It was a rubbish day in Canterlot. Oh, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, fiddle-dee-dee; but it was also the day before exams, and Twahlaht Sporkle wanted nothing to do with the high-pressure atmosphere at the moment.
She was tired of the look of disappointment in Luna's eyes whenever she flubbed a basic spell. She couldn't help it; her talent was, for lack of a better term, spork magic. She could turn things into food-- specifically, food that could be easily eaten with a spork-- with such ease that, in an unheard of turn of events, her horn had actually changed to a spork at the moment she got her cutie mark. However, other magic had always, and would continue to be, such an amazing effort as to not be worth it, at least in her mind.
In the Princess's mind, however, the physical changes that the discovery of Twahlaht's special talent had wrought indicated that the young filly must be very special indeed; upon learning of them, she had sent immediately for Twahlaht to be enrolled in Luna's magic school. And despite failure after disappointing failure of whatever results she had hoped for to be achieved, the Princess had taken Twahlaht under her wing, in order to help her reach her full potential.
"Well, so much for my 'potential'," Twah muttered, kicking a stone spitefully out of her way as she made her way through the woods, to her special "hiding from duties" place. So much for her potential indeed. When she tried transformation spells, she was as likely to turn a cup into a bird as a bowl. The last thing she'd tried to levitate had, instead, crashed to the floor hard enough to leave a crater in the stones. Her mustache spell had left her pet chameleon hirsute for a week (and he still needed a touch-up shave once in a while). She had no friends; rumors had quickly spread that, unless you wanted your belongings turned to creamed corn or pudding, Twahlaht Sporkle was simply a hazard to be around.
She wended her way through the quiet woods, down a sun-dappled path (little more than a slightly-more-heavily trodden track through the trees) that only she knew about, until she reached a clearing. This was "her" place, the place she went when her duties as Luna's pupil became too heavy a burden to deal with. Strewn with wildflowers, grass up to her knees, the tiny glade was perfect for flopping down and getting lost in her thoughts.
Today, however, something seemed out of place. It took her a moment to figure it out, but in short order she noticed a faint shimmer on the other side of the clearing. Cautiously, she walked over to it and gave it a sniff and a once-over.
Magic, obviously. But of what sort? Nothing in her erratic study methods had turned up anything like this. It appeared to be some sort of portal, but the peculiar way it was shimmering made it impossible to clearly see where it led.
It would be foolhardy and dangerous for her to go through the portal, not knowing where it came out, she told herself. She could end up in the back of beyond, surrounded by feral creatures, or in an unfriendly town where she could be hurt or killed.
She realized with a start that the portal was getting smaller. Not very fast, but fast enough that further examinaton would be impossible in just a couple of minutes. And, she admitted to herself, it would be impossible for her to fit through it safely in less than thirty seconds.
Sheer impulsiveness and driving curiosity led her, with barely a hesitation, to the conclusion that she couldn't let this opportunity pass. "After all," she said as she leaped through, "it's got to be better than exams."
*****
The portal flung her onto her side hard enough to knock the breath from her. ""Ohhh, ouch!" she cried, tears brimming in her eyes at the shock of it.
She lay still for a minute or two, trying to regain her breath and her composure. At least no one had seen. Finally, she sat up, and looked around her at... a clearing. Her clearing, in fact. As she watched, the portal dwindled down to a pinhole, then vanished. "Well, that was a bust," she said in disgust, climbing warily to her feet.
Suddenly, she realized she heard a commotion not far from her, in the direction the castle lay. "It came from over here!" called a stallion, followed swiftly by the sound of hoofbeats coming toward her. She cringed down. "Boy, I'm in trouble now," she muttered.
Moments later, two guards burst into the clearing. Upon seeing her, they stopped and stared. "Miss Sparkle?" one of them asked in a bewildered tone. "What are you doing out here?"
"There was a dangerous spell detected in this area," added his companion in an off-handed tone. "Don't know what kind... but you could be in danger if you stick around here."
