One day on a class trip, a young girl named Twilight Sparkle makes the unsettling discovery that she is the most popular girl in a school she’s never heard of.
We all know that Twilight Sparkle went back to her own world after she defeated Sunset Shimmer. They know it too. So why is it that on their senior trip they see a girl that looks exactly like her?!
There was a lot of chatter on a bus traveling down the highway. It was filled with seniors. Seniors from a school named Canterlot High. And on this bus full of seniors was a particular group of friends, ones that, if it wasn't for a certain purple haired girl, would not have crossed paths again.
It has been more than a year since their adventure at the Fall Formal. After that day, their popularity skyrocketed to high levels. Sunset Shimmer, the newest member of the girls, had seen that what she was doing was wrong and became a better person. She owed it to Twilight. For without her she wouldn't have learned the joys of friendship.
They kept their lips locked about the detail of her being a pony though. They didn't want even more unnecessary attention geared towards them. They kept that to themselves. It was better that way. It made it feel more like a dream, than a reality.
"Ah wonder what Twilight is doin’ now." Applejack said, staring absentmindedly out the bus window, watching the other smaller cars whiz by them.
“Probably ruling over Equestria with the Princesses.” Sunset answered for her, keeping her voice low so that the other students couldn’t hear her. She too stared out the window, her imagination beginning to run wild.
“C’mon guys,” Rainbow called to them, taking off her earphones. “I’m sure Twi is doing just fine. She has those other versions of us.”
“Rainbow has a point.” Fluttershy nodded. “If it’s anything she’s taught us, it’s that friends stick together. I’m sure they’ll give her all the help she needs.”
“Still,” Pinkie Pie interjects, “Don’t you guys ever wonder if she’ll ever come back? I mean that cover of her moving to Neighpon was kinda far fetched seeing how she had only been here for three days.” They couldn’t just tell everyone that she had simply went back to her world, they would think that they were crazy! So they made up this excuse that she had to move. But the lie wasn't holding anymore and everyone was wondering where she had really went.
Rarity flipped her hair. “Oh please. They saw Sunset destroy the front of the school, turn into a demon, turn Snips and Snails into demons, and watched us turn into horse girls! I think it would be preposterous for them not to believe that one little lie!”
The rest of the girls nodded in agreement, their little part of the bus being enveloped in silence for the rest of the ride.
The bus reached it’s destination, and turned into the parking lot. The girls got off, stretching and shouldering their bags and belongings. They were at the Canterlot Museum of Art. Not a place that any of them really wanted to go, but, it was better than staying in school to go to their respective classes.
“Ah hope there’s at least somethin’ interestin’ to do.” Applejack muttered as she followed behind the rest of the students in their class.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, like there would be anything fun to do here.”
“Did someone say fun?!” Pinkie shouted, setting off a party popper that caused the girls and countless other people around them to jump.
Sunset snatched it from the pink haired girl and threw it into the bushes beside them. “Give me every noise making, party popping, peace disturbing, annoyance causing thing you have.” She demanded, her hand out expectantly in front of Pinkie’s face.
Pinkie pouted, but reluctantly handed the other girl her entire bookbag. She defiantly crossed her arms, and stomped ahead of the group.
“What the heck, Pinkie? This isn’t a place where you can make a lot of noise!” Dash scolded, flipping her hood over her head so that she could listen to her music as they walked through the front doors. If she was going to endure something as stupid as this she might as well enjoy it.
Applejack yanked her hood down and confiscated her headphones. “Nor is it the place ta be listenin’ ta music when ya aint supposed to.” She told the shorter girl.
Dash rolled her eyes, and shoved her hands in her hoodie. So much for that.
When finally inside, the girls agreed that staying together was the best thing to do, seeing how everyone else had already left to go explore without them.
“Hey, where did Pinkie go?” Fluttershy asked, looking around for her. It had been unnaturally quiet ever since they got inside. Even if Sunset Shimmer took all her party toys away, there was always the presence of her over exuberant voice. But the pink haired party animal was no where in sight.
Dash sighed. “Do we have to go look for her?” She really didn’t want to, it was bad enough they were here, she didn’t want to spend the whole time trying to look for someone who’s never sat still her entire life.
“It would be the right thing to do.” Rarity responded, sighing herself. She wasn’t really looking forward to this either. They all began to walk in separate directions, calling out Pinkie’s name.
Pinkie wasn’t one for throwing tantrums. She never was. She usually got sad. But today was different. She didn’t like it when her friends treated her that way, or took away her things. She knew it was childish, but still, she had every right to be upset.
