The room was circular and its walls were filled with tall bookshelves. On the ground floor, there was a statue of a pony's head. Surrounding this statue was a circular table that contained several computers and chairs. The floor was sea green. A few white tables with chairs were there. Near the glass double door entrance was an area with a counter and a few computers and a few chairs behind the counter.
There was also another floor connected to the ground floor by a wooden staircase. This floor contained even more bookshelves not just lining up the wall but also occupying more of the floor.
The ceiling was a grand glass dome with a yellow top at the center. From the ceiling hung a blue banner with a yellow star.
And an amber human sat on one of the tables, studiously reading a book; she had red and yellow hair. Among the other clothes she was wearing, she wore a leather jacket.
Beside the book, there was a hardcover book. On it was a symbol. It was a stylized red and yellow sun.
And the book beeped.
She looked at the book with the symbol. "Twilight?" she said.
She looked around.
There was no one else there.
She looked back at the book.
"'Dear Sunset Shimmer,'" she read and whispered, "'I know that it hasn't been that long since the last time I wrote to you, but I'm sorry to not tell you this any sooner. I've been so caught up in everything that has happening recently that I just couldn't find much time, and when I did, I thought I could delay writing to you to a more comfortable time. But, here I am now. You do remember the changelings, right?'"
Sunset looked up from the book. "Changelings. The evil shape-shifting creatures I've read about back in Equestria? Oh, no." She looked back at the book. "Did they invade? Did they attack?! Am I being called to help in the fight?!"
She looked around again.
There was no one else there in the library. A few human students were walking by in the hallway, but none of them took a glance at Sunset.
She looked back at the book.
"'It's a rather surprising turn of event,'" she continued on, "'but the changelings did attack and they were soundly defeated by my student Starlight Glimmer and her friends.'"
She sighed. Then, the smile on her face went away. "Wait, what if they still caused a lot of damage to Equestria? Maybe she might still call me to help in the effort!" Her voice was trembing. Then, she sighed again. "Well, it would be nice to pay a visit to Equestria again." She looked back at the book.
"'The surprise was that the changelings are now very different! They're now good! They're no longer love-hungry creatures ready and willing to steal love from others. They are honest and kind changelings, now! King Thorax is their leader and he's as eager to learn about the magic of friendship just like the rest of them!"
And Sunset Shimmer looked up from the book and had a face of shock and wonder with a little bit of surprise.
She looked around again.
The students that were walking in the hallway did not pay attention to the only student inside the library.
"This is big news," she said. "One of the most vile creatures ever...are now...good? And they're excited about friendship?"
She looked back at the book.
"'That's why I haven't been able to write back to you for a few weeks. There were lots of events, lots of things to do to help the Changeling Kingdom get back on its hooves. There were friendship talks, there were friendship lessons, we let changelings go here and there all around Equestria, and there were royal talks and discussions with Thorax and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and Princess Cadance and other leaders about the situation. Then again, it was a historical event.
"'Now, I'm not sure if you've told your friends about the changelings, especially the other me. It's still awkward having to talk about a you that's somewhat like you but you know is not really you.'" Sunset chuckled. "'Anyway, it's completely OK to tell them about it. I think you should just go and tell the great news about the changelings' reformation! Just don't shout the news or else even more people will know about the magical connection between your world and ours and we wouldn't want any villainous villain from either world to misuse this connection for evil. You know, just tell the news secretly.'" Sunset chuckled again, smiling.
"'Also, do you and your friends still have those magical powers from your time at Camp Everfree? Because I would love to see Equestrian magic operating in your otherwise magicless world! I wonder how differently it operates there compared to how it operates here! Who could imagine the data that we could get from observing this magic in your world first-hoof?
"'So, other than the big news, I and my friends are doing quite fine! A few days ago, we returned from a friendship retreat and we even sang a song! Even though singing a song probably made us lose a world record. Anyway, I hope you're doing well there, learning and enjoying friendship and spreading friendship. Don't be hesitant to write to me.
"'Your friend, Twilight Sparkle. The one from Equestria, not the one from your world.'"
Sunset chuckled again.
And the glass doors opened.
A lavender human wearing among other clothes a pair of glasses and a backpack—she opened the glass doors and entered the library. She looked at Sunset. "Hi, Sunset! How's it going?"
"Actually," she began, "you arrived just in time, Twilight!"
"Just in time for what?" Twilight Sparkle asked. "I was going to borrow some books for the test next week."
"And, here's the portal!" Twilight Sparkle announced, gesturing a hoof towards the contraption.
