I’d been through a lot up until this point. I’d left home, performed forbidden magic, run away from school, and entered the Everfree Forrest, all within a couple of days. Still, I think it’s safe to say that this was unbelievable.
She simple stood in front of me, her defiant facade had crumbled once I used my magic. She didn’t even try to run anymore. Even while I was paralyzed with disbelief, she became completely submissive, like she was a runaway pet. I shook my head to regain my focus.
“I don’t understand, you’re a Thestral? How is that even possible? Your kind hasn’t been seen since the banishment of Nightmare Moon. And you went to the academy?” My barrage of questions actually seemed to put her at ease. She began to stand up taller, and actually looked my in the eye. She still didn’t seem comfortable speaking.
“I’m sorry. I just can’t get over this. I should asked for your name first. I’m Stardust.” She still appeared nervous, but eventually, she worked up enough courage to respond.
“I’m Gemini. You really aren’t here to bring me back?”
“No, I was actually trying to find somepony else. But I have to know, how do you know about the academy? I thought Thestrals guarded Princess Luna’s palace.”
She heaved a deep sigh, which could only mean that a long explanation was inbound. “I used to be a student at the Canterlot Academy. It seemed like a dream come true, until I was picked up by Doctor Chi Chi for a research position.” This was starting to sound awfully familiar. “He had me reading in that dungeon of a library day after day. Eventually I got curious enough to look into the restricted room. I thought it might contain more interesting material than what was normally in the library.”
“What did you find in there?” I had to ask.
“It seemed harmless. I didn’t think it would actually work.”
The suspense was killing me. “But what was it?”
Gemini recoiled slightly, I guess I’d gotten a little excited. “It was labeled ‘Alacorns Only: Spells for Rulers and Royalty’. I found a transracial spell under ‘Transformations’.
“So then, you used to be a unicorn?”
She nodded her head, and a tear began to roll down her cheek. “I was so terrified of what would happened to me, I took the book and ran off here. I tried to find a way to reverse the spell, but eventually I gave up. I’ll be like this until I the end of my days.”
Saying this pony’s life was tragic would be an understatement. I had only created another one of myself, whereas she had changed herself, beyond what normal magic could reverse.
Despite our different conditions, I felt I’d found a kindred spirit in Gemini. It isn’t too often you find another pony in the same situation as you, especially when that situation causes you to run off to the Everfree Forrest.
“It’s not hopeless. We can find a way to help you.”
Gemini looked up, as she wiped more tears from her face. “What are you talking about? I’ve tried everything.”
“Well, you said only alacorns could reverse it, and I’m sure once she knows what happened, Princess Celestia be willing to help you.”
As I said the Princess’s names, Gemini recoiled again. “No! No, I can’t!” She tried to fly away, but I was tired of running, so I grabbed her tail with magic to keep her from running off.
“Nothing bad will happen I promise. Before we can go back though, I need your help.” She stopped struggling and faced me to see what I had to say. “I went into the restricted room too, and I made a duplicate of myself. Now she’s in the forrest, gathering ingredients for an alacornication spell, which could kill somepony! If you help me find her, I swear in Celestia’s name I will find a way to reverse your spell.”
She scoffed at my story, and stared at me with even more spite than before. “That’s your story, huh? Well I don’t buy it. I’m insulted you would even try and relate to me with a story like that. You’re really unbelievable.”
At this point, I got mad. I didn’t feel sorry for this pony anymore. She’d spent so long pitying herself, she’d forgotten how to empathize. I slammed her down on the ground, and stood over her, hoping to change her mood. “Your’s is not the only sob story in the world! I’ve abandoned my future because I’m trying to save a pony’s life. You just chickened out at the thought of facing punishment. So either you help me stop my duplicate, or let a pony get murdered by a deranged clone, am I clear!”
She was frozen. She began to mutter, but it was nonsense. Her cowardice was making my blood boil. I decided she wasn’t worth my time, so I released her, and began forging a new path through the woods.
“Stardust, wait!” I turned around to see Gemini fly towards me from where I’d left her. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I just could believe something like this could happen to somepony else. I’ll help you with whatever you need.”
It raised my spirits to hear her say that. I would have been elated had I not been so tired. “I could use a place to rest.”
“That’s easy enough, follow me.”
It wasn’t a long walk until we arrived at Gemini’s shelter, a treehouse that, while hoof-made, seemed to have withstood the elements quite well. “This is my home. I made it when I finally gave up on reversing the transformation. It’s the best I could do without magic.”
“It’s all I need.” I replied. “Thank you so much.”
I had enough strength to levitate myself to the top, but just barely. It was lucky for me that the bed was only a few steps away from the door. It felt as if it was made out of clouds, which turned out to be entirely accurate. Winged ponies are so lucky.
I immediately collapsed onto it, and felt all of the pain from the past few days leave my body. I hadn’t forgotten why I was there though. For now though, it was time to rest. I’d earned that much, at least.
