Friends, Forgiveness, and Magic
Glimmering Stars
Princess Nightmare Moon examined her surroundings with a smile. “Impressive. Yes, I’d say we did a remarkable job here.”
“Remarkable is an understatement, darling. This place looks beautiful!” Rarity gushed, her eyes full of stars as she admired all the work they’d put into restoring the ancient castle of the Royal family. Rarity herself was wearing a pink dress she had created just for the occasion.
Trixie teleported into the entrance hall with a flash of light. “Everything else is prepared for their arrival. Now for the finishing touches!” Her horn flashed with power, causing a banner to unfold from the ceiling. The banner read Equestrian Embassy.
Rarity titled her head to one side and frowned thoughtfully at the banner. “Your banner looks lovely Trixie, but…forgive me for saying so, I don’t think it quite fits with the theme of the event.”
Trixie rolled her eyes. “Everyone’s a critic,” she grumbled. “Well if you think you can do a better job then don’t let Trixie stop you.”
“Oh no, no, I’m not trying to criticize you Trixie!” Rarity assured her. “I’m simply concerned that it might not be up to Princess Twilight’s standards.”
“Ugh, more like your standards. We both know that Twilight Sparkle is a very modest sort of ruler. As long as Trixie is polite and friendly, she has no reason at all to fear disappointment from the princess. As if Princess Twilight could be disappointed by-”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie,” Rarity sighed. “We know.”
“Hey! You’re supposed to say it with more enthusiasm! Trixie always shows her support for your work, doesn’t she?”
“We’re getting off topic Trixie. Even if the Princess Twilight we know is satisfied with all the work we’ve put into rebuilding this ancient castle as the new embassy for the Equestrians, this castle is meant for a different Princess Twilight, now isn’t it?” Rarity said. “And even if she is just as modest as our princess, what about her friends? What about their version of me? I can’t disappoint myself!”
“Hey, what’s everyone shouting about?” Rainbow Dash asked as she, Fluttershy, and Gilda flew into the room.
“Rarity’s just being a drama queen,” Trixie informed them.
“Excuse me? This, coming from the 'Great and Powerful' Trixie? You practically built your career on being a drama queen!” Rarity argued.
Trixie chuckled. “I suppose you’re almost correct. But Trixie uses only the right amount of drama for her acts.” She turned to Fluttershy and said, “Speaking of magic shows and theatrics, did Countess Cadance tell you when she and the others would be arriving, Fluttershy? Trixie needs to know when to set off the fireworks!”
“Cadance said she couldn’t make it,” Fluttershy said. Her gaze fell to the floor as she fidgeted nervously. “Sorry, I’ve feeling a little nervous about this whole thing. Oh dear…do you think the other Fluttershy will like me?”
“Of course she’ll like you!” Rainbow assured her.
“It…it’s just that…from what Smog told me, the other Fluttershy has never lied about being mute, or ruined a royal wedding, or…or…” Fluttershy whimpered.
“Hey, you’ll be fine Flutters,” Gilda said. “If the Equestria Pinkie Pie could forgive our Pinkie after the mess she put us all through, I’m sure the other you will be cool about it.”
“That reminds me, is Pinkie going to be here too?” Rainbow asked.
“Wait, we’re here! We’re here!” Pinkie said as she and Applejack appeared in the room with a flash of light. “We’re not late, are we?”
“We’re good fir time Pinkie but we got here in such a hurry ya didn’t give me time ta change,” Applejack grumbled as she pointed at the dark green skirt and a white dress shirt she was wearing.
“Sorry!” Pinkie squeaked. She snapped her fingers and replaced Applejack’s fancy business wear with a simple Stetson hat.
“It’s alright sugarcube.” Applejack smiled sheepishly at the other people in the room. “Ah had ta cut a meeting short.”
“Oh, Miss Applejewel! Lovely to see you again,” Rarity said with a smile, albeit a somewhat strained one. “So um…how is life in the Big Apple?”
“Aw ponyfeathers…Ah was hoping ta say this when everyone else got here, but since ya asked…” Applejack sighed. “Ah take it that y’all heard about mah role in what happened on the other side of the mirror and about mah story?” she asked Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy. “The truth is Ah tricked a lot of y’all into believing whatever Ah wanted ya ta believe about me. All fir some really complicated plan about getting to what Ah thought was the true Equestria. Ain’t that ironic? Ah tried ta use half-truths and misdirection to trick y’all, just because Ah was so obsessed with being in a world Ah didn’t understand. But now Ah’m finally being honest with myself and with everyone else. Ah don’t want y’all to be nervous around me or treat me like some Big Apple big shot. Instead, Ah’d like to make an honest effort at being yer friend.”
She walked over to Rarity and held up her hoof. “With all that said…howdy miss Rarity. Mah name is Applejack. Ah know ya like fancy stuff, but if it’s alright with you Ah’d prefer to act more like myself.”
Rarity smiled and shook Applejack’s hoof. “It’s simply wonderful to get to know the real you, Miss Applejack. You don’t need to worry darling, I’ve made some mistakes too. I’m positive that we’ll get along just fine.”
“Hold on!” Rainbow interrupted with a glare at Applejack. “Pinkie tried to fool us once. How do we know for sure that you’re actually going to reform yourself?”
“Ah brought y’all apple cider,” Applejack said. Pinkie snapped her fingers and summoned several glasses of cider that levitated in front of them.
“I instantly forgive you!” Rainbow squeed before she grabbed two glasses of cider and poured them both down her throat at the same time, a fair bit of apple cider splashing on her face due to her messy drinking.
As Applejack reintroduced herself to Rainbow and Fluttershy, Discord teleported into the room along with Chrysalis, King Sombra, Princess Twilight, Duchess Celestia, and Duchess Luna.
“Good work Princess Nightmare. The castle looks a hundred times better. I’d almost say you did a better job than myself and Princess Sparkle,” King Sombra said as he examined the refurbished castle.
“I agree. The castle looks wonderful,” Celestia said with a smile. “Now, before our guests arrive there is something I wanted to know: exactly how formal do we want this meeting to be?”
“I think it’s best if we let the Equestrians decide that, Aunt Celestia,” Nightmare said. “From what we learned during our visit there, becoming friends with the Equestrians shouldn’t be very hard.”
“So as long as we are all on our best behavior, negotiations should go smoothly. Now…do I need to explain what ‘best behavior’ means to any of you?” King Sombra asked as he frowned at Discord and Pinkie.
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about me King Sombra! I’m the queen of good behavior!” Pinkie promised him.
“Hey guys?” Sunset Shimmer said as she poked her head out from behind a door at the end of the hallway. “They’re here.”
“Very well. Then let us go and welcome our new allies,” the king said.
They all walked down the hall until they had reached the new mirror chamber. It was Princess Twilight’s decision to move the crystal mirror from the secret chamber in the Crystal Castle and place it within the Equestrian Embassy so that the portal could be more accessible for anyone wishing to travel between worlds. They opened the door to see Smog talking with Equestria Spike and the bearers of the Elements of Harmony.
Equestria Pinkie was the first to zip over and say hello. “Hi Nyxie! I mean Nightmare. Ooh, can I call you Nightie? It’s like blending the two names together, just like that time I blended chocolate with strawberries and hot sauce! …Wait, that’s three things.”
“Hi Pinkie! Hi Rainbow! Hi Twilight! Hi Fluttershy!” Everfree Pinkie squeed as she zipped over to each of the visiting ponies, giving them all a crazed grin that made her look like she had gone days without food or water and had just been presented with a glorious buffet.
“Pinkie! Control yourself,” Luna ordered. “Need I remind you that King Sombra asked you to be on your best behavior?”
Everfree Pinkie blushed and backed away from the startled Equestria Fluttershy. “Oops. Sorry. Don’t worry, I can control myself!” Her fingers shrunk back into her hooves as a small cloud of pink smoke engulfed her. A second later, the smoke cleared away to show that Pinkie had donned a maid outfit. She bowed to the Equestrians and said, “Welcome to the Equestrian Embassy. How can I serve you?”
