//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: Twilight's Twinlight // by Autum Breeze //------------------------------// Chapter 10 ___________________________________________________________ “HI-YAH!” I shout, thrusting my back legs. They collide with the tree behind me, followed a few seconds later by a shower of apples. I return my hooves to the ground and wipe my forehead. Man, this was a good idea. After we returned from the opening of Rarity’s new store in Canterlot, I asked Twilight for some help figuring out my Earth Pony magic. Luna and Celestia gave me enough training to fly somewhat and use the magic from my horn, but they didn’t have much time to explain how to use my Earth Pony magic. Twilight’s idea of training me to use it, however... was reading up on it. After less than an hour of that, I’d realized it wasn’t going to work that way for me. So, I’d gone to the one Earth Pony I know well enough to give me a few good pointers. Yes, Pinkie Pie is an Earth Pony just like Applejack, but that pink pony makes no sense whatsoever, so I don’t think trying to learn how to harness my Earth Pony traits would go over very well there. Instead, I came out here, to Sweet Apple Acres and asked Applejack to give me a hoof. She was glad for the help. Apparently they’ll soon be holding something called the Sister Hooves Social and with all the prep work needed, they were happy for an extra set of hooves to make up for the slow farm work. And, man, am I glad I chose to do this. Yeah, I’m a bit sweaty and dirty, but this is great. Earth Pony magic comes from being close to the soil and energies of the land itself. It’s why Earth Ponies are able to grow stuff far faster than I know is logically possible if looking at it from a human perspective. Lighting my horn, I pull the now full baskets of apples and start heading back towards the barn to set them with all the others. As I near it, I can hear Apple Bloom’s voice. She sounds... anxious? Huh. Wonder what’s up. Putting my loads down, I move closer in time to hear Applejack saying, “Let me just go over to Twilight’s castle and see what’s what. Maybe it’s just a false alarm.” As I near the door, I’m bowled over by the farm mare as she hurries off in the direction of the castle. “Sorry ’bout that, Ken!” I hear her call as I shake my head to clear the dizziness. Frowning, I tell Big Mac I’m going to head back to the castle and see what’s going on too. He shrugs, so I take that as an okay and head off to the castle. Upon arriving, however, I see Rarity and Applejack leaving, neither looking all too happy. Frowning, I head inside and search for Twilight, eventually finding her sitting in the room with the six thrones and what I like to call the Cutie Map. She’s sitting in her throne, her forelegs on the table, her head propped up by one of her forelegs. Looking to the map, I see Rarity and Applejack’s Cutie Marks hovering around a small area of a suburb of Manehattan. “What’s up, Twilight?” I ask, cocking an eye at her. She groans, before looking at me. “Oh, nothing. Just that the map finally found another friendship problem that needs to be fixed and, again, I’m not one of the ponies summoned to help fix it.” She flops her head forward, the rest of her words muffled a little. “I really wanted to go to Manehatten too. I’m so bored, I’d be happy for anything to do.” I cock an eyebrow. “Um, Twilight, you’re a princess.” She looks up slightly, giving me a deadpan stare, before extending her wings. “Gee, thanks. I never would’ve guessed.” I frown. “No, I mean, why can’t you go to Manehatten? You’re a princess. I doubt there’s a law saying royalty need permission or a special reason to go visit somewhere.” She blinks, before looking at me with an expression as if she just figured out the most amazing thing in the world, but I’m not done. I nod my head towards the mirror surrounded by all the weird gizmos and junk. “Not to mention, you’ve a portal to a whole other dimension. What? You’re bored, but the idea of exploring a whole other world doesn’t sound interesting enough to kill a few hours?” She blinks again, before letting out a gasp more akin to Pinkie Pie than her. Before I can figure out how, because I know damn well she didn’t use a teleport spell, she’s right in front of me, holding my face in her hooves. “Oh. My. Gosh! I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. I can even introduce you to all my Canterlot High friends and—” She gasps again, her eyes twinkling in a way that kinda worries me. “I can introduce you to Sunset Shimmer! She’ll love meeting you! Not to mention you were a human before all this! You can give us better an understanding of how it all feels! This is