I was walking. No where in particular, just taking a stroll. All of the pain was gone, so I could’ve kept walking on to infinity. But something made me stop. I realized I was nowhere, just in a void. All was black, and yet I could hold out a hoof and see it clear as day. It seemed so surreal. “I must be in a dream.”
“You’re right, though you could’ve been a bit more imaginative.”
That voice came from nowhere, and yet when I spun my head, I was looking at a mirror image of myself. I was startled, but only for an instant. After that I realized exactly what was going on. It wasn’t really me I was looking at. Since this was my world, I felt more confident, and tried standing up to her. “How did you get into my dreams?”
She didn’t seem intimidated in the slightest. “You really need to may more attention to what you read. Dreamwalking was in that book you took. It’s super easy too. I don’t know why it was reserved for the Princess of the Night.”
I didn’t have time to get into that argument. “Why are you here, then? You don’t need me. You said so yourself.”
“I’m just coming to tell you that I’ve gotten everything I’ve needed. You don’t need to kill yourself chasing me through the forrest anymore.”
I felt relieved, and at the same time, horrified. If she had all that she needed, why was she invading my dreamscape? I tried not to let my despair show. “So you’re just gloating now, is that it?”
“Not at all. You see, the Timberwolf I killed didn’t have just one claw, and Hearts desires do grow on bushes.”
She was leading me on, though I wasn’t sure where to.
“I have enough supplies to perform the spell twice. I’m offering you a chance to join me in immortality.”
I was disgusted at the very thought. Being responsible for a pony’s death by proxy was already unthinkable. How could she even think of doing it twice? “You’re sick! What made you think I would even consider that! If any of this were real, I’d send you up to Nightmare Moon!”
“I don’t have time for idle threats, so think about this more carefully.” She suddenly dropped the mockery, and became very serious. “You’re me, and I’m you, so I’m already inside your head, and I know that you want to know all there is to know about magic.” She was right. That’s why I applied to the academy. “Well, Starswirl the Bearded never learned anything learning what everypony else already knew. He experimented. That’s what I’m doing. I’m just working out the flaws in magic, and trying to find a way to fix them.”
Now she on a different path. “You can’t go and kill ponies just to learn more magic! That’s just evil!”
“Everypony has to make sacrifices. The greater the price, the better the reward. I have to go now. Consider my offer, and think about what I’ve told you.” She turned around and began to walk away, but before she disappeared, she stopped. “Oh, and by the way, I’m outside your window right now. You didn’t do a very good job of hiding.”
That shock was enough to snap me awake. If she knew where I was, then she couldn’t have been very far away. I wasn’t about to let her get away. Not when I had a chance like this.
“Gemini! Wake up! She’s here!”
I could hear her fall out of her bed. For a supposed pony of the night, she wasn’t very active at those hours. Her eyes were barely open when she emerged from her room, while I was frantically stuffing my saddlebags. “Who are you talking about? There’s nopony around here for miles.”
“My duplicate! She I saw her in a dream walk. She know’s I’m here, so she can’t be far away. Now hurry!” Despite the urgency in my voice, all she could manage was to list herself lazily out of bed, like she was getting up for school. She was really a credit to her race.
I decided it wasn't worth waiting for Gemini, and bolted out after my double. She'd already gotten a head start, but I could see the path she'd made through the brush. It was aggravating that she would go out of her way to taunt me, but it would have been infuriating if she had gotten away.
Over logs and under branches, I did my best to keep up. She would only be as athletic as I was, which is to say not very. I could only hope that she would trip and let me catch her, and that I didn’t trip along the way.
Soon though, I was the one feeling winded. I was still aching from trekking yesterday, and I hadn’t exactly had a restful night. I somehow found the strength to push through, and to my astonishment, found myself outside the forrest. It was still dark out, but the moonlight helped me make out duplicate Stardust on the railroad tracks.
She appeared as exhausted as I was, but I wanted to catch her more than she wanted to get away. She turned to face me, still panting from the chase. We couldn’t have been more than 50 feet apart. “Why are you chasing me? What I’m doing has nothing to do with you.”
Even though I was tired, I still had energy to rage. “What you’re doing has everything to do with me!” I had to pause every couple of words. I was beginning to get dizzy. “I made you, and if you kill some pony, then it will be my fault! I won’t let that happen!”
A train’s whistle blew in the distance. Soon, we could hear the engine chugging towards us. My double was somehow still able to levitate herself. “I’m sure White Lightning will appreciate what a responsible mare you are.”
As she finished speaking the trained roared beneath her, at such speed it was merely a blur to me. She dropped onto one of the cars, and was whisked far, far away. Now I knew. She was after Lightning.
I tried to do as she did with the train, but my body had given all there was to give. I had no strength at all. I began to feel a tingle, first in my hooves, then my face, and soon my entire body felt like it was shutting down. She was going to kill my best friend, and all I could do was lay on the ground and cry.
My vision was narrowing to a point, and all of the night sounds were drowned out by an incessant drone. I gave up then. I was content to go to sleep right there and never wake up. It was the punishment I deserved at that point. That was my final thought as I closed my eyes, for what I hoped was the last time.