"Miss Sparkle! Your horn!" gasped the first. "We have to take you to the Princess, immediately!"
Twahlaht didn't even have time to get a word in edgewise as the guards hustled her out of the woods. "Hang on just a second," she finally cried as they reached the edge of the palace grounds. "What do you mean, my horn? What's wrong with it? And why do you keep calling me Miss Sparkle?"
"Worse than I feared," muttered one of them. The other stopped and looked her in the eyes. "Your name is Twilight Sparkle," he said slowly, placing his hoof gently on her shoulder. "You've been in some sort of accident, and we're taking you to someone who can take care of you."
She shook him off, angrily. "Since you must be new around here, my name is Twahlaht Sporkle," she said, pronouncing it with the same insulting slowness he'd used on her. "All I did was fall down like a clumsy idiot, and I don't need to be 'taken care of'." She began marching towards the castle, any good mood she'd managed to muster completely evaporated. The guards exchanged a look behind her back, and followed her.
She was in such a lather as she entered the palace that, at first, she didn't notice little things that were not the same as she was used to. She halted in her tracks, however, as she saw a large sun banner where once a banner of the moon had hung. "What the hay is this?" she asked one of her handlers. "Did I miss an announcement of some kind? Is the Mare in the Moon coming back or something?" Her joke was half-hearted; everyone knew that Luna had banished her sister to the moon a thousand years ago, for hubris. She highly doubted Celestia would be coming back any time soon.
The guards exchanged another look. "Please come with us, Miss... uh... Sporkle," one said, and they began leading her to Princess Luna's chambers.
Creeping doubt began filling Twahlaht as she continued to take in her surroundings. Nothing looked quite the same as she remembered it being when she'd left not even an hour ago. And those doubts turned to lead in her stomach as they stopped before doors emblazoned with the sun-- not the crescent moon to which she was accustomed-- and knocked.
"Come in," called a gentle but urgent voice-- an unfamiliar voice. As the guards opened the doors, the voice continued, "What news of the magic in the forest? It seems to have stopped, but--"
Twahlaht gasped as the owner of the voice entered her field of view. An alicorn-- larger even then her own Princess and teacher-- stood before her. A golden sun lay emblazoned upon the blinding white field of her flank, and stars danced in her pastel-hued hair.
Twah's gasp was echoed by this strange Princess. One of the guards hastened to explain, "We found Miss Sparkle in the woods, near where the magic was detected."
"That's impossible!" cried the alicorn. "I just saw Twilight Sparkle in the library, with Spike and her friend Pinkie Pie. They were looking for some kind of spell." She turned her great, rose-colored eyes upon Twahlaht. "That is not Twilight Sparkle," she said heavily.
The world began to spin before Twahlaht's eyes, then narrow to a pinpoint. She realized she was fainting, and gave into it gratefully.
*****
When she came to, she opened her eyes with great reluctance. She gazed around at what she could only assume was this world's equivalent of her own room. She rolled onto her side to fully take in the changes.
Where she was accustomed to seeing her toys (an extensive, shelved collection of which she was simultaneously fiercely proud and somewhat ashamed), there was, instead, a bookshelf, crammed with boring-looking tomes of a variety of sizes. Rather than her own autographed Wonderbolts poster, there was a chart of various spells and their components-- somewhat worn, as though it had often been taken down, perused, and then lovingly put back in its place. In place of her room's usual slight air of disorder, this room had an air of rather determined tidiness; you could tell this was the bedroom of someone who never suffered a dustbunny to live under the bed.
Twah rolled her eyes, sighed, and lay back, thinking hard. It was clear what had happened, of course; the portal had obviously been one to-- to another dimension or something. Some bizarre facsimile of her own world, where Luna was not in charge and where Twah herself had some neatnik, bookworm counterpart.
No matter what, this wasn't going to be pleasant. Best case scenario, she'd come to a world where she'd be looked upon as some aberration, a doppelganger, a freak. Worst case scenario, she could be killed by those in power for being somehow connected to whatever magic had caused the rip in the fabric of reality. Either way, she had no home here, no family, no oft-exasperated but still loving tutor. She was a stranger here.
