My faithful student, Twilight. I ask that you please come to Canterlot immediately. I have an important task for you to take. This task will help us get a better understanding of species other than pony kind. Your teacher, Princess Celestia.
My faithful student, Twilight. I ask that you please come to Canterlot immediately. I have an important task for you to take. This task will help us get a better understanding of species other than pony kind. Your teacher, Princess Celestia.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What could Princess Celestia have for me to do? What will happen to me!?
“Spike! Wake up, it’s winter wrap up day!” I exclaimed.
“Ugh… can’t it wait till later?” Spike groaned too lazy to get out of bed.
“I told you last year Spike, it isn’t the same as Canterlot; so Ponyville needs everypony they can get to wrap up winter, and this year I’m in charge of organization.” I said proudly.
“I think I’ll be in charge of sleep then…” Spike said, rolling over. But then I levitated him on my back while he gave me one of his annoyed looks… It's fine, he did the same thing last year. But last year we were lucky to wrap up winter in time, so I’m not taking my chances this year.
“Let’s see…” I said walking outside. “Rarity making the bird’s nests: check. Fluttershy waking up the animals: check. Applejack planting the seeds: check. Pinkie Pie ice skating: check. And Rainbow Dash bringing back the birds: check.” I said but then I heard snoring… “Lazy baby dragon… yup” I said, rolling my eyes.
For once, everything seemed to be going according to plan. But at the same moment, there was a loud burp from Spike. We had just received a letter from Princess Celestia. "I wonder what the princess wants." I said opening the scroll. "My faithful student, Twilight. I ask that you please come to Canterlot immediately. I have an important task for you to take. This task will help us get a better understanding of species other than pony kind. Your teacher, Princess Celestia." After reading the letter, I found myself confused. Why in the world would the princess need me today of all days? "Come on Spike, we better go see what the princess needs." But when I turned to Spike, I found him sleeping again. "On second thought, I'll go by myself this time." I said placing Spike in a bush. "Besides, I'm sure that the rest of Ponyville will know what to do this time.” With that, I started to make my way towards the train station to Canterlot. However, when I reached the train station, there weren't many ponies on board. "That's strange... This train is usually pretty full in the morning." I decided to just leave the thought behind me and make my way towards Canterlot. Thankfully the train ride wasn't too long.
After the train stopped, I then made my way towards Princess Celestia's castle. As I'm walking, many thoughts come to my head. I still don't understand why the princess wants to see me on this day, one of the busiest days In Ponyville. I just hope that Ponyville will be ok without me this time. After some time, I finally made it to the castle. Strangely enough, not many ponies out either. I saw some, but it was still strange. “Princess Celestia.” I said bowing to my teacher. “It’s good to see you again.”
“And it’s good to see you as well, Twilight.” Celestia said to me as she smiled.
“Princess Celestia, forgive me but, what is so important that it can’t wait until after winter wrap up day?”
Celestia looked at me for a moment, looking as if she was deep in thought before smiling. “This task I have for you is very important. A study... research.”
“Research? I’m pretty sure that--...”
“On another world.”
I just stared at her in complete shock and disbelief. “Another world...? You mean figuratively, right?”
Celestia shook her head. “No Twilight, I mean an actual new world that is completely different than our own.”
This time I could’ve sworn I just felt my eyes shrink. “But... Why me?”
Celestia put a hoof on me. “I wouldn’t be sending you if I wasn’t sure that you were perfect for this. I believe that you will get a better understanding than even me.”
“But Princess...” I started to stammer in between words. “We’re talking about a whole new world here! What if it’s dangerous...?”
“Would I send you to a place where you would be harmed?”
I looked down for a moment. “Alright Princess Celestia, I understand.” I stood with more confidence. “I’m ready.”
“Wait.” Princess Celestia interrupted. “Before I send you to this world, there is something you should know first...” I looked up at her confused and at the same time a little nervous. “When you enter this world, you must always be on your guard. Don’t let anything trick you...”
“What do you mean Princess...?” I asked slowly, walking closer to her.
“You’ll see what I mean soon enough... farewell... and good luck my most faithful student.” her horn glowed and there was a sudden flash. My body started to fade slowly, but moments later, it started coming back.
Eventually the light started to fade and I could get a glimpse of where I was... there was only one problem... “Where in the world am I??” I looked around the area for a familiar face, but couldn’t find any. I was in some sort of park, and it looked like the sun was rising. “I wonder who raises the sun here...” I decided to walk around the park, and as I did, I was taking some notes. “Okay, time for me to get some more ground........” I paused and stared up at the buildings. “Sweet Celestia...” I just stared in awe at the buildings around me as I took more notes. I then began to walk toward those big buildings. “Why doesn’t Equestria have buildings like this...?” I said aloud, then looked in front of me and saw a strange being. “What the...” I said, taking more notes quickly. “What is that thing...?” the being was turned the other way and I don’t think he’s aware that I’m here. Maybe I should say something. “Um... hello?” I said in a low tone.
The tall being then turned to me and had a face of shock. “What the...!?” he exclaimed looking at me. That can’t be a good sign... “What kind of horse is purple…? And is that a horn!?” DEFINITELY not good! I just panicked and ran the other way into the area with the big buildings... I probably should have gone back... but Princess Celestia is counting on me to get this research done.
I picked up my pace taking more notes, more recently on the being I saw. How did he know what I was...? I tried to forget it as I started slowing down to a walking pace. “Oh... my...” Everywhere I looked, there were beings that looked the same as that other one... except, different sizes and shapes and colors. “What kind of place is this...?” I asked aloud, looking around.
I rapidly started taking more notes but just dropped the notebook in a puddle as I heard a strange noise. “Who’s there??” I exclaimed. I listened closely to the noise... but it wasn’t just a noise. “Is somepony... crying...?” I said getting closer to the source of the crying. I then saw another being... but this one was different. It looked smaller than the other ones... a lot smaller. Is this a child...? “Um... hello?” I asked, walking up to it. It just stared at me and looked terrified... I guess it’s more afraid of me than I am of it. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.” I said, trying to reassure the child.
“Hi...” it said in a quiet tone... I guess it’s a female... “Um... are you a real unicorn?” she asked me.
I just looked at her for a moment. “Yeah... I’m a unicorn.” I said walking up to her. “I’m Twilight Sparkle... Forgive me for asking but... what are you?”
She looked into my eyes for a moment. “Um... I’m a person...”
“A what...?”
“You know... a human...?”
“Human...” I said to myself. I went to reach for my notebook, but totally forgot that it got ruined when I dropped it in the puddle. “Shoot... well... Do you have a name?” she stared at me with sorrow in her eyes and just shook her head. “You don’t have a name...?” I asked. “Why wouldn’t your parents give you a name? Where are your parents?”
“My... parents...” she let out slowly. Suddenly she just started crying in front of me... Oh my gosh...
“I’m sorry... I understand...” I said, wiping a tear from my eye. “But... if you don’t have parents, then how do you survive?”
She stared at me again. “People see me and feel bad for me... they sometimes give me some food... but not all the time...” she sniffed. “But they don’t feel bad enough to give me a home...”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing... What kind of sick place is this...? How could these... humans just abandon her like this!? I have to do something... I can’t just leave her like this. “I feel bad enough.” I said looking at her.
“W-...what...?” she let out.
“How would you like to come with me? Have a home where you would be loved and taken care of?” I said putting a hoof on her. “I could take care of you, and give you a better life.”
“You’d really do that for me...?”
“Of course I would...” I said walking with her. “Besides, you’re the nicest uh... person I’ve ever met since I was here.” I smiled. “I think you’ll really like my friends.”
“Your friends?”
“Yeah, my five best friends.” I responded. “Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity.”
“Are they all unicorns too?”
I giggled. “No, just me and Rarity are unicorns out of the six of us.” I said as we walked to the park. “Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are pegasi. And Pinkie Pie and Applejack are earth ponies.”
“Oh... ok then...” she said in a shy tone.
“Is something wrong?”
“Well it’s just...” the girl paused. “What if they don’t like me... your friends?”
“Are you kidding?” I started. “I bet they would love you.”
“You really think so...?”
“I know so.” I said as I started to activate the spell. “Now, hold onto me.” When she did, I activated the spell to send both of us back to Canterlot. After a few moments, both of us started to fade, and we reappeared outside of Princess Celestia’s Castle. “That’s strange. I could've sworn I was sending us inside the castle.”
“Wow...” the girl said in awe, looking up at the castle. “This is cool...”
I smiled at her, “I’m glad you think so.” I put a hoof on her. “This is where my teacher and mentor, Princess Celestia lives.”
“A princess??” The girl asked in shock.
I giggled “Yeah, she’s the highest princess in all of Equestria. Well, along with her sister, Princess Luna.”
“There’s two princesses?? This is so cool!”
I just smiled as she looked at the castle... I would tell her that there are actually three princesses, but if I do that, I think she’ll faint... “Come on, let’s go inside.” I said heading in.
“Wait,” the girl said, “Before I meet the princess, shouldn’t I have a name first...? Plus you are taking care of me now...”
Hmmm... I didn’t really think of a name yet... “Well, do you have any idea on what you want me to call you?”
“I’m okay with any name you give me, Twilight.” she said with a soft smile.
Crystal and I started making our way into the castle. But right before we could even enter, we were stopped by two royal guards. “Halt!” one guard shouted. “Miss. Sparkle, what is this... creature that you brought with you?”
“She’s not a creature, and she’s a human being... I found her and I want to take care of her.” I said with a serious face.
“Miss. Sparkle, I insist that you bring her back from where she came immediately. You don’t know what this thing could do!” the guard exclaimed.
“She’s just a little girl...!” I said starting to lose my temper, “What danger could she possibly be!?”
“Please Miss. Sparkle! You MUST bring her back!”
“I can’t!”
“Why can’t you!?”
“BECAUSE SHE WAS ALONE!” I shout out with a tear going down my face. “She was alone...” I said looking down. “Her family is gone. She has no one else to turn to...” I slowly walked up to the guard, whispering to him. “If you still don’t understand, let me say this: With the conditions that she was living in, there is no way that she would have survived...” I say trying to hold back more tears. “She would have died if I didn’t find her...”
“Miss. Sparkle, you must understand that--...”
“No, YOU must understand!” I shouted back at the guard. “I am going to take care of her here, I will not let her go back to that life, and there is nothing in this world that will make me change my mind!” I stomped snorting in anger.
The guard just stared at me in shock. He had never seen me so angry before... to be honest I don’t think I’ve ever been this angry in a very long time. It was silent for what seemed like hours until he finally spoke. “Very well...” he said bowing his head in defeat. “You and...”
“Crystal...” I finished for him.
“Yes...” he said. “You and Crystal may enter...” he moved aside.
Me and Crystal then started making our way toward Princess Celestia’s chamber... Well, I started until I saw that Crystal was still with the guard. “Crystal? What are you doing?”
Crystal looked at me for a second, then turned to face the guard. “Do you really think I would hurt someone...?” Crystal asked the guard that I was arguing with.
The guard looked at her in shock... I wonder if he even knew that she could talk. “W-well... it’s just a priority to apprehend any unknown creature...”
“But I would never hurt a pony...” Crystal said putting her hand on the guard’s head. “I think ponies like you are amazing, and I can do all I can to respect you.”
The guard let out a small blush trying to hide it. I smiled at her, a little in shock when she said that to him. If it were me, I probably would have just walked away. Well, I did walk away, but still... She’s so brave for doing that. “Come on Crystal, let’s go inside.” I smiled leading her into the doorway. I swear, with every step we took, she was getting more and more excited... and when she did, I just laughed a bit. “You should really calm down Crystal. You might scare even the princess with your energy.” I chuckled.
“Oh, sorry Twilight.” she said with a blush.
“It’s ok.” I giggled. “Everypony gets nervous when they first meet Princess Celestia anyways.”
“When did you first meet her?” she asked going more at my pace now.
“Well... I first met Princess Celestia when I was just a filly.” I smiled starting to tell my story. “It was on the day of my entrance exam for Celestia School for gifted unicorns.”
“Oh, so you passed it easily, right?” she said getting excited.
“Well, not exactly...” I blushed a bit. “You see, the exam was to hatch a dragon’s egg, and at first I wasn’t doing so well. To be honest, I didn’t think I was going to pass at all... but then something happened.” I said levitating Crystal onto my back. “All of a sudden, there was this huge explosion of colors outside... I never even guessed what happened after that. I then went through a massive surge of energy and magic so powerful, that even the teachers were left awestruck.”
“That must’ve been really cool!” she said excitedly.
“Well, it would've been if I didn’t turn my own parents into cacti in the process...” I giggled a bit. “That’s when Princess Celestia found me. She saw that I had a lot of potential, and offered me to be her personal protege.” I said. “Her personal student... and just when i thought things couldn’t get any better, it was also the moment when I got my cutie mark.” I said showing it to her.
“Cutie mark...?” Crystal asked. “You mean that tattoo?”
“Uh... yeah.”
“So it just magically appeared on you?”
“Yes... a cutie mark is what appears when somepony finds their special talent.”
“Special talent...?”
“Yes... Like my special talent is magic.” I said trying to explain cutie marks to her... It wasn’t that easy considering cutie marks are basic knowledge. “I’ll try to explain it further in detail later, ok?”
“Okay Twilight.”
On our way to Celestia’s throne room, I shared a few more events with Crystal... Like the time when Princess Luna, and how we set her free with the Elements of Harmony. “The Elements of Harmony have really come in handy in the past. I honestly don’t know what would’ve happened if we didn’t have them.” Just as I finished explaining the elements, we then entered Princess Celestia’s throne room. “I’m back princess.”
Princess Celestia smiled and looked up at me to say something, but immediately, that smile went away when she saw Crystal. “Twilight... what is that?” she asked with a shocked face.
“Princess Celestia, this is Crystal... she’s a human from the world you sent me into.” I looked back at Crystal, only to find her trying to hide herself... poor girl... “Hey, it’s okay...” Princess Celestia only looked at the both of us with a look of both worry and curiosity.
“But Twilight, I can tell she doesn’t like me...” she sniffed. “She wants me to go back too.” she kept trying to hide herself behind me. “I’m going to be alone again!” she just broke down sobbing... I couldn’t help but shed a few tears myself. Until Celestia suddenly walked over to me and got a closer look at Crystal.
She slowly put a hoof on her back. “What is your name little one?” Crystal slowly looked up at her still feeling nervous. “It’s alright... I just want to know your name.”
Crystal sniffed again trying to hold her tears. “C-..Crystal...”
“Crystal... what a lovely name.”
“T-thank you...” she started. “Twilight named me...”
Celestia looked shocked again as she turned to me, “You named her...?” she started. “She didn’t have a name?”
“That’s correct Princess...” I said with a sigh. “While I was doing my research, I found her all alone... no family or home, and I promised to take care of her....”
She looked back at Crystal. “And you’re perfectly fine with living in a world completely different from your own?” Crystal simply nodded and to her’s and my surprise, Crystal hugged her.
“Twilight is the first... um... pony to be kind enough to actually give me a home... and I trust her with all my heart.” Crystal said slowly letting go. I could have sworn I saw a tear on even Princess Celestia.
“I see...” Celestia let out a warm smile. “I see no reason for Crystal to not be raised here in Equestria.”
“Really??” me and Crystal said in unison. “Thank you Princess Celestia!”
Princess Celestia giggled a bit. “I trust you will take good care of her in Ponyville, Twilight.”
“I promise, Ponyville will be a great place for--... Oh my gosh!”
“What’s the matter Twilight?” Celestia asked.
“Winter Wrap Up day! It’s still going on!” I said starting to get into a panic. “Princess Celestia, could you please send us back to Ponyville??”
Celestia smiled and sighed rolling her eyes. “Very well. Twilight.” her horn glowed. “Good luck, my most faithful student.” with that, me and Crystal were immediately sent to my library.
“Why are we in a library?” Crystal asked slowly getting off my back.
“Well, this is where I live... there are many really good books here. I should have some books here for fillies too.” I started looking around for a good book for her.
“I don’t feel like reading right now Twilight... I just feel a little tired.” Crystal said yawning. “Do you think I could meet your friends?”
“You want to meet them right now?”
Before she responded, we heard the door open, following the grumbling of a familiar voice. Spike sighed. “Everytime Princess Celestia calls her, I’m stuck with all the work.” he said lying down. “Good thing she can’t see me sleep from Canterlot...” he said closing his eyes.
“Ahem!” I said out loud which made him jump out of his bed. “I may not be able to see you in Canterlot, but I can see you now.”
“T-Twilight! When did you get back?” he asked feeling a little nervous and then looked directly at Crystal. “Huh...? What’s that?”
“Oh, this is Crystal...” I said looking back at her. “Crystal, this is Spike, my number one assistant... most of the time.”
Crystal slowly walked up to Spike and raised her hand. “It’s um... nice to meet you spike.” she said in a shy tone.
“Oh uh... it’s nice to meet you too, Crystal.” Spike said taking her hand and shaking it. “Hey, you have claws like me too.”
“Oh, these aren’t claws. They’re hands.” she paused. “Um, spike? What are you?”
“Oh, I’m a baby dragon.”
“A dragon??” Crystal said in shock. “But you look too cute to be a dragon!” she giggled.
“Cute...??” Spike said blushing deeply leaving me and Crystal laughing. “It’s not funny!”
“Oh come on Spike.” I started. “You are one of the cutest dragons I know.” I giggled as he walked in the other room embarrassed. “Oh wow...” I said looking at the time. “I didn’t realize it was so late. I guess you’ll have to meet my friends tomorrow Crystal.”
“That’s okay, I’m getting pretty tired anyways...” she yawned again.
“Do you want me to make you anything to eat before you go to bed?” I asked, Crystal nodded. “I’ll go make you a sandwich.” I said going into the kitchen. I took out some bread and lettuce to make a quick sandwich for her. I finished the sandwich pretty quickly and started bringing it to her. When I got into the room where she was, I just smiled as I saw her already asleep. “I’ll give it to her in the morning...” I said putting the plate down, levitating her into my room. I slowly placed her down on the guest bed across from mine. “Good night Crystal...”
She slowly stirred and softly let out. “Good night... mommy...”
My eyes shot open. Tears ran down my face as I smiled down at her. I slowly went down and kisses her cheek. After that, I slowly went into my bed and went to sleep... A new day for Crystal tomorrow...
“Mom! Wake up, it’s morning!” Crystal yelled jumping on my bed.
“Oh...” I yawned stretching. “Good morning Crystal...” I said groggily getting out of bed.
“Come on! You said I could meet your friends!” She said jumping around excitedly... she could definitely pass off as my daughter.
“How about breakfast first?” I said with a slight smile. “Trust me, you want to eat before you meet my friends. Otherwise you won’t eat until later.”
“Why is that mommy?”
“Well... I made that mistake once... then again, I was the one holding on to tickets to the grand galloping gala...” I said pouring a cup of water and levitating it to Crystal.
“What’s the grand galloping gala?” she asked taking a sip of her water.
“Oh, it’s supposed to be one of the most amazing festivities in Canterlot... possibly in Equestria.” I said making a sandwich “Although, it wasn’t too great for us.” I giggled a bit.
“What happened?”
“Well...” I said giving the sandwich to Crystal. “That whole night, I was expecting to be able to talk to the princess more about magic and what I’ve learned in my lessons of friendship... but there were so many ponies that came, I hardly had a chance to say one word to her.”
“So you didn’t have fun?”
“To be honest, the only time we really had fun was after the gala, when my friends and I got together again.”
“Do you think I could go to the next grand.. um... something gala?”
I giggled. “I think it’s a possibility.” I said as I watched her eat. “Come on Crystal, let’s go into town.” I said going to the door.
“Coming mom!” she said leaving the rest of her sandwich behind. “Oh! Bye Spike!” she called out. There was no response... he must’ve been asleep still. “Spike?” she slowly walked into the room where Spike was sleeping. “Spike...?” she said poking him. “Spike...?” she continued poking him.
“Ugh... huh...?” he slowly opened his eyes. “Oh... hey Crystal.” he said rubbing his eyes. “What did you want?”
“I just wanted to say bye. Me and mommy are going out of the house.” she said kissing his cheek lightly.
“Oh uh... Yeah, I’ll see you later Crystal.” he said blushing a bit.
“You okay, Spike?” Crystal asked.
“Y...yeah, I’m fine.”
“Well, I’ll see you later then.” Crystal said walking through the door with me. Hmm... I’m surprised how calm she is around him. And Spike looked even more embarrassed than before. Oh well, I don’t think it’s a big deal. As we were walking through town, we were getting many strange looks from other ponies. I knew something like this would happen and I took the risk. But now I’m just starting to feel uncomfortable... “I guess our first stop is Sugarcube Corner since it’s the closest...” I looked at her. “It’s a great place for parties and buying sweets.” we stopped at the door. “It’s where my friend Pinkie Pie lives.” I said opening the door. Quickly I went into shock at what I saw. Pinkie Pie was running around the room, chasing after a floating Pumpkin Cake: the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Cake. “What’s going on in here?”
“Oh! Twilight! Don’t worry, I have it all under control!” Pinkie Pie Exclaimed, looking up at pound cake on the ceiling. “Pound Cake, please come down, it’s too dangerous!”
“Are you sure you don’t need my help...?”
“Absolutely!” Pinkie exclaimed and then bumped into a wall. “Maybe I do need a little help...” all of a sudden, the two babies slowly came down to the ground and walked toward Crystal. “Huh...?” Pinkie said looking at Crystal. “Who’s that, Twilight?”
“Oh, this is Crystal and uh... long story short she’s sort of my daughter...” I said smiling sheepishly. I just saw Pinkie Pie completely shocked and her turning her head like a clock or something.
“Your daughter!?!?” Pinkie exclaimed running up to Crystal “Hi there!”
This time Crystal started to look scared. “Uh.. hi.” she said in a shy tone.
“I’m Pinkie Pie! And--... wait... Twilight?”
“Yes Pinkie?” I responded.
“How is she your daughter? She’s not even a pony.” she said sort of examining Crystal.
“It’s a long story...” I said rubbing the back of my head. I looked at Pinkie Pie, who sat down with the baby cakes and grinned. I sighed. “Alright, I’ll tell you...” I said sitting down as well. “You see... Princess Celestia sent me to this strange world to do some research on it so that we could get a better understanding of it. When I first appeared on that world, it seemed very different from our world.”
“What was so different?” Pinkie asked.
“Well... for one, the buildings were enormous!” I said raising my hooves in the air. “And almost everywhere I walked... or in this case ran, I saw beings that looked like Crystal except a lot bigger...” I sighed continuing the story. “When I was running though, I was also taking notes. But then I dropped those notes in a puddle when I heard the sound of small crying...” I said looking at Crystal. “She was all alone; no family, no home... I honestly wondered how she survived. That’s why i decided to take her to Equestria with me. So that I could give her a better life.”
When I looked at Pinkie, I could see her crying a bit. “That’s... so sad...” she said starting to stream tears now.
“But I’m okay now.” Crystal spoke up making Pinkie look at her. “Because now I know that I’ll be better here...” she said hugging me. “With mommy...”
Pinkie smiled for a moment, but quickly gasped in her thought. “Hey! I have to throw you a party!”
“Huh?” Crystal said in confusion. “A party for what?”
“I always throw a party for new friends! And you’re no exception!” Pinkie exclaimed proudly. “I’ll give you one of the best parties you’ve ever had!”
“Um... I’ve never had a party before...” Crystal said rubbing the back of her head.
Pinkie just gasped dramatically. “NEVER HAD A PARTY!?!?” she exclaimed in a sort of panic. “Then I’ll just have to throw you the biggest, bestest party that I’VE ever thrown!”
“Not another word! I insist!” she said with a beaming smile. With that she zoomed into the other room.
“How... did she do that?”
“Nopony knows...” I said rubbing the back of my head. “But I guess I should’ve told you that when it comes to parties, it’s impossible to say no to Pinkie Pie.” I giggled. “Now come on,” I said as we walked out of the door.
“Wait!” Crystal exclaimed. “What about the--...” Crystal was interrupted by the sound of two foals crying... PINKIE!
“Pinkie Pie!” I exclaimed. “The babies!”
Pinkie suddenly ran from the other room with bits of frosting already on her. “My bad...” she chuckled sheepishly carrying the two foals into the room where she was baking. I just rolled my eyes as we walked out.
“Alright... I guess our next stop is Sweet Apple Acres.” I said levitating Crystal onto my back. “This is where you'll meet my friend Applejack.”
“So is she a farmer?”
“Yeah, how’d you know?”
“Kind of obvious...” she giggled.
“Yeah I guess you’re right.” I smiled at her. “Applejack is a really great friend, and the most honest pony you’ll ever meet.” With that, we made our way towards Sweet Apple Acres... of course we were still getting looks from other ponies, but it’s getting easier to ignore. But as I was walking, I could also hear some ponies whispering to each other, which was kind of starting to worry me. I decided to pick up the pace on my way to the farm. Not too long after, we finally made it to the entrance to the farm.
“Mom...?” Crystal said as we walked in. “Why does everyone keep staring at us...?”
“Well...” I said still walking. “Ponies aren’t really used to seeing you yet.” I said thinking a bit. “But trust me, I promise you that it will get easier.”
“What in tarnation??” a familiar voice said aloud. “Twilight... what’s--...”
“Applejack!” I snapped which made her step back a bit. “Before you even finish that sentence, it’s a who not a what!” I exclaimed. “And her name is Crystal...”
“Sorry...” Applejack said a little nervously. “I didn’t know...” maybe I went a little too far...
“Sorry Applejack, I’m just getting tired of ponies referring her as a thing. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that...”
Applejack sighed. “It’s alright Twi...” she said turning to Crystal. “So... Crystal. How did y’all get here?”
“Twilight found me...” Crystal answered.
“She found you...?” Applejack said a little confused.
“Well, yes...” I started. “You see, Princess Celestia gave me a task yesterday to do a research on a totally different world... and in that world I found her.”
“Why did you take her back with you? Doesn’t she have a family?” Crystal just hung her head down. “Oh... I’m sorry. I didn’t know...”
“It’s okay Applejack...” Crystal sighed. “Besides, I know Twilight loves me. That’s all that matters to me.”
Applejack smiled and turned to me. “She’s really put a lot of trust in you sugarcube...”
“I know...” I said turning to Crystal who started walking to the trees. “Which is why I won’t let her down.” I smiled when I saw her jumping for an apple. “You mind lending her a hoof Applejack?”
“Not at all Twi.” Applejack smiled walking to the tree where Crystal was jumping. “Stand back sugarcube.” she said to Crystal, and she listened. With ease, she bucked the apple tree, and apples fell to the ground. “There you go.” she smiled giving an apple to Crystal.
“Thanks Applejack!” Crystal said taking the apple, taking a bite out of it. “Wow... this is the best apple I’ve ever had!” she exclaimed quickly eating the rest of it.
“Well, I’m glad you like it sugarcube.” Applejack said putting a hoof on Crystals back. “And hey, anytime you get the urge, you can come anytime for another.”
“Thank you...” Crystal said, this time in a soft tone. And quickly she hugged Applejack as well.
Applejack just looked at her surprised, and smiled. “Anytime...” All of a sudden, a familiar pegasus pony zoomed past us. “What in the...!?” Applejack said as Crystal let go of her. “Rainbow Dash, y’all get down here right now!”
“Sorry AJ, but I’ve got some things to do!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
“Rainbow Dash, come down here!” I exclaimed, “I want you to meet someone!” Immediately, Rainbow Dash stopped and flew down to us.
“Meet who?” Rainbow Dash said looking around. Quickly she turned to Crystal. “What the...” Rainbow Dash said getting her hooves to the ground, getting closer to Crystal.
“Rainbow Dash.” I started. “This is Crystal.” I turned to her. “Crystal, this is my friend, Rainbow Dash.”
Crystal and Rainbow Dash just stared at each other for a moment. Finally Crystal broke the silence. “It’s nice to meet you Rainbow Dash.” She said in actually a calm tone. “I really like your hair...”
“Oh uh... thanks.” Rainbow let out. “And I uh... really like your... hooves?” she said looking curiously at her hands.
“Oh, these are hands...” Crystal said showing them. “See?” she said stroking Rainbow Dash’s mane.
“Whoa...” Rainbow Dash let out. “They feel so much different than claws...”
“Claws?”
“Well, you know... like Spike.”
“Oh, I met Spike! He’s really nice, and so cute!” she giggled.
“Heh, yeah...” Rainbow said in an awkward tone. “Well, it was nice meeting you... Crystal.” with that she flew off.
“Well that was strange...” I said looking up at Rainbow flying.
“What do you mean, mom?”
“Well, just the way that Rainbow--....”
“Whoa, hold up now...” Applejack interrupted me. “Did she just call you mom?”
“Well, yeah...” Crystal said. “She is taking care of me isn’t she?”
“Well... yeah, I guess that makes sense...” Applejack said rubbing the back of her head. “Well, I better get back to work. I’ll see y’all later though Crystal.” Applejack said walking away.
“Bye Applejack!” Crystal said waving at her. “You have really nice friends mom...” she said climbing onto me.
“Yeah...” I was pretty much zoned out for a moment. I was too busy thinking about why Rainbow Dash acted that way. It’s not like her. “Come on, let’s go see Rarity...” I said walking out. “Wait...” my horn started glowing. “Maybe it’s better if we don’t get too much attention this time...” with that, I teleported both of us the the entrance of carousel boutique. “And this would be where Rarity lives...”
“SWEETIE BELLE!!” Rarity exclaimed from inside, shocking me and Crystal.
“That can’t be good...” I said walking into the boutique. Everything looked fine... but apparently it wasn’t fine to Rarity.
“How many times have I told you not to ‘organize’ my supplies!?” Rarity exclaimed.
“But it was a mess!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed in a high pitched tone.
“It was not a mess!” Rarity objected. “It was all ideas! Inspiration! And now it’s ruined!”
“Come on!” Sweetie Belle Exclaimed. “It should be easier for you now!”
“It doesn’t matter Sweetie Belle, the way it was before was easy to me!”
“Rarity!” I exclaimed, both Rarity and Sweetie Belle turned to us.
“Oh, Twilight. Forgive me darling, I didn’t notice you come in...” Rarity quickly turned to Crystal. “Pardon me for asking but, who is that?”
“Oh, this is Crystal...” I said putting her down. “I’m--...”
“Twilight is my mom!” Crystal quickly exclaimed making Rarity and Sweetie Belle go shocked.
“Yes... well... I’m taking care of her...” I said clearing my throat. “Crystal, this is my friend, Rarity and her little sister Sweetie Belle.”
“It’s nice to meet both of you!” Crystal exclaimed.
“It’s nice to meet you... too...” Rarity said turning to Twilight. “Where is she from...?” I then started to explain the task that Celestia had for me and where I found her. “Oh my... that sounds awful...”
“Trust me, I know.” I said. “Which is why I’m going to take good care of her.”
“Twilight?” Rarity said.
“Yes?”
“Where is she?”
“Huh??” I said looking around. “Crystal?? Where are you??”
“I’m in here mom!” she said coming in from another room with Sweetie Belle. “I was just talking to Sweetie Belle.”
“Oh...” I sighed in relief.
“Don’t worry mom, I’m fine.”
“So it’s settled then?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“I think it’ll be fun!” Crystal nodded excitedly.
“Whoa, whoa, what are you two talking about?” I asked walking to them. “What’s settled?”
“For Crystal to be a cutie mark crusader!”
“What??” Rarity exclaimed. “Sweetie Belle, you couldn’t possibly believe that--...”
“I think it sounds like a great idea.” I cut Rarity off.
“But Twilight--...”
“Trust me. Rarity. I think this will be a great way for Crystal to make some friends... she may not be able to get a cutie mark, but at least they’ll have fun trying.”
“I suppose you’re right...”
“Alright!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “I can’t wait to introduce you to our other members!”
“Other members?” Crystal asked.
“Yeah, Applebloom and Scootaloo!”
“Applebloom?” Crystal asked again.
“Oh, she’s Applejacks sister.” I said.
“I didn’t know she had a sister...”
“She also has an older brother. His name is Big Macintosh.” Sweetie Belle said. “He’s really shy, but he’s also really nice.”
“Wow...” Crystal let out. “Well, when can I see them?”
“Not right now Crystal, we still have one more friend to visit first.” I said levitating her on my back.
“Awww...” Both Sweetie Belle and Crystal let out.
“Don’t worry. I promise you can come back here after.”
“Yay!” they both exclaimed.
I rolled my eyes and giggled. “I’ll see you later Rarity.” she turned to Sweetie Belle. “And Sweetie Belle, you should probably get Applebloom and Scootaloo here.”
“Oh! Great idea!” she exclaimed running past me.
“Have a nice day Twilight.” Rarity said as we walked out.
“So, what do you think of my friends so far?” I asked looking at her.
“Well... all of them are so nice!” Crystal exclaimed. “You have great friends mommy...”
“Well, there’s one more friend that I’d like you to meet. Her name is Fluttershy, and believe me when I say she’s one of the kindest ponies in Equestria.”
“What does she do?”
“Well, she owns a cottage near the everfree forest... she has many animals. I think you’ll like her.” I said teleporting us outside of her door. “And this would be it... how are you getting used to teleporting?”
“Oh! just a minute...” she answered in her usual quiet tone. She quietly walked up to her door and opened it. “Oh, hi Twilight.” she looked up and quickly looked scared. “Um... what’s... t-that?”
Before I even answered, Crystal went down and slowly walked up to Fluttershy. “My name is Crystal.”
Fluttershy slowly walked close to Crystal, but still a little afraid. “Um... it’s nice to meet you Crystal...” her tone slowly got quieter.
“Uh... what did you say?” Crystal asked.
“It’s... nice to meet you.” Fluttershy repeated but in the same tone.
“Is she okay mom...?” Crystal asked looking at me.
“She’s fine... it’s just the way she is when she meets someone new. Actually, it’s how she met me too.” I said getting close to her. “She’s really shy, so just be careful with what you say...” I said in a whisper.
“Okay mom...”
“Mom...?” Fluttershy spoke up and turned to me.
“Yes, technically I am her mom...” I said.
“She found me...” Crystal spoke out going closer to Fluttershy. “I was all alone. I didn’t have a family to take care of me...”
“Oh my goodness...” Fluttershy let out.
“But I know Twilight will take care of me.”
Fluttershy just looked up at me in shock. “You really think you can take care of her...?”
“I’ll do everything I can.” I nodded and saw Angel bunny hop over to Crystal.
“Hey little guy...” Crystal said petting him.
“Oh, that’s Angel.” Fluttershy said.
“It’s nice to meet you Angel.” Crystal said picking him up. Angel just struggled and hopped out of her hands. “Oh!”
“Oh, don’t worry. He’s just not used to you yet.”
“Well, it was great seeing you Fluttershy... I’ll see you later.” Twilight said carrying Crystal.
“It was great seeing you too Twilight. and it was nice meeting you Crystal.” She waved as we walked out.
“Well, that’s all of my closest friends... what do you wanna do now?” I asked.
“What about Sweetie Belle?” Crystal asked.
“Oh that’s right!” I said as I teleported back to the boutique. I sighed, “I don’t think I’ve teleported this much in one day before...” I said knocking on the door.
“Oh! She’s here!” Sweetie Belle’s voice was heard from behind the door. She quickly opened the door to me and Crystal. “Hi Crystal!”
“Hi Sweetie Belle!” Crystal said hopping off my back, running in with Sweetie Belle. I smiled and followed her in.
“Crystal, these are my friends, Applebloom and Scootaloo.” she said pointing at them.
“Wow...” Applebloom and Scootaloo said in unison. “You weren’t kidding Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo said. “She does look different. It’s nice to meet you by the way. I’m Scootaloo.”
“And I’m Applebloom!” she exclaimed. “Is it true? Do you really wanna be a cutie mark crusader?”
“Yeah!” Crystal said excitedly.
“Alright!” the three exclaimed. “Come on!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “We gotta show you the clubhouse!” She ran out with Applebloom and Scootaloo.
“Coming!” Crystal exclaimed running after them.
“Have fun!” I exclaimed. “Be safe...”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about them darling.” Rarity said walking in. “I’m sure everything will be just fine...”
“Okay,” Sweetie Belle said. “You can open your eyes now!” she said really excited. When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was inside of a treehouse. “I present to you the Cutie Mark Crusaders Clubhouse!” I smiled as I looked around. “What do you think?”
“It’s awesome!” I said jumping a bit. “What sort of stuff do you do here?”
“Well, over there is where we do roll call.” Applebloom said pointing at the checklist. “There is where we eat our lunch.” she pointed at the empty plate and pitcher. “And sometimes we just stand here to think of good ideas.” she pointed at Sweetie Belle sitting on the target. “So what do you think?” I was just thinking to myself when I was looking at everything. Everything was amazing... but if I can’t get a cutie mark, what’s the point of me being a crusader? “Crystal?”
“Yeah, everything is great... but are you really okay with me being a crusader? I mean, i can’t even get a cutie mark...” I said rubbing the back of my head.
“It doesn’t matter if you can’t get a cutie mark!” Sweetie Belle said with a bright smile.
“It doesn’t?” me and Scootaloo both said, which made Sweetie Belle glare at her for a moment.
“Of course not!” Sweetie Belle continued. “You can be a crusader, as long as you’re a good friend.”
I just smiled at her. “Thanks Sweetie Belle...”
“Alright! Now that that’s done,” Applebloom said. “I think it’s time to make Crystal an official Cutie Mark Crusader!”
“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle jumped. “Wait. You did shorten that speech, right Scootaloo?”
Scootaloo just blushed and smiled sheepishly. “Uh... it may have crossed my mind?”
Sweetie Belle just groaned. “Well, forget the speech!” she chirped. “I hereby honor you as our newest member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” she walked up to me holding a cape. “Um... how do I put this on?”
“Oh, I can do it.” I said taking the cape. I then tied the cape around my neck and smiled brightly looking at myself. “I love it!”
“Thanks!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “I designed them!”
“I can’t wait to see what kind of awesome stuff we’ll do!” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“Well, what should we do first?” I asked.
“Well, since you’re new, we have to get you caught up with all of the stuff that we tried already.” Sweetie Belle said pulling out a big list. “Let’s see... how about zip lining?”
“That didn’t work for us, remember?” Scootaloo said.
“I know that, I just said we have to go over the things that we already did you dodo.”
“Don’t call me that!” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“Fine fine...” Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “She really is a dodo...” she whispered to me.
“I heard that...!” Scootaloo yelled. Me and Sweetie Belle just giggled.
“So um, what else is on that list, because I don’t think I feel comfortable with zip lining...” I said feeling a bit nervous just thinking about heights...
“Well, we could try bowling.”
“That sounds fun!” I exclaimed.
“Wait, didn’t we get kicked out of that place because of last time?” Scootaloo asked.
“Oh yeah...” Sweetie Belle said crossing it off of the list. “Let’s see... we could try baking.”
“That sounds pretty fun.” I said.
“Great! Baking it is then!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed rolling the list up.
“Cutie Mark Crusaders, GO!” the three exclaimed clapping their hooves together. For some reason I just looked at them.
“Come on Crystal!” Applebloom exclaimed.
“Huh?” I said.
“You’re part of the group now. That means you’re part of group cheers!”
“Come on Crystal, don’t leave us hangin!” Scootaloo said. I smiled and put my hand into a fist, joining in on the cheer. “That’s the spirit!”
With that, we all headed out the door... I wonder what mom is doing right now...
“Absotivalutely!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I’ve got the giant cake over there!” Pinkie pointed at the enormous cake that nearly reached the ceiling. “And the decorations are on their way!” she exclaimed pulling out her party cannon, firing it around the library, nearly covering it with balloons, streamers and confetti. “Game’s are over there!” she pointed at the pin the tail on the pony game on the wall and the board game set up on the table. “And the banner is up too!” she pointed at the giant, colorful banner that said ‘Welcome to Equestria, Crystal!’”
“Great job Pinkie Pie.” I said observing the decorations. “I’m sure Crystal will love it.”
“Hey, where is Crystal right now, anyway?” Pinkie asked.
“Oh, she’s with the Crusaders.” I giggled.
“The Crusaders?” Pinkie tilted her head.
“You know, Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle.”
“Ooohhh...” Pinkie said rubbing her chin. “Are you sure it’s okay to leave them on their own, Twilight?”
“I don’t see anything wrong with it. After all, they're just showing her the clubhouse.” All of a sudden Pinkie’s tail started twitching. “Okay, what could possibly fall in--...” I was cut off when something rock hard broke through my window and hit the back of my head. “Ow...!” I said rubbing the back of my head. “What the...?” I looked outside of the broken window. “Oh no...!” I then saw smoke coming from Sugarcube Corner! “Pinkie Pie!”
“Oh my gosh!!” Me and Pinkie Pie ran out towards the Corner and ran inside. “Cupcake? Carrot Ca--...” Pinkie stopped in mid sentence when she saw the cause of the smoke: three young fillies and a human girl. “Girls!” me and Pinkie exclaimed pulling out a fire extinguisher, shooting it at the burning oven. She sighed and put the fire extinguisher down. “Girls, what were you thinking??”
“I-I’m Sorry Pinkie Pie,” Sweetie Belle was the first to speak. “We were just trying our luck in baking cutie marks again and well--...” I cut her off.
“Again??” I exclaimed. “I thought you learned your lesson from last time!”
“I know, I know!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “But the thing is... well...”
“It’s my fault mom...” Crystal sighed hanging her head down.
“Crystal...?” I let out.
“I asked if we could do something and well... we thought baking would be easy. We went to see Pinkie Pie so we could bake, but she wasn’t home...” she sighed slowly going into tears. “Applebloom said that we should just wait for Pinkie Pie and come back later, but I said it would be easy to do it ourselves and--...”
I quickly cut her off when I hugged her. “Hey, hey...” I said rubbing her back. “It’s okay, it was an honest mistake...” I sighed. “I’m sorry that I snapped at you four like that. It’s just that I got really worried when I saw the smoke... I was afraid that something might’ve happened.” I said slowly going into tears myself.
“I’m so sorry mom...” She said returning the hug still in tears. “I promise I’ll be more careful...”
“We’re sorry too...” The three crusaders said in unison.
I sighed looking at them. “Just please be more careful with what you do...”
“So how can I make it up to you?” Crystal asked for about the fifth time.
“I told you Crystal, it’s okay. Mistakes happen.” I said as we were walking back to my library.
“Hey, where are the other Crusaders?” Crystal asked. “And Pinkie Pie?”
“Oh, I think they went home...” I said walking up to my door.
Crystal just yawned. “I’m tired... I think I’m just about ready to head to bed.”
Wow, deja vu... I opened the door and walked in with her. “Wow, it’s dark...”
“Yeah, where are the lights?” Crystal asked looking around.
“Surprise!!” all of my friends exclaimed flipping the lights on. Crystal shrieked a bit and looked totally shocked.
“H-huh...?” Crystal let out. “What’s all this for...?”
“It’s for you silly!” I giggled.
“It’s great to have you here sugarcube!” Applejack exclaimed.
“We really hope that you enjoy it here...” Fluttershy said with a warm smile.
“We just know you will absolutely love Equestria!” Rarity beamed.
“Yeah!” the other crusaders exclaimed.
“What do you think, Crystal?” Pinkie Pie asked getting close to her. “Isn’t this party great?”
“You did all of this... for me...?” Crystal let out.
“Of course we did...” I said putting a hoof on her. “I want you to know that we all love and care about you. And we won’t let anything hurt you.”
Crystal just looked at me in tears and smiled. “Thank you so much mom... I love you...” she said hugging me... I could feel more tears running down my face as I returned the hug with a warm smile.
“I love you too Crystal...” I slowly kissed her cheek. For a moment, everything was silent... but I forgot where I was at that same moment.
“Come on!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Let’s party!!” she waved her hooves in the air and quickly started dancing to the music along with a few of my other friends.
“You want to dance, Crystal?” I asked looking at her.
“Okay!” She exclaimed running to my friends. I watched as they were all dancing with Crystal.
“Come on Twilight!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Don’t just stand there, come dance!” with that, I made my way to my friends and started dancing with them. It was an amazing night... Crystal made new friends... and she had so much fun at the party. We played games for a bit. Ate A LOT of cake... well... Pinkie ate most of it. And after that, it got late and everypony just went home... Today went by so smoothly, it’s practically a miracle... but miracles don’t usually last long...
This has got to be one of the biggest decisions that I have ever made... Is this a good idea? I’m not even sure anymore. What if something bad happens to her? What if--... I was cut out of my train of thought. “Mom? I’m ready for school...” Crystal said with her bag on. Well, my bag that I’m letting her bring to school.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked. “I mean, I could teach you what you need to know here at the library...”
“I’m sure mom.” Crystal said with a slight smile. “Besides, this will be the first school that I’ve ever been to...”
“I guess that’s true...” I said with a huff.
“Don’t worry mommy... I promise I’ll make a lot of new friends here too!” she exclaimed. How can she be so calm and collective like this...? It’s a school with only ponies... she would be signaled out by the others easily. “Something wrong mom?”
I just looked at her for a moment and shook my head. “No, no, everything’s fine...” I smiled opening the door. “Come on, let’s get you to school...” I said as me and her walked out of the library. As we were walking through town, we weren’t really getting strange looks like we did last time... in fact some of them seemed happy for some reason. Some even waved. Did I miss something...?
As we were walking, Bon Bon walked in front of us. “So, this is Crystal?” she asked.
“Huh?” I let out. “How did you know who she was?”
“Well, Pinkie Pie let us know... in fact, she let us all know!”
“Pinkie Pie?” Crystal asked. “Why would she say anything?”
“Well, she didn’t have to.” Bon Bon started. “When Pinkie Pie throws a party for somepony, we know right away.”
“Wow...” Crystal let out.
“I have to say, you are really cute...” Bon Bon said with a smile. “And I think Lyra would really like you too.”
“Well, I could see her a different day... I have to go to school.”
“Oh, that’s okay... School is more important after all.” Bon Bon smiled and looked at me. “I’m a bit surprised though, I thought you would be the one teaching her.”
“I would have.” I said putting a hoof on Crystal. “But she insisted that she wanted to go to school like the others.”
“Well, I hope you have fun with school then.” Bon Bon smiled walking away.
“She was nice...” Crystal said as we continued walking toward the school. But as they were walking, the school bell rang.
“Uh oh!” I exclaimed. I picked up Crystal and galloped the rest of the way to the school. After a few minutes we got to the entrance to the school. “Okay, we’re here...” I sighed putting Crystal down. “You have all your books, right?”
“Yeah, I have them.” Crystal said.
“Quills?”
“Got them too.”
“Extra ink?”
“Mhm.”
“Okay good...” I sighed and kissed her on the forehead. “Have a great first day of school...”
“I will mom.” she smiled and ran inside. “I love you!”
My first day of school... I feel so nervous... But hey, at least Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom are there. Maybe school will be fun. I walked into the classroom, and as soon as I did, everyone looked right at me in shock. “Uh... sorry I’m late.”
“Oh, you must be Crystal... you’re Twilight’s daughter?” the dark red pony asked.
“Um... yes.”
“Well, it’s very nice to meet you Crystal.” she said. “My name is Miss. Cheerilee.” she said turning to the rest of the class. “Class, I’d like you all to meet our new student, Crystal Sparkle.”
Everyone just stared at me... well, everyone except the friends I already had. The other crusaders were waving at me and smiling. I smiled and waved back. “It’s... nice to meet all of you.” I said slowly walking and sitting in the seat closest to Sweetie Belle. “I feel really nervous...” I whispered to Sweetie Belle.
“Don’t worry.” she whispered back. “There’s nothing to worry about...”
“You sure...?”
“Trust me. Just stay with us, and everything will be just fine.”
“I hope you’re right...” I said turning my head to Miss. Cheerilee. For the next 45 minutes, I wrote down notes as she spoke to the class. Some things were pretty neat. Things about Equestrian history and some other stuff... It was hard for me to write all of it down though. I guess I can ask the teacher later for some help. But something felt weird... As the class was going on, I kept getting looks from two ponies. One was pink with a tiara on her head and cutie mark. The other was gray and had glasses, and had a spoon for a cutie mark.
“Alright class, time for recess!” Miss. Cheerilee exclaimed. Just before I walked outside with Sweetie Belle, Cheerilee went in front. “Hold on Crystal, do you mind if I have a word with you for a moment?” I nodded and Sweetie Belle walked out with the rest of the class. “How are you enjoying your first day?”
“It’s really great Miss. Cheerilee.” I said smiling at her. “All the stuff you said in close, I wrote it all down.”
“I’m glad to hear that. And I’m also glad to hear that you are already friends with Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom.” she said and looked at the time. ‘Oh, I shouldn’t keep you. Go have fun at recess.”
“Thanks Miss. Cheerilee!” I yelled running outside. Of course when I went outside, I went straight to where my friends were. They looked at me and smiled brightly. “Hello fellow crusaders!” I giggled.
“Hey Crystal!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “You up for a game?”
“What kind of--...” Before I could even finish, I heard two ponies laughing behind me. “Huh...?” I said looking behind me. It was the same two ponies that were giving me weird looks before.
“You’re... a crusader?” the pink one asked.
“That’s right!” I exclaimed. “What’s your name?”
“Silver Spoon...” the pink one looked at her friend. “I didn’t know they let animals come to school, did you?”
“Huh...?” I let out.
“No Diamond Tiara, I didn’t... maybe she should go back to the pound where she came from.” the other pony said, which led to them both laughing. I just looked down and felt like I was about to cry...
“Hey!” Scootaloo spoke out. “Don’t talk to our friend like that!” she exclaimed. “She is not an animal!”
“Oh please...” Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. “From what I’ve heard, she can’t even get a cutie mark. That’s admittedly even lower than you three.”
“Stop it! She didn’t do anything to you, why are you being so mean to her??” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
“Oh, she’s not getting any special treatment. It’s how I always treat animals.”
“Why I oughta...” Applebloom walked closer to Diamond Tiara. “Stop talkin’ to her like that!! Ya talk all the time about how you’re the best pony in the school! But right now, I think Crystal deserves that title!”
“Are you kidding me? All she deserves for a title is mangy, because that’s all she is, and that’s all she will be!”
I couldn’t take it anymore... I just lost control and... broke down in tears in front of everyone... “I-... I’m not mangy...”
“Oh look, we made the mangy girl cry...” Diamond Tiara let out a smug smile.
“Is that so...?” a voice said from behind Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. When they looked back, they were surprised to see it was my mom... who looked angrier than ever. “Would you mind explaining to me why you’re talking to my daughter like this...?”
“Uh... w-well...” Diamond Tiara barely let out. “She’s--...” she didn’t even let her finish. She used her magic to levitate her! I just watched.
“I’m only going to say this once... LEAVE... CRYSTAL... ALONE!!” She exclaimed. “If you don’t, you will be hearing from me, AND your parents! Is that clear!?” Diamond Tiara just rapidly nodded her head, and Twilight let go of her. When she turned to me I was still crying though... “Crystal...?”
“I-... I don’t want to come to school anymore...” I sniffled. “I just wanna go home!” I ran up to mommy and just kept crying. She sighed and carried me to Miss. Cheerilee.
When Miss. Cheerilee looked at me, she quickly looked shocked. “Crystal, what happened??”
“One of your students happened!” Mom exclaimed. “That pink filly with a tiara for a cutie mark!”
“Diamond Tiara...” Miss. Cheerilee sighed. “What am I going to do with that filly?”
“I’m taking her out of school, and I’m going to teach Crystal myself.” mom said.
“Wait!” Cheerilee said. “Please Twilight, it’s only the first day... and I promise, I will do something about those two fillies... starting off with a detention.”
“Well, it’s not my choice here. It’s Crystal’s.” mom said looking back at me. “What do you think Crystal? You wanna try again tomorrow?”
I just looked at mom again for a little bit. Do I really want to be in a school where I’m made fun of? But then again... my friends are here too... “I guess I can try...” I sniffed. “I just really don’t want to stay today...”
“Is that okay Miss. Cheerilee?” Mom asked.
“That’s perfectly fine.” she said. “Take some time to relax.”
“Thank you so much Cheerilee...” Mom said with a huff. After that, mom carried me out of the school. “I’m really sorry that your first day wasn’t so good...”
“It’s okay...” I said wiping my eyes.
“Come on,” mom said. “Let’s go to Sugarcube Corner for some sweets. Does that sound good?”
I smiled at mom slightly. “Yeah, I’d love something sweet right now...”
“Thanks Pinkie Pie for the cupcakes...” I said sighing.
“Aww...” Pinkie said. “Don’t let those fillies get you down, turn that frown upside down!” she flipped into the air and fell straight down.
I giggled watching her. “Thanks Pinkie Pie. You really are a great friend.”
“Anything to help a friend in need!”
“Well, we better get going Pinkie.” Mom said. “It’s getting a little late.”
“Oh, okay.” Pinkie said. “Bye Twilight! Bye Crystal!” she waved as we walked out of the corner.
We were almost back at the library, but I didn’t really feel like going inside yet. “Hey mom?” I said and she looked at me. “Is it okay if I play outside a little bit first? I don’t really feel tired.”
“Oh,” Mom said. “Sure, you can play outside.” she yawned. “Just be careful, alright? I’m going inside for now. I’m kind of tired.” she kissed my cheek and walked in. “Have fun Crystal.” she said slowly closing the door.
I smiled as I walked through town. There were a lot of ponies that smiled when they saw me. But for some reason, some ponies still had a weird look when they saw me. I guess they haven’t gotten used to me yet. As I’m walking and thinking to myself, I see two familiar fillies in my path. “What are you two doing here...?” I asked a little nervous seeing as how it was Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon in front of me.
Diamond Tiara looked at me and sighed. “Look Crystal, we want to say that we’re sorry for what we did before...”
“Huh...?”
“It’s true.” Silver Spoon spoke up. “And we wanna make it up to you now.”
“It’s okay, you don’t have to...” I said.
“But we insist...” Diamond Tiara said putting a hoof on me. “Near Fluttershy’s house is the Everfree forest. In there is going to be something hidden... a treasure. But you have to find it!”
“A treasure...?” I said.
“Yes! But you have to hurry! Run as fast as you can before somepony else finds it!” Diamond Tiara exclaimed as I then started running toward the Everfree Forest near Fluttershy’s house. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon just started laughing when I was out of hearing range. “What a sap!”
After a lot of running, I soon saw the opening to the forest. Should I really go in here...? It looks dark and scary... Come on... stay focused Crystal, find the treasure! Without thinking further, I just started running into the forest. I would keep running and running, confident that I would find the hidden treasure... but soon I started to slow down, and the forest was only getting darker. “Hello...?” I said looking around. “Is anyone out there...?” I looked around, only to jump as I heard rustling from behind me. “Who’s there!?”
Something or someone came out from hiding. It was a Zebra with gold rings around its arm. “Well what do we have here? An unusual creature filled with fear?”
“Oh uh... Hello. My name’s Crystal Sparkle... I come from Ponyville.”
“Crystal Sparkle you say? Funny, for I spoke with a Sparkle the other day.” the zebra rhymed.
“Oh, you know my mom, Twilight?” I asked.
“Indeed I do my little friend. My name is Zecora, friend until the end.” she said with a smile.
“Zecora... I like that name.” I said walking with her. “Hey, could you show me where the exit to the forest is? I’m kind of lost...”
“Fear not young one. For your searching and whining will soon be done.”
With that, Zecora started leading me out of the forest. As we were walking, we were talking about ourselves and our pasts. I told her all about my life before Twilight found me, and she told me all about her life. Eventually, we reached the Everfree Forest exit. “Thanks again for everything Zecora, I would've been lost for hours in that forest.”
“It was a pleasure helping someone as kind as you. I can see, that in your heart it is true.”
I nodded and waved at Zecora as she walked back in the Everfree Forest. I guess there is no treasure after all... which means... they tricked me...! I can’t believe I fell for that... I was just about to head toward Diamond Tiara’s house until...
“Crystal!!” Mom yelled running up to me and holding onto me. “Oh my gosh, you had me worried sick! Where were you??”
“Um... in the Everfree Forest...”
“What!?!?” she exclaimed. “Why in Equestria would you go in a dangerous place like that??”
“I was... trying to find something...” I could feel tears coming from my eyes. How could I fall for that trick?? Before I knew it, I just ran off, crying.
“Crystal, wait!” Mom exclaimed.
I didn’t listen. I just kept running... I don’t want my mom to know that I just went into that forest to find something that Diamond Tiara told me to find. She would be so upset with me... But I can’t keep this to myself, I have to tell someone... and I know just the friends to tell...
“She did what!?” Applejack and Applebloom exclaimed.
“It’s true...” I sighed. “And I fell for it like a big dummy...”
“Of all the...” Applebloom said getting angrier. “That tares it!” Applebloom stomped her hoof down. “I can’t take this anymore! Bullying you is one thing. But makin’ you go into the Everfree Forest!?”
“Did you tell Twilight about this yet?” Applejack asked.
“No... I’m afraid of what she’ll say if I told her...” I said hanging my head down.
Applebloom sort of just growled to herself. “Come on Crystal! We’re gettin’ the other crusaders!”
“Huh...?”
“We’re gonna get back at those two for trickin’ you like that!” Applebloom exclaimed.
“Uh... and how in tarnation is that going to help, Applebloom?” Applejack stepped in front of Applebloom.
“They deserve it! I’m tired of those two always bullyin’ us!” Applebloom exclaimed getting in her sister’s face.
"Applebloom, getting into a fight isn't gonna resolve this..." Applejack said putting a hoof on her. "Just try to ignore her."
Applebloom just sighed "I guess you're right, sis..." Applebloom hung her head down. “But we’ve tried ignorin’ her! She doesn’t leave us alone...!”
“Well then, just try to stay away from her.” Applejack said. “Try stayin’ next to the teacher. I don’t think they would do anything in front of her.” she turned to me “That goes the same for you sugarcube.”
“Alright Applejack...” I sighed.
“And my advice... you shouldn’t keep this from Twilight...”
“Huh?”
“Trust me sugarcube, it’s best if you tell her the truth... honesty is an important thing to have, especially with family, and Twilight is your mother now after all.”
“So, when should I tell her?”
“As soon as you see her...” Applejack grinned. “Trust me Crystal, I promise you that everything is gonna be just fine...”
I looked up to her and smiled “Thanks Applejack...”
“No problem sugarcube, and if you need help with anything else, just come down by the farm, okay?”
“Okay Applejack,” I said starting to walk home. I saw both Applejack and Applebloom wave at me so I waved back.
"They tricked me into going to the forest..." I said hanging my head down.
"Of all the dirty little tricks!!" Mom said getting angrier. Then she stopped when she heard crying... My crying... "Crystal...?"
"I'm sorry mom..." I said trying to hold back tears. "It's my fault, I shouldn't have listened to them..."
"Hey..." Mom said pulling me into a hug. "It was a mistake... Anypony your age could make it... What exactly did they tell you?"
"They told me that they were sorry... And that they wanted to make it up to me..."
"Well trust me Crystal, they will be sorry..." Mom said comforting me. "Just stay close to your friends in school okay? They'll protect you and help you."
"Okay mom..." I kissed her cheek. "Thanks..."
"And don't forget," spike said walking up to us. "Twilight will always be there to help you too. You just have to remember to talk to her about it. Don't be afraid to tell her anything. And if you want, you can talk to me too." He grins. "I may be a dragon but I won't bite."
"Thanks Spike..." I said smiling a little bit.
"See?" Mom said. "We're all here for you no matter what." She let go of me. "Don't ever forget that."
"Here you go Crystal!" Pinkie exclaimed giving me a cupcake.
"Thanks Pinkie Pie." I said smiling at her and paused for a second. "Pinkie?"
"Yes Crystal?"
"What do you usually do if you're feeling sad?"
"Well, I do a lot of different things!" She exclaimed. "I talk to my friends, I bake, I sing, I take care of the cake twins; sometimes all at once!"
"Hmmm... What songs do you sing?"
"Songs that make me happy of course!" She exclaimed. "For example..." She cleared her throat. "My name is Pinkie Pie~ and I am here to say~ I'm gonna make you smile and I will brighten up your day~!" She sang. "It doesn't matter now~ if you are sad or blue~ because cheering up my friends is just what Pinkie's here to do~! Because I like to see you smile smile smile! Yes I do~!" She sang pulling me onto her back. "It fills my heart with sunshine all the while~ yes it does! Cuz all I really need's a smile smile smile~ from these happy friends of mine!" She giggled. "Come on Crystal, you try!" She exclaimed.
"Huh?? Me??"
"Of course!"
"But I don't know the song!"
"Then try singing the first thing I sang!" She giggled.
"Okay..." I cleared my throat now. "My name is Crystal Sparkle~ and I am here to say~ I'm gonna make you smile and I will brighten up your day~" I sang still feeling nervous.
"It doesn't matter now!" Pinkie continued. "If you are said or blue~"
"Because cheering up my friends is just what we are here to do~!" Me and Pinkie both sang. "Because we like to see you smile smile smile~! Yes we do~! It fills our hearts with sunshine all the while~ yes it does~! Because all we really need's a smile smile smile~! From these happy friends of ours~!" We both started laughing.
"That was great Crystal!" Pinkie exclaimed with a bright smile.
"Thanks Pinkie Pie" I smiled back at her. "You were right, singing really does help me feel better!" I exclaimed hugging Pinkie Pie.
"I'm glad I could help!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Oh! How would you like to help me bake?" She asked me.
"But... Last time I tried, I burnt everything, remember?"
"Well you were by yourself that time!" Pinkie giggled. "This time I'll be here to help you every step of the way."
"Thanks Pinkie Pie... You really are a great friend." I smiled again at her. "So what are we going to bake?"
"Alright, is there anything else you'd like me to do Twilight?" Cheerilee asked.
"Yes." I nodded. "I'd like you to keep a close eye on those two fillies."
"Don't worry, they learned their lesson after detention."
"Actually I really doubt that." I said looking a little mad.
"What do you mean?"
"Those two fillies didn't learn any lesson at all. All they did was trick my daughter into going inside the everfree forest!"
"What!?" She exclaimed. "Diamond Tiara told me that she was going to apologize!" Cheerilee said angrily. "When they come into school tomorrow..." She sighed "I'm so sorry about this Twilight, I never wanted any of this to happen..."
"It's alright... Can you also do one more thing for me?"
"Of course."
"Could you get to know Crystal better? This isn't exactly her world so, she's still getting used to living with ponies... You think you could do this for me?"
"Of course Twilight." She smiled. "Besides, it'll be great to know more about her."
"Thank you so much Cheerilee, this means so much to me..."
"It's no trouble Twilight. I make sure all my students are treated fairly. Even if Crystal isn't a pony, she has the heart of one."
I smiled at the thought. "Yeah... She does..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey Pinkie?" I asked.
"Yes Crystal?"
"How about instead of making a cake, we make cupcakes instead...?" I blushed a bit hoping I don't burn anything again.
"Sure~!" Pinkie beamed. "That's easier!"
"Really... Then why'd I mess up so bad?"
"Oh, you just don't have the song memorized yet~"
"Wait, another song?" I I tilted my head.
"Yup~!" She exclaimed and cleared her throat about to sing. "All you have to do is take a cup of flower add it to the mix~ next just take a little something sweet not sour, a bit of salt just a pinch~" she bounced around getting the ingredients together. "Baking these treats is such a since, add a tee spoon of vanilla~ add a little more and you count to four and you never get your fill-a~! Cupcakes~! So sweet and tasty, cupcakes~! Don't be too hasty, cupcakes~! Cupcakes, cupcakes, CUPCAKES~!" She finished singing and smiled brightly at me holding a finished batch of cupcakes.
"Uh... I don't think I can do that like you..." I said still surprised.
Pinkie giggled. "It's fine. You wouldn't be the first to say that." She the looked at the watch that was seemly on her hoof before. "Hey, it's getting pretty late, I think Twilight is expecting you back by now."
"Oh! Right!" I then ran to the door. "Thanks for everything pinkie pie!" I ran through the door.
"Your welcome!" She exclaimed and waved at me. "And don't be afraid to come back ok?"
"I won't!" I exclaimed running toward moms house. Thankfully the house wasn't too far away. Actually it was really close. I then went inside and called out for someone. "Mom? Spike?" I walked inside but no one answered. "Hmm. I wonder where they went..." As I went inside and looked around, I made my way into the kitchen. "I need to eat something other than cupcakes... I'm getting kind of sick..." I looked around the kitchen but all I found the was even close to good was bread and lettuce... Maybe a tomato. I shrugged and started making a sandwich. But it was kind of messy... And by kind of, I mean really messy. I sighed and started eating it. It wasn't bad... At least it's not another sweet.
I went over to the library part of the house and started looking through the books there. Mom said that there were some kid books that I could read... But something interested me. "The magic in a Non Unicorn...?" I picked it up and opened it. "That's a lot of words...." I sighed and started reading it. "The magic of a unicorn has always been a mystery to earth ponies and pegasai alike... Unicorn magic can... Diff...differ from the cutie mark on a unicorn..." I said struggling to read it a bit. "All magic is channeled through the horn... However there are ponies that can use magic who aren't unicorns... Huh...?" I read and kept reading. After about an hour of reading I decided to take a break and put the book down. "Wow... So does this mean that even I could use magic...?" I asked myself out loud. As I was thinking about the possibility, I heard the door open. "Mom?" I said walking to the door.
"Crystal!" Mom exclaimed hugging me. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here, I didn't expect you to be home until later..."
"It's okay mom, I'm fine." I smiled at her.
"How long were you waiting...?"
"An hour I think.."
"An hour??" Mom exclaimed. "That's not okay!"
"No really mom, it's fine!" I said. "I even did some reading..."
Mom blinked at me. "You were reading...?" She asked and I nodded picking up the book showing her. "The magic in a Non Unicorn...?" She asked tilting her head. "Isn't that a little advanced for you, Crystal?"
"Have you read it?" I asked.
"I've read nearly every book in this library..." She blushed a bit. "Why did you choose this book anyways?"
"Because I thought it was pretty cool..." I said giggling a bit. "Does this mean I can use magic too mom?"
Mom blinked at me but put her hoof to the back of her head. "I hadn't really thought about that..." She finally spoke. "I suppose there might be a small chance that it's possible..."
"Really??" I beamed. "Can I try? Can I try??"
"Whoa whoa! Take it easy Crystal." Mom laughed. "If you really want to, we can try tomorrow."
I sighed waiting for her and looked at the time. "Come on Crystal, we're going to be late!" As I waited, I levitated her bag, but dropped it quickly seeing her. "WHERE ARE YOUR CLOTHES!?"
"Hey, you told me to hurry up!"
"You didn't tell me you were-- ugh!!" I rubbed my head and ran upstairs to get her clothes.
"Why is it so bad? None of the ponies wear clothes..."
"You're not exactly a pony Crystal" I said putting her clothes on, and picking her and her bag up running out the door. As I was running, there were ponies giving us strange looks again. But this time I'm pretty sure it's because of how nervous I am right now. Just as we were able to see the school, the bell rang. "Agh! We're late!"
"Mom, calm down!" Crystal exclaimed. "So what if I'm a little late??"
"You must never be late!!" I exclaimed back. "Never ever be tardy!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Alright class, get to your seats." Cheerilee said walking to the front of the class, looking around the room. "Hmm.. Where's Crystal?"
"Hmph..." The pink filly said to herself silently.
"Hmm.. I guess she's--"
"We're here!!" Mom exclaimed running into the class panting. "I'm so sorry we're late, it's just, Crystal woke up late, and took a little too long to get ready, so I asked her to hurry up, but then she came down stairs naked and--" Cheerilee stopped mom covering her mouth.
"It's alright Twilight, I understand..." Cheerilee said rolling her eyes. "She's excused for today."
Mom huffed. "Oh, thank you so much Cheerilee..." She said putting me down with my bag. "And... Remember our agreement yesterday, right?"
"Of course." Cheerilee smiled.
"Thank you..." Mom turned to me and kissed me in the cheek. "Have a great day at school Crystal... I love you."
"I love you too mom..." I hugged her, then let her go. "Don't forget about those lessons, okay?"
Mom smiled. "I won't forget..." She then made her way out the door, and I made my way to the empty seat next to Sweetie Belle.
"Hey, you feelin' alright Crystal?" Applebloom asked.
"Don't worry, I'll be okay." I said a little unsure.
"What lessons were you talking about by the way?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Well... Uh...."
"Come on, tell us." Scootaloo said.
"I'm pretty interested myself" Cheerilee said with a smile. "Would you mind telling us what you and Twilight have in mind?"
"Oh please!" Diamond Tiara spoke out. "What could she possibly be doing that's SO interesting??"
"Diamond Tiara!" Cheerilee exclaimed. "What did I tell you about--"
"Magic"
Miss. Cheerilee stopped and looked at me. "I beg your pardon?"
"She's going to give me magic lessons." I said.
Cheerilee just blinked at me for a second. "Magic lessons...? But... you're not..."
"That's just crazy!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed. "She's not even a pony! Let alone a unicorn!"
"I'm not a unicorn or pony but..." I said going into my bag pulling out the same book I was reading last night. "I could still use magic."
"May I...?" Cheerilee asked and I nodded handing her the book. "The magic in a Non Unicorn... Oh! I've heard of this book before!... Oh but Crystal, this is an advanced book... Are you sure you want to be trying something like this?"
"If I'm going to live in Equestria, then I want to be as pony as possible!"
Cheerilee giggled. "Well, I suppose if you're willing enough, I guess it's possible..." She said giving my book back.
"That's so cool!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "Hey! Maybe that means we can--"
"Scootaloo, I can almost guarantee you that you won't get a cutie mark for magic..." Cheerilee mused.
"You said almost guarantee! That means it's still possible!" Cheerilee just face hoofed.
"Alright my little ponies, let's begin class, shall we?" Cheerilee said walking in front of the class again.
"Waaaaiiit!!" A voice from outside exclaimed. Pinkie pie then jumped in through the window with the batch of cupcakes we made yesterday. "You forgot to take these home with you Crystal!" She placed the plate on my desk.
"Uhhh.. Pinkie, I'm the middle of class."
"I know! That's why I thought this was the perfect chance to give these to you so you can share them with every pony in your class. That way you'll make lots of new friends!"
"Pinkie Pie..." Cheerilee sighed. "Can I please start my class today...?" Without another word, Pinkie Pie jumped back out the window. As Cheerilee looked back at the class, I was passing out cupcakes to everyone... Even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Cheerilee couldn't help but smile at me... That is... Until... I fell on my face with a cupcake stuck to the back of my head. "Crystal!!" She ran up to me and helped me stand up. I couldn't help but start to cry again. "Diamond Tiara!!!" Cheerilee boomed. "Come here right now!!!" Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes and walked to me... I just started feeling something else... Not sad... "I want you to apologize right now!!"
Diamond Tiara huffed. "Fine... I'm sorry..."
"Now go sit down and I don't want to--"
"No!!" I screamed.
"C-Crystal??" Cheerilee said.
I turned to Diamond Tiara angrily. "You're NOT sorry!! All you do is say you're sorry, but then you just do the same thing again!! I'm sick of you bullying me like this! I didn't do anything to you! And I'm REALLY sick of you bullying my FRIENDS!!!" I exclaimed pushing Diamond Tiara to the ground while every pony gasped.
"Whoa..." Scootaloo let out.
"C..Crystal..." Cheerilee let out still shocked.
I just stared down at Diamond Tiara angrily... But then I realized what I just did... I turned to Cheerilee "I... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to get angry like that..."
"It's... Alright Crystal..." Cheerilee pulled me into a comforting hug. "We all lose our temper sometimes... And you had a perfectly good reason to."
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to get angry like that..." I said to Diamond Tiara.
"Get away from me!" Diamond Tiara yelled backing away. "Don't touch me you freak!"
"I said I'm sorry...!" I said getting closer... But without warning, I was knocked down by a buck. "Agh..." I said holding my stomach.
"Crystal..!" Cheerilee exclaimed picking me up, placing me on her back. "Just stay with me for the class, alright...?" She then glared at Diamond Tiara.
"What?? But she pushed me first!!" The pink filly exclaimed.
"My chest... Hurts..." I coughed.
"Are you serious?? That was just a little buck!" Diamond exclaimed.
"She isn't a pony though...!" Cheerilee exclaimed picking me up and sighed. "I can't even start a class without something going wrong..."
"Maybe she shouldn't even come to school then!" Diamond yelled. "She doesn't fit in! She will never fit in!!"
Hearing this, I could only feel tears going down my face, and could only hear the sound of myself crying. "Mommy..." Was all I could let out.
Cheerilee sighed. “This was a mistake… Class I’ll be back alright…?” Cheerilee said walking out of the school. “I’m so sorry Crystal…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“It’s about time that freak left…” Diamond Tiara huffed.
“She’s… not… a freak…” Sweetie Belle snorted.
“Why do you defend her anyways??”
“She’s our friend! I don’t care if she’s not a pony, she’s a good friend!”
“Yeah!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “All you do is act like a big jerk to her!”
“Even on the first day when she did nothin to ya!” Applebloom continued.
“Diamond Tiara… they kind of have a point…” Silver Spoon said with an unsure tone.
“Are you seriously agreeing with those blank flanks!?” Diamond Tiara said angrily.
“N-no, I mean… Crystal didn’t really… do anything to--...”
“She is a freak, and doesn’t belong here! The only pony who’s dumber than Crystal, is Twilight; she’s the one who brought her here!”
“Is that so…” Rainbow Dash said walking in. “I came here to see how Crystal was doing, until this is the first thing I hear as soon as I come…” she said walking to Diamond Tiara. “Listen kid! You have to stop talking that way about other ponies!”
“Crystal isn’t even a pony…”
“It doesn’t matter! She should be treated like everypony else!” Rainbow Dash said getting in Diamond Tiara’s face.
“Rainbow Dash…” Scootaloo started. “I’ve never seen you act this way…”
Rainbow huffed. “Look, I have to get back to the weather… I don’t want to hear any insults when I’m around again…” Rainbow Dash flew off.
“Why…” Diamond Tiara said getting frustrated. “Why does everypony bother to defend her!?”
“Maybe you just need to change your attitude.” One of the fillies said.
“Yeah!” Another filly exclaimed in agreement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Come on Twilight, you’ve got to stop worrying so much.” Spike said.
“I wish I could Spike, but after what happened yesterday, I just have a feeling that those two fillies just won’t stop… And I don’t want Crystal to get hurt again…” Just as Spike was about to say something, there was a loud knock on the door. “Who is it…?”
“M-..mommy…”
“Oh my gosh…!” I ran to the door and opened it. “Crystal…!” I pulled her into a tight hug and looked up at Cheerilee. “What happened??”
“I’m so sorry Twilight… I.. I couldn’t even start class without something going wrong…” Cheerilee sighed. “I’m just so sorry about this Twilight…”
“What did they do…”
“All I did was give cupcakes to everyone!” Crystal exclaimed. “I even gave one to Diamond Tiara! but then she through it at my head and… she said the I would never fit in…” Tears began to form in her eyes again.
I held her close and began crying myself. “Cheerilee… I’m sorry, but I can’t let her go to that school anymore… If it’s the same with you, i’d like to homeschool Crystal… i think that’s the best option for her to learn…”
“I understand Twilight… And I agree, teaching her yourself would be the best option.” Cheerilee sighed. “I just wish I knew what to do with her… But I’m sure you can… you’re a smart unicorn.” she turned around. “I’d better get back to my class… Don’t want to leave them alone for too long.” She looked down at Crystal. “Be safe sweetie…” With that she started making her way back to the school.
All I could hear was Crystal crying over me… “Hey… everything will be okay Crystal…”
“Maybe she was right… maybe I don’t belong here…” Crystal sobbed.
“No Crystal, that’s not true…” Tears dripped from my eyes as well. “You have every right to be here. You’re my daughter, and I love you…” I pulled her into a comforting hug.
