Dance of The Waters

by Mystic Sunrise

Chapter 1

As she listened to her Canterlot High friends fill in on everything that had been going on recently, Princess Twilight's mouth dropped farther and farther. This was not what had been expecting. Not at all.

After that misadventure through time with Spike and Starlight Glimmer, something she was still trying to forget about if she was being honest, Twilight had been looking forward to a little peace and quiet around Ponyville.

Starlight was settling into living at the Friendship Castle rather well, and while the rest of Twilight's friends were still a little hesitant about her, they were more than happy to try and make friends with her.

Ponyville, meanwhile, while curious as to where Starlight had come from and her close connection to the town's resident princess, was more than happy to welcome her to the town with open hooves as the newest resident. They had no reason to think otherwise.

A mood that had helped Starlight's own in a big way, and not even Twilight would argue with the effect the welcome Ponyville had given her had on Starlight's mood and demeanor.

It had only been in the last day or so that Twilight finally found her and Sunset's journal, and the backlog of messages Sunset had sent her, detailing all of the things that had been going on at the school. Quite a bit, as it turned out.

Once she realized that something was wrong, Twilight had dropped everything and had made a beeline for the World Mirror. Spike had been left to help fill Starlight in on what they did know and all of their adventures in the other world, and to tell the girls where she had gone.

Twilight had come through the portal expecting the worst. Only to find that there seemed to be no magical disasters going on, none of her friends were hurt or worse, and that Canterlot High was still in one piece at least.

And then had come the shock of meeting her native counterpart. As she had said, this was now the weirdest thing that had ever happened to her. Which was saying something about how her life had been since moving to Ponyville.

The silence after that little remark had been rather long and awkward. A part of Twilight had felt that, if she had ever met her counterpart, the universe might rip itself apart, or any number of things could happen.

Once it had become clear that nothing was going to happen, and that the universe would be fine, the entire group had let out a collective sigh of relief, and since there were no pressing issues in Equestria demanding her attention, the princess had decided to stay and enjoy the afternoon with the girls.

She would admit that she had missed them quite a bit since the Battle of the Bands. This was a perfect chance to make up for that. And she was curious to know what all had been going on recently since it was obvious there was quite a story to tell.

"... And after that, Twilight transferred to Canterlot High from Crystal Prep," Sunset finished as she took a sip of her drink. "I don't think everyone knows you two aren't the same. But we've all made her feel welcome here."

Sci Twi, as Pinkie Pie had been calling her, nodded, a small smile forming. "It's true. I never felt this welcome at Crystal Prep. The only friends I really had were Dean Cadance and Spike."

"It's true," Spike said from her side. "Even her brother got caught up in Cinch's load of bologna from what I hear."

Sci Twi shrank in on herself as tears began to form in her eyes. "I never wanted any of this to happen. I didn't think it could happen. But I was so caught up in wanting to learn more about the magic that I..." She sniffed.

Princess Twilight smiled as she pulled her counterpart into a hug, one that other she was more than happy to return. In a moment, the whole group had joined in on the group hug, and for once, Pinkie Pie didn't mind not being the one who started it.

They sat like that for a time, before separating. The hug had done Sci Twi a ton of good, but the girls could still see the haunted look in her eyes. None of them could really blame her.

Sunset finally broke the silence. "I've been helping Twilight with studying magic as much as we can. But there's only so much we can do in this world."

Princess Twilight nodded, as she sat down next to her counterpart. "Do you really want to learn more about magic?"

Sci Twi nodded. "There's just so much about it that I don't understand. And from what Sunset has told me, there's so much that could be done with it to help people."

"Or destroy the world when some military gets their hands on it," Rainbow Dash interjected. The girls gave her a look. "What? It's true. Does nobody read science fiction around here but me?"

Sci Twi nodded. "I almost beat them to it though." She shivered. "Midnight isn't gone. I can still feel her inside me. I don't want to become that again. I don't want to become her."

Princess Twilight frowned. Maybe it was because she was an alicorn, or maybe it was her connection to magic, but she could feel Midnight Sparkle herself, in her counterpart. It wasn't as much as other her felt more than likely, but the feeling was still there.

She was conflicted though. She wanted to help, she really did, but there was only so much she could do in this world. The safest idea was to bring her counterpart to Equestria and help her there. But there were several problems with that.