Equestria Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Um…”
“Uh…” Equestria Rainbow added.
Discord shook his head. “I was right, Pinkie has been hanging out with Eris too much,” he said.
King Sombra sighed and walked over to Equestria Twilight. “It’s an honour to see you again Princess Twilight. I’ve been looking forward to getting to know you and your friends so that we may become better allies.”
Equestria Twilight smiled. “I’ve been looking forward to this too! There’s so much we can learn from each other!”
Nightmare frowned as she counted the seven visitors. “Wait a minute. Where’s Princess Luna? Shouldn’t she and Celestia be here for this meeting?”
“Oh. Um…I’m afraid Princess Celestia and Princess Luna couldn’t make it,” Equestria Twilight said, smiling nervously.
“Why?” Nightmare asked, a bit of an edge entering her voice.
“Oh you know…royal duties,” Spike said, giving her the same nervous smile.
“This meeting qualifies as a royal duty. Why aren’t they here?” Nightmare asked, grilling them for information.
Equestria Twilight winced. “W-well, someone needs to run the kingdom and-”
Nightmare stomped her hoof against the floor. “Enough excuses! Tell me why they’re not here.”
“You make them uncomfortable, alright?!” Equestria Twilight snapped. She winced as Nightmare’s face fell. “Sorry.”
“Why would I make them uncomfortable? This meeting is all about building bridges between our worlds,” Nightmare said, her tone much softer.
“I’m terribly sorry Princess Nightmare. Even though everyone in Ponyville knows that you’re a hero, I think you remind Princess Luna too much of a…darker part of her history. Building on that, you remind Princess Celestia too much of the millennium spent separated from her sister,” Equestria Rarity said.
Nightmare sighed in disappointment while Duchess Celestia and Luna exchanged worried glances. However a few seconds later Nightmare’s eyes began to burn with determination. “Sorry guys, you’ll have to carry this meeting on without me.” With that said, she began walking towards the mirror.
Luna hurried over to her daughter. “What are you planning on doing Moony?”
“Whatever it takes to make things right, Loony.” She stopped and gave her mom a hug before she turned around again and jumped through the portal.
Everfree Twilight frowned in worry. “Do you think she’ll be alright? I’m not so sure if letting her go was a good idea.”
Luna sighed. “Honestly, Your Highness? If she wasn’t doing it, I would.”
“Goodness. Is Princess Nightmare going to be okay?” Equestria Fluttershy asked.
“I hope so,” Smog mumbled.
As soon as Nightmare had jumped out of the portal and entered Princess Twilight’s castle, she began her journey to Equestria’s version of Canterlot. She wasn’t sure if Canterlot would be in the same location or not, so she would be forced to fly there instead of simply teleporting. It was a small price to pay for what she hoped to accomplish. Hoping to avoid unnecessary crowds of curious ponies, Nightmare turned herself into magical mist and floated out of the castle and into the air. From her spot in the sky Nightmare could see Canterlot perched on top of a mountain. While she preferred to fly with her wings, she didn’t want to attract too much attention and so the magical mist flew all the way to Canterlot.
Once she had reached the castle and had flown by unnoticed by the staff and the royal guards, she continued her journey until eventually she reached the throne room. Changing back into her corporeal form, she gathered her courage and knocked on the door.
“Please come in,” the voice of her aunt’s counterpart said through the door.
Nightmare opened the door and walked towards Princess Celestia’s throne. The two guards standing by her side pointed their spears at Nightmare as she approached the throne. “Halt! Who goes there?!”
“Princess Nightmare Moon, I assume? It’s alright, she is not a threat to me,” Princess Celestia said calmly. “Please excuse us while I talk to Everfree’s princess alone.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” the guards said. They put their spears away and walked out of the throne room.
Princess Celestia regarded Nightmare carefully. The solar princess wasn’t frowning but she wasn’t smiling either. “This is quite a surprise. To what do I owe this honour, Princess Nightmare?”
Nightmare sighed. “Princess Celestia. King Sombra of Everfree has invited you and Princess Luna to our world so that we may build bridges between our two kingdoms in order to create a strong alliance. But then, you should already know this, correct?”
“I was already aware of that, yes,” Celestia answered calmly.
“And yet Princess Twilight was the only ruler from your kingdom to arrive. While she and her friends are wonderful company to have, we are concerned as to why you and your sister did not accept our invitation.”
“I apologize for my sister’s as well as my own absence from the meeting. However I have many royal duties and paperwork that require my attention. Since my sister and I are so busy, we felt that Princess Twilight and her friends would be capable enough to attend the meeting and discuss building an alliance between our two kingdoms by themselves.”
Nightmare frowned. “The building of an alliance between our two kingdoms should take precedence over some pile of royal paperwork that I can’t even see.”
Celestia frowned but didn’t say anything. The two princesses glared at each other for a while before Celestia sighed. “I suppose there is no way I’m getting out of this, is there? Very well, the truth is-”
Nightmare sighed. “I remind you too much of your Nightmare Moon.”
Celestia nodded. “I fear you are correct. I know that you saved my little ponies from a great threat and that you are a hero to both Everfree and to Equestria. My head tells me that you are a friend…but my heart says otherwise.” She lowered her head as her ears folded down. “As a princess I cannot allow my emotions to affect my ability to rule Equestria and yet I must admit the reason my sister and I have been avoiding you…is because we’re afraid.”
Nightmare’s glare softened quite a bit. “If you’re that scared of me I’m surprised you could speak so openly about this.”
“As a fellow princess and for coming to our aid when we needed it most, you deserve that much,” Celestia answered.
Nightmare nodded. “I understand. I want to be friends with both you and Princess Luna, but I know how much your version of me haunts her. We might not become friends overnight, but I’m willing to take my chances.”
Celestia nodded. “While I understand that your mother can stay awake much later in the day, Princess Luna is nocturnal. She won’t wake up until it is time for me to lower the sun. In the meantime we can-”
“In the meantime, I’ll try to stay out of your hair,” Nightmare said as she walked out of the throne room. “I don’t want to make you feel any more uncomfortable.”
“No, that isn’t fair. You are a guest and a visiting princess. I should-”
“Celestia, it’s okay,” Nightmare interrupted her a second time with a smile. “I can wait. If it’s to help Loony…I can wait.”
If you asked Smog, getting to know their new friends was going pretty well. Unfortunately Sombra, Celestia, and Luna had to leave the meeting early due to a robbery at a museum in the Crystal Empire. While the museum required royal attention in case an ancient magical artifact had been stolen or something, Sombra had insisted that their meeting was just as important and that Princess Twilight should remain to entertain her Equestrian counterpart and their friends. So far, the Elements had been sharing their adventures with the Equestrians and vice versa.
“Hold on, I’m not quite sure I understand,” Everfree Fluttershy said. “You…don’t own a pet store?”
Equestria Fluttershy blushed. “Um, not exactly. I have many animal friends that I take care of. Sometimes other ponies come to me asking me to help them with their pets. But no, I don’t own a pet store.”
Everfree Fluttershy tilted her head in thought. “But Pinkie told me that you gave your Rainbow Dash a pet tortoise. Right?”
“Yep!” Equestria Rainbow answered. “Tank’s a pretty cool guy. We’ll be spending our first winter together in a few weeks! We’re going to have so much fun building snow ponies, having snowball fights, extreme sledding, sipping hot cider…”
“Wait, you have a turtle as your pet? Why?” Everfree Rainbow asked.
“Because he won the honour to be my pet. He may not be very fast but he’s as loyal as any of my friends,” Equestria Rainbow said. “And it’s tortoise, not turtle.”
Gilda shrugged. “What’s the difference?”
