So it was that Umbra walked the halls unchallenged. She was just supposed to be there, calmly existing. One more teacher-like object without a specific task. The actual teachers nodded, some even said hi or waved. The students mostly ignored her, having other things on their mind that rated higher to them than what a random new adult was doing. None of them called her out. None of them asked her to leave the school.
It was growing late in the day, with so many periods having come and gone. Surely it was near the end? Umbra wasn't certain, and the hours weren't posted anywhere she could find. So she did what nerdy people not in class did; she sat down in the library in front of a computer. "It's been so long." She stretched out her fingers and put them to work.
Sure, her typing skill had rusted a little, resulting in far more typos than usual, but she was doing it. Like riding a bicycle, it was hard to completely forget it. "Is there a Google?" There was not a Google. The sites she expected just weren't there. That world was not Earth. But the browser's homepage had a search, and from that search, she could find other sites to bounce off of. She was getting a feel for this strange new Internet.
She found a video site with silly near-humans doing silly near-human things. Some of them looked very serious as they did it, going over whatever bit of news was important to them, or their viewers? The numbers were lower than Umbra would have expected, on Earth, but that wasn't Earth. Those weren't humans. Just mostly? She browsed on. "I missed you." Fingers, they really were nice to have. Sure, a unicorn horn was also great, but fingers were, by definition, tactile. Clickity-clack-clack they went against the keys of the computer, and that was a feeling she had missed more than she would have expected.
One thing though, Umbra noticed as she hammered away. Female human bodies were different than pony female bodies. Sure, she had been female before, but not female female... cis female! She was one of those! A little giggle escaped her. They said she'd never be a 'true woman'. Ha, take that, people a few dimensions away. That'll show them! Her cheeks suddenly went a dark red. She was a cis female. That came with certain... "I'll be back before I do that." She hoped...
"Umbra?" There was Twilight, looking around nervously. "You plan on hiding in here too?"
Umbra twirled her chair about to face the human Twilight, er, new-human at least. "Twi! I've learned some things."
"So have I." Twilight was edging away. Where to? Hard to say. "I know where the crown is."
Well, shoot... "Celestia has it."
"And will give it to whoever wins this popularity contest," sighed out Twilight. Spike jumped free of her backpack as she got to stacking books.
"What are you doing?" Umbra wagged a finger over the proceedings.
"Making a bed?" It was a bed, sort of... Of books... "I don't have a lot of other options right now."
"Huh." Did Umbra have better? Not... really... "Well shoot... I'm going to check something. You hold down the fort... the book fort." She giggled a bit as she fled.
She strode through the quiet hallways with a purpose. Alas, her target spotted her long before she spotted them. "You're still here." Luna emerged from a side passage as if the darkness were a natural place for her to be. Pony or human, some habits remained. "I don't understand who or what you are, exactly, but if you mean harm for my students..."
"I don't, I swear!" Umbra put up her hands as if to deflect Luna away. "I'm actually trying to help them." A magical artifact probably didn't belong in the human not-magic world, Umbra was fairly sure.
"Help them?" She had a brow raised in scornful doubt. "There isn't much you can do 'for' them right now. They're going home."
"About that." Umbra worked her fingers together. "I was looking for a place to crash. Any ideas?"
Luna threw up a hand, the arm remaining level. "Seriously? This is a school, not a motel."
"Yeah, yeah, I get that." Umbra rubbed at her other arm. "I'm really sorry for haunting the place. I'll gladly sub another class tomorrow if you need it?"
"How delightful!" Without a single shoe being heard, Celestia had arrived. "I'd be delighted if you could."
Umbra and Luna looked to her with equal surprise. "What? You did quite well today. How are you with social studies?"
Oh no! Umbra cringed. "Uh, going to just admit that's probably a bad fit." The thousands of tiny ways the not-human not-ponies history could be so very different from what little she remembered... That would be a nightmare. "I don't want to give a bad lesson."
"I appreciate you admitting that." Celestia nodded and nudged Luna. "See?"
Luna rolled her eyes at that. "This is ridiculous. If you like climbing so much, why not help with PE?"
Umbra blinked softly. "Oh, uh, wait, climbing?"
Celestia pointed upwards. "We saw you on the roof."
Oh! "Oh... Well, sure. Let's get them moving." She clapped her hands together. That sounded potentially even fun. "I'm up for that."
"Fantastic. Second and fourth periods then," explained Celestia. "For tonight." She pointed in a familiar direction. "You can visit the teacher's lounge if you have nowhere else to go."
Luna grabbed Celestia's shoulder. "Are you really having this uncredentialed layabout sleeping in the teacher's lounge?!"
"I am." Celestia set a hand gently on Umbra's shoulder. "I have a feeling... Besides, Cadance spoke well of you."
Umbra's expression brightened suddenly. Her tactic had worked?! "That's great! Good old Cadie. She knows what's up."