At this thought, her eyes brimmed with tears. If even the Princess herself had seemed puzzled about the nature of the magic in the woods, the odds that she'd ever get home seemed dwindle the more she considered them. She was stuck here, and so she might as well try to figure out how to make the best of things.
With that, she sat up, dashed the tears from her eyes crossly, and, with great determination, got out of bed. At least she hadn't been imprisoned, she thought hopefully; and there was what appeared to be a hot meal steaming enticingly on the desk.
She walked over and examined the tray. The fact that the sweetened oatmeal was still quite hot indicated to her that it must be breakfast time. Her spork glowed with magic as she checked for whether the food had been drugged; it seemed free of both magic and more mundane substances, other than honey and oats. Although she was less good with liquids, she gave the glass of milk a once-over as well; as far as she could tell, it was also clean.
No other examination seemed necessary. She was hungry, the food looked and smelled wonderful, and it was the first thing in this world that seemed to be exactly what it was supposed to be. She tucked in without any further ado.
Several minutes (and one window-rattling belch) later, she sighed contentedly, gave the empty bowl a last longing swipe with her tongue, and looked around once more. Now that she had a fortifying meal in her, it seemed best that she take the minotaur by the horns and start the process of settling into this world for the long haul. She walked to the door, took a deep breath, and opened it to find...
...the grey backsides of a pair of guards blocking the doorway. Wrinkling her nose at this less-than-welcome surprise (though, upon further thought, it really shouldn't have surprised her), she cleared her throat meaningfully. "Um, hello. Should I take this to mean I can't go anywhere?"
The guard to her left let out a whinny as he jumped about three feet in the air; since she hadn't taken any pains to be particularly quiet, she marked him as one likely to drift off on the job. The other, rolling his eyes, looked at her. "Not at all, miss. In fact, we're under orders to take you to Princess Celestia as soon as you have your bearings. Would you care to accompany us now, miss?"
Her worst fear. She had had her suspicions, what with the blazing suns everywhere-- including the Princess's flank-- but she still shuddered to think of it. Princess Celestia! The Mare in the Moon! She couldn't bear to think about what sort of horrible things the Princess likely had planned for her. Experiments, maybe. Knives and hot tongs, maybe. She attempted to keep her composure by reminding herself that, had that been foremost in Celestia's mind, Twah probably wouldn't have found herself in a comfortably appointed bedroom upon awakening.
She let out a puff of hot, nervous breath, and said, "All right, let's go."
The guards led her along a route she knew well, and her eyes noted various changes, both small and large, with a feeling of nostalgia. Wall sconces rather than candelabra on tables; different tapestries; carpet runners where there ought to have been bare stone, and vice versa. And, of course, images of shimmering, golden suns, everywhere. The closer they got to the throne room, the more small and cringey Twah felt. Her home, gone! Gone as though it had never existed, and her fate in the hooves of the most feared mare in Equestrian history. Twah was an avid reader of horror novels, and her mind helpfully supplied a variety of horrible fates that could potentially be awaiting her.
Too soon, they stood before the heavy throne room doors. The more alert of the guards knocked briskly. Bracing herself for a booming voice out of nightmare, she found herself unreasonably calmed to hear the same firm but gentle voice from earlier call, "Enter."
The guards swung the doors open. "The visitor, Your Highness," said the daydreaming guard-- politely, but with no fear.
"Come in, my little pony," said Celestia gently to the cringing young mare. "Let me have a look at you."
Twahlaht walked slowly in, looking around her. The throne room was as warm and inviting as she remembered it being, though it differed in every detail. Perhaps, she dared to hope, she wasn't about to have dreadfully interesting things done to her. Her eyes finally settled on the dais, where sat Celestia, Luna (to her great relief and surprise-- apparently in this world the Princesses had worked out their differences), and... herself!
