Without a doubt, one of the most boring jobs anyone could get stick with was void patrol. In theory, it was an important job to make sure nothing in dark space would cause trouble. In practice, there was really nothing of major importance in dark space. Except for the one time with the apple caterpillar, but that sorted itself out in due time.
The darkness of the void was broken by the occasional bright lights of scattered universes. Not that the poor sap on void duty cared; all he wanted was for his shift to be over. Fortunately, his shift would prove to be much more interesting when the audio sensors picked up the one thing he didn’t expect: conversation.
“I hate you so much right now Dusk,” one voice said.
“Rainbow, I know you’re angry right now, but blaming me isn’t going to help,” another voice said. Some swift maneuvering of the void drone found the source of the conversation: a pair of floating stallions, a purple unicorn and a cyan pegasus, surrounded in some kind of magical field. The scout started broadcasting the sight as the pegasus continued.
“Well, it is your fault we’re here. How could you have possibly screwed up so badly?”
“I was practicing very complicated teleportation spells! Then you had to show up, crash into me, and then we’re in space. What was so important anyway?!”
“…New Dashing Dare.” Rainbow Blitz smiled at Dusk, who rolled his eyes. The ponies continued their conversation just as a chat window opened up.
Administrator_6: Really?<
Void-S: The drone’s not malfunctioning. What do you want me to do?<
Administrator_6: They have to have come from somewhere. Find out their origin.<
Void-S: Can do, give me a minute.<
“Whatever Blitz, I need to concentrate on keeping this shield up. So don’t let go of me.”
“Trust me dude, I am not thinking of that anytime so… what the hay is that thing?” Dusk opened an eye and looked around until he saw what Blitz saw. The two watched as what could best be described as a black eye with a red iris floated next to them.
“What you said,” was Dusk’s reply.
Void-S: They came from universe 43-c. Crap, they drifted way too far away from there.”<
Adminstrator_6: These ponies always seem to displace themselves. Put them somewhere where they don’t exist and let them figure it out.<
Void-S: You mean those specific iterations?<
Administrator_6: Yes.<
Void-S: Alright, I’ll figure something out.<
Suddenly the eye started glowing a bright red and Dusk looked down at Rainbow.
“What the hay is it doing?” Blitz asked.
“I have no idea! Brace yourself!” The glow soon engulfed Dusk and Rainbow and when it dulled and went away, they found themselves falling rather rapidly through clouds. “What? How did we get-?”
“Dusk, no time! Crashing!” Blitz yelled at him and spread his wings while holding onto Dusk. Rainbow knew enough about flying to know that they were coming in too fast. A quick look at the rapidly approaching ground showed there was a lake coming up. ‘Ok, only have one shot at this,’ Blitz thought and aimed for the lake while flapping his wings as fast as he could.
“Hey Fluttershy, watch me do a cannon ball into the lake!” Pinkie shouted at her yellow pegasus friend and started jumping excitedly.
“Um… ok. I’m watching,” Fluttershy said from the picnic blanket she had laid out. Pinkie smiled widely and looked up at the sky, probably to judge wind or something, and stopped when she saw something.
“Look, a shooting star!” Pinkie yelled pointing at the streak, “If we make a wish, it’ll come true right?”
“Um… I don’t think that’s a shooting star Pinkie. They don’t show up during the day,” Fluttershy said.
“They don’t?! Then what is it?” Pinkie stared at the approaching object, and once Fluttershy realized that fact she started to slowly back away.
“Um, Pinkie… maybe we should-“ she started to say just as the object, which they now saw was two ponies, crashed into the lake and splashed water over the both of them. Fluttershy shrieked loudly and cowered while Pinkie stood in the exact position she was before, though now soaking wet and shivering a little.
“That water was cold,” Pinkie said and shook herself dry, “We better check to make sure whoever that was is alright Fluttershy. Where’d I put my snorkel?”
“Well, ok. I hope they are alright,” Fluttershy said and slowly got up and walked to the lake’s shore while Pinkie looked for a snorkel. The water’s surface burst when two stallions broke through taking deep breaths and coughing, which drew the mare’s attention and caused Fluttershy to lower to the ground again.
“Are we alive?” one of them, a unicorn, asked.
“Yeah,” the other one said, “we are. And I think we’re back home too.” The two started laughing in relief before the pegasus suddenly splashed the unicorn. “You and your teleportation spells! Can’t you walk like a normal pony?”
“Oh that’s rich, coming from the pony who probably learned to fly before he learned to walk! Try going a day without flying and then we’ll talk.”
“Whatever. Now can we-“
“AAH, something touched me!” the unicorn shouted and started swimming out of the lake, “Are there fish in this lake?!”
“What? Are you scared of fish or something?” the pegasus asked with a hint of amusement. Pinkie looked back at Fluttershy and back at the unicorn as he climbed ashore.
“I hate fish! I hate fish things! They’re scaly and they don’t blink and…” the unicorn shivered and let out a disgusted moan, “I need to get home.”
“Uh, we may have a problem. Look right.” The unicorn did so and screamed at the sudden face full of smiling pink pony.
“That’s the longest it’s taken for anypony to notice me standing next to them. Except for Rainbow, but I think she was tired that day. *Gaaaaaaaaasp* Are you a new pony in town? I love meeting new ponies, because new ponies means new friends! That’s a nice shade of purple in your coat by the way, I gotta try and replicate that for a cupcake frosting.”
“Berry…”
“Have we met before; because you seem reeeeeealy familiar to me. But that can’t be right because I’ve never seen a stallion like you before.” Pinkie stopped and started scratching her head. “Now that I think about it, I’ve met a lot more mares than stallions. Don’t you think that’s weird Fluttershy?”
“Pinkie…” Fluttershy tried to say.
“You’re right, I’ll think about that later. Right now, NEW FRIENDS!” Pinkie hugged Dusk tightly, pressing the breath out of him, and continued with, “I got to throw you and that other stallion a welcome party! What’s your favorite kind of cupcake?”
“Berry…”
“Berry, that’s a good choice! What kind of berry? I have strawberry, blueberry, gooseberry, cranberry, boysenberry, elderberry, and all other kinds! I remember telling my dad he smelled like elderberries once, and he got really mad for some reason. Oh, and then there was this one time-“
Dusk managed to shove a hoof in Pinkie’s mouth and said, “Berry, can you stop talking for three seconds so I can think?” before pushing Pinkie away from him. Blitz climbed out of the water and shook himself dry as Pinkie gasped in realization.
“Oh, you were talking to me! I think you have me confused with a friend though. My name’s Pinkie Pie last I checked.” Pinkie turned to Fluttershy and genuinely asked, “My name is Pinkie Pie right?”
