//------------------------------// // Day One, Morning: With One Breath, With One Flow... // Story: The Golden Age of Apocalypse, Book II: Synchronicity // by Shinzakura //------------------------------// Normally, Grand Royal Station, nestled in the southern neighborhoods of Canterlot, was a busy location, bustling with its duties as the central hub for all trains in Equestria – only Manehattan’s Royal Central Station rivalled it in terms of sheer size. Thousands of ponies, griffins and other beings bustled in and out of the nexus daily, headed to and from various destinations, metaphorical ships passing on a sea of rails. Many more used the shops, restaurants and other facilities that ringed the exterior of the station, adding to the throngs of those present. To say that a typical day here teemed with life and was a hive of grand action would be an understatement. Today, however, the station was, surprisingly, even busier than normal, as the location had been declared a National Security Event. Guards from various divisions of the EUP were as far as the eye could see, and nearby, on surrounding buildings, Royal Army forces assisted their Guard sistren, standing by with a variety of weapons in case action was called for. And above it all, a Royal Navy airship floated above the station, the air monitor’s hull bristling with cannons, and with ponies armed with crossbows at the gunwales. Still, despite the sheer display of armed personnel, business continued as usual…or as usual could be with concerned ponies trying to ignore the military’s presence. However, for anypony that made it into the station itself and saw who was present at Platform C, the reason for the grand security theater became all too obvious. After all, it was truly a rare event when five of the six known alicorns in history were gathered there. With them were the legendary Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, heroines who wielded the incredible artifacts and had saved the realm countless times. Other ponies of import were present as well, and under different circumstances, they would have captured the imagination as much as the aforementioned. However, that wasn’t what caught the eye of the various travelers present at the Grand Royal Station. No, that attention had been unilaterally captured by the strange minotaur-like beings that were present with the VIPs. Were they a new species from a previously undiscovered nation, come to parley with ponykind? Or were they beings of a higher order, towering above all but the alicorns themselves? Strangely, the only thing that seemed to be approachable was that several of them had similar mane colors and styles as many of the ponies present. No matter what was going on, one thing was for certain: once again, the world of ponies would likely never be the same again. As she watched the two groups interact, Sunset Shimmer would have found the situation fascinating under different circumstances, as seeing the comparison and contrast of each living mirror fit no other description other than that word. A good example of this was her friend, Fluttershy, who had long overcome her shyness as well as the now-public revelation of who her father was. On the other hand, the pegasus that shared that name, despite being a world-renowned heroine and part-time model, still struggled to overcome her fear of, well, everything. Likewise, the initial reactions of the two Applejacks – the well-grounded farmer earth mare and the teenaged martial-artist and shopkeeper could prove to be very jarring due to the vastly different lives they lived, not the least of which was that the human girl’s parents still lived. That would be a sore spot for the mare, Sunset knew, and she hoped it wouldn’t drive a wedge between the two. The same, of course, went for the others and their counterparts as well, whether kith or kin. At least they would have fun; Sunset, however, had more than a full plate this week. For one, she had to take care of Octavia’s mental health needs, and unfortunately that meant that her cousin and sister figure wouldn’t be able to spend much time in Ponyville with the others. Additionally, the SIRENs had to be fully acclimated and structured into the Royal Navy’s chain of command, something that was going to present unique challenges of its own. Finally, there were her own various responsibilities around the palace, and she would have very little time to herself. It made her wish even more that her “twin sister”, the Sunset Shimmer native to Earth, had come along for the trip as well. “Sunny, you okay?” Sunset turned to see Raspberry looking at her, concern etched in her features. “Yeah. The speech I gave an hour ago hopefully changed some minds,” she said, unconvinced. “It was briefer than I’d have preferred, but I had years to acclimate to humanity. The ponies here had only minutes and even then, only in a very controlled setting.” “You didn’t do half bad, if you