Twilight didn't doubt that her friends and fellow princesses would make Sci Twi feel welcome, and since the World Mirror was in her castle, as Princess Celestia had told her, she was free to do with it whatever she wanted.

The problem lay in what might happen if Sci Twi did go to Equestria with her, even for a short time. There was a risk that Midnight Sparkle might break free and do who knows what to the kingdom.

And of course, there was also the fact that Twilight would be taking her counterpart away from her family and friends. She would not do that. Not unless they all agreed she could anyway. There was one thing that might be able to help. But was she willing to take that risk? Her duty as a princess of Equestria versus her desire and duty as the Princess of Friendship. Her head said one thing.

But her heart was saying something else. To forget logic, and do the right thing for someone who desperately needed it. Who needed a friend. And in the end, Twilight followed her heart, as she always had. She sighed. "I might be able to help. There is something called the Dance of the Waters. It's supposed to help ponies in need, and it's only known to alicorns."

Sunset blinked, racking her brain trying to remember anything like that she had been taught. "Princess Celestia never told me about that. And she told me a lot before I ran away."

Twilight nodded. "I can't say why she didn't tell you Sunset. I'm surprised she didn't." She turned to look at Sci Twi, who was giving her a confused look. "I can do it with you. But we can't do it in this world. We would have to do it in Equestria."

Sci Twi blinked and then began to grin. But the princess held up a hand to hold off the comments. "Before you say anything, know that this won't be quick. This could take time. You'd be leaving your family and friends for a world you don't know much about."

That put a stop to Sci Twi's grin. "How long would it take?"

The princess shook her head and sighed. "I don't know. The Dance has only been used a few times, and they each took a different amount of time. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are the only two to have ever done it."

That caused a moment of silence as the group digested this bit of information. Only Sunset seemed to get what was going on, but the rest of the girls were interested all the same.

Sci Twi pulled her legs close to her body, as her gaze became distant. "Do you need an answer now?"

Princess Twilight shook her head, smiling. "No. I don't have anything else going on in Equestria at the moment, and I haven't spent near enough time with you girls recently. It's time to change that."

That got smiles all around, as Pinkie pulled the group into another group hug.

***

Later that night, after confirming with Spike in Equestria that she was staying in the Human World for the night at least, Princess Twilight had decided to stay with Sunset for the duration of her visit.

Just before bed though, Sunset handed Twilight her phone, a huge smile on her face about something. Something she wouldn't say about what though, no matter how many times Twilight asked her.

Looking at the phone, a piece of technology that still took her breath away, Twilight found a simple message from who she guessed was Sci Twi.

"Tell the other me I'm in. I can't take this much longer. If the Dance of the Waters can help me, then I'll happily do it. Mom and dad already said I could."

***

While Canterlot High was closed for the weekend at the moment. Vice Principal Luna had given the Rainbooms permission to be on school grounds just this once, and that was it.

When Princess Twilight had explained to Principal Celestia the idea she had for her counterpart, Celestia had been somewhat hesitant, a fact that Twilight didn't blame her in the slightest, but this was really out of her hands.

She had grown quite used to the magical nonsense that had plagued Canterlot High since the last, fateful, Fall Formal, and she had come to trust Princess Twilight when it came to this sort of thing. Even if the princess in question was not always there.

Sunset Shimmer was also of great help. But Sunset was always quick to point out how out of date she was with the magic from Equestria. The Friendship Games had been a good example of that.

Even if Sunset had ended up saving everyone, and possibly their entire dimension as well. But there were whispers that some of what had happened could have been avoided if Sunset could've kept her temper in check.

Something that Sunset couldn't argue with.

That the princess's native counterpart had her parents' permission to go to Equestria also set her mind at ease. And since Princess Twilight had said she had no idea of how long this could last, Celestia had a simple solution.

"If what the two of you do lasts beyond this weekend," she had said, "I will hold Miss Sparkle's homework for as long as possible. I can't say what her family might say though."

And that was something that had Twilight's tail all tied up. If her family in this world was anything like the ponies she knew and loved, she would be lucky to come out of this in one piece if something happened to their daughter.

Of course, she didn't think anything bad would happen when she brought Sci Twi to Equestria. Them being so close together had already been shown not to risk destroying all of space and time.

