The Wind Beneath Her Wings

Deep within the Everfree forest, a tree stirred. Its side still held an accurate impression of Rainbow Dash's body, and a few specks of dry blood still stained its bark. The forest was silent and still; yet this tree seemed more attentive than the rest. This tree had been awoken, and had not yet gone back to sleep.

Animals—with claws for tongues and tongues for ears—pulled themselves across the land on writhing tentacles and rows of teeth, preying on other creatures that had found themselves unlucky enough to be born poorly armed.

One such creature, six feet five inches tall and with fangs five centimeters thick stalked through the darkness. All such creatures like it had been banished from Equestria long ago, back when the nation was first drawing up its lawbooks and constitutions, but law could not banish something from the Everfree forest.

Its eyes, attached to its almost comically miniature head by tiny stalks, were turned upwards to scour the skies. Its legs were coiled and folded in on themselves time and time again, as if it wished to emulate a tightly wound spring. The long thin pupils tracked a small craft as it drifted through the air, piercing through the clouds lazily floating above.

Its hindlegs uncoiled, letting loose an ear-splitting crack—for those creatures equipped to hear it—as the knees broke the speed of sound and the beast kicked off against the hard dirt surface of the forest. It shot into the air, raising its forelegs and revealing the foot-long claws at each end. It sailed through the air on a well timed crash-course with the craft above.

The moment before impact a gossamer glow, coloured light gold when the faded moonlight hit it just right, struck it from the side and sent it off course. It flew a few moments more on its newfound parabola before striking the ground and scampering off beneath the tree's canopy, to no doubt try again shortly.

The craft was constructed from a mixture of wooden planks and thick iron, taking the same approximate shape as a water-bearing boat would have. Instead of a sail, however, it bore a balloon, ten meters thick at its widest and enchanted with the most potent anti-gravity charms Canterlot had to offer. Its side bore the royal seal, and its surface bore princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria.

“Star Spokes, do you see that?” Celestia held her hoof above her eyes, shielding the moon from her gaze. She looked out upon the landscape, and most importantly the area where Ponyville was to be expected. An expanse of darkness, noticeable only through the absence of all else, was only just visible on the horizon, and a thin trail of liquid rainbow mist floated along a path between it and Ponyville.

“I do, my lady.” Star Spokes held a telescope before him in his own magic field. “My vision surely does not match yours, however what we are seeing is quite unmissable.” He scanned around the area of Ponyville, looking for any movement.

Celestia turned away and walked towards a reasonably large wooden door set into the cabin of the airship. “As soon as we approach, land the ship.”

A sky-blue maned pegasus stuck his head out from over the ship's controls. “Princess? The Chariot ain't designed to land. I'm happy to fly anypony else down m'self, but the ship ain't safe below the clouds.”

Celestia turned her head to look towards him, but kept walking, opening the door before her and entering her quarters. “Ponyville does not have an air-dock, and we must depart and take passengers. Land the ship, captain.”

The wooden door slammed behind her, minutely shaking the entire vessel; few would have noticed, but the captain did.

The airship sailed on, cutting its way through higher layers of cloud and floating above the lower layers. The Chariot, Equestria's most expensive and luxurious airship, was not designed for journeys in hostile skies and as such did not include the thick layer of compacted cloudstuff most other airships boasted. The royal craft had been built as a figurehead—a literal flagship, when the giant sheet of dyed material was unrolled from its aft—with gold and silver streaks criss-crossing over the wooden shell to represent the sun and moon. Being built for two beings with wings, it had never flown far, only being used for diplomatic meetings.

As it made its approach to the small town of Ponyville, the captain obediently ordered it to descend. The structure shook and shivered as the ship ploughed through clouds until eventually the small town was fully visible before them.

Star Spokes gasped. “Of all the terrors in Tantalus… Princess!” He turned, lighting his horn to knock on Celestia's door with impatient haste. “Princess Celestia, you need to see this!”

Several seconds later, the door slowly swung open. Celestia's mane hung by her side, not lifeless, but instead tied down with a thin black band. Under each wing hung a saddlebag, both almost overflowing. Her customary golden armour was missing, replaced with a few more straps to hold leather bags filled with scrolls and potions of every description. She walked forward, ducking slightly to avoid catching her horn on the wooden doorframe, and made her way to the bow of the ship to survey the village. “It is as I feared, then?”

“I'm afraid so, princess. The damage looks significant.” His eyes flicked between Celestia and the landscape beneath. After a few moments of silence, he continued. “May I be so bold as to ask what exactly it is you are wearing?”

