Anon was beginning to wonder if this was too much for the little mare as she stared out the car window, a non-stop stream of words flowing from her muzzle.
"And that barn looks just like the one at Sweet Apple Acres! Oh my gosh, Anon, there are so many similarities, this simply can't be a coincidence. Didn't you mention your people had legends of unicorns and pegasi? And we even speak the same language! I didn't cast a language spell, you know. This is just too much for chance, there must be a connection between our worlds... but what, and how, and WHY? What possible connection could there be? Would Celestia know? She is over a thousand years old after all, but who knows how far back I would need to go to find answers. Ooh, and there's a grain silo! I learned about those on the you tube!"
He had long since stopped trying to get a word in, and if anything, she got even more excited as they entered Podunk and approached his clinic on the edge of town. Even as he parked his car and turned it off, she was still going.
"And I don't know if you noticed this, but I am uncannily similar to the animal you call a horse. Is there a connection there too? I even found the word pony mentioned a couple of times on the internet, but I couldn't figure out the distinction. Do you know what's the difference? But I mean, they're still so very different from me--the horses, I mean. If we share an ancestor, it must be a very distant one. Or does Equestria's magic speed up our evolution? But then Celestia would look pretty different from us other ponies. But wait, she does! She actually looks a little closer to your horses! Anon, that must be it!"
She stared at him, eyes wide at her latest revelation, and Anon seized his opportunity.
"Alright, alright, you can solve the mysteries of the universe some other time. Didn't you notice we stopped? We're here, it's time to introduce you to my clinic."
She gasped and all but squealed, "I get to meet another human! Omigosh I'm so excited! You said her name is Sally?"
"That's right, but we need to be careful about this. Remember how hard it was for me to believe at first? That's gonna be true of most humans, I think. I'm gonna bring you around the back entrance and have you wait in my office where no one can see you, then I'll bring Sally in to meet you, okay?"
"Oh, um, okay. I'm not in danger, am I?"
"No, no, not at all. This is a small town and we all know each other pretty well. I don't think anybody here would fly off their rocker and attack you. We'll just have to deal with some... disbelief, that's all. Anyways, come on, I'll carry you inside."
Anon exited and hurried around to the passenger side so he could pick her up, then, hoping no one was looking out the window at that particular moment, shifted Twilight awkwardly onto one arm so he could fish out his keys and unlock the back door. Twilight grunted awkwardly at his fumbling and he got a face full of mane in the process, but he managed to get the door open and sneak her into his office, where he set her down in an office chair similar to the one he had at home.
"Okay, now just... Uh, everything alright?"
Twilight looked paler than he'd ever seen her and was staring wide eyed into empty space, then slowly turned to face him.
"Anon... I felt somepony."
"Uh, what?"
"I felt magic. Actual magic cast by somepony else."
"So there's more of you? I figured you weren't the only one."
Twilight looked stricken, "Anon you don't understand, I was alone! Nopony knew I was here. I didn't tell anypony where I was going, not even Spike. I didn't expect rescue for days, maybe weeks! But somepony is HERE!"
"Oh, so... you're leaving now?"
She shook her head, "No... it was very faint. They must be an incredible distance away. There's no way to predict specifically where in the world the portal will spit you out, only which world you are going to. Whoever came to rescue me could be literally anywhere on Earth."
"Doctor Mous? Is that you?"
There was a knock on the door, then it opened abruptly and all three of them froze, staring at each other.
Anon very carefully broke the silence, "Sally... please do not panic. This is Twilight. Yes, that is a horn. She is a unicorn, a real one, like the legends. Twilight, say hi."
The little mare glanced nervously at him before making eye contact with Sally again and giving her a timid smile.
"Um, hello Sally."
Sally opened her mouth to respond, then promptly fainted.
Anon rushed to catch her before her head hit the floor, then gently laid her down, already quieting Twilight's anxious murmuring, "She's okay, Twilight, just fainted. She'll come around shortly."
"Um, okay. But... Anon! I have to find them. I have to!"
"Twilight, relax and think about this. They're here to rescue you, right? So they should have... spells or whatever to find you, right? You don't need to find them, you don't have any way to do so, and you're not really in a good state to travel anyway. Don't you agree the best thing to do is wait for them to come to you?"
He could tell she didn't like it, but she slowly nodded and slumped back into his chair.
"I suppose you're right. I should at least send a return pulse, though."
She closed her eyes and her horn glowed as usual, then glowed brighter, then abruptly went dark again, with nothing seeming to happen.
Anon furrowed his brow, "Did it, uh... fail?"
"Huh?" Twilight said, looking confused, then she grinned, "Oh no, it was a pulse of magic, like a sound wave through the air that only magical beings can hear."
"Oh."
"Unnngh..."
"Welcome back, Sally."
"Oh... oh Lord Almighty it's still here."
Sally pinched herself and winced, looked up at Twilight horn, and pinched herself again.
"I can assure you I am very real, Sally." Twilight smiled, "And friendly, I promise! I got hurt but Anon has been healing me at home, and I'm finally well enough to come visit his work."
Sally slowly climbed to her feet, then cautiously reached out, her hand trembling slightly. Twilight, still smiling kindly, slowly reached out as well and touched Sally's hand, which jerked back as if bitten, then slowly extended again and took hold of Twilight's hoof.
"Amazing... what else is true?"
"Huh?"
"Of the legends? You're a unicorn, so what can unicorns actually do? Aside from talk, I mean."
"Well I can do magic, that seemed to throw Anon for a loop."
"...Magic?"
In response, Twilight's horn glowed and her notebook slowly floated up between them. Sally gasped, then, as if trying to surprise them, quickly whipped her hands all around the notebook, clearly checking for strings. Anon chuckled.
"Satisfied?"
She turned haughtily toward him, "No, I very well am not! Just what in heaven's name is going on here?"
Anon took a deep breath, then began to summarize the events of the last two days.