“Owmfh—” Twilight let out a muffled yelp, her muzzle buried in something soft. She used her front hooves to lift herself away from what she had landed on. She looked down, her eyes finally focusing in the dim light. She faced a familiar orange flank, complete with a red and yellow cutie mark in the shape of a sun.
“‘Ow’ indeed. All I got was the hard floor,” Sunset grumbled. Twilight hastily got on all fours, backing up to give Sunset enough room to stand on her own. Sunset hobbled up onto her own legs. “Horns, hooves and magic.”
Twilight took inventory of her horn, mane, wings, tail and hooves, confirming Sunset’s summary. She was her familiar self again. “Home,” she said. Taking in their surroundings, they appeared to be inside a small, dark, windowless room. The cold grey floor made of stone, the simple walls much the same. She cast a simple illumination spell, a bright light from the tip of her horn blanketed the room in a soft white glow. With the aid of the new glowing light, it was evident that they were in a room that used for storage. Chests of various sizes were stacked taller than Twilight lined the walls and a single row in the centre of the room. The Crystal Mirror sat alone against the wall opposite to the only door for the room.
“I’m not sure exactly where hough. I don’t recognize this place,” Twilight said. “It looks like most of this stuff is from Canterlot, most of those chests have royal crests on them. Nonpony’s been in here in some time, though,” she stepped a front hoof forward, kicking up dust.
Sunset Shimmer, now that she had her bearings had moved to a dust laden object propped up against the wall to the left of the Crystal Mirror, wiping away the grime away from it’s surface. Beneath, a dull but unmistakeable golden glimmer they both recognized was revealed.
“Celestia’s royal guard armour plating,” Sunset said. She looked to Twilight, who had used a telekinesis spell to open one of the chests that was in the middle of the room.
Twilight pulled free a cloak, also adorned with the royal guard colours and the seal of Princess Celestia. “We must be in the castle at Canterlot,” Twilight declared, releasing the cloak from her magical grip, the fabric settling, draped over the edge of the chest. “This is good. I need to see the Princess, hopefully I can get a complete picture of what’s happened and…“ Twilight trailed off mid sentence, her attention shifted to the mirror, which showed signs of activity.
The Crystal Mirror they had just fell through moments earlier flashed brightly, a third figure emerging through the reflective surface. Sunset and Twilight squinted at the sudden burst of light. The new arrival was a sight Twilight hadn’t seen in a while: A purple unicorn wobbled on her hind legs, complete with a purple mane and tail with pink highlights and a cutie mark she was all too familiar with. The new unicorn took a couple clumsy steps forward before falling forward, landing heavily on all fours.
“Okay, totally a pony now,” the new pony said, amused.
Twilight sighed. “Of course she’d follow us through. What do you think you’re doing here?” Twilight said, exasperated.
“You both fell in. I thought I should make sure you made it over safely?” Light nervously replied. She balanced unsteadily on her newly bestowed hooves. “So where are we?“ she asked.
“Equestria. Look, I do appreciate the concern, but you need to go back to your side. I promise you’ll get your chance to visit once I have everything sorted out here,” Twilight said.
“But—,” Light began to protest.
“I should go back with our new friend as well. I don’t feel comfortable dropping in unannounced,” Sunset cut in, backing Twilight’s opinion. Twilight looked to Sunset Shimmer, her features softened.
“You are fine to visit. You are from here, after all,” Twilight said. She turned to Light. “You though, you’re going back.”
Light frowned, disappointed. “Fine, I’ll go home. I can at least monitor things on the other side,” Light grumbled. She spun around awkwardly on all fours and stepped into the mirror. Her face colliding with the mirror surface. “Ow,” Light said, rubbing her nose with a hoof. She shakily held her left hoof against the surface of the reflective crystal. “I hate to say this, but I think this was a one way trip.”
“What?!” Twilight’s exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise.
“Wonderful,” Sunset grimaced. Twilight approached the mirror to inspect for herself. She raised a hoof and knocked the surface. It was indeed solid.
“Well that’s just great,” Twilight muttered. “I’ll have to figure this out later. New plan. You stick with us until we can find Princess Celestia,. That means no wandering off and getting yourself into trouble,” Twilight said. She looked to Light who had already tuned her out. Instead, Light’s attention was transfixed on her own reflection, and her new horn. “Light, Are you listening?”
