Fluttershy let out a sigh as she stood before a now familiar guest room, plate of pancakes balanced on one open wing. Apparently, her human counterpart had decided that said room was going to be her shelter during her stay. She gulped as she stared at the door, nerves keeping her from reaching for the handle. It shouldn't be this difficult for her to do what needed to be done. Step one, open the door. Step two, give her the food. Step three, talk about last night. Step four, see what happens after. It was step four that made her so nervous. From what she could remember from last night, her counterpart was different from her in ways beyond just her tribe making the results of said interaction very difficult to predict. Not helping was the fact that she had very little experience dealing with Thestrals, what with how elusive the tribe can be even in the best of times. She let out a thoughtful sigh as the events of the previous night came to the forefront of her mind, a light blush coloring her cheeks.
***
The party was in full swing. Everypony was drinking and mingling with Pinkie being the most active as she passed out food to anypony that asked. All the while, two nearly identical ponies stood in a far corner of the throne room, enjoying each other's company in the pocket of calm they found in the sea of excitement that filled the room.
"You're amazing," Fluttershy giggled, red eyes slightly unfocused as she stared at her Equestrian counterpart.
"N-No I'm not," Equestrian Fluttershy slurred, lowering her half-full mug of cider.
"What are you talking about?" she demanded, taking a swig of her own drink. "You faced a crazy Moon Goddess, a Dragon, a Chaos God, a King, an army of bug monsters, a Minotaur, and a magic-eating Centaur. You. Are. Amazing."
"I was only there for most of that," Equestrian Fluttershy smiled bashfully, taking another sip of her drink. "I didn't do all that much."
"Says the girl who helped fill her world with magic," Fluttershy smiled, a bit of fang showing as she leaned into her counterpart's side.
The yellow Pegasus's face turned beet red at the contact, though it could've just as easily been because of all the cider she drank. Oddly enough, she found she didn't dislike the attention she was getting. Setting aside the fact that the mare near her was her from another world, she found that Fluttershy was rather easy to be around. She didn't judge her that much and wasn't afraid to be blunt when it was necessary. She also seemed bolder then her Pegasus twin, giving her affectionate nuzzles and hip checks. Though all that could've been the alcohol talking and the Thestral was more reserved then she seemed. Strangely enough, she wasn't too bothered by that either. If anything, the contrast made her more interested in the bat pony.
"I guess I am pretty amazing when you put it that way," she said, hiding her small smile by taking a drink.
"Unlike me," the bat pony sighed, looking into her mug with a frown.
"What?" Equestrian Fluttershy asked, shocked by the mare's sudden drop in mood.
"I blamed my friend for something she didn't even do and then let her go off to go kill herself. Even after everything she did for us, I stabbed her in the back the second it looked like she went back to her old ways."
As she said that, tears started to fall from her eyes as she gazed at her reflection in her drink. "I'm a terrible person. No. A monster. No wonder I look like this."
As she said that, she gestured to herself before she turned her attention towards her double.
"But you, you're an angel. You stood by your friends even when things looked bad. A coward like me would've ran the second I had a chance. I'm so pathetic!"
For a moment, the two Fluttershys stared at each other, one with tears in her eyes while the other stared at her with concern. Then, before the Thestral could react her counterpart pulled her into a tight embrace. Warmth and the smell of wildflowers enveloped the guilty drunk's sharpened senses, calming her as her Equestrian counterpart gently stroked her mane.
"You're not a bad pony," she whispered as she held her slowly calming double. "Or a coward. Or a monster. Or anything like that."
"Th-Then what am I?" she sniffled, letting her rattled nerves settle.
"Somepony who's hurting, made a few big mistakes, and doesn't know how strong she really is."
"Wh-What?" she stammered, pulling back enough to lock her red eyes with her double's teal ones.
"I stood up to a Dragon, but you stood up to your friends. That doesn't sound like a coward to me. And the fact that you feel so bad about what you did and are willing to make up for it proves you're not a monster. You're a better pony then you think."
The yellow Pegasus could see the conflict in her double's eyes. She could see doubt try to push her words to the side, to call her a lier. But then, a small smile graced the Thestral's muzzle and she knew that her words had hit home.
