The trek through the abandoned village of Quarter fortunately had gone without any complications. While Sunset had the small urge to inspect the church dedicated to Luna, given the newfound information, courtesy of Andre the blacksmith, personal curiosities had to be ignored since, now knowing about the Umbra, time was of the essence for this world. And for them, should they not find a way back home.

They walked perpendicularly in somewhat of a line across the field, Spike naturally several paces ahead, the little dog regularly looking back to see that everyone was accounted for. The moonlight from the celestial body dragged closer, courtesy of the late Nightmare Moon, granted them plenty of illumination under the starry sky that it made Applejack’s need to roll call redundant. No doubt to Rainbow Dash’s relief.

Going over the map, Twilight holding onto one end and Sunset the other, the shard making a nifty reading light, Sunset looked up towards a patch of trees in the distance, the area branded on the parchment as Duskwood Thicket. It was there that the Andre said the Umbra Hunters dwelt, purportedly under the command of the dimensional counterpart of one of their friends from Canterlot High.

This knowledge made Sunset Shimmer glance over at Rainbow Dash, who walked right next to her, her newly acquired cudgels hanging limply in one hand from the convenient straps extending from their leather-bound grips. The athlete appeared troubled, somewhat unusual for the rainbow-haired girl’s normally confident, if not occasionally abrasive, personality.

“You okay there, Dash?” Sunset asked, still holding onto her end of the map.

The athlete was quiet for a while before muttering, “Not really…”

Sunset quietly gestured to Twilight, who took the entirety of the map. Now her attention focused on Rainbow Dash.

“Is it about what Andre said about your counterpart?” she asked, the mental image of her being swallowed by the darkness in her dream resurfacing, and now that Rainbow was the first of them to be physically touched by the dark.

Rainbow didn’t look up, her gaze trailing along the ground as she went, rubbing her arm, like she was cold, in spite of the shard’s divine warmth. “Yea… I mean, I know it’s not technically me, but also is, and just kinda made me realize how close I just came to…” the rainbow-haired athlete shuddered

“Hmm,” Pinkie Pie hummed, at the end of the line, next to Fluttershy who was next to Rainbow Dash. “Technically not you, but technically is you, but technically still not you since you’re not from here, but still technically is you since she has the same name as you and Andre said looks like you…”

Fluttershy, looked slightly concerned as Pinkie continued prattling on to herself, not hearing the puffy-haired girl stop to take a breath. “Are you concerned about Scootaloo?” she asked.

Rainbow glanced at Fluttershy, “Well, yea. I mean unless she doesn’t know the dead me. Sunset, do dimensional counterparts tend to keep the same friends in their own world?”

Sunset looked up, contemplatively scratching her chin. Rainbow presented an interesting conundrum about interdimensional causality if there ever was one. On one hand, Princess Twilight Sparkle, as she’d recounted in their correspondences between each other, had met her friends in Equestria as a result of Princess Celestia’s machinations, whereas their Twilight had not met their clique until rather recently as a result of the Friendship Games, which occurred much later than in Equestria. Of course, this also brought up the question of the nature of time differentials between dimensions. And the ramifications of whether or not their Twilight could have met them simply on coincidence, or if the concept of destiny was a factor… Sunset felt strangely morose as her thoughts trailed on, almost forgetting Rainbow’s question.

“Well, as far as I know your Equestrian counterpart knows its counterpart of Scootaloo, much as you know ours…” She rubbed her temples as some of the questions in her mind became as troubling as her nightmares. She shook her head, forcing the philosophical contemplations of a determinative universe aside. “It’s possible,” she stated in a flat tone.

“…But technically you were there, while technically she was here…” Pinkie continued, Fluttershy looking at her with an utter look of bamboozlement regarding how she had yet to inhale. “But technically we know you and not her…” She pouted her lips, a strained look upon her eyes, “What was I doing just now…?”

Existential implications were set aside as they’d just reached the edge of Duskwood Thicket when Pinkie’s knee visibly twitched for everyone to see. A twitchy knee? But that would mean-

A sound akin to a rattling howl accented with a sharp, raspy hiss bellowed over the fields. Sunset spun around, her hand grasping at the hilt of her rapier, Rainbow Dash taking her cudgels in both hands beside her while Applejack stepped forward from the group with her shield and battle axe at the ready. Something was closing in on them from the distance, any discerning traits hard to spot from the shadow cast by the light of the moon. All she could make out was at best an indescribable, convulsing silhouette closing in on them.

With another rattling howl, Pinkie let out a ridiculously long, rasping gasp. Her eyes looked as if they might as well have popped out of their sockets, “It’s Twiggy!!!”

