Twilight's eyes narrowed as she stared at the several sheets of paper and red lines that circled a singular image at the center, an innocent and by all accounts normal looking high school that had more rumors and wild stories surrounding it than any celebrity couple she cared to name.
“There's no doubt about it Spike...there's definitely something strange going on at that school.”
The dog, happily oblivious to everything except his bowl of food, barked twice at hearing his name before returning to the much more important task of eating.
Honestly, it was a conclusion she had reached long ago, but the latest earthquake and accompanying light-show that had lit up the sky for miles was near ironclad proof.
There had been blogs, reports, and crazy stories from many of the students at the school. Stories about she-demons, grainy and barely-coherent footage of supernatural light shows that were about as convincing as most pictures of bigfoot, and scattered anecdotes of people encountering a particular group of students who they swore up and down could manifest equine traits.
The sheer ridiculousness of the stories would have been amusing if they hadn't been so consistent and widespread. The reaction from the sensible scientific community had been incredulity and skepticism and Twilight had been among them until just yesterday.
Turning back to what her mother had lovingly dubbed the 'wall of crazy', Twilight carefully pinned up a rough sketch of the sight she had witnessed yesterday. A crude drawing of an ethereal horse with a pointed horn and gigantic wings with a rainbow trail behind it. Seeing it had been pure coincidence and the result of her stargazing hobby and the image had passed too quickly for her to take a picture of, but the image itself was rooted firmly in her mind.
By all accounts it should have been impossible. There was no hologram technology that could replicate such a sight in an outside and uncontrolled environment. Many had dismissed the sight as some sort of effect of the concert that was being held that night, but even if the technology had been there, it wouldn't have been available to a high school with a limited budget.
“Where do I go from here though?” asked Twilight aloud, looking back towards her dog who had finished his meal. “I'm not getting anywhere with just observing the place.”
The dog seemed to ponder the question in his own cute way before looking towards the central picture on the wall of Canterlot High and barking once.
“What, actually go to the high school? Spike, I've spent my entire life avoiding public education,” she said with a groan.
The dog barked again.
“I can't just show up there and try to conduct experiments Spike. You need a license for that sort of thing, and probably permission from the board of education.” Not to mention that her young age meant she'd never be taken seriously, even if her claims weren't completely ludicrous.
Despite the insurmountable obstacles, Twilight continued to think over the problem, checking and rechecking every angle. It was the duty of a scientist to explore these sorts of things. Unravel the mysteries of the universe and most importantly, to never ignore data that was staring at them in the face.
“I still say everything seems impossible, but that doesn't change what I saw,” said Twilight finally. “I'd be a lousy scientist if I reject my data just because it conflicts with my perceived world view. That road only leads to scientific stagnation.”
Spike yipped in agreement...or he could have possibly been demanding attention and pets, both of which Twilight was quick to give him as he jumped up on the bed next to her. “Of course I have a plan,” she said with a smile, withdrawing a well-used journal from the desk near her bed and opening it up onto one of the blank pages.
“Step one: Pretend to be interested in joining Canterlot High,” she said aloud as she wrote.
“And that is why I'd like to take the opportunity to tour your school and its facilities to see if the place would be an ideal match for my own personal growth and the future goals I have in mind,” finished Twilight as she sat in the principal's office, coming to the end of her prepared speech.
Principal Celestia blinked, her hands paused motionless over the keyboard as she looked at the glasses wearing girl in front of her. “You mean...you're not actually a student here?” she said finally.
Twilight blinked, processing the statement from every angle before giving up on trying to make sense of it. “No...I'm not. I just told you that.”
Celestia closed her eyes and gently rubbed her head. “But I could have sworn...ah, well I suppose that's not terribly important. Shouldn't your parents be here though?”
Opening up the folder she had prepared, Twilight produced a letter she had printed out earlier that day, signed by both of her parents after Twilight had used the convincing argument of needing it for a scientific experiment. Those magic words had been greeted with blank smiles and friendly nods, her parents barely even looking at what they were signing.
“This should be sufficient,” said the purple haired girl confidently.
The principal took the notes and glanced over them, her eyes flicking across the page before she flipped over to the second...and then the third. “Well, if it's with their permission then I see no reason not to grant your request. I'll have one of our students-”
“Thank you but that won't be necessary,” interrupted Twilight, “I've already acquired a map of the school and I know the relevant places of interest that I wish to observe.”
“Oh...well you certainly seem to have things in hand then,” said Celestia kindly. “Please feel free to ask if you change your mind.”
Twilight was already out the door by the time she finished her parting words.
“Infiltration complete. Quite a bit easier than I thought it would be. Either that or Celestia just lets anyone into her school,” murmured Twilight as she adjusted her bag and head towards her first destination. Of the various rumors that had spread outwards from the school, the most consistent ones seemed to have been centered around the musical talents of a band called the Rainbooms, so her first observation point was there.
She had timed her 'tour' of the school with the lunch hour and was satisfied to find only empty hallways between her and her destination. As she placed a hand on the door to the music room though, the partition slid open. There was a flash of blue hair obstructing her vision before something solid bumped into her, sending her stumbling back a few steps.
“Twilight! You're here!”
Very carefully, the student adjusted her glasses, her eyes focusing on the athletic, blue-haired male that had bumped into her. “Who are you and how do you know my name?” she demanded.
“Er...it's me...Flash Sentry,” said the boy awkwardly. “Look, I wanted to apologize-”
“Don't change the subject. I asked you how you knew my name,” interrupted Twilight. “Also, you're free to say 'excuse me' or perhaps even 'sorry I ran into you'. That is what you normally say when you accidentally ram someone, yes?”
“Er...yes, right, sorry...” said Flash, suddenly on the defensive under the piercing gaze of the glasses wearing student. “Listen Twilight, are you sure you're alright?” he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I mean, I like the new look and all but you seem a bit off.”
“Hand off,” said the girl sharply, causing Flash to quickly pull the appendage back to his side. “You're avoiding the question again, which means that you're probably trying to hide something.” Like magic, a notepad and a pencil suddenly appeared in her hand. “Tell me, when was the last time I visited this school? Feel free to continue pretending I have memory loss.”
Flash gulped, suddenly realizing the hot water he was in. Letting out a forced laugh, the boy sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “Ah, actually that might have been someone who just looked a lot like you now that I think about it. Twin maybe? Sister?” he said nervously. “Sorry for the trouble,” he added quickly, giving her another pat on the shoulder.
Twilight's eyes narrowed.
“Wait, wait, hold on. You mean to tell me that a girl half your weight and muscle managed to lay you out?” said Rainbow with a wide grin on her face.
