An Equestria Girls equivalent in the universe of Camaraderie is Sorcery. Twilight Sparkle finds herself at the militarized Canterlot Academy in a world similar to early 20th Century Europe, on the verge of a Great War.
It is common knowledge that Twilight Sparkle was not the first of Celestia's apprentices, even if only recent times were considered. However, what is not common knowledge is that mi Amore Cadenza was not the only apprentice to precede the current Crown Princess of Cant'r Laht. Years ago, Sunset Shimmer was apprentice to Celestia as a backup in case Cadence didn't work out and kept secret from all but a few, but she too proved lacking to the ancient sorceress and mysteriously disappeared. When she returns to find another occupying the position she thought she was destined for, her actions will lead her replacement into another world, a world Sunset Shimmer is well familiar with, but Twilight Sparkle is not. Twilight will have to travel to the World Across the Divide, a world very different from the one she knows. Not only will she have to learn of Canterlot Academy, a militarized school in a nation on the brink of a Great War, but she will also need to learn how to control a new body, one without sorcery at that.
In the same universe as Camaraderie is Sorcery, to be read between the third and fourth seasons (after Chapter 3:14.3). The canon-universe equivalent is the Equestria Girls movie.
Sunset Shimmer stalked the seldom-used corridors of Cant’r Laht Castle, agonizing over the potential of her future. She wouldn’t be allowed to stay in the castle much longer, now that she was certain her days as Celestia’s apprentice were numbered. The ancient sorceress had ceased her engagement with Sunset some time ago, but the stroke that had convinced her things would soon be at an end was the recent accession of Celestia’s other apprentice to alicornhood. It should have been she who achieved that hallowed transformation, not the weak-willed Cadence. Yet, in this matter, Celestia had made her favor clear.
Unlike Lady mi Amore Cadenza, who’d been publicly paraded around as Celestia’s protégé and successor, Sunset Shimmer’s apprenticeship had been kept secret. It wouldn’t have surprised the young sorceress to learn that Celestia had had many secret apprentices over the years, though none had ever come forward; why was that? Given what she knew of her mentor, they had likely failed and been discarded by the ancient enchantress. Sunset Shimmer had no intention of being executed secretly by Celestia, but where could one run from the most powerful living sorceress? Perhaps she could flee to Zebrikaania, or Tyrannus—but would the Padishah or a dragonlord accept her and refuse to turn her over to Celestia? She could flee to Stygra and attempt to vanish, but would she truly be safe even so far away?
Sunset heard a door open ahead; sending out magical feelers, she discovered that it was one of Celestia’s guards. Were they on patrol, or searching for her? She wasn’t ready to start killing guards yet, and certainly not within the castle, where Celestia was likely to sense their deaths and swiftly exact judgment. Casting a spell to silence its hinges, Sunset Shimmer opened the door next to her and slipped into the storage room beyond.
The guard trotted past outside, none the wiser about the hiding sorceress, but Sunset still hesitated to leave her hiding place. There was something in this room emitting a powerful magical pulse that she hadn’t been able to sense from outside. Had Celestia hidden away a powerful relic here and forgotten about it in her many centuries of life? Could that relic be the key to Sunset’s escape? Carefully, she shifted the chests and rolled-up rugs that took up most of the storage room’s space until she was face-to-face with a tall, cloth-covered panel. Sunset drew off the cloth, and it pooled on the floor to reveal a full-body mirror. The mirror was elaborate, its edge ornately gilded and decorated with jewels.
The mirror’s face was more perfectly reflective than any mirror Sunset Shimmer had ever seen, and it was easy to believe another pony was reaching out to her as she lifted a hoof to its surface. Her hoof encountered only minor resistance as it touched the mirror, and ripples passed over it as it began to pass through. The sorceress gasped and yanked her hoof back, returning the mirror to normal. Tentatively, she pushed it through again, her head and torso quickly following the hoof until her body had passed through completely. In mere moments, the young sorceress vanished from the universe of Equus and journeyed into a strange new world.
The rivers of Cant’r Laht flowed strongly through the city, on their way to Onon’r Laht far below. Their canals, carved long ago, were enchanted to never erode, no matter how virulent the river was. Spring had sprung quite suddenly upon the mountain city, and the snowmelt from the higher slopes of the Titan’s Horn joined with the spring water to make the waterways nearly jump their banks. The gardens of the noble estates scattered throughout the city were in bloom, and gates had been thrown open to show off the magnificent flora—though entering for a closer look was discouraged by guards posted in clear view. These gardens provided a spectacle for the more aesthetically conscious of the Brave Companions as they trotted through Cant’r Laht.
After being separated for several days across the former Kingdom of Los Pegasus, the friends were reunited again, each with the partial relic they’d set out to find. Twilight had elected to open a portal to a road outside the city rather than within the Castle or its grounds, so they were able to enjoy a walk into the capital of the Kingdom of Cant’r Laht. Nothing coherent could be heard from the Lodge of Sorceresses as they passed by, but there were certainly raised voices within, cloaked by a spell of silence around the structure to prevent eavesdropping on private business. The Lodge was becoming more adamant than normal that something had to be done to reign in Celestia. It had been a constant agenda of the Lodge since its inception over a thousand years earlier; but the reappearance of Celestia’s alicorn sister, the ascension of two of her apprentices into alicornhood, and the establishment of Cant’r Laht as a sovereign kingdom with indisputable succession had all put greater pressure on the Lodge to make good on their word. However, the impetus for this aggressive discussion was also its biggest obstacle. The Lodge had never had a chance of standing against Celestia before; how could they now, when the ancient sorceress was backed by threeother alicorns and a charter that the Lodge’s members had themselves signed and agreed to? It was a hopeless situation for them, but that wouldn’t stop them from stewing and shouting in relative secrecy.
The same banner flew over Cant’r Laht Castle as it had over Celestia’s dominions for centuries, despite her current joint rule with her sister: a golden sun upon a field of crimson. Twilight Sparkle wondered if it would ever be changed, but it really wasn’t her place to ask. Celestia and Luna may be co-regents, but Twilight knew the bulk of ruling still fell upon her mentor’s shoulders. It wasn’t that Luna wasn’t allotted equal responsibility or upholding it on purpose; however, she had been away for over a thousand years, and been given only a few to adjust. There were many things about the modern world she didn’t understand. No wonder she’d rather travel across Equestria and beyond seeking out the Children of the Night—the cult dedicated to her worship that had grown up in her absence—and correcting them on their belief in her godhood. Today, The Brave Companions had come here to help Luna.
“Hello, Raven,” Twilight greeted Celestia’s page, who stood outside of the castle’s throne room. “Are the regents ready to meet with us?”
“One moment,” Raven said, and the guards stationed at the doors cracked one open to let her peek through. “Go on in.”
The throne room had been cleared of supplicants in preparation for the Brave Companions’ visit. Their hooftsteps echoed in the vast, empty chamber as they made their way to the twin thrones at the room’s head. Celestia was seated in one, Luna standing next to her as they conversed. Upon her throne, with a golden circlet upon her head and a gold-and-crimson dress wrapped around her, Celestia looked imposing, regal … and brittle. Now that Twilight Sparkle knew the truth about her teacher, she could not ignore it. While still the most powerful sorceress in the world (unless that title now passed to Luna), she had fallen far since the height of her power, and her body was experiencing the decay that sorcery had so long held at bay. The youth and vigor that Celestia appeared to display were a lie, no more than tricks accomplished by medication, makeup, and sorcerous glamour.
The years had not been kind to Celestia, but neither had they spared her younger sister. What long years of ruling had done to Celestia, long years of banishment as Nightmare Moon had done to Luna, though not to an equal extent. Luna was in better condition than her sister and might now prove to be the stronger sorceress, if the pair ever consented to a test of their magical potential. To do so, though, would be to expose how far the gap between the sisters and the sorceresses of Cant’r Laht had closed—a dangerous scenario. Luna, Twilight could tell, was not as afflicted as the young alicorn’s mentor, but she too had entered the downward spiral that was killing Celestia. The pressure of raising the sun on Celestia and the pressure of raising the moon and arranging the stars on Luna could do naught but contribute to that decay, hence why the Brave Companions had come.
“Your Royal Highnesses,” Twilight addressed the ancient alicorn sisters as the Brave Companions approached the throne. “We have brought the Stellaetrix.”
One by one, the Brave Companions revealed the parts of Nostracom the Wise’s lost relic. Reaching into her saddlebags, Rainbow Dash removed the third that she and Fluttershy had retrieved from the Westerlands’ swamps, most of the mud and monster blood now removed from it. Twilight Sparkle held forth the piece that had been buried with Leonorus, one of the founding members of Applewood Tower. Applejack presented the third she and Pinkamena had found in a fishing village outside of Los Pegasus, watched over by a cult devoted to Luna. Together, the three parts made a disk studded with diamonds and would allow a sorceress with merely average ability to manipulate the night sky.
“Ye have mine thanks,” Luna said as she accepted the Stellaetrix, and one of her captains swooped down from the darkness near the ceiling of the throne room, giving the Brave Companions a start. Those bat-like immortal guards were always startling. After he’d collected all three parts, the captain left on near-silent wings to bring them to Luna’s chamber.
“How are things in Los Pegasus?” Celestia asked.
“Not good, y’r royal highness,” Applejack replied. “Th’ city o’ Los Pegasus is under siege, an’ it’s only goin’ t’ get worse once King Ferdinand lands ‘is Stygran mercenaries.”
“King Hyelliff and Borgas are rolling up the Westerlands,” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s going to come to blows sooner or later with Silversword’s army, led by Marquesa Flax.”
“There is going to be a clash in the south soon between Duke Alfons and … well, anyone he comes across, really. He has managed to gain the support of the South Equestrian Bison,” Twilight Sparkle reported. “Even so, I doubt any of them will be able to gain control of all of the Kingdom of Los Pegasus without uniting.”
“A divided Los Pegasus, as we thought,” Celestia said, looking to her sister. “Whether this is to Equestria’s benefit or harm, only time will tell. I insist you all stay here for the night and tell us all about it.”
“Yes, of course,” Twilight Sparkle replied. Since she’d learned how to open portals, she’d always been able to return to Ponieville after visits to Cant’r Laht, but now she’d be staying in her old chambers again. It was like a trip to an earlier time, one that had been simpler.
***
Twilight Sparkle awoke later that night to alarm bells ringing in her head. She had just barely managed to get to sleep, having finally found a position where her new wings didn’t interfere, and her awakening was slow and groggy. The alarm was unfamiliar to her until she realized its source: a spell she’d cast years earlier, when she and her friends had briefly occupied her chambers in Cant’r Laht during the Grand Galloping Gala and Celestia’s first Equestrian summit. She’d set it to warn if an unrecognized pony entered the tower. She arose and cast a spell that created a dim light at the end of her horn to illuminate her way as she headed to the main chamber. Was a servant not notified that we’d be occupying these chambers?
The culprit who’d triggered the spell was revealed the moment Twilight entered the chamber. A pony in a dark robe had cracked open the chest within which the Brave Companions had stowed the Elements of Harmony for the night and was rooting around inside. The respective locks on the chest and the door were both broken; clearly, this was no servant doing some late-night cleaning. The thief noticed the light from Twilight’s horn almost immediately and left off what they were doing to dash for the door.
“Stop! Thief!” Twilight Sparkle cried as she pursued them, waking the rest of the Brave Companions.
The intruder only galloped down a few of the stairs that wrapped around Twilight’s tower before leaping to the sloped roof of the castle. They slid down before swinging over the lip and crashing through a window. Twilight teleported herself down into the hallway the thief had entered and pursued them, following the cloaked pony as they navigated the passages as only somepony familiar with Cant’r Laht Castle could.
Twilight was gaining on them, and the thief made an unexpected move. They were there one moment and gone the next, having teleported away. Twilight could sense where they had gone, however, and overcame her momentary shock to teleport herself into the thief’s path in the corridors beneath Cant’r Laht Castle.
“Stop!” Twilight shouted, and the thief plowed into her, knocking them both to the ground.
Twilight Sparkle grabbed hold of the thief’s dark cloak, but they teleported away to a short distance down the passage, leaving the cloak behind. Brightening the light on her horn, Twilight got her first good look at the thief: a unicorn mare with a yellow coat and red-and-yellow striped mane and tail. She was dressed in a bright blue guardsmare’s uniform that didn’t match any realm or house that Twilight knew. The thief only spared Twilight a single condescending glare before resuming her gallop down the passage.
“Mrinessen’r torrisal![1]” Twilight called out, and ice rose around the thief.
The mysterious mare whispered something, and the ice instantly turned to water and washed away toward Twilight. The alicorn leapt over the water without using her wings and dragged her nightgown’s hem in the shallow layer left over as she pursued the thief who she now realized was a powerful sorceress. The yellow unicorn darted into a storage room and Twilight followed after her, wary of traps but more concerned with catching her target. It didn’t occur to her that it was strange for the thief to have fled here, a small chamber underground, from which there was no obvious escape. Within, the thief stood before a full-body mirror, awaiting a dramatic moment which came as Twilight Sparkle entered and fell against a chest.
“So long, ‘princess’,” the thief spoke mockingly, and leapt toward the mirror.
Instead of slamming against the glass, polished metal, or whatever material the extraordinarily reflective mirror was crafted from, the thief passed through, leaving ripples along the surface of the mirror. Twilight Sparkle hurried up to it but didn’t dare try to pass through after the thief. There was magic coming from the mirror, but it was unlike anything Twilight had ever experienced. Clearly it was a portal of some kind, but it was completely unlike the portal spell Twilight was accustomed to using. Besides that, she couldn’t detect where the portal might lead. In fact, it seemed to lead … nowhere. But how could that be?
***
“I do not understand,” Twilight Sparkle told Celestia later. “Who were they? Where did they go?”
Celestia, Luna, and the Brave Companions had all assembled in the throne room in the aftermath of the incident. Celestia had needed to be awakened; her façade had never looked so thin to Twilight, but this was an emergency that couldn’t wait until morning. Upon returning to her chambers and a gaggle of perturbed friends, she had quickly discovered what the thief had taken. The Element of Sorcery had been replaced by a fake, and Twilight could only assume the real one had vanished with the mysterious mare through the mirror.
“I had hoped this day would never come, but I should have made you aware of this sooner,” Celestia said wearily, visibly drooping upon her throne. “Given what you described, this pony who has taken the Element of Sorcery is Sunset Shimmer, a former apprentice of mine. When Cadence’s progress began to stall, I thought that it was because she was neglecting her studies to spend time with her friends. Because of this, I took a new apprentice in secret, so that every noble of Cant’r Laht would not think they could send their daughters and sons to me.
“To avoid what I assumed were Cadence’s weaknesses, I chose to cloister Sunset Shimmer away from most other ponies, both young and old. She showed promise at first, but I now realize that keeping her isolated as I did had only negative effects. Sunset Shimmer became cruel, self-interested, and began to dabble in magic that should not be touched. I … attempted to correct her, but perhaps she was already too far gone. She vanished shortly after Cadence’s alicornification, and I was never able to discover where she had gone. This night’s events have answered my question, though. I now know where she has been these past sixteen years.”
While Celestia had been talking, a few burly servants carried the portal-mirror into the throne room, and they gently set it down now. Celestia rose from her throne and trotted past the Brave Companions to stand by it.
“This mirror was created long ago by Star-Swirl the Bearded. He was fascinated by other worlds and how sorceresses might travel between them. This mirror is a relic with which he managed to create a stable pathway to another world, one incredibly alien to us in many ways, and yet quite similar in others,” Celestia said.
“Star-Swirl the Bearded made this?” Twilight Sparkle asked as she stared at the mirror in open adoration.
“Yes, I discovered it in the first century after I lost Luna,” Celestia said as she looked to her sister. “I had no idea what its purpose was, for it was inert at the time. Several centuries later, it became active again and Star-Swirl the Bearded emerged from it.”
“Hold on! Didn’t Star-Swirl die in the Age of the Earth Pony? That was …” Spike said as he counted in his head, “… over three thousand years ago!”
“Star-Swirl disappeared mysteriously shortly before the Long Winter, but he did not die until several centuries ago. Here, in secret, in this very castle,” Celestia replied. “When he disappeared, it was because he traveled through this mirror into another world—the ‘World Across the Divide,’ as he called it.”
“But how could he live so long?” Twilight asked. Everything she knew about her idol had just been turned on its head. “Star-Swirl never became an alicorn … unless did he?”
“No, he was not an alicorn,” Celestia said with a shake of her head. “He was in his final days, dying of old age, when he emerged from the mirror, but he did not spend three thousand years in that other world. Apparently, the passage of time is variable between our worlds; an hour across the Divide might be decades in ours, or it could be only a moment. Star-Swirl was never able to predict the variation, but I will give you all of his notes to take with you when you pass through.”
“When I pass through?” Twilight asked as she looked at the mirror.
“Twilight, thou must retrieve the Element of Sorcery,” Luna said gravely. “Without it, the Elements of Harmony are useless, and our world is in danger. If Tartarus were to open or Discord were to return to his old ways, we would be defenseless.”
“You must leave as soon as possible, Twilight,” Celestia said. “The pace of time may vary, but its direction does not. The longer we wait, the more time Sunset Shimmer has in the other world to escape again. I will give you everything I can to help.”
“And you’ll have us with you,” Rainbow Dash said encouragingly, and the other Brave Companions all stepped forward to join her in supporting Twilight.
“No; that is out of the question,” Celestia said firmly, “Star-Swirl’s notes are clear that traveling to the World Across the Divide carries risks. Twilight must try to blend in and remain unnoticed, and that will be more difficult with all of you along. Besides, we do not know how much time has passed since Star-Swirl the Bearded was there and what new dangers might exist that we do not want to follow you home to our world. No, Twilight must do this alone.”
“I understand,” Twilight said. “I will not fail.”
“I know you won’t,” Celestia said. “Now go, pack all that you will need and return here when you are ready.”
Twilight didn’t need much time to prepare, as her saddlebags were still packed from her journey to Los Pegasus, and she was soon standing ready in front of the mirror. Added to her saddlebags were Star-Swirl’s notes and a letter from Celestia. Exactly how that letter would help was unclear, but according to Celestia, there was some kind of transformation that occurred to all things that passed through the mirror. It couldn’t hurt to have a letter from a leader of a kingdom, no matter how that manifested itself in the World Across the Divide.
