closer view of the cutie marks. One clearly belonged to Twilight. She could recognize the sharp stars. The other was unfamiliar. It looked like a star, trailed by a magic wisp.
Although she was confused by the magical device, and was by no means an expert in magic or electronics, it did occur to her that the spectacle looked a lot like a computer glitch. “I actually remember seeing something like that once, when Microchips had to reboot one of the computers in the library. The thing was a wreck.”
“It does look like a problem,” agreed Fluttershy.
Rainbow’s comment about the library went over Twilight’s head. She just didn’t know what to make of the map, or what she should expect on what was looking to be an unusual mission. “This has never happened before. I’m not sure what to make of it,” she said in thought.
“Is it possible to turn it on, and off again?”
“Maybe there’s something wrong with the tre—” Twilight turned her head to face the athlete, unsure if she’d heard the question correctly “wait, what?”
In the midst of the confusion, they all heard a loud, almost popping sound come from outside the castle’s door, in the distance. The heavy, gilded door opened and closed again, and in mere moments a familiar face approached the map, her cutie mark glowing and pulsating.
“Hey, Twilight. So, it’s the two of us, on a friendship mission so close to hearth’s warming, huh? That’s a first.” Starlight Glimmer took a spot beside her mentor as she eyed the map, curious about the apparent mission ahead, and taking note of the flickering cutie mark. “Whoa.”
By then, the image of Starlight’s cutie mark had also begun to flicker. Not only did it flicker, the mark began to make a strafing motion, moving back and forth between the city of Canterlot and the castle.
“That doesn’t look good.”
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Twilight lamented.
Starlight eyed the marks, gazing between them, and addressed the two pegasi standing across the way for the first time that day. “Hey Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy. How are you two?”
Neither spoke, not quite able to place the color scheme of the pony before them. It did strike as familiar, but complete recollection evaded them.
Twilight drew a blank, only just realizing that Starlight was ignorant to some of the multidimensional visits that had been occurring. “About that—” she began, like she’d been caught red-handed in a compromising position, “Starlight, this is Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. Our friends, from Canterlot High.” Her voice had trailed towards the end of her sentence, feeling awkward yet again.
“Really?” Starlight clarified, somewhat surprised by the mingling of the worlds, and yet glad to see more of her friends. “It’s nice to see you guys. What’s the occasion?”
At the mention of her name, Rainbow and Fluttershy immediately made sense of her colors, and of her presence. The memories came back to them, of getting stuck in another magic mirror, and relying on a new friend to come to their rescue. The one and only Starlight Glimmer.
“Ohhh!, it’s you. Geez, Starlight. I hardly recognized you, without the hat,” Rainbow commented.
“It’s very nice to see you again. It’s been a while since we last saw you.” Fluttershy was always pleased to see a friendly face, even if that familiar face was now a pony.
“It’s good to see you too,” Starlight assured. She nodded at them, and looked back at the spectacle on the map. “But, you might need to hold off on that visit. Nothing like this—” She walked halfway around the map table, to get another angle on the flickering marks “—has ever happened before.”
“And, I’m afraid she may be right.” Twilight put a single hoof on the map, holding onto it as she spoke. “I have no idea what this means.”
“Well, I don’t think even the biggest friendship missions so far have had this problem. I have a feeling that if this is an actual mission, it isn’t going to be about settling a petty dispute.”
“So, you’re saying we’re going to have to wait to see Cloudsdale?” Fluttershy wasn’t one to object when there was an apparently important job to be done.
Twilight and Starlight glanced between each other, at the map, and back at the couple. It wasn’t exactly an ideal, or otherwise pleasant set of circumstances, but surely there would be many opportunities in the future.
“I think so. I’m sorry, but we can’t just ignore this,” she admitted. “It’s important.”
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy nodded their heads in a disappointed understanding. Although they had big things in mind, it would be obscene if they’d protested. “Yeah, ok. We get it. Saving the world—It’s what we all do. Go ahead and solve the friendship problem, we’ll be cool.”
Although Rainbow tried not to show too much disappointment on the outside, there was no helping the fact that the map did put a big dent in the excitement.
“This certainly sounds important. Go ahead, girls. We can visit you some other time,” Fluttershy agreed.
“I promise, we’ll get to it next time.” Having to be content with her friends’ understanding, Twilight turned back to her student.
