"Alright Troublemaker, I've had enough of your act for one day, you're going down." The calm, confident voice of Wonderbolt declared. The fastest girl in the world had been hunting this madman for days, and now she would finally get to end his grasp on her city.
"Ahh, Miss Wonderbolt," A choppy voice greeted her. "I was wondering when you'd show up. Where's your purple friend? He had something better to do tonight?" The voice came from all around the abandoned warehouse, and even when she strained her ears against the tight fabric of her speed suit, Wonderbolt couldn't make out where it was coming from. "It's a shame you had to come all this way, only to die for nothing."
Her earpiece buzzed "Bolt, I'm detecting a lot of movement in there. This warehouse, it might not be as abandoned as we thought. I'm reading at least 10 other heat signatures, be alert."
The choppy voice spoke again. "Goodbye, Miss Wonderbolt." With the last of the message played, dozens of speakers, cleverly hidden in various containers and corners, exploded at once. Sparks filled the air, but Wonderbolt managed to avoid any debris that were headed her way. Gunshots announced the arrival of Troublemakers minions.
"Switchboard, I can take out these goons, no problem, but I need a location on—"
"Troublemaker, already on it." Her sentence was finished in her ear, so Wonderbolt busied herself with locating, disarming, and retaining the shooters. With her speed, the gunners found themselves neatly tied up together on the floor in the blink of an eye. Clapping her hands together, Wonderbolt brushed her hands clean of imagined dust.
"Oh, and Switchboard, tell the cops where I left their present." She paused. "You got a trace?"
"Heh, not yet honey. I'm fast, but not as fast as you. Gimme a secon—" The voice trailed off, lost in focus. "8th and Sentinel, it's a storage building for the Museum of Natural History. Fair warning, it looks like he left a trail for me on purpose, could be a trap. Be careful."
A new, artificially deepened voice joined the conversation over the comms. "Wizard here, I just finished up the 10-20 B on 4th, I'll meet you there."
Wonderbolt's lips formed into a smug grin "Race you!" She bolted out of the warehouse, a rainbow streak left in her wake. She arrived outside the new location just as space split in two with a magical flash to reveal a figure. A star coated blue robe covered everything from the shoulders down, and a similarly colored hat adorned the figure's head. Thick white hair and a beard nearly completely concealed the figure's face, revealing only a little purple nose and magenta eyes. "Okay, fine, we'll call it a draw." Wonderbolt said. "Your suit looks more ridiculous every time you put it on."
"Oh shut up" a voice that was unmistakably female retorted from deep beneath the fake beard. Her voice changed back to a deep grumble. "The bad guys all think I'm a guy, keeps me safer than you. Plus, fighting criminals in spandex? Please, Bolt, have some decency."
"Hay, if they're checking me out, they're even less on guard. What's not to like? And you? Can you even see through all that hair?"
Their earpieces buzzed again "Hay, you remember who designed our suits? They're all fantastic, so cut the chatter and get Troublemaker." There was a pause. "And Wizard, we know you know that isn't spandex. It's a—"
"High density polymer fabric specifically designed for high speeds and heats generated from friction, I know, now shush."
Wizard made a few magic gestures, before casually strolling towards the front doors. Wonderbolt vanished in a Rainbow Blur, no doubt planning on dashing in at the last moment to save the day. Wizard found the front doors locked, but a quick flick of his wrist unlocked them from the inside. He resumed his casual stroll, glancing around gently, so as to reveal absolutely no concern. Passing around a painting of the Crystal Tower, his eyes fell upon Troublemaker. A tall green man with blue eyes and a dark blue hairdo. His black and white checkered suit and striped tie were unmistakable. Troublemaker turned to face his visitor, a grin plastered onto his face. "Wizard, what a pleasure." He gave his best slow clap "I was expecting Miss Bolt, but you will do just as well." A beat "I know you're powerful, I know you could tear me down right now, but hear me out. If I pass out, vanish, or am otherwise harmed, these poor sods will find out just how troublesome hydrofluoric acid can be for their health." He indicated to a screen behind him, which flickered on to reveal four people gagged and tied. "So, unless you want their deaths on your head, I'd advise you hold perfectly still."
"Troublemaker," Wizard bellowed "you must be a true coward to hide behind those too weak to defend themselves." He weighed his options. Switchboard would have heard that all, and should already be working on a trace. He decided to play for time. "What do you hope to gain here?"
