//------------------------------//
// Chapter 25 - Strange Visit 
// Story: Off The Mark 
// by Goldfur 
//------------------------------//

“Are you sure you don’t want to go with me?” I asked Steady.

The stallion rolled his eyes. “Unless you change your itinerary, what makes you think I would enjoy this 'girls’ day out' of yours?”

I smirked and waggled my eyebrows. “Why wouldn’t you want to be surrounded by lots of mares?”

He gave me a flat look.  “Well, you would be one of those mares, for starters.  I still don’t get it – why do you want to do such girlish things anyway? You certainly don’t behave that way when we go to the pub or play a few games of ten-pin bowling.”

I paused my packing to regard my friend seriously.  “When I was first transformed by the poison joke, I was shocked and worried that I might not be able to become a stallion again for a long time, but after Twilight reassured me that the cure was simple and effective, I relaxed and let myself enjoy the temporary change of form.  What I didn’t expect to discover was how much I enjoyed being Marklestia. Believe me, I was puzzled at first when I realized that I wanted to experience that again.  The more I became a mare, the more I became comfortable with my alter ego, but I didn’t understand why until recently when I visited the Crystal Empire.  Princess Cadance actually opened my eyes to that.  Turns out that being Princess of Love doesn’t mean just romantic love, but all kinds of love including of oneself.”

“I don’t get it,” Steady confessed.

“It’s simple, really.  We are happiest when we understand ourselves and live by that.  In my case, it was important to realize that everyone has a masculine and a feminine side. Of course, most stallions have a very strong masculine side, while most mares have a very strong feminine side.  However, it’s our opposite side that tempers our personalities.  My case is special though because when I become Marklestia, my personality shifts to my feminine side so that I behave and enjoy doing female stuff.  I was asked if I wanted to have a girls’ day out in Ponyville while I was a mare and that intrigued me, so I agreed to do it this weekend.”

“But you’re a stallion now, so why do you feel the need to go through with it?  Surely you don’t think it’s a great idea now?”

I chuckled.  “No, I don’t right now, but I also know that once I’m Marklestia, my enthusiasm will return in full.  You see, while my personal leanings may change between forms, I’m still me.  I am one hundred percent Mark Wells whether I am a mare or a stallion, and I remember what it’s like to be the opposite gender.  That’s why I am now totally comfortable with myself as a mare, even though I still prefer to be my normal stallion self for the majority of the time.  I’m privileged to be able to enjoy both sides of my nature. Besides, I promised the girls I’d do it.”

“Okay, but now that you’re currently a stallion, you should realize why I don’t want to be involved.”

I chuckled.  “Yeah, but it would have been fun having you there as the token male.  I could get lessons from plenty of perspectives about how to tease you.”

Steady rolled his eyes again. “Some friend you are.”

“Don’t worry – we’ll plan something to suit us both next weekend,” I replied with a laugh.

I finished packing my saddlebags. Because I was effectively packing for two, the contents had grown considerably from my initial trips to Ponyville.  I was also taking some gifts for my friends in another pack.  Steady offered to carry it to the station for me, but I told him to go and enjoy his evening in whatever stallion-y way he preferred as I would get Crimson Boulder to carry it for me.  The Royal Guard had been reassigned as my personal guardian after both Princesses had insisted that my elevated status required a full-time attendant. After failing to convince them I didn’t need one, I had nominated Crimson for the post.  He was delighted by the promotion which helped our budding friendship, so at least I gained some benefit that way.  Unfortunately, the flip side was having to ditch him when I wanted to become Marklestia.  I still hadn’t decided on whether to let him into my confidence yet, but I was about to go to a town where virtually everypony knew it and yet still managed to keep it to themselves.  However, there had been increasing rumors of sightings of Celestia circulating, so I doubt that it was a perfectly kept secret.

Steady opened the door to my quarters and informed Crimson that I was ready to depart.  The burly earth pony barely noticed the weight of the pack that Steady lifted and placed on his back.  It wouldn’t hinder him in the slightest in the performance of his duties. I said my farewell to Steady, and Crimson and I headed out to catch the train.





Both Twilight and Rarity were at the Ponyville station to greet me upon arrival.  As I was a guest in the alicorn’s castle, she insisted upon being the perfect host.  As for the fashionista – I knew exactly why she was there despite the late hour.  I had to admit that I was flattered, and if I had been interested in having a fillyfriend, Rarity would be a strong contender, especially as the mare liked me just as much in either of my forms and she really brought out the mare in me during those fashion parades.  I also liked that she was willing to challenge me when I had my head up my plot, which I think some of the other girls were too polite to do.

Twilight had assigned one of the new castle’s many rooms as my permanent quarters for whenever I visited.  Some of the stuff that I had packed for this trip was destined to stay here and personalize the bare room, and of course, to stock up my bathroom with the necessities for both my mild-mannered royal advisor and leap-tall-buildings-in-a-single-wing-assisted-bound forms.  After Crimson had deposited my pack, I dismissed him so that he could go off-duty. He told me he intended to enter a marathon bowling tournament in town and perhaps find some fillies worth looking up on return trips since he knew my stops here were a regular occurrence.  Friendship Castle, as Twilight had named it, was secured by Royal Guards at both of the entrances – the main front door and the upper balcony. The alicorn hadn’t wanted any at all, but after insisting on one for me, she didn’t have a leg to stand on when applying the same logic to her own domicile.

Spike informed me that supper would be ready soon, but Twilight insisted on showing me something first.  She led me downstairs to one of the larger rooms that branched from the throne room.  To my surprise, it was partially-filled with shelves of books.

“How’d you get so many books so quickly?”  I asked.

“Simple!  These all came from the Castle of the Two Sisters,” Twilight replied smugly.  “I had the entire contents transferred here over the past week.  Now I’ll be able to research the books at my convenience and they won’t be affected by restoration work on the castle.  I’ve also got large orders with various publishers coming in to replace the books that were destroyed by Tirek.  By the time I have this room filled, I will have the second biggest collection in the world.  Only the Royal Canterlot Library will have more, and those mostly being unique and rare items.”

