A new world awaits Pearl as she discovers the joys of model kit building.
Several months have passed since Pearl Rose became Princess Twilight's new Personal Student, and the young Pegasus couldn't be happier. Even if her teacher can be a bit quirky.
One day, while Twilight is out on princess business, Pearl stumbles across an odd book that she's never seen before. Not that unusual with the unofficial Princess of Books herself. But lies inside will open up a whole new world to Pearl.
A world on the other side of a certain mirror, and a brand new hobby that makes her usual reading look rather small by comparison.
Pearl groaned as she closed the book in front of her with a thump as her head hit the table. “I still don’t know what Princess Twilight wants me to learn. This is all for unicorns. Do I look like a unicorn to you?”
Spike rolled his eyes as he walked by, a stack books in his hands. “Come on, Pearl. It can’t be that bad. Can it?”
Pearl shot him an annoyed look. “Spike. I don’t understand half of this. I can’t even pronounce some of these words. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to get out of this.”
Spike’s frills dropped, for he could hear the despair in her voice. “Pearl. You know Twilight wouldn’t give this to you if she didn’t think it was important.”
Pearl’s ears fell. “I know, and I’m glad she’s teaching me. Beats out the School by a long shot and having to put up with Thunder and his cronies all of the time.”
Spike rolled his eyes. “He totally had that coming. Just too bad you didn’t hit him any lower. How did get almost away with rape again?"
Pearl giggled. “I don't know, and I know. I just couldn’t reach that low. Damn it all if I didn’t try.” She shook her head as she looked around. “I’d almost go round two with him at this rate. There has to be something in here that I can read that makes sense.”
Spike looked around the Main Library. It held most of the castle’s books, some of which could only be reached by those with magic or if they had wings. His eyes soon fell on one shelf in particular.
Pearl followed his gaze. A heat haze shimmered in front of one row in particular. “What is Princess Twilight keeping in there anyway? Nothing dangerous I hope.”
Spike shook his head. “Na. It’s just some books she doesn’t want anypony else looking at. At least not yet. I don’t know why. I like them.”
Pearl gave him a confused look. “Then why hide them? She’s basically the God Empress of Reading and trying to get other ponies to read. Why hide them like this?”
Spike bit his lips. They shouldn’t even be talking about this if he was being honest. But he could see the look of desperation and despair in Pearl’s eyes, and it made his heart drop.
It had only been a month or so since Pearl had become the Personal Student to Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Ponyville was still abuzz with the news. The School of Friendship even more so.
But despite her best efforts, Twilight was almost at her wit's end. Pearl was an attentive student and soaked up everything the alicorn said. But most of Twilight’s books were made with unicorns in mind, not Pegasi.
Twilight would never, ever, say or think that this had been a mistake, and had taken Trixie to task for even suggesting it. But the princess was rapidly running out of ideas.
Spike shook his head as he flew over to the shelf and reached inside. “Twilight is going to kill me for this. But I think I know something you might like, Pearl. Better than a dusty magic book that’s for sure. I know you like reading new things. This might be right up your alley.”
Pearl blinked as the book was set before her. It was small enough she could hold it in one hoof. The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian, by Robert E. Howard, rang the title, the cover showing what appeared to be a male ape of some kind saving a female of the same species from some horror.
Pearl frowned. She could almost say the three figures were minotaurs, but they most definitely were not, or even close to the bull folk. “I know what Sword and Sorcery are. But what the hay is this?”
Spike chuckled. “Only the adventures of the greatest hero of the genre of all time! In this world or any other world. And this is just volume one. There’s still two more on the shelf if you’re interested.”
Pearl scratched her chin. She would be lying if she said she didn’t like the genre. It was far better than Daring Do, that was for sure. No matter what Rainbow Dash said. And she had been looking for something new to read. Other than magical texts. “Where did this come from? I’ve never heard of any of this?”
Spike wrung his hands. “It’s not my place to say. I do know where it came from. But Twilight can tell you more when she gets back. If she doesn’t throw us both in the dungeons anyway.”
Pearl rolled her eyes. Her teacher didn’t seem the dungeon type. She hoped. If nothing else, she would at least have read something new beforehoof.
Spike saw she was at least interested, and smiled. “And don’t worry about the pages. Twilight has a charm on them that when you go to turn them with your hoof, they’ll do it themselves. Just in case she ever shared these with Rainbow Dash. Beats using her mouth.”
Pearl giggled as she settled herself down, and began to read.
Sometime later, Pearl finally put the book down, having just finished Iron Shadows on the Moon. She wasn’t entirely sure of all of what she had just read. But she knew one thing. She was interested in what would happen next.
She shook her head as she looked up at Spike, who only smirked. “Sorry to say, Spike. But this blows your O&O stuff out of the water, and then some. And that’s not even the entire book!”
Spike chuckled. “Yeah. I had the same reaction when I first read it too. Yeah, the stories jumping all over the place with Conan’s life were a bit annoying at first. But you eventually get used to it.”
Pearl rolled her eyes. She would have to take Spike’s word for it. Personally, she didn’t see why the stories jumped around his life as they did. From King of Aquilonia in The Phoenix on the Sword to a mercenary captain in Khoraja in Black Colossus, to a pirate captain of the Red Brotherhood on the Vilayat Sea in Iron Shadows on the Moon, and many things in between.
She was still lost on something though. “Where is all of this even from? This isn’t from Equestria. Conan isn’t even a pony. None of the main characters are. I don’t even know what they are.”
Spike opened his mouth to respond, but before he did, another voice responded in an annoyed tone instead. “They’re human, Pearl. Something that doesn’t exist in Equestria or on Equus.”
Pearl’s ears dropped, as Spike winced. Turning around, Pearl came face to face with an unamused Princess Twilight Sparkle, though the corners of her mouth were twitching upwards.
Pearl smiled sheepishly. “Eh-eh. Hi, Princess.”
Twilight sighed as she slipped a bookmark on Pearl’s ending page. “Spike. What did I say about showing this to anyone?”
Spike was unapologetic as he rolled his eyes. “Come on, Twilight. You know how much trouble she’s having with what you’re giving her.”
Twilight looked back at Pearl in sympathy. “Is this true? I know you’re having trouble, Pearl. But I know you’re trying to understand this.”
Pearl sighed. No use putting it off now. “You want the truth, princess? I barely understand half of what’s in those books you have me read. I can’t even say some of the words in them. I’m just about ready to give up altogether.”
Twilight’s ears fell, as Pearl slumped in defeat. She quickly put a wing around her young student, who was more than happy to lean into it. “Pearl, I’m not mad. I just wish you had told me sooner.”
Pearl rolled her eyes. “And do what? Disappoint you? You’ve given me something that I never expected. I don’t want to throw it all away. But dammit all, I just can’t do this anymore.”
Twilight nodded, running a hoof along her back. “Then we will try something else. Yes. I am a little mad that you were reading something before I wanted you to. There’s a reason that shelf is magically sealed off except for me or Spike.”
Pearl looked over at it. “What’s so bad about it? Yeah, I don’t get a lot of it. But it's a fantasy. Most ponies probably wouldn’t read it anyway.”
Twilight nodded, smiling. “There is a reason for it. It’s not the genre, or that most ponies probably wouldn’t read it even if they knew of it. It’s where those books came from that Equestria isn’t ready for.”
Pearl scratched her head. “What the hay is that supposed to mean?”
Twilight giggled as she stood and beckoned her younger companions to follow. “Follow me, Pearl. I want to show you something.”
Pearl wasn’t sure what she had expected when they had moved to the Side Library. The only difference between this room and the other was a mirror that stood in one corner.
Nothing about it stood out as interesting, except all of the various contraptions set up around it and connected to it. So she was rightfully confused when her teacher started messing around with various things. “It’s a mirror, with who knows what attached to it. What’s the big deal?”
Spike chuckled. “Oh. It’s not just any mirror, Pearl. Twilight wouldn’t make such a fuss about it if it was.”
Twilight nodded. “I wanted to show this to you eventually, Pearl. But I wasn’t ready at this moment, so forgive me if this takes a minute.”
Pearl still wasn’t buying it. “Like I just said. What’s so special about this thing?”
Instead of responding, Twilight picked up a ratty old journal from a nearby table. On the front cover was a sun symbol split into a ying-yang formation. “This. Just watch.”
Without further explanation, Twilight slotted the journal into the slot above the mirror. Immediately, magic began to flow from it and into the mirror. After a moment, it began to ripple like water.
Pearl walked over and placed her hoof on it. But instead of meeting something solid, it passed right through it easily. “What the hay?” That was all she could think.
Twilight giggled. “I had the same response the first time I saw this. This is no ordinary mirror, Pearl. It is a gateway to another world. That book you were reading? It comes from that world. Everything on that shelf does.”
Pearl waited for the punchline, but none ever came. She’d heard of stuff like this but had never bought into it herself. “So why hide it then? It’s just a book. Doesn’t seem that bad.”
Spike snorted. “That’s what I said. But nopony ever listens to me, so why do I bother?”
Twilight shot him a glare. “Because there are things in that world that Equestria is not ready for. And far too much can go wrong if news of this gets out. I have Rainbow Dash on permanent probation because she’s tried to go through here so many times. All of my friends have.”
Pearl smirked. That did sound like something Rainbow would do. “It can’t be all that bad. Can it? Doubt you’d keep this thing if it was.”
Twilight nodded. “That is true, and there is so much we can learn from Earth. I’ve been trying with some success to replicate some of their technology here.”
Pearl looked around. She didn’t see anything that stood out as totally different. “I don’t see anything.”
Spike rolled his eyes. “That’s cause Twilight has it all locked up in her Lab downstairs. Only she or Starlight get to go in there. No matter how hard Rainbow tries. She even got Applejack to help once. No luck.”
Twilight nodded. “I pride myself on my locks. Not even Celestia and Luna can get in there unless I let them in.”
Pearl rolled her eyes. Paranoid was an understatement, as she removed her hoof from the portal. “So when do I get to visit?”
Twilight blinked, while Spike looked smug. “What do you mean?”
Pearl giggled. “Do you really expect me to not want to visit whatever’s on the other side of this thing? I loved those stories too much to leave this alone. There has to be more out there.”
Twilight groaned. She had been afraid of that. “I can’t just let you go to the Human world, Pearl. It’s just too dangerous to let you go alone.”
Pearl smiled. “Then I’ll take Spike. Sounds like he’s been there before.”
He nodded, though he wasn’t keen on going back anytime soon.
Twilight massaged her temples with a wing. Her student was being particularly stubborn today. While it was an endearing quality, sometimes it drove the alicorn up a wall. “No, Pearl. I will not allow this.”
Pearl’s wings drooped, as did her ears. The sight made Twilight’s heart drop. Darn it, had she been this adorable when she had been Celestia’s student?
She sighed, unable to take the sight for very long. Darn this good heart of hers. “At least until I talk to your parents about this. I will not take you anywhere until they too know all about this.”
Pearl grinned widely. Yes! Now she just had to work her magic on her parents. It shouldn’t be too hard.
“... And that is where we are at the moment,” Princess Twilight finished, taking a sip of tea as she leaned back in her chair.
Cirrus Storm didn’t reply for several moments, unable to believe what she had just been told. If it had been anypony else, she would have called them a liar. Now, however, she was stunned.
Off to the side, Pearl was all but bouncing in her seat with excitement. Cirrus couldn’t help but smile at that at least. Her daughter needed a pick me up after the last few weeks.
Finally, after waiting to see if any more would be added, Cirrus sighed. “If this came from anyone else, princess, I would call them a liar. As it is, I find all of this hard to believe.”
Twilight nodded. “I understand the feeling, miss Storm. There is a reason few know about the World Mirror. I want to keep it that way as well.”
Pearl rolled her eyes. Wimps. Think of all that could be over in that world that could be used in Equestria? Her mind was spinning with ideas.
Cirrus could understand the reasoning behind that. “And you want to take my daughter to this other world? Let her go by herself?”
Twilight shook her head. “No. Not unless you give your consent. I have no right to do that to Pearl. And as for her going by herself?”
She sighed, pausing for a moment, earning a worried look from the duo across from her. “I have friends in that world. Friends that I trust with my life. I know they would take care of your daughter if she went alone.”
“I’m right here, you know?” Pearl grumbled. “It can’t be that bad. Can it?”
“Pearl Rose,” her mother admonished.
Pearl shrugged. “What, mom? I can’t help it. All the stories I’ve read always have these other worlds be fine. Different but fine. How bad could this one be?”
Twilight chuckled. “It is very different for sure. It is hard to explain unless I show you. But as I said. I will not do anything if you say so. It’s not my place.”
Cirrus could hear the sincerity in the princess’s words, but she was still conflicted. She knew of Pearl’s struggles with Princess Twilight’s lessons, how close her daughter was to a blow-up.
The punching bag in her room seemed to be doing some good. Why Pearl had insisted on a fox-shaped punching bag was beyond her. Not even Pearl knew for sure. But it seemed to be working.
A part of Pearl swore that it was for a friend of hers that couldn’t be there to be her punching bag for real if she ever felt the need. But that was stupid. She didn’t have a friend like that. Let alone a fox that would. She didn’t know any.
Pearl had vowed that Fluttershy would never learn about this. The animal lover would never forgive her for it, and she liked the Pegasus too much to let that happen.
Cirrus could see the hopeful look in Pearl’s eyes and fought to keep her composure. Her daughter knew how to use her cuteness to her advantage when she had a mind to.
Right now, she wished her husband was home. But he had left for the weekend and wouldn’t be back till Monday. So now she was forced to deal with this alone.
Twilight could see the conflict in Cirrus’ eyes. A part of her hoped the Pegasus would say no. She still felt that it was still too early. And she knew Pearl would not disobey her mother.
Finally, Cirrus sighed. “I cannot say for sure, Princess Twilight. I would see this… thing for myself before I said anymore.”
Twilight nodded. “That can be arranged. It’s not too much work.”
This gave Pearl a new boost of confidence. But a part of her felt that the final answer would be no. No matter how much she hoped otherwise.
As the World Mirror hummed to life, Pearl had to keep herself from running through right then and there. But a hoof on her shoulders held her in place.
Her mother didn’t seem to be convinced. “And how do I know this thing has done anything? This could be nothing but smoke and mirrors.”
Twilight bit back a retort. She got enough of that from Trixie as it was. She knew that Cirrus meant nothing by it, but the comment still stung. “Place your hoof on the surface, and you’ll see that this is very real. I assure you that it is perfectly safe like this.”
Cirrus frowned but did as the princess suggested. To her shock, instead of a solid surface, the mirror rippled like water and her hoof passed through it. It was a strange feeling, to say the least. “But how do I know that this leads to another world as you say?”
Twilight nodded, as she pulled out an old journal from a nearby shelf. She had expected this. “There is a way to show you this, Cirrus. But you will have to trust me on this.”
Cirrus and Pearl shared a confused look as Twilight quickly wrote something in the journal. Whatever it was, the letters seemed to glow for a moment before fading.
“What was that?” Pearl asked, as Twilight finished and seemed to be waiting for something.
Twilight smiled. “That is a message to my friends at Canterlot High. Unless I have totally forgotten their schedule, they should have free time about now.”
“Your friends at where?” Cirrus asked, scratching her head. “This seems like overkill to talk to your friends in Canterlot, princess.”
Twilight giggled. “Not that Canterlot, Cirrus. But hopefully, we will see in a few moments.”
That was all she would say on the matter, and so the three of them could only wait, though only Twilight knew what they were waiting for.
Finally, however, the journal began to buzz and vibrate wildly, startling the two Pegasi, and earning a giggle from the alicorn as she picked it up and turned to a seemingly random page.
“Okay. Sunset says that we are clear to come over any time now,” Twilight said happily as she finished reading and trotted over to the mirror. “If the two of you truly want to see what is on the other side of this mirror, then follow me. Give me a few minutes before you do, though.”
“Why?” Pearl asked, barely able to keep her excitement in check.
Twilight’s smile grew. “So we can catch you when you come out the other side. The first step is a doozy. Especially your first time. Trust me.”
Before they could ask what she meant, Princess Twilight stepped through the mirror and vanished.
For a few moments, neither Pearl nor her mother said anything. “Do you think she’s pulling our legs?” Pearl asked.
Cirrus shook her head. “I don’t know, honey. None of this makes much sense to me. But I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t curious.”
Pearl nodded. “So. Age before beauty, right?”
Cirrus chuckled as she pushed her daughter forward. “Just for that dear, I’m keeping you close. I don’t want to lose you to who knows what might lay beyond this thing.”
Before Pearl could retort, her mother pushed her headlong into the portal, earning a startled squawk from the youngster, before Cirrus herself followed a second later.
“Are you sure that this is a good idea, princess?” Sunset Shimmer asked as she and the twin Twilights waited outside the Wondercolt statue.
Twilight pinched her nose. “I’m not sure. But Pearl is being insistent, and I can only hold her off for so long. It’s better to do it like this than risk she does something stupid to get here.”
“Would she?” Sci Twi asked, looking at the statue with renewed concern. “I know a girl with the same name. Her family lives down the street from mine. She never seemed like the type. Not unless her odd cosplay friend had goaded her into it.”
Twilight smiled. That did sound like Pearl. “If she puts her mind to it? Yes. It drives her parents nuts as well. It’s better this way I feel, and her mother deserves to know just as much.”
She paused a moment before her brows scrunched. “Where is everyone anyway? Isn’t this Lunch period?”
Sci Twi nodded. “Rainbow and Fluttershy rushed off to Hobby Lobby a little while ago. They didn’t say why. They’ve been doing that a lot recently.”
Sunset nodded. “I think I heard Fluttershy say something about a new model kit. I didn’t even know she was into that kind of thing.”
Twilight blinked. She knew what those were. Spike had a rather big collection of them for his O&O Boys Night, even if she didn’t understand them herself. “Of what though?”
Sunset and Sci Twi only shrugged helplessly. Before they could say anymore though, two figures came tumbling out of the portal, Twilight and Sunset rushing to catch them before they fell over and hurt themselves.
One was an older woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties, while the younger couldn’t have been much younger than the Canterlot Movie Club. Sci Twi immediately recognized her fiery red hair as the youngster she had often seen playing in the street down from her home.