“But… but I’m not a…”
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a pony or not… You’re my daughter… I guarantee that you’ll be smarter than a lot of ponies when you get older… Is there anything that I can do to help you feel better…?”
“Could… we start my magic lessons…?”
I looked at her a little surprised… I didn’t think she would still want to learn after that. “Are you sure you want to try that today…?”
She nodded at me. “I still want to learn mom…” I couldn’t help but smile and hug her again.
“Alright… we can start your lessons today.”
“Thanks mom…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Alright…” Mom started. “Before we can start to practice, first I should tell you how magic works.” she cleared her throat. “Unicorns are able to produce magic with their horns… This may just be a possibility, but I’m guessing you’d be able to produce it with your hands, considering you don’t have a horn. Now, normally depending on a pony’s special talent, their magic revolves around that talent. But some ponies, like myself, are able to perform more spells, because my special talent is magic itself.”
“Okay… I think I understand…” I said rubbing the back of my head.
“Alright… now how magic is produced is a unicorn would release it from their horn, but in your case, you’ll need to release it from your hands… I’m not going to lie to you Crystal… magic was hard even for me to learn when I was just a filly.”
“I still want to try though!” I exclaimed.
“Hold on a second Crystal… You’re rushing into things just a bit. First let’s see if you can direct the magic within you towards your hands.”
“Alright…” I sighed and tried focusing for a bit. “Mom, I don’t feel anything…” I said looking at my hands.
“Try closing your eyes… think of nothing else but the flow of magic going through your body.”
I closed my eyes like she asked, but soon I just started struggling. “I… can’t feel it still…”
“Crystal please… you have to relax. You can’t just force it out of you. You need to have a calm and collective mind…”
“What does that mean…?”
“Try to empty your mind… What relaxes you the most? What makes you feel happy? Use that to help you.”
I sighed and closed my eyes again… What makes me happy… The first thing that came up in my mind was… mom… after that I started thinking about my friends… Sweetie Belle… Applebloom… Scootaloo… I couldn’t help but smile thinking about them. Before I knew it…
“C..Crystal… your hands…”
“Huh?” I opened my eyes and looked at my hands… they were glowing yellow. But I quickly lost focus and the glowing stopped.
“You… I mean… you already…” Was all mom could let out.
“I… I can use magic…” Mom quickly pulled me into a tight hug again.
“That was great Crystal!” mom exclaimed. “On your first try… it’s unbelieveable!”
“Does this mean I can make things float like you do??”
“That’s called levitation… and with enough practice, I promise you’ll be able to do that.” she smiled at me brightly.
"Alright Crystal, you're doing great!" Mom exclaimed. She was trying to help me more with my magic. She had me practicing with a book. I don't know why but even though it's one book, it kind of hurts.
"Mom... I need a break..." I said still holding the book but barely.
Mom nodded and I put the book down falling to the ground. "Oh my gosh, are you alright?"
"I'm ok mom... Just tired..." I said slowly getting up. "I need to practice more... It's really hard."
"Don't worry Crystal, it was hard for me when I was younger too." Mom said. "Now, how about I give you a little lesson before bed?" I nodded and she took a book out from one of the shelves. "It's time I taught you more about the elements. For one thing, it's one of the things that make me and my five friends so close. We used its power the day I went to Ponyville. There are six elements total; laughter, honesty, kindness, generosity, loyalty, and magic." Mom said walking to the case holding the elements and took the glass off. She picked each one up and explained what they are, and who holds them. "The elements of Harmony is the main reason why Equestria is safe right now and not in a state of chaos. Without them, I don't know what would have happened."
"Wow... That's so cool..."
Mom smiled and looked at the time. "Wow... It's really late, we should get to bed..."
"Can I sleep with you mom?"
Mom smiled at me. "Of course you can sweet heart." She then levitated me and walked to the bed. But just as she put me down on the bed, there was a knock on the door. "Oh, wait here." Mom walked to the door.
I wonder who's at the door this late. Maybe it's Pinkie Pie. She always comes around at the weirdest times. I thought to myself looking around. Now that I think about it, where's Spike? Is he still taking a bath?? I sighed. I could use one too... I'm really dirty, plus I still have cupcake in my hair... I got up out of bed and started walking to the bathroom. As I made my way in, I saw Spike drying himself off. I smiled and giggled. "Hi Spike!"
"Gah!!" Spike exclaimed falling over. "Oh... Hey there Crystal. What are you doing in here?"
"I need to take a bath too, I'm really dirty."
"Oh," Spike replied. "Alright, I won't bother you then. In fact let me help you." He said turning the bath on again, filling the tub. "There you go." He smiled at me.
"How long were you in there anyways...?"
"A few hours?" He shrugged.
"Why do you stay in there so long?"
"Uh... Because I like water..." He said feeling kind of embarrassed as he walked out.
I shrugged as I took my clothes off and went into the tub. I sighed feeling the warm water. This feels so nice... No wonder Spike stays in here so long... I sighed closing my eyes. I then started to wash my hair and body off but as I was cleaning, I saw a light flash in the corner of my eye. The light looked like it came from where mom was. "What was that...?" I said to myself looking out the bathroom door. "That was weird..." I stopped cleaning myself and got out of the tub drying myself off. As I did, I saw mom walking to the bed.
"Crystal?" Mom asked looking around.
"I'm in the bathroom mom!" I exclaimed putting my clothes on.
"Well, I'm going to sleep alright? Come into bed when your ready."
After I finished putting my clothes on, I decided to tip toe into the other room where mom was. As I did, I saw a weird notebook on the table. Whats this...? I thought to myself opening the notebook. I started looking at the words that were written in it. "This looks like a spell... Maybe that was the flash that I saw." I yawned and put the notebook down, walking past the elements of harmony case... Until I froze. "Huh?" I said looking at the elements. "Did they change color...? I don't remember them looking like this..." I slowly started to lift the glass that were over the elements, and used my magic to take out rainbow dash's element, slowly putting the glass down. "This wasn't pink before... This was red." I looked at the other elements and put Rainbow Dash's element back in the case. "Maybe I should tell mom about it in the morning..." I sighed and walked to the bed where mom is. She looked like she was already asleep. I slowly got in bed with her so that I didn't wake her up.
As the sun shined on my face, I noticed mom wasn't in bed anymore. "Huh?" I asked looking around. "Mom?" I got out of bed and started looking around the house. I stopped and looked at the elements... They were still the same as last night.
"Yeah?" He asked, I just pointed at the elements. "What the!? What happened to the elements of harmony!?"
"I don't know! I saw them like this last night!" Suddenly we both saw the door slam open.
"Spike, Crystal, I need you both to come with me." Mom said closing the door.
"What's wrong??" Spike asked.
"Rarity...I saw Rarity, but there was something wrong! She had Rainbow Dash's cutie mark!!"
"What!?" Spike exclaimed. "Their cutie marks changed too!?"
"Yes they--!" Mom stopped mid-sentence. "What do you mean 'changed too'...?" Me and spike both looked at the elements. Mom gasped at what she saw. "What happened to the elements of harmony!?"
"I don't know..." I sighed. "I saw them like this last night..."
"Last... Night..." Twilight froze in shock. She then levitated me on to her back and quickly ran out the door. "Let's go Spike!" As we ran out, me and Spike saw Rarity with Rainbow Dash's cutie mark, trying to control the weather.
"Where are we going!?" Spike exclaimed trying to keep up with mom.
"Fluttershy's cottage.. Or..."
"What is it?"
"When I asked where Rainbow Dash was, Rarity told me that she was at her cottage! Rainbow Dash's cottage!" She exclaimed. "I have a very bad feeling about this..."
As mom ran, I could see how nervous she was. "Mom, please calm down... I'm sure you can fix it." I stopped when I saw we were close to Fluttershy's cottage. Mom knocked on the door and to her surprise, Rainbow Dash was the one who answered.
"Hey guys..." Rainbow said sticking her head out the door.
"Rainbow Dash, what's going on? Why aren't you controlling the weather?" Mom asked. Just as Rainbow was about to answer, there was a loud noise coming from inside, and Rainbow ran back in. "And what is going on in... Here...?" Mom said in shock looking at the mess of animals running around. Rainbow Dash was desperately trying to calm the animals down inside, but putting them in the wrong cages and just having a hard time.
"Mom, I'm gonna go find my friends... I want to make sure that they're okay." I said about to walk out the door.
"Wait! Crystal, are you sure? It could be dangerous!" Mom exclaimed.
"I know, but that's why I have to make sure they're ok!" I exclaimed running out the door.
"Crystal!" Mom exclaimed, but I just kept running. Please, please be okay... I ran as fast as I could to the closest friend's house. "Where to go, where to go..." I said looking around. I then saw Rarity again as she was making the clouds in the sky into a checkered pattern. "Rarity?"
She looked down at me surprised. "Oh Crystal! What brings you here darling?"
"Have you seen Sweetie Belle?"
"I can't say that I have... Why don't you check Pinkie Pie's farm?" She said getting back to the weather.
"Pinkie Pie's farm??" I exclaimed and ran towards 'Pinkie's' farm. This is crazy! All of this happening because of a single spell!? I just kept running until finally I reached the farm. "Sweetie Belle?? Applebloom??" I called out looking for them. "Scootaloo??" I heard sounds coming from the trees, but when I turned to look, I saw Pinkie Pie except her hair and tail was flat. "Pinkie Pie!?" I exclaimed running to her. "What happened to you!?"
"Oh hi Crystal." She sighed. "Nothing, just having trouble getting apples..."
"There's no apples in that tree though..." I said pointing at the empty tree.
"Oh... That explains it..." She sighed moving to a different tree. "If you're looking for applebloom, she's in the barn with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle."
I nodded and ran into the barn, only to find the three confused and scared. "Girls?..."
They both looked at me and quickly hugged me. "Crystal!" They exclaimed.
"We're so happy that nothing happened to you!"
"I'm just happy you're all ok!" I hugged them all.
"So what happened? Where's my big sis?" Applebloom asked.
"You didn't see her this morning?" I asked.
"No... She just vanished."
"And Rarity was trying to control the weather when I woke up..." Sweetie Belle added.
"She still is..." I sighed. "And right now, mom is trying to fix all of this." Just as I was about to sit down, we saw Silver Spoon run into the barn. "What are you doing here??"
"It's the weather... It's too crazy out there!" Silver Spoon said. "Diamond Tiara is still out there, she wouldn't listen when I told her that we should find some place safe to be!"
I looked down for a moment. "Well if you ask me, she'll get what she deserves if she gets hurt!" Scootaloo exclaimed. I then ran outside as fast as I could. "Crystal where are you going!?"
"I'm going to find her." I said and continued running. "She shouldn't be too far away..." I kept looking around for her and finally saw her walking through town. "Diamond Tiara!" I exclaimed running to her.
"Huh?" She said and turned to me. But in a split second, there was a bolt of lightning about to hit her... I managed to save her and push her out of the way...
"Aahhhhhh!!" I exclaimed as the lightning bolt hit me instead.
She... She saved me...? I thought to myself in shock looking down at her. But... Why would she save me?? I've only been mean to her! I just kept looking down at her... I started to feel worried about her. "Help!!" Was the first the I shouted. "Somepony please help..!!" I looked around and panicked. I then just started pulling her from her shirt through town, hoping to find a place safe enough... Or at least find a doctor. As I looked around, I could see Spike outside the library. "Hey!!"
"Huh?" Spike said looking at me but then looked at Crystal. "CRYSTAL!!" He exclaimed running to the both of us. "What happened to her!?" He exclaimed. "What did you do!?"
"I didn't do anything!!" I exclaimed. "She... She saved me..." I sighed. "A bolt of lightning was about to hit me but she got in the way..."
Spike put his ear to Crystal's chest. "She's still alive..."
"Where's Twilight??"
"She's got problems of her own!" He exclaimed picking up crystals legs. "Come on! We need to get her to a doctor!" I nodded and helped pick her up, running to find the nearest doctor with Spike. As we were searching for one, we saw nurse Red Heart. "Wait!"
"Huh?" The nurse said looking at us. "Oh my goodness!" She exclaimed.
"Please, you need to help her! She was struck by lightning!" I exclaimed putting her down.
The nurse then levitated Crystal on to her back. "I'll do everything that I can." She then started running toward the hospital.
"Crystal... I'm so sorry..." I sighed as a tear dripped down my face.
"You should consider yourself lucky..." Spike said looking at me.
"Huh?..."
"If it wasn't for Crystal, YOU would be the one going into the hospital!" Spike exclaimed angrily at me. "Despite the fact that you were just a bully to her, she STILL helped you!"
Twilight and her friends went into her house, all with their elements of harmony and their cutie marks back to their original state. Twilight picked up the notebook with the realization of how to fix the spell that Starswirl the bearded could not. “From all of us together, together we’re friends. With the marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end.” She said writing it down and dotting it at the end. All of a sudden, her element of harmony began to glow. Then the five other elements shot five beams directly at Twilight. When the light dimmed down, the five remaining ponies looked in shock as Twilight was nowhere to be seen.
“W-where did she go!?” Applejack exclaimed.
“I… I don’t know…!!” Fluttershy exclaimed starting to panic.
The five ponies ran outside, thinking maybe she teleported out there. “Twilight??” Rainbow Dash called out.
“What’s going on now!?” Spike exclaimed running to them.
“The elements of harmony went crazy, and made Twilight disappear!” Rainbow answered. She then paused when she saw a pink filly slowly walk behind Spike. “Hey, don’t I know you?”
Diamond Tiara nodded slowly. “I go to Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo’s school… I’m Diamond Tiara…”
“What in tarnation are you doin’ here?!” Applebloom exclaimed.
“Yeah, and where’s Crystal!? She told us she was looking for you!” Scootaloo exclaimed as well.
Diamond Tiara simply put her head down. “She’s… she’s...”
“She’s what??” Rainbow Dash blurted out. “Spit it out already!”
“She’s in the hospital…” A tear could be seen going down Diamond Tiara’s face, while everypony else’s reaction went into shock and sadness. “She saved me from a lightning bolt… but she got hit instead…”
“You… you..!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “How could you let that happen to her!?”
“I wasn’t even paying attention to the weather, I didn’t know!” Diamond Tiara exclaimed. “She pushed me out of the way before I even knew what was going on!” She looked down again. “I don’t know why… why would she save me…”
“Because that’s what a true friend does…” Applejack answered.
“But… I wasn’t…”
“You may not have acted kindly to her,” Rarity started. “But that doesn’t stop her from being kind to others.”
“Rarity is right…” Sweetie Belle added. “Crystal is kind and caring… she didn’t want you or anypony getting hurt.”
Diamond Tiara looked down again as more tears dripped from her face. “I’m sorry…” she said looking up at the three crusaders. “All of you, I’m so sorry…” The three didn’t respond. Instead they had a look of somewhat shock on their faces. “I’ll do my best so that I can make it up to you…” She sighed and walked away.
“I… can’t believe this is all happening…” Applejack put her head down. But just as she did, there was an enormous flash coming from the sky, and what looking like Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark, coming down to the ground. “Twilight…? Is that you..??” Applejack asked as the light faded. As Twilight got up, she then extended her new wings, leaving the other ponies in shock. “I… I’ve never seen anything like it…” Applejack said.
“Twilight’s got wings!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed but her excitement quickly went back down and she looked away for a moment.
“Wow…” Fluttershy started. “You look just like a princess.”
“That’s because she is a princess…” Celestia said flying down.
“Huh??” Everypony said in unison.
“Hold on a second…!” Pinkie said as she pulled out a glass of water and pretty much did a spit take.
“A… A Princess…?” Twilight let out.
Celestia placed a hoof on Twilight. “Since you’ve come to Ponyville, you displayed the charity, compassion, devotion, integrity, optimism, and of course the leadership of a true princess.”
“But… does this mean I won’t be your student anymore…?” Twilight asked.
“Not in the same way as before.” Celestia answered. “I’ll still be here to help and guide you, but we’re all your students now too.” She bowed her head “You are an inspiration to us all Twilight…” everypony else and Spike bowed as well… however with concerned looks on their faces.
“Hang on a second…” Twilight said looking around. “Where’s Crystal…?” she asked looking at the three crusaders. “She told me she was going to find you… where is she…?”
“Twilight…” Spike spoke out. “I’m really sorry…”
“Spike, where is she…!?” tears could be seen starting to form in Twilight’s eyes.
I ran toward the direction of the hospital as quick as I could with everypony, including Princess Celestia, following me. Please… please be alright…! I thought to myself as tears were practically streaming down my face. I soon ran into the hospital. “Where is she!?” was the first thing I yelled out. “Where’s Crystal!?”
Nurse Redheart came out with a look of worry. “She’s… going to be okay but she was struck by lightning, Twilight… she might need to stay in the hospital for some time…”
“No please, you have to let me take care of her at home… I’ll find a spell, anything to help her!”
“Twilight…” Redheart sighed.
“And another thing, how did she even get electrocuted!? I thought she was with her friends!”
“I’m not sure but you can go visit her if you’d like… she already has a guest in there with her though.”
“A guest…?” I stopped and looked at the three fillies behind me. “Who came to visit her…?”
“She told me her name was… Diamond Tiara…?”
“What!?” I exclaimed. “Where’s Crystal’s room!?”
“It’s… on the second floor…”
Without another second of hesitation, I quickly ran up the stairs and looked through the hallway until I found Crystal’s room… along with Diamond Tiara sitting by her side. Is she… crying…?
Diamond Tiara slowly turned to me and immediately started feeling nervous. “I didn’t do this to her, I swear! A lightning bolt hit her when she was saving me!”
All I could do was stare at her and back at my daughter. I slowly walked up to Crystal and sat next to Diamond Tiara. “Thank you… for being here…” I quietly said to her.
Diamond Tiara tilted her head looking at me. “Since… when did you have wings…?” she asked.
“About… 10 minutes ago… I’m a princess now.” Saying this made Diamond Tiara become totally shocked.
“A… princess…?” She let out. “You’re a princess now?!”
I just nodded again… more focused on Crystal.
Celestia slowly walked into the room looking down at Crystal. “Nurse, may I ask you to step out of the room for a moment?” Celestia asked.
“Princess… what are you doing?” I asked looking up at her.
“Twilight… I need you to touch your horn to mine.”
“What??”
“If you want her to be alright, do not ask questions.” Celestia said sternly.
I nodded and slowly touched my horn to Celestia’s, unsure of what she was planning. Diamond Tiara just stared at us in confusion. As I waited for something to happen, I could see that Celestia was starting her spell. What ever she was doing, it sent a sort of beam right on Crystal’s forehead. Slowly I could see Crystal’s burn mark start to fade, but at the same time, Celestia looked like she was struggling. After a few moments, the spell stopped, and our horns weren’t touching anymore. “Princess Celestia… how did you…?”
“It’s a very powerful spell… a bit hard for me to use on my own.” Celestia answered.
Just as I was about to speak, I saw Crystal open her eyes slowly. “W...what happened…?” Crystal asked looking around. “And Where am I…?”
“Oh, Crystal…!” I exclaimed hugging her in my arms. “Thank goodness you’re alright…” Tears were still dripping from my face.
“Where’s… Diamond Tiara…?” she asked. I let go letting her see Diamond Tiara. “I’m sorry that I pushed you…”
This time, to my surprise, Diamond Tiara was the one who ran up to her and hugged her. “I’m really sorry about how i acted in school!” she said in tears. “I’m so sorry, and I want you to go back!”
“You… want me to go back to the school…?”
“Yes! Please, you’re the first pony to do something like that for me…”
“I was… only trying to help you.” Crystal started slowly getting up. “I didn’t want you getting hurt.”
“I know…” Diamond Tiara sighed. “And this time, I truly want us to be friends… no tricks this time.”
Both me and Celestia smiled at them. “We’re proud of you both…”
Crystal slowly got out of bed and rubbed her eyes. “This is a crazy dream…”
“Wait… huh?” I asked in confusion.
“Well you don’t have wings mom…”
I looked back at my wings for a second. “Uh… actually Crystal, this isn’t a dream… and I really do have wings.”
“Huh!?” She asked in shock. “How!?”
“Well… that notebook you saw last night? This is what was supposed to happen when the spell was completed.”
Crystal slowly walked up to me in awe as she slowly placed her hands on my wings, feeling them. “Wow…” I couldn’t help but giggle.
“S-stop that tickles…” I giggled more.
“Twilight…” Celestia interrupted. “I think it’s time we got ready to head for Canterlot.”
“For what?”
“Your coronation of course.”
“Oh, right…” I sighed.
“Something the matter?”
“No, I’m just thinking of how much different things are going to be from now on…”
“I don’t think things will be too different.” Celestia smiled. “Trust me.”
“Alright…” i said picking Crystal up. “Come on, we both have to get ready to go.”
“Mom?” Crystal asked as we were walking to the lobby. “What’s a coronation?”
“Well… have you ever read stories about princesses?” Crystal nodded at my question. “Well… I technically am a princess now.”
“What!?” Crystal exclaimed falling off of me. “You’re a princess!?” I nodded blushing. “That’s so cool!!” She exclaimed jumping on my back again.
As we walked into the lobby, we were greeted by all of my friends waiting patiently for us. “CRYSTAL!!” They all exclaimed running up to her.
“We’re so happy you’re okay!..” Fluttershy exclaimed hugging her.
“We were so worried about you…!” Applejack exclaimed as well.
"Thanks everyone... It means a lot to me." Crystal said returning the hug. She turned back to Diamond Tiara hugging her as well, leaving the other thee crusaders shocked and confused. I smiled at her as she got back on my back. "I'll see you in school girls."
Diamond Tiara smiled. "I'll be looking forward to it..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everypony in Canterlot, Ponyville, and the Crystal empire were gathered in the same place that Shining Armor and Princess Caddnce were married. Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were all wearing a ceremonial garb. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Crystal were all standing to the right of Celestia and Cadence, all dressed up as well. Crystal being dressed up in a custom outfit that Rarity made specifically for her.
"We are gathered here today in celebration of a momentus occasion." Celestia started "My most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, has done many extraordinary things since she's lived in Ponyville. She even helped reunite me with my sister, Princess Luna. But today Twilight Sparkle did something extraordinary! She created new magic, proving without a doubt that she is ready to be crowned Equestria's newest princess!" Twilight's mother could be seen crying tears of joy... So could Crystal. "Fillies and gentle colts, may I present for the very first time... Princess Twilight Sparkle!" Celestia said as Twilight walked in through the door with eight ponies following her. They chanted as Twilight made her way to Princess Celestia and received her crown from Spike. Twilight looked back at her friends and her daughter who couldn't be happier to see her this way. She then started to walk toward the balcony and faced most of the pony population. "Say something, Princess." Celestia nudged Twilight.
"Oh, um..." Twilight said turning back to the ponies. "A little while ago, my teacher and mentor Princess Celestia sent me to live in Ponyville. She sent me to study friendship... Which is something I didn't care much about." She turned and motioned her friends and and daughter to step forward. "But now on a day like today, I can honestly say I wouldn't be standing here right now if it weren't for the friendships I made with all of you." Twilight said as her friends started to go into tears themselves. "Each one of you taught me something about friendship, and for that, I will always be grateful." She turned back to all the ponies below. "Today, I consider myself the luckiest pony in Equestria. Thank you friends... Thank you everypony!" She exclaimed as everypony bellow cheered for her.
Twilight slowly started making her way back in the room until she was greeted by her older brother, Shining Armor and Cadance. "Twilight!" He exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you!" He said as a tear escaped from his eye.
"Are you crying?" Twilight asked with a grin.
"Of course not!" Shining said rubbing his eyes. "It's... It's liquid pride! Totally a different thing." They both started laughing. Shining stopped and looked at Crystal. "So you must be Crystal..." He said getting close to her smiling. "I'm Twiley's brother, Shining Armor."
"Twiley?" Crystal asked giggling.
"It's just a... Name he game me." Twilight said blushing.
Crystal turned back to Shining. "Does this mean that you're my uncle...?"
"That's right." Cadence answered with a smile. "And I'm your aunt as well. My name is--"
"Cadence?" Crystal asked.
Cadence giggled and nodded. "It's good to officially meet you for the first time." Without warning, Crystal hugged both Shining and Cadence as they both shared a laugh. Suddenly two more ponies walked up to Crystal and Twilight.
"Mom... Dad..." Twilight said hugging the both of them.
"We're so proud of you sweet heart..." Twilights mom said in tears.
"Mom? Dad? There's someone that I want you to officially meet." Twilight moved aside revealing Crystal. "This is Crystal... My daughter." Both her mother and father looked down at Crystal in shock.
"This... Is her...?" Twilights dad asked.
Crystal looked down embarrassed by the first response.
"She looks... Beautiful." Her mom added with a smile which made Crystal smile back at her.
Twilights mom smiled and pulled Crystal close to her. "Of course you are..." She looked back up at Twilight. "Take good care of her Twilight... She needs you."
Twilight smiled and nodded. "Don't worry mom... I'll take good care of her."
A few months have passed, and things couldn't be going any smoother. Crystal is learning so much in school without the worries of bullies messing around with her all the time. Diamond Tiara and her have actually become very close friends. Her vocabulary has also been getting better. She's been so happy with her life in Equestria, and I'm happy with her here. Unfortunately... Nothing is always easy. Princess Celestia had just sent me a letter regarding important princess matters in the Crystal Empire. I have no idea what she has in store for me, but I'm not going to do this alone.
"Mom look! Everything is so pretty!" Crystal exclaimed as the train slowed to a stop near the Crystal Empire.
"Welcome to the Crystal Empire..." I smiled as we walked out of the train.
"Oh, everything is as beautiful and dazzling as before!" Rarity exclaimed.
As we were walking, applejack spoke out. "Gosh... You must be over the moon, Twilight."
"Oh, I am excited but... To be honest, I'm a little nervous too..."
"You're nervousited!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "It just makes you wanna jump up and down and yell 'YAY ME!'" She stops. "But it also makes you wanna curl up into a little ball at the same time...!" She says curling up into a ball and standing back up. "We've all been there!"
"I'm there almost everyday..." Fluttershy said looking away.
"You've got no reason to fret, Twi." Applejack started. "Everything's gonna be just..."
"TWILIGHT!!" Rarity exclaimed running up to me. "Oh, sorry darling, but I just realized you aren't wearing your crown!... You haven't forgotten it back in Ponyville have you??"
"It's in my bag..." I sighed. "I just feel a little uncomfortable wearing it. Plus I haven't really gotten used to these yet..." I said trying to fly but falling flat to the ground.
"You are a princess now Twilight, embrace it!" Rarity exclaimed. "I'm telling you, if I had a crown like that, I would never take it off. Why I'd sleep in the thing!"
I rolled my eyes until I saw Crystal going through my bag. "Sweetie, what are you doing?" I then saw her pulling out my crown.
She then placed it on her head with a goofy grin on her face. "Am I a princess too?"
Me and my friends couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, you're my little princess." I giggled and pulled her into a hug.
We then started to walk into the castle. As we did, I showed Crystal a few things in the castle. She just listened, excited to hear every word. Eventually we found our way into Princess Cadence's chamber. "Twilight!" She exclaimed hugging me. "I haven't seen you since the coronation!" She moved over to see Crystal. "And it's wonderful to see you again as well Crysta--" she stopped and noticed Crystal was wearing my crown. "Isn't that your moms crown?"
"Yup! Mom says I'm a princess too!" Crystal beamed.
Cadence giggled. "You certainly are."
Celestia smiled walking up to us. "We have so much to discuss. But it can wait. You all look tired from your journey. Now off to bed, all of you."
We all bowed, and turned walking toward our rooms. "I can't believe its so late already..." I yawned. I looked at Crystal who used her magic to levitate herself onto my back.
"Whoo wee! I can't believe how good she is at magic!" Applejack exclaimed.
"I practice every day!" Crystal exclaimed. "I saw Pumpkin Cake do it... So I thought it shouldn't be that hard."
"Wait, isn't Pumpkin a foal...?" Rainbow asked.
"Yup!"
"How the hay could... I'm not even gonna ask." Rainbow said rubbing the top of her head. "I don't need any headaches... Anymore anyways..."
We all shared a laugh before we went into our separate rooms. Crystal and Spike both stayed with me of course. I sighed placing the crown on my head.
"What's wrong Twilight?" Spike asked.
"I don't know Spike... I'm just worried I guess. Princess Cadence was given the Crystal Empire to rule over... What if now that I'm a princess, Celestia would want me to lead a kingdom of my own!?"
"That. Would. Be. Awesome!" He exclaimed.
"No. It. Would. Not!" I exclaimed rubbing my forehead. "Just because I have this crown and these wings, it doesn't mean I'll be a good leader."
"I think you would," Crystal spoke out. "You're in charge of a lot of things at home."
"She's got a point." Spike added and yawned. "But come on, we all need to get some shut-eye... Big day tomorrow." I nodded as both me and Crystal got in the same bed. I closed my eyes.... Trying desperately to get comfortable! "Just, tuck..." I said trying to fold my wings rolling around in bed. "Just trying to get comfortable...!" I closed my wings and shut my eyes... Until they shot open again. "UGH!!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I couldn't sleep. I was just too excited! I don't know why Princess Celestia said we were tired, I have so much energy! I got up and walked around to see if I could tire myself out. Suddenly I could hear the door slowly open and I ran back into bed before anyone could see me. I carefully took a peek at who came in. I looked like a pony with a cloak. I saw the pony slowly walk up to the bed and toward the crown. What is she... I then saw her levitate the crown and replace it with one that looks the same! She's stealing mom's crown!! "Stop!!" I exclaimed shocking the intruder and waking mom up.
Mom yawned waking up and looked at the intruder in shock. "My crown! She's got my crown!!" The intruder then ran out as me and mom ran after her. "Stop!! Thief!!" The others walked out of their rooms in confusion. "She's stolen my crown!!" Mom exclaimed as we all were now chasing after her. Mom teleported ahead and caught up to her, but the intruder teleported I front of her, revealing that it was an orange unicorn with red and yellow hair. She kept running as mom followed in aggravation. She then tackled the unknown unicorn into another room as the crown bounced off the walls and into a mirror. "What did you do with my crown!?"
"Sorry that it had to be this way, Princess!" The intruder exclaimed teleporting in front of the mirror and jumping through it. Leaving everypony speechless.
"Who was that...?" Fluttershy asked.
"Princess Celestia!!" Mom exclaimed and ran toward Celestia's room.
"Sunset Shimmer... A former student of mine." Celestia explained. “She began her studies with me not long before Twilight. But when she did not get something as quickly as she liked, she turned cruel and dishonest. I tried to help her, but she eventually decided to abandon her studies and pursue her own path. One that has sadly lead her to stealing your crown.”
“She replaced Twilight’s with this one…” Spike said showing her the fake crown.
“I suppose Sunset Shimmer thought you wouldn’t notice right away that this was not yours. And by the time you did, it would be too late to go after your crown and element of harmony.”
"But I don't understand..." Mom started. "Where did she go? Where did she take the crown??"
Celestia lead her into a different room. "You'll soon know more about this place than even I do." She said walking into the room with the mirror, Luna already there.
"This is no ordinary mirror. It is a gateway into another world. A gateway that opens once, every thirty moons."
“Sparkly!” Pinkie exclaimed placing her hoof on the mirror while Luna slowly moved her away with a mused look on her face.
“It has always been kept in the throne room of Canterlot Castle.” Luna continued. “But when Princess Cadence took over the Crystal Empire, we sent it here for her to watch over.”
Celestia sighed. "I had always hoped that Sunset Shimmer would some day use it to return… to come back to Equestria seeking my guidance. Obviously, this is not what has happened…”
"Twilight… you must use the mirror to go into this other world and retrieve your crown. Without it, the other elements of harmony have no power and Equestria is left without one of its most important means of defense.”
"Your crown does not belong in the place Sunset Shimmer now calls home." Luna said. “And in her possession your element of harmony will no doubt be used to bring harm to the inhabitants of this other realm. They will not have the power to defend themselves.”
"Do you understand the importance of your task?" Celestia asked.
"Of course," mom answered.
"Good... Then you must go at once." Mom sighed as she was about to walk in through the portal.
"Whoa whoa whoa!" Rainbow dash cut in front of her. "If she's goin, we're goin with her! Right girls?"
"Ooohhh! I'm so nervousited!!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"You do realize that's not a real word, right?" Applejack asked.
Mom just smiled until... "I'm afraid I can't let you go." Celestia spoke out. She then explained the consequences of moms friends going.
Mom sighed as she looked back at all of us and slowly walked through the mirror... Her and Spike ran through. "Spike!!" Everypony exclaimed... "CRYSTAL!!" They exclaimed as well as I followed them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ugh..." I groaned opening my eyes.
"Uh... Twilight?"
"Huh?" I said looking around. "Spike...? You're not supposed to--" I stopped mid sentence when I saw him. "Spike... Are you a dog??"
"I.. Think so..." Spike said looking at himself. "But... You may want to look at yourself...!"
I slowly raised my... Hands!? I screamed at the top of my lungs but quickly covered my mouth. I just kept examining my body in a sort of panic. “W..what happened!? Why am I a human!?” Suddenly there was another scream behind the statue… “That sounded like…” I slowly got up trying to keep my balance. “Oh… my…” I looked down only to find a tan colored unicorn with brown hair. She looked about the same size as the crusaders. “C… Crystal…?”
“Huh?” She said looking up at me in shock. “You’re human now!?”
“Y-you’re a pony now!” I exclaimed back, “A unicorn!”
“Huh!?” Crystal exclaimed examining her own body now. “But… how!?”
“I don’t know… but it must have something to do with the portal that sent us from Equestria.” I huffed. “We need to find my crown as soon as we can and get back there!” I said looking at the building in front of me. “I suggest we start searching the castle first.” I started running on all fours with Spike and Crystal on top of me… until I saw another human looking at me strangely.
“Yeah, I don’t think that's how the new you is supposed to--” I quickly got on two legs dusting myself off.
As I was about to head toward the castle again, I could see Crystal struggling to walk like a pony. “One step at a time sweet heart… take it slowly.” I said comforting her. Eventually, with a little practice she did start to walk a little better.
“This feels so different…” Crystal let out.
As we walked up to the door I attempted to use my magic to teleport in… only slam into the glass door. “Hmm…” I concentrated hard but nothing happened. “My magic… it isn’t working!”
“Makes sense… you haven’t exactly had practice without your horn.” Spike said.
“I guess you have a point…” I sighed.
“I can do it!” Crystal exclaimed using her magic to open the door.
“This is beyond unfair…” i sighed as Spike and Crystal followed. I looked around the ‘castle’ and walked up to what looked like a trophy case. “What do you think Spike? Are there any artifacts that she’s stolen from Equestria?” Just as I asked my question, we all heard a bell ring. Suddenly a large number of humans started passing through the halls. “Huh??” I said trying to make my way through, holding both Spike and Crystal. I was knocked onto the ground and I tried crawling my way out… until I bumped into someone’s leg.
“Whoa!” The boy exclaimed. “You okay?” he asked holding his hand out to me… I cautiously took his hand standing up and nodded. I then noticed was was looking intently at Crystal.
“Oh! this is uh… my toy!” I exclaimed with a sheepish smile.
The boy shrugged. “Alright then. See you later.” he walked away.
I sighed walking around the building I thought was a castle. "How am I going to find my crown in this place?"
"I know!" Crystal jumped from my arms. "We can split up!" She began running.
"Wait!" I ran after her. "Come back here!!"
"Oh... I'm really sorry." A familiar voice said which made me stop in place. "I didn't know you had dropped it..." I looked around the corner in disbelief. Is that...? No, it can't be...
"Well I did, and I would've gotten it back if you hadn't ruined everything! You shouldn't pick up things that don't belong to you." The red and yellow haired girl stated.
"It... Doesn't really belong to you either..."
"Excuse me!?" She exclaimed causing the pink haired girl to recoil and lower herself down.
"N...nothing..."
I was getting angrier every second she spoke... Until I saw a tan colored unicorn walking right toward them. "Oh no...!"
The pink haired girl looked down at Crystal and gasped. "Oh my goodness!" She said moving the red haired girl aside, picking Crystal up. "What's a little pony doing here??" She couldn't help but giggle seeing her horn. "And who put this fake horn on her?"
Please don't speak. Please don't speak. Please don't speak!! I kept screaming in my head.
"Gosh, you really are pathetic! It's no wonder your best friends are all stray animals." The red haired girl snapped.
That's where I draw the line... "How dare you speak to her that way!" I said walking in their sight.
"What did you say...?" She asked walking to me.
"I said how dare you speak to her that way!!" I exclaimed walking to her as well.
"Hmph... You must be new here." She smirked. "I can talk to anyone any way I want..." She quickly glared at some boy and walked past him.
"I can't believe you did that." The pink haired girl said still holding Crystal.
"Well I couldn't just stand there." I said turning to them.
"It's just that, nobody stands up to Sunset Shimmer..."
"Sunset Shimmer??"
"You've heard of her?"
"Sort of..."
"I don't think I've seen you around before." The girl added. "Did you just transfer to Canterlot High from another school?"
"Um yes... Another... School..." I cleared my throat. "My name's Twilight."
"I'm... Fluttershy..." The girl whispered.
"I'm sorry, didn't quite get that."
"It's Fluttershy." She said quietly again.
"It sounds like you're saying--"
"Fluttershy!?" Crystal exclaimed.
Aggghh!! Why!?
"Who... Who said that...??" Fluttershy asked looking around.
"I'm in your arms!" Fluttershy slowly looked back down to the pony in her arms. "I can't believe it's really you!!"
"I.. It's... T-t-talking..." Fluttershy said in disbelief. I took this chance to slowly take Crystal into my arms.
"Fluttershy...? I really Need you to calm down for a minute..." I sighed. "Sunset Shimmer said that you found something... Something that belonged to her. It wasn't a crown was it...?" Fluttershy nodded still too in shock to question how I knew it was a crown. "Do you still have it?" She shook her head no. "Well... Do you know where it is?"
Fluttershy nodded. "I gave the crown to... Um... Principal Celestia..."
"Principal Celestia?? She's the ruler here?"
"You... Could say that." Fluttershy said starting to calm down. "Technically she and Vice Principal Luna do make the rules..."
"Where is she right now?"
"She should be in her office... Third door on your left." Just as I was about to run. "Oh wait! You're really not supposed to have pets on school grounds." She said referring to Spike and Crystal. "Might wanna tuck them into your backpack... That's what I do."
"She's not my pet, she's my--... My... Uh..."
"I'm her daugh--!" I covered Crystals mouth smiling sheepishly.
Fluttershy could be seen rubbing her eyes. "A talking... Pony..."
"I don't think I can fit in there with Spike..." Crystal sighed. "Can't you just carry me around?"
"Crystal, I can't just carry you! It would be obvious!"
"I could look after her..." Fluttershy spoke out. "I'm going to my next class, but my teacher knows that I bring animals with me, and he's fine with it. I'm sure he wouldn't notice another one."
"You're telling me that he won't notice a pony with a horn." I mused.
"Why does she have a horn anyways?..."
I sighed. "Well you heard her talk so I might as well tell you..." I sighed again. "She isn't just a pony, she's... A unicorn." As soon as I said that, I heard Fluttershy laughing. "Huh?"
"Twilight, unicorns don't exist."
"Why else do you think she has a horn??"
Fluttershy looked down and tried to take the 'fake' horn off. "Ow ow ow ow ow!!" Crystal exclaimed.
"Huh!?" Fluttershy went into shock again.
"I told you she was a unicorn..." I sighed.
"B-but--!" Fluttershy was interrupted when the bell rang. "I have more questions... I'll get back to you at lunch." She started running to her class.
"This... Can only end badly...!" I held my head feeling stressed.
"So this is what a high school is like." I said still being carried by Fluttershy.
"Y...yes..." She said still running.
“I didn’t think I would go to a high school until I was older.”
“They have high school for unicorns…?”
“Well, I don’t know about that, but I was talking about when I was human.” Fluttershy froze in place. “What’s wrong??”
“You’re telling me that you used to be human??”
“Yeah… a little girl. And Twilight was actually a Unicorn… well, now she has wings too and she's a princess but--”
“WHAT!??” Fluttershy exclaimed. “You’re saying that Twilight is a… Pony Princess!?”
“That’s what she’s supposed to be. I’m supposed to be human right now.” I sighed. “Me and mom are trying to get the crown back from here.”
“Wait… did you just say… ‘mom’...?”
“She adopted me sort of…” I looked down. “She found me in my world and saw that I had no family…”
“Oh my goodness…” Fluttershy started walking again. “I’m so sorry to hear about that…”
“Hey… can you keep everything I told you a secret from everyone else…? I think mom got a little upset when I talked to you…”
Fluttershy smiled at me. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone…" she said walking into her class. "It's not like I have friends to tell..."
"Huh??"
"What?"
"But... What about--"
"Miss. Fluttershy... Another animal I see?" The male teacher said.
"Oh uh... Yes Mr. Discord..."
"Well, remember what I told you about them..."
"I know," Fluttershy nodded. "Keep them hidden in case Principal Celestia comes..."
"And gets me in trouble again..." Discord said rolling his eyes.
As Fluttershy went to her seat, she kept hearing whispers from the other students... I could hear them too.
"Why does that pony have a fake horn?" A pink girl asked.
"It's... Just a costume..." Fluttershy said looking away.
"Fake?" A boy asked. "That looks pretty real to me."
"Please, what are you? 5?" The silver girl asked. "Unicorn horns aren't real."
"Fluttershy, could you please remove that horn from that pony's head so we can get on with our class?"
"I... I can't..." Fluttershy said starting to get nervous.
"And why not?"
"Because, it's... Stuck..."
"How can it be stuck?"
"Because I... Uh... Glued it to her head, that's it!" She smiled sheepishly.
Discord groaned and walked up to me. "Here, let me help..." Discord said picking me up.
Uh oh! Not again! He started pulling hard on my horn. I opened my mouth in pain trying to not make a sound.
"Stop! You're hurting her!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Just... A little... More..." Then... There was a high pitched scream. Then everything went silent for a few minutes... Until Discord broke the silence looking down at me. "Since when do... Ponies scream?" He put me down. I just look up at him sweating bullets. Fluttershy looked almost the same.
"P-please just put her down..." Fluttershy said.
Discord instead pulled on the horn again. "Oowww!!"
"Did she just say ow!?" Discord exclaimed putting me down.
"Yes I said ow!!" I exclaimed leaving everyone in shock. "Oh what's the point... Yes I'm a talking unicorn ok!? Just stop pulling on my horn!!" Everyone, including Fluttershy and Discord stared at me mouth agape. "I... Think I should go..."
"Wait!" Fluttershy exclaimed picking me up. "You can't just go on your own! What if she see's you again...?"
"She?"
"Sunset Shimmer! You saw how mean she was!"
I sighed. "Alright... I'll stay..." Only because I'm not as strong as her... But I don't think I should tell the truth about Sunset Shimmer just yet.
"A unicorn... A real unicorn..." Discord let out. "Where did you find her Fluttershy?"
"Well... Actually, she found me..." Fluttershy started. "Sunset Shimmer saw her too and she thought she was just a pony too I guess..."
"Well, what's her name?"
"Crystal!" I exclaimed with a beaming smile. "Crystal Sparkle!"
"And what do you do Crystal?"
"Well..." I said putting a hoof to my head. "If I show you, do you all promise to keep it secret...?" Everyone nodded still in shock. "Okay!"
“Let’s see… there should be a bathroom here somewhere…” I said looking around the building.
“Hey! did you hear?” A student exclaimed running to me.
“Uh… no?” I said rubbing the back of my head. “Hear what?”
“There’s a magic pony in science class right now! I’m going to check it out!” the student exclaimed running to the direction of the class.
I can’t help but twitch a little. “CRYSTAL!!!” I exclaimed before running to the same direction that student was going. Why!? Talking to Fluttershy is one thing, but showing an entire class that you have magic!? I’ll never be able to get my crown back at this rate! Oh Crystal you are in SO MUCH TROUBLE!! I thought to myself following the student. It didn’t take too long for the student to find the class. As he walked in, I followed and saw Crystal… levitating multiple items in the air. “Oh… my…” I said to myself wide eyed.
“This is so cool!” A student said.
“Magic actually exists!” says another.
“Well Crystal, I must say that I’m very impressed!” Discord said with a grin on his face. “If had that sort of power, I would do so much with it…”
Crystal giggled. “Thanks Discord.”
“CRYSTAL!!” I exclaimed at the top of my lungs.
Crystal shrieked and looked back at me dropping everything that she was levitating. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” I walked up to her picking her up. “Wait! I’m really sorry!” She exclaimed.
"Excuse me, who exactly are you?" Discord asked.
"Twilight Sparkle, sir. And this little pony is with me." I said walking out the class. "I'm sorry for all the trouble..."
"She is an absolute marvel! Please, as part of this science class you MUST let us know more about her."
"I'm sorry, but I don't think that's such a--"
"Please?? It's not hurting anyone!" Crystal begged.
"Crystal..."
"Or do I really have to call you the M word in front of everyone?" Crystal frowned.
"You. Wouldn't. Dare...!" I whispered to her.
"Hey everyone!" Crystal exclaimed. "Did I ever tell you that Twilight--"
"Okay! Okay!" I said covering her mouth and putting her down. She just walked to the front of the class again.
"Now Crystal..." Discord cleared his throat. "Why don't you tell the class where you're from?"
I sighed at least Sunset Shimmer isn't in this class. I thought to myself looking around the room.
"Well..." Crystal started. "I come from a land called Equestria. Ponyville to be exact. There are a lot of different towns and cities in Equestria. There are four different kinds of ponies; regular ponies, pegasai, unicorns, and alicorns... But there aren't many alicorns in Equestria. I've only seen four alicorns... My mom included. Alicorns in Equestria are actually princesses."
"Fascinating!" Discord let out. "And your mother is really a princess?"
"Mhm." Crystal nodded.
"Now tell us... How did you get here?"
"Well... You know that statue in front of the school?"
Oh no!! Don't tell them THAT!! I couldn't stop shaking because I knew I couldn't stop her either. Otherwise there would be too many questions!
"The statue of the horse? What about it?" Discord asked.
"Well, the statue is a portal... The princess said that the portal opens every 30 moons I think..." Crystal said putting a hoof on her head.
"A... Portal?!" Fluttershy exclaimed and looked right at me.
"That's absurd... I've seen that statue many times but I've NEVER noticed a portal or anything like one!" Discord said.
"I'll even show you!" Crystal said about to walk out the door.
"No you will not!!" I exclaimed picking her up. "You've told them too much already!"
"I was just gonna put my hoof in!"
"Do you know how serious that is!? Do you know what the princess would do if she saw ponies come out of that mirror in Equestria!?"
"Twilight... How do you know all this?" Discord asked crossing his arms with a disapproved look.
"Uh... I..." I stammered putting Crystal down again.
"Mom..." Crystal whispered. "Maybe things will be better if we just tell them the whole truth..."
"But Crystal, you don't know that...!" I whispered back.
"It's better than always lying... Plus it's annoying me and hurting my head."
I sighed. "You're right Crystal... honesty is important." I breathed in and turned to the class. "The reason I knew about what Crystal said is because... I'm from Equestria too." Everyone in the room gasped in shocked.
"No way!" A boy exclaimed. "You aren't even a pony!"
"That's because when we went through the portal, it changed me into a human..."
"And what about Crystal? Why is SHE still the same?"
"She isn't..." I paused. "Because she was human in Equestria..." I got a few shocked looks from the students. "And I'm raising her, as my daughter..." That time I got looks of complete disbelief.
"You're... Telling me that you're a princess...?" I nodded.
"A pony princess... raising a human daughter..." Discord let out. "It's unbelievable... Tell me, how did you find Crystal?"
"Well... When Princess Celestia sent me to this world the first time--"
"Wait wait wait... PRINCESS Celestia!?" Discord exclaimed. "You're telling me that she has even more power than she does now!?"
"Her and Princess Luna..."
"Oh of course..."
"As I was saying... When I was sent to this world the first time, it was for research. And during that visit, I found Crystal... All alone with no family or home..."
"Oh dear..."
"Of course I was a little nervous when I first saw her because I had never seen a human before... But I knew she was different from the others... So I offered her to come live with me in Equestria..."
"If you had never seen a human before, how did you walk?"
"Well, when Celestia sent me, I was still a pony..."
"Okay... One... Final question..." Discord started. "Why are you here now?"
I paused before I answered. "Sunset Shimmer..."
"You mean that ill mannered student?"
"She isn't a normal student..."'I started. "She came into Equestria and stole my crown in my sleep."
"How would she even know about Equestria...? I highly doubt that anyone knew it existed before you told us..."
"You're telling me that Sunset Shimmer... is really a pony!?" Discord exclaimed.
"A unicorn to be exact..." I sighed.
"If that's true, then why leave?"
"Well, she used to be Princess Celestia's student like I was... But as time passed, she became cruel and dishonest... And for what reason she stole my crown, I'm not sure yet..."
"Could we see this portal where you came from?"
"I suppose..." I said rubbing my head. I then lead the entire class outside to where the statue was. At first everyone looked at it skeptically. I sighed and slowly pushed my hand against the portal, pushing it through. Everyone stared in shock.
"I... Can't believe it..." Fluttershy let out.
"All this time... How did nobody notice this?" Discord continued.
"It isn't open all the time... It only opens every 30 moons." I said.
Fluttershy slowly walked up to the portal as well, placing her hand through it. "Ah!" She exclaimed. "Where'd my fingers go?? I can't feel them!"
"That's because when going through the portal, you change... Ergo, your hand turned into a hoof." Without another word, the human Fluttershy jumped into the portal. "Fluttershy!"
"I'll get her!" Crystal exclaimed jumping through the portal as well.
"Ugh..." I face palmed.
"Where exactly does that portal lead to?" Discord asked.
"Into the Crystal Empire... Princess Cadence's castle to be exact."
"Will they be alright?"
"Don't worry... Crystal may be young, but she's a smart girl... I'm sure she can bring Fluttershy back safely."
On the other side of the portal, Princess Cadence was the only pony there, waiting at the time. Shining Armor was keeping guard at the entrance of the castle. Princess Cadence sighed. "Please come home safe little sister..." Suddenly she could see a figure about to come through the portal. "Huh?"
Suddenly a yellow pegasus with the same clothes she wore in school slowly walked out of the portal on two legs quickly falling over to four. "H-huh...? Where am I...?"
"Fluttershy??" Cadence exclaimed. "What are you doing here??"
"Huh??" Fluttershy said looking at the pink alicorn princess. "W-who are you?? And how do you know my name??"
"Oof!" Crystal exclaimed hitting the back of Fluttershy. "Ow..." She said rubbing her face, and getting to her feet.
"Y... You really are human..." Fluttershy let out looking at Crystal. "Oh! Are you alright??"
"Yeah I'm fine..." She smiled sheepishly.
"Crystal? What's going on here?" Cadence asked.
"Oh, Cadence!" Crystal exclaimed. "This is Fluttershy... Well... Fluttershy from the world Mom went into. She isn't the same Fluttershy as the one that lives here."
"The one that... Lives here!?" Human Fluttershy exclaimed. "Neither of you mentioned that!!"
"Easy Fluttershy..." Cadence said. "You need to keep calm..."
Fluttershy stopped, sighed, and slowly looked at herself in the mirror. "Amazing..."
"Hey! What's going on in... Here?" Rainbow said flying in, followed by four other ponies. "Crystal? Fluttershy?... Wait..." Rainbow said turning to the Fluttershy behind her then quickly turning back to the human one. "Two Fluttershys!?"
"What?..." Pony Fluttershy said slowly walking up looking directly at her other self with wide eyes, the other Fluttershy having the same reaction. "H...how...?"
"A...another..." The human one continued.
"Me..." They both said in unison.
"Where... Did you come from?" Pony shy asked.
"I came out of the mirror... What do you do here?"
"I watch over animals in my cottage... Um... What are you wearing?"
"Oh... These are my clothes that I wear for school."
"School? You still have school?"
"You're saying you don't?"
"No, not at all."
"How do you make money?"
"I look after other ponies animals. What about you?"
"My mother helps me, or I babysit."
"Babysit?"
“You know, babies?”
“You mean like foals?”
“Right, like that.”
“Okay that’s enough…” Rainbow mused holding her head. “I’m getting a headache… surprisingly from two Fluttershy’s.”
“Oh, I’m sorry Rainbow Dash…” Pony Shy said.
“Rainbow Dash?” Human Shy said. “You’re actually friends with her?”
“What? Of course I’m friends with her. We’re all her friends.” Pony Shy said pointing at the rest of the group. “Me, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Twilight…”
“Hmph… I don’t see how you can be friends with Pinkie Pie. She has no respect for anything!”
“Huh?” Pinkie asked. “What did I do!?”
“The Pinkie in my world was supposed to help me with a silent auction, but instead made it loud and obnoxious!”
“I’m sure there must be some kinda mistake…” Applejack said. “Pinkie Pie might be crazy, but she ain’t the type of pony to do somethin’ against somepony’s decisions.”
"Maybe it's different here then..." Human Shy sighed.
"Fluttershy, we really have to go back!” Crystal exclaimed.
“But--” Human Fluttershy was cut off as she was levitated in the air by Crystal and pushed the human Fluttershy through it as she followed.
"She's taking quite a bit of time to bring Fluttershy back."
"Don't worry, I'm sure everything is just fine." I sighed. Just as I was beginning to have doubts, I saw Fluttershy come out of the portal falling over as Crystal followed. "See? I told you everything would be fine."
"What in the world were you thinking, Fluttershy?" Discord asked.
"I... I just wanted to see what it was like in that world..." Fluttershy said hanging her head down.
"And... What did you see?" I asked.
"Well... I saw my pony self..." Fluttershy paused. "And Rainbow Dash... Pinkie Pie... Rarity... And applejack..."
Discord stopped and looked at me. "I don't think I ever recall meeting your human counterpart..."
"Maybe she just goes to a different school." I shrugged. "But that isn't important right now..." I turned to the whole class. "I need you all to keep everything you saw and heard a secret, alright? If Sunset Shimmer knows that you know the truth about me and her... It might make getting my crown back harder than it was intended to be." The whole class nodded in agreement. "Thank you... Come on Crystal." I said picking her up, walking back inside. Fluttershy followed. I turned back to see her. "Huh?"
"Well I did say I had more questions..." Fluttershy said. "And the lunch bell is about to ring."
"Oh, right..." I said rubbing the back of my head.
"I'm really sorry about all of this Princess Twilight..."
"Please please please... Just call me Twilight..." I sighed. "I don't even like it when my friends in Equestria call me that..."
"Sorry..."
"It's fine."
As we were walking in the building, we both heard the lunch bell ring, and walked to the cafeteria. While I was thinking of a plan to get my crown back...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Crystal and Spike were in my backpack as both me and Fluttershy were getting our lunches. "I think I found a way that I can get my crown back." I said placing a fruit bowl on my tray. "I've decided to run for princess of the fall formal and--"
Fluttershy gasped spilling juice on me. "Sorry...!" She said getting napkins cleaning me off. "It's just that running for fall formal princess is a really bad idea."
"Why??"
"Sunset Shimmer wants to be fall formal princess! And when she wants something, she gets it!"
"But I have to try! I told you that crown had to come back with me to... You know where."
Fluttershy sighed. "Alright, if you want to run for fall formal princess, you'll need to speak to the head of the party planning committe."
"Where can I find the head?"
"She should be in the gymnasium."
"Thanks Fluttershy!" I quickly got up and went out the cafeteria door to find the gymnasium. Thankfully there are some signs on the walls telling me where the gym is. It took a few minutes, but I did find it. I opened the door and looked around, seeing streamers and balloons set up. "Hello?"
"Incoming...!" A familiar voice exclaimed as many streamers and party decorations fell over me. I looked up and saw a pink skinned and pink haired girl in front of me taking a balloon off of her dress and blowing it up. "Pinkie Pie...?"
Pinkie quickly stopped and let the balloon go, grabbing my shoulders from behind. "Are you psychic!?"
"Uh no... I don't think so. Unless that's something you can do here..." Pinkie just let me go.
"Eh... Not usually." She continued decorating.
"Fluttershy told me that you're the one I had to talk to about running for the fall formal?.."
"Fluttershy huh?" Pinkie grunted. "Don't let the whole shy thing fool you, she can be a real meanie!"
"You two aren't friends??"
"Weird you decided to suddenly sign up. Dance is day after tomorrow."
"Actually, I'm brand new here." I rubbed the back of my head.
"Oohh!" Pinkie then paused for a second. "I thought you didn't look familiar." She said examining me. "Do you have a twin sister who lives in the city and has a pet dog that looks just like that one?"
"Uh... Maybe?" I shrugged. I then stopped and looked at Spike but noticed that someone was was missing... No... Some pony... Crystal has been awfully quiet...
"Everything ok?" Pinkie asked.
"Yeah... I'm alright." I shook my head. "Anyways, where do I sign up?" I said trying to hide my shocked face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I walked around the school to see if I could find some of moms friends. So far, it just looked empty. "Hmmm..." I said aloud. "Maybe everyone's still in class." I said still moving around the halls. As I walked and thought to myself I then bumped into someone without noticing. I froze and looked up to see a young boy with dark yellow skin and green hair.
"Hey... What's a pony doing in school?" Snails asked looking at me. I tried my best to keep quiet.
"Let me see." Snips said looking at me as well. "Haven't I seen this pony before?"
"What are you idiots talking about?" A familiar female voice asked. It was Sunset Shimmer... And she was getting close to me...! "Oh... It's that little filly Fluttershy found..."
"The animal lover?" Snips asked.
"Yeah her... Wonder what this pony is doing here by itself." She picked me up slowly. I swear I could feel myself sweating bullets.
"Didn't you say we needed to check out the gym...?" Snails asked.
"Oh right..." Sunset Shimmer sighed. She was about to drop me until she noticed my horn... "Hmm... This pony had this on its head before but... There's no way..." Sunset whispered to herself.
Uh oh... I thought to myself. She then did what I was afraid of... She started pulling... I cringed in pain. I was in tears. It felt like she was trying to break my horn off!... I can't take it... It hurts too much...!!!!
"AAAHHHHH!!!"
Sunset Shimmer froze and slowly looked back at me skeptically. "Did you just..."
I bit her hand. She dropped me... And I ran screaming... "MOM!!!"
Sunset Shimmer was shocked and confused. A pony had just screamed for her mother and ran away. "How... Is there a pony here...??" Sunset Shimmer said to herself. She then narrowed her eyes in realization of what was going on.
“MOM!!!” I exclaimed running through the halls. Eventually I found her walking around in the hall looking really worried, heading toward a dark part of the hall. “Thank goodness…”
“Huh??” Mom looked down. “Crystal!!” She quickly picked me up. “Thank Celestia… where in the world did you go!?”
“I… I saw her…”
“Who??”
“Can’t believe I didn’t recognise you earlier.” A voice said from behind us. It being Sunset Shimmer. “Should’ve known that Princess Celestia would send her prized pupil to come after my crown… and her little dog too.”
“It’s my crown!” Mom exclaimed.
Sunset smirked. “Whatever, this is just a minor setback for me.” she walked around her. “You don’t know the first thing about this place, and I already rule it.”
“If that’s so, why do you even need my crown? You went through an awful lot of trouble to switch it with the one that belongs here.”
Sunset quickly turned to mom. “Pop quiz: What happens when you bring an element of harmony into an alternate world?” Mom paused looking like she didn’t know the answer to that. “You don’t know?? Seriously?? And you’re supposed to be Princess Celestia’s star student?” Mom looked like a nerve was just pulled on. “Then again, what are the chances of Princess Celestia to find somepony under her wing, after I decided to leave Equestria. A bit embarrassing that you were the best she could do.”
“STOP IT!” I screamed shocking Sunset. “You can’t talk to her like that!”
“You again…” Sunset scowled. “I don’t get it, how in the hoof are you a pony?”
“Because she was human in Equestria.” Mom answered. “Look, just leave her out of this…”
I just looked at Sunset angrily. “What’s wrong? Gonna bite again?” Sunset asked.
“If you hurt my mom again, I will!”
“Mom…?” Sunset slowly looked at mom. “That’s why you have so much faith in her…”
“More than just that…”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re telling mom that you were the best Princess Celestia had, right?”
“Of course…” Sunset answered curiously.
“Then here’s a pop quiz for you: Who is a Princess in this room, and who isn’t?” Mom just looked at me in shock, not believing that I just asked that.
But Sunset Shimmer looked at me only getting angrier. “You both better watch yourselves…” she glared at me before walking away.
Mom just looked back at me and pulled me into a tight hug. “What were you thinking…??”
“Mom, I’m sorry, but I hate hearing people say that.”
“I understand Crystal, but that was very dangerous…”
“I’m sorry mom, I was just trying to help…” Mom just sighed and hugged me.
Sunset was walking down the hall until she stopped to see both Snips and Snails in a mess of streamers. She quickly unwrapped the two, and stopped them from spinning. “I want you to follow her…” She said referring to Twilight. “Bring me something I can use just like you did with that last girl who thought she could challenge me.”
“You got it Sunset Shimmer” Snips saluted away with Snails.
“I, for one, am going to be paying very close attention to this Crystal…” She clenched her fists as she walked away.
“Excuse me.” a light blue girl said going in front of mom at the vending machine. “The Great and Powerful… TRIXIE!...” Trixie paused. “Needs some peanut butter crackers.” she said putting a quarter in, taking the snack out.
“Maybe Sunset Shimmer’s right… I really don’t know the first thing about this place.”
“Huh?... Mom, you know she isn’t right.” I said jumping down on the floor. “You just need to learn more about this place.”
“Yeah…” Mom slowly smiled. “Do a little research!”
“And how exactly do you plan on doing that?” Spike asked.
“This place has a school, so I have to assume it’s got a…” She stopped walking to see the large room. “Library!” She exclaimed walking into the library. I decided to go for another look around the school to try and find where the crown is. I just hope I don’t run into her again… I just want to get the crown and go back home!
“Hey.” A familiar voice said behind me while I walked in the hall. Not again… I slowly turned to see Sunset Shimmer with her arms crossed. “Listen, I recommend you to stay out of this.”
“And leave mom alone?”
“Yeah, how does that work?” Sunset asked. “She said you were human.”
“She took care of me. I didn’t have a home or family in my world.” I turned away. “And I just want to go back to Equestria with her.” I tried walking back into the library until I could feel myself getting risen in the air.
“And where do you think you’re going?”
“H-hey! let go of me!”
“Shut up!” She said covering my mouth.
“MMM!” I screamed trying to get Mom’s attention.
“You’re staying with me, you got that?”
I started to feel afraid. Mom… Mom please help me!! I thought to myself in a panic as I got carried out of the school building. With all this going on, I couldn’t even focus enough to use my magic. I was trapped… Sunset was walking on the sideway, not loosening her grip on me. I was scared for my life. And worst of all, I was scared that mom would go crazy trying to find me! The walk lasted about 20 minutes before I could hear the sound of keys opening a lock to a door. she walked inside and placed me on the couch and just stared at me for a minute with her hand to her chin. “I suppose I could use her as a hostage…” she said to herself but loud enough for me to hear.
“Why do you have to do this..?”
“Hm?”
“You always look angry and stressed. Wouldn’t everything be easier if you just made friends like my mom?”
“You don’t get it kid. The only way you can get around in life is with power, and that’s what I’m going to get on the night of the Fall Formal.”
“But are you happy?”
“That’s…” Sunset stammered. “Look, that’s none of your business.”
I paused for a minute thinking of something. “You know… you kind of remind me of a friend I have in Equestria, at school.”
“Who?”
“Diamond Tiara… before she wasn’t always my friend. In fact, she hated me.” I stood up. “Diamond Tiara to me, feels like what you are to Twilight.”
“Well I’m not Diamond Tiara. I know who she is here too.”
I sighed. “Sunset Shimmer? Can I ask you something?”
“Depends on what the question is.” She sat down.
“What happened to you? What made you not be Princess Celestia’s student anymore?”
Sunset froze at the question quickly having memories of her time in Equestria.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunset Shimmer was in a room that had a table and a plant on top of it. A few pony judges in the room as well. Sunset Shimmer was taking her entrance exam for Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns. “Now Sunset Shimmer... “ One pony judge said. “for your final test, you shall need to wow us. Give us the best you got.”
“We’re looking forward to seeing if you can top your “synchronized dancing cats” piece from last semester. That was a dazzler!” another judge said.
“As Princess Celestia’s own pupil, we expect big, big things today!” The final judge said with a grin.
“Well, you’ll certainly see that.” Sunset Shimmer answered with a smug grin on her face. Her horn started to glow, and so did something inside the plant.
“Oh! looks like she’s going to do a growth spell… classic! But is it enough?”
“Let’s hope it turns out better than Juniper Berry’s attempt.”
Not a moment later, what was before a plantless pot, grew into an enormous vine that spread around the building. And of course, who would be outside to see it, but Celestia. After that day, Sunset Shimmer learned much from her teacher, Princess Celestia. But the one thing she was never able to successfully learn… was the magic of friendship.
Sunset Shimmer stood up and walked away. “Go to sleep.”
“Huh? But--”
“Go to sleep!!” She exclaimed shutting her door.
I sighed and looked around the house. It didn’t look like there was much. If I try to leave, I’ll have no idea how to get back… Mom… she must be so worried about me right now… I slowly got down on the floor. “Ugh… it’s so cold in this house… I guess she can’t afford a heater.” I looked around the house. “Small T.V… dusty… I kind of feel bad…”
“What are you doing in there??” Sunset asked from her room.
“I can’t sleep! I’m cold!”
Sunset sighed and opened the door. “Get in here.”
“Why?...”
“Do you wanna get warm or not??”
I gulped and went into her room. It was a little nicer than the rest of the house actually. “S-so where am I going to sleep then?”
“With me?” she placed me in bed. “You might have come with Twilight, but you’re still just a filly.”
“That’s nice of you…”
“Hmph.” Sunset huffed and got into bed with me. “Just go to sleep.” she got under the blanket with me.
Ugh… I’m still cold… I slowly looked up at Sunset. Her eyes were closed but I doubt she was asleep already. What the hay am I thinking right now…? I sighed and slowly got close to her… eventually hugging her. Okay, instead of feeling cold, I was starting to feel tense and scared. Sunset quickly opened her eyes to look down at me.
“Um…” she said as i kept my eyes closed. Sunset shrugged and wrapped an arm around me, surprising me this time. "Hang on a second..." Sunset said getting a text on her phone, then another right after. Both texts each containing video clips. She just smirked. "Guess I better start editing." She said getting out of her bed and onto her computer. I looked at her, and she had her phone connected to it. She quickly pulled out a recording microphone for her computer. "Heh, this is good..." I looked at her just confused. She the pressed the record button on her computer screen and... "Twilight Sparkle wants to be your fall formal princess... But how can we give someone like this... Such an important honor...?" She quickly stopped the recording and smirked getting to work.
"What was that all about?"
"Look, just go to sleep Crystal." She said not turning back to me.
"You're going to try and hurt my mom..." I hopped out of her bed.
Sunset paused and sighed. "Listen Crystal, you have no idea what I've been through, and I don't expect you to understand."
"But there's more to life than just ruining people's friendships and lives..." Sunset just continued with her editing, trying not to listen to me. When she finished the video, she uploaded it online. But by the time she looked back at me, I had already left her room.
"Crystal?" Sunset asked walking outside. "Where the heck did she go...?" She asked herself walking around the house. Until finally she saw me on the couch, with an upset look on my face. She sighed and sat down next to me. "Look, I hate to see a filly sad like this... She picked me up and held me like a mother holds her baby. "You just don't know what I've been through... All my life, I've strived for power; I knew I was meant for greatness... But then I got turned away."
"Sunset... Life isn't just about power. It's about enjoying life, making friends, and just being happy. That's what my mom told me..."
Sunset sighed. "You're heart's in the right place, Crystal. But I don't see that happening with myself." She carried me into bed with her again.
Tears could be heard in the quiet, dark room of the schools library... They were my tears... "C-Crystal.. How could I be so careless and lose you again...?"
"I'm sure she's okay Twilight..." Spike said trying to calm me down. "Maybe she's somewhere in this school?"
"And what if she isn't, Spike...? What if Sunset Shimmer took her!? If something happens to her, I'm never going to forgive myself...!"
"Twilight, she's a smart girl... And even if she is with Sunset Shimmer, you don't think she'd be that cruel enough to hurt her, do you?"
"If she does anything to hurt her..." I tightened my new hands into fists.
"We'll start looking for her first thing tomorrow morning... But for now, you need rest."
The sunlight was bright and it shined on my eyes, waking me up. “Ugh…” I said looking around. I could see that Sunset Shimmer wasn’t in the bed anymore. “Sunset…?” I asked looking around. “Hmmm…” I got out of bed to go look for her. When I got out of her room, in her messy house, I could hear water running. “Maybe she’s in the shower…” I huffed and went next to the window, watching the outside. “Mom must be so worried right now… ugh… why did this have to happen? Why does this KEEP happening!?” I exclaimed in annoyance.
“Hey.” a voice said from behind me. It was Sunset Shimmer wrapped in towel. “Maybe you should just stay here for now.”
“What? Why?”
“Well, it’s not really normal for a unicorn, let alone a talking one, to be walking around the school like that.”
“I was fine before though. I want to see Mom.” I said sternly.
“Relax, you’ll see her. Just not right now.” Sunset said walking in her room again to ger her usual school uniform on. “While I’m gone, just watch TV or something. Go on the internet if you want.” She said leaving her laptop open.
I sighed but then I smiled, at the same time trying to hide it. “Alright…”
“Alright, I’ll see you after school.” Sunset said walking out her front door and locking it.
I walked up right to the computer and smiled, using my magic to type in the web browser. “Let’s see what you did last night…” I said to myself looking through her history. It lead me to a video on YouTube. “The most embarrassing fall formal prince-- huh?” I said to myself looking at the video title. I clicked on the video to watch it. When it finished, I couldn’t help but feel angry. “This is just horrible! And-- look at how many views this video has!” I groaned rubbing my head. “There must be something I can do to fix this!” I looked around Sunset Shimmer’s room to find an answer. All I could see was the camera and microphone she used last night…. Wait a second! I thought to myself. “Don’t worry Mom, I’ll fix this…”
“Good morning students, and happy Thursday.” Principle Celestia’s voice could be heard over the school intercom. “Just a reminder to pick up your ballets for the Princess of the Fall Formal today. They are due by the time the dance starts tomorrow night, so don’t forget to turn them in and make your voice heard.” she finished.
Back in the library, I was pacing the floor a bit. “This school has a lot of different groups that divide them Spike… I need to win them over if I’m going to get votes to be Princess of the Fall Formal…” I sighed and stopped looking at the list I prepared. “This is going to be hard without her here…”
“I know it’s rough right now Twilight… But I get the feeling that Crystals gonna be just fine.” Spike said trying to reassure me.
“But how can you be so confident about that, Spike?” I asked still in a bit of a panic. “I looked all over the school when the other students left, and while you were asleep. I didn’t see her anywhere! She’s just a little girl after all…”
“A little girl who’s smart and can use magic, Twilight. Honestly, you’re over reacting.”
“Spike… she’s my daughter. I’m not going to relax until I see her.”
Spike just sighed. “Then we’ll look for her more today, alright? For now, let’s just get popular with those groups.”
I nodded and sighed trying to gain my confidence again. “Alright Spike…” he went into my backpack and I walked out the library door. But as soon as I did…
“Hey, look…” one student whispered while others giggled as I passed by, getting strange looks at the same time.
“Why is everybody looking at me funny-- Whoa!” I exclaimed getting pulled into a room by someone. “What are you-- why did you--...” I stopped and looked at the student who pulled me in more closely as she shut the door. “Rarity…?” I asked as Spike poked his head out to see.
She ran right up to me with measuring tape, quickly pondering to herself and raised a finger as if she already got an idea. She went to her bag, pulling out various clothing, until she pulled out a light green outfit. with a gold star on the belt. As well as a blonde wig. “Perfect.” she said with a smile, quickly putting the ridiculous looking outfit on me. “Oh, yes this is good… No one will recognize you!”
I just looked at her, confused for a moment. “Why wouldn’t I want to be--” she cut me off.
“And we’ll need a disguise for your dog… which is too bad. He really is so adorable…” Rarity cooed as she pet Spike. “You know, with a little work, I could make him look like a rabbit instead.” she said as Spike fell out my bag.
“A rabbit?” I asked still lost on why she was doing all of this. Without warning though, the door opened, Applejack coming inside.
“There you are Twilight!” Applejack exclaimed walking in.
“So much for the disguise…” Rarity mused crossing her arms.
“I’ve been lookin’ all over for ya.”
“Me too.” Fluttershy said following.
“Me three!” Pinkie exclaimed quickly going inside and examining me. “I like your new look.”
“I do have an eye for these sorts of things…” Rarity started. “Not that you seem to care.”
“What!?” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
“Why do you think she doesn’t care…?” I asked. But when I asked, all I saw was Pinkie quickly getting steamed while the others were signalling me to not talk about it. “No nevermind… Why were you all looking for me?” I asked taking the wig off. “What’s going on?”
“Oh… she hasn’t seen it yet…” Fluttershy said covering her mouth.
“Seen what??”
Pinkie then opened her bag, putting down her laptop, opening it to a youtube link. “Oh it’s not so bad, eheheh…” She said starting the video. All that could be heard in the background was Sunset Shimmer’s voice over a video clip of… me? It didn’t take too long for the video to finish.
“W-wha… I…” I stammered over the laptop.
“I… take that back… It’s pretty bad…” Pinkie said with a tone of embarrassment.
“But this all happened yesterday! At the Library!...” I looked down. “Has everyone in the school seen this? Is that why they were all looking at me that way??” They all looked to the side, pretty much answering my question. “What am I going to do…? No one’s gonna vote for me after seeing this!”
“Wait a second… what’s this?” Fluttershy pointed at the next video after the one that was posted last night. “It says this video is from the same channel and it was posted 10 minutes ago…”
“But how…?” Applejack asked.
“Only one way to find out…” Rarity said clicking on the video.
“Twilight…” Fluttershy whispered to me. “In the thumbnail before… that looked like…!” Before Fluttershy could even finish, the video started up.
“I really hope I did this right… I don’t want to be too late…” A familiar voice said in the video. Me and Fluttershy both gasped in realization of who that voice belonged to. Eventually the picture came in clear, and we could all see a small unicorn in the video. C-Crystal… I thought to myself trying to hold back my own tears. “Mom… If you’re seeing this, I just want to let you know that I’m okay. I’m at her house.” Crystal said in the video. “And to anyone else watching this video… Twilight is NOT like what the video before said about her! She cares about her friends! For all the people around her! She has always been there for everyone, and I can promise that she would be a better fall formal princess than Sunset Shimmer! She would bring us all together! Unlike Sunset Shimmer who tears us apart!” Crystal stopped and sighed. “I know you don’t know me. And you’re probably wondering why I’m a unicorn in the first place… I can’t answer that right now… Mom… I love you. And I promise that I’m okay…” the video then ended. I couldn’t help but start crying. “She’s safe… Thank goodness…” I smiled wiping my tears.
“Uhhh… Twilight?” Applejack asked looking at me. “Who… er… what was that just now?”
“Uh… well… you see…” I stammered unsure of how to answer.
“Nevermind... “ Applejack said holding her head. “Right now we need to focus on what’s important; the fall formal.”
“Well,” Pinkie turned to me. “If you still wanna run, maybe there’s something I can do to help!”
“Word of advice,” Fluttershy whispered. “Don’t accept her help. She doesn’t take anything seriously.” Fluttershy said crossing her arms.
“Uh! Why do you have to be so awful to me!?” Pinkie pouted stomping her foot.
“Oh pfft… Don’t play innocent Pinkie Pie.” Rarity pointed at her. “You are no better than she is!” she said pointing at Fluttershy.
“And what is that supposed to mean!?” Pinkie exclaimed grabbing Rarity’s arms.
“I am happy to offer my assistance as well… To someone who would appreciate what I have to offer!” Rarity exclaimed.