ask me,” the mulberry-coated unicorn confided. “Thanks. I owe my sister for that one.” “Twily?” “No, Shimmy, actually; she does a lot of public speaking and so she gave me some tips,” Sunset admitted. “I think she would’ve been mindblown to see all this, even with the life she’s led. I guess pictures aren’t really going to do it justice, especially since it’ll end up looking like Union Station got invaded by pony-shaped plushies or something. It’s just too bad she couldn’t come.” Raspberry laughed. “I think we’re better off: We already have enough counterparts here as it is. Having two Princess Sunset Shimmers is going to be real confusing real fast, don’t you think?” “Yeah, maybe,” Sunset replied absently. Seeing her conversation did nothing to relax her friend, Raspberry then continued down a similar line of thought. “So you guys never told me much about my counterpart. You said Twily and your cousins go to school with her?” “Ribby? Yeah, I met her once. She’s a sweet girl, a couple of years younger than us, but she’s got a personality like Shy’s. She did, however, make friends with the CMC, and I think she’s got a crush on Flutters, from what I can tell, but given my own personal life I don’t want to make wrong judgements there. Really, if you want to know more, talk to Twily. My sister should give you more info.” “Sounds like a plan, then.” Raspberry agreed. Meanwhile, standing a bit away from them were the two Twilights, as well as Octavia. The plum-haired girl looked at her cousin. “It’s a shame you can’t come with us,” she said, hugging her cousin. “I wish I could, but if there’s a chance that one of the doctors here can heal me, then it’s worth it,” Octavia replied. “Besides, with the plan for me and Flutters to play a concert in Ponyville later in the week, you can bet that I’ll be there.” Princess Twilight, who had been privately informed about the teen’s illness, agreed with her logic. “Well, it will be a shame not to have you join us, but hopefully, you’ll have a chance to meet your counterpart,” the alicorn replied. “She lives in town and will be working on the music for the ceremonies, so this may be an opportunity.” “That sounds interesting,” Octavia replied. “I hope I can.” “ALL ABOARD!” boomed the vociferous tones of the train conductor. “FRIENDSHIP EXPRESS CHARTER LEAVES IN FIVE MINUTES!” He then turned to Princess Celestia and in softer tones, added, “My apologies, Your Majesty, but we received word that the Empire Express is running early, so we need to clear the platform for it.” “Quite understandable,” the solar alicorn told him, then looked at the others, human, pony and dragon alike. “It’s time for those going to Ponyville to head out, so you may wish to say your farewells for the moment,” she advised. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Velvet; we’ll take good care of them,” Princess Twilight said to her mother’s counterpart. A second later, she blinked and added, “It still sounds so weird saying that.” “I can imagine,” Velvet replied before turning to the human Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, as the oldest, I expect you to be responsible for everyone as well. While you’re all old enough to understand the stakes, you’re the one closest to a legal adult in age.” The chiffon-haired teen nodded. “I’ll do my best, Mrs. V.,” she promised. “Cool! I say we hit the bars once we get there!” the human Rainbow Dash suggested, prompting disapproving glances from several of the other humans present. “Um…of course I’m joking,” she retracted, trying to play off her embarrassment as just another thing. “You’re an idiot, you know that?” Applejack told her, folding her arms to scowl at her fellow teen. “Hey, I was just joking, okay? No need to crawl up my backside or anything,” the rainbow-haired athlete told her friend. “Raini, you don’t make jokes like that,” the blonde replied. “This is important an’ we don’t need you to act the fool right now.” Rainbow bristled at the mention of her childhood nickname, something that always set her off. On automatic, she stomped over to her friend. “You going to make me?” “You won’t live long enough if Ah have to,” came the response, as the two teens glared at one another. Standing a distance away, the two ponies that shared the girls’ names looked at their human counterparts, then recoiled and turned to one another. “Uh, if I’ve ever been that stubborn, AJ, I am so sorry,” the rainbow-maned pegasus told her farmpony friend. “Yeah, given their attitudes, Ah have t’ wonder just how – or if – they’re friends at all,” Applejack agreed as she tugged on her hat. She didn’t like to admit it, but there was something about her counterpart that bothered her, like looking at a broken mirror. She didn’t care for how the abyss stared back at her without doing so, and as human Applejack glanced her way, the pony turned her head in disquiet. Apart from those four, the human Pinkie was looking through her