To Clean Slates

by Bookish Delight

Old vs. New

Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria was someone Twilight had only met in person once before.

Shortly after the Friendship Games, she'd appeared through the mirror portal. At the time it had been an unexpected shock, since Twilight hadn't been fully briefed on what the portal was, or the fact that interdimensional twins were, in fact, real. The whole "magical land of ponies" thing had also taken a while for Twilight to digest.

But once she had, wonder of all wonders, both Twilights had found they shared quite a bit in common. All sorts of scientific and magical research texts had peppered their talks, but once the conversation had shifted to Daring Do, they—and Rainbow Dash—came close to being cited for noise pollution.

Even if things hadn't turned out the way they had, simply knowing that there really were other dimensions out there, and other versions of herself, would have been enough to delight Twilight's scientific mind for decades. But becoming fast friends with her other self the same week they'd met had been an undeniable plus. Both Twilights smiled at each other, in greeting and solidarity.

"Hi, Twilight," Princess Twilight said, wearing an apron that Twilight just now noticed. "You're actually just in time."

"Hi." Twilight waved and looked at her phone. It was 4PM. "Wait, really? The party's not supposed to start for another hour." Instantly, Twilight blanched, her hand flying to her mouth. "Oh, no. Did I forget about Daylight Savings? Was I supposed to set the time manually? Wait, no, that was months ago, and the cloud takes care of the time changes on my phone—"

Princess Twilight laughed. "Calm down, Twilight. I just meant that you're in time to help me out. I've been in this kitchen almost all morning by myself."

"Oh," Twilight said, tittering. "O-of course." She stepped inside, walking beside Princess Twilight towards the kitchen. "I'm going to have to have a talk with Sunset later, then. She should be helping you out."

"Oh, don't get the wrong idea, she totally did! We went shopping together early this morning to pick out foods befitting both human and pony tastes! Which, in turn, involved visiting a... 'supermarket'." Princess Twilight stopped, and, with a dreamy expression, clasped her hands and stared into space. "I have never seen buildings that big with nothing but food in them! All perfectly organized and filed into their own aisles, and with perfectly area-segmented climate control! It was magical, and majestic, and convenient, all at the same time!" With an excited smile, she turned to Twilight. "Do you think I should propose a similar endeavor for Equestria?"

"Hmmm," Twilight said, fingers to her chin. "Don't ponies pretty much just eat and even cook stuff that comes from the ground? Very healthy, unprocessed, little need for extended shelf life. It seems to me that a supermarket would be redundant. Outside of storing food during the winter, that is, and even then, it probably wouldn't be very economically viable compared to the small specialty shops you have now."

Princess Twilight sighed. If her human form had pony ears, Twilight would swear they would be drooping right now. "I see your point," she said, then with an extra chuckle, added, "Killjoy."

Twilight laughed. "Sorry! You did ask me, though."

"Of course, I did. And thanks for answering honestly." Princess Twilight winked. "I always trust my own calculations."

Both Twilights giggled as they resumed walking. They shortly arrived in the kitchen, where Twilight saw several food platters laid out across the counters.

"All right," Princess Twilight said, "let me know if this is okay?" She pointed to the platters, which Twilight quickly realized were ordered. "I was inspired by the 'supermarket' to organize everything by food group. You have your grains and breads here, along with your veggie and fruit salads. Sunset and I will be vacuuming most of those like they're going out of style. Same with the cheeses, probably."

Twilight laughed. "No problem. That's why I advised buying extra when I made the shopping list."

"And we certainly appreciate it. Now, we've got the beans and nuts over here—though there are also some in the salads—and Sunset handled preparing the meats, which are over here." She scoffed and rolled her eyes in mock haughtiness. "You know. For those who are into that sort of thing."

Twilight, being someone who was absolutely into that sort of thing, gasped and squealed as the smell of the freshly baked turkey in front of her overwhelmed her pleasure centers. "It looks and smells fantastic! Ooh, and here?" she said, pointing to the desserts that she'd made and dropped off last night sitting at the far end of the counter. "Oh my gosh, it's everything I made that's totally not healthy for us at all." She turned to Princess Twilight, bouncing with fists raised in front of herself. "Twilight, I couldn't have organized this better myself!" She squealed again. "You're a genius!"

Princess Twilight giggled and pointed. "No, Twilight, you're a genius."

With a silly grin, Twilight pointed back. "No, you are!"

Princess Twilight crossed her arms mock-indignantly. "Hey, now, who's the Twilight Sparkle here?"

"Oh, wait—it's me!" they said in unison, before breaking down into uncontrollable laughter. As the two calmed down, Twilight said, "Ohhh, one day that's going to get old—"

"But today is not that day," Princess Twilight finished. She held her arms out for a hug, which Twilight gladly accepted. Hugs were found few and far between the two due to the distance between their homes, so Twilight relished them when she could. The familiar feel of how her counterpart felt against her, the familiar shape, the familiar scent, even amidst the small-but-meaningful differences, was stunning. Much like hugging Sunset, it felt like coming home... just in a different way.

