One of Those Days

by Bespectacled Brony

Parallel Predicaments

Disclaimer: Ooh-kay, you should all know how this segment goes! I don't own "My Little Pony" and, uh...that's not to say I'm in ownership of a pony which I don't actually...own...but...I mean, Lauren Faust does! Wait a minute...I'm not saying...she owns a pony of mine, it just...that the ownership rights...belong to...ah, no...that's not right, either! I, er, umm...well, y'see...I...actually don't, uh...OH, JUST SHUT UP! SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU SHUT UP! STOP POINTING AND LAUGHING AT ME AND JUST SHUT UP!

Synopsis: Twilight argues against Spike's belief in the existence of parallel universes. However, the crash-landing of incredible dramatic proof may deem her wrong...

In Ponyville, today was...ah...well, to make the long story short...

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood, not to mention a beautiful day for a neighbor.

Would you be mine?

Anyway, that beautiful day was a visual treat that nopony could ignore...with the exception of a single resident of Ponyville.

A gigantic treehouse known as the Golden Oak Library acted as a monument of knowledge for the townsfolk. The thirst for information, education and enlightenment was an attribute amplified by its inhabitant; a brainy and extremely talented lavender unicorn named Twilight Sparkle!

Previously residing in Canterlot as a loyal student of the land's ruler, Princess Celestia, Twilight switched locations to the library in Ponyville under the alicorn's order to explore and study the magic of friendship.

Unfortunately, Twilight used to have a habit of reading, studying and analyzing a little too much. She'd unintentionally block the outside world from grabbing her attention, which sometimes made for an awkward atmosphere between her and anypony else attempting to communicate with her.

And old habits die hard.

There were few things that could break the poor girl out of her concentration, but a loud yell from outside was sufficient enough to catch the attention of her ears.

"WHOOOAAA! LOOK OUT BELOW!"

An equally loud crash succeeded the yell.

Twilight's eyes tore themselves away from the book in front of her, switching to observe an unfortunate scenario unfolding on the ground. She immediately grabbed her nearby telescope and focused in on whatever was going on.

A thick ball of dust and dirt had been kicked up, large enough for anypony to notice from far away.

Derpy, a clumsy grey pegasus, had evidently lost control of her flight abilities and smashed into a stallion...hence, the noise.

As the accident-prone mare sat up, she whipped her head right and left at near-lightning speed, realizing that the contents of her saddlebags had been scattered everywhere. This wasn't a good position to find oneself in, but as Derpy was a mailpony, this was especially so. Panicking, she feverishly scrambled to recover all of the envelopes and packages that had fallen out. Additionally, she had a couple of minor scratches on her body and some leaves and twigs had become entangled in her mane.

Her appearance on the scene may not have been the most graceful or dramatic of entrances, but it was still difficult to ignore.

Twilight let out a small giggle before going back to her book. Had she stayed to look through her telescope a few seconds longer, she would've seen that two of her best friends - speedy athlete Rainbow Dash and fashion designer Rarity - were present at the scene of the nasty collision that had just occurred.

"My word!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Yep...that's Derpy for ya," confirmed Rainbow. "Whatcha saw was about par for the course...for her, anyway."

Meanwhile, the door of Sugarcube Corner was wide open and an energetic pink pony, who had a yellow pegasus in a headlock, observed the scenario with little to no concern.

"See? Aside from that mailpony, everything's fine! I'd say everything's gravy, but that'd be a big, fat lie...obviously!"

"Uh...obviously."

Satisfied with the outcome of the situation, the pink pony retreated back into the bakery, slamming the door shut.

An hour had passed. Surely Princess Celestia's most prized pupil could've extended her work for a much longer period of time...but every now and then, even the most studious of mares needed a break.

As the unicorn headed downstairs to grab a snack, she saw her longtime friend, the purple baby dragon Spike, sitting on the bottom step and immersed in a book himself.

"Enjoying the view?" she inquired.

"Huh?" he responded, turning his head.

"The view of the story you're undoubtedly imagining in your head...as you're reading, that is."

"Uh, yeah...I am, I guess. Although this book's print is kinda weird. The letters are all-"

"Letter! Oh! How could I have forgotten everything that happened this morning? Spike, grab a blank scroll and an inked feather! Ahem...Dear Princess Celestia...today, I-"

Twilight glanced at her aide, astonished to find that he was still reading intently.

Although annoyed that he wasn't jotting down her words at top speed like he usually would, the raising of her voice was purely to get his attention. For a split second, Twilight realized how others must've felt when she'd block them out.