“What you have to offer? What about what I have to offer!?” Pinkie exclaimed, starting an argument that was too hard for me to hear everything, until Applejack finally cut them off.
“Listen to y’all carryin’ on! Get over it and move on!” She crossed her arms.
"You mean like how you got over what happened with Rainbow Dash!?" Rarity pointed.
"You know darn well that that's different!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Is not!" Rarity and Fluttershy exclaimed back.
"Is too!!" Suddenly all of them started to argue among themselves... This was just getting too much for me to take. I can't take this anymore...!!!
"STOP!!" I shouted getting up from my seat. "All of you!" I sighed going into my bag, pulling out the yearbook I found in the library. "Let me show you something." I quickly opened the book to the page showing the picture with the five of them together. "You were all friends once..."
"The freshman fair..." Applejack said smiling a bit. "Y'all remember that?" She got a few nods from the others.
"Something happened that drove you all apart. I think that something is Sunset Shimmer." I said crossing my fingers in thought.
"Well it's a nice theory darling, but Sunset Shimmer has nothing to do with it." Rarity crossed her arms.
"She's right." Fluttershy continued. "Sunset Shimmer isn't the one who used party blowers and noisemakers. It was supposed to be a quiet event. And Pinkie Pie ruined it!"
"What are you talking about!?" Pinkie asked. "I got a text from you saying you didn't want a quiet auction. You wanted a big party!"
"What? But... I didn't send you a text..."
"You don't think she's the one who's been sending those emails, do you?" Rarity asked.
"It's possible..." I said trying to put the pieces together.
"Maybe she's the reason why Rainbow Dash didn't show up that day..." Applejack said.
"Didn't you ever ask her why she didn't show?"
"Eheh... I kinda stopped talkin' to her at all after that..." Applejack answered holding her hat down.
"Maybe it's time you started then." I smiled placing her hat back on her head.
"Hopefully mom saw that video..." I sighed laying on the couch. There isn't really much to do here... I got up to walk around the house to see what she had. I noticed a few books on a shelf and decided to browse through them. One of them, however caught my attention more than the others. "What's this...? It only has a picture of a yellow and orange sun on it..." My horn glowed as I opened the book levitating it to my face. The more I looked at it, the more I started to realize what it was... "This was the book she used to send reports to Princess Celestia..." I turned a few pages to finally find a blank page. "I wonder..." I got up and looked around the house again to try and find a pen. After finally finding one, I quickly ran back to the book, writing the following with my magic. 'Is anyone able to see this right now?' I stopped and put the pen down, waiting to see if something would happen.
After a few minutes, something started to happen. Text started to appear by itself. 'Sunset Shimmer? Is that you?'
I quickly took the pen and responded. 'No, this is Crystal. I'm in Sunset Shimmer's house.'
'In her house!? Crystal, this is Princess Celestia. Where is Twilight? Where is your mother!?'
'She's back at the school... Sunset Shimmer kind of kidnapped me. But don't worry! I'm fine.' I paused before starting to write again. 'Princess Celestia, what happened to Sunset Shimmer that caused her to act like this? What made her change so much?'
'Honestly Crystal, I've been trying to figure out that answer as well... When I first met her, I knew she had potential. She was an exceptional student with a vast knowledge of magic and spells. But what she lacked most... Was the magic of Friendship.'
I sighed closing the book. "So... The magic of friendship is what she needed..." I said laying on the couch, looking up at the ceiling. "Mom... I have to help her." I quickly jumped off the couch, and used my magic to open the front door. I looked around to see if the school was close by, and luckily, from a distance, I could see it. There was only one problem though... I have to somehow avoid getting too many looks from people... I looked around to see if anybody was out, but thankfully it seemed like everyone was either in school, or at work. Out of sheer paranoia, I decided to bolt to the school as quick as my hooves could carry me. Oh my gosh, I'm turning into mom...I thought to myself, remembering a day when she ran carrying me to school on her back... Heh... I just smiled as I ran toward the school. "Don't worry mom, I won't be tardy..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The six girls were standing outside the doors to the cafeteria. All of them holding pony ears and wearing tails. "Are you girls ready?" Rarity asked with a wide smile.
"Ready!" We all exclaimed nodding.
All the girls just opened the door, walking in the cafeteria casually, getting into their positions. Eventually one by one, they all put on pony ears and started to get a beat going.; each one of them with their own items, all leading to Spike from my backpack playing actual music on the radio next to him. All the girls then got up and started to sing along with the music.
"Hey, hey everybody!
We've got something to say.
We may seem as different
As the night is from day.
But you look a little deeper,
And you will see
That I'm just like you
And you're just like me,
Yeah!
Hey, hey everybody
We're here to shout
That the magic of friendship is what
It's all about
Yeah, we thought we were different as the night is from the day
Until Twilight Sparkle helped us see another way
So get up, get down
If you're gonna come around
We can work together
Helping Twilight win the crown
So get up, get down
'Cause it's gonna make a sound
If we work together helping Twilight Sparkle win the crown
Hey, hey hands up now
We're sending a message to the crowd
Hands wave up, then comes down
We party together all around
Generous, honesty
Laughter, kindness, loyalty
Twilight helped us each to see
All that we can be
So get up, get down
If you're gonna come around
We can work together helping Twilight win the crown
So get up, get down
'Cause it's gonna make a sound
If we work together helping Twilight Sparkle win the crown!"
As they sang that one part, I was about to come in and sing mine... That is, until I heard the sound of something familiar...
"Mom!!"
I quickly turned to the source of the voice, and I was nearly in tears... "Crystal...!!" I quickly ran up to her and wrapped her around my arms as tight as I could, as tears would drip down my face. "Oh my gosh, I was so worried about you...!"
"I'm so sorry mom... It was my fault; I should've stayed with you..!" Crystal exclaimed also as her eyes watered. But then stopped as she got another look at me. "Mom...? Why are you dressed like that?" She asked.
"Oh uh..." I then froze in realization. "Ah!" I was about to go into a panic, but I looked down at Crystal who looked confused and worried. I simply took a breath and walked next to the door. "Follow my lead Crystal..." I slowly smiled at her, receiving a smile back in return. I then opened the door and started my part as planned. "I'm gonna be myself... No matter what I do! And if you're different, yeah, I want you to be true to you!" I sang walking around as Crystal stayed right next to me. "If you follow me, we'll put our differences aside. We'll stick together and start working on that school pride!"
"Jump up, make a sound!" All of us, including Crystal started to sing. "Stomp your hooves, turn around! Start now, make a change, gonna come around! Jump up, make a sound! Stomp your hooves, turn around! Canterlot! Wondercolts! Help her win the crown...!"
Sunset Shimmer was outside the cafeteria door looking angry. What the heck…? How did Crystal get here!? Sunset thought to herself. She then paused and turned to see both snips and snails dancing while also wearing the pony ears and tail. “Take. Those. Off!!” She exclaimed as they quickly listened taking off their ears. “I have something I need to to do.”
“Uh… What do you need Sunset Shimmer?” Snails asked.
“I want you to go to the gym where the Fall Formal is going to be, and I want you to trash it!”
“But why?” Snips asked. “Wouldn’t we just get in trouble?”
“Not if you use those photos you took of Twilight to frame her…” Sunset just let out a wicked grin, scrolling through the photos in her phone. “This one should do.” she said showing them the picture of Twilight attempting to kick a soccer ball.
“So should we PhotoShop this?” Snips asked looking at the photo
“No time. We’ll have to make due with what we’ve got.” Sunset said going to the nearest printer that supported wi-fi printing. “You’ll never be able to get your crown after this…” Sunset said to herself as she smirked printing the photos she needed.
The six girls, plus Crystal, just walked through the halls seeing other students wearing those pony ears and tails. “Doesn’t everybody just look fabulous?” Rarity asked taking pride in her work.
I was too focused on something else to notice Rarity’s question. Specifically on the girls staring at Crystal as we walked down the hall.
“Alright” Applejack spoke out. “I’ll be the first to say it: Who and what the hay is she and where is she from?”
“Uh…” I stammered and sighed. “Look there really is no easy way to say this but--” But before I could even finish what I was about to say, I noticed Sunset Shimmer, along with Snips and Snails, walking past us, towards Vice Principal Luna’s Office.
“Vice Principal Luna! Something terrible has happened!” Sunset said with fake innocent looking eyes.
“What do you mean?” Luna asked crossing her arms.
“Follow me, I’ll show you!” Sunset exclaimed leading Luna down the halls toward the gym where the Fall Formal was scheduled to be held.
All of us were a bit confused but decided to let it go for the moment. But it looked like a certain blue haired guitar player decided to follow the two to the gymnasium. Not even a half hour later, there was an announcement. “Twilight Sparkle, please report to m office immediately.” The girls and I gave a few skeptical looks at first but I decided to put Crystal back in my backpack and did just as the announcement said.
I looked around the halls at the other students who looked just as confused as I was. I then knocked on the door lightly only to hear a harsh. “Come in.” Not too quickly after I walked in, the door shut as a file was slammed onto the desk. “Do you find this sort behavior amusing Miss. Sparkle?” Luna asked with a serious tone of voice.
“I don’t think I understand.” I said scratching my head until Luna opened the folder in front of me. “W-what!?” I exclaimed looking at the photos. “Wait a minute, there must be some kind of mistake!”
“This IS you in the photographs, is it not?”
“Yes but I--”
“I’m sorry Miss. Sparkle but anyone who does this should not be allowed to participate in the Fall Formal.”
I was at loss for words. I didn’t know what to do now… should I tell her the truth in hopes she gives me my crown back!? No that would sound crazy!
Suddenly the door flung open behind me followed by a familiar voice. “Vice Principal Luna, I think you should look at this first.” Flash Sentry said holding out a cut out photo comparing it to the one Sunset Shimmer gave Luna. “Someone obviously altered these photos to make it look like Twilight trashed the gym.”
“Well… I appreciate you bringing this to my attention, Flash.” Luna sighed sitting down at her desk. “In light of this new evidence, you are of course allowed to participate in the fall formal.” Hearing her say that made me let out a sigh of relief, and I think I could faintly hear Crystal doing the same. “But I’m afraid we will have to postpone the dance until tomorrow night due to the damage that has been done to it.” Luna said walking out. “I’ll be sure to let my sister know about this latest development.”
“Hey uh…” Flash said making me turn to face him. “If you aren’t already going with anyone, do you want to be my date to the Fall Formal tomorrow night?”
I looked at him smiling blushing a bit. My mind was clouded by different emotions including happiness and confusion. “That would be…” I then shot my eyes back open in realization. “Tomorrow night!?” I exclaimed pushing him away. “No… no no no no no! I can’t! The portal; it’ll be too late!” I exclaimed running out the door.
“One no would’ve been fine…” Flash said looking down walking away.
“Mom slow down!!” Crystal exclaimed as I continued running to where the other girls were. As they were picking out clothes to wear for the Fall Formal, I simply ran into one of the changing rooms locking myself in.
“Everything okay in there…?” Rarity asked from behind the door.
“Yes!” I responded but started talking to myself quietly. “Except everything’s not okay… if I don’t get the crown back tonight, we’re going to be stuck here for another 30 moons! What am I going to do?”
Spike looked down for a moment thinking to himself. “We tell them the truth. They’re bound to understand if we explain everything.”
“But what if they don’t Spike? What if they actually think differently of me if I tell them…” I paused looking at myself as a pony in my reflection.
“Mom… I told you that it’s better to be honest, didn’t I?” Crystal said walking up to me. “Lying only causes problems…”
I looked down for a moment and sighed smiling at the two before hugging them. “I’m really glad you two came with me…” I quickly got up and opened the door with the girls all staring at me.
“You okay…?” Applejack asked.
“The Fall Formal isn’t happening tonight…” I said holding my arm.
“WHAT!?!?” Pinkie exclaimed dramatically.
“It had to be postponed because Sunset Shimmer had Snips and Snails ruin everything!”
“WHAT!?!?” Pinkie exclaimed again.
“But the Fall Formal has to happen tonight!”
“WHA--” Pinkie was about to exclaim again before Applejack covered her mouth.
I looked to the side and sighed. “You see…”
Before I could even start to explain everything… “You’re from an alternate world and you’re a pony princess there and the crown actually has a magical element embedded in it that helps power up other magical elements and without it they don’t work anymore and you need them to help protect your magical world, and if you don’t get the crown tonight, you’ll be stuck in this world and you won’t be able to get back for, like, really, really long time!” Pinkie Pie finished with a squee and big smile… leaving the three of us completely dumbfounded with mouths agape.
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure that isn’t the reason…” Rainbow Dash said with a mused look.
“Nope, She’s pretty much spot on.” Spike finally spoke out.
“It can talk!?” Rarity exclaimed while the others looked just as surprised.
“Oh, yeah. And back where I come from, I’m not even a dog! I’m a ferocious, fire-breathing dragon!” Spike said with a cocky smile.
“And I can talk too…” Crystal said nervously. “My name is Crystal Sparkle. Twilight is my mom.”
After that, all the girls excluding Fluttershy and myself looked at Crystal in complete shock as well. “Your… mom?” Rarity let out quickly looking back at both me and Crystal.
“Yeah, but I’m not supposed to be a pony right now… In Equestria, I’m supposed to be human.”
Spike just walked up to Rarity. “Sure could use a scratch behind the ears right about now.” Rarity just looked down at him and mumbled incoherently. “Uh… maybe later.”
“How did you know all that?” I asked still in shock at Pinkie’s quick explanation.
“Just a hunch.” Pinkie smiled.
“Wait a minute!” Applejack exclaimed. “Let me get this straight. You’re a pony?”
“You’re a princess…?” Rarity asked still in shock from before.
All I could do was nod and smile nervously. “Mhm…”
After explaining everything that happened with the gym being trashed, Mom and the others all went out of their ways to try and clean up the gym as quickly as possible. Seeing this, other students joined in and helped them since everyone wanted the Fall Formal to still happen as well. It didn't take too long… in fact in the gym closet, a certain Sunset Shimmer was hiding in there actually hoping they would be able to pull this off and get the Fall Formal to go back on again. Eventually after a few hours of work, the gym was restored and ready for the Fall Formal tonight.
“Do you think it’ll be enough to convince Celestia, Mom?” I said looking up at her.
“I really hope so Crystal… Otherwise we would have done all this work for nothing and I’ll be stuck here for 30 moons!” Twilight said in a sort of panic tone.
“Please!” Rainbow cut in. “With the way everything looks now, there’s no way Principal Celestia will keep it cancelled!”
“You’re absolutely correct Rainbow Dash.” Celestia smiled looking around at the gym. “You all did a wonderful job cleaning up… and I can without a doubt say that the Fall Formal will happen tonight!” the crowd of students cheered at the response. “...So you all better get home to prepare.”
“Thanks so much for helping us with this!” Twilight said waving at the students exiting the room.
“Are you kidding? This was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done!” one of the students exclaimed. “You definitely have my vote, Twilight.” the student said before leaving their vote. Each other student doing the same as well.
“Mom?” I asked looking up at her. “We will have enough time to get the crown back… right?”
“If everything all goes well then yes; that’s a guarantee sweetie!” Mom said hugging me close. Leaving the other girls still looking uneasy. “Eheh… uh…”
“Oh don’t mind us darling! Honestly this is just… well… oh how do I put this....” Rarity thought to herself.
“Crazy as all heck?” Applejack responded.
“I was trying to put it mildly…” Rarity mused.
I just giggled at the two. “I’m sure you’ll get used to it… this isn’t even the craziest thing that’s happened to us believe it or not.”
“I don’t believe it.” Fluttershy said getting reactions from the others. “I-I mean… um…” she just ducked her head down a bit.
“Girls girls!” Rarity exclaimed. “We can’t be wasting anymore time! We must look our best for tonight… and our best must be fabulous! To the boutique everybody!” without hesitation, Rarity ran out of the gym, leading the rest of us to follow… I just decided to stay with mom for the rest of the way.
At the boutique, all the girls we frantically looking for something to wear… except for Rarity who was trying to help me first. “Rarity you really don’t have to do this…” I said to her while she was stitching around me.
“Nonsense! The daughter of a pony princess deserves it! You will not be left out just because you were transformed into a pony!” Rarity smiled stiching my outfit.
Applejack walked over to us and just chuckled a bit. “Lookin’ fancy there Crystal.”
“Thanks Applejack… I think you look nice in that outfit.”
“Eh… It’s not somethin’ I would normally wear but… hey, you only get one fall formal right?” Applejack said petting my head a bit.
“Wait where’s mom?” I asked looking around in the room
“Oh well you see… I was going to make this a surprise…” Rarity blushed a bit. “Since you’re Twilight’s daughter, I decided to give you a matching outfit with hers tonight!” and with that she cut the line and tied the stitch. “And done!”
I go over to look at myself in the mirror. The dress actually fit my pony body perfectly! And it looks so cool! “Thank you so much Rarity! I love it!” I jump in her arms trying to hug her.
Rarity just giggled at me and returned the hug. “It’s the least I could do.” she looked at the changing room. “Twilight are you alright in there?”
“Just a minute…!” Mom said from inside the changing room. “Not exactly used to taking clothes off as a human…” making the girls giggle a bit. “Hey why is that funny??”
“It’s nothin’ sugarcube…” Applejack said mid chuckle. “Come on now! Show us what you got!”
“Alright alright…” mom huffed before walking out of the room, in basically a matching outfit similar to mine. “How do I look?”
“Absolutely wonderful!” Rarity exclaimed handing me to Mom. “Now you both are perfect for the Fall Formal tonight!”
“Then what are we all waiting for!?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “The limo is outside and there’s a party waiting for us!”
“LET’S PARTY!!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed leading everyone to the limo.
Mom was carrying me the whole way with Spike following closely behind her. She seemed to be holding onto me more tightly than usual. “Are you still worried Mom?”
She just sighed. “Of course I’m worried Crystal…” she said getting into the limo sitting down. “This is going to be our only shot at making it back home to Equestria with the crown… And if Sunset Shimmer manages to get her hands on it, there’s no telling what she could do with it!”
“Just relax!” Rainbow said patting Mom’s back. “It’s the winner of the Fall Formal that gets the crown, right? And with what Twilight did for the school today, there’s no way she won’t win!”
“Just try to have fun sugarcube… after all, after tonight, we won’t know when you’ll come back again.” Applejack smiled slightly.
“If she does come back…” Fluttershy said looking down a bit.
“Hey hey, what makes you think I wouldn’t want to come back to see you girls again?” Mom asked getting close to Fluttershy a bit.
“Well you are a princess darling… I can only imagine the responsibilities that must occupy someone of your rank.” Rarity responded.
“I may be a princess in Equestria Rarity, but honestly… nothing has really changed since i became one. For the most part I still live a normal life with my friends and my daughter.” Mom smiled hugging onto me. “Trust me… I’ll definitely want to see all of you again.” the girls and me just smiled at her.
At the Fall Formal… Sunset Shimmer was nowhere to be seen in public. She already knew that Twilight was going to win the vote. So she needed to come up with a backup plan.
“Um… So what’s gonna h-happen S-S-Sunset Shimmer…?” Snips asked Sunset who was looking around the storage room at the school.
“Y-y-yeah… It looks like Twilight is gonna get the crown before you do…” Snails responded.
“SHUT UP!! Don’t you think I know that!?” Sunset snapped before grabbing a sledge hammer. “I don’t care if she does win… She’ll give me the crown because she won’t have any other choice! Especially if she wants to return home again!” Sunset said she had lost it.
“What are you planning to do with that?” Snails asked kind of scared of her now.
“If I have to I’ll smash the statue in front of the school! I want you two to sneak into the Fall Formal and get me the unicorn that Twilight has with her…” Sunset huffed before heading outside to the portal.
Snips and snails looked at each other with a little look of concern before heading to the gym.
Back at the party, everyone was dancing to the music that played. Even Crystal was dancing to the music with the other students… sometimes levitating herself to get into eye contact with them. I just smile at her before looking back at the others while dancing. “Where do you think Sunset Shimmer could be?”
“Who knows? Maybe she knew she couldn’t win and just didn’t show!” Rainbow responded kind of loudly to be heard over the loud music.
“I hope you’re right…” I stop and look up at Principal Celestia making her way to the center stage up to the microphone.
“It’s so wonderful to see all of you here tonight… My sister and I can’t thank you enough for what you all did to make this Fall Formal possible tonight.” she said before taking an envelope out of her pocket. “But of course, there is still the matter of the Fall Formal Princess that needs to be announced... “ She smiled looking at the letter. “The award for Canterlot High’s newest Fall Formal Princess goes to… Twilight Sparkle!”
Everyone cheered for me as I walked up to the stage… as I breathed in a sigh of relief watching Principal Celestia placed the crown over my head… Everything was going perfectly and me and Crystal could finally--
“CRYSTAL!!!” I screamed running after snips and snails who were taking Crystal away. “Get back here with my daughter!!” I screamed with the others following close behind me.
It didn’t take long until the two ran outside heading toward the statue… where Sunset Shimmer was, holding a sledgehammer next to it!? “Get back!” Sunset exclaimed getting ready to swing the hammer.
“No don’t!” I exclaimed.
“If you don’t want me to destroy the portal, then give me the crown!” she demanded.
“No Mom don’t--!” Crystal shouted before Snips covered her mouth.
“Don’t you dare hurt her!!” I yelled trying to get closer.
“Give me the crown and you can return home with your daughter tonight. Or keep it and never return home again!”
…
“No.”
“What!?” Sunset shrieked. “Equestria! Your friends! Lost to you forever! Don’t you see what I’m about to do to the portal!?”
“Yes, but I’ve seen what you can do here without magic! Equestria may be able to survive without my element of Harmony but this place might not if I allow it to fall in your hands! So go ahead… destroy the portal! You are not getting this crown!”
Sunset shimmer just looked shocked and nervous before finally dropping the sledgehammer. “Fine… you win… let her go.”
Snips and Snails look at each other in confusion before letting Crystal go. She immediately ran up to me hugging me tight. “I’m so sorry Mom I should’ve been more careful…!”
“It’s okay sweetheart… it’s ok…” I hug her crying a bit.
“I still can’t believe you did that just for us Twilight…” Applejack smiled walking up to me.
“That was so awesome!” Rainbow exclaimed hugging onto me.
“No wonder you’re a princess in Equestria…” Fluttershy said… this causing Sunset Shimmer to finally snap.
“Yeah she’s REALLY special!” She exclaimed tackling me to the ground causing my crown to fall off my head. As she tried to grab the crown, Spike went to pick it up and ran off with it. “What are you all doing!? Grab him!”
Snips and snails both ran after Spike until the crown was levitated out of his mouth, being taken away by Crystal. “Crystal! Over here!” Rainbow yelled waving her arms at her.
Crystal stared at Rainbow for a moment… then quickly bolted inside of the school. “I’m not letting her get the crown!” Crystal exclaimed.
“No! Crystal come back!” I shout chasing after her, seeing Sunset Shimmer already on her tail.
“Get back here!” Sunset yelled. Eventually Crystal made it back into the gym and went to hide herself in the crowd of students. “Come out! I know you’re in here!” Sunset exclaimed looking around the gym. It doesn't take too long for Sunset to find Crystal within the crowd however. But just before she went to chase after her, I managed to tackle her down. “Get off of me!”
“Crystal! Run to the portal! Hurry!” I exclaim before getting pushed off. Crystal quickly bolted back out the door still levitating the crown.
-------------------------------------------
I pant hard running as fast as my hooves could carry me outside the school. I quickly head to the direction of the portal… until I suddenly felt myself being lifted into the air. “H-hey!” I yell out squirming in Snips’ grip. “Let go of me!”
“I’ll take that!” Sunset growled taking the still floating crown. “Finally…” she chuckled as Mom ran out of the school. “More power than I can ever imagine!” She said before placing the crown over her head. Suddenly just as she did, the crown started glowing and freaking out! Sunset Shimmer’s eyes suddenly began to glow as a giant beam of light formed around her levitating her in the air. Seeing this, Snips dropped me on the ground trying to get some distance from the magical beam. Mom quickly grabbed me and did the same, carrying me away.
Eventually after the light cleared, what was visible was a demonic looking creature. “Wh-what the…” I stammered looking up at Sunset Shimmer’s form. The demonic Sunset just examined her own form and laughed. She then turned to snips and snails transforming them into demonic beings as well.
“You have no idea how many hoops I had to go through just to get that crown when it really should've been mine all along!” Sunset exclaimed with a bit of distortion in her tone of voice. “But let’s let bygones be bygones. I am your princess now, and you will be loyal… to me!” She exclaimed before using her magic to tear off a chunk of the school from the front entrance.
All the students inside ran frantically screaming as Sunset approached them. Not too long after, she used her magic again only this time to mind control the other students! She turned to Snips and Snails. “Round them up and bring them to the portal.” She said before walking back outside seeing us again. “Spoiler alert: I was bluffing when I said I was going to destroy the portal. I don't want to rule over this pathetic little high school; I want Equestria! And with my own army behind me, I'm going to get it!”
“No you won't!” I exclaim jumping from Mom’s arms. “You won’t take over Equestria! We won't let you!”
“Crystal…” Mom said staring at me in shock.
Sunset Shimmer just looked at me for a moment before finally speaking up. “I already told you before little filly, you don't get it! Do yourself a favor and stay out of the way! You may have some magic, but your magic alone isn't enough to compare to mine!”
“Please Sunset! I know there's good inside of you! You just have to let it out!”
Sunset just groaned as soon as I said this. “I'm warning you for the last time Crystal… stay out of this!!” Sunset exclaimed in irritation.
“No! Because I won't give up on you Sunset!” As I spoke the others started to crowd around me. “Don't you remember when I was at your house? I was feeling cold… but you still felt bad for me and let me sleep with you to stay warm… sure it was one small thing, but it shows you do have a good heart!”
“Shut up. Shut Up. SHUT UP!!” Sunset screamed holding onto her head… before forming a giant fireball in her hands! “You and Twilight have been nothing but a thorn in my side for the last time! I’m done being nice! You both need to be dealt with NOW!” She exclaimed before launching the ball straight at us! Without a second thought, Mom and the others grabbed onto me holding tight… is this really how I’m going to die…? I shut my eyes tight as the ball of fire hurled toward us. There was an explosion… but I didn’t feel anything; I didn’t even feel any heat.
“Huh…?” I say opening my eyes. As I did, I could see a magical barrier was formed around us somehow. “W-what…? But… how…?”
“Impossible! How can you have this much magic!?” Sunset exclaimed in shock.
“I’ll tell you how…” Mom said walking up to Sunset slowly. “It’s because the magic contained in my element was able to unite with those that helped create it!” Suddenly without warning, everyone; including myself began to glow and rise in the air. Looking at everyone else, I could see all of them… their hair growing, some of them, including my mother, growing wings.
“Honesty!
Kindness!
Laughter!
Generosity!
Loyalty!
Magic!” Mom shouted as we all floated together. “Together with the crown, they create a power beyond anything you could imagine, but it is a power you don't have the ability to control!” I couldn’t believe what I was seeing… this is the elements power? “The crown may be upon your head Sunset Shimmer, but you cannot wield it; because you do not possess the most powerful magic of all: the magic of friendship!” With that she joined hands with the other girls and formed a heart with me in the center… and suddenly out of nowhere a rainbow started to shoot out of us and right at Sunset Shimmer!
“No! Stop!” Sunset shrieked as the rainbow encircled her giving her no chance of escape. “What’s… happening…!?” she screamed before the rainbow started taking effect on her.
“Here and in Equestria, it is the only magic that can truly unite us all!” Mom said as her eyes were glowing. There was a giant flash of light… and soon everything dissipated. When the light cleared, everyone who had been mind controlled had all been returned to normal, including Snips and Snails.
Looking back at where Sunset Shimmer was… there was a giant crater where she layed in. I dropped down and walked over to the crater. When she looked up at me she quickly looked back down in tears. “Sunset…?” I said slowly levitating myself down into the hole to go next to her.
“Don’t look at me…” Sunset said mid sobbing. “I’m so sorry Crystal… you tried to help me and I completely ignored you…”
I smile and helped Sunset on her feet. “I’m not mad… I knew you had goodness inside you… you just needed a little help to bring it out.” I go and hug her.
Surprised by the sudden hug, Sunset Shimmer slowly returned the hug to me. “How can I ever show my face to everyone after this? How could anyone ever forgive me?”
“Well… I think if you focused more on helping others rather than break them apart… I think these girls can.” Twilight said from about the crater. “After all the magic of friendship doesn’t just exist in Equestria… it’s everywhere. And I think you have a few friends that can help you seek it out.”
“That includes me.” I smile at her.
Mom just smiled at me just as Principal Celestia walked up to her with her crown. “I believe this belongs to you…” Celestia smiled placing the crown over her head. “A true princess in any world leads not by forcing others to bow before her, but by inspiring others to stand with her. We have all seen that you are capable of just that. I hope you see it too, Princess Twilight.” she smiled kneeling down to Mom.
“I do.” Mom responded smiling back at Celestia.
I just levitated myself out of the hole, getting Sunset Shimmer out afterward. “I guess we have to go home now, huh…?” I ask kind of sad.
Mom just looked up at the sky for a moment and smiled back at me. “I think we have a little time left…… huh?” she stopped and stared at me for a moment.
“Is something wrong Mom?” I asked tilting my head.
“N-no… Crystal it’s… your cutie mark!”
“My… huh!?” I exclaim looking back at my own… flank.
“It… looks kind of like yours except with hearts around it… wait so what does this make my talent?”
“I’m not sure… I’ve never seen another pony have a cutie mark mixed with mine before!” She said getting a closer look at it. “Well we can figure it out when we get home… But I’m so happy Crystal!” she quickly picked me up and hugged me tight. “I never thought I’d actually see you get a cutie mark but here you are right in front of me! Come on! We have to celebrate!” She smiled carrying me to the gym.
Everybody was having fun dancing again after the whole ordeal happened… even Mom was on the dance floor doing a very bizzare looking dance. I can’t help but laugh at the way she dances. One person with a camera eventually came over and pulled us to the side to take a picture. Right before she was about to take the picture however, I walked up to her to whisper to her. “Do you think you could take two pictures of us? So I can take a picture home with me.” The photographer smiled and nodded as I went back into place for the picture. With two quick flashes, she was able to capture one of the happiest moments I’ve ever had… And with Mom and her friends with me, I just know this won’t be the last.
“You won’t be gone too long right…?” Fluttershy asked as we stood by the portal.
“As much as I’d love to stay with you, and I really would… it’s just I have duties as a princess back in Equestria.” Mom smiled and looked back at the school. “As for Sunset Shimmer… You'll look out for her, won't you?”
“Of course we will... Although I do expect some sort of apology for last spring's debacle.” Rarity huffed looking back at the school as well toward Sunset Shimmer.
“I get the feeling she’s going to have a lot of apologies to give…” Mom said as I just looked back at Sunset. I kind of felt bad for her… I just ran up to her to go see her. “Crystal?”
I just walked up to her looking up at her. “Are you going to be okay Sunset?”
Sunset just looked down at me and slowly lowered herself down to pet my head. “I’ll be fine Crystal… in time. I appreciate the concern though.” she said looking at me closely. “Congrats on getting your cutie mark by the way… I’m sure it must be different getting one when you’re so used to being human.”
“Speaking of that… where is your cutie mark since you turned human?”
Sunset blushed a bit. “Well it’s--”
“Crystal! We have to get going; the portal is going to close soon!” Mom exclaimed before Sunset could give me an answer.
“Coming Mom!” I turn back to Sunset Shimmer. “I have to go… I’m sorry we had to meet the way we did.”
“I am too… now go on before the portal closes on you three.” Sunset said. I just nodded and ran back to the portal.
“You know Twilight… I think you really do look good with that crown on your head.” Spike said going up to the portal.
“You know what? I think I am starting to get a little bit more comfortable wearing it.” Twilight smiled and response.
“What about your wings?” I asked levitating myself up to her wings.
“Please... I’ve had to spend the last couple days getting used to hands.” she said holding her hands up to me. “Wings? I’m thrilled that’s all I’ll be dealing with back in Equestria.” She said before holding onto me, going through the portal while Spike followed.
As we passed through the portal going back to Equestria, the portal closed right away behind us. Eventually we emerged on the other side of the portal with me on top of Mom’s back. “Twilight! Crystal!” Fluttershy smiled waiting for us, as well as the others.
“You’re back!” Rainbow exclaimed flying to us.
“And you got your crown back!” Rarity beamed.
Right after Pinkie tackled us hugging us both. “I knew you three could do it!”
“We were so worried about you!” Applejack said wiping a tear from her eye.
“Hey, is that other Fluttershy okay by the way Crystal?” Fluttershy asked walking up to me. “She did seem really surprised about… well… everything when she came here.”
“Don’t worry… It was hard to believe for her, but eventually she got used to it.” I giggled abit.
“And what of Sunset Shimmer?” Celestia asked walking up to Mom. “Is she alright?”
“I think she’ll be alright…” Mom smiled. “I left her in good hands.” not too long after, Spike got thrown out of the portal. Mom just giggled a bit.
I just levitated myself off her back as we started walking down the hallway. The others asked Mom a bunch of questions back and forth… but to be honest, both of us were mostly tired from everything that happened. Plus I didn’t really get much sleep last night. I stopped in the middle of the hall and ran back to the mirror. “I’ll be right back, Mom!”
“Huh?” She responded turning to me. “Oh okay… don’t be too long!”
As I got to the mirror, I just looked at myself in it for a moment. “Okay Crystal… Where would a cutie mark go on a person?” I said looking at myself closely. “Well it’s not on my face…” I lifted my shirt up looking at both the front and back. “Nothing here either…” I put my shirt back down. “Hmm… what if…” I said slowly pushing my pants down. Quickly I gasp as I turn around while looking in the mirror. “It’s on my--!”
“Crystal!!” Rainbow exclaimed from the hallway. “Come on you’re gonna get left behind! Get your flank over here!”
“C-coming!” I exclaim quickly pulling my pants back up, running out of the mirror room. Catching up to the others I couldn’t help but smile seeing I still had my cutie mark… but at the same time I thought it I thought it was on a funny place.
“What were you doing back there sweetie?” Mom asked me as we were headed back to our room.
“Oh I was just checking something…” I giggled a bit.
“Hm?” she tilted her head. “What were you checking?”
“Well…” I whispered in her ear. “My cutie mark.”
“Ooohh… Oh!” Mom said but then looked a little confused. “Wait, you still have it? Where is it?”
“Well it’s… I’ll just show you in the room.” I giggled a bit.
“Uhhh… alright?” Mom said looking at me confused. Eventually not too long after we made it to our room and closed the door. “So where is it that you had to show me in private?”
“Well…” I quickly turn around and push my pants down again. I turned around to see her mouth wide open. “Mom?”
“I… uh… oh.” Mom said shaking her head. “So that’s where it was when I went there then… Wait then does that mean that the others have it too?” She stopped to think for a moment. “No nevermind… I don’t want to imagine it too much.”
I just pull my pants up again. “Should I show everyone else too?”
“I would wait until you get some sleep first…” We both looked at Spike who looked like he just passed out on his bed. Mom just giggled a bit. “He gets the idea… come on sweetie.” Mom says going into the bed with her wings open, waiting for me. I just got into the bed with her and she wrapped a wing around me. “Sweet dreams Crystal…”
I gasped opening my eyes. Looking around… I was back at the place that Mom had originally found me. “H-huh…?” I looked around in a panic. “Mom!? MOM!!” I just ran out crying looking frantically. “No! Don’t tell me that wasn’t real! Please!!” I kept running back and forth between the alley and the street. I started crying. “No… please I don’t wanna be alone again…” I just fell over in the alley crying with my eyes closed. “Please… Please…”
When I opened my eyes, everything was dark… black even. “H-hello?...” I said to myself. My voice just kept echoing through the darkness. “Is anyone there?... Am I really just by myself…?”
“She’s not a creature, and she’s a human being... I found her and I want to take care of her.” Mom’s voice echoed in the darkness.
“Please Miss. Sparkle! You MUST bring her back!” A male voice echoed right after.
“SHE WAS ALONE!” My moms voice yelled.
For a moment it was silent… I don’t understand… What’s going on?
“I didn’t know they let animals come to school…” This time it was Diamond Tiara’s voice I heard.
“All she deserves for a title is mangy, because that’s all she is, and that’s all she will be!”
“No!! You're NOT sorry!! All you do is say you're sorry, but then you just do the same thing again!! I'm sick of you bullying me like this! I didn't do anything to you! And I'm REALLY sick of you bullying my FRIENDS!!!" This time it was my own voice that I heard…
"Are you serious?? That was just a little buck!" from Diamond Tiara’s voice again.
"She isn't a pony though...!" from Cheerilee’s voice.
"She doesn't fit in! She will never fit in!!"
Suddenly without warning, there was a giant explosion that sounded… In the distance I could see Mom’s library… And it was on fire! “Mom!! Spike!!” I cried running toward the burning treehouse. But it just looked like it kept getting farther and farther… until I just fell through the floor screaming…
Suddenly my falling slowed down and I landed on a soft cloud. I could look up and see the night sky.
“You seem to be troubled.” A voice said from behind me… It was Princess Luna.
“Princess Luna…? Is that really you?” I said standing up on the cloud. “Is that really you or am I just dreaming…”
“Well this is a dream young one, but I really am here.” Luna said smiling at me before floating over to me on her cloud. “What seems to be troubling you Crystal?”
I just looked down and sighed. “I guess I was just having second thoughts about myself…”
Luna looked at me before pulling me close. “You fear that there are others that may still judge you, do you not?” I just nod in response. “Crystal… you have proved to everyone that you truly belong in Equestria along with everypony else… and you will never be alone again, I promise you.”
I just looked to the side for a moment. “I guess there is… one other thing that proves I belong here…”
“Hm?” Luna said looking at me. “And what’s that?”
“Well… I have a cutie mark now.”
Luna blinked and stared at me for a moment. “A…. cutie mark? But how?”
“Well… when me and Mom went to that other world, she changed into a person and I changed into a unicorn. Right before I left, my cutie mark appeared on my flank at the time.” I said slightly pulling my pants down. “Now it’s here.”
Luna just looked at it for a moment looking even more confused. “Isn’t that Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark?... well for the most part it looks like it… This is very unusual. I have never seen any other creature other than ponies with a cutie mark… let alone the same one as another pony… I suppose the difference is the hearts surrounding it. I wonder what this means. A love for magic perhaps?”
I then stopped and remember something Mom said earlier…
“Together with the crown, they create a power beyond anything you could imagine, but it is a power you don't have the ability to control! The crown may be upon your head Sunset Shimmer, but you cannot wield it; because you do not possess the most powerful magic of all: the magic of friendship!”
I looked back at Princess Luna. “Maybe it’s my love for friendship…”
Luna simply smiled at me and nodded. “That is a very strong possibility… and I can definitely see it.” Luna said before floating back in the distance. “Keep following that belief Crystal, and you will never doubt yourself again, I promise.”
Eventually I woke up from that crazy dream… I was under Mom’s wing again. I just sighed in relief “Thank god… and thank you so much Princess Luna…” I look back at Mom’s sleeping face. “And most of all… thank you for being my mother…”
“Soon… Very soon… Those ponies will pay for trapping me in that prison for all these years… When the time is right. Every Earth Pony, Pegasus, and Unicorn… their power will be mine and mine alone. That includes you Celestia…”
Eventually me, Mom, and the others had to get on the next train to leave the Crystal Empire and head back home… and after everything that’s happened, it’s honestly a relief to go back to Ponyville. I can’t wait to tell my friends about everything that’s happened! I smile pulling out the picture that was taken at the Fall Formal. “So when are you gonna tell them?” Mom asked looking over my shoulder.
“Huh? Tell them what?” I asked looking up at her.
“Oh come on! You were so excited about it earlier!” Mom exclaimed getting the others attention.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mom.” I giggled putting the picture away.
“Oh you don’t do you?” Mom looked at me with a smirk on her face. “Well I guess when we get home, I won’t have to show you those new magic lessons I was thinking about.”
Dang it!
“Alright alright! You win!” I groan
“Well? Go on!” Mom said smiling at me. “Something like this deserves recognition… and I just know Pinkie Pie will throw a party for it.”
“Mom seriously!” I blush starting to get embarrassed now.
“What’s Twilight goin’ on about sugarcube?” Applejack spoke up first.
“Yeah tell us!” Rainbow added.
“If it’s something I’d throw a party for, then it has to be exciting!” Pinkie bounced a bit also adding her statement.
“Pinkie you’d find any reason to throw a party…” Rainbow chuckled.
“Well I’m sure whatever Crystal has to say, I bet it’ll be wonderful.” Fluttershy said… everyone was walking up to me.
I just took a deep breath before finally speaking up. “I got my cutie mark!”
. . .
I looked at everyone who looked back at me with disbelief.. Everypony except my mother of course. I guess I have to show them don’t I? I just sighed before turning around and lowering my pants… for probably the 3rd time for this. Right after I heard a few gasps behind me… I really hope that’s just for the shock of the cutie mark. I turn my head to look back at them, almost all of them were in complete shock, especially Pinkie Pie who was literally mouth agape!
“B-But… but I thought…” Rarity sputtered.
“You could actually get a cutie mark!?” Rainbow exclaimed. “This is awesome!”
Right away Pinkie Pie ran up to me and hugged me tight. “This doesn’t call for just a party! This calls for a giant cute-ceañera!”
“A Cute cenwhata?” I asked looking at her confused.
“A cute-ceañera!” Mom said picking me up with her magic. “It’s a special party for young fillies who were able to get their cutie marks!”
“And that’s not all we’re celebrating!” Pinkie said putting Mom’s crown on my head. “We’re celebrating the first ever non-pony cutie mark! The first in Equestria…. Maybe even the whole world!” Pinkie takes a deep breath in. “And! We have to celebrate you, Twilight, and Spike getting the crown back!”
“If you want, I could send out invitations… if we have enough time, we could have the party set for tomorrow night.” Mom suggested.
“That would be perfect!” Pinkie beamed. Soon after, the train had come to a complete stop at Ponyville station. “Ooh! I have to get started right away! I’ll see you tomorrow at your cute-ceañera Crystal!” without another word, Pinkie Pie zoomed off… probably toward Sugarcube Corner.
The rest of us of us got off the train right after. “You should probably tell your friends about the party too.” Mom said heading toward the library. “I know they’ll be especially proud of you.”
I just looked back at her as she walked away. “I do wonder how they’ll react… We all pretty much thought that I couldn’t even get a cutie mark… going into a new world and turning into a unicorn myself… it’s all just crazy…” I sigh looking down. “I hope they don’t get upset over this…”
Walking through town lately has pretty much been normal for me now. Everypony looks at me the same way they would anypony else. A few of them wave or even say hello to me. It does feel nice… I just wish I had that kind of had that life before Mom found--... No. I’m happy for how things turned out. I wouldn’t trade this life for anything in the world!
----------------------------------------------
Cutie Mark Crusaders’ Clubhouse
“Girls? Are you in there?” I asked before climbing the ladder. I didn’t hear a response. I looked inside the clubhouse only to find the 3… holding their breath? “Uh… girls?”
Scootaloo gasps taking in a breath of air. “Dang it!”
Sweetie Belle just sighed. “I seriously doubt there’s even a cutie mark for holding your breath.”
“Well it didn’t hurt to try…”
“Huh?” Applebloom said looking at me. “Crystal!” she yelled running to me and hugging me with the rest of the girls following. “Where have you been??”
“We haven’t seen you in days!” Sweetie Belle added.
“Well… it’s complicated… but I came here to tell you something really important.” I smiled looking at them. “I came to invite you to a party…”
“Oh! What’s the party for??” Sweetie Belle asked intently.
“It’s a cute-ceañera…”
“A cute-ceañera?” Scootaloo tilted her head. “Did somepony from school get their cutie mark?”
“Was it Pipsqueak?” Applebloom asked right off the bat.
“No… not him.” I gulped rubbing the back of my head.
“Then… who’s it for?” Scootaloo asked.
“It’s… for me.” I blushed a bit before looking at them in their faces. They all looked like they couldn’t believe it. “See?...” I slightly lower my pants a bit; enough to show my cutie mark.
They just looked at me even more shocked and confused. “Even… you got a cutie mark…?” Scootaloo let out before looking down.
“Crystal… that’s amazing but…” Sweetie Belle started
“How did you even get it??” Scootaloo exclaimed. “And so fast too!”
“Scootaloo!” Applebloom exclaimed glaring at Scootaloo a bit. “You know she’s our friend! You should be happy for her!”
“At least explain how you got it then!” Scootaloo yelled.
I just slowly pulled out the picture from the Fall Formal. “When we went to the Crystal Empire, a lot of stuff happened… Mom got her crown stolen and we had to go to a different world to get it back… but when we got to that world…” I stopped and showed them the picture. The three of them just looked at it with disbelief. “I turned into a pony while Mom turned into a person.”
“But… in a couple of days…?” Scootaloo sighed. “You got it that fast…?”
“Scootaloo…” Sweetie Belle said nudging her. “Stop… we’re supposed to be happy for her. But you’re just making her feel bad.”
I just looked down and sighed. “I knew you’d be upset…”
“Wait wait…” Scootaloo said walking up to me. “I’m sorry… okay? It’s just frustrating that almost everypony has gotten their cutie mark. Everypony but us… I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.” she said hugging me. Eventually the others joined in on the hug too.
“And just because you have a cutie mark now, it doesn’t mean you can’t be a crusader anymore.” Sweetie Belle smiled at me.
“Of course!” I shout hugging them tight. “I’d never stop crusading with you! I love hanging out with you girls! And I bet when you do get your cutie marks, it’ll be amazing!”
“You really think so?...” Scootaloo asked.
“I know so! They’ll be the best cutie marks in Equestria!” I smile letting go of them. “My cute-ceañera is gonna be tomorrow night at Sugarcube Corner. Do you think you can come?”
“Are you kiddin’??” Applebloom chuckled a bit. “We wouldn’t miss it for anything!”
“I’ll see you all tomorrow then!” I say heading for the exit. “I’m gonna go invite Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon!” I smile going down the ladder. As soon as I get down, I stop myself. “You know what? I need to keep practicing with my magic… don’t wanna get rusty before I even learn more.” Both my hands started glowing as I levitated myself going toward Diamond Tiara’s house. If I could I would teleport like Mom does but I doubt I could ever get that good. But using magic now has at least been getting easier for me. I can’t wait for Mom to give me more lessons!
I don’t normally come here that often… but for some reason Diamond Tiara never really invites me over. We are friends now after all… right? I walk up to the door and knock on it. After a while somepony finally came down t open the door… it looked like a fancy dressed pink pony. “Uh… hi.”
The pink pony just stared at me and huffed. “We are not expecting any visitors. Good day.” she said before slamming the door in my face.
“...What? I didn’t even get to say anything!” I exclaim in front of the door.
“Pssst! Crystal!”
“Huh?” I say looking around for where the voice came from.
“Up here!”
I just look up at one of the open windows to the house to see who it was. “Diamond Tiara!”
“What are you doing here Crystal?” Diamond Tiara ask tilting her head.
“Do you have a little time to talk?”
“Well… I guess so.” without another word I just used my magic to levitate myself into her window and into her room. “Whoa… you really are getting good at that.” DT said as Silver Spoon walked into the room. “Oh yeah, I had company over… So what did you need to talk about?”
“Well I wanted to invite you two over to Sugarcube Corner tomorrow night. We’re throwing a big party… a cute-ceañera!” I smiled still getting excited.
“Oh?” Silver Spoon cut in. “Who’s the pony?”
“Was it one of the crusaders?” DT added.
“Eheh… actually funny thing.” I giggle blushing a bit.
“What is it?”
“See the thing is… I’m the one who got my cutie mark.”
Silver Spoon just blinked and stared at me. Diamond Tiara was the first to speak up. “Wha-- huh? But…” She stopped to look at where my mark would be. Once again I slightly lower my pants just enough to show my cutie mark. “What!?” she started poking at it a bit. “That’s real!”
“Diamond Tiara! What’s with all the noise you are making upstairs!?” A voice said from downstairs.
“Nothing mother!” Diamond Tiara just sighed. “Sorry about her by the way… If I knew you were coming, I would’ve answered the door myself… But wow… I had no idea you could even get your cutie mark!”
“Honestly for a while, I didn’t think it was possible either… I was able to learn magic sure; but I thought getting a cutie mark just wouldn’t happen.” I smiled at DT.
“It… honestly makes me feel even worse about what I said to you when we first met…” Diamond Tiara sighed looking down.
I just looked at her for a moment. “You look like something else is bothering you… do you want to talk?”
For a moment Diamond Tiara just zoned out looking at the door until she finally snapped out of it. “H-huh? No it’s nothing… really…”
“Well… you’ll be able to make it to my cute-ceañera, right? Pinkie said this is the first time that a non-pony has ever gotten a cutie mark… so she’s gonna make it a big party.” I asked walking up to her. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders will be there too… in fact I’m sure a bunch of ponies will be there.”
Diamond Tiara looked to the side. “I wish I could, but--”
“Oh come on Diamond Tiara!” Silver Spoon cut in. “Crystal has been trying to hang out with you for a while now! Now she’s here inviting you over to a big party! What’s stopping you?”
“You know exactly what’s stopping me Silver Spoon!!” Diamond Tiara snapped and coughed a bit. “Sorry Crystal… maybe in next party or something…”
“I better stay with Diamond Tiara tomorrow night too…” Silver Spoon added. “Thanks for inviting us anyways though.”
“Are you sure there’s nothing we can do for you to go?” I ask trying to help her.
“Not unless your magic can make me into somepony else…” DT muttered a bit.
“Huh?”
“N-Nothing! Just go home Crystal! I’ll see you tomorrow at school okay?” DT said with sadness in her eyes before walking out the door.
I just lowered my head before levitating myself back out the window. “Dang… I was hoping we could hang out as friends for once… Well I should get home for the night… Mom’s gonna start worrying about me if I come home too late.” I said to myself before heading home.
Back at the library, Mom was setting up a line of apples on the table for some reason. “Uhh… Mom? What are you doing?” I asked poking her wing.
“Did you already forget about your lessons? I told you I was going to give you one tonight.” Mom said before stepping back from the apples. “Sure you’ve pretty much mastered levitation… but that’s not all there is to magic of course.” she said before shooting one of the apples knocking it down. “There may be times when you need to defend yourself… and you can’t always run away.” The next apple she shot at, it turned into an orange. “Of course there’s also spells to completely change other items… that might take you a while to learn… For now just try to knock the apple off.” Mom said stepping to the side. I looked at the apple and tried to focus my magic on it… only to levitate it. “Try to focus on a different emotion rather than the one you feel when you levitate items… Try thinking about something that would make you mad instead.”
“Something that would make me make me mad…” I said to myself putting the apple down. I closed my eyes trying to think of something… Suddenly I started remembering the dream I had last night. Seeing the library on fire… imagining Mom being stuck inside… “nng…!” I did end up shooting the apple… but instead of knocking it off, the apple just exploded. I just stared at it in shock. Mom looked even more surprised.
“I said knock it off, not make it explode…! What kind of emotion were you feeling??” Mom said walking up to me. “What were you thinking about…?”
I just look down and sigh. “I was thinking about a dream that I was having last night… It was a bad dream.”
“What did you dream about…?”
“I saw the library and it was on fire… I thought you and Spike were stuck inside…”
“Oh dear…” Mom said hugging onto me.
“It felt so real to me… if anything happened to you I don’t know what I’d do…” I cried a bit hugging her.
“Don’t worry Crystal… I will always be here for you; And I will never leave you… understand?”
“Yeah… I understand Mom.”
Mom just pulled me into a tight hug. “I would risk my life for you… because if something happened to you too, I wouldn’t forgive myself.”
“I feel the same way about you, Mom…” I hug her tighter.
Mom smiled letting go of me. “Now try again… this time with less anger.” Mom said pointing to the orange.
I look at the orange and take a deep breath before shooting at it again… this time just knocking it off. “Whew…” I just sighed.
Mom just smiled at me. “Very good Crystal… you really are getting good at magic.”
“Actually… ever since I got my cutie mark, it’s actually felt easier to use lately.” I levitate myself up a bit. “I can even float longer than I usually do.”
“Hmm… well it is possible your cutie mark enhanced your magical abilities… Still there isn’t much known about you Crystal… In order to learn more about you, I’d probably have to go back to the world where I found you…”
“Then don’t worry about it.” I snapped looking away.
“Huh?”
“I don’t want to go back there, okay??”
“Crystal I--”
“I don’t want anything to do with that world! I don’t even want to be reminded of it!”
“Crystal! Let me finish!” Mom snapped. “I wasn’t saying I’d go there again. I was just saying; if you wanted me to learn more about your kind, I probably would have to go there… If you’re really that much against that, then I won’t, okay?”
I just sigh. “I’m sorry… part of that bad dream involved waking up back in that alley… thinking everything that happened here was all a dream.”
“It sounds to me like you had one heck of a nightmare then…” Mom said folding her wing around me. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”
“I know Mom… I know.” I smile looking up at her face.
“Now come on… let’s practice a little bit more before you go to sleep alright?”
After about an hour of shooting apples, I was finally starting to feel tired. “Mom, is there anything else I could try? I’m getting kinda bored at shooting apples…” I say looking at all the scattered apples on the floor.
“Hmmm…” she said levitating a spell book to herself looking through it. “How about a spell that lets you make a ball of light so you can see st night?”
“That could be useful…” I say holding my hand up.
“Alright… this should be an easy one; try to imagine the light from the sun… imagine being able to pull a piece of it and hold it right in your hand.” Mom said demonstrating herself having a ball of light come out of her horn.
“Alright... “ I close my eyes concentrating on what she told me yo think about… eventually the ball of light came out of my hand as well. “Like this?” Mom just stared at me for a moment then looked to the side lost in thought. “Mom…? Is everything okay?”
“Huh?” Mom said snapping out of it. “Y-yeah I’m fine sweetie… sorry was just thinking about something…”
“You said it was an easy spell, right? Did I do something wrong?”
“No of course not… It just amazes me how fast you can pick up on a spell like this. For someone who wasn’t born a pony, it's just mind boggling.”
“But that’s not a bad thing right…?”
“No! No! I think it’s fantastic actually.” Mom said rubbing the back of her head. “In fact, it just makes me more curious how much magic potential you really have. You could be an amazing magic user Crystal.”
“You really think so?” I smile at her.
“I do.” she smiled back kissing my cheek. “But for now I think that’s enough lessons for one night. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow after all.”
“Yeah… about that Mom…”
“Hm? what’s the matter sweetie?” Mom said showing a look of concern. “You don’t want to cancel your party do you?”
“No it’s not that… it’s Diamond Tiara. She can’t come to my party and I think it's because her mom won’t let her!” I exclaim.
“Well… that might be possible. But unfortunately there’s not much either of us can really do about it. We shouldn’t get involved with their personal lives.”
“But Mom…”
“No, Crystal… we shouldn’t get involved. The only pony who can help Diamond Tiara in this kind of situation is herself…”
“But--”
“No buts.” Mom said placing a hoof on my mouth. “Now off to bed, alright?”
I just sighed and nodded. “Okay Mom…”
----------------------------------
I just looked up at Crystal heading to the bedroom looking upset. I know she means well… she just needs to know that there are some things that only Diamond Tiara can fix on her own.
“Don’t you think you were kind of hard on her?” Spike asked looking up at me.
“She’ll be fine… This is more of a family issue anyways.”
“Are you sure there’s nothing you could do?” Spike asked. “Like talk to Diamond Tiara’s mother yourself and ask if she can come to the party? It wouldn’t be getting involved in their family issue, right?”
“I… guess you're right… Thanks Spike.” I smile hugging him. “Now you get some sleep too.”
“Yeah yeah…” Spike said going upstairs as well.
I just head out the door heading to Diamond Tiara’s house… Hope they don’t get too upset over visiting this late.
At Diamond Tiara’s House
I knock on the door to her house waiting for someone to respond. Eventually a pink mare came and answered the door… I recognized her as Spoiled Rich. “Uh hello…” I cleared my throat a bit. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. I know you barely know me but--”
“Princess Twilight Sparkle!” The pink mare beamed. “How could anypony not know who you are?? Please come in, come in!” I just mentally groan. “To what do I owe the honor of this visit?”
“Well the reason I came here is because of my daughter… She came here earlier wanting to invite your daughter to Sugarcube Corner tomorrow night. It’s for her cute-ceañera.”
“Her… cute-ceañera…?” she said just staring at me. “We are talking about the same daughter, correct? The one who isn’t even a pony?”
“Yes, the same person who you slammed a door to their face!” Diamond Tiara said from behind Spoiled Rich.
“What…?” I said looking at Spoiled Rich with a tone of aggravation.
“Diamond Tiara! Shouldn’t you be in bed??” Spoiled Rich shouted at her.
“She didn’t even give Crystal a chance to--!” Diamond Tiara got cut off by Spoiled Rich’s hoof.
“I said go to sleep, Diamond Tiara!” she yelled before turning back to me. “Little fillies have such an overactive imagination don’t they.” Spoiled Rich said laughing nervously.
I just lifted an eyebrow staring at her. “I don’t know… for some reason I get the feeling it’s not just her imagination.” I said starting to get in her face. “Forgive me… I originally didn’t even want to get involved with family issues, but now that my daughter is involved, I have no other choice but to get involved myself.” I look at her with a look of skepticism. “Perhaps you’d like to explain why you slammed the door in my daughter’s face… now.”
Spoiled Rich just looked to the side starting to sweat. She looked like she was in a panic. “L-look can’t we forget this whole thing ever happened?”
“I don’t think so.”
“P-please Princess Twilight, I would never intentionally try to do anything to upset someone as lovely and p-powerful as you…” Spoiled Rich stammered lowering her head.
“She’s just trying to suck up! She always sucks up to royalty!” Diamond Tiara blurted out.
“Diamond Tiara, I swear to you before this night ends I’m going to--!”
“You’re going to do what?” I said this time with my horn already glowing.
Spoiled Rich looked absolutely terrified at this point. She looked like she was about to run. “You know what? Why don’t you go to Crystal’s cute-ceañera? I-I’m sure it’ll be a lot more fun than staying home!” Spoiled Rich stammered looking at me. “I-in fact why wait?? Why don’t you go have a sleepover with her right now?”
“But… I’m already with Silver Sp--”
“Bring her with you!” Spoiled Rich shouted back at Diamond Tiara before turning back to me. I just simply raised an eyebrow at her. “Please don’t mention this to any of the royal parties in canterlot!”
“If I ever find out you were rude to my daughter again, I will.” I said glaring at Spoiled Rich. “For Celestia’s sake; you’re a grown mare and part of the school board! Set a better example for the younger ponies! Especially your daughter!”
Spoiled Rich just ran back inside before Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walked outside. As soon as they did the door slammed shut. Followed by the sound of screaming and breaking glass. So much for not getting involved… I just sigh looking at the two fillies. “Sorry for getting you two involved like that.”
“Honestly…” Diamond Tiara spoke up. “I’m kind of glad you talked to her like that. When Crystal told me about her cute-ceañera, I definitely wanted to go! But the only way I could’ve gone at that point would be if I lied, and I’m sure Crystal wouldn’t be happy if I did.”
I just smiled at Diamond Tiara. “You really have changed a lot since that day… I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks… I’m still thankful for her saving me.” Diamond Tiara smiled back at me.
I just giggled a bit. “Come on… it’s getting really late.” I said lifting the two fillies on my back, heading back home.
On the way back Diamond Tiara giggled a bit. “You know… you really dealt a big blow on my mother’s pride like that.”
“I wasn’t trying to… I was just upset that she would treat Crystal that way… she even knew she was my daughter and did it anyways!” I exclaimed.
“Yeah… and her dad isn’t that much better.” Silver Spoon spoke up. Of course saying this kind of made Diamond Tiara a bit sad. “Wait I didn’t--”
“No it’s fine, I get it.” Diamond Tiara sighed. “Crystal is really lucky to have you for a mom, Princess Twilight.”
“Just Twilight is fine… you don’t need to be so formal with me.” I say getting close to the library.
“Sorry…”
“It’s fine Diamond Tiara.” I open the door. “Now why don’t you two go inside and see Crystal? She might still be awake.” They both nodded and headed inside the house. Tomorrow is going to be a big night… I hope it all goes well.
I just shot my eyes open screaming, panting hard. “C-Crystal! What’s wrong!?” Diamond Tiara exclaimed seeing me scream…. Wait.
“D-Diamond Tiara?? Silver Spoon?? When did you both get here??” I ask looking between the two.
“Well… it’s a long story…” DT said rubbing the back of her head. “Your mom kind of came by last night and was basically trying to invite me over herself… the only reason Mother listened in the first place was because your mother is a princess.”
“Your mom can get pretty scary when she gets mad…” Silver Spoon added.
“Wha-- she got mad at her?” I asked staring at her in shock.
“Well she kind of found out what Mother did to you when you tried talking to her… kind of from me.” Diamond Tiara said lowering her head a bit. “Sorry.”
“We would’ve told you as sooner, but you were already asleep.” Silver Spoon added. “By the way, I didn’t exactly get a chance to take a good look at your cutie mark back at Diamond Tiara’s house… it really is special looking.”
“Wait if you didn’t see it then how--” I stop myself in realization. “Did you pull my pants down in my sleep!?” I blush exclaiming.
Silver Spoon just tilted her head. “Is there something wrong with that?”
“It’s still different!” … Why do I suddenly get the feeling of dejavu?
The two just laugh a bit. “Relax Crystal!” Diamond Tiara said giggling.
“Girls! It’s time for school!” Mom exclaimed from downstairs. “Hurry or you’ll be late!”
“Coming Mom!” I exclaim running downstairs while Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon followed.
“Did you girls sleep alright?” Mom asked.
“Yeah about that…” I started. “Is everything going to be okay? They kind of told me you went over there.”
“It’s nothing you have to worry about, okay sweetie?” She says kissing my forehead. “Just head to school… in fact invite a few ponies to your party when your there!”
“How many ponies am I allowed to invite…?”
“It’s your cute-ceañera, Crystal… invite anypony you want!”
“Thanks Mom!” I smile hugging her tight before heading out the door with the two. “Come on! Don’t wanna be late!” I said starting to run, feeling excited.
“Whoa! Hang on!” Diamond Tiara said trying to catch up. “I get that you’re excited for your cute-ceañera, but we still have hours to go before that.” Diamond Tiara said starting to look annoyed. “Crystal stop!”
“Huh?” I stopped turning to her.
“Are you okay? Even for you this kind of excitement is unusual… Is there something else going on?”
“No I’m just trying to focus on the party tonight is all… nothing is wrong.”
“I didn’t ask if something was wrong…” She says walking up to me. “Earlier this morning, you were screaming… do you want to talk about it?”
I just sighed. "Diamond Tiara can we please talk about this when we get to school? I really don’t want us to be late.”
Diamond Tiara just looked at me for a moment. “Alright… but we aren’t letting this go, got that? We’re supposed to be friends now.”
“Trust me… it’s not something worth mentioning right now anyways.”
Going into the school, we could see Miss. Cheerilee getting ready for class still. I just went to my seat close to the other crusaders. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon sat with us as well. For some reason I yawned still feeling tired… maybe these dreams are affecting my sleep too.
“Good morning class!” Cheerilee beamed at us. “This morning we have a special guest with us who will be giving us a special lesson today.”
“A special guest?” I asked.
“Is it a celebrity pony?” Scootaloo asked.
“Like Sapphire Shores? Or Countess Coloratura??” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Uh… No.” Cheerilee answered. “But he is well known… Class, do you remember our field trip to the Canterlot sculpture garden?”
“Not really…” I answered trying to think.
“Oh, well this was before you came to Equestria, Crystal.” Cheerilee answered turning to the rest of the class. “There was one statue in particular that I’m sure you young ponies remember… it was the same one a certain few fillies were arguing about.” Saying this made Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom lower their heads a bit.
“I believe that is my cue!” a male voice said seemingly out of nowhere. Then suddenly, the chalk at the board started floating by itself and drawing a picture on the chalkboard… It looked like a strange creature. “Good morning class!” The voice said at the same time the picture moved. Wait a second… I know that voice!
The picture then popped out of the chalkboard and came to life as a living creature. “Whoa…” Some of the ponies said staring at the creature.
“In case you forgot the name of this pony: his name is Discord. And under strict supervision, he is able to cause chaos any way he pleases… again… very. strict. supervision.” Cheerilee mused emphasising how serious she was.
“Oh perish the thought Miss. Cheerilee…” Discord said pulling out his tooth, using it as chalk for the board. “You may know about the magic of friendship, but I’m here to teach you the magic of chaos!” He snapped his fingers and suddenly everyone in the room started floating! “Let’s start with a lesson in gravity.”
“This is so awesome!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “It’s like I’m actually flying!”
“I’m not enjoying this!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
“Now, who can tell me how gravity works?” Discord asked floating around the classroom.
“How in the hay should we know that??” Applebloom asked flailing in the air.
“It’s what keeps us on the ground.” I say using my magic to keep me stable in the air.
“Very goo--” Discord said then stopped to look at me. “Pardon me, but I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting.” Discord said before teleporting to me. “I don’t think I’ve seen your kind in Equestria before.”
“O-Oh, um… my name’s Crystal.” I answered kind of just floating up to him.
“Oh! So you’re the Crystal that Fluttershy has mentioned before!” Discord chuckled. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
“You know about me?”
“Well a human being in Equestria isn’t exactly something you see everyday… let alone one adopted by a unicorn… Oh I suppose I should say princess now.” Discord said before making a fake purple horn and a pair of fake purple wings appear on me.
Cheerilee cleared her throat. “Perhaps we could stay focused on the lesson?”
“Oh, yes yes how rude of me.” Discord joked making the wings and horn disappear. He then teleported behind the teacher’s desk and was suddenly wearing a teacher’s uniform. “Now then… to give you a direct answer to what exactly gravity is: it is the force that attracts a body toward the center of the planet, or toward any other physical body having mass… it also depends on how big the planet can be.” He said making a mini planet appear. “For example, on a normal sized planet like this one here, it’s what we’re used to now.” he says before snapping his fingers again, dropping us back to normal gravity. “But on a smaller planet, or even the moon,” He starts shrinking the planet and at the same time, making us a lot lighter. “Gravity decreases, making you much lighter than you’re used to.”
The lesson would go on for about an hour… and honestly his lessons were really fun! I don’t think I’ve been this excited for a class since the first day of school! “I apologize but that is all the time I have…” Discord said looking kind of bored, making a clock appear.
“Well before you go, does anypony have any questions for Discord?” Cheerilee asked. I just raise my hand. “Yes Crystal?”
“Are you busy tonight, Discord?” I ask getting a few looks from my friends.
“Hmmm…” Discord says making an oversized planner appear in front of him flipping through the pages. “Why do you ask Miss. Sparkle?”
“Well, I actually have an announcement for the class.” I say getting up, going to the front of the class. “Tonight there will be a party in the Sugarcube Corner. It’s… for my cute-ceañera.” Even Discord looked at me like he was surprised.
“Forgive me, Crystal…” Discord said floating down to me, taking a long look at me. “Are you insinuating that you have a cutie mark?” I just nodded in response. “But I see no mark.”
“It’s… under my clothes.” I said then looked at Cheerilee. She just looked surprised and confused at the same time. “I got it when I was in a different world.”
“W-wha--” Cheerilee sputtered. “Another different world!?” she exclaimed putting a hoof on her own head.
“Yup…” I giggle a bit. “Me and Mom both went into that world… When we did, both of us changed.” I say pulling out a picture, showing it to Cheerilee. Discord kind of hovered over to look as well.
“These beings kind of look like you…” Cheerilee said looking at the picture. “Well different colored of course… wait.” she stopped and looked at the purple one. “Is that Twilight??”
“Mhm.” I nod and then pointed at the one pony in the picture. “Can you guess who that is?”
Cheerilee looked even more shocked. “Crystal, is that you!? As a pony!?” she exclaimed. “A unicorn even!”
“What!?” Diamond Tiara spoke up. “You didn’t mention that part Crystal!”
“Well I knew it wasn’t permanent, so I didn’t think it was that important.” I said before Discord levitated me to take a closer look at me. “Whoa!”
“Curious…” He said to himself. “Would you mind showing me your mark as well?”
“Uugghh…” I said to myself.
“What’s the issue?”
“I don’t mind showing ponies my cutie mark. It’s just the spot where it is that’s embarrassing…” I blush a bit. “Everytime someone asks to see it, I have to pull my pants down…”
“Hmm… may I see it? It will be the last time, I promise.” Discord said. I just sigh before lowering my pants a bit to show Discord. “Well… that certainly is an interesting cutie mark. It’s as if Twilight was actually your birth mother.” Discord chuckled a bit. “Regardless, there’s an easy solution to this.”
He then snapped his fingers and there was a flash of light around me for a second. “Huh?” I said looking at myself. On myself I saw a different shirt, the same color as me from when I was a pony, and on the center of it was my cutie mark! “This is perfect!” I exclaim pulling my pants back up. “Thanks Discord!” I say hugging him.
Surprised by the hug, Discord just patted my back. “Consider it an early gift from me.”
“Do you think you could go to the party tonight too?” I ask getting excited again. “You could probably make it even more exciting!”
“You want me to be at your party?”
“Of course I do! You’re awesome!”
“Well…” Discord said before burning his planner. “I suppose I could make some time to be there… Though I’ll be honest; not everypony has exactly warmed up to me yet… especially with the elements of harmony being held on stand by…” He said muttering that last part.
“That’s crazy! You can do so many crazy things!” I smile levitating myself. “Please Discord you have to come to my party!”
Discord just stared at me kind of surprised… I don’t think he was expecting that kind of response. “Well then you can definitely expect me to be there… I’ll just have to let Fluttershy know as well.”
“Thanks Discord!” I said hugging him again. “You’re an awesome friend!”
Discord just looked down at me with a puzzled look on his face. “Twilight hasn’t mentioned anything about me, has she?”
“Huh?” I ask looking up at him. “Mentioned what about you?”
“No no! It’s nothing! Nothing at all!” He smiled teleporting out of my hug. “I’ll be sure to be there tonight… with a few extra surprises.”
“Surprises?” I ask smiling wider. “What kind of surprises??”
“Wouldn’t be much of a surprise if I just told you now would it?” he says looking at the time again. “Oh I should get going if I want to prepare! See you tonight young Crystal.” He said before leaping into the air, vanishing instantly.
I just look back at the class who was just staring at me in shock. “So uh…” I said breaking the silence. “You think you can all make it to my cute-ceañera tonight?” As soon as I asked, the whole class cheered making me fall back.
“This is gonna be the best party ever!” Scootaloo cheered.
Back at Sugarcube Corner, a certain draconequus had teleported there, wearing a hard hat and was looking through blueprints. “I wonder if she’d like amusement park…”
“Huh?” Pinkie Pie said from the window before she walked outside? “Discord?? What are you doing here?”
“Oh hello again Pinkie Pie!” Discord smiled petting the pink pony. “I suppose you’re busy planning for Crystal’s party… I for one am planning something exciting for her as well!”
“Wha?” Pinkie said tilting her head. “How did you hear about that?”
“Oh, I was just volunteering with a special science lesson at the school where she just happened to attend… truth be told, it was more Fluttershy’s idea but I just can’t say no to her.”
“Was the amusement park her idea too?”
“Er… well… no, not really.”
“Then why would you--” Pinkie stopped in realization and gasped with a wide smile. “You like Crystal as a friend too, don’t you!?”
At this, Discord just teleported Pinkie back into the kitchen, locking the door to Sugarcube Corner. He then puts a sign in front of Sugarcube Corner saying. ‘Sorry, Closed for Construction.’ “Whew… well there’s no time to waste. Time to get to work~”
“So what was it like changing into a pony??” Diamond Tiara asked as we were walking to Sugarcube Corner.
“Honestly I thought it was pretty fun pretty much switching places with mom… the only downside I guess would be me technically being smaller than literally everyone.”
“But what about your magic? Were you able to control it better?”
“Well I was so used to sending my magic through my hands that I had to change my focus on my horn at the time.” I chuckled a bit. “If I’m going to be honest, I think I’d rather stay a human in a pony world more than a pony in a human world.”
Diamond Tiara giggled at my response. “Yeah it would be weird if you were a pony now. Especially after how used to you everypony is now.” Getting close to Sugarcube corner, we kind of just walk into a giant shadow. “Huh? Did it just get darker or something?” she said before looking up. “What the hay is that!?” she exclaimed looking at the giant floating object. It was basically giant paper ball that hovered over most of Ponyville...looking closer at it, I could see Discord’s face on it.
“Wait… Discord?” I asked looking up. Suddenly I could only hear the sound of banging metal and jack hammers inside the ball. “What the heck is going on in there??”
“Why it’s your surprise of course!” Discord said before popping in front of me, wearing a hard hat and covered in oil it looks like.
“It’s huge!” exclaim looking at the ball. “Is this even allowed??” I asked looking up at the giant ball.
“Not to worry young Crystal.” he said petting my head. “If anypony get’s upset, it’ll be toward me.”
Suddenly out of nowhere the door to Sugarcube Corner blasts open. “What the!?” I exclaim, seeing it was Mom that blasted the door open with her magic.
“Are you crazy!?” Mom exclaimed at Discord. “We were in there and I still have to get back home to prepare Crystal’s pres--!” Mom cut herself off as soon as she saw me. “C-Crystal!” She smiled sheepishly. “You’re back already!”
“Uh… Why did you shoot the door down?” I asked looking back at the door to Sugarcube Corner.
“Because Discord over here locked me and Pinkie Pie inside!” Mom exclaimed. “What are you even doing here anyways!?”
“I’ll have you know that I was invited to be here.” Discord said before disappearing and reappearing on the cutie mark on my shirt. “By young Crystal here!” He exclaimed before reappearing in front of us.
“You did what!?” Mom exclaimed at me.
“What’s wrong with inviting him?” I asked. “He’s awesome!”
“Sweetie, I get that you’re trying to make friends with everypony but--”
“Come on, Mom!” I begged. “It’s not like he’s doing anything wrong!”
Mom just looked up at Discord who had a halo floating above him somehow… until it fell on the ground soon after. He just picked up the halo and tossed it over his shoulder, smiling at us again. “What are you planning with this??” Mom asked pointing up at the paper ball.
“If I told you, I’d ruin the surprise.” Discord said crossing his arms and literally zipping his mouth shut.
Mom just groaned before magically unzipping Discord’s mouth. “I swear, if whatever you’re doing hurts Crystal or her friends in any way, I will not hesitate to gather the elements.” Discord looked down at Mom, looking kind of surprised. “I mean it!”
Discord chuckled a bit. “Whatever you say Princess Twilight.” he laughed before disappearing again. When he did, she sound of metal banging and jack hammers could be heard again.
Mom just looked up at the ball kind of irritated. “Uh… Mom?” I say trying to snap her out of it.
“Huh?” Mom said looking at me. “Oh sorry Crystal… was just thinking about a few things.”
“Did Discord do something wrong…?”
“Right now… I can’t tell.” Mom said sighing. “It honestly confuses me why Discord is doing all this… the only pony Discord really considered as a friend was Fluttershy.”
“Well he was really cool in class today.” I say before tugging on my shirt a bit. “Look! He even gave me a present!”
“Discord gave you that?” Mom asked even more surprised. “Wait, what was Discord even doing at your school anyways?”
“Giving the class a science lesson about gravity…” I answer looking to the side.
“That… sounds pretty normal.” Mom responded.
“While making the room zero gravity!” I exclaimed giggling making Twilight hold a hoof to her face. “That or made us zero gravity… well whatever it was, it was awesome and fun!”
“Nopony was hurt right?”
“Of course not, Mom!” I exclaim hugging her. “Please! Just trust him!”
Mom just looked at me still in mid thought before she just sighed. “Alright Crystal… If you think you can trust him, then I’ll also give him the benefit of the doubt.”