“I’m fairly confident we should go to Canterlot first,” she began. “But I don’t know where the castle comes into play.
“Maybe the map wants to split us up?”
Twilight entertained the idea for a moment, but could come to nothing substantial. “I don’t think that’s it. I mean, we’re talking about the castle. The only ones here are the four of us, and spike.”
“Aaand, where is Spike?”
Suddenly remembering that Spike was still nowhere to be seen, Twilight quickly set about to find him, once again.
“SPIIIIIIKE!”
They waited, to see if the dragon could be wrought from its hole. After several moments of anticipatory silence, the four mares in attendance could all hear light shuffling, coming from the above floor. They continued to listen as the footsteps slowly made their way across the floor to the edge of the wall, made their way downward so that they were level, and approached the map room.
The door to the map room opened again. This time, Spike entered the space, stretching his wings, smacking his lips, and yawning with such volume that one might think he were overworked.
“Spike! There you are!”
Spike looked around at the mares gathered around the map, assumed there was some sort of crisis, and that they needed him to find a book or something.
“Ugh,” he groaned, having been awoken from a precious sleep. “Just what is all the racket?”
He approached the circle of friends, and while using a considerable amount of effort to keep conscious, noticed that there was something going on with the map. “Whoa,” he muttered. “That looks bad.”
“I’d say that remains to be seen.” Starlight tried as often as she could to be a voice of reason among her friends. Most of the time, she’d say it worked pretty well.
“Yeah, ok.” Spike let out a deep, heavy yawn. “Since it’s only you two, and not the whole gang, my money is gonna be on a magic problem. I’m a dragon. Dragons don’t do magic. So, peace.”
Spike moved to leave the room to return to his slumber, but was stopped by a magical grip, that enveloped his small body. Having been in such a position countless times, he already knew what happening, and didn’t bother trying to break free.
Twilight used her magic to move bring her assistant back to their merry group.
“Someone sure sounds cranky today. Magic or no magic, I’m sure we’ll all benefit from having you on standby. After all, you have been on your fair share of friendship missions, right?”
“And don’t you forget it, Princess,” he garbled, fighting to stay awake, and internally losing.
“Afterwards, you’ll be able to sleep all you want.”
“Is that a promise?”
“Cross my heart and hope to fly.”
Spike exhaled a deep breath. “Fine, then. I’ll be here.”
The princess turned back to her human friends. “I trust you two can make your way through the portal on your own?
“Yeah, I guess.” Rainbow Dash looked in the direction of the library, toward the portal, and toward home, prematurely. “But hey, there’s actually something else I’ve been curious about, too”
As she and Starlight began to make their way out of the map room, Twilight craned her neck in Rainbow’s and Fluttershy’s direction, poised to get the mission over with.
“Last time we were here, we got all caught up in seeing everything for the first time, and we rushed right out the door. Don’t get me wrong, it was awesome. But we didn’t even get to see the rest of the castle. What if Spike here gives us a quick tour of the castle, first?”
“Ooh! I know Rarity and I have wanted to see your castle ever since the battle of the bands.” Fluttershy recalled the events of that day. She remembered Rarity’s particular fixation on the mention of the castle. Nobody had ever brought it up, but the girls from Canterlot High were fairly confident that Rarity hid some slight degree of envy, having always wanted to live like a princess herself.
“Well, so long as there are no indoor stunts, —” Twilight tilted her muzzle in Rainbow’s direction, and focused her attention on her for a moment of emphasis “—I suppose seeing the castle would be harmless.” Somehow, Twilight was sure there would be unneeded excitement in her absence, given their luck. But in times like these, sometimes the best you could hope for was damage mitigation.
Spike groaned and yawned at the same time, resulting in what could have been a roar, as though it were plagued by hay fever and a lack of motivation. “Uhm, don’t I get a say in this? And, on a related note,” he got in, in a lethargic tone, “why do you two need a tour of the castle?”
Twilight extended her hoof to awkwardly gesture towards Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. “Spike, say hello to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, our friends from Canterlot High. Surely, you remember.”
“Right…” he trailed. “It’s great to see you guys, trust me. Celestia knows we always have fun in your world. But, I think I’m just going to leave the shock value for future Spike to handle.”
