Universe 31870
How long had Rarity been falling? It was undoubtedly like a lifetime had passed. As if the strange place she and her friends were in earlier had no concept of time or space for that matter. There was no ground to walk on or air to breathe. Then, when she finally hit something, she returned to another tunnel-like realm. Her vision distorted, and her mind turned upside down… Her perception of time was altered so much that the one second she spent in there felt like an eternity.
Her existential dread came to an end as quickly as it appeared as she finally exited through the other side of the mirror she entered and crashed into a library. An exasperated "oof" escaped her lips as her back met a shelf, causing a cascade of books to rain down upon her, completely engulfing her in a pile of them. Silence settled over the stack of books until Rarity let out an annoyed groan and gingerly poked her head out from beneath the small avalanche.
“Alright… Now I know how Rainbow Dash feels after a bad landing…” Rarity rubbed the top of her head before cracking her neck and walking out of the pile of books. “Now, where am I?” Her eyes wandered through the room, taking note of its appearance.
The stone must have transported her somewhere, but she had no idea where she was since the mare couldn’t recognize this place at all. Simply judging the room’s appearance would be difficult enough considering it was pretty dark and only dimly lit thanks to a few nearly-burned-out candles. Rarity would have thought it was a night out if it weren’t for the small sunray passing between the slightly opened curtains.
If the books weren’t indication enough, the many other shelves filled with them confirmed that she was in a library. Whether it was a public or a private one was a different matter. In one corner of the room stood an enormous hourglass, towering even taller than Princess Celestia herself. But what truly captivated Rarity was the grand holographic display positioned at the center of the chamber. Emitting a mesmerizing blue glow, the hologram seemed to materialize from a crystal embedded in the floor. Upon closer inspection, Rarity realized it depicted a detailed map of Equus. She had to admit she had never seen anything like this until the Cutie Map, but even then, it wasn’t as glamorous as a magical holographic globe.
The library was also impressively organized… well… Before she “bumped” into one of the shelves. The sheer volume of books stacked before her eyes made it difficult to fathom how anyone could locate a specific tome amidst the vast collection. She did wonder for a second if there were any fashion magazines here, but maybe now wasn’t the best time to look for them. She was still in a stranger’s home! As the unicorn was about to search the room, a threatening glow suddenly appeared behind her as the heat from magical energy washed over her body. She could almost feel a horn ready to poke her in the neck. That was how close the stranger’s horn was.
“You better stay still… Or the next thing you’ll hear won’t be a warning… But the sound of your own brain popping,” A familiar voice, which Rarity couldn’t recognize under the pressure, threatened her.
The white unicorn gulped, freezing immediately.
“I-I’m not moving! See? Perfectly still! Oh, dear… I’m sorry if I trespassed in your home, but it was an accident!” Rarity swiftly justified herself as the unicorn behind her scoffed.
“A likely story, and not one I haven’t heard before. Now… You’ll turn around. Slowly. And no sudden moves. Or you’re dead,” The second unicorn ordered as Rarity gulped and hesitantly nodded before slowly turning around.
The white unicorn widened in eyes in shock as they finally landed on the pony threatening her. It was a copy of Twilight! Except she didn’t have wings, her horn wasn’t as long and she wasn’t as tall as she had been recently getting. She wore a dark blue cape adorned with a starry night sky motif and embellished with a star-shaped insignia around her neck. Those traits were strange, sure, but not as much as the glare Twilight was sending her way. It was a cold gaze devoid of any trace of the love and affection Rarity had come to expect. It seemed as though Rarity had become a complete stranger to her! Still, Rarity didn’t pay much attention to it, mostly overwhelmed by the reassurance of seeing a familiar face.
“Twilight! Oh, I’m so glad to see you! B-But what happened to your wings?! Did the stone do that to you?” Rarity exclaimed happily, at first, then worriedly as she tried to approach Twilight only for the other unicorn to flare up her horn again.
“No sudden moves, I said!” She warned again as she changed her stance, ready to fight if needed. This was enough to make Rarity pause and step back in surprise and fear. “Alright… I don’t know who you work for, but they must not have been pretty smart if they hired somepony that doesn’t even know what I look like,” Twilight narrowed her eyes as she glared at Rarity. “For your information, I’ve never had wings. I’m a unicorn,” She added with a humorless chuckle.