Rainbow Dash, undoubtedly trusting in Pinkie’s impeccable foresight that was the Pinkie Sense, reached for the inside pocket of Sunset Shimmer’s vest. Sunset blushed from the unwelcome contact against her breast as the athlete snagged the shard.

“Don’t sweat it guys, I got this!” she proclaimed with a daring smirk before dashing towards the approaching timber beast.

Indeed, the ever persistent Twiggy had made its return: Once again, having reconstituted itself. From the ever-decreasing distance between it and their group, Sunset saw that its previous three heads had been reduced back into one, the hollow white eyes glowing with their eerie, hungering emptiness. Sunset made the mistake of assuming it had reconstituted, when now she could see that it had been reduced to but a head on a burly misshapen torso being supported by a pair of digitigrade legs much thicker than previously. The darkness spewed forth in spouts all over its body, a frothing miasma emanating from its clattering mouth.

As Rainbow Dash rushed at the aberration, Twiggy retched its head forward, spewing a gout of darkness from its maw like a dragon breathing fire. Rainbow Dash yelped in fright as she darted to the side to avoid the deadly smog, the ground where it touched becoming deathly white with swathes of darkness arising like smoke from ashes. Rainbow yelped a second time as another gout of darkness was launched at her, darting away back towards the group.

Twilight swallowed. “Twiggy’s adapted his strategy…” she said with a wavering voice, a look of terror emanating from her bespectacled eyes.

Rainbow skidded to a halt, looking back at the child of the Umbra with bewilderment. Twiggy stepped forth, letting loose another blast of darkness. Rainbow narrowly prevented Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy from getting hit by pulling them away by their wrists.

“Run for it!” she screamed, pulling her two friends along with her into the thicket at normal running speed.

Sunset Shimmer looked at the retreating Rainbow Dash, then at Twiggy as it pulled back, the rims of its mouth spewing with more smog. She and everyone remaining bolted into the forest, narrowly escaping the gout of darkness that withered the ground where they’d been standing further. They slalomed between approaching trees as fast as they could, hoping that Twiggy’s frame would splinter from trying to ram in after them.

In but a moment the sounds of wood splintering filled the thicket, accented with Twiggy’s rattling roar as the bipedal abomination tackled its way through. Sunset Shimmer dared not look back at the risk of getting stomped, chomped, or struck with a gout of darkness, being able to spot Twilight slightly ahead of her, covering her head as she forced herself through branches and brambles.

Sunset burst forth from the trees into a slit clearing, finding Rainbow Dash awaiting, cudgels in hand whilst Fluttershy supported herself against a tree, panting in exhaustion, besides her being Pinkie Pie, kneeling on the ground, gasping for breath, and Spike, also winded as he panted briskly. Twilight stumbled into the clearing, followed by Applejack and Rarity further down in the clearing, the farmer urging the fashionista onwards. Twiggy rammed its way through the tree line into the clearing, its body dented and cracked from the multitude of impacts, but the increased bulk kept it from falling apart as easily.

When she’d thought they were done for, Sunset heard a high-pitched war cry from somewhere above them, when from atop the trees someone came lunging down at Twiggy, brandishing a large downward held sword, that gave off a golden surge. Whoever it was drove the sword right through Twiggy’s wooden carapace, the aberration letting loose its distinct rattling roar, only its sudden violent spasming betrayed undeniable pain in spite, of its lack of flesh. A stray gout of darkness spurt from its mouth, but it was unfocused and very much an involuntary puff.

Fluttershy yelped when someone else came rushing past her, the hem of a ragged brown coat billowing behind them. Brandishing two small swords whose blades also exhibited golden jolts coursing through them, whomever it was drove both blades parallel to one another right into Twiggy’s midsection. The abomination thrashed violently, trying to shake the first assailant off its back… neck, whichever, the attacker holding on to their sword.

Twiggy’s head was flung back when something shot through the air, striking directly into its mouth, a burst of light and a crackle like electricity spouting forth. The assailant with the large sword rolled down onto the ground, adjusting their angle before swiping at Twiggy’s left leg. With a burst of sparks and a surge permeating the air, the limb was severed, a gout of shadow spilling forth as Twiggy came collapsing onto the ground with a rustling crash. The two swordsmen began to hack away at the timber abomination, the air filled with the snaps of electricity and muted claps of thunder.