“The people of Ponyville have been hit hard, and will require support. I intend to aid in the reconstruction as soon as I have found my student and my sister.” Celestia spread her wings and allowed the wind to tickle her feathers. “Captain, set her down just outside the town. We can discuss trespassing with whoever owns the land when we are done.”

Star Spokes looked back down at the devastated town. “Permission to speak freely?”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “Will there ever come a point you will stop asking, and merely speak?” Star Spokes remained silent; his eyes betrayed no emotion beyond the steely seriousness the situation demanded. Celestia sighed. “Yes, of course. Permission granted.”

“We both felt some great magical disturbance here before our departure. We know that your sister left to acquire Twilight Sparkle-”

Celestia snorted. “An act which I still have not forgiven either of you for.”

“Yes, I apologise once again. We know Luna left, and mere minutes later both of us feel a huge shock. Quite interestingly, the previous issues with our magic appear to be gone, and the magic plane does—at least to my inexpert eye—appear to be slowly stabilising.”

Celestia cleared her throat. “Do you have a point to this, or are you simply recapping our journey?”

“My point, princess, is that that is not what Princess Luna left to do. Whatever happened was not part of the plan, and we have not heard from either since, though it has been many hours. We have to entertain the possibility that we may not find them chatting over tea and fresh hay.”

Celestia sighed, closing her eyes for a moment and hanging her head. “I would love to be able to tell you I could sense their fates, but that would be a lie. There is still far too much magical energy resident here for me to locate either of them. We must search the old fashioned way, with our hooves and our eyes.”

“And if we don't find them?”

“Then we look again.”

Twilight Sparkle's wings stretched to their straightest, mirroring the rest of her body as she screamed in pleasure. “D- Dash, oh- Yeah, right there!” The curious surface quivered in excitement, the two distinct colours of feather blurring together as the entire surface shook. Twilight hadn't yet figured out why some of her feathers were purple, and the others were blue, but she had noted that for every blue feather in her wings, Rainbow Dash had a matching purple one.

Dash's tongue swirled, and her hooves kneaded and massaged, driving Twilight's back into spasms; she rocked back and forth, sending both of them spinning through the infinite void. “Man, Twi, you're taking this like a pro!”

“D- Don't stop, Dash. I love you- Ah! I love you so much!” Twilight gasped and panted, grabbing Dash's body in her forehooves and holding her tightly. Her feathers tingled and tickled the air, or lack thereof; her body was at Rainbow Dash's mercy.

“You're just saying that because I give a good preen.” Dash laughed, finishing off the last couple of feathers with a few rough tugs, biting down and yanking the plumage back into place.

Twilight clung a little tighter. “Dash! You know that's not tr-”

“Joke,” Dash interrupted. “Joke! Jeez, you are so easy to wind up, egghead.”

“I- I know, I'm sorry. I just don't want to lose you again.” Twilight pulled Dash closer in and kissed the end of her nose.

Rainbow Dash made a forced gagging sound. “C'mon, Twi, I'm not going anywhere. Uh, I can't go anywhere, either. When're we getting out of here? It's great hanging out again, but my hooves are starting to ache for the ground and it's no fun doing tricks in here.”

Twilight let go and used her hindlegs to kick off from Rainbow Dash's chest. The pegasus flapped her wings a few times and caught up with ease. A few moments later, Twilight slowed to a stop. “We should be able to get out this way, but something's blocking it, see?”

Dash scratched her head. “Uh, no? Looks just like the rest, to me. Look, I'll fly straight through it!” Dash took a few wingbeats back, then charged at the area Twilight was pointing at.

“Dash, no! Don't do tha-” Twilight winced and looked away as Rainbow Dash smashed head-first into an invisible, but nonetheless solid, wall. “Don't do that. It… yeah. It'll hurt.”

Rainbow Dash slowly drifted back over to Twilight, rubbing the side of her nose. “You sure we can't get hurt in here? Because… ow!”

Twilight giggled, covering her mouth with a hoof. “We can't get physically hurt. Any injury our minds think we should have, though, we'll still feel.”

Dash snorted. “Yeah, I know you still feel, Twi. I bet Ponyville heard you last night, and I don't even know which direction that is.” Dash paused. “That was last night, right?”

Twilight shrugged. “We don't exactly have Celestia to guide us in here, Dash. Nor do we need to sleep, apparently, so night and day seem somewhat arbitrary.”

“Hey, speak for yourself! I feel another nap coming on already.” Dash yawned, stretching her legs theatrically.

“I mean, there's literally no need to sleep. Physiologically we don't exist, sleep serves no purpose.”