I grinned.  “I bet you’d snarf them up too if allowed.”

Twilight blushed and nodded.  “You know me too well.”

“What else have you already brought here?”

“I had all the portal mirrors transferred to my new laboratory.  The one that Cadance was safekeeping arrived only yesterday.”

I gave the purple alicorn a suspicious look.  “How close to being finished is this new laboratory?”

“Oh, I’d estimate 87% so far.”

“And when it’s done… guinea pig?”

She just grinned widely at me.

I looked to the heavens and sighed.  “Thought so.”





The three of us enjoyed the supper that Spike had prepared, and we discussed our plans for the next day before retiring for the night.  It was the end of a very long day for me, so I fell asleep almost the moment that my head hit the pillow.  My last thought was that Rainbow Dash must have approved these beds – mine was as soft and embracing as a cloud!





I had set my alarm for an early rise, giving me time to shower, transform into Marklestia, and primp and prepare for the day out.  I now better understood why females took longer to get ready than males.  A couple of the simpler spells that I had managed to learn dealt with speeding up this process though, so I was able to get down to the breakfast table in a reasonable amount of time.  Twilight was already on her second mug of coffee, so she was almost ready to face the day.  Spike piled a large stack of syrup-coated pancakes on my plate which I quickly ate and asked for seconds.  Hey! I’m a big mare with a big appetite – don’t judge me!  I washed them down with a large mug of orange juice and a café latte.  Spike’s also an awesome barista.

Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash joined us not much later, also enjoying a coffee courtesy of Spike before we got our day underway.  Only Applejack was yet to arrive, but she had morning chores to attend to first.  The life of a farmer was a busy one all week, and it was remarkable that we had managed to persuade her to take most of a day off.  I was just glad that all of my friends could participate in this day out.

It was remarkable to be able to walk around Ponyville in my mare form.  My friends kept their eyes open for non-residents of the town, especially Dash who maintained an aerial watch, so I was able to move about with little concern.  Despite being the home of one of Equestria’s rulers, Ponyville remained a quiet village for now, and there were few visitors on the weekends.  The biggest trick was giving the Royal Guards the slip so we could enjoy the day without them intruding on us. Fortunately, Twilight was adept at teleporting us past them.

I was frequently stopped by the locals who wanted to either just say hello, express their gratitude once again, or have a brief chat.  Some insisted on bowing to me, but I told all of them that there was only one Princess here and I wasn’t it.  Didn’t stop a single one of them though.  Can’t win them all, I suppose.

We did all the things that mares did when out in a group.  Shopping was high on the list.  Rarity helped me pick out a lovely sunhat that I wore the rest of the time we walked around.  We also visited a furniture shop to offer our views as to what would suit Twilight’s castle because only a handful of rooms had any furnishings.  There was a huge difference of opinion amongst them which I helped get them to compromise on.  I can’t imagine what the place would look like if they all had their way. Twilight was just too accommodating to her friends’ whims.  Throughout the process, Davenport, the earth pony proprietor, was ecstatic at the prospect of a furniture order larger than anything he had previously dreamed was possible for this small village.  He pulled me aside and told me that Twilight was already his best customer because of all the quill pens that she went through.  I was reminded of her exothermic research methods and was suddenly glad her new laboratory was still under construction.

We had luncheon at Café Hay, the fanciest restaurant in town, my treat.  I had little to spend my money on anyway, so why not spend it on my friends? Then, before Rainbow Dash blew a gasket, those with wings among us went flying.  Naturally, she and I outflew the others, but we didn’t abandon them.  Instead, we incorporated them into our sky-dance and put on a show for those still ground-bound. After that, we all headed to the spa where we had the deluxe package.  We had booked out the place so that the staff could devote their full attention to just us.  By the way, Bulk Biceps gives the most awesome massages and I highly recommend him. Even Applejack had to concede that the stallion knew how to work out the knots in her muscles.

We left the spa tired but highly satisfied.  We started heading back to Twilight’s castle to wind down for the day and find out what Spike had prepared for dinner.  The citizens of Ponyville obviously had similar plans as there was a general surge of ponies heading for their homes, although we met Vinyl Scratch pushing her equipment in the opposite direction.  Saturday nights had to be her busiest, I presumed, and she was probably going to set up for a gig.  I high-hoofed her and turned to continue onward, only to nearly bump into another pony emerging from a side street.

“Oops!  Sorry about that.  Wasn’t looking…”  My apology ground to a stop as I recognized the pony with whom I nearly collided. “Crimson?”

The off-duty Royal Guard gaped at me in shock before abruptly bowing deeply. “Your Highness!  You have returned at last!”

Oh, crap.  I glanced upwards to where Rainbow Dash was hovering and hissed, “What happened to warning me?!”

The multi-hued mare gave me a puzzled look.  “I thought your personal guard already knew?”

I facehoofed.

“Rainbow, darling – weren’t you paying attention when Mark told you about Crimson Boulder?”

Dash just shrugged.

Meanwhile, Crimson had looked up from his bowed position with a bewildered expression.  “Your Highness?”

I sighed.  “Get up, please, Crimson Boulder.  Despite my looks, I’m not Princess Celestia.  This wasn’t the way that I intended to tell you, but look at my cutie mark.”  I turned to show my hindquarters.

The way Crimson’s eyes boggled was quite comical.  He started spluttering.  “What?  How? But that’s impossible.  I mean, no way!  How did you get Mark Wells’ cutie mark?”

I facehoofed again.

Pinkie Pie burst into a fit of giggles.  “No, silly!  Mark got Celestia’s everything else!”

Well, that was one way of putting it, I suppose.

“I’m Mark Wells, Crimson.  I can shape-change into this form.  Long story.” I could tell that he was still failing to process this.  Damn it. I said I wouldn’t change back until after dinner which was when our girls’ day out officially ended, but… “Twilight – would you hold my saddlebags for me, please?”

