Chapter Two - Through the Looking Glass
Soft moans escaped her lips as Celestia regained consciousness, her vision blurry and obscured by a bandage across her right eye. She heard some relieved sighs, her sister’s the most familiar, and gently assured them, “I’m alright, everypony, thank you.” She then turned to her left to find the one who was tending her wounds, her finery laid beside assorted medical supplies. “Thank you, Kibitz.”
“You’re quite welcome, your Highness.” The old unicorn looked to her with a weary expression and asked, “But please, whatever you’ve gotten yourself into, try not to do it again? I’m far too old for this. Now, if you’ve no further need for my services?”
“No, thank you, you’re dismissed.” She waited for her aide to depart, then turned to her fellow royals and remaining subjects and continued, “Luna, Twilight, I…”
The Princess of the Night all but shoved herself into her elder sister’s face, anger born of worry clear upon her own. “Have you taken leave of thine senses?! Venturing forth on thine own into a parallel world, locking horns with King Sombra, getting thineself so wounded?! In what way is this a sane course of…?!”
“Sister, I…”
“Luna, please!” Her sister paused, and Twilight approached and asked, “Celestia, we know about the portal, and about that other world you visited. Did you stop visiting it because of Sombra? Did he conquer that world’s Equestria?”
“Twilight!” Her former student paused, and Celestia took a breath as she got back onto her hooves, a chill going through her due to the cold floor. “Please, if I could have a moment to explain myself?”
“Doesn’t look like there’s much to explain to me; you went back to fight that tyrant and…”
“Rainbow Dash, the King Sombra of that world is not responsible for my injuries. It’s thanks to him that I was able to get back here.” The various ponies (and lone dragon) shared surprised looks as Celestia explained, “I assume you all know by now that the portal I used was the first one created by Star Swirl, a prototype for the Crystal Mirror?” At their general murmurs of agreement, she explained, “The world I visited is not like the one Sunset, Twilight and Spike traveled to. It has an Equestria proper, inhabited by ponies rather than by humans.”
“So if I went through, I’d stay a dragon instead of…?”
“Instead of turning into a cute little doggy?” Fluttershy gently teased.
A blush was clear upon Spike’s face as he continued, “Yeah, why’d that happen anyway?”
Celestia managed an embarrassed expression as she explained, “Star Swirl, for all of his brilliance, was not perfect. He carried a very negative view of dragons, and rather enjoyed seeing them suffer. I imagine the thought of one of them turning into something equivalent to a pony disagreed with him. I’m very sorry about that, Spike.”
The young drake crossed his arms and frowned. “Well, that’s my question answered.”
“But if I could get back on topic?” Satisfied that she’d regained their attention, Celestia approached the mirror and continued, “This other world’s Equestria is very much like ours, but very different. You all recall what I told you of Sombra’s rise to power in our world?”
Twilight and her friends nodded in agreement as Applejack summarized, “He usurped the Crystal Throne from Princess Amore, might’ve killed her by turnin’ her into crystal and shatterin’ her, and you ‘n Luna trounced him ‘fore he could get much further’n he did. He cursed the Crystal Empire ta vanish ‘fer over a thousand years an’ got sealed away in the ice.”
“And dear Spike was instrumental in defeating him after both he and the Crystal Empire returned.” Rarity gave the dragon a proud grin before turning back to the princess. “Did things go differently in this other world?”
“Very. For one thing, King Sombra is no tyrant, but a kind and legitimate ruler of all Equestria, beloved by all the ponies under his rule.” Celestia smiled fondly as she explained, “My first meeting with him all those centuries ago is not something I’ll soon forget.” The smile faded as a regretful expression took its place. “However, just because he is good there rather than evil does not mean that evil does not exist.”
“And this evil is what harmed you?” Luna’s expression turned to rage as Celestia nodded. “Well then, I shall go to this other world and smite this evil! It’s been far too long since I have caused a miscreant to make a very satisfying ‘thump’ as they struck the ground! I need only fetch my war hammer and…!”
“Luna, no! We are the evil Sombra is facing!” Celestia regretfully amended, “In more ways than one.”