Dash stretched her wings and flew in a lazy circle to land on Twilight's back, at which point she placed her head against Twilight's mane and balanced the rest of her body between the unicorn's wings. “You keep telling yourself that, Twi. I'm gonna nap. See you in the morning.”

Rarity screamed. She scrambled backwards, pushing against the rubble and dust and sending it scattering off into the darkness. Her forehooves raised to cover her face and she tripped, falling backwards onto her rear. She screamed again, jumping further backwards and landing on the scorched remains of Ponyville's town centre. “Get it off! Get it off!”

She batted at the chips of stone and wooden splinters that had taken up an unwanted residence in her mane, attempting to evict them with every swipe. “Rarity!” she snapped, slapping herself across the cheek. “Ow!”

She shook her head, knocking a thin cloud of dust from her mane. “Rarity, calm down! In order to find out what has happened, I must stay composed, as any lady would.”

Rarity slowly opened her eyes again, immediately focussing on the mirror that had drawn her terror before. She gulped, staring into its depths and finding a dirty, ill-washed creature staring back at her. It had her face, and her mane, but none of the casual class her usual demeanour bore. She sighed.

What seemed like hours later, Rarity tore her gaze from the horror, only to find another. The ground she was standing on was covered not in soft blades of grass, but in ash, charred greenery, and scorched earth. A hopeful shadow, not of darkness but of untouched grass, stretched out from each of the nearby trees and houses. Rarity turned to look at the point all those false shadows pointed towards.

She took another step backwards. A crater in the ground was illuminated by smouldering buildings and burning wood, strewn around the centre of town as if it had just been dropped there at random. “N- No!” Rarity took off at a gallop, gritting her teeth as her horn glowed and she picked up as much of the rock chips and stone dust as she could until she was being followed by a modest tornado of grey earth.

Her boutique—her life—burned on one side. The devastation from whatever had occurred stretched between it and where the old Spa had been, and then that same distance again. Rarity began throwing the dust and dirt onto the flames, hoping to squash them out beneath a carpet of something that couldn't burn.

The flames spread. What was covered in dirt one moment simply caught alight again once more a moment later. Rarity doubled her efforts, ripping up the ground beneath her hooves and flinging chunks of ex-grass and once-dirt at the sides of her home, but it was no use. The flames spread faster than she could extinguish them.

Rarity threw one final chunk of ground, then sunk onto the last outcrop of dirt she hadn't thrown. Behind her lay a hole over a meter deep of excavated firefighting material. A tear rolled down her snout and dropped to the floor as she was struck by visions of her dresses catching alight.

Another droplet of water joined the tear, and then a third. Within moments, Rarity had lost count. She looked up and saw the sky had filled with pregnant rainclouds, which were emptying themselves over the town with clear enthusiasm. The water rolled across her face, cleaning away the tears, and clearing away the flames engulfing many of the nearby buildings.

Rarity broke down into joyous laughter. “Aha! Thank Celestia, I'm saved!”

In the darkness, somepony coughed.

“H- hello? Is somepony there? Do you need help?” Rarity turned and looked around, surveying the area but finding nothing. Luckily, the destruction seemed to have taken place in one of the less densely populated areas of Ponyville, only affecting the outskirts and not doing much damage to the residential areas.

“Yes.” The voice coughed again, and then Rarity heard a soft knocking sound coming from a free-standing wall that likely used to comprise some kind of building. It was barely audible above the crashing waves of rain drowning the town. Rarity had never seen a storm so ferocious, and thought it highly fortuitous it had happened with such spectacular timing.

She moved, carefully avoiding the hole she'd left, and walked through the mud. Her mane was ruined anyway, and somebody needed help. She turned the corner, extending a hoof for the poor soul trapped behind it to grab onto.

“P- Princess Luna?” Rarity took a step back again, slipping on a puddle of mud and crashing down onto it. “Eugh! Oh, it's going to take days to feel clean again.” Rarity frowned, but quickly recovered. “Princess, you're okay! Where's Twilight? We could really make use of her magic here.”

Luna coughed, motioning for Rarity's outstretched hoof. Rarity extended it once again and helped the moon goddess to her hooves, brushing some of the rubble and rock from her sides. “I'm afraid I do not know.” Luna tried to take a step forward, but winced as her right foreleg took pressure. “I appear to have broken my leg, I'm afraid I won't be much use. It's taking all of my magic to maintain this storm.”

“Oh!” Rarity gasped. “This is your doing?”

Luna nodded. “Your commotion woke me, and my wings were all that felt capable of moving freely. Some weather manipulation was all I could do, but it has left me drained.”

