Growing Pains

Chapter 8: 8. Welcome to Laputa

So, as I start out this chapter I want to thank my reviewers for the encouragement as well as reading through the whole thing, but there's one in particular I'd like to point out for going above and beyond.

Reviewer number 14: QuantumFire created a graph to show the differing strength of Magic Power of all unicorns from your average run of the mill unicorn up to Princess Celestia, and calculated just how strong each level would be using the Princess as a base line. It's not only rather informative but it's also rather helpful (since as a writer I have a terrible sense of scale).

While I'd love to add all the information to the story itself as a footnote in chapter 2, it won't let me post outside links or pictures so the best I can say is look for Review 14.

It's not horribly complicated and it really does give you a sense of the strength of an Alicorn (at least based on my story, then again I'm just some random jackass writer) as well as Twilight's growing power. Please take a look.

Applejack drank slowly from the riverbed, savoring the taste of cool, crisp water on her dry tongue, filling her mouth again and again as she kept an eye on Pinkie Pie next to her. Whatever had actually happened to her so many hours ago was still haunting her. The way Pinkie Pie's ears twitched at any noise, her body eyes widening at any shift she could see, and she avoided shadows like a plague. Applejack had spent quite a bit of wasted time coercing Pinkie along, and though she was getting better she still whispered about seeing the shadows move, or seeing skulls.

Applejack didn't see what Pinkie saw, but she did what she could to help Pinkie grow confident again. It didn't seem too long ago that she'd been doing the same to Twilight, and the more she thought about the Unicorn the more determined she grew to find out where she went. She was hurting for a few days, had to defend herself against a couple of crazed ponies, and now she and Dash were who knew where doing who knew what, or had who knew what being done to them. It made her knees quake in anger that anypony would take her friends.

The only thing she had to go on though was that they had to go south, and so far they'd been running for hours and hours, never once spotting any sign of a dragon or pony. Few came so far south since it was uncivilized, and frontier towns hadn't even made it this far south. Small wonder, if Applejack didn't know how to travel by using the sun and the moon she would have lost herself in here a long time ago. The trees had grown extremely tall, the canopy so thick that Applejack had to rely on there being a small clearing just ahead to set up a sun dial and make sure they were going the right way.

Still, she knew she was lost, and she was pretty sure Pinkie knew it too. "Maybe we should turn back?" Pinkie asked as she swallowed the water, her body cooling down from it while Applejack pondered this, rubbing the water onto her body using her hooves.

"We made it so far… I'd hate to turn around now." Applejack didn't sound so confident, but she didn't want to admit defeat. At the very least they could go to the ocean and then turn around, but for all she knew, after the heat and exhaustion and hunger bore down on her for so long, they could be turned around. "We should at least go until we reach the water…"

"We're at water now though, and I'm so hungry and haven't had sweets and the forest is scary and this river is the best thing I've seen in a while…" The pony mumbled.

Applejack sighed softly, but it occurred to her that Pinkie was right. They did see water now, and though Applejack's knowledge on Geography wasn't perfect, she knew water usually flowed towards large bodies… Like the ocean. "Tell you what, let's follow along the river for a while, keep close to a cool place to drink. Maybe it'll lead us to the ocean. If it don't… We can go home."

Pinkie seemed to like that idea, and the two started down the riverside, unaware of the presence above them.

The cavern walls around them whisked rapidly by as they were taken by the orb of light through a long cavern, the air bubble around them perfectly sized to fit inside the cave. Twilight stared around at the cave but said nothing. She didn't want to risk the chance of their air supply being limited and had to quickly explain this to Dash before they could open their mouths to each other. She was worried they may even run out before the bubble had time to reach its destination… If it had one. For all she knew it was going based on the subconscious will of whatever possibly long gone thing made it.

The cave turned out into the ocean, and the bubble floated in the middle of the darkness down below, before descending and bouncing a little on the sand beneath the ocean. It then continued its journey away from the cliff wall where Equestria officially sunk into the ocean, along the dark floor. Though the light was bright, allowing them to see a good ways around them, it did little to remove the sheer gloom of the dark world around them. It was a drastic turn from the sunny, lustrous land of trees and grass, of blue skies and white clouds and friendly little neighborhoods. Down here there was only sand, stones, and black.

The bubble traveled for several minutes before Twilight felt a touch to her side. She looked to Dash, who had somehow made her way over to her, and pointed forward. Twilight squinted her eyes and saw it too. A slight glimmer, that was getting larger as they got closer. The bubble whizzed by, and Twilight severely regretted looking, because now she couldn't take her eyes off it as it swam alongside them.

The titanic kraken used its great fins to keep pace with the bubble, its oddly flat face, high, wide mouth, and dark black eyes only several meters from the light. Despite having arms that could crush a house flat in one blow, it made no move to attack or swallow the bubble. It only changed its motion when Twilight saw a long snake-like body travel over the kraken to swim to the side of the bubble, and she saw a great sea-dragon, its long serpentine body, its heavily whiskered, wide-eyed face, and viciously large teeth in all their glory. The two creatures ignored each other, focusing on the bubble. They swam around and about what looked like fallen ruins and rock piles, but on their third pass Twilight saw it was neither of those, they were the corpses of bigger, less lively sea beasts. The bubble began to accelerate suddenly, and the kraken and dragon, now joined by an octopus nearly the size of two Ursa Minors, several more sea dragons, and a small flock of smaller kraken.

Dash was staring at Twilight expectantly, but Twilight merely shook her head, her desire to communicate stymied by sheer awe. These many creatures traveled by them so closely, so easily, yet showed little desire to contact them. Part of Twilight figured they were just drawn to the light, but the more fantastical parts told her these creatures didn't care for the light, they cared for the occupants.

Perhaps… Perhaps they worked for Anathema? No, that wouldn't make sense, they were just beasts of the ocean, not belonging to anyone, but still, all the water, the connections to the ocean, all the words describing exhuming a body to the sea… The connections were growing more unsettlingly apparent, and Anathema did apparently devour heathens…

… Who were to say these weren't his kin, looking to do the same?

Twilight finally noticed they were alone again, the sea creatures having quit following them. The only difference she could see in their surroundings was that the sand was not rippled by the ocean currents, but lay flat, and their were no rocks whatsoever to disturb the flat, almost unsettling land around them. Twilight and Dash looked to each other for several seconds before they turned to face forward, and saw what might have drove them back.