Before either Fluttershy could explain, Everfree Rainbow spoke up. “Eh, I guess it doesn’t matter. If you think he’s cool then I’m sure he’s awesome. It’s your pet anyway.” She tapped her chin in thought. “Hmm…I wonder if I should get a pet?” She held up her glass to take another sip of cider, only to see that it was empty. “Hey, can I get a refill here?”
“Of course my lady,” Everfree Pinkie said, still in her role as a maid. The cider glass refilled itself as she smiled. “Are you thinking about getting a tortoise too Rainbow?”
Everfree Rainbow smirked. “Nah. Imma get me a falcon! Something that’s loyal AND super fast!”
Gilda nodded. “I hear ya Dash. We gotta prove our world’s the best of the two.”
Equestria Rainbow smirked. “Oh, you think your world is better?”
Gilda, Trixie, and Everfree Rainbow all smirked back at her. “We don’t think, we know,” Trixie boasted.
Sensing that a rather fierce competition was about to start, Everfree Fluttershy decided to intervene. “Speaking of pets, I don’t think you guys have met Polaris yet.”
Discord smiled. “No, I don’t believe they have. Polaris! Here boy!”
Polaris whinnied with excitement as he flew into the room through one of the open windows. The Equestrian visitors took one look at the Windigo and jumped back in fear.
“T-that’s a W-Windigo. That’s a pony freezing Windigo!” Spike exclaimed.
Everfree Pinkie giggled. “Silly Spike, you don’t have to be scared of him! He’s friendly.”
Equestria Twilight sighed as she and her friends relaxed a little. “Sorry. I guess there’s still so much we have to learn about your world. Even with those memories Pinkie forced into our minds…”
Everfree Pinkie giggled sheepishly and scratched her mane. “Sorry about that. Again.”
Equestria Rainbow shrugged. “All I really need to know is that you guys are the good guys here. Other than that, I try to forget those weird memories that got pushed into our brains.” She finished that thought with another gulp of cider.
Chrysalis smiled. “I understand that you might be a bit scared of him. But Polaris really is a sweetheart once you get to know him. Aren’t you boy?”
Seeing that both Everfree Fluttershy and Chrysalis were comfortably petting the Windigo, Equestria Fluttershy bravely stepped forward to give Polaris a cuddle. “Aw…he’s so cute!”
Polaris gave her a happy whinny and licked her face. Fluttershy pulled her face back and shivered. “…I can’t feel my face now…and I’m okay with that.”
Discord chuckled. “I think he’s hungry. No freezing our new friends, Polaris! Really, it’s not as if you would find any hatred coming from her. I’ve got your lunch right here, little buddy.”
Chrysalis grimaced. “Oh please don’t tell me you’re-”
Discord reached into the air with his eagle claw and ripped a small hole through time and space. He pulled out a snarling, slimy creature with horns and tentacles that was roughly the size of a tomato and closed the hole behind it.
Chrysalis held her hooves up to her mouth, looking like she was about to throw up. “Oh gross! I smell its stench from here!”
The Equestrians flinched as the creature growled and shrieked at them. “What in the world is that thing?” Equestria Rarity asked.
Gilda shrugged. “I dunno. I think they’re tiny demons from Tartarus, but nobody knows for sure what it is. Those little monsters hate pretty much everything though, so Discord uses these things for Windigo chow.”
“Quite right Gilda. Now take this somewhere else, if you could Polaris. You know how uncomfortable Chrysie gets during lunchtime,” Discord said as he threw the angry little demon. Polaris whinnied in excitement as caught the hate-filled demon in the air, freezing it solid. The icy spirit then took his meal outside the room to eat somewhere else.
Chrysalis sighed in relief. “Thanks for making it go away.”
Discord waved his paw. “Please my dear, it’s the least I could do.”
“I hope he comes back soon though. Polaris is good company to have,” Chrysalis said, glancing over her wings at the window he had flown through.
Equestria Applejack turned to her counterpart. “So how’s life in the big city?”
Everfree Applejack sighed. “It has its ups and downs. Funny, when Ah came to Equestria Ah was planning on just getting back to what mah memories told me was familiar and forgetting about Apple Pie Incorporated. But now that Ah know how selfish Ah was acting, Ah’m doing mah best to keep mah company going while making more time fir mah family and mah new friends. The people who work fir me are right decent folk. It ain’t fair fir them to suffer just fir mah crazy plans.”
“Trixie imagines that must take up a lot of your free time. Please let her know if there is anything she can do to help you!” Trixie declared. “The Great and Powerful Trixie still knows some acquaintances from her days in the city.”
“Thanks Trixie. That’s mighty generous of ya.”
“As if you would expect anything less from the noble and heroic Trixie!”
Everfree Applejack chuckled. “Sure sugarcube. How about you AJ? Sweet Apple Acres still standing in yer world?”
“Things have been pretty quiet around the farm. Except fir yesterday when Apple Bloom had a nightmare about getting a bunch of cutie marks,” Equestria Applejack said.
“Scoots told me something about that too,” Equestria Rainbow said. “How she was all set to do this awesome stunt in her dream before she got a cooking cutie mark and got forced into a kitchen or something.”
Equestria Rarity nodded. “Sweetie Belle told me she experienced a similar nightmare before Princess Luna intervened.”
“Well Ah’m just glad that Apple Bloom learned she doesn’t have anything to worry about a cutie mark. It won’t change who she is,” Equestria Applejack said with confidence.
Sunset nodded. “That’s a pretty good lesson to learn.” She shrugged and took anther sip of cider. “And if your sister still doesn’t like her mark she can always change it.”
The Equestrians stopped what they were doing and turned to face her. “Wait…what?” Equestrian Rainbow asked.
Sunset lowered her glass and licked her lips. “I said it sounds like a good lesson to learn. Mm, that’s really good cider.”
“Not that part. I think Rainbow meant the part about her cutie mark,” Spike said.
Sunset shrugged. “What, that she can always change it?”
“Um Sunset…ponies can’t change their cutie marks,” Equestria Twilight said. “It’s like trying to change who you are.”
Everfree Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Really? There might be some aspects of a person’s personality that always remain, but people go through changes all the time. Whether they’re just tiny changes or much bigger ones. Can you really say you’re the same person now that you were five years ago? How long have you had these?” She pointed at her wings and gave them a flap.
“Touché,” Equestria Twilight said as she stared at her own wings and flapped them. “I guess people can change. But a cutie mark is a representation of a pony’s unique talents and skills. You can’t change that.”
“And it doesn’t,” Everfree Applejack said. “In Equestria, a pony gets their mark when they find their talent. In Everfree, a pony is already born with a mark and so they know growing up exactly what their skill is gonna be.”
“Really? How does that work?” Spike asked.
Everfree Pinkie giggled. “It’s magic, silly filly!”
Equestria Twilight frowned. “What, does it predict the future? But magic doesn’t work like…” her frown faded as the two Pinkies smiled at her. “Never mind.”
Everfree Rainbow chuckled. “Just remembered who you were talking to, didn’t ya?”
“Anyway…” Everfree Applejack continued. “When a pony loses their mark it represents their desire to grow as a person. To learn new talents and skills. Even though we’re all blank flanks, we all remember what our marks looked like and what talents they represented. Except mah poor little sister, fir some reason,” she added sadly. She shrugged and said, “But once ya lose yer mark it’s gone fir good.”
Sunset blinked in confusion. “Well…not exactly.”
“She’s right,” Everfree Rainbow said. “I don’t need my old cutie mark to be the fastest flier in Everfree and it doesn’t really bother me that I’m a blank flank…but there are a few times when I miss having a mark. Still, I can always get one back.”
Everfree Applejack blinked in confusion. “Wait, you can?”
Everfree Pinkie scratched her head. “Gosh, first Luna being Nightie’s mom, then the Cake twins, and now this. I keep missing little details!”
