//------------------------------//
// Through the Looking Glass (+ mini chapter) 
// Story: Split Second 
// by wille179 
//------------------------------//

	The chilly December air swirled the snow on the streets above, but the cavernous chambers below Canterlot Castle remained comfortably cool year round. The primary hazard there was not the cold, but the dust in the air, which was prone to making the more sensitive of its rare occupants sneeze occasionally.
The cavern flashed green.
A drake rubbed his sore nose. "At least I didn't burn anything that time," he muttered to himself.
"Just be careful, Thorn," his mother replied. The mare, now visibly pregnant and nearing the halfway mark, trotted beside him. The two of them followed behind Princess Celestia, and were in turn followed by Cobalt, this time painted with zebra stripes. 
Sparkle and her son both wore gray robes, although they were of a significantly higher quality than their original set. The robes, aside from their decorative purposes, helped conceal their bodies so that they did not have to spend the effort on full-body illusions to hide their physical corruption. Thus, their eyes, having long since lost their original color, and Sparkle's horn, practically a sword on her head, were the only things that needed magic to be hidden.
In the warehouse-like cavern that Celestia was leading them through, such disguises weren't really necessary. But then again, the caverns weren't the final destination. The mirror in the back was only a waypoint. 
"Here we are," Celestia said as she brought them to the mirror. "Star Swirl and I used to explore the multiverse together with this mirror. We discovered threads of meta-energy connecting objects together even across universes. Now, normally, it is incredibly hard to detect a universe that is too similar to your own, but you, Sparkle, are tied to your sister. Using the information I gathered from your thread, I've calibrated the mirror to take you to the other timeline."
"Interesting," Sparkle replied. "Does it use a summoning array as its base?"
"That was my first thought when I was introduced to the mirror by Star Swirl," Celestia said. "That isn't the case, however. It's a breach in the space-time continuum, with the mirror glass acting as both a filter and a safe passageway."
"Huh," Sparkle said. "I didn't even know you could do that."
"You can," Celestia replied. "Now..." Her horn lit up and she tapped it on the top of the mirror's frame. A second of silence passed, and then the mirror's surface rippled like liquid mercury. "The gate is open. It will stay open for three days before it closes. If you are still on the other side, you'll..." Celestia paused briefly, "be stuck there for years." She blinked and looked away for a moment. "Cadance and Shining Armor, as well as Cobalt's family, would miss you very much if you were gone."
"I was disowned," Cobalt replied bluntly, shrugging.
Celestia cringed slightly, thinking she'd just stepped on a delicate topic. However, she saw the indifference in his eyes and continued on. "Regardless, it would be best for eveypony and everydragon if you were all back in time. I've already contacted my other self, so she's expecting you three. Are you ready?"
The two ponies and one dragon nodded. They said their goodbyes and walked towards the mirror. Cobalt and Thorn jumped through, while Sparkle cast one last glance back at Celestia.
The gleam in the princess's eyes could only be described as adventurous, almost as if she wished she could come with Sparkle. Celestia nodded and Sparkle, smiling, turned around and jumped through the looking glass.
It was if color had ganged up on her and decided to mob her eyes. The swirling mass of clashing hues assaulted her eyes in ways that were physically painful. They stretched her, squeezed her, and flung her every which way. 
In that momentary eternity, Sparkle was color.
And then it was over. With an ungraceful flop, Sparkle toppled out of the mirror and onto the still recovering Thorn.
"That was fun," Cobalt replied as he dusted himself off.
Sparkle did the same after heaving herself up. "I wish I knew what that was that I just saw," Sparkle muttered. She looked up.
The room she was in was, for all intents and purposes, completely identical to the room she had just left. The sole exception was that this Celestia's expression was just a tad firmer, and a tad less tolerating of Sparkle and company's presence. The difference was almost too subtle for most ponies to notice; then again, seeing souls and the emotional changes therein was not a talent most ponies possessed.
"Princess Celestia," Sparkle said, bowing slightly. "I'm Sparkle, this is Thorn, and this is my friend, Cobalt," Sparkle said. She introduced Cobalt as her friend rather than her student to avoid casting him in a bad light.
"A pleasure," Celestia replied. "If you'll follow me, I'll escort you out. Come back as soon as you are ready to depart." And with nothing further to say, Celestia led the trio out in silence.





