The Facility

It's a wonderful day in Equestria! The Summer Sun Celebration is just around the corner, and everypony has done something to prepare. This year's celebration will be held in Canterlot, and the girls have done everything they could to make it look outstanding. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy decided that they could help by hanging the streamers, signs, and ribbons around the castle. Pinkie Pie and AppleJack have baked pies and other decadent deserts for the party guests. All the while, Rarity has been making a fabulous new set of dresses for the girls with immense pride in her work! Everypony is in Canterlot this week in preparation and excitement. All except Twilight who, not surprisingly, has been in her library, studying.

She sits in the center of her bed, reading a dusty old book with tired drooping eyes. She had stayed up all night again, studying an important subject for her reports. This is becoming increasingly more common with her. Neglecting sleep, thinking she can make it through yet another sleepless night, even though her body begs her for rest. She tries to flip one last page to her novel, and inevitably fails due to her losing consciousness.

"Come on Twilight! The Summer Sun Celebration starts in less than an hour!" The exhausted unicorn is flung from her bed from the sudden startle.

"UGH! Spike! Why are you shouting!?" She drowsily asks.

"You told me to wake you up about an hour before the celebration started. So I did."

"Why would I tell you to do something like that?" Spike gave her a sarcastic look.

"Well, you did say you wanted to get there on time. And you told me to wake you up before the celebration. Soooo.... I guess I woke you up so that we could play checkers!" Twilight switched from exhaustion to frustration almost instantly. But, before she could say anything, a sudden thought completely sobered her from her drowsiness.

"Wait! Did you say, 'An hour before the celebration started'?" Spike took a step back knowing that a meltdown was soon to occur. "No no no no no no no!!! I said an hour before ponies started decorating!! We're going to be so late!" Twilight sped past Spike into the upstairs floor of her library. She took a distressed look through her telescope. Worried over something.

"Why did we need to be there so early?" Spike acquainted.

"We needed to be there so early so that I could catch up on my studies with the princess! She's going to be so upset with me!"

"Did you already forget about the smartypants thing? Or are you aiming for a role in some dramatic play?"

"This is much more serious than some letter! I missed my studies. With. The. Princess!!" She put an extra emphasis on the last few words as if it was a life or death situation. Spike did factor the possibility that it may be a life or death situation in Twilight's mind. But didn't at all try to understand.

"Well, whatever. I made breakfast and you're all packed up and ready to go, so.... Go do your studying stuff with the princess." Twilight hurried down the stairs to her kitchen, quickly devouring her meal and galloping over to the nearest bookshelf. She grasped a few books in her magic essence including Spells for the Intermediate, Advanced Prestidigitation, and Memory spells for Dummies. All of the subjects the Princess had asked her to learn. Twilight stuffed the books into her saddlebag and tossed it over her back.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" She asked.

"Yeah... I'm still pretty tired." She nodded and went on her way.

She stopped at the door, she had forgotten her quills and ink. On her usual writing desk lied an old quill and a half bottle of black ink. They were also put into her bags.

"Spike!" The baby dragon stuck his head out from the bedroom.

"WHAT?!" He shrieked. Apparently, he had already fallen back to sleep.

"Be sure to get your chores done while I'm gone! I want them done before I get back!"

"When are you getting back?"

"Late... Probably... The princess gave me a lot, and I wasn't able to finish most of it."

"Okay... Go..." He clearly wanted to go back to sleep.

Twilight turned to leave the room, but was halted by an unsettling noise from behind her. She turned her head and faced a reddish aura, much like that of her magic, that was just floating in the middle of the room.

"What is that?" She asked herself. She took a few steps closer.

"Spike!"

"WHAT?!" He was angry now.

"Get in here! There's something going on!" The sleepy dragon hopped out of his bed and stumbled into the same room as Twilight.

"Okay, I'm up.... Now what do you want?" Twilight pointed a hoof at the strange red aura in the air.

"What's that?"

"I don't know. It just appeared. It doesn't seem to be doing anything though..." The mist continued to sit in the air, just hovering above the two. Spike decided to get a closer look.

"Well, maybe it's some kind of-" The red began to fluctuate, violently! Spike recoiled and fell onto his backside. The reddish aura spun and twirled in a confusing fashion, causing the two to back away out of fear that it might do something. Then as quickly as it had started, it stopped.

"Okay... We should-" Twilight was cut off by a powerful booming sound coming from the mist. It floated up above them, then angled itself toward Twilight's telescope. It stayed there a few seconds, then dropped something on top of the telescope.

