The Second Dimension

Beeping. A loud, obnoxious beeping noise had been going off repeatedly in my ear for the past ten minutes, but I couldn't be bothered to open my eyes to see the offender. My entire body throbbed with pain, as if someone had taken a wooden club and proceeded to beat the stuffing out me like a pinata. I immediately recognized the signature sting of stitches around my wounds, and I could feel a large gauze wrapped over my chest where I had been shot. Despite the lingering pain, it felt nice and warm—all wrapped up in a soft, thick blanket. I didn't know where I was, nor did I particularly care. In my current state, the last thing I wanted to do was to get up; I'd rather just lie here and sleep until the pain goes away.

The incessant beeping continued as I reluctantly opened my eyes to see where I was being kept. I was in a hospital, if the heart rate monitor I was hooked up to was any indication. An IV had been hooked up to my right forearm and placed right next to a computer. Wait a minute… Where was my stuff!? My saddlebags had been removed, and I couldn't feel my weapon holsters. I felt around my neck with my right hoof. The locket! It was gone! I panicked for a brief moment as I quickly pulled my left hoof from the blankets and sighed with relief. I still had my Hooficator; most likely because the doctors were unable to remove it without chopping off my hoof first.

That reminded me—what happened to Ethan? Was he okay? Had he escaped, or had he been caught? I opened the flap on my Hooficator in hopes of contacting him to see if he was alright, but all I got on my screen was No Signal in yellow pixelated text. Fantastic. This meant I had no way of contacting him until I meet him in person. Why was my Hooficator doing that anyway? They were usually highly efficient, so why was it short circuiting now? I slammed the screen shut with a huff and slumped back onto the bed.

Calm down, Jason. I told myself mentally. Ethan is smart, strong, and very resilient. He's saved your life more times than you can count, and he's more likely to be worried about you than you about him. Ethan is going to be fine... I hope.

...

Bad, Jason. Let's think of something else. Like how nice the ceiling tiles are, or how clean the place is, or that piece of paper next to the bed.

My train of thought stopped as my brain processed that last sentence. There, on the bed stand right next to the triage, a newspaper clipping had been left behind by whoever was in this room last. Slowly, and with painstaking effort, I reached out to try and grab it.

"Come on, almost there." Finally, after several missed attempts I managed to get a good grip on the a corner and pulled it closer.

Even up close, the front page photo was still relatively unclear, as if the photo was taken in a hurry. Everything was slightly blurry, but I was still able to at least somewhat tell what was going on—a large blue portal open in the sky. The headline read:

UNIDENTIFIED PONY FALLS FROM MYSTERIOUS PORTAL IN THE SKY.

"Well that certainly isn't comforting."

Something else caught my attention about the photo. At the bottom of the photo, almost out of the shot, was a small black, rectangular shape, too small to pinpoint what it actually was. I looked back at the portal. It was identical to the one I was sucked into. Wait a minute, what happened to the T.S.D? Then it hit me. Ethan's disappearance, my faulty Hooficator, the blue portal and vortex—I had jumped dimensions! If the device was back home, did that mean I was stuck here with no way back? Deciding that I would worry about that later, I read through some of the actual story.

Published June 16th 2024.

Within the outskirts of Ponyville, a strange blue portal mysteriously appeared from thin air in the sky on the edge of the Everfree Forest. Shortly after opening, a strange, black Earth Pony fell from seemingly within the portal. The Earth Pony was lucky enough to have survived the fall as a bystander Unicorn, who wishes to remain unnamed, attempted to use her magic to slow down his descent. As of yet, nopony has been able to identify who this pony is or where he originates from. The Earth Pony has since been transported to the nearest hospital where he currently remains in recovery.

Following the Earth Pony's arrival, other ponies dressed in black suits seem to have emerged from the portal. These ponies have been seen to showcase extremely aggressive behaviour, and caution is strongly advised to anypony who is approached by one.

A strange device was spotted lying on the ground in the middle of the town. This device seemed to be linked with the portal. The Doctor was quick to arrive on the scene and successfully used the device to close the portal. He has since claimed to have no knowledge on what the device is or how it works, but states it could be potentially dangerous if it falls into the wrong hooves. The Doctor claims that he will be taking it with him back to his lab for further analysis, and has yet to make a statement since. The princesses had the following to say about the incident...

The newspaper slipped from my hooves before I realized I'd stopped reading. This was really bad. Worse than the time Ethan and I had the bright idea to try hot-wiring a hover-car. Not only had a bunch of Argo's guards followed me through the portal, but the T.S.D. was here! I had to find that thing and get the hell out of here before those guards did.

My train of thought was interrupted by an orange Unicorn stallion entering the room. He was wearing a white coat, a pair of glasses, and had a stethoscope hanging around the back of his neck.

"Great," he said, approaching my bed, "You're awake. How do you feel?"

"Completely smashed," I said.

The doctor just nodded. "Your injuries were quite severe. You had large flesh wounds, and we found a few small pieces of metal in your chest and barrel, that we have fortunately successfully removed. We've also found some bone fragments in those same areas. They were too small for us to be able to repair, so we had to remove those as well. Don't worry, you're going to be fine. If all goes well, you should be fully recovered enough to leave in a few days, however your bones will take about six weeks to fully recover."

A few days? I didn't have time to wait that long. The sooner I had the T.S.D. back in my hooves, the sooner I'd be able to get home and find out what happened to Ethan. Every second spent lying here was another second Argo would be utilising to get his hooves on the device. I couldn't afford to let him have it. Not this time. How much time had I already lost anyway?

"How long have I been out?" I asked.

The doctor looked down at a clipboard on the end of my bed. "According to your medical sheet, you've been unconscious for approximately four days."

My eyes widened, and I jolted up in a sudden state of panic. I immediately regretted sitting up so quickly, as an excruciating sharp pain shot through my entire body as I did, and I grew dizzy a few moments later.

"Hold it," said the doctor. "Take it easy. If you keep moving like that, you're going to pass out again."