Realizing she was prepared as she could be, Twilight trotted forward and thrust a hoof through the mirror. Its surface gave way, but her hoof did set down on something solid on the other side, and she continued to pass through the rippling reflection until she disappeared entirely. Celestia, Luna, and the Brave Companions watched her go, but there was one who couldn’t just stand by and let Twilight go off on her own. Spike ran forward before anypony could stop him and plunged through the mirror, following his friend to the other side.
As Twilight Sparkle strode into the mirror, she was surrounded by reflections and duplicates of herself stretching off into infinity in all directions, an image her brain had no choice but to reject. She kept moving forward until she’d passed fully through the mirror, and the bizarre images disintegrated along with the invisible surface she’d been trotting on. A swirl of colors burst around the sorceress as she felt herself being yanked forward, and she eventually surrendered to the draw. After a second or two, Twilight felt herself collide with an elastic surface that initially seemed like it would bar her passage; however, she managed to pass through after a moment. At this point, she no longer had any sense of her body, and self was only a concept. That sensation (or lack thereof) continued as she was pulled through the swirling vortex of light toward a convergence point so bright it hurt to behold.
Twilight plunged through it into darkness, and sensations gradually returned to her body. A transformation had undeniably happened to her—one far more drastic than her recent transformation from unicorn to alicorn—but she was given hardly any time to consider this development as a humming grew in intensity behind her before dropping off, followed by footsteps. Turning, Twilight spotted the source, a puppy with purple fur dark enough to be nearly black over most of its body and green fur the color of forest floor moss on its paws, chest, and cheeks.
“Twilight, is that you?” the puppy spoke in a voice that, while a bit different, undeniably belonged to Spike.
“Spike?” Twilight asked. “What are you doing here? You were not supposed to follow me. And are you … a hound?”
Spike turned himself around in a circle, as if he were chasing his tail, in order to get a good examination of himself before sitting down.
“I … think so. Huh,” Spike said. “I have no idea what you’re supposed to be, though.”
Twilight took a moment to examine herself—or what she could see of herself, at least. She stretched her forelimbs out in front of her; now long, gangly things that ended not in hooves, but five-digit hands like a centaur. Her hindlimbs were similar but much longer, and the digits at the end (which she could only feel, not see, by wiggling them through her shoes) were much shorter and had no opposing digit to assist in grasping. The skin on her hands (and presumably her arms and legs, too, were she to disrobe and check) was the same color her coat had been as a pony, though no hair apart from thin, barely visible wisps were visible growing from it, and those were more similar in color to her mane.
Reaching up to her head, she grasped her mane from where it fell behind her and pulled it forward over her shoulder. It was the same color and pattern as her mane had been back across the Divide, which was a small comfort, but her tail was completely missing. She ran her hands over her face to get a rough approximation of its features and dimensions, nearly poking herself in the eye by accident in the process. The skin here was devoid of hair as well, apart from the top and back of her head, and it was stretched relatively tightly over her skull. Her muzzle was completely gone, her mouth and nostrils now even with her eyes. A nose like a centaur’s, but pointier, stuck out from her face between mouth and eyes and seemed to be of the same flexible material beneath the skin as her ears, which jutted statically from the sides of her head now. There was also the distinct absence of her horn upon her head.
Her attire and belongings had also been transformed by her passage through Star-Swirl’s magic mirror. The travelling robes she’d been wearing weren’t remarkably changed, just modified to fit her new body; though sitting down, there did seem to be quite a lot of fabric wrapped around her. Her saddlebags had also morphed into a satchel hanging at her side. She fumbled with the strap and buckle with her new hands but managed to get it open and peer inside. Her provisions were unchanged, as were Star-Swirl’s notes and Celestia’s letter from what she could tell, though the parchment was of a different quality.
“Twilight, are you okay?” Spike asked.
She hadn’t realized during her inspection how loudly her heart was pounding in her ears. This was crazy, but she would adjust to it; she had to, in order to protect her own world. She tried casting a calming spell on herself but was met with … nothing. No well of magical energy existed for her to draw from, leaving no possibility to cast even the simplest spell. That terrified Twilight more than any of the other changes that had happened. She began to hyperventilate but again reminded herself that she had to adjust and get on with things. Her breathing and heartbeat slowly returned to normal, and she let out a sigh to release tension.
“Twilight?” Spike asked again, concern tensing his voice.
“I will be fine, Spike,” Twilight told him as she reached out her hands to try to get herself into a standing position. “We need to find where Sunset Shimmer took the Element of Sorcery.”
Shakily, Twilight pushed herself upright. With the way her arms and legs were proportioned, it was obvious that this body of hers was meant to walk bipedally, like a minotaur, satyr, or felis. Her legs wobbled as she rose, uncertain about how to balance with only two points of contact with the ground, but she eventually managed to push herself upright by clinging to the plinth behind her. One hand briefly fell through the surface of the portal back home, but she managed to pull it back and grab hold of the corner in time to keep from toppling over.
Once she was upright, she was able to take in her surroundings, starting with the block of stone she was leaning against. The slab was a solid block apart from ribbed columns that wrapped around the corners. Both sides that Twilight could see appeared exactly the same, but only one of them was secretly a portal to Star-Swirl’s creation and rippled like the mirror when she ran her fingers along it. Atop the plinth was a statue of a rearing pony, although with its thinner limbs and longer muzzle, the proportions were too exaggerated to resemble any kind of pony Twilight had met; one exception might be the Saddle Arabians, but that was still a stretch.
The pseudo-pony was not alone on the plinth. Atop its back was sitting a creature similar to what Twilight had become. As Twilight made her way around the statue, she could see that the biped had their mouth open, presumably in a shout, and held a set of reigns in one hand leading to a bit and bridle in their mount’s mouth. In their other hand they held an outstretched saber that looked little different than those Twilight had seen in her own world, apart from the hilt being designed for holding in a hand rather than between one’s teeth.
The statue was surrounded by dew-covered grass with a circle of gravel breaking up the greater lawn around it. On one side, the gravel path led to a set of open gates in a long wrought-iron fence. Past the fence was a line of buildings in a style Twilight couldn’t recognize. There was a glow from beyond them as the sun rose, bringing light to the near-dawn sky. Twilight Sparkle glanced up at the starry sky and located the moons. The most important thing she had gleaned from a quick glance at Star-Swirl’s notes before coming here was that the portal between the worlds opened and closed whenever this world’s twin moons met in the sky above it. The moons weren’t near each other right now, but she would need to prioritize finding out when they would meet again. That way, she would know how much time she had before the portal deactivated and she was trapped in this world. She brought her attention back down to the gate and the metal sign above it. The letters were backwards, and she knew that even if they were reversed, they wouldn't be written in either High or Low Equestrian. At the very least, she was still able to read them.
“Canterlot Academy,” she sounded out as she read the sign.
“Cant’r Laht?” Spike asked. “Does that mean we’re in this world’s version of Cant’r Laht?”
“It would appear so,” Twilight said with uncertainty. “I am not really sure what that means, though. So much seems different, the name may be all that is the same.”
Making her way back around the statue and gradually becoming more accustomed to walking, Twilight examined what else was enclosed by the fence. Directly ahead was a three-story brick building covered in glass windows. There were some other buildings of similar architecture to the north, but this one loomed largest. Yellow light glowed from some of the windows, though it didn’t flicker like candlelight.
“It appears to be some sort of manor house, like in a Cant’r Laht estate,” Twilight said.
“Sunset Shimmer’s?” Spike asked.
“We shall see,” Twilight said as she strode toward the manor. “Come on Spike, let us see what we can find inside.”
“Do you think that’s … safe?” Spike asked as he followed.
“I will be at a disadvantage since I am not familiar with this new body. And … without my magic,” Twilight admitted. Spike’s ears went up and his eyes widened in surprise at this revelation. “But,” she continued, “we cannot afford to wait.”
Twilight Sparkle made her way to the building’s entrance, carefully navigating the stairs that led up to the doors. Cautious of what she’d find on the other side, she grasped a handle with her hand and pushed a door open. Inside was an empty hall with twin staircases running up the back wall to the second floor. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, and the light coming from it didn’t originate from candles or magical lights (as far as Twilight could tell) but instead from glowing glass bulbs. There was a tall clock directly ahead, and Twilight Sparkle walked toward it to examine the mechanisms within. The pendulum was encased behind a tall pane of glass, and the sorceress was finally able to get a complete view of herself reflected in it.
“What am I?” she wondered as she examined her strange new form.
Twilight jumped back and only barely saved herself from tumbling to the floor as the clock began to loudly chime. Bells sounded from outside a moment later, and in under a minute, the entry hall was empty no more. Other people walked or ran through the foyer, avoiding Twilight when they could but brushing past her when they couldn’t. She got some strange looks, but that was expected, given that her attire was completely different from theirs. Her robes looked remarkably out of place when contrasted with the bright blue jackets on everyone, pleated skirts on the females, and scarlet trousers on the males. (This was a distinction Twilight was only just beginning to make now that she had multiple individuals to compare with herself and the statue outside.) Their clothing was so remarkably uniform that Twilight was surprised Star-Swirl’s mirror hadn’t placed her in something similar; maybe it would have had she been wearing something closer to what she’d seen Sunset Shimmer in. She didn’t fully understand the rules of this world or of Star-Swirl’s mirror—something she’d have to remedy if she ever found a spare moment to go through her idol’s notes more thoroughly. After a few minutes, the crowds had disappeared, the last few individuals to pass by her moving at a quicker pace than the earlier ones.
“What was that?” Spike asked as he crept out from beneath a bench where he’d hidden to avoid being trample.
“I do not know,” Twilight said thoughtfully. “We should continue exploring and be on guard in case it occurs again.”
Spike followed Twilight as she headed for a doorway out of the foyer and entered a hallway. There were doors regularly spaced along the hall, and they could hear muffled voices on the other side, though the glazed glass on the doors stopped Twilight from seeing what was happening on the other side. There was nothing distinctive that might direct their search, despite the pair’s vigilance. Twilight was beginning to think locating Sunset Shimmer and the Elements of Sorcery would be impossible, until she heard raised voices ahead. She hurried forward and peered around the corner, spotting two individuals standing alone in the hallway: two females in identical uniforms, both with yellow skin. Both were the same height (actually, the one with pink hair might turn out to be taller if she stood up straight instead of cowering), but the one with red and yellow hair seemed to be looming over the other. Could it be?
“I’m so sorry,” the intimidated one whimpered. “When I found the crown, I-I thought I should return it to the headmistress. I had no idea th-that you dropped it.” Crown? Does she mean the Element of Sorcery?
“Well, I did, and now you’ve ruined everything. Nothing new there,” the aggressive one taunted. “You should know better than to pick up things that don’t belong to you.”
“It doesn’t belong to you, either,” the cowering girl muttered as she looked away from her tormenter.
“What did you say!?”
“N-n-nothing,” the pink-haired one stuttered as she shrank even more than before.
“That’s right,” the other gloated, secure in her victory. “That crown’s as good as mine. You just stay out of my way. Stay with your own kind, those filthy stray animals.”
“That is enough!” Twilight said as she stepped out into the hallway, unable to stand by any longer as the browbeaten girl struggled to hold back tears. “How dare you speak to her in this manner?”
“Why don’t you mind your own business?” the red-haired girl snarled as she turned to face Twilight and a look of surprise crossed her face.
“Why do you not leave her be? There is no reason to torment her so,” Twilight said.
“Are you a pilgrim that wandered in off the street or something?” the other girl said with a smirk as she looked over Twilight’s clothes. “This is a private academy; go somewhere else if you’re looking for charity. A word to the wise: get out of here before the school guards throw you out. And another piece of free advice: I can talk to anyone however I want.”
She stalked off down the hallway in satisfaction, leaving Twilight Sparkle alone with the other girl.
“Thank you,” she said quietly as she straightened herself out. “I can’t believe you did that!”
“Did what?” Twilight asked. “I could not stand by and let her insult you so.”
“Anybody else would have,” the other girl said. “Nobody opposes Sunset Shimmer.”
So, my instincts were right! That was Sunset Shimmer. It’s fortunate that she didn’t seem to recognize me.
“So, are you really a pilgrim?” the other girl asked. “You look about the same age as me. Are you a new student from another school?”
“Yes, that is it,” Twilight lied. “Another … school.” Sunset Shimmer had apparently managed to blend in here as a student; if Twilight wanted to keep an eye on her and locate the Element of Sorcery, she would need to blend in here, too.
“You must have just gotten here, then,” the other girl said as she observed Twilight’s robes. “You’ll want to speak to the headmistress. What’s your name?”
“I am Twilight Sparkle. What about you?”
“Oh, I-I’m Fl…” the other girl said shyly, her voice trailing off so that Twilight couldn’t make out the entirety of her name.
“Sorry, I’m afraid I did not catch that,” Twilight said.
“I-I said my name is Fluttershy,” the girl said, this time a little louder.
Surely Twilight’s new ears were playing tricks on her. If Fluttershy had followed her through the mirror as Spike had, then how would she already know more about this world than Twilight did? She did have a similar appearance and demeanor to the Fluttershy Twilight knew, but there was no way this girl could be her. Everything about this was strangely familiar, though.
“Oh my goodness!” the girl who claimed to be Fluttershy exclaimed as she pushed past Twilight to get to Spike, who’d revealed himself from behind the corner. “Hello little guy! Oh, he’s adorable! Is he yours?”
“Um, yes,” Twilight said, turning around and bemusedly watching as Fluttershy scratched Spike behind his ears, something he seemed to be enjoying quite a bit. “This is Spike, my … hound.”
There was no doubt; this was exactly like when Twilight Sparkle had first met Fluttershy outside of Ponieville; it was too much of a coincidence for her not to realize that. This girl was Fluttershy, but not the Fluttershy from Twilight’s world. She was this world’s Fluttershy, which meant that it was likely every individual in Twilight’s world had a version in the World Across the Divide. No wonder Star-Swirl had cautioned against large numbers of ponies crossing over; they might cause all sorts of chaos if they encountered their duplicates. Twilight was vaguely worried that she might run into this world’s version of herself, but Fluttershy hadn’t recognized her, so she must either not exist or not live anywhere near here. The important thing was that she had found someone in this world whom she knew, in a way, and might not be entirely alone.
“Wouldn’t you give anything to know what he’s thinking?” Fluttershy wondered as she continued to pet Spike.
“Usually he tells me,” Twilight said absently while still considering alternate versions of ponies before she realized her gaffe. For all I know, hounds don’t speak in this world either and Spike is a special exception since he came over with me.
“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked suspiciously, and Spike yipped to draw her attention back.
“Oh, nothing,” Twilight tried to laugh it off, and Fluttershy seemed to have forgotten the strange comment as she petted Spike. “I overheard what you said to Sunset Shimmer earlier. You found a crown she had dropped, correct?”
“Yes, ... that,” Fluttershy said, biting her lip. “I was returning to the academy last night when I spotted it on the front lawn, out by the statue of General Sherwit. I have no idea how it got there, but I thought I should return it to the headmistress.”
“Right, the headmistress,” Twilight said. “You said I should speak to her. Where can I find her?”
“Back the way you came, up the stairs, and follow the signs,” Fluttershy said as she pointed back toward the entry hall. “Oh! You should keep Spike in your room or concealed in your bag if you don’t want to part with him. You’re not supposed to have pets on campus.”
“Thank you,” Twilight said as Fluttershy opened the bag at her side, revealing several birds and squirrels nested among a disordered collection of papers, books, bandages, and odd brass devices.
“You’re welcome. Nice to meet you, Twilight,” Fluttershy said sweetly before realization dawned on her face and she took off in a sprint. “Oh no! I’m late!”
“What do you think, Spike?” Twilight asked once Fluttershy was gone and there were no signs of other students around to overhear.
“I don’t know. Is there space in your satchel for me?” he asked.
“Not that,” Twilight said. “It appears there are alternate versions of ponies from Equestria here.”
“Well, Celestia did say this world was bizarre yet also similar, didn’t she?” Spike asked.
“Hmm, I suppose so,” Twilight said. “I never expected anything quite like this, though. I should read Star-Swirl’s notes. First, though, I think I should speak to the headmistress. I do not know if Sunset Shimmer’s threat was hollow, but I should sort things out before any guards arrive to escort me away.”
“Plus, according to Fluttershy, the headmistress should have the Element of Sorcery,” Spike said as he crawled into Twilight’s satchel, moving items around to make barely enough space for himself.
“Exactly,” Twilight said as she stood back up and closed the flap gently over him.
She followed Fluttershy’s instructions, heading back to the entry hall where she’d arrived. Everything seemed peaceful now, but there was no telling when another swarm of students might descend. At the top of the stairs, there were several placards with arrows on the wall, one of them labeled Headmistress’s Office. Twilight followed it and the other placards through the second-floor hallways until she reached the door with an identical title etched upon the frosted glass. Tentatively, Twilight knocked.
“Come in,” a voice came from the other side, and Twilight opened the door.
The headmistress’s office was a dark, hazy room with bookshelves lining the walls, except for where a large window with curtains drawn across it was located. Behind a large wooden desk piled high with papers sat the headmistress. She was dressed similarly to the students, apart from epaulettes on her jacket and gold braiding around her buttons, which were polished to a shine. That wasn’t what most drew Twilight’s attention, however. The headmistress was a woman with ivory skin and hair the color of a sunrise.
“Who are you?” the headmistress asked as she skeptically eyed Twilight’s attire.
“Celestia?” Twilight asked in surprise.
“You may address me as Headmistress, Lieutenant Colonel, or Ma’am,” Celestia said sternly. “Now, I will ask once more. Who are you?”
“Sorry … ma’am,” Twilight said, still slightly taken aback. “I am Twilight Sparkle.”
Spike crouched down as Twilight opened her satchel, careful to keep him out of Headmistress Celestia’s sight as she pulled out the letter from Regent Celestia.
“This should help explain,” she said as she handed the letter over.
Twilight had discreetly glanced at the letter before passing it across, and it looked like Star-Swirl’s mirror had transformed it from a letter written by Celestia to a form addressed to her. She couldn’t understand a lot of what was in it, but it did seem to suggest she was intended to be a student here; she just had to have faith it would accomplish what she needed.
“Twilight Sparkle Haltrotsun,” Celestia read her full name while rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “Is that the new fashion in Sottsland?”