Holding an ice pack between his legs, Flash Sentry groaned and nodded.
“Oh man, that is awesome! I wish someone had gotten a video! I never took Twilight for the physical type.”
“Well I for one would like to know what she's doing back here,” interjected Rarity. “Obviously she doesn't need an excuse to come and visit, but trouble usually isn't far behind when she does. And she hasn't dropped by to say hello.”
“Well duh, it's obviously not 'our' Twilight!” Rarity yelped as Pinkie suddenly sprang up from beneath the table, quickly producing a tray and setting several items on it.
“What do you mean 'our' Twilight?” asked Applejack curiously.
Pinkie opened her mouth but stopped upon spying Flash hunched over and face down on the cafeteria table. Leaning over to Rarity, Pinkie Pie managed to whisper in a way that all of her friends managed to catch but Flash did not. “Does he know that Twilight is a pony yet?”
“Err...no, I don't think so...” murmured Rarity.
Tilting her head to the side, Pinkie reached into the mass of pink curls and pulled out a cupcake. “Hey Flashy, open wide!”
“Wha-” SMOOSH!
There was a muffled sound of surprise as Flash found his mouth full of pink frosting before his eyes rolled upwards and his head hit the table with a thunk. “There we go. He'll be out for an hour or two depending on his sugar tolerance.”
There was a quiet cough as the other four stared at her. “What?”
“Um...Pinkie, we could have just asked him to leave.”
“Boring! Hey Sunny! Over here!”
Sunset Shimmer, tray in hand, quickly spotted the frantic waving and headed over with a smile. “Hey girls, what's up?”
“We might have a bit of a problem,” said Applejack. “Did Twilight send you any messages lately?”
“Not lately no. The last one I got from her was plans for some sort of adventure she was going on back in Equestria. I haven't heard from her for the last three days. Why?”
“Well...we might have a problem. Flash over there just said he saw Twilight around the music room asking questions and observing things.”
“Non-pony Twilight,” clarified Pinkie quickly.
“Um...is that really so bad?” asked Fluttershy. “I mean, she doesn't have magic, right? Just as long as we keep our own hidden she'll just make her observations and leave, shouldn't she?”
Sunset drummed her fingers on the table as she stared at the cover of the book she used to communicate with Twilight. “This...might actually be a problem. Equestria Twilight told me that the last use of the portal left it a bit unstable. It was a real jury rigged job and any improper magical influence could make it go haywire and...” Sunset grimaced as she opened the book to the panicked writing of Twilight on the day she had found out. The list of potential consequences filled several paragraphs.
“Okay, but what are the odds of her actually finding the portal?” asked Rarity skeptically.
Sunset Shimmer gave the question some thought. “Well, the Twilight in Equestria had enough talent and brains to attract the attention of the most powerful being in their world who literally controls the sun at her command, and this Twilight is a human mirror of her.”
There was a moment of silence at the table as the six of them processed that. “Maybe we oughtta keep an eye on her just in case,” said Applejack finally.
“Agreed,” came the chorus of replies.
As the six of them left the table, Rainbow Dash spared a glance towards the sleeping Flash who was starting to drool slightly. “So...if this version of Twilight hates Flash, do you think I have a chance?”
Quick as a whip, Applejack's hand swung around and smacked the rainbow haired girl upside the head.
“Ow! Hey, I was just kidding!”
“Observation continues after minor obstruction in the form of the student body,” said Twilight, talking carefully and clearly into her microphone as she observed the instruments in front of her. “Lead guitar looks to be custom made and specially designed. Strings seem almost brand new and the guitar is in pristine condition despite presumably repeated use.”
All of the other instruments had similar stories to tell. “This band must have some serious financial backing,” she concluded finally, reaching into her bag and pulling out a set of special chemicals.
Slowly and without any sort of accompanying noise, the door to the music room began to open, several pairs of eyes looking in to see the violet haired girl at work.
“What the hell is she doing with our instruments?” hissed Applejack.
“Experimenting,” said Sunset Shimmer, placing a calming hand on the base player's shoulder. “Perfectly harmless. I don't think Twilight would be crazy enough to actually damage anything.”
A flinch was shared among the group as the sound of electricity discharging reached their ears, the single-minded scientist holding two wicked looking electrodes as she knelt down by-
“Hey! That's my bass!” There was a yelp as the other five students suddenly felt themselves pushed aside, an irate Applejack throwing the doors open and storming into the room.
Twilight jerked upright and turned around, eyes briefly widening as she saw the angry farm girl walking towards her. “Ah swear if you so much as touched my guitar-”
So fast that their heads almost collided, Twilight stood up, a small smile on her face and a gleam in her eye that made the other girl hesitate. “Ah, just the person I was looking for,” she said, excitement building in her voice. “Judging by your choice of instrument and the design of your clothes, you must be Applejack, base player for the Rainbooms and local farmhand, yes?”
“Er...yes, that's right. But Ah'm a bit-”
“Strange...you don't seem to have pony ears anywhere,” said Twilight, looking curiously at either side of her head. “That was one of the most commonly repeated rumors I heard. Do you hide them normally?”
Applejack broke out of her stupor long enough to take a step back and avoid Twilight's curious hands. “Now hold on a minute sugarcube, Ah wanna know what you were doing in here with our instruments.”
Twilight looked at her in confusion. “Nothing. I've been gathering ambient data from the room and taking notes on the passive energy readings.”
Curiously, Applejack took a look over her shoulder, noticing that the instruments themselves were completely untouched, though surrounded on all sides by various instruments.
“Er...well I appreciate that Twilight, but you really should ask before you go conductin-”
“How did you know my name?”
Applejack froze. “Er...well Ah...”
“You're the second student today that seems to know me even though I know I've never been here before.” There was a frown on her face and her eyes had narrowed as she advanced on the suddenly nervous farmer. “What happened here one week ago?”
Beads of sweat dripped down Applejack's neck. “Er...you know what? Go ahead and go nuts with the instruments, just don' scratch anything ya hear? Ah gotta go do stuff.” With a quick turn and a hard push off the ground, the farmer girl sped through the music room doors, leaving a very puzzled Twilight behind.
“Nice one Applejack. Not only did you blow our cover, you managed to make her even more suspicious,” derided Rainbow Dash once the group had fled to a safe distance. “She's probably gonna be suspicious of anyone in the band now.”
“So Ah should have just let her manhandle my guitar? Ah already lost that thing once, Ah ain't gonna let it happen again!”
“What's the worst she could have done? Those things are so pumped full of magic I can't even scratch them if I try!”
