The Crystal Palace
Right as Twilight went through the mirror, Spike internally panicked, there was no way he could let his best friend go to some world she knew nothing at all about, " Don't worry Twilight, I'm coming for you!!! "
Everypony gasped as they watched the little dragon take off towards the mirror, " SPIKE NO!!!!! " but it was too late, he was already through and after Twilight.
They all sat still, eyes widened at the sight of the small drake following Twilight to this unknown world, " Princess Celestia what do we do?! You said Twilight was supposed to make this trip on her own, " Rarity practically screamed, fearful of what might become of him.
Princess Celestia just stared in slight shock at the mirror, not entirely sure what to say, however she needed to say something, otherwise Rarity and the others would begin worrying, " Everything will be alright, we just...need to have fate in them ". While her words somewhat quelled the rising panick from the ponies, it didn't suppress the worry that she herself had been feeling right then and there, " Twilight, Spike, please...stay safe ".
Somewhere Unknown to Twilight and Spike
Twilight felt consciousness returning to her, she couldn't remember much of anything upon stepping through the mirror. Her eyes began to slowly crack open as she felt herself able to move again, but before she could do or say anything she froze. Twilight was face to face with the largest ladybug she had ever seen, it had big round eyes, and six legs that ended in some sort of appendage. " AAAAAAAH!!! What is that?!?! " she rolled backwards from out of shock, while this would have frightened most things Twilight was used to, the creature before her only seemed to give a look of slight confusion before flying off.
" Uh...Twilight? " a voice said right behind her, a familiar voice, one which belonged to Spike.
" Sp...Spike?! is that you, I thought Princess Celestia said that I was supposed ot do this on my o- " she stopped herself once her eyes laid upon the owner of the voice. Her eyes skimmed over the voices owner, it sounded enough like Spike, but rather than being the little dragon she knows so well, she was looking upon some strange hairless thing that stood upon two legs, it was adorned in a set of purple clothes, and green hair rested upon it's head. " Spike?!?! " she crawled back, unsure if this was really her assistant and friend she was looking at, "...wha...what are you??? "
Spike looked himself over as best as he could, spinning around in circles, " I...I'm not sure, but whatever I am, it's the same thing as you are Twilight, " he pointed down at what used to be her hooves as he spoke.
Wha...what do you me..me...mea... " her eyes widened as she lifted her " hooves " up, and saw that that they were no longer hooves at all. Twilight let out an ear piercing scream as she came to the quick realization that she had changed, greatly, but quickly she covered her mouth, as to not draw attention.
Spike watched as Twilight pulled and prodded on her new appendages, " Um, Twilight, are you alright, " he scratched his head as he continued watching his best friend examine her new body.
Twilight didn't answer, instead she continued her examination, eventually moving her new appendages up towards her face, only for her pupils to shrink upon feeling it, " ...M...my muzzle...its.. " she went to scream again, only to be stopped by Spike covering her mouth.
" Please don't tell me you're gonna scream again, " he moved what used to be his claws, away from her face, upon receiving an answer in the form of her head shaking side to side. They both looked away from one another to take in their surroundings, gasping at the sights they saw around them, " Where are we? "
" I'm not really sure, " they both marveled at what they saw, creatures of all shapes and sizes roamed around a large building that sat before them.
A large flock of what looked to be birds flew overhead, they seemed to be traveling in a group, leading them was the largest bird Twilight had ever seen, as it flew what looked like a long flowing mane fluttered behind its body " Pi!! Pidgeot!! " it cried out as it flew up high. Following behind it were slightly smaller birds, similar in appearance, the only difference was their size and the length of their hair, " Pidgeotto!! " Twilight watched in awe as they took further to the skies.
The birds weren't the only thing that caught their attention, there were all sorts of creatures, big and small, that neither had ever seen before, " What are they? " Spike asked in amazement.