bag for something when she felt a tap on her leg. She turned to see her pink-furred counterpart there. The two were so far getting along, though privately Pinkie had to wonder how she was going to keep up with her pony doppelganger – while she was often considered the most hyper of her friends, the pony was on another level entirely. Pony Pinkie, on the other hand, noted the human going through her bags. “Whatcha doing?” she asked. “Looking for my pills,” Pinkie replied to Pinkie. “I have a medical condition and so I have to take pills on occasion.” Pinkie debated asking Sunset if she could gen up copies, but then recalled that might not be possible. Her intended was a lot of things, but a doctor wasn’t one of them. “Like when you have a tummy ache?” Pinkie asked. “I know that because I had one last night after all the good food! Especially the upside down cake they made for us!” As if to underscore the point, the earth mare chose that moment to do an impromptu headstand. The cheerleader glanced briefly and nodded. “It was good,” she admitted, before turning back to her task and unearthing a small brown plastic bottle. “Ah, here we are.” “Can I see that?” the pony asked, and when the human complied, the party planner looked at the strangely-made bottle…before pausing at the script on it. “Hey, does this say lithium?” “Yeah. They’re lithium salts.” “But isn’t that dangerous? I mean, Twi has it in her alchemy and chemistry lab, and stuff!” “I don’t think it is,” the teen replied as she opened the bottle and took one of the pills. “Auntie Cup or Uncle Carrot wouldn’t let me take these if they were dangerous, after all.” She then started to look for something else. Instinctively, the pony pulled a canteen of water from her mane. “Will this help?” she asked. The teen took it gratefully. “Thanks. I hadn’t thought to bring a water bottle.” “So they really are your family? Mr. and Mrs. Cake, that is?” Pinkie asked Pinkie. “I mean, they’re like a family to me, but at the end of the day, I’m just an employee and tenant.” The human finished the canteen. “Yeah. Auntie Cup is my mother’s kid sister; she met Uncle Carrot while they were in college. They have two kids of their own – Pound and Pumpkin – but they’ve raised me since I was a baby. In many ways, they’re more my parents than my Mom and Dad are.” “Wow, that’s freaky!” the pony told her. “It is what it is,” the human replied, returning the canteen to her counterpart. Meanwhile, Twilight went over and hugged her sister. “I’m going to miss you. Both you and Tavi.” Sunset smiled. “We’ll be there later this week,” the alicorn assured her. “Until then, just enjoy spending time with Twi. You’ll like her, I’m sure of it.” “Take care of the others, okay?” “You know I will, sis.” At that, everyone and everypony else bid their farewells, just before the travelers boarded their train to head out on their new journey. A few minutes later, the whistle of the Friendship Express sounded and the toylike train rumbled off, bound for its destination of Ponyville. “I hope they’ll have fun,” Night said, slipping an arm around his wife. “They’re young and carefree and in a unique situation,” she told him. “I’m sure they’ll have the time of their lives.” “I just hope the world will survive them all being in one place,” Prince Shining Armor said with a wry smile. “Ponyville can be unusual at the best of times, and now it’s going to be ready for probably one of the most unique things it’s ever been through.” “Shining, I’m sure the good folk of Ponyville have been through worse, surely,” Princess Luna told them. “They’ve survived parasprite infestations and Tirek. I’m absolutely confident they’ll make it through this with flying colors.” “I think Shiny means two Pinkie Pies being in the same place at the same time,” Princess Cadance told her aunt. “And by that I mean two actual Pinkies, not the magical clone issue from the mirror pool that Twi told us about last year.” The lunar alicorn thought about that for a moment. She then turned to the nearest guard. “Have a message sent to Capt. Right that we will ensure that Fort Berryville and its local garrison will be on-call should a situation arise that he needs backup.” “Luna, you can’t be serious,” Princess Celestia said, trying – and failing – to remove the smirk from her face. “Ponyville has suffered many arrows and slings,” Luna with a mock-sober face. “I’m not sure it was meant to survive two Pinkies.” “Well, there’s our ride,” Princess Cadance said as the Empire Express pulled up upon Platform C. Turning to their counterparts, she asked, “Are you sure you two are ready to be treated as royal guests of the Crystal Empire?” Celestia laughed. “I swear, after what Sombra once told me, I can probably never take that name seriously again.” Princess Celestia looked at her counterpart with shock. “King Sombra?” she gasped. “Um…no. Principal Sombra, actually. He runs the special disciplinary high school for