"I thought we might catch up a bit," Sunset Shimmer said.
Twilight stepped back, arms folded, and allowed her former nemesis in. "So...how's it been going?" she asked in a neutral tone.
Sunset sat down and sighed. "I'm trying really hard. I never realized how much everyone here actually hated me until they weren't afraid of me anymore. It hasn't been easy."
"Did you think it would be?" Twilight asked. "You bullied and demeaned and threatened and tormented everyone here for a long time, Sunset. A load of apologies and a rebuilt wall—you did a good job on that, by the way—won't instantly fix years of wrongdoing."
"I know," Sunset said. She frowned. "Wow, you're being a LOT harsher than the day you left, you know that?"
Twilight rolled her eyes. "The Elements don't just affect their target, you know." Shaking her head, she said, "But it's good to know you're trying. And I've said all I'm going to about your past. I don't hold grudges."
Sunset smiled. "I'd almost forgotten how easily ponies from Equestria get over stuff. That's a big difference between here and there."
"Really? Because it seems to me that my friends here forgave you pretty easily."
Sunset looked away. "Yeah, well...you weren't here for the hard part. It was nearly three weeks before any of them would even look at me without any hostility. I'm still not really 'part of the gang'."
"Give it time, Sunset. Friendship isn't easy, but it's the most valuable thing you'll ever have. That's the most important thing Princess Celestia has ever taught me." Twilight shifted. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"When did the other me come to Canterlot High?"
Sunset laughed. "Oh man...that's a great story. I'll never forget the look on her face the day she showed up..."
* * * * *
Shortly after sunrise, the six Canterlot High girls in pony form were roused by the palace guards and summoned to the dining hall. Unlike the previous day, the atmosphere was far less formal, the table smaller and more crowded, and the food, much to Rainbow Dash's relief, more satisfying. The breakfast spread included oat pancakes with plenty of butter and syrup, several kinds of juice, coffee, and—to everypony's delight—freshly made, absolutely delicious cheese omelettes.
It was also a far messier affair, as while the guests had eaten very little the day before (and the princesses had been surreptitiously helping them eat), today they were starving...and having to learn how to eat like ponies.
"You eat eggs and dairy here?" Fluttershy asked as she took dainty bites from her overloaded plate.
"Well, yes," Cadance said. "Why wouldn't we?"
"Um, nothing, no reason," Fluttershy said. "Nevermind."
Cadance laughed. "What, you expected us to eat flowers and grass and hay all the time?"
"Well...maybe?"
"Okay, well, we do eat that stuff, but...we also eat muffins and fruit and cakes and such. There's nothing wrong with eating milk, eggs, and cheese. A little meat once in a while isn't too bad either, but we don't get carried away with that like griffons and such do."
Twilight blinked. "Whoa. Hold up. Ponies...eat meat?"
Cadance made a strange face, tilting her head to the side. "Eeehh...like I said, not often, but every now and then. Just...don't go around asking about it. Nopony really wants to admit it, and the other species like cows might be a little offended by the subject. But eggs and milk and cheese and butter? Everypony eats those things."
Once breakfast was concluded, Spike and Shining Armor led the six mares to the train station. They had mostly gotten the hang of walking on hooves, but this morning presented an additional challenge, for now they bore the saddlebags their counterparts had left behind.
"I'll be going with you girls to Ponyville to help you get settled in," Shining said. "Normally it'd be Cadance doing this, but, well...she can't really afford to leave the Crystal Empire for very long, as much as she wants to."
"Why is that?" Twilight asked.
"Well, she hasn't been ruling it for very long," Shining explained. "Less than a year, in fact. She hasn't quite gotten to the point where she doesn't need to be around all the time for things to run smoothly, like Princess Celestia."
"Do I—I mean, does Pony-Me rule anything?" Twilight asked.
Shining laughed. "Right now, the only thing Twiley rules is the library in Ponyville. I'm pretty sure Princess Celestia wants to give her something to rule, but..." He shrugged. "There's no rush yet. Cadance has been an alicorn for a long time, but only got a kingdom to rule after we got married. Twiley's only been an alicorn for about three moons."
"THREE MOONS?!" the visitors chorused.
