//------------------------------//
// The Twin Dilemma 
// Story: Equestria Girls: The Edge of Destruction 
// by Sidral Mundet 
//------------------------------//


The Twin Dilemma


EQG Rarity will now be called Rare

Shy began to stir.  She realized she was lying in a bed and had a blindfold on. “Uhhhh,” she muttered.

“Fluttershy, how are you feeling?” RD said to her.

“Who turned out the lights?” Shy asked in a tired tone to anyone in the room.

“You’re in the hospital, you bumped your head.  The blindfold is to help in case your light sensitive right now, at least that’s what the doctor said,” Rare replied.

“Once again, how are you feeling?” RD asked.

“Oh,” Shy began, “Dazed and confused, but otherwise fine.”

“Anything else?” Rare responded.

“Well, it feels like I’m missing my fingers, and then I had a strange dream where-,” Shy stopped herself. “I’m still a pony, aren’t I?”

“Ehyup,” RD replied.  

“We met our doubles?” Shy asked with a deadpan tone.

“Ehyup,” RD said again.

“Are they here with us?” Shy asked.

“Well only two of them,” Rare replied.

“The universe didn’t explode?” Shy said.

“Nope,” RD replied.

“Oh thank God.” Shy sat up in the bed and removed her blindfold.  In the room she noticed the four other ponies in the room.

Soon, another pony entered the room, with a stethoscope around his neck, clearly a medical examiner.

“Ah, I see you’re awake now,” he said looking over Shy.

“Uh,” Shy said looking awkwardly at the other ponies in the room.

“Oh I know all about you,” he said.

“You do!?” Shy responded.

“I must say that is an impressive costume you have there.  Must have magically altered your coat, can’t seem to get the stuff off.” The doctor said.

“Oh, right,” Shy said, “So, what’s up doc? How am I?”

“You’ll make a full recovery,” the doctor said, “Just a minor bump to the head.  I’d take it easy for a while, but you’re free to go.  Now if you’ll excuse me I have a rather annoying patient in the next room. The other examiner claims that he has two hearts.”  The doctor rolled his eyes and left the room.

“How long was I out?” Shy said turning towards the others.

“Only an hour, Dear,” Rare replied.

“Where are the others?” Shy asked.

“Twilight and the rest decided to go check out the mirror,” Applejack said.

“Yeah, that way we don’t have anyone asking unnecessary questions.” RD said.

“And how is everyone getting along?” Shy said uneasily.

“Everypony’s getting along like fava beans and chianti,” Pinkie Pie said smiling.

“And you’re not freaked out by the appearance of trans-dimensional versions of yourselves?” Shy asked Applejack and Pinkie Pie.

“Not really, sugarcube,” Applejack replied, “Twilight told us all about you when she returned from your world.”

“Kind of wish she told us that,” RD mumbled to no one.

Not hearing the comment, Pinkie Pie began to speak, “Yeah, you guys are nothing compared to the time there were hundreds of me, I mean I didn’t even know which me was me.”

“And what happened to them?” Shy asked inquisitively.

“Complete genocide,” Pinkie Pie said smiling without a tone of remorse or regret.

“WHAT!?” Rare, RD and Shy all yelled.

“Pinkie,” Applejack facehoofed and turned her attention to the others, “Listen, it wasn’t like that.  Pinkie used a magic cloning pond to create doubles of herself, all magic based, so they were livin’ to begin with.”

“And besides they were all crazy,” Pinkie Pie said, “So you know they were crazy if I couldn’t bear them.”

“Don’t ever mention that again,” Rare said, now facing Shy, “Fluttershy, do you think you can walk?”

“Yes, I think so,” Fluttershy got out of bed. “Where to?” She questioned Applejack and Pinkie Pie.

“Come on y’all, this way,” Applejack said leading them out of the infirmary and down the hall.





“All this equipment is useless,” Twilight said, tossing aside a gyroscope. “It’s all a thousand years out of date.”

The group of ponies surrounding her looked on. “Pinkie, you said that you hit the portal open on the other side, right?”

“Yes siry,” Pink replied.

“And it was still open when you came through, correct?” Twilight said.

“Ah reckon so,” AJ replied.

“So then it’s only a matter of opening the portal on this side,” Twilight mused to herself. 

Rainbow Dash approached Twilight and began to whisper to her, “How are you feeling Twi?”