“Uh huh. Follow you, don’t wander. Got it,” Light said, her ogling not faltering from the mirror. She reached up with a hoof to poke at her horn. “Neat,” she mumbled. Twilight pursed her lips, shifting her attention to Sunset, who had begun rummaging through another one of the chests in the room. “Find anything useful?”
“No, just more cloaks. It looks like Princess Celestia’s Royal guard winter regalia. The stuff they wear at the annual Hearth’s Warming Eve parade,” Sunset said.
“Let’s figure out where we are in the castle then, we can make our way to Princess Celestia after that,” Twilight nodded, she looked to Light, who was attempting to quietly stand still on all fours. “Light, are you going to be able to walk? I know going from two to four legs takes some time to adapt to,” Twilight asked.
Light took two tiny, wobbly steps forward. She grinned, satisfied with the result. “This is pretty weird, but I think I have this figured out,” Light said, nodding. “I do have one request,“ she began, blushing, “could I get something to wear? Having a coat of fur is nice and all, but the lack of clothes is kind of… uncomfortable,” Light asked.
“Here,” Twilight lifted one of the cloaks out of the chest Sunset had dug through with magic and tossed it hastily on top of Light, “that should do for now.”
Light clumsily shuffled around to get the cloak on right. “Oh! Can I do that too?” Light asked, excited. She tugged at the cloak with her teeth to straighten it out along her backside, sufficiently covering her from head to tail.
“I believe so since you appear to be a unicorn on this side. You should have some ability,” Twilight said. “You’ll need to study the basics and practice though, to see how much ability you have to work with.”
Light’s eyes lit up at the possibility.
“But we can talk more about that later. For now, lets get moving,” Twilight motioned with her horn towards the door. Twilight extinguished the magical light source and pulled the only door in the room open carefully. At first just a crack, the small gap letting in a little bit of light from the other side. Twilight squinted to let her vision adjust.
“Well?” Light asked, anxious.
“Nopony around. It looks like we are in Canterlot though,” Twilight replied. She opened the door wide enough for them to pass through single file and stepped into the empty hallway. The trio stood in the middle of a finely detailed bright blue runner rug that ran the entire length of the hallway. Above, ornate crystal chandeliers were dimly lit with a yellow magical glow, giving the hallway an eerie air. Light looked every which way taking everything in. She had never been in a mansion, let alone a castle before.
“Why is it so dark out? It’s only mid morning,” Sunset asked. Twilight looked to Sunset, who had already proceeded ahead of the other two ponies towards one of the tall windows that lined the outer side of the wide hall.
“Perhaps it’s cloudy?“ Twilight approached the window Sunset was peering through and looked skyward. Not a single cloud to be seen. Instead, a full moon set against a deep purple hue as it’s backdrop. “Or… maybe not. What in Equestia is going on here?”
Twilight shifted her attention below. The familiar view of the palace grounds lay before her. “That’s the northern courtyard. It looks like we are on the third floor. The main hall is that way,” Twilight said, motioning with her head to her left. She noted to herself that the instead of a blanket of white powder, there was as much greenery as she would have expected mid-summer. “Lets head that way and find out where Princess Celestia is. Hopefully we can get some answers.”
Twilight started trotting towards the main hall. Sunset let Light pass in front of her and took up the rear. The trio proceeded quietly to the end of the hall, greeted with a staircase spiralling downwards. Descending the steps, the girls arrived at the landing of the second floor. In front of them, another hall. Shorter, but with a stone railing overlooking their destination, the main hall.
Light slowed, straying to the side and peering over the bannister. The wide open hall below was lavishly decorated, with thick velvet rugs running the length of the room, and matching banners emblazoned with Princess Celestia’s cutie mark draped the walls of the room.
“Shouldn’t there be palace staff around?” Sunset asked, she had paused as well to look over the railing.
“This time of the day, yeah, there should be. At the very least, some guards at the front doors,” Twilight replied. Motioning to the ajar doors with her hoof. She arrived at the landing of the curved marble staircase at the front of the huge hall a few paces ahead of Light, who had appeared to gotten the hang of walking down stairs on four limbs. Twilight went to the enormous ornamental doors at the entrance to the hall. Peering between the doors, she discovered there was not a single royal guard on either side.