Troublemaker looked ready to respond, but Wizard lost focus. There was a familiar feeling in his head, a pressure, both uncomfortable and distracting, but he welcomed it in. Sorry Twi, he's jamming out comms. What's going on in there?
Twilight forced her surface thoughts into coherent sentences. Four hostages. Off sight. Trace the signal. Camera there. Monitor here. Good? Twilight absolutely needed to come back to her scenes before Troublemaker caught on. Fortunately, she did; the feeling faded. Troublemaker must have been monologuing the whole time, she thought, because he was mid-speech at the moment. Twilight decided to keep tuning him out and instead focused on considering what little magic she could preform without moving, glowing, or otherwise giving herself away.
Wonderbolt was running as fast as she could. Switchboard had found the hostages, which would have been good news if they weren't so far away. Apparently Troublemaker thought it would be ironic to imprison folks inside the statue of liberty, and while Wonderbolt could fly, it would still take time. The longer she took, the more likely she would wind up finding corpses, not hostages, and that thought pushed her ever faster. Buildings flew past. The world around her glowed a brilliant rainbow spectrum. When she finally reached the bay, she barely remembered to flap her wings. One giant leap would get her there faster than she could fly, and in moments she was at the statue. She ran around the base of the statue, and then the whole island, before entering the statue. Sure enough the top of the statue held four hostages, and twice as many goons.
Twilight had compiled a short list of options for what she could do. She could change her voice, in an attempt to scare Troublemaker off, or she could levitate herself in an attempt to scare him off. The thought that those were her best options left her a bit more than a bit desperate. Fortunately for her, Troublemaker's speech was showing no signs of coming to a close. She was seriously starting to consider making her eyes glow, when a rainbow streak flashed across the monitor behind Troublemaker. "It took her long enough." Twilight thought "Now's my chance." She cleared her throat. "So very sorry to interrupt, Mr Trouble, but I think there is a flaw in your logic." She began "You see, a hostage situation requires hostages, and if you bothered turning around, I think you may find you're a bit lacking in that department."
"Wha—" A quick sleep spell interrupted Troublemaker, and he collapsed to the ground.
"Woohoo" Sunset cried as she bounced out of her desk and away from her computer. "Team Harmony saves the day yet again. You need help out of that suit, Dashie?"
"You offer every night, and every time, I tell you the same thing." Rainbow dashed through the secret lair, easily changing out of Wonderbolt suit and back into her street cloths. "I've got this. Geez, Sunset, I'm starting to think you just want to feel me up." She stuck her tongue out at Sunset before dashing over to a nearby chair.
A rip in space indicated the arrival of their second guest. Twilight stepped out and quickly tossed her bulky hat to the side. "Okay, Troublemaker, 18 of his goons, and 2 bank robbers are all in police custody. Sunset's verifiable statement has been delivered to Director Will. Please, someone remind me, why does Rainbow never help with cleanup?"
"Heh, you want me to write the reports?" Rainbow offered.
"Okay, never mind, now I remember. Good work out there tonight, Wonderbolt, Switchboard" She nudged Sunset gently with her elbow, eliciting a light chuckle from the girl.
"You guys, come on. I wasn't in the field, and running coms is easy. You did all the work."
"Uh huh, and the telepathy?" Twilight giggled as she shed her over-sized robes "That was all me."
They had been at it for months. When the girls first got the gems at Camp Everfree, Rainbow had suggested that they should be superheros, but the idea had blown over when they realized how low crime rates in Canterlot really were. Of course, Rarity would take any excuse to make new garments for her friends, but the suits had little use until now. When Rainbow, Sunset, and Twilight had all received scholarships to Manehatten University, the idea resurfaced, and soon the three of them were fighting crime all across the island. At first they had operated out of their dorm rooms, but when a certain corrupt business owner left them with no way to explain or return the money that he had left behind, they decided to upgrade to a proper secret bunker. Spaces for seven suits lined the back wall of the bunker, but only Wizard and Wonderbolt had ever actually been used. Switchboard had a suit as well, it just never got used. After much practice, Sunset had mastered her mind reading, telepathic, and even minor mind control abilities. Unlike magic shields and super speed however, none of her powers kept her from being shot. Instead, Sunset stayed in the bunker, hacking security systems and tracking targets for Wizard and Wonderbolt.
