Flash Faceplants the Floor of Friendship
Twilight just stared at the sight before her. It was indeed Flash Sentry. She’d recognize that blue mane and orange coat anywhere. And since Cadence had decided tease her by sending her those pictures of Flash without his armor, Twilight recognized his cutie mark as well. Not to mention she was fairly certain that the muffled groan coming from the pony in front of her sounded a lot like him. Twilight had little to no doubt that this colt was who she thought he was. So, the question wasn’t “Who is he?” it was “Why is he here?”
She knew that her doors and windows were usually open when she was there. She knew that anypony would be able to enter and exit the castle at will while she was there. It was no secret that Twilight was happy to say hello and enter a conversation with anypony that caught her while she wasn't doing anything. Unfortunately, there were several reasons she believed that Flash wouldn't show up just for her. Firstly, Flash doesn't live in or anywhere near Ponyville. Secondly, she and him barely know each other, so he probably wouldn't show up to say hi. Lastly, If he was actually sent to deliver an urgent message from the Crystal Empire, then Cadence would have probably sent more than just him.
As Twilight approached Flash to help him up and get some answers, the pegasus pushed himself up. She watched as he shook his head, and begun looking around. He looked around with a bewildered and curious expression, which was strange, since Twilight thought he would have been used to seeing crystal walls by now. She attempted to step closer, trying to ask if he was okay, but for some reason her words were caught up in her throat, and her cheeks began heating up. The only thing she could awkwardly utter was,
“Uh…Hi, Flash.”
The pegasus turned his head toward twilight, and immediately upon seeing the alicorn Princess, his head flinched back, and an expression of surprise spread across his face. He took a moment to just stare at her, which made Twilight's cheeks heat up even more, and her thoughts were jumbled even more. She didn't know what it was about Flash this time around, but for some reason she just couldn't figure out what to say to him. For the life of her, Twilight just didn't know why she was feeling this way...until the next few moments played out in front of her.
Flash began laughing. A small, quiet chuckle at first, but it quickly grew into something more. It wasn't a crazy laugh, nor a light-hearted one, but rather a pitiful-sounding laugh. The type of laughter usually used by a self-pitying individual, after realizing that they had been the cause of their own misfortune. Rather than say anything in response, Twilight simply stood in place, observing.
When Flash finished his moment of laughter, he looked down at the ground, and spoke to himself.
"Great job getting over her, Flash. Even in your craziest dreams she still shows up."
Flash looked back up at Twilight.
"Still, I wonder if this is how she looks in her world?...Huh. She still looks cute."
Flash attempted to get up, but instead of simply standing on all fours, he tried to stand on his hind legs. Of course, he had some trouble, and ended up catching himself before his face hit the floor again.
Truth be told, Twilight figured it out the moment he talked about her being in a different world. The problem was that she was frozen in place at the thought of the human Flash Sentry going through the portal. Several thoughts were rushing through her mind. Thoughts such as "How did he get through the mirror? The book's not even powering it!" and "That explains why I'm blushing so much" for example.
Twilight could've taken a minute to sort through and organize all her thoughts, but at the moment, she mustered much of her willpower to focus on addressing and fixing the problem. First things first, she needed to talk to Flash and find out how and/or why he was in Equestria. So, she cleared her throat, and approached Flash, who was currently trying flap his wings in an attempt to fly, only to fail, land on his face, and get up to try again and again. He stopped when he noticed Twilight come closer.
"Alright. I'm going to need you to tell me what you can remember before you found yourself here."
It was difficult for the Princess to keep a steady voice, but this was important. She had to know as much as she could about the events that may have led him through the mirror. Flash, still thinking that he was still dreaming, had decided to roll with it, and responded to the best of his memory.
Apparently, he was walking around holding a picture of himself and Twilight at the Fall Formal, and that he was trying to get over her like Sunset advised. He stopped to talk with Applejack and Pinkie, when all of a sudden, AJ looked annoyed, and just picked him up with her super strength, and threw him. Next thing Flash knew, he's in the dream world.
