If I Could Love Again...

by Petalled

~ 02 ~ Stolen Counterparts

''Where do you think we should start, Spike?'' asked Twilight as she walked through the locker room with her dog companion taking a look around at all the strange things in this world.

''Do they have ice cream here?'' he asked, his tummy rumbling as he glanced around. ''I don't know about you, but I'm craving something sweet at the moment.''

''We'll see what we can find, Spike,'' she told him before the two of them could hear a familiar, soft-spoken voice in the distance, using the lockers as a lead to find the source of that intimate voice.

When they reached the end locker, they could see a person in the same color pallet as one of their friends being backed up against a locker by some other person whose back was facing their way so they couldn't make out who the other person was.

''Let this be a lesson and a reminder to you that when you see something again then you shouldn't touch it and give it to someone that doesn't belong to you or them.''

''Well, it doesn't quite belong to you either.''

''Excuse me?'' she stormed, slamming the locker shut loudly.

''Hey!'' called out a voice belonging to Twilight, making an appearance after eavesdropping along with her dog. ''Don't speak to her that way.''

The person finally turned around, aghast. ''What did you just say?''

''I said—'' Twilight stepped forward, now face-to-face with her, ''—you shouldn't be speaking to her that way.''

They stared at her for a tense second before breaking out into a grin. ''Are you new here? Because I can speak to anybody I want and there's nothing you can do about it.'' She dumped a kid's ice cream on the floor much to their sorrow as she walked away, Spike licking it off the floor.

''I can't believe you did that,'' said the shy person, astonished.

Twilight shrugged. ''Well, I had to do something instead of just standing there.''

''No, it's just that no one has ever talked to Sunset Shimmer like that.''

A sudden twinge of remembrance hit her. ''Sunset Shimmer?''

''You sound like you know her,'' noted the girl. ''Do you?''

''Sort of,'' Twilight replied, scratching her neck. ''Anyway, my name is Twilight Sparkle. What's yours?''

The girl gasped and instantly went back to being shy again.

''Can't hear you. I mean it sounds like you're saying Fluttershy but how can that be—''

''Oh, c'mon,'' Spike ignorantly said, rolling his eyes from the backpack on the floor. ''You're only now starting to be shy after just talking with us when we just literally asked for your name?''

Twilight immediately stuck a foot up his mouth but luckily the girl didn't hear him. When she had spotted him she lightened up and ran past Twilight making her twirl around in place, patting on the dog.

''What's your name, little buddy?'' she asked, clutching onto his collar.

''That's, uh, Spike, my... dog,'' Twilight replied. ''Anyway, I heard your conversation with Sunset Shimmer and she mentioned something that you've touched. You didn't by any chance touch a crown, did you?''

Fluttershy stood up from the ground. ''How did you know?''

''Lucky guess?'' she sheepishly said. ''Do you still have it, though?''

She shook her head which had Twilight deflate at that.

''But you know what happened to it?''

She nodded.

''Great! Where can I retrieve it? Who did you give it to?''

''Principal Celestia.''

''Principal Celestia?''

''Oh! That's right,'' Fluttershy replied, playing with the straps from her backpack. ''You're new here. Well, she's our principal here at the school.''

''So where can I find her exactly?'' Twilight asked, glancing at her surroundings.

''Third door to the left,'' she answered, pointing in the direction which led Twilight and her pet to run towards it.

A few minutes later, they came back out the door. ''Twilight,'' said Spike, ''why didn't you just tell her that the crown belonged to you?''

''Something tells me it's going to take a lot more than that to get the crown, Spike.''

''All right. Suit yourself.''

And, seeing Fluttershy again, they walked in the direction she was heading off to (the cafeteria) where they learned information about the place and how to get people to vote for them.

---

''Argh... I haven't eaten that much ever since Cadence took me out to a restaurant that one time.''

''I told you not to eat that much, Twi,'' said Spike inside her backpack as they made their way over towards the gym hall. ''And eating like a pony? Seriously?''

''Hey, I'm still getting used to this new, weird me, okay?'' Twilight shot back when they reached at two doors, pushing them open to allow themselves to enter in and when they did they ducked for cover as streamers went in their direction. When they got themselves out from the pile of streamers, she walked up to a pink person blowing a balloon. ''Hi. My name is Twilight Sparkle.''

When they turned around, realization struck her. ''Pinkie Pie?''