“How do ya think I feel? Ah know that with the magic glass outta mah eye Ah can’t see the truth no more but how come y’all know about this and Ah don’t?” Everfree Applejack asked.
Sunset shrugged. “I guess even with magical powers of perception, you still can’t see everything at the same time.”
Equestria Pinkie giggled. “Yeah! If I could see everything 24/7, my brain would probably burst from too much information! Just the fact that I remember everything about everybody in Ponyville makes my brain go all whoop-whoop-boing!”
“I’m sorry, but can we get back to how a pony can change their cutie mark?” Equestria Twilight asked, speaking on behalf of her Ponyville friends. “Sunset, how is that possible?”
Sunset shrugged. “Starlight Glimmer.”
Everfree Applejack and the seven Equestrians all stared at her in shock. “How do you know who Starlight Glimmer is?” Equestria Twilight asked.
“Her resort is one of my favourite vacation spots,” Sunset said simply. Taking notice of their flabbergasted expressions, she sighed. “Oh darn, is she evil in your world?”
Everfree Pinkie giggled. “Oh yeah. She was a pretty big pile of trouble. Like that time Trixie stole the Alicorn Amulet and tried to take over Ponyville!”
Everfree Rarity blinked in confusion. “Wait, what?” Trixie asked, feeling just as confused.
“Hey wait a minute, you said Starlight’s name right before you went on your magic absorbing rampage!” Equestria Rainbow said, pointing her hoof at Everfree Pinkie. “Why didn’t you do anything about her?”
Everfree Pinkie scratched the back of her neck sheepishly. “First of all, I’m really sorry about that. Again. Secondly, I only chased after the bad guys who won and so I only chased after the Starlight Glimmers that beat you. You guys didn’t fight Starlight until after you all defeated me in that super awesome fight and I wanted to see how you guys would beat her.”
“A world where we didn’t beat Starlight? You mean, where we didn’t get our cutie marks back?” Equestria Rainbow shuddered. “That’s scary.”
“Hold on, what’s this about Starlight Glimmer?” Everfree Twilight asked.
“Clearly the Starlight Glimmer in their world is different from the one I know.” Sunset slowly smiled as she got an idea. “Say…how would you guys like to visit her resort?”
Everfree Rainbow smiled. “Cool. I could use a vacation.”
“Ooh! I heard they added some new massages at the spa!” Everfree Rarity added.
“I’ve only visited once, but it was such a lovely place,” Everfree Fluttershy said.
Meanwhile, the Equestria Twilight exchanged glances with her curious friends. “This…could be interesting.”
Princess Luna bounced with excitement as she sat in her throne. That afternoon Celestia had told her that a very important pony had requested an audience with her. Now, Luna’s nightly royal duties usually consisted of fighting monsters that liked to prowl near cities or villages at night and of helping ponies overcome their nightmares in the dreamscape. Officially, holding night court was part of her duties but many ponies still went to Celestia’s court instead of Luna’s. After one brief adventure where she took over Celestia’s duties for a day, Luna found that she preferred her duties over Celestia’s hectic schedule and so she was quite happy with the way things were.
But with all that in mind, Luna was still excited to see this important citizen. Even though Luna loved Celestia dearly, there were still times when she got a tiny bit jealous of her sister. The thought that someone favored her wisdom over Celestia’s made Luna felt as if she’d won something that night. The doors opened and Luna looked up with a smile on her face, eager to see the important pony. Her smile fell as she saw who approached her throne.
Nightmare smiled nervously and bowed before Luna. “Greetings Princess Luna. It’s a beautiful night that you have gifted us.”
Luna frowned as she watched the other alicorn of the night bow to her. “Princess Nightmare Moon of Everfree. To what do I owe this…pleasure?”
“Right. First order of business I uh, wished to give you these gifts as a token of my appreciation for all the hard work you do.” Nightmare’s horn glowed as she levitated dozens of presents to Luna, all of them gift-wrapped in night themed paper.
Luna eyed the presents carefully. “That is quite a large number of gifts.”
Nightmare smiled sheepishly. “Originally I had bought you gifts that I knew Loony enjoyed. Then I thought that you might not share all of the same interests so I bought a few more gifts, just to make sure I gave you something that you would really enjoy.” As Luna opened the presents with her magic, Nightmare waited patiently yet nervously for Luna to say something. She spotted a small possum lying on a black cushion next to Luna’s throne. “Oh, is that your pet? I used to beg my mom for a pet when I was a filly but she was concerned that I was too young to take care of one. Pretty cute little guy. What’s his name?”
“His name is Tiberius,” Luna said absentmindedly. She put the last gift down and looked Nightmare in the eye. “You do know that I am not your mother, yes?”
Nightmare flinched. “Y…yes I do know that.” She then regained her courage and said, “Just as you know that I am not the same Nightmare Moon who tormented you, yes?”
Luna sighed. “A little warning would have been nice, Celestia,” she muttered. She spoke a little louder and added, “You’ll have to forgive me Princess Nightmare. I know that you are an ally to our kingdom but it’s difficult to forget how much suffering your counterpart caused.”
“Right. I thought that would be the case. Which is why I am here to better bridge our two worlds closer, discuss how an alliance might be forged, and to alleviate any concerns you have about-”
Luna stomped her hoof against her throne. “Enough evasions! Speak clearly and do not, as the expression goes ‘beat around the bush’. What do you want?”
Nightmare looked Luna right in the eye and said, “I just want to be your friend.” Flinching at Luna’s cold glare, she whispered, “I’m sorry. Please, I just want to be your friend.”
Luna sighed and hesitantly muttered, “Very well. I accept your friendship.”
A smile quickly blossomed on Nightmare’s face. “You do? That’s wonderful! Listen, if you’re not busy tonight I was hoping maybe we could-”
“As a matter of fact I am busy,” Luna said as she stepped off her throne and walked past Nightmare. “It was a pleasure to talk to you Princess Nightmare Moon. Court is adjourned.” And with that, Luna left the throne room.
Nightmare sighed. “She’s started to warm up…but still no smile. I’ll just have to try harder.”
The Elements of Redemption and the Elements of Harmony had decided to take the train to Starlight’s resort after Discord had declared that he was not their chauffeur and that maybe he got tired of teleporting them everywhere. Smog couldn’t tell if he was being moody or mischievous, but the train ride wasn’t too long so he didn’t mind. During the time spent on the train, the Harmony bearers had told them about their encounter with the Equestrian Starlight and quite a few of them were shocked by her actions.
“And until you showed up, nobody in that town found it creepy that those equal marks could repress their personalities?!” Chrysalis asked, eyes wide with disbelief. “That sounds horrible!”
“It’s like that super creepy cult from the third Bravely Blue book,” Gilda said.
“What Trixie wants to know is this: did she really believe that was the path to equality or did she just want to be superior to everyone else?” Trixie asked.
Equestria Twilight sighed. “I don’t know what was going through Starlight’s head, but I’m sure you can all see now why we’re a little nervous about visiting her town again.”
Sunset smiled reassuringly. “Well you don’t have to worry about that. The Starlight I know would never try to brainwash anyone.” Her smile widened as the train came to a complete stop. “We’re here. Come on guys!”
The group got off the train and stepped out into what looked like a luxury resort. Everfree Applejack and the Equestrians blinked in surprise as they saw grown up ponies with cutie marks walking alongside dragons, griffons, changelings, deer, zebras, buffalos, diamond dogs, and other creatures.
“Wow! Is that a cow?” Smog asked as they walked past one group by an outdoor pool. “The last cow I saw was Mooriella and I haven’t see her in ages!”
Equestria Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Y’all don’t have cows in Peaceville?”
Discord shrugged. “They used to live in Peaceville but they all left for a different village several years ago. Said something about Peaceville being too noisy. I can’t imagine what they meant by that!” He smiled at Everfree Pinkie and said, “Wanna do something fun?”
