//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Same but Different // Story: Midnight Star // by Nebula Star //------------------------------// Midnight Star By Nebula Star Chapter 2: Same but Different *** “Twilight! Twilight!” Slowly the sound of a familiar voice began to bring Twilight back to reality pulling her out of a dreamless sleep. She stirred and slowly opened her eyes. She was back in the library. It was Spike shaking her and calling her name. And her head hurt! She groaned sitting up and putting one hoof to her forehead. Her wings were hanging limply at her sides. “Twilight?” “I'm okay, Spike; I just have a headache,” she said folding her wings. “What happened? Why were you asleep out here on the floor?” He asked sounding concerned. “I think I pushed myself a little to far...” She admitted. “What do you mean? You just stayed up studying too late and fell asleep?” “No, I finished studying not long after you went to bed. Then I tried the spell,” she explained with another groan. “And it knocked you out?” He asked sounding concerned. “No. At least, not a first,” she told him then grinned despite the pain throbbing behind her eyes. “It worked, Spike. It was amazing! I saw and learned so much!” “But then why were you passed out on the floor?” He persisted. “I... well I think I tried to keep the spell going too long and lost control...” Twilight told him sheepishly. “There was just so much to see.” Spike folded his arms across his chest clearly not amused. “You said you were going to be careful!” Twilight winced. “I was, I just; Spike, you should have seen it! The worlds were endless, and every one was different, and we were different too! I mean, I saw one version of me that was as pink as Pinkie Pie!” Spike just continued to glare at her accusingly. Finally Twilight gave in. “Alright, maybe I wasn't as careful as I could have been. I should have paid attention to how tired I was and ended the spell before I lost control,” she admitted and Spike gave a satisfied nod. “Good.” Twilight laughed a little then at herself. “I'm probably the only princess in history to let a baby dragon scold her, but where would I be without you?” That of course brought to mind all the worlds she'd seen where she'd never had Spike by her side. She hadn't really liked any of those possibilities. “Well I'll go make some breakfast then. And I'll see if we have anything to help with your headache.” Twilight winced being reminded of the throbbing pain. “Thanks, Spike. I'll just go get cleaned up.” ~~~ Despite the lingering headache Twilight couldn't help but be excited about all she'd seen and learned with her experiment. All through breakfast she told Spike about the different worlds she had seen and the different versions of herself. Spike listened, but it was clear that he didn't care very much. What did it matter to them what had happened in another world? A little put off by the baby dragon's disinterest. Twilight decided instead to write to Princess Celestia about it. Celestia had said she'd like to hear about what she learned from the experiment if she were successful. So after breakfast she went to the writing desk, laid out a new scroll, and started writing. She only written a couple paragraphs however when she felt something strange. Her headache had faded away during breakfast, but now she felt something else. It was like something brushing against the back of her mind. Twilight paused her writing wondering what the strange feeling could be. Then she felt it again and this time she felt... curiosity? anger? It wasn't coming from her though; it was as if another's thoughts, another's emotions, were just touching the edges of her own consciousness. Focusing her thoughts she tried to isolate the feeling, to locate where it was coming from. To her surprise she felt what seemed to be another consciousness, but it wasn't coming from outside. The second consciousness was inside her; inside her own mind. It shied away from her probing thoughts at first as if it were trying to hide, but then it seemed to realize that it had already been found and let their thoughts connect. 'Hello?' Twilight thought to the other consciousness. Where am I? What happened to me? How did I get here? The thoughts came through strongly and Twilight got the impression that the other consciousness wasn't really scared, but they were demanding answers. 