“I really don't think all of this is necessary,” Nyx said as she set down a mountain of suitcases by the side of the main hall. Princess Twilight looked up from her conversation with her doppelganger and gave a frown.
“Of course we do, you never know what we might need. Who knows what those other worlds might be like? What if another version of Equestria was an arid desert? What then, missy?” She looked over at the pile of suitcases, which even towered over Celestia. “Well, maybe we don't need everything,” she said sheepishly.
The other Twilight smirked, then went over their checklist for the twelfth time. It ran over their plan for inter-reality travel, how to find their other selves, and how to convince them to help, all in excruciating detail. After every step and sub-step being considered, the list itself flowed to the floor and nearly reached the main doors when rolled out.
Clockwork stood off to the side, idly watching the mother and daughter sort through their luggage. It didn't think any of it was necessary, really. But then again, nothing was really necessary to it. It didn't eat, or breathe, or even sleep. Occasionally it would spend an hour or so a night winding all of its internal springs that were used for convenience, but it could do without that if it needed to. Not that it ever did.
“Bit for your thoughts?” Other-Twilight had finished going over the list and had joined the automaton in watching Twilight and Nyx go through their things.
“I'm waiting for them to finish so that we can get going. The Black Tide must be in many other worlds by now. The sooner we find the other Twilights the sooner we can find a way to stop it.” It turned a glassy eye toward her. “We can stop the same thing from happening to other worlds that happened to yours.”
Other-Twilight frowned and sighed. “I really hope so. I just hope my friends are still alright. Maybe if we work fast enough I can find my way back home and save my world too.”
“Maybe.” Clockwork turned back to the pair of alicorns, who seemed to have finished sorting and were walking over to them carrying two large suitcases in their magic.
“We just decided to bring some jackets, food and water. That should be enough, and anything else we might need we can just get in the other worlds,” Nyx said, setting down her suitcase down beside Clockwork.
The princesses and the rest of Twilight's friends approached from the main doors, and everypony gave the adventurers their farewells and well-wishes. There was even some whining from Spike, who had insisted on going and meeting his other selves as well.
“How come Nyx gets to go but I can't?” He pouted, crossing his arms across his chest.
“Because Nyx can look after herself. And she could add some of her own insight to these meetings.”
“I can look after myself! I even made my own breakfast!” Spike whined.
“You made a bowl of cereal,” Nyx giggled behind a hoof. Spike kept pouting, and went to stand beside Celestia.
After a few more hugs, the two Twilight Sparkles, Nyx, and Clockwork stood before the doors to the hall, their friends watching on. With a spark of magic from its horn, the amethyst brooch began to glow brightly, the light intensifying until everypony else had to look away. Suddenly, a loud sound began to fill the air, a sharp tone like when one strikes a tuning fork. As the volume increased, a hole began to appear in the space in front of the door, a grove of trees visible on the other side. Clockwork strode through as soon as the doorway opened, Nyx following soon after. The two Twilights looked at each other and nodded, the alicorn giving a last look at her friends before going through with her doppelganger. A few moments later, the doorway faded, and all was silent.
The other-worldly travelers took their first steps in the alien-yet-familiar world. They had appeared in the middle of a dense forest, its trees enormous and ancient. All the ponies suddenly became tense as they observed their surroundings, and by unspoken agreement they decided that they had arrived in the middle of the Everfree Forest. Having no point of reference, they chose a random direction and started walking, hoping that they would soon emerge from the forest. From there, they would be able to go around the forest and find their way to Ponyville.
Everypony was on edge as they wandered through the dark forest, looking out for the various dangers that called the place home. It was disturbingly quiet, as if the entire forest was holding its breath. Sometimes they would see a set of eyes peering at them from the branches of the trees, but when they turned to get a better look they were gone. Unnerved by the eerie silence, they picked up the pace and starting moving at a quick trot.
Clockwork suddenly spoke up. “I can see a light between the trees. We must be getting close to the edge.” Encouraged by the news, they sped up a bit more until they emerged from the dark forest, finding themselves in front of a giant wall. The sun was beginning to set, and its light cast a deep shadow under the wall, and outlined a few ponies that were walking along the top of the wall. They walked along the wall until they came upon a massive gate with guards on either side.
Ducking behind some bushes, Princess Twilight whipped up an illusion spell that would create disguises for each of them. They even had created fake identities for each of them should they meet somepony. Looking over their disguises and quickly going over the stories that they practiced, they stepped out from behind the bushes and walked up to the gate. The guards were unicorns, both wearing long purple vests emblazoned with a red six-pointed star on the front. One of the guards held up a hoof at the approaching group, keeping them from coming any closer.
“Halt. State your names and business here,” the guard said with a stern voice, his eyes inspecting each pony with intense scrutiny.
Princess Twilight spoke up first. She had disguised herself as a green unicorn with a golden sphere cutie mark. She told her story quickly, having spent the entire time packing going over it. “My name is Aurum, and I'm traveling with my friends to try to find the Palace of the Royal Pony Sisters. We wanted to look for the lost scrolls that were said to be kept in its library. We got a bit lost in the forest you see, and we found our way here. We'd like to get back home to Ponyville, but we have no idea where we are. Can you help us?” She flashed a nervous smile, trying to stay calm.