I wasn't listening. I was too focused on what he'd just said. Had I really been unconscious for that long? By that time there was a strong chance Argo already had the T.S.D, and Ethan was already dead. That is, if he was caught. The lack of a working Hooficator to communicate with him only increased my anxiety.

"Where's my stuff?" I asked urgently, frantically looking around the room.

"Don't worry, your belongings are just under the bed," said the doctor reassuringly. He used his horn to levitate something, and my saddlebags emerged from under my bed. He gently placed the bags next to me on the bed. Next to the the saddlebags, he placed my weapons. It was a surprise to me that he allowed me to keep my weapons under the bed, unless guns weren't a thing in this world. Probably also assumed the dagger was just a knife I used for cooking or something. I slowly sat up and shifted through the bags to make sure nothing had been removed. Fortunately, my bags had everything, including Hannah's locket—thank goodness! There was no way I was losing that thing again.

"Alright," I said, closing my saddlebags up. "I'm ready."

Almost immediately, the doctor turned his head from below the bed to face me. "I'm sorry, ready for what?"

"I really appreciate all you've done for me, but I really have some urgent stuff I've got to do. I have to leave this hospital immediately."

The doctor frowned and shook his head. "No can do. You're still recovering from your injuries. I can't in good conscious let you go for at least another few days."

"I haven't got time!" I said, my panic levels increasing. "You need to understand, I've had worse injuries than this before. I know how to handle myself outside of the hospital when I'm injured. I wouldn't ask to leave if it wasn't urgent, but it is."

"You're saying that it's an emergency?"

"Yes! As in, the life of a friend of mine could be on the line kind of emergency. I can't stay here. If I stayed here, and something happened to him, I would never forgive myself. You have to let me go. Please! I'm begging you!"

The doctor stopped to consider what I'd just said. He took a deep breath. "Well, provided that you're aware of the consequences, and it's not a matter of life or death, you do have the right to refuse treatment."

"Trust me," I said. "I know the risks."

The doctor sighed. "Alright. I'll let you go early... under one condition."

"What is it?"

"Take it easy on yourself. Avoid doing anything that's physically demanding. If you're required to do something that could strain your injuries, please get somepony else to do it for you so they have time to properly heal." Yeah, that wasn't going to happen, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

"Is that it?" I asked.

The doctor nodded. "Just be aware that by leaving early, you're leaving the hospital without a full recovery. You're likely to experience increased muscle fatigue, internal injuries may worsen if you do any physically extraneous activities, and you will experience occasional short blackouts as your body works on healing your injuries. Those shouldn't last too long, a couple seconds at most if you're giving your body the care and rest it needs. I strongly advise staying here until full recovery."

"I acknowledge that," I said. "But I still insist." I was more than likely going to end up in another brawl within a few minutes of leaving the hospital, but there was no way the doctor was going to let me leave if he knew that. It didn't feel right lying to him, but I had to get out of here as soon as possible.

"Very well," The doctor walked over to the IV, hesitated, and looked back at me. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I'm positive," I said. The doctor disabled the machine and proceeded to remove the chords attached to my body, while I slipped my saddlebags, weapons and jacket on, preparing to leave. A fresh burst of pain shot through my wounds and I felt bile climb up my throat as I got out of the bed, but I made an effort not to show it. The doctor might've thought I was too unfit to be let out of the hospital this early. To his credit, I probably was. In any other situation, I would have stayed. But Equestria needed me. I had to find that device. While I didn't know it for a fact, I had a creeping feeling in my gut that Ethan's life depended on it.

The doctor escorted me to the exit. Despite my stitches, and carrying the extra weight of my saddlebags, I managed to reach the front of the building with little difficulty. It probably helped that I was used to coping with injuries of this nature. I learned quickly to just suck it up and ignore the pain as long as possible. Upon arriving at the waiting room, he instructed me to wait while he finalized my departure.

While waiting, my mind went into overdrive planning my next move. Obviously I had to find the T.S.D, but how was I going to figure out where to look? My only clue was that some random 'Doctor' was keeping it locked up in some top secret laboratory. This lab and Doctor could be anywhere, so I didn't have a point to start from. My attention snapped back to reality as the doctor approached me with a clipboard.

"Alright, you're good to go," he said. "You'll find the exit just outside those doors." He pointed to a set of glass double doors in front of us.

"Thanks," I said. At that moment, a thought entered my mind. "Wait, I don't have any health insurance, not here at least. Who's paying for my hospital bills?"

"Don't worry about that," he reassured me. "The pony who brought you here insisted she'd take care of that."

I nodded in understanding "I'll have to thank her if I see her then." Assuming I could figure out who she was.

"Take good care of yourself," said the doctor, turning around.

"One last thing," I said before he left.

"Yes?"

"I heard rumours about this device being found by a 'Doctor', who had taken the device for safekeeping. Any idea who this might be?"

"I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the newspaper was referring to The Doctor."

"The Doctor?" I asked. "As in, Doctor… Who?"

"Just The Doctor," he said. "Don't worry, his name confuses everypony, but he's simply known as The Doctor. He's a light brown Earth Pony with crazy hair, wears a blue tie—sometimes a multi-coloured scarf—and he has an hourglass for a cutie mark."

I almost asked what a cutie mark was, but decided it wasn't important right now.

"Do you know how I can find him?"

The doctor shook his head again. "The problem with The Doctor, is that he's nearly impossible to catch. He spends most of his time in his laboratory, and the location of his lab remains a secret. The best way you're going to catch him is if you see him out and about. You'll find him with some luck. Or he will find you."

"Thanks." The doctor turned back around, and disappeared down the hall. I approached the doors, took a deep breath, and walked out of the building, and immediately was assaulted by blinding light raining down upon me. Bloody hell, since when did the sun get so bright? Spending most of my life in the dark, it had been years since I'd last seen this much sunlight. I blinked owlishly a couple dozen times, standing there blindly for what felt like a few solid minutes. When my eyes eventually adjusted, I looked at this brand new dimension laid before me.

The Ponyville in front of me was nothing like the one I was in before. The sky was clear, and incredibly blue. I can't remember the last time the sky wasn't ashen grey. I took a deep breath through my nose, sniffing the air, which smelt wonderful, like… I don't even know, but it was something else. The grass looked pure, and healthy. The buildings towered over my head, so full of colour. Everything was vivid, luscious, colourful and alive. Sarah would've loved it here.