Horror upon her face, Rarity approached and asked, “Please, your Highness, do not tell me that the Nightmare claimed both of you?” She shuddered, remembering her own experience under its thrall. “Oh dear, your poor counterparts!”
“Thankfully, it is not the Nightmare which we face, but something else just as dangerous.”
Luna huffed. “Given current circumstances, you’ll have to forgive me for briefly enjoying the image of trouncing an evil version of you. If nothing else, karma would be satisfied. But why can we not face them?”
“Because I attempted to face mine, and these injuries were the result.” Celestia extended a bandaged wing and explained, “When I fought my counterpart directly, any injury I inflicted upon her injured both of us. However, the dark magic that has bonded with her also healed her very rapidly. Far too rapidly for my blows to have any effect.”
“But how is that even…?” Comprehension dawned on Twilight’s face, and she quickly looked to the copy she’d made of Star Swirl’s findings. “Of course! He mentioned anomalies in his notes! That’s why he made additional portals, to try and isolate the factor causing them and either eliminate them or minimize them!”
“I suspect that by the time he created the Crystal Mirror and the bridge mirrors, he worked out most if not all of the kinks, but shortly afterwards, he abandoned the research outright.” Celestia bowed her head. “And far too late to undo the damage already done.”
Rainbow Dash looked to Twilight and asked, “You want to explain what’s going on, Twilight? In small words, maybe?”
“Rainbow, Star Swirl bridged the gaps between parallel worlds, alternate universes. Doing something like that tied them together. If it’s not done right, it could cause the worlds to start binding together, running more parallel than they did originally.” She gestured to Celestia’s wounds and explained, “And obviously, that’s a bad thing.”
“And it seems once again, I find myself tasking the seven of you with fixing my past mistakes.” At Spike’s surprise, she amended, “Yes, seven. Twilight, I need you and your friends to take the Elements of Harmony to this parallel world and provide what aid you can to King Sombra. They may be the only chance for saving his world and ours.”
“Wait, hold on!” Applejack approached and asked, “Ah ain’t sayin’ we can’t do it, but use th’ elements on th’ other versions ‘a you ‘n Luna?! Ain’t that risky?”
“Yeah!” Dash approached and asked, “Doesn’t this world have its own Elements of Harmony?”
Pinkie gasped and realized, “Maybe our counterparts are evil too!” She gasped again and prodded at Spike’s snout. “Maybe the other Spike has a goatee! Or a scar and an eyepatch! Or…!”
“My understanding of the history of Sombra’s world is that, unlike here, the Elements of Harmony were never rendered necessary. Consequently, they never existed in the same form that they have here. Also, theirs’ is a stabilizing magic, and there is a very good chance that their influence will prevent any further damage caused by your crossing.”
“But Celestia, you’re asking us to fight you.” Unease was clear on Twilight’s face as she looked between her two fellow princesses. “Fighting Luna was bad enough when she was Nightmare Moon, but I don’t think I could fight you, good or bad.”
Celestia smiled and gently amended, “Twilight, I don’t expect you to harm the other me. It is my hope that you will help her and the other Luna, just as you did Luna in this world.”
“And you are certain I cannot go with?” Celestia nodded, and Luna relented. “Very well, but whilst they are gone, I expect a full accounting of all of this.” She shot her sister a frustrated glare and repeated, “A very full accounting.” She then turned away and brought forth the chest containing the Elements, opening it and sending each off to their respective bearers.
“Wait, so this time, we all actually get to go to the crazy alternate world? Sweet!” Dash cackled gleefully. “Can’t wait to see how awesome I am there!”
“Please, darling, meeting our counterparts sounds like a terrible cliché.” Rarity prodded at her mane and noted, “Though if the me in this new world is anything like myself in this proper world or the human world, it could be quite interesting.”
“Well, I don’t mind either way, but if you need my help, I’ll come.” Applejack and Pinkie Pie called out in agreement, and Fluttershy wondered aloud, “But how do we get there? The page with the spell to access that world was missing from the books we found.”
“I was able to recreate it some time ago.” The tip of Celestia’s horn took on a brilliant glow, and she pressed it to the tip of Twilight’s, magically transferring the needed information to her former student. “Simply cast the spell again at any time, and you’ll be able to return to our world.”