Nevertheless...

"SPIKE!"

"Ahh!"

The dragon jumped a bit at the outburst, but his sense of duty instinctively activated, and he quickly readied himself to record the recited information. Failing to comply with Twilight's wishes was never a healthy practice. As she would remind him...

"You! Letter! Write! Now! Hop to! Chop-chop!"

For the next solid minute or so, the only sound echoing throughout the treehouse (besides a loquacious librarian) was the furious scribbling of a well-prepared pen against parchment.

Until finally...

"...but as long as you don't lose faith and keep pushing for the intended goal, your friends can be trusted to help you slide past all hazards and show you the way home. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."

Spike attempted to roll up the letter, but Twilight held her hoof out to stop him.

"Wait, I almost forgot! I need you add one last thing..."

"I'm listening."

Twilight stroked her chin for a moment as she formulated the proper words in her head.

"And as Pinkie Pie so concretely demonstrated, a little therapeutic swamp sludge applied to just the right places on the body can make a world of difference!"

Spike shuddered as he recalled an incident that occurred earlier (in the morning) that Twilight was referring to. While she felt the postscript was necessary, it was not her intention to dwell over the uncomfortable experience any more than she had to...nor was it Spike's.

"I'll say!" he agreed, finishing the letter. "When Pinkie went to work on me, I ended up getting slimed in places I didn't even know I had!"

"Just send it off, please."

Spike took a deep breath and smoothly exhaled his green, fiery breath onto the rolled-up letter. It burned into ashes and was magically teleported to Princess Celestia's castle (where it would subsequently reform).

With the task completed, Spike opened up his book again and resumed reading.

"Hey, I just noticed...I'm taking a break from reading, yet you can't put that book down! Hmm, what's wrong with this picture?" joked Twilight.

"I'm as surprised as you are!" Spike shot back. "But with this big selection of books in this library, I was bound to find something I liked sooner or later!"

"Which brings up the next question...what piece of literature would have the power to completely divert the attention of my number one assistant?"

Spike handed over his rather thick book and Twilight's eyes darted back and forth repeatedly over the cover.

"The Chronicles of Equestria: The Dragon, the Alicorn and the Wardrobe...what the...?"

The mare turned the book over and read the story's synopsis on the back cover, resulting in a somewhat disapproving look on her face. Not satisfied with a brief description, she quickly skimmed the first few pages, but not to the point where she missed out on the specific information that required a triple check...which gave her a solid confirmation.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Twilight said, obviously making a complaint.

Her companion knew that this objection would be the first of many.

"In less than a minute, you found something wrong already?" Spike (sarcastically) wondered aloud. "I think that's a new record!"

"This isn't at all how the founding of Equestria commenced! The proceedings which took place are the same in every history book you can find! At least the ones I've studied all say the same things!"

"Yeah, but I'm not reading a history book! This is fiction! It's a set of different historical circumstances so the plot can mesh with it!"

"So, essentially...it's a rewrite of history?"

"Geez, does everything hafta meet your approval?"

"What's stopping the author from offering a faithful portrayal of Equestria's creation and then-"

"Twilight, you're missing the point! If the author wanted to do something like that, he woulda been a historian or something!"

Before the unicorn could debate further, her stomach growled, letting her know that there were more immediate - and urgent - matters to attend to first. She opened the door of the nearby refrigerator, scanning its contents. The idea of a sandwich was appealing, so she magically levitated a loaf of bread, some vegetables and various condiments from the fridge through use of a practiced horn.

"Look, Spike...just because...oh, would you care for a sandwich?" she asked, offering to make one for him.

"You bet!" he replied, licking his lips in anticipation. "I'll even eat it, too!"

Twilight chuckled as she gathered all of the ingredients onto a round table while Spike set two plates down. Cutting up a tomato, Twilight decided to continue the conversation as she assembled their meal.

"As I was saying, I don't see why it's necessary to change crucial details like that!"

"So, every book that involves historical events has to be accurate?"

"I don't have a problem with fiction, mind you...but ultimately, I lean more towards fact and truth."

"Look, I'm not usually one to talk so much about books...but this 'changing history' stuff is interesting! It gives the reader a chance to imagine what the things would be like if it'd all gone down differently! Even the tiniest change in detail could have affected the entire outcome of the world's development!"

