Back in Ponyville, the two sisters were staring at a painting, a work of art that unfortunately neither of them recognized but was still inspiring nonetheless. “Pony anatomy here is...very unique,” Celestia commented.
“You know...there was one question I kind of wanted to ask Twilight before but…” Luna blushed slightly. “I'm kind of embarrassed to ask.”
“Please don't tell me you're wondering if they sell nude magazines here,” Celestia guessed.
“What!?” Luna's pupils shrank as she stared at her sister. “Celestia! Why would you even-!?”
“Am I right or wrong?” Celestia asked, a smirk on her face.
Luna cleared her throat. “No actually… I was going to ask if they...er...have facilities for...you know.”
“Oh.” Now Celestia looked uncomfortable. “I wouldn't think they'd be that... primitive.”
“Hmm...well anyway, I'm curious about something. If this is, in most cases, a parallel world then one would think our counterparts are very similar to us, correct?”
“Well I don't know many royals so hopefully they're not…well the stereotypical royal.”
“Probably not since we know both Twilight and her counterpart are very much the same. Speaking of which, I wonder where she-” Suddenly there was a scream. “Um...is she okay?”
“Well, I didn't hear an explosion so-”
Suddenly Twilight burst into the room, looking very frantic around the room. “Oh no no no I knew I should've tidied up better this morning!” If it wasn't for the fact that she looked like she was going to have a heart attack, the scene would be very adorable.
“Is something wrong?” Celestia asked.
Twilight suddenly giggled. “Wrong? Oh not at all, I just have two minutes before the princesses show up here and I haven't even prepared anything.” She started pacing. “I can't use the throne room...we have to keep this secret...maybe I could…” Suddenly her horn glowed and a large table appeared in the middle of the room. “Perfect! I may have to explain why the dining room table is missing but...oh well!” She then summoned chairs that would be comfortable for the four ponies. “Let me think...ah! I still need to make tea! Do you two like cucumber sandwiches?”
Celestia and Luna looked at one another. “Well I personally like peanut butter and banana…” Luna began.
“That would be fine,” Celestia said as she glared at her sister. “Are you sure you don't need help?”
“Oh no no, you two make yourselves comfortable!” Twilight then teleported off to presumably the kitchen.
“Well...that's definitely the Twilight we know,” Luna commented. She then looked up at her horn. “I wonder how they do it…”
“Let's not blow up the castle on our first visit.”
It was only a minute later when two bright lights went off in front of them, blinding them for a few moments before they looked and saw two identical figures staring back at them.
“Oh my…” Princess Luna said. “Twilight Sparkle speaks the truth.”
“It's truly like staring in the mirror,” Luna replied.
“We apologize for the sudden entrance,” Princess Celestia said. “We wanted to surprise Twilight and we detected your presence in this part of the castle. But I'm not surprised that she isn't here.”
“She felt the need to go make tea and sandwiches,” Celestia replied.
Princess Celestia smiled. “That doesn't surprise me. But where are our manners?” The two princesses came forward and formally introduced themselves. “I don't believe names need to be exchanged of course but as Twilight may have mentioned, we are both rulers of Equestria.”
“I suppose you could say the main rulers,” Princess Luna added. “The system is kind of hard to explain.”
“To be honest, it's kind of shocking to know there's another me out there, especially one that's both a pony and royalty,” Celestia said.
“Oh?” Princess Celestia looked confused. “We were under the impression that you two had similar titles.”
Luna suddenly laughed. “If being principals of a high school were just as important then yes you'd be correct.”
The two princesses gave each other a glance. “So...who is your authority figure?” Princess Luna asked.
Celestia and Luna sighed. “You don't want to know,” Celestia replied.
The door behind them opened and Twilight came in with a pot of tea and a tray of small sandwiches. “Alright, that should be every-ahh!” Despite the surprise, she did well not to drop anything. “Princess Celestia! Princess Luna! You...didn't come from the front entrance did you?”
“I apologize on my sister's behalf,” Princess Luna said. “She wanted to surprise you.”
Princess Celestia gave an innocent look. “I just didn't want to inconvenience Twilight, that's all.”
“We're just getting to know each other, that's all,” Celestia said.
As tea was poured out and sandwiches served, the two sets of sisters explained to one another about recent events. “So somehow Equestrian magic came to your world before Sunset Shimmer arrived and your world's Twilight and the others found gems similar to the Elements of Harmony?” Princess Luna asked.
“That's how Sunset explained it,” Luna replied.
Princess Celestia suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Speaking of which...I'm assuming she's doing well?”
“Well, considering she's now saved the school three times, yes I would say so,” Celestia said. “She's really come around in a short amount of time. I'd say if it weren't for Twilight, it wouldn't be so great at Canterlot High.”
Twilight blushed slightly. “Oh I didn't do that much…”
“Actually, with all that's happened I maybe partly to blame,” Princess Celestia sighed. “I was the one who introduced her to the mirror in the first place. But more than that, I should've been more understanding instead of... driving her away.” Luna smiled sympathetically as she put her hoof in hers. “If I may ask...has she ever talked about... wanting to come back?”