She had stop stomping long ago, now she was looking around, exploring the large building. She doubted her friends would be looking for her. It was a bad thing to think, but with the way they had treated her this morning, she felt it was justified.
Pinkie took this time to look around herself, to see that she was in the indoor gardens, flowers blooming all around her. There were tall trees surrounding the indoor greenhouse, with fruits hanging from them. Pinkie felt tempted to reach for one, but decided against it. She followed the winding path in front of her, humming something she had heard on the radio feeling a little bit better.
While doing this, she was staring at the ground, not really looking where she was going. In the midst of being in thought, she bumped into someone in front of her.
She looked up immediately. “Oh, sorry I didn’t mean to- Whoa holy crap!” She stopped herself, staring at the girl in front of her.
“Is something wrong?” The girl asked. She blinked, a worried look overtaking her features. She had purple hair with purple and magenta streaks in it. Her violet eyes were curiously watching Pinkie.
“No, ah, I’m sorry I bumped into you, but I ah, I gotta go!” Pinkie stammered before darting off in the opposite direction, leaving the girl in a confused state.
She ran fast, (even though she really wasn’t supposed to run) But ran nonetheless, until she literally ran into Applejack’s arms.
“Whoa, whoa, what happened, sugarcube? Ya look like ya just seen a garden snake.” She asked as the others walked up behind her.
Out of breath, Pinkie tried to explain. “She’s” *gasp* “She’s” *another gasp* “She’s here!” She finally managed to say, her eyes wide with excitement and disbelief.
“Who’s here, darling?” Rarity asked.
“Tw- Twilight! She’s here! In the museum!” Pinkie explained in a hushed tone.
The girls in front of her shared a look, their faces looking none too pleased. Dash growled. “Pinkie, if this is some kind of joke-”
“It’s not a joke! I swear!” Pinkie interrupted, stomping her foot. “I just saw her! In the gardens!”
So they followed her, all six of them, back to the gardens from which she had just came. When they got there, Twilight was nowhere in sight.
“See?! I told you she wasn’t telling the truth!” Dash exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air, drawing the attention of a few bystanders. Applejack punched her in the arm before approaching Pinkie who looked like she was about to pop a blood vessel.
“Are you sure you saw her? It could have just been someone who resembled her.” The farm girl told her, putting a hand on her back.
“No, I know it was her! She even sounded just like her! It has to be Twilight!” Pinkie shouted, stomping off again.
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Let her go this time. I don’t want to go looking for her a second time.” She may have been reformed, but she still had a snobby unhelpful attitude at times.
Pinkie didn't go far this time, just about faced and stood in the middle of the exhibit hall they were in, and folded her arms, puffing her cheeks out.
“Someone has to go stop her before she passes out!” Rarity ordered.
“What do you mean? She’s just standing there!” Sunset shot back.
“She’s holding her breath! And she’s not very good at it! Any second now, she’ll pass out!” Rarity shrieked. She started hitting Applejack. “Go get her!”
“Okay! Okay!” Applejack walked over to where Pinkie was and saw that her face was slightly turning blue. She gave her back one good hard pat, and Pinkie released the air she was holding, gasping for more. “The next time ya do something as stupid and reckless as that, Ah’m gonna let ya pass out.” Applejack told her before walking back over towards the group. Pinkie followed behind her, a deep scowl present on her face.
Just then, out the corner of her eye, she saw her.
She sprinted over to them. “See! Look!” She grabbed Applejack’s hand and dragged her over while the others followed.
Sure enough, standing next to another girl talking about a manga she was holding, was Twilight, in a Canterlot Academy uniform.
“That’s impossible! She went back to her world!” Dash exclaimed.
“Not only that, the portal closed, and will stay closed until the two years are up! It hasn’t even been more than a year!” Sunset agreed.
“Well, she does look an awful lot like her.” Fluttershy whispered. “But, this might be the other Twilight that she told us about.”
“Huh?” The others said in unison.
Fluttershy blinked as she realized all eyes were on her. “Well, think about it. If there is other versions of us from her world, wouldn’t there be an our world's version of her walking around?”
The others thought for a moment and nodded, seeing where the meek girl had a point.
“Wait a minute.” Applejack spoke out loud. “If there is a human Twilight, wouldn’t that mean there’s a human Sunset?”
Sunset jumped at the question, her face growing red. “Well, yes, but-”
“Twilight said that it was dangerous for two versions of the same person to be in the same world for long or else it would cause a rip in the time space continuum. How is it possible that you’ve been here for five years without running into your double?” Rarity asked.
Sunset started sweating. “Well, um, I gotta go, bye!” She called, briskly walking off. She accidentally bumped into Twilight nearly knocking her over. “Watch where you’re going, Princess!” She snarled.
