The Facility

The frustrated looking unicorn stood in front of the group breathing rather heavily. He was white mane and all. His cutie mark seemed to be a pair of shackles. He looked rugged, with a large scar on the canvas that was his face. He wore a saddle bag that was barely held together by a few thin threads.

"I am the manager and head of security here at The Facility. The Facility is a prison of sorts and was never meant for civilians to enter for tours. But, because somepony decided they needed to stick their nose in someone else's business, I am forced to comply." The last few words were aimed at Twilight. "Some ground rules. You are to listen to every word that leaves my mouth. If I say to back away, then you do so. If I say not to touch something, then you won't. If I say not to look at something, then you close your eyes as tight as you can get them. Is that clear?!" He was very short with them. Obviously very unhappy of their visit. Twilight asked the first question.

"What will our tour consist of?" The colt stared at her coldly for a few seconds.

"First you will be given the introduction to our history. Then you will make your way through each of the three levels of cell blocks, where you will decide if they are capable habitats or not. Lastly you will be shown our finest network security programs. Where you will decide if they are adequate or not." Twilight smiled.

"Well, then. Let's get started."

The group walked together down one of the endless hallways.

"Our history. Firstly, The Facility has only one name, and that is The Facility. We have no reason to call it anything else. The name was decided by the founder of this place, Stainless Shield. He was intelligent enough to design a place with such intricate detail. Nothing that was put in one of his cells has ever gotten out. Hundreds of years ago ou-"

"Hey professor!" AppleBloom interrupted. "What's in them prison cells?" The professor only smiled at her.

"Haven't my workers already told you? I would have at least expected Info to tell you all." AppleBloom shook her head.

"Well, to tell the truth. The things that come through these portals are things from other universes." Everyone's eyes widened. The professor went on.

"There exists, a multiverse. In which, there are many universes. All of different natures. Now this was all very interesting to find out, but... That was only until figures from those universes began appearing here. They were being displaced somehow. So, out of interest, and if you ask some, out of fear, we did many years of research on this phenomenon. Finally, after almost a decade of being stuck in a lab on a computer, we came to a conclusion. Our universe was unique. For you see, we are the center of the multiverse." Twilight was captivated by this new information.

"What's that gotta ta do with anythin'?" AppleJack blurted. The professor looked over his shoulder at her.

"It has everything to do with everything! We are the center. The point of intersection. If anypony or beast or monster from any other universe tries to travel somewhere else, they end up here!" AppleJack shut her mouth. He wan't very kind. Everytime someone spoke, he shot them down.

"That's pretty much our history. We've been catching escapees and locking them in here."

"Okay. Didn't you say something about a three leveled thing or something earlier?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"The three levels of our cell blocks. We can do that now. There are three levels in The Facility, but you will find four on our examination protocalls. The four levels measure how dangerous something is, if they recieve a 1 on their examination, they are let out into the world to live in this universe. 1 meaning that they are completely harmless in every way and only want peace." Fluttershy decided to ask a question.

"So... We could be friends with somepony from a different universe?!"

"Yes." Each pony in the group looked closely at their friends. Monitoring them. Even sisters stepped away from each other.

"To relieve any tension in the room, none of you are." The group simoltaniously sighed.

"But.... Some of your other friends are." He pulled a note pad from his saddle bag.

"Rabbit 32105 of universe 30. You refer to him as 'Angle Bunny'." Fluttershy gasped with tears in her eyes, but Professor Laceration continued.

"'Misses Cake' From universe 12. ." Pinkie Pie fainted. " 'Fancy Pants', from universe 23." Rarity's eyes were bigger than dinner plates. "From universe 5. I believe that you three-" Pointing towards the Crusaders. "-call her 'Miss Cheerilee'." The girls' jaws dropped to the floor.

"That's mind blowing..." Rainbow Dash put a hoof up to her head. The professor nodded.

"That was just to name a few. Now! About the other three levels..."

They neared a very large door towards the end of the hallway. It had strange markings on the face. Making the group feel uneasy about entering. 'Housing Section' was printed on the face.

"The Facility has a motto. 'If you can see yourself doing it, you have. If you can't see yourself doing it, you have." He smiled and continued to the door.

"What does that even mean?" Rarity snobbed. The professor chuckled.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" He pushed the doors open, revealing hundreds of rectangular, glass cubicals. Each of them contained a different pony. Or, in some cases, the same pony? Each of them, completely oblivious to the ponies watching them below. A little further down was a large pad. Tape with the word 'CAUTION' printed on it, wrapped around the pad.

"Alright! Everyone on!" Laceration ordered. The group hurried inside the boundaries of the tape and stood in waiting. A large panel opened just in front of where the professor stood. A computer screen with many confusing lights and buttons emerged from the hole in the floor. The professor turned and faced the group.

"May I have a volunteer?" Rainbow Dash was slow but still ended up raising her hoof.

"Brilliant!" The professor cheered. "Now. Rainbow Dash... What do you wish for more than anything?" The cyan mare didn't even need to think about that one.

"I want to be one of the Wonderbolts!" She shouted. The professor spun around and began typing on his computer. Once he had finished he turned and faced the group again. A few seconds went by and everyone was confused.

"Wait for it...." He said. The pad they all stood on suddenly lifted from the ground floor and levitated to the right. As it moved, they passed by many different containers. Pinkie could have swore that she saw herself in one. The pad stopped, then went upwards. It was slower this time, and only about five or six containers passed before the pad stopped once again. Before them sat a container similar to the rest. But this one was a bit different. Familiar, even.

"Hey! That's my house!" Rainbow shouted.

"Yes it is... But just wait a few moments." The professor was smiling ear to ear now. The group watched the empty cube. About a minute passed by and Twilight was about to say something. But, before she could, the door to the room opened.