They had quite the reputation, with both the Police Department and the criminals of the city. Director Will didn't like that vigilantes were operating in his city, but they hadn't killed anyone, always left evidence, and crime rates were at an all time low, so he tolerated them. The criminals in the city feared Wizard and Wonderbolt, knowing full well that day or night their operations could be blown by one of these heroes. The town had idolized them, turning them both into symbols of hope.
Sunset was more than happy to let the others take the spotlight. Ever since she realized her abilities could be used without notice to read peoples minds, and influence those she touched, she had turned into the group's investigator. It also might have had something to do with her grades. Her conscious nagged at her, something about academic integrity, but sometimes she just couldn't resist.
The bunker itself had been designed as a joint effort, with Twilight and Sunset consulting Rarity. In the end, it was functional, well hidden, and aesthetically stunning. Sunset's computer system took up most of the main space, where the suits were stored, but to either side were well furnished living quarters. Instead of staying in the dorms, the three girls claimed they were living with friends, and stayed down in the bunker. Sunset had used a little of the money to buy and furnish a town house, just for the sake of keeping up appearances. It even had access to the bunker via the sewer system. It wasn't a glorious secret passageway, but it served its purpose.
The night had come to a close, and Sunset decided that now was as good a time as any. "I got a text from Pinkie. With Troublemaker down, are you two okay with taking a night off to hang with the girls? Pinkie wants a sleepover. 'Just like old times' she says. We could do it here, in Manehatten. I've been dying to use the house for something anyways." When Rainbow and Twilight agreed, Sunset sent off a reply to Pinkie.
Author's Note
10-20 B is NYPD code for a Bank robbery. It is a 10-30 B when in progress. Source. The more you know!
Anyways, this is just the first chapter. This takes place a year after Camp Everfree, the girls have all graduated and their lives have changed, so I have to take some time and re-introduce the mane cast. Hope you enjoyed.
As a note, I currently am operating without an editor / pre-reader. If you are interested in helping out, leave a comment or shoot me a message. Until then, if you notice any typos or tangled sentences leave a comment and I'll get right on it.
A white minivan rolled down the busy streets of Manehatten. To anyone else, it was just another midday commuter, working it's way down a main thoroughfare, but inside the van was chaos. Fluttershy's GPS and Rarity were engaged in a heated debate. The GPS insisted that they should turn right, while Rarity remembered heading straight a while longer. Pinkie Pie and Applejack were of no help at all to either cause, and Fluttershy's driving was slowly getting more and more erratic as the debate grew more and more heated. The three hour trip to Manehatten left them all exhausted, and more than ready to stretch their legs, but first they had to find the house. Eventually, Rarity turned the GPS off, and guided Fluttershy to where she remembered the house had been. Many twists and turns later, the minivan rolled into the driveway of a modern townhouse, bearing the address Pinkie's text indicated it should. The girls exploded from the van. Many stretches were had, Fluttershy apologized for her driving again, and then they were off.
The sleepover had begun.
The girls were sitting in the living room of the townhouse when Applejack finally let it out. "So, I've gotta ask; how goes the superhero act?" The day had passed enjoyably, with a walk to the local doughnut store, several board games, and much idle chatter, but the topic of Twilight and Rainbow's night jobs had been carefully avoided by all present. Applejack's comment earned her a stern look from Rarity, to which she responded "I just worry, ya know? I'd hate to see any harm come to y'all."
"Very well then, darling." Rarity replied, before she addressed the couple in question "Since the topic has been breached, I must admit, I'd love to know how my suits are holding up."
"We couldn't be more grateful Rarity." Twilight started "And Applejack, you really don't need to worry. We always have her" she gestured to Sunset "watching out for us. This city needs us. In the last two months crime has dropped nearly sixty percent. Now we even get to take the occasional night off." she chuckled "Really, we should just focus on having a good time tonight. You don't have to worry about us, okay? We're always careful."
"If you say so, sugar cube. I just hope you're as safe as you think." Applejack trailed off. Reaching to her neck she drew out her orange gemstone necklace. A perplexed look spread across her face "Now that is strange. It don't normally glow like that, an' it's warm." She dropped it to the floor in shock "Ouch! Now it's just downright hot! Sunset, you have any idea what's goin' on here?"