The other girl Twilight had been talking to had went off to go catch up with their other friends. Twilight was now exploring the hall on her own. Now it was just her, and them.
"S-Should we go talk to her?" Fluttershy stuttered, cowering behind Rarity.
The seamstress nodded. "I don't see why not." She responded, taking a step forward.
"Wait!" Applejack called, stopping her. "Remember, this Twilight and the Twilight we know are two different people! She won't know about what happened last year!"
Rarity didn't think of that. "Oh damn it. Well, anyone else have any bright ideas?"
"We could always just explain to her what's going on." Dash suggested, always being the one to take the direct approach.
"Hey I just met you, and this is crazy, but you have a doppelganger from another world, maybe?" Pinkie sang, albeit the lyrics being a little out of tune.
"Like some stupid pop song would really make it that simple." Applejack replied, rolling her eyes. She was tired of Pinkie trying to solve all their problems with her songs. She let her pale orange hand fall to her hip, her eyes squinted in thought. "There really ain't no good way to go about this. Either way, it sounds batshit crazy."
Fluttershy frowned. "We can't afford to not say anything to her. If we befriend her, it would be a good idea to have her around until the real Twilight comes back."
"Who says she's coming back?" Dash asked. "She's a freaking princess for pete's sake. It's not like she can decide on a whim to come visit us. Besides, she has her own versions of us. Why would she need us ourselves?"
Fluttershy stayed quiet after that.
Applejack knocked her upside her head. "You know you can't speak so morbid around her!" She scolded.
Dash mumbled something incoherent before she finally said sorry. Fluttershy accepted, and straightened up a bit.
“Anyway, I feel like it’s important that we talk to her.” Fluttershy told them. “Besides, better we get to her before everyone else.”
The others hadn’t thought of that. Their class didn’t know that there was another Twilight. So if they saw this Twilight walking around- the poor girl would be swarmed with people she didn’t know.
“And she’s alone.” Pinkie agreed. “It would make it easier since she’s alone.”
“Fine! Let’s just, get this over with!” Dash growled, her judgement finally caving.
The girls walked over to her, and slowly she turned around and smiled at them. “Um, hi. Are you alright?” She directed towards Pinkie.
Pinkie gave her a curt nod, then poked Applejack with her elbow. The cowgirl glared at her shortly before taking on a friendly smile as she faced Twilight. “Hi, Twilight. We was wonderin’ if we could speak with you? Ya know, in private?”
Twilight blinked a few times, questioning how these girls that she’s never met knew her name. “Oh, sure. But may I ask why?” She responded, her expression changing to one that clearly showed she was beginning to become a little bit uncomfortable.
“You’ll see.” Applejack told her as she grabbed her hand, leading her into an unused exhibit hall. The others followed behind, keeping close.
Fluttershy closed the door behind them, Dash staying by her side to keep watch, just incase someone tried to come inside.
“So, what’s up?” Twilight asked, adjusting her tie.
“We don’t know how to explain this darling,” Rarity started, “But you have a doppelganger who’s from another world that came to this one to defeat someone.”
Twilight gave Rarity a blank expression, her eyes squinting in confusing. “Say what now?”
“It’s really hard to explain, sugarcube.” Applejack said, sitting on top of an old box. She realized that the room they were in seemed to be an old storage unit, with dusty boxes lining the walls, metal frames propped up against them, and old signs that looked like they had seen better days.
“I can explain it!” Pinkie chirped, waving her hands excitedly.
“Oh god, here she goes.” Dash mumbled under her breath.
Pinkie jumped up from her spot on the floor to start her story. “So we weren’t really friends at first right? And then in comes Twilight! Not you Twilight, but the other Twilight! She came in looking for her crown!” Pinkie pointed to the top of her head to emphasize her point, then continued, “She brought us all together, and we sung this awesome song!” She started doing the dance moves from their lunch song about Twilight kind of awkwardly, since it had been a year ago.
“And then she won the crown but her dog got taken! So we ran out and it turns out Sunset Shimmer had him! We battled with her and oh my gosh, we even turned into po-” Applejack clamped a hand over Pinkie’s mouth quickly.
“Okay, I think that’s enough, Pinkie!” She warned.
“But I was getting to the best part!” Pinkie whined, her voice being muffled by Applejack’s hand.
“Wait, did you just say Sunset Shimmer?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah! She goes to our school! She’s here right now too! But I don’t know where she went!” Pinkie answered her.
“I think I know her. Yeah, I definitely know her.” Twilight said, more to herself than the others.
