private The Elements

[J.R. 3,179]

Ice unfortunately, had been out of it for a while. He had been reading his grandfather's journal most of the time, trying to understand what his relatives would do in a situation like this. He had caught up with the group, but hadn't really heard much of what was going on. He needed to ask what was happening, but didn't want to feel stupid for it. What to do?

[Randimaxis 8,590]

"This cannot be good... please, I know it sounds like a lot, but I have to ask you all if you can help me put a stop to whatever's going on here - before it becomes too late to do anything at all!  Please, we must hurry!"

 

Luna turned and began to run down the street, her coattails flapping in the wind as she ran like a bat-pony out of Tartarus.  The group supposedly in tow, she was headed to where she had seen the light come from, or at least it's rough vicinity.  Sure enough, the group eventually was right back at that creepy warehouse... except this time, there was smoke coming from the inside of it.  THICK smoke.

 

"This has GOT to be it!  Stand back; I'll get the door open, and then we'll have to see what we can do from there.  Hang on!"

 

Luna jogged back about twenty meters, then turned and ran full-tilt at the door.  Reaching it, she tilted her shoulder at it and slammed into it with all her might.

 

The door didn't budge; Luna literally bounced off it and hit the ground with a loud "OOF!"

 

She sat there a moment, then said, "... I might... need help.... getting the door... open... obviously..." as she rubbed her shoulder.

 

The only thing that was truly obvious at this moment was that they might lose any chance they had at figuring out what was happening if everything burned up in a fire.

[AmberDust 1,116]

Seeing the warehouse up in flames, Amber looked grimly at Lektra, then Starchase, and gulped.

 

"I can help you with the door, Princess," Amber offered. "Or, I can try, at least," she added sombrely. Hopefully turning into a human didn't take away my adventurer's strength, she thought to herself.

 

Lining up next to Luna, Amber scuffed the ground with her foot a few times, then stopped, realizing it didn't have quite the same effect it did back when she was equine. She grinned bashfully, before straightening herself out.

 

"On three," she said.

"One...two...THREE!"

[Randimaxis 8,590]

>WHUMP!<

 

The two of them bounced off it without so much as a wiggle from the frame.  The door wouldn't budge.  Luna looked at the doorway, then looked back to Amber.

 

"Again!"

 

Once more, she lined herself up and prepared to charge it; she was beginning to look a bit rumpled, as her hair was now out of place, and her clothes were becoming disheveled.  Yet still, she was determined to get inside... while there still WAS an inside, that is...

 

"One... two... THREE!"

[Lektra Bolt 2,318]

The door was opened from the inside in a timely manner and they went flying forward. I was about to laugh when I saw who had opened it. I did.

 

"What?" We both spoke at the same time and did the same exact motions, except it wasn't flipped like in a mirror. Clearly the tools were arranged differently and not like a reflection. A reflection would have my left tools on my left side while looking at it. Was it a trick?

 

"Is this a trick?" We both spoke again trying to do various motions and doing the exact same motions. Bending down, waving arms, stomping shoes, and funny faces. All the same, at the same time.

 

"If this is a trick your mirror is broken because it flips everything again." We did a couple of different motions again, repeating a similar pattern.

 

"What's that?" Finally no echo as my reflection spoke in the other side of the mirror. Was it a mirror? No, couldn't be. She was pointing to Sparky who was in the outside part of the doorway.

 

"That's Sparky. I built him." I spoke, again without an echo. Then we both straightened our goggles looking at each other.

 

"Based on that fact, I conclude this isn't a mirror." We spoke together again and reached out for each other at the same time. "Your hoof (hand) is solid." We spoke to each other.

 

"What's a hand (hoof)?" Ok now we weren't speaking the same words at the same time.

 

"This." We spoke together as I waved my right hoof as she waved what I presumed to be her right hand.

 

"Stop that." Speaking together.

 

"No you stop it." Still together.

 

"Ok seriously stop it." Slower this time as we breathed. My heart was racing.

 

I took this opportunity to go through the doorway, proving to both of us it wasn't a mirror. Finally I spoke. Just me. "Obviously we're each other. We're too alike. We must take turns or we'll never get anywhere. Agreed?"

 

"Agreed. Now explain how this is possible." The other me said as she looked over Sparky who was really confused as well. Who was his creator?

 

"I'm you from a parallel world." I finally explained, speaking normally to myself like I was speaking to an old friend.

 

"That would explain it." We held 'hands' again. It was a shake the other me initiated, probably a greeting of some sort. Sparky tugged on our labcoats and we both looked down at him.