“Um, yes it is,” Fluttershy answered. Dusk, having just discovered Fluttershy, looked between the two mares a couple of times before looking back at Rainbow Blitz and was glad they shared the same look of disbelief.
“You’re right Rainbow, we are in serious trouble,” Dusk said and jumped back a little when Pinkie popped up between them.
“Rainbow, where? I didn’t think she would be out and… wait,” Pinkie looked at Rainbow and gasped loudly again. “That’s where I’ve seen you before! You look just like Rainbow Dash, and you,” Pinkie pointed at Dusk, “look just like Twilight! Are you two fans of theirs or something? Oh silly me, I haven’t asked what your names are.” Pinkie stared at Dusk with an expectant smile which only made the unicorn a little uncomfortable.
“Well, my name is Dusk Shine and his name is Rainbow Blitz. We were-“
“So you’re those kinds of fans eh?”
“I… beg your pardon?”
“It’s ok, I once caught Rainbow painting her coat to look like Daring Do. Who am I to judge if you wanted to dye your manes?”
“I don’t dye my mane!” Rainbow Blitz suddenly yelled angrily.
“Oh, here we go,” Dusk whispered.
“I’m so sick of ponies saying that to me! ‘Oh, there’s no way his mane can be like that naturally’ they all say. Well news flash, I WAS BORN WITH MY MANE LIKE THIS! Do you understand me?!” Blitz stood there breathing heavily looking right into Pinkie’s eyes.
“I think I hit a raw nerve, I’m sorry,” Pinkie said still smiling.
“Remember the exercises Blitz, it’s the best way to calm down.”
‘Ugh, we’re walking in circles here,’ Dusk thought with a sigh, ‘better take action before Blitz actually hits somepony.’ With a plan in mind, Dusk turned to Fluttershy and cleared his throat. “So… my name’s Dusk Shine.”
“Um… I’m Fluttershy,” was her reply. Dusk leaned closer in a silent show that he didn’t hear her, so Fluttershy took a deep breath and repeated her name, which ended up being only slightly louder.
“Fluttershy, that’s a nice name,” Dusk said and smiled at the mare, only to be taken back when Fluttershy blushed and looked at the ground. “Uh, anyway, your friend said something about a Twilight?”
“Oh, yes. Twilight’s really smart and lives in the library in town.”
“Really, can you take us to her? My friend and I are kind of lost, so she might be able to help.” ‘If she is who I think she is.’
“Ok, I just need to-“
“Are you going to see Twilight?” Pinkie asked, startling both Dusk and Fluttershy, and bounced in excitement. “That is a great idea! I really want to know how Rainbow reacts to knowing she has a fan.” Pinkie proceeded to bounce around Dusk and Fluttershy before going toward the buildings of Ponyville.
“Pinkie, wait for us,” Fluttershy said to Pinkie and started trotting after her. Dusk followed the mares and looked back to see Blitz flying up and next to him.
“So what’s the plan? Please tell me you have a plan,” Blitz said.
“We follow them and they’ll take us to somepony who can help us,” Dusk answered.
“What do you mean, who could possibly help us right now?”
“I’ll explain on the way. By the way, about that eye…”
“Yeah…”
“Let’s never talk about that ever again.”
“Took the words right out of my mouth.”
“Where’s Spike? He should have checked in by now.” Rainbow Dash looked up from her book at Twilight, who was looking out a window. Rainbow sighed and stretched out on the floor.
“He’s probably still with the Crusaders or something,” Rainbow said and looked back at the book, “Besides, didn’t you want him to go out and interact with kids his age?”
“That’s true, but you know how the Crusaders are. They can get… extreme when they’re playing.”
“Oh what’s the worst they could do?”
“We have captured a dragon!” Scootaloo shouted, the cloth she used as a mask doing little to soften the noise.
“What do we do with him?” Sweetie asked and adjusted her hood slightly.
“You can untie me for starters,” Spike said and struggled against his binds.
“Don’t struggle!” Applebloom yelled, the small boards that constituted her ‘armor’ clanking whenever she moved. “Now here’s what we’re gonna do: first, ah’ll eat his soul, then we’ll take him to Sugarcube Corner and celebrate our victory with milkshakes!”
“That’s an awesome plan!” Scootaloo said fluttering her wings.
“I love milkshakes!” Sweetie said clapping her hooves.
“Sure, whatever,” Spike said quickly growing bored, “as long as you untie me soon.”
“Ah’m glad everyone agrees with the plan. Now take him into the clubhouse, ah need to be alone to eat his soul properly!” Spike’s eyes widened and he started struggling even more as Sweetie and Scootaloo picked him up and carried him up to the Crusader’s clubhouse.
“Wait, hold on! I don’t like the way she said that!”
“Ah said no strugglin’!”
“I suppose you’re right. I just worry about… uh oh.”
“What’s up?” Rainbow asked, getting up and walking over to Twilight at the window.
“Pinkie’s coming, and she looks really happy,” Twilight said and moved over for Rainbow.
“Oh yeah she does, and you know what that means.”
“She met a new pony,” the both said and walked to the door. Rainbow was about to say something just when Pinkie opened the door.
“Hi Twilight, hi Rainbow!” she said and trotted up to them, “you are not going to believe who I met today.”
“Let me guess, a new pony?” Rainbow asked.
“Two new ponies! They’re stallions about our age and they’re fans of yours.”
“Er… what?” Rainbow looked at Twilight, who shrugged and looked back at Pinkie.
“It’s the weirdest thing, or at least the weirdest thing to happen this week. I was at the swimming hole with Fluttershy and I was about to do this sweet cannonball when I saw this shooting star, except it wasn’t a shooting star, it was two ponies! They landed in the water and one of them was really scared of fish for some reason. The weirdest thing was they looked like you, except they were stallions and had really bad attitudes when it comes to manes. Have I lost you yet?”
“Only slightly, but I think I understand what you’re saying,” Twilight said.
“How good are their costumes?” Rainbow asked.
“Really good! Now that I think about it, Fluttershy should be here with them soon,” Pinkie said and looked back at the door, “I hope I didn’t lose them.” No sooner had she said that did Fluttershy slowly peek inside.
“Oh, hi girls. I’m… glad you’re here,” she said quietly and walked through the door.
“Girls?” a voice quietly asked from outside.
“Weren’t you listening on the way here?!” another said in annoyance, “Look, I’ll explain it again.”
“I take it those are the stallions Pinkie was talking about?” Twilight asked and pointed at the door.
Fluttershy blinked and nodded before saying, “um… don’t say anything about fish or mane colors to them. They don’t like it.”