In the distance, they could see a massive, dark object that blended in near perfectly with its pitch-black surroundings. Twilight stared up at how tall the thing was, reaching near one-hundred feet tall, and as they drew closer she saw the thing was not in fact a creature like she'd feared. It was a castle.

The bubble closed the gap to the castle and as it drew near, high-lighted a pair of massive, intricately carved set of double-doors with clouds and Pegasi chiseled into its enormous frame. As the bubble approached, the doors opened up inwardly, sucking in the bubble and the light. When they passed by the double-doors, they were inside of a tall, but featureless stone room, and the doors closed behind them. The two floated in the bubble, looking around in confusion, wondering what would occur next, until the sound of water rushing filled their ears.

All around the water poured out of the room through seemingly no where, and when it was drained completely, the bubble popped. The sphere of light continued to hold above them as Twilight and Dash fell to the floor, and scrambled to their hooves. "Twilight did you see all of that back there! Right here! What was all of that!" Dash demanded, somewhere between breathless excitement and breathless terror.

Twilight stared at Dash, then the ball of light, then the huge double doors they'd come through, and let out a deep breath she'd been holding for what felt like the whole ride there. "… Legends…" She whispered softly. "Myths, legends, but… I saw them… A Kraken, a Sea Dragon…" She whispered, and Dash blinked long and slow.

"Twilight, I saw them too… I think they're real." Dash smiled a bit weakly.

"Oh Celestia…" Twilight whispered slowly. "When we make it back, I'm going to have made the discovery of the decade… This is incredible, Krakens and Sea Dragons…"

"Yeah, well, let's worry about getting back…" Dash nudged Twilight, who sighed, nodded, and followed her towards the other, smaller set of double doors opposite of the enormous, wall-filled set that they'd gone in from. If everything was as ancient as Twilight assumed it was, the doors should be a complete hassle to open, if they would at all. She had a brief feeling of terror they'd be trapped here forever behind a few rusted doors, until Dash lightly pushed one open and walked through. It didn't even squeak…

Heavily disappointed that basic chemistry didn't seem to apply under the ocean, Twilight walked in after Dash, the orb of light following them both. The room the stepped into was pitch black until the orb of light flew past them and up to the ceiling, and nestled itself into what looked like a chandelier. As soon as it locked in, it lit up the room in soft moonlight, letting the two see they were in an enormous throne room. Or it at least somewhat looked like one.

They walked up a flight of steps directly in front of them and stood on the raised main floor of the room, in front of them a lavish, throne-like couch sitting two meters from the door. Possibly where royalty greeted guests? The red carpet beneath their hooves was dry and felt new despite having been here for maybe thousands of years. The golden candle-sticks that lined the room were equally fresh, not a speck of dust on them, and the same went for the cabinets and stands and vases that stood on the stands. All in all, the entire place was gorgeous. Especially cast in this soft moonlight.

"Twilight… What the hay is this place?" Dash finally whispered, almost afraid to disturb the peace of the beautiful room. They'd stopped in front of the throne-like couch, and looked all around before focusing on each other. This may have been the first peaceful moment they'd gotten since getting captured, and Twilight was again focusing on Dash's wings.

She knew Dash would get angry if she tried to apologize, or if she so much as pointed it out, but she felt she had to do something for her. Eventually. Dash's wings were her freedom, and seeing them gone… Well it hurt just a little. She recalled their conversation just before their capture, the passionate defense about her wings in response to Twilight's bet… It seemed kind of sick now, since they couldn't use either one.

Twilight glanced up at her horn, and tried to call even the simplest light spell to use, but her magic did not come forth, and the place remained dark. "I think we might be in Laputa…" She whispered, sighing with grief as Dash jumped up onto the throne couch.

"Looks fancy enough to be some mystical legend type place. Hey…" Twilight looked up to see Dash picking up what looked like a… Sword sheath? Dash stared at it in equal confusion, and batted at it with her hoof before sliding it around her torso. Twilight wanted to reprimand her for picking it up but, really? What was the harm? They were at the bottom of the ocean in a castle that shouldn't exist.

With some struggle, Dash managed to get it on, and found it perfectly fit her. The straps went around her wings like it was made for a Pegasus, and it was snug, but not uncomfortable. Dash looked at herself curiously, and then down to Twilight, who just watched. Then she struck a noble pose, smiling almost seductively until Twilight tumbled to her side, wriggling with laughter. "Worry not fair maiden! I shall guide us forth and fight off any beastly Kraken that chooses to wrong-do us!" She announced.

Twilight got back to her feet, and smiled up at her friend as she slipped off the couch and in front of Twilight. "Well, if we make it out, I got a souvenir at least."

Twilight shook her head and turned, walking around the couch with a small sigh. "At the very least… I'm gonna find a way out of here." Twilight turned and walked around the couch, Dash following her as they saw a grand staircase a ways beyond the throne. She whirled around suddenly to face Dash, a look on her face saying she had a plan. "Alright, I think if we're going to figure out our way out of here, or at least to Anathema, we should start making maps, at least in our heads. This will be our hub, so just visualize this place as the start."

"Right." Dash nodded, getting the gist of it as she looked up the stairs. She blinked. She could have sworn she saw a little flash of white.

"We don't know how big this place is so if we can find a floor map we'll at least have an idea of where to go, or where we are at least. Perhaps a kitchen would be nice too, we haven't eaten in a while and it could come back to bite us…" Dash wasn't looking at Twilight now. The flash of white was peaking from between the rails of the guard rail along the right stairway on the t-shaped staircase. As she stared closer she saw it was a face, a Pony's face.

The little face peaked up higher, and her blood ran cold. Teller smiled down at her mischievously, his brown hair mussed and his little eyes bright with life, and he began to giggle as Dash stepped closer, past Twilight.

"Dash?" Twilight frowned at the Pegasus, following her eyes to a blank spot on the staircase. "Dash are you okay? Is… Is Anathema back?"

"Teller…" Dash whispered. The little colt on the staircase turned and shook his rump teasingly, before charging up the staircase. Twilight stared between Dash and the empty spot on the stairs before Dash charged up at top speed.

"Dash!" Twilight shouted, giving chase. She did her absolute best to keep up with the blue mare racing upstairs but found herself losing ground fast. When they went upstairs they were in a long, wide hallway lined with boarded up doors, the soft moonlight seeming to spread up here and cast everything in a creepy, dim light that shot out many shadows, but neither paid much attention as Dash shot to the left when they came to a T-intersection, Twilight behind her.