“Yes!” I smile hugging Mom tighter.
“But if things start getting out of hoof, let me know, okay? He has a tendency to take things too far.”
“It’ll all be fine, Mom! I promise!” I said levitating myself a bit in excitement.
“Well don’t get too excited yet.” Mom smiled. “We have a couple of stops to make before your party tonight… Diamond Tiara, would you want to join us?”
“O-Oh!.. Well… I’d like to but my mother is probably waiting for me to get home myself…” diamond Tiara stammered.
“Are you sure?” I ask going down to her.
“Yeah… but I will come back tonight, I promise.” she said before hugging me and walking off. “I’ll see you later Crystal!”
“Well… alright... See you.” I said before turning back to Mom. “So where do we have to go to first?”
“Well first we have to stop by Rarity’s boutique… she says she has a little surprise for you.” Mom said smiling at me.
“Do you know what it is?”
“Well of course I do!” Mom giggled a bit. “But it’s for you to find out.” She said leading the way to Rarity’s boutique. “And I just know you’re going to love it.”
“I can’t wait to see it then!” I cheered jumping on Moms back. She just laughed carrying me to the boutique.
------------------------------------------------
Upon approaching the boutique, suddenly there was a high pitched scream coming from inside. “What the heck was that!?” I asked looking through the window.
“It sounded like Rarity… come on.” Mom said levitating me on her back before running inside.
Entering the boutique, we saw that everything was a mess; cloth everywhere, clothes ripped apart with claw marks in them… and Rarity on the ground crying with her mascara running. “R-Rarity…?” I asked walking up to her.
“No! Crystal don’t look! Please!” Rarity exclaimed looking like she was trying to cover something.
“Rarity what’s wrong??” Mom asked trying to look.
“I’m so sorry Twilight! It’s completely ruined!” Rarity cried covering her own face.
“What happened!?” Mom asked starting to get worried.
“I don’t know!” Rarity exclaimed. “For some reason Opal was acting crazy today and I have no idea what’s gotten into her!” she exclaimed glaring at Opal.
“H-how bad… is it…?” Mom asked hesitantly. Rarity just motioned her head for Mom to come look. She put me down and went to take a look herself.
“Sweet Celestia…!” Mom exclaimed staring at the covered object. “Why!?” Mom exclaimed looking at the cat. “Why today!?” Mom said before groaning. “Are you going to be able to prepare a new one in time for tonight?”
“For tonight!?” Rarity exclaimed. “Twilight, do you realize how long this took me to make!?”
“Please Rarity, there has to be something you can do!” Mom said looking like she was starting to panic… I think I saw some of her hair stand out.
“Not on my own!” Rarity whispered to her. “You know something like this doesn’t even exist in Equestria! You probably know better than I do since you went to a world where they all wore clothes like this!”
“Okay. OKAY!” Mom stammered before looking to me. “Sweetie, why don’t you go and see Fluttershy for a bit while I help Rarity over here, okay?”
“W-Wait! Maybe I can help.” I say trying to look at what Rarity was covering.
“NO!” Mom exclaimed pulling me back with her magic. “You wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise would you??” Mom exclaimed. She was sweating now.
“Okay then… why not just ask Discord to help?” I ask.
“Discord!?” Rarity exclaimed. “What in the world would he know!?”
“Well for one, he made this for me in like a second.” I say tugging on my cutie mark shirt.
“W-wha?” Rarity said looking at my shirt. “Discord made that for you?”
“Yeah, so I wouldn’t have to keep pulling my pants down to show my cutie mark...” I said blushing a bit.
“Still… that’s not like him.” Rarity said placing a hoof on her head. “Well we’ll think about it. For now, go see Fluttershy. Maybe you can help her take care of the animals for a bit.” Rarity said smiling, but still trying to hide what she was covering.
“Alright…” I huffed walking out of the boutique. “Jeez, everypony is going crazy today…” I say to myself heading to Fluttershy’s cottage. I just stopped to look at the ball in the sky again… only this time it looked like there was a loading bar that said 90% on it. “What-- is he building something or downloading something??” I asked looking up at it before shaking it off laughing.
At Fluttershy’s Cottage
“Oh…” Fluttershy said looking around her yard. “How is this going to work… Do I just ask her to come by after the party? Or maybe I should just bring them to the party… Oh but there might not be enough room…”
“Fluttershy?” I asked walking up from behind her. She just shrieked falling forward. “Oh jeez, I’m sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!”
“N-no no! It’s alright Crystal.” Fluttershy said back on her hooves. “Actually I’m glad you came… I’ve been trying to figure out what to do here.”
“What did you need?”
“Well… This was supposed to be a surprise but, I just couldn’t decide on what to do…” she sighed. “Have you ever wanted to have a pet?” she smiled sheepishly.
“You’re giving me a pet!?” I exclaimed smiling back at her.
“Shhh!” Fluttershy hushed. “It was supposed to be a surprise for you… please don’t tell Twilight that I told you about it.”
“I promise I won’t say a word.” I say giggling a bit.
Fluttershy just smiled and lead me to where the animals were. “I’ve got a lot of lovely animals who would just love to stay with you.” she said before animals started gathering around her.
“Whoa…” I say looking at all the animals. They ranged from cats and dogs to bears, birds, rabbits, squirrels…... “There’s… so many animals to choose from.”
“Well pick any animal you like.” Fluttershy smiled.
“Hmmm…” I think looking at all the animals. I then look toward the little brown puppy and giggle a bit remembering how Spike turned into a dog when we visited that world. “Is that puppy a boy or a girl?” When I asked, the puppy ran at me excitedly.
“Oh, that’s a girl.” Fluttershy said walking up to us. “She was actually born just a few months ago.”
“I think I want her.” I smile petting the puppy.
Fluttershy just smiled giggling a bit. “Well do you have a name for her?”
“Hmm…” I thought for a minute. “Do you like the name Cocoa?” I asked petting the puppy. She just barked excitedly licking me. “Cocoa it is then!” I laughed getting licked.
“Then Cocoa will be waiting for you at your party, Crystal… Thank you so much for helping me choose.” Fluttershy smiled looking kind of relieved.
“Is there anything else I could help with?”
“Oh don’t worry Crystal. And don’t work yourself too hard ok?” Fluttershy said heading inside her cottage. “This is your special day after all.”
“I guess I just can’t help it… I really love to help others.”
“And that’s what makes you special, Crystal! You love everypony.”
“Hey… I have a question Fluttershy.”
“Hm?” she stopped to turn to me. “What is it?”
“Well, it’s about Discord… how did you and him become friends originally?”
“Discord…?” Fluttershy asked. “Oh that’s right! He was volunteering at the school today. Well… it’s actually a long story.” I just sat on the ground smiling ready to listen. Fluttershy just laughed a bit. “Well… Discord wasn’t always like this… in fact, he used to cause chaos to just about everypony in Equestria.”
“Wait… he used to be bad? No wonder Mom didn’t trust him… He just seems really nice though.”
“Oh, did you actually speak with him?”
“Well yeah, me and him are friends now… He said he’s even getting a surprise ready for me too.” I say before pointing at the giant ball over the town in the distance.
“Wait Discord was the one that put that there??” She asked staring at the giant ball.
“Yup! Also he gave me this shirt.” I say tugging on it a bit to show her.
Fluttershy just looked at me, looking pretty surprised. “That’s… really?” Fluttershy stammered a bit.
“Is that really so hard to believe?”
“No of course not! I know Discord has changed and I trust him completely… I’ve just never seen him making friends with anypony other than myself. Sure he likes to joke around with the others, but nothing really serious.”
“Maybe he was just happy to meet someone who trusts him?” I asked shrugging a bit.
“That could be possible.” Fluttershy said before looking at the time. “Oh! You really should be heading back home Crystal… your party is going to start soon!”
“Oh right!” I exclaim running towards home. “I’ll see you at the party Fluttershy!”
“See you at your party Crystal!” she said waving at me.
Entering the library, I could see that Mom was gift wrapping something. “Hi Mom!” I exclaim catching her off guard. She kind of just threw the box and caught it with her magic before it hit the ground. “Jeez, everypony is jumpy today…”
Mom just huffed quickly wrapping up the gift before speaking. “Did you help out Fluttershy at all?”
“Yeah I helped a little bit… She said I shouldn’t be working so hard today though.” I said before looking at Mom for a moment. “You look really stressed Mom…”
“Oh don’t worry about me, sweetie. I have everything under control!” Mom smiled sheepishly before another hair stuck out of her mane.
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely!”
“What about that thing you were helping Rarity with?”
“Oh… um…” Mom said blushing a bit. “We asked Discord and he… fixed it in a second…”
I just laughed a bit when she said that. “See? I told you that he was awesome!”
“Even if he did something as simple as repairing an outfit, I still plan on keeping my eye on him.”
“Rarity didn’t make it sound so simple…” Suddenly the sound of a burping dragon could be heard from upstairs. “Huh?” I say looking up at Spike.
“Got a letter from Princess Celestia!” Spike said entering the room holding the scroll. He then opened the scroll to read it. “Huh?”
“What is it Spike?” Mom asked looking at the scroll herself. “It’s for Crystal…” She said before reading it over. “It says that she and her sister are going to be here for Crystal’s cute-ceañera tonight…” Mom said before a few more hairs started to stick out of her mane.
“Really?... They’re coming to see me?” I ask starting to get nervous myself.
“Okay… Don’t panic.” she stammered talking to herself while pacing around in the room. “It’ll all be fine! It’s just the two most well known princesses coming to my daughter’s party!” She said twitching a bit. “The same party that Discord is planning a surprise for…” without another word she teleported out of the library… probably to where Discord was.
“Hmm…” I said thinking to myself.
“Is something wrong Crystal?” Spike asked looking up at me.
“Oh it’s nothing…” I giggled a bit. “Just something silly I was thinking about.”
“What’s up?”
“Well… is it bad that I’m wondering what Princess Celestia was planning to give me at my party…?” I smile blushing a bit.
Spike just laughed a bit. “There’s nothing wrong with that at all! After all it’s pretty exciting, so I can understand how you feel.”
I smiled back and hugged him tight. “Oh you’re right! I’m just so excited!”
Spike groaned a bit getting hugged. “E-Easy Crystal!” I just laughed letting go.
“Sorry Spike… I just can’t wait!!” I smile levitating myself, floating around the room.
-------------------------------------------
“What do you mean you can’t go!?” Applebloom exclaimed at Diamond Tiara from her front door.
“Yeah, you already promised Crystal!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed right after.
“I know what I promised!” Diamond Tiara snapped. “It’s just that when my mother told Twilight I could go, she lied…”
“Can’t you stand up to her??” Scootaloo asked in aggravation. “I know she’s your mother and everything, but this is just unfair!”
“You know I can’t do that…” Diamond Tiara sulked lowering her head.
“But what she’s doin’ is wrong!” Applebloom exclaimed. “You gotta show her that you’re not just a little filly!” Applebloom said walking up to her, followed by the others. “We know you Diamond Tiara, and you weren’t always like this before…”
“Maybe not with you…” Diamond Tiara sighed. “But with my mother, it’s just always been this way.”
“Well that needs to change!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “I may not know much about gems like my sister does, but I know for a fact that diamonds are hard to break!”
“Yeah--! Wait what?” Scootaloo asked looking at Sweetie Belle in confusion.
“Because her name is ‘Diamond’ Tiara?” Sweetie Belle mused.
“But what if I do try to stand up to her and it backfires on me?”
“We’ll be there to support you if you want… we want things to be better for you too.” Sweetie Belle said walking up to Diamond Tiara closer. “Plus you know Crystal wants you to be there…”
Diamond Tiara just looked at the three fillies and nodded. “Alright. I’ll do it.”
The others just smiled at DT. “We’ll be right there with you.” Sweetie Belle said before Diamond Tiara went inside, letting them follow.
“Diamond Tiara??” Spoiled Rich said coming into the room. “Who was at the door?” She asked until she saw the group of ponies. “What are they doing here!?”
“T-they’re here because they want me to go to Crystal’s party too.” Diamond Tiara stammered a bit, obviously looking nervous.
“I already told you that you are not allowed to go to that party!” Spoiled shouted.
“But she’s my friend! And they’re my friends!” Diamond Tiara shouted back.
“Out of the question.” Spoiled Rich said flatly.
“Wha?”
“Out. Of. The. Question!” She yelled this time. “You should not even be associating with their kind let alone become friends with them!”
“Why not!? Because you don’t have any friends, that means I have to be just like you!?” Diamond Tiara snapped. Her mother just looked at her in shock, the other girls just gasped at what she said.
“I will not be known as the mother whose daughter is friends with blank flanks!”
“Well I don’t want to be known as your daughter!!” Diamond Tiara shouted back causing even her own mother to gasp. “You spend all of your life acting like a ‘high horse’, that you don’t bother focusing on things more important!” she said walking toward Spoiled Rich, making her back up a little bit. “I’m going to my friend’s party! Do I make myself clear Mother!?” Diamond Tiara said panting in anger. Spoiled Rich just slowly nodded before walking away into the next room, defeated by her own daughter.
The other girls just looked at Diamond Tiara with their mouths agape. “That was awesome!” Scootaloo said finally breaking the silence.
“You really think so?” DT asked smiling a bit.
“Of course!” Applebloom exclaimed. “You couldn’t just let her control you all your life!”
“Yeah Diamond Tiara.” Sweetie Belle continued. “This was way overdue… honestly I don’t see how anypony could be that cruel to anyone!”
“Honestly I should be thanking you. All of you.” Diamond Tiara smiled hugging the three in a group hug. “You three were there with me, and I really needed it… thank you.”
“What do you think? Do you think she’ll love it?” Discord said before turning on one of the rollercoasters… the side of the coaster had Crystal’s face on it. “And also a petting zoo for Fluttershy.” he said pointing at the petting zoo that had a Fluttershy cut out next to it.
“Don’t you think this is a bit… oh what’s the word… overkill!?” I exclaimed looking over the park. “And where is this amusement park going to be placed!?”
“In the center of town of course!” Discord chuckled. “It’s modelled perfectly so most houses don’t get destroyed.”
“ ‘Most’ ?” I asked groaning a bit.
“Oh have a sense of humor. I was only joking.” Discord chuckled a bit. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to upset Princess Twilight Sparkle, right?”
“Please stop calling me that…” I groaned in irritation. “You don’t need to add the princess title to my name.”
“Well whatever. The amusement park is ready for everyone to enjoy!” He said before teleporting on one of the rides to test it out himself. “Oh, and what was it that you got for a present?”
“Wait, is that what this is about?” I asked looking up at him. “You’re just trying to get a better gift than us?”
“I don’t have the slightest idea of what you’re talking about.” Discord smirked before going down a hill on the rollercoaster.
“Look, even if you try to get a better gift, I can promise you that it won’t matter to her. I know for a fact that she’ll love everyone’s gift equally.”
“And you’re positive about that?” Discord said before teleporting back to me. “She is basically the same age as a filly. And most fillies do like these sorts of things.”
“Well my daughter isn’t ‘most’ fillies. She cares about everypony regardless.”
“Well, we’ll just see at the party tonight now won’t we?” he said before looking at the time. “Speaking of which, Luna must be raising her moon by now… You should probably get back to Crystal.” he smirked before snapping his fingers, teleporting me out of the giant ball and into my library.
“Ugh…!” I groan banging my head on the wall. “This is going to be a disaster!” I stop and look around the room. “Wait where’s Crystal?”
“She went upstairs to try on the dress that Rarity dropped off…” Spike said coming from upstairs.
“Wait what!?”
“Yeah… Rarity came to drop it off and I guess she thought you’d be the one to answer the door.” Spike said rubbing the back of his head. “I guess I should’ve opened the door myself… sorry.”
“No no, it’s fine… she was supposed to wear her dress before the party anyways. I guess I just wanted to see her reaction myself…” I sighed looking up the stairs, waiting for Crystal to come back down. “How long has she been up there?”
“I don’t know. Maybe ten minutes?” Spike shrugged.
“Maybe I should go check on her…” I say heading upstairs to the room. “Crystal…? Are you okay in there sweetie?”
“Yeah, I’m okay Mom!” Crystal answered from in the room.
“How’s the dress?” I asked feeling a little nervous. “Does it fit you okay?”
“It fits perfect Mom!” she answered again. “Hang on, let me show you.”
She slowly opened the door and walked out with the dress on. It was a white dress with her cutie mark stitched into the top part of the dress... I don’t know what it was but I was actually crying a bit when I saw her. “It looks perfect…” I said smiling wiping tears from my eyes.
“Mom…? Are you okay?” Crystal asked walking up to me to hug me.
“Yes sweetheart, I’m just so happy to see you like this… You know what? There’s one more thing I want you to have.” I said taking the box I had originally wrapped giving it to her. “A little something before the party starts.”
Crystal smiled unwrapping the gift, opening the box. She reached inside to pull out what was inside… pulling out a crystal heart necklace. “You got this for me…?” Crystal asked holding the necklace starting to cry a little bit. I nodded, before putting the necklace on her. “I love it!!” She exclaimed before pulling me in for a tight hug. She sounded like she was really crying… “Thank you so much Mom… Thank you for everything… I love you so much…!” she said hugging me tighter. “Every thank you in the world can never pay you back for everything you did for me…!”
I smile wiping her tears. “There’s nothing in the world I wouldn’t do for you now.” I said kissing her cheek. “Now come on… we should head to Sugarcube Corner.”
-----------------------------------------
I was walking outside with Mom and Spike, really excited for the party! I was practically jumping up and down I was so excited! “Calm down Crystal.” Mom laughed a bit. “You might scare somepony with all your excitement.”
“Can you blame her? It’s her cute-ceañera!” Spike said following close behind. “You look amazing in the dress by the way, Crystal… I think Rarity did an awesome job with it!”
“Eheheh… yeah.” Mom said giggling a bit looking to the side. “Huh?” when she looked, she could see Princess Celestia’s chariot was already here. Mom just gulped and looked back at the ball in the air that Discord had made. “It’ll be fine. It’ll all be fine! It has to be fine!”
“Do you need some water, Mom?” I asked looking kind of worried about her. “You haven’t calmed down at all today.”
“Trust me Crystal. You have no need to worry about me.” Mom giggled nervously. “I’ll be okay.”
“Well… if you say so.” I take a deep breath and slowly open the door to Sugarcube Corner. It was dark and everything was silent. “Hello--”
“Surprise!!” Everypony yelled as the lights flickered back on. There were so many ponies in one room! Then out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie fired her party cannon launching confetti over the entire room. The entire room was decorated. Food was placed on the tables and--
“Holy cow! That cake is huge!” I exclaim looking at the tall stacked cake that just barely misses the ceiling.
“And wait until you hear the music!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed pointing at a white unicorn with purple shades. She slammed a record into place and music started to fill the room. Pinkie Pie then dimmed the lights letting a disco ball hang down followed by flashing lights. “LET’S PARTY!!!” Pinkie Pie yelled before pulling me to the dance floor along with the other crusaders, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon who were already there.
“Crystal!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed as she and the others went to group hug me. “Wow… you look great!” She said looking over my dress that Rarity had made.
“And is that a new necklace?” Diamond Tiara asked looking at it.
“Yeah, Mom gave it to me.” I smiled brightly listening to the music. “Heh…”
“somethin’ wrong?” Applebloom asked.
“Well I want to dance but with all these ponies, I guess I’m a little nervous…” I blush rubbing the back of my head.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Scootaloo exclaimed before pulling me to dance with her. “We’re all friends here, right? You don’t gotta be nervous around us! Plus you should see how your Mom dances.” scootaloo chuckles a bit. Mom overhearing that kind of just blushes in embarrassment.
I just laughed a bit before looking at everypony in the party who were already dancing and enjoying the party. Some ponies were eating, socializing with others… So why am I so nervous? “Come on Crystal!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed starting to dance herself.
I take a deep breath and smile before starting to dance with everypony else. “Let’s Party!” I yelled as the music blasted. I could also see Princess Celestia talking to some ponies in a different part of the room while her sister Luna was bobbing her head to the music for a bit… until she started dancing herself.
Suddenly out of nowhere, everyone and everything from the party was teleported outside of Sugarcube Corner. The music was still playing while everypony looked around in confusion until some of them looked up at Discord who was right below the ball. “Hello Crystal! Are you ready for your surprise??” Discord exclaimed in excitement.
“Are you kidding?? I’ve been excited to see it all day!” I exclaimed back. Mom just looked at the two of us with a look of concern on her face. Then, above Discord, the giant ball he had made starting to crack until it broke open… revealing a giant amusement park! The park itself slowly lowered down onto the ground. “Is that a roller coaster with my face on it!!??” I exclaimed staring at the giant roller coaster.
“It is indeed!” Discord cheered before teleporting me to the coaster. “Care to go for a ride my dear?”
“Wait! I want my friends to come with me too!” I say looking back at the crusaders, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon catching up to me.
Princess Celestia looked up at the roller coaster before looking back at her sister, looking concerned herself. “This ride is safe, right Discord?” Celestia asked.
“Of course it is Celestia.” Discord bowed. “I took the liberty of testing these rides myself.”
“This looks awesome!!” Rainbow Dash yelled flying down to us. “I’m joinin’ in!” She exclaimed getting in one of the seats with Scootaloo.
I quickly run to the seat in the front. “Mom! Come on!” I call out waving to her.
“Wha-- me??” Mom asked looking up at the ride.
“Yeah!” Mom just gulped looking at the ride before finally coming over to my seat with me. All of my friends along with a few other ponies went into the ride as well.
Discord teleported down to a control panel dressed up as an operator. “Alright everypony! Keep your hooves, hands, and feet inside the ride at all times!” he said before lowering the bars. The ride slowly started moving and immediately up a tall hill. Looking back I could see Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo looking really excited. While Fluttershy was shaking like a leaf.
“Hey!”
“Huh?” I responded looking at a light green unicorn. “Oh hello. Have we ever met?”
“I never really got the chance to… my friend Bon Bon told me about you but I’ve always been so busy!” The green pony laughed a bit. “I’m Lyra by the way!”
“Oh yeah!” I exclaimed. “Bon Bon told me about you before! I’m sorry we couldn’t meet sooner.”
“Hey can you do me a favor?” Lyra asked.
“What kind of favor?”
“Well I’ve never really seen them before, but I kind of figured you wouldn’t mind… Um… do you think I could see your haaaaaAAAAAAAA--!!” without realizing it, we had reached the top of the coaster and started going down!
Everyone, included me were screaming! Seeing everypony with their hooves in the air, I did the same thing and raised my hands to the air while screaming. The roller coaster was made perfectly around the houses so none of them got hit. There were multiple twists and turns to the ride, it was awesome! I look over at Mom who looked like she was enjoying herself too. “This is the greatest night of my life!!” I exclaimed into the night.
---------------------------------------
After a couple of hours on multiple different rides and even going to the petting zoo, Pinkie Pie pulled out a megaphone and turned it on. “Alright everypony! It’s time for presents! Come back inside for the present opening, cake, and ice cream!” Pinkie exclaimed. Soon everypony that were on rides eventually stopped and went back into Sugarcube Corner. Everypony sat down while Pinkie dragged me to the front of the room and shut off all the music.
There was a bunch of presents that were lying around… although in the corner of my eye, I could see one of the boxes moving slightly. I just smile before running over to the shaking box to open it. The box was barely closed but I could tell why. As soon as I opened the box, I could see a little brown puppy wagging its tail looking up at me. “Cocoa!” I smiled picking her up with her licking me.
“Cocoa?” Mom asked before looking back at Fluttershy who just responded with a sheepish smile.
“I promise to take good care of her and play with her everyday!” I said petting Cocoa.
“Why don’t I hold onto her while you open the rest of your presents sweetie.” Mom said before levitating Cocoa over to her.
I look over at the other presents and notice a book that just kind of sticks out. “Huh?” I ask going over to the book to pick it up. It had a quill attached to the side of it. Looking at the cover, it didn’t have any words… Just Princess Celestia’s cutie mark. I open the book to look through it. “Wait a second… I wrote this down before!” I exclaimed looking at the book.
Princess Celestia walked over to me and smiled. “This would be my gift to you, Crystal. It’s a way of keeping in contact with Sunset Shimmer.”
“Wait, but I thought the portal was closed… you mean I can still talk to her with this?” I asked looking through the pages. Celestia just nodded in response. “I wonder if she’s there right now…” I quickly grab the quill and open to a blank page, starting to write in it. “Sunset? Are you there?” I write down on the book waiting for a response. I waited for a minute but it looked like nobody was there. “I guess she’s not there…” I said before closing the book.
“Give her some time…” Celestia said placing a hoof on my back. “For now, why don’t you see what other presents you got?”
“Yeah…” Mom continued. “After everything that’s happened, she’s probably still trying to sort herself out.”
“I guess you’re right…” I just close the book and hold onto it while opening the rest of the presents. A lot of the presents I got were really amazing. Some ponies even gave me some money. Everypony looked like they had an amazing time… this really was the biggest party ever… and it was amazing!!
-------------------------------------------------
After a while, everypony looked like they were getting tired. They all started leaving after saying their goodbyes and congratulations. I just yawned looking tired myself. “Looks like somepony needs some rest…” Mom smiled before levitating me onto her back for me to rest on while also levitating Cocoa. “Come on… let’s get some sleep.” She said carrying me back home to the library while Spike followed. “Did you have a good time?” she asked heading to the library.
“It was the best night of my life!” I half exclaimed before yawning again. Mom just giggled a bit before opening the door to the library, and bringing me to my bed. “Sweet dreams Crystal.” She said before kissing my cheek again and leaving the room.
I was about to just fall asleep like I planned to… until I saw the book that Celestia gave me started glowing and flashing. “Huh?” I go to pick up the book and open it.
“Princess Celestia…? Is that really you?” the text said appearing in front of me. Sunset!
I quickly grab the quill, taking the book back with me me in bed and started writing in it.
“Hi Sunset! It’s me, Crystal!”
“Crystal? Why do you have… No nevermind. How are you doing?”
“I’m doing great! Pinkie Pie set up a big party for me getting my cutie mark! So many ponies were there and Discord even made a big roller coaster!”
“Wait, Discord?? I know he’s a teacher here… but I always remembered Discord just causing chaos in Equestria! I didn’t see it for myself of course, but I knew about it.”
“Well he’s really nice now! In fact he’s one of my friends!”
“Goodness Crystal… You really do make friends with just about everyone… you even gave me a chance after what I almost did to you… sorry for that by the way.”
“I already forgive you Sunset… And I do want to be friends with you too.”
“Well if you’re serious about that, then I’m really happy to hear it… Maybe I should try my best to change for the better.”
“I know you can be better. Everyone can have a good heart!” I just yawn again after writing that. “I should go to sleep Sunset… I’m really tired. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”
“Alright. Goodnight Crystal.” With that I just put the book down and close my eyes to sleep.
. . .
. . .
. . .
“I’LL KILL YOU!!”
I just shot my eyes open panting hard, looking around the room. “Not again… what is going on…?”
I just yawned stretching my arms and rubbing my eyes. “Ugh…”
“Morning sleepy hea--” Mom said but then stopped to look at me… and started laughing a bit. “Nice bed head.”
“Huh?” I asked turning to a mirror. “Oh jeez my hair is more poofy than Pinkie Pie!”
Mom just laughed again before levitating a brush over to me to fix my hair. “Did you sleep well last night, sweetie?”
“Kind of…” I sighed looking down. “I've been having these weird dreams lately and I don’t know why…”
“Hm?” She asked before stopping with the brush. “Weird how?”
“It’s kind of hard to explain… I always hear the same thing over and over again… and it sounds like it's coming from someone really angry.”
“You don't recognize the voice?” Mom asked showing a little concern.
“It sounds kind of familiar… but I don't know why… I know I'm probably not giving much information.” I sighed looking down. “I'm just really confused.”
“Well… We could always ask Princess Luna. Maybe she could look into your dreams and see what's going on.”
“Well we'd have to go back to the Crystal Empire for that… at the party last night, Luna said that she was going to help Cadence with something there.”
“Hmm… if it does bother you, we could just meet up with Luna there then.” Mom said before looking at Spike. “While we're away, do you think you could you get some food for Cocoa?”
“Huh? With what money?” Spike asked. I just took some bits from my bag and gave it to Spike. Spike just looked down at it and blushed a bit. “You know, it's kind of embarrassing that someone from a different world has more money than me.” He sighed a bit, making me and Mom laugh.
“It's not like I got that money from working… it's just party money.” I say before hugging Spike. “I really appreciate you doing this for me.”
Spike just blushed more and saluted to both of us. “You can count on your faithful assistant to get the job done!” He announced before running outside.
“We should get going too then… we have a long ride ahead of us.” Mom said before heading to the door. I quickly grab my book and quill before following close behind her. “Hm? You're bringing that with you?”
“Yup! She actually did respond to me last night, so I want to make sure I don't miss any new messages from her.” I say before levitating myself onto Mom’s back having her carry me while I open the book, holding my quill. Mom just chuckled while carrying me to the train station.
“Hey Sunset! Good morning!” I write in the book waiting for her to respond.
“Oh hey Crystal” she wrote back. “How'd you sleep?”
“Not so great… lately I've been having these weird dreams and I don't know why.”
“Strange dreams? Could you explain?”
“It's hard to explain… I've had this same dream where I see nothing but darkness… then out of nowhere I hear someone yell ‘I'll kill you’... I've had this dream a few times already and I still don't get it.”
“That's… pretty dark for a little girl’s dream… I wish I knew more, but I'd have to do some sort of study with you to get a better idea… and the only way to do that would be if you were here… too bad the connection is completely cut off.”
I looked at that last sentence and started thinking for a second. “Hey Mom? That portal back in the Crystal Empire is supposed to be completely closed and cut off from Equestria, right?”
Mom was carrying me inside of the train before putting me down. “Uhh… yeah. Why?” Mom asked looking at me.
“Well if the connection is completely gone… then how come I can still write to Sunset Shimmer?”
Mom just looked down for a moment to think, holding a hoof to her face. “Actually… you make a pretty good point. That is odd.” She said before the train started moving. “You might be onto something Crystal… something big.” She smiled at me. “There actually might be a way to open the portal again without waiting 30 moons!”
“Really?? How??” I ask getting excited.
“Easy!” Mom said trying to calm me down. “It's only a theory, but there might actually be a way to use the magic in that book, and push it onto the portal.”
“Well Sunset said she might be able to help me if I was able to go through the portal… do you think you could make a new entrance or something??” I asked smiling at her.
“I can definitely try… and who knows, maybe having a portal that's always open could be useful to us.”
“And if it works, we can visit our friends there anytime we want! Or they could visit Equestria!” I exclaimed.
“Shhh! Keep it down Crystal.” Mom said. I looked at other ponies on the train who were just staring at me.
“Eheheh… sorry.” I blushed, staying quiet for the rest of the train ride.
Multiple crystal ponies were just going about their day as me and Mom were headed to the castle. I waved at some of them and some of them waved back. Though I think despite me being here for a few months, I think some ponies are still not used to me. Mom said that some ponies are kind of hard to convince… I guess I can understand that.
Me and Mom just walked through town and into Cadence’s castle. The crystal guards just stood in place, letting us pass when they saw us. Passing one of the guards, I couldn’t help but notice Mom look at him and start blushing a bit. “Uh… Mom?”
“Nothing! I mean…” Mom said shaking her head. “Yes sweetie?”
“Uhhh… are you okay?” I ask giggling a bit.
“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?” She asked giggling nervously.
“Well… as soon as you looked at that guard pony, you started blushing.” I laughed a bit.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Mom said keeping her face straight.
“Sure you don’t~”
Trying to avoid the conversation going any further, Mom looked at Cadence. “Cadence! Good to see you!” Mom said smiling sheepishly. But then started looking around. “Is Princess Luna around? We needed to see her.”
“She’s actually busy right now… maybe there’s something I can help you with?” Cadence asked walking up to us.
“Actually… there is one other thing we need.” I said rubbing the back of my head. “Can you show us to the room where the portal is again?”
“The portal?” Cadence asked tilting her head. “But I thought it was closed.”
“That’s just it…” Mom started. “I think I know of a way to open the portal again without having to wait 30 moons.”
“Really?... Well if you think you’ll be able to do it, I’ll show you to the mirror room.” Cadence said leading the way for us. “How come you needed to see Princess Luna originally anyways?”
“I wanted to have her look at my dreams…” I said sighing. “I’ve had the same dream a few times now, and it’s making me worried. Sunset Shimmer said she might be able to look at me if I was able to come back.”
“You really think she’ll be able to…?” Mom asked.
“Who knows? It can’t hurt to try… after all, maybe Sunset has had issues with dreams herself.” I shrugged.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Mom asked already looking worried.
“It’s fine Mom… I’m sure nothing bad will happen this time. Plus it’s not like I won’t have a way back. If the portal works, I can just come back whenever I need to.” I say smiling at her.
“She does have a point.” Cadence said to Mom before opening the door to the room. “And here we are… Do you think you’ll need anything?”
“Don’t worry.” Mom smirked before making a bunch of materials magically appear in front of her. “I got this.”
Cadence just giggled a bit. “I’m sure you do.” She said before walking out… Mom didn’t waste any time building what she had to for the portal. I just watched her kind of amazed at how fast she was building it. Especially since she’s never even built a machine before like this.
Eventually after only minutes of building while muttering to herself, she was able to get the machine built! “...And the interval between the two points is defined as the square root of the sum of the squares of the separation between the points along three spatial dimensions!” She said looking at me with a grin on her face.
I just looked at her blankly for a moment. “Uuuhhh…”
Mom just rolled her eyes for a moment. “With this machine, I can take the magic from your book, and put it into the portal. That way whenever we need to, we can go from here to the other world.”
“Oohh okay…” I say scratching my head. “Could’ve just said that first.”
“Oh come on, it’s not that hard.”
“Mom, I’m basically the same age as a filly.”
“You can still learn!” I just sigh chuckling a bit.
“Here.” I say handing her the book. Mom just levitates the book to the top of the machine, causing it to activate. The machine started to drain the magic from the book, pumping it into the portal. Eventually the machine made a blinding light before causing the portal to actually open. “Whoa…” I say looking into the portal.
“Are you sure you want to go in there by yourself?” Mom asked placing a hoof on me.
“Don’t worry Mom… I promise that everything will be okay. I’m just going to get some help from Sunset Shimmer.”
“That’s the part that worries me… She may be reformed, but she may still have some trouble.”
“Can’t you just give her a chance Mom?”
Mom just looked down to think for a moment…
“I already told you before little filly, you don't get it!” She remembered hearing Sunset say.
“I guess she did listen to you at the time… even if only for a moment… maybe you aren’t the only one she’d be helping. Maybe you’d be helping her too.” Mom said smiling at me. “Alright… you can go sweetie. Just promise me that you’ll be safe, okay?” She said before hugging me tight.
“I promise.” I say kissing her cheek.
She finally let go of me as I walked in front of the portal. “Good luck.” I just nodded before walking through the portal Here I go…
-------------------------------------------------
Canterlot High
After a few moments, I just popped out of the portal in front of the school again. “Whew…” I say before getting up… and quickly falling back down. “Oh right… hooves.” I say looking over my pony body. I then look up at the school and see that it’s still in the middle of being repaired after what happened in the Fall Formal… as well as three girls that were standing in front of the school. “Hmmm…” I say to myself walking up to the school… until I stop, being blocked by the three girls. “Uh… excuse me.” I say trying to get passed them.
“Huh?” A purple haired girl said turning around, making the other two look as well. “Who was…” she said before looking down at me… “What…??”
“Where in the world!?” The orange haired girl exclaimed lowering herself down to me. “Where did you come from!? Answer me!” She demanded.
“You don’t gotta be so mean Adagio.” The blue girl said looking at me. “You’re screaming at a filly you know.”
“Shut up!” Adagio exclaimed at the blue girl before turning back to me. “Listen little unicorn, tell me where you came from right now.”
“I-I… came from Equestria…” I stammered backing up a little bit.
“We got that, but we want to know how!”
“Seriously, I don’t think you’re gonna get anywhere like that…” The blue one said.
“And just how do you get anywhere in life Sonata?” the purple girl asked crossing her arms.
“By being like anybody but you, Aria!” Sonata yelled back at Aria.
“Will you two just shut up and focus!?” Adagio exclaimed.
“Honestly Adagio, you’re kind of acting a little nuts.” Aria said. “And over a little filly.”
“Because it should be impossible for a unicorn to even exist in this world!” Adagio shouted back… I took this opportunity to sneak by them and run into the school.
“Hey!!” Sonata exclaimed about to chase after me, only to be held back by Adagio. “What are you doing??”
“You know just as well as I do that we need to make a plan first! We aren’t even students of this school, we can’t just walts in and act like we’ve always been here… for now let’s see if there’s any traces of magic left by that unicorn.
I just panted hard running through the halls of the school. “Oh jeez, I hope they didn’t see me go through that portal…” I say to myself looking around for anyone. It looked like everyone was in class right now… and I can’t use my book to contact Sunset Shimmer and let her know I’m here! I just look around for something that could help me. I then look at the fire extinguisher and then at the fire alarm switch. “Hmmm…” I say thinking for a moment… before levitating the fire extinguisher, and then throwing it against the fire alarm switch. The alarm sounded as the sprinklers activated. I quickly ran to the bathroom as fast as I could before any students ran out of their classrooms. Panting hard I peak outside of the bathroom looking for Sunset Shimmer. Eventually I could see the human Pinkie Pie screaming and heading out the door. Rainbow Dash was sliding on the water that was on the ground while exiting the building. Fluttershy was running out the building trying to keep her animals from getting wet. Rarity was just… walking out wearing a raincoat and an umbrella that she already had with her.
Applejack just ran by Rarity, taking her umbrella. “Hey!” Rarity exclaimed.
“It’s bad luck anyways!” AJ chuckled before running out with the umbrella. Rarity just groaned running out behind her.
Finally Sunset Shimmer was running toward the exit as well. “Hey!” I yelled making her stop. I just smiled and ran up to her.
“W-wha-- Crystal!?” Sunset stammered picking me up before I hugged her. “Wait, how did-- why did-- Crystal how are you here!?”
“Mom made the portal work again by using the book! Now we can visit whenever we want!”
“Seriously…?” She asked while getting soaked by the sprinklers. “We can chat later… somebody thought it would be funny to just pull the--” Sunset stopped to look at me, seeing me smiling sheepishly. “Oh…”
“Please don’t be mad… I just had no way of knowing where you were.”
“Are you kidding? You got me out of a History test that I had no time to study for… trust me, I’m not mad.” Sunset chuckled before carrying me out.
Being carried out of the school, I was looking around for those three girls that saw me earlier… it looked like they weren’t there anymore. “Thank goodness…”
“Huh? Something wrong?” Sunset asked while carrying me.
“No it’s fine… Just something from earlier.” I said before looking at looking at the other girls. “Hey everyone!”
“Huh?” Rainbow Dash said looking back at us, followed by everyone else. “Wait, Crystal??”
“You’re back already?” Fluttershy asked walking up to me to pet me.
“Has it been 30 moons already???” Pinkie asked pushing her hand into the statue portal. “Ooooh!”
“So what have you been up to these past couple of days?” Sunset asked looking down at me.
“Well, I did write to you about the party I had in Equestria… and the dreams that I’ve been happening.”
“Ooohhh, I get why you came back…” Sunset said smiling at me. “Wow, you really didn’t waste any time to come back here.”
“Well you said you’d be able to figure out what was going on right…?”
“I might be able to… have you ever had any negative emotions or anything like that recently? Sometimes that can lead to dreams like that.”
“I don’t think so… in fact, I’ve been pretty happy living with Mom.”
“Hmm… maybe we can do some tests back at home.” Sunset said thinking for a moment. “Maybe even earlier if we’re sent home early because of the mess in the school.”
“Who in tarnation even pulled the fire alarm anyhow?” Applejack asked crossing her arms… until she looked at me smiling nervously. “Wait. . . that was you??”
“Eheh… sorry.” I said rubbing the back of my head.
“Do you think you could do that tomorrow too?” Rainbow asked. “I’m kind of trying to get out of this math test…”
“How about you just study?” I chuckled a bit.
“Wow…” Sunset giggled a bit. “Burned by a filly.”
“Yeah yeah…” Rainbow groaned crossing her arms.
Principal Celestia could be seen walking to the entrance with Luna right next to her. “Alright students… due to the halls being flooded from the sprinklers, I’m afraid we have to cancel classes for the remainder of the day until we can get everything cleaned up…” Celestia sighed.
“There is something else.” Luna added stepping in front of Celestia. “The alarms did not go off because of a smoke detector, someone in the school manually set it off… There was no sign of any fire in the school.” She said in a tone of irritation. “To some of you, this may seem humorous. But this is a very serious matter.”
I looked up at Luna’s face and I could tell that she was pretty upset… Maybe I should say something. “Excuse me.” I said lowering myself from Sunset Shimmer’s arms. Everyone just looked at me in shock, probably to see me again. “I’m the one who pulled the fire alarm… none of them did it.”
“W-what?” Celestia asked looking at me. “Wait, aren’t you Princess Twilight Sparkle’s daughter?” I just nodded in response. “You’re back already…?”
“And what are you doing pulling school fire alarms?” Luna asked still looking annoyed.
“I’m sorry… I was just trying to get someone’s attention here.” I said lowering my head.
“You know… you could’ve just come to my office and I would've paged whoever you were looking for to come by.” Celestia sighed petting my head.
“I guess I didn’t think of that…” I said laughing nervously.
“Well now you know for next time… Thank you for being honest with us-- Pinkie, get your head out of that statue!”
“Huh??” Pinkie said pulling her head out of the portal with her hair all messed up.
“What did you even see in there?” Rarity asked.
“Uhhhh…”
-------------------------------
Back at the Mirror Room in Equestria…
“Hmm… Maybe I should go and check on her in an hour or so…” Mom said looking at the mirror… until suddenly a pink pony head popped out of it. “What the!?” She exclaimed falling backwards. “Wait, Pinkie Pie!?”
“Twilight! You look so cute as a pony!” Pinkie from the other world exclaimed.
“Pinkie what are you--” Mom stopped, turning to the door behind her, hearing hoof steps coming by. “Get back inside!” she exclaimed pushing on Pinkie’s head.
-------------------------------
“I think I scared Twilight…” pinkie said fixing her poofy hair.
“You saw Twilight?” Rarity asked. “How is she doing?”
“It looks like she’s just waiting… I’m surprised she didn’t come with Crystal.” Pinkie shrugged.
“She doesn’t have to… I’m only getting some help here is all.” I said going back over to Sunset Shimmer. The five girls just looked down at me before looking straight up at Sunset Shimmer. “What?”
“Are you comfortable going with her darling...?” Rarity asked. “She did try to kidnap you in the first place…” Saying that made Sunset just kind of look down in embarrassment.
“Well yeah… she said she might be able to help me with my problem.” I said before Sunset picked me up again.
“Twilight didn’t have the answer to your dilema?” Rarity asked.
“Nope… We were going to get some help from Princess Luna, but she was too busy.” I said rubbing the back of my head. “She’s able to look into pony’s dreams.”
“Well I’ll see what I can do for you then…” Sunset said before looking back at the others who were looking at them with a little worry on their faces. Sunset just sighed. “Do any of you want to come by too?”
“I think I’ll go.” Applejack said walking up to us. “I get that Crystal can trust you but--”
“Yeah yeah, I get it.” Sunset mused.
“I’m just sayin’... it’s literally only been a few days.”
“Let’s just go…” Sunset sighed carrying me to her house while Applejack followed.
“Guess I should let my parents know where I’m goin’.” Applejack said pulling out her cellphone to call her parents.
“Huh?” I asked looking back at her already with the phone to her ear.
“What?” she asked waiting for someone to answer.
“Well I never saw your parents back in Equestria… and the pony version of you never really talked about them.”
“Maybe they’re just out of town?” Applejack shrugged as the call went to voicemail. “oh dag nabbit… Sunset do you mind if we make a quick stop back home?”
“I don’t mind… it’s Crystal who asked for the help.”
“Actually I don’t mind either. I’d love to meet your parents.” I just smiled at Applejack.
“Well it won’t take too long. We’re just lettin’ them know where we’re goin.”
“That’s fine.” I said just relaxing in Sunset’s arms while being carried to Applejack’s house.
------------------------------------
At Applejack’s House
“Hello??” Applejack called out after walking in the house.
“Applejack?” A female voice answered coming from the kitchen. “What are you doin’ back home already?”
“Well we had to go home early because of somethin’ that happened at school… someone pulled the fire alarm and now the halls are a mess.” she said trying not to mention who did it.
“Oh that’s good. You can give me a hand with a few chores then.” she said coming out of the kitchen. “Oh, I didn’t know you brought a gue--” she stopped mid sentence when looking at me. “...guests.”
“Eheheh... “ AJ chuckled a bit. “You’re probably wonderin’ about her.”
“That’s a pony with a horn…” Applejack’s mother said just staring at me. “That’s a pony… with a horn.” she repeated.
“Hello.” I said waving at the mother.
“What in the heck!?” she exclaimed stepping back.
“Mom, breathe…” Applejack said trying to calm her mother down. “This here is Crystal… she’s our friend.”
“Your friend?” She asked looking at me closely.
“It’s nice to meet you.” I said trying to not cause too much panic. “I’m Crystal Sparkle.”
“It’s… nice to meet you too.” She said starting to calm down a bit. “I’m Buttercup…”
“Buttercup… That’s a nice name.” I say smiling at her. “Is there anything I can do to help too?”
“You wanna help too…?” Buttercup asked. I just nodded in response. “Well actually Applejack was gonna go around pickin’ the apples off our trees… I’d ask if you wanted to help catch em’, but you don’t exactly have hands.” Buttercup said before slowly poking at my horn.
“Please just don’t pull on it…” I said getting flashbacks to multiple people that tugged or yanked on my horn the first time I came to Canterlot High. “As for catching the apples… I should be able to do that no problem.”
“Really? How?” Buttercup asked before I levitated the bucket out of her hands. “Oh…” She said quietly while just staring at the levitating bucket. “W-well then… I’ll let Bright Mac know that you two have it covered then…” Buttercup said before walking out of the room… still turning back a few times.
“Is she going to be okay?” I ask still levitating the bucket.
“Well my family’s never seen magic or talkin’ unicorns or--... Actually nobody on the planet has seen that in real life.” Applejack answered. “I’ve just gotten used to it myself.”
“Also who’s Bright Mac?” I ask tilting my head.
“That’s my dad’s name… You can see where my brother got his name.” She chuckled a bit. “Come on now Crystal, we’ve got some apple pickin’ to do.” She said heading to the back yard. I just jumped down from Sunset’s arms and followed her. “Sunset, you’re helpin’ too.”
Sunset just sighed following me out the door. Outside we could see a bunch of farm animals walking around. I looked over and saw Buttercup talking to someone else who looked like he was feeding the animals. He looked over at me, seeing me levitating the bucket quickly getting a look of shock. “Hello!” I exclaimed waving at him too. He just waved back at me kind of awkwardly before turning back to Buttercup. “I think this is going well.” I giggled a bit.
Applejack just laughed grabbing a ladder from outside of her shed. “They’ll get used to you eventually, Crystal. Now come on, let’s get to apple pickin’.” Applejack said before tossing a bucket to Sunset Shimmer as well.
“How many trees do we have to pick from?” Sunset asked. “Just a few I’m assuming.”
“Uhhh… try the whole yard.” She said setting up the ladder next to a tree. “Actually, with your magic we should be able to get this done a lot faster.” she said before climbing it. “Alright, how about a practice throw?” AJ smirked before picking an apple from the tree, tossing it toward Sunset.
“I got it!” Sunset exclaimed before catching it in the bucket. “Whew…”
“You’re up Crystal!” AJ yelled before tossing another apple toward me. I just levitated my bucket right under where the apple was about to land. “Nice one! How about we pick up the pace a bit?” she said before grabbing a bunch of apples and just tossing them at us!
“This is more than just a bit!” Sunset exclaimed, running around trying to catch as many apples as she could… getting hit with a few of them. Meanwhile I’m trying to catch the apples in midair with my magic… already struggling to keep up with Applejack. With the apples that were in the air, I tried to scoop them up into the bucket so I could use less magic. But the barrage of apples just kept coming! “Come on Crystal! We can do this!”
“I’m trying my best here!” I exclaim still trying to keep up with Applejack’s throws.
“Aww come on now! Is that all you got?” Applejack chuckled tossing a few more over her shoulder. “Even Applebloom could do this!”
“Wait where is Applebloom??” I asked while avoiding projectile apples.
“Granny Smith is bringin’ her home. You don’t gotta worry about her!” She exclaimed right before the apples stopped flying. “Whoops! Next tree!” she said quickly sliding down the ladder. I was still picking up apples off the ground, getting them into the bucket… is this sweat?
“Applejack… don’t you think you could take it easy on us?” I asked practically begging.’’
“Yeah… I think I’m getting a few bruises.” Sunset Shimmer groaned feeling her face.
“Bruises already?? But we just started!” Applejack chuckled. “Hey Dad! Why don’t you come take over?” She called out.
“What?” Bright Mac asked putting the bucket of food down. “After one tree?”
“We didn’t think picking apples would be this stressful…” Sunset groaned. “Even a pony with magic is having a hard time keeping up…”
“To be fair…” I sigh putting the bucket full of apples down. “I’m still learning…”
“Why don’t you two just relax for a bit then?” Bright Mac said picking up an empty bucket. “We can handle it.” he said following Applejack to another tree.
I just flop on the ground groaning. “I was only using levitation… but I’m already tired.” I say before looking up at sunset Shimmer. “I don’t get it… I levitate myself all the time. Why was this different?”
“Picking up multiple objects is a lot harder than picking up a single heavier one…”
Buttercup just comes back out of the house with a couple of cups of cider, giggling a bit. “Would any of you like a drink?”
“Eheh… thanks Buttercup.” Sunset Shimmer said grabbing one of the mugs.
I just used my magic to levitate the other mug and took a sip out of it. “Whoa… this tastes amazing!” I said before chugging it down.
Sunset Shimmer just looked at me for a moment. “Maybe you shouldn’t be drinking that so fast--... eh… it’s not the same. You’ll be fine.”
“Hey… Can I have some more Cider?...” I ask floating up to Buttercup. “It’s really good and I just can’t get enough…”
Sunset just looked at me before smacking her own face. “I guess it is the same if it’s to a pony…” she groaned.
“Is… she okay?” Buttercup asked about to hand me another drink.
“Enough!” Sunset blurted out before grabbing the cider out of Buttercup’s hand. “Please, cider has a different effect on ponies than they do with people…”
“Hey come on! I just want one more!” I exclaimed heading to the kitchen… walking into a wall instead. “Hey who moved the door?”
“Ughhh…” Sunset groaned. Suddenly out of nowhere, Sunset could see her book vibrating. “Huh?” She said opening the book.
“Hello? Sunset? Is Crystal over there with you? It’s me, Twilight… I just want to make sure she made it to you safely.”
Sunset just looked back at me and groaned.
“Yup! Totally safe… nothing wrong here.” I wrote back.
“Something happened, didn’t it.”
“Maybe.”
“What happened!?”
“Well… we were originally headed to my house so I could do a study on her... but the other girls kind of felt uncomfortable with Crystal going with me alone so Applejack came with us, then she had to go back home to tell her parents that we were going to my house and then she asked us to do some chores… then her mother gave us cider and I think Crystal is drunk.”
“...”
“Uhh... Twil--”
“YOU LET MY DAUGHTER DRINK CIDER!!??” Sunset just quickly closed the book, leaving it to vibrate and shake violently.
Sunset just sighed picking me up. “Do you think you could let her rest for a bit?”
“Sure, I don’t mind…” Buttercup giggled petting me a bit. “It looks like she’s already falling asleep… why not let her spend the night here and we’ll bring her to your house in the morning?”
“Actually, her sleeping is what I needed to happen to start helping her… I need to study her activity while she’s having a certain dream… the only problem is, I don’t have my notebook here.”
“Well how about you both just rest here for a bit?” Buttercup asked. “After all you do still seem tired from catchin’ apples…” Buttercup giggled a bit.
“I’m home!” Appleblooms voice could be heard coming from inside the house. She eventually made her way to the backyard and quickly looked at me. “Huh? Crystal?” She said petting me a bit. “You don’t look so good…”
“Applebloom? When did you get here??” I asked looking at her giggling a bit.
“Uhh… Just now… Is she oka--” She stopped when she saw Sunset Shimmer. Sunset Shimmer just waved at her awkwardly. “Uh… nevermind.” She said quickly heading to her room. Sunset just sighed covering her face.
“What was that about?...” Buttercup asked looking confused.
“I’d… rather not talk about it.” Sunset said rubbing the back of her head.
“Hey!” I blurted out scaring the other two. “I have an idea! We should all take a field trip to Equestria! I can show you around Ponyville!”
“Are you nuts!?” Sunset asked coving my mouth. “Things are already confusing at it is-- gah!” Sunset yelled moving her hand away. “Did you just lick my hand!?”
“Come on! It was funny when Fluttershy met Fluttershy! Let Buttercup meet Buttercup!”
Buttercup just laughed a bit at how I was acting. “Where is this place anyhow?” She asked about to pick me up.
“I’ll show you!” I exclaimed jumping from Sunset’s arms before running through the house and out the front door.
“Crystal!!” Sunset exclaimed.
“I’ll get her!” Buttercup exclaimed before running after me.
Sunset Shimmer ran close behind her. “Twilight is going to kill me if something happens to her!”
I just kept running for the school while Buttercup and Sunset chased me… Hey Sunset, wanna narrate for me for a while?
What?? This isn’t even my story! Focus!
Fine Fine… I just keep running while avoiding different people who looked at the three of us. “Come on! We’re almost there!” I said looking back at them. I look back ahead of me to make sure I wasn’t running into the road or something. We were almost at the school but Buttercup was getting really close to me though.
“Little filly, stop runnin’!” Buttercup exclaimed trying to grab me.
Right before grabbing me though, I jumped through the statue… causing Buttercup to accidentally fall in behind me. “Ugh..!! Dang it!!” Sunset exclaimed banging her head on the hard part of the statue before jumping into the portal as well.
Mom was just pacing the floor literally sweating while waiting for Sunset to respond to her… paragraph long messages in the book. Eventually I just flew out of the portal with Buttercup close behind me. “Crystal!” Mom exclaimed running up to me. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“Wha… huh?” I said looking around. “That’s weird… I feel fine now.”
Mom just sighed in relief. “I’m just glad you’re okay…” Mom said hugging me before looking at Buttercup. “Oh uh… hello.”
“Uhhh…” Buttercup said staring blankly a Mom… then at herself. “Wait what!?” She exclaimed trying to get up… only to fall over again. “What in the heck is goin’ on… You’re human now…” She said pointing at me. “A-And I’m the pony!?”
“Well… I can try to explain…” Mom said before a certain unicorn fell out of the portal as well. “...As soon as another pony explains what the hay they were thinking!!” Mom exclaimed yelling at Sunset Shimmer.
“I didn’t think the cider was the same!” Sunset exclaimed. “I swear I would never try to do that to her!”
“You were born a pony! Didn’t the thought cross your mind even for a second!?”
“I just said I didn’t think it would be the same!” Sunset exclaimed back. “It’s not like she got hurt or anything!”
“I mean she almost kinda did…” Buttercup spoke up, eventually standing on her four hooves, still wobbling a bit. “She almost ran into the street a few times.”
Mom just darted her head back at Sunset Shimmer, glaring at her. “You let her run off!?!?”
“Alright, let’s all just try to calm down…” Buttercup said slowly walking up to my mom. “I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm. These things happen sometimes.”
Mom just sighed taking a deep breath. But looked right back at Sunset Shimmer. “You’re not doing the tests in that world. You’re doing them here in Equestria where I can see you.” she said before turning to Buttercup. “As for you… you can go back home whenever you feel ready.”
“Actually… Crystal mentioned somethin’ about showin’ me around some place called Ponyville?” Buttercup asked walking up to me.
“Wait you were seriously considering that?” Sunset asked. “Aren’t you afraid of actually running into yourself?”
“Well what’s the worst that can happen?” Buttercup asked. “It’s only for a day… plus I’m sure Granny Smith and Bright Mac can handle themselves back home.”
Mom just sighed holding a hoof to her head. “Just for a day. I don't want ponies going crazy if they suddenly see two of you.”
“I still wonder why Applebloom’s never even mentioned her…” I say thinking for a bit. I looked over at Buttercup who looked like she was thinking herself. “Something wrong?”
“No it's nothin… I guess I just had a strange feelin.” Buttercup responded looking to the side. “So how do we get there?”
“Well… with Twilight’s help, we could just teleport to Ponyville…” Sunset said walking up to Mom… who still looked kind of upset at her. “If… she's okay with that.”
Mom just sighed. “Just touch your horn to mine.” Sunset nodded while moving her horn to my mom’s horn. “You two hold onto us… I'll teleport us to the library.” I just levitated myself on Mom’s back while Buttercup held onto Sunset Shimmer. “Alright Sunset… focus your magic with mine.”
“Alright…” Sunset nodded while using her magic to work with Mom. With both of them using their teleportation magic, all four of us were teleported back home instantly.
“Holy…” Buttercup let out before letting go of Sunset Shimmer. “So that's what real magic is like. Feels different actually feelin it for myself.”
“So where do you wanna visit first??” I ask levitating in front of Buttercup. “There's Sugarcube Corner, Rarity’s boutique, the Apple Farm--”
“Actually, I'd love to visit the apple farm first. I gotta see how a pony orchard compares to ours.” Buttercup giggled a bit before looking down. “So let’s get goin!”
“Well alright…” Mom started. “While you’re away, Sunset and I will figure out a way to perform those tests on you from here.”
“Okay Mom!” I exclaim heading out.
“And don't drink anymore cider!” Mom yelled before I headed out with Buttercup.
Buttercup just laughed a bit as we headed to Sweet Apple Acres. “You really do have a nice mother, Crystal… always looking out for you.”
“She's the best mother in Equestria!” I laugh leading the way. “She's also the best princess!”
“Hold up: Princess!?” Buttercup exclaimed.
“Yup! At least that's what I say.”
--------------------------------------------
Near Sweet Apple Acres
While we were walking to the farm, I just waved at everypony like normally… but something was different. A few of them waved at me for a second until they saw Buttercup… in fact they just kind of froze. “Oh! Before we go to the farm, I have to show you the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse!” I say running to the tree house.
“Wait up!” She exclaimed trying to keep up. “I'm not used to runnin like this!” After a bit of running, we finally made it to the tree house.
Me and Buttercup just climbed the steps leading inside the treehouse. Inside Sweetie Belle was dusting around with her tail. “Hey Sweetie Belle!” I exclaimed running up to her.
She looked to me and smiled until she saw Buttercup. “Uh… Crystal? Who's that?”
“Buttercup, this is my friend Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle, this is Buttercup. I'm showing her around for a bit… she said she wanted to see the Apple farm first but we made a quick stop here first… where is everyone?”
“Applebloom had to stay home and help Applejack with apple bucking to harvest the apples. So the meeting was cancelled for today.”
“You said ‘Apple’ about four times in that sentence.” I said laughing a bit.
“Well it's kind of hard not to when they're literally called the Apple family!”
I just laughed again before heading out the door. “Well we’ll see you later Sweetie Belle… I kind of promised Buttercup that I would show her around Ponyville.” Buttercup just followed me silently.
“It was nice meeting you!” Sweetie Belle waved before going back to dusting. “For some reason something about her felt familiar…” Sweetie Belle said to herself while cleaning.
“Well that was our clubhouse.” I said going down the stairs while Buttercup followed.
We just started walking toward Applejack’s house. Buttercup just looked up at the house for a moment. “It's crazy… it’s almost exactly the same.” She said as we approached the door. Looking around, we didn't see anypony nearby.
I just opened the door and walked in with Buttercup behind me. “Hello?? Is anypony home??” I call out.
“I'm upstairs!” Applebloom exclaimed from her room. “Is that you Crystal?”
“Yeah! I'll be right up!” I exclaim heading upstairs. Buttercup was slowly following behind me. “You okay?”
“I don't know… somethin just doesn't feel right…” Buttercup said quietly. As we reached the upstairs, we could see Applebloom looking through her dresser.
“Hey Applebloom!” I smile waving at her.
Applebloom just stopped to look at me until she saw the pony next to me. Applebloom just froze and stared at her for a moment. “Crystal…? Who’s that…?” She asked walking up to Buttercup slowly.
“You don't recognize me…?” Buttercup asked.
“That's the thing… I've never seen you before in my life but… it feels like I know you.”
Buttercup just paused before opening her mouth again. “Applebloom…? By any chance… is your mother around…?”
“My mother…? N-no… she… passed away years ago… same thing with my daddy… I was too young to remember them…” Buttercup just winced at Applebloom’s response… while I just stood there in absolute shock… oh my god… I think to myself starting to cry a bit. Buttercup started crying as well. “Who are you…?” She asked starting to shake a bit. I slowly go over to Applebloom’s door to close it.
“I'm… Buttercup…” she finally answered. Applebloom just inhaled deeply as if she had lost her breath right then. Her breath even trembled a bit. “I know you think that's impossible but… hear me out first… I'm not the same Buttercup from here… I'm from a different world where a lot of things are different… How we live… what we eat... but I can promise you one thing that’s not different Applebloom. Our love for you is the same.” She said holding Applebloom close.
Applebloom just trembled as tears started going down her face. “B-But you’re still her right…? Y-You’re still my…” Applebloom just broke down in tears, wrapping her hooves around Buttercup. Buttercup just stroked the back of Applebloom’s head, crying herself. “Momma!!!” She cried out holding her tight.
------------------------------------------
“Momma!!!”
“What in tarnation!?” Applejack exclaimed running inside the house. “Applebloom!?” she called out before running upstairs. Applejack just started banging on her door. “Applebloom, what in the hay is goin on in there!?”
“J-just give me a second Applejack…” Applebloom answered sounding like she was crying behind the door.
“What the hay is goin on with that filly…?” Applejack just stood there waiting for her sister to open the door. Eventually Applebloom slowly cracked the door open… her face soaked in tears. “What in the… Applebloom what happened?” She said slowly pushing the door open… only to be greeted by both me and Buttercup. “Hey there Applejack…” Buttercup said with a slight smile, looking like she was crying herself a bit.
Applejack just stood there staring at Buttercup. “W-wha… h-how… I…” she stammered before finally falling over, losing consciousness.
Author's Notes
Hey guys! Weren't expecting a chapter like this, where you? Well there's more to come after this... though what's going on inside Crystal's head from all this I wonder?
Applejack just groaned waking up in Applebloom’s bed. “Ugh… what in the hay happened…?” She ask before looking to see Buttercup again. “Wait what!?” She exclaimed before falling off the bed.
“A-Applejack! Try to calm down!” I exclaim.
“Calm down!?!? There’s nothin’ to be calm about here!!” Applejack exclaimed before slowly walking up to Buttercup. “I mean… It just can’t be her…”
“You remember when Mom went into that other world through the mirror?” I asked walking up to Applejack, getting her attention. “Well she’s actually from that world…” As soon as I said that, she just slowly looked back at Buttercup.
“I’m sorry Applejack…” Buttercup started before going to hug her. “I know you must miss her awfully…”
Applejack just stared into Buttercups eyes and sighed heavily. “Yeah… she ain’t our mother… but gosh darn it you are still her…” She said crying a bit.
“Applejack?” Another voice said from downstairs. “What in tarnation are you doin’ up there?? We’re wastin’ daylight!”
“I’ll be right there granny!” Applejack exclaimed before turning back to Buttercup. “What are you doin’ here in Equestria anyhow?”
“Well…” she said before looking at me. “In our world, Miss. Shimmer and I were chasin’ down a cider drunk filly, and she just jumped into a magical portal before I could grab her… and I kinda fell in.”
“Uhh…. what?” Applejack asked looking at me. I just smiled sheepishly at her. “You drank cider… as a filly?”
“Eheheh… Sunset might’ve told me to slow down with the cider at the time but it just tasted so good…” I chuckle a bit rubbing the back of my head.
Applejack just stared at me for a moment… before laughing? “Guess somepony shoulda told ya that you were too young.” She chuckled placing a hoof on my head before ruffling my hair… before wrapping her hooves around me to hug me.
“Huh?” I ask after the random hug.
“Sugarcube… thank you.”
“Yeah…” Applebloom said joining the hug. “We all gotta thank you.”
“What? Why are you thanking me?” I ask getting hugged by everypony.
“Well… I never really got to meet her before…” Applebloom started. “And seeing her like this… and hearing her voice… I just feel really happy.”
Buttercup giggled a bit. “Guess your little chase turned out to be a good thing in the end…” she said before turning to Applebloom. “And speakin’ of voice… would you wanna hear the song I sang to your daddy when we were growin’ up?”
“Are you kiddin’!?” Applebloom exclaimed before hugging Buttercup. “I’d love to hear you sing!”
Buttercup giggled a bit. “Now if only I could play a guitar with hooves…” she cleared her throat a bit.
“We're far apart in every way, but you're the best part of my day… And sure as I breathe the air I know we are the perfect pair. On a prickly path that goes on for miles... But it's worth it just to see you smile… And I cannot be pulled apart from the hold you have on my heart… And even if the world tells us it's wrong, you're in my head like a catchy song…”
Applebloom was in tears hearing her mother sing… I couldn’t help but cry a bit too. “You’re voice is so amazin…” Applebloom let out before Buttercup continued.
“The seasons change and leaves may fall, but I'll be with you through them all… And rain or shine, you'll always be mine. On a prickly path that goes on for miles… you're the only one who makes it all worthwhile… And you should not blame me too, if I can't help fallin' in love with you…”
“You really do have a beautiful voice…” I smile rubbing my eyes.
“Applejack!!” Granny Smith exclaimed. “Don’t make me come up there!”
“You two should get goin’...” Applejack said smiling at Buttercup. “As much as I know Granny Smith and Big Mac would love to see you again… I just don’t know if their hearts could take it.”
Applebloom just ran up to Buttercup and hugged her tightly again. “Do you think you could come and visit every now and then…?”
“I’d love to Applebloom… but I just don’t think it would be such a good idea for me to be walkin’ around town… when… well… you know.”
“How about Applebloom goes to that other world to see you instead?” I suggest. “It would be less crazy if there were two Appleblooms.” I say giggling a bit.
Applejack looked at me and smiled. “I think that would be a great idea… now come on; you two need to get goin’.”
“But how do we get out without bein’ seen?” Buttercup asked looking around… before being levitated up in the air. “W-whoa!”
“I got you.” I say levitating Buttercup out the window, slowly lowering her down. I then levitate myself out the window and onto Buttercup’s back. “Now I get why everypony was staring at us like that on our way here…”
“You know, when you said Applebloom never mentioned me or Bright Mac, I knew something didn’t feel right…” Buttercup said heading back to the library. “We should just head back before other ponies get the wrong idea…” She said before picking up the pace.
------------------------------------------
“I think I might’ve found something.” I said looking inside one of her books. “With this spell, one of us would be able to go inside of Crystal’s mind and see what’s in there… even her subconscious… but there’s a small problem.”
“What is it?” Sunset asked looking at the book.
“In order for the spell to work, it has to be done by somepony outside… I’d have to be asleep next to her. Sunset, do you think you’d be able to perform the spell on me so I could see what Crystal is thinking?”
“Isn’t it kind of dangerous to do that…?”
“I don’t care… I want to be able to help my daughter through this.”
“Well… if you really feel that strongly about it, then I guess I can…” Sunset said before looking outside. “Oh, they’re both coming back… wonder why they’re in such a rush.”
“Hm?” I ask looking outside. “It looks like they’re running……” And as soon as I say that, they just burst through the door and Crystal quickly closes it behind her. “Huh? Is everything okay?”
“Next chance we go back to the Crystal Empire… we need to bring Buttercup back home.” Crystal sighed panting a bit.
“Did something happen at the Apple farm?”
“Let’s just say Applebloom is gonna be visiting me in the other world from time to time…” Buttercup said panting as well.
“Uh… okay then…” Sunset said kind of confused. “We found a spell that could help with your bad dreams Crystal… but you’re going to have to be asleep for it.” She said before turning back to Buttercup. “Do you mind sticking around for a bit longer? This won’t take too long…”
“Take as much time as you need to.” Buttercup nodded before looking around at some of the books in the library… literally looking at them. She didn’t really know how to pick them up as a pony.
“Alright Crystal… I need you to lie down on the ground for me.” Sunset said.
Crystal just nodded and went to lie down on the floor… I went to lay down with her. “Huh?” Crystal asked looking at me.
“I’m going to be the one looking into your mind sweetie.” I said kissing her cheek.
Crystal just smiled at me and nodded. “Okay Mom… really hope you can help me.”
“I’ll do anything I can Crystal… I promise.” I said before looking back at Sunset Shimmer. “Are you ready…?”
“Just about…” Sunset said looking over the spell. “Seriously though… be careful Twilight.” Sunset urged.
“I know she can do it.” Crystal said smiling at me. “My mom can do anything!”
Sunset just smiled at Crystal before using her magic to put both of us asleep…
…
…
…
…
. . .
After a while, I eventually open my eyes to see myself in a hallway full of doors. “What…?” I ask looking around. “What is this…?” I go to open one of the doors… inside showed Crystal and her friends on a rollercoaster. “This looks like her party…” I said before closing it, moving onto another one. Opening the next door, I could see Crystal as a pony, writing to Princess Celestia with Sunset Shimmer’s book. “So this is where she was during that time…” I say to myself closing that door as well. “All these doors must lead to different memories…” I keep going down the hallway, looking through different doors… some memories of her time in school, others while practicing magic with me, or just her spending time with her friends… I couldn’t help but smile at how far Crystal has come. However, going deeper into the hallway, the doors started getting darker… from the white doors where I started, to a more gray looking color.
Opening one of the gray doors… I could see Crystal back in her own world, walking through the alley all alone. “All these people who stop and give me food… why can’t they just give me a home…?” Crystal sighed eating what looks like a half eaten meal left by someone else. I go back out the door and look at another one… This time I could see Crystal hiding behind a dumpster while other people were fighting around her. “Please stop… Please just stop…” Crystal said shuddering while hiding. Looking over at the people… I see one of them raise what looks like a knife… and I quickly close the door before seeing what happened next.
“What a horrible place… how could anyone do that…??” I ask myself… before hearing a loud high pitched scream coming deeper from the hallway. “What the… that sounded like Crystal!” I exclaim running down the hall… Finally reaching the end of the hall, I see two doors: A white door, and a completely black one… both of them were blocked off by chains. “What in the…” As I say that, I could hear the loud pitched scream again coming from the black door. “Crystal!!” I exclaim using my magic to carefully unlock the chain. I slowly open the door and just see complete darkness… everything was empty. I walked inside looking around… only to have the door slam shut behind me. “What the--!” I shout before a bright light blinded me. When I was finally able to see, I could see Crystal… just sitting on a chair looking down. “Huh…?”
“Please… I just want to go home… I just want to be with my mommy…!” Crystal exclaimed starting to cry a bit.
“You know I can’t do that…” A male voice said in the dark part of the room. “I already told you why I brought you here Rebecca.”
Rebecca…? I think to myself. She did have a name…? Then why… Just then I could see a dark figure walk up to Crystal… holding a syringe in their hand. “H-hey! Get that away from her!!” I yell before instinctively shooting at the figure… only for it to completely faze through them.
The figure just grabbed onto Crystal’s arm. She just struggled and and screamed… until the figure smacked her across the face, forcing her to stop. “Knock it off!!” the man yelled. The man then injected the syringe into Crystal’s arm… with her just crying as she watched, with a red mark on her face... I felt like I was about to lose my mind. “Now then… do what I told you to do.”
“B-but it didn’t work the last time…” Crystal whimpered. “Please this is just crazy…! I just want to go home! I haven’t seen Mommy in a really long time…!” She cried.
“Just do it Rebecca!” The male voice yelled. “This time I know it will work!” Crystal just sighed looking over to the blocks that were placed on a table… she moved her hand, pointing at the blocks and started to concentrate… in just a few short moments, the blocks then started to rise in the air. “Yes!” The man exclaimed. “Yes, it worked!”
“W-what did you do…??” Crystal asked surprised that she was levitating objects.
“I’ve just made magic real!” he exclaimed before grabbing hold of Crystal. “And this is just the beginning! We have so many more tests to perform!”
This… this is just cruel… just what kind of person would do this?? I think to myself… after that moment the room went black again, until cutting to Crystal who was practicing spells… This is why she can pick up an spells so easily… because of this…!
Eventually it cut to Crystal, just alone in a dark room, in a small bed. She was just crying quietly to herself. “Please… if there’s anyone who can hear me… please… help me… I want to go home… I want to be with my mom… I… I… I just want to get out of this nightmare…” I just look down at Crystal starting to cry myself.
Once again the memory cut… going to Crystal back in the testing room with the man. Crystal was shooting at cans with her magic and sighed. “When can I go back to Mommy…?”
“You can’t…” The man said flatly.
Crystal just looked at the man looking like she was starting to get angry… “Why not!?” She exclaimed. “Please Daddy… why won’t you let me see her…?” she said crying again. . . Wait… Daddy!?!? “I really miss her… I know you two always fought but I just really want to see her…”
The father just looked down silently and sighed. “It would be impossible even if I wanted to.”
“What do you mean…?” Crystal asked… the father just stood there silently. “Daddy… where is she…?”
“She’s gone sweetheart…” The father finally answered.
“What do you mean she’s gone…??” Crystal asked starting to cry again. “What did you do to her!?”
“I did what I felt was necessary for the future…” Crystal just stared at her ‘father’... her hands started trembling in anger. Tears were streaming down her face… Then the whole building started to shake, and Crystal started surging…! “Rebecca! Stop this!!”
“You…… MONSTER……” Crystal said breathing heavily… Her eyes then went completely blank while looking at her ‘father’ “I’LL KILL YOU!!” Just then a blinding light surrounded Crystal and everything went white…
When the light faded, I could see both Crystal and that man on the ground… only it looked like that man wasn’t breathing and Crystal was knocked out. Just as I was about to approach Crystal, I could hear someone walking closer to us… But who I saw, I wasn’t expecting at all. “You poor thing…” Celestia said walking up to Crystal.
“What the… Princess Celestia…!?” I exclaimed looking at her in shock.
“You’ve been through so much pain…” Celestia sighed placing a hoof over Crystal’s head. “Your cries did not go unheard… I will give you a better life…” She said before placing a her horn over Crystal’s head. “But for now, it’s best that you forget about this traumatic experience… Memories like this are better left forgotten.” Her horn started glowing… and just then I was forced out of the black room, flying into another.
I just layed on the ground, looking up at the sky as it rained… staring into nothing while in complete shock. She knew… She knew about Crystal before even sending me to that world… I slowly got up to look around and see where I was. “Wait… this is…” I said to myself looking around the corner… only to see myself, and Crystal.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.” the other me said trying to calm Crystal down..
“Hi...” she said in a quiet tone. “Um... are you a real unicorn?” she asked the other me.
The other me just looked at her for a moment. “Yeah... I’m a unicorn.” I said walking up to her. “I’m Twilight Sparkle... Forgive me for asking but... what are you?” Jeez… I seriously feel bad for asking her like that now…
She looked into my eyes for a moment. “Um... I’m a person...”
“A what...?”
“You know... a human...?”
“Human...” The other me said to herself. She looked like she was gonna reach for something but stopped. “Shoot... well... do you have a name?” she stared at me with sorrow in her eyes and just shook her head. “You don’t have a name...?” I asked. “Why wouldn’t your parents give a you a name? Where are your parents?”
“My... parents...” she let out slowly. Suddenly she just started crying in front of the other me. Wait… was she crying because she couldn’t remember…? I think to myself for a moment.
