The yellow mare searched frantically for a way out.

She'd been trapped long enough to know that her friends were not coming to her rescue, no matter how much she needed them now. Were they her friends though? It was rather difficult to know for sure... friends wouldn't have allowed her to get into this situation. Tears welled in her eyes as she pondered how she'd gotten herself into this mess, and what they'd say about her foolishness. Not that she would ever know, now. She already knew what the ponies in this awful town had planned for her. She wished she could just fly away from this unforgiving world, to some refuge where death didn't stalk the land, killing the plants and animals and leaving the ponies so frightened.

Giving up on her fruitless search for escape, the yellow mare sat down, gazing at the moon up in the sky and trying to wonder how long she'd been in here. She felt like she hadn't eaten in weeks, which was probably rather accurate. What had she done to deserve this? She continued to cry quietly in the dark, eyes fixated on the stationary moon above.

Twilight Sparkle approached the large building cautiously, having seen the guard ponies from the street. The door was open, and Twilight could see a large pony sitting at a tall desk reading a newspaper. Upon noticing Twilight approaching, the guard pony put down his newspaper.

"Good evening, Mrs Sparkle. Back early, are we?"

Twilight wasn't exactly sure where she had been, but she knew better than to question him on it.

"Indeed I am," Twilight said assertively, trying to fit the role of "filly-scaring mare" the best she could.

"Well, she hasn't been doing anything but crying back there. They seem so tough, until they realize they've lost," The guard pony laughed absurdly at this, and Twilight returned this with an awkward chuckle. "Did the Princess decide on a time for tonight?"

Twilight had no idea what he was talking about, but shrugged her head in a way that said she didn't know. Why was it necessary for everypony to talk to her in such cryptic and secretive sentences?

"Well, the Princess will be here sometime soon anyway. She'll be pleased to see you back early," The guard pony turned, motioning towards a dreary corridor behind him. "Down the corridor, and through the door at the end," With that, the guard pony returned to his paper, leaving Twilight to wonder just who or what was waiting for her at the "end of the corridor."

Twilight traveled down the corridor, her nervous hoof-steps echoing across the dank passageway.

Reaching the door now, Twilight turned back to look at the entrance to the building. It was a clear run, providing she could get past the guard, if anything went wrong. Twilight cursed her own cowardice, and opened the heavy iron door, only to be completely shocked by the pony she saw within.

"F...Fluttershy?" Twilight gasped, in utter amazement. Fluttershy was evidently trying her best to appear menacing,  but failing miserably. She was atrociously malnourished, and it was with great horror that Twilight realized she could see ribs through the yellow pony's coat. Fluttershy's mane and tail were cut quite short, sticking up in several places and looking like it had not been cared for properly in months. It looked as if it had been cut with a shard of broken glass as opposed to proper barber tools, it's generally disheveled nature a stark contrast to the extreme effort Twilight had seen Fluttershy put in to her mane and tail.

Her friend did in fact have a cutie-mark, the familiar three butterflies, and Twilight Sparkle considered this with relief, realizing that the Fluttershy of this Equestria found her destiny despite all the oddness in the world around her.

"Yeah, that's right! Fluttershy! And just what do YOU want, you...you terrible...pony," Fluttershy let out a quiet exclamation of frustration at her inability to think of an insult.

Twilight had to pause for a moment to fully understand what she was seeing. The building was some sort of dungeon or prison, that much seemed obvious to her, but what she had trouble understanding was why Fluttershy, of all the ponies in Equestria, would ever be contained in one.

"Fluttershy, what...what happened? What are you doing in there?"

Fluttershy laughed, not her normal, quiet chuckle, but a malicious, sarcastic one. "As if you don't know. Well, we're all soooo happy here in Ponyville to see you back!" Fluttershy was on the verge of shouting now, and Twilight knew that if the guard were to come, she would not be able to explain why she had no idea what the hay was happening. She indiscreetly closed the heavy door with her magic, unsure if it would be enough.

"Fluttershy, can you please quiet down?" Twilight tried desperately to get her friend to relax.

"Quiet down, huh? You want me to QUIET DOWN?" Fluttershy was furious now, panting hard as she paced around her small cell and glaring at Twilight through the bars.

"Fluttershy! Please! I'm just here to... to help you."

"Ah, and I suppose that's what those guards of yours wanted to do, too?" Fluttershy's voice was now a shrill, frustrated howl. "I can't believe you'd have the...the AUDACITY to expect me to listen to a pony like you!"  

Twilight was quickly beginning to hate her alternate self more and more. "Fluttershy, listen to me, I'm going to get you out of there...somehow."

Fluttershy scoffed at this, but then looked at Twilight in confusion when she realized she was being serious. "W...why? Is... is this part of your little plan?"

