//------------------------------// // Night's Favored Child Pt. 2 // Story: The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments // by Wanderer D //------------------------------// The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments Night's Favoured Child By Wanderer D and Municipal Engines Twilight strode along the halls of the palace with great purpose, heavy saddlebags on her back. The Bright Moon hung in the middle of the sky, signaling the beginning of noon. Earlier that morning, her mother had asked her more questions about Sweetie Belle, such as where she came from and where she learned her magic. Twilight had answered Nightmare Moon to the best of her ability, telling her truthfully that she had no idea where Sweetie had learned magic and that she originally came from Ponyville but traveled all around the world. She refrained from saying that they had scheduled a rendezvous that afternoon, as she would rather not have her mother intimidate her newfound friend. As she had predicted, her mother was evasive when she asked about the golem and contract magic. As always, it seemed, the Inquisitor would have to be her source of education in this matter. She loved her mother dearly, and cherished the lessons she was taught, but sometimes Twilight felt that Nightmare Moon was a bit overprotective, especially when it came to what she could learn. She had learned about dark magic once from a book and when she pressed the Empress for lessons about it, Nightmare Moon simply told her that it was not for her to learn.  The Inquisitor had been much more open. He took great joy in both teaching her and going behind the Empress of Equestria’s back by teaching her forbidden arts. It was, as he had said, their own dirty little secret. Twilight found that keeping such secrets from her mother was exciting and served to strengthen the bond she shared with her “Uncle Inky” – a nickname that the stallion emphatically supported. This new “contract magic” would be yet another secret they shared. She finally came to the door of the Chancellor of Equestria, whose position as the Lord Commander of the Empire’s security forces required him to give up his name for the moniker of “Inquisitor” as a show of complete devotion to the state. She knocked and the door soon opened, revealing her tutor in forbidden sorcery. He was a tall stallion, and quite well-built considering his job didn’t exactly give him the opportunity for an abundance of exercise. His coat was a dark ash grey and his mane – combed back so lazily yet so expertly – was as black as ink. For some bizarre reason, the Inquisitor preferred to clothe himself, usually in his closed-neck jacket and pants. The high-collared jacket was straight and neat, with a smooth silky black sheen, and there were no buttons on it. It had a strangely quasi-military feel that would be intimidating to most other foals but Twilight. She had grown up around the Inquisitor and his Imperial Overwatch, so the uniforms didn’t bother her. The stallion looked at her with eyes so dark the almost blended into his pupils, and smiled. He almost always smiled. It was often a boyish, self-confident smirk that made him give of an air of blasé superiority. “What can I do for you, Spark?” he asked, calling her by the pet name he had given her when she first came to the palace. “Can I come inside?” Twilight asked, looking over her shoulder. “I’d like some, uh, private lessons.” His eyebrows rose good-naturedly. “As Her Highness commands.” The young unicorn rolled her eyes and stepped into the Inquisitor’s residence. Like most of the important officials and court nobles, he had a luxury apartment within the palace’s residential wing. It was here that they would conduct their lessons whenever secrecy was desired. Twilight went into the living room, which was filled with tasteful and ornate decor and foreign objets d’arte. She had always liked his living room; it was a musty place, filled with the smell of old wood and old paper. It wasn’t gaudily decorated, but somber and refined. It was as cozy as a library, in Twilight’s opinion, which was perhaps the highest compliment she could give a room. She sat down on a large cushion by the fireplace, which was lit for the fact of winter’s approach. He took a seat opposite her and sighed. “I will probably come to regret this, you know. I have a lot of paperwork that needs attending.” Twilight smiled. “Mother commanded that you drop everything if I needed teaching or supervising, so you can’t use that as an excuse.” “Oh you and I both know this isn’t the kind of teaching she had in mind,” he retorted, still smiling. “So, what new forbidden thing have you discovered that your mother refuses to talk to you about?” “Contract magic. Have you ever heard of it?” The Inquisitor’s dark eyes widened. “Ah, that. I am… familiar, yes. What made you interested in it, if I may ask?” “I met a friend recently,” Twilight said. “Last evening, actually. She made this golem for me.” She opened her saddlebag and out came Zosimos the golem. The little quartz facsimile of a pony regarded the Inquisitor with a curious, eyeless stare. The gray stallion leaned forward, his own curiosity evident in his eyes.  “She made it for you?” he asked, voice heavy with fascination. “How old is your friend?” “My age, I think. Probably a little older.” “Hmm. Rare to see contract magic used this well by one so young, even if it’s only a simple thing.” He poked Zosimos, who staggered back quite passively. “Doesn’t seem to have a lick of violence in its gem body. Though it will protect you if you are threatened.” “So how did she make it? What is contract magic,” Twilight asked, quite excitedly. “Hold on.” The Inquisitor lit his horn with a black glow and levitated the golem towards him, his eyes flashing white all of a sudden with some unidentifiable spell. The little thing struggled furiously before Twilight made it lie still. After giving the golem the once-over, the stallion put Zosimos back down and allowed it to retreat to the safety of its master’s side. Twilight was getting impatient. “So?”  “So do you understand what the spirit world is?” the Inquisitor asked. Twilight nodded. “It’s the place just outside the tangible plane; where life lives without bodies, just as souls and spirits. It’s where we initially end up when we die, before we’re welcomed into a heaven by a sponsor.” “I see the Empress’s theology lessons have been useful at least,” the Inquisitor nodded. “Yes, that is all true. But did you know that most things have a spirit of some kind? From trees to rivers to, yes, even rocks like the quartz your little golem is made from.” “Wait, so everything has a soul?” Twilight frowned. “Not in the sense that you and I have a soul, but it’s more like… like how a plant is technically a living thing but is no way comparable to an animal or a sapient being. There is life and magic in rocks and rivers too, but only in a vague sense. It’s… quite complicated, but all you need to know is that you can contact these rock-spirits and water-spirits.” “So is that what Sweetie did?” Twilight wondered to herself, frowning in thought, before saying to the Inquisitor, “She… whispered. Or Sang? Well, it wasn’t really whispered but that’s the best way I can describe it. She whispered to the quartz and it grew into Zosimos here. It wasn’t like any kind of language I have ever heard. It was… I can’t really describe it.” The stallion tapped a hoof contemplatively on his chin. “Hmm… well, there are numerous methods of contacting a spirit like this, but to me it sounds like she was using the deers’ methods. When they contact spirits, they speak a language that can be best described as the tongue of the wind in the leaves and the babbling brook. It’s all very mystical and fae and rather superfluous in my opinion, but the spirits do seem to like that magic.” “So what was she doing when she spoke to it?” “Making a contract, Spark. You say the quartz grew into a pony shape before your eyes?” Twilight nodded. “Well then, my best guess is that she encouraged the spirit of the quartz to grow and act like a living creature, which is a very curious method of golem-building for one as young as her. I’ve only really heard of the deer doing it like that.” “That… doesn’t make much sense,” Twilight furrowed her brow. “So she just talked to the rocks and told it to become an animal?” “Uh… hmm,” the Inquisitor hummed, looking upwards into the ceiling. “I guess you can say that, but it’s fairly complicated. Like I said, there are many different ways to build a golem, and contract magic is one of them, and there are