Chapter 2: New World, New Problems
-DAWN OF THE SECOND DAY, 48 HOURS REMAIN-
Twilight woke at the sound of the morning rooster cawing at the sun. Groaning with a yawn, the small maredragora filly woke to its morning greeting, willing it to burst into flames. Sadly, no such was to be granted that morning.
“G'morning to ya, lil' miss,” she heard Big Macintosh's deep drawl emanating from the hallway. The door opened up to reveal him a messy pair of black overalls, balancing a tray of bread and fruit. “Hope yer hungry an' all, Granny went outta her way ta make this fer ya.”
“Good Morning Mr. Macintosh,” Twilight grumbled, her nose and ears still adjusting to the smell of soot and ash as well as the sound of the rooster.
Nodding, the older rusty red stallion said, “By the way, we never did get yer name last night. Who'd you say you were again?”
“My name is Twilight Spark-” the small filly said, faltering at her last name. Her mind slowly drifted back to that event that had led her hear. The time when she needed her friends and family the most...the time that she needed her teacher the most, yet none came. The Twilight Sparkle of old could easily have those ponies at her side, but could she?
Was she still Twilight Sparkle?
“Lil' Miss?” Big Macintosh asked, concerned when the little filly went silent. Her eyes seemed to have just gone dark, as if lost in a memory of some kind. “Um, ya'll still in there?” he asked, waving a hoof in front of her face.
That seemed to have done the trick, as the little maredragora snapped back into reality, taking a huge bite out of the apple she grabbed. “My name is Twilight,” the filly said, almost angrily as she tore away at the fruit with such zeal that made Macintosh step back a bit.
“Well,” the older red stallion said, looking a bit perturbed. “Granny and I are gonna be a busy all day making fireworks, and I highly doubt the smoke will sit well with you.” When the small filly didn't say anything, he continued, “So, I wanted to give you this.” Producing a small bag from his chest pocket, he gave it to her, saying, “Its not much, but its a Child Wallet with a few bits in it. Consider it a gift from me for helping out Granny when I couldn't.”
[Twilight obtained the Child's Wallet! Its not that big, perfect for any filly learning how to deal with money! (Max amount: 99 Bits)]
Twilight just sat there, looking at the wallet. “Are,” she said, looking up. “Are you sure? I mean, it seemed as if your shop needs it more than me.”
Macintosh merely waved her off, saying, “Its only pocket change really. We make more than enough during the Carnival anyways.”
Twilight sat there, slowly finishing up her breakfast, but merely nodded.
Left a little dumbstruck and still trying to wrap her head around the events that had just happened, Twilight could only nod. After a quick send off, Twilight made her way to the town laundry pool, at the Apple's insistence.
When she got there, all she found was the cleanest wash river she had seen in her life, a drawbridge of sorts, and a small glowing ball of dark blue-gray light that hovered over the water.
“Hey, you!” the ball of light cried. “Help me out, will ya?”
Twilight looked at the ball, eyebrow raised in disbelief. “Um,” she started, watching the ball bounce around the water. “What do you need help with?
“Get me outta the water!” the ball yelled. “I can't take it here anymore!”
“How, exactly?” Twilight asked, confused. “I mean, can't you just fly away?”
“I would if I could!” the ball snapped. “Some brat cursed me here and the only way for me to get out is for someone to just grab me!”
“That doesn't even make any sense!” Twilight yelled back.
“I know it doesn't!” the ball of light yelled. “Just help me!”
Not knowing what to do, Twilight took a looked down at the water and put hoof on the water, yelping when a small lily pad formed underneath said hoof. Pulling back, the lily pad floated away, before slowly shrinking and disappearing. Blinking, she took another step on the water, forming another lily pad, but held it there. This time, the lily pad seemed to grow rather quickly, but it disintegrated as quick as the first when she let go. Looking up, she jumped on the water's surface, nearly losing her footing when the lily pad moved with her.
Now underneath the glowing ball of light, she tapped it, causing it a white lock to appear on its body. A second later, the lock broke, revealing the ball of light to a creature Twilight had only thought to be in fairy tales, a pony-sprite, a pony-shaped fairy with small pointy butterfly wings and a horn.
“Oh thank the Goddess!” the little sprite exclaimed, falling down onto Twilight's nose. “I didn't know how much more of that I could take.”