The alicorn obliged and I activated my magic.  Abruptly, I was a small pegasus once more, and my lovely sunhat was now too big and flopped over my eyes so I didn’t see Crimson’s reaction. I sure heard him gasp though.

“Lord Wells!  Wait! Is Mark Wells Princess Celestia’s secret identity?”

I lifted my hat up to stare at him in disbelief.  “No!  I’m just Mark Wells!  I told you – I’m a shapeshifter.”

“You’re a changeling?!”

“Are you freaking messing with me?!” I yelled.  “No, I’m not a changeling!”

Twilight decided to step in.  “Sergeant Crimson Boulder, Mark Wells gained the ability to take Celestia’s form first due to poison joke, and then had that form become a permanent alter ego due to a massive infusion of magic.  Now he likes to spend time with us occasionally in that form.  The citizens of Ponyville are all privy to that secret as he used it to defeat Tirek, so that’s why she was openly walking around the town today.”

Crimson blinked as comprehension dawned.  “So that’s why you wanted me to take the day off so badly.”

“Exactly.  I didn’t want this to color our growing friendship yet.  I intended to tell you soon.”

“I have so many questions…”

“Which I will answer later.  We’re headed back to the castle for dinner right now.”

Rarity cleared her throat and looked at me pointedly.

Oops!  I changed back into Marklestia.  A promise is a promise.  “Sorry, Crimson, but I have a previous engagement,” I said in Celestia’s sweet tones.

“This is so weird,” the earth pony said, staring at my Celestial form.

I giggled.  “You don’t know the half of it!”  That could have gone worse, I suppose.  It was going to be an interesting talk with Crimson later, but right now I was looking forward to having dinner with my friends.

Once again, Twilight teleported us past the guards.  As we passed through the entry hall and into the throne room, I asked my friends to wait for a moment.  I’d been taking photographs all day of us doing everything, and I wanted to finish it off by getting each of them to pose on their thrones.  I did Rainbow Dash first in case she lost patience waiting her turn.  I was intrigued by how the cutie marks on each crystal chair lit up when they sat upon them, and it made for some impressive portraits.  Maybe I could persuade Twilight to get some sort of table in there later and take another group picture of them looking serious as a meeting of Equestria’s Harmony Bearers.  That was a project for another day though, and dinner awaited us.





Spike did us proud and had a wonderful feast ready for us with the help of some recently hired castle staff who had already left for the day.  Once again, Trixie had been adamant that Twilight have some servants cater to guests so that she could concentrate on her royal duties.  So far, that had boiled down to just her close friends and Twilight’s parents when they had visited earlier during the week, but it gave the staff something to do. As we dined, we recounted the events of the day including bumping into Crimson Boulder.

“Told you that you should’ve let him know last night,” Spike said.  “Knowing your luck, meeting him today was inevitable.”

I sighed.  “You were correct.  I owe you ten bits.”  Yeah, I bet him that he would be wrong.  I should have known better.

After dinner, we settled into the lounge room that had just been furnished with the chairs and sofas that had been delivered in time for us to enjoy them this evening.  A lot more was yet to come, but we had what we needed for now. Spike brought us our beverages of choice and we chatted a lot.  Frankly, as a stallion, I would have been bored pretty quickly, but as I had told Steady, my attitude and biases swung toward the feminine in my Marklestia form. Naturally, I gossiped as much as any other mare.

I had promised a full day as Marklestia, and considering that we were capping off the day with a slumber party, I wasn’t about to switch back to my normal male form anyway.  The girls made it quite clear that they were not sleeping with a stallion, period!  I had to chuckle to myself though.  Individually, several of those mares were either subtly or blatantly chasing after me, but as a group, they thought it was improper.  I wonder if I’ll ever get accustomed to the social dynamics of this world.  Then again, I was currently a mare, so who was I to complain?

Silly but fun slumber party games ensued, complete with several pillows losing their life due to earth pony strength or sharp horns.  As the last of the down feathers floated to the ground, we gradually settled into quiet conversations.  Those also faded out as the mares fell asleep one by one.  I’m not sure if I was the last to succumb, but I do recall Rarity using my barrel as a pillow.  I drifted off to sleep feeling quite content.





I had no idea what the time was when I was disturbed by distant shouting and muffled noises.  I lifted my head to blearily look around the darkened room, my ears swiveling to try to locate the source of the sound that had woken me.  I realized that whatever it was, it was happening somewhere in the depths of the castle.  Since the only ponies who should be awake at that time would be the Night Guard, that was a little alarming, so I decided to get up and investigate.

That proved to be a little difficult. Rarity was still fast asleep, drooling on my back.  I thought I might use telekinesis to shift her, but that’s when I discovered that I had reverted to my normal stallion self during my sleep.  That would have been very awkward to explain in the morning, but right now it was a different problem.  That’s also when I remembered that even if I was in my Marklestia form, my telekinesis was still in the ‘brush it lightly or throw it into orbit’ stage of control.  Fortunately, I was able to lift her head with my wing gently enough to crawl away from under her and put her head down elsewhere.

The ruckus outside was getting louder, and I managed to make out somepony calling out to an intruder to stop. I didn’t want the girls to be upset, so I was careful to make my way around the sleeping mares and slip through the door.  Bedazzled by the bright lighting in the corridor, I failed to notice a pony hurtling in my direction.  Our skulls crashed together and we fell to the floor in a dizzy heap.  Next thing that I knew, a thestral Night Guard was bending over me, asking if I was okay.  With the beginnings of a huge headache making my head throb, I nevertheless managed to reply in the affirmative and strained to get up to see who I had just collided with.





It was a pale yellow unicorn mare with bright yellow and red striped mane and tail.  The thestral’s partner was slipping a magic-suppressing ring on her horn as she groaned in semi-conscious pain.  It seemed that I had the harder head – not too surprising considering the number of times I had used it to break my fall over the past few months.

“Who is this?” I asked.