“Uh, no ma’am, just me,” Twilight said. She seemed to have answered correctly, for Celestia looked back down at the form in front of her.
“Hmm. Your transfer paperwork all seems to be in order,” Celestia said as she folded it up and returned it to Twilight. “You’re late, you know. The term started two weeks ago.”
“Sorry, ma’am,” Twilight Sparkle replied.
“Report to the dean,” Celestia said, gesturing for Twilight to leave, “She’ll sort out your coursework, lodgings, and … uniform.”
Getting the feeling that Celestia didn’t want her around any longer, Twilight quickly backed out of the headmistress’s office. The dean’s office was also marked by the placards in the halls, though it was surprisingly nowhere near the headmistress’s office. Still, she managed to find her way there and was invited in. As she’d predicted, the dean was none other than Luna, who sat behind her own desk wearing a uniform similar to Celestia’s.
“A transfer student, eh?” Luna said as she reviewed Twilight’s paperwork. “Well, we’ll need to get you sorted out on the double.”
The casters on Luna’s chair clattered as she rolled over to a nearby cabinet and opened it to pull out several portfolios. She dropped them on her desk as she wheeled past it to another cabinet. This one required a key to unlock, and she produced a ring of them from within her jacket. Inside were several cubicles, and Luna withdrew another key from one of them before shutting the cabinet without locking it. Before she did so, Twilight spotted a golden circlet that looked to be made from leaves in one of the cubicles, and something akin to magic awoke within her to let her know that this was the Element of Sorcery. To keep from looking suspicious, she turned her attention back as Luna wheeled back over to her desk.
“Here is your academy handbook and the key to your lodgings—Room 223 in the Women’s Dormitory. Losing either is a serious offence that will result in serious consequences,” Luna said as she handed over a small metal key and a thin but sturdy booklet; Twilight tucked both into her saddlebags as the dean placed two packets of paper on the desk in front of her. “You will need to choose a civilian and military major from those lists.”
Twilight didn’t intend to stay in this world any longer than necessary, but she had to go through the motions if she wanted to blend in long enough to retrieve the Element of Sorcery. It was tantalizing knowing it was so close, but she didn’t think she could successfully snatch it from the cabinet and flee back to Equestria without leading Luna to the portal—certainly not in her robes and this Luna’s intimidating fitness level. So, she perused the first packet in front of her, which held a list of civilian majors. If she had to study something while plotting how to get her Element back, it would be best to choose something useful in helping her understand the World Across the Divide.
“I will take Illean History,” she announced to Luna.
The alternate version of the Guardian of the Moon slid a piece of paper into a contraption on her desk and began to tap on its keys, intriguing Twilight as to just what she was doing.
“And for your military major?” Luna asked as she adjusted the contraption and tapped some more. “I know Sottsland doesn’t have compulsory martial education, but is there any department for which you have experience or an affinity?”
Twilight examined the cover of the second packet and the table of contents printed there.
Infantry Department (2) Cavalry Department (4) Artillery Department (7) Engineering Department (9) Psionics Department (13) Medical Department (17) Combined Command (20)
“What is this ‘Combined Command’?” Twilight inquired as she flipped to the last page of the packet.
“Combined Command is our most intensive program. It requires knowledge of all the different departments and how they interact,” Luna explained. “It is a difficult program, and we have only six students studying it.”
“I will take it,” Twilight said. A program that touched on all the departments should allow her to go practically anywhere in the academy for her studies.
“Very well,” Luna said as she tapped away on her contraption. (Twilight was able to sneak a peek of this strange object and observed that each tap of a key triggered an arm to strike the paper and leave an inked letter behind.) “After you leave my office, report to the tailor to pick up and have your uniforms fitted. Change into your uniform in your dormitory before returning to campus. Acquaint yourself with the layout of the academy before reporting to the cafeteria over the noon hour. Your course list and materials should be delivered to your dormitory by then; I encourage you to spend the afternoon catching up on the weeks you missed. Any questions?”
“No, ma’am,” Twilight said and stood as she accepted a folded stack of papers from Luna.
“Good answer. I need to leave now,” Luna said as she stood and walked over to the cabinet she’d left unlocked earlier. “You are dismissed.”
“Um, excuse me, ma’am,” Twilight said as Luna withdrew the Element of Sorcery from the cabinet before locking it. “What is that?”
“Oh, I suppose it’s alright to tell you since you’re in the Combined Command course now,” Luna said as she grabbed a satchel, placing it and the Element upon her desk. “This is the Acclamation Crown, presented to the Combined Command student chosen by the other students at the end of the term to lead them in parade. There was an … incident, so I am taking it to a more secure location at Fort Krahn until the end of term.”
Luna placed a soft, narrow-brimmed cap on her head and placed the Element of Sorcery within her satchel before beckoning Twilight to leave her office.
“Welcome to Canterlot Academy, Twilight Sparkle Haltrotsun” Luna said as she locked the office door after her. “Now, off with you. You have much to do.”
***
Later that morning, Twilight Sparkle stood in her dormitory room, adjusting her uniform in front of the mirror. The robes she’d come here with were hanging in the closet, exchanged for this very plain combination of jacket, skirt, and shoes. The uniforms adjusted by the tailor to fit her measurements also included a soft cap, a heavy coat, long strips of cloth with no discernable function, thick scarlet stockings, and boots; but she hadn’t seen any other students wearing those, so she left them in her new dresser.
“Are you sure about this, Twilight?” Spike asked as he examined her appearance in the mirror.
“Well … no, but this is probably the best way to learn about this world and retrieve the Element of Sorcery,” Twilight said, locking eyes with her reflection in determination. “If becoming a student at Canterlot Academy is what I must do to get home, then I will do it and give it my all!”
After donning her uniform, Twilight Sparkle followed Luna’s advice and spent the time before she had to be at the cafeteria acquainting herself with the layout of Canterlot Academy. The school handbook included a map of the campus, so she at least had a guide during her exploration. Canterlot Academy possessed a spacious campus that included a forest and extensive parade grounds, but Twilight would be spending most of her time in the nine buildings clustered on the property’s eastern end.
The manor house that had first drawn Twilight’s attention was identified as the Main Lecture Hall, and it had four wings arranged in a square around a courtyard. Lying west of it were two U-shaped buildings labeled the Men’s Dormitory and Women’s Dormitory, the latter of which held Twilight’s room. South of the previous three buildings was the Cafeteria & Kitchens, where Twilight was to report during the noon hour. (Provided noon had the same meaning here as in Equestria, she’d be able to use the bells that rang on the hour to know when she was meant to be there.) Directly north of the Main Lecture Hall was the Chapel and then—of more interest to Twilight—the Library; she didn’t have time to explore everything, but she knew she’d soon be returning there. West of the Chapel and the Library was the Supplemental Lecture Hall, shaped like a very blocky letter A.
While this was clearly the main cluster of buildings, built immediately next to each other, there were two other brick constructions a little farther away. The building situated farthest north was labeled as the Stables, but Twilight suspected it had some other meaning here in the World Across the Divide; she could think of no reason why a cheap boarding house would be on Canterlot Academy’s campus. To the west of the main campus was a sturdy-looking structure identified as the Armory. Twilight wasn’t sure what to make of Canterlot Academy. Clearly it was a school, but it also appeared to have a strong connection to the army in this world; were the students soldiers, or were the soldiers students? These questions would certainly benefit from additional research once she had a chance to visit the library—and, of course, once she figured out how to take notes. Attempts to write with both her mouth and her hands had been abysmal.
Twilight was curiously examining the targets lined up against an earth berm east of the Armory when the bells tolled out the noon hour. She quickly backtracked past the dormitories to get to the cafeteria, where a queue of other students had already formed. Not knowing what else to do, Twilight got in line and followed them in. In Twilight’s eyes, the cafeteria resembled a great hall; strong beams supported a high ceiling over a collection of chairs and tables, where many students sat eating their midday meals. One major deviation was the lack of a lord or lady at the head of the hall; however, there was a portrait of a lady hung on the wall in a venerable position, though Twilight couldn’t make out any details quite yet. There also wasn’t any food on the tables other than what the students had in front of them. Twilight’s line eventually led her to long counters at which other students were passing out plates of bread, stewed vegetables, and slices of meat; following everyone else’s example, she took one and a glass of water before heading out into the cafeteria.
The tables were rapidly filling up with students, but Twilight wasn’t certain of the rules dictating where she could or couldn’t eat her meal. What social status did she have here? Was there any position with different prestige if there was no head of the hall? Twilight walked down the center of the cafeteria to get a closer look at the portrait hung against the far wall. It depicted a woman standing triumphantly amid burning buildings; wrapped around her was a banner with bands of red, bright blue, and white. At the bottom of the canvas was printed Liberty, though Twilight was unsure whether that referred to the painted figure or the concept she personified. She hadn’t been able to glean much from the painting, but her journey closer had allowed her to spot Fluttershy sitting alone at a table at this end of the hall. She may be the same Fluttershy that Twilight had known for years, but she was a familiar face and the only one that Twilight had become acquainted with in any way, so she sat down next to her.
“Oh, it’s you!” Fluttershy said as she was startled slightly off her seat. “Twilight Sparkle?”
“That is right,” Twilight replied as she surveyed the food on her plate. “And you are Fluttershy.”
“That’s right!” Fluttershy said cheerily.
As she listened to Fluttershy, Twilight tried to secretly slip her meat to Spike through her satchel flap.
“Did you get everything sorted out with the headmistress?” Fluttershy asked.
“Yes, I did, though things are much different here than in … Sottsland,” Twilight said, remembering the false history designated for her by the transfer paperwork. “I know we have only just met, but I was hoping you could help me get acclimated.”
“Oh, of course,” Fluttershy said.
“Excellent, because I have signed up for the Combined Command program and I will need all the help I can get in order to win the Acclamation Crown,” Twilight said as she pulled a notebook out of her satchel.
Fluttershy’s fork fell to her plate as she choked in surprise.
“Oh, I’m sorry, it’s just, … that’s not what I expected you to ask,” Fluttershy apologized after a moment. “A-are you sure that trying for the Acclamation Crown is a good idea?”
“It will be difficult, I know, especially since I’m just starting out, and late at that, but I must try for it,” Twilight said.
“That's true, but it’s not what I meant,” Fluttershy said shakily. “Sunset Shimmer has won the crown the last four terms, and she’s determined to keep winning it until graduation. You may not be afraid of her, but most of us are.”
“Well, we will just have to change that, will we not?” Twilight said.
“It’s not just that,” Fluttershy continued. “Even if you managed to convince some of those she’s intimidated or persuaded to vote for her to support you instead, you’ll still be competing against the other Combined Command students. The only reason Sunset Shimmer has been able to win each term so easily is because the rest of the vote is split between the other five, and each has a preferred department that votes for them. Sunset Shimmer is the only person who’s been able to cross departmental lines and get students from multiple departments to vote for her. You’d have to pull off a similar feat to win, as well as get at least one of the departments to abandon their favored candidate and vote for you instead. Medical doesn’t have a Combined Command student that shows them favoritism, so you might be able to get them to follow you, but that won’t be enough to win.”
“I saw the department list briefly in the dean’s office,” Twilight said as she set her notebook down briefly to dig into her food. “What are these departments? What is their purpose?”
“The departments divide up the military majors. Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery are the directly combat-focused ones. Engineering, Medical, and Psionics provide more of a support role, though I suppose Psionics walks the line between support and combat—that’s mental powers, by the way,” Fluttershy said, and Twilight’s mind was drawn to magic. “We mostly keep to our own kinds here at Canterlot Academy, so getting students from different departments to work together isn’t an easy task.”
“Are there not any commonalities or crossover between the departments?” Twilight asked.
“Sure there are,” Fluttershy said. “I’m actually in both the Medical and Psionics Departments, but students like me are in the minority. The one thing all of us in every department have in common is knowing that Sunset Shimmer is going to run things until she graduates.”
“Well, not if I can help it!” Twilight said so passionately that it seemed to shock Fluttershy. “Oh, sorry. So, I need to convince everyone to vote for me?”
“By the end of the term, yes,” Fluttershy replied, looking a little subdued.
“And you are going to help me, right?”
“Oh my … I suppose I promised I would, didn’t I?” Fluttershy said nervously. “Okay, I-I’ll do my best. I don’t know that many other students, though. You might have better luck with someone on the school newspaper.”
“News … paper,” Twilight tried out the unfamiliar word. “You think I should talk to someone involved with the school … newspaper?”
“Oh, yes!” Fluttershy jumped on the opportunity to get out of her commitment, at least for the time being. “They should be meeting after lunch today. I can show you the way.”
“Thank you,” Twilight said as she worked to finish her meal. I’m making progress, but I really need to get better acquainted with the workings of this world before I make a fool of myself. Hopefully, whoever Fluttershy is bringing me to will be able to help.
***
“Are you sure about this plan, Twilight?” Spike asked later, cautiously peeking his head out of her bag as traveled through the empty hallways of the main lecture hall.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
The two of them were currently alone. Fluttershy had given Twilight directions to the school newspaper’s office, but to avoid making their shy acquaintance tardy for class, the duo was responsible for finding the room on their own. Even so, Spike remained mostly in her satchel, and they kept their voices down just in case someone appeared without warning.
“Hm, trying to win your Element back in some kind of competition. Do you even know how long a term is? We could get stuck in this world for centuries, like Star-Swirl, if the portal closes,” Spike voiced his concerns.
“It is just one plan,” Twilight said. “We still need to consider all the options. Luna said she was taking the Element of Sorcery to a fort, and I doubt I’d be able to get it out without either magic or a better understanding of this world. When I get the chance, I intend to research this Fort Krahn as well as the next time the portal will close; however, I need to pursue every path available, and this is the one open to me right now.”
“If you say so,” Spike said uncertainly.
“I am worried about returning to our own world, too, Spike,” Twilight assured him. “I wish we could pop back to make sure everything is fine, but if we do, there is no guarantee that Sunset Shimmer will not get ahold of the Element of Sorcery while we are gone. We have no idea what she might be able to do with it in this world or where she might take it. No, we have to stay here until we retrieve the Element.”
At some point in the conversation, they’d arrived at the office of the school newspaper. It was like most rooms in the lecture halls, hidden behind a door with a glazed window and with a plaque next to it. Most plaques just had a three-digit number, but this one said CANTERLOT CLARION. Twilight opened the door to reveal a desk-filled room where students sat tapping on devices like the one Luna had used in her office. A student with gray skin and white hair rose from her desk near the entrance when she saw Twilight enter and approached the sorceress.
“Can I help you?” she asked with a skeptically raised eyebrow. “There are no open positions at the moment. Unless you’re here to submit a complaint?”
“No, nothing of the sort, I just wanted to speak to … Pinkamena?” Twilight blurted out in surprise upon spotting a girl with pink skin and a crazy pink head of hair.
“That’s me! Pinkamena Diane Pie! Though, you can just call me Pinkie or Pinkie Pie; everybody does,” the pink student said as she skipped over to Twilight. “I don’t think we’ve met before, have we? How did you know my name? Are you psychic?”
“Um, no, I do not believe so,” Twilight said as Pinkamena eyed her intensely. “Is that … something that is possible?”
“Eh, not unless the Psionics Department has had a secret breakthrough,” Pinkie said with a shrug. “I thought I’d already met all the news students this term, but we haven’t been properly introduced. Pinkie Pie, Artillery Department.”
“I am Twilight Sparkle Haltrotsun … Combined Command,” Twilight said as Pinkie grasped her hand and vigorously shook it until she’d finished her introduction.
“Wow, another Combined Command student!” Pinkie squealed, and the student who’d confronted Twilight on her entry walked away to let them be. “And you came here to speak to me! I don’t know how you found out about me, but I appreciate the chance of an exclusive scoop!”
“Oh … sure,” Twilight said, not sure exactly what was happening as Pinkie Pie pulled her by the hand through the newspaper headquarters.
“I bet you’re fired up for the end-of-term festivities already!” Pinkie said as she released Twilight long enough to grab a chair and set it up next to her desk before plopping the bewildered Twilight into it. “The election, the crown, the parade, the dance, and all of it on the night of the next lunar conjunction! It’s going to be a magical time!”
“Yes, I am sure it will be,” Twilight said as she regained her bearings. If this Pinkamena was right, then Twilight had until the end of the term before the moons aligned again and the portal closed. Trying to win her Element back would be cutting things close; she’d need to have some alternative plans in place.
“So, you wanted to talk to me. What do you have to say?” Pinkie asked in rapt anticipation as her hands hovered over the keys on the device on her desk.
“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about the students of Canterlot Academy. As a new student, I want to get to know everyp-body so I can be an effective Combined Command student,” Twilight said.
“Well, lucky for you, I know everybody at Canterlot Academy,” Pinkie said proudly before deflating slightly. “Buuuuuut, I really should keep working. You can learn a lot by just looking through the paper’s archives and reading my articles, and you can tell me your story at the same time so I can write it up. It’s a win-win! Aaaaaand, maybe we can talk more later about specific students.”
“Oh, well, okay,” Twilight said as Pinkie pulled her through the office again to where past editions of the Canterlot Clarion were stored in cabinets.
As Twilight paged through the archives—and thankfully beginning to understand the concept of a newspaper—Pinkie bombarded her with questions about herself, which she did her best to answer unsuspiciously. When Twilight had arrived at the office, she’d expected to be the one asking the questions, not the one getting grilled; not to mention, she was finding it hard to answer many of Pinkie’s questions with her limited knowledge of this world. She needed some excuse to get out and return once she’d had the chance to do more research, but she couldn’t think of a good excuse when she was the one who’d come here seeking information in the first place. Luckily, a distraction arrived to draw Pinkie’s attention away before Twilight's interview incriminated her as not being of this world.
“Pinkie Pie!” an angry voice yelled from the entrance of the office, and everyone looked up from their work, including Pinkie, who jumped to stand on her chair to see over the cabinet blocking the view.
The sound of pounding footsteps approached as the yeller swiftly walked around to confront Pinkie Pie. The girl on the warpath had orange skin, yellow hair, fire in her eyes, and was undeniably Applejack. Her uniform was different than those Twilight had seen before, with red trousers instead of a skirt, like the male students, tucked into calf-high boots from which dried mud was flaking off and a longer jacket with extra pockets. Her cap’s chinstrap encircled her neck and hung down behind her. The girl who’d tried to stop Twilight at the door followed behind, looking flustered, but gave up and returned to her post when Applejack honed in on Pinkie. Clutched tightly in Applejack’s hand was an issue of the Canterlot Clarion, and she raised it up accusatorially as she approached her target.