“What happened to you?” Twilight asked the small sprite, jumping off her lily pad and landing on the opposite side of the small moat.
“Heck if I know!” the small sprite said, her little wings fluttering in agitation. “All I was doing was just relaxing in my shrine and BAM! I'm torn right out of my body and then locked in here!”
“You're own shrine?” Twilight prompted, confused.
“Yeah, my- OH CRAP!” the sprite yelled, jumping off of Twilight's nose and bobbing up and done uncontrollably. “MY SHRINE! WE NEED TO CHECK ON IT!” Before she could fly off, she fell over, Twilight barely catching her again. “No,” she mumbled weakly. “Been gone for too long...too weak...”
Frowning, Twilight placed the small sprite on the top of the flowerbud on her head and said, “Don't worry. I'll help you.”
“Thanks…” the small fairy said weakly. “Just head up…northern part of town. … can't miss.”
Nodding, Twilight made her way from the pool, and walked through town, noticing that the workers having constructed more than half of the carnival grounds in less than a day. Noticing that most of the stalls were for food and games, she wondered just what kind of carnival this was.
Making her way to the northern part of town, she found a rather jarring hole in the stone wall. “Is this it?” she asked the fairy.
“Yes…hurry…inside!” the fairy yelled. With little to lose, Twilight trotted in, only to be swarmed with multiple gray-blue lights. The fairy on her flower was picked up in the swarm, and almost immediately they came together and formed a drop, before falling into the pool of water beneath it.
After a few seconds, Twilight a great raucous laughter, followed by a burst of light that nearly blinded her. When the maredragora could open her eyes again, she found herself before a larger version of the sprite she had helped (even larger than Celestia, if she were to hazard an assumption), although this one was clad in a semi-transparent golden silk like material that covered her flank waist, with a golden tear shaped pendant tying it to her back. She stood majestically over the small filly, her golden mane flowing in an unknown breeze as her pure white eyes stared down at Twilight, with her mouth in a bright smile.
“Thank you, young off-worlder,” the being said, floating daintily over the water. “You have aided me in my time of need, and for that, I offer thee a blessing.” She raised one of her hooves, where a golden sphere formed, illuminating the cave with a soft golden glow. “Oh she who is wrapped in darkness, please accept a gift of light. May it guide you from your despair!” With those words, she kissed the small orb, sending it spiraling towards Twilight, who had just sat there in fascination.
Without any warning, it entered her chest, creating a surge of power that Twilight had only felt once before. Gasping, her eyes started to radiate with the golden as she floated several feet in the air. The power coursed through her very core, making her whimper slightly as it pulsed through her tiny body. With a yelp, the flower bud on top of her head grew twice its original size (which was not really that big to begin with) and bloomed, releasing a orange-gold tinted beam of light.
“What was that!?' Twilight screamed, looking over the wall she had fired at. It was surprisingly still intact, but the very fact she had released a beam of concentrated sunlight had surprised her beyond anything else.
[Twilight obtained the Blessing of Light! With it, she use her magic to focus light energy into various beams of energy. Be careful, as it does consume a lot of MP, and requires a source of light to fully utilize.]
The great fairy pony smiled, replying, “That was the culmination of your inner light, given form. Despite the darkness that surrounds you, your power can pierce through. Unfortunately, I lack the power to completely remove the curse that binds you to your form. The…Masked Filly...stole something important from me.” When Twilight nodded, she continued, “Please, oh hero of Another World,” the great fairy pony started, nodding its head towards the smaller filly. “I ask yet another task.”
“What is it?” Twilight asked back, sitting and watching the great fairy pony before her.
“This land is protected by six other beings like myself,” the ethereal pony explained. “Six other lights have been shrouded in darkness...Would you do me the honor of helping them?”
Twilight nodded in response, making the Great Fairy smile again. “Then as you leave, please accept this as a token of my thanks.” Closing her eyes, the Great Fairy's body shimmered as it released a silverish-blue orb, gossamer wings keeping it afloat.
“Wait, isn't she part of what's keeping you whole?” Twilight asked.
“Nah, don't mind it!” the orb said, bobbing up and down as it circled Twilight. “When I joined the main body, I restored what was lost due to us being separated. Now that our power is whole once more, I can leave the main body at my leisure!”
“Do not mind her, young one,” Twilight heard the Great Fairy say. “She will be your guide in this world, so heed her advice when she offers it. Now go! This world's fate rests in your very hooves!”