“Dangit Dusk, I don’t understand a word of what you’re saying! I’m going in,” the first voice outside said and a pegasus stallion walked in looking behind him. “All I heard was ‘blah blah, magic theory, blah blah, councils.’ You have to learn to-“ the stallion looked ahead and stopped in his tracks at the sight of Rainbow and Twilight. The mares and the stallion stared at each other silently as a unicorn walked in with a sigh.
“And you need to learn some patience Blitz,” he said, “you never know what…” much like the pegasus, he stopped at the sight of the mares, but unlike his friend he brightened up and stomped a hoof. “Ha, I knew it! I told you so Blitz!”
“Yeah yeah, I’ll give you five bits later,” the pegasus said, “but right now, what the hay.”
“You can say that again,” Rainbow Dash said and backed up a step, “who are you?”
“I’d ask you the same question, rainbow mane.”
“What is that supposed to mean?!”
“Please don’t pick a fight Rainbow,” Twilight said to her friend.
“But I’m not!” both pegasi said and glared at each other afterwards. The unicorn stallion sighed again and placed an arm around his friends shoulder.
“Hey Blitz, do you think she can beat you in a race?” he asked pointing at Rainbow Dash, which earned a surprised ‘what?!’ from both of them. “I remember reading once that smaller racers are faster because there’s less mass to drag them down. I think she can actually beat you.”
“Darn right I could!” Rainbow said with no small amount of pride and flared her wings. “Maybe Pinkie was right and you guys are big fans of ours.”
“You’re full of crap Dusk, and that goes double for you! I could beat you with one wing tied behind my back!” Blitz yelled and started hovering in the air.
“You can use both of your wings and I’ll still beat you with no trouble.”
“Why don’t you put your skills where your mouth is?!”
“Gladly. One lap around town, first one back wins,” Rainbow hovered to the same height as Blitz and smirked before adding, “I might even slow down for the little colt.”
“Don’t bother! We start outside!” Blitz landed and stormed outside with Rainbow trotting confidently after him.
“Wait, I wanna do the flag waving thing!” Pinkie shouted and bounced out the door. Both Twilight and Dusk sighed and the latter smiled at the former.
“Sorry about that, he gets really vocal when he’s confused. A little exercise will do him some good,” Dusk said.
“Rainbow Dash is much the same way,” Twilight returned and looked Dusk over before saying, “So… Dusk is it?”
“Um… yeah, my name’s Dusk Shine and my friend is Rainbow Blitz. You’re Twilight Sparkle right?”
“Yes, it’s nice to meet you. But who are you, since I find it easier to take anything Pinkie says with a dash of salt.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of complicated. I think I have an idea what’s going on, and I’m going to need your help to confirm it.”
“Ok, what do you need from me?” Dusk looked at Fluttershy, who had been quietly looking through a bookshelf, and leaned closer to Twilight.
“Maybe we should talk somewhere else, if that’s ok with you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well it’s just because your friend is here and I’m not sure if you told them some things. For instance, have you ever gone to this big park in Canterlot on your eleventh birthday and saw this big-“
“AAAAAA, ok I get it! Don’t say another word, just get up the stairs now!” Twilight frantically pushed Dusk up the stairs. Fluttershy thought she saw a blush on Twilight’s face as she did so. Once they were up in Twilight’s room, she turned back and said, “I hope you didn’t hear any of that Fluttershy.”
“Oh, no I didn’t hear anything,” Fluttershy answered with a shake of her head. Twilight nodded and shut the door. Fluttershy blinked a couple of times before deciding that whatever Twilight meant was none of her business and picked a book at random from the shelf. “’A tale of two mares’? That sounds interesting,” she whispered and opened the book. She made it halfway through the first paragraph when she started to wonder how Rainbow was doing.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had been sitting outside of the clubhouse for almost ten minutes in total silence. While this seemed like a good idea at first, now Scootaloo was practically dying of boredom.
“What do you think is going on in there?” Scootaloo asked Sweetie as she rolled onto her back.
“Didn’t Applebloom say she was going to fight for Spike’s soul? I guess anything like that would be too scary for someone like me,” Sweetie said with a glance at the clubhouse door. Just then, Scootaloo gasped and pointed up at the sky.
“Look, it’s Rainbow Dash!” she yelled just as a streak of rainbow passed the sky above them. “She’s so cool how she flies like-“ a second rainbow trail joined the first one which stopped Scootaloo mid sentence.
“Was that… her again? She’s gotten really fast, hasn’t she?” Sweetie asked. When Scootaloo didn’t answer, Sweetie looked down at her friend who was still staring at where the rainbow trails had been.
“So… intense…” was all she mumbled. Thankfully Sweetie’s attention was drawn from her friend when Applebloom opened the clubhouse door and walked down with a large smile with Spike following particularly less happy and with a piece of paper on his head.
“So… how did it go?”
“Ah own his soul for the day!” Applebloom said with a chuckle.
“Whatever…” Spike muttered lowly.
“So… can we get milkshakes now? And Scootaloo is out of it again,” Sweetie said with a hoof motion at Scootaloo.
“She’ll snap out of it. Spike, wake her up!” Applebloom looked back at Spike, who sighed and walked over to Scootaloo.
“That milkshake better be worth it,” he said.
Pinkie was waiting outside the library, right next to the finishing line she had drawn earlier for the Rainbows. ‘Hm, from the last time I timed Rainbow, she should be back right about…’ She looked at a nonexistent watch on her foreleg and didn’t flinch when two pegasi landed and skidded across the line, “Now. It’s getting really easy to time you Rainbow.”
“Yeah whatever, I’m just glad I won,” Rainbow Dash said standing up.
“No you didn’t, I won by a landslide!” Rainbow Blitz said pressing his forehead against Dash’s.
“You wish! I was ahead by an inch!”
“I was!”
“It was too close to call,” Pinkie interrupted and brought Blitz and Dash into a hug, “now come on, let’s go see Twilight. I think she was telling stories to the nice stallion that looks like her.” Pinkie smiled and let the pegasi go as she walked into the library. Both Rainbows looked at each other and snorted.
“This isn’t over,” Blitz whispered, “not by a long shot.”
“Fine by me,” Dash returned and followed Pinkie inside. Once she got in, she found Fluttershy reading a book, which she seemed very into. “Whatcha reading, Fluttershy?” Fluttershy shrieked a little at the question and quickly closed the book.
“It’s nothing! Just a… romance I was skimming,” she said and put the book back.
“Pfft, romance,” Blitz said walking past the mares, “is there anything to eat here?”
“Try the kitchen,” Dash said shaking her head, “he is getting on my nerves.” Fluttershy giggled a little and stood up to face Rainbow.
“Some ponies say your greatest enemy is yourself. I guess that’s truer for you now?” she smiled softly at Rainbow, who rolled her eyes.
“Sure, where’s Twilight?” Fluttershy pointed upstairs and Rainbow took a deep breath before flying up the stairs and listened to what was going on behind it.
