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// 5 When Worlds Collide 
// Story: The Reunion 
// by Bronyxy 
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Early next morning, the ten assembled at Dusk’s castle to see three chariots drawn by the Royal Guard waiting for them. None of them had slept particularly well, such was the excitement they all felt at the prospect of the day’s events, but all wore big happy smiles as they stepped into their chariots; Silver Bell and Applebuck with their big brothers, Scooteroll with Rainbow Blitz and Butterscotch, Berry Bubble and Dusk with Spines.

They flew through the beautiful early sunshine, watching as the last refuges of the morning mist were burned away at the prospect of another fine day in store. The younger ones who hadn’t been in chariots before stared out at the unfolding map beneath them and soon picked up on the fact that they were following the path cut by the railway line far below them. Soon Canterlot came into sight and they descended towards the Royal Castle, landing in perfect formation in the courtyard. The two regal figures who awaited their guests strode forward and extended a their welcome, Prince Solaris and Prince Artemis.

The three Princes led the party across the courtyard, exchanging small talk about recent events and then entered a stone doorway leading them from one passage to another until they arrived at the throne room. As he approached, Dusk noticed that the guard had been doubled for today and guessed that this arrangement mirrored exactly the one in Twilight’s world. He and Solaris filed in to the throne room, while Artemis led the others past the grand doors and into an ante room to await being summoned.

“Well, Prince Dusk Shine, are you ready?”
“Yes, Sir” he replied “I won’t let you down.
Solaris gave his protégé a big smile and approached the mirror, touching his horn to it once more. The image wobbled then cleared to reveal the beautiful white mare he knew would be waiting on the other side.

“Princess Celestia, thank you for hosting us today, you are most generous.”
“Prince Solaris, I am delighted that you are able to join us in person as well.”
“Thank you Celly. Would you allow your prized student to set hoof into our world to greet her friends?”
“Why of course Solly; that is an excellent idea.”

“Good morning Prince Solaris” sounded a lighter voice “It’s a great pleasure to see you again.”
“Princess Twilight Sparkle, I would be honoured if you should care to step into my world.”
“Thank you, your Majesty” she replied and with that, Dusk stared with even greater expectancy towards the mirror to watch Twilight’s head, then neck and forehoof emerge from the mirror and into their throne room. She looked around briefly before her eyes fixed on his and gave him a wide happy smile.

“Good, everything appears to be in order” confirmed Solaris “Princess Twilight, if it is acceptable to you, I shall summon my brother and our fellow travellers?”
Twilight was taken aback that he should even bother to ask her, but was grateful for the courtesy.
“Yes, your Majesty, I am so looking forward to meeting them all.”

The two lilac ponies exchanged nuzzles while Solaris walked over to a drape running down the wall and pulled a cord hidden behind; the cord being attached via a system of pulleys to a bell in the ante room where Prince Artemis was waiting to hear it.

A few short minutes later, there was a knocking sound on the door and a solid metal latch lifted as one of the doors hinged open revealing a regal looking blue face, like Princess Luna, but unmistakably male. He acknowledged his elder brother with a brief nod of the head and then stood aside to allow a procession of eager equines to enter. They filed in, the first three stallions being accompanied by their respective younger colts, Blitz with Scooteroll, Elusive carrying Spines on his back and accompanying Silver, AJ with Applebuck, and behind these seven, Butterscotch and finally the ever-enthusiastic Berry Bubble bringing in the tail end of the party.

The door was closed once more, and all turned to face Prince Solaris and the two lilac ponies standing to one side of him.

“Greetings all of you” he welcomed cheerily “I believe most of you have met Princess Twilight Sparkle before. She has very kindly come to welcome us all as emissary of Princess Celestia who waits for us in her world currently. Before we go, I must emphasise the importance of good behaviour. We will all be guests in a very special friend’s world and I expect the highest standards from you all. Indeed, I shall be there myself keeping an eye on proceedings and will not hesitate to return anypony who does not abide by my expectations. Other than that, please enjoy yourselves.”

With the expected speech out of the way, the ponies all broke ranks and ran over to surround Twilight, bombarding her with kisses and hugs in a boisterous celebration of renewed kinship. She cracked the happiest of smiles and closed her eyes, basking once more in the love of friends she hadn’t seen in far too long. Once the initial euphoria had passed, she opened her eyes and found herself looking straight into a pair of green reptilian eyes.
“And hello to you too young Lady” she greeted warmly.
“Hey Twilight” replied Spines sheepishly, starting to colour pink around her cheeks “Am I going to meet Spike today?”
“Yes, yes, of course you are!” bubbled Twilight “He’s so looking forward to meeting you!”