delinquents,” Celestia explained. “He’s a good man, one of the best I know. I take it this is another, um, ‘Sable’ situation?” The sun alicorn then looked to Raspberry. “How ever did you manage to survive in that confusing world, Razz?” Razz gave her liegelady a resigned look. “I still ask myself that same question from time to time, Princess.” Cadance looked at her alicorn counterpart. “I take it it’s always like this with your aunt?” The princess of love grinned. “Sometimes she even manages a full day without things going weird on her. Can you imagine that?” Headed towards its destination, the train rattled down the tracks as it descended Mt. Canterhorn. As they were the only ones on the train, the large group spread out in the luxury car, settling into quiet routines for the trip. The teens broke out various cellphones, laptops and other items, while most of the ponies had books or did something else. This, however changed as the ponies then took note of the amazing technology their counterparts had on them. There was, of course, one exception: the pegasus Rainbow Dash chose to nap, briefly rushing out of a nearby window just to bring back a cloud for her to nap on, a form of showing off. Twilight Sparkle looked at the pegasus lying on the impermeable cushion of floating water droplets and was still as confused as the last time she saw it. “To this day, I am never going to understand how that works,” she said to no one in particular. Princess Twilight looked at her younger counterpart. “You’re familiar with that, Twilight?” The scholar nodded. “Sunny took me up for a trip one night when she was feeling down; it freaked me out at first, but eventually I knew I was safe with my sister. And please, just call me Twily, Your Highness.” “Only if you’ll call me Twi,” the alicorn told her. “You’re the sister of one of my dearest friends, and I’m not really one for formality. Besides, we’ll get to know each other over the week, so it’s only natural. But to answer your question as to how it works, pegasi, griffins, batponies and several other winged species or tribes have magic that allow them to manipulate clouds.” “But how?” Twilight asked. “Quantum manipulation or maybe molecular grasping? I know some of those concepts are theoretical, but NASA recently published a monograph that states that it’s potentially feasible.” “I’m afraid I couldn’t give you an answer that will satisfy the physics of your world other than ‘magic’. I’m not completely familiar with the science in your reality, and the physics here may not translate exactly the same,” the alicorn told her. “Well, I’d like to see some sort of documentation on it, if that’s okay with you,” Twilight asked. “I think it would be fascin—” “Oh for fuck’s sake, Twily, shut up, will you?” the human Rainbow grunted, pulling her earbuds out. “Trying to watch the second season of Aldanoah Zero over here and I can’t hear a damn thing over all the brainiacing you’re doing!” “Rainbow, go back to whatever IQ-draining thing you were doing, okay?” Twilight snapped back. “I was, but you decided you wanted to masturbate all over whatever Science Guy shit you and the princess are talking about.” “Rainbow, you’re an idiot, you know that?” “Yeah, heard worse from better,” Rainbow grunted and slipped her headphones back in. “Sorry about that,” Twilight explained to her mollified counterpart. “She’s joking, of course. At least I hope so.” However, Princess Twilight, who had fortunately spent some time on Earth, took it in stride. “I…yeah, I guess,” she said awkwardly, trying to laugh it off. “I’m sure it’s fine.” Meanwhile, the human Pinkie, looking out the window, sighed. “Is everything okay?” her counterpart asked her. “A week in paradise and I don’t have any time to spend it with my sweetie,” the teen mourned. “Oh, don’t worry,” the pony said, breaking out a box of cupcakes. “I’m always prepared for the need for sweets! Don’t worry, I stuck to what recipes Sunny said was safe for humans! Here! You can have the first one!” A second later, Pinkie found an oversized cupcake in her hand. “You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?” “Of course I do! Sugary goodness is always a priority for Pinkies!” The teen, not wanting to argue, took a bite and swallowed, enjoying the cloying levels of sugar that even she thought was a bit towards overkill. A soft smile came onto her face. “Glad to know there’s somewhere where I’m not a complete fuckup,” she said in a soft voice. “How long is the trip?” “It’s a couple of hours from Canterlot to Ponyville,” the pony explained. “Of course, we might be going a little faster, since we’ll be skipping the stops at Greenvale, Sunhillow and Berryville.” “Well, better keep ourselves busy, then.” The human got up and stretched briefly before calling out, “Hey, anyone want to play Uno? I’ve got some cards!” She reached over for her backpack to dig out her cards. A butter-yellow pegasus looked up from her seat