//------------------------------// // Chapter 0 // Story: The Pale Tower // by Accurate Balance //------------------------------// Somewhere below, she was running. Down the poorly lit corridor of stones, Dash sprinted for her life into the bottomless maw. Her eyes, barely accustomed to the surrounding darkness, could only make out the vague turns and angles in proximity, but not the colour of the cave she found herself in. Unless, of course, you count black as a colour. She didn’t know where she was headed, nor what she was fleeing. Aside from her underdeveloped wing muscles squeezing what little strength they had into her getaway, the only thing she felt was the sticky atmosphere, filled with invisible, intangible anxiety. It seemed to drag down on her mane and tail, trying to pull her back. There wasn’t any sound, not even the clip-clop of her hooves on the firm floor. Wondering, Dash dared a glimpse behind herself. What was behind her was worse than the familiar darkness ahead; it was nothing, absolute void, where her gasping for air was not echoed. It might as well have been the abyss. In the disheartening reign of silence, Dash put all she had into her hooves. The path below her hooves was paved with a mixture of bricks and stones. It was level, but just as coarse, to the point where each step was a teeth-gritting scratch on the frog of her hooves. From the dominating emptiness came a chime of a clocktower, barely distinguishable. A sliver of light sipped from the depth of Dash’s confinement. She forced her legs to go even faster, despite weariness invading every inch of her limbs. She couldn’t stop now, not when she had finally found a symbol of hope. Her breaths sped up, her hooves felt shattered, her joints screamed, and she could taste blood in her mouth. The light was expanding, as the chime she heard turned clearer, faster, and higher in pitch, almost like a set of tiny bells. Dash embraced the light. Then she opened her eyes to find the sun shining on her sweat-stained face. Oh, she had woken up. 　 Chapter 0 　 　AM 8:59, Sunday, Week 138 　South Accord District, Timefold, Worldline O1-02 　 A quick shower and a metro ride later, Fuse stepped out of Polytechnic station. She looked up at the clocktower that stood in the centre of the city, where giant hands were moving without ever a break to keep track of the passage of time. Right now, the minute hand was pointed upwards, off by just a hair. So, one minute to nine, the pegasus guessed as she squinted her magenta eyes to make out the faraway minute marks. Time above all — a saying as metaphorical as it was physical here in Timefold, but the thing about the city’s residents is that they also know how to enjoy wasting time. The spring was just arriving and the air in the morning was still chill, perfect for winged creatures to frolic while those who preferred a leisure walk could enjoy exactly that. By the Pale Tower’s Standard Calendar, it was Sunday, so most ponies she came across were on break. The city gave off an energy of relaxation, warming up Fuse from within. A deep ring of the giant clocktower bell unfolded itself in the air, carving the passing of another hour into the world. So I was right. Fuse’s eyes wandered back onto the clock face above, foalish smugness topping her up. Fuse, however, had no time for any of those. Fuse. She still hadn’t gotten used to calling herself that, as she was known as Dash in her world. At birth, Rainbow Dash was gifted a pair of deformed wings. They were so weak and useless that even Dash herself frequently referred to them as “chicken wings”. It might have been to protect Dash from weird looks, or maybe it had been their own weird looks, either way, the two pegasi that Dash was born to decided to leave her at an apple farm in a tiny town below Cloudsdale and then disappeared. Dash was only 37 hours and 50 minutes old, she would have died if not for the Apples. Rainbow Dash-Apple grew up in Ponyville, protected by Big Mac, rivalled by Applejack, and respected by Apple Bloom. She had never visited Cloudsdale in her life, so the first time she saw anypony actually good at flying was when the Wonderbolts held their performance in Ponyville. Even now, she recalled that she had been riding on her brother’s back and looking up at the sky. Smoke and thunder claimed the dome as agile figures in blue spandex danced dangerously, a dexterous display by the daredevils that determined Dash’s destiny. She dreamt of flying by the top flyers in Equestria, as freely as the world had ever seen. But she could never fly on her own. After one hundred and fifty-three leaps from an apple tree and finally breaking both of her forelegs, Dash learnt it the hard way. She turned her eyes to outside aids. All the bits she had saved, plus a bonus from carrying Rarity’s saddlebag for