Shimmer trudged out of Pointeville High with her guitar in hand. She was in no mood to be joyous. What was there to be happy about when she lost her two closest friends? Looking at her feet, she walked down the steps that led up to her school. All day, she tried to tell Sugar Belle and Double Diamond that it wasn't her but someone else. She even tried to explain it to other people and they all just looked at her weirdly. No one believed her. Who was she kidding: who would??
People all around her waved goodbye to their friends and chatted excitedly with one another. All anybody was talking about was the Spring Fling. Shimmer sighed. She, Double Diamond, and Sugar Belle were all going to go as a group. But she guessed that wasn't the plan anymore...
"Might as well not go..." she whispered.
Feeling sad, she made her way toward the school gate.
“Wait!” someone called out from behind her.
Shimmer turned around to see a girl with dark blue hair that had a purple and pink streak in it. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun and the large glasses she had were slipping off her nose as she awkwardly ran to catch up to the fiery-headed girl. She had lavender skin and wore a long white sweater and black slacks. Dropping random papers and tripping over nothing was one of Shimmer’s classmates.
“Oh…Twilight,” Shimmer murmured as she watched the clumsy girl, feeling slightly amused.
Twilight Sparkle had to be the nerdiest person Shimmer had ever known. She knew the answers to almost everything; whether it was Math or Science or History…She was just too smart! Shimmer didn't know why she didn't already have a college degree. As much as Shimmer admired her intelligence, she wasn't exactly envious of her 'sportiness'.
Twilight was the worst at sports. She tripped all over the place and ran from the ball instead of catching it. Consequently, she was the last person to be left when there were teams. But all the same, this awkward girl was a friend of hers. The said girl panted as she gathered up the fallen papers and stumble-stepped over to where the other girl stood. Twilight gave her a lopsided grin and stuck her hand out.
“Hi. I heard you talking about something rather peculiar at lunch today and wanted to ask to you about it. But our schedules weren't particularly in sync. You don’t mind telling me about it, do you?”
Shimmer stood there for a moment with a blank look on her face. Twilight was being so straightforward that for a second she didn't know what she was talking about. And then when she remembered her face blushed with embarrassment.
“Oh…you heard…everything, huh.”
The girl tilted her head.
“It was an escalating argument. Most everyone heard it. I only heard bits and pieces though.”
Shimmer facepalmed. Great, her loss of two friends had been broadcasted to the whole school. She shook the outstretched hand and turned to continue her walk home. Twilight followed with her books held in her arms. To Shimmer, it was a little odd for Twilight to be hanging around her since they weren't in he same social group. But since she couldn't chill with Sugar Belle and Double Diamond anymore, she might as well get to know Twilight better.
"So you want to know what happened?" Shimmer began.
Twilight nodded vigorously.
"It...might sound strange...I'm afraid you won't believe me."
Twilight raised an eyebrow and gave her an understanding look.
"It's ok. You can tell me. I won't judge."
Shimmer cleared her throat and began to tell her about what she had seen.
"Well...the whole reason why we were arguing was because on Friday...Sugar Belle claims to have seen me at Java Bean, the coffee shop she and Double Diamond work at in Canterlot. It was late at night, maybe around ten when she said I came in. But the thing is...I didn't come to the shop on Friday. Around that time I was on the bus coming home from my music lesson and whatnot. And not only does she say I was there, she also said I almost beat up Double Diamond!"
"You?? Almost beat up Double Diamond??" Twilight repeated with a look of confusion. "You're the last person I would ever think to do that!"
"That's what I thought when I heard her say that!" Shimmer said in agreement.
"That definitely is strange..." Twilight murmured. "Continue."
"It went like this: I was coming from Canterlot on the Midnight Bus. It dropped me off at the edge of Canterlot and Pointeville. It was really dark out, so dark that you couldn't see the stars. I remember because I made that observation when I was in the bus looking out the window. The first thing I had noticed when I got off the bus was that it was cold. I hadn't expected it to be chilly that night. This here was the outfit I wore so I really wasn't getting any warmth."