“Right!” the sprite said, floating towards the exit of the cave. Twilight followed at a slower pace, still trying to process what just occurred.
As they exited the cave, Twilight turned toward the small sprite and asked, “So, where exactly am I?”
“Huh?” the small sprite questioned, sounding confused. “This here is the town of Ponyville! Didn't the townsfolk tell you that much?”
“I got that much,” Twilight drawled, deadpanning. “It’s just…it shares the exact same name with the town that I come from, and the ponies here look…rather disturbingly familiar to the ones back home.”
“Really?” the sprite asked, tilting over to the side. “That's weird! This world is called Equis, mainly due to the equine nature of its inhabitants.”
“So,” Twilight started slowly. “Only ponies populate this world?”
“No no!” the sprite said. “I said equine-nature, meaning that everything here looks like a pony, or at least quadrupedal, but aren't exactly ponies, get me?”
“Oh, I get it,” Twilight said, thinking about it. “So, what races live here?”
“Oh, well,” the sprite said, looking as if she was thinking. “So, lets see, in the South we've got the Great Rainforest, where the maredragoras, a race of plant-like ponies like yourself, reside and provide fresh water to all other races. To the North we've got the griffons in Great Frozen Tundra, who provide a wide assortment of exotic foods and spices despite the harsh weather. To the West of here we have the Great Ocean of Rinoco, where the aquatic sea-pony race resides, who provide the best in terms of entertainment as well as fresh seafood for the griffons and dragons. (who need that fish for survival; they are omnivores). To the East is Raven Perch Canyon... and no one really goes there anymore.”
“Why?” Twilight asked, confused.
“Well,” the sprite started, faltering on, “It’s just that Raven Perch has been populated with all sorts of dark and evil creatures, like undead beings and lycans.”
“Those don't exist!” Twilight yelled, exasperated.
The sprite just laughed at her, saying, “Well, hopefully we'll never have to go there. If we do though, you're on your own!”
“Oh goodie,” Twilight drawled as she rolled her eyes, looking forward as they made their way through town.
“Now,” the little fairy continued, “up in the sky to the north east is Drakeroost, home of the dragons. It’s a cloud city, so…it’ll be a bit tough for us to get there. The dragons are enchanting specialists, and help to manufacture weapons and arms along with enchanted gems. And to the southwest is the Burning Plains. There, the Diamond Dogs dig up, refine, and produce raw materials for the rest of the world.”
"So Ponyville is the central hub where everyone comes to trade?" Twilight asked.
"For the most, part, yeah!" the fairy replied, nodding happily.
Along their travels, they passed by the main clock tower again, passing the various stalls. Once again, the workers paid her no heed.
“LOOK OUT BELOW!” a voice from above all of them yelled. Twilight looked up, only to see a smoldering brown pegasus, its wings and lower half trailing with fire and smoke, crash into the pool area she had just found the sprite in. Every one there winced sympathetically, only to just go back to work.
“That poor mare did it again,” one of the workers mumbled to his friend, shaking his head.
“Yeah, you'd think she'd learn by now to stop diving like that!” his friend replied.
“I'm surprised she hasn't died yet!” another spoke up.
“Hmm,” the sprite said, holding her tiny chin. “Maybe we should go check if she's okay?”
“Let’s go,” Twilight nodded, trotting over there.
When they arrived, nearly all the water had been displaced, leaving a slightly singed dark brown pegasus pony in the water, her face down. Jumping on her lily pads, Twilight jumped over to said pegasus pony and poked her, trying to get a response. After a few seconds, the mare's head shot up, surprising Twilight off of her own floatation vegetation and into the water.
Gasping, the pegasus said, “Well, lesson learned. Never activate Striker Units when flying through a thunder cloud. They tend to explode.” Turning, she found Twilight helping herself onto another lily pad and said, “Oh, hello there Twilight Sparkle! Lovely weather we're having, isn't it?”
Twilight froze up when she heard her name mentioned. Looking up, her eyes came across a dark-brown pegasus mare, her wings glowing with a soft green light and her mane slightly burned. The pegasus' dark blue eyes were seemingly glowing with happiness, despite the fact she had just landed face first into a pool of water while on fire.
“Do,” Twilight started. “Do I know you?”