Sunset Shimmer ignored the bickering pair as Twilight walked a fair distance in front of them. If she hadn't been so focused on her goal, she might have noticed the colorful group following her, but thankfully her tunnel vision kept her oblivious as she looked at a device in her hand and walked towards the front of the school.
“Is she heading towards the portal?” asked Fluttershy nervously.
“It doesn't seem like it. She's probably picking up on harmonic magic with that device if she's using the readings she got from the instruments,” muttered Sunset. “And the portal itself is an entirely different type of magic unless...oh hell.”
Ahead of them, Twilight paused as the small remote-sized device in her hand clicked loudly. Curiously, she examined the area and noticed the slight discoloration of the wall, as though someone had recently rebuilt it. Kneeling down near the affected area, Twilight pulled out a pair of tweezers, gently shifting the blades of grass around until she found a small piece of blackened brick. A small bag came out next for the object to be placed in which was quickly tucked away inside her coat.
“Maybe we should just leave her to this, dear,” said Rarity gently. “I mean really, how far could she possibly get? So long as we avoid her and secure our instruments a bit better, we can keep her cut off from magic entirely and stop her from ever reaching the portal.”
Sunset Shimmer sighed. “Maybe you're right. Could you pass along that message to Applejack and Rainbow Dash once they're done bickering?”
Twilight was getting frustrated, but she didn't let it show as she looked down at the two students she had managed to actually get some answers out of, though how helpful those answers were was...debatable.
“So to reiterate, you two were Sunset Shimmer's...”
“Minions!” said the orange one on the left.
“Naw, you were a minion! I was a lackey!”
“And,” interrupted Twilight before they could begin fighting again, “At the end of the Fall Formal event she transformed into...what exactly?”
“Umm...they said it was a rage...ing...she-demon!”
“Yeah, and we transformed too! I had wings!”
Twilight nodded carefully, underlining a few things in her notebook and making a special note to check the water and the cafeteria food.
“But then we got hit with a rainbow laser.”
“It was all...woosh! And then...boom! And...we had to help rebuild the front of the school.”
“Yes...let's see...woosh, and then boom,” intoned Twilight as she wrote down those words while underlining the word 'suspect' next to Snips and Snails names. “Well, thank you for your time. If you see Sunset Shimmer, could you pass along the message that I'd like to see her?”
The two boys eagerly nodded and scurried off, leaving a frustrated Twilight behind, rubbing her head gently. “This school is full of crazy people,” she muttered under her breath, but despite the rather dim nature of those two, their stories did reflect the fuzzy picture she had been building throughout the day.
The truly baffling thing was just how easy every student seemed to be taking these things. If there was some element or substance that could casually trample over the laws of space and time, the entire community of scientific study would have exploded into an uproar.
Her journey was taking her away from the school now and towards the final point of observation, the concert area where the giant winged pony had appeared in the night sky. With the crude tracking instrument in her hand, she smiled slightly as the readings began to grow.
“Uh...Sunset? What did we do with those red gems that all the sirens had?” asked Rainbow worriedly as she examined the researcher from the nearby hill with a pair of binoculars.
“Twilight...er, that is pony Twilight made sure to gather them so she could safely dispose of them once she got back. Why?”
“I think she might have missed one.”
Taking the binoculars from the rainbow haired girl, Sunset Shimmer watched a kneeling Twilight carefully tease out a small sliver of red from a crack in the stage, holding it in a pair of tweezers as she examined it carefully.
“It shouldn't be a problem though, there isn't any magic left in them,” said Sunset, but she seemed unsure.
“Oh yeah, then how did she find it in the first place?”
“Observations continue. Residual energy from the Rainboom's instruments henceforth referred to as Substance X seems to react in the presence of the residual substance from the school and the small sliver of gemstone from the concert, henceforth referred to as Substance Y and Substance Z. If the rumors are to have any weight to them whatsoever, presumably Substance X is a conflicting source of energy to the latter two.” Placing all three substances side by side, Twilight looked at each in turn before turning on her mic again.
“Research into the Rainbooms has revealed little except in the way of Sunset Shimmer, alias known as Raging She-Demon. Public records reveal little in the way of information about her. By all accounts she seemed to have simply shown up at Canterlot High two years ago and was admitted into the school thanks to the lax policies of Principal Celestia. Seeing as how those same public records fail to indicate what Celestia's last name is though, they could possibly be an unreliable source of data.”
The mic clicked off as Twilight sat down on the desk, the two substances in her bags placed side by side with the crude element detector she'd rigged up from whatever energy had been surrounding the Rainbooms.
“Now then, let's get to work,” she said, snapping on a pair of gloves and placing a pair of goggles over her eyes.
Five people stared as Rarity's cell-phone taken video continued to play, showing Twilight hard at work within her commandeered laboratory, borrowing substances of all kinds and pulling out a seemingly endless supply of materials from her modestly sized bag. The mixtures she had made were starting to take on a rainbow shine and the steam rising from the glass beakers seemed to shift colors rapidly.
“I really think it's best you talk to her dear, she's being quite stubborn about this.”
“It shouldn't be dangerous. She's only working with the magic of harmony,” assured the fiery haired girl.
“But ain't that siren crystal like...the opposite of harmony magic?” asked Applejack.
“And wasn't that magic you were using like...corrupted harmony magic?” added Rainbow Dash.
Sunset sighed. “Look, I know it's hard to believe, but I was really good at magic back in Equestria. There's no possible way that there's enough energy in the remnants of of those shards to cause anything more than a minor reaction at most. Small scale rainbow explosion at worst. Twilight's intelligent, but she just doesn't have the resources to open that portal.”
“Oh good,” said Pinkie with a sigh of relief. “Because I was totally going to be worried about Twilight standing out in front of the Canterlot High statue with an incredibly dangerous looking vial in her hand that was filled with this rainbow stuff that looks really really tasty, but if you're sure we shouldn't be worried then I won't be.”
With her worry completely gone, Pinkie began to dig into her bag of sweets before noticing the stares of her other five friends. “What?”
“C'mon, Pinkie!” snapped Rainbow Dash, grabbing her friend by the arm and pulling her after the other four who were already running.
“Readings and rumors all indicate that this is the focal point,” murmured Twilight as she stood with the mixture in her hand, a combination of perfectly attuned harmonic and disharmonious magic that swirled around the glass, slowly building and feeding off of one another without her knowledge.
Touching the statue itself revealed it to be solid stone through and through, but the faintest hint of that energy was still being picked up from it. “Field test number one,” she said, turning on her mic. “Assuming that this focal point is the reason behind all of these strange energies, it could possibly react in response to them.”