still many more ways to do contract magic. Generally they’re used to form contracts with the dead and… and other things, not usually nature spirits. That’s deer territory usually.” The little unicorn nodded, slightly more satisfied. All she needed to do was press Sweetie about it and they would have a great discussion. Maybe she would tell her where she learned it from; the deer probably. If she had been traveling the world, she must have gone to Cervidia and learned it from one of the fair folk. Twilight felt butterflies of excitement rise in her stomach. She had never been to Cervidia, and the books on it were nebulous at best. Sweetie could tell her so much besides magic! Then a new question formed in her mind when she went over the Inquisitor’s explanation. She looked up at him. “Wait, what do you mean by ‘other things’?” The casual smile fell from his face and his eyes steeled. “I mean there are other things, Twilight, besides beings of life and beings of death. I cannot stress this enough, but you will not go looking for them. This is like our little talk about bad things in the palace; secrets that even I won’t teach you. There are things that are too dangerous for ponies such as yourself to mess with; things that ponies were not meant to know. Understand?” Twilight shrank at the Inquisitor’s words. They were heavy and laden with a seriousness that she rarely ever heard from him. There were boundaries, she knew, that not even the open-minded Inquisitor would dare let her tamper with. She shivered at the implications of the stallion’s warnings and gulped, looking up into his stonily sober eyes. “I understand. Does this mean you won’t teach me contract magic?” The Inquisitor closed his eyes and sighed heavily. “I need to teach you the dangers and how to avoid them before I teach you the rest. What your friend did had little chance of backfiring, but if you just throw your magic and your consciousness out there like a fishing line in a dark, deep lake, you might just catch a monster rather than a fish. You have to be very specific and very sure. Summoning the spirits of something in front of you, especially if it’s something simple like a rock or a tree, is rather safe. I will teach you that, but first I would like to meet your friend.” “Oh, I…” Twilight paused, unsure of whether to let the Inquisitor meet Sweetie Belle this afternoon. After all, she hadn’t told Sweetie she would be bringing along anypony, and she had vanished fairly quickly when she heard Nightmare Moon coming. “I think I can do that, though I’m not sure when I’ll next see her.” The Inquisitor smiled. “When you do, let me know. Does your mother know about her?” Twilight nodded. “Well, I should think we both would like to meet her in that case. Now, if you don’t mind, Spark, I would really like to get back to my paperwork.” Twilight was about to press for further information, and maybe even a demonstration, but thought better of it. The mood for learning had been killed by the revelation of greater dangers, for both herself and her would-be teacher. Instead she told Zosimos to climb back into her bag and allowed the Inquisitor to show her to the door. “Thank you,” she said, turning back as she passed through the threshold. “I really appreciate what you’ve told me.” “And you promise me you won’t go messing around with it until I have the opportunity to supervise?” the stallion asked, his tone very serious again. “I promise.” He nodded. “Good, that is… that is good. Have a pleasant day, Twilight.” The Inquisitor closed the door and Twilight walked away, not knowing what to feel. She had learned more about her friend’s magic, and in doing so maybe more about her friend. But she had also learned… unpleasant things. She shivered again at the thought. She could only hope Sweetie Belle understood the dangers too. Sweetie Belle leaned against the tree she had chosen to lay down to while she waited for Twilight to arrive. The sky was still light enough to give the gardens a very unique feeling of quiet and peace. But her thoughts were in other, darker, places. She thought about the Cult. About Lyra and the other ponies giving into such primal dancing and emotions. It might not have been the orgy that Lyra had hinted at, but it had been a very powerful moment… all of it, however, hiding a dark  whispering force, not unlike the True Fairies that had enslaved her. Maybe that was the reason she had started to think about them again. It might not be obvious, but she could feel their influence in this plane subconsciously. She hadn't even used her hedge magic in a while, but here… she shook her head, thinking back on the situation from earlier in the day. She had thought that flirting a bit with Lyra was just for fun, but after that… she shuddered. At least she hoped that Lyra would not be like that when she wasn’t… whatever she had been. She hadn’t learned much either. The claims the Hierophant made were half mysticism and half based on what, apparently, the main religion already preached. Even if she had been willing to believe such wild claims, that otherwordly presence had eliminated all possibility of trust. “I can’t believe I left Lyra behind,” Sweetie muttered to herself. “I wonder how much she’s been exposed to that…” It was then that she heard somepony approaching. Turning around, she caught sight of Twilight just as she ducked under some willow leaves. “Hi, Sweetie Belle!” Twilight said, giving her friend a little wave. The golem followed, glued to her hind hooves. “Hi, Twilight,” Sweetie greeted her back, standing up and nodding. “How was your day?” Twilight frowned very briefly. “Oh, uh, it was okay actually. My… my mom asked me about you this morning.” Sweetie chuckled. “I figured she would, I did give you a golem, and from what I’ve seen there’s so much pomp and formality around that she must have been curious.” “Yeah, she was…” Twilight paused and then opened her mouth, looking like she was about to say something, before closing it again and shaking her head slightly. “I named him Zosimos. At least, I’m thinking of it as a he.” “Zosimos?” Sweetie asked. “Any particular reason?” “He was an alchemist – one of the first,” Twilight explained. “Some of his most famous work was with gems and he pretty much invented rock farming.” Sweetie laughed. “That’s an excellent name for it!” “I know! But for a little while, I considered naming him something with a pun in it.” Twilight chuckled and shook her head. “Mom agreed that it would have been terrible.” “My big brother would always make puns. They were horrible, but he didn’t care,” Sweetie said.  “What’s your big brother’s name?” Twilight asked, suddenly curious. She walked over and sat down next to her friend, with little Zosimos planting himself at her side. Sweetie thought for a moment. “I don’t know if you’d believe me,” she laughed a little, her smile becoming a bit distant. “I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again… but he… I wouldn’t have survived this long without him being there for me.” Twilight shifted and put a hoof on her friend’s. “I get what you mean… I don’t think I’ll see my brother again either. Well, he’s not really my brother, but we were… we were very close.” Twilight’s eyes misted over. “He left me years ago, and I haven’t seen him since, but he used to send letters sometimes, especially on my birthday. But this year he… he didn’t. That’s why I was so upset yesterday.” The pair remained quiet for a moment. “It’s horrible,” Sweetie finally said. “Not being able to see him again. He gave me so much of his time, he taught me so much about being a better pony.” She closed her eyes. “I hope he is well. And I hope he is happy.” Her eyes opened once more and focused on Twilight. “He gave me strength to continue and find my way to my sister, who I also haven’t seen in a long time… but I know, here,” she patted her chest. “That I’m in his thoughts, and hers… and that we will somehow see each other again, or at least I’ll know he’s okay.” Twilight sniffled and hugged Sweetie Belle. Sweetie hugged her back, before sniffling herself, and cleaning a couple of tears from her eyes. “Why-why don’t we talk about something happier?” She gave Twilight a smile. “We’ll think of them, and remember them, but also do right by them and try our best to be happy.” “Y-yeah…” Twilight forced a smile and looked away, thinking of a good change of subject. “So… contract magic? That’s how you made Zosimos, right?” Sweetie blinked. “Well, yes, of a sort, although it's not what you would call unicorn magic or regular magic." She bit her lip, trying to think of how to explain it best. "I convinced it that it would be a good idea to be a nice little golem friend for you, and the quartz agreed, and then I sorta told it that it would be nice if it looked like a pony, because it could move and… yeah. A contract. Pretty much."  “So, you didn’t actually use magic to make it do anything… huh,” Twilight mumbled, half to Sweetie Belle and half just to herself. She looked at the golem. “But why the matrix, then? And don't you think thirteen nodes for the matrix seems a little much?” “It’s not a little much, it’s excessively wasteful,” Sweetie admitted. “But, I did want to show off a little.” She giggled, nodded and added, "The matrix is just there to give the spirit energy to keep its form and perform all the little things it can do. You see, due to their nature, rock and gem spirits are very static, so, unless they're really motivated, it would just come to a complete stop eventually, so it would have followed you around for a few hours, then gotten tired, and forgotten to do anything again… unless another contract was formed. The matrix, although a bit excessive in power and overly…" She rolled her eyes at Twilight's arched eyebrow. "Okay, it's extremely, perhaps even ridiculously redundant, but the point is that it keeps a constant feedback of energy, keeping the spirit of the quartz active to perform its contract indefinitely.” She smirked. "Besides, the additional nodes grant it the ability to learn a few more things." “Can I add anything to him?” Twilight asked. “Like make him perform more complex actions or make him bigger?” Sweetie pondered for a moment. “I… don’t know, I think you can modify the matrix… I guess one of the unexpected advantages of it being so excessive is that you can divert it? But my methods of changing things are a bit different, I don’t think Zosimos would want me to mess around with him.” “Hmm, maybe I’ll tinker with the matrix later, and see what I can add. I only hope I don’t break him.” Twilight got to her hooves. “Hey, do you want to have a walk around the gardens? I have an all-access pass.” Sweetie grinned, “Sure! It’s not like they could really stop us anyway if we put our minds to it, though.” She allowed Twilight to take the lead, and followed to her right, and slightly behind her. Despite what she had told Lyra earlier, she was aware of how other ponies might react to seeing her walking side by side with Twilight. So just enough to be respectful… but not too much that she would make Twilight feel uncomfortable. Blueblood would be proud. “By the way,” Sweetie spoke up. “I don’t know how much you know about them, but whatever you do, do not, ever, go to one of the Cult Imperia’s meetings… there’s something wrong there.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Mom never lets me near any of those places. I still talk to North Star though, but she’s learned not to try and ‘convert’ me.” They left the grove, with Zosimos hot on their tails, and began to meander through the gardens. The whole place was immaculately sculpted, with the paths forming geometric patterns and the hedges shaped and positioned in the most fetching of ways. Plants and flowers of all kinds were featured, and every so often Sweetie could see a gardener busy with their trade. Servants and government officials alike walked through the gardens, some giving the two friends curious looks. “I’m surprised you’ve heard of Contracts, Twilight,” Sweetie said after a moment of thoroughly enjoying the magnificent gardens. “It’s not a subject usually talked about by most ponies in my experience, even magicians.”  “Oh, well I heard Mom mention them after I asked her how you made Zosimos, but she refused to elaborate.” The lavender unicorn scowled. “She always does that. Some things are ‘too dangerous’ or ‘too evil’ or just generally forbidden to her. She won’t even make a foal for ponies because the alicorns said you can’t make life millennia ago.” Twilight shook her head. “Anyway, I asked the Inquisitor about it and he… gave me a rough idea of contract magic.” Sweetie went quiet for a moment, pausing in their walk to turn to look at Twilight. “Look, Twi… I know that you’re feeling like she’s keeping stuff from you but… if I could trade all I have learned of Contracts, or everything I’ve gained, in exchange for never having gone through what I did to learn it… I would. I’d never even look back. There are things that are too dangerous—too alien and evil for us to understand. Things that don’t care if you’re a good pony or if you miss your home, or if you’re bleeding to death. They’ll gather what’s left of you, and remake you, just to watch you suffer until you can escape…” she shook her head, blinking away her haunted eyes, then noticed Twilight's look. “I-I’m sorry… just… I wish somepony could’ve been there to protect me as well.” Twilight stared at her friend, a growing horror in her eyes. “The Inquisitor warned me about… things that aren’t alive or dead that you could contact with this kind of magic, but…” She took a step towards her friend and placed a hoof on her shoulder in what she thought was a comforting gesture. “Sweetie Belle… what happened to you?” Sweetie closed her eyes, not pushing away Twilight’s hoof. “When I arrived… they were waiting for me.” Her whisper came out in a shuddering breath and she visibly struggled to keep her composure. “I always thought they were only from one world… but at almost every place I go, I hear them now."  She glanced at the shadows between the leaves of the trees. "Things, dark things that are... there, waiting.” She sighed, not looking at her friend. “And I thought I was safe for the most part… after a while the only whispers and senses came only when I invoked a contract or got really emotional but since I came here... for some reason—" She gulped. "What happened to me…I was-it’s not something I like to talk about, please?” Twilight enveloped her friend for another embrace, unaware and uncaring of anypony else at that moment. “Okay… we don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. But I’m here if you do want to talk… or if you want to just keep your mind off it or anything. I’m here for you.”  Sweetie leaned into the embrace. Just like Twilight Sparkle had been there to comfort her after saving her from the Maestro of Broken Dreams, so was Twilight here to be there for her. It always came down to Twilight. Twilight whom she had doomed to be spread across the multiverse. Twilight whom she had been slowly killing without knowing so. Twilight who had always, always, made sense of things, and who she felt so close spiritually and magically. Her mentor, her savior, her victim… and friend. Sweetie sobbed once, unable to keep it in. “I’m sorry.” She tried to rein it in, bring her control back, but the more she attuned with this world, the more she just knew… they were here. Perhaps not the exact same ones, but close enough. Twilight rubbed her back. “Don’t be.” Sweetie took a deep breath and pulled back, looking at her friend, who was for once, her own age, with her own share of trials and stress. “I’m just glad to be your friend. Thank you for understanding.” “It’s okay. You’re welcome. And thank you too, for yesterday,” Twilight smiled. She looked at the ground for a moment or two before flicking her eyes back up to Sweetie’s, suddenly bashful. “Do you mind me asking… but you said ‘worlds’ and… well, what did you mean by that?” Sweetie cringed. “Well, you see… the thing is… remember when I said I had traveled all over? Well I did. Just, further than you might have otherwise thought.” “Good afternoon, Princess!” a deep, gravelly voice called. “Who’s this here, may I ask?” They both turned to find a large guard dressed in deep purple armor, with a helmet that had what looked like fins instead of a plume and an overall design that was more alien and menacing than the armor of the regular Royal Guard. This guardspony, however, was obviously anything but a regular Royal Guard, even if he had the golden armor. Bat-like wings were folded at his sides, and his ears were tufted much like a bat’s. The stallion’s eyes were golden and held slitted pupils – like those of a cat or lizard – and his mane was a sleek jet black, long and tied up in a ponytail. He was all muscle and his jaw was square and chiseled. “Oh! Captain Proud Song, so good to see you!” Twilight said, her smile becoming much brighter. “This is my new friend, Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle, this is Proud Song, Captain of the Honour Guard. He’s in charge of mine and my mother’s safety.” Sweetie gave a small curtsy, using her training under Fleur to look