Everfree Pinkie waved her hoof and conjured up several noisemakers. “Should I summon the monkey fish or do you want to do it?”
“Save it for later guys,” Sunset said. She scanned the crowd until she spotted the pony she was looking for. “Starlight Glimmer! Over here!”
A unicorn mare turned away from the minotaur she was talking to and smiled at Sunset. She had a pale purplish-pink coat, purple hair with light blue streaks, and a cutie mark of a purple star with two turquoise streams shooting out of the star. “Sunny! What a pleasant surprise!”
The two unicorns raced towards each other then screeched to a halt as they did a little dance. They gave each other two hoof bumps while singing, “Shimmer…glimmer…” Then the two mares stepped back and fired two beams of magic into the sky, where they collided and exploded out into a sparkling starburst firework. “SHINE!”
Starlight giggled as Sunset led her towards her other friends. “Oh, I’ve missed the good old-fashioned ‘shimmer, glimmer, shine’!”
Sunset chuckled. “I’ve missed you too. Anyway, there’s some people I’d like you to meet.”
Starlight smiled and introduced herself to Sunset’s friends. “Well of course I know who the Elements of Redemption are! Welcome to Glimmering Stars Luxury Resort! We’re so pleased to have you here. My name is Starlight Glimmer, the founder and manager of this little home away from home!”
Sunset smiled. “You seem to know who Smog, Gilda, Trixie, Chrysalis, and Discord are but there’s a few other people I invited as you can see.”
Starlight’s eyes widened as she saw the other members of their group. “Oh my.” She gave Chrysalis a mischievous smirk. “Queen Chrysalis, I’m surprised that you would try to prank me. It’s a good effort dear, but I can tell they’re changelings.”
Sunset shook her head. “Sorry Glimmer, they’re not disguised. Did you hear King Sombra’s speech about the discovery of a mirror world?”
Starlight gasped. “Oh my! You mean these visitors are from a whole other universe? And…and that’s the real Princess Twilight and the real Pink One?”
“Um, she prefers to be called Pinkie,” Chrysalis said.
“Oh, right! I heard that you were properly reformed now,” Starlight said as she smiled at Everfree Pinkie. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that dear. We have no judgments in our little resort.”
Equestria Twilight cleared her throat. “Um, yeah…would you mind telling us about your little resort?”
Starlight smiled. “I’d be happy to! Which of our services would you like to hear about? Now of course the cutie mark catalogue is our signature attraction but we also have pools, spas, an arcade room, a fun-filled mysterious cave adventure-”
Sunset held up a hoof. “Um, can you hold on one second Starlight? See, the main reason I invited them here is because…well, um…” She turned to Everfree Pinkie and said, “That memory thing you did to Equestria Twilight and her friends? Can you do it again?”
Everfree Pinkie nodded. “I won’t pour in every little adventure this time. Just the one she needs to see.” She floated over to Equestria Fluttershy and tapped her on the head before she floated over to Starlight and tapped her on the head too. Starlight’s eyes closed tightly as Pinkie explained what was happening, “I borrowed Fluttershy’s memories of the meanie version of Starlight plus her memories on how cutie marks work in Equestria. Let’s see how she takes it.”
Starlight groaned as she opened her eyes and shook her head. She gasped and kneeled before Equestria Twilight. “Your Majesty, I am so sorry to hear about the trouble my counterpart put you through. You and your friends can stay here as long as you like and no longer. I can assure you that I would never force you to do something you didn’t want to.”
Equestria Twilight chuckled nervously. “Um, you don’t have to kneel.” As Starlight got up and flinched a little in shame, Twilight gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s okay Miss Glimmer. My friends and I are still getting used to the fact that people here are a lot different than how we know them back home. But I am still curious about your resort…”
Starlight’s smile returned. “Oh thank heavens! I couldn’t live with the thought of hurting such a lovely group of people like yourselves. Please follow me to our welcome centre so that I can give you a full picture of what our resort offers.”
“Well? Y’all interested?” Everfree Applejack asked her friends.
Equestria Pinkie smiled. “I’ve been keeping a close eye on everyone’s smiles. And they’re all the genuine article! I’ve got a good feeling about this.”
Everfree Twilight smiled. “In that case, led the way Miss Glimmer.”
Starlight smiled and bowed. “Of course.” As she led them all to a large building, she glanced at Sunset and asked, “Pardon me for asking but will Princess Nightmare be joining us?”
Sunset sighed. “Not today Starlight. She’s dealing with…a family matter.”
It had been a few hours after Nightmare’s discussion with Luna and the lunar princess had begun the midnight monster-hunting portion of her royal duties. While Luna and some of her night guards were finishing up their watch around Cloudsdale, Prince Shining Armor and Flash Sentry were patrolling around the edge of Canterlot. “So is this your first time working at night?” Shining asked.
“Yep,” Flash replied. “Funny, I always thought that Princess Luna only did this late night monster hunting thing with her night guard. How come we’re out here helping? Um, not that I’m complaining or anything!” he hastily added.
“Cadance asked me to help her out tonight. Apparently Princess Nightmare came to our world to visit Princess Celestia today, only she was hoping to talk to Princess Luna instead. Cadance was worried that Princess Luna might be feeling off her game from the meeting and she might need a few more guards,” Shining said.
“Okay. Well, I’m happy to accompany you sir.” Flash observed the area they were patrolling. “So what kinds of monsters does Princess Luna usually fight? I heard something about an owlbear. What are those like?”
Before Shining could answer him, a nearby tree was split clean open as a dark alicorn crashed into it. “Princess Luna! Are you alright?” he cried as they hurried over to the alicorn.
“Oh, is Loony here? That’s great,” Nightmare said as she lifted her head up and gave the two stallions a dazed and goofy grin. “Hi there Prince Shiny! I’m BFFs with your sister! Oh and hey…that guy! What’s your name…ooh, Flash something, hi Flashy! Sorry about before with the tying and the…questions…”
“Nightmare – I mean, Princess Nightmare Moon?” Flash asked. “What are you doing?”
Nightmare pushed herself off the tree she landed in and shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Sorry, got a little dizzy back there. Anyway, I heard that Loony – I mean, Princess Luna and her guard went monster hunting around this time of the night, so I thought I’d lend my power. Boy, that thing’s got a mean punch!”
Shining frowned nervously. “What thing?”
Nightmare grinned and pointed up. “The savage owlbear I found lurking outside Cloudsdale.”
Shining and Flash looked up to see an enraged owlbear screeching down at them from a cloud. It had the head, wings, and talons of an owl and the body of a freaking HUGE bear. However, this owlbear also had icy blue lines of magic that ran up and down its muscular arms and flowed into its glowing blue eyes.
Nightmare grinned as her horn glowed. She flapped her wings and launched herself at the owlbear as it too flapped its wings and attacked. As Nightmare flew around in the sky, keeping her distance and shooting blasts of magic at the owlbear, Flash unfurled his own wings to fly up and help her. But before he could take off Shining conjured up a large shield around them. “Hey! What are you doing, we have to help her!”
“Are you insane? I can fight a manticore or a chimera on my own but that’s an owlbear! You’d have to be either an alicorn or Fluttershy to deal with a normal bear! Princess Nightmare is handling it, so what we need to do is to find Princess Luna immediately! Now let’s go!” Shining ordered.
Shining dropped the shield and the two stallions ran off in the opposite direction, hoping that they would find Luna quickly. Unfortunately, the sudden movement caught the owlbear’s eye. Flying away from its battle with Nightmare it dive-bombed towards Flash, screeching loudly.
“Wait, no! He’s not food! Flash, look out!” Nightmare cried as she dived towards them too.
But the owlbear was faster than any of the ponies as it lunged straight towards Flash and knocked him into a tree with a powerful sweep of its claws. The owlbear landed on the ground, growling as Shining stepped in front of it and conjured up another shield to protect Flash.