Twilight watched as a long furry creature, slightly resembling a ferret covered in ring-like stripes ran by them and into the grass nearby, " Furret " it called out, once reaching the grass. As soon as it did three smaller creatures came scurrying by, they had small round bodies, long ears, and big puffy tails, each one stopped to look at Twilight and Spike before making their way towards the long ferret-like creature.
"I....have no clue Spike, but whatever they are, they're amazing! " Twilight replied, she was so fascinated with the creatures around her that she had stopped freaking out about her own physical change. In fact she was so focused on the creatures around her that Spike was already a good meter away before she noticed that he had left her side, " Sp..Spike wait up!! " she got on her hands and feet and took off after him, moving as if she were still a pony.
Spike turned back to see her running up to him, " Twilight? what are you doing? " he scratched the back of his head as he looked at her positioned on her hands and knees.
She looked at him in a confused manner, possibly even more confused than he was, " What do you mean Spike? "
" Well uh.... " he started, unsure of how to put it, " you...well, look kinda funny moving like that "
" I look funny? well how else do you expect me to get around? " her answer was immediately answered when she saw another "thing" that looked like a much larger version of what Spike and what she assumed herself to be, walking upright on two legs, just like Spike. Twilight blushed slightly out of embarrassment as she picked herself up off the ground and dusted herself off, " ...oops... "
Spike chuckled a little at Twilight as stood herself up, " Cmon already Twilight, " he was already ahead of her once again, with Twilight following at a slower pace.
Twilight wobbled behind Spike, not use to being on two legs for more than a few minutes, " Spike wait for me, h..hey! how are you moving so easily?! " she befuddled, they hadn't been there for ten minutes and Spike was moving around like he had been doing it for years.
" What do you mean Twilight? " he spoke as he kept walking, " I've always walked like this, I mean I only have two legs, sure it's a little rougher than usual, what with me not having a tail, but I'm managing, " he gave a confident smile, only to trip and fall flat on his face, " not a word ".
" A little rough is right, " she giggled, making her way over to him, walking with a little more ease the more she moved. She helped him to his feet and looked towards the direction of the building before them, the front was absolutely stunning, it was covered in all sorts of trees and flowers, two ponds rested next to the path towards the doors, one on each side and as they made their way down the path, they took notice of more and more of the creatures they had been seeing.
Both Spike and Twilight watched in amazement as they passed by these creatures living their every day lives. In the trees above sat a small group of ape-like creatures, some with tails, some without, but each one had the nose of a pig. " Mankey!! " each one of the smaller, tailed ones cried out as they jumped up and down in the trees.
Two of the larger apes hopped down from the trees, onto the path in front of Twilight and Spike, only to jump up into an adjacent tree, " Prrrimape!! " they called out as they looked at the two strangers passing by.
Spike pointed up towards another tree, one which had a small creature that resembled a sloth lying on one of the branches. It made no noises aside form small yawns, but as they were looking at it, a much larger sloth like creature with a red tuft of hair atop it's head, came swinging by on the branches of the trees in very energetic manner, " Roth!! Vigoroth!!! "
" There's so many of them, " Twilight gave out a small gasp as even more came into view.
" Free free! " a large purple butterfly came flying overhead, small sweet smelling,sparkling particles came off its wings as it flew by.
Near a large bed of flowers, a large group of a different looking butterfly fluttered in the air, " Beautifly! " they chimed happily as they floated above the colorful flowerbed.
As they passed the pond they saw aquatic creatures of all different forms, one of which being a large goldfish with a horn adorned on it's head, " Goldeen, " in a single hop it made it from one pool of water to the next.
Another fish hopped out of the water after it, just not in a graceful manner, and it didn't even make it all the way in the water, " Karp karp karp karp!! " it flopped about in place pathetically, not even attempting to get in the water.