“Your friend is like Dusk, no sense of taste,” Blitz said walking back into the room, “all that’s in there is sandwich stuff and oat cereal. She really has to… ooh, what are you doing?”
“Trying to eavesdrop, but I can’t hear a thing,” Rainbow answered and no sooner had she said that was Blitz next to her and listening as well. Dash shot him a look before putting her ear back on the door and said, “What are they doing in there?”
“Dusk is really into sound dampening spells, so he probably used that. I swear, it’s like he’s trying to-“ Blitz was cut off when the bedroom door suddenly opened and knocked him and Dash off the stairs and onto the floor below.
“Really? I would never have expected that from him,” Twilight said and walked down the stairs with Dusk behind her.
“Yeah, I saw some of them, and Elusive must have been angry to make Rainbow wear things like that,” Dusk replied with a laugh, “I assume something similar happened here?”
“Yeah, after Dodge Junction Rarity- oh, you two are back.” Twilight increased her pace and stared down at the two pegasi lying in a pile with Fluttershy and Dusk.
“Are you alright?” Fluttershy asked picking up Rainbow Dash.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she answered.
“Same here, as soon as the room stops spinning,” Blitz said.
“Well that’s good, at least you didn’t break anything,” Dusk said and looked around the library, “where’d Pinkie go, I thought she was here?”
“I’ve been here,” Pinkie answered next to Dusk, naturally startling Dusk, and held up a sandwich. “I hope you don’t mind that I made lunch Twilight.”
“No, it’s fine Pinkie,” Twilight said and sat down next to Rainbow Dash, “So, should we tell them Dusk?”
“I think we should wait for him to get his bearings,” Dusk said and rolled Blitz onto his stomach, “Come on Blitz, I know you’ve recovered from worse.” Blitz shook his head and sat up stretching his wings.
“Alright I’m fine, so what’s up?” Blitz asked as Dusk sat next to him.
“Well, I talked with Twilight for a bit and I think I confirmed what happened. It’s gonna take some explaining, so do you want a snack or something.”
“Dude, just tell me what’s going on.”
“Ok… we’re in another universe.” Dusk’s rather blunt explanation was met with a blank stare from Blitz as he looked at him, then Pinkie, then Twilight and Dash, Fluttershy, and then back at Dusk.
“You know what, I will have some snacks. This seems like it’ll take a while.”
“I’ll go get some,” Pinkie said and stood up, “do you girls want anything?”
“If it’s no trouble, can you get me a sandwich?” Twilight asked.
“I’m fine,” Rainbow said and Fluttershy simply shook her head.
“Okey dokey, be back in a bit.” Pinkie trotted out of the room and Blitz fluttered his wings slightly.
“So… when you say another universe…?” he asked slowly.
“It’s exactly what it sounds like. You actually spooked me so much I took us to another plane of existence entirely. To my and Twilight’s knowledge, nopony else has done that before, so… there’s that.”
“Ha, I did something before you!” Blitz shouted pointing at Dash, “What do you think of that?”
“Whatever, so what is going on here Twilight?” Dash asked.
“I got snacks!” Pinkie called and walked in with a bowl on her back and a plate on her head, setting the former in the middle of the group and the latter in front of Twilight.
“Nachos, sweet!” Blitz complimented taking a chip.
“Thanks Pinkie, and in answer to your question Rainbow, Dusk and Blitz are more or less us if we were stallions,” Twilight said levitating her sandwich off the plate, “That’s toning down the large amount of differences between us that I could figure out from our short talk, but that’s the absolute basics.”
“So she’s not scared of fish like you?” Blitz asked Dusk teasingly.
“Oddly enough, yes,” Dusk answered eating a chip, “but you might want to hold off on teasing me about that, because I know something embarrassing about you too.”
“Like what?” Dash asked leaning forward.
“One time Butterscotch- that would be Fluttershy where I come from- he got drunk of cider once and let slip that Blitz was really scared to touch the ground the first time he went to visit him after he moved to the ground.”
“LIES! That’s a complete and utter lie!” Blitz shouted loudly, causing most of the ponies to flinch at the volume.
“Is that true?” Pinkie asked looking at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow rubbed a foreleg and blushed a little in embarrassment.
“It was only for one day,” she said and sighed, “I never been down there before that day, so what was I supposed to think?”
“It’s ok Rainbow,” Twilight said placing a hoof on her shoulder, “and that actually helps back up our line of thinking on this.”
“I agree with Twilight on this,” Dusk said and stood up to pace a little, “it’s not an exact match though. Day to day differences occur quite often, I doubt that Rainbow Dash and Rainbow Blitz have the same experiences on a given day, but major events tend to synch up rather well. I could go on all day about this, so you’re just going to have to trust me on this.”
“Is Nightmare Moon still a mare here?” Blitz asked.
“Yes, Nightmare Moon is still a mare here, but so is Prince Artemis so it’s consistent. He’s called Princess Luna here.”
“Good, I’m still pissed about that. So I guess the biggest question is ‘are we completely screwed and am I going to have to find a way to make a living here?”
“No.” was the simple answer Twilight gave.
“Wait, what?”
“The way you got here is highly unusual, at best, but it is based on actual magic theory. With Dusk’s help, the two of us should be able to figure out a way to get you two back home.” Blitz stared at Twilight for a moment before taking off into a hover with the biggest holler he’s had yet.
“Are you serious?! I could kiss you right now! So when can we go back?”
“Well, it’s just a theory. Nopony has ever done something like this, or at least I’ve never read about anything like that, so there’s going to be a lot of guesswork and speculation going into this. It would be very generous to say you could be back in a month, at least.”
“Better than being here forever, I could still kiss you.” Reactions to that comment were mixed, from facehoofs from Dash and Dusk to a rather vivid blush from Twilight.
“Anyway, we’re going to be here for a while,” Dusk spoke up hoping to erase the awkward atmosphere, “Which means we’re going to have to stay somewhere. I’m going to have to stay with Twilight, because we’re going to have to figure out the whole ‘getting back’ thing.”
“Please don’t say I have to stay with her,” Blitz said pointing at Dash, “we’re gonna fight in the first hour!”
“What, are you afraid I’ll beat you down?” Rainbow asked with a large smirk, which was returned with a very angry look from Blitz.
“I’d like to see you try.”
“Well, thanks for the lunch Twilight,” Pinkie said bouncing up to Twilight, “I have to go plan the parties for Dusk and Blitz. Maybe one bit party that could count as five? I’ll let you know, bye!” Pinkie proceeded to bounce out of the library with Fluttershy politely excusing herself as well.
“That’s going to be interesting,” Blitz commented and looked at Dusk, “so are we going to tell the others about this when we get back?”