Sunset and the rest could only stare awestruck as the two swordsmen slashed away at Twiggy’s rotted wood body, able to effortlessly avoid every spurt of shadow, like this was second nature to them. Another bolt shot through the air, Twiggy’s forehead bursting from another thunderclap, its hollow eyes disappearing into the darkness inside its body, which had been reduced to a barely mobile torso, its lower jaw hanging loosely from its now topless head, the two warriors backing away, both of them reaching for something on their persons. The two held up in unison a radiant glow from their hands. Two more shards of light! Held within small corked flasks.

Twiggy’s dismembered body shook as if the light shining upon it was excruciating. Suddenly a third person slid down a trunk of a tree, rushing at the immobile Twiggy, producing yet another shard from their person, joining the other two as the darkness spewing from the monster’s body began to shrink and waver. Rainbow Dash rushed forth to join the three, holding out their shard, with the others’. The shadows swirling within the timber creature’s body grew smaller by the second, until it faded away into small mote, disintegrating into nothing.

Before Rainbow could gloat, a thin blade came dangerously close to her neck. She reeled back startled, when the third attacker to join the fray in one fluid motion trained a blackwood longbow at Sunset and the rest, while the one with the two-handed sword stood beside the archer, her blade surging with erratic streaks of electricity along its length. With the amount of light shining within the little clearing, Sunset could get a very good look at the three.

The one with the twin swords, their design being thin, but still wide enough for a double-edge, with hilts reminiscent of a fleur de lis in their shapes, made of a bronze alloy, wore a brown, ragged cloak with a hood. Underneath was a black suit of armor. It looked terribly dented and scratched all over, the chestplate engraved with decorative, vertical grooves, the two middlemost having a series of bronze filigree embedded in them, which showed signs of blackening. Overall, the armor seemed rather light, with most of it comprised of mismatched bits of fabric and leather, the only metal bits being the chestplate, the gauntlets, with more filigrees, and a black helmet with a slightly dented and bent visor worn underneath the hood; adorned with the same filigrees.

The warrior with the large sword, a simple cruciform double-edged design, Sunset could make out as a short woman. Her skin was a shade of bluish gray, and underneath the red hood she wore, which sported a green checkered pattern, Sunset could make out locks of yale blue hair. Much of her outfit was comprised of a lot of red with said green pattern, including a red kilt and a sash wrapped around and over a studded leather vest and tassets. Most striking was a pouch hanging off the front of her belt with a grey thistle stenciled onto it.

The archer was a girl clad in a rather fine outfit consisting of layered leather leggings and a near thigh-length tan vest over a dark grey woolen undergarment, with boiled leather manchettes matching her leggings, and a long, thin sword hanging from her belt. Sunset first found the most distinguishing feature to be her hat; a rimmed, pointed bycocket with a single black feather attached to it. Followed by the cerise head of hair and the light orange skin of her face. She suddenly lowered the blackwood longbow.

The archer was ignoring her completely, her eyes focusing entirely on Rainbow Dash. Even the twin swords wielding warrior had lowered his or her blade from Rainbow’s neck, lifting up the visor of their helmet like trying to get a better look at the rainbow-haired athlete. The swordswoman had an expression of utter disbelief looking back and forth between Applejack and Rarity.

Rainbow Dash stared, stunned, at the archer girl, “S-Scootaloo…?”

At first Sunset was confused. The archer girl was clearly taller compared to Scootaloo back at Canterlot High. She took off her bycoket, fully revealing her hair, worn in a style almost perfectly matching Rainbow’s. It was Scootaloo! But older than the one they knew, probably around their age.

The older dimensional counterpart to Scootaloo continued to stare at Rainbow Dash, her purple eyes wide with bewilderment. She took an uneasy step towards Rainbow, slowly raising a hand as she took another step. Rainbow did not reel or flinch when that hand touched her face.

“R-Rainbow… Rainbow Dash…?” she uttered.

Rainbow raised a hand and placed it upon Scootaloo’s forearm, her eyes softening from their previous state of disbelief, to a look of solemnity. Scootaloo’s lips quivered, a wet streak trickling down her cheek. Before anyone could say or do anything, Scootaloo threw her arms around Rainbow Dash, a tearful sob escaping her lips.

“Merciful Divines…!” she choked, holding onto Rainbow Dash in a tight embrace. “It is you!”

As the older Scootaloo sobbed onto Rainbow Dash’s shoulder, the twin swords wielding warrior sheathed their armaments before proceeding to pull down their hood and shedding the black, dented helmet, a long silvery mane of hair descending from within its confines around a charcoal grey face, finally revealing and confirming his gender as a man. He looked at Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash with a somber expression, holding his helmet underneath his arm.

Sunset Shimmer felt her stomach knot itself. The sight of Scootaloo being reunited with Rainbow Dash tugged at her heartstrings, knowing that soon they would have to reveal the true nature of the Rainbow Dash she was tearfully embracing.