“Wait, do you know our Sunset Shimmer or Twilight’s Sunset Shimmer?” Rainbow Dash asked, a little bit behind.
“Huh?” Twilight asked, genuinely confused.
“Let’s make this a little bit simplier.” Rarity declared, sitting down next to Twilight.
“Do you have a pet dog?” She asked.
“Yes.” Twilight answered.
“Is his name Spike?”
“Yeah bu-”
“Ah, ah.” Rarity reprimanded her, wagging a finger. “Yes or no answers only.”
Twilight only nodded, gearing herself up for the next question.
“Can he talk?”
There was a moment of silence, awkward tension filling the room as everyone awaited her answer. Somewhere in the distance a clock was ticking, and the busy buzz of the other people in the building could be heard faintly. After a few minutes, Twilight sighed.
“Yeah.”
The girls gasped, and Pinkie squealed with glee. They couldn’t believe it! They had finally found Their world’s Twilight! And she was almost exactly like the Twilight they had met! Just, except for one detail.
“Are you a pony?” Pinkie asked.
A swift wind blew outside, blowing open the windows in the room, causing their hair to blow into their faces.
“Excuse me?” Twilight asked.
Applejack and Rarity facepalmed, Fluttershy audibly groaned, and Rainbow banged her head on the wall behind her. This is exactly what they didn’t want to tell her.
“The Twilight we met was from another world.” Applejack explained. “One filled with,” she paused, biting her lip, realizing how ridiculous this was about to sound. “Ponies.”
Twilight stared at them for a long time, then started laughing loudly. She was laughing so hard that she had to grip her sides because they hurt so much. “Do you really expect me to believe this crap?” She asked, wiping tears from her eyes.
“No, but we do expect you to at least let us show you proof.” Dash growled, her fists balling up. Fluttershy put hand on her shoulder. She knew how angry she could get.
“Now listen here missy. You ain’t gotta believe a lick of what we saying, but you’re talkin’ to the element of Honesty, and Ah can tell ya this ain’t no joke.” Applejack told her, nearly grinding her teeth.
Twilight stopped laughing and gave her an apologetic look before something hit her. “The element of Honesty huh? Hmm. I thought I recognized you. You’re Applejack, right?”
Applejack nearly passed out. “Wait, how do ya know mah name?”
Twilight shrugged. “I just...do. I don’t know why, but I do.”
“W-What about me?” Fluttershy asked, stepping forward, pointing to herself.
“You’re...Fluttershy. The element of Kindness.” Twilight told her. She then pointed to Rainbow. “And you’re Rainbow Dash, the element of Loyalty. You’re Pinkie, the element of Laughter. And you’re Rarity, The element of Generosity.”
Pinkie jumped, latching on to Applejack. “Okay, things just got seriously freaky deaky.”
“But you’re our Twilight. The only Twilight who would know those things is the Twilight from the other world. And she left. We know she left. We saw her leave.” Fluttershy said in disbelief before sliding down the wall, bewildered.
“Yeah! There’s no way you’re that Twilight! You’d have to be loco in the coco to think that!” Pinkie agreed, her own faith in reality starting to fail her.
“I have no idea.” Twilight whispered. “So this Twilight, she’s a, pony?”
“Yeah, you could say that.” Dash answered.
“So there must be pony versions of you all.” Twilight concluded.
“Yer right on the money.” Applejack responded.
“Only I’m not, because I have no idea as to how I know what only she should know.” Twilight shivered. She didn’t like this feeling.
“Maybe it’s twin telepathy.” Pinkie mused.
“Twin ta what now?” Applejack barked.
“Twin telepathy.” Twilight corrected her. “It’s a phenomenon that occurs in which two siblings, usually twins, can share common thoughts and other things through brain waves. I read about it some time ago.”
“But they aren’t twins.” Rarity said, shaking her head. “They are just the same beings of the same entity from two different worlds.”
Pinkie thrashed her head around. “Dear God, this is making my freaking brain hurt!” She groaned, falling to the floor.
The door to the room opened, and in stepped Sunset, who still looked like she was in a bad mood.
“There you idiots are! What are you doing in-” She stopped mid-sentence, noticing the girl sitting in front of them.
She walked over to her and smirked. “Oh, looky looky." She taunted. "If it isn’t little Miss Twilight Sparkle. I thought I had gotten rid of you.” She snarled.
Twilight gulped, before she started to shake with fear. “S-Sunset Shimmer.”
“You two know each other?” Applejack asked, pointing an orange finger at Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset sat on the box adjacent to her and the other girls. “Something like that.”
“But that’s not fair!”