“Honestly, we haven't really spoken much with her on that,” Celestia said. “I figured it was...a personal matter.”
Princess Celestia sat in her seat silently for a moment. “Luna...care for another sandwich?”
“Actually I think I'm good really-”
“Oh no I insist.” Princess Celestia suddenly dropped the rest of the sandwiches onto her sister's plate. “Oh dear. I guess that's it for the sandwiches. Twilight, you wouldn't by chance have any extras would you? I'm sure Luna and I wouldn't mind if you went and got us more...right Luna?”
Princess Luna blinked for a moment and then finally caught on. “Oh yes, these sandwiches are amazing, I'd love to take some home as well.”
Twilight looked confused on the matter. “R-Right...okay I can bring more.” Grabbing the plate with her magic, she then left the room.
Once the door closed, Princess Celestia looked towards the two sisters. “Please don't get the wrong impression when I ask this but why exactly did you come here?”
Celestia and Luna looked at each other nervously. “Well, I was the one who wanted to come here, mostly out of curiosity.”
“I see.” The two princesses nodded to one another and both of them grinned. “To be honest...we were kind of curious about your world as well. There's a lot we don't know and while we'd love to check it out, we couldn't possibly leave the kingdom behind.”
“Until now of course,” Princess Luna smirked.
“Now?” Luna asked.
“How about a deal?” Princess Celestia asked. “Since we're both interested in each other's world, how about we switch places? Today, you two become princesses and we become regular citizens.”
The look of surprise on their faces was expected. “But we don't have experience in government, not to mention we've never used magic before,” Celestia said.
“Fortunately, it's been a slow day for both of us,” Princess Luna assured them. “Most of what we do is paperwork, which is nothing new for you two.”
“And as far as magic goes, it's difficult to learn at first but you get the hang out of it rather quickly. Considering you two are apparently now alicorns yourselves, you have the potential, you just have to learn how to use it and how to control it.”
“I just have one question, if you don't mind me asking,” Luna said. “Is it true you two are...well over a thousand years old?”
Both princesses smiled proudly. “It's one attribute of being an alicorn, yes,” Celestia replied.
“So...if hypothetically if I were to stay here, I'd never grow old?”
“Hmm...that could be possible…” Princess Luna replied.
The room grew quiet but soon a chuckle began. The chuckle turned to laughter, which only grew louder and more hysterical. Celestia could only stare at her sister in confusion. “I SHALL LIVE FOREVER!” Luna declared gleefully.
“Yeah... we're not doing that,” Celestia said.
“Aw…”
Princess Luna looked to her sister in concern. “Was I like that before-”
“Oh yes.” Princess Celestia cleared her throat. “So...do we have a deal?”
“Well, it actually does sound kind of fun,” Celestia said. She looked to Luna and she nodded as well. “Alright, we'll do it. But for how long?”
“Just a day,” Princess Luna replied. “We'll be back before Tia has to lower the sun so you shouldn't have to worry about that.” She tapped her chin in thought. “Then again, it probably wouldn't hurt to explain it just in case…”
“Then there's only one thing left to do.” Both princesses used their magic to take off the crowns they wore, as well as the footwear they were wearing and both crowns softly landed on their respective counterparts’ heads. “Welcome to Equestria, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” Celestia said, renouncing her title. Needless to say, the new two coronated princesses were at a loss of words while looking at their new regalia.
Once Twilight finally returned, apologizing for the wait since she decided to make a larger plate of sandwiches, she came back to see the four ponies were in the exact same spots as when she left. Or so she thought.
Celestia glanced at her counterpart and nodded. “Thank you Twilight. I hope you don't mind but we've all been talking and Luna and I have decided to give these two a tour of the castle in Canterlot,” “Princess” Celestia said.
“Canterlot?” Twilight frowned slightly. “Are you sure that's a good idea?”
“Do not be concerned Twilight, we'll try not to cause any attention,” “Princess” Luna replied. “If worst comes to worst...well the staff has seen much worse from us honestly.”
“Oh...well then I won't keep you all waiting.” Twilight looked slightly disappointed as the dish she was carrying suddenly turned into a to go box full of sandwiches. “Well, I hope you enjoy your tour.”
“Thank you Twilight,” Celestia nodded as she took the box. “I'm sure we'll be back soon.”
With help from the two Princesses, the four of them soon disappeared. Sighing, Twilight then cleared off the table. “I guess I'll just...stay here then and wait til they come back.” She teleported the table back to its rightful place but as she went out the door she paused for a moment. Something was off.
Unicorns can teleport themselves with ease and with a little extra effort they can teleport a large group of ponies, regardless of race. However, it was Celestia and Luna, the human duo, that used magic, which would've been impossible considering they had no practice with magic whatsoever.
Twilight's eyes narrowed with suspicion. Just what were those four up to?