“Oh, Twilight, I'm hurt!” the mare said melodramatically, climbing onto the bank and throwing off some kind of silvery metal horse-shoes from her hooves. Turning to face her, she continued, “Its me, the Doctor!”
Twilight blinked and deadpanned. “Oh...kay? But…the…Doctor from my world is a stallion, not a mare.”
“Oh, this?” the supposed Doctor said, turning her body around, revealing a familiar blue telephone booth shaped Cutie Mark on her flank. “This is a result of regeneration. A forced regeneration, mind you, but a regeneration nonetheless.”
“Wait, 'forced regeneration'?” Twilight asked, confused. “What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly how it sounds,” the Doctor said, shaking off the excess water from her dark brown coat. “You see, I was merely on a vacation, but then somepony attacked the TARDIS in mid-flight, causing the poor girl to fatally malfunction and crash here. Granted, because of my status, I was able to survive, but...” she trailed off, looking down, pain and despair flashing in her eyes. Sniffling and looking back up, gulping for air, she continued, “But my companions did not. I am led to believe that their souls and their presence is what caused me to regenerate in this fashion.”
Twilight said nothing at first, but trotted over to her and sat down. When the Doctor gave the small filly a perplexed look, said filly gave the older mare a hug. Surprised, the Doctor allowed herself a small smile and said, “Thank you for that, Twilight Sparkle.” Chuckling, she continued, “Even so far from home, you still look for ways to make others happy.”
Twilight said nothing, but slowly backed away. “So,” she started, “I'm assuming the masked filly did this to you?”
“Indeed,” the Doctor said, her face looking grim. “And, even though I have an inkling of just who is behind the mask, I am relatively useless in terms of finding her! Alas, all isn't truly gone, for I have,” she paused dramatically, going into her saddle bag. After a few minutes, she pulled her saddle bag from her side and started throwing a few items out of it. “Er...One moment please.”
Twilight deadpanned again, but her eyes widened in surprise as the Doctor threw out a multitude of items, such a bowling ball, a towel, a whistle of some kind, some kind of boomerang, a brick, to even a live cat. “Wha-! Just what do you have in there!?” the sprite besides her shouted.
“Oh, just a few nick-nacks that seem to be useful,” the female Doctor explained, not looking up from her search as she continued tossing out a glass bottle, a familiar shaped boulder, and even a barrel wearing sunglasses. “Ah, here we are!” she exclaimed, pulling out a golden stopwatch, passing it on to Twilight.
[Twilight obtained the Teleportation Charm! With it, Twilight can teleport anywhere in this world!]
Looking at it, Twilight opened it, and much to her surprise, instead of the regular numerals that told time, there were precious gemstones in their places. Oddly enough, they all seemed to be dull and lackluster, not even giving of a small shine. “What is it?” Twilight asked.
“That is a Teleportation Charm,” the Doctor explained, smiling as she righted her bag. “Its a small little thing I've been fiddling with ever since I got here. For the most part, its kind of like my old TARDIS, but its limited to this region. Right now though, it doesn't have any locations saved in its memory, and even then, its very picky as to what it'll choose to save and it won't.”
“And am I right in assuming it only has 12 slots?” Twilight asked.
“Nope. 24,” the Doctor replied.
“24?” Twilight asked, confused.
“Yes, 24. Is that a problematic number?"
“No…but…it just never seen a clock with 24 spots.”
“well, I suppose it’s a good thing this isn’t a clock then,” the doctor lightly prodded back, “There is another function within it, but it’s not quite ready yet.” Upon seeing the smaller filly's questioning gaze, she sighed and continued, “It makes little sense to tell you now, as I'm not even sure if I can even implement them.”
“So what do you do here Doctor?” Twilight asked, placing the watch into her saddle bag.
“Well,” the Doctor started, looking up. “Let’s see. I'm the town’s mail-mare, their weather manager, their resident mad-inventor, and their part-time night guard. Speaking of which, I'm about to be late for a delivery! Until then Twilight Sparkle!” With a smile and a nod, the Doctor jumped up and took off, her wings bursting from her back as she flew into the distance.
“...how is she able to do that all at once?” the small sprite asked, looking back at Twilight.
“Because she's the Doctor,” Twilight explained, making her way to the exit.
“Wait, what?” the small sprite asked, following her.
“Its exactly like she said,” came the Doctor's voice from behind them. As Twilight and the sprite shrieked in surprise, they turned around to see a smiling Doctor.