"Yep."
* * * * *
A short while after sunrise, Big Macintosh had collected the Equestrians in his huge pickup truck and taken them to the Cakes' coffee shop, where Pinkie Pie seemed to have wasted no time learning her way around the kitchen and was already helping serve the morning customers even as she prepared a special breakfast for her friends. "Nobody seems to want the oat bran muffins, but they taste okay to me," Pinkie had said. "And they go great with these yummy sugary whipped-cream coffee drinks!"
Twilight and her other friends had to resort to force and threats of violence to limit Pinkie Pie to one Giddyup-size coffee beverage, fearing the result of that much caffeine and sugar coursing through her system.
As it was not a school day, Flash Sentry, Sunset Shimmer, and Big Macintosh showed the Equestrians around town.
"Too bad y'all missed th' holidays," Big Mac said as he guided his pickup through the light morning traffic. "It snowed on Christmas mornin' an' everything."
"Christmas? What's that?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Big Mac spared her a glance, keeping a corner of one eye on the road. "Y'all don't got Christmas where y'all come from?"
"No, we don't. What's it about?"
"It's their version of Hearth's Warming Eve," Sunset said. "They all get together and sing songs and decorate a tree and get presents, and there's so many sappy Christmas shows on TV it'll make you want to throw up."
"Oh," Twilight said. "Well, if it happens at the same time every year, we'll be around for the next one. What other holidays are there in this world?"
"Way too many," Sunset said, rolling her eyes. "The only ones you'd really recognize are their version of Hearts And Hooves Day and Nightmare Night. They're actually at about the same time of year as back in Equestria, too."
"Well, at least ONE of us'll have plans for Hearts And Hooves Day," Rainbow Dash said teasingly, poking Twilight with her elbow.
Blushing, Twilight decided a subject change was in order. "You've been awfully quiet, Rarity. What's wrong?"
"Hm? Oh...nothing, really. I'll tell you about it later." Rarity smiled. "It's poor form to have girl talk when there are gentlemen present."
"So did anypony else have a total freakout when they saw their room last night?" Rainbow Dash asked. "There's so much stuff in my room I have no idea what it is, but it all looks so cool and awesome!"
"Where's everypo—I mean everybody stayin'?" Applejack asked. "Ah mean, Ah went home with Big Mac an' Apple Bloom, last Ah saw'a y'all was Principal Celestia drivin' y'all home."
"Well, I'm living in something they call a dormitory," Twilight said. "Rainbow Dash, aren't you in the same building as me?"
"Huh? Oh...yeah, I think so."
"I'm living with the Cakes!" Pinkie said. "Only they don't live in their shop like they do back home. We had like a super-long ten minute drive to work from their house."
"Well, I do live upstairs from the other me's shop, with Sweetie Belle," Rarity said.
"I have an apartment," Fluttershy said. "It's upstairs from a pet store. There's a dumbwaiter elevator that goes right down into the shop."
"It's so weird that only two of you live with your families," Flash Sentry said.
"It is?" Twilight asked.
"Well, yeah. High schoolers still usually live at home unless they're in boarding school or something. Who did you girls live with when you were ponies? Oh, and do ponies have high school too?"
"We have schools, but they're a bit different from here," Twilight said. "They're not as huge, and usually there are only one or two teachers. Well, except for in the big cities like Canterlot..."
"You have a Canterlot?"
"Yes. It's actually the capital of Equestria," Twilight said. "Princess Celestia lives in the castle there."
"Wow." Flash shook his head. "So back to where you all lived as ponies...?"
"Well, in Equestria, all of us are already working for a living, for the most part," Twilight said. "I live in and operate the library in Ponyville, Rarity has her dress shop, Pinkie Pie lives with the Cakes in their sweet shop, Applejack of course lives on her farm with her family, Rainbow Dash has her cloud house that's usually pretty close to Ponyville, and Fluttershy has her own little cottage..."
"Cloud house? Usually?" Flash glanced at the rainbow-maned girl, who laughed and nodded.
"I'm a pegasus back home," she said. "Not many of us live on the ground like Fluttershy. And cloud houses, well...they don't like to stay in one place too long, you know?"