"She really does." Celestia was turning back towards Luna. "So leave her alone. She's helping us."
"Our teachers have their own homes," grumbled Luna, but she was moving on. The principal had spoken.
"Don't mind her. She prefers things be done by the book." Celestia wagged a finger at Umbra as she finished her turning back around. "But I've never been quite that constrained. Tell me, Umbra, what is it? Why are you here? Be honest."
Did she dare? "Actually... There's a tiara, like this?" She reached up for her own. "I hear you found it?"
Celestia's eyes darted up, if briefly, at Umbra's jewelry. "I did, actually, but that was before you came to visit."
Well, shoot. She couldn't say it was hers if it was there before she was... "It's not mine." Truth, start with truth. "It belongs to a friend of mine." Still truth! "I was hoping to get it back for her."
"You pretended to be a substitute for that, instead of just asking?" It was Celestia's turn to have a brow raised. "That's a curious course of action, isn't it?"
Umbra sagged, called out! That hadn''t been an adult decision. She was paying the price for failing to adult! "That was kinda dumb..."
"I'm glad you see that." She patted Umbra gently. "Now, you look tired. I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yes'm." The will to keep up the battle with the soft spoken principal was entirely drained. She hadn't said a darn thing wrong. What kind of adult would do what Umbra did? Pesky ponies! They were a corrupting influence... "I'll be ready to do some quality gym, tomorrow."
"I'm glad to hear it. If you need it, there are still snacks in there." And off Celestia went, calm and pleased with life in general. It was infuriating, but also a little impressive.
"Tricky pony." Umbra found the door to the lounge was open. Inside was coffee. With a click, she got it back to warming up. Also a box. She popped open the paper box to reveal a random assortment of sugary snacks. "Apex of health, this is not." But it was a snack, and coffee. She could be doing so much worse. The night that Twilight slumbered on books, she napped in the teacher's lounge.
"Are ya sure we can't help? Jus' a little." Applejack was looking at the swirling portal. She had no idea what was beyond it. How could she? "The waitin's the worst part, and it's been a while now."
"And there's nothing to do," complained Pinkie in solidarity. "I'm not in the mood to party."
Rarity gasped loudly. "Pinkie, not in the mood to party? Darling, that's when you know things have gone awry."
Celestia raised a hoof gently. "We must be patient. They are doing their absolute best, I feel certain."
Cadance got out a little hm at her aunt. "How can you be so sure? What if they're in trouble? When do we begin to worry, properly?"
"Not now." Celestia nodded to each worried face directed at her. "She's fine, and trying so very hard right now. A little faith, a little longer. For now, you should sleep. Even if she did require help, you won't be able to give it if you're exhausted."
A communal grumbling was the reply, but they started off to where they'd rest. On either side of the portal, the next day would come, and staying up to see it wouldn't help anycreature involved.
Except one. She looked left and right with furtive glances. A guard was approaching, clip clopping steadily. When he came on where she was, he only saw a coatrack, and he moved on. With a green puff of flames, the crystal bat was returned, breathing a little hard. She hadn't been caught. The way was clear... She hurried towards the mirror.
Only for a leg to descend in front of her. "Where are you going?" demanded Luna with a scowl.
Shifting Prism ran right into that leg with a squeak. "Oh, uh, hey!" She scrambled back a step, waving at the large alicorn. "How's it going, Luna?"
Luna leaned in close. "I was not informed one of mine was in the area."
One of hers? Shifting froze stiff, unsure what to say.
"Good timing." Luna sat up with a nod. "You will obey your princess, will you not?"
"O-of course!" Shifting snapped her best salute, standing up properly. "How can I help, ma'am?"
Shifting's deference seemed to relax Luna. "Good. I know my sister's hunches are correct far more often than not, but I want my own eyes on the situation." She pointed at Shifting, hoof close to Shifting's snout. "Go through that." She pointed to the portal. "And make sure they are alright; Umbra and Twilight Sparkle. Help them, if you can do so subtly, and get back here. Can you do that?"
That had been exactly what she was planning on doing in the first place. But saying that felt like the wrong answer... "As you command," is what came out of her instead, bowing before her princess. Well, her pretend princess. She had no princess! Except maybe Umbra. Umbra could be her princess, yeah, that'd be fine. "I'm on the case."
"Be wary of another you," cautioned Luna. "Sister made it clear that could happen. Do not interact with them if you see them. Just let them do what they plan to do as if you had never seen them."
"Got it!" Shifting scooted around Luna. "I'm going in now." Luna watched her in a stare until she was gone through the portal, popping out on two legs. "Wha?" She curled her new hands one way and the other. It was dark out, just like it had been back in Equestria. "Here I come!" Shifting had no idea where she was, but she had a goal! Two goals, three! Three goals! "Find those two, get back." Four! "Help them!" She was counting on her new fingers, the least dazzled by the change of any of the creatures that had come through the portal. She was, in the end, a changeling. A change of forms was not that strange.