Behind her, six wide eyed girls watched as she uncorked the vial and yelped, a sudden eruption of black lightning and rainbow colors exploding outwards and striking the base of the statue before dispersing.
Shakily, Twilight adjusted her glasses, looking down at the shattered flask and then towards the statue. “I have...um...discovered something unusual and...and...” The words were jumbled in her mind, her eyes not quite believing what she had just seen.
“Stoooop!” A sudden cry behind her made the scientist whirl around, her eyes quickly darting to six different faces with radically different hairstyles. Unconsciously she took a step back...and slipped.
The portal within the main room of the Palace of Friendship began to crackle and fizzle with energy, the devices around it starting to whirr and hum as the fuzzy outline of a portal began to appear against the glass. The phenomenon wasn't witnessed by anyone save for the books scattered about as the magic began to increase. Finally, with a loud pop, a purple unicorn was flung from the shimmering surface.
“Ow ow ow!” Rolling several times along the unforgiving crystal floor, the purple pony came to a stop, her legs tangled in a white lab coat and her glasses slightly askew. “Ugh...Twilight's notes on portal velocity mechanics...they hurt. A lot.”
Despite the landing though, the implications of an actual working portal were enormous. Instantaneous travel from one place to another had only ever been the stuff of science fiction, and while it may have been old hat to that genre, there were hundreds upon thousands of ways it could be used to improve life for everyone.
“Please don't tell me I damaged my recorder,” she groaned, patting her lab coat a couple of times. Something was off though. Her hand found the pocket easily but...
Slowly, the human turned pony raised her hoof to her face, wobbling unsteadily on three legs, looking dumbfounded at the limb in front of her. Slowly, with deliberate care, Twilight looked down at the crystal floor and at the blurry image and the pony features that stared back at her.
Even more slowly now, with her eye twitching slightly, Twilight staggered forward to the mirror she had been thrown from. In addition to working as a trans-dimensional portal, the mirror also worked very competently as a mirror, and now the proof was staring right at her. She was a horse. No, too small to be a horse.
“I am a pony,” she said finally, “Why am I a pony?” Twilight blinked several times, but the image in the mirror remained very much a purple pony sitting in dumbfounded shock at her reflection. Her eyes slowly traveled upwards towards the horn poking out from her mane. “No, not a pony, a unicorn...no that doesn't make it any better,” she mumbled to herself, her eye twitching dangerously now.
Carefully she got to her hooves once again, trying to put her foreleg to her chest and perform a breathing exercise. Halfway through the second breath, her legs wobbled and gave out.
“Okay...this isn't working. WHY THE HELL AM I A PONY?!”
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Dash jerked awake quite suddenly, nearly toppling off her cloud as a loud cry echoed around the crystal palace. Perking her ears up, Dash suddenly snapped to her feet. “That was Twilight! Wait...what's she doing back so soon?”
Either way, this needed investigating, and with a rainbow streak behind her, the pegasus tore off towards the sound of the cry.
Walking was getting easier just so long as she didn't think about it, though she wobbled unsteadily as she paced around in a frantic circle. “Okay, there must be a logical explanation for this. This is a different universe after all. One where I'm a pony...a purple pony. And I can talk. How does something like a pony develop linguistic skills? Are they even called ponies here?”
Once again her eye turned towards the mirror hooked up to a myriad of devices. She'd tried to go back through the mirror after seeing her appearance, but the glass had remained solid to the touch. “And why the hell would ponies use human analogues clearly meant for fingers?”
Letting out a sigh, Twilight slumped down onto her flank, staring at the unresponsive machine. “I need more data...bigger sample set...and probably some hard apple cider-”
“Twilight!”
“Ahhhh!”
The unexpected voice shattered her thoughts. Her head turned and she had a scant second to see a rainbow-tailed winged creature before she landed in front of her, the air she had been dragging rushing to catch up with her and nearly blowing the unicorn off her hooves.
Groaning, Twilight stood up and faced the new arrival, only for another million questions to flood her mind. “You...you have wings!”
Rainbow blinked. “Um...yeah, last time I checked,” she said with some amusement as she casually defied the laws of physics right in front of her. “So what are you-”
“But there's no way those could support your weight! Are your bones hollow?”
“What? No! Why the heck would they be hollow? Are you feeling alright, Twilight?”
“And how do you know my name?” she said, her voice practically a high pitched squeak now. “That's been happening all day and I haven't met any of you people!”
“Er...people?”
“Ponies! Whatever!”
Rainbow waited until Twilight's panic had run its course before responding. “Twi, we've known each other for years,” she said finally, folding her wings, cautiously approaching the frazzled unicorn. “You weren't experimenting with some crazy magic again, were you?”
Twilight's eye twitched again. “Magic? Oh god, don't tell me there's magic involved...”
“Look Twi, I'm glad you're back and all, but I think you need to go see Celestia.”
“Who?”
“Um...giant white alicorn who raises the sun?”
“That's...there is so much wrong with that I don't...I can't even...” Standing up, Twilight carefully put a hoof to her neck and breathed in and out, calming herself. “You...you're Rainbow Dash,” she said, slowly starting to recognize the similarities between her and her human counterpart.
“The one and only!” said the pegasus with a relieved sigh and a confident smirk.
“That might be a bit debatable,” murmured Twilight, looking back towards the mirror, shifting her body so the lab coat settled a bit better on her back. “That must mean...” She turned back to Dash. “Hey um...Dash, is this how I usually look?”
Dash gave her a curious stare. “Only when you're doing mad science. Gotta say I like it thought. It's like you've gone ultimate egghead.”
Okay, so there was another version of her here. And she seemed just as smart. No doubt she was the creator of this portal too. “Rainbow, let's assume my memory is a bit fuzzy. Where was I before this?”
The pegasus seemed to give this some thought. “On some boring diplomatic mission to Saddle Arabia. You weren't due back for another three days.”
Twilight's eye twitched again. “Saddle what?”
“Saddle Arabia.”
“Okay, I'm calling parallel dimension. That's too close to be coincidence.”
Rainbow blinked but shrugged it off. She was used to Twilight's confused mutterings by now. “Still, it's good to see you again, Twi.”
Distracted as she was, Twilight didn't notice Rainbow approaching her until it was too late. A soft furred leg wrapped around her neck and she got a moment to see Rainbow's warm smile before her lips closed with hers.
I'm being kissed by a pony. A female pony. With wings.
Twilight froze, her mouth open as the thoughts continued to fly through her mind while Rainbow simply took the chance to enjoy the kiss.
Do something Twilight! You just had your first kiss taken by a pony! No, something besides squeaking! Something productive! Actually this isn't too bad...okay that's a tongue!