Twilight was surprised that Applejack would take such an unnecessarily rough action for what seemed to be little to no reason, but at the moment, that didn't matter. What mattered was getting Flash back home, and he was less likely to go back through the portal if he kept thinking that he was in a dream. So she had to convince him that he was wide awake, and in other world (not entirely difficult, since her human self went crazy), or otherwise render him unconscious and ask Sunset to pick him up. She hoped things wouldn't come to that last part.
"Okay, Flash. I hate to disappoint you, but you're not dreaming."
Flash just laughed at that. He thought the dream was getting a bit too ridiculous for his taste, and attempted to wake himself up. The long moment of silence that followed this attempt ensured that he realized that Twilight's words were completely and utterly true. Flash stared at Twilight for a moment, and asked,
"This is all real?"
Twilight nodded in response. Flash took another moment to let it all sink in, then spoke again.
"...I just made myself look like an idiot, didn't I?"
Twilight giggled before nodding in response. Flash blushed when he realized he probably looked like a dork.
"So...You still have that picture, huh?"
Twilight honestly thought Flash didn't care much for her after the whole Siren incident happened. They never really got a chance to talk before she went back through the mirror portal, and Sunset never said anything about him asking about her...not to mention that she assumed her human counterpart would be into him just like she was. Some part of her was relieved that he still had feelings for her, and not the other Twilight. Another part of her felt as if she didn't have the time to actually address their current relationship. The latter was the more dominant of the two.
She walked up to the mirror portal, and put her hoof to its surface. What was supposed to be glass reacted to her touch as if it were still water. The portal was indeed open, but how and why? Twilight didn't know. She'd have to investigate it later, but for now, Flash needed to return. He walked up beside her, and had an uncertain look on his face.
"Don't worry, Flash. It's completely safe to go through."
Flash nodded in response, and prepared himself to go through. Before he did, though, there was just one thing that he needed to say.
"Hey, uh, Twilight? Do you think we could...you know...hang out sometime? You know, just to talk?"
Twilight was caught off-guard with that question. She had been doing an okay job keeping herself together thus far, but now that he was asking her to what seemed to be, in her mind, a date, she lost control of her words, and responded by saying,
"Y-Yes! Of course!"
"Uh, cool! Where should we-Woah!"
Now panicking that she had accepted his date request, Twilight picked him up with her magic, and threw him through the mirror portal, back into the Human world. A moment passed in silence. Then another. And another, until finally Twilight found a moment to calm herself down. She took some time to inspect the
Dear Sunset Shimmer,
I know I haven’t written in a while, but I’ve been busy! My duties as Princess of Friendship finally caught up with me, so I’ve been spending the last few months traveling beyond the borders of Equestria and teaching Starlight Glimmer about the magic of Friendship. I’d ask how things have been going in the human world since my last visit, but this is actually somewhat important, so I’ll just get to the point.
I think that there is something wrong with the mirror. Flash Sentry (the one from the human world) was apparently thrown through it, despite the fact that it was not powered on by my book when he went through. Unless thirty moons have passed by without my realizing it, this might be a problem. I already sent him back through, but I'm going to need your help for this.
Your Friend,
Twilight Sparkle
P.S. Can you apologize to Flash for me? I may have sent him flying through the portal.
Meanwhile, in the Human World
Sunset was busy trying to understand Applejack's side of the story. The farm girl was slightly embarrassed to say anything, but knew trying to make any other excuse would just delay the inevitable.
"I'm sorry, it's just that the portal was open, and he just looked so depressed, and...I dunno, it just bothered me that he didn't just go see her in person!"
"So you THREW him?"
"That wasn't me! I don't know how to control my magic! It just happened!"
Sunset just pinched her forehead. She was glad that her friends embraced the magic, but she really needed to start teaching them how to control it better. Maybe she'd even try to figure out if their magic was affecting their actions, as no one in their right mind would go and do what Applejack did.