“What’s not fair is that I have such a stubborn student on my hooves.” Celestia stood her ground against the smaller unicorn in front of her.
“You said you would teach me about that mirror! You lied!” Sunset stomped her hoof, the ground shaking from her angered magic.
“Yes, indeed I did. In due time. But it appears now that it be a foolish mistake to do so.” Celestia nodded towards the two guards who were standing by the door. They strode to her side. “Sunset Shimmer, I hear by denounce you as my faithful student. You may still live in Canterlot if you wish, but you are banned from the castle.”
“Y-You can’t do that!” Sunset shrieked as the guards escorted her out.
Celestia frowned. “Unfortunately for you, I just did.”
“You’ll never find somepony as strong as me! Never! You’re going to regret this Celestia!” The huge doors closed behind her as she struggled, making her words echo through the giant room.
Celestia sighed. “Forgive me sister, for I have failed us both.” She then looked up as the doors flew open again.
“Your Highness, she has escaped!” The guard reported, kneeling in front of her.
“What?!” Celestia gasped. “How?!”
“She used her magic to break free from our bindings. We tried running after her but she was just too quick. I’m sorry, M’lady.” He bowed his head in shame.
“You and your men are forgiven. Now where did she go?!’ Celestia demanded, looking around frantically.
“The room where the mirror is kept.” He responded
Celestia stared at him in horror before she bounded out the great hall and into the main corridor of the castle. She galloped into the treasure room, the room where all the valuable and secret artifacts of Equestria were kept. The doors were open, and she charged in. “Sunset Shimmer! What do you think you’re doing?!” She spoke with disappointment and anger, but mostly anger.
Sunset Shimmer was halfway through the mirror when she heard her former mentor’s voice. Quickly, she stepped out and smirked. Her features took a devilish twist, and a power hungry, menacing look covered her face. She shot a blast of magic at the alicorn, and laughed when she fell to the floor. Taking her right hoof, she saluted the fallen matriarch mockingly. “Sorry it had to be this way, princess.”
And with that, she was gone, the portal closed for another two years.
“That explains how you got here, but that doesn’t exactly explain how you know this Twilight.” Rarity said, interrupting Sunset’s story.
“I’m getting there, princess!” The older girl snapped.
“Why does she call everyone princess? Is it a habit from that other world?” Twilight whispered to Applejack.
“Nah. Usually she means it ironically. Y’know, sarcastically.” Applejack explained, churring her wrist.
Twilight nodded.
“Everyone done with break time?!” Sunset barked. The girls nodded and then Sunset put her hand to her chin. “Now, where was I...”
She landed on the ground with a loud thud. “Ah, dear Celes- Oh, right.” Sunset got up and stretched, realizing she wasn't on all fours and that the ground was farther away from her than it usually was.
“What the hay am I?” She asked. She looked around herself, seeing that she definitely wasn’t in Equestria anymore. “Okay, this is freaky.” she looked down to see she was standing on two non hoof looking things and that her front hooves were into something called hands that she had only knew about from hearing Lyra drone on and on about them and those things called ‘humans’.
“Huh. These things,” She kicked her foot, “Are called feet, and these,” She flexed her fingers, “Are called hands. Sweet.” She lifted her head up to the sky to see the sun was barely in the sky. She then saw that there was something in front of her.
“It looks like a school.” She mumbled to herself. Sunset walked towards it, and inside. It was a strange place. There were lockers lining the halls and everyone else was apparently like her, standing on two feet. What was even more alarming was that some of the students that surrounded her looked like some of the ponies she knew back home.
Sunset turned into another hallway to see that there was a door to the Principal’s Office in front of her. “No, freaking, way.” She said, staring at the big, bolded letters on the window of the door that said Principal Celestia. She contemplated storming in there to give the Celestia behind that door a piece of her mind, but then she remembered that it was her world’s Celestia that banished her, not this one’s.
She decided to let her grudge go for now, and continued to explore her new environment. As she looked around, she bumped into someone. “Urgh!” She groaned as they made contact. They both fell to the floor, papers and books flying and scattering around them. “Hey! Watch where you’re goin, you freak!” Sunset yelled, standing up and dusting herself off.
The other girl looked up at her in shock. “O-Oh I’m so sorry! I couldn’t see over all these books!” She hurriedly explained, She bowed. “Please forgive me!” She begged, her dark purple blue hair covering her reddened face.
Sunset was never one for sympathy, especially when it came to people she barely or didn’t know. But something about this girl told her that she would be a good asset. She looked down at her with a contempt look. “Whatever.” She mumbled, bending down to help her pick up her books.