Twilight shook her head. “Oooh… I’m glad I prefer learning with books than magic.” Her crown settled upon her head, and she declared, “We won’t let you down.”
“Of course not.” As Twilight cast the spell to activate the mirror, Celestia continued, “Sombra is awaiting you in his castle on the other side. Send me a message through Spike if you encounter any difficulty, and be careful, all of you.”
Twilight nodded, and with her friends at her back, they dashed into the portal, leaving the two royal sisters alone. Its magic died down, and Luna turned back to Celestia and, somewhat calmer than before but through gritted teeth, asked, “Now then, sister, about that accounting.”
Celestia bowed her head. “Very well. I’ll start at the beginning. Star Swirl and I first traveled through the portal together some time before the loss of the Crystal Empire, before we even knew of Sombra…”
-
Twilight had vivid memories of the kaleidoscopic feeling of transit through the portal generated by the Crystal Mirror, and the feeling of being stretched and warped as if going down a drain in a sink, only less painful and far more dizzying. Her transit through the bridge portals, by contrast, had been more pleasant – a slight stretching feeling, but not nearly so damaging to her senses. This was somewhere between the two, but with a greater jumbling of colors and the certainty that she would emerge from this safe and…
“WAAAAAAHHHHH!” She screamed as she was flung through the other side, skidding to a halt on ground. “Note to self in the future – walk, don’t run, through the magic portal.” She recovered her senses and got clear as her friends emerged and skidded to the ground before her. “Is everypony alright?”
“Yes, save for my dignity.” Rarity groaned as she looked herself over.
The others all had dizzy expressions on their faces, though Spike looked to be the first to recover. Pinkie followed with a dazed look on her face and exclaimed, “Again!” before shaking her head and regaining her senses. She then looked up at the other end of the portal and gasped, “Is that Discord?!”
Spike recoiled, the other ponies looking up at the statue they’d emerged from to see a form that was clearly the Spirit of Chaos, albeit very different, with him done up in a costume not unlike a comic book superhero. At the base of the statue were two words, “Our Hero”, which prompted Fluttershy to ask, “A monument?”
“Or a tribute.” Twilight eyed the statue warily. “Weird.”
“That’s not all, dear. Look.” Rarity’s aghast expression was quickly shared among the others as she realized, “Could this be Canterlot?”
Indeed, it looked very much like the palace gardens of Canterlot, save for how desolate and morose the area looked. All around them were damaged statues and dead and decaying foliage, bushes and shrubs struggling to hold onto life. High above their heads rested a stark, reddened sky, lacking both sun and moon.
“Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy’s gaze darted about, and she quickly caught sight of some local animals, prompting her to quickly gather them up in a hug and bawl, “I’m so sorry! We never meant for this to happen!”
“Well we’d best get to work fixin’ things ‘fore they get worse!”
Twilight nodded at Applejack’s call to action, and began leading them towards what she assumed was the entrance to the palace, only to stop as a voice called out from above. “Halt! All of you!”
Pinkie looked up and waved cheerfully as a sextet of pegasi and thestrals descended. “Ooh, local guards!”
Twilight looked up as they landed, her mind going back to what she’d been told about the forces that remained loyal to King Sombra. Few illustrations existed of the armor worn by those pegasi, known as the Somber Elite for their cruelty, but she suspected it was something like this, dark grey metal body armor with boots and helmets, chests decorated with bright blue gemstones. At their head was a mare with an amber coat, her cyan eyes locking upon each of them in turn. “What are you six… sorry, seven doing here?”
Rarity held up a hoof and stepped forward. “Do forgive us, sirs and madam, we have…” She paused, then stepped back in shock. “Good heavens!” The guards gave her a strange look, and she explained, “Have you no idea what you’re wearing?! Don’t get me wrong, those colors work decently enough together, but those helmets! So horribly tacky!”
The guards looked amongst themselves, one looking to the amber-coated mare with a sheepish expression. “She has a point, Commander.”
“I’m not arguing that, Corporal, but…”
She was interrupted by the thestral to her right, who leaned over and asked, “Ma’am, forgive me, but don’t these intruders look familiar?”
