Equestria loved technology.
It was rather startling how quickly the kingdom evolved into a technological powerhouse. In fact, it happened so suddenly that most foals could still remember a time without it. When questioned, most would simply shrug and chalk it up to magic, too awed and excited by the devices before them to question it.
Every household, it seemed, had at least one television and personal computer. Ponies could be seen using cellular phones and laptop computers on a daily basis. Young colts and fillies spent much of their time online or playing video games. Some theorized that it wouldn’t be long at all before much of the population simply refused to leave their homes, preferring to waste away in front of a TV screen or a computer monitor.
One pony who seemed to already be in that state was Twilight Sparkle, Equestria’s newest princess and Ponyville’s librarian. Most of her interactions happened either online or with her dragon assistant Spike acting as a middleman. Most of her waking hours since the sudden advent of technology were spent in the basement of the Golden Oaks Library. All anypony knew—or rather, all she would tell them—was that she was trying to build something. Nopony, not even Spike, knew what it was, as she insisted it was a “surprise,” though he would swear to hearing strange noises coming from whatever she was making.
But nopony could have known that Twilight’s tinkering would soon change the lives of her friends... and threaten more than one world in the process.
“Finally!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she and her friends stood inside the library. “We haven’t seen you for months, Twilight! Whatever this surprise is, it had better be worth that.”
“I’m really sorry about that, everypony,” Twilight confessed. “It’s just that this was something I was very passionate about. I hardly realized it had been that long.”
“What, yer calendar ain’t workin’?” Applejack remarked.
Fluttershy approached Twilight and wrapped her in a hug. “I don’t care how long it’s been. I’m just glad to have my friend back.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “I haven’t gone anywhere. And I’ve been emailing you regularly, haven’t I?”
“It’s hardly the same,” Rarity stated. “It lacks a personal touch. We knew you were situated in your basement, but you still felt so distant!”
“Well, we won’t be having any of that anymore,” Twilight announced, “because my project is finally complete!”
“Ooh! What is it?” Pinkie Pie inquired. “Some kind of supercomputer? A giant virtual reality? A tap-dancing CGI penguin?”
“No, no, and what?” Twilight reeled back, trying to process what was just said. “Look, just come down to the basement and I’ll show you what I’ve spent the last few... months, I guess... working on.”
“Whatever it is,” Rainbow asserted, “for as long as it kept you from us, it had better blow my mind.”
“...yep. Consider my mind blown.”
“Called it!” Pinkie exclaimed. Sure enough, the girls were staring at an absolute behemoth of a supercomputer. The machine had a million lights and buttons that nopony but Twilight could even begin to understand. It was making a hellish racket, and the heat in the basement implied that it had been running all day, if not longer.
“Actually,” Twilight informed them, “I bought that myself. I saved up quite a bit to afford it, but the shop owner practically forced me to pay a discounted price due to my—”
“But if you purchased that monstrous thing,” Rarity asked, “then what were you constructing down here?”
“Well...” Twilight replied, stepping off to the side.
Behind the spot where she once stood was a massive arch styled to look like a horseshoe. It looked large enough for a pony to walk through, and it was attached to the gigantic console by a wide array of wires. To the assembled group of mares, it almost looked like...
“That’s the portal in the Crystal Palace!” Fluttershy cried. “You built another one?”
“I did,” Twilight answered. “Or at least I hope I did.”
“Well,” Rainbow retorted. “That’s my mind blown twice.”
“Can you do that?” Pinkie asked. “Can you be mind-blown twice?”
“Ah think my first question is why,” Applejack stated. “Why’d ya feel the need to build another portal to another dimension?”
“I have friends on the other side,” Twilight admitted. “They’re a lot like you, actually. A lot like you. It’s like... I’m looking into a mirror and seeing a world just like ours in just enough ways, right down to the people in them.”
“My apologies for the interruption,” Rarity interjected, “but if this was for your benefit, why did you show it to all of us?”
Twilight rubbed the back of her neck. “Well... I was kind of hoping to bring you all with me this time.”
Everypony gasped, the look of shock almost universal on all of their faces. Pinkie Pie, however, looked considerably more excited.
Rainbow was the first to break the silence. “Okay, Twilight? I’m gonna need you to stop blowing my mind now.”
“...and take a look at this gauge every once in awhile,” Twilight explained, showing a bewildered Spike the machinations of the electronic behemoth in the basement. “If it goes into the red, I’m afraid the portal might collapse in on itself, and that might not end well for either world.”