Twilight tried to keep up as Dash ran faster and faster, slipping around corners nearly as fast as Twilight could catch a glimpse of her, and she saw that the hallways were getting shorter, the intersections more frequent, and it barely occurred to her that the layout of this place was impossible, having gone down multiple corridors that should have been the same but always different, but all she kept her eyes on was Rainbow Dash's retreating flank.

She turned and corner and found herself staring at a T-intersection, which she raced down and looked both ways. No flash of blue, no sign of Dash. She'd lost her. Twilight sucked in several deep, exhausted, pained, scared breaths as she ran down one hallway and looked around again, seeing nothing. She couldn't even hear Dash. She jerked her head around to look down the hallway she'd come from, which should have been a straight hallway with the one she'd come from along the right, but no, it was another T-hallway. She turned to look down the direction she was going and saw instead of a four-way intersection, it was one long hallway with a set of wooden double-doors at the end.

Taking one last breath, she made her way to the doors and pushed through them.

Her breath caught in her throat. She walked across the freshly polish linoleum floor to stand in the middle of the room and look up. The room she'd found herself in was enormous, completely cylindrical, and all around her were bookshelves, curved to match the roundness of the room they were in. She stood in the middle of a large circle, staring up at the multiple balconies and layers of the library she'd found herself in. She lost count of the number of balconies past twenty as it became too tall and out of focus for her to see correctly. A part of her went to heaven at the discovery of the many books.

But no, no no no no, she needed to turn bac- the door wasn't there anymore. Her eyes widened as just from where she'd walked through she saw more bookshelves, but no door. As she spun, all she saw all around her were books and shelves. She approached on and scanned the spines of the books, hoping for maybe a small hint of what this place was, but found the words were in a language she did not understand.

Adding to her fright, when she turned around, she'd found herself staring into the many spines of more books, on a book case that hadn't existed before.

"Teller!" Dash shouted, pushing open a door violently when she'd seen a flash of white close it. She charged inside but slowed to a halt in the middle of the circular room. She stared around slowly, confusion filling her face and causing her gut to churn as her many reflections stared back. The wall-height mirrors all around her showed her perfectly, numbering in up to the forties and being thin enough to make the room almost look completely circular. She turned to look back at the door, but all she saw was a mirror. There was no door in this room, just her many faces.

The quiet was deafening, almost too deafening, and it twisted her insides just trying to think as she paces the walls of the room and looked at herself again and again, seeing her stubby little winglets for the first time since they'd been cut, and finding just how terribly awkward she looked. There was no way she could fly, and as she stared at one reflection even closer she saw just how far they'd been clipped. Any closer and they would have been slicing the nerves, and that thought sent a chill down her spine. The cutting had been haphazard, no professionalism taken when snipping her feathers away. She guessed, with how bad it looked and how little care was taken, her wings might not grow back to full use for another three months…

If they ever grew back again.

The thought made her whimper. She'd been so confined lately the idea of flying had been distant to her, but now that she reflected on herself she could see that, even if they did escape, even if they were free of these people, back in Ponyville where she could be with her friends and not worry about jail, about escape, about her brother… She'd never be able to fly.

This was the sort of thing magic couldn't even fix. The damage could be so extensive that it would be more merciful to cut off what was left and try to make her look presentable. Dreams of flying high, of joining the Wonderbolts, of shocking the world with her talent were suddenly childish delusions again. They were no longer within her grasp. She was no longer the best of the best.

She sat and stared at her own defeated image, then closed her eyes and let out a small sob. When she opened her eyes again, she saw the defeated mare she'd been at the Young Fliers Competition, but even less of a Pegasus now than before. She didn't have her wings. All that was left were her legs…

She looked down to her hooves and called back to the last time she'd used them so much. The Falling of the Leaves race with Applejack. The two had run so hard and so fast, and even though AJ was stronger and more used to her legs, Dash had tied with her. She was a strong pony even on her legs. If she couldn't fly, she could still be with her friends.

She looked into her reflection, and thought about working with Applejack. She could get a small job on the farm, spend her days kicking trees and laughing with Applejack. That actually sounds kind of cool, being with Applejack all day. And then at the end of the day she could rest up at Fluttershy's, since she'd no longer be able to reach her home…

They could live together. Maybe she couldn't fly, but as long as she had all the ponies in her life around her, it wasn't over. Heck, she'd never felt so close to Twilight. She'd been the first pony she'd ever told Teller's story to, and it felt kind of good. Twilight hadn't judged her, and hadn't been dumb enough to try and tell her things weren't her fault. That meant a lot to her that she just wanted to know about Teller.

She smiled quietly to herself. Her life wasn't over, she could cope. She looked back up at her reflection, hoping to see her own smile, but what she saw behind her reflection caught her by surprise. She could see her reflection's reflection in the mirror opposite of the one she looked at, and a little something more. When she turned around, she saw herself, stared into her own eyes, then at the little colt tugging her reflection's tail playfully. She approached the mirror, and watched Teller bounce happily, then speed away inside the mirror.

Dash touched her hoof to her reflection, and slid through it like water.

The shelves never seemed to end. As Twilight walked down row upon row, looked every which way for an exit she'd constantly find herself surrounded by shelves that hadn't been there before. The maze was constantly shifting, and it just sent her confusion spiraling more and more out of control. She had started to run, sliding down row after row, trying to at least get a hint of the way out but only finding herself staring into the spines of more nonsensical books.

Terror was gripping her heart as she ran and got herself deeper and deeper, getting herself more and more lost and feeling her head and heart pound as confusion, anger, and sorrow welled up in her. She'd lost Dash. She'd lost herself. The plan was spiraling out of control rapidly, her need to escape swelling extensively, and she was quickly losing her own mind in here.

Nothing here made sense, the shelves seemed to shift, yet no book looked the same, and whenever she turned around to go back down a row the place had shifted without her noticing, adding more ways for her to go, blocking off old passages, completely destroying her mental map again and again. Every time she tried to climb the shelves she'd find that they were endlessly tall, and the more progress she'd made the taller and taller they'd get until she finally decided to climb down, finding she'd only gotten to about five feet no matter how many shelves she'd counted taking.