At the mention of that name, the person immediately let go of the balloon letting it deflate as they pulled the newcomer by the shoulders.

She gasped. ''Are you psychic?''

''I don't think so,'' Twilight replied, oblivious. ''I mean can you do that? Side kick?''

She sighed. ''No.''

''Anyways, so let's just get to the point, shall we?'' she pushed on, making herself look presentable. ''My name is Twilight Sparkle, I'm brand new here and I would like to know where the Party Planning Committee is.''

Pinkie dropped another balloon and took a look at her. ''Do you live across the street with a dog named Spike that looks just like him?'' She pointed which led the dog to drop the balloon and bark.

Twilight blinked. ''Oh, yes, definitely!''

Pinkie smiled. ''I thought you looked so familiar. Anyway, way to have your name on the ballot, huh? Just sign your name here and we'll be fresh out of the oven.'' She got out a pen and paperwork. ''Here you go.''

Being stared at to go on, Twilight shook her head and grabbed the pen by her mouth at first before holding it with her hand and writing wonkily on the paper. When she was done, Pinkie looked at it and had her eyeballs pop out of her sockets in surprise.

''Wow,'' she murmured. ''That's some bad handwriting you got there.''

Twilight looked at her hands, then at the pen, throwing it behind her and chuckling sheepishly.

Pinkie blinked. “I needed that back.“

“Oh, sorry,“ Twilight said, about to walk towards it to pick it back up and give it back to her until Spike beat her to it. “I thought you would have some sort of pen stash.“

“I do! But I still like to have my collection. How do you know?“

“Lucky guess?“ Twilight said sheepishly.

''Anyhoo~'' Pinkie started off, about to go back with her balloon blowing had the doors not slam open revealing another familiar person.

''Anybody ordered a box of cider?'' came a southern-accented voice which piped up the pink person as they brought the box into the hall, noticing the person staring at her. ''Hey, I know you.''

Twilight blinked. ''You do?''

''Yeah,'' she said, placing the box down. ''You're that new girl that gave Sunset Shimmer the whip today.''

''Twilight Sparkle here is going to compete against Sunset Shimmer for Fall Formal Princess.''

This led to Applejack spitting out cider at the news. ''I'd think twice about that,'' she said, facing Twilight again. ''Oh, sure, she comes to you all sweetly before—'' She got two balloons, one red and one purple, drawing Sunset and Twilight's faces on them before the latter got popped by a pin attached to the former, ''—BOOM! There goes the backstabbing.''

Twilight bit her lip, remembering when she thought the exact same thing about her sister-in-law when she saw her for the first time in so long.

She placed a hand on Applejack's shoulder. ''Thanks for the warning, A.J, but I really need to do this.''

Applejack shrugged. ''Suit yourself.'' Then realization hit her, arching an eyebrow. ''Hey, wait a minute. How did you know my nickname was A.J? I never told ya about neither mah name nor nickname.''

Wanting to avoid answering, Twilight picked up Spike from the floor and placed him inside her backpack before exiting the hall again. Next, a new arrival came in.

''This looks terrible!'' she exclaimed as she looked around the place. ''There should be fewer streamers and fewer balloons.'' She popped one balloon and held one bottle of cider. ''Fizzy Apple Cider? This is my coronation, not a hootenanny.''

''Well, it ain't necessarily your coronation, now is it?'' Applejack shot back.

''Is that so?'' she asked, getting in her face. ''You countryfolk really aren't that bright. Must be why the others think you're just a background character.'' She lowered the hat over Applejack's face which burst open in rage. ''Obviously, it's going to be my coronation. I'm running unopposed.''

''Not this time!'' Pinkie exclaimed, waving the checklist in the air. ''The newbie just signed.''

''What?!'' she shouted, snatching it away from her. When she saw the name signed, she lowered the checklist down and her expression darkened. ''Where is this Twilight Sparkle?''

Pinkie and Applejack looked at each other and she immediately shifted in the way the latter described she would do just a few minutes ago.

''I'm looking forward to the friendly competition,'' she said as she brought out a big smile before turning around and wiping it away as she exited the hall with her two minions. ''You two boys, I want you to do exactly as I say.''

---

Reaching a dead-end where lights were flickering, Twilight squinted in the dark to make out who was in the partial absence of illuminance with Spike peeking out of her backpack.

''I can't believe I didn't notice you earlier,'' came a familiar voice, revealing the owner of it once they came out of the darkness. ''I should have predicted Celestia would send her prize pupil after me. I also can't believe how you don't remember me.''