“Oh, just great,” Twilight responded, twitching slightly, “Actually, I feel kind of odd.  I think my emotions are canceling one another and I’m left with this calm that I’m kind of just running with.

“What emotions?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Well, I’m really glad to see my friends from that other world,” Twilight replied, “And then I’m terrified by what Princess Celestia said about multiple ponies- people- whatever’s crossing through the portal.”

“You don’t think they were right about the whole destruction of the universe thing?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“No, I don’t think anything major could happen,” Twilight said twitching again. “But you know, flood, fire, plague, cosmic wars, minor stuff like that.”

“Any progress,” Applejack asked as the group from the hospital entered the room.

“Only bits and pieces,” Twilight responded, “If I only had my lab equipment, I could run a full diagnostic on this mirror.”

“Well what do you know so far, princess?” RD said in a slightly annoyed tone.

“That kind of tone is going to get us anywhere Rainbow,” Rare replied.

“Whatever,” RD said grumpily.

“Well, from what I’ve been able to piece together from both Pinkie Pies,” Twilight pointed at the mirror. “And from my own experience through it, I think I have a way to send you guys back.”

“That’s awesome,” RD said excitedly,” So what’s the plan?”

“Since it appears that the moon opens this portal, we’re going to wait for the full Moon, pump this mirror with electricity and send you back to your world,” Twilight concluded.

“We’re just going to wait for a full Moon?” RD asked. “And just how long will that be?” She asked annoyed.

“Well, once we get back to Ponyville,” The name seemed to get a short laugh out of the inter-dimensional travelers, but Twilight continued on, “We’ll get Spike to send a letter to have Princess Luna bring forth a full Moon as soon as possible.”

“Princess Luna?” Talk about a promotion,” Rare whispered to RD.

“Hold on a minute,” AJ replied, “There’s a princess here who can control the Moon?”

“Why, yes, doesn’t someone do that in your world?” Twilight asked.

“No, not really.” RD replied.

“Well at least you have someone to control the Sun, right?” Twilight said.

“No, we don’t have one of those either, silly,” Pink replied.

“Really, then how does the sun rise and set?” Twilight was now curious.

“Gravity and the Earth’s rotation,” Shy responded.

“And just what is gravity?” Rainbow Dash injected.

“Well, it’s a fundamental force in which objects with mass will be attached to one another, and it gives us weight.” Shy hid behind her hair after saying this.

“As fascinating as a discussion on other worldly physics may be,” Rarity said, with a hint of sarcasm, “I do believe you said something about Ponyville Twilight.”

“Yes,” Twilight responded. “Spike is there right now and we need him to send a message to the princess.  We also need my lab equipment to set up the electrical circuits that will activate the mirror.”

“And just how are we going to smuggle a giant mirror out of the castle?” Rare asked.

“Let’s just say being a princess has its perks,” Twilight said coyly.

“And just what does that mean,” Applejack asked suspiciously.

“I asked some the guards to help me move it to the train station,” Twilight said sheepishly.

“Well then we better get out of here,” AJ said, “Unless we want to explain why there are two of us here.”

“The train doesn’t leave for another three hours, so we’ve got some time,” Twilight replied. “We probably should get something to eat before we leave.”

Noticing their guts for the first time, the group of inter-dimensional travelers realized they hadn’t eaten for some time.

“Yeah, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea,” RD said. “I could really go for some bacon right about now.”

“Bacon?” Fluttershy asked.

RD realized what Fluttershy had just asked. “Please tell me you guys have bacon!”

“Uh, probably not,” Shy replied, “They’re horses, remember.”

“Yeah their diets are completely vegetarian,” Pink said, and then thought to herself for a moment. “I should use that in a song one of these days.”

“But… but bacon is awesome!” RD began to pout.

“Aw quit your cryin’,” AJ said “Free food is free food.”

“Yes, I do believe you are being quite rude to our hosts, Rainbow,” Rare inputted.

“Fine,” RD said. “Let’s eat,” She said with a defeatist tone.  The group left the closet.





In the main dining room.

“This is definitely one of the perks about being a princess,” Twilight said, leading the others into the room.

The dining room was similar in style to the throne room; expect instead of a rug and throne, there was a large table and chairs surrounding it.  The table looked like it could seat a hundred or so.  The first third of the table was covered in fruits, breads, vegetables, and flowers, more than enough food for the eleven ponies.

