Twilight Sparkle sat at one of the school library's computers, her fingers flying furiously across the keys, her eyes locked on the screen in deep concentration. So deep, she failed to notice her friends gathering around her.
"Whatcha doin', Twilight?" Sunset Shimmer asked.
"GYAH!" Twilight jumped, her glasses sliding askew. Blinking, she put herself right, then craned her neck up to look at her friends. "Oh, hey girls," she said. "Sorry, you startled me."
"No kidding," Rainbow said. "So what're you workin' on, some homework?"
"Just a little experiment, actually," Twilight said. She frowned at the screen. "One that's not working out the way I expected."
"Oh yeah?" Sunset asked with a smile, leaning over Twilight's shoulder to study the screen. She blinked, her lips pursing as her brow furrowed. "Uh, Twilight? This is just a whole bunch of science babble. Most of it isn't even connected, it's just—"
"Stream of consciousness writing," Twilight said. "I took an online typing test for fun this morning and it measured my typing speed at 105 words per minute. I got to thinking about that, and I decided to try an experiment. In theory, if I'm capable of typing 105 words per minute, then after an hour of typing, I should have over six thousand words. I've been typing for..." She checked her phone. "Fifty-seven minutes, and I'm only up to 3,500 words." She scratched at her temple. "That doesn't make any sense."
"Of course it does, darling," Rarity said. "Surely you haven't been typing nonstop the entire time, right?"
"Yeah, you've got browser tabs open here," Sunset said, grabbing the mouse and clicking around. "Let's see...whoa, ten Whickerpedia articles? And MyStable—wait, were you playing Cupcake Crash?"
Twilight ducked her head. "I...guess I got a little distracted," she admitted.
"Well, if you're done with your experiment, why don't you come over to Rarity's with me?" Sunset asked. "We're working on my costume for the Summerween Social and I was kind of hoping you'd pair up with me."
Twilight blinked. "Oh, that's right, there's that thing coming up. Um. What are you going as?"
Sunset struck a heroic pose. "Xena, Warrior Princess!" she declared confidently. "I was hoping you'd go as Gabrielle."
Twilight blinked more rapidly. "Oh. Um. Umm. Oh." She ducked her head, her cheeks heating up. "I, umm...I don't know," she said. "I mean, wouldn't people get the, the wrong idea about, umm, us?" She glanced at Fluttershy. "Besides, Fluttershy would be a better Gabrielle, she's already so much like her!"
"Oh, no, no, no," Fluttershy said, shaking her hands in a frantic 'not me' gesture. "I don't want people thinking I'm gay with Sunset. I mean, not that there's anything wrong with being gay—with Sunset—but I just, umm...I'm not. Not gay. With Sunset." She played with her hair. "Besides, I'm already doing a thing with Rainbow Dash for the costume contest."
Sunset raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms defensively at the bizarre disclaimers Fluttershy had just floated. "Guys, it's...just a costume," she said. "It doesn't necessarily mean anything..."
Miss Cheerilee bustled over to their group. "Girls, the library is closing," she said. "You need to—" She paused, blinking, as her eyes landed on Rainbow Dash. "Is that...is that a dog collar?"
"Uhh...yeah..."
"Why are you wearing a dog collar with a leash, Rainbow Dash?"
Rainbow looked anywhere but at Cheerilee even as Fluttershy's face burst into flames and Applejack started chuckling. "I lost a bet," Rainbow offered petulantly.
Twilight arched an eyebrow. "Not gay with Sunset, huh," she said flatly as Miss Cheerilee walked away, shaking her head.
"I'm not gay with anyone!" Fluttershy insisted frantically. "Not that there's anything wrong with it! I'd be fine with it! I'm just not, with anybody, gay or straight right now!"
"Aww, it's okay, Fluttershy," Pinkie Pie said, patting Fluttershy on the shoulder comfortingly. "Who you share your taco with is your business, and we're your friends, we'd never judge you!"
Twilight fell forward out of her cheap plastic chair. "Sh-share her taco?!" she choked out.
"Uh, y'all? We'd best clear outta here," Applejack said, glancing pointedly at Miss Cheerilee.
"Probably a good idea," Sunset agreed, leading the way. The girls followed in behind her, a meek Fluttershy bringing up the rear.
"Really, our little conversations do go the strangest places," Rarity said as they left the library.
Applejack's phone buzzed, and she pulled it out, glancing at the screen. "Oh shoot, y'all, Ah gotta git home pronto," she said. "Got a package comin' Ah been waitin' fer."
"Ooh, what'd you buy?" Pinkie asked.
Applejack tilted her head back and closed her eyes smugly. "Ah got me a gen-yoo-wine pair o' Sonova britches!" she informed her friends.
"Sonova—" Sunset blinked. "You mean those really swanky jeans?"
"Eeyup!" Applejack nodded proudly. "Bought 'em for fancy wear. Like fer church an' big family stuff." She waved. "See y'all later!" She ambled away at a swift walk, whistling happily to herself.