next to her counterpart, who was watching something on her cellphone; though the pony didn’t know Inariese, there were words in Equish (or whatever the human equivalent was called) on the screen. “A card game?” she asked. The human Fluttershy looked to her friend. “Sure, deal me in. It’s been a while.” She then looked to her pegasus equivalent. “I think you’ll enjoy it. It’s an easy game to learn.” “Okay, that’s four, counting myself, Pinkie and the Fluttershys,” Pinkie said. “Razz, you in?” Raspberry Beryl looked up from her own tablet, which had been a gift from Sunset. “Yeah, sure, I’ll go for it.” Pinkie looked at Rainbow, who was focused on her phone. “Rainbow?” The rainbow-haired teen waved a dismissive hand without so much as looking up from her screen. “Sorry, too busy watching Martian mechs getting their asses handed to them. Maybe later.” The other Rainbow, still asleep, merely twitched a leg before rolling over and continuing her slumber. “Rarity?” The teen looked up from her tablet. “Working at the moment, dear, but thank you all the same,” she replied. Her counterpart said nothing and was likely in agreement. “AJ?” “Thanks, but naah,” Applejack replied. Likewise, the pony Applejack said nothing either. “Twily?” “Yeah, sure, I’m in.” Twilight then turned to Princess Twilight. “What about you?” “Sounds interesting; sure, I’ll play.” Reaching in her bag for a second pack since there were enough players, Pinkie then started shuffling the combined deck, flipping them in the air and instinctively passing them to her counterpart, who caught them in mid-flight and also shuffled before passing back. The two effortlessly slung the cards through the space between them, creating a four-color figure eight in the air before the human Pinkie caught them all and dealt them. “How…?” Princess Twilight blurted, blinking in surprise. Even having been just a witness to the whole event, she still had no comprehension of what had just occurred. “Look, I might not know magic, Twi,” the human Twilight said with a grin, “but even I know better than to try to figure out Pinkie.” As the card game started, Rarity the unicorn looked over at her counterpart, who was engrossed in one of those “tablet” things that Raspberry and Twilight had been gifted from the human world. A strange sort of magic screen, she thought it was incredible at first, but now that she saw her own counterpart with one, she realized it was, even as amazing as it seemed, a very commonplace device in the human world. However, the device that the human Rarity had was far more complex than the ones several of her friends were using. “What is that, darling?” the unicorn asked the human girl. Not taking her eyes off the screen, Rarity answered. “It’s a laptop computer. I’m multitasking; doing both my homework at the moment as well as some preliminary sketches for the clothing I plan to make for the others this week. I suspect I’ll be quite busy over the next few days, so best to start now while I have a chance.” She turned and favored her counterpart with a dazzling smile. “I’m sure you know how that can be.” “Oh, quite so, though if I may say, Rarity dear, with a little magic, anything can be done within a blink of an eye,” Rarity told Rarity. “Unfortunately, I do not have those advantages available to me. As it is, I had to borrow Sunset’s hammerspace backpack so I could carry all the materials and equipment I needed in order to get my task done. It may be easier for you to rely on magic, but we humans are solely dependent on our technology. Fortunately for me, however, I’ve got expertise in CAD programs, and I brought enough hardware that will make it easier for me to deal with the issue.” She then flashed a dazzling smile as she added, “Of course, one should never forget the most important asset to have: a brilliant sense of the now!” “And it’s all done with this…device?” To the unicorn it seemed terribly odd. “You do nothing but let the devices do the work? No personal interaction within your designs?” The human laughed, though not cruelly. “That is as far from the truth as it comes, dear. In fact, right now I’m designing our dresses for the inevitable coronation balls that we may have to attend. This one is for Octavia.” To the surprise of the pony, she detached the screen from the keyboard, and then held it up for her counterpart to see clearer. “I’ve been working on this since we left.” The unicorn suddenly found herself speechless; not only did the design look precisely like some of her own drawings, but the fact that it was done on one of the human devices – without paper – was a wonder to behold. Even more surprising was the fact that this other Rarity had accomplished the same thing in a fraction of the time it would normally take her to do so. “But…what about the colors?” she asked. “What if I wanted to change the color of the fabric?” Rarity smiled. “Ah, that’s as easy as a click of the touchpad.” To