“Let me guess; you liked my article so much you had to come straight from field practice in order to tell me?” Pinkie taunted.
“What’s this garbage you published about infantry students spending too much time on their civilian studies?” Applejack demanded as she thrust the paper at Pinkie Pie.
“Numbers don’t lie, Applejack,” Pinkie said with a satisfied shrug, which only enraged Applejack more. “Students in the Infantry Department, on average, spend less time in military courses than students in any other department.”
“Because we spend more time on resupply and maintenance, which isn’t counted as a course, something I noticed you conveniently left out in your article!” Applejack yelled as she threw the paper at Pinkie. “I don’t know why I bother, other than that I can’t stand dishonesty. It’s too much to expect fairness and honesty from a paper run entirely by artillery students!”
“Our editor isn’t,” Pinkie pointed out as she caught the paper and set it to the side. “He’s Combined Command.”
“Oh, sure,” Applejack replied, her voice dripping contemptuously. “Like I would trust Marcel de Jeanne to be impartial. It's no secret that he prefers the Artillery Department over all others. No Combined Command student is without favorites, except maybe Sunset Shimmer.”
“Aaaaand Twilight Sparkle,” Pinkamena said dramatically as she gestured with both hands toward Twilight.
“You’re a Combined Command student?” Applejack asked, having only just noticed Twilight’s presence.
“Yes, I am new,” Twilight said as she stood and extended her hand to shake Applejack’s, “I am Twilight Sparkle Haltrotsun … Combined Command.”
Applejack breathed deeply in through her nose and slowly out through her mouth to calm down before clamping Twilight’s forearm in a strong grip and shaking it.
“Sorry about that. Jacqueline du Gala, Infantry Department. Everyone calls me Applejack.
“Nice to meet you,” Twilight said, though like meeting her other friends’ alternate universe versions, what she really meant was ‘strange to meet you.’
“So, you’re a Combined Command student, then?” Applejack asked, and Twilight nodded. “You met the others yet?”
“Not yet; today is my first day here,” Twilight Sparkle admitted. “Actually, I did briefly run into Sunset Shimmer.”
“Word of advice: watch yourself around her. If she’s acting pleasant toward you, that’s even worse than when she’s being wicked, because it means she’s planning to stab you in the back,” Applejack said gravely. “I hate to admit it, but she may be even worse than Rainbow Dash in that regard.”
“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked, her interest piqued as to what could make Applejack distrust this world’s version of her friend.
“Oh, you’ll see her around for sure,” Pinkie Pie re-entered the conversation. “She’s a cavalry student, and the head of the equestrian and fencing teams. She likes to strut her stuff whenever she gets a chance.”
“Yeah, to the exclusion of anything else,” Applejack said with furrowed brow. Clearly, there’s a history here. Might I find out more in the newspapers, or should I ask directly? A bit strange to pry into something personal when I’ve just met her, but the situation is desperate.
“Pinkie, just keep your articles honest, if you can,” Applejack demanded, having returned to the original reason for her visit while Twilight had been contemplating her next move. “See you around, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Yes,” Twilight said feebly as Applejack stalked out of the office.
“All righty then, let’s get back to the interview,” Pinkie said.
“Actually, I think I had better get going,” Twilight said. “Thank you for your help, though, Pinkamena. I will be sure to tell Fluttershy that her advice to come speak to you was good.”
“Fluttershy, huh?” Pinkie Pie said, her eyes narrowing. “You should watch out for that one. Don’t let her fool you with that ‘shy’ act of hers. She’s always plotting something.”
“You two are not friends?” Twilight asked in surprise. First Applejack and Rainbow Dash, now Fluttershy and Pinkamena? And Pinkamena and Applejack didn’t seem to get along, either.
“Oh, far from it,” Pinkie Pie said. “I’d steer clear of her if I were you.”
“Okay, well, thanks for the advice,” Twilight said as she left.
She made her way through the office and out into the hallway, shaken from meeting two more of her friends and learning that in this world, they apparently didn’t much care for each other at all.
***
After leaving the offices of the Canterlot Clarion, Twilight headed back to her dormitory room. Luna had said her course list and materials would be there by the afternoon, and she needed to peruse them and prepare for her first day of classes tomorrow. As she stepped off the stairs at the second floor, Sunset Shimmer was standing in the corridor before her, arms folded.
“I should have recognized you before, ‘princess,’” Sunset said mockingly. “Did Celestia send you, alone and unprepared, into this world to retrieve the Element of Sorcery?”
“Why do you even want it?” Twilight asked. “I am the only one who can use my Element.”
“It should have been mine!” Sunset yelled as she jabbed her fingers at her chest. “I was Celestia’s apprentice before you, and I was a far faster learner. When I returned to Equus, I studied everything that transpired in the sixteen years that I missed; imagine how shocked I was to find that Celestia had not only taken another apprentice, but she’d already entrusted them with the most powerful magical relics in Equestria and her future crown. That all should have been mine, but Celestia was frightened of my growing power, so she forced me to flee. Well, I may not be able to face her in her own world, but I can make this one mine with your Element. Imagine what I could do as the only person capable of using sorcery.”
“You intend to use the Element of Sorcery … for that?” Twilight asked, still confused as to how Sunset intended to pull off her plan in a world that Twilight was pretty sure had no sorcery.
“You still don’t understand what the Elements of Harmony are, do you?” Sunset Shimmer sneered. “I can’t believe Celestia could think you worthy to take my place. I’ll give you a hint then, since you’re so clueless: how do you think the White Procession works their sorcery in Equus? Granted, different universes and different worlds aren’t entirely comparable, but the principle is the same.”
Twilight Sparkle remained silent. Sunset Shimmer had discovered something about the Elements of Harmony that she never had, but she couldn’t guess what it could be. It was also possible that she was bluffing or trying to confuse Twilight; she had to be careful not to fall into that trap.
“You have two options: either give up and return to your world or submit to me, or you can keep trying to get your Element back and I’ll have to stop you. Rest assured, I’ll do whatever it takes to see my plans accomplished,” Sunset Shimmer said.
“Is that supposed to be a threat?” Spike growled as he poked his head out of Twilight’s satchel.
“Spike, right?” Sunset responded, only surprised for a second. “So, Celestia didn’t send you alone after all. Surprising, but it makes no difference. I’d keep your little pooch silent if I were you. If anyone discovers you’re from a different world, your fate will be an unpleasant one. Best to just give up now before that happens and save yourself. Honestly, I’m surprised you’ve gotten this far. But you’re in over your head, princess—you don’t know the first thing about this world.”
Leaving that hanging in the air, Sunset stalked past Twilight and down the stairs.
“It’s okay, Twilight, she’s just trying to intimidate you,” Spike said, trying to comfort his friend.
“No, Spike, she is right. I really do not know anything about this world,” Twilight said glumly before straightening up. “Which is why I need to fix that.”
***
After locating her dorm room, Twilight walked in and immediately noticed, deposited nicely organized on her desk, the course list and class materials in the form of books, notepaper, pens, ink, and pencils. Also, another set of uniforms had been placed on her bed, likely for field practice like the alternate uniform she’d seen Applejack wearing. She had classes tomorrow, and Luna had recommended she go over her materials to get caught up in the afternoon—but she had something else she needed to do first. Twilight Sparkle needed to know more about this world and how it worked before she could look at her coursework, and for that, she headed to the campus building she’d been itching to explore all afternoon.
Canterlot Academy’s library had a sizeable footprint and looked to have expanded over time, judging by the range of weathering on different parts of the building’s exterior. The center of the library was octagonal with wings stretching off in the four cardinal directions. Twilight was a bit surprised to see smoke rising from a chimney at the central point of the library, but maybe that was just for heating. She entered through the northwestern entrance to the central part of the building and was greeted by a heartwarming sight. The library was nearly cathedral-like in its construction; but unlike Equestria’s cathedrals, where the walls were lined with statues and stained-glass windows of saints, here they were lined with books numbering in the thousands. They stretched up in vast rows to the ceiling high above—higher than anyone could possibly reach, even with the ladders that lined the lowest stacks, or the stacks directly above a balcony that ran around the library’s interior about a third of the way up. Rails hung suspended in the air near the higher stacks, and Twilight could see some manner of machine gliding along them, at times reaching out to grab or place a book. In the center of the library was a towering pillar of machinery that stretched up to the ceiling and to which all the rails were connected, the faint clink of metal striking against metal emanating across the library.
“Excuse me,” Twilight said as she approached a desk near the central pillar with a placard that said “Librarian: Mme. Cheerilee Augustin” on it. “Can you help me find some books?”
“You’re new, aren’t you?” the woman behind the desk, who bore a stunning likeness to the Ponieville Convent’s Sister Cheerilee, rightly guessed. “The library system will help you find what you need. Take this and come back if you have any additional questions.”
Twilight Sparkle took the pamphlet offered her and walked over to a chair to sit down and read it. Apparently, the contraption at the library’s center had some means of finding books for her and fetching those out of reach of the ladders. Twilight decided to give it a try before approaching Cheerilee again (who didn’t seem like she wanted to be disturbed unnecessarily) and approached one of the booths labeled “Search” against the library’s core. Thin wooden cards were available in the booth; following the instructions in the pamphlet and those posted on the booth's walls, she punched holes in a card to represent the subjects she wanted to search. When she was done, she slid it into a slot in the central machine, and it was pulled through. The sound of tapping and clicking sounded from within as the library system consulted its indices and produced a book list. A sheet of paper fell from a chute in front of Twilight; on it, she found a list of books and their locations printed with uniform characters.
Still following the pamphlet, she walked over to another booth labeled “Retrieval” and, consulting the printed sheet she’d just received from the library system, she used a different punch card to enter the locations of any books that sounded promising. This card was taken by the library system as well, and while it worked, she walked off to find the books on the list that were within reach of the ladders. She brought the stack back to where she’d entered her punch card, and by then, the others had been retrieved and dropped off by the library’s mechanisms.
Twilight was fascinated by the machine and intensely curious as to how it might work. Nothing but magic could explain it to her, but she didn’t sense anything coming from the library system other than heat from the engines that ran it. Perhaps there was a book that could explain I to her somewhere in this vast collection, but that would have to wait. At the moment, she had plenty to read about the academy and this world’s history and culture, so she wouldn’t make a fool of herself in her classes. She carried the high stack of books over to a table and put them in order before beginning her research. Sunset Shimmer was right, Twilight didn’t know anything about this world—but she soon would.
Founded in 1326 in the wake of the First Revolution, Canterlot Academy is the premier educational institution of Wyvern. Named by its founder after the mythical city of the sky in Arcturian legend, a great home to scholars and intellectuals, Canterlot Academy seeks to live up to this venerable reputation. This principle is upheld most vigorously through the institution’s teachers. It was originally a private academy, but after dire financial troubles in 1421, Canterlot Academy applied to the state for assistance. Because of its proximity to the Sigillandic border, accepting the state’s aid meant that Canterlot Academy had to become a military academy and train the students as a reserve force in case of war. Since then, all students at the Academy have been required to pursue both a military and civilian degree in a four-year program. Several prominent officers in the Haustran Armed Forces have graduated from the academy in the years since; including Lieutenant Colonel Celestia Astrus, the current headmistress of the academy, and her sister Captain Luna Astrus, the current dean, who have served together since 1435. The campus of the academy is built to the west of Wyvern, with spacious hills and woodland used for combat and orienteering practice. As such, the campus is closed to the public, though one can still admire the buildings from the Rue de Armand or apply to the Office of the Military in Wyvern at 1536 Rue Émil Pike if one is planning an extended stay and has the patience for military bureaucracy.
Twilight put a bookmark in A Guide to Wyvern and its Environs and set it aside. The last week had been a whirlwind of new and confusing ideas, but she was finally starting to get a handle on some things. Her classes were demanding, especially since she possessed little to no foundation on which to build new knowledge. She was just barely getting by, and when she wasn’t in classes, she spent all her time researching in the library or her room in order to retroactively build a knowledge base so she could make heads or tails of her notes. At least the school week allowed for a day off from classes, which she always devoted to her extracurricular studies.
Twilight Sparkle had learned a lot about this world in the past eight days. It was fortunate that she’d chosen Illean History as her civilian major, because it meant nobody questioned why she was checking out so many books on history and geography from the school’s library. She now had a muddy but (hopefully) passable concept of the continent of Illea and its major players. The nation she’d read the most about was the one she was currently in: Haustra, or the Third Haustran Republic if one wanted to be official. The painting of Liberty that Twilight had spotted in the cafeteria was indeed meant to represent an idea and not a monarch, as the people of Haustra had overthrown and beheaded their king and his family over a century ago. Twilight would have known this already if she’d read Star-Swirl’s notes earlier, for the ancient sorcerer had written at length about the revolutions that had shaped Haustra into the revolutionary republic it was today, as well as ones he had personally witnessed. Forty years had passed since Star-Swirl had returned to Equestria, but things were largely the same when it came to the nations of Illea.
Bordering Haustra to the southeast was the next most important nation for Twilight to know about: Sigilland. A longtime rival to Haustra, it was considered a militaristic monarchy and roundly despised by most of its writers and freethinkers. Star-Swirl had left this world shortly after a defensive alliance had been made between Haustra and four other nations against Sigilland, and he’d predicted a war would come from it sometime in the next half-century. Sigilland’s border was near Wyvern, the city in which Canterlot Academy was located, so there was a higher concentration of military personnel here than in other parts of the country. At least, that’s what the literature led Twilight to believe.
The military training going on at Canterlot Academy was meant to prepare the students for a future war with Sigilland, something taken for granted as inevitable. Twilight wasn’t sure that would be good or bad for her situation; the chaos could allow her to more easily retrieve the Element of Sorcery, or it could cause her to lose it altogether. She had looked into Fort Krahn and concluded that stealing her Element back from it would be impossible. It was a closed fortress that only Haustran soldiers could enter or leave, and they were thoroughly checked in both directions. Such a feat might have been possible if she still had her magic, but without it, attempting to steal back the Element of Harmony would create more problems than it would solve. She would have to go through with her studies at the academy and retrieve the Element when it was brought back at the end of the term.
To make her own history more plausible, Twilight had also studied the nation to the south of Haustra: Sottsland. Despite a large minority population of Sigillanders in the north and the fact that it was a monarchy, Sottsland was a staunch ally of Haustra and was one of the members of the North Star Pact against Sigilland. Star-Swirl’s mirror had provided her with a convenient alibi for not knowing the conventions of Haustra; she could claim the misunderstandings of a foreigner. That would work for most things relating to government and culture, but it wouldn’t protect her from the fact that she was out of her time.
Though history books were easy to pass off as being related to her civilian studies, it was more difficult to explain the considerable number of technical journals and guides that she checked out from the library. From her studies, Twilight established that her own world’s technology was roughly equivalent to what this world had seen eight centuries earlier, and they had made a lot of advancements since then. One of the most obvious differences was apparent with Twilight’s military studies: the change in weaponry. The little that Twilight did know about military tactics was completely obsolete in this world. Melee weapons had fallen by the wayside, except when used by cavalry soldiers to cut down enemies from horseback—horses, Twilight had discovered, were biologically similar to ponies, but had no sapience in this world and were used as beasts of burden or a conveyance. The gun—a device capable of firing a projectile at incredible velocities—had replaced the bow, sword, and pike as standard weaponry. Infantry soldiers wielded them, and artillery soldiers positioned and fired larger versions of them. In almost every aspect of her military studies, Twilight was starting from scratch.
It wasn’t just military technology that had changed, however; there had also been great evolution in everyday technology that had fundamentally altered the world from one Twilight might had recognized to an utterly alien landscape. The devices she had seen in Luna’s office and the office of the Canterlot Clarion were called typewriters and allowed the rapid printing of words upon a page with uniform characters. Even more impressive however, were much larger devices serving a similar function that could print identical versions of papers and books in the thousands or millions. It boggled Twilight’s mind that this world no longer needed nuns, monks, or scribes to copy books or sorceresses to enchant them in order to preserve them; they could always print more.
Light was provided within buildings during dark hours not by candles or magic but by lightbulbs, glass spheres that turned electricity into light. This electricity was like captured lightning, but it was not produced by capturing storms or generation through sorcery; rather, the energy was generated by factories using burning fuels or flowing water. Wires along streets and between buildings brought this electricity to everywhere that needed it, while other wires were used for telegraphs or telephones—contraptions that allowed instantaneous or near-instantaneous communication with others, even from the other side of the world. Ships were able to travel far from shore and against the wind under their own power, steam locomotives transported goods and people across the continent along rails, and automobiles allowed local transportation without tiring like a horse would. Complex mechanical technology allowed for machines that could perform tasks and think in a very basic way, such as Canterlot Academy’s library system. It was all so much to take in, and Twilight didn’t know if she could ever understand everything that the residents of this world took for granted.
As she set aside her books, which formed a prodigious stack on her room’s desk, she felt at last that she had a little bit of breathing room. As always, more research would be required, but she was finally in a position where not knowing more details didn’t seem like such an existential threat. Twilight had no further classes to attend for the day, so she intended to make an outing into Wyvern to see the city. One weakness in her alibi that others could easily call her out on was how she’d gotten to Canterlot Academy, so she needed to have at least a passing familiarity with the route between the train station and the school. It would also give her an opportunity to see more of this world and let Spike roam around outside the confines of her room or satchel for a few hours. Making use of her guide to Wyvern, she’d plotted out a course on the city’s highly reputable electric tram system to travel to the train station and then to Dragongate Park, where a solitary gate stood as the last remnant of a wall that had once bisected the city when it had been divided between Haustra and Sigilland in the distant past. Apparently, the Dragongate was such a popular sight that no first-time visitor would have passed it by, so Twilight had to see it in order to firm up her story.
“You’re sure you want to do this, Twilight?” Spike asked as she made room for him in her satchel. “What if we can’t find our way back?”
“Of course,” she replied. “I need to familiarize myself with this world outside of Canterlot Academy. I cannot be certain that I will be able to stay here at all times, and this is a safe opportunity to test my ability to venture beyond the academy’s walls. Besides, I am confident that we will not get lost. I have consulted several maps of the city and taken notes about the streets near the points we will be visiting. I have also taken other complications into account and have adequate funds to deal with any of them.”
