//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: When Two Twilights Meet // Story: Tears of Sunlight // by JWolfSilver //------------------------------// Sunset was pulled out of sleep by someone shaking her gently. She attempted to snooze them by swatting where she believed them to be “No.” Sunset said sleepily, “I want to sleep.” “Sunset,” Celestia’s familiar voice spoke, “Fluttershy and Rarity are here. It’s almost five and I still want you to be able to sleep tonight.” Sunset groaned, “Just send them in.” Celestia chuckled as she stood. Sunset heard her walk down the hallway a bit before walking back with two extra foot steps. “Thank you, Principal Celestia.” Fluttershy said. Sunset simply kept hugging her pillow as she started to allow herself to doze off again. She felt the bed dip as the two girls sat on either side of her. “Sunset, it’s time to wake up.”  Fluttershy said. Sunset just grunted.    “We know you want to sleep but you cannot simply waste the rest of such a wonderful day.” Rarity said. “Wanna bet?” Sunset grumbled into her pillow. A weight lifted off the bed and, moments later, the room was filed with blinding light. Sunset sat up to glare at Fluttershy, who had just drawn open her curtains, “You’re evil.” She growled and lay on her back, “What do you want?” She didn’t entirely mean to snap at her friends but she really didn’t like to be woken up. Wait, it’s five? Sunset thought and looked passed Rarity to see her clock. She couldn’t figure out why she’d been able to sleep so long but then she remembered what had happened the day before, I’m still exhausted. “We knew you would quite literally, sleep all day.” Rarity said, “So, we thought we would come over and get you to do something.” “Like what?” Sunset asked. Rarity scanned her friend, “Like get you to change out of those clothes. Did you sleep in your clothes from yesterday?” Sunset shrugged, “I was going to shower and change but I guess I passed out when I got into my room.” “Speaking of rooms, I think this is the first time we’ve ever been in yours.” Fluttershy said. “Yes, and it is quite…you.” Rarity added. Sunset smiled, remembering Celestia presenting the room to her after she got out of the hospital. It had since gained a few of her personal effects like more sketch books, band posters, drawings and pictures of her friends. The desk by the window was cluttered with papers and pens, the hooks behind the door held her old leather jacket and her magenta sweater, and her dresser now held the picture of her, Celestia, Luna and Chrysalis with Santa from the mall at Christmas time and the picture of her and her friends shortly after the battle of the bands. Her acoustic guitar sat on a stand beside her three book shelves, amp and extra stand for her electric guitar which she had left at school, being too tired to take it home the previous day. Even her paint drip duvet screamed ‘Sunset’. “You haven’t even been past the threshold.” Sunset stated, “I haven’t lived here for very long. There hasn’t really been a reason for you to come in. “I have to admit. It is strange.” Rarity said. Sunset looked at her with a questioning look. “What I mean is, that it’s also the Principal and Vice-Principal’s house.” Rarity clarified. Sunset chuckled, “It does take some getting used to. It’s pretty easy to differentiate between Luna and Celestia and Principal and Vice-Principal. I will never get away with skipping school though.” The three girls laughed. “For that reason, you girls may call Luna and I by our names while you are here and not our titles.” Celestia said from the door. Rarity and Fluttershy smiled and Celestia walked away to do whatever it is she was doing. “OK, I’m going to go shower and change.” Sunset announced, hopping out of bed, “Feel free to do whatever, just don’t touch my sketchbooks.” With that she disappeared into her bathroom. When Sunset emerged thirty minutes later with her orange skirt and magenta t-shirt. Rarity was laying on her bed, looking through a book she found on the shelf while Fluttershy was at her desk, apparently having organized her papers. They really don’t take long to make themselves at home. Sunset mused, “OK, what are we doing?” They both stood and smiled. “Pinkie Pie has organized a picnic for this afternoon.” Rarity said. “She invited Twilight as well.” Fluttershy explained, “We thought it was a good way to introduce her to everyone without…” “Without having to worry about wayward magic.” Rarity said. Sunset shrugged and grabbed her old jacket and phone, “Alright let’s go.” They all headed downstairs and Sunset called into the house that she was leaving. There were two calls for her to have fun, well, one to have fun and the other to ‘get out’. Sunset and her friends chuckled before leaving the house. The three of them piled into Rarity’s car and they headed towards the school. Everyone else was already there, including Twilight. “You got her out of bed!” Rainbow said, “You get any bruises?” Sunset glared at Rainbow. Twilight sat one end of the picnic blanket, trying to hold a conversation with Pinkie and failing miserably. Sunset couldn’t blame her though; Pinkie was hard