“I know you’re tired, bud, so how about this,” Rainbow started. “You show us around the castle as a generous favor, and we can get you some of Rarity’s newest polished gem stones. Fresh off the…—” Rainbow searched for a sensible word, not having paid much attention to Twilight’s geology lecture “—cavern walls.”
“Even though I could just walk over to the boutique and ask for some of our Rarity’s duds?”
“I mean, sure, you could settle for duds. But the thing is, dogs don’t eat gems, Spike. You’ve had Equestrian gems all your life; That’s cool and dandy. But, have you ever had gems from another world?”
At the proposition, Spike raised one of his thin, tired brows, and cracked a grin. “You ponies, or you girls, or you creatures, or whatever it is we’re calling you, drive pretty hard bargains, you know that?”
“Yep. Negotiation’s my middle name, after all.”
Fluttershy rolled her eyes playfully, leaned into Spike’s ear, and whispered. “Her middle name is actually danger. I’ve seen her birth certificate.”
“Her what?”
“What?” Rainbow responded, confused.
“Never mind. I’ll ask later. Anyway, tour of the castle. Yay.” Readying to give a tour, he yawned. “Ready whenever you girls are.”
“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight said. With that, she and Starlight promptly exited the map room and teleported a short distance to close the gap between themselves and the train station, anxious to investigate the most recent magical, friendship-affiliated anomaly.
“Don’t mention it,” he muttered, as they made their exit. Wanting to capitalize on time, Spike dragged himself to the room’s exit, and opened the door into one of the castle’s long hallways.
“Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer, together on a mission. There’s a duo I wouldn’t want to mess with.” Despite his demeanor being sluggish and without the bright energy one would usually see in Equestria, he did express a measure of pride in such a capable pair being unleashed upon the world.
From what she’d seen and heard, Rainbow agreed completely. “Tell me about it.”
“I’ll be waiting in the hall, by the way,” Spike called. He walked out of view of the girls, and took a moment to rest his eyes, leaning against the wall.
In the brief moment of being alone in the room, Rainbow Dash draped a wing over Fluttershy, taking in the day’s events thus far. “What exciting lives we live, eh, Shy?”
Fluttershy exhaled a deep breath. It was looking to be a long day, but nothing a cuddle session wouldn’t fix later. “Adventures with you all is fine, but it’s never been quite my style. If the universe could give just a little bit less adventure, I’d really appreciate it.” She nuzzled Rainbow lightly.
“Wouldn’t bet on it. We’ve got our whole lives ahead of us.” They trotted towards the hallway with a resigned slowness. The strongest of the high that came from traveling to another world had started to recede, and the transition to a world bursting with magical phenomena would give the most fortitudinous of individuals much to contemplate.
“And I’m sure that as long we have each other, it will be wonderful.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it.” As she spoke those last few words, Rainbow picked up on a faint scurrying sound, somewhere close. She turned away from Fluttershy to scan the room, but saw nothing.
“Something wrong, Dashie?”
Rainbow Dash rubbed her temple, and pressed against her ear with a hoof. “Nah, probably not. I thought I heard something, but maybe it was just in my head. Come on, let’s not keep Spike waiting.”
As they stepped out of the map room, Fluttershy’s forehoof collided with a large object, stopping them in their track. At their hoofs lay Spike, passed out, and snoring with considerable volume. On occasion, his wings would twitch, and he would mumble incoherently, mostly about Rarity, or gems.
“Wow.” Rainbow prodded at the sleeping dragon with a hoof, in the scales, in the spines, and in the wings. But he did not wake. “He’s out like a light. You think we should wake him?”
“He did seem out of it.” In his recent waking moments, Spike had resembled many a sleeping animal. Low energy, irritable, and a lack of a startle response—Fluttershy had seen them all over the years. “Maybe he’s been working too hard. He is only a young dragon.”
“Yeah, probably. And you know Twilight. She doesn’t even know when to take a break herself.”
Fluttershy pondered Spike’s exhaustion. If he were under her care, she’d order him some therapeutic bed rest. “Let’s just leave him be. He didn’t look very good.”
“Whatever you think is best, Shy.”
They side-stepped the sleeping dragon, finding themselves alone in the castle. No princess, no magical friendship problem that only they could solve, and no raging she-demon. The prospects for their visit had nearly entirely evaporated.
“Well, there goes our tour guide.” Rainbow glanced about the hallway. All of the doors looked identical, and none of them stood out, aside from the room directly behind Spike. “I guess the only left to do is to go back.”