"Eh...heh..." Flash Sentry said, chuckling nervously.
"You know, Pony-You is a pegasus too," Twilight said. "But he's a Royal Guard in the Crystal Empire, so I guess he sleeps in the guardhouse."
"You guess?" Flash asked.
"I uh, don't really know him very well?" Twilight laughed nervously.
"It's gettin' 'round toward lunchtime," Big Macintosh said. "Where's everybody wanna eat?"
* * * * *
"Ugh, I'm stuffed!"
"I'm going to gain ten pounds, maybe twelve, I just know it!"
Six mares, two stallions, one filly, and one dragon were gathered in the living room of the Apple family house. The new arrivals had just had a big lunch which mostly consisted of various apple-based dishes. By the time their train had reached Ponyville, it was already lunchtime, so Shining decided to lead everypony to Sweet Apple Acres first, grab some lunch, then give the new arrivals the tour of Ponyville.
"This is pretty much exactly like home," Applejack said, comfortably spread out on a worn-out old sofa. "Well, except there ain't a TV set."
At Shining Armor's confused look, Twilight quickly explained television. Shining was more bewildered by the time she was finished. "We don't really have anything like that here. Well, I mean, there's movie theaters, but..."
After spending a short while comparing notes on what did and did not exist in Equestria, the group headed out again for the proper tour of Ponyville. This time, Apple Bloom had tagged along to help with the tour.
"Everything's so cozy and cheerful here," Twilight observed. "It's so different from back home..."
"It's certainly very...homey," Rarity said.
Their first stop was Carousel Boutique, where Rarity was promptly beset upon by a disgruntled Opalescence. After a quick look around, Rarity's lips were pressed in a thin line. "Really, this other me...her dress designs are completely gaudy and tacky!"
"There certainly are a lot of precious gemstones on these dresses," Twilight noted. "Pony-Rarity must be pretty wealthy!"
"Nah, she just has magic that helps her find buried gems," Spike said. "Just one of the MANY things I love about her!"
Rarity blinked. "Magic that...finds buried gems?" Her eyes practically lit up. "DO tell..."
Next up was Sugar Cube Corner. None of Pinkie's friends were particularly surprised at how quickly she took to it.
Their next destination was the Golden Oak Library. "This is where Twiley lives," Shining said.
Twilight blinked. "Pony-Me lives in a TREE?!"
"Lives and works," Spike said proudly. "I help her keep the place tidy and organized, and we live upstairs from the library."
It took some time to reach Fluttershy's cottage. "Oh. I'll be living so far away from my friends," Fluttershy said. Spike walked up to the door and knocked. It opened, and a tiny white rabbit poked his head out. Fluttershy gasped. "Angel?!"
The rabbit hopped up to Fluttershy, nose twitching. After studying her, he rolled his eyes and went back inside, slamming the door.
"Um..." Fluttershy said, staring at the closed door.
"So where do I live?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Spike tilted his head. "Your house is usually floating somewhere over the east side of Ponyville this time of year," he said.
The pegasus blinked at him as if he'd just said she lived in a shoe. "Floating? What?"
Shining Armor facehoofed. "Cloud house?"
"Cloud house," Spike nodded.
"Oh boy. That's...going to be a problem."
Twilight frowned, looking back and forth between the two of them. "What's going on?"
"Most pegasi don't live on the ground," Shining explained. "Fluttershy lives on the ground because she has so many animals to care for, and the guard ponies in Canterlot and the Crystal Empire live in the guardhouses because it's required, but pegasi usually live in houses made out of clouds. That float. And don't always stay put."
The six mares' jaws dropped. "That's...crazy," Twilight said.
Shining shrugged. "It's just how pegasi live," he said. "But it might be a while before you can fly, Rainbow Dash, so..." He frowned.
"She can stay with me," Twilight said. "I mean, it looked like that tree had plenty of room."
Rainbow Dash pulled a face. "I dunno...I can't really see myself living in a library..."
"It's pretty much the best option you've got," Spike said.