Pearl groaned as Twilight helped her to her feet. “Did somepony get the number of the chariot who ran me over? I’m going to pound them.”
Twilight and Sunset shared a knowing look. “I told you to watch that first step, Pearl,” Twilight admonished.
The young girl tried to shake the cobwebs from her head, but it was easier said than done. “If I don’t get ice cream after this, princess. I’m complaining to somepony.”
Sunset and Sci Twi giggled while Cirrus groaned as she too shook her head. “Did it work, Princess Twilight? I feel strange.”
Twilight nodded. “Open your eyes, you two. We made it.”
Slowly, Cirrus did as they were told. Looking down, their eyes widened in shock and horror at what had happened to them. It was Pearl who put it into words though.
“What the hell happened to me?! Why do I look like a hairless ape?!” She looked up, and her jaw dropped as she saw Sci Twi. “And why the buck am I seeing double?!”
Twilight groaned, rubbing her head. “Was I this bad during the Fall Formal?”
Sunset nodded, smirking. “Eeyup. I think you were even worse though. At least these two have someone here to explain it all and there’s no time limit..”
That was a small victory at least, Twilight thought with a sigh. “Can the two of you look after them for a little bit? I need to talk to Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna about this.”
Before anyone could say anything, the princess stormed off, grumbling all of the way about something under her breath.
Sunset watched her go with wide eyes. “Did. Did she just pull princess rank on us?”
Sci Twi sighed. “I think she did. I wonder if I could ever do the same?”
Sunset rolled her eyes, as Cirrus cleared her throat. “Young fillies. Will one of you please explain just what is going on around here? My daughter and I deserve an explanation.”
Sunset and Sci Twi shared a look. The lady would not take no for an answer it seemed, and so Twilight sighed. “The two of you might want to sit down for this, miss…?”
“Cirrus Storm. And this is my daughter, Pearl Rose,” Cirrus replied, while Pearl seemed to be curious at least.
Sunset nodded. “Well then, miss Storm, Pearl. It’s a very long and complicated story.”
Principal Celestia sighed as Princess Twilight finished explaining why she had dropped by Canterlot High out of the blue as she had. “At least it is not magic-related this time.”
Twilight nodded, pinching her nose in annoyance. “After Sunset told me what happened with the Memory Stone, I hope we never have to deal with it again. Whatever happened to Wallflower anyway?”
Vice Principal Luna shook her head. “Miss Blush was expelled. No one came to her defense. Not even your friends. I must admit that I was surprised they did not at least attempt to.”
Celestia nodded. “From what I understand, once they discovered why she had done what she had, Rainbow Dash had to be held back from doing something drastic. Sunset was no better from what I understand."
Twilight winced. No wonder Sunset refused to talk about the aftermath, even now. Not that the princess could blame her friend.
Celestia’s smile grew. “Now. Are you sure Equestria will be fine for however long you are here, Princess Twilight?”
Twilight blushed. “Please don’t call me that. Not here.”
Luna’s brows rose. “It is your title, is it not? Especially seeing as you now rule over an entire country? Congratulations again for being given such a responsibility. It could not have happened to a nicer person. Or pony as it may be."
Twilight blush grew. The sisters always had this effect on her it seemed, no matter the world it might be. “Thank you. But my title means nothing here. I have no actual power. So please. Don't treat me any differently. I get enough of that as it is."
Celestia smirked. “I highly doubt any of us could do anything to stop you if you ever decided to do something, though. You have this aura that I cannot ignore. Nor can anyone else. You can deny it. But the effects speak for themselves."
Luna nodded, smiling. “It is what helped unite the school behind you during the Fall Formal. While your counterpart has made inroads into it, the school is still behind you.”
Twilight’s blush felt like it contained the heat of a thousand suns as she slid down her seat in embarrassment. Darn it, this was making her lightheaded.
Celestia and Luna giggled at the sight. “Back to the matter at hand, however. What will we do with Miss Rose and her mother?” Luna asked.
Twilight shook her head with a sigh as she sat back up. “I don’t know. I never planned to have Pearl find out about this world like this. Or possibly at all. Too much can go wrong if news of this gets out. How it didn't after the Friendship Games, I still don't know."
Celestia could see the wisdom in that, as she looked out her window. From here, she could see the two women in question on the front steps of the school. They seemed lost at all Sunset and Sci Twi were telling them. Which was understandable. “But they know of it now. They seem to be taking it rather well. All things considered.”
Twilight rolled her eyes, as she looked as well. Pearl’s head seemed to be spinning, as was Cirrus’. Not that the princess could blame either of them. “I’ll talk to Cirrus when we get home. We’ll think of something to keep Pearl from doing something rash.”
“Would she?” Luna asked, frowning at the thought. She had enough to deal with as it was. She did not need anything else.
Twilight rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Oh yes. In a heartbeat, if she thought it was cool enough. It wouldn’t be the first time either. One of these days she is going to drive me up a wall with worry! Or just give me a heart attack!"
Luna and her sister shared a knowing look. Underneath her exasperation and annoyance, they could see and feel that Princess Twilight cared deeply about her student. No matter what she might do.
Sighing, Twilight shook her head. “Right now, I trust Sunset and other me to handle things. If they can handle magic-related disasters, I think they can handle something small like this. What's the worse that can happen?"
“... And that is when you and the princess came through the portal,” Sci Twi finished, pushing her glasses back up her nose.
Pearl and Cirrus were too stunned to say anything for a few moments. Cirrus had a glazed look to her eyes, while Pearl seemed to be digesting it all.
“So I have a twin duplicate here?” Pearl finally asked, zeroing in on one thing in particular. If nothing else, she had to start with something.
Twilight nodded. “Oh yes. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were her. You’re identical in every way possible. Even down to the same age and having a private teacher instead of going to school.”
Pearl rolled her eyes. Go figure. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
Twilight tapped her chin. This was a rare chance for her to learn more about Equestria, and she wasn’t about to waste it. “Do you happen to know someone named Kohaku Forestsong?”
Pearl tapped her chin, racking her brain for someone with that name. “Nope. Either in Ponyville or Baltimare. Why?”
Twilight shrugged. “Well, here the two of you are basically inseparable best friends. I was just curious if the same applies in Equestria.”
Cirrus shook her head. “That might be the case here. But not where we come from. And I must say that I don’t know any family with that last name. In my line of work, you hear a lot of names.”
Twilight nodded. It wasn’t a big difference for her anyway. It wasn’t like she was going to share any of this with those two anyway. Though Kohaku had this really annoying habit of seeming to know more than he ever let on. It drove her insane when he used it on her. His whole family was like that.
Sunset rolled her eyes. “You’re taking this rather well, mam.”
Cirrus shrugged. “This feels too real to be fake. I’d heard of alternate worlds before. But I never imagined it would be like this.”
Sunset chuckled. “Trust me. I know the feeling. You get used to it after a while.”
Pearl rolled her eyes. “If you say so. Doubt I could ever get used to any of this.”
Sunset and Twilight giggled, even as a blue blur came rushing to a halt before the group. “Are we late?” Fluttershy asked, once her body stopped shaking.
Rainbow scoffed. “Come on, Fluttershy? Have I ever been late before?”
Fluttershy looked like she wanted to argue that, but decided against it.
Pearl’s eyes began twitching. “Okay. This is getting ridiculous. I know you told me about this. But really? Speedster Rainbow Dash? Does this world not know anything original?”
Sunset shrugged helplessly, while Rainbow gave the youngster a look. “Whose the small fry with a big mouth?”
Cirrus gave her a stern look. “That is my daughter, Pearl Rose. I’m Cirrus Storm. And since you didn’t come from the portal, you must be the native Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy? I see some things are consistent across worlds.”
Rainbow grumbled while Fluttershy looked excited. “You’re from Equestria?”
“That’s us,” Pearl huffed, before noticing the bag Fluttershy was carrying. “So what’s in the bag? Anything important or cool?”
Fluttershy nodded, looking proud of herself about something. “Oh, nothing too important. Just my latest Gunpla purchase.”
Pearl and her mother shared a look. “Your latest what?” Cirrus asked.
Fluttershy was shocked. “You don’t know what Gunpla is?”
“Should we?” Pearl asked, but Cirrus could see that she seemed to be interested in some way about whatever this thing might be.
Twilight leaned in and whispered to Sunset. “Does Equestria have… ?”
Sunset shook her head. “No. Not like this anyway. We have models. But nothing like this. At least, we didn’t use to when I was Princess Celestia’s student.”
Twilight filed this away for later. Interesting. It wasn’t a big difference in the grand scheme of things. But it was still something.
Fluttershy, meanwhile, seemed to have been shocked beyond belief. Rainbow could only sigh as she placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Now you’ve done it. Once ‘Shy comes back to herself, you’ll be sorry you said that.”
Pearl wasn’t convinced as she rolled her eyes. “What did I say? I just don’t get whatever she was talking about. It can’t be that bad, can it?”
Twilight sighed, as Fluttershy gained a slightly crazy look in her eyes. “It’s not, Pearl. But Fluttershy is very passionate about her Gunpla. Not that I blame her. I like it as well. Maybe not as much as she does. But I do."
Sunset nodded. “I’ve been on the receiving end of what you’re about to get. I don’t think I’ll ever get over the lecture I got. Even though I’m still not into it myself. Too weird for me."
Fluttershy gave her a knowing smirk. “You just don’t know a good thing when you see it, Sunset.” Smiling, she reached into her bag and pulled something out. “Take a look for yourself, Pearl.”
Pearl took it, not quite sure what she had gotten herself into. What she saw, though, wasn’t what she had been expecting.
It was a model kit of some kind. That much she could understand. But very little else about the box made much sense to her. It showed a mecha of some kind, and the words ‘Real Grade XM-X1 Crossbone Gundam X1, and under that was the blurb S.N.R.I. Prototype Mobile Suit.
Pearl blinked, even as Cirrus leaned over to look as well. “I don’t get it,” Pearl finally admitted. “This looks like something out of Neighpon back home. Except it’s not a pony.”
“Neighpon?” Rainbow asked, looking at Sunset, who only shrugged.
“It’s our world’s equivalent of Japan. Not perfectly of course, since their Emperor still rules uncontested. But it shares a lot in common otherwise,” she said with a smile.
Cirrus nodded. “I remember seeing something similar to this back before you were born, Pearl. Not perfectly obviously. But your father brought something like this home one day. He seemed to like it. We had to give it away because we needed the bits after I had you.”
Pearl rolled her eyes. Go figure. “We’ve never needed bits before though. Why then?”
Cirrus chuckled as she ruffled her daughter’s hair. “This was long before we rose as high as we did, honey. I was still working as a teller, and your father was still a Longshoreman.”
Pearl giggled. She had trouble believing that. Her dad was too damn good to be that low, and anyone who said otherwise was getting punched. “So what makes this so damn special? I’m still not seeing it.”
Fluttershy nodded. “This franchise has been going on for over fifty years now. This is not the only Gundam out there. Not by a long shot. I think it would be easier if I showed you the completed kit though.”
Pearl still wasn’t buying it. “Can’t we do it in Equestria? This whole thing is too weird for me.”
Princess Twilight shook her head as she joined the group. “It wouldn’t be the same, Pearl. Hooves are not the best for putting these together. Trust me. Even with magic, hands are better if you want to try this.”
The youngster gave her mentor a flat look. “Who says I’m interested in this at all?”
Twilight smirked. “You can try to hide it, my Faithful Student. But I can see that look in your eyes. You’re curious about all of this. I know the feeling, for I too was like that once.”
Pearl huffed as she crossed her arms. “Fine. Guess I am a little bit curious about this. But that doesn’t mean anything else. So don’t get any funny ideas, princess.”
Twilight giggled, as the group headed into the school. “I wouldn’t dream of it, Pearl.”
No matter what she would say later, Pearl couldn’t help but watch with awe as Fluttershy put the Crossbone together. It was almost hypnotic as first the Core Fighter, then the inner frame, the armor, and finally the weapons came together.
“That’s a lot of stickers,” she said, as the teen added an emblem of some kind to the chest armor. “Did you have to use all of them?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh no. I only really needed to use the front and back camera, and the sight on the Beam Gun. But I’ve always used all of the included stickers.”
Cirrus looked down at the sheet that sat off to the side. “There are still several left though. Why?”
Fluttershy nodded. “Well. One set is used only if you want to have individual eye stickers, and the other is used only if I had used the eye patch option. But I like it this way better.”
Cirrus and Pearl shared a look. That made sense. It didn’t look very easy to switch out the eyes that were in it with the eye patch. Why a mech was pirate-themed was beyond them. "And the spray you gave it?" Pearl asked, looking over at a small rattle can. Mr. Super Clear Flat Spray was emblazoned on the side. Next to it was one called Tamiya Flat Clear.
Fluttershy smiled. "It gives the model a better look and helps the stickers look better once applied. It's also why I took it apart once I had it all built and sprayed it outside."
Off to the side, Princess Twilight watched the scene with a knowing look in her eyes. Even though she had seen this before, there was still something about watching a new model kit come together. And only with animals had she seen Fluttershy any happier.
Cirrus could see a gleam in her daughter’s eyes. One that only grew with each passing moment. She had an idea of what it might mean, but held her counsel for the moment. But she couldn't help but smile at something.
Pearl, though, still had one question. “Why even have eyes like that though? Why not just have one normal pair, and one eye patch one?”
Fluttershy could only shrug in resignation. “Well. Every Real Grade kit has that eye option. Not the eye patch of course. But the extra option has always been a thing.”
Pearl and Twilight shared a look. That made no sense to them, but what did they know about a lot of this? Maybe it made more sense after more time had passed?
Twilight’s smile grew as she saw the gleam in her student’s eyes. “So Pearl. Is this still too weird for you?”
Pearl shook her head. “Hardly. Yeah, I still don’t get most of this. But it is cool.”
Twilight nodded, her smile continuing to grow. “And?”
Pearl took all of about five seconds to make up her mind. “And where do I get one?”
“Are you sure about this, Pearl? You still don’t know much about this hobby. Even with Miss Fluttershy’s help,” Cirrus commented, as the trio stood beside the Wondercolt statue.
Pearl nodded. “Come on, mom. It’s just one kit. How bad could it be?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Quite hard, Pearl. Hooves are no good for model building. Not like this anyway. You will need to do it in this world. And there is also the problem of price.”
Sci Twi nodded. “If you truly want a kit that looks good when built, it’s going to cost a bit. Even High Grade, which is usually a good place to start, can run-up in price depending on the kit.”
Pearl smirked. “Good thing I have the bits then. We’re not exactly poor back home.”
Cirrus nodded. “I believe we’re the second richest family in Ponyville behind the Rich family.”
Sunset rubbed her forehead. “And there’s the problem. Several of them actually. Carrying around a lot of cash in this world will raise all kinds of questions. Good luck with that.”
Sci pinched her nose. “Fortunately, you’re also the second richest family here in Canterlot, behind the Forest family, so you having that much money wouldn’t be too strange.”
“But?” Pearl prompted, seeing where this was going at least on one point.
Twilight sighed. “You being out and about will eventually get back down to your native counterpart. Either you run into her. Or unless she is into this as well, people will ask her about her new hobby that she technically isn’t even into.”
Pearl blinked. She hadn’t thought of that, as her eyes fell.
Twilight saw the look of disappointment in her student’s eyes, and it hurt to look at, as she shared a worried look with Sunset and Sci Twi. “Pearl. We are not trying to stop you from doing this. But if you really mean to go through with this, then you need to understand what will come with that,” the princess said, placing a hand on Pearl’s shoulder.
Sunset nodded. “There’s a reason why there’s very little contact between this world and Equestria.” She saw the look Sci Twi was giving her. “No matter what some might say otherwise.”
Pearl nodded. After all, she’d heard about rogue magic and the brainless idiots who thought they could control it, she could understand why things were as they are. “I mean it. So what if this turns out to be a one-time thing. Not like I’m gonna blab about any of this.”
Cirrus nodded. “You won’t change my daughter’s mind, princess. When Pearl has her mind set on something, not even you will be able to change her mind.”
Twilight nodded. She had been afraid of that. “Then the first step is to make sure you have enough bits to buy one. We can cross the other bridges when we get there.”
Pearl's smile grew as the princess led the group to the portal. But before any of them could enter, Sci Twi had something to say. “Hold on there, princess. You’re forgetting something.”
Twilight blinked as she turned back to her twin. “Um. No, I’m not. I didn’t bring anything with me. And I know Pearl or Cirrus didn’t either.” The two nodded in agreement.
Sci Twi nodded. “I know. But you’re forgetting someone.”
“She is?” Cirrus asked in confusion.
Twi nodded as she marched up till she was face to face with her counterpart. “I’m going with you. Someone needs to be there to tell Pearl how much money she needs.”
Twilight blinked in consternation. “Excuse me?”
Twi’s smile grew. “I know you still don’t know much about this world. Consider this a chance to learn more about it. And I’ve always wanted to see Equestria. Ever since the Friendship Games.”
Sunset nodded. “It’s true. I can only explain so much.”
Twilight’s eyes began twitching. Okay. So they both had her on those points. “Well. I would be lying if I said I had never planned for this eventuality with my Pinkie Pie.”
Twi’s smile would make Pinkie proud. “Great! Let’s get going then!”
Twi’s eye twitching got even worse. Darn it. Was she like this when in this kind of mood? “Okay. You can come with us. But I am setting some ground rules while you are there.”
Twi’s smile slipped somewhat. “Like what?”
Twilight smiled as she placed a hand on her counterpart’s shoulder. “Simple. While you are in Equestria, you’re my quest.” Her grip hardened. “Do not abuse that privilege. The portal is in my castle. Therefore I have the final say on what happens to it or comes through.”
Twi gulped. She didn’t like the sound of that. But she could understand the reasoning behind it.
Twilight’s smile lightened after a moment. “And if you do see a book you like, don’t be afraid to ask. I can probably loan it to you. But I will just want them back.”
Twi just barely held back a squee at the thought. Just barely. “Is there anything else I should worry about?”
Twilight could only shrug. “I’m not sure. A lot depends on what kind of pony you are. Right now? I can’t say for sure what you would be. Unicorn, Pegasus, earth pony. Or the most unlikely one? Alicorn.”
Sunset nodded, as she too placed a hand on Twi’s shoulder. “We don’t know just based on you having wings when you Pony Up means anything. It could be nothing.”