“T-That’s really not necessary! After all I’m the one who bumped into you!” The girl stammered, scurrying to pick up all the supplies before Sunset did.
But Sunset slapped her hand away. “Look, I don’t know you. And I’m not too keen on making friends, so this is a one time thing. So shut your yap, and let me help you before I decide to leave you here to do it yourself.” She looked at the girl, waiting for an answer, and got a frantic nod. “Good.”
The two were able to collect everything just as the bell for the next class rang. “What’s your name?” The girl asked as students swarmed all around them when they got up.
“Sunset Shimmer.” Sunset mumbled, walking ahead of the girl. She had done her good deed for the day, and didn’t want to stick around. Unfortunately, the other girl had other plans.
“I’m Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. I’m in 8th grade, but I’m taking some high school classes.” Twilight explained, walking briskly to catch up with Sunset’s pace. She was clearly not the athletic type, and was miserably failing to do so.
“That’s nice.” Sunset had no interest in befriending her, even if it could benefit her. She wasn't really sure what her goal here was, but the sooner she figured it out, the sooner she can get rid of this Twilight girl.
“Are you new here? Cause I can show you around and stuff.” Twilight offered, her breathing heavy and tired. She seriously needed to start participating in gym.
Now the girl had offered up something of interest. If she had Twilight show her around and teach her everything she needs to know, she can blend in here. Then, once that happens, she can figure out what her plan of action will be. She stopped and spun around, nearly knocking Twilight on to the ground.
“Okay, if I let you show me around, will you leave me alone?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. The younger girl nodded, and grabbed her hand.
“Come on! Let’s start with the library first! It’s my favorite place!”
“So then what happened? Ah mean, it explains how ya met her, but how did ya become so popular?” Applejack asked, interrupting the story. While Sunset was glad it wasn’t Rarity this time, she was still annoyed by the interjection.
“The next person to interrupt is going to be locked in a room with Pinkie hyped up on three bowls of Super Extra Sugar Coated Frosty Flakes!” She threatened, eyeing everyone.
Pinkie started bouncing. “Ooooh! I love those! I’ve eaten them every single morning since I was little! Though back then my mom used to not get it for me as often because I would choke on the flakes! Did you know that you’re actually supposed to chew them before you swallow them?! I didn’t know that and I would eat a spoon full and start choking! My mom would start screaming and my dad would call those nice people in the big red and white truck!”
Silence filled the room as what Pinkie had just said was being processed by everyone. Or at least, attempted to be. “How do you forget to chew?” Twilight asked, her head cocked to the side.
“It’s Pinkie. She ain’t the brightest sunflower in the field.” Applejack sniffed, trying to hold back a laugh. Oh, if Twilight knew about the other airheaded things Pinkie has done in the past.
“What I really want to know is how you can repeatedly be that stupid.” Twilight responded looking at Applejack. She looked back at Pinkie Pie, who waved wildly at her. “Is she, you know, uh?”
Applejack frowned. “Is she what?”
“Uh, you know, mentally slow.” Twilight blushed a little. She knew it was rude to ask such a question about a girl, especially in front of her friends, but all the signs seemed to be there.
Applejack let out a hearty laugh. “Ah wouldn’t say that. Ah think Pinkie jus’ has her own way of figurin’ things out. Even if they do seem a little, uh, odd ta the rest of us.”
Twilight nodded, turning back to Sunset Shimmer, who was more than fuming.
“If everyone’s done with the stupid chit chat, I would like to get back to my story.” She seethed. The talking stopped, and once again the story continued.
After a quick tour around the school, Twilight led Sunset to the main office. “Just tell them you’re new and they’ll conjure up a schedule for you.” Sunset nodded, then stepped inside. Twilight waved goodbye to her and said she would see her at lunch before walking to her next class.
She told the receptionist she was new and sat in the waiting area to wait for the guidance counselor she was being assigned. As she looked around the room, she saw that there were posters everywhere. One in particular caught her attention. She was about to go up to it, but couldn’t, because as soon as she stood up her name was called.
“Princess of the Fall Formal?” Twilight asked as she chewed on a carrot. It was lunch by the time Twilight was able to catch up with the other girl and for once Sunset seemed to be glad to see her.
“Yep.” Sunset responded, popping a fry in her mouth. “I wanna run for it.” She took a bite of her burger which made her make a face, before shrugging and continuing to chew. Whatever it was made out of, she was beginning to like it.
“Well, thats cool. I can help you and stuff. But I don’t know if anyone will vote for you.” Twilight looked at her sheepishly as if to say ‘no offense’.