“Will Shining Armor or Princess Cadence be joining us?” Rarity asked.

“No.  Cadence is still presiding over the games and Shining got called up north to the ice border,” Twilight replied.

“Don’t you think we may not want too many people knowing about us?” RD said.

“I think we can trust my brother and foal sitter slash sister-in-law,” Twilight said, “And besides, this part of the castle is closed off for the time being.”

“And if you look to your right, you’ll see the rather impressive neo-gothic architecture this castle is well known for,” A tour guide said, walking down the hall next to the dining room.

Twilight instantly closed the doors.  “Oops!” she said, facing the others with a guilty smile.  The others rolled their eyes and sat down.

The main universe group had taken their seats.  However, the group of travelers were having a much more difficult time.
“Ok, just where do Ah put this?” AJ said, trying to maneuver her tail though the chair.

“Just throw it around, like this,” Applejack said, motioning her tail to her side.  AJ mimicked her movements, however her motions were less controlled than her counterpart's.

“Ah reckon you never dealt with a tail before?” Applejack asked.

“Didn’t have one until a few hours ago,” AJ replied.

“Ah can’t imagine myself without one,” Applejack said.

“It’s different biology, okay.  Now can we just eat?” RD interjected.

The group soon started to pass around the food and fill their plates.  However, the group of inter-dimensional travelers noticed something was missing, except for Pink.  She and her opposite had discovered several gallons of chocolate milk and were having a drinking contest between the two of them.

“How are we supposed to eat this?” AJ said, noticing the lack of silverware.

“Like this,” Rainbow Dash said, tearing wildly at her plate, similar to how a polar bear clubs a seal before eating it.

“Really?” Applejack replied before gently grazing at her plate.

“I agree, that’s barbaric,” Rarity chimed, lifting a small apple wedge in a blue magical field, taking a bite of it.

“How are you doing that?” Rare asked.

“Oh it’s just a simple levitation spell,” Rarity replied. “Why don’t you try?”

“How am I supposed to do that?” Rare responded.

“Just uses your horn dear,” Rarity said.

“Oh, right,” Rare uneasily, “And how do I do that?”

“Just use your magic,” Rarity replied.

“Magic?” Rare said. “And just how do I use magic?”

“They don’t have magic where she’s from, Rarity,” Twilight responded as both looked up at her. “Well except maybe for those bright, bigger on the inside encyclopedias.”

“Well then, we must teach you,” Rarity said to Rare. “First, you must feel the magic between you and the apple.”

“So it’s basically the Force,” RD commented.

“The Force?  I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Rarity replied.

“You know, the Force.  From Star Wars.” RD said.

“Star Wars?  Never heard of it.” Rarity said.

“WHAT?” Shy said, “You’ve never seen Star Wars?” Rarity nodded.  “And the rest of you?” Shy said to the other ponies, who agreed with Rarity.  “But it’s one of the greatest movie sagas EVER!  It’s one of the best things in existence.”

“Even the prequels?” RD said, trying to irritate Shy.  

It worked all too well.  Shy shot a look at RD that would make The Stare look like a mercy, “We don’t talk about the prequels.”  She soon returned to her normal posture, while RD was curled on the floor.  “If only I had the video with me, I could show you how awesome it is.” Shy said saddened.

“Ah’d like to see their reaction to Empire,” AJ whispered to Rare.

“Here you go Shy,” Pink said, handing over three movie wheel film canisters to Shy.

“Uh, Pinkie, where did you get these?” Shy replied.

“Inter-dimensional pocket, remember?” Pink said.

“I mean how did you get them?” Shy asked.

“Oh, I just found them lying around,” Pink said walking over to a window.  She opened the window and chucked what looked like a pair of goggles and a map labeled Skywalker Ranch out of it.

“Would y’all just sit down and eat,” AJ said, “We can watch the movie later, but first we got to catch a train.”

“Yeah, and no movie can be as awesome as I am,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Now with that out of the way, someone help me with this,” AJ said holding an unpeeled orange.

After helping AJ with the orange, and giving both AJ and Applejack some teasing about it, the group ate relatively quickly.  Making sure the coast was clear the group made their way to the train station.  They had decided to head out in two groups so as not to draw attention to themselves, each group only having one version of each pony.  They were soon on the train and had found an empty sleeper car and soon were on their way back to Ponyville.


Next Time: The Vistiation