extremely refined while doing so. “A pleasure to meet you, Captain.” “And you, Lady Sweetie Belle.” The stallion gave a short bow to the young mare. “Any friend of the Princess is a friend of mine.” “Always glad to make new friends,” Sweetie replied. The captain turned to Twilight. “Shining Armor has been asking around for you.” “Oh?” Proud Song nodded. “He was wondering if you wanted to practice spells together. Fine boy, that. Gentlecolt to the bone, even if he can be a bit of a dolt, but what colt isn’t these nights? Fine soldier too, but don’t tell him I said that, Princess, otherwise he’ll start to get full of himself.” Twilight smiled. “Oh, well I am sure that’s only because of your training, Captain. You’re a wonderful teacher.” “Hah! Hardly; he gets most of his skills from his father. In any case, I will see you around, Princess.” He smiled at her, looking at the necklace she wore. “That necklace looks very nice on you, Princess Twilight.” The unicorn princess’s smile grew as her cheeks reddened. She turned her head slightly. “Oh, well thank you…” “Take care, Your Highness,” he said, bowing his head again. He looked at Sweetie Belle and repeated the action. “And you too, my lady.” With that brief encounter, he was off further into the garden, leaving Twilight staring at him as he walked away. Unknown to her, she sighed dreamily and placed a hoof on her golden necklace. Sweetie coughed. “So, that captain. He certainly is charming. A stallion, no doubt, worth his weight in gold.” “Oh, he is...” she breathed, then blinked and straightened her posture, repeating in a much less  wistful – perhaps overly sober – manner, “Oh. He is.” Sweetie grinned. “My, Princess, if I were to be so bold, I would even say that you might even fancy him.” “No!” Twilight snapped, blushing. “No I do not.” Sweetie giggled. “Sure you don’t,” she grinned. “So, Shining Armor. You practice spells with him?” “Yeah, I do. He’s Arcturus the Bear-Bane’s son. Have you ever heard of him?” Twilight asked, thankful for the sudden shift in conversation topic. Sweetie shook her head. “I can’t say I have. Still, sounds like a nice pony, from what Captain Proud Song said.” Twilight nodded. “Oh yes, he is. He is really, really nice to me, and not just because I’m a Princess, I think. He looks out for me… beyond how a knight looks out for a princess. He takes a… personal interest in me, like a friend.” “I think it’s a friendship worth nourishing. I’m sure he’ll keep an eye out for you,” Sweetie said. “Like a big brother of sorts.” “You think so?” “Absolutely,” Sweetie nodded. “He already helps you practice, and by the Captain’s own words, he’s reliable, if a bit goofy for now. Sounds like a big bro to me.” Twilight giggled. “Well I have known him since I was nine, and he did teach me how to fly a kite. Actually, he did come just after Orion – the pony I was telling you about earlier, who was like family to me – left. He looks a lot like him too, strangely enough.” Sweetie shrugged. “There you go. And here you thought you had few friends, Twi.” She winked at the princess. “Few, but definitely worth it.” “Well, he is away a lot on some kind of training or mission from his father, but when he’s here, he’s very… friendly.” Twilight frowned at Sweetie Belle defensively. “You better not accuse me of having a crush on Shining Armor.” It took five minutes for Sweetie to stop laughing. When she recovered, wiping the last of the mirthful tears from her eyes, she found Twilight staring at her, dumbstruck. “I’m not even going to ask what you found so funny about that.” The princess shook her head, before her smile returned. “Actually, you know what’s strange?” “Octopi,” Sweetie replied immediately. “Have you ever wondered, just how they can control each tentacle in turn to move? And each sucker in each tentacle? Individually? Can you imagine if… they had more than one brain?” Twilight’s eyes widened at that, and she stared at the ground in sudden intense contemplation. “No… I haven’t until now. You know what? That is fascinating. I’ll have to—” She stopped and shook her head. “No, no, save that for later. Where was I? Oh yes! What’s strange is that we all have similar cutie marks: Shining, you and me. It’s that big purple star which Mom says is the spark of magic. So I guess your special talent is… singing magic? Voice magic? Something to do with sound?” Sweetie bit her lip. “Well… I-I can sing, and play the cello.” “Oh, that’s wonderful. I’d love to see you perform some time, if you don’t mind.” Sweetie nodded. “It’d be my pleasure! I could do it now, if you want?” “Um, maybe somewhere with better acoustics?” Twilight hummed, thinking. “Actually, you still don’t have a place to stay, do you?” “Not really, no,” Sweetie replied, looking at her friend. “But I couldn’t impose on your hospitality.” Twilight grinned. “It wouldn’t be imposing! We have more rooms than we know what to do with. I just have to ask my mom.” Her eyes widened at a new thought and she beamed, closing her eyes in delight and clapping her hooves together. “Oh, we can have a sleepover! I’ve never had one before, but I can find a book that will help me throw the perfect one!” Sweetie grinned. “We can try that. If you think Nightmare Moon will be okay with it.” The princess waved a dismissive hoof. “Oh, she’ll be fine. I bet she’ll love you when I introduce you to her.” Sweetie considered Twilight’s words. “If you think so, but she might be a bit wary, I don’t want her to think bad of me or anything and then we can’t hang out. So don't be disappointed if she's a bit reluctant or downright denies it.” “She won’t,” Twilight stated, quite serious now. “I’ll make sure of it. Besides, she always wanted me to make more friends, so she can’t complain when I finally do.” “Even when it’s a young mare with a mysterious past, no family ties, an unexplainable ability to appear out of nowhere, and a suspicious ability to perform Contracts with quartz?” Twilight smiled in a soothing manner. “Well… I mean, she took me in and eventually adopted me, and I was kind of like you minus those suspicious abilities. Can you at least give her a chance? She will probably like you. Probably.” Sweetie laughed. “I’m more worried about her giving me a chance to begin with, but sure, we’ll try it and see how it goes.” She stepped to the side and bowed, extending a hoof out gracefully. “After you, my Princess.” Twilight giggled and pressed forward, leading the way through the beautiful gardens of Canterlot Palace, Sweetie and little Zosimos in tow.  Twilight led Sweetie Belle through the palace, politely shutting down all attempts at conversation with a simple compliment and a lightly-spoken excuse. If she had offended any noble who had tried to curry favor from her, she really didn’t care. For the second time that night, she walked through the halls of her home with a goal: to find her mother so she could keep her friend (and keep her close).  Their path brought them to the gargantuan doors of the throne room. Any formal session or appointment was over for the night, as Twilight had learned from one of the guards. Apparently the room that lay just beyond the doors before which she now stood was occupied by only her mother and the Inquisitor. They often had these little private chats, drinking wine or sipping tea. Sometimes Twilight would be there with them, and they would simply talk about what they had gotten up to recently. She loved those little moments, but she never knew what the Inquisitor and the Empress talked about when she wasn’t with them. She turned to Sweetie Belle. “Well, that’s a bit of luck. You’ll get to meet both my mom and the Inquisitor,” she said to her friend. 'Good luck or bad luck? There's a pony called "The Inquisitor", that never bodes well.' Sweetie tilted her head. “Is that okay? Simply walking into a meeting might be… a bit much.” “Oh, they never mind it when I do that. Why should now be any different?” Twilight asked rhetorically. “Lead the way, then,” Sweetie said, shaking her head in amusement. Twilight nodded to Sweetie and then, turning, nodded to the guards. The unicorn of the pair used his magic to open the great, ornate doors of the throne room and allowed Twilight through. He called out. “Princess Twilight Sparkle and guest for you, Your Majesty!” The throne room was a vast, vaulted place, and was very much like the throne rooms of most Canterlots Sweetie was familiar with; it was tiled and edged by beautifully-sculpted columns and frescoed walls. This one, however, was slightly different. Its own stained-glass windows contained night-themed scenes, and what Sweetie could only assume was a Nightmare Moon posing victoriously in the aftermath of a battle.  