The two Spikes walked side-by-side as the group resumed its journey.
Starlight waved a hoof as they went. "It's not far now. Maud has stopped coming by daily. I think she's gotten engrossed in some other aspect of your big project, Laud."
Laud knew he had given her many things to think upon. "I imagine her metal research and refining have taken up the most of her time, where she isn't exploring her own ends." What did Maud do when not working on what he had put in front of her? He didn't know.
Twilight trotted forward, her gait light and bouncing in an awkward way. "I can't wait to see them." Her bounces made her bun jostle about, the other hint that she was not the original.
The original Spike, who revealed his tongue far less often, rushed for a door suddenly and turned his back on it. "Presenting... the ship from beyond the sky!" With a dramatic flourish, he cast the door open wide.
Twilight tilted her head at the piles of parts revealed, stilling a moment before she advanced with a slow but steady pace. "They really did tear it apart, didn't they?"
Laud followed after her. "Part of it was the violent entry, but, yes, they took it apart to examine once I gave them leave to do so. I will admit, I did not expect them to find much, but the people of this world are full of surprises."
Twilight sat down beside a pile of circuit boards. "They look almost familiar." She reached with a hoof and nudged one off the stack. "How do I use this horn?"
Starlight laughed awkwardly as she sat beside Twilight. "That's not as easy as it looks, but, then again, the mirror gave it to you, so it should come somewhat naturally. I'll show you how."
Twilight was pointing at the board she had knocked over and it began to lift into the air. "Nevermind, got it! It's just like my magic back home."
Spike 1 leaned to the side towards Spike 2. "Looks like Twilight doesn't change much. Wanna let them work and grab a snack?" Spike 2 bobbed his head in easy agreement. "C'mon." To the others, he raised his voice, "we'll be downstairs."
They left without anyone stopping them, leaving Laud to watch Twilight as she examined the complex boards.
"They're clearly of the same principle in design as the circuit boards I've seen, and made, but they appear to have been fashioned by far more precise mechanisms that allow for denser, smaller, and likely more delicate configurations." She turned the board about. "I can almost make out where each connection goes, except the processing units. I couldn't start to say what the inside of those are like and won't know until I pry one open and have a closer look."
Starlight shook her head. "You really know what that thing is?"
"In principle." Twilight set the board down. "But that's like knowing an animal is an animal, which is, itself, a wealth of facts about the unknown object, and yet so much still to be known. There are, after all, so many kinds of animals out there. Knowing that alone doesn't mean you're close to knowing everything about an object."
Laud reached out and took the panel that the original Twilight had forced to display numbers. "Do you know what this is?"
"An LED numeric display," reported Twilight 2 without delay. Her magic wrapped around it and pulled it closer out of Laud's grasp. "Charmingly simple compared to the boards."
Starlight smiled. "The other Twilight could make it spazz out and show mostly random numbers, usually 8s."
"Of course." Twilight turned it around slowly before she frowned. "I'm certain I could do more, but I'd need a source of electricity. Ideally within the limits of the display, or you could damage it."
Laud was certain at that point. This alien Twilight really understood the parts. "Are these--" He waved over the piles in a broad sweep. "--within your ability to make?"
"No." Twilight put the display down. "Well, some of them, like that numeric display I could. Others will take study, to say nothing of proper tools. I imagine I can't take these back to my lab at home, nor can I bring my lab here..."
Starlight shook her head. "Twilight was pretty insistent on only small things going through the portal, and most of those should come back eventually."
Twilight 2 flashed a big smile. "Small things? Like just one of these boards?" She grabbed one in her magic and lifted it from the others. "Just one would be enough to really pry it apart and determine the underlying principles at play. Oh, um--" She looked to Laud. "This is, of course, assuming you're alright with this?"
Laud quickly rolled a hand towards Twilight. "If you can properly examine it, you have my leave." That was why he had invited her. "Just return it when you are finished."
"Exactly." Starlight circled around the first pile. "I'm impressed. All of this looks right to you?"
"Basically." Twilight set her chosen board beside herself. "I can tell what basic category they fall into, but all the specifics, that's where the real mystery is. I can't wait to do proper debugging."
"Debugging?" Starlight turned to Twilight. "I doubt the other Twilight let bugs in here."
The visiting Twilight laughed gently. "Not that sort of debugging. I mean figuring out how it works."
"What's that have to do with bugs?"
Laud had heard the term before, once, by a guild technician without explanation. He had many of the same questions Starlight had, though he had been spared looking the fool. First by keeping his mouth shut, then by Starlight asking for him helpfully. "Approximately how long do you estimate it will take to complete your analysis?"
Twilight paused a moment. "Sorry? I didn't get some of that. You have a much stronger accent on this side of the mirror."
A translator floated over, held in Starlight's magic. "Here you are."