enough to talk to when you were awake. “It’s OK, it was hard to get Twilight up too!” Pinkie said. “How did you even know where I lived?” Twilight asked. Sunset leaned next to her, “It’s best not to ask.” She said lowly before standing back up and headed over to the pedestal and leaning against it. “You look exhausted.” Twilight told Sunset. Sunset raised a brow and smiled, “So do you.” She sighed, “Some magic takes more energy than others. Being transformed so dramatically has its drawbacks.” “Oh! We’re talking about magic now?” Rainbow said excitedly, “We should tell her about the other Twilight!” The extremely confused look on the other girl’s face solidified the fact that they had no choice but to tell her now. Sunset knocked on the pedestal, “This is a portal to an alternate dimension where ponies are sentient and everyone in this world has a counterpart.” Twilight stared blankly, “You’re joking, right?” The group shook their heads with a combination of grunts and agreeances. “I’m afraid not, Twilight. Most of us discovered this mere months ago.” Twilight’s jaw dropped for a moment before a wide grin came on her face, “I have so many questions! How did you discover this other world? Have you been there? Who else knows about it? How has no one accidently fallen through?” “Woah there.” Applejack said, “We can only answer one question at a time.” “Besides, darling,” Rarity spoke, “This can be a lot to take in all at once.” Twilight took a deep breath, “Sorry. How did you locate this portal?” “Technically Sunset has known about it the longest. We only found out about it in October.” Rainbow said. Twilight looked to the flame haired girl, “How did you come across it?” Sunset sighed, she really didn’t enjoy talking about her past but she figured she had to tell her about it eventually, “The other end is a mirror in the castle of one of their rulers. Let’s just say I wasn’t a great person so I ran through it and away from everything I knew when I was ten.” “Wait.” Twilight said in awe, “Are you saying you are from this other world?!” Sunset nodded. “That’s amazing.” Twilight said, “Why did you choose to stay here?” Sunset started to feel self conscious so she attempted to change topics, “That’s a story for another day. Now, the last thing you should know is that your counterpart, Princess Twilight, comes through the portal every now and then. She’s helped with a couple magical problems we’ve had.” “That’s why everyone at Canterlot High knew your name, dear.” Rarity said, “The other you has already been here.” “We get pony ears and long pony tails when we use our magic.” Fluttershy said. “That’s about all we know about it honestly.” AJ admitted, “We know that this magic can be a little unpredictable and dangerous.’ “That and we can access it through playing music.” Rainbow said. “That’s amazing.” Twilight said, “And you’re right, it is a lot to take in.” “Perfect time to eat!” Pinkie said, pulling over a basket and handing out sandwiches and juice. They all chatted for a while and Sunset saw that her friends were trying to get to know this Twilight and not assuming it was her counterpart. They finally figured out why Spike can talk and the discussion was made about who to and not to tell. They agreed that Twilight would eventually have to tell her parents but no one was exactly jumping at the chance to come clean save for Sunset. Mid conversation, Sunset heard something…tingly. She turned her head to the portal and… “I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner! I didn’t get your messages until just now because I was in this time travel loop which, honestly, is the strangest thing to ever happen to me…” the purple princess said before looking at the identical girl across from her. Sunset stood up and leaned against the portal, 3..2… The human Twilight gave a smile and a small wave. “Make that the second strangest.” Well this escalated quickly. Sunset thought. No one in the group knew quite what to do with the situation but Sunset couldn’t help but find it a little interesting. She’d been wondering for a while now about what would happen if someone met their counterpart. “Twilight, this is…uh, Twilight.” Applejack said. “So, does anyone else think this is weird?” Rainbow inquired. Everyone nodded except for the Twilight's’ who just stood there, hands on their chins, staring at each other. They took a few steps forward before they smiled. “Fascinating!” They squealed. “It’s nice to meet you Princess.” Human twilight greeted. “It’s nice to meet you too!” Princess Twilight said, “You wear glasses.” “And you don’t.” human Twilight replied, “Many nights in front of a screen and even more fluorescent lights and chemical explosions.” “Screens? Like those things the girls are always sending letters to each other on? And this…computer? I think that’s right. They have them in the library here.” Human Twilight looked at the princess quizzically, “You mean phones? Yes, you don’t have them?” “She’s a pony princess, remember?” Sunset chimed in, “Hooves aren’t great for typing to begin with.” Human Twilight nodded. “What would happen if we...?” They looked at each other then scrunched