“Shining Armor, you keep it distracted! I’ll hex it from behind and finish it off!” Nightmare ordered.
“Right!” Shining shouted before he fired a powerful blast of magic at the owlbear. The beast screeched as it raised its massive arms to defend itself from the blast, only to be knocked out cold from the hex that hit it in the back of the head.
Nightmare sighed in relief as the owlbear finally fell into unconsciousness. “Finally.” She quickly made sure that the owlbear wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon before she hurried over to Flash’s side. “How is he?”
“It was the force of the blow that did the most damage. The claws didn’t dig too deeply into him but he still needs medical attention!” Shining told her.
“Good idea. I can try some healing spells on him, but there was definitely something weird going on with that owlbear. It‘s possible that the beast‘s claws were cursed, in which case the more help you can find the better,” Nightmare said as she focused her magic on Flash’s wounds.
“What‘s going on here?!” Luna shouted as she descended from the sky. Before Shining could explain what had happened Luna’s gaze zoomed in onto Nightmare’s glowing horn inches away from Flash’s side. “You! HOW DARE YOU ATTACK MY SUBJECTS!” she roared.
“What?” Nightmare took a step away from Flash. “Luna, this isn’t what it looks like!”
“ENOUGH LIES!” Luna growled as her horn charged with power. “I knew you couldn’t be trusted! I will protect my subjects from any and all nightmares and monsters! INCLUDING YOU!” she roared as she fired a blast of magic at her.
Nightmare conjured up a shield around her, cringing at Luna’s harsh words and at the force behind her magic. Fortunately, Shining jumped in front of Nightmare and conjured up his own shield. “Princess Luna, it really isn’t what it looks like! She wasn’t attacking us, she was trying to heal Flash!” he cried.
Luna canceled her spell to avoid hurting Shining but her glare did not fade. “A likely story. Why in Equestria would she need to heal Flash Sentry?”
Nightmare frowned. “Gosh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because he was knocked into a tree by an angry owlbear? You know, the owlbear right over there!”
Luna turned to look in the direction Nightmare was pointing and blinked in surprise once she saw the unconscious beast. “How…how did I not see that?” She turned to face Shining, her anger replaced with confusion and a growing sense of shame. “Is…this truly what happened?”
Shining nodded. “It is, Your Highness. Princess Nightmare Moon was fighting the owlbear when Flash Sentry and I walked in on their fight. The owlbear struck him before Nightmare Moon and I were able to incapacitate the creature.”
“Oh…” Luna’s ears folded downward.
Nightmare sighed and turned to Shining. “Cleary you don’t need my help here anymore. Find someone to take care of Flash Sentry’s injuries. I’ll just be on my way then. Tell your wife I said hi.”
“Wait!” Luna cried as Nightmare turned and walked away from them. “Princess Nightmare Moon, I was wrong to assume you had injured-”
Nightmare frowned and kept walking. “I don’t want to hear it Princess Luna.”
“Please, hold! I was mistaken. I let my feelings cloud my judgment.” She placed her wing on Nightmare’s back. “Please allow me to-”
“Don’t touch me!” Nightmare snarled as she removed Luna’s wing. “I don’t know why I even bothered to make friends with you! You were right before, you’re nothing like my Loony! She would never act like such a foal!”
Luna gulped as Nightmare glared at her with those fierce draconic eyes…that were leaking a few teardrops. “I…Princess Nightmare, I am truly sorry that-”
“I don’t want to hear it. We’re done,” Nightmare growled before she vanished with a flash of darkness.
Luna sighed and stared up at the moon. “…Why must these things keep happening?”
Starlight smiled at the two sets of Element bearers as they sat down in the welcoming hall. “So how would you like to proceed? Somehow I get the feeling that you’re not interested in seeing the traditional tour. Ooh, I have a song that I could sing for you!”
“That’s okay. The…last song we heard about this place was enough,” Equestria Rainbow said.
Starlight’s smile faded. “You don’t trust me, do you? Honestly, I can understand why.”
“Don’t worry about it Starlight. Just tell them about what a great place this is,” Sunset said, encouraging her.
Starlight’s smile returned. “Since we have different histories when it comes to cutie marks, perhaps I can start there?”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Equestria Twilight said as she got out a notebook and quill to take notes.
Everfree Twilight blinked when she saw the quill. “You still use those? Maybe I should buy you a pen before you leave.”
Starlight cleared her throat and began her lecture. “A long time ago, ponies were born as blank flanks and received marks that represented what their special talents were as they grew older. Around the time when the Elements of Forgiveness were discovered, the nature of these marks was reversed. Stallions and mares who had their cutie marks started to lose them while foals were born with a mark that depicted what their talent was going to be.”
“Why would the discovery of this world’s Elements change that?” Equestria Twilight asked.
Starlight shrugged. “Nobody knows for sure. However, Everfree seems to be better off for it. I have always seen cutie marks as both a blessing and a curse.”
“Oh come on!” Equestria Rainbow said, throwing her hooves up in annoyance. “There’s nothing wrong with our cutie marks!”
“Consider this: anyone can see that your talent is in magic,” Starlight said to Equestria Twilight. “Your horn allows you to use magic but it’s your mark that allows you to excel at it. All ponies feel happy when performing their special talent. Right?”
Equestria Twilight smiled. “Well, yes. I like magic and learning as much as I can about magic.”
Starlight raised a hoof. “But consider this: has there ever been a time when you weren’t allowed to use magic?”
Equestria Twilight’s smile faded a little as she scratched the back of her neck. “Well…there was that one time during Winter Wrap-Up. I was pretty frustrated at not being able to help anybody without using my magic.” Her smile returned as she added, “But with a little organization I was able to help wrap up winter for Ponyville!”
Starlight titled her head to the side. “What’s Winter Wrap-Up?”
“Seasons work differently in their world. If you ask Trixie, Winter Wrap Up is overcomplicated and unnecessary,” Trixie said.
“Now hold on, what’s unnecessary about Winter Wrap Up? It’s tradition!” Equestria Applejack argued.
“Everyone please, let’s not fight amongst ourselves,” Starlight said. “Perhaps a better example would work. What can you tell me about your mark Miss Fluttershy?”
Equestria Fluttershy smiled. “Oh, it represents my talent with taking care of cute little animals.”
Starlight smiled. “That’s a wonderful talent. However, many animals often have very different behaviours. Wild animals in particular are obviously difficult to become friends with. Tell me, has there ever been a situation where animals were unkind to you or were avoiding you?”
Equestria Fluttershy winced. “Um…well there was the Grand Galloping G-Gala…”
Starlight nodded. “And how did that situation make you feel?”
“She became violently insane,” Equestria Pinkie blabbed.
“Pinkie!” the other people in the room – including Everfree Pinkie – scolded her, while Everfree Fluttershy went to comfort her counterpart.
Starlight nodded. “I see. And what about you Miss Pie? What do those balloons represent?”
“My partying skills of course! I love to plan parties for all my friends!” Equestria Pinkie said cheerfully.
“And has there ever been a time when you couldn’t plan a party or when a friend couldn’t…or wouldn’t come to a party?”
Equestria Pinkie flinched. “Well…there was that one time I wanted to throw a party on the same day my friends were throwing me a party…and at first I thought they were avoiding me…”
Starlight nodded. “And how did that situation make you feel?”
“…I became violently insane,” Equestria Pinkie whispered.
Starlight nodded. “It’s the most dangerous thing about cutie marks. My old textbooks referred to it as Cutie Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome. When a pony is unable to practice their special talent he or she experiences a temporary mental breakdown. Tell me, has anyone else ever experienced something similar happening to them?” Starlight’s eyes widened as everyone in the room began to look a little sheepish. “Really? All of you, even the ones who never have cutie marks?”
Gilda shrugged. “We’re not like normal people. Why are you trying to psychoanalyze us?”