Somewhat disappointed, the two backtracked to the map room’s entrance, headed for the library so that they could go back to Canterlot High. As they passed Spike, they heard a high-pitched, yet slightly muffled, screech from behind one of the doors, and the abruptly punctured silence was cause for alarm. It caught them off guard, and they immediately craned their necks to the source of the screech.
“W-what was that?” Fluttershy whispered.
The screech amplified to a constant ring, echoing and reverberating within the firm crystal walls. At its zenith, the sound ceased, and was without warning replaced by a low howl of wind. The howl was steady in its flow, and its vibrations against crystal, wood, and scattered metal created a deep whistle, which might normally be heard in the most ominous of storms.
Rainbow Dash abandoned the map, and stepped back into the now lively hallway. Despite the muffle, the sounds had been loud and clear enough. She followed the howl of the wind, and stopped next to Spike, who had remained asleep and irreverent of the newest confusion.
“It sounds like…” she trailed, unsure of what to make of the sound. At the least, she was confident that they were emanating from beyond the door blocked by Spike’s sleeping form. “It sounds like they’re coming from behind this door.”
Fluttershy moved to stand beside Rainbow, not sure she wanted the door to open.
“You think he wanted to show us this room first?”
“I don’t know that I want to find out, Rainbow.”
Rainbow Dash extended a hoof to open the door, but hesitated, and retracted. “Twilight definitely would keep anything insanely dangerous so close to home, right?”
Before Fluttershy could offer a response, the howl of the wind gave way to a new phenomenon. The deep whistle faded, and became more periodic, accompanied by loud clicks, akin to mechanical gears at work.
“It sounds like a machine. A big machine, at that,” Fluttershy commented, still with some reservation.
“So, a big, and probably electric, machine. In the castle?” Without waiting for more deliberation, Rainbow pushed the door with a hoof, and it gave way.
“I was thinking maybe the door would be locked,” she defended.
When the door opened to reveal the entirety of the room, both girls were surprised at what they saw. In the middle of the space was a roundtable, with various etchings and markings on its base and at its edges. The table glowed a faint, transparent white, not so vivid as its sounds. Above the table hovered a white, transparent hemisphere. The hemisphere was littered with smaller stars and circles, but otherwise betrayed little, concerning its purpose. It rotated slowly, all the while maintaining its mechanical clicks.
“Yeah, I don’t know what kind of magic that is.”
“I have a bad feeling about this.” Fluttershy gulped. Although the wind’s whistle could no longer be heard, the gusts were still rushing about the room, centered on the table.
Against their rational judgment, the girl approached the table with caution. The surface was littered with scrolls and old-looking parchment. In the middle, there was a glowing, damaged parchment, almost torn cleanly in half. It too glowed by dull, transparent white. Beside it was an undamaged leaflet, less damaged, and more recent than all the others.
“We really shouldn’t be here,” Fluttershy professed. “We don’t know the first thing about real Equestrian magic.”
“I know. But I get the strong feeling that we can’t just leave this here, either.” If she were to be honest, Rainbow was a bit unnerved. Whatever this was, they had no experience with it.
“What if Twilight left this here, on purpose, Dashie?”
“If she left this here on purpose, then why was it start screeching, and then howling? If this was on purpose, I feel like she would have said something.”
Looking at the scattered papers, it was obvious that most were in a readable language. Some were gibberish, but most could be read by someone from either world.
Although magic was still mostly foreign to her, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but be reminded of the puzzles from the Daring Doo novels. In her mind, it could have been a perfect setup for some sort of ritual. “Do you think maybe the one in the middle in the key to everything? What if it’s like Daring Doo? Then, all we would need to do is disconnect the source of energy from the hidden mechanism.”
She nodded towards the broken parchment in the middle. Taking a closer look, it was, in reality, not set upon the table. It was levitating ever so slightly in the air, above the table’s surface.
“Can you read that, shy?” Rainbow could almost make it out, but the writing was sloppy, even compared to her own.
Fluttershy took a look at the paper. Indeed, the writing was messy. But, having spent many years deciphering the worst and best of Rainbow’s own, she was confident she was reading it correctly. She read it aloud
“Time and time again, ever so close—
Believe me you, my destiny will arrive.