The guard's serious expression suddenly became suspicious, and he looked over the group of ponies again. “This is Starfall, Capitol of the Evening Kingdom, ruled by Lady Everstar. You should know better than to try to enter the Forest without a professional forest ranger. Of course, you who are from the Celestial Kingdom wouldn't know any better.” He moved over to Nyx, who was disguised as a yellow pegasus. He lifted the saddlebags from her back and started sifting through the contents with his magic before she pulled it back towards her.
“Excuse me, but what are you doing?” Nyx said, startled by the guard's forwardness. “If you needed to inspect our things you could have asked first.” She then opened the bags and pulled things out one by one as the guard watched, and who would sometimes wave his horn across a few of the items. After putting everything back in the bags, the guard nodded and went over to the gate, flipping a switch inside the guardhouse that opened it just wide enough to let them through.
“Ponyville is a whole day's travel if you walk around the edge of the forest. You can stay in one of the guest houses tonight.” He pulled out a map of the city and drew a circle around one of the buildings. “This is one of the cheapest in the city, and it's closer to the gates. It's called the Yellow Feather Inn, shouldn't be too hard to find.” He waved the group through before going back into the guardhouse and shutting the gates.
Looking over the map, Twilight led the group toward the guest house. Despite the fact that the sun had now set, ponies were still out in large numbers, doing regular business. Some shops were even beginning to open, regular business hours for some reason beginning in the evening. As they passed a group of ponies in front of a dress shop, they noticed that each one of them didn't have a cutie mark. This was the same for the majority of ponies that they came across, with a few exceptions. Eventually the group arrived at the guest house, a surprisingly large home that could have been easily mistaken for a mansion. On a large sign above the door was a painting of a single yellow feather, along with the words “Yellow Feather Inn” written in large, ornate pink letters. Knocking on the door, they only had to wait a few moments before a blue earth pony came to the door.
“Hello, my name is Foster, and welcome to the Yellow Feather Inn! Come in, come in, make yourselves comfortable.” The blue mare stepped aside, revealing a large lobby big enough to fit an elephant comfortably. Despite the spaciousness, it still felt cozy, the walls covered in paintings, pictures, and tapestries. Foster approached Twilight, giving a warm smile that felt strangely familiar. “Well, it's not too often we get guests from the Celestial Kingdom,” she said, picking a log book off of a small desk by the door. “Four guests, staying for how long?”
“Uh, just for the night,” Princess Twilight said. “We're going to be leaving for Ponyville in the morning.”
“Ponyville? That's a bit of a ways from here,” Foster said, passing the log book around for everypony to sign. “What kind of business do you have there?”
“We're trying to find someone,” Nyx said. Princess Twilight shot a look at her daughter, who merely looked back at her. “Come on, it's not like it'll hurt to tell her. And we need to be sure she'll be there in the first place. If she's as well known here as back home, then most ponies would know about her.” Turning back to Foster, Nyx smiled. “We're just looking for somepony named Twilight Sparkle. We're pretty sure she lives in Ponyville.”
The blue mare smiled and shook her head. “No dear, she does not. She actually lives in this very city. Most ponies don't know her as Twilight Sparkle though, only those who are closer to her than most. To the common pony of Starfall, and of the Evening Kingdom, she is Lady Everstar.” The other ponies gave various looks of surprise, but quickly composed themselves.
“You mean to say that Twilight is the ruler of this 'Evening Kingdom'? Was this land given to her by Princess Celestia when she became a princess?” Nyx said, shaking her head in disbelief.
Foster frowned slightly at this, ringing a bell that summoned a pony in a maroon uniform that carried their bags upstairs. “You don't pay attention well in history class, I take it? Well, let me help you. Over 250 years ago, Twilight Sparkle started a rebellion against Princess Celestia, and seceded from the Celestial Kingdom. After several years of conflict, Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence created a truce that ended the war and allowed Twilight Sparkle to live in peace. Over many decades the kingdom formed by Twilight grew into the prosperous demesne that it is today, thanks to the various treaties formed between this kingdom and the Gryphon and Lunar lands.”
Nyx shifted nervously. “Well, I never really liked history...” She looked around the room, searching for something that would change the subject. She came upon a faded photograph of an old pegasus surrounded by several other ponies. The color had mostly faded from the photo, but despite that she could tell the pegasus had been yellow with a pink mane. Many of the ponies looked similar to each other, suggesting that this was a family photo. When she peered closer, she could make out the pegasus' cutie mark, a trio of butterflies. She muffled a gasp, but was still noticed by the two Twilights, who had also showed shock upon recognition.
“250 years ago, you said?” Other-Twilight said, turning to Foster.
The innkeeper nodded. “We actually celebrated the 250th anniversary of the founding a couple months ago. Lady Everstar even gave a speech, it was wonderful.” She smiled and looked at the clock hanging on the wall behind the desk. “Well, it's getting late and you folks must be tired. Your rooms are on the third floor, last two rooms on the right. If you need anything I'll be right here.” She shooed the group upstairs, leaving them to find their rooms. They checked their rooms and met in Princess Twilight's room.
After locking and soundproofing the room, they dispelled their disguises. “This world is so different,” Nyx said, frowning. “Most of these ponies don't even have cutie marks. Did they never find their special talent? Or maybe they're just hiding them, like some new trend.”
“I agree, it is all very peculiar,” Clockwork said, turning toward the window. “Not only that, but this world seems far ahead in the amount of time that passed. This Twilight Sparkle is apparently over 250 years old, suggesting that time flows at different rates among each world.” It looked out over the street at the ponies walking past the inn. “Curious...” At that, it stood in corner and stayed still as a statue.