" Uh Twilight, should we help it? " Spike asked, but she didn't answer, instead she steadily made her way over to the flopping fish, and gave it a small push, allowing it to fall into the water. Spike smiled at Twilight, even in her new body she was still able to help just about anything, " Nice job Twilight, " they both looked into the pond that both fish hopped into, but before they could get a good glimpse at their reflections, a large blue serpent came leaping out of the water, giving a mighty roar as it sailed overhead, crashing into the water on the other side. They both looked pale in the face as they lay motionless on the ground, their eyes widened with fear and surprise, " Twilight...what was that? " Spike asked in a small frightened voice.
"..I...I'm not sure Spike...but..can we get moving now, " she spoke in the same exact voice as Spike.
After passing many varieties of the creatures, Twilight and Spike eventually reached the door leading into the strange building they had arrived in front of. " Hand on Spike, let me get this for us, " she closed her eyes, gave a wave of her head, and smacked right into the glass door in front of her. She shook her head and looked at the door, seeing it still wasn't open, " what the? " she took a deep breath, puffing her cheeks out as she tried focusing any magic towards the door, but nothing happened. Her eyes went wide, "..Why...why isn't my magic working?! " she was unsure of what to do, the only time she had ever been without magic was when discord took her horn away, but even that was short-lived.
" Well, " Spike began, " It would be kind of hard to do magic, I mean you don't exactly have a horn sitting on your head ".
" What?!?! " she cried out as she looked up at her forehead, grabbing her hair in horror at the sight of her precious horn missing.
Spike let out a loud sigh and stepped towards the door, " Let me get that for you, " he gave a simple push on the door, and opened it wide for his very confused friend.
Once inside the first thing Twilight's eyes looked upon was a large glass case to the right of her, filled with many pictures and golden objects, " Hey Spike, what do you think these are? Could they be other artifacts from Equestria, do you think she took them as well? " but as she looked at the case, she finally noticed her reflection, causing her to take a step back and gasp. " What am I? What are we? " she took a better look at her new body, looking at her new face, her hair, even her new teeth.
Spike gave a small shrug and looked at his own reflection, " Beats me, but whatever I am, I'm looking better than I ever did in Equestria, " his self compliment only earned him a scowl of disapproval from Twilight.
Before she could say anything though, a loud ringing noise came from all over the room she was in, causing her to cover her ears, " what the?! " Suddenly the room was overflowing with beings similar to both her and Spike, each having a different appearance of their own, and some even carrying creatures similar to the ones outside in their arms, on their shoulders, even on their heads. Twilight's eyes widened even further as she saw all of them moving around both her and Spike, one of them even knocked her to the floor, putting her in an even more precarious situation, causing her to have to crawl to safety.
Once they had made it out of the mob, Spike helped Twilight up to her feet, " Are you OK Twilight? You're not hurt are you? " he asked as he helped her dust herself off.
" Just....just peachy, " she said with a small sigh, " Can we get moving now, please? " Spike gave a small nod and the two walked off, passing by a tall blue haired male.
The person turned and looked as she passed by, giving a small shrug, " Must be new here, " by his side was a short frog that sat crouched on two legs, looking up at him impatiently.
"...Croa....croa...croagunk.. " it croaked repeatedly and tapped one of it's feet as it stared at him.
" Hey come on we got a good few minutes before we need to get to our next class, " he smiled at the frog in an attempt to persuade it.
"...Croa....croa... "it continued it's staring, however it did reply by lifted up one of it's hands, followed by the tips of it's fingers glowing.
Sweat ran down his face as he took a few steps back, " alright alright, we're going don't be so pushy.
Somewhere Else in the Building
The duo had been walking around the rather large building for what seemed like the longest time, taking in as much as they could of this mysterious new world. They had seen so many things that nopony could even image back in Equestria, yet to all the inhabitants here it seemed like everyday life, the movement, the appendages at the end of their limbs and even the creatures they had been seeing everywhere. As they made their way through however, Twilight took careful notice of how each one of them used their bodies, how they walked, how they used their "hands" as she had heard, and even though she was still a bit shaky, in a short time she was moving just fine.