'Relax, I'll try to answer everything; just one second.' Twilight told the other consciousness but at the same time she wasn't sure she had answers. She wanted, however, to talk to them face to face if she could. Twilight glanced toward Spike, who was going about his chores, to make sure he hadn't noticed anything was wrong. Then she closed her eyes as her horn began to glow softly and once again she sent her mind into the Astral plane. As she did though, she gently reached out to the other consciousness and pulled them with her. They resisted at first, but Twilight's reassuring thoughts that everything was alright eventually got through and they both slipped into the Astral Plane. They appeared facing each other and the instant they both opened their eyes they both jumped back startled to see their own face looking back at them. “Who in Tartarus are you!” The other mare demanded taking a defensive posture, seeming to expect a fight. Her voice sounded the same as Twilight's though she spoke with more hostility. She was not identical to Twilight however. Most notably, she wasn't an alicorn. Her coat was a much darker purple, and her mane and tail were nearly black with just a hint of indigo shine. Her mane cut and tail were also more ragged than the strait cut of Twilight's, and the stripes in them were purple and a dark red that matched her eyes. Last of all her cutie mark, while it was the same cluster of stars as Twilight's, the large center star was pitch black and the smaller stars surrounding it were the same red as her eyes. “Easy, it's alright. My name is Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight said holding a hoof up in a halting gesture. The other mare relaxed a little but it was clear she wasn't ready to trust Twilight just yet. “Why do you have my face!?” “I'm not sure...” Twilight started, then she remembered what had happened when she'd lost control of her spell the night before; how she'd felt as if something had entered into her, merging with her, and she began to realize that this other mare was quite likely what she'd felt. If so, then this mare had to be one of the alternate versions of her from another world. “I think... that it's because I'm another version of you,” Twilight told her. “Another version of me!?” “Yes, most likely. I discovered recently that there's not just one world, one Equestria, but countless, perhaps even infinite worlds, each different in some way. Some are almost identical while others would be quite different than your own world or mine,” Twilight explained. “I think we might be versions of each other from different worlds... but I think that I accidentally pulled you into my world.” “But why am I in your head!?” Twilight winced at the other mare's anger. “Whatever happened, it must have merged your soul into me. Your own body is probably still in your world...” She trailed off as she realized what she was saying; realized what would happen to a body with the soul removed. She glared at Twilight a few moments more. “So you killed me,” she said angrily, coming to the same conclusion. Twilight lowered her head in shame feeling a tremor run through her body. “Maybe...” She whispered. Then she looked up at the other mare apologetically. “I'm so sorry! I promise, I'll try to find a way to get you back home. I'll try to fix this...” The other Mare snorted and looked away. “Don't bother.” The reaction was so unexpected Twilight couldn't help but look at her surprised. “Don't you want to get back to your home?” “There's not much for me there anyway, and if my body is dead then sending me back there might really kill me. I'd rather not risk it,” she said and she meant it. She truly didn't care about going back to her own world. “But, don't you have friends? Family?” She turned narrowed eyes on Twilight. “If you're another version of me then don't you already know the answer to that?” She asked venomously. Twilight shook her head. “My world may be quite a bit different than yours. Judging by the differences in our appearance, I'd say they are. So my life is also probably very different than yours.” Twilight opened her wings pointing out one major difference between them besides just their colors. She seemed to have not noticed Twilight's wings before and looked at them seeming somewhat surprised. “You said your name is Twilight Sparkle?” Twilight nodded. “That's not your name is it?” She shook her head. “My name is Midnight Star.” “I'm pleased to meet you, Midnight,” Twilight said with a weak and apologetic smile. “Still, I'm so sorry; this is all my fault.” “What happened?” Midnight asked, though with less hostility than before. “It was an experiment. I wanted to try and see if I could conjure visions of other alternate worlds, and it worked, I saw a great deal of different worlds, but I... I kept the spell going too long and exhausted myself. I lost control of it and I think somehow it linked me to your world and since the spell was made to target other versions of myself, it must have latched onto you and pulled your soul into me, merging us.” She sighed seeming to have understood. “So what is your world like then. Is Discord still ruling Equestria?” Twilight blinked in surprise. “No, Discord hasn't ruled Equestria for more than a thousand years. He tried to take over again a couple years back, but my friends and I defeated him,” Twilight told her. “Then a year ago, we actually released him and managed to convince him to use his magic for the good of Equestria. He's been Working for the Princesses ever since.” Midnight's eyes were wide with shock. “Discord turned good? And what princesses?” “Princess Celestia and Luna; they rule over Equestria, and Princess Cadence rules over the