This place was utter chaos. There was no order imposed around here, and no way to impose her own order. The shelves were stuck firmly to the ground, they had extensive height, they constantly moved around her, the books made no sense, this whole place was one big headache, a maze you could never win.

She was going to die here. She was going to die of exhaustion, hunger, and thirst in the middle of this maze, alone. She'd had Dash before, but now she was gone, chasing who knew what to who knew where. As she sat in a four-way intersection with no direction, no place to go, and no idea what to do, she closed her eyes and slumped herself.

She needed Dash. She needed to escape. She needed to find her friend, she needed to get her help to get out of here. Dash had been the one to get them out of jail, surely she could get her out of this mess. This huge, chaotic mess.

She rarely ever relied on her friends to help her unless they approached her for help first. The Ursa had been her doing, she took it on herself to test Pinkie Pie's "Pinkie Senses", and she'd taken them all up to help remove the dragon but rather than make a group effort of it, she'd walked in to talk to it by herself.

She needed help here. Maybe not needed, she supposed, but she wanted Dash there to help her. Sure she was closeted and a lonesome mare, but she realized that the best days of her life had been in Ponyville when they pulled her away from her books and made her have fun. When she should have been writing an extensive research paper to Celestia, she'd be putting the finishing touches on the lesson in friendship she'd learned, and the one time she apologized for turning a paper in late, Celestia had rebuked her for trying to put her studies in front of being with the people who cared for her and having fun.

Celestia had been right, and had never been angry. Friends were the most important thing to ever happen to her. Even her defeating Nightmare Moon took second place in the list of things she was happy of. Being here, alone, lost, confused, and more than any of those - again - alone, it felt terrible. She'd been cut off from her many friends, trapped in a place she couldn't escape, and it occurred to her that she may never leave or see them again.

She wished she could at least have one more party with Pinkie Pie and her friends, if only to say goodbye. A small smile appeared on her face. What would she do at the last party? Chat with her friends, dance with them all, say her thanks to everybody for being so close to her, for putting up with her studious tendencies. She imagined there being a huge cake, each bite sugary sweet and delicious, and each sip of the punch washing it down cooly. She imagined the games they'd play, like Pin the Tail on the Pony. If it was her last party with her friends, Pinkie would make her go first and make sure she won.

Eyes closed, she imagined the fake tail in her mouth, and she took a few steps forward, ready to attach it where she imagined the flank to be…

And tripped and fell flat on her face. She shook her head and opened her eyes with a rapid blink, and stared up the staircase that had materialized in front of her.

Rainbow Dash stepped onto the mirrored floor of the next room, taking a moment to look around and up, seeing many mirrors just like the first room, this time with a mirrored ceiling. Only this time, on the mirror above she started in the far left, and on the mirror below on the far right. Curiously, neither mirror reflected her reflections. As she stepped forward, her reflections matched her steps until she stood in the middle of the circular room. All around her she could see her reflections, but they were distorted, like carnival mirrors but… Different.

She didn't know how, but all that mattered was finding Teller. The first room she had to follow him into a mirror, so she began to scan for him. She turned in a slow circle, her eyes barely looking at her own reflection, instead trying to seek out the tell-tale white coat and brunette mane her little brother had, but as she looked, she could not see him. He was in none of the reflections.

Dash bit her lower lip softly as she thought, moving forward to one of the mirrors curiously to look in and see what was there. As she approached, she watched her simulacrum do the same. She stood in front of the mirror and stared at herself, noticing there was a difference but… She looked up and over her reflections body, but stopped again at the face. She didn't feel herself smiling, but her reflection was; smugly at that. It was kind of annoying her, that cheeky grin. Her eyes then fixed on the real problem.

How had she not noticed it? She knew her body inside and out, why didn't it occur to her? She did not have a horn. The smirking reflection had a perfect blue unicorn horn, and no wings. The horn was long and sharp, pretty too. And it split her mane right down the orange stripe. It was odd to see. Especially with that smug, winner's smile.

She walked away from that mirror to the next one, and saw herself again, but no horn. This time she did quickly identify the difference: she still had no wings, but she had a muscular, thick body that suggested a lot of training, much like Applejack's, but more so. She fluttered her eyes curiously. This was her as an Earth Pony, and she was still smiling that winner's grin. What was with this room?

She looked into the next mirror and leapt back suddenly, away from it with grit teeth. She had not just seen what she thought she saw, she had not just seen- she looked in the mirror again, her reflection grinning back, lovingly spooning with a softly cooing Fluttershy, who seemed intent on pressing kisses to her chin and cheeks. Fluttershy looked absolutely gorgeous, so playful underneath her, her reflection's legs surrounding her from all sides to keep her safe. Dash couldn't help but stare, and quickly pulled her head away to look into the next mirror.

It was her and Applejack wrestling, in a hold she'd never seen bef- not wrestling, moving on.

The next three mirrors showed much of the same, Pinkie Pie snuggling her back, bouncing excitedly with a dreamy look on her face, Rarity grooming her rainbow hair into absolute perfection while delivering kisses to her ear, and the next showing Twilight standing next to her with the biggest smile she'd ever seen, and it was almost normal other than their tails being wrapped around each other's.

She had to push on, not sure what to look for but knowing those were incorrect. The next showed her in a Wonderbolt outfit, posing even though Dash wasn't. The next in a Royal Guard's outfit, sitting next to Celestia as the Princess watched her through the mirror. In the next mirror she smiled in relief, seeing her way out, but before she pushed her hoof through, she saw she was incorrect. It was just a brutal reminder of what had happened.

She stared at the reflection of herself back when she was perfect. When her wings were whole, spread out, ready to fly at any time. She soaked in the picture of what she used to be for a long while, sighing heavily as she flapped the currently weak pair on her now. She would find that unicorn and make him eat her hoof, leg and all when she did. She'd make sure he paid for this.

She tugged her head away and walked around the circular mirror room, soaking in each sight, of a richer her, of a stronger her, of a more graceful and beautiful her. She saw what felt like a hundred scenarios of things she wanted, or good things that could happen, or what she could have been. As she walked, she saw no clue indicating which way she should go, and her opposite reflections on the floor and ceiling seemed to know just as much, then again, they were matching her from different parts of the room.