With a gasp, Twilight finally managed to pull away, panting slightly. She wasn't sure if a blush could even be seen beneath her purple fur, but her muzzle certainly felt like it was on fire. In front of her Rainbow was grinning widely. “Wow, Twilight, you haven't reacted as cute as that since I took your first kiss.”
Embarrassment was starting to reach critical mass now. “That...we...just...” Her horn glowed, reacting to the intense emotions and the panic building inside of her and the desire to be anywhere but here. With a bright violet flash, the unicorn vanished, leaving a perplexed pegasus behind.
Twilight appeared far outside the crystal palace, just high enough off the ground to fall a few inches onto her flank. “Ow...okay, how did I do that?” she groaned, shaking her head a couple of times before examining her surroundings. Suddenly, the whole situation finally sank in.
“I'm on another world,” she murmured, staring unblinking at the town stretched out in front of her. Brightly colored ponies were everywhere; walking, flying, and a few here and there had horns like herself. Everything seemed more colorful too, the vivid scenery imprinting on her mind. Even the air felt cleaner and more fresh. Despite her earlier fear and panic, she couldn't help but sit and admire the novelty and take in the new experience.
Giggling to herself, Twilight slowly got to her feet, or rather her hooves. “Geez, I wonder if I can go five minutes in this world without something surprising me,” she muttered, curiously walking towards the town with slow, measured steps, her presence drawing looks and greetings from the locals.
“So is everyone here just naked or am I overdressed?” she asked herself. She was just about to theorize a subtle way of asking someone when suddenly-
“Princess Twilight! The great and powerful Trixie has arrived for our scheduled duel!” There was a flash of blue light and suddenly smoke filled the area, making several ponies cough and try to wave away the dust. When the smoke finally cleared, it revealed a blue-coated mare at the center of a lot of angry stares, though the pony dressed in the cape and hat seemed to easily ignore them.
“Wait, did you say princess?” asked Twilight, giving the new arrival a curious look.
“Did Trixie not articulate enough? You are most certainly a princess still, are you not? Trixie has come to challenge you!”
“Why are you talking about yourself in the third person?”
“Pardon?”
“Er...third pony?” she tried.
“Humph. Trixie has told you before that an entertainer must leave an impression on her audience. 'Tis only natural to make sure your title sticks!”
“Do ponies have trouble remembering you?” Twilight glanced around, noticing that the supposed 'crowd' seemed to be quickly clearing away and giving her a wide berth.
Trixie's eye twitched ever so slightly.
“Wow, I guess you have the opposite problem I do...”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie intends to make a name for herself very soon once she is victorious over Princess Twilight!”
Twilight sighed, rapidly trying to think of a way to remove herself from the conversation, wishing she could do that thing she'd done with Rainbow Dash again. “So, what kind of duel?”
“You must ask? Why, a magic duel of course!” The pointed hat she wore rose slightly, revealing a glowing horn atop her head.
There really is magic on this world...and I don't know anything about it!
There only seemed to be one way out of this situation now. “Okay, you win.”
Trixie's horn winked out. “W-what?”
“I surrender. You win.”
“B-but I...I mean Trixie-”
“Yes, Trixie wins, now could you go be great and powerful somewhere else? I'm a bit busy doing...princess things.”
A wide range of emotions seemed to play out on the other unicorn's face from surprise, to anger, to embarrassment, before settling on a carefully neutral look. “Ha! Trixie admits she almost fell for your cunning plan!”
Twilight groaned. “What plan? You won! Go away!”
“You were trying to get the great and powerful Trixie to let down her guard!”
“What? No!”
“Trixie shall not be taken for a fool! Prepare yourself Twilight!”
Her horn glowed once more and Twilight could feel the fur on her neck raise in warning.
“Duel me, Twilight Sparkle!”
“No! I'm not dueling anyone!”
BOOM!
“What the heck is wrong with you? That could have killed me!”
“Do not jest, you are an alicorn!”
“What the heck is an alicorn?”
Lyra cracked an eye open as the sounds of fighting drew closer, quickly recognizing the voices before turning her attention back to the clouds. Another relatively peaceful day all things considered. Twilight had gotten quite good at containing Trixie's tendencies towards collateral damage after all-
The green unicorn suddenly shot up into a sitting position. “Twilight just said anyone,” she murmured, “Nopony says anyone to ponies.” Fully alert now, Lyra's eyes honed in on the bright flashes of magic in the distance.
Twilight and Trixie were both panting now, the former looking frazzled with several hairs sticking up from her mane while the latter had lost her hat at some point in the chase and seemed to be struggling with her hot and heavy cape. “Trixie...haa...admires...haa...your evasiveness, but you can't run forever!”
“Say 'I'. Let pronouns enter your life, Trixie!” snapped Twilight, clearly on her last nerve, having been dodging for her life for the past few minutes.
“Trixie...does not believe Princess Twilight-”
“I am not a princess! I do not duel people, and I'm not an alicorn! Whatever the heck that is!”
Trixie blinked, momentarily taken aback. “Did you just say-”
CRASH!
Twilight winced as one of the barrels behind a market stall suddenly exploded outwards, revealing a mint green unicorn. In a blur of speed, she slammed into Trixie, sending her flying with a yelp of surprise.
“You said it! You said the word!”
Twilight blinked, trying to determine if the new unicorn was more or less crazy than the one she had just sent flying into a fruit stand. “What word?”
“People! You said people! Ponies don't say people because ponies aren't people, but people do because they're not ponies! You know something about them, don't you?”
Twilight gulped, feeling her stomach drop slightly. “About who exactly?”
“Humans!” she squealed, her high pitched, excited tone making her wince. “You've seen them, haven't you? Where are you hiding them? Or are you a human in disguise?” Despite her accusatory tone, her excitement was only building.
“Er...” Twilight hesitated, her mind racing to try and defuse the situation. If someone normal had asked her, she might have openly told them, but this particular unicorn looked like she'd have her on a dissection table in record time. “Look, just because someone talks a bit differently-”
“You did it again!”
“What?”
“You said 'someone' instead of 'somepony'!”
“That doesn't make any sense! Someone should be ambiguous to species!”
“But only a 'person' would use it!”
Twilight groaned, wincing as her hoof proved to be a lot more unkind to her face than her hand in the act of facepalming...or facehooving as it was probably called here. “Do I look like a human to you?” she asked finally, hoping that there wasn't something on her person, or rather pony, that would give her away.
“Well, no, but you could be disguising yourself!” Lyra stepped forward and Twilight nearly stumbled backwards, wondering if she was about to reach towards her face and try to tear away a mask.