The mare reached into a pocket of her armor with one wing and produced a scroll, unfurling it and examining it. “They do, Sergeant.” She eyed Twilight and her friends and ordered, “Arrest them!”
-
“We are barely here for five seconds, and you insult one of the palace guards.”
“He was clad in a funny hat!”
Celestia rolled her eyes and turned away from her friend, but kept her position leaning against the bars to their cell. “You are hardly one to talk.”
Star Swirl haughtily sat up on his bench. “You’ve no idea what I went through to find so prominent and impressive a piece of headwear as this.”
The princess opted to steer things elsewhere. “Why are we even staying here? They cannot hold us, we have magic.”
“Celestia, we are still visitors in this world. Remarking upon a silly helmet is one thing, but breaking out of a cell will cause a ruckus! And I would rather not cause a ruckus if we can avoid it. We would be wiser to wait for whoever rules in this Canterlot to arrive, and then straighten things out from there.” The door to their cell opened and the old mage noted, “Ah, perfect timing.”
“Good morrow, newcomers.” Celestia turned to their host, his deep baritone intriguing her, and her eyes widened at the sight of him. “Welcome to Canterlot.”
-
The guards maintained their positions around Twilight and her friends, wings spread to look menacing. Combined with the armor, the effect was actually rather impressive. “Wait, please! There’s been a…!”
“Stop!” The guards halted, their commander looking up as their addressor arrived, two mares landing nearby with soft flaps of their wings. “Commander, report!”
The guard commander turned and saluted. “Your Highness, we saw a flash of light, came to investigate and found these intruders. They bear a close match to the descriptions of…” At the neutral expression on the royal’s face, the mare sank and realized, “These are the guests we were told to expect, aren’t they?”
The royal mare nodded her azure head while her bespectacled companion offered a sympathetic smile. “Can’t blame you for getting confused, though. We did rush those notifications out.”
The pegasus guard hung her head in shame. “Stand down, guards!” Her subordinates instantly relaxed their aggressive stances and stood at attention, and she turned to Twilight and her friends and bowed her head. “Please forgive me. I’m afraid this was a case of mistaken identity.” She looked up to find the ‘intruders’ looking agape at the royal and her associate. “Miss?”
Twilight was shaken from her shock, and turned back to the commander. “Oh, sorry, yes, I understand. All’s forgiven.”
“Thank you ma’am.” A quick gesture to her compatriots, and the mare flew off and departed, the other guards following.
The azure mare sighed and shook her wings. “I’m sorry about that. We’ve all been on edge since the last Summer Sun Celebration, and it’s only gotten worse of late.” She turned to face Twilight and gave a polite, friendly bow. “You are Princess Twilight Sparkle, yes? Please accept my humble apologies for your reception. I am Princess…”
“TRIXIE?!” Applejack’s eyes threatened to pop right out of her head, she appeared so thoroughly shocked.
Despite her bearing and being an alicorn, there was no mistaking the blue mare for anypony else. Whereas their familiar Trixie wore a starry cloak and magician’s hat, this one was garbed in silvery hoof-shoes, a peytral and a sterling silver tiara adorned by small sapphires. A small hint of the familiar was clear as she took on a proud smile and declared, “Yes. Princess Trixie Lulamoon, at your service.” She nodded her head towards her associate and added, “And this is my dear friend, Professor…”
“DERPY?!” This time it was Rainbow Dash’s turn to call out in shock.
Indeed, take away the glasses and alter her mane style and position of her eyes, and she would be a dead ringer for Ponyville’s clumsy grey mailmare. Somewhat nervously, the pegasus adjusted her glasses and corrected, “Ditzy Doo. I’m sorry, ‘Derpy’? Where did that come from?”
“Oh, that’s easy! Take off your glasses.” She shrugged and did as asked, and Pinkie explained, “Thought so! You never had that nickname; your eyes aren’t crossed!”
“Huh, you’re right.” Spike rubbed his chin thoughtfully with a claw and remarked as he looked over the both of them, “Weird.”
Twilight turned apologetic as she looked to Trixie and Prof. Doo. “Sorry, this is just a little unexpected for us. Your counterparts in our world are a bit different.”