“That depends on what happens,” Dusk answered and looked at Twilight, “we better get started, the sooner the better after all.”
“I should write a letter to Princess Celestia. She should be able to provide some insight on this,” Twilight said standing up and walking to her stationary table.
“I’ll look for ‘The All knowing Guide to Teleportation.’ Maybe I can find the spell I was working on when Blitz spooked me.” With the two unicorns gone and busy, Rainbow Dash and Blitz were left to stare at each other.
“Round two?” Dash offered.
“You’re on,” Blitz replied and flew out of the library with Dash on his heels.
Author's Note
Well, there it is. I got to get some more crazy pills so I can figure out the rest of this.
There will be some clop scenes, but I'll probably make those separate chapters and optional ones at that.
So... yeah, that's about it. All criticism accepted as always.
“This is the last time I’m ever playing with you guys,” Spike said angrily to Applebloom, who had been following him relentlessly all day.
“Yer just mad ‘cause I won your soul fair and square,” Applebloom replied teasingly.
“It was a card game! We played a simple card game for ‘my soul’. You take the stakes way too seriously, you know?” Spike let out a sigh, half because of Applebloom and the other half because he was close to the library. “I hope Twilight’s doing something normal after the day I’ve had.” He placed a hand on the door where his hopes were immediately dashed by someone yelling on the other side.
“This is so disorganized!” a male voice shouted from inside the library. Spike shared a confused look with Applebloom and opened the door to find a stallion that looked very much like Twilight tearing through a bookshelf. “How is every single book in the most wrong order imaginable?!”
“What… the hay…?” Applebloom asked.
“Looks like Twilight was messing with transformation spells again. I better look for the reversal spell book,” Spike whispered and started for a book shelf.
“My books are not in the wrong order!” Twilight shouted and walked into the room, stopping Spike and Applebloom in their tracks. “All of those books are in the right order, so don’t touch them!”
“Spike…” Applebloom said.
“Yeah?” Spike answered.
“Am ah seeing things?”
“If you’re seeing two Twilights and one of them is a stallion, then you’re not seeing things.”
“…Welp, ah’m done being awake fer today.” Applebloom turned to the door and opened it before turning back to Spike and saying, “Ah’ll see ya later Spike, and remember that I own your soul for the day.”
“Sure, I’ll make a note.” Applebloom nodded and left the library, leaving Spike to focus on the argument going on in front of him.
“You have the autobiography for Starswirl sorted under the author name!” the male Twilight shouted, “It should be sorted with the other autobiographies!”
“That was how it was sorted last month!” Twilight returned, “Now it’s by author! If you had half a brain, you would realize that!”
“But it MAKES NO SENSE! Why would you ever sort them by author! You’re such a spaz!”
“I’ll show you spaz!” Twilight then did something that Spike would never thought he would see: she dove onto the male Twilight and the two engaged in a bite match.
“Um… Twilight?” Spike asked making sure to shout over the fight.
“Yes Spike?” Twilight asked before biting her counterpart’s leg.
“Does Princess Celestia know about your… homunculus?”
“No, I was waiting for you to get back. Argh, you bit my flank you little-“ Spike just shook his head while he walked upstairs to find a quill and roll of parchment and walked back downstairs to start writing a letter.
‘Dear Princess Celestia,
Spike here. I thought it would be important for you to know that Twilight got herself mixed in something again. It doesn’t look like anything serious like the last time I wrote to you, but it’s… interesting.
Twilight must have been experimenting with a cloning spell or something, because as I write this I’m watching her fight with a stallion version of her. He looks almost exactly like her down to the cutie mark.
This is beyond me though, so maybe you can make some sense of this.
Signed, Spike.’
Spike read the letter and looked over at the fighting unicorns, who were both starting to tire out. Spike walked over to them and poked Twilight in the shoulder.
“Hey Twilight, I need you to sign this,” Spike said gesturing to the letter.
“Ok Spike,” Twilight said grabbing the quill with her magic and signing her name, “What is it?”
“It’s a letter to the Princess explaining what’s going on,” Spike answered and looked down at the stallion struggling against Twilight and asked, “Do you want to sign this too?”
“Oh sure,” he said grabbing the quill in his own magic and signed his name. “I’m Dusk Shine by the way,” he said giving Spike the quill and extending a hoof.
“Um… Spike,” Spike said shaking the hoof, “it’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh no, the pleasure’s all mine,” Dusk said before tossing Twilight off him and jumping on her again to resume the fight. Spike shook his head as he rolled up the letter, opened a nearby window, and breathed a quick burst of green flame onto it. The wisp of green smoke rushed to Canterlot, leaving Spike with little else to do but wait for a response and watch the brawl.
“I better get some water to throw on them if it goes on too long.”
High above the skies of Ponyville, two rainbow maned pegasi were in the middle of a heated race. The only stakes: the title of fastest pegasus in Equestria. So far they had been neck and neck at every single turn and maneuver, every move one of them made was matched flawlessly by the other. Soon the cloud they had marked as the finish line rapidly approached and they both crossed.
“Bazinga, I won!” the stallion shouted.
“Yes, I won!” the mare yelled.
“No way, I won by an inch!”
“I won by a hair! You’re just too daft to realize it!” The two stared into each other’s eyes fiercely, neither one liable to give in.
“Do you want to go at it again?” he asked, “because I’m raring to go at any time!”
“Anytime, anywhere, I’ll race you!” The two kept their gaze for another half minute before the stallion smiled widely.
“You know what Dash, you’re alright.”
“Huh?” Rainbow Dash was thrown off by the sudden praise. Rainbow Blitz took off in a light hover and kept the smile up.
“You’re the first real competition I’ve had in a one on one race. I would assume that’s true for you?”
“Dude, I’ll take any excuse to be able to fly. There’s just nothing like the feel of the wind rushing past you during a good fly by.” Rainbow plastered on her own excited smile as she crouched down into a ready position, “There’s nothing anypony could do to tear me from the skies.”
“A mare after my own heart!” Blitz said landing on the cloud, “So… bros?”
“Sure, I’m cool with it as long as we don’t stop with these races,” Rainbow Dash said spitting on her hoof. Blitz’s grin widened even more as he spat on his own hoof and slammed it against Dash’s hoof. That small show of sportsmanship got a laugh out of Blitz as he pulled Rainbow Dash into a tight hug. “Ok, that’s over doing it a bit,” Dash protested and struggled against the stallion’s arms.
“I don’t care!” Blitz answered. Rainbow Dash stopped struggling and returned the hug, though a little less enthusiastically than Blitz, and was relieved when he let her go. “So, are you up for another race?” Dash opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted when her stomach growled.