Was it what she really wanted? Did she have to pick what thing she wanted most out of all of these, or the thing she wanted least of all of these? Was it a test of character based on her greed or on her future? This whole room made no sense, and it was making her chest tighten and tummy feel fluttery seeing herself again and again, happy, proud, powerful, satisfied, in love, loved, in a handsome position, all of it reminded her that she was stuck at the bottom of the ocean, in a messed up castle, in a room full of mirrors, maybe thousands of miles from Ponyville. She felt sick in terror as she realized all of this, knowing she was so far from home, from the people she cared for…

No, that wasn't entirely true. She circled around the mirrors again, and found herself staring into the mirror where Twilight was by her side. She watched with mixed feelings as Twilight, looking bashful and a bit mischief, leaned over to kiss her reflection on the side of her snout, and she turned her head just slightly so her reflection would face Twilight, and she watched her reflection and her friend kiss deeply. It sent shudders down her spine just to watch. It was an interesting situation to put it lightly, but the context she saw Twilight in just was not that way. Still, she was with Twilight in that mirror, and she wanted to be with Twilight…

… Although, not be be with Twilight. She took a step back from the picture, again feeling it was nothing but wrong, and once again smacking herself into a dead-end. She closed her eyes to try and clear her head. She didn't know what she wanted. She didn't know what was right. All these pictures showed things that were desirable but only a few of them were truly things she wanted. Her wings, the Wonderbolts, wealth, her brother, Twilight, but it did not show her brother, and it did not show her and Twilight in the way she wanted. None of these mirrors were right…

She opened her eyes and stared at the mirrored floor. She looked across the way and saw the floor reflection sitting like she did. She looked up at the ceiling and saw her ceiling reflection sitting opposite of the floor reflection. They were the only two that really seemed to match her in her current situation. Testingly, she walked to the middle of the exact middle of the room, and they followed her. She sat, they sat. They still faced different directions.

It was like they had no idea which way to go too. They watched different parts of the room, refused to walk along the same path, and watched the mirrors in the same befuddled manner she did. Yet, of all the mirrors in this room, they were the only ones that showed her true form. Just as herself, with her tiny, stubby, cut wings. She turned around slowly, and noticed that they moved in opposite directions of each other, like a clock with two hands that went in different directions.

Whenever one faced one way, the other faced the direction the first one if they were mirrored. It occurred to her that they were just as lost as she was because she barely knew what she was doing as well. None of the mirrors were right but these two…

… Except they were still wrong.

Switching her view from one to the other, she turned slowly in the exact center of the mirror room, and the turned opposite directions until they face the exact same direction she did. All three "correct" Dash's now faced one mirror. She looked straight-forward to see what it showed.

Teller smiled at her from behind her legs in a mirror, wiggled his butt mockingly, and ran off. Dash ran forward, her copies charging with her perfectly in the same direction, and into the mirror.

This was the twenty-seventh set of stairs Twilight had climbed, and looking up from the balcony towards the top, there were more than twenty-seven more for her to climb. Her ears flattened as she stared up. The library had righted itself, not shifting to hide her deeper and deeper in an impossible maze, but it just rose further and further upwards. Now she could circle around and climb the stairs of each balcony to the next, but what did that accomplish? As she stared up into the darkness she could count more and more balconies, and it just seemed to stretch on forever and ever. The more stairs she climbed the more balconies she revealed, and when she stared down she couldn't see the floor past the ever-present darkness.

There was light, but from where it originated was a mystery. It let her clearly see everything, but made no shadows except for directly under her. The light seemed to come from directly above her, but there was no source. It merely illuminated what she could see and several stories above and below her. It let her see the books alright but they were written in gibberish as far as she could tell. She walked around the circular balcony towards the next set of stairs and climbed to the next level, which was every bit of identical as it was to the one below other than the books. Each and every book was different, unique, special in its own way, not that she could tell. They contained no pictures, but each had different characters and "words" on similar numbered pages. It perplexed her how so many different books could fill so much space but all be the exact same unreadable language.

It stretched her mind to its limits as she tried to encompass the sheer scope of knowledge that could be contained here. Not to mention she had to ask where all the material for this place came from, how it could all fit in one castle. She guessed this must be the largest tower on the building to be so tall, but she knew deep down she'd climbed several hundred feet already and was continuing to climb higher and higher. It was starting to exhaust her.

As she took to the twenty-ninth floor her mind began to wonder back to her predicament. She was still alone, isolated, in the literal middle of no where, in a strange castle, is the strangest library she'd ever seen and it was endless. Celestia had shown her several games that were impossible to win, Tic-Tac-Toe being her prime enemy even to this day since she and Celestia had played for ten hours straight without reaching a conclusion, and was then given five math equations that proved to be endlessly repeating. It had been a lesson in recognizing when to quit, and it was the time Celestia realized her student's impressive stubborn streak, as well as creativity.

After all, Twilight was the first and only pony to successfully solve Alculus' Theory of Endless Division. Using chemistry. And explosives. Celestia still liked to bring it up to the math department whenever they were having trouble cracking a particularly difficult equation just to watch their teeth grind.

But even here she didn't have access to the labs back in Canterlot, nor the shops of Ponyville, or the guiding horn of Celestia, so she was stuck by herself with a lot of useless books around her.

Something occurred to her. Maybe they weren't so useless. She recalled the long, circular shape the balcony created, making a giant circular hole in the middle of the room. That meant there was a lot of empty space. She hastily grabbed a random book, thinking back to the many equations she learned over the years and finally remembering the one about using echoes to determine distance, and dropped the book from the side of the balcony. She watched it fall into the darkness, and hung by the edge of the balcony, ears cocked.

Thirty seconds passed. Then Fifty. And she never heard the book. The floor had been linoleum, which would have made quite a sound if something as stiff as a book landed on it. She pulled her head back, wondering if she should grab another book, when she watched the one she'd thrown fall from above and down into the black pit she'd dropped it in at first.

She stared at the open space with shock, then her eyes widened as twenty seconds passed and it fell by again. And every twenty seconds it fell again, and again, and again, and again. The same red-covered book kept falling, and repeating its fall from above.

That was impossible. That meant this place had to loop, or there was a teleportation enchantment at certain levels to let this repeat happen. That meant she could have been walking up the same flights of stairs again and again without realizing it, and even worse… What could she do about it? She stared up at the rings on her horn and felt her breath catch. Her heart began to beat faster as the realization she was stuck here filled her. There was so much going around her, the seemingly infinite books, the infinite building, the infinite loop, this whole place was an enormous mass of impossible.