The grey mare dryly regarded them. “I gathered that.”
Trixie cleared her throat and noted, “Forgive me, but we’ve very little time to waste. King Sombra is waiting for us in the throne room.” She led them into the palace, Twilight following close behind, and asked, “I take it I have a counterpart in your world?”
“Yes, but she isn’t an alicorn.” A thoughtful expression came over Twilight’s face as she reasoned, “She has mentioned having ancestral roots in Canterlot going back a thousand years, but…” She shook her head. “Nevermind. It’s just as likely I’m not an alicorn here either. I probably should’ve expected more differences than the ones I knew about.” She giggled gleefully. “Oh, I have so many questions!”
“Us too. Sombra called us back to Canterlot as soon as your Celestia arrived, but she returned to your world before we could meet her.” The azure alicorn smiled hopefully and offered, “Maybe later we can compare notes?”
“I certainly wouldn’t mind.” The party of nine found themselves in a hall filled with stained glass windows, two bearing the images of Trixie and Prof. Doo, as the grey pegasus continued, “The thought of all these alternate worlds is amazing. Kinda scary, yeah, but amazing. I could spend a lifetime studying the possibilities. Among all those alternate worlds with all our alternate selves, who’s really the real one?”
“Forgive me for interrupting you dear, but I’m operating on far too little beauty sleep for all of this existentialist talk.” Rarity glanced up at the windows and added, “I’ll say this right now, however, your world has had just an interesting time as ours. No wonder our Celestia visited so often.”
-
Star Swirl kept a merry trot as he made his way into his chambers, his saddlebags heavier with additional research. He’d been anxious at the thought of outside consultation, but he was glad he’d put aside his preconceptions. A shame he had to be so horribly vague; strange as they were, First Door and that Drax fellow had been marvelously helpful in regards to his work on the portals. Perhaps he’d even have the next mirror finished before his departure from Canterlot.
He was drawn out of his reverie as he entered his study, only to find he wasn’t alone. “Celestia?”
“Oh, Star Swirl!” The princess looked at him with surprise. “Forgive me, I was just here looking for a book on hydras. One is causing trouble in the Everfree Forest, and Luna has been spending more time in our old castle of late.”
The mage grinned. “Ah, off to bond over some monster-bashing! Most excellent! Do get me some scales if you can, they are most useful for potion making.” He trotted over to his workspace and laid out his notes from his saddlebags. “I am actually quite glad to see you. I have done some consulting regarding those anomalies we’ve discovered with the mirror, and I think it might be wise if we limit our travels until we can get a handle on them. No telling what could result, but I doubt it would be anything good.”
“Of course, I’ll remember that, pleaseexusemeneedtoseeLunaaboutthathydrafarewell!”
As Celestia dashed off with a panicked expression on her face, Star Swirl took no notice and called back, “Have fun! And let me know if you need help – I am still quite spry, you know!”
-
“Y’know, it’s actually kinda comfortin’ to know the castle’s laid out the same way in this world as it is in ours.” Applejack looked about and amended, “Ah just wish everythin’ weren’t so dreary. No offense meant.”
“None taken.” Trixie took on a saddened expression as she explained, “It actually used to be very beautiful here. Then last Summer Sun Celebration came and things deteriorated from there.” They reached the doors that led into the throne room, and the azure alicorn opened them slowly and called, “Sombra? Our guests have arrived!”
A deep, comforting baritone answered her back. “Excellent! Please, bring them in so I can greet them properly, Trixie!”
The doors opened, and Twilight and her friends looked upon their host. Most were impressed by what they saw, Rarity letting in a small gasp at the sight whilst Fluttershy’s knees started knocking. Spike quickly looked from them to the royal before them and asked in a low voice, “Seriously?”
On the opposite side of the throne room stood the familiar, and yet unfamiliar, form of King Sombra. Each of them, Spike especially, remembered how the unicorn tyrant had appeared in their world, his black mane free-flying and wild and his eyes glowing with dark magic, clad in armor and a red fur-lined cape, sharp fangs and a wicked, curved horn. This stallion had all the bearing and presence of a monarch, but none of the malice of his counterpart. His black mane was well-groomed, streaks of blue giving it a glittering quality. His horn was normal, his eyes a brilliant green in color, his smile pleasant and perfect. He still wore a cape, but this was a royal purple rather than red, hoof-shoes adorning his hooves and a frilled collar and ascot about his neck. A smartly-dressed tan earth pony at his side, he approached and warmly called out, “Welcome everypony! Celestia told me she would be sending you. I hope your arrival in our world was pleasant.”