a month, were spent on a box of spare parts. Putting those together with scraps she found around the farm, her calling to the sky, and lots of grease spots on her coat, the rainbow-maned filly managed to build the first wearable flight engine in Equestria. The day of the test flight was 180 days after her first encounter with the Wonderbolts, and the results said it wouldn’t be her last. The flow of fate was changed in one day: Dash was a flightless pegasus, but she was the only pony alive to perform a Sonic Rainboom, too. The miracle wasn’t without a price, though. Lightning MkI, her beloved creation of applewood, metal, gemstones, and passions, exploded into fume and garbage two seconds after landing. The story soon caught the wind. Discharged from hospital, Dash was sent directly to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns as an auditor in Practical Enchantment. She enjoyed her school days with all eyes on her and replied with world-changing utility of her talents: She ameliorated the steam engine, not long before inventing thaumaturgical motor. Not only did she open up the sky for all ponies, but she also reduced the journey time between Manehattan and Canterlot from 35 hours to 9 hours. She never became a member of the Wonderbolts, but she was invited to fly with them on her eighteenth birthday. The sunset was magnificent in Canterlot that day, and Spitfire and Wind Rider being her wing ponies made it the best day of her life. Then came what the timeline experts dubbed the “anchor event” of her life: Visiting her family, she ran into a lavender unicorn, and the sun didn’t come up the next day. Nightmare Moon, Queen Chrysalis, Discord, King Sombra, then Queen Chrysalis again. Dash and her friends became the heroines of Equestria. One day, a squad of ponies arrived from beyond the universe. Her world became Worldline T1-34 and her Equestria, an ally to the Pale Tower. Dash was the first to submit her registration at the Pale Tower. She promised her family that she would come back just as always. She told her friends to pursue the sky unique to each of them. She left the disowned, broken, and sensitive pegasus filly to seek new adventures in Fuse’s life. Fuse. She’s Fuse now. She was so entranced in the turning of the seconds that she stopped in her track until a familiar voice broke her out. “Hey, Fuse, you alright?” Fuse turned her eyes from the clock to the spectrum of mane and cyan horn in front of her. “P- Prism? Good morning.” “Yeah, yeah, a good morning that will be gone if you stand here any longer. You don’t want to be late for your first mission on Theta-Fourteen, now do you?” The unicorn raised her eyebrows, smirking teasingly at Fuse, an expression Fuse was very familiar with. Usually, though, it was on her face, not anypony else. “Well, I…” Fuse averted Prism’s gaze awkwardly. Instinctively, she meant to spread the wings that were on her back but cut herself out before take-off. She let out a sigh and resumed trudging to her destination. Prism chased up to Fuse’s side, her smirk turning into a smile. “Nah, just messing with you. Should look at your own face.” She gave a snicker, winking. “No worries, though. We all had a phase when we moved to Timefold, to under the Pale Tower. You’ll get used to the daze real quick.” Her horn lit up to pull a bottle from her saddleback and float it in front of Fuse. “Hey, try this. It’s a specialty from Worldline O-Nine-Twenty-nine that’ll kick you up. Can’t go into a mission looking down, right?” Fuse stared at the rippling off-green liquid, wide-eyed. “Minty tea? I’ll pass. Mints are too strong for me.” She shook her head thankfully. “Seeing you should have driven the point home in my head; technically you’re me, but you are a unicorn. That should keep me up for a decade or two…” “It’s Quartz Mint and it costs a wing, even with the Dots paying us an awesome allowance.” Prism tucked her tea back, adjusting her bag. “And talk about multiversal culture shocks!” She spared a glance at the Nexus Tower and picked up her pace. “I never knew I’m still ‘the one and only’ Archmage Prism Dynamite even when I visit the multiverse! Can you imagine that?” Fuse followed the unicorn, chuckling, her anxiety arrested by the light chat. “Of course we pegasi are more impressive than you flashy, show-offish unicorns!” A pearl white unicorn was passing by and gave Fuse looks of disapproval. “Yeah, yeah, you’re way more awesome than poor old me.” Fuse didn’t need to be a counterpart to hear the playful sarcasm in Prism’s words. “My horn’s only good for a dozen of gaudy magic tricks.” Up for a snarky fight? Two can play the game, I guess. Fuse felt the corners of her lips curling upwards. “Well said. Y’all are as soft as apple mushes, a baby pegasus can take ten in one fight.” “Does that include all copies