“Never had… O-Ok. Something is not right. You don’t have wings. You don’t know me… Darling… I think I traveled to the past!” Rarity shouted in realization as she kept herself from fainting.
“Traveled to the past? Are you trying to make me believe you’re from the future? And what? That you’re one of my best friends or something?” Twilight asked with an eyebrow raised as Rarity eagerly nodded, only for her hopes to be washed away as the other unicorn laughed. “Now that’s one I’ve never heard before! I admit it, I haven’t laughed in years! But enough playing,” The lavender unicorn got serious and glared again as purple translucent chains trapped Rarity’s legs.
“Hey! I-I’m not joking!” Rarity complained as she tried to free herself from the restraints, which was a useless attempt. “I really am your friend! From the future! Ask me anything and I’ll-”
“I do not have friends, and never will. And even if I did, this nonsensical lie wouldn’t work on me. Now… Who do you work for?” Twilight replied, cutting her off and threatening her again with her horn pointed at her face.
“L-Let’s calm down. Oh, I forgot how unsociable you were before meeting us…” Rarity muttered as she also looked over Twilight’s cape. She was aware she was in danger and now wasn’t the time, but she couldn’t help staring at it. It was quite beautiful and certainly suited Twilight well. She didn’t know her friend ever wore something like that before coming to Ponyville.
“Excuse me?” Twilight exclaimed, quite clearly offended while Rarity was looking around.
“What year is it exactly? And when are you planning to leave for Ponyville?” The fashionista inquired, totally ignoring Twilight’s offended expression.
“2798. And what does that backwater town have to do with anything?” The lavender unicorn replied with confusion.
“2798? Wait… But that’s the present…” Rarity muttered, more confused than ever as Twilight stomped the ground in annoyance.
“Enough with this charade! Didn’t I make it clear already? Your lies will take you nowhere! Now… Who do you work for, assassin?” Twilight questioned again as she shoved her horn even closer, pushing Rarity against the wall.
“Wait! Wait! There’s obviously something wrong here! I’m not an assassin! Why don’t we talk to Princess Celestia?” Rarity suggested as Twilight looked perplexed yet again.
“Celestia? Who… Wait… You mean Daybreaker? So that’s it, huh?! You’re one of her cultists!” Twilight accused Rarity, who scoffed.
“A cultist? I am nopony’s cultist! Wait, you don’t know who Princess Celestia is?” The white unicorn asked in surprise.
“Of course, I know. She was Princess Luna’s sister. A mad mare who received a well-deserved banishment to the sun. Somepony who doesn’t deserves the title of princess anymore, so I suggest you choose your words wisely, cultist,” Twilight responded, turning Rarity’s world upside down as she widened her eyes.
She wasn’t in the past. That much was already obvious after Twilight said the year it was earlier. Moreover, Princess Celestia was called Daybreaker, and was banished into the sun! She remembered Twilight talking about alternate timelines after Starlight became their friend. Many of them were radically different from their own, so… Could it be possible that she was in another world? But wait, did that mean her entire world was changed into this or was she simply transported into another one? She wasn’t sure which one was scarier…
She reviewed the tidbits of information Twilight had given her. This one had a bit more of a fashion sense than her own, for starters. She was a lot more aggressive, too. That was for sure. However, most importantly, Princess Luna was the one ruling while Princess Celestia was the one that went crazy! But that was strange. Princess Celestia, or rather, Daybreaker was still trapped in the sun while Nightmare Moon was released years ago. Did her imprisonment last longer than Luna’s? Why didn’t Twilight go to Ponyville yet? And she also knew that Daybreaker was Princess Luna’s sister, didn’t she? She sounded surprised when Celestia called her sister back in her original world…
“A-And you know that Pr- I mean, that Daybreaker is Princess Luna’s sister, right?”
“Well, of course, I know! I’m her trusted student. Princess Luna tells me everything! There is no pony she trusts more than I…” Twilight replied before gritting her teeth and glaring daggers at Rarity. “Which is why little pests like you are out to get me,”
Rarity quickly needed a couch because she desperately wanted to faint right now. And it wasn’t because she was looking to emulate cheap drama this time! This was actual drama!