Three sets of rhythmic crunches, two sets of four and a set of two, sounded along through the length of the sidewalk, drowned out by the noise of the city and the muffling effect of the snow itself. The percussive sounds of limbs walking down the street stopped at the side of a particular building. The sound of a mare and a stallion conversing became audible, before the hoof beats returned.
The owners of the sounds entered the building - a theater - and gave their newly acquired tickets to the ticket taker. As the mare handed their stubs back, she directed them to their seats.
Some time later, the curtain rose, revealing the twin brother of the dracolich. "Once upon a time, long before the peaceful rule of Celestia, and before ponies discovered our beautiful land of Equestria, ponies did not know harmony. It was a strange and dark time. A time when ponies were torn apart... by hatred!"
The crowd, excluding the three otherworldly visitors, gasped. Cobalt gave his teacher an incredulous, sideways glance. Sparkle replied with a simple shrug.
And so the show continued. Thorn enjoyed listening to his brother narrate the pageant, but shifted his focus completely to the white mare when she took the stage.
"Rarity." Thorn looked at Sparkle; Sparkle looked at Thorn. They had both surprised each other by simultaneously whispering the unicorn's name.
Sparkle blushed slightly. Though the original desire for Rarity had come from Thorn, the nightmare Sparkrovitar had highlighted how beautiful Rarity was. And while she preferred stallions more, Sparkle would freely admit that she swung both ways.
In truth, most unicorns were bisexual as a result of how their magic had affected their physiology over the millennia their kind had existed. It was one of those things that everypony knew but didn't talk about. And perhaps it was the vacation, or perhaps it was the bibliophile in Sparkle admiring the play, but either way, she found herself eyeing all of Twilight's friends on stage.
She shook her head and continued watching the reenactment of Equestria's founding tale for the sake of the historical narrative. Sparkle giggled slightly when Trixie came out, dressed as a wendigo. The mare had even used her magic to conjure snow to accompany her entrance.
And then Twilight lit her horn, forming a flaming, golden heart with her magic. For the first time ever, Sparkle felt her sister's magic without the barrier of time between them. Even with her own magic fully suppressed and hidden, Sparkle could feel Twilight's light shining into her very soul; unlike with Tesla before, there was no hostility at all, only pure, burning joy.
The perpetual hunger in Sparkle's soul grew into a gaping, yearning chasm of desire. And yet, she felt no urge to take Twilight's soul for herself; Sparkle was content to just watch.
Eventually, the ponies on stage took their bow, and the curtain fell. The entire audience stomped their hooves in applause.
"That was fun," Cobalt remarked. "Your sister and brother were really good, ma'am, Thorn."
Sparkle offered her hoof. "Shall we go tell them that ourselves?"
"Sure," Cobalt said. Thorn also agreed. They took her hoof.
Sparkle released the bindings on her magic, and the crowd reacted almost instantly, parting from her mere presence. The necromancer didn't give them time to panic, though, as she dragged her son and student into the shadows and to the room where she could feel her sister.