 

"What?! Can't you see I'm talking to myself?!" We yelled at him in unison and giggled. He was pointing to where the fire was coming from. A huge stack of papers was on fire. Why it hadn't burned down yet I had no idea.

 

"Maybe because that whole exchange took less than 30 seconds?" The other me spoke, as if having the same thoughts. Creepy. We looked at each other and giggled again as Sparky tugged on our labcoats again.

 

"Alright alright, Sparky initiate disinfectant spray. It should put out the fire, though the papers on top might be a bit soggy." Sparky did as he was told and put out the fire. It was the same disinfectant I'd had him use when I dueled Caliber.

 

"Let's look around while we can, everyone. That creepy Gideon might come back, and he probably won't be happy we broke in." I turned to the other me. "And you should probably explain how you got in here."

 

"I was actually in here already investigating the flash, when the door locked itself behind me. I had just gotten it open with my tools when you all showed up." The other me explained as we both moved to bend over a large blueprint on a nearby table. Interesting.

 

Something in her lab coat pockets was hitting against her thighs as she walked. Two somethings.

Edited January 27, 2016 by bronislav84

[AmberDust 1,116]

Adjusting her dishevelled braid, Amber cast a sideways glance at Luna as the two Lektras conversed. 

"And here I thought this situation couldn't get any weirder," she whispered, and managed a small chuckle. It certainly was strange, almost off-putting, but she couldn't help but be curious about her own doppelganger...and if she was involved in this too, somehow. Probably not, Amber sighed. And it was for the best. This crazy mission had compromised too many lives already, she thought. Still...

 

Amber shook the dust out of her hair, dismissing her previous thought. They were on a mission, and she needed to stay focused.

"So, what is it we're looking for?" Amber asked, peering through the flames but not daring to enter. 

[J.R. 3,179]

Ice walked up alongside Amber. He looked up and then saw two Lektras?! This was getting ridiculous. He was so lost, that he did not know where to begin to start asking questions. Instead, Ice just kept quiet, hoping the situation would somehow resolve itself.

[LordSwinton 759]

"Are you alright, Amber?" Starchase asked as he saw her straighten herself out. He would have helped if his head didn't feel like a ticking atom bomb. Still he felt somewhat ashamed he let two ladies do all the hard work. "Sorry about that..." he laughed nervously. What would they think of him now?! He silently swore to make up for it the next time.

 

"Find anything useful, Lektra? Lektras?" He giggled as he stepped around pieces of cudely bent metals. Thank Celestia he had these shoes on his human hooves or they might have gotten cut into meaty shredded stumps. He poked around some ashy remains but didn't find anything of interest. I wonder what my double is doing in this world, he thought to himself as he lightly kicked around.

[AmberDust 1,116]

"Are you alright, Amber?" Starchase asked as he saw her straighten herself out.

 

"I'm 'alright' as I can be," Amber said, shielding her face from the smoke and squinting painfully as it made its way into her eyes. She coughed violently, taking a half-step back. Tears blurred her vision, and she was trying to decide whether or not to continue. The smoke seemed to be affecting her more than it was her comrades, although she didn't say anything on the matter. She turned her attention back to Starchase's question.

"I was just wondering about my doppel--" Amber paused as another fit of coughs interrupted her.

"--About my doppelganger," she wheezed, gripping at her throat. She hoped desperately that they'd find what they were looking for soon, and get out of this oven.

 

 

 

"I was just wondering about my doppel--is this really a good idea?" her thought was interrupted by a tongue of flame as it flashed in front of her. Amber grabbed her braid fearfully and took another step backwards towards the door, sweat beading on her forehead.

"Maybe we should do something about this fire before anyone gets hurt," she said fearfully. She could deal with dark caves, forests, and tunnels, fine, but fire was a whole other story. She wrung her braid nervously as her comrades searched through this ticking-timebomb of a building.

 

Edited February 7, 2016 by AmberDust

[J.R. 3,179]

Ice walked up to Amber, "Jeez it's smoky as Tartarus in here."

 

He looked around, "Hm...well it's a good thing the fire is gone. Couldn't smell anything past the smoke." He coughed a few times before looking around some more, "...so what exactly are we looking for guys?

Edited February 7, 2016 by J.R.

[Lektra Bolt 2,318]

"Lektra is fine sir. Lektras is also fine." I realized the other me wasn't acquainted with the others. Uh, that would have to come sometime when we weren't in enemy territory.

 

To answer Starchase's question I picked up the large blueprint and the two of us started looking over it. "Well, there's this." I showed it to the others, not actually expecting them to understand anything. I motioned Sparky to take a scan, though I wasn't actually getting the data by our magic link. This was getting irritating, whatever it was. The data he got would still be useful once I was able to receive it, as late as it would be.