“Not as pleasant as hoped, sir.” Trixie sheepishly reported, “They were almost arrested by the guard commander.” She looked to the stallion at her monarch’s side and smirked. “You’re encouraging her to be just a bit too paranoid, Sir Quill.”
The stallion gently smiled and answered back, “It’s not really paranoia when they’re actually out to get you, Princess.”
“And it was understandable, given your circumstances.” Hoping that side-stepped the issues with their arrival, Twilight bowed. “King Sombra. We are honored to be in your presence and hope that we can provide assistance in your hour of need.”
“Or however long you need us, sir, whatever works best for you.” Rarity leaned in close to Fluttershy and whispered, “I never expected him to be so dashing! Wouldn’t you agree?”
The butter yellow pegasus nodded, star-struck at the stallion before her.
Sombra managed a polite and embarrassed chuckle as he bowed in turn. “Thank you. And please, just ‘Sombra’. I’ve never felt comfortable being called a king.” He gestured to the stallion at his side in introduction. “This is Sir Quill, one of my younger advisors, and the one who had the least difficulty believing all of this.”
“It helped that I was the one who first saw your Celestia upon her arrival earlier.” The stallion bowed his head respectfully and shyly remarked. “Madams, sir.”
“Now that our introductions are done, please come with me.” He motioned for the gathered mares and dragon to follow as he explained, “As you can plainly tell, this world has fallen on dark times. I thought it a miracle when Celestia returned after a thousand years and said that you could help. She had no trouble telling me how proud she was of all of you.” He smiled upon the lavender alicorn among them. “Especially you, Twilight Sparkle. I only hope I spoke half as well of Trixie.”
The azure alicorn modestly blushed as Pinkie hugged both mares. “Aww! We’re all proud of both of them! Even if we’ve only technically known one for less than an hour!”
“You must be Pinkie Pie. She’s spoken of your exuberance as well.” He led the gathered ponies outside onto a balcony and asked, “What do you know of our plight? I assume Celestia has at least made you aware of the paradoxes which have occurred due to her travels here.”
Twilight produced her copy of the relevant information from Star Swirl’s journals and explained, “And the causes, not to mention her counterparts. Where…?”
Heavy wingflaps interrupted her, and Sir Quill looked up and scowled, “Speak of the devil.”
The ponies followed his gaze as a laugh both familiar and strange sounded through the air, one that instantly brought to mind an evil aristocrat from many a melodrama. With wicked expressions on their faces as they approached from above, the counterparts to Celestia and Luna flew overhead, the latter dressed in tacky red and black garments that evoked bats and vampirism. “Sombra! It seems you’ve made some new friends, and failed to rein in your dog!”
“Now sister, let’s not bore ourselves with the old!” The evil Celestia landed and regarded the bearers, Twilight especially, with a proud, condescending glare. Atop her head was a golden, horned crown, her purple and golden hoof-boots going to her knees and a high collar about her neck. “Though I am saddened to see that pretty lady friend of yours hasn’t returned. We had such fun together earlier, and I wasn’t quite done playing with her before she left.”
Both Sir Quill and Twilight scowled at the corrupted princesses, albeit for different reasons, while Sombra approached them and called, “If you’re here for another round of vicious taunting, Celestia, don’t bother. I’ve heard enough of your cackling to last me a lifetime. And I’ve a very long lifetime.”
“Oh yes, it’s all but impossible to get rid of a shadow, isn’t it?” The evil white alicorn approached with a smirk. “I’m simply here to see if you’ve reconsidered my offer.”
The king glared upon her and answered, “I’ve no need. You know where you can take your offer, so kindly do so.”
She laughed. “Ah well. It’s still on the table.” She then sauntered over to Twilight and looked upon her with mocking awe. “My word, it’s another little alicorn! Complete with her own cute little crown! Luna, isn’t she darling?”