of Fluttershy?” Prism raised a brow. “Ever tried picking on her critters?” “Fair. Have I introduced you to Doctor Loo, though? Orange coat, germophobic, cute as a citrine quartz?” “She’s an exception and you of all should know it!” Fuse shook her head frowning. “She’s more Fluttershy than Scootaloo and I wouldn’t be surprised if she were to treat an enemy on the battlefield. If a war breaks out, that is.” Prism pouted, her attention taken by the display the two just passed by. The volcanite staff seemed a great addition to her collection, but the price tag was all it took to dissuade her. “Excuse me? ‘An exception’? Doesn’t that disprove any hypothesis for good?” “Eeyup, one point to the royal archnerd,” Fuse replied in a sing-song tone. “Can the archnerd take it from me, though?” At that, her walk escalated into running, a breeze of rainbow in her wake. “It’s ‘archmage’, I’ll have you know!” Prism’s protest fell on deaf ears as Fuse raced forwards. She resigned and shook her head. Got to chase that girl down. The DoFC’s down this street. 　AM 9:12, Sunday, Week 138 　Department of First Contact, Timefold, Worldline O1-02 　 Fuse pushed her way in. “G- good morning, everyone.” She swallowed a lump down her throat and looked around at the ponies in the room. “Hope I’m not late for the mission.” Two alicorns of identically lavender fur turned from the console table to her. “Good morning… Fuse.” The one with glasses and wearing a navy jacket answered shortly before turning back to double-check everything on the finite differentiator, her blue eyes fixed on the screen. “You’re not late. Please take a seat.” “Morning.” The one with black straps over her torso and forelegs greeted, floating a kettle up. “Coffee?” “Not a habit, so nope. Thank you, though.” Fuse took a yellow cushion in the corner. She had met the members of First Contact Squad Theta-14 in the interview last Tuesday, but to sit among them as they — herself included — prepare to enter a new world, that’s overwhelmingly surreal for Fuse. The two Twilights were already a sign of what’s to come. Compared to the Twilight she was familiar with, Strategist Timelight was much too precautious, while Captain Crepusca appeared to be way more active. Behind her, Prism opened the door. Sweet aroma of caramel and foam filled the room. “Morning to all!” She took a glance over the room. “Where’s Kick-ass? Overslept?” “She’s gone to file a complaint on today’s security guy. Said ‘he was making a problem from nowhere’ or what, I wasn’t listening hard.” Timelight sighed. “Considering how often she forgets her I.D., eventually she will be blocked out. We told her the security team are getting out of their way to let her in, but she never listened.” Prism just shrugged at the comment, sneaking up on the orange pegasus in a trimmed white coat. “Morning to my angel in white.” She greeted the medic gently, pulling her into a hug. “What did we agree on the… public display?” A Scootaloo well in her twenties deadpanned, pushing at her forelegs. “Save it for after the mission, shall we?” “Okay, okay, Doctor Loo, Master Loo, Scholar Loo. I just thought you’d appreciate a hug after half a morning shift.” Prism smiled evilly and went to ruin Doctor’s manestyle. At her lover’s glares, she just looked away and whistled innocently. Watching the pair’s squabble, Crepusca smiled fondly. She seemed to be drinking the fuzziness in. After a while, she addressed her double. “Still, Kick-ass has been a reliable air force. That’s why we still cover up for her, isn’t it, Timelight?” Timelight rolled her eyes. “Not always. What if she makes one of those mistakes on a mission? That would undo everything.” She finished with a few taps and turned around. “Sorry for the delay, Fuse. Maybe take this time to go through your devices. I’ll open the portal as soon as Kick-ass is back and ready.” She took her glasses off to wipe at the lenses with magic. “I’m sorry this happens on your first mission with us. I’ll talk with Kick-ass after this.” In the opposite corner, a plum unicorn, whose horn was broken, had been reading a tome quietly. The mare had opened her mouth a few times during the conversation, but chosen not to speak up. She finally decided to interrupt, though. “With all due respect, Strategist Timelight and Captain Crepusca, may I have a word?” She kept her voice level and respectful, yet assertive enough to carry on without either acknowledging her. “From what I gather, Kick-ass isn’t complaining about the security at the gate, but the recruit at screening, who I believe goes under the codename ‘Firewall’. He demanded that Kick-ass take off her equipment for examining, leading to the quarrel.” Crepusca blinked. “In that case, Speaker, maybe —” “In that case, maybe he should reconsider the job!” The orange thundercloud barged in as the