"We stopped King Sombra! You and me and all of our friends!"
The words on the page began to dance in and out of Twilight's vision and she squinted hard to try and make out what they said, but to no avail.
"But we aren't friends, at least not here."
The harder she tried to look, the more and more the words began to split apart and blur in her vision. A purple aura soon shut the book with a loud slam as the same aura brought another one in front of the alicorn.
"We're going to set things right..."
She flicked through each page but every one she turned to was more distorted than the last and did nothing to quell her growing frustration. Another book slammed, another book placed in front of her.
"...I hope you do."
"Ugh!" Twilight exclaimed, the piles of books surrounding her collapsing in unison. This only annoyed her further. "Why can't I concentrate?"
The princess' cries attracted the attention of her newly reformed student, Starlight. She looked up from the scroll she was writing to see Twilight slamming her head repeatedly into the table she was sat at. Starlight trotted over to her, looking down at the dishevelled princess. She may not have known much about being a good friend yet, but it was still obvious when someone wasn't feeling their self.
"Twilight?"
Twilight momentarily looked up from the table. "Yes, Starlight?"
"Uh, are you alright?" She shifted uncomfortably. "I mean, you've been really...scattered recently." Starlight looked over the princess, realising how much of an understatement 'scattered' was. Twilight's mane was completely frazzled, with some strands wildly flailing about. Not to mention that dark bags had begun to appear beneath her eyes.
Twilight stared at her student, concocting a variety of fake and guilt-ridden smiles. "Scattered? Oh please, I'm fine! I'm doing great, in fact!" However, all that greeted her was a raised eyebrow from Starlight. She sighed. "Alright, I guess I have been a little all over the place as of recent."
"But why?" Starlight replied. "It isn't something I've done is it? Have I already messed up?" Starlight gulped nervously, biting her lower lip.
Twilight shook her head. "Oh don't worry Starlight, it isn't anything you've done."
This only confused Starlight further, and she cocked her head slightly. "Then what's the problem?"
"Oh I don't know." Twilight looked down again, sighing. She got up from her perch at the table and made for the door. Starlight followed her out, sticking close by her side. The castle was still quite barren, mostly made up of untouched crystal walls and perfectly polished crystal hallways. However, little things that the two came across clearly showed the personal touches the castle had received. Beautifully crafted flower arrangements placed in equally beautiful white vases. Hoof-made curtains and carpets that displayed a variety of earthly colours and patterns. The large trophy cabinet with shelves that were filled to the brim with various blue ribbons, golden cups and photographs. All signs of the love that Twilight and her friends had put into the castle to make it more homely.
The two mares continued on, passing through the grand, double doors that led into the map room. The map seemingly glowed brighter upon their approach and a low, soft hum was emitted from it. Twilight instinctively sat herself down on her own throne and the cutie mark which decorated it glowed a deep purple. Starlight decided to just stand. The last time she'd sat in one of those thrones...she shook her head. Best not to think about the past. She'd already played with it enough.
Twilight gazed at the map. "I just can't help but think about those other futures I visited. The ponies there were just so...different and depressed." Her mind was a mess of thoughts and emotions as she spoke but her face remained stoic as she addressed Starlight. "Equestria was so cold, there was certainly no friendship there."
Starlight gulped. "But, it was all fixed right? The rainboom did happen after all, despite-" Starlight cut the sentence there, tears welling up in her eyes. "-well, you know."
Twilight brought Starlight close and gave her a small hug. "It's alright. Don't beat yourself up about it." She let go and began to study the map more closely. "I just can't shake the feeling that the world isn't as fixed as it may seem. Sure the rainboom did eventually happen as it should have, but those other realities I visited, how could they suddenly just cease to exist? Especially when they were so real?"
Starlight brought a hoof to her chin. "So, what are you trying to say?"
"Well I'm merely suggesting that perhaps these other realities might still exist." Twilight could see the doubt in Starlight's eyes. "I mean, sure, we might be back in the world we belong in, but these were other living, breathing worlds. It just seems impossible for them to suddenly not be there." Starlight nodded slightly as her mind processed her thoughts. Twilight looked at her in dismay. "Just ignore me, I'm rambling on as usual."
"Actually, what your saying does make sense." Starlight pointed out. "When I was studying Starswirl's spells, he often discussed the possibilities of alternate universes and how time travel could affect said universes." Starlight grinned. "It would take ages to try and explain it all, but the stallion was a genius."