Spike stayed close to Twilight the whole time, just like her he took in his surroundings, while he was already used to moving like the things around them, it was still amazing seeing so many of them doing everything so casually.
" What a strange world we're in Spike...everything is so different... " she said, walking and talking at the same time, but stopped once she heard the sound of a somewhat familiar voice.
"...I...I'm really sorry...I really am... " a timid voice said in a pleading manner, "...I..I..I didn't know it belonged to you....I'm sorry..please don't be mad...I..I just found it laying there..and thought it was the right thing to give it to her.....I didn't know you were the one who dropped it.... "
Twilight peaked her head around the corner, finding two "girls" looking at one another, but one was on the ground, "..Spike..look.. " she whispered.
A girl with red and yellow hair stood over another girl, a small, yet threatening creature stood by her side, it's fur matching her hair style, " Well I was, and I was about to pick it up but you just had to ruin everything by being a goody-two-shoes, " she spoke in an an angry tone of voice and stomped her foot.
The creature next to her flared up it's tail and let out a small growl, " Flare..... " giving the timid voiced girl a sharp glare.
The flame haired girl simply looked down at it and gave a big smirk, " Flareon's right, you really shouldn't pick up things that don't belong to you, you might get hurt otherwise.
Twilight got a better look at the girl who was on the ground, she had pink hair, wore a green skirt with a butterfly embroidered on it, and a white shirt without any sleeves, "...w...well..it doesn't really belong to you e..either.. "
" Excuse me! " the angry girl practically yelled out at her as she stomped her foot.
"...N..nothing..I said nothing... " she tried to back away some, but didn't get far before the lockers behind her stopped her.
" That's exactly what I thought, " the flame haired girl crossed her arms, " it's mine and you know it, you know, you are pathetic, it's no wonder your only friends are the stray pokemon you take into that little shanty house of yours, not like my Flareon, isn't that right sweetie, " She picked the small fiery furred creature up in her arms and grinned wickedly at the girl who she just belittled.
" Flareon", it simply turned it's head away from the pink haired girl, giving a smug grin of its own
" Oh and don't let this happen again, we wouldn't want her knowing you have a dangerous creature with you at all times, " she chuckled as she turned away to walk off.
She didn't get far though, as someone stepped in her way, that someone being Twilight Sparkle, " How dare you speak to her like that! "
She glared daggers at the purple and pink haired girl before, " What did you just say, " she started walking at a faster pace towards her, as did the girl before her.
Everyone else in the hall, save for the pink haired girl on the ground, cleared out of the way, not wanting to get caught in the middle of what was going on. Twilight was furious, " I said, how dare you speak to her like that, you have no right to do so! " both of her fist were balled up tightly as the two girls stared one another down.
However the fiery haired girl gave a small chuckle and slightly pulled back form hair, " Now I get it, you must be new here, " she shoved her out of her way and started walking off again, " I have the right to speak to anyone anyway I want, isn't that right Flareon? "
" Flare! " the small furry creature replied in what Twilight could only assume was an agreement.
Once she was gone Twilight turned towards the girl who was on the floor, who had stood up as soon as the other girl was out of sight, " Oh goodness, I can't believe you just stood up to her like that, " she spoke in a shocked tone of voice.
Twilight gave a small smile " Well I couldn't just stand there and watch her treat you like that, it just wasn't right ".
The pink hair girl stood there and slightly rubbed her arm, " Well, it's just surprising is all, I mean, no one stands up to Sunset Shimmer like that ".
Twilight's eyes went wide and her pupils shrunk, " Sunset Shimmer?! " that was the same name Celestia had told her when she Spoke about the pony that took Twilight's crown.
" Sunset Shimmer?! " Spike suddenly cried out, " Twilight, isn't she the one who, " but he was cut off by Twilight covering his mouth with her hand.
" You mean you've heard of her, " the pink hair girl asked in a slightly surprised tone of voice.