"Th-Thanks," she sniffled as she wiped away her tears and gently pulled away from the yellow Pegasus.
"Your welcome," she smiled. "Are you okay?"
"No," she sighed, once again taking ahold of her mug. "But I do feel a little better."
"Well, that's a start, right?" she asked, taking her own mug.
"Yeah," she smiled, turning towards her counterpart and holding her mug out towards her. "Cheers! To new beginnings!"
"To new beginnings," Equestrian Fluttershy giggled, mirroring her double's actions and tapped her mug against her's.
While the native Fluttershy took a dainty sip of her drink, her bat pony version downed her drink with gusto. Much to her company's surprise, by the time she came up for air the mug was completely empty. With a satisfied sigh, she licked her lips and leaned into the shocked Pegasus with a wide smile plastered across her muzzle.
"I'm so happy I came here," she muttered, eyes half open and muzzle lightly reddened.
"O-Oh?" Equestrian Fluttershy stammered, face heating from the look her counterpart was giving her. "Th-That's nice."
Fluttershy giggled then snuggled into the nervous Pegasus' side, a content smile gracing her muzzle.
"You're so soft," she sighed. "Can I stay like this for a little bit?"
"Uh, um, o-okay," Equestrian Fluttershy stammered, not sure how to handle this turn of events. "B-But only for a few minutes."
Fluttershy let out a pleased hum and nodded as she let herself get comfortable. The yellow Pegasus let out an exasperated sigh as she stared out into the madness that was the party with a smile. A savage blush quickly spread across her face as she came to a very intimate realization. She was so close to her double that she could pick up her scent, a strange mix of pine and fog. It made her think of walking alone in a forest at night while a pair of red eyes watched her from the shadows. She gulped as she stared at the pony using her as a pillow, a bit of fang poking out of her wide smile. She could see it in the mare's physique that she was more than fast and strong enough, that should such a scenario come to pass, the bat pony would have her completely at her mercy. In spite of the fear such a situation would spawn, the thought thrilled her a little. Blaming the alcohol she let out a wistful sigh and stroked her companion's mane, earning a pleased sigh from the Thestral.
What is wrong with me? she thought, eyes getting heavy as she finished off her drink. Having thoughts like that about her. She's me, isn't she?
It was then that the world began to blur and the yellow Pegasus started to fall into a deep sleep, the smell of pine and fog the last thing she could remember before she entered Luna's domain.
***
If Fluttershy's cheeks got any hotter they would've burst into flames as she stared at the door to her counterpart's room. She took a few deep breaths to steady her nerves before making what felt like the hundredth attempt to reach for the doorknob.
Relax Fluttershy, she mentally coached herself. You're just bringing her breakfast. That's all. The poor thing is probably having a really bad hangover and really needs these. Just bring her some food and maybe talk with her for a bit if she wants to. Easy as that. You can do this.
With a gulp, she forced herself to open the door and step inside. Unsurprisingly, the room was dimmed to the border of true darkness to better accommodate its sole inhabitant, but that didn't unnerve the yellow Pegasus. What put her on edge was the silence. It was heavy, similar to the kind one felt when entering dangerous territory like the deeper portions of the Everfree Forest. Such a thing would normally fill her with fear, but it instead made her face grow hot with a blush. The source being a faint trace of pine and fog in the air that seemed to hang like a thin cloud of mist around her. As she quietly examined the dim room, she marveled at how something could sooth her while at the same time make her so nervous.
"Fluttershy?" she asked, briefly acknowledging the strangeness of using her own name to address somepony. "Are you here?"
A muffled whine beneath the bed was all the answer she got from the Thestral. With a sad smile, she walked towards the bed. After setting the plate down on the ground, she peeked under the bed to find a very unhappy bat pony. Her face was contorted in agony as she clutched her head, tears welling up in her closed eyes. Her ears were tightly folded against her head to block out any and all sound as even the slightest blip sent a red hot nail into her skull.
"Please stop," she whined.
"Stop what?" she asked, blinking in confusion.
"Breathing," she groaned. "Talking. Everything. Just don't do anything."