Twilight's heart skipped a beat, but she leered at the person. ''What do you want? My crown?''

''Isn't it obvious already?'' she asked sarcastically, and almost rhetorically. ''I'm tired of living in your shadow, Princess Twilight Sparkle. I'm tired of you forgetting about the ones in Canterlot now that you have some Ponyville dorks as your friends.''

''Who are you?'' Twilight asked, stepping back.

''I want you to figure it out yourself,'' said Sunset. ''But if you don't, I'll tell you when we get this whole thing over meaning I get to have everything you have right now.''

Twilight stamped a foot to the ground. ''I'm warning you.''

''No,'' Sunset thundered, stamping a foot to the floor in a similar fashion only this time knocked some lights out. She pinned Twilight to the locker with a hand while the other hand was brushing through the pinned princess' hair. ''You don't belong here, Twilight Sparkle. You wanna be a princess here too? Just how greedy you are and forgettable about us. And you say I'm the bad guy. You don't fit in with this place.''

Twilight's breathing went unsteady, caught in her throat, until Sunset walked right past her after giving her an unpleasant stare. However, Spike was still in her backpack, pawing at the ground.

She couldn't be, he voiced inwards.

---

''This is so cool!'' Spike commented as he clicked on a button with multiple of them on a board as he looked at the screen. ''Rarity still looks beautiful in this world too!''

Meanwhile, Twilight was sitting behind a bookcase, plotting down bullet points and writing information next to it on a checklist.

A few hours later of researching and making lists, Spike removed a giant fabric from an assortment of books that he made in the shape of a bed for the both of them to sleep in for the night. Receiving appreciation from Twilight, she showed him a book that held records of the school.

When it came to a page of five friends that they met with three already, Spike immediately cut Twilight off as she said all of their names apart from...

''There's a Rarity here?!'' he said, giddy like a puppy in which he already is.

''Oh, please,'' Twilight scoffed, rolling her eyes. ''We made a deal that I never think about Cadence until we get my crown back but you can think about Rarity?''

''Hey, at least Rarity is single, Cadence's not,'' Spike pointed out, huffing.

''Spike,'' she deadpanned, ''Rarity practically uses you, treats you like trash and makes you jealous by nearing herself with other stallions. Face it, it's unrequited love, Spike. At least Cadence treats me nicely.''

Spike had looked adorable when fuming before he turned himself away and curled on the edge of the book bed, mumbling inaudible tweaks before tightly closing his eyes shut.

Twilight sighed and lay down next to him. ''Good night, Spike.''

She turned her gaze upwards, observing the stars twinkling above as she reminisced where she was in the locker room with Sunset Shimmer, thinking to herself, what had she meant by that?

---

The next day Twilight was walking through the locker room she could hear people around her laughing at her, getting louder and louder in her head, confused about why they were laughing at her in the first place until she was dragged into a classroom hearing the locks turn.

Spike's head peeked from out of her backpack, noticing the person who had trapped them in the classroom was none other than...

Rarity, that was about to slip away from his lips had Twilight not blocked his mouth.

In the meantime, Rarity was searching through a wardrobe of clothes picking out the right one that could best suit Twilight as a disguise, putting a green dress on her along with a blonde wig.

Twilight glanced at it. ''Huh. I haven't worn something similar to this since Cadence and I played dress-up.''

''You don't mean Principal Cadance, do you?'' Rarity asked, eyeing her through a triangle made from her fingers.

''Uh—'' Did I say that out loud? Wait, there's a Cadance in this school? ''What are you—'' she was about to ask but Rarity started pinching Spike's cheeks.

''...just how adorable he is,'' she cooed, adjusting his collar. ''But I think I should make him look like a rabbit instead.''

''A rabbit?!'' Twilight repeated before the door slammed open, revealing all three of their friends' counterparts that they had met so far.

''Hey, Twilight!'' Pinkie greeted. ''I like your new look.''

''I do have an eye for fashion,'' Rarity said discourteously, crossing her arms.

''What are you guys doing here?'' Twilight asked them all.

Fluttershy cowered behind her mane. ''Oh... she hasn't seen it yet.''

''Seen what?'' she asked, being pushed into a seat as well as a device getting pushed in front of her on the table, clicking on the button to start the video. When it finished, Twilight immediately slammed the laptop shut and everyone exchanged nervous glances with each other. ''Is that why they were all looking at me that way? What am I going to do? No one's going to vote for me after they see this.''