"I don't have a plan, Fluttershy, I don't even know whats going on or why you're in there. I can't explain now, but I need you to trust me, alright? Can you do that?"

"Hmm, lemme think about it...NO!" Fluttershy was back to yelling now. The guard pony would be coming any second now. "I'd rather die in this horrible town than help you!"

Fluttershy was showing a strange amount of courage Twilight had never before seen in her friend, but then again, she'd just found out she was some sort of back-stabbing tyrant. Twilight was desperate now... she wouldn't last ten minutes in this world without some help. Gazing quickly around the room, Twilight decided she would have to help Fluttershy whether she wanted it or not. She opened the door lightly and shot a quick glance down the hallway. The guard pony was still reading his newspaper. He had not heard after all.

Closing the door again, Twilight turned to face Fluttershy, who was regarding Twilight with a confused expression.

"Step away from the back wall, Fluttershy," Twilight said simply, and Fluttershy shook her head in refusal. "Fine! Whatever, don't move! It's for your own safety, Fluttershy!"

Twilight closed her eyes to concentrate, and her horn began to glow. Knowing full-well she would have very little time to restore the cell to its original condition, Twilight had to be fast.

Fluttershy yelped in fear as a crack began working its way around a large circular shape on the rear of the prison wall. Twilight then used her magic to pull it towards herself, exposing a nice, clean exit for Fluttershy.

"Go!" Twilight said frantically, as Fluttershy stood staring at her in shock. "Fluttershy! The guard is going to be coming any second now! Go! And wait for me," Fluttershy simply nodded to show she understood, and high-tailed through the opening. As soon as she was through, Twilight placed the wall-portion back in the hole and hoped to Equestria the guard didn't hear.

Somehow, by some divine luck, he hadn't. Twilight knew this was where the hardest part of her little jailbreak came in.

She paced slowly up to the guard, sampling her "filly-scaring voice" repeatably in her mind until she figured she had it right. Using her magic, she lowered the guards newspaper, causing him to look at her in surprise.

"Would you care to explain to me... why Fluttershy is NOT HERE?" Twilight yelled, straight in the guards face.

The guard simply chuckled and raised his newspaper again. "Door at the end of the hall, Mrs. Sparkle. Like I said."

Twilight decided she had to up her act a bit to make it seem less like she was moderately annoyed and more like she was furious. She started by using her magic to engulf the guards newspaper in a sudden burst of flame. "You think this is some sort of joke?" She said coldly. The smile on the guards face dissipated instantly, and he quickly cantered to the end of the hall.

Twilight stood in the doorway as he searched the empty cell frantically.

"No...no, no NO!" He was panicking, hyperventilating, searching the bare room for his prisoner. He turned suddenly to look at Twilight Sparkle. "She was here. I saw her this morning...  I swear I did!"

Twilight gave him a look of disbelief, before turning her back to him.

"Insolent fool. Do you have any idea how much danger your carelessness has placed us in?" Twilight thought about Fluttershy, probably hiding behind a small tree or trash can, whimpering in fear.  "Find her. She can't have gone far. If she isn't back in this cell by sunrise, you'll have me to answer to," With that Twilight Sparkle strode out of the room.

"Wait!" The guard pony called, skepticism on his voice. "Sunrise...? What are you talking about?"

And then Twilight became aware of how long it had actually been night. Much longer than any night back in her Equestria. She thought frantically on how to respond to the guards statement.

"Figure of speech. You have until 6 o'clock in the morning,"  With that, Twilight stormed out of the building, leaving the guard gaping in confusion.

Fluttershy crept silently between the sad houses, glancing around cautiously to make sure she had not been sighted. Her mind was a beehive, as she tried to determine why Twilight had helped her out. Wait for her, she'd said. Fluttershy knew doing so would be suicide, she had to get out of Ponyville as fast as possible. But how? She couldn't just fly over the fence, and the two gates were guarded eternally by the agents of the night.

Fluttershy hid in the shadows, when suddenly, she heard an alarm start blaring through the town. So they'd found out she'd escaped. Fluttershy decided her best bet was to tunnel under the fence, and she started frantically clawing at the dirt in a terrified frenzy. Suddenly, she heard the hoofbeats of a pony behind her.

"Fluttershy! You made it!" Twilight said excitedly. "We need to get you in doors. Follow me!"

Fluttershy looked up at Twilight Sparkle, and back down to her pathetic attempt at escape. She realized she would never be able to dig fast enough to get out of here on time. She had no choice but to trust Twilight Sparkle. "O...okay, Twilight Sparkle. But don't think I still don't hate you, just because you're helping me..."

"Whatever.  Now listen to me. The town is crawling with guard ponies right now, looking for you. We need to make it to my library...somehow."