demonstrate, Rarity redocked the screen, moused over to the color palette, selected a dusk-blue hue, then went over and tapped the black fabric on the design. The change occurred instantly and what had been a sable tone was now replaced by a lighter shade of midnight-blue. “The little window here—” she said, pointing to a box on the screen, “—gives me the PANTONE color values, as well as the recommended fabrics that can carry that level of color density. If we were home and I were connected to the internet, it would also search nearby shops and online to see current pricing and any sales as well.” “It shops for you as well?” The dressmaker was stunned and had to suddenly fight back a bout of intense envy. “And this is everyday for you?” “No more than your magic is for you, Rarity, dear,” was the teen’s response. “I still have issues controlling what magic I’ve been given by Princess Twilight, so I daresay I am, somewhat…envious…of your effortless ability with it.” “Then I suppose I must teach you my craft,” Rarity insisted. “It would not do for a Rarity to be anything less than chic and magnifique!” Seated slightly away from them and just watching the scenery as the train rolled on, was Applejack. She’d always loved doing things like this when she was a child, watching as her parents whizzed down the freeway. And even though the current view was unfamiliar to her, the principle was the same; in fact, given the uniqueness of it all, it made it a sight to behold that only those onboard the train would ever be witness to. “Enjoyin’ th’ view, sugarcube?” Applejack looked to her left and saw herself, except as an earth mare wearing a Stetson. She’d been relatively silent all this time, enjoying the same view. “Yeah. It’s very different from what Ah usually see,” the teen admitted. “Granted, we have some views like this south of Canterlot on the 5, but nothing like the pony villages out there.” Her words made the pony do a doubletake. “Ya don’ have th’ Apple family accent,” Applejack said, surprised. “The Ozarks twang?” Applejack supplied. “Nope. Only reason Ah have any kind of twang in mah voice is because of exposure to mah family. Ah grew up in Canterlot, and California’s much different than Oklahoma.” “Y’ grew up in Canterlot?” the pony asked, confused. “Yeah,” the human replied. “We used to have a farm in Oklahoma – little town called Heavener, by the way – but when Ah was just a kid, we had to move to Canterlot to help my grandpa – Ma’s old man, so Pa had to sell our farm. At least we kept it in the family, since Uncle Stayman bought it from Pa. Good thing, too: Pa told us that while he got a better offer from some Australian agro firm, he promised Granny that Heavener Apple Orchards would stay in family hands.” “Heavener Apple Orchards? What kinda name is that fer an apple farm?” The teen shrugged. “Dunno; an ancestor named it. As it is, though, Pa called our store the Sweet Apple Supply Stop, so Ah guess silly names run in the family.” The farmmare’s jaw was just about to drop, had she not forced it to stay shut. A store? Didn’t care about the farm? What madness was this? But before she could ask anything further, her strange human counterpart said something even weirder: “Wish Ah could take pictures, but Sunny said we couldn’t, at least not on this trip.” Applejack was at least familiar with cameras, if nothing else that the humans had. “Why not?” “Security reasons, Ah guess. Personally, Ah wish we could – Mac would just love this,” the human stated. “Might help him come up with new ideas.” “New ideas?” Human Applejack nodded. “Yeah. He’s an artist, studying fine arts at Shasta U; he wants to be a professional comic book artist or illustrator – he’s certainly got the talent for it. He wanted to go down south to CalArts, but Ah think he just wants to go where he can be with Scoops all the time.” “Scoops?” “Yeah. Sweetcream Scoops, his girlfriend.” Pony Applejack blinked at that in surprise. “Wait – Mac’s not datin’ Cheerilee?” Applejack blinked. “No idea why he would chase after the school librarian and English teacher. Plus, she’s in her thirties – she’d be robbin’ the cradle and looking to get fired if she even tried to put the moves on Mac while he was attending CHS. Ah suppose it’d be kosher now in theory, but Ah think he’s planning to pop the question with Scoops.” The pony looked as though the neurons in her brain were frying. Her brother had a hard time admitting his feelings for Cheerilee as it was; no way in Tartarus would he ever date that two-bit hussy Sweetcream Scoops, especially not the way she threw herself at any stallion that moved! And then she realized it…and realized how silly things were, as well as the obvious reason. “Ah, silly me. You’re not wearin’ yer hat. Ah suppose th’ heat must be getting’ t’ ya or somethin’.” Now it was the teen’s turn to look at her counterpart oddly. “Hat? Nope, no thanks.” “What? Ya don’ have a favorite hat?” “Don’t like hats at