“No idea, sir.  We encountered her skulking about inside the castle and she took off when I ordered her to halt.  We’ve been chasing her around the corridors for several minutes, but she eluded us up until you stopped her.”

“You’re pretty fast with those wings,” I observed.  “How come you couldn’t catch her?”

“She teleported whenever I got close to her, sir.”

“I see.”  Teleportation was a highly advanced skill.  Not any unicorn could master it.  That horn ring was certainly a necessity until we figured out why she was trespassing in Twilight’s castle.  The hoofcuffs that were now being added would stop her running away again.

“Take her down to the—”

“What’s going on here?” Twilight’s voice interrupted me.

Damn it!  I had hoped that I could get this sorted out without disturbing anypony until it could be dealt with in the morning.  My head throbbed a bit more.  “The guards caught an intruder,” I replied.

“With the help of Sir Wells,” added the thestral.

“Yes, I used my head,” wincing at my own bad pun.  “I was just about to have her taken down to the… um… does this castle even have a dungeon?”

“I don’t think so, but I would like to talk to this mare anyway.  I don’t understand why anypony would want to sneak into my castle.  It’s not as if everypony isn’t welcome to visit me during daylight hours anyway.”

“Ooooh…” groaned the mystery mare. “Did someone get the license plate of the truck that hit me?”

I blinked and stared at her. Truck?  License plate?  Those weren’t things in magical tiny horse land.  I was suddenly very interested in talking to this mare too.

“Who are you?” Twilight asked sternly.

The mare tried to get to her hooves but got tangled with the hoofcuffs and fell over again.  She craned her head up to look up at her questioner and gasped.  “You… you’re an alicorn!”

Twilight tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.  “You’ve invaded my domain and yet don’t even know about me?”

I decided to up the ante.  “You are in the presence of Princess Twilight Sparkle, co-ruler of the Diarchy of Equestria, Bearer of the Element of Magic, and Princess of Friendship.  Answer Her Highness’ question!” I said sternly.

Twilight gave me a curious look before turning her attention back to the intruder.

“Princess…?  Co-ruler…?  What’s going on?” she sputtered before noticing my glare.  “My name is Sunset Shimmer,” she finally answered.

Twilight frowned thoughtfully. “Sunset Shimmer?  I seem to recall somepony by that name.  Something about a former student of Celestia before me.”

“Yes, that was me.  I left under… strained circumstances.  But how could you have ascended after being Celestia’s student for such a short time?”

Now both Twilight and I were puzzled. Something was not adding up here. The purple alicorn was about to speak when another voice interrupted.

“What in Sam Hill is goin’ on out here? Cain’t a body get some sleep?  Ah got chores in the mornin’!”

Sunset Shimmer’s head snapped around to stare at the farm mare.  “Applejack?” she asked uncertainly.

The earth pony gave the unicorn a curious look.  “Do Ah know you?”

“It’s me, Sunset Shimmer!”

Applejack shrugged.  “That name don’t ring no bell for me.”

“But…” Sunset trailed off, obviously confused.

“Mark, darling – don’t you know it’s rude to abandon a mare in the middle of the night?”

Rarity stood in the doorway in all her mane- and tail-curler enhanced glory, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“Is everyone awake now?” I asked.

“Well, you’re hardly being quiet out here, so it should not come as a surprise, dear.”

She was right – we had neglected to keep our voices down, and the door was still ajar.  I looked back to the pony whose fault it was and caught her staring at the fashionista.  I saw her silently mouth the word – ‘Rarity?’  Okay, this was getting weird.

Twilight said, “Perhaps we had better start from the beginning.  Let’s do this where we can all be more comfortable.” Her horn lit up and Sunset Shimmer was levitated in its glow.  As Twilight carried her into the room, Applejack and Rarity followed.  I dismissed the Night Guards.

“Are you sure you will be okay with the prisoner?” the first thestral asked.

“Six of the most powerful mares in Equestria are in that room, so what do you think?” I asked with a smirk.

“Point taken, sir.”

I entered the room just as Twilight was settling Sunset Shimmer on a sofa.  The other mares were gathering about her curiously except for Rainbow Dash. That mare could sleep through a thunderstorm!  Still, I had a premonition that it was important to have everypony awake for this. It took a bit of doing and some loud complaints, but I managed to rouse the colorful pegasus.  She perked up though, once she realized that we had a hoofcuffed prisoner in the room.

“Alright – let’s get started,” Twilight said.  “First of all, let me introduce my friends.  You seem to already know Applejack.  These are Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Mark Wells. Girls, this is Sunset Shimmer who is about to explain to us why she was caught trespassing in my home in the middle of the night.”

Sunset’s eyes had grown wider and her jaw had dropped ever further each time one of the mares was introduced. However, she’d had no reaction to my name.  “This can’t be…” she trailed off.  I cleared my throat to gain her attention and frowned.  “Oh!  Sorry. I didn’t mean to enter your home. I fully expected to exit the portal in Canterlot Castle.  I also had no idea that it was nighttime.”

My ears had shot up at the mention of the portal, and so had Twilight’s.

“You came through one of the portal mirrors?” the alicorn asked.  “You didn’t break it, did you?”

“Yes, I came through the mirror. No, I didn’t break it or any other. As soon as I knew that I was a pony again, I lit my horn to illuminate the room.  It wasn’t the same as the one that the mirror had been in when I first used it, so I was confused and disoriented when I left the room.”

I picked out a salient point in Sunset’s answer.  “You said ‘as soon as you knew you were a pony again’ – what were you on the other side?”

“A bipedal species that call themselves ‘humans’.”

I looked at Twilight and she stared back at me.  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Twilight?”

“I suppose it’s feasible.  I didn’t consider the possibility of redundancy, although it does raise other questions.”

Sunset said, “I never met anyone named Mark Wells or Twilight Sparkle there, but–”  She waved at the other five mares.  “I know all five of you.  Or at least your human equivalents.”