“Uh...” Spike stammered. “Can you write all this down for me?”
“Already have!” Twilight beamed, dropping the thickest scroll he’d ever seen into his waiting claws. He immediately collapsed attempting to lift it.
“Thanks...” Spike said groggily.
Twilight giggled, then set her sights on the portal before her. It appeared stable for the moment, and it showed no signs of faltering or collapsing now. She’d asked her friends to reconvene here around now; she knew it was a bit earlier than they were accustomed to, but she planned to spend the bulk of a day on the other side, and she wanted to make the most of it. She’d see her other friends, Flash Sentry, Sunset Shimmer... and everypony else would be there with her this time.
“Twilight...?”
Twilight looked back to Spike, who had a surprising look of worry on his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Well, this is your first time going there without me,” Spike explained. “I just want to make sure you’ll be alright over there.”
“Relax, Spike. We’ll be fine. When the six of us are together, there’s nothing that can come between us.”
“Can you at least pack your tablet or something?” Spike inquired. “You’re going to be worlds away. I’d feel a lot better if I could at least email you to keep in touch.”
Twilight wanted to tell Spike that it wouldn’t work, that there was no way she would be able to communicate across universes using an electronic device like that. There was absolutely no logical way to make it work.
But Spike’s face was picture perfect brotherly concern. He just wanted to look out for her, even though they both knew the world shouldn’t pose any sort of threat. If nothing else, she could grab her tablet out of the desk on the other side of the basement, just to put his mind at ease. Besides, her friends were liable to have something on them; if nothing else, they could keep in touch if they got separated.
“Alright, Spike,” Twilight agreed. “I’ll grab my tablet.” True to her word, she walked across the room to fetch it, finding it right where she’d left it and putting it in her saddlebags.
After she made sure that it was secure, Twilight took another look around the room, nodding her head in satisfaction. “That should be everything!”
The instant she said that, the basement door slammed open. Pinkie Pie burst in, saddlebags at the ready, screaming “Let’s do this!” Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy followed behind her, wearing bags of their own.
“All of my affairs are in order, as you requested,” Rarity stated. “I’ve packed everything I would reasonably need for a day out.”
“I really hope this other world is worth waking up before noon,” Rainbow muttered. “I’m missing out on a great nap right about now.”
“Ah woulda been up anyway,” Applejack replied. “Just had to tell Big Macintosh to cover my workload for the day. Nothin’ too hard.”
“This is just way too exciting!” Pinkie exclaimed. “We get to meet our doubles, we get to see how much nicer Sunset Shimmer is now, we get to meet Twilight’s crush—”
“I thought you dropped that!” Twilight shouted.
“Just one more thing,” Fluttershy interjected. “You’re absolutely sure the portal won’t close on us? We won’t be trapped if we don’t leave in time? I can’t just leave my animals if something like that could happen.”
“I’m positive,” Twilight assured her. “If this portal works like the one in the Crystal Palace, we should have three days, and I told you we won’t even be there for that long. In fact, now that I’ve scienced it up, it could potentially stay open for longer than three days if we needed it to.”
“Did you seriously just use science as a verb?” Rainbow quipped.
“Plus,” Twilight continued, “Spike will be keeping an eye on the machine from this end. I have faith in him, and I’m sure he’ll do a good job.”
“Thanks, Twilight,” Spike stated. “Take care, everypony!” he added, waving goodbye to his friends.
“You too,” Twilight responded. “If everyone’s all set, then... onward, to Canterlot High!”
The six friends stepped into the portal without looking back, none of them noticing that the numbers indicating their destination had altered themselves.
Twilight began to think that this wasn’t the right place.
For one thing, she distinctly remembered that the portal led to right outside Canterlot High. Yet here she lay, flat on her back and staring up at an unusual jungle. The place was unlike that which she remembered, and unlike any she’d ever seen in Equestria. On the surface, it looked to be a normal jungle, but the trees had a strange... lack of presence. Even the sky itself looked off, seeming to have more color and vibrancy to it. She also noted that she was still a pony, even though the alternate world was supposed to transform her into the same species as the other inhabitants. On top of that, when Spike jumped in afterwards, he’d ended up right beside her, but now she couldn’t see any of her friends around her. She was alone, in a place and a world she didn’t recognize.
However, the most telling sign that she hadn’t reached her intended destination was the small, purple, fuzzy creature hopping on top of her chest and shouting “Yay! Twilight Sparkle’s here!”
Twilight immediately started screaming.