Hours Once Gone

The Crystal Mirror stood before Rainbow Dash, its mystical nature bewildering all who stared into it for too long. Her reflection was there, but it seemed so distant and so unfamiliar, like another pony. Behind her were all her friends, here to see her off on her journey.

"I can't believe you're off to another world, RD," Applejack said, adjusting her hat. "Seems like quite the adventure!"

"I do hope things go more smoothly than they did when Twilight went…" Rarity said.

Rainbow turned around to face them, a look of worry on her face. "Aaaah, I'm sure it'll be fine! I mean, there's a reason the map picked me." She paused, waiting for someone to answer. "You know, cause I'm awesome and stuff."

Everypony else suddenly nodded and agreed as if to say "oh, right," even though they didn't get it.

Pinkie Pie chimed in as well. "Bye Dashie! Stay safe! But I know you will be safe because you're Rainbow Dash and you can do anything and are the coolest most successful pony in all of equestria so there's no need to wish you luck or tell you to stay safe, but do it anyway! And tell me all about it when you get back, I already can't wait to hear everything you experienced there. It's gonna be so much fun, I wish I could go with you!"

Rainbow's expression went blank as she blinked her eyes. Was this really such a good idea? Would things turn out alright? Why did the map choose her of all ponies?

"Haha, sure thing Pinkie Pie," her voice cracked with uncertainty. "I'll handle things just fine." She faked a smile as sweat trickled from her forehead.

"And whatever you do, be super careful, okay?" Fluttershy said, walking up to Rainbow. "We wouldn't want something terrible to happen to you…"

"Hahaha that's enough!" Rainbow lightly pushed Fluttershy back. "I'll obviously do just fine! After all, I have this!" She showed off her Wonderbolt goggles Celestia gave her. Everypony wowed in response.

Twilight looked the most worried of all of them, putting a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. "I know I don't have to tell you this, but remember, we're all connected through the elements of harmony. That's why I have faith that you'll be just fine."

They had faith in her. All of them did. But why? Why couldn't all of them join her? Why was the map calling her specifically? She'd feel a lot better if her friends were by her side.

Rainbow gave a bittersweet smile. "Well, it's about time I go now. There's no point in waiting any longer," she said. "Thanks, I'll be sure to kick that unicorn's butt!"

They all smiled and agreed. After all, when has Rainbow Dash ever lost to anypony? She was Ponyville's most awesome flier. And so, one hoof at a time, she stepped through the mirror. Her reflection stared back at her before a ripple distorted it and she was brought into the portal, traveling through space and time. Like a whirlpool, the current spun her into a spiral as she felt her body transform.

In that colorful void she traveled through, she felt her wings disappear from her back. Her body began to break down as she lost all sensation, and she watched her hooves turn to strangely shaped limbs with multiple long appendages. She saw her muzzle disappear from in front of her own face and heard her ears shift to a lower position.

It all happened so fast, Rainbow only had a moment to take in all that was happening before she was thrown onto rough, hard ground face first. She lifted her head, instantly being put off by the fact that she had different ways to articulate her neck. Her nose was less visible, but she could still see it slightly in the middle of her face, although extremely small. As she reached her hands out to feel her face-

"Wait, hands?" Rainbow said aloud, putting the new limbs out in front of her, and then shrieking in terror. "What the-" she wiggled her fingers, almost gagging at how bizarrely they moved. They almost reminded her of Ahuizotl from the Daring Do books.

"Oh my gosh, I need a mirror now!" Rainbow panicked and quickly noticed more of her own features, such as her long bipedal legs behind her. "Mirror mirror mirror…" She looked back at where she came from, but funnily enough the exit of the portal wasn't a mirror but a stone base of a statue. "Are you kidding me?!"

Then suddenly, Rainbow heard a familiar voice. "A mirror? Ah, here…"

In her peripheral, Rainbow saw a handheld mirror being handed to her, and as she looked up, she saw the most uncanny sight she'd ever seen in her life.