Shimmer pinched her shirt to show her.
"So I started walking toward home. I was tugging at my jacket and not paying attention to where I was going and bumped into someone. My guitar fell to the ground and I hit my head hard on the concrete. When I sat up, kneeling in front of me was..."
Shimmer stopped. Why would Twilight believe her? The story she was telling already sounded fabricated. The nerdy girl waited for her to continue, looking quite interested.
"What was in front of you?"
"What...Who was in front of me. It was a who..." Shimmer stammered.
"Who was in front of you, Shimmer?" Twilight asked again, this time with the correction.
Shimmer bit her lip and rounded the corner of the city block. They were about three blocks away from the school now.
"...It-It was someone...a girl..." the fiery-headed girl described.
Twilight frowned slightly and said, "What did they look like?"
After a long silence, her friend answered her question.
"Well...they had red hair with yellow streaks...turquoise eyes...uh, light orange skin. And they were my height...She wore a black leather jacket, a skirt, and boots with purple flames on them," Shimmer whispered. "Everything other than the clothes she wore...seemed identical to me. Same eyes, same mouth, same nose, even the same hairstyle!"
Shimmer swallowed.
"She looked just like me! At first I was shocked. I thought I might've been hallucinating. But hallucinations can't knock you over now could they? This other me turned her back to me and I started freaking out. I was wondering if someone was playing a joke. Could she have been some kind of prankster or an identity thief? That really was what I had been thinking!"
Shimmer seemed to be paling as she talked about this other girl.
"And after a while...I came to the only answer. That she was me! And the other girl...she confirmed it. But in a way that didn't make much sense to me. She said something like she was a version of me. And she sure does seem like that! I'm a happy person! Nice and kind to others! But she! She ruined my friendship with Sugar Belle and Double Diamond! She's the one they saw at the shop! The one that nearly hurt Double Diamond! But they think it's me!"
Shimmer flailed her arms around uselessly with exasperation.
"I mean, how do I prove that it was her? She's the opposite of me yet she's me! I feel like I'm going crazy, wondering if she'd ever show up. She's not some psychotic person who's trying to replace me now, huh? I want to know if that is so!"
Twilight was astonished at how Shimmer was reacting. Another her? That's impossible! But then again...Twilight placed a hand on her chin and rubbed it.
"Surely this other person couldn't be a relative of yours?"
"She can't have been! My parents would never have hidden her from me! I know my family!" Shimmer replied.
Twilight nodded slowly and frowned. She seemed very sure of this person not being related to her...could that be the reason..?
"You know, Shimmer...something strange has been happening at a particular school in Canterlot. It's called Canterlot High School. I've noticed an extraordinary amount of energy from that place ever since the night of the Fall Formal. Maybe the appearance of this other you could be linked to that school."
Shimmer looked at her with gleaming eyes.
"You believe there's another me?!"
Twilight tilted her head. Shimmer wasn't one to lie. The theory of there being two of the same people existing in one world sounded a bit outrageous but after discovering some odd things happening in the city next to Pointeville, she was willing to add this phenomenon to the kooky occurrences. Not exactly sure if she should yes or no, she shrugged.
"It definitely sounds like something we should look into."
Shimmer nodded enthusiastically.
"I have to know about her. I need to find out how this is possible..."
Twilight smiled.
"Well, why don't we head over to my home? I have lots to study about the interesting patterns of that school anyhow. Maybe we could find a connection. Though...I do need a lot more information to connect the two together..."
The nerdy girl shrugged.
"If we look into it, we could find out some things!"
Shimmer grinned happily.
"Alright! But first, I need to stop by my home and let my parents know."
The two of them walked down the street and happily conversed over their new found interest and made their way to Sunset's. Little did they know that their little research session would lead to something neither of them would ever have expected.