amazing!” “Should’ve kept that idea to yerself there, Ken,” Spike mutters and I suddenly feel that I probably agree with him. Twilight drops me, causing my head to bang against the crystal floor, making me dizzy for a moment. “I’ll send Sunset a message to let her know we’re coming and that I’m bringing a special guest. Oh, this is will be so much fun!” Me and my big mouth. ___________________________________________________________ “So… who’s this special guest Twilight’s bringing with her again?” Rainbow asked as the six girls waited next to the horse statue that marked the portal to Equestria. “She didn’t say,” Sunset shrugged, opening her journal again and looking over the message Twilight had sent her about an hour ago. Dear Sunset Shimmer, I can’t believe I didn’t think of coming over sooner. Spike, myself and a very special guest I want you all to meet will be coming through the portal at 12:23:34pm. I hope it’s alright, but I was thinking this time I’d spend a few days with you girls without us all having to worry about the fate of either of our worlds hanging in the balance. Just hang out, you know. Also, I know my special guest will be quite the surprise to you all. In fact, they probably know more about your world than I do, and they’ve never even been there! Will see you all soon, Twilight. “Pretty sudden, if’n ya ask me,” Applejack said, taking her hat off and brushing some of her bang out of her eyes. “But, at least Twi chose the weekend fer this.” Rarity nodded, wearing a curious expression. “I agree with Applejack, it is a bit of a sudden thing for Twilight to do, however, I am quite glad to get to spend some time with her again. Her visits have always been far too short.” “Not to mention there’s always something happening when she comes,” Fluttershy interjected. “Last time it was the sirens and before that, she had to stop Sunset.” Sunset nodded. “Yeah. It will be nice to just hang for once. No need to fear Equestrian Magic on the loose, no Dark Magic forces to contend with, just a fun time hanging with our friend.” The portal began to shimmer, before Twilight stepped out, Spike right on her heels. Cheers rang out as the friends all greeted each other and shared hugs, or in Spike’s case, got petting, belly rubs and ear scratches. “Hold on. This is not a human body.” There was silence for a moment. That had been Twilight’s voice, but Twilight had not spoken those words. The girls and Spike all turned and what they saw made their eyes widen and the jaws of all save the princess and her dog drop. There was another girl there, though her appearance made them all feel like they must be seeing things. She was a girl around the same age as Twilight, had lavender skin and deep purple eyes. That was where the similarities ended, however. Her hair, while the same colours as Twilight’s, was spiky. As for her clothes, they were different too. She was wearing a yellow shirt with Twilight’s Cutie Mark on the on the left hip side underneath a purple vest that stopped just above the star pattern, purple shorts, white socks and black buckle shoes. “Huh?” was Rainbow Dash’s response. “Uh… am Ah seein’ double, or is there another Twilight sittin’ in front of the portal?” Her voice seemed to catch the Twilight double’s attention and she looked up, her eyes widening, before she deadpanned and got up, her legs wobbling a little. “Girls,” Twilight said, holding a hand out towards her double, “I’d like you to meet my new twin sister, Ken.” There was a pause as her last words passed through the other six’s minds, before they all shouted, “WHAT?!” “Since when do you have a sister?” Dash asked. “And how come you never told us about her before?” Applejack asked, unable to stop staring at the second lavender girl. “Well, she only became my sister recently,” Twilight grinned sheepishly, scratching her neck. “Wait, what?” Sunset turned, her eyebrow raised in absolute bewilderment. “How can you have a twin sister and her only become your sister recently? That doesn’t even make sense.” ___________________________________________________________ I brush off my new clothes, feeling confused as I glance from Twilight to myself. She’d explained how when traveling through the portal it would have us come out wearing clothes instead of entering the human world butt naked, but this makes no sense. Twilight is wearing a light-blue, maybe cyan, blouse-shirt with a small purple ribbon tied just before her neck, a purple skirt with her Cutie Mark on the left side and large boots… yet I’m wearing the attire I currently am. I don’t understand. I thought I was an exact double of Twilight in every way save the mind and personality. So, when coming through the portal, shouldn’t I