Laud took it, releasing it from its glowing cradle. He had it on quickly and repeated his question, just for the collar to echo it in a generic mare's tone. It was Starlight's. Of course it would speak with a female voice.
Twilight quickly bobbed her head. "Ah! I couldn't say with confidence. At a glance this all looks familiar, but once I start getting into the specifics, I'll really know. We already planned for weekly visits, so I can give updates as I go."
Starlight pointed towards the exit. "Now that we've gotten that squared away, did you want to take her to the big lot you've been working on?"
Laud considered that. There wasn't a lot there to be seen or done just yet, however... "Would you like to meet this world's Maud? She is quite talented with all matter of minerals, metal included."
Twilight lifted the board she had picked and waved it lightly. "Love to, but what do I do with this? I don't have... pockets."
"Yes you do." Starlight took hold of the board, the color around it shifting before it moved against Twilight. Twilight squeaked with alarm as it pressed into her body, passing bloodlessly into her form. "There you are. You can take it back out the same way. If you don't, it'll end up in your human pockets when you go home."
Twilight looked back at where the board had vanished. "That felt... interesting." She raised a hoof to cough into before turning back to Laud. "Lead the way, I suppose."
Laud had to amaze at the act that Starlight clearly held as banal. Ponies were innately magical creatures, he had to remind himself. They knew not the strangeness that was their everyday life.
Spike 1 gestured over two plates of ruby-encrusted eggs. "Eat up!"
Spike 2 looked less certain. "Why are there rocks mixed in with the eggs?" He nudged his plate uncertainly as if it may attack him. "Usually you try not to eat rocks."
Spike 1 raised a finger. "Unless you're a dragon. We love gems, and you're a dragon now, so try some. You'll like it, promise."
Spike 2's brows knitted. "Right, dragon. Rawr!" He made the fiercest face he could manage and lunged forward as if attacking his plate of food. The eggs were soft and fluffy, while the bits of rock were hard and crunchy, but that was the trick. He was crunching them, not smashing his teeth. They were far more flavorful than he expected a rock to be, the little flakes more like bits of candy than anything else. "Mmm..."
"Told ya." The original Spike gave a thumbs up before digging into his own plate of food. The two devoured their food with equal zeal, leaving naught but clean plates behind. "Ah, that's better." Spike collected the two plates and walked them towards the sink. "Loved it, huh?"
"It wasn't bad at all," said Spike 2 agreeably as he followed behind. "You ever try munching on a bone? Twilight doesn't like it, but it's just about the best thing as a snack goes."
"Bone, huh?" Spike 1 raised a brow as he set the plates down. "I'll bear that in mind." He had no real intention of trying it unless he was a dog at the time, and he planned to avoid that if he could. "So, uh, are you your Twilight's number one assistant too?"
"Number one assistant two? Which is it, one or two?" Spike 2 held up two fingers. "I'm not either of those really. I'm her friend and family. I couldn't even start to get what she works on, but I can keep her company and she likes that, and I like doing it."
Spike 1 blinked at the reply. "Huh. Wait, before you said magic made you talk, right?"
"Ahuh."
"What did you do before then?"
Spike 2 frowned a little. "Bark or growl?" He let out a sudden dog's bark with the skill only a dog could have. "Like that!"
"And Twilight understood you?" Spike rubbed behind his head as he asked, trying to imagine the situation.
"Not exactly, and I didn't understand her, not exactly, but we'd know how the other was feeling, and that was good enough. When I was happy, she was happy, and her being happy made me happy!" His tail wagged behind him with the energy a dog could have. "We were always super good friends. Also, she fed me. I liked that part."
Spike 1 shook his head slowly. "So... you were her pet?"
"Technically I still am," easily accepted Spike 2. "I mean, I talk now, and she does listen, but... yeah... I mean, what else would I be?"
"But a pet belongs to a pony," spoke Spike in a mildly whining tone. "Don't you want more than that?"
"You must never have really had a pet." Spike 2 shook his head slowly. "Besides, still a dog. If I talked to other people, they'd freak out, and if I didn't, I'd just be a stray dog. Nope, not gonna do that. Twilight's super nice and a great big sister anyway."
"Wait, big sister?" Spike leaned forward. "What do you mean by that?"
"You really don't know?" Spike 2 smiled broadly as he rocked on his new feet, looking dreamy. "Good pets and good 'owners' adopt each other. She's my family, and I'm part of hers. I'd do anything for her, and she'd do the same. We're like brothers and sisters, just from different parents. She's my big sister, so I listen to what she says."
Spike 1 rubbed the end of a claw along his chin. "Huh, I never really thought of it like that. That's kinda cool." He felt a mote of jealousy. As degrading as being a pet sounded, that other Spike knew without a shadow of a doubt what his relationship was with his Twilight and supported it with every fibre of his being. Still didn't make Spike 1 want to be a dog. "Hey, did you want to see the town?"
"With the other ponies? Heck yeah!"