“Twilight!” Four female voices suddenly sounded out from behind her.
Whirling around in surprise, Twilight nearly stumbled again as four more brightly colored ponies seemed to bear down on her, looks of panic shared between them.
“It's not Twilight!” shouted the green unicorn from behind. “She's a person! A human! A member of the Ilunamati!”
“What? That doesn't even exist in my wo- ahh...I mean...”
“See? She admits it!”
“Lyra, don't be silly. Twilight is Twilight.”
“But she-”
Twilight blinked and suddenly the group of four became three, the pink pony having inexplicably moved behind her.
“Here, have a Pinkie special.” From within the pink bushy tail, a blue frosted cupcake shook loose. Before Lyra could get another word out, her mouth was stuffed with the confectionery delight.
“Twilight! There's a hydra attacking form the Everfree Forest!”
The unicorn's attention was pulled back from Lyra who was wobbling unsteadily on her hooves towards an orange colored pony with a very familiar looking hat she'd seen earlier that day. “Applejack?”
“Er...yeah?”
“And the rest of you...you're all the Rainbooms!”
“Beg pardon, the what now?”
“That's five data points now! It is a parallel dimension, I knew it! Everyo- pony has a counterpart here!”
There was a moment of silence, broken only by Lyra's unconscious body hitting the ground with a thud as Pinkie's 'special' took effect. “Ah'm glad you're happy, sugarcube, but there's still a hydra to deal with.”
Twilight blinked, her excitement fading. “A what now?”
“A hydra!” said the white unicorn sharply. “A giant three-headed fire breathing beast with three times the intelligence of anypony and a raging temper to match!” Her voice rose steadily, ending just shy of a screech. “It is quite literally the Worst! Possible! Thing!” Letting out a breath, the unicorn composed herself. “Can you take care of it?”
“A-actually they're really only angry because the heads disagree with one another a lot of the time-”
“Ah don't care why they're doing it, ah just want 'em gone! He's already destroyed part of my farm!”
“And what am I supposed to do exactly? Aren't there any policeme...er, policemares who can deal with problems like this?” The stares she got in return was answer enough. “What about guards?”
“Don't be absurd! The closest guards are at least an hour away!”
“I'm sorry, but is it usually the job of princesses to fight hydras?”
“Well, of course!”
“Then what do the guards do?”
“Ah, well ya see-”
Before the purple maned unicorn could say anything further, Pinkie jumped in. “There's no time for nitpicking, Twilight, we gotta save Applejack's farm!”
Despite Twilight digging her hooves into the ground, Pinkie's pushing and Applejack's tugging on her tail quickly moved her towards the open fields. “Hey, quit that! Ow! Look, I really think we need a better plan laid out first!”
“No time!”
“Wow...that's really big,” said Twilight, trying not to bolt at the sight of the massive, scaled, three-headed monster the size of Applejack's barn and house, casually uprooting apple trees and devouring them whole. “That has to be ancient level at least.”
“A-Actually it's only a teenager,” came Fluttershy's nervous mumble from behind her, flinching badly as one of the heads burped out a gout of flame.
“And you want me to do what exactly?”
“Just pick it up with your magic and throw it far away!”
Twilight blinked. “She can...I mean, I can do that?”
A loud cracking sound filled the air as two of the heads began to fight over one of the trees, hissing and growling at one another. “Yeah, did it to the last one,” said Applejack.
“Last time? How often does this happen?” said the unicorn, practically shouting now.
“About once or twice a week,” said Pinkie casually.
“Just part of being on the edge of the Everfree. Place is full a critters like him.”
“Why is this town anywhere near here, then?”
“Twilight, darling,” interrupted Rarity, “We've been over this before, but right now we really need to stop that hydra.”
The lab coated unicorn groaned, watching the three heads bicker with each other over yet another tree despite several more being within reach. “Fluttershy,” she said suddenly, drawing a squeak from the pegasus, “That thing is three different personalities, right?”
“Y-Yes!”
“Does it understand or speak our language?”
“It can understand just fine, but they're really hard to talk to, even worse than dragons!”
“I think I have a plan then.”
“Yer not just gonna toss it?” asked Applejack, puzzled.
“Little too tired to do that right now. Magic...experiment thingy.”
“Ahh, alright. What do ya want us to do?”
“Be ready to evacuate the town if this doesn't work. Oh, and call the guards or something!”
Twilight ran off, unsteady on her hooves still, but getting better by the moment. It was Pinkie who finally broke the silence she left in her wake. “So when did Twilight start wearing glasses?”
Twilight was about halfway to the ever growing hydra before she slowed down. “Okay, even if they call it magic, it still has to follow rules, right? That means if I can replicate the scenario in which I did it the first time then...” The unicorn's eyes closed and her cheeks reddened as she brought up the memory of what had triggered her teleport. The way she'd been kissed, the way Rainbow's tongue had- POP!
Blinking several times, Twilight looked towards the place she'd been standing moments before. “Wow, it actually worked!” she said excitedly before a roar quickly reminded her of the task at hand. “Well at least I have an easy way to escape now.”
Part of her was wondering what the hell she was doing. This wasn't her world, nor was she the per- er, pony everypony thought she was. In the moment though, that didn't seem to matter.
The hydra didn't seem to notice her as she approached the base of its body, the heads still hissing and snapping at one another. “Yep, definitely a teenager,” she said confidently. Taking a deep breath, she delivered her next line at the top of her lungs. “Hey! Hydra! What's the big idea coming into my territory, huh?”
The bickering stopped and three pairs of eyes turned to stare at her. “You heard me! These lands are under the protection of Princess Twilight Sparkle!” Twelve years ago, she remembered a time when she had pretended to be a princess. Now she was delivering that line with sincerity.
One of the heads simply snorted and took a bite out of the apple tree. The other two heads quickly turned their attention back to him. “Fine, have it your way.”
POP!
Twilight didn't know much about hydras or even what rules they operated under in this world, but one universal constant across all creatures, human and animal, was a consistent weak point, and when the unicorn teleported above the middle head, her hoof came down hard on his right eye. The resulting roar made her ears flatten against her skull, but she was already gone.
POP!
Carefully, she landed on the right head, holding back a giggle as the injured head looked around wildly. “You know,” she spoke to the head she was standing on, “It must be really annoying putting up with him all the time. He seems really short tempered.” Just in time for Middle to notice her, opening his jaws wide before lunging.
POP! CRACK!
The sound of two skulls colliding made her wince, but Twilight was already on the left head. “Those two must fight all the time. When was the last time you ever got to do anything on your own?” Enraged now, the middle head furiously jerked around to face her once more. Twilight simply smiled and waved a hoof.
