Chapter 1
Twilight Sparkle was positive that she had nothing to worry about this time.
After all, the last time had been a ridiculous debacle. Events had happened that she never would have been able to expect. Sure, everything worked out in the end. That was just how things tended to work out for her, a fact which she certainly wasn't complaining about. But the journey towards that end result of everything working out was a bizarre one, and not necessarily one she wanted to traverse again. Thankfully, she knew deep in her heart that nothing like that would happen at her second princess summit. After all, it was at her first princess summit where the aforementioned event happened. If she knew her literary tropes well, there was no chance that a similar occurrence would happen at her second. That would just be poor writing.
Twilight rested peacefully in her room. Her friends were all doing the same in their own rooms, and her faithful assistant was already snoring in his little bed on the floor. Twilight had put her crown safely on the dresser. She’d briefly considered locking her crown up, as it was a smart thing to do even without the events of last time weighing on her head. It was valuable, both monetarily and in terms of the power it held, and such a thing was probably better off being locked up when its owner wasn't directly guarding it. Twilight was absolutely positive, though, that there wouldn't be a repeat of last time's events. It hadn't even been close to thirty moons since all of that went down, and even if it had been, Sunset Shimmer wasn't evil anymore. Twilight closed her eyes for sleep, confident that everything was going to be fine.
Twilight had been asleep for no longer than about 30 minutes when her door burst open. The intruder, showing absolutely no hints of subtlety in their endeavors, ran into the room, nearly tripping over Spike. Twilight was woken up instantly, and met with the sight of an unfamiliar unicorn charging into her room. The unicorn was like nothing she'd ever seen before. Its coat, mane, and tail were all a stark white, a uniformity that she found somewhat unnerving. She wasn't left with much time to ruminate over the odd appearance of the intruder, though, as the bleached burglar grabbed her crown, slammed into the wall, changed directions, and took off out of the room.
"Stop! Thief!" Twilight cried out as she and Spike bolted out of the room. The other girls poked their heads out of their rooms, woken by the commotion.
"It happened again, didn't it?" Rainbow asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"Eeyup," Applejack responded.
"I told her to lock it up..." Rarity sighed. Then the five ponies gave chase as well.
"Give me back my crown!" Twilight shouted as she tried to catch up to the thief. This pony was really fast, though, and Twilight was starting to worry that she couldn't catch her. Then she remembered she was a unicorn. With a quick light of her horn, she grabbed the intruder with a magical force, stopping them in their tracks. The crown hurtled out of the thief's mouth, flying towards an odd, thin rectangular mirror. Twilight winced, not sure if she was ready to go to another weird world. It had taken her long enough to readjust to a quadrupedal lifestyle. Who knew what terrors waited behind this mirror? Her fears were quickly quelled as Rarity's magic held the crown in place.
"Who are you?" Twilight demanded as she arrived at the side of the trapped pony. "And why were you trying to take my crown?" The others closed in on the burglar, preparing for a struggle once Twilight released her from her magical hold. What they got instead was a soft, pitiful sigh from their captive.
"I'm sorry, Twilight Sparkle..." the pony said. Her voice was soft and feminine, but oddly monotonal, almost to the point of being unsettling. "I suppose I should have asked, instead of just trying to take it..."
"What could you possibly need my crown for?" Twilight asked, releasing her grasp. "And how do you know my name? Who are you?" The other ponies and Spike got even closer. This pony didn't look like she was going to try and escape, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
"My name is Left Paddle," the strange pony said, pulling herself to her hooves. "The land I am from lies beyond that mirror, and..."
"Spare it!" Rainbow snorted, flipping her tail and flaring out her wings. "We've dealt with this kinda thing before! You wanna take Twilight's crown to your world and use it for some crazy evil plan to take over your world!"
"And Equestria! Don't forget Equestria!" Pinkie Pie offered cheerfully. "I like Equestria! That's where I keep all my stuff!"
"What? No, I would never do such a thing," Paddle said, clearly confused. "It's quite the contrary, actually..."
"Well then, what do you need my crown for?" Twilight asked. She made sure to keep herself situated between Paddle and the crown; she may have been willing to hear her out, but she wasn't quite ready to drop her guard.
"To tell the truth," Paddle said, looking down at the ground, "it's actually you that I need, Twilight Sparkle."
"...Me?" Twilight asked.
"You, and your power of friendship," Paddle said. "There has been a violent war going on in my land between the Lefts and the Rights. I, as the leader of the Lefts, wish to end this conflict in a peaceful manner. The Rights, however, refuse to accept any peace treaties, and will not stop until they eradicate the Lefts completely. Only someone like you, with your devotion to friendship, can unite our people and bring peace to our land."
"Then why did you try and steal my crown, rather than just waking me up and telling me this?" Twilight asked. Her tone was a bit softer, but she still wasn't entirely trusting.
"I acted on impulse, and I apologize," Paddle said, lowering her head. "I feared that you would decline if I just asked, and I knew that if I made it to my home with your crown, you would definitely come to retrieve it."
"Why would I decline?" Twilight inquired. "I believe that friendship should exist in all lands. If I can help your two tribes make peace, then I welcome that opportunity." She smiled warmly at Paddle, who gave her a grateful smile back.
"Whoa whoa whoa!" Rainbow interjected. "We're just gonna believe her story that easily? How do we know you're not just lying and trying to kidnap Twilight?"
"I have no reason to lie to you..." Paddle responded, but Rainbow wasn't listening. In a flash, she flew over to Applejack and grabbed her under the forelegs. The other ponies looked on as she lifted AJ and placed her in front of Paddle.
"Applejack! Is she telling the truth or not?" Rainbow demanded.
"Dangit, Rainbow!" AJ replied with a huff. "Just cause I'm the Element of Honesty doesn't mean I'm a bonafide lie detector!"
"Relax, girls," Twilight said gently. "I think we can trust her."
"Thank you so much for your trust," Paddle said, smiling in reverence at the princess. "So does this mean that you will accompany me? Twilight responded to her with a smile and a nod.
"Yeah! Let's all go!" Pinkie exclaimed as she bounced about. "The more friends, the friendier!"
"Oh...no, only Twilight may go," Paddle said, ears folding down. "Because more of you entering could..."
"Could upset the balance of the world," Rainbow said in a mocking tone. "Yeah yeah, same old story we got last time."
"Um...you don't have to be so abrasive about it..." Fluttershy spoke up, before returning to the silent state she'd been in since joining in the earlier chase.
"Hey, I was having a nice sleep before this all happened!" Rainbow replied, crossing her forelegs.
"It's okay, girls," Twilight told them, trying to return them to order. "I'm sure everything will be just fine." Then she turned to Paddle. "This mirror doesn't only open every thirty moons or anything, does it?"
"Oh no, it opens every thirty hours," Paddle responded. "It's just not a very popular place to visit."
"I see," Twilight said, fighting off the little bit of foreboding brought on by that response. She looked to the other ponies and baby dragon in front of her and opened her forelegs for a group hug, one which they were all happy to reciprocate. "Don't you worry. I'll fix things and be back before you know it."
"Go get 'em, Twi!" Applejack said, giving her a pat on the back.
"You can do it, darling!" Rarity offered.
"Woo-hoo..." Fluttershy cheered in her typical quiet manner.
Twilight smiled and gave her friends a wave, then joined Paddle, who had already stepped up to the mirror. She took a deep breath as she watched Paddle enter, then followed her, hoping that whatever strange form she was forced into in this world wouldn't be as bizarre as the one she'd dealt with last time.