“YOU THERE! I COMMAND THOU TO CEASE MOVEMENT AT ONCE!” a booming voice filled the room. Twilight spun around and reared, her wings flaring outward. Sunset froze in place and Light jumped in surprise at the command. Twilight spotted the source of the voice first. A large, purple figure loomed in the shadows, it’s flowing mane that rippled like a starry night sky.
“Princess Luna!” Twilight exclaimed. She excitedly took a couple of steps forward.
“WHY DOST THOU IGNORE MY COMMAND?” Luna’s overpowering voice echoed through the hall. Luna leapt from the second floor directly to the ground, landing heavily. She held her head high, looking down at the smaller ponies that stood before her.
Sunset Shimmer moved between Light and Luna. “Stay quiet, this doesn’t feel right,” Sunset muttered to Light. Light nodded and lowered her head, obscuring her face with the hood of the cloak.
“Oh! Where are my manners!” Twilight exclaimed. She bowed her head, her wings spread out and lowered in formal greeting.
“AN ALICORN? I DEMAND YOU STATE YOUR NAME, AND WHERE YOU HAIL FROM,” Princess Luna shouted.
“That’s enough, Luna. They don’t appear to bear us any ill will,” spoke another voice. It was soft, but a held a familiar, strong presence. Both Twilight and Sunset had recognized it’s owner immediately: Princess Celestia.
“WHO DARES—” Luna craned her head to the other end of the hall, facing the path to the throne room. Luna’s eyes flickered with surprise before her overbearing air subsided. She coughed, lowering her voice to a conversational level, “I leave this to you,” she muttered. With that, Luna eyed Twilight, then Sunset and Light, who was cowered behind the hood of her cloak. Raising her head once again, she turned around and began trotting towards the front doors, her figure vanishing into a dark black mist.
“I must apologize for my sister’s behaviour, she’s had difficulty adjusting to being back home,” Celestia said. The Princess of Canterlot was just as awe inspiring as Sunset Shimmer remembered. Her immaculately maintained white coat and beautiful long flowing mane were a sight to behold. Twilight wasn’t sure if she was imagining things, but she thought the Princess appeared uncharacteristically fatigued. “I don’t get to entertain often it seems as of late, but what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” she asked.
Twilight cast a sidelong glance to Sunset, who had visibly relaxed now that Luna had come and gone, and Light, who had pushed back the hood on the cloak a little bit to get a good look at Princess Celestia.
Princess Celestia narrowed her eyes and focused on Sunset Shimmer, “My student, Sunset Shimmer? I pondered the day you would return!” she exclaimed. Her previously haggard appearance melting away.
“Uh, hi,” Sunset managed to respond, confused. She shot a quick look to Twilight, who appeared even more puzzled than Sunset felt. Sunset cleared her throat. “Twilight, if you would…” she began.
“Oh, right!” Twilight exclaimed. “Princess Celestia. I apologize for Sunset Shimmer arriving back unannounced, but I can explain everything,” Twilight began.
Princess Celestia surveyed Twilight’s actions before speaking. “Twilight is it?” Celestia asked.
“Yes. Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight said, concern creeping into her voice.
“An alicorn. Fascinating,” Celestia replied. “From where in Equestria are you from?”
“What?” Twilight’s expression scrunched at the question. “I don’t understand what you mean. I’m from Canterlot, my parents live here. I was— am, your faithful student.”
Celestia pondered Twilight’s response for a moment. She let out a laugh. “Your friend has a sense of humour, Sunset Shimmer,” she said.
Twilight looked to Sunset, who had observed the exchange, bewildered. Sunset Shimmer shook her head.
“Princess Celestia, This—“ Sunset gestured with a hoof towards her friend “—is Twilight Sparkle, the princess of Friendship. I don’t understand, you really don’t know who this is?”
Celestia tilted her head, “No, I do not. Are you feeling unwell, my student?” Princess Celestia asked. She took a step forward, the combination of concern and exhaustion creeping back into her expression.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Twilight squeaked, between hyperventilated breaths.
“Okay, this is hurting my brain,” Sunset Shimmer said, rubbing her temple with a hoof. Light watched without a word.
“My little ponies, please, start from the beginning,” Princess Celestia said.