Twilight stood silent for a second before speaking, "...I guess you could say that.. "
The girl with the pink hair looked at Twilight for a moment before speaking again, " Now that I think of it, I don't think I've ever seen you around here before, did you just transfer here to Canterlot Trainers Academy from another school? "
Twilight gave a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of her head, "..Yeah I did, " sweat ran down her forehead as she spoke, " I did transfer from..another..school... " Spike slapped his own forehead in response to Twilight's behavior, " My name's Twilight, and this is my uh...little brother, Spike, " she said, giving another sheepish grin hoping that she bought her, somewhat true lie.
The timid girl took a step back, turned her head away and grasped her arm, "..I...I'm...Fluttershy.. " she said in a quiet squeaky voice.
Having not exactly heard her right, Twilight took a step forward, just to make sure she was hearing correctly, " Um, I'm sorry but could you repeat that again? "
The girl known as Fluttershy took a step back, looking even more timid as she let out an even quieter, and squeakier voice than the first time, "..It...it's....Fluttershy..... " she did her best to hide her face behind the hair that covered it, trying her hardest not to make direct eye contact.
Upon hearing what she said, Twilight began looking very confused, " It...it sounds like you're saying Fluttershy..but, how can that be possible? "
But before Fluttershy could question as to what Twilight meant, she caught a glimpse of a small green bug creature crawling on Spike's Shoulder, " Oh my goodness!! " she said excitedly, rushing past Twilight, and nearly knocking Spike over to get to the small insect. " What an adorable little Caterpie, whose a good little bug pokemon, " she smiled as she rubbed it where it's chin would be.
Twilight was even more confused than when she said her name was Fluttershy, " Pokemon? wait a second, Spike?! where did you get that from?! "
Spike smiled sheepishly as sweat ran down his head, " I um, well, I found it while we were walking here, it looked lost so I...picked it up ".
Twilight's hand met her face in response to Spike's explanation, " Spike, why didn't you tell me, who knows what that thing could do, it could be really dangerous! um, what is it anyway "
Fluttershy giggled as she picked the green worm "Pokemon" as she called it, " You mean this little cutie, it's just a harmless little Caterpie, there's a whole bunch of them around the school, your brother must've found a stray one though ".
" ...I see... " Twilight rubbed her chin, still not sure what to make of everything so far, and still being confused at the same time.
" Caterpie huh, so that's what this little guys name is? " Spike questioned as she scratched his head.
Giving another small giggle, Fluttershy shook her head, " that's not this little fellas name, that's just what his species is called, but I guess at the same time it is his name if you don't have a nickname for him ". She kneeled down to reach into her back, pulling out a handful of small brown pieces of food, " Here you go you adorable little thing, eat up, " she held her hand out to the Caterpie, smiling as it nibbled away at the food she offered it.
It wasn't long before the small green worm ate everything she offered to him, in response to the generous act, the Caterpie lifted the front half of it's body up and wiggled around happily, " Reee reee, " this caused Fluttershy's smile to grow.
" It'd be so nice to know what their thinking don't you agree, " Fluttershy picked the green worm up and sat it atop of Spike's head, continuing to smile as she did.
" I'm not sure exactly, but I think it's along the lines of, thanks for the food, I think " Spike replied.
Twilight let out a small "ahem" to get their attention, " Not to be rude, um, Fluttershy, but Sunset Shimmer said you grabbed something that belonged to her, by any chances...it...um, wasn't a crown, was it? " she asked, hoping that this girl who shared the same name and likeliness of her good friend, knew where her crown was.
Fluttershy let out a small gasp, " H..how did you know it was a crown? " she was befuddled as to how this new girl knew exactly what it was that Sunset Shimmer was talking about.