 

The two of us started talking math, physics, and science for about 20 minutes, rotating the blueprint and pointing to parts of it. Finally we both gasped and hushed. "This is........ We've checked, double checked, and triple checked the data. This is the blueprint for Gideon's Dimensional Transporter. His mirror basically." I looked over to the other me.

 

"The only thing that's inconclusive is how he powers it." She said as she put a hand -I had trouble thinking that- to her chin.

 

"Magic? No. It couldn't be. When my magic worked, even being severely weakened here, I couldn't sense similar from him. He's not a Unicorn, and wouldn't be one if he crossed into Equestria." I turned to the others and gasped. "You guys don't think?" I was wondering if they'd come to the same conclusion as I did: He might have found a way of draining the essence of the beings here to power this, and the magic of those from Equestria.

 

"Unicorn? Is that what you are? Remind me to pick your brain when we have time, if we have time." My doppelganger was more concerned with figuring things out about me than how Gideon's machine was powered, but I was sure she had come to a similar conclusion.

 

I nodded to her, but otherwise didn't waver from the others. I did however take the time to fold up the blueprint and stick it in a pocket in my labcoat while I waited.

Edited February 18, 2016 by bronislav84

[LordSwinton 759]

"Well I think he used us for his one way ticket to Equestria," Starchase was rather not amused to say the least. Of all things their magic could have went to, it got into the hands of a megalomaniac. "Lektra, we're all unicorns, though I'm not sure about Ice Blizzard. Anyways, can you figure out a way to get us home?"

 

"Are you a unicorn? Ice powers and all?" He turned to ask Ice Blizzard. It seems like a trivial question best asked when the world was not at stake but he was curious, never having seen him in his Equestrian form. "Pegasus maybe?"

Edited February 28, 2016 by Swinton

[LordSwinton 759]

People had began to gather outside the place after witnessing the beam of light. Chattering grew outside the remains of the burnt residence.

 

"I think we better go," Starchase groaned as he saw the crowd outside increasing by the second. "We don't want to be caught again. Like last time." He shuddered thinking of their brief time in the detaining cell. They fled through the newly created 'back door' of the house.

[Lektra Bolt 2,318]

"You forgot this one." My doppelhanger took another pertinent blueprint and stuck it in her labcoat the same way as me. Something in her pockets was hitting against her thighs. Something heavy, but she didn't mind it at all. Seriously what was that?

 

I heard a creak and a groan. Familiar metallic groan. Weak support beams? No time to react. It was above me and coming down fast, but it just stopped and floated in midair. "What. The. Buck." I looked up at the metal beam floating in the air, milliseconds from crushing me.

 

"Would you get out of the way? This is heavy." I heard the voice of the native me. There was struggling in her voice. Even as I complied and moved out of the way to let the beam drop, I turned to look at her.

 

Native Lektra was wearing a pair of gloves. Metal gloves. Metal gloves with open fingers. They were otherwise ordinary looking except for my CM on the back of the hands. "What?"

 

"You think you're the only one who metalbends? Hah." She laughed the two of us and Sparky finally followed the others out.

 

"Well, yes. No, of course not. You're me and I'm ingenious so you'd have a way to do what I do." I looked over the gloves she had slipped on at some point. Guess that explained what was hitting against her thighs before when we met. "Huh. Magnetism or something else?"

 

"Yes, it's magnetic with a neural interface built in. It's only a prototype right now." She explained this as she slipped the gloves off and we headed to join the others, doubtful they'd seen my doppelganger had just saved my life.

 

"I owe you one."

 

"Don't mention it. You'd have done the same."

 

"Of course I would. You already did it."

 

We both laughed and hugged, then the other me turned to my friends. "We need to get these blueprints to my lab at the school so I can analyze them, but there's two of me now and there's no way she and I can be seen in the same place........"

[AmberDust 1,116]

Amber followed the others out of the ex-building.
"So, what can we do now? Our ticket out has disappeared, and we're completely magic-less." She clenched her fists, but they only sparked once or twice before fizzling out.

"Is there any other way to get back to Equestria?" she asked hopefully. "Or at least a way to get our magic back...?"

[J.R. 3,179]

Ice sighed. He had remained quiet up until this point, seeing as how he didn't understand what, when, where, or why they had come here in the first place. Unfortunately, he still didn't know what to do, and simply decided to ask. ​"Great. Just great. So what do we do now?"