“How would you like to come with me? Have a home where you would be loved and taken care of?” the other me said putting a hoof on her. “I could take care of you, and give you a better life.”
“You’d really do that for me...?”
“Of course I would...” After that, everything just went white...
-------------------------------------------------
I then just woke up next to Crystal… Crystal just looked at me confused. “Mom…? Are you okay? You’re crying…”
I moved my hoof over to my face… and sure enough, I actually was crying. “I didn’t realize…”
“Did you find anything out?” Sunset asked looking at me.
I just stopped and looked at Crystal for a moment before sighing. “No… I didn’t find anything useful…”
Crystal looked kind of upset from that answer. “Maybe we should wait for Princess Luna again…?”
“Yeah…” I nodded. “That would be best.”
I don’t want to bring up that horrible past to Crystal… I don’t want to risk any chance of her remembering it…
I just look over to Crystal who’s talking with Buttercup. I can’t even hear what they’re saying… my mind isn’t even here right now. I just can’t believe everything that I just saw… Crystal… Rebecca… And why did Celestia just leave you there if she knew how much pain you were in!? I thought to myself looking down in aggravation.
“Twilight…?” Sunset asked snapping me back into reality. “Are you alright…?”
I look over to Sunset and sigh. “Can we talk in private…?”
Sunset just stood there staring at me for a moment. “You did see something, didn’t you?” she whispered. “Where should we go?” I just place a hoof on Sunset Shimmer and teleport the both of us to a hill away from anypony. Sunset just looked around in confusion. “Well…?”
I just look down at the hill, directly at the library and sigh. “I did… I saw something awful…”
Sunset just came over to me and sat with me. “How bad was it…?”
I look over at Sunset with tears in my eyes. “Promise you won’t say a word to Crystal… please Sunset… she can’t know about this…” I said begging her.
“I won’t say anything… now what’s going on…?” I just look down again and take a deep breath before telling Sunset Shimmer everything I saw… The hallway, the doors, and even her life before I found her… Then when I started talking about her name and her parents, Sunset went into absolute shock. “T-That’s…”
I started crying more while explaining everything to Sunset. “Her own father killed her mother!!” I shouted crying. “She got so angry that she…” I started before choking on my own tears.
“I think I’m starting to get the picture… But there’s one thing I don’t get… How come… she’s never mentioned any of this…?” Sunset asked before placing a hoof on me to try comforting me. “Talking to her… it’s as if she’s never had parents from the start…”
“Because her memory of that moment was erased…” I paused before continuing. “... by Princess Celestia.”
“Wait what??” Sunset asked in shock. “Princess Celestia where there!?”
“Yeah… which is why I need to have a word with her…” I say before getting up.
“Wait a second, Twilight…” Sunset said placing a hoof on me. “Maybe it’s… for the best that she did it…”
“Then why didn’t she just take her away from that world!?” I snapped. “Why would she let Crystal see all those horrible things!?”
“Well… think of it in Crystal’s perspective… Your memories had just been erased, and then suddenly you wake up in a world with zero humans but yourself? She’d probably think that none of it was even real or that she was just dreaming…” Sunset said looking down for a moment. “And Maybe Princess Celestia wanted you to be the one to find her… Maybe she thought you’d be a better pony to take care of her.”
“She could’ve at least helped her more…”
Sunset looked down for a moment. “Maybe she was…”
“Huh?...”
“Twilight… do you really think she’d just throw her into a world like that alone?” Sunset started. “I get the feeling that she wasn’t really alone… That Celestia actually was watching over her.”
I just stopped to think for a moment. “I need to hear it from her myself… Do me a favor: Can you bring Buttercup back home for me?”
“Of course I can.”
“And… one more thing… can you watch over Crystal while I’m in Canterlot?” Sunset just nodded. “Thank you… just watch over her in Equestria though, okay?”
“I promise, I won’t take her to Canterlot High…” Sunset huffed before going over to hug me gently. “You really do care a lot for Crystal… Celestia definitely made the right choice having you take care of her.”
I just pushed Sunset off lightly when she said that. “I have to go… I’ll see you later Sunset.” and with that I just used my magic to teleport me in front of Celestia’s gates.
“Princess Twilight.” One of the guards said getting my attention. “Is something the matter?”
“I just need to have a word with Princess Celestia.” I said flatly before walking inside.
“You do know the Summer Sun Celebration is not that far away, right…?” He asked making me stop in place. “She and her sister may be getting prepared for it…” With everything that’s been going on, I completely forgot about the celebration… “Princess?”
“I know. There’s a celebration.” I said in a tone of aggravation. “But this is sort of an emergency. So if you don’t mind.” I say before continuing to Celestia’s throne room. Guard ponies just saluted me as I walked through the halls going to the room… It honestly still felt strange.
After a bit of walking, I eventually make my way to the throne room… greeted by both Celestia and Luna. “Oh. Twilight.” Luna started. “I was informed you had some important matters to discuss with me?”
“Actually, I have something important I want to talk to both of you about.” I answered.
Celestia just looked at Luna with some concern before turning back to me. “Is there something the matter, Twilight?” Celestia asked walking over to me.
I look at Celestia straight into her eyes. “I need to talk to you about Rebecca.”
Celestia just blinked in shock as soon as I said that name, Luna just looked down and sighed. “I told you she would figure it out eventually, sister…” Luna said not even looking at me directly.
“You both knew…??” I asked started to get angry. “Why didn’t either of you tell me!?”
“Guards… I need to be alone with my sister and Princess Twilight…” Celestia said letting out a heavy sigh. The guards saluted her and stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind them. “You didn’t tell her any of this, did you…?” Celestia asked turning to me slowly.
“Of course I didn’t!” I shouted. “She’s actually happy here; why would I ruin that for her!?”
Celestia just lowered her head. “Look… I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want any of those memories to resurface… She needs a loving mother to keep her happy and calm.”
“Why would telling me cause her memories to come back?”
“Would you honestly look at her the same way if I told you from the start?” Celestia asked bluntly. “Be honest.”
“Wha--... I…” I stammered caught off guard by the question.
“You love Crystal… don’t you?”
“Of course I do!”
“Then please… for her sake, don’t tell her anything that you figured out.” Celestia said walking over to me, before placing a hoof on my head. “There will be a time when she has to be told but only when she’s ready to know the truth. Hearing the truth now might damage her psychologically…”
“But Princess Celestia, she’s been having nightmares about her past! Those memories are still there!” I shouted.
Celestia looked over to Luna. “I need you to watch over her dreams thoroughly from now on, sister…” She said before turning back to me. “As for you, Twilight… Just give Crystal a normal life like when you met her… let her enjoy her life here in Equestria.”
I just sighed looking down. “At least tell me you kept her protected while she was still in that world…”
“Of course I did, Twilight… She was never truly alone.”
-----------------------------------------------
“What do you mean she had an emergency?” I asked Sunset. “What kind of emergency was it?”
“Twilight said she had some personal stuff to take care of… She’ll be back soon.” Sunset said rubbing the back of her head. “For now I just have to bring Buttercup back home to my world… do you think you could wait here for me while I head to the train station?”
“Uhhh… actually Sunset…”
“What is it?”
“Do you think you could teleport her instead?” I ask nervously. “It was honestly a mistake taking her with me in public…”
“What? Why’s that?”
“Well…” Buttercup started. “Apparently in this world, for whatever reason, me and Bright Mac ain’t exactly… around anymore.”
“Not around…?” Sunset asked. “What do you mean by--” She stopped herself realizing what Buttercup meant. Suddenly the color from her face slowly went white. “O-oh…” she squeaked slightly. “Okay yeah we should get the heck out of here now.” she said before quickly teleporting herself and Buttercup back to the Crystal Empire.
I just looked around at all the books “I wonder if there’s any spells that I could learn on my own…” I go over to look at some of the books to see if there were any spells I could do. “A lot of these are pretty complicated…” I say to myself pulling one of the books out. I open it to read it. “Jeez, I can’t even read this!” I say to myself looking at the different language in front of me. “I don’t think I’ve even seen a language like this before…” I shrug before closing the book again. Suddenly the door opened at the entrance. I look over to see Spike carrying a pretty heavy looking bag of dog food with Cocoa following him. “Do you need any help with that?”
“I… got it…” Spike groaned before tossing the dog food on the ground. “Whew…” Cocoa just went up to Spike and licked his face. “Mmmh…” he groaned again while I just laughed. “She’s been doing that all the way over here…”
“Well why don’t you lay down for a bit?” I say trying to rip open the bag of dog food.
“Nah… and besides, Twilight’s trying to make me sleep less anyways.” He says while I struggle to open the bag. “Speaking of which… where is Twilight anyways?”
“Sunset Shimmer said that she had to go to Canterlot for something important…” I grunt pulling on the bag. “Stupid bag…!”
“Here, let me help.” Spike said walking over to me before using his claws to tear open the bag. “There you go.”
“Thanks…” I huff putting the bag down. “I’m going to get a bowl to put the food in.”
“Make sure it’s two bowls.” Spike added. “One for food and the other for water.”
“Right.” I sigh going into the kitchen, grabbing two bowls, filling one of them up with water. I bring both bowls over placing the one with water down first, filling the other bowl with dog food. “There you go Cocoa.” I smile putting the food bowl down.
Spike just looked at me before tilting his head. “You okay Crystal? You’re not as energetic as you usually are.”
“I don’t know… I guess I’m just wondering why Mom left without even saying anything.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine Crystal…”
I just look down for a moment in thought. “Hey… I’m gonna go for a walk.”
“Oh… where are you going?”
“I don’t know.” I say before walking out the door. I just look around at everypony walking around and I just start heading through town by myself. I don’t get it… Mom always likes taking me with her… but suddenly she just runs off without saying a word? Something’s definitely going on…
-------------------------------------
Near the Everfree Forest…
I stop by the entrance to the Everfree Forest and gulp nervously. Literally the last time I was here I was tricked into going there… But it has been a while since I Saw Zecora. “Crystal!” A voice called out. I turn to the voice and see it came from Fluttershy. “Where are you going…??”
“I was just going to visit Zecora!”
“Not by yourself!” Fluttershy exclaimed running over to me. “Whew… I’m glad I caught you.” I just stop and stare at her for a moment. “What?”
“You’re okay with going in the Everfree Forest, Fluttershy…?”
“W-well… normally I’m not completely okay with it… but if you want to visit Zecora, then I won’t let you go alone.”
“Well… alright then I guess.” I say walking into the forest with Fluttershy following close behind… as it got darker, I used my magic to make a ball of light like Mom showed me. “There’s a lot of different plants around here… and Zecora just lives in this all the time?”
“Well… it’s not the safest place to live, but believe it or not, there are a lot of remedies made from these plants.”
“So you’re saying any of these plants could be used as medicine?”
“Most of them.”
I just stop and look at a plant moving behind her. “Uhh… what about that one?” I ask pointing behind her.
“Huh?” Fluttershy asked turning to the black vine… wait is that a mouth!? Fluttershy just screamed while the vine hissed at her before lunging at her… But before it did, I was able to shoot a beam at it, making it explode. Fluttershy shook a bit before slowly turning back to me. “A-are you okay??”
I was panting a bit nervously. “I should be asking you that!” I shout. “What kind of plant was that!?”
“I don’t know but that was definitely not one of the good ones!” Fluttershy shouted back.
I just calm down trying to catch my breath… until I see more vines coming this way. “There’s more of them!” I exclaim running back out.
“W-wait! Don’t run off on your own…!” Fluttershy exclaimed trying to keep up. “...and without me!”
While running, I accidentally trip over an outward tree root and fall over into a bed of blue flowers. “Ugh… glad these flowers broke my fall…”
Fluttershy stopped in place when she saw where I was. “Crystal! Get out of there!!”
“H-huh??”
“Those flowers are bad! Get out of there right now!”
“Okay! Okay!” I exclaim getting up, heading for the exit with Fluttershy. Eventually after our running we finally reach the cottage. I just pant hard falling to the ground. “What kind of plants… were those!?”
“I don’t know…” Fluttershy said still shaking. “I’ve never seen vines like that before in my life…”
“What about Zecora?? Is she going to be okay in there??”
“Zecora?? What about you??”
“Huh?”
“Those flowers you fell in… they aren’t normal flowers.”
“What do you mean…?”
“They’re called Poison Joke…”
My eyes quickly shot open when she said the word ‘poison’. “Poison!?”
“Yes… a very bad plant that causes different effects on everypony.”
“Wait… different effects?”
“Well… For example; when I touched the poison joke, my voice got really really deep… it was basically a male voice… and when applejack touched it, she turned really really small.”
“Oh… so it’s not the same kind of poison I was thinking about…” I sigh in relief. “But wait a second; What’s going to happen to me??”
“I’m not sure… I’ve never seen it happen to a human before… I suggest going home as soon as possible.”
“But wouldn’t Zecora have medicine for this or something…?”
“Well normally yes but you saw how dangerous it was in there! We’ll have to come back when those vines are gone…”
“Will I be okay until then…?”
Fluttershy just looked down not really sure what to say. “I’m… sure you’ll be okay Crystal…”
“That didn’t sound so sure…” I sigh just heading home.
“Be safe!” Fluttershy says while I head on my way.
I just sigh looking down. “So much for visiting Zecora…” I say to myself heading back home. “And… what the heck is gonna happen to me? Ugh… I hope Mom gets back soon…...hic!” I jump a bit. “Great… I always hate getting hiccups…” I say before trying to hold my breath.
…
…
“Whew… that was eas-- hic!” with that last hiccup… suddenly I was teleported inside of the water fountain in Ponyville. “What in the--! Hic!” I hiccup again… this time being teleported into a random empty looking village. “Stop!!” I try holding my breath covering my mouth… I look over to see a pink unicorn with purple hair just staring at me with a surprised expression on her face. “Uh… he-- hic!” I hiccup again teleporting into the library back home.
“What the--” Sunset said looking at me. “Crystal!? Did you just teleport!?”
Sunset just stared at the spot where I just was. “Twilight is literally going to kill me…”
With that last hiccup, I found myself teleported in Celestia’s castle. “Mmmmph!!” I exclaimed covering my mouth, trying to hold my breath trying to run through the hall. I frantically look around for Princess Celestia to see if she could help me. Unable to hold my breath for too long I just gasp taking a deep breath. “No don’t--! Hic!” I hiccup again… thankfully teleporting inside Celestia’s throne room where she and Mom already were.”
“What the!?” Mom exclaimed turning to me. “Crystal!? How did you teleport!?... and why are you soaking wet??”
“Mmmmh!!” I shake my head trying to hold my breath.
“What is it!? Spit it out!”
“Mmmmh….” I let go of my mouth for a second. “Poison Joke--! Hic!” I hiccup teleporting in the air… about to fall and hit the ground!... at least I would have if Celestia didn’t catch me.
“Poison Joke!? How did you get into contact with Poison Joke!?” Mom exclaimed.
“I was just going to see Zecora in the Everfree Forest with Fluttershy, but then these plants attacked us and-- hic!” I hiccup crashing into Princess Luna. “We were trying to run away but then I tripped and fell into a bunch of blue flowers…” I groan looking at Luna. “...Sorry…”
“There might be some of the Poison Joke cure left back at the Spa in Ponyville…” Mom said picking me up off of Princess Luna. “But there’s no way you could hold your breath until you get back there!”
“If I may suggest something…” Celestia spoke up helping her sister off the ground. “You could take this opportunity to teach her how to teleport properly.”
Mom just looked up at her quietly putting me down and placing a hoof. “Okay Crystal… before you hiccup again, try to concentrate… visualize in your mind where you want to be before you cast the--”
“Hic!” I hiccup teleporting me and Mom out of the castle; crashing into the fountain again.
“Ugh… forget spell for now! Hang on!” Mom exclaimed running out of the fountain, passing Sunset Shimmer and Spike, carrying me to the spa as quickly as she could. I just tried my best to hold my breath for as long as I could. Eventually, Mom just burst through the doors at the spa. “We need a Poison Joke bath, now!” She exclaimed while carrying me to a bath. Two ponies: a pink one and a light blue one, looked like they were both getting a bath ready.
I can’t hold it…! I think to myself flailing a bit. I then take another deep breath and-- “Hic!” I hiccup again… only to find myself under warm water. I just get on my feet taking another breath. I rub my eyes before looking around… finding myself in the bath at the Ponyville Spa. “Oh thank Celestia…”
Mom just stared at me for a second after saying that while mumbling to herself.
-----------------------------------------------
“Oh thank Celestia…” Crystal said after teleporting into the bath.
I just groaned walking home from the spa in soaking wet clothes. “Stupid Poison Joke…” I say to myself.
“You were with Fluttershy in the forest, right…?” Mom asked walking right beside me. “She’s been in the Everfree Forest a few times… I wonder what kind of plant you two saw that made you two run away like that…”
“I don’t know… but Mom, can we please talk when we get back home?” I ask while trying to dry out my shirt.
“Hm?” She asked turning to me. “What did you need to talk about?”
“Well… since you looked into my mind, you’ve been acting a little weird.” I said this making Mom look the other way. “...Why did you have to go to Canterlot in the first place?” Mom just kept walking silently toward the library. “Mom?”
“For the Summer Sun Celebration... “ Mom huffed finally answering me. “This is the first Celebration with me as Princess, and they want me to be involved as well.”
“That’s all…?” I asked looking at her. “But when did you even get a letter from Princess Celestia? Spike wasn’t even home yet.”
“I…” Mom stammered a bit.
“Mom, what’s really going on?... are you… lying to me?”
Her eyes just snapped open as soon as I asked. “N-No! Of course not! I really do have to help with the Summer Sun Celebration this year!” She exclaimed before levitating me onto her back. “In fact, we should get you back home right away to get you dressed in some dry clothes and head back to Canterlot!” she said starting to run back to the library.
I just sighed being carried. “Alright, Mom…”
Running into the library, we could see Sunset looking around the library at the books inside. “Ahem…” Mom said clearing her throat.
“Huh?” Sunset asked looking at Mom and me. “O-Oh! Twilight! Um…” Mom just stared at her looking kind of annoyed. “Look, I know you’re mad at me, but I did tell her to stay home… I had to bring Buttercup back home to Canterlot High after all.”
“She fell into a field of Poison Joke…” Mom mused. “Why didn’t you just take Crystal with you?”
“Do you know how much magic it takes for a single unicorn to teleport three ponies?”
“Why teleport then? Why not just take the train??”
“I couldn’t let other ponies see Buttercup…” Sunset sighed lowering her head. “Back at Canterlot High, she lives a normal life with her family but… Here in Equestria… they passed away.”
“W-what…?” Mom asked staring at Sunset. “No wonder Applejack never mentions them… oh gosh, it must’ve been so confusing seeing her again then.”
“Not just that…” I continued. “Everypony was staring at her on the way to the apple farm.”
“Ugh… Hopefully this just blows over… otherwise I’m going to have a lot of explaining to do…” she said before looking at Sunset. “You could stick around for the celebration.”
“Well… Actually I think it’s better if I just head back to Canterlot High myself.” Sunset said rubbing the back of her head. “I don’t exactly feel comfortable seeing Celestia just yet…”
“I understand…” Mom said before taking out a few bits, giving them to Sunset. “These should be enough to get you back to the Crystal Empire… I’ll be sure to visit you sometime soon.”
“Alright, Twilight…” she said before turning to me. “Be sure to visit again soon, okay?”
“Yup…” I nod sighing.
Sunset just looked at me for a moment. “Are you okay…?” she asked. “You seem kind of down.”
“I’ll be fine…” I said slightly smiling at Sunset.
“Well… alright.” She said sounding kind of concerned. “I should get going then… I’ll see you later.” She said before hugging me, heading out the door.
I just look back up at Mom for a moment. “So when do we have to go to Canterlot?” I asked.
“Well we’ll be leaving soon… I may even invite my friends to help with the performance.”
“Well let me know when we go…” I said going upstairs to change my clothes. After changing my clothes, I just go back downstairs and head out the door.
“Huh?” Mom started. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going for a walk around town… I won’t be far away, but I just want to be alone right now...”
“What?... But Crystal--”
“I said I want to be alone!” I snapped before walking out the door… Mom just stared at me in shock as I walked out. “Jeez… How long is she going to say it was just for a celebration?” I ask myself walking through town. Other ponies were waving at me as I walked by… some of them looked like they could tell something was wrong. Some of them even tried to approach me, but I just wasn’t in the mood to really talk with anyone… so I just kept walking.
“Hey Crystal!”
“Hm?” I ask turning to who was calling me. “Oh… hey Pinkie Pie.”
Pinkie just stopped and looked at me for a moment. “How come you look so down, Crystal?”
“Look… Pinkie I just want to be alone right now.”
“Aww come on, don’t let your sadness keep you away from your friends!” she exclaimed before lifting me onto her back. “Tell Aunty Pinkie Pie what the problem is.”
“Pinkie please… I just want to find a place to be alone okay? I’d honestly rather not talk about this.”
“Hmmm… I know a place where we can be alone!” She exclaimed before she started running.
“No, Pinkie, I said-- whoa!” I exclaimed being carried by the hyper pink pony. “Pinkie Pie, where are we going!?”
“At least slow down!” I exclaimed bouncing on her back.
She just stopped and went to a normal walked. “Oopsie! Sorry about that!” She giggled a bit. “Anyways; we’re already here!” She exclaimed as we stopped in front of the entrance to a cave. There was a big boulder right next to the entrance. “Technically I’m not supposed to come here anymore... But it’s just a great place if you want some time with yourself!”
“When did you find this place…?” I asked before walking inside.
“Not too long ago!” Pinkie said hooping inside, following me. “It’s a great place if you want to relax and just talk to yourself!”
“Uhh… talk to myself?” I ask walking deeper in the cave… and stopping after seeing a pool inside an open space. “Whoa…”
“Pretty cool, right??” Pinkie Pie asked walking up to the pool, looking at her own reflection in the water. I just went beside her doing the same thing. “It’s called the mirror pool, and it’s a really special pool too!”
“Special how?... Other than being able to see your own reflection clearly.”
Pinkie just cleared her throat before saying the following words. “And into her own reflection she stared, yearning for one whose reflection she shared, and solemnly sweared not to be scared at the prospect of being truly doubly mared!” she said before diving into the pool.
“What the… Pinkie Pie??” I ask looking into the water… not too long after, Pinkie climbed out of the pool… followed by another Pinkie Pie!? “Wait what!?”
“Yup--! Oh! Before I forget!” Pinkie said before taking a black marker out of her mane. She goes over to the other Pinkie and write the number two on her head. “That way we won’t get mixed up again… eheheh.” Pinkie chuckled nervously.
“Hi!” The other Pinkie exclaimed.
“Uh… Hi.” I answered awkwardly looking at the marked Pinkie Pie. “Wait a second, so this pool can just clone anyone it wants!?”
“What did you think I meant when I said it was a good place to talk to yourself?”
“I didn’t think you meant it literally!”
Pinkie just turned to Pinkie Pie 2. “You can go back now! I was just showing my friend how this pool works.”
“Okie Dokie Lokie!” The other Pinkie exclaimed before poofing from existence.
“What the--!?” I exclaimed staring at the spot where the other Pinkie was. “She just exploded!”
“Oh trust me, they’re okay with it!” I just kept staring for a moment and shook my head snapping back into reality. “Go ahead! Try it out!”
“Um… okay.” I said slowly going back to the pool. “Do I just go in…?”
“First you have to repeat the words that I said for it to work. And into her own reflection she stared, yearning for one whose reflection she shared, and solemnly sweared not to be scared at the prospect of being truly doubly mared. And don’t forget the truly part! This pool can be pretty tricky!”
“Uh… right.” I said looking into the pool again. “And into her own reflection she stared, yearning for one whose reflection she shared, and solemnly sweared not to be scared at the prospect of being truly doubly mared.” I said before going into the water. After a bit, I climbed out of the pool… with another version of me following behind. “Okay… this is seriously freaky.” I said looking at the other me… but something seemed off. “Wait… why are you crying?”
“How can you not be…?” The other me asked rubbing her eyes.
“Maybe you didn’t say the chant right…?” Pinkie asked looking at the other me too.
“No, I’m positive I said it exactly like you said it…” I said looking over the other Crystal.
“Well you are supposed to be me… don’t you remember what happened?” she asked looking at me.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about…”
“... You lost your memory?” the other me asked. “What is your name?”
“Um… you should know; it’s Crystal.”
“Yeah but… is that the only name you know?”
“Obviously… Mom was the one who named me.”
“Mom…” The other me muttered before slowly smiling. “Forget I said anything.”
“Wait what?” I asked confused. “First you came here crying, but as soon as I tell you I don’t know what you’re talking about, you’re happy about it?”
“Trust me Crystal… it’s a good thing that you don’t remember.”
“What…? How is it a good thing!?”
“Because if it were me in your place, I’d be wishing everyday that I had forgotten… Knowing the truth isn’t always for the best, and all I feel is pain from that night… But you can have the chance to not feel that pain.”
“But how come only you can remember what happened??”
“I honestly don’t know… before waking up that day in the alley. All I can remember is a bright light… but after that, there was nothing. I don’t even remember being brought there.”
I just sighed. “So not even you can remember that huh… Well I guess I can’t be mad at you for that… But I still really want to know what happened…”
The other me just frowned now. “Crystal, just stop… I’m not going to tell you what happened. Our mom made it pretty clear that she doesn’t want you to feel that pain either.”
“So she actually does know!” I exclaimed. “I knew she was lying to me!”
“She doesn’t want to hurt you Crystal! Don’t you get that!?” The other me exclaimed back.
“Can’t you tell me anything!? Anything that I don’t remember?!”
“No because you don’t need to know!”
“Yes I do!!” I exclaimed before I was suddenly levitated in the air… by a now angry looking version of myself.
“Crystal 2 wait!” Pinkie exclaimed.
“You want to know what kind of pain I felt?! I’ll show you!!” she exclaimed before tossing me out the cave.
I just grunted hitting the ground outside the cave, looking back at the other me again, I could see her angry with tears in her eyes.
“You have the chance to live a normal life! And you’re just throwing it away!” she exclaimed before levitating me again, pinning me against the wall of the cave… but constantly pushing on me. “You have no idea how much pain we felt that day! I’m not letting you relive it!”
I just cough barely being able to breath under the amount of pressure she was using on me. “Please stop…!”
“Then tell me you won’t keep looking for the answers! Tell me you’ll just stop and listen!”
“Alright! Alright!... I’ll stop…” I groan as the other me slowly lowered me down.
The other me just sighed and looked away. “Do you get it now?...”
“I think so… I could see just how angry you were… it was liked something inside you snapped… and there was no way to fix it.”
The other me just looked down and sighed. “Maybe when we’re older you can know… but right now it’s just too much.”
“Yeah… I think I get that now…” I cough a bit catching my breath.
“Sorry about that… didn’t mean to completely lose it like that.”
“It’s fine… I think I kind of deserve it.” I say trying to catch my breath.
“Yeah you kinda did.” the other me chuckled a bit.
“Jee, thanks.” I mused, both of us just started laughing a bit.
“Awww…! How cute!” Pinkie Pie cooed before taking out a camera. “Now hug!”
I just laughed a bit hugging the other me as Pinkie took a picture of us. “I guess we should both get going.”
“What; you want me to explode too?”
“What-- no I didn’t mean it like that!”
She just laughed a bit. “Calm down… And have fun at the Summer Sun Celebration!” the other me exclaimed before poofing from existence as well.
I just giggled a bit. “You know… maybe I’ll come back to this cave sometime again. It actually helped a lot to talk with myself.”
“Just don’t tell Twilight…” Pinkie whispered. “Keep it our little secret okay?”
“I promise I won’t say a word.” Pinkie just hugs me before hopping back into town. I just groaned holding onto my chest as I head back to the library. “Jeez… I really know how to pack a punch…”
Mom was in the air, flapping her wings awkwardly still not really used to using her wings yet. Rainbow Dash was in the air with her trying to help her out. “You gotta really flap em’ hard!” she exclaimed. Mom just nodded and tried flapping her wings as hard as she could… until she almost fell from the sky. “Uh… maybe not that hard.”
Mom just went down to the ground and sighed. “This is ridiculous... How am I supposed to be prepared for the celebration in time?”
“You could try levitation like I do.” I say using my magic to levitate myself up in the air.
“No way!” Rainbow exclaimed. “It has to be with her wings! And besides, you can’t go nearly as fast when you use magic!”
“Oh yeah?” I asked lowering myself to Rainbow Dash. “And what makes you so sure?”
“Please! If it were a race, I could fly circles around somepony using magic to fly!”
“You wanna bet??”
“Uh… girls? Can we focus on my flying--” Mom asked before getting cut off.
“Loser buys everpony cider??”
“What!?” Mom exclaimed. “No that’s not--”
“You’re on!” I exclaimed getting ready to start… until I felt myself frozen and unable to move. I look over at Rainbow who’s in the same state. “Hey!”
“You are not racing here!” Mom exclaimed at me before turning to Rainbow. “And definitely not when somepony makes a bet for it!” Rainbow just chuckled a bit. “Can we please just focus on the performance for the celebration!?”
“Alright you don’t have to yell!” Rainbow exclaimed regardless. “Can you let us go??”
Mom just sighed letting go of both of us. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m just really nervous for this performance… What if I can’t do it right and I let Princess Celestia down?”
“Aw come on Twilight.” Spike started. “You’ll do great! And we’ll all be here to support you all the way.”
“Yeah! Now get up there and show everypony your big finish!” Rainbow exclaimed.
Mom just nodded and flapped her wings and took flight into the air. She went pretty high up and was flying pretty fast… until she eventually lost control flying through a bunch of cloud. Without realizing it, she stopped flapping her wings and started falling. She just screamed trying to flap her wings again, doing circles in the sky… until finally she crash landed into the ground. “Mom!” I exclaimed going over to the crater she made in the ground.
“Wow! That was a big finish!” Pinkie exclaimed looking into the hole.
“Ugh…” Mom just groaned from inside the hole.
“Maybe we should take a break…?” I suggest. “You’ve been practicing for a while, Mom.”
“Crystal’s right sugarcube… don’t wanna overwork yourself now do ya?” Applejack said helping me up.
“I guess not…” Mom said before turning to me and the others. “Why don’t we go for a walk inside the castle?”
“Yeah… would be nice after the crazy teleportation hiccups I had.” I said walking to the castle with the others.
“Teleportation hiccups?” Fluttershy asked walking to the side of me.
“Remember when I fell into the field of poison joke?” I asked. “Well… that was the side effect I got; teleporting everytime I had a hiccup.”
“Wait you fell into poison joke too!?” Rainbow exclaimed at me.
I just sighed and nodded in response. “I was going to visit Zecora but then some weird plants just attacked me and Fluttershy.”
“You were attacked by… plants…?” Rarity asked tilting her head.
“It was very strange…” Fluttershy answered as we all started heading to the castle. “I had never seen plants like these before… ever.”
“Well whatever these plants are, I’m sure that Zecora will take care of them.” Rarity responded.
“I hope so…” I said looking a little worried. “If plants like those got into Ponyville, it could be bad.”
“Please darling!” Rarity said. “Don’t even suggest such a horrid idea… as far anypony is concerned, anything in the Everfree Forest stays in the Everfree Forest.”
“Well it’s not completely out of the question…” Mom added. “Not everything is really known about the Everfree Forest after all.”
“I suppose so…” Rarity rolled her eyes a bit.
--------------------------------------------
Inside the Castle…
All of us were just walking down the hall, passing the multiple stained glasses… most of them having my mom and her friends on them. “Wow… all of you really did a lot huh…?” I asked looking in awe at the glass.
“Well if it weren’t for us, a lot of Equestria… well… actually, I don’t know what Equestria would be like without the elements… it seems like without them, Equestria would be in ruin.” Mom said starting to think a bit to herself.
Eventually we all stopped walking in front of the stained glass with the picture of Mom on it with her wings. “I must say darling… they really did capture your regality.” Rarity cooed looking up at the glass.
“I suppose…” Mom sighed a bit.
“Oh, don't be so modest. It's everypony's dream to someday wear a crown and have their coronation ceremony preserved in stained glass for all to see.” Rarity smiled.
Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes. “I don’t think that’s everypony’s dream…”
“Most of my dreams are about frosting!” Pinkie beaming licking her lips.
“Hey.” I started. “Shouldn’t you girls get going? It’s getting pretty late.”
“Crystal’s right.” Applejack responded. “Don't know about y'all, but I've still got bushels to do to get ready. The official celebration may be here in Canterlot, but hoo-wee, has the Mayor put us in charge of one heck of a party back home.” Mom just looked down kind of upset… “Aw, don't look like that, sugarcube. You get to be right there with the other Princesses when Celestia raises the sun.”
“And I'm honored... Really, I am. It's just that the Summer Sun Celebration is what first brought us all together. It just doesn't feel right not getting to spend such a special day with my Ponyville friends.” Mom sighs looking to the side.
“It doesn't feel right to us either, darling... If the Mayor wasn't so desperate for our assistance, we'd most certainly stay here in Canterlot. And of course we do understand that your royal duties must come first.” Rarity responded.
“The Summer Sun Celebration may have brought us together, but it's something much bigger that'll always keep us connected.” Applejack stopped to walk up to one of the stained glasses. “Exhibit A: The six of us are united by the Elements of Harmony. No amount of royal duties is gonna change that. Right, everypony?” Rainbow, Rarity and Fluttershy all nod in agreement.
“Right Pinkie Pie??” Applejack added.
“Creamy, creamy frosting…” Pinkie responded with her mouth still watering.
“Uh… let’s take that as a yes.” Fluttershy giggled a bit. I just looked at everypony and sighed a bit. “Something wrong Crystal?”
“It’s nothing important…” I responded rubbing the back of my head. “Guess I’m a little nervous for the celebration myself.”
“Oh that’s right… Twilight did mention something about you having a part in the Celebration as well, correct?” Rarity asked.
“Mhm… and I’ve been practicing a lot…”
“Well what were you going to do?”
“Nothing crazy… But it still needs work.” I say before making a ball of light… throwing it in the air before firing a magic beam at it. Only to miss and shoot a hole through the wall.
Mom just stared at the hole in shock. “We should go. Now!” She exclaimed running out while the others followed.
--------------------------------------------
Eventually after a bit we reached the train station. “So what was that supposed to be?” Rainbow asked.
“It was supposed to be that when I shoot that light, it’s supposed explode like a firework… but I need to work on my aim.”
“You could always try making the ball bigger.” Mom suggested. “Give yourself a bigger target… actually it might even give you a bigger explosion as well.”
“I guess I could try that…”
Suddenly the train whistle could be heard. “Oh! We have to go!” Rarity exclaimed.
“We're gonna write you and give you so many details, it'll be like you're in Ponyville with us! Right, girls?” Pinkie asked looking back at the four.
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” The four chanted while moving their hooves at the same time.
“All aboard for Ponyville!” The conductor shouted as the others ran on… Me, Mom, and Spike just headed back to the castle.
Mom just sighed. “What’s wrong Twilight?” Spike asked.
“I can’t help it Spike… it’s only been a minute, and I already feel like I’m missing something.” She responded.
Just on cue, Spike burper up an envelope with a litter in it. Spike took the letter to read it. “Dear Twilight, you aren't missing anything. Your friend, Pinkie Pie.”
“That’s me!!” Pinkie shouted in the distance, followed by confetti coming out of the train.
“Come on Mom… everything will be just fine. It’s only for a little while after all.”
“I know sweetie… sorry. I’m just so used to being with my friends for so long… It’s hard to imagine us being separated again.”
Well… I can understand that.” I responded rubbing the back of my head. “I can’t imagine my life without you either, Mom.”
Mom just smiled at me when I said that. “We should hurry back… Princess Celestia will probably be waiting for us.”
“Right.” I said levitating myself to go ahead to the castle.
“Hey! Wait for me!” Mom exclaimed chasing after me.
When we got back to the castle, Mom and Spike were getting things prepared. Spike had his checklist checking everything that Mom went over with him. And I just… kinda sat in bed and watched while it was all going on.
“Check, check, check, check, and... check! Huh, whaddaya know? We're way ahead of schedule! I credit your extremely competent assistant.” Spike said with a smug grin.
“So do I.” Mom smiled petting his head.
“You know, Mom… the celebration isn't until the day after tomorrow... We could still fit in a quick trip to Ponyville and be back in plenty of time to finish off these last few things before the main event.” I suggested. “Plus I’m kind of bored.”
Mom just sighed. “That would be nice, Crystal, but what if something else came up while we were gone? What if we were delayed getting back and I wasn't able to finish everything on that list? What if we lost the list on the way to Ponyville and then couldn't remember which things we'd done and which things we hadn't done, and then spent so much time trying to figure out what we hadn't done and what we had done, and we ruined the entire Celebration by not doing the one really important thing that we were supposed to do?!” She exclaimed before hitting her head on the ceiling… from flying up without even realizing it.
“...is that a no?” I asked groaning a bit.
“I’m sorry Crystal… but it’s my duty as Princess. And it’s a duty that Celestia entrusted me with… I don’t want to let her down.”
“And I'm sure you won't.” Said a voice coming from the door. Looking over we both could see Princess Celestia smiling at us.
I just quickly walked up to Celestia hugging her… While Mom still bowed to her. “Now Now, there’s no need for that Twilight.” she said while rubbing the back of my head. “And how are you doing Crystal? Have you been sleeping soundly?”
“Wait huh?” I asked looking at her.
“Well… Twilight did mention that you were having some issues sleeping.”
“Oh… well, honestly I haven’t had any problems sleeping anymore!... Even though some of my dreams have been a little weird.”
“Hm? Weird how exactly?”
“Well… I’ve been dreaming about things I haven’t even seen before.” I started trying to remember my dreams a bit. “I don’t know… probably not important.”
“well other than your dreams, how are you adjusting to your life here in Equestria? It has been some time since you first arrived after all.”
“Are you kidding? I’ve made so many friends here in Equestria that I don’t think I ever want to leave!”
Princess Celestia just giggled a bit. “Well I’m happy to hear it… and I’m happy that you’ll be able to join us for the Summer Sun celebration… it feels wonderful to actually look forward to it this year.”
“Huh? What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well… for my subjects it has always been a celebration of my defeat of Nightmare Moon. But for me…” she stopped to let out a sigh. “It was just a terrible reminder that I’d had to banish my own sister…”
“You had to banish… your own sister…?” I asked looking down a bit. “I don’t remember Mom telling me about that…”
“At the time it was what I had to do… I had to do it for the future of Equestria.”
“For the future…” I just repeated.
…
“I did what I felt was necessary for the future…” I could hear in my own head.
“uunngh….” I groaned holding my head.
“Crystal?” Mom asked walking over to me. “Sweetie, are you okay?”
“I’LL KILL YOU!!” I could hear again. “AAHH!” I just yelled out gripping my head.
“Crystal! What’s--!” Mom exclaimed stopping mid-sentence just staring at me… I could feel tears running down my face… For some reason I just started feeling so angry and I don’t know why!
…
Then everything just stopped… I was panting hard trying to catch my breath. The next thing I knew, I could see Mom holding onto me tight. “Mom…?” Mom just looked over Celestia… who was looking back at me with worry in her eyes. “What just happened…?”
“I’m afraid that’s my fault…” Princess Celestia just sighed. “When your mother told me what was in your nightmares, I tried to have my sister change your dreams to only be happy ones… but it appears that was only suppressing the nightmares.”
“Princess Luna was changing my dreams this whole time…?’
“We were just trying our best to help as much as we could…”
“So I’m not really better then…?” I asked looking down.
“I’m sorry Crystal… but until we find a real solution, I’m afraid this is the best that we can do.”
“Come on… why don’t we get some rest?” Mom suggest placing a wing on me.
I just sighed. “I know i said I wouldn’t ask anymore… but this is just hard…”
Celestia just looked at Mom for a moment before looking back at me. "In time, you will understand... I promise. For now, try and get some rest." Mom and I just nodded as Celestia walked out.
“Ugh…” I groaned getting up from bed. I looked over at Mom who was still asleep… so was Spike. I just got up from bed and opened the curtain at the window… only to stop and look at the sky. “Whoa, what the…” I said staring at the sky… I could see both the sun and the moon raised at the same time. “That doesn’t seem right.” I quickly go over to Mom shaking her a bit. “Mom! Wake up!”
Mom just yawned rubbing her eyes a bit. “Morning sweetie…”
“Uh… is it morning?”
“Huh…?” I just pulled her out of bed, dragging her to the window. “Crystal, what’s this--...” She stopped looking out the window, seeing the sun and the moon as well. “--...about.”
“Does this usually happen before the celebration…?”
“No Crystal, this has never happened before… Spike! Wake up!” Mom exclaimed running over to him.
“Ugh… huh? What time is it?” Spike groaned sitting up.
“It’s the middle of the night! But it could be morning. That’s just it! We can’t tell!”
Spike just walked over to me while I was still looking out the window. “Whoa… that’s weird…”
“Come on you two, we have to find out what’s going on.” I just climbed up on top of her back while we headed out the door with Spike following.
When we got outside, we could see multiple ponies looking up at the sky in concern. “What do you think it means!?” One of them shouted.
We just tried to sneak by them until one of them pointed us out. “Princess Twilight will know!”
“W-well… you see… look I’m sure the a completely logical explanation for--”
“Your Highness!” One of the royal guards interrupted. “You must come with us immediately!” he exclaimed leading us away from the crowd and into another room. As soon as we entered they slammed the door shut. “It’s Princess Luna and Princess Celestia…” The guard said with a look of concern.
“They’re gone!” the other guard finished.
“W-What!?” Mom exclaimed. “What do you mean they’re gone!? Where are they??”
“We’re not sure… they simply vanished!”
“That doesn’t make any sense!” I exclaimed. “The Princesses of both the sun and the moon don’t just vanish!”
“Well without either princesses, and Princess Cadence overseeing the Crystal Empire, we await your command Princess Twilight.” The guard said before bowing.
“Wha-- My command!?” Mom shouted. She took a bit and looked down trying to think. “... Alright. I want you to continue the search for Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. We have to find them before ponies start to panic. There must be some clue that can tell us what's happened to them. If you find something, anything, let me know immediately.” The two guard ponies just saluted before heading out the door. Mom just let out a sigh of relief when the door closed.
“Way to take charge, Twilight.” Spike smiled at Mom.
Just before Mom was even able to respond, another guard pony ran in. “Your highness! News from Ponyville!”
“Oh come on, what’s happening now!?” Mom exclaimed.
“It’s the Everfree Forest! It appears to be… well… invading!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Mom groaned before looking back at me. “You don’t think…”
“It might be those plants that I mentioned yesterday… do you think it might have something to do with the princesses going missing too?”
“I don’t know Crystal… to spread into Ponyville is one thing but to get all the way to Canterlot? That’s crazy! Come on, we have to go back to Ponyville right away!” she exclaimed before running out.
“Wait up!!” Spike exclaimed trying to keep up to us.
“We need to hurry to the train station right away!” Mom exclaimed running as fast as she could.
“Twilight wait! Did you already forget? There’s an easier way to get there!” Mom just stopped making Spike bump into her. “You can fly!” Spike said panting a bit, trying to catch his breath.
“Oh… right.” Mom said looking down a bit. “But Spike I won’t be able to fly both you and Crystal back… plus teleportation for the 3 of us would take too much magic.”
“I’ll try to use my magic to levitate myself and follow you Mom…”
“Are you sure? That’s a pretty long distance Crystal…”
“I’ll be fine Mom… it should be good practice for me anyways.” I say climbing off her back.
“Well… alright, If you say so.” Mom just levitated Spike onto her back instead. “Are you bother ready?” I just levitate myself while Spike nods in response. With that Mom slowly flapped her wings, awkwardly lifting herself up in the air before flying off. I did my best to follow behind.
While levitating myself, I looked over at Mom who looked like she was struggling a bit… and Spike looked like he was pan-- is that a seatbelt?
“I’m really starting to regret my decision!!” Spike exclaimed holding onto Mom tightly.
Eventually after a while of flying we could see the library come into view. “We’re almost there!” Mom shouted. “Come on you two, we need to get the elements of harmony and find the others!” She exclaimed before diving towards the library.
“INCOMING!!” Spike shouted.
“W-Whoa..!!” Mom said flailing a bit before teleporting inside of the library, crashing into a pile of books… While Spike was still outside, slammed against the window.
I just quickly levitate myself to the ground, catching him.”You alright Spike?” I asked as he was shaking.
“N-Next time we wait for the train…” He said trembling a bit. “Thanks for catching me Crystal…”
“You think I’d just let you fall?” giggles a bit petting his head before entering the library.
“Oh thank goodness!” Rarity exclaimed.
“Oh, I hope you know we wouldn't normally go through your books without permission…” Fluttershy said lowering her head a bit.
“Uh… this is a public library, isn’t it?” I asked.
“Well that’s true but--”
“Focus girls!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I dunno if you've noticed, but the Everfree Forest is just a teeny-tiny bit out of control.” She said right before her tail started twitching. She ducked down and a large black vine bursted in, crashing into Rarity.
“Guess it turned out you were missin' something here in Ponyville after all.” Applejack said before closing the window over the giant vine.
“But perhaps you already know what's causing all of this calamity. Has Princess Celestia sent you to dispel it posthaste?” Rarity asked the two of us.
Me and Mom both looked at eachother. “There’s a small problem with that…” I started rubbing the back of my head. “We have no idea where they are.”
“What!?” the five exclaimed. “Well do you have any idea of what happened to them!?” Rainbow asked.
“I don’t know…” I continued. “It might have something to do with these plants though.”
“And we’re going to need the Elements of Harmony to resolve this issue.” Mom added before going into the case to get the Elements. Giving them to their rightful owners.
“Now we just gotta figure out who to aim these bad boys at so we can get Celestia and Luna back and keep the rest of Equestria from becoming plant food! Any ideas?” Applejack asked.
Mom just looked outside thinking for a moment. “Half day, half night... strange weather patterns... out of control plants. I think I'm starting to get a pretty good idea of who we're up against.”
“Who do you think it is…?” Fluttershy asked.
“Well… I know you’re not going to like the answer to this Fluttershy, but the only pony who could’ve possibly done this is Discord.”
“Whoa whoa whoa!” I said cutting her off. “What?? What are you talking about Mom?!”
“I know it’s hard for you to believe Crystal, but before you decided to make friends with him, all he did was cause trouble for us and the ponies of Equestria.”
“And this ain’t exactly somethin’ he wouldn’t do.” Applejack added.
“Agreed.” Rarity nodded. “If anypony is responsible for this mess, it’s Discord!”
“Oh come on!” I exclaimed. “Listen to yourselves! Why are you just pointing hooves without even asking any questions!? What reason would Discord have to do this anyways??”
“Whatever he does doesn’t have a reason!” Rainbow answered.
I just groaned a bit. “Well I want to hear it from him myself!” I shouted.
The others just looked at each other while Mom just sighed. “Alright… we’ll ask him ourselves.”
Reaching the center of town, the six went around in a circle while I just watched them. Eventually Mom started the spell and six of them just started floating in the air with a band of rainbows going through their elements… eventually the bands went to the center of them, spinning around rapidly… until Discord could be seen… scrubbing himself?
“Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap-ooh!” Discord laughed a bit. “Now, Twilight, you know Princess Celestia said that you were to give me a heads up before you summon me with that little spell she gave you. In case you haven't noticed, I was in the middle of a particularly invigorating shower.” He said drying himself off in front of Mom’s face.
“Enough!” Mom exclaimed pushing Discord back. “Release Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and stop the Everfree Forest from invading!”
“Mom! Seriously!?” I exclaimed. “What’d we literally just agree on!?”
“He’s up to something Crystal!”
“Why, whatever are you talking about?” Discord asked with a chuckle.
“Don't you play dumb with us, Discord! We know you're the only pony who coulda done any of this!” Applejack exclaimed.
“Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love what you've done with the place.” discord said while taking pictures like he was sightseeing. “But I couldn't possibly take responsibility. I'm reformed, don't you remember?”
“Yeah, right! This has got your cloven hoofprints all over it!” Rainbow exclaimed.
“I'll have you know that I have only one cloven hoof.” Discord said as one of his disembodied hooves kicked Rainbow Dash from behind. “Such accusations. And here I thought we were friends.”
“Drop the act, buster!” Even Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “We're onto you!”
“Ladies, ladies, I'm innocent.” Discord responded covering Pinkie’s mouth. “Would I lie to you?”
“Yes!” Everypony but me and Fluttershy shouted.
“Um… Maybe?” Fluttershy finally let out… I just groaned hearing all of this.
“Well then, it seems we've reached an impasse.” Discord shrugged. “I'm telling the truth, but you think I'm lying. What do friends like us do in a situation like this, Princess Twilight?” He said laughed a bit. “Congrats, by the way, on the promotion. You totally deserve it.”
“I say we blast him back to stone!” Rainbow exclaimed.
“Here, here!” Rarity added before they started floating again.
“Will you all just stop!?” I exclaimed before walking up to Discord. “At least give him a chance to explain himself!”
“Well at least someone has the decency to ask nicely and give me the benefit of the doubt.” He said before picking me up. “You all could learn a thing or two from my dear friend, Crystal over here.”
“Well if you're not the one responsible, then help us figure out who is!” Mom exclaimed.
Discord rolled his eyes before putting me down, starting to knit from the vines around us. “I suppose I could, but after all the hoof pointing and besmirching of my good name, I just don't know if I'm up to it… Why don't you ask your zebra friend if she knows anything?” He asked with an arrow pointing towards Zecora who was walking with a full cart of supplies.
“Zecora!” Mom exclaimed running over to her while the rest of us followed.
“From my home, I have had to flee! The forest has grown too wild, even for me!” Zecora said panting, putting the cart down.
“Do you know why any of this is happening Zecora?” I asked helping her out of the cart.
“I'm afraid it is a mystery to me as well, but I may have something that, if combined with a spell…” she said before pulling out a vial with purple liquid. “I do not dare to use it myself, the results would be tragic. It only responds to Alicorn magic… Princess Twilight, you can turn the potion from purple to white. After a sip, you may see why the sky is day and night.”
Mom just looked at the potion and took a deep breath before using her Alicorn magic on it… when she did, the potion did change from purple to white just like Zecora said it would. “Well… here goes nothing.” Mom said before levitating the bottle up to her mouth, taking a sip out of it.
…
“It doesn’t seem to be wor--” she stopped as her eyes started glowing suddenly.
“W-whoa! What the!?” I exclaimed picking up the bottle. “Zecora what was that spell supposed to do!?”
“If her spell was properly cast, then it has given Princess Twilight a view of the past.”
“She’s looking at the past…?” I asked looking back at her… it looked like she was mumbling to herself a bit. I then just look back at the bottle for a moment.
“I sure hope she’s okay…” Applejack said looking over Twilight with concern.
“Princess Twilight should be fine as long as-- No! Do not drink--!” Zecora shouted at me as I took a sip of the potion myself… eventually even my eyes started glowing and my vision went completely white.
…
…
…
Eventually the light faded, and I saw myself in a different room that I didn’t recognize… but for some reason something about it was familiar. It looked like someone’s kitchen. I turn my attention over to the human woman… who was just sitting at the table holding a coffee in her hands. “Um… excuse me?” I asked… but the woman didn’t respond. “I guess she can’t hear me…”
“Mommy!” a voice yelled out from behind me. The source of the voice soon ran from behind me… running up to the woman.
I just widened my eyes… starting to breathe heavily. “That’s… me…” I quickly glanced over to the woman again. “But that would mean that she’s… my…!!” I sputtered a bit as tears went down my face. “What is going on…? what is this!?”
“Mommy, Daddy said he wanted to show me something fun! Can I go please!?” The other me asked, begging her.
She just looked over at the figure waiting by the door… who I could only assume was my… dad… suddenly I could feel a sharp pain going through my head as the scene changed. I could see Mom and Dad arguing with each other late at night. “What do you think you’ll accomplish by doing this to her!?” she exclaimed. “Our daughter isn’t some lab rat you can experiment on for your stupid fantasy!”
“It’s not a fantasy! In fact it’s so close to becoming a reality! I’ve actually tested my research on multiple subjects: All of them with promising results!” The Dad exclaimed.... for some reason, everytime he spoke, my hands started shaking.
“Other subjects…? Just how far have you taken this!?”
“Does it really matter!?”
“The answer is no! As long as I’m her mother, you will never be allowed to do this to her!”
Suddenly the scene changed again… in the blinding light I could hear the sound of a gunshot which made me flinch. This time when the light cleared, all I could see was a dark room. The other me was sitting on a chair silently. Eventually the father walked up to me holding a needle.... it looked like I was struggling until he smacked the other me in the face.
…
…
…
“What…? My own dad was doing this to me…!?”
---------------------------------------
“Zecora is she gonna be alright!?” Applejack exclaimed. “This is startin’ to make me worried!”
“I do not know...” Zecora responded.
“Well there has to be something we can do!” Rainbow exclaimed. “For Celestia’s sake, we have Twilight crying over here while Crystal is--... wait… is she shaking?”
“Hm?” Discord looked over to me. With curiosity getting the better of him, he snapped his fingers making a strange device appear.
“And just what in the hay is that supposed to be?” Applejack asked.
“Oh hush.” Discord responded before pointing the device at Mom. It just showed a blue sad crying face on the screen. “Well, it looks like Twilight is experiencing a great deal of sadness… While Crystal…” he said before pointing the device at me, getting a red angry face as a result. “Oh dear… is experiencing a great deal of anger…”
“Anger…?” Fluttershy asked with a worried tone.
“It appears what the two are seeing are completely different…” He said as the device beeped, with the anger level increasing. “Oh dear… that doesn’t look good.”
“What doesn’t look good??” Applejack exclaimed.
“It appears she isn’t only feeling anger… but pain as well.” Discord added.
“She’s in… p-pain…?” Fluttershy asked.
“I warned them the results could be tragic…” Zecora just sighed.
“Now then… do what I told you to do.” He said sternly.
“B-but it didn’t work the last time…” The other me whimpered. “Please this is just crazy…! I just want to go home! I haven’t seen Mommy in a really long time…!” She cried. I just kept shaking… trembling…
“Just do it Rebecca!” He yelled. “This time I know it will work!”
“Ugh…!” I groaned wrapping my own arms around me after hearing that name. “R-Rebecca… my name’s Rebecca…?”
The other me just sighed looking over to the blocks that were placed on a table… she moved her hand, pointing at the blocks and started to concentrate… in just a few short moments, the blocks then started to rise in the air. “Yes!” Dad exclaimed. “Yes, it worked!”
“What did you do…??”
“I’ve just made magic real!” he exclaimed before grabbing hold of the other me. “And this is just the beginning! We have so many more tests to perform!”
Back in reality, Mom finally came to, shaking her head a bit… looking at everyone else who was crowding around Me. “Uh… girls?” Just as Applejack moved out of the way to look at me… “W-what the… what happened!?”
“Twilight!” Rainbow exclaimed.
“I’m sorry Twilight. When you were out cold, Crystal drank the potion herself!” Applejack said. “She’s been like this only a little while after you drank it.”
“Is she… okay?” she asked looking over my still body. “...Why is she crying…??”
“When can I go back to Mommy…?” The other me asked.
“You can’t…” the father responded.
Soon I could start feeling my own heart racing…
“Why not!?” She exclaimed. “Please Daddy… why won’t you let me see her…?” she said crying again. “I really miss her… I know you two always fought but I just really want to see her…”
“It would be impossible even if I wanted to.” He said flatly.
“What do you mean…?” The other me asked… Dad just stood there silently. “Daddy… where is she…?”
“Ungh..!” I groaned falling over.
“She’s gone sweetheart…” He answered.
“What do you mean she’s gone…??” Rebecca asked starting to cry again. “What did you do to her!?”
“I did what I felt was necessary for the future…” Rebecca just stared at Dad... her hands started trembling in anger as well as mine. Tears were streaming down our face… Then the whole building started to shake, and the other me started surging…! “Rebecca! Stop this!!”
“You…… MONSTER……” Rebecca said breathing heavily… Her eyes then went completely blank while looking at him. “I’LL KILL YOU!!”
“Crystal!! Crystal snap out of it!!” I could see Twilight--... Mom shaking me as I came back to reality. “Oh thank goodness!”She said hugging onto me tight. “Thank goodness you’re alright!” Without warning I just fell to my knees… tears streaming down my face as my whole body trembled. “C-Crystal… what’s--”
“I-It was me… It was me who said it… It was my Dad that killed her…… AND IT WAS ME THAT KILLED HIM!!!” I screamed crying.
Everyone just stared down at me while I was on my hands and knees in tears. I couldn’t believe everything that I just saw… did that really all just happen!? All I did was just scream out in anguish at the thought. “C-Crystal! Please calm down!” Mom exclaimed trying to hold onto me.
“T-Twilight…” Applejack stuttered a bit. “Did I… hear that right…?”
“Crystal why did you drink that potion!? You didn’t even have any idea what it did!” Mom exclaimed ignoring Applejack’s question.
“Princess Twilight… the blame falls onto me…” Zecora said walking up to us. “I told Crystal its effect… and she wanted to see.”
“Crystal…! If you knew what it did, why did you drink it!? You said--”
“I wanted the nightmares to stop!” I shouted. “I was sick of it! I was sick of feeling this way! I was sick of making people worry about me! And I was sick of having the princesses use their time just to help me!” Everyone just stared at me… even Discord looked surprised. “I knew it would probably hurt… but I didn’t think it would be this painful…”
“How much… did you see exactly…?” Mom asked.
I just sighed before starting to explain everything I saw… with each word it looked like my mom’s head went lower and lower while the others just stared in disbelief. Pinkie Pie’s mane went flat, Applejack covered her own face with her hat, and Fluttershy just started crying… “After that white light at the end… that’s when it ended.”
“So you didn’t exactly see the whole thing…” Mom said to herself.
…
“What…?” I asked walking up to her. “There’s something else…?”
Mom just winced a bit before nodding… I just grabbed the potion and took another sip of it to see for myself… once again everything went white.
…
…
…
Eventually I could see again… I was back in that dark room and both the other me and… him… were on the ground. I walked over to him and I could tell he wasn’t breathing… I just take a deep breath before moving over to my body… Of course I was just passed out… “This… actually really hurts…” I say to myself before hearing footsteps coming this way. “Huh?...”
“You poor thing…” The figure said walking up to my unconscious body……….huh...!?
“Princess Celestia…!?” I exclaimed just staring at her in disbelief.
“You’ve been through so much pain…” Celestia sighed placing a hoof over Rebecca’s head. “Your cries did not go unheard… I will give you a better life…” She said before placing a her horn over Rebecca’s head. “But for now, it’s best that you forget about this traumatic experience… Memories like this are better left forgotten.” As soon as her horn glowed, I could feel another sharp pain in my own head.
Eventually everything went white again and when the light cleared, it looked like I was back in Princess Celestia’s throne room. “Now what…?”
“Sister... Is it really wise to keep an unconscious human being in Equestria?” Luna asked while the two were looking over me.
“I already promised to give her a better life… I’m not leaving her back there.” Celestia responded sternly.
“And I completely understand… it’s just... Would she not over react if she suddenly awoke in a world completely alien to her own?”
“...Well… there is one other option…” Celestia said before sighing heavily. “We bring her back to her world until she awakens… when she does, we monitor and keep her safe from harm… and when the time comes, we give her the home she deserves as promised.”
…
…
…
Eventually I come back into reality again with the others looking at me, all of them looking worried. “C-Crystal…?” Mom asked walking up to me again. “What did you see?”
I just look at her before looking down. “I have to talk to Princess Celestia when we find her…”
“...Are… you going to be okay…?” Mom asked placing a hoof on me… I just slowly push it aside.
“I have a lot to think about… my mind is all over the place.” I said before climbing onto her back. “I think I just need some time to think for a bit…”
“...I understand… but Crystal… do you think you could wait here…?” Mom asked before letting me off again. “We think we may have found a way to fix this mess… Somewhere in the Everfree forest is something called the tree of harmony. From what I saw, it looks like the tree is in trouble… and we have to go in there to save it.”
“Mom, I know you’re looking out for me but--”
“No buts.” Mom said sternly. “With all these plants it’s a lot more dangerous in there.”
“A lot more dangerous? Mom, look around! Everything is dangerous right now!” I snapped. “Please Mom!”
“If it brings you any comfort, perhaps I can look over young Crystal.” Discord suggested. Everypony just looked up at Discord skeptically.
Mom just looked back down at me. “Look… I know you want to help Crystal… but are you really sure about this? You’ve been in there already so you’ve seen how dangerous it can be even without those plants in there.”
“Let her come along Twilight.” Applejack said walking up to us. “I’d say she needs this… especially after everything she just went through… which by the way, you better explain why you didn’t just tell us after we fix all this mess.”
Mom just sighed before levitating me back onto her. “Alright fine… just stay close to me, alright sweetie…?”
I just nodded. “Yeah… let’s just hurry this up and find them…”
Mom just looked back at the girls before leading the way to the Everfree forest… the black vines seemed to only look more wild and out of control by the entrance. “Seems like only yesterday we were heading into these woods to find the Elements of Harmony.” Rarity said as they got close.
“Seems like only yesterday I was foolish enough to think I should go after them on my own…” Mom started. “I don't know what we're going to face in there. But whatever it is, I know we need to face it together.” Everypony just nodded in agreement… Mom just looked back at me who was lying on her back silently poking at her wing. “Are you ready Crystal…?”
“Mhm…” I nod weakly.
With an uncertain look on her face she still lead the way inside of the forest. While we were walking, Applejack just walked beside Mom and look at me. “You know we’re all here for you.. right sugarcube?” I just look back at her silently. “You of all people should know… I know how it feels to lose somepony you care about.”
“Your parents weren't killed…” I responded flatly. “You weren’t responsible for your parents dying… I actually was.”
“Maybe not… but Crystal, you can’t blame yourself for what happened… none of it was your fault.”
“But I--”
“You did what you felt like you had to do… and you know what? I don’t blame you! None of us do!” Applejack exclaimed before placing a hoof on me. “It don’t matter what your past was like… who you are now is what’s important.”
“Who I am now…” I repeated to myself.
Eventually we reached a lake with what look like a path of rocks that went across. “We can use those to cross.” Mom said before starting to walk the rocky path… only to find the rocks were… moving? “W-whoa!” She exclaimed as a tail slowly lifted us up and flicked us off.
Rarity just gasped at the sight. “A cragadile! Run for your lives!” she exclaimed trying to run away.
While Mom was running, her, me, and Spike ended up being backed against a while as the cragadile slowly approached us… Mom struggling to use her wings to fly out… until it stopped? Looking behind it, we could see Applejack wrapped a vine around its tail right before the other girls started wrapping its other limbs, including its mouth. “Whew… that was close…” Mom sighed.
“A little too close if you ask me…” Applejack said walking to us. “Are y’all alright?”
“We’re fine... I just can't seem to get these new wings to do what I want them to do when I want them to do it.” Mom groaned.
“You'll figure it out eventually.” Rainbow Said trying to reassure Mom.
“Well… you have been having an awful lot of trouble with those things. And, well, who knows what else is gonna to come after us?” Applejack started rubbing the back of her head. “You know, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea for Twilight and Crystal to go back to Ponyville and let us look for the Tree of Harmony without them.”
“Wait, what? Why??” Mom asked in shock.
“For starters, you just about got eaten by a cragadilly!” Applejack exclaimed.
“We all did. He wasn't after just us!”
“”Twilight… you’re a princess.”
“And what does that have to do with anything??”
“Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are gone. If something happened to you, I-I just don't think Equestria can risk losing another princess.”
“Applejack does make a valid point…” Rarity added. “Even if we manage to save the Tree of Harmony, it won't necessarily mean Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will return. Equestria will need somepony to lead in their absence… plus there is your daughter’s safety to think about.”
“But I’m the only one who’s actually seen the tree of harmony! I’m the only one that know what it looks like!” Mom shouted.
“I’m pretty sure it’s not gonna be hard to find a giant tree with cutie marks on the trunk…” Rainbow said.
“...All of you feel this way…?” Mom asked looking like she was about to cry.
“Mom… Maybe they’re right… maybe we should just go back…” I suggested starting to cry myself. “I don’t want to lose you too…”
Mom choked a bit and lowered her head before carrying me out of the forest.
Back at Ponyville…
Discord could be seen messing with a couple of ponies wrapped in black vines… until he saw us coming closer. He then snapped his fingers and vines vanished, making the two ponies fall; quickly running away right after. “You’re welcome!” Discord shouted...I just got up off of Mom’s back and walked up to him, right before being lifted up by his tail. “No luck finding your tree of harmony?”
“We had some trouble getting there… Everyone thought it would be better if we just came back.” I sighed being lifted by his tail. “...Discord… you wouldn’t lie to me, right? We are friends, right?”
“Why of course we’re friends my dear Crystal.” he said before making ‘Best Friends’ t-shirts appear on both of us.
“...Then you’d tell me if you were responsible for this mess… right?”
“Why whatever do you mean?”
“Discord… please just be honest with me, I’ve been having a lot of stuff going on lately.”
“But what makes you think these plants are my doing?”
“It’s not that hard to think about… I’ve seen you control them a couple of times already.”
“Yes but I can do anything… I’m Discord after all.”
“Anything except clear up these vines?”
Discord just sighed. “Very well… I may have some involvement. With these plants…” Suddenly my eyes flashed for a second right before going back to normal after feeling a burst of anger surge through me. “Okay! Okay! It’s all my doing!”
“I knew it! I knew you were the reason behind these plants!” Mom exclaimed. “Stop messing with everypony and just fix this mess!”
“Why would I do that? You already know how to fix it… though I’m shocked that you would leave your friends to do it on their own… I never thought you'd be the kind of pony who would think she was better than everypony else.” Discord chuckled.
“Okay, 1. You’re changing the subject. 2. I don’t think I’m better than anypony!” Mom exclaimed.
“Oh, well, how silly of me to assume that you would think that. All you did was choose to keep your precious princess self out of harm's way while your friends thrust themselves right into it.” Discord said before making a robe and gold cane appear on Mom. “I'm sure you'll all be the best of pals again when they return from their terrifying yet deeply bonding experience that they're having without you.” he said with a chuckle.
Mom just groaned running back toward the forest. Spike and I quickly ran after her. “I never should have agreed to come back here!”
“Come on, Twilight. Discord may be reformed, but he's not that reformed. He's just trying to get under your skin.” Spike said trying to keep up.
“Well, it’s working!” Mom exclaimed.
“Mom! Seriously, slow down!” I yell trying to catch up myself.
“I can’t slow down Crystal! Our friends might need our help!” Mom exclaimed as we re-entered the forest, running through as fast as our legs could carry us.
“But do you even know where we’re going!?” I exclaimed starting to fall behind a bit.
“I… I don’t know!” she exclaimed in a panic before stopping to look around. “But we have to hurry!”
Spike looked around as well. “Maybe if I get up there, I'll be able to spot 'em…” He said before climbing up the tree, spotting everyone by a bridge. “Well, what do you know?”
“Mom!”
“Huh?” Spike said looking back at us.
One of the plants snuck up on Mom spraying some weird gas on her. As she was coughing, I tried to run up to her, only to be grabbed by one of the vines getting pulled away from her. “Leave her alone!!” I exclaimed as another vine wrapped around me trying to pull me back. I looked over to Mom as more of the plants came, spraying her even more with gas. Unable to stand anymore, Mom fell to the ground in a coughing fit… “I SAID STOP!!!”
I kept coughing through the gas barely able to get a single word out, I tried to get back to my hooves but I was just getting weaker with every time the plant sprayed me… in the corner of my eye I could tell Crystal was in trouble but there was nothing I could do! Please… Spike… Somepony… Any--
“I SAID STOP!!!” A voice screamed… as I tried to look in Crystal’s direction, I was quickly blinded by a bright light… the plants had stopped spraying me with their gas and when the light cleared, I could only stare in shock and a little bit of fear… When I saw Crystal, I could see that she was freed from the vines and that her magic was surging... her eyes had gone completely white again… just like when I saw her memory… without another word, she had fired a beam in my direction; only to hit the plant, making it explode! A few more plants started surrounding her, blocking my vision. But the only thing I saw were beams of magic going through each one of them… Getting to my hooves, I quickly ran over to try and calm her down, but before I could even reach her, she fell on the ground.
“Crystal!!” I shouted running up to her. “Crystal can you hear me??” I placed my ear over her chest listening for a heart beat… It seemed to be beating… I just levitated her onto my back. “Come on, we have to find--”
“Twilight!” A voice exclaimed. “We got here as soon as--” Applejack exclaimed before stopping to see us. “We… could…?”
“Huh?” Spike said coming up in front of everyone. “What happened?? I thought you were in trouble!”
“I was…” I said before looking back at Crystal who was still passed.
“Oh my goodness! What happened to her!?” Fluttershy exclaimed running up to us.
“She’s just passed out… I think she’ll be okay if we just give her some time to recover…”
“Recover…?” Rainbow asked. “What the hay happened!?”
“Was Crystal attacked too!? Were you able to drive all those scary plants away, Twilight!?” Pinkie asked looking extremely worried.
“No… I wasn’t able to do anything…” I said starting to cry a bit. “Crystal is passed out because she destroyed all the plants attacking us…”
Everyone just stared in disbelief with their mouths agape. Applejack looked down at the debris and vines on the ground. “W-whoa whoa, wait a minute… you’re tellin’ us that Crystal did all this…? And those flashes? Those lights!?”
“No… way…” Rainbow responded in disbelief. “Sheesh… maybe she could be me in a race if her magic is like this.”
“Really not the time…” Applejack mused.
“S-she’ll be okay though… right?...” Fluttershy asked.
“She just needs some rest…” I sighed looking back at her.
“What about you Twilight?” Spike asked looking worried himself.
“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me… for now we just need to find the tree of harmony so that we can fix this mess.”
“Uh… well… we did find the tree actually…” Applejack said rubbing the back of her head.
“But it looks like it’s dying…” Fluttershy added.
“Then we have to hurry! Let’s go!”I shout as my friends lead me to the tree.
Early A/N: be sure to open the link in the last section in a new window. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the time I opened my eyes, I was laying on top of Applejack. Looking around, I could see everyone was looking at this giant glowing tree… and when I looked, I could see all of the elements of harmony inside of it. “Wha… huh?” I said getting a closer look.
“Huh?” Mom said looking back at me. “Oh thank goodness, you’re alright!” she exclaimed quickly running over to me to hug me close in her embrace. “You had all of us so worried…!”
I just look over her shoulder back at the tree again. “Is that… the tree?” right as I asked that, the two piles of vines started to disintegrate, revealing both Princess Celestia and Luna. “...Oh…”
The girls just ran up to the two all looking relieved. All except for me… for obvious reasons. “We know how difficult it must have been to give up the elements of harmony…” Celestia was the first to speak up. “It took great courage to relinquish them.”
Suddenly, the tree started to glow again, and a rainbow line starting to go down its trunk… causing something to sprout from the ground. Mom cautiously walked up to the strange plant and as soon as she touched it, its petals opened up, revealing a small box with six keyholes on it. “What’s inside it? How am I supposed to open it?” Mom asked looking closely at the box.
“Six locks… Six keys…” Luna muttered a bit.
Mom turned to Celestia as if looking for an answer. She simply shook her head. “I don’t know where they are…” she said before smiling. “But I do know that it is a mystery you will not be solving alone.” She stopped to look at me for a moment. “Crystal…?” she asked walking up to me, lowering her head. “Are you oka--”
*SMACK*
The sound of that smack practically echoed through the entire forest. Causing six ponies and one princess to stand and stare mouth agape. “I’m sure… I probably deserved this for something…” Celestia said, still caught off guard from the sudden smack.
“It’s for lying to me.” I answered bluntly… right before wrapping my arms around her neck practically sobbing. “And this is for listening to me… and saving me…” Celestia suddenly looked back at Mom who only gave an ashamed look back. “Don’t blame Mom for this… I was the one who saw it myself.”
“I… can’t say I’m surprised.” Celestia smiled placing a hoof on me. “You really are a smart little girl Rebecca…”
“Rebecca??” Everypony but Mom and Luna responded.
“Actually Princess… I’d still rather be called Crystal… I think it would make things confusing in Ponyville if I suddenly changed my name especially with everypony already getting used to me. Plus I’ve gotten used to the name myself.”
Celestia smiled. “If that is what you wish dear.”
“And… there is actually 1… or 2 more things I need a favor for…”
“what is it, Crystal?”
“Well… could I get the rest of my memories back?”
“I thought that was coming… very well.” She said before placing her horn on my head. After a few moments, her horn started to glow and almost in an instant, my mind was being flooded with all my memories before Mom found me in my world. Everything me and my birth mother did… all the time we spent together. It all just came back to me.
With tears running down my face, I just rubbed my eyes trying to dry them. “Thank you…”
“If there is anything else you need, feel free to ask… I owe you that much.” Celestia said.
“...Actually… there is one thing I would like since this whole mess is fixed now.” I say before walking up to Mom. “Do you think you could… come with me to my world again?”
“Wh--.. huh?” Mom asked a little surprised. “You want to go BACK to that world??”
“Not to stay there… There’s just something I have to take care of first.” I say turning back to Celestia. “Do you think you could meet us by the library?”
“Of course.” Celestia nodded.
“Thanks.” I smile before quickly heading outside of the forest. On the way out, I could tell that all the dangerous vines were nowhere to be seen; not even the ones I destroyed. “At least everything should be back to normal then.”
______________________________________
Back at Ponyville…
Upon re-entering the town, I could see that everything was cleared up here as well… Everypony was going about their business like nothing was wrong in the first place. “Jeez, it’s like everypony is used to this by now.” I say to myself before walking over to a flower shop. “Hello?” I ask looking around.
“Oh! welcome!” A pink pony with a green mane and tail beamed. “How can I help you today?”
“Well… I’d like to buy some flowers… I just don’t know which ones to get…”
“Well what’s the occasion? I’m sure I can help figure it out for you.”
“Well… what kind of flowers do you use for someone who’s died…?”
At that the pony frowned and had a look saying she felt bad for me. “Oh my goodness… I’m so sorry, I--”
“It’s fine… really. I just would like to buy those kinds of flowers please.”
“Yes, of course…” she said getting some paper, wrapping up a bouquet of assorted white flowers, before giving it to me from her mouth. “There you go sweetheart.”
“Thanks… how much do I owe you?” I asked pulling out my bag of bits.
She just shook her head. “Take it… I couldn’t possibly charge you for the occasion.”
“Thank you so much Miss…”
“Oh, Daisy.” she said. “And think nothing of it. I’m happy to help.”
I just smiled at her. “Well thank you, Daisy.” I said before heading off to the library. On my way there, I could already see Celestia was waiting for me by the door. Looking up out of curiosity, I could tell the sun and the moon were in their proper places as well. I just levitated myself over to Celestia to get there a little faster.
Celestia looked down at me and the flowers in my hands, and just sighed. “Crystal… I truly am sorry that I couldn’t do anything sooner for both you and your family…”
“Don’t be… It’s not like you or anyone wanted this to happen.” i respond before looking around. “Where’s Mom?”
As if on cue, Mom had walked out the door to the library, levitating some flowers herself. “I had a feeling that’s what you were talking about…” she said before walking over to me, hugging me tight.
I return the hug, just as tight. “I love you so much Mom… You, Celestia, Luna… and well… everypony. All of you made me feel like I really belonged here. I really don’t know how to thank you all.”
Mom just smiled at me. “I already told you didn’t I? So did your friends… You have every right to live with us, just like anypony else.”
I just smiled before turning back to Celestia. “Do you think you could teleport us to my old house…?”
Celestia turned to Twilight. “You remember how to return to Equestria from that world, correct?”
“Of course.” Mom replied before I climbed onto her back. “Ready to go?”
“If I’m gonna be honest… I’m a little nervous… but yeah. I’m ready.” I respond nodding.
“Well then good luck you two.” Celestia said before using the spell to send us off. “And try to be back on time for the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow.” she smiled before sending us off.