“Maybe after some lunch,” she said and looked over the edge of the cloud. “Wow, I didn’t realize we were so close to Sweet Apple Acres.” Blitz looked over the edge down at the massive plot of apple trees and smiled at his twin.
“Hey, you thinking what I’m thinking?” he asked.
“We go down there to surprise Applejack with some Double Rainbow action and maybe get some lunch?” Rainbow Dash asked returning the smile.
“Took the words right out of my mouth! Let’s get down there!” Like a flash, both pegasi shot down to the top of the trees and flew over the road leading to the farm the Apples called home. They landed smoothly in front of the gate and slowly walked toward the house.
“So Dash, how should we do this?” Blitz asked.
“What, who should knock on the door?” Dash asked in return, to which Blitz nodded, “Well, it’d probably be funny if Applejack opened the door to find you. Of course, the bait and switch would also work where it’s me and then you at the door would also be funny. What do you think?”
“You know what, let’s both be there. I want to see the look on her face when she’s thrust head first into this situation and we try to explain it.”
“I like that idea! Let’s do it!” The pair rushed through the remaining distance to the farmhouse and up to the door. Rainbow Dash did the honors of knocking rather forcefully while shouting “Applejack, open the door! I have someone who wants to meet you!” She stopped when the door opened slightly to show a very annoyed Applejack.
“Darnit Rainbow, what is so important that you have to nearly bust my door down for?” Applejack asked.
“I want you to meet someone,” Rainbow answered with a smile.
“And who would that be?” Applejack asked opening the door fully, “Yer boy-what.”
“Hey there Applejack!” Rainbow Blitz said extending a hoof to Applejack, “I’m Rainbow Blitz.”
“Uh… hey there,” Applejack said cautiously shaking Blitz’s hoof, “So, who’re you?”
“He’s me from another universe where we’re stallions,” Rainbow said and lightly punched Blitz, “he and a friend of his crash landed here, so they’re gonna be staying with us for a bit till Twilight figures out how to get them back.”
“…Am ah being pranked?” Applejack asked and looked around outside, “Is Pinkie watchin’ us right now?”
“As funny as that would be, we’re being serious,” Blitz said with a shake of his head, “I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. I was in space an hour ago.” Applejack stared blankly at the pegasi, shifting her gaze from one to the other before stepping aside.
“Maybe ye should come in. This sounds like quite the story.”
“Not really, but if there’s lunch in the deal I can tell you,” Blitz said walking inside the farmhouse followed by Rainbow Dash. Applejack was about to close the door when she saw Applebloom trotting toward the house.
“Howdy there Applebloom!” Applejack called to her sister with a wave. Once Applebloom got close enough Applejack asked, “How did your day go?”
“It was alright,” Applebloom said, “Ah claimed Spike’s soul and had fun with him and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Then ah saw something weird.”
“What?” Applejack decided to ignore her little sister’s comment about claiming souls or whatever she was talking about.
“Ah could have sworn ah saw two Twilights when ah saw Spike back to the library. Would it be alright if ah took a nap?”
“Of course you can. Do ya want any lunch before that?”
“No thanks, ah just want to get some sleep.” Applejack nodded and let Applebloom walk past her before closing the door. On her way to the stairs, Applebloom happened to glance into the dining room and froze when she saw the Rainbows sitting at the table and chatting. Rainbow Dash noticed her standing there and waved at her.
“Hey there Applebloom, how you doing?” Dash asked with a smile. The stallion next to her also looked at her and waved.
“…Ah’m going to bed,” Applebloom whispered and walked up the stairs.
“What was that about?” Blitz asked Dash, who shrugged.
“Well, I suppose it was good to get that out of our systems,” Twilight said lying on the floor next to Dusk.
“I agree,” Dusk said standing up and stretching his legs, “but I still disagree on your sorting.”
“Let’s agree to disagree and hope that you never have to find a book.”
“I was just about to make some popcorn,” Spike said from the stairs and drew Dusk’s full attention for the first time. The stallion walked over to the dragon and started looking him over.
“So this is your assistant?” he asked lifting Spike up in a magic field, “he’s not all that different from my assistant back home.”
“Hey put me down!” Spike yelled struggling against the magic field, “I’m not some toy for you to play with as you please!”
“Yes that’s Spike,” Twilight said tugging Spike from out of Dusk’s magic and setting him on the floor, “he helps keep me on the straight and narrow.”
“He’s very masculine for a dragon too, though I only have Spines to go on there,” Dusk said.
“Masculine, you really think so?” Spike asked excitedly, “and who’s Spines?”
“Spines is my assistant back home. She’s a dragon about your age.”
“I thought tame dragons were a rare thing.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you didn’t I?” Twilight said standing next to Dusk, “Dusk is me from another universe where our friends are stallions.”
“Oh, that’s all?” Spike asked flatly, “Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? How did he even get here?”
“Teleportation accident,” both unicorns answered.
“Of course, and are-“ Spike stopped to quickly belch out a letter, which Twilight caught in her magic, “Excuse me. Are there any more of your friends around Dusk?”
“There’s only Rainbow Blitz, and he’s probably wherever Rainbow Dash is,” Dusk said as Twilight started reading the letter and asked her, “Who’s that from?”
“My teacher Princess Celestia,” Twilight answered, “She must have gotten back to us on that letter. We should really correct the ‘clone’ thing Spike.”
“Clones?”
“Spike apparently said that you were a bad clone of me, which might be correct depending on how you look at it.” Twilight gave Dusk the letter and said, “She’s a little concerned about what I may have done and wants to meet us to make sure you’re not dangerous.”
“That doesn’t sound good. Does she have any buttons I shouldn’t press to come out of it alive?”
“Oh don’t think things like that, Princess Celestia is a great pony and wouldn’t do anything bad to you. That being said, don’t mention cake around her. It’s something of a sore spot for some reason.”
“Noted, I should probably find Blitz to tell him that. I’m good to go whenever though, so you can tell her that.” Dusk, very stiffly, walked out of the library leaving Twilight and Spike alone.
“Is cake really that big of a thing for Princess Celestia?” Spike asked Twilight, “it sounds more like a bad joke than anything.”
“Birthdays were always hard at the castle,” Twilight said sadly, “let’s get that letter written up. This is going to take a lot of explaining.”
“Where do I even begin to look?” Dusk asked himself as he walked through the streets of Ponyville. He was a little surprised at how most ponies barely spared him a passing glance before resuming their business. ‘Does this happen all the time, or do they just figure it’s someone else’s problem? Either way, I’m glad they’re not asking too many questions.’ Dusk decided to avoid the marketplace in favor of a street which, if the layout was anything like back home, would lead him to Carousel Boutique or this universes variation thereof.