“How is this possible?” asked the swordswoman, between looking at Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, and Applejack.

The farmer looked at the new acquaintance, her face sharing in the somberness of Scootaloo’s emotions. “It’s complicated…” she muttered. “Very complicated…”

-

Rainbow Dash, feeling nearing her threshold, gently took Scootaloo by the shoulders, taking a deep breath, only to need another as she mustered the courage to tell the heartbreaking truth to the woman sobbing onto her.

“I’m…” she hesitated, wanting to hug Scootaloo back, but knew it had to be done. “I’m not… I’m not the same Rainbow Dash…” she finally managed, albeit in a hushed tone, and her chest aching.

Scootaloo pulled back from embracing her, looking back at her with her now reddened, tear-stained eyes. In spite of being older than the Scootaloo Rainbow Dash knew and considered the closest thing she had to a sister; she could not help but see the younger Scootaloo in this one’s eyes.

Scootaloo grasped at Rainbow’s arms, so tight that it hurt, but she did not flinch, “W-what…?”

Involuntarily gasping from the surge of emotions, now it was Rainbow’s turn to embrace Scootaloo, holding onto the archer girl tightly. “I’m not the Rainbow Dash you know…!” she blurted, fighting back tears as her emotional fortitude crumbled.

The sound of leather squeezing against leather came from below, no doubt Scootaloo’s manchettes curling into fists. “B-but… But you’re right here!” she forced herself free from Rainbow’s hold, backing away a few steps, her teary eyes widened in incredulity. “You’re standing right there! And- and so is Applejack! And Twilight! And Fluttershy! E-everyone! You’re all here!”

Now it was Fluttershy who approached Scootaloo and embraced the despaired girl. “I’m sorry, Scootaloo…” she spoke softly, “but we are not the same.”

The silver haired swordsman looked among everyone in bewilderment, “Then, what are you-?”

Sunset Shimmer looked up. “We’re her friends’ counterparts from another world,” the fiery-haired girl said with finality in her voice.

“They’re not Umbra-Touched, I can tell you,” the swordswoman in red declared, holding up her light fragment. “With this much light they’d be reelin’,” she declared, sporting an accent slightly similar to Andre’s, just not as deep.

Rainbow Dash walked up to Scootaloo, still being hugged by Fluttershy, her incredulity remaining as she stared at seemingly nothing around her, and placed a hand on her sister-equivalent’s counterpart’s shoulder.

“It’s true, Scoots…” she said, closing her eyes in regret. “I’m a Rainbow Dash, just not your… the Rainbow Dash. We came looking for your help; Andre told us where to find you. We want to make everything right again.”

Scootaloo looked up at her, tears still brimming from her eyes, but she seemed to have calmed down, regressing from incredulity to sadness. “You called me Scoots…” she whispered through a sob.

Rainbow urged a small smile, “Yea, I have my own Scootaloo back home. If I know her, then I’m betting you’re just as awesome as her.”

Scootaloo went quiet, very quiet. She knelt down to pick up her hat, placing it back onto her head as she turned away from Rainbow Dash, and walked a few feet away. Rainbow could only watch, along with everyone else, as Scootaloo stood in place, head held down, arms either crossed or holding onto herself, in contemplation. Rainbow would have almost preferred being chased by Twiggy again, which was now just a heap of rotting scraps of wood all over the ground. This was what she was afraid of upon learning of the existence of her own counterpart in this world, and Andre having told them specifically of Scootaloo.

Whatever happened to her counterpart when she “fell to the darkness” as Andre had put it, though Rainbow could envision, having herself been touched by a piece of this very darkness that almost drained her of all she was. Her body shuddered at the thought, in spite of four shards in her presence. Looking at the back of Scootaloo, it felt like not even a million shards could warm the cold she must have felt. Perhaps some things in the multiverse were just ubiquitous: For every Rainbow Dash, there was a Scootaloo, like sisters, unrelated by blood.

The silver-haired swordsman began to approach Scootaloo, when the archer turned back towards the congregation. Wiping her cheek with a gloved hand, she walked past her comrade in arms and approached Rainbow, avoiding eye contact, ducking her head to cover hers with the front bangs of her hair and the tip of her bycoket. Rainbow looked at the archer somberly, not certain how to address her further.

Scootaloo finally looked back at her, her eyes still red from shed tears, though she appeared more assertive now. “We should confer somewhere safer,” she spoke, her voice wielding a tone of professionalism, in stark contrast to her counterpart, as well as exhibiting a more archaic speech pattern. “Come, our holdings are not far from here.”