To top everything off were the citizens that occupied the streets of Ponyville. They had uniquely coloured coats, having every colour I could've imagined. Everypony looked healthy, casually trotting through the village, smiling, and chatting with the ponies they happened to be walking next to. There were no cruel guards or an evil dictator threatening them in sight. They were smiling. They were free. And most importantly, they were happy. I had never seen so much colour, or such a pleasant place in my entire life. I closed my eyes, sniffing the beautifully fresh air for a second time. There was only one word I could find to describe this place: Peace. The kind everyone dreamed of back home.

For a single fleeting moment, I was at peace, until that sense of peace was eroded by bitter rage, anger, and envy. What in God's name have the ponies of this world done to deserve this utopian Equestria, while we were forced to suffer under the cruelty of Argo? We had to slog through the wastelands, barely making it to the day's end as thousands were slaughtered by the hour. Yet this, this was what was lurking on the other side, only just out of our reach. It's… it's just not fair! I thought as red-hot tears threatened to fall across my cheeks. We deserve better. And then, as if a lightswitch had been turned, my eyes hardened. I will make this our reality for everyone back home. Even if it kills me. Even if it's the last thing I do. I swear it.

As I walked down the streets, many ponies were staring at me, fixing me strange looks. Some of them were glaring at me. Others were slowly moving away, shielding their children from my presence. Quiet mumbles, whispers and murmuring broke out between some of them, no doubt all about how I looked. I didn't blame them. In my dimension, ponies who looked like—well—like myself were the norm. But in the eyes of these ponies, I was the outcast. The anomaly.

One particular pony seemed to recognize me, a yellow Pegasus with pink flowing hair, green eyes, and a strange image of three pink butterflies on her flank. She rushed over immediately upon seeing me.

"Oh my goodness!" Her voice was very quiet, calm and gentle, but also carried a sound of genuine concern. "I've been so worried. How are you feeling? Are you doing okay?"

"Excuse me, but how could you have been worried about me? I don't believe we've even met."

The yellow Pegasus froze, her eyes widened. Did I really just frighten her? All I did was ask her a question. She was quivering, and seemed to be at a loss of words.

"Oh-I-um-I'm so sorry," she said in a quiet, high pitched and almost whispering tone. "It's just-I-uh-you-ah-you were unconscious."

Okay, fair enough, but what was the deal with this Pegasus? The way she was shivering and stumbling over herself while saying the most mundane things, made me afraid that she would scream and run the other way if I as much as said hello. Was it my appearance that was scaring her?

"Are you feeling okay? You seem terrified."

Great, now she was hyperventilating.

"Calm down," I said, trying to sound as quiet and soothing as possible. "I'm not going to hurt you, Miss. Is my appearance that intimidating?"

She didn't reply. She just looked towards the ground. Her eyes were darting from side to side, and she was kicking the grass with her hoof. After about thirty seconds of watching her collect herself she looked back up to me, and slowly nodded.

"Don't worry," I said. "I get it. You're not familiar with ponies of my… type." I think that was helping, because her breathing was slowing down, and seemed like she was gaining at least a little more self control. "Now, would you care to explain how you found me?"

The Pegasus just gulped. This was going to be harder than I thought. If only Argo's guards, or better yet, Argo himself was this easy to intimidate.

"It's okay, talk when you feel ready"—I subtly backed up a little to give her more space—"I just want to know what happened. How did you find me, and what did you do afterwards?"

The yellow Pegasus took a deep breath. "Umm… well… I was just walking through Ponyville, until a strange portal appeared in the sky." She was slowly shivering again.

"Go on. Then what?"

Her breathing was getting faster, and faster. "You fell!"

'No shit, sherlock' was what I wanted to say. I probably would've said it if I was talking to somepony like Ethan, but seeing how this Pegasus seemed terrified of me just by standing here, anything mildly aggressive would've sent her running for the hills. Instead, I just slowly nodded.

"And I fell… where?"

Her eyes bulged. "You-fell-right-in-front-of-me!" she snapped, determined to get the conversation over with as soon as possible.

"So, you're saying, I landed directly in front of you?"

"Mmm hmm," she said, nodding. "I saw your belongings scattered about you. You were injured. You were unconscious. You were bleeding. For a while, I thought you… that you were… you were…"

"...Dead?"

The yellow Pegasus just gulped, as if the mere thought of the word had choked her up.

"Wait," I said. "Something doesn't add up." The Pegasus looked petrified, as if I was about to accuse her of some heinous crime. "I read in the newspaper that a Unicorn used levitation to break my fall. How is it that I almost landed right in front of you if a Unicorn tried to catch me?"

"Oh," she said. "That was my friend, Rarity."

"Rarity, Rarity," I said, commiting the name to memory. "I don't think I've met her yet."

The Pegasus shivered again. "That's probably because she left town after she helped me drop you off at the hospital."

"Anyway, so she sees me falling, tries to use her magic to catch me, fails spectacularly, causing me to crash in front of you. And you two decided to transport me to the hospital, is that right?"

Once again, her only response was a simple nod.

"What about my stuff, did you bring them with you?" She nodded again. "Okay then, that's all I really wanted to know. Well, don't you worry about me. I'm still quite sore, but the doctors say I'm going to be fine."

The Pegasus was staring at my injuries, and was fixated with a perplexed look on her face. "What happened? It looks like something awful happened to you." I noticed that she was looking at all of my scars—not just my more recent gunshot wound—which were still slightly visible under my jacket. I quickly grabbed the zipper and pulled it up to hide them.

"Let's just say where I'm from, it's a tough neighbourhood. I have a lot of enemies, and I get into a lot fights."

The Pegasus gasped, taking a step back. Her eyes appeared to have shifted from my scars and was now staring at my flank. She looked extremely baffled.

"What?" I asked, a little irritated at this point.

"Umm... how old are you?" she said, not changing her facial expression.

That question was enough for me to get my muscles tense. "I'm twenty four. Why do you ask?"

