Jot Down thankfully stayed silent the rest of the walk. The rooms they walked by were busy with staff members cleaning and going about their business. Twilight received several looks and smiles, but few ponies stopped to say good morning to her. The maze of corridors they walked through was starting to fit into place as they walked by a large ballroom that Twilight was familiar with: it was the same one used for the Grand Galloping Gala in her memories. They then passed by the main entrance, right where it should be.
If Twilight’s memory of the palace was somewhat accurate, as it was appearing to be, then they were headed for one of the most important rooms in the palace. They approached a large set of lavish double doors engraved with Celestia’s cutie mark that Jot Down opened with her magic. It was the throne room. Or at least, that’s what Twilight would have called it. There was a distinct lack of any sort of throne. A large wooden table sat where the raised platform that held Celestia’s throne should be. The room looked nearly identical to Twilight’s memory in all other aspects, even down to the way the shadows fell across the tile floor.
Celestia was seated behind the wooden table, holding several scrolls in her magic, reading through one while glancing at the others periodically. Jot Down and Twilight quickly made their way over to her, with Jot Down glancing at clipboards brimming with papers. A Princess’s work never seemed to end. “Princess, I have brought Lady Sparkle as requested.”
“Thank you, Jot Down,” the Princess replied without breaking her focus.
Jot Down cleared her throat. “Princess, I am still of the opinion that letting Lady Sparkle recover properly would be best.”
Celestia’s gaze drifted over to the mare, her scrolls slowly floating down to the table. “Thank you, Jot Down.” Her tone was less than friendly. Almost stiffly, Jot Down gave a small bow, and walked off. As soon as the secretary left, Celestia’s mood and tone brightened considerably. “Please, Twilight, come have a seat with me.”
Twilight slowly walked around the table, keeping her gaze on the path in front of her. She could feel Celestia watching her. While not intentionally meant to be imposing, the sensation left a pinprick-sensation across her coat as she traveled the length of the table. Spike jumped from her back suddenly, landing onto the table with a soft thud.
Once she had taken her seat next to Celestia, she spared a glance up towards the seemingly-towering alicorn. Celestia had a small smile on her face as she looked down at Twilight. “Why did you want me here, Celestia? I don’t mind trying to help, of course, but I don’t think I’m qualified for something like this yet. I mean, my memories-”
“--Have nothing to do with your judgement,” Celestia cut her off. “You’re still the same mare that I named Countess of Canterlot. I know you’ll do just fine. All you have to do is listen to the problem, and help me figure out what to do about it. It’s very simple.” Her smile grew. “Besides, I like your company.”
Twilight chuckled nervously. “I’ll try my best, Celestia.”
“That is all I’ve ever asked of you, Twilight.”
Spike picked up one of the scrolls Celestia had been working on, scanning it quickly. “Just relax, Twilight. You’re plenty smart for all this easy political stuff.”
“Spike. Politics isn’t easy, it’s-”
“Equestrian Revised Book of Law. Thirty-Second Edition, Section XII, Article VI, Subsection III,” Spike said, cutting her off.
Twilight remembered the book in question with ease as the knowledge sprung forth. She had read it once when she was younger, cover to cover over the course of two months and memorized it with little effort. “Any intelligent creature who purposefully commits physical, psychological, or magical harm on another intelligent creature inside the Kingdom of Equestria shall be subject to a fair trial presided by a judge of Equestria’s courts’ choosing, in front of a jury of unbiased selected Equestrian citizens.”
Spike crossed his arms. “See? You have all the laws memorized. If it’s not clear cut, just listen to them and use your best judgement. You don’t have to make everypony happy; you just have to do your best. It’s that simple.”
“Really?” Twilight asked, looking back at Celestia.
The alicorn nodded. “Really. I’ll be here to give you my opinion, and together we can come to a decision.” Twilight took a deep breath and nodded once. “Good. With that settled, let us hear the first case!” Celestia called out.
The doors, with hardly any warning, opened and a handful of ponies started to stream into the meeting and taking their seats. Twilight and Celestia sat up straight, calm and collected smiles on their faces as they were greeted. The ponies were very happy to see Twilight up and about.