This kind of talk was originating from a side of Spike that Twilight had never seen before. He sounded more intelligent and knowledgeable than usual. It was a set of characteristics that she found very commendable. However, that didn't mean she would back down and give up on making her point clear.

"That's irrelevant! Replacement timelines and alternate histories aren't real! We've one continuity of time and that's it!"

Spike shook his head and grabbed an assortment of different snacks from the cupboards and drawers. He placed cheese, cookies, pretzels, crackers and potato chips in a tidy arrangement on a wide plate in the middle of the table.

"C'mon, Twilight! Haven't you ever been curious about what the world would be like if pegasi never managed the weather, or if the country was run by means other than royalty, or if an army of, say...some rather good-looking dragons roamed the entire planet since the dawn of time? Or even better, a perfect life where the lovely Rarity and I...were married."

That final suggestion was laced with a happy sigh.

"I'd say that's little more than wishful thinking, buddy...or a pipe dream..." answered Twilight, rolling her eyes. (Her last four words were muttered.)

"What'd be even cooler is if we could actually visit those other worlds!"

"VISIT? Spike, you're acting like those hypothetical scenarios are actually real! You said it yourself, it's just fiction!"

"Well, who's to say it isn't? For all we know, there could be...like...a dragon-dwelling version of Equestria on some other plane of existence at this very moment!"

"All I know is that there's a single universe existing where a unicorn's taking part in a very strange conversation! Don't get me wrong, I admire your sense of imagination...but this theory of the multiverse doesn't exactly warrant an investigation! It does bring one thing to mind, though..."

"Which is?"

"There's no reason to believe that the exploration of other universes would be fruitful or exciting! They could be almost exactly like our own, with only minor differences! How would you even know you left home?"

"Uh...don't have an answer for that one, but...that...that...that doesn't mean I'm wrong! More importantly...for my sandwich, less mayo and more gem shavings, if you please."

There was a slight note of playfulness in Spike's voice, and it triggered a smile from Twilight.

"Pour us some juice, will you?" she requested with a laugh, spreading a smidge of mayonnaise on her own culinary creation.

"Can do!" he cheerfully quipped, grabbing a pitcher of fruit punch from the fridge.

Twilight levitated a pair of glasses from a cupboard and placed them on the table. As Spike poured, she decided to bring this discussion to a close.

"Something else to consider, as well! If the ability to freely jump from one Earth to the next were possible, I definitely would've known about it!" the mare stated coolly, positioning both sandwiches on opposite ends of the table.

She was still smiling, but her expression now contained a tiny sliver of smugness.

"Why do you say that?" Spike asked, sitting down.

"Because if anypony were to create the means to travel between dimensions, it would've undoubtedly been me!"

"Now who's doing the wishful thinking?"

Twilight paused to take a small bite out of her sandwich. As expected, it tasted as great as it looked and was clearly worth taking the time to put together. If a pony with high standards regarding manners like Rarity were present, she'd tell her friend not to talk with her mouth full.

But when Twilight had something important to say, there were few things capable of stopping her.

"Feel free to let your mind ponder the possibilities that never were! In the meantime, I'll keep my head in the here and now!"

Spike did his best to reply, even though he had more food in his mouth than his colleague did.

"Foo oo ahfowootwee 'ay 'at weer oh fwalfwoowahwahwah-"

"Hey, uh...Spike? You might wanna slow down...the chewing factor saves lives, y'know."

The makeshift glutton did as he was told, then took a big gulp of his drink to wash the food down.

"Ahh! Thanks! Anyway, I was gonna say that you absolutely think that there's no possibility of other universes out there...as in, none at all?"

"I never close the book entirely on any one subject, but until some concrete evidence stares me in face, I'll keep believing that truth is stranger than fiction!"

"Really?"

"Yes, and that there's one - and only one - universe consisting of one Earth, one Equestria, one Spike...and positively one Twilight Sparkle!"

Before Spike could add anything onto her conclusion, a brief crackling sound echoed through the library. He ceased eating and his eyes went wide.

"What was THAT?" he asked.

"I'm not really..."

Suddenly the lights inside flickered and died. The household was without power for about five to ten seconds.

"...sure."

Everything spontaneously switched back on at once, leaving the library's occupants quite confused...and maybe a bit spooked, too.

"Why're the lights acting all funny?"

"I don't know. I should check to see if-"

The conversation was interrupted again by a faint rumbling. Twilight and Spike got up from the table to see if they could pinpoint the source, but the noise seemed to originate from all sides...and it was increasing in volume.