Sunset moved closer to the gem to get a better look. It was glowing bright orange, but before she could really investigate, there was a burning sensation just below her throat. With a little yelp, she pulled her necklace off, revealing a glowing white gemstone, nearly identical to the orange one lying on the floor. Over the course of the nest minute the same thing happened to each gemstone, and soon seven glowing stones covered the floor. "Dash, get my spectrometer from the bunker, and seven vials."
"On it!" Rainbow disappeared for an instant before reappearing with the vials. "Umm, Sunset, what does the spec-tro-me-thingy look like?"
Sunset groaned "Twilight, can you..?" Twilight nodded, and summoned not only a spectrometer, but a plethora of other tools Sunset couldn't name. Unfortunately, none of it did any good, for at that moment the light intensified tenfold before receding completely, leaving the 7 girls temporarily blinded in the living room.
Rainbow Dash was the first to react, her eyes adjusting quickly to reveal that in the middle of the room, surrounded by the gemstones, was an unfamiliar figure. He was average height, clearly male, and young, probably around her age. His skin was an off peach color, with long yellow hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in a grey hoodie and athletic shorts. More importantly, to Rainbow at least, he was an intruder in their house, late at night. Before he or anyone else had time to react to the situation, Rainbow looked him over for weapons, saw nothing, and pinned him to the wall, with her forearm across his throat. By the time everyone else's eyes had started working again, she was already delivering her threat. "Okay, this is how this is going to go. You see the six girls behind me? You are going to explain everything to them; who you are, how you got here, and anything else they ask. If they are satisfied with your answers, they might be able to convince me to let you go. Maybe. Do you understand?"
Rainbow's plan was to cut him off and force him to nod in agreement, but when she pressed on his throat, she found she couldn't actually move it. The boy coughed, clearing his throat, and then began to speak. "Funny. You are funny." He raised his voice, ignoring the Rainbow haired girl. "Is this you, Armok? You filthy slimy bastard! I thought I taught you a lesson last ti— ah, wait, no webs, not his style." He looked back to Rainbow. "Wait, you, you'd know, wouldn't you? How'd I get here?" He grabbed her arm, and with considerable strength, pushed Rainbow off of him, knocking her to the floor. "Speak!" He demanded.
Rainbow's fall spurred the others into action. Applejack stepped forward, and with her immense strength pushed the boy back into the wall. The collision made an audible thunk. "Now, I ain't one to lie, so believe me when I tell ya that ya just crossed a line, mister." Grabbing the boy by his collar, she hoisted him off the ground and pinned him to the wall with one hand on his chest, leaving his feat a good three inches off the floor. "Now, ya feel like talking, or do I have to get brutal?" He coughed, the strength being applied as pressure to his chest had clearly shocked him. He looked Applejack directly in the eyes and nodded. She removed her hand, letting the boy fall to the floor. "Good. Now, no funny business and we all walk away from this just peachy, ya hear me? What's yer name?"
"Erin." His voice had lost all of it's attitude from earlier, leaving it sounding almost empty. "My name is Erin. And if it helps, I didn't mean to end up here." He sounded almost desperate when he asked "Will you tell me where I am?"
Applejack looked around. Rainbow had stood back up, a scowl etched into her face. Pinkie, Twilight, and Sunset looked concerned. Fluttershy was obviously scared, but Rarity was giving Applejack a reassuring nod. Applejack looked back to Erin "Sure thing. Yer in Manehatten."
He gave a light chuckle. "Manehatten? Well, that's not helpful. I'm sorry, I can explain everything. Look, I know this is going to sound strange, but I'm from the future. At least, I think I am. I was just in twenty-two oh one, I'm sorry what year is it?"
Applejack rolled her eyes. "We've seen stranger things I suppose, it's Twenty Seventeen. Saturday, November, uhh... Twi?"
"Eleventh" Twilight added. "I'm a scientist, do you mind if I run a few harmless tests on you, Erin?" she summoned even more scientific apparatuses. "If Applejack trusts you, then I do too, but I'd love to know what time travel does to the human body."
"Wait," Erin interjected "Applejack? Twi, as in Twilight?" He got to his feet "No way! I mean, I knew this was possible, but... no way!" He looked around the room, finally taking in all of the people present. He pointed to them one by one, naming them off. "Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Sunset Shimmer, right?" A chorus of confused nods met him. "Okay, okay, look, I get it, it's creepy that I know your names, but I can explain."