The hours passed by quickly. Twilight found that more often than not her first instincts were the best option, and only once did Celestia tell Twilight that her suggestion was off-kilter. Spike was also supportive, giving her quick tidbits of history or a change in a certain law whenever Twilight’s memory was off. It was well after dinner by the time the doors closed for the final time.
Celestia yawned and stretched as she stood up. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
Twilight’s head slowly fell forward and made impact with the table, causing Spike to jump up startled at the dull sound that resonated. She groaned. “I never realized how tedious your job was, Celestia.”
“Now that you know; don’t you want to help me more often?” Celestia gave a knowing smile.
Twilight slowly turned her head so she could look up at Celestia, a similar smirk on her face as she spoke with absolutely no sarcasm whatsoever in her tone. “I’d love to.”
With a grin, Celestia grabbed Twilight in her aura and casually flicked her horn upwards. The action lifted the lavender mare and gently placed her between Celestia’s wings. “There. Now, let’s go find some dinner and call it a night.”
“I’m not so tired that I can’t walk,” Twilight objected in protest.
Celetia headed for the door. “Too bad. You stay put, young lady.”
Twilight relaxed, firmly yet softly holding on to Celestia as she walked. It was a bit strange to feel this familiar with the Princess, but Twilight enjoyed it. Her Celestia had always been a mentor or a leader--perhaps even a mother--but... never a friend. She would have never called Celestia her equal.
A sour note drifted through her mind. She actually liked this version of Celestia more than her Celestia. It was almost like she was betraying her Celestia, as silly as it sounded. She wasn’t even sure if her Celestia was real or just a figment of her comatose dreams. Tomorrow she’d start looking into the possibilities of being in an alternate reality.
It was hard to believe that today was only her second full day in this alternate Equestria. That first evening when she awoke in bed seemed like so long ago. She had just accepted that this world was different and somehow that was okay. She knew she should be more upset (maybe even panicking), but she felt safe. Doubly so as she absentmindedly nuzzled one of Celestia’s wings.
Logically, she knew that perhaps it was because she really did belong here. A world without crazy magical adventures and ancient evils. A world where she was a highly respected and powerful member of the government. A world where she was best friends with the immortal Princess, instead of being just another name in a long list of personal students. But she didn’t want to give up without at least doing some research.
First thing tomorrow morning, she would head down to that Academy that Celestia mentioned. They would have a library and she would find anything and everything related to crossing realities. From her own memories, she knew that there were ponies experimenting with such magics; it would be a surprise if they weren’t doing so here. If she couldn’t find anything useful, she’d ask Celestia about any royal archives and work from there.
By the time Twilight had sorted her thoughts and created a detailed schedule for tomorrow, they arrived at the dining room. Celestia levitated Twilight down into her seat. “Thanks, Celestia.”
“Of course, Twilight.” Celestia sat next to Twilight, and requested something quick and warm for dinner. The waiter pony took off for the kitchen.
Twilight glanced around the room, realizing that Spike was missing. “Where’s Spike?”
Celestia smiled. “Spike works very hard to help you. I’m sure he’s in your office preparing all your paperwork and getting everything organized. He can take care of himself.”
“I know he can, but I can’t help but want to baby him. He’ll always be little Spikey to me.” Twilight said, allowing her lips to upturn a bit. After a brief pause, Twilight gathered up the courage to ask Celestia about her day plans. “I was hoping that tomorrow morning I could head to the Academy. I want to do some research.”
Celestia didn’t reply right away. The large, white wings on her back shifted a bit as her face took on a carefully-crafted look that bode no emotion. “On finding out if this is your real home or not?” Twilight nodded. Celestia seemed to hum quietly to herself in thought. “I did say you could go. The ponies at the academy will know you on sight, of course. You might also run into your mother there.”
“If it turns out that it all was just some dream or hallucination while I was in the coma, then I’ll tell my parents about it… But if I really am from some other Equestria, there’s no reason to worry them about it right now. I’ll just have Spike help me make something up if I run into her, I guess.”
“Twilight… If you switched places with my Twilight, what would she be doing right now?”
“If we swapped places there’s a chance she’s still… Asleep,” Twilight said as tactfully as she could. “Spike would alert my friends when she didn’t wake up. They might take me to the hospital, or contact my Princess Celestia. If she did wake up, I know she’ll figure out as quickly as I did that things were wrong, like I did.”