POP! CRACK!
Dazed now, it took the middle head several seconds to notice the unicorn was now standing on his own head. “It must really bite being in the middle of every disagreement. Getting dragged into every fight and all.”
Middle had just enough time to see both of his partner heads looking at him before he was in the center of a three head pileup, with Twilight safely on the hydra's back. From there, everything erupted into chaos.
ROAR! CRACK! POP!
“Wow, you're not just gonna take that are you?”
SMASH! CRACK! RAHHH!
“Teaming up on you? Must happen pretty often.”
GRAHHH! FWOOSH! POP!
“You know he's just gonna turn on you, too.”
With a final pop, Twilight collapsed onto the ground a good distance away, her task complete. Even though she was gone, the heads had more than enough aggression to work out on each other now, leaving her and the apple farm alone, and from the looks of it they were tiring quickly.
“Magical observations addendum: Teleporting is really tiring,” she mumbled, feeling like this was a great place for a nap.
Five minutes later, it was over. The three heads were slumped over one another, two unconscious with the third pinned beneath them and not going anywhere. Before the unicorn could drift off herself though, a slow steady clap began to fill the air.
“Bravo Sparkle, bra-vo. I haven't seen such a lovely use of disharmonious tactics in over a thousand years.” Twilight's ears perked up. That voice sounded incredibly familiar. Despite rapidly turning her head though, she couldn't find the source. “Up here, Twilight.”
If she'd been standing, Twilight would have fallen over in surprise. As it was, she was too tired to do either as the snake...dragon...goat...thingy, stared down at her. “Okay, this world is officially just messing with me now. What the flying buck are you supposed to be?” Twilight blinked. She had most definitely meant to say that particular word with an 'f'.
The hybrid creature blinked, looking at her with a puzzled expression. “Amnesia? No, too cliché. Alternate personality? No...ah! A fellow cross dimensional traveler! First time crossing worlds?”
“Er, yes?” Twilight tried to keep track of him, but he was in constant motion, casually defying gravity as he looked her over from ears to tail. And he didn't even seem to need wings. Finally, something clicked. “Wait, I know that voice now! You're Q!”
The exclamation froze Discord in midair, complete with icicles. Shaking them off, the draconequus slid next to Twilight and wrapped an arm around her neck, looking around conspiratorially. Putting a clawed digit to his mouth, a soft 'shhh' passed over her ear. “I'll admit it, this world is a not-so-guilty pleasure of mine, but let's keep that between us, yes?”
Dumbfounded, Twilight nodded, trying to find her voice but before she could ask anything, the draconequus held out a hand, silencing her. Conjuring a wand and a top hat, Discord tapped the brim and reached inside, only to come out with nothing. Frowning, Discord upended the hat and smacked it several times, only for the top to open. Putting his entire arm inside, the creature fished around a bit before suddenly pulling out...another Twilight.
“Gah! Discord, what did I tell you about-” Her voice stopped suddenly as she noticed the glasses-wearing Twilight. “Something tells me this isn't your fault for once.”
“My dear Twilight, the best chaos is always organic in nature,” came the smug response.
Sighing and shaking her head, Twilight climbed out of the hat, her wings becoming visible as she landed.
“Huh. Didn't get those,” mused the glasses wearing Twilight.
Alicorn Twilight only smiled. “With how things have been going in your world lately, it's only gonna be a matter of time until some magical mystery presents itself for you to solve.”
“Huh?”
“Long story. So tell me, how did you get through the portal at Canterlot High?”
“Wait, you've been through too? No wonder everypon- I mean, everyone knew my name!”
Alicorn Twilight giggled. “Sorry about that, I was just as confused with my first time in your world. I didn't even think I had a double over there.” For a brief moment, Alicorn Twilight's horn glowed and a pink sphere of energy appeared around the hydra. “That should hold him if he wakes up. Really good job on taking him down by the way, even if it was a bit dirty.”
“Hey, he's like...a million times bigger than me!”
The alicorn simply smiled. “Well, I suppose I can't fault you for not having a complete grasp on magic yet. I'm betting you have a lot of questions right now too.”
“About three-thousand in my last mental checklist,” responded the unicorn immediately.
“I'll try to answer what I can, although I can guess the first one already. How does magic work, yes?” Sheepishly, Unicorn Twilight nodded. “You feel up for walking?” The unicorn tried her limbs before shakily standing up next to her and nodding again. “Well then, let's start at the beginning. Magic today came into being several thousand years ago in an event scholars refer to as the...”
“...and that's essentially how magic works. Any questions?”
“Wow...no, not really. I think you've literally answered every question I thought up in your explanation.”
Alicorn Twilight smiled sheepishly. “I had a pretty good point of reference to work with.”
“Although that doesn't really explain him,” said the unicorn, gesturing towards Discord who was still following along.
Twilight sighed. “I'm going to need a few hundred more years for that. It's a toss up between him and Pinkie on whom my inner scientist is more infuriated by.”
“Pinkie? What's so bad about-”
“Twilight!”
“Gah!”
Unicorn Twilight fell over as her vision was filled with pink. “No...two Twilights? Heeey, did you go to the mirror pool without me?” It seemed like every time she blinked, the pink pony was in a new position, carefully examining each of the two purple mares with a critical eye.
“What? Two of them?”
“Consarnit Twilight, were you testing a new spell again?”
“O-Oh my...”
“Hmph. I knew that lab coat was too tacky for our Twilight to wear.”
“Hey!”
“I-Is this another accident?”
“Girls, calm down,” said Alicorn Twilight with a giggle as the two of them were mobbed by her friends. “Do you remember the mirror world I visited a while back?” There was a collective nod. “Well, this is Twilight Sparkle from that side.”
There was a unified 'ahhh' of understanding. “And as you can see, she is still a unicorn,” she added, pulling up the flaps of her lab coat with her magic.
“Eep!” The unicorn squeaked and jerked away, blushing slightly as she covered herself.
“I'm so sorry!” said Fluttershy suddenly, rushing forward and bowing deeply in front of her. “We thought you could handle the hydra. I-I had no idea!”
“H-Hey, it's okay,” said the suddenly nervous unicorn. “I did manage to take care of him, didn't I?”
Rainbow Dash looked between the two of them several times before flying down and whispering in Alicorn Twilight's ear. “Oh? Well, I can forgive you this once Rainbow. It was me after all.” Rainbow let out a sight of relief before grinning and whispering something else. The alicorn immediately blushed. “W-what? No! Rainbow, she can't stay here!”