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Pinkie Pie chimed in. "Are we, like, super famous in the future?"
"Well," he continued "Sort of. Let me explai—"
"Oh, wait, I've got it" Pinkie interjected again. "We're all from a TV show in your past, and you didn't just time travel, but traveled between dimensions!"
"No, actually you're all from a TV show in... my... past..." He cocked his head "How did you... You know what? Never mind. Pinkie Pie, would you like to continue to tell my life story?"
"Nah, sorry, that only works when it's comedically appropriate."
"That's, a little relieving, actually." He said
Sunset Shimmer piped up "If it makes it easier, I could just read your mind, and tell your story for you"
Panic. "Please no. No, thanks. I'm good. Thanks." His response came suspiciously quick and at a slightly higher pitch than usual. One steadying breath later, and his voice had returned to normal. "I mean, I can explain by myself just fine, and Applejack can tell you if I'm lying. Forgive me, but I'd prefer to keep some irrelevant, personal details to myself. Everyone has secrets, right?" He took a deep breath. "Okay, so, here's the short version. I'm from a different dimension. I discovered inter-dimensional travel, and later, time travel. I devised a plan to go back in time and solve my human race's issues by re-structuring society in the past. Unfortunately, on my way back in time, I was pulled here by something. I'm hoping you can tell me what."
He started to pace as he continued. "In my travels, I found that alternate dimensions exist in different forms. Simple Multiverse Theory suggested that all realities are due to random chances in the past splitting one reality into two. That is true, to an extent, but other varieties exist. Some realities are fixed, and have windows into other fixed realities. TV shows, books, movies, many of them are actually windows into another reality. That's why I know who you all are. On my earth, you're all in a TV show. Well, actually a movie. Actually, a movie series. But that's not the point." He took a pause, then resumed "Look, I'm sure you all have questions, but can you please tell me what happened to bring me here first?"
The girls all looked at each other, and once Applejack confirmed that Erin was telling the truth, Rarity took the initiative. "Sure, darling" she began "You see, we were just having a pleasent little get together when these" she held up her gemstone "began to glow, and burn us. We put them on the floor, and then, in a brilliant flash of light, you appeared." Her eyes grew distant. "Upon reflection, it was actually quite the display."
"The elements? But, why on earth would they do that? That... That makes no sense!" He growled in frustration. "Look, maybe I can just leave, you can get back to your business, I can get back to mine. Do any of you mind if I try?" A chorus of 'not really' prompted him to grab his watch and press a button. Whatever he had expected to happen simply didn't, so he pressed it again. When nothing happened again, he let out an irritated grunt. "Well, it looks like I'm stuck here. Look, I've survived in 75 different dimensions before, usually in makeshift shelters. I know it's a lot to ask, and I can certainly make do without, but if you had a place I could stay for a few days while I figure this out, I would really appreciate it."
The girls looked to each other for confirmation. Rainbow was the first to speak up. "Applejack, he's not lying?" Applejack shook her head, and Rainbow continued "Well, we have the space."
Sunset interrupted "Okay, hold up. I'm all for helping out, but I say favors for favors. I have a place you can stay, but you have to let me read your mind." She gave Erin a stern look "This isn't up for debate. We need to be able to trust you completely, and it seems you already know quite a bit about us."
He looked between the seven faces, before letting out a defeated sigh. "Okay, some rules then. You read my mind, but you keep the details to yourself. If you can still trust me after you read my mind, you can tell the others that I can be trusted, and anything significant I've left out, but no specific details. Please, I'm not exactly proud of my past." he took a breath "And, um, we do it alone. I want to be able to talk to you about what you see first. Applejack can tell you that I'm telling the truth: I have no reason nor desire to do you any harm. Deal?"
"He ain't lying," Applejack said "an' everyone's got somethin' they'd like to keep private. Sounds fair tah me. Sunset?"
"Deal."
Author's Note
The next chapter is already in the works. I've written most of what needs to happen, I just don't like the pacing. As soon I work that out, it'll be up.
Again, I currently am operating without an editor / pre-reader. If you are interested in helping out, leave a comment or shoot me a message. Until then, if you notice any typos or tangled sentences leave a comment and I'll get right on it.