Twilight gave her own sheepish grin in response, as well as moving her eyes away from Fluttershy's to hide the little fib, " Um, lucky guess I guess, " however she quickly changed the subject the second she got a chance to, " You still have it don't you?! "
A shake of the head was Fluttershy's response however, "..But..I do know what happened to it, " she grabbed her arm and started rubbing it nervously again. " It was earlier today, I was out in front of the academy handing out fliers for the Pokemon shelter like I do every Wednesday, no one was even paying attention to me though...I felt so sad that I dropped all my fliers and fell to the ground, but before I could really start crying, something hit me in the back of the head ". She moved her hand from her arm to her head, rubbing it in the exact spot she was hit, " It was the prettiest looking crown I had ever seen, b..but I had no earthly idea how it got there, but I didn't want anything bad to happen to it, so I um, well I gave it to Headmaster Celestia, just to be safe ".
" Headmaster Celestia?! is she...is she the one who rules this place?? "Twilight asked, her confusion only growing the more she learned about this place.
Fluttershy herself wasn't really sure how to react to how Twilight worded it, but she did know what she meant, " I..suppose you could say that, if you want I guess, I mean she and Vice-Headmaster Luna do make the rules around here ".
Twilight slightly jumped in place, trying her hardest to hold in her excitement, she finally had something to go off of, " Where can I find her at the moment?! "
After taking a second to think Fluttershy responded to Twilight's somewhat distressed question, " If I had to guess, I'd say she's in her office right about now ".
" Thank you so much! " Twilight said, giving a big smile to Fluttershy, " Spike and I will just go there now! "
However, before she could take off, Fluttershy grabbed her backpack, stopping her in her tracks, " Oh Twilight, one last thing, " she began. She looked Twilight in the face and gave a bright smile, " Thank youagain..for um, helping me out with Sunset Shimmer...she's always so mean..and she always threatens to tell Headmaster Celestia that I have a dangerous creature with me... "
" Dangerous? how dangerous could anything you can carry in your arms be, why don't you show me the "creature" she was talking about, " Twilight smiled, placing her hand on her "new" friends shoulder.
"Well..um...OK " her voice was becoming slightly shaky at this point. Twilight watched as she pulled out a red and white sphere from her backpack, it wasn't very big, not until she pressed a white button on the center, causing it to expand, "..G...go Ursaring " she called out in her quiet voice.
Both Twilight and Spikes eyes went wide at the sudden sight of a tall bear-like creature, appearing as if by magic. The creature lifted it's large powerful arms up and let out a loud cry, " Ursaring!!!!! " it looked extremely aggressive at first glance, that was until it took notice of it's trainer.
Fluttershy let out a small giggle as it picked her up in a surprisingly gentle hug, " Ursaring's not dangerous, hes just.. a little protective, " she reached up and patted it on it's head, causing the large bear to smile, " Ursaring, these are my new friends, Twilight and Spike, I want you to be very kind to them do you understand.
" Ursa, " it gave a small nod and a smile in response to her request.
Sweat ran down Twilight's head as she smiled back at the creature who towered over her, " Yep, that's me, Fluttershy's new friend..now um, we'll be going to see prince- I mean, Headmaster...Celestia ".
Fluttershy smiled, " Alright then Twilight, oh by the way, her office is that way, third door on the left " she pointed in the opposite direction Twilight was originally going, receiving a blush of embarrassment from her purple haired friend.
Grasping Spikes arm, Twilight took off in the direction Fluttershy pointed, she waved goodbye to her as she ran, " Thank you Fluttershy! "
Spike did his best not to get dragged behind Twilight like carry-on luggage, " Twi-i-i-light! not so fast!! " he managed to quickly put his new green friend in his coat pocket to prevent him from flying off his head.
" No time Spike, the sooner we get to her office, the sooner we can get my crown back! " she was the most excited she had been since she arrived in this new place. A door came into view with the name Celestia written on it, " That must be the room Spike, " she came to a skidding halt in front of the door, taking a short moment to catch her breath, " Alright Spike, here goes nothing, let's get my crown back, " she took a deep breath, raised her hand towards the door, and proceeded to knock on the door.
A voice on the other side responded with the words, " Come in, " which is just what the two did.