Rainbow felt a tinge of relief at Scootaloo’s demeanor, until she felt the tug on her arm as the archer dragged her along by her hand. She caught her looking at her over her shoulder just for a moment, spotting a sliver of something in those purple eyes. Rainbow felt the small smile etch onto her face, feeling the vigor in the older Scootaloo.

Just like my Scoots…

-

Rarity groaned silently to herself as a branch scraped against her overly exposed arm, regretting not having brought a cardigan or something. Though with the weather back home, how could she have in the first place? It’s not like she’d expected going dimension hopping, of all possible things. And her studded sandals didn’t feel as great to be traipsing around on uneven woodland ground. Granted, she had the painstakingly received expertise to make the best of any predicament in whatever ensemble she might have adorned. Oh, the sheer volumes of internalized tears she had to hold to attain the power of running in heels…

She and her friends were being led through Duskwood Thicket by Scootaloo and the two other… Well, she supposed they might as well be called hunters, based on what the admirably generous Andre referred to them as. She and Applejack were close to the back of the slaloming row of people, the rear being brought up by the swordswoman. Rarity, with her ever vigilant eye for detail, had to admit; the checkered kilt, sash and hood just seemed to really complement the warrior.

“So, uh…” Applejack spoke up, looking over at the huntress over her shoulder.

The woman behind them, carrying her sword over her shoulder as one would carry a rifle, which Rarity found a bit off, based on what she’d seen in most depictions. But now that she was seeing a real-life example; carrying something so long on one’s back in a hilt seemed counterproductive since it would’ve made it impossible to draw it from one’s back or one would have to remove the sheath from their back.

“Maddie,” the woman said, taking a glance to the side, her own light shard held in a loose fist.

“Uh, Maddie,” Applejack confirmed. “Pardon my curiosity, but how did the lot of you come about?”

Maddie flexed her arm slightly under the weight of her sword. “I came from down south after Sweet Apple Acres went bonkers,” she said, the mention of Sweet Apple Acres making Rarity, and especially Applejack in her peripheral vision, flinch, which Maddie also took notice of.

“Yea, everythin’ went absolutely insane when the Umbra-Touched came. At first Earl McIntosh and his guard tried to mount a defense, but when your holdings fell, there was nothin’ to be done. All anyone could do was flee and hope they were not caught by the Umbra-Touched or whatever other beasties came about since the Divines perished.”

She pursed her lips contemplatively, no doubt bad memories, “No-one knows what happened to Duchess Applejack, except that Earl McIntosh tried to find her, chargin’ through a horde of those husks all on his own… Don’t doubt both a’ them are dead or fell to the dark.”

Rarity cleared her throat, “Pardon me, but what exactly is the difference between ‘dead’ and ‘fallen to darkness’?”

Maddie shifted some of the weight on her shoulder. “When you fall to the darkness, you change: Everythin’ you are on the inside is gone and all that’s left of you is just a hollow pawn of the Umbra, hungerin’ for life and the light if it’s too drenched in it, like that timber beastie.”

Rarity looked ahead uneasily in the direction of Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, now wondering which might have been worse in context: That either this world’s Rainbow was lying somewhere dead, or if she was skulking somewhere out there in the dusk as whatever happened to a human when falling to darkness. She couldn’t help but shiver, in spite of the light being given off by Maddie’s shard.

She felt Applejack put an arm around her comfortingly, the warmth coming off the farmer girl alleviating the dread, at least for now. For since she and the rest of the girls had rediscovered their friendships thanks to Princess Twilight’s intervention, and even having brought Sunset Shimmer to their fold and finding their own Twilight Sparkle, Rarity deep down held strong to the belief that they could overcome any adversity and hardship if they remain strong and true together. But as the mystery behind this new world, something she’d never imagined to experience first-hand, at least not like this, unfurled before her, she could not help but fear this might not end the same as everything that happened before.

-

Sunset brushed a limp-hanging branch out of her way as Scootaloo guided them to a great glade within the thicket. The land here was clearly affected by human intervention, with scores of stumps of felled trees dotting the landscape, while out in the distance to the east stood what seemed to be a windmill, though whatever its use was here escaped Sunset. At the far end of the glade due north arose a great cliff face. Around it stood a few slightly decrepit wooden shacks, and at the base of was a reinforced wooden frame lining a wide opening leading underground. Getting closer revealed a wooden double door, which seemed to lack any means of opening it.

Scootaloo motioned for everyone to wait as she approached the door. She picked up an unassuming rock, about the size of a tennis ball, and knocked on the door in a rhythm. One-two-three. Pause. Four, five. She then dropped the stone rather specifically.