“HOW IN TARTARUS DID YOU DO THAT!?” the sprite screamed. “YOU WERE JUST FLYING OVER THE HORIZON!”
“Oh, that?” the Doctor asked, tilting her head. “Oh, well, I had merely forgotten something, so I popped back over here to tell you!”
“What is it?” Twilight asked, just as she calmed her heartbeat.
“If you want to see something interesting, I’d pop by the Mayor’s residence,” the Doctor said with a grin. “Whelp, that was it really. Until next time!” At that, the eccentric mare took off again, flying in the opposite direction she was flying previously.
“…is that Doctor fellow always weird?” the sprite asked after a moment of silence.
“Yes, actually,” Twilight responded. “Although, in my world, he’s a stallion who could travel across dimensions, so I guess being strange comes with what he does.”
“Right,” the sprite said, bobbing from side to side. After a few moments of travel, she stopped, as if to remembering something. “Hey, you know what I just realized?”
“What?” Twilight asked, looking up at her companion.
“We never told each other our names!” the sprite exclaimed, falling lightly on the maredragora’s nose. “You can call me Blink!”
Smiling, Twilight swiftly moved her nose upwards, sending the newly revealed Blink in the air. “Pleasure to meet you Blink. My name is Twilight Sparkle.”
“The start of a wondrous partnership!” Blink said happily, bobbing along in the air. “Now c’mon! I’ll show you the mayor’s office!”
After passing a few more frantic workers, the two finally stopped in front of a large wooden building at the eastern section of town, where there was already a collection of what looked like guards and workers arguing (in a rather civil manner) on the benches, seemingly waiting for something.
“Um, excuse me,” Twilight asked a group of workers and guards. “What are you all waiting for?”
“The Mayor’s official decision,” a guards-mare said, sighing as she took a swig from hip-flask. At the small filly’s confused look, she continued, “The Captain of the Guard went missing a few days ago before he could make an official decision on whether or not we should evacuate before that thing falls.” She took another swig, gesturing to the moon.
“Oh come on,” a nearby stallion said, dusting off his blue vest from the mess he made. “We all know that that’s just an old mare’s tale! The moon’s not gonna fall!”
“I dunno,” the mare replied to her older companion. “Still, I would have liked to see the Carnival go on at the very least. If the Vice-Captain gets his way, the Carnival is cancelled.”
“Well, lets just hope ol’ Rosh can talk sense into them both, right?” the stallion asked, just as Twilight left them and continued into the building.
Despite the crowd outside the building, the inside was relatively empty, save for the two ponies seated on couches nearby. On one end was a rather large, rotund looking pony, using a cane to keep himself upright. His furless skin was a light pale blue, with dark blue flecks coloring dotting his flank and hooves. What should have been his mane was instead just a tiny little fish fin that flapped from side to side.
“That’s a sea-pony, but not just any sea-pony,” Blink whispered into Twilight’s ear. “That’s Oto, the manager of the Aqua-Blues, the most popular band in these parts!”
On the other end was an even greater surprise to Twilight. Seated there, looking at several documents, was a pale white unicorn mare, her soft blue bespectacled eyes swiftly reading every line in a speed Twilight could only hope to match. With a sigh, she moved a strand of white and velvet hair from eyes with a hoof and said, “Is there really no way we can help her Oto? I was hoping to see the Aqua-Blues perform this year.”
“That’s the Mayor’s wife, Lavender Sunset,” Blink explained. “She mainly handles the administrative work in town, while the Mayor tends to all the big decisions.”
“Alas, I wish we could, Lady Sunset,” Oto replied, looking glum. “The band has tried all they could, but our lead singer’s voice just would not return to her. I suspect it has something to do with a recent theft by the local pirates.”
“We could send some guards to help with your pirate problem” Sunset said, putting the document down. “Surely, that could-“
“If only it could be that simple,” Oto said, shaking his head. “Those pirates are a crafty bunch; trying to send guards after them would be trying to find a lone fire-fish in the ocean. It’s just impossible.”
“Then, that’s it?” the elder mare asked, looking forlorn.
“There is nothing we can do,” the large sea-pony said, standing up, giving the mare a bow. “Until we meet for next year’s Carnival, Lady Sunset.”
“Take care, Oto,” the wife of the mayor said, taking off her glasses. As the sea-pony left, her eyes came upon the smaller mare. “Oh, hello there. Can I help you?”