It went against all logic yet she was here, living it, recording it, and she was going to die in it. She stared down at her hooves as it hit her. This wasn't the endless maze of books, where every corner could bare a glimpse of an exit. She was in a looping spiral that meant she could go on forever, and she would never see an exit, nor was she destined to…

She had to hold her stomach as it gurgled ominously from all her terror. What could she do? What would she do? At this rate she'd never return home, never see Celestia again, never see any of her friends…

… What would they do in this situation? Fluttershy would be just as lost as her, as would Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash would go until their bodies gave out, and Pinkie Pie would… Stay optimistic. In her world, there would have to be a way out, right? Something different about a floor, like a switch or button she missed. It wasn't over until you kicked it, it was like playing needle in the haystack, but the haystack was a potentially endless cycle of stairs and book cases. Still, Pinkie would try, Pinkie would continue, and Pinkie would sing the whole time while she did it.

Well, Twilight, unlike Pinkie Pie, couldn't turn out a lyric to save her life, so she just began to hum. That was it, it was like singing, in your head, and it wasn't as embarrassing. 'Finding my way oouu~ut. Finding my way oouu~ut. There's gotta be a place to go…' She thought to herself as she began to inspect the sides of bookcases, and pull books from the shelves. 'There's gotta be a place to go! Finding my way out will be easy, I just gotta try and make it… Peazy?' Was that a word? Who cared, Pinkie would use it.

She hummed to the words in her head while turning the whole section inside out and upside down, feeling her focus renew on her goal: getting out of here. No distracting thoughts, no wandering hooves, she was going to get out of here. Unfortunately, this balcony didn't seem to have a way out, so she marched to the stairs leading upwards. "Gonna find my way oouu~ut…" She mumbled, thinking about where a switch would possibly be as she stepped up and…

This was not a library balcony. She stared at the guardrails keeping her from walking forward further, noticed the distinct lack of bookshelves and cases, and when she peaked over the side she could see she was at the top, near the mirrored roof, and could see the bottom, which was only ten stories down… That was impossible.

But then again, here she was. She turned around to see what there was left, and saw a mirror on the opposite wall.

She was floating again. It was like she was in that bubble all over again, except they weren't flying around in the ocean. And instead of being in a giant bubble, she was in an even larger ball made entirely of triangular mirrors. She was floating in the middle of the giant sphere of mirrors, and as she looked in each mirror she saw Teller. Each mirror had Teller in it, but not Dash. No, she was the only Dash, but there were many many Teller Pens.

She stared at them all with wide eyes, the short white coat, the brown, mussy mane and tail, the wide, all-seeing blue eyes, and the little smiles of excitement. She was surrounded by her brother. Teller was everywhere… "Teller?" She called curiously, her heart beating in excitement.

"Hi Dash!" They all called at once, near a hundred voices hitting her at once. It was deafening, and it made her head ring. No, this was another mirror room, there had to be something wrong here. Where was Teller? Or, rather, which one was Teller? Were any of them Teller? Were all of them Teller? She took in a deep breath and gulped loudly. Another puzzle. She hated puzzles.

She began to bat her tail slowly to propel herself forward like she had in the bubble, and swam to the side of the large sphere of mirrors. Each one was just barely big enough for her to fit through, and each one had a perfect copy of Teller staring at her. "C'mon Dash, you're supposed to be awesome at stuff." The Teller in the mirror-panel rolled his eyes, and Dash snorted softly, moving onto the next panel.

"Uh, duh, no?" The next one smirked at her in a sadistic manner, making Dash wince. She kept going.

"Why are you even trying me?"

"Are you even trying?"

"You didn't try very hard before, you kept letting me get away!"

"What's taking so long Dash? I thought you were the fastest flier in Equestria."

"Tch, look at those stubby wings! Who could fly with those!"

Each one spoke as she passed by them, each one sarcastic, cruel, sharp-tongued, and the more they spoke the more it twisted her stomach into knots. She could remember him clearly. At least she assumed she could… Her memories with him were always so light-hearted except for that last one…

"No wonder I fell, she can barely even float." She grit her teeth as one shouted in her ear, tears springing to her eyes as the memories flooded back to her, of him falling, of the news she received, of the self-blame.

"Who am I kidding? She can't fly, what was I hoping to learn from her?" She swam forward, scanning the images desperately as the tears began to flow. She was going to teach him… Everything she knew she was going to teach him…

"Are you crying Dashie? You were supposed to be the best!" The latest shouted.

"She's crying! What a wuss!"

"A complete loser!"

"You're not the greatest Dash, you're just weak!"

"You can't teach me to fly, you can't fly yourself, and you can't even keep yourself from crying!"

"Wait 'til the others hear this story! The Magnificent Rainbow Dash, in tears!"

She swam to the middle of the sphere, not wanting to hear more, but that didn't stop them. They all began to shout now, yelling, drowning out her own thoughts and burying her in her fears and weakness. The hundred Tellers called and jeered at her, knocking against their mirrors to get a better look and laughing. It wasn't Teller's laugh, it was a cruel, mocking, twisted version of his boyish giggle when he got excited.

She remembered long before, amid the shouts that Teller had always looked up to her, seen her as his best friend and helper.

"Stop trying Dash! There's no point anymore! You're done for!"

"You'll go down as Equestria's biggest loser at this rate!"

He'd loved her, she'd loved him. But there were days where things were tough, where she couldn't be a hero, when her grades slipped and her performances dropped.

"Fall down!"

"Fall!"

"Fall! Fall! Fall!" They began to chant.

She would always avoid Teller. Teller would come looking for her when he knew something was wrong, always with a smile on his face.

"You're gonna smear like I did!"

"All across Equestria!"

"The great Rainbow Crash!"

He would usually find her, holed up in her room watching the clouds, sorting her thoughts and stamping her hooves. He would approach her with the biggest smile.

"Scream! Cry! It's all you're good for Dashie!"

"The skies don't need a loser like you!"

"You'd do the Wonderbolts a favor if you just crashed right now!"

And he would nestle against her side and start to whisper to her.

"You can do it."

"Just go ahead and get rid of yourself!"

"We'll watch to make sure you do it right you loser!"

He would always tell her that. Whenever she struggled, all she had to do was remember his words.

"You can do it!"

"Hey she's moving! Maybe she's gonna get rid of herself!"

"For good! What a waste of skin and wing!"