Rarity dived forward and hugged Luna, taking special care to avoid her injured leg. “Thank you! You saved my shop!” Rarity coughed. “And the rest of the town, of course. That's also important.”

“It was my pleasure, subject. Now, do you know what happened?” Luna limped over to a sturdy looking section of wall and rested against it.

“No, I was rather hoping you could tell me. When I left, you were unconscious and Twilight was acting quite unusually.”

Luna nodded. “Yes, she managed to revive me, and then Rainbow Dash made her presence known. At that point, Twilight Sparkle… did this. Rainbow Dash attempted to calm her down, but in the process of defending the town I was overpowered. I awoke to your wails, I do not know what became of Twilight Sparkle.”

Rarity gulped. “Ah. Perhaps I misinterpreted Twilight's mood. I told Dash she should go and confront Twilight, I do hope I didn't make a terrible mistake.”

Luna shrugged with her wings. “None of us could have seen it coming.”

“Princess, she can't take much more of this!” The captain of the Chariot struggled with the airship's controls, flinging them left and right to counteract the buffeting forces of wind. Water streamed from the sides, flowing over the deck and dripping down into the interior. The main dining room was ruined, and the royal bedrooms were heading the same way. “We've gotta get above the clouds!”

Celestia's head snapped around to stare at him. “No, we must land. Hold her steady and bring her down, captain.”

“I'm giving it all she's got, princess!”

Celestia sighed and turned back to stare over the bow at the town now not so far below them. The crater was clearly visible from this height, and the fires surrounding were beginning to subside.

Star Spokes huddled under a thin sheet of magic, shielding himself from the worst of the rain. Even so, he waded through the water covering the deck. “Princess, much as it pains me to make a request of royalty, I'm sure we are both aware of your command over the weather. A lesser storm would help the ship extra-ordinarily; the balloon's enchantments are beginning to waver!”

Celestia shook her head. “This storm is not natural, and while the moon shines in the sky I could not touch it if I wanted to. My sister is down there somewhere, this is unmistakably her work.”

Star Spokes shivered, widening his umbrella to try and stay as dry as he could. “Are you certain? I've never seen her command forces this powerful before. With Twilight's aid, perhaps?”

Celestia shook her head. “No, Star. This is the night. This is her domain. The night skies are hers and none can challenge that. Twilight Sparkle herself would struggle, and regardless, I have never taught her any weatherworking. My sister is down there.”

The captain yelled over the increasing rains. “Yet we cannot be! Princess, we gotta turn back.” As if to back up his point, one of the thick ropes connecting the wood and metal ship to the enchanted cloth of the flight balloon snapped, sending the entire vessel tilting on its side.

Celestia nodded, took two steps forward, and spread her wings as she dropped through the air.

Rarity huddled under the singular wall alongside princess Luna, hiding from the torrential rains and watching the last of the smouldering embers dim. The wind whistled through broken window frames and blew some of the dust around, forcing Rarity to shield her eyes whenever she poked her head outside their inadequate shelter.

“What are we going to do, princess?” Rarity sat against the wall, occasionally brushing her mane with an errant burst of magic, but not making much headway into cleaning the rat's nest now lying on her head. “Where are Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash? Or, for that matter, anypony else? One would have thought the disaster would have awoken them.”

Luna shook her head. “One of my first actions was to surround the area with a magic shield. I hoped to contain the damage, but at very least I managed to silence it. Thankfully I do not believe anybody was hurt.”

Rarity nodded. “Aloe and Lotus had left for the night, so th- oh ponyfeathers, I promised to lock up before I left. I suppose it's a little too late for that, now.”

Luna shrugged. “We may be able to locate the door. I doubt its effectiveness now, however.” She coughed, struggling to her three good hooves and crawling over to the edge of the wall to look out over the undamaged parts of Ponyville. “They shall awaken to something more reminiscent of the old battlefields than a modern town. We should concentrate on helping them.”

Rarity snorted. “What about my friends?”

Luna shook her head. “I was cast aside as if I were a leaf on the wind. I find it unlikely they survived.”

Rarity gasped. “Princess, no! We cannot give up hope, they could be feet away under one of these houses! We have to look for them.”

“Knowing my sister, she should be arriving shortly. No doubt she will share your optimism and you may search together.” Luna stared out across the sky, gazing over the clouds high above.

“Oh, I do hope so. Her help would be invaluable.”

“Indeed.” Luna snorted. “No doubt she will immediately run off on some fool's errand searching for your friends and be of little aid to anypony. She should be here by now, though. I do hope she isn't slowing down in her old age.”

Rarity squeaked, pointing up into the sky. Luna followed her hoof, looking up at a small dark spot set against the clouds. An airship hung there, still descending but clearly facing difficulties.