their eyes shut, then touched their fingers together. Sunset and the others looked on in genuine curiosity until the girls finally opened their eyes and looked at each other. "Huh." they said in sync. "I always thought there would be some cataclysmic event when you touched your own doppelganger from another dimension." Human Twilight stated. “Yes, I expected one of them to faint at least.” Rarity said. "I have thought about this for a while. Especially after meeting the princess." Sunset said, "I think you two, though sharing the same face, you two are completely different people." "I guess that makes sense." The princess said. "Maybe that is a time travel thing." Human Twilight spoke. And, Just like that, the two Twilight's began bombarding each other with questions. Sunset noticed that the human Twilight carefully avoided the talk of the games and what had actually happened. As entertaining as this is, two Twilight Sparkles’ is going to cause problems really fast. Sunset thought as she constantly scanned the grounds for other people .She considered picking the lock to the school but her mother was the Principal and she figured that wouldn't go over well. “So, what was this problem you needed help with anyway?” Twilight asked. Pinkie was about to answer but Sunset glanced to human Twilight before speaking, “There was a magical issue at the games. Rainbow ponied up during a pep rally, Rarity while showing off outfits, Fluttershy helping Twilight with a bunny, Applejack helping Twilight at the relay and Pinkie at a party. All without the use of our instruments.” “Really? That’s fascinating!” The Princess said. Sunset nodded, “It is…now. I was kind of freaking out about it but then I figured out that our magic comes out when we are showing the truest part of ourselves.” “Did you pony up?” Twilight asked curiously. “No.” Sunset said, “I’m honestly not sure what the truest part of myself is. Besides, I’m not an element.” Twilight nodded, “Well, let me know if anything changes. I should probably get back; the people of this world won’t handle two of me very well. Maybe next time we could organize this so we both won’t be here in public at the same time.” “Awe, so soon?” Pinkie whined. “Yes, besides, I have some things to take care of at home, including writing down everything I learned here for the book about the mirror.” Twilight said. Everyone said their goodbyes and the princess headed back to Equestria. “Don’t get any ideas.” Pinkie said to Twilight “I’ve tried before.” “Oh, don’t worry.” Twilight said, “I have no intention of visiting an alternate universe for a long time. I just want to understand the magic here.” “Get in line.” Rainbow said. Just then, Both Twilight and Sunset yawned. “You two still look positively exhausted.” Rarity said, a little concerned, “Are you sure you two are alright?” They nodded, “I would have been happy to stay asleep.” Twilight said. “Ditto.” Said Sunset. “Why don’t we call it a night and get those two home to bed.” Applejack suggested. “But first,” Pinkie whipped out her phone and handed it to Twilight, an empty contact sheet already on screen, “We need to exchange numbers!” Everyone agreed and handed their phones to Twilight, then each sent a text with their names. Afterwards, pinkie Cleaned up, and they all headed back to their homes in the vehicles they arrived in. *** That night, Sunset was woken up by her phone ringing on her end table. She didn’t bother to look at the number before she answered. “Sunset Shimmer?” The voice asked. “Yeah?” She asked groggily. “It’s Twilight Sparkle. From the games.” The voice said. Sunset couldn’t help but chuckle, “I know who you are, Twilight.” “Oh…right. I just…Sorry for calling so late…I couldn’t sleep and I had to ask you something.” Twilight said, “I mean, I could have waited I guess but I honestly thought I’d lose my nerve.” “Twilight breathe.” Sunset said tiredly, “What’s up?” “Why…” She hesitated, “Why didn’t you tell the…other me about what happened at the games?” “I did tell her; I just didn’t tell her anything about you.” Sunset replied. “Why?” Sunset sighed, “I know how it feels to be constantly reminded of what you’ve done and honestly, I still don’t think it was entirely your fault. The rest of us could have handled it a lot better. I could have handled it a lot better. Besides, I don’t know the princess that well so I am not sure how she would react to the situation. At this point I’ve probably talked with you more.” “Aren’t we the same person though?” Twilight asked. It’s too late for this. Sunset thought. “No. Well, yes but no, you both are your own person. Personality is a combination of experiences and as I see it, you two were both raised vastly different than the other.” Sunset explained, “You two are bound to share some traits like your love for reading and being curious but, take your glasses for example. That was because of computers and experiments. The other Twilight doesn’t have the passion for science that you do. She just studied magic.” “Oh, I never thought about it that way.” Twilight admitted. “Yeah, now I’m going back to sleep.” Sunset said, “Night, Twilight.” “Goodnight Sunset.”