have been wearing the same thing she is? Maybe it’s something to do with our differences in personality? Urgh. Like I needed more magical homework. She’ll probably wanna spend weeks trying to figure it out. “Hi there!” “YAH!” I cry out, reeling back and almost falling back through the portal, this world’s Pinkie Pie just suddenly appearing right in front of my face, our noses almost touching. How the hell did she do that?! She’s not Pony Pinkie! “I’m Pinkie Pie! It’s great to meet you Twilight’s twin sister who only became her sister recently due to turning into a double of Twilight after dying in your world.” There is a long pause of silence as I just stare, my mouth agape at the whatever counts as human in this world pink girl standing before me. How...? She couldn’t...? Twilight never told... And she’s not even... HOW?! “P-Pinkie Pie?” a girl who looks and sounds similar to Fluttershy says nervously. “Wh-what did you mean by saying Twilight’s sister d-died in her world?” I blink for several moments, before I massage my head to stop the migraine coming on already. After several seconds, I sigh, stand up and look to the shy girl. “I come from a world different than Twilight’s. I’m not sure why, but when I died there, I woke up in Equestria as an exact duplicate of Twilight. Cutie Mark, being an Alicorn, voice, all identical.” Twilight nods, taking over. “We still have no idea why, but Ken ended up my double after death and since she’s dead in her world, she’s staying in Equestria with me at the castle as the newest princess... what of though, we’re still unsure. I don’t think being another Princess of Friendship fits her personality.” Ya got that damn right. One of the girls, Sunset Shimmer if I’m not mistaken from how Twilight described her, suddenly looks to me with an odd frown. “Wait. What did you mean earlier? You said something about your body not being human.” I nod. “And I’m sticking by that.” That causes all the girls to frown slightly and look at me. the multi-coloured haired girl who is clearly this world’s Rainbow Dash looks to me with a frown slightly deeper than the others. “Um, what are you talking about. We’re humans. Always have been, always will be. Why would you think that body you’ve got isn’t a human one?” I shrug. “It may resemble one to a degree, but there are several things wrong with it. Sunset cocks an eyebrow in curiosity. “Oh? Like what?” I look at her with a firm expression before I indicate to my newly shaped female body. “For starters, the proportions are all off. The heads are too big, the eyes are waay to big,” I happen to notice a woman with hair that reminds me of Celestia’s mane step out of the school we came out the portal in front of and point to her, “and do you see the legs on that lady over there? It’s like she’s part giraffe!” Sunset’s expression becomes a mixture of confusion and slight concern. “Well, that—” I cut her off by holding one of my arms up, bent at the elbow, pointing to it with my other hand. “And don’t even get me started on the pastel skin colours. In Equestria, I’ve accepted that ponies have off hair colours because it’s a magical world. Humans are another matter all together. Humans may vary widely when it comes to skin tone, but we all generally stay within a set range of hues and looking at just the eight of us, I see only one tone that looks remotely possible and even then that’s a bit of a stretch!” Sunset just stares, as do the rest of the girls, even Twilight and Spike. “I... I don’t even know how to respond to that,” Sunset says, shaking her head. “Wait.” I look to Twilight. “Did you mention at one point while I wasn’t paying attention that the world I come from is also a human world?” The other lavender skinned girl shakes her head slowly. I sigh, before reaching back and scratching my neck. “Guess we should’ve seen that coming. Either way, while you all look somewhat similar to humans, compared to the humans from the world I originally came from, you don’t really look human.” There’s silence for several long minutes. I fold my arms, before my eyes widen and I unfold them, looking down at my chest. “Wow. Totally forgot about these. Hmm. I honestly think it’s less awkward having them around my crotch.” That causes all faces save Spike’s and Twilight’s to go red. “Well...” Applejack says after several long moments of awkwardness, “yer definitely a character, Ken.” “Yes,” Rarity says, coughing slightly as she tries to hide her blush. “You may look a lot like Twilight, but you clearly are very different as well.” I smirk, putting my hands on my hips. “Damn right, I am.” I then blink, looking down at my hands on my hips, unable to hide a grin. On a female body now or not, it feels