"R-Rarity? What's wrong with your face!" She shouted and scurried backwards.

It was only moments ago that Rainbow saw Rarity back in Equestria, but now she was seeing what must have been Rarity's human form. A terrifying sight. She had strange folds of skin on the side of her head with a hole in them going into her skull, and her mouth had weirdly shaped lips. What must have been her nose was small and didn't protrude far at all. Worst of all, she had those weird limbs- arms, Twilight called them. Those arms and hands that were unnaturally skinny and long, that could easily pick up and hold objects. Twilight spoke of them frequently, but Rainbow never thought they'd look this weird.

Rarity gasped. "Excuse you! There's nothing wrong with my face…" she sighed. "You must be a different Rainbow Dash then, seeing as you came through the portal."

Rainbow's eyes widened in horror as Rarity spoke. This anatomy was going to take some getting used to for sure… "Y-Yeah… right- Twilight said I shouldn't run into my other self or it could cause a paradox…"

"Oh, don't you worry dear, I can distract you- er… other you," Rarity corrected herself. "I'm guessing you're not here to visit."

"Right…" Rainbow Dash tried standing herself up, her legs wobbling like a baby deer's. She managed to plant her feet on the floor, but couldn't straighten her knees out to stand up. "Um, I'm actually here on a super important mission, so-"

Immediately, she fell back on her behind. These limbs were useless and spindly. How she was ever going to get around with them was a mystery.

Rarity grabbed Rainbow's hand and pulled her up slowly. "Here, no rush. Just try standing on two legs first."

Rainbow's legs were shaking, not because they were weak, but because she couldn't find the right muscles to control them. "How in Equestria did Twilight manage this?" Rainbow said, nearly falling backwards again. Luckily, Rarity was there to hold her hand.

"One moment, let me call Applejack to tell her what's going on," Rarity said before pulling out a tiny, rectangular device with glass covering it. She then proceeded to speak to it, as if it were Applejack, telling it about how Rainbow Dash came through an otherworldly portal.

"Uh, Rarity? You know that's not Applejack, right?" Rainbow said, knees still buckling from her weight.

Rarity simply shook her head, continuing to talk into the device. Only a few minutes later, Applejack came up to the two of them. It was like she was summoned somehow.

"Woah! How did you-" Rainbow was baffled by the technology before her. A tiny object that can let you talk to anyone anywhere. "This world is something else."

Applejack gave Rainbow a thumbs up, not that she knew what it meant. "No worries Rainbow, the other Rainbow is already clued in on what's going on. But uh, mind telling us what on Earth is going on?"

"Earth? I guess that's a human thing…" Rainbow replied. "Let's just get away from this portal first- I don't want to accidentally fall back in."

So, the three of them slowly and painstakingly managed to walk to a bench that was about ten meters away, but it felt like one hundred. As Rainbow sat down in a horse-like manner, Applejack chuckled and handed her a bottle of apple juice. Rainbow nearly dropped it with her butterfingers and stared at it for a moment, wondering how to open it. Eventually, she just used her mouth to twist the cap off, nearly spilling it in the process.

She then proceeded to tell them everything involving Scarlet Snow, the Alicorn Amulet and Light Speed's goggles which she still couldn't keep her excitement contained about. Unfortunately, neither Rarity nor Applejack saw Scarlet exit the portal.

"Thanks anyway." Rainbow stood up from the bench, this time managing to stay stable. "I shouldn't waste any time, I have to find her."

Just before she started walking away, Rarity called out to her. "Wait, are you sure you don't have a phone or something we can use to message you? Check your pockets."

Sure enough, when Rainbow put her hands into her pockets, she felt the tiny object called a cell phone. "You're right! Uh… now how do I use it?"

Truly, this was going to be a tough adventure. It was an entirely new world, a new body and a new enemy. For whatever reason, she was meant to take it on by herself. The map and everypony else had put their faith in her, but she didn't have the slightest faith in herself.