Twi digested this. It made sense. She understood enough of the three pony tribes to understand what it would mean to be one. At least to a degree. “And if I am an alicorn?”
Twilight’s smile dropped. “Then we will cross that bridge if or when we get there. One step at a time.”
Pearl rolled her eyes. “This is making my brain hurt. Can we go already? This is still too weird for me.”
Twilight chuckled, ruffling the youngster’s hair. “I know the feeling, Peal. Let me go first, so I can have a safe landing ready for all of you. Give me several minutes to do so.”
Pearl crossed her arms and nodded, though they could all see how impatient she was to get going. With a smile, Twilight stepped through the portal.
For several minutes, nothing happened. Finally, though, Sunset’s Journal began to glow and vibrate. She smiled as she opened the newest page. “She says she’s ready whenever you girls are.”
Pearl gulped as she placed a hand against the surface of the portal. “I hate this part.”
Cirrus giggled. “At least we know what to expect this time, honey.” And together, mother and daughter walked through.
Twilight couldn’t move for a moment, her confidence suddenly fled, as she looked at Sunset, who only smirked.
“Don’t look at me, Twilight. You’re the one who invited herself along for this.” Her smirk softened as she took her friend’s hands. “You’ll be fine. If the princess truly didn’t want you there, she would have said so.”
That helped Twilight’s confidence a little as she smiled. “And if I somehow am an alicorn?”
Sunset could only shake her head as she helped Twilight forward. “Then you have the best pony waiting to show you how to make that work. We don’t want to keep her waiting now do we?”
Twilight rolled her eyes, but Sunset was right of course. Again. With a gulp and a last thumbs up from her friend, she stepped through the portal.
Cirrus watched the portal with a worried look. “Do you really think she will come through as well, Princess Twilight?”
Twilight nodded, as Pearl bounced impatiently beside her. “Oh, I know she will. She has wanted to come to Equestria for a long time now. This isn’t the first time she's tried this.”
“What happened the first time?” Pearl asked.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “I had to make it a Royal Order that she did not follow me after the Friendship Games. My friends at Canterlot High had to help.”
Pearl gave her teacher a look. “That’s not very nice.”
Twilight nodded sadly. “I know, and I wish I hadn’t done it now. But at the time, I had too much to worry about. What with what had just happened with Starlight and helping her get settled in.”
Pearl and her mother shared a look. They had both heard about what had gone on between the two of them. Cirrus wondered what kind of parents would ever allow their daughter to be like that?
Before anypony could say more, however, the portal flashed, and a lavender blur came shooting out of it, landing with a soft oomph on the mattress spread out just for the occasion.
“I hate inter-dimensional travel. Give me detention any day of the week, just so I don’t have to do that again,” Sci Twi grumbled with a raised hoof.
Twilight giggled as she helped her counterpart to her hooves. “Welcome to the club, other me! You get used to it after a while.” Her smile became somewhat strained as she caught sight of her double in full now. “And I was afraid of this.”
Twi gave her a worried look. “Of what? Am I inside out or something?”
Twilight shook her head as she produced a mirror for Twi to look at. “Not quite. But take a look.”
Twi rolled her eyes as she looked in the mirror. All she saw was that, aside from her glasses and mane style, she and the princess were identical in appearance.
And then she looked at her sides, and her jaw dropped.
Two wings sat folded neatly against her barrel. Carefully touching one with a hoof, she was amazed at how soft and delicate the feathers were.
“So does this mean I’m an alicorn?” She asked, getting a nod from the princess.
“This is going to make things interesting going forward. How much has Sunset told you about them?” Twilight asked.
Twi shrugged. “Not much. Just that we have an earth pony’s strength and stamina, a Pegasus’s flight and weather manipulation abilities, and a unicorn’s magic. Did I miss anything?”
Twilight shook her head. “No. That covers all we know of for sure. There are several other things. But I still do not know if it’s something all alicorns have or only something Celestia and Luna do.”
Pearl rolled her eyes as she made a beeline for the door. “Well while you two nerdgasm about all of that, I’m going to go grab my allowance. There has to be enough in there for one kit at least.”
Cirrus rolled her eyes as her daughter zoomed off. “I better go with her. Before Pearl decades to do anything else rash today.”
Both Twilights watched the pair leave, Cirrus having to put on an extra burst of speed to catch her daughter. “Is she always like this?” Sci Twi asked.
Twilight groaned. “You have no idea.”
Pearl dug around her room, grabbing every loose bit she could find. She didn’t think she had ever been this bad about keeping her allowance in her piggy bank. Apparently not, as she dug out another one under her bed.
“I think that should be enough, Pearl. We are not digging into your savings for this, young filly,” Cirrus said with an annoyed sigh. “You don’t even know how much you need.”
Pearl nodded happily as she grabbed her piggy bank along with a small pile of bits. “Which is why I’m taking all of it, mom. How often do you get a chance like this?”
Cirrus rolled her eyes. “I understand that, Pearl. But you are not even sure you will even like this, Gunpla. Watching one being built is not the same thing as doing it yourself.”
Pearl nodded as she made for the door. “I know, mom. But I want to make this worth it. Even if it is just a one-time thing. You think I have enough?”
Cirrus chuckled as they made their way back to Twilight’s castle. “I would hope so. There have to be several dozen worths of bits there.”
Pearl nodded as they came to the door, and made a beeline for the Main Library, forcing her mother to keep up as best she could.
They found Princess Twilight doing her best to help Sci Twi use her magic to read a book of some kind. A magical text if Pearl had to guess. From the looks of things, it wasn’t going well.
Twilight smiled as she saw the two come in. “Did you clean out your room, Pearl?”
Pearl rolled her eyes as she dropped her loose bits on the table, before dumping her allowance on top of that. “That’s several hundred bits worth right there at least.”
Sci Twi looked at it with a raised eyebrow. “Your yearly allowance?”
Pearl smirked. “As if. This is my monthly allowance.”
Twi’s brain screeched to a halt at the thought. “Your monthly… But that has to be more than most kids make in several months. If not a year.”
Cirrus nodded as she finally entered the room. “We have the bits to spare. And these are gold for your information. If that helps at all?”
Twi tried to process that. “That depends. How much does all of this weigh?”
Twilight pulled out a set of scales. “Let’s find out shall we?” Very carefully, she set each and every bit on the scale. As the number grew, Twi’s eyes widened in shock.
After a moment, all of the bits had been weighed. “So it all comes out to about two pounds or thirty-two ounces. Is that good?” Twilight asked.
Sci Twi’s brain not only melted but fried at the sheer implications of that number, as she did some quick calculations. Her eyes began twitching uncontrollably. “Good? What is gold worth around here?!”
Twilight shrugged. “Not much. Why?”
Twi pounded her head on the table with a groan. “Thirty-two ounces is almost fifty-eight thousand dollars in my world. Pearl. Just your monthly allowance is more than some kids will ever see in their entire life's allowance! You can buy the entire stock of Gunpla in all of Canterlot City with this!”
Pearl eyed her bits with renewed interest. “Sweet. But I’m only after one. Not all of them.”
Twi’s eye twitching became even more erratic. “Then you can take your pick of any of those Target or Hobby Lobby has. None of them cost even near this much. Not even Perfect Grade.”
Cirrus was concerned about all of this. “Will this be a problem? I know the danger of carrying a lot of money around.”
Twi shook her head, relaxing slightly. “Your family is known for being super-rich. So most wouldn’t raise an eyebrow if Pearl has several hundred dollars on her. But carrying all of this will raise a ton of questions and make her a target.”
Pearl’s ears fell. She didn’t want that. She’d almost lost friends because of that. “So how much should I take? I don’t want to be a target. I got that enough to last a lifetime in Baltimare.”
Twi’s ears fell. She didn’t like the sounds of that. “Just take at least one hundred. Most kits in town are under that, so that would give you some leeway in case the prices have gone up. It will also get you what you need to build one.”
Pearl looked at the pile with a stink eye. “I have no idea of where the cut-off would be. Math has never been my strong suit.”
Sci Twi ignited her horn, following what it felt like when she used her geode, and began removing bits and setting them to the side. Once she had a small stack, she passed it over to the Pegasus. “This should be enough. Anymore, and we get back to the problem I just mentioned.”
Pearl nodded as she took the bits. “So when do we leave?”
Twi rolled her eyes. “Neither store closes until late on a Friday. If we leave now, you should be able to get everything you need with time to spare.”
Cirrus bit her lip. “I would rather not go through that thing again if it is all the same to you.”
Twi nodded, thinking for a moment. “I can take her. While I wouldn’t call us best friends, I am friends with Pearl’s human counterpart. I used to watch her when no one else could. So it wouldn’t be too strange to see us together.”
Cirrus nodded. “But I do not know you well enough. You may look like Princess Twilight, but you are not. Forgive me if that doesn’t fill me with confidence.”
Twi wilted under the look she was getting. She was right of course.
Twilight smiled as she placed a wing around her twin’s shoulder. “Well then. It’s a good thing that I’m going as well. I already talked with Sunset. We can have Pearl stay overnight. Make it a sleepover.”
Twi brightened at the idea. “Mom and dad wouldn’t have a problem with it. I would just have to warn them about it.”
Pearl turned to her mother with a hopeful look. “Please, mom? It’s just one night.” She pushed out her bottom lip in a pout that she knew always worked.
Cirrus, to her credit, tried to fight it. But years upon years of being subjected to it had made her all too weak to it, and she finally sighed in defeat. “One night only. If, and only if, nothing happens, can we talk about any longer than that.”
Pearl squeed before hugging the older mare. “You’re the best mom ever!”
Cirrus chuckled as she returned the hug. “Yes, dear. Now hurry along. You don’t want to take too long here.
Twilight smiled as she leaned into her counterpart. “You sure everything will be okay?”
Twi nodded. “Yeah, there’s one hiccup though. But if I see him I’ll try and avoid anything that might cause disaster.”
“Anyone, I know?”
Twi shook her head. “No, he’s Canterlot’s resident trouble maker. And our Pearl’s best friend. But he’s not much into Gunpla as she is. So it’s unlikely we’ll see him. I just have to be extra watchful. Because the pair are rarely apart.”
Twilight wondered who it could be, but Pearl was already rushing through the portal, so it would have to wait for now. With a sigh, the pair was quick to follow the filly, leaving a very conflicted mother behind.
Sci-Twi chuckled as she watched Pearl run off to explore all the models.
“Hey Kohaku, go fetch me one of the new God Hands.” A familiar voice rang out.
Twilight peaked around the corner and felt her blood freeze. Standing there in a red sweater next to an all to familiar trouble maker, was Pearl. “Oh, sweet cheese and crackers.”
“I thought you had the new ones,” Kohaku grumbled as he kicked at the floor.
“No those are the 4.0, I want the new 5.0. Now make yourself useful and go get them.” Pearl chuckled and gave Kohaku a swift kick to the rump. “Hurry up and I’ll take you to the amusement park later.”
“Sweet!” Kohaku ran off.
Pearl hummed and tightened the sleeves on her blue sweater around her waist as she looked at all the High-Grade models. She never thought choosing one would be so difficult. Reaching out, Pearl felt a tug on her sleeve. Blinking, she looked down at a boy wearing a loose set of jeans, high top sneakers. A tank top and a baseball cap. But what gave her pause was that it looked as if he had fox ears and three tails.
“Here ya go. Just what you asked for,” Kohaku held out the new 5.0 god hand nippers.
“Uhh.. no thanks, I already have a set of those,” Pearl said as she quirked an eyebrow, pulling an identical package out of her basket. “See.”
“Sheesh if you already had them why send me to get them.” Kohaku huffed and tossed the nipples back onto the shelf behind him and stoped away.
“Weird. What was up with that kid?” Shrugging Pearl went back to looking at the models.
Sci-Twi blinked as she stood there. She watched as both Pearls moved back and forth, totally unaware of each other’s presence.
“Kohaku, I knew you were messing around. Where are those nippers I asked you to grab me?” Pearl put her hands on her hips.
“You just told me you had them in your basket already.”
“No, I said go get me some. Now do it.” Pearl pushed him back towards the hobby tools.
Sci-Twi watched as Kohaku grumbled annoyingly as he grabbed a new pair and walked up to the Pearl she was watching over.
“Here.” Kohaku snapped as he tossed the nipper package up causing Pearl to catch it. “Now can we go already?”
Pearl huffed as she looked at the kid again who stood there, arms crossed and tapping his foot. “Look, I told you have one of these. Plus why are you annoying me? Don’t you have anything better to do. So go away.” Pearl tossed the nippers back at the boy and pushed him aside making a beeline for Twilight.
Kohaku made a slight groan as he slipped and caught his wrist on the floor. Causing him to yelp out.
“Kohaku are you okay?” Pearl dashed from the checkout to her friend. Seeing him clutching his wrist she looked around and saw a girl storming away. “Hey you, get back here!” Without waiting for Kohaku’s words, Pearl ran toward her friend's assailant.
Sci-Twi wished with all her heart she could use Equestrian magic at that moment. Reaching out she tried to pull Pearl aside but was a split second too late as the other Pearl whipped her around hard.
“I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but nobody does that to my….” Pearl blinked as she looked at what could only be a perfect reflection of herself.
Twi stood there watching the two Pearls looking at each other. And it was going so well. Oh great, what am I going to do now?
“No need to worry Pearl my wrist is…” Kohaku stood there next to Twi, who had her face buried in her hands. Looking between the pair he shrugged and tapped his Pearl on the shoulder without a response.
Both Pearls just gazed at each other in amazement. After a moment the Pearl in red turned to look at Kohaku while the one in blue looked at Twi. “This girl has my face!” they said in unison.
Kohaku looked up at Twi who looked down at him.
“Haku.”
“Twi.” Kohaku looked about to see the crowd starting to gather. “Shall we move this along? We’re starting to draw a crowd and I think that’s the last thing we want right now.”
“I agree. Let's check out and leave.”
“No, just grab your things and go. I’ll pay for everything. Take my Pearl with you. And use these.” With a flip of his wrist, two reusable forest green cloth bags appeared in his hands so fast that Twi almost felt herself get whiplash. Kohaku sighed as he left his dumbfounded friend and walked up to the registers.
Twi just scratched her head, That boy is a complete mystery. If I didn’t know better I’d almost think he used magic just now. “Let's go girls.” Was about all she could muster.
Both Pearls gave a quick nod as they were finally starting to come back to reality. Placing everything in the bags they left the store while Kohaku was at the counter.
“I feel kinda bad having that boy pay for everything. This is several hundred dollars worth of stuff I got.” Pearl walked along beside her double-checking her bag. “Not to mention all the stuff you got. Which has to be more.”
“Please don’t be too concerned,” Pearl smirked as she shook her head. “Kohaku has a larger allowance than I do. After all, his family is the richest in all of Canterlot. What he just paid for isn’t even half of what he gets. I almost feel jealous of him at times.” Pearl looked behind her and saw that Kohaku had finally caught up and was talking with Twi. She tried to listen in but they were far enough behind and talking so low, her ears couldn’t catch it.
“Thanks for helping us out there. Any longer and it might have caused a scene I don’t want to deal with.” Twi sighed. “I certainly fudged this up.”
“Eh, don’t sweat it Twi.” Kohaku walked steadily with his hands behind his back. His eyes drifted towards the birds in the sky. “So what’s with the Equestrian girl there?”
Twi nearly choked on air at the question. By the time she finally caught her breath she looked into his sparkling amber eyes. “Wha.. what do you mean?”
“I mean Miss Pony girl. I know Pearl doesn’t have a twin sister. Or an Identical cousin who works with horses.” Kohaku quirked an eyebrow at Twi. “Is she like Sunset? Or that double of yours who sometimes appears around you and your friends?”
Twi’s hands shook nervously. She could never understand how he knew what was going on at any given time. It always baffled her mind. “I don’t know what you're talking about,” she muttered to herself.
Kohaku leaned in and sniffed a bit before quirking an eyebrow. “Alright if that's how you want to play it. Not that I care.” With a sigh, he looked at the sun in the sky. “Well, my plans for the amusement park just got shot to Tartarus.” Skipping a head he taped his Pearl on the shoulder.
“I’m heading home.”
“Okay, Kohaku. Try not to get into trouble along the way.” Pearl leaned in and hugged her friend, kissing his forehead.
“When was the last time I did that?”
“Yesterday afternoon,” Pearl smirked and just shook her head.
“Someone has to keep those lazy guards on their toes.”
“I’d rather it be your sister, who’s in charge of them.” Pearl just sighed. “This one time for me okay? My day’s already stressful enough as is.”
“Fine.” Was his response as he dashed off.
Equestrian Pearl watched him go with an amused eye roll. Something about him just had that effect on her.
Human Pearl smirked. “So. Alternate universe?”
“Alternate universe,” Pony Pearl nodded. “Or maybe I’m from the right universe, and you're the alternate.”
Twi sighed, pinching her nose. Time for damage control. If that was even still possible. “Pearl. I don’t think I need to say it. But this cannot get out. Not now. And maybe not ever.”
Human Pearl gave her a look. “Why not? Aren’t you always telling me about how cool it would be to go to other worlds? What we could learn from them? What happened to that, Miss Twilight?”
Twi smiled a little. There was the fire and spunk in the girl that she loved. “I did say that, and I still believe it. But I’ve seen what can and will go wrong if our world meets the other world. Our world is not ready for that. Maybe one day that will change.”
Pony Pearl nodded. “Trust me. I don’t know if my world is ready for this world now that I’ve seen it. Even when there’s so much here we could benefit from.”
Human Pearl didn’t seem convinced, but in her heart, she knew that even if she did tell anyone, who was going to believe her anyway? “Fine. Not like anyone would believe me anyway. I know Kohaku can keep his big mouth shut.”
Twilight chuckled. “I’m sure you can help him with that, Pearl. You’re pretty good at it. I’m just sorry we had to run into each other like this.”
Human Pearl shrugged. “Eh. It was a boring day anyway.” She gave her counterpart a knowing look. “And trust me. I know how hard it is to pick your first Gunpla. Guess your world doesn’t have them?”
Pony Pearl shook her head. “No. Which is why I took so long to pick one. Even if this is going to be a one-time thing, I want to make it worth it. I figured to start with, what was it called? High Grade?”