Rainbow Dash leaned forward and eagerly asked, “Tell us more about me!  How awesome am I there?”

Sunset laughed.  “Just as awesome as you are here, I think.  You really do have the same personality.”  I took this as a good sign.  Sunset was starting to relax around us.

Twilight said, “Better yet – start from the beginning when you first went through the portal.”

The yellow mare sighed and stretched out to make herself more comfortable.  “Well, it started out about as bad as it possibly could.  I exited the portal crawling on all fours, only to notice that all the creatures around me were bipedal.  So I stood on my hind legs and saw that everyone there looked like a young adult and they were all staring at me.  First, I thought they had seen me exit the portal which was in the base of a statue.  Then I noticed that everyone there was wearing clothes on their tops and bottoms, and I wasn’t.  All I had were my saddlebags which slid right off of me.”  She looked around.  “That race has a massive taboo against public nudity, can you believe it?”

I spoke up.  “Imagine that.”  Applejack poked me in the ribs.

The yellow unicorn looked at me curiously, then continued.  “Anyway, the statue was just outside Canterlot High School, and school security whisked me inside.  The Principal gave me a shirt, sweats, footwear called flip-flops, and some school supplies from the school’s Lost and Found …”

“What’s a foot?” Rainbow Dash interjected.

“What humans have instead of hind hooves.  Anyway, she got me registered in no time flat, gave me a class schedule, and admonished me that even foreign exchange students had to adhere to the school’s dress code.”  

Rainbow Dash smiled.  “That sounds pretty sweet.  Better to make a strong first impression, than be a wallflower.”  She blinked and turned to the yellow pegasus.  “No offense, Fluttershy.”

Sunset chuckled.  “You could say that.  The boys I met thought I was the most awesome thing ever.  Several asked me that day to be their date to the upcoming school dance.  Most of the girls hated me for stealing away the attention of the boys.  I was just trying to figure out how to walk correctly and use my newfound hands—”  The unicorn held up a forehoof to stop Dash from interrupting again.  “Those are like what minotaurs have on the end of their upper limbs – manipulative appendages.  I ended up ditching my flip-flops after the third time they caused me to fall.  When I returned to the portal after school let out, it was closed – I had no idea for how long.  I’d been expecting it to stay open for a couple more days at least.  Without my horn and magic, I didn’t know if I could ever get it to open again.”

Fluttershy said, “Oh, dear! That sounds awful.”

Something was bugging me.  “I don’t mean to be rude, but… aren’t you a little old to be going to high school?”

Sunset smiled; she hadn’t taken offense. “Actually it was a great place for me to end up.  Sheltered and safe, with all the resources I needed to learn about that new world. Also, the transformation gave me the body of a female human that age.”

That was interesting.  I wondered what it would do to me?  Could this be a virtual fountain of youth?  Reset your age every time you pass through the portal?

The purple alicorn tilted her head. “You said ‘most of the girls’.”

Sunset nodded.  “I’m not too proud to say I was crying at the base of the statue when all of you found me… at least your human equivalents.”

Pinkie gasped. “Am I a party pony in that world too?”

“Yes, but in human form.  I think all of you have the same interests there.  Your voices and personalities match theirs, and you even resemble them in a pony sort of way such as your manestyles.  It’s some sort of parallel dimension.  Anyway, despite me wanting nothing more than to be left alone, the five of you wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer and took care of me.  Applejack found me a job after school.  Rarity sewed a wardrobe for me.  Fluttershy found me a place to stay.  Rainbow Dash helped me understand how to convert the gold I brought into the local currency and how to not get ripped off.  Pinkie Pie stayed with me that whole first week and basically was my physical therapist as I had to relearn how to do everything.  By the time the weekend came around, I wanted to just sulk in peace, but none of you would have any of it.  You all took me to a carnival, the high school football game, a gaming arcade, and even the Canterlot Zoo.  I never had the time or chance to get depressed, and by the time the weekend was over, I realized that for the first time in my life, I had five friends that I truly cared about.”

The five mares all smiled.  Pinkie said, “Yep! That sounds like us alright!”

“But as I said, I never met your equivalents,” Sunset said to Twilight and me.

“That might make sense in my case. I need to check this out, Twilight,” I said.

“And we will.  Carefully.”  Twilight turned back to Sunset.  “You said that the portal had closed, but here you are now.  How long before it reopened?”

“I’m not sure.  I checked it every day that I could, but if it was only open for a few hours, I could have missed it.  It’s been about eighteen months since I first went through.”

“And when was that?”

Sunset looked at her quizzically. “I don’t understand the question. About a year and a half ago, as I said.”

“But you don’t know me at all?”

The unicorn shook her head.

The girls and I shared a look with each other.  Applejack said, “When exactly did you leave Equestria?”

The mare turned to look at the farm pony.  “It was just after Hearth’s Warming in the New Equestrian Year 988.” 

Rarity sucked in a breath.  After a long silence with Sunset looking around questioningly, the fashion mare said, “That was fifteen years ago, Sunset.”

The unicorn’s jaw dropped.  “I… I…”  She shivered.  “Oh.”

Twilight looked at Applejack and asked, “Is she telling the truth?”

The earth pony sadly nodded. “Every word, Twi.”

“I see.”  The alicorn turned back to Sunset.  “It appears that time moves at a much slower rate in that world, or vice versa, much faster in Equestria.  That explains why the portal was closed when you expected it to be open for another two days.  Instead, it was only open for a few hours on that side.”

Fluttershy put a wing around Sunset and gave her a comforting hug.  Sunset Shimmer took a few deep breaths to collect herself.  “So much time has passed; will it be too late now?”

“What do you mean, darling?” Rarity asked.

“As I said earlier, I left under strained conditions.  I had a falling-out with Princess Celestia.  I was her personal student until I blew up at her.  She wanted me to put aside my studies and make some friends, but I was so impatient to earn my wings that I left the moment I thought she wasn’t teaching me at the speed I wanted.”