After a moment, Sunset reached into her bag, and grabbed her magic book. She was about to start writing to Twilight, when suddenly the book started vibrating. Words started appearing on the blank spots of the page. After reading what Princess Twilight had to say, her attention immediately went to the portal, which began to quiver before launching Flash out of it.
The poor boy landed on his face.
Author's Note
Huh...You know on further inspection, I feel like this didn't seem quite as good as I thought it'd turn out. What do you guys think? Should I plan to rewrite it? Feedback, (actual) advice, and comments are always appreciated and welcome.
Rainbow Dashes Into the Pony World (On Accident)
Rainbow Dash was preparing herself on Canterlot High School's track. What was she preparing for? The answer was simple. She was going to run for a few minutes...while using her magical super speed to see just how many times she can loop that track before those minutes were up. She would have done a run around the city, if not for the fact that she didn't trust her magic enough to think it could protect her from a car heading toward her. She knew it could keep her from breaking her body if she hit a wall, but she didn't want to take a chance against anything moving faster than 20 mph just yet. For now, she'd have to play around with her magic at school, where she knew that any sudden boost of her power would be contained without any problem whatsoever...
After thinking on it for a moment, Rainbow Dash began considering whether or not she should use some larger, more secluded area to test her magic speed out. Or maybe try something different.
"Maybe I should start out smaller? I wonder if I can use it on my guitar? Hey...That's not a bad idea! Aw, man, I bet I can do an awesome solo!"
While Rainbow Dash proceeded to think aloud about how awesome applying her powers would be, she failed to notice that she was being stalked. A certain Pinkamena Diane Pie had also been preparing herself, though it certainly wasn't to run the track. Ever since returning from Camp Everfree, Pinkie had been planning several surprise "You're A Superheroine Now!" parties. One for each of her friends, and each with a different theme! She planned for Rainbow Dash to be the first, as she was the first one that seemed to have an opening for any sort activity, and Pinkie made sure that nothing took that time away. At the same time, it was also her turn in their little prank war, so the party girl had decided to decorate two cakes with one jar of sprinkles. Said sprinkles were going to explode in the air, while Pinkie yelled out RD's name. With everything she had set up throughout the day, Rainbow Dash would end up safely running into a small mound of Daring Do body pillows in the party room. It was as perfect any random, questionably powerful party planner/prankster could make it.
The only problem that came up for Pinkie was an involuntary shaking that her body would perform once in a while. Though the shaking kept happening throughout the entire day, and Pinkie had a feeling that it had something to do with that weird extra sense that her granny Pie told her about when she was a child, she shrugged it off as excitement and anticipation for how great the party would be. She wouldn't let it get in her way for this. Even when she shook, she continued to sneak as silently as she could towards Rainbow Dash.
Her eyes were crafty. Her pockets were bulging. She's loaded! Armed to the teeth with sprinkles. She went up to Rainbow very slow, very sneaky, and with one fell gesture, Pinkie tosses the magic-filled sprinkle jars up into the air. As soon as the edible decorations detonated, she exclaimed with as much energy and volume as she could muster,
"SURPRISE, RAINBOW DASH!"
As soon as Pinkie landed back on the ground, Dash was gone. An unnaturally powerful gust of wind followed soon afterward, forcing everyone around the track to fall over. Flash Sentry, who was unlucky enough to be walking by, was slammed down, face-first into the ground.
Meanwhile, in the principle's office...
Today was supposed to be a somewhat normal day for the school. Celestia had counted on that. It was supposed to be a normal day, with normal paperwork, and absolutely no magical spectacle anywhere other than the area around the mirror, and the only reason she allowed that was because Sunset had told her that something may have been going on with it. Not wanting another person with powerful magic walking through it to take over the world, she allowed Sunset to inspect it, and solve whatever problems it currently had. Aside from that, there wasn't supposed to be anything related to magic that was a big enough deal for her to notice it.