“Oh, sister.” Luna's horn glowed and the dirt underneath her reared up, helping her struggle to her hooves. A wooden fencepost that lay discarded some feet away flew through the air and, using a few thin strips of material torn from a sodden curtain, tied itself around Luna's broken leg.

“'Sister'? Is that… Celestia up there?” Rarity tilted her head.

Luna nodded. “Apparently thinking herself incapable of flight, she has brought our royal airship. While, yes, it is among the fastest ships in our fleet, it is also not in any way waterproof.” As if to prove her point, the ship in question suddenly swerved to the side, swaying wildly. The balloon above it tilted and a moment later it began to ascend.

“She- She's turning back!” Rarity stared up at the airship from behind a few carefully held shards of glass, holding the worst of the downpour from her already damaged mane.

“Yes. Ponyville is not exactly a hub of modern convenience, and my sister appears to have forgotten that it lacks an air-dock. She shall be later than even I had anticipated.”

There was a quiet clatter from behind as Celestia's hooves touched the rubble. Her wings folded back to her sides and she stood, paying no mind to the rain streaming down her face. “I am never late, dear sister; I arrive precisely when I mean to.”

Luna winced. “Does this hold true of my last birthday party, as well? Did you mean to arrive a full hour behind the other guests?”

Celestia rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Shall I ever be forgiven for that? It had been one thousand years, Luna, forgive me for forgetting.”

“I remembered yours. I even recalled your favourite flowers.” Luna rested against her makeshift splint, glaring at Celestia. “And what in Equestria are you wearing? I realise much has changed in the past one thousand years, but surely we still do not leave the castle in our nightclothes?”

Rarity coughed, and then coughed again several times to catch the two princesses' attentions. “Princesses? May I remind you that Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash are still missing, and that Ponyville is an absolute disaster? Can we please focus?”

“Indeed.” Celestia nodded. “Luna, you ignored my word and brought this disaster here yourself, I hope your injuries serve as a reminder of this while you search for my student.”

Rarity coughed again, drawing Celestia's gaze. “We are also looking for Rainbow Dash, she appeared shortly before Twilight…”

“Very well.” Celestia made her way across the uneven terrain to Luna's side, where she wrapped a wing over the injured alicorn's side. “Luna, I want you to go and search for my student while I remain here and support the citizens.”

Luna snorted. “I have no desire to travel on a fool's errand, sister. I cannot sense either of them, and though I am weak I can assure you that they would not go undetected. I can be of more use here, helping to rebuild the town.”

Celestia pulled away and walked out into the pouring rains. “I am disappointed in you, Luna. First you disobey my clear instruction, and now you give up hope on the ponies that have given you so much. Tell me, dear sister, how can you ever hope to join me in ruling the land if you cannot control yourself?”

Luna staggered over, placing weight on her splint only if necessary and using her wings to keep balance. “We can control ourselves perfectly, sister. You would have stood by and done nothing. At very least we have achieved something, or have you failed to notice that there have been no magical anomalies since?”

Celestia stared up into the sky, watching the Charriot sway about in the forceful winds high above them. “I believe the storm has run its course, Luna. I'm sure the ponies above us would appreciate the reprieve, lest your actions hurt another this night.” Celestia looked down and shook her head. “Tell me, Luna. Do you consider this minor victory worth the life of any of our citizens?”

“Twilight Sparkle was not just any citizen. She knew her duty.” Luna's voice wavered. “I never meant for this to happen.”

Celestia frowned. “Twilight Sparkle was born into it, she was never given a choice. That made her safety even more vital to us; if we cannot protect those who pledge everything to us, how can we protect those who merely rely on us?”

Luna stammered. “We- I- She was never meant to die, Celestia, believe me. My plan could not have anticipated Rainbow Dash's actions.”

“Which is why I wait before acting. Until you can see every piece in play, you cannot predict what outcome any move will have. A ruler should not gamble with the fates of her people, Luna.” Celestia moved closer to her sister's side, and wrapped a wing around once more. “I hope you learn something this day, for next time you may not be so fortunate.”

“Fortunate?!” Luna snapped, “How have I been fortunate? I have clearly lost your trust, lost the lives of those I owe my own to, and this town shall doubtful allow my presence again! How can I be judged fit to rule after this?”

Celestia held tighter and softly laughed. “You have injured my trust in you, but you cannot ever slay my love for you. Nor can you slay Twilight Sparkle, through either action or ill-planning. Tell me, do you still feel magic in your bones?”

Luna nodded. “Of course. Weaker than on most nights, but undeniable.”