Everypony’s eyes focused on Twilight, who fidgeted under our scrutiny.

Sunset continued, “I didn’t really have any friends here when I departed.  I didn’t see any need for them at the time, really.  I went through the portal seeking knowledge and power.  Since then, I learned how wrong I was and I want to try to repair my relationship with Celestia.  I came back expecting to arrive in Canterlot and hoping to contact her before returning to Canterlot High.”

The girls looked around uncomfortably.  Twilight spoke up.  “I’m afraid both Celestia and her sister left through a dimensional portal almost a year ago and haven’t returned.”

Sunset gaped.  “Sister?  You mean Luna?”

I was shocked.  “How did you know that?  Did they go to your world?”

The unicorn shook her head, then stopped.  “Yes and no. The Principal of the school is Celestia and her sister Luna is the Vice-Principal.”

“Another parallel,” said Rarity.

“But they had been running the school for years before I got there.  So they aren’t the ones from Equestria.”

Disappointing but not a cause for eliminating that world as my own.  “You say you want to go back?” I asked.

“Yes.  I have friends there and I want to finish the school year and graduate.”

“You have a small window of opportunity then.”  I smirked.  “Well… if you came this far just to see Celestia, I think it wouldn’t hurt for me to try to summon her… you know… one more time.”

All the mares’ ears pointed at me and a few badly suppressed grins were seen.  Applejack said drily, “Really, Mark?  Ya sure ya wanna try doin’ that?”

I grinned, showing lots of teeth. “Sure.  Why not?  Sunset might not be able to come back for years and this would be a great chance for them to work through their friendship problem.  What do you think, Princess of Friendship?”

I could tell that Twilight was torn between agreeing and telling me not to do something silly.  Eventually, she nodded and said, “This might be a good friendship lesson.”

I excused myself and headed into the hallway then back to my room.  I grabbed a long cloak to cover my flanks and switched to my Marklestia form.  I looked in the mirror then switched again when I realized I had not chosen the long-maned and tailed version.  I couldn’t do anything about the lack of a crown or other royal regalia.  I’d have to hope Sunset didn’t pay that close of attention.  

I clopped deliberately back to the room where everypony was waiting.  I put on my most displeased face and walked in like I owned the place. Twilight took the hint, bowing down deeply.  The other mares did the same, but all had an open eye pointed at Sunset, who had started hyperventilating.  As she was before I left, Sunset was lying on her side but started to move to get off the couch and take a genuflecting position.  I raised a hoof and she stopped.

I frowned.  “Sunset Shimmer, my former student.  Doubtless returning to demand that which you have not earned.”

She was defiant, even if her pupils had reduced to pinpricks and she had to speak through chattering teeth.  “I’ve learned what you tried to teach me, Celestia.  I just want—”

“Silence!”  Not the Royal Canterlot Voice, but close enough for this enclosed space.  “Do you truly think I can take you at your word?  How can I believe you after what you said to me before you left so long ago?”

“I made friends, Celestia!  Five of the dearest and most wonderful friends in any world!  I understand now what you wanted me to learn.  I came back not seeking power but your forgiveness.”

“My forgiveness is not given without a price.  You have a choice.  You may accept the penance I decree, or you will be forever banished from Equestria.”  I moved closer to her face, narrowing my eyes.  “There is only one punishment suitable, and it is one I have reserved especially for you.”

The unicorn was shaking uncontrollably now.  Her eyes darted to her horn unconsciously.  I raised my head to loom over her.  She cast her eyes back down and said meekly, “I accept your punishment.”

“Very well.  I hereby sentence you to… five…”  I paused dramatically as the flame-haired mare cowered beneath me. “…zerberts.”

She stopped shaking and furrowed her brow. “Zerberts?”

I nodded.

“Uh… I’m afraid to ask, but... what’s a zerbert?”

I beamed.  “I’m so glad you asked!”  I took a long, theatrical intake of breath then bent my neck to place my lips on her unprotected belly.  Then I blew the loudest, longest raspberry I could muster.

“Bwa! Ha, ha! Sto— ha, ha, ha, ha!”  She struggled and bucked but couldn’t get away.  All the strength left her body and she writhed on the couch.

Just when she started to recover, I said in my most serious tone.  “One.”

Her head shot up.  “What?!  No, no!  Don’t ha, ha, ha, ha! Plea— ha, ha, ha!”

When I finished the second, I heard Pinkie behind me say, “I never knew Justice could be so merciless.”

I looked up a Sunset’s face.  “Are you sorry?”

She couldn’t speak but nodded her head frantically.

“Really, really sorry?”

“Yes!” she gasped out.  “Yes!  I’m really, really sorry!”

“I don’t believe you.”  I lowered my head again.

“No, no, no!  Wait, I can— bwa, ha, ha, ha!”  She fell off of the sofa in her attempts to get away.

Once her punishment was finished, I gestured to Twilight who unlocked and removed the nullstone ring from her horn and took off the shackles from her forehooves.  Sunset was too busy lying limp and giggling to move in any way.

Rainbow Dash floated next to me.  “Yeah… I don’t know if she’s quite sorry enough.”

I winked at Twilight and turned to the blue pegasus.  “You know, I think I have one more zerbert in me.”

The Element of Loyalty’s smile grew.  “Well, go ahead then!”  When I wouldn’t look away, her expression fell.  “No way, you’re not—”

This time Twilight’s magic grabbed Rainbow’s hooves long enough for me to plant my lips on the flying mare’s tummy. When I was done, there were two twitching but smiling mares on the ground.

Applejack guffawed.  “Well, then.  Anytime Ah want to ground Rainbow, Ah know what to do.”

I grinned and looked back to our visitor.  “Are you feeling better now, Sunset Shimmer?”

She gave me a small smile.  “Yes, I do.  Thank you, Princess Celestia.  Thank you for believing in me.”

“I’m sure that’s exactly what you deserved, but as there was no other way to bring about closure, I’m afraid I had to deceive you a little, my dear.”