door slammed open. She stomped with every step, showing her anger. “He must know how hard it is to put on a flight suit, but he just had to ‘look through everything’, what the hay?!” She stood at the centre of the room, seeping of rampage and huffing through her teeth, before cursing loudly. “That mule!” A moment of silence, when no one was able to come up with anything to ease the shaking Wonderbolt of her rage. The only sounds to be heard were her hissing breaths and the droning of arcane circuits in the differentiator. “Please understand, Kick-ass,” Speaker began tersely, “that Firewall wasn’t being personal. He’s just new to the ropes and is learning.” “If he likes to feel like Prince Shining Armor that much, he should go back and try making Flurry a brother or sister —” “What’s wrong with you?” Doctor Loo pushed Prism aside and jumped up. “He was trying to be a good security, and what are you doing now?” “I’m —!” Kick-ass gave a flap of her agitated wings, before turning aside without another word. Fuse tried to start a different conversation. “Um, hello, Kick-ass,” said she slowly, “I’m —” “Fuse.” Kick-ass interrupted her intro. “We’ve met before. I know you and you know me, so cut to the chase. — Is this your stand-in for your wings?” She drew closer and gestured to the metallic wings and two pairs of jet engines on Fuse’s back. “Seems fine to me. How fast can they fly?” At the mention of her (currently) greatest invention, Fuse cracked a proud smile. “Falcon Mark Six, maximum flight rate at four point two Mach, subsonic endurance at twenty-four hours. The best thing about this generation is the dual recharge system, which I —” “Blah, blah, encabulatorialitivityness or what, I don’t care.” Kick-ass didn’t wait for her to finish. “As long as you fly, you’re good in my book. Who’s the Rainbow Dash here? First we got a mage, now here you are. How come both Dashes on this squad are lecturers like Twilights?” Fuse scowled inwardly. She could see that Timelight and Crepusca weren’t happy, either. Why does she have to be this rude? Is she like that to her own Rainbow Dash? I’m a mechanist, not a Wonderbolt, so how does it matter if I fly fast or not? She let out a heated snort. “Fine, I’ll know to cut my tech talks next time — when are we leaving, Timelight?” “Ready when you are.” Timelight spun her chair around, hit a few keys on the board, and picked up her headphones. “One last quick check, girls, and I’ll send you on the way.” Kick-ass pulled her goggles up and raced to the portal generator. “I’m always ready, unless somepony messes around.” Prism pulled her saddlebag tighter and inserted two shards of crystal in her fetlock-band. “Ready.” Doctor put on a facial mask and medical goggles before zipping up her bag. “Ready,” came her voice muffled by the mask. Crepusca opened her saddlebag to fish out a bright yellow bracelet. “Ready.” Speaker simply put away her book. “I’m ready.” Fuse felt her chest tightening and her hooves, numb, as she lined up. She took a deep breath, then flipped the engine starters with her tiny wings. The Thaumarcanal Fluctuation Compound Engine tapped into her wings’ intrinsic mana reserve, humming like a whisper. “Thank you for having me. I’m ready.” “Briefing’s up.” Timelight called up a file. “Foreign Worldline X-Forty-Seventy-seven. Connected on Friday, Week one-thirty-eight. Preliminary observation suggests equine civilisation. First contact mission tasked to FCS Theta-Fourteen. Risk assessment at moderate. Captain Crepusca?” “Yes,” replied Crepusca, looking ahead. “We’re not expecting dangers, but practise caution like always. The Brake Brace is available in case of emergency. Use it at your discretion.” “Understood.” Crepusca peeked at her right forehoof, where the bracelet in bright yellow lay. “And… Prism, Fuse, you will come back safely.” Fuse blinked in confusion. What did she mean? “Starting the portal in three —” The tall frame of portal generator glowed up. Fuse could hear a chime of clocktower from it. “Two —” Brighter and clearer were the light and sound. “One —” The device radiated a blinding white, streamers of all colours waltzing within. The chime came again and again. The next moment, with one last, strongest ring, the light went off into a translucent barrier between the room and a town, soundly asleep in the morning. The two fighters, Kick-ass and Prism, stepped through, followed by Doctor, then Crpusca and Speaker. The only two left were Fuse and Timelight. Fuse found her legs trembling in front of the looming portal; she was getting cold-hooves. The alicorn looked from the console. “Don’t go so hard on yourself.” Her voice was soothing as honey tea. “Everypony has a first time. You’ve got us on your team.” Fuse nodded slightly and took a second deep breath, closing her eyes. Then she hurried through.