The Pegasus was stunned, and her mouth was agape into a comical 'O' shape. Why was she so surprised to hear that?

"Well, if you're a fully grown pony," she momentarily paused to take another quick glance at my flank, "then where's your cutie mark?"

I relaxed as I glanced back at the flank myself, then looked back to her.

"I'm sorry to answer a question, with a question," I said. "But what exactly is a cutie mark? Is it that tattoo you have on your flank?"

The yellow Pegasus's eyes noticeably widened and she flinched back as though struck. "You really don't know?"

"No. I don't."

"Who are you?" asked the yellow Pegasus.

"The name's Jason," I said. "Jason Colby." I expected her to respond by either telling me what her name was, or by telling me 'it was nice to meet you'. Instead, she just raised an eyebrow. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Jason Colby? That's your name?"

"Yeah, it is. Why? What's wrong with it?"

"N-Nothing," she said, turning her gaze to the ground. "I've just never heard a name like that before."

"Really?" I said. "Well, what's your name then?"

She hesitated for a minute, before responding. "Umm... my name is..." She mumbled something very softly. She was so quiet, I was sure mute ponies could make louder sounds.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear that."

She raised her voice, speaking slightly louder, and clearer. "My name is Fluttershy."

Fluttershy. Wow, that had to be one of the strangest names I had ever heard since Rainbow Dash. Even then, I always assumed Rainbow Dash was a nickname or something.

"Nice to meet you, Fluttershy," I said, lending out a hoof to shake, but she took a step back instead.

"So, what brings you out here?" she asked.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but it's kind of private."

"Oh, sorry to intrude," she said. Then a thought occurred to me.

"You saw my belongings when you found me, right?"

"Yea. You carry a lot of stuff."

"Did you happen to see a strange device? It looks like a black box with a bunch of buttons on it. Kind of looks like a projector. Did you see anything that matches that description?"

Fluttershy shook her head after a moment of hesitation. "I'm afraid I haven't. If I had, I would have left it with the rest of your belongings." I was positive the tiny rectangle in the photo in the newspaper was the T.S.D. That meant it should have been somewhere around my person. If the T.S.D. was right there, then why would she have left it behind? Whatever her reasons were, this meant this so called 'Doctor' got to the device before she did. "Umm, if you don't me asking, but what exactly is it?"

"I can't tell you that," I said. "But I need to find it immediately."

"I'll help you look for it then."

Okay, it was kind of her to help when she found me on the ground, but that was where I drew the line. "No way, Miss. I have to do this by myself."

"Why's that?"

"Too dangerous."

Fluttershy looked alarmed. "D-did you say d-d-dangerous?"

"Yes, dangerous. The ponies who gave me these scars are after me, and trust me when I say you do not want to be around if they find me."

"But, you're still hurt."
"So what?" I shrugged. "That's not going to stop them from trying to kill me, and in my current state, they will probably succeed," Fluttershy gulped, her eyes shrinking. "Which is why for the sake of your own safety, I respectfully request that you stay far away from me." I checked around for eavesdroppers on our conversation.
"So," I continued, "unless you know who The Doctor is or how I can find him, I'm afraid this conversation is over."

"Alright then," Fluttershy said, "I hope you find him. He's a very hard stallion to find when you need him. But if need me for anything, please let me know."

"I will, promise."

Fluttershy smiled and turned around to walk away, but stopped. "Oh my goodness, you're back already." She was addressing two ponies who were approaching her. The one on the left was an Earth Pony with an orange coat and a yellow mane, and wore a brown Stetson hat. She looked like a stereotypical cowgirl you could find in a children's book. All that was missing was a straw for her to chew on. The one on the right was a white Unicorn with deep blue eyes and one of the fanciest purple manes I had ever seen. Not once in my life had I ever seen a pony that looked so unbelievably clean. What baffled me though were their expressions. While everypony that surrounded us looked rather cheerful to me, these two were walking somberly, as if somepony had died.

"Did you find her?" Fluttershy asked them with more confidence in her voice than during our entire conversation combined. The two of them shook their heads.

"I'm afraid not, Fluttershy," said the white Unicorn before looking to the side, the pain in her voice all too apparent. Fluttershy's head hung low, and let out a sigh as her resolve just seemed to evaporate at the words. Despite having zero context on the situation, just seeing her down in the dumps like this made me pity her. The orange pony approached Fluttershy and hugged her reassuringly.

"We're sorry, Fluttershy. We looked everywhere, but we can't find any sign of Dash."

My ears suddenly jolted up. Did she just say Dash? As in, Rainbow Dash? As in, I-tried-to-kill-you-a-few-days-ago Dash? Or was this an alternate Rainbow Dash, and the one they were talking about was complete separate entity to the one back home? I opened my mouth and prepared to speak up, but refrained from saying anything; I didn't want to interrupt Fluttershy's moment with her friends. The white Unicorn opened her hooves and joined the hug with Fluttershy and the Earth Pony.

"I miss her," whispered Fluttershy through the tears. "I miss her so much, Rarity. I just want her back."

So this was the elusive Rarity, the pony that fucked up her attempt to catch me while I was in free fall.

"Don't worry, darling," said Rarity in an attempt to console her friend. "We'll find her. She can't disappear forever." Her eyes shifted from Fluttershy over to me. She gasped to the point where she almost shrieked, as she stared vacantly at me. Her mouth was wide open, clearly trying to say something but unable to find the words.

"Uhh... hi?" I started, trying to break the ice. At that moment, Rarity and Fluttershy separated. I leant out a hoof, but she just leaned backwards, pulling her hoof as far away from mine as possible.

"My goodness gracious!" she sputtered. "Why do you look so-so-"

I sighed and put my hoof back down. "I guess you're not a fan of the rugged look."

"Well, no offence, but it's just that you don't look very appealing. I mean, your hair. Your coat. And are those scars?!" She screeched, and I barely resisted the urge to plug my ears from the offending sound. "I mean, what in the name of Equestria happened to you?"

"Why are you so surprised by my appearance anyway? Aren't you the one who tried to catch me while I took a swan dive off the deep end? I thought Fluttershy helped you transport me to the hospital."