REALLY good to be able to move like a human again. Now, if only I could stay in this world. Sadly, unlike Equestria, a new human just arriving here isn’t going to be easy to keep covered. And, much as I hate to admit it, I think I’ll have more fun living in Equestria, human body or no human body. Wonder how Sunset pulled it off. “So...” Rainbow Dash says, her tone indicating she’s clearly trying to change the subject. “Twilight. How long were you guys planning on staying?” Twilight turns her attention to Rainbow and smiles. “Well, we were honestly hoping to stay for the whole weekend. Let’s just say things are kinda slow in Equestria right now.” “And, in all honesty, I’m still kinda curious about this world,” I say, folding my arms as I look around. “Despite the similarities with my old one, there’s clearly a lot of differences too. A weekend off here might be nice.” “Alright!” Pinkie cheers, nearly scaring the shits outta me due to having somehow gotten behind me, grabbed my shoulder and pushed herself upwards in a way that physically is not possible without putting pressure on me, yet I feel none whatsoever. “Sleepover at my place!” Trying to recover from the invasion of space and the sudden knowledge that Pinkie is now back among her friends from this world, I blink, a thought crossing my mind. “Pinkie, do you live with the Cakes in this world?” The pink girl turns to me, her smile never fading. “Nope. My sister Maud and I live in a house paid for by our parents. They said we could since Maud’s been studying for her rocktorate and they trust her to watch over me.” I glance at the others, who all give nods in return to my look. I decide to push thoughts on that aside. If Pinkie’s parents are okay with her and her sister living on their own, who am I to question them? Besides, I’ve seen it enough in anime and other TV shows and books to know it’s not too uncommon. “So, how come you’re all not in school?” Twilight asks as we all start to head off in the direction of what I assume is Pinkie and her sister’s home. “It’s Friday. I was honestly expecting us to have to wait until you all got out.” “School was closed for the day due to cleaning.” I glance at Rainbow Dash, finding that a very odd answer. “Trixie was tryin’ a new trick o’ hers early this mornin’, but it backfired and ended up acting more like a stink bomb,” Applejack answers for me. “School was closed for the day so they could get rid o’ the smell.” Hmm. Twilight told me about a pony named Trixie. Must be her human counterpart... and she clearly has as much trouble with her performances going off swimmingly as her pony self. Still, that’s a reasonable explanation for a closure day. Can’t exactly teach your students while the rooms are filled with a horrible stench. After a few minutes we get to an apartment building and head up to the fourth floor, where Pinkie and Maud’s apartment is. we all sit down in the living room, where Pinkie brings out bowls of chips, lollies and cans of soda. Dash dares me to a game I’ve never heard of, but turns out to be like Mario Kart for the N64. While I was never great at it, that was namely due to having to play it under a time limit since it was at a school holidays program and it’s hard to fully enjoy a game when you’re trying to get through as quickly as possible so you get far into it before having to save and quit. Here, however, we have no real time limit, so I’m able to enjoy myself. At first I fall behind the rainbow haired girl as I readjust to controls I haven’t really played with in years. But, I quickly get used to the controls and the races become damn close. She still beats me every time, but it’s alarmingly close. Her words, not mine. Now, you may be wondering how Twilight and I can wear pajamas when we didn’t bring any through the portal with us. Turns out, Rarity made some for Twilight already and around 3pm she takes me down to her boutique to make me some. I wanna pay her, but she says it’s fine. While I am used to Rarity being generous back in Equestria, I don’t want the her of this world to be too giving, so I agree as long as it’s this one time. Next time, I’ll pay her for any attire. How I’d get the money I’m unsure of, but I’m sure I could think of something. When we come back, I sit down and talk with Sunset Shimmer in the kitchen for a while as the girls enjoy a movie who’s title I honestly don’t pay attention to because I want to talk with the bacon haired girl. Turns out she’s a pretty interesting character. I already knew from Twilight that Sunset had also been Princess Celestia’s personal student, but the way she and Twilight studied are very different. While Twilight would learn by studying ancient books and reading