Rarity blinked. "She's that happy about a pair of Sonova jeans?" she wondered. "I've used more expensive skirts as dishrags..."
"Eh, it's a hick thing," Rainbow Dash said with a shrug. "I mean, she thinks Stinky Bottom's Discount Hat Emporium is a high-end shop, and even I laugh my butt off at that!"
"Now now, be nice, everypony," Fluttershy said mildly.
"Fluttershy's right, you guys," Sunset said. "We sho—" She cut off abruptly, then looked back at Fluttershy, blinking. "Everypony?"
Rainbow and Pinkie Pie made groans of disgust as Fluttershy ducked her head. "Way to go, featherbrain," Rainbow grumbled, smacking Fluttershy upside the head.
"Oh. Um. I meant...sorry, I was thinking about, umm...riding horses? We do that sometimes, right?"
"Oi," Pinkie grunted, heaving a sigh.
Sunset pursed her lips. "What's going on here?" she asked.
"Yes, I'm rather curious as well," Rarity said, arching an eyebrow.
Rainbow Dash puffed out her lips. "Nothin'," she said.
"Nothing, huh?" Sunset said, crossing her arms. "Well—"
Starlight Glimmer suddenly rushed up to the group, doubling over and gasping for breath. "Guys," she huffed. "Jig's up. Twilight knows. You need to get..." She looked around, then paled. "Umm..."
"It's okay, Starlight," Rainbow said with a sigh. "Fluttershy just blew our cover anyway. Did Applejack make it back already?"
"Yeah, and not-pony AJ's waiting by the portal," Starlight said.
"Hold on a second," Twilight said, adjusting her glasses. "Are you telling me our friends have been—"
"Pony doppelgangers," Sunset said, narrowing her eyes. "Alright, exactly who's in on this charade?"
Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie ducked their heads and raised their hands sheepishly.
Sunset facepalmed. "Fine, just...fine," she said. "I don't even wanna know, just...head back to Equestria and send our friends back," she said.
Starlight led three sheepish, shame-faced pony girls out the front doors of the school. The others followed more slowly.
"I honestly never noticed," Rarity said, biting her lip.
"Neither did I, and that scares me," Sunset admitted.
"At least I have a good excuse," Twilight muttered.
A few minutes later, Sunset, Twilight, and Rarity watched Applejack, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie disappear into the portal, with Starlight right behind them. Less than thirty seconds later, the same group of girls, minus Starlight, reappeared, grinning and smirking.
Sunset, Rarity, and Twilight favored them all with disapproving stares. "Enjoy your little joke, ladies?" Rarity asked briskly.
"Oh yeah, we got you good," Rainbow said with a snicker.
"That was kind of fun," Fluttershy added, giggling.
"Right," Sunset drawled. "Well, if you're all through horsing around—"
"Wait a second," Twilight said suddenly, narrowing her eyes. "Something doesn't seem right here."
"You mean aside from the ridiculous practical joke our friends just played?" Rarity asked.
Twilight adjusted her glasses. "Fluttershy knew way too much about our pop culture, and how would an equine know our vulgar sexual slang?" She began ticking items off on her finger. "Also, why would Rainbow Dash still have the leash and collar? And if that was pony Applejack, why did she have a smartphone?"
Rarity pursed her lips. "All excellent questions, but certainly—"
"Also, I saw Fluttershy throw away a tampon right at the end of lunch, just as the bell rang," Twilight added, eyes narrowed. "That means pony Fluttershy couldn't have been here for more than two hours—if she ever was!"
The four pranksters looked at each other, then shrugged.
"You got us, sugarcube," Applejack fessed up. "It was all a double fake."
"Starlight Glimmer was in on it to make it look real," Fluttershy added. "They chose me to set up the joke because it made the most sense."
Sunset groaned. "You know what? I don't even care anymore," she said. "You're all turds." Shaking her head, she stalked off at a fast walk, her friends falling in behind her, laughing all the way.
* * * * *
The sun had long since set. A stiff night breeze blew through Canterlot.
Twilight Sparkle stood in front of the statue outside CHS. The surface rippled, and an identical Twilight Sparkle, right down to her glasses, emerged from the portal. "Well?" this Twilight asked. "How'd it go?"
"Everything went according to plan," Twilight said with a smirk. Giggling, she added, "The layers of fake prank were a nice touch." She stretched. "I really enjoyed spending the day here. I got to study human culture up close, and I got a lot better at typing!"
Sci-Twi giggled. "Glad you had fun," she said. "I enjoyed my day in Equestria, even if I didn't get around to leaving your castle. I mean, I literally spent the entire day just touring the castle. How do you even?"
"You get used to it," Princess Twilight said. "Well, your Shining Armor is waiting to take you home. Take care!" And with that, she stepped through the portal, returning to Equestria.