“Oh, no, um, we were just here to see the Mayor!” Twilight stammered out. This mare, Lady Sunset, looked so much like her mother, Twilight Twinkle, that it was almost terrifying.
“Is that so?” Lady Sunset asked, fixing the two with a small stare. When the two nodded, she sighed and said, “You are welcome to go into the room, but I highly doubt you will be able to get a word in. The Vice Captain of the Town Guard and the Head of the Worker’s guild have been arguing nonstop about the decision regarding the Carnival’s fate.” With a sigh, she organized her papers with her magic and continued, “To be honest, with all the problems we’ve been having, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Carnival did end up cancelled this year.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked the analogue of her mother.
“Well, you just saw our entertainment tell me that they can no longer perform,” Sunset said, putting the papers in a nearby bin. “Then, my son, the Captain of the Town Guard, had disappeared a few days ago, just when he and his fiancé had already set the date of their wedding to be the day of the Carnival itself! And to top it all off, we have that giant hunk of rock constantly smiling down on us!” After a taking a deep breath, she sighed and continued, “I’m sorry for yelling dear. The stress has been getting to me.”
“Its alright!” Blink yelled, bobbing up and down. “Don’t worry about it! The Carnival of Time will go off without a hitch, you’ll see!”
Blink’s declaration brought a small smile to Sunset’s face. Chuckling, she waved them over, saying, “It does my heart well to see young ones as spirited as you. Here, take this. It’ll let you into the Mayor’s office.” She handed Twilight a small key the shape of a quarter moon, smiling all the while.
[Twilight obtained the Mayor’s Key! With it, she can open the door to the Mayor’s office!]
“Do keep in mind, my dear spouse can be a little scatter brained, even more so with those two idiots always arguing in her office,” Sunset said with a smile, patting Twilight lightly on her back. “Just go in the door through the left there.” As Twilight made her way to the door, she could hear Sunset mutter, “She seems so familiar to me…why?”
Shaking away the feeling of doubt growing in her heart, Twilight opened the door, bracing herself for whatever she may find. Inside, she found two groups of ponies, one clad in the garb she had seen the various workers around town dressed in, and the other in armor. In the center was a large oaken desk, and a familiar wall-eyed gray mare sitting behind it.
“We can’t allow the Carnival to continue, Roshan!” the guards to the left said. The spokes-pony was another familiar blonde-maned white unicorn, his face contorted in a mix of rage, concern and disgust at the group before him, the look amplified by the dark blue plate armor he wore around his body and the helmet over his head. “Can’t you remove the wool from your eyes for even a minute and even see the moon above you!? Everyday it draws closer! We need to evacuate!”
“Quit yer bellyachin’ ya little coward!” yelled an enormous dark brown earth stallion in a dark green worker's tunic, clearly not intimidated by the smaller unicorn, his white hair covering his eyes. “That’s just an old mares tale! The moon ain’t fallin’ anytime soon!”
“Are you even listening to yourself!?” the unicorn yelled back. “I know you and your stallions have been working day in and day out for weeks, and for that we are all grateful, but we cannot allow the Carnival to go on in this current environment!”
“What current environment!?” the earth pony yelled back. “Ponyville is fine! We’re running a little behind schedule, sure, but we’ve got everything else up and ready to go!”
“Yes, Ponyville is fine!” the Vice-Captain snapped back. “But what of the other races who were supposed to be in attendance? The maredragoras, griffons, sea-ponies, diamond dogs, and even the dragons have all canceled! The Carnival was meant to be a celebration of all races, not just us ponies!”
“Then tha’s jus too bad for them, now ain’t it!” the Head of the Workers Guild snapped back. “Look Azure, ah have no idea just what tha hell Captain Spark was thinkin when he choose ya as his Vice-Captain, but you two are nothing alike! He would have charged straight forward and gone on with this!”
Twilight could only blink at the copycat of Prince Blueblood argue for the safety and wellbeing of the townsfolk, but made her way to the Mayor, whose wall-eyed expression made it look as if she were watching both at the same time.
Actually, when she looked more into it, Twilight realized that was exactly what she was doing! Trotting up to her, the small maredragora poked the older pegasus, making her look down.
“Oh, hello!” the gray wall-eyed mare said, turning her seat to look down at her and ignore the two bickering ponies on the other side of her desk. “I’m Ditzy Hooves, mayor of Ponyville! How can I help you?”