Twilight looked at her with more sadness than before, holding her head in her hooves. Starlight edged a little closer to her, and tentatively put a hoof on her friends shoulder. It still felt alien to her calling the princess of friendship her 'friend'; but she was determined to prove herself worthy of being the friend of such an important pony, especially after all she had done. If that meant just being there to comfort her, that's what she'd do.
"I don't expect you to understand Starlight. It's just that I made a promise to a pony in one of those other worlds. And it's been clawing at my mind since I got back." Twilight sniffled. "What good is it anyway? There's no way to see if Starswirl's theory is correct. The spell's gone."
The silence in the room was deafening with both Twilight and Starlight frozen there, contemplating. "Well, technically, I can still recreate the spell." Starlight offered, smiling sheepishly. "You don't just study magic and spells for years to suddenly forget them."
"It's kind of you to offer Starlight, but there's a good chance that we're just spouting a load of nonsense."
"But what if it isn't?" Starlight now began to take more command of the conversation. "These other realities could still be out there and I mean, it's worth a try, isn't it?"
Twilight pondered on the point for a minute, looking between Starlight and the map. "I guess so." She said quietly, offering a small smile to Starlight. "If you think you can find a way, then I guess so."
Starlight clapped her hooves together in excitement. "Don't worry Twilight, I'll get right on it." She dashed out of the map room before Twilight could say another word. Twilight simply smiled and slumped back in her throne. A shaky breath escaped her mouth and she closed her eyes. "We're going to set things right." Every word seemed to echo around the empty chamber. "I promise you, we'll make it all right."
A few days later...
The saddlebags Twilight had prepared fit snugly over her back and she smiled as the straps wrapped tight around her. Rarity had insisted on giving her saddlebags that would be more comfortable for the longer journey and Twilight had to admit that they were definitely more comfortable. The soft material felt perfect against her purple coat. Starlight trotted up next to her and smiled. She had a similar set of saddlebags to hers, but her bags clearly showed her cutie mark, beautifully sewn on with some added glitter (courtesy of Pinkie Pie). The two stood there smiling for a while, unsure of what to say.
Starlight was the first to break the silence, coughing loudly. "Well, uh, ready to get this show on the road?" She motioned to the map while using her magic to levitate out a small scroll. Twilight simply nodded in agreement. Starlight lifted the scroll up but hesitated. "And you're sure your- I mean, our friends can't help?"
"It's not a case that they couldn't help." Twilight pointed out. "But if all of us went, it would definitely create some confusion in this alternate world. Just because things turn out differently in Equestria, doesn't mean that my friends aren't there. Having two of everyone would just make matters worse."
"Well I guess we should be off then." Starlight trotted forward and took a deep breath. "Alright, I changed the spell ever so slightly so that all the parameters needed for this other reality to exist are in place. It should mean we can bridge between this Equestria and the other one without needing to go through the rainboom again." The unicorn gulped. "Let's just hope it works."
"Don't worry Starlight, I trust you. If anypony's able to pull this off, it's you." Twilight grinned and motioned her forward.
Starlight couldn't help but smile as she turned her attention back to the scroll. She unfurled it and with a small amount of effort, fired a blast of magic directly at it. The room was flooded with cyan light as Starlight's magical aura lifted the scroll up high above the map. The map came to life, the edges of it seemingly rippling with energy. Cyan magic flowed around the scroll, creating beautiful arcs in the air. Just like before, soft and angelic rings began to rise up out of the map. The mystical portal began to open above, the faint ticking of clocks heard once again. Starlight held Twilight close as her aura began to encircle the both of them. They lifted off the ground slowly, the ticking and humming noises of the spell growing louder and louder. Twilight shut her eyes tightly, as she felt the portal grab her and pull her in.
And just like that, everything was silent. The ticking was gone. Twilight opened her eyes slowly, happy to still feel Starlight next to her. She lifted herself up slowly, throwing her forehooves onto the map to regain her balance. She looked over it quickly, a soft red glow covering the map. Twilight's smile grew wider.
"Starlight, you did it!" She exclaimed, double checking that the map was an exact replica of what it once was. "The spell sent us back to the Crystal War reality!"
Starlight was still on the ground, rubbing her head. "Crystal War?" She asked, quizzically.
Twilight paused and began to laugh nervously. "Oh yeah...I never told you about it did I? Well, let's just say it's quite a long story."