Her counterpart nodded. “Usually is a good place to start. And I saw which one it was. Good choice. Though I say once you build it, you’ll be back for more,” she smirked.
“Doubt it. One time thing for me, and that’s it. This whole world is way too weird for me. Spend the night here, go home in the morning, and that’s that for me,” Pony Pearl smirked back.
Human Pearl giggled as she turned and began to walk away. “You say that now. But you’ll be back. I just know it.”
Pony Pearl just rolled her eyes as she and Twilight, too, began to leave. “Is she always like that?” She asked the teen.
Twilight giggled. “Oh yes. You get used to it after a while.”
Pearl found that hard to believe. Was she that bad.. ? Na.
Later that night, Both Twilight Sparkles, Sunset Shimmer, and Pearl, sat together in Sci Twi’s bedroom. The other Rainbooms hadn’t been able to make it for one reason or another.
Pearl tugged at her pajamas with an odd look. “I mean. It was nice of other me to lend me these. But this is still so weird.”
Princess Twilight and Sunset both giggled. “Tell me about it. I still remember my first night here. I was a disaster,” Sunset giggled.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “The less said about my first night in this world, the better.” Her smile grew. “Now, Pearl. Why don’t you pop open that bag? I’m curious to see which one you got.”
Pearl’s smile would have made Pinkie Pie proud as she reached inside and pulled out the kit. “I don’t know why, but this one just spoke to me for some reason.”
The others leaned in to look. Only Sci Twi had an idea of which mobile suit it depicted, one that was silhouetted against the moon with what looked like panels of some kind on its back.
At the bottom was the unit’s name. The AMS-123X-X Moon Gundam, and under that was another line of text. Neo Zeon Prototype Mobile Suit.
Twilight looked at it with a critical eye. “Dare I ask who or what Neo Zeon even is?”
Twi shook her head. “It’s complicated. The best way I can put it. You’d need to watch the original Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta Gundam, ZZ Gundam, Char’s Counterattack, and a bunch of manga to really get the full story. And I don’t have all of those.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. Just her luck it seemed. “So do you want to build it tonight, Pearl?”
The young girl looked around the room hopefully. “Can I?”
The others nodded. “I don’t see why not,” Twi said, floating a table for Pearl to work on. “You’ve seen how Fluttershy does it. Just follow what she did, and you’ll be fine. And I can catch any pieces that might go flying,” she said with a smile.
Pearl carefully pulled apart the tape around the box, her excitement rising as she lifted the lid off the box itself and began to pull bag after bag of runners, before finally reaching the instructions.
Twilight took each bag and set them on the table carefully. Not sure which order to go in, she set them out as they came out of the box. “There are a lot of runners. Spike’s models don’t have near this many.”
Sunset nodded. “Most High Grades don’t have near this many unless it’s a two in one kit.”
Pearl gave her a look. “A what?”
Twi smiled. “Two kits in one package. Usually, because they can be combined into one. Those usually require a bit more experience since you typically need to parts form them.”
Pearl scratched her head as she looked through the instructions. “I’ll take your word for it,” she grumbled as she took it all in. “Good grief. Did I pick a complicated one? Look at all this.”
Twilight looked over her student’s shoulder. “I have to agree. This seems rather complex for something that is supposed to be beginner-friendly. Even when there are no stickers.”
Pearl nodded. She had been surprised to see no sticker sheet of any kind. Didn’t they all have one? Apparently not as she grabbed the F2 and D runners. “So where do I start?”
Twi’s smile grew as she ignited her magic. “It’s usually easiest to go in the order they present to you. There are some places where nubs are visible. I can clean them up for you.”
Sunset could see Pearl wanted to argue that and interjected. “Pearl. Look at it this way, If you screw up nub removal, there is no easy fix for that. Let someone who knows how to do this do it.”
Twilight nodded, placing a hand on the younger girl’s shoulder. “They are right, Pearl. Spike can tell you how tedious a process this is. If you ever do more, we can teach you.”
Pearl wanted to argue, wanting to do all of this herself. But a part of her knew that they were right. What did she know about a lot of this? Nothing, she sighed. “Fine. You win.”
Twi giggled as Pearl snipped out the first pieces. In this case F26 and D5and D6. Luckily, none of them needed much work, just a quick sanding, and Pearl found it surprisingly easy to slide the two smaller pieces into the large one. Next came F25 to click into the back.
Pearl smiled as she set the beginning of the torso down and went for the next pieces. The hoses, however, required a bit more work to get them to align properly, but they too soon went in.
Sunset had kindly already cut open all of the runner bags, so she didn’t have to fiddle with the hobby knife to get them open and risk cutting herself. Next came the C1 runner.
This time, though, things didn't go as smoothly as before, and the pieces she assumed formed part of the arm connection refused to go into their slots. “Come on,” she grumbled. But no matter how hard she pushed, they didn’t align properly.
Twilight watched with growing concern, sharing a worried look with Sunset and her counterpart, before shaking her head. “Pearl. Calm down and think about it for a second.”
Pearl shot her a look. “Like what?”
Twilight put on her best teaching smile and pointed to the instructions. “Think about it for a moment. If they don’t line up, try turning the top piece so the flat surface faces outwards.”
Pearl blinked, before trying her teacher’s advice. Once she did, she tried the pieces again, and this time, they slid home perfectly. “... Oh,” she blushed, as the others chuckled.
Twi rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, Pearl. Very few people get everything exactly right the first time. At least you didn’t break anything.”
Pearl nodded, as she grabbed runners G1 and G2. That was true of course. Assembling the neck area was more fidelity because the pieces were smaller now, and the first inklings that this might not be for her entered her mind. But she would see this kit through, no matter what.
What came after that? She didn’t know yet.
Adding the venting and the final armor piece on top of that felt like an accomplishment for Pearl as she sat back for a moment, letting her fingers rest. “I don’t know you do this, Miss Sparkle.”
Twi blushed as Sunset snickered. “Please don’t call me that, Pearl. I’m the same age as the princess.”
Pearl shook her head. “Well I can’t call you Princess Twilight now can I? You’re not the same, and it isn’t fair to treat you two the same.”
Twilight smiled proudly. That was very mature of her student. And it was true. It had been a sticking point between the two of them for a time after the Friendship Games.
Sunset pinched her nose. “We’ll be here all night if we get started on this conversation, and I’ve had to listen to it before. Never again.”
Pearl rolled her eyes as she grabbed the next runner, and blinked in confusion as she looked at two H1 runners. One clear, and the other green. “Why are there two of them?”
Twi shrugged. “One clear so you can paint the eyes and head cameras yourself if you want to. Green will give you the right color from the start. And this is one of the few kits where there are no eye or camera stickers.”
Pearl was thankful for that at least as she snipped off the green piece before Twi carefully sanded away the marks. She wasn’t sure what to do with the clear. But there was something.
There had to be, as she the green piece to F2 7, before grabbing runner B. If the parts before were small, now they were really small, as she even more carefully snipped out the mouth vent.
How did people work with such small pieces, as she fumbled it, but luckily caught the piece in her other hand. That was too close. She would never find it like this.
Luckily, the sides of the head were much bigger and easier to hold onto and clip together. The head crest came next, and finally the v-fin and a small attachment on top of it. One quick click, and now the head and torso were starting to look like something.
Pearl sighed as she sat back and let her eyes rest for a moment. “How do ponies do this?”
“People,” Sunset corrected.
Pearl rolled her eyes. “Whatever. My point is, how can people do more than one of these? I’m already losing interest, and I’m not even halfway done yet.”
Twilight was worried as she placed a hand on her shoulder. “Do you want to stop, for now, Pearl? No one is making you do this. This is up to you.”
Pearl wavered for a moment. A part of her did want to stop. But another part of her felt that if she did, she would never be able to get back into it, and the kit would never be finished. “Maybe I’ll just take a small break for now. I need some air.”
“Good Idea. it’s best to take a break.” Sunset smiled as Pearl got up, give her pj’s a quick brush down her then walked out onto Twi’s balcony.
Pearled sighed as she stood there leaning on the railing and looking out over Canterlot city. Sci-Twi certainly has an amazing view. Looking up the hills to the east she saw a rather impressive house that would be more at home in the Far East than here. “I wonder who lives there?”
“My family.” A voice came from above causing Pearl to twist around and look for the source. Looking up she saw Kohaku sitting there on Twi’s roof. He had traded his jeans and tank top for a short silk kimono, loose kimono shorts, and a pair of geta’s
“You? What... how?” Turning around, Pearl looked over the railing and back up at Kohaku. “We’re on the third floor, how did you get up there without anyone seeing you?” Blinking she saw that in his hands was a multi-colored block that was 7 high and 7 long. His hands idly worked it as he looked at her.
“Eh, wasn’t hard. Just shimmied up the drainpipe and flipped myself up onto the roof.” he chuckled to himself. “It’s a lot harder to get onto Pearl’s roof than Twi’s. Not by much though.”
Pearl’s brain already felt dizzy from working on her model kit. Listening to this boy already had her seeing double. “Okay. I’m too tired to argue with you on that. Why are you here?”
“Well, let's just say I have a vested interest in what Twi was up to. Especially with a doppelganger of Pearl in tow.” A smirk crossed his face. “I’m basically just looking out for my friends.”
Pearl blinked and tilted her head. “Uh okay. I can understand that.” Pearl sighed and turned around again. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Kohaku land effortlessly on the edge of the railing and stand lightly walked over to her. “I want to say thanks again, for buying all that. I’ll pay you back I promise.”
“Forget it. Oh here’s your receipt and rebate slip.” Kohaku handed her two slips of paper and chuckled. “So whatcha doin out here? Usually, my Pearl doesn’t leave her room for days while putting together these model kits.”
“Well, it’s my first time doing these. It got... Boring.” Pearl sighed and leaned into the railing, slumping down till her head rested on her arms.
“Yeah, I can understand that.” Kohaku jumped up and landed perfectly on his rump on the rails, keeping perfect balance much to Pearl’s semi heart attack that he would fall. “I tried putting one of those things together once. Almost lost my mind.”
Nodding softly Pearl understood that now. It was so slow and tedious. One small part after another after another. How could her double assemble many models when she couldn’t even finish her first. Looking back over at Kohaku she watched his hands effortlessly twist and turn that multi-block device. “What is that thing?”
“A Rubiks Cube. Pearl bought it for me today. I finished the last puzzle she gave me.” Kohaku kept his eyes steady on his work in front of Pearl. “She usually buys me something like this or an actual puzzle. Nothing less than ten thousand pieces of course.”
Pearl’s eyes widened as she looked at him. “You seem like a rather hyperactive individual. How can you stand to sit still and work on something like that?”
“Oddly enough, it’s relaxing. I find it’s a great stress relief from the day. Taking hold of something like this and putting everything else out of my mind.” Stopping he placed his Rubik's Cube down and leaned back on the railing. “It can be rather stressful being the child of a rich family. So much is expected of me. When the time comes I'll take over my father’s position. Do you know what that’s like? The kind of stress it can leave on someone?”
Pearl blinked and leaned back, turning around she pressed her back against the rail and looked in at both Twilights and Sunset. All three engaged in a conversation she couldn’t hear. “Yeah, I can. Back home my mom is big in the banking business and my father owns the largest shipping company around. Both have plans for me in one or the other.”
“Wow, you and Pearl share a lot more than just your looks.” Kohaku quirked an eyebrow. “Yeah, these things can be an escape. Not just model building but how about diorama building. Taking those models and creating scenes with them. Something of your own creation. Did they tell you that you can also combine models together and create something original?”
Pearl blinked and shook her head. “No. They haven't.”
“It’s called Kit Bashing. It’s challenging and not for amateurs. But once you get started. You're not limited to just what you can buy, but only by your imagination.”
Pearl smiled. Looking back at her model kit she saw flashes of what could be. She saw the box top of what the finished model was to look like and wondered how much better it would be if it had large wings and an impressive horn rather than the V-shaped fin. Or if the color was shaded in hues of purple.
“You see, you're already picturing it in your mind. But every journey starts with a single step. And right now. That step is in there waiting for you to finish up.”
Pearl looked at Kohaku and smiled. “Thanks. You're not half bad.”
“You're welcome. Now since I can see that nothing other than an innocent association is going on. I’ll take my leave. OH and tell Twi that her and Pearl’s reservations at their favorite restaurant is set for next Saturday.” With that Kohaku backflipped himself off the railing.
Pearl almost shrieked when she saw him flip down. Looking over the rails she blinked to find that he had completely vanished. Nothing but shadows and grass below. “Nothing like a heart attack to get a girl's blood flowing. At least now I have the energy to finish.” Still looking pale and shaken she pushed open the sliding door and walked back into the bedroom.
Twilight gave her a concerned look. “Are you alright, Pearl? You know you don’t have to finish this tonight.”
Pearl shook her head as she sat back down. “No. If I stop now, I don’t know if I’ll ever finish it. And I hate leaving anything unfinished.”
Twilight smiled. But she could also see that Pearl’s interest was waning fast. A look both Sunset and Sci Twi could see as well, as they all shared a worried look. It was out of their hands, however.
Pearl shook her head as she grabbed the C2 runner and set it next to its twin. Now she came to a part she always hated. Doing something twice. Great, as she began to snip out the pieces she needed for the arms. “Is it normal to dread having to do double of anything on one of these?”
Twi nodded. “Yes. I know I did it for the first time. One thing I found that helps is to keep them separate, so you know which arm or leg you’re working with. It’s easy to mix them up.”
Pearl nodded, as she began assembling the pieces. It seemed pretty straightforward, she thought. Up until she came to making each assembly either the right or left arm. And the only difference there was which hands she used. “Um. How do I know which hand to use?”
Sunset chuckled. “Depends on if you want them to be able to hold the weapons. If you want him to hold the Beam Rifle and Beam Tomahawk, then you need certain hands. Just flip the page.”
Pearl did so and smiled. “Oh, now I get it. So do I just hold onto the other hands, then?”
Sunset nodded. “It’s easy to swap them out. They’re all on a ball joint.”
Pearl nodded, clipping off the pieces she needed. Getting the fingers to line up so one went through the trigger of the beam rifle was tricky, but it was worth it as she turned it over. “Oh yeah. Beats out empty hands all day.”
The other giggled, and even Pearl began to brighten up a little as clipped the hands into the wrists, before very carefully pushing the entire arm and shoulder into each socket. Both fit perfectly.
Twi turned the model around. “Look at the backs of the arms. They’re hollow. They’re not supposed to be. There’s a spot for the Butterfly Edge to go in each slot.”
Pearl blinked, before looking back at the instructions, and blushed. “Oh, yeah. I wondered what those were for.” It was a quick fix, however, and both slid home easily.
Now came the part she dreaded the most. While the feet and legs came together easily, it was fitting them to the waist that worried her. Those connections didn’t look very sturdy.
Twilight was having the same thought, and while Pearl put the waist together, she leaned over and whispered to Sunset and Twi. “How are those going to fit? It doesn’t seem like they can.”
Twi nodded. “They will. You just need to be careful, or it’s easy to break the connection somewhere. And that is not a simple fix. That is not what I’m worried about though.”
Twilight blinked in surprise. “Then what is?”
Sunset sighed. “It’s the Psycho Plates that go on the back. They look cool as hell. But they weigh so much they’ll throw off the balance it’ll never be able to stand up on its own.”
Pearl heard much of this, as she very carefully pushed the upper body down onto the ball joint on the waist. The Moon Gundam was able to stand on its own when she took her hands away, but it looked rather dull just standing straight as it was. A little repositioning of the legs fixed that. “But those are the main reasons I bought this kit.”
Twi nodded. “I know, Pearl. Luckily, Bandai seems to have known this could be a problem and gave you a solution.”
“What do you mean?” Pearl asked, not seeing anything that could help her in this.
Twi smile grew as she pointed out a certain piece on the D runner. “Simple. Use piece D21 in place of one of the arms they say to build on the backpack. It gives much better support.”
Pearl didn’t see it herself but decided that it wouldn’t hurt as began assembling the backpack. And as she slotted in the thrusters, her smile just got bigger and bigger. Now came her favorite part.
Grabbing the I1 and I2 runners, she began to snip at a rate that surprised the others. Where did this come from? Pretty soon, Pearl had all the pieces laid out that she needed.
She sighed, making herself calm down before she got down into the nitty-gritty, and soon enough, the Psycho Plates began to come together into a half-moon shape before her. In her mind, Pearl imagined what this could look like if there were more than just these eight.
Twi watched with an open mouth. Where did this burst come from? Pearl looked almost ready to quit only a few minutes ago, but now? “Pearl. Where did all of this energy come from?”
Pearl just smiled. “A little fox gave me a pep talk. One that I needed.”
Twilight and Sunset shared a confused look. “But we’re on the third floor. How could one get up here?” Twilight asked.
Pearl just smiled. “Guess this one’s better than most.”
Twi sighed and groaned a bit. “Of course he is. I should have guessed he’d show up.”
Pearl just smiled wider, as she slid plate H into plate G. Now came the hard part, as she very carefully connected the Psycho Plates to the Moon’s backpack. To her surprise, it fit easily.
But would it stand up with the added weight? Letting go, Pearl watched in mounting horror as her kit fell backward, only to be caught by a purple glow of magic.
Twi sighed. “That’s what I was afraid of. It’ll never stand on its own like this. It needs support.”
Pearl gave her a worried look. “Where, and how? You can’t do this forever.”
Twi nodded as she looked down at an unused runner. “No. But I don’t need to. That runner you haven’t touched yet is an Action Base. It will hold this just fine.”
Pearl blinked and looked down. She’d forgotten about that one. Working quickly, she snapped out the base, before turning to the support arms. Seemed simple enough, she thought.
Sunset, though, saw where this might go. “One thing to watch out for, Pearl. You see that little tab on the side of the arms?” She nodded. “That will lock it into whatever position you want. So if you want one in particular, make sure you lock it down so it doesn’t move.”
Pearl hadn’t thought of that, but it made sense. As she played with different positions, she could also see why this was a thing. It was much safer this way. Finally finding a spot she liked, she locked it down, before slipping the other half of the arm over the first one.
Next came support in a notch between the two arms that would hold the upper one up at all, and with a bit of work, Pearl finally got the connector into a slot she liked. Now came the hard part.