Sunset frowned.  “What do you mean?”

“Celestia and Luna never returned after they went through the portal because it was smashed.  I only acted as Celestia’s proxy.”  I willed the change, and once more I was a pegasus stallion.

Sunset gaped at me.  “What the fu—?”

I held up a hoof to stop her. “I’m sure that Twilight will agree with me that you’re among friends now, and I hope you will forgive my little playacting, but I knew you needed to make your peace with Celestia, and this was the only way you could do it.”

Sunset stared at me for a long time before asking, “How did you do that?”

“Very long story.  Short version – poison joke plus tons of magic equals permanent alter ego.”

The unicorn blinked.  “Okay.  Can’t wait to hear the long version.  Meanwhile, I have other questions.”  She turned to face Twilight.  “You said you were the co-ruler of Equestria now?”

“Yes.  I took the role after I ascended.”

“You have to tell me how you managed that later.  Who is the other Princess?”

“My co-regent is Princess Trixie Lulamoon.”

Sunset gaped.  “The showmare!?  She became an alicorn?!”

Twilight’s smile was wooden and she hesitated more than a bit too long.  “Yes.  Yes, she did.”

I fought hard to suppress an eye roll.  I mentally added ‘Learn to Prevaricate Convincingly’ to the list of skills Twilight still needed to learn from Trixie.  I had to follow up before Sunset noticed.

“You know Trixie?”

“Well, yeah, or at least her human equivalent.   Both her and her oversized ego.”

All the mares laughed, although Fluttershy stopped with a hoof over her mouth and a blush.

“Principal Celestia and her sister were the judges for the school talent show held at the outdoor amphitheater.  Trixie was the last act and every magic trick she tried to perform fell apart at the last second.  A dove escaped its cage while Trixie was talking to the audience.  As soon as her back was turned, a rabbit jumped out of her top hat and ran offstage.  Card decks fell out of pockets and sleeves while she was ranting on and on about how amazed we would be.  Celestia and Luna were laughing along with the rest of the audience.”

Everypony chuckled.  Applejack said, “That sounds about right.”

“And she kept up her role as a condescending blowhard the entire time!  She looked truly puzzled each time a trick failed or her equipment went missing.  After a few minutes, she had everyone in the theater chanting along with her, ‘This went better during rehearsal’.”

That got a laugh out of everypony.  This tale was certainly lining up well with the stories from Trixie’s early performances around Equestria from what I had heard from Ponyville citizens.

Sunset rolled her eyes.  “And her assistant!  How she talked Button Mash into helping her, I have no idea.  But he truly looked terrified for his life up there on stage!  I still don’t know if he was in on the act or not.  He would miss his cues, forget when to duck, and make a terrible racket from behind the back curtain when he was supposed to have vanished into thin air.  By this point, the Principal and Vice-Principal were holding onto each other to keep from falling out of their seats.”

“Trixie’s big finale ended with Button’s coat catching on fire and Trixie chasing after him, yelling at him to stop ruining her show.  As he sprinted around, he seemed to inadvertently set fire to every prop Trixie had on stage before the janitor put him out with a fire extinguisher.”

The mares were all laughing loudly now.

“That universe’s Trixie is either the most brilliant actress or the least competent, egotistical fraud I’ve ever seen.  Regardless, it was as entertaining as Tartarus.  Celestia praised it as the finest display of ‘Performance Art’ she had ever seen.  Even then, Trixie wouldn’t break character.  ‘See?  Even the Wise Principal Celestia recognizes the art of my performance as the best she has ever witnessed!’  As if she truly had no idea what ‘Performance Art’ was!”

When I could be heard over the laughter, I said, “I think there’s a decent chance you might recognize her when you see her.”

Sunset smirked.  “I’m not so sure about that.  I can’t imagine my Trixie ever becoming a Princess.”

“You have a point there.”

Sunset asked, “What other incredible things have happened since I left fifteen years ago?  Still can’t believe it’s been that long.”

Twilight replied, “Princess Luna returned from her banishment, obviously.  The Elements of Harmony were rediscovered and my friends and I became their bearers.  Discord, the Lord of Chaos broke free of his stone prison, was defeated, and reformed.  Queen Chrysalis and her changeling horde invaded Canterlot and were repelled.  The Crystal Empire returned and Princess Cadance and my brother now rule that land. And recently, Tirek invaded Equestria and stole the magic from most of its citizens.”

Sunset blinked in shock.  “All that in less than two decades?  Equestria has been at peace for ages, but suddenly everything went crazy?  And the Elements of Harmony aren’t just a myth?”

“Not only aren’t they a myth, but they are what saved Equestria a few times.  In fact, that was what Celestia was trying to teach you.  Only through the power of friendship were we able to harness their potential.  You were Celestia’s chosen pupil to learn and discover their power to save her sister. Instead, it devolved upon me.”

Sunset sighed and shook her head. “I really screwed things up badly, didn’t I?”

I put a wing about Sunset and hugged her.  “Come on, we’ve just gone through this.  It’s time to put the past behind you and look to the future.  Now that you’ve had some catharsis, what do you really want to do?”

She gave me a smile.  “Like I said, I want to finish school and graduate.  I also want to spend those months with my friends while deciding what I want to do with my life.”

“So, you don’t want to move back to Equestria?”

“If the portal is closed for fifteen years, I wouldn’t be able to see my friends.  I don’t think I could bear that now.”

“You don’t have to,” Twilight said.

The yellow unicorn lifted a curious eyebrow.  “What do you mean?”

“I’ve been studying portals intensely lately for reasons that I’ll explain later.  It’s true that they all have their default cycles probably because they are tied to natural phenomena, but I discovered that with the right spell, they can be opened at any time.  In fact, as part of my research, I have already enchanted a medallion to act as a key.”

I opened my mouth to ask something, but Twilight beat me.

“I only recently completed making it, Mark. I was going to field test it soon.”

“Why did you need a key?  You certainly couldn’t have expected me,” Sunset said.