“Then the Element of Magic still lives.”

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes. She stretched her wings and legs, uncurled her body and yawned quietly. “I miss clouds.” She looked over at Twilight Sparkle. “Hey Twi, are we going home yet?”

Twilight's head turned to stare. “Nearly, I just have to recalculate the transition vector to ensure the magicfocal bipositioning alternation doesn't-”

“Okay okay,” Dash interrupted, “I already know your life story, Twi.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and turned back to the stack of papers before her, scribbling words and symbols onto the parchment.

“Hey, where'd you get those? Pretty sure we haven't had a delivery in the last… Hey, how long have we been here?” Dash tilted her head and slowly glided closer to Twilight. She glanced at the equations before her for a few moments, but quickly decided to avoid the headache.

“Hm, I'm not sure.” Twilight scratched behind her ear before turning to face Dash. “You usually take a few hours to recover whenever I do that thing with my tongue, and we've done that… hm…”

Dash's ears perked up “We've done that loads, I do not take hours. I'm Rainbow Dash, nothing slows me down!”

“I'm glad it takes you time to recover, Dash; I'd never get anything done otherwise. I suppose that must mean we've been in here for quite a while, but time doesn't work the same way here anyway.”

“Oh, is this that relatively stuff you were going on about a few months ago? Like how if I fly fast enough I'll go back in time or something?” Dash spread her wings and gave them a slow shake.

“No, you'd face so much air resistance you'd catch fire long before you got that fast. But yes, it's about the same concept, except sometimes it's us going really fast and sometimes it's everything else.” Twilight frowned.

“What if we appear and we're like, in the past? Or way in the future? What if Pinkie's so old she can't bounce any more?” Dash joined Twilight's frown.

“Hm? Oh, no, I doubt Pinkie Pie will ever stop bouncing.”

“That wasn't my point, Twi. We've gotta get back when we left. What if we're gone for ages? What'll our friends think? I've already abandoned them once, I'm not doing it again. Ever.” Dash snorted. “You've gotta get us back.”

Twilight nodded. “After… last time I had to promise I wouldn't do any more time manipulation magic.” Twilight coughed. “I still researched it, of course. I haven't practised, but I'm quite confident I can get us home on time.”

“When?”

“I've had the spell ready for a few hours, but I didn't want to start without explaining the dangers to yo-”

“Go. C'mon, Twi, I don't care. I know that anything you'd do to me is probably a million times safer than me flying anyway.” Dash grinned and darted forward to rub her cheek against Twilight's.

“I'm serious, Dash. If this goes wrong, we could end up inside out, or worse!”

“So, just like flying then. Come on, let's go home.” Dash grinned.

A drop of water tumbled from the edge of a leaf, hanging from a branch on one of the many trees dotting Ponyville. One side of its bark was scorched black, and the leaves on that side were shrivelled and in tatters. The other side sprung with life and was a symbol of health.

The midday sun beat down upon it, warming every inch of its surface and evaporating the raindrops away. The great orb in the sky rained heat down over the rest of the town as well.

Celestia brushed the sweat from her forehead with a hoof, and steeled herself to lift yet another slab of stone. “Where-” She panted- “Where do we want this one?”

“Oh, just over here, princess!” Carrot Top pointed over to the side of a large plot of land, still punctuated by a few orange splashes of colour. “Thanks again for all the help you've been!”

Celestia nodded and moved the stone surface over to the indicated area. She softly placed it on the ground, and then gave it a shove to firmly cement it in the dirt. She looked over at the large pile of stone, in various shapes and sizes, and sighed internally. “Of course, my subject. I will always be here when you're in need.”

Though Celestia had recruited many capable unicorns from Canterlot before leaving, they were all stuck high above on an airship which refused to land. Undeterred, Celestia had chosen to help rebuilding the town by herself.

Celestia turned and moved to raise one of the slabs of “wall”.

“Hey!” Pinkie Pie bounced over her head and landed on her back. “Hi Princess! I brought you a drink!”

“Oh, thank you so very much, Pinkie. That sounds delightful.” Celestia smiled. Her throat ached, continually reminding her that she had yet to even partake in her morning coffee.

“Okie! It's right here!” Pinkie reached into her mane and pulled out an empty glass. She stared at it for a few moments, and then frowned. “Oh yeah. Sorry, I got thirsty on the way over. My bad!”

Celestia's smile didn't waver. “That's quite alright, Pinkie.” Pinkie Pie sat on Celestia’s back for several seconds more. “Did you want anything?”

“Oh, yeah! My eyes started watering and I started to see things!”