Sunset still took offense. “Well, why is that?!” She snapped, her voice rising in anger.
“No reason! Just, you know, you’re new here and all. No one knows who you really are.” Twilight explained defensively.
Sunset’s anger evaporated and she calmed down. A bit. “That’s true. So how do you propose we go about this?”
Twilight grinned. "I have a few ideas..."
“And the rest is history. Because that’s all I remember.” Sunset concluded, looking at the confused looks the others were giving her.
“What do you mean thats all you remember?! How does someone forget their own freaking back story?!” Dash barked, pointing a finger at her.
“Just what I mean! And cut me some slack! That was two years ago! Besides, the rest of the damn story should be clear to you! I won the damn crown!” Sunset shouted back, ready to beat Rainbow Dash senseless.
“Which would explain why you were already in Canterlot High by the time we all arrived.” Fluttershy mused out loud. “But if Twilight was there before, where did she go?” She added, looking at the girl in question.
Twilight shrugged. “That summer I got accepted into The Canterlot Academy For Gifted Girls. I couldn’t just pass that up.”
“Which explains why Sunset was pissed when she saw you because this is the first time in two years that she's seen you since you left.” Rarity gathered, rubbing her chin.
“Wait a minute! That doesn’t explain how you knew the difference between this Twilight and the Twilight from your world!” Applejack said, two fingers on her temple, and one pointing to Twilight.
“That’s a story for another time! Right now we need to figure out what we need to do with her!” Sunset responded. Twilight was pointed to for the third time in the same hour.
“Whadda ya mean we have to figure out what we gotta do with her?! Why is it so important that we do something with her?!” Applejack barked.
Sunset didn’t even get to answer before the lights went out, the museum going pitch black.
It was quiet for a moment. No sound was made by any girl. Not even Pinkie. The bustling sounds of the museum attendees had come to a screeching hault. “Wh-Why did the lights just cut off?” Twilight whispered.
“Shh!” Sunset commanded. “I think I know what’s going on.”
“You think? This isn’t a time for thinking! This is a time for knowing! And I wanna know what the heck is going on!” Dash whisper shouted.
“I’ll tell you once we get to the school. Right now, we need to get out of here!” Sunset grabbed Twilight’s hand and opened the emergency exit on the other side of the room. “We need to head to the gym! That’s where she’ll be!”
“That’s where who will be?!” Rarity demanded as they ran out the side of the building. She side stepped a dumpster making a noise of disgust as Rainbow just hurdled over it.
“No time to explain, you’ll see when we get there!” Sunset responded as the weaved through the back parking lot. Remembering that they all came on the bus, she cursed under her breath as they ran down the street. “Looks like we’re going to have to hoof it, girls!” She yelled to them.
“Is that some kind of joke?!” Twilight demanded, running along side her. “Is this really a time to be making pony puns?!”
“I wasn’t making a pun, I was being literal!” Sunset shouted back in protest. The air in her lungs was starting to burn and it was becoming annoying. “Would you shut-” She ran into something hard. Rubbing her head, Sunset looked up to see it was one of them. “Oh great, they found us.” She mumbled as she was picked up by her jacket collar. “Hey, this is real Italian leather you know!” She protested.
The others came to a screeching halt when they saw that Sunset was being manhandled by a creature that was possibly as tall as them. It had no face, just deep, soulless eyes.
“What the Sam Hill is that thing?!” Applejack shouted, backing up into Rarity.
“Shadow Keepers!” Sunset grunted, trying to pry it’s hands off of her. “They’re other worldly creatures from Equestria that are attracted to magical energy! They can travel through dimensions and quickly scope out any magical beings! And right now,” Sunset wiggled out of her jacket and landed in a three point stance. She raised her right foot and roundhouse kicked the creature in the jaw, injuring it and causing it to disintegrate into ash. She turned to the others. “We’re those beings.”
She broke into a sprint and the others followed suit.
“So, what exactly do these Shadow Keepers do once they find these magical beings?” Rainbow asked as she front kicked one.
“They absorb their energy and drain their life force.” Sunset grunted, elbowing one. “We’ve only got a couple more blocks to go! As long as we can stay together and keep up we should be fine!”
“I can’t do this! I can’t hurt anyone! Even if they are evil!” Fluttershy sobbed cowering as two Shadow Keepers surrounded her.
“Then let me do it for you! Hah!” Rainbow Dash responded, drop kicking the two and helping Fluttershy up. They hurriedly rushed to catch up with the others.
“Ah don’t think we can keep this up for much longer!” Applejack panted, punching one in the face then sidekicking another one. “All this runnin’ and fightin’ is gonna tire us all out!”
