Twilight Sparkle walked into the base of the statue without slowing, and the surface of it shimmered and flowed around her like water. In an instant, she was gone from sight. The five girls that had befriended her so quickly watched in mute astonishment. Despite everything that had happened so far, seeing someone walk into what appeared to be the base of a solid stone statue was not something you saw everyday.
There was a flash from the moon above them, and in an instant, the changes that the element of magic had wrought on them vanished as if they had never existed. Rainbow Dash fell to the ground, landing painfully on her rear end as her wings disappeared. Applejack and the others felt the sides of their heads and glanced around, but their pony-like ears and extraordinarily long hair was gone as well.
Pinkie's eyes widened and she sprinted for the statue, only to crash into it face first. It was once again as solid as a rock. Only the bouncy party planner's natural resilience kept her from serious injury.
She sat up, then sighed, looking disheartened. "Oh... bummer!"
Fluttershy winced in sympathy, and knelt down next to Pinkie. "Pinkie Pie, are you alright? You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"
Pinkie sighed again. "I just hurt my hope muscle," she said sadly.
"Pinkie, hope isn't a muscle," Applejack corrected with a raised eyebrow.
"You know what I mean," Pinkie said rolling her eyes. "I really hoped I could see Twilight's world! And now I'm sad."
Rainbow Dash turned to look over her own shoulder, already knowing what she would see... or rather, what she wouldn't. "Yeah... that would have been... cool."
Rarity looked over at the athlete with a sad, but understanding smile, not missing where Rainbow's gaze was fixed. "It is indeed quite the shame. But she has her world, and we have our own. Perhaps it's for the best."
Rainbow Dash spun on her angrily. "For the best, what does that mean? We had powers! We could fly! I mean, some of us could... and now...!"
Rarity closed her eyes, then nodded. "I apologize, Rainbow Dash. I only meant that there is nothing we can do about it. We do have each other, after all, and isn't that what's important?"
Rainbow Dash's anger cooled as fast as it had flared to life, and she looked sheepishly at the fashionista. "Yeah... but..."
Applejack patted Rainbow Dash on the back strongly enough to jar the girl a step forward. "That's right, we've got the gang back together again. Twilight fixed our friendship. Can't complain about that now, can you?"
Rainbow frowned. "Of course not, but..."
Applejack raised an eyebrow. "I guess you miss flying, huh?"
Rainbow Dash winced. "Does it show?"
Applejack chuckled softly. "I expect you'd have to have been blind to see how much you loved flying, even if you only had those wings for an hour or so. You were pretty darn good with em too."
Rainbow Dash sighed. "Yeah. It was like... it was like I was born to do it. It was so easy! I felt like I could do ANYTHING!" she shook her head. "It kinda sucks that we don't get to keep our powers now that Twilight's gone."
Rarity looked bemused. "Well, it is probably for the best, my dear. After all... how would you deal with it tomorrow, or the next day, if you and Fluttershy were the only girls in the world with wings? I daresay things might get a bit uncomfortable rather quickly, if news of your transformation got out to the general public," she rolled her eyes. "And knowing this school, pictures of you flying around are already halfway around the planet by now."
Rainbow Dash grimaced. "I don't care about that. Let some government goon just TRY and lock me up or something. I'd have flown circles around them! I bet I could have been a super hero or something!"
"I don't doubt it, Rainbow," Applejack told her diplomatically. "But maybe it is better this way. I doubt Fluttershy would want to go flying around fighting crime, saving people, and dodging bad guys... no offense, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy smiled slightly and shook her head. "None taken... although I suppose saving people might be alright. I could get kitties out of trees so much easier if I could fly..." she sighed. "But I would be too scared to be a super hero. I'm not an athlete like you, Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow Dash considered that, and sighed. "I guess the rest of you would have kind of been in trouble too, if you kept the ears and everything. Cool as they were, it'd be kind of hard to blend in, I guess."
Rarity reached a hand up absently to the side of her head, touching where her pony ears had once been. "They were rather darling... but I expect that their charm would fade quickly if they caused us to become the center of a media circus. And it would be dreadful if someone wanted to... take us away and study us."
"I wouldn't let that happen," Principal Celestia said firmly, walking up to the five friends from behind, then smiled gently as they straightened nervously and exchanged worried glances. "You girls saved us all. I'm not quite sure how, but you five are heroes... although I expect by this time tomorrow most of the student body will dismiss what happened as some kind of mass hallucination."
"Principal Celestia!" Rarity exclaimed a bit belatedly. "I didn't notice you standing there!"
The school principal chuckled girlishly. "Being unnoticed is a handy trick for a school principal. Still, I don't want you five to worry about what might happen, or what might have happened if you kept your powers. I may only be the principal of this school, but I have some pull. I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you girls if I had anything at all to say in the matter, I promise you."