Celestia nodded. “I don’t want to sound cruel, but I do not think that swapping places across worlds is possible. Certainly not without any sign of disturbance.”
Twilight tapped her chin. “Yeah, I suppose you have a point. That time I used Star Swirl’s Time Travel spell, for example. It caused this huge wind and all these bright lights. Not exactly subtle.”
“Time Travel spell? You mean you traveled through time?” Celestia asked, looking rather impressed. Such a spell did not exist, to her knowledge at least.
Twilight looked up, confused for a moment. “Oh, don’t have that one? I can write it out later if you want; it’s pretty complex. One-time use, too. I was visited by a version of myself who looked like she had been in this fierce battle from a week in the future. Due to some misunderstandings I ended up spending the whole week on edge and caused all the bad things myself. Once I had the time travel spell I tried to go back to warn myself that it was all for nothing but…”
“The past you misunderstood, thus completing the loop. Yes, I figured there would be such limitations. You cannot change the past, after all.” Celestia smiled. Was there a tint of sadness, Twilight wondered. It vanished before she could scrutinize it further. “But I would appreciate a copy of that spell for study purposes. If it works, perhaps you can share more spells we don’t have.”
Twilight hummed softly. “What if I’m not from an alternate world after all? Would that mean I invented these spells in my dream?”
“Assuming they work, then yes; you would have. It would not be the first time you’ve invented a spell.” Their conversation was cut off as the waiter pony returned, carrying several plates in his magic. He laid out the dishes, some form of pasta dish that Twilight wasn’t familiar with, and left. “Ahh, smells wonderful,” Celestia commented.
“It does,” Twilight agreed. She tried a small bite to find that it tasted just as good as it smelled.
After a few minutes of quiet eating, Celestia spoke up once more. “Tell me a story from your memories, Twilight. A story about your time with the other me.”
Twilight set down her fork, thinking back through her time with the Princess. After a few moments in contemplation, she finally settled on a good story. “When I was younger, I read that strong unicorns were able to teleport. With my cutie mark meaning magic, and with you as my teacher, I felt sure I would be able to learn how. I pestered you about it for months until you finally gave in. You helped me learn all the theory behind it, all the safety concerns, before you would even let me attempt to cast it.
“I think I teleported a few stride lengths my first time. It seemed so far back then though. When I finished, I fell over panting. It was so hard! You picked up me, tucked me into bed for a nap, and told me how proud you were of me for getting it to work on my first try.” A faint reminiscing look in Twilight’s eyes arose as she sat there in silence. “We practiced together on and off for another two years before I had mastered it. I never forgot that smile you gave me that first time, though.”
When Twilight looked up at Celestia, she found that Celestia had a certain glimmer in her eyes. Was it adoration, or perhaps amusement? Twilight didn’t know as her Royal Highness spoke. “Did your Celestia not tell you how proud she was of you often?”
“She used to say it a lot when I was little. But as I got older her praises became less… Emotional, I guess,” Twilight admitted.
Celestia leaned over and nuzzled Twilight affectionately, just as Twilight frequently did with her friends. “Well, I would like to think I know how she thinks very well, Twilight. And let me tell you that I could not be any more proud of you than I am.”
Twilight couldn’t help but nuzzle back, smiling. “Thank you, Celestia.”
With the mood considerably lighter and more relaxed, they finished their meals with some casual conversation about on goings around Canterlot. Celestia had attended a showing of the world famous Wonderbolts a few months ago, during their latest tour. Twilight’s interest in the Wonderbolts had grown since meeting Rainbow Dash and she was surprised to recognize most of the names Celestia listed off as names that Dash had obsessed over.
The two mares walked down the hallway together, carrying on their conversation. Maids and other ponies moved out of their way, bowing slightly to the two members of the royal court. They arrived at their shared bedroom, something that Twilight still had some questions about but hadn’t yet asked.
Celestia’s magic grabbed the sheets to Twilight’s bed and pulled them up into the air. “Climb in, my little pony.” With a little blush on her face Twilight climbed up onto the giant bed and laid back. The sheets were gently laid down on her, tucking her in snuggly. Celestia leaned down and gave her another affectionate nuzzle. “Sleep well, Twilight.”
The young mare nodded and whispered good night, closing her eyes and drifting off. The long day finally caught up with her and she drifted off to sleep in a matter of moments.