“Um,” Twilight started, only to get cut off by Blink cutting her off and continuing, “We were told that we’d find something interesting if we came by your office today Miss! Any idea what that could be about?”
Ditzy sighed and looked down, catching her small rimmed glasses in before they hit the floor. “That crazy mail mare again,” she groaned. Looking up, she asked, “I take it she sent you here?” When Twilight nodded, Ditzy sighed again and said, “Well, if you find watching other ponies argue to be interesting, then by all means, stick around. They’ve been going at this for days now…and they never seem to stop.” Looking at the reports on her desk, she put her glasses back on and continued, “For me, I would personally want every-pony to evacuate. But that does mean that my Worker’s Guild will have spent all their resources for nothing though.” Putting her head on the desk, she grumbled, “I could do with a muffin though. For some reason, hearing these two go at it is more draining than actually doing paperwork.”
“I can help you with that,” Twilight said, speaking up before Blink could.
Turning to the small filly, Ditzy asked, “Could you really?” When Twilight nodded, Ditzy’s smile got a bit wider as she went into her desk, producing a bag of bits, handing some to the maredragora. “The bakery is just a few buildings away from here. It’s the one that has a giant pink cupcake as a door. Just tell them the Mayor’s usual and this should be enough to cover it.”
[Twilight got a Bakery Voucher! Use it at the Creamy Cupcake Carousel to get some food.]
Nodding to the mayor, Twilight and Blink walked past the arguing couple and out back onto the streets, where, just as the Mayor claimed it would be, sat a large wooden building with a double door resembling that of a cupcake. Sighing, Twilight walked through, and was greeted by a familiar looking unicorn with an orange mane, a creamy yellow coat and a pie shaped cutie mark. She looked up from her magazine, eyes widening in joy as she leapt forward, scooping up the small filly in her hooves.
“Hey! Wha-!” Twilight started, only to be snuggled by the older unicorn.
“OhmygohIcantbelieveIactuallygettoseeyoulikethisitssoamazingtoseeyousotinyyou’resocuteican’tbeliveyou’resocuteitssounfairiwishiwasthiscuteasafilly!Andtotopitalloffyou’reonsomelittlefetchquestwhichmakesyoulookallthemoreadorable!” the unicorn all but squee’d, swinging from side to side on her two hind legs.
Blink was smirking at the sight, but knew Twilight had had just about enough when she started to look green. Clearing her throat, she said, “As funny as it is to see her being hugged like a plushy, can you put her down? We kinda have an order to fill.”
“Oh of course!” the mare said, putting Twilight down. “Sorry about that; I get sort of excited when I see someone I missed again!”
Her breathing calmed down, Twilight handed her the voucher and said, “But, I don’t even know you! How could you have known me?”
Suddenly pouting, the older mare walked behind the bar and said, “Of course I know you Twilight Sparkle! Don’t you remember all the times you babysat my brother and I when my older cousin couldn’t make it?”
“Eh?” Twilight asked intelligently. Thinking on it, Twilight merely tilted her head in confusion.
Groaning, the unicorn mare said, “Its me, Pumpkin Cake! Sure, I’m older here on Equis, but you should know me all the same!”
Twilight only stood there, letting the information slowly sink in.
“WHAT!?” Twilight yelled. “But, wait, how do you even know who I am!? The Pumpkin Cake on my world is just a foal!”
“I know,” Pumpkin said, smiling.
“That doesn’t explain anything!” Twilight answered back.
“Of course it does!” Pumpkin answered back. “You see, you may not realize it, but we’re all linked. So whatever that Pumpkin Cake knows, so do I. It’s not that hard to understand when you think about it.”
“What?” Twilight asked again, holding her head to stymie an oncoming headache. “That doesn’t answer my-!”
She was cut off when a familiar looking pegasus with a mop of brown hair styled in a cowlick, as well as a creamy white coat and a brown cube shaped block of cake as a cutie mark, flew in, looking agitated. “Pumpkin,” he started, sounding as agitated as he looked. “What did I say about bothering our customers?”
“But I’m not, Pound!” Pumpkin said, pouting. “I just thought I recognized this little filly here!”