“It’s for me,” I said.  “Can I trust you with a secret?”

Sunset nodded.

“I’m actually a human who came to Equestria through one of those portals, but it got smashed and I’ve been stuck here ever since.  You just want to see your friends again, but I want to go home.”

“And you think my world might be yours?” Sunset asked.

“It’s my best lead so far, so I have to check it out.”

Sunset looked thoughtful.  “I’m sure my friends would love to help you if you go there, and so would I.  But are you sure you won’t get stuck there as I did?”

I looked at Twilight.  “Are you certain about that key?”

She nodded vigorously.  “I’ve tested it thoroughly and it opens the portals every time from this side.  Theoretically, the same should be true for the other side too.  And even if not, I could open it again for you from this side.”

“Good enough for me.  Let’s do this!”

“Aren’t you being a bit hasty, darling?” Rarity said.  “You can’t just charge through the portal without preparing.”

“I’m just going to take a quick look. If it’s my world, it won’t take me long to confirm that with Sunset’s help.”

“So you’re just going to walk through that portal right now, naked?”  She arched an eyebrow questioningly.

I opened my mouth to reply but failed to say anything as her words hit home.  I had gotten so used to pony nudity that I hadn’t even given a moment’s thought to that little problem.

Sunset giggled.  “I think you had better get something suitable to wear before going through the portal.  Oh, and it has to be large because ponies are relatively small compared to humans.”

Nothing I owned fitted that description. Why would it?  Maybe a bathrobe?  Perhaps not – that would probably still leave my nether regions rather drafty.  “Any suggestions, Rarity?” I asked.  Maybe she could put something together for me.

“Oh, but you already own the perfect apparel, Mark, dear.”  She smiled enigmatically.

What was that mare getting at? The only clothing that I owned were a few shirts, two cloaks, a couple of vests, and a formal jacket, none of which were suitable. The only other things in my wardrobe were…  Oh, no! My eyes widened and I stared at the fashionista who started nodding and smiling broadly.





I felt really silly wearing one of Rarity’s high-fashion outfits meant for Marklestia.  It fit my small frame very badly and some temporary ties held the cuffs up so that I wouldn’t trip on the material.  To make things worse, Twilight brought out her camera and started taking photographs.  If Trixie or Steady ever saw those….

Sunset had left her human clothing by the mirror before heading out of the room, and she had donned them again in preparation for going back through.  Despite the purple shirt and khaki shorts also being too large and silly on a pony, she still looked a hundred times less ridiculous than me.  Well, okay – maybe the purple and black cowboy boots on the hind legs of a pony were close.  I grabbed the camera from the snap-happy alicorn and took a couple of shots of Sunset before stuffing it into the folds of my dress.

“I’ll take some pics on the other side.  Now – can we get on with this, please?” I begged.

“That depends on Sunset Shimmer,” Twilight replied.

Sunset held up the medallion that Twilight had given her.  “As long as this thing works, I’ll be able to come and go whenever I need to, so I can come back and visit at any time.  So, might as well do this now before Mark Wells pops a gasket.”

“Okay.  I have just one other thing to give you before you go through.” Twilight’s magic levitated a stopwatch on a lanyard over my head and settled it around my neck.  “I want you to do a short countdown and hit the button on the stopwatch at zero and jump through the portal.  I have another stopwatch which I’ll start at the same time. When you come back, I want you to stop the timer immediately and I will stop mine as well.  That way we can determine a fairly exact ratio of the rate at which time flows over there.  Sunset, please remind Mark in case he forgets.”

“I’ll do that, Twilight.  Ready to go, Mark?”

I sighed.  If I didn’t want so badly to find out if that was my world on the other side of the mirror that I’d wear this dress…  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied.

Twilight moved over to the mirror that was Sunset’s portal.  It had a mauve elongated horseshoe-shaped frame embedded with pink crystals, plus some fancy filigree ironwork surrounding it.  It was all mounted on a much sturdier foundation than my mirror had been.  Twilight stepped up onto the base and lifted a foreleg to poke at the mirror.  Her hoof passed through it as if it was water, the surface of the mirror rippling like such.

“The portal is still open and probably will be for a couple more days if Sunset’s information is correct.  Just a reminder that you only have a few hours at most on the other side.  We can’t be sure how long it has been open, although evidence suggests that it’s tied to the full moon and this is the first night of three.  If we’re wrong and it does close, use your amulet.  If the portal still fails to re-open, I will activate it from this side.  Now, prepare to go through.  Sunset – you first.”

The yellow unicorn nodded, stepped up to the mirror and hopped though.  No fanfare; no technicolor display; just a ripple of the surface and she was gone.

“Excellent!  Now you, Mark.  On the count of zero, jump through.”

I held up the stopwatch and nodded.

The alicorn began her countdown. “Three.  Two.  One. Zero!”

I pushed the button to start the timer and leaped.

I had not thought to ask Sunset what the transition would be like.  Perhaps I would pop out the other end at the same time as I entered Equestria’s end? No, that didn’t happen.  Instead, I was subjected to a swirling tunnel that I could not focus on.  I felt forces tugging at me from random directions and a sense of vertigo rapidly built up.  Then suddenly, I was stumbling on concrete on all fours.

My excessively long sleeves did nothing to reduce the discomfort of scraped hands from my fall, but I realized that if I had hands again, I also had legs.  For the first time since arriving in Equestria so long ago, I got to my feet and stood proudly upright.  I gazed about me and saw it was nighttime and several humans were gaping at me. I knew immediately who they had to be because their hairstyles and colors matched my pony friends.  Colors. Pinkie Pie was pink.  Rainbow Dash was blue.  Applejack was orange.  I pulled back a sleeve to look at my hand.  Green.  Sunset hadn’t mentioned skin colors because why would she?  It was perfectly normal for her.  These people may have been human by many measures, but they weren’t my humans.  Despite the familiar street, buildings, parked cars, and school building, this wasn’t my Earth.

“SHIT!”


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