"Now what?" Twilight wondered.

"Earthquake?" Spike panicked.

"Unlikely. Nothing's shaking..."

Accompanying the rumbling was a popping sound, coupled with a small flash of light from the center of the room. Twilight's own sense of dread kicked in. Even more so as the situation worsened from a whirlwind that oddly only came from inside the treehouse, like everything else.

The force of the wind knocked the table they were sitting at on its side, spilling their lunch onto the floor. Despite their inability to explain what was happening or how dangerous this crisis could become, the duo fled behind it and clutched onto each other for (possibly) dear life.

The flashes of light were also growing in size. All the way to the point where the flashes were roughly the same height as the main entrance to the barn from Sweet Apple Acres. The family running it was an extremely hard-working group, and one of its main apple buckers was the farmpony Applejack.

Not only was she one of Twilight's best buddies, but she also just happened to be nearby. Applejack was delivering a basket of apples and some of her family's prized cider to their mutual friend Rarity, but seeing as her route passed by the library, paying Twilight and Spike a quick visit didn't feel like the worst idea in the world today.

Even with the handle of the basket in her mouth, Applejack managed a smile as she reached for the library's front door and-

FWASH!!

"Whoa, Nelly! What the hay!?" she yelled, dropping the basket and retracting her hoof in response to the loud sound.

At the same time, bright, multicolored rays of light shot through the treehouse's numerous windows (followed by some yelps and shouts coming from inside).

"Good grief, that Twilight must be runnin' one of her dang 'experiments' again," she said to herself. "I think I'll say hello later...I don't feel up to bein' on the receiving end of that horn."

A.J. immediately picked up the basket and continued walking towards Rarity's home, albeit at a much faster pace.

Any feelings of hesitation ponies had about entering the treehouse (at this current moment) would've been well founded. Even with chaos abound, Twilight and Spike timidly poked their heads around the edge of the table to catch a glimpse of something that they'd remember for the rest of their lives.

The flashes finally ceased, but now a huge energy-based tunnel had appeared in its place. A vortex had opened...and out of it spilled contents the likes of which were completely unexpected.

A quartet of figures jumped (or were thrown) from within the portal, but due to its bright light, their features were silhouetted. However, the voices they emitted sounded eerily familiar. (Two of them in particular.) One was a deep voice of a female and the other was that of a stallion. The third and forth belonged to a higher pitched mare and a noticeably younger sounding individual, respectively.

"Aah!"

"Oof!"

"Whoa!"

"Ow!"

After another round of crackling and rumbling, the giant, circular, floating hole in the air shrunk into nothingness. And with the lighting returning to normal, Twilight and Spike got a good look at the group that had literally dropped in.

One of them turned out to be a grayish amber Earth pony whose cutie mark was an hourglass. Twilight scratched her head, as she could've sworn she'd seen that same guy through her telescope about an hour ago. The second uninvited guest was instantly recognizable...because there was only one neighboring zebra that wore large gold hoop earrings and neck rings.

"Zecora?" Twilight whispered. "Where'd she come from?"

"Better yet, where did they come from?" Spike added.

The four slowly got up and began to inspect their present location. It was only at this point where things got even weirder.

Especially since the other two strangers were exact doubles of Twilight and Spike!

The former rubbed her noggin...and was the first to speak.

"Ooh, my head...Spike, Time Turner, Zecora...everypony all right?"

"Hey...look where we are!" the other Spike excitedly announced, drinking in the surroundings.

"Those bookshelves! That horsehead statue! This is the Golden Oak Library...which means we've returned to Ponyville!" Time Turner confirmed. "But...does that mean..."

"With all the places we would roam, could we truly have uncovered home?" Zecora asked.

"It certainly looks like the treehouse to me. Maybe...maybe we really are back," Twilight's twin suggested.

"But the question still remains...is it our version of Equestria...or somepony else's?" the stallion wondered.

Spike let out a small gasp as he saw his counterpart and a "second" Twilight cautiously walk out from behind the overturned table.

"Uh, gang...I think the answer is right there," he said, pointing in their direction.

The other three travelers were stunned into silence as the reality of the situation sunk in, although it would be brief.

"Oh, no...awkward," Twilight said, locking her eyes onto the pair looking back with their jaws hanging open. Spike's eyes, however, had locked onto something arguably more important.

"Food!" he cried, running over to the tray of snacks his double had assembled.