So...why exactly was she currently listening to the sound of an explosion outside? Well, Celestia had an idea or two of why she heard an explosion. It was either a student prank gone terribly wrong, a science experiment that was being conducted by the a particular foreign exchange student, or Pinkie Pie. She knew it wasn't a prank, because no student in their right mind would attempt to go that far in this school. She knew it wasn't the science experiment, since the brilliant, yet VERY eccentric foreign exchange student called the "Doctor" would never work in the school's science lab after hours. He usually went home for that. So, despite how much she had hoped that it wouldn't be, it had to be Pinkie Pie.
Celestia didn't have to wait long for her evidence, either. Within three seconds the door to her office slammed open, and a multi-colored blur sped all around the room and right back out, leaving the place a larger mess than the cafeteria after a food fight. Celestia sighed, and started rubbing her temples. She just couldn't catch a break, could she?
Back to you, Rainbow Dash!
Rainbow Dash should have seen it coming. She should have known that an event would force something to happen to her. CHS wasn't just a normal high school anymore, after all. Still, she didn't expect to be so intensely surprised that she'd lose almost all control over her magic speed. She also didn't expect having to avoid running into a bunch of signs that had arrows pointing in a direction, nor navigate through almost the entire school building within a few moments. She definitely didn't expect to run right through some sort of pile of pillows, and snagging a big one that had her favorite fictional character of all time printed onto it. Nor did she possibly expect to run through a bright light that led her straight into some large, metal object.
Rainbow Dash pushed herself out of whatever object she had crashed into, and shook away the imaginary stars that shone and faded in her sight. There were several things that caught her attention immediately afterwards. The first would be the considerably deep dent that she left in whatever she had run into. Suffice to say, she was surprised that she managed to pull herself out before she even felt herself suffocating. What next caught her attention was something a little more bizarre and concerning. Two small ponies were in front of her, one cheering, while the other one smiling with an open mouth, as if they didn't understand what was going on, but felt happy about it anyway.
It was bizarre in that she just slammed into metal, and they were cheering as if she did one of her trick soccer shots. It was concerning in that they were ponies. Multicolored ponies that had tattoos on their butts. One of them had a pair of wings. This could only mean one thing:
Sunset was going to kill her.
Well, maybe not. There was always the chance that this was all a dream. Maybe she ate something weird before bed, and the entire thing was just some weird dream that involved colorful ponies. That's where Sunset and Princess Twilight were from, after all. The magic was probably playing some role in this. There have been too many magical disasters happening, and it's showing signs that it's taking over her life now. At this rate, she'll be working as a super heroine in the guise of a high school girl, just like some characters in that anime Fluttershy had her marathon.
"Oh, thank you so much, Rainbow Dash! You have no idea how much this helps me!" said one of the ponies, a brown one with an English accent.
Rainbow Dash didn't respond, but simply watched as the little pony lifted one end of the dented metal onto his back.
"Come on, my friend! Let us bring this to my laboratory! Quickly!"
Before the winged pony picked up the other end, it stared looked at Rainbow Dash with a smile, probably as a silent thanks. Its crossed eyes reminded her of one of her classmates. In fact, Rainbow Dash could swear that she was looking at a little pony version of Derpy, complete with blonde hair, orange-yellow eye color, and that innocent look that she tends to keep on almost all the time. It was actually surprising to see just how accurate her dream depicted the little muffin.
She watched them walk off with the oddly large piece of metal. She'd wonder what it would be used for, if not for the fact that she had accepted that this was all some weird dream. She just had to keep saying that to herself, otherwise she'd have to begin worrying about Sunset's reaction. Thankfully, she had a way to keep her mind off of that anyway. She just needed to look around. See what her dream cooked up for her to play with.
The place was very much different from what Rainbow Dash was used to. Instead of the familiar sights of streets, cars, and blocky buildings, she was met with some older-looking styles of houses, as well as some stranger structures. Said structures would be something that looked like a giant gingerbread house, and a titanic tree that looked as if it was made out of crystal. Several ponies of varying colors walked around. Some were chatting, some were hanging out on a bench, and one was...swimming in a giant tub of jam. This held her attention for much longer than she thought. The only reason she diverted her attention from the sight was because a familiar voice called out to her.