“Oh, I’m not trying to!” Starlight said. “I’m simply illustrating the dangers of a cutie mark.”
“Now hold on,” Equestria Twilight said, holding up her hoof. “I’ll admit that my friends and I have become…upset in the past, but our cutie marks aren’t to blame for that! The only thing a cutie mark is for is when a pony realizes something about themselves that makes them unique whether it’s a talent or personality trait. It’s something that is always present in a pony even without that mark.”
“But a mark can alter a pony’s personality,” Starlight argued. “How do you explain the cutie pox?”
“Well…cutie pox is a very perplexing illness. Apple Bloom’s body may have been covered in cutie marks, but that was part of the disease’s magic.”
“Apple Bloom? Wait, you’ve encountered cutie pox too? My, my, you all live rather interesting lives, don’t you?” Starlight said.
Equestria Twilight frowned. “The point I’m making is that cutie marks aren’t as important as you think they are. My cutie mark is a part of me but it’s NOT the only part of me.”
“Really? Well that’s…” Starlight’s eyes widened and her jaw hung open a little. “…I’ve never thought about it like that before…” A smile slowly spread across Starlight’s face as she thought things over. “It seems like you’ve taught me something new, Your Highness. Yes, I’d say you’ve certainly given me a lot to think about.”
Equestria Twilight blinked in surprise. “I…I have?”
“Hold on a minute, I’m confused. Earlier you made it sound like you could give a pony a cutie mark and then you start warning us about the potential dangers of having one and now you’re agreeing with Twilight,” Equestria Rarity said.
“Oh, you have to understand darling, Starlight Glimmer loves cutie marks. It’s just part of her job to keep her guests safe and comfortable,” Everfree Rarity told her counterpart. “It’s like when a non-flying creature wants to go rock climbing or zip lining. It’s a fun and exciting activity as long as you stay safe.”
“Exactly!” Starlight said cheerfully. “My job requires me to warn ponies about possible risks but I still want ponies to enjoy the talents I give them.”
“And how does that work exactly? How can ya give someone a talent?” Equestria Applejack said.
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Gee, I dunno. Maybe it’s magic?”
Starlight giggled. “Don’t tease them Sunny, it’s a good question. You see, when I lost my cutie mark at a young age I was quite happy. To me, losing my mark meant that I could realize my potential and learn how to do new things. However, I had a lot of difficulty when it came to improving my running speed, my drawing skills, or learning how to be more graceful. But then, I discovered an old spell that allowed me to pick and choose a new cutie mark. I wanted to share this gift with the world, so I created a mark that gave me power over cutie marks. Ever since then, I’ve been able to give ponies any talent or mark that they want…for a small fee of course.” Starlight smiled as she levitated a large book over to them. “That’s what makes our little resort so popular. Getting a new mark is like putting on a mask. It’s like you’re temporarily leaving your old identity behind to become someone else.” She opened the book with her magic and began to flip through pictures of cutie marks. “This right here is our cutie mark catalogue. Now, would anyone like a demonstration?”
Everfree Fluttershy raised her hoof. “Um, I’d like to try it…if that’s okay with everyone else.”
Starlight beamed. “Wonderful! I know you and Countess Cadance visited our resort before, but this is your first time using the catalogue, isn’t it? Go on Miss Fluttershy, take a look and tell me what you’d like.”
Everfree Fluttershy took the book and flipped through the pages. “Well…I’ve always wanted to be a faster flier…could I try this one please?” She pointed at a picture of a lightning bolt with wings.
Starlight smiled. “Excellent choice. Since this is your first time using our catalogue this mark is free! Hold still please.” Her horn glowed with a light turquoise aura as she aimed it at Everfree Fluttershy. Two streams of magic snaked out and tickled the sides of Fluttershy’s flank, right where her cutie mark used to be. Starlight’s horn dimmed as she completed her spell, giving Fluttershy the winged lightning bolt mark. “Well? How does it feel?”
The cutie mark glowed electric blue as Everfree Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Oh my…” She hovered in midair as her wings began to beat rapidly. “Oh my…I feel fantastic! I-I feel energized and energetic!” she giggled.
“Whoa! Flutters, check out how fast your wings are!” Gilda pointed out.
“They’re buzzing like a hummingbird’s!” Equestria Fluttershy said.
“I feel fast…really fast! Rainbow Dash, Gilda! Race me!” Everfree Fluttershy demanded.
Gilda and the two Rainbow Dashes grinned. “Wait, are you serious? This is so awesome!” Everfree Rainbow said.
“First one to fly ten, no twenty, no thirty laps around the resort and back here wins! One two three GO!” Everfree Fluttershy shouted before she zoomed out of the building, crashing through a window as she did.
As Gilda and the two Rainbows flew out the broken window, an irritated Starlight called out, “The cutie mark may be free but the mess you make with it isn’t! You’re paying for that window!”
Discord chuckled. “Not to worry my dear, I’ve got it.” He snapped his fingers and replaced the broken window with double glazed glass. “And the window tastes like chocolate!” he added before he zipped over and began to lick the glass.
“Hey! I want some!” Everfree Pinkie floated over to the window and began to lick the chocolate window too. “Why can’t I bite it?”
“Well we can’t have a window that’s so easily broken – whoa!” Discord jumped back as Everfree Fluttershy crashed through the window again and skidded to a halt.
Everfree Rainbow returned in second place with Gilda and Equestria Rainbow right behind her. “Wow! That was amazing Fluttershy!” Gilda cheered.
Everfree Fluttershy grinned. “I know! Let’s go again I wanna rematch!”
Starlight glanced up at a clock on the wall. “I’m afraid that’s all the time you get for a free mark.” Her horn glowed again as she zapped Fluttershy with her magic, causing the cutie mark to melt into Fluttershy’s skin and turning her back into a blank flank. “So how do you feel now?”
Everfree Fluttershy blushed heavily as her wing beats slowed. “Oh my…” She touched down on the ground and smiled sheepishly. “What a rush. I just felt so excited. I’ve been a pretty average flier all my life and suddenly I felt like I could fly circles around Gilda or Dash. I’m sorry.”
Starlight smiled and nodded. “Everyone has unique experiences regarding our catalogue cutie marks. It’s fun and scary at the same time…kinda like Twilight Night!” she giggled. “Would anyone else like to try it? I could talk to you about our prices, our upcoming holiday deals, or I could answer any other questions you might have.”
Everfree Twilight glanced at the clock. “I’m sure we’d love to hear more but it’s getting late. Luna said she’ll be checking up on Nightmare so I need to lower the sun and raise the moon soon. You guys should probably be getting back to Equestria too,” she said to the Elements of Harmony.
Starlight smiled warmly. “Well I’m still glad that you all decided to learn about Glimmering Stars Luxury Resort! Feel free to pick up a brochure on your way out and please come again soon!”
“Um…I’ll take one please,” Equestria Fluttershy. Noticing her friends’ curious looks, she smiled. “Well…this place feels so nice! It has all the friendliness that Starlight Glimmer’s village had but without us being locked up in a brainwashing hut.”
Starlight shivered. “Even without these new memories that other Starlight sounds horrible.”
“Out of curiosity…what did you do to the evil Starlight Glimmers who won?” Trixie asked Everfree Pinkie.
The Pink One smiled nervously. “You…you don’t need to know that.”
“That bad, huh?” Sunset asked.
“Uh…sorta. All I really needed to do to beat her was splash water on her. But I did get a little…creative one or two times.”
“How creative?” Everfree Rarity asked.
Everfree Pinkie’s eyes drifted to the ceiling as she looked back at her own memories. She reflected on her past actions for several seconds before she shuddered. “It’s…better if you don’t know.”
“If it’s that bad, I think we need to know Pinkie,” Everfree Twilight said.
“Well if it means that much to you Twily, I’ll…tell you later,” Everfree Pinkie said as she glanced at Starlight. “But I’m doing my best to fix things now!”