“Listen, Twilight, darling…” Rarity began, stammering with her shaky voice as the other unicorn raised an eyebrow at the way she was called. “I was a bit confused, but I think I get it now. This may sound crazy… But I’m from another world,” She revealed while the lavender unicorn rolled her eyes.
“Another cheap lie? This one is even worse than the last! Do you take me for a fool?” Twilight waved her horn at Rarity, making her sweat nervously.
“I swear it’s the truth! It’s hard to explain… I wish I was Pinkie because she would fare so much better, but here goes… In my world, Princess Luna was overtaken by the nightmare and became Nightmare Moon! She was then banished to the moon by her sister, Celestia. Then you came to Ponyville the same day Nightmare Moon escaped her banishment. You became friends with me and a few other ponies; we defeated Nightmare Moon and brought Princess Luna back. Then the two sisters ruled together; we fought bad guys,” Rarity began explaining while Twilight seemed to be listening with disinterest. She was obviously not buying any of it. “Then you came across a glowy white stone and decided to experiment on it! And it sent us to a weird place, and now I’m here. Do you have a stone like this here?”
Twilight suddenly froze, her eyes narrowing as she looked away for a moment, seemingly deep in thought, then glared back at Rarity again.
“Never heard of this stone before. And traveling to different worlds seems quite far-fetched. Any other lies you can think of, assassin?” She interrogated her as the white unicorn gulped.
“Ask me a question about yourself, and I’m sure I’ll be able to answer it! Probably… Unless your foalhood is different here…”
“Maybe I’ll do that once you’ve answered my first question. Who do you work for?!”
Then, out of nowhere, a white light burst into existence between them, blinding them both. Twilight nearly zapped Rarity to death before stopping herself at the last moment when the light changed shape and turned into a portal-like mirror. And Rarity’s original Twilight appeared!
“Twilight! Thank goodness, you’re here!” Rarity exclaimed joyfully.
“Me?” Unicorn Twilight asked out loud while looking into a near reflection of her.
“Oh, I hope this works… I-I don’t know if this message will reach you or when it will reach you, girls, because… Time is all messed up in this place! Broken and unrepairable! And I’m not sure I’ll ever manage to get back without you, but listen carefully!” Twilight frantically shouted while seemingly running from something.
“You can’t escape!” A distorted and almost demonic voice screamed from behind the alicorn.
“Oh, my Celestia! What is happening over there? What is this?” Rarity attempted to see what was chasing her friend.
Meanwhile, Unicorn Twilight tilted her head in wonder while staring at her other self. This was clearly her… But she was an alicorn! She also looked a bit taller! What was this? A trick? An illusion?!
“The stone is… some kind of magical artifact that allows… multiversal travel!” Twilight shouted between breaths before shooting a beam of magic at something out of the picture’s range. “Basically, you are all in different worlds! Okay? This is not the Equestria you know! No matter how nice or how bucked up it seems… Just remember that! Luckily… I have… Found another stone in the universe I’m in… Ah!” Twilight screamed in pain, seemingly hit by something, but kept running.
“Twilight!” Rarity gasped as she put a hoof up to her mouth, barely able to contain her worry while looking at her friend running for her life.
“We’ve traveled together, so that means we’re still connected… I don’t have… Time to explain it fully, but find another stone! No matter… How the universe you are in is… The stone will be there! It always will! Once we’re all holding on to it at the same time… We’ll go back ho-” Twilight explained before the portal was suddenly shut, and the light faded away.
The two unicorns remained silent as they stared at the empty space left behind by the projection. Rarity looked understandably worried and appalled, completely forgetting she was currently shackled as she held back her tears. Twilight, on the other hand, was still uncertain about how to proceed or even act in this situation. She was still doubtful any of this was real.
“She was an alicorn…” She simply stated, attracting Rarity’s attention back to her.
“That’s because the princess had been planning on making her one to-” She started only to be interrupted.
“I know that! Why do you think Princess Luna took me as her student?! The end goal of my apprenticeship is for me to be an alicorn and rule by her side!” She snapped as Rarity winced, unused to Twilight shouting at her. She also had to admit that this Twilight was right. Princess Luna really did tell her everything! “What confuses me is the fact that… if this was just an illusion, then how did you come to learn what Princess Luna had been planning for me?” Her horn glowed again.
“I’m not getting off easy, am I?” Rarity inquired as she sighed.