In spite of herself (literally), she couldn't help but giggle a little bit. She remembered her first hangover and boy did it hurt. Until she figured out how to fix it, she spent the first three hours the next day trying to make as little noise as possible. A simple task for her, if it wasn't for the fact that blinking felt like she stuck her head into a storm cloud.
"Here," Equestrian Fluttershy smiled, pushing the plate under the bed. "Eat this. It'll make you feel better."
She was going go argue that she didn't really feel like eating, but the second the plate was in sight her stomach demanded that she quit complaining. Tentatively, she took a small bite which quickly turned into a savage chomp as instinct took over. Never before had she tasted anything so amazing, something that became all the more enjoyable as her hangover started to fade. Unbeknownst to her, her counterpart had seen the whole thing, a strange mix of shock and intrigue settling in her chest. It was like watching a wolf devour its prey as the ravenous Thestral tore into the pancakes at a startling rate. When she was licking the honey off of the plate, she had to turn away before her blush made her face burst into flames.
"That was amazing," Fluttershy sighed, pushing the plate out from under the bed. "So sweet and fluffy. And my hangover's gone! Thank god."
With a happy hum, the Thestral crawled out from her hiding place and smiled at her double.
"Thank you. That was a huge help."
"Oh. It was nothing," Equestrian Fluttershy smiled, waving her off. "I'm just glad you feel better."
"Yeah," she said, with a content sigh only for an awkward frown to fallow. "By the way."
"Yes?"
"How much do you remember about last night?"
"N-Not much," she stammered, her feathers ruffling slightly as she blushed. "I blacked out after you asked to...um...lay on me."
"Oh," she blushed, her own wings starting to twitch as that particular memory came to mind. "Th-That's the last thing I remember too. So then we didn't...well....we didn't....uh....do it, did we?"
"WHAT?!" the shy Pegasus exclaimed, whole head a brilliant shade of red as she struggled to process what her double said. "Nononononononononono! We didn't!"
"Oh, okay," she said with a sigh of relief. "I just wanted to make sure."
She nodded, face still a little red as she tried to center herself. It was then that she realized how close she was to her counterpart as a faint trace of foggy forest graced her muzzle. This made it even harder to get her blush under control.
"Not that you aren't pretty or anything," she hastily added, seemingly oblivious to how her presence was effecting the yellow Pegasus. "I just wouldn't want to jump into something like that with someone I've just met."
"That's pine-FINE!" she exclaimed, realizing her error. "That's...fine. Sorry."
"It's okay," she said, brow raised.
It was at that moment that they both had the same thought as they remembered how they felt together just a couple hours ago.
I wouldn't be against it though.
"Anyway," Fluttershy started, clearing her throat. "What time is it?"
"Not sure," she shrugged. "I didn't track the sun before coming in here and if I try to now I might blind you."
"Track the sun?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion. "What?"
"Don't you use the sun to tell time?"
She shook her head in the negative.
"We used to, but now we use watches and clocks to tell time. Do you have those?"
"Yes," she smiled. "But most ponies prefer to track the sun. It's a little more convenient."
"I see," Fluttershy mused. "Can you guess how long it will be before sunset?"
Equestrian Fluttershy put a hoof to her chin in thought as she tried to come up with a rough guess.
"About five hours I think."
"Great," she groaned. "That means I have to find a way to keep myself occupied for five hours."
"Well. I could keep you company," Equestrian Fluttershy said, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
Fluttershy's wings opened slightly as her own face turned just as red.
"Y-You don't have to do that," she muttered, trying not to stare at her adorable double.
"B-But I want to," she insisted, gnawing on her lower lip nervously.
"W-Well, okay," she sighed as she caved. "So how do you want to kill time?"
"How about we try to get to know each other?"
"Okay," she smiled. "Hello, I'm Fluttershy.
"Nice to meet you," the Pegasus smiled with a nod. "I'm Fluttershy."
"Likewise."
The two sat in silence for a moment only for it to be broken shortly afterwards by a shared fit of laughter as the craziness of their situation sank in.