"Library?" Fluttershy shrieked. "You're a unicorn! Use your freaky teleporting powers!"

Twilight shook her head sadly.

"I'm afraid I just can't risk it, Fluttershy...I'm willing to bet there is some sort of anti-teleporting magic spell on this fence, and I'm in no mood to be burnt to a crisp tonight."

The two mares crept through a dark alley, with Fluttershy lagging behind significantly at Twilight's request. Twilight looked at the town, the guards, and finally, her library directly across the town square. There was the odd structure in the center, and it looked like they could hide underneath it, at least for a bit. Twilight motioned for Fluttershy that it was safe for her to come.

Fluttershy let out of muffled yelp of surprise when she saw the odd structure.

"What? What is it Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, seeing her friends look of shock. "What's that structure supposed to be?"

"Is...is this your plan? You want us to HIDE under that? That's suicide!"

"Why? What is it?" Twilight asked, quickly becoming as panic stricken as her friend.

"R...Rainbow Dash called it...a gallows," Fluttershy whispered.

And then Twilight saw exactly what was going on. "What sort of sick version of Equestria is this?" She gasped.

The square was as void of guards as it ever would it be. It was now or never.

"Alright, Fluttershy, fine. New plan. You fly over the electric fence, and run for it. You need to run fast as soon as you're over, because the guards will no doubt see you."

In that moment, Twilight noticed something she had foolishly overlooked.

"Your wings...Fluttershy. What happened to your wings?" Where any normal pegasus would have wings, Fluttershy's were gone, torn out, with a few surviving ligaments protruding through a mediocre bandage on both sides.

Fluttershy looked at her sides, and then directly at Twilight. "How clueless are you? They do this to all the pegasi. Me and Rainbow Dash were most likely the only pegasi left in Equestria. That is...until I got captured."

Twilight felt like she was about to faint. Never before had she seen such inhuman acts committed to innocent ponies.

"Alright, Fluttershy, then we don't have a choice. Come on!" With that, Twilight dashed underneath the gallows, followed closely by Fluttershy.

The two mares glanced quickly around to make sure they hadn't been sighted. Twilight's library was too far for them to make it the same way. They needed a diversion.

Twilight's eyes scanned the town square, before settling on the town hall. Its patio was leaning on a single pathetic strut, with much of the building weighing it down. The building should have been condemned. Twilight aimed a precise blast of magic, and hit the strut. There was a tremendous boom as part of the building collapsed, causing most of the guards to dash towards it. Now was their chance.

Onwards they galloped, across the desolate town square and towards the library.  There was a panel by the gate to the electric fence, which Twilight assumed only she could open. There was a cylindrical opening, and Twilight thought it looked very similar to the box the Princess hid the elements of harmony in. Running with this assumption, Twilight placed her horn into the opening, and sure enough, the gate opened.

Wasting no time, the two ponies dashed into the library as the gate closed behind them. Outside, the searchlights of the Royal Guard pierced the eternal night.

Twilight watched the commotion from the refuge of her library, peering through the small cracks in the closed blinds. Fluttershy was pouring chamomile tea into two porcelain tea cups, humming some long forgotten melody to herself.

The library was surprisingly similar to what Twilight Sparkle was accustomed to. It was by far the nicest building in Ponyville, but, this seemed rather obvious when Twilight considered how important she apparently was in this Equestria.

"Twilight Sparkle...umm, could you please take a drink of this tea?" Fluttershy asked from the kitchen, where she had been cowering for nearly an hour. Twilight sighed and picked up the teacup.

"Why? What did you do to it?" She asked skeptically, gazing into the dark-yellow liquid.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just making sure you didn't poison it," Fluttershy said with an eerily uncomfortable smile.

Twilight sighed again, and drank the tea. "There. Not poisoned."

Fluttershy smiled, genuinely this time, and sipped her tea lightly. "So, Twilight, are you going to perhaps explain why you're doing this?"

Twilight saw no other choice. "Fine, but I warn you, the story is going to sound ridiculously unbelievable. I'll start from the very beginning. When I was writing to Princess Celestia-"

Out of the blue, Fluttershy spat out her tea in surprise. "Did you say Princess Celestia?!"

"Yeah... why?"

Fluttershy didn't answer right away, instead stirred her tea and sat thinking, before finally looking back at Twilight. "Oh, it's nothing. Continue with your story."

Twilight Sparkle explained to her friend the whole story up to their encounter back in Ponyville. Fluttershy remained quiet, staring at Twilight through the awkward silence, as if expecting her to continue.

"Look, I know it's hard to believe, but somewhere, in another Equestria, I'm best friends with you, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity. I don't know whats going on here or why the world here is so ugly, but I do know that you know who those ponies are. I'm asking for you to trust me, Fluttershy, and bring me to them, wherever they are."