At the center there was a mirror. Around the mirror was a set of machines and devices all placed together to form a coherent, usable thing.
The two changelings, accompanied by Trixie, looked and beheld the contraption.
"It used to be in Canterlot, then it was moved to the Crystal Empire when Princess Cadance became the Princess, and then it was moved over here. Naturally, it activates every thirty moons, but with this contraption and this book—" She held up a book which had a symbol of the sun on the cover "—we can activate the mirror anytime and we can freely travel from here to there!"
The changelings were smiling even wider.
"However, this is not something to take for granted," Twilight said. "If we send too many to their world, the balance between our worlds would be upset and I don't know what would happen if we upbest the balance. It's better to play it safe."
One of the changelings raised a hoof. "What's it like there? We know you've been there, before."
"Yes," Trixie added, "tell them about the Great and Powerful Trixie that resides there!"
Twilight frowned at her. She faced the changelings. "Well, my trips there were...strange, to say the least. I had to walk on two legs, I had hands instead of hooves, and it was a very different world. However, it turns out that our worlds aren't that different—most of the ponies here have counterparts over there, and they mostly have the same personalities. Not completely the same, but very similar."
"Are there changelings in that world?" The other changeling asked excitedly. "What do they look like?"
"Sunset hasn't told me about changelings actually being there," she replied. "She said that she would know if she detected one. But, I guess you would look like a...creature that stands on two legs and has hands instead of hooves." She smiled awkwardly. "It's my best guess."
"Can we go there?!" the first changeling yelled. "I would like to go to another dimension!"
"Trixie," Twilight said, looking at Trixie with a concerned face, "you didn't tell them that they'd get a free trip, did you?"
Trixie laughed nervously, anxiously gesturing with a hoof. "Well, I wanted to hype up the changelings throughout the tour of the castle, and I probably made the mirror sound like a door."
Twilight arched an eyebrow. "'Made the mirror sound like a door'?"
"Because, you know that you can open and close doors and go through them whenver you want."
Twilight groaned and placed a hoof on her head. She faced the changelings, grumbling a little. "The mirror is not something you could use everyday and whenver you want to. It's a portal to another world! You can't just destroy it and replace it with another one. If you misuse this mirror, the consequences would be terrible! Now, I don't know what the consequences are, but I know that they are consequences that you do not want to cause!"
The two changelings looked at each other.
"In short, it's bad!"
The two changelings quickly nodded.
"Don't worry about them, Twilight," Trixie said. She placed a hoof on one of them. "I can take care of these nice, precious changelings for you!"
"Why do I have a feeling it's not going to turn out the way I expect it to be?" Twilight snided.
"They can be occupied with all these wonderful books instead!" Trixie gestured towards the many books within the long shelves of the library, even turning. "I'm sure there's a book that they'll be interested in. Or, I can just amaze them with my wondrous works of magic!"
"As long as you don't destroy any of the books, especially this one—" She held up the book with the symbol of the sun again "—then, everything is going to be alright. Please don't make me worried, Trixie."
Trixie giggled. She pulled one of the changelings closer to her. "Oh, they're going to be alright!"
The school had a slightly regal appearance to it—yellow statues of ponies' heads were at the corners of the red, slanted roof. The school was painted red with many neatly arranged glass windows on its walls. Beside it was a small group of trees and other green foiliage. On the other side, there was the sports area, containing at least a soccer field. Behind the school was an asphalted parking lot and a basketball court.
In front of the school were asphalt paths towards the glass doors entrance. At the center of the front yard, a statue of a horse. Around the statue were a group of chatting, laughing friends, among them Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle.
The rest of the girls there also smiled.
"So, Princess Twilight wrote to me about what just happened in Equestria lately," Sunset said, holding the book.
The girls leaned in. "What is it?" Twilight asked.
"Is this a guessing game?!" The pink girl with the pink curly hair yelled excitedly. "What kind of guessing game is this? Does it have points? Do the points matter? Is it the normal guessing game or do we have to also guess about the instructions and the rules of the game as well?"
"Ah' don't think it's gonna be that complicated, Pinkie," the light orange girl with a brown hat responded. She looked at Sunset. "Like Twilight said, what's the news?"
"Remember the changelings?"
The six girls in front of her did not respond with a word. They just looked at her.
Then, Twilight raised a hand. "You mean the creatures from Equestria that feed on love? The ones you told me about weeks ago?"
Sunset nodded. "Yes!" She looked at the rest of the girls, still looking at her in confusion. "Well, I think you've heard the most basic and simple explanation about the changelings."