“And hopefully less boring than the old one.” The evil dark blue alicorn stepped past Trixie, amused at her frown, and prodded at Twilight’s horn. “Tell me, what sort of magic can you do with this? Card tricks? Disappearing coins? Perhaps you can actually saw a mare in…?”
Twilight’s answer was to materialize a muzzle about the alternate Luna’s mouth, prompting the alternate Celestia to step back. “How’s that for a trick?”
Sir Quill stomped a hoof on the balcony floor in applause as Trixie remarked, “Not bad.”
The false Celestia regained her composure as her sibling angrily shook off the restraint. “Well, this just became far more interesting.”
The gathered element bearers readied themselves for a fight, but Sombra stepped forward, his horn flaring to life as a shield formed around himself and his allies. “No! You know the stakes! We must not harm them!”
“Can we at least critique their fashion statements?!” Rarity looked to Luna and declared, “Honestly, red and black?! What are you, a comic book super-villainess?!”
The elder evil princess laughed and activated her own magic. Rather than attacking, however, she changed her wardrobe, her outfit changing to a long-sleeved suit with a furred collar about her neck. “You always did have atrocious fashion taste, Little Lulu.”
Her sibling glared, but offered, “It seems they’re not interested in continuing with our fun. Perhaps we can find entertainment elsewhere?”
“Very well.” The two took to the skies, and Celestia called as her outfit shifted again to an elaborate purple gown, “See you again soon, Sombra!”
As they flitted off into the distance, Rainbow Dash rounded upon the king and cried, “We could’ve taken ‘em! Why’d you stop us?!”
“Did you not see the condition that my dear Celestia was in after fighting the monster her counterpart’s become?” His shields went down, and Sombra bowed his head sadly. “It was painful enough seeing one whom I love be hurt once. I’d rather not have it happen again.”
Twilight looked upon him in disbelief, brief glances at her friends telling her that they shared her sentiment, but quickly put the thought aside. There was obviously a lot more to this than just endangered worlds. “Please, tell us everything. Now.”
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I rather like the changes added, it was a nice change. I like this story so much
.
Burn him to ash, spike.
So he’s still alive after all these years?
Luna, sit your a** down. I’m pretty sure celestia is more powerful than you. So the fact that she came back through the mirror the way she did makes me think that you’re gonna come back either as an unconscious body or a corpse.
I’m sorry. What? I knew the princesses would be responsible for bad things happening, but I didn’t mean like this.
Wait, so nightmare rarity is canon?
Facing your evil counterpart usually doesn’t go well.
Damn. Imagine kicking your own a**.
What damage?
Wait what?
Damn. My man was just getting comfortable last chapter.
Again what?
I’m not seeing the problem.
If I was her I would just put the blame on celestia and starswirl.
Quill? As in the writer?
Dog?
Up the flank?
I actually laughed at that? I see a little bit of myself in twilight, because I got tired of luna talking sh*t.
Why not? Celestia is back home. She’d be fine.
No y’all not. Rainbow I understand you think you’re awesome, but you do not want that smoke.
Like what?
10814081
Star Swirl will eventually get his comeuppance. It will take a long time, unfortunately, but it will happen.
Yes, Sombra is still alive, for reasons that I hope will become clear with later chapters.
Nightmare Rarity is indeed canon within the events of my storyline, yes. Some details from the comic might not, however.
Star Swirl screwed up, and now two worlds/timelines are in danger of colliding. Which would destroy both of them. Very bad thing.
Elements go with them, they no make things worse.
You have to remember, Twilight still puts Celestia up on a pretty high pedestal. That pedestal's starting to take hits, but it hasn't been broken. Yet.
Not really how Fluttershy operates.
Yep, that's the counterpart to Quiver Quill.
She was insulting Sir Quill.
Yes, but Sombra's just a bit too polite to phrase it like that.
Yeah, my take on Twilight is just a tiny bit more proactive.
Thanks to how the worlds are connected and all the damage done, it doesn't matter if they're in separate worlds - if they attack Mirror!Celestia, their Celestia will be hurt.
Like how things got as bad as they have. All covered in the next chapter!