Sunset traded awkward glances with Twilight, who simply shrugged. Just then the doors shook slightly before they slowly began to open ajar. Beyond opened a wide passage into the mines, the walls on either side bearing torches that were set alight using the shards, letting off a warm, golden light. About five feet further the tunnel split into two, with someone manning a gear-operated winch mechanism. Before anyone could so much as let out a peep, Pinkie Pie’s jaw dropped, followed by another one of her iconic gasps before she pretty much leapt at who was manning the mine’s doors.

“Oh my gosh, Maud!” the pink girl screamed, ecstatic.

Indeed, the woman manning the winch was yet another dimensional counterpart to their home world: In this case it was none other than Maud Pie. Much like the one they all knew back home, this one also stuck to her very simplistic flat-cut bangs at the front while the rest of her hair fell just above her shoulder in a geometrically perfect line around the rest of her head. Even her style of clothing was very much what to expect of Maud; a simple bluish-grey, long-sleeved tunic held in place by a dark grey belt, with a matching pair of pants and heavy dark grey boots.

Sunset knew everyone was expecting it. She was expecting it, oddly enough, but even then, it felt so odd how the eldest Pie sibling retained her emotionally lacking expression. Maud looked at the pink, bouncy girl, one hand still on the winch, but remained motionless, nary a muscle in her face twitching as she beheld her sister’s counterpart. Pinkie seemed her ever chipper and ecstatic self, flashing a smile as bright as the golden flames of the torches lining the interior of those very mines.

“… Pinkie Pie? But I thought you were dead,” said Maud, equally deadpanned as ever. “How is this possible?”

Scootaloo approached Maud, “It’s going to take some time to explain…” She looked over her shoulder at the rest of their unexpected guests, “Have Maddie take your shift in the meantime. You should come with us for our meeting.”

“Understood. Thank you,” said Maud, her expression and tone unchanging.

As by her request, Maddie remained in the entry tunnel whilst Scootaloo led the rest down the tunnel to the left, which took a sharp curve further left, leading to what Sunset Shimmer presumed as a foreman’s office. The ground had been lined with wooden planks to simulate a floor, over which was a heavy-set table, which seemed to have been propped up with logs, with maps and charts sprawled across its surface with many impromptu markings that had accumulated over time. A hefty looking iron chandelier had been hung from the ceiling using a series of large bolts to secure it in place. Some propped up logs were scattered around the office to serve as makeshift seating. Something Rarity seemed all too eager to make use of, lifting one foot over a knee, revving her foot in discomfort. The fact she’d managed to make it this far with at least one quarter of it entailing running for their lives was particularly impressive.

Scootaloo slung off her blackwood longbow, perching it against the table before removing her bycoket. She half sat over on the table, arms crossed, eyeing her guests. Maud stood beside her, with her hands held over her lap, one grasping the other. It was uncertain, but given her unbreakable poise, perhaps a hint of outward emotions had begun to break away, just slightly.

“Alright, here we can talk in safety,” said Scootaloo with an air of professionalism. “You said Andre sent you our way, so regardless of what you mean about 'counterparts' and 'other worlds', if he was willing to trust you, then I trust you too. So…” she indicated with a hand, “I would like an explanation of why our fallen friends are suddenly back among us.”

Sunset looked amongst her friends, “Should I be mediator or…?”

“Well you are our resident magic expert,” said Rainbow Dash with a shrug.

Sunset chuckled dryly, “Well what you just said, Scootaloo, yes: We come from another world; different from here, but also similar, with people and places who coincide almost perfectly with those here.”

Twilight stood forth, adjusting her glasses. “It’s a dubiously accepted theory in our world that there exists an infinite number of parallel worlds, where something different in each one’s causality creates an alteration from one to the other.”

Scootaloo raised a questioning brow, Twilight’s emphasis feeling it went over her head.

“I believe Star Swirl the Bearded was also theorizing about the existence of alternate worlds existing where we stand, only invisible to us through the fabric of reality,” said the silver-haired swordsman, looking up from inscribing something with a stick of charcoal. “Legends say he found the means of peering into these “parallel worlds” as Lady Twilight put it.”

Scootaloo chuckled, looking over her shoulder, “Sorry: This is Night Quill, or the Knight Poet. He has a penchant for tales and myths.”

Night Quill shrugged idly, “Well, more of the knight and less the poet these days. Assuming we ever see the sun again, seeing the Scions before us once more and possible confirmation on Star Swirl’s theories about alternate worlds would be another legend in the making.”