Twilight Sparkle was glad that she had brought some Cant’r Lahtian coinage along with her through Star-Swirl’s mirror, as paying for goods in this world wasn’t something which she’d given much thought. The bits, shillings, and pence in her coin purse had been transformed by the mirror into the currency of Haustra. In some cases, the coins remained coins, though with a different metal composition and imprint; however, some of her money had been transformed into paper banknotes that purported to have the same value as a set amount of gold. (Twilight had discovered that this was supported more by agreement of value than by any intrinsic worth the paper might have or the supposed gold backing.) That was how this world operated, so she had to trust the system and that her money would be usable here. At least they were Haustran banknotes and not Sottsish, though that was another mystery for which she might need to come up with an excuse.
“Huh, you know, out of anyone who could have been sent to this world, you may be the best equipped for it with your tendency to overplan everything,” Spike said as he hopped into her satchel.
“I will take that as a compliment,” Twilight said as she left and locked up her room.
As she headed down through the dorm hallways and along the path between the dormitories and the main lecture hall, something seemed different. Other students usually ignored her other than to make sure they didn’t collide, but now many of them stopped and stared or snickered. She wasn’t sure what to make of it, especially as the behavior became more frequent as she entered the main lecture hall’s courtyard, though maybe that was just because more students were starting to relax here between classes. Had she done something wrong? Was there something about her appearance? She’d briefly considered wearing something other than her school uniform to visit the town, but the only other clothes she had were her sorceress robes, and those had drawn enough attention when she’d first arrived in this world. Everything seemed in order, so she didn’t know why they would be looking at her so strangely. Perhaps it was just one more mystery of this world.
As soon as Twilight entered the main lecture hall to pass through to the academy’s entrance, she was forcefully pulled aside. Thinking at first that Sunset Shimmer had come for her, she prepared for a confrontation but quickly lowered her arms when she saw it was someone else who’d pulled her into an empty classroom. Examining her with thumb and forefinger at the edges of her mouth was a girl with pallid white skin and elaborately curled purple hair.
“Rarity?” Twilight said in surprise before realizing she shouldn’t have spoken her name, since they’d never met before. “What are you doing?”
“Sorry, darling, are you alright?” Rarity asked, seeming to snap out of a trance.
“Of course. Why would I not be?” Twilight asked suspiciously.
“Oh, I’m glad I was able to find you so soon, then,” Rarity said as she stepped closer. “Hmm, there isn’t much we can do, is there? We could dye your hair, but that would only help with those who have already seen you, unless it’s remarkably different. We could change the style, I suppose.… It’s a pity we can’t do anything about your clothes.”
“Wait a second,” Twilight said as she put her hands out to ward Rarity off. “What is this about dying my hair?”
“Well, the camera doesn’t capture the full color, now does it?” Rarity asked as if the answer were obvious. “We would have to make a radical change, or—again—change the style instead. I don’t know how long it would be effective, though. You have chosen a very unique position, so it won’t hide you for long. Maybe long enough for things to die down …”
“Sorry, I still have no idea what you are talking about,” Twilight said with some concern. Is something wrong with Rarity?
She was saved, at least for the moment, of hearing more plans to change her appearance by the door to the classroom opening. In walked Applejack, followed by Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.
“There you are, Twilight Sparkle. I thought I saw you pulled in here, though I don’t know why it would have been by you,” Applejack said as she crossed her arms and stared down Rarity.
“For your information, I was trying to help disguise her to protect her from ridicule,” Rarity said defensively with a hand placed histrionically on her chest.
“Yeah, that’ll work really well,” Applejack said sarcastically.
“Stop! What is going on?” Twilight demanded, unable to accept any more of her unanswered questions.
“Oh no, she hasn’t seen it yet,” Fluttershy said quietly.
“I have not seen what?” Twilight asked, running out of patience.
Applejack pulled a newspaper out of her satchel and laid it down on the desk in front of Twilight. It was the latest issue of the Canterlot Clarion and featured a black and white photograph of Twilight Sparkle on the cover running frantically across campus with her arms loaded with books. The headline read “Newest Combined Command Student Clueless.”
You may have seen her around campus or read our introductory article, but we are now going share with you the unfortunate truth about Canterlot Academy’s newest student in the Combined Command program: Twilight Sparkle Haltrotsun. She began by arriving late, two weeks into the term, and has done nothing to redeem herself since. Mlle. Haltrotsun has done abysmally in all her military courses, proving herself ignorant of even the most basic subjects. In a lecture on mobilization, she asked a question on levy obligations, something that has been obsolete for centuries even in a backwards monarchy like Sigilland. Students in other classes with Twilight Sparkle had noticed this is part of a pattern, stating that “she doesn’t seem to comprehend anything” and “it’s as if she’s never read a book or paper in her life until this moment.” Lecturers who wished not to be named were no kinder, saying that they’d never seen someone do so poorly at Canterlot Academy.
Clueless Twilight brings up an important question for Canterlot Academy: how could this have happened, and how could the headmistress allow this to continue? It is true that Canterlot Academy accepts students from all corners, but should they not at least have some basic competency? How did Twilight Sparkle Haltrotsun manage to gain entry to our academy in the first place? It is this reporter’s understanding that Mlle. Haltrotsun is a foreign transfer, which brings into question that process: can we really trust non-Haustran schools to properly educate their students before sending them to us, and are we to accept their word that they’ve been prepared in advance? This situation begs us to reconsider accepting any non-Haustran, whether they be from ally or colony, into Canterlot Academy. The Canterlot Clarion will not stand by and let our academy be overrun and have its reputation tarnished by incompetent foreigners, and we call for your support in this fight by petitions to the headmistress’s office and continued purchase of this publication to keep us speaking truth.
“I … what?” Twilight said in dismay as she let the paper fall to the desk and sat down morosely.
She knew she had been struggling in her courses, but she hadn’t imagined she’d been doing this badly. Wasn’t this a bit premature? She had only been here a week and was still catching up. Was she truly doing so abysmally that students and teachers alike were questioning her right to even be here? Was she in danger of being removed from Canterlot Academy? How was she supposed to regain her Element of Harmony then?
“It is all over,” Twilight said weakly.
“Now, now, I’m sure it’s not as bad as all that,” Rarity tried to comfort Twilight, though she didn’t seem wholly convinced herself.
“Why’d you even let this character assassination get printed? Is this what you call good journalism?” Applejack demanded of Pinkie Pie.
“I toooooold you, I don’t have any control over what stories the editor prints!” Pinkie replied angrily. “Take it up with Marcel! He decided to run this after Sunset Shimmer visited; I don’t know how she was able to convince him to do it!”
“It seems like she’s really mad about you opposing her for student leader. She doesn’t just want you out of the way, she wants you expelled,” Fluttershy said as she petted Spike, who’d found it safe enough to leave Twilight’s satchel. “Unless ... you don’t think she’s attacking you because you stood up for me, do you?”
“Very interesting,” Pinkie said as she looked at Fluttershy with narrowed eyes. “But maybe that’s not it at all. Maybe you’re … a spy!”
“What?” Fluttershy said as she recoiled and hugged Spike to her chest.
“I’m just saying, how do we know you’re not an agent of Sunset Shimmer here to sabotage Twilight’s chances for the Acclamation Crown?” Pinkamena said.
“That is not it,” Twilight broke things up as Fluttershy glowered at Pinkie in silence. “Sunset Shimmer is coming after me, but I do not know why she is being so bold unless it is just to spread how obvious a novice I am at everything. No matter what I do, she has ensured everybody will think of this first when the time comes to vote.... Nobody is going to want to vote for me now.”
“I will,” Fluttershy said quietly while looking sidelong at Pinkie, who continued to regard her suspiciously. “I promised to help, and I will. If you need help with anything in your studies related to medical or psionics, I’m here for you.”
“Or I could give you some real help on artillery,” Pinkie whispered extraordinarily loudly to Twilight. “It’ll be worth it to keep Sunset Shimmer from winning again.”
“Real help?” Fluttershy said angrily. “I’d steer clear if I were you. Pinkie Pie doesn’t take anything seriously.”
“I do so!” Pinkie insisted.
“She has a point, darling,” Rarity said icily. “You and all the artillery students think the world is your playground.”
“Not true!” Pinkie said angrily, “We’re doing serious work while you engineering students are building sandcastles!”
“Oh, that’s what you think, is it?” Rarity said with a huff. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised you’d rather destroy than create.”
“Give it a rest, will you?” Applejack said. “I thought we all came here to help Twilight Sparkle.”
“Well, we certainly didn’t arrange this meeting,” Rarity said. “Not when you burst in here accusing Pinkie Pie of every crime in the Clarion. I see that hasn’t changed. I’d wager your pointless feud with Rainbow Dash hasn’t vanished, either?”
“It’s not pointless to stand up for yourself,” Applejack said testily. “She’s just like all the other jerks in the Cavalry Department, thinking they’re at the top of the heap.”
“She’s right,” Fluttershy piped up. “Rainbow Dash is the one who burned those bridges, and you know it.”
“Two spies!” Pinkie cried as she pointed at both Applejack and Fluttershy with her arms crossed. “You’re in cahoots!”
“Of course not,” both Applejack and Fluttershy said at once, which only seemed to reinforce the theory for Pinkie.
“Enough!” Twilight Sparkle cried, unable to watch these alternate versions of her closest friends bicker anymore. “What is happening? Why are you all against each other instead of being friends?”
“Friends?” Applejack asked. “We’re all so different. Why would you think we would be friends?”
“You used to be, did you not?” Twilight asked. “I saw an article about it in an old issue of the Canterlot Clarion. It was hopeful about the academy’s future because together the five of you represented every military department. What changed?”
“First term follies,” Rarity said regretfully. “I don’t know if things were any different where you come from, but it’s not uncommon here to make early friends with students in other departments. However, you quickly learn you’re better off with others like yourself.”
“That idea in itself is a folly,” Twilight objected. “The divisions between departments … I do not believe it should be like this. Is it not the purpose of the departments to provide separate functions but to work together toward a greater whole? Is it not the purpose of the Combined Command students to bind the departments together? Ironically, it seems the only Combined Command student who has actually managed this is Sunset Shimmer, and I am not convinced that she did not also cause or exacerbate the existing divisions between the departments to keep her opposition disunified.”
“I realize you’re upset about Sunset Shimmer’s attack on you, but you can’t pin everything on her,” Applejack said. “She had nothing to do with us splitting apart.”
“Maybe not, but I believe the departmental factionalism that seems to plague this school has,” Twilight said. “Did anything major about you change from when you became friends to when you split apart?”
“No,” all four girls answered almost simultaneously. They looked ready to contest each other’s answers before realizing what Twilight was getting at.
“Nothing changed, but you began to see each other as from rival departments first and as friends second; that is what tore you apart. There is nothing I can see that keeps you apart other than minor slights magnified through the lens of departmental friction and social pressure to maintain that friction,” Twilight Sparkle said.
The other four were stunned into silence, and Spike emerged from where he’d hidden during the earlier fighting.
“Could it … really be true?” Rarity asked as she reexamined her past along with the others.
“I never wanted to stop being friends with any of you,” Fluttershy admitted, “But … maybe I did start to see things differently.”
“Well, I’ll be,” Applejack said. “That article must be a complete and total lie, because you’re plenty smart, Twilight Sparkle. Imagine, all this time, and none of us realized it.”
“Well, it is easier when you are looking at things from the outside,” Twilight said. “And thank you, Applejack, but I truly have been doing terribly in my classes. I will not give up, though, and I will prove I can improve.”
“Hey, I know Pinkie and Fluttershy already said so, but I think we’re probably all willing to help you out with your studies,” Applejack said as she clapped a sturdy arm over Twilight’s back, and Rarity nodded. “Better than that, we’ll help you dethrone Sunset Shimmer and win that crown. You deserve it. Nobody else has managed to bring together—well, back together—students from all the military departments like this.”
“Well, not all the military departments,” Rarity pointed out.
***
Instead of taking a tram to Wyvern Central or Dragongate Park as she’d planned, Twilight Sparkle found herself standing outside of Canterlot Academy’s stables with Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Applejack and Fluttershy were standing some distance away talking to Rainbow Dash. This world’s version of Twilight’s Hunter friend was dressed in her cavalry field uniform, a grand affair with golden braiding and a helmet in place of a soft cap, and leading two horses. Things seemed to be going well between the three of them, and soon they were walking over to join the other three.
“Hmm, name’s Reyna Dash. Call me Rainbow,” she said as she stretched out her free hand to shake with Twilight. “Cavalry Department, obviously. So, Applejack and Fluttershy have been telling me about you. You’ve got some interesting ideas, and you’ve certainly seemed to fire them up. You plan to stop Sunset Shimmer from winning student leader this term, right?”
“Yes, I hope to, but I am going to need some help,” Twilight Sparkle said.
“Hold your horses now,” Rainbow said and chuckled to herself. “You want my help, you’re gonna have to race me for it.”
“R-race you?” Twilight asked in confusion as Rainbow Dash handed off the lead to one of the horses.
“The track is right here,” Rainbow Dash said, gesturing to the dirt circuit that abutted the stables. “You and me, five laps.”
“I have never ridden before,” Twilight she said as she looked dubiously at the horse in front of her, which looked dubiously back.
“We gonna do this or what?” Rainbow Dash asked skeptically as she climbed atop her mount.
“Of course,” Twilight said, making up her mind before she could overthink the situation.
She unslung her satchel and set it down on the ground before trying to mount the horse Rainbow Dash had passed off to her. She tried to follow how Rainbow had swung effortlessly into the saddle, but it took her a few tries and a bit of struggling to get on. As Rainbow cantered off to the starting line, Twilight tried to urge her horse on and had mixed success. Somehow, she eventually managed to get lined up with her opponent. Rainbow Dash pointed authoritatively at Pinkie Pie, who apparently knew what was expected of her.
“On your marks, get set, go!” Pinkie cried, and Rainbow Dash shot off ahead.
While Rainbow spurred her horse onward, zipping around the track like lightning, Twilight struggled to get started and up to speed. She was much higher up than she’d expected to be on this horse, besides the fact that it was incredibly odd to be seated on a creature very much like herself in her home world. As she picked up speed, she was also unprepared for the wind in her face or how to control her mount around corners. She’d barely taken off by the time Rainbow Dash shot past, lapping her; like with everything since she’d come here, she was at a severe disadvantage, due to her unfamiliarity with this world. Twilight would persevere, though. She wouldn’t give up on her studies even if the Canterlot Clarion used her as an example to bar foreign exchange students, and she wouldn’t give up here even if Rainbow Dash lapped her again. Which she did.
Twilight Sparkle kept pressing on, learning how she was supposed to control her mount through observing Rainbow Dash and her own many mistakes. Rainbow Dash lapped her a third time before she finished her first circuit, but she kept going. Rainbow Dash finished her fifth lap before Twilight did her second, but she continued to carry on. Rainbow Dash had said five laps, and she wasn’t going to quit until she’d completed them. The other five and Spike watched her as she fumbled her way around the course in a third lap, but she made it, and then followed up with a fourth and a fifth. By the time she was done, Twilight was sore and quite sure her mount wasn’t very happy with her, but she’d done it. Rainbow Dash took the reins back, and Applejack helped her down off the horse. Whether she had Rainbow Dash’s help or not, hopefully she’d done something to improve their relationship, or at least help mend the cavalier’s bond with her former friends.
“Wow, you really went all the way,” Rainbow Dash commented once Twilight had dismounted. “Alright, let’s take down Sunset Shimmer.”
“You will help me then?” Twilight asked. “Even though I lost?”
“Of course you were going to lose,” Rainbow Dash said nonchalantly. “You’ve never ridden before, and I’m the best equestrian at Canterlot Academy. But even despite that disadvantage, you stuck it out and didn’t give up. You’re gonna need a lot of that in order to win the Acclamation Crown. I read the article in today’s paper. You’ve a lot of room to improve, Twilight Sparkle, but it looks like you’re willing to put in the work.”
Twilight had already been studying intensively on her own, but now she’d ushered in an even more thorough schedule led by this universe’s version of the Brave Companions. She was constantly worried that her ignorance would drive them away, or worse, expose her as not being of this world. Thankfully, while her ineptitude often surprised her new friends, they didn’t seem to suspect that anything was amiss or judge her for her inadequacies. No time could be wasted in her learning when there were only thirteen weeks left before the end of the term; that was thirteen weeks to go from Clueless Twilight to a leader that her fellow students would choose to follow. Thirteen weeks to master topics she had no background in, in a world she still didn’t fully understand. Thirteen weeks to get the Element of Sorcery back before the portal to her world closed. She thought often about returning to Equus to check on its state of affairs, but there was no telling how time would flow in this world. She might return here only to find that Sunset Shimmer had completed her scheme.
It was fortunate that Twilight Sparkle was such a fast learner and so devoted to her studies, whatever or wherever they might be. With Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash tutoring her in her military subjects (and occasionally helping with her research of Illean History), she began to improve. The Clueless Twilight moniker spread by the Canterlot Clarion had stuck and many students regarded her as a disgrace to the academy, but gradually that seemed to be changing. She was receiving fewer glares of mockery or irritation and more looks of respect for how she’d turned things around.
Four weeks to the election, Twilight Sparkle was feeling confident in her understanding of Combined Command. After weeks of nonstop study, she had finally reached where she was expected to be as a Second Year Combined Command student. She’d gone from knowing nothing about this world to excelling in her classes, and she owed it all to her new friends. Twilight could never repay the debt she owed to them, and she would likely never have the chance once she returned to her own world. At least she had helped them become friends with each other again; she could be content with that. Though they’d realized their errors and reconciled with each other, however, becoming friends again hadn’t been instantaneous. There were bridges to be rebuilt that they’d unwisely burned in the past, but in the end, it had all worked out. Twilight saw so much of her pony friends in them—sometimes it was difficult to remember that they had a completely different history in this world, not just with each other. They all had their own lives before Twilight had ever come here. Even so, she would still regret leaving them.