"I did," said Rarity. "At least, to some extent. Yes, I did try to catch you, but I was doing it from far away. When I ran over to see if you were okay, Fluttershy explained to me that the ambulance had already picked you up, and just wanted my help bringing your belongings. This is my first time seeing you up close."

Throughout the entire conversation, the Earth Pony was staring at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Let me get this straight," she said. "You're the one who fell from that portal the other day?"

"Why do I get the feeling I'm going to get this reaction a lot so long as I'm here?" I asked, thinking out loud. "Anyway, yeah, that's me. Howdy."

The Earth Pony tilted her head. "Who in tarnation are you?"

"Name's Jason."

"Really? Jason?"

"I know, you think it sounds weird. I really should come up with an alias to fit in better. Well, I'm Fluttershy's acquaintance, and you are?"

"Well, you seem alright," the Earth pony said, visibly relaxing a little. "Clearly you've met Fluttershy over here, but this here is Rarity," The Earth pony pointed her hoof at Rarity. "And I'm Applejack."

"Yeah, I'm just going to call her Jackie if that's okay with everypony," I chuckled. "So, I couldn't help but pick up that apparently somepony's gone missing?"

"You're right," said Fluttershy. "Several months ago, a very close friend of ours disappeared. Something happened to her, and nopony's ever seen her since. We've searched everywhere, but we can't find her. We believe she may have been kidnapped."

"That's terrible. I know what it's like to be in that situation. Just keep looking. I'm sure you'll find her eventually. There is no such thing as the perfect crime. You'll find a clue if you look hard enough"

"You really think so?"—her eyes started watering again—"Well, that means I just have to keep looking."

"There you go. That's the spirit," I said with the best fake smile I could muster.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Jason," said Applejack. "But we've got to go. We need to report to Twilight that there's still no sign of her."

We exchanged farewells as Applejack and Rarity walked past us and disappeared into the crowd. Fluttershy just stood there next to me. I turned towards her. "You should probably go with them. Like I said, you're in danger as long as you're with me."

"What is it about you that makes it so dangerous to travel with?" asked Fluttershy. "I mean, my friends and I have saved Equestria literally a dozen times from all kinds of evil. Maybe we could help you with whatever it is you need to do."

"Listen, you and your friends may have saved Equestria before, but probably not from the kind of stuff I deal with back at home. I'm gonna be blunt with you, those ponies that gave me these scars? They know I'm here. You've probably seen one or two around. Bunch of tall stallions dressed in black suits known as guards. I have something they want, and they will stop at nothing to get it. If a pony gets in their way, it's the last thing they will ever do. It's because of them you had to take me to the hospital a few days ago."

"Oh my, they sound awful," she said.

"Trust me, they are. I swear, I've had several near death experiences because of those fuckers."

Fluttershy winced. "Can you please watch your language?"

"Sorry," I said. It sounded like I really needed to keep my language under control… nah, that's not gonna happen. No way Jose. "There's this one particular guard you need to be careful of. She's probably the worst of the lot and, out of them all, she's the only one who has successfully managed to arrest me. Her boss is now essentially blackmailing her to kill me, so now she really wants me dead. What sucks for me is that she's really good at her job. If she decides you're her enemy, you're pretty much a goner."

"She sounds terrible," said Fluttershy. "How will I know if it's her?"

I froze. What was I supposed to tell her? How was I even supposed to know whether or not they were the same Rainbow Dash? I was afraid to ask, but I had to do it for her safety.

I took a deep breath. "You said that a very close friend of yours is missing, right?"

Fluttershy nodded. "What about her?"

"What was she like?"

Immediately Fluttershy jumped on the defensive, "Why do you want to know?"

'Because there's a strong chance that this friend of yours will try to kill you if you push the wrong buttons', but I bit my lip and made the smart choice. "I just want to know. I mean, she sounds like a really close friend of yours."

Fluttershy eyeballed me suspiciously. Slowly, she started edging away from me while looking around for an excuse to leave this conversation. Meanwhile, sirens started going off in my head.

Code red. Suspect is retreating. It's showtime Jason. Time to put on the Colby charm. "Listen, obviously I'm not from here. You can probably already tell but I come from far away."

Fluttershy's eyes were still darting around "And your point is?"

I sighed. "I don't want to get your hopes up just yet"—I paused for effect—"But I think there's a chance I might have met her."

Fluttershy froze after my statement. In an unexpected bout of energy, she jumped forward till her face was an inch away from me. "You have?"

I jerked back in surprise. "I don't know. That's why I need you to tell me about her." And hook, line and sinker. See, Ethan? This is how you make up bullshit on the spot.

"Well," Fluttershy started. "She's a Pegasus."

I just blinked at her. "Do you think you could be a little more specific? What does she look like?"

"Oh, right. Umm, her coat is cyan. She has rose coloured eyes, and her cutie mark consists of a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt coming out of it."

"And just to specify, those tattoos you have on your flanks, those are cutie marks right?"

Fluttershy fixed me with a strange look. "I still don't get it. How can a fully grown pony like yourself not know what a cutie mark is?"

"Cutie marks aren't a thing where I'm from," I said dismissively. "I had never heard of them before today. Besides, it's not important. Keep going."

"She's fast."

"Again, Fluttershy, that's not specific. I know lots of ponies who are fast. Hell, I'm fast."

"Not as fast as Dash. She even joined the Wonderbolts."

I stopped dead in my tracks. "The fuck is a Wonderbolt?"

"Language!"

"Sorry." I cleared my throat. "The bloody hell is a Wonderbolt?"

Fluttershy just rolled her eyes. "Never mind. The point is, she's the fastest pony in Equestria."

"And her name is Dash, right?" I held my breath, praying that she didn't say-

"Yeah. Rainbow Dash."

Well shit. Despite my best efforts to suppress it, a loud groan escaped my mouth.

Fluttershy stared devastatingly at me. "What is your problem? I just described a very close friend of mine that I have lost, and that's your reaction?"

How was I supposed to tell her? I guess it was best to tell her as it is.