“Aww, why not? Not even one night?”
“No!”
“What are you two talking about?” interjected the unicorn.
“Nothing!” There was a moment of silence as the alicorn composed herself. “Twilight, allow me to introduce you properly to my friends. In your world you probably know them as the Rainbooms.”
The purple unicorn nodded. “I'm familiar with them, although I haven't really 'met' any of you before today.”
“Whaaaat?” Pinkie once again filled her vision, but this time she managed to keep her hooves. “You mean we're not friends over there?”
“Well, we don't even go to the same school-”
“Unacceptable!”
“W-What?”
“We're your best friends in the whole wide world! That needs to include other dimensions!”
Unicorn Twilight looked around desperately for help. Alicorn Twilight simply chuckled at the sight. “Well, she does have a bit of a point.”
“She does?”
“You remind me a lot of myself before they found me. I know you didn't get the best first impression of them, but then again neither did I.” There was a collective giggle at that shared memory.
“Well, I'm not sure I made a great impression on the Rainbooms come to that...”
“You don't need to worry. I'll write ahead to Sunset Shimmer and explain what happened,” said Twilight, levitating a book beside her as she slowly walked through the halls of the crystal castle.
Unicorn Twilight looked hesitant. “Um...do I have to go right now?”
The alicorn gave her a knowing look. “I promise to bring you back here someday, but the portal is really unstable right now. I don't want you to get stuck here. Believe me, there are a ton of things in your world I'm just as eager to learn about.
“I guess I'll show you my world sometime then too,” said the unicorn with a smile. They were standing in front of the mirror now, the book placed on its stand as the portal slowly charged. “I wonder though, why didn't I get wings like you?”
“Ask your friends when you get back.” The alicorn was levitating a pencil now, a purple glow surrounding the object as it danced across the page. From behind, Rainbow watched. “Did you want to include something Rainbow?” Eagerly, the pegasus nodded before landing beside her and whispering in her ear again. “What? I can't write that!”
“Please, Twilight?”
“No! You write it!”
Puzzled, the purple unicorn watched as Rainbow took the pencil in her mouth and began to scribble in the softly glowing journal, the devices around it slowly starting to power up.
Stepping away from the book, the alicorn approached her and the mirror, her horn glowing. “Listen, I know Pinkie can be a bit much, but she does have a point. I'm guessing you're a bit of an introvert, right?”
Wordlessly, the unicorn nodded. This close it was impossible not to observe the subtle differences between them. Her voice was louder and more confident, she definitely came across as more cheerful, and she even seemed to be...well, graceful and somewhat elegant in her mannerisms. It was hard not to feel envious as it felt like she was looking at a better version of herself.
“Well, being like that is completely fine, but you're cutting yourself off from so much like that. I know it can be hard to reach out and open yourself up to new po...er, people, but it'll be worth it in the end. I've already run that particular experiment twice after all.”
Unicorn Twilight couldn't help but sigh at that. “I suppose I can't argue with duplicated results.” There was a flash and suddenly the mirror was glowing a bright white color.
“Take care over there,” said Alicorn Twilight with a smile.
Unicorn Twilight looked towards the portal and then back. “C-Can I ask for one last thing before I go?”
“Of course.”
Blushing slightly, Twilight mumbled something that only the other Twilight was able to hear. “I...guess that's fine. Discord?”
In a pink puff of smoke, Discord vanished from the ceiling and reappeared next to Twilight. “Oh, I don't see why not,” he said, snapping his fingers and making the lab coat flash. Twilight peeked at the inside of the jacket and just barely fought back a squee.
“Now then, just walk through the portal and brace yourself for a fall on the other side.”
“Do take care darling, and be sure to ask my other self to spruce up that coat of yours!”
“U-Um goodbye, it was nice meeting you.”
“Don't forget to make friends with me! And the others!”
“Real good job with that hydra, sugarcube. Thanks for saving mah apple farm.”
“Come back as soon as you can!” called out Rainbow Dash, “The mirror pool just isn't the same as the real thing!” There was an awkward silence. “What?” Before the unicorn could get any more embarrassed, she ran through the portal, the magic winking out after she was gone.
“So why did she want your autograph anyways, Discord?” asked Twilight.
“My dear little princess, yours is hardly the only universe I torment.”
The ground came rushing towards her, but instead of cold hard cement, a bright blue mat was in its place. It wasn't a comfortable landing, but it was definitely softer than what could have been. The changes from one world to the next were noticeable and sharp, the colors a bit more drab and the air a bit more suffocating, but it was definitely nice to have her human hands and feet again. Before she could move to her feet though, two pairs of hands were helping her. Sunset Shimmer on her right and Rainbow Dash on her left. The other Rainbooms were there too.
“Nice landing there, egghead,” teased the rainbow-haired athlete.
“Six out of ten!” graded Pinkie.
Catching her breath, Twilight looked around at all of them, putting names to faces she'd seen on the other side. “No po- I mean no one is going to believe this.”
“We will,” assured Rainbow Dash, giving her shoulder a pat.
“And I'm originally from Equestria, so I have a pretty good idea of what you might have seen.”
Twilight's eyes widened. “Really? Were you a unicorn too? Did you use magic?”
Sunset chuckled and put up a hand. “I'll answer everything, but not here. School is about to close. You got a place you like to eat?”
“Not really...”
“Sugarcube Corner then! New friend party!” cut in Pinkie.
“Well, I suppose...”
Rainbow picked up on her hesitance. “You don't have to if you don't want to. If you're tired and all that...”
Twilight hesitated, briefly looking around at the hopeful faces before smiling. “No, I would like that. But only if I'm not paying,” she added.
Sunset gave her a smile in return. “Okay, but you have to tell us the story of how you beat the hydra.”
“Wait, you did what?”
Dear Sunset Shimmer,
I'm just as surprised as you that there was another of me in your world so you might want to be on the lookout for another you just in case. Twilight is probably going to have a million questions so if you don't want this book completely filled with our correspondence you should probably help her out.
Joking aside, I'm a bit concerned for my other self. She reminds me a lot of the time before I came to Ponyville and made friends. Even though you don't go to the same school, I hope you can help her to open up to others like my friends helped me. Consider it your first friendship assignment.
Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle
Dear Rainbow Dash,
This is a message from Rainbow Dash to the other awesome Rainbow Dash. Everypony else look away. I mean it.
Anyways...go for it! You totally have a chance with her, and I know your Twilight is just as awesome as mine! She took down a hydra on her first visit here! I've written down a few things my Twilight likes so maybe you can use them on your Twilight. Trust me, she's worth it.
-Rainbow Dash