For which she was very grateful, it must be said. She did not want to have to go through that again.

She had already messaged Spike that she would be coming back today and that she would be bringing a friend along with her. But she didn't say who she was bringing with her.

Twilight giggled as she imagined Spike's reaction to seeing two of her. The same went with Starlight now that she thought about it. How would she react to seeing two copies of the same pony?

Now that she thought about it though, Twilight wondered. What would her counterpart look like in Equestria? She had a good idea of looks, aside from her glasses and her hair done up differently, but what kind of pony would she be?

Earth pony, Pegasus, or unicorn? There was no real way to know for sure at the moment, and it was driving the princess crazy. There was also one other possibility, but Twilight didn't want to think about that unless there was no other choice.

That could wait for the moment though as she gave Sunset a look. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us Sunset? Princess Celestia has been asking about you ever since the Battle of the Bands."

Sunset nodded, a faraway look in her eyes. "I'm sure Twilight. She might have forgiven me, you and the girls might have forgiven me. But I fully haven't. It's nowhere near as bad as I used to be. But it's still there."

Twilight threw her hands up in exasperation. "You keep this up Sunset, and you won't come back until the heat death of the universe!"

Sunset just smirked, slipping back into her bad girl persona for a moment. "I might wait that long. You never know."

That got a chuckle out of the girls, as Twilight pouted. Any further talk was cut short as Sci Tw ran up, out of breath, and a full backpack on her back. "I'm here!" She wheezed. "Shinny slept in, so Cadance had to drive me."

Princess Twilight looked back past her to a car behind the statue. The woman in the front seat did, in fact, look like Cadance. They locked eyes for the moment, and Cadance smiled. One the princess was happy to return, as the car drove off.

Sunset though was giving Sci Twi's backpack a confused look. "Um, Twilight? Last I checked, you weren't moving to Equestria. Why do you need so many notebooks?"

Sci Twi gave her a very flat look. "For your information, I plan to document as much as I can while I'm there." She slumped slightly. "I just don't to go, do this Dance, and just come back."

Sunset and the princess shared a concerned look before Sunset placed a hand on her shoulder. "Twilight. This isn't just about science and magic, is it?"

Twilight shook her head. "I know I wasn't in the best mood at the time, but I remember what I saw during the Friendship Games. Equestria sounds like everything I ever dreamed of as a child." She sniffed. "If friendship really is magic, then I want to experience that. Not as a scientist or a student, but as someone who believes in it, who wants to know it and embrace it."

Sunset looked at Princess Twilight, who was smiling knowingly. It was all Sunset needed, as her own smile came back. "Well then. You're in better hooves than you'd ever be with me. Who better to learn the Magic of Friendship from than the Goddess of Friendship herself?"

That got a small smile out of Sci Twi at least, as the princess had a suspiciously sudden coughing fit. Sunset smirked knowingly as she squeezed Twilight's shoulder. "You'll be fine. You'll have friends over there, whether you know it or not. And I don't know anypony better to go with."

That alone raised Twilight's spirits as she lifted her head and smiled at Sunset. It did more good for her than Sunset would ever know. Not that she would ever tell her that of course. Not anytime soon anyway.

Sci Twi hadn't completely forgiven Sunset for her blow-up at her during the Friendship Games, and a part of her probably never would. They had made up of course, and Sunset had apologized. But even Twilight knew that could've been handled better than it had been.

Sunset herself wasn't any happier about how she had handled that situation either. She knew better than that. She had moved past that part of life she hoped. It seemed she hadn't fully let her bad girl self go.

Princess Twilight could see some of the internal struggles going on in both of them. She had some idea of what had happened, but it seemed it went deeper than she had thought. She hoped they could work it out.

She placed a hand on Sci Tw's shoulder, getting the girl's attention. The princess turned serious. "Are you sure about this? Once we step through the portal to Equestria, there's no turning back."

Just for a moment, Sci Twi almost said no and pulled out of the whole idea. But she quickly quashed those thoughts, as she nodded. "I mean it. I won't quit now."

The princess smiled, as she let go of her shoulder and walked over to the portal. "Then. I'll see you on the other side in Equestria." She placed a hand on the mirrored surface. Twilight watched in fascination as it fell through. For a second, she could see a purple hoof, instead of a hand.