* * * * *
After much arguing between the three natives, the decision had been made to eat at a place called O'Burger's. Except they didn't actually eat there; Big Macintosh had gone through something he called the "drive-through" and ordered food for the entire group. After a scrawny kid in the window who reminded Twilight of a colt named Pipsqueak handed Big Mac several huge bags of food and two trays with large paper drink cups in them, he'd driven to a nearby park. Flash had helped him spread a huge blanket out on the grass, and the group sat down for a picnic lunch.
"Huh. These aren't hay fries, are they?" Rainbow Dash asked, holding up a soggy, greasy strip of something that was probably a vegetable at some point. "They're too soggy and they taste a little weird."
"Hay fries?" Flash asked. "No, they're made of potatoes, not hay. At least, they're supposed to be. With all the grease, who can really tell?" He handed Dash several packets of ketchup. "Just drown 'em in this, it's better that way."
Fluttershy sniffed the sandwich she had just unwrapped, nose wrinkling. "Um, excuse me, I'm sorry to ask, but...what exactly is this?"
"Oh, they call that a burger," Twilight said, in that tone she used when she wanted someone to be impressed with her knowledge. "I tried two different kinds of those when I was here the last time. The first one didn't taste too different from an alfalfa sandwich, but the second one was like nothing I'd ever had before." She looked down at her own burger and unwrapped it. "I never did find out what was on it, but I liked it."
"Oh, okay." Fluttershy took a bite and chewed. "Oh my. This does taste yummy." After she took another bite and swallowed, she asked, "Flash Sentry, what is this made of?"
"Well, they claim it's beef," Flash said. "That's debatable, but it's SOME kind of meat or another. At least, I hope so."
The six new arrivals froze.
"This is meat?" Twilight asked.
"Yes, it—" Flash trailed off. "Uh-oh. Is this a problem?"
There was a long silence.
Fluttershy took another bite of her burger. She chewed, then swallowed. She looked around at her fellow ponies-turned-human. "Um. I won't say a word about this to anypony in Equestria if you don't."
Sunset Shimmer laughed. "You know, I've been here so long I don't even pay attention to what I'm eating anymore. Take my advice: don't worry about what it's made from. If it tastes good, just eat it."
"I don't even care what this is made of, it's AWESOME," Dash decided before chowing down. "Does all the food here taste like this?"
"God, I hope not!" Flash said, laughing. "O'Burger's actually isn't very good. It's just cheap and fast. Later on, we'll have to show you girls some of the good places to eat."
"If this is what you call not very good," Dash said with her mouth full, "I can't wait to see what you call awesome."
* * * * *
By late afternoon, the new ponies had settled into their new homes, all looking forward to what new surprises the next day would bring. Twilight stood before the stacks in the library, running her hoof across the spines of books as she read their titles. "I'm going to read every book in this entire library if it kills me," she said.
"Meh," Dash said with a bored look. She was sprawled out on a beanbag chair in the corner.
Twilight blinked. "Huh? What's this?" She had discovered a book that had a tag hanging from a cord placed between the pages. "Reserved for Rainbow Dash?"
Rainbow looked up. "Huh?"
"Looks like Pony-Me's holding a book for Pony-You," Twilight said. With difficulty, she pulled it from the shelf with her hoof; it fell to the floor with a soft *whap*. She leaned down and examined the title. "Daring Do and the Gold Mask of Huatalongnametl?" The cover depicted a pegasus who looked similar to Rainbow Dash, except with different coat and mane colors, wearing an explorer's outfit. "Huh. Looks like Pony-You is into adventure novels."
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Yeah? Well...maybe I'll take a peek later. If any version of me likes it, it must be pretty awesome."
* * * * *
As the group had parted ways for the evening, with Sunset showing the girls how to use their phones, and Flash helping Twilight add his number to hers, Twilight sat down on the bed in her dorm room with a happy, tired sigh. She espied the diary sitting on the desk, picked it up, and grabbed a pen from the desk drawer. She still wasn't used to the way one wrote using hands and fingers, but she tried her best, and after an hour of work, she had written a short, mostly legible diary entry.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today I learned how to eat meat. It's tastier than you might think.
I learned a lot of other things too, but writing like this still hurts, so I'll
write it all down later. After all, we're going to be here a long time, so there's
no reason I have to write down everything I'm thinking right now.
Your faithful student,
Princess Twilight Sparkle