"You don't find any of this at all weird?" Rainbow Dash asked bluntly. "I mean... Twilight being a pony princess from another dimension, or Sunset Shimmer turning into a demon, or us getting powers, and wings, and stuff?"
Celestia smiled brightly and chuckled. "Very weird. But I don't make a habit of denying my own eyes. Everything that happened tonight was very much real, of that I'm quite sure," she gazed at the large statue they were standing next to thoughtfully. "I have heard rumors about this old statue for years. Unusual things have been said to happen around it. I never expected that it was a portal to another dimension, but it does explain some things I've heard."
"It's not one anymore," Pinkie said sadly.
"No," Celestia agreed softly. "And perhaps it will never open again. And yet... it has let something very magical into our lives, if just for a moment. Nothing will ever be quite the same again," she smiled softly, looking a little bit wistful herself, and put a hand on Rainbow Dash's shoulder. "If you ever need to talk... my door is always open," she nodded to the rest of them. "That goes for all of you. I owe you a debt for saving my students," she smiled brighter and winked. "Just don't let it go to your heads, OK?" with a final nod, she turned and walked away. They saw her join her sister, Vice Principal Luna, by the school entrance, then enter the building together.
Most of the other students were nowhere to be seen. Sunset Shimmer, Snips and Snails were all drudging away listlessly at the pile of rubble the fire haired girl had created when she had telekinetically destroyed the school entrance-way.
"Did you notice how Twilight treated the Principal?" Rarity said thoughtfully. "She bowed to her automatically... I wonder if that's the custom where she's from, or if there is something more to it?"
"Maybe Principal Celestia is Princess Celestia where she comes from, and she's her mentor who taught her all about the magic of friendship, and she's all wise and powerful and all knowing and stuff?" Pinkie guessed randomly.
Everyone shot Pinkie a suspicious look. "Another one of your hunches, Pinkie?" Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yup!" Pinkie agreed easily.
"Why do you say that?" Fluttershy asked cautiously. "I mean... why do you think that there is a Principal Celestia in her world? That doesn't seem to make any sense."
"Well... because there's a Twilight Sparkle that lives here in our world, of course!" Pinkie said matter-of-factly. "She lives in the city, with her dog Spike! I met her once a few years ago. I'm PRETTY sure that the Twilight Sparkle I met back then wasn't secretly a pony princess from another dimension. And I'm almost positive her dog couldn't talk." She shrugged. "Of course, I could be wrong. Maybe her Spike can talk too!"
The others were all staring at her now.
"There's another Twilight Sparkle?" Rainbow Dash looked astonished.
"Yupperoni!" Pinkie agreed easily. "She seemed nice, although she was a bit shy. Kind of had her nose in a book all the time, if I remember correctly."
Rainbow Dash held up her hand for silence. "Does that mean that...?" She frowned. "Wait, what does that mean?"
Rarity looked thoughtful. "Perhaps our two worlds are like mirrors. Did you notice how she seemed to know us? How she knew that we were friends, and how she immediately knew that someone else had broken us apart on purpose? Maybe... maybe she's friends with us... other versions of us on the other side."
Applejack blinked. "Ya think?" She scratched her head. "Huh. Ain't that something. So you think there are pony princess versions of all of us then?" She wrinkled her nose. "I don't know if I'd be cut out to be a princess."
Rarity blinked. "Well, I doubt we'd all be princesses on the other side... but wouldn't that be something!" She looked awestruck. "Wearing beautiful dresses... and gorgeous crowns... being waited on hand and foot by handsome men..."
Applejack raised an eyebrow. "You mean handsome colts, I think? Seeing as the folks over there are supposed to be ponies?" she pointed at the side of her head. "Remember the ears? Those were pony ears, if I've ever seen one, and I have. I reckon that has something to do with where that there element thingy came from, and who's supposed to use it. So our other selves, assuming that you're right about this mirror universe stuff, would be ponies... you know, with floppy ears, and with the standing on four hooves and whatnot."
Rarity blinked. "Standing on four hooves? Do you really think so?"
Applejack raised an eyebrow. "You DID see that video of Twilight in the Library, right? If you think about it, her getting used to walking on two legs and having hands and the like would kind of explain a lot about all the trouble she was having."
"That's what she said when she was leaving!" Rainbow Dash pointed out helpfully. "That she'd been walking on two legs and picking stuff up with her hands... like it was weird or something. I think Applejack's right! She really was... is... a pony! You know, with four hooves and all."
Pinkie nodded. "And wings! She's a pony with wings, remember?"
Rainbow Dash blinked. "Ponies with wings? I thought that was just because of her crown thingy."
Applejack looked thoughtful. "I wonder. It sounded like Spike was saying something about her getting used to her wings, like she hadn't had them for a long time. Maybe she has wings only because of her crown?"