Whether fulfilled or alone, merry or morose—
Even in defeat, my ambition will survive.
“To struggle is to live; to forget is to condemn—
And to equalize is to harmonize, above reservation.
I’ve all my focus to give, if only to them—
And to contingency we stay, above resignation.”
“Oh my,” Fluttershy muttered.
“Wow, someone was angsty. Is that a poem? Rainbow dash was somewhat shocked by the feelings seeping out of the words.
“I don’t think so. Maybe a kind of spell?”
“Spell? Can pegasus ponies even do spells?”
As if to answer her question, the hemisphere above the table became louder, and grew in size, expanding beyond the edges of the table. As well, it began to take in its surroundings with an unnerving suction, tossing some of the parchments about.
Fluttershy let out a scream, as the wind and suction pulled her from her hoofs. She tried to resist, but the magic was overbearing. She was swept up, and into the sphere, seeming to vanish into thin air.
“Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash shouted after her. Already feeling the magic insistently trying to pull her in, Rainbow dash resolved not to give it the satisfaction. With a flap of her wings, she went airborne, and flew right into the eye of the storm. She disappeared into the magical figure, grabbing the broken paper in her last remaining seconds.
With both of the pegasi brought in, the wind calmed, and slowed to a still. The hemisphere receded, and retreated from visibility, leaving the room calm and quiet, as it had been before. Under perplexing circumstances, and known to none as of yet, Spike was now alone in the castle. He slept still with a snore, oblivious to the chaos ensuing.
Back Into the Mostly Benign Fires of Multidimensional Travel, and Everything Else.
The athlete and the caretaker relaxed together on the cold grass of Canterlot High's soccer field, lightly embraced in each other's arms. Such was a perfect way to kill time on a cold, hiemal Friday. Christmas was once again up and coming, much to the joy and excitement of the general population of Canterlot. Work was rightly shunned while people enjoyed festivities and jolly tidings, and another semester at Canterlot High had met its end, ushering in many students' favorite time of year. With the stress of finals behind them, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were only beginning to have fun.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Rainbow Dash inquired, with a compelling lure.
"Thinking about you?" Fluttershy playfully responded.
"Well, that's a given, Shy. I mean, I am awesome."
"Oh, really? I'm so sorry, I hadn't noticed."
To this Rainbow surrendered half of a chuckle. "Oh? Then maybe I should show you..."
Rainbow lifted her girlfriend's chin, so that their eyes were level. After taking a moment to stare into her lover's eyes, she leaned in. Without hesitation, Fluttershy reciprocated. With all of the peace and attraction between them, 5 seconds could have gone by, or five minutes, or five hours, for all they cared. It hardly mattered. One kiss easily led to another. And another. And several more. Only when the two finally succumbed to the need for a breather did the kissing session be brought to a pause. Try as they might to resist, the need for breath frequently subverted longer shows of passion.
"Did that ring a bell?"
Fluttershy took a moment to take a deep breath. To her delight, kissing was always found to be good exercise for her lung capacity. "I think... I think I might remember something like that. But it's all just so hazy." Still in a playful spirit, she let out a fraudulent sigh of frustration.
"Well, alright then. I guess you leave me no choice. I didn't want to have to do this, you know. Especially not here, out in the cold air. But there's only one thing for it".
Rainbow Dash slowly, gently slid her hand along the length of her girlfriend's thigh, resting it on her upper leg, and eliciting an anticipatory gasp. She squeezed lightly.
"Rainbow..." Fluttershy pouted, shuffling at the contact.
"Shh, Shy. It's all good. Just gonna show you a bit of fun".
Rainbow Dash moved to make substance on her promise, with excitement. In return, Fluttershy was all too willing to take part in the little romantic game. With so little opposition, after-all, what was there to stop them? Chilly temperatures be damned.
They came so close. The athlete had been so intently poised for a show of passion in the open air that she received quite the shock, when a miscellaneous voice happened to intrude from only feet away.
"Oh, OH Celestia!", Twilight Sparkle abruptly shouted.
The Princess of Friendship backed away quickly with primal haste, trying desperately to hide the intense eruption of a blush across her face. She never did learn how to appropriately deal with awkward moments such as these. Yet she did not avert her gaze. Such a thought was lost in the embarrassment of the moment.