Celestia’s ears quivered. “We are all concerned for Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, believe me. I assure you, I shall do everything in my power to find them.”

Pinkie shook her head and bounced over to land on the pile of stone. “Nuh-uh, I know where they are! I saw them! I think they need our help! I’ve already told the others, they’re on their way, but we need you too!”

The infinite expanse around Twilight and Dash appeared to flicker in time with the fickle glow of Twilight Sparkle's horn. Billowing clouds popped into existence above them, and the gossamer magical landscape far beneath them began to fade into a more familiar slab of green and brown.

“C'mon, Twilight, we're almost there!” Dash strained forward, flapping her wings and trying to push them closer to the ground. Twilight Sparkle clung on tight, with her eyes held closed and her mind held open.

“Keep going, Dash. Think of home.” Twilight shouted over the sudden rush of air as they began to descend through Equestria's atmosphere. A thin red cone formed around them, growing stronger and more visible every moment as the air thickened and Rainbow Dash increased her speed. The infinity behind them began to stretch away, slowly at first but growing faster with every foot they flew away from it.

“There's Canterlot!” Dash tilted her wings and changed course, curving through the air until her nose pointed straight at the ancient castle-city that marked the political centre of Equestria. “I'm going in!”

“Careful, Dash, we're still not completely here yet.” Twilight hung on, but opened her eyes to watch their descent into Canterlot. The city's architecture stretched out before them, and around them. Dash soared between gigantic towers decorated with gold strips and dark spikes. Rainbow Dash wasted no time in swinging around to the castle's private air-dock and coming to a halt on Celestia's personal landing balcony.

“Man, I've still got it.” Dash brushed a non-existent speck of dirt from one wing, while using the other to help Twilight down onto the ground. “I can't wait to show you how it's done, Twi.”

Twilight laughed. “Maybe later, I have a lot of work to do now we're finally home.”

Dash jumped into the air and flipped upside down to hang before Twilight. She pouted. “C'mon, you have to take a break eventually! I know you have a lot to do, but-”

Twilight raised a hoof to Dash's nose and slowly pushed it away from her while twisting to the side and bringing Dash the correct way up once again. “You can help if you want, then it'll go faster. Right now we need to find Celestia, we have a lot to talk about.” She turned and, after a few moments of awkward magical fumbling, managed to overwhelm the lock enchantments and unclip the metal bar on the inside of the two large doors leading from the balcony into Celestia's main bedroom.

The room was dark, with the only light being that which reflected from the open doors. Twilight could see a figure silhouetted inside the four-poster bed, sleeping softly. “Princess!”

The figure stirred, softly at first but then jumping up and landing atop the sheets. The doors slammed shut behind them. Rainbow Dash caught the image of Twilight Sparkle being flung through the air a fraction of an instant before she felt the same force applied to her. Her head stung and her ears rang, but her wings were telling her that if she hit the wall at that speed neither of those things would matter. After a momentary pause, Dash spread her wings and slowed herself to enough of a halt that she could safely land against the wall and kick back.

As Dash flew through the air the other way, she noted Twilight's trademark flash of light as the unicorn teleported back to safety. She let her worries about Twilight drop away and focussed on bursting through the drapes surrounding the bed as fast as she could. As she sped through them, the thin wooden circlets attaching them to the top of the bed gave way, and a few moments later her and the shadowy figure within slammed into the ground on the other side.

“Who they hay are you, and what are you doing in the princess's chambers?” Dash spat, tearing at the thin material with her teeth to reveal their attacker's face. Twilight Sparkle ran up to them and lowered her head, pointing her horn at the figure within the sheets.

“Guards!” The figure pushed outwards. Rainbow Dash was thrown back, but quickly recovered and hung there in the air. The thin material glowed black, and then vanished, revealing princess Luna.

“Luna!” Twilight jumped towards her with her arms outstretched, but was thrown back again.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Luna evaporated the rest of the drapes. Rainbow Dash ducked as a chunk of dark metal armour flew over her head, locking itself around Luna's body. “How do you know our name?”

“P- princess?” Twilight took a step back. “I'm… Twilight Sparkle, of course I know your name. Is Celestia around?”

Luna's eyes narrowed. “None have spoken that name to us in a thousand years. We thought her forgotten.”

Dash gulped, and looked down at Twilight. Twilight shrugged. “I don't know, Dash. Perhaps we overshot?” Twilight turned and faced Luna. “What year is it, princess?”

“The year one thousand and one of the great Lunar Empire, of course. I do not know what you are or what you know, but I cannot allow you to leave.” Luna's eyes flashed and the rest of her armour flew from the sides of the room and encased her almost completely in a second skin of dark metal and black rock. Her eyes shone a dark green and her horn lengthened, growing jagged near the tip. Her mane began to flash with short bursts of lightning.