"Rainbow Dash?"
That voice more than just recognizable. The moment the sound reached her ears, she could tell who it was that addressed her. She turned around to face the inevitability that was the dream/pony version of Rarity.
"Why, whatever are you doing back here?"
It was her, alright. A bit too much like the real Rarity, actually. Honestly, Rainbow expected more of a parody of one of her closest friends. Like the dream version of her would maybe have a giant fur coat and some ridiculously large hat with weird rocks on it. It was disappointing, but RD wasn't going to start questioning a dream. Still, she didn't quite feel comfortable talking to a pony that looked and sounded like the fashionista-in-training. She wanted to just avoid her altogether but apparently the dream had a plan of its own, as the marshmallowy mare walked up to her without any say on RD's part.
"Aren't you supposed to be training with the Wonderbolts? You said that you wouldn't be back until the end of the week."
"We, uh...finished early?"
Rainbow Dash was not entirely sure if her response was good. She'd never heard of a 'Wonderbolt' before, so she just assumed that it was just her dream somehow managing to mispronounce 'Wondercolt.' She almost got nervous when the pony version of Rarity took a moment to give her an uncertain glare. It was the type of glare that her friends normally use when they suspected her of doing something, so it was really more of a reaction. In any case, it was short lived. The moment passed, and the expression immediately brightened up.
"Ah! That must be it."
RD smiled. Even in her dreams her friends were still the same as usual, accepting something and moving on when they think that the matter's over and done with. Still, knowing her own luck in this type of situation, there was always some sort of catch.
"Well, as long as you're here, do you mind helping me for a bit, darling? There's this dress that I simply must have a second opinion on."
And there it was. Of course there was going to be a catch. Though, to be fair, she didn't NEED to go. She could just decline and try to wake herself up. The only problem is that she got curious. Dresses on ponies, she just had to see how that worked out. Besides, this was the weirdest dream Rainbow's had in a while, might as well see how far it would go. So she just shrugged in response.
"Sure. Why not? Lead the way."
Rainbow Dash had to admit, she was surprised at how her dream was able to produce a larger version of Rarity's work room, multiple unique dresses, suits, and accessories, as well as several pony-shaped mannequins. It was kind of cool, but there was just one problem she had with all of it.
"What do you even need clothes for, anyway?"
In her own experience, horses didn't really have a need to wear clothes, let alone dresses and suits. All of it just seemed unnecessary. Still, her dream didn't fail in bringing out a response she expected from Rarity.
"Rainbow Dash!" gasped Rarity. "You should know by now that fashion plays a large role in our society!"
"Not one pony we passed by on the way here was wearing anything."
"Hush."
Rarity put her hoof up to the girl's mouth to silence her. Rainbow Dash complied, albeit with a bit of annoyance. Rarity returned to searching through her many designs. RD guessed that it was just some sort of half-hearted attempt to force her to suspend her disbelief even more than she already had. It would have been easier to comply if it wasn't for the fact that she had to wait for the dream to sift through itself to find a drawing of yet another dress. It didn't take long for her to find it, but it Rainbow wasn't exactly a patient person.
"Found it!" said Rarity in a sing-song voice.
The mare returned with a drawing of a very...unique dress in her telekinetic grip. It was still an elegant dress, of course, but it seemed to have some sort of extreme emphasis on rainbows. Lightly-colored frills, smooth fabric with a rather interesting design of a swirling rainbow on it, and several neatly-cut rubies, spinels, topazes, emeralds, sapphires, and amethysts that would have all been placed on the sides. It was a hit-or-miss kind of dress, but that's common in the trade. What was uncommon was making Rainbow Dash stop to stare at a dress with wide eyes.
"What?", asked Rarity. "Did I try too hard with the rainbow theme?"
Rainbow Dash shook her head and replied, "No. No. It's just...Wow."