The trio stood before Princess Celestia, inside the cavernous throne room. As unbelievable as it must of sounded to her, Princess Celestia listened to Twilight’s entire tale politely. Twilight had gotten very efficient at keeping her story short and concise. At the conclusion of Twilight’s story, Princess Celestia nodded and sighed, closing her weary eyes for a moment. She stepped from the front of her throne towards the window to her right and stopped, looking out to the dusk-like sky beyond.
“I see. A very troubling sequence of events,” Celestia said. “The crystal mirror had not functioned since Sunset Shimmer had left Equestria many moons ago, so I am afraid I am unable to explain your predicament.”
Twilight stifled a frown. That wasn’t an answer she wanted to hear. “If how this all came to be isn’t explainable, then perhaps a clue exists in a past event in Equestria’s recent history that could point us in the right direction.”
“A reasonable conclusion, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” she said. “A studious one, isn’t she, Sunset Shimmer? Much like how I remember you.”
Sunset smiled nervously and nodded.
Celestia closed her eyes and bowed her head in agreement. “Well then, where would you like me to begin?”
“Let’s start with an obvious one. What’s going on with the sky? Why is it dark in the middle of the day?” Twilight asked.
“The Eternal Dusk. As good of place as any. Come,” she said, motioning behind the raised floor where the throne stood. The young ponies stepped up and passed by the throne, towards the large glass doors Princess Celestia had opened with her magic. What lay beyond was semi circular balcony overlooking Canterlot. Princess Celestia stopped just short of the balustrade and looked upwards, to the moon. The enormous white disk gleaming in the cloudless purple sky.
“When Nightmare Moon made her return on the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration four cycles ago, I alone had to stand against her. A predestined incident I had been dreading for a thousand years.”
“But what about the Elements of Harmony? I understand that I am apparently not your student back then, but surely the elements of harmony were recovered in the process of stopping her?” Twilight asked.
“I had planned for that very outcome. With Sunset Shimmer leaving Equestria many moons ago, I could not bring myself to take another student under my wing,” she replied.
Sunset looked away, averting her eyes from Celestia’s wistful regard. Princess Celestia continued.
“I chose to recover and wield the Elements on my own, prepared to take on Nightmare Moon in order to protect Equestria and maintain balance,” Princess Celestia said. She turned her head to face the moon once more, closing her eyes and let out a long breath.
“So you freed Princess Luna of Nightmare Moon all by yourself? It was my friends and I that retrieved the Elements of Harmony and put a stop to Nightmare Moon,” Twilight said.
“If that where the case, I believe the events that followed would have been very different,” she turned to face the trio of mares, her expression of sadness. “Wielding the Elements of Harmony alone is not without risk. A calling that is best suited for a group of close friends. I was left with little choice, though. I was able to stop Nightmare Moon and cleanse the corruption from my sister but it did come at a cost. The Elements, along with a portion of the power both myself and my sister wielded have vanished, leaving us unable raise the sun or moon completely. Equestria has been in a perpetual twilight ever since.”
“Wait, the Elements of Harmony went missing!?” Twilight exclaimed. “What about the Tree of Harmony?“
Princess Celestia nodded. “The tree is safe within the Everfree Forest. The wards I have in place that protect it have prevented Sombra from taking the forest so far. It’s one of the remaining artifacts that is keeping balance within Equestria. Those measures will not hold up forever, though.”
“Sombra? As in King Sombra? What’s his role in all this?” Twilight asked.
“Yes, Sombra,” Celestia let out a sigh. “Since the return of the Crystal Empire, Equestria has engaged in a war against them. A fight we’ve been losing.”
“King Sombra succeeded in taking back the Crystal Empire…” Twilight trailed off, her voice weak. “Dare I ask about Discord, Queen Chrysalis or Lord Tirek?”
“Ah, a cavalcade of some of the most trying times for Equestria. I am impressed! You know much of Equestrian history. That was something Sunset Shimmer was never keen of,” Princess Celestia said, again smiling fondly. “Discord is still in the sculpture garden on the palace grounds. The Queen of the Changelings I have not seen in decades, but have had reports of changelings being spotted along the borders of Equestria that are still under my protection. Lord Tirek—” Celestia spat with disdain, before catching herself, “—is still locked away within Tartarus. I am grateful that Sombra has not attempted to open those gates, even he has limits to his own insanity.“
“That’s some small relief,” Twilight mulled aloud. “How could events have changed so much? Where was I when all this was happening? What about my friends?”