______________________________________
??? ???...
After being sent off by Celestia, we appeared right in front of a front door… but at the same time it was dark out. “Must be night time already…” I said before looking over at the driveway. I could see my Mom’s car hadn’t moved… which can only mean no one has bought the house yet. Who could blame them…? I just sigh looking at the police tape in front of the door.
Mom used her magic to remove the tape and unlock the door for us to enter. Upon entering, I could feel a wave of nostalgia hitting me as if I hadn’t been here in decades. A lot of things inside were still where they were before the night my father took me. “I’d be lying if I said this didn’t hurt…”
“I’d be shocked if it didn’t…” Mom responded looking around.
I just took the time to get up off her back and take a look around. I went into the kitchen and saw white tape on the ground in the shape of… well… a person. In the center of the outline was a dark stain. I can only guess what that is… I couldn’t help but feel sick to my stomach at the thought of it.
Back in the living room, Mom was looking over the pictures that she saw… pictures showing me happy with my family. “Hm?” she said looking at one of the pictures. She couldn’t help but laugh a bit.
“Huh?” I said going back to the room. “what’s so funny?”
“Is this you, sweetie?” she asked showing me a picture of myself wearing a black outfit, red hood, and an OVERSIZED plastic scythe… I just blushed red in embarrassment.
“That was… my last halloween I had.”
“Halloween?” Mom asked tilting her head.
“It’s kind of like Nightmare Night… kids go around town in costumes and say ‘Trick or Treat’ and that’s when they usually give us candy.”
“That sounds exactly like nightmare night actually…” Mom stopped to think to herself. Then she turned back to the photo in front of her. “Okay so you told me this was a costume for Halloween but… what even is it? You look like a little red riding mare who’s ready to fight the wolf herself.” she giggled a bit.
“It’s from a show that me and Mom watched together… Well at first it wasn’t together. I was just there when she watched it sometimes. She told me it was too violent for me but… I couldn’t help but still watch it. Eventually she just gave up and we watched it together.”
“And there was a person with that outfit on?” Mom asked pointing me out in the photo again.
“Yup! She also this really cool power too. She could run so fast until she was just a bunch of rose petals.”
“Well that sounds… interesting. What was her name?”
“Ruby Rose.”
“Of course it is.” Mom chuckled a bit.
Mom and I walked upstairs to see if there was anything else around. We both stopped in the same room: My room. In the corner of the room was that same plastic Scythe that Mom saw in the picture. Of course there was my bed and a little T.V… Just everything was dusty and untouched. “This used to be my room…” I said walking over to my bed, sitting on it for a moment.
“Definitely smaller than the bed back in Equestria…” Mom said sitting with me.
“Well duh, I slept alone in here Mom.” I shoved her jokingly before laying back on the bed. “Kinda wish I could take this bed back with me…”
“Uhh… I don’t think I can teleport that much with us.”
“Yeah I figured… it was just a thought.”
“Hello??” A male voice called out from downstairs.
“Huh??” Mom turned her head toward the doorway. “I thought nopony lived here anymore!” Mom whispered to me.
I slowly got out of bed to see where the voice came from. “This place is supposed to be closed off… is anybody in here?” The voice continued.
“Wait a second… I know that voice…” I said slowly looking downstairs.
When I did I saw a man and a woman walking around. “Hun, maybe the wind blew off the tape.”
“Did the wind blow the door unlocked too?” he responded. “Somebody broke in here.”
Just then a little girl about my age walked in. “Dad? Is something wrong?” The little girl asked.
“Lexi, I told you to wait in the car sweetie…” The dad responded.
“Wait… Lexi…?” I said to myself before walking downstairs to get a better look at the girl. I let out an audible gasp before running downstairs. “Alexis!!” I shout running over to her, quickly wrapping my arms around her.
“What in the--!?” The dad stopped and looked at me for a moment. “Wait… No way it can’t be… Rebecca…? Is it really you!?”
“Huh!?” Alexis exclaimed looking at me as well. “BECKY!!” She shouted hugging me tight.
“Just… where have you been all this time!? You went missing for so long… we all thought that…” The dad stuttered a bit.
“Well… for a while I’ve been living in Equestria!”
“Oh no…” Mom said to herself before slowly coming down.
“Um… where’s Equestria?” Alexis asked.
“It’s in a different world… it’s a magical place full of Unicorns, Ponies, And Pegasus!”
“Has she… lost her mind…?” The woman asked the man.
“What do you expect? She’s been missing for so long…” The man whispered back.
“Did you make any friends in Equestria?” Alexis asked calmly.
“Yup! I made a lot of friends!... I just can’t believe you’re here… wait, what are you doing here, anyways?”
“Uh… well, you know me and your mother were friends…” The woman said trying to normalize the conversation. “When we heard what happened to her… well we were just devastated. It didn’t help that you and your father went missing…”
“...” I just looked down for a moment.
“Rebecca…? Do you know where he is…?”
“...please don’t talk about him.” I said flatly.
“What? But Rebecca, he--”
“He was nothing but a monster!!” I yelled surging slightly. “All he did was ruin my life and kill Mom!!”
“K-killed… wait Rebecca what was that just now!?”
I just start panting hard.
“Crystal!” Mom quickly ran up to me, wrapping her wing around me. “You need to control your emotions… he’s gone now. You don’t have to worry anymore.”
I just looked at Mom before taking a deep breath. “Sorry…” I say before turning back to the two… who were just standing there dumbfounded.
“Is… that a…” The man started.
“A unicorn!!” Alexis yelled before hugging Mom out of nowhere. “She talks too! And she has wings!!” she exclaimed before petting Moms wings.
“S-stop!” she laughed a bit. “That tickles…!”
I just looked up at them and chuckled nervously. “I should start explaining I guess…”
_____________________________________
As we all sat at the table, I explained all the fights that happened between my birth mom and dad. I mentioned what my dad did to me while we were in that room… and I explained how Twilight found me on the street. “So… let me get this straight.” the man started. “Your own father killed your mother, just to take you away and experiment on you so that you could use magic?? Are you freaking serious!?”
“Jason, calm down.” The woman said placing a hand on his arm.
“Calm!? This guy is psychotic. Does anyone even know where he is!?”
Mom looked back at me before turning back to them. “Well the thing is… we do but--”
“He’s dead.”
“Wait huh?” Jason asked. “What happened?”
“W-well…” I started before holding my own arm, looking back at Mom.
“Are you sure you want to tell them this story, sweetie…?”
“...It’s still fuzzy… but when I was in that room with him; after he told me that Mom was gone, everything just went white… after that, I woke up in an alleyway alone. Later finding out that he’s dead because of me.” I said before lower my head onto the table we were sitting at. “The same magic he wanted me to have ended up killing him…”
Jason turned back to his wife for a moment before turning back to me. “And this whole time you’ve been in… ponyland?”
“Ponyville…”
Jason turned to Mom this time. “And you’re the one who’s been taking care of her?”
“For a while now, yes.” Mom responded.
“So… how come you came back all of a sudden?” Jason asked.
“Well…” I started before picking up the white flowers again. “I wanted to leave these for Mom…”
“If you want… we can take you to where she was buried.” Jason said getting up from the table. “It shouldn’t be too far from here. Melissa and I would be happy to take you two.”
“If you can… we would really appreciate it.” Mom nodded.
“Wait!” I say quickly getting up from the table, “there’s just a few things I want to take with me back to Equestria…” I then quickly head over to my room and grab a few small books, my plastic scythe… and some clothes to change into. After that, I ran back down to where Mom was looking at pictures, taking one of them: Specifically the one where my birth Mom was carrying me on her shoulders.
Jason came over to the room and saw me gathering things. “Rebecca?”
“Huh?” a stopped to look at him.
“W-well… there are bags in the kitchen. Why don’t you let me organize these for you and you can get them?”
“Alright…” I nod putting my stuff down, heading back into the kitchen. As I did, Jason quickly ran back outside to his car. When he did, he opened his glove compartment and took out an envelope, quickly heading back inside to meet with Mom, panting a bit.
“Hm?...” Mom asked looking at the letter. “What’s this?”
“When you get the chance… can you give it to her? It was supposed to be from Rachael… her mother. She was going to give it to her for her birthday.”
“You want me to be the one to give it to her…?” Mom asked taking the letter.
“You’re the one she trusts the most right now… I think it would be best.”
“...I’ll be sure she sees it then.” she said hiding it under her wing.
Eventually I came back downstairs and Jason helped me pack away my stuff into some bags. “Alright, I’m ready to go.” I smiled at Mom.
“Then… let’s hurry over.” Mom nodded still hiding the letter on the way to the car.
When we got to the car, I put my things in the trunk. Then sat in the back seat with Alexis where Mom was in the middle of us. “Becky…?” Alexis was the first to speak after the car started moving.
“What’s up Lexi?” I ask back.
“Well… I know you’re going back to Equestria and everything… but do you think you could still visit us sometimes?”
I just look to Mom as if looking for a reply. She just smiled and nodded at me. “We’d have to plan ahead so we can organize a time to meet here… but I don’t mind.”
“Thanks Mom…”
______________________________________
At the Cemetery…
As we were walking through the Cemetery, Alexis was holding my hand tight while Mom was staying close beside me. We were just following Jason and Melissa the whole time since we had no idea where to even begin to look. “There’s… so many…” Mom said referring to the tomb stones. “I always hate walking into a cemetery… I usually just try to avoid them.”
“...Crystal… there’s something I need to show you.” Mom said levitating an envelope that was hidden in her other wing.
“What’s this…?”
“Your mother was supposed to give it to you…”
I just quickly take the letter and open it… revealing a birthday card. I just stare at the cover of the card for a moment before handing it back to Mom. “Can you read it out loud for me…?”
Mom levitated the card and opened it to read. “Happy Birthday my sweet little angel…” she read. “Everyday I can see you growing more and more. You remind me so much of myself when I was your age…” Mom said starting to cry a bit herself. Tears were already streaming down mine. “You’ve made so many wonderful friends at school and shown everyone how much you care about them. I look forward to the day you grow into a beautiful young woman… but try not to grow up too fast okay? And don’t ever change the way you are you little angel… Love, Mommy…” Mom finished trying a little bit over the card. Looking at the back of the card, there was a little necklace with a heart on it. Mom carefully detached the necklace and wrapped it around my neck. “This was on the card too…”
I just looked down at the necklace and held it tight in my hand, trembling in tears. “Thank you Mommy…” I said not letting go.
Mom just sat there with her wing wrapped around me, pulling me in tighter. We just sat for a few moments in silence.
After a lot of silence, I finally got up from the ground with Mom following my lead. “Are you going to be okay, Crystal?...” Mom asked still trying to comfort me.
“I just need some time…” I say holding onto the two necklaces I had on. “But I’ll be okay. We should go back to Equestria so I can get some more practice for the Summer Sun Celebration.”
“...Huh?” Alexis asked from behind me. “What are you practicing?”
“Well… why don’t we talk more about it in the car?” I suggest. “I feel kind of uncomfortable staying here…”
“Yeah, I don’t blame you.” Mom added looking kind of antsy herself. Jason and Melissa just lead the way to the car. “Especially since it’s still dark…” she added.
“Oh duh.” I said to myself before making a ball of light, making it easier to see. “There we go.” I say before continuing. … Then stopping as soon as I realized I was the only one walking. “Oh… right. I did tell you what my dad did to me, right…?”
The only other three human beings were just looking at me in shock. “Yeah but… still kind of hard to believe.” Jason said being the first to speak up.
“It may not have come naturally at first…” Mom started. “But her magic has really improved since she first discovered she could even use magic.”
“You still have to help me with teleportation though.” I giggle walking again toward the card.
“You seemed to be doing fine before.” Mom jokes.
“Oh you know as well as I do that was only because of the poison joke.” I huffed a bit. “Honestly, I was teleporting all over the place… I even went to this weird village I’ve never seen before.”
“Weird village?” Mom asked tilting her head. “Did you see a name?”
“No… but I did see a pink unicorn with an equal sign as a cutie mark before I teleported again.”
“A pink unicorn with a… huh? Don’t think I’ve seen a cutie mark like that before.”
“Uh… mind if I cut in?” Melissa asked as we all got close to the car. “What’s a cutie mark?”
“A cutie mark is basically something that appears on somepony when they realize what makes them special.” Mom answered. “It appears here on our flank.” she adds, motioning to her flank.
“Kinda wish mine was simply on my leg or something…” I chuckled blushing a bit.
“Wait.” Jason started.
“Yours??” Both Jason and Melissa asked in shock and confusion.
“Eheh…” I giggle nervously rubbing the back of my head. “Well a lot of things happened that’ll probably take way too long to explain anyways and… well. One thing lead to another, and yeah; I got a cutie mark too.”
“But didn’t she say only ponies usually get it?” Alexis asked.
“Yup… and for a short time, I was a pony.” I say. “I’d show you but I left the picture back at Equestria.”
“Well can’t you just show us your cutie mark?” Alexis asked eagerly.
“U-uh… well… you see…” I stammered getting nervous again. “The thing is… while I’m human, my cutie mark is kind of on my… you know…” I say kinda hinting where it is with the direction I’m looking at.
Melissa is the first to get the idea and even blushes for a moment. “Has anyone seen it?”
“Only my pony friends in Equestria.” I respond. “For everypony else it’s not really weird for where it is. I even showed ponies at my school.”
“School!” Alexis shouted. “Becky, please you have to stay just a little bit longer so that you can let everyone know that you’re okay!”
“What? But I have to make it on time for the Summer Sun Celebration in time… plus can’t you just tell them I’m okay?”
“Becky, everyone at school thinks you died; who would believe me!?” Alexis said urging me to agree. “Please Becky!!”
“Nnghh…” I groan a bit looking back at Mom.
Mom just sighs in response. “I suppose It’ll be night time by the time we get back… for whatever reason, night and day is reversed here. Just know that if you do stay, you might not get as much sleep…”
“So you’re saying I have time then??” I ask excitedly.
“A little time!”
“Yes!!” I cheer getting into the car before everyone else.
______________________________________________
At Alexis’s house…
“Wow… it’s been so long since we’ve had a sleepover like this!” I exclaim flopping onto her bed. “What should we do first??”
“Well…” Alexis started. “‘I’ve been pretty curious about this since you told us about it; Do you think you could show me your cutie mark??”
“Huh?” I blush a bit surprised by the question.
“Come on! It’s just us in here anyways! Please??”
“Alright! Alright!” I huff slowly lowering a bit of my pants, showing Alexis my cutie mark. “Happy?”
“It… looks like a tattoo…” Alexis admitted tilting her head a bit.
“Yeah well this is the kind of tattoo that can’t be removed at all.” I say raising my pants back up. “Anything else you want to do?”
“Well… are you still a fan of RWBY?”
“What kind of question is that? Of course I am!” I responded. “Though I haven’t seen anything since the 3rd season I think.”
“Oh my gosh, you have a lot of catching up to do then.”
“You better not tell me what happens!” Alexis just laughed. “Hey! What’s so funny??”
“Nothing, I’m just really happy… happy that we can still hang out like this… happy that... you’re still here…” She said suddenly wrapping her arms around me sobbing uncontrollably over my shoulder. “You were always my best friend, Becky. I didn’t want to believe you were gone…”
I just slowly wrapped my arms around her tightly crying over her as well. “If I had all my memories at the time, I probably would’ve asked to see you sooner… to let you know I was okay…”
“You lost your memories?” Alexis asked, wiping her own tears off her face.
“Temporarily yeah… Princess Celestia erased my memories of what happened. And I guess that included memories of my family and friends here on Earth.” I said wiping the tears off of my face as well. “I’m not mad at her for doing it… I mean I was a little upset that she lied to me. But I know she was only doing it to keep me safe.”
“Wow… must be amazing being protected by an actual princess.”
“Yeah… that’s only one of the few amazing things.” I smiled thinking about it. “All the friends I made… all the places I’ve been to; all of it was amazing.”
“Do you think maybe I could come to Equestria with you some time to visit…?”
“Believe me, I would love you to come and visit more than anything… But I’d have to get Princess Celestia’s approval for that first… and trust me, you don’t want to go against a pony who has the magical ability to raise the sun.”
“Raise the sun??” Lexi asked mouth agape. “But… that’s insane! One pony is in charge of raising the sun??”
“And her sister, Princess Luna, is in charge of raising the moon.” I added.
“Jeez… this all sounds like something out of a fairytale.” Lexi giggled a bit. “I can’t wait for everyone in class to see you again.’
“Same… actually. I think I got a little silly idea on how I’m gonna do it.”
“Oh? What kind of idea?” Lexi asked getting closer to listen.
“Well……”
______________________________________
Meanwhile downstairs…
One male human adult and one purple alicorn (myself) were just sitting across from each other at the dining room table. “So…” I said trying to break the ice of the conversation. “You’ve got a really nice home here.” I smiled nervously not really knowing what to talk about with them.
“Oh uh… thanks.” Jason responded taking a sip of coffee. “You have really nice… wings.” he responded awkwardly.
“Eheh… thanks… they’re still kind of new.” I responded just as awkwardly.
Out of nowhere the two of us heard laughter coming from upstairs. “Those two are definitely having fun… it’s almost like she never left.” Jason laughed a bit.
“I wonder what they’re laughing about up there.”
Melissa walked in with another cup of coffee and placed it in front of me. “Did you want any sugar, Twilight?”
“Two cubes please.” I nodded before she dropped two sugar cubes inside for me. I just stirred the coffee with a spoon. “Thank you.”
“Honestly… we should be thanking you.” Melissa responded. “I know Rachel would be happy that you were taking care of Rebecca all this time.”
“What was Rachel like actually…?” I asked levitating the cup to take a sip.
“A very open minded person… someone who always tried to see the good in anyone.”
“Heh… I guess I can see where Rebecca gets her personality from.”
“She always went out of her way to do whatever she could to help someone… especially when it came to her daughter.” Melissa added. I just looked down and sighed placing the cup of coffee down. “What’s the matter?”
“It really hurts to know that Rebecca went through all of this… just because of what her father did. I know I won’t ever be able to replace her real mother… I just hope I’m enough to keep her smiling everyday.”
“Aw come on. You’ve got to give yourself more credit than that. She’s obviously been happy living with you.” Jason responded. “Besides, if she was unhappy, I’m pretty sure she would’ve said something by now.”
“Yeah… I can tell she loves you very much Twilight.” Melissa added before smiling at me. “And something tells me you feel the same way about her.”
“Huh?” I asked before feeling tears drip down my face. “O-oh…” I blushed a bit before wiping my eyes. “She’s basically been part of my life now… I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if something happened to her.”
“And that’s why you need to keep being Rebecca’s mother… I really think you two need each other.”
“Just promise to visit once in a while, okay?” Jason added. “You and Rebecca are always welcome here.”
“I just wish there was an easy way for us to stay in contact with each other…” Melissa sighed. “I’m guessing ponies don’t exactly have cell phones that could reach another world.”
“Hmm…” I thought to myself for a moment. “Wait a minute! I know a way we can keep in touch!” I quickly got out of my seat and teleported back to Ponyville where Celestia was talking with Spike.
“And this pony’s power is to go super fast!” Spike said showing a comic to Celestia. “And this one--” He stopped when he saw me. “Oh hey Twilight!”
Celestia just looked around with a bit if concern on her face. “Where’s Crystal?”
“She’s back at her world talking with one of her old friends. Actually I’m glad you’re still here princess. Could you do me a little favor?”
“And what would that be?”
“Well you know how you made a set of books that let you and Sunset Shimmer communicate with each other even though you were far away? Do you think you could make two more so that Crystal and her friend in her world could still stay in touch too?”
“Well… I don’t see why not…” Celestia responded before closing her eyes to focus on a spell. After a few moments, two blank books appeared; both with Crystal’s cutie mark on the cover. “There…” she said levitating the books to me.
“Thank you so much Princess Celestia… now could you teleport me back please?” I asked smiling sheepishly.
Celestia chuckled before casting the spell to send me back where I just teleported from; in front of Jason and Melissa. “I’m back!” I exclaimed catching Melissa and Jason off guard. “I’ve got the perfect way for us to keep in touch!” I said before showing the two books to them.
“Uhhh… books?” Jason questioned picking one of them up.
“Got anything to write with?” I asked holding the first page open.
“Yeah, I do.” He answered picking up a pen.
“Now open the book to its first page, and try writing something in it.” I said just looking at the same page. “Anything.” Jason just used the pen and started writing in the book… though what he said kind of confused me. “What’s ‘Harry Potter’?”
“Wait, seriously??” He said actually surprised it worked. I just nodded and showed him the book I was holding. It showed exactly as he wrote; handwriting and everything. “Holy… this is like instant messaging with books!”
“And as long as we each have one of these books, we’ll be able to keep in contact with each other. Who knows? Maybe this is just a step closer to making an actual portal between our worlds.” I said closing the book. “So back to what I asked before; what is Harry Potter?”
“It’s just a book series… Seven books to be exact.”
I just widened my eyes in excitement a bit. “Do you… maybe have all these books that I could look at?”
“Yeah, check the bookshelf over there.” Jason said pointing at the large bookshelf.
“Oh my gosh!!” I exclaimed quickly flying over to the book shelf. “So many books that have yet to be read!” I said practically salivating at the thought. “Even books on human history!!” I exclaimed looking back at Jason. “May I… please read through these?” I asked trying to calm down a bit.
“Sure, be my guest.” Jason chuckled a bit in response.
“Yes!!! I am NOT sleeping tonight!!” I exclaimed grabbing the first Harry Potter book, quickly starting to read it.
______________________________________
The next morning…
“Becky… pst… Becky…!”
“Nnng… 5 more minutes…” I groaned rolling around in bed.
“Becky!!”
“Gah!!” I quickly moved my head up only to hit Lexi’s head in the process. “Owwww…!”
“Nngh… sorry…” Lexi chuckled rubbing her own head. “But we have to hurry or we’ll be late for the bus, remember?”
“Oh right!” I exclaim quickly getting out of bed. I then just started to put on a familiar black dress and skirt on before covering myself with a red hood. “How do I look?”
“Weeeell…” Lexi responded, pulling out a pair of scissors from her drawer.
“Nope!” I exclaimed covering my head. “You are not cutting my hair!”
“Aw come on!”
“My head will be covered by the hood! It doesn’t need to be cut!”
“But it needs to be cut to complete the outfit!” I just levitate the scissors out of her hand in response. “Ugh… fine!” Lexi pouted before sticking her tongue out at me.
I just did the same back at her jokingly before we both ran downstairs. Out the corner of my eye, I could see Mom reading intently at a history book. “Uhh… Mom?”
“Huh?” She asked looking up at me, then the time. “Is it morning already? I don’t know, I didn’t sleep………………….. wait.” she quickly darted her eyes back to me. “You’re bringing your Nightmare Night costume to school??”
“1. It’s Halloween here. 2. I doubt it’ll be a big deal Mom. People will probably love it there too-- have you really just stayed up all night reading books?”
Mom just let out a wide yawn in response before rubbing her eyes. “Maybe I did go a little bit overboard… Just remember that we both need to go back to Ponyville soon so that the both of us can get some sleep…”
I just giggled at her tired eyes. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’m sure Lexi’s Mom or Dad can pick me up in an hour.”
“Well, Melissa can. I have to head to work…” Jason said adjusting his tie. “If we don’t see each other before you head back, I hope you and Twilight have a safe trip back Rebecca.” he said before quickly heading out the door.
“Are you ready to go you two?” Melissa asked us.
“Yup!” I smile putting my hood on over my head.
“Yeah, I’m ready for chaos.” Lexi chuckled getting her backpack on. The both of us just laughed as we went outside waiting for the bus to stop by. I quickly put my hood back over my head to hopefully not be recognized right away. I was so excited, I didn’t even realize I was levitating. “Uhhh…” Lexi let out in surprise looking at me.
“Huh?” I asked looking… down at her. “Oops!” I blushed a bit before lowering myself back down.
“You know, we want people to see you’re alive and not think that you’re a ghost, right?” Lexi just laughed. “That is pretty cool though. I’ve always wanted to be able to fly. Kinda wish human beings could just learn to use magic like that naturally.”
“Heh… before I got my memories back, I honestly thought that I did learn magic naturally… Well you can see where that went when I found out the truth about it.” I huffed still waiting with her. After a few moments, the bus had finally stopped and the two of us walked in with me following close behind.
“Hold it.” The female bus driver said toward me. “I don’t recall picking up two students here.”
Before I got a chance to say anything, Alexis spoke first. “She’s just a friend from my class. Me and her spent the night together to work on a class project.” I just nod in agreement.
“You know, normally I’m supposed to get a permission slip for this sort of thing. But I’ll let it slide this once as a warning.” The bus driver said before closing the door. “Besides, with the traffic we’re going through, I can’t afford to be anymore late than I already will be.”
“Thank you Miss. Christine.” Lexi said before we made our way to an empty seat together. “Kinda forgot we needed a permission slip for this… guess we just got lucky.”
“Heh… yeah…” I said awkwardly, already feeling people staring toward my direction. I just tried to keep my head down so people wouldn’t see me yet.
“Hey.”
“Hm…?” I slowly tilt my head to the voice.
“What’s up?” The girl asked. “You just come on the bus with Lexi and not say a word?”
“S-Sarah--!” I quickly get cut off by Lexi covering my mouth.
“Sarah, she’s just an old friend who wanted to visit the school she used to go to. It’s nothing weird.” Lexi answered.
“Hmm…” Sarah thought to herself. “A weird girl, wearing a weird red hood deciding to just randomly want to see her old school? Are you getting at what I’m saying here?” She crossed her arms skeptically. “And if she used to come to our school, how come she doesn’t just tell me who she is?”
“Wow Sarah… you used to be so quiet and kept to yourself most of the time… what happened?” I asked still not showing my face.
“How the heck would you know that…?” Sarah asked a little shocked.
“Well… you mostly talked with one person… right?”
“W-well… yeah but she’s…”
“Dead… that’s what you were about to say right?” I answered for her.
There was a slight pause before Sarah spoke again. “Who the heck are you…?” I just motioned her to come to our seat to come closer. When she did, I slightly moved my hood enough for her to see who I was. Sarah took a second to process who I was, but immediately covered her own mouth before letting out a gasp into her hands. Tears slowly starting to stream down her face. “Y-you… You’re…”
“Shhh…” I covered Sarah’s mouth. “Not yet.” I whispered. Without a warning, Sarah wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug, quietly crying over me. I just returned the hug. “For now… just call me Crystal.” I whispered to her to her before letting go. The three of us just sat on the bus talking with each other quietly, still getting more awkward stares from the other students… especially after seeing Sarah cry like that. Eventually the bus finally stopped at the school. I quickly got up out of my seat and ran for the bus door as soon as it opened. I just walked toward the school door, only to stop after seeing one of the memorial stones on the path. Of course, it was a stone with my name on it. I just quickly shook it off and went inside of the school building. “I think Lexi said it was room 106…” I said to myself following the signs that directed me where to go, avoiding all eye contact while doing so.
Upon entering the classroom, I could see that I was the first one inside… not including the teacher. The other students would probably be talking with each other until the first bell rang. “Excuse me.” The teacher said. “Do you need something?”
I looked up at the teacher and recognized her right away. “O-oh… Hello Mrs. Peachwall.” I tried to clear my throat. “Well… I’m just here making a little announcement to the class. I’m sure it’ll spread as soon as I do so I won’t need to go to any other classroom.”
“Um… what kind of announcement?” she asked taking a sip of coffee from her metal cup.
I just slowly removed my hood to show my face to her.
CLANG
The sound of metal hitting the floor echoed through the empty classroom, along with the sound of liquid dripping from the metal cup now on the floor. I just smiled at her shocked and frozen expression. “It’s good to see you again.”
“You’re… I’m awake right? This isn’t some crazy realistic dream right now?” I just walked over to her and hugged my old teacher. “N-no way… this feels way too real to be a dream… but then… You’re really here…!” She exclaimed, lowering herself to return the hug. “W-wait, does this also mean that your mother is…?” she asked.
I just frowned and shook my head. “She’s really gone…”
“What about your father…?”
“...Killed.” I answered flatly.
“Then… where have you been all this time? How have you been getting by?”
“I was… adopted. By someone who takes care of me now. It wasn’t an official adoption… but I knew I could trust her with my life.” I paused and smiled a bit. “I guess you could also say I had an angel watching me too.” Hearing footsteps, I quickly put my hood on. “Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything as soon as everyone else comes in.” I say quickly taking a seat in the back of the class.
“R-right…” Mrs. Peachwall said, sitting in her chair to process this.
The first student to enter the classroom was actually Alexis. She looked at the teacher’s expression and then toward me. “There you are Becky! You had me worried…” she said sitting in the seat next to me. Looking back at the teacher she could only laugh. “I can see she took the news well.”
“Oh very.” I just laughed back with her. Mrs. Peachwall just sat at her desk, mumbling incoherently. Soon the bell rang and students, both male and female, started walking in the class. Some of them took notice of me while others just went about their business. They were either texting or playing on handheld consoles. “Well I can tell nothing’s really changed…” I whispered to Alexis.
“C-class, before we get class started, there’s something that has to be said...” Mrs. Peachwall said trying to get herself together. “And for pete’s sake, put away your devices! Today is a very important day!”
“Why? Are we getting a quiz or something?” one male student asked.
“What? But we weren’t told to study last night!” Another student blurted out.
“No it’s not a quiz…” the teacher huffed. “We have a very important announcement to make…”
“We?”
With that I just stood up off of my seat and walked to the front of the classroom. “Hello everyone.” The class just looked at me in utter confusion. “Most of you probably already know about the student who went missing some time ago. In fact this student was announced dead… Well I’m here now to tell you all that she is very much alive.” I finally said before removing my hood one more time. “Because she’s standing right here.” I looked over at the class who just had a majority of dumbfounded expressions. Whispers and murmurs were going through the room. “I know this is probably crazy to most of you…” As soon as I say this, a flash from a camera hit me. “H-hey!”
“Connor!” Mrs. Peachwall yelled. “Put that phone away right now! That is completely disrespectful!”
He quickly started typing on his phone and put it away right after. I just sighed. “Well I knew that was bound to happen.”
“So, tell us, Rebecca…” Mrs. Peachwall started. “What exactly happened to you while you were gone?”
“Heh… I hope you like long stories…”
About a half hour passed as I was telling the whole class what happened. I told them about what happened with Mom and Dad. I told them about the time I was just alone in the streets… then I told them about who found me. “Hold on. Wait a second.” one of the students said interrupting me. “A crazy father who tried to force your body to do magic… and now a purple unicorn adopted you??” he asked skeptically. “Don’t you think that’s kind of insane to be real?”
“If I didn’t have any evidence to back it up, then yeah.” I said before using my magic to levitate the student’s pencil, writing the word ‘proof’ on his paper in front of him.
The teacher just stared at me and then back at the other student for a moment. “I think I need something hard to drink…” She said holding her head. “You can actually use magic!?”
“Yup. My mom, Twilight has been teaching me to control it... Speaking of which.” I say walking toward the window. I stuck my hand outside the window and made a ball of light appear. Then I released it up into the air before aiming and firing a beam at it, causing it to create a firework display in the sky.
“Did you just make fireworks with your fingers!?” Alexis exclaimed. “I didn’t know you could do that!”
“What else can you do??”
“Come on! Show us more!”
Each student one by one kept begging me to practically give them a show. “Well… I haven’t had much time to actually practice this but…” I just place a finger on my head and tried to concentrate hard. After a moment or two, I suddenly vanished in front of everyone and then reappeared on the other side of the room. “Yes! I actually teleported on my own!” I cheered to myself. Right before everyone clapped from what they saw. I couldn’t help but blush in embarrassment.
Another 25 minutes passed, and during that time I was mostly showing them my magic. After realizing what time it was I kind of just stopped what I was doing. “It really was nice seeing everyone again, but I have to get going…”
“Wait, going?” Mrs. Peachwall asked. “You mean you aren’t coming back to this school?”
“As much as I want to, I’m already a student in a school in Equestria… plus my records here are probably gone by now.” I said starting to walk to the door. “I promise to visit whenever I can… until then though, I’ll see you all later.” I smiled at everyone before walking out the door. I just stood there for a moment before taking a deep breath, walking down the silent halls.
As soon as I walked out the front door, I could see Melissa waiting for me in her car. I just quickly ran up to her car and went inside myself. “So, how’d it go?” she asked as I put my seatbelt on.
“It went… surprisingly well. Some kids were sad that I wasn’t going back to that school… But I think they’re happy that I’ll be visiting more… especially after showing them my magic.”
“Yeah… magic…” Melissa muttered before driving.
“Something wrong?”
“Uhh… let’s just say your mother has been very busy at our house.”
______________________________________
Back at Alexis’s house…
Melissa and I entered the house, only to find that Mom couldn’t be seen. “Wait where’s Mom?” I asked looking around.
“Probably still in the basement.” Melissa answered, leading me downstairs.
When we got to the bottom of the stairs, I could only stop and stare at what she was doing. All I could see was a purple alicorn frantically putting parts together, attaching them to a normal mirror. “Oh Crystal! Perfect timing!” She exclaimed beaming happily at me. I could see that her mane was all messed up again.
“This is what you’ve been doing for the past hour…??” I asked looking over the mirror.
“Well this and a lot of research. There is so much ideas and information that I never even thought of in this world! I knew time travel was possible in Equestria, but this place has ideas to make an actual transporter that doesn’t even use magic! How crazy is that!?” she exclaimed. “That’s not what I was building of course. Time travel could be a risky thing to use. And if done incorrectly, it could cause the entire universe to collapse! No what I’ve been building is just a portal to make it easier for us to go from Equestria to here… or go from here to Equestria. Now all I have to do is make another gateway in Equestria that would be magically linked to this one, and then we have a portal!”
“Just how much reading have you actually been doing??” I asked staring in shock at the machine.
“You have no idea!” Mom exclaimed smiling at me. “Though Melissa did try showing me the internet, but the first thing I saw, I didn’t exactly like or find appropriate so I kind of just left that aside…”
“Right… and what’s the power source to this portal?”
“Same power source as the portal that leads to Canterlot High!” she exclaimed before pulling out two books; both of which had my cutie marks on them.
“Wait, are those…?”
“With these we can keep in contact with Melissa, Jason, and Alexis the same way you already do with Sunset Shimmer! They can also be used as keys to activate the portal. Once it’s out of place, the portal closes. That goes for either portal.”
“Um… shouldn’t we be leaving to get ready for the celebration?” I ask chuckling a bit.
“Ah! you’re right!” she exclaimed levitating me onto her back. “It was great meeting you, Melissa. I’ll be sure to write to you very soon!” she said, giving one of the books to Melissa before running upstairs.
“Uh… right.” Melissa responded standing there awkwardly.
Mom was quickly running around to get all my stuff. When she did, she then used her magic to teleport us back inside of the library in Ponyville. By the time we got there, it was the middle of the night. “We’re back!!” Mom exclaimed. A few moments after she did however, she collapsed flat on the ground and started snoring.
I just face palmed getting off of her back. I just levitated her to the bed and set an alarm for us to wake up an hour before sunrise. After that I just grabbed all my stuff and placed them next to the bed, laying in bed with her. “Might as well try to get more sleep before the celebration…” I say to myself closing my eyes. “What a day…”
______________________________________
Five minutes before sunrise…
In canterlot there were thousands of ponies waiting for the celebration to begin. Mom and I were waiting on stage for Celestia and Luna to cue us in. “Ready?” Mom asked.
“Hopefully…” I smile nervously.
“You’ll do great. I know you will.” she said reassuringly.
I just took a deep breath as Princess Luna flew up to the air. When she did, she slowly descended downward as the moon followed. At the same time, Celestia was rising up with the sun following as well. Right as the sun and the moon were next to each other, Mom flew up high, creating a light effect that looked like her cutie mark. At the same time I made fireworks the same way I demonstrated on Earth. Everypony just looked up on awe at the display. When it was all over, Celestia, Luna, and Mom stood behind me and smiled. “This is gonna be a great year… I just know it.” I smiled hugging the three of them.
______________________________________
??? ???...
“You can’t be serious… Why in the world would I ever work with anyone: let alone a creature I’ve never seen before?”
“Because I can help you absorb more magic than you ever have in your entire life time, Tirek.”
“And just how exactly can you do that?” Tirek asked raising an eyebrow. The mysterious figure just walked closer to him, whispering their plan. Tirek just let out a laugh. “Very interesting… very well, you have a deal.” he said extending his hand. The other figure extended their hand as well, shaking his.
“How do you know you can even trust him…” another mysterious figure asked from behind.
“Let me worry about that.” the first mysterious figure responded.
“You know this is wrong…”
“It doesn’t matter what a weakling like you thinks.”
I just yawned stretching my arms as I got out of bed. I looked around the bed but I didn’t see Mom anywhere. “Huh?” I said looking around. “Mom??” I called out.
“I’m down here!” She called out from downstairs.
I just went downstairs to look for her… but still no sign of her. “Where??”
“Keep going!”
“What?” I looked around and found trap door that lead to a lower level. “We have a basement??” I asked levitating myself down.
“We do now!” She exclaimed stepping out of the way to show the similar contraption she built back on Earth.
“Please tell me you weren’t awake all night doing that…” I groaned holding my head.
“Don’t worry! I had some company to talk to.” She smiled pulling out the book with my cutie mark on it. “I’ve been keeping Melissa updated with my progress.”
“Mom, that’s not what I meant. You need sleep just like everypony else.”
“Don’t worry sweetie. There’s only one thing I have left to do: and that’s to test it.” Mom said opening the book again, writing a message into it.
“Alright. Now put the book inside the slot to the right of the mirror on your end. I’ll do the same.” Mom wrote before closing the book, placing the book in the device’s slot as well.
“After this can you please get some sleep?” I ask. “Don’t you still need to look into that weird box near the Tree of Harmony?”
Mom just sighed and nodded. “You’re right… I’ve been so excited on building this thing, I kind of forgot about it… Actually, there is something else I want to do too. I’ll tell you about it after I take a little nap…” Only a moment later, and the machine started reacting; moving the magic from the book to power the portal. There was a huge flash and suddenly the portal came to life: similar to the way the portal to Canterlot High did. “Hmm… it looks like it worked…”
Moments later, a human child came flying out of it, falling flat on her face. “Oooowww...” she groaned slowly getting up from the ground.
“Lexi??” I exclaimed helping her up.
“It worked!!” Mom said hopping up and down excitedly.
“What the… huh?” Alexis said looking around at her surroundings. “Where am I?”
“Well this would be the basement to where I live.” I chuckled booping her.
“Oh, Becky!” Alexis giggled. “What’s up?”
Suddenly another human came out of the portal… this time it was Melissa. “Alexis, I told you to wait!!” She yelled gripping Lexi’s ear.
“Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ooowww!!” Lexi yelped in pain. “Come on, I just wanted to make sure it worked!”
“I am so sorry about this, Twilight.” Melissa groaned.
“No no! It’s fine, really… she did help prove that the portal was a success, so that’s a plus right?” Mom asked trying to calm Melissa down.
“Look, I’m happy that it worked. But you need to go to sleep, Alexis. You have school in the morning!” She said dragging Alexis by the arm through the portal again.
“Okay! Okay!” Lexi groaned getting dragged. “I’ll see you later Becky!” She exclaimed before getting dragged in herself.
Mom and I just looked at each other before laughing. “Alright.” Mom started. “You need to get ready for school too.” She said removing the book from place, causing the portal to close again.
I just levitated myself back up to the library floor and headed back upstairs to change my clothes. I actually changed my clothes into something I brought from home. Although the jeans were a bit tighter than I remember… I guess I did grow a little bit since the last time I wore these. The light blue t-shirt still fit me fine at least. When I finished getting my clothes on, I just headed back downstairs. I could see Spike was feeding Cocoa for me. “Thanks for the help, Spike!” I hugged him and pet Cocoa before grabbing my books, heading out the door.
“Anytime Crystal!” Spike shouted as I walked out.
As I walked to school, I just waved at the ponies I passed just like I normally do… until I heard a couple of voices I didn’t recognize.
“That’s right folks! You heard it here first! This miracle drug is all you need to enhance the strength of your natural abilities!” One male unicorn shouted.
“Whether it be the strength of an earth pony, the flying power of a pegasus, or the magical ability of a unicorn such as ourselves!” The other male unicorn shouted, who looked just like the other except with a mustache.
“Ugh… this all sounds like a scam.” I said to myself not stopping.
“And is that a fact? You have no doubts about that claim?” One random pony walking beside me asked.
“Well duh, of course it’s--”
FLASH
“W-What the!?” I yelped, dropping my books to rub my eyes from the sudden flash. I looked over at the pony who took the picture. He had already started running off. “Hey! I didn’t say you could--”
FLASH
“If Princess Twilight’s daughter thinks so, it must be true!” another pony exclaimed holding a camera.
“Will you stop taking--!?”
FLASH
Suddenly other ponies just started to crowd me, bombarding me with questions. Out of panic I grabbed my books, placed a finger on my head, and teleported inside my school in front of the class. Panting hard, I looked out the window to see if anypony saw where I went. Thankfully it looked like I lost them. I just took a deep breath in relief. “Thank Celestia…”
“Uhh… Crystal?” Miss. Cheerilee said from behind me. “Is everything alright?”
“And did you just teleport??” Scootaloo asked mostly in shock about that.
“Uhh… yeah I did and sorry about that. There was a bunch of ponies, taking pictures and asking me a bunch of questions…” I sighed taking my seat.
“Guess bein’ the daughter of a princess can be pretty tough, huh?” Applebloom whispered.
“Not to mention the fact that now you have to keep a good appearance to not embarrass yourself or Twilight.” Diamond Tiara added. “Just try to keep your head down and avoid all camera ponies as much as you can. Their one goal in their job is just to find any kind of dirt on celebrities.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” I groaned slamming my head on the desk. “I don’t want fame. I just want to be a normal girl with magic… I know that in itself isn’t normal but I’ve learned to accept that part of me.”
“Wait, huh?” Sweetie Belle asked tilting her head. “How isn’t that normal?”
“Yeah.” Scootaloo continued. “Didn’t you learn how to use magic because of that book you found in Twilight’s library? I think it was called the Magic of a Non Unicorn or something?”
I just sighed keeping my head down. “Let’s just say I found out about a lot of things… things that involve my past.”
Cheerilee looked at me with some concern. “Do you want to talk about it, Crystal?” she asked.
I just looked over at everypony else who was just looking at me confused. “Maybe at recess or something…”
“Well… if you say so.” Cheerilee said walking back to the front of the class. The class went on like normal. I wrote down my notes and listened to Miss. Cheerilee’s lessons.
______________________________________
Back at Ponyville Square…
“Brother… is it me or have our sales really dwindled over the past hour?” Flim asked his mustached brother.
“I have to agree… ponies have seemed to just turned a blind eye...” Flam responded.
“It’s getting me a bit worried… what if we can’t meet our quota like we said we would?” Flim asked starting to literally sweat. “They said they’d punish us…”
“Well maybe if you weren’t so quick to offer our assistance, we wouldn’t be in this mess!”
“It’s not like you were quick to stop me!” Flim yelled back in response. “Besides it makes no sense! Why would everypony suddenly just ignore us??”
“You two seriously don’t know why?” One random pony asked holding a newspaper before throwing it at the two. “It’s because nopony trusts you two scam artists!”
“Huh??” they both asked simultaneously while looking at the newspaper article.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle’s daughter, Crystal Sparkle said it herself: The notorious Flim Flam Brothers are only selling fake miracle drugs just to fool the common citizens and add more bits to their profit!?” Flim exclaimed. “But this is--!” Flim stopped and froze when seeing the picture on the cover. “W-what!?”
“Is this some kind of joke!?” Flam added.
“We have to tell them… maybe they will forgive us if they understand why this happened.” Flim suggested.
“Are you mad!?” Flam exclaimed.
“What other option do you have!?”
They just looked each other and sighed packing up their cart, leaving Ponyville practically with their tails tucked between their legs.
______________________________________
After Cheerilee’s usual lessons, the school bell started to ring signalling us for recess… actually it was ringing more rapidly than usual. I walked outside to see what was going on, only to find a certain pink pony who had their head inside of the bell. “Pinkie Pie??” I asked calling out to her.
Suddenly Pinkie stopped what she was doing to look down at me. “Hiya Crystal!” she waved. “Enjoying school today??”
“Why in Equestria are you up there??” I asked.
“Because I was asked to be up here!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Miss. Cheerilee asked me to ring the school bell all week!”
“Yes I did. But I didn’t say all day during the week!” Miss. Cheerilee responded with a groan. “You were only supposed to ring the Bell for 5 minutes!”
“Oops!” Pinkie giggled hopping down from the top of the roof and looked at me in the eyes for a moment looking pretty serious. “How have you been feeling? I heard from Princess Celestia that you actually went to visit your world… I just wanted to make sure.” She said with the most sincerity I ever heard from Pinkie Pie.
“Huh??” Sweetie Belle said from behind me. “When did this happen??”
“Not that long ago… After I got my memories back, I wanted to take care of a few things.” I sighed. “Paying respects to my real mom was one of them…”
“Your real mom…?” Applebloom asked walking up to me.
“Yeah… my mom from my world. Both her and my dad are dead.”
Miss. Cheerilee looked shocked at what I just said. “That’s awful… I’m really sorry Crystal.”
“Wait a second…” Applebloom cut in. “You said you were payin’ respects to your mother… what about your daddy?”
I just sighed heavier. “Even if I knew where he was buried, I wouldn’t care enough to pay respects to him.” Everypony except Pinkie just gasped at what I said.
“Crystal, how could you say somethin’ so awful!? That’s your daddy you’re talkin’ about!” Applebloom exclaimed.
“He wasn’t a dad. He was just a monster!” I groaned holding my head. “Can we please stop talking about him?”
“What…?” Cheerilee asked. She walked over to me and placed a hoof on my shoulder. “Crystal… what happened that made you hate your own father?”
I just looked at Cheerilee in the eyes, crying slightly. “He killed my mom…”
This time Cheerilee as well as everypony else looked at me with expressions of disbelief. “W-wait… then how did your father die…?” Cheerilee asked. I just looked down and shook my head not wanting to say it in front of everyone.
“Crystal…?” Diamond Tiara asked, checking on me.
I just slowly walked back inside the school. The crusaders, as well as Pinkie, Cheerilee, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon followed me inside. “Crystal what’s going on…?” Diamond Tiara asked this time. “What happened?”
I just took a deep breath before looking back at everyone. “You’re all my friends, right? Nothing would ever change that?” I asked.
“Of course you’re our friend.” Sweetie Belle answered. “You’re our best friend.”
“I don’t think I could ever hate the person who saved my life.” Diamond Tiara added. “Even if my mom does feel indifferent about you, I still care about you a lot.”
I looked at everyone else before starting to explain everything that happened since the last time I saw them. I told them about my father, talking about what he did to me. At this point, they just held shocked expressions on their faces. Cheerilee held a look of disgust and contempt when ever I even mentioned my father now. “He forced your body to be able to use magic…?” Cheerilee asked.
I just nodded in response. “Like I said, I accepted that part of me. It is going to stick with me for the rest of my life after all.”
“What happened to him?”
I just looked down again. “One day when I was practicing with my magic, I asked him something…”
~~~~~~~~
“When can I go back to Mommy…?” I asked.
“You can’t…” Dad said flatly.
I just looked at my father, starting to lose my temper. “Why not!?” I exclaimed. “Please Daddy… why won’t you let me see her…?” I asked starting to cry. “I really miss her… I know you two always fought but I just really want to see her…”
Dad just looked down silently and sighed. “It would be impossible even if I wanted to.”
“What do you mean…?” I asked. My father just stood there silently. “Daddy… where is she…?”
“She’s gone sweetheart…” Dad finally answered.
“What do you mean she’s gone…??” I asked starting to cry even more. “What did you do to her!?”
“I did what I felt was necessary for the future…” I just stared at him… my hands started trembling in anger. Tears were streaming down my face… Then the whole building started to shake, and my magic started surging. “Rebecca! Stop this!!”
“You…… MONSTER……” I said breathing heavily… My eyes went completely blank while looking at him. “I’LL KILL YOU!!”
~~~~~~~~
“After that, I passed out… and woke up in the place where Twilight found me.” I said after finishing my story. Everypony just stood, staring at me wide-eyed. It looked like some of them wanted to say something but either were afraid to or just didn’t know how to put it into words. “I know you all probably think differently about me now. I wouldn’t blame you.”
“I don’t feel differently about you at all.” Diamond Tiara responded flatly before walking over to me to hug me. “After everything you told us, I don’t blame you for what you did! We all still love you no matter what, Crystal.” The Crusaders and Silver Spoon joined in on the hug as well.
“It don’t matter what you did before.” Applebloom added.
“You always went out of your way to be a good friend… more than anypony I’ve ever met.” Sweetie Belle added. “Well… maybe except for Pinkie Pie.”
I just smiled at everyone, returning their hugs by wrapping my arms around them as much as I could. “You really are all my best friends…” I said slightly crying happily.
Out of nowhere, Pinkie reached into the crowd and lifted me onto her back. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off, Crystal?” Pinkie asked. “You can come with me to help me get what I need for the party I have planned!”
I just look back at Cheerilee as if waiting for an approval. She just smiled and nodded in response. “I’ll have one of your friends bring you the school work you missed.” Cheerilee answered.
“I’ll be sure to bring it to her.” Diamond Tiara said being the first to offer.
“Thanks Diamond Tiara.” I smiled at her. “I really appreciate it.”
“It’s no problem… Rebecca.”
I just looked at Diamond Tiara for a moment after she called me that. “You know, you can still call me Crystal… it’s what everyone is used to by now.”
“If that’s what you’d rather be called, then alright…” Diamond Tiara said awkwardly rubbing the back of her head.
“You ready to go then??” Pinkie asked.
“Yup!” I exclaimed holding onto her tight. Without another word, Pinkie ran off with me on top of her.
As the three crusaders went off to do their own thing, Diamond Tiara kind of just stood there and sighed. “What the hay was that?” she asked herself.
“What was what?” Silver Spoon asked.
Diamond Tiara just looked down silently in confusion for a moment. “It’s nothing… Don’t worry about it.”
______________________________________
Pinkie just kept running through Ponyville while I was on her back. “So what did you need help with?” I asked.
“I need your help to find some bluebells!” She answered. “They’re for my ‘finished ringing the school bell for the day’ party. And you can’t have that kind of a party without bluebells!”
“Where do you find them?”
“Growing in the Everfree Forest!”
“Wait what??” I asked feeling uneasy now.
“Don’t worry! It should be safe now.” Pinkie said before we reached the entrance. It still looked as dark and scary as ever. “Well… safer. But we have each other, right?” She asked reassuringly. “In team Crystal Pie, we can do anything!”
“Crystal Pie?” I asked chuckling a bit.
“You know! Crystal and Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie smiled heading into the forest with me. “I could’ve said Pinkie Sparkle, but then it would just sound like I was related to Twilight! Plus Crystal Pinkie or Pinkie Crystal sounded funny so I thought that wouldn’t make sense!” She said before putting me down. “This should be the spot!”
I just looked around for bluebell flowers. However, it didn’t really look like there were any in full bloom. Suddenly a breeze came through causing me to shiver a bit. Pinkie then covered me in a sort of tarp before doing the same for herself. “Huh? Where did you get these?”
“I brought them with me silly!” Pinkie said. “I was going to use them to carry the bluebells in, but I guess it is pretty cold. Might not even be able to find any in this temperature.”
“Maybe we can try looking deeper inside.” I suggested. “We might not have the tarps to use, but I can at least help carry as much as I can with my magic.”
“That could work!” Pinkie smiled leading the way.
Eventually after a bit of walking, we reached a rickety looking bridge. In fear of falling, I kind of just used my magic to levitate over. Pinkie Pie just walked on the bridge with no problem at all. “How come you didn’t just take the bridge?” Pinkie asked.
“I kind of have a fear of bridges that hang like this… I always got the feeling that something bad was gonna happen, especially after seeing them in movies.” I answered following close beside her.
“There’s movies about bridges?” she asked giggling.
I just chuckled back in response. “No not exactly.” Eventually after a little more walking, we were getting close to a castle. “There’s the castle of the two sisters!” Pinkie exclaimed leading. “It’s where the six of us found the elements of harmony and turned Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna!”
“I remember Mom telling me about that… she told me it was her first time realizing how important friendship was.” I stopped. Looking ahead, I could see two ponies walking into the castle. “Wait, is that Rarity and Fluttershy? What are they doing out here?”
“I’ll go find out!” Pinkie exclaimed running ahead into the castle.
“Wait up!!” I exclaimed trying to keep up. Unfortunately Pinkie was too fast and had already disappeared from sight. “What happened to Crystal Pie!?” I exclaimed. Hearing my own echo in the castle I kind of just shook a little bit starting to walk through the halls with the tarp still on me. The walls seemed destroyed in a lot of parts. The curtains that hung on the castle walls were also torn. “Hello??” I called out. “Can anypony hear me??” … “Please…?” I said kind of mumbling that last part. I just kept walking through the halls with no sign of anypony. All I could hear was the sound of my own footsteps echoing through the halls.
About 20 minutes went by but still no sign of anyone… until suddenly I could hear the faint sound of hoof steps coming from down the hall. I quickly picked up the pace to see who it was. When I got closer, I could see a certain cloaked pony just looking around while walking. “Thank goodness… Pinkie Pie, how could you just leave me alone like that!?”
“Hm?” they said turning around to show their face.
…
Except it wasn’t Pinkie Pie. It was a female yellow unicorn with what looked like a scar going across her left eye. “Who are you…?” I asked starting to walk closer. The unicorn just stood there silently. She slowly backed up and looked away before starting to mumble to herself. “Uh hello??” I asked following her.
The unicorn then just stopped in place. “Go away.” she answered sternly. “Just leave me alone.” She said with a sad tone in her voice.
“But… what are you even doing here in this castle?” I asked. She just shook her head before turning back around to leave. Getting aggravated, I just dropped my tarp that I had on, placed a finger on my head and teleported in front of the strange pony. “What is with you??” I asked.
“I said get away!!” She screamed before shooting a beam at me from her horn. Not being able to react quick enough, I was pushed back slightly in pain.
“What was that for!?” I shouted. This time the pony just stood and stared at me with her mouth agape. “What!?”
“You’re real…??” She asked walking over to me slowly. She looked like she was inspecting closely. “Wait… What did you just do a few seconds ago…?”
“What do you mean what did I do!? You shot at me!”
“I know that; I meant before that! You just appeared right in front of me without warning!”
“Uhh… I teleported using my magic?” I answered tilting my head. “Kind of weird for a unicorn to not know what teleportation is.”
The unicorn just stood there staring at me. She opened her mouth to speak. “It’s weird for a human to know magic in itself, isn’t it?”
“I mean… yeah but I learned to accept it as normal… wait, how do you even know about humans?”
“U-um… I’m a human expert?” she stammered.
“Uh-huh… and where exactly did you learn about humans?” I asked skeptically. “Last time I checked, I didn’t share anything about myself. And humans were still new to Celestia, Luna, and my Mom before she found me.”
The unicorn sighed before removing her hood. “Look… I don’t have a proper answer to why I know about humans for now. I need to know though… how did you use magic?”
I just looked at the unicorns face with concern… but at the same time something felt different about her… I couldn’t tell what it was. “...My dad.” I finally answered. “My dad had me experiment things he was working on… and eventually one of the experiments caused it.”
The unicorn just stood there wide-eyed for a moment. She took a deep breath regaining her composure. “I’m sorry… I got so caught up with these questions that I didn’t introduce myself, did I? My name is White Rose. I’m sorry that we started off on the wrong hoof… and I’m also sorry for shooting at you. The reason I’m here in the castle of the two sisters, is because I can’t help but simply admire the amazing history it holds.”
I stood there looking at her still skeptically. “I’m Crystal Sparkle… I’m here because I’m looking for my friends. We kind of go seperated.”
“Crystal Sparkle…?” She asked tilting her head. “That’s an interesting name…”
“My mom gave it to me.”
“...Your mother?” She asked looking even more confused.
“Yeah… you probably know her as Princess Twilight.”
“...You’re… mother is one of the princesses…?” White Rose asked starting to tremble a bit. “But how?”
“Well… this might sound crazy but she’s been taking care of me since the day she found me in my world… I did have a real mom, but she died some time ago. I was all alone after my dad died.”
At this White Rose choked and coughed a bit. “He’s dead!?” She exclaimed. “How!?”
“Look, I don’t want to be rude or anything but I think I’ve said a little too much already… I barely even know you anyways… I have to go find my friends.” I say about to walk off.
“W-wait!” White Rose exclaimed. I just stopped to look at her and see what she had to say. “U-um… at least let me help you look for them to make up for shooting at you before.”
I just sighed. “Alright.” I went to pick up the tarp I had on before and put it back on. White Rose and I just walked side by side as we searched… all while she kept a smile on her face; most of the time toward me. When I took notice, she stopped and looked away. It was honestly a really awkward and quiet walk… So I decided to have a little small talk with her to break the silence. “How often do you come here?” I asked starting the conversation.
“Oh, I come here pretty often actually…” She answered. “Honestly I practically live here.” She joked.
I just looked at White Rose still unsure if I can fully trust her. “Why did you think I wasn’t real?” I asked.
She then frowned at the question and just kept walking. “Sometimes I hallucinate.” She answered.
“Hallucinate…? Since when do ponies hallucinate about humans?... while yelling to ‘get away!’ like you did.” Then she stopped walking and I stopped with her. “Rose?”
“It’s not important…” she sighed.
“It doesn’t sound like it’s not important…”
“Now who’s the one asking too much?” She asked chuckling a bit.
“Hey, you started it!” She just ruffled my hair in response with her hoof.
Suddenly out of nowhere there were high pitched screams that echoed through the halls. “What was that??”
“That sounded like my friends!” I exclaimed running in the direction of the scream.
“Wait for me!” White Rose exclaimed following from behind. Seeing where I was running, White Rose suddenly freaked out. “Wait! Watch where you’re stepping!!”
“Wait huh?” I asked looking back at her. Without noticing, it felt like I had just stepped on a pressure plate. I then fell forward only to stop myself from falling by levitating myself… looking down I could see a very deep pit that I couldn’t see the bottom of. “O-oh… b-booby traps… good to know…” I stammered as a drip of sweat ran down my face, dripping into the pit.
I looked back at White Rose who just stared at me in surprise. She saw me looking and just shook her head. “Why don’t you just follow me and do what I do?” she asks as I land beside her. “I know a lot about the traps in this castle… I still wonder why she hasn’t removed them though…”
“...She?” I asked.
“Um… my… twin sister…” she stammered a bit. “She comes with me to this castle too… though she often wanders off.”
“So you aren’t alone here then?”
“Sometimes I wonder… but let’s not focus on me right now. Don’t forget about your friends.”
“Alright everypony, STOP!!” exclaimed another voice from the same direction we were running.
“Huh?... That sounded like Mom!” I exclaimed running to where the shout came from… when we got there, we could see four ponies frozen in place all in different positions. “What the heck?... What are you all doing here??”
“Crystal!?” Mom explained from the top of the steps. “I should be asking you that! Shouldn’t you be in school??”
“Uh… Pinkie Pie said she needed help picking bluebells for a party so she kind of had me leave early with her.”
Mom just face hoofed in response. “Wait then where is Pinkie Pie? And who’s that??”
“Pinkie kinda got separated from me after following Rarity and Fluttershy inside of the castle…. and this is White Rose.” I said introducing her. “She kind of helped me find you girls… after shooting at me.”
“After WHAT!?” Mom exclaimed with her horn glowing brightly.
“W-wait! It was a misunderstanding and an accident!” Rose exclaimed backing up a bit. “There’s no way in hell that I would ever try to hurt Crystal!”
…
“Hell?” Rainbow asked still frozen in place.
“What in the hay does that mean?” Applejack added.
“I don’t think I’ve heard anypony even say that word.” Fluttershy also added.
“...I have.” Mom spoke up before unfreezing everyone. “Well… I read the word… in a few books back in Crystal’s world.”
~~~~~~~
Twilight was just sitting in the living room, reading one of the books from the bookshelf all with a smile on her face… until one word made her stop and look closely at it in confusion. “Hey, Melissa?”
“Hm?” Melissa said looking at Twilight from her couch. “What’s up?”
“What’s ‘Hell’?” Twilight asked showing Melissa the word.
“You don’t know what Hell is?” She got up from her couch before pulling out her phone. She just started typing away before showing Twilight a website with the definition of the word on it.
Twilight looked closely at it. “The place or state of punishment of the wicked after death... the abode of evil and condemned spirits… Gehenna or... Tartarus?” Twilight asked with that last word surprising her. “I’ve heard of Tartarus… though it’s a little different from here I guess. In Equestria, Tartarus is where the most dangerous and evil creatures are sent away… it’s basically a prison.”
“Jeez, sounds a lot more tame than our Hell if that’s the case…”
~~~~~~~
Everypony along with myself just kept staring at White Rose now; who was practically sweating bullets. My mom was about to step closer, but suddenly the loud sound of an organ could be heard echoing through the entire castle.
“W-Was that the p-pony of shadows??” Rainbow Dash stammered while asking.
“The what??” I asked.
“Hey! Where’d she go!?” Mom asked looking around for White Rose who seemed to have just ran off. Suddenly another ring from the organ sounded.
“Forget about her! Where’s that coming from!?” Rainbow exclaimed.
“There’s only one way to find out…” Mom said leading the way. “Come on.”
______________________________________
The yellow unicorn panted hard after she had just ran from everyone. She walked to one of the small pony statues in the hall and pushed the neck back, causing a hidden doorway in the wall to reveal itself. She took a deep breath before walking inside. Right after she did, the doorway closed again. After a bit of walking, she had found herself in a private study.
…
She just dropped to the ground with tears running down her face. “Damn it… why couldn’t I just tell her!?”
“What are you blathering about?” another figure said in the distance. “How often are you going to wander these halls? It’s going to be the same everyday.”
“Are you deaf!? Didn’t you hear the screaming!?”
“Did you forget this room is practically sound proof?”
“Oh… right, I guess I forgot.”
“Idiot…” the other figure sighed. “Why are you sweating by the way?”
“I was kind of running… from these ponies and…” White Rose paused a bit.
“And…?”
“And… her…”
The figure revealed herself to be a human girl with a scar on her right eye. “I told you multiple times, that’s impossible. There would be no way for her to even come to Equestria.”
“But this time was different! She spoke to me! I could see her perfectly! I could feel her! Hell, we were having a full conversation!” She said trying to convince her. “And on top of that, the other ponies that I saw acknowledged her too! … She told me a few things too…” White sighed lowering her head.
“Such as…?”
“She told me that her name was Crystal Sparkle and that her mother was one of the princesses… Princess Twilight.”
“...Anything else?”
“She said that both… her real mother and father are dead… but she didn’t tell me how he died.”
“You’re joking…” The woman said actually surprised by this fact.
“There was one more thing…” White sighed before looking up at the human. “She used magic…”
This time a slight surge of magic exploded from the human. “What!?” she exclaimed walking to the exit of the private study.
“Where are you going!?”
“I have to see her for myself!” As she walked into the hall, she used a spell to change her form into a unicorn as well, similar to how White Rose looked.
White Rose quickly followed behind. “What are you planning to even do when you get to her!?”
“I don’t know yet! Right now I’m checking to see if everything you said is even true! Where did she go??”
“Probably to that room where the organ is… somepony was playing on it so they went to go check it out.”
The twin unicorn just kept walking at a fast pace to where the organ room was.
______________________________________
Slowly the six of us entered the room where the organ was being played. In the distance I could see another cloaked pony sitting in the chair in front of the organ. “That… c-could be Pinkie Pie…” I said still not feeling 100% sure about what I just said.
Mom was the one to go ahead toward the figure… everyone else decided to stay behind in fear. When she went behind the figure, Mom quickly used her magic to yank away the tarp… and to my relief it actually was pinkie. “Hey you guys!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Did you know I could play the organ? Because I didn’t!”
“Whew…” I huffed along with the others. “Wait. Pinkie why did you run off like that!?” I exclaimed.
“Oh sorry Crystal! I didn’t mean to scare you. I actually wanted to surprise you!”
“Huh?” I ask tilting my head.
“See, you know how I was going to make a party for ringing the bell for a day? Well I thought of a better idea!” Pinkie said starting to play random notes on the organ. “I thought I’d help you all with your party instead!”
“And… what party would that be?” Rarity asked.
“Uh… the ‘Everypony Come To The Scary Old Castle and Hide From Each Other While I Play the Organ’ party? Duh!” She said playing a key on the organ which caused a spring in the floor to send Spike flying backwards.
Spike groaned looking up to see two identical ponies looking down at him. “Gaaah!!” He exclaimed running back to us. “There’s two of them now!!”
“Huh?” I said looking at the two. One of them was wearing a cloak while the other wasn’t… I’m assuming the one in the cloak is White Rose. “Oh right… you told me about a twin sister…”
The twin looked out me with her mouth agape. “I… She really is here…” The twin said.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!” White Rose exclaimed.
“So wait a minute… everything you said about her; including her being able to use magic. That was true too?” The twin asked. I just levitated myself to go past everyone else and meet this sister. From the sudden use of magic, the twin clenched her teeth in absolute rage. “That… bastard!!!” she screamed, starting to surge again. Mom just stepped in front of me as if trying to protect me. “He went back on his word!!!”
“Wait what? What are you talking about??” Mom asked. “Who are you talking about??”
“Isn’t it obvious!? I’m talking about Rebecca’s father!!”
Everypony just stared at the twin in shock, myself included… “H-how… do you know my name? How do you know about my father??” I asked actually getting a little scared now.
The twin unicorn didn’t answer… she was still enraged at the fact that I was able to use magic. White Rose however, she just kept a look of concern while looking at her sister. “That stupid, backstabbing, SON OF A--”
“H-hey!!” White Rose exclaimed cutting off her angry sister. “For God’s sake, not in front of Rebecca!”
Twilight just looked down to herself deep in though. “Why does this pony seem so familiar…?” she asked herself.
“Oh shut up!” the twin exclaimed. “I know you’re angry too, we feel the same exact emotions when we’re next to each other!”
“That doesn’t mean she has to hear you curse!”
“God, you really are PATHETIC!” she shouted. “I thought you were just a weakling before, but my god! Show how you feel for once! I know why you’re angryand you know why I’m PISSED OFF!!”
“Yeah, I do know why!!” White responded in anger. “But what exactly can we even do about that!? He’s already dead anyways!”
“Oh don’t even get me started with that. I swear I wish I could bring him back to life just so I could kill him again!” She exclaimed before walking up to me. “How did he die? I want to know every detail of his death!!”
“Okay, stop!” Mom exclaimed. “What the hay is wrong with you!? She’s just a child! What makes you think she wants to relive that moment!?”
“What are you talking about…?” White asked. “I at least want to know that too… how did he die?”
Mom just looked back at me with a look of concern on her face… I just looked up at White and finally responded. “After he told me that my mom was gone… I…”
“Hm…?” White Rose asked tilting her head. “What’s… wrong…?”
“I-I…”
“You what!? Spit it out!” The twin exclaimed.
“I killed him!!” I exclaimed. The entire room just went dead silent…
White Rose looked at me with a look of shock and despair… while the twin just laughed. “I change my mind… I couldn’t ask for a greater punishment for going back on his word!”
“What word!? What are you talking about!?” I exclaimed. “For Celestia’s sake, just give me answers!”
White Rose just sighed. Looking at her I could actually see tears starting to run down her face. “He promised that if I took your place, he wouldn’t do the same to you…”
“Hold up.” Mom started. “What!? He did the same experiment on you!?”
White looked to the side before answering. “I never wanted Rebecca to go through it… when he told me about his idea, I kept begging him not to go through with it…. but he was so hell bent on the idea that I figured he wouldn’t listen to me... So I offered to take your place…”
“B-but…” I stammered. “H-how would you… W-why would you… ”
The twin just groaned. “Because despite being a pathetic weakling, she’s always determined to go out of her way for you.”
Mom looked back at White Rose. Suddenly her eyes widened in realization.
~~~~~~~
“Honestly… we should be thanking you.” Melissa said. “I know Rachel would be happy that you were taking care of Rebecca all this time.”
“What was Rachel like actually…?” Twilight asked levitating the cup to take a sip.
“A very open minded person… someone who always tried to see the good in anyone.”
“Heh… I guess I can see where Rebecca gets her personality from.”
“She always went out of her way to do whatever she could to help someone… especially when it came to her daughter.”
~~~~~~~
“N-no way… No, that’s impossible...” Mom let out.
“Will you stop calling me a weakling all the time!?” White Rose exclaimed. “You know perfectly well that we’re both the same when it comes to strength!”
The twin just laughed in response. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to do this now… I already proved to you multiple times that I was stronger than you!” Without warning, White shot a her own twin this time, pushing her back. “Is that the best you got?” She asked before shooting at white as well… only with her shot, White was sent flying, hitting the wall.
Out of anger, White teleported in front of her sister before levitating her in the air, throwing her against the column… both of them were groaning in pain. “I am not a weakling!”
The sister smirked before her eyes went completely blank. “Very well… prove me wrong.”
In response, White’s eyes did exactly the same. Both of them just started surging with magic. The two ran at each other, clashing their horns together which sent a shockwave that shook the castle. “W-whoa!” Rainbow exclaimed.
“Everyone get close to me!!” Mom exclaimed before pulling me toward her. When everyone went to her, she used a spell to protect us with a magic forcefield.
Eventually the two fighting just pushed each other back. White Rose then shot an enormous beam at her sister. The twin simply made a magical wall that deflected the beam right back at White.
White then teleported out of the way, causing the attack to hit Mom’s forcefield, cracking it a bit. “H-how is their magic this strong!?” Mom stammered starting to sweat a bit, trying her best to keep the forcefield in tact.
Just then, White teleported in front of her sister, using a spell to push her back, sending her flying to hit the wall. Gritting her teeth, the twin sent another beam at White, knocking her down. White just groaned getting up. “Don’t think I’m going to just give up now!” White exclaimed. Suddenly her body started glowing brightly. When the light faded, I could see that her body changed… she wasn’t a pony anymore; she was human...
“...Wait a second…” I let out. “Why does she look so familiar…?” I asked. I couldn’t see her face… Before I could even try to get a better look at her, she teleported again; this time on top of her sister. As soon as she did, she grabbed onto the horn, blocking the flow of magic and also causing her a lot of pain… But for some reason, White was screaming in pain as well. Eventually the pain was too much for her and she just let go of the horn.
As soon as she did, her sister changed form as well; changing into a human. She grabbed White Rose by the throat, pinning her to the wall. “What’s the matter?? Are you faltering already??” White just choked in response.”Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing… you’re trying to prove yourself to her aren’t you?”
In response, White grabbed onto the sister’s hand, teleporting them both high up in the air before pushing down, slamming her into the ground. As soon as she did though, I could see both of them coughing blood. “STOP!!” I shouted from inside the cracked forcefield. “Mom, let me out please!” Mom just looked down at me, staring for a moment. “Mom…!”
“Okay…” Mom responded before lowering the forcefield. I just quickly ran toward the two.
“Okay!?” Rainbow exclaimed. “She’s going to get herself killed!!”
“No she won’t…” Mom responded calmly. “Just trust her.”
“Stop fighting!!” I exclaimed getting close to them. As I got closer, I could see that they both completely stopped. White slowly got up, off of her sister. I stopped running and just slowly approached them. “Why are you--...”
But when White looked at me…
…
My eyes were shot wide open… my jaw was dropped completely… tears were dripping down my face… slowly starting to stream.
She looked back at me with a look of sadness and regret… as well as her own tears dripping down her face. “Rebecca…” was the only thing she could let out.
“M… M… Mommy…?” Was the only thing I could say.
“Mommy!?” everypony exclaimed except for Twilight.
“I… I knew it… I don’t know how she’s here… but I knew it was her…” Twilight said.
My mind was going blank. I was in utter shock and confusion. “B-but… I… I thought you… you were…”
Before I had the time to even form a finished sentence, she quickly lowered herself to me, hugging me in a tight embrace with one of her hands placed on the back of my head… trembling as she cried over me. “I’m so sorry Rebecca… I wanted to come back… I wanted to tell you everything… I really did, but I never wanted you to go through all this…”
I… I just lost it… I completely fell too my knees wrapping my arms around her. The next thing I knew, I was just crying out loudly.
“Can somepony explain what in the hay is goin’ on!?” Applejack exclaimed.
Not answering Applejack, Twilight could only look at the two of us… feeling happy but at the same time a little sad too.
While hugging my mother I could hear the other person taking a deep sigh. I looked over at them… and she looked exactly like Mom. “W-wait… huh…? You really had a twin sister…?” I asked looking at her aggravated expression. “Are you my aunt…?”
“If only it were that convenient.” she groaned rolling her eyes. My mom that I was hugging onto just glared back at her in response.
“But I don’t understand. All this time I thought you were dead!” I exclaimed to Mom still with tears in my eyes. “I went to our world and even saw your grave!!! What happened!?!?”
Mom just let go of me and sighed. “It’s a long story…”
Everypony just walked over to us, most of them still looking really confused. “We’d all like to know what happened, Rachel...” Twilight said with everypony looking at her as soon as she said the name.
“Well I don’t want to hear the story, nor do we have time to tell it.” The twin said interrupting us. “We all agreed on a time to meet, and if we don’t leave now, we’re going to be late.”
“What?? We only just got Rebecca back and you already want to leave her!?” Mom exclaimed.
“Is that too confusing for you!? If you want to take her with us, then fine. But we have to leave now! Let’s go!”
“No!” Mom shouted. “I already told you that plan was a bad idea. And now it’s even worse knowing that our daughter is here too!”
“Our!?” Everypony including myself exclaimed.
“If you won’t come with me, I swear to God…” The twin said clenching her fists.
“You’ll do what!?” Rachel exclaimed. “You already know that you can’t kill me! Nothing you say will change my mind!” Without warning, the twin teleported to Rachel, pushing me aside before placing a hand on Rachel’s head, seeming to use a spell on her… When she finished, Rachel just fell over, passing out.
“Mom!!!” I shouted running back to her.
“Since you refuse to continue with what we all agreed on, you won’t be needing any memory of that plan anymore… have fun with Rebecca.” She just looked back at me and sighed. “Stay safe…” With that, the twin teleported away.
I just looked down at Mom… and then back up at my pony mother. “Come on, let’s help her.” Twilight said, levitating my mother… I walked over to Twilight hugging her tight. She just looked down at me and placed a hoof on my head. “Let’s go sweetie…”
______________________________________
??? ???...
“Ugh… we should be getting close by now…” Flim said leading the way. “I just hope they aren’t angry at us for being late…”
“Maybe they forgot to meet us here?” his brother responded. “After all I don’t see them anywhere…”
“Or maybe you two idiots need to open your eyes.” The twin said. She walked up to the two in her human form. “You better have good news for me… Or I can promise you it won’t end well for either of you.”
“I… I’m sorry but we did try our best… we would’ve sold more of the drug but--” Flim said sweating bullets before being smacked across the face.
“I was wrong, I was the idiot for entrusting you morons with this job!” The twin exclaimed. “I never told you to sell the drug!! They were supposed to be given away!!” She exclaimed before her hands started glowing.
“W-wait! Please just listen! It was--”
Without another word, the twin grabbed onto both their horns and removed any recent memories they had before tossing their passed out bodies to the street. “What a couple of disappointments…” Tirek groaned approaching the twin. He just looked at the human in confusion. “Tell me… where is your sister…?”
“Let’s just say she won’t be aiding in our plan any longer.”
“Hmph…” Tirek shrugged. “It’s not like she was any useful anyways… But what will happen with our plan now?”
“Nothing.” the twin said flatly. “I made sure to take care of her before leaving… There is one change however.”
“...And what change would that be?”