She planted her face down on the table in which Fluttershy caressed her on the back for comfort.

''If it helps,'' she said quietly, ''I'll still vote for you. You were so nice standing up for me earlier.''

''If you still wanna run, then maybe I can help,'' Pinkie said gleefully.

''Word of advice,'' Fluttershy whispered to Twilight, ''don't ask for her help. She doesn't take anything seriously.''

Pinkie scoffed, crossed her arms, and sat down in a seat. ''Why do you gotta be so awful to me?''

''Oh, please, Miss Pie, you're no better than she is,'' Rarity butted in, and just like that, the four of them including Applejack started bickering back and forth with each other until Twilight shouted at the top of her lungs to get them to...

''QUIET!'' she vociferated which eventually got them to shut up. ''Now I don't know what happened between you guys but I think Sunset Shimmer had put a strain on your friendship with each other.'' She put the school's yearbook on the table into everyone's view.

Rarity placed a hand on her shoulder. ''Well, it's a great theory, darling, but Sunset Shimmer has nothing to do with it.''

''That's right,'' Fluttershy conceded rather assertively. ''Sunset Shimmer isn't the one who ruined my silent auction for the animal shelter by bringing fireworks and noisemakers. It was supposed to be a serious event and Pinkie Pie ruined it.''

''What are you talking about?'' Pinkie asked, looking through her phone. ''I got a text from you saying that you didn't want a silent auction, you wanted a big party.''

''I...'' She turned to look at her. ''I didn't send you that.''

''You didn't?''

''You don't think she's been the one sending me those emails, do you?'' Rarity asked. ''Every time I volunteer to help with the decorations at a school function, I get an email from Pinkie Pie saying she has plenty of volunteers and then I see that she's done everything by herself.''

In the meantime, Twilight was listening deeply to these and thinking carefully to herself. It also reminded her of a time when Cadence helped her find out who ate the cookies, suspecting it was her brother, but instead, it was her parents.

''I never sent you any emails,'' Pinkie replied, looking through her phone again.

''Maybe she's the reason Rainbow Dash didn't show up for my bake sale,'' said Applejack as she came from behind Rarity.

''Did you ever ask her why she didn't show up?'' asked Twilight, raising an eyebrow.

She pulled the brim of her hat, lowering it over her face. ''I guess I kinda stopped talkin' to her at all after that.''

''Maybe now would be a good time to start,'' Twilight advised, shifting her friend's hat properly with a smile.

Minutes later, they arrived at the school's sports pitch where Applejack and Rainbow Dash were in the center talking and making out with each other.

''They're actually...!'' Rarity trailed off, shifting on the bleachers uncomfortably. ''Oh, my.''

When Applejack and Rainbow Dash came over to join the others, they started explaining the situation that fractured their friendship and possibly relationship.

''So you wanna dethrone Sunset Shimmer and become Princess of the Fall Formal, huh?'' the latter asked Twilight. ''Gotta say I'd really love to watch that happen. I'll totally help you out. On one condition: to beat me in a game on one-on-one.''

Knowing how athletic she is from the other world, Twilight felt uneasy about going against her, and another reason is that she's still getting used to her new form.

On the pitch, in a few minutes through, Rainbow Dash was kicking the ball towards the goal where Twilight was shakily standing but was oblivious that the ball went in.

When she handed over the ball to her, Twilight was more than happy to pick it up but just when she was about to it got snatched by Rainbow Dash and kicked into her goal. This continued on by Rainbow Dash continuing to win and Twilight continuing to lose until the latter was suddenly worn out laying amidst the pitch.

''So,'' said Rainbow Dash, helping her up. ''How can I help you be princess instead of Sunset Shimmer?''

Twilight accepted her hand. ''But I *pants* lost.''

She rolled her eyes. ''Of course, I won, I'm awesome. But I won't help someone win who literally has no heart at all over someone who does. The Fall Formal Princess needs to have someone with resilience and determination and guess what you've proved you have 'em both.''

When Rainbow Dash brought her into an embrace, the rest of the friends started cheering on for Twilight.

However, behind the bleachers, a tweedle dumb and tweedle dumbass were snickering with phones in their hands as they had been taking photos during the whole time with Sunset Shimmer beside them breaking out into a maniacal grin.

---