Crystal Empire,” Twilight told her. “You mean Luna isn't Nightmare Moon? And Celestia wasn't banished to the sun?” Twilight hesitated; by the sound of things Midnight's world was quite a bit different than the Equestria Twilight knew. “I think it would be easiest if you give me an overview of your world's history. Then I'll tell you how this world is different,” she said sitting down, then gestured for her to sit as well. Midnight seemed to hesitate but then shrugged and sat across from Twilight. “Not much is known anymore about what my Equestria was like before Luna became Nightmare Moon...” As Midnight began to describe the history of her world, Twilight sat and listened with a growing sense of horror, beginning to understand why Midnight had been so hostile and didn't care about going back. In her world, Discord hadn't appeared in ancient times until around the same time that Luna became Nightmare Moon. The two had then joined forces and defeated Princess Celestia, banishing her to the sun. Afterwards they had turned on each other, each taking control of a part of Equestria and forcing the ponies to fight for them. The resulting war had lasted centuries and ravaged the nation. Finally Nightmare Moon had been forced to surrender to Discord and had been his unwilling second in command for centuries during which time Equestria had suffered in Discord's chaos. Midnight told her about how many of the ponies of Equestria had chosen to live deep in the forests, despite all the monsters that inhabited the wilds. Dealing with the monsters wasn't as bad as living under Discord in chaos. Midnight had been born in one such colony. The dangers of the deep forests, however, took their tole. She described how every day it seemed, somepony else would go missing. She'd lost her father when she was only three years old and then when she was five, her brother had gone out in search of food and never returned. Twilight was almost in tears when she heard this; she couldn't imagine losing Shining in such a way. Midnight on the other hoof was showing no emotion at all. It was clear she had long since numbed herself to the pain. Even so Twilight could tell that she had been hurt deeply. “I'm so sorry...” Twilight said sincerely reaching out a wing to touch her shoulder sympathetically when she had finished telling about her brother. Midnight barely acknowledged the gesture. “About a year later our colony was attacked by a hydra,” she went on her voice even more dead and emotionless. “I watched that hydra swallow my mother.” Twilight gasped bringing a hoof to her mouth. “Midnight... that's... I...” There was no stopping the tears now, but Midnight seemed unaffected by the memory and continued with her story. “I was on my own after that. It was then that I discovered my talent for magic. I began training myself however I could, not just in spells but also in trying to increase my magic's strength. When I began to realize how much potential I had, I pushed myself all the harder. Then, when I believed I was ready, I challenged Nightmare Moon and Discord, and I defeated them.” Despite her tears, Twilight's eyes widened in shock. “You defeated Nightmare Moon and Discord!? By yourself!?” She just looked at Twilight and nodded. She wasn't lying and in fact seemed to wonder why Twilight was so surprised. “That was about three years ago. I've lived in Canterlot since then.” Twilight realized she was done, but still she couldn't help staring at her a few moments more stunned. For her to defeat both Nightmare Moon and Discord at the same time, by herself no less. The sheer power she must be capable of had to be beyond imagining, and she was still just a unicorn. Midnight noticed her stunned expression. “Why are you so surprised. If you're another version of me, you should have the same potential shouldn't you? And you're an alicorn so shouldn't you be even stronger than me?” Twilight thought about it a moment. It was possible. She could have the same potential being just another version of her. But to have that kind or power... Twilight couldn't imagine it. Even Celestia had needed the Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon, and Midnight had defeated both her and Discord at the same time? Giving herself a shake, Twilight finally answered. “I may have the same potential, and you're right, being an Alicorn does boost my magic strength. But I haven't been pushed nearly as hard to develop my talent in magic as it sounds like you were,” Twilight told her, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Alright, so my world is quite a bit different from yours,” Twilight said then set about summarizing the major events of Equestria's history starting with the initial defeat of Discord by Celestia and Luna. Midnight just sat and listened as Twilight told her about how Luna had become Nightmare Moon but had been banished to the moon for a thousand years. That led into her telling Midnight about her own life. How she'd grown up in Canterlot. How she'd become Celestia's personal student. How she'd come