“There is another human here in Equestria… She’s my daughter. I don’t want any harm to come to her.”
“You have my word…” Tirek said offering a bow.
In response, the twin got in Tirek’s face with her eyes blank. “I mean it… if any harm comes to her, you’re dead… do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal…” Tirek responded. “I doubt that one or two humans will be a problem anyways.”
______________________________________
Back at the Castle of the Two Sisters…
Everyone was looking down at Rachel who was on the ground, still unconscious. “Mom… please wake up…” I said shaking her slightly.
Everyone besides me and Twilight just nodded in agreement. “Twilight… how did you know who she was?” Applejack asked.
“Well… Crystal’s friend’s mother told me a little bit about her… It was more of a hunch...” Twilight answered. “And Crystal’s reaction when she saw her face confirmed it...”
“You let her go based off of a hunch!?” Rainbow exclaimed. “And what if you were wrong?!”
Before Twilight was able to answer, all of us noticed a stir coming from Rachel. “Mom…?” I said looking at her as her eyes started to open up.
Rachel just groaned sitting up to hold her head. “Where am I…?”
“You kind of passed out after your sister did something to you… something about your--” I just get cut off by Rachel hugging me tightly crying.
“Oh thank god… I was so afraid that seeing you again was all just a dream…” Rachel said not letting go.
I just softly pushed Rachel off. “Mom, your sister did something to you… she said something about your memories of a plan…?”
“...Oh god.” Rachel said thinking back. “No!!”
“W-what? what is it??” I asked helping her up.
“She probably erased part of my memory… dang it!!”
“Mom… what happened?” I asked. “Who is she?”
Rachel looked at me before sighing. “I guess I should start explaining… Hell, where do I even start?”
~~~~~~
“What do you think you’ll accomplish by doing this to her!?” Rachel exclaimed. “Our daughter isn’t some lab rat you can experiment on for your stupid fantasy!”
“It’s not a fantasy! In fact it’s so close to becoming a reality! I’ve actually tested my research on multiple subjects: All of them with promising results!”
“Other subjects…? Just how far have you taken this!?”
“Does it really matter!?”
“The answer is no! As long as I’m her mother, you will never be allowed to do this to her!”
He just looked at Rachel and crossed his arms in response. “This isn’t the end of our conversation.”
“Jonathan, for God’s sake! Think of what it will do to her! Think of how much it will change her life if something goes wrong!”
“Rachel I have gone too far to just give up on this. And on top of that, nobody else will offer their assistance… I will continue no matter what you say.” Jonathan said sternly.
Rachel just glared at Jonathan before looking down to think for a second. “Let me take her place. Do the experiment on me and leave her out of it!”
“You want me to do it with you…”
“Of course I don’t want to do it! But if it’ll keep you from doing it to our daughter, then I’ll do anything. Promise me you won’t do it to her!” At this, he agreed.
~~~~~~~
“Wait. Stop.” I said interrupting Rachel. “If he was doing all of this, why didn’t you just call the police?? Why didn’t you tell anyone??”
“Rebecca, believe me, that was the first thing on my mind… but then I realized that if I went to the police, they probably wouldn’t believe me or just think I was insane before dismissing the report… That goes the same for even telling my closest friend.” Rachel answered. “Plus… at the time I did still love him so it was also the last thing I wanted to do…”
“But Lexi and her parents saw me using magic…”
At this, Rachel looked at me with a shocked expression on her face. “You showed your friend…? And her parents too??”
“Well I did tell them about Equestria at first but as soon as I did, they started looking at me like I was insane…”
“Does… anyone else know…?”
I just smiled nervously. “U-um… possibly the entire school that I used to go to…?”
Rachel just held her head. “Sweetie… I know honesty is everything but seriously!”
“Sorry…” I said before looking down.
Rachel just knelt down to me placing her hand on my head. “No, I’m sorry… I overreacted… You were just doing what you felt was right.”
I just looked down still thinking. “Alright… now how does your twin sister come in? How come this is the first time I’ve met her?”
“Rebecca, I don’t have a real sister.” Rachel answered.
“Huh??” everypony including myself said at the same time.
“Totally lost!!” Pinkie exclaimed.
Rachel looked at everypony. “Well let me just continue then…”
~~~~~~~
Rachel and Jonathan both entered a lab. It had been the same lab that he was using for his experiments for some time now. Looking around, Rachel could see a couple of needles that were just lying on the table. “And what are those…?” Rachel asked.
“It’s what we’ll be experimenting with.” he answered.
Rachel just sat down in a chair by the table. “So what exactly is supposed to happen if I take this?”
“Well, I had a theory… We as humans now, obviously can’t perform any acts of miracles such as levitating objects or anything similar to that... Our brain prevents us from from using a certain part of it; at least not at the same time as the rest of it. With this drug, it should--”
“Let me get this straight; what you have there is something that would affect a person’s brain? And you wanted to test that on our daughter!?”
“I wouldn’t test it if I knew it was dangerous! I told you, I had other subjects with promising results!”
“And where are they now!?”
“...They refused to continue any further… They were afraid of any side effects that they might have gotten already; but please hear me out! They walked out of this laboratory completely unharmed! Some of them were even able to levitate certain objects… but it didn’t last very long.”
“Well maybe you should’ve taken that as a hint that this is wrong!!... What happened to the man I married years ago… the man I married would never be this obsessed!!”
“I’m doing this for the sake of our future, Rachel!”
“Is it ‘our’ future? Or is it the future for the people?” Rachel asked. “Plus, how do you even know that the people are even ready for this sort of thing?”
Jonathan just took Rachel’s hand and gripped it tightly. “Please Rachel… for once, just trust me with this.”
Rachel looked at her husband's eyes for a few seconds before taking a deep breath, putting the elastic on her arm to ready herself for the injection. Jonathan just took the needle and readied it. Rachel took another deep breath… this time holding her breath as the needle went into her arm. When he was done, Rachel took the elastic off. “Alright, now what do I do?”
Before he said anything, Jon took out some blocks that he had. “Try to levitate these.”
Rachel skeptically looked over at the blocks before slowly motioning her hand toward the blocks, waiting for something to happen.
…
But nothing did. Rachel just put her hand back down. “I don’t think it worked.”
“Hmm…” Jon said to himself. “The last person who tested this one did say the same… he said it only gave him headaches. I wanted to see if I at least improved this one, but oh well.”
“If I start getting migraines, I’m going to beat you upside the head with a Tylenol bottle.” Rachel said putting on the elastic again. “Alright, what’s next?”
Jon went and picked up the other needle getting it ready. “This next one is without a doubt the most promising…” he said before injecting it into Rachel’s arm. “The last person who used this was able to move the blocks to the other side of the table.”
“That’s it?”
“It’s still an improvement.” he shrugged.
Rachel just took another deep breath before pointing her hand at the blocks again… and to her surprise she was able to levitate them this time. “Holy…”
“Yes yes yes!” Jon exclaimed writing down his notes. “See how long you can hold it!”
When he asked to, Rachel lifted up the rest of the blocks, moving them around the room; practically with ease. “This is incredible!” Rachel exclaimed.
“With the way I was levitating the blocks, it felt so natural to me… it was like…”
~~~~~~~
“It was like… what, Mom?” I asked… while Pinkie Pie was eating popcorn as Rachel was telling the story. Rachel just looked at me and smiled chuckling a bit. “What…?”
“You know… it’s funny. I was going to tell you this when you were a little bit older… It was going to be a little mother daughter secret that was just between us…”
“What kind of secret?”
Rachel smirked at me. “I think I’m going to need a little help continuing this story… help from a friend in Canterlot.”
“...Huh?” Twilight and I asked at the same time.
“It’ll be a little surprise.” she winked.
I just gave her the most mused look I could possibly give her. “Don’t you think I’ve had enough surprises today? Was seeing you still alive not enough??”
“Trust me… you’ll want to know this.” Rachel said before changing her form back into a unicorn.
“How… do you do that??” Twilight asked.
“Just a spell I learned… I’ll tell you more about it after we get to Canterlot.” Rachel said levitating me onto her back. I just wrapped my arms tightly around her.
Twilight kind of just kind of cleared her throat before approaching us. “Should we be going then?”
“When does the next train to Canterlot leave?” Rachel asked.
“Not for another hour or so I’m afraid…” Rarity answered.
“Well that’s no problem.” Rachel responded. “With two unicorns, an alicorn, and a human able to use magic, we should all be able to just teleport to where we need to go.”
“Er…” Rarity stammered a bit. “I’m terribly sorry darling, but I’m afraid my magic isn’t that strong…”
“And I only just learned how to teleport on my own recently.” I added.
“Hmmm…” Rachel thought to herself. “Alright, Princess Twilight, touch your horn to mine.”
“What? Uhhh… okay.” Twilight said before awkwardly walking up to Rachel, doing as she asked. “Wait.” She said before levitating one of the books that were on the table over to her. “Okay, continue.”
“Now Rebecca, place your hand on both our horns.” Rachel said looking back at me. I just did as she said as well. “Now hold onto us everypony!” Everypony just looked each other before all placing a hoof on both my moms. Before we knew what was going on, Rachel’s horn started reacting with Twilight’s. Then it started reacting to my hand as well. Without saying another word, everypony that was in the room was teleported to Canterlot… in front of Celestia’s castle. “And here we are!”
“Wait… huh?” I ask getting off of Rachel. “What are we doing at Celestia’s castle…?”
“Something I should’ve done when I first got here…” Rachel sighed actually sweating a little bit before entering the castle. I quickly ran ahead to show the guards that she was with us. “What are you doing sweetie?”
“What do you mean?? You just walked in! These guards take their jobs seriously you know!” I exclaimed.
“Really? I don’t see any issue.” Rachel chuckled a bit.
“Huh…?” I asked looking at the guard ponies… and it was just like she said… No one was really bothered by her other than a few surprised looks that some of them gave. “Okay then…” I said scratching the back of my head. “Mom…???”
“Patience Rebecca.” Rachel responded.
We just kept walking through the hall, until eventually we saw Princess Luna heading the same direction. “Hi Princess Luna!” I exclaimed waving at her.
“Hm?” Luna asked turning to our direction. “What are you all doing here?”
“Well the reason we’re here is because… um… White Rose said she wanted to visit someone here…” I answered.
“White… Rose…?” Luna asked tilting her head. “I don’t think I’ve heard that name before… Who is she here to see?”
“Uh… That’s a--” I started.
“Princess Celestia.” Rachel answered cutting me off.
“My sister?...” Luna asked. “For what reason?”
“Again… What is going on!?” I asked again.
“I have to speak to her about something important…” Rachel answered.
“Well… I was just about to see her if you just follow me…” Luna answered.
Rachel not answering my question, we just followed Luna to the throne room… when we got there, we could see Celestia looking through some scrolls. “Hmmm…” Celestia said to herself, taking a quill writing something in the scroll.
“Er… sister, we have visitors…” Luna said.
“Hm…?” Celestia asked looking away from her paperwork… before letting out an audible gasp as her eyes widened… she quickly got up from her throne, running toward Rachel. She just stopped and stared for a moment. “Is it… really you??” Celestia asked with tears in her eyes.
Rachel just smiled also with tears in her eyes. “It’s good to see you again my friend…”
“Rose…!” Celestia exclaimed placing a hoof on Rachel while she did the same to Celestia. “B-But how? How are you here?? In that world I heard you were killed…!”
“A lot has happened, princess…” Rachel responded.
Rachel slowly looked back at me… at my dumbfounded confused expression… as well as Twilight’s. “Can you please tell me what’s going on now!!??” I screamed. “How are you friends with Princess Celestia!? You haven’t been in Equestria that long, right!?”
“Well…” Celestia started. “I suppose we should explain…”
“There’s something else I didn’t know…?” I asked looking at Celestia.
“I was planning to tell you when you were older… but I didn’t know that you were actually still alive…” she said directly at Rachel.
“Sister… who is this??” Luna asked.
“Even Luna doesn’t know??” I ask seriously starting to lose my cool… Oh, who am I kidding? My cool is long gone!!
“It would make sense for my sister to not know who she is… she was on the moon when your mother was a professor here in Canterlot.”
“...Huh?” Twilight and I said at the same time.
Rachel just sighed. "There is... something that I never told you or your father..." Rachel said looking at me.
"What is it...?" I asked.
"W-well..." Rachel stammered. "I didn't exactly have an American citizenship..."
"...Huh?"
"I had an... Equestrian citizenship…”
"What... what do you mean?" I ask starting to get the idea… but that’s… no, thats…!
Rachel just looked at me straight in the eyes "Rebecca... I was born in Equestria... making you half pony."
. . . . . .
“W-wha…”
“WHAT!?!?” Everypony, excluding Celestia and Rachel exclaimed.
I… I feel light headed…
Suddenly Pinkie’s tail started twitching. “Somepony catch her, she’s gonna--!!” Pinkie exclaimed. But it was too late. I had already fainted.
Crystal!!” Pinkie exclaimed shaking Rebecca’s passed out body. “Wake up!!”
“I’m sure she’ll be okay…” Rachel said rubbing the back of her head. “She probably just needs time to process all this…” she said before turning to me. “By the way… Twilight?”
“Huh?” I asked looking away from Rebecca.
“You were the one who gave Rebecca the name Crystal… right?” Rachel asked.
“Well… yeah. It's because at the time, she didn’t have her memory of anything… not her parents, not her friends… not even her own name.” I answered.
“How did her memory get erased…?” Rachel asked.
“Well…” Celestia spoke up. “After what happened between her and your husband, I felt that holding onto any memories like that might have been too painful for her to bear… and I thought that if I brought her to Equestria, I thought it would be appropriate to give her a clean start so that she wouldn’t worry about anyone she knew… so I…” Celestia stammered a bit rubbing the back of her head.
“I think I get the picture…” Rachel said walking up to Celestia. “I really appreciate you looking out for her…” she said before turning to me. “And Twilight, I’m really thankful that you have been taking care of her… it really means a lot.”
I just smiled. “Honestly… it’s been a pleasure having her around. She was always so positive around others. Always tried to make friends… she was the complete opposite of me from when I was a filly. I always focused more on my studies than anything else. Friendship wasn’t important to me at the time.”
“Wait a second…” Rachel said looking at me closely. “I remember you, Twilight!”
“Huh?”
“When you were just a filly!”
“When… I was a filly…?” I asked looking closely at Rachel.
“Maybe this will help.” Rachel said before using her magic to make a pair of glasses appear on her face, as well as changing her mane into a ponytail. “Do you recognize me now?”
…
“AAAHHH!” I shouted. “I knew you looked familiar before! You were one of my teachers!”
Rachel just chuckled before changing her mane back and removing the glasses.”My gosh… Just look at you!” she exclaimed. “I remember you were my best student… just not that social with others. I never imagined I’d see you as a princess!”
“You… r-really were born in Equestria…” I stammered. “S-so… this whole time I’ve been taking care of my old teacher’s daughter!?”
“We still don’t know where your twin came from though!” Pinkie exclaimed.
“Twin?” Celestia asked tilting her head. “I thought you were an only child.”
“Right… as soon as Rebecca wakes up, I’ll continue explaining what happened… for now let me tell you and Luna what I’ve explained so far.”
______________________________________
“Ugh…” I groaned slowly getting up. “I had the craziest dream…” … I just looked at everypony, including both my moms, staring at me. “It wasn’t a dream was it?”
“I was just explaining everything I’ve mentioned so far to Celestia and Luna…”
I just stared at her blankly for a moment. “Can we go back to the part when you said you were born in Equestria and that I’m half pony!?”
“I have to admit… that is a bit peculiar.” Rarity answered. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“I’ve heard of animal hybrids before…” Fluttershy added. “But a human hybrid with a pony?”
“She looks completely normal to me.” Rainbow said looking at me closely. “Not like she has a tail, horn or wings on her.”
“But we at least did know that she was a unicorn…” Spike answered. “After all, Twilight and I saw that when we went to Canterlot High.”
“Wait, excuse me?” Rachel asked looking at Spike.
“Well, when we went into that world, I changed into a dog, Twilight changed into a human, and Crystal turned into a unicorn.”
“You already saw yourself as a pony??” Rachel asked sounding a little upset.
“And that’s not all!” Spike continued. “She even got her cutie mark there!”
“W-wha…” Rachel stammered. “I missed my own daughter getting her cutie mark…?”
Twilight just walked up to Rachel placing a hoof on her. “I’d be happy to tell you everything that happened with us later… but do you think you could continue from where you left off?”
“I… guess that’s fair.” Rachel said before clearing her throat.
~~~~~~~
A few hours had past since the experiment was done… and like Jonathan said, Rachel started getting severe migraines. “Ugh…” Rachel groaned holding her head. “Damn it, next time I see him, I really am going to throw a bottle at him.” Rachel just sighed heading to the kitchen. She reached into one of the drawers for a bottle of Tylenol. Feeling a lot of pain, she just took two pills before going into the living room to lay down.
“Mommy?” a voice called out from upstairs. Rebecca walked down the stairs slowly to see her mother lying on the couch. “Are you okay?”
Rachel just patted Rebecca’s head and smiled. “I’m fine sweetie. Mommy just has a bit of a headache.” Rachel said before groaning out loud in pain.
“Do you want me to stay with you…?” Rebecca asked looking worried for her mother.
“I’ll be fine Rebecca… besides, you have school in the morning.”
“Actually there’s no school tomorrow…” Rebecca said. “I think it’s something called teacher workshop… that’s happening tomorrow.”
“Well… alright then…” Rachel said before lifting Rebecca up onto her. “You can spend some time with Mommy then… but still not too late, okay?”
“Okay mommy.” Rebecca responded hugging Rachel. “Did you already take medicine?”
“I did sweetie.”
“What about for your eye?”
“...Huh?”
“It looks like you have a little scratch on your eye…”
Rachel slowly put Rebecca down and got up off the couch. She went into the bathroom to see there was indeed a scratch on her left eyelid. “What the… where did this come from…? I don’t remember being scratched.” Rachel just reached into one of the drawers, taking out a tube. She just rubbed what was in the tube onto her eyelid. “Maybe I scratched myself by accident or something…” Rachel just shrugged and went back to the living room where Rebecca was… who was already starting up Rachel’s laptop at the table. “...Putting on RWBY again?” Rachel asked chuckling a bit.
“It’s the last episode of season 3! I forgot to watch it today!” Rebecca exclaimed.
“Oh… I kind of forgot about that too.” Rachel said. “Why don’t we watch it together?”
“Okay!” Rebecca exclaimed with a smile before starting up the episode.
The two of them just watched the episode together… however, Rachel wasn’t completely focused on the episode. Despite her taking Tylenol for her headache, she was still feeling a lot of pain… in fact it was only getting worse. “Ugh…” Rachel groaned holding her head.
“What’s wrong, Mommy?” Rebecca asked. Rachel just closed the laptop in response. “Huh?”
“I think both of us should really go to bed… we can watch the rest of it tomorrow.”
“Oh… okay.” Rebecca said sounding a little upset. Kissing Rachel’s cheek, she just went back upstairs. “Goodnight Mommy.”
With that, Rachel just went to lie back down on the couch trying her best to fall asleep.
______________________________________
Morning came and Rachel just yawned stretching her arms as she woke up. “Oh… guess that headache is gone…”
“Do you know you snore when you sleep?”
…
“Huh…?” Rachel asked looking to her right… seeing another human being that looked exactly like her but with a scar on her right eye.
…
“WHAT IN THE--!!??” Rachel screamed before getting her mouth covered by the look-a-like.
“Will you stop screaming, you idiot!?” She exclaimed. “God, I know you’re smarter than that, Rose.”
Rachel just quickly pushed her hand away. “Don’t call me that here!”
“Mommy?” Rebecca called out from upstairs. “What was that?”
“N-nothing sweetie! I just saw a spider!” Rachel answered before dragging the look-a-like to the basement. “Who the hell are you??” She asked… before getting punched in the stomach by her look-a-like. But both of them looked like they were groaning in pain.
“Never drag me like that again!” The look-a-like hissed. “Damn it… why did that hurt me too??”
“How should I know!? You’re the one who punched me!” Rachel said before punching her look-a-like back… again with both of them feeling the pain. “What is going on here…??”
“It should be obvious what happened!’ The look-a-like exclaimed. “It probably has something to do with the experiments we were doing.”
“Wait. We??”
“I thought that even you would realize that… especially considering the scar on your left eye.”
“Wait wha--” I said about to look for a mirror only to be stopped by the twin.
“Don’t even bother wasting your time to check. It looks exactly like the scar on my right eye.”
“...Who are you?”
“...I’m your other half.”
~~~~~~~
“Examining my look-a-like even closer, I could tell that she really was a part of me… albeit, a part of me who was a lot more negative than I was. I could tell what she said was true. Marks that I originally had on my body were on her as well… As the both of us got our bearings straight, we came to the conclusion that she was in fact caused by the first drug that I took… It probably had a different result from the other subjects because I took the second injection right after the first when it didn’t show any signs of working.” Rachel said.
“You’re saying that she was another you!?” I exclaimed. “How long has this been going on for!?”
“She was around for about a year before we went back to Equestria…”
I just blinked before staring at her. “You’ve been hiding her for a year!?”
“Well… more like hiding her in plain sight…”
“Huh?”
“You did see her… you just didn’t know it was her.” Rachel said rubbing the back of her head. “Sometimes she would be the one to make your breakfast and lunch for school in the morning… She would even tuck you in at night. I guess despite being my opposite, our love for you really was the same… but if you noticed me being a lot more serious at times, that’s probably why… because it wasn’t me me… it was her.”
“But what about the scars on your eyes? How come this is the first time I’ve noticed them?” I asked.
“A simple spell really… it was enough to keep how my face looked for the day.” Rachel responded… then sighed looking at everyone. “You can probably guess this by now, but the drug that Rebecca and I took didn’t give us magical abilities… it simply enhanced and strengthened our magic to the point where we could still use it even as humans… but even in a human state, it was more powerful than a normal unicorn.”
“Yeah… I saw that first hoof.” Twilight added. “Especially when she gets angry.”
“When she gets angry…?”
“Well… I’ve seen her lose her temper only a few times. But when she does, her eyes go blank… similar to the way yours did when you were fighting your other half… It happened when she saved me from the vines in the Everfree Forest, and…”
“And… what?” Rachel asked tilting her head… I just looked away and sighed knowing what she was about to say.
“She saw it on the day I…” I stammered. “Dad…”
Rachel just winced a bit getting the idea. “I see…”
Suddenly my eyes widened and I shuddered in realization. “O-oh my god… all this time I…”
“Crystal, what is it??” Twilight asked worriedly.
“All this time I’ve been convinced that he was just a monster… that I killed him because he killed you… but you’re still alive-- I… I killed him for nothing…!!” I screamed starting to cry and freak out, surging a bit. “I’m a horrible person-- I.. I’m the real monster--!!” I exclaimed before Rachel put both hooves on me.
“Rebecca, listen to me!!” She shouted. “None of this is your fault. If anypony is to blame, it’s me!” Rachel shouted with tears on her face as well. “I should have told you the truth from the start… I shouldn’t have just left you to think I was dead…” she said pulling me into a tight hug. “Don’t you dare think for a second that you are a horrible person or a monster because that’s a lie! It was my mistakes! Not yours!” I slowly started to calm down… I just wrapped my arms around her tightly still crying. “I’m so sorry, Rebecca…”
I just looked into her crying eyes and sighed. “I think I need a break from these stories… this really is a lot to take in all at once…”
Rachel sighed and nodded. “I agree… Why don’t we all go home and rest? It’s been a long day for the both of us… wait. Do I even still have a home in Canterlot?”
Celestia just looked to the side before shaking her head. “I apologize, Rose. When I heard that you died, I couldn’t just leave the house vacant… you know how many ponies want to live in Canterlot; that hasn’t changed.”
“I see…” Rachel sighed looking down.
“You’re more than welcome to stay at the library…” Twilight added walking up to Rachel. “You are Crystal’s real mother after all… Plus I’m sure you two still have a lot of catching up to do.”
Rachel just looked at my eyes still watering, before gently rubbing them to dry them off. “You’re right… um… Where is this library, Twilight?”
“In Ponyville… it’s basically in the center of town.” Twilight responded. “I should be able to find space for you in my home.”
“I’d really appreciate it… thank you.” Rachel responded before looking up at Celestia. “Do you think I could have some time alone with Princess Celestia, everypony? I have to talk to her about something important, privately.” She said before turning back to me. “You should go with them, sweetie.”
“Oh… alright.” I said before exiting the room with everyone else. As soon as we did, the doors closed behind us.
About ten minutes of silence passed until Rainbow was the first to speak. “Soooo… half pony.” she said turning to me. “I guess that would explain a few things.”
I didn’t respond. I was still processing everything myself. Twilight just walked beside me before pulling me close to her. “You know what I still don’t get though?” Pinkie asked.
“What is it…?” I responded.
“If Rose is your mom, then how come your cutie mark looks like Twilight’s?”
“I honestly have no idea about that either…” Twilight added. “It’s strange but… right now we don’t have time to get into it. Right now I need to think about where to put an extra bed for Rose to sleep in.” she said scratching her head a bit.
“That’s not the only problem though, Mom…” I said. “That other side of my real mom is out there and we have no idea where she is or what she has planned… She erased my real mom’s memories so now she has no idea either.”
“I guess all we can really do is wait for her to make a move then…” Twilight said looking at the door. “Also, you’re still okay calling me ‘Mom’? Even with your real mother here?”
“Of course I am… You loved me like my real mom does. Why wouldn’t I?”
Twilight just smiled slightly pulling me into a hug. “To be honest, I’m a little relieved to hear you say that… I was a little worried you’d stop looking at me the same way.”
“Yeah well, that’s just normal paranoid you talking.” I said hugging her back.
…
“I wonder what they’re talking about in there…” I said as we all just waited.
Before anypony else was able to respond, the doors opened. Rachel just walked out and smiled at us before the door closed behind her. “So, are we ready to get going then?”
“What were you talking to Princess Celestia about?” I asked.
“Something you’ll find out about in the morning.” Rachel responded before yawning.
“...What is it with you and surprises?” I asked groaning a bit.
“Oh I’m not even surprised.” Twilight cut in. “I still remember your pop quizzes from when I was a filly. I was always prepared.”
“...Wait what?” I asked looking at Twilight.
“Oh right. You were passed out when we said this… it turns out your mother is actually one of my old teachers.”
“Huh!?” I whipped my head to Rachel.
“Yup! Twilight was one of the best students I ever had here in Canterlot.” Rachel nodded.
“Great, even more info to process…” I groaned holding my head.
Rachel just looked at me before turning to Twilight. “Twilight… do you mind if I spend some more time with Rebecca here in Canterlot? You can go back to Ponyville with your friends and we’ll catch up to you later.”
Twilight just nodded in response. “Take all the time you need Miss. Rose.”
Rachel just giggled. “Just Rose is fine, Twilight.”
______________________________________
After Twilight left with everyone else, I was left alone with Rachel, walking down the streets of Canterlot. “So you’re real name is White Rose? And Rachel was your made up name?” I asked walking with her.
“Yeah… I know that’s probably strange for you right now.” Rose responded.
“Among other things…” I huffed holding my head. Rose just looked at me staring for a moment. “What…?”
“Mind if I try something with you sweetie?” she asked.
“Huh?” I asked and stopped moving. When I did, she immediately used a spell on me. When she was done, I felt shorter. “Wha-- huh?” I asked looking up at her.
“Oh my gosh, you look so cute as a unicorn!” Rose squeed lifting me up.
“Wait huh!?” I exclaimed looking at my own hooves. “You can change others too!?”
Rose was about to respond until she got a look at my cutie mark. “Your cutie mark… it looks like Twilight’s…?”
“I got it after helping Sunset Shimmer in Canterlot High find her way.”
“Wait, you met Sunset Shimmer too??”
“Wait you know--... Don’t tell me you were her teacher too.”
“Eheh… On second thought, I’ll leave it to your imagination…” Rose said sheepishly. “We did agree to continue the stories later…”
“So what else do you want to do in Canterlot?”
“Well… Honestly I just wanted some time alone with my daughter in the city I was born in… that’s all…” Rose said in a soft tone. “You have no idea how happy it makes me to have you here with me. I know! How about I show you where I used to live?”
“Wait.”
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“Do you think we could go there as humans… while you hold my hand…?” Rose just smiled and nodded before changing us both into humans again. I quickly took her hand and held it tightly as we walked to her old home.
However, as we were walking by, there were of course ponies that recognized me; saying things like ‘Good afternoon Princess Crystal.’ or anything similar to that. At the same time they all looked up and stared at Rose as they were the only other human being with me. Eventually we reached the house and stopped. “This is it…” Rose said before changing herself back into a pony.
“Wait huh?” I asked looking at Rose.
“Honestly sweetie, I was getting a lot of weird looks as a human and it was making me uncomfortable… I hope you don’t mind me just being a pony for now, ‘Princess Crystal’.” she winked giggling a bit.
“Please don’t call me that…” I mused looking around the house.
“I wonder who lives here now…” Rose said kind of looking through the window.
“Mom, this is kind of weird…” I said looking around the area. “This technically isn’t your house anymore, so don’t you think ponies might consider looking into someone else’s house rude?”
Rose just sighed looking at me. “You’re right… I just wish I was able to bring you here before everything that happened.”
I just looked down and thought for a moment. “Honestly Mom… it wasn’t all your fault either.”
“Huh?”
“I mean from what you told us in Celestia’s castle, none of this would’ve happened if Dad didn’t try any of these experiments in the first place.”
“Even so, I still should’ve done something else instead of just going ahead and volunteering for that experiment.” Rose said sadly. “I’m still partially to blame too.”
“I guess all of us make mistakes… But I don’t think I’ll ever forget what I did to Dad…” I said walking the direction of the train station.
Rose just levitated me onto her back, carrying me that direction. “In some cases, that can be a good thing.”
“What…?”
“Think about it… what do we do when we know we’ve made a mistake? Do we do it again or do we learn from that mistake to make us a better person in the future?”
“I guess that’s true…” I sighed laying on her back.
“Maybe we should just head to Ponyville now… both of us are pretty tired.”
______________________________________
A few hours later, In Ponyville…
The whole train ride back was mostly in silence while the two of us napped. As we got off the train, we were met with Twilight at the station. “What the… how long were you waiting here, Mom?” I asked looking at Twilight.
“Not too long…” Twilight answered sheepishly.
Yeah, right.
“I noticed that you didn’t just teleport back… so I got a little bit worried and waited for you two here.”
“Well we probably would have teleported, but the two of us were just really exhausted…” Rose answered. “I’m just looking forward to getting some more sleep…”
“Eheh… right…” Twilight said smiling sheepishly.
“What?”
“Oh it’s nothing… come on. I’ll lead the way.” Twilight said heading toward the library.
Rose just followed close behind with me on her back. “Do you have any idea what that was about?” Rose whispered to me.
“I have a few guesses…” I responded and yawned. “Let’s just say we might not be sleeping until later.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see.” I smirked mockingly.
“...Touche.” Rose chuckled carrying me.
Eventually after a few minutes of walking, we stopped at the door to the library. “And here we are!”
“Wow… it’s a literal tree.” Rose said looking up at the tree. “And this is a library? That’s giving the name ‘Book Worm’ a whole new meaning.” Twilight just giggled a bit at the joke before opening the door. When she did, it was dark inside. “Uh… I don’t really see much of anything in here.” Rose said walking inside. “Where’s the light switch?”
“SURPRISE!!” exclaimed five ponies as the lights flipped on. Rose was a bit taken back by the surprise. She looked around at everypony with a shocked expression on her face. Her attention was then pulled to the banner hanging in the library that read ‘WELCOME HOME ROSE!’.
“Wha… you did this just for me…?” Rose asked finding it hard to believe.
“It was kinda last minute…” Pinkie said walking up to us. “And after everything you told us? I just had to do something for you! All of us wanted to!”
“It might not be as glamorous as Canterlot was.” Rarity started. “But we do hope you’ll be able to make yourself home here in Ponyville…”
“We’ll help you any way we can to get your life back together and normal again.” Twilight added.
Rose was just silent looking around at everything: At the banner, at our friends, and finally at me.”
‘Welcome Home.’
I didn’t realize how much those words meant to her at the time.
‘Welcome Home.’
Looking up at the banner again, I could see that Rose had tears coming from her eyes.
‘Welcome Home.’
She looked into my eyes. Without warning, she put me down and wrapped her hooves around me tighter than she ever has in my life. I could hear her sobbing uncontrollably and feel her trembling. I couldn’t help but cry a little bit holding onto her as well. “I am home…” Rose said finally speaking. “Thank you so much everyone…!”
After that, the party went on for a few hours. Not as long as a normal party of course. A lot of Pinkie Pie’s parties usually last all night. It’s funny… we were so tired on the way here, but after the party, we just had so much energy. I wonder if that's because of how happy we were or because of all the cupcakes we had. Ironically, after the party was done, Twilight and Spike were the first ones to fall asleep. Rose and I just wandered around the library… until we stumbled on a trap door in the room. “Huh?” Rose asked looking at the door. “What’s down there?”
“That’s a portal. It leads back to our world… Well, I guess the world I was born in.” I answered.
“You made an actual working portal??”
“Me? No way! Twilight was the one who made it.” I just paused. “Actually… it leads to Lexi’s house. They have a portal that leads here too.” I said before opening the door, levitating myself down inside it. Rose just hopped in herself, looking at the portal closely.
“How does it work…?”
“Well…” I said picking up the book that was to the side. “When both of us put our books in the right place, the portal opens… it doesn’t work if one of the books is off.” I say before placing the book in the slot of the portal. However, as soon as I did, the portal actually came to life. “What the… I guess she forgot to take their book off… It should be morning for them I think.” Rose just stopped and stared at the portal. “What’s wrong, Mom…?”
“Melissa knew too… about me.”
“Wait, huh?”
“She knew who I was. Where I came from… she was the first friend I ever made in that world. One of my best friends that helped me get used to life in that world.” She said before pausing again. “I have to tell her the truth as well, don’t I?”
“It’s always better to tell the truth.” I said. “By the way, I thought you said you didn’t tell anybody about being from Equestria.”
“No, I said I never told you or your father.” Rose responded. “I never said the word ‘anybody’.”
“Well… when do you want to tell her?”
“Not tonight… after all, like you said, it’s morning for her… and she’s most likely very busy.” She said before removing the book and levitated me back up to the floor of the library. “And you know what else? It’s a school night isn’t it?”
“Eheh… w-what makes you think I have school here?...”
Rose just raised an eyebrow with an unapproved look. “Don’t be a hypocrite, ‘Miss. Honesty.’ Get to sleep.”
I just pouted heading to the… new bed. It was right next to Twilight’s bed. Though it looked like a tight squeeze for the area now. I just layed in bed, looking over at Twilight who was already sleeping.
…
This is the first time we’ve ever slept in separate beds… it feels strange. Eventually, Rose joined me in bed, wrapping her hooves around me. “Goodnight my little angel…” Rose said before closing her eyes.
Morning came as I yawned and stretched my arms. Though, when I did, I didn’t see Rose anywhere. “Mom?” I called out.
“Wha… huh…?” Twilight groaned rubbing her eyes. “What is it sweetie?”
“No, I meant… ugh, I’m gonna have to find a way to make this less confusing.”
“If you’re talking about Rose, she said she had somewhere to be this morning…” Twilight said getting out of bed.
“Did she say where?”
“Not exactly…” Twilight said stretching her wings a bit. “I’m sure it’s nothing you have to worry about.”
“Well maybe I should go look for her…” I said heading toward the door. Only to be stopped by a purple magic aura.
“Not so fast.” Twilight said bringing me to her. “You are not missing another day at school. You already have enough school work to make up for.”
“But Mom--”
“No buts.” Twilight said before starting to change my clothes. “Try to have a normal day in school today, okay? We’ve all had a pretty eventful week.”
“Okay…” I said sighing. After getting changed, I just picked up my books and headed out the door, off to school. On my way to school, I tried to keep a lookout to see if Rose was around, but I didn’t see a trace of her. “I wonder what she had to take care of…”
“Hey Crystal!”
“Huh?” I asked turning around to see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walking up to me. “Oh hey! What’s up?”
“You want to walk to school with us?” DT asked.
“Sure, I don’t mind.” I smiled walking up to the two, going with them to school.
“Here’s the work you missed from the rest class after you left.” DT said giving me some papers from her bag.
“Oh, thank you so much Diamond Tiara!”
“It’s no problem at all!” DT beamed happily. “Are you busy after school today? I was thinking that maybe the three of us could hang out!”
“Well… I’ll have to ask Mom before I say yes.”
Diamond Tiara just looked at me for a moment. “You feeling okay? You look kind of off.”
“To be honest, I don’t know.”
“What do you mean?”
“A lot of crazy stuff happened yesterday after I left school for the day…”
“Crazy… how?”
“Where do I even start?” I asked rubbing the back of my head.
“Four more months! Four more months!” a certain rainbow maned pegasus exclaimed flying by.
“Oookay then.” I said looking awkwardly at the direction she flew. “Wonder what that was about… Anyways. Like I said, a lot of crazy stuff happened yesterday. Stuff you probably wouldn’t believe.”
“Do tell.” Silver Spoon added.
“Well for starters… apparently I’m actually half pony…”
“What!?” DT and Silver Spoon both shouted at the same time.
“Yeah… it turns out that my real mom was born in Equestria…”
“How did you find that out?” DT asked.
I just gulped at the question. “That’s the other crazy part of the story… I heard it from my real mom’s mouth…”
…
“What!?” they both shouted again.
“But I thought you said--!” DT started.
“I know what I said!” I exclaimed interrupting them. “How do you think I feel??”
“So wait. If she’s still alive, does that mean Twilight isn’t considered your mother anymore?” Silver Spoon asked.
“That’s the weird part. Since Celestia didn’t even know she was alive, I was kind of made Twilight’s daughter for real.”
“You have so much explaining for us…” Diamond Tiara said.
“Are you kidding? My real mom didn’t even finish explaining everything to me.” I sighed walking through the door of the school as they followed. “I promise I’ll try to explain everything the best I can after school, okay?” I said getting into my seat. “You two and Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom.”
“Explain what?” Sweetie Belle asked overhearing me.
“A lot.” Diamond Tiara answered for me.
“Can it top what you told us yesterday?” Scootaloo asked chuckling.
“Oh definitely…” I answered.
“Alright students. Everyone who isn’t already, please be seated.” Miss. Cheerilee said walking into the room. “I have a wonderful announcement for all of you today. Starting today, we will be having somepony working alongside me as an assistant!”
“We’re gonna have two teachers now??” a random pony in the crowd asked.
“Not just any teacher! She’s a teacher who transferred from one of Canterlot’s most well known schools. Of course I’m talking about Princess Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns!”
...Wait a minute.
“Class, I’d like you all to welcome Miss. Rose!”
WHAT!?
______________________________________
After Crystal went to school, I decided to do a little more research on Crystal’s world a bit myself. Heading to the basement, I could see Spike playing with Cocoa a bit. Of course he took notice of where I was going. “What are you doing, Twilight?” Spike asked.
“I’m just going to check on the portal… might do a little bit more research.” I answered.
“That reminds me… That book you have by the portal has been vibrating for a few minutes now.”
“What?? Why didn’t you tell me sooner??” I asked before quickly running to the direction of the portal. When I got there, I did in fact see that the book was vibrating. I went to open the book and saw what looked like a filly’s hoof writing.
“Can I come over to see Becky? There’s no school tomorrow so my mom said it was okay for me to sleepover!”
I just looked to the side for a moment, thinking of how to answer. “Actually… I think this can work.” I smile turning to a blank page starting to write in it.
“Feel free to come over! I don’t have a problem with it… but do you think you could bring your mother over as well? I’d like to have a chat with her too.” I responded before closing the book. When I did, I simply placed the book in the portal’s slot and waited. After only a few minutes, the portal came to life and two human beings stepped through it.
“Hi Miss. Sparkle!” Alexis exclaimed as she was wearing a backpack.
“She was so eager to come over, that she already got packed before you even responded.” Melissa chuckled as she held a cup of coffee in her hand.
“Honestly, I was going to contact you anyways.” I answered. “I wanted to ask you a few things about your world if that’s okay.”
“Well you’re in luck, because I myself don’t have any plans in the morning.” Melissa answered taking a sip from her coffee.
“When does Becky come home from school?” Alexis asked eagerly.
I just giggled in response. “Not for a while sweetie. She kind of started not that long ago…” I answered which made Alexis look a bit upset. “...However, if you want, I can show you a bit of Ponyville. The three of us can walk and talk about whatever comes to mind.”
“Sure, I don’t mind a late night walk.” Melissa joked.
The three of us just went to the floor of the library and met up with Spike who looked at us confused. “Wait, huh?” Spike asked tilting his head at us.
“Spike, meet Melissa and Alexis.” I smiled. “Alexis is Crystal’s friend from her world and Melissa is her mother.” I say before turning to the two. “I’d like you to meet Spike, my faithful assistant.”
“No dragon better!” Spike exclaimed proudly.
“That’s a real dragon??” Melissa asked in disbelief.
“It’s so cute!!” Alexis shouted.
Spike just blushed in embarrassment. “Why does everypony have to call me cute?”
Suddenly, Cocoa ran up to Alexis and started licking her, making her laugh a bit. “A puppy!”
“That’s actually Crystal’s dog… my friend, Fluttershy gave it to her as a gift.” I answered.
“See?? Even Becky gets to have a puppy!” Alexis whined.
“Do I look like Rebecca’s mother??” Melissa responded with a huff. “The answer is still no.”
“AWWW.” Alexis whined.
“Seriously, not in front of Twilight…” Melissa groaned.
I just giggled again in response. “Come on, how about we go for that walk?”
“Yeah, sounds great.” Melissa nodded. Alexis put her bag down and the three of us headed outside. ______________________________________
I just looked wide-eyed at Rose walking into the classroom, who had her mane in a ponytail and was wearing glasses. “Good morning everypony!” Rose exclaimed in a happy tone. “I look forward to seeing what everyone is capable of in this school!”
“Uhh… seeing what we’re capable of?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Not only will she be an assistant to our class, she will also be aiding unicorns with their magical capabilities!” Cheerilee announced.
“That sounds perfect for you Crystal!” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“Eheh… y-yeah…” I stammered.
“What’s wrong?” Diamond Tiara asked. “You’ve been looking anxious as soon as that new pony walked in here.”
“That’s my real mom…!” I whispered to Diamond Tiara.
“Wha-- her!?” Diamond Tiara whisper exclaimed looking back at Rose.
“What are you two whisperin’ about??” Applebloom asked almost hearing.
“Now then.” Rose said standing in the middle of class. “Why don’t we do a little activity so that all of us are better acquainted?” Rose asked smiling.
“That sounds like an excellent idea!” Cheerilee nodded. “Everypony, please stand and make a circle around the room. Introduce yourself and tell everypony a bit about yourself!”
“This can’t get any weirder…” I said to myself walking to the circle. Eventually everypony else did the same and we were all standing in a sort of circle.
“Alright. We’ll start with one pony and work our way around the circle.” Rose said smiling. “And then I’ll share a little bit about myself.”
I just groaned a bit anxiously as ponies introduced themselves. To be honest, I didn’t exactly know what to say when it comes to my turn. She’s my mom. She should already know everything about me, right?
“Name’s Applebloom.” Applebloom said speaking up next. “I work at Sweet Apple Acres with my sister, my brother, and granny. I got five best friends here!”
“Wonderful!” Rose smiled moving onto the next pony being Diamond Tiara. “Next?”
“I’m Diamond Tiara… My mother is Spoiled Rich and my father is Filthy Rich and both of them are part of the school board. I have five best friends: Crystal Sparkle, Silver Spoon, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo.”
“More like she’s closest to Crystal.” chuckled one pony causing Diamond Tiara to blush in embarrassment.
“Is that true Miss. Tiara?” Rose asked looking down at her.
“I wasn’t lying… All of them are my best friends but… Crystal is the one who saved my life.”
At this Rose actually shook her head in surprise. “Saved your life? In what way?”
Oh no...
“Well, I almost got hit by lightning once… but she pushed me out of the way and got hit herself…” Diamond Tiara said looking down. “It was my own fault that I almost got hit, and at the time I wasn’t even nice to her… but she still……” Diamond Tiara stopped as she saw Rose’s dumbfounded expression.
Suddenly Rose just slowly turned to me and walked over to me adjusting her glasses. “How much did you know about magic at this time? Tell me you had some sort of protection spell for yourself.” Rose said in a serious tone.
“U-uh… no I still don’t know how to make any kind of forcefield…” I answered. For a moment I think I could see her eye twitch.
“I… think I need a minute…” Rose said slowly walking out the school door with a freaked out expression plastered on her face.
“Is she gonna be oka--” Diamond Tiara said before getting cut off by the sudden sound of an explosion outside.
______________________________________
As we walked through town, we got a few strange looks from ponies we passed. “We’re kind of getting a lot of attention here…” I said chuckling nervously.
“Well we are humans in a pony world after all…” Melissa responded.
“There’s so many different ponies! This is so cool!” Alexis exclaimed hopping a bit.
“Alexis, please don’t make us stand out more than we already are…” Melissa sighed.
“Can you really blame her though?” I asked. “It’s a whole new world for her to learn about…” I said as we approached Sugar Cube Corner. “Here’s our first stop!”
“It looks like I could eat the building.” Melissa laughed.
“This is Sugar Cube Corner. Well known for its sweets… and a certain pink pony who works inside.” I smile leading them inside. When we went in, we were greeted by Pinkie Pie who was stirring a bowl of cake mix with the whisk in her tail. All while putting different delicious looking confections inside the oven. “Good morning Pinkie Pie!”
“Morning Twi-- *GASP*” Pinkie exhaled before dropping what she was doing, running over to us. “More new friends?? And they’re just like Crystal!”
“Pinkie Pie, this Melissa and her daughter Alexis… Alexis, is Crystal’s friend from her world.” I answered.
“You’re Crystal’s friend too??” Pinkie asked smiling. “How long will you be visiting? I have a lot of stuff planned today but I’m sure I can fit a party for you!” She exclaimed pulling out a giant sized planner seemingly from nowhere. “Let’s see, there’s the party I had for the Cake twins who were being so good today. A party for Cranky because he proposed to Matilda!” I cut Pinkie off by covering her mouth with my hoof.
“Pinkie, relax. They’re just visiting. It’s not like they’re staying.” I smiled.
“Awwww…!” Pinkie pouted.
“Wow you really have a lot of energy…” Melissa said.
“Yup, that’s just how Pinkie Pie is.” I giggled in response.
“Well you at least have to try a cupcake!” Pinkie exclaimed pulling a tray out of the oven. “Just baked them fresh out of the oven!” She went ahead, quickly putting frosting and sprinkles on the cupcakes before she gave both Melissa and Alexis a cupcake.
Alexis was the first to take a bite out of it. She just looked at the cupcake in her hand in amazement. “This is the best cupcake I’ve ever had!”
Melissa just looked at the cupcake for a moment before taking a bite herself. “Wow… these are as delicious as they look! Think you could share your recipe for these?” Melissa asked.
“I’d be happy to!” Pinkie exclaimed. “In fact, I can just show you how to make them!”
Suddenly without warning, the sound of an explosion could be heard outside, making everypony jump. “What in the hay was that!?” I exclaimed.
“It sounded like it came from Crystal’s school!” Pinkie answered.
“What!?” I shouted. “Come on!” I exclaimed running out the bakery.
“See you later Pinkie Pie!” Alexis shouted before running out as Melissa followed. ______________________________________
Rose walked back inside as calmly as she could while looking like she had some black marks on her as if she literally caused an explosion. “N-now then… while we’re on the subject, why don’t you go next?” She asked me directly.
“But… you already--” I said before getting cut off by her hoof.
“Look, I know you like being honest with everyone, and I get that… but maybe to avoid all the confusion, you should keep the ‘M’ word out of this classroom when you’re referring to me, okay…? For now just pretend this is our first time meeting. I’m not trying to be mean but you have to think about how well ponies take this sort of thing.” Rose whispered.
“But… Diamond Tiara already knows.” I whispered back.
“Then this can be a secret between you and her… just promise me you won’t tell anyone else unless you have to.”
I just sighed whispering back. “Okay, but at least let me tell the rest of my friends-- and Miss. Cheerilee. It wouldn’t be fair to them.”
“Fine, but just them… and they can’t tell anypony either.”
“Thank you…” I huffed.
“...Also, later we’re having a talk about that ‘lightning’ thing she mentioned.”
“...Okay.”
With that, Rose simply cleared her throat and put on a smile again. “Now then, when you’re ready, please introduce yourself and tell the class a little about yourself!”
I just awkwardly walked forward a bit. “My name is Crystal Sparkle. My mom is Twilight Sparkle. I don’t have a dad. I have five close friends here in school.”
“I’m pretty sure we can all guess who they are at this point.” Rose said giggling a bit. “Now then, my name is White Rose. I used to live in Canterlot as one of Princess Celestia’s hired professors and researchers. When I wasn’t shaping young minds, I was aiding Celestia in making new discoveries!”
“What kind of new discoveries??” Scootaloo asked getting excited. “Do any of them involve a different way to get your cutie mark??”
“Uh… No I don’t think I’ve seen anything like that in my studies.” Rose answered which made Scootaloo look upset immediately. “No, what I’ve discovered is much more amazing than a plain old cutie mark. It’s civilization outside Equestria!”
“Oh!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed raising her hoof. “You mean other than ponies?”
“That’s exactly what I mean!” Rose answered.
“Have you seen anyone like Crystal before??” Sweetie Belle asked.
Rose just looked at me silently for a moment before opening her mouth to speak again. “I have actually… human beings are definitely interesting people. Their world’s a lot different from ours.”
“Different how??” Sweetie Belle asked getting more excited.
“Well for starters, you all know that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna control the rising and setting of the sun and the moon, correct?” Rose asked getting a bunch of obvious nods in the crowd. “Well in the human world, the sun and the moon all move by themselves! Nothing controls them… Actually that’s partially true. The planet itself actually rotates around the sun. Other than that, everything just happens! The stars, the weather; all of that just happens on its own, and for human beings, it’s all natural to them.”
“That actually sounds phenomenal!” Cheerilee added. “But how do humans prepare for special events that require clearing the weather?”
“Well, humans actually have a lot more advanced technology than we do here. That includes technology to read the weather and predict them so that they can plan accordingly.”
“Fascinating!” Cheerilee beamed. “Can you tell us more about the technology that humans have?”
Suddenly out of nowhere, the sound of a random jingle could be heard coming from Rose’s bag. “Oops!” She said levitating a smart phone out of her bag. “I forgot to turn the alarm on this thing off…” she said lightly tapping the screen with her hoof, stopping the alarm.
“What is that??” Cheerilee asked looking at the smartphone in awe.
“Oh, this is called a smartphone… something that humans use all the time in their day to day lives.” Rose answered. “It’s good for calling people at a long distance, sending messages, taking pictures, listening to music, looking up information, or even playing games!”
“You can do all that on a phone!?” Cheerilee asked. “Do you have any pictures of this world on there?”
“Uh… I may have some but it’s kind of hard to navigate through them without fingers…”
“Crystal? Do you mind giving us a hand?” Cheerilee asked.
“Why do I feel like that was a pun?” I asked before walking up to the front of the class. I just took the phone and went to the ‘images’ app and a bunch of images loaded up. Tapping on the first image, it showed Rose as a human… while wearing sunglasses and posing in front of the camera. Seeing this I couldn’t help but snicker. “There you go.” I said showing Cheerilee.
“Oh? Who’s this?” Cheerilee asked.
“That… would be me…” Rose answered blushing in embarrassment. “Not the first picture I would’ve shown but thank you Crystal…”
“Amazing…” Cheerilee said as I started flipping through pictures. “Honestly, even the colors look different from-- ...wait a second!” Cheerilee shouted as I had already swiped ahead by two pictures. “Go back.”... I swiped back once showing a pool party where Lexi and Sarah are visible in the picture. “One more…” I did so and she looked closely at it. When I looked at what she was looking at, I could see it was a picture of Rose… with her arms wrapped around me. “W-wha…”
“There’s something else you need to see.” Rose quickly answered before whispering into my ear. I simply typed what she was telling me to and showed it to Cheerilee when I was done. There was a message on the phone that read: “We can explain everything after class. Pretend I just showed you a picture that explained the other one you just saw.”
“I-I see…” Cheerilee said trying to regain her composure. “Okay, and you said this device plays music too? What’s an example of music from y-- that world?”
“Crystal? Would you mind picking a song on my phone?”
...I just smirked opening the music app, scrolling through it. Come on. Please still be here! I thought to myself. Wait… what is all this new music!? Has she been keeping up with it without me?? I just kept looking at the new songs until I actually looked at the album cover. Wait when did they start looking like this??
“Uh… is something wrong? You look a little freaked out.” Rose asked. I just shook my head and clicked on a song that I already knew instead.
…
“This Will Be The Day? Really?” Rose asked chuckling a bit.
“It’s my favorite!” I exclaimed levitating myself in the air.
“They see you as small and helpless.
They see you as just a child.
Surprised when they find out that a warrior will soon run wild!” The song sang as I sang along to it, letting the song play by itself for a bit. Without another word, Rose just hit the pause button. “Hey!”
“Why don’t we play something a little calmer for everypony, Crystal?” Rose asked.
“But that was awesome!” Scootaloo exclaimed.
“No, that was just loud…” Sweetie Belle said. “You like that sort of music, Crystal? I didn’t think you were the kind of person who did.”
“We aren’t gonna question why Miss. Rose has that song in the first place?” Applebloom added.
“Eheheh…” Rose said blushing a bit. “I admit, I do enjoy the music too… some of the songs can be really uplifting. But again, Crystal please play something calmer.”
“How about Caffeine?” I ask.
“That is the complete opposite of calm!”
“Fiiine.” I groaned picking a different song.
…
The music was a lot calmer than the last one I played. But Rose was completely quiet. I looked at the name of the song again. ‘Dive Too Deep’. I looked back at Rose and could see tears in her eyes for some reason. “Huh?” I asked stopping the music.
“I think that’s enough with my phone for now…” Rose said rubbing her eyes, putting the phone away in her bag.
“Did I do something wrong…?”
“N-no it’s nothing, Crystal…” Rose said sniffling a bit. “Why don’t we move on then?”
“Uh…” Cheerilee interjected. “Actually, can you give us 10 minutes, class?” Cheerilee asked leading Rose outside. “Crystal, why don’t you come with us?” I just sighed knowing I did something wrong despite what Rose said. Without another word, I just followed them outside. “Okay… I think we need to get the important business out of the way first. Crystal? How well do you know Miss. Rose…?”
I just looked to the side before answering. “She’s my mom… my real mom…”
Cheerilee gaped her mouth for a moment, wide-eyed. “But I thought you said that she was killed…!”
“I… thought she really was, but…”
“But it was my fault.” Rose said cutting in. “I was the one that left Rebecca to think I was dead… she wouldn’t have known if she didn’t find me.”
“But Princess Celestia told me that you transferred from Canterlot…!”
“And she wasn’t lying…” Rose answered. “Canterlot really was my original home.”
“Wait a minute. Wait a minute…” Cheerilee said shaking her hoof in the air a bit. “You’re saying that you’re actually from Equestria? But then what about Crystal?”
“She was still born in that world… but she isn’t full human. She’s the world's first half pony.”
“H-half… pony…?” Cheerilee asked looking at me.
“Yeah… would you believe I only just found out about all this yesterday after I left school?”
“Seriously…?” Cheerilee asked.
“There’s a lot more to explain but I think it would take the entire day if we tried to right now…” Rose said rubbing the back of her head. “But while we’re here, she’s still known as Twilight’s daughter, and is just another one of my students… only certain ponies know about me.”
“Okay… and who would that be?”
“Celestia, Luna, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity…” Rose started.
“Oh… Diamond Tiara already knows too.” I added. “I’m also going to tell the rest of my close friends…”
“But after that, nopony else needs to know.” Rose continued. “I’ve seen how ponies talk to ‘Princess Crystal’. I don’t think it would be a good idea for this new information to go public.”
“This is just… wow.” Cheerilee said holding her head a bit. “I have to say though, I’m really happy that I actually got to meet you get to work with you!... Though now I can see why you decided to transfer to Ponyville.” She said looking at me. “I promise that your secret is safe with me.”
“Thank you so much Cheerilee.” Rose said smiling a bit.
“It’s no problem at all… but I still look forward to what you have to teach the students.” Cheerilee said before her face got confused again. “Wait, Crystal told a few of us that something happened that even allowed her to use magic in the first place… is that something true?”
“I assume you’re talking about the experiment…” Rose said with a heavy sigh. “Yes, that’s true… for both of us.”
“Both of you…?”
“The experiment was done on both of us, yes.”
“I-I… I don’t know what to say…” Cheerilee said. “This is a lot to process all at once…”
“I know the feeling…” I said sighing.
“Well why don’t we just head back into class…?” Cheerilee suggested. “I won’t ask anymore about this matter.”
“Yeah… the rest of the students are probably still confused about why we left.” Rose said in agreement before turning to me. “As for earlier, Rebecca… don’t worry about why I was crying. That song is just… special to me.”
“Sorry…” I said anyways.
Rose just placed a hoof on my head. “You don’t have to apologize… now come on, let’s go back inside.”
“Okay.” I answered before walking back inside with the two following behind. When I got in, I just sat at my seat as everyone else had already sat down.
For a little while, Cheerilee was teaching us new things while Rose just observed for now. After Cheerilee’s lesson was over, Rose walked back to the front of the class. “Now then… which unicorn would like to volunteer to show the class what they can do?”
The students just looked at each other with unsure looks on their faces. “Uh… honestly Miss. Rose, not every unicorn can use magic that good.” Sweetie Belle said.
“Well that’s just one of the things I’ll be helping you all with in this class then.” Rose said smiling. “Along with a few new spells that are normally reserved for the ponies of Canterlot.” She whispered with a wink which got a few unicorns excited.
I was just confused with what she meant. “What kind of spells?” I asked.
“Why don’t I show you one of them?” Rose asked before levitating me to the front of the class. After she did, she just took a few steps away from me. “Alright Crystal, are you able to use your magic to shoot at certain targets?”
“Yeah, I can do that.” I answered.
“Alright then, I want you to try shooting at me.” She said which startled some ponies in the class including myself.
“Wait you want me to shoot at you??” I asked.
“Trust me, Crystal. I can take it.” She winked.
Well yeah, I saw that first hand… “A-alright…” I stammered a bit pointing at Rose. Focusing the magic on my finger, I shot at her.
As soon as the shot came to her, she used her own magic to make a small wall and reflected it in the direction outside the window. “See? No problem.” Rose smiled. “You think you’ll be able to learn it? … along with a forcefield spell?”
“You just won’t let that go will you?” I asked.
“Safety is important Crystal!” Rose exclaimed. “I’m sure everypony can agree with that.”
I just huffed a bit. “Alright, so what do I have to do first?” I asked.
For a few minutes, Rose was explaining what I needed to do to cast the reflecting spell. I tried to cast it a few times with no luck. I kept practicing for about 15 minutes while Rose was explaining to the rest of the class why this sort of spell was important. Eventually I was able to bring out a wall like she did. “There you go!” Rose exclaimed happily before taking a few steps back again. “Alright, now I’m going to shoot at you and you’re going to be the one to reflect the spell this time, okay?” I just nodded before getting ready. With that, Rose shot her own magic beam at me. When she did, I was able to summon the magic wall to reflect it like she did… sort of.
When I reflected her magic, I accidentally reflected it back at her, knocking her back.”M-Miss. Rose!” I stammered running over to her.
“Whew…” Rose groaned getting back to her hooves wearing a surprised expression. “It’s fine Crystal… Your next lesson will be how to angle that wall.” Rose chuckled a bit still with a surprised expression on her face.
“Alright class, it’s time for recess!” Cheerilee announced. With that, every filly and colt ran outside leaving just me and Mom.
“That was really good, Rebecca.” Rose said before kissing my cheek. “Honestly… I’m amazed at how quickly you even learned it.”
“Well… you are a good teacher, Mom.” I smiled a bit blushing awkwardly.
Suddenly Rose’s face went serious again. “Okay, now that we’re alone now, can you explain to me why you thought it was a good idea to run into a lightning bolt!? What was on your mind when this happened??”
I just looked down and sighed a bit. “Nothing was really on my mind… I kind of just ran at her without thinking because I wanted to save her.”
“It was my fault it even happened in the first place!” A voice exclaimed from the door. Looking over we could see Diamond Tiara walking in. “The whole day was crazy with the weather… I wasn’t paying attention enough!”
Rose just looked over at Diamond Tiara. “You must've been really frightened when it happened…”
“I… was shocked and confused and… the next thing I saw was Crystal on the ground…”
“It’s alright Diamond Tiara, I’m not mad at you… if anything, I’m happy you showed so much concern for her.” Rose answered. “If you don’t mind though, could you give me some alone time with my daughter for a bit?”
“O-oh… alright.” Diamond Tiara nodded before slowly walking back out.
“Mom?” I asked getting her attention. “Why exactly did you want to be a teacher here?”
Rose just looked at me. “Well, there are a few reasons for that… for one, things would be complicated in my old job if I just ‘came back from the dead’ and started working again like normal… not like I could anyways, my position was filled already. But on top of that, I just wanted to be able to spend more time with you, sweetheart…” Rose said pulling me into a tight hug. I just slowly wrap my arms around her as well. My mind was full of mixed emotions… happiness… sadness… regret………… rage…? Without realizing it, my body started trembling, tears were coming out of my eyes. “R-Rebecca…?”
“H-huh?” I snapped out of it and stopped, rubbing my eyes. “Sorry, I don’t know where that came from…”
“...Rebecca… please don’t repress your emotions…” Rose said.
“H-huh…?”
“I mean don’t try to hide them… holding back your emotions isn’t good for anypony… it’s best to just let it out so you can get it off your chest.”
“B-but… You already know what happens when I get angry…” I stammered.
Suddenly, Rose used her magic to create a giant bubble around me. “I want you to let your emotions out… vent all you want, nothing will be damaged from in there… please Rebecca, speak what’s on your mind.”
I just stood there looking at Rose, slightly gritting my teeth with tears welling up in my eyes. “I get why you left… you wanted to keep me safe… but… Why didn’t you come back once?? Why did you just leave me alone to think that you were dead!?!?” I shouted starting to surge a bit. Rose just looked down sadly as I spoke. “If I didn’t find you in that castle, would you ever even bother looking for me!?!?” I screamed as my eyes started going blank.
Rose just looked at me with tears in her eyes as well. “I told you… I did want to go back…”
“So what stopped you then!?!?” I shouted again.
“I was afraid…” Rose finally answered which confused me. “I was just afraid of you getting hurt or getting involved in any way with whatever she is planning…” She said before walking up to the bubble. “I wanted to see you every minute since we were separated… I wanted to find you and tell you that I was still alive… but it was my own damn fear that prevented me from doing it.” Rose said. Just then she walked closer to me, going through the bubble, and walked right up to me, wrapping her arms around me in tears despite me surging. “I’m so sorry Rebecca… I never meant to abandon you... You have every right to hate me for what I did…”
After that, the surging stopped and I just wrapped my arms around her again, sobbing over her. “Please promise me you won’t leave me again, Mom…!”
She just rubbed her hood on my back. “I… I promise…” She responded. I just rubbed my eyes trying to calm down again.
______________________________________
Running up to the school, we could see ponies already coming out for recess. “Hmm… everything seems okay…” I said before walking up to Diamond Tiara. “Hey, Diamond Tiara.”
“Huh?” Diamond Tiara asked before looking over at the two other humans next to me. “Wait what the--!?”
“What's up?” another filly said walking up to us. “Twilight?” Asked the pony. It turned out that the voice belonged to Scootaloo. “Who are those two?”
“No time to explain. We heard an explosion over here! Is everypony okay??” I asked looking around. “Where’s Crystal??”
“Everypony is fine… and Crystal is still inside talking with the new teacher.” Sweetie Belle answered.
“New teacher…?”
“Yeah, her name’s Miss. Rose.” Applebloom added.
“This is where she had to go??” I asked myself before running inside. When I got there, I could see Rose with her arms wrapped around Crystal as she cried over her. “Crystal…?”
“H-huh?” Crystal asked looking at me, away from Rose. “Mom...? What's wrong…?”
“We came as soon as we heard an explosion! Why are you crying?? Is anypony hurt??”
“We’re fine, Twilight… there’s nothing to worry abo--...” Rose started. “Wait, we?”
As if on cue, the other two humans that were with me, walked in behind me. “Becky? Why are you crying?” Alexis asked as three crusaders walked in behind them… but kept their distance at the same time.
“H-huh??” Crystal exclaimed rubbing her eyes. “Lexi?? What are you doing here??”
“Your mom and my mom said I could sleep over…” Lexi said before looking at Miss. Rose… who had a look of complete shock on her face.
Rose looked at Lexi for a moment… before turning her attention to Melissa. Feeling a little awkward, Melissa was the first to speak. “Yeah so um… I know this is weird since Crystal is usually the only human here but--”
“Melissa…?” Rose asked looking at Melissa directly.
Melissa just looked at Rose confused and shocked herself now. “Wait… how did you…”
Rose just walked up to Melissa and smiled with tears in her eyes. “I always wanted to show you Equestria… to show you where I came from, and here you are…”
Melissa just stared at Rose for a moment. Her eyes widened in realization. “W-wait… your voice… Y-you… can’t be…!”
"Melissa! Melissa wake up!" shouted Rose as she stood over Melissa's passed out body.
"What the hay is goin' on!?" Applebloom exclaimed.
As the commotion was heard from outside, other fillies and colts started making their way in the school to see what was happening. Pushing through the crowd was Miss. Cheerilee who looked worried as soon as she saw the scene before her. "W-what happened? Who are those other human beings and why is that one passed out on the ground??"
"I think we need to call for an early dismissal…" Rose sighed. "I apologize for this."
"No, it's understandable… sort of… Everypony, class dismissed!" Cheerilee announced.
Looking confused at each other, every filly and colt except the crusaders, DT, and Silver Spoon left.
"I-is… Mom gonna be okay?" Lexi asked standing next to her mom, showing a look of concern.
"She'll be fine… I think." I answered. "Your mom isn't the only one she made faint this week."
"H-huh?" Lexi asked looking at me. "What are you talking about Becky…?"
"...Becky?" Scootaloo snickered a bit.
I just gave Scootaloo an unamused look before turning back to Lexi. "She kind of made me faint too."
"Really…?" Lexi asked looking at Rose. "Do we know you?" Instead of giving a verbal answer, Rose just sighed using a spell to change her form into human in front of us. Doing so, made Lexi stare at her with her mouth agape. "Y-you're… Becky's mom!?!?"
. . .
"Wait what!?!?" all three crusaders exclaimed.
"B-but… how… why… what!?" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"I… did tell you this would beat what I told you before…" I said rubbing the back of my head.
"Ugh…" suddenly stirred Melissa from the ground. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around in confusion. "Where… am I…?"
"Hey…" Rose said getting on her knees down to Melissa. "You… sort of passed out in a school for young ponies." Rose answered smiling a bit. Melissa just stared at Rose's face for a moment before tears started forming in her eyes. She quickly sat straight up, pulling Rose in a tight embrace, crying and panting heavily over her. Rose simply wrapped her arms around her as well, rubbing her back. "I guess I still have a lot of apologies for everyone…"
"You're goddamn right you do…!" Melissa sniffled not letting go of Rose.
"H-hey… don't… curse in front of the young ones…" Rose stammered crying herself, but with a smile on her face. "I always told you that was a bad habit of yours…"
"You completely disappear off the face of the Earth and the first thing you tell me is not to curse…!?" she laughed in between crying. "You really haven't changed at all…!"
Twilight just looked at the two for a moment. "Maybe we should give them some space…" she suggested. "Come on everypony." she added, leading everyone but Rose and Melissa outside.
When we got out there, Scootaloo forced me to face her and the others. "Okay. Start talking!"
"Yeah, what is going on!?" Lexi added.
I just groaned a bit holding my head before sitting on the ground. "Alright… I can explain most of it."
"Most??" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Hey! Not even I know the whole story!" I exclaimed. Everyone else just sat down. When they did, I did the best I could to explain everything that I know. Twilight also helped explain the situation a bit. I first explained how I even found her in the first place. Told them about how at first, Rose thought I was a hallucination and even shot at me with her magic. After that, Twilight started explaining everything that Rose told us so far… which that in itself took a while. Looking over at the school we could see that Rose and Melissa still hadn't come out, so we just assumed that they were doing the same thing in there.
"My head hurts…" Lexi responded after hearing everything.
"You and me both." Sweetie Belle added looking over at Lexi.
"I'm pretty sure all of us are still kinda confused…" Applebloom added. "But the part I'm still shocked about is that you're half pony!!"
"Yeah… actually, hearing all that; suddenly everything about you makes sense." Sweetie Belle nodded. "Your magic, your cutie mark… there's just one thing I still don't get though."
"Just one?" I ask.
"Well… it's your cutie mark itself." Sweetie Belle answered. "If Miss. Rose is your real mom, then how come your cutie mark is close to Twilight's?"
"Maybe it's destiny." Lexi answered.
"Wait, huh?" I asked.
Lexi just giggled a bit. "Aw come on, Becky. You know the line. 'Do you believe in destiny?'"
"Are you seriously quoting her now of all times?" I mused.
"I'm not saying it as a joke though… I'm actually serious. What if there's something you're supposed to do?"
"Wait you really think I'm supposed to do something important…?" I asked looking down for a moment. "If I am then… what is it?"
"Well I don't know!" Lexi shrugged. "That's something you gotta find out yourself."
The others just looked over at Lexi for a moment. "Well… now that we got all the crazy confusing stuff out of the way…" Sweetie Belle started. "You're Crystal's friend, right?"
"Yup!" Lexi smiled. "Been Becky's friend since we first met in school! My name's Alexis. But most of my friends call me Lexi!"
"Then it's nice to meet you Alexis!" Sweetie Belle replied. "My name's Sweetie Belle. This is Applebloom, Scootaloo." Sweetie Belle said pointing to her friends, turning to the other side. "And this is Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon."
"It's nice to meet all of you!" Lexi smiled. "I'm guessing you all don't have school tomorrow too, right?"
"Right…?" I answered tilting my head.
"Well, since I'm already sleeping over tonight, maybe all of us could have a slumber party!" Lexi exclaimed.
"W-what??" Twilight responded before looking at everyone. "A… slumber party tonight??"
"If that's okay." Lexi added.
"I mean… I guess normally I wouldn't have an issue with it, but I was hoping to have some time to ask Melissa a few questions when we got back."
"Honestly, with how my mom fainted like that, I don't think she'll be in the mood to answer questions right now… because she probably still has her own questions for Becky's mom."
Twilight just sighed. "That's a little upsetting then… Well, I guess we have plenty of time to plan something else out."
"So… then it's okay if we have a slumber party?" I ask smiling a bit.
"I… suppose so…" Twilight said rubbing the back of her head.
"Yeah!!" Everyone exclaimed.
"I'll go home and tell my sister!" Applebloom exclaimed running off.
"I have to tell my sister too!" Sweetie Belle added before she ran off as well.
"I gotta let my aunts know too." Scootaloo said before taking her scooter to her house.
"See you there!" Lexi exclaimed. "...You heard aunts with an 's' too, right?" She asked me.
"Yeah I heard it." I responded. "I already knew about her aunts though. Both of them are really nice." I said before turning to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. "Are you going to come too?"
"I'll try to." Silver Spoon nodded. "I just have to ask my mother first."
"What about you Diamond Tiara?"
"...Yeah. I'll be there." DT responded smiling. "And nothing Mother can say will stop me!"
I just giggle a bit. "Great! I'll see you tonight then!" Both of them nodded before heading to their homes. I just turn back to Twilight and Lexi. "So what are we even going to do tonight?"
"Uhh… how about I bring some games over?" Lexi asked.
"Like… board games, right?" I asked back.
"What?? No, of course not! I mean like playstation!"
"Uhh… what?" Twilight asked.
"Lexi, I don't think that would work here…" I chuckled. "There aren't really any TV's here."
"What?? But you have to have electricity at least!" Lexi exclaimed. "How else would Pinkie Pie use an oven??"
"You already met Pinkie Pie??"
"Yup!" Lexi nodded. "Your mom, Twilight was giving us a tour and Sugar Cube Corner was our first stop!"
"Did you meet anyone else?"
"Uh… no." Twilight answered cutting in. "We actually ran over here after that because we heard an explosion over here… what even was that anyways?"
"Uhh… that was Mom…" I answered nervously. "She kind of heard about something I did before…"
"What? What did she hear about?"
"Uh… the thing that happened the day you got your wings."
Twilight's face practically went white for a moment. "You told her about that??"
"I didn't tell her! Diamond Tiara did when everyone was telling the class about themselves!"
"Tell her what?" Lexi asked cutting in. "What happened?"
"She found out about the time I got struck by lightning saving someone…" I answered.
"Wait, you got struck by lightning!?" Lexi shouted.
"Yeah… it was to save Diamond Tiara."
"Diamond Tiara? You mean that pink pony, right?"
"Yup… after that, I woke up in the hospital and was met with Twilight, Princess Celestia, and Diamond Tiara all waiting for me."
After saying that, we could see Rose and Melissa walking out of the school. Rose was back in her pony form again though. Rose just looked around a bit. "Where did everypony go?" she asked.
"They went home to get their things… instead of regular sleepover, we're having a slumber party!" I exclaimed.
"A… slumber party?" Rose asked before looking at Twilight.
"I already told them it was fine." Twilight said with a nod. "How are you two doing though?"
"Well…" Rose started. "Melissa and I are going to have a bit of alone time back in the other world to catch up a bit."
"I hope you don't mind us planning a different day to talk, Twilight…" Melissa added. "It's… I just…"
"Trust me, I completely understand." Twilight said smiling a bit. "Take all the time you need. I'll be sure to watch these little fillies for the night." She said ruffling my hair.
"Wait, did she just call me a filly?" Alexis asked.
I just chuckled a bit. "What's wrong? Don't like being called a pony?"
"I mean, me and my mom are the only actual humans in this world apparently." Alexis shrugged.
"Oh really?" Rose asked with a smirk as her horn started glowing. Just then she shot a spell at Alexis and her body started to change. When the spell was done, everyone could see a light red pegasus with no cutie mark.
"Oh… my…" I let out before seeing pony Lexi over. I couldn't help but start laughing.
"Wait what in the…!?" Lexi said looking over her body. "I have hooves!!"
"And a muzzle and a tail and wings." Rose said giggling. "But don't think the fun ends there!" She said before using the same spell on me, changing me into my pony form. "Now all of you can have a pony slumber party!"
"Really, Mom??" I asked looking over my pony body.
"Oh my gosh they look adorable!" Melissa giggled.
"You know…" Rose started raising an eyebrow at Melissa.
Melissa quickly blushed already knowing where she was going. "No!"
Rose just snickered and laughed a bit. Meanwhile, Cheerilee has been looking at Rose curiously as she was casting her spells. "Miss. Rose… just how much magic are you capable of using?" She asked. "And… where did you learn to change a person into a pony??"
"Technically it was originally just changing a pony into a human… and I learned that spell from Princess Celestia herself when I first started my research on that other world… Believe it or not, I used to switch back and forth between research and working in the school."
"With the time differences??" Twilight asked in shock. "How did you even manage??"
"Eheh… I never said it was easy…" Rose said blushing a bit.
~~~~~~~
"Alright Jon, I'm heading to work!" Rachel exclaimed heading for the door, holding a binder of papers.
"Have a good night at work then… When are you going to look for a job that isn't third shift?" Jon asked. "Look at you; you still look exhausted."
"I already told you, I can't just leave my students." Rachel said looking at her watch.
"Students at a night school… I don't understand why you couldn't pick a normal teaching period."