Rainbow Dash's shoulders slumped. "Oh. Darn it. I was kinda hoping... I mean, it would be cool if the other me had wings. I mean... if Twilight changed into a human when she came over here, that means..."
"That if we went over there, we'd turn into ponies?" Rarity finished, shuddering slightly. "Oh my... that sounds terribly unpleasant. As tempting as visiting a magical land where I'm a princess..."
"No guarantee of that..." Applejack interjected.
"Where my other self, if she exists, is POSSIBLY a princess," Rarity corrected. "As tempting as visiting such a place may be, becoming a pony during my stay does sound rather awkward."
Applejack looked thoughtful. "I reckon it wouldn't be so bad. I mean, everyone would be ponies there, so it'd be easier to blend right in. It might take some getting used to, running round on four hooves and all, but I reckon it wouldn't be all that bad, for a change. You know, just for a visit."
"Oh, I wish the Portal hadn't closed so quickly!" Pinkie said with a pout. "I really, really wanted to go to Equestria! I bet it would be so much fun! With the ponies, and the princesses, and the magic, and Twilight... and pony versions of all of us! It would be wonderific!"
"It does sound pretty awesome," Rainbow Dash agreed. "Do you think... do you think that, if we met Twilight again, I'd get wings again? I mean... not that it wouldn't be cool just being able to see her some more... but... wouldn't it be cool if we could fly too? Flying is like... the most awesome thing ever!"
Applejack wrinkled her nose. "It was just you and Fluttershy there who got wings, Sugar. I doubt the rest of us would get them... although I reckon it wouldn't be awful to be able to fly. Still... I wonder why you and Fluttershy got wings and the rest of us didn't?"
Fluttershy tried to hide behind her hair. "I didn't mean to get wings... I don't even like flying! I'm scared of heights!"
Rarity blinked. "Interesting. I thought it might because of the magic... obviously Rainbow Dash is a born flier. But if Fluttershy doesn't like flying, then perhaps it wasn't a desire to fly that cause your wings to appear."
Rainbow Dash looked thoughtful, then she grinned slightly, glancing at Rarity with a sly expression. "Maybe me and Fluttershy got wings because we're Princesses over there too... with magical powers and stuff like Twilight... maybe only pony princesses get wings?"
Rarity sagged slightly. "Oh my. I hadn't considered that." She glanced at Rainbow Dash. "I can see dear Fluttershy being a princess... but you? I can't imagine you wearing a crown, or putting up with royal ceremonies, and the like."
Rainbow Dash looked thoughtful. "Well, if it meant I got to fly... I think I kind of understand why other me might like it. Seems like a pretty sweet deal to me. You get to tell everyone what to do... and you can fly! How cool is that?"
Fluttershy looked thoughtful. "I wonder if we'll ever get the chance to find out the truth?"
Pinkie Pie blinked, then glanced back toward the school. "I know. Why don't we just ask her?" she nodded at Sunset Shimmer, who was leaning on a broom, pointing at some debris and ordering Snips and Snails around, like usual. "She's from Equestria, right? I bet she could answer all our questions!"
Rarity looked at Sunset thoughtfully. "We did promise to look out for her. I suppose it wouldn't hurt if we talked to her a bit about her old home... the poor thing must be lonely."
Rainbow Dash snorted. "Lonely my butt. She was trying to take over the place, remember? I don't know why somebody didn't call the police and have her arrested. I mean, she destroyed the front of the school, brainwashed half the students, and, I don't know, was an evil demon that was going to try and take over the world!"
Applejack shrugged sympathetically. "Yeah, but who'd believe all that? I mean, if I hadn't seen it for myself, I'd have found it pretty hard to believe. The police would never buy it. Heck, even if someone caught her on camera, it'd never hold up. Everyone would say it was some kinda trick."
Rainbow Dash grimaced. "Yeah. But WE know the truth."
Applejack smiled. "Sure we do, sugar. And we promised Twilight we'd keep an eye on her. That don't mean we got to trust her or nothing."
Pinkie grinned. "Come on. I bet you we can make a good friend out of her! And she can tell us all about Equestria! I bet she even knows how to get there!"
"If it's possible...." Applejack said doubtfully. "But I'm game. At the least, I'd like to hear more about the place Twilight came from, even if it's from a snake like Sunset Shimmer."
Rarity nodded. "It's settled then. Now the question is, how do we approach her? I doubt she'll just tell us everything about the other world just because we ask nicely."
Pinkie Pie shrugged. "Only one way to find out!" Immediately, she started walking confidently over toward the fire haired girl, her face breaking into a wide grin.
Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity all started to speak up to stop her at the same time, their protests dying in their throats all at once as they realized the impossibility of getting Pinkie not to try and make friends. Instead, they took off after her, hoping their irrepressible friend would somehow pull off the miracle of befriending the notoriously difficult Sunset Shimmer, despite their fears.