At this trespass against their slaughtered privacy, the lovebirds scrambled like animals to regain their composure. It hardly helped that Fluttershy hardily bore a blush that put Twilight's to shame.
"T-Twilight?!"
Fluttershy questioned the intrusion with a tone of sheepish surprise. If one could die of embarrassment, then Fluttershy was surely a goner.
"Y-yes... I, uh, um.... I think I'm just going to give you girls a moment."
Twilight quickly vacated the immediate vicinity of the love-nest by moving off to the edge of the field, but a bit too late to be spared the extreme discomfort.
Rainbow stood, and took Fluttershy's hand, helping her to stand with a half-casual facade. All three of the girls regained their bearings and tried to look normal, and stood in a loose circle at the western edge of the green field, not another soul in sight. By this time of day, the students of Canterlot High would reliably found huddled in the city's popular hangout spots: Sugar Cube Corner, the mall, the various buildings of the town square, even the cinematic theater, all to take refuge from Canterlot's winter sting.
"So, Princess Twi. What's up?" Rainbow asked, after standing, in an attempt to act nonchalant. The blush on Fluttershy's face however, would not allow her the same opportunity.
"Well, I suppose I was looking to spend time with friends, is all. I've been spending most of my time studying certain magical artifacts, but some ponies insisted that I take a break, somewhere somehow. The ponies back in Ponyville mostly seem preoccupied with their lives, so I thought I'd try some of you girls." She spoke with a slight saltiness, having been ejected from her research and thoroughly embarrassed.
Indeed, the ponies of Ponyville happened to be keeping themselves busy. On the Princess' side of the mirror, ponies went about to and fro in and around the town, from regulating the snow clouds from Cloudsdale, to rolling out winter's fashion lines and decorations, to lively labors. Although this left Twilight Sparkle few immediately available pony friends, she did consider herself fortunate to have a few more just around the dimensional corner, even if she didn't see them often enough.
Rainbow Dash raised a question. "Aren't you still a Princess, though? I'm kind of surprised they don't have you doing princess-y ceremonies, or hosting parties, or something."
Twilight rubbed the back of her head with an awkward chuckle. "Yeah, you'd think that. But I believe my role in Equestria is more on the side of advocacy and education."
"Well, that's good. I'm glad you have people to tell when you need to take a break. We wouldn't want you to hurt yourself." Ever caring, Fluttershy, however flustered, always found it pleasant to have a visit from princess Twilight.
"Someone should tell that to Scitwi. She's gotten a lot better about it, but every now and then I still get the feeling she'd never leave her house, if she could get her hands on a magic phone-book." With a bantering grin, Rainbow Dash knew that somewhere deep inside, she'd once held such a thing as a legitimate concern.
Twilight rolled her eyes, remembering all too well the overly dorky days behind her. "Just what I'd expect of me. Go easy on her; She's just dedicated."
Expressing no doubt that her counterpart did appreciate the good company, Twilight turned her attention to the dark, frigid atmosphere associated with winter. Only now did she remember that they were all standing out in the cold.
"Why were you two out here in the cold, anyway?" Twilight asked with puzzlement.
Rainbow Dash shrugged at the question
"Eh. I like the cold"
As her face returned to its normal shade of pale gold, Fluttershy, in her winter jacket, looked increasingly cozy. So long as she was prepared, she also did not mind the cold.
"Really?" With a smirk, Twilight could not help but be reminded of a distraught Rainbow Dash, desperate to keep winter from coming.
"Yeah. Why? Somethin' wrong?"
"No, no not at all"
"Hmm." Rainbow Dash eyed Twilight with suspicious curiosity.
"It's nothing, Rainbow. I was remembering a funny story. But just out of curiosity, and on a completely unrelated note, how are your pets? Angel? Tank?" With a passing thought, Twilight made a mental note to study the discrepancies in the lives of the two worlds' pets at some time in the future.
Fluttershy, always glad for a conversation to fall straight into her element, would never hesitate to talk about the animals under her watch. Rainbow shuffled uncomfortably.
"OOh! Angel is doing well! After months of trying, I think he's finally making progress with the doe he's been chasing. If everything goes well, maybe he won't have to spend the upcoming February alone!"
"Ugh. Flutters, please spare me the thought of the rabbit procreating." This thought made Rainbow Dash even more uncomfortable, and certainly in some way terrified.