Twilight, though, was still concerned. “Where is it going to connect to? There’s nothing I can see that would work.”
Twi nodded as she turned the model around so Pearl could see the back. “Lift up the rear skirting armor. There should be a hole for it to connect into.”
Pearl did as she was instructed. Sure enough, there was a hole for the piece on top of the arms to connect into. “Are you sure about this, Miss Sparkle? That’s a really tiny hole and no room for error.”
Twi nodded, her smile softening. “Give me some credit, Pearl. I can hold it steady while you attach the base. You’ve got this.”
Maybe it was because she was so much like Princess Twilight, or maybe it was because it was so late, but Pearl believed her, and as she saw the princess and Sunset giving her encouraging smiles, she went for it.
Gulping, she very carefully picked up the Moon Gundam and gingerly pushed it back onto the peg. Not until she felt there was no way to go further back did she stop.
With a sigh, Pearl watched as Twi cut off her magic. To her great relief, the kit stayed where it was meant to. But it looked rather boring just floating there like this.
Gazing down at the last page of the instruction manual, though, Pearl found something that would fix that. If this didn’t scream action pose, she didn’t know what did.
Very carefully, she pulled the right leg back into a bend, while swinging the left leg out. Then she swung the left arm up, while also swinging the right arm up, and turning the head so that it looked like the Moon Gundam was looking down the Beam Rifle’s barrel.
When she got them to the positions she liked, Pearl pulled her hands away slowly. Thankfully, the connection was still secure, and the pose held perfectly.
Letting out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding, Pearl finally relaxed, all but plopping down on her pillow with a sigh.
Twilight pulled her young student into a hug. “I’m proud of you, Pearl. I know you were ready to give up. But you did not. That takes real heart.”
Pearl managed a smile. “Thanks, princess. Who knew this could be so tedious?”
Twi chuckled. “Most people who do this would say otherwise, Pearl. And you did this much better than I did with my first one.”
Pearl gave her a look. “Where are yours anyway? Didn’t you say you have some?”
Twi nodded. “I do. But I’ve put them away for now. With all the magical disasters going on, and me still learning magic, I didn’t want to take the chance I’d do something to them.”
Sunset nodded. “We really don’t need the kits coming to life. Goddess above forbid if their weapons start working as they do in the anime or manga too.”
The two shivered at the thought, while Pearl only shook her head. “Well, I don’t know if I’m ready for another kit or not. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
Twilight looked down at the manual once more, Two more were shown, supposedly the development cycle for one in particular. “What about these two?”
Pearl blinked and sat up. “Oh yeah. What are those two anyway?”
Twi’s smile grew. “They’re the development cycle for the MSN-04 Sazabi. You can get him in every Grade but Perfect actually. The AMS-123X Varguil, unfortunately, is Premium Bandai only.”
Pearl scratched her head. “A what?”
Sunset sighed. “Kits you can only find online at their website, and not in stores. Once they sell out there, though, you’re lucky to find them again. Except at marked-up prices.”
Twi nodded. “And they’re very rarely ever reprinted. Unless it’s a huge fan favorite. The Varguil came out several years ago. I haven’t seen it in stock since.”
Pearl sighed. Darn it. “What about Sazabi? I think I might have seen one like it at the store. And I do love red.”
Twi pinched her nose. “You more than likely did. Or the alternate universe version, the Nightingale. Depends on how much room you have. Real Grade is size friendly, but the Master Grade is great if you want it to stand out in your collection.”
Twilight also pinched her nose. “One thing at a time. I will need to place magic on this one to make sure it doesn’t fall from your room, Pearl. And I know your friends will see it as well.”
Pearl gulped. She’d forgotten about that bit. How was she going to explain this to Cloud and Red, and not sound crazy? “Good thing I have you for that then, Princess Twilight.”
Twilight didn’t look too happy to be put in that spot, but her student was right.
Sunset shook her head. “Let’s save that for later, shall we? It’s late, and just watching this has made my head hurt. Now I remember why I’m not into it.”
Everyone giggled, but one look at the clock showed that it was late, and everyone was too tired to do anything else.
Pearl stretched a bit when she remembered her moment on the balcony. “Oh, Twi. before I forget. That fox-boy we met today. Apart from helping me see what this modeling could be. Said something that I found a little confusing.”
Twi smiled as she slipped into her bed. “He’s always confusing. Best just not think too much on it.”
“Good advice. But he told me to let you know that the reservation at your favorite restaurant for you and Pearl is set for next Saturday.” Pearl blinked in shock as Twi coughed and choked on the last bit of her soda.
“He… what?” Twi blinked and looked at her friends nervously. “Uh…”
“I knew it,” Sunset giggled as she leaned against the bed after pulling her blanket up a bit. “I have to say. Good job keeping it to yourself all this time.”
Twilight and Pearl blinked as they looked at each other. “Are we missing something?” Pearl asked as she looked at Twi and Sunset.
“It’s nothing. Really,” Twi slumped down in her bed and groaned. She envied Pearl and her patience with that boy. She could strangle him at this moment.
“At least now I know why you didn’t want to run into her with this Pearl,” Sunset chuckled and laid down giggling.
“Are you two going to explain? Or do I have to issue a royal decree?” Twilight smirked and crossed her arms.
“Fine. if you have to know. The Pearl of this world. Well. I’ve been dating her for the last six months. I wasn’t aware that HE knew, but it shouldn’t surprise me. He always seems to know what’s going on at any given time,” Twi flopped down and covered her face with a pillow.
Twilight and Pearl looked at each other with a blush as they crawled into their sleeping bags.
“Are you sure you won’t come with us, Sunset? Even just for the weekend?” Princess Twilight asked as the group stood once outside the Wondercolt statue.
Sunset nodded. “I am sure. I already promised to help Fluttershy at the animal shelter today and tomorrow. And she does not like it if I change my mind so quickly.”
Twilight nodded. That was true in both worlds it seemed.
Pearl rolled her eyes. She was more than happy to get back to Equestria. As much fun as all of this had been, this was still too weird for her. And she still needed to pick a spot for her model. The ride over from Sci Twi’s home had been nerve-wracking for the young girl. Every bump and dip made her feel as if her kit would fall apart in its carrying case. But it had held.
How well it would survive a trip between dimensions was another story, however, and she was still worried, and she would not stop until she was safely home.
Twi smiled at her. “And Pearl? Our native you came by earlier. She gave you a few things that she thought you might like.”
Pearl blinked. “Like what?”
Twi only smiled wider. “Well as River Song would say. Spoilers. You will see what I mean when you get to them.”
Pearl was not sure about that but decided to wait for now. “So, who’s River Song?”
Sunset pinched her nose in exasperation. “Trust me, Pearl. You do not want to know. If you think Gundam is a long-running thing, it has got nothing on the franchise she comes from.”
Pearl and Twilight shared a confused look. What the hay was that supposed to mean? “One thing at a time,” Twilight chuckled. “This is more than enough for now.”
Pearl nodded. “And one day, you are going to have to explain how you and the local me got together. I honestly do not see it myself. But what do I know?”
Twi huffed but said nothing. Sometimes, she was surprised herself. But she wouldn’t change it for the world. Pearl made her feel a way that no one else ever had. Love was worth it. How she was going to explain all of this to the rest of her friends was another story, however. But that could wait for the moment.
A moment later, the base of the statue shimmered, signaling the portal was open. Twilight smiled. “Let me go first, Pearl. Especially now since you are bringing something with you.”
Pearl nodded. It made sense if her last trip back to Equestria was any indication. Better safe than sorry. “Please let it be easier this time,” she grumbled.
Twilight giggled as she walked through the portal. Pearl waited a few moments, even though her impatience was rising by the second.
Sunset saw this and placed a hand on the youngster’s shoulder. “Pearl. I am going to give you a piece of advice that I wish I had known when I came to this world.”
Pearl shot her a look. “Yeah? What?”
Sunset smiled. “If you do not calm down, you’re going to come flying out the other end of the portal. Take it from me. I still have the bruises to prove it.”
Pearl’s mouth twitched up into a smile, and even Twi couldn’t keep a straight face. “Ponies keep saying my hot blood is gonna get me in trouble one of these days,” she grumbled.
Twi giggle-snorted. That was true in both worlds it seemed.
Gulping, Pearl gingerly stepped up to the portal. Hesitating only for a moment, she quickly stepped through and hoped everything came out the other side in one piece.
Twilight tried not to pace as she awaited her student to return. It was starting to drive Spike nuts as he sighed. “Come on, Twilight. Nothing will happen to Pearl. Look at you.”
Twilight nodded. “I know, Spike. But I can’t help it. This is the first time anypony’s brought something like this from the Human World to Equestria. Anything could happen now,”
Spike pinched his nose. “Doubt anything will happen. It hasn’t so far. Why would it start now? It's a model kit. They can't do much to hurt anyone. Unless it's huge and you drop it on yourself. Trust me. Been there. Done that. Ouch."
Before Twilight could respond, the portal shimmered as Pearl finally came through, walking on her back legs. Her front hooves were full of a box that Spike could only guess at.
Pearl stood there for a second, before she began to wobble, before falling forward. Her eyes widened in mounting horror as she lost grip on all of her things. Luckily, a lavender aura enveloped the box as she fell back onto four hooves.
Twilight smiled as she walked up. “You will eventually get used to that, my Faithful Student. Welcome back to Equestria.”
Pearl shook her head to clear away the ringing in her ears and her eyes from spinning. “Good to be back. Never again. Unless you can ever make that trip better.”
Twilight chuckled. “I am working on doing just that. But it will take time. For now, let us get you home. I am sure your mother is worried sick about you.”
Pearl rolled her eyes. “If it’s all the same, princess. I think I am ready to sleep till Monday. Maybe Tuesday. At the earliest.”
Twilight giggled as the trio left the Side Library. “I know that feeling all too well, Pearl. But for now, I am sure Cirrus is missing you.”
Cirrus listened with an indulgent smile as her daughter went on and on about everything she and the princess had done in the other world. Her meeting her counterpart made her head hurt, but nothing bad had come of it, so she saw nothing to add. She eyed the model that floated in Twilight’s magic. None of it made any sense to her. But she could see the intricate details and work that had gone into it. “What happens now, then?”
Twilight only smiled. “I will need to put magic on all of this so that it will not fall through your house. It will need to be renewed periodically, but it will last forever if I do.”
Cirrus nodded. Magic was not her thing, but she knew to trust Princess Twilight when it came to this kind of thing. “Is that all there is, though? I believe you said something about more.”
Pearl blinked, as she dug around in the box. Oh yeah, and as she felt something that felt like a stack of magazines, her curiosity was piqued as she pulled them out. She recognized some of the mobile suits on the cover of each. One was the RX-93 ν Gundam, while another was the MSN-04 Sazabi. Another looked like a scene from the One Year War. Possibly the attack on Solomon, or during Operation Star One, the final battle of the war over A Baoa Qu.
While she recognized the mobile suits in question, none of the magazines rang a bell for Pearl. One was named Gundam Ace, one Hobby Japan and the other was Dengeki Hobby Magazine.
Twilight looked at them with a critical eye. While she was all for reading new things, she could see something that would be a sticking point moving forward. “Is that it?”
Pearl nodded, feeling around the box once more just to be safe. “Yeah. Why? Should I not be reading these? They do look cool. Whatever they are."
Twilight shook her head. “That is not what I mean Pearl. I do not know if you can read them. None of these are in English, which is the language my friends at Canterlot High use.”
Pearl and her mother shared a confused look. “Then what language is it?” Cirrus asked.
Twilight sighed. “It is Japanese. Something that is not taught at Canterlot High. As far as I know, none of the girls know the language either. Other me said something about maybe going to Japan as an exchange student. But that would not help us here.”
Pearl’s ears fell. Darn it. “So, what am I supposed to do then? These look so cool, and I really do not want to send them back.”
Twilight nodded. “I know, Pearl. And I would hate for you to have to do that. Your counterpart gave them to you for a reason. Right now, however? My best advice is to just enjoy what you can. Who knows? There might be something in them that you like.”
Pearl snorted, but what else could she do? “Fine. If it is all the same to everypony, I’m just going to go lay down for a few days. Stupid different universes. Why can’t they both have the same time?”
Twilight giggled as she wrapped a wing around her student. “I know that feeling all too well, Pearl. Let me put the magic on all of this, and I will get out of your mane.”
Pearl nodded, yawning as she did so as she led the princess to her room.
Twilight nodded happily as she let go of her magic. The Moon Gundam and the various magazines did not move at all. A weight came off of her shoulders as she did.
Pearl nodded weakly as she yawned, earning a giggle from the alicorn. “Okay. So, I was worried about nothing then. I really need to work on that."
Twilight only shook her head with a smile as she tucked the Pegasus in. “Give me some credit, my Faithful Student. I know magic like the back of my hoof.”
Pearl just smirked. “Doesn’t mean you don’t screw it up anyway,” she giggled, fighting a losing battle to keep her eyes open.
Twilight just smiled as she sat down on the youngster’s bed. “So, Pearl. Was it worth it? I know how frustrated you were at some points. But I am proud of you for seeing it through."
Pearl thought about it for a moment, before she smiled and closed her eyes. “Yeah. It was worth it. Frustrations and headaches included. Just hope the universe survives me meeting my counterpart."
Twilight’s smile softened as she heard Pearl’s breathing slow. She kissed the Pegasus’ forehead softly. “Good night, Pearl. I will see you on Monday.”
“Good night, princess,” Pearl mumbled quietly, and soon, soft snores could be heard from her, earning a quiet chuckle from Twilight. Turning off the lights. Twilight quietly shut the door behind her.
Twilight rubbed her snout irritably. “You are sure of this, captain?”
Steel Wing nodded. “Yes ma'am. This is the tenth threat to your student’s life in the past month. They did not even try to hide it this time.”
Twilight sighed. She had been afraid of that. “And what of Pearl? Has anything happened to her or her family?”
Steel shook her head, “No. We have them on constant surveillance. Her parents know though they won’t say how since none of us have told them per your orders.”
Twilight smiled a bit at that. Cirrus and her husband always seemed to know more than they should about some things. It was part of why she liked the two Pegasi.
Steel’s frown grew. “Permission to speak freely ma’am?”
Twilight blinked. “Granted, You know you can always speak freely to me, Steel.”
The Pegasus nodded. “This is becoming more and more blatant. A time is coming when they will move to do something. I have a daughter Pearl’s age. I worry every time she goes out.”
Twilight frowned. “Then what are you suggesting, Captain Steel?”
Steel shook her head. “Bring the hammer down. Use the Ultima. These backward fools need to be put in their place. Do what Celestia or Luna never did.”
Twilight’s frown grew. “Do you know what you are asking me, Steel? You ask me to invoke the most powerful magic known to ponykind, second only to the Omega Oath itself, for this?”
Steel did not respond, but her downcast eyes said all that was needed, and it took much of the fight out of the princess as she sighed. “No, Steel. I will not invoke the Magisterium. Not yet.” Twilight shook her head sadly as she looked out a nearby window. “Not until there is no other choice. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna never used it for a reason.”
Steel gritted her teeth, but there was nothing she could do. Princess Twilight was not someone she could give orders to like in the Household Guard of the Royal Guard.
Twilight’s ears fell. She hated to say it like that. But to invoke the Magisterium Lex Ultima was to invoke a kind of magic that even she knew better than to get near. “That is all that I will say on the matter.”
Steel saluted. She didn’t like it. But there was little she could do if Princess Twilight said so. For Pearl’s sake, she hoped nothing would ever come of this, as she backed out of the room.
Twilight sighed, thumping her head on the table. She knew the threats on Pearl’s life were things she needed to worry about, but there was so much else that needed her attention.
How had Princess Celestia and Princess Luna done it for so long? She didn’t know, and it was driving her crazy.
A knocking on the door interrupted her brooding before Spike entered a moment later. “Hey, Twilight. Long day? Steel didn’t look very happy.”
Twilight nodded. “She wants me to do something drastic about those who want Pearl dead. I don’t think I can do it, Spike. Even when I know it would be the right thing to do.”
Spike frowned. He had a few ideas of what to do with those ponies himself. “Come on, Twilight. Why do you even keep them around? At least Fancy Pants and Fleur only come to you if they need help with something really big.”
Twilight did smile a bit at this. As much as the two of them had gotten off on the wrong hoof, she counted Fancy Pants and his wife as two of her closest and most sincere supporters.
Spike could see this wasn’t going to end quickly so he changed tack. “Come on, Twilight. I know what will cheer you up. Lunch! It’s past noon anyway. You need to take a break anyway.”
Twilight pouted, before her stomach growled, getting a smirk from her #1 Assistant. “Okay, fine. I am feeling a little hungry. Sugarcube Corner as usual?”
Spike nodded as the two left the room. “Deal. I heard Pinkie’s trying a new cupcake recipe.”
Twilight shuddered a bit at the thought. “Hopefully it's better than her last idea. Jalapenos and cupcakes do not mix.”
The two shivered in disgust at the memory. But as they passed by the Side Library, Twilight stopped as she heard something from inside. “Spike. Is someone supposed to be in here?”
Spike paused. After a moment, he too could hear a commotion of some kind going on inside. “I don’t think so. And did we leave the portal on? I think I can hear it too.”
Twilight frowned. That wasn’t possible. She never left the portal on. The risk was too great. But as she strained her ears, she could definitely hear the hum of the World Mirror.
Spike tried to put on a brave face. “Maybe Starlight went through? You know how much she likes spending time with Sunset.”
Twilight shook her head. “And not tell anyone? Somepony would know if she had.” Her frown grew by the second. “Something isn’t right, and I don’t like it.”
Before Spike could stop her, Twilight rushed into the room, her horn ablaze with power and ready to deal with whatever it might be. But what she found took her by surprise.
Books were scattered all over the place as if a tornado had gone through the room. The World Mirror itself sat fully open, and with the Journal in place, showing someone had been using it.
And in the center of it all, her mane a disheveled mess sat. “Pearl? What are you doing here?”
The Pegasus looked at her, and Twilight was taken aback to see fear in her student’s eyes. “Twilight? Where am I? Why the hell are you a pony? And why the hell am I a pony?!”
Twilight was confused. “What do you mean? You’ve always been a pony. As have I. How did you get in here? You know you’re not supposed to be here unless I or Spike are also here.”