The princess looked back once and grinned. "Watch that first step. It's a doozy," and was she gone through the portal.

Sci Twi walked up and stopped, looking back at the girls, who were all smiling and nodding. Sunset's grin was the biggest of the group.

"Good luck," Sunset said.

Twilight smiled slightly as she placed a hand on the portal. "Thanks." And stepped through into the unknown.

***

When later asked what it felt like to travel between worlds, Sci Twi could only describe it as feeling like her body was being stretched and twisted the whole time, while a rainbow of colors flowed around her.

In any other time and place, she might have appreciated the spectacle of what she was seeing. She wouldn't deny that it was beautiful in its own way. But for the moment, she was trying to keep her stomach where it belonged.

At last, though, Sci Twi saw a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Her journey seemed to speed up as the light grew brighter. This could only be the exit to the other world, she thought.

Closing her eyes, she braced for whatever came at the end of this roller coaster ride.

***

In the Main Library of the Castle of Friendship, Spike rolled his eyes as Twilight kept on pacing in front of the World Mirror, as everypony who knew about it now called it. She had only been back for five minutes, and she was already panicking.

He sighed as he placed his comic down next to his seat. "Twilight, relax. She said she was coming. Just give her time."

Twilight rounded on him, a slightly crazy look in her eyes. "I can't relax Spike. What if she changed her mind? What if something happened to the portal? How do I explain that to mom and dad?!"

Spike pinched his nose. "Twilight, you need to calm down. The portal's fine. And why would she change her mind? She's you. You never back out of something you start."

Twilight did calm down a bit, but her worry was still evident. "That's just it Spike. We're not fully the same. I learned enough yesterday to see that. For all we have in common, we have more differences as well."

"Besides you're a pony and she isn't?" Spike replied.

Twilight giggled slightly. "Besides that. She reminds me a lot of how I used to be in Canterlot before we moved to Ponyville. And a lot of how Moondancer used to be before we helped her come out of her shell."

Spike winced a bit at that. He couldn't forget that little escapade even now. "Then she's coming to the right pony. Who better to help her than the Princess of Friendship? The girls already like her, right?"

Twilight nodded. "I think they accepted her at first than they did Sunset." She frowned, a niggling thought she'd had ever since the Battle of the Bands. "And that's another thing as well."

Spike raised a brow. "What is?

Before Twilight could answer though, the portal hummed to life. Twilight smiled as she turned to welcome her new guest. Let it never be said that Twilight Sparkle would not be a welcoming host.

Only to have something come flying out of the portal in a blur, crashing into her, and sending them both skidding across the crystal floor to land at the foot of a bookshelf in a heap.

Spike was worried for a moment but breathed a sigh of relief as he saw both ponies begin to move. "You okay Twilight?"

"I'm fine Spike," came the voice of Twilight Sparkle. But now there were two of them. Spike rolled his eyes at the thought. This just made his life way more complicated than it needed to be.

Princess Twilight was the first to open her eyes, and found her counterpart snout to snout with her, in what could be charitably be described as a very intimate position. Her counterpart also opened her eyes, and for a moment, neither of them spoke or moved

After a moment though, a roaring blush came to both of their faces, and with echoing embarrassed squeaks, pulled themselves off of each other, so that now Princess Twilight and Sci Twilight could get a good look at the other, trying to hide their embarrassment.

To the princess's encouragement, her other self looked almost identical to herself. Aside from her glasses and that her mane was done up differently, they could almost be said to be twin sisters.

And then the princess looked to her twin's side, and her mouth dropped at what she saw folded there, but another part of her brain wasn't too shocked to see what she did.

"What?" Sci Twi asked. Her counterpart only pointed to her sides. When she looked down, Twilight's mouth dropped in shock and awe at what she saw folded at her sides.

Wings. She had wings. And looking at her native self so did she. She also had a horn, and judging from the weight that sat just below her hairline, or was that mane line now, so did she.

"This is unexpected," Sci Twi thought aloud as she tried to see if her wings responded to her at all. They twitched, but that was it. "What am I? Is this normal?"

Spike sighed as he walked up to the pair. "You're an alicorn. Don't ask me what that all means though."

Sci Twi gave him a shocked look. "Spike? You're a dragon?"