"We should be so honored that Princess Celestia chose us! She must really think we exemplify what good friends are!" Twilight said as she hung her costume up.
The window popped open, letting the chilly wind race into the dressing room. "Trixie will get it," the blue mare declared. But, just as she illuminated her horn to magic the window shut, an oppressive and mildly terrifying presence materialized in the room.
As a trio of figures solidified, several of the ponies jumped, with sounds ranging from squeaks to shrieks. "Fantastic!" The tallest of the arrivals exclaimed. "Your acting was amazing."
"Sparkle?!" Twilight exclaimed. "But how?"
"Aww, I would've thought you'd have loved to see me," the necromancer replied.
Twilight ran up and hugged her sister. Their opposing magical cores made their skin tingle pleasantly at the touch. "Of course I'm glad to see you. But how did you get here? We didn't bend time."
"Ask Celestia about Star Swirl's Mirror; it's an amazing piece of magic that can let you jump between worlds," Sparkle replied.
Twilight broke off the hug. "Jump between worlds? So you're actually here? Is that why-"
"I can feel your magic? Yes and yes," Sparkle answered.
As the two sisters reunited, the two brothers did the same, and the apprentice looked on, the six other ponies in the room did their best to get as far away as possible from the individuals they knew in their minds and in their guts to be very dangerous.
Cobalt trotted over and sat himself down between Applejack and Pinkie Pie. "Hello. Have we met before? I can't remember. I have memory issues, so I might have, but..."
Applejack looked the zebra-painted pony over. Although they had, in fact, met before, Cobalt had been painted differently. "No, partner, Ah don't think we have. Name's Applejack."
"And I'm Pinkie Pie."
He nodded. "Charmed. I'm Cobalt." Applejack thought the name sounded familiar, but couldn't place it. " Are you over here because of my mistress?" Cobalt inquired.
"Your mistress?" Applejack asked. 
"I'm Miss Sparkle's apprentice," Cobalt replied.
"Sparkle's one scary mare," Applejack said.
Cobalt grinned. "You have no idea."





"...but just when we thought it was beaten, it stabbed me with its claws. I would have died if it wasn't for Princess Luna." As they rode the train to Ponyville, Thorn recounted what he knew of the battle of Canterlot to Spike and the others. Even if he hadn't consciously thought about it, Thorn's decision to not say the exact nature of their anti-vampire weapon probably spared Fluttershy's feelings for the animals.
"That's amazing!" Spike cheered. "What happened next?"
"Princess Luna sealed it away for good. Then she cast a sleep spell, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in her room,"
"You got to see the Princess's room?" Rarity interjected. "What did it look like?"
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Vampires and Nightmares, and all she cares about is the Princess's room." Applejack bopped Rainbow with her hoof. "What was that for?"
Aside from the occasional friendly quip at one another, the train ride passed relatively swiftly. Sparkle and Thorn caught up with their siblings, and Cobalt became fast friends with Pinkie. The rest, however, stayed to themselves and didn't interact much with the temporal outsiders.
Sparkle didn't mind. It just gave her more time to spend with her sister. "Hey, can you give me a tour when we get there?" Sparkle asked Twilight.
"Absolutely!"





Twilight pointed to her left. Cobalt, Thorn, Spike, and Sparkle looked towards the giant gingerbread house that she was indicating. "Over there, we have Sugar Cube Corner, the bakery where Pinkie works," she pointed ahead towards a building built from a living tree, "and there's my home sweet library tree, the Golden Oaks."
"This town is amazing," a starry-eyed Sparkle said as she looked around. Snow fell gently upon the town, but that didn't stop its residents from running merrily about the town.
"It's nothing special," Twilight replied.
"No, it is," Sparkle insisted. She pointed around. "I didn't notice it when I came here before, but your tour made it clear. The atmosphere is very different from Canterlot. The ponies all smile here, and none of them have that stupid, arrogant walk. I love it!"
And indeed she did. In Canterlot, the default expression of its populace was a disdain-filled scowl in the upper levels, and a shifty gaze in the lower levels. By contrast, Ponyville ponies all had cheerful, easygoing smiles.
Twilight led the group into her home with promises of hot chocolate and a warm fire. Cobalt and the two dragons filed quickly inside, while Sparkle lingered momentarily. "Twi?"
"Yes, Sparks?"
For an agonizing moment, Sparkle debated telling her sister what Death had told Shining Armor, and he had in turn told her. However, one glance through the door revealed the her son and nephew roughhousing and Cobalt cheering them on; the whole scene was just too happy. In that one moment, her courage evaporated.
"I love you, Twi."
"Love you too, sis."
That was all that needed to be said.