"I'm so glad you took the time to visit," Twilight said. "Thank you. I know you have a busy schedule as a princess."

"I wouldn't turn down an invitation to a party with all of my friends. No matter which world they happen to inhabit." Princess Twilight stepped back, smiled, then rolled her eyes. "Besides, I've come to accept that 'waiting for downtime' in Equestria is pretty much a fool's errand. I mean, even before I was working round the clock teaching friendship to students, I was rehabilitating a rogue unicorn. One with huge magic potential, so much that she almost destroyed all of existence on a temporal level."

"All of time?" Twilight's eyes sparkled, and she clasped her hands. "Cooooooool."

Princess Twilight looked to the sky, shook her head, and sighed. "That's what Rainbow Dash said. Well, my Rainbow Dash. Trust me, though, neither of you were there. Well, my Rainbow Dash was, again, as a filly, and—look, the point is, there are so many things I've been through where I wished I were just at a party instead." She chuckled sheepishly.

Twilight giggled. "Ironically, I wouldn't mind some of your excitement. Your rehab student was Starlight Glimmer, though, right? Didn't she go on to save your life and mine? That just means you're good at what you do."

"Oh, stop it." Princess Twilight blushed. "Besides, I'm not the only one here doing well for themselves. I, for one, am so glad you're in such a great place," she continued, "and that you've made so many friends." She grinned toothily. "What'd I tell you last time? They'll take you pretty far... including certain very special ones?" She gave Twilight a slanted look.

It was now Twilight's turn to blush. "That's right," she said. "You and Sunset still write each other, don't you?"

"A lot," Princess Twilight replied. "And thanks to you, my book's now filled with so many letters of a much... happier, more confident tone."

Twilight blinked. "Happier and confident?"

Princess Twilight sighed. "Well, without breaching her trust... it honestly wasn't like this before the Friendship Games at all. So many times, Sunset would write to me, and she would always be... so scared. So unsure. So... sad.

"She beat herself up so much, Twilight. About what she'd done, about what she was afraid she might do in the future. And I felt terrible about it, because me and the other girls defeating her made it mostly my fault she grew a conscience in the first place. After that, all she could do was search desperately for answers, and I didn't know what to give her at the time, other than platitudes."

Princess Twilight looked at the floor. "The day Sunset Shimmer was exposed to the Elements of Harmony was the day she stopped being sure of herself. Stopped believing in herself. Even evil confidence is still confidence."

Twilight stepped forward, taking Princess Twilight's hands. "I think we both know that blaming yourself won't get you anywhere. You did what you had to do, and no one could have predicted the effects." She huffed. "All of my encounters with the Elements of Harmony have so far defied any scientific principles I can throw at it."

"I understand, I truly do," Princess Twilight said. "Still, that didn't make Sunset's sadness and confusion any less painful to watch. But you..." She looked into Twilight's eyes. "You brought her heart back. You gave her the greatest gift that the rest of us never could. You gave her the ability to hope again. In others, and in herself."

She squeezed Twilight's hands. "Sunset told me what happened to you when you first touched Equestrian friendship magic. But no matter what happened that day, Twilight, I promise you: you embody what that magic really stands for, and then some."

She wrapped her arms around Twilight's neck, gave Twilight's forehead a light kiss, then looked at her with a sincere smile. "Never let anyone tell you anything different."

"W-wow," Twilight said breathlessly, her body temperature now doubled, and her face now almost more red than violet. "Official approval from the Princess of Friendship?"

Princess Twilight giggled. "I suppose sometimes, the title comes in handy."

"Hey, if it's good enough for my girlfriend, it's good enough for me," Twilight said. "Though speaking of, she's taking an awfully long time to get ready. Especially for her."

"Really?" Princess Twilight asked.

Twilight nodded. "I've seen Sunset's morning routine. She kind of... doesn't have one. The first day I asked how she does her hair, she burst out laughing."

Princess Twilight laughed. "I'm not surprised."

Twilight nodded. "Neither was I, honestly. Point is, she should have been down by now—" She was interrupted by a ding from her phone. Both Twilights looked at its screen.

It was Sunset. "hey hon you downstairs?"

"I am. Princess Twilight let me in. We're talking about supermarkets and redemption." Twilight texted, as she and her counterpart shared shoulder-bumping giggles.

"best subjects. tell p-twi i said thanks. could you come up to my room? just you though."

"Oh, I see how it is," Princess Twilight teased.

"Hey, we share a very special friendship bond," Twilight said, waving and walking towards the stairs leading to Sunset's bedroom. "Time for me to go use it."

Comments

[Nali]

Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria was someone Twilight had only met in person once before.

Er...

Hugs were found few and far between the two due to the distance between their homes, so Twilight relished them when she could.

Precise hug quantities and times unclear.

[Darkstarling]

Twilight bantering with her twinner is completely adorable :)

[Boltstrike58]

I declare that the two Twilights shall now be know as "The Nerd Twins."

[OmniFox]

Special friendship bond? More like crazy hot passion time.