She lifted her head up and cocked her ear. She could almost feel his little snout pressing against her cheek as he whispered to her again and again.

"You can do it!"

"Crash Rainbow Crash!"

"You can do it!"

"You deserve it after letting me die!"

"You can do it!"

She glanced all around, his little mantra filling her head and her ears as his whispers grew louder and louder.

"You can do it!"

"Let's see what color you turn into when you hit the ground!"

"You can do it!"

She looked upwards, and amidst the jeering Tellers, she could see the one that didn't leap at her, trying to get to her, just watching her with a kind, loving smile while he whispered.

"You can do it!"

The other voices began to drown themselves out, but this voice didn't. She rose upwards, slowly, going towards the mirror Teller smiled at her from.

"You can do it! That's right Dashie, you're the best flier there is! You're the best pony there is! You can do it!"

She reached a hoof out, and so did he, and for a moment, their hooves touched, and she sunk in, the voices dying, except for one.

"You can do it!"

The mirror was three times her height and five times her width, but did not appear to be distorted, contorted, chemically changed, or at an angle, so it had no excuse to show the bloated purple pony it did.

Twilight stared in disbelief at what she assumed was her own reflection, despite its… Obesity. The purple unicorn she stared at that had her hair and horn and eyes must have weighed over three-hundred pounds, very round and thick, and looking incredibly tired. Twilight had to admit she felt winded but she didn't look anywhere as bad as this tubby thing!

She glared at the image, which matched her glare, but suddenly her reflection's eyes grew twice their size, looking comically over the top. Twilight's jaw dropped at the sudden change, and the reflection's hit the floor with an imagined 'clang'. Twilight shook her head in disbelief, and the reflection did as well, but when Twilight stopped, the reflection stared back with her mouth on her forehead, her horn coming out of her cheek, her eyes molded into one cyclopean nightmare on her other cheek, and her snout was now coming out of her mouth.

Okay. What the hay?

She turned away from the mirror. The place was playing with her again, only this time it was actively mocking her. Twilight was not unused to being made fun of, since when she was a little kid she was always the physically weakest and clumsiest. She just learned to take it in stride until Celestia took her in as a student, and few people ever made fun of her to her face, not that she ever retaliated but it was considered bad form to insult the Princesses' handiwork. Her friends made fun of her sometimes now that she had them but it was always in good fun, so it never really bothered her.

Still, to be insulted by an apparently living mirror? This was new, not to mention very annoying. She had to find a way out, simple as that, so she rounded on the mirror to search its sides for a switch. Her image, now back to simply being an obese blowhard matched her movements, but every step she took, ever raise of her hoof made her reflection wheeze in exhaustion, and by the time Twilight made it to the other side of the edge of the mirror she was growing steadily more and more short-fused as her obese double looked like she was about to die trying to match the real her.

So maybe she wasn't fit. So what? She wasn't thick, she wasn't fat, she ate right and thanks to the antics of her friends often got more than enough exercise. Yes she often had her nose in a book but that's just who she was, it didn't make her less of a pony than Applejack, who spent all day kicking apple trees.

Did it?

She stared at her own reflection in disbelief. It was no longer a disgusting, obese caricature, but now it showed her almost perfectly, with instead of her lean, stringy build, she was muscled, tough, strong, and had a look and air of disapproving. She took a step back, and so did her reflection, taking it with the grace Rarity would when climbing Canterlot's steps. She didn't think she needed physical training, did she? She could be pretty fast.

Well, not Dash or Applejack fast, and she didn't have their stamina at all. She relied on magic to do most of the weight-lifting, but Dash and Applejack could do all of that with their hooves and teeth without breaking a sweat. But they were meant to, right? They're athletes, and spent all day training their bodies for the rigors of physical activity, Twilight was supposed to be the smart one.

But… Couldn't she be smart and strong at the same time? She looked back at her muscled reflection and gave it a tiny glare, and it rolled its eyes. Twilight turned away with a grunt and tried to think. If she spent roughly three hours a day doing physical activity and another five doing studies, the changes could happen quickly, but still, she could use those three hours to do her research work. She wanted at least the extra sixteen for sleep and goofing off, since she actually had been scheduling herself around the possibility of being sucked into something crazy now.

But two hours were below the recommended workout time, serving more as goal for the exceptionally weak, and she wasn't exceptionally weak. She was just a little below average. Right? She couldn't be that weak, not two hours weak, she could definitely do three hours of it. Though it sounded very… VERY exhausting. She doubted she could finish her five hours of studying after such intense training, but if she studied before she'd trained she'd lose track of time, and fast. She knew her habits well enough, she'd forget about her physical training and lose the groundwork she'd been setting up by herself.

… Though, she didn't have to do it by herself, did she? Dash and Applejack were strong ponies, they'd know what to do and what to eat. She looked in the mirror and saw herself standing next to Applejack and Dash, but the two of them were ridiculously huge next to her now skinny, meek looking self. Applejack was all muscle and strength, smirking uncharacteristically smug, while Dash was lean and fast looking, huge wings spread behind her while she flexed. Her reflection just looked nervous to be standing next to the two giants.

Twilight turned away again. This wasn't right, she could definitely ask them but she wasn't focusing. She needed to get out of here, to actually find Dash to ask her, not think about this goofy workout business. This mirror obviously wasn't the way out, so with a grunt she walked towards the stairs.

She heard the sound of shattering glass behind her, and she turned with a surprised look. The mirror was gone, and in its place a hallway. She stepped towards it carefully, inspecting it to make sure this wasn't a trick, and calmly walked inside.

The hallway was made of glass. The floor, the walls, and the ceiling. When Twilight looked down, she could see it was hovering over a seemingly endless pit of darkness, connecting to a cylindrical spire several meters away. To her left and right were no other hallways like this, just empty space, but when she looked up, she found herself staring into the eyes of Rainbow Dash.

"Dash!" Twilight shouted, leaping towards the ceiling with an excited jump. Dash matched her movement, shouted with her, and they stared at each other for a long, long time. "Dash can you hear me?" She called, but heard no response. She wandered, briefly, if this was another trick, but she didn't want to believe that. She'd found Dash. "I'll find you a way out, don't worry!" She charged towards the cylinder in the middle of the void and ran through the doors.

