With the benefit of hindsight, maybe this had not been such a good idea, Luster thought as her body was twisted and reshaped as a kaleidoscope of colors rushed past her vision. No matter that she had been warned that this would happen, it still was not something she enjoyed.
But finally, after what felt like years of this, Luster saw the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel and prepared for the exit, hoping it would not hurt as much as Headmare Starlight and Princess Twilight said would.
To her surprise though, as she was shot out the other end, it did not hurt at all. In fact, it felt like falling onto her bed after a long day at school. But she could also feel the ground beneath her hooves. "I did not expect it to be this soft," she mumbled into the mattress.
A voice chuckled next to her. "I figured that after all of the times the princess always came out flat on her face, we needed a softer landing for those coming from Equestria. The school board thinks I'm crazy though."
Luster blinked as she was helped to her feet, wobbling a moment, before grabbing onto what looked like a statue base now that she opened her eyes and looked down at herself, and tried not to freak out at what she had turned into. Arms and hands instead of hooves, and she wore clothes that accentuated her natural colors. A light orange skirt, and a shirt that matched the blond in her mane. "This is so weird."
The mare next to her giggled, her fiery red mane easily standing out next to her official-looking jacket. "You must be new here."
Luster gulped. She had not thought of how she would explain any of what she was or where she had come from if she met one of the natives. "Um..."
The older human rolled her eyes. "Don't worry. Princess Twilight told me that you were coming. Plus a first-time human sticks out like a sore thumb. Been a while since we've had a visitor from Equestria. The name's Sunset Shimmer."
Luster blinked. "Oh. But Headmare Starlight gave me a crash course on how to use this body before I came here."
Sunset pinched her nose with a sigh. "Starlight's a great mare and an even better friend, but she was only here once, and not for very long at that. Ask Princess Twilight the next time you do. She has more experience." She smirked. "And the bumps and bruises to prove it."
Luster couldn't help but chuckle at the thought as she looked around as Sunset led her towards what looked like a school. "This isn't a problem, is it? Me being here? I know this was so last minute. But I could not help myself."
Sunset shook her head with a smile. "No, it's not a problem. Very few people know about the portal or Equestria, and I plan to keep it that way. Too much can go wrong if word about either gets out. My friends and I seem to be the only ones who know about either."
Luster blinked as she looked around the halls. Few students were out, most seemingly in class at the moment. To her surprise, she recognized several of them as students she knew at the School of Friendship. Some were even her friends. but no one paid her any mind.
Sunset saw the confusion in the young girl's eyes and smiled. "You don't go here, Luster. If you meet anyone you know from Equestria, they will not know you. Probably for the best. Twilight can tell you what a headache meeting your friend's counterparts is like."
Luster tapped her chin in thought. Interesting. Just more questions she had for this strange world. At that moment, though, her stomach growled loudly, earning a blush from the girl as she suddenly remembered how hungry she was.
Sunset only smirked. "Sounds like somepony's hungry. Come on. Lunch is on me. I just ordered pizza, and there's more than enough for both of us."
Luster only smiled sheepishly as she followed the older woman. "Pizza sounds good."
"Please tell me you have the recipe for this," Luster all but moaned, as she took another bite of pizza. "This beats anything Ponyville has. Even Canterlot, and I thought I knew good pizza."
Sunset chuckled, taking another slice for herself as well. "Sorry. But this comes from a place called Greek's Pizza here in the city. Equus doesn't have an equivalent as far as I know."
Luster sighed as she looked around. Across the wall were many framed photos, presumably of Sunset's past and friends. She chocked back her shock as she saw six very familiar faces repeated time and time again.
Sunset saw her look and smirked. "My friends and the greatest family anypony could ask for. And no. That isn't Princess Twilight with glasses. It's her counterpart. Take away her glasses, and put her hair down though, they're identical. You should have seen her face when we all went to Equestria. If there's one thing they both agree on, is that they hate when people mistake them for each other."
Luster frowned. "Do they not get along?"
Sunset shook her head. "No. They get along great actually. But it is still weird for them to meet each other and not freak out."
Luster giggled, remembering plenty of freakouts from the princess, as her eyes fell on another photo. This one was in a place of honor on Sunset's desk. Sunset and all of her friends together dressed up in what looked like graduation gowns. And next to them, smiling wider than she could ever remember... "Is that?" She asked, pointing at it.
Sunset nodded, her smile turning wistful as she remembered the day. "Our graduation. Princess Twilight made it an official Royal Order that she would attend it, no matter what. We made it a weekend-long sleepover for all of us. One last big party before college and real-life kicked in. And even though, technically, she wasn't a member of our class, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna gave her an honorary degree for everything she did for us."
Luster smiled at the thought. So that was what that piece of paper the princess kept in a place of honor in her Study was. She had always wondered what it might be but had never asked, as she finished her current slice of pizza. "What are all these toppings anyway?"
Sunset shrugged. "Oh, sausage beef and pepperoni. Pig and cow basically." She stopped, suddenly remembering who she was talking to, as Luster turned a sickly shade of green. "Probably shoulda warned you about that first now that I think about it."
Luster gagged, trying not to throw up. "You think?!"