“We’re almost there!” Sunset assured her. “Ugrh!” She grunted, putting all her weight into mowing down a Keeper. “Just bare with me!”
Pinkie Pie groaned. “See?! If you hadn’t taken my backpack, we wouldn't be in this mess!” She protested, ducking as a Keeper swiped at her. “You people never listen to me!”
“We didn’t even know this was going to happen!” Rarity responded pointedly, sidestepping a Keeper. “If I did, I wouldn’t have worn such high heels!”
“You- Guys- I- Can’t- Fight!” Twilight huffed as she struggled to keep up. “I don’t even understand what’s going on!”
“Neither do I but you don’t see me sitting on my ass!” Rainbow replied, knocking two Keepers heads together.
“You ask for any excuse to kick someone’s ass. Let’s not go there!” Applejack told her, kneeing a Keeper in the jaw.
The rainbow haired girl’s head whipped in her direction angrily. “What was that, Blondie?!” She demanded. “You wanna-”
“Dash watch out!”
“Woah!” She shouted, flipping backwards as a hammer came crashing down in the spot she had been standing it. It broke the earth beneath it, cracking the asphalt. “What the hell?!” She breathed, landing on her bum.
“Reinforcements are here!” Sunset called from the front. “We better get a move on before we become dinner!”
“Less talky, more fighty!” Pinkie exclaimed, sliding throw a Keeper’s open legs. She had managed to get a hold of a PVC pipe from a garbage pile they had passed and was merrily whacking away at any Keeper in her path.
“Pinkie! This isn’t some stupid RPG! Real lives are at stake!” Twilight scolded, kicking a Keeper in the stomach, having finally grown the courage to fight. Even though she was pretty sure she was dreaming because there was no way in hell this could be happening. Doppelgangers? Talking Ponies? Shadow Keepers? This was all too much for her!
“We’re fighting for survival! We might as well have fun with it!” Pinkie protested, swinging wildly, and screaming at the top of her lungs.
“That is not the correct attitude to have during a situation like this!” Twilight yelled back, dodging a hammer swing by a big Keeper.
“Let her be! She’s taking out a good portion of them anyway!” Sunset responded to her, interjecting into their conversation. “Besides, look!” She added, pointing in front of her.
Everyone looked up to see that they had finally reached the school. Running at full speed now, they sprinted up the steps and pushed open the doors. Since only the seniors had went on the trip, the school was still full of kids who were in class as if an impending swarm of other dimensional creatures weren’t about to attack.
Sunset pulled the fire alarm and watched as kids flooded out of crowded classroom, wondering why the alarm had sounded in the middle of the day. Sunset cupped her hands around her mouth. “Attention Canterlot High Students!” She shouted, getting on top of a vending machine she had overturned. “You are in grave danger! Report to the auditorium immediately!”
“Why should we believe anything you say?” Diamond Tiara scoffed.
“Yeah, like, you were a bitch. Why would we listen to you now?” Silver Spoon added.
Sunset stepped down from the vending machine and walked up to the duo. “Okay, fine. You have a point.” She agreed. “Although....” She trailed, her eyes turned demonically black. “Don’t you think that if I wanted to hurt you, that I would have done it by now?”
Students began running in fear towards the auditorium. “Good!” She shouted. “And stay there!” As soon as the hallways cleared, Sunset crossed her arms feeling accomplished. Though the smug smirk on her face was wiped off when she saw Keepers trying to open the doors. “Rainbow Dash! Applejack! Barricade those doors!” She ordered. The two went to quickly complete their task.
Once the doors were secure, the group headed to the gym. Running quickly down the winding staircases, the girls made their way into it. Bursting through the doors, they were welcomed by silence and darkness. Sunset stepped in first, then motioned for the others to follow her. Rainbow and Applejack locked the doors again before running to catch up with the others.
They tip toed into the middle of the basketball court and stood there, waiting.
“Okay, who is this person that you wanted us to meet?” Rainbow asked, folding her arms impatiently.
“You’ll see.” Sunset told her. A minute passed and nothing happened. “Oh Jesus Christ.” She mumbled to herself. “It’s okay!” She then yelled into the darkness. “It’s just us!”
Another minute went by before something stirred in the darkness. It sounded like footsteps. They began to make out a person, and as the person came closer they could make out a large black cloak that obscured most of their face.
“We’re the only one’s here, so you might as well take that damned thing off.” Sunset grumbled, pointing towards the figure.
The person in front of them sighed, and pulled off the hood as a ray of sunlight shone through the windows high above them.
The girls all gasped in unison, not believing their eyes as the face of the mystery person became clear.