Oddly enough, it had somehow managed to avoid being spilled amidst the craziness. Spike carried it over to the others, who looked half-guilty as they partook of somepony else's snack. However, their young friend had no such emotions holding him back.

"Mmm...haven't...munch...eaten in...crunch, crunch....two days!" he said with a mouth full of food.

"Hey, uh...Spike? You might wanna slow down...the chewing factor saves lives, y'know," scolded Twilight, munching on a pretzel.

Time Turner noticed the amount of disarray the inside of the library depicted, caused by the force of the vortex.

"Sorry for the mess," he apologized. "We'll gladly clean it up if you want."

"It's commendable to clear up dirt and grime...but regrettably, we may not have the time," Zecora pointed out.

"Time...time!? Geez, I almost forgot! Spike, how much time is left?"

Spike checked the device he was holding. It was small and rectangular, similar to a remote control. Above the various buttons, it bore a digital readout indicating its unknown function was going to activate very soon.

"Yikes! 27 seconds!"

"Whew! Glad we've deduced where we are...er, aren't...before opening the slide window!" noted a relieved Time Turner, wiping a few beads of sweat off his forehead.

"Even without the proof staring us in the face..." Twilight said, pointing to her identical counterpart (and Spike's), "...I had a feeling we weren't back."

Zecora stared at her friend with a suspicious eye.

"While you are quite perceptive, Twilight...what additional evidence will prove you're right?"

"For starters...see that row of books in the middle shelf? They're off to the left by a painfully obvious 2.6 millimeters!"

"HEY! I resent that!" the twin unicorn argued. "I keep my books in perfect alignment! Why, if I weren't the-"

"Uh, Twilight?" Spike asked.

"WHAT!?" the two Twilight Sparkles simultaneously shouted, turning their heads towards Spike.

"We gotta go."

The dragon held up the timer gadget, almost at zero.

"If you'd care to do the honors, little guy?" asked Time Turner.

"Can do!"

Spike held up the device, pointed it forward, and pressed one of the buttons. An energy beam shot out and caused another huge, circular vortex to appear as quickly as the first one did. He glanced at the other Twilight and his double one last time and prepared to jump into the portal, but not before saying goodbye to them.

"Don't study too hard, Twi! And...later, handsome!" Spike yelled.

"Uh...have a nice day!" Time Turner nervously exclaimed, racing after his compatriot.

"Things should be further explained to you! Unfortunately, I must now say adieu!" Zecora said, waving as she left.

The unicorn's look-alike was the only one left. She stepped towards Twilight, who could only vocalize incoherently.

"Wha...how...and...when....you...?"

"Sorry, it's a long story...and I don't have the time to tell it!" the double said with a smile. "Nice meeting you, though!"

Twilight's counterpart approached the giant hole in the air but stopped to turn her head.

"By the way...to answer your unspoken question, the multiverse definitely exists! Don't let anypony tell you otherwise! Oh, and one other thing! If you happen to figure out the coordinates for Equestria Prime...find a way to let me know!"

Twilight suppressed a need to giggle as her two onlookers had gone back to simple open-mouthed staring.

"Take care!"

The lavender pony excitedly galloped towards the vortex and made a terrific leap through it. About five seconds later, it crackled, rumbled, shrunk and finally closed up.

And once again, all was silent inside the Golden Oak Library.

For roughly another five seconds, anyway.

Finally, the reality of what had just transpired sunk in, causing the library's residents to react rationally...sort of.

Spike blinked.

Twilight Sparkle blinked...and breathed in and out rapidly to the point of potential hyperventilation.

"Uh, Twilight...just take it easy, all right?" Spike asked, sweating a little.

"What the HAY was that?" Twilight stammered.

"If I hadda guess...I'd say it was concrete evidence staring you in the face, supporting the belief that truth really is stranger than fiction."

The librarian was left quite frazzled from the abrupt incident, but her disheveled mane and tail (caused by the intense wind blown by the two wormholes) amplified that mentality outwards.

After all was said and done...her scaly companion was right? Twilight Sparkle had always been a big enough mare to admit when she was wrong, but this conceivably took the cake! An identical Twilight from an alternate universe was out there somewhere, sliding from parallel Earth to parallel Earth like a trained pet jumping through hoops? It was almost too much to believe!

Twilight's astonishment began to get the best of her. The brain in her head might as well have been doing backflips. She crouched and waved her forelegs wildly.

"You...her with the...storm inside! Blew out...lights! Big hole...in...space! Everything...and...and...and...ALL THAT!" she babbled.