tomes, Sunset liked getting out and doing stuff, rolling up her sleeves and getting her hands dirty, you could say. We connected from that, since, after becoming an Alicorn, I found it much easier to get a grip on my new pony body and what it can do by getting out. It’s nice to know there’s someone similar I can talk to. Plus, Sunset gets can understand my situation far more than Twilight ever could, as she herself is in my situation in it’s own unique way. Like me, Sunset is living in a world and body she wasn’t born into and at times still has to adjust to that. I think I’ll want to hang out with Sunset a lot more in future. We just get each other so easily. “So, how’s your relationship with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?” Sunset asks as we slowly eat some of the snack Pinkie left us. I swallow the gummy worm I’d been eating and frown down at the table, folding my arms. “I’m not really sure. I mean, I get along with them fine, but it’s almost like they expect something from me.” Sunset lowers her can of soda from her lips, an eyebrow raised. “What do you mean?” I look at her. “All the time they were trying to teach me how to handle princess stuff, emphasis on the try, it felt like they were really happy to be around me.” Sunset shrugs. “I don’t see why that’s weird. Even though I’d ignored it later on, that’s how I felt around the princess myself.” I shake my head. “No. It wasn’t the happiness of student and teacher. I know what that’s like, even if not on the same personal level you and Twilight had with Celestia. It felt... I dunno. Like they were just really happy to be around me specifically. As if they’d known me before, yet that couldn’t be possible because I only came to their world less than half a year ago.” Sunset puts her can down, scratching her chin, a her brows furrowed. “That does seem a bit odd. Can you compare it to anything? It might help figure things out.” I shake my head. “The only thing I can compare it to is something I’ve seen in TV shows and movies... though it’s a weird idea that doesn’t even make sense.” Sunset indicates for me to go on. I sigh, propping my head up with my right hand. “You’re going to think this is weird, but... it’s like in fiction when a child is reunited with their parent after a really long time.” That causes her expression to blank. “Are you serious?” I sigh. “Told you it sounded weird, but it’s the best example I can come up with, yet it doesn’t even make sense. We both know there’s no way in any world that that could be the reason. I’m far younger than either of them and I came to Equestria after Twilight had been an Alicorn for some time.” Sunset shakes her head. “Well, maybe Princess Luna's just trying to prank you. Their counterparts here are both well known for pranking others. Even Twilight’s been a victim of Luna's pranks from time to time.” I cock an eyebrow, silently asking how she knows this. She shrugs. “She told me in some of her messages to me.” Oh yeah. The magic journal that opened the portal in the first place. Huh. I notice my can of soda is empty, so I get up to grab another from the fridge. As I close it, I hear the door to the apartment open. Sticking my head out the kitchen door, I have to blink as my mind blanks for a moment. For the briefest of seconds, I thought I was looking at Teen Titans’ Raven standing by the door, wearing a gray long shirt that reaches to her waist and black jeans, a gray strap bag wrapped over her right shoulder. Thankfully, my brain starts back up and I realize it’s Maud from this world but... damn. I know I compared her to Raven back when I first met her pony self, but her human self looks even more like Raven. Putting her bag down by the door and locking it, she turns and catches sight of me. Her expression doesn’t change as we stare at each other for a few seconds. “Hello there,” she says in the same monotone voice as her pony counterpart. “Are you related to Pinkie’s friend Twilight Sparkle?” I blink, a little taken aback. “Um, yes, kinda. I’m sort of her twin sister.”I cock an eyebrow. “How could you tell I wasn’t actually her? Most I meet for the first time when Twilight isn’t close by enough to see I’m not her mistake me for her. How come you didn’t?” “Your clothing and hairstyles are very different,” she answers. “From what little I’ve known of her, Twilight Sparkle is too reserved to wear such clothes or have such a hairstyle. Your mannerisms also told me you can’t be her.” But we barely interacted before she asked who I am. How could she tell from so little? I give a slow nod and she turns and moves down the hall, likely heading for her own room. I head back to Sunset, not sure how I feel about that interaction.