I sat at my desk and turned the little mystery over and over in my hands. It was a small, rather unassuming thing, and initially I had mistaken it for one of my little toys that were scattered on the obsidian top of my desk. It wasn't until I had noticed it rocking slightly from side to side that I had picked it up. Nothing that looked like a rock had ever felt so warm before. The mystery felt like a rock in my hand, and when I tapped it gently with a fingernail, the sound reverberated and echoed within the violet thing.
"Don't drop it!"
I started and nearly dropped the rock on the obsidian, but controlled myself and put it down gently. I watched in fascination as the egg-shaped rock rotated to stand on the small end of the ovoid, then lifted my head to look around the office. I was too early to work- it couldn't have been later than six in the morning- and yet somebody had spoke to me.
In my locked office.
"Who's there?" My voice sounded small and lost, and I cringed upon hearing that. I never spoke to myself- what would people say if they heard me going crazy? I half-stood up from my chair and surveyed the room. Nothing.
"Look down!" I jumped again and sat down heavily in my chair, looking down at the smooth desk. There stood a small purple... unicorn, looking up at me. "Hi! Oh, wow, you're kind of big. Can you tell me where we are?"
I leaned down to look at the purple unicorn, then shook my head. "Keep it together... now you're seeing things. You'll start thinking you're crazy yourself, and then where will you be?"
"You're not crazy!" The unicorn had moved away from the computer screen where I presumed she had been hiding, and moved to the ovoid. She stood at shoulder-height to the egg, which couldn't have been more than four inches. "Trust me, I know what you're thinking, and I can assure you, this is very much real!" She lifted a hoof closer to her face, and then put it down. "At least, I hope I'm not dreaming."
I pinched myself and shook my head. "I don't think you're dreaming. I know I'm not, so I don't think you are."
"That wouldn't be good." The unicorn sighed and trotted around the egg, looking at it around and around. "Huh. This was a lot smaller when I was in the exam room."
"Exam room?" I bent down to turn on my computer and began getting my papers in order for the day. Little purple unicorn or no little purple unicorn, I still had work to do!
"Yeah. To get into Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Only, when that rainbow outside appeared, I think my magic might have brought me... here. Where is here?" She cocked her head, trotting to the edge of the desk and looking up at me. "And why are you so big?"
"Well... this is Earth. New York City, to be exact."
"New York City?" She scuffed a hoof on the top, then sat down on her behind. "Is that kind of like Manehatten? And what is... Earth?"
"Manehatten?" I was drawing a blank. "Uhm... no. Do you mean Manhattan? And Earth is where everything that lives... uhm, lives."
"Earth?" She stomped her right hoof. "I live in Canterlot, in Equestria. I've never heard of this... New York City before, or anything."
"Canterlot?" I shook my head. "Look, we're getting nowhere. Why don't you tell me your name?"
"Oh!" She stood and shook off. "I'm sorry! My name is Twilight Sparkle. But you can just call me Twilight."
I grinned. "Hello, Twilight. What an odd name for a pony."
"A pony?" Twilight seemed to inflate, trotting backwards. "I am not a pony! I am a unicorn. My parents enrolled me in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and... oh, no! My parents! You have to get me back to that exam room, I think they're still plants!"
"... Plants?"
"I think my magic must have changed them into plants before I was transported here!" Twilight paced around and around the egg-shaped rock, head down. "Oh no, oh no! You have to get me back!"
"What is that thing, anyways?"
"This?" Twilight nudged it with her horn. "It's my final exam, so to speak. I have to hatch it."
"Hatch it?" Things were getting weirder and weirder. "It's an... egg?"
"Of course, silly!" Twilight sat behind it and rested her head on the top of the surface, sighing and blowing her forelock off of her face. "It's a dragon egg, to be exact."
"Well." What else could somebody say in response to that? I shook my head and swiveled my chair to face the window, seeing the sun begin to rise in the East. "I don't know how to send you home, Twilight. You should probably try using your... magic."
"Wait!" I turned around, and Twilight stood up, eyes transfixed on something past my shoulder. "Is that... the Sun?"
"Yes." I put my hand on the desk, and after a moment's hesitation, Twilight stepped onto my hand. I turned around carefully, trying to keep my hands steady. Twilight walked to the end of my hand- she had a definite weight to her, and her hooves were tickling my palm- and stared outside.
"Whoa... it's so bright! And big! Where's Princess Celestia, then?"
"Who is Princess Celestia?"
"You don't know?" Twilight's voice was scandalized. "Princess Celestia raises the sun every day! How is this not common knowledge?"