~!~!~!~!~!~

The hallway was made of glass. The floor, the walls, and the ceiling. When Dash looked down, she could see it was hovering over a seemingly endless pit of black, connecting to a huge pillar several meters away. To her left and right were no other hallways like this, just empty space, but when she looked up, she found herself staring into the eyes of Twilight Sparkle.

"Twilight!" Dash shouted, leaping towards the ceiling with an excited jump. Twilight matched her movement, shouted with her, and they stared at each other for a long, long time. "Twilight can you talk?" She called, but heard no response. She wandered, briefly, if this was another trick, but she didn't want to believe that. She'd found Twilight. "I'll find a way to you, don't worry!" She charged towards the column in the middle of the void and ran through the doors.

The room inside the cylinder was huge. It was massively wide, impressively tall, and had bookshelves lining the circular walls. Twilight stepped out onto a red carpet, lined with gold trim, and stared forward at the center of the room. There stood a tall, bipedal figure wearing a figure-flattering black robe with a high, royal collar. It had its long arms raised to the sides, fingers pointed out straight as it stared at… Something. It then began to emit an ugly, guttural noise before turning slowly to face Twilight.

Twilight, for her part, managed to keep her foot from covering her mouth as she suppressed a gasp. The creature was four times her height, and where the head would have been on the torso, was instead a small… Octopus? It's skull and cranium seemed relatively humanoid like Spike's if a bit larger, suggesting a large brain, and instead of a mouth were a lot of tentacles. It had two piercing yellow eyes, and it stared at her with…

... Relief? "The Soul of Magic has arrived, young mistress, you may call me Tanat. I am here to assist you."

~!~!~!~!~!~

The room inside the column was huge. It was massively wide, impressively tall, and had mirrors lining the circular walls. Dash stepped out onto a red carpet, lined with gold trim, and stared forward at the center of the room. There stood a tall, two-legged figure wearing a tight black robe with a high, royal collar. It had its long arms raised to the sides, fingers pointed out straight as it stared at… Something. It then began to emit an nasty noise before turning slowly to face Dash.

Dash cringed, taking a few steps back as she stared at the not-so-pretty thing. The creature was four times her height, and where the head would have been on the torso, was instead a… What the hay? It's head was big and round and bald, like Spike's if a bit larger, so it may have been pretty smart, and instead of a mouth were a lot of tentacles. It had two bright yellow eyes, and it stared at her with…

...Relief? "The Guardian of Souls has arrived, young mistress, you may call me Tanat. I am here to assist you."

"Tanat?" Twilight whispered. "Assist me? But why?" She asked, her eyes wide and confused.

"Anemone assigned me here long ago, understanding that his work would not be finished even after he disappeared. The world is soon to be embroiled in chaos, so he set up certain signs that would allow his creations to recognize when it was time to assist the world once more." Tanat explained, his voice deep, gurgling, resonating more in her head than her ears.

"I don't understand." Twilight whispered.

"I have figured as much, which is why I am here. You must have many questions-"

"Where is Rainbow Dash!" Twilight interrupted rather suddenly, looking up at the ceiling. She could see Rainbow Dash doing the same, staring at her while Tanat watched on.

Tanat made a strange noise that may have been a chuckle, "She is here."

~!~!~!~!~!~

"Tanat?" Dash raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'assist me'?" She asked, her eyes narrowed and suspicious.

"What is that supposed to mean!" Dash demanded.

"It means that the pieces have been set into motion, that the world will need help once again. I am sure you have many questions-"

"How do I get to Twilight!" Dash interrupted furiously, looking up at the ceiling. She could see Twilight doing the same, staring at her while Tanat watched on.

Tanat made a strange noise that may have been a chuckle, "Worry not, you're already with her."

"What do you mean? I see her when I look up, but…" Twilight trailed off, staring at Dash, holding her hoof out as if she could reach Dash, before turning to Tanat, who had walked around a small podium holding a crystal ball. He tugged a curtain down from the wall to reveal a mirror showing Dash again, now staring directly at her.

"Anemone was a lover of mind-games and tests of character. You have passed his tests, and now have his blessings. First, we must rejoin you with the Guardian. Come forward." Twilight approached slowly, hesitant, but she stood in front of the mirror and looked to Dash.

~!~!~!~!~!~

"What are you talking about! Do you see her around here!" Dash pointed up at the ceiling while she shouted, pointing out to Twilight who was doing the same, before looking to Tanat, who had walked around a small podium holding a crystal ball. He tugged a curtain down from the wall to reveal a mirror showing Twilight again, now staring directly at her.

"Anemone was a lover of mind-games and tests of character. You have passed his tests, and now have his blessings. First, we must rejoin you with the Soul. Come forward." Dash didn't entirely trust the creature, but walked forward none-the-less, and stared into the mirror at Twilight.

"You see your friend in a separate place because the magic of Laputa has fractured your mind into recognizing the other as being in a separate place. In reality, you two have always moved together and been together, giving the other strength, and wisdom, even if you did not know it. We must cure this fracture with another metaphor." Tanat stood by the mirror and swept an arm in front of it, his reflection doing the same. "Trust the other as you would trust yourself, and meet without hesitation, and you will be together again."

Twilight stared at Dash and watched her eyes, but smiled softly. They could do this. She trusted Dash, and she knew Dash trusted her. She sprinted at the mirror at a full gallop.

~!~!~!~!~!~

Dash stared at Twilight and watched her eyes, but grinned softly. They could do this. She trusted Twilight, and she knew Twilight trusted her. She sprinted at the mirror at a full gallop.

There was a flash of white light, and Twilight kept her eyes firmly shut as she felt what she hoped what she was feeling. She could hear her own labored breathing, as well as another set, and could feel a head resting on her chest, and her own head was laying on a rising and falling chest. She opened her eyes just a crack and saw a bit of blue, and a smile stretched across her face.

"I swear…" Dash panted a little, shifting with a groan. "If I see another mirror anytime soon, I'm going to scream…" The Pegasus mumbled, and the two softly stood up, smiling at each other in relief and joy. Neither were very affectionate when it came to their feelings, but they still stood as close to each other as they could when they turned to face Tanat.

"The Guardian and the Soul have reunited. The tests have been passed. The messengers have been awakened." Tanat started, closing his eyes softly as he turned away and went around the other side of the crystal ball. "It is time to fulfill Anemone's final request."

Next Chapter: 9. The Lords of Equestria Estimated time remaining: 15 Hours, 60 Minutes

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