//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3: Crossing Over 
// Story: The Center of Her World 
// by SaintChoc 
//------------------------------//

Hours later, Rainbow's eyes remained open. The lines on the wall had long been thoroughly tallied in triplicate. Fluttershy snored softly.

Rainbow looked out the window at an empty night sky. A great many thoughts were swimming through her head. There was no clock visible from where she lay, so she could only stare at the sky and hope that it would start to grow lighter soon.

Her eyes fell on Fluttershy and she sighed. Gently, she wriggled out from beneath Fluttershy, taking the greatest of care not to disturb her. She placed a pillow for Fluttershy's head to rest on and draped a blanket over her.

Once she was sure that Fluttershy's sleep would continue uninterrupted, she quietly moved for a window and fell out, unfurling her wings near the ground and gliding away. She moved higher into the sky with a few powerful flaps, thankfully seeing a hint of light on the horizon. She soared around the borders of Ponyville, trying to kill some more time.

As soon as the sun broke the horizon, she made her way for Twilight's castle. She headed towards the bedroom window before rethinking it and soaring to the front door. After a moment's pause, she knocked.

A minute later, Twilight opened the door, magically supporting a cup of coffee. "Rainbow! This is early for you."

Rainbow opened her mouth to reply, but Twilight continued. "Or… hmm. You couldn't sleep, huh? I knew I shouldn't have let you leave before we talked it through a bit more. I'm sorry."

Rainbow scoffed lightly. "Yeah, well. Got time to talk about it now?"

"Of course!" Twilight moved back and let Rainbow in. They made their way up the stairs.

"So…" Twilight began. "Obviously I can tell you're not okay with what you've heard. But I don't actually know why. I don't want to make light of what you're feeling, but it's not a big deal. It's a whole other world, with different ponies. Er, not ponies. You know what I mean. It doesn't reflect on—"

"That's not what you said before. They're like us in every way. That's what you said." Rainbow's words were terse.

"Well, yes—" Twilight stuttered as they walked into her library. "Yes, they're the same as us, but it's still a different world. Environmental factors need to be considered here."

"'Environmental factors?' Since when does that matter? If you're—If you're supposed to be with someone, what does it matter what world you live in?" Rainbow paused, but continued as Twilight opened her mouth. "And don't tell me I shouldn't be believing in that stuff. The six of us were connected since we were fillies. That's how the world works."

Twilight raised her eyebrows, nodding. "That's actually a pretty good point. Look, I still don't know everything there is to know about how we relate to our alternate universe pairs, so I probably shouldn't keep speculating and making things more confusing. Sunset has a spare period before lunch, so she should start messaging me back then. Then we can continue comparing notes on each universe's counterpart. We can make some real progress if you're here with me."  

A rush of air escaped Rainbow's nose in exasperation. "I really don't want to have this whole conversation second-hand through some book. You guys write pretty fast, but that's still gonna take forever."

"Well, what would you suggest?" 

Rainbow looked to the corner of the room. 

Twilight followed her gaze, her eyes landing on the magical mirror. "Oh, come on."

"You think she's not gonna go for it?"

Twilight pursed her lips. "I'd like to say no, but she probably would freak out at the chance." She sighed, then looked to the side, thinking. "I'll send her a message so we can start talking about it. No promises."

Rainbow grinned as Twilight departed for her bedroom. "Awesome."





The sun was now wholly in the sky as Rainbow lay splayed out on her stomach on one of the round tables in the library, idly spinning a book on the wooden surface. She looked to the vast shelves around the room, adorned with hundreds of novels and textbooks. "You think she's really read all of these? Or do you think she just kinda pretends? Like a… literary poser."

"Mmmrmglglrgmm." Spike lay on another table, also on his stomach, his arms at his side and wearing a small blue robe. A steaming cup of coffee sat beside him.

"Yup. Mornings. I hear that." Rainbow spun her book again.

Twilight trotted into the room, her journal magically floating at her side. "Alright, so, she'll be waiting for us right on the other side of the portal. She'll take us up to an empty classroom to talk, and then we'll be gone before lunch period starts. Hopefully. We're already later than I'd like."

Rainbow frowned. "Wait, she can't just come through to here?"

"Oh, no, she… she's not really ready for that. Not for something so casual, anyway."

Rainbow hesitated, then nodded with resignation. "Yeah, alright." She looked to the mirror. "Um… does it hurt?"

"It gets pretty uncomfortable, but I wouldn't say it hurts. Having second thoughts?"

Rainbow shook her head.

"Why is this so important? You seem focused on something, but you're not letting me in on it."

Rainbow avoided Twilight's gaze, trying to contain her impatience. "I just… there's something I need to know."

Twilight craned her head forward and raised her eyebrows pointedly. "You need to know what, exactly? What is it about Fluttershy being with Pinkie in particular you need to know more about?"

Rainbow didn't want to answer, but Twilight wasn't giving in. "I need to know more than what you know, apparently. Let's just leave it at that."

Twilight glared at Rainbow, then sighed. "Listen. You have to be seen as little as possible. No more than necessary. That goes for both of us. Yes, everyone over there knows there's something weird and magical about that group of seven—and they're managing to take it awfully well—but I still don't want to have to explain a 'double Rainbow' situation."

"Yeah, sure. Ready?" Rainbow focused on the mirror.

"Hey! This is important, alright?"

"I got it! I'll follow your lead. It'll be fine. Ready?"

Twilight gave a small exasperated huff. She exhaled and used her magic to place her journal in its slot at the top of the machine. Immediately, a powerful glow formed on the symbol of a sun modeled after Celestia's cutie mark—a glow that soon lifted off and split into magical tendrils that connected the book to the two coils flanking it. Though Twilight had seen this process multiple times by now, it was only the second time for Rainbow. She stared with some awe.

The magic crept along the rest of the machine, activating various lights and turning on various mechanisms. Finally, it gathered into a great ball of light and, with a snap, flickered out and transformed the mirror's glass into a swirling portal of pink and white light. 

Twilight grinned. "That never gets old." She walked towards the portal. "You coming?" 

Rainbow swallowed and lowered her head. She charged forward, nearly knocking Twilight over, and leapt into the portal. Twilight's exclamation of "Woah, careful!" briefly entered her ears, but faded away as a paradoxical mix of intense wind and absolutely nothing dominated her hearing. She felt stretching, pulling, a whole lot of spinning, and saw only bright lights—and then, nothing. 

She realized her eyes were closed. She opened them, finding herself lying on concrete, some very unfamiliar limbs attached to her body. Lifting her head slightly, she stared wide-eyed at her appendages, finding a pink striped skirt and thick boots on her person.

"Hey!" A voice came from beside her. She looked up to see a two-legged being with brilliant red and yellow hair—the same hair she'd seen once long ago in the Crystal Empire—bent over and extending a hand towards her. 

"I'm going to guess you're Rainbow Dash." Sunset Shimmer smiled. "Welcome to Canterlot High."