to Ponyville and met her friends. She then told Midnight how she and her friends had used the elements of harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon, purifying her and changing her back into Luna. She then told her about when Discord had returned and how she and her friends had again used the Elements to defeat him. She mentioned the attack on the Canterlot by the changeling queen and then finally finished with the reappearance of the Crystal Empire and king Sombra. “Sombra showed up in my world too, but I defeated him easily enough,” Midnight said when Twilight had finished. “So in this world, you have three Princesses?” Twilight grinned a little embarrassed. “Well... actually, I make four.” Midnight looked slightly surprised again. “You're a princess here?” “Yes,” Twilight admitted. “My coronation was just last year. I don't have any real responsibilities right now, but I am a princess.” She looked at Twilight a moment more considering but then seemed to dismiss the matter. “Where exactly is this 'Ponyville'? You said that's where you live” “Oh... I guess with everything that happened in your world, Ponyville was never founded,” Twilight thought out loud. “It's... well here.” Quickly casting a spell she conjured a map of Equestria in the air next to them. “Here it is. Right on the edge of the Everfree forest,” she said pointing to it with her hoof.” “Everfree... that must be where I lived,” she said looking at the expanse of the forest on the map. “Probably. Even in this world the Everfree Forest is dangerous,” Twilight agreed. She watched Midnight a moment. After hearing about her world it was easier to understand why she didn't feel any real need to return there. But still, Twilight found it hard to imagine her having nothing, not even friends, to return to. “Are you sure you don't want me to try and find a way to get you home? I mean, don't you have anypony? Maybe friends you made since you defeated Discord?” Midnight gave her a flat look and shook her head. “I don't have any friends, I've never needed them,” she said, her voice cold and emotionless. It was heartbreaking. She'd suffered so much, and to suffer through it all alone. Twilight reached out her wings, gently touching Midnight's shoulders. “Everypony needs friends, Midnight,” she said softly, tears in her eyes. Midnight seemed slightly surprised by the gesture but still no other emotion entered her expression. Twilight smiled all the same and refolded her wings. “Well, if you're sure you don't want to go back, then I suppose you can stay here for now. Maybe there's a way I could recreate your body here. You could start over.” She shrugged. “Perhaps. This world definitely seems to have more potential than mine.” Twilight smiled and nodded. “Okay then. I'll see if I can find a way.” She sighed and glanced around. “For now though, I guess your stuck in my head. I have to admit, it's a little awkward...” “I'll try not to be a nuisance,” Midnight said simply. Then she looked around as well. “So is this all in your head?” She asked. “No, not really. This is the Astral Plane. I believe it exists somewhere between all the infinite worlds. But only a pony's consciousness, their soul, can enter this realm. I brought us here so we could talk face to face.” “I see.” Just then Twilight felt something from her body back in the real world. Somepony was shaking her shoulder. “Oh, I better get back, Spike has probably noticed I haven't moved in a bit.” “Spike?” “He's my assistant, he's actually a baby dragon. But anyway, I think we should be able to communicate through thought even when we're back in the real world. Maybe you could even see through me what is going on. You are in my head after all.” “I might try it if I get bored,” she said standing. “How do we get back anyway?” “Just relax and let me guide you.” Twilight told her then she closed her eyes and willed herself away from the Astral plane, carefully pulling Midnight's soul with her back into her body in her own world. “Twilight! Twilight! Wake up!” Twilight opened her eyes hearing Spikes voice. “I'm okay, Spike,” she said letting a little annoyance into her voice. “I was just checking something in the Astral Plane,” she told him looking over at him. “You weren't trying that spell again where you?” He asked folding his little arms across his chest. “No I wasn't,” Twilight told him honestly. “Now let me finish my letter then I'll need you to send it for me.” He gave her a stubborn look but finally he turned and went back to cleaning. Turning back to the writing desk herself, Twilight reached her thoughts toward Midnight's soul and let them make contact. 'You alright?' she asked with her thoughts. Of course, Midnight answered as if it were a stupid question. 'Okay, well if it's alright with you, I think it would be best if I keep you secret for now.' That's fine. I guess it would sound kind of crazy; having another pony in your head. Twilight grinned. 'Yeah, just a little. I'll get started on some research as soon as I can. For now I guess, just relax.'