"And Tank?"
"Tank? He's good. He's chillin' like a villain. Hibernating, and what-not. I even made sure to read him the story and everything."
Twilight could tell that she was trying to pass something off, but decided not to press further. She would allow Rainbow Dash to keep the disappointment hidden.
"Alright then, aside from hibernation and sexual reproduction, what else is new? Did you two have any fascinating plans?"
Assaulted by a mix of amorous and disturbing thoughts, rainbow Dash coughed violently, to an unexpected, constricting choking sensation. Fluttershy offered a gentle pat on the back.
“The next semester will be starting before long, but I doubt there will be anything major before then. Sometimes it’s just nice to spend time together,” Fluttershy said with a happy freedom.
“What she said. We’ll probably just chill until it’s time to start the spring semester,” Rainbow Dash mustered, while clearing her throat. "That and the Christmas party next week."
Twilight suspected there would be a party. She remembered last year's party well. It took place not long after she'd met her own counterpart. Looking back, those days, spent with her friends for her first Christmas party, were now treasured memories, even if she'd been so worried about an existential crisis at the time. They'd all had a wonderful time. The gift exchange, the meal, and the good tidings had everyone in the best of moods, despite Twilight's exaggerated struggle.
"Another year, another amazing party to plan, I'm sure. Is Pinkie going to do anything different this year?"
"Nah, I don't think so. Don't let her antics fool you, Pinkie's pretty big on the traditional parts of a good Christmas. She just adds her own crazy-hyper touch to the intensity of it all." While some may call the classic Pinkie enthusiasm over the top, Rainbow Dash never failed to have fun at the Christmas party.
"Her favorite part is when she gets to break out the gingerbread replicas of all of us," Fluttershy added. "I'm not quite sure how she gets them so realistic, though."
"Tell me about it. Last year I had a Pinkie Pie cookie, and I swear to all that is sacred, I heard that cookie whispering to me." Rainbow Dash wouldn't admit it, but of the few things that scared her in life, Pinkie Pie's enigma of a psyche was probably one of them.
"Was the cookie whispering sweet nothings?" Twilight teased.
"Come again?" Rainbow Dash turned her eyes back to Twilight, caught off guard by the question. At first, she wasn't sure how to respond.
"Oh, nothing."
"Twilight, please. Even if that cookie had been infused with Pinkie's very soul, it wouldn't have been able to handle this kind of awesome."
"Somehow I get the feeling you wouldn't be able to handle Pinkie, not the other way around."
Fluttershy giggled at the exchange, not bothered in the slightest, while Rainbow Dash scoffed at the doubt.
Twilight decided to bring up a new topic she'd been pondering recently.
“Anyway, what about the others? How have the girls been doing with their magic?” After the lighthearted teasing, Twilight hesitated to bring up their most recent friendship crisis, but curiosity was to a genius as power was to a magical demon. “I had faith in Sunset, but I’d be lying if I hadn’t thought for a split second that you’d all lose your memories, forever.”
“In our defense,” – Speaking from experience, Rainbow Dash raised her hands in defense of her moral character – “it’s always the quiet ones who’ll screw you over when you least expect it.”
Twilight turned her gaze to the quiet one in their vicinity, expecting some type of reaction to the accusation. When no such reaction was given, Twilight posed a question. “Is that true?”
“Well,” – Fluttershy bobbed her head, as if to give the idea some thought – “She’s not wrong per se”
The three girls gave simultaneous chuckles at the banter.
“But seriously,” – Rainbow brought her chuckle to heel for a moment – “the girls are good. Same old holiday prep as every year. Flutters and I just wanted to finish early. Applejack is helping manage the family business, Rarity’s putting together some designs for a holiday play or something, and Pinkie’s being Pinkie.”
“Sunset said she’d helping our Twilight today. They were hoping to help finish the wiring for Crystal Prep’s light show. When all is said and done, it’s supposed to be very nice” Fluttershy recalled her earlier conversation with the pair, seeing them off to the inner city.
“That’s wonderful. I’m glad you girls have endured so many friendship challenges. It shows that you can all learn from one another and teach others what it means to be true friends.” Twilight spoke with a degree of pride, internally giving herself a pat on the back, as well. She had to have been a pretty decent teacher. When she met them, their friendships were anything but harmony. And now, through their abilities to come together, their friendships, old and new, were more harmonious than ever.