“You genuinely believe we came from another world?” asked Twilight curiously.

Night Quill chuckled, setting his charcoal down, “M’lady, in my career it’s best to always leave room for possibilities about the outlandish. Why, we live in an era where one woman single-handedly brought an end to the wyverns of the Wastelands, all while not losing anyone in her platoon.”

“Who was that?” asked Rainbow Dash, sounding endeared by this tale.

The Knight Poet darted his eyes to the side and back, “Well, you. Or the Rainbow Dash of our world, rather.”

Sunset watched as Rainbow Dash’s face beamed like it had never done before. No doubt if this was a cartoon, her eyes would be sparkling in the wonderment. The rainbow-haired athlete’s expression had Scootaloo and Night Quill looking at her uneasily.

Applejack came up to Rainbow Dash to seat her as she was temporarily lost in her little reverie, patting her on the shoulder, “Just give ‘er a moment. She’ll be back… Probably.”

Sunset tapped the tip of her foot against the floor, giving an awkward chuckle before trying her best to ignore it and straightened herself, “Regardless; we came to this world seemingly through the Celestia statue in the church up the hill from Quarter. I don’t know what caused it; just that our world was struck by sudden tremors, and we were flung here from our end through a portal. Everything else we know so far we learned from Andre.”

“Not to mention being chased by the big, scary, not-at-all-nice, murderous, wanting-to-eat-our-lights-out Twiggy!” Pinkie called out, this time having somehow hung upside down from the chandelier. Before anyone could protest, she bounced and landed perfectly beside Maud.

“…So, you are not really my little sister, but a Pinkie Pie from a different world?” Maud deadpanned. She slowly looked at the bouncy pink party girl, “It warms my heart to know that, even if my sister is gone, there’s still another somewhere out there doing her best to make people happy.” A small, almost imperceptible smile just about etched itself onto the stone-faced woman’s lips. She produced a small rock from a pouch hanging from her belt that she held in an open palm, looking down upon it, “Boulder says he’s happy to see you as well.”

Sunset couldn’t help smiling as Pinkie petted Boulder in Maud’s hand.

“So then,” Scootaloo chimed in, “what are you doing here? And why come to us?”

Sunset sighed. “At the moment we’re not sure. Andre simply told us to meet you here, to which we were hoping you might know of someone more astute of magic that might be able to assist us, and if at all possible, what we can do to help this world.”

Scootaloo looked down, pondering on Sunset’s words. “Well, the closest who could have possibly aided you would have been High Priestess Starlight Glimmer, over in Moonlink.” She shut her eyes and shook her head, “But not too long since the world ended, she simply vanished, and since then Moonlink has been under martial law under the decree of “High Priestess” Abacus Cinch.”

Twilight flinched as soon as the name escaped Scootaloo’s lips, “A-Abacus Cinch-?!”

“The most impertinent, arrogant, sacrilegious witch of Moonlink!” blurted a new voice entering the office.

Sunset spotted how a tall, wiry man entered the foreman’s office. His skin a tone of somewhere between alabaster and a very light grey with dark grey neck-length hair slicked back over his head, as well as sporting a goatee from his pointed chin. He was adorned in a maroon robe with a raised collar, accompanied with a red sash held up by a large, golden medallion with peculiar engravings. Upon entry, his turquoise eyes fell upon Sunset and her friends, which rendered the new arrival speechless, looking indecisive as to what to do.

“By the Divines, Maddie did not jest,” he said, sounding breathless to the point of needing to hug the wall for support.

Scootaloo gestured at the man, “This is Archivist Neighsay. He was in charge of the Moonlink temple archives, up until he was cast out among all the “non-believers” once Cinch took over. He helps us with intelligence regarding Moonlink.” She placed a hand on the hilt of her sword, “As well as keeping our armaments enchanted to be effective against the Umbra.”

The Archivist, after a deep breath, dusted himself off and courteously nodded towards Sunset and her friends. “Forgive me; I was uncertain in regards to Maddie’s mention of the newly returned Scions in our midst.”

Twilight disregarded the excessive formality with a wave of her hand, “That’s not necessary, Sir Neighsay. We might look like your Scions, but we’re not the same people.”

“Turns out that among us also stand living, breathing proof of Star Swirl’s theories regarding alternate worlds,” Night Quill remarked, crossing his arms, smiling amusedly.