As the reunion continued, Artemis moved forward and shared a few words with his brother who nodded in agreement; the formal handover of power to the Prince of the Night for the duration of the visit, including the responsibility for lowering the sun in addition to raising the moon, just as it would be in the female world. They shared a brief nuzzle, then Solaris turned and strode over towards the mirror with a commanding “Follow me!”

“Twilight, it is altogether lovely to see you again” said Elusive “I do trust my Lady Rarity is well?”
“Trust me” she replied “She’s been looking forward to this moment for a long time.”
Spines groaned, not only at this last comment, but also at the palpable excitement she could feel running through Elusive once she had said it.
“Would it perhaps be appropriate if you were to carry Spines into your world?” he asked “A seat of honour, so to speak.”
“Yes, of course” replied Twilight “If it’s what you would like, young Lady?”
Spines simply nodded, fearing that she may get thrown off as Elusive galloped off at breakneck speed to meet Rarity at the first opportunity. Accordingly, she felt a soft blue aura surround her as she was levitated gently off his back and onto the lilac Princess.

The eager ponies all fell in behind their leader who approached the white mare stood expectantly on the other side of the mirror.
“Princess Celestia, we are ready on our side. Please may we enter your kingdom?” he asked.
“Of course, Prince Solaris, please step this way.”

The white stallion peered into the familiar yet strangely different realm and beheld the promised magnificent party laid out for them, with a host of unfamiliar faces all lined up and staring back at him. He thanked his hostess and gave her a nuzzle, then moved to the next pony in line, a blue mare with whom he also shared a few words of greeting and a brief nuzzle, before moving along the line to shake hooves with this world’s Mane Six, CMCs and a baby dragon. The whole process of introduction was delightfully informal and instantly broke down and reservations either side may have felt.

Reactions between the other ponies varied significantly; AJ simply tipped his hat with an understated “Howdy, cousin AJ”, while Butterscotch threw his forehooves around the eagerly receptive Fluttershy and shared the most passionate embrace either had experienced since they had last met years ago. If that wasn’t enough to melt the ice in any drinks within a 20-yard radius, the glasses they were in almost melted by the intensity of the welcome shared between the elegant white dressmakers while their younger siblings simply shrugged off the theatrical display as nothing new.

As expected, the two pink equines bounced around in circles for the sheer joy of it, but a certain degree of tension could be felt on both sides as the two display flyers closed up on each other, everypony present being aware of the love hate relationship the had exhibited when last they met. They each stood back, tilted their head to one side and shot the other a lopsided judgemental grin, then unexpectedly both drew close for a hug before realising that they were the centre of attention and pulled away hurriedly to hoofbump instead.

Finally, Prince Artemis came through and exchanged nuzzles with Celestia and then embraced Luna while a stream of tears ran down his muzzle, a display reciprocated my his female self.

“Your Majesties, mares, stallions, fillies, colts and of course dragons” began Celestia as all disengaged from each other and paid full attention “You are all welcome here today to partake in a celebration; a long overdue reunion dating back to a time when Princess Twilight mistook two spells and ended up crossing over into a foreign, yet fortunately very friendly and accommodating world. I think we have all learned something about magic from that, haven’t we Twilight?”

Twilight blushed fiercely at the reference, as did Dusk.

“With magicians of the calibre of Twilight and Dusk it is inevitable that these things will happen, and I’m sure we can all look forward to some more interesting adventures in the future, but for now, welcome everypony and please enjoy yourselves. We have a spread of food, games and events to suit all tastes and a couple of special activities scheduled. Firstly, there is a large expanse of fresh snow that is ideal for making snowponies away from prying eyes, should the younger ones and any others want to participate. Secondly, there is an area of airspace where our display flyers can show each other their skills.”

Leading the applause was Solaris who stepped forward to address the crowd in his turn.
“Princess Celestia, we are most grateful that you have seen fit to show us such kind accommodation and lay on such an exemplary spread. I am sure that I speak for us all when I say that I hope this will be the first of many reunions.”
Then he stood down and the party broke out in earnest.

Artemis bade his farewells to take up his duties in his own world and was wished well by the three other ruling diarchs present. He turned and walked back through the portal, leaving behind the warmth and convivial atmosphere where the party was just starting, to enter the barren and deserted throne room of his own world. Looking around he spied something out of the ordinary and went to investigate. On a table was a card propped up against a strangely shaped device covered with oddly shaped and brightly coloured buttons. He looked at the gift and read the note:

Dear Artemis,
Thank you for agreeing to hold the fort today. While we are all enjoying ourselves, I wanted to ensure that you did not feel forgotten, so have procured for you the latest in entertainment phenomena. It is called a games console – I do hope you will enjoy it.
Your grateful brother,
Solly