“We couldn’t have done it without you, Twilight.” Fluttershy did appreciate what Princess Twilight had done for them all.
“You’ve all come a long way from the feuding group of girls I stumbled upon all that time ago.”
“And you’ve definitely come a long way from that lost princess, all confused about what to do, where to go, or how to fit in to this crazy world we’ve got here.” As much as she regarded herself, Rainbow was glad to pay credit where credit was due.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy both stepped forward, and each placed a hand on the Princess’s shoulders, reiterating their confidence in their friend’s contributions to a personal series of friendships.
“Who knows what we’d being doing now, if you hadn’t dropped by? I guess Sunset would still be terrorizing the place with an iron fist.”
“Or an iron claw.” Although Sunset’s dissent into the abyss was brief, Fluttershy had memories of a morphed body, more beast-like than human, or than pony.
Twilight had sympathized with Sunset, and with her mistakes. Those mistakes hadn’t deterred the magic of friendship, but it wasn’t Twilight’s intervention that had led to a better future. Not directly, at least. “I helped, sure. Maybe I pushed everyone in the right direction. But you girls got yourselves here by opening your hearts to learning. Without your willingness to come together, and to allow your individual flaws to bring you together, we’d never have gotten anywhere.”
The Princess reciprocated the kind hand gestures.
“And from the bottom of my heart, thank you. My friends in Equestria each taught me valuable lessons. They made me a better pony. But you girls reminded me that those Friendships don’t just exist in Equestria. They’re here, too. We just needed to break them free.”
The three engaged in a sentimental group hug, happy to share in this moment, instigated by flaws, and maintained by bonds. The emotional activity inspired such a warm atmosphere about them that the fresh Canterlot frost had slipped their minds entirely
After several short moments of reveling in their friendships, the group hug dissolved. Morale was high, and all was right with the world for the moment. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and hung a single arm over Fluttershy’s shoulders.
“Yep. Life is good. We’re all best buds and Flutters here makes it all even better,” she said, pecking her girlfriend on the cheek.
“Still going as strong as ever.” Twilight commented on the relationship with a contentedness borne of the emotional high they’d just shared. With the passing thought, her head turned, and her eyes wandered, and casually centered upon Canterlot High’s signature statue.
Rainbow Dash nuzzled Fluttershy as if to illustrate a point and was content with the brief silence. The two of them sat down in the cold grass, allowing a small emotional load to begin to be lifted from their shoulders. With a wave of her hand and a pat on the ground, Rainbow invited Twilight to do the same. The three relaxed together in the open air for the better part of the next half-hour, enjoying the environment and the complete lack of an impending doom scenario.
In the time they’d spent out on the field, the surroundings had barely changed. The area was still mostly devoid of people, aside from the occasional passerby in a car. With no distractions and a world of possibilities, the girls were free to wreak havoc or bestow harmony as they felt inclined. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy fully intended to spend this vacant time in peace, and to spend the time chilling together in some of the city's premier locales. But with not one world of possibilities, but with two, Twilight was feeling rather adventurous, especially when holiday preparations were going smoothly, and she could return the favor as a guide.
"You know," - Twilight stood from their lazily formed circle, and nodded towards the wondercolt statue - "I never did get to show you two much of Equestria." She'd wanted to show them more of Equestria's cultural holiday preparation and Winter Wrap-up, but last year's Christmas party and subsequent emotional meet-and-greet had forced those plans into the back seat. "How would you feel about a Part Two?"
Rainbow and Fluttershy took quick glance at one another, and then back at Twilight, pondering the notion. "Is that an invite?" Rainbow asked.
"That depends. Have you ever seen a waterfall made completely out of Rainbow? Or a team of pegasi assemble a snow cloud?
Interested, Rainbow Dash took a brief moment to weigh her options. Nodding, she gave Fluttershy a gentle rub on the back, and stood. "I'm in," she said simply.
They both turned to look at Flutter shy expectantly, silently after an answer to the open invitation. Fluttershy quickly glanced at each of them, and joined them. "Yes, please. It sounds like it could be a lot of fun," she said enthusiastically.
"Alright then, it's settled. Let's not waste any time."
With the semblance of a plan forming in their minds, the girls walked to the wondercolt statue, stepped through the portal, and experienced a familiar feeling of falling.