Archivist Neighsay ran a hand over his head, still seeming flustered, yet tried to carry with him an air of formality. “Believe you me, much as I would be fascinated to inquire the circumstances, right now we have a dire situation on our hands.” He approached Scootaloo, producing a roll of parchment from a pouch inside the sleeve of his robe and handing it to the huntress; “Our informant brings ill news from Moonlink…”

-

As the swirling colors of the vortex that was limbo slowly began to alleviate in her distorted vision, the discomfort of what came with such drastic physical metamorphosis ran through Starlight Glimmer. It had been a while since her last foray into the human world, so the new sensations that came with possessing the digits called “fingers” and “toes” would take some time getting accustomed to again. And that first wobbly step with her dimensionally granted bipedalism, with no-one to aid her this time around, felt doubly treacherous. Particularly when it became intercepted by her foot getting caught in something. Before she could take the first step, she found herself collapsing onto the hard asphalt of the walkway to Canterlot High.

Starlight hissed in pain at the scrapes and bruising in her newly formed forearms and hands. Rolling onto her back, she pulled back her outstretched legs, setting them beneath her to try and get back up again. With another wobble and a slight dizziness as she managed to stand up straight, she noticed the cause of her sudden tripping right on arrival. Splayed around the portal were the remains of the rearing stallion statue that stood over the podium, smashed into bits of varying sizes. The torso remained relatively unscathed, the rear legs having both snapped off and a sizable portion of the left flank missing, while the neck and head had stayed intact and attached, albeit the jaw and both ears had snapped off.

She rubbed her sore elbow, looking over the rest of her surroundings. Other than the collapsed statue, with somepony-… Someone having bordered the site with construction tape, everything seemed fine otherwise. School seemed to have been in session, the first indicator for her to hurry on out from behind the cordoned off area before someone took notice. She took another look around as she slid her saddlebag-turned-backpack along her arm and rummaged around inside it, producing a crystal from within supplied by Twilight for this particular venture. About half a foot long with a distended shape; it was carved from amethyst, with a magically applied white streak that curled along throughout its length.

Having received Sunset Shimmer’s message through their connected diary, the Princess of Friendship requested that Starlight Glimmer perform a survey of the human world, for the current dilemma facing Equestria left her stretched thin, with their five friends being sent all over Equestria, while Spike diligently remained at Twilight’s side. Especially with the recent turn of events, Twilight would need Spike’s aid. Her being the only one available to hold down the fort, or castle, in Ponyville and having experience in the human world, Starlight Glimmer was more than happy to oblige her mentor’s request.

Looking over the damage caused by the tremors Sunset reported about in her message, she discovered additional bits of damage; including a fallen piece of the school’s stonework, and even cracks that were discernible not only on the walkway to the school, but also some on the road the humans drove what Sunset referred to them as “cars”.

One thing she remained confused about was the crystal Twilight had insisted she take with her. Though she was still somewhat sketchy on the details, Twilight managed to make mention of a similar incident from before she had met Starlight Glimmer; about yet another world, an alternate Equestria that Star Swirl the Bearded and Princess Celestia visited long ago during the age of the Pillars. An incident where the fabric between the two mirrored worlds almost fell apart. Whatever it was, Twilight had insisted that whatever was happening to Equestria right now might have had a connection with whatever happened to Sunset Shimmer and her friends, and how they themselves were now trapped in a world completely foreign to all of them.

Starlight held out the crystal, trailing it along in the air, as instructed, waiting to see for any reaction. While the reasons for its requirements were not entirely clear to her, she was well enough versed in the magic arts to know that it acted as a form of siphon: In laypony’s terms, it would seek out magical energies in its local vicinity, storing a “sample” of said energies within it, which could be observed or “bled out” for further study to determine its properties.

Her eyes widened when she noticed how the white streak of the crystal began to change: Like a wave of swirling, suffocating smoke, the pristine white of the siphon dimmed, becoming increasingly ebon. Looking closer at the blackness, Starlight could see how the blackness ebbed and wafted within the crystalline structure. And it began to change the moment she’d pointed it towards the portal…

Author's Note

Assuming it as an easy guess: Yes; Night Quill is my OC. A bit of a nod to myself there just for laughs. His outfit and weapons are derived from the fallen knight set and Gotthard twin swords from Dark Souls 3 (my favorite pieces of gear from that specific title).

Maddie, for those unfamiliar with the Brony Analysis community, is the OC of Mad Munchkin (YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Amymethven?pbjreload=10, DeviantArt: https://www.deviantart.com/mad--munchkin), whom I was granted permission to use.

Alternate Scootaloo's outfit and weapons are derived from the Hunter's Set, the Balder side sword and Black Bow of Pharis from Dark Souls and Dark Souls 3

Took a bit longer for chapter four to come out since I am currently also looking for employment, as well as writing material intended for publishing.