Spike nodded proudly. "The one and only." He slumped slightly as a thought came to him. "Let me guess. I'm a dog over there?"

Sci Twi nodded, smiling fondly at the memories she had of him. "I've had you since you were a puppy. When you were old enough to be separated from your mother. You were my only friend for so long. " She giggled. "Oh, man. He's going to freak when I tell him about this."

Spike looked proud of himself, as Princess Twilight joined them. "Okay. This was not what I expected. Like, at all."

Sci Twi looked at her with concern. "Am I in trouble? Is this a bad thing? Please don't let this be a bad thing."

The princess shook her head, smiling. "No, no. You're not in trouble. I just didn't expect this. But it does raise some questions." Her gaze softened as her horn ignited in a flash of light. "But I'm glad you came."

From behind her floated what looked like a pearl necklace. With one smooth move, Princess Twilight slid it over Sci Twi's neck, so that it settled softly at the base.

Immediately Sci Twi could feel the warmth and power the necklace radiated. It seemed to all be directed at her as if it was made for her, and her alone. She touched it with a hoof. It felt so warm as well. "What is this?" She asked.

Princess Twilight's smile grew. "We're not really sure what it is. It was found on Mount Aris some years ago. It's off a much larger orb that was found in some ancient ruins on the island. The actual orb is kept in Canterlot. Every alicorn has one of their own small pieces."

She placed a hoof on her counterpart's necklace. "Princess Celestia sent this to me several weeks ago, saying it had broken off from the orb, and that it seemed to be waiting for somepony."

"But why me?" Sci Twi asked as she looked down at the necklace while fighting back a further blush from having the princess be this close to her.

Twilight shook her head. "I'm not sure honestly. But this is yours now, and you alone can only wear it. You would not be able to wear it if it wasn't meant for you." She floated another necklace to them and slipt it around her own neck. "Princess Luna said that these are a part of the Dance of the Waters. But she didn't say how or why."

Sci Twi looked up at the princess. "So. When do we do this Dance?"

The princess giggled. "Not right this moment if you're worried about it. It's late now, and I don't want to do this with you when you just got here. I have a room ready for you."

At that moment, Sci Twi suddenly felt how tired she was. Strange. It was morning back in her world. Why did she feel like this now? Maybe it had something to do with this being a new world.

Princess Twilight saw the look in her eyes and smiled. "Come on. I and Spike will show you your room. I've got some books laid out if you want to read. My room is just down the hall from yours if you need anything."

Not knowing what else to say, and still feeling a little overwhelmed by all that was happening to her, Sci Twi only nodded.

She didn't fall asleep for a long time after that.

Author's Note:

Okay, so I honestly can't say where the title came from. The idea behind the story is based on cover art. And it looks like they're dancing. Underwater dancing. Here's what Sci Twi looks like in Equestria. Done by CloudyGlow.

Edit: New cover art is done by Ice Star. With the main picture done by Nebychko. While the old one was also done by Ice Star, but the main picture was done by YinglongFujun.

Comments

[SuperSaiyanBlueNathanTH]

Hope princess twilight can help sci-twi

[SuperSaiyanDiclonius]

Uhh mate? You're kinda stacking your plate a little high.
Shouldn't you work on your existing stories before making new ones? Not that they're not good stories, but the more stories you're working on, the longer people will have to wait for an update to their favorites.

[Mystic Sunrise]

10208106
The stories already out work on one thing: my own wims and when ideas for chapters strike. So there is no update schedule for any of them, and I don't like doing anything according to a schedule.

Plus there are way better stories than mine out on the site that haven't updated in years. Mine are just how I work.

[SuperSaiyanDiclonius]

10208161
Fair enough. To each their own. Besides, I have no room to talk. I haven't written a damn thing since quarantine started. Too many chores to do.

[LucarioFan2066]

"Tell the other me I'm in. I can't take this much longer. If the Dance of the Waters can help me, then I'll happily do it. Mom and dad already said I could."

...What did you tell your parents? Surely not "Mum, Dad, I'm going to an alternate world for help with my magical problem!" - was it more along the lines of, "I'll be staying with a friend for a few days, Mum, Dad - don't worry too much if you can't contact me, since we'll be in a telecommunications dead zone!" or something?