Pearl pulled her legs close. “I don’t know. One minute I’m outside the school, and the next I’m here. Wherever here is.”
Twilight’s confusion grew. But as she looked the young Pegasus over, things began to click. Her older appearance, and the fear in her eyes… “You’re not my Pearl. You’re the Human World’s Pearl.”
Pearl blinked, remembering the conversation from a few months ago. “You mean. I’m in that other me’s world? I wasn’t going crazy?”
Twilight nodded. “Indeed. I’m not sure how you got here, however.”
Pearl gulped. She didn’t like the sound of that. “Am I stuck here, Twilight? I don’t want to be. I just wanna go home. This is too weird for me.”
Twilight’s heart ached. No matter what, this was still her student in some way. She smiled as she hugged the filly. “No, Pearl. You are not stuck here. It’s a simple matter to get you home without anyone noticing,”
Pearl sighed in relief. “Oh good.” She looked around. “So what the hell am I anyway? I look like Pegasus from ancient Greece or something. And I don’t even know what you are. Unicorn with wings?”
Twilight chuckled. “You are a Pegasus, Pearl. And I am what is called an alicorn. It’s very complicated, however. Ask other me if you want to know more.”
Pearl rolled her eyes as she stood. “If I can get Twily’s head out of her books, I will.”
Twilight giggled as she led them back to the portal. “What were you doing at Canterlot High anyway? You don’t go to the school.”
Pearl nodded. “There was a Gunpla Club meeting today. We just got out and I was waiting by this statue out front. Next thing I know. I fell through and ended up here.” She looked around. “Where is other me then? I almost thought she’d be there.”
Twilight shook her head. “My Pearl is on vacation with her family, and won’t be back for several weeks. As for joining the club? I would have nothing against it, and I doubt her parents would either. It’s the only thing she talks about anymore.”
“But?” Pearl prompted.
Twilight sighed. “She has also stated on more than one occasion how frustrating that first build was. I saw how close she was to quitting entirely. More than Sunset or other me did. I’m not sure if a second build would help. And there is also the fact that she wouldn’t know where to start.”
Pearl’s ears fell, for those were feelings that she knew well herself. “Kohaku’s told me what they talked about. If that doesn't work, I don’t know what will. Maybe “I” just need to watch the anime.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “And how would she? Equestria does not have the technology your world does. Cirrus is willing to let my Pearl visit your world again since it went so well that first time.”
Pearl tapped her chin. “Let her stay with me, then. Or with me and Twily when we’re over together. We can punch out a series over a weekend, and have time to grab a kit on Monday.”
Twilight tapped her chin in thought. It seemed like a sound plan to be sure. “I will talk with them about it. I don’t see why not. Right now, however, let’s get you home before we start a dimensional incident. I am so not ready for that.”
Pearl giggled as they stepped through the portal.
“Other me wants to do what?” Pearl asked, unable to believe what she had just heard. A feeling her parents shared as well.
Twilight rubbed her snout. “She wants the two of you to spend a weekend watching one of Gundam’s anime. Or with her and Sci me, and still have time to get a new kit on a Monday.”
Pearl slumped. That’s what she thought. “Okay, fine. I do want to do another kit. But how? Equestria doesn’t have that kind of tech. And look at how much trouble “me” had when she was here.”
Her father scratched his chin. While he still did not understand most of this, the effect that one trip had on his daughter was beyond comparison. “Didn’t you watch the original series?”
Pearl rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we did. But then there’s whether I wanna stay in the Universal Century, or branch out to one of the Alternate Timelines. And there’s a few of those.”
Twilight nodded. “I’ve talked with my counterpart. Between her and Pearl’s counterpart, they have almost all of the series to watch. You can take your pick of which one you want.”
Pearl smiled. That helped at least. “What about my lessons with you?”
Twilight chuckled. “Pearl. I think I can handle one weekend with nothing going on. I trust Sci me to not let anything happen, and you have friends on the other side. You would be fine.”
Cirrus and her husband shared a concerned look. Their worries about the other world had decreased significantly since nothing had gone wrong the first time. But they still remained.
Pearl saw it, and her ears fell. She was starting to seriously think about this whole idea. “Come on, mom and dad. Look what happened last time. What could happen this time?”
Twilight nodded. “I’ve met my counterpart's parents. Aside from the obvious differences, they are like my parents here. They would take good care of Pearl. I assume the same goes for your counterparts as well.”
Cirrus and Stratus shared a look. They were not completely sold on the idea of their daughter visiting another world. But they trusted Princess Twilight understood this better than they did.
And they could not deny that this, Gunpla, had so much of an impact on Pearl’s life. Even if it had just been one time, it was all she ever talked about. It had lit a fire in the filly’s life. Who knew where it might lead her one day?
Finally, Stratus sighed. “I cannot see a reason why Pearl can’t do this. If you think it would be safe, Princess Twilight, then I’m inclined to trust your judgment.”
Cirrus nodded. “But if anything happens to my baby girl. Then I don’t care if you are the Princess of Equestria or not. Nothing will save you.”
Pearl squeed in delight, while Twilight gulped but nodded all the same. She had plans to make.
A few days later, Pearl watched as Twilight powered on the portal once more. Her parents watched as well, her dad giving the whole thing the stink eye.
Twilight nodded as the connection was made. “Okay. Other me and your counterpart should be waiting for you on the other side, Pearl. Since Canterlot High is on Summer Break, we do not need to worry about getting on school time.”
Pearl gave her a look. “So what does that mean?”
Twilight giggled. “It means that if you do get another kit, and want to stay an extra day, then you can and do not need to worry.”
Pearl smiled. That was a weight off of her shoulders then, as her mother added her saddlebags to her back, getting an oomph out of her. “Sheesh, mom. Did you add bricks to this?”
Cirrus chuckled. “No dear. But I remember how you said you had to borrow a set of pajamas from the other you. So I thought I’d add one of your own.”
Stratus nodded. “And since you love these… Conan books, so much. I added them as well. As well as a few more things.”
Pearl rolled her eyes. “Dad. I’m only gonna be gone a few days. I’m not moving there.”
Twilight giggled as her parents pulled her into a hug for a moment before Pearl moved to step through. The alicorn put a hoof on the filly’s shoulder. “Remember what we discussed, Pearl.”
The Pegasus sighed. “Don’t cause an inter-dimensional incident. I get it, mom. You’d think I was some sort of three-tailed pain in the flank that screws with ponies.”
She blinked as what she had just said caught up with her. Where had that come from? Everypony shared the same thought as well, as they exchanged glances.
Pearl pushed it from her mind as she stepped through the World Mirror. It was probably nothing anyway.
“Well shoot. I thought I would be in time to walk through with her,” a voice came from the open door behind everypony.
Twilight and Pearl’s parents turned and went wide-eyed. Twilight’s eye twitched rapidly as she couldn’t believe what she was actually seeing. Standing there was the same Kohaku she had met on the other side of the mirror. While she could guess he would be bold enough to come through the mirror, what shocked her was that he was still human, save for his ears and three tails behind him.
“How.. wah..” Twilight’s stammering caught a chuckle from the boy who just leaned against the door frame. Dressed in sneakers, cut-off jean shorts, and a sleeveless ‘No Fear’ shirt. Munching on a large red apple.
“Ya know, these are much tastier than the ones in our world. Probably due to all the magic around here.” Pocketing his half-eaten apple he picked up a small basket and walked forward. Cirus and her husband quickly flew up to a rafter as Twilight just stared looking him up and down.
“How… when?” Slapping herself in the face with a wing twilight violently shook her head. “When did you get here?”
“Hmm? OH about an hour ago. Nobody was around so I thought I’d wait, then I got hungry. I didn’t know you had a Pinkie Pie here too. She gave me a few cupcakes and directed me to a place with the best apples.” Kohaku chuckled. “I’ve been curious about this place ever since you visited our world. Not sure what the hype is. Well, I’ve taken up a bit more of your time than I probably should have. I’ll see myself through. Laters.”
Twilight opened her mouth as she watched the boy leap up and dove headfirst into the mirror.
“Twilight... WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!!!” Cirus cried out as she shook the princess who sat there sure that her ears were billowing smoke from what just happened.
Pearl oomped as she landed on the ground. “Sheesh. You should put a mattress here or something.”
Twi and Pearl laughed. “Yeah, we probably should, or at least some stairs.” Twi helped the young girl up to her feet. “But we don’t want it to be obvious there’s a portal here.”
“I guess so.” Pearl brushed herself off and looked around. The area was devoid of people. “So are we ready?”
“As soon as my pain in the ass arrives,” Human Pearl sighed and leaned up against the statue.
“Oh not him again. He was a headache the last time I saw him,” Pony Pearl crossed her arms as Twi nodded.
“Yeah, he wanted to be here but got impatient.” Twi started to slightly pace back and forth looking at her watch.
“So he just ran off somewhere?” Pony Pearl looked to her human counterpart.
“Wait… you didn’t meet him before walking through the portal?”
“He wha??” Pearl’s eye twitched rapidly. “Okay, no big thing right? I mean one extra pony in the world won’t hurt anything. Will it?”
“If he was a pony…” Human Pearl muttered a little louder than she wanted before the portal swirled. All three girls looked as Kohaku dove out of the portal and shoulder rolled to a standing stop. Spinning on his sneakers he smiled.
“Greetings people of Earth! I come bearing apples and cupcakes!” Kohaku grinned wide, his larger-than-average canines made pony Pearl back up slightly.
“Took you long enough!” Human Pearl growled at him. “You couldn’t just wait here like the rest of us. NO! You have to be Indiana Jones and dive through on an adventure of your own making.”
“Hey, you know how well I handle boring situations. You honestly thought I'd let YOU have all the fun? Going through without me!” Kohaku crossed both arms and huffed. Human Pearl rolled her eyes and walked up to him.
Looking down she reached out and hugged her friend tight. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have excluded you. Please tell me you were careful though?”
“Yes, I was careful. I did draw a lot of odd looks. You think they’ve never seen a human before.” Smiling up at his friend he almost laughed aloud when he saw the confused looks on their faces. “Well since she’s here I’ll leave you three to have your fun. I have to get to the guard station before sundown, Kade wants me to help her get some new rookies up to speed.”
“Have fun.” Twi blinked as both Pearls moved up next to her. Watching as Kohaku dashed off. Looking down at her Pearl, Twi felt her eye twitch as her brain slowly ground to a halt. “Did he just say he was human, in that world?” To which Pearl only nodded.
Pearl had to admit that her counterpart’s room was almost like her own in Equestria. Aside from being filled with way more Gunpla models and so much else Gundam-related, and other things she couldn’t name. But the one thing that confused her was the large pillow mattress in the corner with traces of green fur. “Do you have a dog or something? Cause I haven't seen one. And no. I am not jealous of all this,” she grumbled.
Twilight and Human Pearl giggled as they snuggled together next to her. “Sure you’re not. And we don’t have a dog,” H. Pearl giggled. “That’s for… I don’t know if I should say or not.”
“You always dodge the question when I ask.” Twi sighed holding her Pearl closer. “All this time and she has yet to tell me why that mattress is there.”
Pearl poked her with a knowing smirk. “Says the girl who never told me about another world in that statue in her school? I promised to keep this secret, and I plan to.”
Twilight pouted for a moment, earning another giggle from her girlfriend.
Pony Pearl heaved off to the side. “Moving on you two lovebirds. Where do I even start with all of these anime?” She grumbled.
Twilight smiled as she pointed at one of the shelves. “There are two ways to watch Gundam I’ve found. Stick to the Universal Century. Or pick one of the Alternate Timelines at random.”
H. Pearl nodded. “And if you do stick to the UC, then there are two ways you can go forward. Go straight from the original to Zeta, or watch Stardust Memory and then watch Zeta.”
P. Pearl blinked. “Why’s that?”
Twilight’s smile grew. “Stardust Memory is, technically, Zeta’s prequel, even though it came out later. One of the Alternate Timelines might be easier because they’re all their own self-contained universe.”
H. Pearl nodded, sighing as she melted into Twilight’s embrace. “Take your pick. We can probably watch two series all the way through if we’re lucky.”
Pearl tried not to think about the looks the two were giving each other as she looked at the shelves. One stood out to her for some reason, as she walked over and pulled out the first volume, before flipping it over. Gundam Seed was emblazoned as its title.
Twilight hummed as the two of them rocked together. “Good choice. I remember watching Seed for the first time on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block. It was my first series.”
P. Pearl gave her a look. “Is it any good? I think I saw this one at the store.”
H. Pearl nodded. “You probably did. The Strike was my first kit way back. Then I added the others and,” she paused before smirking. “Well. Spoilers if I say more.”
P. Pearl huffed as she handed the DVD to Twilight and plopped down. “Well. Guess I gotta start somewhere. Might as well be here.”
Twilight nodded as she set to work getting things going.
By the time the final shots of the Second Battle of Jachin Due faded and the end credits rolled, Pearl could barely hold back tears from all of the emotions.
Twilight and H. Pearl had fallen asleep in each other’s arms sometime before the battle after leaving the Orb Union and only woken up again for the Battle of Mendel and after.
Twilight could see the emotions rolling around the young girl, and smiled. “I know the feeling, Pearl. I felt the same way.” H. Pearl nodded.
P. Pearl nodded, as she pulled her legs close, and tried not to think of the overt racism throughout the entire series. It reminded her far too much of what the Legion of Doom had done. “So here’s my question. How the hell did Kira survive not once. But twice? The Strike’s Phase Shift didn’t matter since the Aegis had a straight shot into the cockpit.”
H. Pear pinched her nose. “There’s a manga that explains it. But it’s a really convoluted reason.”
P. Pearl groaned. Those were the worst kind. “And the Freedom surviving GENESIS? And don’t give me that Athrun self-destructing the Justice was it. It was already firing by then, and just being near the beam destroyed so much of the Alliance’s fleet.”
Twilight pinched her nose as well. “That’s a question people have been asking for years, Pearl. And we still don’t know. Because the plot said so is all we have.”
Pearl pounded her head on her pillow. “Ugh. Stupid writing. It really went downhill after the fight in the Marshall Islands. Operation Spitbreak was cool at least, and the attack on Panama. And the mobile suit designs were cool.”
H. Pearl nodded. “Yeah. They got those right at least. All of the G-Weapons are in Master Grade if you want to get the set. So are the Freedom, Justice, and Providence.”
P. Pearl smiled widely at that. “For being a genocidal maniac, Rau got a cool Gundam. And I thought I knew ponies with screwed-up families.”
The trio giggled at that before Twilight looked at the nearby clock and saw how late it was. “It is late, you two. How ‘bout we call it a night, and pick this up in the morning?”
Both Pearls wanted to argue against this, but Twilight smirked as they yawned nearly at the same time. Now it was twice as cute as it normally was as she giggled and pulled her Pearl close, and drew a blanket around the two of them, earning a contented sigh from her girlfriend,
P. Pearl only rolled her eyes as she rolled herself into her own bedspread. “Try to keep the love-making quiet, you two. Some of us do need to sleep.”
Twilight giggled as she reached out and turned off everything in the room before sighing happily as she closed her eyes and held her Pearl close. “Good night, Pearl.”
“Night, Twilight,” P. Pearl mumbled back before falling into a restful sleep.
Pearl groaned as she sat up as the sound of thunder exploded outside of the room. Looking around she rubbed her eyes with her hand and blinked looking at it.
“Oh right. I’m still human. I have to get used to this.” Pearl sighed and stretched as another crash of thunder shook the room. Looking out at the balcony she expected a huge storm but she saw stars and everything dry as a bone. Standing up she looked to the bed and saw Twi and ‘herself’ snuggled warmly together. Shrugging she walked outside into the cool night air.
As she closed the door another thunder clap crashed, louder than the previous two caused Pearl to turn around and felt her jaw drop.
Across the vast yard and into the backyard of the neighboring house she saw two women fighting a young boy. Despite the distance, she could make out everything clearly, grateful that her pegasus sight worked in the human world.
The smaller of the women was wearing a tight-fitting flame orange kung fu gi. Her blazing short red hair made her look as if she was on fire.
Pearl watched as she threw a powerful punch only for it to be caught by the boy’s forearm. Looking closer she saw that the boy was Kohaku, and he was dressed only in a pair of loose fighting shorts, that annoying grin ever-present on his face as he effortlessly dodged a swift roundhouse kick that the crimson woman followed up with.
She was about to let out a silent cheer when she spotted the other woman. Dressed in a fitting two-piece professor-style suit, with a matching skirt, that looked a little too full in the chest. Waist-length cloud gray hair whipped about as she spun and slammed her shin with Kohaku’s stomach.
As the blow connected, Pearl heard the explosion of thunder and saw the dust cloud shockwave that emanated from it as Kohaku was blasted in her direction. The woman in the gi laughed hard only to be swiftly taken out by the other woman who said something in a sharp voice.
Why was he fighting with these two, very well-shaped, women? Scratching her head she quickly saw something that questioned if she was even awake. As Kohaku flew in her direction like a cannonball, a light glint of flame spread from his tails and around his body changing him from a human into something she had no idea what to call.
Taking a few steps back she watched as Kohaku, or the creature Kohaku turned into, gripped the balcony edge with his front paws, swing around, and caught the businesswoman hard in the stomach with his two hind paws, but was stopped by one leg that she quickly lifted up.
“Nice try little brother.'' The woman spoke as if she was evaluating his abilities in a classroom. Her hand gripped one of his tails and pulled him hard. With one swing she slammed him hard into the roof, creating yet another thunderclap.
Pearl fell to her butt and looked up, she felt her whole body tremble at what was happening. Why was this going on? Was this Kohaku’s sister? If so, why was she treating him like that? What made her blood go cold was the steel gray eyes that focused on her. The large woman stood there, like an impenetrable wall that Kohaku’s paws struck at furiously. But each strike was blocked by something faster than her eyes could catch. Pearl watched her smile.
“Hello Pearl, beautiful night. Don’t mind us. I’m sorry if I woke you up with his monthly combat review.” Her voice was as fierce as the storm clouds produced from the Everfree Forest, yet came over her like a gentle rain shower. “I would have figured you’d be used to it. Or did you just come out to watch him get pummeled?”
Pearl was about to squeak out an answer when Kohaku’s paw broke through whatever was blocking it and made a thin gash on the woman’s cheek as it thrust forward.