"I... uh..."
"It's dawn?" Her voice rose to a near-shriek, and she began pacing on my hand. "My exam was yesterday afternoon! What happened to the time?"
"As far as I know, you and that egg were here when I got here this morning. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary after I arrived." I turned from the window to put Twilight back on my desk. I didn't want to risk dropping her.
"Oh no, I'm never going to get into Princess Celestia's school! There's only one solution!" With that, she crouched low and squeezed her eyes shut. Sparks of pink light appeared around her horn.
"You weren't kidding about the magic."
"Of course I wasn't!" She opened her eyes with a huff and stood up to her full height, moving closer to the egg and tucking it close to her body. "What, did you think I was lying?"
"No, I just- magic doesn't exist here." I sighed, thinking about all the work I had to do still.
Twilight was speechless for a few seconds, and then shook her head. "You live in a strange world. I need to get home."
"Twilight Sparkle!"
Twilight squeaked and spun around, her legs braced out for stability. I gasped, and ended up choking on the air I inhaled. Eyes watering, I bent to catch my breath- and when I sat back up again, there was another pony standing on my desk.
"Another one?" I paused to look at her. The fact that she was female seemed cemented in my mind, along with the urge to bow.
The white unicorn with wings looked at me, flowing rainbow mane and tail curling around her body. She closed her eyes and bent her neck, sweeping her right golden hoof in front of her muzzle. "Princess Celestia." She stood back up to her full height- which was easily twice Twilight's size- and took a few steps towards me. Her mouth opened to speak, but she was interrupted by a purple dash as Twilight moved in front of her, lying prostate on the ground.
"Oh, Princess, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to teleport myself here and I didn't manage to hatch the baby dragon and my parents are plants and you must hate me!" Twilight's tail and ears were tucked flat against her body, and she covered her head with her hooves. "Please forgive me!"
"Twilight Sparkle, you have nothing to worry about. I'm just glad I found you!" Princess Celestia bent down to nuzzle the purple unicorn, mane curling around her. "As my new student, however, I must insist that, in the future, you stop teleporting yourself to different worlds."
"Student?" Twilight perked up at that and she yelped, jumping in the air. "Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!" She bounced in a circle around Princess Celestia before skidding suddenly to a stop, looking at the Princess with liquid eyes. "But... I didn't hatch the baby dragon."
"Maybe, first, you should look at your flank. And then check on your egg."
Twilight's eyes grew huge as she looked at her flank. "My cutie mark!" She squealed, then bounced off to the egg. Princess Celestia smiled at me, pacing her front hooves.
"I must thank you for protecting my errant student. When that sonic rainboom happened, Twilight Sparkle's magic went out of control and she teleported- after turning her parents into plants."
I grinned. "I heard something to that effect, yes."
Princess Celestia tossed her head. "Twilight Sparkle will want to head now. I should probably take her, since she might teleport us onto a different planet." She hesitated, then nodded at me, making some decision in her head. "I have decided to let you keep your memories." She winked. "Nopony will believe you."
I nodded. "I'm sure they won't."
Princess Celestia turned and trotted towards Twilight, who was checking on the egg still, worried. "Twilight Sparkle, are you ready to go now?"
"Yes, but Princess, the egg hasn't hatched yet!" Twilight slumped, ears drooping forward.
"Of course it hasn't, Twilight, but did you see the crack on the top?"
"The what?" She squeaked and turned to inspect the egg again. "Oh, yes! Spike! You should get out of there!"
Princess Celestia giggled, covering her muzzle with a hoof. "Spike will come out when he wants. We should go, my little pony. I'm sure you'll want to turn your parents back into themselves."
"Oh, yes!" Twilight tucked the egg close to her side with a leg, then flicked her tail and waved at me. "Thank you for taking care of me! Even if Earth doesn't have magic, it's kind of an okay place!"
I waved back, a small smile working its way onto my lips. "Bye, Twilight. Good luck in school."
"Bye!" Twilight grinned as Princess Celestia moved closer to her and tucked a wing over the both of them and the egg. She bowed her head, and with a flash of sparkles, the duo were gone.
I sighed, leaning forward, then shook my head. Whatever that was, it certainly was interesting. Pulling my papers in front of me, I began to organize them, then stopped.
On the black desktop lay a couple bright purple-and-pink hairs curled around a small piece of the dragon egg. A smile made its way onto my lips and I picked up the pieces, being careful not to ruin it, and placed it on the platform under my computer.
"Thanks, Twilight."