“W- woah! Twi, I think we need to go.” Dash swooped down and grabbed Twilight under the forearms. At that moment, the main door of the room burst open and guards began to stream in, some flying on bat-like wings and others wielding sharp-pointed weapons in the grip of their horns. All were armoured similarly to Luna, however none had her imposing stance. “Empress Nightmare, we are at your command.”

Rainbow Dash immediately darted for the balcony, smashing through the thick glass with the tips of her hooves and taking to the air. She beat her wings and flew.

Twilight screamed and pulled both of them to the right. An instant later, a bolt of energy passed through just beside them, singeing the tip of Dash's wing. “Careful, Dash, she's following us!”

“What. The. Hay.” Dash barrelled left and right to avoid the attacks of both Luna and her guards. “Is. Going. On.”

“We- We missed! This isn't Canterlot!” Twilight threw up a bubble shield around them, deflecting a few bursts of Luna's dark energy. It shattered after a few more bolts that Dash couldn’t avoid in time.

“It looks like it! The stars are even right!” Dash pulled her wings back to her sides and went into freefall for a few moments, avoiding a series of bursts that filled the sky above her. “We haven't been gone that long, Twi, I can still navigate!”

Twilight closed her eyes and made a platform a few feet below them. Dash landed on it, and then immediately kicked off. A blast of magic two feet wide shattered the platform an instant later. “No, we're in the wrong Equestria entirely! We missed when we tried to get home!”

Dash darted straight up for a moment, flinging Twilight high into the air. She sped off, twisting and changing directions on the head of a pin to evade a salvo of magic bolts that were tracking her. Twilight closed her eyes and felt out with her horn, extinguishing them one by one while Rainbow Dash distracted them.

Moments before Twilight hit the ground, Dash swooped back over and plucked her from the air. “How could we miss Equestria? It's pretty big!”

Twilight grabbed onto Dash's mane with a hoof and pulled herself up onto her back. The pegasus grunted in pain, but kept flying. “Okay, we exist in three dimensions, right?” Twilight turned around and pointed her horn at the ground beneath the ensuing army. After a few seconds of straining, the ground began to rumble, and then crack. A sheet of rock burst out in front of the unicorns chasing them, cutting the size of Luna's army in half as they sped away.

Twilight lit her horn up again and made a line that hung in the air. “Length.” The line jumped and stretched, becoming a rectangle. “Width.” The rectangle jumped towards them, becoming a fully realised shape. “And depth.”

Twilight let go of the magical shape, watching it tumble back into the clouds of pegasi chasing them and knocking some of them from the sky. “There's another dimension, one we don't have a name for yet.” The cuboid behind them split and shattered into a million different pieces, simultaneously glowing and sucking in all light. Twilight looked away from it. “That's magic. If we go one direction, we get to the magic plane. We don't go in the other direction, usually, but I think we might have.”

Dash gulped and swooped down into a field of low-flying clouds, swinging between them to try and disguise their positions. “Why don't we?” Dash flared her wings and came to a stop against one of the clouds in a layer beneath the top, where they couldn't be seen.

Twilight sighed, jumping from Dash’s back and stretching her legs. “In ancient times, magic scholars thought that friendship and love were responsible for magic. There was a movement a few hundred years ago for the opposite—that greater magic inspired greater friendships. Nowadays we understand that neither causes the other, and that they're the same thing. The further we go from our Equestria, the less friendship and magic we'll find.”

Dash looked around uneasily. “I wouldn't call their magic weak, Twi.”

Twilight shrugged. “That's good, it means we're not too far from home. Luna is exceptionally strong in our world, too.”

Dash's ears twitched. She broke into a run and tackled Twilight off of the cloud mere moments before another beam of dark energy ripped it apart. A few seconds later, her wings caught the air and they soared back into the sky, being chased once more. “Can you beat her, Twi?”

Twilight gulped, closed her eyes, and teleported from Dash's arms onto her back. She shook her head. “I don't think so. I've never been… I'm not a battlemare, and she is.” Twilight grunted as another blast hit the side of the bubble shield she held around them.

“Great. Can I beat her?” Dash laughed, then curved off to one side to avoid a spear thrown by one of the pegasus archers worryingly close behind. “Don't answer that. They're catching up, I can't fly as fast for some reason.”

Twilight snorted. “Magic, Dash. There's less magic here. I can't cast as strong spells, and you can't fly as fast.”

“So what do we do?”

“I don't know.”