"No, I didn't mean it like that!" I quickly tried to cover up my mistake. "It's just... "

Fluttershy went from looking offended to concerned. "Just what?"
There was no point in trying to prolong it. I had to tell her. I took a deep breath.

"Fluttershy, I can confirm that I have definitely met your friend. Very recently, might I add. I know what happened to her."

Fluttershy's lip started quivering, "What do you mean? What happened to Dashie?"

I hesitated. "Hearing this is going to hurt you, Fluttershy. I know it will."

Fluttershy was tearing up. "It's going to hurt?"

"A lot. I honestly wish I didn't have to tell you. But I have to, for the sake of your own safety."

Tears were now pouring down her muzzle and coalescing into a puddle at our hooves.

"I don't think she's the same Rainbow Dash that was once your friend anymore. The night before I came here, Rainbow Dash caught me. She took me to a place where I was to be executed, and if my best friend hadn't broken me out in time, that would've been the end of me."

Fluttershy looked horrified, and she broke down into even bigger sobs than before. Soon, she was attracting the attention of bystanders nearby, most of whom were giving me the stink eye. "I don't believe you! It can't be true. Rainbow Dash would never do that. She couldn't."

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed we were gaining an audience. A relatively large group of ponies were starting to surround us. The fact she was crying made things look terrible on my part, and I didn't want the information about Rainbow Dash getting out in the open. At least not yet.

"This isn't the best place to talk about this," I whispered in her ear. "Do you know anywhere we can discuss this more privately?"

"Well"—she paused to collect herself—"there is one place I know."

"Alright, here we are."

Upon the sight of our destination my ears drooped, and my jaw started scraping the pavement. In front of me was the craziest looking building I had ever seen. While the main structure of the building seemed normal, what really stuck out to me was the roof. The first two stories were topped by an enormous roof that looked like the icing for a chocolate cake, decorated with white sugar frosting around the edges. In the middle of the roof was a third storey in the form of a giant cupcake, which was literally topped off by a fourth storey in the shape of a slightly smaller cupcake. At the very top of the building were three giant candles. The entire building looked like a life sized gingerbread house. It was a sight to behold. If only I had a camera with me. No one's gonna believe this when I get back.

"Welcome to Sugarcube Corner," said Fluttershy.

"Wow," I sighed. "This place is amazing! I've never seen anything like it."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Fluttershy's muzzle. "Wait till you taste the food inside."

As we walked through the entrance, a tiny bell rang. Then the smell kicked in. Oh God, the smell. A very sweet scent of hot sugary pastries, as if they'd just come fresh out of an oven. The smell grew stronger as we approached the counter. My mouth was watering heavily at this point, and my stomach was churning as if it hadn't eaten in days, which was most likely the case. We arrived at the front desk, and I stared at the glass counter. The shelves were jam packed with some of the sweetest and most delicious looking desserts I ever could've imagined. This place had hoof buns, cakes, donuts, cookies, pies, puddings, and heaps more that I had never seen before in my life. The sheer amount of choices I had were overwhelming.

Fluttershy rang the silver bell sitting on the desk. In the blink of an eye, a pink Earth Pony popped up from behind the desk right in front of my face.

"HI!"

"Jesus bloody Christ on a fucking pogo stick!" I yelled and started backpedalling in shock, startled by her appearing out of thin air. She was completely drenched in vibrant pink, had lively blue eyes, and a wild poofy mane. She kind of reminded me of Hannah, except much older, and I don't think I had ever seen a pony look so cheerful. While many of the ponies I had seen just outside looked pretty happy, this pony looked like her face was going to split in two any second. She had a massive smile, and seemed like she was just exploding with joie de vivre.

Upon the sight of her, Fluttershy instantly seemed to have lightened up. "Hey, Pinkie Pie."

Pinkie Pie? By this point, I had grown just to accept that this is how names worked in this world. As Pinkie caught a glimpse of me, she froze, and stared at me without saying a word. She was making me feel uncomfortable.

I lifted a hoof and waved at her with extreme caution. "Hello? I come in peace. Please don't hurt me."

Pinkie Pie gasped, and all of her attention locked onto Fluttershy. "You didn't tell me he left the hospital! How am I supposed to organise a welcome party if I don't know these things?"

Fluttershy shrugged. "I just met him."

My list of questions was increasing at an alarming rate. Like how the lack of a party was what was bothering her, not the fact I was carrying several weapons and was covered in scars.

"Excuse me, a welcome party? You mean to say you would have thrown a party to welcome me to Ponyville had I not been unconscious?"

"Well of course silly! How else are you going to make friends if you're new here?"

I could feel the migraine building up the more I started thinking. Fuck it. I have lost the ability to care. My mental health is not worth this. "Pinkie, it's fine. I don't need you to throw a party for me. I'm going be moving along soon, so no need to put in the extra effort ."

Pinkie started giggling, "Silly pony. It doesn't matter that you're staying for a short while. You're here now, so you get the same treatment everyone else does, or my name isn't Pinkamena Diane Pie. Now, whose name should I put on the invitation letters?" She pulled out a neat stack of envelopes from beneath the counter.

If I was born here, what would my name be? I asked myself. Ah, fuck it, I'll go with my real name.

"Colby. Jason Colby."

Pinkie smiled at me sincerely. "Nice to meet you, Jason." Finally. It was kind of a breath of fresh air to for once be able to state my name in this world without receiving a weird look. Maybe that was because this pony looked just as eccentric as I did. She turned to Fluttershy. "Anyway, what can I get you two?"

Fluttershy placed a hoof on her chin as she analysed the contents of the glass counter. "Hmm… I'll have a Caramel Sundae please."

Pinkie Pie beamed. "Coming right up, and what about you, Jason? What would you like?"

Her extremely positive and friendly behaviour was really throwing me off. The only ponies I knew who were this approachable were my best friends, especially Sarah. I looked at the menu and back at the glass counter for a solid twenty seconds.

"Can I please have a Chocolate Pie with a large Chocolate Milkshake?"