Maybe, Fluttershy thought as she wiped a happy tear from her crimson eye. This won't be so bad after all.
***
Equestrian Pinkie panted, her hooves pounding into the castle's crystal floor as she pursued herself down the hall. Even with the fear she saw in her double's eyes, she didn't expect her to run. Normally, it wouldn't be so hard for her to catch somepony. Heck, she could even keep up with Rainbow Dash when she needed to. When you took into account how clumsily this Pinkie was running, she should've been able to catch her in a heartbeat. What gave her some trouble was that the pink pony in front of her seemed to disappear every so many steps.
Every time she came within forelegs reach, she would wink out of existence and reappear ten feet away still running. To make matters worse, her Pinkie Sense couldn't pickup on it, making it impossible for her to predict when it was going to happen. Meanwhile, Terran Pinkie was having a major panic attack as she tried to put as much distance between herself and her Equestrian counterpart as possible. With wide eyes, she let her instincts rule her as she ran through the castle's winding hallways. She didn't know why, but every cell in her body was telling her to run from her lookalike and the strange shimmers that appeared in her path was a way to do so. She hung onto enough of her conscious mind to know that moving through them moved her further away from her peruser, but her thoughts began and ended there as she ran.
Desperate to find an escape rout, she gave her surroundings a quick look over. All she saw at first were just solid crystal walls, but that changed when a window came into view. A smile graced her muzzle as she poured all of her speed into running towards the window. She didn't know where she was or if she was even on the castle's ground floor, but considering the alternative option she decided to test her luck. When Equestrian Pinkie saw her clone pickup speed towards the window, she doubled her own efforts. She didn't know why the other Pinkie was so scared of her, but there was no way in Tarterus she was going to let her jump out a five story window. Her heart hammered in her chest as she struggled to close the gap between them, praying to Granny Pie that the double wouldn't wink out before she could stop her. Time seemed to slow as both Pinkies closed in on their targets, each praying that they could succeed before it was too late. Just like before, just when Equestrian Pinkie's hooves came an inch away from grabbing the double she winked out of existence. Panicking, she threw the window open and looked down. Much to her relief, no pink ponies were plummeting to their demise. But that did raise a question; where did the other Pinkie go?
"Horse apples," she muttered to herself as she closed the window. "Now what am I gonna do?"
***
Pinkie let out a startled yelp as she landed muzzle first onto cold stone, silently grateful that her gamble payed off. Groaning, she forced herself to her hooves. Breaths came out in heaving gasps as she prepared to start running again only to stop short when she took in her surroundings. She was still in a castle, but instead of being made of crystal this one was made of standard issue gray stone. Everything was furnished in ancient trappings like she would see in castles from her own world, only most of the tapestries were heavily decorated with ponies instead of humans. If the twin thrones were anything to go by, she was in the new castle's Throne Room. Though calling it a "new" castle was a bit of a stretch if all the weather damage she could see on the walls was anything to go by. The air was as silent and unforgivingly cold as a tomb as she took in her surroundings, her breaths coming out as thick clouds as if she had gone back to her old habits.
"N-Now where am I?" she asked, exasperated as she shivered in the cold. "N-N-Never m-mind. I n-need to f-find someway to warmup."
As she said that, she rose to her hooves and started moving towards a passage to the left of the thrones hoping that there was something she could find to combat the cold. All the while, she hoped that her double didn't somehow fallow her here. She never wanted to feel that kind of fear again.
After a couple hours, she stumbled across what looked like a bedroom furnished with everything one would come to expect in such a room albeit in a much more ornate style. It surprised her how clean and fresh the furniture looked when compared to the castle itself, but that took a backseat when she saw the massive queen-sized bed at its center with a thick and fluffy violet comforter. She charged towards the bed without a second thought and wrapped herself in its soft warmth. With a blissful sigh, she curled herself into a ball in the fabric cocoon she built for herself. It was then that she realized how tired she was as a yawn forced its way past her muzzle.
"So tired," she mumbled, eyes growing heavy. "Just a quick nap. Then I can...can...figure out...what...to...do...next."
With that, she fell into a deep sleep completely unaware of what would be waiting for her in the land of dreams.