Twilight sighed as she pulled yet another document off the huge stack of paperwork on her desk, this one in particular a subsection of the provisionary trade agreement. As it turned out, opening up diplomatic relations with a new nation was a dull, time-consuming process. She knew it was important to welcome the reformed changelings with open hooves, but that didn't change the fact that she'd rather be doing anything else at this point. Sure, Twilight liked paperwork far more than the average pony, but she now regretted volunteering to take up the lion's share of the logistics.
She plopped her head down sideways onto her waiting hoof as she scribbled ink onto the pages. Her face no longer bore the slightest hint of joy as she worked. When she had finally finished the section she had allocated for the day, Twilight checked the clock. It was past six. She had literally spent the entire afternoon working.
Groaning her frustrations, Twilight pulled herself out of her chair and stretched the kinks out of her legs. Then, she trotted over to the exit of her study. "Spike! I'm done!"
When the young drake did not reply, she trotted off into the castle, searching for him. She went to the kitchen first, figuring he'd be starting on dinner soon. However, Twilight found him sitting on a proffered stool just outside it, reading a comic book. He heard her approach, and looked up.
"Spike, let's go to the Hayburger," she said. "I really need some mind-numbing grease in my system after today."
Spike stood, placing the comic under his arm. "Actually, there's somepony waiting for you in the library. Says she wants to talk to you personally about something."
Twilight's eyebrows rose. "Really?"
Spike nodded. "Yeah. I told her you weren't free, but she said it was important, and that she'd wait. So she's been sitting in the reference section reading for like three hours." He shook his head. "That unicorn's almost as book crazy as you."
Twilight was going to chide Spike for that last comment, but her thoughts snapped back to the mystery mare in question. Nopony other than her, Starlight, or a schoolfoal had entered the reference section in months. She liked her already. "Ok, let's go," Twilight said, smiling.
She and Spike walked into the library, past multiple crystalline shelves, and through the back door which led to the section in question. Immediately, her gaze fell upon the mare in the center of the room. A quill hovered above a scroll in her copper aura, and her muzzle was buried in a thick encyclopedia. Other tomes of various subjects were piled onto the reading table at which she sat. Her coat and mane were both white, and the latter was tied into two modest side buns. Draped over her withers was a set of faded gold saddlebags. Her cutie mark was a bound scroll with a quill behind it.
So engrossed was the mare in her reading that she didn't even notice them enter. Twilight's smile widened, and she shook her head. Usually, she would be the one lost in the pages. Walking up next to her, Twilight cleared her throat.
The unicorn mare gasped in surprise, and she dropped her quill. She turned to face Twilight, bowing her head. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. I didn't see you enter."
Twilight giggled. "It's ok, really. And just Twilight is fine. What's your name, by the way?"
She paused for a moment, her mouth set in a line. Only after rolling up her scroll and placing it in her bag did she reply. "It's Tamiyo."
Tamiyo? That was a strange name, Twilight thought. Spike had a similar reaction, and he looked up at her in confusion. Turning back to her guest, Twilight didn't question it. "Well, Tamiyo, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"
Tamiyo glanced down at Spike and took a deep breath. "I'd prefer it if we discussed that in private, actually. What I wish to speak of involves a secret of grave import. And I'm afraid of how anyone else here might react."
Huh. She hadn't been expecting that. Now Twilight was even more curious.
"Hey, I can keep a secret!" said Spike. "Besides, I'm way more level-headed than Twilight is anyway." He then straightened his posture in an exaggerated manner. "Anything fit for the ears of the Princess of Friendship is fit for mine!"
Twilight giggled, but maintained her composure. "Spike's right, Tamiyo. You can trust us. We won't judge you, whatever it is you came to me to get off your chest."
Tamiyo uttered a faint sigh of relief. "Very well. Just... brace yourselves."
With that, Tamiyo left her seat and took a few steps back. Her eyes met Twilight's, and she lit her horn. In an instant, the unicorn mare had vanished, replaced by a tall, bipedal creature with long ears that dangled on the sides of her face.
Twilight gasped in surprise, her wings flaring open.
"Woah!" said Spike.
Twilight continued to gape at the transformed Tamiyo. Her eyes, hair, and bag were all pretty much the same, but she now wore white and green robes with leggings that matched the bag, and swirling purple markings adorned her forehead. Suddenly, her desire for secrecy made a lot more sense.
Just as Twilight was about to burst with questions, Tamiyo held up her forearm in a placating gesture. "I'm sure there are many things you want to ask, but please allow me to state my piece first. Long story short, I was hoping to stay with you here in Equestria for a month or so." She then lowered her arm.
"What are you?" Twilight blurted out, completely forgoing all pretense of proper social conduct.
She smiled, as if she had expected that. "My people are known as the Soratami, or Moonfolk," Tamiyo explained.
Twilight processed this. In her long years of study, she had definitely never heard of either race before. "That doesn't answer anything! Just where are you from, then? The moon?"
"Afraid not," she said. "I am from another world entirely: Kamigawa. As for how I got here, well, I'm a Planeswalker."
"What's the big deal about that?" asked Spike. "Plains are flat, most animals can walk across them."
Tamiyo snorted. "Not a plain as in the geographical feature, a plane of existence. Planeswalkers can arise on every world, and are able to travel through the Multiverse."
Twilight's jaw dropped again. This must have been the real secret she had mentioned. "But - but - how? Ponies can't do that, even with magic!"
"The spark required to become a Planeswalker is only present in one-in-a-million sentient beings. And even then, it must be triggered by great emotional torment." Tamiyo shrugged. "It's not surprising you haven't heard of them, Twilight, since Equestria is so peaceful. And Planeswalkers from offworld tend to avoid this place."
"Why?" Twilight asked. At this point, her mind was still struggling to process all this.
Tamiyo reached out towards the table, grabbing a book in her now completely invisible magic. She flipped it open to an image of Celestia, shaking her head. "Many Planeswalkers, in their power, foolishly fancy themselves as being above other beings. Actual gods tend to drive away most. Plus, you ponies are more xenophobic than the average race, or at least you were when I was here last a few centuries ago."
"A few centuries?" Spike asked.
She nodded. "I'm probably about the same age Princess Celestia is."
Ok, Twilight thought. Tamiyo was an ancient Soratami from another world with never-before-seen dimensional magic born of stress. She would certainly love to interview her, but suddenly recalled that she was supposed to be helping her. "So, why are you here now, Tamiyo? Why announce yourself to us?"
Her face sunk. "Well, Twilight, that's... let's just say I need a friend right now."
Twilight stared. She could do that. Smiling softly, she gently wrapped a wing around Tamiyo. "Then you've come to the right place. We'll get you settled in right away."
Tamiyo looked down at her, blinking away tears before they could fall. "Thank you."