The other most obvious difference was the throne. Gone was the white, elegant throne of Celestia, replaced by something that, though still quite elegant, was more alien and imposing, which brought unpleasant memories of another dark palace. It was a high throne of obsidian glass, resting on a massive pyramided dias of the same substance. Sitting on this throne, leaning against the monolithic back of her seat, was Nightmare Moon. She wore regalia rather than her armor, with a peytral, tiara and slippers much like those worn by Celestia, only silver instead of gold. Set almost as an afterthought, several steps below the throne proper was a smaller throne with a much smaller back. Here lounged an ashen unicorn stallion in what looked to be a black tunic and pants, his hair an inky black. When Twilight, Sweetie and Zosimos stepped inside, the doors closed behind them. Twilight met her mother’s turquoise eyes and smiled. “Hello, Mom, how has your night been?” she asked. “Good, Twilight,” the Empress replied, smiling. She eyed Sweetie Belle with some curiosity. “I suppose this is your friend you have been telling me about? The one who made… what was he called again?” “Zosimos,” Twilight supplied. “And yes, Sweetie Belle here made him.” She stepped to the side slightly and beckoned her friend forward. Sweetie stepped forward, and in a fluid motion, curtsied low. “Your Majesty,” she said humbly. “It’s an honor to be in your presence.” Nightmare Moon smiled coolly. “A perfect show of decorum. I suppose you are from a… higher class of pony?” Sweetie shook her head. “Only well educated, your Majesty.” “Ah, well, please, come sit by me.” Her eyes went to her daughter. “I hope you have been telling your friend good things about me, Twilight.” “Of course I have, Mother!” Twilight shrilled, a blush coming to her face. This reaction brought on the rich, velvety laughter of the alicorn empress. They walked towards the throne just as a couple of large, plush cushions appeared out of the air and were placed on one of the daises below the throne. Sweetie and Twilight took their places, thankful for not having to stand. While the Empress of Equestria stared down at her with dignified imperiousness, Sweetie noticed that the dark eyes of the Inquisitor watched her with great interest. “So, Twilight,” Nightmare Moon began. “What brings you here, with your friend?” Twilight blinked. “Oh, well, I just wanted to see if it was okay with you if she could stay with us.” “Like a sleepover?” “I’m thinking something more… indefinite,” Twilight grinned bashfully. The alicorn’s dragon-like eyes fixed on Sweetie’s. “So you have no place to stay?” Sweetie didn’t flinch. In fact, remembering her previous encounter with Nightmare Moon, it was slightly surreal to see a mare so in control of herself. “My finding accommodations is not a problem, your majesty, Twilight simply extended an invitation despite my admittedly feeble attempts at dissuading her.” She paused. “However, I find myself unable to simply turn down a friend’s generosity. I’ve been taught it’s something to be treasured, when offered so honestly.” “As good a platitude as any.” The Empress nodded. “So where do you actually live, child? Where is your home?” “I hail originally from Ponyville,” Sweetie replied. “But I have been traveling for a long time now, I doubt I would even recognize the few places I remember… home, for now, is where I can rest; I saw a couple of inns in Canterlot that would cover my needs until I move on to my next adventure.” “Oh, very poetic, and very formal. Just enough archaism to sound proper but not too much to sound insincere.” Nightmare Moon’s smile dropped slightly. “Please do not attempt this… verbal superfluousness on me. I get enough of it from full-grown nobles, let alone a teen mare such as yourself. Speak naturally, with vocabulary you would use normally.” Sweetie smiled, for real this time. “As you wish, your Majesty. What Twilight said was right: I do not have a place to stay for now, but I did speak the truth, I do come from Ponyville. And I have traveled a lot… not all nobles appreciate forwardness, and I was taught to never assume it would be acceptable to simply be blunt in front of royalty.” She bowed again. “I’m sorry if I gave you a bad impression.” Nightmare Moon’s smile became a bit more vibrant. “No matter. So, why are you in Canterlot, and alone?” “I’m looking for my mentor,” Sweetie confessed. “I’ve been trying to find her for quite some time, and my journey has taken me to a lot of places… Canterlot is just one of them.” “Twilight did say you traveled around the world… I suppose along the way you learned how to make that little golem there,” the Empress pointed to Zosimos, who stood at attention next to his master. Sweetie’s smile faltered. “It was a hard lesson, but yes, you would be correct, your majesty.” It was then that Twilight intervened for her friend before Nightmare Moon pressed on for more information. “Mom, she has had a very hard time and she really does not want to be reminded of it.” Twilight turned to her friend. “You learned the magic under very bad circumstances, didn’t you?” “It’s not something I like to talk about,” Sweetie agreed. “And not something… most ponies can bear to hear.” It was the Inquisitor who spoke this time. “Oh trust me, Sweetie Belle, I think I can stomach most things you can think of. So learning to contract came at a price?” “Inquisitor, is this really a subject we should be talking about in front of Twilight?” Nightmare Moon asked, shifting uncomfortably. “I have told her not to concern herself with that magic.” “I’m not a little filly anymore, Mother!” Twilight cried. “And you barely even mentioned it when you ‘forbade me’ from learning it. I can handle just talking about things like this, even if you don’t want me learning it.” “I was forced into it,” Sweetie spoke up, leveling her eyes at the Inquisitor. “The price was not something I offered nor was I given an option. Had I not been saved, I would have sooner or later taken my own life.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "For a long time I never thought I'd be capable of even considering that…" her voice became weaker. "I've been proven wrong." The room felt suddenly cold and silent. Nightmare Moon’s face paled and she exchanged knowing looks with the Inquisitor, who pursed his lips thoughtfully. Once again, Twilight reached out to provide comfort to her friend, tears of sympathy welling up in her eyes. “Making a gift for Twilight, or using my powers to help others I’ve met has been the only positive thing to come out of this,” Sweetie added, eyes downcast. The Inquisitor leaned forward. “I… think I know who you have met, and who forced you into it. I have met them before, and they are… never pleasant.” Sweetie turned to look at him in surprise. "I'm sorry if you have." “I am truly sorry for your ordeals, Sweetie Belle,” Nightmare Moon said, her voice heavy with understanding. “Nopony, especially one so young as yourself, should have had to go through what you have gone through.” “So can she stay?” Twilight asked, a certain edge coming to her voice. “Or are you going to continue interrogating her?” “No, Twilight, I think she can stay,” Nightmare Moon said, turning back to Sweetie. “But I must say, your magical potential and understanding is… incredible for one your age. I would like to see you demonstrate your powers of other forms of magic besides… that one which we have discussed thoroughly enough; if you do not mind showing me, that is.” Sweetie thought for a moment, trying to figure out what she could show them that would impress even Nightmare Moon. Her thoughts went back to the archives of the Blueblood family, where she had been privy to many, many secrets, until she remembered a very important one… one that had even given Princess Celestia pause.  “I have an idea.” She stepped up from her seat and went onto the floor of the courtroom. Standing just far enough to get enough space, she closed her eyes and mentally invoked something she knew would impress them enough, although in reality she had little faith she'd get the chance to ever being able to cast such a thing on her own. “I’m going to cast a blueprint spell, for a higher-dimensional matrix,” she elaborated. “I don’t have the power to cast the actual matrix on my own… it required a lot of magic beyond what a single unicorn could produce, but I can explain the theoretical aspects behind it.” From her horn, a neon blue light shot out, flashing around her for a few meters, pulsating a moment before rushing to another point and another, leaving behind a pulsating star of energy and keeping Sweetie in the middle. The room was soon containing a glowing dodecahedron, which then started to interconnect in several places, leaving again little nodes of glowing energy until a veritable web of lines crossing and nodes surrounded her. The flat design then seemed to gain volume, as more lines shot out to create nodes above and below it, allowing it to expand until the lines crossed on many levels and directions creating, for all intents and purposes a tesseract. Sweetie stepped back, analyzing her work before nodding and turning to look at her audience. “Dimensional pocket capable of containing the palace grounds and allow for the passage of time, while still tethered to a specific location in the original plane of creation.” The Inquisitor stood up and squinted, studying each node, seeing how they connected and prying them apart to note down their contents. Nightmare Moon also seemed interested in the blueprint, but for now she let the stallion do the details. “A dimensional matrix this complex must have taken some time to design,” the Inquisitor observed. “I can’t see the usual groupings of sigils, however, but I can still see what each node contains… it’s quite a strange set-up. Did you develop this?” Sweetie grinned. “I didn’t, but I deduced the mechanism from the incomplete blueprint and finished it.” He nodded. “This isn’t a usual pocket dimension, is it? Even if you were to simply amplify the volume of a pocket dimension, it wouldn’t be this complex.” “No, this creates a… gate of sorts to the pocket dimension, keeping it anchored to your world with these nodes…” she changed the color of eight of them. “The energy required is, of course, immense, but the design is supposed to work in conjunction with feeding from ambient energy to compensate for any loss, and recycling the original power, requiring very little to actually open the gate, once it’s all said and done.” “Very impressive,” Nightmare Moon said, pausing for a little while and frowning in thought. Then she smiled. “Sweetie Belle, how would you like to join Twilight and I for our lessons… and perhaps study at the Imperial Academy for Gifted Unicorns?” Sweetie’s eyes went wide and she literally started jumping in circles around Twilight. “Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!” She stopped when she realized what she was doing and blushed. “Um… yes.” She cleared her throat, trying to regain some dignity. “I would love that.” “Well then, I think we can arrange for you to join in the grade above Twilight,” she said. “At least, assuming you are a year older than my daughter. You do look around that age.” “I’m fourteen…” Sweetie said. Technically. She couldn't really tell them that she was actually closer to twenty and already had a daughter. Distant Shores. She pushed the thought away, as she faced Nightmare Moon. “Well, I am sure we will find a place for you… unless you would prefer to be in Twilight’s class?” Nightmare Moon asked, eyeing her daughter’s disappointed face. “My… education has been spotty,” Sweetie’s eyes had wandered to Twilight as well. “And since I’m still learning, perhaps it’s better that I at least get some sort of assessment, I’m sure I have a lot of studies to catch up to, and I wouldn't want to move ahead and give everycreature a bad impression. If that’s okay with you, your Majesty.” Twilight seemed a lot happier with that, and her mother smiled. “Then it is done. Shall we get you settled in?” “That would be great, your Majesty.” “You can sleep in my room!” Twilight said, jumping to her hooves. Nightmare Moon chuckled. “I think Sweetie Belle would be more comfortable with her own bedroom.” Twilight scrunched up her face. “Let’s ask her.” She turned to Sweetie Belle. “So, do you want to stay in my room or just be alone and have your own?” The obsidian-coated alicorn frowned. “Twilight! Do not pressure our guest.” “It’s okay, Twilight, whatever you like is fine, but if I get my own room, when we do sleep-overs, they’ll be more fun, don’t you think? We can do one in yours, and then one in mine!” Sweetie spoke up. The bookish unicorn’s face brightened. “Oh that’ll be so much fun!” Twilight clapped her hooves together. “I think this dilemma has been sorted.” Nightmare Moon stood up from the throne, looking at the ashen stallion on the smaller throne. “I am sorry to cut our time short, Inquisitor.” He waved his hoof absent-mindedly. “No worries, Empress.” “Come, children,” the Empress said, striding down from the throne and heading towards the doors. Twilight nudged Sweetie Belle, a wide smile plastered on her face, and took off after her mother, Zosimos following in her wake. Sweetie nodded and followed behind them, bowing once to the Inquisitor before leaving. As she reached the doors, however, she couldn’t help but glance back, noticing his eyes were set on her. He gave her a little knowing smirk, as if they had recently just shared a secret.  “I hope you enjoy your time here, Sweetie Belle,” he said. Sweetie blinked, but nodded once, hurrying up to catch up with Nightmare Moon and Twilight. Nightmare Moon led the two teens down the corridors of the palace. Servants and officials stepped out of her way and bowed graciously. Ponies gave Sweetie Belle curious looks, trying to gauge her relationship with the Empress and the Crown Princess. They eventually came to a cavernous hall with numerous ornate doors on its sides. Right at the end was a pair of large doors even more ornate than all the others, guarded by a couple of purple-armored, bat-winged ponies. When they approached, the guards quickly opened the doors for them and bowed. “Welcome to the Royal Apartments, Sweetie Belle,” the alicorn announced. The entrance hall was - not surprisingly - quite grand. The room was dominated by a sweeping staircase that tapered ever thinner towards the top. Corridors branched out to the left and right of them, letting Sweetie know there was even more she had yet to see. She had the impression that these “apartments” were more like a mansion that had been attached to the main palace complex. “Why not take Sweetie to see your room, Twilight?” Nightmare Moon suggested. “I need to sort out some things in my study.” Twilight nodded eagerly and she took hold of Sweetie’s hoof, energetically dragging her upstairs, leaving the regal alicorn to her own devices. The next floor was a cozily carpeted hallway that ended on both sides with closed double doors to rooms that Sweetie guessed were either bedrooms or bathrooms. Twilight wasted no time in taking her friend on a quick tour of the area. “This is where all the bedrooms are,” Twilight said, before pointing to a couple of pairs of doors that stood opposite one another in their respective walls. “Those are mine and my mom’s rooms.” She began pointing to all the doors on the corridor. “That’s a bathroom, a spare room, another spare room, closet, another bathroom and that’s the changing room.” Twilight finished with her hoof on one of the doors at the end of the corridor.  With the impromptu tour over with, Twilight made a bee-line for her bedroom, once more dragging Sweetie Belle along with her. This bedroom was about as much as Sweetie expected for a princess’s accommodation and Twilight gave her another round of bubbly exposition for. A four-poster bed, far too large Twilight’s size and age, sat opposite a grand fireplace. The room was lined with bookcases filled with so many tomes it looked like it was about to burst - all of which Twilight seemed to recommend - and shelves containing all sorts of knick-knacks separated by what were apparently rare and prized paintings. On the other side of the room from the door to the hallway were yet more doors that Twilight said led to the balcony. “So,” Twilight began, turning back to her friend after she just finished her last narrative of some strange little object that she had received as a gift from some far away land called Neighpon. “What do you think?” She tapped the tips of her hooves together. “It’s very nice!” Sweetie said. “It’s a lot more cozy than the last room I stayed in at a palace.” “Thanks!” Twilight sat on the bed, letting Zosimos wander around the room. “Hmm… I don’t really know what to do on sleepovers, and I don’t have a book about them on me. Ugh, I should have gone to the library before we took you here.” “Well…” Sweetie ventured. “We can talk? You could tell me about other students, or maybe we could have a pillow fight?” “Isn’t a pillow fight for later on in the evening?” Twilight frowned. Sweetie laughed. “Sure, so what else do you want to do?” “Um… so you said you traveled around the world? Can you tell me about some of the places you’ve been?” “I’ve been to many places,” Sweetie confessed. “But, not all in this world, necessarily.” She looked up at Twilight, trying to guess how she would take it. “There’s a lot about me that you might not believe.” “What? What do you mean ‘not in this world’?” Sweetie sighed. “That’s what I was trying to tell you earlier… I’m a world traveler as in I travel from world to world. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s the truth.” Twilight stared hard at her friend. “I…” She blinked, baffled. “Um, well, that doesn’t sound scientifically possible.” Sweetie laughed for several minutes, trying, but unable, to get past her mirth to talk to the increasingly annoyed Twilight. Finally, when she had run out of breath, she cleaned the tears from her eyes and and took a deep, calming breath. “I’m… sorry, it’s just, that wouldn’t be the first time you’ve said that, but somehow this time around I just couldn’t help it.” “Wh-what?” Twilight pouted. “You’re not making any sense, Sweetie! If this is a joke, it’s starting to get very annoying.” “Sorry, sorry,” Sweetie waved her hooves in a calming motion. “It’s going to get stranger, but I can prove it.” The purple unicorn opened her mouth, looking ready to launch a tirade, before she suddenly stopped. She held up her hoof, closing her eyes. A little while passed before she sighed heavily and opened them again. “Fine. I’ll hear you out. So explain to me what you mean by traveling to different worlds and  ‘this time around’.” Sweetie settled back, resting her head on the edge of Twilight’s bed. “Imagine that what you know, this world, is not completely alone. There’s a point where it ends, and another begins, usually inaccessible to ponies. When you cross that, you arrive in a place that’s similar, but there are differences.” As she spoke, Sweetie summoned her notebook, making it hover between them. “A world where Nightmare Moon wasn’t the sole ruler for a thousand years, or where we are the same, but different genders.” She took out the picture of herself with Octavia and Rarity in it, from her counterpart’s graduation. “Doesn’t that building, in plain daylight, look familiar to you? I saw it when I took a walk downtown earlier.” Her book opened, allowing another piece of paper to float out, a letter inviting Sweetie to join Nightmare Moon’s School for Gifted Unicorns. “There’s so many places, so many differences. Worlds that have been torn by war, which we ponies destroyed. Worlds where I am long dead, or much younger. Did you know, the first time I saw Nightmare Moon she hadn’t been in Equestria for a thousand years?  The second time I saw her, she was an incorrigible prankster… nothing like the Empress your mother is.” Twilight studied each of  the contents of the journal intensely, frowning in thought. She read the invitation to the School for Gifted Unicorns thoroughly, her features etched with bemused surprise, before setting it down and sighing, screwing her eyes shut and rubbing her temples. “I… well, it sounds very strange, and it would make much more sense for these all to be just forgeries, but…” she sighed again and left her hooves drop to the floor. “It does sound like a possibility. Skilled unicorns can create pocket dimensions and tap into worlds closely connected to this one, like the spirit world, but I’ve never heard of anypony actually traveling to a new material realm like ours. Still… there is so much I don’t know about magic that I can’t really be a good judge of what’s possible or not.” She looked at Sweetie. “So, how did you start going to different worlds? You said back in the throne room that it’s not on purpose.” Sweetie slumped. “It was an accident. I interrupted a very delicate experiment dealing with time and space, and… well, I ended up being thrown out of my own universe into others. I usually stay there for a little while before moving on to the next.” “Oh… okay.” Twilight bit her lip. “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine with me.” “It… was a bad experience,” Sweetie said, looking down at the floor. “My mentor got hurt pretty bad, and… I was just a filly, and I didn’t pay attention. I ended up ruining both her life and mine. I’m trying to find her, and heal her, so that we can both go home.” She took a deep breath. “It hasn’t been all bad, though. I ended up with adopted brothers.” She giggled. “One of them I believe you know. In one world I was adopted by Blueblood to be his little sister. Unofficially, for two years. I learned a lot from him, and from others… and I learned to sing and play the cello… I was very happy there.” She chuckled, pulling out a little black bookmark out of her notebook. “Do you want to see my cello?” “Oh, I would love that!” Twilight clapped her hooves together, then did a double-take. “Wait, so Blueblood adopted you? Blueblood? Didn’t you say your brother was a really great guy who you owe so much to?” “And I also said that Nightmare Moon was an incorrigible prankster. I painted her room pink and she got back to me by knocking me out and putting my whole room upside down, attaching my bed and everything to the ceiling,” Sweetie pointed out. “It goes to show you that worlds can get some ponies to be very, very different.” “So… how different have I been?” Twilight asked. Sweetie's smile froze for a second, then looking at the hopeful eyes of the young Twilight, she forced herself to answer. “Almost every time that I have met you, you have been wise. Smart. Powerful, and yet caring. A leader and a friend.” Twilight blushed, a wide grin on her face. “Oh, well that’s really… really nice. Are these older alternate versions of me then?” Sweetie laughed, thanking her luck that Twilight hadn't caught her small clarification. She needed to plan ahead a bit more what to say, because she had the feeling that neither Nightmare Moon nor the Inquisitor would let that one slip. “A few, but I can tell you right now that you’ve always had it in you, and that you certainly are all of that right now. I can tell.” Twilight giggled. “Well, I don’t think I’m wise, or a leader - no matter how much my mom is trying to make me one.” “You’ll get there,” Sweetie promised. “In your own time of course, but for now, I did promise you a concerto.” Trying to direct Twilight's attention away from asking even more questions about her other versions—which potentially could end up revealing Vision Twilight's role in her life—Sweetie placed the bookmark between the two of them. “You might want to step back a little, she said. Oh, and your mom won’t mind, will she?” “No, not at all,” Twilight said, stepping back and motion with her hoof. “Please. Continue.” Sweetie nodded. The familiar aura of magic formed around the bookmark, which absorbed it. After a moment, it stretched until it was longer than the two were tall. Then it widened at the same time it grew in depth. It carried on and stopped only when it had become a container of some sort. Twilight watched with interest as Sweetie unlatched a couple of small locks on the side of it and opened it, revealing a full-sized cello inside. Carefully, lovingly, Sweetie extracted the musical instrument, stepping back to set it upright with her magic and checking it for scratches, running her hoof gently on the lacquered wood. She leaned back, standing on her hindlegs, and relinquished her magical grasp on the cello, holding it in place with her hoof, while the other took the bow, just like an earth pony would. “I… really don’t know any music specifically from this world, though.” “Just play something you do know,” Twilight suggested. Sweetie nodded, closing her eyes and thinking before remembering a little tune Octavia had taught her, it was about three minutes long, so it wasn’t fancy but... she started playing. It was quirky and fun, just the right pace to be upbeat, and it gave her the chance to be a bit playful. There had  been too many somber melodies lately, and she was sure that this one would be something Twilight would like. As happy music filled the air, Twilight beamed at her friend, nodding her head along to its beat. The energy of Sweetie’s performance continued only for a few minutes, but already the air of the room was much happier. When at last she had finished, Twilight clapped vigorously, eager to show her admiration. “That was great, Sweetie!” Twilight cried. “I usually hear concerts that are performed for royalty, and they’re always so somber and old. Mostly they’re just playing pieces written by the greats like Beat Hoofen or Moss Heart, but sometimes we get gifted newcomers with original music.” Sweetie smiled, “Maybe the mare that taught me is one of them.” She grinned. “That would be funny, if I met her at my age, but… I guess there’s no Earth Ponies in a school for unicorns.” Twilight shook her head. “But there is the Canterlot College of Music, though she might be too young for that if she is our age, unless she’s some kind of prodigy.” Sweetie smiled fondly. “She’s the Twilight Sparkle of musicians. I bet you’ll meet her one day.” The princess blushed and waved a hoof. “Please don’t use my name as a synonym for prodigy. But if she is as good as you say she is, I probably will. So many gifted ponies have come to the throne room to demonstrate their talents to my mom and I.” “I’m sure you’ll recognize her when you see her.” Sweetie winked. “Earth Pony playing the cello. Can’t miss it.