[LordSwinton 759]

"First thing's first, we should get Lektra and Lektra into the school," Starchase stumped his hoof into the grass of whoever's backyard they trespassed into. The 'No Trespassers' sign hung by a wooden post was ignored. No trespassers, he read the sign and rolled his ears. It wouldn't be the worse crime they've committed here. "We could split up and each take the front door and the back door. Any objections?"

[AmberDust 1,116]

"Splitting up sounds good to me. If anypo---if anyone sees two Lektras at once, it might bring us more unwanted attention." Amber thought back to the dank jail cell and shivered.

"Starchase, Our Lektra, you come with me through the back. None of us know much about this place, so it's best we stay out of sight as much as possible. Ice, Native Lektra, you take the front." Amber paused for a moment and put a hand on her chin.

"Maybe Luna should come with us, too...and if anypo--if anybody asks, you found him" --She gestured to Ice-- "...skipping class, or something. Does that sound good?" she turned to Star for support.

"And then we all meet up in Lektra's office, right?"

Edited May 17, 2016 by AmberDust

[LordSwinton 759]

"Hm, not quite," Starchase scanned the group droopily, slowly spotting the imbalance in numbers and advantages. "How bout this: The princess can go ahead to scout out and eliminate possible threats, or come with me and native Lektra. The rest, Amber, Lektra and Ice go separately. 

[LordSwinton 759]

"Duh, guys, I need an answer," Starchase impatiently huffed, whining softly and tracing circles in the ground with his human hoof. "Also, we'll need to pass by the library to get to the lab, how can we have Lektra pass through twice? People might notice. We need to look...normal."

[J.R. 3,179]

Ice had already figured out a solution to all of this. While everyone else was doing their own thing, Ice had made his way around the back of the school, and snuck around, and found a back door towards the janitor's closet that led to an alley near a garbage can. There, he called out to everyone. ​"Eh! Over here, I found a way to the lab."

[AmberDust 1,116]

"--Or, I guess that works, too?" Amber gave a halfhearted grin. She would have normally been upset about this recklessness, but at this point she was just glad to be getting away from the blast site. That place gave her the creeps

"Nice job, Ice. Can we get to your office from there, Lektra?" she looked to the young teacher hopefully. Trekking through the alleys wasn't her cup of tea, but it was better than being caught--probably.

[Lektra Bolt 2,318]

We exited the janitor's closet a couple doors down from the local Lektra's office. "Hmm not bad. Why didn't I know about this? I could have been using it all this time and avoiding the crowds. It might be locked at least some of the time though." She remarked as she made a metal note of this closet. "Come along." Understanding the layout of the school and where she actually was she motioned us to come follow her.......into a rather mundane and ordinary classroom.

 

"Oh sorry, don't mind this. I gotta teach, you know." She unlocked the door to her office past the teacher's front desk, and we were met with what I expected for a lab of ours. Mechanisms, boards with equations, scrap laying on the floor, burned out wires, and nonsensical items that were pieces of failed experiments. She headed over to her materials closet.

 

"I believe I know how to get you lot home even with the portal closed. With the blueprints for the larger one, I can make a portable Portal Generator. I would just need some missing materials.." Local Lektra made a list and gave to others except me.

 

"Find me these materials please. Common antifreeze to keep the machine from getting too warm, a C1S CPU chip from one of the latest smartphones, and a chicken sandwich cause I'm hungry." She then turned to me, shooing them away for now. "Meanwhile you and me will work on everything else, alright?"

 

"Sorry guys." I nodded as we sat down at the work desk, Sparky occasionally passing us parts we asked for.

 

I turned to my local counterpart as we were soldering parts together. "Wait, chicken sandwich? You eat meat?"

 

She looked up, raising an eyebrow. "You don't?"

 

"We're vegetarians......" I passed her the part I was working on.

 

"Pfft, ponies." I frowned at her. "I really must ask you how that works if we have some time later." She said this as we both went back to work.

Edited August 10, 2016 by bronislav84

[LordSwinton 759]

Antifreeze, CPU, smartphone... words that completely flew over his head, the migraine didn't help either. What in Celestia's name are those things?! 

 

"I can go get the sandwich!" He dimly piped up before realizing he was broke. For the first time in his life, he didn't have a single bit in his pocket. Goes to show there's firsts for everything. "But um, anybody got some bits? Or any sort of medium of exchange used here?" He asked sheepishly, hands in his empty pockets and head tilted low.

[J.R. 3,179]

Ice had no idea what these were either. Besides the CPU, he had seen that in Arcade game systems before, so that's what his target was going to be. "I'll try and find the CPU. And guys, make sure you lay low. We don't wanna attract any unnecessary attention, ya know?"