Her studies had been the first stage of Twilight’s plan. Now, she decided it was time to put the second stage into action. Sunset Shimmer had never won the majority of the votes in any of the previous election; rather, she’d merely earned more than any of the other candidates. Any vote that Twilight aimed to win had to be taken from someone else, and relying on all of Sunset Shimme’s supporters to jump ship wasn’t a sound plan. Instead, Twilight knew that she would need to gather up the votes that weren’t already going to Sunset Shimmer … which meant convincing the different military departments to vote for her instead of their favored alternative to Sunset. That would be a monumental task for which she had neither the time nor the inclination, so Twilight opted for trying to convince the other Combined Command students to throw their support behind her. If they did so, then most of their supporters were sure to follow their lead.
“Are you sure you want to go after the Psionics Department first, darling?” Rarity asked as the six of them were seated outside a café across the street from Canterlot Academy, gathered to help Twilight with her plan. “Minuette has the smallest number of supporters, and the first department you manage to convince to come to your side may deter other rival departments from voting for you. Both the Engineering and Cavalry Departments have a grudge against Psionics.”
Rarity had a point. In a recent poll[1] done by the Canterlot Clarion, Minuette Precia, the Combined Command student who favored the Psionics Department, had received the lowest number of votes besides Twilight. Twilight had the paper in front of her and knew the results just as well as Rarity. Some might think that she was going after the smallest first as a warm-up, and so the damage wouldn’t be too great if she failed to convince Minuette to come to her side. However, that wasn’t the reason Twilight had chosen to go after Psionics; in fact, she was determinedly pursuing that discipline despite the knowledge that securing Minuette’s support was statistically the least useful.
“I am sure,” Twilight said. “Fluttershy was the first to assist me when I arrived at Canterlot Academy, so I decided it would only be fair to go to her department first.”
Technically, Fluttershy was part of two departments: Medical and Psionics. She was studying field surgery in the Medical Department and majoring in psionic augmentation (the creation of equipment to assist or magnify psionic abilities) in the Psionics Department. The Medical Department didn’t have any Combined Command student that showed them favoritism to whom Twilight could go, though. She suspected a few of them had already defected from Sunset Shimmer to her, given the recent poll, and hopefully that trend would continue as she interacted with them and Fluttershy talked her up in their classes together. Unfortunately, there was no specific individual she could befriend to gain a large bloc of votes at once, so she had decided to focus on Psionics for Fluttershy.
Psionics was a subject that had kept Twilight Sparkle consistently fascinated. At first glance, it seemed like this world’s version of sorcery, but there were significant differences. It was a purely mental ability; and while psionics were rare, just like Sources in Twilight’s own world, it was because of some abnormality in their minds, not because they had the inborn ability to draw from a pool of magical energy within themselves. Their powers were also much more limited than those of sorceresses. There were no magical words, materials, runes, or rituals to follow, though some psionics did find it easier to concentrate when pressing their fingers against their skulls in different configurations. Telekinesis, telepathy, and extrasensory perception were all common psionic abilities. Psychokinesis that allowed the manipulation of existing elements was tricky but could be managed with enough training by powerful psionics. Creating something from nothing was veritably unheard of, with pyrokinesis being a notable, but extraordinarily rare, exception. There would be nothing as flashy as teleportation or portal-opening in this universe.
From her extensive historical studies, Twilight had gathered that the academic study of psionics was relatively new to Illea. Only been a few centuries earlier, those with psionic abilities had either been hailed as prophets or reviled as witches. They’d come a remarkably far way in such short a time toward understanding the mechanics of the science, but academics and strategists still had yet to figure out exactly where psionics fit best on the battlefield. All the branches represented by the departments of Canterlot Academy could make use of them in some way—using psionic barriers to ward off damage was desired by the infantry, cavalry, and artillery alike. Additionally, telekinesis was especially coveted by the artillery to load the increasingly large and unwieldy shells into their cannons.
Cavalry’s reconnaissance duties could benefit from psionics’ ability to magnify their vision, a skill that was also beneficial to the air reconnaissance duties performed using some of the machines dreamed up in the mechanical branch of the Engineering Department. Engineering also wanted psionic assistance in digging trenches using psychokinesis and psionic barriers over existing fortifications. Some psionic abilities could be used to speed up healing, keep a patient from expiring from blood loss, or expunge infection from the body, so they were coveted by the Medical Department as well. At times, psionics used their abilities directly as combat troops to telekinetically fling things at the enemy, though that was a crude means of warfare in an age where an artillery piece could do the same thing, and more accurately to boot. If someone was a strong enough telepath, they were also often used for the synchronized communication of orders to troops. All these ideas sounded great, but there were only so many psionics, and not nearly enough to fulfill all the duties to which they could possibly contribute.
In order to win the support of the Psionics Department, Twilight would need to win the support of Minuette Precia. Having already met her briefly in some of the classes they shared, she already knew that this Minuette was the Illean universe’s version of the sorceress she’d once known in Cant’r Laht. Seeing her jogged Twilight’s memories of the colleagues she’d once studied sorcery with and then subsequently abandoned for Ponieville. She would have to remedy that someday. In this world, however, that relationship had never been severed, or constructed in the first place, so she would have to start from scratch. She’d tried to lay some groundwork in their classes, but Minuette had been dismissive of her in the early stages, likely due to Twilight’s poor performance. Now, though, she was beginning to look at her with a little more respect. The time was right; Twilight just had to go for it.
“Minuette?” Twilight greeted her in the library.
Twilight Sparkle hadn’t been surprised to find her here; just like her Equestrian counterpart, she was a dedicated scholar, albeit not one as fanatically obsessed as Twilight had been. Minuette was seated at one of the tables set up in the wings for students to read at without removing their books from the library’s premises. Twilight could see at a glance that the books stacked beside Minuette were all on theories for how to integrate psionics into the military hierarchy.
“Twilight Sparkle,” Minuette replied, looking up from her book. “I have seen you here many times, but never thought to hold a conversation with you. You always looked so busy and frantic to find your books and go.”
“May I sit?” Twilight asked, gesturing to the chair across from Minuette.
“It’s a free country, isn’t it?” Minuette asked nonchalantly, but Twilight could see from her eyes that she was intrigued by what Twilight might want to talk to her about.
“I wanted to speak to you about the student leader election,” Twilight said, cutting right to the point.
“I hope you didn’t come looking for advice on how to win. If so, you chose the wrong person,” Minuette said with a laugh. “I assume you read the Clarion’s poll. The only one faring worse than me is you.”
“I did not come looking for advice. Actually, I have a plan of my own to beat Sunset Shimmer,” Twilight said, and Minuette’s intrigued look deepened. Twilight left her waiting for a moment before revealing her plan. “I was hoping you could help by supporting me in the election.”
“You want me to … tell the students who are planning to vote for me … to vote for you instead?” Minuette asked incredulously, and Twilight nodded. “Listen, Twilight Sparkle, you’ve certainly impressed me with your progress this term, but why would I throw away my candidacy and the votes of the students who look up to me? Even if I did so, together we might—might—manage to exceed Adamant’s votes only, and he’s only in his second term. Are you simply that desperate not to be last?”
“That is not it,” Twilight said with an emphatic shake of her head. “I do not want Sunset Shimmer to remain dominant, and the best way I can tell to unseat her is to bring together the different departments. Sunset Shimmer has never won a majority of the vote, only a plurality, and that is because the rest of the vote is completely fractured among the other Combined Command students. If we all came together, we could beat Sunset Shimmer. The conversation I am having now with you, I also intend to have with the others.”
“You are either a madwoman or a visionary,” Minuette said as the gears turned in her head. “Do you really think you can win the support of enough students? You may technically be a second-year student like me, but this is still your first term at the academy. To seriously seek the Acclamation Crown so soon, it’s unheard of. I’ll be the first to admit that you’ve made remarkable progress this term—truly remarkable—but do you truly think you can turn that success into support on election day?”
“With your help, I do,” Twilight answered, leaving Minuette thoughtful.
“Even if this scheme is a success, why should the rest of us Combined Command students support your candidacy instead of picking someone more veteran? Marcel already has a solid base; we could all assist him in toppling Sunset Shimmer,” Minuette gave an example.
“I do not believe that will work,” Twilight replied. “As you said, it is only my first term, so I am not laden down with a history of preferring one department over another. Other than Sunset Shimmer, I am the only one who can be a viable candidate for all departments … for now, at least. I do believe that, in time, the rest of you could do the same—that is the purpose of the Combined Command program, is it not? But for this election, I am your best option.”
“Hmm,” Minuette mulled things over. “You are a truly incredible person, Twilight Sparkle. You have made astounding improvement this term, from abject failure to top marks, but is that an indication of the greater heights you can conquer? Can you truly be a candidate for all?”
Minuette carefully considered the girl sitting across the table, her nose resting on her fist thoughtfully. Twilight Sparkle remained still and silent, hoping that Minuette would be able to find whatever she was looking for.
“I have a question for you,” Minuette finally said. “What should the role of psionics be on the battlefield?”
It was a question without an answer, as exemplified by the differing perspectives found in the books stacked next to Minuette. Which theory did Minuette subscribe to, if any? Was she looking for a specific answer or just Twilight’s opinion on the query? She tried to remember what Minuette had said in any of the courses on psionics they’d had together but decided that wasn’t the way to go. She had to give an answer true to her own thoughts.
How should psionics be used on the battlefield? The very concept of psionics was still very new to Twilight, but maybe she could draw something from her own world. Battles were quite different in Equus and sorceresses weren’t psionics, but perhaps their practices could be adapted. Sorceresses typically acted on their own initiative on the battlefield, going wherever they thought they would be most useful, but Twilight felt that this probably wouldn’t fly in a strictly regimented military. Someone else always had to be in charge of the decisions.
“Psionics should assist wherever they are most needed, but they should also answer directly to a high-ranking officer with the information needed to determine where the need is greatest,” Twilight Sparkle answered. “The current system where psionics serve directly as part of a unit is inefficient because it locks them into a single role when they might better serve elsewhere. Why should psionics be a separate department here but not in the military? However, Blazing Hearth de Boullion’s proposal to create an independent Psionics Corps does not adequately answer the problem; without direction, they may not be in the most effective position. That is the purpose of combined command: to fit all the pieces together and correctly utilize all forces, psionics included.”
Minuette continued to stare at Twilight Sparkle once she finished her speech, considering her answer.
“You’re an interesting individual, Twilight Sparkle,” Minuette said serenely. “Very well, I’ll help you with your—probably insane—scheme.”
Minuette extended her arm to shake, and Twilight reached across the table.
“Thank you,” Twilight Sparkle said as she grasped Minuette’s forearm and they shook.
“Best of luck with the others,” Minuette said. “I can’t wait to see if you can pull this off.”
***
With Minuette and the Psionics Department’s support secured, Twilight Sparkle moved on to the Infantry Department. Émilie Dressum was the Combined Command student who favored that department. Twilight hadn’t had many chances to see her during the term thus far. Émilie was a third-year student and they didn’t share any classes, so as an infantry student, Applejack had agreed to introduce her. They encountered Émilie walking from the armory to the nearby shooting range, rifle slung over one shoulder and a bag of cartridges over the other. A look of curiosity appeared on Émilie’s pearly white face as she spotted them approaching her, and she altered her direction and pace so they would meet on the way to the shooting range. She was dressed in the Combined Command field uniform, identical to Twilight’s: a light blue cap snug over her braided and coiled bright blue hair a green jacket decorated with golden braiding, crimson trousers, and a pair of black boots.
“Can I help you?” Émilie asked as they met and continued to the range together. Her question seemed more directed at Applejack, with whom she was more familiar.
“Émilie Dressum, Combined Command, this is Twilight Sparkle Haltrotsun, Combined Command,” Applejack introduced them.
“Clueless Twilight?” Émilie asked bluntly with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, but I am not so clueless anymore,” Twilight Sparkle said as she walked up alongside her.
“I have heard that,” Émilie said as she turned her attention back to the shooting range ahead. “Despite a tumultuous start, you’ve become quite a rising star. Maybe in a year or two you could even be a contender for the Acclamation Crown … if you play your cards right outside of the classroom.”
“Actually,” Twilight said, “I plan to win the crown this term.”
“Well, you’re bold, aren’t you?” Émilie laughed. “Good for you, but you should know your limits. Unless something changes, Sunset Shimmer is going to rule the roost until she graduates.”
“Well, I aim to change things,” Twilight said. “I believe we can unseat Sunset Shimmer.”
“We?” Émilie asked suspiciously as they reached the shooting range.
“I know my limits, and I know that alone I have little chance of usurping the crown from Sunset Shimmer. But, there are more students who vote against her than for her. If we all united, we could beat her.”
“If we all united behind you,” Émilie said as she loaded her rifle. “It’s an interesting proposition, but tell me why students would want to vote for you rather than someone with more seniority, like me or Marcel?”
“Well, I believe that if you supported me and told your supporters to vote for me, then they would,” Twilight Sparkle said.
“You may be right about that,” Émilie replied. “But why should I do that?”
“I am sure you are a fine student and commander, but you have taken to favoring the Infantry Department,” Twilight said. “I can be impartial. I can represent all departments. That is the only way we can defeat Sunset Shimmer.”
“Well, you did manage to get the Gang of Five back together, I hear,” Émilie said as she lowered herself into a firing position, then paused and looked at Applejack. “You’ve decided to support her candidacy?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Applejack replied. “And Minuette has agreed to as well.”
“Huh, that’s a surprise,” Émilie said as she turned back to the line of targets and took aim. “You have the psionics students backing you, and now you’re after the infantry students. You accused me of favoring the Infantry Department, and that is true, but can you tell me why, Twilight Sparkle? Why would I choose the least prestigious combat department when there were flashier options out there?”
“They are the core of the military,” Twilight answered, though it seemed fairly obvious knowledge to her. “The other departments may have more pomp, but without the infantry, you cannot take or hold ground or effectively defend a position. They are essential.”
“Good answer,” Émilie said with a slight smile, and she fired off a few shots before setting her rifle down and turning back to face Twilight. “You’re only in your first term, but you know what you’re doing, and you want to take Sunset Shimmer down. I like your moxie, Twilight Sparkle. I’ll tell the Infantry Department you have my support.”
***
With two departments now locked in, Twilight went after the big fish: the Artillery Department. After Sunset Shimmer, Marcel de Jeanne had the highest number of supporters. If Twilight Sparkle was able to secure his support, then she would receive a boost that would nearly raise her to Sunset Shimmer’s numbers. She’d succeeded thus far at getting the support of other Combined Command students, and she just needed to maintain her momentum. The end of the term was only two weeks away; if she wasn’t able to win the Acclamation Crown, she’d need to formulate another plan to retrieve it and return to Equus.
“Oh, Marcel!” Pinkie called as she rapped on the door to the Canterlot Clarion editor’s office. “Someone to see you!”
It was the logical choice to have Pinkie Pie introduce Twilight to Marcel, since she’d worked with him on the school paper for some time and was well acquainted with him. She also knew where to reliably find him—in the offices of the Canterlot Clarion. The blinds on Marcel’s office clicked open momentarily as he peeked out to see who Pinkie had brought to him before he opened the door. Marcel de Jeanne was a tall, burly boy with green skin and greener hair. He held the door half open as he observed the two girls standing in front of him.
“Twilight Sparkle Haltrotsun,” he said. “Please, come in.”
His invitation didn’t seem to extend to Pinkie Pie as he shut the door after allowing Twilight Sparkle into his office. It was a sparse office, with a desk, a smattering of chairs, a single bookshelf, and a safe in a corner providing the only furniture in the room. Atop Marcel’s desk was a typewriter and several shallow boxes holding stacks of papers of various heights. Marcel walked around to sit behind his desk and Twilight took a seat across from him.
“I know why you’re here,” Marcel said as he stared her down, hands steepled on the desk in front of him.
“You do?” Twilight asked. Granted, her recruitment of other Combined Command students was no longer a secret, so he’d probably guessed her intentions.
“Of course. You’ve shaken everything up, Twilight Sparkle,” Marcel said. He grabbed the newspaper on the desk next to him, flipped it open, and folded it over before passing it across the desk to Twilight. “This is the paper that will come out today. Now that Émilie and Minuette have come out in support of you as student leader, take a look at the latest poll[2].”
Twilight took the paper and examined the results. With just two of the other Combined Command students on her side, she’d shot up from last place to third. She was nipping at Marcel’s heels, but perhaps that had annoyed him. He certainly didn’t seem pleased with her, though it was a bit hard to tell. Sunset Shimmer’s numbers had also dipped slightly as her supporters continued migrating to support Twilight Sparkle’s candidacy. Seeing this made her feel that her plan truly was achievable, though to make it a reality, she’d need to combine the second- and third-place numbers by persuading Marcel to support her.
“It appears that you do know why I am here,” Twilight Sparkle said as she passed the newspaper back to Marcel. “I want you to follow Minuette and Émilie’s examples and support my candidacy so that we can defeat Sunset Shimmer together.”
“No,” Marcel said bluntly.
“No?” Twilight asked, taken aback by how forceful his rejection had been.
“No, I will not support your candidacy for student leader,” Marcel said. “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate what you’ve done in breaking the status quo. Getting two other Combined Command students to give up their chances of winning to throw their votes behind you? It’s unheard of. Like I said, you’ve shaken everything up … and given me the opportunity I need to win myself.”
“It will not work, Marcel,” Twilight protested. “You have the support of the Artillery Department, but after four years of favoring them, I do not think the other departments will be eager to back you.”
“Maybe not until now,” Marcel said. “You changed everything, Twilight Sparkle. You convinced psionics and infantry students to work together; in doing so, you’ve started the breakdown of barriers between the departments, at least when it comes to student leader elections, but not just for yourself. You failed to see that others could exploit your plan. I can siphon off Sunset Shimmer’s support from other departments now, and if I get Cavalry and Engineering to support me, I may have enough to win.”
“You are just going to divide the vote again,” Twilight said. “Can you not see that this is how Sunset Shimmer continues to win?”
“I am the most senior Combined Command student!” Marcel said passionately. “I’ve led longer than any of the rest of you, including Sunset Shimmer, and yet she’s managed to eclipse me. Well, no more. This term is my second-to-last chance to win the Acclamation Crown, and the first feasible time since Sunset Shimmer arrived. I will not throw my chance away so that you, a student who was failing so terribly,can have a moment of glory in your first term. I’ve heard how you’ve improved,” Marcel said as Twilight started to object. “And as I said, I’m grateful for how you’ve shaken things up. But you have not impressed me, Twilight Sparkle. If you thought that I would ever back you, you are sadly mistaken.”