"Look, I don't have time to argue about this. I really have to go or I'm going to be late!" Rachel exclaimed running out the door. Making sure she wasn't seen by Jonathan inside, she ran to the side of the house where there were no windows and she was teleported from that spot to Canterlot in Equestria… specifically in front of Celestia in her throne room. As soon as she got there, Princess Celeatia used the spell to change Rose into her unicorn form. Rose just huffed. "Thanks Princess."
"You look really tired today…" Celestia said in a worried tone. "Are you sure you're able to keep this up, dear?"
"I don't want to abandon my students… I mean hey; If you can handle raising both the sun and the moon, planning out a different sleep schedule shouldn't be too hard."
"Right…" Celestia said looking to the side for a moment.
"Something the matter?" Rose asked tilting her head a bit.
"Oh, it's nothing you have to worry about!" Celestia said putting on a smile again.
"By the way…" Rose said getting closer to Celestia. "I should tell you that I'm going to be taking a leave in a few months…"
Celestia blinked for a moment. "Is something the matter?"
"Well…" Rose smiled a bit. "I'm sort of… expecting…"
Celestia just let out an audible gasp in surprise. "You're pregnant!?"
"I know! It's amazing, right!?" Rose exclaimed excitedly.
"I-it is but…" Celestia stammered a bit. "Rose, this child… won't it be a hybrid? I don't think I've ever heard of such a thing before with ponies and humans."
"This isn't necessarily a bad thing… if anything, it just proves that you were right about ponies being able to coexist alongside human beings!" Rose smiled.
Celestia smiled in response. "I suppose you're right… do you know of its gender?"
"Too soon to tell…" Rose said looking down for a moment. "However, if it turns out to be a girl, her name will be Rebecca… if it's a boy, his name will be Jacob."
"So you're giving them a human name… am I to assume that they will be born in that other world then?" Celestia asked.
"Yeah… I did think hard about it, but one of the reasons it would be hard to give birth to them in Equestria is because… well… their father wouldn't be there."
"I see…" Celestia nodded. "I suppose that's understandable… But will I ever hope to meet this child?"
"Well… maybe not right away. After they're born, I may just stay in that world for a few years. When they're a little older, I can write to you to send us to Equestria again."
Celestia smiled slightly. "I look forward to that day then… Now enough about that. You should hurry to your students."
Rose just looked at her watch on her hoof. "Ack! You're right!" Rose exclaimed starting to run. "We'll talk more later Princess!" Rose just ran through the halls with her binder, levitating close to her. Eventually she exited the castle and headed straight for the school. When she got to the school, she went into her classroom and met with her students who were already waiting for her. "Sorry I'm late, my little ponies!" Rose exclaimed slamming her binder down on her desk. "Had a few things I needed to take care of…"
"Miss. Rose, if you came too late, does that mean we'd have to go home?" asked one yellow unicorn.
"That's right Moondancer, you would have… but aren't you lucky that I'm here? Because now you get to have a pop quiz!"
Most of the class just groaned with a lot of them slamming their heads on their desk… well most with the exception of--
"Yes!!" Exclaimed a purple unicorn filly. When she did, she got a couple of glares from some of the students before she quickly looked back down at her book.
Rose just smiled walking up to the purple unicorn. "There's nothing wrong with being enthusiastic when it comes to learning, Twilight." Twilight just sighed with an unsure expression for a moment. Rose thought to herself for a moment. "I'm guessing you were excited because you were prepared again?"
Twilight smiled slightly nodding in response. "I always study because I want to do the best I can… I don't want to let Princess Celestia down either."
"Twilight, you're the best student in my class." Rose said patting Twilight's head. "I really doubt you'll let anypony down."
~~~~~~~
"And after Rebecca was born, as I told Princess Celestia, I settled in that other world…" Rose said finishing her story.
"That was definitely an interesting story…" Melissa let out. "But I'm not too surprised… you were always the type of person who would push herself a little bit too much." Melissa said chuckling a bit.
"Well, we can talk more about it at your place." Rose said to Melissa. "I just hope your husband doesn't have the same reaction as you." She said before turning to me and Lexi. "As for you two, I hope you enjoy being ponies until we get back."
"...Wait, what!?" Lexi exclaimed trying to stand on two hooves. "You were being serious about leaving us like this!?" She exclaimed wobbling.
"Oh come on, Lexi. It's not that bad." I responded.
"That's easy for you to say! You're already--!" She exclaimed before falling over. "...Used to it…" she finished.
Rose just giggled a bit. "Take this as a new experience for you, Alexis. For one night, you'll be able to understand what it's like to be a pony."
"But Mrs. Mello--!"
"No buts!" Melissa exclaimed. "You'll be fine for one night."
"Yeah, I'll help you get used to it!" I said smiling a bit.
"I'll leave her in your hooves then, Rebecca." Melissa said with a playful wink before turning to Rose. "Ready to go then?"
"Yup, just place your hand on me." Rose nodded. Melissa did so, and the two were quickly teleported away… leaving a dumbfounded Lexi just staring out into space.
Twilight just cleared her throat before speaking. "Crystal? Why don't you take this time to show Alexis the rest of Ponyville so she can get used to her new hooves?... and possibly wings. I'll head back home and start getting things ready for the slumber party."
"Yeah… sure, I can do that." I smiled helping Lexi onto her hooves. Twilight just smiled at us before leaving. "Okay… first, you need to forget about walking on two legs… ponies don't do that."
"Okay…" Lexi sighed standing in place.
"Now then… remember the times we would run upstairs and we would use our hands and feet to climb up faster?" I asked. Lexi nodded blushing a bit. "It's pretty much the same thing, except you're not climbing stairs… try taking a few steps."
Lexi looked down at her own hooves before taking a few steps forward… she kept walking around in circles until she was starting to get the hang of it. "Huh… it just feels like normal walking when you get used to it." Lexi said before craning her neck back to look at her wings. "Now how do I use these?"
"That… I can't really help you with. I'm a unicorn, not a pegasus." I answered. "But I might know a pegasus who can help… the only problem is I don't know where she is right now."
"Well maybe we'll bump into her while you're showing me around." Lexi said staying close behind me.
"Maybe." I added. "So you already saw Pinkie Pie, right? Maybe I can let you meet Applejack next." I said leading the way to the farm.
"Applejack… is that Applebloom's sister?"
I just giggled a little. "How'd you know?"
"Kind of obvious." Lexi chuckled.
"Well… the apple family has a really big family so to some ponies it's not that obvious."
"Is their family that big?"
"You have no idea…"
______________________________________
At Twilight's Library
"So this is where you're living now?" Melissa asked as her and Rose walked inside.
"That's right." Rose smiled. "That's where I sleep in fact." Rose said pointing to the direction of the bedroom. She just started walking ahead. "And over there is--" She stopped and looked down as soon as she noticed she stepped on something. "Huh?" She saw that it was actually a comic book. "What the…" She said levitating the comic with her magic. "The Mane-iac?" She asked herself.
"What?" Melissa chuckled looking at the comic.
"Yeah… your guess is as good as mine." Rose said opening the comic, flipping through the pages. "Although, honestly something about this comic is familiar…" She said flipping to the last page… and noticing the small text on it. "Huh…?" She asked squinting her eyes. "You can return to the place you started when the-- I'm just gonna stop reading!" She exclaimed chucking the comic across the room.
"Huh? What did you do that for?"
"That's an enchanted comic book… if I finished reading that sentence, chances are we both would've been sucked inside."
"The hell??" Melissa asked staring at the book. "Is it possible to die in those books…?"
"Oh absolutely. But if you did you would just have to restart the story all over again."
"So… it's kind of like a video game."
"If you want to compare it to something like that then yeah." Rose said before looking over at another comic that could be seen. She just chuckled a bit. "I can already tell what that is." She said before levitating Crystal's RWBY comic. "She still doesn't always put her things away properly……" She just opened the comic book for a moment and giggled to herself.
"...What's with that look, Rachel--... er… Rose...?" Melissa asked with her own look of concern.
"Give me a minute…" She said before casting a spell on the comic book she was levitating. After about a minute, she was finished. "And done."
"And what exactly did you just do?"
"Just gave our daughters something to do… no need to worry."
Melissa just gave Rose an unamused look. "I worry with whatever the hell you do all the time."
______________________________________
At Sweet Apple Acres
"Holy cow…!" Lexi shouted walking up to the farm. "There's so many apple trees!"
"Well what'd you expect from an apple farm?" chuckled Applejack walking toward us. "Don't think I've seen… you…" she slowly stopped and looked at me closely. "Wait a sec…" She tilted her head to the side and saw my cutie mark. She knew right away who I was. "What in tarnation!? Crystal!?"
I just laughed a bit at Applejacks reaction. "Surprised?"
"Surpri-- Of course I'm surprised!!" Applejack exclaimed. "What happened to you…??"
"My mom thought it would be a good idea to turn me and my friend, Lexi into ponies for the night…"
"Your mom…?"
"Yeah, my real mom…"
"Uh… right." Applejack said scratching her head under her hat before looking to Lexi. "So your Crystal's friend then?"
"Yup!" Lexi responded. "My name's Alexis! But most of my friends call me Lexi."
"And you're supposed to be human, right…? How do ya like bein' a pony?"
"Well… still getting used to it." Lexi responded. "I still don't know how to use these wings…" she said making her wings only twitch slightly. "Never been a pony before today after all."
"I was thinking that maybe Rainbow Dash could help her." I added.
"Good luck." Applejack said rolling her eyes. "She's been obsessin' over the next Daring Do book so much that it's all she talks about."
"Daring Do?" Lexi asked.
"It's a popular book… My mom, Twilight loves it too." I answered giggling a bit before turning back to AJ. "While we're here, is Applebloom still home?"
"She actually went to Rarity's to meet up with Sweetie Belle… y'all are havin' a sleepover?" Applejack asked smiling a bit.
"Yup!" I answered. "We're having a slumber party! Mom's at home getting things ready right now."
"Uh…"
"Twilight." I mused.
"Gotcha." AJ chuckled.
______________________________________
Back at Twilight's Library
"Hmmm… let's see…" I said to myself looking over a book while decorating. "Gotta make sure I do it right this time." I said before laying out a bunch of pillows around, as well as blankets.
"Uhhh… Twilight?"
"Hm?" I responded to a confused looking Spike. "What's wrong Spike?"
"What are you doing?"
"Oh! Crystal and her friends are having a little slumber party… I'm just getting everything prepared.
"A slumber party?? That sounds fun!" Spike smiled.
"Uhh… I think it's going to be a fillies night only Spike." I said blushing a bit. "You might have to ask them first."
"I'm sure Crystal will let me join. She loves having me around!"
I just giggled a bit. "Who wouldn't love you?" I said patting his head.
"Hey by the way, did Cocoa get to my comic book?" Spike asked looking a little annoyed at the dog. "It was just laying in the corner looking kinda messy."
"I mean it's a possibility." I said. "Maybe if you didn't leave your comics lying around, that wouldn't happen." I said before looking over at another comic that was on the floor. "Ugghh…" I groaned levitating it. "Crystal too…"
"What kind of comic book is that?"
"It's just a comic from her world that she brought over…"
"R-W-B-Y?" Spike asked saying the letters individually.
"Yeah… I think she said it's called RWBY." I said saying the word… before opening the comic book out of curiosity. "Jeez, how can you focus on books like this? The words are all over the place!" I said skimming through the pages. "Hm?" I asked looking at the last page. "You can return to the place you started after helping Team RWBY defeat Cinder… wait, what?" I asked looking closely at the comic.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Spike asked. "And who's Cinder?" Suddenly out of nowhere the comic book itself started glowing… sucking the two of us inside. "W-what's going on!?"
"I don't-- AAAHHHHH!!!" I screamed as the two of us were immediately sucked inside the comic.
Suddenly from the front door, Pinkie walked inside. "Twilight? You home??" She asked looking around the library. "Huh… guess not… Hey! A comic book!" She exclaimed hopping over to it. "And it's already on the last page!" She said lowering her head to see the words. "You can return to the place you started after helping Team RWBY defeat Cinder… Neat!" She chirped. "WHAAAAA--!?" She exclaimed before getting sucked in the comic book herself.
. . .
. . .
. . .
"Wha- huh!?" I exclaimed looking around. "Where am I…?" I asked myself as I look down at my-- "I have hands again!!" I screamed looking at my own human body… but something was a little different. "What the…" I said taking off the glasses that were on my face. "Where did these come from?" I asked myself before squinting slightly. "Oh you've gotta be…" I groaned putting them back on. "I guess I need them to see properly…… wait. Spike! Spike where are you!?" I exclaimed looking around… but there was no sign of him anywhere. "Okay… first thing's first… I need to figure out where the hay I am!!" I exclaimed.
"That would be my office, dear." A male voice coming into the room. It was a man with a yellow tie, white button shirt, green spikey hair, and glasses... Who was looking at me very curiously… Who is this!? I thought to myself. "May I ask what business you have here and why you're on the floor?" He asked before taking a sip from his mug.
"U-um…" I stuttered a bit as I got to my feet. Though… looking down at myself I could see that I was pretty much wearing the same clothes as him. I just shook my head a bit. "Well you see, I kind of lost my friend… and I have no idea where he might be."
"Well I can assure you that your friend isn't here." He said with a quick paced response. "Perhaps he is roaming around the school grounds dear. Most likely nothing to worry about." He said fixing his glasses. "Though… may I get your name, dear… and the reason you're dressed the same as I?"
"Oh right… um… My name's Twilight Sparkle." I answered. "And… coincidence?" I smiled sheepishly hoping he would just accept that.
"...Well Miss. Sparkle, if I do hear word of your missing friend, you'll be the first to know, but right now I'm afraid I'm terribly busy." He said before quickly shoving me out of the room. "Terribly sorry, and good luck." He said before closing the door on my way out.
"I never even got his name…" I sighed.
"Bartholomew Oobleck." He said as he opened the door and quickly closed it again.
"O...kay then…" I said looking around at the halls. "So… wait a second… he said something about this being a school?" I asked myself as I walked down the halls. "Definitely not Canterlot High, that's for sure…"
You can return to the place you started after helping Team RWBY defeat Cinder.
"Am I… inside the RWBY comic??" I asked myself as I looked down the halls to make sure no one heard me say that. "...If that's true... the only way back is to defeat someone named Cinder… of course, there's a little problem with that…" I said twitching my eye a bit. "I have no idea who that is!!"
______________________________________
At Diamond Tiara's house
"Still no sign of Rainbow Dash anywhere…" I sighed as Lexi and I walked up to the door.
"It's no big deal, Becky… maybe I can learn how to fly next time or something." Lexi said sounding a little upset.
"I'm really sorry Lexi…"
"Don't be, you dork." Lexi chuckled booping my nose. "Sure it would be cool to fly but it's only been a day. I really doubt learning how to fly is that easy…. By the way, what are we doing here?"
"I'm just making sure everything is okay with Diamond Tiara… Her mom isn't really that nice." I say knocking on the door.
Eventually it was Diamond Tiara who came and opened the door this time. "Uh… hello?" She said not recognizing us.
"Hey!" I said smiling. "Ready for the slumber party??"
"Slumber par--..." Diamond Tiara paused for a moment. "Wait a sec… you're not…" She slowly walked around me and quickly got a glance at my cutie mark. "C...Crystal!?"
"Surprise!" I exclaimed giggling.
"Wait… but… how…?"
"My mom knows a spell that can change ponies into people… and also the other way around."
"...Which mom?"
"Our new teacher." I chuckled a bit.
"Jeez… this is just so… wow." Diamond Tiara let out. "Wait, who are you then?" She asked looking at Lexi.
"I was the other human." Lexi smiled. "Lexi."
"She turned you both into ponies!?"
"Yup!" Lexi smiled a bit… before stopping when she looked at Diamond Tiara. "You okay? Your face looks a little red."
"H-huh??" Diamond Tiara asked trying to hide her expression. "I-it's a little hot in here…" she stammered. "A-anyways! Yeah, I'll head over to the library as soon as I'm done getting packed."
"Awesome!" I hopped a bit. "I'll see you tonight then!" I said before walking off… not noticing the Lexi wasn't following me.
"Um… aren't you going with her?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"I just wanted to ask you something…" Lexi said going close to Diamond Tiara to whisper. "Do you have a crush on her…?"
Immediately Diamond Tiara went flustered as soon as Lexi asked. "W-what!? What in the world would make you think that--!"
"It's not that hot." Lexi chuckled.
Diamond Tiara blushed hard for a moment. "Please, you can't tell her… I have no idea how she would feel if I said that to her."
"Don't worry, I won't tell…" Lexi smiled.
"Thank you so much…" Diamond Tiara said in relief.
"You have my word." Lexi said before walking away. "Because you'll be the one to say it tonight." She whispered that last part to herself with a grin before meeting up with me. "So who should meet next?" She asked me.
"Well there's Rarity." I answered.
"Lead the way!"
______________________________________
Back in the RWBY Comic
"Where am I!? Why can't I move!?" Spike exclaimed struggling in darkness. At the same time he felt something furry next to him… as well as the feeling of being carried. "Hello?? Anyone??"
"Huh?" a female voice said from outside. Suddenly Spike could feel himself getting shaken inside before something hard inside knocked him out. "...Huh. Guess it was nothing." She said as she walked inside her room with three other girls inside. "I'm ba--... hey, what's up, sis?"
"Just… some things Professor Ozpin said…" Said another girl said.
"Awww… So not even this will cheer you up?" The first girl said holding up the tube.
"What's that?"
"I don't know yet. Dad sent it to us so I thought we could open it together."
The other girl screamed in excitement. This was enough to wake Spike back up. Suddenly he felt himself getting shaken again before falling onto the floor in the shape of a tube… alongside something else that fell in the shape of a tube. Eventually both Cylinders formed into two dogs… Spike being one of them. He then looked up to see 4 girls just staring at them right before the dog beside him started barking. Immediately all four girls had mixed reactions of surprise. "Zwei!!" The red hooded girl exclaimed.
"He sent dogs!?" The black haired one exclaimed in annoyance.
"In the mail!?" The white haired one added.
The blonde girl just chuckled a bit. "He does stuff like this all the time… but uh…" she said before quickly picking Spike up. "I don't know this one."
"Is that dog… purple and green?" The white haired one asked. "It looks sick."
"Maybe Dad wanted us to take care of him and make him better!" The red hooded girl said before pushing the blonde one out of the way and taking Spike, petting him a bit… to him admittedly it felt good. "You got a name little guy?" She asked looking for a dog tag.
"It's… Spike actually." Spike answered.
The four girls all just stared at him for a moment… until the one who was holding him started screaming and spinning him around. "It's a talking dog!!"
"H-hey! Take it easy…!" Spike exclaimed before jumping out of the red hooded girl's hold.
"This has to be the weirdest gift that Dad sent us, yet." The blonde one commented.
"This is beyond weird!" The white haired one exclaimed. "Normal dogs aren't supposed to talk!"
"If he knows how to speak, does he understand what stay away from my belongings mean?" The black haired one said as she was already staying far away, sitting in a hanging bed.
"I know english just fine." Spike said a little annoyed. "Where am I anyways?... And who are all of you?"
"This is Beacon Academy!" The red hooded girl exclaimed. "I'm Ruby Rose!" She said before turning to the blonde haired one. "This is Yang, Weiss, and Blake!" She exclaimed, pointing to each member individually.
"Yo!" Yang smiled.
"Uhh…" was all Weiss could let out as she waved in confusion.
"Right…" Blake added still staying far away.
"And together we make Team RWBY!" Ruby exclaimed as she hopped onto one of the hanging beds.
"Is… that safe?" Spike asked looking at all the beds.
"No one's gotten hurt yet!" Yang commented.
"ahem." coming from Weiss.
"No one's gotten seriously hurt yet!" Yang said.
"Wait a second, did you say Team RWBY?" Spike asked thinking for a second. "That's like what--... wait, where's Twilight!?" Spike exclaimed going into a panic.
"Who?" Ruby asked.
"Twilight!" Spike exclaimed again before pushing the door open and running out.
"...It's a bad idea to let a dog run around Beacon, right?" Yang asked the others before getting a few confirming nods.
Two of the girls quickly ran out the door. Yang left Zwei next to Blake and ran off with the two. "H-hey! Why are you leaving him with me!?" Blake exclaimed but didn't get an answer. She just looked at Zwei who was just wagging his tail happily. "So… do you talk too?" All she got was a bark in response. "Just making sure."
As Spike was running through the hall, looking frantically for Twilight, he could hear those girls coming after him. "Wait Spike!" Ruby exclaimed. "You can't just run off like that!"
"I'm sorry but I really need to find my friend!" Spike exclaimed.
"At least let us help you out!" Yang exclaimed.
Spike just slowly stopped and looked back at them curiously. "You actually want to help me?"
"As strange as this all is…" Weiss started. "We can't exactly leave a dog running around the grounds unattended."
"First things first though… is your friend a friend of our dad?" Ruby asked.
"Well obviously sis, why else would Dad send him here?" Yang commented.
"Actually… We don't know who your dad is at all." Spike said.
"...Okay, nevermind." Yang shrugged.
"Maybe his dog tag will tell us something…" Weiss said picking him up, looking for the dog tag. "Here it is…… um… Ruby?"
"Yeah Weiss?" Ruby asked.
"What was your dog's name again?"
"Zwei."
"I thought so… this dog tag is saying that his name is Zwei too."
"...Wha?" Ruby said before quickly zipping over to Spike to look at the tag.
"How… do you move so fast?" Spike asked.
"Maybe we should go back to the room and see if Dad left us a note or something." Yang suggested.
"Good idea." Ruby said before taking Spike out of Weiss's hands. "I'll carry him."
"Hey! I wanted to carry Spike!" Weiss argued… then blushed slightly when the two looked at her confused. "I mean… he's kinda adorable… even for a purple dog." She said rubbing the back of her head.
"Well…" Ruby started before sticking her tongue out and running off.
"Ruby!!" Weiss exclaimed before chasing after the red hooded girl.
Eventually everyone got back to the room with Spike. Inside, Blake was trying to keep her distance from Zwei. When Yang went to check the package, she pulled out a note from the tube. "Here we go! answers." She said about to read the note. "Dear girls, I've got to leave the island for a few days, so I'm sending Zwei to you to take care of. Enclosed is all the food you should need. Love you both, Taiyang." Yang said before dozens of cans of dog food started pouring out of the small cylinder, as well as a can opener. "...And… no answers." Yang said crumpling up the note.
"He didn't even mention a second dog…" Weiss added.
"Maybe we should help find his friend, Twilight?" Blake suggested before hopping away from Zwei to another bed.
"But where do we even start with that?" Weiss asked. "What if she's not even close by?" She asked before looking at Spike. "Do you have any idea where she would be?"
"Sorry… I don't even know anything about this place." Spike answered shaking his head.
"Would all first-year students please report to the amphitheater?" said a woman's voice over the intercom.
"Well… we'll have to leave him here for now." Weiss sighed a bit.
"W-what??" Spike asked.
"That announcement was for us." Yang answered. "Don't worry, we'll be back. Plus you'll have Zwei to keep you company." Yang said as she left the room with Weiss following.
Blake just jumped down from Ruby's bunk and jumped across the table, avoiding Zwei. Meanwhile, Ruby just stares at the two dogs for a moment before smiling sneakily. "Uh… why are you looking at me like that?" Spike asked feeling uncomfortable.
______________________________________
Back with Crystal and Lexi
"Alright… so far you've met everypony except for Rainbow Dash…" I sighed holding my head down. "I have no idea where she is… and I'm tired from all the walking."
Lexi just chuckled a bit. "Everyone's reaction to seeing you as a pony was pretty funny though."
"Yeah well after almost the same kind of reaction every time, it gets kinda old." I said with a huff. "All except for Rarity who almost fainted." I chuckled a bit before both of us laughed. "Wanna just go back to the library?"
"Sure!" Lexi said smiling. "Tonight's gonna be awesome!"
"Race ya!" I exclaimed before running off.
"Hey! Cheater!" Lexi shouted running after me. "If I win this, I'm cutting your hair!"
"With what fingers??" I asked chuckling.
"I'll figure something out!" The two of us ran as fast as we could until we both got to the library… with 5 fillies already waiting by the door. "Ha! I won!" Lexi shouted.
"Oh come on!!" I exclaimed.
"You may have magic, but I'm still a faster runner than you, Becky!" Lexi chuckled.
"Um…" coming from Applebloom which made both of us turn to them.
"Wow… you weren't kidding when you said we were in for a surprise…" Scootaloo said to Diamond Tiara.
"Eheh… hey girls." I said blushing a bit as I waved.
"Uh… hey… Crystal…" Scootaloo let out before turning to Lexi. "Are you…?"
"Becky's friend!" Lexi smiled.
"And… your mom did this?" Sweetie Belle asked me. I just nodded in response. "That's… kind of scary…"
"Huh?" I asked.
"I mean… it's scary how much magic she can use."
"Why don't I explain a bit more inside then…" I huffed going inside the library, leading everyone… however, when we got inside, we could see Cocoa whimpering a bit over a comic. "Wait, huh?" I asked walking over to her. "What's wro--..." I stopped before looking at the comic that was already open. I just levitated it in confusion. "What's this doing here?" I asked out loud, looking around. "Mom?" I called out… no answer. "Spike?"... Still no answer.
"Maybe Twilight just didn't come home yet?" Lexi asked.
I looked around the area seeing pillows and blankets on the floor. "I don't think--" My train of thought was cut short when Cocoa barked at me. "Huh? What is it?"
"...Hey… Becky?" Lexi asked.
"Yeah?"
"Was that always there?" Lexi asked pointing at the last page of the comic.
"Hm…?" I asked looking at the words she was pointing at. "You can return to the place you started after helping Team RWBY defeat Cinder… Wait what?" I said before Cocoa started running away. "No, I never saw--..." Suddenly the book started glowing and pulling me into it! "T-this isn't supposed to happen either…!" I shouted trying to pull away, only to get my head sucked into the comic itself.
"B-Becky!!" Lexi exclaimed, trying to get a grip on my hooves. The others tried to grip onto Lexi, helping her pull me back out, but they all ended up getting pulled inside with me. Cocoa just came back, growling at the comic book before Owlicious came and moved the comic book to a place she couldn't reach.
. . .
. . .
. . .
"Ugh… where…?" I groaned looking around. I could see I was laying in a bed. "Huh… how did I…?" I stopped when I looked at my own hands. "Wait how did I turn human again??" Suddenly to my side, I could hear Diamond Tiara screaming as she was falling. "W-What the--!?" I exclaimed looking at her… and when I did, I could see a human Diamond Tiara… dressed… like…
"How am I human!?!?" Diamond Tiara exclaimed.
"I'm more surprised that you're dressed like Weiss!!" I shouted.
"Who!?" Diamond Tiara exclaimed holding up a rapier. "Wait, what is this!?"
"W-whoa…!"
I looked over at… a human Silver Spoon… who was dressed like-- "Y-You too Silver Spoon! You're dressed like Blake!"
"Wait what!?" Silver Spoon exclaimed looking at her hands. "Wait, where are my glasses??"
"Do you… need them?" I asked.
"...Actually… no, I don't… what the hay…?" Silver Spoon said going back to looking at her own body.
"Ow!" Coming from Lexi's voice.
I turned to my side to see that she was human again too… and she was holding her head in pain. "L-Lexi… You're… Yang…!"
"W-what??" She asked looking at the gauntlets on her arms. "Awesome! I'm Armed!"
"...Yup, definitely Yang." I mused.
Lexi just paused when she looked over at me. "Uh… you might want to look at yourself too… sis."
"...Sis…?" My eyes widened when I realized what she meant. I quickly looked down at myself… black outfit… Red hood… and… I just pull something out. "T-this is…!" I press a button by accident, making it turn into a giant scythe. "C… Crescent… Rose…" I stuttered. "I'm Ruby!?!?"
"What is going on here!?!?" Diamond Tiara exclaimed.
I slowly pressed the same button I did before on Crescent Rose, closing it. "That's so cool…!!!!" I say ogling the scythe.
"Focus, Ruby!" Lexi exclaimed.
"Alright, alright!" I exclaimed before putting away Crescent Rose. I quickly jumped out of the bed and started to look around the room. "Let's see… hanging beds…" I turn around. "A ripped curtain…" My eyes widen again. "Oh… my…" I then just let out a high pitched scream. "Oh my gosh! We're in Beacon!!"
"Where!?" Silver Spoon asked.
"We must've gotten sucked into the RWBY comic and now we're part of the story…" Lexi said pushing one of the hanging beds a bit. "Yeah, dibs on top bunk."
"If that's so then… where are the others?" Silver Spoon asked looking around. "If they were sucked in with us then… shouldn't they be here?"
"Well… if we're dressed up like Team RWBY and we ended up in their room, maybe they ended up on different teams." Lexi suggested.
"There's different teams??" Diamond Tiara asked.
"Yup!" I answered excitedly. "Oh! I wonder if they ended up in team JNPR!"
"Juniper…?" Diamond Tiara asked trying to grasp everything.
"JNPR! J-N-P-R!" I answered again.
"You are getting way too excited about this." Lexi laughed.
"Are you kidding me!?!?" I exclaimed. "This is a dream come true!" I continued as I grabbed Lexi's shoulders, shaking her. "I have wanted this more than anything in my entire life!!"
"C-chill!!" Lexi exclaimed pushing me away.
"S-sorry!" I exclaimed.
"Huh…" Silver Spoon said taking out her own weapon… it was Blake's. "So… do all of us have these??"
"It… looks like it." Diamond Tiara said looking back at her rapier.
"So… then what does this--" Silver Spoon said pressing a button… but when she did, she accidentally shot a bullet at the window, making a bullet hole in it. "...Do…" She said shakily holding the weapon.
"Uh oh…" I panicked a bit, looking at the bullet hole, slowly walking over to it. "You think anyone will notice…?" I ask as I touch the glass. Right when I do, the window completely shatters.
"...They will now." Lexi sighed.
"I'll just… put this away now." Silver Spoon said putting the weapon away.
"We should probably go." Lexi suggested.
"Yeah…" I said before quickly running out.
"Hey! Wait up!" Lexi exclaimed running after me.
"Wait!!" Diamond Tiara shouted. "We're not used to these bodies!!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed trying to keep her balance on two legs.
I stopped running and quickly went back to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. "Sorry…"
"Just… give us a few minutes…" Silver Spoon said wobbling a bit.
Eventually the two were able to stand just fine and walk no problem. "Okay…" Diamond Tiara started. "Now we can go… but can we not run?"
"That's fine…" Lexi started. "But we should at least hurry a little bit before someone notices that there's a window missing."
"But… where are we even supposed to go?" I ask.
"Why don't we just walk around the halls and look for your other friends for now?" Lexi suggested. "Besides, it gives these two some more time to get used to walking on two legs."
"Yeah… good point." I agreed going with them.
______________________________________
Back to the actual Team RWBY
Multiple students were already in the amphitheater as Ruby was walking in late with a bag. "Quiet! Quiet please." Coming from a female voice. "Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin."
Before the announcement was made, Ruby took notice of a certain pink girl who was standing next to Nora… who was dressed in the exact same clothes as her. "Huh…?" Ruby asked herself tilting her head. Ren took notice of Ruby's confusion and just shook his head basically saying that he's not sure either.
Just then a man who held a cane and had silver hair and glasses walked up to the microphone. "Today we stand together, united." Ozpin started. "Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale… The four Kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end."
From the entrance of the amphitheater, someone else was walking inside. "Ugh… this is such a strange outfit… and why is the shirt sticking out like this?? Everyone else looks so neat!" She said which was enough to get Weiss's attention.
Weiss could see a purple haired girl tucking in her shirt, and fixing her tie. "What the…" Weiss started. "Has… anyone seen her before?" Weiss whispered to her other team members. The others just look at her kind of confused themselves.
"There." Twilight huffed a bit. "Maybe I can find someone here who can help me…" She whispered to herself.
"...We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression." Ozpin continued. "And as you are well aware, that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither were the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without--"
"Twilight!?" exclaimed the pink human being, shocking everyone. She then just ran through the crowd and right up to Twilight. "You're here too!? Isn't this place crazy!?" Pinkie laughed.
"Wait… did she just call her Twilight??" Weiss asked.
"She must be the dog's owner then!" Yang exclaimed happily.
"P-Pinkie Pie!? What are you doing here!?!?" Twilight exclaimed. "Not that I'm not happy to see you here of course but--"
"What is the meaning of this!?" Shouted a woman who was storming her way over to the two strangers.
"W-well… you see the thing is… uh…" Twilight stammered.
"Pinkie Pie is my sister, Miss. Goodwitch!" exclaimed Nora who just zipped between the two, placing on arm on Pinkie's shoulder.
"...Your sister." Miss. Goodwitch said not buying it.
"Come on! Don't you see the resemblance??" Nora asked as her and Pinkie Pie shared an equally wide smile.
Miss. Goodwitch just kept looking at Pinkie skeptically before turning to Twilight. "And what about you?"
"She's Professor Oobleck's unpaid assistant!" Yang exclaimed running over as well.
"What??" Twilight exclaimed and widened her eyes as soon as she realized what Yang was doing. "...What do you mean unpaid!?"
"Don't you remember? He said that knowledge is all the pay you'll need for a promising future." Yang smiled keeping the act going.
Ozpin just looked over at the two strangers curiously. "Well I'm surprised…" Miss. Goodwitch continued. "Professor Oobleck hasn't uttered a single word of this… assistant."
"T-that's because I just started today!" Twilight said smiling sheepishly.
Miss. Goowitch just stared at Twilight intently. "I'll be talking with Professor Oobleck about this… as soon as possible." She said before walking back to the stage with Ozpin. Ozpin just kept staring at the two before continuing his speech.
Twilight huffed in relief while Pinkie just kept a smile on her face. "Thank you so much for that…"
"No problem!" Yang winked. "So your name was Twilight, right?" Twilight just nodded. "Perfect! My name's Yang… you wouldn't happen to be missing a purple dog named Spike, would you?'
"You saw him!?" Twilight asked smiling widely.
"Sure did! He's actually back in our room right now." Yang said which made Ruby panic in the background. She sneakily tiptoed over to her bag, picked it up, and ran out of the amphitheater in a flurry of rose petals as quick as she could.
"Uh… Who was that?" Twilight asked.
"Oh. That was my little sister, Ruby." Yang answered.
Twilight just blinked for a moment. "Ruby… Rose?" she asked.
"Huh?"
"O-oh well--"
"So you do know our family!" Yang laughed a bit. "Dunno why Spike said you didn't… guess dogs don't have good memories."
"Eheheh… guess not." Twilight said nervously.
"Well, while this meeting is going on, why don't I bring you to our room so you can grab him?" Yang suggested.
"That would be great. Thank you, Yang!" Twilight smiled before turning to Pinkie. "Are you going to come too?"
"Nah." Pinkie smiled. "I wanna spend more time with my sister!" Pinkie exclaimed wrapping an arm around Nora's shoulder.
Nora just smiled widely in response. "You've got nothing to worry about Twilight!" Nora exclaimed squeezing Pinkie a bit. "I'll protect my sister with my life!"
"Well… if you say so." Twilight nodded before turning to Yang again. "So… to your room then?"
"Right this way!" Yang exclaimed leading the way.
______________________________________
Back to a Speeding Ruby
"This was a bad idea! A really bad idea!!" Ruby exclaimed, running as fast as she could through the halls.
"Okay Ruby, don't panic. Leave Spike back in the room, keep Zwei, and leave! Easy!... Wait then Yang would notice Zwei was missing… Okay! Leave both Zwei and Spike! Wait for Twilight to pick up Spike, wait for them both to leave and come back for Zwei!" Ruby said nodding happily as she ran. "It's the perfect pla--!"
"LOOK OUT!!" Shouted a female voice. Ruby then slammed into someone who was with a group of people, causing both of them to fall over.
"Ugh…" Ruby groaned.
"You just knocked her out!" exclaimed another female voice.
"Ugh… huh?" Ruby groaned as her vision was blurry for a minute. At first, all she could see a blurry white figure. "Weiss…?"
"H-hold up… isn't that…!?" exclaimed another voice.
"Huh…??" Ruby shook her head a bit as her vision cleared… she could see a girl with light purple hair… who was dressed like Weiss. "Wait… what?" Ruby asked as she looked at the other girls who were also dressed the same as her team members. "Who are all of you…??"
"Uh……." The one dressed as Yang let out with her mouth agape.
The three girls just looked down at the girl who was knocked out on the ground. Ruby slowly looked down as well to see another girl who was dressed up in her clothes. "...Did you steal clothes from our room!?"
"No we didn't steal from your room! For your information, we woke up like this!" The girl dressed like Weiss exclaimed. "And is that how you respond after just slamming into one of our friends!?"
"D-Diamond Tiara, please calm down… I'm sure she's fine." the girl dressed like Blake said.
"I won't calm down! I demand an apology!"
"O-okay Okay! I'm really sorry…!" Ruby said starting to feel bad… the way she shouted even reminded Ruby of Weiss. Ruby just got to her feet, dusted herself off a bit and looked back down at the girl on the ground. "Hey… you okay… girl dressed like me?"
"Her name is Crystal." Diamond Tiara mused.
"R-Right… pretty name! Uh… Crystal??" She said nudging Crystal a bit.
"Wait, Crystal!?!?" a voice exclaimed coming from Ruby's bag. Right away, Spike jumped out of it and ran over to Crystal, looking at her closely. "It really is her!" Spike exclaimed happily.
"Is that purple dog talking??" Diamond Tiara asked.
Spike just looked up at the three girls closely. "Wait… Diamond Tiara?? Silver Spoon?? Alexis!?" He shouted. "You're all here too!?"
"You know them, Spike??" Ruby asked.
"Spike!?" Two of the girls exclaimed… Silver Spoon kind of just kept her distance as soon as she saw the purple dog.
"Yeah! They're totally cool." Spike answered before turning back to Crystal who was starting to stir a bit. "Hey, it looks like she's starting to come to!"
Alexis just slowly started backing up a bit. "Huh?" Diamond Tiara started. "What are you--"
"Just wait for it." Alexis said.
"Nnng…" Crystal groaned slowly opening her eyes. Right away her eyes were met with Spike. "Huh…? Spike…?"
"You alright, Crystal?" Spike asked Crystal as she was coming to.
"Huh…?" She slowly looked around the room… but then quickly paused when her eyes met with Ruby.
"Hey… sorry about bumping into you like that." Ruby started. "Are you hurt or anything?" Crystal just stared at Ruby wide eyed for a moment. Her mouth was open, sounds were coming out, but they weren't words. "Uh… Crystal?"
______________________________________
"And if you just follow me this way--" Yang said before getting interrupted by a high pitched scream.
"W-what was that!?!?" Twilight exclaimed.
"Come on!" Yang exclaimed as the two started running.
The two kept running through the hall… until they saw a group of girls and a dog gathered in one spot. One girl who was dressed up like Ruby… was dangling onto the real Ruby's arm. "Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!! It's really really you! I have so many questions!!" Crystal exclaimed as Ruby just kept a look of confusion on her face.
"Has… anyone ever seen Crystal like this?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"Nope." Silver Spoon commented… still keeping her distance from Spike.
"Can I have your autograph!?!?" Crystal exclaimed with a wide smile.
"Crystal!?!?" Twilight exclaimed which caught everyone in the hall by surprise.
"M-Mom??" Crystal exclaimed hopping off Ruby's arm.
"Mom!?" Both Yang and Ruby exclaimed.
"Okay… now I'm completely lost." Yang said looking at everyone in the room. "And… Why are they all dressed like us..?'
Crystal froze again when she looked at Yang. "Y-Y… Y-Y… YA--" She was about to scream out until Lexi covered her mouth.
"Eheh… sorry about that…" Lexi said blushing a bit at the sight of Yang and coughed a bit into her other hand. "N-nice to meet you by the way."
"Uhhh…" Yang let out.
"What's going on!?" Exclaimed Weiss as she and Blake ran over to the group as well. "We heard someone scre--" She paused looking wide eyed at the whole group.
Blake just looked over at Silver Spoon. "Why is she dressed like me?" She asked a little creeped out.
"And… she's dressed like me…" Weiss said referring to Diamond Tiara. "And is that my rapier??"
Meanwhile, Crystal was letting out another scream. However it was muffled by Lexi's hand.
Diamond Tiara finally took notice of her best friend keeping her distance from them and walked over to her. "What's gotten into you, Silver Spoon?"
"I-I don't know…! For some reason my body is telling me to stay away from Spike!" Silver Spoon responded.
"What??" Spike asked feeling hurt. "Why would you try to stay away from me??"
"I'm not doing it on purpose!" Blake slowly walked over to Silver Spoon and looked at her bow. "U-Um… look I really don't--" But before Silver Spoon was able to finish her sentence, Blake simply removed the bow that was on Silver Spoon's head… revealing cat ears which shocked everyone.
"She's… a faunus…" Blake let out a little surprised. "Not just that… she's the exact same kind of faunus as me." She gently touched Silver Spoon's cat ears, making them twitch a bit.
"Um…" Silver Spoon started. "What's a faunus…?"
"What…??" Blake asked. "How could you not know what you are??"
Ruby just looked at the people dressed like her team in confusion. "Can… someone tell me what's going on??"
"Maybe we should all just calm down first…" Twilight sighed holding her own head. "Sorry if my daughter went a little crazy on you." Twilight said looking at Ruby.
"That's… your daughter?" Weiss asked looking at Crystal.
"How come she's dressed like me?" Ruby asked. "And… hey, wait a second!" She exclaimed going over to Crystal. "Is that my Crescent Rose??"
"Okay…" Crystal started. "This is gonna sound weird but ALL of us woke up like this… and with these weapons."
The whole team just looked at Crystal for a moment. "That… doesn't make any sense." Weiss commented.
"Would Team RWBY please return to the amphitheater immediately?" Said Miss. Goodwitch, coming from the intercom.
"Maybe we should just tell Professor Ozpin about this." Weiss suggested.
"I… don't think he'd know either." Crystal said chuckling nervously.
"Why's that?" Ruby asked.
"Because… we're not from this world." Crystal answered… leaving the whole team speechless for a moment.
"I'm sorry… what?" Weiss asked.
"It's true." Lexi added. "We were sent here from our world to help you girls with something."
"W-wait, help us?" Ruby asked. "With what?"
Crystal and Lexi just looked at each other for a moment. "Maybe we should just head back to the amphitheater for now…" Twilight suggested.
"With people dressed up like us??" Weiss asked. "Literally every first year is in there right now!"
"Maybe they can just stay outside the theater?" Ruby suggested. "Then we can tell Professor Ozpin about them.
The other team members just looked at each other. "I don't think we really have much of a choice…" Blake Commented.
Twilight picked up Spike, petting him a bit. "You think Ozpin will at least understand?"
"Only one way to find out." Yang shrugged leading the way. "Come on, let's get going."
The whole group followed team RWBY mostly silently… all except for a couple of people behind. Crystal looked up at Twilight and snickered. "What?" Twilight asked.
"You… you're dressed like Professor Oobleck." Crystal said giggling a bit.
"You know about Professor Oobleck too?" Yang asked from ahead of the group.
"Yup!" Crystal smiled.
"What… else do you know?" Weiss asked.
"Well… basically the future." Crystal said, making Lexi facepalm.
"The future??" Ruby asked excitedly. "How far into the future?" She asked running up to Crystal. "Are all of us famous huntresses? Is that how you know us and why you're dressed like us??"
"Uhh… n-not that far into the future…" Crystal stammered. "I'm only up to the 3rd volume."
"Wait." Blake started.
"Volume?" Weiss continued. Everyone just stopped moving.
Crystal just sighed. "Mom was right, I really am too honest."
"What do you mean volume?" Weiss asked.
"Team RWBY! Please report to the amphitheater!" Miss. Goodwitch's voice could be heard again.
"...We'll continue talking about this later." Weiss said in a serious tone. The other team members just looked at each other in confusion before continuing on. Eventually they got to the entrance of the amphitheater. "All of you just wait here." Weiss said as her whole team went inside. Ruby just looked back at the group for a moment before going in herself.
"How are you going to tell them?" Lexi asked Crystal.
"I don't know…" Crystal sighed. "I've always wanted to meet Team RWBY so badly when I watched the show… I just didn't think about telling them the part that… they aren't real…"
"Well… maybe we don't have to tell them that part!" Twilight started.
"Huh?"
"Well you already told them that we're from a different world… Remember when Princess Celestia said she was watching over you in your world from Equestria?"
"Yeah…?"
"Well maybe we can just tell them that we know them because it's our job to protect other worlds!"
"And… the reason we're dressed like them?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"Hm…" Twilight started then quickly smiled. "We tell them that we take on the appearance of the people in this world, based on what we thought would be more helpful!"
"That's… actually a really good idea." Lexi smiled.
"Just let me do all the talking." Twilight started. "This time, I got this."
Eventually team RWBY came out of the amphitheater and were followed by Professor Ozpin… who simply looked at the whole group with curiosity. "So… there are more of you." Ozpin started.
"Y-yes sir." Twilight answered.
"The girls mentioned something about all of you being from a different world… is that correct?"
"That's correct." Twilight nodded.
"Which means that you're not a hired assistant for Professor Oobleck then." Ozpin said looking at Twilight.
"T-that's correct sir…" Twilight gulped a bit.
"Would you all care to take a walk then and explain your situation with me?" Ozpin asked politely.
"We'd be happy to." Twilight answered smiling nervously.
This time Twilight was the one who lead everyone as she stood next to Ozpin. First she started by telling Ozpin everyone's names. She then started explaining that it was their job to protect other worlds and she also explained the reason why everyone was dressed the way they were. "So the reason you came to this school in the first place… was to assist the students?"
"That's correct." Twilight nodded.
"This seems a bit hard to believe if I'm going to be perfectly honest." Ozpin started.
"Yeah… and what was that you said before?" Ruby asked Crystal. "About a volume…?"
"W-Well… we pretty much see what happens already… but for us we see it in chapters…" Crystal answered.
"And… what does happen that requires your assistance?" Ozpin asks.
Crystal looked down and sighed. "Beacon… Beacon falls…"
"What…?"
"A bunch of grim attack beacon… and I think they're being controlled by someone named Cinder."
"Anything else?" Ozpin asked.
Crystal looked to the side and then at everyone else before walking up to Ozpin to whisper something. "I know about the fall maiden." Ozpin was stunned. He just stared at Crystal for a moment. "All we want to do is help stop more bad things from happening…"
Ozpin looked back at the team and sighed. "Girls… they will be accompanying you on your trip."
"Huh??" Weiss asked.
"You have nothing to fear from them… they will continue to accompany until their job is done." Ozpin said before turning to Twilight. "By the way… that pink one that was next to Miss. Valkyrie… I believe you said her name was Pinkie Pie…?"
"Also with us." Twilight answered.
"Pinkie Pie is here!?" Crystal exclaimed.
"Indeed." Ozpin nodded. "She was also dressed as one of the students in this school… Miss. Nora Valkyrie."
Crystal just went wide eyed. "She's Nora!?"
"Should I have her accompany you as well?" Ozpin asked.
"Eh… I'm sure she'll be fine with team JNPR." Crystal commented. "W-wait! Before we forget! There's supposed to be three other people here with us… we just have no idea where they are."
"I'll make sure the rest of the staff keep an eye out for them then." Ozpin nodded. "Now I suggest you head outside…" he said before turning to the team. "The Huntsman you will be shadowing will be waiting for you." he said before heading off.
"Isn't this awesome??" Yang started. "Who knew there were people watching over us!"
"Beacon… actually falls?" Blake asks.
"Yeah… but we won't let that happen!" Crystal exclaimed.
"I… don't know what to say…" Weiss started.
"How about 'Thank you!'?" Ruby asked. "I mean come on! All of them are here to make sure we win, right?" The other girls on the team smiled a bit realizing she was right. "Now come on! Let's go meet with our huntsman!" Ruby announced.
"Yeah!" Yang nodded as Ruby lead the way.
Meanwhile Crystal was giggling a bit. "Hm?" Blake asked noticing this. "What's so funny?" She whispered.
"You'll find out in a few minutes." Crystal answered.
______________________________________
Outside the School
Seven girls just stood in front of the Huntsman waiting for them, all with shocked and confused looks on their faces… while both Lexi and Crystal were doing their best to hold back their laughter. "Why, hello girls!" Professor Oobleck started. "Professor Ozpin has informed me of the additional guests and to that I say, the more the merrier! Now who's ready to fight for their lives?"
Everyone just continued staring at Oobleck Silently before Weiss was finally the one to speak up. "Professor Oobleck…?"
Oobleck just started pacing back and forth before starting to speak in a quick pace. "Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary, girls, seeing as you've opted to shadow a Huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission. I can assure you, we will not be establishing a single base of operations; rather, we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland and making camp in any defendable locations we may stumble upon. I packed all of our essentials myself, plotted our air course, and readied the airship. And…" He paused before going up to Weiss's face. "It's Doctor Oobleck." He said sternly. "I didn't earn the PhD for fun, thank you very much!"
Weiss just looks over at Blake Belladonna, who is equally disturbed… then looking over at the two girls dressed as Yang and Ruby, she took notice of them trying to contain their own laughter. "Uh…" Weiss started as she looked at the two.
"Come now, children" Doctor Oobleck interrupted. "According to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind… schedule!" He exclaimed before zipping ahead.
Twilight just stared wide-eyed at the man who moved at incredible speeds. "How in the world does he walk like that on two feet…?"
"Yeah I got a better question; Why do you two look like you're about to burst out laughing?" Weiss asked the Ruby and Yang clones.
"Well…" Lexi started. "We kind of already knew the huntsman you were going to get… Like Becky here said, we pretty much know what's gonna happen."
"Wait." Yang started. "Becky?... I thought her name was Crystal."
"Yeah, that's what Weiss told me." Ruby added.
Weiss looked over at Ruby in confusion. "I didn't tell you that."
"O-Oh… right" Ruby blushed looking at Diamond Tiara. "She was the one that told me."
"So what's your real name?" Yang asked. "Becky or Crystal?"
"It's… both." I answered, rubbing the back of my head. The four team members just looked at her with confused expressions on their faces. "Look, my name's not really important… we should probably get going." I said smiling nervously.
The four girls just looked at each other before turning their attention back to their zipping professor, sharing looks of uncertainty.
Ruby looked to her team and half smiled. "Well, alright, then! Looks like we're going to save the world with Doctor Oooobleck-- okay yeah when you say it out loud it sounds worse." Ruby sighed before turning to me. "Does this have to happen…?" I just nod smiling awkwardly in response. "I was afraid you'd say that…"
"Save the world!?!?" Exclaimed Nora who was walking next to Pinkie Pie and followed by the rest of Team JNPR. "You're going on world-saving missions without us? I'm hurt... sad!" She said before her stomach started grumbling. "Maybe a little hungry… That last one isn't your fault though!"
"Oh! Here!" Pinkie exclaimed, pulling out a cupcake from her hair. "I had this with me when I came here!"
Nora just took the cupcake looking at it curiously. "Looks good enough to me!" She exclaimed before devouring the cupcake. "Thanks sis!... At least someone cares!" Nora said to Ren who just sighed holding his head in response.
The red headed amazon looking woman looked over at Team RWBY… and the other smaller members who were with them. Although, upon scanning the group, she could see a girl dressed like Ruby who was shaking when the Amazon woman looked at her. "Um…" Pyrrha started. "Are these… friends of yours?"
"It's a long story…" Weiss answered.
"Well…" Jaune started. "We have a little time."
I just took a deep breath and nervously walked to the center of everyone… most of the people in JNPR were mostly surprised at how young I looked. "Hey… everyone… My name's Crystal."
"Hi Crystal!" Pinkie beamed.
I just looked at Pinkie closely and giggled a bit. "Hey, Pinkie Pie."
"Yeah." I smiled back. "Pinkie actually came from where we're from." After that, I introduced my other friends and mom and pretty much told them everything that Twilight told Professor Ozpin… What shocked everyone the most was when I mentioned the fall of Beacon. I made sure to say that quietly.
"Y-...you're joking… right?" Jaune asked with a terrified look.
"I wish I was…" I sighed. "But… I promise that all of us will do the best we can to stop it from happening!"
"...This is just… insane…" Ren commented. Even Nora looked at me with concern.
"Thank you for letting us know this information Crystal…" Pyrrha started. "We'll be sure to prepare ourselves… But a question; when do these events begin to occur?"
Lexi and I just looked at each other before I answered. "Around the time of the Vytal Festival…"
Both teams just looked at me in shock. "That's… not that far off…" Weiss spoke.
"Most of you will be prepared by then…" I said rubbing the back of my head.
A few of the girls just looked over at Jaune as soon as I said 'most'. "W-what?? Why are you all looking at me!?" Jaune asked.
"No it's not Jaune…" I sighed looking down. "It's better I don't say yet…"
"Come along girls!!" Oobleck announced. "We musn't delay any further!"
"We better get going…" Twilight said looking at Doctor Oobleck. "He seems to really be in a hurry."
"Well… alright." Pyrrha nodded. "Be safe all of you!" She said with a smile before all of us, aside from JNPPR (Jaune, Nora, Pinkie, Pyrrha, and Ren), went into the craft with Oobleck.
"This day seriously couldn't get any weirder…" Diamond Tiara huffed.
"I mean… I'm sure it can…" Lexi responded. "A few crazy things happen in this chapter."
"Yeah?" Yang asked, turning her head to Lexi. "Like what?"
"Spoilers." Lexi chuckled.
"Oh! Oh!" Ruby exclaimed covering her ears. "Don't say it then!" Weiss just face palmed in response.
~~~~~~~~~~
On the aircraft with Team RWBY and Oobleck…
Mom just stood straight up, holding onto the bar above, fidgeting a bit as she looked down outside. "T-this thing is… safe… right, sweetie…?" She asked me as I sat next to her.
"Trust me, Mom… this isn't the part you have to worry about." I said thinking for a moment.
"Whew…" Mom huffed. "...wait… I'll have to worry later?"
"Just… don't get far behind and you'll be fine." I smiled nervously in an unsure tone.
"Can you at least tell us one of the things we have to worry about?" Weiss asked.
"Well…" I said thinking for a moment. "If I remember correctly… there will be some grimm nearby when we land."
"Psst…" Diamond Tiara whispered coming over to me. "You mentioned something about grimm before… what exactly are they?"
"Well… people know them as creatures of destruction…" I started. "They're basically monsters that don't have aura who are also drawn by negative emotions." I explained. "Like envy… sadness… loneliness… hate…" I stopped to see Diamond Tiara giving me a worried look. "...What?"
"A lot of those emotions… seem to be pretty common with you." Diamond Tiara deadpanned. "Are you going to be alright with this?"
"I feel fine now!" I snapped. "It's not like I'm constantly a depressed mess or something." I said before looking down. "But… I am worried about the crusaders…"
"I'm sure they'll be fine…" Silver Spoon cut in. "Takes them a while before they give up on something… no matter how embarrassing…" She muttered the last part.
I just giggled a bit. "Yeah, you're right. I just wonder where they could've gone… I mean, they might not even be at Beacon."
"Where else would they be?" Ruby asked.
I thought for a moment. "Hopefully not too far, like Atlas or something…"
"Atlas?..." Twilight asked. "Where's that?"
"It's where I'm from… as well as my family's company." Weiss answered overhearing the conversation.
"I think I need to carry around a notebook for all this information…" Twilight said before a notebook and pen got tossed to her by Oobleck. "Wha?"
"There you go Miss. Sparkle!" Oobleck announced. "Take all the notes you need!"
"Uh… T-thanks…" Twilight said, still looking concerned as she picked up the pen and notebook.
"What's wrong?" I whisper to her.
"I have the hoof-writing of a foal when I'm human!" Twilight whispered back.
I just groaned a bit before taking the notebook and pen. "First of all, it's handwriting. Second, I'll write out what you need to know and what's going to happen…" I whispered starting to write the events that play out until the end of volume 3. "Just… try to make sure nobody outside our group sees this." I whisper to Mom. I didn't notice it at the time, but Blake was looking at us curiously… even though we were whispering, she could still make out what we were saying. Even so, she didn't say anything to us yet. Eventually after a little while of writing, I was finished and I handed the notebook back to mom. "When you're done reading that, make sure to give it to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon." I whispered.
"What about Alexis…?" Mom asked as she took the notebook.
"She would know everything already… probably even more than I do." I answered.
Mom nodded and proceeded to read through the notes I wrote.
Yang just looked back at Oobleck for a moment. "Sorry about the confusion before by the way… I guess I just didn't really see you as a fighter."
"I admit I fancy myself more of an intellectual, but I can assure you, as a Huntsman, I've had my fair share of tussles." Oobleck answered.
"Like the Mushroom?" Ruby asked, tilting her head.
"Those are truffles." Blake said, leaning in.
"Like the sprout…?" Ruby asked, scratching her head.
"Those are brussels." Yang answered.
"Besides." Oobleck continued "Given my expertise in the field of history as well as my dabblings in the archaeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw fit to assign me to this particular assignment!"
"What does history have to do with this?" Weiss asked.
Doctor Oobleck turned to Weiss sharply before speaking. "Why, what a preposterous question, you silly girl! Why, history is the backbone of our very society! And the liver! Probably the kidneys, if I were to wager."
"And… what does that mean?" Silver Spoon asked.
"The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves, but it is also the location to one of the kingdom's greatest failures!" Oobleck answered.
"Mountain Glenn…" Ruby answered.
"That's right!" Yang nodded "It was an expansion of Vale... but in the end it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city."
"Correct!" Oobleck nodded. "And now it stands abandoned as a dark reminder."
"And a likely place for a hideout…" Blake added.
Oobleck just adjusted his glasses and smiled. "Precisely."
"What!?!?" Mom exclaimed looking through the notes I made, drawing everyone's attention. She blushed red, closing the notebook slowly. "Eheheh… l-let's do our best out there!" Mom exclaimed nervously.
After a few hours of waiting in the aircraft, we all landed at Mountain Glenn. The door opened and we all walked outside slowly; looking around for any possible grimm. The four main RWBY team members readied their weapons. Ruby looked at me curiously since I basically pulled out a second Crescent Rose. "So… wait a second. Do all of you have a copy of our weapons?"
"Looks like it…" Diamond Tiara said looking at her Rapier and then Weiss's.
Lexi smirked as she held up her hands. "This is gonna be so awesome!"
"Y-yeah…" Silver Spoon said as she hesitantly took her Blake weapon out.
Blake took notice of this and walked over to Silver Spoon. "What's wrong?"
"W-well…" Silver Spoon stammered. "Last time I had this thing out, I accidentally shot a window and shattered it…"
"You… don't know how to use it?" Blake asked before looking at the rest of us. "Do… any of you know how to use our weapons that you got?"
"Uhh…" Diamond Tiara let out.
"Well…" Lexi added rubbing the back of her head.
"I mean… I pressed a button and did something. But I kind of forgot which button that was..." I say nervously.
"I don't think I even have a weapon…" Mom added as she felt her own body to look for one.
Yang gave us an unsure look for a moment. "You at least know how to fight… right?"
Once again, all of us just responded about the same way… Not really sure how to fight either. The four RWBY members just stared at us wide-eyed in disbelief. "I thought you said you came here to help us!" Weiss exclaimed.
"We did! We are supposed to help you… it's just that none of us are used to fighting in this environment." Mom said quickly. "We fight… differently back at home. And for some reason, this world makes it so we have to fight like all of you." She said before looking at me. "...As far as I know."
"So… what; you need us to teach you how to fight first?" Blake asked.
"That's correct…" Mom nodded.
"Well…" Oobleck started as he took a sip of coffee. "Perhaps this is an opportune moment for you all to demonstrate what you're made of girls." He said looking straight ahead… We all looked and saw a pack of beowulf grimm slowly walking.
My eyes widened at the sight of them. "A-actual… G-Grimm…" I stuttered.
"...Please tell me you've at least seen a grimm before." Weiss deadpanned.
"N-not up close…" I slowly shook my head in response.
Weiss just sighed holding her temples on her head. "This is going to be a long day…" She said getting into a fighting stance, as did the rest of the team while they readied their weapons. "Just watch closely, and see what you can pick up from us." Ruby slowly put her backpack down as she readied Crescent Rose. Wait… I know who's in that bag… I smiled slightly at the thought. "Pay attention!" Weiss commanded.
"Alright, alright!" I said. "Sorry…" I groaned hanging my head down. Everyone from my world just stood quietly and watched as the pack of grimm headed our way.
Yang charged up to one of the grimm first, punching it straight in the jaw. At the same time a shotgun sound could be heard. It was enough to knock the beast out… or kill it. I notice the grimm disintegrating soon after. Yup. Killed it.
Meanwhile, Blake readied her weapon and waited for the grimm to come at her. Just as one of them even touched her, she left a clone of herself below as she jumped into the air, slicing the grimm in half. The next grimm approaching her didn't fare any better as it suffered the same fate. Silver Spoon just stared wide-eyed at how Blake moved. "I'm… supposed to do that…??" Silver Spoon whispered as she continued to watch Blake fight off the grimm around her.
Diamond Tiara just stared at Weiss who made quick work with the grimm that was chasing after her. "I-I could barely see her move… How in the hay…!?" Diamond Tiara exclaimed.
Meanwhile I just stared in awe at Ruby, using her weapon to shoot at the grimm. She then shot Crescent Rose to launch herself toward the grimm, getting her scythe ready before slicing her grimm clean in half… Mom was just staring at all of them with her mouth agape. "W-what… what…!?!?" Mom exclaimed.
"Piece of cake." Ruby smirked at us.
"That was awesome!!" Lexi exclaimed.
"That was…" Diamond Tiara started.
"Insane…" Silver Spoon finished.
The four team members just looked at us with unsure looks on their faces. Oobleck as well. "Perhaps the eight of you should split into four teams of two for now." Oobleck suggested. "Ruby with Ruby, Weiss with Weiss, Blake with Blake, and Yang with Yang… doing so may be helpful for the newcomers to grasp a better understanding of the person they are imitating."
"I… guess that can work." Yang said, smiling a bit. "Could be cool. Never had to train a younger clone of myself before." she said, looking at Lexi. "Lexi… right?"
"Yup!" Lexi smiled excitedly.
"Come on then! Let's go look for some weaker looking grimm for you to train on!" Yang said leading the way in a sprint.
"W-wait up!" Lexi exclaimed, running after her.
"I suppose we should do the same." Weiss said to Diamond Tiara.
"I'm not gonna have to do all that crazy stuff you just did… right?" Diamond Tiara asked Weiss in an unsure tone.
"Eventually, you'll learn how to… but we'll just start with the basics for now." Weiss paused as she looked at Diamond Tiara's stance. "...Only because you look like you've never been in a single fight your entire life.'
"Right…" Diamond Tiara said rubbing the back of her head as she followed Weiss.
Blake looked at Silver Spoon for a moment. "So out of curiosity… which window did you shoot?"
"U-um…" Silver Spoon stammered a bit. "The one in… your room I think…" she blushed a bit when she spoke. "It's where we appeared from."
"...Our room??" Blake asked.
"S-sorry! It was an accident!" Silver Spoon backed up a bit.
Blake huffed a bit but smiled. "It's fine. One of the professors can fix it easily… One more thing though. you didn't look through my stuff, right?"
"Huh?"
"Nothing… let's just go." She says leading the way to another area with Silver Spoon following.
"Then I guess that leaves you and me, Crystal!" Ruby said smiling. "Ready to learn how to fight like me?"
My eyes practically sparkled at Ruby's words. "Teach me everything you know!" I exclaimed.
"Then follow me, my new student!" Ruby exclaimed before launching herself with Crescent Rose.
"W-wait, I can't do that yet!" I exclaimed, running after her as well.
"Well Miss. Sparkle, shall I teach you a thing or two as well?" Oobleck asked Mom.
"Well, if everyone else is learning…" Twi said rubbing the back of her head.
"Excellent!" He said before handing Twi a cup, filling it with coffee. "Drink this."
"...Huh?"
———————
With Ruby and Crystal…
A couple more grimm similar to before could be seen in the distance. "Alright, first let's practice long range." Ruby says, looking at the duplicate Crescent Rose. "Now if your Crescent Rose is exactly like mine, there should be a button by the trigger. That lets you change between sniper rifle and scythe. For now though, we're just gonna focus on the rifle part of it. Of course in both forms it can shoot so I guess it's not… that important?" Ruby said questioning herself.
"Uh…" I let out.
"Right right!" Ruby said, chuckling a bit. "Let's see your stance first, Crystal."
"My stance… alright." I nod. I then spread my legs apart and awkwardly pointed the gun toward the grimm. "Like this…?"
Ruby chuckled a bit. "You're gonna get sent flying backwards if you fire like that!"
"Well… how would you do it?" I asked.
"Try going more like this." Ruby says placing one foot forward while keeping her other foot back, turning it sideways a bit.
"Alright…" I nod, mimicking the position Ruby was in. "Like this?"
"Bend your knees a little too." Ruby said placing a hand on me, lowering me a bit. "There we go! Now fire at that Grimm!"
"Wait, right now!?" I asked, panicking a bit.
"Hurry before they notice us! Do it, do it, do it!" Ruby chanted.
"U-uh…!" I let out before firing the rifle. However the shot missed entirely and hit a building… also drawing the attention of the grimm.
"...Okay! Next two lessons: Scythe mode and aiming!" Ruby said. "...The scythe mode happening now." She says, getting her weapon ready.
"Wait huh?" I looked at the Grimm. They were now running toward us! "Gah!!"
"Press the button!!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Oh uh…!" I frantically pressed around for the button until finally, it transformed into a scythe… which was huge compared to me! "How am I supposed to use this right!?"
"They're coming…!" Ruby exclaimed. "You got this! Fight your own way! Find your own strategy!"
"My own strategy…?" I asked as I looked at the scythe and then my own hands. "Wait… could I…?"
"Haaaaah--!" Ruby let out about to strike. However, she stopped as soon as she saw both grimm getting slashed in half and then vanishing in front of her. "Huh??" She looked totally lost at what happened. "...HUH!?" She exclaimed, her eyes going comically white as she saw a Crescent Rose now floating in the air. "Crystal…?" She asked, slowly turning to me. She would see that my hands had a magical aura around them. "How are you doing that!?"
"To be honest I'm almost as surprised as you… didn't know if my magic would work here or not." I said levitating the scythe back to my hand, transforming it into a gun and then putting it away.
"M-M-MAGIC!?!?" Ruby asked, going starry eyed. "You can use real magic!?"
Is Ruby actually getting excited at my ability…? I thought. Then again… I forgot magic all together isn't exactly normal… unless you're a maiden… "It's… something I learned from home, yeah. I know other spells that my mom taught me, but I'm still learning."
Ruby suddenly went right up to my face. "Think you could show me more??"
"U-uh… sure, I'll show you what I know…" I giggle nervously.
With Yang and Alexis…
Yang could be seen punching a grimm right in the head, shooting it at the same time. "See, with my weapon, when you throw a punch, whether you hit or not, you get a shotgun. Obviously the more effective way is up close and personal, but since you're new to this, let's start with punching in the air." Yang says.
"Right…" Lexi nods holding up her fists.
"...You really never fought before though? You have a decent pose." Yang says.
"Well… I've had school fights before… nothing crazy like fighting Grimm."
"Really? What made you fight?" Yang asked, crossing her arms, looking interested.
"I don't know if I should say…" Lexi says rubbing the back of her head.
"Aw come on, who am I gonna tell?" Yang asked. "You said you're from another world, right?"
"Yeah but…" Lexi said looking to the side.
"...Is it about someone here?" Yang asked, making Lexi wince a bit. "You can trust me with a secret. From one Yang to another." she winked.
"You promise not to say anything…?" Lexi asked. Yang nodded in response. "Well…"
_____________
Lexi looked out the window on the school bus, looking like she was hoping to see someone… She was gripping her own legs in anxiety. "Please be here…" she said to herself. The bus slowed down for a moment at a house… but soon started moving again without fully stopping. "...Dang it… Becky, where are you… why haven't you called me… why haven't you said anything to anyone…??"
"It's been a month you know…" One of the female students said. "If they still haven't said anything yet, then chances are she's--"
"Shut up!!" Lexi snapped. "No she's not! I know she's not!"
"But how do you know?" The student asked.
"She has to be alright… they never even found her body… so she has to be somewhere…"
~~~~~~~~
Lexi would be waiting in class, looking at the same vacant seat that's been vacant for about a month now. "Good morning, Students…" Mrs. Peachwall said, looking like she sounded upset. "Before we begin, I have an unfortunate announcement… As you all know, Rebecca Mello has been missing for about a month now… As difficult as it is to say it, as of now there are still no leads to her… and… as of today she's officially no longer considered a student."
Hearing those words made Alexis choke up a bit, trying not to cry. As well as another girl in the class. "Come on, it was pretty obvious by now." One boy commented.
"Shut up Connor…" Lexi said, clenching her hands.
"What? I'm just saying… her Mom was dead, and no one knew where Rebecca was so--"
"But no one found her dead either!" Alexis shouted as tears dripped down her face. "She's not dead… I know she's not…"
"It's been a month, Lexi…" Connor continued. "If she was out there, then wouldn't you be the first to know? Aren't the two of you like best friends? Either she's gone, or she just wasn't a good friend like you thought."
"...What did you just say…?" Lexi asked, walking to him.
"I said that--" Connor said. However, before even finishing the sentence, he found himself getting punched in the face, and then repeatedly punched over and over by an angry, crying Alexis.
"Alexis, stop!!" Mrs. Peachwall exclaimed, quickly running over to the two, pulling Alexis away.
"Don't ever talk like that about her!!" Alexis shouted. "She was my best friend in the whole world. She would never just leave like that!"
_________________
"After that, I got suspended for hurting another student…" Lexi sighed.
"Uh…" Yang let out.
"Sorry… guess I kind of got angry while thinking about it." Lexi says.
"Your hair flared up… and your eyes changed red when you did." Yang said.
"Wait, what??" Lexi asked Yang.
"So that means you also have our semblance…? That's insane but it also means a lot more lessons for you girls." Yang smirked.
"Yeah, guess so." Lexi chuckled a bit.
"...About what you said… Rebecca… or Crystal… that really happened? She was just… missing?" Yang asked.
"It wasn't her fault." Lexi said. "And right now it doesn't matter… both her and her mom are alive so… everything is fine…"
"Hmmm…." Yang squints her eyes before shrugging. "Alright."
"Huh?" Lexi asked Yang.
"Hey, all that matters now is you guys are happy now, right?" Yang asked, smiling. "You never gave up on her, and that makes you a good friend."
"Heh, thanks." Lexi smiled blushing.
"Now come on! Let's find a grimm for you to kill!" Yang exclaimed running ahead.
"W-wait, hold on a sec!" Lexi exclaimed.
With Weiss and Diamond Tiara…
Weiss just looked over Diamond Tiara closely as she was slashing her Rapier at one of the smaller Grimm. She just sighed holding her head. "You look like you're having trouble standing up straight, let alone fighting."
Diamond Tiara simply snorted at the comment. "Well I'm not used to being like this…" she said in a tone of annoyance.
"And what does that mean?" Weiss asked.
"I mean in my world, I'm not even human." She answered.
"What? What were you then?" Weiss asked.
"A pony…" She answered.
"...A pony." Weiss repeated. "Are you serious?"
"Do I sound like I'm joking??" She asked. "Normally Silver Spoon is too. But when we came here, it changed us."
"I guess it makes sense… would be rather odd to see ponies walking around Beacon." Weiss said. "Now you said you and Silver Spoon… are you the only two ponies then?" She asked.
"Actually, Twilight is one too." Diamond Tiara corrected.
"And that makes Crystal one too then, right?" Weiss asked.
"...Kind of." Diamond Tiara said as she put her weapon away.
"What do you mean 'kind of'? Isn't Twilight Crystal's mother?"
"She took care of her yeah but she isn't her real mom… It's kind of complicated… heck, I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything… still, she's lucky… at least both moms she had didn't expect big things out of her."
"...What do you mean by that?" Weiss asked.
"You wouldn't understand…" Diamond Tiara says stabbing the grimm more forcefully, making it disintegrate.
"Try me." Weiss says.
"Well… both my parents are rich ponies… the kind that try to be with the higher ups no matter what, and expect me to be exactly.the same. Approving my friends…"
"Approving your actions…" Weiss added.
"Making sure I'm on top…" Diamond Tiara added.
"And not embarrassing the family." They both say at the same time. Both of them just made eye contact at that. "Believe me… I get it." Weiss says. "When you're the heiress of a well known dust company… well… people set their expectations rather high, let's just say."
"Guess you do understand then." Diamond Tiara smirked a bit.
"More than you know… just surprised a pony has to deal with that sort of thing as well though." Weiss says.
"...By the way. What does 'Dust' do?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"You definitely have a lot to learn still…" Weiss sighed.
With Blake and Silver Spoon…
Blake looked over at Silver Spoon who was trembling as she held onto the weapon. "You know you don't have to be so worried…"
"But… what if I break something again?" Silver Spoon asked.
Blake looked around the area before looking back at Silver Spoon. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that. This place has been abandoned for a while now."
"But… what if I can't learn how to fight like everyone else?" She asked.
"If you keep holding onto the fear that you might fail, then you will fail." Blake said which made Silver Spoon's cat ears droop a bit. "...But everyone messes up their first time. And when that does happen, you learn. You have people to help you get better. But you also need to show a little more confidence." Blake says pointing her gun at one of the buildings. She would fire three shots and break three windows. "Now you try." Blake says. "Take a deep breath and try to clear your head."
Silver Spoon looked at Blake for a moment and nodded. "Right…" She said before pointing the weapon at one of the windows on the second floor of a building. She would close her eyes, inhale… then exhale… She opened them again and pulled the trigger, breaking one of the windows. "Like that?"
"Not bad." Blake smiled slightly patting Silver Spoon's head. Silver Spoon blushed slightly before feeling her ears twitch a bit. "...You hear that too?" Silver Spoon nodded looking at the window she shot. "...When I say so, shoot. Got it?"
"Wait huh??" Silver Spoon asked.
"Just aim and shoot… you got this." Blake says getting her grappling hook ready.
"What are you doing with--" Silver Spoon asked before suddenly seeing a flying grimm come out of the broken window. "Wh-what the--!?"
"Stay calm!" Blake exclaimed before tossing her grappling hook, hooking it to the body of the grimm and forcing it down. "Now, Silver Spoon!" Blake exclaimed.
"B-but I--!" Silver Spoon stammered. "Just do what I taught you! Trust me!" Silver Spoon trembled a bit before shakily taking a deep breath. She would point her weapon up at the flying grimm, but closed her eyes. "And don't close your eyes!" Blake exclaimed holding the grimm back.
Silver Spoon took a few more deep breaths, steadying her breathing. She would like straight at the grimm, take aim, and fire… then silence. Silver Spoon would look and see that the grimm was now motionless on the ground. "I… did that?"
"You did." Blake said, smiling a bit as she walked over to her. "Good job."
Silver Spoon smiled blushing a bit. "Could… I get another pat actually?"
Blake just chuckled a bit before doing so.
"WOOHOO!! Aerial strike!!" The two both hear Ruby shout, along with the sound of bullets being fired. The two would look and see Crystal holding Ruby as they were floating in the air, with Ruby firing at grimm in the distance. Blake just sighed holding her head making Silver Spoon giggle a bit.
Meanwhile Back at Beacon…
"Hello…?? Is anypony around?"
"I told you Pyrrha, I know I left it back in our room."
"You know, it would be easier if you just left your weapon in the locker assigned to you, Jaune."
"Yeah… for some reason I just don't feel safe leaving it in one of those lockers." Jaune said as he and Pyrrha walked by the lost student. "Hey Pyrrha." He said… however, a moment later, they both paused and quickly turned to the person who was dressed exactly like Pyrrha. "Wait, what??"
Well there's more to come after this... though what's going on inside Crystal's head from all this I wonder? 