To Rarity's surprise, Rainbow Dash moved close to the dress with a focus that the unicorn didn't quite expect. They began inspecting it, looking close enough to almost touch the paper with her muzzle, and examining every detail it had to give. It was very unlike Dash to be this interested in a dress like this, especially when Rarity designed it for the kind of mares that wished to show off their more feminine side.
"Man, it's just like the ones Grandma used to make..."
"Your grandmother used to make dresses?"
"Uh..."
Rainbow Dash was quiet. She didn't mean to say something like that out loud. She needed to find a way to avoid the subject. Rarity must not know about her grandma. Dream or no, she would die of embarrassment if anyone other than Fluttershy found out about-
"Rarity? I brought Opal back from the Pet Soiree. They had to end early since Mr. Bear mentioned his family coming over to visit. Some of the others weren't comfortable with being around for that."
Alright...I should've seen that one coming, too.
As Rainbow Dash's horrible luck had dictated, Fluttershy appeared as the human-turned-pony thought of her. She had a feeling of how this was going to end.
"Oh! Rainbow Dash! When did you get back?"
Before Dash even had a chance to respond, Fluttershy gasped. She watched as the pink and yellow pony rushed over to Rarity's rainbow-themed design. Rainbow Dash counted how many seconds it would take for dream Fluttershy to blurt out-
"This looks just like your grandmother's dresses!"
Two. It took two seconds. Rainbow sighed and began counting how many seconds it would take for Rarity to ask-
"Your grandmother was a fashion designer?!"
Three seconds, two of which were used for Rarity to process the information and gasp. Rainbow Dash didn't even need to count down the seconds it would take for the two to start conversing about her secret. In this dream, it was an inevitability, and she'd rather prepare herself for the embarrassment, rather than stall and wait for it to arrive.
"Yes!" said Fluttershy "Rainbow Dash's grandmother was one of the kindest, sweetest ponies I've ever met. She used to work as a seamstress, and had a strange fixation on rainbows. You would not believe how many times Rainbow Dash beat me in hide and seek by blending in with Granny Dash's dresses."
"Granny Dash?"
"Mm-hmm. Rainbow Dash was actually named after her. Her parents told me it was because she liked Granny Dash ever since she was a foal. I remember when we used to hang out at her place. She'd tell us all sorts of stories of her adventures from when she was younger. Rainbow Dash loved it when she did that. The sound of adventure always got her excited. She'd also make us some of the most adorable outfits. Rainbow didn't like that as much."
"I can definitely see how that would be embarrassing."
"Oh, yes. In fact, Rainbow Dash-"
Finally, Fluttershy realized what she had just done. She turned her attention to the rainbow pony
"Oh! I'm so sorry, Rainbow Dash!"
"Okay, I'm ready for this nightmare to end", groaned RD.
It wasn't as bad as Rainbow Dash was trying to make it out to be, that didn't matter at the moment for her. What mattered was that someone was now going to get curious about her life. Sure, they were just part of a dream, but it was the thought that counted. Well, at least things couldn't get much worse for her.
"I don't know...I kinda want to hear more about Granny Dash."
Rainbow froze for a moment, before looking up to find a ponified Sunset Shimmer, smiling down at her, with another familiar-looking individual standing beside her.
Author's Note
I just noticed that I managed to reference quite a few things in this. See if you can spot them! You might even notice a few things that I didn't mean to reference. Anyway, sorry about the late update. Honestly I wanted to post this before the S6 Finale, but...well, let's just say that making a sofa isn't as easy as people may think.
And yes, I did play around with a few ideas like the G3 grandma thing. I got inspired, and couldn't help myself.
Remember that feedback, advice (as long as they're legitimately helpful), and comments are always welcome. I'll probably just edit a few things on my own, actually. There were quite a few of those I feel as if I could do better. Kinda rushed, you know? Still, it helps to have others point out what my eyes may not see, so any help would be appreciate it.
Here's some music, just because you took some time to read this.
(Fun Fact: I was listening to this song when I came up with Pinkie's part...I have so many plans for her...I realize how creepy that sounds. I'll stop.)
Seeya!