"No! Oh! I hope it didn't break!" She ran up the stairs to check on her supposedly damaged instrument. Spike, who stayed behind, noticed that the fog had disappeared shortly afterward.

"It doesn't seem to be broken... Just a scratch or two." She said. Relief was clear in her voice.

"Did you even check to see what that thing dropped?" Spike riddled. From downstairs, Spike could see Twilight turn and face what had fallen. Though... She said nothing.

"Twilight? What is it?" Frustration quickly being replaced with worry.

"Uhh... Spike. You need to see this for yourself." The baby dragon rushed up the stairs, completely perturbed by the worrisome statement Twilight had just spoken.

"Okay, what fell up h-" He froze. "..... What the?!" Before the two of them was another Twilight, lying unconscious on the floor. Not either of them spoke. They only stared in disbelief. They weren't identical. This Twilight had multiple lacerations around her torso and it looked as if her right, back leg had been charred. She wasn't bleeding, but it was obvious that the cuts were fresh.

Finally, Spike broke the silence.

"How is this happening?! How is there two of you?!?"

"I don't know! This is as strange for me as it is for you, alright?! This shouldn't even be possible! I mean, the only one capable of inter dimensional travel was Doctor Whooves, and he needed the Tardis to do so! I don't know how she got here!" Another few moments of silence were shared.

"Spike. You can go back to bed. I'm going to figure out how to deal with this."

"Umm... Alright... Goodnight." He returned to his room.

Twilight spoke to herself, to get reacquainted to the situation.

"Okay. So I just have to figure out what to tell her when she wakes up. That shouldn't be too h-" Her double opened her eyes.

"Uhh... Oh... Um, Hello?" Her copy only stared at her blankly.

"Um... Apparently, you are from another reality or dimension or something. GAH! I hate not understanding things!" She lost herself in her frustrations for a moment.

"Sorry. I want to let you know that I'm not going to hurt you alright? I am a friend." The other Twilight still only stared at her.

"I am go-"

"Is Celestia still princess?" Twilight was taken aback by the strange and sudden question.

"Yes but I don't s-"

"And Luna returned?"

"Uh, Yes. Why do you ask?" Her copy was silent for a moment.

"I was warned of bad things that would happen to this world."

"What kind of bad things?" She asked. This was disturbing, especially from her duplicate.

"He told me of his plan. To conquer a world of peace. Many that you love will die.... The sky will never again bare the sun, nor the moon. Time itself, will cease to exist.This world will be thrown into more chaos and destruction that even Discord could only dream of causing. " Twilight inched away. This was moving from strange to unnerving and fast! Twilight was at this point, backed up against a bookshelf with a spell ready. In case her copy was about to do anything.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Her front door was being pounded on.

"They're here for me..." Her double whispered. Twilight was terrified now. But before she could do anything, the door was knocked down and multiple ponies dressed in armor and masks entered the room.

"THERE! TOP FLOOR!!" One shouted. Another fired a net at the Twilight double, capturing her. While she struggled beneath the net, the copy managed to say one last thing...

"Beware the colt who holds the keys! The one who built the prison! HE IS STILL ALIVE!!"

"SHUT HER UP!!" One of the armored ponies shouted. The one to his side responded with a tranquilizer dart. He planted it right it the back of the double's neck and she fell limp.

"Ah. Well, sorry about the door. We had a disturbance come up on radar and we had to take care of it as quickly as possible." The one apologizing seemed to be the leader of his group, having a more done up uniform than the rest.

After they restrained the copy, the leader apologized again.

"Again, sorry about the door. We'll send you a few bits to get it fixed.... Man, this was the strangest one yet. Almost no warning to where it would appear. I'm just glad we got it before it could do any damage. This is the first time one has appeared in a residential area." He turned and nodded toward one of his other workers, who then came forward and offered Twilight a small pouch. It was filled to the top with bits.

"Complements of 'The Facility'." He said. The team of strangers left Ponyville shortly afterward.

This was completely perplexing... The double appearing, the team of ponies just tying her up and leaving. The fact that they worked for The Facility! Twilight thought that they were there to protect, not to capture... She didn't even seem like she wanted to hurt anyone. Why would they just take her? More importantly, why did she say what she said? This world will be thrown into more chaos and destruction that even Discord could only dream of causing.... Twilight thought more about the warning as well. Beware the colt who holds the keys! The one who built the prison! HE IS STILL ALIVE!! That was just profound! How could the founder still be alive? The Facility is over one thousand years old!

"This will make for an interesting conversation with Princess Celestia..." She decided.