all, to be honest. Maybe if Ah had short hair like Ma, but…ugh, definitely not a fan of hats.” Applejack had enough at that point. “TWI!” she shouted. “TWI, WE GOT A CHANGELING HERE!” Princess Twilight looked up from her cards, then set them down and walked over to her friend. “What’s wrong?” Applejack thrust an accusatory hoof at her counterpart. “She’s wrong! She’s gotta be a changeling, Twi! They musta switched her with the real one while we were all asleep er somethin’!” “Why do you say that?” “Because she’s nothin’ like me!” Twilight went over and wrapped a wing around the angry mare. “Why would she be? She’s a human, not a pony, for starters. Second, she’s younger than you. So why would she be the same?” Applejack looked at contempt with Applejack, who had just started to realize something was amiss. “Well, she ain’t no real Apple, that’s for sure,” the farmmare said dismissively. “Real Apples are Apples to the Core and would never give up th’ farm—” “Okay, what’s the problem?” the teen asked, starting to not like the attitude her counterpart was giving. “Yer mah problem! Y’ don’ care ‘bout the farm, y’ let yer brother date some freak, an’ ya don’t sound like a real Apple!” Applejack’s eyes narrowed. “The fuck? Why the hell would Ah care about something Ah have no ties to!” “See? Real Apples are all about th’ land an’ the—” Applejack crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, finally reaching her breaking point. “Look, if you’re all about Apples being tied to the land and that Goddamn farm, then you can just go to hell! Ah learned a very important lesson from mah parents about what can go wrong when you’re so obsessed with something that you can’t let it go! It hurt mah parents hard, and it almost cost them their marriage! Though we got Mel outta the deal, Ah can honestly say that Ah hope that Ah’ll never end up in a situation so bad it’d ruin things for me like that!” The mare heard the angry words and turned to face her mirror, green eyes blazing. “Ya take that back, or there’s gonna be more than just words between us,” she seethed. “Apples are nothing without our family and farm and clearly you’re no Apple!” “So being a slave to some serfdom is more important? Are you outta your fucking mind?” the human spat back. “Ah’m glad that’s not mah life or the life of mah siblings! Mac’s a damn good artist, and Bloomie wants to be a software programmer! Mel’s too young to figure out what he wants, but Ah hope he does without the farm or the store or whatever held over his head. And if anything ever got in the way of their dreams? Ah’d burn the damn thing down mahself!” “Figures – ya ain’t nothin’ but a damn Manehattan socialite, just like mah Aunt an’ Uncle Orange!” “No idea what ‘Manehattan’ is, but if it’s anything like New York, good for them! Besides, Ah’m proud of Uncle Orange – man’s the CEO of Chase Bank, one of the largest banks in the country!” Both Twilights, sensing things were about to go down, stepped in-between the two feuding females. “Look, AJ,” Princess Twilight said to her friend and fellow Bearer. “You have to understand that she’s had a different life than you and that means a different situation, okay?” Meanwhile the human Twilight pulled her friend aside. “Let it go, AJ,” she said. “The life you lead is very different from hers; she can’t really picture it. Besides, you’re better than this: aren’t you always saying that to be stronger means to be able to know when to walk away from a fight?” The blonde nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, Twily, Ah let mah temper get the better of me,” she admitted. But the pony Applejack was having none of it. “Just keep that fake Apple away from me, Twi,” she warned. “No true Apple would ever give up th’ farm. If you need me, Ah’ll be in th’ other passenger car.” She then walked off towards the front of the train car and towards the access doors. A second later it was slammed as the angry farmmare stormed away. Princess Twilight looked at the teen Applejack. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting this,” she admitted. “Ah’m sorry Ah blew my top, Twi,” Applejack admitted. “But Ah guess it’s rare when you see the road not taken and the results can scare you. Ah guess that’s probably what Ah am to her.” As the Empire Express pulled away from the station, Princess Luna looked at her sister. “As I know you’ll be busy today, Celly, I’ll handle your court duties.” Princess Celestia smiled. “No need; I’ve asked Kibbitz to cancel both our court sessions today. If something urgent comes up, somepony will come get us.” “That’s rather unexpected,” the lunar alicorn replied. “Usually Raven is punctual about informing me of these things the moment they come up.” The white alicorn had a tug of a smile come to her lips. “I’m sure she would have…if it wasn’t for the fact that I let her and her husband use our vacation place in Horseshoe Bay for the week.” Luna looked at her sister oddly