“I doubt that Rainbow Blitz would willingly go there, but he has surprised me before. Either way, it would definitely help to introduce myself to Elusive’s counterpart here.” So, under the logic that there are only so many places Blitz could be, he continued walking through town until he spotted a familiar silhouette. He tried not to be too surprised when he saw the exact same building Elusive worked and lived in as he walked up to the door and quietly entered.
“Hello, is anyone here?” Dusk asked out loud.
“Just a minute, I’ll be right there,” answered a voice from the back. While Dusk waited for the owner to come out, he decided to look around the boutique. Rarity, as Twilight called her fashionista friend, shared similar taste in fashion with Elusive which was only natural. The only real difference was that Rarity seemed to specialize in dresses primarily.
‘I wonder what she looks like,’ Dusk thought inspecting a random dress, ‘if the pattern holds from the other girls, then Rarity should not look much different from Elusive.’
“I’m coming~!” the voice called again followed by its owner. Dusk wasn’t really surprised to see a white unicorn with a purple mane walk out from a back room somewhere. Apparently she hadn’t expected a stallion to be in her shop, at least judging from how she froze in her tracks and gasped dramatically. “My oh my, oh my.”
‘Dread.’
“I do apologize for taking so long, I was busy upstairs with an order. So how can I help you?”
“Huh? Oh, there’s nothing I really need help with, I just wanted to introduce myself considering I’ll be staying here for a while.” Dusk then offered Rarity a friendly smile, which was probably as cheesy looking as he thought, but Rarity seemed to take it in stride and returned the smile.
“Well, that’s certainly nice of you. How long are you going to be staying if I may ask, Mr.…?”
“Dusk Shine and I don’t know how long I’ll be here. That’s a bit of a gray area.”
“Really, well that’s nice to know.” At this point, Rarity looked at Dusk curiously and rubbed her chin with a hoof. Dusk took one step away cautiously when Rarity asked, “This may seem odd, but have we met before? You seem awfully familiar.”
‘That took her a while. Did she figure it all out?’ Dusk wondered to himself and said out loud, “A lot of ponies have been saying that. I apparently look like uh… Twilight Sparkle, I think her name was. She’s actually been helping me and my friend a little, so I can see the resemblance.”
“True, you do look vaguely like Twilight, but I know plenty of ponies who look like other ponies.” Rarity concluded that thought with a nod before looking Dusk over again. “I apologize if this is sudden, but what size suit do you usually wear?”
“Huh? I-I don’t know, I don’t usually pay attention to that kind of stuff,” Dusk said suddenly getting a very bad feeling. He started backing to the front door while saying, “Well anyway, I gotta go find my friend now. We have some very important things going on and I need to find him. I hope you understand.”
“Oh it’s no trouble at all,” Rarity replied, “though I do hope you and your friend come back. I’ve just been hit with an amazing idea. Can you pass that along?”
“I’ll be sure to,” Dusk said and opened the front door. Just then he had a little though and smiled widely. “Oh yeah, and if you ever need somepony to live model for you, my friend would love to do that. He loves it.”
“Really?” Rarity asked and leaned toward Dusk in curiosity, “I would like somepony like that in a couple of days. What’s his name?”
“He usually goes by Blitz. I’ll be sure to prod him your direction soon enough. You’ll know him when you see him.” With that Dusk left Carousel Boutique and started making his way in what he assumed was the direction to Sweet Apple Acres. He passed various shops and buildings until he was on the path out of town, thankful that he could see the massive orchard in the distance.
Back in Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack’s attempt to get a straight story from the Rainbows wasn’t going so well.
“So then Berry got the sweet idea to trip the mailmare,” Rainbow Blitz said and took a drink of cider before continuing. “So we got the rope and pulled it off without a hitch. Guess what happened.”
“What?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“She trips and lands face first into a pie Berry put there when I wasn’t looking. Then she did some kind of front flip and continued on her merry way licking pie of her face. She didn’t even miss a beat in her stride. I’m sure she’s not normal.”
“Ya know,” Applejack interrupted from her side of the table, “as entertaining as that story is, it still doesn’t explain WHAT YER DOIN HERE!”
“Jeez, calm down AJ, I’m getting to that,” Blitz said flinching back from Applejack.
“No ya weren’t! If what ya said is true and ya’ll aren’t just pranking me, then it shouldn’t even be possible for ya to be here. It’s like putting an orange seed in an apple, it doesn’t work!”
“What is that analogy?” Rainbow Dash asked with a small laugh.
Blitz sighed a little and said, “I’m not even going to try and explain how we did it because I don’t get it. You want your ear talked off, go talk to Dusk. All I know is I spooked Dusk, he teleported us into space, and we landed in a lake outside of your town.” Applejack sighed and covered her face with her hooves, though before she could say anything a voice called for her from outside.
“Applejack, are ya in here?”
“Ah’m in the kitchen!” Applejack hollered back.
“Who was that?” Rainbow Blitz asked his counterpart.
“Probably Big Macintosh, Applejack’s older brother,” Dash replied.
“Oh, this ought to be good.” No sooner had Blitz said that did a red stallion walk into the doorframe.
“Ah was wondering if- what?” Big Macintosh said once he saw the occupants of the room, more specifically Rainbow Blitz. Both stallions took the other in, eyeing each other up for several moments before Big Macintosh looked at his sister. “Ah’m ah seeing double?”
“Um… sort of,” Applejack answered glancing back at the pegasi. Rainbow Blitz was still staring at Big Macintosh so Rainbow Dash spoke up.
“It’s actually really simple,” she said and patted a hoof on Blitz’s shoulder, “this is Rainbow Blitz. He’s me from another universe where I’m a stallion, and he and the Twilight from his universe fell into a lake outside of Ponyville.”
“Oh, that’s all?” was Big Macintosh’s reaction.
“Yeah pretty much,” Rainbow Dash answered and looked over at her double and tapped his shoulder, “And what’s your deal? You’ve been staring at Big Mac since he walked in.”
“Huh?” Blitz said and shook his head lightly, “Oh, sorry about that sis. It’s just so weird.”
“Sis?” Applejack asked confused, though Dash herself didn’t seem to notice what he said.
“What’s weird?” Dash asked.
“Him,” Blitz said pointing at Big Macintosh, “I’ve figured out size is not always consistent. Where I come from he’s a mare and, somehow, he’s shorter than her.”
“What?” was the collective response from everypony in the room.
“Oh yeah, totally. Red Gala is totally a good couple of inches taller than him. It is weird, but honestly I find the utter irony of his name to be hilarious.”
“Well, it’s good to know you’re taking this whole thing in stride,” Dash said.
“Oh no, I’m crying on the inside.”
“Well, it was nice meeting ya,” Big Macintosh finally said and turned back to the door, “but ah gotta go tend to… something.” He gave one last wave and walked out of the farmhouse.