Kohaku gulped as the air around them seemed to stop.
Pearl had trouble understanding what was happening as this woman’s movements were almost too fast to follow. Her hand gripped Kohaku’s ‘wrist’ and with a spin slammed him down on his back in between them. The woman’s bare foot then slammed hard into his stomach making him twitch up in the shape of a V.
Pearl heard the wind literally leave his body like a deflating tire as he turned his head.
“Hey Pearl. When did you get to the Bahamas?” Looking her up and down he grinned like an idiot. “Nice jammies. Did you always have those?” his voice slurred and weak as his sister griped his tails and grinned.
“Sorry for this. Get some rest. Your test is two in days and I expect you to be ready for it.” her eyes flashed light lightning as she leaped from the balcony and didn’t land until she was in their yard.
Pearl just sat there with a feeling of her heart in her throat. What was that creature Kohaku turned into actually real? She had seen pictures of them, heard stories but never once ever believed they were real.
Behind her, Pearl heard the sliding door to the balcony. “You okay out here Pearl? I was getting up to head to the restroom when I saw Professor Everfree out here.” Twi kneeled down and rested a hand on Pearl’s shoulder.
“Professor Everfree? The woman with the big…” Pearl held out her hands in front of her chest.
“The one with the PH-double D’s? Yup, that’s her.” Twi looked out through the balcony bars. Whatever was going on seemed to have ended as she watched Professor Everfree cradle a very large fox in her arms and walk inside the mansion. “Did you see that huge fox? I swear I have never seen anything like that before. I knew the professor was fierce. But to take on such a monster all by herself.
“It was Kohaku…” Pearl shook her head and grabbed it with both hands. “That fox was Kohaku… That… that…”
“Kohaku? What do you mean that fox was Kohaku?”
“I mean that fox was Kohaku. I saw it with my own two Pegasus eyes. He changed in mid-air from a boy, into that… thing.”
Twi was going to suggest that Pearl had just been seeing things when she reached down and picked up a patch of green fur. Identical to the traces of fur she always found on that mattress in the corner of her Pearl’s room in fact.
Kohaku was rarely if ever seen alone in town. He was always with his sisters or with Pearl. He never went to public or private schools. His family was almost dangerously secretive. And even Pearl herself avoided talking about them when asked. No matter what Twilight tried.
Pieces of a puzzle started to fit into place. She was going to have a LONG talk with her beloved after this night. “Come on Pearl. Let's get you back to bed. I think you had enough excitement for one night.”
Pearl awoke with a groan, giving the sun coming in through the windows a heated glare. “Turn the damn sun off, princess! It’s too early for this.”
Nothing happened, and a moment later, she sighed. “Right. Sun moves on its own here. How the hell does this world survive with that?”
Shaking her head, Pearl looked around. Twilight and her counterpart were nowhere to be seen. But from downstairs, she could just hear the sounds of something going on in the kitchen.
Stretching, her eyes fell on her counterpart’s Gunpla collection. Her curiosity overcame her tiredness, as she walked over to the nearest cabinet and looked inside, careful not to touch anything.
On the top shelf, she recognized quite a few from the Cosmic Era, but many she did not. Maybe from a sequel series? She had seen the Seed Destiny box on the shelf next to Seed. A question for later.
The next shelf down was different again. None of the mobile suits Pearl recognized. But one thing was common amongst many of them. A cone extending from the back. Thrusters?
But it was the bottom shelf that drew her gaze. It was easy to distinguish one side from the other here. One reminded Pearl of the Earth Federation’s mobile suits. But the other? They seemed almost insectoid or dragon inspired.
“Hey, other me. You up yet?” H. Pearl asked, sticking her head into the room. She smirked as she saw what her twin was looking at, as she joined her. “Yeah. The Vagan did have great mobile suit designs.”
P. Pearl gave her a confused look. “The who?”
H. Pearl chuckled. “The Vagan. That’s who the Federation fought in AGE. Have you noticed how one side looks close to the Universal Century? That’s the Earth Federation in the Advanced Generation timeline.”
P. Pearl nodded before her eyes were drawn to three in particular. All were the same kit, but they were all different in some way. One was in what she guessed was normal colors, but one was transformed into a dragon-like flight form, and the other was purple. “And this one?”
H. Pearl’s smile grew. “The Gafran? It was the first villain mobile suit in the anime, and even after newer suits came out, the Vagan still used it. A lot of their early mobile suits could change into a flight form. They stopped using it past a certain point.”
“So why is one purple then? An ace pilot?” P. Pearl asked, trying to make sense of all of this.
Twilight shook her head as she joined the two. “It’s a commander unit. Bandai never released the Gafran in that color. Only the Danazine was,” she said, pointing to one kit in particular. This one looked more like a dragon than most. “And it was only Premium Bandai.”
P. Pearl deflated. “So I’d have to paint one then? Great. Just great. And I was just starting to want to get one. Even not having watched the anime.”
H. Pearl and Twilight shared a worried look, before H. Pearl put an arm around her twin’s shoulder. “Hey. You can still get one. Hobbytown always has AGE kits. No matter how fast they sell out. Hell, grab three and you can have a whole squad.”
Twilight nodded. “Most of the kits are High Grade. Bandai only did a few in Master Grade, and those were only the Gundam AGE-1 and AGE-2, and their various configurations. There were plans for more, the Gafran included. They even showed prototypes. But they never made them.”
That helped P. Pearl’s spirits as she smiled. “Figures. But this does sound cool. And I was already thinking of maybe getting the G-Weapons. Now I might try the same here.”
Twilight nodded as she led them downstairs. “That’s the spirit. And you are in luck. They’re open on Saturdays. So we can go over after breakfast.”
P. Pearl’s stomach growled, even as her face turned green at the thought. “Well. I am hungry. I still don’t get how you can eat meat. I’m just sick at the thought.”
H. Pearl blinked. “What’s so bad about it? I’m basically a carnivore.”
Twilight pinched her nose. “Ponies don’t eat meat in Equestria. Eggs are as close as most do. Human bodies can eat it just fine, so you will be fine.” She held up a hand. “But I am not taking both of you to Hobbytown.”
H. Pearl gave her a wounded look. “Why not?”
Twilight shook her head. “Because while I can explain being with you, Pearl. Everyone in Canterlot knows you are an only child and do not have any family that looks like you.”
P. Pearl rolled her eyes. “That makes two of us. Mom and dad gave me my name even before they knew what I looked like. Even though I have no idea what I want to do with my life.”
H. Pearl and Twilight shared a look, before deciding that it was probably better not to ask. At least not yet.
Pearl just barely stopped herself from squeeing as she eyed the Gundam Age kits. As she had heard, most of them were High Grade, but she could also see the Master Grades as well. What surprised her were what was called Mega Size and Advanced Grade.
For now, she paid them no mind and focused on the High Grade line. Namely the Vagan mobile suits. As she had hoped, they all seemed to be here. Plenty to make a full squad of any one of them.
Twilight stood off to the side. While she was interested in the kits around her as well, she was mostly looking to do damage control if people started asking questions. Luckily, it seemed to be a slow day today, and it was a common sight to see her and Pearl together here.
Pearl finally sighed in defeat. “I can’t choose. There are just so many that I like. Even just going off of one side. Do I grab the Gafran, Zedas, or Baqto? I want them all.”
Twilight giggled. “You can get them all. And if you also take the Farsia, you’ll have all of the Vagan mobile suits from the first arc of the anime. The Defurse doesn’t have a kit. The Zedas is used more by a small selection of people. So having a lot of them would be strange. The Farsia was also only seen once in the anime.”
Pearl tapped her chin. That made things easier then. Of course, if and when she started customizing her kits, or kitbashing them, then having more than one could come in handy.
But for now, she had to start somewhere. And as she grabbed three of the Gafran, she already had an idea in mind for something she wanted to do with one of them. But as she and Twilight headed for the paints, one question came to mind.
“What? Did you buy the entire store?” H. Pearl giggled as her counterpart and Twilight finally returned after an afternoon away, their arms full.
P. Pearl shrugged as she gingerly set her stuff down on her mattress. “I’m an impulse buyer. Sue me. Lucky I had enough bits for it all.”
Twilight groaned as she sat down her own bundles next to Pearl’s. “I swear. You two are just as bad at this as your counterpart. I have to drag you both away from Hobby Town.”
Both Pearls nodded proudly. H. Pearl blinked as the kits were revealed. Most of them were High Grades but were all from several different universes. She also saw the MG Strike as well, and maybe another of the G-units. “Um. We haven’t watched all of these.”
P. Pearl nodded happily as she pulled out her Gafrans and set them with her paint. “Yeah. But I’m going by... Oh, what did Spike call it? Rule of Cool. I can’t help it.”
H. Pearl rolled her eyes. Point, as she saw several kits and paints set slightly apart from the others. “And those?”
P. Pearl sighed. “Future projects. As much as I want to, I’ll hold off on those for now. What the hell do I know about painting any of these?” She held up two in particular. “And what’s with these two? They’re basically the same damn thing. Just different colors. Plus whatever order they used.”
Twilight nodded as she sat down on the bed next to her girlfriend and pulled her close. “They are recolors of the same Gundam. Chronological order is what they were in.”
P. Pearl looked between the two. One of them, labeled as a Titans prototype mobile suit, was a deep blue, while the other, with an A.E.U.G. label, was the same color as the RX-78-2.
H. Pearl saw the question and smiled. “It’s the Anti-Earth Union Group. Both them and the Titans are the main sides in Zeta Gundam. There’s a reason for the color and the side change.”
P. Pearl relaxed a weight off of her shoulders at last. “Oh good. Was starting to worry. And, sweet Celestia, some of those kits looked old. Like. Older than I am.”
Twilight sighed. “They are. A lot of them have gotten what Bandai calls the Revive treatment. You got all newer kits. If the box art seems rather fancy? They’re newer and usually better.”
H. Pearl nodded, noticing the Unicorn, the F91, 00, Reborns, Strike, and more. Not all in the same Grade as well. “No way we can do these all this weekend. On top of watching the series. But you’ve got a backlog started.”
P. Pearl nodded excitedly. She wasn’t totally surprised she couldn’t do all of her kits in one weekend. Even she needed to sleep, and they had spent most of the afternoon away.
Twilight, though, saw a problem with all of this. “Where are you going to keep all of this? One model is easy enough, but this is something else.”
P. Pearl smirked. “You don’t know magic very well if you think that’s a problem. Princess Twilight can handle this for sure. The Moon hasn’t moved an inch since I set it on my shelf.”
Twilight wanted to argue that but bit her lips. What did she know about magic? Even after everything she and her friends had gone through, she still knew so little about it.
No matter how hard she pestered Sunset to teach her, or just let her go to Equestria more often.
H. Pearl, though, saw something else in her counterpart’s eyes as she spoke, and she held back a giggle. It could mean only one thing, but she held her thoughts for the moment.
Twilight saw it as well, but also held her thoughts for now.
P. Pearl, though seemed not to notice it as she picked up the F91. Something about it seemed off compared to most Gundams. “Did it shrink or something? Cause it looks smaller. I think.”
H. Pearl nodded excitedly. “There’s a reason for that.” She smirked as Twilight pulled the DVD out of the shelf where it sat next to Char’s Counterattack. “And there’s more.”
P. Pearl blinked. “Like what? You’re skipping a few series here. Hell. I almost grabbed the Sazabi while we were there.”
H. Pearl nodded as she turned everything on they needed. “Girl, you’re singing my tune. But that’s not what I meant. You skip to F91, and not miss anything. And then we go back and watch the others fill in the blanks. This was made before Unicorn and Narrative made things way more complicated than they really needed to be.”
“Don’t forget Thunderbolt and the Origin,” Twilight giggled, enjoying how she could get a rise out of her girlfriend if and when she brought those two up, earning a glare in the process.
P. Pearl looked over at another shelf. All along it was various Gundam manga. She made a note to look at them later. “Do we have time for all of that?”
H. Pearl nodded happily. “Well. Maybe not everything. We can watch F91 now, grab something to eat, build your model, and then watch Char’s Counterattack tonight. None of those kits have been updated in years, sadly. Except in Real Grade and Master Grade.”
P. Pearl slumped. Just her luck. She wasn’t going to try those until she had more experience with this. It didn’t feel right for some reason. “And tomorrow?”
Twilight smiled. “We can watch Zeta, and maybe ZZ. The Mk. 2 was in both.”
P. Pearl sighed, as her counterpart slid the disk into her player. It was better than nothing she supposed.
"So how did you two get together anyway?" P. Pearl asked, as she finished her High Grade Strike. Oh, how she hated stickers! What idiot at Bandai designed the Aile Striker Pack to need so many of them? "I mean. Princess Twilight is cute. You know. For a girl. But..."
Twi rolled her eyes as H. Pearl giggled. "We've known each other for a long time. I wasn't kidding when I said I used to watch Rosey here when we were younger."
H. Pearl nodded. "I actually had a crush on this goofball years ago." She blushed as Twi smiled. "I never really grew out of it. But it only took Timber Spruce cheating on Twi here for me to finally confess. We never looked back after she said yes."
Twi nodded, her hands clenching in fury at the betrayal. "I still don't know what went wrong. We were so good together. Then I come to find out he'd been seeing Sugarcoat for months! Applejack had to physically hold me back from ripping them both apart!"
Both Pearl flinched from Twi's fury. Very rarely had either of them seen either version of Twilight Sparkle this furious before. H. Pearl laid a hand on girlfriend's shoulder, doing her best to calm her down. Even if she found the display rather hot. Okay. Very hot.
P. Pearl, to her shock and surprise, felt the same, but quickly pushed it down as she added the Aile Strike to an Action Base. New as she was to Gunpla, even she understood it would never stand up on its own without one.
Now came one she was rather looking forward to, having finished the movie, as she opened the F91.
"Please tell me the Master Grade is better than this?" P. Pearl grumbled as she set her finished F91 on an open space on her twin's shelf. "Does Bandai have a thing with making backpacks sticker-heavy or something?"
H. Pearl rolled her eyes, as Twi giggled. "Tell me about it. And the Master Grade is much better when it comes to the sticker department. Most of them are. The newer ones at least."
P. Pearl nodded as she eyed her various purchases. That was a relief for sure, for she had bought a few. Even made a good start on getting all of the G-Project kits from Seed. Maybe she could do one tomorrow at least, as she finally noticed how late it was becoming, and just how tired she was.
Hopefully, she hadn't bitten off more than she could chew so early on. "So just how am I getting all this back to Equestria in one piece?" She asked Twi. "You and Sunset have the only way to talk to the princess around here."
Twi nodded. She had thought of that. "Very carefully of course. Assuming the nice weather holds up on Monday, we can both see you off."
H. Pearl nodded, as she wrapped an arm around her twin. "And I do plan on not falling through that damn portal again, thank you very much. Once was enough for me. I don't know how you ponies do it with four hooves and wings."
P. Pearl stuck her tongue out before everyone burst into laughter. It was better than nothing, the Pegasus thought.
“OH man, this was the best weekend ever!” P. Pearl excitedly did a small spin as the trio walked into the deserted courtyard of Canterlot High. All of her kits had been sent through already, Sunset making sure everything came out alright in Equestria the day before with special permission from Vice Principal Luna. “I kinda wish we had some of this tech in Equestria. Then I can just borrow the, what did you call them again? DVD’s?”
“Yeah me and my counterpart have been trying to figure out how to set up human tech in the pony world but so far there’s been no luck.” Twilight sighed as she stopped at the gate and looked about before frowning.
“What’s wrong?” H. Pearl placed a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder as she stopped next to her.
“My friends aren’t here. They said they were going to help see her off.” Twilight frowned. Her friends were rarely if ever late. And hardly ever broke a Pinkie Promise.
“That’s odd. I know we’re not early.” H. Pearl let her eyes scan over the whole of the courtyard.
“Well, maybe your friends…” P. Pearl cheerfully started before the three of them quickly turned to the statue.
“They aren’t coming.” A stern voice spoke out. By the statue was Kazumi, wearing designer jeans and a low-cut shirt. Her arms were crossed and her high heel shoe was tapping irritably on the ground.
Twilight and H.Pearl both gulped loudly taking a slow step backwards as P. Pearl took a step forwards. “Hey, aren't you the woman from the other night?”
Kazumi chuckled as she walked forward and cupped P. Pearl’s chin with her strong hand and tilted it up a bit.
P. Pearl half struggled but it was as if this woman’s grip was made of iron. “Hey, what gives!”
“Remarkable. So I guess little brother was right. She’s nearly identical to you.” Kazumi smirked over at H. Pearl. “Even has that nasty little rebellious streak we all find enduring.” Releasing P. Pearl, Kazumi walked over to the young girl's counterpart.
“Had I not been so focused on my brother that night, I would have noticed that she wasn’t you.” H. Pearl felt as if her legs were freezing solid. “Which leaves us with a small problem. We entrusted you with a precious secret, and now that secret has spread to two others. You understand what’s at stake here right?”
“Yes, oneesama.” H. Pearl almost whimpered out. Her head down as she shivered. “I didn’t realize his review was that night. We were all having such fun, I messed up the dates.”
“Well, it’s not entirely your fault. Our fathers are leaving for the Orient next week so we had to move the exam up.”
“So I’m not in trouble?” H.Pearl almost felt light sighing in relief.
“No more than usual. Your exam is coming up soon. So you best be ready for it.” Kazumi smiled and placed a hand on H. Pearl's head softly. “However, we do have a rather unique problem before us. Not only does this pony here know about us. But you absentmindedly let my brother go through a portal to another world.”
H.Pearl just nodded slowly as her counterpart came walking up.
“What’s the problem? It’s not like it’ll cause any harm or anything.” P. Pearl crossed her arms, her bags slapping her sides for a moment.
“It’s more harmful than you realize, little pony.” Kazumi narrowed her eyes at Pearl. “Magic from one world can poison another. What if my brother had gotten sick from that world's magic? Purging another world’s magic from one person is not an easy task as this one’s friends are well aware of.” Her finger pointed directly at Twilight who just nodded. “Now I cannot stop you from passing through worlds. But mother has tasked me with taking care of the problem of them now being aware of us. Which leaves me with no other option than to purge the problem from existence.”