"Wow! That was a great flying session!" Rainbow cheered. The group gasped and all looked back towards their own Rainbow Dash.

"Is that me wearing a-"

"Yes. A Wonderbolts uniform." She looked back into the glass box. Her double was in her living room wearing a Wonderbolts uniform! But what came next, almost made Rainbow faint.

"Yeah, it was! One of the best!" Soarin was there too! The two removed their uniforms, folded them nicely, and put them away. The Rainbow double trotted over to Soarin.

"I have to go. Twilight said she needed me to get some supplies for Pinkie's birthday tomorrow."

"Alright. Have fun." The two kissed and Rainbow's double headed out the door.

Rainbow Dash's jaw hit the floor.

"Yes. In this universe, not only are you one of the Wonderbolts, but you are married to their captain." The professor seemed amused with the look of disbelief on Rainbow's face. Twilight looked closely at the glass.

"Can't they see us?" Their guide smiled.

"No. They don't even know that they're in our universe. We are lucky with some of the things that appear here. Sometimes, they are unconscious, so we can put them in one of these holographic chambers before they wake up again. It makes it easier for us and for them." Twilight thought for a moment. This place was even more advanced than she thought. Rainbow was still at the glass, admiring her awesome alternate lifestyle.

"Now remember. This is the second level in our cell blocks. They are harmless, but we keep them here because it would be too confusing for others." He explained.

"How would it be confusing?" Rarity asked. The professor thought for a few seconds. Gathered his thoughts, and explained.

"Well, take for instance, AppleJack." The orange mare looked up with the mention of her name. "If there were two of you. You and an AppleJack that was the same but had blue hair. Wouldn't that look a bit strange?" AppleJack and Rarity nodded.

"Let's do another. Shall we?" He looked for another volunteer. Fluttershy came forward. The professor smiled. He turned back to his computer and began to type again. Once he had finished, the pad they stood on began to move again. To the left, hundreds of these containers passed them by. They jerked to a stop. Causing some to almost fall over. Before them sat a display of Ponyville. Walking down the sidewalk was Gilda. She was coming down the walkway towards Fluttershy. This scene was all too familiar. Fluttershy frowned. This was one of her worst memories. Fluttershy was carrying a basket of various materials. Gilda wasn't watching where she was going. The two of them bumped into each other, causing Fluttershy to drop her basket.

"What is your problem?! Watch where you're going you idiot!!" Fluttershy was dumbfounded. She was the one screaming!

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to. I'll fix it!" Gilda was cowering and backing away.

"How are you going to fix it?! These supplies are so expensive!! You're lucky I don't just beat the money out of you!!" Pure seething hatred spewed from Fluttershy's mouth.

"sorry......." Fluttershy pushed Gilda out of the way, continuing down the walkway. Gilda began to sob.

"Isn't this just fascinating?!" The professor asked, ecstatic as ever. Fluttershy was both amazed and perplexed with what she had just seen. The professor was about to continue, was halted by a sudden alarm.

DISTURBANCE IN SECTOR 3 CELL 4869. A computer's voice echoed through the giant room.

"Hold on. I have to check something." The professor went back to his panel, typing and switching levers. The pad rushed upward at an alarming rate. Minutes passed but the pad never slowed. Higher and higher into the seemingly endless void of containers. Again, they jerked to a stop. AppleBloom was actually lifted up from the ground from the momentum. Before the group sat a container displaying a laboratory setting.

There was a single pony in the center of the room. Brown mane and black coat. He also had a well groomed, thin beard. This pony was ranting about something.

"What the hell is going on here?! Jarvis! Okay, this is completely random. A pony? Really?!" A colt was sitting at a desk, screaming at the walls. He began pacing his lab, looking rather worried.

"Well, it seems that we have another inmate that wasn't a pony before he got here." The pony in the box perked his head up almost immediately.

"Uh... Ah think he heard ya." AppleJack noted. Professor Laceration studied the colt's face. He did seem to know something. The professor began checking files on his computer, then pulled up a screen with another worker's face displayed.

"Check cell 4869, sector 3. I don't think his cell was completely sealed. It seems he can still hear us to an extent." The worker nodded and the screen disappeared. Everyone's attention was directed back towards the colt in the box. He was messing with some materials, crafting something out of metal. Everyone studied his actions, unaware of what he might be doing. After a few moments, the colt walked back to his desk with something over his head. It was half of a helmet. A circular device around one of his eyes and an ear bud in his right ear. He tapped the side and the device lit up a bright blue color.

"I can see you." He said. "Where am I?" The professor composed himself.

"Mister Stark. I am very sorry to inconvenience you. But, you are not... home."

"Really? I thought that me being a pony meant that I drank too much last night." Rainbow giggled.

"And can you let me out of here? I don't like the whole 'trapped like a rat' deal going on here." The professor grunted.

"Very well..." He tapped a few more buttons on his computer and the glass front of the chamber slid upward. The pony jumped out of his box and onto the pad.

"Thanks."

Scootaloo approached the colt.

"I'm Scootaloo. What's your name?"

"Tony." He replied. The professor spoke again.

"That covers two levels. Onto the other two." About ten minutes passed before they returned to their starting position. Everyone hopped off of the pad and followed Professor Laceration out of the Housing Section. The professor addressed the group again.

"Now I want to warn you all again. If I tell you not to do something, then don't do it. Listen to me. Or you may be hurt."

"I'm already hurt and I wasn't even warned." Tony said.

"Mister Stark, I've already apologized for the trouble you've been put through. I don't know what more you want from me."

"Uhh, probably, oh I don't know, A WAY BACK?!" The professor ignored him and continued forward. Another large door, much like the first, was visible at the end of the hall.