Sighing, Pound turned to Twilight, saying, “Please forgive my twin sister. Pumpkin here is a little bit…eccentric, to say in the least.” Offering a hoof, he continued, “You can call me Pound Cake. My sister and I run the Creamy Cupcake Carousel together. Was there anything you needed?”
“Oh yeah, she had this!” Pumpkin said, showing him the voucher.
Taking it, Pound nodded. “Ah, one of her specials again. Sheesh, Azure and Roshan must really be going at each other’s throats again. Don’t worry, I’ll get these in a flash.”
And as soon as he left, he returned in a blink of light, holding up several boxes of muffins.
“Here we are,” he said. “The Mayor’s Special; 20 pounds worth of muffins and other assorted pastries.” Looking down, he asked. “Can you carry all of this? This might be a bit much for you to carry on your own.”
“No need to worry!” said a familiar voice. Turning around, Twilight found the Doctor, smiling in her usual way. “Mayor Ditzy sent me out to help this little filly out. It shouldn’t be that much trouble Pound.”
“Alright then,” the male pegasus said. Wrapping them up tightly so that the boxes wouldn’t break in case they fell, he bade them farewell and sent them on their way.
Outside the shop, the Doctor turned and looked down at Twilight, who could only carry 2 boxes, and said, “So, did you find anything interesting like I said?”
“Well, I learned that Mayor of the town was Ditzy Do, the mail mare of my world,” Twilight said, as the two continued to walk on, the evening sun rays blinking over the town walls. “And that she uses her eye condition to watch two ponies at once, and still be able to react accordingly.”
“There’s that, yes,” the Doctor agreed. “And what did you think of the Mayor’s wife?”
“The Mayor’s…wife?” Twilight asked slowly. Thinking, Twilight’s eyes slowly widened in slow realization, “Wait, Lady Sunset? The analogue of my own mother, Twilight Velvet? SHE’S DITZY’S WIFE!?”
Smiling, she said, “I told you you’d learn something interesting!” lightly giggling at Twilight’s gobsmacked expression, the larger mare took the smaller filly’s boxes. “You look as if you need a rest, Miss Sparkle. Tell you what, I’ll handle the rest, you just go to the inn a few more blocks away catch some shut eye, okay?”
Twilight could only nod dumbly, much to Blink’s amusement, as the two made their way to another wooden structure called the “Royal Living Inn”. Stepping inside, she blinked at the sight of a familiar light pink pony with magenta, violet and pale white streaks through her hair, as well as coincidentally having not only a horn but a set of wings on her back as well, who was standing dutifully behind the counter.
When the familiar pony turned her way, Twilight gulped and walked forward, her hooves shaking with every step she took, the memories of what her world’s Cadence did to her still fresh in her mind.
If this particular Mi Amore Cadenze knew or recognized Twilight, she didn’t show it. Instead, a look of concern washed over face, as she peered over the desk to take a look at the small filly, asking, “Can I help you dear?”
Gulping, Twilight asked, “Um, I, well, do-do you happen to have any rooms open?” Blink even looked down at the filly, wondering what was going on with her.
“I do believe we’re all booked,” the pink alicorn said slowly, pulling over a book and flipping through its pages. “But we do have a no-show for the premium room. Can I have your name please?”
“Its,” Twilight started, swallowing down the lump in her throat. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.”
“Oh, you are miss Twilight Sparkle?” Cadence asked, looking surprised. “Well, you’re just in time Miss Sparkle! We were about to give your room away if you didn’t show up.”
“Wait, I had a reservation here?” Twilight asked, her confusion over-riding her fear and uncertainty.
“So it would seem,” ‘Cadence’ replied. Pulling off a key and a nearby lantern, she said, “If you would follow me, I will show you to your room.” At Blink’s insistence, Twilight followed the older pink alicorn up a flight of stairs and into a rather large and spacious room, very much reminiscing Twilight’s old bedroom back in Equestrian Canterlot.
“Sleep well, Miss Sparkle,” ‘Cadence’ said, setting the lantern down and giving Twilight the key. “I will return in the morning with breakfast.”
As soon as she left, Twilight tore for the bed and immediately wrapped herself in a make-shift cocoon made of the covers.
“Care to explain what that was all about?” Blink asked, sounding concerned.
“Maybe when I’m not so disoriented or confused,” Twilight groaned, trying to bite back tears that were forming.
“So in the morning then?” Blink asked, landing on the bedside table.
“…maybe,” came the small filly’s reply. “Maybe.”