and Celestia giggled. “Don’t worry; Kibbitz insisted on staying to cover both our needs while Raven is out of town. But he assured me once this is all over, he will take that vacation I also insisted for him.” The smaller of the two sisters chewed her lip in thought. “Well, I have been meaning to ask Raven to take it easy since the incursion two years ago as well as during the results of the war against Tirek, but she kept demurring on the matter. Perhaps this will finally get her to relax.” Celestia – the human – spoke up at this point: “That sounds like one of the teachers on my staff. Well, former teachers, since I’m technically no longer the principal of CHS. She’s part of Luna’s staff now. Raven is a wonderful teacher, but she has a habit of going overboard on a regular basis. I suspect she picked it up from her father, Kibbitz, who is also on the CHS staff.” “How interesting,” murmured her counterpart. “My seneschal, Kibbitz, is our Raven’s uncle, but as I understand it, she was orphaned at a young age and raised by him to the point that she may as well be his daughter. It was he that recommended her for the position of Luna’s seneschal, and prior to Luna’s return, Raven had served as a senior secretary within my administrative offices.” The human Luna caught that. “Luna’s return?” she asked. The dusky alicorn flushed from embarrassment. “I had an…extensive…hiatus from duties for a while,” she admitted reluctantly. Feeling the need to protect her aunt, Sunset interjected, “For health reasons, Ms. Luna. We generally don’t talk about it due to Crown secrecy, but my aunt needed some downtime for quite a while.” “I see,” the educator stated. “My apologies, then, Your Highness.” Princess Celestia turned back to her sister. “In any case, as I was saying, in the event that Kibbitz requires a royal’s intervention, we have somepony who can handle those duties.” She then waved a white wing, pointing towards a particular maize alicorn. Sunset caught that immediately. “I’m not going to like this, am I?” she blurted. “You wanted to be a princess, my dearest sunlight,” the older alicorn pointed out. “This is just post and parcel of being a ruler.” “I changed my mind long ago, and I didn’t expect Grandmother to give me the upgrade,” she pointed out. “You just want me out of the way while you talk to my parents about embarrassing things.” The solar alicorn laughed. “Parental prerogative, dear. Besides, in all seriousness, these are things you would have to do in any case. Cadance had to do them when she was invested, and so did Twilight. You are to be a princess of Equestria, and I cannot give you anything less in this matter.” “Oh, joy,” Sunset drolled. Princess Luna, meanwhile, looked at some of the other humans present. “While I know that my sister has plans with Sunset’s parents, would the rest of you like a tour of Canterlot? It’s a beautiful city and I daresay you may not find such a place back in your native world.” “I wish we could go, but my staff and I need to prepare for tomorrow’s demonstration,” Sable replied. At the moment, he was in his dress blues, a uniform that looked like a US Navy uniform with Equestrian flourishes, and very much unlike what the formal uniforms of the REN looked like. He then looked at his Celestia. “You should go, though.” “Then I would love to,” the human Celestia said. “I’ve always loved architecture, and if it is anything as grand as this train station, it sounds like it would be a lovely tour.” “Sure, looks like something out of a JRPG,” Luna replied, while Octavia laughed in response. “Figures you’d say that, Ms. Luna,” the teen replied. “Speaking of which, I still need to get my copy of Lightning Returns from you.” “Once we get back home from the trip, I promise.” Meanwhile the night alicorn looked at both women oddly. “Jayarpeejee?” she parroted, unfamiliar with the term. “JRPG – it’s short for Japanese Role-Playing Game,” Octavia clarified. “I still don’t understand.” The human Luna went up and put a friendly arm around her counterpart’s neck. Though several of the guards were scandalized by the action, privately Princess Celestia was glad to see it; her sister’s counterpart didn’t have the reservations her Luna apparently had. “I see it’s going to be a fun week,” Luna told Luna with a grin. Sunset sighed. “Well, I guess I should go check in with Kibbitz and get this over and done with,” she stated. Princess Luna pouted slightly, ruffling her wings. “You are welcome to come with us, my niece,” she said. “This is your week to shine as well.” “Perhaps, but maybe it’s also my week to make up for what I left behind,” Sunset told her. “You and Mother may not think it’s necessary…but I wouldn’t be worthy of the title of princess if I didn’t do anything less than my utmost.” The night alicorn smiled proudly. “I would expect nothing less of somepony of our family. You do us proud, Sunset.” “Just trying to make up for lost time,” Sunset insisted.