Pinkie Pie smiled again. "Okie Dokie Loki!" After Fluttershy paid, Pinkie turned around, and disappeared into the kitchen. Fluttershy and I sat down at one of the tables while we waited for Pinkie to serve our food.

I checked around the rest of the room to see if anypony else was here. It was just the two of us. Good. I looked at Fluttershy.

"How are you feeling? About the truth?"

"That's just it, Jason. There's evidence to prove that you're mistaken. How can you say for sure that it's the same Rainbow Dash? I mean, the way you described her, that's completely out of her nature. It's not like her."

"So there are two Rainbow Dash's in Equestria that both happen to have the exact same rainbow mane?"

Fluttershy sighed and bent her head low.

"Look," I said. "I'm only telling you this because you have the right to know. If she finds me, and you see her, and you're unaware of the pony she has become, it will not be pretty."

Fluttershy sniffled. "But why? Why would she go down this path?"

"I don't know," I said.

Pinkie Pie walked up to our table with a metal tray on her hoof. Sitting on it was the food that we ordered. She placed the tray on the table and Fluttershy grabbed her Sundae, while I grabbed my Chocolate Pie and Milkshake.

"Thanks, Pinkie," I said. Pinkie didn't respond. She was looking straight at Fluttershy.

"What's wrong Fluttershy? Why the long face?"

Fluttershy looked at me, then up at Pinkie, then back to me. "Should I tell her?"

I mulled it over in my head. "It's up to you. You make the decision on who to trust to keep this a secret."

"What secret?"

Fluttershy turned to face her full attention towards Pinkie. "Umm… Pinkie Pie? We need to talk."

Pinkie sat down next to me. "What is it?"

Fluttershy turned towards me. Without saying a word, I used my hoof to signal her to proceed. She took a deep breath. "There's something I need to tell you."

Fluttershy spent the next five minutes explaining the situation about Rainbow Dash to Pinkie Pie. She took it surprisingly well.

"Do you know if there's any way we could bring Dashie back?" Pinkie's voice wasn't anywhere close to being as over the top as before. Now, she sounded calm and in control.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I don't follow."

"Well, if she's acting so out of her nature, it's clearly not Rainbow Dash. Physically, she might be, but there's no way she'd act like this by her own free will. If you ask me, I think somepony has either brainwashed her, or is controlling her."

My eyebrow raised. "Do you know if that kind of thing is even possible?"

Pinkie turned towards Fluttershy. "Remember how a couple years ago, Discord did that to us? How he brainwashed us into acting the opposite of who were are? Same thing, but different user."

I shook my hoof, motioning Pinkie to pause. "Wait, wait, wait a minute, hold the phone. Who the hell is Discord?"

"Weeell-"

"It's a long story," Fluttershy interjected.

"Never mind then," I said. "That actually makes sense. If she was under the control of Argo, that would explain why she's done a complete one eighty. And if it has happened before, then there is way to reverse it." I stared contemplatively into my Milkshake. "Although, I don't think I'll ever forgive her for the things she's done, the ponies she's killed. Whether she was in control or not, her face is a symbol of our oppression, and I don't think I will ever look past that."

Pinkie looked puzzled. "Rainbow Dash is one of the greatest friends I've ever had. If we can find a way to bring her back to normal, you should give her another chance, Jason. You shouldn't condemn an innocent pony to the death penalty. If one of your best friends was being brainwashed, you wouldn't be saying that."

My voice became very low and quiet, almost passive aggressive. "That's different. My friends would rather die than have something that horrible happen to them."

"But she's-"

I thrusted my hoof in front of Pinkie's face. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

I stared back at my Milkshake and Chocolate Pie. My stomach growled, as I came to the realisation that I had been so engrossed in the conversation I barely touched them. As my mind shifted back to the food, the subtle smells of chocolate and cinnamon hit me like a freight train. I took a piece with my fork, and stared at it. It was still hot, the chocolate oozing where I had applied pressure. Up close it looked more appetizing than ever. I licked my lips, prepared to enjoy every single bite… then it hit.

Oh God, this is the best thing I've ever had in my life. I took another bite. The sweetness, the slight saltiness of the crust, I never want this to stop. Another bite. I am never going back to eating chips from a shitty vending machine after this. I...I...Flashes of my life raced through my mind. Another bite. How could I be so fucking selfish? My friends are all cramped up in a tiny ratty hideout back at home. Everypony I care about is starving, sometimes going a full day without any food. And what about Ethan? Assuming he had been captured after I disappeared, was he being fed at all down in the dungeons? Or was Argo's method of execution going to be allowing him to slowly die of starvation? Tears started building up in my eyes. Another bite. All the while, I'm sitting here in this fancy ass cafe, eating this fancy ass pie, and relishing every second of this delicious pie while everyone else I care about is suffering! What a disgrace.

Tears were openly falling down my muzzle now. Another bite. Why? Why must I do this to them. It's not fair! It's not fair to Ethan, it's not fair to Sarah, nor is it fair to anyone else. Why did my world have to be so cruel? I would've been better off not knowing this place existed. Another bite. Why can't I provide this exact same luxury to all of my friends. This dimension has been the best place in the world. My friends and I always spoke about what we called The Utopian Equestria, where everything was just right. This place. This place matched our description perfectly. This is our dream Equestria. Here I am, finally relishing the world we've always dreamed about… without my friends… and I. Fucking. Hate it!

The fork clattered against my now empty plate as I grabbed my Milkshake, and guzzled it down my throat. It was just as beautiful as the pie. Not wanting to think about the luxury, I tried to put my mind on lock down. My throat was repeatedly making a loud gulping noise as the Milkshake poured down my throat. As I kept chugging on the beverage, some of the Shake escaped my mouth and dripped down my face, mixing with the tears.

I slammed the empty glass back onto the table with a sigh, followed by a sniffle. Fluttershy and Pinkie were staring at me looking baffled, completely unaware of my reasons behind my emotional breakdown. Pinkie gently patted me on the back, seeming remorseful.

"Jason? Are you-"

I launched at her and wrapped my hooves around her in a tight hug, and cried into her shoulder. She jerked backwards for a brief second, caught off guard, but was quick to return it.