“He seems nice.”
“Eh, I don’t really hang out with him,” Rainbow Dash replied with a shrug.
“Oh really, I would have thought you’d spend all your time with him.”
“Oh here we go,” Applejack whispered and rubbed her forehead at the male pegasus’ smirk and the angry look on the female.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Nothing, I just assumed he’d be your type. Strong, good work ethic, doesn’t talk all that much.”
“I think you should shut up.”
“Not your type huh? What about what’s his face from the Wonderbolts, the green eyed dude?”
“Just because you’re me doesn’t mean I won’t beat your ass into the ground.”
“Heh heh, that’s so easy I’m not going to touch it.” Rainbow Dash, once she found out what he meant, blushed deeply before grabbing Blitz’s head, slammed it into the table, and tackled him to the floor.
“Ugh, it’s like dealing with two Appleblooms in the morning,” Applejack commented as she watched both Rainbow’s fight it out. “Ah really hope there isn’t another Applebloom along with these two.”
Not too far away from that little fight was none other than Dusk Shine trotting along the road leading to Sweet Apple Acres. Considering there’s not much to look at on the way to an apple orchard Dusk found himself examining the trees as he went.
‘It’s really good for me that the layout of Ponyville is more or less the same as back home,’ Dusk thought and perked his head up as he approached the actual entrance to the ranch. He passed under the archway and increased his pace a little. ‘Alright, so trial and error should show that Rainbow has gone here. I’ll just find them and- WHO IN THE HAY IS THAT?!’ Dusk stopped when he saw what he thought was Red Gala, but on closer inspection he could tell he was a stallion and a little shorter than Red Gala. The two stallions stared at each other for a couple moments before the not Gala gave him an annoyed look.
“Ah’m a bit shorter than her, right?” he asked suddenly. It took a second for Dusk to realize what he said and smiled nervously.
“Um… yes? I guess you met my friend,” Dusk said.
“Eeyup, he’s in the farm house,” he said motioning behind him, “just don’t make a mess.” The red stallion then moved off into the orchard. Dusk rubbed the back of his head before walking in the direction of the farm house, which wasn’t that all far away. He took a quick leap up the front steps and knocked on the door, and after a few seconds the door opened onto a somewhat accepting orange mare.
“Um, hello, my name is-“
“Dusk Shine right? Ah think that’s what they said your name was,” the mare said looking over her shoulder.
“They? So Rainbow Blitz and Dash are here,” Dusk said looking over her shoulder as well.
“Yeah, they only just stopped fighting. Come on in if ya want, and ah’m Applejack.” She lifted a hoof toward Dusk who did the same and bumped it against hers.
“It’s nice to meet you Applejack,” Dusk said with a nod and followed Applejack inside, the door swinging shut behind him. Applejack walked into what Dusk remembered should be the dining room and when he followed inside he immediately had to restrain a laugh at the state of the two pegasi in the room. “Well, you two certainly look like you had a fight.”
“Yeah, we did,” Blitz said rubbing a cheek, “Well know I know there is a line we don’t share.”
“Whatever,” Dash replied with a glare.
“Well let’s just hope that your reason for fighting was better than ours,” Dusk said with a small shake of his head. The Rainbows and Applejack gave him a strange look before he said, “Anyway I just wanted you guys to know that we’ve got a meeting with Princess Celestia sometime soon.”
“Seriously? That didn’t take long at all.”
“Yeah, it’s only been a couple of hours,” Blitz said.
“Two and a half actually,” Dusk explained, “I just thought I’d let you guys know that, and I’d like to get the meeting done as soon as possible.”
“I’m good to go whenever, so let Twilight know that ok?” Blitz said.
“Yeah, it’s not like we’re super busy or anything,” Dash agreed.
“That’s good, I’ll let Twilight know that when I see her.” Dusk took a step toward the door before he stopped and asked, “By the way Blitz, did you get a chance to Elusive’s counterpart here?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Blitz said scratching the top of his head, “What’s her name again?”
“It’s Rarity. If you can remember where Carousel Boutique back home, it’s pretty much the same here. I already told her to expect you.” Applejack noticed Dusk’s small smirk, but said nothing about it as she tapped the unicorn on his shoulder.
“Before ya go, do ya mind if I ask a question?”
“Sure thing. I’m kind of sure I know what it will be though.”
“Right. Well I was talking with those two,” here she pointed at the Rainbows, “and they somehow got onto the topic of your world or whatever. Ah was wondering if there was any difference between me and… your me, I think?”
“Our AJ?” Dusk asked, getting a nod in reply, “Well, given how things have been so far, I’d assume you two are more or less the same save the gender. Except… well, there’s that thing he does.”
“What thing?” Blitz asked intrigued.
“Um…” Dusk hesitated looking around the room before nodding lightly, “I don’t think he can break dimensional barriers. It’s just that AJ has this weird… coat treatment I think it would be.”
“…What?” Was the collective response, with Applejack and Rainbow Dash looking confused while Rainbow Blitz was now grinning like a Cheshire cat.
“He only told me that one time he tried to harvest the whole orchard by himself. You know when he was sleep deprived?” Rainbow Blitz nodded while Applejack felt her stomach drop a little at the memory of that week. “Well, he let slip that he sometimes takes a bunch of apples, crushes them into apple sauce, and… bathes in it.”
Blitz nearly collapsed from holding in his laughter while something caught Dash’s eye.
‘Is Applejack… blushing?’
“It’s apparently good for coat luster, and I have to agree. His coat is really healthy. Anyway, I should get back to Twilight and let her know what you said. It’s nice meeting you Applejack.” With one last wave at Applejack Dusk made his way out of the house, with the earth pony covering her eyes with her hat.
“I should probably get going too,” Blitz said standing up and moving around the table, “see you two later.” Rainbow Dash also stood up and walked over to Applejack, waiting for Rainbow Blitz to leave before she placed a hoof on Applejack’s shoulder.
“Are you ok?” she asked leaning her head down to look into the earth pony’s eyes.
“I’ll be fine,” she replied and tilted her hat back up, “It’s just… kinda embarrassing you know?”
“Now that’s strange hearing from you,” Rainbow said removing her hoof, “but I do get what you’re saying. I mean, just look at Blitz: I feel sorry for any mare that catches his attention.” That little comment caused both mares to share a good laugh and hoof bump. “Well, I better go catch him before he gets into trouble. I’ll see you later Applejack.” The two friends shared a wave as Rainbow Dash went outside and took off into the skies.
Applejack then took a moment to run a hoof over her coat before shaking the thought away and getting back to work.
Author's Note
I'm going to be bumping the rating down as of now, since I want the tone to be a little different.
Besides, one mature rated story to my name is enough for me.