Mini Chapter: Dragon Smackdown




Welcome, mares and gentlestallions, dames and drakes, to the 150th annual Dragon Smackdown! I'll be your host tonight. Now, let's get ready to rumble!!!
Now, have we got an interesting lineup for you this fine evening. Among fan favorites such as Flare the Incinerator and The Pulverizer, we have some new talent making their debut matches today. In fact, it is the first match of the day. Let's get to it!
In the left corner, we have a young drake out to prove himself to the one he loves; I hear she's even in the audience. And despite his age, he is a proficient lance user and a master of the long-lost art of age shifting. I am proud to give you, for the first time, Spike the Knight!!!
From the door on the left, Spike stepped into the stone arena. Decked out in gleaming steel plate armor, carrying a lance three times his height in one hand as easily as if it were a twig, and carrying a large, reflective shield in the other, Spike certainly looked the part.
And in the right corner, we have... Am I reading this correctly? Yes, it seems that his challenger is none other than Spike's twin brother, and the self-proclaimed evil twin at that. With no weapons to his name, but a plethora of magical ability, Let's welcome, also for the first time, Thorn the Lich!!!
Thorn emerged from the opposite door, blinking as he adjusted to the bright light. He wore simple leather armor - if it could even be called that with how little it would protect him - and a skull-shaped mask. Despite carrying no weapons, the onlookers could tell that his whole body was a honed weapon.
Are you ready?
The crowd roared in excitement.
Then let the fight... BEGIN!
Spike lunged forwards, taking the opening move. He thrusted his lance.
Thorn dodged to the left and grabbed the extended weapon. He pulled.
Spike momentarily lost his balance, but recovered enough to redirect his momentum and plow shoulder first into Thorn. His armor's spikes dug into Thorn; they didn't pierce the lich's hide, but they would definitely bruise him enough to impare movement.
What an amazing comeback by the Knight! Are you seeing this, folks?
Thorn recoiled, and then sprang forwards, faster than Spike could move. The dead dragon clawed at his brother's armor. With his mouth now inches from Spike's face, Thorn exhaled.
Spike jumped back, recoiling from the baleful green flames that were hot even to him. He wiped the molten metal of his helmet out of his eyes. The crowd hissed and booed. "Have you no pride? Eyes are against the rules!" Spike shouted.
"Whoops," Thorn replied. "Sorry, I got-OOF!" Spike's Lance crashed into Thorn's left, sending him tumbling. Before he could stand, a volley of fireballs shot towards him.
Ouch! That's got to hurt!
Thorn dodged all but one, which reduced his leather armor to ash. "Fine, if that's how you want to play..." Thorn's body rapidly dissolved into an inky black smoke.
What is this? I've never seen a dragon do anything like this. Is that even legal?
Thorn's body filled the arena, blinding Spike. "Come on, bro. I'm right here; hit me!"
What a frightening power! Folks, I feel sorry for whoever has to fight Thorn next.
"Bastard. I might not be able to hit you, but you can't hit me either," Spike shouted.
"That's where you're wrong, Spike," Thorn's voice said, echoing from everywhere. A pair of forelimbs materialized near the ground behind Spike. "Dead Dragon Strike: One Thousand Years of Pain!"
Thorn struck.
Spike flew...





...and promptly crashed into the library book case. "Gah! You didn't have to poke me in the ass!"
"But it was funny," Thorn replied as he resolidified on one of the library chairs.
"Bro, there are things you do not do in Dragon Smackdown," Spike said as he pulled off his singed cardboard armor. "Sticking your claw up my ass is one of those things."
"Then can I-"
"No."
"But-"
"I said NO."
A moment of silence passed between the two.
"Want to raid your Mom's cookie jar?" Thorn asked.
"Buck yes."
"Language, Spike."
"I blame you," he replied.
The lich shrugged. "Fair enough."