“There is nothing that would change your mind, then?” Twilight asked as a tense silence stretched between them.
“Nothing,” Marcel said with finality.
“Well, then,” Twilight said as she stood. “Thank you for your time, Marcel.”
***
Failing to gain Marcel’s support had not only set back Twilight’s plan, it had also shaken her confidence that she’d be able to win back the Element of Sorcery. Even if she managed to sweep up every vote that hadn’t been cast in the last poll for Marcel or Sunset Shimmer, she’d still be eight points short of beating Celestia’s rogue protégé. It was still possible that students could desert the other candidates to vote for her, but it would be a close call. That made it even more important that she keep persevering to secure the support of the remaining Combined Command students.
The next department she was going after was Engineering. Adamant Ross was the Combined Command student who’d obtained the Engineering Department’s favor, and he was still in his first year of classes. Twilight Sparkle had only seen him intermittently early on when she was trying to get caught up on the year she had missed. There were two sides to Canterlot Academy’s Engineering Department: fortifications and machinery. Fortifications was the more traditional branch and involved the construction of temporary field defenses and more permanent fortresses, as well as the establishment of supply lines. Machinery was a newer and less well-defined subject that included both things that fell under military engineering—establishing telegram, telephone, and power lines—and things that existed in a gray “engineering-like” space—the upkeep and invention of automobiles, lighter-than-aircraft, and aeroplanes. Adamant’s focus was on the latter of the two engineering disciplines, and Twilight and Rarity found him in one of the machine shops set aside for experimentation in the Supplemental Lecture Hall.
“Hello, Adamant,” Rarity greeted him as they made their way through the assorted half-finished projects that other engineering students had begun.
“Hello, Rarity,” Adamant said as he looked up from the sketches propped up on the drafting table in front of him. “Oh, and Twilight Sparkle. I know you.”
“What are you working on?” Twilight asked, peering at his sketches as they drew closer.
“This?” Adamant asked, gesturing to the drafting table. “It’s still in the early stages, but I’m puzzling out how to make a field gun fully self-propelled.”
Twilight Sparkle studied the diagrams he’d drawn and frequently modified. An artillery piece was at the center, set on top of an eight-wheeled automobile frame with peculiarly thick wheels. An armored frame surrounded it with firing slots and mounted machine-guns set into it.
“That’s how it started, anyway,” Adamant said passionately. “I’ve had to keep making modifications, like shrinking the size of the gun—which I still might have to do some more—spreading out the weight, adding armor and a protective gun crew to make it defensible. Really, it’s turned into more of a mobile fortification. I might have better luck building off that idea than trying to make a field gun mobile.”
“A mobile fortification,” Twilight Sparkle said with a mix of wonder and horror as she looked at the diagrams. “Very interesting.”
“Thanks, but I know why you’re really here,” Adamant said with a smile.
“You do?” Rarity asked.
“Of course. You want me to support you for student leader this term,” Adamant said as he pointed at Twilight with a pencil. “Well, say no more, I’ll do it.”
“Really?” Twilight asked at the same time Rarity said, “You will?”
“Yes, of course,” Adamant replied. “I’ve watched you dash past me this term. You’re much more qualified to be student leader than me, and I’d much rather you get it than one of the other Combined Command students.”
“Wow, well ... thank you, Adamant,” Twilight Sparkle said, still taken aback by how quickly he’d agreed to back her.
“Don’t mention it,” Adamant said before rethinking it. “Actually, do mention it to get the vote out.”
“Of course,” Twilight Sparkle said with a smile.
The pair of friends left the shop, Twilight with a new spring in her step. After the way Marcel had forcefully rejected her, she was relieved by how easy this meeting had gone. She just had one more student to go.
***
Like Minuette, she knew the Combined Command student favored by the Cavalry Department from her own world. Twilight and Lightning Charge Bersian had crossed paths several times. She’d known him briefly as a foal, and the next time they’d met after both growing up, she’d lost him in the wilderness when he was supposed to accompany her to her meeting with the Griffon Free Companies. He was at the White Tail Tournament before the Los Pegasus invasion, and there was his almost-proposal at his family’s roost when she’d been there to help her father the previous spring. There was a long, if staggered, history between the two in Equestria—but here, she’d barely spoken to him more than a handful of times in classes. Ten days to the election, Twilight Sparkle found him near the cavalry course seated atop a horse, staring out over the fence that divided Canterlot Academy from Wyvern.
“Lightning Charge!” she called out, and he turned his horse and dismounted. “Hello there.”
“Hello, Twilight Sparkle,” Lightning Charge replied as he removed his cap and hung it on his horse’s saddle. “You’ve really stirred things up around here, you know?”
“I know,” Twilight said with a nod.
“Where did you come from?” he asked.
“Sottsland?” Twilight answered tentatively. He doesn’t know I’m from another world, does he?
“They must really do things different there,” Lightning Charge pondered. “So, you want me to support your bid for student leader, eh?”
“I guess it is not much of a secret anymore, is it?” Twilight said.
“Not when you’ve already got three other Combined Command students supporting you. Nor when your friend Rainbow Dash comes to me singing your praises and giving her word that you’re the one to finally knock Sunset Shimmer off her perch.”
“I believe it can be done,” Twilight Sparkle asserted.
“Hmm, maybe. You’ve certainly done better than anyone else, in any case,” Lightning Charge said, looking distant. “We’ve all been so caught up in the rivalry between departments; it seems we don’t really understand the reason Combined Command was created in the first place. We each want our own department to have primacy. There’s Sunset Shimmer, who only cares about her own position and glory, and then there’s you, bringing departments together—bringing Combined Command students together.”
“Do you know why I picked the Cavalry Department?” Lightning Charge asked as he made eye contact with Twilight, and she thought this would be like Émilie’s test, before he continued talking. “It’s a bit of a … family thing. My father, my brothers, all cavalry. Originally, I was going to come to Canterlot Academy to study in the Cavalry Department, to be like them, but I decided to shoot higher, to go for Combined Command instead. I guess I wanted to surprise them for once, make them proud of what I’d accomplished. Yet, I still ended up looking at the cavalry for my future. I’m afraid I may have made a mistake there.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.
“Do you think the cavalry will become obsolete?” Lightning Charge asked.
“Well, if I have learned anything this term, it is that all methods of warfare will become obsolete eventually,” Twilight said. For example, everything I knew from my own world has outlived its usefulness here.
“Well said,” Lightning Charge said melancholily. “I think that ‘eventually’ may be sooner for the cavalry than anyone hopes. We’re not prepared to change, even if there is a way to adapt without losing what we are.”
Lightning Charge had become distant again, and Twilight followed his gaze through the fence to the road that ran by the academy. Horse-drawn carriages clattered along, but they were accompanied by a profuse number of automobiles. The advance of technology had put the future of horses and the cavalry in jeopardy, something Twilight had concluded herself from her research. Even though this foreboding contrast was everywhere, it wasn’t something that seemed to be widely discussed. Maybe Lightning Charge was one of the few who could see the oncoming wave, though his feet remained rooted in position, waiting for it to overtake him and not seeing a way to run.
“You’ll have mine and the Cavalry Department’s support, Twilight Sparkle,” Lightning Charge said as he glanced at her. “You go and beat Sunset Shimmer and Marcel.”
“Th-thank you,” Twilight Sparkle replied.
“No, thank you,” Lightning Charge said thoughtfully, “for showing me the path not taken.”
She didn’t really want to leave him, but he didn’t seem interested in talking anymore. Twilight headed back to the central campus, leaving Lightning Charge standing next to his horse, watching the passing automobiles, combustion engines roaring and electric motors whirring, as he pondered the future.
“I do not know,” Twilight Sparkle replied honestly. “I still think that winning the election is doable … but it is going to be close.”
According to the latest poll in the Canterlot Clarion[1], Twilight’s support was getting steadily closer to Sunset Shimmer’s numbers, but she was still eight points short. The election was in four days; she had until then to close that gap and earn enough votes to clinch her victory. With Marcel still holding on to the 18 percent of the vote the Artillery Department gave him, Twilight Sparkle had two strategies going forward: look to Sunset Shimmer’s supporters to gather up more votes and rely on the other Combined Command students to convince the last few holdouts among their followers that they should vote for Twilight instead.
Her friends had all been incredibly helpful, and their continued support for Twilight and dedication to helping her win the Acclamation Crown made her feel almost invincible. However, they still didn’t know what was truly at stake. For them, this election was only a school competition, and they were fighting to dethrone and replace Sunset Shimmer with someone who actually cared about all the military departments. They didn’t know the Crown was the Element of Sorcery or that Twilight’s portal back home would close during the lunar conjunction on the night of the election.
If Twilight didn’t get her Element of Harmony back, there was no telling what Sunset Shimmer might do with it. In all her studies of this world, Twilight hadn’t found any indication that actual magic naturally existed here, but it wasn’t out of the question that Sunset Shimmer had found some way to bring some over from Equus. Her rival’s assertion that Twilight had no idea what the Element of Sorcery truly was continued to bother her. For this world’s version of the Brave Companions (the Gang of Five as they were called; or Gang of Six, now that they’d adopted Twilight into their group), losing a school election to Sunset Shimmer didn’t seem like the end of the world—but Twilight feared that it could be.
“Let’s get back out there, then,” Applejack said, rousing the others as she stood up from the table where they were sitting. “We’ve still got a few days. Sunset Shimmer hasn’t won this yet!”
Twilight had to agree with Applejack; it wasn’t over until the votes had been cast and counted. They still had some time left, and she’d keep working to win enough support to get her Element back. And, if it looked like she wouldn’t win, then she might have to resort to … other methods to retrieve it. Once Dean Luna brought it back from Fort Krahn before the end of term ceremony, a backup plan of stealing it from her office would be more achievable.
As they left the cafeteria, it felt like almost everyone was watching them, though most eyes seemed to be fixed solely on Twilight. That wasn’t entirely unusual since she’d become the rising candidate for student leader and the other Combined Command students had thrown their support behind her … but these looks were different than normal. They weren’t curious or admiring; rather, they were accusatory or suspicious. Twilight was searching for a reason behind this sudden animosity, and it soon dawned on her that wherever there were students glaring at her, there was a newspaper among the group.
“Special edition!” a student carrying a satchel stuffed with newspapers was crying outside of the cafeteria as they exited. “Is there a spy among us?” =
“What’s going on?” Pinkie Pie demanded as she ran up to the student distributing papers.
“Special edition of the Clarion,” he said as he stared past Pinkie at Twilight. “You should give it a read.”
Pinkie snatched the offered paper and quickly returned to her friends waiting over on the path.
“Oh my,” she said as she perused the front page.
“What? What is it?” Twilight asked nervously, and Pinkie passed her the paper to read it herself. The others all gathered around as Twilight unfolded it to read the cover article. The headline was already troubling as it boldly proclaimed “Sigillandic Spy on Campus?”
Twilight Sparkle Haltrotsun. How much do we really know about her? She arrived quite suddenly this term and has since skyrocketed to become a contender for the Acclamation Crown at the end of the term. During her brief stint as a Combined Command student, she’s managed to gain allies in every military department as well as her own Combined Command program. However, should we call them allies—or marks? Twilight Sparkle may not be what she seems. How has she so quickly integrated herself into our academy to where she now has access to every detail about every part of our military? How was she able to progress so rapidly from being completely clueless about the simplest concepts at the start of the term to becoming a serious choice for student leader? Unless, of course, her incompetence at the start of the term was merely an act to draw suspicion away from her. What if she played the part of “Clueless Twilight” so that we would not perceive her true sinister intent?
But if Twilight Sparkle Haltrotsun is here to spy on us, then for whom is she spying? The answer is obvious; she was sent by the Sigillanders to learn everything about our military in order to give them an advantage in a future war. Before you protest our conclusion, please realize this is not a baseless accusation. We at the Canterlot Clarion do our research. Twilight Sparkle bears many signs that identify her as a Sigillander. Her violet eyes, for example, are found only among Sigillanders. Her surname—Haltrotsun—is likewise Sigillandic in origin. Then there is the matter of her dog, which you have undoubtedly seen her walking on the parade grounds or in the forest behind the academy. Has nobody realized that her beloved pet is a Sigillandic Shepherd? This is the same breed of dog used by Sigillandic troops on their patrols of the border, known to rip out the throats of any nearby Haustran. The evidence against Twilight Sparkle Haltrotsun is damning, and doubly so is the judgement on the headmistress and dean of this academy. They allowed her into our ranks, to spy on us right under their noses. This paper will not be silent on such a crime, and we fervently hope that you, the readers, will not be as well. Reject Twilight Sparkle and see that she faces the appropriate punishment for her crimes. We must do this, for the sake of Haustra.
Twilight was speechless. This was far, far worse than the earlier character assassination the paper has published on her. They weren’t just calling for her removal from Canterlot Academy; they were advocating for her imprisonment on charges of espionage. What could she do? Attempting to run would only confirm her alleged guilt, but she couldn’t stay here and be imprisoned, not when the lunar conjunction and the closing of the portal were so near at hand. Perhaps the least of her worries now was that this would severely hamper, if not downright destroy, all her hard work toward winning the Acclamation Crown. Maybe if she hurried, she could break into Luna’s office, try to find her Element, and flee to Equestria.… Twilight realized that her friends were all looking to her as these panicked thoughts ran through her head.
“I-it is not true,” Twilight said feebly. The worst thing one could be in Haustra, she’d learned, was a Sigillander. If her friends believed this article, there was no way they’d continue to stand by her.
“Of course it isn’t, darling,” Rarity tried to comfort her.
“I’m going to see Marcel about this!” Pinkamena announced angrily and stormed off.
As she headed down the path, she met a pair of school guards striding purposefully toward the rest of the Gang of Six. Unlike the facsimile outfits the students wore, their attire were genuine Haustran Army uniforms. Their sidearms were all too real as well, but these were stowed securely in their holsters for the time being.
“Twilight Sparkle Haltrotsun,” one of the guards said as they approached, and the rest of the group clustered around Twilight. “You are to come with us to Dean Astrus’ office immediately.”
“Am I in some sort of trouble?” Twilight asked worriedly.
“Please, just come with us,” the guard repeated as he spotted the newspaper Fluttershy was holding and gestured for Twilight to come with them. His partner placed a hand hesitantly on her sidearm’s holster.
Twilight Sparkle nodded and followed the guards as they led her toward the main lecture hall, one ahead and one behind. There was no getting out of this situation now unless she overpowered the guards, which she knew was not an option. (Just another stinging reminder that she had no magical abilities here, and not even the slightest hint of psionic power as a substitute.) They brought her across the lecture hall’s courtyard, where students pointed and whispered to each other, probably celebrating that a traitor had been caught.
Luna’s office was dark when the trio arrived; the curtains were drawn, and the only sources of light in the room were a lamp on Luna’s desk and whatever shone in from the hallway. Surprisingly, the dean was not the only one in the room. Marcel was also seated before Luna’s desk, and he turned around in his chair as the door opened to admit Twilight.
“What is she doing here?” he demanded as the guards shut the door and Twilight took a seat in the chair next to Marcel.
“What’s the matter, Marcel?” Luna asked annoyedly. “Not willing to say to someone’s face what you print in your paper?”
“Not at all,” Marcel replied heatedly. “She is a Sigillander. A spy!”
“I assure you that Twilight Sparkle Haltrotsun is nothing of the sort,” Luna said as she shuffled the files on her desk. “Are you?”
“Of course not,” Twilight replied, and Marcel looked incredulously back and forth between the dean and Twilight, amazed that she would accept something so simple as sufficient proof.
“Where are you from, Twilight Sparkle?” Luna asked.
“Sottsland,” Twilgiht lied.
“And where in Sottsland?” Luna asked, remaining calm and composed while Marcel looked baffled.
“I am from Sarsburgh,” Twilight answered, thinking back to what she’d seen on her transfer paperwork months earlier. She also considered what she’d learned since, which suggested the direction Luna was going with this line of questioning. “It is located in the heart of the Sars, a region in Sottsland where many Sigillanders live. My family may be ethnically Sigillandic, but I owe no allegiance to Sigilland. I am a citizen of Sottsland and a soldier of Haustra.”
“Marcel?” Luna asked, shifting her focus to him.
“I … um,” he replied, taken aback.
“Twilight Sparkle is no Sigillandic spy. She is a student from Sottsland, our ally, who has made incredible progress this term. Such accusations are very dangerous, Marcel. Be careful how you cast them,” Luna said sternly. “Now, I expect you to make things right. I am expected at Fort Krahn, so you have leave to use my office to settle things.”
Luna checked her wristwatch as she rose and grabbed her cap before departing the office, leaving Marcel and Twilight alone in the near darkness.
“I’m … I'm sorry, Twilight Sparkle, for besmirching your name. I should have known it wasn’t true when Sunset Shimmer was the one who gave me that tip,” Marcel said remorsefully. “I was determined to ruin you, to give myself a chance to take the lead against Sunset Shimmer. But that’s no excuse; I see now that went much too far. I hope you can forgive me.”
“Well, that is a good start,” Twilight accepted. “But now all the academy thinks I am a Sigillandic spy.”
“I’ll fix that!” Marcel said passionately, “I’ll print a retraction, and I’ll tell all my followers to vote for you instead of me. It’s the least I can do after accusing you of something that could have seen you severely punished; and it’s what I should have done all along. I’d convinced myself you’d somehow deceived the Gang of Five into following you to gain a backdoor into every department … but that’s not true at all, is it? They follow you, and the other Combined Command students follow you, for a reason. You could be the one to finally bring unity to our fractured academy. Do it, Twilight Sparkle, and defeat Sunset Shimmer for all of us. You’ll find no more suspicion cast your way from me.”
***
With Marcel’s newly gained support, victory again felt within reach; and Twilight Sparkle could finally focus all her attention on preparing for end-of-term exams and ceremonies. If she won the position of student leader, she’d be expected to lead the students on parade through the streets of Wyvern, and while most of the details were decided by the headmistress and dean, some of the decisions were left to the student leader. There would also be a party and dance the last night of the term after the parade, so Twilight had to make preparations for that. She’d read all she could on the upcoming lunar conjunction that would cut off her way home, and it wasn’t set to occur until the late hours of the night. The safest choice would be to return to Equestria as soon as she had the Element of Sorcery back in her possession (before the parade), but if she didn’t want to disrupt this world and arouse suspicion, she’d need to stay for what followed. Besides, she had grown quite fond of this universe’s version of her friends and didn’t want to abandon them so quickly.
