Pegasi Cannot Fly

"And who are you right now?" Rainbow Dash asked the pony in the hoodie. Twilight was in one of her moods where she did not speak much. Rainbow Dash was aware that this was not the Princess she knew, and aware that this was not a changeling either. The pony looked the exact same as Twilight Sparkle had when she was a unicorn, although with a significant number of dark shadows under her eyes. Sometimes she trotted with an odd gahte to-

"My gait is just how I walk Rainbow Dash. It's spelled with an I." The pony mumbled quietly, pushing down on some dials and looking at the low hum of electrical wires as they moved about, bouncing inside of their electronic prison. Twilight looked up from the readings, an unreadable expression on her face. Rainbow Dash was certain she had seen this look before, it was not unlike when Twilight had been trying to study the Pinkie Sense and getting absolutely nowhere.

"I cannot just keep calling you Twilight. or Sparkle. That's my friend, even though the two of you look exactly alike!" Rainbow Dash said, causing a certain clicking effect to come from the metal wiring as the electronic bouncing spun upwards more.

"Light Cynosure." The pony, henceforth called Cynosure, replied.

"That is not your real name." Rainbow Dash replied again. Cynosure did not reply, and continued looking at the readings.

"Can you tell me anything about the Flight Camps that the Pegasi have?" Cynosure asked.

"I guess since you do not have wings you have not been there, uh-" Rainbow Dash started, holding her tongue back, "It is a camp, where you learn how to fly."

"Observant." Cynosure replied.

"Look, what is this all about anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked, putting her hoof down slightly and brushing the dusty ground.

Cynosure backed up a bit, turning on some light from magic and then lighting up several candles with it. After a short time, light seemed to merely hang in the air like ethereal candles, showing the former remains of Twilight Sparkle's basement before the battle with Tirek. Behind Cynosure was what looked like some sort of large, gear shaped door, although the mechanical parts of it that moved were not visible. Cynosure gave a slight tilt of their head, not responding at all for a moment.

Rainbow Dash would have normally felt her heart pounding, but for whatever reason, here, she felt totally at ease. In fact, she felt she was quite enjoying the attention, even if it was in some secret, dusty, unknown crypt. She found she could not recall a single thing about having arrived here, and neither could she grasp anything about what was happening with the machine. Cynosure opened the cover of a small black book, opening it's single, thick, page to form some manner of black box. She plugged it into the readings and there was a spinning motion before the electrical signals ceased.

"You may return to your home Rainbow Dash. Forget that we spoke here when you did, and inform your friends you were napping if they ask where you have been. You never left Ponyville. Forget my name. My words are true."

Rainbow Dash gave a mechanical nod of confirmation as Cynosure unhooked the electrical readers, watching as Rainbow Dash turned and trotted towards the gear shaped door and then took the left door, heading for another location yet unknown to her. Cynosure gave a soft snap shut of her book, looking down at her hooves.

These hooves were not clean. Not anymore. Cynosure flicked her book into her hoodie and trotted out, grabbing a dark black coat that covered her entire body, just as Luna had on Nightmare Night so long ago. Flipping open a metallic matte case, Cynosure drew a marker out and ran the white marker over herself, watching as the rest of the marker began to vanish. Cynosure did not look in the mirror as her coat and mane both returned to their normal colour and she shut her markers away.

Throwing up her hood, Cynosure stepped into the portal on the right side of the door, blinking out of that moment in time. She had prepared for this, and stepped herself back to a difficult time to be present in.