"I'm very sorry, Sparkle. I appreciate you saving me, and I appreciate the chamomile tea, but I still can't trust you...I wish you're story was true, but I'm not going to make another mistake and put my friends in danger."

Twilight could see she wouldn't able to convince Fluttershy this way. She had to try a different tactic.

"Fluttershy, I'm about to use magic on you, you need to promise me you aren't going to freak out," Without giving the yellow mare a chance to react, Twilight began casting the memory spell she'd learned from the Discord Incident.

Fluttershy fell to the ground as her mind was suddenly assaulted by a multitude of memories. She saw herself in some of these, smiling, in a bright, vibrant world. She was with her friends, and they were happy throughout all these. She saw Twilight Sparkle there, too, smiling like the rest of them. This world she saw unfolding before her was the paradise she'd always been dreaming of.

Twilight watched as Fluttershy stood staring up at the ceiling, her diluted pupils focusing on nothing. In time, she blinked and looked at  Twilight Sparkle.

"Is this what it was like where you came from? Is this what we are like in your Equestria?"

"Yes, Fluttershy. And it can be like this in your Equestria, too, if you let me help. I know you as a dependable, kind pony who would face against a ferocious dragon just to defend the ones she cares about. And I can see in your eyes that you're no different in this world."

Fluttershy's eyes began to well with tears, and Twilight knew she'd finally gotten her friends trust. After a moments hesitation, Twilight leaned in and comforted Fluttershy with a gentle hug, which she was pleased to see Fluttershy return. Not even an hour ago, this very same pony had despised her with every fiber of her being.

"T...thank you for showing me that, Twilight." Fluttershy sniffled. "I guess even I can forget sometimes what kindness really means."

"Considering what you've been through, I don't blame you in the slightest." Twilight said, giving Fluttershy a forced smile. "Can I get you anything? Food, maybe?"

Fluttershy nodded frantically, which Twilight had been expecting. Considering her frail, almost skeletal appearance, Twilight was slightly amazed at how she had been able to evade the guards and make it to the library. Her guess was that she had been fed the absolute minimum amount of food to keep her alive, something which disturbed Twilight to no extent.

Well past midnight, judging from the square clock on the library wall, Twilight was busily sifting through the gathered books on her surprisingly familiar shelves while Fluttershy was laying in what was most likely Twilight's own bed, trying to fall asleep and failing miserably. Endlessly switching positions in the large bed, Fluttershy let out a defeated sigh and stepped back onto the floor, her eager eyes examining Twilight as she lifted one of the books from the shelf to look at it's cover.

Seeing her out of the corner of her eye, Twilight was about to question her about why she was in Ponyville, but Fluttershy spoke first.

"Umm, Twilight...I know you're not the one who took them, but...would you happen to know what the guards did with my stuff when they captured me?"

"I wouldn't really be able to tell you." Twilight said, shrugging. "It's probably back at that prison, but you can look around here if you want."

Nodding, Fluttershy turned and left the room. Twilight heard her searching upstairs for several minutes while she resumed her own hunt for a decent, descriptive history book. She was utterly shocked to find that none of this Equestria's history was documented, and even more shocked that nopony seemed to have a problem with it.

"Yes!" A gleeful shout came from upstairs, Twilight instinctively flinching in fear, before facehoofing at how tense she was where Fluttershy had frightened her.

In seconds, the yellow mare herself was standing at the foot of the stairs. Twilight gawked at the sight of her timid friend wearing a silver metallic helmet and four matching boots. A light looking flanchard was also resting on her back, with two holes cut in the sides, which had obviously been intended for Fluttershy's wings. The armor was a simple affair, quite obviously crafted from the remains of some long forgotten metal structure. Despite this, it did not look crude at all, and had an almost...Rarity-esque flair to it.

"Woah." Twilight chuckled. "I never would've taken you for the armor wearing type..."

Fluttershy laughed sheepishly and shrugged.

"Well, it seems a bit excessive to me, too. It's really Rainbow's idea. But, it's done it's job, and after I was almost shot out of the sky by a unicorn guard, I chose to not really question it too much."

"Right...I was going to ask you about them..." Twilight began, when a sudden knocking at her door interrupted her.

"It's the guards! Shoot, it must already be morning, and they still haven't found you yet! Fluttershy, go hide upstairs!" Twilight shrilled, and Fluttershy obeyed without a word and hurriedly ran up the stairs, as Twilight crossed the library to her door to greet the guards.

There were no guards on the other side of the door, but Twilight would have given anything for there to have been.

"Hello, my faithful student! How goes the evening?" Nightmare Moon asked, stepping into the library.