Of course, she instantly realized that it wasn't her, per se. But aside from having a normal horn (of which Twah was simultaneously jealous and a bit smug) a slightly unkempt hairdo, a scar and an eyepatch, as though she'd been in the wars, this was her exact duplicate, right down to...
Well, no. Not right down to the cutie mark, she realized. Where she herself had a pink spork, this new version of her had a pink star. How interesting!
She was brought out of her own thoughts abruptly as Celestia said, "May we ask your name, and where you've come from?" Discomfited about having been caught staring, Twah blushed and looked at the flagstones on the floor diffidently.
"My name is Twahlaht Sporkle... and I come from Canterlot. That is, a different Canterlot." Her flush deepened as she struggled to explain. "I was just walking in the woods, and, uh, I found this portal... and I guess I went through it? Anyways, I ended up here." Twah shrugged uncomfortably, and glanced up to see their reactions.
Luna was staring at her with large, fascinated eyes and a small, friendly smile that helped Twah straighten her slumped shoulders and stand a bit taller. Celestia merely looked surprised, bemused, and somewhat concerned.
Her double, however, walked right up to her. "Fascinating!" she said, a quill and parchment appearing seemingly from nowhere. "You appear to be an almost perfect replica of me, with only two major differences." The quill scratched busily as the purple unicorn made notes. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, by the way."
"Nice to meet you," said Twah weakly.
"Likewise, I'm sure," said Twilight absently, as she continued taking notes. "Now if I could just ask you a few--"
Celestia cleared her throat meaningfully, and Twilight looked sheepish as the quill and parchment vanished back to wherever they had come from. "Sorry, Twahlaht. There will be plenty of time for that later, I guess."
"What do you mean?" Twah said, her heart sinking as visions of dungeons danced in her head.
It was Luna who answered. "Well, there is no longer any sign of the portal you say you came through. In absense of any further information about it... we really are not sure how to figure out from whence you came, let alone how to return you there." Her dulcet voice was apologetic. "Do you not have any further information? Did you not study it before entering it?"
Twah shook her head slowly as her skin crawled from the sensation of everyone staring at her. "I don't, uh, really know a lot about magic. I mean, I study magic, but I'm not very good at most of it. And I guess I'm kind of, I guess you could say impulsive." From the corner of her eye, she noted Twilight's quill scratching against the parchment once again; it seemed the other unicorn simply could not resist the opportunity to make notes.
"Well, my little pony," Celestia said, casting a dour eye upon Twilight, "it seems apparent to me that you will need lodging and food until we can figure out a way to get you back to your own world. Until that happens, or until you find new lodgings, I hope you will do us the honor of staying in Twilight's former room here at the castle."
Twah's heart filled with a rush of relief. "Oh yes, Your Majesty, I'd be very grateful." She knelt to show her respect.
Celestia's soft laughter seemed to fill every corner of the room. "Well, good then. If you'd care to go with Twilight, she seems to have quite a few questions for you-- as I'm sure you must have for her."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you, Your Majesty. You aren't nearly as awful as I'd heard." Twahlaht clapped a hoof over her mouth, too late to stop the outpouring of stupidity, and flushed brightly again; but Celestia just burst into surprised laughter, accompanied by bright peals of amusement from Luna.
"It seems I may have some questions for you myself at a later time!" was Celestia's only reply as she and Luna looked at each other with twinkling eyes and tried to regain their composure. "Now please. Go and become acquainted with your temporary home. We'll sort out what to do next in a few days."
"Thank you again, Your Majesty!" called Twahlaht, as she hustled out, with a visibly unnerved Twilight close at her heels.
As the throne room doors closed behind them, Twilight said, "That was an awfully... brave... thing to say." Her tone left no doubt that "brave" was being used euphemistically.
"My mouth ran away with my brain," admitted Twah ruefully. "It's just that, where I come from, she's been on the moon for a thousand years for being, well, awful."
"Celestia as the Mare in the Moon?" Twilight repeated excitedly. "Gosh, I just have so many questions for you! Here, let's go to the library..."
Twah shook her head in bemusement. Clearly, her adventures were just beginning.