“So what, does that mean you’re putting those worlds back to the way they were before?” Sunset asked.
Everfree Pinkie giggled. “Oh heck no! That would mean letting the bad guys win! No silly filly, I’m fixing all the other things that went wrong and putting the bad guys into nicer prisons.”
“Pinkie, you damaged the multiverse quite a bit. You can’t tell me that what you did is going to be easy to fix,” Sunset said.
Everfree Pinkie frowned. “Sometimes it really CAN be that easy to fix. You don’t always need a complicated solution to your problems.”
Everfree Applejack sighed. “I think what Sunset is trying to say is that-”
She immediately shut up when Pinkie’s eyes began to glow red. “Look, I’m sorry! I’m trying to fix what I did! I wish I could go back to being a cheerful party-throwing goofball, but I can’t! I turned myself into this because I wanted to protect my friends and I’d do it AGAIN if I had to. I Pinkie Promised that I wouldn’t be such a meanie to people who aren’t my friends, but if my friends are in danger then I WILL protect them! No matter what it takes!”
Her eyes returned to normal as she finished her rant. Everfree Pinkie’s face fell as she saw how everyone was staring fearfully at her. “Oh…I…I’m sorry everybody I…I didn’t mean to…I just…” She sighed. “I need to be alone for a while.”
As Everfree Pinkie vanished with a flash of light, her Equestrian counterpart could sigh with heavy sorrow. “Poor me…”
Starlight sighed. “I hope your friend feels better soon.”
The door opened and Princess Nightmare walked in. “Is everything okay? I heard Pinkie yelling in here.”
“Nightmare!” Smog cried as he rushed over to greet her. “You’re back! How’d you find us?”
Nightmare shrugged. “After I came back through the portal, mom told me that you guys were visiting Glimmering Stars.”
“So how’d it go with Princess Luna?” Sunset asked.
Nightmare frowned and turned away from her friends. “I’d rather not talk about it. I’ll see you guys back home…I need to be alone for a while.”
As Nightmare turned into a cloud of magical mist and flew away, her friends exchanged worried glances with each other. In particular, Equestria Pinkie and Discord walked away from the group and began to make plans.
Princess Luna sighed and rolled into her bed, levitating her crown off her head as she got ready to go to sleep. “What a night…”
“Well it’s about to get longer,” Discord said as he appeared in her bedroom with a flash of light.
“Discord!” Luna cried as she jumped out of bed, covering herself up with her bed sheets. “How dare you invade my privacy again!”
Discord raised an eyebrow. “Why are you covering yourself up when you normally don’t wear clothes? I mean besides your crown, your shoes, and that weird bib thing…oh what do I care? Sorry my dear, but I’m here on behalf of Duchess Luna.”
Luna’s eyes widened. “You are the Discord from Everfree then? What business does my counterpart have with me?”
Discord smirked. “I think you know. But just in case you are as thick-skulled as I’m led to believe, why don’t you ask her yourself?”
Before Luna could retort, Discord snapped his fingers and teleported them both to the mirror chamber in Twilight’s castle. “In you go!” he sang as he gave Luna a swift kick in the flank, knocking her through the portal.
The Equestria Discord teleported into the room next to him. “You know she’s going to be furious with you.”
Everfree Discord smirked. “You’re just jealous because you never took the chance to kick her flank yourself.”
“My dear me! I would never kick Luna’s flank! We’re friends after all.”
“My good sir, there’s no worry to be had when it comes to having fun with your friends! Sure, people such as Chrysalis, Smog, or Sunset are not the wrestling type however my more violent friends certainly enjoy the occasional roughhousing! Gilda, Trixie, and Nightmare have all kicked my tail and I’ve returned the favor. It’s all about what sort of interests you share with your friends.”
“Oh, I see now! Some friends enjoy their personal space while other friends enjoy a friendly game of flank kicking!”
“Now you’ve got it! So…wanna go prank some ponies?”
The two Discords high-fived. “Awesome.”
On the other side of the mirror Princess Luna growled as she stood back up. “Even as an Element of Forgiveness he’s just as annoying.”
“I don’t know, I find his personality grows on you.”
Luna turned around and came face to face with herself. And since she wasn’t facing the mirror… “Duchess Luna, is it?”
Everfree Luna nodded. “It seems you outrank me Princess Luna. It’s an honour to meet you at last.”
“It is an honour to meet you as well.” The two Lunas shook hooves. “To what do I owe this meeting?”
Everfree Luna frowned. “Moony came back home about an hour ago. When I went to see her she was quite upset.”
“And you wish for me to apologize to her? Very well, I was actually hoping to do so. Where is she?” Equestria Luna asked.
“Hold on princess. If you’re going to apologize to Moony it had better be genuine. That’s why I want to talk to you a little more first. Why do you distrust her so much when you know she is not the same Nightmare Moon you remember?”
Princess Luna sighed. “Like my sister, I suppose my heart speaks louder than my head in this circumstance. I know she means well but I…I can’t face her. Not the mare who looks so much like the creature that has caused my kingdom such grief.”
Duchess Luna sighed. “I heard that you’ve had trouble adapting to the present day due to your time spent on the moon. Princess Twilight had trouble adapting too. Although she only spent a hundred years banished and her family froze themselves in crystal so that they could be with her. Her experience was less traumatizing.”
“I am NOT traumatized!”
“Then why do you cling to the past so much? The Nightmare Moon you know is gone. So when another version of Nightmare Moon who has never harmed you or those you care for AND who has saved your kingdom from the Pink Trickster, why do you insist on treating her like the enemy? Please Luna, heed my words of wisdom and let go of your pain.”
Princess Luna frowned and turned away. “It’s not that easy to let my anger go.”
Duchess Luna smiled. “Sure it is. We’re guardians of the night. We of all people should know how to turn a nightmare into a perfect dream.” She wrapped her wing around her counterpart and led her outside the Equestrian Embassy.
They walked through the Equestria forest until they reached the top of a nearby hill. Princess Luna blinked as she noticed who was waiting for them. Nightmare Moon was sitting down, watching day turn to night. Her ears twitched and she glanced over her shoulder to see the two Lunas coming to her. The three alicorns of the night were silent as Nightmare’s mom sat down next to her and nuzzled her daughter. Princess Luna hesitantly sat down next to them.
“It’s a beautiful night,” Duchess Luna said.
Princess Luna stared at the sky and nodded. “The stars are arranged differently here…it’s like looking at a masterpiece under a whole new light.”
“A new perspective can make a work shine brighter,” Nightmare said. “I read that in a book once. Or maybe that was a dream I had.” She shrugged and cuddled up closer to her mom.
Princess Luna stared at the two. “You have the same love of books that Twilight Sparkle has. Many ponies say you shouldn’t judge others before you get to know them…and I am just now realizing that I don’t know much about you.”
Nightmare smiled a little. “I am a ruler of Everfree and a guardian of dreams. I enjoy reading because I enjoy tales of adventure or tomes of power. I live for the thrill of combat whenever I duel with someone. No matter how serious my mission is, I take great satisfaction out of every battle. I love my family, my friends, my kingdom, and my night. That’s all you really need to know about me.”
Princess Luna tilted her head in thought. “Have you ever wished that the night could last forever?”
Nightmare chuckled. “A daydream that I never grew out of. I appreciate the day just as much as the night, even though I sometimes still wonder what might have been.”
“Why? I wished for eternal darkness because I thought it was the only way ponies could see and appreciate my work. Why did you wish for eternal night?”
Nightmare’s horn lit up and gently levitated Princess Luna to her other side. She nuzzled the two Lunas and whispered, “So that moments like this could last forever.”
The two Lunas stared at each other and slowly smiled. They both wrapped their wings around Nightmare and sighed. The three night mares spent the next few hours sharing the peaceful darkness filled with shining, glimmering stars.