"Thank you," I whispered between sobs. "Thank you so much, Pinkie."

"You're an emotional little fella, aren't you?"

I tightened my grip and sniffled a few more times. "I just wish my friends were here right now. They would've loved this."

Pinkie slowly separated from me. "Have any of your friends been here before?"

I shook my head.

Pinkie moved away from the table. "Give me a second. I'll be right back." She walked back behind the counter and disappeared into the kitchen. About a minute later, she came back to the table with a white box and held them out to me. "Here. Take these."

I took the box, opened the lid and looked inside. The box contained a dozen delicious looking chocolate icing covered donuts, all of them half covered in sprinkles.

"Wow," I said, closing the lid. "They look amazing," I held the box in front of her, "but I'm afraid I cannot accept this."

"Why not?"

"I can't afford it. I don't have any money to pay for it."

"Please, take them." She pushed the box into my chest. "Free of charge. For your friends."

"Really?"

Pinkie smiled warmly. "Some things are worth more than a price tag." I clutched the box to my chest, as I was tearing up again.

"Thank you, Pinkie. Thank you so much. They're gonna love this. You have no idea how much this will mean to them." I gave the box a final glance before slipping it into one of my saddlebags. "You know, you're probably the kindest pony I've ever met."

I took a couple moments wiping my face down into something a tad bit more presentable. "So if you don't mind me asking"—I turned to focus my attention on Pinkie as she spoke up—"Where are you going from here?"

I sighed. "Honestly, I don't know. Truth be told, I'm actually looking for somepony."

"You looking for The Doctor?"

"How the hell did you know that?"

"Oh, I just guessed. Seven times out of ten somepony is looking for The Doctor."

I turned to Fluttershy. "When-why-how did she-"

Fluttershy smirked. "It's Pinkie Pie, just roll with it."

"Well, The Doctor is a very hard pony to catch," said Pinkie.

"So I hear."

"But what I can say is that you'll most likely find him in his laboratory."

My ears perked up. "Do you know where it is? Can you take me to it?"

Pinkie rested a hoof below her muzzle. "It's really hard to tell for sure where he's going to park it next."

I stared at Pinkie, questioning if she even realised what she'd just said. "Excuse me, but how the hell do you park a laboratory?"

"That's the tricky thing about The Doctor's lab," said Pinkie. "The reason it's so hard to find, is because it moves."

My mouth fell open. Was this pony taking something? "The-lab-moves?"

Pinkie nodded. "It sure does."

"Can't you use your Pinkie Sense?" asked Fluttershy.

Pinkie shook her head again. "That's not how my Pinkie Sense works. It only works on instant things, and only things that happen nearby. I can't use it to actively go looking for something."

I scratched my head with my hoof. "What are you two even talking about?"

Fluttershy slumped in her seat. "Never mind."

"Anyway, you'll know it when you find it," said Pinkie. "You'll know you found it because it's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside."

"You mean it's larger on the outside and smaller on the inside?"

"Nnnope."

"But that doesn't make any-oh, fu-" I took notice of Fluttershy raising her eyebrows. "-dge it. I'm just going to assume a lot of things don't make any sense here." Damn censoring myself like that felt weird. Cheers to me never saying that again.

"Phew," said Pinkie, wiping her fringe with her hoof. "For a second there, I thought you were going to say… something else."

"I do say it," I said. "All the time. I'm just censoring myself for Fluttershy's sake."

"But why?" Fluttershy decided to voice her opinion on the matter. "Why would you say something like that? It's not a very nice thing to say."

I shrugged. "That's just how my friends talk. It doesn't help we're always in extremely stressful situations. Quick and easy way to reduce stress."

"Anyhow," Pinkie spoke up. "I think you would have better luck finding him if you went looking for one of his companions."

"Companions?"

"Yeah. The Doctor typically brings another pony to travel with him, and they're usually hanging around Ponyville whenever they're not with him. If you find one of them, they will probably be able to help you out."

"Do you know anypony to look out for?"

"Your best bet will be either Derpy, or Roseluck."

"Can you describe them?"

"Depry is a grey Pegasus, she's blonde, has yellow eyes, and has bubbles for a cutie mark. Rose is a cream Earth Pony, her hair is—well—rose coloured, and has green eyes."

"Right," I said. "Got it."

Our conversation was cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing. The door swung open, with a Unicorn behind it. She was mint green with a lightly coloured mane. She had amber eyes, and had a harp for what I believed to be her cutie mark. Her eyes were bulging, and she was panting uncontrollably.

"Everypony!" she gasped. "Hide! Dark Ponies! Three of them!"

"Wait a minute," I said, turning to Fluttershy. "What's a Dark Pony?"

"It's what we call ponies dressed in those black suits," said Fluttershy. "Wait, didn't you say they're called guards?"

My ears shot straight. "Shit! They found me!"

I jumped off my seat and removed my gun, cocking it and removing the safety cap.

Fluttershy stared at the gun nervously. "Jason, what are you doing?"

"Picking off dandelions!" I hissed. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"You're not planning to fight them, are you?"

"Ideally, no." I grabbed my saddlebags and slipped them on. "In my current position, I'd probably last thirty seconds, tops. But if they see me, I'm going to need to be prepared. Pinkie, Fluttershy, I strongly suggest you go and hide. Now!"

"But what about you?" Fluttershy asked.

"Don't worry about me, I know how to defend myself. Go hide, now!"

Fluttershy and Pinkie ran into the kitchen. I approached the one of the windows and peeped out. There was a large crowd of ponies screaming and running in every direction, as two guards were scouting the area. One terrified looking Earth Pony had been cornered into a nearby building by a Unicorn guard, no doubt being interrogated by him, or her. Shit, one of them was heading straight for this building.

I held my gun in position and jumped in front of the door as it swung open and a pissed off looking Pegasus guard walked in. Her mask had a tear that spanned from her left eye to the right side of her forehead. The left glass eye hole was shattered, exposing a rose coloured eye. The rest of the tear exposed her cyan face, and an all too familiar rainbow mane. I inhaled a deep breath through my nostrils and breathed out slowly.

"Fuck me."