“What does that mean?” P. Pearl took a step back for a moment. H. Pearl quickly ran to her pony counterpart’s side as Twilight just stood there shaking. “What are you going to do?”
“Please, Kazumi neesama, don’t hurt her. None of this is her fault. It’s mine.” H. Pearl held her pony self tight trying to keep any harm from befalling her. It wasn’t until Kazumi lifted H. Pear up off the ground by the back of her shirt like a child, that she remembered how powerless she really was.
“Noble but useless. Good try though, an A for effort though.” Looking over her shoulder Kazumi smiled at Twilight. “Catch.” And before Twilight could respond, tossed H. Pearl with no more effort than she would a softball.
Slowly backing P. Pearl to the statue Kazumi smiled down at the girl.
P. Pearl shivered. The woman before her seemed to have grown several feet in height, or she shrunk. Tripping over her own two feet the young girl felt a swift jab to the forehead as something warm flowed over her whole head as her world suddenly went black.
A warm light gentle tapping, like gentle rainfall, against her cheek slowly woke Pearl up. “Mm, what happened?”
“You slipped you silly girl.” Kazumi cheerfully chuckled, helping P.Pearl back up to her feet. “You really need to pay close attention to what you're doing. You hit your head pretty hard, you and your friends are just lucky I happened to be here finishing up some paperwork for the new students coming to Canterlot College this fall. Or that fall could have been far more serious.”
“Yeah.. wait.. You're that woman from the other night who was beating up on her brother aren't you?”
“OH you saw that from the balcony did you? You have good eyes. Yes, that was me.” Kazumi placed a hand on her own chest with a smile. “I homeschool Kohaku and help train him in martial arts. That night was his combat exam.”
“You were rather rough with him weren’t you?” P. Pearl saw both her human self and Twilight look at each other with confused looks but said nothing aloud.
“Well, maybe. The world is a harsh place. And he does have to learn to survive in it. I don’t have the luxury to kowtow just to boost his self-worth. He has a big enough head as it is.”
“That's true.” P. Pearl chuckled as Kazumi laughed with her. “Well thank you.”
“No problem Pearl. Kohaku told me all about you and where you're really from. So you don’t need to worry.” Kazumi smirked as she helped P. Pearl up.
“Well for all the pain that he is, he seems to have my interests at heart.”
“He gets that from me. Speaking of my brother. I’m glad I ran into you, he wanted to give you a parting gift.” Reaching between her chest she produced a sterling silver necklace in the shape of a sleeping dragon.
“Oh my gosh. It’s beautiful!” Pearl cupped the necklace in her hands before blinking and looking up for a moment. “I guess those do come in handy don’t they?”
H. Pearl and Twilight both slapped their heads in unison as Kazumi laughed louder. “I’ve been told that a few times. Now you best get going. I’m sure you have a lot of friends who are waiting on you.”
P. Pearl smiled, “You're right. Thanks, and tell Kohaku thanks for me,” she shouted as the girl dashed into the portal.
Kazumi’s cheerful attitude vanished so quickly as she sat up. Both Twilight and H. Pearl thought thunderclouds were going to start forming. “Well, that takes care of that problem.”
“What did you do?” Twilight stepped forward, her hand on her Geode in case she needed to use it.
“I just wiped her memory of Kohaku being anything but an annoying little boy. For all she knows, anything she saw that night or any day previously concerning us was nothing more than imagination gone wild.” Taking a few steps forward she placed a hand on Twilight's. “And I wouldn’t bother using that, it has no effect on me. Brave of you to try, but I have over nine hundred years of experience backing me.”
With that one touch Twilight felt herself slip and fall to her rump. Her eyes are wide as she felt through her Geode the storm of magic inside of Kazumi. Her head lowered as she bit her lower lip.
“Well, you two have a good day. I set a VIP reservation at my favorite restaurant and at that high-class spa for the two of you. You seem to need a bit of pampering and I’ve already paid the bill. And Pearl. Remember don’t slip up with our secret again. You won’t like the results.”
“Hai.. wait… you're not going to wipe her mind?” H. Pearl bit down on her lips as she looked at Twilight for a moment before looking back at Kazumi. “And what was that thing you gave my pony self.”
“The pendant will send an invisible shockwave through the town he visited. Wiping all memory of him. An easy enough spell but useless on any creature who’s skilled at knowing things they shouldn’t. And I doubt there’s anyone like that there.” Turning around Kazumi started to walk away. “As for Twilight there. I trust your lips are skilled enough to keep her silent. And congrats on finally coming out in the open.”
Both H. Pearl and Twilight watched Kazumi leave, waving to the two of them without so much as giving the weather a final look.
“That spa and restaurant sound really good right now.” Twilight groaned as she stood up with Pearl’s help. “How do you deal with that family?”
“Our families have been close friends and partners for generations. Ever since my great-grandfather’s day and we still can’t figure them out. I just gave up. It’s better for my health.”
Twilight shook her head. “That wasn’t an empty threat, was it?”
Pearl shook her head. “Nope. Luckily, Kazumi isn’t one to abuse it. But she means every word of it.” She paused before sighing. “And there’s more to it than just keeping it a secret.”
Twilight blinked at the hesitation in her girlfriend’s voice. “Pearl. What is it? What could be more important than keeping their family secret hidden?”
Pearl gulped. “That’s just it. I don’t know. But I swore on the Slayer of Eternities a few years ago when our families were together for some dinner, I think. Hell, I don’t even remember why. But it was the only time I’ve ever seen their entire family flinch.”
Twilight snorted. “Pearl. I have only ever seen Kohaku flinch when his sisters come looking for him after doing something really stupid. I don’t think they even know what the word means.”
Pearl shrugged. “Yeah, well. I’ve known them my entire life. Despite being as different as they come, they still know most things we do. They have something hanging over their heads that even their parents will not touch. Mom and Dad gave me a stern talking-to afterward and made me promise to never use that swear in their presence ever again. Thankfully it was gone in a flash and we all went back to normal after a moment.”
Twilight bit her lip. Something in Pearl’s voice told her to drop this. She could only wonder what it all meant.
The princess was waiting for her as Pearl came out on the other side. “I see you have been taking lessons, Pearl.”
The filly nodded as she landed back on all four hooves. “Yeah. Not doing that first time again if I can help it.”
Twilight giggled as she looked at the rather sizable amount of things that had already come through the portal. “Everything is intact, and I have already put the spell on all of your kits, Pearl.”
Pearl sighed with relief. That was a weight off of her shoulders at least. “Sweet. Now I just need to figure out where I’ll put them all.”
Twilight’s eye twitching became worse by the second as Pearl pulled more and more kits out, finished and still unopened. “This is more than I ever expected, my faithful student.”
Pearl nodded happily as she set the HG Aile Strike on an unused shelf. “What can I say? I love Gunpla now! Probably won’t be doing this every weekend. But I can’t help it!”
Twilight sighed, but she could not deny the joy she heard in her student’s voice. Something she had only ever really heard when Spike talked about comic books.
As Pearl pulled out her Master Grade Ginn, she paused for a moment. She did not have enough room for all of her kits, let alone the ones she still wanted. Crap.
Twilight seemed to catch on after a moment. “Do you not have enough room, Pearl?”
Pearl shook her head. “Not like this I don’t. Forget my backlog. I can keep them in my closet. I’m not sure if I have enough room for the kits I’ve already built.”
Twilight frowned. That was a problem. Unless her student wanted to mix and match different universes, there was not enough shelf space at the moment.
Pearl looked over her current shelf. There was still enough room for one or two more Seed kits, and she wanted to display her Master Grade Strike with the Ginn. Having it attached to the Archangel’s catapult would help with that thankfully.
That wasn’t even counting what she had in mind if she ever got the Freedom and Justice. Oh, so many possibilities, she giggled, glad she had started young and not when she was older. There was no way she could get them all if she had it felt like.
Twilight saw the slightly crazy gleam in Pearl’s eyes and smiled, for she well understood the love of a new hobby. So she hated what she was about to say even more. “I am sorry to burst your bubble, Pearl. But something has come up.”
Pearl blinked, before groaning. “Okay. What did Pinkie, Rainbow, and or Discord do this time?”
Twilight frowned at the accusation, no matter that she couldn’t argue it, before shaking her head. “Nothing in fact. This is simply something I forgot. I will be leaving Ponyville soon, and I am not sure for how long.”
Pearl’s ears dropped in horror. “What! Why?”
Twilight shook her head quickly before pulling Pearl into a hug, one that was happily returned. “Not for anything bad, my faithful student. This is simply a meeting I cannot miss.”
Pearl hiccuped, fighting back her tears. “Start with that next time, Twilight. Sheesh. Who are you meeting anyway? And why can’t you do it here in Ponyville? Way easier than going somewhere else. Hell, even the Crystal Empire is a long-ass trip."
Twilight chuckled. “I would, and you are right. But Tiamat tends to cause a serious panic if she ever comes to Equestria, so we have decided that this is much easier.”
Pearl blinked, before smiling widely, her whole body vibrating excitedly. “You’re meeting the Dragon Queen! Why did nobody tell me that?”
Twilight was taken aback by Pearl’s reaction, wondering just what the Pegasus was so excited about something like this.
“OH man, this was the best weekend ever!” P. Pearl excitedly did a small spin as the trio walked into the deserted courtyard of Canterlot High. All of her kits had been sent through already, Sunset making sure everything came out alright in Equestria the day before with special permission from Vice Principal Luna. “I kinda wish we had some of this tech in Equestria. Then I can just borrow the, what did you call them again? DVD’s?”
“Yeah me and my counterpart have been trying to figure out how to set up human tech in the pony world but so far there’s been no luck.” Twilight sighed as she stopped at the gate and looked about before frowning.
“What’s wrong?” H. Pearl placed a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder as she stopped next to her.
“My friends aren’t here. They said they were going to help see her off.” Twilight frowned. Her friends were rarely if ever late. And hardly ever broke a Pinkie Promise.
“That’s odd. I know we’re not early.” H. Pearl let her eyes scan over the whole of the courtyard.
“Well, maybe your friends…” P. Pearl cheerfully started before the three of them quickly turned to the statue.
“They aren’t coming.” A stern voice spoke out. By the statue was Kazumi, wearing designer jeans and a low-cut shirt. Her arms were crossed and her high-heeled shoe was tapping irritably on the ground.
Twilight and H.Pearl both gulped loudly taking a slow step backward as P. Pearl took even more steps back, her eyes wide in fear. It had not been much, but she had seen enough to know just what she had seen that night. “Just. Make this quick if you’re here for my head.”
Twilight and H. Pearl gave her confused looks. “What are you talking about, Pearl?” Twilight asked.
P. Pearl gave a surprised look. “You don’t know what she is? Probably the whole family as well if Kohaku was anything to go by.”
H. Pearl tried to cut her off, but a look from Twilight stopped her. “All I know is that all of that dog hair in my Pearl’s room is much worse after Kohaku has visited. She still refuses to tell me why,” Twilight grumbled.
“Well first off it’s fur not hair,” Kazumi pinched the bridge of her nose shaking her head from side to side. “And secondly it’s fox, not dog. But I can understand how you could be confused. But I’ll deal with that later.” Waking forward the tall woman moved closer to P.Pearl like a storm slowly creeping towards the shores. “So little one, care to explain why a pony such as yourself is doing here?” Kazumi slowly bent forward forcing P.Pearl to lean back. Her eyes widened. “Twilight there I can understand, she is after all a princess. And we have been notified about her. And have taken steps to prevent catastrophe with two of her about.”
Taking a moment Kazumi walked around P.Pearl. Her keen eye examined everything about her. “But you, however, we’ve been told nothing about.” Her eyes glanced up at Twilight and H.Pearl. “Care to explain yourselves, ladies? As to why yet another pony has been brought to these shores?” Lightning flashed along the edges of Kazumi’s eyes.
P. Pearl smiled sheepishly. “Spike gave me a book to read from this world. I sure as hell wasn’t learning anything from unicorn magic books. The princess caught me red-hoofed. Hell, I was ready to be kicked out as her student after that. But she showed me the portal to this world. Took a lot of begging and pleading just to get even one visit out of her.” She gestured to her counterpart. “Then other me stumbled through by accident, and then I heard stories about a three-tailed kitsune running around Ponyville that same day. I couldn’t resist coming back.”
Kazumi quirked an eyebrow and looked up at H.Pearl whose face had just lost all color. “My brother…. You seemed to have left out that little tale Pearl.” Sighing she looked back at the young Pony. “please do continue. Just, how often have you been visiting us?”
P. Pearl sighed. “This is my second visit. Probably my last one too. I didn’t know this world had such a cool hobby like Gunpla. I’ll at least have a decent backlog to work through.”
Kneeling down Kazumi just shook her head and sighed. Her head was down for a moment before standing up and placing a hand on P. Pearl's head. “You're lucky you're not a unicorn, this would have ended much differently had you been one.” Stepping away she stood in front of the lovebirds. “But being a Pegasus, your magic can’t even light a match let alone cause any unforeseen damage. I guess I can look the other way.” Turning back she looked at P.Pearl again. “But next time please be sure to visit our manor.” turning back to Twilight and H.Pearl the vixen grinned. “As for you two, we’ll discuss this in length this weekend.”
P. Pearl nodded slowly. She wasn’t sure, but it sounded like she was off the hook. She was tempted to ask what the woman meant had she been a unicorn. But she felt her luck would run out if she did, so she kept it to herself.
Walking away Kazumi gave a soft wave. “Till then, have fun ladies.”
P. Pearl watched as Kazumi left after straddling a beautiful motorbike and then turned to her counterpart. “I haven't felt this relieved since the passing of the last hurricane in Baltimare. Did I just dodge a bullet?”
H. Pearl nodded. “You have no idea. Kazumi is the portal’s keeper in this world. I don’t know all the specifics, but unicorn magic wrecks all kinds of havoc, and she makes sure any magical disruptions don’t unbalance things.”
Twilight blanched, remembering the worst day of her life. “But what about during the Friendship Games?”
H. Pearl shrugged. “Sunset beat her to it. Drunk on magic as you and Midnight were, you still wouldn’t have won that fight if you had to face her. You girls have also made sure most of the magical crap going on is usually contained, so Kazumi hasn’t said anything.”
Twilight gulped, while P. Pearl rolled her eyes. “Is the whole family like her? I don’t know any kitsunes. Or at least in their normal form.”
H. Pearl giggled. “Yep. Only her mother and her sister Riko make you feel like you’ll live through meeting them. Even when they’re in a good mood. Kohaku is just an all-around pest and a pain in everyone’s backside. Especially mine for some reason.”
Twilight smirked. “And yet you love him anyway, Rosey.”
H. Pearl grumbled as she looked away, earning giggles from both girls. “That’s probably my cue to go home before something else goes wrong,” P. Pearl snorted. “Hopefully next time, I won’t have to go through that again.”
Twilight and H. Pearl nodded as the pony-turned-human entered the portal and was gone from sight.
The princess was waiting for her as Pearl came out on the other side. “I see you have been taking lessons, Pearl.”
The filly nodded as she landed back on all four hooves. “Yeah. Not doing that first time again if I can help it.” Pearl was also doing her best to push the feeling of utter powerlessness and hopelessness she had felt when first meeting Kazumi. Better ending or not, the whole thing had left her shaken.
Twilight giggled as she looked at the rather sizable amount of things that had already come through the portal. “Everything is intact, and I have already put the spell on all of your kits, Pearl.”
Pearl sighed with relief. That was a weight off of her shoulders at least. “Sweet. Now I just need to figure out where I’ll put them all.”
Twilight’s eye twitching became worse by the second as Pearl pulled more and more kits out, finished and still unopened. “This is more than I ever expected, my faithful student.”
Pearl nodded happily as she set the HG Aile Strike on an unused shelf. “What can I say? I love Gunpla now! Probably won’t be doing this every weekend. But I can’t help it!”
Twilight sighed, but she could not deny the joy she heard in her student’s voice. Something she had only ever really heard when Spike talked about comic books.
As Pearl pulled out her Master Grade Ginn, she paused for a moment. She did not have enough room for all of her kits, let alone the ones she still wanted. Crap.
Twilight seemed to catch on after a moment. “Do you not have enough room, Pearl?”
Pearl shook her head. “Not like this I don’t. Forget my backlog. I can keep them in my closet. I’m not sure if I have enough room for the kits I’ve already built.”
Twilight frowned. That was a problem. Unless her student wanted to mix and match different universes, there was not enough shelf space at the moment.
Pearl looked over her current shelf. There was still enough room for one or two more Seed kits, and she wanted to display her Master Grade Strike with the Ginn. Having it attached to the Archangel’s catapult would help with that thankfully.
That wasn’t even counting what she had in mind if she ever got the Freedom and Justice. Oh, so many possibilities, she giggled, glad she had started young and not when she was older. There was no way she could get them all if she had it felt like.
Twilight saw the slightly crazy gleam in Pearl’s eyes and smiled, for she well understood the love of a new hobby. So she hated what she was about to say even more. “I am sorry to burst your bubble, Pearl. But something has come up.”
Pearl blinked, before groaning. “Okay. What did Pinkie, Rainbow, and or Discord do this time?”
Twilight frowned at the accusation, no matter that she couldn’t argue it, before shaking her head. “Nothing in fact. This is simply something I forgot. I will be leaving Ponyville soon, and I am not sure for how long.”
Pearl’s ears dropped in horror. “What! Why?”
Twilight shook her head quickly before pulling Pearl into a hug, one that was happily returned. “Not for anything bad, my faithful student. This is simply a meeting I cannot miss.”
Pearl hiccuped, fighting back her tears. “Start with that next time, Twilight. Sheesh. Who are you meeting anyway? And why can’t you do it here in Ponyville? Way easier than going somewhere else. Hell, even the Crystal Empire is a long-ass trip."
Twilight chuckled. “I would, and you are right. But Lady Tsunami has moved up my visit to the Dragon Lands while you were away. I cannot put this off as well it seems."
For a split second, Pearl felt a tug on her soul at the mention of Lord Everfree's mate, but it was quickly gone as began smiling widely, her whole body vibrating excitedly. “You’re going to the Dragon Lands, and you've met the Lady of Dragons? Why did nobody tell me that?”
Twilight was taken aback by Pearl’s reaction, wondering just what the Pegasus was so excited about something like this.