"Calm down! Um...getting upset would only-"

"Mr. Dragon, sir! I need, write, uh...cesspool, NO, uh...letter to cesspool, I mean...Princess Letter goes to Celeste in the cesspool...with the...ooh, number of cups of sugar and spice to...to...get to the Nightmare Moon with everything nice...!"

"Are you saying you wanna write to the princess?"

"¡Si, Señor Spike!"

The unicorn's little assistant was sweating profusely now.

"I'm not so sure if that's a good-"

"RKRPXZKRMTFRZ!"

"YAH-YAH-YAH-YES, MA'AM!"

In the city of Canterlot, resided the tall, proud and ever so elegant royal castle. And of the numerous rooms in the ever so elegant royal castle, the throne room was one the biggest. And ruling from the throne was the graceful alicorn, Princess Celestia. Her impressive height, slender body and flowing, multicolored mane (and tail) made her a magnificent sight to behold. It was a safe bet that ponies would be in awe of such a noble creature even if she weren't of royal stature. Wise, gold-hearted and absolutely beautiful in every possible way, she ruled over all of Equestria not only with kind eyes and gentle words, but also a firm hoof.

Quietly and contentedly sipping a cup of tea, her serene moment of pleasure was interrupted by the arrival of something she was very familiar with. Materializing right in front of her was a rolled-up piece of parchment that faintly glowed. And the flicker of bright green sparks that preceded its entrance was a sure giveaway regarding its point of origin.

The princess smiled warmly, simultaneously using her magic to lower her teacup and levitating the scroll. She had already received a message from her Twilight less than twenty minutes ago, but she was always glad to hear from her faithful student, no matter how little or far apart her letters were sent.

"My, twice in the same day!" she softly spoke as she unrolled the paper. "Twilight Sparkle must really have something important on her mind if she took th-"

Princess Celestia stopped speaking and her smile froze in place while her eyeballs automatically performed a wonderful medley of dance steps, both new and old, as she tried to read the scroll. What was supposed to be writing (she guessed) ended up as some kind of bizarre combination of bad cursive, ink blot tests, secret codes, words and language appropriate for children, words and language not appropriate for children, slang terms and she couldn't be sure, but it seemed as if a few foreign sentences were interlaced into the message, too.

The color would've drained from her face if it hadn't been white to begin with.

All the good alicorn could say was-

"WHAT IN THE WORLD!?"

"BUUUR-UUURRP!"

Ponies familiar with Spike's unique nature knew that a loud belch with a certain amount of force and green light did not originate from an overindulgence of food or beverage. Only a response (and usually a very punctual one) from the great Celestia herself would escape his body in such a manner.

And in this case, her said response would take the form of another scroll.

Spike prepared to alert Twilight, but she was still crazed, walking in circles and prattling gibberish to herself. Instead, he unrolled the letter and cleared his throat...loudly.

"AHA-AHA-AHEM!"

Twilight ceased her movements and speech, standing as still as a statue while her ears adjusted to Spike's voice. She had a long, lasting and extremely beneficial relationship with Princess Celestia ever since she was little. One dose of sage advice was about to reach and reinitialize Twilight's resolve and all would be right within Equestria again.

"My faithful student Twilight Sparkle, I've analyzed your predicament. After conducting thorough consideration and weighing the inevitable risks involved, I have come to but a single conclusion. There exists a countermeasure whose potency will be parallel to extent of the problem you've described. Please respect my wishes and administer the following treatment to yourself..."

Twilight held her breath.

"Switch to decaf."

She immediately turned about face and repeatedly ran her hoof over her bottom lip, going-

"B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b..."

With all the unrelenting pacing and muttering Twilight was exhibiting, she appeared ripe for a straitjacket, complete with a complementary padded room. Spike crossed his arms, shook his head, sighed...and whipped out another parchment.

"I think I'll write back," he said, glancing at his friend.

Increasingly creeped out, Spike decided to hasten his writing.

"Okaaaaay, now...Dear Princess Celestia, this is Spike...your advice for Twilight seems to be working already. I'm pleased to report that she's limiting her crazy talk to one letter of the alphabet...but just to be safe, you may wanna reserve a room at the Canterlot Psychiatric Ward for a very special patient."

The lesson to be learned (with which one unicorn in particular was still struggling with) was that the multiverse is indeed real. Contrary to previously established statements, there was more than one Twilight Sparkle. But even more relevant was that only one of her was present...and judging from her current behavior, that was more than this one world could handle.