The Gang of Five had helped her so much during her time in this strange new world, and they had become just as dear to her as her friends in Equestria. Even so, she knew she would have to leave them eventually, even if she didn’t want to. She had responsibilities back in Equestria that couldn’t be ignored. As dire as the threat of war appeared to the people of this world, her own home faced even greater dangers without the Elements of Harmony and all six of their bearers to protect it.
These thoughts weighed on her mind on the day of the election as the six of them were together in a dressmaker’s shop in Wyvern. It wasn’t the first time that Twilight Sparkle had visited this place. Earlier in the term, when Rarity had learned how lacking Twilight’s wardrobe was outside of her school uniforms, she had been brought here to have more casual attire made for her. However, there was nothing casual about what they were being fitted for today. The end-of-term dance was a strictly formal occasion, and Rarity had insisted on having new dresses made for all of them. Her father was a prominent Haustran textile and arms magnate, and her family owned this dressmaker’s shop, so she was able to provide them all with elaborate gowns free of charge.
“You look worried, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie observed. “What’s the matter? You’ve got this election in the bag!”
“Are you thinking about the summer break? Do you have plans, Twilight?” Applejack asked.
The group had been discussing, among other things, their plans for the week between the end of this term and the beginning of the next. Twilight knew that she wouldn’t be here for it, and Pinkie Pie must have noticed her disappointment.
“Are you going back to Sottsland?” Fluttershy asked.
“I … I … excuse me,” Twilight Sparkle said, and she fled to a changing room.
Spike followed after her, ducking beneath the changing room curtain.
“What is it, Twilight?” Spike whispered. “What’s the matter?”
“I know what must be done, Spike, but I fear that going through with it will cost me dearly. I know that I will need to return to Equestria, but leaving them all behind will be hard,” Twilight said. “I feel that I cannot continue to lie to them anymore. They are my friends; they are not the same individuals as my pony friends in Equestria, but I’ve become connected to them all the same.”
“Then … tell them the truth,” Spike said thoughtfully.
“How can I do that?” Twilight protested. “Either they will think I am crazy, or they will believe me and turn me in to the authorities.”
“Like you said, Twilight, they are your friends. It may be hard for them to understand, but I’m sure they’ll trust it because it’s coming from you,” Spike said. “And if they don’t, then we’ll just have to hurry to Luna’s office, steal back you Element, and book it to the portal.”
“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight said with a smile. “I am glad you’re here with me.”
“Me, too. Well, unless we get trapped here and I have to remain a dog until the next lunar conjunction. I really miss walking on two legs instead of four.”
“Me too, Spike,” Twilight laughed. “Except the other way around.”
When Twilight stepped out of the changing room, Spike sticking close to her ankles, the others were all gathered and looking at her worriedly. Twilight was pleased to see that nobody else was in the room, so she could safely disclose her secret only to those who might understand.
“What’s going on, darling?” Rarity asked concernedly.
“I have something to tell you all,” Twilight said hesitantly. “I am not from Sottsland. Actually, I am …”
“From an alternate world which has yet to progress past the Late Middle Ages and where magic is a real power which you yourself possess and the Acclamation Crown is actually a magical artifact from your world that Sunset Shimmer has stolen and your world is in grave danger unless it’s returned and your way back home will be blocked off after tomorrow night so if you don’t get the crown and return to your world terrible things could happen?” Pinkie Pie rattled off.
“Ignore her,” Rainbow Dash said as Twilight stood stunned. “What were you going to say, Twilight?”
“Actually, she has summarized it rather concisely,” Twilight said, still in shock. “Was that all just a guess?”
“Of course not,” Pinkie Pie said merrily as everyone else’s jaws dropped. “I’m a reporter; I know how to piece things together to get the story. Are you also a royal of some kind?”
“I am crown princess of the Kingdom of Cant’r Laht, yes,” Twilight replied, stupefied. “I am also a … winged … unicorn in my home world.”
“This is a lot to take in,” Applejack said as she looked for a seat.
“Did Spike come from your world as well?” Fluttershy asked as she looked at the puppy seated by Twilight’s feet.
“That’s right,” Spike answered himself, and Rarity shrieked at hearing a dog talk. “And in our world, I’m a fire-breathing dragon!”
“This … is … incredible,” Rainbow Dash said, “You have to tell us all about your world.”
“And you’ve been keeping this to yourself all this time?” Rarity said shakily. “That must have been so difficult for you, darling.”
“Well, no need for it anymore,” Applejack said with a deep breath as she stood back up and the others expressed similar sentiments. Spike gave Twilight a wink.
***
The Gang of Six spent much of their remaining time together questioning Twilight Sparkle on her world, and she felt she could trust them to keep the information secret and her world safe. That wasn’t all they talked about, though, to Twilight’s relief. There was plenty about this world to hold one’s interest, not least of which was the end of the term. The election went as Twilight had hoped, with all her plans paying off. She won the position of student leader, and by a majority[2] at that—something that hadn’t happened at Canterlot Academy in years. On the final day of the term, Headmistress Celestia placed the Acclamation Crown on Twilight’s head, and she could sense that it was the Element of Sorcery once again. Now that she had retrieved it, all that really remained of her mission here was to return home, but she had other duties to fulfill first. After the crowning ceremony, she led the entirety of the student body on parade through the streets of Wyvern. The citizenry had gathered in droves to watch, and they passionately cheered the students while waving red, blue, and white banners.
After the parade came the end-of-term dance, and Twilight exchanged her field uniform for her formal dress. She’d have to leave most of the things in her dormitory behind, but she packed her satchel with everything she’d brought from Equestria, along with as many of her own notes as she could stuff inside. Hopefully she would have time to return to her quarters before heading home, but she decided to store the satchel beneath the statue over the portal in case she had to leave directly from the dance. Twilight had managed to get some lessons in popular Haustran dance styles from Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, so she was able to do fairly well (or at least well enough not make a fool of herself).
Things were going perfectly as Twilight enjoyed the last few hours with her friends, until she heard barking coming from outside. Fearing for Spike’s safety, she hurried outside, followed closely by her friends. It was dark and difficult to see anything, but by the light of the electric lamps along the paths, Twilight could just barely make out the form of someone running to the north while carrying Spike.
“Twilight!” he called as he recognized her.
“Spike!” she yelled and took off after him.
The Gang of Six moved as fast as they could in their gowns along the paths and across the parade grounds, pursuing the figure who was almost certainly Sunset Shimmer. Just what was she trying to accomplish by kidnapping Spike? Was she trying to lead them into a trap? Twilight kept her eyes sharp for ambushes as they ran across the grounds of Canterlot Academy, but it looked like Sunset Shimmer was all alone. It became more difficult to be sure of that when the group reached the academy’s forest and the trees obscured visibility.
The gap had been growing from the start of the chase, since Sunset Shimmer was wearing her field uniform and her legs were unrestricted, but suddenly they were on top of her. She had stopped and turned to face them, and they all pulled up short in front of her. Under the light of this world’s twin moons, which were growing closer in the sky by the minute, they could finally get a good look at Spike’s kidnapper. The puppy was trying to squirm free, but Sunset Shimmer had him tightly clamped under one arm. In her other hand was a knife, and she held it to Spike’s throat as Twilight took a step forward.
“Uh-uh-uh, not so fast,” Sunset Shimmer warned. “If you want your pooch back alive, you’ll have to toss your crown down at my feet first.”
“What do you hope to accomplish by threatening Spike?” Twilight said as she held her ground. “I am the one you have a quarrel with.”
“It’s obvious you care about him, and even if you didn’t, how do you think Ingrirtireth would respond to learning that his son and heir had been murdered? Cant’r Laht would burn. So unless you want that to happen, you’ll give me your crown now!” Sunset Shimmer demanded.
“I do not know what you are planning, but I cannot give you my Element of Harmony,” Twilight said as she watched Spike. “I will not give you the power you seek.”
“Shame for your little friend, then,” Sunset said.
Before she could follow through on her threat, Spike twisted his head and bit down on Sunset Shimmer’s hand. She yelped in pain and Spike was able to break free, falling ungracefully to the ground before running over to Twilight. Now that Sunset had no leverage, the others started to advance toward her, but she pointed her knife out toward them. There was nothing she could do to stop the inevitable, though, and she seemed to realize it. The knife dropped from her limp fingers and she collapsed to her knees, sniffling and panting.
“It’s not fair … not fair,” she mumbled tearily. “It should have been mine all along. Everything you have was meant for me. I was Celestia’s pupil. I should have been crown princess. It should have been me!”
Sunset Shimmer waved her wounded hand, and a blast of light temporarily blinded everyone. When Twilight’s vision returned, Sunset was leaping toward her. She put up her arms to block, but her assailant easily tackled her to the ground. They struggled in the underbrush as Sunset Shimmer tried to grab at Twilight’s head and Twilight tried to hold her off. As the others recovered, they rushed in to pull Sunset off of her, but they weren’t quick enough.
Sunset Shimmer managed to get her fingers around the laurel crown on Twilight’s head, the leaves cutting into her palm, and the world exploded in light for a second time. This blast threw everyone back, and Twilight could sense magic radiating from it in a dark, twisted form. Come to think of it, she’d sensed something similar on a smaller scale when Sunset had first blinded them. She had found some way to use magic here after all, as Twilight had feared.
As the ringing in her ears faded, Twilight Sparkle forced herself to her feet. Her friends all seemed fine as well and unaffected by the blast … unlike the forest. The explosion of magical energy had knocked the nearby trees off-kilter and turned the nearest ones into torches. In the midst of the destruction stood Sunset Shimmer, transformed. Magical energy emanated from her new form; standing twice as tall as a regular person, her yellow skin had been changed to crimson, and her gold and scarlet hair whipped about her head furiously. Leathery wings had sprouted from her back and she flexed them tentatively, growing accustomed to their presence. Long, pointed nails grew from the ends of her fingers, and her snarling mouth revealed pointed teeth. Upon the demoness’s head was the Acclamation Crown, but it was struggling to maintain its appearance, sometimes shifting from golden leaves to a circlet with a star-shaped gem, the Element of Sorcery.
“At last!” Sunset Shimmer crowed triumphantly as she raised her arms and flames ignited on her palms. “Sorcery! Oh, how I’ve missed it! My birthright stripped away by my banishment now returned! No more hiding in a pitiful school. This world will be mine!”
“No!” Twilight cried out defiantly.
“You’ve lost, ‘princess!’” Sunset replied angrily and she thrust her arms outward, igniting a few more trees as she released her magic. “You have nothing that can stop me, now that I’ve regained my sorcery. I am the only one with magic, with true power, in this world, and I intend to bend it to my will! Let Celestia have her ‘Kingdom of Cant’r Laht’ and pass it on to a mediocre copy of myself; I’ll take an entire universe! But, before we get to all that, I have some business to take care.”
Sunset curled a hand into a claw and a purple flame ignited within it, growing and roiling as fire licked around her fingers. Twilight felt entirely helpless and exposed until her friends ran to surround her. They wouldn’t be able to do anything to protect her, but maybe, together, they could reclaim the Element of Sorcery from Sunset Shimmer’s head before this went any further.
“The gang’s all back together, I see. Such a shame you won’t be around for me to split apart again, but if you want to die with Twilight Sparkle, then that’s your choice!”
Sunset Shimmer ignited an identical flame in her other hand and combined the two fires together with a clap.
“Run, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash whispered to her, but she wouldn’t abandon her friends, no matter what length of time she'd known them.
Sunset Shimmer thrust her arms forward, and a blast of fire and magical energy rushed over the Gang of Six. Remarkably, Twilight Sparkle didn’t feel herself being consumed—or feel any pain at all, for that matter. Slowly, she opened her eyes. The sorcerous attack surrounded her and her friends, but they all stood unaffected by it, and a slight glow was emanating from each one of them. Twilight realized that not only was the coloration of the glow different based on the individual, but they also matched the gem colors of the Elements of Harmony wielded by their counterparts back in Equestria. She could sense, among the tainted magic that Sunset Shimmer was wielding, another thread of purer magic reaching back to the portal. The Elements of Harmony were protecting her and her friends, even in a completely alien universe.
“What?” Sunset Shimmer asked incredulously as she ceased her attack and saw that the Gang of Six was still standing strong (and still slightly glowing). “Why aren’t you dead? What makes you so special? It’s not fair!”
Sunset attacked again with even more vehemence, tearing away the ground around the Gang of Six and uprooting countless trees, but they remained untouched by the dark sorcery.
“You may have an Element of Harmony, but you cannot wield it!” Twilight Sparkle accused once the assault let up, leaving Sunset Shimmer staring at her hands in disbelief. “At least not against their true wielders. These girls may not be the same individuals with whom I originally discovered the Elements, but they represent the same powers. Trustworthiness, Compassion, Mirth, Charity, Allegiance, and Sorcery: the Elements of Harmony. Brave Companions or Gang of Six, the Elements are ours to wield, to stop those like you!”
Twilight Sparkle reached out to take Fluttershy’s and Pinkie Pie’s hands, and the others got the hint and followed suit, forming a chain that linked all six of them. The glow around them began to merge and grew brighter. Sunset tried to renew her assault on last time, but it was no use. A multicolored light shot out from the Gang of Six, forcing Sunset Shimmer’s magic back and consuming her in a brilliant maelstrom. A thunderclap sounded that threw everyone off their feet, and the light faded.
When they were all standing again, they were shocked to discover a crater where Sunset Shimmer had been. Near its edge was the Element of Sorcery, returned to its mundane form of a laurel crown, and Twilight picked it up as she approached. The blast had extinguished the fire burning the nearby trees, so it was only by the light of the moons that the Gang of Six could see down into the crater where Sunset Shimmer was on her knees, quietly sobbing to herself.
“It’s not fair,” she mumbled as Twilight descended the slope to her. “I should have been Celestia’s heir. I was a powerful sorceress once … and now look at me. I have nothing.”
“You were alone,” Twilight Sparkle said, and Sunset Shimmer looked up in surprise. “Celestia told me that she isolated you during your studies, afraid you would become distracted like Cadence. She regrets that now. But you do not have to be alone, Sunset Shimmer. Getting ahead on your own is not a road that leads to any sense of fulfillment.”
“But …” Sunset said desperately. “Everything I’ve ever done has been to divide. Everything I’ve done has been on my own. How am I supposed to find … redemption?”
“I was much like you once. I could easily have gone down the same path,” Twilight said, thinking back to her last days in Cant’r Laht. “Then I met some very special individuals that showed me another way.”
Sunset Shimmer looked over Twilight’s shoulder at the Gang of Five descending into the crater, and Twilight nodded.
“Twilight!” Spike called from the lip of the crater. “The moons!”
Twilight Sparkle craned her neck upwards. Through a gap in the trees, she saw that the moons were beginning to overlap; the lunar conjunction was starting. The others all looked at her expectantly.
“Take good care of her,” Twilight said, referring to Sunset Shimmer.
“If that's what you want, then we will,” Applejack said as she clapped Twilight on the shoulder with a brawny hand. “Now go home!”
Twilight wished she could say more thorough goodbyes, but since that ran the risk of trapping her in Illea, she merely shared quick grateful glances with all her new friends before scrambling up the edge of the crater. Spike was waiting impatiently at the top and took off to the south the moment Twilight made it over the edge. She hoped she had made the right decision with Sunset Shimmer, offering her redemption instead of punishment, but it was out of her hands now. She trusted the hands she’d put her in, though. The Gang of Five would be good for Sunset, and although Twilight would miss them, she needed to return to her own Brave Companions.
The lunar conjunction continued to progress at what seemed to be an alarming rate as Twilight struggled through the forest, Spike running ahead to scout out the clearest path. Soon she was out on the parade grounds north of the school, lifting her dress to run slightly faster across the grass. She sped past the dormitories, with no time to return to her room to grab her things. She’d had the foresight to leave the key to her quarters with Applejack, in anticipation of this very scenario, and she’d also left a note for her new friends. She was glad she’d taken the time to do so, now that she hadn’t had the chance to make lengthy farewells. The academy grounds were filled with students who’d left the dance to observe the lunar conjunction, and few of them noticed Twilight sprinting past as they kept their eyes on the sky.
“Come on, Twilight!” Spike called from in front of the portal, her satchel on the ground in front of him.
Her grabbed it in his mouth as she reached him and jumped into the stone. Twilight followed a second later, diving through the statue’s base and passing through with little resistance. A moment later, the moons completely overlapped each other in the night sky, whoops went up from the students of Canterlot Academy, and the portal closed until the next conjunction.
Spike and Twilight were pulled forward rapidly through Star-Swirl the Bearded’s magical corridor between worlds. All sense of self was lost as they tumbled along and crashed through the Divide, but it gradually began to return as they neared the other side. Spike scrambled forward on all fours for a moment before standing upright and spitting Twilight’s saddlebags out of his mouth. Twilight completed her dive and nearly failed to catch herself on her forehooves before it came back to her (with a bit of involuntary windmilling from her wings).
“Twilight! You’re back!” Pinkamena exclaimed as she ran up to embrace Twilight.
“I am glad to be back, Pinkie,” Twilight replied as she adjusted to being back in her own world.
She took in her surroundings while Pinkamena puzzled over the nickname Twilight had bestowed upon her. She was in Golden Oak’s laboratory, surrounded by all her friends. Celestia must have had Star-Swirl’s mirror moved here so that she could reunite with them more easily whenever she returned. It didn’t look like they had aged significantly in her absence, so she held out hope that she hadn’t been away for too long.
“How long was I gone?” Twilight asked. “What is the date?”
“It’s the Thirteenth Day of the Twelfth Month. Year One Thousand Two. Of the Fourth Age,” Rainbow Dash replied.
She had been gone for a little more than a month. It seemed that the shifting rates of time had actually worked out in her favor, unlike the journeys of Star-Swirl or Sunset Shimmer. She’d spent much more time in the World Across the Divide than what had passed here. It was something she’d have to note and study, but not yet. Right now, she needed to reunite with her friends, even if she had been spending the past few months with individuals that shared their names and personalities.
“That’s a stunning gown you have on, darling,” Rarity noted. “Whoever designed it?”
“You did,” Twilight replied with a mischievous grin.