"Isn't that scary?" the light orange girl said. "Ah' wouldn't wanna go near any of them!"
"Well, how's that related to the news?" the blue girl with rainbow-colored hair said. "Just tell us already!"
"Alright, Rainbow!" Sunset opened the book. "Princess Twilight said that the changelings are now not evil!"
And the rest of the girls besides Twilight looked at Sunset in confusion again. Twilight looked at her in amazement. "Looks like my pony Princess counterpart is good at diplomacy!"
"Uh, I don't think it had anything to do with diplomacy," Sunset said.
"Let me guess," the girl with the purple hair said. "They fired beams of magical friendship at the changelings."
"Twilight never told me the details, Rarity" Sunset replied.
"Judging by how we defeated evil creatures with magic, they might as well be using the same methods."
"Maybe friendly diplomacy?" the bright yellow girl with pink hair asked. "Magical friendly diplomacy?"
Rarity looked at her. "Fluttershy, I don't think that in that magical land of Equestria, diplomacy is practiced with mere words. Of couse, there will be magic!"
"Uh, why aren't you as excited as I am about the changelings being good now?" Sunset asked the rest of the girls.
"Think about it, Sunset," Rainbow Dash replied. "We've never enocuntered a single changeling at all. Maybe you have, but that's probably when you were still a student of Princess Celestia. It's not like we're concerned about any magical creatures like manticores because they're over there in Equestria, not here."
The light orange girl faced Sunset. "Rainbow does have a point." She faced Twilight. "Why are ya' excited if yer've never been to that Equestria in the first place?"
"Because of how magical and wonderful Equestria is?" Twilight replied. "Applejack, if you encountered the pony version of yourself and observed her going about a day of farm's work and using the power of Earth pony magic, wouldn't you be at least impressed?"
Applejack nodded. "Why, Ah would like to see how mah' pony self works on the farm."
"And, when you realize that the magic of Equestria isn't really that mysterious, that it can actually be classified, organized, and systemized, don't you think that Equestria's magic is going to be at least intersting?" She faced Rarity. "Would you?"
"I would certainly think so," Rarity replied. "What's your point, Twilight? Is it your desire to study and explore things getting to you again?"
"Yeah!" She smiled. "And, when you see changelings as actual, living creatures that live in another dimension that we can go to just by using a portal that's just right here—" She placed a hand on the base of the statue "—then wouldn't you at least want to know about them more? Wouldn't you then be surprised when something drastic like a whole species becoming good happens?"
And the five girls looked at each other and looked at Twilight and slowly nodded their heads.
"Then, that's why I'm excited!" Twilight said. "How would Equestria react to this? How would the kingdoms around Equestria react to this? How would individual ponies react to this? How would our pony selves react to this? It's great to try to answer these questions."
"Unless you actually go there," Rainbow responded.
"Wait, what will changelings look like if they go here?" Rarity asked.
"Sunset told me that they're like ponies except they're more bug-like, so I guess they'll just look like us."
And the side of the statue glowed brightly.
And two humans flew out of the statue and onto the ground.
The girls moved out of the way, some of them screaming.
"Did Twilight's spell work?" one of them asked. "Like, can we walk like the creatures here?" Then, he stood up.
The other stood up as well.
They looked at each other.
And they looked at the girls.
"Uh, have you been here before?" Sunset asked. "You don't seem...surprised."
"Uh, no...?" the first one replied. Then, he looked around, looking at the school, and the streets, and the many houses and lots that looked peaceful. "What is this place?"
"Didn't you listen to Twilight?" the other said. "We're in that other dimension!" He looked at Twilight. "Twilight?"
"Uh, Sunset?" Twilight said, facing Sunset. "Do you know these ponies, or...people?"
"They don't look familiar," Sunset said.
Rainbow took made fists with her hands. "What if they're trying to infiltrate this world?"
"Now, just wait, Rainbow!" Applejack said, pushing Rainbow aside. "They might be friendly."
Fluttershy walked up to them.
The two's looked surprised, amazed, yet bothered, glancing at the different people.
"What's your names?" Fluttershy said. "I'm Fluttershy. Probably not the Fluttershy you know about back in Equestria. I'm a different Fluttershy." She smiled.
"Uh, my name's Novate Spruce and this is my friend, Upbeat." He gestured a hand towards his friend who waved at the girls.
Sunset looked around.
There was not that many students walking around.
"And, we're the first changelings ever to step forth into another dimension!" Novate Spruce declared.
"What?!" the girls yelled together.
"And with clothes that shiny yet so gaudy?!" Rarity yelled.