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’m sure there is more than just one earth pony playing the cello in the world. I mean, like you said, ponies can be different world to world, so how do you know if this mare is a cello player in my one?” Sweetie shrugged. “I don’t know for sure, but… she was so talented, and she loves it. At least in every other world. So it would make sense. Besides, where I come from, and in most other worlds, most string players were unicorns, because it’s easier to play like that if you don’t have to train yourself to stand on your hindlegs, or to hold a bow and pluck strings with your hooves.” “Well, how hard can it be?” “Want to try?” Sweetie smiled mischievously. “I’ll be ready to catch my cello before you both hit the floor.” She handed Twilight her Cello and its bow after she gave the purple unicorn a quick lesson in how to assume the correct posture and how to hold the bow properly. Twilight was already wobbling by the time Sweetie placed the cello in her hooves. Twilight struggled against the weight of the thing and propped it up with a flash of telekinetic magic before she fell. Sweetie laughed along with Twilight, carefully taking the cello in her own telekinetic grasp and lowering it into its case. “It took me the better part of two years to learn to balance properly and play well enough not to be embarrassed about it… I hope I can one day play as well as she does, but… I think you can see why most ponies leave that to magic. Especially if they are skilled in very precise work.” “Watching you and my mom do it makes it seem so easy,” Twilight muttered. “Wait. Wait… hold on.” Sweetie’s eyes were wide. “You’re telling me, your mom, Empress Nightmare Moon plays the cello? Like an Earth Pony?” “Yeah, she likes to have jam sessions with the Inquisitor,” Twilight said, quickly adding, “Who plays the violin… like an earth pony as well, actually.” “Twilight,” Sweetie said slowly, eyes gleaming. Gently, she took her friend’s hooves in her own, and looked her straight in the eye. “You have got to let me see that happen. Please.” Twilight bit her lip. “I’m not sure if they would like an audience… it’s really usually just something they do between them.” She saw Sweetie’s face drop and her lip curl into a pout. Somehow, her now shimmering eyes seemed to be a little bigger. It didn’t take long for Twilight to crack. “Okay! Okay! I’ll ask them, but I can’t guarantee they’ll say yes.” Sweetie’s smile lit up the room. “Thank you! That’s all I ask. You have no idea how ama—no, how simply epic the idea of Nightmare Moon playing the cello is. Even if I can’t witness it, just knowing it happens somewhere in the multiverse is almost enough.” “Not many ponies know she plays. She’s been trying to get me to play an instrument, but…” Twilight shrugged. “It could be fun, but it would take away time for reading and studying.” “But Twilight,” Sweetie whined. “Learning to play is studying!” Twilight crossed her front hooves. “It’s not the kind of studying I like. Music theory just isn’t my thing and it would take away from the funner subjects.” Sweetie rolled her eyes. “Fine. But you’re missing out.” She chuckled. “So… my turn to ask questions. Do you like anypony? I bet you have lines of suitors!” The princess blanched. “I have over a dozen different princes asking me to marry them, not to mention the number of ponies who aren’t princes.” Twilight stuck out a disgusted tongue. “I get flooded with stuff on Hearts and Hooves Day from my suitors. One was a barbarian horse from Easterland who sent me some poetry. It was not the usual ‘roses are red’ kind to say the least.” “Aww,” Sweetie frowned. “I guess I shouldn’t ask you out, then.” She couldn’t hold her frown too long when she saw the look of dawning horror in Twilight’s eyes and burst out laughing. “Sorry! Sorry! I was joking, I promise!” She laughed. “Your face though. It was priceless!” “Are… are you a… you know?” Twilight waved her hooves about in strange and vague gesticulation before finally giving up. “Are you a lesbian?” Sweetie sighed. "I don't think I have a preference… if I'm honest, I've already had a crush on a stallion—" she didn't mention that the dreamboat had been Twilight's gender-swapped counterpart "—and I… dated a mare for a while." She gulped, forcing a smile and pushing the thoughts back into the recesses of her mind. "I'm not interested in dating right now." Twilight rubbed her arm. “I’ve never even kissed a pony before.” Sweetie patted her friend’s arm. “Well, when you do find out what you want to try, make sure you trust that pony. I know it’s cheesy, but it’s the only advice I’ve been given on the subject that makes any sense. The rest of it… well, Blueblood was… creative. And a pervert.” And I don't remember years of being married and failing at it, so at least I'm not saying something that will ruin your chances at happiness like I did mine. The lavender unicorn giggled, unaware of her friend's thoughts. Oddly enough, the innocent happiness helped bring Sweetie's attention back to these more happy moments. “He’s tried to court me before, which is weird since he’s about twenty years old.” Twilight then shrugged. “But I guess that’s pretty normal for the nobility. They… I mean—we—do arranged marriages and betrothals and those kinds of things all the time since the beginning of time.” “Yeah, back in his world, BB told me they had the same traditions… it’s weird for me, not being able to choose who you would marry, but then again, maybe that gives you both a much longer time to figure out if it's really for the best.” “Mom says I get a choice, but she wants to maintain the traditions of our ancestors and make sure our family gets stronger so…” Twilight’s smile faded a little. “My choice is limited to princes or princesses.” Sweetie hugged her friend. “Don’t be sad, Twi, I’m sure there’s got to be at least one prince or princess that’s nice. Besides you.” “Probably… I mean, I’m not really interested in dating or anything, but I’d like to marry some day and…” she sighed. “I would just prefer to not be limited to just other royalty. Especially since Blueblood is technically a prince.” She made a face in an attempt to lighten the mood. Sweetie nodded soberly. “There is only one thing we can do about it right now.” Twilight cocked her head to the side in confusion. “And what is that?” “Raid the Imperial Kitchen for cookies.” “But I can just go ask them.” Twilight pointed out.  Sweetie leaned in to whisper. “Yes. But… only if we’re caught!” “So… like an adventure?” Twilight asked. “Like an adventure.” Sweetie nodded sagely. “This is—after all—A Sleepover.” “Hmm, well if you want adventure, then there’s a millennia-old dragon guarding a magical tree in a grotto under the castle, but I do suddenly have a craving for some vanilla-chip cookies,” Twilight said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. Sweetie stared at Twilight for a moment. “Do you think we could steal a bottle of whiskey too?” she finally asked. “I suddenly have a craving for a stiff drink.” The princess stopped rubbing her chin abruptly and stared at her friend. “What? Of course we can’t! I’m only thirteen and you’re…” “Legally adult in some dimensions.” Sweetie’s face was serious. “Not here! Not now!” Twilight said, her voice dangerously approaching a screech. “And not only is it illegal and immoral, but we could get caught!” Sweetie sighed. “Fine. Let’s get the cookies and then you can tell me about the dragon.” This pleased Twilight greatly, who got to her hooves. She looked down at the golem, who had turned to her expectantly. “Stay here, Zosimos,” she said, a grin rising on her lips. “We’re going out for a little evening adventure.”