“I have a theory if you’re willing to humour me,” Light said, finally speaking up. The other mares turned to Light, who had up until now just hovered near the doors to the balcony. Light awkwardly pushed back the hood of the cloak with a hoof.
“Okay, I’ll bite,” Twilight said.
“I am way out of my depth with Equestria. I know nothing of it’s history or magic and just about every other aspect that I have seen in the few hours we’ve been here, but I surmise this reality is not the same as the one you came from. This Princess Celestia doesn’t know who you are. Some event in the past, a substantial one, had an enormous effect leading up to this point.”
“The obvious one is the currently missing Elements of Harmony?” Twilight replied.
“A possibility but I think we have to look a little further back. I think it’s an even earlier event, specifically surrounding you, Twilight. The lack of your presence when this ‘Nightmare Moon’ appeared and every event occurring after that point has been… world altering,” Light continued. “I have to ask the question: where were you in this continuity? More specifically, when would your first interaction with Princess Celestia have been?”
“That would have been when I demonstrated my talent as a filly at Princess Celestia’s school for gifted Unicorns. If not for that I never would have met her or have been personally tutored by her. I probably would have met her though, since my brother is a guard, though.”
“What is your brother’s name, Twilght?” Princess Celestia asked.
”A stallion by the name of Shining Armor? He was a captain in your royal guard,“ Twilight said. Princess Celestia immediately recognized the name, her expression brightened.
“Yes, I know him well. A fine young stallion. I have him on an assignment with Princess Mi Amore Cadenza at the town of Ponyville to watch over the Everfree Forest for the last two years since the the Crystal Empire had returned. As far as I am aware he is an only colt, though. I know his parents well, Twilight Velvet and Night Light.”
Twilight’s expression grew dour. “Shining Armor… is an only colt? Wha…,” she stammered. “If he is an only colt… that means I was never born? I’m the event? What?!“ Twilight yelped.
“I’m kind of rusty with the magical study I did here, but this feels an awful lot like someone that tampered with time,” Sunset Shimmer spoke.
“Time travel?” Twilight questioned, grimacing. “I can feel the headache mounting already. Assume I was never born here, why do I exist at all? And why does Sunset still remember me?”
“Purely speculation, but perhaps you weren’t supposed to come back. That could be why the portal wasn’t working on either side,” Light proposed. “The prospect of that this is all the result of some kind of time travel brings up so many more questions.”
“My little ponies, I can assure you all of Star Swirl’s original research of the topic of time travel are locked away in the Canterlot archives. The danger of that kind of magic is too great to be out in the wild,” Princess Celestia said. “Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle and Light, you are more than welcome to use the archives if you wish,” Princess Celestia offered. “I sense that the events that will unfold in the coming days is going vital to the future of Equestria as a whole.“
Twilight nodded. “Thank you Princess Celestia, but I believe before I can begin that line of research, I need to get my friends back to their own home,” she faced Sunset and Light, both with surprised expressions.
“No way, I’m not leaving now. You need help,” Sunset Shimmer spoke, shaking her head vigorously. She took a bold step towards Twilight. “That’s final.”
“Th-Thanks,” Twilight managed to smile. Before Twilight could follow up with Light, she spoke up.
“I don’t think that’s going to be possible in a reasonable amount of time, what with the portal being closed on this side and all,” Light began, awkwardly scratching her head with her front left hoof.
“I’m certain I can get it working, I just need to spend some time digging into the topic in the Canterlot library,” Twilight replied.
Light shook her head, objecting to the idea. “No, getting me home isn’t as important as fixing, well, whatever this is. I want to help here too, if I can. I promise I won’t get in the way.”
“Twilight Sparkle, I can attempt to repair the mirror if you wish to seek out the fate of the Elements,” Princess Celestia offered. “I do have some experience with it, over the centuries.“
“It’s settled then,” Sunset said, trying to brighten the mood. “Where should we start, Twilight?”
“We hit the books now to get perspective of what lays before us. Tomorrow, we go looking to find out what happened to the Elements of Harmony. We start that search in Ponyville,” Twilight declared.